Black River EntertainmentHigh School is more than just a track on Kelsea Ballerinis new Unapologetically album -- its where shes headed.

Fresh off playing shows in Amsterdam, Ireland, and the United Kingdom on Lady Antebellums You Look Good World Tour, the Tennessee native is traveling back to her alma mater to play a free concert. Shell take the stage at Knoxvilles Central High School on October 28 through a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

For a chance to win tickets, all you need to do is follow Tennessee on Snapchat.

Kelseas sophomore album arrives November 3. You can download the title track, Unapologetically, the first single Legends, and High School now, with the track Miss Me More coming Friday.

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A Delaware County, Pennsylvania, businessman was convicted Wednesday of applying for asylum in the United States under false pretenses while fleeing a civil war in the African country of Liberia.

Mohammed Jabateh, 50, who had been accused of taking part in atrocities during the 1990s in Liberia under the nickname "Jungle Jabbah," was found guilty on two counts of filing false immigration documents and two counts of perjury. Each count comes with up to five years in prison and deportation.

Jungle Jabbah was a feared commander in one of two warring military factions in the late 1980s and 1990s.

The now 50-year-old owner of a shipping company, who lives in Lansdowne, went on trial at the federal courthouse in Philadelphia on Oct. 2. Federal prosecutors did not directly charge him with war crimes.

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

In his new life since coming to America in 1998, seeking asylum, some in greater Philadelphia's close-knit Liberian community told NBC10 that they know Jabateh as a hard-working businessman. They had no idea that he was a man that prosecutors linked directly to the bloody war that left 200,000 dead and many thousands more maimed, raped and displaced.

(David Guttenfelder/Associated Press)

The backdrop for such violence was a country divided by both military coups and ethnic hatred.

"Chaos is too kind a word," said Maghan Keita, professor of history at Villanova University.

He said very few Liberians escaped the war either as an aggressor or victim. Battlefields didn't exist and the brutality played on in villages and towns.

The main target becomes the coercion of civilian populations, as opposed to engagement with other combatants who are as heavily armed as you are," Keita said.

Maghan Keita, a professor of history at Villanova University, talks to NBC10 about those who fought in wars will always have their past following closely behind.

Jabateh has been jailed since his arrest in April 2016.

Among those American Liberians who have known Jabateh since his arrival in the U.S. in 1998 is a cousin and fellow businessman named Voffee Jabateh, who called Mohammed Jabateh "a pillar" of the local community.

John Prall, another Liberian who escaped to southeastern Pennsylvania, told NBC10 prior to the trial that he would be watching closely. He said he hopes the trial marks a start, not an end, to the pursuit of justice for victims of his native country's civil war.

Prall said he believes there are more than one former warlord living in his community.

"There are so many here," he said. "There are so many."

Maghan Keita, a professor of history at Villanova University, talked with NBC10 about immigrants who flee their native country and remake their lives in a new place.
It was almost a week ago when 27-year-old Michael Corsello walked out of the hospital and spoke to NBC10s Aaron Baskerville after nearly dying from a heroin overdose.



My hands were bound, Corsello said while describing the hours he spent in the emergency room. They said that I was freaking out. I was punching myself in the face. They said that I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I was going ballistic and then I just dropped.

Corsello, a father of three, was one of 14 people who overdosed on fentanyl-laced heroin in a four-hour period in Camden, New Jersey back on Oct. 11. He held heroin in his hands immediately after leaving the hospital and told NBC10 he planned on using it as soon as he finished the interview. He also desperately wanted to share a message about the toll his addiction had taken on him.

"I have bald spots in my head," he said while fighting back tears. "I've gotta wear a Mohawk for the rest of my life. I've got scars all over my body because of this drug. I want every kid to understand, if they can stay away from this, I've ruined three families."

On Tuesday, Corsello spoke to NBC10 again, admitting that he hasnt been there for his three children and that he used heroin after he finished last weeks interview.

I used for the rest of the weekend, Corsello said.

Little did Corsello know, his words Wednesday night would have an impact. When the founders of Liberation Way Rehabilitation in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania saw our report, they jumped into action.

It was, Go. How do we find him? Lets give him an opportunity, said Liberation Way Chief Network Officer Michael Armstrong.

Staff members at the alcohol and drug rehab center spent several days trying to track Corsello down. They finally found him at his aunts home in Gloucester City, New Jersey where he had walked for an hour from Camden to beg for a shower. Now, less than a week after a near-fatal overdose, hes agreed to get well.

The only promise that I have to myself right now is that Im going to be open to suggestions and really fight, he said.

Tuesday marked day one of a 14-day detox for Corsello.

An individual that goes through our program is kind of crawling, walking and then running, Armstrong said.

Corsello was offered a free ride to a Fort Washington rehab center where phase two will be inpatient therapy.

I didnt realize the grasp it was gonna take on my life, Corsello said. So hold me accountable for picking up but I didnt ask to be addicted. I didnt ask to actually fall under this spell.

While Corsello admits hes scared about the battle he faces, hes also optimistic.

Terrified, he said. But Im more scared of my past. I just have hope in the fact that I feel so good right now. Im so excited for tomorrow for once.

As the nation continues to deal with the devastating opioid epidemic, Armstrong believes one success story can go a long way.

The ripple effect of him changing and getting better and finding recovery and giving that back is immeasurable, Armstrong said.

Corsello knows however that his opportunity will be meaningless if he doesnt put in the effort.

The only thing good about addiction is beating it, he said.

The proliferation of opioids continues to claim more lives across the nation than car crashes and homicides. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 142 people die from a drug overdose every day. Half of the deaths are linked to opioids.

President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency in August at the urging of the presidential opioid commission. The commission is led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has focused his last months in office around combating the opioid epidemic.


What to Know Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, was captured Wednesday evening following a nearly 12 hour long manhunt, police said.

Prince killed three co-workers at a Maryland granite company, then drove to Wilmington and shot a car dealer, police said.

Six people were shot in all: Five workers at the granite company and one at the Delaware car dealer, police said.

UPDATE: Radee Prince was arraigned on attempted murder charges in Delaware Thursday morning.

The man sought for a pair of shootings that spanned two states  leaving three dead and three others hurt  was caught in Delaware following a daylong manhunt, police in Wilmington said.



Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, was captured on foot along Four Seasons Parkway near Clover Mill Drive in Newark, Delaware at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, police said.



Prince was the central character in a massive manhunt that stretched from Maryland to New York.

Local, state and federal authorities spent nearly 12 hours looking for Prince. It was ATF agents who ultimately took him into custody about an hour and a half after his unoccupied getaway vehicle was found on Cobblecreek Creek Curve next to Glasgow High School in Newark. Police say Prince was spotted by a witness leaving the vehicle and walking toward the high school. The witness then contacted law enforcement.

Officers from multiple departments arrived at the scene, secured the vehicle and set up a perimeter around the area.

A man accused of killing three people and injuring three others during a shooting spree in Maryland and Delaware is now in custody. NBC10s Tim Furlong has the details on how police tracked the suspect down.

Around 6:45 p.m., police received another tip that Prince was spotted walking on foot on Thanksgiving Way behind the Four Seasons Shopping Center, according to investigators. Prince was then taken into custody by the three ATF agents at 7:05 p.m. after a brief foot chase, police said.

During the chase, Prince allegedly threw away a .380 firearm which was later recovered by police, according to Wilmington Police Chief Robert J. Tracy. No one was hurt during the arrest.

"This couldn't have been done without our federal, state and local officers working together," Chief Tracy said.

"A coordinated effort brought this to a very successful conclusion on a very, very bad day."

Prince was arraigned on attempted murder charges in Delaware Thursday. It's unclear what charges he could face in Maryland.

Prince is accused of walking into his job at Advanced Granite Solutions, a Edgewood, Maryland granite company, just before 9 a.m. Wednesday and opening fire on his co-workers.

Five staffers were hit. Three were killed, police said. The two victims who survived are in critical condition.

The gunman then sped 51 miles north in his black 2008 GMC Acadia to Wilmington where he confronted an acquaintance, Jason Baul, according to investigators.

Baul was working at his used car dealership, 28th Street Auto Sales and Service, along the 2800 block of Governor Printz Boulevard when, around 10:30 a.m., police say Prince shot him twice.



He suffered gunshot wounds to his head and body, but was alert when officers arrived, Chief Tracy said. He remains hospitalized in stable condition.



Maryland State Police, Wilmington Police

Prince's SUV was still near the second shooting scene when Wilmington police arrived. Baul pointed out the SUV to police and it sped away before they could give chase, Tracy said.

The vehicle was recovered by police near Wilmington around 6:30 p.m. A short-time later, Prince was taken into custody.



The motive for both shootings remains unclear, though he knew all of the victims.

"How do you get into a mind of a person that's capable of shooting five people that are coworkers? What gets in his mind? What precipitated that? It's tough to rationalize," Tracy said during a Wednesday night press conference following Prince's arrest.



Barak Caba, owner of Advanced Granite Solutions which designs and installs stone countertops, told the Associated Press that Prince worked there as a machine operator for the past four months. He was scheduled to work Wednesday.

Prince's co-workers said the man kept to himself and barely talked. They remain baffled by the killings and say there were no signs of any issues. Four workers at the company told NBC10 they were only feet away as Prince opened fire and killed their three co-workers, including one victim identified as Jose Hidalgo Romero.



"They were all family," said Ibrahim Kucuk, a manager at Advanced Granite Solutions. "We've been working together for a long time. It's just tragic."

A moment of silence was held for the victims in Maryland. Several members of the community gathered for the candlelight vigil Wednesday night.

"Community is great," Kucuk said. "They are doing great support. Everybody has been very helpful."



Family Photo

Friends and relatives of Baul didnt know why he was allegedly targeted by Prince. They said they actually dont recognize Prince at all. Investigators say however they believe Prince targeted Baul because of a past history related to criminal case.



Baul is the type of person, they said, who loaned tow trucks to help out after a recent hurricane.

He was the type of person if he could help you he would help you. Hes a good-hearted man, John Broomer, of Wilmington, said. Broomer's granddaughter is engaged to Baul.

"My daughter called me she was hysterical crying saying Jason had got shot," said Ethel Jenkins, of Wilmington, whose daughter is engaged to Baul.

Real estate records link Prince to a home along the 500 block of Kiamensi Road in Wilmington.

Margaret Melton, a woman who resides at the home, told NBC10 that Prince does not officially live at the Wilmington address. "He lives in Maryland," Melton said. Court records show he most recently lived in Elkton, Maryland  along the Maryland-Delaware border.

She has known Prince since he was in the fourth grade, she said.

"He lived here on and off, when he had issues," Melton said. She did not go into details about what issues he had.

Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she knows Prince's family.

"That boy had a good upbringing," she said. "It wasn't like he was a madman or he was a crazed maniac, because he wasn't."



[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Prince, according to court records in Washington state, lived in the Seattle area for a few years earlier this decade. The online records indicated he had court cases for unspecified proceedings between 2010 and 2014.

He apparently was back on the East Coast by 2015, as court records in Cecil County, Maryland, show he was in court on illegal firearm possession charges. Those charges apparently were dropped.

But court documents cited by The Baltimore Sun claim Prince has had run-ins with people he worked with in the past.

Prince was fired from a job in February after he allegedly punched a co-worker in the face and threatened other staffers, the Sun reported citing court documents.

The assaulted co-worker later asked a Maryland judge for a restraining order against Prince. The request was denied because a burden of proof was not met, Maryland court records show.

In all, Prince was arrested 42 times in Delaware alone, including 15 felony convictions, leading some people to wonder why he was free when he allegedly went on a shooting rampage.

"If there's violent people that are causing carnage in the community and have some violent crimes, we've gotta find a way to keep them behind bars, so they can't go out and re-offend," Tracy said.

The FBI says they are treating the case as workplace violence and don't see ties to terrorism.


A sweeping multistate manhunt that kept the Mid-Atlantic region on high alert for more than 10 hours ended when law enforcement officers on foot chased down a man they say shot six people, killing three, in two separate shootings.

Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, was captured on foot along Four Seasons Parkway near Clover Mill Drive in Newark, Delaware, about 7 p.m., police said.

He shot five of his co-workers at a granite company about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore just before 9 a.m., police said. Three of them died.

Harford County police identified the victims as Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53, of Arlington, Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland; and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland.

Prince then drove to Wilmington, where he shot an acquaintance in the head and body at a used car lot, NBC Philadelphia reports that Wilmington police said. The second shooting occurred about 10:45 a.m.

Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said in a news conference Wednesday night police found Prince's SUV, a black 2000 GMC Acadia, about 5:35 p.m. near Glasgow High School in Newark. Police then received a tip Prince had been seen walking toward the school from the SUV.

Officers convened on the area and took him into custody less than 2 hours later. During a brief foot chase, Prince threw down a gun, Tracy said.

"I believe he was walking down the street and then when our ATF agents, we were doing a search throughout the neighborhood...when he saw that they had spotted him, he actually took off running, threw the gun and they were able to apprehend him about 75 feet later and recover the gun where he threw it," Tracy said.



Tracy said Prince didn't injure any officers or anyone else during the chase and arrest.

"I even get chills talking about it because I know what it's like when we do hunt individuals that are desperate," Tracy said.

Tracy said the attacks were targeted and Prince knew each of his victims.

"This is a person with no conscience," he said.

Prince was expected at his job at Advanced Granite Solutions on Wednesday morning.

"It was scheduled to be a regular workday," the county sheriff said. Instead, police say Prince opened fire, using a handgun to shoot five coworkers in the head.

A witness to the aftermath of the shooting, Kevin Doyle, said he was getting tools from his truck when he heard screaming and saw three men running from the office park. The men told him someone was shooting. He asked if they had called 911. They said no, even though they had phones in their hands.

"I think they were just so scared they didn't [call 911]. They had a look of terror,'' he said.

Officers were called to the workplace, in the Emmorton Business Park on the 2100 block of Emmorton Park Road, at 8:58 a.m, police said.

Officers arrived within four minutes, Gahler said.

In addition to the three people who died, two people were rushed to University of Maryland Medical Center's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. They were in critical condition Wednesday night.

Prince has been an employee of Advanced Granite Solutions for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

Less than two hours after his first attack, Prince drove to a used car lot about 55 miles away in Wilmington, and opened fire on a man with whom Tracy said Prince had "beefs" in the past. The man was wounded but survived and identified Prince to police.

Investigators said the gunman's motive is under investigation. Investigators are treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and did not see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Prince is a felon with 42 arrests in Delaware. He also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, was habitually late paying his rent, was repeatedly cited for traffic violations and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol counseling in recent years.

Prince was fired from another job earlier this year after he attacked a coworker, The Baltimore Sun reports that a restraining order says. The coworker told officials Prince punched him in the face in February, was fired and then returned to threaten employees four times.

At one point, his former boss Philip Siason told the court: "He came to see me, cursed and yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me." Saison said he "didn't want to wait'' until Prince became physically violent, and noted his prior gun charge as a reason for feeling particularly afraid of the man.



A Harford County District Court judge denied the request for the order and said the worker could not meet the required burden of proof," the Sun reported.



Yellow crime scene tape cordoned off Advanced Granite Solutions on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators, deputies and federal agents fanned out across the business park to investigate.

Across the road, several employees, some wearing lime green T-shirts with the Advanced Granite Solutions logo, embraced each other as they waited for news about their colleagues. The sheriff said the department had set up a receiving area for family members in the Richlin Ballroom at a nearby hotel.

A number of Harford County Public Schools in the area were on a "modified lockdown" for hours. Students and staff were told to stay in the buildings, with no outdoor activities.



According to online court records, Prince lived in Elkton  about 35 miles from the shooting scene  as recently as last month.

"The First Lady and I ask that all Marylanders join with us in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and those still fighting to live," Hogan said.

No information about Prince's legal counsel was immediately available.

Advanced Granite Solutions is fundraising for the families of the victims using a GoFundMe page.


With moderate Santa Ana winds expected to bring critical fire weather conditions to parts of Southern California this weekend, CalFire is pre-deploying six military helicopters and 75 fire engines into the region.

Everyone needs to be thinking right now no matter where youre at in California  whats my evacuation plan, what am I going to take with me, how am I going to get out," said Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott Friday.

"Be prepared to do that literally at a moments notice. Not a half hour, not an hour, you need to be thinking about that in minutes," he added.

California has been coping with the deadliest week of wildfires the state has ever seen.

The death toll in the wine country fires stands at an unprecedented 31 and was expected to keep rising.

Much of the state is under a red flag warning or smoke warning with winds coming from the north and the east.

To prepare for that CalFire has pre-deployed three U.S. Navy firefighting helicopters that will be located at NAS North Island and three U.S. Marine firefighting helicopters that will be located on either Camp Pendleton or MCAS Miramar, Pimlott said.

All of these resources will be nimble and they will be prepared to deploy either back to NorCal should they be needed or into SoCal should additional fires break out there, Pimlott said



Mobilization centers have been established in central and Southern California, the Cal Fire official explained. The agency has access to 75 additional fire engines from outside of the state of California.

Our county is going to be getting the air flow but were not going to be dealing with heavy winds, said NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh.

Even though winds are expected to peak at 25 mph Saturday evening, San Diego County will have elevated fire danger.

It really doesnt matter this time of year because we are so critically dry, Kodesh said.

Humidity will be very low and some locations could see sustained winds of over 25 mph in the San Bernardino and Riverside County valleys as well as the Inland Empire, the NWS forecasted.

Winds are expected to diminish Sunday afternoon with low humidity hanging around through Monday.

In Northern California, fire agencies from around the country are sending in reinforcements to help firefighters who have been on the line since wildfires broke out in Sonoma and Napa counties Sunday.

At least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed in 22 wildfires burning across the state.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department is still investigating hundreds of missing person reports.

We had series of statewide fires in 2003, 2007, 2008 that didnt have anything close to this death count, said Daniel Berlant, a deputy director with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Download the free NBC 7 mobile app to stay updated on fire conditions here in San Diego County.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions strongly defended President Donald Trump's firing of James Comey, but at a Senate hearing Wednesday repeatedly declined to discuss private conversations with the president about the dismissal, frustrating Democratic lawmakers who wanted to link the firing of the FBI director to a broader inquiry into Russian election meddling.

The repeated, often-testy questioning about the Russia investigation, coming even as Sessions spearheads sweeping changes to the Justice Department in the areas of LGBT rights, criminal justice and immigration, illustrates the extent to which the probe continues to shadow Sessions even though he recused himself months ago.

Sessions advised the Senate Judiciary Committee at the outset of his first oversight hearing as attorney general that he would not answer any questions about conversations with the president that he considered confidential.

He largely adhered to that principle during the five-hour hearing, refusing to say what Trump told him about his reasons for wanting to fire Comey, whether Trump confided in him his concern about "lifting the cloud" of the Russia investigation and whether he had asked him to drop a criminal case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona.

Sessions deflected the questions by maintaining that presidents are entitled to have private discussions with Cabinet secretaries, saying at one point, "I do not confirm or deny the existence of any communication between the president that I consider to be confidential."

Still, Sessions' defense of the Comey firing  and his insistence that it stemmed from the handling of the Hillary Clinton email case  was consistent with the initial explanation by the White House. It was, he said, "the first time I'm aware of" in which an FBI director had performed the traditional role of Justice Department prosecutors by announcing on his own the conclusion of a federal investigation  that no charges would be brought against Clinton.

He said he was further galled when Comey, shortly before his firing, insisted to Congress that he would have taken the same actions again.

"That was a fairly stunning event for both of us and it did highlight the problem more significantly than it had been before," Sessions said, referring to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein.

Though he refused to say whether he discussed with Trump Comey's involvement in the Russia investigation, he did say that the president had asked him and Rosenstein for their recommendations about what to do with Comey.

But that explanation has been muddled by Trump himself, who days after the May 9 firing said he would have fired Comey even without the Justice Department's recommendation and that he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he dismissed him.

The circumstances of Comey's firing are among many events being investigated by Robert Mueller, who was appointed as the Justice Department's special counsel to look into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.

After initially balking at the question, Sessions said Mueller's team had not interviewed him as part of its investigation.

The hearing marked a return to the Judiciary Committee for Sessions, who served on it for years as a Republican senator. Yet his interactions with his former peers have been frayed as attorney general, particularly amid Democratic accusations that he provided misleading testimony at his confirmation hearing about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.

He bickered with Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, who accused him of having moved the "goalpost" in his denials about his contacts with the ambassador.

He said that while Sessions had initially denied having any contacts with Russians during the campaign, he later qualified his answer to say that he had not discussed any matters related to the campaign. Sessions repeated Wednesday that he had done nothing improper and had given a "good-faith" response.

Apart from Russia, Sessions faced questions from lawmakers about his swift undoing of Obama-era protections for gay and transgender people and his rollback of criminal justice policies that aimed to reduce the federal prison population, among other changes he has made in the nine months since taking office.

Franken praised his decision to send an experienced federal hate crimes prosecutor to assist in a transgender murder case in Iowa, but said his Justice Department has "demonstrated an unrelenting hostility toward LGBT people," an assertion Sessions disputed.

Sessions has tried to pressure so-called sanctuary cities into cooperating with federal immigration authorities by threatening to withhold grant money, and he was the public face of the Trump administration's decision to end a program benefiting hundreds of thousands of young people who entered the U.S. illegally as children. Congress is seeking a legislative solution to extend the protections before recipients' work permits expire.

He tussled with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois over whether people living in the country illegally are driving Chicago's gun violence. The city has been in the Trump administration's crosshairs for refusing to help immigration authorities detain and deport immigrants. Durbin said he wanted Chicago officers doing community policing and not immigration work.

"How does that make the city of Chicago safer when you don't remove criminals who are illegally in the country?" Sessions said.

It is standard policy for attorneys general to appear before the Justice Department's congressional overseers on the House and Senate judiciary committees.

Yet, in a reflection of the extent to which the Russia investigation and his own role as a Trump campaign ally have dominated public attention, Sessions first appeared months ago before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own probe of election meddling.
A 42-year-old Tewksbury, Massachusetts woman was among those killed in Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Rhonda LeRocque was among the victims of the shooting, according to her mother, Priscilla Champagne, of Lowell.

"We've lost a gem," Champagne told NBC Boston on Monday.

Gunfire broke out late Sunday night at the Route 91 Harvest Festival at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas strip. At least 59 people died and more than 500 were injured.

The suspected gunman, who killed more people than in any other modern American mass shooting, is believed to have killed himself before SWAT agents entered the room he was in. The gunman, identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64-year-old retiree from Mesquite, Nevada, had as many as 23 guns with him, including rifles, they said.

Jennifer Zeleneski, LeRocque's half-sister, also spoke out on the senseless tragedy.

"She didnt deserve this, her family doesnt deserve this," Zeleneski said. "She was an amazing person - a great mom, great wife - she always had something nice to say when you needed it."

The Tewksbury resident had traveled to Las Vegas with her husband Jason and their 7-year-old daughter to attend the country music festival. They were music fans and big travelers.

"Just seeing her, there was light around her all the time, she was always smiling," Zeleneski said.

LeRocque's husband was not injured. Neither was their daughter. The child had left the concert with her grandfather right before the shooting took place.

Zeleneski said her brother-in-law thought his wife had ducked when the shots rang out.

"He thought she ducked and she didnt," said Zeleneski. "She was caught in the back of the head."

At her home, Rhondas mother said she was the heart and soul of the family, the oldest of four girls, and that the mass shooting was completely senseless.

"I am going to miss my beautiful baby," said Champagne. "She was loved by everyone."



LeRocque's family said she and her husband were Jehovahs Witnesses and heavily involved with their religious community.

"Its not fair. I cant imagine what the other families are going through because this is so messed up," Zeleneski said.

Her half-sister said there will be no justice and she is angry the shooter killed himself.

"If you have psychological problems, get help," said Zeleneski. "If you have problems with someone, dont take it out on everybody, because this is what happens."

The Burlington Free Press is reporting that another one of the shooting victims was a Vermont native.

The newspaper reports that 35-year-old Sandy Casey, who grew up in Dorset, died in the attack. She was living in California and was engaged to be married.

"The community is definitely feeling the loss today," Dorset Town Clerk Sandra Pinsonault said.
Three public elementary schools in Warwick, Rhode Island, were closed on Monday.

Secretary to the Superintendent of the Schools, Catherine Bonang told WJAR-TV that the number of faculty absences has risen to a level in which the staff cannot safely open the schools.

"This decision was based on staff requirements, student needs and programs in the buildings," Bonang said in a statement.

The schools that will be closed are Oakland Beach Elementary School, Park Elementary School, and E.G. Robertson School.

School officials told WJAR-TV that teacher sick calls closed Pilgrim High School Oct. 6 and Warwick Veterans Junior Hig Oct. 11.

The teachers' union says previous sick calls were due to flu season and stress, but superintendent Philip Thornton told WJAR-TV that the calls were a labor action.

Teachers have been working without a contract since 2015.
A veteran police officer in Massachusetts was arrested this weekend and charged with OUI after a crash, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Lt. James Shinnick has been with the Lynn Police Department since 1993. He was arrested early Sunday morning, according to the department. The Essex County District Attorney's Office confirms the arrest happened after a minor crash on Route 1 southbound that did not result in injuries.

Police say Shinnick performs "administrative duties" and will continue to do so pending the outcome of the investigation.

The department added, however, that it is reviewing investigative reports and are working to determine his duty status.

Shinnick is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Peabody District Court on his first offense OUI charge, the DA's office said. He was released on personal recognizance.

It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
New Hampshire's U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has announced she will not seek re-election in 2018.

Shea-Porter, who has represented the Granite State's first district for four terms, made the announcement Friday afternoon.

The Democrat, who was also the first woman New Hampshire voters elected for a federal office, faced a tough re-election campaign in a district that swung for President Donald Trump in 2016.

"This has been a very difficult decision, given how much I have enjoyed serving [the people of New Hampshire] in the House and the fact that the 2018 election is shaping up to be like 2006, when I was first elected, an important time when Congress changed political leadership and was able to move America forward," Shea-Porter said in a statement.

She joins her fellow New Englander and Democratic colleague in the House Niki Tsongas, who announced in early August she would not run for re-election.

Shea-Porter cited a recent family reunion that inspired her to embark on "a different path."

"As the first New Hampshire wom elected to federal office," the state's Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said in a statement, Shea-Porter was a "trailblazer and a role model for us all."

New Hampshire's Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan also praised Shea-Porter's service.

The outgoing congresswoman "has been a fearless advocate for women's equality," Shaheen said in a statement.

"New Hampshire is a stronger state because of her tireless work to expand economic opportunity for Granite Staters, and her leadership will be sorely missed," Hassan said.

Although Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire's four electoral votes in 2016, Trump won the majority of precincts in Shea-Porter's district.
Over the past few weeks, Nvidia has been holding a series of regional GPU Technology Conferences (GTC) in different parts of the globe. In September, Nvidia showed off its new Tensor3 GPU made for artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing in China. This week, the company took its show to Munich to host GTC Europe where it made a couple of announcements in the advancements of self-driving vehicles.

The quest for the fully autonomous car has been somewhat of a holy grail and one of the best examples of whats possible when discussing advanced technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Test fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles

Nvidia CEO Jensen Juang made two self-driving announcements during his keynote. The first one was made with Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), the worlds biggest mail and logistics company, and ZF, an automotive provider. The three companies have teamed up to deploy a test fleet of autonomous delivery vehicles (pictured above), starting next calendar year.

DPDHL will deploy electric light trucks powered by the ZF ProAI self-driving system, which is powered by the Nvidia DRIVE PX palm-size supercomputer but also includes sensors, cameras, LIDAR and radar that feed the data into the system. The AI-based system will automate the process of transporting and delivering packages from the central point to the final destination, which is the most expensive aspect of courier services. The autonomous vehicles will be able to use the AI to comprehend the environment it is in, then plan a safe path and park itself. It ensures safe, accurate deliveries at a significantly lower cost than using people.

Its important to understand that self-driving vehicles require compute resources in the vehicle, but also data center resources to do the training for the AI to learn all the objects it will encounter while moving about a city. Earlier this year, I pointed out that GPU computing was one of the future data center technologies IT leaders should keep an eye on. For DPDHL, the future is now as it deployed the GPU-powered, Nvidia DGX-1 AI supercomputer to do the training. As other verticals start to rely more heavily on machine learning and AI, GPUs will become a bigger part of their data center strategies.

New level of autonomous vehicles

The second announcement takes robo-taxis to the next level, level 5 to be exact. There are many different levels to self-driving cars. Level 0 is no automation. Level 1 has basic features, such as cruise control, then it escalates from there. Level 5 is full automation where the car drives full time under all conditions.

At the event, Nvidia introduced its DRIVE PX AI platform (code-named Pegasus), which can handle over 320 trillion operations per second, which is 10x the performance of its previous system, the DRIVE PX 2.

The new Drive PX will introduce a new level of autonomous vehicles. Existing ones, such as the popular Tesla, still retain the look and feel of a car with a steering wheel, driver seat, etc. With level 5, think of the vehicle as being more of a moving lounge. There will be no steering wheel, pedals, mirrors or anything else a driver may need.

When solutions like this become reality, and they will, business productivity could go through the roof. Instead of wasting time in a car commuting, people can use that time to work or even hold meetings. Level 5 vehicles arent only for the busy worker. Elderly people or disabled people could gain an entirely level of freedom because the car could pick them up and take them to appointments instead of having to put the burden on a relative.

Fully autonomous vehicles can also save lives because people will never fall asleep at the wheel or get in accidents from texting and driving. I know many people have the attitude of never trusting an autonomous vehicle, but with the right data and AI, self-driving cars will make travelling by car much safer. Personally, I cant wait because I can use the hour it takes me to get to the airport to write even more Network World blog posts.

Much of the ongoing learning for autonomous vehicles will be done in big data centers, which will calculate massive amounts of data.

Similar to the delivery vehicles, much of the ongoing learning will be done in big data centers, which will calculate massive amounts of data. The rules learned there will be executed in the car by an onboard system, such a Pegasus.

Autonomous vehicles are very much the shape of things to come regarding other digital initiatives. Not all data will be processed at the edge nor will it be done in public or private clouds. Digital technologies require everything to be connected, hence the big IoT push by many companies, but also lots and lots of data needs to be processed where it makes sense. In the case of an autonomous vehicle, much of the initial learning rules can be done in a data center, but the decision of whether to stop or not needs to be done in the car.

IT leaders should consider this cloud-to-edge strategy as they plan out future initiatives. Technologies such as IoT, AI and mobility are changing the world faster than ever before. The key is to have the right compute systems in the right places to make the best decisions in as short a time as possible.
As we enter the last quarter of 2017, business and IT executives are turning more of their attention to how they can use technology to accomplish their 2018 business objectives. Weve compiled a list of five trends in cloud computing that strategic businesses will prepare for in the coming year.

1. Exponential growth in cloud services solutions

Software as a Service (SaaS) opened a flexible and financially attractive door for businesses and consumers to try early cloud services. The growth of infrastructure and platform as a service (Iaas and PaaS, respectively) has expanded the number of cloud solutions available in the public and private sectors. In 2018, we expect to see many more organizations take advantage of the simplicity and high-performance the cloud guarantees.

According to a forward-looking 2016 survey on cloud services from Cisco, these solutions will continue to be deployed and used worldwide to accomplish diverse goals on an unprecedented level. 2018 will see SaaS solutions take the cake as the most highly deployed cloud service across the globe. The Cisco survey also forecasts that SaaS will account for 60% of all cloud-based workloadsa 12% increase over 2017 predictions. PaaS solutions will experience a modest five percent growth rate, while IaaS solutions are also set to increase. Given that these projections were made in 2016 and given positive performance in 2017, we can reasonably expect even greater growth in cloud services solutions than these predictions. Businesses that want to simplify operations and make it easier for their customers to access services will move more aggressively toward integrating SaaS, IaaS, and/or PaaS into their business processes.

2. Increased cloud storage capacity

As cloud services increasingly become a de facto part of doing business, we expect data storage to grow exponentially in the coming year. To accomplish this, service providers will bring more data centers online with larger-capacity storage equipment. The Cisco survey estimates that in 2017, the total amount of data stored in data centers would be 370 EB, while global storage capacity would reach 600 EB (see page 12 of the survey). These numbers are set to grow in 2018 to an estimated total storage capacity of 1.1 ZB, which is approximately twice the space available in 2017.

While data centers owners move to increase available storage, forward-thinking businesses will be able to take advantage of that space to further their objectives. For example, businesses that work with big data will use this increased space to store large data sets, perform analytics on them, and harvest valuable insights into areas such as customer behavior, human systems, and strategic financial investments. For small businesses, increased storage capacity means that 2018 will provide custom or bespoke storage options at far lower prices than were available in 2017.

3. The Internet of Everything (IoE) will take center stage

In 2017, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence played a stellar role in the tech community, with respected innovators like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking commenting on their near-term potential. While industry experts anticipate IoT will see its own growth, continuous innovations in real-time data analytics and cloud computing are set to push the internet of everything (IoE) to the fore in 2018. IoE relies on machine to machine communications, data, processes, and how humans communicate with everything in their environment. Cloud computing will play a significant role as the IoE develops into complex systems aimed at simplifying all interactions.

For humans, this means we will be able to interact intelligently with every device in a networkjust like IoT. Even more intriguing, humans will be able to interact more easily in human-to-human communications. For example, Googles Pixel Buds (which are expected to be released in late 2017) are a headset equipped with the ability to recognize and translate 40 languages in real-time for its user. IoE will also provide businesses with more insight into how consumers relate to their products or services, customer care units, and one another. This data can then be used in multiple ways, including simplifying customer experience through automation and the use of smart robots. Japanese hospitality robots, which are imbued with the ability to welcome guests, converse in real-time, and provide certain services, give a sneak peek into what IoE could accomplish in the near future.

4. Enhanced internet quality and the rise of 5G

Just as the amount of data generated and stored around the world is poised to grow tremendously in 2018, consumers will also expect better and faster connections from network providers. Qualcomm Snapdragon has been spearheading the move to faster network speeds, and 2018 should see an increase in the number of groups working on these improvements. As this work gains momentum, we anticipate strong movement from gigabyte LTE speeds to full 5G networks, helping us reach 5G capabilities in record time.

Enhanced network quality will increase consumer expectations for highly-responsive, fast-loading services and apps. Savvy business owners will move quickly to reevaluate and upgrade their SaaS, PaaS, and website platforms to be more responsive. The IoT and IoE industries will also benefit from faster network speeds by allowing organizations in this space to receive and deliver data more efficiently in real time.

5. Security challenges and the cloud

Although 2017 hasnt come to an end, it has already made a name for itself as the year of more cyber attacks than any other in history. Attacks such as the WannaCry ransomware, the CIA Vault 7 hack, and the Equifax data breach are reminders that cyber attacks are a reality of the 21st century.

We expect 2018 will see more individual and state-sponsored attacks aimed at undermining the security of cloud infrastructures. As cyber attackers become more sophisticated, security analysts in government, public, and private sectors will also have to become more sophisticated and timely in their methods for detecting and preventing attacks. Businesses will recognize the necessity of investing in tools like security information and event management (SIEM) and malware detection systems as fundamental defense mechanisms for cyber security. Cloud services can play a role here as well, with managed security service providers offering robust services to businesses that could not otherwise implement full security measures.

What trends do you see in cloud computing for 2018? How are you intend to take advantage of cloud computing services in the coming year? Let us know below.
What does it take to open the worlds first self-powered data center? For Aruba S.p.A., it involved three elements:

Flowing river water

Photovoltaic solar panels

Always cold, pumped-to-the-surface underground water as the principal cooling source

Arubas newest data center, named the Global Cloud Data Center (IT3) is located near Milan, Italy, and claims to be 100 percent green. The 49-acre ANSI/TIA-942 Rating 4 standard facility (at 200,000 square meters) opened earlier this month.

Also on Network World: Space-radiated cooling cuts power use 21%

Low-impact credentials at the site come largely because the data center has its own dedicated hydroelectric plant. The facility is located on the banks of the River Brembo, an Aruba representative told me. Electricity is generated from the running river water through the operation of turbines. That power is stored and then injected into the national grid infrastructure. Electricity is supposedly guaranteed for the campus by the national grid in exchange for the input.

The system, along with the power from solar panels, can produce up to 90 MWs of power. The river of energy flows more or less constantly, Aruba says.

Geothermal cooling

The company says cooling at the facility is also zero-impact.

Using groundwater as the main cooling energy source enables us to reduce energy waste, the company explains of its geothermal system on its website.

Thats in part because underground water at the site always remains at 48 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. That cold water is pumped up from the ground, used to cool the data halls via heat exchangers, and then returned back into the earth. By doing that, environmental impacts do not happen, the firm says.

Other eco-friendly techniques are in operation, too: Distinct ducts in the server rack design aid efficiency by targeting underground-cooled air onto the parts of the rack that need cooling the most. Also, double insulation with a defrost system is used in the data room construction.

Energy is further saved by using outside air to cool rooms, the firm explains. Hot air is blown out of the building using fans, and electric shutters open and close as is needed. Chillers are available, but only as backup.

Is the data center safe from floods?

One question I had when looking at the design: If the data center is on the banks of a river with enough water flow to generate power, is there a chance it could flood during rain events? Thats not an issue, says Aruba. The buildings are raised above the regular ground, and the channel has capacity for an extra 23 meters of water depth, according to a hydrological plan published on the website.

The data center has been designed to make the most of every possible solution to reduce its impact on the environment as much as possible, the company says. It is also supplied with 100 percent renewable energy from sources certified by the European Guarantee of Origin (GO).

Additionally, the representative said the data center complies with next years European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which introduces more stringent European consumer data protection for global companies doing business in the trading bloc.
By Keynote Contributor Dr. Sheba K. Meymandi Director of the Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease

at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

Chagas disease is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It is most often transmitted by nocturnal, blood-sucking insects called kissing bugs. When the kissing bug feeds, it defecates, and the sleeping victim unconsciously scratches the bite scene and introduces the infected feces into their bloodstream.

Image Credit: schlyx / Shutterstock.com

What is Chagas disease?

The disease affects not only humans, but several species of mammals including dogs, raccoons, bats, and opossums. Chagas disease can also spread through blood transfusion or organ transplant, from mother to child in the womb, and through the consumption of contaminated food.

A person who is newly infected may experience an acute stage with flu-like symptoms which is seldom recognized as Chagas disease. Afterward, T. cruzi hides in organ tissues, especially within the heart and digestive system, all the while the infection is asymptomatic.

However, in 30-40% of infected individuals, chronic complications will develop, usually 20-30 years after transmission. Most often, Chagas disease causes cardiac damage and can lead to heart failure and death. Sudden death is a common outcome.

Image Credit: Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock.com

Epidemiology

Chagas disease is on the World Health Organizations list of neglected diseases because it predominantly affects poor people in rural areas of Latin America, and because it has received little attention from pharmaceutical research and development.

Over 6 million people worldwide have Chagas disease, the majority of which reside in Latin America. In the United States, many immigrants were infected as children or young adults while living in Latin America. Estimates suggest that over 300,000 Latin American immigrants in the U.S. have Chagas disease.

However, it is important to note that kissing bugs also inhabit the entire southern half of the U.S., and Chagas disease has existed in the U.S. for centuries. While Chagas is often considered a foreign, exotic disease of the tropics, this characterization is inaccurate.

Dr. Sheba Meymandi (Olive View UCLA Medical Centre): Chagas, a Neglected Disease in the US Play

The importance of early detection

Since the screening of the blood supply began in 2007, many infected individuals have been identified who never lived in or traveled to Latin America. The extent of the disease in the U.S.-born population is unknown because there is no routine screening outside of blood donations.

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Individuals from certain areas of Latin America are at higher risk, though, because rural housing construction, which typically utilizes natural materials such as mud and thatch, and insect behavior there cause higher rates of transmission.

Studies in Argentina demonstrated that treatment with antiparasitic medications could halt or significantly delay the complications of advanced chronic Chagas disease. Unfortunately, the results of a major clinical trial, BENEFIT, show that once such complications have developed, treatment may no longer be as effective. This makes it essential to identify patients early, while they are still in the indeterminate stage.

Yet, this is challenging because people in the indeterminate phase feel perfectly healthy and do not perceive a need to get screened or treated for a life-threatening disease. Furthermore, Chagas disease has been severely neglected by public health systems in Latin America and the United States.

There is an absence of health education campaigns about Chagas disease in the U.S., and we have found that the vast majority of people at risk of the disease have never even heard of it. This is compounded by low awareness of Chagas disease among medical professionals.

Most U.S. physicians do not consider it in their differential diagnosis, even if patients are from highly endemic areas. Even if patients have been diagnosed, U.S. physicians are rarely up to date with treatment guidelines and may operate under the assumption that there is no treatment for the disease.

Patients who are diagnosed after giving blood often go from specialist to specialist in a vain effort to obtain treatment, losing months or years which could mean the difference between life and death.

Changing the outlook for Chagas disease

The Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease at the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles was founded in 2007. As a cardiologist, I frequently noticed Latin American patients with an unusual pathology which, upon further investigation, turned out to be Chagas disease.

Because there have been no major on-the-ground studies to provide evidence of the existence of Chagas disease in the U.S., we conducted a long-term screening campaign in Los Angeles. We collaborated with churches and other organizations serving the Latin American community and provided free screening at health fairs.

This was critical to our success because this community is highly marginalized and faces a host of barriers to accessing healthcare. A recently published study details the results of this campaign which found that of the 4,755 individuals we screened, 1.24% had Chagas disease.

Patients with a positive diagnosis were given a full cardiologic examination that included an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and Holter, and, dependent on age and clinical status, offered treatment.

The recommended first-line treatment can cause side effects, particularly in older patients. People older than 60 are usually not treated, partly because of the severity of the side effects and partly because they may no longer need antiparasitic treatment if they have not yet developed complications.

We have a simple protocol in place for managing the side effects which involves lowering doses and/or using supportive medications. Most side effects are mild.

Our research shows that roughly one out of every 100 Latin American individuals in Los Angeles has Chagas disease. Furthermore, there is an unknown number of U.S.-born cases that are infected locally by U.S. vectors.

Early detection and treatment of these individuals can halt or significantly delay cardiomyopathy and other life-threatening complications associated with Chagas disease, thereby preventing a substantial burden of morbidity and mortality.

Moreover, a recent study in Europe shows screening for Chagas disease in primary care facilities is highly cost-effective. Efforts need to be made to raise awareness of Chagas disease, both in the general public and the medical community so that the neglect of this disease in the U.S. and elsewhere can finally be converted into proactive, compassionate care.

Dr. Sheba K. Meymandi

Director of the Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center

Dr. Meymandi is the director of the Center of Excellence for Chagas Disease at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, California, which opened in 2007 as the first U.S. clinic for the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas disease.

The Center has since diagnosed and treated over 50 patients and conducts free comprehensive mobile medical evaluations in a grassroots effort to educate about the disease and detect cases early. It also performs important clinical research into rates of prevalence, conduction abnormalities, pregnant women, and congenital transmission.

Such research aims, in part, to identify potential markers for those at risk of sudden death due to Chagas. Dr. Meymandi is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLAs David Geffen School of Medicine, the Associate Program Director of the UCLA Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program, and the Director of Cardiovascular Research and Invasive Cardiology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center.

She graduated from George Washington University School of Medicine and has a Bachelors in Psychobiology from the University of Southern California. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the UCLA-San Fernando Valley Program.

Further Reading

Disclaimer: This article has not been subjected to peer review and is presented as the personal views of a qualified expert in the subject in accordance with the general terms and condition of use of the News-Medical.Net website.
From Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie, arsenic is often the poison of choice in popular whodunits. But in ultra-low dosage, and in the right form, this naturally occurring chemical element can be a potent force against cancer.

Arsenic trioxide for years has been used to fend off a rare subtype of blood cancer known as acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Now, in a study led by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), this anti-cancer agent is being considered for use against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive type of deadly brain tumors. The study was published today in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

"Our findings show that, for some patients, arsenic trioxide could be a powerful therapy that could extend the lives of certain glioblastoma patients by as much as three to four times the median expectation," said Dr. Harshil Dhruv, an Assistant Professor in TGen's Cancer and Cell Biology Division and one of the study's authors.

Median survival of glioblastoma patients is only 15 months, and survival statistics have improved only minimally over the past three decades. An estimated 17,000 Americans will die this year of brain and other nervous system cancers.

The origin of this new study had all the serendipitous turns of a good mystery novel.

TGen had recently identified arsenic trioxide among a library of 650 compounds that could potentially be used against different subtypes of glioblastoma. While Dr. Dhruv was presenting these findings at a scientific conference, he met Dr. Jonathan Bell, who at the time was a graduate student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Northwestern University. He described his work, showing resistance of a specific subtype of GBM against arsenic trioxide. In two clinical studies they examined, the therapeutic effects of arsenic trioxide were initially dismissed. But as Drs. Dhruv and Bell drilled down into the studies, they discovered that a specific subtype of GBM cells were more responsive to the arsenic trioxide treatment.

Northwestern was involved in one of the clinical trials, which tested the efficacy of arsenic trioxide in combination with temozolomide (TMZ) and radiation in treatment of GBM. Researchers at Northwestern were able to share biospecimens from their clinical trial with TGen.

"We were then able to identify these particular patients as having the same genomic signatures as those we had tentatively identified in our computer and laboratory screenings of potential therapies," Dr. Dhruv said.

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The next step will be to validate the findings published in Molecular Cancer Research by initiating a new clinical trial specifically designed to match arsenic trioxide with glioblastoma patients that have a specific genomic signature, according to Dr. Michael Berens, a TGen Deputy Director and Professor in TGen's Cancer and Cell Biology Division, and one of the study's authors. These patients also would receive TMZ, which is the current standard-of-care drug given to GBM patients.

"This is an amazing convergence of complimentary thinking," Dr. Berens said. "We tripped over a clinical partner who said, 'Oh, we've already done the (preliminary) clinical trial.' "

"We sought to identify compounds that specifically disrupt the growth of different GBM molecular subtypes," said Dr. Leonidas Platanias, Director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, and the study's senior author.

Researchers reassessed the earlier clinical trials and zeroed in on mesenchymal (MES) and proneural (PN) glioma subtypes, whose genomic signatures differ according to distinct underlying misbehaving genes.

"Arsenic trioxide was found to be the most potent compound in non-MES GBM cells. We found that PN GBM patients responded better to ATO (arsenic trioxide) than any other subtypes as demonstrated by longer overall and progression-free survival," said Dr. Bell, the study's lead author.

Researchers identified two additional advantages of using arsenic trioxide.

First, it is a small molecule able to penetrate the network of ultra-small capillaries -- the blood-brain barrier -- that surrounds the brain and spinal fluid and protects the central nervous system from most toxins and spikes in hormones. It is this barrier that prevents most other anti-cancer drugs from attacking brain tumors.

Second, its costs are minimal, since its source material, arsenic, is abundant in nature.

"Rather than treat all patients, we want to design a prospective clinical trial that we can enrich for those patients whose genomic signatures indicate they would be the best candidates for success," Dr. Dhruv said. "This would be a biomarker-driven, precision-medicine clinical trial for glioblastoma -- a way to match the right drug to the right patient."

Source: https://www.tgen.org/home/news/2017-media-releases/tgen-finds-arsenic-might-help-brain-cancer-patients.aspx#.WeY00YZrzUo
For many of the 2 million Americans addicted to opioids, getting good treatment and getting off prescription painkillers or heroin may seem like a far-off dream.

But a new study suggests the answer could lie much closer to home, in the primary care clinics where they go for basic medical care.

Evidence compiled by a University of Michigan team suggests that primary care physicians and their existing teams of nurses, medical assistants, social workers and pharmacists can indeed provide effective addiction care using anti-opioid medication.

The researchers hope their findings will encourage more general practitioners to start offering medication-assisted therapy or MAT. They've published the new systematic review of the peer-reviewed evidence in PLoS One as a way of showing which elements worked for primary care physicians and clinics who did try providing MAT.

A drug to get off drugs

MAT combines a medication called buprenorphine with counseling. It has a track record of success for easing the withdrawal from opioid dependence - but it requires frequent check-in visits, drug monitoring tests and prescription refills for months or even years on end.

In addition, the federal government requires that physicians take an eight-hour course to before they can prescribe buprenorphine. All of this contributes to a current environment where few primary care physicians provide buprenorphine as addiction treatment.

Use of MAT has increased in recent years, driven by the opioid crisis and MAT coverage through Medicaid expansion in many states. The federal government has increased the number of MAT patients that one physician can treat at any given time. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants can also get permission to prescribe MAT in states where they have prescribing privileges.

But the number of people who need addiction care still far outpaces the number who can provide MAT using buprenorphine or its more-intensive and more-restricted cousin methadone.

"There is a major need to do this," says Pooja Lagisetty, M.D., M.Sc., the study's lead author and a University of Michigan primary care doctor who provides MAT to her own patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. "It's hard to convince primary care physicians to do this work when they're already busy and they don't have additional addiction-related training or experience. But if we can learn from others and find a way to offer physicians logistical support, then maybe it's possible."

Studying the studies

Lagisetty and her colleagues looked globally for common elements in successful primary care MAT models. They compiled data from 41 studies conducted in several U.S. states, as well as Great Britain, Australia, Canada, Ireland, France and Italy.

In general, they find that patients had the highest chance of successful opioid addiction treatment when their primary care physician worked with a team of non-physicians to deliver MAT.

The successful models featured coordinated care, in which physicians handled the patient encounters where their skills were required or most needed, and other team members helped patients between doctor appointments. Nurse case managers, who handled duties including regular phone calls to track patients' symptoms and cravings, were a common element. A few care models were based solely on a physician handling all MAT duties.

"Multidisciplinary teams featured in the bulk of the studies we evaluated, though every one took a different approach and many ended up with similar results," says Lagisetty, a clinical lecturer in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center, and a member of U-M's Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

A large majority of the sites included in the studies did not have a specific addiction focused counselor. "This suggests primary care clinics have a bit of 'wiggle room' to use the resources and staff already available at their respective clinics to manage all the components of MAT," Lagisetty notes.

Best of the best

The researchers zeroed in on 7 studies that showed the best success - with 60 percent or more of patients staying on their MAT regimen for three months or more, and a good score on the standard scale the U-M researchers developed.

Lagisetty notes that many of the clinics in these best studies did not have an addiction psychologist or other addiction counselor as part of their teams. Many, but not all, required patients to sign contracts pledging they would avoid opioids.

The new analysis also shows that primary clinics do not need to give the first dose of buprenorphine to patients while they're physically in the clinic.

These "inductions", which occur hours after the patient has stopped using opioids and is beginning to feel the symptoms of withdrawal, can occur at home as long as the patient has someone to call about any cravings or symptoms they may feel after starting to take the medication.

She hopes the new systematic review of the evidence for primary care MAT will spur more clinics to consider offering the option. She also points to a recent Annals of Internal Medicine scoping review that evaluated the different models for MAT laid out by local and state government agencies.

Primary care teams already provide intensive treatment for other conditions and medication regimens, Lagisetty observes. These range from anticoagulation medicine for people with high risk of blood clots, to managing heart failure patients and people on insulin for diabetes.

Such patients also often require checks between physician appointments while they are being stabilized. Non-physician team members help with dose monitoring and frequent check-ins by phone or in person with the patient. "We can build upon these existing resources to similarly treat patients with MAT," she says.

In fact, Lagisetty and two of her co-authors on the new paper, Amy Bohnert, Ph.D., and Michele Heisler, M.D., M.S., published a paper last year setting forth the anticoagulation clinic model as a model for MAT. She notes that anticoagulation medications don't come with the kind of federal regulations that buprenorphine has.

"We already have studies showing that MAT in primary care can produce similar results to providing it in specialty care settings, and patients might be more willing to seek help in a primary care setting because of the lack of stigma and the ability to address their other health concerns," she concludes. "Doing MAT in primary care makes sense.

"I don't think that many primary care physicians went into medicine with a desire to focus on treating addiction," she concedes. "However, opioid addiction is increasingly becoming common in our practices and our patients are struggling to find help. Primary care doctors don't need to all be treating 100 patients. It can just be five. We should just have the medication in our tool box and be able to screen and potentially treat patients in our own setting."
An emergency blood transfusion mandates matching of the blood types so that the donor and the recipient are compatible in their blood types. There is no other matching between the blood bag and the recipient  race, ethnicity, religion, gender etc.

A new study however finds that gender of the donor and recipient should be matched. This is the first time that a study claims there could be a mismatch if a male person receives blood from a woman who has been pregnant before. The study was published yesterday (17th of October 2017) in the JAMA - The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Blood donation. Image Credit: Panyawat Bootanom / Shutterstock

The team of researchers included thousands of transfusion patients in the Netherlands and noted that men under the age of 50 years were 1.5 times more likely to die within three years, if they had received a red blood cell transfusion from a female who has been pregnant before. This translates into 2 percent overall risk of death annually they find. The team of researchers worked closely with the American Red Cross to arrive to this conclusion.

They added however that this was not yet a mandate and a definitive finding and should be treated with caution. However experts believe that once out, this study could have long term consequences in terms of how donor and recipient blood is matched and transfused worldwide.

Gustaf Edgren, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute and a hematologist at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, in an editorial accompanying the paper said that till date their own research has failed to find any difference that sex of the donor makes in the clinical outcome of the patient. He added that this study would have clinical relevance and what is happening here needs to be found out.

However the team of researchers who authored this study conducted four different studies to the same effect. Further the teams belonged to different countries and health set ups using different unique data collected by them. Each of the results were different but the results were all same  sex mismatch did not bode well for the recipient.

There were 31,118 patients who received a total of 59,320 red blood cell transfusions while being admitted in six Dutch hospitals between 2005 and 2015. Among the donors, only 6 percent were women who had been pregnant before they had donated the blood used for the transfusion. A further 6 percent of women had never been pregnant before donation of the blood.

In the study population a total of 3,969 blood recipients, or 13 percent deaths occurred during the study. If men had been given female blood, the death rate was 101 per 1000 recipients in a year. When men received blood from other men, the death risk was 80 deaths per 1000 recipients and the death risk was 78 per 1000 recipients if the men had received blood from a woman who had never been pregnant.

Among women recipients of the blood the death risk was 74 deaths per 1000 recipients annually when the blood came from a previously pregnant woman and 62 per 1000 yearly if the blood came from a male donor.

Henrik Bjursten, a professor in the department of cardiothoracic surgery, anesthesia and intensive care at Lund University/Skane University Hospital in Stockholm, who assisted in the study, said that male-to-female and vice versa transfusions are not likely to have good outcomes. He added that the possible mechanism behind this is not clear and that needs to be found out. He explained that his own experience with cardiac surgery patients who received blood from the opposite sex has been similar as this study concludes. He noted that if there is actual harm, we cannot conduct human clinical trials where one group is given a sex mismatched blood transfusion  that would be unethical.

One of the reasons why men do not respond well to blood of women who have been pregnant could be some immune factor that the women develop in their blood. This immune factor could be making the male recipients body reject the donated red blood cells especially among younger males.

Females who have had sons could have developed certain antibodies to the Y chromosomes in the male DNA of their unborn sons. This could be part of an immune reaction during pregnancy. This could be the factor that was interfering with the recipients blood later when the blood is transfused. However, this study did not have the information about the gender of the child the women donors had borne. Thus the theory could not be verified. Senior author of this study Rutger Middelburg of Leiden University Medical Center, also agreed with this explanation but added that this was not yet proved.

Mary ONeill, interim chief medical officer of the American Red Cross, said in a statement that this study needs confirmation as conflicting studies also existAs further research is required, we do not anticipate a change to the standard blood donation criteria or current conservative transfusion practices at this time.

The Red Cross will closely examine subsequent studies on this subject to ensure the ongoing safety and availability of the blood supply.
For men who have sex with men in the UK, a programme that involved providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment for HIV could be cost effective and cost saving finds a new study. The economic evaluation was made by a team led by Valentina Cambiano, of University College London and published in the latest issue of Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The team performed an elaborate analysis by assuming various scenarios when it comes to use of PrEP in homosexual men. They altered drug prices, dosing of the PrEP, alterations in the sexual behaviors of the individuals. In each of these assumptions they noted that PrEP was cost saving and cost effective. The only change with each of these scenarios, they write, is the amount of money the NHS would save if they incorporate PrEP in their programmes. Valentina Cambiano said that there was no doubt that PrEP worked both in terms of health benefits and in terms of cost savings. The final result Cambiano said was lower number of men needing lifelong HIV treatment.

This said, the authors agree that initiating and incorporating PrEP into NHS would be a cost consideration. There would be initial costs but in four decades, they explain, the savings would be evident. The savings would be clearer earlier if generic medications are allowed making process more affordable.

PrEP, it was agreed would not be provided to men who were having anal sex with a single HIV positive male partner who had very low or undetectable viral load in their blood. PrEP would be provided before and after sex that has shown to reduce HIV infections in 86% individual cases. The incidence of HIV among men who were eligible but were not taking PrEP, was 2 percent as shown from other studies. PrEP users are to be tested for HIV every three months. PrEP costs 4331 per person annually while HIV treatment costs 6288 per person yearly.

For this study the team of researchers created a mathematical model to estimate the final costs incurred. They assessed how many cases of HIV could be prevented and the number of additional years the men could live in good health. The assessment was done among homosexual men if there is incorporation of PrEP in 2016. This was compared with a scenario where PrEP was not part of the system.

Results from this study showed that around 725,000 homosexual men in UK would be eligible for PrEP. Of these initially only an estimated 4000 men would begin PrEP, the study noted. These numbers are expected to rise to 15000 men in 2030. All these men by then would have had taken an average of 4.5 years of PrEP. An estimated 40000 individuals would have taken PrEP by 2030, the study estimated.

The number of new HIV infections in the next 80 years would be 25 percent less than the current expected numbers if PrEP was introduced, they found. An average of five healthy life years would be added with each of these HIV infections that could be averted.

In total 220,000 healthy life years would be added if PrEP were to be introduced. In the next thirty years the yearly spending on HIV would rise from 450 million in 2016 to around 850 million if PrEP were not introduced. 64 billion would be spent in the next 80 years if PrEP did not come into the picture, they warn. During this time the spending would be lower at 56 billion if PrEP were to be introduced.

The authors conclude in their study, that on analyzing the economic benefits of introducing PrEP among men having sex with men in the UK is cost-saving and leads to health benefits, caused by a substantial reduction in HIV incidence among these individuals.

The study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research and Merck Sharp & Dohme.

PrEP

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP is given to persons who do not have HIV but are at risk of HIV because they are exposed to it. They need to take a pill every day containing two medicines - tenofovir and emtricitabine (brand name Truvada). If taken regularly, it can stop HIV infection from taking root in the exposed person. It is cited as a powerful HIV prevention tool by the CDC and is more effective when combined with condom use. Those taking this pill regimen however need to take it regularly and get tested for HIV every three months.
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Before the ceasefire on Feb 24, Pakistan resorted to over 4,000 border violations

Amidst ceasefire claims, Pakistan continues to keep J&K on the boil

664 ceasefire violations this year in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan: MHA

No ceasefire violation along LoC in Kashmir since February agreement

4 civilians injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Four civilians were injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Balakote sector of Poonch on Wednesday.

Houses near Line of Control were damaged due to repeated ceasefire violations targetting civilians in Poonch. Residents say 'Pakistan needs to stop targeting civilians'.

Cars were also damaged in ceasefire violation in Balakote sector. "Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district," the spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote, Manjakote areas, a police officer said.

The latest ceasefire came days after four members of a family, including two girls were injured in a Pakistani shelling in Poonch district last Saturday.

The ceasefire violations, which amounted to 228 in 2016, have reached 503 this year (till October 5).

(With agency inputs)
Himachal was valued less on strength, more on Parliament seats before: PM Modi

BJP announces list of candidates for Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released the list of 68 candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal would be contesting from Sujanpur assembly seat. In the 2012 assembly elections, Dhumal had contested from Hamirpur seat and won by a margin of 9,302 votes.

Ratan Singh Pal will be contesting from Arki seat from where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is likely to contest. Pramod Sharma will contest from Shimla (Rural) constituency. Shimla Rural seat is at present held by Virbhadra Singh.

The Election Commission (EC) on October 12 announced elections in Himachal Pradesh. The voting will take place on November 9 and the results will be declared on December 18. The term of the current assembly ends on January 7, 2018.

While the main contest is considered between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, the CPI(M), which has so far had a minuscule representation in the legislative assembly, is keen on putting up a fight. The state unit of the CPI(M) had on October 9 released a list of 14 candidates for the elections. The list included names of the former mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Sanjay Chauhan and Singha, a former MLA.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 16:31 [IST]
BJP MP Vinay Katiyar says Taj Mahal used to be Shiva temple that Mughals destroyed

India

pti-PTI

Lucknow, Oct 18: Giving a new twist to the controversy surrounding the Taj Mahal, Vinay Katiyar, a BJP MP from Kanpur, claimed that it was Lord Shiva's temple called 'Tejo Mahal' which was converted into a mausoleum by Shahjahan.

He, however, added that he does not want the monument as famous as this, which is among the wonders of the world, to be demolished. He also has no objection to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visiting the Taj Mahal to review tourism schemes.

"It was Tejo Mahal, Lord Shiva's temple, where Shahjahan buried his wife and turned it into a mausoleum," said, Katiyar who had been in the forefront of the Ram temple movement of Ayodhya. "It was constructed by Hindu kings, the rooms and carvings there prove that it was a Hindu monument... it has also been termed as one by historian PN Oak," he said about the Taj.

He said like a Shiva temple, water drips from the ceiling in the Taj Mahal, which is not a case in any mausoleum anywhere and is like that only on a Shivlinga. "It was a famous monument and was grabbed by Shahjahan," Katiyar said.

"It was our temple but was made a mausoleum as they had more power. But it is a grand monument and national heritage... people come to see it and so it should be kept safe and secure," he said. Katiyar, who is also an accused in the Babri case, said no political meaning should be derived from today's grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya by the Adityanath government.

"The aim is to develop Ayodhya...the effort is to recreate the scene of Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya from exile," Katiyar said, adding there is no politics behind the function as seen by the opposition. On the issue of Ram temple construction, Katiyar hoped that the court verdict will come in a year's time as the hearing is being conducted on a day-to-day basis.

"I hope some way will be found to construct Ram temple or else we can construct it on the lines of Somnath temple...We will look at the alternatives as options like dialogue or (constructing) on the lines of Somnath temple are open...but we want temple," he said. The stone carving work for the first storey is over and that of the second storey is on, he said, adding, "As soon as we get land, we can start construction."

PTI
BSNL orders compulsory retirement of employee-woman activist who tried to enter Ayyappa temple

BSNL cancels 4G tender after DoT directs it not to use Chinese telecom gear

Centre mandates all ministries, public depts, CPSUs to use BSNL, MTNL services

BSNL Diwali 2017 offer: Unlimited calling, data on Bharat phone for Rs 97, know how to avail offer

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

As part of the BSNL Diwali 2017 offer, the telecom firm has launched unlimited calling and a data plan for Rs 97 a month for the buyers of Micromax's 4G VoLTE enabled Bharat phone. Priced at Rs 2,200, the phone will support 3G connection as well.

"I am glad that BSNL has come with 2 new schemes. This will not only increase BSNL subscribers but also strengthen their financial position," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said while launching the service.

"This is step to expand digital India mission," he said.

"We are proud that we are partnering with Micromax, a home grown player on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras 2017.

This will connect the unconnected masses in rural area at very affordable rate," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said, while announcing the agreement with Micromax.

BSNL, which operates across the country except Delhi and Mumbai, has over 98 million mobile subscribers and 16 million landline customers.

Micromax Co-founder Rahul Sharma said that BSNL will provide unlimited calling and data along with free incoming and outgoing calls during roaming, under this partnership.

"The phone will cost Rs 2,200 and it's effective price will be cheaper than that of competition in the market," Sharma said.

He said that the phone has dual sim.

Shrivastava said the telecom corporation is in the process of starting 4G services from January 2018.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 9:26 [IST]
Gurung breaks radio silence, floats conspiracy theory

India

oi-Amitava

By Amitava

First time after the shootout between supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and security forces on October 13, Gurung floated a conspiracy theory through an audio clip on Wednesday.

The clash on October 13 in the Singla Forest bordering Sikkim had left Sub Inspector of Police Amitava Malik dead from alleged cover fire by Gurung's supporters covering Gurung's escape.

The police had recovered a large cache of arms (including AK47s,)ammunition and explosives. According to the police Gurung had managed to flee by crossing the Chota Rangeet river into the jungles neighbouring Sikkim.

Gurung breaking his radio silence on Wednesday, through an audio clip sent from an unknown destination claimed that the October 13 incident is part of a conspiracy by the West Bengal Government.

"They want to eliminate me and derail the Gorkhaland agitation. They claim that I had setup camp on the riverbed along with Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP.) All this is nothing but a conspiracy" stated Gurung.

The GJM President also dubbed the recovery of arms and ammunition as a conspiracy. "The police have planted the weapons that had been surrendered by the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants just to defame me. It is all part of the conspiracy" alleged Gurung.

The GJM Chief claimed that all this was done just to prevent him from coming out in public. "On October 12, I had stated that I will make a public appearance on October 30. Just to prevent me from coming out in public the October 13 incident was orchestrated by the State Government. I will definitely come out and meet the public" claimed Gurung.

Incidentally Gurung has been implicated in numerous cases and also faces charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA.) There is a Look-out notice and arrest warrant in his name.

Gurung is on the run and police have launched a man hunt for him. He further complained of police excess.

"The State Government has defamed the Central Armed Police Force also. They are indulging in torching houses of innocents, theft and are beating up innocent people" alleged Gurung.

Meanwhile the Calcutta High Court has stayed the withdrawal of Central Armed Police Forces from the Hills of North Bengal. There are 12 companies of CRPF (including 3 Mahila companies) and 3 companies of SSB deployed in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

The Union Home Ministry had ordered the withdrawal of 10 companies of CAPF from October 16 out of the 15 companies deployed. The remaining forces would continue till October 20.

Following vehement opposition from the State Government, the Union Home Ministry decided to pull out 7 companies instead of 10.

The State then moved the court against the order. The Calcutta High Court putting a stay directed the Centre to file an affidavit by October 23 and directed the State to file a reply on October 26. The matter will come up for hearing on October 27.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 18:43 [IST]
How scam, mass cheating underscore crisis in Indian education system

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Oct 18: Is the Indian education system facing a serious crisis which is proving detrimental to the overall learning of students? The answer is yes, if we go through a recent report prepared by the World Bank that cited how instances of scam and mass cheating are causing great disservice to the education of our children.

The World Development Report 2018: 'Learning to Realise Education's Promise' stated that Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh and mass copying in Bihar bring forth the overall learning crisis among the children in India.

The report released last month cited the example of Vyapam scam to showcase the existence of massive amount of corruption and political interference in the Indian education system.

As per the World Bank report, in the Vyapam scam, "senior politicians and government officials had allegedly set up a system allowing unqualified candidates to pay bribes... to receive high rankings in entrance tests for professional courses and jobs".

The scam has taken place under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government headed by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Madhya Pradesh. The opposition Congress has accused the BJP government in MP of giving shelter to corrupt politicians and bureaucrats involved in the scam.

While denying the charges, the BJP alleged that the roots of the Vyapam scam, which has also led to several deaths under mysterious circumstances, lie in the previous Congress government in the state.

In the report, the World Bank has also mentioned the instances of mass cheating, mostly reported from Bihar.

According to the World Bank, mass cheating is a curse in some Indian states where armed police are sometimes deployed in classrooms to explain how parents can also make it difficult to implement learning-focused policies.

"When parents help children to cheat, it becomes hard to measure student learning. In 2015, the global media broadcast images of families in Bihar handing cheat sheets to students taking exams," the report said.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 9:50 [IST]
Kejriwal now claims BJP offered to spare Sisodia, Jain if AAP backs out of Gujarat polls

AAP \"merely a party of UT Delhi\", only Cong can challenge BJP in Gujarat, HP: Azad

Is AAP taking advantage of Diwali to seek donation in the name of clean politics'?

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Oct 18: Diwali, the festival of lights, has got a great significance in the lives of Indians, especially the Hindus; nonetheless people belonging to all communities and religions take part in it in their own ways, making it the biggest festival in the country.

Diwali is not only the time to clean our houses and decorate them with lights and beautiful artifacts, but it is also the time when the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, is believed to bless her devotees.

So, taking inspirations from all sorts of Diwali-related beliefs, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the occasion of the festival on Wednesday launched a social media campaign on Twitter--#CleanPoliticsThisDiwali.

The AAP hashtag was trending on Twitter on Wednesday, where the political party tried to link Diwali with politics and asked its supporters to donate funds to help clean up "dirty politics" in the process.

The idea is definitely noble, especially at a time when politics has been badly infected by corruption, non-performance and unaccountability.

The occasion choosen by the AAP too is right, as Diwali is also about triumph of truth over evil as Lord Rama returned back to Ayodhya (his kingdom) after completing 14 years of banishment and killing Ravana.

But, in times of political uncertainty and untrustworthiness, the AAP too on many occasions have failed its voters by taking them for a ride.

The AAP, which came into formation after the anti-corruption crusade back in 2012, of late has strayed away from some of its core values, including eradicating corruption, as some of its own leaders were accused of corruption.

The AAP is also fast turning like other political parties as it has fallen victim to opportunism and the leaders of the party are always seen busy levelling charges against other parties and their leaders, instead of fulfilling their public duties.

While appealing to people to donate on the occasion of Diwali, AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in an appeal to donors wrote: "Political funding is one of the major root causes of corruption in India. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report, 80 per cent of political funding of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress is from unknown sources.

"It creates a government with vested interests, and its loyalty is always leaning towards their funding agencies instead of the welfare of aam aadmis (commoners) like us. This is probably why majority of our citizens are struggling for basic human necessities even after 70 years of independence."

"The AAP revolutionised the Indian political space with its commitment to deliver good governance. In Delhi, the AAP has brought major transformation in education and healthcare in just two-and-a-half years. It is time for the AAP to innovate in the field of political funding. We have to show to the rest of political parties that we can manage our organisational and political expenses without compromising on our integrity, commitments and values," he added.

Kejriwal informed that the party has formed an "outreach team" to connect, communicate and engage with its supporters and well-wishers.

"Its specific task is to create a culture of honest political funding, to ensure that the idea of clean alternate politics remains alive and can grow. This team will reach out to you to seek your support.

"I urge you to join the outreach team's efforts to solve the biggest source of corruption in India--political funding. All it will take is Rs 100 from each and every one of us! Pledge your support today to root out corruption from political funding in India," Kejriwal stated.

Fund Clean Politics this Diwali, Donate to AAP! #CleanPoliticsThisDiwali

Pledge your monthly donation : https://t.co/A9ah0KOKuP pic.twitter.com/vdiMFeFc5D  AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 18, 2017

Many on Twitter supported the campaign of the AAP and tweeted:

Only AAP asks donation because it fights for common people. Other parties don't need bez they work 4 corporates#CleanPoliticsThisDiwali  Amit Mishra (@Amitjanhit) October 18, 2017

I support #CleanPoliticsThisDiwali

Even I will tell everyone to donate few amount to @AamAadmiParty  vinayak tomar (@vinayak08tomar) October 18, 2017

However, critics of the AAP raised questions regarding the entire campaign:

#CleanPoliticsThisDiwali What a shame that AAP is asking money for its own party using Diwali as excuse. How about #PoliticsFreeDiwali?  Ayaan Gupta (@AyaanGuptaInd) October 18, 2017

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 12:06 [IST]
Blacklisting Mahmood blocked by China: The man who raised funds under garb of religion in India

One Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir

J&K: Police officer shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama

India

oi-Madhuri

A special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir police force was shot dead by terrorists in south Kashmir on Wednesday.

The incident took place at his residence in south Pulwama district's Tral. The ultras fired at SPO Haleem Gujjar at his residence in Gutroo village of Tral area, 36 kms from here, killing him on the spot, a police official said.

The militants escaped from the scene after carrying out the attack, he said, adding a manhunt has been launched for the assailants.

This comes two days after terrorists gunned down a former sarpanch in Shopian. The sarpanch's house was set on fire the next day.

OneIndia News
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

One Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir

PMs dream of development in J&K is becoming a reality: Puri

J&K: School teacher found dead with throat slit

India

pti-PTI

Srinagar, Oct 18: A school teacher's throat was found slit in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said. The police have a suspicion that terrorists may have murdered him.

Aijaz Ahmad Lone was found dead in Wathoo village of Shopian, a police official said.

"We are investigating the case," the official said.

Three terrorists were recently killed in a security operation inside the teacher's house.

The police say he was not an informer for any security agency and had no link with the security operation in his house.

PTI
JNU Admissions 2022: PG First merit list to be released today; how to check

JNU students upset over early morning hostel raid

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, October 18: JNU students claimed that early morning raidsthe authorities call it a check-are maligning the universitys scholars, especially its women.

Students alleged that a group of security personnel led by a lecturer entered the rooms of women and men students. Many girls found in boys rooms, a newspaper headline screamed.

The students claimed 20-25 security guards led by JNU academic Buddha Singh entered the rooms, including those in the womens hostels, on October 5.

The wardens of various hostels came for raids after 5 am. JNU being a residential campus has always maintained its character and built an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. But this raid was just the opposite.

The wardens didn't even knock, said former JNUSU general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty. Chakraborty also alleged that the raiding team entered the womens rooms when many students were sleeping.

Cupboards were opened and spot fines imposed on students found to be breaking hostel rules. Neither Vice-Chancellor M Jagadish Kumar nor Registrar Pramod Kumar commented on the issue when contacted by PTI.

Singh confirmed that the checks had taken place, but refused to elaborate further. The students believed the outcry in a section of the media that followed was part of an exercise that started last year.

Efforts are on to incite hatred against JNU," JNUSU general secretary Duggirala Srikrishna said, pointing out that last year there were stories about 3,000 used condoms being found in JNU every day.

"The RSS-BJP regime... has tried to malign JNU through fake stories of condoms, calling women students prostitutes as part of a #ShutDownJNU campaign," he said. According to the JNU hostel manual, only men can stay in the men's hostels and women in the women's wings.

They are required to return to their respective hostels by 11 pm. While the manual prohibits men from entering women's hostels, it only says that women are not allowed into the dining hall of the men's hostels.

Wardens from time to time check the ids of room occupants to see if there are unauthorised guests. A students' group called the Collective condemned the raid.

"While the issue of building more hostels on campus remains unresolved, students are being harassed and hostel rooms raided instead," it said on a social media site.

Residents of Periyar hostel passed a resolution demanding an explanation from the authorities on how the media was informed about the raid, while the hostel's elected representatives were kept in the dark.

The recent raid has earned the ire of the RSS-affiliated ABVP too. The students' group condemned the administration for the "highhandedness and moral policing" in the name of hostel checks and the subsequent media reports which it felt "covered the entire incident in a misogynistic and ludicrous manner".

JNU Teachers' Association president Ayesha Kidwai said the attacks were "nothing short of social terrorism".

Students said they were being targeted by a section of right-wing forces. Last year, when JNU was caught in a prolonged student protest, Haryana BJP leader Jawahar Yadav in a tweet drew a comparison between its students and sex workers.

"For the girls who are protesting in JNU, I only have one thing to say that prostitutes who sell their body are better than them because they at least don't sell their country," he tweeted.

Days after that, BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja said 3,000 used condoms were found every day in JNU, and "girls and boys dance naked" at cultural shows.

In April last year, some JNU teachers came up with a dossier alleging sex rackets on the campus.

PTI
Ready to quit cinema if it becomes hurdle to political career: Kamal Haasan

Chennai Rains: Kamal Haasan asks fans to help flood victims as his birthday gift

Kamal Haasan apologises for praising demonetisation, advises Modi to accept mistake

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Actor Kamal Haasan, who had initially hailed the Union Government's demonetisation move, has now apologised for backing the note ban.

In a column published in the Tamil magazine Anandavikatan, the 62-year-old actor said that if the Prime Minister accepts his mistake then he would salute him.

"Accepting mistakes and rectifying them is a sign of statesmanship," he is reported to have said.

In November, when Modi government banned Rs 500 and 1,000-rupee notes, Haasan had tweeted "Salute Mr. Modi. This move has to be celebrated across political party lines. Most importantly by earnest tax payers."

He also said that demonetisation was implemented in a wrong manner.

Haasan, who is harbouring political ambitions, had last month said, "Saffron is not my colour." A clear indication that he was not inclined towards supporting the BJP. He also met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and showed an inclination towards Left Parties.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 15:43 [IST]
'Why can't a Tipu Sultan statue be built?' Siddaramaiah attacks BJP

Former PM Deve Gowda pays tribute to Nehru, calls him 'true secular democrat'

'Kantara' box office: Even as Bollywood's Akshays and Ajays struggle, this one hits Rs 75-crore mark

KMF hikes price of Nandini milk, curd in Karnataka; check new rates

Mob attacks court commissioners on visit to illegal abattoirs in Bengaluru, 12 arrested

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Bengaluru police arrested 13 people in connection with the attack on Court Commissioners of the High Court appointed to inspect illegal slaughterhouses in the city.

A team of court commissioners, lawyers, police and members of a cows protection NGO, which had gone to check illegal abattoirs at Yelahanka New Town here, was attacked by a mob.

The team members were "heckled, chased, attacked and the windowpanes of police vehicles smashed" by the mob on Tuesday after it detected an illegal abattoir at Dodda Bettahalli, according to Kavitha Jain, a member of the Gau Gyan Foundation that works for the protection of cows and its progenies.

13 people arrested for rioting in connection with the attack on Court Commissioner in Bengaluru yesterday: Bengaluru Police pic.twitter.com/ediOGKDTzm  ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

The Commissioner had informed police that in Talghatatpura Police Station limits cattle were kept for purpose of slaughter.

Acting on information, police went to the spot and found a mob gathered there. Police asked for more personnel and rescued 3 animals, reported ANI.

A case was registered under the Cow Slaughter Act.

OneIndia News
Commuters' woes continue as MSRTC strike enters third day

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

With the talks between transport employees and the government on Wednesday remaining inconclusive, the strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) demading implementation of 7th pay commission entered its third day Thursday.

The Wednesday's meeting between MSRTC Unions and Gvoernment representatives is said to have lasted for almost eight hours.

The strike has caused great incovienience to the passengers who wanted to travel home for Diwali.

With the employees MSRTC beginning an indefinite strike from Monday midnight, the state Transport Minister Diwakar Raote on Tuesday said the strike was illegal.

More than 17 thousand buses run throughout the entire state, where about one lakh workers have gone on strike.

Avoid bus travel to Maharashtra: MSRTC indefinite strike begins

"All courts including labour court and industrial court has held this strike as illegal," news agency ANI quoted Raote as saying.

The MSRTC employees are on a strike demanding a pay hike. The employees are demanding implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and an interim hike of 25% till the recommendations are implemented. The government has agreed to an interim hike of 10% but unions are opposed to it.

"We have all sympathy with State Transport Employees but their demands for salary as per 7th Pay commission is not possible...Have offered to resolve the matter by talks. We are ready to nominate a committee to resolve issues," he added.

Parel bus stand which is otherwise crowded MSRTC caters to the transport needs of about 65 lakh passengers who travel by ST buses across the state. Of the 58,000 buses that run daily, only 681 trips were made in the entire day. Striking MSRTC employees All the major depots, including Mumbai Central, Kurla, Dadar and Borivli, among others, were shut as none of the buses operated. The MSRTC has, however, decided to refund money to those who had already reserved tickets during this period. Buses remained parked for the third day now The MSRTC has reported a loss of Rs 22 crore because of loss of revenue during the Diwali festive season as over one lakh employees have gone on strike.

(Images credit - ANI/Twitter)

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Raote met union members on Monday and they agreed that staff should get a pay hike. They set up a committee to recommend the nature of a hike keeping in mind the financial burden it will have on the state's coffers.

Police has increased security to prevent any untoward incident during the strike.

OneIndia News
Jharkhand crisis: UPA to stage protest across state on Nov 5 against 'attempts to destabilise govt'

No Aadhaar, no rice:Central team to probe death of Simdega girl

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, October 18: Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday said a central team will be sent to Jharkhand to investigate the death of 11-year-old Simdega girl allegedly due to starvation.

The state government has also been asked to submit a detailed report, he said. "If poor people die of hunger, it is a matter of concern.

We will be sending a central team probe the matter," Paswan told PTI. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has ordered a fresh probe in the matter and also announced Rs 50,000 as assistance to the girl's family.

The local activists had alleged that the girl died a fortnight ago after going without food for several days. They said her family's ration card was cancelled for not being linked to the Aadhaar number.

PTI
Pranab Mukherjee reveals why on two occasions he thought he would become PM

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Oct 18: Finally, the "mystery" as to whether former president Pranab Mukherjee ever wanted to become the Prime Minister of the country has been unveiled.

Now, we also know that Mukherjee, who was a part of the Congress for long before becoming the president of India back in 2012, also himself thought that he would become the PM on two occasions.

The former Union minister in his latest book--"Coalition Years: 1996-2012"--a memoir--revealed all these "mysteries" for the readers. The book was released recently in the national capital at a high-profile function attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh, among others.

Writing in his book, Mukherjee stated that he expected to be chosen as the PM on two occasions -- first in 2004 when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power, and later in 2012 ahead of the Presidential election.

The veteran Congress leader, Mukherjee, stated that after Congress president Gandhi named Singh as her choice for the PM, he was actually reluctant to join the government as a cabinet minister under Singh, who had been his junior when he was finance minister under Indira Gandhi.

However, he rubbishes the perception that Singh was an "accidental PM".

"A strong nationalist, a man of courage and conviction, Singh was certainly not an 'accidental PM'. I am convinced that the future will judge Singh in a different light as (former PM) PV (Narasimha Rao) is assessed today," Mukherjee says.

After Gandhi declined the UPA leaders' proposal to become PM on May 18, 2004, "there was intense speculation in the party and the media about her choice", Mukherjee writes.

"Within the Congress party, the consensus was that the incumbent must be a political leader with experience in party affairs and administration... The prevalent expectation was that I would be the next choice for PM after Gandhi declined," the Congress stalwart writes.

He says that this expectation was possibly based of the fact that "I had extensive experience in government while Singh's vast experience was as a civil servant with five years as a reformist finance minister".

Finally, Gandhi named Singh as her choice and he accepted this.

"Some media commentators reported that I would not join the government because I could not work under Singh, who had been my junior when I was the finance minister. The fact was that I was reluctant to join the government, and informed Gandhi accordingly," Mukherjee says.

Speaking at the release of the book recently, Singh said Mukherjee had every reason to feel that he was better qualified than him for the PM's post.

He also said that contrary to what people may say or write, the two had no serious differences or friction on any matter during the UPA era.

Mukherjee elaborates that once he joined the government at Gandhi's insistence, he enjoyed good rapport with Singh who "seemed to depend" on him.

"She (Sonia Gandhi) insisted that I should join the government since I would be vital to its functioning and also be of support to Dr Singh. As it turned out, Dr Singh would talk to me on all important issues and seemed to depend on me. We shared a good working relationship," Mukherjee says.

The second occasion when Mukherjee expected he would be asked to head the government came just ahead of his nomination as the presidential candidate.

After a meeting with Gandhi on June 2, 2012, when the Congress president discussed with him probable presidential candidates -- including him -- Mukherjee "returned with a vague impression that she (Sonia Gandhi) might wish to consider Manmohan Singh as the UPA presidential nominee".

"I thought that if she selected Singh for the presidential office, she may choose me as the PM. I had heard that she had given this formulation a serious thought while on a holiday in the hills," he writes.

As Mukherjee has revealed everything in details in the book, now all the speculations as why he never became the PM would come to a rest.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 13:26 [IST]
Sushma Swaraj asks Indian mission to grant medical visa to Pak boy

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Oct 18: Continuing her humanitarian gesture, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj directed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to issue visa to a Pakistani child for medical treatment in India.

The child's father, Kashif Chacha, had requested Swaraj on Twitter to grant medical visa for treatment of Abdullah, saying he needed post-liver transplant evaluation in India.

"The treatment of your child must not suffer for want of medicine. I have asked Indian High Commission to issue medical visa. @ChachaKashif," the minister said on the micro-blogging site. Kashif had said the child's medicines were about to finish and he needed immediate medical consultation in India.

In another tweet, Swaraj said medical visa has also been approved to a Pakistani woman, who wants to undergo liver surgery in India. Earlier, the woman's son, Rafique Memon, had requested Swaraj's intervention for granting visa to his mother.

Swaraj also responded positively to a request by Nazir Ahmed that his eight-year-old child Mohammad Ahmed is awaiting medical visa for a year. "We will issue visa to facilitate treatment of your 8 year old child in India," she said.

PTI
19th CPC meet: Xi Jinping vows to defeat Taiwan's bid for independence

International

pti-PTI

Beijing, October 18: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday offered to extend the 'one-country, two systems' model of Hong Kong and Macao to Taiwan to achieve "peaceful reunification" with the mainland, but vowed to defeat it's bid for independence.

Beijing claims the breakaway province of Taiwan to be part of the mainland that must be reunified with it, even by the use of force.

"We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," Xi said addressing the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) here.

To resolve the Taiwan question, "we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country two systems", Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC, said in his address advocating the Hong Kong and Macao model of integration with China.

"Recognise the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides (Taiwan and China) both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony was reunited with China in 1997 under the 'one country, two systems formula'. Macao, a former Portuguese colony was reunified with China in 1999 under the same principles.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region have been granted some degree of autonomy to decide on issues other than national defence.

Under the principle, each of the two regions could continue to have its own political system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including external relations with foreign countries.

After improvement in relations between China and Taiwan in the last few years, tensions surfaced again as the current Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen had scaled down ties with Beijing to maintain Taiwanese independent identity.

In his address to the CPC Congress, Xi said: "we ... are ready to share development opportunities on the mainland with our Taiwan compatriots first."

China will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the well-being of Taiwan compatriots, he said.

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.

PTI
India's stand on Rohingyas gracious so far but housing them would be risky

The Rohingya influx continues as Tripura police nets seven of them

Drone footage showcases how Rohingyas are fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Dhaka, Oct 18: The mammoth Rohingya refugee crisis, which continues to witness thousands of the minority Muslims from the northern Rakhine state of Myanmar fleeing to Bangladesh on a daily basis, has been captured by a drone footage shot by the officials of the United Nations (UN).

The drone footage showcases how thousands of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing large-scale violence and persecution in Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh to save their lives.

Already more than half a million Rohingyas are living in squalid and overcrowded camps in Bangladesh to escape large-scale violence in their homeland.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) video shot on Monday shows thousands upon thousands of Rohingya Muslims trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees in the footage stretches for a few kilometers.

Witnesses say that a new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands of newcomers stretching for several kilometers near one border crossing on Tuesday.

Watch the video below:

Several said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields. Local government administrator Mohammad Mikaruzzman in Bangladesh said on Tuesday that he heard that some 20,000 people have arrived since Sunday crossing the border on foot or by boat at several points.

According to the UN, at least 582,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar on August 25.

The exodus has continued, with a few small breaks, over the last eight weeks. The new arrivals, almost all terrified and starving, have described scenes of incredible violence with army troops and mobs of Buddhist locals attacking Rohingya homes.

The UN has described the violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state as "textbook ethnic cleansing." More recent refugees have also said the Rohingya were being starved in a bid to make them leave.

A woman who spoke to Associated Press on Tuesday after her arrival in Bangladesh said they had no food to eat.

"We came here two nights ago with lot of difficulties. It took us eight days to reach here," said Anjuma, who gave just one name.

Meanwhile, at a time when security agencies are casting aspersions on Rohingya refugees, citing their possible links with terror outfits, a senior official from Bangladesh stated that the refugees "can't be termed as terrorists".

"60 per cent refugees (Rohingyas) are ladies, children and elderly. With such a huge population, they can't be termed as terrorists," Bangladesh's High Commissioner to India, Syed Muazzem Ali, told reporters at Foreign Correspondents' Club in Delhi on Monday.

OneIndia News
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats

US judge blocks latest version of Trump travel ban

International

pti-PTI

Washington, October 18: Hours before another version of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order on immigration was due to go into full effect, a US federal judge has barred the White House from implementing it.

The decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii -- which the White House signaled it would appeal -- marks the latest blow to Trump's long-running efforts to restrict entry of travelers from targeted countries into the United States.

Watson said the third rendition of the travel ban -- covering people from six mainly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and some officials from Venezuela -- could not be justified under law.

In his decision, Watson wrote the ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specific countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.'"

The ruling means the Trump administration could again ask the Supreme Court to decide whether his immigration orders are legal.

The newest order was announced last month to replace an expiring 90-day temporary ban on travelers from the Muslim- majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The September decree removed Sudan from the list, but added Chad and North Korea for full bans and Venezuela for a ban limited to certain classes of officials.

The White House justified the measure as needed to protect US national security -- but critics said it appeared virtually the same as the original order of January 27. Courts shot that version down saying it targeted Muslims, violating the US constitutional protections for religious freedom.

A second version was only slightly adjusted and was quickly tied up in similar legal wrangling.

In June, the Supreme Court accepted to review the case but let the 90-day ban go mostly into effect in the meantime. When the ban expired, the court said there was nothing to rule on.

Trump went forward with a new version with no expiry date, tacking on North Korea and Venezuela to the list of targeted countries and implying the updated measure did not simply target Muslim countries.

But Watson -- who also issued freezes on the first two attempts -- said the order does not improve US security, since individuals who pose risks can already be denied entry under existing law.

The order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a manner antithetical to US laws "and the founding principles of this nation," he wrote.

Watson placed a freeze on the ban on lingtravelers from the six countries but allowed it to be implemented on North Korea and Venezuela. North Korea sent only a handful of people to the United States last year while Venezuelan officials facing difficulty in travelling to the US sue to sanctions.

PTI
Man Booker Prize 2017: Who is George Saunders?

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

George Saunders is a US author of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and a novel. He was born on December 2, 1958. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's and GQ.

He also contributed a weekly column, American Psyche, to the weekend magazine of The Guardian until October 2008.

A professor at Syracuse University, Saunders won the National Magazine Award for fiction in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004, and second prize in the O. Henry Awards in 1997. His first story collection, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, was a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Hemingway Award. In 2006 Saunders received a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2006 he won the World Fantasy Award for his short story "CommComm".

Awards:

His story collection In Persuasion Nation was a finalist for The Story Prize in 2007. In 2013, he won the PEN/Malamud Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Saunders's Tenth of December: Stories won the 2013 Story Prize for short-story collections and the inaugural (2014) Folio Prize.

George Saunders He is the only second US writer to win the Man Booker Prize. Last year Paul Beatty became the first American to win the award for his novel "The Sellout". Award winning book In his novel, American master George Saunders delivers his most original, transcendent, and moving work yet. Unfolding in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by a dazzling chorus of voices, Lincoln in the Bardo is a literary experience unlike any other. Award function press meet 'Fiction is a way of making us endure ambiguity and see truth' - Man Booker 2017 winner George Saunders at the press conference. Courtesy: @ManBookerPrize Saunders receives Man Booker prize The Man Booker 2017 winner George Saunders receives their trophy from HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and cheque from ManGroup Chief Executive Luke Ellis.

OneIndia News
Nikki Haley says India can help US to keep an eye on Pak

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Oct 18: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has "taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists".

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harboring terrorists."

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance. India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the groundwork that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harboring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump Administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said. The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.

"Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people," she said.

For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

"It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why," she asked. "Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.

The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said. Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.

"There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India," she said.

"It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she added.

PTI
"Not to touch the veto" is the key to India becoming permanent member of UNSC

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Oct 18: "Not to touch the veto" is the key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said. She also identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council. India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century. Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries  India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA. Several countries have taken up the floor of the general assembly to support India's permanent membership.

PTI
With the number of anonymous rogues from Pak rising, here's how BSF is beating down the drones

Pakistan: Five killed, eight injured in a blast in Quetta

International

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

At least five people were killed and eight others injured in a blast in Sariab Road area of Quetta on Wednesday. Reports say that out of the five killed, three are policemen.

The police truck carrying 35 personnel was targeted by a huge bomb at Sibi Road off Sariab Road this morning. The blast was so powerful that the truck was left badly mangled and caused critical injuries to the security men.

Security officials reached the site and cordoned off the area. Rescue teams are transferring the injured to the nearby Civil Hospital where emergency has been declared.

The nature of the blast has not be ascertained as yet.

On August 13 this year, at least 15 people, including eight soldiers, were martyred when a military truck was targeted in Quetta.

Earlier in June, 14 people  including seven policemen  were killed in a powerful blast in Quetta's Gulistan Road area.

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Story first published: Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 10:56 [IST]
US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize

International

pti-PTI

London, October 18: US author George Saunders won Britain's renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo".He only the second American writer to win the award.

Judges for the prestigious English-language literary award praised as "utterly original" the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators.

"The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent, and deeply moving narrative," said Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, in announcing the prize at a ceremony in London.

Saunders, 58, described the award as a "great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life."

In a brief, politically-tinged acceptance speech, he made several thinly-veiled references to the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump. "We live in a strange time," he told the audience. "In the US now we're hearing a lot about the need to protect culture. Well, this tonight is culture."

This year's Man Booker Prize shortlist pitted three US and three British writers against one another. The award, launched in 1969, was only open to writers from Commonwealth states until it began permitting authors from other English-speaking countries in 2014. Last year Paul Beatty became the first American to win the award for his novel "The Sellout".

Saunders was the British bookmakers' favourite ahead of the announcement yesterday. In a lengthy and varied writing career, he has penned award-winning short story collections, essays, illustrated fables and a bestselling children's book, as well as many pieces of journalism.

In 2006, he was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, while in 2009 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

PTI
US, India stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism: Rex Tillerson

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Oct 18: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to building an "ambitious" partnership that benefits not just their countries but also stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson categorically said on Tuesday.

Tillerson told a Washington audience that Modi's visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new era of strategic relationship. "President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are committed more than any of our leaders before them to building an ambitious partnership that benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability," said Tillerson in a major India policy speech before CSIS, a top US think-tank.

Tillerson is scheduled to visit India next week. "My visit could not come at a more promising time for the US-India partnership. As you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of relations between our two countries," he said.

Tillerson said his relationship with India goes back to 1998, when he began working on issues related to India's energy security and has made many trips to Delhi. "It was a privilege to do business with Indian counterparts then, and it has been my great honour this year to work with Indian leaders as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning to Delhi next week, for the first time in my official capacity," Tillerson said.

Referring to the fact that earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, Tillerson said it was a tangible illustration of India and the US expanding their energy cooperation. The Trump Administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to work together, he asserted.

Noting that more than 600 American companies operate in India, Tillerson said the US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone. The bilateral trade hit a record of roughly USD 115 billion last year, a number US plans to increase, he said. "Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion," he said. The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both economies, he said.

PTI
US to monitor India's foreign exchange purchases

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Oct 18: The US Department of Treasury has told the Congress that it will closely monitor India's foreign exchange and macroeconomic policies. The Treasury Department has observed that there has been a notable increase in the scale and persistence of India's net foreign exchange purchases.

"Over the first half of 2017, there has been a notable increase in the scale and persistence of India's net foreign exchange purchases, which have risen to around USD 42 billion (1.8 percent of GDP) over the four quarters through June 2017," the Treasury said in its latest half-yearly report to the Congress.

In its report to the Congress "Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States," the Treasury said India has a significant bilateral goods trade surplus with the US, totalling USD 23 billion over the four quarters through June 2017.

"Treasury will be closely monitoring India's foreign exchange and macroeconomic policies," it said.

In its report, the Treasury said that it assesses net purchases of foreign currency, conducted repeatedly, totalling in excess of 2 per cent of an economy's GDP over a period of 12 months to be persistent, one-sided intervention. Switzerland and Brazil meet this criterion for the four quarters ending June 2017, as per Treasury estimates.

"India is very close to meeting this criterion for the four quarters ending June 2017, with net purchases of foreign currency slightly below 2 per cent of GDP," it said.

The report said, China has an extremely large and persistent bilateral trade surplus with the US, by far the largest among any of the US' major trading partners, with the goods trade surplus standing at USD 357 billion over the four quarters through June 2017. Moreover, China continues to pursue a wide array of policies that limit market access for imported goods and services, and maintains a restrictive investment regime that adversely affects foreign investors.

In comparison to the extremely large and persistent bilateral trade imbalance, China's multilateral external position has undergone greater adjustment in recent years, with its current account surplus falling to 1.4 per cent of GDP in the first half of 2017 from 1.8 per cent of GDP in 2016, and down from 10 per cent of GDP in 2007, the report said.

Further, after engaging in one-way, large-scale intervention to resist appreciation of the renminbi (RMB) for a decade, China's recent intervention in foreign exchange markets, tightened capital controls, and increased discretion over setting the daily fixing rate of the RMB have likely prevented a disorderly currency depreciation that would have had negative consequences for the United States, China, and the global economy.

"Treasury remains concerned by the lack of progress made in reducing the bilateral trade surplus with the US," the report said.

The Trump Administration remains deeply concerned by the significant imbalances in the global economy, the report said. Bilateral trade imbalances with many of our major trading partners have grown to very large levels, it said adding that more broadly, current account surpluses in several major trading partners have not only been large but unusually persistent over the last decade.

PTI
A federal judge in Hawaii on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump's third Muslim travel ban, just hours before it was set to take effect on Wednesday October 18. Trump issued a proclamation on September 24 restricting travel to the US from nationals of eight countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela.

New restrictions came after the first two iterations of the travel ban, which targeted Muslim nations, faced court challenges.

US District Court Judge Derrick Watson wrote in a 40-page opinion on Tuesday that Trump's third travel ban would cause "irreparable harm" and violate federal immigration law were it to take effect.

"[The travel ban] suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States,'" Watson wrote, adding that the ban "plainly discriminates based on nationality."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the ruling "dangerously flawed.

"The entry restrictions in the proclamation apply to countries based on their inability or unwillingness to share critical information necessary to safely vet applications, as well as a threat assessment related to terrorism, instability, and other grave national security concerns," Sanders said in a statement.

The Justice Department will "appeal in an expeditious manner," spokesman Ian Prior said. "Today's ruling is incorrect, fails to properly respect the separation of powers, and has the potential to cause serious negative consequences for our national security."

Trump's first ban, issued Jan. 27, sought to bar those who would enter the U.S. from seven majority Muslim countries, then including Iraq and Sudan, during a 90-day review of U.S. vetting procedures. Announced without prior warning, it caused chaos at U.S. airports and a torrent of lawsuits objecting to the sudden exclusion of people who had a right to be in the U.S.

After an appeals court blocked Trump from enforcing the ban, the president issued a revised order that dropped Iraq and provided additional reasons for halting entry from the remaining countries. That sparked additional suits, court orders and appellate reviews.

Trump's second travel ban, issued in March, was blocked by lower courts but partly implemented by the Supreme Court.

There have been at least six legal challenges to Trump's latest travel ban, according to Bloomberg. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin revived a lawsuit opposing the initial one, while immigrant rights' groups including the International Refugee Assistance Project and HIAS -- an organization founded in the 19th century to aid Eastern European Jews -- sought to block the second. The states of Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and Oregon last week restarted their litigation, and individuals have sued as well.

CNN said the administration has had almost a year to finesse the travel ban so that it would hold muster in the lower courts, and the latest ruling illustrates that the legal challenges are far from over. Whether the Supreme Court takes up the issue this term is an open question. The justices were poised to hear a blockbuster consolidated case concerning travel ban 2.0, but they dismissed one case and are likely to dismiss a second. The justices signaled that they want the lower courts to rule first on the new restrictions.

Washington Post quoted legal analysts as saying that challengers of the latest travel ban would face an uphill battle, particularly because the measure was put into effect after an extensive process in which the United States negotiated with other countries for information.

Such a process, legal analysts said, presumably would help the government defeat arguments that the president had not made the appropriate findings to justify his order. The list of countries affected also was changed to include two countries that are not majority Muslim -- Venezuela and North Korea -- potentially helping the government argue that the measure was not meant to discriminate against Muslims.

Challengers to the ban, however, sought to link the new directive to its predecessors, and they asserted that even the additions were mainly symbolic. The ban only affects certain government officials from Venezuela, and very few people travel to the United States from North Korea each year. They noted that Trump himself promised a "larger, tougher, and more specific" ban -- meaning that the new version would have the same legal problems as the earlier iterations.

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin celebrated the order. The state has been fighting each version of the travel ban. "This is the third time Hawaii has gone to court to stop President Trump from issuing a travel ban that discriminates against people based on their nation of origin or religion," Chin said in a statement. "Today is another victory for the rule of law. We stand ready to defend it."

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From Our Future

Somebody ought to write a self-help book for Republican politicians called, "How to Profit from the Coming Trump Apocalypse." Although, come to think of it, they're doing pretty well with that already.

The newspapers have been filled with stories of Trump's tense relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And Trump's escalating war of words with North Korea is making everyone else tense, as the planet learns more about the man with the nuclear codes.

A Google search for the words "Trump unstable" yields more than 10 million hits. A search on "Trump" and "mental health" returns more than 28 million results, many of them reviews of a new book entitled "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President."

Spoiler alert: They're worried. So are the Trump allies who were interviewed without attribution for this genuinely frightening Vanity Fair article.

But, while the world obsesses about the president's personality, few people are talking about the systemic failures of democracy that made him president in the first place. And while we're distracted by Trump's theatricality, Republicans in Congress are busy robbing working Americans of their scant remaining resources.

Trump may have been more truthful than he intended when he finally held a joint press appearance with McConnell, in an awkwardly executed attempt to alleviate the rumors about their fractured relationship.

"We are fighting for the same thing," Trump told the New York Times, speaking about himself and McConnell. "We are fighting for lower taxes, big tax cuts, the biggest tax cuts in the history of our nation."

While everyone's watching the President Trump Show -- an almost irresistible blend of Shakespearean high drama, silent-movie villainy, and crude vaudevillian double entendres -- his Republican co-conspirators on the Hill are busy robbing the audience blind. The pickpockets at Shakespeare's Globe Theater worked the same kind of racket: rip 'em off while they're watching the performance.

As a Kentucky journalist with a long-term relationship to Mitch McConnell told the Times, Trump is "all about the show ... about getting good ratings for Donald Trump," while "McConnell has never been about the show. He's all about business."

Sounds like a pretty effective partnership. And so far, it's working.

On Tuesday, McConnell's Republican majority advanced a budget plan that includes massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act to pave the way for massive tax cuts that to benefit corporations and wealthy individuals.

Senate Republicans also moved on Tuesday to allow oil and natural gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a move that will rob the American people of a shared resource in order to further enrich the party's fossil-fuel patrons.

On the House side, Speaker Paul Ryan's Republicans have been holding children's health insurance hostage by demanding that it be funded with cuts to Medicare and programs for mothers and children in need.

Meanwhile, Trump hit the hold button on his long-running reality show long enough to unveil the outline of a tax plan that pairs cuts to programs for working people with massive giveaways to corporations and the wealthy.

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From Mike Malloy Website



Donald Trump Caricature

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How many more times, Truthseekers, can we say "what does it take to remove Trump from office, legally and peacefully?"

It's our mantra. We have become inured to the daily onslaught of fresh Trump Terrors and Tantrums -- the shock lessens with each passing news cycle. He has sucked the oxygen out of the county, leaving no room for other crucial topics, like climate change and the deadly natural disasters that result; the genocide in Syria, in Palestine, in Somalia, in North Korea; the nuclear maniac in North Korea; the gun violence pandemic that has turned our nation into, as Greg Palast has said, an Armed Madhouse.

Maybe that's the grand plan -- constant distraction from the real problems the Neocons want us to forget.

But whatever stunning new hell dominates the telescreens on a given day, the outrage we should feel is dulled like the lethal opioids Trump vowed to his zealous voters he, and only He, would destroy.

It should be the number one news story each day. Drug overdoses claimed the lives of 50,000 Americans just last year. That's about 15,000 more drug deaths than gun deaths". which should be the number two story each day.

So what is Dear Leader doing to fulfill his promise to save the lives of tens of thousands of Americans from this unparalleled opioid crisis? Oh, he picked a drug czar accused of helping remove regulations on drug companies accused of fuelling the opioid crisis. Because of course he did.

Salon has this report on the explosive CBS 60 Minutes and Washington Post joint investigation into the latest Trump scandal. This month.

"Along with CBS' '60 Minutes,' the Post's investigation found that 'amid a targeted lobbying effort, Congress weakened the DEA's ability to go after drug distributors. Partially a function of what is known as the 'revolving door' in Washington, D.C., after a successful stint of crackdowns that saw the shutdown of hundreds of pill mills across the nation, the DEA significantly slowed its efforts to stop the flow of prescription painkillers. "Drug companies upset by the agency's efficacy offered former DEA and Justice Department officials high-priced salaries to switch sides. By 2013, after successful lobbying, DEA lawyers began requiring a higher standard of proof before cases against drug distributors could move forward. After reviewing the DEA diversion office's civil caseload in 2014, Chief Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney II wrote that 'there can be little doubt that the level of administrative Diversion enforcement remains stunningly low for a national program.' "Republicans in Congress then further handcuffed the DEA. "Passed with bipartisan support but to little fanfare last year, legislation sponsored by two House Republicans -- both of whom are now up for prominent promotions -- effectively stripped the DEA of its most potent weapon against drug distributors. "The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act makes it more difficult for the DEA to temporarily suspend licenses of companies accused of failing to report suspicious orders of drugs. There are thousands of distributors among the 1.6 million people and companies that hold DEA licenses to dispense drugs, but three of them -- McKesson, Amerisource Bergen and Cardinal Health -- account for 85 percent of the drug shipments, according to the Post. The 2016 law made it 'virtually impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotic shipments from the companies,' the Post probe also found, citing internal Justice Department documents. "Donald Trump nominated the lawmaker most responsible for that legislation to head the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position that requires Senate confirmation. Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., who was one of Trump's early congressional backers, has been tapped to police an industry that donated $134,000 to his 2014 and 2016 re-election campaigns, according to campaign finance website Open Secrets. His former chief of staff left shortly after shepherding the legislation through Congress, to become vice president of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores."

Have we mentioned yet tonight how much we hate these people?

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In mid-September, the guarantor states of the Syrian ceasefire regime (Iran, Russia, and Turkey) in Astana signed an agreement on creating the forth de-escalation zone including Idlib and some parts of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama Governorates.

The Turkish army invasion in Idlib began with mass artillery shelling of al-Nusra positions on October 8, 2017. In less than 24 hours, however, a number of media reported that the Turkish Army units had been spotted in Atmah accompanied by a convoy of al-Nusra militants. The locals say the Turkish troops were moving towards Aleppo to allegedly hold talks with the terrorists' field commanders. The Syrian opposition Al-Jisr TV-Channel also confirmed this information.

Inside Syria Media Center military correspondents in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) claim that the Turkish Command made a deal with al-Nusra on the withdrawal of militants from Idlib to Hama province. A soon large-scale offensive is also planned against the Syrian army positions in Masyaf and As-Suqaylabiyah, located north-west to Hama.

The Syrian army backed by the allied forces continue their advance towards Idlib now. The fierce clashes between the government forces and al-Nusra are well underway along the Idlib-Hama border. Al-Nusra suffered heavy losses in these battles.

Obviously, the Turkish side has its own plan how to gain control over the northern part of Syria. Despite the agreement with Iran and Russia, Ankara once again took a decision to collude with the terrorists and hinder the successful advance of the Syrian troops towards Idlib.
By Hamma Mirwaisi

The U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policies so far are Big talk ideology, big talk diplomacy, or big talk policy instead of the Big stick ideology, big stick diplomacy, or big stick policy, which it refers to the U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy: 'speak softly, and carry a big stick.'

President Donald Trump's big talk policies toward North Korean President Kim Jong-un so far failed to achieve any result. After President Donald Trump failed policies toward North Korean. The Iranian supreme leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ordered his famous Major general Qasem Soleimani the commander of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution to attack Kurdish forces in Iraq.

Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan challenged President Donald Trump policies before the North Korean President Kim Jong-un and Iranian supreme leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei. A member of the NATO Turkish President joined Russian and Iran alliances against the US policies in Syria and Iraq. And President Erdogan opened the door for hundreds of thousands of refugees to Europe to destabilize European countries.

Also, Barzani and Talabani of Kurds is the useless ally of the US in Kurdistan Regional Governments of Iraq (KRG) because both Mafia families of Barzani and Talabani are the agent of Iran and Turkey. But Kurdish people loyal to Abdullah Ocalan teaching are the reliable ally in the Middle East. The YPG and YPJ forces of Kurds successfully defeated ISIS Islamic Sunni Arab terrorist forces and their supporter President Erdogan of Turkey in Syria.

The Iran-backed Hashad al-Shabi's Islamic Shi'a terrorist forces of Iraq are not different from ISIS Islamic Sunni Arab terrorist. The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution of Iran is no different from ISIS Islamic Sunni Arab terrorist.

To defeat the Islamic Shia terrorist forces in Iran and Iraq you need alliances from those Kurds who defeated ISIS Islamic Sunni Arab terrorist forces loyal to Turkey in Syria.

The strategical location of the Kurds on Zagros Mountain range can safeguard the interest of the US and Europe for thousands of years. The land fro Europe to India and from Egypt to Mongolia belong to the forefather of Caucasian people originally.

In last 2000 years, the majority of Caucasian people forefather were chased out from their birthplace to seek refuge in Europe. And Persian of Tamil from today India, Arabs of Africa, and Turks of Mongolia replaced the Caucasian people on their original birthplace. Only Kurds survived on Zagros Mountain range to fight occupiers of Caucasian people's land. The US technologies and Kurdish forces can liberate the original home of Caucasian people's land.

References

The History of the Caucasian People: The Civilizations without Hatred and Racism

https://www.amazon.com/History-Caucasian-People-Civilizations-without/dp/1543172784

Caucasus land is from India to Europe and from Egypt to Mongolia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus
See original here



Clown Mushroom Cloud

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When it comes to Iran, do basic facts matter? Evidently not, since dozens and dozens of journalists keep casually reporting that Iran has a "nuclear weapons program" when it does not -- a problem FAIR has reported on over the years (e.g., 9/9/15). Let's take a look at some of the outlets spreading this falsehood in just the past five days:

Business Insider (10/13/17): " The deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aims to incentivize Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program by lifting crippling international economic sanctions."

The deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aims to incentivize Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program by lifting crippling international economic sanctions." New Yorker (10/16/17): "One afternoon in late September, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called a meeting of the six countries that came together in 2015 to limit Iran's nuclear weapons program."

Washington Post (10/16/17): "The administration is also considering changing or scrapping an international agreement regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program."

"The administration is also considering changing or scrapping an international agreement regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program." CNN (10/17/17): "In reopening the nuclear agreement, [Trump] risks having Iran advance its nuclear weapons program at a time when he confronts a far worse nuclear challenge from North Korea that he can't resolve."

The problem with all of these excerpts: Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. It has a civilian nuclear energy program, but not one designed to build weapons. Over 30 countries have civilian nuclear programs; only a handful -- including, of course, the US and Israel -- have nuclear weapons programs. One is used to power cities, one is used to level them.

If you are skeptical, just refer to a 2007 assessment by all 16 US intelligences agencies (yes, those 16 US intelligence agencies), which found Iran had "halted" its nuclear weapons program. Or look at the same National Intelligence Estimate in 2012, which concluded again that there "is no hard evidence that Iran has decided to build a nuclear bomb." Or we can listen to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, which concurred with the US intelligence assessment (Haaretz, 3/18/12).

The "Iran Deal," formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is built on curbing Iran's civilian nuclear program, out of fear -- fair or not -- that it could one day morph into a nuclear weapons program. But at present, there is no evidence, much less a consensus, that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program. JCPOA cannot be used as per se evidence such a program exists today; indeed, it is specifically designed to prevent such a program from developing down the road.

A slightly less egregious variant of this canard is when outlets suggest the JCPOA stopped an ongoing existing weapons program -- though they don't make the mistake of saying it still exists: The JCPOA "called for the elimination of economic sanctions Iran in exchange for Tehran giving up its nuclear weapons program," USA Today (10/13/17) wrote. US and Israeli intelligence do claim that Iran once had a nuclear weapons program -- but they say it ended in 2003, not in 2015 as a result of the JCPOA.

The distinction between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons is, of course, non-trivial. Every time the media mindlessly report Iran has a "nuclear weapons program" rather than a "nuclear program" (or, better, a "nuclear energy" or "nuclear power program"), they further advance the myth that Iran's intentions or "ambitions" are to build a nuclear bomb, which is something we have no evidence it is doing or plans to do -- at least since the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa against building nuclear weapons in 2003 (Foreign Policy, 10/16/14).

So why do some many reporters keep mucking this up? A few reasons: It's just a mantra repeated ad infinitum, and journalists and pundits often mindlessly repeat an oft-repeated phrase. Some, such as nuclear arms expert Jeffrey Lewis at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Middlebury Institute, think it's simply an issue of reporters not knowing how to express a complicated idea.

"I often see this point [about the civilian vs weapons program] mangled. I don't think it's malice, just a writer or editor not knowing how to express an idea," he said on social media. "The JCPOA imposes measures that constrain Iran's nuclear energy program to provide confidence that the program remains peaceful," he added, offering an example of how that idea can be expressed.

Another major reason for this recurring falsehood, as FAIR (7/6/17) noted after the New York Times twice "mistakenly" accused Iran of carrying out 9/11 (one of the smears going uncorrected for over three years), is that one can say pretty much anything about Iran without any professional or public backlash. Because Iran is an Official US Enemy, and its motives are therefore always deemed sinister, the idea that it is plotting to violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and build a nuclear weapon is simply taken as a given. The lack of hard evidence for this is irrelevant: Intentions of those in the crosshairs of US power are always presented as cynical and malicious; those of the US and its allies benevolent and in good faith.

Iran's sinister motives are simply the default setting -- no matter much evidence points to the contrary.
Franklin Lamb, Oxford

Part I

Is Lebanon's economy heading for free-fall?

The growing list of US sanctions targeting Iran's Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is only part of a broader American, Israeli and Western strategy of roll-back of Iran's activities in the Northern Middle East than one seeking direct military confrontation. Although the latter may be one of the unintended consequences as Iran begins to retaliate.

This week the U.S. Congress is working on two additional legislative initiatives to tighten sanctions against Lebanon's Hezbollah. The new sanctions include more cash bounties on Hezbollah leaders, as well as on Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The main concern in Congress is Iran's economic break-out and the Islamic Republics continuing hegemonic success in the region. Recently an Iranian official close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei famously and accurately remarked, "Three Arab capitals [Beirut, Damascus, and Baghdad] have already fallen into Iran's hands and belong to our Iranian Islamic Revolution." The US Congress which regularly dreams up new sanctions apparently believes that the more money Iran and Hezbollah have, the more they will advance Iran's military and political success in the region, including claims on Capitol Hill of Hezbollah's escalating domination of Lebanon.

The latest sanctions are not likely to produce compromise or agreement but they will make it more difficult for Lebanon to apply breaks to its downward economic and political spiral. Economic pressure on many in Lebanon who support Hezbollah will increase. Naturally Lebanese sectarian party bosses worry about the sanctions effect on Lebanon's economy. This is partly because Hezbollah and its allies are deeply involved in Lebanon's banking system and the financial community is aware that Lebanon's economy cannot take much more pressure.



One of many problems that plague Lebanon's citizens is the inability of its government to provide basic services including water, electricity, and collect garbage

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US sanctions targeting certain Lebanese "terrorists" are having an effect also on Syria's economy next door. The Central Bank recently issued a SYP 2,000 note (worth about $ 4) after US sanctions caused the Syrian Pound lo lose approximately 95% of its market value since 2011 . The threats of US sanctions are also leading a number of Lebanese banks to reduce their operations with Syrian banks but so far they have not sold their shares.

Lebanon's' dominant political parties claimed on 10/14/2017 that they have "taken a clear decision to immunize the country from US sanctions and not to create a climate of escalation that would affect political stability. "There is no doubt that we should not underestimate the extent of the U.S. led sanctions pressure, but we are taking all the precautions to face this situation." a Parliamentary source explained. How precisely Lebanon's Parliament will do this was not explained but a four-point plan was agreed upon. First and foremost it calls for the current political leaders staying in power. Secondly "Preserving the (Michael Aoun Hezbollah chosen government), thirdly "maintaining the current political alignment", and lastly, alleviating the U.S. sanctions impact on the economy, by protecting Lebanon's security and stability."

But the ability of the Lebanese economy and banking sector to sidestep the ramifications of the sanctions will very likely continue to fail.

If Lebanon's sectarian parties allow next year's elections, the first in nearly a decade, it would be a step in the right direction. But past being prologue, if some Lebanese sects do not like the results of pre-election polling they will block the elections for another indeterminate period. Similarly, if progress is made towards developing a Lebanese hydrocarbon industry it could boost Lebanon's economic growth. A problem with this scenario is that certain Lebanese politicians are seeking to own a major chunk of any hydrocarbon industry likely to be established. Consequently, the ability of the Lebanese economy and banking sector to sidestep the ramifications of the sanctions will likely continue failing.

The absence of Lebanese public and international confidence in Lebanon's economy is also a major problem with respect to salvaging it. Lebanon's parliament on 10/17/2017 finally discussed the country's first state budget in 12 years. However, as MP Antoine Zahra pointed out: "Today we are discussing a budget for funds that have already been spent. We will authorize for the government what it has already authorized for itself." Former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati similarly told Parliament: "The magnitude of spending on public sector wages has become scary and it is consuming one-third of the state treasury." MP Khaled al-Daher of Akkar meanwhile pointed out that "had corruption been curbed, this budget would have been able to be LBP 5,000 billion lower."

The day before, Lebanon's political bosses some of whom were criminal warlords during Lebanon's civil war (1975-1991) and who in 1991 voted themselves total amnesty for their war crimes (in the final draft of the Amnesty Decree they crossed out "war crimes" and inserted "political crimes" and anointed themselves political lords for life) cut yet more deals to keep themselves in power. According to a 10/16/2017 report by Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), "Lawmakers re-elected in only a ten-minute session, all parliamentary committees, their presidents, and members of the rapporteurs."

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From flickr.com: Korean Air, Incheon International Airport (ICN), Seoul South Korea

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[This is the 2nd article in a series "Return to South Korea". For the first article click here.]

The flight was long but everything went smoothly. For me the worst thing about long flights is the airline food. I try not to eat it, but hunger and weakness usually win and I do. It was a nice surprise though, as the choices included Korean food which was quite good.

While flying my thoughts turned to ambivalence. Am I really doing the right thing; is this what I really want? As an anti-war activist is it contradictory to attend a military event, and will it end up just being a bunch of 'war stories'? Well of course there will be war stories, hopefully historical ones mostly, without a lot of glorification. All these second thoughts, just nerves probably. I hope I am pleasantly surprised and get out of the trip what I really want.

Actually, I have been wanting to go to North Korea for some time, hear their side, but it was something that I could not do easily if at all. Journalists, even an 'amateur' one like myself must obtain a special visa from North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The commercial tourist agencies turned me down once before saying that it would put their agency at risk of losing their franchise if a 'journalist' was caught posing as a tourist. Plus it could mean trouble for the journalist too.

What I really want to get from this trip is the chance to see in person the historical sites that I have been reading about. Of course I know that the battlefields are gone and all that is left is monuments, memorials and graveyards. I suppose the South Korean officials the group meets with will be speaking to their audience. I am hoping that they will be candid about what South Korea really thinks about the situation, even if it is not what I expect.

I am trying not to have expectations. All we hear back in the US is what the US wants us to hear from its point of view. South Korea should have some say in the matter, after all they are the ones that will be in danger of being sacrificed for US foreign policy goals. We hear next to nothing about what South Korea wants.

I also want to meet and hear what the US veterans think. These guys are getting old and dying off. As a veteran myself, I have been around old veterans at the VA hospital. I don't belong to any veterans groups except Veterans for Peace, and their Tampa Bay Area group has been disbanded for lack of membership. I hope at least some of the old timers on the trip have had the time to reflect.

I returned to Vietnam in the late 1990's with a veterans group and that was a terrific experience. Landing in Hanoi gave me goose bumps. And I got to hear the "North" Vietnamese side of what they call the American War. I am just hoping that this trip will be as enlightening.

What I feel is the most I can expect is to hear the South Korean side. Here is what I found on a website "Ask a Korean" before I left the US:

"[The older] conservatives in Korea tend to have a clearer memory of the Korean War. To the most hardcore conservatives, Kim Jong-un and the communists of North Korea are the highest form of evil. This enabled Korean conservatives to tolerate -- and sometimes, even support -- the series of dictatorship governments in South Korea. Because America prevented South Korea from falling into the communist rule, Americans are angels".

"[Progressive younger Koreans see] the greatest threat to their freedom was not necessarily North Korea, but the military dictatorships of their own country. Korean progressives formed their political views as they battled the military dictatorships that were backed by the United States. Progressives are more likely to point to the fact that the U.S. was one of the parties at the Potsdam Conference that divided Korea without any input from the Korean people. The U.S. was acting in its own interest. The most hardcore progressives take this logic to the extreme and place the United States as the cardinal culprit of the Korean War".

"The sensible middle -- while America acted in its own interest in getting involved in the Korean War, America's involvement was crucial toward securing freedom in South Korea that laid the foundation for prosperity and later democracy".

"Officially the Korean government never omits thanking the countries that fought in the war. US Korean War veterans are always invited to visit Korea to attend official appreciation ceremonies every year."

The above seems to be a pretty good explanation to me. I hope there will be messages of peace and reunification too, as President Moon Jae-in expressed in his Chuseok Holiday speech. Chuseok is a three day harvest festival and one of the most important holidays in Korea.
Throw out your Cisco routers

used to monitor the World Wide Web.

Dissolve your artificial

bottlenecks and chokepoints,

you evil censors!

Let ten thousand VPNs bloom,

punching holes in your Firewall

until it crumbles.



Tiananmen Square massacre

Hong Kong

Democracy

Falun Gong

Slave-labor camps

Forced organ extraction

Murders of prisoners and patients

Torture

Multi-party system

Tibet

Sweatshops

America's 9/11 false-flag operation...

Let information flow freely on all these topics and a thousand more,

throwing a floodlight on what a tiny minority wants to censor.





Beatings, electric battering, food and sleep deprivation,

chaining, and other forms of torture are routine in China's prisons and forced-labor

camps. If you criticize the one-party system, you may end up in a "re-education"

camp for brainwashing, torture, and slave labor.



In 2013 the Chinese government announced that it had abolished its system of

"re-education through labor" camps nationwide, but this cosmetic move is contradicted

by multiple reports from survivors, relatives, and investigators. China's widespread use

of prison and slave labor is largely ignored by the West. All this in "beautiful China" to

which Western tourists, politicians and hypocritical businessmen flock. One-sixth of

humanity lives under a repressive dictatorship.





Permission hereby granted to reproduce this work in any electronic,

print, or broadcast media, with attribution.


The following Letter to the Editor was sent yesterday in response to the Los Angeles Times' article "L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez faces conflict-of-interest complaint over $285,000 in payments". Unsurprisingly, it was not published.

As the accusations against LAUSD Board member Ref Rodriguez mount, it is important to note that the charges are not new. In fact, they were meticulously researched by activists including Robert D. Skeels during the 2015 election and delivered to the Los Angeles Times. Failing their responsibility to the voters, the Times not only refused to cover these allegations, their editorial board endorsed Rodriguez. One can only wonder if this lack of coverage has anything to do with the Time's own conflict of interest - the $800,000 it received from privatizers like Eli Broad to sponsor its education coverage.

According to your article, "PUC's senior managers said they uncovered the transfers...while responding to questions and requests from The Times". If the Times had done their job when the actual events were taking place the voters would have had this information when they made their choices at the voting booth.

Carl Petersen is a parent and special education advocate, elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. He was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." His past blogs can be found at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com.
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Innovations in healthcare technologies, including smartphone apps, wearable devices, lab-on-a chip, biosensors all of which offer easy link to the patient quickly becoming part of the transformation of the healthcare landscape. The driving concept in support of point of care diagnostic is to bring testing closer to the patient and provide results appropriately and quickly. This is different technique than earlier used where all the tests were performed in the laboratory.Point of care testing has extensive application base that includes, oncology, hematology, endocrinology, prenatal testing and near patient testing in infectious disease management. Most substantial progress have taken place in the fields of oncology point of care molecular tests and infectious diseases.Rapid flu testing is a leading application for point of care platforms.Browse Full Report With ToC @Near-Patient Molecular SolutionsMarket: Drivers and RestraintsFactors, such as the increasing incidences of diseases such as cardiac diseases and diabetes in developing countries, increase in the usage of home-based point of care devices, and advancement in technology with demand for development of faster and easy to use devices are energizing the point of care diagnostic market. Rising demand for home healthcare facility and the increment in population of elderly patients with multiple chronic conditions is expected to drive point of care diagnostics market over the forecast period. In light of the many factors increasing the demand for point of care diagnosis, manufacturing companies are pushing the envelope to make point of care devices faster, easier, and more reliable. Shortage of skilled-staff, especially in the field of diagnostics, are expected to restrain the market growth for point of care diagnostic.Near-Patient Molecular SolutionsMarket: OverviewAlthough the market of near patient diagnostic is less, but it is expected to grow over forecast period according to new healthcare analysis. It has been observed that near patient molecular solutions have witnessed higher penetration in medical system market though they facilitate better antimicrobial treatment. Point of care products for diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis, malaria and other infectious diseases are supposed to achieve substantial growth in emerging markets. Manycompanies are developing molecular diagnostic platforms and assays that are designed to for near-patient. The initial focus of most of the medical devices companies is on infectious disease testing.Near-Patient Molecular SolutionsMarket: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global near patient molecular solution market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America dominated the global market for near patient molecular solution due to good reimbursement policies for diagnostic procedures and number of clinical studies investigating the efficiency. After North America this market is followed by Europe due to increase demand for near patient testing growth over. Asia Pacific region is expected to perceive a significantly faster growth over the forecast period due to a lower availability of hi-tech central laboratory testing facilities.Increasing number of local players providing near patient testing in countries such as China is expected to boost the market growth in APEJ region.Request For Report sample @Near-Patient Molecular SolutionsMarket: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the market of near patient molecular solution are Abbott Laboratories, Inc. Roche Diagnostics Limited, Siemens AG, Beckman Coulter, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Johnson & Johnson, Alere Inc., PTS Diagnostics and Nova Biomedical. Other prominent player in near patient molecular solution market are Bayer Healthcare, BioMerieux, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cepheid, Danaher Corporation.About UsFuture Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contct UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Ambulatory Aids Market Value Chain and Forecast 2016-2026

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The global healthcare scene of the world is evolving steadily. The entire healthcare domain is buzzing with new inventions. The industry is fast changing its attire to cope up with the new and emerging challenges. A bonhomie between technology and healthcare has further helped it to conceivelife -saving medicines and latest healthcare tools which are used to tame some of the most lethal ailments present in our society. Like several other segments of healthcare, the ambulatory aids segment is also passing through a massive evolution. The ambulatory devices are those devices which are used for proper and stable ambulation, such as walking. A wide array of tools comes under the canopy of ambulatory aids. Starting from a simple cane to a four-wheeled walker everything comes under the ambulatory aids. These walkers and other aiding equipments are mostly made lightweight materials by keeping the convenience of the patients in mind.The size of the Ambulatory aids market is completely dependent upon the massive pool of elderly people, disabled and on the growth and consolidation of the healthcare markets spread across the globe. The healthcare industry is standing at a crucial trajectory and it is growing. Top bosses of the industry are facing a hard time to balance the demand and supply seesaw and that is definitely a positive sign for the ambulatory aids market.Browse Full Report With ToC @Ambulatory Aids market: DriversHealthcare industry is facing a volley of challenges and biggest of them is providing affordable healthcare to all. The healthcare markets climate is clear and sunny and insiders are predicting a whopping revenue outcome of 12 trillion within coming few years and that will have a positive effect on the maturity of the ambulatory aids market globally. The U.S. market approximately spending 17 percent of its GDP on healthcare and as per a recent report published by Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 34 countries which include, North and South America, Europe and Asia- Pacific region is spending more than 9.5 percent of their GDP. Chinese market is also a massive hub of healthcare which is packed with a large insured population and thus they also create an excellent ambulatory aids market. Entire healthcare expense has soared in China in the last few years and creating an accommodative climate for ambulatory aids manufacturers. Disability or mobility aid markets are all set to grow at a standard 6 percent rate in the coming few years which will generate a massive demand of goods related to ambulatory aids and it will boost the ambulatory aids market.Ambulatory Aids market: RestraintsAmbulatory aids market is on a boom worldwide. Though the growth of the market is directly related to the overall development and progress of global healthcare system, but there are few restraints which might suffocate the organic growth of the industry. Most of these are ambulatory aids devices are made of customer friendly materials which are lightweight, edgy but costly. Often people from the lower income groups can afford these devices until and unless they get a proper health aid from the government. The maintenance of these products is tough which another limitation for the ambulatory aids market is.Ambulatory Aids market: Key RegionsHealthcare skeleton of the western countries which includes U.S. and U.K. are much better than the countries like India and Brazil and Chile. The insured populace is much higher in North America, Japan, Europe, South Africa, U.K. and China They are equipped with proper government aids which further helps the citizens to avail proper healthcare facilities and it creates a massive opportunity for ambulatory aids market.Request For Report sample @Ambulatory Aids market: Key Market PlayersWestern market is flooded with several big and medium level manufacturers and exporters. In U.K. Roma Medical, Invacare from New Zealand, Apex Medical Corp, U.S. Bayport Healthcare and U.S. are constantly innovating and challenging their boundaries to reach to the larger mass. The south East Asian market is dominated by local manufacturers and few exporters as cost and the buying power of the consumers of this region is extremely limited because of the absence of government aids.About UsFuture Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contct UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Wireless Lighting Market To Witness Enhanced Demand For Residential, Commercial, and Public Applications Till 2021 | Million Insights

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Global Wireless Lighting Market is segmented, by product type, into Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Bluetooth, and Enocean. High-power LED lighting finds its applications in smart homes. LED lights do have a longer lifespan and consume less power as compared to conventional incandescent or halogen bulbs, and are available in broad range of colors.LED lights prove to be more effective with respect to digital control. A low-cost LED driver is capable of dimming the lights and even mixing assorted colors. This does open up a plethora of applications in smart homes where lights are all connected through a wireless network to central controller. This implies that lighting in various rooms could be individually optimized, and even altered for suiting the preference of the individual in the room.Full Research Report On Global Wireless Lighting Market Analysis available at:Even if enabling wireless connectivity to LED lighting does add to the cost and complexity in comparison with the usage of a simple dimmer switch, the additional control functions overpower these drawbacks. Power consumption is a constraint for wireless controllers. Higher temperature could reduce the LED lighting elements lifetime, and may need extra components for thermal management and a higher temperature rating for wireless controller in the wireless lighting market.Space management is of prime concern. As such, integration of circuits and components is the priority. It would enable minimization of extra external components alongside LED lighting elements in a fixture, and direct linking to the LED driver. The desire for more refined applications such as color mixing also drives the need for a microcontroller. Microcontroller thus lessens the cost as well as complexity of the fixture design.Bluetooth is an increasingly common approach toward addition of wireless connectivity to an LED lighting system. A benefit of Bluetooth is that the higher data rate of 1 Mbit/s lets the other applications such as audio. Addition of a speaker to the fixture does provide additional value by streaming music from a smartphone to any room in the home.Request for Free Sample Copy:ZigBee serves as an alternative wireless system with respect to LED lighting in the smart home that provides mesh networking; which is based on the 802.15.4 standard. It has a lower bit rate of 250 Kbit/s for low power implementations and lets LED fixtures connect to each other to exercise distributed control. ZigBee Alliance has gone on to define a wireless protocol especially for LED smart lighting, which is backed by the major manufacturers of bulbs. ZigBee Light Link does provide a global standard for easy-to-use and interoperable control products and consumer lighting in the wireless lighting market.Wireless Lighting Market is segmented, by application into Residential, Commercial, and Public. Wireless Lighting Market is segmented, by Geographical Region into North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Wireless Lighting Market Key Players include GE Lighting, Echelon, Venture Lighting-LeafNut, Petra Systems, Honeywell, Legrand, TVILIGHT, PHILIPS, Cimcon and Telematics.Related Reports of this Category available at Million Insights:Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive.Office No. 302, 3rd Floor, Manikchand Galleria,Model Colony, Shivaji Nagar, Pune, MH, 411016 IndiaPhone: 91-20-65300184Email: sales@millioninsights.com
Research Study Offers Insights on Future of Hemp Protein Market 2016 - 2026

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Hemp protein refers to the industrial by product of hemp seeds. Hemp seeds have a composition of approximately 45 percent oil, 35 percent protein and 10 percent carbohydrates. Hemp seed is very eco- friendly, as it can be grown without using herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides. Also, it can efficiently absorbs carbon dioxide. Hemp protein is a rich source of all essential amino acids that are necessary to meet the protein needs of humans. Hemp protein cannot be considered as a pure protein supplement owing to its composition of 10% fatty acids and higher fiber content. Owing to the higher fiber content, hemp proteins lowers the risk for constipation, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and diverticular disease. Hemp proteins are easily digestible, and are used as an active ingredient in shakes and smoothies. Health benefits of hemp proteins includes anti-fatigue properties, enhances immune system, and have kidney protective effects. The growth of hemp protein market is propelled by improved economic conditions coupled with increase in household wealth, due to which consumers have shown willingness to spend on food products that are rich in hemp proteins so as to maintain their health.Market Dynamics of Hemp Protein:Owing to the high nutritional benefits of hemp protein, the market is expected to witness modest growth in coming years. The growth of hemp protein market is driven by increasing demand of hempseed oil, growing health consciousness among consumers, rising demand for nutritional food products, new product developments, and improved supply chain to ensure the product availability. Hemp protein market is characterized by the stringent regulations laid by various regulatory bodies that govern and inspect the food products and issues guidelines for food processing.Request For Report Sample@Market Segmentation of Hemp Protein:Hemp protein market is segmented on the basis of form, application and geography. Based upon form, hemp protein market is segmented into powdered form, and liquid form. Hemp protein in the powdered form is expected to witness high demand over the forecast period. Based upon application, hemp protein market is segmented into pharmaceutical, food & beverages, cosmetics, industrial, and others. Food & beverages is expected to be the largest application segment in global hemp protein market. High demand of hemp protein in food & beverages segment can be attributed to its high fiber content. Rise in the health concerns among consumers escalates the demand of hemp protein over the forecast period. Pharmaceutical application segment is poised to witness fastest growth in the global hemp protein market owing to the increased application scope in ailment of various cognitive diseases, diabetes, and health diseases. Owing to the combination of essential fatty acids and fiber, it is used in cosmetic products to maintain healthy skin and hair.Regional Outlook of Hemp Protein:Based on geography, hemp protein market is segmented into seven different regions namely North America, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Japan. North America is expected to lead the regional market for hemp proteins during the reviewed period. The high market share can be attributed to the strong demand from U.S. Western Europe is expected to hold second largest market share in global hemp protein market over the forecast period while Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region in the global hemp protein market owing to the increased demand from China and India. Leading manufacturers in the hemp protein market focus to leverage opportunities posed by emerging economies like India and China to expand their revenue base.Visit For TOC@Key Market Players in Hemp Protein:Some of the key players in the hemp protein market include Navitas Naturals, Hemp Oil Canada, North American Hemp & Grain Co., Hempco, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods, Cosucra Groupe Warcoing SA, CHII Naturally Pure Hemp, GFR Ingredients Inc., and Green Source Organics among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact USPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Thermodilution Catheter Market to Witness Steady Growth During the Forecast Period 2016-2026

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Catheter is medical device made from medical grade material having wide range of application in various medical fields such as neurovascular, cardiovascular, urology, nephrology, gynecology, and gastroenterology. Catheter is a thin tube that can be injected in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. The process of inserting a catheter inside the human body is known as catheterization. A wide range of polymers are used for production of catheters including silicon, rubber, nylon, latex and others. Silicon is most preferred polymer for manufacturing of catheter but this polymer is mechanically weak and can cause serious facture during surgery. Different types of cardiac catheters are used for treatment of different cardiac conditions. Cardiac catheters are of various types include angiographic balloon catheters, bipolar pacing pins, hexapolar balloon pacing catheters, semi flotating electrodes, wedge pressure catheter, thermodilution catheter and others.Thermodilution Catheter are frequently referred as pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) or Swan-Ganz catheter, in honor of its inventors Jeremy Swan and William Ganz.It is used to determine cardiac output by passing a catheter with a thermistor through the heart. It is also used in conjunction with disposable pressure transducer kits to monitor intravascular and intra-cardiac pressures.Browse Full Report With ToC @The market of thermodilution catheter is supposed to driven by frequent increase in cardiovascular diseases. Growing aging population and rise in demand for minimally invasive surgeries are expected to drive thermodilution catheters market globally. Growing population and economies in developing countries such as India and China are expected to drive the growth of the thermodilution catheter market in Asia. Government interest for improvement of healthcare infrastructure can be important factor for rise in thermodilution catheter market. High cost involved in cardiac surgery procedures and lack of experienced and skilled professionals can limit the growth of catheters global market. The increase in prices of thermodilution catheter by key players can also retrains the global market.Thermodilution catheters market is expected to grow over forecast period due to increasing in the investment in the healthcare sector. Innovation of some new products with focus on patients comfort is expected to offer good opportunity for the global cardiac catheters. In addition, new designs of thermodilution catheters which gives rapid and accurate measure of cardiac output have raised their demand in the global market. Thermodilution catheters market supposed to grow rapidly over the forecast period due to increasing adoption of the technique for cardiovascular therapy by healthcare professionals. Based on type of material used for manufacturing, thermodilution catheter are classified as nylon, polyurethane, PVC and other. Polyurethane thermodilution catheter is supposed to dominate the global market. Based on end user thermodilution catheter market is classified as Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Center, Diagnostic Laboratories and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. Thermodilution catheters have been used in hospitals worldwide since 1970. Hospital end user segment is expected to contribute the maximum share among end users.On the basis of regional presence, global thermodilution catheters market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the largest market for thermodilution catheters which is followed by Europe and Asia. The Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region due to attention of new investors in the catheter market. In Asia Pacific region the developing countries such as India and China are expected to offer good opportunities for the global thermodilution catheter market due to adoption of minimally invasive procedures and advancement in technology.Request For Report sample @Key PlayersSome of the major players in global thermodilution catheters market are B. Braun AG, Biosensors International Limited, Edwards Life Sciences,Intra Special Catheters GmbH, Teleflex Inc. Other prominent players in thermodilution catheter market are Argon Medical Devices, ICU Medical Inc., Becton Dickinson and Company (BD), Pulsion Medical System.About UsFuture Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contct UsFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Flour Market - Trends and Opportunities for the Industry by 2020

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Flour consumption is witnessing a steady growth across the globe owing to the rising demand for bakery and fast food products among different classes of consumers. The increasing number of cafes and fast food restaurants worldwide is driving the flour market. Moreover, the development of flour milling industry in the developing regions such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa is working in favor of the growth of the market. The growing population and decreasing flour prices along with the establishment of new flour mills are supporting the demand for flour in these regions, which in turn is fuelling the overall market.However, the market is adversely affected by the rising awareness regarding the health hazards of gluten. Due to high gluten content in wheat flour, consumers are shifting to its substitutes. The opportunity in the global flour market was pegged at US$198.57 bn in 2015 and is poised to reach US$254.82 bn by 2020, rising at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2014 to 2020.Get an exclusive sample of this report @Growing Uptake of Bread-based Fast Foods to Fuel Growth of Bread and Bakery Products SegmentBased on application, the bread and bakery products segment will continue to dominate until 2020, accounting for 37.77% of the overall market revenue. The increasing consumption of bread-based fast foods in emerging countries is augmenting the growth of the segment. The rising health awareness among people in different countries is leading to the increased demand for gluten-free brown bread flours, thereby contributing to the growth of the segment. On the other hand, the non-food application segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR higher than any other segment during the forecast period.On the basis of technology, dry milling will continue to command the leading share, representing 92.90% of the overall market revenue. Wide applications of dry technology among flour millers is driven by multiple factors, including less complex milling process, low-cost advantage, and compatibility with wheat flour milling process. The growing acceptance of non-gelatinized flour is also driving the adoption of dry technology among flour millers globally. The wet drilling technology will expand at a CAGR of 6.4% during the same period.Browse Press Release of this Research Report @Europe to Lead Revenue Generation through 2020 Owing to Evolution of Value-added Processed Bakery IndustryWhile Europe will be the dominant regional market in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period, Asia Pacific will continue to be the leading volume contributor. In countries such as the U.K. and Germany, increase in domestic production of wheat for making bread has triggered the growth of the flour market in Europe. Evolution of the value-added processed bakery industry in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France among others is estimated to drive future growth of the region.In Asia Pacific, the flour consumption is driven by the growing population, increasing consumer expenditure on staple food, rising disposable income, and the growing demand for fast food. Moreover, the increasing consumption of flour based noodles, breads, and other products is providing significant boost to the growth of the region. The Rest of the World market for flour is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.2% during the same period. The development of the retail bakery market in the Middle East is assisting the growth of the market. Moreover, the increasing wheat planting in Chile and other Latin American countries is leading to the rise in domestic wheat flour production output in this region.Some of the leading players in the market are Archer Daniels Midland Company, Ardent Mills Canada, Associated British Foods plc, ConAgra Foods Inc., Hindustan Unilever Limited, General Mills Inc, Hodgson Mill., ITC Limited., White Wings, King Arthur Flour Company Inc., and Wilmar International Limited.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.coWebsite:
Customized Premixes Market Projected to Grow at Steady Rate through 2016 - 2024

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The insufficient nutrient supply from the food source and the changing lifestyle leads to the deficiency of basic nutrients to the body and increase the prevalence of the various chronic diseases, to which the customized premixes has become the best alternative to supply the required nutrients. The customized premixes are the blend of desired functional ingredients. The customized premixes contain the ingredients such as vitamins, amino acids, minerals, neutraceuticals, nucleotides, and herbs. In customized premixes, many numbers of ingredients are combined to increase the nutritional value of the product as per the demand of the user. The customized premixes deliver all the desired macro and micro nutrients in single blend and enhance the nutritional value of the product.The global customized premixes market has expected to register the significant growth over the forecast period as the demand of the customized premixes has increased due to the availability of various nutrients in a single product form. The customized premixes are also available in different blends, tests, flavors, and colors and as per the required proportion of nutrients which boost the demand of the customized premixes and drive the growth of the global customized premixes market. The operational efficiency in the manufacturing of customized premixes such as reduced ingredients inventory, reduced quality control costs, reduced supply chain complexity and shorter lead time leads to the cost cutting and moreover to the decrease in the price of the customized premixes, which drives the growth of the global customized premixes market.Request For Report Sample@However, the controversies in the market regarding the actual benefits of the customized premixes may hamper the demand of the customized premixes and restrain the growth of the global customized premixes market. The false claims by the few of the manufacturers about the product ingredients and its applications may distract the consumers which could restrain the growth of the global customized premixes market.The global customized premixes market has segmented on the basis of ingredients, applications, form of the premixes and the geographical region.On the basis of ingredients, the global customized premixes market has segmented into:VitaminsMineralsAmino acidsSpeciality ingredientsColorsOn the basis of application, the global customized premixes market has segmented into:Food and beveragesSupplements and human healthPharmaceuticalsPersonal careOn the basis of form, the global customized premixes market has segmented into:PowderLiquidIn terms of geography, the global customized premixes market has been divided into five key regions, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The North America has contributed the leading shares to the global customized premixes market in terms of revenue. The Asia Pacific has also registered the highest shares in the global customized premixes market in terms of volume due to the increasing awareness about the health benefits of the customized premixes and increasing demand of premixes. Europe has contributed the descent shares to the global customized premixes market. The Latin America and MEA regions are at a nascent stage and contributed lowest shares to the global customized premixes market in terms of revenue and volume due to the less demand from the non-developed countries from the Middle East and Africa region.Visit For TOC@Some of the key players of the global customized premixes market are Glanbia plc., Vitablend, Corbion, DSM, Stern Vitamins GmbH, Arla, Cargill, Watson, The Wright Group and Farbest Brands. Various global companies are contributed the descent growth to the global customized premixes market in terms of volume and revenue. The key players from North America and Europe contributed leading shares to the global customized premixes market.Overall, the global customized premixes market has expected to register the moderate CAGR over the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact USPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Renewable/Bio Jet Fuel Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends and Forecast 2025

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Bio jet is an aviation fuel made from renewable and naturally derived raw materials. It is mixed with petroleum jet fuel and is suitable for use in a jet engine. Biojet fuels have lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to petroleum jet fuel. A major challenge for the bio jet market, however, is the lack of a viable source for the production of biofuels on a commercial scale which has resulted in the current high bio jet fuel prices, which is leading to the airline companies not buying bio jet fuel on a large scale.Request Sample Copy of this Report:The need for the use of environmental friendly jet fuel in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector is a major driver for the bio jet market. The first test flight with bio jet fuel was completed in 2008 by Virgin Atlantic. Despite the need and airline support for bio jet, producers struggle to make renewable fuel cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Currently, biojet fuel is supplied through segregated logistics which leads to higher costs thus reducing its demand.Bio Jet Fuel TaxonomyBy category and pathwaysGas to jetFischer-Tropsch (FT)Gas FermentationSugar to jetCatalytic upgrading of sugar to jetDirect sugar biological to hydrocarbonsATJ alcohol to Jet fuelEthanol to jet(ETJ)Butanol to jet(BTJ)Oil to JetHydro processed Renewable JetHydro processes Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA)Catalytic hydrothermolysis.Hydrotreated depolymerized cellulosic jetOthersBy feedstockCellulosic cropsSugarOthersCellulosic wastes and residueCrop residueWood residueMunicipal solid wasteSeparated food wasteOthersOil cropsAlgalVegetable/Plant oilOthersOil wastes and residueAnimal fats/Waste oilGreasesCurrently blends of up to 50% bio jet fuel produced by either the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process, the Hydro generated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) process or Synthesized Iso-Paraffins (SIP) are used with petroleum jet fuel as aviation fuel mandated by ASTM. HEFA is around 40% more expensive than petrojet, while renewable jet fuels produced by other methods are 60-70% more expensive than conventional petro jet fuel. Hence, bio jet fuel produced by HEFA is found to be more cost effective than other production methods.Check the Trending Report of Renewable/Bio Jet Fuel Market:Market outlookThe bio jet fuel market is the largest in North America due to its reliance on the fast growing aviation market. The U.S. civil aviation sector accounts for a substantial share in the aviation bio jet market. The planned expansion of aviation biofuel producing industries, along with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration a national authority with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation are expected to increase the consumption of biojet fuels in this region. Initiatives taken by various organizations such as SAFN, MASBI are working towards developing cheaper and efficient bio jet fuels. The US Department of Agriculture(USDA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the Navy executed an MOU to invest up to US$ 510 million along with the private sector to produce drop-in renewable jet fuel to power military and commercial transportationIn Europe, Oslo Airport became the first airport to offer jet bio-jet to all carriers through its usual supply mechanism in 2016. In the Netherlands in 2013, KLM, SkyNRG, Neste Oil, Schiphol Group, Port of Amsterdam and the Dutch government developed the BioPort Holland supply chain with an aim to boost the bio jet market in Europe. The EU Biofuels Flightpath has a target of producing two MM tones of renewable jet fuels every year by 2020, which is roughly 3%-4% of total jet fuel use in EuropeEmerging countries in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America region, such as India, China, and Brazil are expected to be major players in providing feedstock for aviation biofuel in the future. Also, China aims at reaching 7.5 billion gallons per year of aviation biofuel which will significantly boost the growth of the aviation biofuel market by 2020. In Australia, SkyNRG is working with Brisbane Airport since 2013 to convert it into the first bio port in the Asia-Pacific region.In January 2014 major companies such as Boeing, Etihad Airways, Takreer, Total along with Masdar Institute of Science and Technology teamed up for 'Biojet Abu Dhabi- Flight Path to Sustainability' developing a regional, sustainable aviation biofuel industry for the Middle East. In Africa, South African Airways with the help of SkyNRG, Boeing were able to fly the first biojet fuel in 2016.To Get Discount on this Report:The aviation industry is one of the strongest and fastest growing transport sectors. Due to the growing share of aviation to greenhouse gas emissions and orders issued by various governing bodies the upcoming bio jet market has a lot of potential to grow in the near future. However the bio jet market needs a continuous supply of feedstock at sufficient quantities and at low cost. It needs to be priced competitively with petroleum jet fuel. The increasing competition by other biofuel producers for feedstock will affect feedstock prices, thus hampering the growth of the bio jet fuel market. For the global commercialization of bio jet fuel the aviation sector will need to efficiently use the existing downstream infrastructure to lower transport and production costs. Key players operating in the global bio jet fuel market include Honeywell International Inc., Red Rock Biofuels, Targray Technology International Inc., Vega Biofuels, Argent Energy, GEVO, KFS Biodiesel GmbH & Co. KG, PetroSun, Inc., Shirke Energy, Archer Daniels Midland Company.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Bio-butanol Market - Global Industry Insight, Trends, Outlook, Share and Forecast 2025

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Bio-butanol easily blends with gasoline due to its low vapor pressure. It contains as much as energy as gasoline and its non-corrosive nature gives it advantage over bioethanol.Bio-butanol is an alcohol, which is used as a fuel or organic solvent. It is prepared by fermentation of sugar, starch or cellulosic feedstock such as wheat, sugar beet, corn, straw, and wood. The purpose of using bio-butanol is to reduce consumption of crude oil. They have higher octane number, larger flammability limits, higher flash point and higher heat of vaporization. Bio-butanol easily blends with gasoline due to its low vapor pressure. It contains as much as energy as gasoline and its non-corrosive nature gives it advantage over bioethanol.Request Sample of Bio-butanol Market:Bio-butanol is also used as cleaner, adhesives, jet fuel, synthetic rubber, as a solvent in paints, bio-based plastics and fibers. They are also expected to meet 20% of the worlds fuel demands. The requirement for clean energy is the main driver for the use of bio-butanol.Bio-butanol fuel Market TaxonomyOn the basis of raw material, the bio-butanol market is classified into:WheatSugar beetCornStrawWoodOthersOn the basis of application, the bio-butanol market is classified into:AcrylatesAcetatesGlycol ethersSolventsPlasticizersOthersOn the basis of end users, the bio-butanol market is classified into:Petrochemical industryAutomobile industryAviation industryConsumer goodsTextile industryOthersThe raw materials used in process of bio-butanol are wheat, sugar beet, corn, straw and wood. The availability of raw material is a major concern with the bio-butanol preparation process. The properties like polymer chain formation, blending, paint and cleaner makes it applicable for the products such as acrylates, acetates, glycol ethers, solvent and plasticizer. Bio butanol is used as a fuel in internal combustion engines in petrochemical and automotive industry. Bio-butanol has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 85% compared to gasoline. It is a possible large scale alternative to gasoline.Bio-butanol Market OutlookNorth America is the largest bio-jet fuel market due to the presence of low temperature weather in most of the countries followed by Western Europe which is second largest. Bio-butanol used in automobile sectors are the main reason for these largest market industry. Significant investment in R&D in these regions has resulted in alternatives for petroleum derived fuels.Asia Pacific is estimated to be the fastest growing market in the forecast period due to the population increase and demand for greener paints and coatings. India and China are expected to have the most demand in the bio-jet fuel market in the forecast period due to rise in the aviation and transportation segments.In Europe, demand for bio-butanol is increasing due to the government initiatives and stringent environmental regulations to shift away from petroleum products. These regulations are result of meeting the aims set out in Kyoto Protocol.In Middle East, the crude oil derived fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene and jet fuel are very cheap due to proximity to the resource. This makes it very difficult for bio-based alternatives to enter the market, as they are easily out priced.Check the Trending Report of Bio-butanol Market:Bio-butanol Market ChallengesThe variation in availability and cost of raw materials is a major problem as it increases the production cost of bio-butanol. Currently, bio-butanol costs more than bio ethanol. Also the government regulations against the use of raw material are the challenges for the bio butanol market.Some of the key companies dominating the market are Biobutanol include Bioenergy International, Butalco GmBH, Cobalt Biofuels and Arbor Biofuels backed by oil manufacturers like TetraVitae Biosciences and Metabolic Explorers.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200 Seattle,WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global PET Bottle Flakes Market Professional Survey Report 2017

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This report studies PET Bottle Flakes 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, coveringGravitaBePETShree Renga PolymersSri Chakra Polyplast India PvtJFCBy Application, the market can be split intoPackagingConstructionTextile Fiber / ClothingLandscaping/Street FurnitureOther UsesTo Download Sample Report With TOC:Table of ContentsGlobal PET Bottle Flakes Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of PET Bottle Flakes1.1 Definition and Specifications of PET Bottle Flakes1.1.1 Definition of PET Bottle Flakes1.1.2 Specifications of PET Bottle Flakes2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of PET Bottle Flakes2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of PET Bottle Flakes2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of PET Bottle Flakes2.4 Industry Chain Structure of PET Bottle Flakes3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of PET Bottle Flakes3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global PET Bottle Flakes Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global PET Bottle Flakes Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global PET Bottle Flakes Major Manufacturers in 2016About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact UsBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Ecommerce Growth Market Assessment and Forecast Report by Persistence Market Research 2016 - 2024

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Ecommerce: Market OverviewFood and beverage industry faces many challenges for their product lining including meeting consumer demands and managing supply chains. Ecommerce helps these industries/ organizations to grow into the market according to the market trend change and avails different upcoming opportunities for the betterment of the customer and operating margins. Ecommerce gives real time tracking and information from different sources to one source which plays big role in the industry.The industry have very slow growth as there are challenges like issue for freshness of the food, product damage, logistics and other challenges. But instead of these challenges the market is seem to rise in near future due to increase in the trend of using online shopping option.Request For Report Sample@Ecommerce: Market Trends and DriversEcommerce market is primarily driven by the growth in the online shopping which gives multiple options at a glance. Also retailers are using strategies like same-day-delivery are helping them to grow the ecommerce market. New preservation techniques used for the perishable foods is also one of the key driver responsible for the ecommerce growth. User-friendly interface, low costs, and daily delivery options have made the ecommerce more trending over traditional sellers. Social media is also playing important role in driving the ecommerce market as the processing can be done using mobile phones which is one of the significant way of using ecommerce.Ecommerce: Market SegmentationEcommerce market can be segmented on the basis of their type of consumers and type of products.On the basis of consumer type, the most of the uses are observed from the town region and mostly the working families will adopt to this due to lack of time and according to the convenience.On the basis of type of products, ecommerce is segmented as perishable products and non-perishable products. Perishability of the product also depend on the preservation technique used for the product and the time of delivery of the product.Ecommerce: Market by GeographyThe ecommerce market is further segmented on the basis of regions as, China followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, South Africa, Brazil and United States. Increase in the number of consumers is due to increase in the use of internet via broadband or mobile, where in china is growing daily with the smart phone market. Also Chinas e-tail market is dominated by Alibaba which is one of the big ecommerce site for selling different products including groceries. UK is increasing in the ecommerce of groceries because retails are moving to online shopping for the convenience of people which operate on 24 hour basis. Also door step delivery options are increasing day by day. One of the main reason UK is leading ecommerce sector is due to investment of ecommerce giant Amazon.Visit For TOC@Ecommerce: Key PlayersThe ecommerce for food and beverage is dominated by players like, Mondelez International, PepsiCo, and General Mills due to early adoption of the e-business. As the trend goes major online retailers like Walmart, Amazon are increasing their online grocery assortments.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact USPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Expansion of Cottonseed Oil Market to Remain Consistent During 2016-2024

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Global Cottonseed Oil Market: OverviewThe rising use of cottonseed oil in food products and other industries is encouraging the growth of the global cottonseed oil market in the next few years. The enhancement of the distribution network by the key players is projected to accelerate the development of the overall market in the forecast period.The research report on the global cottonseed oil market provides insights into the key aspects of the market that are estimated to influence the development in the coming few years. The research study throws light on the growth drivers, barriers, and limitations in the global market. Moreover, the key segmentation, product portfolio, key applications, and the competitive scenario of the global cottonseed oil have been provided in the scope of the research study.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Cottonseed Oil Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global cottonseed oil market is expected to grow significantly in the next few years, thanks to the rising demand for cottonseed oil across diverse industries. The increasing awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of cottonseed oil is estimated to accelerate the growth of the overall market in the forecast period. In addition, the low price of cottonseed oil for cooking purposes is predicted to encourage the development of the market in the near future.As per these factors, the global cottonseed oil market is expected to register a progressive growth rate in the next few years. Some of the prominent end use industries of global cottonseed oil market are food processing, retail, cosmetics, and other industries. The expansion of the application base is projected to generate promising and lucrative opportunities for leading players operating in the cottonseed oil market across the globe.Global Cottonseed Oil Market: Region-wise OutlookFrom a geographical perspective, the North America market for cottonseed oil is anticipated to witness a healthy growth in the near future. The rising contribution from the U.S. is one of the key factors predicted to encourage the growth of this region in the coming years. In addition, the growing demand from several industries is estimated to accelerate the growth of the market in the next few years.On the other hand, on the basis of consumption and production, Asia Pacific is estimated to register a progressive growth rate in the next few years. The increasing contribution from China and India is predicted to encourage the development of the Asia Pacific market in the forecast period. Furthermore, Uzbekistan and Pakistan are expected to contribute extensively towards the growth of the market in the coming years. The rising demand for low-priced cooking oil is predicted to supplement the growth of the market in the near future.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:Some of the leading players operating in the cottonseed oil market across the globe are Matangi Cotton Industries, Gokul Refoils & Solvent Ltd., Oil Seeds International Ltd., FEDIOL, Asha Cotton Industries, Willmar International Ltd., and Pyco Industries. The rising demand for cottonseed oil from diverse industries is anticipated to enhance the level of competition over the next few years. The presence of a large number of players and the expansion of their product portfolio are estimated to fuel the growth of the market.The research study offers a detailed overview of the competitive landscape of the global cottonseed oil market and highlights the key business policies that are being adopted by the players in order to sustain in the market worldwide. The company profiles of the dominating players have been provided in the research study, along with their SWOT analysis and financial overview. A list of other key players operating worldwide has also been provided in the scope of the research study.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USAbhishek BudholiyaState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Selenium Yeast Market Set to Witness Steady Growth through 2017 - 2025

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Selenium Yeast Market: OverviewSelenium yeast is produced using special species of yeast known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This selenium yeast is also known as bakers yeast in the market. When the yeast is grown in the selenium-enriched medium, it converts that selenium into naturally found selenium found in food by absorbing it. This selenium yeast is then used to make supplements and fortify foods. The selenium has many health benefits as it helps to produce glutathione peroxidases and thyroid hormones which make it an important food ingredient. During the deficiency of selenium, the consumption of selenium yeast can help to synthesize these essential substances.Selenium Yeast Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global selenium yeast market is expected to register a significant growth due to growing application in the food industry and other industrial sectors during the forecast period. The increasing demand for bakery products, growth in alcohol and beverage consumption, and demand for high-quality animal feed are expected the global selenium yeast market during the forecast period. Then growing acceptance of bio-ethanol as in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, also as an alternative fuel is estimated to further contribute to the growth of selenium yeast market. The rising demand for convenience food and ready to eat food products due to the changing lifestyle of consumers is predicted to fuel the growth of selenium yeast market over the forecast period. Furthermore, the growing awareness among the customers about the health benefits and nutritional values of selenium yeast is expected to create an ample of opportunities for the key market players over the forecast period. The low availability of raw material is one of the greatest matter of concern for the producers of selenium yeast. Thus, the shortage of raw materials can create an imbalance between supply and demand which can act as a challenge for the growth of global selenium yeast market. The major market players in the selenium yeast market are continuously involved in the R&D activities to increase the application scope in additives and food ingredient.Request For Report Sample@Selenium Yeast Market: SegmentationOn the basis of Type,Food GradeFeed GradeOn the basis of Applications,Functional FoodFeed IndustryOtherSelenium Yeast Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global Selenium Yeast Market is segmented into the seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Western Europe has accounted as the largest market for Selenium Yeast due to the significant growth in the functional food industry. The APEJ and North America regions are expected to show significant growth rate over the forecast period. The developing countries such as India, China, Australia and South Korea are anticipated to bolster the growth of selenium yeast market in APEJ region. In Western Europe region the countries such as Germany, Italy and U.K. dominate the Western Europe selenium yeast market.Visit For TOC@Selenium Yeast Market: Key PlayersAlltechLesaffreABFLallemandNovusADMPharma NordGarudaProbiotechSelkoMiro ChembiotechAlerisChaitanyaAngel YeastTianxiangyuanJohncan BioAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact USPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Extensive Growth Opportunities to be Witnessed by xyz by 2016-2024

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Delta decalactone is found in animal foods such as butter oil, coconut oil, apricots, peaches, cheese, cane sugar, pork fat, margarine, lavender oil, and other substances. The chemical name for delta decalactone is Decan-5-olide. It is heat-sensitive and light-sensitive, due to which its container needs to be tightly closed in a dry and well-ventilated place. Delta decalactone is an indispensable lactone that is useful for lending roundness, creaminess, or a fleshy character to brown nuts, vanilla, diary, red fruit, meat, tropical fruit, and yellow fruit. Natural delta decalactone is an important constituent of a variety of natural flavorings. Its chemical formula is C10H18O2. Optical isomers of delta decalactone and delta dodecalactone imparts and / or enhance the aroma and taste of consumable materials including chewing gums, foodstuffs, beverages, perfume compositions, colognes, and fragrant articles such as solid & liquid anionic, cationic, nonionic, or zwitterionic detergents, hair preparations, and fabric softeners. Delta decalactone is used as a fragrance in creams, household products; mango, coconut, raspberry, & nectarine flavors; and as a coumarin replacer. It is employed in pharmaceutical preparations and flavorings and is also an ingredient in the manufacturing of mixtures. The good solvency properties of delta decalactone is useful in industrial application. They also have wide demand in artificial fiber industry, they are polymerizable and can be used as nylon precursors. Usage of delta decalactone by the general public is strongly discouraged.Delta decalactone is found to be chemically stable under normal operating conditions. It is not considered dangerous according to directives and regulations; and the possibility of any form of hazardous polymerization is less, as it does not undergo any dangerous or explosive reactions. Avoiding heat, flames, and other sources of ignition is recommended. Delta decalactone is highly incompatible with chemicals such as strong oxidizing agents, reducing agents, and oxidizing mineral acids. Upon combustion, it may release hazardous decomposition products such as carbon monoxide and other unidentified organic compounds. It is advisable to use carbon dioxide in dry chemical powder or appropriate foam form as an extinguishing medium. Full water jets are not recommended for safety reasons. First aid measures to be followed on consumption of delta decalactone include rinsing ones mouth with water if swallowed and cleaning with copious amounts of water in case of eye or skin contact. Delta decalactone must be stored in a cool and dry place and in a tight container and be kept away from food, drink, and animal feed. During disposal, one must take into consideration all the state and local environmental regulations, the specific material, and the container in which it is stored. Reuse of empty containers is not prescribed. General control parameters for using delta decalactone include wearing personal protection equipment such as breathing apparatus for respiratory protection.A sample of this report is available upon request @Asia Pacific and North America followed by Europe are the dominant regions in the delta decalactone market because of the products wide application as a flavoring agent in food and animal products. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are still in their developmental phase but expected to witness decent growth over the forecast period.Key players operating in the delta decalactone market include Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC, United International Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Simeiquan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Nanjing Oriental Pearl Industry & Trade Industry Co., Xiamen Miracle Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Rihua Flavor & Fragrance Co., Ltd., and Fairlong Aroma Chemical Co., Ltd.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.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USAbhishek BudholiyaState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Soy Lecithin Market- Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook 2025

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Soy lecithin is an insulator, which reduces heat flow between high and low temperature materials. Soy lecithin is generally used in buildings as window insulating film, in mechanical systems, spacecraft, and automotive. Air being a poor thermal conductor, soy lecithin is used as an alternative to it in many thermal insulation applications. Soy lecithin traps gases and forms a layer of coating against heat. Also, soy lecithin reduces noise and vibrations.Soy lecithin is used as a wetting, stabilizing, and dispersing agent due to which it is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. It is rich in fat and protein owing to which it finds application as animal feed. It is also used in paint industry as an antioxidant and wetting, suspending, emulsifying & stabilizing agent.Request a sample copy of this report:Soy lecithin Market TaxonomyOn the basis of grade, the soy lecithin market is classified into:Food gradeFeed gradePharmaceutical gradeIndustry gradeOthersOn the basis of function, the soy lecithin market is classified into:EmulsifierNutritional supplementsDispersantsWetting agentsViscosity modifierRelease aidSurfactantsOthersOn the basis of application, the soy lecithin market is classified into:Food & BeveragesIndustrialAutomotive & AerospaceConstructionPaintsOthersPharmaceuticalsSoy lecithin is largely used in food, industrial as well as pharmaceutical industries due to the rich protein content and protective cover formation property.Access Table of Content (TOC) of the report:Soy Lecithin Market OutlookAsia Pacific is estimated to be the largest and fastest growing market in the forecast period owing to the high demand for the product and abundance of raw materials. India and China contribute significantly to the market growth in the region. The forecasted growth is backed by the immense demand for the product from food, construction, and paint industriesNorth America is the second largest market of soy lecithin. The market growth is primarily supported by the rising demand for protein-rich as well as processed food. Busy life schedules of modern society has augmented the demand for packaged nutritional supplements, which in turn boosts the demand for soy lecithinEurope is an emerging market in the global soy lecithin market. The rising use of cheap source of high-quality protein in food and supplements increases the demand for soy lecithinThe Latin America and Africa soy lecithin markets are witnessing sluggish growth rate, however, the growing economy of these regions creates a better platform for soy lecithin market in the upcoming years.Soy lecithin being of lower price and easily available is preferred over other protein enriched food items.Soy Lecithin Market ChallengesExcess consumption of soy lecithin leads to many health issues. Strict government regulations pertaining to genetically modified soybeans hinder the soy lecithin market growth to an extent.View this full report:Soy Lecithin Market ParticipantsSome of the key market players identified in the value chain of global soy lecithin market are Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Lipoid GmbH, American Lecithin Company, Lasenor emul, Lecico Gmbh, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd., Ceresking Ecology & Technology Co. Ltd., and Bunge Limited.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Automotive Starter And Alternator Market Analysis and Forecast Study for 2017 - 2027

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Modern day automobiles widely use starters and alternators. These are generally used in diesel and gasoline engines. The rising investments on R&D by key players in the market coupled with acquisitions and mergers is expected to make the global automotive starter and alternator market flourish in near future. The manufacturers of automotive starters and alternators are expanding their businesses to emerging economies like China, India, Russia, etc. as these countries are focused on development of automotive sectors in order to serve the rising demand across the globe.Electric starters are expected to dominate the segment during the forecast period. The different types of electric starters used in automotive sector are gear reduction, inertia starter, folo-thru drive and moveable pole shoe. Based on alternator type, the claw pole alternators are projected to witness significant growth in near future.Request For Report Sample@Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: DriversOne of the major factors driving the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market is increase in production of vehicles across the globe. According to OICA, the total vehicle production increased by around 1% in 2015. Moreover, increasing adoption of electric vehicles due to environment concerns such as rising air pollution, is further expected to escalate the demand for automotive starter and alternator market during the forecast period. Additionally, increasing preference for light weight and fuel efficient vehicles is further projected to escalate the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: RestraintsThe increasing production of hybrid vehicles is anticipated to hamper the growth of the global automotive starter and alternator market. The hybrid vehicles use one or more motors which ignite with the help of internal combustion engine. Due to this reason, these vehicles have eliminated the use of automotive starters and alternators which, in turn, is expected to restrict their demand in near future.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: SegmentationThe global automotive starter and alternator market can be segmented on the basis of starter type, alternator type and vehicle type. On the basis of starter type, the market can be segmented into electric, hydraulic and pneumatic. On the basis of alternators, the market can be further segmented into claw pole alternator and cylindrical alternator. On the basis of vehicles, the global starter and alternator market can be further segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and passenger cars.Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Region wise OutlookBased on regions, Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the automotive starter and alternator market over the forecast period. Asia Pacific, led by emerging economies like China and India, is projected to be the dominant region during the forecast period due to the presence of continuously increasing automobile manufacturing companies in this region. North America, led by U.S. is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for starters and alternators in North America, owing to rising production of vehicles, coupled with continuous investment in this market is expected to fuel the demand for automotive starters and alternators in near future. The automotive starter and alternator market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is anticipated to witness steady growth due to sluggish demand in this region. However, increasing demand for vehicles is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for automotive starters and alternators in near future.Visit For TOC@Automotive Starter and Alternator Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified in the global automotive starter and alternator market are mentioned below:Valeo SADenso CorporationRobert Bosch GmbHNingbo zhongwang auto fittings Co.,LTDHitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.Mitsubishi Electric CorporationASIMCO Technologies LtdHella KGaA Hueck & Co.BBB IndustriesUnipoint Electric MFG Co., Ltd.Remy International, Inc.Lucas Electrical LimitedMitsuba CorporationABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market InsightsAbhishek Bhudoliya616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Government Support will boost Specialty Sugars market size During Forecast Period 2017  2025

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Specialty Sugars Market: OverviewSugar  is one of the most prevalent commodities in todays world. However, this white crystal looking simple sweetener journeyed through ages and across almost every possible trade routes prevalent in historical world before it became common in kitchens in every home. More than 5,000 years ago, sugar was derived out of sugarcanes. Unfathomable curiosity and inquisitiveness of human to make varieties sugar for enhancing flavor and taste of variety of eatable products and purposes introduced specialty sugars to world. In U.S. to be eligible for the specialty sugar, the sugar must be classified in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) under subheadings 1701.91.10.00, 1701.99.10.10, 1702.90.10.00, or 2106.90.44.00. Most common specialty sugars are classified in HTS 1701.99.10.10. Increase in confectionery industries, rapid inclusion of specialty sugars in various cuisine will boost the market of specialty sugars and it will register a healthy CAGR over the forecast period.Specialty Sugars Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe specialty sugars are witnessing a growth from restaurants and packaged food industry. Drinks such as mocktail and cocktail are witnessing a demand from upcoming younger generation and with rise in economic level of individuals. Packaged food industries, confectioneries etc. are on rise across globe with rise in customers demand for wide variety of eatable products. Restaurants business has not seen any decline in growth in recent times. With rise in economic level of individuals, individuals now possess higher purchasing power than compared to yester years and they doesnt hesitate to buy or try anything new which can give them a new taste or a feeling. Health benefits in specialty sugars also has encouraged to its consumption among certain age groups. Considering these aforementioned factors it can be concluded these few factors has the sole capability to drive the market of specialty sugars.Request For Report Sample@High price of sugars, climatic turbulence and interference in sugar cane cultivation, trade barrier among nations, ban on export and import of sugar are few possible factors which can be restraint for the growth of specialty sugars market.Specialty Sugars Market: Market SegmentationBased on types, specialty sugars market is segmented into:Cinnamon SugarBaked SugarBlack Onyx SugarPure Maple SugarBreakfast SugarCastor SugarOthersBased on sales channel, specialty sugars market is segmented into:B2BB2COnline RetailingSpecialty Sugars Market: Regional OutlookBased on the geographic regions, global specialty sugars market is segmented into seven key market segments namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Among the aforementioned regions, North America will dominate the specialty sugars market over the forecast period owing to the fact that North America is a base with largest number of packaged food industries, restaurant chains, high purchasing power of individuals and an affinity toward sweet products by American individuals. Country such as U.S. has been foremost in developing and producing specialty sugars products for consumption. Next to North America second most promising specialty sugars market is APEJ. In APEJ country such as India, China the two most populous nation in this world creates a large pool of consumer for specialty sugars. Recent boom in e-commerce growth in this region is also a factor, which will indirectly help specialty sugars market, as e-commerce portals will boost the sales of specialty sugars with various discounts and doorstep delivery model. In Western Europe, the market of specialty sugars has also been in momentum and the market is expected to grow over the forecast period. In Eastern Europe the market has been suffering due to recent political turmoil and it is expected that the market will grow again once everything settles down. MEA and Latin America market has a similar trend even though Latin America produces sugar whereas MEA depends heavily on import. These regions market will grow over the forecast period with establishment of specialty sugar industries.Visit For TOC@Specialty Sugars Market: Key PlayersThe major players identified in the global specialty sugars market includes:MB Sugars & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.BOETTGER|ZUCKERDhampure Speciality Sugars Ltd.Savory SpiceKing Arthur Flour Company, Inc.CSC Sugar, LLCDW Montgomery & CompanyAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact USPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Portable Charging Units Market Intelligence Study for Comprehensive Insights 2017 - 2027

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The increased gadgets usage for gaming, surfing the internet, camera, etc. drain out the battery charge swiftly. To combat the unexpected and frequent battery death while travelling or in office, a reliable portable charger is necessary. Portable charging units are commonly called as power banks. Portable charging unit is essentially an external battery in a sealed case. Portable charging units are manufactured in various capacities depending upon the applications of the units. The capacity of portable charging units refers to the maximum charge the battery can hold inside it. The capacity of portable charging units are measured in terms of milliampere-hour (mAh), the higher mAh indicates higher capacity of the power bank. Generally, lithium ion batteries are utilized in the design of power bank for their compactness, affordability and varied market reach. Further, lithium is a highly reactive element that can handle and store energy more efficiently and recharge cycles properly. The most important part of portable charging units are the PCB board and batteries. Currently, portable charging unit batteries are categorized as cylindrical battery, square aluminium case and polymer battery. Portable charging units are available with different number of ports in the market such as one port, two port, three port and four port. Currently, two USB port charging unit holds major market share and this trend is expected to continue over the forecast period. Portable charging units are utilized to charge various products, which include laptops, mobile devices, tablets, digital cameras and others.Global Portable Charging Units Market: SegmentationThe global portable charging units market can be segmented on the basis of capacity range, application, technology and number of ports.Based on the capacity range, the global portable charging units market can be segmented into,1,000 mAh-3,000 mAh3,000 mAh-6,000 mAh6,000 mAh-10,000 mAhAbove 10,000 mAhBased on the application, the global portable charging units market can be segmented into,SmartphonesMusic PlayersTabletsOthers (microelectronic device, etc.)Based on the technology, the global portable charging units market can be segmented into,Li-ionLi PolymerOthers (nickel cadmium, etc.)Based on the number of ports, the global portable charging units market can be segmented into,OneTwoThreeFourBased on the technology, it is expected that lithium ion battery would lead the portable charging units market as compared to lithium polymer and other batteries owing to the great cost to energy ratio and high energy density. However, lithium polymer batteries are expected to grow at a higher CAGR than lithium ion batteries owing to the light weight and better safety.Request For Report Sample@Global Portable Charging Units Market: DynamicsEnhanced consumer purchasing power, better living standard and quick economic development have impacted the electronics market well. Some devices are available with lower battery capacity and thus the demand for portable charging units have been rising simultaneously with the rise in number of devices. Moreover, spread of smartphone technology promoted the growth of the portable charging units globally. Rising demands for tablets, smartphones, and other digital gadgets have fuelled the expansion of portable charging units market till date.A key trend identified in the global portable charging units market is the introduction of sleek power banks in the market.Global Portable Charging Units Market: Region-wise OutlookConsidering regions, Asia Pacific accounts for the major market share followed by other regions. The region accounts for more than 1/3rd share of the global portable charging units market and is expected to maintain the same trend over the forecast period. China is the most prominent regional market and increased demand for the portable charging units has created significant growth opportunities on a global level as well.Visit For TOC@Global Portable Charging Units Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the portable charging units market identified across the value chain include Platinet S.A., BIC Graphic, Samsung Sdi Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation, mophie, inc., Panasonic Corporation, SIMPLO TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., GP Batteries, Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. and Microsoft Corporation, among others.Owing to the intense competition in the industry, manufactures are focusing on research & development activities.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trendsCONTACT:Future Market InsightsAbhishek Bhudoliya616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Tubular Heaters Market To Grow Owing To Increasing Demand From Food, Central Heating, Mechanical And Shipbuilding Industries Till 2022 | Million Insights

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Global Tubular Heaters Market is segmented, By Types into Air cooled, Fin Type, Plate, shell and tube. The most frequent alternative when it comes to exact heating of fluids is the Backer tubular heating element. The optimal solution for the required field of application is decided from what medium shall be heated, gathering of the element, and power required. Some products are corrosion resistant, explosion-proof, finned, or portable. Tubular heaters change in terms of landscapes and options. Hazardous location heaters are designed for use in Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the other administrations. Secondary fired heaters use a secondary heat exchanger to separate the breathable air stream from the boiling air stream.Topographies for tubular heaters also comprise overheat protection, self-governing timing controls, and internal temperature detectors. Different geometries are designed for either healthy heating or contact surface heating. Tubular heaters are used mostly in custom heating applications and in many other applications. Regularly, tubular heaters are absorbed in materials such as water, oil, or molten materials. As they harvest heat within the liquid or process, tubular heaters are tremendously energy efficient.Full Research Report On Global Tubular Heaters Market Analysis available at:For well-organized heat transfer from one medium to another, heat transfer equipment is used. Heat Transfer Equipment are devices whose main responsibility is the transmission (exchange) of heat, typically from one fluid to another. They are not only used in heating applications such as space heaters, but also in cooling applications, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. Tubular Heaters Market is segmented, by Application into Food Industry, Central Heating, Mechanical Industry, Shipbuilding Industry, Electrical Power & Metallurgy, and Petrochemical.The North American region consists of the U.S., and Canada. Latin American region consists of Mexico and Brazil. The Western European region consists of Germany, Italy, France, England and Spain. The Eastern European region consists of Poland and Russia. Asia Pacific region consists of China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand. The Middle East and Africa region consists of GCC, South Africa and North Africa. Tubular Heaters Market Key Players include IHI, SPX-Flow, DOOSAN, API, KNM, Funke, Xylem, Thermowave, Ormandy, Defon, Beichen, Lanzhou LS, Hisaka, Sondex A/S, SWEP and others.Request for Free Sample Copy:This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Watlow Backer Chromalox Friedr. Freek ACIM Jouanin Keller Ihne & Tesch Rotfil Vulcanic Herbst Heatrex Wattco Thermo Products Mahendra Thermo HELKRA Durex Industries Gebr. Bach Shiva Products Tutco Termik Kawai Hengzhisheng ASB Heating Elements Ltd. CetalBy types, the market can be split into Type I Single-ended Double-endedBy Application, the market can be split into Liquid Air SolidBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want) North America China Europe Southeast Asia Japan IndiaRelated Reports of this Category available at Million Insights:Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive.Office No. 302, 3rd Floor, Manikchand Galleria,Model Colony, Shivaji Nagar, Pune, MH, 411016 IndiaPhone: 91-20-65300184Email: sales@millioninsights.com
Aerosol Cans Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2017-2025

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Aerosols are homogeneous, crystalline particles made up of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in the air or another gas. Aerosols find applications in paints, perfumes, room fresheners, medical products, deodorants, and so on. Aerosol cans are handheld containers that release aerosol. Aerosol cans shield products from external conditions such as moisture, heat, dust, and other contaminants during transportation. However, health and environmental risks posed due to the use of aerosols act as major restraints for the growth of the aerosol cans market.Request Sample Copy of this Report:Increasing demand for personal care products drives the demand for aerosol cans. Growing use of aerosol cans in paints, medical products, food, adhesives, and vehicles are augmenting the growth of the market. Rising demand for household and personal care products is also expected to have a positive impact on the aerosols market but the presence of fluorocarbons named hydro fluoroalkanes (HFA) is projected to restrain the demand. Emission of CFC is a major disadvantage of aerosols. Aerosols are also found to be inflammable, toxic, and explosive.Aerosol Cans Market TaxonomyOn the basis of propellant type, the global aerosol cans market is classified into:Liquefied Gas PropellantCompressed Gas PropellantOn the basis of material, the global aerosol cans market is classified into:TinplateGlassCoated glassAluminumStainless steelPlasticOn the basis of end use, the global aerosol cans market is classified into:HouseholdAutomotiveAgricultureHealthcare and cosmeticsIndustrialConstructionSportsOthersOn the basis of packaging type, the global aerosol cans market is classified into:BottlesCylindersCansOthersAluminum is the most commonly used material for aerosols cans production due to lightweight coupled with improved safety and hygiene features. Liquefied gas propellant segment holds a major market share. Liquefied gas propellants aid in maintaining the performance of spray during the lifespan of aerosol cans, owing to which it witnesses significant demand in the aerosol cans market. Bottles and cans are the most used forms of aerosol packaging types. Rising demand for air care products along with personal care products such as shaving and depilatories, hair care products, skin care products, and deodorants are expected to create a positive impact on the market for aerosol cans. Use of aerosol as spray paints in construction and automobile industries display the widespread demand for aerosol cans. Aerosol cans are also used to store pain relievers and asthma inhalers.Market OutlookEurope dominates the global aerosol cans market primarily due to the high demand for personal care products in this region. The use of deodorants in developed countries such as the U.K. and Germany has led to technical advancements in the aerosol cans market. The presence of major companies such as Unilever and Nivea has resulted in rise in demand for aerosol cans in this regionCheck the Trending Report of Aerosol Cans Market:The U.S. is the leading player in the aerosols market in North America. However, the strict ecological rules issued by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the use of HCFC, CFC, and HFC components in aerosols act as a major hindrance for the aerosol cans market in North AmericaIncreasing awareness regarding personal upkeep and hygiene has led to the growth of aerosol cans market in China and India. Around 70% of the Indian population lives in rural areas. This provides the companies with large untapped markets in Asia. Demand for deodorants and other healthcare products is increasing due to the changing lifestyle trends and rising focus on hygiene, together with increasing product availability. These factors drive the market growth in Asia Pacific, making it the fastest growing market for aerosol cans. The Australian community is highly affected by asthma on a large scale, which results in increasing use of asthma inhalers that in turn bolsters the aerosol cans marketIncreasing automobile production in Brazil and Argentina has led to an increase in demand for aerosol cans in Latin America. Growing disposable incomes along with high standard of living is driving the use of personal care and household products in the regionUrbanization coupled with technological advancements is boosting the use of aerosol cans in the household as well as personal care segments across the Middle East. Developments put forth by several manufacturers and higher living standards & buying power of the people sparkle the demand for aerosol cans in the regionSome of the major players in the global aerosol cans market include Holdings, Inc. (U.S.), CCL Industries, Inc. (Canada), Ball Corporation (U.S.), Crown WestRock Company (U.S.), Nampak Ltd. (South Africa), Ardagh Packaging Holdings Limited (Luxembourg), BWAY Corporation (U.S.), Colep Portugal S.A. (Portugal), and Exal Corporation (U.S.). Companies adopt certain strategies such as new product launches, expansions, mergers & acquisitions, and investments to cope up with the increasing demand for aerosol cans in the emerging markets.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200 Seattle,WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Enterprise Server, Power and Cooling Solutions and Services Market is likely to register Single Digit CAGR during 2016 - 2026

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Global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market is in its maturity stage. Globally, number of enterprise server or data centres are increasing to growing demand of data processing power and increasing information storage capability. Hence, there is a need of an efficient enterprise server, power & cooling technology as with the increased data storage capabilities, the energy consumption is also increases and server generates excessive heat.A sample of this report is available upon request @Enterprise Server, Power and Cooling Solutions and Services Market: Drivers and RestraintGlobal enterprise server, power and cooling solution and services market is matured. Now the market growth rate has recovered as compared to the poor performances in 2012 and 2013. Factors which are driving the growth of global enterprise server, power and cooling solution and services market are growing demand of data storage capability, faster speed and security, along with excessive growth in colocation and cloud services. Furthermore growing data center investment encourages the growth of power and cooling solution and services market. On the other hand factors which are restraining the growth of enterprise server, power and cooling solution and services market are high initial setup cost and high energy consumption. However, increasing demand of data storage capabilities and super computers is expected to create significant growth opportunity for the global enterprise server, power and cooling solution and services market over the forecast period.Enterprise Server, Power and Cooling Solutions and Services Market: SegmentationGlobal enterprise server, power and cooling solution and services market is segmented on the basis of solution, services, organization size, user type and verticals. On the basis of solution, global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and service market can be segmented into power solution and cooling solution. Power solution segment can be further sub segmented into power management solution, uninterruptible power systems (UPS) solution and others. Cooling solution segment can be further sub segmented into precision air conditioning (PAC), Precision Air Handling Unit (PAHU) and others.On the basis of services, the global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market can be segmented into integration & installation services, monitoring services and professional services.On the basis of organization size, the global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market can be segmented into large enterprises, medium enterprises and small enterprises.On the basis of vertical, the global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market can be segmented into banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), IT & telecommunication, energy, healthcare and othersTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Enterprise Server, Power and Cooling Solutions and Services Market: Region wise outlookOn the basis of region, the global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market can be segmented into seven regions which includes, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), Eastern Europe, Japan and Middle East & Africa region. Further the market is sub-segmented as per the major countries of each region in order to provide better regional analysis of the enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market. North America region is expected to generate highest revenue for the market during the forecast period. However, developing economies such as Asia-Pacific and Japan are expected to grow rapidly over the forecast period. In Asia-Pacific region, Countries such as India, China and South Korea are expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.Enterprise Server, Power and Cooling Solutions and Services Market: Key PlayersKey players in global enterprise server, power and cooling solutions and services market are Schneider Electric, Eaton, Delta Power Solutions, IBM Corporation, Rahi Systems Inc., CDW Corporation, R.I.S.K. Company, INSIGHT and Power Solutions among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Specialty Printing Consumables Market - Projection of Each Major Segment over the Forecast Period

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In the highly competitive and fragmented Europe specialty printing consumables market, a notable transformation has been observed from focus on traditional printing technologies such as lithographic and offset printing to digital ones such as laser printing in the past few years, observes a recent report by Transparency Market Research. This trend is expected to gain strength with time and an increasing number of companies operating in the specialty printing consumables market are expected to venture into the field of digital printing in the near future. Many companies, such as Electronics for Imaging, Inc., which acquired Reggiani Machine in 2015, a leader in digital textile printing machines, are already making their move into the world of digital printing.TMR estimates that the Europe specialty printing consumables market will exhibit a 3.7% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. As a result, the market, which had a valuation of US$20.22 bn in 2015, is expected to reach US$28.21 bn by 2024. In terms of product variety, the segment of toners, which occupied nearly 51% of the market in terms of revenue, dominated in 2015.Obtain Report Details @The segment is also expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. In terms of geography, the market in Germany emerged as the most prominent consumer of specialty printing consumables in 2015. The market in Germany accounted for over 31% of the Europe market in the said year.The Europe market for specialty printing consumables is chiefly driven by the rising use across the textile industry for textile printing applications, availability of effective technologies for printing processes, and rising applications in the packaging industry. Rising applications in the form of packaging printing and label printing are expected to make the packaging industry one of the key growth drivers of the Europe specialty printing consumables market in the near future. The growing volume of exports and online orders for products through e-commerce websites will add to the rising demand for printing consumables in the packaging and labelling sector in Europe.Download Table of Content @Availability of cost effective and less time consuming printing techniques such as 3D printing are becoming a growing trend in the Europe specialty printing industry. The rising adoption of such technologies is opening new and diverse growth avenues for manufacturers of specialty printing consumables in the Europe specialty printing consumables market. In addition to this, the increasing adoption of technologies such as mobile and cloud printing are also expected to lead to growth opportunities for new players in the market in the next few years.Specialty printing consumables companies in Europe are expected to bear the brunt of the cheaper printing services provided by countries in the Asia Pacific region. Vast investments in the printing industry in Japan and China, especially in the 3D printing sector, have helped the Asia printing industry become one of the most promising regional markets in the global printing industry of late.Request A Sample Of Report @In addition to this, the availability of cheap labor and advanced technologies enable these countries to meet quality demands of the European consumer at a fairly lower cost as compared to European service providers. The European commission has stated that printing exports from China to Europe have increased by about four times over the past decade.The Europe market for specialty printing consumables is also expected to be restrained owing to the increasing rate of digitization, which is resulting in the rising preference of businesses to conducting their work online and using digital media substitutes instead of papers. This factors is expected to lead to a significant decline in the specialty printing consumables demand in the region in the next few years.This review of the market is based on a recent market research report by Transparency Market Research, titled Specialty Printing Consumables Market - Europe (EU5) Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Quantum Computing Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

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Optimization and management of information, harvested within an organization or from different parts of the world entails, entails the employment of efficient computing processes to handle ever-expanding data workloads. To achieve this, enterprises or government-backed organizations are adopting quantum computing, and processing data in qubits. Through quantum computing, companies can search files across large databases instantaneously, assessing data quicker than conventional computing.Persistence Market Researchs new study on global market for quantum computing emphasizes the monumental impact of rising need for high-level computing on the markets growth. In 2017, the global quantum computing market is anticipated to be valued at US$ 2.7 Bn. Governments of developed and developing countries are investing in quantum computing to accelerate their research operations, while commercialization of quantum computing is also gaining traction. On the grounds of such drivers, more than US$ 23 Bn revenues are anticipated to be reaped through adoption of quantum computing across the globe by the end of 2025. During this decadal forecast period, the global market for quantum computing is expected to expand exponentially at a stellar CAGR of 30.9%.Request to view Sample Report:Global Quantum Computing Market  Forecast HighlightsThe study on global quantum computing market has analyzed the market on the basis of components  hardware and software. With development of cloud-enabled quantum computing platform, new software are expected to transform the markets expansion even further. The demand for effective quantum computing hardware is also expected to witness lucrative boost, although manufacturers will be put to test while developing hardware with flexible computing abilities.While sales of quantum computing hardware are presently dominating the market with more than 90%, their global revenue share is expected to drop to 84% by the end of 2025The significant decline in quantum computing hardware will be balanced by surging adoption of quantum computing software, revenues from which are anticipated to reflect fastest CAGR of 42.3%Request to download and view full ToC @Top Players in Global Quantum Computing MarketAccording to the study, the competitive landscape of global quantum computing market is divided into two tiers of computing vendors. With more than 90% share, tier 1 quantum computing vendors are companies developing hardware, while the remaining 10% of the market is governed by developers of quantum computing software applications. The top five players in the global quantum computing market are profiled below:Intel Corporation,Microsoft Corporation,Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.),D-Wave Systems Inc., andIBM CorporationCompanies such as 1QB Information Technologies Inc., QC Ware Corp., and QbitLogic are observed to be leading developers of quantum computing software applications. Other key players in the global quantum computing market include Rigetti Computing., Anyon Systems Inc., Cambridge Quantum Computing Ltd., IDQ, IonQ Inc., Quantum Circuits, Inc., Alibaba Quantum Computing Laboratory, Nokia Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., Toshiba Research Europe Ltd., USC Lockheed Martin Quantum Computation Center, , QuantumCTek Co., Ltd, SeeQC, SPARROWQUANTUM A/S, QxBranch, and Qubitekk, Tokyo Quantum Computing.View Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Corporate Heritage Data Management Market - Future Forecast Assessed on the basis of how the Market is Predicted to Grow

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The global corporate heritage data management market features the presence of several small- and medium-sized companies and a rather small number of established players, observes a recent report by Transparency Market Research. Owing to the rising popularity of these solutions, the market is expected to experience the entry of a large number of new entrants during the forecast period.As a result, the market, which is highly competitive in terms of products and services offered, is expected to become more competitive in the near future. To stay ahead of the competition, increased focus on differentiation of offerings and addition of innovative solutions and services to portfolios will work for market players. Owing to the presence of many smaller players in the market, partnerships will also play a crucial role in success. Some of the key players in presently operating in the market are North Plains Systems Corp., Eloquent Systems, Inc., Open Text Corporation, Widen Enterprises, Inc., NetXposure, Inc., and MediaBeacon, Inc.Obtain Report Details @Transparency Market Research (TMR) projects that the global corporate heritage data management market will exhibit a staggering 19.1% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. If the prediction holds true, the market, which valued at US$175.2 mn in 2015 is expected to rise to US$834.6 mn by 2024. Of the key corporate Digital asset management is estimated to hold the market share of 65.9% in 2016, and expected to sustain its leading position with a market share of 67.3% in 2024.From a geographic perspective, the North America market dominates and is expected to retain its dominance in the near future as well. The market in Asia Pacific, however, is expected to exhibit the most prominent growth rate over the forecast period. The presence of a large number of manufacturing companies in countries such as Japan, China and India will be the key factor encouraging the growth of the Asia Pacific corporate heritage data management market.Download Table of Content @Besides the fact that corporate heritage data management solutions offer an effective way of organizing critical business data in an easily accessible and sharable manner, their demand is rising across corporate firms wanting to safeguard business-critical data. Advanced security solutions offered by several heritage data management solutions have lately come across as effective tools for protecting the historical data of an organization.Moreover, the demand for heritage data management solutions is also rising due to the possibility of their easy implementation with the help of cloud-based solutions. Cloud-based solutions, by making costly heritage data management solutions highly economical and easy to implement or install, are playing a crucial role in the overall development of the market. Cloud-based solutions will continue to have a significant positive impact on the markets future growth prospects.Request A Sample Of Report @The high costs of corporate heritage data management solutions often levy a hefty burden on the finances of a company. Moreover, these solutions are used internally within a company for organizing the unorganized data, which may not be a top priority spending area for many companies. Also, achieving high returns on investment is difficult in the case of corporate heritage data management. As a result, top management of organizations is often reluctant to spend money on the corporate heritage data management solutions. This factor is one of the key challenges faced by the global corporate heritage data management market and is expected to restrain the market to a certain extent in the next few years.This review of the market is based on recent report published by Transparency Market Research, titled Corporate Heritage Data Management Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Carborundum Market Key Profile - Gaddis Engineered Materials, ESK-SIC GmbH, ESD-SIC, AGSCO Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, Timcal Ltd Grindwell Norton Ltd

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Global Carborundum Market Report: OverviewCarborundum is a chemical compound of carbon and silicon with the chemical formula of CSi is also known as Silicon Carbide (Sic). Carborundum is also one of the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Carborundum has various applications in various industries including automobile, electronics, and steel. This market has seen tremendous growth in past few years as these industries are growing and expected to grow with CAGR of more than 15% in the forecasted period. In the market of Carborundum, black and green Carborundum (silicon carbide) dominates the market with more than 90% of market share. Globally Asia pacific is leading the market of Carborundum with market share of more than 50% and expected to lead the market share in the forecasted period due to the advancement of technologies and economic development.Global Carborundum Market Report: Key Players This market has various industries around the globe who produce as well as distribute the Carborundum. These are: Gaddis Engineered Materials ESK-SIC GmbH ESD-SIC AGSCO Corporation Xiamen Powerway Advanced Material Company Limited The Dow Chemical Company Timcal Ltd Grindwell Norton Ltd Saint-Gobain Ceramics Materials GmbH Entegris Inc Snam Abrasives Pvt Ltd Norstel AB Carborundum Universal LtdRequest a Sample Copy @Global Carborundum Market Report: Market SegmentationGlobal Carborundum market report has been segmented on various categories. These include types of Carborundum, applications and on the basis of geography.On the basis of types Carborundum has been segmented as: Black SiC, Green SiC, Others which includes- metallurgical SiC, Coated SiC, SiC micro grit, refractory SiC.On the basis of application the global Carborundum market report has been segmented into- Electronics & semiconductors, Aerospace & aviation, Medical & healthcare, Automotive, Steel & energy and Others which includes fabrications chemicals Jewelry etcFor further information on this report, visit @Global Carborundum Market Report: Regional AnalysisAsia-Pacific is dominating the Carborundum market with market share of more than 50% followed by the Americas Europe and MEA. Countries existing in the Asia-Pacific are in the developing phase and also Asia-Pacific holds 61% of global population. The industries which are listed above have tremendous growth in this region as in term of demand and supply for various products and this is the region why Carborundum market has enormous opportunity in this region.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Asia Pacific Latin America And Emea System Integration In Telecommunication Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

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Persistence Market Research projects The future of global telecommunication industry will witness higher adoption of complex information systems which will facilitate speedy data convergenceSystem integrators will play a key role in compiling information emanating from multiple and advanced telecommunication network standardsIntegration of business support systems (BSS) and operation support systems (OSS) will boost the support for end-to-end telecommunication services and bring forth some improved customer management solutionsOwing to rising urban population, growing strength of telecom networks, brimming data transference, and deployment of advanced technologies, the demand for system integration in telecommunication continues to surge in regions namely, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. A latest study published by Persistence Market Research has estimated that the market for system integration in telecommunications across these regions is presently valued at US$ 22.5 Bn. By the end of 2024, these regions will collectively showcase revenue growth at an impressive 6.3% CAGR and witness the market for system integration in telecommunication reach US$ 36.9 Bn in value.Request to view Sample Report:Rapid System Integration in Telecommunications across Asia-Pacific (APAC)The demand for system integration in telecommunication across APAC countries is projected to witness revenue growth at 7.1% CAGR. A majority of system integration solutions adopted across APAC telecommunications industry will be directed towards OSS, revenues from which will reach US$ 10.6 Bn by the end of 2024. China will contribute with more than one-third of overall revenues, while India, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and ASEAN countries will showcase rampant revenue growth. Vodafone Hutchinson Telecommunications, Telstra Corporation Ltd., SingTel Optus Pty Limited, NTT-Docomo Corporation, Ideal Cellular Ltd., Reliance Communications, and Softbank Corporation are some of the prominent IT service provider in the APAC telecommunications industry.Telecommunication Services in Latin America awaiting System IntegrationOn an average, 40% of revenues procured in Latin Americas system integration in telecommunication market will be emanating from Brazil. The demand for integrating OSS and BSS will also gain traction in Mexico and Argentina. Although, the overall system integration in telecom market in Latin America is being projected to expand at a moderate CAGR of 4.4%. High implementation costs of system integration solutions are imposing a relatively less adoption in Latin America, as opposed to the APAC region, Europe or Middle East & Africa. Leading IT service providers mapping Latin Americas telecom industry are identified as Telefonica Brasil, TIM Brasil, Telecom Argentina SA, Nextel, Telcel, Claro Brasil, and Telefonica SA.Request to download and view full ToC @High Integration of OSS/BSS Systems in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)The EMEA system integration in telecommunication market is presently valued US$ 10.5 Bn. In the Middle East and Africa, South Africa is projected to exhibit high value CAGR of 7%, while the European system integration in telecommunication market will see consolidated growth from the EU5  Spain, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. These five countries will also dominate the overall EMEA region, accounting for over 40% value share by the end of 2024. The MTN Group, Saudi Telecom Company, Vodacom, and Airtel Africa are leading telecom service providers across the Middle East and Africa. The telecom industry of Nordic countries and Russia is mapped by IT service providers namely, Telenor ASA, VimpelCom Ltd., and Mobile TeleSystems. Meanwhile, companies such Deutsche Telekom, Orange SA, BT Group plc., Telefonica SA and Vodafone Group plc. are charting the waters of telecommunication services in EU5 countries.View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and TablesThe report has also profiled leading providers of system integration solution in telecom across Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa. These include, Oracle Corp., Redknee Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Sigma System Canada, NetCracker Technology Corporation, Openet Telecom, Ericsson, Comptel Corp., and Amdocs Inc.View Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Cloud Access Security Broker Market Set to Surge Significantly During 2017 - 2025

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The cloud access security broker market is growing significantly due to the rising adoption of cloud based applications. There has been rise in the usage of cloud based applications in various businesses as these are less costly and can be accessed on real time basis. Cloud access security broker solutions are used to provide data security, compliance management, network management, and other monitoring and controlling solutions to cloud based applications. These solutions are also used for data leakage prevention and cloud data encryption.The cloud access security brokers are the solutions that are cloud based and on-premises based solutions used to combine and implement enterprise security policies such as single sign-on service, authentication, credential mapping, encryption, tokenization, malware detection, device profiling and others.Enterprises at all level, are adopting cloud computing technology for certain benefits such as cost cutting, but security is a big challenge that faced by these enterprises while implementing cloud based business applications. Large enterprises are continuously adopting cloud access security broker platform and this trend will increase in next five years with the adoption by small and medium enterprises.A sample of this report is available upon request @Software Defined Security Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major factor driving the adoption of cloud access security brokers is the rising concern among enterprises for the security of cloud based applications. Many organizations are moving towards the adoption of cloud technology, due to which they are in a need of strong network security, data security and threat management solutions that can be easily managed, identify threat, customized and provides security without control of any physically-oriented elements such as hardware. Other driving factor for cloud access security brokers is increasing demand for real-time security.The key challenge in the cloud access security broker market is the limited awareness of CASB solutions for cloud based environment. This approach is still in its introductory phase due to which many organizations do not know about its benefits and usage. There are limited number of companies that are using cloud access security broker solution for threat management, compliance management and for visibility of data. Moreover, there are very less number of vendors providing cloud access security brokering solutions due to which it is not cost-effective.Cloud Access Security Brokers Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of Service model:Infrastructure as a servicePlatform as a serviceSoftware as a serviceSegmentation on the basis of applications:Threat DetectionCompliance ManagementData ProtectionData encryptionControl and monitoring servicesData loss preventionKey Contracts:In September 2016, Oracle acquired Palerra, a cloud access security broker. This acquisition will help Oracle to expand its identity cloud services with Palerra to provide cloud security automation platform to the clients.In June 2016, VMWare has partnered with five cloud access security brokers named as Blue Coat Systems, CloudLock, Netskope, Palo Alto, and SkyHigh networks. The integration of these five companies will help VMWare to provide collaborative solution for mobile, cloud security and secure digital workspaces from cloud.In February 2016, Sookasa, cloud access security broker has entered into the partnership with Microsoft Office 365. This partnership will allow enterprises to identify security risk and help those enforcing data loss prevention policies on Office 365 platform, Microsoft OneDrive and Outlook.In Cloud access security broker market there are many vendors some of them are Palo Alto networks, Oracle, SKyhigh networks, Blue Coat systems, Cloud Lock, Netskope, CipherCloud and othersRegional OverviewPresently, North America is holding the largest market share for cloud access security brokers due to high adoption of cloud computing technologies among enterprises. The adoption of other service models such as platform as a service and software as a service is also impacting the market for cloud access security broker in a positive manner. Companies such as Blue Coat systems and Oracle are also working towards the development of cloud access security broker platforms with the partnerships and acquisitions in this market to enhance market opportunities.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @In Europe region, the market for cloud access security broker is witnessing high growth rate due to the increasing demand for data loss prevention and security solutions without hardware maintenance.The Asia Pacific region is following the Europe region in cloud access security broker market. This market is expected to have the highest growth rate in coming years due to the adoption of security services and the growing adoption of cloud based business applications.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Thermoformed Shallow Trays Market Will Rise At 5.3% CAGR By 2024

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The Global Thermoformed Shallow Trays market for the forecast period 2016-2024. The primary objective of the report is to identify opportunities in the market and present updates as well as insights pertaining to various segments of the global thermoformed shallow trays market.Request Free Sample Report :The report begins with an overview of the global thermoformed shallow trays market, evaluating market performance in terms of revenue, followed by TMRs analysis of key trends, drivers, and restraints witnessed in the global market. Impact analysis of the key growth drivers and restraints based on the weighted average model is also included in the report.To compute the market size, in-depth secondary research is done. Data points such as regional splits and market split by material type, and application has been assimilated to arrive at appropriate market estimates. The report comprises the forecast of the global revenue generated by the sales of thermoformed shallow trays market.TMR triangulates the data via different analysis based on supply side, demand side as well as the dynamics of thermoformed shallow trays market.TMR not only conducts forecasts in terms of value, but also evaluate the market on the basis of essential parameters, such as Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth. This helps providers to recognize the future opportunities as well predictability of the market.Global Thermoformed Shallow Trays Market: SegmentationIn order to understand and assess opportunities in this market, the report is categorically divided into three key sections on the basis of material type, application type and region. The report analyses the global thermoformed shallow trays market in terms of value (US$ Mn) and volume (Thousand MT)By Material TypePlasticPolyethylene terephthalate (PET)Poly vinyl chloride (PVC)Polypropylene (PP)Polyethylene (PE)Polystyrene (PS)OthersPaper based LaminatesBy Application TypeFoodMeat, poultry & seafoodBakery productsDairy productsSnacksFood servicesOthersPharmaceuticalsCosmetics & personal careIndustrial goodsElectronicsBy RegionNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeMiddles East and Africa (MEA)Asia Pacific (APAC)Thermoformed Shallow Trays Market: Scope of the ReportVital feature of this report is the analysis of the thermoformed shallow trays market by region, material type and application type; and the corresponding revenue forecast in terms of absolute dollar opportunity. This is traditionally overlooked while forecasting the market. However, absolute dollar opportunity is critical in assessing the level of opportunity that a provider can look to achieve as well as to identify potential resources from sales perspective of the global thermoformed shallow trays market.To understand key segments in terms of their growth and performance in the thermoformed shallow trays market, Transparency Market Research has developed a market attractiveness index. The resulting index should help providers identify existing market opportunities in the global thermoformed shallow trays market.In the final section of the report, thermoformed shallow trays market competitive landscape is included to provide a dashboard view of companies that manufacture and provide services of thermoformed shallow trays market. The report contains company profiles of some of the players in the global thermoformed shallow trays market.Some of the players operating in the global thermoformed shallow trays market include Pactiv LLC, D&W Fine Pack LLC, Anchor Packaging, Inc., Display Pack, Inc., Tray-Pak Corporation, Huhtamaki Oyj, Sonoco Products Company, Bemis Company, Inc., and Placon Corporation.Enquire About This Report :Market 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.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comGoogle+:Linked in:Twitter:
Patient Throughput And Capacity Management Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

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The need for aligning resources in healthcare settings has compelled medical organizations towards adoption of technological solutions that help manage & arrange patient care information in orderly fashion. Hospitals from across the globe are installing patient throughput & capacity management solutions to tackle challenges associated with management of increasing capacity & space. Ideal use of added functional capacity through improved patient throughput solutions is also a key trend driving the demand for such solutions. Persistence Market Research estimates that towards the end of 2024, more than US$ 1.2 Bn worth of patient throughput & capacity management solutions will be employed across the globe.The global market for patient throughput & capacity management, according to Persistence Market Researchs report, is presently valued at US$ 834 Mn, and will soar steadily at 5% CAGR during the eight-year forecast period. The report further anticipates that over half of global revenues procured from sales of patient throughput & capacity management solutions will be accounted by the US and Canada.Request to view Sample Report:North Americas dominance over the global patient throughput & capacity management market is justified by the regions robust healthcare industry, which is also a proponent to technological advancements and adoption of intelligent solutions. Europes patient throughput & capacity management market will also leave a sizable imprint on the global market, registering a value CAGR of 5.3%.High Demand for Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) SolutionsThe report reveals that an analysis of global sales of patient throughput & capacity management solutions indicates a major upsurge in demand for RTLS solutions. With more than one-third share, RTLS solutions will remain a top-selling product dominating the global market revenues through 2024. Revenues from global sales of workflow management solutions will impose a consistent share on global revenues, while bed management solutions will exhibit revenue growth at 5.2% CAGR during the projected period. A majority of products offered in the global patient throughput & capacity management market will be offered as integrated solutions. Towards the end of 2024, integrated solutions will surpass 65% share on global revenues, while global demand for standalone solutions will register a marginal decline.Request to download and view full ToC @The report also reveals that over 40% of patient throughput & capacity management solutions are delivered through on-premise models. By 2024-end, on-premise delivery of patient throughput & capacity management solutions will net nearly US$ 500 Mn in global revenues. On the other hand, cloud-based delivery is likely to lose out its traction, but will witness a negligible downtrend in terms of revenue growth. The report has also profiled companies such as EPIC Systems Corporation, STANLEY Healthcare, Central Logic, Care Logistics LLC, McKesson Corporation, TeleTracking Technologies, Inc., Sonitor Technologies, Inc., Allscripts, Awarepoint Corporation, and Cerner Corporation as key players of the global patient throughput & capacity management market.View Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Automotive Cylinder Heads Market Sees a Steady Growth Ahead

Automotive Cylinder Heads Market

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An automotive cylinder head is a solid metal piece that is sealed in place with the head gasket and helps to cap and seal the end of the cylinder bore. The internal combustion engine is a crucial component in any kind of automobile and this IC engine can be divided into two parts, namely: the cylinder block and the cylinder head. The automotive cylinder head, commonly known as the head, is the end cover of the IC engine and is used against the piston, which compresses the contents of the cylinder. .The cylinder head is installed or fitted above the cylinder block and this entire installation forms the internal combustion chamber, the joint of which is sealed by the head gasket. These cylinder heads are the key to controlling fuel deployment and the air flow in and out of the cylinders. Further, cylinder heads also hold valves and injectors and consists of more moving parts compared to any other part of the engine. The inside of the cylinder head is made of a number of passages, known as tracks or ports and the air mix passes along these to the inlet valves. There are other ports inside the automotive cylinder head which function as routes through which exhaust gases pass when leaving the engine block.Browse Full Report With ToC @Automotive cylinder heads are required to be robust, as they need to withstand very high temperatures and huge pressures, while retaining their form and shape to seal the cylinder block through the head gasket. The global automotive cylinder heads market is primarily driven by the organic growth of vehicle production globally owing to rapid urbanization and growing disposable income in the developing nations, Further, rising demand for lightweight and complex cylinder heads to reduce the vehicle weight and enhance engine performance for meeting stringent government regulations such as the CAFE Standards is expected to boost the global market growth during the forecast period.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The global automotive cylinder heads market can be segmented on the basis of types into flathead cylinder head, overhead valve head and overhead cam head. Flathead cylinder heads are generally found in older engine. Overhead valve head type of cylinder heads has been in extensive use from 1950s till now. This type of cylinder heads has the valves located within them instead of the flathead ones, where the valves are located in the block. The global market is also segmented based on material into cast iron, aluminum, and titanium. The design and the material used in the construction of automotive cylinder heads is a major factor of consideration as they help in building torque and horsepower. Cast iron is used widely for the production of cylinder heads by manufacturers, OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, as it offers lower cost of production and high durability. However, major automakers such as Ford are shifting towards aluminum for manufacturing cylinder heads, owing to their lightweight and ability to develop complex parts. The market can be classified on the basis of vehicle type into passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles. The global automotive cylinder heads market can be further classified geographically into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth rate during the forecast period, driven by the rapidly increasing automobile export rate from this region, growing demand for mid-segment vehicles and increasing automotive production in countries such as China, Japan and India.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mobile Payment Transaction Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

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The mobile payment is an integrated system linked by various components of value chain which typically includes the merchant, the consumer, the financial institution involved and not to forget the payment gateway and the telecom network.In terms of revenue, the global mobile payment transaction market revenues valued at US$ 549,917.7 Mn in 2015 will possibly reach US$ 2,849,231.4 Mn in the year 2020.Mobile payment transaction volume will grow by a massive 41.7% during the forecast period 2015-2020. In terms of volume, the global mobile payment transaction market volume was 18,969.8 million transactions in the year 2015 and this is projected to increase by 106,001.5 million transactions by the year 2020.Persistence Market Research forecasts the global mobile payment transaction market to register a CAGR of 39.1% through 2020 and reach US$ 2.89 trillion in revenues.Request to view Sample Report:Market dynamicsEven though there will be tremendous growth in mobile payment transactions market, there are many challenges that are obstructing the growth of this market. A major challenge is the slow adoption of smartphone compatible POS systems by the retailers. If taken at face value, a 41.7% volume growth looks amazing, but there is something to be concerned about. One of the major concerns is that apart from few countries, consumers havent fully accepted the concept of mobile payments, even though the facility is much more secure. However, given the inherent nature of the product, it wouldnt be long before consumers all over the world use the facilities provided by mobile payments, as per the research report of Persistence Market Research.Market forecastBy technology, SMS and WAP/WEB will continue to account for most of the transactions conducted worldwide. Mobile payments conducted through SMS will witness a robust CAGR of 24.5% over the forecast period. In the year 2015, the revenue from the SMS segment was US$ 238,884.3 Mn and this is going to be at the value of US$ 678,117.1 Mn by 2020 end.Mobile payments conducted through WAP/WEB will witness a CAGR of 48.0% during the forecast period. In the year 2015, the revenue from the WAP/WEB segment was US$ 164,386.1 Mn and this is going to be valued at US$ 1,725,209.6 at the end of the forecast period in the year 2020.Request to download and view full ToC @Money transfer and merchandise purchases account for over 90% revenue share of the global mobile payment transaction market on the basis of end-use purpose. Mobile payments made for merchandise purchases will be worth US$ 323.73 Bn in 2016, up from US$ 228.32 Bn in 2015. Money transfer, the largest end-use purpose in the mobile payment transaction market, will grow by over 38% to surpass US$ 381 Bn in revenues.The market for mobile payments will continue to be robust in APEJ and Africa, as majority of people there dont own a credit card, in contrast of the situation in Europe and United States. So, consumers in APEJ and Africa are making a direct shift from using cash to using mobile payments. Growth in the mobile payments market will be particularly strong in China. This is due to the entry of major market players like Apple and Samsung in the Chinese market, making the competition more fierce and interesting.Due to a strong showing in China, the market for mobile payment will continue to grow in the Asia Pacific region and this region will be the leading market in the world in terms of volume. However, in terms of value, it is Africa that will maintain its number one position in the mobile payment transaction market. This is due to the spectacular success of M-Pesa in Kenya and this has influenced consumers and businesses in other regions of Africa to adopt the technology of mobile payments. This has boosted the market of mobile payment transaction market in Africa. Currently, Africa has nearly 32% revenue share of the global mobile payment market, and boasts of a subscriber base of over 100 million. Other than Asia Pacific and Africa, Western Europe and United States are other lucrative regions for mobile payment transaction market the world over.View Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Automotive Engine Pulley Market Trends, Analysis, Application & Type Forecast to 2017 - 2025

Automotive Engine Pulley Market

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An engine pulley is a basically a wheel that is mounted to the engine of a vehicle, mostly automobile, that drives or guides a belt. It is also known as a serpentine belt. The belt is a part of a system which powers the peripheral devices within an engine compartment including the power steering, fan of the vehicle and air conditioner. An engine pulley is frequently used in combination with a timing belt  which helps in the opening as well as closing of the engine's valves.The engine pulley system in a vehicle usually features many pulleys that perform diverse functionalities. One pulley may be in control of powering the air conditioning unit, whereas another pulley or a set of pulleys may take care of the engine timing. Certain types of pulleys, known as idler pulleys, are responsible for keeping tension on the belt and aids in guiding the belt accurately through the system. Generally idler pulleys are not connected to the peripheral devices, and they are adjusted in a number of directions to regulate the tension on the belt. Adjusting the tension of the pulley need to be done very carefully in order to prevent breakage and avert dismounting of the belt.The global automotive engine pulley market is principally driven by the growth in vehicle production owing to growing disposable income and rapid urbanization, especially in the developing nations. Furthermore, increasing demand for lightweight and efficient pulley systems that reduce the vehicle weight and improve vehicle performance for meeting rigorous government regulations including the CAFE standards are likely to increase the global automotive engine pulley market growth during the forecast period.Browse Full Report With ToC @The global automotive engine pulley market can be segmented by type, type of vehicle, and geography. Automotive engine pulleys can be of two types - drive belt, and timing belt. The drive belt segment held a significant market share in the global automotive engine pulley market in 2016. Drive belts reduce engine load along with increasing fuel efficiency and available power. Moreover, these belts are easy to maintain and replace. These factors are likely to boost the segments growth thereby augmenting the overall growth of the automotive engine pulley market. Based on vehicle type the market can be divided into passenger car, light commercial vehicle, and heavy commercial vehicle. By volume, the passenger car segment is expected to hold a substantial share of the market, owing to the rising demand for high-quality pulleys with advanced load-carrying capacity.By geography, the global automotive engine pulley market can be segmented broadly into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle east and Africa. Asia pacific held a significant market share in the global market in 2016 owing to the rising production of vehicles in Japan, and China. Asia Pacific is followed by North America and Europe, in terms of market share. The U.S. held the majority of the market for automotive engine pulleys in the North American region trailed by Mexico and Canada. The demand for automotive engine pulleys in European region is likely to be high owing to the growing demand for technologically advanced automobiles in this region.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The key players in the region are investing profoundly in research and development activities to introduce strong and durable automotive pulley systems that have reduced widths and a lengthier service life than the existing ones. For instance, some R&D activities are focusing on decreasing the breadth of the belt for incorporation of those in compact engines. The primary aim of this is to attain a reduction of width from 16 to 20 mmto 10 mm to 14 mm. Some of the major players in the global automotive engine pulley market include ContiTech, Phoenix Pulleys, Bearings & Belts, Clark Pulley Industries, Zhejiang Renchi Auto Parts Co.Ltd., Panjiva, Inc., KAVO B.V., and Kanemitsu Co. Ltd., among others.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Zika Virus Vaccines Market 2022 | Industry Outlook, Growth, Trends and Forecast

Zika Virus Vaccines Market

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ReportsMonitor.com has added a new report to its database Global Zika Virus Vaccines Market Professional Survey Report 2017.This report identifies the Zika Virus Vaccines market size for the years 2012-2017, and forecast of the same till the year 2022. It also highlights the market drivers, restraints, growth indicators, challenges, and other key aspects with respect to the Zika Virus Vaccines market.Zika Virus Vaccines Market tracks the major market events including product launches, technological developments, mergers and 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 the Copper Strips market. This research report offers in-depth analysis of the market size (revenue), market share, major market segments, and different geographic regions, forecast for the next five years, key market players, and premium industry trends. It also focuses on the key drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit @This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringNHISanofiGSKBharat.TakedaInovio PharmaceuticalsContinueThe competitive landscape of the global market for Zika Virus Vaccines is determined by evaluating the various market participants, production capacity, Zika Virus Vaccines markets production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Zika Virus Vaccines market worldwide.This report segments the Zika Virus Vaccines marketDNA VaccineInactivated VaccinePurified Inactivated VaccineOn the basis of application:HospitalsClinicsAcademic and ResearchOthersFor comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, the Zika Virus Vaccines market is analyzed across key geographies namely:North America,China,Europe,Southeast Asia,Japan,IndiaEach of these regions is analyzed on basis of market findings across major countries in these regions for a macro-level understanding of the market.Browse Full Table of Contents and Report Description @Virus Vaccines-market-report-2017-2/Some points from TOC:Global Zika Virus Vaccines Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Zika Virus Vaccines1.1 Definition and Specifications of Zika Virus Vaccines9 Development Trend of Analysis of Zika Virus Vaccines Market9.1 Global Zika Virus Vaccines Market Trend Analysis9.1.1 Global 2017-2022 Zika Virus Vaccines Market Size (Volume and Value) Forecast9.1.2 Global 2017-2022 Zika Virus Vaccines Sales Price Forecast9.2 Zika Virus Vaccines Regional Market Trend9.2.1 North America 2017-2022 Zika Virus Vaccines Consumption ForecastContinue...About Us:Reports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact Us:Office C & D - 4th Floor,Siddhi Towers,Above Rupee Bank,Kondhwa Road,Pune 411048,Maharashtra,IndiaIndia: +91 2069535353Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Automotive Wheel Hub Market Growing at a Healthy Rate 2017 - 2025

Automotive Wheel Hub Market

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The global automotive wheel hub market is driven by the growing population base and increasing single families which is giving rise to a higher demand for cars. The improving economy and increasing disposable income of the people are also fueling the sales of automobiles, which will aid the growth of this market. The report on automotive wheel hub market is detailed and covers all important aspects of this industry. It comprises a detailed explanation of the key factors aiding the growth of the market worldwide. It also discusses the various challenges or issues faced by market players and the steps needed to be taken to overcome these challenges. The key segments and sub-segments of the global automotive wheel hub market have not only been studied but also the leading, declining, fastest growing, and most sluggish growing segments are pointed out by experts.The automotive wheel hub market is studied both on a regional scale as well as from the global point of view. The most lucrative regional segment is hinted in the report, helping readers, investors, established players, and new entrants to get a clear idea where to invest so as to reap maximum profits. The report also analyses the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, the degree of competition, threat of new entrants, and threat of substitutes. In addition to this, the competitive landscape has been discussed in detail. The key players in the market have been profiled and their business and financial status are studied.Browse Full Report With ToC @Wheels are the most important part of a vehicle for smooth and safe transportation. The hub is located in the center of a wheel that connects the axle to the wheel itself. The automobile is able to execute its function depending on the quality of its wheels.Rising demand of automobiles are estimated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hub in the market. The expansion of the automotive industry is further anticipated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. Rising average age of vehicles, globally, is likely to increase the demand for automotive wheels in the automotive aftermarkets. Currently, vehicle penetration per 1,000 population is very low in emerging countries such as China and India. Vehicle penetration per 1,000 population in both China and India are in double digits. Rising vehicle penetration in emerging economies including China, India, Russia and South Africa is estimated to increase the demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. A major restraint faced by the automotive wheel hub market is the high price of wheels in aftermarkets. A major opportunity in the automotive wheel hub market is the increasing focus of automotive firms such as Volvo, Tesla, BMW AG to produce electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. This is anticipated to create a considerable demand for automotive wheel hubs in the market. Both Volvo and BMW plan to sell 1 million electric vehicles by 2025 and 2017 respectively. Furthermore the advent of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) is likely to generate requirement of high quality wheels and hubs.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @In terms of materials the global automotive wheel hub market can be segmented into aluminium wheels, steel wheels and alloy wheels. The market when segmented on the basis of wheel type are tube wheels and tubeless wheels. In terms of application, the market can be segmented into original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarkets. In terms of end-users the market can be segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, off-road vehicles and two wheelers. Steel wheel hub segment has a major share in the automotive wheel hub market. Moreover tube wheels segment commands a major share as compared to tubeless wheel segment in the market, however the share of tubeless wheels is rising. Passenger vehicles are a prominent segment in the end-user category.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Jackup Rigs Market- Trends, Drivers, Strategies, Applications and Competitive Landscape to 2022

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Market HighlightsOne of the most significant factors for the growth of Jackup Rigs Market is the increasing global demand for energy. This is due to the increased economic growth and the growing population worldwide. There has been significant investment in the oil & gas exploration activities, especially in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. This has led to significant recent discoveries of oil & gas reserves in the remote areas of these regions. Furthermore, research and development in jackup rigs has resulted in technological advancements in terms of equipment for offshore drilling capacities. This in turn has resulted in jackup rigs being cost effective and more feasible for drilling operations, thus driving the market growth.Key Players Rowan Companies Inc.(U.K.), Noble Corporation plc (UK), KCA DEUTAG Ltd.(Scotland), Maersk Drilling (Denmark), Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (U.S), COSL (China), Transocean Ltd. (Switzerland), Seadrill Limited(Bermuda), ENSCO Plc (UK), Halliburton (U.S.) others.Request a Sample Copy @Market Research AnalysisRecent technological advancements in offshore drilling activities have made jackup rig operations, feasible and considerably cost effective than other methods. This has also resulted in increased operation depths of these rigs. Additionally, the technology is also now used in offshore wind turbine installations because of its the operational feasibility. There has also been continuous investment in the oil & gas exploration activities in Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Recent discoveries of offshore energy reserves in these regions have triggered the need for jackup rigs.The market has been analyzed based on the types, applications, operating depths and regions. Among all the regions, the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow rapidly. The rapid growth in population and in demand for energy is expected to drive the growth of the jackup rigs market in the region over the forecast period. Further growth, projected for the North America and Middle East regions, is expected to drive the overall growth of the market.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread in 110 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Global Jackup Rigs Market Global Forecast to 2022Scope of the ReportBy Type Independent Leg type Mat typeBy Application MODU Offshore wind turbine installationsBy Operating Depth Shallow water Deep water Ultra deep waterBy Region North America Asia Pacific EuropeRest of the WorldAccess Report Detail @North- America accounts for the highest market shareNorth America currently has the highest market share and is expected to drive the growth of the market, along with Europe region, due to the continuous oil and gas exploration activities. The jack up rigs market in the Gulf of Mexico is quite well established and the growing population will further raise the requirement. In the developing economies of Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions there is an increased requirement for offshore drilling market because of new discoveries of oil & gas reserves. This is expected to drive the demand for jackup rigs market.Table of Content1 Executive Summary2 Research Methodology2.1 Scope Of The Study2.1.1 Definition2.1.2 Research Objective2.1.3 Assumptions2.1.4 Limitations2.2 Research Process2.2.1 Primary Research2.2.2 Secondary Research2.3 Market Size Estimation2.4 Forecast Model3 Market Dynamics3.1 Market Drivers3.2 Market Inhibitors3.3 Supply/Value Chain Analysis3.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis4 Global Jackup Rigs Market, By TypeContinue..About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Home Healthcare Device Market : Discovering Opportunities upto 2024

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Home Healthcare Device Market research report helps to get access to industry data and upcoming trends which will give you avenues to know about the market. This report gives opportunities to go through with industry analysis, share and forecast, Providing brief description about the market size its competitors and product identification.Driven by aging population, increasing healthcare expenditure and technology advancement, the global home healthcare devices (HD) market will see a rapid growth over the coming years with the sales revenue reaching $40.2 bn in 2019 and $60.1 bn by 2024, representing a higher CAGR than the world overall medical devices market.Global Home Healthcare Device Market 2014-2024: Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Outlook examines the worldwide market of home-based healthcare devices through a comprehensive review and analysis of information sources. After reviewing such market environments as economy trend, demographic profile and healthcare landscape in the world, this report provides qualitative analysis of market forces, worldwide home healthcare device market by type, by diseases managed, and by geographic distribution. In most analysis, historical statistics together with market outlook cover the 2011-2024 period.Request For Free Sample Of The Report :Qualitative market analyses include discussions of growth drivers, restraints and challenges, emerging market opportunities, competitive landscape as well as Porters Fiver Forces analysis. Worldwide home healthcare device markets by type compose of Home Therapeutic Device (sub-markets include Home Respiratory Therapy Device, Home Dialysis Machines, Home IV Devices, and Other Home Therapeutic Devices), Home Diagnostics and Monitoring Devices (sub-markets include Home Telemedicine Patient Monitoring Systems and Home Conventional Monitors), and Home Patient Support Devices (sub-markets include Home Mobility Assist Equipment, Home Healthcare Furniture , and Bathroom Safety Equipment ).The global HD market is also divided by disease managed into home healthcare devices for diabetes, motion impairments, respiratory diseases, sleep disorder, kidney failure, hypertension, and other diseases. Geographic sub-markets include continents such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific region, Latin America and the rest of world, with 12 country-based markets analyzed in detail for market overview, industry landscape, healthcare system and/or regulation issues. Per capita MD expenditure/availability in major economic markets (on country basis) is compared and analyzed. The market data and forecast trends are highlighted by 33 tables and 43 figures. The global top 50 homecare device manufacturers in 2014 are listed and profiled.Obtain Report Details @Key Players:A&D Company, Ltd.Becton, Dickinson and Co.Cardinal Health Inc.DeVilbiss Healthcare LLCFresenius Medical Care AG & Company KGaAGambroHill-Rom Holdings IncorporatedI-FlOWJohnson & JohnsonKinetic Concepts, Inc.Linde GroupMason Medical ProductsNxStage Medical IncorporatedOMRON CorporationPermobil ABResMed CorporationSmiths Group plcTeleflex IncorporatedWallach Surgical Devices Inc.Teleflex IncorporatedAbout UsAlltake Market Research is division of the Alltake LLC. that offers premium quality market intelligence, market research, industry analysis reports & forecast data for different domains across the business industry.Alltake Market Research understands the importance of market analysis for any strategy that is implemented in any organization or association. In order to provide the best solution, Alltake Market Research have associated with major organizations within market research and consultancy firm. This portfolio offers market analysis report at one place for different business verticals. Alltake Market Research ensures to offer you with the most reliable and quality market research available.Contact UsAlltake Market Research16192, Coastal Highway Lewes,DE 19958, United StatesUS - 188 8587 9717UK - 4480 0680 0195Email sales@alltakemarketresearch.com
Unisecure offers 24x7 technical support & 99.995% server uptime for business performance

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Conshohocken, US  Unisecure the leading data center and web hosting provider in the US offers 24x7 technical support to their customer and 99.995% uptime to keep pace with modern business demands.Unisecure is TIER IV data center delivering 99.995% uptime. Unisecure has 2N+1 fully redundant infrastructure to protect against failure and to allow for concurrent maintainability, 96-hour power outage protection.Moreover to this if you ever need a technical support then their team is there to help you 24x7. Unisecures staff of architects, technicians, and customer care specialists offer nearby specialized and logistical help 24 hours every day, 7 days in a week, 365 days a year.When it comes to choosing a data center, two major things kept in consideration are Uptime and Technical support. The fulfillment of these two results in customer satisfaction. We are glad to announce that Unisecure provides its customer with 99.995% uptime and 24x7 technical support. This makes us first choice among clients. said Olivia, Head of Business Development at Unisecure.About UnisecureUnisecure is one of the leading data centers and cloud hosting provider in the US established in 1996. Unisecure data centers guarantee 99.995% uptime, high-density redundant power, flexible configurations, carrier-neutral facilities, and 24x7x365 customer support. We have 5 data centers among which 2 are located in Philadelphia and Conshohocken, U.S embed with Information Security Management System (ISMS) to examine risks and develop better processes for security our data centers are most secure and reliable. Our data centers offer services like virtual private cloud hosting, vps hosting , managed dedicated server hosting & co-location hosting services to the firewall and advanced backup solutions. We have 50000+ customers over 17 countries including brands such as Canon, DHL, HP, Microsoft, Pepsi, Mc Donalds and much more.For more information about their services, please visitUnisecure is a data center & vps hosting, cloud server hosting,dedicated server hosting, colocation server hosting service provider.4, Sunrise lane, Scarsdale, New York - 10583, United States
Ceiling Fans Global Market 2017- Competitive Landscape, Strategies, Share, Trends, Segmentation, Growth Forecast 2022

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The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Ceiling Fans industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the Ceiling Fans industry in USA, EU, China,India, Japan and other regions, and forecast to 2022, from 2017.Request a Sample Report @Market Analysis by PlayersHunter Fan CompanyCasablancaEmerson Ceiling FansMinkaMonte CarloCraftmadeLitexFanimationKichlerPanasonicCrompton GreavesOrient fansUshaHavells IndiaSMCACCMideaMountain AirMarket Analysis by Regions:North AmericaEuropeChinaJapanOthersMarket Anaysis by Types:Traditional ceiling fanLighting ceiling fanMarket Analysis by Applications:HomeCommercialMake an enquiry of this Report @Table of Content1 Ceiling Fans Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of Ceiling Fans1.2 Classification and Application of Ceiling Fans1.3 Global Ceiling Fans Market Regional Analysis1.3.1 USA Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.2 Europe Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.3 Japan Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.4 China Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.5 India Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.6 Southeast Asia Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.7 South America Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.8 South Africa Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.9 Brazil Market Present Situation Analysis1.4 Ceiling Fans Industry Development Factors Analysis1.4.1 Ceiling Fans Industry Development Opportunities Analysis1.4.2 Ceiling Fans Industry Development Challenges Analysis1.5 Ceiling Fans Consumer Behavior Analysis2 Global Ceiling Fans Competition by Players2.1 Global Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Players2.2 Global Ceiling Fans Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2016-2017)2.3 Global Ceiling Fans Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2016-2017)2.4 Global Ceiling Fans Gross Margin by Players (2016-2017)3 Global Ceiling Fans Competition by Types3.1 Global Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Types3.2 Global Ceiling Fans Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Ceiling Fans Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3.4 Global Ceiling Fans Gross Margin by Type (2012-2017)3.5 USA Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.6 China Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.7 Europe Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.8 Japan Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.9 India Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.10 Southeast Asia Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.11 South America Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.12 South Africa Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type3.12 Brazil Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Type4 Global Ceiling Fans Competition by Application4.1 Global Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.2 Global Ceiling Fans Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Global Ceiling Fans Price (USD/Unit) by Application (2012-2017)4.4 Global Ceiling Fans Gross Margin by Application (2012-2017)4.5 USA Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.6 China Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.7 Europe Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.8 Japan Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.9 India Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.10 Southeast Asia Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.11 South America Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.12 South Africa Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application4.13 Brazil Ceiling Fans Sales (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Application5 Global Ceiling Fans Production Market Analysis by Region5.1 Global Ceiling Fans Production (Unit) and Market Share (%) by Region5.1.1 USA Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.2 Europe Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.3 China Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.4 Japan Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.5 India Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.6 Southeast Asia Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.7 South America Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.8 South Africa Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.1.9 Brazil Ceiling Fans Market Production Present Situation Analysis5.2 Global Ceiling Fans Production Value (Million USD) and Share by Region (2012-2017)5.3 Global Ceiling Fans Price (USD/Unit) by Region (2012-2017)5.4 Global Ceiling Fans Gross Margin by Region (2012-2017)ContinuedPurchase Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Baby Powder Market Report for EU and Regional Industry Size 2017-2023

Baby Powder market

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Baby Powder -Global Market Status and Trend Report 2017-2023 new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 153 pages with table and figures in it.Report SummaryBaby Powder -Global Market Status and Trend Report 2013-2023 offers a comprehensive analysis on Baby Powder industry, standing on the readers' perspective, delivering detailed market data and penetrating insights. No matter the client is industry insider, potential entrant or investor, the report will provides useful data and information. Key questions answered by this report include:Worldwide and Regional Market Size of Baby Powder 2013-2017, and development forecast 2018-2023Main manufacturers/suppliers of Baby Powder worldwide, with company and product introduction, position in the Baby Powder marketMarket status and development trend of Baby Powder by types and applicationsCost and profit status of Baby Powder , and marketing statusMarket growth drivers and challengesBrowse full table of contents and data tables atThe report segments the global Baby Powder market as:Global Baby Powder Market: Regional Segment Analysis (Regional Production Volume, Consumption Volume, Revenue and Growth Rate 2013-2023):North America, Europe, China, Japan, Rest APAC, Latin America.Global Baby Powder Market: Type Segment Analysis (Consumption Volume, Average Price, Revenue, Market Share and Trend 2013-2023):Organic Baby Powder, Non-organic Baby Powder.Order a Purchase Report Copy atGlobal Baby Powder Market: Application Segment Analysis (Consumption Volume and Market Share 2013-2023; Downstream Customers and Market Analysis)Household, Medical.Global Baby Powder Market: Manufacturers Segment Analysis (Company and Product introduction, Baby Powder Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin):Pigeon, Johnson and Johnson, California Baby, Wyeth, Lancome, Burt's Bees, Dr.Browns, Goodbaby, FIVERAMS, Wakodo,Sanosan, Zichumy, Carefor, Yumeijing, The Honest Company, Inc., Chattem, Inc., Demeter Fragrance Library, Inc.In a word, the report provides detailed statistics and analysis on the state of the industry; and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Request a sample copy atAbout Us:MarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on Global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Contact UsMr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070(U.S)+44-20-3290-4151(U.K)Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Outlook on Global Connected Logistics Market - Industry Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Traditionally computers have been used to monitor and track logistics in transit. Connected logistics add an all new dimension to the management of logistics sector. Connected logistics can provide valuable information related to operations in connection to logistics. Connected logistics involves multiple Sensors on the Vehicles, in which the products are transported, that pass on information to internal and external data feed which would provide information and analysis of the road conditions, in terms of the physical condition of the roads, traffic at various parts of the day. Further the connected logistics provide information regarding the weather, shipping lane traffic, and much more. Connected logistics could emerge as a major breakthrough in transportation of sensitive products like pharmaceutical items.Request For Free Sample Report:There are many applications in management of such sensitive items. For instance, in the event of a stiff temperature fluctuation at the time of transit, the manufacturer would be alerted automatically and will be in a position to intervene before the products gets affected. The application of connected logistics would also enable better management of the goods, optimize management of the entire process involved in managing the logistics, and further help reduce time of delivery, and reduce damage to goods during transit. Connected logistics provide real time access to data. This enables retailers and manufacturers with information about the movement of the ships, trucks, planes, and trains and helps logistics departments of the business to plan more effectively and bring more efficiency into the process. Further, real time access to data enables handling complex logistics operations more effectively with the help of tools that are designed to accumulate and decode data. Logistics operations could be managed in a more precise and streamlined manner. In addition, it also leads to greater customer satisfaction in the logistics sector, thus creating demand for connected logistics.Global Connected Logistics Market: Market SegmentationThe connected logistics market by service has been bifurcated into asset management, remote asset tracking, security, network management, data management. Further, the connected logistics market by end use industry has been bifurcated into freight management, food and beverage supply chain, healthcare, retail, warehouse management and others. The global connected logistics market by geography has been bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.Global Connected Logistics Market: Scope of StudyThe market report deals in the forecast of the connected logistics market in terms of revenue (USD billion) as well as the CAGR for the forecast period 2016 to 2027. The competitive profiling of the key players in the global connected logistics market has been comprehensively covered under the scope of the report. The key players in the connected logistics Market have been competitively profiled across the five broad geographic regions. This competitive landscape is inclusive of the various business strategies adopted by these major players and their recent developments in the field of connected logistics market. In order to provide a detailed insight into the market dynamics of global connected logistics Market, the drivers and restraints affecting the industry are included in the study. Market dynamics include market opportunity, drivers and restraints and an extensive analysis of these factors are included in the report. Furthermore, market attractiveness breakdown has also been provided in the report. Therefore, the report provides a comprehensive study of the global Connected logistics market and also offers the forecast of the market for the period from 2017-2025.Browse Full Report With TOC:Global Connected Logistics Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players participating in the connected logistics market include Google Inc. (U.S.), International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) (New York City, U.S.), Amazon Web Services Inc. (Seattle, U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (Washington, U.S.), Infosys Limited (Bangalore, India), SAP SE (Walldorf, Germany), Dynatrace LLC (Waltham, U.S.), NETSUITE Inc. (San Mateo, U.S.), Oracle Corporation (California, U.S.), Freightgate Inc. (California, U.S.).The market has been bifurcated as follows:Connected Logistics Market, by ServiceAsset ManagementRemote Asset TrackingSecurityNetwork ManagementData ManagementConnected Logistics Market, by End Use IndustryFreight ManagementFood and Beverage Supply ChainHealthcareRetailWarehouse ManagementOthers?Connected Logistics Market, by Geography:North AmericaThe U.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeThe U.K.GermanyFranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificChina(Including Taiwan)IndiaJapanSouth KoreaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaUAESaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaRest of MEALatin AmericaBrazilRest of AmericaEnquire About this Report:About 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:Read More Industry News At:
Global Strain Gauges Market By Manufacturers, States, Type And Application, Forecast To 2022

Strain Gauges Market, Strain Gauges Industry, Strain Gauges Trends.

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/global-strain-gauges-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022.html

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Strain Gauges Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast To 2022new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 117 pages with table and figures in it.Strain Gauges, also called Strain Gages, are devices whose resistance changes under the application of force or strain. They can be used for measurement of force, strain, stress, pressure, displacement, acceleration etc.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Strain Gauges in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Browse full table of contents and data tables atMarket Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversVPG, HBM, Zemic, Yiling, HYCSYQ, NMB, KYOWA, LCT, Omega, TML, BCM, Piezo-Metrics, HualanhaiMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversStress Analysis Type, Transducer Type, Other (for Special Applications)Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoElectronics and Measurement, Construction, Industrial, OtherOrder a Purchase Report Copy atThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Strain Gauges market.Chapter 1, to describe Strain Gauges Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Strain Gauges, with sales, revenue, and price of Strain Gauges, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Strain Gauges, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Strain Gauges market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Strain Gauges sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceRequest a sample copy atAbout Us:MarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on Global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Contact UsMr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070(U.S)+44-20-3290-4151(U.K)Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Geography with AR for primary curriculum from CleverBooks

CleverBooks Geometry AR Workbook

https://www.cleverbooks.eu/cleverbooks-ar-geometry-app/

https://www.cleverbooks.eu/school-education-augmented-reality/

https://www.cleverbooks.eu/geography

www.cleverbooks.eu

https://twitter.com/Clever_Books

https://www.facebook.com/CleverBooksPage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELast week at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany the CEO of CleverBooks Darya Yegorina officially presented to public the first ever ready-to-use Geometry Workbook for Primary school that has Free Augmented Reality (AR) Learning solution incorporated to it (check Youtube video) and announced the launch of a new product  free Geography App with AR (check Youtube video).Are you ready for a word trip with your phone? Something extremely exciting is coming in 2018! I am very excited to announce the launch of our new Geography App with AR that will be fully finished in early 2018. Geography App will represent the whole world in augmented reality giving children the opportunity to travel the world through continents in 3D from their classroom or home environment: discover landscapes, play with the weather and seasons, learn flora and fauna, see the heritages that are under UNESCO protection and even more! said Darya.The innovative Geometry Workbook with AR has received a positive feedback at the Frankfurt Book Fair from major international publishers and school suppliers from USA, UK, UAE, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand and secured for CleverBooks business cooperation arrangements on four different markets. This will enable school suppliers to purchase the product directly from their local publishers.CleverBooks is aiming to complement traditional teaching with innovative technology and focusing on primary education sector. The application for all subjects is free to use to provide all children in the world with the access to innovative technology and help them exceed their learning. Free PDF flashcards can be printed and used by teachers in the classroom. The workbook and packaged flash cards for Geometry are available for purchase from publishers and school suppliers around the world.Our overall goal is to cover all primary school subjects by 2019 said Darya.About CleverBooksThe company with in innovative product already caught attention by a number of Educational Platforms, International Publishers, Learning Disabilities Association and Math Associations around the world. Over the last year CleverBooks was featured in Forbes, various Radio programs in EU and US, Magazines (Irish Tech News, Irelands Technology Blog) that support the Innovation in education, participated in the Dragon Dan TV 2017 show and VOOM 2016 start-up accelerator competition, furthermore, according to the Culture Trip CleverBooks nominated as one of the top 10 promising new businesses to come out of Ireland in recent years.We are excited about 2018 and all planned events: in UK (BETT), UAE (GESS), Germany (Didacta), USA (Innovative Schools Summit) as our mission is to spread the word about free innovative aid and enhance childrens learning experience in schools around the world by providing teachers with engaging technology said Darya.You can download the App from Google play and pdf from our website. It is free. Please, visit:Article on how to use:Interested in getting access to Geography app first? Welcome, here:Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the app.Helena Smith,Marketing ManagerCleverBooks,Dublin, IrelandE-mail: marketing@cleverbooks.euWebsite:Twitter:Facebook:About CleverBooksThe company with in innovative product already caught attention by a number of Educational Platforms, International Publishers, Learning Disabilities Association and Math Associations around the world. Over the last year CleverBooks was featured in Forbes, various Radio programs in EU and US, Magazines (Irish Tech News, Irelands Technology Blog) that support the Innovation in education, participated in the Dragon Dan TV 2017 show and VOOM 2016 start-up accelerator competition, furthermore, according to the Culture Trip CleverBooks nominated as one of the top 10 promising new businesses to come out of Ireland in recent years.CleverBooks CompanyHelena SmithMarketing CoordinatorWoodview ParkCastleknockDublin 15Ireland
TurbineAero, Inc. Announces Philip Constantin, Vice President of Sales  TurbineAero Engines Technics

http://www.turbineaero.com/

Tempe, AZ 3/30/2017  TurbineAero is pleased to announce and welcome Philip Constantin as the Vice President of Sales  TurbineAero Engines Technics. Philip will lead all sales activities for TurbineAero Engines Technics, TurbineAeros component repair, specialty process and OEM fabrication product lines.Philip originally joined Triumph Logistics in 2007, and was promoted and moved to Thailand in 2008 where he was responsible for Supply Chain and Trading in what is now TurbineAero Air Repair  Thailand. Over the past three years he was the Director of Business Development with Salt River Aviation where he was successful in bringing new customers and growing other key accounts from Europe and Asia.Im honored to rejoin trusted colleagues and partners at TurbineAero, said Philip Constantin. My history with Triumph Air Repair and Triumph Aviation Services  Asia is an exciting fit with TurbineAeros APU capabilities and focus, and Im excited to take this story to our customers.Philip will be based in TurbineAeros Engines Technics lead facility in Tempe, but will cover all OEMs, APU MROs, and Component MROs across the Americas and in Europe. Philip joins an established Customer Programs Team lead by Jeff Reams, as well as Operations Leaders Jen Fiedler and Chuck Banner. Philip began his aviation career 37 years ago as an aircraft engine mechanic for the Canadian Armed Forces. In 1988, he joined Honeywell and spent the next 18 years supporting Honeywells biggest customers across the world including Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Agusta-Westland, and Sikorsky.We are delighted to have Philip Constantin join us as our TurbineAero Engines Technics Vice President of Sales. said Rob Higby, Chief Executive Officer at TurbineAero. Philips unparalleled service focus, customer relationships, and technical acumen make him the perfect choice to lead our service and growth initiatives for TurbineAero Engines Technics.About TurbineAero, Inc.TurbineAero was created to become the worlds most comprehensive, flexible, and customer focused APU MRO Services company in the world. TurbineAero is the worlds largest APU MRO in the world. TurbineAero repairs, sells, leases, tests, and certifies APU and APU related parts accessories. TurbineAero currently has four locations. Three of the business units are located in close proximate to Phoenix, AZ, while the fourth is locate just outside of Bangkok, Thailand.For more information, press only:Jared Butson(978) 397-8315Jared.butson@turbineaero.comFor more information on TurbineAero please visit:
Cloud Data Security Solution Market 2017-2022 Gemalto NV, Thales e-Security, Informatica, Google, IBM, 

https://goo.gl/Wngxtv

https://www.1marketresearch.com/market-reports/cloud-data-security-solution-market-113730/

www.1MarketResearch.com

Global Cloud Data Security Solution Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application.This Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Cloud Data Security Solution Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.Top Manufacturers/Key Players:Gemalto NVThales e-SecurityInformaticaGoogleIBMDownload Free Sample Copy Of this Report @This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Cloud Data Security Solution and provides extensive market forecasts 2017-2022 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Cloud Data Security Solution market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Cloud Data Security Solution, 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.Browse Report @Global Cloud Data Security Solution Market Outlook 2016-2022, has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Cloud Data Security Solution market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the Cloud Data Security Solution market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the Cloud Data Security Solution market share analysis of key industry players.The Cloud Data Security Solution report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of Cloud Data Security Solution industry has been provided.About Us:1MarketResearch is a global business market research providing syndicated research Report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.We host more than 500,000 Industry research products.Contact US:1MarketResearch304, S. Jones Blvd, #3299,Las Vegas, NV - 89107USA : +1 702-425-8599Email : Sales@1MarketResearch.comWeb :
Hybrid Fax Services are Likely to Witness Growth in Medium and Large Enterprise Customer Segment

Fax Services Market Analysis

https://www.arizton.com/reports/it-media/fax-services-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/it-media/fax-services-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/it-media/online-fax-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/it-media/3d-printing-market

https://www.arizton.com/news/press-release/hybrid-fax-services-are-likely-to-witness-growth-in-medium-and-large-enterprise-customer-segment

Customers will migrate slowly to cloud-based or hybrid faxing services during the forecast period.Arizton Advisory & Intelligence has published an exclusive report about the Fax Services Market  Global Outlook and Forecast 20172022. The report provides an in-depth analysis of each segment of the global fax services market that are going to affect the market revenue in the forthcoming years.The global fax services market is expected to reach $2.8 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 9.18%, says the analyst at Arizton Advisory & Intelligence. The analysts add that during the period 20162022 the market is going to witness a tremendous evolution and the online and hybrid fax market will grow immensely.In terms of deployment model, the market will witness more growth in the cloud-based faxing services segment than the on-premises segment. The implementation of the on-premises fax model will still be prevalent among enterprise customers operating their own infrastructure to have better control over the operational business environment. However, the deployment of the hybrid model is likely to increase during the forecast period, or on-premises deployment models are expected to convert into hybrid deployment models as they provide the benefits of both on-premises and cloud-based faxing solutions.View Report: Fax Services Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022Increase in Migration to Hybrid Fax Solution to Drive Global Fax Services MarketThe implementation of the hybrid fax solution model may vary, however. Normally, during the migration of the existing infrastructure to the cloud, the transmission of fax documents is through cloud and rest of the operation is through on-premises infrastructure. Some on-premises software enables the integration with the existing application infrastructure or MFPs. Several vendors have the capability to aid the customer to migrate their entire fax service system to the cloud.Vendors, which are dominating the hybrid fax market, include Open Text, Biscom, and XMedius.The hybrid deployment model enables organizations to operate fax services with advanced features and aids them in adhering to regulatory compliance such as HIPPA. Hybrid fax solutions also increase efficiency, enable business continuity, and reduce the cost of fax communication.The report provides a holistic view of the global fax services market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. It also provides information on some of the latest trends that have started to surface and are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years. This report also provides the Porters Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.Major vendors profiled in the report are as following:RingCentraleFaxHelloFaxSRFaxNextivaOpen TextOther prominent vendors include FaxAge, MetroFax, MyFax, Sfax, Fax.to, FAXZERO, SpeedFax, iFax, Biscom, Phaxio, Messagenet, InterFAX, PamFax, FaxBetter, Vonage, GoldFax, Moove, Retarus, XMedius, EtherFax, Esker, Softlinx, Neotel (Liqiuid Telecom), Alohi SA (FAX.PLUS), Crosby Fax, MonFax, ComFax, eComfax (Cloud Worldwide Services), OceanX Technology, Utbox, GoLogic Group (GoFax).View Report: Fax Services Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022Related Reports1) Online Fax Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 20222) 3D Printing Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022Source Link:About AriztonArizton  Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.Arizton has gained a paramount standpoint in the market research arena as it offers top of the line solutions to clients to assess market landscape and to finalize foolproof business strategies. We are committed to provide inclusive market research reports and consulting services to clients from diversified industries including Consumer Goods & Retail Technology, Automotive and Mobility, Smart Tech, Healthcare and Lifesciences, Industrial Machinery, Chemicals and Materials, IT and Media, Logistics and PackagingArizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceChicago, Illinois, 60605Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-465-7864
Changing Social Attitude Toward Sex Toys to Boost Sex Toys Market Growth

Sexual Wellness Market Analysis

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sexual-wellness-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sexual-wellness-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/market-analysis/sexual-lubricant-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sanitary-protection-market-in-china

https://www.arizton.com/news/press-release/changing-social-attitude-toward-sex-toys-to-boost-sex-toys-market-growth

The sex toys market is likely to account for a market share of 59.9% in 2022. The segment is expected to be the largest revenue contributor to the global sexual wellness market.A recent report published by Arizton Advisory & Intelligence on Sexual Wellness Market  Global Outlook and Forecast 20172022. The 186-pager report provides an in-depth analysis of the global sexual wellness market. The report states that the sex toys market will dominate the global sexual wellness market.View Report: Sexual Wellness Market  Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022The global sex toys market is witnessing a steady growth worldwide. says the analyst at Arizton Advisory & Intelligence. The prominent sex toys include vibrators or dildos, massagers, rubber penis, Realdolls, sexual games, and bondage gears. Historically, men were the primary customers of sex toys worldwide. Recently, the market is witnessing a shift in this trend as women are becoming sexually more empowered globally. There is also growing demand for both shared and solo sex toys among end-users. Manufacturers and retailers are capitalizing on this growing interest by offering bundle products and starter kits for inquisitive customers. All these factors contributed to the growth in the demand.The change in the social attitude toward sex toys has also helped in the market growth worldwide. For instance, Sex and the City TV series in the 1990s helped women becoming empowered and self-sufficient to take control of their lives even in their bedrooms. However, it was the release of Fifty Shades of Grey that helped the market to gain retail prominence worldwide.View Report: Sexual Wellness Market  Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022Advancement in sex toys manufacturing has also helped in increasing its demand. The batteries used in these toys have become more affordable due to technological development, and it has made vendors easy to offer USB rechargeable sex toys in the market, and these devices are becoming more accessible to masses.The report also includes the detailed analysis of the condoms market, sexual lubricants market, and exotic lingerie market.The condoms market is going to post the maximum CAGR during the forecast period.Related Reports1) Sexual Lubricant Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017-20222) Sanitary Protection Market in China - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2017-2022Source Link:About AriztonArizton  Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.Arizton has gained a paramount standpoint in the market research arena as it offers top of the line solutions to clients to assess market landscape and to finalize foolproof business strategies. We are committed to provide inclusive market research reports and consulting services to clients from diversified industries including Consumer Goods & Retail Technology, Automotive and Mobility, Smart Tech, Healthcare and Lifesciences, Industrial Machinery, Chemicals and Materials, IT and Media, Logistics and PackagingArizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceChicago, Illinois, 60605Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-465-7864
Global Essential Oil Market Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2022

MRRSE

https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3655

https://www.mrrse.com/essential-oil-market

https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3655

https://www.mrrse.com/

A new report added to the repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine, Essential Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2022 is a comprehensive repository of information, providing market share, size, and forecast.Request for Sample Report:With the increasing preference for natural products among consumers, the global market for essential oil is observing a tremendous rise in its valuation. The market is anticipated to remain reporting high growth over the next few years, thanks to the expanding application base of essential oil, from the cosmetics and the food and beverages industry to the aromatherapy and the pharmaceuticals sectors. This research study offers a decisive overview of the worldwide market for essential oil by analyzing this market thoroughly on the basis of its past performance and current status. The future market potential has also been evaluated in details to provide the readers with future projections and forecasts.The overview section also includes a qualitative assessment of the overall market, emphasizing the influencing factors and various market dynamics, such as the growth drivers, limitations, market trends, challenges, and opportunities, together with potential customer evaluation. In addition to this, an analysis of the markets attractiveness, coupled with the key strategies adopted by the leading players, have been examined thoroughly in this report to explain the intensity of the competition within the market.Global Essential Oil Market: SegmentationThis research report consists of an exhaustive executive summary and a market snapshot that provide all the important information about various segments and sub-segments studied within the scope of this research. This section also offers significant information and data regarding the global essential oil market with respect to the leading segments based on the key type of essential oil, their application, sales channel, extraction method, and the geographical distribution.Based on the type of the product, the market has been bifurcated into spice oil, spice seed oil, citrus oil, herb oil, and perfumery oil. The performance of these market segments has been assessed at length on the basis of their utility, efficiency, sales, and the geographic presence. By extraction method, the market has been classified into distillation, solvent, and cold pressing. On the basis of application, the market is categorized into the personal care and cosmetic, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, aromatherapy, and the industrial sectors. Based on the sales channel, specialty store, modern trade, drug stores, and online stores have surfaced as the key segments of this market.Browse Full Report with TOC:Geographically, the market has been segmented into six regions: North America (Canada and the U.S.), Latin America (Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil), the Middle East and Africa (Israel, South Africa, Turkey, and GCC countries), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (India, South Korea, China, Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore), Europe (the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and Nordic countries), and Japan. The market revenue for all the segments have been provided here in terms of US$ Mn for the period from 2017 to 2022, together with the cumulative average growth rate (CAGR %) between 2017 and 2022.Global Essential Oil Market: Competitive AnalysisIn conclusion, the market study offers a thorough review of the key players in the global essential oil market on the basis of a number of attributes, such as the overview of the enterprise, with respect to an assessment of its financial status, brand recognition, and the business. The product portfolio, recent developments, and business strategies have also been discussed in this research report. The leading players profiled in this research study are Young Living Essential Oils, DoTERRA International LLC, Givaudan SA, Enio Bonchev Production Ltd., The Lebermuth Co. Inc., Symrise AG, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Citrus and Allied Essences Ltd., Biolandes SA, and China Flavors and Fragrances Co. Ltd.Enquire about This Report:About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research 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:-
The sanitary protection market in China is expected to reach 16.8 billion

Sanitary Protection Market in China

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sanitary-protection-market-in-china

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sanitary-protection-market-in-china

https://www.arizton.com/reports/healthcare-lifesciences/sexual-wellness-market

https://www.arizton.com/reports/market-analysis/sexual-lubricant-market

Analysts at Arizton expect that the sanitary protection market in China is likely to witness high growth during the period 20162022. The market is expected to reach 16.8 billion, growing at a CAGR close to 4.5% during 20162022. Increasing workforce participation is one of the major factors for the increased sale of sanitary protection products in China. Further, it is expected that increase in female earnings in China will induce the preference among women in the region for premium sanitary products.The report provides a holistic view of the market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. The report also provides information on some of the latest trends that have started to surface and are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years. This report also provides the Porters Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the sanitary protection market in China.View report: Sanitary Protection Market in China - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2017-2022Major Vendors included in the report are as followingsHengan InternationalProcter & Gamble (P&G)Kimberly-ClarkKingdom Healthcare HoldingsSCAUni-charmOther prominent vendors in the market include Fujian Shuangheng Group Co., Fujian Quanzhou Luojiang Foreign Trade CO., Hangzhou Qianzhiya Sanitary Products Co., Jinhan Women & Baby Sanitary Products Co., Lil-lets, Moxie, Natracare, New Sensation Sanitary Product Co., Roselee Sanitary Napkin Manufacturing Co., Shandong Saite New Material Co., Shenzhen Rockbrook Daily Products Co., Win Hope International Industrial Co., Xiamen Amor Hygiene Products Co., and Xiamen Yuxiang Sanitary Products Co.Scope of the ReportThe report considers the present scenario of the sanitary protection market in China and its strategic assessment for the period 20172022. It includes a detailed study of growth drivers, trends, and restraints. The report also profiles the leading vendors in the market and other key vendors.Sales of major sanitary product vendors were aggregated to arrive at an estimate of the market size in terms of volume. The same approach is used to calculate the market size in terms of revenue.The market research report provides the details of the market size in the following segments:RevenueVolumeProduct TypeSanitary napkinsTamponsPantylinersMenstrual cupsDistribution ChannelOfflineFemale specialty storesMass market players (supermarkets, hypermarkets, and discounters)Online storesGrowth in hygiene awareness and increased number of girls reaching early puberty are the factors driving the market growthThe early onset of puberty has led to the increased demand for sanitary protection products such as sanitary pads and pantyliners in the region. Further, the influence of internet on consumers purchasing behaviour and increased awareness about personal hygiene products are among the other important factors that are likely to drive the market growth during the forecast period.Introduction of innovative environment-friendly sanitary products is one of the newest trends that has a positive impact on the market growth. Also, easy availability of sanitary products in the region has fuelled the demand for these products. Local as well as international players are offering various types of products catering to different requirement of women in the region. Increasing women workforce participation in the regions has increased the demand for comfortable and high-quality sanitary protection products. Hence, manufacturers are focusing on introducing advanced sanitary protection products.View report: Sanitary Protection Market in China - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2017-2022Related Reports1) Sexual Wellness Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 20222) Sexual Lubricant Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017-2022About AriztonArizton  Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.Arizton has gained a paramount standpoint in the market research arena as it offers top of the line solutions to clients to assess market landscape and to finalize foolproof business strategies. We are committed to provide inclusive market research reports and consulting services to clients from diversified industries including Consumer Goods & Retail Technology, Automotive and Mobility, Smart Tech, Healthcare and Lifesciences, Industrial Machinery, Chemicals and Materials, IT and Media, Logistics and PackagingArizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceChicago, Illinois, 60605Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-465-7864
Global Aerial Imaging Market Research Report  An Overall Industry Analysis

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Research Beam has added a report on Global Aerial Imaging Market Research Report 2017. The report entails the qualitative and quantitative analysis of current and future market estimations. It also divulges details about the mode of research methodology used for the study. It includes data from primary as well as secondary resources. The report is a useful resource for industry players, new entrants in the marketplace, and investors as it helps them plan their business to gain fruitful and meaningful outcomes. It makes them aware of the production, capacity, revenue, supply, consumption, export, import, the challenges and risks associated with the industry, and much more. The report has a mention of the market drivers and opportunities. Key players are profiled in the report and their developments in recent years are mentioned, which helps in understanding the competitive outlook of the global Aerial Imaging market.Purchase Enquiry for this ReportA brief overview of the global Aerial Imaging industry is provided in the report based on product scope and market status & outlook. The market is segmented on the basis of type, end-users/application, and geography. By type, the market is further bifurcated into Extreme File Helicopters, Fixed-Wing Aircraft, Vehicle-Mounted Poles, Stand-Alone Telescoping, Others. The report provides information about the production, price, revenue, market share, and growth rate of each type. Application wise, the market is segmented into Extreme File Government, Military & Defense, Energy, Agriculture and Forestry, Civil Engineering, Commercial, Insurance. Regarding this segment, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption, market share, and growth rate. Geographically, the market has been analyzed across North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India. The status and prospect through 2012-2022 for each of these regions are listed in the report.The projections in the report are made by studying the current and future market potential from aaaa to bbbb in terms of value and volume. The market forecast is provided on the basis of capacity, production, consumption, import, export, revenue, price, trends, and growth rate.Looking for more information on this market? Request a Sample ReportThe global Aerial Imaging market report also provides an analysis of the manufacturing cost of the product. This includes the key raw materials, the proportion of manufacturing cost structure, and manufacturing process analysis. The key raw materials encompass the price trend, key suppliers, and market concentration rate. The proportion of manufacturing cost structure incorporates the raw materials, labor cost, and manufacturing expenses.The global Aerial Imaging market report has a mention of the industrial chain, sourcing strategy, and downstream buyers. This incorporates the overall industrial chain analysis, upstream raw materials sourcing, raw materials sources of the product major manufacturers in 2015, and downstream buyers.The report also throws light on the marketing strategy used for the study. It includes marketing channel (direct marketing, indirect marketing, and marketing channel development trend) and market positioning (pricing strategy, brand strategy, and target client).The global Aerial Imaging market report also covers an analysis of the market effect factors. This includes the technology progress/risk (substitutes/threat and technology progress in the related industry), consumer needs/customer preference change, and economic/political environmental change.Enquire About Report@The key players which provide solutions in the global Aerial Imaging market include Cicade, Digital Aerial Solutions, Cooper Aerial Surveys, Fugro, Landiscor Aerial Information, EagleView Technologies, Nearmap. Information about the production, capacity, price, revenue (value), and market share of each of these manufacturers from 2012 to 2017 are clearly described in the report. In addition, the report details the basic information, manufacturing base, area of sales, and competitors of each of the players. The trends and marketing strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, adopted by each of the manufacturers provide an understanding of the level of competitiveness prevailing in the industry.About UsIt is crucial for market players to take leaps strategically and update themselves with recent trends, opportunities, and emerging investment pockets. We, at Research Beam, adhere to these factors and offer a wide range of reports that are detailed and enable our clients to achieve their goals with long term planning coupled with competitive advantage.Our database includes a broad array of various market reports from numerous publishers across the globe. These reports of several market categories and sub-categories help our clients to find the exact report they are looking for. We are instrumental to provide quantitative and qualitative insights in their area of interest and bring reports from various publishers under one umbrella to save their time and money. Our clients across the world are gaining profits from the information given in the reports sourced by us.We also provide customization services by coordinating with the publisher and ensuring that our clients requirement are fulfilled. Our team bridges the gap between our clients & publishers and assists them with expert inputs. We offer relevant and precise research reports to fulfill business requirements at the best price.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1 (800) 910-6452Int'l: +1-971-202-1575help@researchbeam.com
Austria Institutional Construction Market Production, Revenue and Growth Rate Report 2021

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Institutional Construction Market in AustriaSynopsis"Institutional Construction Market in Austria: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021" contains historic and forecast market data for the institutional construction market in Austria, with a detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type( construction materials, construction equipment and construction services). This report also contains overall values of the institutional construction segments such as Institutional construction market covers the development of government, public and religious buildings. This market includes five categories: educational buildings, healthcare buildings, institutional buildings, religious buildings and research facilities. This research report provides up-to-date market size data for the period 2012-2016 and an illustrative forecast to 2021.GET SAMPLE REPORT @SummaryInstitutional construction market covers the development of government, public and religious buildings. This market includes five categories: educational buildings, healthcare buildings, institutional buildings, religious buildings and research facilities.The Austrian institutional construction category has observed some fluctuations in the review period with a value of EURxxx.xx million (US$xxx.xx million) in 2016 and increased at a rate of x.xx% over 2015. The market recorded a CAGR of x.xx% from 2012 through 2016."Institutional Construction Market in Austria: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021"' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the institutional construction market in Austria. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Austria construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.Scope An overview of the institutional construction market in Austria. Historic (2012 through 2016) and forecast (2017 through 2021) construction market output values are provided. A detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) is provided at the market level while the values for the segments are provided by cost types (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services). This report covers all the segments of commercial construction market including Institutional construction market covers the development of government, public and religious buildings. This market includes five categories: educational buildings, healthcare buildings, institutional buildings, religious buildings and research facilities.Key points to buy Enhances your knowledge of the market with key figures detailing construction type. Provides you with a breakdown of the market by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition). Provides you with a breakdown of the segments by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment &construction services). Details the segments covered under commercial construction market. Allows you to plan future business decisions using the forecast figures given.Table of Contents1 Introduction2 Overall Institutional Construction: Market Analysis3 Institutional Construction Output: Analysis by Category4 Educational Buildings construction: Market Analysis5 Healthcare Buildings construction: Market Analysis6 Institutional Buildings construction: Market Analysis7 Religious Buildings construction: Market Analysis8 Research Facilities construction: Market Analysis9 Appendix..CONTINUEDWise 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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Reservoir Analysis Market 2017-2023, By Services Simulation and Geo-modeling, Sampling Services,Data Acquisition and Monitoring.

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Reservoirs are porous structure or units that hold hydrocarbon reserves and can be both, conventional and unconventional. Conventional reservoirs ensure the oil and natural gas flows easily to the wellbores, whereas the unconventional reserves follow a special operational strategy to recover the oil & gas. Some of the finest examples of unconventional reserves are gas hydrate deposits, tight gas sands, heavy oil & tar sands and others. Reservoir analysis plays an eminent role in determining the fluid properties as well as flow rate. Furthermore, it provides necessary inputs pertaining to completion of design and oil & gas production. Besides this, analysis aids in refining mechanism.Get PDF Brochure For Market Study :Increasing demand for energy worldwide has contributed to the growth of the reservoir analysis industry. Furthermore, demand for maximizing the recovery of hydrocarbons as well as continuous developments in new field is also driving the market across different countries. In addition, the increasing spending capacity on development and exploration tasks is expected to create greater opportunities for the reservoir analysis market.The reservoir analysis market is segmented based on services, applications and geography. The services assessed in the market research report are reservoir simulation and geo-modelling, reservoir sampling services and data acquisition and monitoring. The application covered in during the study includes both onshore and offshore. Regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and LAMEA would observe tremendous growth opportunities.Get Purchase Enquiry :The key market players active in the reservoir analysis market are Weatherford International ltd, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes Inc., Halliburton, SGS SA, Trican Well Service Limited, Roxar software solutions AS, Geokinetices, Core Laboratories, Paradigm, Expro Group and Intertek.KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS The market research report provides integrated information on the major drivers, restraints and opportunities influencing the industry growth during the forecast period. The study further drills down to produce data volume by components, end customers and demography. SWOT analysis of major brands, highlights weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats. The data proves effective for business owners planning on designing their marketing and branding strategies. Region wise business performance discussed in the market research report would be valuable for enterprises planning to explore new areas. The report not only examines the market dynamics but also takes a closer look at the growth rate and industrial chain structure. Study further weighs up on the prominent market players and their business strategies to maintain their position. Assessment of upstream and downstream market also forms an important part of the report.Get 20% Discount Of This Report :About UsAllied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada)Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.com
Soft Drink Market - U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report "U.S. Soybean And Other Oilseed Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2025" ().This report is best suitable for you if you: Are planning to enter a new geographical market and wish to know which one is best for your product Are planning to enter a new product market and want to have a detailed overview of the market before entering Already work in a given market and want to update your knowledge on the topic Are developing/reviewing your company strategy and wish to know the existing trends in the market Want to find the best country to import a product from Are consulting a client in the given industry and wish to get a deep understanding of the situation in the market Are planning to open new production facilities and wish to choose the best location.The report serves the above mentioned purposes by providing a deep survey of the key indicators of the soybean and other oilseed market. It includes a market overview, which consolidates the key conclusions made from the analysis of the market study, giving insights on the most extensive markets based on the comparative analysis. The report also provides a outlook of how the market is expected to change in the coming years, based on historical trends, external and internal factors, and the main drivers changing the market. Each section contains a a comprehensive survey of the data provided. Specifically, the report displays the historical developments and current projections of soybean and other oilseed production volumes, consumption data, as well as producer prices.The trade section provides crucial data, such as historical data on imports/exports, changes in the direction of trade, as well as import/export prices. Analysis of soybean and other oilseed trade shows the opportunities that are opening before producers and suppliers in a changing market.Product coverage: Soybean oil; Crude cottonseed oil; Soybean cake, meal, and other by-products; Wet process corn by-products, made by wet milling; Cotton linters; Cottonseed cake, meal, hulls, and other by-products; Other crude and refined vegetable oils and other vegetable mill products; Soybean and other oilseed processing, nsk, total.Countries coverage: the U.S.Abstract:In 2015, the value of soybean and other oilseed production in the U.S. amounted to $28.8B, descending by -7.2% against the previous year level. Overall, the U.S. soybean and other oilseed output pursued a mild decline from 2007 to 2015. The total output figures decreased at an average annual rate of -0.9%. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the output figure increased by +17% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the total value of soybean and other oilseed shipments in the United States attained its maximum level of $37.7B in 2013. Afterwards, the growth in terms of the soybean and other oilseed production failed to regain its strength through to 2015.Soybean cake, meal, and other by-products was the major product category in the U.S. soybean and other oilseed manufacturing, with a share in total output standing near 63% in 2015. Soybean oil lagged far behing, accounting for only the 27% share. The other related products together comprised approx. 10% of the total output.Data coverage: Soybean and other oilseed market value and size; Major trends in the soybean and other oilseed market; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Exports, imports and trade balance; Import and export prices; Life cycle of the soybean and other oilseed industry; Number of establishments and their locations; Soybean and other oilseed industry productivity. Key market players and their profiles.Methodology:Our methodology consists of obtaining information from various trusted sources (both paid and open), which include, but are not limited to: International official statistical agencies Governmental statistical agencies Official trade statistics Paid trade databases Industrial associations Company reports Industry experts.Companies mentioned:CHS Inc.,Solae,Syngenta Seeds,Renew Life Formulas,Zeeland Farm Services,South Dakota Soybean Processors,Owensboro Grain Company,Planters Cotton Oil Mill,House Foods America Corporation,Pyco Industries,Incobrasa Industries,Delta Oil Mill,Hartsville Oil Mill,Thumb Oilseed Producers Cooperative,American Soy Products,Gold Coast Commodities,Producers Cooperative Oil Mill,Bunge North America Foundation,Yazoo Valley Oil Mill,Agp Corn Processing,Mid Georgia Processing Company,Riverbend Distribution Center,DupontOur research team compare the information gathered, confirm it with sources when required, and analyze the collected data, developing a full clear picture of the market and coming up with the final numbers. It is crucial to understand the trends of the market, for which we do provide study, taking into account events in the market, in adjacent and related markets, raw material markets, and markets, which are the main demand creators for the product under research. As for the forecast, it is conducted using analytical models of data on consumption, production, exports, imports, prices, as well as the industry trends, economic trends, consumption trends, possible political and technological trends.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Beer and Brewing Product Market - U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report "U.S. Fats And Oils Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2025" ().This report is best suitable for you if you: Are planning to enter a new geographical market and wish to know which one is best for your product Are planning to enter a new product market and want to have a detailed overview of the market before entering Already work in a given market and want to update your knowledge on the topic Are developing/reviewing your company strategy and wish to know the existing trends in the market Want to find the best country to import a product from Are consulting a client in the given industry and wish to get a deep understanding of the situation in the market Are planning to open new production facilities and wish to choose the best location.The report serves the above mentioned purposes by providing a deep analysis of the key indicators of the fat and oil market. It includes a market overview, which consolidates the key conclusions made from the analysis of the market study, giving insights on the most significant markets based on the comparative analysis. The report also provides a forecast of how the market is expected to change in the coming years, based on historical trends, external and internal factors, and the main drivers changing the market. Each section contains a an in-depth survey of the data provided. Specifically, the report reveals the historical developments and current projections of fat and oil production volumes, consumption data, as well as producer prices.The trade section provides crucial data, such as historical data on imports/exports, changes in the direction of trade, as well as import/export prices. Analysis of fat and oil trade shows the opportunities that are opening before producers and suppliers in a changing market.Product coverage: Shortening and cooking oils; Margarine, butter blends, and butter substitutes; Fats and oils refining and blending, nsk, total.Countries coverage: the U.S.Abstract:In 2015, the value of fat and oil production in the U.S. amounted to $14.7B, dropping by -16.7% against the previous year level. Overall, the U.S. fat and oil output pursued a significant decline from 2007 to 2015. The total output figures decreased at an average annual rate of -3.0%. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the output figure increased by +21% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the total value of fat and oil shipments in the United States attained its maximum level of $18.6B in 2013. Afterwards, the growth in terms of the fat and oil production failed to regain its strength through to 2015.Shortening and cooking oils was the major product category in the U.S. fat and oil manufacturing, with a share in total output standing near 88% in 2015. Margarine, butter blends, and butter substitutes lagged far behing, accounting for only the 12% share. The other related products together comprised a fairly negligible share in the total output of the total output.Data coverage: Fat and oil market value and size; Major trends in the fat and oil market; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Exports, imports and trade balance; Import and export prices; Life cycle of the fat and oil industry; Number of establishments and their locations; Fat and oil industry productivity. Key market players and their profiles.Methodology:Our methodology consists of obtaining information from various trusted sources (both paid and open), which include, but are not limited to: International official statistical agencies Governmental statistical agencies Official trade statistics Paid trade databases Industrial associations Company reports Industry experts.Companies mentioned:Ventura Foods,Ach Food Companies,Loders Croklaan Usa,Aarhuskarlshamn USA, Cfc,Barlean's Organic Oils,Mahoney Environmental,California Olive Ranch,Oasis Trading Co.,Stratas Foods,Kagome Foods,CFS West Holdings,Wendy Weihe Storlie,Agri-Fine,ABF North America Holdings,American Commodities,Fuji Vegetable Oil,Wilsey Foods,South Chicago Packing,Owensboro Grain Edible Oils,Bunge Limited Finance Corp.,Victory Tropical Oil Usa,ABF North AmericaOur research team compare the information gathered, confirm it with sources when required, and analyze the collected data, developing a full clear picture of the market and coming up with the final numbers. It is crucial to understand the trends of the market, for which we do provide study, taking into account events in the market, in adjacent and related markets, raw material markets, and markets, which are the main demand creators for the product under research. As for the forecast, it is conducted using analytical models of data on consumption, production, exports, imports, prices, as well as the industry trends, economic trends, consumption trends, possible political and technological trends.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Global Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Market Analysis, Revenue and Forecast by 2022

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Report on Global Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Market With the valuation from the year 2017 to 2022The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells industry market by types, applications, players and regions. This report also displays the production, Consumption, revenue, Gross margin, Cost, Gross, market share, CAGR, and Market influencing factors of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells industry in USA, EU, China,India, Japan and other regions, and forecast to 2022, from 2017.Market Analysis by Regions:North AmericaEuropeChinaJapanOthersGET A SAMPLE REPORT @Global Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Market research report as also taken into account the top contenders who had hoowling success in the field.The top contenders are:Ballard Power Systems Inc(BLDP)PLUGCeramic Fuel Cells LimitedFuelCell Energy(FCEL)HydrogenicsITM PowerPanasonicToshibaDoosan Fuel CellHorizonIntelligent EnergyNuveraNedstackThe Types are split into:Air-cooled TypeWater-cooled TypeThe Applications are split into:MilitaryIndustryData CenterPower PlantFamily expensesAutomobileCHECK DISCOUNT FOR THIS REPORT @Some Points from Table of Content1 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Market Overview1.1 Product Overview of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells1.2 Classification and Application of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells1.3 Global Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Market Regional Analysis1.3.1 USA Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.2 Europe Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.3 Japan Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.4 China Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.5 India Market Present Situation Analysis1.3.6 Southeast Asia Market Present Situation AnalysisVIEW FULL REPORT @Reports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
U.S. Dry Aging Beef Market - Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014-2022

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U.S. Dry Aging Beef Market was valued at $10,605 million in 2016, and is expected to reach $11,176 million by 2020, supported by a CAGR of 1.3% during the forecast period. The aging of beef is done through two processes, namely wet aging and dry aging. Dry aging is a process wherein beef is hung in open air, followed by refrigerated for several weeks. The meat slowly loses moisture and changes its texture and flavor. However, in wet aging process, beef pieces are vacuum-packed in plastic containers, and shipped in the market. Most of the food service companies offering dry aging beef order beef as individual steaks from loin butcher companies.Enquiry for this ReportDry aging process is widely used in the food industry, as the end product has a highly concentrated, saturated natural flavor and tenderized texture of meat. Increase in consumer preference towards protein-rich food products and rise in disposable income are expected to boost the demand for dry aging beef in the U.S. This process can be executed in home settings using dry age bags. However, the major concern with the production of dry aging beef at home is the requirement of large space for storage and refrigerators. In addition, dry aging process requires precise monitoring of temperature and humidity to ensure proper drying. This process requires humidity level of 80-85% to ensure minimal water loss and concentration of the flavor. In addition, distribution of dry aged beef in the international markets is a challenging task, owing to the logistics and access issues associated with the export of red meat.The report includes the study of the U.S. dry aging beef market in terms of value and volume for the period, 2014-2020. The market overview provides trends about dry aging beef production, distribution channels, and sales through retail shops, and restaurants.Looking for more information on this market? Request a Sample ReportThe report includes a comprehensive analysis of the dry aging beef packaging business. The market analysis and forecast of the U.S. dry aging beef packaging is provided in the report. A detailed analysis about the U.S. dry aging beef manufacturing companies and clients is included in the report. In addition, the challenges associated with the production and distribution of dry aging beef, and expansion of the dry aging beef packaging business are discussed.The profile analysis of DrybagSteak, LLC., also known as Umai Dry, along with the detailed analysis of the net sales of Umai Dry bags for home and commercial applications is provided in the report. Major companies have adopted agreement, product launches, expansions, mergers, and agreements to sustain the intense competition in this market. The key players detailed in the report include:KEY BENEFITS OF U.S DRY AGING BEEF MARKET: In-depth analysis of the dry aging beef market and estimations for the U.S. between 2014 and 2020 are provided in the report. Competitive intelligence of leading manufacturers and distributors assists in understanding the competitive scenario in U.S. The market analysis for the factors that drive and restrain the growth of the market are provided. Extensive analysis of the beef industry is conducted by following key product positioning and monitoring the top competitors within the market framework. Key market players are profiled and their strategies are analyzed thoroughly, which provides a competitive outlook of the market. In addition, dry aging beef production market share by key producers (meat processors, distributors, loin butcher companies, and end users) is also provided in the report.Key players in the value chain include DeBragga The Ventura Meat Company Buckhead beef Chicago Steak Company American Grass Fed Beef Fairway Packing Company West Coast Prime Meats DryAgePro Henkelman Creek Bed Country Farmacy, LLC*Profiles of these players are not included. The same will be included on requestEnquire About Report@About UsIt is crucial for market players to take leaps strategically and update themselves with recent trends, opportunities, and emerging investment pockets. We, at Research Beam, adhere to these factors and offer a wide range of reports that are detailed and enable our clients to achieve their goals with long term planning coupled with competitive advantage.Our database includes a broad array of various market reports from numerous publishers across the globe. These reports of several market categories and sub-categories help our clients to find the exact report they are looking for. We are instrumental to provide quantitative and qualitative insights in their area of interest and bring reports from various publishers under one umbrella to save their time and money. Our clients across the world are gaining profits from the information given in the reports sourced by us.We also provide customization services by coordinating with the publisher and ensuring that our clients requirement are fulfilled. Our team bridges the gap between our clients & publishers and assists them with expert inputs. We offer relevant and precise research reports to fulfill business requirements at the best price.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1 (800) 910-6452Int'l: +1-971-202-1575help@researchbeam.com
Analysis of Railway Construction Projects in Americas Industry : Technology, Applications, Growth and Status 2017

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Albany, NY, 18th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Project Insight-Railway Construction Projects: The Americas" globally.The Americas region is forecast to greatly expand its railway network with both the affluent North and less affluent Latin American countries investing in rail infrastructure. The US administration has proposed US$200 billion in federal outlays for infrastructure over the 2018 to 2026 period which will include railway investment.The report provides detailed analysis, information and insights based on 273 CIC projects in the Americas market. The report provides detailed metrics on the region's railway construction projects (as tracked by CIC) split by country, type (e.g. high speed, conventional commuter and mass rapid transit/metros) and value. Country profiles are provided for the top 10 countries including The US, Brazil and Canada.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @SummaryTimetrics Construction Intelligence Center (CIC) is currently tracking railway construction projects in the Americas with a total value of US$800.9 billion, which includes projects from the announced to execution stages. The Americas projects tracked account for 50,384km of railway.The US leads with a value of US$487.5 billion with the countrys highest value project being the US$100 billion Washington DC-New York High-Speed Rail Line followed by Brazil with US$103.7 billion and its highest value project the US$20.5 billion High-Speed Railway System.Annual spending on the 273 projects tracked is expected to reach US$122.2 billion in 2020.Leading contractors in the region are Tutor Perini Corporation and Dragados.ScopeThe report provides analysis based on CIC projects showing total project values for the Americas market and analysis by stage and funding for the top ten countries. The top 50 projects are listed for the region giving country, stage, value, km length and rail sector if known. Ranked listings of the top participants for the sector are also provided showing the leading contractors, consulting engineers and project owners.Reasons To BuyGain insight into main drivers of activity and forecasts for the railway construction sector.Assess all major projects by value, start date, scope and stage of development for the region and top 10 countries to support business development activities.Plan campaigns by country based on specific project opportunities and align resources to the most attractive markets.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Key HighlightsThe highest value of projects are at the pre-planning stage, with US$317.0 billion, followed by projects at the execution stage with US$273.6 billion.Projects in the planning stage amount to US$137.9 billion, while projects in the pre-execution stage account for US$72.5 billion.Railway projects tracked in the region account for 50,384km.The US accounts for highest value of railway projects with US$487.5 billion.Public investment is responsible for the funding of the highest proportion of projects, with 61%, with joint public and private funding at 24% and the remaining 15% of projects financed solely by private funding.Assuming all projects tracked go ahead as planned, annual spending on the 273 projects tracked is expected to reach US$122.2 billion in 2020.Based on the total value of projects in which the companies are involved the top contractor in the region is Tutor Perini Corporation followed by Dragados.Browse Report @ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Virtual/Online Fitness Market 2017: Global Industry Analysis, Demand, Growth & Research 2023

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Virtual fitness is an ongoing trend of delivering physical training sessions in groups through online channels. These training sessions are beneficial for people who face difficulty in physically attending classes. These sessions are conducted are at a pre-decided schedule or time slot. Virtual fitness has led to a paradigm shift in the industry to cater to the on-demand fitness requirements of the millennials and working professionals.Early buyers will receive 20% customization on this reportGet PDF Brochure of this report:The global virtual fitness market is driven by the need for advanced fitness sessions, inclination towards physical fitness, increased stress environment, unavailability of time to attend sessions at institutes, sedentary lifestyle, and others. However, low awareness about the services and courses offered by the players in the industry hamper the market growth. Furthermore, growing popularity of the concept of virtual fitness in developing economies presents lucrative opportunities to market players in the near future.The global virtual fitness market is segmented on the basis of session type and geography. Based on session type, it is classified into group and solo. Based on geography, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.The key players operating in the market include Fitness On Demand, Reh-Fit Centre, GoodLife Fitness, Wexer, LES MILLS INTERNATIONAL LTD, WELLBEATS, Fit n Fast Health Clubs & Gyms, conofitness, Charter Fitness Inc., Fitness First, and others.Key Benefits: The study provides an in-depth analysis of the global virtual fitness market, and the current & future trends to elucidate the imminent investment pockets. The report included information about the key drivers, restrains, and opportunities that would impact the market growth. Porters five forces analysis of the industry illustrates the potency of buyers and suppliers operating in the industry. The quantitative analysis of the global market from 2017 to 2023 is provided to determine the market potential.Get More Information & Research of Virtual/Online Fitness @About UsAllied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact US5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada)
The Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem : Trends, Analysis, Growth and Status 2017

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Albany, NY, 18th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "The Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" globally.Given the increasing prevalence of expensive household goods, cars and consumer electronics, insurance has become an unavoidable and often necessary cost in modern life. Mobile phones, and smartphones in particular are no exception to this trend.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Most major wireless carriers, insurance specialists, device OEMs, retailers and even banks now offer insurance plans that cover theft, loss, malfunctions and damage of mobile phones. Many policies now also integrate enhanced technical support and additional protection features such as data backup facilities, allowing users to securely backup their phone data online.SNS Research estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for nearly $20 Billion in revenue by the end of 2016. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 12% over the next four years, eventually accounting for over $30 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.The "Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2016  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" report presents an in-depth assessment of the mobile phone insurance ecosystem including market drivers, challenges, opportunities, value chain, future roadmap, case studies, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents market size forecasts from 2016 through to 2030. The forecasts are segmented for 5 regional and 25 country level markets.Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:SNS Research estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for nearly $20 Billion in revenue by the end of 2016.The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 12% over the next four years, eventually accounting for over $30 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.In an effort to boost the uptake of mobile phone insurance, wireless carriers and insurance providers have extensively enhanced their insurance offerings with the addition of location tracking, data protection/recovery features and integrated technical support.The success of mobile phone insurance plans has driven several wireless carriers, such as NTT DoCoMo and Orange, to invest in the sales of other insurance products through mobile phones and their retail outlets.New insurance models are also beginning to emerge, such as London-based So-Sures social insurance for mobile phones, which allows customers to get up to 80% of their money back, if they and their friends dont claim.Device OEMs are beginning to invest in tailored plans to suit the specific requirements of certain regional markets. A good example is Xiaomis Mi Protect plan in India, which covers accidental and liquid damage, for as little as $7 per year.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:Mobile phone insurance ecosystemMarket drivers and barriersInsurance policy structure, distribution channels and key trendsCase studies of mobile phone insurance initiativesIndustry roadmap and value chainProfiles and strategies of over 40 leading ecosystem playersStrategic recommendations for ecosystem playersMarket analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for the following regional and country level submarkets:Regional SegmentationAsia PacificEuropeLatin & Central AmericaMiddle East & AfricaNorth AmericaCountry Level SegmentationArgentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, UK & USAKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:How big is the mobile phone insurance opportunity?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?How is the ecosystem evolving by region?What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?Which countries will see the highest percentage of growth?Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?What risks are typically covered in mobile phone insurance offerings?How can insurance plans help wireless carriers in reducing churn?What strategies should wireless carriers, device OEMs and insurance providers adopt to remain competitive?Countries covered:ArgentinaAustraliaBrazilCanadaChinaColombiaFranceGermanyHong KongIndiaIsraelItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandBrowse Report @RussiaSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainTaiwanUKUSAResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Base Layer Market Report for EU and Regional Industry Size 2017-2023

Base Layer market

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MarketResearchNest.com adds Base Layer -Global Market Status and Trend Report 2017-2023 new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 136 pages with table and figures in it.Report SummaryBase Layer -Global Market Status and Trend Report 2013-2023 offers a comprehensive analysis on Base Layer industry, standing on the readers' perspective, delivering detailed market data and penetrating insights. No matter the client is industry insider, potential entrant or investor, the report will provides useful data and information. Key questions answered by this report include:Worldwide and Regional Market Size of Base Layer 2013-2017, and development forecast 2018-2023Main manufacturers/suppliers of Base Layer worldwide, with company and product introduction, position in the Base Layer marketMarket status and development trend of Base Layer by types and applicationsCost and profit status of Base Layer , and marketing statusMarket growth drivers and challengesBrowse full table of contents and data tables atThe report segments the global Base Layer market as:Global Base Layer Market: Regional Segment Analysis (Regional Production Volume, Consumption Volume, Revenue and Growth Rate 2013-2023):North America, Europe, China, Japan, Rest APAC, Latin America.Global Base Layer Market: Type Segment Analysis (Consumption Volume, Average Price, Revenue, Market Share and Trend 2013-2023):Man Base Layer, Woman Base Layer, Kids Base Layer.Order a Purchase Report Copy atGlobal Base Layer Market: Application Segment Analysis (Consumption Volume and Market Share 2013-2023; Downstream Customers and Market Analysis)Ball Sports, Non-ball Sports, Leisure Time, Other.Global Base Layer Market: Manufacturers Segment Analysis (Company and Product introduction, Base Layer Sales Volume, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin):Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, The North Face, Columbia, GORE, Odlo, Falke, ANTA Sports, Helly Hansen, Mizuno,Rab, LiNing, Skins, Tommie Copper, Icebreaker, Loffler, Arc'teryx.In a word, the report provides detailed statistics and analysis on the state of the industry; and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Request a sample copy atAbout Us:MarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on Global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Contact UsMr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070(U.S)+44-20-3290-4151(U.K)Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Aquaculture Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate

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The global market for aquaculture is highly fragmented and comprises a large pool of medium and large size players, states Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a research report. The competition in the market is anticipated to intensify over the coming years owing to the strategies being applied by the existing players such as enhancing the production capacity of the existing plants and also set up new plants. Many vendors are focusing on developing novel and advanced manufacturing plants. The players are also entering into agreements with other players or acquiring smaller players for increasing their production capacity and thus which will eventually allow them to meet the growing demand for seafood across the globe. Some of the creme companies operating in the market are Tassal Group Ltd, Thai Union Frozen Products Public Company Ltd., Stehr Group Pty Ltd., Selonda Aqauculture S.A., Stolt Sea Farm, Nireus Aquaculture S.A., Promarisco, Huon Aquaculture Group Pty Ltd., Marine Harvest ASA, Eastern Fish Co., Cermaq ASA, Cooke Aquaculture Inc., Blue Ridge Aquaculture, and Asmak.Download exclusive Sample of this report:According to a TMR analyst, The global aquaculture market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 5.10% from 2013 to 2019. In 2013, the market was worth US$135.1 bn and is likely to touch US$195.1 bn by the end of 2019. Based on the key products, the market was led by the segment of carps owing to the high compatibility they display in tough environment conditions in comparison to other fishes. Region-wise, Asia Pacific excluding China is likely to surface as a lucrative region owing to the growing consumption of sea food in the region. China, on the other hand, is likely to emerge undefeated as it likely to hold over 60% of the total share in the global market for aquaculture by 2018.Health Benefits to Play Key Role in Market ExpansionAquaculture is the quickest developing system of food production globally because of the absence of normally accessible assortments of fisheries gathered in indigenous habitats. The expanding familiarity with the medical advantages and nutritious esteem related with fish has quickened its utilization. Oceanic items, particularly cultivated shrimps and salmons, are very nutritious wellsprings of sustenance, comprising of essential proteins, vitamins A, B, D, and Niacin, nd minerals like iodine, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. These nourishments additionally have a huge wellspring of Omega-3 unsaturated fats, for instance, eicosapentaenoic corrosive (EPA). And docosahexaenoic corrosive (DHA). The high nearness of minerals and imperative supplements in fish assume a urgent part in the change of mental health and proliferation. Such nutritive favorable circumstances of aquaculture items have the reliance of individuals on these nourishment sources, bringing about the general development of the market amid the gauge time frame.Browse Full Report at:Freshwater Aquaculture to Present Future Lucrative OpportunitiesAquaculture can be led in crisp, saline, or marine water, in light of the expected deliver. Of these, freshwater aquaculture is the main income generator for the worldwide aquaculture market and is probably going to remain the prevailing portion in the coming years. While angle caught from normal waters have constituted most of the worldwide fish market, this has prompted extreme consumption of the fish populace in many parts of the world. This has prompted freshwater aquaculture, which is generally completed in misleadingly arranged tanks and lakes, going up against a vital part in the worldwide aquaculture market.In any case, the demand for marine species stays high over the world. Since most fish can solely make due in either marine or new water, this has prompted a developing appropriation of aquaculture in marine water. Marine aquaculture is in this way liable to be a main supporter of the worldwide aquaculture market in the coming years.This review of the market is based on a recent report by Transparency Market Research, titled, Aquaculture Market (Environment - Marine Water, Freshwater, Brackish Water; Product - Carps, Mollusks, Crustaceans, Salmon, Trout, Milkfish, Mackerel, Sea Bass, Trout, Sea Bream) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 - 2019.Global aquaculture market is segmented as:Aquaculture Market: Culture Environment Segment AnalysisFreshwaterMarine waterBrackish waterAquaculture Market: Product Segment AnalysisCarpsMollusksCrustaceansSalmonMilkfishTroutMackerelSea BreamSea BassOthers (Catfish and turbot)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Consumption of Telematics Services to Remain High During 2012 - 2018

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Telematics is the branch of science that deals with the long distance communication of computerized information. It is the blending of telecommunication and informatics for achieving effective and secured communication. This tremendous growth in telematics services is expected to be the outcome of growing demand for electric vehicles. Telematics market is also witnessing increasing demand due to introduction of cloud based offerings in vehicle telematics. However, decrease in the cost of telematics equipments is the major challenge currently faced by this industry.A sample of this report is available upon request @Increasing collaboration between vehicle manufacturing companies and telematics vendors is one of the major reasons contributing to the growth of telematics services industry. Next generation vehicle telematics application such as automatic vehicle identifier systems, fleet operation management systems, remote vehicle diagnostics, incident detection systems, and in-vehicle terminal assistance are expected to increase the demand of telematics services in vehicle manufacturing industry. Rising awareness amongst consumers over the need and importance of telematics services will drive the market demand in upcoming years. Need of effective vehicle tracking systems is further expected to drive the demand of telematics services in diverse application areas such as emergency service vehicles, public transport (taxis), cargo delivery, and others.Growing popularity of GPS enabled smart phones can pose a challenge to the growth of this industry. Smart phones are consuming an important share in world telematics market and these phones provide multiple functionalities of telematics systems. Currently, the U.S. and Europe accounts for the majority of global telematics services market due to stringent regulations from government to have vehicles equipped with emergency services. Further growth of this industry is expected to be driven by widespread use of this technology in emerging economies and extended support from governments to promote vehicular telematics.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the key players of this market include AirIQ, ETAS Group, OnStar Corporation, QUALCOMM, ATX Group, WebTech Wireless, and Wireless Matrix Corporation, Punch Telematix, MinorPlanet Systems, among others.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Bulgaria Industrial Construction Market Global Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast Report 2021

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Industrial Construction Market in BulgariaSynopsis"Industrial Construction Market in Bulgaria: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021" contains historic and forecast market data for the industrial construction market in Bulgaria, with a detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type( construction materials, construction equipment and construction services). This report also contains overall values of the industrial construction segments such as Industrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants. This research report provides up-to-date market size data for the period 2012-2016 and an illustrative forecast to 2021.GET SAMPLE REPORT @SummaryIndustrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants.The Bulgarian industrial construction category has observed some fluctuations in the review period with a value of BGNxxx.xx million (US$xxx.xx million) in 2016 and increased at a rate of x.xx% over 2015. The market recorded a CAGR of x.xx% from 2012 through 2016."Industrial Construction Market in Bulgaria: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021"' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the industrial construction market in Bulgaria. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Bulgaria construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.Scope An overview of the industrial construction market in Bulgaria. Historic (2012 through 2016) and forecast (2017 through 2021) construction market output values are provided. A detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) is provided at the market level while the values for the segments are provided by cost types (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services). This report covers all the segments of commercial construction market including Industrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants.Key points to buy Enhances your knowledge of the market with key figures detailing construction type. Provides you with a breakdown of the market by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition). Provides you with a breakdown of the segments by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment &construction services). Details the segments covered under commercial construction market. Allows you to plan future business decisions using the forecast figures given.Table of Contents1 Introduction2 Overall Industrial Construction Value: Market Analysis3 Industrial Construction Output: Analysis by Category4 Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plants construction: Market Analysis5 Manufacturing Plants construction: Market Analysis6 Metal and Material Production and Processing plants construction: Market Analysis7 Waste Processing Plants construction: Market Analysis8 Appendix..CONTINUEDWise 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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Analysis of Clomazone Market in Global Industry : Market Development and Overview 2017

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Albany, NY, 18th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Clomazone Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023" globally.Clomazone is an agrochemical which comprises Isoxazole which is bound to a 2-chlorobenzyl group. The compound is responsible for suppressing the biosynthesis of chlorophyll and other pigments. The compound serves as a herbicide in the agrochemical industry, and is sold under different brand names such as Commence, Command, and Kalif. Although the market for clomazone has been growing in most of the regions, it hasnt seen a similar trend in emerging economies such as China over the past few years. Several manufacturers of clomazone have ceased the production of the compound, citing issues such as higher production cost as well as production barriers pertaining to pollution. Other than production, the herbicide is sold to areas such as Northeast of China. In addition, more than half of the clomazone manufactured in China is exported to various developed and emerging regions such as North America, South America, and Europe.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The global market for clomazone has been witnessing a noticeable increase owing to growth of the herbicides industry. Growing demand for organic food is also expected to boost the demand for clomazone in herbicides over the forecast period. Over the recent years, the global industry for organic food has witnessed significant growth. Rising concerns of consumers in terms of environmental protection, and food safety are some of the major reasons driving the growth of the organic food industry. The growth of such agrochemicals in emerging economies is anticipated to provide new opportunities for the clomazone market. In addition to improving the food security, agriculture also plays an important role in enhancing the economic growth of emerging economies.Approximately one billion of the global population does not have proper access to adequate nutrition and food. Increasing focus of the seed industry towards crop protection is leading towards the development of various methods for seed treatment, which in turn are boosting the demand for herbicides thereby fueling the demand for clomazone.Clomazone is widely used in various fruit and other crops such as apple and rice. Clomazone helps keep crops disease free and healthy, thereby enhancing the productivity of farmers. The crop industry is focused on protecting crops from various diseases and pests. Different methods of crop protection such as usage of herbicides and seed treatment are being implemented by farmers worldwide. Clomazone is less toxic in nature vis-a-vis other herbicides; as a result, it has garnered global approval for usage in fruit and rice crops. Demand for weed removing chemicals such as clomazone is likely to rise over the next few years, led by rising production of food sources such as apples and rice.Demand for clomazone was highest in North America owing to prevalence of the significant genetically modified crops industry where these herbicides are used for seed treatment purposes. Asia-Pacific is likely to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period despite recent market slowdown in China. Emerging countries such as China and India are expected to dominate the clomazone industry due to the increasing awareness for organic food among the population generated by government support. Environmental hazards associated with other herbicides coupled with the promotion of clomazone by certain government agencies to create awareness among the masses are other vital factors driving the market. The market is expected to be the largest in countries such as Argentina and Brazil due to the consumption of clomazone on a large scale in the genetically modified crop industry.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Cheminova, Inc., Bessen Chemical Co. Ltd., Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd, and Willowood USA are some of the key companies involved in the clomazone industry.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends.Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Browse Report @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Overview of Security Printing Market in Global Industry : Market Development, Analysis and Demand 2017

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Albany, NY, 18th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Security Printing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023" globally.Security printing includes printing of banknotes, product authentication, postage stamps, identity cards, stock certificates and passports. Companies, government organizations and institutes protect their valuable documents such as coupons, prescription pads and transcripts with by incorporating few features of the security printing in order to reduce the cost. Security printing is done to avoid tempering, counterfeiting and forgery. Security printing includes special paper, watermarks, intaglio printing, micro-printing, holograms, security threads, magnetic inks, anti-copying marks and serial numbers. Based on end-use applications, security printing market can be segmented as financial, tickets, brand protection, personal ID and others. Substrates, coatings and inks are expected to be largest product segment in the global security printing market and this trend is expected to remain same in the next few years.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Imposing stringent regulations and standards across the world is expected to be a driving factor for security printing market. Security printing and law enforcement can help in preventing counterfeiters and detect forgeries which would eventually reduce frauds. Furthermore, need of brand protection is anticipated to boost the market growth. Brand names are major target for the product pirates. These product pirates copy brand name and status which would cost companies huge losses and reputation dilution. Additionally, rising counterfeiting is anticipated to boost the market growth for security printing. Counterfeiting is increasing at an alarming rate that include petty criminals, invading supply chains with altered packaging and good, illegal copy of tax stamps and producing fake documents and bank notes. This is affecting the society in all the regions globally and the issue of counterfeiting needs to address. Furthermore, increasing awareness about all the frauds in consumer groups is anticipated to drive the demand for security printing.Consumer groups demand to track and trace the products they procure in order to reduce the losses they face. Consumer behavior is changing due to fusion of end-user markets and industries which allow them to access for all the products in market with one go.However, growing digitization and convergence are expected to hamper the market growth. Thus innovations to develop new products with high security are expected to provide immense opportunities for the players in the market.Asia Pacific emerged as the largest market for security printing in terms of demand. Middle East and Latin America is expected to be fastest growing in the next few years. Due to rising disposable income and changing consumer behavior in the developing countries of Asia Pacific, the demand for security printing is expected to remain high in the next few years. North America held the small share in the global security printing market. Growth for security printing market in North America is expected to revive in the next few years due to increasing awareness among consumer groups and companies about document security. Europe comprising Eastern and Western Europe is expected to grow at a moderate rate. Western Europe is expected to exhibit significant growth in the total market share.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Global security printing market is moderately consolidated with few players accounting for major share. Some of the major players have presence across value chain and provide customized products and solutions for the customers. For instance, Giesecke & Devrient procure raw materials from its fully owned subsidiaries in order to reduce cost and maintain high quality of the product. Some of the key players in the global security printing market include 3M, Madras Security Printers Private Ltd. and Giesecke & Devrient.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. 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Business Travel Insurance Global Market 2017: Key Players  Assicurazioni Genarali, Allianz SE, Seven Corners, Travel Safe Insurance, USI Insurance Services

Business Travel Insurance Market 2017

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Business Travel Insurance Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Business Travel Insurance Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Business Travel Insurance Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Business Travel Insurance Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.This report studies the global Business Travel Insurance market, analyzes and researches the Business Travel Insurance development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeAssicurazioni Genarali S.P.A. (Italy)Allianz SE (Germany)Seven Corners Inc. (U.S.)Travel Safe Insurance (U.S.)USI Insurance Services LLC (U.S.)MH Ross Travel Insurance Services Inc. (U.S.)American International Group (U.S.)AXA Group (France)Insure and Go Insurance Services Ltd. (UK)Chubb Ltd. (U.S.)Request a Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Business Travel Insurance can be split intoSingle Trip Travel InsuranceAnnual Multi-trip Travel InsuranceMarket segment by Application, Business Travel Insurance can be split intoInsurance TradeInsurance CompanyBankInsurance BrokerInsurance AggregatorOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Business Travel Insurance Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Business Travel Insurance1.1 Business Travel Insurance Market Overview1.1.1 Business Travel Insurance Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Business Travel Insurance Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Business Travel Insurance Market by Type1.3.1 Single Trip Travel Insurance1.3.2 Annual Multi-trip Travel Insurance1.4 Business Travel Insurance Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Insurance Trade1.4.2 Insurance Company1.4.3 Bank1.4.4 Insurance Broker1.4.5 Insurance Aggregator1.4.6 Others2 Global Business Travel Insurance Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Business Travel Insurance Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Assicurazioni Genarali S.P.A. (Italy)3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Allianz SE (Germany)3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Seven Corners Inc. (U.S.)3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Travel Safe Insurance (U.S.)3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 USI Insurance Services LLC (U.S.)3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 MH Ross Travel Insurance Services Inc. (U.S.)3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 American International Group (U.S.)3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 AXA Group (France)3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Insure and Go Insurance Services Ltd. (UK)3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Chubb Ltd. (U.S.)3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Business Travel Insurance Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent DevelopmentsContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
LiDAR for Cars and Light Trucks Information and Market Trend Size, Shares - Industry Trends, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2017 to 2023

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"LiDAR for Cars and Light Trucks Market Size, Shares - Industry Trends, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2017 to 2023" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-LiDAR sensors are extensively used in automated cars and light trucks as they help in safe navigation by detecting obstacles and avoiding them. As most of the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier-1 players within the global automobile industry are working towards automated driving, the global market for LiDAR will witness a high growth in the years to come. The demand for LiDAR technology is high as they help in achieving level 3 and level 4 in automation of vehicles. While level 3 still requires drivers for cars and light vehicles to function, all the safety critical functions relating to the environment or traffic can be shifted to the vehicle. Level 4 vehicles can monitor roadway conditions for the entire trip and perform all the safety-critical driving functions. With an increasing number of car manufacturers striving to expand the autonomous driving concept and the shift towards unmanned vehicles, the market for LiDAR has huge potential for growth.Get Sample Report With TOC @Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth as LiDAR sensors for cars and light trucks permit users to implement automated driving. Fleet vehicles from Uber, Google and similar users are likely to be the early adopter groups, creating vehicles that do package delivery and ride sharing. Tesla, Mercedes, and Audi are among the vendors with a leadership position in the personal luxury vehicle artificial intelligence LiDAR car markets. These cars provide performance and cater to individual preference in feature function packages and styling.LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging which is remote sensing. LIDAR does not require electromagnetic radiation but it requires laser pulses that strike the object and return back to the sensor. The laser pulse measures the distance from the sensor to the object by determining the time between the release to reception of the reflected pulse.3D scanning market and imaging are expected to propel growth. Major technological developments include emergence of optically extended MEMS scanning mirror for low-altitude and light weight flying platforms. Long term reliability of number of key laser components drive the LiDAR market. Key components include optical coatings, optics, and diodes in vacuum and radiation environment of space.Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market leveraging LiDAR. The ability to do so depends on implementing next generation technology that is very expensive to get working. Vendors ae seeking to work together to set standards and develop shared modules that provide basic functionality. Cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence software, and LiDAR are among the modules being developed.Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to institute major change in personal mobility. Autonomous cars are the next generation of manual cars, poised to provide thrust for a large replacement market. Autonomous vehicles are the base for building personal car services, particularly in large cities. Carmakers and Silicon Valley companies bring different skills to the task of building a Artificial Intelligence (AI) car. LiDAR is a significant sensor that supports autonomous operations. Autonomous vehicles transform the personal transport industry.Every person who owns a vehicle has a preference on performance. The Tesla has gained recognition for offering a Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle, but it is first and foremost a performance vehicle. This characteristic will not change as Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles come on the market. People like the customization of features and functions in their car.This customization aspect of vehicles does not get talked about much, but it is a very important part of the industry. It will not go away just because cars are run by software. From auto racing to personal preference, ever car has its own personality and its own comfort. Performance is part of the package. Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market with a distinctive offering. The ability to have unique appear to customers depends on implementing next generation technology in a manner that works effectively and is relatively inexpensive to implement.As automated process leveraging LiDAR hits the auto industry as a disruptive force, it parallels the automated piloting of the airline industry that saw significant labor savings implementation. Automated vehicle driving can be done anywhere just by connecting the car to integrated adaptive cruise control, adaptive steering and braking, and lane assist systems all working off one central processor.Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks incrementally add automated process to driving leveraging the LiDAR sensor. As software is added to cars and light trucks it is done in concert with modification to the steering, breaking, and other automotive systems. Autonomous functions for vehicles are increasingly adopted.Change is incremental, we do not have fully functioning LiDAR navigated Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars immediately, rather, steering, collision avoidance, parking, test driving, series of camera and radar based monitoring systems, lane assist, and adaptive cruise control are being implemented, presaging rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks as the various functions mature and work in the real world.According to Susan Eustis, team leader for the preparation of the study, The market for LiDAR for cars and light truck vehicles is anticipated to expand in parallel with the deployment of appropriate roadway controls funded by government programs. The large public investments for Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles so far has been for development of technology that works for military purposes. The extension of this type of automated system to commercial fleet vehicles will be rapid after 2019.The Artificial Intelligence (AI) car designs amalgamate a group of features to represent an automated process solution. These include the hardware, the software middleware, the steering system, adaptive cruise control, numerous software applications, an integrated systems approach, and related services. Significant investments in research and development are necessary as the emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks industry builds on incremental technology roll outs.LiDAR for autonomous autos and small trucks /SUVs market at $13 million in 2016 is expected to reach $9.9 billion by 2023. This is in the context of a $3 trillion market for the autonomous vehicles. LiDAR represents one sensor in the autonomous navigation system. It is used to give more reliability than is available from cameras and other sensors and it compliments those capabilities. Spectacular growth is a result of various moves toward autonomous vehicles that can go across the US by themselves, provide automated navigation,, integrated braking and steering. Most auto vendors have gone beyond the testing stage to offer vehicles that have strong navigation capability.Safety modules are complimented by mapping vehicles that provide navigation. The Tesla and other vehicles provide driver alerts but fall sort of complete Artificial Intelligence (AI).Market driving forces relate primarily to the need for increased safety and personalization for autos. Car manufacturers are positioning with LiDAR sensors for cars to meet demand at the high end, and in every category of car and light truck. Many Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle car vendors are making automation for personal vehicles and light trucks a reality.Companies ProfiledMarket LeadersPioneerValeoContinentalVelodyne3DEOMIT Lincoln LabMarket Participants3d Laser Mapping Specialists, Airborne Lidar And ImageryAvent Lidar TechnologyAImotiveAlphabet, Waymo: GoogleGoogle / Intel Target Driverless Cars with LiDARWaymo Deal with Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesAlps ElectricArgo AIAutolivBeijing Beike Technology Co., Ltd (isurestar) (China)BMWBosch GroupContinentalDaimler AG/Mercedes-BenzDelphi AutomotiveDensoDigitalWorld MappingEatonECA LiDARFaro TechnologiesFirmatek LlcFiat ChryslerFordFord Argo AI Artificial Intelligence CompanyGeneral MotorsGM Investment in LyftGeniarp GroupGeniarp Group / Mosaic 3dGeophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI)GMR Group / Geokno India Pvt. Ltd. (India)HarrisHereHondaHyundaiInfineon Technologies AGIntel CorporationIntel Buys MobileyeIntermap TechnologiesKnorr-Bremse GroupMesa LiDARMIT Lincoln LabMIT Agreement with Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI)MitsubishiNissanNVIDIANXPPix4DPioneerQualcommQuantum Spatial(Aerometric, Inc.) (U.S.)Renishaw PlcRiegl Laser Measurement Systems GmbH (Austria)Riegl USAScaneseSiemens and Infineon LiDARSoftbankSoftbank ArmSoftbank Personal Brain IBM WatsonTeslaToyota / LexusUberReport Enquiry and Other Query @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Information and Market Trend: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts

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"The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016 - 2030 - Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Due to the bandwidth limitations of their traditional voice-centric LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks, public safety agencies are keen to leverage commercial cellular network technology to support their growing broadband application needs. Considering its thriving ecosystem, spectrum flexibility and performance metrics, LTE has emerged as the leading candidate for public safety mobile broadband networks. In addition, with the recent approval of the MCPTT (Mission Critical Push to Talk) voice standard as part of 3GPP Release 13, LTE has also become an attractive substitute for providing LMR-like voice services.Get Sample Report With TOC @The Qatar Ministry of Interior made headlines when it deployed a private 800 MHz LTE network in 2012. Since then, numerous public safety LTE networks have sprung up across the globe, including the UAE, China, Laos, Turkey and Kenya. Several early adopter LTE deployments are also operational in the United States, as part of the planned FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network. While most initial public safety LTE investments are limited to small-scale networks, nationwide rollouts in the United States and South Korea are expected to trigger significant large-scale investments throughout the globe.The European market is largely dominated by MVNO arrangements, such as the UK Home Offices ESN (Emergency Services Network) program that will use EEs commercial LTE network to deliver prioritized mission critical voice and data services for the UKs public safety agencies. As part of the program, EE is enhancing its existing network with additional sites, satellite backhaul and a dedicated mobile core for first responders, among other investments.Driven by the thriving ecosystem, SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years. By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.The Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report presents an in-depth assessment of the global public safety LTE market, besides touching upon the wider LMR and mobile broadband industries. In addition to covering the business case, challenges, technology, spectrum allocation, industry roadmap, value chain, deployment case studies, vendor products, strategies, standardization initiatives and applications ecosystem for public safety LTE, the report also presents comprehensive forecasts for mobile broadband, LMR and public safety LTE subscriptions from 2016 till 2030. Also covered are public safety LTE service revenues, over both private and commercial networks. In addition, the report presents revenue forecasts for public safety LTE infrastructure, devices, integration services and management solutions.The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report, as well as a list and associated details of over 90 global public safety LTE network commitments (as of Q22016).Key Findings:The report has the following key findings:SNS Research estimates that annual investments on public safety LTE infrastructure will reach $600 Million by the end of 2016. The market, which includes base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear, is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 33% over the next four years.By 2020, these infrastructure investments will be complemented by over 4.4 Million LTE device shipments, including smartphones, rugged handheld terminals and vehicular routers.Following the Qatar Ministry of Interiors private 800 MHz LTE network deployment in 2012, multiple private LTE rollouts are underway by security forces throughout the oil rich GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region, including the Abu Dhabi and Dubai police forces.Driven by nationwide public safety LTE network rollouts in the United States and South Korea, the North America and Asia Pacific regions will account for nearly 70% of all public safety LTE investments over the next four years.Almost all major LMR industry players are leveraging partnerships with established LTE infrastructure OEMs such as Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung, to offer end-to-end LTE solutions.Consolidation efforts are continuing to take place throughout the industry, particularly among the largest LTE infrastructure OEMs and public safety system integrators.Topics Covered:The report covers the following topics:Business case for public safety LTE and mobile broadband services, including key benefits and challengesTechnology, economics, trends, commercial commitments and deployment case studiesList of public safety LTE engagements worldwidePublic safety LTE infrastructure, devices and applicationsIndustry roadmap, value chain and standardization initiativesSpectrum allocation, deployment models and funding strategiesProfiles and strategies of over 260 ecosystem players including public safety system integrators and LTE infrastructure/device OEMsTCO analysis of private and commercial public safety LTE deploymentsMilitary and tactical LTE deploymentsPublic safety LTE base station (eNB) form factor analysisExclusive interview transcripts from 5 key ecosystem players: Ericsson, Airbus Defence and Space, Sepura, Aricent and Parallel WirelessStrategic recommendations for vendors, system integrators, public safety agencies and mobile operatorsMarket analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Forecast Segmentation:Market forecasts are provided for each of the following submarkets and their subcategories:Public Safety LTE InfrastructureSubmarketsRAN (Radio Access Network)EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and PolicyMobile Backhaul and TransportRAN Base Station (eNB) Mobility CategoriesFixed Base StationsTransportable Base StationsRAN Base Station (eNB) Cell Size CategoriesMacrocellsSmall CellsTransportable RAN Base Station (eNB) Form Factor CategoriesNIB (Network-in-a-Box)VNS (Vehicle Network System)SOW (System-on-Wheels)Airborne PlatformPublic Safety LTE Management & Integration SolutionsSubmarketsNetwork Integration & TestingDevice Management & User ServicesManaged Services, Operations & MaintenanceCybersecurityPublic Safety LTE DevicesSubmarketsPrivate LTECommercial LTEForm Factor CategoriesSmartphones & Handportable TerminalsVehicle Mount Routers & TerminalsTablets & Notebook PCsUSB Dongles & OthersPublic Safety LTE Subscriptions & Service RevenueSubmarketsPrivate LTECommercial LTEPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Private Mobile BroadbandSubmarketsPrivate LTEPrivate WiMAXPublic Safety User Subscriptions over Commercial Mobile BroadbandSubmarkets3GWiMAXLTE5G & BeyondLMR SubscriptionsSubmarketsAnalogDMRdPMR, NXDN & PDTP25TETRATetrapolOthersLMR Data SubscriptionsSubmarketsP25 - Phase 1P25 - Phase 2TETRATEDSTetrapolOthersPublic Safety LTE ApplicationsSubmarketsVideo ApplicationszGIS, AVLS and MappingMobile VPN Access & SecurityCAD (Computer Aided Dispatching)Remote Database AccessTelemetry and Remote DiagnosticsBulk Multimedia/Data TransfersPTT & Voice over LTESituational Awareness ApplicationsRegional SegmentationAsia PacificEastern EuropeLatin & Central AmericaMiddle East & AfricaNorth AmericaWestern EuropeKey Questions Answered:The report provides answers to the following key questions:How big is the public safety LTE opportunity?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?Which regions and submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?How does standardization impact the adoption of LTE for public safety applications?When will MCPTT and proximity services see large scale proliferation?What is the status of private LTE rollouts and public safety MVNO offerings across the globe?What opportunities exist for commercial mobile operators and MVNOs in the public safety LTE market?Is there a market for 400 MHz LTE networks?What are the prospects of tactical, vehicle-mounted and airborne LTE eNB platforms?How can public safety agencies leverage unused spectrum resources to fund private LTE networks?What strategies should system integrators and vendors adopt to remain competitive?List of Companies Mentioned:The following companies and organizations have been reviewed, discussed or mentioned in the report:3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)AaeonAbu Dhabi PoliceAccelleranAceAxisACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority)AculabAdaxADCOM911 (Adams County Communication Center)ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies)AdvantechAdvantech WirelessAeroflexAffarii TechnologiesReport Enquiry and Other Query @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. 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Global Sunflower Oil Market 2017-2022 Key Players: Kernel, EFKO Group, Aston, Cargill, Optimus, Nutrisun, Dicle Group, NMGK, Bunge, MHP, Creative Group, Tanoni Hnos. Sa, Standard Food,..

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Sunflower Oil Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Sunflower Oil Market 2017 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2022reports to its database.Executive SummaryGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Sunflower Oil in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest Sample Report @Global Sunflower Oil market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingKernelEFKO GroupAstonCargillOptimusNutrisunDicle GroupNMGKBungeMHPCreative GroupTanoni Hnos. SaStandard FoodNT LtdOliyarDelizioRisoilCOFCORegionWilmarAdams GroupLuhua GroupSanxing GroupPology OilOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoLinoleic Sunflower OilMid-Oleic Sunflower OilHigh-Oleic Sunflower OilOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingFoodBioSunflower OilCosmeticsOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.For further information on this report, visit -Table of ContentsGlobal Sunflower Oil Market Research Report 20171 Sunflower Oil Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Sunflower Oil1.2 Sunflower Oil Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Sunflower Oil Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Sunflower Oil Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Linoleic Sunflower Oil1.2.4 Mid-Oleic Sunflower Oil1.2.5 High-Oleic Sunflower Oil1.3 Global Sunflower Oil Segment by Application1.3.1 Sunflower Oil Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Food1.3.3 BioSunflower Oil1.3.4 Cosmetics1.3.5 Other1.4 Global Sunflower Oil Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Sunflower Oil Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Sunflower Oil (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Sunflower Oil Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Sunflower Oil Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Sunflower Oil Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Sunflower Oil Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Sunflower Oil Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Sunflower Oil Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Sunflower Oil Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Sunflower Oil Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Sunflower Oil Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Sunflower Oil Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Sunflower Oil Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Sunflower Oil Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Sunflower Oil Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Sunflower Oil Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Sunflower Oil Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Sunflower Oil Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Sunflower Oil Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Sunflower Oil Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Sunflower Oil Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Sunflower Oil Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Sunflower Oil Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Sunflower Oil Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Sunflower Oil Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinuousBuy this Report @Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Oligomeric Mannose Information and Market Trend - Worldwide Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023

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"Oligomeric Mannose Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Recently, there has been rising interest in mannose-binding lectin (MBL) that is chiefly a liver-derived collagen like serum protein. This is partially due to its central role as a recognition molecule in the complement system. In addition, it has also created interest because of the potential clinical implications of genetically determined differences in MBL oligomerization and serum level between individuals. The discovery of MBL may be traced down back after the Second World War, when it was discovered that factors in non-immune bovine and murine serums could inhibit influenza virus-induced haemagglutination that leads to influenza virus neutralization. Repetition of these seminal findings has taken place and it is observed that atleast one of these factors can be MBL. The clinical interest in MBL originates from an observation made 40 years ago when serum-dependent defect of phagocytosis on yeast particles was described.Get Sample Report With TOC @Mannan-binding lectin is a vital component of the innate immune system. MBL consists of an oligomeric structure which contains three most likely identical peptide chains of 30kDa each. Even though MBL can form several oligomeric forms, some indications presume that trimers and dimers are not always biologically active and need a tetramer form to activate the complement. It helps binding of sugar structure on microorganism and on fading host cells. It is one of the four recognized mediators. These mediators initiate the activation of the component system through the lectin pathway.Oligomeric mannose belongs to the class of collectins in the C type lectin superfamily. It function is similar to pattern recognition in the first line of defence in the pre-immune host. It recognizes carbohydrate patterns, set up on the surface of an enormous number of pathogenic microorganisms that include virus, bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The lectin pathway of the complement system is activated when the MBL binds to a micro-organism. Recent studies have verified that MBL is capable of recognizing carbohydrate structures from both altered self and infectious agents. This binding specificity confers upon MBL the capability to function as a defense factor that is dynamic not only against infectious agents but also against cells and molecules abnormally produced in the host. The recognition of the final targets may be of significance for the host to become accustomed to abnormal physiological conditions.In at least 12% of the common Caucasian population, the circulating level of functional MBL is inadequate. This makes MBL deficiency, the most common key immunodeficiency1. The consequences of MBL deficiency can be quite restrained, numerous studies have shown that MBL deficiency increases vulnerability to communicable diseases and predisposes to superior severity when infections arise.Growing demand from the healthcare industry is the major factor driving the global oligomeric mannose market. Rising demand from the scientific research institutes and pharmaceutical industry is also expected to boost demand for oligomeric mannose in the market.North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW) are the key segments for global oligomeric mannose market. Asia Pacific and North America are expected to boost market demand for oligomeric mannose owing to growing demand from the healthcare industry. Rest of the World and Europe are also expected to boost demand owing to rising demand from the research institutions in the region.Some of the major players in the global oligomeric mannose market include: Enzo Life Sciences Inc, BioPorto Diagnostics A/S, Cayman Chemicals, Novoproteins, Acris Antibodies, Mountain Health products and Life Plus among others.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsReport Enquiry and Other Query @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
The Complete Introduction to Dynamic Actuators November 2

The Complete Introduction to Dynamic Actuators November 2

http://www.noliac.com/?id=661

http://www.noliac.com/?id=661

http://www.noliac.com/?id=498

http://www.noliac.com/?id=661

Sign up for our free webinar Dynamic actuators, November 2, and get an introduction to piezoelectric actuators for dynamic applications. You will also learn how to estimate the behavior of a dynamic system.How to work with dynamics in the design processDynamics play an important role in many applications. To be able to analyze and design your own dynamic application using piezoelectric actuators, you need to have a basic understanding of dynamic behaviour, and how to model, analyze and estimate the behaviour of the dynamic system. The webinar Dynamic actuators will prepare the participants for this work. The webinar also introduces the important aspects of heat dissipation or self-heating of the piezo actuator, which is a major concern for high frequency applications.1.5 hours free piezo webinarNoliacs webinars are held by experienced engineers from Noliac giving you a thorough knowledge of the basics of piezo actuators. The webinar is live, and with a chat function, you can ask questions to the presenters along the way.Book your seat now!There is a limit of 25 participants for each webinar, so sign up now atThe webinar takes place November 2 at 3 pm CET. You will receive a link with all the practical information approximately 1 week before the webinar takes place.Sign up atWebinars and tutorials about piezo technologyThe purpose of our piezo webinars and tutorials is to get you closer to the world of piezo. We provide insight ranging from the basics of piezoelectricity and different types of piezo actuators to complex piezo motors.Go to our tutorials atSign up for our webinars atNoliac presents a unique proficiency in the field of piezoelectric technology. We design, develop and manufacture the total range of piezoelectric products - from powders to mono- and multilayer components and all the way to finished plug-and-play applications.Noliac, a part of CTS CorporationHejreskovvej 18DK-3490 KvistgaardDenmarkAtt.: Lotte Beck
Global Laser Weapons Market 2017: Raytheon, Boeing, Textron, Rheinmetall, Quinetiq

Laser Weapons Market 2017

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Global Laser Weapons Market 2017-2022QY Market Research include new Laser Weapons market research report "2016-2022 Report on Global Laser Weapons Market Competition, Status and Forecast, Market Size by Players, Regions, Type, Application" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global Laser Weapons market is highly helpful because it covers all the aspects which are important in deciding the future of this industry. The Laser Weapons report is collated by full-fledged analysts who have created use of their market intelligence to explain all basic and crucial knowledge regarding the worldwide Laser Weapons industry.Get Free Sample of Report Here:The Laser Weapons market report makes use of tables, charts, graphs, maps, and statistics to present the data in the easiest way to understand. The Laser Weapons market report is a comprehensive analysis of the key factors impacting the global Laser Weapons industry. This Laser Weapons market report includes both the driving factors as well as the restraining factors that are influencing the market's performance positively and negatively, respectively.Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research Report,Raytheon CompanyBoeing CompanyBAE SystemsTextronRheinmetall AgL-3 Communications HoldingsMoogQuinetiq GroupThalesThe present trends shaping the worldwide Laser Weapons market and the way it will influence the Laser Weapons market within the future are studied. Additionally to this, the future opportunities within the Laser Weapons market that have the potential to assist the market to expand are given within the Laser Weapons report.Enquire Here:The segments inside the global Laser Weapons industry and their sub-segments also are studied in detail. This ensures that the whole Laser Weapons market is covered. The leading segment along with the declining segment and also the most promising segment has been given during this Laser Weapons report. This helps the newcomers, shareholders, readers, stockholders and leading manufacturers to choose which segment or sub-segment to speculate on therefore on acquire most profits.The Laser Weapons market report discusses the degree of competition, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and a threat of substitutes, both internal and external substitute of Laser Weapons market. The threat of recent entrants or the barriers experienced by new and prime players in getting into the worldwide Laser Weapons market has been mentioned. This offers new players a plan on whether or not they will exist within the competitive Laser Weapons industry.About Us:Business Worldwide is a trusted brand in the research industry with a capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Business Worldwide, we believe in building long-term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries including Energy, Chemicals and Materials, Automotive, Software and Aerospace.Contact Us:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803
Global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation Market 2017: Simlat, AeroVironment, BOSH, SDS, SELEX

Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation Market 2017

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Global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation Market 2017-2022QY Market Research include new Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market research report "2016-2022 Report on Global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation Market Competition, Status and Forecast, Market Size by Players, Regions, Type, Application" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market is highly helpful because it covers all the aspects which are important in deciding the future of this industry. The Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation report is collated by full-fledged analysts who have created use of their market intelligence to explain all basic and crucial knowledge regarding the worldwide Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation industry.Get Free Sample of Report Here:The Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market report makes use of tables, charts, graphs, maps, and statistics to present the data in the easiest way to understand. The Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market report is a comprehensive analysis of the key factors impacting the global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation industry. This Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market report includes both the driving factors as well as the restraining factors that are influencing the market's performance positively and negatively, respectively.Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research Report,Simlat Ltd.CAE Inc.AeroVironment Inc.SELEX GalileoCrew Training International Inc.MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.Israel Aerospace IndustriesBOSH Global Services Inc.SDS International Inc.The present trends shaping the worldwide Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market and the way it will influence the Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market within the future are studied. Additionally to this, the future opportunities within the Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market that have the potential to assist the market to expand are given within the Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation report.Enquire Here:The segments inside the global Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation industry and their sub-segments also are studied in detail. This ensures that the whole Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market is covered. The leading segment along with the declining segment and also the most promising segment has been given during this Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation report. This helps the newcomers, shareholders, readers, stockholders and leading manufacturers to choose which segment or sub-segment to speculate on therefore on acquire most profits.The Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market report discusses the degree of competition, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and a threat of substitutes, both internal and external substitute of Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market. The threat of recent entrants or the barriers experienced by new and prime players in getting into the worldwide Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation market has been mentioned. This offers new players a plan on whether or not they will exist within the competitive Unmanned Aerial System (UAV) Flight Training and Simulation industry.About Us:Business Worldwide is a trusted brand in the research industry with a capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Business Worldwide, we believe in building long-term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries including Energy, Chemicals and Materials, Automotive, Software and Aerospace.Contact Us:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803
Global Smart Insulin Pens Market: Bluetooth Connected Smart Insulin Pens Allow Effective Insulin Dose Management along with Data Sharing Capabilities 2017-2027

MRRSE

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https://www.mrrse.com/smart-insulin-pens-market

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By connectivity, the Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment is expected to account for a value share of US$ 0.276 Mn in 2017. The segment is expected to reach a little more than US$ 2 Mn by 2027 end, registering the highest CAGR of 23.2% over the forecast period. Bluetooth connected smart insulin pens represent the future of insulin delivery devices. Such devices have an inbuilt Bluetooth connectivity feature allowing automatic insulin dosage data sharing with healthcare providers. The contribution of the Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen connectivity segment to the overall smart insulin pens market revenue is expected to increase from more than 30% in 2017 end to close to 50% by the end of 2027, with an increase of more than 1000 BPS.Request For Sample Report :The USB connected smart insulin pen segment is estimated to create an absolute $ opportunity of US$ 0.090 Mn in 2018 over 2017. Revenue from the USB connected smart insulin pen segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 14.4% over 20172027, to reach more than US$ 2 Mn by 2027. Pendiq smart insulin pen is the only available USB connected smart insulin pen in the European market. Most of the companies in the global smart insulin pens market are focussing on developing Bluetooth enabled smart insulin pens; therefore, the Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment is expected to occupy a majority of the market share during the projected period.Increasing demand for improved diabetes management is expected to boost the market value of USB and Bluetooth enabled smart insulin pensIncreasing prevalence of diabetes is one of the growing concerns currently. According to the International Diabetes Federation, an estimated 415 million people were suffering from diabetes in 2015. This is projected to reach 642 million by 2040. Therefore, daily insulin dose management among diabetic patients is important in order to better manage the disease leading to rapid penetration of smart insulin pen technology in the global market. Smart insulin pens have transformed diabetes care through digitalisation and connectivity. A rapidly increasing diabetic patient pool is expected to create a positive impact on the Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment.Diabetes management with conventional insulin pens available in the market is tedious, time-consuming and requires patients to remember and document their data, making it difficult for them to manage their insulin dosage in a timely manner, and can lead to a misinterpretation of the results. Bluetooth and USB enabled smart insulin pens allow users to track their insulin doses and facilitate seamless documentation of insulin units and blood glucose levels. Smart insulin pens also send alerts to patients and healthcare professionals in case of missed doses. This is attributed to an increasing number of manufacturers focussing on introducing devices with smart connectivity, which allow automatic insulin dose data transfer on the patient portal for streamlined data dosage management.Needle stick injuries with diabetes injection needles and lancing devices are a key concern for diabetics. Insulin syringe needle stick injuries is a percutaneous wound injury caused by needle tips and can occur while using, handling, disassembling, or disposing of needles and syringes. High incidence rate of needle stick injuries and associated serious consequences persuade healthcare professionals to use injection pens. This is expected to augment the penetration of Bluetooth and USB enabled smart insulin pens in the global smart insulin pens market.Enquire About This Report :Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment is expected to witness 4.9X growth in terms of revenue contribution in the Asia Pacific smart insulin pens marketBluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment is estimated to register the highest attractiveness index of 1.5 as compared to the USB connected smart insulin pen segment in the global market during the forecast period. This is due to the proliferation of Bluetooth connected smart insulin pens in the North America smart insulin pens market. Also, heavy investment by several big players to develop smart connected insulin pen devices is pushing the revenue generation of smart insulin pens in the North America smart insulin pens market. In Europe, the Bluetooth connected smart insulin pen segment is anticipated to register a market attractiveness index of 1.2 during the forecast period. USB connected smart insulin pen segment is expected to depict a market attractiveness index of 0.5 during the forecast period in the Asia Pacific region. India and China are the most populous countries in Asia Pacific with the highest number of patients diagnosed with diabetes. Increasing efforts by market players to expand their smart insulin pens business in Asia Pacific countries offer immense potential for revenue generation.Browse Full Report with TOC :About 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 StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Commercial Foodservice Equipment Global Market 2017: Key Players  APW Wyott, Belleco, Cadco, Hobart, Hamilton Beach, Lincoln, Panasonic

Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market

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Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingAPW WyottBellecoBrevilleCadcoCuisinartEquipexFrigidaireHamilton BeachHatcoHobartKitchenAidLincolnNemco Food EquipmentPanasonicOsterStar ManufacturingTurboChef TechnologiesWaringBCEWatlowEagle GroupJestic Foodservice EquipmentBUNNHoshizakiVitamixRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Commercial Foodservice Equipment in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoElectronic PowerGas PowerOn 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 Commercial Foodservice Equipment for each application, includingRestaurantFood ManufactureIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market Research Report 20171 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Commercial Foodservice Equipment1.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Electronic Power1.2.4 Gas Power1.3 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Segment by Application1.3.1 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Restaurant1.3.3 Food Manufacture1.4 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Commercial Foodservice Equipment (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)7 Global Commercial Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 APW Wyott7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 APW Wyott Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Belleco7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Belleco Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Breville7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Breville Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Cadco7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Cadco Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Cuisinart7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Cuisinart Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Equipex7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Equipex Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Frigidaire7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Frigidaire Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Hamilton Beach7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Hamilton Beach Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Hatco7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Hatco Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Hobart7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Commercial Foodservice Equipment Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 Hobart Commercial Foodservice Equipment Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
VERMES Microdispensing opens new Premises in Malaysia

New Corporation: VERMES Microdispensing Sdn Bhd Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia

www.vermes.com

Munich, Germany, October 17th, 2017  VERMES Microdispensing, the renowned supplier of innovative microdispensing concepts and systems for adhesives, silicones, greases, solvents and other fluids, today announced it has opened its new corporation, VERMES Microdispensing Sdn Bhd, in Penang state, Malaysia. With this move the German-based company continues to follow its strategy to bring its superior microdispensing system solutions and support services to the growing customer base in this region.South East Asia (SEA) is becoming increasingly important for the microdispensing supplier technology. The rising production output of the electronics industry located in SEA is directly influencing the rise in demand for industrial microdispensing solutions.While offering a comprehensive global supply and support network, the local presence in Butterworth, Penang will enable VERMES Microdispensing to operate regionally and provide customers with local service and delivery. This results in a higher level of customer focus and the ability to provide urgent response when needed.VERMES Microdispensing Malaysia is led by Mr. Kesavan Thirumali who was appointed as the Company Director of the new company.We are excited to expand our reach in South East Asia, states Juergen Staedtler, CEO of VERMES Microdispensing. Combining know-how and innovation, VERMES Microdispensing is able to fully meet the needs of the industry throughout South-East-Asia. For many years our contact-free microdispensing system solutions have set standards in precision, reproducibility and processing of a wide range of media. Increasing our footprint in Penang will contribute to deliver these benefits to our customer base in this area.Kesavan Thirumali, Company Director of VERMES Microdispensing Malaysia adds: The opening of the Malaysian office will bring us closer to our customers and enable us to provide them with dedicated services and support. Our high-precision microdispensing systems will help our customers to speed up their product introductions and boost the performance of their manufacturing processes.About usHeadquartered in Germany, VERMES Microdispensing revolutionized microdispensing technology with the introduction of its contact free piezo-based MDS 3000 series in 2001. Today, the company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative microdispensing concepts and systems for adhesives, silicones, greases, solvents and other fluids.VERMES high precision MDS 3000 valves support modern manufacturing processes across the globe, e.g. for automotive, pharmacology, smart phones, TV sets, lamps, wafers, automated manufacture of LEDs, MEMS components, RFID tags, LC displays and many other electronic devices.Our systems enable our customers to achieve contact free dispensing of highly viscous media droplets in the micro and nano-liter range at theoretical frequencies of more than 3000 Hz; a rate that is unique in our industry.VERMES Microdispensing employees are dedicated to providing the best technologies and services to its customers around the world with the ultimate aim of contributing to increased throughput, improved quality and lower production costs. More information about VERMES Microdispensing can be found atVERMES Microdispensing is a trademark of VERMES Microdispensing GmbH in Germany and other countries.Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.ContactBirgitt HarrowVERMES Microdispensing GmbHPalnkamer Str. 1883624 Otterfing, GermanyPhone: +49 (0) 80 24-6-44-335
Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience North America announces Gold Sponsor - Belcan

www.belcan.com

www.ciprna-expo.com

The organisers for the first Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience North America are delighted to announce their new Gold Sponsors, Belcan.Belcan is a global supplier of engineering, technical recruiting, and IT services to customers in the aerospace, defense, industrial, and government sectors. Belcan engineers better outcomes through adaptive and integrated services. From jet engines, airframe, and avionics to heavy vehicles, chemical processing, and cybersecurity, Belcan takes a partnering approach to provide customer-driven solutions that are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. Belcans unique capabilities have led to continuous growth and success for nearly 60 years. For more information, please visitCritical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience North America will be held at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida from the 5th-7th December 2017 and will bring together leading stakeholders from industry, operators, agencies and governments to collaborate on securing North AmericaLatest speakers announced: Bryan Koon, Director, Florida Division of Emergency Management Matt Conner, Chief Information Security Officer, National Geo-Spacial Intelligence Agency Joseph Wassel, Director, C4 Resilience & Mission Assurance, US Department of Defence David Fortino, Regional Continuity Manager, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Alessandro Lazari, Contract Agent, European Commission  Joint Research Centre  Directorate Space, Security and Migration  Unit E.02 Technology innovation in Security Fred Ruonavar, Chief of DISA/DODIN Critical Infrastructure Program Michael Lowder, Director  Office of Intelligence, Security & Emergency Response, US Dept of Transportation Alessandro Lazari, Contract Agent, European Commission  Joint Research Centre  Directorate Space, Security and Migration  Unit E.02 Technology innovation in Security Senior Representative, Office of Infrastructure Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Frederic Petit, Research Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory & Regional Director, International Association of CIP Professionals Victoria Sherazi, Project Lead Mitigating Risks in the Innovation Economy, World Economic Forum Stacey Stanchfield, Lead Cybersecurity Engineer, MITRE Nathaniel Evans, Cyber Operations, Analysis and Research Lead, Argonne National Laboratory Adrian Fielding, Global Marketing Director  Integrated Protective Solutions, Honeywell Brian Harrell, Vice President of Security, AlertEnterprise Guy Buesnel, PNT Security Technologist, Spirent Communications Sebastien Blanchard, Sales Area Manager, Bertin Corp Andrew Tormey, Business Development, Gryphon Sensors Andrea Chiappetta, Professor of Geopolitics, Marconi International UniversityEvent details can be seen atCritical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience North America organised by Torch Marketing and KNM Media, will take place in Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 5th-7th December 2017.Torch Marketing Co Ltd, 53 Clarendon Road, Cheshun, 53 Clarendon Road, Cheshunt
Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 : Replicon, Softomotive

Market Research Reports

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https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-professional-services-automation-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022.htm

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.The thorough report here condenses diverse perspectives having a place with the general Professional Services Automation Software market which verbalizes the present-day data and future exposures with reference to the dynamic powers at play. The prime reason behind the examination report is to offer the endorser with a broad outline and make accessible the gainful actualities and records. The quantifiable and testing explanations behind the examination other than executes data on issues, for example, drivers, shackles, and projections to gage the aftereffect of the general Professional Services Automation Software market through the cross of the said gage period in the examination report. The report in like course passes on a brief and world class record of the predefined market outlines, which joins a couple of occasions of the veritable focuses at work which are surveyed to trigger change in the market or may cause any negative effect.This report other than stations into the general Professional Services Automation Software market by fundamentally examining the thing and industrialized chain of the market. This is required to also help in passing on honest to goodness information and data on compound parts of the appropriate market, for example, material relating to techniques for the managing body in the normal and general strata, transport and transmission structure, goals, and purposes of premium got for the contributed mean.This report studies the global Professional Services Automation Software market, analyzes and researches the Professional Services Automation Software development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeSolarWinds MSPReplicondapulseWrikeSoftomotiveSherpaDeskIntellectDataformaOrder a copy of Free Sample Report @The report utilizes a couple of showed industry examination and whole contraptions. They permit the examination gather pass on an uncovered fundamental assessment of the general Professional Services Automation Software market and help endorser and market troupes to be exhorted with respect to theory and business judgments. The wide philosophy of the examination gives a market position on an undeniable and minute scale. It gathers basic and optional research structures in this way. The agents have figured the recorded encounters and rose it from the forward and in reverse improvement flaunt circumstance to layout a framework for the general Professional Services Automation Software market in the years ahead.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Professional Services Automation Software1.1 Professional Services Automation Software Market Overview1.1.1 Professional Services Automation Software Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.3 Professional Services Automation Software Market by End Users/Application2 Global Professional Services Automation Software Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 SolarWinds MSP3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Professional Services Automation Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Replicon3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Professional Services Automation Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments4 Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.2 Potential Application of Professional Services Automation Software in Future4.3 Top Consumer/End Users of Professional Services Automation SoftwareView TOC (table of content), Figures and Tables of the Report:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Professional Services Automation Software Product ScopeFigure Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2017)Table Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Global Professional Services Automation Software Market Share by Regions in 2016Figure United States Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure EU Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure Japan Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)Figure China Professional Services Automation Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2012-2017)About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Redesigned Voolsy makes the dine-out easier, faster & offers personalised feel!

Voolsy, Indias 1st ibeacon based in-restaurant eating-out food ordering app, announces the launch of its redesigned app this Diwali. The new design of Voolsy app has been created focusing the mindset as well as food ordering behaviours of Voolsys extensive user database. The updated design is live and fully functional for both iOS and Android audience.The refreshing homepage is fully interactive and making it so easy for users to explore restaurants, locate most trending places, popular food chains and nearest Voolsy enabled outlets. Well organised menu style makes it easy for users to quickly put specific notes on their favourite dish. This time, the young team startup has restructured the rating/review system making sure that the users dont leave restaurant without a review. The new cash and carry feature will definitely add the value in Voolsy users eating out experience. Moreover, the scattered features have been simplified, so that the updated UI lets users control their dine-out with the least taps. Refreshed Voolsy is an ultimate delightful experience in all the way for the food fans!Redesigning the whole app was not an overnight decision. We have analyzed our user behaviour pattern over the year and realized that there are three types of users. Ones who are undecided and like to explore options via app, the ones who know which cuisine he/she want to eat and where and the ones who like to explore new places and want to know offers. We have engineered the app that adapts to the on the go approach of users. said Smit Nebhwani, CEO.Amrish Patel, President, Voolsy said, The redesigned Voolsy is serving our overall objective of simplifying dine-out and user experience in every term. It has taken a lot of time, but we feel that it will take the users dining experience to the whole new level. That is why we are launching it in Diwali so that maximum people can enjoy the refreshed Voolsy. As we are stepping in different cities, having a refreshing look is inevitable and will definitely fetch more users and restaurants for us! Right now, we are already having presence in more than 7 cities and 1500+ restaurants. Our next goal is letting restaurants utilize our app traffic for promotionsThe award winning app is right now working in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Pune. Very soon, it is going to be functional in Gurgaon, Delhi and Chennai. Voolsy has already bagged many brands like Pizza Hut, Subway, Havmor, Four Points by Sheraton, The Chocolate Room and many more, with more than 4 lakh users. Voolsy is accepted in all forms of dine-out such as restaurants, cafes, sheesha lounges, pubs, bar, foodcourts and as well as cinemas.Voolsy is a digital solution to enhance dining experience. The restaurant app lets you order food and pay without waiting for the waiter.Voolsy Networks Pvt. Ltd410, Zodiac Square, Opp. Gurudwara,S.G.Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380 054+91 (79) 4030 5787
EMEA Alkylamines Market By Manufacturers, States, Type And Application, Forecast To 2022

Alkylamines

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/emea-alkylamines-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022.html

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/purchase.php?reportid=270222

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/requestsample.php?reportid=270222

MarketResearchNest.com adds EMEA Alkylamines Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast To 2022new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 117 pages with table and figures in it.An acousto-optic modulator (AOM) is a device which can be used for controlling the power, frequency or spatial direction of a laser beam with an electrical drive signal. It is based on the acousto-optic effect, i.e. the modification of the refractive index by the oscillating mechanical pressure of a sound wave.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Acousto-Optic Modulator in EMEA market, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa, This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Browse full table of contents and data tables atMarket Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversGoochandHousego, Brimrose, Isomet Corporation, AA Opto-Electronic Company, APE GmbH, IntraAction Corp, Lightcomm Technology Co.,LtdMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversEurope (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Turkey)Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran)Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria)Market Segment by Type, coversFiber-Coupled Acousto-optic Modulators, Free-space Acousto-optic ModulatorsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoMaterial processing, Medical (surgery, beauty), Laser Printing, Laser imaging and displays, ResearchOrder a Purchase Report Copy atThere are 13 Chapters to deeply display the EMEA 3D Metrology market.Chapter 1, to describe 3D Metrology Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of 3D Metrology, with sales, revenue, and price of 3D Metrology, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the EMEA market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of 3D Metrology, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, to analyze the market by regions, manufacturers, type and application, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 10, 3D Metrology market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 11, 12 and 13, to describe 3D Metrology research findings and conclusion, sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, appendix and data sourceRequest a sample copy atAbout Us:MarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on EMEA industries, organizations, products, and trends.Contact UsMr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070(U.S)+44-20-3290-4151(U.K)Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Process Water Treatment Chemicals 2017 Global Key Players  AkzoNobel, Ashland, Baker Hughes, BASF, BK Giulini, GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technologies Market Analysis And Forecast To 2022

Process Water Treatment Chemicals Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2390258-global-process-water-treatment-chemicals-market-professional-survey-report-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2390258-global-process-water-treatment-chemicals-market-professional-survey-report-2017

Process Water Treatment Chemicals Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Process Water Treatment Chemicals-Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Description:This report studies Process Water Treatment Chemicals 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, coveringAkzoNobelAshlandBaker HughesBASFBK GiuliniGE Infrastructure Water and Process TechnologiesClariantKemiraKurita Water IndustriesRequest for Sample Report@On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCorrosion InhibitorScale InhibitorCoagulantFlocculantsOthersBy Application, the market can be split intoFood & BeveragesPetrochemical IndustrySteel IndustryOthersBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaEnquiry before Buying @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of Contents:Global Process Water Treatment Chemicals Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.1 Definition and Specifications of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.1.1 Definition of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.1.2 Specifications of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.2 Classification of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.2.1 Corrosion Inhibitor1.2.2 Scale Inhibitor1.2.3 Coagulant1.2.4 Flocculants1.2.5 Others1.3 Applications of Process Water Treatment Chemicals1.3.1 Food & Beverages1.3.2 Petrochemical Industry1.3.3 Steel Industry1.3.4 Others1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Process Water Treatment Chemicals2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Process Water Treatment Chemicals2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Process Water Treatment Chemicals2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Process Water Treatment Chemicals8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Process Water Treatment Chemicals8.1 AkzoNobel8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 AkzoNobel 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 AkzoNobel 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Ashland8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 Ashland 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Ashland 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Baker Hughes8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Baker Hughes 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Baker Hughes 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 BASF8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 BASF 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 BASF 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 BK Giulini8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 BK Giulini 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 BK Giulini 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technologies8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.2.1 Product A8.6.2.2 Product B8.6.3 GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technologies 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technologies 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 Clariant8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.2.1 Product A8.7.2.2 Product B8.7.3 Clariant 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 Clariant 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 Kemira8.8.1 Company Profile8.8.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.8.2.1 Product A8.8.2.2 Product B8.8.3 Kemira 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.8.4 Kemira 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution Analysis8.9 Kurita Water Industries8.9.1 Company Profile8.9.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.9.2.1 Product A8.9.2.2 Product B8.9.3 Kurita Water Industries 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.9.4 Kurita Water Industries 2016 Process Water Treatment Chemicals Business Region Distribution AnalysisContinued..Contact US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Mexico Automotive Parts Aluminium & Magnesium Die Casting Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022.

http://www.strategymrc.com/report/mexico-automotive-parts-aluminium-magnesium-die-casting-market-outlook

http://www.strategymrc.com/report/mexico-automotive-parts-aluminium-magnesium-die-casting-market-outlook

The Mexico Automotive Parts Aluminium & Magnesium Die-Casting report provides an in-depth analysis of the various market segments and its sub-segments.Product types Covered: Pressure die casting Semi-solid die casting Squeeze die casting Vacuum die castingApplications Covered: Body assemblies Engine Parts Transmission parts OthersFor More, Please Visit:The report focuses on current and upcoming market trends such as Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, and Challenges, technological advancements, Porters Five Forces analysis to assess the intensity of competition in the market. The market values are presented in the form of tables and graphs for better interpretation.Market Size EstimationsThe market assessment is made by the core industry experts using our 360 research approach. The data is derived from the most reliable, authenticated data sources and is validated by the industry experts (Primary Research). Both top down and bottom up analysis are implemented to enhance the accuracy of the market figures. The market projections are calculated for the next 8 years using the actual market numbers of previous year as the base year.Company ProfilingThis section provides the overview of the key players that are leading in the industry, covering their business operations, financials, list of products & services, SWOT analysis, major developments such as mergers & acquisitions, agreements, partnerships, joint ventures, new product launch, expansions etc.Report Highlights:- Market share assessments for all the mentioned market segments and sub-segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 8 years for all the given segments- 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 advancementsFor More, Please Visit:We offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects.STRATISTICS MRC17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg,MD, 20877, USA
Integration in Telecommunication Market Expansion to be Persistent During 2024

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/14008

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/asia-pacific-latin-america-and-emea-system-integration-in-telecommunication-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Owing to rising urban population, growing strength of telecom networks, brimming data transference, and deployment of advanced technologies, the demand for system integration in telecommunication continues to surge in regions namely, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. A latest study published by Persistence Market Research has estimated that the market for system integration in telecommunications across these regions is presently valued at US$ 22.5 Bn. By the end of 2024, these regions will collectively showcase revenue growth at an impressive 6.3% CAGR and witness the market for system integration in telecommunication reach US$ 36.9 Bn in value.Rapid System Integration in Telecommunications across Asia-Pacific (APAC)The demand for system integration in telecommunication across APAC countries is projected to witness revenue growth at 7.1% CAGR. A majority of system integration solutions adopted across APAC telecommunications industry will be directed towards OSS, revenues from which will reach US$ 10.6 Bn by the end of 2024. China will contribute with more than one-third of overall revenues, while India, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and ASEAN countries will showcase rampant revenue growth. Vodafone Hutchinson Telecommunications, Telstra Corporation Ltd., SingTel Optus Pty Limited, NTT-Docomo Corporation, Ideal Cellular Ltd., Reliance Communications, and Softbank Corporation are some of the prominent IT service provider in the APAC telecommunications industry.Request Sample:Telecommunication Services in Latin America awaiting System IntegrationOn an average, 40% of revenues procured in Latin Americas system integration in telecommunication market will be emanating from Brazil. The demand for integrating OSS and BSS will also gain traction in Mexico and Argentina. Although, the overall system integration in telecom market in Latin America is being projected to expand at a moderate CAGR of 4.4%. High implementation costs of system integration solutions are imposing a relatively less adoption in Latin America, as opposed to the APAC region, Europe or Middle East & Africa. Leading IT service providers mapping Latin Americas telecom industry are identified as Telefonica Brasil, TIM Brasil, Telecom Argentina SA, Nextel, Telcel, Claro Brasil, and Telefonica SA.High Integration of OSS/BSS Systems in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA)The EMEA system integration in telecommunication market is presently valued US$ 10.5 Bn. In the Middle East and Africa, South Africa is projected to exhibit high value CAGR of 7%, while the European system integration in telecommunication market will see consolidated growth from the EU5  Spain, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. These five countries will also dominate the overall EMEA region, accounting for over 40% value share by the end of 2024. The MTN Group, Saudi Telecom Company, Vodacom, and Airtel Africa are leading telecom service providers across the Middle East and Africa. The telecom industry of Nordic countries and Russia is mapped by IT service providers namely, Telenor ASA, VimpelCom Ltd., and Mobile TeleSystems. Meanwhile, companies such Deutsche Telekom, Orange SA, BT Group plc., Telefonica SA and Vodafone Group plc. are charting the waters of telecommunication services in EU5 countries.Download TOC:Operational Support System (OSS) segment likely to retain its dominance throughout the forecast periodPersistence Market Research forecasts revenue from the Operational Support System (OSS) segment in the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and EMEA system integration in telecommunication market to be valued at a little more than US$ 16 Bn in 2017 and reach a market value in excess of US$ 20 Bn by the end of 2024. Revenue from the OSS segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.6% over the forecast period and the segment is expected to create incremental $ opportunity of a little more than US$ 10 Bn between 2016 and 2024. The Business Support System (BSS) segment revenue from the three assessed regions is expected to be valued at more than US$ 7,500 Mn in 2017 and is estimated to reach a value of a little more than US$ 11 Bn by 2024 end. Revenue from the BSS segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.7% over the forecast period with an incremental $ opportunity of more than US$ 4,000 Mn between 2016 and 2024. In terms of value, the OSS segment is projected to be the most attractive segment in the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and EMEA system integration in telecommunication market during the forecast period.Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United States+1-646-568-7751+1 800-961-0353 (USA-Canada Toll free)Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dental Software Market Outlook, Growth by Top Company, Region, Application, Driver, Trends & Forecasts by 2022

Dental Software Market

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Dental Software Market Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions and the main countries.The report firstly introduced the Dental Software Market basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on.Dental Software Market split by Application -Application 1, Application 2, Application 3. Dental Software Industry Segment by Regions- (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).Get PDF Sample of Dental Software Market Report @Through the statistical analysis, the Dental Software Market report depicts the global Industry Analysis, Manufacturers Analysis, Dental Software Industry Development Trend, Sales Demand and Forecast to 2022.Table of Contents:Chapter 1 Dental Software Market Overview1.1 Definition1.2 Classification Analysis1.3 Application Analysis1.4 Dental Software Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Dental Software Market Development Overview1.6 Global Dental Software Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter 2 Dental Software Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis of Dental Software Market2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market Trend2.2 Down Stream Market Analysis of Dental Software Market2.1.1 Down Stream Market Analysis2.2.2 Down Stream Demand Analysis2.2.3 Down Stream Market Trend AnalysisInquire for further detailed information about Dental Software Market Report @Chapter 3 Dental Software Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast3.1 2012-2017 Dental Software Market Capacity Production Overview3.2 2012-2017 Dental Software Production Market Share Analysis3.3 2012-2017 Dental Software Market Demand Overview3.4 2012-2017 Supply Demand and Shortage of Dental Software Industry3.5 2012-2017 Dental Software Import Export Consumption3.6 2012-2017 Dental Software Cost Price Production Value Gross MarginIn the end Dental Software Market report provides the main region, market conditions with the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. Dental Software Market report also Present new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.About UsReports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. The prime focus is to get reliable data, Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact UsJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
The Features and Forecast of Zinc Stearate (CAS 557-05-1) Market 2017 - 2022

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Reports on Zinc Stearate (CAS 557-05-1) Market Research Report with the global valuation from the year 2017 to 2022.Zinc stearate is a "zinc soap" that is widely used industrially. In this context, soap is used in its formal sense, a metal "salt" of a fatty acid. It is a white solid that repels water. It is insoluble in polar solvents such as alcohol and ether but soluble in aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., benzene) and chlorinated hydrocarbons when heated. It is the most powerful mold release agent among all metal soaps. It contains no electrolyte and has a hydrophobic effect. Its main application areas are the plastics and rubber industry, where it is used as a releasing agent and lubricant which can be easily incorporated.Get the abstract of report on:The report covers forecast and analysis for the zinc stearate market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2012-2016 along with a forecast from 2017 to 2022 based on both volumes and revenue. The study includes drivers and restraints for the zinc stearate market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the zinc stearate market on a global level.The report has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global zinc stearate market collected from specialized sources. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. Company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, new project launched, recent development analysis are the parameters included in the profile.The study provides a decisive view on the zinc stearate market by segmenting the market based on applications. All the application segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2017 to 2022.Get Discount on report @Key ApplicationsPolymer & RubberPharmaceuticals & CosmeticsConstructionPaints & CoatingsKey RegionsNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificKey VendorsBaerlocher GmbHFaci S.p.a.Valtris Specialty ChemicalsDover ChemicalSun AceSinwon ChemicalPeter Greven GmbHDainichi Chemical IndustryAdekaNorac AdditivesKwang ChengKawamura KaseiSakai ChemicalNitto Kasei KogyoJames M. BrownUndesaHangzhou OilchemicalsDeeno GroupZhejiang HengxiangJinda ShuangpengHengshui TaochengDongguan CHNVHuamingtaiShuangma ChemicalGet a Customized report as per the requisites.Table of ContentsPart 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredPart 3. Introduction3.1 Product Overview3.2 Applications of Zinc Stearate3.2.1 Polymer & Rubber3.2.2 Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics3.2.3 Construction3.2.4 Paints & Coatings3.3 Manufacture3.4 Raw Materials3.5 Cost AnalysisBROWSE FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS and REPORT DESCRIPTION @About Us:Reports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact Us:Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Offshore Drilling Global Market Key Players  Transocean, Ensco, Seadrill, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger Limited - Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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SummaryStudy Objectives of Offshore Drilling MarketTo provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Offshore Drilling MarketTo provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo Analyze the Global Offshore Drilling Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to six main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW)To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country level analysis of the market for segments by application, by services and by regionTo provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Offshore Drilling Market.Market Synopsis of Offshore Drilling MarketMarket ScenarioDeclining oil prices has had a significant impact on the Oil & Gas industry. Recovering from the recent downturn the oil and gas industry is witnessing stabilization. The market for offshore drilling is expected to witness growth in the forecast period mainly due to the increasing investments in regions with proven oil reserves. Additionally the declining oil prices have motivated certain market players to increase production in proven oil reserves rather than engaging in exploration activities which is expected to drive the market.With the stabilizing oil prices the Oil and Gas Industry and steadily increasing investment the Oil and Gas industry will have a scope of engaging in new projects in the forecast period which will contribute to the increasing demand in the Offshore Drilling Market.Request a Sample Report @Key FindingsThe key findings of the report Global Offshore Drilling Market includes:Depleting oil reservoirs and increasing number of mature oil fields are major factors driving the growth of the Offshore Drilling marketShallow and Deep water drilling segment is expected to show high growth in the initial stages in terms of applicationGeographically, North America has the largest share in global offshore drilling market, and is also expected to experience the fastest revival during the forecast period.SegmentsThe market for Offshore Drilling has been segmented on the basis of services, and application. Market categorization based on services includes sub-segments contract drilling, directional drilling, and logging while drilling. With respect to application, the market has been divided into shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deep water sub-segments. The regional segmentation identifies the market with respect to major regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America Middle East, and Africa.Regional Analysis of Offshore Drilling MarketThe Asia-Pacific region is expected to be a key region for the offshore drilling market mainly due to the recent discoveries of oil and gas in the offshore basin of Australia and Gulf of Thailand. Combining that with the increasing demand for oil and gas in these regions the market for offshore drilling is expected to achieve high growth. The North American region is expected to witness comparatively faster growth than the Asia-Pacific region due to aggressive offshore exploration projects being undertaken in this region.At any Query @Key PlayersSome of the key players for this market are: Transocean Ltd. (Switzerland), Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (U.S.), Ensco Plc (U.K.), Seadrill Ltd. (Bermuda), Schlumberger Limited (U.S.), Halliburton Company (U.S.), Baker Hughes Inc. (U.S.), and Weatherford International Ltd. (Switzerland)..Scope for Regional Analysis North Americao U.S.o Mexicoo Others Europeo U.K.o Norwayo Rest Of Europe AsiaPacifico Chinao Indiao Indonesiao Australiao Rest Of Asia-Pacific South Americao Brazilo Rest Of South America Middle Easto Saudi Arabiao UAEo Qataro Irano Rest Of Middle East Africao Angolao Nigeriao Egypto Rest Of AfricaThe report for Global Offshore Drilling Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Access Report @1. REPORT PROLOGUE10. COMPANY PROFILE10.1 BAKER HUGHES INC10.1.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.1.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.1.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.1.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.2 ATWOOD OCEANICS INC10.2.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.2.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.2.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.2.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.3 CHINA OIL FIELD SERVICES LIMITED10.3.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.3.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.3.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.3.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.4 DIAMOND OFFSHORE DRILLING INC.10.4.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.4.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.4.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.4.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.5 ENSCO PLC10.5.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.5.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.5.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.5.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.6 FRED. OLSEN ENERGY ASA10.6.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.6.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.6.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.6.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.7 GYRODATA INC.10.7.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.7.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.7.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.7.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.8 HALLIBURTON COMPANY10.8.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.8.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.8.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.8.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.9 KCA DEUTAG10.9.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.9.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.9.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.9.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.10 MAERSK DRILLING10.10.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.10.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.10.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.10.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.11 NABORS INDUSTRIES LTD10.11.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.11.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.11.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.11.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.12 NOBLE CORPORATION10.12.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.12.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.12.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.12.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.13 ROWAN COMPANIES PLC10.13.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.13.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.13.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.13.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.14 SCHLUMBERGER LIMITED10.14.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.14.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.14.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.14.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.15 SCIENTIFIC DRILLING INTERNATIONAL10.15.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.15.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.15.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.15.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.16 SEADRILL LTD10.16.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.16.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.16.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.16.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.17 SUPERIOR ENERGY SERVICES10.17.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.17.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.17.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.17.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.18 TRANSOCEAN LTD10.18.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.18.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.18.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.18.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTS10.19 WEATHERFORD INTERNATIONAL LTD10.19.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW10.19.2 PRODUCT/BUSINESS SEGMENT OVERVIEW10.19.3 FINANCIAL UPDATES10.19.4 KEY DEVELOPMENTSContinued....Buy Now @Contact Us: sales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US) ; Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Retail Analytics Market Size Worth USD 13 billion by 2024

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MaketStudyReport.com adds a New Retail Analytics Market Research Report for the period of 2017 - 2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at 2024.Retail Analytics Market size is set to exceed USD 13 billion by 2024; according to a new research report.The retail analytics market is expected to grow at a significant rate, owing to the emerging e-commerce trend across the retail sector. The new generation of highly informed and demanding customers are encouraging the retailers to adopt technologies that will satisfy the evolving demands. The inclination of retailers to implement technologically advanced and intelligent solutions to attract new customers, retain old customers, and improve profit margins is expected to drive the retail analytics market growth.Growth in demand for easy-to-use and easy-to-decipher solutions are compelling companies to implement modern technologies such as machine learning in the analytics software. The trend of extraction of consumer data from e-commerce portals and social networking websites to gather insights is expected to bode well for the retail analytics market, owing to the increasing internet penetration.Get sample Copy of this report:The above information is provided on a regional and country basis for the following: North America: U.S, Canada. Europe: Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia. Asia Pacific: China, India, Japan, Australia. MEA: Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa. Latin America (LATAM): Brazil, MexicoGrowth drivers Growing e-commerce industry in China and India Increasing penetration of big data in the retail industry in the U.S. Growing proliferation of smartphones in Asia Pacific Increasing competition among retailers and growing need for differentiation in North America New generation of highly informed and demanding customers in Europe Growing need for analytics maturity in Asia Pacific Growing adoption of ecommerce in retail in Latin America Expanding retail sector in Middle East and Africa Industry pitfalls & challenges Lack of technical expertise Data privacy concernsRetail analytics market by function: Customer management, Merchandising, In-store operations, Supply chain, Strategy & planningnRetail analytics market by solution: Software, Data management software, Analytical tools, Mobile applications, Reporting & visualization, Services, Managed, professional,Retail analytics market by deployment mode: Cloud, On-premise.Get Discount on this Report:Lack of privacy of customer data is expected to challenge the retail analytics market growth over the forecast timeline. Increasing use of data from social media platforms to map customer habits and shopping behaviors are expected to remain a major area of concern. High initial costs of implementing the software will further hamper the adoption in the retail sector. However, emerging startups that provide specialized solutions at lower prices are expected to expand market to small retailers.Growing demand for customized products and constantly changing consumer requirements is expected to drive the supply chain analytics software demand. Lack of inventory space has compelled retailers gather insights from the supply chain data to optimize operations and reduce costs. Reporting and visualization tools are anticipated to witness increase in demand, owing to the growing need to analyze data in an easy-to-read format in lesser time. Smart visual insights and implementation artificial intelligent dramatically reduces the time to insight and arrive at decision. Companies are inclined towards developing such tools that make data access and visualization easy contributing towards the retail analytics market growth.The demand for on-premise solutions is expected to gain momentum from the small and unorganized retailers which is expected to drive the retail analytics market. These solutions are ideal for the organization with limited customer foot-fall and limited geographical presence. Increasing competition among the solution providers has compelled them to introduce customized on-premise solutions that cater to specific demands of the retailers.The Asia Pacific retail analytics market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast timeframe, owing to the expansion of organized retail sector. In India, the exponential increase of e-commerce industry size and smartphones to buy consumer goods has prompted the need for data-driven business intelligence solutions. This has attracted big players such as HCL and IBM, in addition to the emergence of regional players including Manthan Systems, BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions, and Fractal Analytics.Some of the prominent vendors in the retail analytics market include Adobe Systems, SAP SA, SAS Institute, Teradata, 1010Data, Salesforce.com, Inc., IBM, etc. Companies continuously invest in development of technologically advanced and differentiated products to retain their position in the market. For instance, in April 2017, 1010Data, Inc. announced the launch of upgraded software development kits. The new SDKs are designed to support applications across enterprises.Related Report:Global Indoor LBS Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022Public transport is a shared passenger-transport service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, carpooling, or hired buses, which are not shared byMarketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market Advancements to Watch Out For 2022

Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems

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Orbis Research delivers key insights on the Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market in a new report titled Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market Research Report 2017-2022 by Players, Regions, Product Types and Applications. In this report, Orbis Research sheds light on the various factors and trends impacting market growth over the forecast period (2017  2022).DescriptionThe Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems industry. This report evaluates the Global market for " Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems".The Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market report provides complete analysis of the Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market by analysing all round market dynamics such as regional market opportunities, drivers, challenges, constraints, threats, and other market trends.The Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market report contains latest Business Data resulting from various Research sources that helps Decision Makers to deliver a Distinctive and Trustworthy Analysis for Companys Growth.Get a PDF Sample of Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market report at:The Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market Survey starts with Industry overview of Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market covering Major Regions Status, Industry Chain Structure, Definitions and Specifications, with a detailed focus on Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis including Raw Material Suppliers, Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturing Process.In Next Part, the researchers has collected and presented information on Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis which comprises of Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source of Major Manufacturers in 2017.In following segment, with Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin, Business Region Distribution Analysis, Competition between various Company Profile has been given along with Product Pictures and Specifications in Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Industry Report.The Key Players Mentioned in Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment SystemsMarket Report are: 3M Company (U.S.) Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.) Koninklijke Philips NV (The Netherlands) Pentair plc (U.K.) Panasonic Corporation (Japan) Unilever PLC (U.K.) LG Electronics Inc. (South Korea) DowDupont (U.S.) Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.)Place a Purchase Order for this Report at:The Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Industry Report is also aGreat Source of Marketing Type Analysis consisting:1. Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Regional Marketing Type Analysis2. Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems International Trade Type Analysis3. Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems by Regions4. Global Point-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Supply Chain AnalysisKey Regions North America United States Canada Latin America Mexico Brazil Argentina Others Europe Germany United Kingdom France Italy Spain Russia Netherland Others Asia & Pacific China Japan India Korea Australia Southeast Asia Indonesia Thailand Philippines Vietnam Singapore Malaysia Others Africa & Middle East South Africa Egypt Turkey Saudi Arabia Iran OthersMain types of productsPoint-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market, by Technology Reverse Osmosis Systems Distillation Systems Disinfection Methods Filtration Methods OthersPoint-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market, by System Tabletop Pitcher Faucet-Mounted Filters Counter-top Units Under-the-sink Filters OthersPoint-of-Use Water Treatment Systems Market, by Key Consumer Residential Non-Residential Commercial Industrial Healthcare Educational Institutes OthersMajor Points from Table of Contents:Chapter One: Methodology and Data SourceChapter Two: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Market OverviewChapter Three: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) by Key Players 2012-2017Chapter Four: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) by Regions 2012-2017Chapter Five: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Market by Product TypesChapter Six: Global Key Players ProfileChapter Seven: Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) by Appliance 2012-2017Chapter Eight: Industry Chain and Supply ChainChapter Nine: Global Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2017-2022)Chapter Ten: Development Trend and Research ConclusionGot any Query? Feel free to ask us at:Lastly, the Report provides Development Trend Analysis for 2017-2022 years which will forecast Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales Price, Consumption Forecast, Market Trend (Product Type) and Market Trend (Application). Also the List of Major Consumers is analyzed and Contact Details are provided to easy communicating.Finally, the Report is concluded with Various Methodology, Analyst Introduction and Data SourcesOrbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Multiple Conductor Cables In Global Market: Top Manufacturers - 3M, Alpha Wire, Amphenol PCD, Assmann WSW Components & BEI Sensors

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Multiple Conductor Cables In Global Market: Top Manufacturers - 3M, Alpha Wire, Amphenol PCD, Assmann WSW Components & BEI Sensors" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Multiple Conductor Cables market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Multiple Conductor Cables in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGlobal Multiple Conductor Cables market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including3MAlpha WireAmphenol PCDAssmann WSW ComponentsBEI SensorsBelden Inc.CicoilCNC TechDaburn ElectronicsGeneral Cable/Carol BrandOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMicrophoneMult-ConductorMulti-PairTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @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 Multiple Conductor Cables for each application, includingDrain WireFlame RetardantFlame RetardantResistantOthersTable of ContentsGlobal Multiple Conductor Cables Market Research Report 20171 Multiple Conductor Cables Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Multiple Conductor Cables1.2 Multiple Conductor Cables Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Microphone1.2.4 Mult-Conductor1.2.5 Multi-Pair1.3 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Segment by Application1.3.1 Multiple Conductor Cables Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Drain Wire1.3.3 Flame Retardant2 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Multiple Conductor Cables Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Browse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Childcare Software Market Outlook 2022: Top Companies, Trends and Future Prospects Details for Business Development

Childcare Software Market

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Childcare Software Market, also called child care management software, is a type of technology that used for all kinds of child care centers, homes, associations to save child care time, make the work and life easier.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Childcare Software in North America market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Childcare Software Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers SofterWare Ladder Software Procare Software Hi Mama Jackrabbit Technologies Ledger Software Kindertales Personalized Software Childcare Sage SmartCare INursery.net Limited Connect Software Solutions Astec Solutions Konverv EntLogics TechnologiesGet Sample PDF of the Report at-Childcare Software Market Segment by Countries, covering United States Canada MexicoChildcare Software Market Segment by Type, covers Cloud Based Installed-PC Installed-MobileChildcare Software Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Nursery School Family OthersBrowse Detailed TOC, Tables, Figures, Charts and Companies Mentioned in 55 Market Research Report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the North America Childcare Software market.Chapter 1, to describe Childcare Software Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Childcare Software, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the North America market by countries, covering United States, Canada and Mexico, with sales, revenue and market share of Childcare Software, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the segment market in United States, Canada and Mexico, by manufacturers, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and market share by manufacturers, types and applications;Chapter 10, Childcare Software market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 14 and 15, to describe Childcare Software Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data sourceThe next part also sheds light on the gap between supply and consumption. Apart from the mentioned information, growth rate of Childcare Software markets in 2022 is also explained. Additionally, type wise and application wise consumption tables and figures are also given.About UsReports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. The prime focus is to get reliable data, Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact UsJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Robotic Process Automation Market 2017 Leading Growth Drivers, Emerging Audience, Segments, Industry Sales, Profits & Analysis

Robotic Process Automation Market

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Market Highlights:Robotic process automation is an application technology where software with capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning are used for handling high volume, repeatable tasks. RPA allows employees to configure and program a computer software or a robot to interpret exiting application in the organization for manipulating data, processing transactions and communicating with digital systems. The RPA is similar to traditional IT automation but the major difference between these technologies is, RPA is capable of learning itself and adaptive to changing circumstances which a traditional IT automation system lacks.According to the study, healthcare and pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow at the highest CAGR. The study indicates banking and financial industry accounts for large adoption of RPA. In robotic process automation market by type segment, tools acquire for largest market share. High efficiency with low cost are few of the major factors driving the market of RPA. Whereas complex pricing model while implementation and dealing with clients is one of major challenge to the market.Robotic process Automation Market is segmented on the basis of operations that includes rule based and knowledge based operations. The knowledge based operations offers a new framework for efficient decision making process in logistics and warehouse industries. It enable users by offering interactive monitoring and optimization in the flow of logistics activities using hybrid techniques.The robotic process automation market is expected to grow at approximately USD 2,700 Million by 2023, at 29% of CAGR between 2017 and 2023.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players: Automation Anywhere (U.S.) Blue Prism (U.K.) Celaton Ltd (U.K.) Ipsoft (U.S.) Nice Systems Ltd. (Israel) Pegasystems (U.S.) Redwood Software (U.S.) Uipath (Romania) Verint (U.S.) Xerox Corporation (U.S.)Market Research Analysis:By regional analysis, the market consists of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. North America region is dominating the robotics process automation market. Asia-Pacific is few of the prominent players in the market owing to increase utilization of robotics automation process in healthcare & pharmaceuticals, retail, BFSI, IT & telecommunication industry among others. The robotics automation process witnessed its implementation in manufacturing industry.The region witnessed high growth in the market due to emerging economies from countries such as China and India that offers outsourcing services, that is boosting the market in the region. Increased operational efficiency and low cost, reduction in overall employee strength , leveraging BFSI sector and other benefits associated with it is driving the market in the region.Europe region is expected to be one of the prominent players owing to presence of RPA technology in rich manufacturing and logistics sector. Also economies from countries such as Germany, Russia, Spain and Denmark is having high adoption of RFA technology in various industrial sector.Robotic Process Automation Market Segmentation:By industry segment the Robotics Process Automation Market consists of BFSI, healthcare & pharmaceutical, manufacturing & logistics, IT & Telecommunication among others. In US region, there is a high implementation of RPA technology in BFSI sector due to its efficient data processing and workflow management capabilities. Owing to its high flexibility and scalability, there is a rapid deployment of robotics process automation technology in BFSI domain.Robotic Process Automation Market (MRFR) Analysis:By operations segment it consists of rule based and knowledge based operations. Rule based operations accounts for high market share as compare to knowledge based. Rule based operation is used in enterprises for repetitive administration task in the framework of constant business behavior.By region, MRFR analysis shows that, North America region accounts for highest market share owing to presence of key market players from the region. In US region, RFA implementation in BFSI sector is increasing as it improves business process efficiency and competency. Due to its greater data processing and work flow management solution, RPA market is having higher demand in BFSI domain.Regional Analysis:The regional analysis of robotic process automation market is being studied for region such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. North America region accounts for largest share in robotic process automation market owing to high development in field of technology and presence of developed countries. Europe is one of the prominent player in the market of robotic process automation. Countries such as U.K., Germany and Italy are the major contributors in the market growth due to the rich manufacturing and automotive industry.Asia-Pacific is expected to emerge as fastest growing market during the forecast period. Development of Asian countries and demand for consumer electronic products is forcing the manufacturers to adopt a cost effective technology in the manufacturing process.Browse Full Report Details @Intended Audience: Investors and consultants System Integrators Government Organizations Research/Consultancy firms Technology solution providers IT Solution Providers Supply Chain & Logistics Organizations Original Equipment Manufacturers Healthcare & Pharmaceutical IndustryTable of Contents1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Software2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast Model2.4.1 Market Data Collection, Analysis & Forecast2.4.2 Market Size EstimationContinuedList of TablesTable 1 Robotic Process Automation Market, By ProcessTable 2 Robotic Process Automation Market, By OperationsTable 3 Robotic Process Automation Market, By TypeContinuedList of FiguresFigure 1 Research TypeFigure 2 Robotic Process Automation Market: By Process (%)Figure 3 Robotic Process Automation Market: By Operations (%)ContinuedAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Fireworks Market Share,Trends,Supply,Sales,Key Players,Demand and Forecast 2021

Fireworks Market

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Fireworks Market Share,Trends,Supply,Sales,Key Players,Demand and Forecast 2021.The Fireworks industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Fireworks market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 4.38% from 1750 million $ in 2013 to 1990 million $ in 2016, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Fireworks market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the Fireworks will reach 2360 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailStandard (IN)Sri Kaliswari (IN)Ajanta (IN)Coronation (IN)Sony (IN)Diamond Sparkler (US)GROUPE F (FR)Panda (CN)Lidu (CN)Zhongzhou (CN)Liuyang (CN)Guandu (CN)Jeeton (CN)Qingtai (CN)Bull (CN)Hekou (CN)Dahu (CN)Dancing (CN)Shenma (CN)Jinsheng Group (CN)Sanlink Group (CN)Fuxiang (CN)Hefung (CN)Shenghong (CN)Shengding (CN)Meaning (CN)Juntai (CN)Shijihong (CN)Kim TAE (CN)Qianzi (CN)Section 4: 900 USDRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Continue.Report Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 Fireworks Product DefinitionSection 2 Global Fireworks Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Global Manufacturer Fireworks Shipments2.2 Global Manufacturer Fireworks Business Revenue2.3 Global Fireworks Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturer Fireworks Business Introduction3.1 Standard (IN) Fireworks Business Introduction3.1.1 Standard (IN) Fireworks Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Standard (IN) Fireworks Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Standard (IN) Interview Record3.1.4 Standard (IN) Fireworks Business Profile3.1.5 Standard (IN) Fireworks Product Specification3.2 Sri Kaliswari (IN) Fireworks Business Introduction3.2.1 Sri Kaliswari (IN) Fireworks Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 Sri Kaliswari (IN) Fireworks Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Sri Kaliswari (IN) Fireworks Business Overview3.2.5 Sri Kaliswari (IN) Fireworks Product Specification3.3 Ajanta (IN) Fireworks Business Introduction3.3.1 Ajanta (IN) Fireworks Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 Ajanta (IN) Fireworks Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Ajanta (IN) Fireworks Business Overview3.3.5 Ajanta (IN) Fireworks Product Specification3.4 Coronation (IN) Fireworks Business Introduction3.5 Sony (IN) Fireworks Business Introduction3.6 Diamond Sparkler (US) Fireworks Business IntroductionSection 4 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 North America Country4.1.1 United States Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.1.2 Canada Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.2 South America Country4.2.1 South America Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3 Asia Country4.3.1 China Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.2 Japan Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.3 India Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.4 Korea Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4 Europe Country4.4.1 Germany Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.2 UK Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.3 France Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.4 Italy Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.5 Europe Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5 Other Country and Region4.5.1 Middle East Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.2 Africa Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.3 GCC Fireworks Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.6 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Region Level) Analysis 2013-20164.7 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Region Level) AnalysisSection 5 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different Fireworks Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 Global Fireworks Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Worldwide Market Of Physician Computer Assisted Coding For Professionals Anticipated To Reach $2.5 Billion By 2023

Market Research Report

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Worldwide Market Of Physician Computer Assisted Coding For Professionals Anticipated To Reach $2.5 Billion By 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.Next generation Computer Assisted Coding of medical information is able to leverage natural language software technology to support some automation of the billing process and use of analytics to achieve higher quality patient outcomes. The study has 301 pages and 110 tables and figures.Computer assisted coding of medical information uses natural language solutions to link the physician notes in an electronic patient record to the codes used for billing Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies.Natural language processing is used determine the links to codes. 88% of the coding can occur automatically without human review. Computer assisted coding is used in all parts of the healthcare delivery system. The coding systems work well to implement automated coding process.Physicians think about patient conditions in terms of words. Software is configured to achieve working with physicians who are more comfortable describing a patient treatment in words than codes. The electronic patient record, created using physician dictation, is used to form the base for the coding. Natural language solutions implement computer coding to identify key words and patterns of language. The physician dictation can be done using regular language that the software recognizes and translates into billing codes.Properly designed natural language processing (NLP) solutions do not require physicians to change the way they work. They can dictate in a free-flowing fashion, consistent with the way they think, and are not limited to structured inputs that may or may not fully capture the unique circumstances of each patient encounter.Matching codes generated from physician notes to standard treatment protocols promises to improve health care delivery. Accompanying that type of physician patient management against best practice promises to revolutionize health care delivery. The ability to further check as to whether the recommendations for follow up made by radiologists and matching the commendations with the actual follow up heralds significant promise of vastly improved health care delivery.Computer assisted coding applications depend on the development of production quality natural language processing (NLP)-based computer assisted coding applications. This requires a process-driven approach to software development and quality assurance.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @A well-defined software engineering process consists of requirements analysis, preliminary design, detailed design, implementation, unit testing, system testing and deployment. NLP complex technology defines the key features of a computer assisted coding (CAC) application.Automation of process will revolutionize health care delivery. In addition to automating the insurance, billing, and transaction systems, streamlined care delivery is an added benefit. The ability to look at workflow and compare actual care to best practice is fundamental to automated business process.The ability to link diagnostic patient information to treatment regimes and drug prescriptions is central to improving medical care delivery. Once a physician can see what conditions need to be followed, and see that appropriate care has been prescribed 100% of the time, care delivery improves dramatically. Diagnosis of conditions using radiology frequently results in detection of events that need follow-up.Growing acceptance of computer assisted coding for physician offices represents a shift to cloud computing and billing by the procedure coded. Because SaaS based CAC provides an improvement over current coding techniques the value is being recognized. Administrators are realizing the benefits to quality of care. Patients feel better after robotic surgery and the surgeries are more likely to be successful.The worldwide market for Computer Assisted Coding is $898 million in 2016, anticipated to reach $2.5 billion by 2023. The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis of Computer Assisted Coding in different categories, illustrating the diversity of software market segments. A complete procedure analysis is done, looking at numbers of procedures and doing penetration analysis.Major health plans report a smooth transition to ICD-10. This is due to rigorous testing for six years. ICD-10 has had a positive impact on reimbursement. ICD-10 coding system requires use of 72,000 procedure codes and 68,000 CM codes, as opposed to the 4,000 and 14,000 in the ICD-9 system. Managing high volume of codes requires automation. Healthcare providers and payers use complex coding systems, which drives demand for technologically advanced CAC systems.The market for computer-assisted coding grows because it provides management of workflow process value by encouraging increasing efficiency in care delivery for large Professional Physician Practice and Ambulatory Clinical Facility. By making more granular demarcation of diagnoses and care provided for each diagnosis, greater visibility into the care delivery system is provided. Greater visibility brings more ability to adapt the system to successful treatments.Companies ProfiledMarket Leaders3MOptumDolbeySelected Market ParticipantsArtificial Medical IntelligenceCernerCranewareEPICGroup One / CodeCorrectM*ModalnThrive / PrecyseNuanceQuest DiagnosticsTruCodeUnitedHealth Group / OptumBrowse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global MRP Software Market 2017-2022 Key Players: SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, E2 Shop System, TrueERP, ABAS USA, Fishbowl, Syspro, JobBOSS, ECi M1, Epicor, IQMS,.

MRP Software Market

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MRP Software Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds MRP Software Market 2017 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2022reports to its database.Executive SummaryThis report studies the global MRP Software market, analyzes and researches the MRP Software development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeSAPOracleMicrosoft DynamicsE2 Shop SystemTrueERPABAS USAFishbowlSysproJobBOSSECi M1EpicorIQMSInfor ERPxTupleMIE Trak ProDeskeraProcessPro PremierRootstock SoftwareMRPEasyAdjutantRequest Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoComputer-basedSaaSMarket segment by Application, MRP Software can be split intoSmall BusinessMedium-sized BusinessLarge BusinessIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.For further information on this report, visit -Table of ContentsGlobal MRP Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of MRP Software1.1 MRP Software Market Overview1.1.1 MRP Software Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global MRP Software Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 MRP Software Market by Type1.3.1 Computer-based1.3.2 SaaS1.4 MRP Software Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Small Business1.4.2 Medium-sized Business1.4.3 Large Business2 Global MRP Software Competition Analysis by Players2.1 MRP Software Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global MRP Software Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global MRP Software Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global MRP Software Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of MRP Software in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of MRP Software5 United States MRP Software Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU MRP Software Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)7 Japan MRP Software Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)7.2 Japan MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)8 China MRP Software Development Status and Outlook8.1 China MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)8.2 China MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)9 India MRP Software Development Status and Outlook9.1 India MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)9.2 India MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)10 Southeast Asia MRP Software Development Status and Outlook10.1 Southeast Asia MRP Software Market Size (2012-2017)10.2 Southeast Asia MRP Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)11.1 Global MRP Software Market Size (Value) by Regions (2017-2022)11.1.1 United States MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.2 EU MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.3 Japan MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.4 China MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.5 India MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.6 Southeast Asia MRP Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.2 Global MRP Software Market Size (Value) by Type (2017-2022)11.3 Global MRP Software Market Size by Application (2017-2022)12 MRP Software Market Dynamics12.1 MRP Software Market Opportunities12.2 MRP Software Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 MRP Software Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 MRP Software Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential Application13 Market Effect Factors Analysis13.1 Technology Progress/Risk13.1.1 Substitutes13.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry13.2 Consumer Needs Trend/Customer Preference13.3 External Environmental Change13.3.1 Economic Fluctuations13.3.2 Other Risk Factors14 Research Finding/Conclusion15 AppendixMethodologyAnalyst IntroductionData SourceContinuousBuy this Report @Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
LTE for Critical Communications: Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts, 2016 - 2030

Market Research Report

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "LTE for Critical Communications: Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts, 2016 - 2030" to its huge collection of research reports.For years, the critical communications industry has relied on narrowband LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks for mission-critical voice and basic data services. Due to the bandwidth limitations of these LMR networks, public safety agencies and other users within the critical communications industry are keen to leverage commercial cellular network technologies to support growing demands for mobile broadband services such as video transmission and bandwidth-intensive field applications.Considering its thriving ecosystem, spectrum flexibility and performance metrics, LTE has emerged as the leading candidate for critical communications broadband networks. In addition, with the recent approval of the MCPTT (Mission Critical Push to Talk) voice standard as part of 3GPP Release 13, LTE has also become an attractive substitute for providing LMR-like voice services.As a result, a growing number of critical communications organizations are deploying either private LTE networks or contracting commercial LTE mobile operator services via MVNO arrangements to complement their existing LMR systems with broadband capabilities.Driven by early investments in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, the market for critical communications LTE networks is already worth $600 Million in annual infrastructure spending. Fueled by large-scale rollouts in the public safety, energy and other sectors, the market is further expected to surpass $2 Billion by the end of 2020. This includes spending on base stations (eNBs), mobile core and transport networking gear.Spanning over 1,200 pages, the LTE for Critical Communications: 2016  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts report package encompasses three comprehensive reports covering both commercial and dedicated LTE networks for critical communications.The LTE, LTE-Advanced & 5G Ecosystem: 2016  2030  Infrastructure, Devices, Operator Services, Verticals, Strategies & ForecastsThe Private LTE Network Ecosystem: 2016  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & ForecastsThe Public Safety LTE & Mobile Broadband Market: 2016  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & ForecastsThis report package provides an in-depth assessment of LTE for critical communications and also explores the wider market for commercial LTE services. Besides analyzing technologies, architectural components, operational models, key trends, market drivers, challenges, vertical market opportunities, applications, deployment case studies, spectrum allocation, standardization, regulatory landscape, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies, the report package also provides infrastructure investment forecasts from 2016 till 2030.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report package comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report package.Topics Covered:The report package covers the following topics:Commercial LTE NetworksLTE/LTE-Advanced technology and market status5G technology and R&D commitmentsMarket drivers and barriersTCO comparison with legacy technologiesLTE/5G infrastructure, devices, subscriptions and service revenueInfrastructure and device vendor shareAntenna systems, RAN, mobile core, backhaul and fronthaul deployment strategiesMobile operator reviews, service models, pricing strategies and LTE/5G deployment case studiesUnlicensed LTE, VoLTE, RCS, eMBMS and M2M servicesIndustry roadmap and value chainProfiles and strategies of over 90 ecosystem players including infrastructure OEMs, device OEMs and mobile operatorsMarket analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Dedicated LTE Networks for Critical CommunicationsCritical communications LTE ecosystemMarket drivers and barriersTechnology, architectural components and operational modelsAnalysis of vertical markets, applications and key trendsCase studies of over 20 critical communications LTE network deploymentsReview of spectrum allocation for critical communications LTE networksRegulatory landscape and standardizationIndustry roadmap and value chainProfiles and strategies of over 200 ecosystem players including infrastructure OEMs, device OEMs and system integratorsStrategic recommendations for enterprises, public safety agencies, LTE infrastructure OEMs, system integrators and mobile operatorsMarket analysis and forecasts from 2016 till 2030Key Questions Answered:The report package provides answers to the following key questions:How big is the critical communications LTE opportunity?How big is the wider market for LTE, LTE-Advanced and 5G networks?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?How is the ecosystem evolving by segment and region?What will the market size be in 2020 and at what rate will it grow?Which submarkets will see the highest percentage of growth?How does standardization impact the adoption of LTE for critical communications?When will MCPTT (Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk) and proximity services see large-scale proliferation?What opportunities exist for commercial mobile operators and MVNOs in the critical communications market?Will LTE replace GSM-R and other legacy technologies for railway communications and applications?Which spectrum band will be the most dominant choice for critical communications LTE network deployments?Is there a market for 400 MHz LTE networks?What are the prospects of tactical, vehicle-mounted and airborne LTE eNB platforms?How can public safety agencies leverage unused spectrum resources to fund private LTE networks?Who are the key market players and what are their strategies?What strategies should system integrators and vendors adopt to remain competitive?List of Companies Mentioned3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project)5G-PPPAaeonAbu Dhabi PoliceAccelerated ConceptsAccelleranAceAxisACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority)AculabAdaxADCOM911 (Adams County Communications Center)Browse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Electronic Scales 2017 Global Key Players  SARTORIUS(Germany), METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland), TANITA(Japan), OHAUS(US), Setra(US), Yamato(Japan) Market Analysis And Forecast To 2022

Electronic Scales Market

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Electronic Scales Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Electronic Scales-Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Description:This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in Electronic Scales industry.This report splits Electronic Scales market By Structural Principle, By Features, By Use, By Accuracy, which covers the history data information from 2012 to 2016 and forecast from 2017 to 2022.This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Major Companies:SARTORIUS(Germany)METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland)TANITA(Japan)OHAUS(US)Setra(US)SENSSUN(China)EXCELL(China)Yamato(Japan)SHIMADZU(Japan)ISHIDA(Japan)BIZERBA(Germany)A&D(Japan)KAIFENG(China)DIGI(Japan)DIBAL(Spain)CAS(Korea)Yaohua(China)Shanghai Yousheng Weighing Apparatus Co.Ltd(China)Request for Sample Report@Main Regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain Product Type:Electronic Scales Market, by Structural PrincipleMechanical ScaleElectronic ScaleElectromechanical Combination ScalesElectronic Scales Market, by FeaturesCounting ScalesPricing ScalesWeight ScalesBluetooth ScalesElectronic Scales Market, by UseIndustrial ScaleBusiness ScaleSpecial ScaleElectronic Scales Market, by AccuracyClass ILevel IIClass IIIClass IVMain Applications;Home UseCommercial UseEnquiry before Buying @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of Contents:Global Electronic Scales Detailed Analysis Report 2017-2022Chapter One Electronic Scales Market Overview1.1 Global Electronic Scales Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-20221.2 Electronic Scales, By Structural Principle 2012-20221.2.1 Global Electronic Scales Sales Market Share by Structural Principle 2012-20221.2.2 Global Electronic Scales Revenue Market Share by Structural Principle 2012-20221.2.3 Global Electronic Scales Price by Structural Principle 2012-20221.2.4 Mechanical Scale1.2.5 Electronic Scale1.2.6 Electromechanical Combination Scales1.3 Electronic Scales, by Features 2012-20221.3.1 Global Electronic Scales Sales Market Share by Features 2012-20221.3.2 Global Electronic Scales Revenue Market Share by Features 2012-20221.3.3 Global Electronic Scales Price by Features 2012-20221.3.4 Counting Scales1.3.5 Pricing Scales1.3.6 Weight Scales1.3.7 Bluetooth Scales1.4 Electronic Scales, by Use 2012-20221.4.1 Global Electronic Scales Sales Market Share by Use 2012-20221.4.2 Global Electronic Scales Revenue Market Share by Use 2012-20221.4.3 Global Electronic Scales Price by Use 2012-20221.4.4 Industrial Scale1.4.5 Business Scale1.4.6 Special Scale1.5 Electronic Scales, by Accuracy 2012-20221.5.1 Global Electronic Scales Sales Market Share by Accuracy 2012-20221.5.2 Global Electronic Scales Revenue Market Share by Accuracy 2012-20221.5.3 Global Electronic Scales Price by Accuracy 2012-20221.5.4 Class I1.5.5 Level II1.5.6 Class III1.5.7 Class IVChapter Three Electronic Scales by Players 2012-20173.1 Global Electronic Scales Sales Volume Market Share by Players 2012-20173.2 Global Electronic Scales Revenue Share by Players 2012-20173.3 Global Top Players Electronic Scales Key Product Model and Market Performance3.4 Global Top Players Electronic Scales Key Target Consumers and Market PerformanceChapter Five Global Top Players Profile5.1 SARTORIUS(Germany)5.1.1 SARTORIUS(Germany) Company Details and Competitors5.1.2 SARTORIUS(Germany) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.1.3 SARTORIUS(Germany) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.1.4 SARTORIUS(Germany) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.2 METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland)5.2.1 METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland) Company Details and Competitors5.2.2 METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.2.3 METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.2.4 METTLERTOLEDO(Switzerland) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.3 TANITA(Japan)5.3.1 TANITA(Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.3.2 TANITA(Japan) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.3.3 TANITA(Japan) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.3.4 TANITA(Japan) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.4 OHAUS(US)5.4.1 OHAUS(US) Company Details and Competitors5.4.2 OHAUS(US) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.4.3 OHAUS(US) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.4.4 OHAUS(US) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.5 Setra(US)5.5.1 Setra(US) Company Details and Competitors5.5.2 Setra(US) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.5.3 Setra(US) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.5.4 Setra(US) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.6 SENSSUN(China)5.6.1 SENSSUN(China) Company Details and Competitors5.6.2 SENSSUN(China) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.6.3 SENSSUN(China) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.6.4 SENSSUN(China) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.7 EXCELL(China)5.7.1 EXCELL(China) Company Details and Competitors5.7.2 EXCELL(China) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.7.3 EXCELL(China) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.7.4 EXCELL(China) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.8 Yamato(Japan)5.8.1 Yamato(Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.8.2 Yamato(Japan) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.8.3 Yamato(Japan) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.8.4 Yamato(Japan) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.9 SHIMADZU(Japan)5.9.1 SHIMADZU(Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.9.2 SHIMADZU(Japan) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.9.3 SHIMADZU(Japan) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.9.4 SHIMADZU(Japan) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.10 ISHIDA(Japan)5.10.1 ISHIDA(Japan) Company Details and Competitors5.10.2 ISHIDA(Japan) Key Electronic Scales Models and Performance5.10.3 ISHIDA(Japan) Electronic Scales Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast5.10.4 ISHIDA(Japan) Electronic Scales Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin5.11 BIZERBA(Germany)5.12 A&D(Japan)5.13 KAIFENG(China)5.14 DIGI(Japan)5.15 DIBAL(Spain)5.16 CAS(Korea)5.17 Yaohua(China)5.18 Shanghai Yousheng Weighing Apparatus Co.Ltd(China)Continued..Contact US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Debt Collection Software Global Market Key Players  MDansby, Experian, DAKCS, TrioSoft, CollectOne - Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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SummaryThis report studies the global Debt Collection Software market, analyzes and researches the Debt Collection Software development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeDecca SoftwareCollect SoftwareQuantrax CorporationLariat Collection SoftwareMDansbyExperianComtronic SystemsDAKCSSimplicityCollectIndigo CloudTrioSoftCollectOneTotality SoftwareeCollectionsLocatePLUSCollectPlusPamar SystemsDebttecAdtec SoftwareLegalSoftAnn ArborEZ SoftComtech SystemsKuhlektRequest a Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Debt Collection Software can be split intoWeb-based Debt Collection SoftwareCloud Based Debt Collection SoftwareMarket segment by Application, Debt Collection Software can be split intoSmall and Medium BusinessLarge BusinessAt any Query @Table of ContentsGlobal Debt Collection Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Debt Collection Software1.1 Debt Collection Software Market Overview1.1.1 Debt Collection Software Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Debt Collection Software Market by Type1.3.1 Web-based Debt Collection Software1.3.2 Cloud Based Debt Collection Software1.4 Debt Collection Software Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Small and Medium Business1.4.2 Large Business2 Global Debt Collection Software Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Debt Collection Software Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Decca Software3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Collect Software3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Quantrax Corporation3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Lariat Collection Software3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 MDansby3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Experian3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Comtronic Systems3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 DAKCS3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 SimplicityCollect3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Indigo Cloud3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Debt Collection Software Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 TrioSoft3.12 CollectOne3.13 Totality Software3.14 eCollections3.15 LocatePLUS3.16 CollectPlus3.17 Pamar Systems3.18 Debttec3.19 Adtec Software3.20 LegalSoft3.21 Ann Arbor3.22 EZ Soft3.23 Comtech Systems3.24 Kuhlekt4 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of Debt Collection Software in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Debt Collection Software.11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)11.1 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size (Value) by Regions (2017-2022)11.1.1 United States Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.2 EU Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.3 Japan Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.4 China Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.5 India Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.6 Southeast Asia Debt Collection Software Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.2 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size (Value) by Type (2017-2022)11.3 Global Debt Collection Software Market Size by Application (2017-2022)12 Debt Collection Software Market Dynamics12.1 Debt Collection Software Market Opportunities12.2 Debt Collection Software Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 Debt Collection Software Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 Debt Collection Software Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential ApplicationBuy Now @Continued....Contact Us: sales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US) ; Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Product Data Management Software Market 2017  2022: (Salsify, eJeeva, CMPRO, Questudio) Analysis, Drivers, Strategies, Segmentation, Application & Forecast

Product Data Management Software Market

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Global Product Data Management Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 is latest research study released by HTF MI evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. This study recognizes that in this quick-evolving, competitive environment, up-to-date industry information is essential to monitor performance & make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, and on the changing structure of the Global Product Data Management Software Market.The Global Product Data Management Software Market consists of different international, regional, and local vendors. The market competition is foreseen to grow higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the future. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new vendor entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Get Access to sample pages @Global Product Data Management Software market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includes Salsify, eJeeva, CMPRO, Questudio, SolidWorks, Dozuki, Informatica, Plytix.com, Vinculum Solutions, TDSmaker, SofTech Group & StiboSystemsGlobal Product Data Management Software (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Mobile Content Authoring, E-books, Portable LMS, Mobile and Video-based Courseware, Interactive Assessments, Content Development & M-EnablementMarket Segment by Type 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022Mobile Content Authoring xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%E-books xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Portable LMS xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Mobile and Video-based Courseware xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Interactive Assessments xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Content Development xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%M-Enablement xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%The research study is segmented by Application such as PC Terminal & Mobile Terminal with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Global Product Data Management Software (Thousands Units) by Application (2016-2022)Market Segment by Application 2012 2016 2022 Market Share (%)2022 CAGR (%)(2016-2022)PC Terminal xx xx xx xx% xx%Mobile Terminal xx xx xx xx% xx%Total xx xx xx 100% xx%Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Product Data Management Software in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringMarket Segment by Regions 2012 2016 2022 Share (%) CAGR (2016-2022)United States xx xx xx xx% xx%EU xx xx xx xx% xx%Japan xx xx xx xx% xx%China xx xx xx xx% xx%India xx xx xx xx% xx%Southeast Asia xx xx xx xx% xx%Total xx xx xx xx% xx%This independent 106 page research with title Global Product Data Management Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions/countries like United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia and important players/vendors such as Salsify, eJeeva, CMPRO, Questudio, SolidWorks, Dozuki, Informatica, Plytix.com, Vinculum Solutions, TDSmaker, SofTech Group & StiboSystems. With n-number of tables and figures examining the Product Data Management Software, the research gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leaders market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2022Further it focuses on Global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Product Data Management Software industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @The study is organized with the help of primary and secondary data collection including valuable information from key vendors and participants in the industry. It includes historical data from 2012 to 2016 and projected forecasts till 2022 which makes the research study a valuable resource for industry executives, marketing, sales and product managers, consultants, analysts, and other people looking for key industry related data in readily accessible documents with easy to analyze graphs and tables. The report answers future development trend of Product Data Management Software on the basis of stating current situation of the industry in 2017 to assist manufacturers and investment organization to better analyze the development course of Product Data Management Software Market.The research insights solutions to the following key questions:What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022?What are the key factors driving the Global Product Data Management Software market?Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Product Data Management Software market?What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Product Data Management Software market?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Product Data Management Software market?What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Product Data Management Software market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Product Data Management Software market.Chapter 1, to describe Product Data Management Software Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Product Data Management Software , with sales, revenue, and price of Product Data Management Software , in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Product Data Management Software , for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [PC Terminal & Mobile Terminal], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Product Data Management Software market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Product Data Management Software sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Telco digital transformation Market 2017 -Develop Market-Entry and Market Expansion Strategies

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SUMMARYWiseGuyReports published new report, titled Telco digital transformation: Lessons from the worlds most powerful digital companies.Telco Digital Transformation: Lessons from the worlds most powerful digital companies, a thematic research report, examines effective strategies for telcos to capitalize on the explosive growth in the consumption of digital services. The report identifies key lessons in digital prowess from major brands including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon that have led the value shift from technology provision to enablement, and provides and in-depth analysis of telco strategies to transform their internal operations, coming up with new technology use cases and exploring new service and revenue models.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Key Findings- The worlds leaders in market capitalization show us how disruptive digital strategies can produce remarkable growth opportunities for the business. Apple and Google taught us how to pioneer revolutionary business models. Amazon showed us how to masterfully virtualize a brick-and-mortar industry, and Facebook transformed the definition of content services, putting the user as the central author.- Telecom service providers know first-hand the impact of the digital revolt, as SMS and traditional voice services become increasingly replaced by IP-based voice and messaging apps such as Skype and WhatsApp. Telcos have been catalysts of the transformation of mobile devices from communications tools to life management hubs. Yet, to thrive in the digital economy requires far more than technology or product prowess-- it calls for entirely novel service models.- To secure a profitable slice of the new digital domain, telecom service providers need to transform how they deliver services, content and apps. Telco digital transformation begins with a digital corporate culture to drive the discovery of new innovation engines, disruptive business models and digitally-smart customer relationship platforms. Telecom companies that can turn the challenge of digital transformation into profitable opportunities will prevail.SynopsisThe Telco digital transformation: Lessons from the worlds most powerful digital companies report analyzes the growth drivers of digital services, strategies of leading digital companies, as well as case studies on the digital transformation of four major telecom services providers. Data and insights are derived through a mix of desk-based secondary research and qualitative primary research.The report is structured as follows:Section 1: Market context  digital services growth drivers and trends. This section provides a high-level overview of the growth drivers of digital services and the impact of the rise of digital brands on the traditional telecom service provider model.Section 2: Lessons in digital prowess  GAFA strategies. Here we examine the market approach and strategies of four leading digital companies  Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple  with a special focus on their key business values and success factors.Section 3: Case studies  Telco approaches to digital transformation. We continue with a review of the strategies and programs that leading telecom companies AT&T, China Telecom, Orange and Verizon are putting in place to create profitable growth amidst the business disruption brought about by successful digital service providers. .Section 4: Key findings and recommendations. We conclude the report with a set of key findings on the core values and success factors of digital leaders, and strategy recommendations for telecom services providers.Key points to buyTelco digital transformation: Lessons from the worlds most powerful digital companies examines best practices of four of the worlds leading companies to help telecom executives develop effective growth strategies, make informed strategic business decisions and optimize return on investment.The report provides valuable insights about effective corporate values, innovation programs, organizational strategies and revenue models that can help service providers transform their operational models and profit from the digital opportunity.The reports case studies provide real examples of market approaches and strategies being employed by leading telcos to build revenue opportunities in the digital age, related to their internal organizations, their ecosystem development and revenue creation.Table of ContentsExecutive summarySection 1: Digital services market contextReport scopeGrowth drivers of the digital economyTechnological disruption powers digital servicesMobility becomes the focus of digital innovationConsumer empowerment bolsters digitalNew business imperatives rationalize transformationSection 2: Lessons in digital prowessChallenging the telecom operators businessThe digital company value systemAmazon strategy overview 15Lesson 1: Customer obsessionLesson 2: A passion for inventionLesson 3: Long term intelligence..CONTINUEDWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Budgeting Software Market 2017: Key Players  Deltek Vision, TimeCamp, Cognos, idu-Concept, Dynamics 365

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SummaryGlobal Budgeting Software market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingDeltek VisionTimeCampCognosidu-ConceptDynamics 365HyperionRiskturnPoindexterMerlin ProjectQuestica BudgetRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Budgeting Software in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCloudSaaSWebOn 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 Budgeting Software for each application, includingSMEsLarge organizationOtherAt any Query @Table of ContentsGlobal Budgeting Software Market Research Report 20171 Budgeting Software Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Budgeting Software1.2 Budgeting Software Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Budgeting Software Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Budgeting Software Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Cloud1.2.4 SaaS1.2.5 Web1.3 Global Budgeting Software Segment by Application1.3.1 Budgeting Software Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 SMEs1.3.3 Large organization1.3.4 Other1.4 Global Budgeting Software Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Budgeting Software Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Budgeting Software (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Budgeting Software Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Budgeting Software Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)7 Global Budgeting Software Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Deltek Vision7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Deltek Vision Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 TimeCamp7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 TimeCamp Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Cognos7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Cognos Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 idu-Concept7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 idu-Concept Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Dynamics 3657.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Dynamics 365 Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Hyperion7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Hyperion Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Riskturn7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Riskturn Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Poindexter7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Poindexter Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Merlin Project7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Merlin Project Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Questica Budget7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Budgeting Software Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 Questica Budget Budgeting Software Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business OverviewBuy Now @Continued....Contact Us: sales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US) ; Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
USA Caviar Market Outlook 2022: Top Companies, Trends and Future Prospects Details for Business Development

Caviar Market

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United States Caviar Market Report communicates about the manufacturing process. The process is analysed thoroughly with respect three points, viz. raw material and equipment suppliers, various manufacturing associated costs (material cost, labour cost, etc.) and the actual process of whole Enterprise Caviar market. The Enterprise Caviar Industry research report is a resource, which provides technical and financial details of the Enterprise Caviar Market (Volume and Value).Caviar is an expensive delicacy consisting of the unfertilized eggs (roe) of sturgeon brined with a salt solution. Classic caviar comes primarily from Iran or Russia, harvested by commercial fishermen working in the Caspian Sea. A specific species of sturgeon called beluga provide what many consider to be the best in the world.Get Sample PDF of Caviar Market Report @Caviar Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: Agroittica Lombarda, Caviar de France, Sterling Caviar, Sturgeon, Black River Sturgeon, Beluga Inc VIDIN, Caviar Court, Caviar de Riofrio, Osage Caviar, Aviar Galilee Farm, Caviar Creator, Russian Caviar House, California Caviar Company, Hangzhou Qiandaohu Xunlong Sci-tech.In this introductory section, the Caviar industry research report incorporates analysis of definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure.Caviar Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers: California, Texas, New York, Florida, IllinoisCaviar Market Segment by Type covers: Acipenser Baerii Caviar, Acipenser Transmontanus Caviar, Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii Caviar, Acipenser Hybrid Caviar, Other.Caviar Market Segment by Applications covers: Restaurants, Household.Pre Order Enquiry for Caviar Market report @Next part of Caviar Market Research Report contains additional information like key vendors in Market space, Caviar Market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Caviar Market , opportunities, market risk and market overview. The process is analysed thoroughly with respect three points, viz. raw material and equipment suppliers, various manufacturing associated costs (material cost, labour cost, etc.) and the actual process.The next part also sheds light on the gap between supply and consumption. Apart from the mentioned information, growth rate of Caviar markets in 2022 is also explained. Additionally, type wise and application wise consumption tables and figures are also given.About UsReports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. The prime focus is to get reliable data, Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Contact UsJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Global Clostridium Vaccine Market Will Expand With A Steady CAGR Of 4.9% Throughout The Period 2016-2024 Most Likely To Reach The Value Of $643.5 mn

Clostridium Vaccine Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Clostridium Vaccine Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the clostridium vaccine (animal health) market studies the current as well as future prospects of the market globally. Health concern related to life threatening diseases are the major concerns in the developed and developing nations.This research report provides a detailed analysis of the clostridium vaccine (animal health) market and helps understand the various driving factors for the growth of the market. The market overview section analyzes market dynamics and trends such as drivers, restraints and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of the market. Porters five forces analysis has been covered in terms of bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, threat of new entrants and substitutes, and competitive rivalry in the global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market. Market dynamics factors such as market attractiveness analysis have also been explained in order to deliver a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Clostridium Vaccine (Animal Health) Market: SegmentationThe clostridium vaccine (animal health) market has been segmented by animal species, by distribution channel and by region. The animal species segment has been sub-segmented into bovine, ovine, caprine, swine, poultry and others. The distribution channel segment has been sub-segments into veterinary clinic, veterinary hospital, veterinary research institute and retail pharmacy.The executive summary provides detailed insights about the report and the market in general. This elaborate executive summary provides a glimpse into the present scenario of the global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market, which includes a market snapshot that provides overall information of various segments and sub-segments. The executive summary also provides overall information and data analysis of the global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market with respect to market segments based on animal species, distribution channel as well as geographic regions. The market for clostridium vaccine (animal health) has been extensively analyzed based on their usefulness, effectiveness, sales revenue and geographic presence. The market size and forecast in terms of US$ Mn for each animal species and distribution channel has been provided for the period from 2016 to 2024. This report on the clostridium vaccine (animal health) market also provides the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for each market segment for the forecast period from 2016 to 2024, considering 2015 as the base year.Global Clostridium Vaccine (Animal Health) Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsGeographically, the clostridium vaccine (animal health) market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. The market size and forecast for each of these regions have been provided for the period from 2016 to 2024, along with CAGR (%) for the forecast period from 2016 to 2024. The research study also incorporates the competitive scenario in these regions.A list of recommendations has been provided for new entrants as well as existing players to help establish a strong presence in the market and increase market share. The report also profiles major players in the clostridium vaccine (animal health) market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, product portfolio and recent developments. Major players profiled in this report include Zoetis, Inc., Merck Animal Health, Sanofi-Aventis (Merial Animal Health), Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Company (Elanco Animal Healthcare), Vibrac Corporation, Bimeda, Inc., Ceva Sante Animale and Bayer AG.Browse Detail Report With TOC @The global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market is segmented as follows:Global Clostridium Vaccine (Animal Health) Market Revenue, by Animal Species- Bovine- Ovine- Caprine- Swine- Poultry- OthersGlobal Clostridium Vaccine (Animal Health) Market Revenue, by Distribution Channel- Veterinary Clinic- Veterinary Hospital- Veterinary Research institute- Retail PharmacyGlobal Clostridium Vaccine (Animal Health) Market Revenue, by Geography- North America- US- Canada- Europe- Germany- France- Italy- Spain- UK- Rest of Europe- Asia Pacific- China- India- Australia- New Zealand- Rest of Asia Pacific- Latin America- Brazil- Mexico- Rest of Latin America- Middle East and Africa- Saudi Arabia- South Africa- Rest of Middle East & AfricaMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Market For Advanced Wound Care Management Is Anticipated To Reach A Value Of US$11,161.6 mn By The End Of 2024, Registering A Healthy 6.30% CAGR

Advanced Wound Care Management Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Advanced Wound Care Management Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.The market for wound care is growing phenomenally, due to growing advancement is treating complex wounds. Advanced wound care market is anticipated to grow in forecasted period, as the products has been a promising solution for faster recovery and wound healing. These products offer superior solution than traditional products by offering desired outcome and effectiveness in healing wounds. The increasing incidences of chronic wound has aggravated the need for the products that offers faster and efficient wound healing. Thus, majority of hospitals have shifted their preferences towards the advanced wound care products. It helps to decrease the average length of stay in hospitals through early recovery from wounds. This assists to decrease the length of hospital stay in order to reduce surgical costs. Thus the rising need and demand for advanced products that increases therapeutic outcome drives the advanced wound care market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Advanced Wound Care Management Market: Scope of the ReportThe report is a combination of primary and secondary research. Primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts, with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mail. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various national and international databases. The report provides market size in terms of US$ Mn for each segment for the period from 2014 to 2024, considering the macro and micro-environmental factors. Growth rates for each segment within the global advanced wound care market have been determined after a thorough analysis of past trends, demographics, future trends, technological developments, vaccination expenditure, and regulatory requirements.The market overview section of the report includes qualitative analysis of the overall advanced wound care market including the determining factors and market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities, along with white space analysis. In addition, market attractiveness analysis by geography, technique, product type, type of wounds, end-user, and competitive landscape by key players have been provided which explain the intensity of competition in the market considering different geographies. The competitive scenario between market players has been evaluated through market share analysis. These factors would help the market players take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and increase their shares in the global market.Advanced Wound Care Management Market: Growth and Competitive DynamicsThe driving factors for advanced wound care market are mainly increasing demand for faster recovery, decrease in healthcare cost by decreasing average length of stay in hospital, rising population falling for trauma, etc. Advanced wound care market is anticipated to grow in forecasted period, as the products has been a promising solution for faster recovery and wound healing. These products offer superior solution than traditional products by offering desired outcome and effectiveness in healing wounds. The increasing incidences of chronic wound has aggravated the need for the products that offers faster and efficient wound healing. Thus, majority of hospitals have shifted their preferences towards the advanced wound care products. It helps to decrease the average length of stay in hospitals through early recovery from wounds. This assists to decrease the length of hospital stay in order to reduce surgical costs. Thus the rising need and demand for advanced products that increases therapeutic outcome drives the advanced wound care market.Geographically, the global advanced wound care market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The applications of advanced wound care are rapidly growing in North America due to increasing direct and indirect investments by the U.S. Government and private companies in wound care. Increasing investments and penetration by key market players in Asia Pacific are likely to drive the advance wound care market during the forecast period.Major players in the advanced wound care management market are 3M, Acelity L.P. Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, BSN medical GmbH, Coloplast A/S, ConvaTec Inc., Medline Industries, Inc., Medtronic, Molnlycke Health Care, Organogenesis, Inc., and Smith & Nephew plc.Browse Detail Report With TOC @The global advanced wound care management market has been segmented as follows:Global Advanced Wound Care Management Market, by Product Type- Advanced Wound Dressings- Foam dressings- Hydrocolloid dressings- Hydrofiber dressings- Film dressings- Alginate dressings- Hydrogel dressings- Collagen dressings- Active Wound Care- Artificial skin and skin substitutes- Growth Factors- Antimicrobial dressingGlobal Advanced Wound Care Management Market, by Type of Wound- Diabetic foot ulcers- Pressure ulcer- Venous leg ulcer- Arterial Ulcer- Surgical and Traumatic wounds- Burns- Other chronic woundsGlobal Advanced Wound Care Management Market, by End-user- Hospital inpatient settings- Hospital outpatient settings- Community medical centers- Home healthcare- Others (private nursing home, pharmacies)Global Advanced Wound Care management Market, by Geography- North America- U.S.- Canada- Europe- Germany- France- U.K.- Italy- Spain- Rest of Europe- Asia Pacific- China- Japan- India- Rest of Asia Pacific- Latin America- Brazil- Mexico- Rest of Latin America- Middle East & Africa- South Africa- Turkey- Saudi Arabia- Rest of MEAMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
5 Key Insights on Frozen Potato Market through 2022

Frozen Potato Market-Fact.MR

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Potato is consumed in fresh and processed form globally. Frozen potato is a type of processed potato available in a variety of product type. Majorly consumed frozen potato products are french fries, mashed, sweet potatoes, buttered, baked, stuffed and topped. These frozen potato products are already being consumed on a large scale in developed countries, however, frozen potato products are also gaining popularity developing countries. Manufacturers are providing packed frozen potatoes in various forms, which just needs to be deep fried before consumption. The biggest benefit of frozen potato is it saves cooking time, offering convenience. Manufacturers are also using high-tech machinery to manufacture a variety of frozen potato. Innovative packaging and storing technology are also being focused on by the manufacturers. Frozen potatoes are also witnessing highest demand form quick service restaurants. Moreover, these restaurants are also expanding their business globally.Request Free Sample Report:However, the high price of frozen potato and increasing health consciousness among consumers are some of the factors hampering the growth of frozen potato market globally.According to the latest report by Fact.MR, the global frozen potato market is expected to see moderate growth. The market is projected to register 4.0% CAGR during the forecast period 2017-2022. Owing to the growth in consumption of fast food the demand for frozen potatoes is also rising. Expansion of quick service restaurants is also resulting in the rising demand for frozen potato. Following insights show how the global frozen potato market will perform in the next five years.5 Forecast Highlights on Global Frozen Potato Market1. Europe is expected to dominate the global frozen potato market. By the end of 2017, Europe frozen potato market is projected to account for nearly one-third of the revenue share. Increasing investment in new product development, rising consumer attraction towards fast food and presence of the major market players are some of the reasons contributing towards the growth of frozen potato market in Europe.2. North America is also expected to emerge as the second most lucrative market in the global frozen potato market. Products like french fries, sweet, and cooked potatoes are some of the fastest selling products in North America.3. Fries are expected to be the largest consumed frozen potato product. Fries are projected to exceed US$ 18,900 million revenue by the end of 2022. Meanwhile, wedges as a frozen potato product are also expected to witness growth during the forecast period.4. The commercial sector is expected to be the largest end-user of the frozen potato. The commercial sector is projected to account for more than half of the revenue share by the end of 2017. Meanwhile, the residential sector is projected to create an incremental opportunity of over US$ 3,500 million between 2017 and 2022.5. Modern trade is expected to emerge as the largest distribution channel for frozen potato. By the end of 2022, modern trade is projected to exceed US$ 25,100 million revenue.Browse Full Report With TOC:Market Player:The report also provides a detailed profile on some of the key market players in the global market for frozen potato, which will remain active through 2022. These include companies such as McCain Foods, Lamb-Weston Holdings, Inc., J.R. Simplot Co., Aviko Holding BV, American Lorain Corp, Agrarfrost Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Agristo NV, Kraft Heinz Co., Himalya International Ltd, and Pohjolan Peruna Oy.Check Discount:About Fact.MR:Fact.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 US:Suite 9884, 27 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandTel: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comWebsite-
Asset Management IT Solution Market Is Projected To Exhibit A CAGR Of 5.1% From 2016 To 2024, Rising To US$1,298.2 mn

Asset Management IT Solution Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Asset Management IT Solution Market - U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.Asset management refers to managing tangible or intangible assets. An asset management company serves as an advisor to clients, with a goal to maximize returns. Asset management firms are hired by institutional investors such as pension funds, corporations, and high net worth individuals. The asset management firms need IT solutions for managing assets such as equity, fixed income, real estate, commodities, and international investments. These IT solutions consist mainly of software solutions for business operations including portfolio management, compliance, and trade execution among others.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @U.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market: Scope and MethodologyThe U.S. asset management IT solution market report provides an analysis of the U.S. asset management IT solution market for the period 2014  2024, wherein 2015 is the base year and the period from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period. Data for 2014 has been included as historical information. The report covers all the prevalent trends playing a major role in the growth of the asset management IT solution market over the forecast period. It also highlights various drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the market growth during the said period.The study provides a holistic perspective on market growth, throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Mn), across different geographies in the U.S., which include Northeast, Midwest, West and South. The report provides cross-sectional analysis of the U.S. asset management IT solution market in terms of market estimates and forecasts for all the segments across different geographic regions. This research report provides in-depth analysis of the U.S. asset management IT solution market on the basis components, deployment model and geography. The report also includes U.S. asset Management player profile and asset managers IT viewpoint deploying IT solutions and services for managing assets.Some of the key analytical pointers in the research study include Porters Five Force Analysis, and key market indicators which include industry outlook of investment management firms (asset managers) in the U.S. and key mergers and acquisition in the field of asset management IT solutions from vendor as well as buyers point of view.Applications encompassed in the research study include portfolio management, compliance, risk management, client statements & reporting, trade order management, workflow automation, benchmarking, and cash flow & accounting. Whereas services encompassed in the report scope include enterprise data management, data integration, reporting solutions & services, operation support & monitoring, application development and maintenance, and resource managementThis research study on the U.S. asset management IT solution market provides a detailed analysis of various components and their respective applications and services. The report also offers in-depth analysis of various factors such as market drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities affecting the market dynamics. These factors enable the analysis of various trends that would impact the market during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024. The report includes a comprehensive coverage of the underlying economic and technological factors under key trend analysis influencing the asset management IT solution market.U.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report aims to provide strategic insights about the investment management firms deploying IT solutions with the detailed analysis of their requirements pertaining to IT solutions. Some of the key industry players in the asset management IT solution include Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, FundCount, SoftTarget Inc., SimCorp Inc, QED Financial System, eFront Financial Solutions, Broadridge Investment Management Solutions, ProTrak International, SunGard Financials and CreditPoint Software.Browse Detail Report With TOC @Key asset managers profiled in the research study along with their IT viewpoints and requirements include Barings Corporate Investors, Geode Capital Management, The Carlyle Group LP, Voya Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, Bridgewater Associates and Hartford Investment Management. Co among others.U.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market Segmentation:U.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market, by Component- Application- Portfolio Management- Compliance- Risk Management- Client Statements & Reporting- Trade Order Management- Workflow Automation- Benchmarking- Cash Flow & Accounting- Service- Enterprise Data Management- Data Integration- Reporting Solutions & Services- Operation Support & Monitoring- Application Development and Maintenance- Resource ManagementU.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market, by Deployment Model- On-premise- Cloud-based- HybridU.S. Asset Management IT Solution Market, by Geography- Northeast- Midwest- West- SouthMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance launches a series of high-impact online learning programmes for corporates

www.ftiecla.com

http://resources.ftiecla.com/hiops

www.ftiecla.com

Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning Alliance () has launched a series of online short-course programmes.Custom-designed to each client companys requirements and intended for groups of 50 or more executives, the programmes are known as High-Impact Online Programmes (HiOPs) and they adopt the latest concepts and tools to ensure academic rigour.Each HiOP is offered in a completely online format that allows participants to reconcile their executive development with other work and personal commitments.Designed around the concept of a Small Private Online Course (SPOC), each HiOP draws on the expertise of FT journalists and IE faculty members. These people bring their specialist sector knowledge to teaching and assessing the participants understanding of the programmes topics.The FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance teaching team for each HiOP programme applies learning analytics to identify points where students get stuck; generates patterns for engagement; identifies key issues to raise in live sessions; creates and fosters a community environment, and hosts forums. Moreover, course alumni, expert contributors and guest speakers engage in the course to create practical learning.By their nature, open online courses (MOOCs) measure progress and completion through automated self-assessment and, at best, interaction with many hundreds of others taking the same course, says Liz-Ann Gayle, FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliances Head of Innovation. In contrast, online courses aimed at smaller groups that provide direct interaction with the professors, with the other participants, and with a varied teaching staff, are seeing completion rates of more than 85%.The initial HiOPs programmes available are: Digital Marketing, Social Media and Analytics: An omnichannel strategyFor marketing executives seeking to update their knowledge in digital marketing and its integration into a wider omnichannel marketing strategy, this programme examines the latest digital marketing and social media trends, as well as analytical tools, KPIs and metrics used to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Start-up to Scale-Up: What to do when a company starts to growIntended for entrepreneurs and business owners whore seeking the management expertise needed to scale and grow their businesses, this programme focuses on key concepts such as product and customer intelligence, team culture and understanding the role of risk as well as meeting supply and demand. Leading InnovationThis programme is intended for executives whore keen on guiding their company through todays increasingly volatile global economy. Provided with a framework for making robust, strategic agendas, learners acquire the knowledge and skill set to allow them to see uncertainty as opportunity and craft high-level portfolios of strategic options that have a higher chance of yielding success.On successful completion of a HiOPs course, participants are awarded certificates of approval accredited by FT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance, backed by IE Business School and the Financial Times. For further details about HiOPs, visitAbout Financial Times | IE Business School Corporate Learning AllianceFT | IE Corporate Learning Alliance was formed in 2015 in response to growing calls for more flexible, practical, relevant and timely corporate learning. A joint venture of the Financial Times and IE Business School, it brings world-renowned business information and journalism, leading academic faculty and a global network of educators to co-create, customised corporate learning and leadership development programmes in multiple languages, to almost any sector, anywhere in the world. Through expert learning frameworks, innovation and technology, it focuses on achieving measurable learning outcomes.FT | IE Corporate Learning AllianceOne Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL, UK+44 (0)20 7873 4248Press enquiries: For more information contact David Wells: david.wells@ftiecla.com +44 20 7775 6241;PR contact: Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, bob.little@boblittlepr.com +44 (0)1727 860405.
Global ENT Devices Market Industry Analysis Forecast - 2025

https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/send-an-enquiry/HC0655

https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/ent-devices-market

http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com

Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) disorders are the most common reasons for visits to a primary care physician. Most patients with ENT disorders visit the doctor early in the disease process as associated symptoms and signs are readily visible. The physical appearance of the tongue, teeth, gums, and palate indicates different physiological states. These indications can be used to detect and diagnose the particular disorder. Some of the common ENT disorders are chronic, acute and recurrent tonsillitis, recurrent and acute otitis media (OM), and recurrent and allergic rhinitis along with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Common cold is the most frequent upper respiratory tract infection (URI). Nearly half of the cases of cold affecting children can be attributed to a variety of up to 200 distinct viruses which are seasonally active (Source: Journal of Biomedical Therapy 2010 Vol. 4, No. 2). For instance, rhinoviruses are active in the early fall, summer, and spring. Disorders related to the ear such as hearing loss constitute a considerable share of ENT disorders. According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 2 to 3 among every 1,000 children in the U.S. are born with detectable level of hearing impairment in one or both ears. Hearing aids and hearing implants are used to treat the hearing impaired patients. While hearing aids amplify the incoming sound, implants transform sound into electrical signals that stimulate the patients auditory nerve.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @:Some of the key factors driving the ENT devices market are rising incidence of ENT related infections and traumas, increased prevalence of geriatric population around the world, and growing awareness about ENT disorders and their prevention and cure among the target population. According to the data revealed by the (NIDCD) in 2016, the highest amounts of hearing loss disorders exist in the age group between 60 and 69. As per a study conducted by Action on Hearing Loss, in 2015, over 11 million people in UK were living with some form of hearing loss, which amounts to one in every 6 persons in the UK. According to the data revealed in 2016 by healthdirect, an information service supported by Government of Australia, adults usually encounter 2 to 4 colds every year whereas, children usually get affected by cold 5 to 10 times in a year as they are less immune to cold causing viruses. Such high prevalence of common cold in children and adults will favorably contribute to the growth of ENT devices market over the forecast period. However, factors such as high cost and unfavorable reimbursement policies for hearing aids are likely to hinder the growth of ENT devices market.Research MethodologyWe use both primary as well as secondary research for our market surveys, estimates and for developing forecast. Our research process commence by analyzing the problem which enable us to design the scope for our research study. Our research process is uniquely designed with enough flexibility to adjust according to changing nature of products and markets, while retaining core element to ensure reliability and accuracy in research findings. We understand both macro and micro-economic factors to evaluate and forecast different market segments.Browse Market Research Report @:Data MiningData is extensively collected through various secondary sources such as annual reports, investor presentations, SEC filings, and other corporate publications. We also refer trade magazines, technical journals, paid databases such as Factiva and Bloomberg, industry trade journals, scientific journals, and social media data to understand market dynamics and industry trends. Further, we also conduct primary research to understand market drivers, restraints, opportunities, challenges, and competitive scenario to build our analysis.About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comWebsite:
THE WAREHOUSE SPACE RACE TO REACH NEW CUSTOMERS

Serafina Valente Managing Director of LogistCompare

www.logistcompare.com

The hunt for extra warehousing space in the run-up to the years busiest retail events has started with an increasing number of retailers looking for extra space for inventory to fulfil their customer orders. Now there is a smart way to match both space and demand using a new free service that links both ends of the retail chain. Warehouse providers have the ideal solution to maximise on earnings by filling empty space that is desperately needed by these retailers.LogistCompare is a new portal for the UK market offering an easy and productive way to link retail and e-commerce customers looking for available warehouse space. With demand fluctuating and space limited in some areas, the new service enables customers to enter their preferred location and space requirements and then receive a selection of warehouses and costs for them to evaluate and follow up directly with the warehouse through the portal. This brings the search for both space and customers together in an easy to use IT solution and is a completely free service for retailers looking for warehouse space.Serafina Valente, Managing Director of LogistCompare, sees this new portal as the ideal solution for warehouses looking to fill space and those retailers searching for extra and increased seasonal warehousing solutions.Retailers look for warehousing space often with short notice to cover seasonal demands and finding the right space at the right price can be challenging. Forward planning requires knowing where to find extra available warehouse space is critically important for them. Our portal is a free service offering retailers a platform to reach out to warehousing providers. This on-demand service means warehouses now can advertise their free space in real time and interact directly with potential clients. With no third-party to slow the process down, there is the ability to speedily fulfil retail demand and access warehouse availability.Recent efforts to link warehouse providers and retail customers have stumbled over quotations that can often take days rather than hours to create. Using the LogistCompare portal gives warehouses a real-time ability to compare offerings and make decisions in hours instead of days. Serafina Valente sees this as the crucial aspect of LogistCompare service.This is a service offering live space availability giving both parties interactive communications showing options and costs that can be sourced on-line. Warehouses can now advertise their space and talk directly with retailers looking for last minute or increased seasonal inventory space. We have clients looking for space right now and all it takes for warehouses to reach them is to join the portal. They get two months free and then it is just 50 per month per site. Furthermore with so much interest from retailers looking for warehouse space, we are also offering an extra free month to the first 20 subscribers only (providers can to come out from the contract after they have used it for three months with just a months notice). Our portal algorithms do all the hard work and all the warehouses have to do is decide which retail demand they want to fulfil. The system is free, simple to interact with and warehouses can name their own terms and accept or reject the projects they want. The portal enables quotations, negotiations, bookings and payments to be made through the platform. With so many new clients logging into our site each week looking for extra space and with both Black Friday looming and Christmas orders starting to be made, it is the ideal time for warehouses to reach out to potential clients and clear that extra capacity they are holding.LogistCompare (EndsLogistCompare is an innovative marketplace for warehouse space and services.It connects organisations that need storage space with warehouse providers that can accommodate their requirements. The platform allows warehouse providers to rent out available space on-line and to promote their services.Logistcompares vision is to link logistics, technology and market demands to proactively meet your customer expectations.Unique service:Get an instant selection of warehouse options and costs.No need to wait for quotations any moreReceive a full cost breakdown and availability.No time wasted in benchmarking quotesRead reviews of warehouses made by other customers.Less worries about reliability of their servicesInteract directly with the warehouses.No time wasted in waiting for middlemen.Warehouse providers:Rent out space on line.Generate additional revenueAdvertise your services.Reach thousands of potential customersImage Line8 Skylines Business VillageLondon E14 9TS
Recent Study Explores HSBC Private Banks Geographical Positioning and Growth Strategy

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1930299-super-league-in-depth-analysis-hsbc-private-bank-2017-tracking-the

SUMMARYPune, India, 11 September 2017: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Super League In-Depth Analysis: HSBC Private Bank 2017 - Tracking the worlds major competitors in wealth management.HSBC Holdings, headquartered in London, is a global universal bank. HSBC Private Bank is a brand used by its Global Private Banking Division, which provides services to more than $ 5 million (or local currency equivalent) in assets. Some asset management operations are also run in HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management Business.The report showcase some major highlight in report.Review of institutional structures of policy firm for the growth of HSBC Private Bank. Explain the presentation of its geographic scope and expansion policies. Analyze the company's financial performance, compared with other global wealth managers. Examination of key target client groups. A review of HSBC Private Bank's marketing and social media alerts, analyzing how they are unique compared to the production and service offerings of HSBC Private Bank and its competitors.GET SAMPLE REPORT @The major scope of report: The objective of HSBC Private Bank is to be the preferred private bank of choice for customers already owned by the HSBC Department, particularly the entrepreneurs and family business owners. Asset Management (AUM) of HSBC Private Bank is decreasing for the fourth year in 2016, which indicates the company's specific tasks. Net new money fell down in red, down  1bn in 2015 Under the influence of regulatory scrutiny and inefficiency of expenditure, HSBC Private Bank is dedicated to reducing employee numbers and operations in major markets. HSBC withdraws from non-core markets, focusing on select centers in Europe and Asia Pacific."Super League In-Death Analysis: HSBC Private Bank 2017 "is a comprehensive analysis of HSBC's private bank operations, providing insights into company policy, financial impact, marketing activity, customer targeting and product innovation.The report also help to understand, investigate financial performance and key ratios for HSBC Private Bank and compete with other global wealth managers. Explore the HSBC Private Bank's geographic location and development policies. Understand the HSBC Private Bank customer's targeting strategy and see whether this has succeeded. Know more about HSBC Private Bank's marketing strategies, social media presence, and digital innovations.Major players cover in report are Butterfield, Hang Seng Bank, LGT, and CFM Indosuez Wealth Management.About UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research 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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Aerospace Insulation Market By Product, Material, Technology, Application, Region  Forecast 2024

https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2084

https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2084

Demand for lightweight insulation material for overall weight reduction of the aircraft is driving the demand for Aerospace Insulation Market. Increasing demand for low cast commercial aircrafts and increasing passenger traffic will support the growth of market. Investment in developing renewable material to reduce the environmental burden will create significant growth opportunities for the market. Use of low cost composites, advanced acoustics and fire resistance material to enhance the safety of the operation is expected to further increase the demand during the forecast period.The FAA has proposed the designing requirements of the insulation material to be resistant to burn through in a strong thermal atmosphere like that of fuel fed fire. The manufacturers must redesign these materials to meet these requirements. Limited manufacturing facilities of aircraft manufacturers are increasing the delivery time for the large orders creating the large backlogs of aircrafts. Manufacturers may also face cancellation of the orders which may hamper the demand for aircraft component industry including aerospace insulation market.Request Detailed Table of Contents of this Report @Based on material, the market is segmented as foamed plastics, ceramic based material, fiber glass and mineral wool. Foamed plastics segment is expected to lead the aerospace insulation market owing to its high performance in terms of durability, tensile strength and rigidity. Aerospace foams such as polyethylene, polyurethane and ceramic foam provides superior insulations in various temperature range and reduce air leakage.Based on application platform, aerospace insulation market is divided in to rotary wing and fixed wing. Fixed wing segment is projected to exhibit high growth than the rotary wing. This is attributed to the increasing use of insulation for thermal & acoustic purpose, aircraft weather protection covers, ancillary ground support equipment and cabin interiors of a fixed wing aircraft.Growth in North America is attributed to increase in air travel and rise in demand for new aircraft. Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit increased demand owing to increasing industrialization, increasing disposable income resulting more passengers opting for air travel. Growth in manufacturing of aircraft & aircraft components in Asia Pacific will stimulate the demand for market. Also demand for commercial aircrafts from India will contribute to the regions growth.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Some of the companies in aerospace insulation market includes DuPont, BASF, 3M, Esterline, Triumph Group Inc., Rogers Corporation, Zotefoams, Dunmore and Evonik Industries. The material providers and manufacturers are opting for M&A to strengthen their position in the industry.Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.29L Atlantic Avenue, Suite L 105,
Audiology Devices Market Insights with Key Company Profiles - Forecast to 2025

https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/send-an-enquiry/HC0652

https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/audiology-devices-market

http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com

Hearing is the ability to perceive sound. A person affected by hearing impairment has difficulty in identifying or perceiving sound clearly due to auditory problems. Such impairment may be unilateral or bilateral. The intensity of hearing loss can be segmented as mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound. Mild level of hearing impairment refers to difficulty in perceiving soft sounds such as whispers. The moderate level refers to the incapability to clearly hear sound in normal conversations. Profound deafness is a condition where the patient is unable to perceive any sound irrespective of its intensity. The causes for hearing impairment can be broadly classified into two categories viz. congenital factors and acquired factors. Some of the congenital factors are heredity, congenital defects such as anomalies of ear, nose or throat, viral infections during pregnancy such as rubella infection and premature birth. Acquired factors leading to hearing impairment can be eardrum perforation, excessive earwax, otosclerosis or ear ossicle dislocation, prolonged exposure to loud noise and certain medications that may result in ear damage as an associated side-effect.Hearing impairment can severely affect the development of children at different stages. This can lead to insufficient language development with incorrect pronunciation and unclear speech. Such children may have behavioral and emotional problems as a result of difficulty in verbally expressing themselves. This can lead to poor self-image and lack of self-confidence at an early age. The academic performance also deteriorates significantly due to the inability to receive and perceive messages correctly. As per the data revealed by the National Institute for Deafness and Other communication Disorders (NIDCD) in December 2016, around 2 to 3 in every 1000 children in the U.S., are born with a recognizable degree of hearing loss in one or sometimes in both ears.Get Sample of this Report @:Elder people over 60 years of age are highly susceptible to hearing impairment. Presbycusis is the most common form of sensorineural hearing loss in the elderly people. It affects the ability to hear higher frequency sounds. Thus, an elderly person who is suffering from hearing loss may develop depression due to the social isolation.Research MethodologyWe use both primary as well as secondary research for our market surveys, estimates and for developing forecast. Our research process commence by analyzing the problem which enable us to design the scope for our research study. Our research process is uniquely designed with enough flexibility to adjust according to changing nature of products and markets, while retaining core element to ensure reliability and accuracy in research findings. We understand both macro and micro-economic factors to evaluate and forecast different market segments.Data MiningData is extensively collected through various secondary sources such as annual reports, investor presentations, SEC filings, and other corporate publications. We also refer trade magazines, technical journals, paid databases such as Factiva and Bloomberg, industry trade journals, scientific journals, and social media data to understand market dynamics and industry trends. Further, we also conduct primary research to understand market drivers, restraints, opportunities, challenges, and competitive scenario to build our analysis.Get complete access to Reports:About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Now to Search Best Packers and Movers in Chennai is Made Easy at Thepackersmovers.com!

http://www.thepackersmovers.com/locations/packers-and-movers-chennai.html

http://www.thepackersmovers.com/car-carriers/

www.thepackersmovers.com

New Delhi, India :- Change is the law of nature. So when it comes to change in the place of residence, it is an outcome of multiple reasons like for better career prospects, official transfer, education purpose, retirement and many. However, a worry that comes with any relocation is the process of relocating of goods and valuable to a new place. In fact, finding a reliable relocation service provider is not an easy task. Today, with the availability of innumerable service providers, the chances of settling down with fraud service providers is also there.Thepackersmovers.com helps people in this regards to find the best relocation service provider with never before ease. The easy navigation and category segregation of the portal helps in finding a reliable and suitable Packers and Movers in Chennai (), Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and places across the country. Additionally, the portal also offers informative pages with tips for efficient and safe relocation, factors to consider for budget-friendly relocation and much more.Over a discussion, the representative of the directory stated, Today in India, there are plentiful choices for packers and movers in India. However, to find the best one is never an easy task. With boom in the demand for movers and packers, many people have invested in this business, but not every service provider follows the ethical guidelines of providing reliable services. In our directory, we ensure the enrollment of only reliable and renowned service providers those who own experienced professionals as well as latest tools and techniques.The long list of services for which one can settle down with trusted movers and packers in India via Thepackersmovers.com such as Office Relocation, Car Carrier Services (), Household Relocation, Packing and Unpacking services, Loading and Unloading Services, Warehousing services and much more. The enrolled service providers on the directory offer chosen relocation services efficiently, safely and reliably to the customers.International Relocation, Door-to-Door Relocation Services, Trade Show and Event Organization, Corporate Relocation, Pet Relocation, Custom Clearance, Insurance Coverage, Accommodation Services, Interior Decorator and plenty of other services as well. In addition to this, the directory helps people to efficiently move following useful tips on plant moving, choosing a mover, budget moving tips, pet moving tips, moving checklist and plenty of other essential aspects as well.Contact-Thepackersmovers.com is the name reckoned across India for being a trusted online directory with enrolled names of best and most popular Packers and Movers based in the country. The directory aims to meet the needs of the customers for reliable and renowned Movers and Packers in India anywhere. To know more about the services of the directory, make visit at website.Media Contact :-The Packers MoversMayur Vihar Phase 1, Pandav NagarPostal Code :- 110091City - DelhiCountry - IndiaEmail - info@thepackersmovers.com
Border Security 2018: a focus on Smart Borders and Data Management

www.bordersec.com/openpr

www.bordersec.com/openpr

http://www.smi-online.co.uk

More and more countries and institutions are increasingly using biometric registration to provide real-time data. Biometrics can help efficient data gathering in a world of free-movement. However, as different agencies use different systems which can cause issues in the registration process, the need for better data governance is a challenge that needs to be addressed.Thus, one of the focuses for this year's Border Security 2018 conference will look into smart borders and data management. We are delighted to highlight the following presentations you can't miss: Spanish Smarter Borders ProjectDr Enrique Belda, Deputy Director General of Communications and Information Systems for Security, Spanish Ministry of Interior Developing and Implementing a Home-Grown PNR System to Support Safe Free MovementKristi Paas, Project Manager, Information and Development Center, Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs Mobile Solutions for Borders and Law EnforcementFrank Smith, Chair ENLETS Mobile, EU Working GroupMore information about this can be found onOther highlights of the conference will touch on relevant themes such as securing land, air and sea borders, European updates on border control strategies amidst the migration crisis, biometric technology and capabilities, as well as how political implications will affect global border security beyond 2018.Border Security 2018 will feature a speaker line-up of international senior border security experts who will discuss political and technological solutions being utilised to secure national borders.Featured speakers also include representatives from Italian Navy, US Department of Homeland Security, Portuguese Maritime Authority and Ministry of Defence, Swedish National Bureau of Investigation, Borders and Immigration UK, Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, Schiphol Airport, Airpol and more.The full agenda as well as registration information can be found onThere is currently a 400 Early Bird offer available for bookings done by 31st October.11th Border Security21-22 February 2018Crowne Plaza Hotel St Peters Spa, Rome, Italy---- END ----For sponsorship packages contact Sadia Malick on +44 (0) 207 827 6748 or email smalick@smi-online.co.uk. For delegate enquiries contact Andrew Gibbons on +44 (0) 207 827 6156 or email agibbons@smi-online.co.uk. For media enquiries, contact Honey de Gracia on +44 20 7827 6102 or hdegracia@smi-online.co.uk.About SMi Group: Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the worlds most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found at1 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7XW
Global Composites Market To Observe Major Growth in Coming Years, Says Report

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1919138-composites-market-product-polymer-matrix-composite-carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic-glass

Pune, India, 04 September 2017: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Composites Market (Product - Polymer Matrix Composite (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic, Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic, and Aramid Fiber Composites), Metal Matrix Composites, and Ceramic Matrix Composites; Technology  Pultrusion Process, Layup process, Filament Winding, Compression Molding, Injection Molding, Resin Transfer Molding, Automated Fiber Placement, and Automated Tape Laying; Application  Automotive & Transportation (Interior, Exterior, Power Train Components, Brake Pads, Chassis), Construction, Aerospace & Defense, Electrical & Electronics, Marine & Oil & Gas (Pipes and Top Side Application), Wind Energy, and Consumer Goods) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025.The demand for light demand for automotive and aircraft components and the increasing demand for wind power is expected to run the global composite market for the next few years. An increased need for lightweight and high-performance materials in automotive, aerospace and wind mill applications; Demand for carbon fiber is increasing.This is due to the high ductile strength, hardness, and temperature tolerance and the special properties of carbon fiber such as low thermal expansion and weight. However, the expensive nature of carbon fiber is limited to its use in most applications. Currently, the cost of carbon fiber composites is four times the cost of steel. Therefore, reducing the cost of carbon fiber is likely to give attractive opportunities to joint producers.GET SAMPLE REPORT @According to research report, the global composites market is expected to reach US$101.88 bn by the end of 2025 with a CAGR of 8.9% between 2017 and 2025.Composite is a component in which both elements are important properties. This is a continuous phase in the matrix and a disrupted phase reinforcement. This polymer is commercially available in various products like Matrix Composite, Metal Matrix Composite and Ceramic Matrix Composites.This report provides a comprehensive view of composite markets based on applications. The main applications included in the report are automotive and transportation, construction, aerospace and protection, electricity and electronics, marine and oil and gas, wind power, and others (consumer goods, etc.). In terms of technology, markets have been divided into: pultrusion process, layout process, field warming, compression molding, injection molding, resin transfer molding and others. Depending on the type of product, market is divided into: Polymer matrix composite, metal matrix compositing and ceramic matrix composite.On the basis of applications, technology, production types and countries, the eligibility of each segment has been examined by the charming device in the report. This study has included an analysis of the value chain, through which it is well understood by the key players in the supply chain (from raw materials producers to the end user). In addition, market analysts and market players are analyzed using Porter's five bubble analysis.North America dominated the global composite market and covered about 40% of volume in 2016. There is a possibility that 9 00% CAGR in Asia Pacific is likely to be witnessed and there is a possibility of a composite market attractive. This is due to the rapid development of technological advances and the optimization of composites in applications like automotive and wind turbine blades. Europe is a major manufacturer of premium cars, it's a compelling market for composites. Due to the increasing use of the next generation aircraft, the aerospace segment in Europe is likely to offer 8.6 percent attractive opportunities for CAGR.Major Key players in the composites market include Toray Industries, Owens Corning, Teijin Limited, Hexcel Corporation, TPI Composites, Inc, Faurecia, Performance Composites Inc., Enduro Composites, Inc., KINECO, APPLIED POLERAMIC INC., Hexagon Composites, Creative Composites Ltd., and HITCO Carbon Composites, Inc.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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
LED Lights Market: Luminaries to Dominate the Product type Segment

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/led-lights-market

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-4797

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The market for LED lights is expanding steadily the world over due to the numerous inherent advantages that the LED lights possess. LED lights are highly energy efficient, possess a longer life span and are more reliable as compared to the traditional incandescent lights.In addition, LED lights have higher brightness levels, are smaller in size, take up lesser power and are sturdy in nature. Due to all such advantages of LED lighting, it is becoming popular in both residential and industrial sectors as the preferred choice of lighting. In light of the fast depleting non-renewable sources of energy, there is a growing demand for power efficient lighting systems across the industries, and LED is the perfect choice for such applications.Obtain Report Details @As per the forecast of Future Market Insights, the luminaries product type segment is slated to touch a value of nearly US$ 43,475 Mn in the year 2022. This represents a robust CAGR growth during the assessment period of 2017-2022. The luminaries product type segment is estimated to account for nearly two-third 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.As per the forecast of Future Market Insights, the departmental stores segment will reach a value of nearly US$ 5,788 Mn in the year 2017. This represents a robust CAGR growth during the forecast period. The departmental stores segment is estimated to account for nearly one-fifth of the revenue share of the sales channel segment in the year 2017 end and is expected to gain market share by the end of the year 2022.Make an Enquiry @Future Market Insights forecasts the China LED lights market to grow from nearly US$ 6,140 Mn in 2017 to US$ 11,522.0 Mn in 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% from 2017 to 2022.The report has also profiled leading players in the global market for LED lights, which will remain active through 2022. These include companies such as General Electric Company, Magneti Marelli S.p.A., OSRAM Licht AG, Imasen Electric Industrial Co., Ltd, HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co, Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd., Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Stanley Electric Co. Ltd, Cree, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Nichia Corporation, Texas Instruments, EPISTAR Corporation, Cooper Industries, LLC and Valeo SA.Get ToC@About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.FMIs team of over 200 research analysts provides market intelligence at global, regional, and country level. Our analysts are committed to provide independent insights, relying on our cognitive defusion training module, which conditions them to look at data objectively and unbiasedly.ContactFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email:sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
CHETU INCLUDED ON THE 2017 FASTEST-GROWING TECH COMPANIES LIST

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Plantation, Fla. (October 13th, 2017)  Chetu comes out on top as one of the fastest growing tech companies in South Florida, as stated on a list published by South Florida Business Journal.SFBJ recognizes technology companies who demonstrate a capacity to reach extraordinary, yearly milestones in revenue and operational growth. This year, there are two lists. Chetu was featured at spot 7 on the list of companies ranked by dollar revenue growth and 15th among companies organized by percentage growth over the same time frame.Chetu celebrates 17 years of software development excellence with a 16.44% increase in growth, a percentage illustrating Chetus jump from $31.51 to $36.69 million in revenue between 2015 and 2016.We are all very proud of our nomination, I must attribute the success of our growth to the close-knit team environment we have established at Chetu. stated Atal Bansal, CEO of Chetu, Inc. We all work together on our mission to provide our clients with world-class software development solutions.Chetu sat down alongside 24 other companies at a cocktail reception on the evening of October 12th. This event recognized all 25 list-makers on their contributions to better business. The Official list was made public on October 13th, in Vol. 38, No. 12 issue of the South Florida Business Journal.Chetus financial bounds are accompanied by 2nd place in SFBJ Healthiest Workplace Award, placement in the SFBJs Top 100 Private Companys list, and an inclusion on the 36th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of America's fastest-growing private companies, for the 6th year in a row.About Chetu, Inc.Founded in 2000, Chetu Inc. is a global provider of customized software development solutions combining technological expertise, specific domain experience and passion for excellence to deliver enterprise-grade solutions to start-ups, SMBs and fortune 5000 companies. Chetu is a true and seamless backend technology partner, helping businesses accelerate the development of desktop, mobile & web-based apps with on-demand developers. Headquartered in Plantation, Florida, Chetu has fourteen locations throughout the U.S. and abroad. For more information visit:Media Contact:Seth Burger and/or Carolina Nunezmarketing@chetu.com954-342-5676Chetu is a custom software development company servicing startups, SMBs & Fortune 500 firms worldwide with specialized technology solutions. We provide on-demand programming from senior-level software developers who are dedicated to advancing your business technology objectives.Chetu Inc.10167 W Sunrise Blvd,Suite 200, Plantation,FL 33322
Global Drone Services Market 2017 - Research study and Demand

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This report studies Drone Services 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, coveringSharper Shape Inc.Dronedeploy Inc.Prioria Robotics Holdings Inc.Phoenix Drone Services LLCAirware, Inc.AeroboCyberhawk Innovations Ltd.Sky-Futures Ltd.Sensefly Ltd.By types, the market can be split intoFixed Wing DroneMultirotor DroneEnter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Drone ServicesTable Product Specifications of Drone ServicesTable Classification of Drone ServicesFigure Global Production Market Share of Drone Services by Type in 2016Figure Fixed Wing Drone? PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Fixed Wing Drone?Figure Multirotor Drone PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Multirotor DroneTable Applications of Drone ServicesFigure Global Consumption Volume Market Share of Drone Services by Application in 2016Figure Disaster Risk Management&Mitigation ExamplesTable Major Consumers of Disaster Risk Management&MitigationFigure Inspection & Environmental Monitoring ExamplesTable Major Consumers of Inspection & Environmental MonitoringFigure Product Delivery ExamplesTable Major Consumers of Product DeliveryAbout UsQYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.Contact usBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Workforce Management Software Market- Trends, Price, Share and Growth Rate from 2017 to 2025

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Global Workforce Management Software Market: OverviewIn the present time, the majority of the HR operations need to be manually handled, which increases the amount of paperwork. This, in turn, negatively affects the overall productivity for HR executives. Workforce management software enhances the efficiency and productivity of the HR personnel by managing employment and staffing related operations, tracking employee attendance, policy updates, beneficiary changes, and discontinuation of coverage among others. With the increasing globalization, workforce management will become imperative. This is, in turn, allowing the global workforce management software market to follow an exponential growth trajectory.Global Workforce Management Software Market: Key TrendsThe burgeoning need to streamline HR functions is the foremost factor augmenting the global workforce management software market. Workforce management software offers various benefits that help in automating and streamlining the workforce management process. The emergence of cloud-based technologies is also working in favor of the market. Moreover, the increasing penetration of social media is also providing a fillip to the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report@On the flip side, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are reluctant about switching to software solution from conventional methods. This is, in turn, inhibiting the growth of the global workforce management software market. However, the growing trend of work from home in SMEs is likely to encourage the adoption of workforce management software in the near future.Global Workforce Management Software Market: Market PotentialThe growing investments for the development and advancements of workforce management software are rendering the market highly opportunities. To put this in perspective, in March 2016 Seattle-based Shiftboard raised US$4 mn for its workforce management software platform through a funding round led by Voyager Capital. Similarly, in January 2017 Deputy, a Sydney-based global workforce management software firm, raised US$25 mn in a Series A round led by the U.S. expansion stage venture capital company OpenView. Market participants are developing innovative and highly reliable software that are likely to allow the market to gain significant momentum in the coming years.Request TOC of the Report @Global Workforce Management Software Market: Geographical SegmentationOn the basis of geography, the report categorizes the global workforce management software market into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Developed regions are anticipated to be at the forefront of growth owing to rapid technological advancements. The growth of the North America market can be attributed to the rising penetration of social media and the soaring demand for cost-effective HR solutions.In Europe, there is a high acceptance of advanced workforce management software in countries such as the U.K. and Germany. To overcome challenges such as high competition and budget constraints, European companies are banking on solutions and services that enhance the efficiency of their workforce. This is leading to the high adoption of workforce management software in the region.Developing countries in Asia Pacific and Latin America are expected to offer ample growth opportunities owing to the increasing adoption of cloud technology and the rising need for workforce management.Get Discount @Global Workforce Management Software Market: Competitive LandscapeThe global workforce management market is a highly fragmented arena, with the presence of a large number of multinational players. Market participants are pouring hefty sums into the research and development of innovative software and solutions to consolidate their position in this highly competitive marketplace. The market is expected to witness intensification in price wars among key players in the coming years. The leading players in the market are Kronos, SAP, Oracle, Ultimate Software, Ceridian HCM, and ADP. Some other prominent companies operating in the global market for workforce management software are ATOSS Software, Ascentis, iCIMS, HR Bakery, JDA Software Group, PeopleFluent, NICE, Reflexis Systems, Performly, Workday, The Sage Group, and Zoho Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine Market 2017: Future Trends and Demand

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In this report, the Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Food and Beverage Processing Machine for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaAsia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Food and Beverage Processing Machine sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGEA Group AGBuhler AGBucher Industries AG??Haas Food Equipment GmbHHeatand Control IncorporatedHosokawa Micron Corporation?To Get Sample Copy click here:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Food and Beverage Processing MachineFigure Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine Sales Volume (K MT) by Type (2012-2022)Figure Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2016Figure Frozen Food Processing Machinery Product PictureFigure Baking Food Processing Machinery Product PictureFigure Pastry biscuit processing machinery Product PictureFigure Seafood Food Processing Machinery Product PictureFigure Meat Food Processing Machinery Product PictureFigure Leather Food Processing Machinery Product PictureFigure Gluten-free food processing machinery Product PictureFigure Beverage Processing Machinery? Product PictureFigure Asia-Pacific Food and Beverage Processing Machine Sales (K MT) by Application (2012-2022)Figure Asia-Pacific Sales Market Share of Food and Beverage Processing Machine by Application in 2016Figure Food processing plants ExamplesAbout UsQYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.Contact usBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
ICT Investment in Government Market -Trends, Price, Share and Growth Rate from 2017 to 2025

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Global ICT Investment in Government Market: OverviewThe industry of information and communications technology has gone beyond being a simple catalyst to commercial and government functions, to a necessity for growth and survival. In the case of governments, ICT today plays a very heavy role in not just improving governance, but also becomes an inseparable part of it for various functions. E-governance has become a core way of managing several aspects of governance, and a good governance requires the use of optimal e-tools and e-governance solutions. The use of ICT in governance has been propounded by several companies as well as governments, thereby allowing for a more positive environment of growth for the ICT industry as well as investors looking in this direction.Global ICT Investment in Government Market: Key TrendsGovernment spending on IT and ICT solutions is increasing around the world. So much so that even bodies from emerging economies are recognizing the importance of e-governance, thereby creating a heavy influx of technologies and investments in this direction. Government agencies are increasingly using ICT solutions for development and maintenance of infrastructure, especially when it comes to the improvement and modernization of projects. The rate of investment of governments in ICT has also increased over the recent past thanks to the swiftly improving space and scope of digital media, ecommerce, and e-tools.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Companies and governments are acknowledging the cost-saving techniques that can be adopted through the use of mobility technologies and cloud computing. Regional governments from developed economies are also strongly emphasizing the use of ICT to enhance their services offered.Global ICT Investment in Government Market: Market PotentialA number of tech firms around the world have already become a key part of e-governance by bagging profitable and long-term contracts with national and regional governments. Recent examples for this are the contracts awarded to Edge Testing Solutions, Iomart, and eCom Scotland, for being a part of the government ICT framework. The regional importance given to ICT involvement in governance is running strong around the globe. The Pacific Islands, for instance, are being encouraged to implement e-governance throughout some of their core public departments. Regions in Africa as well are showing a strong inclination towards the use of e-governance to resolve some of their more pressing issues.Another reason why ICT investments in governments can show favorable results is the thinning comparison between public and private sectors. Some of the key players in this market are the ones who recognize that the public sector companies are working today on very similar business imperatives as private ones. The big difference lies in the higher level of restrictions and operations issues faced by the former, many of which can be resolved through the use of ICT solutions.Request TOC of the Report @Global ICT Investment in Government Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is likely to top the overall spending done over e-governance for the coming years. This region, especially the U.S., holds a highly advanced government and ICT infrastructure that can complement each other to a very comfortable degree, further propelled by the high volume of investors. The implementation of ICT in cyber-security measures has especially been of high interest across North America, as governments are aiming to close all gaps and leaks in information. Meanwhile, the overall spending of Asia Pacific on e-government solutions and tools is increasing at a very fast pace, thanks to the importance given to ICT by the nations such as China, Australia, and South Korea.Get Discount @Global ICT Investment in Government Market: Competitive AnalysisSome of the leading players in the ICT domain that are putting forth greater investments into e-governments are coming from the fields of communication services, data center systems, IT services, software, and devices. Each field has a massive amount of potential when it comes to contributions and investments into e-governments, and players are realizing the full potential that this market can hold.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Extruding Machines Market 2017 Development trends and Qualitative Analysis

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This report studies Extruding Machines 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. (US)Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. (Japan)The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. (Japan)Coperion GmbH (Germany)Battenfeld-Cincinnati (Germany)Davis-Standard, LLC (US)On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSingle Screw Extruding MachinesTwin Screw Extruding MachinesRam Extruding MachinesBy Application, the market can be split intoBuilding & ConstructionTransportationConsumer AppliancesOthersGet Free Sample of this report @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Extruding MachinesTable Product Specifications of Extruding MachinesTable Classification of Extruding MachinesFigure Global Production Market Share of Extruding Machines by Type in 2016Figure Single Screw Extruding Machines PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Single Screw Extruding MachinesFigure Twin Screw Extruding Machines PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Twin Screw Extruding MachinesFigure Ram Extruding Machines PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Ram Extruding MachinesTable Applications of Extruding MachinesFigure Global Consumption Volume Market Share of Extruding Machines by Application in 2016Figure Building & Construction ExamplesAbout UsQYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.Contact usBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global 1, 10-Phenanthroline Anhydrous Market -Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023

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"The Report 1, 10-Phenanthroline Anhydrous Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Phenanthroline is an organic heterocyclic compound and a chelating agent with high affinity towards metal ions. The chemical is generally prepared by two consecutive sequential Skraup reactions of glycerol with o-phenylenediamine and an oxidizing agent such as traditional aqueous arsenic acid or nitrobenzene.Get Sample copy of this Report @ Sulfuric acid is used as a catalysit in this reaction. After dehydration reaction acrolein is produced from glycerol and goes into further cyclization followed by reaction with amine to get condensed. 1, 10-phenanthroline anhydrous is majorly used as a chelating agent in various industries. It is also largely used in co-ordination chemistry as ligand (a bonding molecule which helps a central metal atom to form a co-ordination complex by binding). 1, 10-phenanthroline is soluble in water it is also soluble in organic solvents. The chemical is non-toxic in nature.1, 10-phenanthroline anhydrous can be used in several applications of applied chemistry. The chemical is used as an inhibitor of metallopeptidase enzymes (ia protease enzyme whose catalytic mechanism comprises a metal). 1, 10-phenanthroline is majorly used for zinc peptidases. Another major application of this chemical is in co-ordination chemistry where it is used as a functional group bonding agent for metal ions to form co-ordination complex compounds. 1, 10-phenanthroline is primarily used in industrial applications as chelating agent. The chemical is also used in analysis formulations in end-user industries such as food, beverage, pharmaceutical, etc.1, 10-pehanthroline is a specialty chemical catering to very niche markets. As demand of 1, 10-phenathroline is dependent on low volume and specialty market, its price is expected to be at higher side, especially from manufacturers in developed regions such as North America and Europe. In price sensitive regions such as Asia Pacific and Middle East where demand of 1, 10-phenanthroline is even lower due to absence of technology and proper scopes of usage, higher price may act as a constraint for growth in its demand. 1, 10-phenanthroline has also experienced decline in demand in developed regions such as North America and Europe. The market is expected to grow further in future because of technological advancements and economic bloom in FMCG sector in Asia Pacific region.View Report @ Developed regions such as Europe and North America together contribute to larger portion of the market. Economic crisis resulting in fewer investments for R&D sectors in European and North American market is expected to act as a restraint for growth in 1, 10-phenanthroline market in these regions. On the other hand, Chinese manufacturers are more focusing on developed markets such as Europe and North America to sell their products in a cheaper price. This situation has forced 1, 10-phenathroline manufacturers to cut their expenditures on development or manufacturing of the chemical. With rising economy and technological advancements, the market is expected to be driven by Asia Pacific and Middle East region in future. Currently local manufacturers contribute to a very small portion of Asia Pacific market but with saturation of European and North American market of 1, 10-phenathroline, market share of local manufacturers is expected to increase.Some of the major companies involved in the Potassium Formate market are Acros Organics BVBA (Belgium), Aopharm (China), Belami Fine Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (India), GFS Chemicals, Inc. (U.S.), Loba Feinchemie GmbH (Austria), Merck Millipore (U.S.), Shenyang Xinguang Chemical Factory (China), etc.Browse more Chemicals Market Research Reports @ This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Request for Enquiry @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major marketsegmentsCheck Discount @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.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Power Electronics Market : Evolving Technology, Trends and industry Analysis by 2025

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Global Power Electronics Market: OverviewPower electronics are solid state circuitry devices that convert and control electric power from the source to load. These devices ensure effective delivery of power, providing high security, reliability, and flexibility to the power system. They improve switching speed and also enable power management to prevent power loss. The materials commonly used for these devices are silicon, gallium nitride, silicon carbide, and sapphire. Some of the common types of devices are transistors, diodes, thyristors, modules, and ICs. These devices find applications across industrial verticals such as information and communication technology, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, power, and aerospace and defense.Global Power Electronics Market: Key TrendsThe rising awareness regarding the benefits of power electronics is boosting their uptake across different applications. Presently, about 30% of all power generation is carried out using power electronic devices, either at the stage of power generation or at the final electricity consumption point. It is anticipated that by 2030, up to 80% of the electricity produced will use power electronic devices. The burgeoning demand for energy-efficient battery-powered portable devices is also fuelling the global power electronics market. Moreover, the growing reliance on renewable energy resources is working in favor the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Other factors such as improving power infrastructure and the increasing demand for energy harvesting technologies are stoking the growth of the global market. On the other hand, high complexity and cumbersome integration process of advanced technology devices make their manufacturing time consuming, which in turn negatively impacting the growth of the global power electronics market. Furthermore, the high initial costs of power electronics are hampering the growth of the market.Global Power Electronics Market: Market PotentialMaterial forms the foundation of power electronic devices and thus, researchers are focusing towards developing materials that have higher efficiency and enable better power generation. A research by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in August 2015 proved the higher efficiency of gallium nitride over silicon. As a result, gallium nitride started emerging as the next generation semiconductor for power electronics and replacing conventional materials. Similarly, researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Utah announced that the conjoin of two oxide compounds, namely neodymium titanate (NTO) and strontium titanate (STO), makes an extraordinary conductive material that could be up to five times more conductive than silicon and can vastly improve power transistors. Another case in point is the development of organic thin-film, high-voltage transistors in March 2017 by a team of researchers at the Linkoping and Umea universities in Sweden. This transistor is estimated to be a breakthrough in the field of organic power electronics. Therefore, such developments are imparting significant momentum to the global power electronics market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Power Electronics Market: Geographical SegmentationGeographically, Asia Pacific is expected to be a prominent revenue contributor to the growth of the global market. The rapid expansion of manufacturing facilities along with the robust growth of the consumer goods sector is supplementing the growth of the region. Cost advantages and increasing initiatives taken by governments are boosting the domestic manufacturing of power electronics devices, thereby contributing to the growth of APAC. The growth of Europe can be attributed to countries such as the U.K. and Germany.Global Power Electronics Market: Competitive LandscapeThe presence of a large number of global and regional participants in the global power electronics market and low differentiation in their product offerings have rendered the arena highly competitive. The intensity of rivalry will remain high due to switching cost also. Some of the prominent companies operating in the market are Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors N.V., ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics N.V., Microsemi Corporation, Vishay Intertechnology Inc., Texas Instrumentation Inc., Toshiba Corporation, and ABB Ltd.Get Discount @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market- Overview, in-Depth Analysis, Forecasts, Applications, Shares & Insights

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A new independent 103 page research with title 'World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Research Report 2022 (covering USA, Europe, China, Japan, India, South East Asia and etc)' guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions and important players/vendors such as Delphi Automotive PLC,Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., Autoliv Inc, Denso Corporation, Valeo, Magna International, etc.. With n-number of tables and figures examining the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) the research gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leaders market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2022Request a sample report @The Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Global Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market: Product Segment AnalysisAdaptive Cruise Control (ACC)Lane Departure Warning (LDW) SystemPark AssistBlind Spot DetectionGlobal Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market: Application Segment AnalysisPassenger CarLight Commercial Vehicle (LCV)Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV)Global Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportContinental AgDelphi Automotive PLCAisin Seiki Co. Ltd.Autoliv IncDenso CorporationValeoMagna InternationalTrw Automotive Holdings Corp.Hella Kgaa Hueck & Co.Robert Bosch GmbhFicosa International S.A.Mobileye NVMando Corp.Texas Instruments Inc.Tass internationalGet customization & check discount for report @Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)1.1.2 Lane Departure Warning (LDW) System1.1.3 Park Assist1.1.1.4 Blind Spot Detection1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.4 IndiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.5 JapanMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.6 South East AsiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.2 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market by TypesAdaptive Cruise Control (ACC)Lane Departure Warning (LDW) SystemPark AssistBlind Spot Detection2.3 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market by ApplicationsPassenger CarLight Commercial Vehicle (LCV)Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV)2.4 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Analysis2.4.1 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Revenue and Growth Rate 2012-20172.4.2 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Consumption and Growth rate 2012-20172.4.3 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Price Analysis 2012-2017Chapter 3 World Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market share3.1 Major Production Market share by Players3.2 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share by Players3.3 Major Production Market share by Regions in 2017, Through 20223.4 Major Revenue (M USD) Market share By Regions in 2017, Through 2022Chapter 4 Supply Chain Analysis4.1 Industry Supply chain Analysis4.2 Raw material Market Analysis4.2.1 Raw material Prices Analysis 2012-20174.2.2 Raw material Supply Market Analysis4.2 Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers Analysis4.3 Production Process Analysis4.4 Production Cost Structure Benchmarks4.5 End users Market AnalysisChapter 5 Company Profiles5.1 Continental....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.Buy this report @HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market : Key Drivers, Growth Opportunities and Trends 2025

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Global Top 10 Power Generation Technologies: OverviewSome of the power generation technologies popular in todays market are gas engines, steam turbines, micro turbines, gas turbines, micro CHP, diesel and gas generators, nuclear power reactors, small wind, and concentrating solar power. Steam turbines, for example, generate electricity via thermal energy from fuel to raise steam. The thermal energy of the steam is transformed into kinetic energy in the turbine which is then converted into electrical energy.Similarly a gas turbine is a combustion engine that transforms natural gas or other liquid fuels to mechanical energy that is then converted into electrical energy.Global Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market: Key TrendsThe top 10 power generation technologies are witnessing a massive uptick in demand on account of a burgeoning world population and the rapid pace of urbanization and industrialization which have driven up the need for electricity significantly. This has stoked increasing investment in different power generation technologies. Other factors such as modernization of the current power generation infrastructure is also powering the global market.Request Sample Copy of the Report@A few of the restraining factors hobbling the take-up of the top 10 power generation technologies are supply security, infrastructural worries, and price disparity across regional markets.Global Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market: Market PotentialAmong the top 10 power generation technologies, the small wind market is slated to outpace all others in terms of growth rate in the foreseeable future. The U.S. and Canada present high growth opportunities to the small wind market on account of policy support, tanking cost of wind energy generation, and growing standardization.The micro CHP market is predicted to trail the small wind market in terms of growth rate. Again the U.S. and Canada offer high growth opportunities to the micro CHP market because of their efforts to reduce carbon footprints, favorable policies framed by the government, and autonomous heat and electricity generation at a lower cost.Request TOC of the Report @The micro turbine technologies are also anticipated to grow at a healthy clip along with the solar power technologies owing to environmental concerns primarily. At present, North America is the leading market for micro turbine with over half the share in it. Further, gas generators too are expected to see soaring demand on account of the pressing need for seamless and reliable power supply, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, rising demand for data centers and IT facilities, and rapid urbanization in emerging economies.Global Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market: Regional OutlookFrom a geographical standpoint, Asia-Pacific is the primary market for most of the top 10 power generation technologies. This is mainly because of the spike in electricity consumption resulting in greater investment in power generation capacity, particularly in the fast-expanding populous and developing economies of India and China. Among the two countries, China is a major market driver on account of its industrial sector contributing more than 50% of its GDP. This has made China the most attractive market.Get Discount @Global Top 10 Power Generation Technologies Market: Competitive AnalysisTo assess the competition prevailing in market for top 10 power generation technologies, the report profiles prominent names such as Siemens AG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Alstom S.A., Ansaldo Energia S.p.A, Caterpillar, Inc., and Cummins, Inc. Some of the common strategies adopted by astute players operating in the market are contracts and agreements, mergers and acquisitions, expansions, and product development.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Lingerie Market Drivers, Size, Share, Increasing demands, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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"The Report Lingerie Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Global Lingerie Market: OverviewLingerie market has occupied a significant position in the apparel industry in recent years as it not only serves its functional benefits but also is considered as an basic necessity to every woman. The global lingerie market has been bifurcated on the basis of product types into bras, knickers and panties, lounge wear, shape wear and others which includes baby doll, corsets, chemises and chemisoles among others. Bra as an essential necessity and also a fashion accessory to every women and it has captured the largest market share in 2015. Knickers and panties also occupied a significant position in the same year, thus contributing significantly to the overall market size of the lingerie industry. The market is further segmented on the basis of distribution channel into online stores and storefront. Online stores captured the largest market in 2015 due to high penetration of internet services and rapid advancements in the field of technology, thus creating a strong platform for the manufacturers of lingerie Further, the e-commerce giants are engaged in strong promotional activities due to which they provide with continuous discount options and various other offers which attract both consumers and manufacturers to avail this platform.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Global Lingerie Market: Drivers and TrendsFemales in the developing countries are experiencing latest trends towards carrying themselves in public. They are changing their outlook towards accepting innerwear as a casual affair and take time to choose and make a purchase. The outerwear of women has undergone a dramatic change and due to this women prefer selecting inner wear, especially bras that can match with their attire. They try to purchase lingerie depending on the occasion or event, such as there are special sport wear bras for gymnasium purpose. It can be demonstrated from the product differentiation brought by the lingerie manufacturers over online and retail stores. Thus this is a key factor complementing the growth of the global lingerie market. Lingerie has witnessed a rapid acceptance in the fashion industry. Women from all backgrounds want to try out the latest trends in the inner wear segment. Most of the large brands have exclusive stores in shopping malls or independent stores. In developing countries like India and China, brands like Jockey try to reach out to customers through small roadside innerwear shops. Additionally, lingerie is available at stores as well as online. Brands like Victoria Secret have country specific websites for easier transactions and shipment.Global Lingerie Market: RestraintsHowever, the lingerie wear maintains high cost for advertisement and other marketing promotions. This is due to the cost of celebrities or models that are hired for being featured in the photo shoots. Moreover, the destination or location cost of the photo shoot depends and therefore larger brands do not compromise in keeping high cost for their lingerie wear. Therefore, this factor is majorly hindering the growth of the market and the impact of the same is likely to reduce by the end of the forecast period.View Sample PDF @Global Lingerie Market: OpportunitiesMoreover, the global lingerie market is experiencing moderate growth in the apparel segment as nowadays individuals are more inclined towards branded items, most of which are usually priced on the higher end. People from all backgrounds and income group want to avail a comfortable and lasting inner wear that can be fashionable as well as skin-friendly. There are many local brands or companies that manufacture cheap quality products to cater to the wide population in the under developed or developing countries. Mergers and acquisitions are a strategic way of entering the market and understanding the current needs and preferences of the population. Through this, the large companies will benefit in capturing the market and at the same time, will enable the small companies to fight for a better position in the market.Global Lingerie Market: Regional OutlookMoreover, in this report the study provides different countries included in different regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America includes U.S. and Rest of North America. Europe includes U.K., Germany, France, Russia, Italy and Rest of Europe. Asia Pacific includes countries such as India, China, Japan and Rest of Asia Pacific. In addition, Middle East and Africa includes country such as UAE, South Africa and Rest of Middle East and Africa. Latin America comprise of countries such as Brazil and Rest of Latin AmericaAsia Pacific is anticipated to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Transition in the lifestyle of the consumers which is backed by rapid urbanization and increasing purchasing power is a major factor behind the high growth of this market in Asia Pacific. Further, consumer exposure to the same by way of advertisements through televisions, and print media among others is another key factor responsible for the growth of the Lingerie Market in this region.Send An Enquiry Request @Key Players Mentioned in this Report:Some of the major key players operating in the global lingerie market are, Jockey International Inc. (Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.), Hanes (North Carolina U.S.), Groupe Chantelle (Cachan, France), LVMH (Boise U.S.), L Brands Inc. (Columbus, Ohio), MAS Holdings Limited (Colombo, Sri Lanka), Ann Summers (London, U.K.), Marks and Spencer (London U.K.), PV H Corporation (New York, U.S.) among others.The report analyzes the factors that are driving and restraining the growth of the lingerie market. This report will help manufacturers, distributors and suppliers to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate strategies accordingly.The global lingerie market can be segmented as follows:-Global Lingerie Market, by TypeBraKnickers and PantiesLounge wearShape wearOthersGlobal Lingerie Market, by Distribution ChannelOnline StoresStore FrontGlobal Lingerie Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East and AfricaUAESouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaTable of ContentChapter 1 Preface1.1 Research Scope1.2 Market Segmentation1.3 Research Objectives1.4 Key Questions AnsweredChapter 2 Assumptions and Research Methodology2.1 Report Assumptions2.2 Acronyms Used2.3 Research MethodologyChapter 3 Executive SummaryGlobal Lingerie Market SnapshotChapter 4 Global Lingerie Market, 2016-2024-Industry Overview4.1 Key Trends Analysis4.2 Drivers and Restraints Snapshot Analysis4.3 Market Drivers4.4 Market Restraints4.5 Market Opportunities4.6 Market Attractiveness4.7 Lingerie Market: Market Share Analysis, by Company, 2015 (%)Chapter 5 Global Lingerie Market Analysis, by Type, 2016-2024 (USD Billion)5.1. Introduction5.2. Global Lingerie Market Value Share Analysis, by Type5.3. Global Lingerie Market Revenue and Forecast, By Type5.3.1 Bra5.3.2 Knickers and Panties5.3.3 Loungewear5.3.4 Shape wear5.3.5 OthersChapter-6 Global Lingerie Market Analysis, by Distribution Channel, 2016-2024 (USD Billion)6.1. Introduction6.2. Global Lingerie Market Value Share Analysis, by Distribution Channel6.3. Global Lingerie Market Revenue and Forecast, By Distribution Channel6.3.1. Online Stores6.3.2. StorefrontAbout 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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Health Ingredients Global Market 2017: Key Players  Archer Daniels Midland Company, Associated British Foods, Du Pont, Kerry Group PLC, Cargill, BASF SE

Health Ingredients Market

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Health Ingredients Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Health Ingredients Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report studies Health Ingredients 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, coveringArcher Daniels Midland CompanyAssociated British Foods PLCDu PontKerry Group PLCKoninklijke Dsm N.V.BASF SECargillIngredion IncorporatedArla Foods AmbaTate & Lyle PLCLonza Group Ltd.Royal Frieslandcampina N.V.Request a Sample Report @By types, the market can be split intoVitaminsMineralsPrebioticsNutritional LipidsProbiotic Stater CulturesOtherBy Application, the market can be split intoFoodBeveragesPharmaceuticalsAnimal FeedPersonal CareBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:1 Industry Overview of Health Ingredients1.1 Definition and Specifications of Health Ingredients1.1.1 Definition of Health Ingredients1.1.2 Specifications of Health Ingredients1.2 Classification of Health Ingredients1.2.1 Vitamins1.2.2 Minerals1.2.3 Prebiotics1.2.4 Nutritional Lipids1.2.5 Probiotic Stater Cultures1.2.6 Other1.3 Applications of Health Ingredients1.3.1 Food1.3.2 Beverages1.3.3 Pharmaceuticals1.3.4 Animal Feed1.3.5 Personal Care1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Health Ingredients2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Health Ingredients2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Health Ingredients2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Health Ingredients8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Health Ingredients8.1 Archer Daniels Midland Company8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Archer Daniels Midland Company 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Archer Daniels Midland Company 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Associated British Foods PLC8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 Associated British Foods PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Associated British Foods PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Du Pont8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Du Pont 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Du Pont 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 Kerry Group PLC8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 Kerry Group PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 Kerry Group PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 Koninklijke Dsm N.V.8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 Koninklijke Dsm N.V. 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 Koninklijke Dsm N.V. 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 BASF SE8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.2.1 Product A8.6.2.2 Product B8.6.3 BASF SE 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 BASF SE 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 Cargill8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.2.1 Product A8.7.2.2 Product B8.7.3 Cargill 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 Cargill 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 Ingredion Incorporated8.8.1 Company Profile8.8.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.8.2.1 Product A8.8.2.2 Product B8.8.3 Ingredion Incorporated 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.8.4 Ingredion Incorporated 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.9 Arla Foods Amba8.9.1 Company Profile8.9.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.9.2.1 Product A8.9.2.2 Product B8.9.3 Arla Foods Amba 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.9.4 Arla Foods Amba 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution Analysis8.10 Tate & Lyle PLC8.10.1 Company Profile8.10.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.10.2.1 Product A8.10.2.2 Product B8.10.3 Tate & Lyle PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.10.4 Tate & Lyle PLC 2016 Health Ingredients Business Region Distribution AnalysisContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Smart Home Security Systems Market size, share by types, application, products, regions  Report 2022

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"The Report Global Smart Home Security Systems Market Research Report 2017 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"In this report, the global Smart Home Security Systems market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Smart Home Security Systems in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGet Sample Copy Of This Report @Global Smart Home Security Systems market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingVivint Smart HomeADT Security Services, Inc.SimpliSafe, Inc.FrontPoint Security Solutions, LLCLiveWatch Security, LLC.SkylinkhomeProtect America, Inc.abode systems, inc.SamsungiSmart Alarm, Inc.PanasonicOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSecurity CamerasSmart LocksGlass Break SensorsWondow SensorsDoor SensorsMotion SensorsView Sample PDF @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 Smart Home Security Systems for each application, includingResidentialCommercialTable of ContentsGlobal Smart Home Security Systems Market Research Report 20171 Smart Home Security Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Smart Home Security Systems1.2 Smart Home Security Systems Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Security Cameras1.2.4 Smart Locks1.2.5 Glass Break Sensors1.2.6 Wondow Sensors1.2.7 Door Sensors1.2.8 Motion Sensors1.3 Global Smart Home Security Systems Segment by Application1.3.1 Smart Home Security Systems Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Residential1.3.3 Commercial1.4 Global Smart Home Security Systems Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 EU Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Smart Home Security Systems (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Smart Home Security Systems Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Smart Home Security Systems Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Smart Home Security Systems Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Smart Home Security Systems Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Smart Home Security Systems Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Smart Home Security Systems Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 United States Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 EU Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 South Korea Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 Taiwan Smart Home Security Systems Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Smart Home Security Systems Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 United States Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 EU Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 South Korea Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 Taiwan Smart Home Security Systems Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Smart Home Security Systems Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Smart Home Security Systems Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Smart Home Security Systems Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Increase in demand for Scotch Whisky Market Analysis And Forecast 2017-2021

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"The Report Global Scotch Whisky Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Scotch WhiskyScotch whisky is produced in Scotland. It is produced, packaged, and labeled as per SWR 2009. Scotch whisky is produced in five regions in Scotland: Highland, Lowland, Islay, Speyside, and Campbeltown.Technavios analysts forecast the global scotch whisky market to grow at a CAGR of 2.35% 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 scotch whisky market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price for the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEuropeMEATechnavio's report, Global Scotch Whisky 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 vendorsBacardiBeam SuntoryDiageoPernod RicardWilliam Grant & SonsView Report @Other prominent vendorsAceoBen Nevis DistilleryBrown-FormanEdringtonGlenmorangieGeorge Ballantine and SonGordon & MacPhailHarvey's of Edinburgh InternationalInternational BeverageIsle of Arran DistillersMarket driverPremiumizationFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeIncrease in demand for aged Scotch whisky leads to shortage and price riseFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncrease in demand for premium Scotch whiskyFor 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?Send An Enquiry Request @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewGlobal whiskey marketGlobal Scotch whisky marketFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by product typeBottle blended Scotch whiskyBulk blended Scotch whiskySingle malt Scotch whiskyBottle single/blended grainPART 07: Market segmentation by distribution channelPART 08: Geographical segmentationScotch whisky market in EuropeScotch whisky market in AmericasScotch whisky market in APACScotch whisky market in MEAPART 09: Key leading countriesFranceUSIndiaSpainPART 10: Decision frameworkAbout 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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Getwebsitetraffic is Providing Digital Marketing Services

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Getwebsitetraffic is an SEO agency based in Sydney, Australia that majors in offering SEO and digital marketing services. They offer these services founded on extensive market research, focused strategies and using an energetic team of SEO experts and internet marketers. Assurances they give to clients is that they are committed to delivering the best-in-class services that add value to their businesses at reasonable rates.Speaking of their internet marketing operations, the Managing Director said, We research your site, your target, your competitors and the general market comprehensively. This helps us prepare a strategy founded on facts and not assumptions. Once we spot the chances, we fully exploit them. According to your budget and needs, we can turn it into a versatile strategy using various internet marketing channels to augment brand awareness and generate excitement among your audience. Also, we evaluate the success of our marketing campaigns, and we send you in-depth reports with key performance indicators in addition to sharpening our edge as we consider this is a self-learning exercise.Getwebsitetraffic offers internet marketing services, and it includes email marketing, social media marketing, link building, pay-per-click management, and search engine optimization. For these services, they bring in a diligent style to each project entailing elaborate research, careful planning and perfect implementation to run powerful marketing campaigns that have earned them a spot among the leading companies offering internet marketing in Sydney. Guarantees they offer with their internet marketing services is that they have the precise set of skills and expertise to manage clients from across industries and deliver excellent results using their team of accounts managers, marketers, and optimizers.Speaking at a tech corporate marketing event, the Managing Director said, If you are in search of the best SEO Company in Australia then we are the best choice for you. At Getwebsitetraffic, we have an in-house team of SEO professionals who work with clients from various parts of the globe. We have a range of services that are custom-made to meet each clients needs and objectives. As market leaders, our services are meant for everyone from start-ups to proven businesses with a strong standing. Further, at Getwebsitetraffic we are dedicated to driving in high-quality traffic to your website that raises your sales, subscriptions and produces fitting business leads thereby earning you brand interaction.Getwebsitetraffic says that an SEO audit is a broad review of the factors that determine a clients websites online ranking. To advance a counteractive measure, one requires knowing all the key and trifling issues impacting the existing ranking and traffic. Getwebsitetraffic provides SEO audit services that cover redirects & 404-page errors, subdomains & URLs, domains, HTML and XML sitemaps and other key areas for the site to function seamlessly. After Getwebsitetraffic identifies of all the glitches, they then launch a counteractive plan that complies with existing best practices relating tGetwebsitetraffic is an SEO agency based in Sydney, Australia that majors in offering SEO and digital marketing services. They offer these services founded on extensive market research, focused strategies and using an energetic team of SEO experts and internet marketers.Company Name: GetwebsitetrafficPO BOX 6093 Rouse Hill 2155, SydneyPhone: 1300319020Email: info@getwebsitetraffic.com.auWebsite:
Global Petrochemicals Market is Expected to spend around US$243.1 billion by 2025

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The Report Global Petrochemicals Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook - Ethylene and Methanol Spearhead the Petrochemicals Industry Expansion provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.bizGlobal petrochemicals capacity will experience considerable growth in the next nine years with increase from 1,447.9 mmtpa in 2016 to 1,619.3 mmtpa by 2025. Large capacity additions with more than 700 planned projects are expected to come online primarily in the China, US and Iran in the next nine years. NW Innovation Works Inc, Janus Methanol AG and Petroliam Nasional Berhad are the top three companies by capacity additions expected to come on-stream over the next nine years.Global petrochemical industry is expected to spend around US$243.1 billion by 2025 for the upcoming projects. The US, Russia and China are the top three countries by capital expenditure for projects by 2025.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @ScopeReport provides information and insight on -- Historic and forecast global petrochemical capacity by region- Global petrochemical planned plants details- Capacity share of the major petrochemical producers in the world- Global petrochemical capital expenditure forecast by regionReasons to buyThe report will clarify -- Understand the key trends in the global petrochemical industry- Understand the regional petrochemical supply scenario- Identify opportunities in the global petrochemical industry with the help of upcoming projects and capital expenditure forecast- Understand the current and likely future competitive scenarioView Report @Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 31.2 List of Figures 72 Global Petrochemicals Industry 82.1 Key Highlights 82.2 New Project Announcements 92.3 New Project Cancellations 102.4 Planned Petrochemicals Projects in the World 203 Appendix 1063.1 Definitions 1063.1.1 Installed Capacity 1063.2 Abbreviations 1063.3 GlobalDatas Research Methodology 1063.3.1 Coverage 1063.3.2 Secondary Research 1073.3.3 Primary Research 1073.3.4 Expert Panel Validation 1083.4 Disclaimer 108About 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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Connected Car Market Analysis by Segmentation, Product Research and Forecast 2017-2025

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Global Connected Car Market: OverviewToday, connected car is the big buzz word in the automotive and car industry. A connected car is equipped with Internet connectivity to share information between devices within the vehicle or to share information with devices outside the car such as in other cars, office, home, or other physical spaces.Connected cars receive information pertaining to traffic, collisions, and other safety alerts in a timely manner. Connected car features can be categorized into safety, infotainment, payments, navigation, and diagnostics/efficiency.Typically, connected cars that have been introduced after 2010 has a head-unit, in-dash system equipped with a screen for the driver to view or manage operations of the connections, and an infotainment unit.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Global Connected Car Market: Key TrendsThe top factor driving the global connected car market include regulatory mandates on connected car modules. Moreover, rising demand for smartphone features in cars and real-time connectivity with cars to obtain vehicle data updates for vehicular safety is driving the connected car market.However, factors such as network coverage limitation and risk of misuse of customer data by cybercriminals for unscrupulous activities is challenging the markets growth.The connected car market is expected to be benefitted as connected car is considered to be a stepping stone for autonomous vehicles, consumer electronics providers for connected cars can offer telematics and infotainment devices at a cheaper cost, and insurance rate for connected cars is dependent on usage.The connected car market faces challenges with respect to disparity of product design procedures between OEMs, in-built solutions of cars, and smartphones. Also, the connected car market will benefit with reduced cost of telematics and infotainment equipment and services. In this scenario, creating an ecosystem that functions through cross-industry collaborations between OEMs, technology companies, and mobile network operators is poised to be the winning imperative for the industry.Request TOC of the Report @Global Connected Car Market: Market PotentialAt the recent Seoul Motor Show 2017, Hyundai Motors announced a multitude of future-vehicle initiatives, which includes connected cars and electric vehicles. Developed by a team of in-house experts Hyundais new Connected Car Service platform will diminish the lines between mobility, living, and working spaces by means of voice control and allow vehicle owners to connect their vehicles with global appliance service providers.Global Connected Car Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is the leading regional market for connected cars. The U.S. is the leading contributor to the North America connected car market due to regulations in place for monitoring telematics applications.Furthermore, in the U.S., the transportation system is reaching its capacity thus alternatives need to be sought to address the increasing traffic congestion issues. The transportation network in the U.S. is nearing saturation and infrastructure expansion by means of traditional methods is not a viable solution. Connected cars equipped with telematics and navigation tools is an ideal solution to address this issue. Moreover, the U.S. being home to some of the worlds major automobile companies such as General Motors Company, Ford Motor Company, and Tesla Motors Inc., along with the presence of software giants such as Microsoft Corporation and IBM Corporation and telecom providers such as AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and Sierra Wireless are favoring the growth of the connected car market in the region.Get Discount @Global Connected Car Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players in the global connected car market include Audi AG, General Motors Company, Google Inc.,Delphi Automotive Plc, AT&T Inc.,Robert Bosch GmbH, Wirelesscar, BMW AG,Tesla Motors Inc.,Volvo Car Corporation, Vodafone Group Plc., Denso Corporation,and Airbiquity Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Medical Device Outsourcing Market- Trends, Price, Share and Growth Rate from 2017 to 2025

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Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market: OverviewThe rapidly growing global population and subsequently increasing healthcare needs are working in favor of the global medical device outsourcing market. On the basis of services, the market can be segmented into product design and development services, product testing services, regulatory consulting services, product implementation services, product upgrade services, manufacturing services, and product maintenance services. Based on therapeutics, the global market can be divided into diagnostic imaging, cardiology, IVD, orthopedic, ophthalmic, drug delivery, dental, general and plastic surgery, and endoscopy.Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market: Key TrendsThe spiraling demand for advanced medical devices is paving way for the increased complexities in product engineering. This is prompting medical device manufacturers to outsource the process, which is providing a significant boost to the global medical device outsourcing market. Moreover, outsourcing helps in reducing the overall cost of manufacturing, which is encouraging manufacturers to subcontract activities such as assembling, packaging, and others.Request Sample Copy of the Report@The expanding base of geriatric population and stringent regulations pertaining to the manufacturing of medical devices are also allowing the global market to gain traction. Besides this, the lack of robust in-house manufacturing infrastructure is driving the trend of outsourcing among small and mid-size companies.Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market: Market PotentialWith the snowballing demand for cheap yet effective and advanced medical devices, a large number of OEMs are willing to work with contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). As a result, partnerships and acquisitions have emerged as a common trend in the global medical device outsourcing market, which is also providing a tremendous momentum to the market. For instance, in October 2015, Greatbatch Inc. acquired Lake Region Medical, in a deal worth US$1.73 bn. According to industrial experts, the deal paved way for one of the most prominent outsourcing facilities for medical technology. Similarly, in June 2016, Phillips-Medisize acquired Medicom Innovation Partner. The latter specializes in the development and production of connected health and drug delivery devices. The increasing number of startups in the field of medical devices is also estimated to augment the global medical device outsourcing market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market: Geographical SegmentationOn the basis of geography, the report classifies the global medical device outsourcing market into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America and Asia Pacific will collectively account for a substantial chunk in the revenue pie of the market throughout the forecast period. In Asia Pacific, the rising disposable income of the populace, improving healthcare infrastructure, and growing incidence of lifestyle-related disorders are fuelling the market. In North America, the growth of the market can be attributed to the presence of advanced manufacturing facilities for complex, reliable, and high-end medical devices. The U.S. and Canada will be major revenue contributors to the region.Get Discount @Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market: Competitive LandscapeWith the burgeoning demand for medical devices around the world, the market is likely to tread along a healthy growth track. The immense potential of the global medical device outsourcing market is attracting new players to foray into the marketplace. This is likely to intensify the competition in the market in the coming years. Established players are focusing on strategic collaborations and mergers to expand their product portfolio and sustain the aggressive competition in the market. Some of the prominent companies operating in the global medical devices outsourcing market are Shandong Weigao Co. Ltd., Kinetics Climax Inc., Daiichi Jitsugyo Co. Ltd., Infinity Plastics Group, GE Healthcare, Sterigenics International Inc., Mitutoyo Corp., Cirtec Medical, Omnica Corp., and Micro Systems Engineering GmbH.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Coronary Stent Market Ongoing Outlook 2025

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Global Coronary Stent Market: OverviewThe alarming rise in the number of cardiovascular diseases has become the primary growth driver for the global coronary stent market. Changing lifestyles that are characterized by high stress levels, alcohol consumption, smoking, and poor choice of food habits have collectively led to questionable heart health for the global market. The World Health Organization states that the cardiovascular diseases have become the leading cause of deaths across the globe. As this problem aggravates, the global coronary stent market is projected to see a terrific growth rate between the forecast period of 2017 and 2025.Global Coronary Stent Market: Key TrendsThe growing demand for better cardiovascular healthcare has been recognized as a key factor encouraging the growth of the global coronary stent market. The market is poised to witness a soaring success in the coming few years as high levels of scientific innovations brought into a range of coronary stents. At the same time, the market has also become more competitive due to an influx of products and establishment of several new players. Thus, the affordable pricing of coronary stents is also offering businesses in the global coronary stent market a new lease of life.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Besides competitive pricing, players are also offering products that promise utmost safety, efficacy, quality, and an effective outcome. As companies comply with set standards of quality, they are well-positioned to remain in power over the forecast period. The various products available in the global coronary stent market are drug-eluting stents, bio-absorbable stents, and bare-metal stents. Out of these, analysts predict that bio-absorbable stents are likely to gain significant momentum as they are known to improve abnormal endothelial function, restore normal vasomotion, and reduce the risk of inflammation and thrombosis.Global Coronary Stent Market: Market PotentialThe supportive stance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accelerated the production of innovative coronary stents in the past few years. For instance, CeloNova Biosciences, Inc. recently received an approval from the U.S. FDA for its COBRA PzF NanoCoated Coronary Stent System, the first of its kind. The stent has a biocompatible proprietary nanothin polymer coating, which needs a month of dual antiplatelet therapy regimen post surgery. The new stent has been designed to better the coronary luminal diameter. It is expected to benefit patients suffering from symptomatic ischemic heart disease, which will also include diabetic patients with heart diseases. Thus, the efforts to launch effective products that better the quality of life along with support from regulatory authorities are expected to favor market growth in the near future.Request TOC of the Report @Global Coronary Stent Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of geography, the global coronary stent market is segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Of these, North America coronary stent market is expected to hold a dominant share in the overall market as the region has a well-established healthcare infrastructure. Increasing investments in research and development of medical devices and higher acceptance of latest technologies have collectively aided this regional markets lead in the global market.Analysts expect Asia Pacific to be instrumental to the rise of the global coronary stent market in the coming years. With a huge population base, Asia Pacific is likely to offer lucrative opportunities for the uptake of coronary stents in the near future. Furthermore, the budding medical tourism industry in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific are also expected to drive the coronary stent market in the region over the forecast period.Get Discount @Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:Some of the leading players operating in the global coronary stent market are TERUMO CORPORATION, Medtronic plc, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Boston Scientific Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, STENTYS SA, B. Braun Melsungen AG, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, Translumina GmbH, and Vascular Concepts.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Technological Advancement of Elderly Care Services Market Trends and Opportunities (2016-2020)

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The Report Global Elderly Care Services Market: Trends and Opportunities (2016-2020) provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Scope of the ReportThe report titled Global Elderly Care Services Market: Trends and Opportunities (2016 - 2020) provides a detailed analysis of the elder care services market with description of market sizing and growth, segmentation of market by products & services and major markets, top market players etc. The report recapitulates the factors that will be responsible for the growth in the market in the forecasted period.The market size and forecast in terms of value for the market has been provided for the period 2016 to 2020, considering 2014 as the base year and the estimated value for 2015 has also been provided in the report. The report also provides the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the forecast period 2016 to 2020. In the forecasted period global elder care services market is expected to achieve a double-digit growth.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @The report provides major market trends, growth drivers and challenges of the global elder care services market. The major market trends of elder care services market are rise of technology-enhanced senior care, booming healthcare industry, federal health care reforms and regulations regarding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement etc. Rising number of ageing population, increased life expectancy, chronic illness among aged population and increase in health expenditure by senior citizens are the major growth drivers of the market. But the market also has to face lot of challenges in the coming years that will create interruption in the growth of the market. Some of the challenges are lack of qualified employees, less supply more demand and cost affordability etc.The report also provides country analysis of the US, Canada, Europe and India in terms of market sizing and growth. The US and Canada (in North America) are the market leaders followed by European countries. Among Asia-Pacific countries, India has been emerged as the market leader in elder care services. In coming years, Asia-Pacific will be the key market player as the growth of ageing population is more than other nations worldwide.Furthermore, the report also profiles key market players such as Extendicare Inc., Brookdale senior Living Inc., Kindred Healthcare Inc. and Genesis Healthcare Inc. on the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, strategies adopted by the market leaders to ensure growth, sustainability, financial overview and recent developments.Country CoverageThe USCanadaEuropeIndiaView Sample PDF @Company CoverageExtendicare Inc.Brookdale Senior Living Inc.Kindred Healthcare Inc.Genesis Healthcare Inc.Executive SummarySenior citizens need assistance with daily activities as well as healthcare requirements who needs a quality life. Due to all these requirements there emerged a market known as elder care services market which is specifically came into existence to serve the ageing population worldwide. Elder care services market has divided into various segments. Elderly care business includes in home care, assisted living, nursing home facilities by skilled professionals, hospital care and pharmaceuticals. Among these, in-home care, assisted living and home healthcare segment are getting popular day by day and provide quality life to senior citizens. Adult day care centres are designed for older adults who are no longer managing independently or who are isolated or lonely. Home care services are provided by family members and close relatives.Global elder care market has shown positive trends over the past few years. The primary reasons behind the growth of the market are increased ageing population worldwide, increasing demand for quality life by senior citizens, positive government regulation in healthcare segment to provide cost-effective medical treatment to the aged population, technological advancement, and chronic illness among old age population etc. the market is expected to achieve a moderate growth in the forecasted period. Global elder care services market continued to expand at a swift pace in 2015.Send An Enquiry Request @Table of Content1. Executive Summary2. Elderly Care Service Market: An Introduction3. Global Elderly Care Services Market: An Analysis3.1 Global Elderly Care Services Market by Value: Actual & Forecast3.1.2 Global Elderly Care Services Market by Segmentation3.1.3 Global Elderly Care Market by Technology Products3.1.3 Global Elderly Care Market by Technology Products3.2 Global Home Care Services Market by Value: Actual & Forecast3.2.1 Global Home Care Market by Employees Category3.2.2 Global Home Care Market by Players Type3.3 Global Home Healthcare Market by Value: Actual & Forecast3.3.1 Global Home Healthcare Software & Services Market by Value3.3.2 Global Home Healthcare Market by Top Players4. Country Analysis4.1 The US Elderly Care Services Market: Sizing and Growth4.1.1 The US Elderly Care Services Market by Value: Actual & Forecast4.1.2 The US Home Care Market by Value: Actual & Forecast4.1.3 The US Home Healthcare Market Segmentation by Products & Services4.1.4 The US Home Healthcare Market Segmentation by Major Markets4.2 Canada Home Healthcare Market by Value: Actual & Forecast4.3 European Home Healthcare Market by Value: Actual & Forecast4.4 Indian Home Healthcare Market by Value: Actual & Forecast5. Market Dynamics5.1 Growth Drivers5.1.1 Rising Number of Ageing Population5.1.2 Increased Life Expectancy5.1.3 Increase in Health Expenditure5.1.4 Chronic Illness among Aged People5.1.5 Numerous Advantages provided by Home Care5.2 Challenges5.2.1 Lack of Qualified Employees5.2.2 Demand Exceeds Supply5.2.3 Low Penetration Rate of Senior-Suitable Products5.2.4 Cost Affordability5.3 Market Trends5.3.1 Rise of Technology-Enhanced Senior Care5.3.2 Neighborhood-Friendly Civic Planning5.3.4 Booming Healthcare Industry5.3.5 Decline of the Nursing Home Model of Care5.3.6 Federal Healthcare Reform5.3.7 Medicare and Medicaid Reimbursement RegulationAbout 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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Elevators Market Size, Share by types, application, products, regions  Report 2023

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"The Report Elevators Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2023 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Elevators and escalators, which have become an integral part of the urban landscape, are installed in various public and private places such as retail outlets, hotels, IT parks, mixed-used buildings, residential buildings, commercial buildings and restaurants for the movement of people and good within the premises. All these public and private places with long walking distances and multiple floors make use of elevators to improve customer experience. The elevators are also installed in airports and vehicle parking. The vendors in the global elevator market compete on the basis of the installation, maintenance and modernization services for gaining prominence in the market. The global elevators market has been segmented on the basis of its types, application areas and geography.Rapid urbanization and an increase in geriatric population globally coupled with the maintenance and modernization of the existing elevators are strongly driving the growth of the global elevators market. Furthermore, growing green building market facilitating the installation of energy-efficient elevators is steadily boosting the market growth. As buildings become more intelligent and rise higher, efficient elevator and escalator systems are having a significant impact by considerably driving down the costs of operating a building and allowing people to travel farther, more efficiently. New technologies adopted by the key players in the elevator market, such as coated steel belts which are helping to replace the conventional cable ropes in a few elevators are allowing for more efficient operation. The conjoint effect of all these drivers is thus set to bolster the growth of the global elevators market during the forecast period.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @The continuing evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the elevators market is offering a substantial growth opportunity to the growth of the global market. Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of various devices and equipment which deliver a large amount of data over the internet. IoT makes it possible for a product to collect, exchange and analyse data with its operator, manufacturer and other devices, which is highly relevant to the elevator industry. IoT enables modern elevators to anticipate traffic and respond in real-time intelligently, communicate with service teams and allow passengers to summon the elevators via a mobile application. Further, by using a connected sensor in an elevator, the flow of passengers can be better managed by alleviating wait time. Dominant players in the elevator market such as ThyssenKruup Elevators, Otis Elevator Company and KONE Corporation are joining forces with Microsoft and IBM respectively for augmenting their operations and technological capabilities with IoT cloud services and advanced analytics technologies.The competitive profiling of the key players in the global elevators which is inclusive of the different business strategies adopted by them and their recent developments, market across the geographic regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (including Latin America and Middle East and Africa) is covered under the scope of the study. The market attractive analysis of the major application areas has been included in the report, in order to provide a deep insight into the global elevators market.View Report @The global elevators market report is inclusive of the market dynamics, i.e. market drivers, restraints and opportunities which are the distinct that help to understand the trends of the global market. Thus, the report provides exhaustive study of the global elevators market and offers the forecast of the market for the period from 2016 to 2023.Some of the major players in the global elevators market include, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, Schindler Holding Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., ThyssenKrupp AG, Kone Corporation, Kleemann Hellas SA, Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd and Fujitec Co., Ltd. among others.The global elevators market has been segmented into:Global Elevators Market, by Type:Smart ElevatorsConventional ElevatorsGlobal Elevators Market, by Application:CommercialHotelsRetailResidentialTransportationHospitalsParking BuildingOthersGlobal Elevators Market, by Geography: The market is broadly segmented on the basis of geography into:North AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyFranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanRest of APACRest of the WorldMiddle EastLatin AmericaAfricaSend An Enquiry Request @Table of ContentChapter 1 Preface1.1 Report description1.2 Research scope1.3 Research methodologyChapter 2 Executive SummaryChapter 3 Global Elevators Market: Market Overview3.1 Introduction3.2 Key Trends Analysis3.3 Market Drivers3.3.1 Growing Green Building Market Facilitating the Installation of Energy-Efficient Elevators3.3.2 Rapid Urbanization and Increase in Geriatric Population3.3.3 Maintenance and Modernization of Existing Elevators3.4 Market Restraints3.4.1 Stringent Government Regulations3.5 Market Opportunities3.5.1 Continuing Evolution of Internet of Things (IoT) in Elevators3.5.2 New Technology Usage3.6 Market Attractiveness Analysis: By Application3.6.1 Market Attractiveness Analysis: Recommendations3.7 Global Elevator Market: Company Market Share Analysis3.7.1 Market positioning of key players, 20153.7.2 Competitive strategies adopted by leading playersChapter 4 Global Elevator Market Analysis, By Type, 2016  2023 (USD billion & Thousand Units)4.1 Overview4.2 Smart Elevators Market4.2.1 Smart Elevators Market Size and Forecast, 2015  2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)4.3 Conventional Elevators Market4.3.1 Conventional Elevators Market Size and Forecast, 2015  2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)Chapter 5 Global Elevator Market Analysis, By Application, 2016  2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.1 Overview5.2 Commercial Applications Market5.2.1 Commercial Application Market Size and Forecast, 2015  2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.3 Hotels Market5.3.1 Hotels Market Size and Forecast, 2015  2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.4 Retail Market5.4.1 Retail Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.5 Residential Market5.5.1 Residential Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.6 Transportation Market5.6.1 Transportation Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.7 Hospital Market5.7.1 Hospital Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.8 Parking Building Market5.8.1 Parking Building Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)5.9 Others Market5.9.1 Others Market Size and Forecast, 2015 - 2023 (USD Billion & Thousand Units)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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Death Care & Funeral Service Market Growth, Trends & Opportunities (2016-2020)

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"The Report Death Care & Funeral Service Market: Trends & Opportunities (2016-2020) provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The report titled Death Care & Funeral Service Market: Trends & Opportunities (2016-2020) provides an in-depth analysis of the death care and funeral service market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides market size of cremation or burial services.The report provides detailed country analysis of the U.S. and Asian countries which include Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand for the death care and funeral service market. Country analysis includes market sizing by value along with the analysis of the segments of the market in each of the above mentioned countries.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall death care and funeral service market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in the death care and funeral service market is stiff and dominated by the big players like SCI in the U.S. Further, key players of the death care and funeral service market Nirvana Asia Ltd. and Fu Shou Yuan International Group in Asia are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Country CoverageThe U.S.MalaysiaSingaporeIndonesiaThailandCompany CoverageService Corporation InternationalNirvana Asia Ltd.Fu Shou Yuan International GroupView Report @Executive SummaryThe term death care industry refers to the array of providers of funeral and burial goods and services, such as funeral directors, cemeteries, and third-party sellers. The death care industry is currently undergoing a major transformation.Historically, it has been fragmented, with limited overlap among various segments of the funeral and burial industries. Funeral homes and funeral directors sold funeral merchandise and services. Cemeteries sold burial merchandise and services. Cemeteries and monument/memorial dealers sold monuments and memorials. A funeral home or cemetery generally arranged cremation services, and independent florists sold flowers. Today, such distinctions are diminishing. The industry is consolidating. Large chains are buying and managing locally owned funeral homes and cemeteries. Many nonprofit cemeteries are now owned by, managed by, or otherwise affiliated with for-profit chains.Death care and funeral service market has increased at a significant CAGR during the period 2011-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. Death care and funeral service market can be segmented on the basis of products into as-need and pre-need, of which, pre-need market exhibited greater increase as compared to as-need, driving the death care and funeral service market. The upsurge in the market was due to various factors such as rapid growth in urbanization, rising aging population along with the increasing awareness about various products and services provided by the organizations operating in the market.The major growth drivers for the death care and funeral service market are: strong economic growth, rapid urbanization, increase in disposable income, steady population growth, aging population & increase in death rate and unmet demand for premium death care services and products. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: injuries from manual tasks, embalming operations biological exposure, embalming operations chemical exposure & musculoskeletal hazards, embalming room ventilation & maintenance and unique hazards during cremation.Table of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Classification of Death Care Market2.2 Death Care Market: An Overview3. The U.S. Death Care Market: Sizing and Growth3.1 The U.S. Death Care Market by Value: Actual and Forecast3.2 The U.S. Death Care Market by Service Segments3.3 The U.S. Funeral Homes Market by Volume3.4 The U.S. Cremation Market3.4.1 The U.S. Cremation Rate3.4.2 The U.S. Median Cost of Funeral with Viewing and Cremation3.5 The U.S. Burial Market3.5.1 The U.S. Burial Rate3.5.2 The U.S. Median Cost of Funeral with Viewing and Burial4. Asia Death Care Market: An Analysis4.1 Asian Countries Death Care Market by Value: Actual and Forecast4.2 Asian Countries Death Care Market by Service Segments4.2.1 Asian Countries Burial Services Market by Value: Actual and Forecast4.2.2 Asian Countries Funeral Services Market by Value: Actual and Forecast4.3 Asian Countries Death Care Market by Product Segments4.3.1 Asian Countries As-Need Products Market by Value: Actual and Forecast4.3.2 Asian Countries Pre-Need Products Market by Value: Actual and Forecast5. Market Dynamics5.1 Growth Drivers5.1.1 Strong Economic Growth5.1.2 Rapid Urbanization5.1.3 Increase in Disposable Income5.1.4 Steady Population Growth5.1.5 Aging Population and Increased Death Rate5.1.6 Unmet Demand for Premium Death Care Services5.2 Challenges5.2.1 Injuries from Manual Tasks5.2.2 Embalming Operations Biological Exposure5.2.3 Embalming Operations Chemical Exposure and Musculoskeletal HazardsEmbalming Operations Chemical ExposureEmbalming Operations Musculoskeletal Hazards5.2.4 Embalming Room Ventilation and Maintenance5.2.5 Unique Hazards during CremationThermal ExposureNoise ExposureSilica Exposure5.3 Market Trends5.3.1 Popularity of Personalization5.3.2 Advance Funeral Planning5.3.3 Cremation on the Rise5.3.4 Meeting Consumer Needs through Technology5.3.5 Green Funerals5.3.6 Shift from Male-Dominated Profession to Family ProfessionAbout 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.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Indoor LBS Market 2017 Global Significant Growth,Technological Advancement & Opportunities to 2022

Indoor LBS Market 2017

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Indoor LBS Market 2017 Global Significant Growth,Technological Advancement & Opportunities to 2022.Public transport is a shared passenger-transport service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, carpooling, or hired buses, which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comScope of the Report:This report focuses on the Indoor LBS in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversGoogle(US)Apple(US)HERE Maps(FI)Aisle411(US)Broadcom(US)IndoorAtals(FI)Senion(SE)Acuity Brands(ByteLight)(US)Wifarer(CA)Microsoft(US)Cisco Systems(US)Skyhook(TruePosition)(US)Insiteo(US)Shopkick(US)Ekahau(US)Ericsson(SE)Point Inside(US)Qualcomm(US)Zonith(DK)Navizon/Accuware(US)Locata Corporation(AU)Ubisense(UK)Meridian(US)Sensewhere(UK)TRX Systems(US)Rtmap(CN)URadio Systems(CN)Huace Optical-communications(CN)Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversNetwork-Based Positioning SystemIndependent Positioning SystemHybrid Positioning SystemMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoOffices and Commercial BuildingsGovernment, Public Safety and Urban SecurityHealthcareTravel and HospitalityAviationAcademia and EducationOil, Gas and MiningManufacturing, Distribution and LogisticsReport Details @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Indoor LBS market.Chapter 1, to describe Indoor LBS Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Indoor LBS, with sales, revenue, and price of Indoor LBS, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Indoor LBS, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Continue..Table Of Contents  Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 Indoor LBS Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Network-Based Positioning System1.2.2 Independent Positioning System1.2.3 Hybrid Positioning System1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Offices and Commercial Buildings1.3.2 Government, Public Safety and Urban Security1.3.3 Healthcare1.3.4 Travel and Hospitality1.3.5 Aviation1.3.6 Academia and Education1.3.1 Oil, Gas and Mining1.3.2 Manufacturing, Distribution and Logistics1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Google(US)2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Google(US) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Apple(US)2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Apple(US) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 HERE Maps(FI)2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 HERE Maps(FI) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Aisle411(US)2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Aisle411(US) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Broadcom(US)2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 Broadcom(US) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 IndoorAtals(FI)2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 IndoorAtals(FI) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 Senion(SE)2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Type 12.7.2.2 Type 22.7.3 Senion(SE) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.8 Acuity Brands(ByteLight)(US)2.8.1 Business Overview2.8.2 Indoor LBS Type and Applications2.8.2.1 Type 12.8.2.2 Type 22.8.3 Acuity Brands(ByteLight)(US) Indoor LBS Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)Continue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Global Bifenazate Market Segment Forecasts up to 2020, Research Reports | MarketResearchReports.biz

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"The Latest Research Report Bifenazate Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Global Bifenazate Market: OverviewBifenazate is a white colored pesticide with lesser quantities of toxicacaricide. It is highly effective in thwarting mites from destroying crops and other flowering plants. Trade names by which bifenazate is purveyed in the market are Enviromite, Floramite, Pestanal, Acramite, Vigilant, etc. These names have been allotted depending on end-users and the companies that manufacture it.Bifenazate is manufactured industrially using raw materials, namely 4- phenylphenol, diisopropyl azodicarboxylate, and dimethyl sulphate. On account of its reduced toxicity, bifenazate finds widespread application as miticides. It does not much contaminate the soil or water and is neither carried away nor accumulated. Because of such unique perceived benefits, Bifenazate forms a part Integrated Pest Mangement (IPM) program. The global demand for bifenazate market is estimated to show a slow transformation in Asia Pacific and Latin America regions by the end of the forecasted period.Get Sample copy of this Report @Global Bifenazate Market: Drivers and RestraintsPressing demand for food worldwide has led to indiscriminate use of pesticides worldwide. Most of the pesticides used contain toxic or poisonous substances and their extensive use not just pollutes the soil and water but also makes the food unhealthy to consume. Repeated and too much use of such pesticides damages non-targeted areas for they usually spread over to the entire area under cultivation. Further, pesticides also get accumulated as residuals in running ground waters, thus bringing down soil fertility. Such negative impacts have made several authorities across the globe ban pesticides or limit their usage.On account of containing negligible amounts of toxic elements, bifenazate steals a march over such toxic or poisonous pesticides. It poses minimal risk to health of humans, aquatic animals, birds, and non-targeted areas in agricultural areas. Bifenazate exhibits faster degradation in soil along with swift elimination of mites. Yet another advantage of bifenazate is that it has long residual control hence does not get accumulated too much in surface waters, unlike other pesticides. This reduces the negative impact and makes bifenazate a compatible and safe acracide. On account such unique perceived benefits the global market for bifenazate has seen an uptick.View Report @Additionally, bifenazate floramite helps in eliminating different types of mites and can be used to treat ornamental crops and tomatoes cultured in nurseries, greenhouses, and shadehouses. Bifenazate acramite, again, is suitable for both fruit bearing and non-fruit bearing plants such as grapes, edible gourd, strawberries, dates and figs. Both, acramite and floramite are perfect for IPM program and resistance management strategy.Global Bifenazate Market: Geographical SegmentationGeographically, the key segments of the market are Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. Asia Pacific and Latin America in the Rest of the World are attractive markets that are emerging on the global radar on account of the substantial amount of demand they are generating. This is because of a shift in pesticide consumption patterns leading to better crop yields in the countries of China, India, and Brazil, in the recent past due to a rising crop of discerning consumers and thrust on cost-effective agricultural practices.However, most of these countries import significant amounts of agricultural products from North America and Europe exporting markets and hence their markets are expanding at a not-so-fast pace.Global Bifenazate Market: Competitive LandscapeTo assess the competition prevailing in the global bifenazate market, the report profiles prominent players such as the Dow Chemical Company, Chemtura Corporation, Certis USA L.L.C., Olympic Horticultural Products, Inc., and BASF Corporation.Major regions analyzed under this research report are:EuropeNorth AmericaAsia PacificRest of the WorldSend An Enquiry Request @This report gives you access to decisive data such as:Market growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for the coming yearsKey highlights of this reportOverview of key market forces propelling and restraining market growthUp-to-date analyses of market trends and technological improvementsPin-point analyses of market competition dynamics to offer you a competitive edgeAn analysis of strategies of major competitorsAn array of graphics and SWOT analysis of major industry segmentsDetailed analyses of industry trendsA well-defined technological growth map with an impact-analysisOffers a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and key product segmentsCheck Discount This Report From Here @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
Bring Magic to Life: Dart Design Seoul develops brand gallery for all the senses

Brand gallery by Dart Design Seoul for SK Magic.

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Dart Design Seoul, the Korean subsidiary of Dart Design Gruppe, has presented its so far largest project: the brand gallery Magical Walk for the domestic appliance manufacturer SK Magic. It is located in the 5-star boutique hotel Vista Walkerhill Seoul and its showroom combines both the values of the brand and those of arts. Visitors experience the companys philosophy and selected products  air and water purifiers  in a unique manner following the motto Bring Magic to Life.On almost 400 m the designers amalgamate a variety of multimedia formats like images, videos and objects with light and sound installations creating a multi-sensorial experience. Minimalist equipment and the combination of both poetic as well as interactive elements allow the visitors to experience the brand SK Magic by moving on a media trail with the four topics forest, water, air and living. Lively images in combination with sounds and even aromas provide a feeling of nature and encourage to explore the gallery and by doing so the products in it.In the Forest Zone visitors find themselves in the dense woods of Mount Indeung. This Korean mountain is the place, where the parent company SK Group started a tree-planting project 45 years ago. Designers visualize changing perspectives of Mount Indeung as well as product details on a ten-metres long two-sided LED wall. Simultaneously, mirrors, which are artfully arranged, display the corporate philosophy to the sounds of nature and magically suggest that there are additional paths in their reflection.To be completely surrounded by glittering and glistening water  that is the feeling, which is conveyed by the water zone, where visitors can actively change colours by touching a stele. Those, who enter the neighbouring Air Zone experience a sensorial triad: Air purifiers are activated creating a breeze that produces tones in a suspended sound installation and spreads forest aroma. Finally, in the Living Zone, visitors encounter a selected product variety for a more natural life accompanied by lifestyle videos. Overall, the brand experience melds technology and naturality in a premium look-and-feel.SK Magic Inc. was founded in 1985 in South Korea and developed into a trendsetter in the Korean industry for domestic appliances, i.a. as the first national manufacturer of gas ovens. Since 2016, the company has formed part of the Korean SK Group and exports its products into 60 countries around the globe, among them ten European countries like Germany, Great Britain and France.Dart Design Seoul is the Korean subsidiary of Dart Design Gruppe, and was founded in 2012 as a basis for a long-term exchange between the Asian market and European design specialists  an exchange that benefits both partners. Dart Design Seoul Ltd. provides German design approaches to the Asian market. Based on the respect for both cultures strengths, the fundamental prerequisite for a successful Asian-European cooperation is to be established and synergetically used.Dart Design Gruppe is one of the leading spatial communication agencies in Germany and has been an expert for multi-sensual brand experience for over 25 years. The holder of numerous international design awards, Dart Design Gruppe designs brand and experience spaces for customers such as 3M, adidas, Amtico, Britax, C.H. Beck, Deutsche Telekom, Electrolux, Gabor, Grafe und Unzer, Grundig, Henkel, Kanzan, Lloyd, MFI, Norske Skog, Panasonic, Parador, Philips, Reebok, RWE, Schuco, Turck, Wurth and Zaha Hadid.Dart Design Gruppe GmbHThomas Kutz (Senior Corporate Communications)Haus am Pegel | Am Zollhafen 5 | 41460 Neuss | GermanyFon: +49 (0)2131 - 40 30 7 - 32pr@d-art-design.de |
Global Irradiation Apparatus Market Size, Share, Growth - Industry Trends and Forecast Report 2015 - 2023

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"The Latest Research Report Irradiation Apparatus Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Global Irradiation Apparatus Market: SnapshotTechnological advancements in the recent past are the primary driver of the global irradiation apparatus market, which is projected to increment the demand at a substantial CAGR of during the forecast period of 2015 to 2023. The advent of linear welding or uniform width of irradiation, which is a result of advancements in rotary laser irradiation apparatus and laser beam. In addition to that, the recently developed portable irradiation apparatus are cost effective too, which has further escalated its adoptability in hospitals and various industries in a number of emerging economies.The global market for irradiation apparatus can be segmented on the basis of application into diagnostic and therapeutic of dental, chiropractic, and industrial research applications. Geographically, this report takes stock of the potential of irradiation apparatus market in all important regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. Currently, North America is the most lucrative regional market for irradiation apparatus, gain traction from high demand for new technology.Get Sample Copy of this report @This report provides all-inclusive assessment of all factors that may impact the demand in the global irradiation apparatus market, provides evaluations and forecasts of both application and regional segments, and profiles a number of key companies in order to represent the competitive landscape. This report has been developed by a group of professional market research analysts, aspiring to serve as a reliable business tool for its targeted audiences such as manufacturers of these apparatus, traders and distributors, research institutes, government agencies, and regulatory bodies.Global Irradiation Apparatus Market: OverviewIrradiation apparatus refer to devices capable of producing ionizing radiations such as x-rays, gamma rays, high speed neutron, alpha and beta particles, and electrons. A variety of instrument used across a number of applications and end-use sectors utilize irradiation features, with the fields of medicine and research being the primary takers. In the past few years, the market for irradiation apparatus has witnessed a significant rise in technological advancements and the entry of portable devices for use across veterinary, dental, and pediatric diagnosis. The market has witnessed growth at a healthy pace owing to the increased demand from key application sectors and the trend is expected to remain strong over the next few years as well.This report on the global market for irradiation apparatus presents a complete study of notable trends in the market and factors such as growth drivers, restraints, regulations, and competition, which are expected to have a significant influence on the overall future development of the market. The report provides several forward-looking statements denoting the growth prospects of the market and its key segments over the period between 2016 and 2024. A detailed analysis of the recent technological developments to have hit the market, the competitive landscape of the global market, and the regulatory scenario across key regional markets is also included in the report.View Report @Global Irradiation Apparatus Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe key forces leading to the increased usage of irradiation apparatus include the advent of new and more convenient product varieties. The easy availability of portable irradiates apparatus has increased their uptake in hospitals and clinics for a variety of purposes including diagnosis, therapeutics, chiropractic diagnosis, and dental diagnosis.Advent of new technologies has encouraged the pharmaceutical and medical industries to increase their usage of irradiation apparatus, driving the overall growth of the market. Introduction of products such as laser beam and rotary laser irradiation apparatus, used widely to undertake linear welding with a uniform width has increased the set of potential industrial applications of irradiation apparatus in the recent past.However, the market faces growth restraints such as strict regulatory aspects involved in the usage, storage, sale, and disposal of irradiation apparatus. Moreover, the high costs of these devices is another key restraint challenging the overall growth prospects of the market for irradiation apparatus, especially across developing or less developed economies.Global Irradiation Apparatus Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsFrom a geographical standpoint, the report examines the market for irradiation apparatus across regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Middle East and Africa. Of these, the market in North America is presently the dominant market owing to the presence of some of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies and thus the vast scope of application of irradiation apparatus in the region. Europe, another leading region in the pharmaceutical sector, is also one of the leading contributors to the overall revenue of the global irradiation apparatus market.The Asia Pacific market holds a significant future growth opportunity owing to a thriving pharmaceutical industry and rising government interventions aimed at the development of the sector. As a number of international pharma giants extend their roots in the region through high-end manufacturing facilities, the need for irradiation apparatus will be felt at an encouraging pace in the region over the next few years.Send An Enquiry Request @Some of the leading players operating in the global irradiation apparatus market are Philips Healthcare, Carestream Health Inc., Agfa Gevaert NV, Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc., Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Varian Medical Systems Inc., Siemens Healthcare, Hitachi Ltd., and Ziehm Imaging, Inc.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.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketCheck Discount This Report From Here @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
Global Polyurethane Floor Enamel Market Size, Share - Industry Trends and Forecast Report 2014 - 2020

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"The Report Polyurethane Floor Enamel Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Polyurethane floor enamel is manufactured to prolong the life of ceramics tiles. Polyurethane floor enamel is ideal for use on above grade wood and concrete floors & porches. Polyurethane floor enamel performs in a variety of areas, such as porches, stairs and boat decks. Polyurethane floor enamel features excellent resistance to oils, abrasion and washing with superior scuff resistance. Polyurethane enamels have easy application, excellent wetting properties, tenacious adhesion and can be applied over painted surfaces. In addition, polyurethane floor enamels have excellent resistance to yellowing in white and pastel shades combined with superior light fastness and hiding power, making it very economical in general usage. Polyurethane floor enamels are formulated with urethane-modified alkyd resins and can be applied to exterior or interior ferrous or non-ferrous metals. Polyurethane enamel can be applied by brush, spray or roller. Polyurethane floor enamel are designed as a finish coat on flooring systems used in commercial facilities, pharmaceutical facilities, automobile industry, warehouses and aircraft hangars among others.Get Sample Copy of this report @The growth in end user industries is expected to increase consumption of polyurethane floor enamels. The growth in ceramic tile industry is expected to boost demand for polyurethane floor enamels. The demand for ceramic tiles is primarily led by an increase in construction activities due to rapid urbanization and population expansion in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America. However, fluctuating raw material prices, government regulations and availability of substitutes could hamper the growth of this market. Companies manufacturing polyurethane floor enamels have to meet the stringent VOC regulations imposed by countries in North America and Europe.Polyurethane floor enamel has a global demand due to extensive applications in ceramic tile industry. Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest consumer of polyurethane floor enamels followed by North America and Europe. China and India are the largest consumers of polyurethane floor enamels in Asia Pacific due to presence of an established ceramic tile industry. Polyurethane floor enamel manufacturers are shifting their production facilities to emerging economies of Asia Pacific due to availability of raw materials, cheap labor and local government incentives. Macau, Republic of Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia are other major consumers of polyurethane floor enamels in Asia Pacific. The demand for polyurethane floor enamels in Latin America is expected to increase substantially due to increase in commercial construction activities and rapid economic development. Brazil, Argentina and Peru are major consumers of polyurethane floor enamels in Latin America. Europe and North America are saturated markets and expected to experience moderate growth rate.View Report @The polyurethane floor enamel market is highly competitive and dominated by large and medium chemical companies. Some of the key players in this market are Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co., Ltd (China), Sherwin-Williams (U.S.), Chemical Strategies Inc (U.S.), Trelleborg AB (Sweden), Shandong Dongda Inov Polyurethane Co., Ltd (China), Nippon Polyurethane Industry Co., Ltd. (Japan), Kumho Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (South Korea), Huntsman Corporation (U.S.), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.), Foshan Nanhai Huaren Chemical Co., Ltd.(China), Emperol Colours Pvt. Ltd (India), Wintech Paints & Chemicals Ltd (India) and BASF SE (Germany) among others. Companies are investing in research and development to manufacture superior grades of polyurethane floor enamels to remain competitive in the market. In addition, companies are expanding their presence in emerging economies of Asia Pacific to increase their market share.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldSend An Enquiry Request @This report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsThis report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsCheck Discount This Report From Here @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
Paper Bags Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate 2017-2027

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Over the last few years, packaging has become core requirement in the product manufacturing and other industry. Great packages with the perfect material deliver quality, enhance performance, and reliability to the product it enclose. Paper bags packaging are essential components of modern life which is expected to create substantial market revenue growth in near future owing to need of eco-friendly packaging. Paper bags are a multi-purpose and cost-efficient method to protect, preserve and transport a wide range of products. The paper bags are durable, lightweight, and customizable to meet products as well as customers specific demand. Paper bags packaging have various unique grades that possess exclusive features making each grade appropriate for different packaging demand. Paper bags give customers a sustainable option to carry their purchases home. Paper bags are the best option for packaging fresh vegetables, fruits, foods, and other consumer products that are better and more conveniently accessible as a result of paper bags packaging. Paper bags market is expected to gain substantial market share in near future owing to increasing demand for safe packaging.Paper Bags Market: DynamicsChanging life style along with increase in per capita income in the developing regions boosts the consumption of wide range of products, which in turn drives the demand for the paper based packaging of these products. Increasing demand for convenient, smaller pack sizes, and growing consumption of cosmetic & personal care products further fuels the growth in the paper bags market. According to an independent study, the demand for paper bags market is expected to exceed supply in coming years owing to increasing consciousness about nature safety, as more and more consumer are switching from plastic bags to paper bags. In addition, the paper industries are further expected to increase the investment in paper bags packaging due to rising demand among consumer. Paper bags are cost effective, easy to form, easy to use, and very easily recyclable, and these features grab the attention of manufacturers and consumers towards paper bags packaging style.Request Report Sample@Paper Bags Market: SegmentationThe global paper bags market can be segmented on the basis of product type, application and region. On the basis of product type global paper bags market can be segmented into block bottom paper bags, paper carry bags, checkout paper bags, confectionery paper bags, and others. On the basis of application global paper bags market can be segmented into foods, pharmaceuticals, customer goods, stationary and confectionary, cosmetics and personal use products, home care products and others. Among application, fresh vegetable and bakery product are ideal for paper bags packaging. On the basis of region global paper bags market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa.Paper Bags Market: Regional OverviewThe global paper bags market is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expected to witness the maximum growth driven by rise in the manufacturing activities in the developing economies like India and China. The growth in retail packaging in these developing economies also contributes to the growth in the paper bags market. North America is expected to witness an average growth in the paper bags market, as paper bags packaging represents the largest market share of paper industry and about large number of the paper bags recovered in the US are used to produce paper based packaging which is the material used for packaging. A large amount of recovered papers in the U.S. are also exported to China, while the rest are used to produce other paper bags such as boxboards, which includes folding boxes.Visit For TOC@Paper Bags Market: Key PlayersThe main player of global paper bags market are international papers,Stanpac, Kent paper, Biopac, Genpak, Bemis Company Incorporated, Berry Plastics Corporation, Novolex and Linpac Packaging Limited.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Market Forecast Report on Vinegar And Vinaigrette Market 2017-2027

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Vinegar is made by fermenting dilute alcoholic liquid such as beer, cider and others. It contains acetic acid and is sour in taste. Vinaigrette is made by mixing edible oil such as olive oil, soybean oil, cider oil, walnut oil, corn oil and others with vinegar or lemon juice. To achieve better taste this mixture can also be enhanced by adding various spices, herbs, or salt. The vinaigrette is used as a salad dressings and marinade. Rising demand for snacks items such as salads, sandwiches and others coupled with increased interest in bold flavors and gourmet cooking is expected driving vinegar and vinaigrette market over the forecast period.Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market SegmentationThe market is segmented the basis of type which includes vinegar & vinaigrette. Vinegar segment is further sub-segmented as balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar, garlic vinegar, cava vinegar, honey vinegar, red wine vinegar, malt vinegar and others. Among all these sub-segment balsamic vinegar is expected to have major market share in terms value during the forecast period. Availability of wide variety of product variant in balsamic vinegar sub-segment is expected to drive the sub-segment growth over the forecast period. Furthermore red wine vinegar sub-segment is expected to account for favorable growth during the forecast period. Rising health awareness among the consumers regarding the consumption of red wine vinegar is expected to drive the red wine vinegar sub-segment growth in the near future. Vinaigrette segment is further sub-segmented as emulsified and biphasic. Among all these sub-segment emulsified sub-segment is expected to account for major value share over the forecast period. However, biphasic sub-segment is expected to register relatively higher growth. Increasing consumption olive oil based vinaigrette is expected to support sub-segment growth over the forecast period.Global vinegar & vinaigrette market is further segmented on the basis of distribution channel which includes hypermarket/supermarket, convenience stores, specialty stores, grocery stores and online retailing. Among all these segments hypermarket/ supermarket is expected to register relatively higher value share during the forecast period. Increasing penetration of hypermarket/supermarket especially in developing countries coupled is expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period. Online retailing is expected to register relatively higher growth in vinegar & vinaigrette market over the forecast period. Rising consumer inclination towards online purchasing of products is expected to support the segment growth over the forecast period.The vinegar & vinaigrette market is further segmented on the basis of end-use which includes end consumer, hotel and restaurant/bar. Among all these segments end consumer segment is expected to occupy major share in terms of volume consumption followed by restaurant and bar.Request Report Sample@Vinegar & Vinaigrette Regional OutlookGeographically vinegar & vinaigrette market is segmented on the basis of region which includes North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East & Africa and Japan. Geographically, Europe is expected to be the major market in terms of value owing to increasing consumer shifting preference towards convenient healthy food options. Among the countries, U.K. is expected to remain major markets in terms of consumptions for vinegar & vinaigrette followed by Germany. North America is expected to represent the favorable market for vinegar & vinaigrette in terms of consumption. In the region the U.S. is expected to represent major value share during the forecast period. Increasing demand for natural and organic ingredients, and products without additives or preservatives is expected to support the market growth in the country. Asia Pacific is expected to represent a rapid growth in vinegar & vinaigrette market. Countries such as China and Japan is expected to be the major consumer for vinegar & vinaigrette across the region.Visit For TOC@Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market DriversContinuous product launch with variety of flavors is a key trend in the market. In addition organic and gluten free vinegar is the emerging trend in the market. The growing demand of salads coupled with increasing number of fast food restaurants across the globe is expected to support the market growth over the forecast period.Vinegar & Vinaigrette Market Key PlayersSome of the key players operating in vinegar & vinaigrette market includes Borges Branded Foods, Fleischmann's Vinegar Company, Inc, The Kraft Heinz Company, Mizkan Group, Annie's Homegrown, Inc and Borges Branded Foods S.L.U. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Silver Enamel Market Segment Forecasts up to 2023, Research Reports | MarketResearchReports.biz

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"The Latest Research Report Silver Enamel Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Silver enamel paint is paint that air-dries quickly to an unusually glossy, hard finish. It is primarily employed in the coating of outdoor surfaces that are subject to hard wear or harsh temperatures. Commercially available enamels including silver enamel is comparatively softer than stoved synthetic resins and vitreous enamel and comprises a completely different composition. The term enamel paint is primarily used to describe oil based products, with significant quantity of gloss in them. Silver enamel paint is an alkyd resin based paint and is manufactured by addition of varnish to oil based paint.Get Sample copy of this Report @Silver enamel products are used in the manufacture of dental equipment and are used for dental fillings. Silver enamel products are popular dental restorative material because of their low cost, strength, durability and ease of application. They are long lasting, have a better performance than other fillings, applicable for broad range of clinical performance and are of better quality. However, its popularity is diminishing today because of concerns of toxicity, allergic potential and inferior aesthetics quality. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended labeling of dental products, which includes a warning against using the product in patients who have an allergy to silver. In addition, it has a warning that dental professionals follow a proper protocol while handling dental products that are manufactured from silver enamel and a statement mentioning the risks and benefits of silver enamel so that patients and dentist can make informed decisions. Moreover, silver enamel is also used in the manufacturing of silver earrings, cigarette cases, jewelry and silver enamel animals among others.The continued use of silver enamel fillings in dental applications will be a major driving factor for silver enamel industry. The FDI World Dental Federation has reaffirmed the safety of use of silver enamel in dentistry and hence dentists all around the world use it. Majority of dental restorations depend on silver enamel and hence it has a significant market. However, development of viable substitutes, growth of dental composites market and lack of awareness could hamper the growth of this market. In addition, the silver enamel is used largely in the jewelry industry to coat earrings, chains, rings etc Due to the growth in the jewelry industry especially in developing countries like India and China the market for silver enamel is anticipated to rise over the next few years.View Report @Silver enamel products find widespread applications in the dental industry. The FDI World Dental Federation has also recommended the use of silver enamel for dental applications. The use of silver enamel is quite popular in Asia Pacific, especially the emerging markets such as China and India due to its low cost and wide availability. The American Dental Association has also approved the use of silver enamel for dental restorative procedures and hence majority of dentists in the U.S. use it. However, the use of silver enamel for dental applications is declining in Europe with Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Austria and Finland reducing the use of silver enamel for dental applications. Moreover, the market for silver enamel is increasing in Japan owing to the growth in the jewelry industry. Hence, Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for silver enamel in terms of demand and revenue.Some of the key companies manufacturing silver enamel include Pamco International, Guangzhou Huifu Jewelry Co., Ltd. etc.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsSend An Enquiry Request @This report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porters five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsIt provides distinctive graphics and exemplified SWOT analysis of major market segmentsCheck Discount This Report From Here @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
Slider Pouches Market, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2017 - 2024

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The modern world is a reflection of the ongoing urbanization and the evolving lifestyle, wherein consumers seek convenient solutions that can easy up complexities of their fast track routine. In recent times, slider pouches have emerged as a very useful commodity for various purposes, including easy packaging of fast food and their quick transportation. Slider bags are available in various sizes and shapes, having a wide utility range from storing goods to containing food items. These pouches ensure anti-counterfeiting and anti-tampering through their diverse customization options, which allows them to have the characteristics of zipper pouches.Request Report Brochure @Market DynamicsThe packaging industry is quickly shifting towards convenient and easy to use slider pouches. In addition, excellent efficiency in temper proofing has been a key driving factor of the growth of the slider pouches market. Other alternative pouch packaging solutions often require reinforcement or secondary package protection to maintain the freshness of food items while slider bags alleviate the necessity of such multi-layer packaging or storage protections. Availability of a wider range of sliders in the market gives the consumer more options to select from, which in turn is also favoring the prospects of the market. Integration of laser membrane technique beneath the slider guarantees anti-counterfeiting and hence identified as a crucial factor that is boosting its adoption in the packaging industry. Moreover, slider pouches have a prolonged life span and are usually versatile making them a cost-effective consumer packaging solution.In order to restrict any possibilities of tampering, the slider pouches are incorporated with a tear-away seal on top as an anti-tampering measure. Further, some pouches also come with an additional press-to-seal (PTS) feature that refers to the child resistance re-sealable slider system. On the other hand, higher cost of slider pouch materials and its special parts remains a challenge for players functioning in the market. The limited scope of recyclability is also likely to restrict the adoption of the slider pouches to a certain extent.Slider Pouches Market- Key Market SegmentationThe slider pouches market has been segmented on the basis of application, slider type, material type, and layer type. By application, the market for slider pouches has been segmented into bakery, cereals, confectionary, snacks, pet food and others. Based on slider type, the market has been segmented into low profile sliders, sliders with or without end clips, ergonomic sliders, particle-proof sliders and others. By material type, the market has been segmented into aluminum foil and plastics (HDPE, LDPE and polypropylene). By layer type, the market for slider pouches has been segmented into multilayer and monolayer. These pouches commonly come with a combination of aluminum and plastic layering that provides an extended shelf life to products.Slider Pouches Market- Regional AnalysisSlider pouches are available across the globe with supplies for both international and domestic players. The market for slider pouches has been segmented into five key regions, which include Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, Europe and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Owing to convenience and ease of use of slider pouches, they are gaining healthy popularity in Asia Pacific, particularly in countries such as China, India, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia that have a strong food and beverages sector. Meanwhile, the market in North America is also anticipated to account for a sizeable share of the global demand for slider pouches. Similarly, the demand for slider pouches is likely to gain traction in the MEA region in the near future attributed to lucrative market opportunities present in GCC countries and South Africa.Visit For TOC @Competitive DashboardSome of the top companies operating in the slider pouches market include Montage Enterprises Pvt Ltd., Diamond Flexible Packaging Co., ABC Packaging Direct LLC, Pentaflex Packaging Ltd, Glenroy, Inc., Zip-Pak, Inc., Pactech Packaging LLC, and Western Packaging Inc.About Us  Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among othersContact Us:Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Valve Controller Market Industry 2021 Overview, in-Depth Analysis, Forecasts, Applications, Shares & Insights

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Valve Controller market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Valve Controller market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for marketing managers, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other key people who are in need of ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Chemical Industry, Food Industry, Paper Industry, Shipbuilding Industry & Other], products type [Digital Valve Controller & Mechanical Valve Controller] and various important geographies like United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Valve Controller market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers such as KZValve by KZCO, Lynch Fluid Controls, Metso Automation, Pentair Valves & Controls, SchuF Group, SENSODRIVE GmbH, TopWorx, Ventil Test Equipment BV, Bosch Rexroth-Industrial Hydraulics, ACQUA BREVETTI, BRAND HYDRAULICS, CAREL, CKD, FISHER, GEFRAN & KSB. The in-depth information by segments of Valve Controller market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Valve Controller Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Valve Controller Market, some of them listed here are KZValve by KZCO, Lynch Fluid Controls, Metso Automation, Pentair Valves & Controls, SchuF Group, SENSODRIVE GmbH, TopWorx, Ventil Test Equipment BV, Bosch Rexroth-Industrial Hydraulics, ACQUA BREVETTI, BRAND HYDRAULICS, CAREL, CKD, FISHER, GEFRAN & KSB. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Valve Controller (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Digital Valve Controller & Mechanical Valve Controller. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Chemical Industry, Food Industry, Paper Industry, Shipbuilding Industry & Other with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Valve Controller in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @The research insights solutions to the following key questions: What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022? What are the key factors driving the Global Valve Controller market? Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Valve Controller market? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Valve Controller market? What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Valve Controller market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Valve Controller market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Valve Controller market.Chapter 1, to describe Valve Controller Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Valve Controller , with sales, revenue, and price of Valve Controller , in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Valve Controller , for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [Chemical Industry, Food Industry, Paper Industry, Shipbuilding Industry & Other], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Valve Controller market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Valve Controller sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Smooth Hinge Caps And Closure Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate 2017-2027

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Over the past few years, packaging industry is experiencing a robust growth, mainly driven by the changing packaging solutions along with the increasingly changing the customer needs. Packaging is not only restricting to protect the products during transportation but also it is used to enhance the brand visibility that in turn increases the brand value of the product. Caps & closure is considered to be one of the important packaging solution among the personal care & cosmetic and beverage manufacturing companies. One of the most widely used caps & closure serving the purpose for most of the brand owners is smooth hinge caps & closure. Smooth hinge caps & closure is gaining momentum as a packaging solutions owing to it innovative and aesthetic look. Finally smooth hinge caps & closure offers anti counterfeit property which is expected to enforce the brand owners to use smooth hinge caps & closure as a packaging solutions.Smooth Hinge Caps & Closure: Market DynamicsSmooth hinge caps & closure market growth is attributed by impressive growth in consumer products market across different geographies. Cosmetic & personal care industry which reported over 10% annual growth in developed nations of Asia Pacific regions, anticipated to be the key contributor to smooth hinge caps & closure demand. On the other hand, luxury packaging acted as a substantial factor to the accelerated demand for smooth hinge caps & closure across the globe. Due to the mounting growth of organized retail sector, smooth hinge caps & closure plays a pivotal role because consumers makes the decision making process not only by the quality of the products but also packaging of the product is considered. Now a days, consumers are also interested pay higher amount of money to obtain the cosmetic & personal care products having attractive and aesthetic look. Thus, a larger chunk of pharmaceutical manufacturers are expected to adopt smooth hinge caps & closure to minimize the chances of counterfeiting. Apart from cosmetic & personal care industry and pharmaceutical industry, smooth hinge caps & closure are widely used as packaging solutions for the various food products like condiments that is expected to create a positive impact in the global smooth hinge caps & closure market.Request Report Sample@Smooth Hinge caps & closure: Market SegmentationThe global smooth hinge caps & closure market is segmented on the basis of material type, end user and seal typeBased on the material type the global smooth hinge caps & closure market is segmented into:Polyethylene (PE)Polypropylene (PP)OthersBased on the end user the global smooth hinge caps & closure market is segmented into:BeveragesNonalcoholicAlcoholicCondimentCosmetic & personal careShampooBody lotionShower gelOthersHome carePharmaceuticalBased on the seal type the global smooth hinge caps & closure market is segmented into:Liner lessPacking linerVisit For TOC@Smooth Hinge caps & closure Market: Regional outlookIn terms of geography, the global smooth hinge caps & closure market has been divided in to five key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The global smooth hinge caps & closure market is expected to witness an impressive CAGR over the forecast period of 2016- 2024. Among all the regions, Asia Pacific region is expected to account maximum market share in the global smooth hinge caps & closure market during the forecast period. Growth in Asia Pacific is contributed by the mounting growth of cosmetic & personal care sectors during the forecast period. Within the Asia pacific region, India and China are expected to be the attractive destinations for the smooth hinge caps & closure manufacturer. Furthermore, North America, particularly US will continue to post an impressive growth, largely contributed by the growing organized retail sectors coupled with the introduction of new products. However, Middle East & Africa region which is poised to reflect least growth across all geographies.Smooth Hinge caps & closure Market: Key playersSome of the key players in the global smooth hinge caps & closure market are Nippon Closures Co Ltd., Interpac International Corporation, B&C PLASTICS LTD., RPC Group Plc, Closure Systems International, Inc., Bericap GmbH and Co KG, Global Closure Systems, AptarGroup, Inc. etc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Water Enhancers Market: Detailed Study on Size, Status, & Key Players Forecast 2022

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Water Enhancers market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Water Enhancers market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for marketing managers, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other key people who are in need of ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Flavored & Enhanced (Energy/Fitness drinks)], products type [Vitamins, Electrolytes, Anti-oxidants & Sweeteners] and various important geographies like North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Water Enhancers market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Arizona Beverages?USA,, Kraft foods?, The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle etc., Market Segments, Market Dynamics, Market Size, Market Supply & Demand, Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges, Competition & Companies involved, Manufacturing Technology & Market Value Chain. The in-depth information by segments of Water Enhancers market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Water Enhancers Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Water Enhancers Market, some of them listed here are PepsiCo, Arizona Beverages?USA,, Kraft foods?, The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle etc., Market Segments, Market Dynamics, Market Size, Market Supply & Demand, Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges, Competition & Companies involved, Manufacturing Technology & Market Value Chain. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Water Enhancers (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Vitamins, Electrolytes, Anti-oxidants & Sweeteners. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Flavored & Enhanced (Energy/Fitness drinks) with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Water Enhancers in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @The research insights solutions to the following key questions: What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022? What are the key factors driving the Global Water Enhancers market? Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Water Enhancers market? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Water Enhancers market? What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Water Enhancers market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Water Enhancers market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Water Enhancers market.Chapter 1, to describe Water Enhancers Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Water Enhancers , with sales, revenue, and price of Water Enhancers , in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Water Enhancers , for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [Flavored & Enhanced (Energy/Fitness drinks)], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Water Enhancers market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Water Enhancers sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Market Size of Block Margarine Market, Forecast Report 2017-2027

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Margarine is a type of butter spread used in baking, cooking and spreading purposes in food industry. Margarine contains vegetable oils obtained from soya bean or sunflower and Trans fats. Block margarine is a non-dairy based spread used in the food industry, in many cases used as a substitute for butter. Like butter, it is a water-in-fat emulsion, Consists of refined vegetable oil and water. Available in various fat concentrations. Commonly used in food products like pastries, donuts, cookies etc. Block margarine is similar to butter in hardness and is generally packaged in paper wrapping. Block margarines are most commonly used in pastry making, but if softened they can be used in creaming.Market Segmentation:Block margarine market is segmented on the basis of application as bakery, confectionaries, toppings, spreads, households, and others. In bakery, block margarine is used in making biscuits, bread dough, croissants etc. In confectionary, block margarine is used for preparation of cake, pastry, cream etc. Block margarine is used as topping in food products such as pizza, cakes and other confectionary products.Block margarine market is segmented on the basis of its type as soft block margarine and hard block margarine. Soft or spreadable margarine is made from more liquid oils and less hydrogenated oils which can be used as a spreader in many food products such as pizza and cakes. Hard block margarine are used in baking, frying and spreading purposes. Hard block margarines are sold as blocks similar to butter wherein soft block margarines are sold in tubs.Block margarines market is segmented on the basis of its nature as organic and conventional. Increasing demand for organic products in health conscious consumers and fitness trainers is increasing organic block margarine market. Many players are moving towards organic block margarine products as a result of increasing demand for organic block margarine as compared to conventional market.Block margarine market is further segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East and Africa.Request Report Sample@Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of regions, the Block Margarine market has been segmented into North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Block margarine market has seen dominating in terms of revenue in North America region and is expected to grow in forecast period. Asia Pacific has shown fastest growth rate in block margarine market. India, China are the fastest growing countries in Asia Pacific which is showing potential in growing block margarine market and is expected to grow in forecast period.Market Drivers and Trends:Block margarine is trending as it avoids all the high cardiovascular diseases which are associated with butter. Block margarine has application in food industry as bakery, confectionary, cake, pastry etc. which increases its demand in global market. Block margarine has ability of adding functional ingredients and flavours in food products which is one of the key driver for block margarine global market. Block margarine market is matured with many local players crowding to capture regional markets which makes block margarine. Trend of using low fat products is increasing which is increasing demand for low fat block margarine product in global market.Visit For TOC@Block Margarine Market Key Players:Some of the key players in the Block Margarine market include Unilever, Bunge Limited, ConAgra Foods, Inc., Dairy Crest Group plc, Zydus Cadila, Wilmar International Limited, Goodman Fielder, Fuji Oil Company, Ltd., Brasil Foods S.A., Y?ld?z Holding etc. are among these.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Telemedicine Market Projected To Grow Radiantly at CAGR of 16.5% by 2022

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Market Research Future adds new report of Global Telemedicine Market Research Report - Forecast To 2022 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentTelemedicine (also referred to as "telehealth" or "e-health") allows health care professionals to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in remote locations using telecommunications technology. Telemedicine allows patients in remote locations to access medical expertise quickly, efficiently and without travel. Telemedicine provides more efficient use of limited expert resources who can "see" patients in multiple locations wherever they are needed without leaving their facility.Competitive Analysis:Key players profiled in the report are Koninklijke Philips N.V. (The Netherlands), Medtronic (Ireland) AMD Telemedicine Technologies (U.S.), General Electric Company (U.K.), Neusoft Corporation (China), McKesson Corporation (US) , Intel (US), and IBM (US).Get a Sample Report @Market Segmentation:The global telemedicine market is segmented on the basis of type, which includes store and forward, remote monitoring, and real time interactive. On the basis of technology, the market is segmented into hardware, software, and services. The hardware is further segmented into on-site kiosks, telephone, and webcams. The software is further segmented into mobiles apps. The Services are further segmented into consultation, online video conferencing and academics. Furthermore, on the basis of application the market is classified into telecardiology, telepsychiatry, teleradiology, telepathology, teledermatology, teleaudiology, teleopthalmology, and others. On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospitals, clinical, medical institutes, and others.Market Highlights:The global telemedicine market is experiencing massive growth across the globe on account of extensive use of healthcare IT solutions, improved telecommunication infrastructure, and high demand for primary care services across the globe. Furthermore, rising prevalence of chronic diseases and technological advancement in the healthcare fuel the market growth. High installation cost of telemedicine solutions and availability of internet services in rural areas may restrain the market growth.The Global telemedicine market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5% during the forecast period.Regional AnalysisThe global telemedicine market is segmented on the basis of regions: The Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas accounts is the leading player in the global telemedicine market owing to an increasing demand for healthcare IT solutions, concentration of prominent market players, and availability of infrastructure for telemedicine.Europe is experiencing a significant growth in the telemedicine market owing to the availability of funds from the Europe Union (EU) for telemedicine projects.Asia Pacific shows phenomenal growth in telemedicine market and is expected to the fastest growing region as result of rising geriatric population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases.The Middle East & Africa also show a steady rise in the telemedicine market.Browse Report Details @Brief TOC1. Report Prologue2. Introduction3. Research Methodology4. Market Dynamics5. Market Factor Analysis6. Global Telemedicine Market by Type7. Global Telemedicine Market by Technology8. Global Telemedicine Market by Application9. Global Telemedicine Market by End User10. Global Cell Counting Market by Region11. Company Profile12. Conclusion13. AppendixAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market Top Key Companies  Fisher & Paychex, Philips Healthcare, Apria Healthcare, Cardinal Health

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Market Research Future adds new report of Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentCompetitive Analysis:Some of the major players for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device market are Resumed (Asia), Philips Healthcare (US), Fisher & Paychex (NZ), 3B Medical (US), Apex Medical (Taiwan), Apria Healthcare (US), Armstrong Medical (UK), BMC Medical (China), Cardinal Health (US), Curative Medical (US).Get a Sample Report @Market Segments:Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device market has been segmented on the basis of product type which includes CPAP motors, CPAP hoses, CPAP mask). On the basis CPAP machines which consists CPAP nasal machine, Bopp Bi-level machine.Market Highlight:Continuous positive airway pressure therapy is most widely recognized treatment for obstructive Sleep Apnea that utilizes continuous mild air pressure. These devices are utilized to keep the airways open during sleep and furthermore to control the yield pressure keeping the airflow pressure constant. The global continuous positive airway pressure devices market is relied with steady growth, posting a CAGR of nearly during the forecast period.Study Objectives of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices Market:To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure(CPAP) devices Market. To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth. To Analyze the Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Row. To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective. To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by product type, by CPAP machines and sub-segments.Regional Analysis of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices Market:Globally North America is the largest market for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device market, large share of this market is focused on the high prevalence of sleep disorders in people around the world. The North American market for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device is expected to grow at a CAGR and is expected to reach at US$ Million by the end of the forecasted period. Europe is the second-largest market for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device, which is expected to grow at Remarkable CAGR.Browse Report Details @Brief TOC1. Introduction2. Research Methodology3. Market Dynamics4. Market Factor Analysis5. Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market, By Product Type6. Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market, By Features7. Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market By, Automation8. Global Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Devices Market, By Region9. Competitive Landscape10. Company Profile11. Conclusion12. AppendixAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Azerbaijan Industrial Construction Market 2017- By historic and forecast market data related to Construction Projects 2021

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Industrial Construction Market in AzerbaijanSynopsis"Industrial Construction Market in Azerbaijan: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021" contains historic and forecast market data for the industrial construction market in Azerbaijan, with a detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type( construction materials, construction equipment and construction services). This report also contains overall values of the industrial construction segments such as Industrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants.This research report provides up-to-date market size data for the period 2012-2016 and an illustrative forecast to 2021.GET SAMPLE REPORT @SummaryIndustrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants.The Azerbaijani industrial construction category has observed some fluctuations in the review period with a value of AZNxxx.xx million (US$xxx.xx million) in 2016 and declined at a rate of x.xx% over 2015. The market recorded a CAGR of x.xx% from 2012 through 2016."Industrial Construction Market in Azerbaijan: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021"' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the industrial construction market in Azerbaijan. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Azerbaijan construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.Scope An overview of the industrial construction market in Azerbaijan. Historic (2012 through 2016) and forecast (2017 through 2021) construction market output values are provided. A detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) is provided at the market level while the values for the segments are provided by cost types (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services). This report covers all the segments of commercial construction market including Industrial construction market covers the development of facilities for raw material processing, storage and manufacturing industries. This market includes four categories: chemical and pharmaceutical plants, manufacturing plants, metal and material processing plants and waste processing plants.Key points to buy Enhances your knowledge of the market with key figures detailing construction type. Provides you with a breakdown of the market by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition). Provides you with a breakdown of the segments by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment &construction services). Details the segments covered under commercial construction market. Allows you to plan future business decisions using the forecast figures given.Table of Contents1 Introduction2 Overall Industrial Construction Value: Market Analysis3 Industrial Construction Output: Analysis by Category4 Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plants construction: Market Analysis5 Manufacturing Plants construction: Market Analysis6 Metal and Material Production and Processing plants construction: Market Analysis7 Waste Processing Plants construction: Market Analysis8 Appendix..CONTINUEDWise 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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Amino Resin Market (Acron Jsc, AkzoNobel, Arclin)  Strategic Assessment and Forecast Till 2022

Amino Resin Market Analysis

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Global Amino Resin Market Research Report 2017 is latest research study released by HTF MI evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. This study recognizes that in this quick-evolving, competitive environment, up-to-date industry information is essential to monitor performance & make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, and on the changing structure of the Global Amino Resin Market.Get Access to sample pages @Global Amino Resin market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includes BASF, Chemiplastica, Advachem, Georgia-Pacific, INEOS Melamines, Jiangsu Sanmu Group, Acron Jsc, AkzoNobel, Arclin, Cytec Industries, Ineos Melamines, Synthetics & Polymer Industries, Capital Resin Corporation, Akolite Synthetic Resins, Tembec & Allnex BelgiumGlobal Amino Resin (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Urea Formaldehyde, Melamine Formaldehyde & Melamine Urea FormaldehydeMarket Segment by Type 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022Urea Formaldehyde xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Melamine Formaldehyde xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Melamine Urea Formaldehyde xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%The research study is segmented by Application such as Construction, Furniture, Automotive & Other with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Global Amino Resin (Thousands Units) by Application (2016-2022)Market Segment by Application 2012 2016 2022 Market Share (%)2022 CAGR (%)(2016-2022)Construction xx xx xx xx% xx%Furniture xx xx xx xx% xx%Automotive xx xx xx xx% xx%Other xx xx xx xx% xx%Total xx xx xx 100% xx%Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Amino Resin in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringMarket Segment by Regions 2012 2016 2022 Share (%) CAGR (2016-2022)North America xx xx xx xx% xx%Europe xx xx xx xx% xx%China xx xx xx xx% xx%Japan xx xx xx xx% xx%Southeast Asia xx xx xx xx% xx%India xx xx xx xx% xx%Total xx xx xx xx% xx%This independent 111 page research with title Global Amino Resin Market Research Report 2017 guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions/countries like North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India and important players/vendors such as BASF, Chemiplastica, Advachem, Georgia-Pacific, INEOS Melamines, Jiangsu Sanmu Group, Acron Jsc, AkzoNobel, Arclin, Cytec Industries, Ineos Melamines, Synthetics & Polymer Industries, Capital Resin Corporation, Akolite Synthetic Resins, Tembec & Allnex Belgium. With n-number of tables and figures examining the Amino Resin , the research gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leaders market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2022Further it focuses on Global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Amino Resin industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.The research insights solutions to the following key questions:What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022?What are the key factors driving the Global Amino Resin market?Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Amino Resin market?What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Amino Resin market?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Amino Resin market?What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Amino Resin market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Amino Resin market.Chapter 1, to describe Amino Resin Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Amino Resin , with sales, revenue, and price of Amino Resin , in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Amino Resin , for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [Construction, Furniture, Automotive & Other], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Amino Resin market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Amino Resin sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Vaccine Adjuvants Market Trends, Statistics, Segments, Graphs Growth Factors Forecast to 2027

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Vaccine Adjuvants Market Analysis By Key Companies VaxLiant LLC.(U.S)Vaxine Pty Ltd (Australia) Aphios Corporation (U.S) Viscogel AB (Sweden), by Type (pathogen components, particulate adjuvants), by End user (hospitals, clinics) by Administration (oral, intradermal) - Forecast to 2027Market Synopsis of Vaccine AdjuvantsMarket ScenarioGlobally the market for Vaccine Adjuvants is increasing rapidly. The factors that influence the growth of Vaccine Adjuvants Extending government proposals for vaccinations, mechanical advancements, Unmet Vaccine advertise requirements for specific diseases, expanding utilization of recombinant subunit and manufactured immunizations are the driving components for this business sector.Globally the market for Vaccine Adjuvants is expected to grow at the rate of about Significant CAGR from 2016 to 2027.Get a Copy of Sample Report @Key PlayersVaxLiant LLC.(U.S)Vaxine Pty Ltd (Australia)Aphios Corporation (U.S)Viscogel AB (Sweden)Adjuvatis (France)Sergeant Adjuvants (U.S)Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC.(India)CureVac AG (Germany)Brenntag Biosector (Denmark)CSL Limited (Australia)SEPPIC (Fracne)Agenus, Inc. (U.s)Novavax, Inc.(U.s)SPI Pharma, Inc.(U.s)Invivogen (U.s)Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc. (U.S)MPV Technologies (U.s), OZSegmentsThe market for Vaccine Adjuvants is segmented in mainly three parts i.e. by type, by devices and its various sub-segments; by type include pathogen components, particulate adjuvants, combination adjuvants and others. Whereas by end users include hospitals, clinics, research laboratories and others. Furthermore by administration includes oral, intradermal and intranasal.Study Objectives of Vaccine Adjuvants To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Vaccine Adjuvants market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Vaccine Adjuvants market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- Americas, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Type, by End-users, Administration and its sub-segments. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Vaccine Adjuvants marketBrowse Full Report Details @Biosciences (France)Americas North America US Canada Latin AmericaEurope Western Europe Germany France Italy Spain U.K Rest of Western Europe Eastern EuropeAsia PacificAsiaChina India Japan South Korea Rest of AsiaPacificThe Middle East & AfricaThe report for Vaccine Adjuvants of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Vaccine Adjuvants Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Gum Global Market 2017: Key Players  Wrigley, Mondelez, Perfetti Van Melle, Cadbury, Hershey, Lotte, Cloetta

Gum Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1942866-global-gum-sales-market-report-2017

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Gum Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Gum Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Gum Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Gum Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.Global Gum market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Gum sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingWrigleyMondelezPerfetti Van MelleCadburyHersheyLotteCloettaYake FoodMeiji HoldingsOrion GroupZED Candy (Dublin)FutasteLongliveJiujiuwangFini SweetsZhejiang Spring SweetsRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Gum for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMint Contain GumSugar FreeFruits GumOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Gum for each application, includingFresh BreathRelaxTeeth ProtectionSmoking RelatedOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Gum Sales Market Report 20171 Gum Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Gum1.2 Classification of Gum by Product Category1.2.1 Global Gum Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Gum Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Mint Contain Gum1.2.4 Sugar Free1.2.5 Fruits Gum1.2.6 Other1.3 Global Gum Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Gum Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Fresh Breath1.3.3 Relax1.3.4 Teeth Protection1.3.5 Smoking Related1.3.6 Other1.4 Global Gum Market by Region1.4.1 Global Gum Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Europe Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Gum Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Gum (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Gum Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Gum Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022).9 Global Gum Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 Wrigley9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Product A9.1.2.2 Product B9.1.3 Wrigley Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Mondelez9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Product A9.2.2.2 Product B9.2.3 Mondelez Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Perfetti Van Melle9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Product A9.3.2.2 Product B9.3.3 Perfetti Van Melle Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.4 Cadbury9.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.4.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.4.2.1 Product A9.4.2.2 Product B9.4.3 Cadbury Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.5 Hershey9.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.5.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.5.2.1 Product A9.5.2.2 Product B9.5.3 Hershey Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.6 Lotte9.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.6.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.6.2.1 Product A9.6.2.2 Product B9.6.3 Lotte Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.7 Cloetta9.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.7.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.7.2.1 Product A9.7.2.2 Product B9.7.3 Cloetta Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.8 Yake Food9.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.8.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.8.2.1 Product A9.8.2.2 Product B9.8.3 Yake Food Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.9 Meiji Holdings9.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.9.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.9.2.1 Product A9.9.2.2 Product B9.9.3 Meiji Holdings Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.10 Orion Group9.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.10.2 Gum Product Category, Application and Specification9.10.2.1 Product A9.10.2.2 Product B9.10.3 Orion Group Gum Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.10.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Vaccine Conjugates Market Key Vendors, Booming Trend & Opportunities, Forecast Report 2027

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Vaccine Conjugates Market Analysis by Indication (Influenza, Pneumococcal, Meningococcal, Others), By Key Companies (GlaxoSmithKline plc.(U.K), Merck & Co., Inc.(U.S), Fablife. (India), SutroVax Inc.(U.S) & others), by Type (Haemophilus B, Monovalent, Multivalent, Others), - Forecast to 2027Market Synopsis of Vaccine ConjugatesMarket Scenario:Globally the market for Vaccine Conjugates is increasing rapidly. The factors that influence the growth of Vaccine Conjugates Extending government proposals for vaccinations, mechanical advancements and significant reasons for adolescence meningitis and other disease disorders and have in like manner polysaccharide cases that demonstration both as destructiveness determinants and focuses for defensive neutralizer.Get a Copy of Sample Report @Key Players:GlaxoSmithKline plc.(U.K)Merck & Co., Inc.(U.S)Fablife. (India)SutroVax Inc.(U.S)Sanofi Pasteur SA.(France)Pfizer (U.S)Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (China)SegmentsThe market for Vaccine Conjugates is segmented in mainly two parts i.e. by type, by disease, and its various sub-segments; by type include Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), Haemophilus B Conjugate (hib) Vaccine, Monovalent Conjugate Vaccines and Multivalent Conjugate Vaccines. Whereas by disease include Influenza, Pneumococcal, DTP, Meningococcal and Others.Study Objectives of Vaccine Conjugates To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Vaccine Conjugates market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Vaccine Conjugates market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- Americas, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Type, by Disease and its sub-segments. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Vaccine Conjugates marketBrowse Full Report Details @The report for Vaccine Conjugates of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Vaccine Conjugates Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
PIONEER TECHNOLOGY GROUP ANNOUNCES SUPPORT INITIATIVE

Pioneer announces One Pioneer a program to further improve its Support resources.

http://www.ptghome.com

Take care of the customer, and the customer will take care of you. This idea is the core of Pioneers initiative, One Pioneer - a radical change in how the software company does business. Barriers will be broken down between the departments of Implementation, Forms, Programming, and Support, with the intent to further improve our response times for our customers.Quality support has always been crucial in maintaining a positive relationship between the company and its customers. Knowing this, Pioneer aims to expand its daily Support focus beyond the Help Desk. Ticket resolution will be a high priority not just for the help desk, but for every department across the board. For example, more complex issues involving code changes will now be resolved much faster, as the Programming department will be on hand immediately to address such tickets.Pioneers Help Desk is hiring additional team members, while at the same time doubling its efforts via the active involvement of other departments in solving tickets. Managers from each department will work together to ensure their resources are always available to the Support team. Each group brings unique expertise to the table, allowing our Support personnel to tap into a reserve of more specialized information at a moments notice.This change is effective in Pioneers entire product line. The company hopes that this new initiative will create further efficiencies in County and State governments using its products. Our support team has always been among the best in the business, said Steve Rumsey, CEO and Founder of Pioneer, but these changes will further demonstrate our commitment to our customers.Pioneer Technology Group (Pioneer) is a leading developer of software solutions and services to Governments and the private sector. The company is headquartered in Sanford, Florida and recently opened a location in Wooster, Ohio. Offerings include: Benchmark, a court case management system, the Landmark official records system, the YourDox title document system, and tax processing systems for counties and municipalities. Pioneer also provides content management systems and a scanning services bureau for transitioning paper to digital images through its subsidiary, Pioneer Records Management. For more information about the company, please contact Kristina OLeary at koleary@ptghome.com or visit Pioneer's website at-Pioneer Technology Group
Automotive Window Regulators Market Analysis, Size, Share and Key Trends 2023

Automotive Window Regulators Market

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Market Highlights:The global market of automotive Window Regulators is growing rapidly. Automotive window regulators have features to ensure safety, comfort and thus can conveniently be used in automotive industry. Automotive window regulators production is consequently high in Asia-Pacific, with China and India expected to be the most promising markets. Rising production levels, growing demand towards comfort and luxury and focus towards technically advanced products, are pushing the market towards growth. Research and development by manufacturers to introduce innovative features and technology is a trend. Overall, demand for automotive goods in many countries will continue to increase and the number of function & applications, are expected to rise notably during the next few years.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players of Automotive Window Regulators Market: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG (Germany) Valeo ( France) Shiroki Corporation (Japan) Grupo Antolin (Spain) Dura Automotive Systems, Inc (U.S.) Elta Automotive Ltd (U.K.) KUSTER Holding GmbH (Germany) Shanghai SIIC Transportation Electric Co., Ltd. (China) Huayu Automotive Systems Company Limited (China) Hi-Lex Corporation (Japan)Market Research Future Analysis:Market Research Future analysis shows that the global market of automotive window regulators market is estimated to grow at a 4.2 % CAGR by the end of year 2023.Changing life styles, and urbanization are some of the major factors, which are driving the market of automotive window regulators .These trends are replacing the earlier concepts with the more useful and comfortable automotive window regulators that are also faster and more convenient. Asia-Pacific is leading the market of automotive window regulators while North America & Europe are expected to witness steady growth in demand over the forecast period.Brief TOC:1 Executive Summary2 Research Methodology2.1 Scope of the Study2.1.1 Definition2.1.2 Research Objective2.1.3 Assumptions2.1.4 Limitations2.2 Research Process2.2.1 Primary Research2.2.2 Secondary Research2.3 Market size Estimation2.4 Forecast Model3 Market Dynamics3.1 Market Drivers3.2 Market Inhibitors3.3 Supply/Value Chain Analysis3.4 Porters Five Forces Analysis4 Global Automotive Window Regulators Market, By Product Type4.1 Introduction4.2 Manual4.3 Automatic5 Global Automotive Window Regulators Market, By Construction5.1 Introduction5.2 Cable Type5.3 Arm TypeContinueAccess Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Technologies and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Automotive Clutch Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2022

Automotive Clutch Market

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Market Scenario:The growth in the Automotive Industry has led to a significant increase in demand for automotive Clutch market. Automotive Clutch helps to enjoy a smooth start and facilitate shaft. It also prevent the transmission overload and reduce the impact of torsional vibration. Features such transmitting required power as well as serve as safety device are acting as a primary factor for the growth of market. Stringent emission norms, need for fuel efficiency as well as technological advancement such as the dual clutch transmission system are driving the market of Automotive Clutch Market. Moreover, shifting preference towards manual or fully-automatic transmission systems spur the market growth.Request for a Sample Copy @Key PlayersThe major player operating in the market of Global Automotive Clutch are Eaton Corporation, Magneti Marelli, Valeo, Aisin Seiki, EXEDY, FCC, Schaeffer, BorgWarner Clutch Auto Limited and ZF Friedrichshafen.Brief TOC:1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope Of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure1.3.1 Global Automotive Clutch Market: By Transmission Type1.3.2 Global Automotive Clutch Market: By Clutch Type1.3.3 Global Automotive Clutch Market: By Vehicle Type1.3.5 Global Automotive Clutch Market: By Region2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Transmission Type2.2 Primary Researchpt2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast Model2.4.1 Market Data Collection, Analysis & Forecast2.4.2 Market Size Estimation2.4.3 Market Crackdown & Data Triangulation3 Market Dynamics3.1 Introduction3.2 Market Drivers3.3 Market Challenges3.4 Market Opportunities4 Executive Summary5. Market Factor Analysis5.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis5.2 Supply Chain AnalysisContinueBrowse Full Report @Regional AnalysisAsia pacific is dominating the market of clutch due to majority of automotive sales in the region as well as technological advancement such as duel clutch transmission system and automated manual transmission systems which helps the market to grow in this region. Development of automotive manufacturing industries in developing economies such as china and India are driving the market for automotive Clutch. Factors such as availability of low-cost manual transmission clutches as well as consumer preference towards convenient mode of transmission are some of the factors pushing the market of automotive Clutch. Whereas, increasing vehicle purchase as well as shift towards electric vehicle are some of the factors driving the demand for clutch market in the North American region.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Automotive Remote Diagnostics Market Trends & Global Forecast 2022

Automotive Remote diagnostics Market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1842

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-remote-diagnostics-market

Market Highlights:Automotive remote diagnostics is a solution to monitor the health of a vehicle, figures the root cause of the issues and also enables the customer to access information about the vehicle. The awareness regarding vehicle diagnostics, the rising demand regarding safety and security of vehicles, and the growing inclination towards premium vehicles are some factors expected to drive the market. In connectivity segment, bluetooth is expected to have largest share in the automotive remote diagnostics market. As bluetooth offers various features and one of them is it connects the vehicle to the internet via smart phone to transfer data from and with server. There are various trends in the market such as integration of mobile phones with telematics systems and vehicle diagnostic-based insurance programs. The global Automotive Remote diagnostics market is expected to show a growth at CAGR of about 16.90% from 2016 to 2022.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players of Automotive Remote Diagnostics Market: Robert Bosch GmbH Continental AG Delphi Automotive PLC Onstar LLC Snap-On Inc. Magneti Marelli Softing AG VOXX International Corporation Vector Informatik Vidiwave Ltd.Regional Analysis of Global Automotive Remote Diagnostics Market:The North America region has a largest share in the automotive remote diagnostics market. Also, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This region is led by China and India due to increasing population, increasing per capita income, improving living standards, and hence increasing demand for purchase of high end vehicles. And this will significantly drive the market of automotive remote diagnostics.Brief TOC:1. Report Prologue2. IntroductionDefinitionScope Of The StudyResearch ObjectiveAssumptionsLimitationsMarket StructureMarket Segmentation3. Research MethodologyResearch ProcessPrimary ResearchSecondary ResearchMarket Size EstimationForecast ModelContinueBrowse Full Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Greece Residential Construction Market 2017- Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures 2021

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2397578-residential-construction-market-in-greece-market-size-growth-and-forecast-analytics

WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Residential Construction Market in GreeceSynopsis"Residential Construction Market in Greece: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021" contains historic and forecast market data for the residential construction market in Greece, with a detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) and by cost type( construction materials, construction equipment and construction services). This report also contains overall values of the residential construction segments such as Residential construction market covers new construction, renovation and demolition of residential buildings such as houses, townhouses, cottages, condominiums, single-unit dwellings, sub-divisions and apartments. This market includes two categories: single-family housing and multi-family housing. This research report provides up-to-date market size data for the period 2012-2016 and an illustrative forecast to 2021.GET SAMPLE REPORT @SummaryResidential construction market covers new construction, renovation and demolition of residential buildings such as houses, townhouses, cottages, condominiums, single-unit dwellings, sub-divisions and apartments. This market includes two categories: single-family housing and multi-family housing.The Greek residential construction category has observed some fluctuations in the review period with a value of EURxxx.xx million (US$xxx.xx million) in 2016 and increased at a rate of x.xx% over 2015. The market recorded a CARC of -x.xx% from 2012 through 2016."Residential Construction Market in Greece: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to 2021"' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the residential construction market in Greece. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Greece construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market.Scope An overview of the residential construction market in Greece. Historic (2012 through 2016) and forecast (2017 through 2021) construction market output values are provided. A detailed breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition) is provided at the market level while the values for the segments are provided by cost types (construction materials, construction equipment & construction services). This report covers all the segments of commercial construction market including Residential construction market covers new construction, renovation and demolition of residential buildings such as houses, townhouses, cottages, condominiums, single-unit dwellings, sub-divisions and apartments. This market includes two categories: single-family housing and multi-family housing.Key points to buy Enhances your knowledge of the market with key figures detailing construction type. Provides you with a breakdown of the market by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition). Provides you with a breakdown of the segments by cost type (construction materials, construction equipment &construction services). Details the segments covered under commercial construction market. Allows you to plan future business decisions using the forecast figures given.Table of Contents1 Introduction2 Overall Residential Construction: Market Analysis3 Residential Construction Output: Analysis by Category4 Single-Family Housing construction: Market Analysis5 Multi-Family Housing construction: Market Analysis6 Appendix..CONTINUEDWise 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. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Hand Geometry Biometric 2017 Market Segmentation,Application,Technology & Market Analysis Research Report to 2022

Hand Geometry Biometric Market 2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1182775-global-hand-geometry-biometric-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/1182775-global-hand-geometry-biometric-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Hand Geometry Biometric 2017 Market Segmentation,Application,Technology & Market Analysis Research Report to 2022.This report studies the global Hand Geometry Biometric market, analyzes and researches the Hand Geometry Biometric development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, like3M CompanyFingerprint CardsCross Match TechnologiesFulcrum BiometricsSafranFujitsuRCG HoldingsSiemensFacebanxNCE CorporationValidsoft UKThalesSupremaGet a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoLengths of FingerWidth of HandMarket segment by Application, Hand Geometry Biometric can be split intoGovernmentDefenceFinance & BankingImmigration & TravelCommercial SecurityHome SecurityHealthcareConsumer ElectronicsReport Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsGlobal Hand Geometry Biometric Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Hand Geometry Biometric1.1 Hand Geometry Biometric Market Overview1.1.1 Hand Geometry Biometric Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Hand Geometry Biometric Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Hand Geometry Biometric Market by Type1.3.1 Lengths of Finger1.3.2 Width of Hand1.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Government1.4.2 Defence1.4.3 Finance & Banking1.4.4 Immigration & Travel1.4.5 Commercial Security1.4.6 Home Security1.4.7 Healthcare1.4.8 Consumer Electronics2 Global Hand Geometry Biometric Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Hand Geometry Biometric Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 3M Company3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Fingerprint Cards3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Cross Match Technologies3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Fulcrum Biometrics3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Safran3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Fujitsu3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 RCG Holdings3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Siemens3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Facebanx3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 NCE Corporation3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Hand Geometry Biometric Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Validsoft UK3.12 Thales3.13 SupremaContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
OLED TVs Market Expected To Witness The Highest Growth

OLED TVs

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https://goo.gl/bYqBkb

https://goo.gl/tQhBV8

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com

The Global OLED TVs Market Research Report 2017 to 2022 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the OLED TVs Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of OLED TVs Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain.The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment.Global OLED TVs market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including:PansonicLG ElectronicsHaier GroupSichuan ChanghongKonka GroupSonyTCLSharpHisensePhilipsBrowse Complete Report with TOC @The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the OLED TVs industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations.The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the OLED TVs industry in the global markets.So as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the global OLED TVs Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 OLED TVs Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of OLED TVs1.2 OLED TVs Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global OLED TVs Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global OLED TVs Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 1080P1.2.4 4K1.2.5 Other1.3 Global OLED TVs Segment by Application1.3.1 OLED TVs Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Home1.3.3 Commercial1.4 Global OLED TVs Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global OLED TVs Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 EU Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of OLED TVs (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global OLED TVs Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global OLED TVs Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on Global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
Global LED Lighting Solutions Market: Industry Outlook, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

MRRSE

https://www.mrrse.com/sample/2906

https://www.mrrse.com/led-lighting-solutions-market

https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/2906

https://www.mrrse.com/

https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/

The latest report by Market Research Report Search Engine titled LED Lighting Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2017-2025 consists of four main parts. The first part is dedicated to explaining the market definitions, market segmentation and acronyms used in the report. In this section of the report, the key definitions in the Global LED Lighting Market are provided, along with an explanation of how Persistence Market Research has segmented the target market.Request For Free Sample Report:In the subsequent sections of this part of the report, research methodology used to arrive at the indicated market numbers has been clearly indicated. In the second part of the report, the major factors enabling and impacting growth of the global LED lighting market as well as the growth of the parent industry is briefly elaborated. This section of the report includes key growth drivers and the impact of these drivers on the global LED lighting market. Major challenges confronting the global LED lighting market and the impact of these challenges on the market is also mentioned in the report. At the end of the second part, trends, opportunities and recent developments in the global LED lighting market have been included.The third part of the report consists of the key analysis and insights into the global LED lighting market and comprise the bulk of the report. This part consists of information regarding the market size and CAGR  historic, current estimated and forecast  for the next eight years. Y-o-Y growth rate comparison of various segments and sub segments of the global LED lighting market are also presented in this section of the report. In addition, absolute dollar opportunity analysis of each segment of the global LED lighting market is also presented. In the fourth and last part of the report, a competition landscape is included, which presents a dashboard view of the competitive benchmarking, based on relative positioning of the competitors in the global LED lighting market. Besides this valuable information, product offerings of the major competitors operating in the global LED lighting market is also highlighted in this section. The company profiles covers the overview, financials, recent developments, SWOT analysis and a brief business strategy of the main players in the global LED lighting market.Another distinctive feature of this report is the inclusion of the current scenario of the global LED lighting market that tracks the various phases the market has covered or is yet to cover and the evolution of the global LED lighting market based on phases such as the introductory phase, growth phase, maturity phase and the decline phase. In addition, a detailed product lifecycle stage write up is also given that discusses the various characteristics of the global LED lighting market, which comprise sales perspective, price, product adoption, competitors and also information on manufacturer profit margins. Also, there is one more distinctive feature in the report pertaining to the global LED lighting market value chain analysis. In this part of the report, various stages in LED lighting manufacturing have been elaborated  upstream stage, midstream stage and downstream stage. The value chain analysis has all the manufacturing components broken down minutely and cross reductions across various stages in the value chain are also given.Browse Full Report With TOC:Research MethodologyPersistence Market Research has used multiple resources of information and analysis to estimate the market revenue of the global LED lighting market. In order to give the market value projections till 2025 end, Persistence Market Research analysts have first explored LED lighting solutions by product type, services, end user and application. After this, the analysts have done primary and secondary research to arrive at the stated market figures. The secondary research consists of qualitative data gathering through various articles, journals, blogs, industry association data, company websites and other secondary sources. In primary research, discussions with industry experts were carried out. In the data analysis phase, adoption of LED lighting solutions across various industries was considered, along with value chain analysis. A study of the trends in the parent market and end user industry was also carried out and a forecast was developed. This was verified and validated using the triangulation method. Based on this, market insights were derived on which key findings and recommendations of this report are based.Market SegmentationBy Product TypeLED BulbsBare LED TubesLED FixturesLED DownlightsOthersBy ServicesConsulting ServicesInstallation ServicesMaintenance & Support ServicesBy End UserResidentialCommercialIndustrialBy ApplicationOutdoorIndoorBacklightingAutomotiveOthersBy RegionNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)Middle East and Africa (MEA)Enquire About this Report:About 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:Read More Industry News At:
Global Printed Antenna Market, Industry Analysis, Outlook, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

MRRSE

https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3195

https://www.mrrse.com/printed-antennas-market

https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3195

https://www.mrrse.com/

https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/

This report covers the analysis and forecast of the Printed Antenna Market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2016 along with forecast for the period between 2017 and 2025 based on revenue (US$ Bn).Request For Free Sample Report:The study provides a decisive view of the printed antenna market by segmenting it based on printing technology, end use industry, and regional demand. End use industry segments have been analyzed based on current trends and future potential. The market has been estimated from 2017 to 2025 in terms of revenue (US$ Bn). Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. These have been further sub-segmented into countries with relevance to the market. The segmentation also includes demand for individual end use industries in all regions.Global Printed Antenna Market: Scope of StudyThe study covers the drivers and restraints governing the dynamics of the market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes potential opportunities in the printed antenna market on the global and regional level. In this report, we have also incorporated latest market trend of global printed antenna market which helps to analyze future prospective demand of this device.The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, wherein end use industries have been benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness for future growth. This study also includes market attractiveness on the basis of printing technology. Regional market attractiveness analysis on the basis of each segment helps to analyze the most prospective segment in each region.The report provides the size of the printed antenna market in 2016 and the forecast for the next nine years up to 2025. The size of the global printed antenna market is provided in terms of revenue. Market revenue for regions is in US$ Bn. The market size and forecast for each product segment is provided in the context of global and regional markets. Numbers provided in this report are derived based on demand generated from different end use industries.Market estimates for this study have been based on revenue being derived through regional pricing trends. The price for commonly utilized grades of printed antenna in each end use industry has been considered, and customized product pricing has not been included. Demand for printed antenna has been derived by analyzing the global and regional demand for printed antenna in each end use industry. The global printed antenna market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Market data for each segment is based on corresponding revenues. Forecasts have been based on the expected demand from printed antenna. We have used the top-down approach to estimate the global printed antenna market, split into regions. The product type split of the market has been derived using a top-down approach for each regional market separately, with the global product type segment split being an integration of regional estimates. Companies were considered for the market share analysis based on their product portfolio, revenue, and manufacturing capacity. In the absence of specific data related to the sales of printed antenna of several privately held companies, calculated assumptions have been made in view of the companys product portfolio and regional presence along with the demand for products in its portfolio.Browse Full Report With TOC:Global Printed Antenna Market: Competitive OutlookThe report covers a detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and company profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key market players include Neotech AMT GmbH (Germany), Shure Inc. (U.S.), nScrypt Inc. (U.S.), Optomec Inc. (U.S.), Optisys Inc. (U.S.), Cobham plc (U.K.), GSI Technologies (U.S.), Mars Antennas & RF System (U.S.), Thales S.A. (France), Texas Instrument Inc. (U.S.).The global printed antenna market has been segmented into:Global Printed Antenna Market: By GeographyNorth AmericaS.Rest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyFranceK.ItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificJapanChinaIndiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)UAESouth AfricaRest of MEALatin America (LATAM)BrazilRest of LATAMGlobal Printed Antenna Market: By Printing TechnologyInk-jet PrintingScreen PrintingFlexography PrintingGravure PrintingOthersGlobal Printed Antenna Market: By End Use IndustryAutomotiveTelecommunicationAerospace & DefensePharmaceuticalsOthersEnquire About this Report:About 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:Read More Industry News At:
Global Single-use Bioprocessing Sensors and Probes Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3189

https://www.mrrse.com/single-use-bioprocessing-sensors-probes-market

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https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/

This report on Single-Use Bioprocessing Sensors And Probes Market studies the current as well as future prospects of the market globally. The stakeholders of this report include companies and intermediaries engaged in the manufacture, commercialization, providing services of single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes products such as pH sensor, valve, bench top control system, spectroscopy, optochemical DO, temperature, pressure as well as new entrants planning to enter this market.Request For Free Sample Report:This report comprises an elaborate executive summary along with a market snapshot providing overall information of various segments and sub-segments considered in the scope of the study. This section also provides the overall information and data analysis of the global single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market with respect to the leading market segments based on major applications segment, products segment, and geographies.The market overview section of the report explores the market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities that currently have a strong impact on the single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market and could influence the market in the near future. Market attractiveness analysis has been provided in the market overview section in order to explain the intensity of competition in the market across different geographies. The competitive scenario among different market players is evaluated through market share analysis in the competitive landscape section of the report. All these factors would help market players to take strategic decisions in order to strengthen their positions and expand their shares in the global single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market.Global Single-use Bioprocessing Sensors and Probes Market: SegmentationBased on the product type, the single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market has been segmented into: pH Sensor, valve, bench top control system, spectroscopy, optochemical DO, temperature, pressure, and others. Each of the market segments have been extensively analyzed based on the market related factors such as increasing demand of single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes worldwide, and technological advancement. Moreover, historical year-on-year growth have been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. The market size and forecast in terms of US$ million for each segment has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025. The report also provides the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for each market segment for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as the base year.Single-use Bioprocessing Sensors and Probes Market: Regional AnalysisGeographically, single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The market size and forecast for each of these regions has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as the base year. The report also provides with market size and forecast for major countries in the respective regions. A detailed qualitative analysis of factors responsible for driving and restraining the market growth and future opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. This section of the report also provides with market attractiveness analysis, Porters five forces analysis, and market share analysis by key players, thus presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the global single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market.Browse Full Report With TOC:Single-use Bioprocessing Sensors and Probes Market: Competitive AnalysisThe key findings section included in the report would assist existing market players in expanding their market shares, and new companies in establishing their presence in the global single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market. The report also profiles key players operating in the single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market which are Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A., Eppendorf AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Hamilton Company, Honeywell International, Inc., Broadley-James Corporation, GE Healthcare, PendoTECH, LLC, Polestar Technologies, Inc., PreSens Precision Sensing GmbH, and Parker Hannifin Corporation.The global single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes market is segmented as follows:Global Single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes Market, Product TypepH SensorElectrochemicalOpticalSolid-stateValvePneumatic Pinch ValveElectrically Actuated Pinch ValvesOthersBench Top Control SystemDCS - Decentralized Control SystemPLC - Programmable Logic ControllersOthersSpectroscopyRaman SpectroscopyNIRScattering SpectroscopyOptochemical DOTemperaturePressureOthersGlobal Single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes Market, by Application TypeBiotechnology IndustryPharmaceutical IndustryAcademic ResearchOthersGlobal Single-use bioprocessing sensors and probes Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaS.CanadaEuropeGermanyK.FranceItalySpainRussiaRest of the EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaAustralia & New ZealandRest of Asia PacificLatin America (LATAM)BrazilMexicoRest of LATAMMiddle East & AfricaSouth AfricaRest of MEAGCC CountriesEnquire About this Report:About 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:Read More Industry News At:
Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security Market Analysis, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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https://www.mrrse.com/cbrn-security-market

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Chemical, Biological, Radiological And Nuclear (CBRN) Security is principally responsible for effective combat against CBRN weapons for mass destruction from various external or internal anti national organizations. CBRN incidents can occur accidentally, intentionally, or naturally. Accidental CBRN incidents are the events caused by human error or technological errors, such as factory spillage, accidental release or leakage of poisonous gas or liquids. Intentional CBRN incidents are those that occur when CBRN materials are released into the environment with the intention of terrorism or war.Request For Free Sample Report:The deliberate accumulation or discharge of hazardous materials to avoid fulfilling regulatory requirements also counts as intentional CBRN incidents. A natural CBRN incident would be the outbreak of an infectious disease such as Ebola, swine flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (S.A.R.S.), pandemic influenza, etc.Owing to the global increase in terrorist activity and the procurement of mass destruction weapons by anti-state organizations, it has become highly essential for governments, armed troops and civilians to be involved in a strategic recognition, preparation, and prevention of fatal threats. Governments across the world are adopting enhanced technology for the prevention of CBRN attacks by anti-national or terrorist organizations. For example, the recent evidence of the procurement of chemical weapons for mass destruction by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda, signifies a major threat to the international community. Military organizations across the world are demanding special devices, systems and training for CBRN attack response operations.Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological. And Nuclear Security Market: Market DynamicsIncrease in the terrorist activities across the world is one of the key factor driving the demand of CBRN security market during the forecast period of 2017  2025. In December 2016, 145 terrorist incidents were reported. Several countries across the globe the invested in defense for adopt enhanced technology for the prevention of CBRN attacks by anti-national or terrorist organizations. For Instance, the recent evidence of the procurement of chemical weapons for mass destruction by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda, signifies a major threat to the international community. According to Central Intelligence Agency, Al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups have a lots of agents to choose from for chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attack. Due to this factor, government of different countries are modernizing their defense and buying new equipment for CBRN security.Additionally, growing unfavorable geopolitical issues between countries also indicate potential threat of CBRN attacks. Repetitive clashes between Russia and Ukraine, India and Pakistan, China and Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia and Iran are a few of the geopolitical issues at present. On the other hand, the economic crisis in Europe has also given rise to various political conflicts among the European nations lately. These unfavorable geopolitical issues also pose threat of CBRN attacks and can affect national economy and security. Growing need for early detection of CBRN incidents and immediate response for protection are the primary concerns for governments worldwide. Owing to these factors, the demand for CBRN security is increasing at a substantial pace globally. The impact of the threat from terrorists and unfavorable geopolitical issues is currently high and is expected to reduce to medium over the forecast period.Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological. And Nuclear Security Market: Market SegmentationBased on the type, the global CBRN security market has been segmented into chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security. In 2016, among various types, nuclear segment is expected to dominate the market followed by chemical. Based on the function, the global CBRN security market has been segmented into protection, detection, decontamination and simulation. In 2016, among various functions, protection segment is expected to dominate the market followed by detection.By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Based on the type, the market has been categorized into chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear security. Additionally, the market has been segmented on the basis of functions which include protection equipment, detection equipment, decontamination equipment and simulation equipment. The market size and forecast from 2017 to 2025 have been provided in the report.Browse Full Report With TOC:Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological. And Nuclear Security Market: Competitive LandscapeKey players profiled in this report include Survitec Group (United Kingdom), Tingley Rubber Corporation (United States), W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc (United States), MKU GmbH (United States), Blucher GmbH (Germany) and Supergum International (Israel) for CBRN boots. AVON Protection Systems, Inc (United States), Scott Safety (United States), 3M Company (United States), AVEC CHEM s.r.o (CZECH REPUBLIC) and Respirex International Ltd (United Kingdom) for CBRN filters. HDT Global (United States), Alaska Structures (United States) and Air Shelter USA, LLC (United States) for CBRN shelters. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc (United States), Blucher GmbH (Germany), Paul Boye Technology SAS (France), Supergum International (Israel) and Dharma Magna (Indonesia) for CBRN fabric gloves. Honeywell International Inc. (United States), Survitec Group (United Kingdom), Respirex International Ltd (United Kingdom), ISOVAC Product LLC (United States) and GOETZLOFF GmbH (Austria) for CBRN ISOPOD. AVON Protection Systems, Inc (United States), Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), 3M Company (United States), Honeywell International Inc (United States), ILC Dover (United States) and Micronel Safety USA, LLC (United States) for CBRN PAPR. AVON Protection Systems, Inc (United States), Scott Safety (United States), Shalon-Chemical Industries (Israel), MSA (United States), Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA (Germany) and Supergum International (Israel) for CBRN mask. Honeywell International Inc (United States), REX-Gummitechniken GmbH Co.KG (Germany), Ansell Ltd (Australia) and Guardian Manufacturing (United States) for CBRN rubber gloves.The segments covered in the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security market are as follows:Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security Market, 2016 - 2025: By TypeChemicalBiologicalRadiologicalNuclearGlobal Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security Market, 2016 - 2025: By FunctionProtectionDetectionDecontaminationSimulation SystemsGlobal Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Security Market, 2016 - 2025: By GeographyNorth AmericaS.Rest of North AmericaEuropeUKFranceGermanyRest of EuropeAsia PacificAustraliaNew ZealandJapanRest of APACMiddle East and Africa (MEA)Saudi ArabiaUAERest of MEALatin AmericaBrazilRest of Latin AmericaEnquire About this Report:About 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:Read More Industry News At:
Vibration Monitoring 2017 Market Is Estimated to Reach US$ 2.03 Billion and Growing at 6.6% CAGR by 2023

Vibration Monitoring Market 2017

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Vibration Monitoring Market 2017Summary:Vibration Monitoring Market, By Component (Hardware, Software, Services), By System Types (Vibration analyzers, Embedded systems, Vibration meters), By End-Users (Automotive, Metal and Mining, Food & Beverages, Chemicals, Oil & Gas) - Global Forecast 2023Key Players:The prominent players in the Vibration Monitoring market include -Honeywell International Inc. (US)Emerson Electric Co. (US)General Electric (US)Analog Devices Inc.(US)SKF AB (Sweden)National Instruments Corp. (US)Rockwell Automation, Inc. (US)Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG (Germany)Bruel & Kiaer Sound & Vibration Measurement A/S (Denmark)Meggitt PLC (UK)The global Vibration Monitoring market is expected to grow at USD$ ~2.03 Billion by 2023, at ~6.6% of CAGR between 2017 and 2023.Market Synopsis of Vibration Monitoring Market:Market Scenario:The Vibration Monitoring provides early warning which enables to detect the fault and failure in the system. The vibration monitoring has prompt the market due to its response for fast failure source localization and process optimization at machines in operation. It also offers high diagnostic authoritativeness and greater diagnostic accuracy. The vibration monitoring system is integrated with the sensors with low noise system and is functionally tested for circuit continuity and output response, which is highly recognized by the organizations. The introduction of online vibration monitoring systems, used for protection of critical machinery, reduced maintenance costs and suggest the possibility of faultlessness in the system.The study indicates that the vibrational monitoring is rapidly becoming standard practice in most industrial predictive maintenance programs. The vibration monitoring is driven by various factor such as advance indication of developing problems, protect health, safety, and environment, monitor inaccessible equipment, complement portable monitoring programs which increase the demand of vibration monitoring market growth, globally.Study Objectives of Vibration Monitoring Market:To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast of the various segments and sub-segments of theVibration Monitoring market.To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth.To analyze the Vibration Monitoring market based porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Vibration Monitoring a, and Rest of the World (ROW).To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective.To provide country level analysis of the market for segment on the basis component, system type, end-users, and region.To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market.To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Vibration Monitoring systemRequest For Sample Report @Segments:The global Vibration Monitoring market has been segmented on the basis of component, system type, end-users, and region.Vibration Monitoring Market by Component:HardwareTransmittersAccelerometersProximity probesVelocity sensorsOthersSoftwareServicesOthersVibration Monitoring Market by System Type:Vibration analyzersEmbedded systemsVibration metersOthersVibration Monitoring Market by End-Users:AutomotiveMetal and MiningFood & BeveragesChemicalsOil & GasOthersVibration Monitoring Market by Regions:North AmericaEuropeAPACRest of the WorldRegional Analysis:The regional analysis of Vibration Monitoring market is being studied for region such as Asia pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. North America region is dominating the global vibration monitoring market and accounted for a largest market share. The Key Vendors such as Honeywell International Inc. (US), Emerson Electric Co. (US), General Electric (US), and many more are the major player in this market. In Europe region, the vibration market is gaining momentum due to the vibration monitoring equipment which is providing the computerized information that will interlink with the investigations of machine manufacturer, the operator in industrial production, as well as to the related insurance companies. This region is expected to grow further in the coming years of the Vibration Monitoring market. Asia Pacific will emerge to the highest CAGR in the vibration monitoring market.Intended AudienceRaw material providersVibration monitoring manufacturersOriginal equipment manufacturersResearch organizations and consulting companiesVibration monitoring-related associationsDistributors and tradersGovernment bodiesSemiconductor product designers and fabricatorsResearch institutes and organizationsTechnology standards organizationsTechnology investorsResearch institutes,System IntegratorsResearch/Consultancy firmsComplete Report Details @Table of Contents1 MARKET INTRODUCTION1.1 INTRODUCTION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.3 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE..7 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS7.1 MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS7.2 COMPANY PROFILES7.2.1 CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. (US)7.2.2 VERINT SYSTEMS INC. (US)7.2.3 GENPACT LIMITED (BERMUDA)7.2.4 GENESYS (US)7.2.5 8X8 INC. (US)7.2.6 MITEL NETWORKS CORPORATION (CANADA)7.2.7 ORACLE CORPORATION (US)7.2.8 SAP SE (GERMANY)7.2.9 NICE LTD. (ISRAEL)7.2.10 ENGHOUSE INTERACTIVE (US)7.2.11 SERVION GLOBAL SOLUTIONS (INDIA)7.2.12 OTHERSContinued.About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have the prime objective to provide optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies depending on products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments enables our clients to know more consequently do more, which gives them answer for their each and every important question. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industryCONTACT US:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Its possible that John McCain has hated Donald Trump since the day in 2015 when Trump insulted the former POW by saying, hes not a war heroI like people who werent captured. Its possible that McCain, who has long wanted to be president, is annoyed at a reality TV star who seems to have stumbled into the job. Its possible that McCain has real, principled objections to Trumps belligerent, impulsive, dangerous style. All three of these explanationsand many morewould be sufficient cause for animosity all by themselves. Taken togetherwell, they seem to have inspired a vendetta.

In short, John McCain is on the warpath. You saw him singlehandedly scuttle the GOPs attempt to pass healthcare reform this summer, denying Trump a signature legislative achievement. You saw him put himself forward as the Republican opposition to Trump as early as February. You saw him throw some subtle shade at Trump in his 60 Minutes interview last month, noting that Trump had never apologized to him for the POW crack, and saying things like, I dont know what hes going to do tomorrow or say tomorrowhe changes his statements almost on a daily basis. So for me to spend my time trying to analyze what he says, I dont know.

And last night, in a speech at the National Constitution Center, he took direct aim at Trump without ever mentioning his name. Per Jonathan Chait at New York:

John McCain denounced the Trump administrations ideology in terms that sounded harsh, and that upon reflection were even harsher. Without naming Trump, but without needing to, the Arizona senator dismissed some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems, likening it to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history. Here McCain was comparing the worldview of a president of his own party to communism and fascism  a rebuke even deeper, in a way, than Senator Corker comparing him to a doddering half-wit. Corker attacked Trumps competence. McCain attacked his intentions.

There are a few things we know about McCain. First, yes, he was a war hero. Second, no, hes not a maverick just as partisan as the rest of the Republicans in Congress, with all the awfulness that entails. (See also: Sarah Palin.)

But we can also reliably say that this guy hates Donald Trump, and is making it his businessas something of a last act in his political careerto ruin the man. Hes not the perfect symbol of resistance, by any means, but the phrase any port in a storm applies here. In other words, yeah, well take it.
Harbor Springs frees up funding with public safety millage

The Harbor Springs public safety millage will free up some of the funds impacted by the Headlee Amendment, but city officials say it isn't a long-term fix.
Will New Hampshire Follow Nearby States in Passing Online Gaming Bill?

October 18, 2017 Valerie Cross

Following the passage of a bill allowing online lottery sales in June of 2017, New Hampshire appears to have eyes on adding online gaming to the states offerings.

According to the bill summary on New Hampshires official state website, HB 562-FN is generally described as an act allowing online gambling. The bill summary also lists an effective date of Jan. 1, 2018, which seems on the ambitious side with a status described as 25% progression and very little in the way of details to support it.

The Bills History

According to the bill status, HB 562-FN was officially introduced on Jan. 5, 2017 in the Ways and Means Committee within the House. The three sponsors of the bill include Republicans Eric Schleien, Nick Zaricki and Robert Fisher.

The bill went to public hearing on Jan. 31 and to an Executive Session on Feb. 8. It remained in committee with a Retained Bill Subcommittee work session on Sept. 6. New Hampshires version of a bill that allows online gambling is looking to gain life again with another Executive Session scheduled for Oct. 25 at 10:00 a.m.

Moving Forward

According to the Online Poker Report, the Executive Session next week is a committee hearing of sorts where lawmakers can take one of the following actions: Ought to pass; Ought to pass as amended; Inexpedient to legislate; Re-refer to committee. While the best outcome for iGaming supporters would be ought to pass as amended, the bill may need more time in committee to flesh out details.

For now, the online gambling bill in New Hampshire remains as a placeholder with few details. However, further Executive sessions like the one coming up next week bring a promising air to the online gaming winds in New Hampshire, especially as nearby states New Jersey and Delaware show continued success in iGaming and other states like Pennsylvania continue to make headway in online gaming efforts.

According to Steve Ruddock of Online Poker Report, a potential hiccup in the process of getting the online gambling bill passed in New Hampshire may stem from recent news that one of the bill's key sponsors, Rep. Eric Schleien, has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor, with an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 2.

Continue to follow PokerNews for continued coverage of the online gambling developments in New Hampshire.
Burmese photographers allowed to leave Bangladesh

 After 40 days, Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat were allowed to leave

Dhaka yesterday

 Worldwide support for their release

The two Burmese photographers who had been held in Bangladesh

since September 7th were finally allowed to leave the country on

October 17th. Although the case against them has not yet been

officially dropped, in country sources confirm that this will happen

in the next few days.

The pair were detained on September 7th in Coxs Bazar and

released on bail on September 22th. Since then they had been stuck in

Dhaka without official permission to leave the country.

London based Panos Pictures and German GEO magazine thank the

government of Bangladesh for its generous gesture in allowing Messrs

Oo and Lat to leave the country today. They also wish to thank their

international network of supporters, including many human rights

organisations and freedom of expression advocates, who took up the

photographers cause. Adrian Evans, Director of Panos Pictures, and

Christoph Kucklick, Editor-in-chief of GEO Magazine, responded to the

event stating that, it is wonderful to see how quickly a powerful

global community comes together to help journalists in need and

defend the principles of freedom of the press.

It was hard work to get Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat released, adds

Christoph Kucklick. The admirable effort of many partners in

Bangladesh, both inside and outside of the government, made this

positive outcome possible. I want to thank all friends in Dhaka for

their dedication and their selfless support.

Pressekontakt:

Adrian Evans, adrian@panos.co.uk

Christine Haller, PR/Communication GEO, haller.christine@guj.de

Original-Content von: Gruner+Jahr, GEO, ubermittelt durch news aktuell
Infusion systems are medical instruments and associated disposables, used to deliver fluids or drugs in solution to patients circulatory system in a controlled, precise and automated manner. There are different routes to introduce a drug into the patients system, of which, highly used mode is through intravenous, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusion are preferred as per the requirement.

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Infusion systems are medical instruments and associated disposables, used to deliver fluids or drugs in solution to patients circulatory system in a controlled, precise and automated manner. There are different routes to introduce a drug into the patients system, of which, highly used mode is through intravenous, although subcutaneous, arterial and epidural infusion are preferred as per the requirement. They are simple devices and gravity controllers that employ a clamping action to vary the flow of liquid under the force of gravity. This instrument was extensively used for medication purpose but, due to association of high mortality rates with it, advanced infusion systems were developed. Facilities like easy start up, visual monitoring, mobility of system, balanced and continues infusion of multiple medications at the same time, patient safety are a few factors which are boosting the growth of the potential market of advanced infusion systems over conventional ones.Browse Full Report With ToC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2026 Advanced Infusion Systems Market: Drivers and RestraintsOverall increase in global population suffering from chronic disease, cancer, diabetes is the major factor that drives the market growth of global infusion systems market. Enormously developed technology in infusion system which eliminates user-related risks, higher bioavailability, safety, therapeutic effectiveness, increase in health care spending are also some other factors that drive the growth of the market. To operate these automated infusion systems, a highly trained intelligent system is required. If this system is not trained properly, it can lead to increased morbidity and mortality rate which can restrain the growth of this market.Advanced Infusion Systems Market: OverviewOver the last few decades volumetric and syringe pumps, the clinical and surgical industry, infusion systems, have been widely used for intravenous therapy (IV). Industry experts estimated that 80% of the hospitalized patients receive intravenous (IV) therapy. This demand is expected to increase in the coming years. Growing incidence of chronic lifestyle disorders like cancer, diabetes and increased rate of aging population are the major factors that are expected to rise the demand for infusion pump market in forecast period. Increasing malnutrition in developing countries is expected to increase the demand for infusion pumps for critical nutrition. Hospitals are the largest end-users of infusion systems and account for over half of the market share.Advanced Infusion Systems Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the advanced infusion system market is segmented into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan and Middle East and Africa. North Americaholds the largest market share globally. The advanced infusion system market in Asia-Pacific and Latin America is expected to grow relatively fast in coming years. Factors expected to drive this growth are increase in population and increase in incidences of cancer, diabetes and asthma.Request For Report sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2026 Advanced Infusion Systems Market: Key PlayersHospira, Inc., is a leading provider of infusion technologies globally. The key players in this markets are AngioDynamics, Inc., Animas Corporation, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Terumo Corporation and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Infusion systems by Hospira, Inc. have operations in over 60 key markets across Europe, Asia and The Americas. Q Core Medical is a medical device company focused on the infusion pump market, which is expected to hold a large market share in the upcoming period.
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The global agricultural biotechnology market is predicted to highly benefit from the application of improving agricultural productivity. Genetically modified or transgenic crops could be among the top end users of agricultural biotechnology. With regard to high crop quality and yield, agricultural biotechnology could advantage consumers and also producers and farmers. The market could exhibit a strong growth in the foreseeable future with the rising demand for biofuels on account of exhausting traditional resources.Click to View Complete Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/agricultural-biotechnology-market.html The global agricultural biotechnology market is prophesied to reach a revenue valuation of US$28.6 bn by the end of 2019.Transgenic Crops Collect Heavy Demand from Increasing Food Production and Decreasing Arable LandsIn the latest past, transgenic crops had accounted for a larger share in the world agricultural biotechnology market on the basis of application. The demand for this application could garner a telling growth on the back of the surging need for increased food production and declining size of arable lands. In comparison with traditional seeds, transgenic seeds could provide an enhanced crop productivity. The development of transgenic crops via transgenic seeds is anticipated to be owing to the rising application of biotechnology on agricultural offerings with the help of genetic engineering or modification.View and Download TOC of Agricultural Biotechnology Market Research Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/598 As a result, there could be a decline in the supply-demand gap of food grains with the benefits of greater nutritional value, resistance to pests, extended shelf life, and increased yield. A majority of the share for agricultural biotechnology could be grabbed by transgenic crops in future with their wide adoption in not only developed but also developing markets. Synthetic biology-enabled products and tools, on the other hand, are foreseen to be on the slower side of growth, considering their smaller shares in the past.On a global platform, corn and soybean are prognosticated to be among the most broadly consumed transgenic crops. These crops could obtain market share while riding on the elevating demand for animal feed because of the snowballing consumption of meat. However, in the next few years, soybean is envisaged to gather a faster growth amongst the two. Besides being consumed in the production of bioplastics and biofuels as a grain, corn could be engaged in several industrial applications. Considering its robust demand in the textile sector, cotton could find an extensive application in the Asia region. Other crops such as canola, sugar beet, and sugarcane had held a minor share in the past few years.Request and Download Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=598 High Adoption and Cultivation of Genetically Modified Crops Intensify Demand in North AmericaNorth America had demonstrated supremacy over other regions in the international agricultural biotechnology market due to the high acceptance of genetically modified crops among the consumers therein and their better cultivation. Furthermore, nearly a 15-20% of the revenues of biotechnology companies is envisioned to be spent on research and development activities. However, Asia Pacific could grow speedier than other regions due to the binge establishment of research and development centers with a view to keep afloat in the rising competition of the market. Moreover, Asia Pacific is projected to significantly benefit from the swelling demand for food and bio-based products.Europe could exhibit a moderate growth in view of vigorous opposition from consumers and tight regulations. Brazil could very well be the next growth engine of the international agricultural biotechnology market after the U.S. Rest of the World is expected to take advantage of the large-scale production of transgenic crops.The worldwide agricultural biotechnology market is projected to bear a consolidated characteristic owing to top companies accounting for a hefty share in the recent past. Large companies could look to achieve a competitive edge over other companies in the market by improving their presence across the value chain.Furthermore, there could be desperate efforts made to enhance their market share for the coming years. This is forecasted to be accomplished through collaborations with large crop growers and research organizations and the acquisition of small regional companies. Some of the dominant companies dealing with agricultural biotechnology could be Syngenta, DuPont, and Monsanto.Buy Full Agricultural Biotechnology Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=598<ype=S 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.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@ transparencymarketresearch.com Website: www.transparencymarketresearch.com
Asia Pacific Preclinical In-vivo Imaging Market to grow with a growth rate of 7.92% during 2016 to 2021 | Market Data Forecast

Market Data Forecast

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The Asia Pacific Preclinical in-vivo imaging market has been estimated at USD 119.20 Million in 2016 and is projected to reach USD 174.50 Million by 2021, at a CAGR of 7.92% during the forecast period from 2016 to 2021. In-vivo imagers, also called as preclinical imaging systems, are imaging systems that look deep into the tissues of living subjects. The benefits of this type of system are that it gives the most complete picture of the biological effects of a treatment or disease progression and the animal is kept alive allowing future analysis on the same subject.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the Asia Pacific Preclinical In-vivo Imaging Market to 2021 @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-preclinical-in-vivo-imaging-market-585/ In Asia Pacific region, factors like growing acceptance of preclinical imaging as a legitimate drug development tool and technological advancements in molecular imaging modalities are helping in the growth of the market. However, challenges associated with the application of radioisotopes, such as short half-life of PET radioisotopes restricts the demand for micro-PET systems in developing Asian countries.Asia Pacific market for Preclinical In-vivo Imaging is segmented based on Modality and Reagents. Based on modality, the Asia Pacific preclinical imaging market is divided into seven major segments, namely, optical imaging, nuclear imaging, micro-MRI, micro-CT, micro-ultrasound, photoacoustic, and magnetic particle imaging systems. The preclinical optical imaging systems market includes bioluminescence/fluorescence imaging systems, standalone fluorescence imaging systems, optical + X-ray/optical + CT imaging systems. The preclinical nuclear imaging systems market comprises micro-PET systems (standalone PET, PET/CT, and PET/MRI), micro-SPECT systems (standalone SPECT, SPECT/CT, and SPECT/MRI), and tri-modality (PET/SPECT/CT) imaging systems. Bases on the reagents, the Asia Pacific preclinical imaging market is divided into five segments, namely, optical imaging reagents, nuclear imaging reagents, MRI contrast agents, ultrasound contrast agents, and CT contrast agents. The optical imaging reagents market is further sub-segmented as bioluminescent and fluorescent imaging reagents. Likewise, the nuclear imaging reagents market is divided as preclinical PET tracers and SPECT probes.Free sample of the report is available @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-preclinical-in-vivo-imaging-market-585/request-sample Asia Pacific Preclinical In-vivo Imaging Market Geographical Analysis China India Japan South KoreaGeographically, Asia Pacific market for Preclinical In-vivo Imaging is segmented into China, Japan, India, South Korea and Australia. Increased government funding for development of pharmaceutical industry and rising R&D activities by big pharma and biotech companies, are attracting the companies to invest in the countries of Asia Pacific region.Asia Pacific Preclinical In-vivo Imaging Market Leaders' Analysis Aspect Imaging Biospace Lab S.A. Bruker Corporation LI-COR Biosciences Mediso Ltd. MILabs B.V. MR Solutions Ltd PerkinElmer TriFoil ImagingInquire before buying @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-preclinical-in-vivo-imaging-market-585/inquire About Us:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, we cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. Our analyst team comprises expert professionals in market research, who with their collective knowledge and skillset dedicatedly serve clients from various industries and regions.Contact:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail:abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit MarketDataForecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases
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A latest report by Future Market Insights (FMI) has projected the global market to register a low-single digit CAGR throughout the forecast period 2017 to 2022. However, the market is anticipated to experience a sustained expansion on the back of increasing re-roofing and new construction activities resulting from extreme weather conditions. Global sales of asphalt shingles are expected to reach nearly US$ 10,000 Mn in revenues by 2022-end.Extreme Weather Conditions Owing to Global Warming to Fuel Adoption of Asphalt ShinglesGlobal warming is now being called as climate change, and has been affecting subtropical regions to experience extreme cold weathers and even witness snowfall at times during winters. As some of these regions fall under developing or underdeveloped economies, cost of roofing activities becomes a major concern for the population thriving here. A wide variety of roofing materials are available across the globe based on performance, structural, economic, and aesthetic requirements. These include cedar shake, slate, clay tiles and metal. However, asphalt shingles provide enough aesthetic appeal, along with adequate protection at just a small fraction of the amount invested for other roofing materials. Moreover, asphalt shingles are cost-effective and are able to easily get replaced when damaged. Demand for asphalt shingles will therefore gain traction, with spending on residential building construction expected to witness a surge in the near future.View and Download TOC of Asphalt Shingles Market Research Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/asphalt-shingles-market/toc Fiberglass to Remain Most Attractive Composition of Asphalt ShinglesFiberglass and organic are two composition types of asphalt shingles available in the global market. While organic asphalt shingles are comparatively more durable than fiberglass, they are more flammable, therefore highly prone to fire. In addition, they are less eco-friendly owing to relatively higher asphalt content. Fiberglass shingles provide excellent fire resistance, making them to gradually replace the organic shingles for roofing activities. Fiberglass is expected to remain the most attractive composition of asphalt shingles, with sales estimated to account for approximately US$ 8,000 Mn by 2022-end.Account for over three-fourth revenue share of the market, re-roofing end market segment is expected to dominate the global asphalt shingles market during 2017 to 2022. However, this end-market segment is projected to register a low CAGR through 2022. On the other hand, sales of asphalt shingles in new construction end-market segment are expected to register a relatively higher CAGR through 2022.Laminates to Remain Sought-After among Products in the MarketLaminates asphalt shingles are expected to remain sought-after among products in the market, and their sales are projected to hold over half revenue share of the market. High demand for laminates asphalt shingles can be highly attributed to increased attraction towards roofing materials with high wind resistance, impact resistance, and protection from degradation owing to exposure to elements. In addition, sales of strip asphalt shingles are expected to exhibit the highest CAGR in the market through 2022, based on product type.Request and Download Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4996 Although North America is anticipated to remain the largest market for asphalt shingles, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is projected to register a relatively faster expansion through 2022. Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Japan are expected to remain the least lucrative markets for asphalt shingles over the forecast period.Manufacturers Shifting Focus toward Enhancing their Brand ReputationLeading manufacturers of asphalt shingles are focusing their shift toward enhancing their brand reputation by offering wide range of products, and higher quality standards as compared to other competitors in the market. Key players in the market are adopting business strategies to come up with advanced & sophisticated product development techniques. They are also concentrating on development of an established manufacturing process, and in-depth understanding of market and customers. Key market players listed in FMIs report Include Atlas Roofing Corporation, Polyglass U.S.A., Inc., Tarco, Inc., TAMKO Building Products, Inc., Siplast, Inc., IKO Industries, Ltd., Malarkey Roofing Products, Henry Company LLC, Certain Teed Corporation, and Owens Corning.Buy Full Asphalt Shingles Market Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/4996
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PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:20:05

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Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comAssociate Consultant8009610353

The global augmented reality & virtual reality market is expected to grow at a substantial growth rate especially in training and infotainment market. Heavy penetration is the wide spectrum of application areas for these technologies. Virtual reality application in healthcare shows a tremendous growth and driving the market for augmented reality & virtual reality. It is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer generated data. Augmented reality consists of various benefits which includes interactive in real time, also data can be generated in real-time. Augmented reality has various applications which include video games (physical interaction with 3D models), presentations, television, theme park, and simulations (driving, flying etc.).A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4723 The report contains the global scenario of augmented reality & virtual reality market discussing detailed overview and market figures. The research report analyses the industry growth rate, industry capacity, and industry structure. The report analyses the historical data and forecasts the augmented reality & virtual reality market size, production forecasts along with key factors driving and restraining the market growth.The global augmented reality & virtual reality market is segmented into two major categories, on the basis of technology into augmented and virtual reality technologies, on the basis of sensors and components into sensors, semiconductor components, augmented reality sensors and components, virtual reality sensors and components. The market is also segmented by application into E-commerce, gaming, medical, education, military and other industrial applications. The market is further segmented by geography into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and rest of the world regions. Among these regional markets, Asia Pacific registered the fastest growth rate during the forecast period from 2013 to 2019.The global augmented reality & virtual reality market is driven by factors such as the increasing demand in healthcare, boosting demand for smartphones. Rising Prevalence of Computer Technology and Internet Connectivity will also act as drivers for the global augmented reality & virtual reality market.Some of the factors inhibiting the growth of the global augmented reality & virtual reality market are privacy and awareness, image latency. Requirement of hardware is also restraining the growth of the global augmented reality & virtual reality market. Programming physics, costs, under development and graphics are also other factors restraining the growth of the global augmented reality & virtual reality market. The emerging applications and increase in R&D initiatives will serve as an opportunity, fuelling the growth of the global augmented reality & virtual reality market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4723 Some of the key players dominating the market are Blippar, Catchoom, Innovega Inc., Laster Technologies, Metaio Gmbh, Total Immersion, Vertalis Ltd, Augmented Pixels Co., Kooaba AG, Kishino Limited, Qualcomm Incorporated, Wikitude Gmbh and others. Earlier the global augmented reality & virtual reality market was dominated by players with relatively low brand image. However, after the entrance of new big players in the industry, the demand for augmented reality & virtual reality has increased among the consumers.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 05:56:02

Axalta Focuses on Waterborne Coatings for Sustainable Future at The National Polymer Symposium XI in Jakarta, Indonesia

Axalta Coating Systems

Inggrid Franciska, +6221 7587 3780

Inggrid-franciska.schipper@axaltacs.com

axaltacoatingsystems.com

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA), a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, was recently invited to showcase its high performance products and speak at the National Polymer Symposium XI hosted by Indonesian Polymer Association in collaboration with leading universities and government institutions. The symposium was attended by around 100 researchers, lecturers, and industry practitioners who shared their knowledge on latest polymer technology innovation which can be synergized to improve global competitiveness of the ASEAN economic community.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710170069

Dr. Lei Qiao introduced Axalta's innovation in waterborne coatings at The National Polymer Symposium XI in Jakarta (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Lei Qiao, Refinish Technology Director of Axalta Asia Pacific introduced Axaltas innovation in waterborne coatings which are designed to reduce environmental impact but on the other hand enhanced productivity, energy savings and color performance. Dr. Lei also explained about Axaltas concern on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) as one of the precursors to ozone formation and the air pollution caused. According to Dr. Qiao, waterborne coatings can reduce about 75% VOC emission than the conventional solventborne coatings to comply with major VOC compliance regulations globally. These innovative products also have lower carbon footprint through lower energy or fewer bake cycles while still meet customer requirement of sustainable, high quality products. Axalta waterborne coatings give aesthetical finish with lower paint consumption, excellent coverage, fast and easy application process.

Our participation in this symposium is part of our responsibility to constantly support academic communities by sharing Axaltas expertise and innovations in coating industry, said Dewi Djanuwati, Managing Director of Axalta in Indonesia. We are always committed to developing and producing sustainable products and services as sustainability is central to our business. As part of this effort we have just opened our new Axalta Asia Pacific Technology Center (APTC) in Shanghai, China in June 2017, which is focusing on developing high performance products and technology following Axalta's guiding principle for research: sustainable innovation, she added.

Dr. Ir. Aniek S Handayani, M.T as the Chairman of the Symposium Committee was impressed with Axaltas expertise in sustainable coatings. Sustainable Coatings topic is very relevant to current global and industry issues. Axaltas innovative sustainable technology presented today will help to bring new ideas for researchers with coating related research projects, she said.

Axalta has been doing business in Indonesia for 25 years through its flagship premium brands such as, Cromax, Spies Hecker, Standox and Alesta. As part of global technology and supply chain, Axalta supports the sustained, long term growth of Indonesias automotive, commercial transportation and industrial sectors that use Axalta coatings.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta is a leading global company focused solely on coatings and providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful and sustainable solutions. From light OEM vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, buildings and pipelines, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity and enable the materials we coat to last longer. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the approximately 13,000 people of Axalta continue to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information, visit axaltacs.com and follow us @Axalta on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710170069
Breathing Circuits are the devices that delivers anesthetic gases from the supply machine to the patients lungs. These devices can also be defined as an assemblage of the specific components in such a way that it creates an artificial breathing atmosphere for the patient by connecting patients air way and the anesthetic machine.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 10:21:53

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Breathing Circuits are the devices that delivers anesthetic gases from the supply machine to the patients lungs. These devices can also be defined as an assemblage of the specific components in such a way that it creates an artificial breathing atmosphere for the patient by connecting patients air way and the anesthetic machine. The basic components of the breathing devices are gas entry port, gas reservoir, expiration port, carbon dioxide absorber, patient airway connecting port and corrugated tubes for connections. The devices are designed in such a way that the anesthetic gases are delivered either by controlled ventilation or by spontaneous ventilation. In case of controlled ventilation, squeezing the bag results in pop off valve actuation and fresh gas release. In case of Spontaneous respiration, dead space gas moves towards the reservoir bag while fresh gas is stored in the reservoir gas. The breathing circuits may be broadly used in two cases i.e for inducing anesthetic to the patient for surgical process and for patient with breathing problem.With respect to the breathing circuits the terminology of re-breathing is recurrently faced and states a condition in which some expired alveolar gas is inspired in the subsequent tidal volume. There are some anesthetic breathing circuits that minimizes re breathing effect due to the possibility of significant rise of blood carbon dioxide. There are four types of breathing circuits namely Open breathing circuits, Semi open breathing circuits, closed breathing circuits and semi open breathing circuits.Browse Full Report With ToC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1935 Breathing Circuits Market: Drivers and RestraintsAdvances in anesthesia and breathing devices, and growing demand for the more efficient and revolutionary patient management approaches are the factors expected to drive the growth of breathing circuits market. Increasing prevalence of surgeries involving general anesthesia,increasing geriatric population susceptible to chronic diseases, increase in the number of emergency cases and mounting demand for short stay ambulatory day care surgical procedure, are few factors expected to fuel the growth of global breathing circuits market. According to American society of Anesthesiologist, the demand for breathing circuits pertaining to inhalation anesthesia will experience a gradual increase in the coming years.Breathing Circuits Market: OverviewAn advancement in breathing circuit has been introduced through microcell technology. It is an advanced breathing circuit that minimizes mobile condensate which allows vapors to diffuse through a robust tube walls. This results in an easy in handling the system and also increases the effectiveness of patient care along with minimum intervention in a closed system. This technology has been widely used owing to various advantages and ease of use. Other type of breathing circuits like the heated circuits are used for mechanically ventilated patients which is an essential requirement in the intensive care environment.Breathing Circuits Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global Breathing Circuits Market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa.North America leads the global breathing circuitsmarket followed by Europe. An advancement in breathing circuit has been introduced through microcell technology. It is an advanced breathing circuit that minimizes mobile condensate which allows vapors to diffuse through a robust tube walls. This results in an easy in handling the system and also increases the effectiveness of patient care along with minimum intervention in a closed system.Request For Report sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1935 Breathing Circuits Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global Breathing Circuits Market are Dragerwerk AG, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Altera Corporation, Braun & Company Ltd, Bio-Med Devices, Smiths Group plc, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited., Marcus Corporationand others.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 12:41:02

Drooms Expands Global Presence in M&A Sector

For Drooms

Matthew Pears

0161 932 1617

matthew.pears@citigatedewerogerson.co.uk

Drooms, Europes leading provider of virtual data rooms, is expanding its M&A team internationally. Alexander Gro (40) who joins the Corporate Finance and M&A team will look after German M&A market customers as well as operating at an international level in Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. Alexander Gro began his career at Thomson Reuters before working for an American data room provider for 10 years.

According to Allen & Overys M&A Insights report for Q3 2017, global M&A activities remain stable despite global economic uncertainties and have increased significantly in comparison with the previous year. Drooms is also expecting decisive market changes in line with the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into force in May 2018. Drooms already guarantees online due diligence processes that comply with the GDPR.

Drooms virtual data room addresses the M&A sectors heightened need for automated workflows and increased efficiency for the quick processing of online due diligence. For the first time, repetitive processes within due diligence are being accelerated with Drooms Findings Manager. The new feature, developed based on natural language processing, instantly suggests a list of initial findings for due diligence in the Drooms NXG virtual data room and filters content according to potentially relevant documents, which can then be assessed and qualified individually by the user.

The Drooms NXG data room software is a proprietary technology developed by Drooms own team of programmers and linguists. Drooms NXG enables direct translation of users documents in the data room. This boosts efficiency in M&A transactions with large numbers of international participants. Due to direct translation available in the data room, documents never have to leave the high-security environment.

The expansion of Drooms international M&A team is the next stage in the companys growth path. Drooms now employs over 120 staff in 27 countries and is represented internationally in the most important European markets. In addition to the companys presence in London, the secure cloud provider operates via offices in Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid and Zug. Over 25,000 companies worldwide have carried out confidential processes using Drooms virtual data rooms  the total value of these transactions amounts to over EUR 300 billion.

https://drooms.com/en/pressrelease/drooms-expands-

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710180056
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 07:12:12

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Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Fatty acid methyl ester is derived from the trans-esterification of methanol with fatty acids. It can also be prepared from soya beans, rapeseed, vegetable oil and palm oil. Rapeseed is generally preferred for the production of fatty acid methyl ester due to its better oil content (nearly 30%-35%) as compared to other materials used for fatty acid methyl ester manufacturing. Moreover, biodiesel produced from rapeseed has high cetane number which helps in complete combustion, thereby lowering emissions. Due to various government regulations in favor of bio-based products, the demand for fatty acid methyl ester is expected to rise in near future.Based on product type, medium chain triglyceride is expected to dominate the global fatty acid methyl ester market owing to their rising demand from the food industry. Glyceryl monostearate is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The increasing use of glceryl monostearare as an emulsifier in baking preparations and confectionaries is expected to escalate the demand for fatty acid methyl ester by the end of 2025.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16294 Based on applications, the fuel segment is anticipated to dominate the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Fatty acid methyl ester is a major constituent of biodiesel. The rising demand from the biodiesel industry is expected to propel the demand for fatty acid methyl ester during the forecast period. However, personal care and cosmetics is projected to be the fastest growing segment throughout the forecast period.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: DynamicsThe shifting focus of end users towards biodiesel over conventional diesel owing to its low toxicity is expected to be one of the major factors driving the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Additionally, rise in the usage of fatty acid methyl esters as a green solvent owing to its low VOC and biodegradable nature is further expected to escalate the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Fatty acid methyl ester has high boiling point, high lubricity and IS highly soluble in organic solvents. Due to the aforementioned properties, there is increasing demand for fatty acid methyl ester from metalworking fluids, detergents & surfactants, fuels and many other industries, which in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the global fatty acid methyl esters market during the forecast period.The high cost of the fatty acid methyl esters coupled with the high cost of procuring raw materials is expected to hamper the growth of this market in near future.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: SegmentationThe global fatty acid methyl ester market can be segmented on the basis of product type and applications. On the basis of product type, the market can be segmented into medium chain triglycerides, isopropyl palmitate, glyceryl monostearate, glycol ester, polyol esters and sucrose esters. On the basis of applications, the market can be further segmented into food, coatings, lubricants, polymers, agriculture, metalworking fluids, cosmetics & personal care and fuels.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/16294 Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: Regional OutlookBased on regions, North America is expected to be the most promising revenue generating region. Increasing demand for personal care products is expected to drive the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Moreover, regulations in North America that favor biodiesel with the intention of combating global warming are further anticipated to escalate the demand for fatty acid methyl ester in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Strong demand from emerging economies like China and India in the Asia Pacific region is expected to upsurge the demand for fatty acid methyl ester in near future. Europe and Latin America are projected to witness positive growth throughout the forecast period.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global fatty acid methyl esters market are mentioned below:Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)Wilmar International LimitedBASF SECargill IncKLK Oleo Sdn. Bhd.Berg + SchmidtP&G ChemicalsEmery Oleochemicals GroupLongyan Zhuoyue New Energy Co. Ltd.Western Lowa EnergyEvonik Industries
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 07:10:59

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Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comAbhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Flat steel is rolled from a semi-furnished material such as ingots or billets, and slabs. It is commonly used in consumer durable, white goods, construction as well as automotive industry. Flat steel is used by various manufacturers such as light bar industries, cable trays, truck trailers, automobile industry, railways, tippers, grating manufacturers, and other engineering industries. Flat steel enhances the quality, ductility, toughness, reliability, consistency of end product along with reduces the waste as well as a rework of production process. Moreover, it helps in maximized yield, trouble-free processing, improves product shelf life, and enhance the overall performance of the end product. According to World Steel Association, the overall steel products consumption in Asia & Oceania market was estimated around 990 Mn metric tons in 2015.Flat Steel Market: Drivers and RestraintsInnovative steel production techniques, expansion in the manufacturing capacity, and steel companies are inclining towards electric arc furnace manufacturing process which will provide them an operating flexibility are a primary factor driving the growth of global flat steel market. Moreover, extensive use of flat steel in the construction of factories, roads, and engineering structure, and growing automobile and construction industry globally which account about two third of steel consumption are some of the prominent factors fueling the growth of flat steel market over the forecast period. However, the high fixed cost of blast furnace production process have a severely adverse impact on the profitability of steel manufacturers, and fluctuation in product price may limiting the growth of the flat steel market during the forecast period. For Instance, In February 2017, the average price of flat steel in Asian market was increased by around US$25 per ton compared to previous month.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16339 Flat Steel Market: SegmentationThe flat steel market has been classified by product type, production process, and end user.Based on product type, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:SheetsCold Rolled CoilHot Rolled CoilGalvanized CoilPlatesBased on the production process, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:Blast Furnace (BF)Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)Based on the end user, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:AppliancesAutomobileConstructionTransportationAgriculture EquipmentShipbuildingOthersFlat Steel Market: OverviewFlat steel market revenue is expected to grow at a rapid growth rate, over the forecast period. The market is anticipated to perform well in the near future owing to the low cost of cold rolled steel sheets compared to hot rolled sheets and expanding industrialization. Moreover, increasing public sector expenditure and the rise in infrastructure investments are some of the factors that can propel the market revenue growth of flat steel soon. Based on product type, sheets segment is projected to lead the global flat steel market over the forecast period attributed to the extensive use of hot rolled steel sheets for the development of the major sized structures such as heavy equipment, construction, and railroads, and high malleable property. On the other hand, the cold rolled sheets are a finished form of the sheet used when a surface finishing is required automotive parts. The cold steel is processed in cold reduction mills at room temperature along with tempers rolling which make steel closer dimensional tolerance, improve surface finish, and enhance the tensile strength.Flat Steel Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on the geographic region, flat steel market is divided into seven key regions: North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Western Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the flat steel market followed by Europe, and Japan is owing to expanding automotive output, high adoption of oil and gas tubular, and government initiatives. The market in Asia Pacific and Japan is expected to grow at significant CAGR owing to expanding construction and automobile industry, the presence of prominent players in these regions. Additionally, increasing exports of steel from developing countries such as India which has escalated by 78% during April 2016 to February 2017 are the factors which are anticipated to drive the growth of flat steel market throughout the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/16339 Flat Steel Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players in the flat steel market are ArcelorMittal S.A., Allegheny Technologies Inc., Zeeco Metals, Inc., SSAB AB, Clingan Steel, Inc., United States Steel Corporation, AK Steel Holding Corporation, Hascall Steel Co., Essar Group ThyssenKrupp AG, Posco Co. Ltd., Precision Brand Products, Inc., Johnson Bros. Metal Forming Co., Voestalpine AG, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, JSW Steel Ltd., Tata Steel Limited, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Hyundai Steel Co., and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and many more.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:28:16

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Global demand for friction modifiers additives will reach about 174 thousand tonnes in 2016, up from 167 thousand tonnes in 2015. This will represent a market value of US$ 1,027 Mn, an increase of US$ 62 Mn from 2015. While wide-ranging applications, most prominently as lubricants in automotive sector, will continue to fuel demand, availability of affordable alternatives, such as dispersant additives, corrosion inhibitors and detergent additives will continue to pose challenges.By product type, inorganic friction modifier additives will continue to outsell organic, reaching about 597 thousand tonnes in 2016. Among the inorganic friction modifier additives, MoDTC will continue to account for the highest demand, reaching 275 thousand tonnes in 2016. Among the three types of organic friction modifier additives-polymers, fatty acids, and esters & amides-polymers are witnessing high demand from the automotive sector in North America and Western Europe. This trend is expected to gain further momentum in 2016, propelling the growth of the overall market.View and Download TOC of Friction Modifier Additives Market Research Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/friction-modifier-additives-market/toc Automotive lubricants will continue to be the largest application segment for friction modifier additives in 2016, witnessing a growth rate of about 6% over 2015, representing a market value worth US$272 Mn.Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will maintain its numero uno position in 2016, with total demand expected to reach around 48 thousand tonnes. Demand will be supported by the regions expansive automotive sector, especially in the populous countries of China and India. These two countries will remain key to the growth of the global friction modifiers additives market in 2016 and beyond, as consumers in these countries put a lot of emphasis on the fuel efficiency of a vehicle while making buying decisions. In addition to the regions behemoth automotive industry, strong demand from the plethora of end-use industries in the region will continue to support demand. North America will continue to remain the second largest market for friction modifiers additives, representing a 22.5% share of global revenues.Request and Download Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1656 Key players operating in the global friction modifiers additives market are Chemtura Corporation, Multisol, Archoil, International Lubricants, Inc., Afton Chemical Corporation, and Wynns.Long-term Outlook: The long-term outlook on the friction modifiers additives market remains positive with global volume witnessing a CAGR of 5.1% through 2026, whereas global revenues expanding at 6.9% through 2026.Buy Full Friction Modifier Additives Market Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1656
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 09:39:25

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Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Infectious diseases are the type of disorders caused by different organisms such as bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites. The organism can be harmful or helpful to the human body and under some conditions the organism causes different diseases. Diseases can be transferable from person to person, bites of insects and animals, through ingestion of contaminated food or water or being exposed to organisms in the environment. Signs and symptoms such as fever, fatigue, etc. vary depending on the type of organism causing the infection. Mild infection can be treated through prescribed medicines by physicians while life threatening infections may require hospitalization. Many infectious disease such as measles and chickenpox have been controlled through vaccination programs. Taking precautions such as creating clean environment, proper sanitization and thorough hand-washing also helps to protect individuals from most infectious diseases.Cholera infection re-entered Peru in 1996 and spread through the existing sanitation and water systems, causing over 3,000 deaths. Seafood exports were embargoed from Peru and tourism decreased, costing an estimated loss of at least US$ 770 Mn to the Peruvian economy in one year. International military networks such as the U.S. Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System (DoD-GEIS), private clinics, individual scientists and public health practitioners are the networks which provide the formal information sources for the spread of infectious diseases. Easy approval from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for drug regulation in market, and role of major key players also plays an important role for the infectious disease treatment market.Request for Report TOC @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/12733 The bacterial disease type segment is expected to witness remarkable growth in the global infectious disease market due to the increasing evolution of different microorganisms in different environmental conditions, unhealthy food habits among population, and increase in prevention care facilities for patients which will address to various research, other prevention methods, and education in order to prevent the epidemiology of infectious diseases. The parasitic disease and viral disease segment type is expected to register significant growth through 2024 due to the emergence of different mutation technologies and chemical utilization and upcoming research laboratories in emerging countries.Based on treatment type, antiparasite segment is expected to contribute largest share in global infectious disease treatment market by 2016 end owing to the evolution of different disease indication through parasites. For instance, Zika Virus is transmitted through mosquitoes. Based on diagnosis test type, the global infectious disease treatment market has been segmented into laboratory test, biopsies and imaging scans. Laboratory test segment is expected to contribute the maximum share among diagnosis test type segments. Based on the end user, hospital segment is projected to have the largest market share among other segments due to the availability of trained professionals, easy availability of diagnosis methods, and reimbursement policies for major treatment procedures.On the basis of regional presence, global infectious disease treatment market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to lead the global infectious disease treatment market due to unhealthy food intake habits of the population, improper sanitization, new disease evolution and environmental conditions. According to the WHO statistics for the year 2011, prevalence of infectious disease treatment is high in developed countries such as U.S. and U.K. More precautions are being undertaken in the MEA region due to the prevalence of various viral diseases which have a potential to spread and create an epidemic situation for the world population.Request for Report Sample @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12733 Some of the major players in global infectious disease treatment market are Janssen Global Services, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical, Inc., Pfizer, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Isis Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences. etc.
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PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:08:41

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Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comAssociate Consultant8009610353

Photonics is a technology which is involved with the use of light which replaces the traditional or usual electronics in several applications. The photonics sensor technology is motivating the growth in several main end markets which includes advanced manufacturing, energy, defense, communications and information technology, medicine and healthcare among others.The photonic sensor technologies have become more significant in the field of material characterization and material processing. The complexity of physical, biological and chemical systems is not feasible without the use of photonic sensor and detectors technologies. Photonic sensor and detector found its way into the surgeries, industries, and in the ordinary life as well its usage in the research laboratories. The main benefits provided by this technology include contact free, straight measurements and the non destructive analyses of systems, products and substances.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4719 The photonic sensors and detectors technology has now been renowned as a technology that impacts and strengthens a whole host of industrial sectors, from security to healthcare, from telecommunications to manufacturing, from the environment to the energy, and from biotechnology to the aerospace. The major burning issue in this market is the compatibility of the photonic sensors and detectors with other products.The main factors that are driving the photonic sensors and detectors market are the increase in requirement for security and safety, a substitute for a failed technology, rise in the growth in wireless sensing technology market, increased in the usage of wind power, distributed sensing and the increase in the need for oil reserves among others. The main factor that is restraining the growth of this market includes high initial cost required and the lack of industry standards. The main opportunity for the growth in future of the photonic sensors and detectors market includes the industrial assets safety and usage of this technology in the structural health monitoring. Fiber optics sensor is estimated to rise at a high rate as it is gaining significance in the areas such as oil & gas exploration and civil engineering which mostly considers border security and fencing.The photonic sensors and detectors market is segmented on the basis of its types which includes fiber optic sensors, laser sensors and bio-photonic sensors. The fiber optic sensors are further classified as distributed sensors and point sensors. The laser sensors are further classified as analog laser sensors and digital laser sensors. The bio-photonic sensors are classified as intrinsic bio-photonic sensor and extrinsic bio-photonic sensor. In addition, the market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes spectrally based fiber optics sensor, intensity based fiber optics sensor, distributed & multiplexing sensing, and polarization based fiber optic sensors. Further, the distributed & multiplexing sensing is classified as multiplexing sensing and distributed sensing. Furthermore, the market could be segmented on the basis of geography which includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4719 Some of the major companies that are dominating in the photonic sensors and detectors market include Banner Engineering Corp., Bayspec Inc., Baumer Holding AG., Fiber Optic Sys. Tech. Inc. (Fox-Tek), Omron Corp., St. Jude Medical Inc., Lap Laser LLC., Qorex LLC., Bbn International Ltd., Fibertronix Ab., Ibsen Photonics A/S, Smart Fibres Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. among others.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 09:36:51

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Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound is a non-invasive treatment that combines two tools, focused magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound. The beam of ultrasound focused on targeted sites and penetrates through the soft tissues and, using MRI for monitoring guidance. The ultrasound beam causes an increase in temperature at target tissue and resulting in necrosis of tissue, while the surrounding structure is not disturbed by the beam. The associated MRI to provide guidance also provide imaging that provides temperature map to confirm the therapeutic effect of the ablation treatment and allows real time adjustments of treatment parameters.The increasing demand for minimally invasive methods will drive the market for MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices. The system has several advantages such as the possibility of retreatment, alternative therapy after radiotherapy and surgery over traditional therapy and increasing awareness about the treatment option in developed countries will fuel the market for MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices. MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound system offers fast recovery time and also has low complication rate as compared to surgery.Request for Report TOC @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/12727 The market for MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices is segmented as device type, application, end user and geography. The device type market is further segmented by two type such as focused ultrasound device and magnetic resonance imaging. These are the two different devices which are used together to and forms MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound system. By Application the market of MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices is segmented as Cancer (Brain Tumor, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, Bone metastases, liver cancer, kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer, etc.), uterine fibroids, Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, etc. The increasing prevalence of cancer globally will drive the market for MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices in the forecast period. MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound system is incision-less, noninvasive method used to treat abnormal benign growths in a womans uterus known as fibroid tumors or fibroids. Uterine fibroids are one of the most common disorders of the uterus and mainly seen in women. The patient with essential tremor and not responding for medication MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery is the best option of treatment for them.By End User, the MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices market is segmented in hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, diagnostic centers and clinics. Hospitals segment hold the largest share in MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices Market due to the availability of facilities are good in hospitals. After hospitals, Ambulatory surgical centers governs the market growth of MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices.Recent conferences and workshops and rise in the number of surgeries performed by focused ultrasound surgery demonstrate that the technology is viable and is likely to see substantial development in the near future. MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery was also named by many published medical agencies as one of top twenty most important invention and would be most useful in near future.Geographically North America hold largest market share in overall MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices market was owing to increasing demand for non-invasive method and high product approval in the region for treatment. The market of Europe for MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound devices will grow in forecast period due to the availability of devices in the region and awareness about system among people. The market in Asia Pacific will be smaller than North America and Europe due to less new product penetration in the region. The Latin America and the Middle East & Africa will less contribute in growth of MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices market.In July 2016, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved first MRI-guided focused ultrasound device ExAblate Neuro to treat essential tremor. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, several million Americans, usually those over age 40, are affected by the condition. ExAblate Neuro uses magnetic resonance images taken during the procedure to deliver focused ultrasound to destroy brain tissue in a tiny area thought to be responsible for causing tremors. InSightec Ltd is the company which developed the system. In 2012, United States F.D.A. approved the MRI-Guided Focused ultrasound devices to initiate phase one study.Request for Report Sample @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12727 Some of the major market players in MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Devices Market globally include Koninklijke Philips N.V., Toshiba Corporation, Siemens AG, Hitachi Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Esaote S.p.A., Mindray Medical International Ltd., and Analogic Corporation.
Nasal implant or nose sculpting refers to augmentation of the nasal bridge or covering the concave deformities in the injured or asymmetrical nose. Nasal implants are used in nasal surgery to provide a symmetrical shape and other cosmetic requirements.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 11:01:31

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Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Nasal implant or nose sculpting refers to augmentation of the nasal bridge or covering the concave deformities in the injured or asymmetrical nose. Nasal implants are used in nasal surgery to provide a symmetrical shape and other cosmetic requirements. The materials for nasal implants may include metal, ceramics, and polymers such as silicone, polyethylene, PTFE, polyesters and polyamides. Implants used for nasal reconstruction may be difficult to choose but are an important component in patients care. Due to the central location of nose even small defects in reconstruction can be evident.The reason behind the rise in the number of nasal reconstruction procedures is directly related to the psychological need of the patient. However, in many cases, there has been significant help for the patients with damaged nose during traumatic injuries. Drug-remitting nasal implants, which are biodegradable in nature are advanced implants with significant benefits. The nature of the implant of degrading naturally has over shadowed the use of metallic and other synthetic implants. Nevertheless, additional research is expected to develop new natural forms of nasal implants, which in turn is expected to favor the market in near future.Browse Full Report With ToC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2017 Nasal Implant Market: Drivers and RestraintsPrimary revenue drivers for nasal implants are an increase in the number of patients seeking relief from heavy snoring and sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA, is estimated to affect around 4% middle-aged men and women globally. This has been raising the demand for titanium nasal implants. Other revenue drivers include an increase in the incidence of nasal tumors, which requires maxillofacial nasal surgeries and subsequent implants. Nasal skin tumors constituting basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas make up 12% of all skin tumors. Further, increasing demand for maxillofacial and esthetic rehabilitations also frequently require nasal implants, thus increasing the scope of revenue generation. Infections associated with nasal implants constitute the most common deterrent for product uptake. In the case of infections, administrations of antibiotics are said to be of no use. The only way the infection can be cured is taking the implant out, which could lead to another surgery. The rate of infection is much higher in plastic implants.Nasal Implant Market: OverviewAdvancements in nasal implants have led towards the rise in demand for restricting of the nose. The major part of the demand is expected to be under cosmetic surgeries. Over the year significant number of grafting and implanting material have been introduced in the branch of Rhinoplasty. These are preferably known as biomaterials, which includes graft material such as autograft with source as the same organism, homograft with source as same species, xenograft with source as different species and alloplastic with source as synthetic material. Also, increasing the inclination of companies towards improving the quality of implants and performance coupled with the quality life of patient has led manufacturers in diversities in the type of material for various surgeries such as premaxilla augmentation, columella strut, tip graft, dorsal augmentation, middle third spreader, alar graft and lateral wall graft.Nasal Implant Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic region, Nasal Implant market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa.North America dominates the global market for Nasal Implant due to high adoption rate and diagnosis rate, followed by Western Europe. The rising cosmetic requirements for individuals is expected to fuel the nasal implant market. Nasal implant market in Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa is expected to register high growth due to developing healthcare infrastructure and rising cosmetic issues in the near future.Request For Report sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2017 Nasal Implant Market: Key PlayersSome of the major market players in Nasal Implant market globally include Allergan, Plc, Sientra, Inc, Stryker Corporation, KLS Martin L.P, Medartis AG, Johnson & Johnson, Implantech, TMJ Concepts, Nagor.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:30:29

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for New Age Farm Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - New Age Farm Inc. (CSE:NF). has issued a press release with the following headline:New Age Farms Tenant-Grower Provides Company with Crop Testing UpdateTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on New Age Farm Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/New Age Farm Inc.Source: New Age Farm Inc. (CSE: NF, FWB: ONF, OTC Pink: NWGFF, WKN: A12C9F, ISIN: CA64157D1087)Date: October 18, 2017Time: 8:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of New Age Farm Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 08:05:02

New York State to Have Worlds Largest Additive Titanium Factory

Norsk Titanium Dedicates Plattsburgh Machines at Ceremony with New York Governor

Griffin Communications Group

Lauren Quesada, 281-744-7938

Lauren@griffincg.com

Norsk Titanium (Norsk), the worlds first FAA-approved supplier of aerospace-grade, additive manufactured, structural titanium components, held a dedication ceremony yesterday of its Plattsburgh Development and Qualification Center (PDQC) in Plattsburgh, New York. This facility, which currently houses nine of Norsks proprietary Rapid Plasma DepositionTM (RPD) titanium printing machines, signifies the partnership between Norsk and the state of New York. The site will produce aerospace components for Boeing and other aerospace producers. State and local officials, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Howard Zemsky of Empire State Development, Michael Cashman of the Town of Plattsburgh, the City of Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Reed and Garry Douglas of the North Country Chamber of Commerce participated in the ceremony.

"Norsk could have chosen anywhere in the nation to set up their first-in-the-world manufacturing operations, but they chose Plattsburgh thanks to our economic development strategy and our pro-business climate," Governor Cuomo said. "This partnership will help grow the booming transportation and aeronautics industry, create hundreds of good jobs and support economic growth in the North Country."

Earlier this year, Norsk announced its first production order from Boeing Commercial Airplanes for the manufacture of 3D-printed structural titanium components for the 787 Dreamliner. Congratulations to Norsk and New York State for a partnership that is bringing an exciting new technology and high-value aerospace jobs to Plattsburgh, said Brian Baird, vice president, Aircraft Materials and Structures, Supplier Management, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Boeing is proud to support American manufacturing and engineering excellence through our U.S. supply chain, sustaining an estimated 1.3 million American jobs.

Spirit Aerosystems, the worlds largest producer of aerostructures and strategic supplier to Boeing, also participated in the event. John Pilla, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer at Spirit Aerosystems said, "Spirit is very pleased to be standing alongside Norsk and Governor Cuomo for this very critical milestone in our partnership. Spirit builds thousands of parts every day, and now with this new RPD facility, we will be able to deliver more cost-effective solutions with the highest possible quality to our customers. Spirit will be looking for opportunities to use this new technology and this state-of-the-art facility to deliver world-class aerostructures."

This past summer Norsk announced a 60 percent expansion of the PDQC facility, located less than a half mile from the future site of the Norsk Titanium Production Center. As stated in previous announcements, Norsk is targeting an additional 100 new jobs by the end of this year, 250 by the end of 2018, and 400 in 2019.

Growth has been a consistent theme for Norsk Titanium, and today was no exception. This dedication signifies a 300% increase in our production capacity, said Warren Boley, president and CEO of Norsk Titanium. The partnership with Empire State Development has been key to attracting much-deserved attention to Plattsburghs ability to foster growth of high-technology companies. We are very pleased to be a part of the North Country community.

While titanium 3D printing has grown over the years, Norsk has developed breakthrough technology that takes it to the next level. Norsks proprietary Rapid Plasma DepositionTM (RPD) process uses titanium wire with plasma torches to print titanium structural components on an industrial scale. RPD has demonstrated it can be used to produce large structural parts weighing over 100 lbs. RPD is also 50-100 times faster than powder-based systems, and uses 25-50% less titanium than incumbent forging processes. This technology is applicable to aviation, space, transportation, oil & gas, and maritime.

As Norsk has been planning and expanding its facility, it is also partnering with the North Country Chamber of Commerce in Plattsburgh to support and promote the successful launch and growth of Norsks industrial-scale factory including workforce training, economic development and STEM outreach with specific educational programs. Examples of these programs include the states Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP) at Clarkson University and the new Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at Clinton Community College.

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, Throughout Upstate, Governor Cuomos inclusive, bottom-up approach to economic development is paying off  leading to transformative partnerships, attracting innovative global leaders like Norsk, and generating new jobs. Plattsburgh is now the worlds epicenter for next generation aerospace manufacturing, and it wouldnt be possible without Governor Cuomos unwavering commitment to bringing business back to Upstate New York.

Norsk Titaniums choice to locate their first U.S. facility in the Plattsburgh region was due to its excellent transportation infrastructure, availability of a skilled and capable labor force, and the proximity to the large aerospace supply-chain community in the state and region.

About Norsk Titanium AS

Norsk Titanium AS is the worlds pioneering supplier of aerospace-grade, additive manufactured, structural titanium components. The company is distinguished in the aviation industry by its patented Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process that transforms titanium wire into complex components suitable for structural and safety-critical applications. Norsk Titanium is a tier-1 supplier to Boeing and is committed to cost-reducing aerostructures and jet engines for the worlds premier aerospace manufacturers. RPD is the worlds first FAA-approved, 3D-printed, structural titanium, delivering substantial lead-time and cost savings for aerospace, defense, and commercial customers. www.norsktitanium.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710170069
North America Agricultural Microbials Market by Type (Bacteria, Fungi, Virus, Protozoa), by Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds & Pulses, Fruits & Vegetables), by Mode of Application (Soil treatment, Seed treatment, Foliar Spray), by Function (Soil amendment & Crop protection) and Region

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PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 11:19:32

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According to the report North America Agricultural Microbials Market, published by Market Data Forecast, the Market was worth USD 0.5 billion in 2016 and estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 16.8%, to reach USD 1.04 billion by 2021. The microbials play a vital part in the production of fruits, milk, vegetables, poultry and livestock products.Soil is the most essential segment of agribusiness. Microbes present in the soil assume an imperative part in the managing and regulating of nutrients available for crops. Rural microbials are along these lines used to enhance the harvest yield. Operating Companies in this market are striving to dispatch items containing distinctive microbial fixings to meet the normal yield. Agricultural microbials are valuable in the production of nourishment as a long haul sustainable base for farming activities that assist to keep up and enhance human wellbeing.Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of the North America Agricultural Microbials Industry to 2021 @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/north-america-agricultural-microbials-market-2157/ The immense frequency of crop diseases and rising interest for food in developed and also developing countries is essential driver for the agriculture microbials market.The North America microbials market has been segmented on the premise of microbe type, application and by geography. The type segment is classified on the premise of fungi, virus, bacteria and protozoa; the use of bacteria is maximum and is relied upon to develop considerably in agriculture part. Bacterial microbes are further divided into Bacillus thuringiensis, Rhizobium, Bacillus subtilis and others. Significant parasites species named in agribusiness are Trichoderma Spp. & Mycorrhiza.Free sample of the report is available @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/north-america-agricultural-microbials-market-2157/request-sample By application, the market comprises four crop types Cereals and Grains, Oilseeds, Fruits and Vegetables and Others. Use of microbes in products of the soil crops represents the dominant part of market share by application. On the basis of geography, the global market is analyzed under various regions namely U.S and Canada. North America, trailed by Europe, is expected to be the biggest market for agricultural microbials because of stringent directions requiring environment friendly means for agribusiness and rising interest for natural sustenance in the area.Inquire before buying @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/north-america-agricultural-microbials-market-2157/inquire Major significant organizations working in the North America rural microbials market are Monsanto, Bayer CropScience AG, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., BASF SE, Syngenta AG, Arysta Life Science Limited and Novozymes.About Us:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, we cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. Our analyst team comprises expert professionals in market research, who with their collective knowledge and skillset dedicatedly serve clients from various industries and regions.
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Northern Superior Resources Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Sudbury, Ontario (FSCWire) - Northern Superior Resources Inc. (TSX Venture:SUP). has issued a press release with the following headline:Northern Superior Announces High Grade Assay Results, Big Dam Boulder Trains, Ti-pa-haa-kaa-ning Gold/ Silver/ Copper PropertyTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Northern Superior Resources Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Northern Superior Resources Inc.Source: Northern Superior Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: SUP, OTCQB: NSUPF)Date: October 18, 2017Time: 8:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Northern Superior Resources Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 05:37:01

Edu Apps and Learning Management System for Primary & Secondary Students

Nucleos and Hope Academy Announce eLearning Collaboration

Hope Academy

India:

Rosie and Anand Thandu, +91-970-463-1155

rosie@hopeacademyindia.com

or

US:

Mark Perra, +1-925-216-2159

MarkJoannePerra@comcast.net

or

Nucleos Inc.

Richard Curtin, 408-209-6898

richard@nucleos.com

Nucleos Incorporated announces the establishment of a collaboration with Hope Academy for the development and deployment of an eLearning solution for use in their educational facility in Visakhapatnam, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Nucleos will be working with Hope Academys educational staff to craft a comprehensive local-cloud learning system to address the needs of the primary and secondary grade level students.

The eLearning solution will encompass a Learning Management System (LMS) for the teachers use in selecting and deploying innovative adaptive learning apps aligned to the national curriculum requirements, along with on-going measurement and analytics to track student progress and outcomes. The students will have campus-wide access to the Edu apps utilizing their WiFi-enabled devices. The initial roll-out is targeted for the first half of 2018 to specific grade levels and specific Edu applications for the selected literacy, math and science subjects.

We are extremely excited to have established this collaboration with Nucleos, stated Rosie Thandu, Principal of Hope Academy India. Nucleos is clearly aligned with our mission of bringing world-class, transformational education to children in India. The PortableCloud learning platform enables easy access to the comprehensive STEM content and resources available today  addressing our near-term needs and gives us the flexibility to include new eLearning applications in the future. By selecting the appropriate adaptive learning apps, our teachers can monitor student progress towards achieving successful educational outcomes.

Our team is committed to delivering an exceptional eLearning platform to further enhance the educational experience at Hope Academy. The PortableCloud App store will enable their educational staff to craft an eLearning curriculum based on the needs of both the primary and secondary grades, aligned with the national educational standards, stated Noah Freedman, co-founder and CEO of Nucleos.

About Hope Academy

Hope Academys mission is to provide every studentirrespective of caste or backgroundwith a life-changing education that builds a foundation for them to achieve their highest potential and discover the joy and fruits of their individual callings. More information can be found at www.hopeacademyindia.com.

About Nucleos

Nucleos is dedicated to improving the student learning experience with inclusive and equitable education for all. Our learning platform solutions function in little-to-zero bandwidth situations, allowing us to deliver adaptive and personalized learning experiences, both online and offline. App users and developers can utilize the companys patent-pending PortableCloudOS to uniquely address both the cloud and edge computing needs for access, performance, control, privacy and security. Further information is available at www.nucleos.com.

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PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 13:42:03

OCO Global Selected for Dubai Future Foundations Accelerator Programme to Drive Business Innovation and Investment in the Region

OCO Global

Media enquiries to

Therese McCrory

+44 28 90 241849

therese.mccrory@ocoglobal.com

or

Rachel Hawkins

+44 20 79 734456

ocoglobal@hkstrategies.com

Leading economic development specialist OCO Global is pleased to announce that it is one of the 46 world-wide innovators accepted into the prestigious Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) programme.

The company has been chosen through a competitive process to take part in a 9-week accelerator programme that will draw together leading companies from around the world to tackle an ambitious checklist of key 21st century questions. The chosen companies cover a range of innovative ideas that seek to shape the future of key sectors, find effective solutions to current challenges facing the future of Dubai, and, ultimately, create a better life for future generations.

The OCO team will work with the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) to develop an intelligent business rating system that can be used to assess and score SMEs accessibility to financing.

OCO Global is already an innovator in this field, having pioneered the industry-leading Velociti data-mining tool that is used by its clients to fine-tune the accuracy and effectiveness of their prospecting and business recruitment.

Velociti offers advanced machine-learning intelligence for businesses across the globe with a view to assessing their potential for growth through trade and foreign direct investment. Velociti has seen a surge in interest following the Brexit referendum result as UK companies look for export markets across the world and foreign investors look to take advantage of the devalued pound.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Accelerators, said: Were pleased to welcome OCO Global into the 3rd Cohort at Dubai Future Accelerators. With their established presence in Dubai, they have already shown a commitment to the region and we look forward to working with them on this exciting project.

Earlier this year, OCO Global acquired the British Centres for Business (BCB) in Dubai.

OCO Global CEO Mark OConnell said: The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is an exciting market at the moment with its ambitious foreign direct investment attraction policies and investment in world-class infrastructure. We feel that Dubai offers a model of stability and good governance in a challenging region of the world and OCO Global is delighted to be part of the next big leap forward in transforming its economy into a locus for innovation.

Joe Hepworth, director of OCO Middle East, said: Starting with our acquisition of the BCB and becoming part of the DED-BCB market-entry incubator scheme in Dubai, our acceptance onto the DFA programme is another important milestone in the companys development and commitment to the region. We continue to see enormous opportunity in the UAE and MENA region for trade and investment opportunities that we are tasked by our clients to bring to fruition.

Notes to editors

About OCO Global

OCO Global is the leading advisory firm in Europe for trade and investment services and works with businesses to guide their expansion internationally through export and FDI. OCO offers a one stop, full service solution for companies working with a range of trusted business partners to make it fast and easy to set up new operations and expand quickly. The company is the appointed provider of the UK Government to support UK businesses entering the European market. OCO Global also works with many US companies supporting their expansion into Europe and Asia. OCO Global is a leading specialist provider of trade and investment services including market entry support, business intelligence for trade and investment, trade mission support, business development, advisory, trends analysis and software solutions. Headquartered in Northern Ireland, OCO has offices in leading markets globally including UK, Germany, France, Japan, the UAE and the US. OCOs clients include leading national, state and regional economic development organizations as well as private companies seeking to enter new markets or grow their domestic base.

About Velociti

Velociti is an intelligent data platform designed to develop and prioritize investment pipelines and export options. Velociti collates and analyses data from over 40k sources in addition to providing exhibitor analysis for leading tradeshows, summarizes the results and provides actionable insights on which companies are geared for expansion and export. It is different from other data tools as the platform provides more than a score based purely on company data. Velocitis unique algorithm also evaluates company origin and industry.

ENDS

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710180057

We're in! Excited to announce that our Velociti product has been accepted to the Dubai Future Accelerator Programme!
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:19:59

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A recent study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) forecasts that the global polyurethane dispersions market will grow at a CAGR of 7.5% between the years 2012 to 2018. TMR, a market intelligence firm based in the United States, in its report says that the global polyurethane dispersions market will report a market value worth US$1.18 billion by 2018. The report is titled Polyurethane Dispersions Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2012 - 2018.Browse Complete Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/polyurethane-dispersions-market.html According to this market research report, the global polyurethane dispersions market is primarily driven by the growth of the textile finishing industry, and higher production of synthetic leather. Polyurethane dispersions refer to high solid dispersions of polyurethane polymers in water. These are mostly used for manufacturing polyurethane coatings and adhesives that contain low levels of organic compounds that are volatile which exhibit superior coating and excellent adhesion properties for metals, wood, rubber, textiles, plastics, and other miscellaneous high performance substrates. Polyurethane dispersions ensure polyurethane-like-performance, however, with added advantages like the absence of toxic and volatile organic compounds, elimination of odor, and the absence of harmful monomers. They possess high degree of toughness and are generally used in adhesives, sealants, and coatings.Request and Download Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1318 This TMR report has segmented the global polyurethane dispersions market in terms of product, application, and geography. Based on the type of product, this market has been classified into two main categories which are water based polyurethane dispersions, and solvent based polyurethane dispersions. On the basis of applications, the polyurethane dispersions market is segmented into natural leather finishing, textile finishing, synthetic leather production, and other applications. In terms of consumption, the global polyurethane dispersions market is dominated by the segment for adhesives and coatings. Owing to rising demand for synthetic leather from industries like that of interiors, furniture, and automobile, it is anticipated that the synthetic leather production segment will witness robust growth in the forthcoming years.Regionally, the global polyurethane dispersions market is categorized into Europe, the Asia Pacific, North America, South America, and Rest of the World. In the year 2012, the global polyurethane dispersions market was led by the Asia Pacific with a share of almost 37%. The Asia Pacific was followed by Europe which accounted for almost 29% of the total market share in the overall polyurethane dispersions market. It is expected that the Asia Pacific will retain its leading position in the years to come both in terms of revenue and production. The Asia Pacific polyurethane dispersions market is driven by greater production and consumption of polyurethane dispersions in the emerging economies of china and India.Some of the prominent participants in the global polyurethane dispersions market are Mitsui chemicals inc., Lubrizol, Hauthaway Corporation, Dow chemical company, Cytec industries inc., Chemtura Corporation, and Alberdingk Boley, Inc.View and Download TOC of Polyurethane Dispersions Market Research Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1318 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.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@ transparencymarketresearch.com Website: www.transparencymarketresearch.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 11:01:11

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Transparency Market Research (TMR) has announced the release of a new research report, titled Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019. TMR states that the global pressure sensitive adhesives market will display a 5.2% CAGR from 2013 to 2019. If the figures hold true, the market, which had a valuation of US$5.58 billion in 2012, will reach US$7.96 billion by 2019.According to the study, rapid expansion of the electronics and automotive sectors is one of the major factors propelling demand for pressure sensitive adhesives. Increasing pressure from regulatory agencies for low emission, light weight, and better mileage in vehicles is accentuating the demand of lightweight devices for automotive applications, most of which utilize pressure sensitive adhesives. Furthermore, miniaturization of electronic devices will propel the demand for pressure sensitive adhesives from the electronics sector.View and Download TOC of Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market Research Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1448 Additionally, growing demand for labeling and packaging applications, which use pressure sensitive adhesives due to the improvement inventory management and cost-effectiveness of packaging materials they bring about, will support growth of the pressure sensitive adhesives market.However , fluctuating prices of crude oil-based feedstock and regulations in place against volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are synthesized from solvent-based pressure sensitive adhesives, will hinder the markets growth.Products , applications, and key regional markets are the main criteria on which the global pressure sensitive devices market is divided. By product type, the market is segmented into hot melt, radiation cured, water-based, and solvent-based.In 2012, water-based pressure sensitive adhesives accounted for the largest share of the market, followed by solvent-based products. Due to discharge of hazardous volatile organic compounds, these products are heavily regulated and are restricted to be used away from populated areas, and thus will lose their strong market share in the coming years.However , hot melt adhesive products are estimated to gain higher application in the construction industry owing to their ease of application and stronger bond strength, thus reducing processing time, state analysts.Radiation-cured pressure adhesives are used in masking tapes that are suitable for sub-zero or extremely high temperatures.Request and Download Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1448 The report states that by application, tapes dominated the market and held more than 40% of the market in 2012. Labeling application of pressure sensitive adhesives is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% between 2013 and 2019. This is mainly due to higher adoption of RFID labels for improved inventory management. RFID labels offer process efficiency and hence account for almost a quarter of overall label sales in the market. Retail labeling is expected to be the fastest growing application segment of the pressures sensitive adhesives market. Among the regional markets, Asia Pacific registered a share of more than 40% in the global pressure sensitive adhesives market in 2012. North America and Europe, which have mature chemical industries, will not contribute significantly to the growth of the overall market. Strict regulations in place for the chemical industry to develop eco-friendly products will slow the growth of the pressure sensitive adhesives market in these regions.Buy Full Pressure Sensitive Adhesives Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1448<ype=S 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.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@ transparencymarketresearch.com Website: www.transparencymarketresearch.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 14:57:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Endurance Gold Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Endurance Gold Corporation (TSX Venture:EDG). has issued a press release with the following headline:Quartz-Breccia Trend at South Fork Target Now Extends 250 M, Elephant Project, AlaskaTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Endurance Gold Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Endurance Gold CorporationSource: Endurance Gold Corporation (TSX Venture: EDG, OTC Bulletin Board: ENDGF, ISIN: CA29267M1086)Date: October 18, 2017Time: 8:56 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Endurance Gold Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 13:02:01

Scientist.com Collaborates With UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre to Ensure Quality of Human Biosample Acquisition Globally

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Scientist.com, the worlds leading marketplace for outsourced scientific services, today announced that it is entering into a collaboration with the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UKCRC TDCC) to support the work of biobanks throughout the United Kingdom. The partnership will enable drug R&D to move forward more quickly by making large collections of prescreened human biological samples available for scientific research.

Through the new COMPLI feature, Scientist.com provides a simple, efficient and effective way of increasing the visibility and accessibility of biobanks human biological samples collections, which support new medical research. COMPLI introduces a common, comprehensive process and supply agreement supporting access to human biosamples. The goal is to enable biobanks to more easily connect with researchers in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries and academia.

Our goal is to put researchers who require human biological samples in touch with biobanks that have those samples in a platform that promotes compliance, efficiency, transparency, control and respect for the original donor, stated Matt McLoughlin, Senior Director of Compliance at Scientist.com.

The UKCRC TDCC supports the work of biobanks by improving visibility of their human tissue samples for research purposes. The Centre helps biobanks maintain sustainability by providing access to consistent revenue streams that support the ongoing upkeep and maintenance necessary to keep biobanks compliant with ethical standards and governmental regulations.

The aim is to enable biobanks throughout the UK to easily connect and work with Scientist.coms large international customer base, stated Philip Quinlan, Director of the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre. The initiative should save time, reduce costs and improve compliance oversight.

About Scientist.com

Scientist.com is the worlds leading scientific services marketplace. The marketplace simplifies research sourcing, saves time and money and provides access to innovative tools and technologies, while maintaining full compliance with an organizations procurement policies. Scientist.com operates private marketplaces for most of the worlds major pharmaceutical companies and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Visit scientist.com to learn more.

Join Scientist.com on social media: YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram.

About the UKCRC TDCC

The UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordinator Centre was set up to support the work of biobanks by improving access to their human samples for research purposes. This was a direct response to the UKCRC Funders Vision for Human Tissue Resources, which sought for the maximisation of human tissue samples and resources for medical research. The UKCRC funders that have funded the Centre include Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health Research, Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Government Health Directorates), Health and Care Research Wales and the HSC Research and Development Division, Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland. For more information about the Centre, please see the website: www.biobankinguk.org. To access the Tissue Directory, please see the website: https://directory.biobankinguk.org

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201710180052

Scientist.com collaborates with UKCRC TDCC to ensure quality of human biosample acquisition globally
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Smart Education and Learning Market - IntroductionA very smooth and flexible learning process is replacing the traditional classroom teaching methods. Education institutes are adopting new hi-tech teaching methods which includes white boards, projectors and smart notebooks. Implementation of such technologies in classroom improves understanding of students and also engage students to learn. Coordination between hardware provider, software innovator and education material provider is making learning easy for students. Unlike traditional methods, smart education and learning methods is not bounded by number of hours, location and attendance. The smart education and learning market is defined as the combination of educational products, learning modes and applications. This market is still in the infant stage as only big institutions are receptive towards the latest technological change.A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1034 Smart Education and Learning Market - SegmentationSmart education and learning market is classified on the basis of learning mode, product type, verticals and region. On the basis of learning mode, the smart education and learning market can be segmented into mobile learning, social learning, E-learning, simulation based learning and adaptive learning. According to product type, smart education and learning market can be segmented into hardware, software, services and educational contents. Hardware segment can be sub-segmented into display hardware and simulation-based hardware. Software segment can be sub-segmented into mobile education application, test and assessment and ERP. Service segment can be sub-segmented into application service, portal service and support service. Educational content segment can be sub-segmented into E-textbooks and audio and video-based courseware. By verticals, smart education and learning market is segmented into public sector, retail sector, health and care sector and banking, finance, services and insurance. Based on region, the smart education and learning market can be segmented into North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). In terms of revenue contribution, North America dominates the smart education and learning market and is expected to remain dominant over the forecast period, followed by Western Europe.Smart Education and Learning Market - Drivers and RestraintsGrowing number of mobile learning applications and learners expertise with technology and affinity towards digital learning are anticipated to drive the smart education and learning market. Moreover, improved collaboration between the hardware provider, software provider and educational material provider results in better educational technology is expected to fuel growth of the smart education and learning market. On the other hand, lack of awareness and lack of technology adoption in developing regions regarding smart education and learning is expected to hinder the growth of this market. Additionally, limited funding by the user segment is expected to hinder the growth of smart education and learning market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1034 Smart Education and Learning Market - Key PlayersCurrently, the smart education and learning market is experiencing emergence of various service providers which is anticipated to pose a healthy competition to other well established players. Some major players that are contributing significantly to the smart education and learning market are Blackboard Inc., Educomp Solutions Ltd., Adobe Corporation, Scholastic Corporation, Cisco System Inc., Smart Technologies Inc., NIIT Ltd. and Saba Software Inc. Major players such as Cisco System Inc. and Adobe Corporation follow strategy of acquisitions and mergers to enhance their market presence globally and expand their product portfolio.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 09:35:53

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In cancer, solid tumors are formed by aggregation of abnormal tissues that do not comprise of any liquid or cyst. These solid tumors are of two types namely benign and malignant. The treatment of these solid tumors is tough and it requires synchronized actions of many healthcare professionals, such as, surgeons, radiologists, radiation specialists, oncologists, and other professionals. Hence, most of the solid tumors are treated through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and/or surgery. However, at present, surgery is the most appropriate treatment option for cancer solid tumors. Chemotherapy is frequently used along with other types of solid tumor treatment i.e. surgery and radiation. Solid tumor therapeutics are pharmaceutical products that specifically treat various cancers such as lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and others. For oncology treatments, solid tumor therapeutics are continuing to pave the way in the global oncology therapeutics market as an effective anti-cancer therapy.Increasing incidences of solid tumor among cancer patients and growing prevalence of various types of metastatic cancers are the major factors that are expected to drive the growth of the global solid tumor therapeutics market. For instance, in 2012, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that globally around 8.2 Mn people died due to cancer. Among them breast, colorectal, liver and lung cancers, were among the primary causes of cancer deaths. Most common forms of solid tumors include neuroblastoma and brain tumors (glioma and medulloblastoma) and other solid tumors include osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Increasing investment in clinical trials along with R&D of cancer drugs, increasing expenditure in cancer treatment, and unmet demand for effective cancer treating drug are other key factors which are expected to fuel the growth of the global solid tumor therapeutics market. However, high cost of cancer therapy, increase in drug patent cliff, and increasing volume of generic therapeutic products are anticipated to be the growth hampering factors for the global solid tumor therapeutics market.Request for Report TOC @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/12712 The development of biosimilars is one of the emerging trends that is captivating the growth of the global solid tumor therapeutics market. Unlike generic drugs, biosimilars are almost same as originator compound. These products are low cost therefore, the adoption of these therapeutic products is very high. Some of the major biologics available for the treatment of solid tumors therapeutics include Herceptin, Avastin, MabThera, and Erbitux.Based on application, breast cancer and prostate cancer are expected to contribute the largest share in terms of value to the global solid tumor therapeutics market due to increasing incidences of these types of diseases. Based on type of therapy, chemotherapy segment is expected to contribute the maximum value share among other therapy types through 2024.On the basis of regional presence, global solid tumor therapeutics market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to lead the global solid tumor therapeutics market in terms of value due to high prevalence of breast and prostate cancer in the region. The European region majorly has a high incidence rate of colorectal cancer and lung cancer segments. The Asia-Pacific and Latin America region on the other hand are expected to represent the highest growth rate during the forecast.Request for Report Sample @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12712 Some of the major players in global solid tumor therapeutics market are Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, AstraZeneca plc, Biogen Idec, Inc, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Eli Lilly and Company, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Baxter International, Inc., etc.
Spectral Computed Tomography is a scanning technique unlike conventional computed tomography it separates the energy into two or more narrow energy bands instead of using one broad energy band of x-rays. Energy bands are absorbed differently by different body tissues.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 11:04:17

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Spectral Computed Tomography is a scanning technique unlike conventional computed tomography it separates the energy into two or more narrow energy bands instead of using one broad energy band of x-rays. Energy bands are absorbed differently by different body tissues. Introduction of spectral computed tomography has revolutionized the diagnostic system by offering radiologists more clear view over any type of discrepancy in body organs. The exclusivity and preciseness of spectral computed tomography proved them to be a useful and reliable tool for radiologists around the globe. Spectral computed tomography is able to perform image acquisition and processing at multiple energy levels, which are to improving visualization than conventional CT and providing urgent diagnosis for disorders having large prevalence these days such as aneurysm, cancer, tumor, cardiovascular impairment and disease related to bones.The demand for spectral tomography foreseen to increase on the back drop of rising healthcare expenditure in the economies worldwide. Furthermore, in some cases for accurate diagnosis a contrast agent is administered intravenously prior to the scan, the drug or the agent dose used is comparatively lower than the dose used in conventional CT scans. Besides, easy availability of conventional x-ray imaging systems and its cost the spectral tomography is gaining popularity and as a result adoption is anticipated to increase in the near future.Browse Full Report With ToC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2023 Spectral Computed Tomography Market: Drivers & RestraintsSpectral computed tomography is an upcoming scanning technique that may overshadow the applications of conventional computed tomography. The images formed from spectral CT are reconstruction of two or more sets of spectral absorption values measured during the scan. Broad application base and superior diagnostic quality is anticipated to drive the market in near future. Moreover, the disease with high prevalence rate, especially the chronic non-communicable diseases is expected to underpin the spectral computed tomography market. Diseases such as cancer, tumor, cardiovascular disease, renal and hepatic disease are forcing the spectral computed tomography market to grow with high pace. The gradual rise in aging population is also expected to drive the market positively. Rise in novel and unknown disease is favoring the demand for clearer imaging techniques is expected to push the market upwards. Although, significant number of factors are is in favor but still there are some unavoidable restraints such as cost for imaging, contrasting agent reaction, high installation cost, lack of skilled personnel, initial phase of technology, lack of awareness and high installation costs are few factors, which are anticipated to resist the market growth.Spectral Computed Tomography Market: OverviewSpectral computed tomography market is predicted to rise during the forecast period due to its broad application base and quality imaging. Spectral computed tomography market is projected to grow with prominent CAGR due to increase in ageing population in developing countries. Innovations like dual-layer detector is expected to propel the market demand for spectral computed tomography. The market is anticipated to show the high growth rate due to eruptions of novel unknown diseases and increase in per-capita healthcare expenditure.Spectral Computed Tomography Market: Region-wise OutlookBased on geographic regions, spectral computed tomography market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America seized major share in the global market of spectral computed tomography market due to increase in aging population and high adoption rate of new technologies followed by Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific is expected to have gradual rise in growth due to developing economies and moderate expenditure on healthcare. The spectral computed tomography market in japan will have a constant growth due to the balance between adoption of technology and prevalence of diseases. Middle East and Africa holds promising future for rise in the global spectral computed tomography market as expenditure on healthcare from foreign countries is increasing which is favoring the introduction of latest technologies.Request For Report sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2023 Spectral Computed Tomography Market: Key PlayersThere are many key performers in spectral computed tomography market some of the names who are leading the market in spectral computed tomography market worldwide are Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Toshiba Medical System Corporations, Hitachi Medical Corporations, Pie Medical Imaging, Shimadzu Corporation, Neusoft Medical Systems.
Many of the diseases like lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and growth hormone insufficiency that can be treated by specific proteins produced from bioprocesses. There are two types of cells used in the bioprocessing equipment, mammalian cells, and bacterial cells.

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-18 10:59:42

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Bioprocessing referred as biopharmaceutical manufacturing, is a part of bioprocess engineering which aims at establishing reproducible and robust manufacturing process for the production of therapeutic cells. The products of bioprocess are of high commercial value and targeted application. Bioprocess Manufacturing is differentiated into two major processes: Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream process involves steps such as media development, cell culture, and development, harvesting of cells and fermentation. This process is done under the stringent aseptic condition, and particular temperature and pH levels are maintained throughout the process. Cell Banking is also done by upstream processes. The primary objective upstream processes are to provide an environment necessary for the growth of cells. Since the upstream process is a part of bio manufacturing process, it involves the production of therapeutic proteins, antibiotics, hormones, enzymes, blood substitutes, and vaccines. Many of the diseases like lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and growth hormone insufficiency that can be treated by specific proteins produced from bioprocesses. There are two types of cells used in the bioprocessing equipment, mammalian cells, and bacterial cells.Browse Full Report With ToC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2016 Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment Market: Drivers and RestraintsAs the prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases have increased, there is a need to increase the production of substances to cure them. With innovation in technology, equipment with the well-established production system, providing high-quality biologic drugs and increased productivity is possible. This, in turn, increases the usage of upstream processing equipment which drives the biopharmaceutical market. Along with this increase in the need for cell therapy research, drug discovery, antibody production, monoclonal antibody and recombinant productions are also the major drivers for the upstream bioprocessing equipment market. However, the high cost incurred in setting up an upstream processing unit, its maintenance as the current challenge is to eliminate the contamination and the space required for the setup are the major restraining factors for the growth the Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment.Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment Market: SegmentationThe upstream bioprocessing equipment market can be segmented according to the type of cell used, type of processing, by product, by end users, and by geography. By type of cell, the upstream bioprocessing equipment is segmented as mammalian cell and bacterial cell. According to the processing, the market is segmented into disposable, single  use bioprocessing system and continuous bioprocessing systems. By type of product the bioreactors and fermenters. By end users, the upstream bioprocessing equipment market is segmented into biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies and research organizations. Geographical segmentation is North America, West Europe, APEJ, Japan, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment Market: OverviewThe Single-use bioprocessing units are the major drivers in the coming decade as single-use bioprocessing units eliminated the risk of contamination. It also reduces the time required for the sterilization between batch which in turn also increases the efficacy. Over a decade disposable and single  use processing units have gained momentum as it is possible to develop a small amount of drugs used for pre  clinical and clinical testing. The future in the upstream bioprocessing system is single  bioprocessing units as it has all kinds of the system used in upstream processing such as bioreactors, membrane absorbers, bioprocess containers, disposable mixers, and samplers.Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment Market: Regional OverviewGeographically the market for bioprocessing equipment is increasing globally. The U.S. and Europe been the strong regions for the growth of upstream processes equipment has it has shown double-digit growth over last year. In U.S. the Single-use bioprocessing units have grown significantly when compared to continuous bioprocessing system. Along with Europe and U.S., the emerging markets like Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa shows great potential for the growth of upstream bioprocessing equipment market. Japanese beverage, food and pharmaceutical industry are diversifying into high-value products which boosted the growth of upstream bioprocessing equipment in Japan. The government in Japan also provides financial support for research and development to industry players for the growth, which enables the industry to prosper.Request For Report sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2016 Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment Market: Key PlayersThe top players in the Upstream Bioprocessing Equipment market are GE Healthcare, Merck KGaA, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG , Thermo Fisher Scientific, BiOZEEN and Katalyst Bio Engineering
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Transparency Market Research has launched a research report titled Water Soluble Polymers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 - 2019. The report offers users a clear perspective on the market to help them create the most feasible market strategy.According to the report, the major growth driver of the global water soluble polymers market is its increasing base of applications in water treatment. Growing concerns over the quality of water have led to greater efforts being taken in terms of water treatment, which is enforced by environmental regulations. The global water soluble polymers market finds use in water treatment for urban as well as industrial water.The global water soluble polymers market was previously worth US$23.38 billion in 2012. Experts say that the market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2013 to 2019 to reach a value of US$29.63 billion by the end of 2019. Its 2012 market volume was 5,483.8 kilo tons.View and Download TOC of Water Soluble Polymers Market Research Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1363 The report divides the raw materials used in the global water soluble polymers market into three segments of natural, synthetic, and semi-synthetic. Further research reveals that the dominant segment of the market was synthetic water soluble polymers, which held nearly 60% share of the global water soluble polymers market.The other 40% of market shares were collectively held by natural and semi-synthetic segments, in terms of volume.The top polymers that are commonly used include polyacrylic acid, gelatin, casein, polyvinyl alcohol, guar gum, and polyacrylamide. Other polymers include quarternary ammonium compounds, polyamines, PEG, PVP, and polysaccharides.Request and Download Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1363 The report states that the largest product in the global water soluble polymers market in previous periods was polyacrylamide. It is also expected to be the fastest growing segment, marking a 7.4% CAGR from 2013 to 2019.The largest end user for the global water soluble polymers market in 2012 was water treatment. At the time, the segment held 23.7% of the markets share in terms of volume generated. Water soluble polymers are often used to reduce friction in fluids and as a wastewater treatment agent in the petroleum industry.The report explains other growth drivers including increasing extraction processes of petroleum and shale gas around the world.The top companies in the global water soluble polymers market that are discussed in the report include BASF SE, Kuraray, Kemira, Ashland Inc., and SNF. More than 70% of the global market is dominated by the top three contenders.The reports geographic segmentation reveals Asia Pacific to be the dominant region in the global water soluble polymers market, followed by Europe. Nearly 31% of the market share was held collectively by North America and the Rest of the World region. Asia Pacific is expected to maintain its dominant position, growing at the fastest pace in the reports time frame.Buy Full Water Soluble Polymers Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1363<ype=S 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.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@ transparencymarketresearch.com Website: www.transparencymarketresearch.com
The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Wednesday clarified the suspension of trading in the shares of Oando plc for two days.

The NSE, in a notice Wednesday afternoon, said it was acting based on the directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that SEC on Wednesday morning directed the full suspension on trading in the shares of the oil firm following petitions forwarded to it by aggrieved stakeholders.

Tinuade Awe, General Counsel and Head of Regulation at the NSE, said the full suspension is effective for 48 hours from Wednesday to Friday, after which it would commence a technical suspension until further directive.

A full suspension is the halt of trading activities in a listed security for a period, Ms. Awe said.

A technical suspension is the interruption of price movement in a listed security for a period so that any dealings in the securities which occur during the period of the suspension will not result in any change in price, which change may have occurred had the suspension not been implemented.

The NSE affirmed that in the 48 hour period commencing Wednesday, there will be no trading in the shares of Oando Plc.

From Friday, investors will be able to trade in Oando Plcs shares but such trading will not result in any movement in the price of the shares, the statement explained further.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach Oando Plc on the suspension remained futile.

But according to Reuters, the company said it would issue a statement later.

Oando, which enjoys dual listings in Johannesburg and Toronto, has been enmeshed in crisis in recent time.

In September, a group of aggrieved shareholders attempted to disrupt its Annual General Meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.

The shareholders accused the company management of gross misconduct and called for removal of its head, Wale Tinubu.
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, on Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government to resolve its problem with Intels Nig. Ltd., to save more workers from becoming unemployed.

The President of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, made the appeal while speaking with maritime correspondents in Lagos on the lingering problem between Intels and government.

He said the problem could also hinder investors from coming into the country if not resolved soonest.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government on October 11, ordered the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, to terminate its boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement with Intels because Intels flouted an order on Treasury Single Account.

According to Mr. Adeyanju, the union as part of organised labour is concerned over the job security and welfare of its members in Intels.

Today, we are aware that Intels has over 5, 000 direct employees and over 6,000 indirect employees, which makes it up to 11,000 workers.

Most of these employees are Nigerians with families and responsibilities. We are worried that if this issue is not resolved amicably, their jobs can be on the line, he said.

Mr. Adeyanju said that socio-economic implication of most of the workers losing their jobs in a volatile area like Rivers would have a negative impact.

He said the union was also worried over the negative message the contract cancellation would send to investors locally and internationally.

We want to advise the government to avoid anything that will send wrong signals to investors that Nigerias environment is not safe and conducive for business, the union leader said.

He appealed to the government through the NPA to resolve the issues soonest to ensure that calm was restored at the ports.

(NAN)
The management of Oando plc said it was still reviewing documents sent to it by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, after the company was suspended on the Nigerian bourse Wednesday.

A statement signed by Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary at Oando said the oil firm had received communication from both regulatory agencies.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that SEC on Wednesday morning directed the suspension on trading in the shares of the oil firm following petitions forwarded to it by aggrieved stakeholders.

The NSE, following the directive, later suspended the company.

Tinuade Awe, General Counsel and Head of Regulation at the NSE, said the full suspension is effective for 48 hours from Wednesday to Friday, after which it would commence a technical suspension until further directive.

Ms. Awe also affirmed that in the 48-hour period commencing Wednesday, there will be no trading in the shares of Oando Plc, adding that from Friday, investors will be able to trade in Oando Plcs shares but such trading will not result in any movement in the price of the shares.

But in its reaction Wednesday evening, Oando said it remains committed to the interest of its shareholders, adding that it will review the documents and come out with its position soon.

The company is currently reviewing subsequent correspondence received today October 18, 2017 from the NSE and SEC and will provide a full statement of the Companys position as soon as possible, the statement said.

The Company remains committed to acting in the best interests of all its shareholders.

Apart from the Nigerian bourse, Oando is listed in Johannesburg and Toronto. But the company has in recent time been enmeshed in crisis.

Earlier in September, a group of aggrieved shareholders attempted to disrupt its Annual General Meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state over allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the management of the oil firm.

The irate shareholders also called for the removal of Wale Tinubu, the companys Group Chief Executive Officer.
Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, said on Wednesday Tehran would shred the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if the U. S. pulled out, state TV reported.

Mr. Khamenei spoke five days after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Mr. Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

The move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union, who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a UN resolution.

Mr. Khamenei, Irans highest authority, welcomed their support but said it was not sufficient.

Europe must stand against practical measures (taken) by America, he said.

He said if Mr. Trump ditched the deal, Iran will shred it.

Mr. Khamenei also said Iran was determined to continue its disputed ballistic missile program despite the pressure from Europe and the United States to suspend it.

Tehran has said it is developing missiles solely for defensive purposes.

Mr. Khamenei said: they must avoid interfering in our defence programme.

They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles. Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons?

We do not think it is acceptable for the Europeans to join America in its bullying.

(Reuters/NAN)
The Adamawa governor, Muhammadu Bindow, has offered to broker peace between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Plateau toward halting midnight attacks on rural communities in Miango.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that rural communities in Bassa Local Government of Plateau have come under heavy attacks that claimed several lives in the last three weeks.

Among villages hit were Ncha, Taegbe and Ndizewron where 26, six and 29 persons were confirmed killed.

Mr. Bindow, who visited his Plateau counterpart, Simon Lalong, to commiserate with him over the attacks, described the violence as unacceptable, and pledged to work with the governor to end the bloodshed.

As a governor of a state that hosts the leader of the Fulani worldwide, the Lamido of Adamawa, I am in a good position to intercede, if it is established that Fulani people are involved in the hostilities, he said.

Mr. Bindow said he was particularly saddened by the violence because he grew up in Plateau and was an ex-student of Government Secondary School, Miango where the attacks were being carried out.

I will lead my brother, the Governor of Plateau, to the Lamido, for discussions. I will plead with the Lamido to visit the area to speak with the people, if need be.

I dont know where the Plateau problem came from, but we will join hands with you and do our best to ensure that the problem becomes a thing of the past, he said.

He condoled Mr. Lalong over the death of his younger brother, Wummen, who he described as very hardworking, and prayed God to grant the deceased eternal rest.

In his response, Mr. Lalong appreciated Bindow for the show of affection, saying that the visit had strengthened the relationship between the two states.

He regretted that violence was returning to Plateau after two years of uninterrupted peace.

For 15 years, violence was our lot, but that was replaced by two years of stability before the recent incidences, he said.

He said that government was already leveraging on the prevailing peace to bring development to the people before the devil interrupted.

Mr. Lalong, however, said that the people of Plateau were determined to sustain the peace, and urged the residents to promptly report any suspicious persons or movement to the law enforcement agencies.

(NAN)
Ensconced within the imposing structures of the twin-complex Federal Secretariat, Abuja, is an uncompleted building which over the years has housed a shanty that doubles for some as a residential and business point.

The shanty, which exists outside the federal capital city masterplan, without interference by government, is located in an abandoned building within the secretariat complex, with prominent government establishments, including the federal ministries of finance, education and health, as well as Louis Edet House (Nigeria Police Force Headquarters) among its neighbours.

A PREMIUM TIMES reporter, who visited the spot over several weeks to monitor activities there gathered that the building is originally part of Phase Three of the federal secretariat. But it was not allocated to any ministry or agency because it was not completed.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The federal secretariat office complex was built by the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida who ruled Nigeria between August 27, 1985 and August 27, 1993. Mr. Babangida transferred the seat of the federal government from Lagos to Abuja on December12, 1991.

The particular uncompleted building has since existed in abandonment under several military and civilian administrations, from that of Mr. Babangida who built the secretariat, to those of Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umar YarAdua, Goodluck Jonathan and now Muhammadu Buhari.

Workers, who declined to be identified for fear of victimisation by government, said the illegal activities in the abandoned building and the general lawlessness of its occupants are well known at the secretariat.

The abandoned decking building is also an office complex. Babangida gave the job to contractors but they did not finish it, a ministry staff said to the reporter.

Lots of people sleep in the federal secretariat. Millions of naira is allocated for the maintenance of the complex but the big bosses are squandering it, said the worker when asked how such shanties could have escaped the attention of those maintaining the edifice.

ITS OUR HOME, SOURCE OF INCOME  DWELLERS

Florence is a contract caterer in the abandoned building. She refused to disclose her surname.

I have been here for over two years, I assist my madam to cook, she told the reporter, pointing to a smelly, water-filled area she referred to as their kitchen. After the government said we are out of recession we dey sell well, market is improving.

She said the abandoned building has four entrances but one was blocked by the dwellers due to constant robbery and theft within the premises.

A meat seller at the part of the building behind the complex housing the ministries of education, health and the police service commission, told PREMIUM TIMES that he is patronized by workers from across the ministries.

A carwash operator, Chimi from Akwa Ibom State, said he provides service for ministry workers and visitors to the secretariat. He in turn buys his food and other needs in the market within the building.

Hope you are not here to send us away? This is where I make my living, he said suspiciously.

SHIFTING RESPONSIBILITY

Government agencies and officials claim ignorance of the shanty and the mini-dumpsite it houses.

When asked about the maintenance of the federal secretariat, the deputy director of press at the Office of the Head of Service, Mohammed Manga, said it is under the charge of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

But Mohammed Nakoji, the spokesperson of the Office of the SGF, said in a phone interview that the office has asked the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, to take over the responsibility.

When contacted, the chief press secretary to the FCT Minister, Cosmas Uzodinma, directed the reporter to Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, on any issue related to maintenance of the secretariat.

At the FCDA, the spokesperson, Lamin Ishaku, asked a subordinate to direct this reporter to the director of maintenance and facilities of the FCTA, whose aide later said he was not available for a meeting.

Our director only attends to visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Come back on those days if you want to see him, but we can give you the spokespersons number, the secretary to the director said.

The directors spokesperson, Vivian Adewoye, again transferred the responsibility to the FCDA saying the agency has a vote for building and renovation of the federal secretariat in its 2017 Budget.

When they finish building and renovating, they hand it over to us (FCTA) for maintenance, she said.

While the relevant agencies pass the buck on whose responsibility it is to maintain the secretariat, the shanty there has already turned to a dumpsite, something the agency responsible to waste disposal in the Nigerian capital, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, says it is unaware of.

The spokesperson of the agency, Muktar Ibrahim, confirmed that it handles cleaning of offices in the federal secretariat but through private contractors.

The board is not aware of an abandoned building in the secretariat, Mr. Ibrahim told PREMIUM TIMES. Because apart from the waste, an abandoned building also has security implications. We would have done evacuation if we knew because we have an environmental monitoring unit.

He absolved his agency of any responsibility in the federal secretariat shanty being turned to a dumpsite. He said the contractors could not have been disposing refuse within the precinct of the secretariat because there are designated dump sites in Goza, Karu and other satellite towns.

AEPB engages 27 private contractors to carry out cleaning in the federal secretariats. We dont have dump sites in the heart of town and if we know that there is one, we would have done evacuation.

Any of the contractors that dump refuse where it is not supposed to dump it is illegal dumping, he said.

Perhaps because the agency is not aware of the eyesore, life is set to go on for the dwellers of the slum at the very heart of the symbol of the Nigerian bureaucracy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYKRxaIJDio&w=560&h=315]
The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, on Wednesday ordered full suspension of the trading of shares of Oando Plc for two days.

The commission also directed that effective from Friday, October 20, the Nigerian Stock Exchange should implement a technical suspension of the shares of the company.

SEC in a notice posted on its website on Wednesday morning said it took the decision after it received two petitions from Dahiru Mangal and Ansbury Incorporated.

The Commission explained that it carried out a comprehensive review of the petitions and discovered issues of breach of the provisions of the Investments & Securities Act 2007, breach of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies, suspected insider dealing, related party transactions not conducted at arms length, discrepancies in the shareholding structure of Oando Plc. Among other discrepancies.

The Commissions primary role as apex regulator of the Nigerian Capital Market is to regulate the market and protect the investing public, it said.

The Commission notes that the above findings are weighty and therefore needs to be further investigated. After due consideration, the Commission believes that it is necessary to conduct a forensic audit into the affairs of Oando Plc.

This is pursuant to the statutory duties of the Commission as provided in section 13(k), (n), (r) and (aa) of the ISA 2017.

According to SEC, to ensure the independence and transparency of the audit exercise, the forensic audit shall be conducted by a consortium of experts made up of auditors, lawyers, stockbrokers and Registrars.

To further ensure that the interest of all shareholders of Oando Plc are preserved during the course of the exercise, the Commission directed the Nigerian Stock Exchange to place the shares of Oando Plc on technical suspension, it said.

The commission, however, noted that in view of the fact that it is not technologically feasible for the Exchange to effect a technical suspension except after 48 hours, it has directed the Nigerian Stock Exchange to implement a full suspension in the trading of the shares of Oando Plc, effective for 48 hours from Wednesday to Friday 20.

Meanwhile, effective from Friday and until further directive, SEC said that the NSE should implement a technical suspension in the shares of Oando Plc.

Oando plc has in recent time been enmeshed in crisis which led to attempts made by some shareholders to disrupt its Annual General Meeting held recently in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The AGM was reportedly disrupted for over ten minutes as the protesters chanted songs seeking the resignation of the companys Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu.

The protesters, who stormed the venue under the aegis of Oando Shareholders Solidarity Group, said they were protesting in order to change the management of the company due to alleged gross mismanagement and abuse of corporate governance.

They also claimed that they had read several reports on the gross mismanagement of Oando by the present management of the company and called on Mr. Tinubu to step down and allow a competent hand to manage the affairs of the company.

The protesters also called on the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, to commence the immediate investigation of the company to determine the true state of the financial position and corporate practice.

But the oil company in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES described the protesters as paid, dubious characters, who are not genuine shareholders of the company.

In September, the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market and other Institutions told the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and Oando Plc to resolve all issues regarding an alleged N799 billion stakeholders liabilities with the oil firm.

The committees decision came against the backdrop of a petition forwarded by some aggrieved shareholders of the oil firm.

The petitioners claimed that the company has not been paying dividends to the shareholders since the 2013 financial year, adding that the external auditors report reported strong doubtful going concern over the Groups annual financial statement.

According to the petition, the Group has negative working capital of over N263 billion consequence of current liabilities above, lighter than current assets, meaning that the management was unable to service its obligations financially.

The petitioners also urged the leadership of the House to as a matter of urgency save their investment in Oando Plc, look into these matters, cause an action to intervene in Oando plc by ordering/remove the present management, to vacate office, allowing for proper investigation of the corporate governance abuses, financial mismanagement as noticed in the published full-year audited financially statement.
The Nigerian Army, 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure, Ondo State has said it would fish out and sanction those who spread rumours of an alleged planned vaccination of school children against monkeypox by soldiers.

The command said it would arrest those who spread the wicked and fake rumour in the state on Tuesday.

School activities were cut short on Tuesday after rumours filtered into town that the army was injecting students with the monkeypox virus.

Parents immediately stormed the schools and withdrew their children as panic spread from one school to the other.

By Wednesday, some of the schools were yet to resume normal academic activities despite the state governments rebuttal of the vaccination rumour.

The Army Public Relations Officer, Ojo Adelegan, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that the army was not conducting any medical outreach in the state.

There was nothing of such, the army did not carry out a medical outreach, Mr. Adelegan, an army Major, said.

We are glad that today, the students have returned to their school to continue their academic activities. We have also said they should disregard any fake information on the vaccination exercise. We are also putting a machinery in place to apprehend those involved in the spread of the information, once we get them, they will face the music.

We are asking for information on those spreading the rumour and we will ensure they are arrested, he said.

Mr. Adelegan said the army would continue to carry out its constitutional duties of providing security for citizens.

Apart from Ondo, similar rumours have also led to panic withdrawal of pupils from schools in Yobe, Anambra, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Kwara states. Officials in those states have also refuted the rumour of such vaccination.

In Kwara, a statement by the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Amusa Bello, said there was no iota of truth to the claim.

The State Government calls on parents and guardians not to panic and to refrain from withdrawing their wards from schools based on this unfounded rumour, he said.

Suspected monkeypox cases have been reported in 11 states with only three cases in Bayelsa confirmed. The disease has no known vaccine.

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The bedlam on Tuesday in Rivers State, in which parents in Port Harcourt and other towns in the state rushed to withdraw their children and wards from schools, was incited by the state government, a review of the development by Premium Times has revealed.

The parents were reacting to a seeming confirmation of a rumour that personnel of the Nigerian military were moving round schools in the state to forcibly inject pupils with the Monkey pox virus under the pretext of inoculating them against the disease.

The same rumour had caused panic last week in some states in the North-east, South-east and South-south.

But in those instances, government officials promptly quelled the rumour and restored order by unequivocally declaring that no vaccination programme was going on in any school in their states.

Following the reassuring declaration by the governments, the tension evaporated and schools reopened to normal activities the following day.

But on Tuesday, the Rivers State Government set up the conflagration across the state by lending credence to the rumour through a press release in which it called on parents to resist elements going round to administer vaccination on schoolchildren in the state without authorisation by the government.

In the statement by its Commissioner for Information and communication, Emma Okah, titled: RSG DID NOT AUTHORISE THE MILITARY TO INOCULATE SCHOOL CHILDREN, the state government said: it did not authorise the Nigeria Army or indeed any other body or person to enter into school premises to administer forced medication or vaccination on any child in any school in Rivers State.

Inoculation is personal and consent of the Rivers State Government and parents must first be sought and obtained before it can be administered on any school child in a school premises.

Consequently, all school heads and parents should resist any such attempt.

Furthermore, the State Government has set up a Task Force to ensure that no school premises is violated in the State for the purpose of imunising any child.

We appeal to members of the public to remain calm and return their kids to school as RSG will continue to ensure their peace and security.

Meanwhile the State Government has ordered the arrest of anyone attempting to vaccinate any child in any school premises in Rivers State.

The statement was widely carried by the state media and shared on the social media by residents of the state, with most citing it as credence to the rumour.

This was against the backdrop that no school in the state had reported receiving any request to vaccinate their pupils and that the state government also did not state what measures it took to ascertain that illegal vaccination was being carried out and those behind it.

The Nigerian Army even issued a statement restating that it was not involved in any inoculation exercise in the state.

The Army had issued a similar rebuttal last week when the rumour caused the first round of panic in the other states.

In a disclaimer notice issued by the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Aminu Iliyasu, it said:

The attention of Headquarters 6 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to some rumours making the rounds that some Nigerian Army Personnel are going round schools in Rivers State dressed in Military Camouflage uniforms with the intention of forcefully vaccinating students with an unknown substance. The callous and unpatriotic rumours spread by these enemies of State are, to say the least, despicable, deplorable and highly condemnable by all well-meaning Nigerians as they are intended to cause pandemonium among the general public.

The authorities of 6 Division Nigerian Army wishes to inform the general public that while the Nigerian Army plans to undertake such gestures like free medical outreaches, sanitation exercises in host communities and distribution of educational materials as part of our community relations activities during the ongoing Operation CROCODILE SMILE II, these activities are yet to be conducted and will eventually be conducted with the consent of relevant authorities of designated communities and at venues and dates that will be duly communicated to the general public through future press releases and relevant posters.

For the purpose of emphasis, the Nigerian Army does not and will never carry out its medical outreaches or vaccination exercises for that matter in Schools. We can therefore categorically inform the public that the ongoing rumours about Nigerian Army Personnel going round schools in military camouflage to forcefully immunize school children are not true and should therefore be discountenanced with. Additionally, members of the public are please requested to call 09072509436-8 to report any case of any impostor(s) that may be seen actually trying to commit such atrocities.

But instead of the state government circulating the statement to help in reassuring the public, it officially gave veracity to the rumour, inciting worried parents to invade schools to forcibly withdraw their pupils.

The development has predictably pulled the two main political parties in the state into the ring as they have been hauling accusations at each other and further heating up the polity of the volatile state.

The opposition All Progressives Congress was first to react. It pointedly accused the state government of deliberately setting it up by promoting the Nigerian Army vaccine scare.

The party in a statement by its state spokesperson, Chris Finebone, said emerging facts made available to it indicated that the scare being promoted on radio and social media earlier today (Tuesday) by Mr. Okah, is part of a well-articulated strategy by the Gov. Wike-led Rivers State Government to ridicule, humiliate, intimidate and demoralise the Nigerian Army, SARS and other security agencies ahead of the 2019 elections.

The APC finds it appalling that the Rivers State Government led by Gov. Nyesom Wike would concoct outright lies and falsehood just to score cheap political points by denigrating our respected men and women of the uniformed and other security services who place their lives on the line every other day to keep Nigerians safe.

This is the worst form of ingratitude that a government can openly organise against an important set of citizens who lose their limbs and in some cases lose their lives for the rest of us.

Responding to the APC statement, the PDP accused the opposition party of a sinister and treacherous effort to link Governor Wike to the scare.

At no time in history has the tale of an idle person being the devils workshop played out as presently manifested in the life and actions of the idle APC members in the State who for want of what to do, a self-imposed punishment resulting from mental laziness and intellectual poverty of their leaders who have mismanaged the nations economy, thus turning the citizens into a rumour mill such as we witnessed Tuesday morning.

Ordinarily such a goof and unwitting penchant by the APC to blackmail an innocent and comparatively, a superior being, in the person of Governor Wike in a baseless information of fake Army vaccine that cut across various states of the federation including Ondo, Imo, Abia and Anambra States etc

The Rivers State Government has been at loggerheads with some security agencies in the state, especially the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Nigeria Police, which personnel the state government once accused of involvement in kidnapping and hijacking ballot boxes during elections.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director, GMD, of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, on Wednesday held a closed door meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in his office at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mr. Kachikwu, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting said it was held to discuss issues in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

He said the meeting was necessitated by some information brought about by an International oil company, AGIP, regarding its operations in Okpai, in terms of Zabazaba field, and in terms of the cash call exit which they are doing with the NNPC.

He said the meeting briefed Mr. Osinbajo on areas the company needed assistance from some government officials to fast track their operations of the field.

The minister also said the meeting discussed a few completion items on NNPC with regards to cash call, as well as the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on.

But we are far gone on that, instalmental payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So it is going on very well, he said.

On whether Nigerians should expect a drop in the price of petrol before Christmas period, Mr. Kachikwu said, I will like the GDM who does the commercial aspect to comment on that, I will need his position before I can even comment on that.

The minister did not disclose if the meeting discussed the content of his controversial letter to President Muhammadu Buhari in which he accused Mr. Baru of violating due process in award of contracts and insubordination.

The letter generated much controversy among Nigerians with the presidency eventually saying the monetary value of $25 billion Mr. Kachikwu referenced in his letter as the sum of the controversial contracts was fabricated.
Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to tackle the problems of poverty in the country.

This followed a letter written by President Muhammadu Buhari to the lawmakers indicating his plan to present the 2018-2020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP, to the lower chamber.

The president, through the letter read by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, at the plenary, set the stage for laying the estimates of the 2018 budget before the National Assembly.

In a motion sponsored by the chairman, Committee on Poverty Alleviation, Muhammad Wudil, the lawmakers resolved to call on the Federal Government to be more effective in implementing various programmes aimed at tackling poverty in the country.

In her contribution, Ayo Omidiran, another lawmaker, described how poverty was biting most Nigerians, including lawmakers.

She said every member is feeling the pangs of poverty.

Many of our constituents depend on us for their basic needs. They are feeling the pangs of poverty. People now go to their neighbours houses to seek help, which is embarrassing already. In turn, many of them run to us, asking for one favour or another, she said.

Mr. Buharis letter on the 2018-2020 MTEF/FSP was read just as the House passed the 2017 Federal Capital Territory statutory budget of N222.3 billion for second reading.

The MTEF/FSP is a requirement of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 and sets out the Federal Governments revenue and spending plans for 2018-2020.

Part of the letter reads, Pursuant to provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, the preparation towards the submission of the 2018 budget to the National Assembly is progressing well.

The MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of a generally adverse global economic uncertainty, as well as fiscal challenges and recovery in the domestic economy to ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels and is consistent with governments overall developmental objectives and inclusive growth.

In leading the debate for the second reading of FCTs budget, the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, said N52.5 billion would go for personnel spending, while N41.2 billion was earmarked for overhead costs.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the biggest share of N128 billion was provided for capital expenditure, particularly for completion of ongoing projects and satellite towns development in the FCT.

In his contribution, a lawmaker, Nicholas Ossai, observed that most of the infrastructure in the satellite towns had failed, hence advocated for more attention to be given to the satellite towns.

He added that most of the towns in the city had no potable water and electricity supply.

Let us give the people in these satellite towns a sense of belonging. Places like Jikwoyi, Kubwa, Dutse; there are no good roads there. Let us endeavour to cater for these people.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of not building the image of the state, as well as looting public treasury.

The accusation comes days after he unveiled a huge statue in hounour of South African President, Jacob Zuma.

The decision has been widely criticised as endorsing the governance style of a president who is facing corruption charges in his country.

More so, the honour was done Mr. Zuma few days after another Nigerian, Jelili Omoyele, a 35-year-old, was killed in South Africa.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Tuesday said the PDP never attracted any meaningful personality to the state.

If it was in the days of PDP, Schools and Markets would have been shot down. And roads closed because President Zuma was coming. But none of such things was done because Rochas and his government have human face. The PDP for the 12 years they held sway never attracted any meaningful visitor to the State except PDP NEC members who were coming to loot the State, the statement read.

Mr. Onwuemeodo in the statement also explained the rationale behind the governors gesture, saying Mr. Zumas visit was principally to sign a MoU between Jacob Zuma Education Foundation and Rochas Foundation College of Africa.

Furthermore, he said a meeting was also held with Mr. Zuma and other businessmen at the Ikemba Ojukwu centre, including Leo Stan Ekeh of Zinox Computers, Dr. Pascal Dozie of Diamond Bank, Chairman of Innoson Motors, and a host of others.

After the meeting, the state government decided to encourage the South African president to do more and appreciated him for coming by honouring him with a Merit Award and erecting his statue, the statement added.

In a non-apologetic manner, Mr. Onwuemeodo said Gov. Rochas was determined to bring development to Imo state and would not be deterred by criticisms.

And in case these Galatians do not know, if all we need to do to attract good things or investments to Imo is erecting statues, then, we have no option than to erect as many of such structures as possible. We owe no one apology. Rochas made a promise to open the doors of Imo to the rest of the world, for good and he is doing that and we cannot be deterred by these enemies of our people, he said.

The gesture had earlier created widespread criticisms especially on social media.

Just recently, Governor Rochas reacted to a screenshot of his verified Twitter handle responding to a blogger, Japheth Omojuwas tweet.

Gov. Rochas denied insulting the blogger, saying the circulating screenshot was a Photoshop.

Mr. Omojuwa however rebuffed the governor, accusing him of deleting the tweet seconds after the reply.

It wasn't photoshopped! You tweeted and deleted it. That's why the capture says 35 seconds. You should have ignored it instead of lying. https://t.co/UAhl46VyQL  JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) October 17, 2017
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, said it has empowered 400 victims of human trafficking in the country in the last two years.

The Officer in charge of UNODC in Nigeria, Elisabeth Bayer, disclosed this at the 2017 European Union Anti Trafficking Day in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ms. Bauer, represented by Cheikh Toure, said that the organisation had improved service delivery through its programme known as remodelled facilities.

She said that UNODC had also trained 300 officers and men of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership.

Our awareness initiatives reached out to more than 50 million viewers, listeners and readers on messages of trafficking in persons.

Apart from this, we have also supported the drafting and enactment of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 and the new Immigration Amendment Act, 2015, she said.

According to her, the intervention is necessary because the country faces challenges, as a well-known source, transit and destination country for women and children for different forms of human trafficking.

Ms. Bayer said Nigeria had undertaken several initiatives to address the issue and also commended Nigeria for having specialised agency like NAPTIP with a comprehensive mandate to address problem of human trafficking in the country.

In her remarks, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, reiterated the organisations commitment in the fight against human trafficking in the country.

Represented by Abdulraheem Shuaibu, Head of Legal and Prosecution, Ms. Okah-Donli thanked all development partners such as European Union, UNODC and other non-governmental organisations for supports and cooperation.

(NAN)
The federal government on Wednesday said it has ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, and the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a decision that would soon be forwarded to the appropriate authorities.

The Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, said this at the 11th meeting of the National Council of Environment held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

He said President Muhammed Buhari had last week appended his signature on the instrument of ratification.

We have ratified the treaty and also signed the Minamata convention on mercury and also obtained Mr Presidents signature on the instrument of ratification last week. The instrument is about to be forwarded to the United Nations, Mr Jibril said.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and related compounds.

The UNFCCC, on the other hand is a global treaty adopted on May 9, 1992 and opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro June 14, 1992. It was enforced March 21, 1994, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified it. The UNFCCC objective is to stabilize greenhouse emissions to a level that would prevent dangerous climatic effects. About 168 nations have signed it so far.

The minister, while speaking on the theme of the meeting, Unlocking the Investment Opportunities in the Environment Sector towards Nigerias Economic Recovery, Diversification, Growth and Sustainable Development, said the development came at a time the government at all levels were keying into the change mantra of the federal government.

Indeed, these are tough and challenging times for the Nigerian economy. I believe this informs the choice of the theme for this forum which could not have come at a better time than now, considering the policy direction and focus of this administration, he added.

Mr. Jubril also said that, against the backdrop of recent recovery of the nation from economic recession as well as adoption of global initiatives towards the use of renewable energy sources, the federal government was committed to finding alternative sources of revenue to sustain the recovery process.

In spite of the challenging times, this government has demonstrated complete political will and commitment in the cause of reviving the Nigeria project by dealing with immediate issues of improving security, tackling corruption, and revitalising the national economy, he said.

Mr. Jibril noted that, it was in the light of this, that government recently launched the Economic Recovery and Growth plan, 2017-2020 economic blueprint to aid the nation in its strides to revive all sectors.

The host governor, Ibikunle Amosun, in his remarks warned that environmental issues should not be treated with levity because of its link with economic development.

He added that most of the adverse climatic and environmental conditions are manifestation of mans inadvertent but cruel response to climate.

There are records to show that countries that have developed remarkably paid particular attention to the human and environmental implications of their actions, he said.

We must learn from the experiences of other nations. Economic development pattern has shown that there is a direct link, not just between the environment, but the way we treat our environment, and socio-economic development, Mr. Amosun added.
A Tinubu Magistrates Court on Wednesday in Lagos granted the custody of the children of the son of former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku, Aminu, to his estranged wife, Fatimo Bolori.

The Chief Magistrate, Kikelomo Ayeye, ordered that the children  Amirah, 8 and Amir, 6  should be in the custody of their mother for 10 days pending when permanent living, visiting arrangement would be made.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aminu, who was earlier remanded in transit cell of the court for disobeying a court order to produce his son, Amir, was later released when he fulfilled the court order.

Ms. Ayeye, thereafter, adjourned the case until November 1 for further hearing.



(NAN)
A prosecution witness, Orji Chukwuma, in the ongoing trial of a former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, on Tuesday told Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court , Ikoyi, Lagos, how Mr. Dudafa allegedly laundered several billions of Naira for a former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.

Mr. Dudafa is standing trial alongside Joseph Iwuejo, his ex-account officer, who allegedly aided him to perpetrate the fraud.

Messrs. Dudafa and Iwuejo, who also claimed to be Taiwo Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah, between June 2013 and June 2015, were alleged to have used different companies to fraudulently launder various sums of money to the tune of N5.1 billion.

At the resumed hearing today, Mr. Chukwuma, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, told the court how one Murtala Abubakar, a Bereau de Change operator, admitted to have collected several millions in dollars from Dudafa.

We discovered, in the course of our investigation, that Abubakar was directed to pay the various sums of money into different accounts provided by Dudafa, Chukwuma said.

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, Mr. Chukwuma also told the court that the money was given to Mr. Dudafa at the Aso Rock Villa by Patience, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Giving further testimony, Mr. Chukwuma told the court that Mr. Dudafa used some companies: ABY Resources Limited; Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited; Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Ibejige Services Limited and DeJakes Fast Food & Restaurant Nigeria Limited to ware-house and manage the monies found in his possession.

The prosecution witness further stated that the defendant did not declare his interest in these companies in his Asset Declaration Form, and that the monies found in his accounts at two new generation banks were proceeds of crime.

Also, Mr. Dudafa, through his lawyer, filed an application urging the court to release his international passport temporarily to enable him go for a medical appointment outside the country.

In his response, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Oyedepo urged the court not to grant the application on the grounds that the EFCC had written to a Lagos State government hospital to examine Mr. Dudafas health and to determine whether he could be treated in the country or abroad.

Mr. Oyedepo, however, told the court that he had yet to receive any response from the hospital.

Consequently, Justice Idris adjourned to October 24 for hearing of the application and November 14 and 15, 2017 for continuation of trial.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presided over the meeting of Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the presidential villa, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting which started at about 10 a.m., was attended by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Habiba Lawal, and cabinet ministers.

The president was scheduled to leave Abuja for Turkey immediately after the councils meeting.

A statement by the presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Tuesday, said Mr. Buhari would participate in the ninth D-8 Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 20.

Mr. Adesina said prior to the summit, Mr. Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, would be on working visit to Ankara, the Turkish capital.

He said the president would during the visit have a private discussion with his Turkish counterpart, while delegations from both countries would hold discussions in various fields including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.

According to the presidential aide, the Nigerian leader will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, where he will meet with the Turkish Speaker, Ismail Kahraman.

Mr. Adesina said Mr. Buhari would also use the occasion to bolster warm and growing ties across broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries.

The D8-member countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey. (NAN)
The move by a former Senate President, David Mark, to secure a new federal university for his senatorial district progressed on Wednesday as the Senate passed for second reading a bill to establish the Federal University of Health Science in Otukpo, Benue State.

The bill, sponsored by Mr. Mark, first appeared at the floor of the Senate on November 22, 2016.

It is not clear why Mr. Mark did not propose such bill while he was senate president under the PDP administration even when new federal universities were created by the then Goodluck Jonathan government. It is also not clear if the Muhammadu Buhari administration will approve such if passed by the parliament as the government continues to complain of reduced government revenue compared to the past administration.

Many of the existing federal universities including the one in Benue have also complained of inadequate funding for personnel, infrastructure and research often leading to strikes by university staff.

Speaking on the bill, Mr. Mark said the institution will be equipped to engage in specialised training of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical health practitioners to cushion the current admission deficit in the sector.

The emphasis in the world now is to keep specialised institutions. At the moment, the World Health Organisation, WHO, requirement is one doctor to 500 people but our own (in Nigeria) is one doctor to 6,000 people.

We have a total of 35, 000 doctors now. So, if we go by the traditional way of training doctors in our institutions, we are going to take a 100 years. That is assuming that no doctor dies from now and that none of those who graduate leaves the country. At the moment, the traditional institutions can only take 3, 000 out of nearly 160, 000 who apply every year.

Supporting the bill, Barnabas Gemade, Benue-APC, said establishment of the hospital will fill the void of federal government presence that is somewhat lacking in Benue.

James Manager, Delta-PDP, while speaking in favour of the bill called for provisions to be made for the institution in the 2018 budget.

The bill is one way the Buhari administration will provide opportunities for training health personnel. I support the passage of this bill and move that we make provisions in the 2018 budget for the institution to take off in high manner, he said.

The lawmakers referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institution and TETFUND to report back in four weeks.
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has urged Nigerians going on medical tourism to be careful and patronise only accredited institutions so as not to fall victims of organ harvesters.

Mr. Adewole, while speaking to journalists after the Federal Executive Meeting on Wednesday, alerted Nigerians on the rising cases of illegal harvesting of organs by cartels operating globally.

Mr. Adewole said the government receives periodic advice from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the National Security Adviser on the trend.

It is our duty to alert Nigerians that this is ongoing, that they should be careful, should seek advice and they should patronise only accredited institution when going out of the country for medical tourism, he said.

The ministry had earlier issued a similar warning to the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

The warning had come after the Egyptian authorities prosecuted 41 persons for illegal trafficking of human kidney.

The Egypt prosecutor-general also issued names of four private hospitals in Giza area of Cairo involved in the trafficking.

The hospitals are Dar al-shefa in Helwan, Cairo; Al-Bashar Specialist Hospital in Faisal, Giza; Al-Amal Centre for General Surgery in Maurinteya, Giza and Dar Ibn Al-Nafis Hospital, Giza.

There have also been reported cases in Malaysia, India and China among others.

In 2016, the United State House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 343 condemning Chinas organ harvesting practices.

Mr Adewole, however, said there will be less need for anybody to travel for medical treatment once the government finished rebuilding the health sector.

Nigeria loses about $1 billion to medical tourism annually. Some ailments that lead to such trips are kidney related.
Seven former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways have died in the past one week as the former workers continue to await the release of the N45 billion approved by the federal government for the payment of their entitlements.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Airways Elders Forum, Godwin Jibodu, made the disclosure while speaking with aviation correspondents on Wednesday in Ikeja.

We have lost seven colleagues within the last one week because they could not afford proper treatment for their ailments.

This is very sad because the government has approved N45 billion since June for payment of our pensions and gratuities.

Mr. Jibodu named the dead former airways workers as Capt. Asuquo, Capt. Akintaju, M. K. Amah, Bose Oladumiye, Onyebuchi Anunobi, Adebayo Awoyinka, T. Bellgam and Ebenezer Akinbode.

According to him, another former worker of the liquidated airline, Charles Ntanyi, has been missing since August this year after boarding a commercial bus at night in Ogba, near Lagos.

Mr. Jibodu lamented that the pensioners were wallowing in abject poverty after serving the nation meritoriously in the Nigeria Airways.

We are appealing to Nigeria as a nation not to forget the contributions of Nigeria Airways to national development.

Nigeria Airways was a partner to the government and till date has helped in building the capacity of workers in the aviation sector, Mr. Jibodu said.

He said that since money for their pension and gratuity was approved, the pensioners had been making enquiries at the Federal Ministries of Finance and Aviation as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria to ascertain why the payment was yet to be made.

There is so much silence and we dont know who is delaying the payment and it is very unfortunate, Mr. Jibodu lamented.

Nigeria Airways which commenced operations in August 1958 was liquidated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in May 2003.

The entitlements of the former workers were put at about N78 billion.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved N45 billion for the workers but the money is yet to be disbursed.

Nigeria Airways was a flagship company in the 1970s and early 1980s but poor management, government interference and other problems brought the airline to its knees.

(NAN)
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senate Caucus on Wednesday met with the partys, minority leaders of State Assemblies, assuring that the party was stronger and set to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, from power in 2019.

Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, made this known while briefing journalists shortly after the meeting which held behind closed door at the National Assembly Complex.

He said that a teeming number of stalwarts of other political parties were on their way to the main opposition party in droves.

These are the Minority Leaders of the PDP in different State Houses of Assembly, who are in Abuja to interact with the Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, and the minority leadership of the Senate.

We congratulated ourselves that we stood firm and at the end. God gave us victory at the Supreme Court and the party is now waxing stronger.

We have reviewed the state of the party and re-evaluated the situation, state by state, and we found out that the party is stronger than it was.

And as I speak, stalwarts and thousands of members of other political parties, starting from APC, all the way down to APGA, are on their way to the PDP.

We also want to urge the leadership of the party at the national level to open the door wide open between now and the next convention to receive them.

Mr. Akpabio said the caucus also discussed the guideline for the forthcoming national convention of the PDP in order to make meaningful contributions to the meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC.

Speaking on behalf of the PDP Forum of the State Assemblies, Minority Leader of the Imo House of Assembly, Ken Agbim, assured of total support and mobilisation at the grassroots to give the party victory in 2019.

(NAN)
Justice Babatunde Quadri of Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned the trial of former Governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido, until November 15.

Mr. Lamido is being prosecuted alongside his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha, and two others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 27-count charge bordering on abuse of office and money laundering.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to the defendants, Kanu Agabi, informed the court of his appearance in the matter for the first time.

Mr. Agabi said I am coming here for the first time in this case and I am pleading with the court to give me time to familiarise with the case.

I know this is a court of justice and the court is interested in speedy trial but I am pleading for time to get to know about the case.

The senior advocate took over from Joe Agi, who was the defendants counsel.

The prosecuting counsel, Chile Okoroma, who did not oppose the defence counsels plea said that he had assembled his witnesses and they were ready to go on with the trial.

He said he would not oppose the defendants right to adequate defence representation in the interest of justice.

Consequently, Justice Quadri adjourned the matter until November 15 and 16 for continuation of trial.

Mr. Quadri had on July 7 dismissed an application by the former governor requesting that the trial be returned to former trial judge, Adeniyi Ademola.

Justice Ibrahim Auta, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, assigned the case to Mr. Quadri when Justice Ademola went on suspension following corruption charge against him and his wife.

But following judgment exonerating Mr. Ademola and wife, Mr. Agi requested that the Chief Judge return the case to him.

(NAN)
The Kwara State Government has denied rumours that soldiers are injecting school pupils in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state with killer vaccines.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Amusa Bello, said there was no iota of truth to the claim.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that parents and guardians had on hearing the rumour stormed the schools to withdraw their wards on Tuesday.

Many of the parents who are traders and commercial motorcyclists abandoned their businesses to withdraw their wards from schools to prevent them from being injected with the alleged vaccine.

Many schools had to lock their gates to prevent the parents from gaining entrance to evacuate their students.

But in his statement on Wednesday, Mr. Bello advised members of the public to ignore the rumour.

He explained that neither the Nigerian Army nor any other security agency was currently undertaking a vaccination exercise or any other health campaign in any part of the state.

The State Government calls on parents and guardians not to panic and to refrain from withdrawing their wards from schools based on this unfounded rumour, he said.

Similar false rumours have been spread in other states including Yobe, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ondo and Akwa Ibom, also leading to parents withdrawing their wards.

The federal government, the army and all relevant authorities have all refuted the rumours.
The Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, Plateau State chapter, Nura Abdullahi, has alleged that six members of the association were beheaded by natives in Bassa Local Government Area on Sunday.

Mr. Abdullahi made the disclosure in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, on Wednesday. He explained that the association has issued a press release Tuesday on the incident, and condemned the killings.

We write to express our dismay over the killings and beheading of six (6) innocent Fulani cattle rearers on Sunday, October 15, 2017, by the Irigwe militia in Kuri village of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau state, Mr. Abdullahi wrote in the statement indicating the attack occurred despite the dusk to dawn curfew in the local government.

The press release indicated that officials of the association had reported the incident to the police, but no arrest had been made.

The unfortunate incident was immediately reported to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Bassa Local Government Area and Operation Safe Haven, OPSH, Sector 6, who visited the scene and confirmed the report and burial.

The incident occurred on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at about 3pm when the Fulani, while grazing their cattle at Kuri village in Bassa LGA were attacked, slaughtered, beheaded and their heads carted away by the Irigwe militia.

In addition, a total of 40 sheep, nine (9) cows were macheted and killed and a total of two hundred and thirty-two (232) herds of cattle belonging to the families of the deceased persons were rustled.

It expressed dismay over the renewed violence in the state and called on relevant authorities to bring the unrest to an end.

MACBAN Plateau State chapter wholeheartedly condemned the killings of all innocent lives, destruction of properties and rustling of Fulani cows.

Reacting to the allegations, National President, Irigwe Development Association, Sunday Abdu, in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES dismissed the allegations.

Irigwe people are peace-loving and accommodating. Nura (MACBAN chairman) has been my personal friend for decades now, but on this issue, he lied and I feel disappointed. For him to have accused my people falsely of killing Fulanis is painful and unfortunate.

I do not want to join issues with him. But I want the entire world to know that the Fulani we have accommodated for years are today killing us on a daily basis for the past one month and without a just cause.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately get the reaction of the police to the latest allegations.

Some communities in the area have been ravaged by violence in recent days despite the dusk to dawn curfew imposed by the state government. The violence has claimed over 30 lives in the past week.

On Wednesday, the Adamawa State Governor, Bindow Jibrilla, visited his Plateau State counterpart offering to mediate in the crisis if Fulanis were truly involved.
Truck drivers in Lokoja, Kogi, on Wednesday blocked Abuja-Lokoja highway protesting alleged killing of one of them over non-payment of N5,000 toll.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the situation caused gridlock on the busy highway linking the northern and the southern parts of the country.

NAN reports that many travellers were stranded on both ends of the Murtala Muhammad Bridge in Lokoja.

A witness told journalists at Akpanya, near the bridge, that the driver was flagged down at about 1 a.m. on October 18 by revenue collectors from Kogi Agricultural Produce Board.

The witness who preferred anonymity, said the deceased was on transit from the Northern part of the country to the South when the revenue collectors allegedly demanded money from him.

He alleged that the late driver told them that he had only N1,500 and could only part with N1,000 and this drew the collectors ire.

The driver, whose name could not be immediately ascertained, was allegedly hit on the head with clubs following the argument and he collapsed and eventually died.

In the ensuing milieu that followed the death of the driver, the Abuja-Lokoja road was blocked, resulting in heavy gridlock which left many travellers from both sides stranded.

The Chairman of the Kogi chapter of National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Tanko Ali, who also confirmed the development, said the truck was coming from Maiduguri and was accosted by the revenue men around 1 a.m.

He said that the failure of the driver to pay certain dues led to an argument, during which they allegedly descended on him and in the process, he was beaten to death.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, William Aya, confirmed that the tanker driver had issues with the Agricultural produce revenue collectors.

He also confirmed that the issue led to blockage of the road, but denied any knowledge of death of the driver or anyone else at the scene.

He said that the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, were working hard to clear the road.

(NAN)
The newly-established 8 Division of Nigerian Army, Sokoto, has taken off with the assumption of duty of its pioneer General Officer Commanding (GOC), Olabanji Samuel.

Mr. Samuel, a brigadier general, disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Aminu Tambuwal at the Government House in Sokoto on Wednesday.

He said necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure the smooth take off of the new division.

He said the bulk of the men and officers of the division had now been mobilised to ensure its proper take off.

As you may recall, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Yusuf Burutai, announced the establishment of this division when he visited Sokoto earlier this year.

I am to inform you that we have taken off and we solicit the support and cooperation of the people and State Governments under our jurisdiction, the new GOC said.

Mr. Tambuwal assured the Army authorities of his governments total support so as to enable the new division to achieve its set objectives.

We welcome you with open hearts; to us, the military are our friends and we will give you all the necessary support to achieve success.

We owe you that much having given everything you have to protect us at all times and we will do everything we can to make your stay comfortable.

As for the new GOC, we assure you that Sokoto is your home, as we cherish our position of being the most peaceful state in the federation, and your arrival will make us strengthen that position, the governor said.

(NAN)
The false rumour that the Nigerian Army was injecting school children with poisonous vaccination has spread to Akwa Ibom, prompting an abrupt shut-down of some schools within the state.

Villagers in Ekpene Ukim, Uruan Local Government Area of the state, were said to have poured into a public school  Adiaha Obong Secondary School  within the community on Wednesday morning and forced the school authorities to close down the school because of the rumour.

The school was deserted by both students and teachers by the time a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited it around 12:30 p.m.

Three students who were standing in front of the school gate ran away as soon as they sighted the reporter.

I dont know what happened, all I can tell you is that people from the community came into the school and chase everyone away from the premises, a teacher in the school told this newspaper on phone.

At Oron Road, around Mbiabong community, Uyo, several students and school pupils were seen running on barefoot along the highway. Most of them appeared scared.

There have been reports of parents scaling the parameter fence in schools in the state to bundle their children away because of the rumour.

There is no truth in the speculation that school children are forced to be immunized, the Commissioner for Information in the state, Charles Udoh, told a radio station in Uyo.

Any act as such is illegal, unauthorised and not from the government, therefore, anyone found doing so, should be resisted and reported to the security agents, the commissioner said, amidst tension in the state.

The rumour of forced vaccination by the military began in Yobe State last Monday and spread to the south-east a day later with residents there linking it to the militarys operation python dance in the area.

The rumour has since spread to other parts of the country including Ondo, Rivers and Bayelsa.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, joined other officials who had also refuted the rumour.
The Imo State House of Assembly has demanded the removal of Basil Iguegbe, the monarch of Agbobu autonomous community in Okigwe local council of the state.

The legislators also asked the community to present Odinaka Chidoka to the Okigwe council for recognition and replacement of the dethroned.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Assembly, Marcellus Ekwezuo.

It said the Assembly took the unanimous decision after discovering the monarchs alleged complicity in the alleged abduction of another monarch, Eze Ugbaja, of Amaosu autonomous community, and a four-year-old boy on February 21, 2013.

The statement noted that Mr. Iguegbes son had used the dismissed monarchs official car to commit the alleged crime and thereafter hid in the palace, adding that Iguegbes lineage has perpetrated sacrilegious acts and has lost its claim to the throne.

The Speaker of the House, Acho Ihim, also said that recent visit to the state by South Africas president, Jacob Zuma, would bring a speedy end to xenophobic attacks against Nigerians living in that country.

Mr. Zumas visit to Imo and the erection of a statue for him by the state government has been criticised by many Nigerians.
The Pensions Transition Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, has disclosed plans to commence payment of pension benefits to soldiers, paramilitary officers and police officers dismissed as a result of their roles in the Nigerian civil war which lasted between 1967 and 1970.

The agency said this on Wednesday via a press release signed by the spokesperson, Ema Okondo.

Mr. Okondo said those to be paid specifically are members of the military, the Nigeria Police and the paramilitary officers who fought alongside the Biafran secessionists and were dismissed from service as a result of this.

The dismissal of those officers was commuted to retirement in 2000 through a Presidential Amnesty granted on 29th May, 2000 by the Administration of the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR. A verification exercise was conducted for the pardoned officers by the defunct Police Pension Office and recently PTAD on one hand and the Police Service Commission on the other, the statement said.

Despite the Presidential pardon and verification of these officers, many of them remained unpaid years after the pardon. However, the present administration under the able leadership of President, C-in-C of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has graciously given approval for the payment of pension entitlements to these officers or their next-of-kin.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that PTAD is commencing the payment of benefits on Friday in Enugu.

About 162 officers will be payrolled and 57 Next of Kin whose principals have also not been paid their death benefits will be paid in the first batch, the statement said.

Nigeria witnessed a bloody civil war between July 1967 and January 1970 in which millions of lives were lost on and off battlegrounds between federal forces and Biafran secessionists led by late Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Three persons were feared dead, Wednesday, when a truck conveying petrol went up in flames along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Public Relations Officer of Traffic Enforcement and Enlightenment Corps, TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi, who disclosed this attributed the tragedy to reckless driving.

He said the accident scene was close to Kyakyama Filling station after Ogere toll gate, inbound Ibadan.

Mr. Akinbiyi said overspeeding by the truck driver made the fuel laden truck to flip over before the ensuing fire razed a bus parked nearby.

He said the inferno claimed the lives of three persons.

He added that officials of the agency, in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, are still at the scene to control the havoc.
An All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Bayo Babalotin, has given an account of how he narrowly escaped being killed by gunmen on Tuesday evening.

He told journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday that the attack took place at about 6.30 p.m. on the outskirts of Erio-Ekiti in Ekiti West Local Government Area, not far from a police checkpoint.

Mr. Babalotin said he was travelling to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in his Nissan Pathfinder SUV when three armed men emerged from the bush and opened fire on him.

He said the police officers at the nearby checkpoint fled during the attack only to return after the gunmen had left.

According to him, his attackers were in police uniforms and bullet-proof vests, adding that he suspected assassination attempt.

Mr. Babalotin further revealed that a Toyota Tundra pick-up van had trailed him from Iyin-Ekiti before he reached the spot where he was attacked.

The attack happened immediately after the police checkpoint on the outskirts of Erio, he explained. As I was trying to reverse the vehicle, three more members of the gang, all of them wielding AK-47 rifles came out and they were shooting simultaneously.

My Nissan Pathfinder jeep was shattered with bullets, the body, the windscreen and tyres. The vehicle was abandoned at the scene and my brother and I ran into the forest where we hid for about 30 minutes.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, who confirmed the attack on the politician when PREMIUM TIMES called him on the telephone, said it was a robbery attack. He said police officers were mobilised to the area while the robbers fled.

He noted that Erio-Ekiti had become the gateway for kidnappers and armed robbers in the state, resulting in increased police surveillance in the area.

I spoke to the DPO in the area and he confirmed that there was a robbery attack yesterday (Tuesday) evening and the robbers shot at one Nissan jeep driven by one Babalotin, Mr. Adeyemi said.

As soon as the police heard the gunshots, they immediately mobilised to the area, and the robbers fled.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP today gave enthusiastic support for bipartisan legislation titled the Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017 (S. 1977) by US Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). The bill would protect seniors with high health care costs from a "health tax" in 2017.

"If this needed, bipartisan legislation does not pass soon, older taxpayers with high health costs will face a 2017 health tax hike due to a reduced medical expense deduction," said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. "The medical expense deduction helps millions of middle income older Americans to offset high out-of-pocket health care costs."

The Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017 would allow for a two year delay in the scheduled increase from 7.5% to 10% of an income threshold after which those aged 65+ can deduct medical expenses on itemized tax returns. AARP supports this temporary delay as a necessary immediate step toward permanently restoring the tax threshold to 7.5% for older Americans with high out-of-pocket health care costs.

Although the overwhelming majority of Americans age 65 and older have Medicare coverage, beneficiaries still spend a large portion of their income on out-of-pocket health expenses. The average Medicare beneficiary spends about $5,680 out-of-pocket on medical care. Many older Americans face high costs for long-term services and supports, which are generally not covered by Medicare, as well as for hospitalizations and prescription drugs. Tax relief for middle income seniors with high medical costs provides needed financial resources.

According to recent IRS data :

56% of those taking the medical expense deduction were age 65 or older.

Nearly 31% of taxpayers age 65+ who claimed the medical expense deduction had annual income under $50,000 .

. Nearly 73% of people of all ages claiming the medical expense deduction had annual income under $75,000 .

"AARP supports this bipartisan bill that would help Americans who face high health care costs," added Jenkins. "We urge Congress to follow the lead of Senators Brown and Portman by enacting measures such as this that will help protect older Americans from high health and long term care costs."

US Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) also serve as original cosponsors of the bill.

About AARP

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

SOURCE AARP

Related Links

http://www.aarp.org


HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres today encouraged Pennsylvanians to submit requests for municipal election absentee ballots before the deadline of October 31.

Under the state election code, applications for absentee ballots must be submitted no later than one week before Election Day. For this year's November 7 municipal election, the deadline falls on Tuesday, October 31. Absentee voters must return their voted ballot to their county election office by Friday, November 3.

"The statutory deadlines have become increasingly unrealistic due to changes in service by the U.S. Postal Service," Acting Secretary Torres said. "Anyone who is planning to return the completed absentee ballot by mail risks missing the deadline."

Completed ballots must be received in county elections offices by 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election. A timely postmark is not sufficient.

"By requesting and returning an absentee ballot well before the deadline, the voter ensures that his or her votes will be fully counted," Acting Secretary Torres said.

Absentee ballots may be cast by deployed members of the military, Pennsylvania students attending out-of-state colleges or universities, individuals with illnesses or disabilities, and individuals who will be away from their municipality on business on Election Day. Comprehensive information about absentee ballots, including a downloadable request form (PDF), can be found at the Department of State's website votesPA.com.

Applicants will be asked to supply basic voter registration information and to specify a reason for applying to vote absentee.

Pennsylvanians applying for an absentee ballot must provide their driver's license or PennDOT ID number. If they do not have a driver's license or PennDOT ID, they must give the last four digits of their Social Security number. If a voter has neither, he or she must present a copy of an acceptable photo ID. A list of approved alternative types of identification (PDF) is available at votesPA.com.

Once an absentee ballot has been completed, voters may return them by mail or deliver them in person to county election offices.

An absentee voter can designate someone else to deliver the absentee application and ballot if he or she is physically unable to do so. Certification of Designated Agent forms (PDF) are also available online.

On November 7, Pennsylvania voters will elect judges for the Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts, as well as the Court of Common Pleas in many counties. Also on the ballot will be an array of local and county seats.

For additional information, call 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772) or visit votesPA.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Wanda Murren, (717) 783-1621

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of State

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us


NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council, a non-profit organization that powers the collective pro bono efforts of the advertising and media industries, announced new members that were elected to its Board of Directors at the organization's Board meeting yesterday. The Board is chaired by David Sable, Global CEO of Young & Rubicam.

New members of the Ad Council Board of Directors include:

The Ad Council produces over 40 national public service communications programs annually on behalf of non-profit organizations and federal government agencies. Ad agencies donate their strategic and creative talent, media organizations donate valuable ad space and time, and corporations provide additional campaign exposure opportunities. The Board of Directors is comprised of a prestigious group of senior marketing and media executives who provide expertise, insights and financial support to ensure campaigns are effective and impactful.

"Our Board of Directors is truly integral to our success in creating meaningful change for our social good campaigns," said Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. "These new members are creative, innovative and passionate about the critical issues addressed by our campaigns. We are thrilled to have them on the Board."

The Ad Council has also established a Leadership Council with executives from media companies, creative and digital agencies and corporate advertisers who identify ways their companies can support campaigns and share learning, insights and capabilities. The Leadership Council is chaired by Harry Kargman, Founder & CEO of Kargo, and includes the following inaugural members:

The Ad Council

The Ad Council has a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or view our PSAs on YouTube.

SOURCE The Ad Council

Related Links

http://www.adcouncil.org


HOUSTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AIG (NYSE: AIG) announced today the availability of its Travel Guard travel insurance products and services on United.com and the United mobile app. The program is part of a multi-year deal between AIG and United for AIG Travel to offer its travel insurance plans to United customers.

"We are pleased to offer a full portfolio of travel insurance products and global assistance services to the millions of passengers who fly United Airlines each year," said Jeff Rutledge, CEO at AIG Travel. "This offering will help ensure customers have access to comprehensive coverage options as they travel the world over."

Travel Guard is now an option available to United customers booking travel on United.com and on the United mobile app. These plans include coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, personal baggage loss/delay, emergency medical services and more. AIG Travel's travel insurance plans are currently available to the airline's customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and many countries throughout Western Europe. AIG Travel is a part of AIG's market-leading Personal Insurance business.

"United is a leading global airline, and we are thrilled to be able to provide our award-winning Travel Guard products and services to help anticipate and mitigate risk, and be there when customers need us," said Gaurav D. Garg, CEO, Personal Insurance. "This is part of our strategy to join forces with leading companies to innovate and grow as we seek to expand our multinational businesses."

The insurance product pricing and benefits vary based on multiple factors, and coverage is subject to policy terms and conditions. To learn more about AIG Travel or the Travel Guard portfolio of travel insurance and assistance services, visit www.aig.com/travel or www.travelguard.com.

About AIG Travel and Travel Guard

AIG Travel, Inc., a member of American International Group, Inc., is a worldwide leader in travel insurance and global assistance. Travel Guard is the marketing name for its portfolio of travel insurance and travel-related services, including medical and security services, marketed to both leisure and business travelers around the globe. Services are provided through a network of wholly owned service centers located in Asia, Europe and the Americas. For additional information, please visit our websites at www.aig.com/travel and www.travelguard.com.

About AIG

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These diverse offerings include products and services that help businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and provide for retirement security. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com | YouTube: www.youtube.com/aig | Twitter: @AIGinsurance | LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aig. These references with additional information about AIG have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at www.aig.com. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,500 flights a day to 337 airports across five continents. In 2016, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 143 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 751 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 489 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to more than 190 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".

Contact: Rhonda Sloan

AIG Travel

713.284.8232

[email protected]





Kenny Juarez

AIG

212.458.8352

[email protected]

SOURCE AIG

Related Links

http://www.aig.com


SARASOTA, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC (American Jewish Committee) is urging University of Florida students and others to boycott Richard Spencer's visit to the Gainesville campus on Thursday.

"We must unequivocally condemn Richard Spencer's hateful ideas in order to prevent his odious white supremacist views from entering normal political discourse solely by virtue of repetition in legitimate and official venues," said Brian Lipton, Director of AJC's West Coast Florida Region. "We commend University of Florida President Ken Fuchs and Florida Governor Rick Scott for taking essential precautionary steps to ensure safety."

Concerns about possible violence during Spencer's visit has led Governor Scott to declare a state of emergency, and to mobilize local and state law enforcement. "We live in a country where everyone has the right to voice their opinion; however, we have zero tolerance for violence and public safety is always our number one priority," Scott said.

Spencer, who has been seeking to speak at campuses, was present in Charlottesville in August at the violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally at the University of Virginia that resulted in the car-ramming death of a protester.

The University of Florida initially denied Spencer's request to speak at Gainesville last month, but then accepted a rescheduling of the event for October 19.

In a message to students, President Fuchs said, "The values of our universities are not shared by Mr. Spencer. Our campuses are places where people from all races, origins and religions are welcome and treated with love." Fuchs called on students to deny Spencer the attention he seeks for his "message of hate" by staying away from the event.

"The First Amendment protects hate speech, but also empowers those of us who believe in the fundamental democratic values of the United States to peacefully oppose the purveyors of hatred," said AJC's Lipton.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


"Like everyone else, we're saddened by the loss of life and the expansive destruction across multiple areas, including Napa, Sonoma and Orange County," said Christy Duncan Anderson, Executive Director of the Albertsons Companies Foundation. "Albertsons Companies has more than 600 stores in California and thousands of employees, which means we serve more than 600 communities and have a commitment to help each one, especially during times of crisis."

The funds raised at Albertsons Companies stores will support an array of charities and first-responder organizations in California, including the Orange County United Way, the Redwood Empire Food Bank, the American Red Cross, the Community Foundation Sonoma County Resilience Fund, and other organizations providing critical assistance.

Along with financial assistance, California Safeway, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores have donated food and supplies to evacuation shelters and first responders on the frontlines.

The massive wildfires have killed at least 41 people and destroyed 5,700 homes, businesses and other structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Firefighters were still battling 12 wildfires in multiple counties as of Tuesday. The fires have burned more than 245,000 acres of land and forced nearly 34,000 residents to evacuate.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. We operate stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs. Albertsons Companies is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2016 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.

About the Albertsons Companies Foundation

Founded in 2001, the Albertsons Companies Foundation, formerly The Safeway Foundation, supports causes that impact customers' lives. Albertsons Companies stores provide the opportunity to mobilize funding and create awareness in our neighborhoods through the generous contributions by our customers, our employees' passion and partnerships with our vendors. We focus on giving locally in the areas of health and human services, hunger relief, education and helping people with disabilities. Albertsons Companies and the Albertsons Companies Foundation have invested $1 billion in our neighborhoods since 2001. For more information about the Albertsons Companies Foundation, visit www.albertsonscompaniesfoundation.com.

Media Contact: Teena Massingill

[email protected]

SOURCE Albertsons Companies
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rowley Law PLLC is investigating potential claims for breach of fiduciary duty involving the directors and officers of The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES).

If you are a shareholder of AES Corporation and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, please visit us at: http://www.rowleylawpllc.com/investigation/aes. You may also contact Danielle Rowland Lindahl, Esq. at Rowley Law PLLC, 2316 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20018, by email at [email protected] , or by telephone at 202-800-3501 or 844-400-4643 (toll-free).

Rowley Law PLLC represents shareholders nationwide in class actions and derivative lawsuits in complex corporate litigation. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.rowleylawpllc.com .

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

SOURCE Rowley Law PLLC

Related Links

http://rowleylawpllc.com


HOUSTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- alliantgroup applauds the passage of the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017. The legislation was recently signed into law by the president and includes several provisions designed to deliver targeted tax relief to victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Among many other provisions, the new legislation allows for qualifying businesses with locations within the disaster zones to seek a retention tax credit for paying their employees throughout the timeframe the company was impacted by the disaster. Employers can seek a 40 percent credit for wages paid to employees (up to a maximum wage base of $6,000) during the period the business location became inoperable due to the hurricane(s) up until the date the location resumed operationsor until January 1, 2018, whichever comes first. However, the credit cannot be taken on the same wages used to calculate the WOTC program for an eligible employee during the same period.

In addition to this tax relief, the bill modifies the requirements for purchasing flood insurance and provides additional tax incentives for individuals and businesses. The legislation specifies that private flood insurance offered outside of the National Flood Insurance Program satisfies the requirement for homeowners to maintain coverage on properties that have federally-backed mortgages and are located in a flood zone. The legislation also modifies several tax provisions for individuals and businesses in areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The affected provisions include those related to early withdrawals and loans from retirement plans, employment-related tax credits, deductions for charitable contributions and personal casualty losses, and income requirements for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.

Outside of these modifications, the legislation also extends several expiring federal aviation and public health programs.

"This legislation will provide much needed relief to the people, communities and businesses that are still recovering from these devastating storms," said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO. "We know the road to rebuilding the areas affected by storms this season is a long one and the support of our national government it needed."

alliantgroup's mission is one of education and awareness. Our firm exists to help U.S. businesses and their CPA advisors properly identify and claim the government-sponsored tax incentives designed for their benefit. To date, alliantgroup has helped more than 12,000 American businesses claim over $6 billion in federal and state tax credits, incentives and deductions. The firm is headquartered in Houston and has offices across the country, including in New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston, Irvine, Sacramento, Orlando and Washington, D.C. For more information on alliantgroup's services or the firm's charitable initiatives and relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

SOURCE alliantgroup

Related Links

https://www.alliantgroup.com


Chief Executive Officer, Chad Sterling, said, "Altair Global could not be a leading mobility provider without the steadfast support of our supplier partners. I couldn't be more appreciative of Altair's relationship with Darin Karp and the ReloQuest organization and I am delighted to recognize them for their leadership in product/service innovation. Congratulations to ReloQuest and all other recipients the 2017 Altair Global Supplier Partner Awards for building and maintaining a strong partnership with Altair. We are look forward to continued mutual success and leadership within the mobility industry."

The super star award was presented to ReloQuest due to the fact that they invested in innovative business solutions specifically tailored to the needs of mobility users, including transferees, assignees, corporate mobility professionals, relocation management companies and mobility supply chain partners. ReloQuest implemented and maintained a technology-driven product that positively influenced customer experience, efficiency, transparency, cost effectiveness and data management designed to address a specific need within global mobility. The supplier awards panel selected ReloQuest, based not only Altair's first-hand experience with their technology, but also in recognition of its widespread adoption by relocation management companies, destination service providers and corporate housing providers. In addition, the panel noted that the ReloQuest leadership team remains committed to enhancing and further leveraging their technology to produce similar results in other mobility and travel disciplines.

"We are grateful for this honor and recognition from Altair. They have been instrumental in our growth, and we appreciate their support. Technology empowers people. We believe it is essential to evolve to support clients as challenges unfold. Innovation sustains relevancy. We are dedicated to providing a leading technology for Altair and others to depend on to accomplish individual goals. It is our resolve to enhance ReloQuest to address shifting objectives, market trends, and improve ROI. ReloQuest will continue to deliver analytics and cognitive technology providing a current resource for our clients," said Darin Karp, Founder of ReloQuest.



About Altair Global

Founded in 1989, Altair Global is an independent, global mobility management company that offers comprehensive relocation and assignment solutions in more than 180 countries. Our clients are as diverse as our workforce, and include members of both the Fortune and Global 500. Altair Global's services are delivered from regional service centers across the Americas, EMEA and APAC. For more information, please visit www.altairglobal.com.

About ReloQuest

ReloQuest is a universal platform that provides an independent, unbiased and fully transparent resource to global mobility clients and individuals for sourcing serviced apartments, temporary housing, and hotels, worldwide. ReloQuest offers suppliers the ability to become educated and more competitive in the marketplace while at the same time ReloQuest significantly reduces the cost to the client. The technology integrates clients, suppliers, and housing providers at the click of a button.

Media Contacts

SOURCE ReloQuest
MIAMI, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Americas Market Intelligencethe premier market intelligence and strategy firm for Latin Americahas published its 2018 Forecast for Latin America. Developed by Americas Market Intelligence's team of experts, the forecast covers a range of key areas, including:

Americas Market Intelligence shares its 2018 projections for LatAm in the areas of politics, the economy and specific growth markets like payments, healthcare and more.

The impact of energy prices on the region's economy and specific countries within the region

Economic trends in the U.S. and how they'll affect LatAm in 2018

The role of China in Latin America's economy in 2018

in economy in 2018 Political changes in leading Latin American markets and their economic impact

The regional rebound ahead supported by GDP, FDI, employment and investor confidence data

2018 forecasts for the region's leading economies: Brazil and Mexico

Sector trend analysis and 2018 emerging opportunities in LatAm healthcare, payments, consumer goods & retail, logistics, natural resources and infrastructure

"Many companies are finalizing their 2018 operating plans, so it is our hope that this forecast provides some useful guidance to help them finish that process and identify us as a valuable intelligence source and provider for their 2018 plans," explains John Price, Managing Director of Americas Market Intelligence (AMI). "The daily challenges of operating in a diverse region like LAC may hinder companies from seeing the opportunities in 2018, so we're looking to highlight those as well."

AMI shared its 2018 Latin America Forecast on Oct. 17 via a webinar attended by more than 500 professionals throughout the region, but is now offering its full presentation for free download on its AMI Perspectiva site. "LatAm's volatility can make it tough to forecast, but we're hoping our 25 years of experience will help companies obtain a clearer sense of their business future in the region," remarks Price.

To download the 2018 Forecast for Latin America, click here.

Press contact: Abel Delgado, Director of Digital Marketing, [email protected]

About Americas Market Intelligence

Americas Market Intelligence (AMI) is the premier market intelligence and strategy consultancy for Latin America, providing powerful research insights for companies to succeed in a wide range of verticals in the region, including payments, healthcare, logistics, mining, oil & gas, infrastructure, consumer goods and the industrial sector. Its customized research reports deliver data-based clarity and far-reaching strategic direction based on expert sources.

SOURCE Americas Market Intelligence
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Anaplan, a leading platform provider driving a new age of connected planning, today announced continued growth in its Anaplan for Finance business within the last 12 months. The Anaplan team is showcasing its finance solutions at Booth #227 at AFP 2017 in the San Diego Convention Center.

Anaplan's finance solutions enable companies to automate and transform strategic corporate performance management processes by connecting data, people, and plans across both finance and operations. Over the last 12 months, Anaplan has been fulfilling a major need with high-value finance practices such as profitability modeling, scenario planning, sensitivity analysis, and zero-based budgeting at over 200 new global customers, including Booking.com, Lithium, Schneider Electric Software, Travelodge Hotels Ltd., and United Laboratories.

"Before Anaplan, we had a very disconnected planning process with over a dozen independent applications," said Jeff Brobst, Vice President, Finance, Seagate Technology. "We saw Anaplan's value to our finance business first and expanded it to other divisions. Now, the corporate FP&A team is using Anaplan for financial budgets, the revenue planning team is using it for revenue planning, one of our units is using it for demand planning, and the customer service organization is using it for returns modeling. In addition to reducing our overall spend on planning software and support, our planning process has become more agile and we're able to see impacts of changes more quickly."

Collaborating with partners such as Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, and Reportwise, Anaplan added 35 new finance apps to its App Hub within the last 12 months. The apps help companies address shifting customer expectations, regulatory changes, and evolving business models. These include:

IFRS 16 . This Reportwise app helps organizations meet new lease accounting regulations.

This Reportwise app helps organizations meet new lease accounting regulations. IFRS 9 Impairment . This Accenture app helps organizations model Expected Credit Loss for all debt instruments in compliance with IFRS 9.

This Accenture app helps organizations model Expected Credit Loss for all debt instruments in compliance with IFRS 9. ORSA Forecasting . This Deloitte app helps insurance firms build Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) practices into their forecasting processes.

This Deloitte app helps insurance firms build Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) practices into their forecasting processes. Transfer Pricing for Financial Services. This PwC app helps financial services firms adopt best practices in cost allocation and transfer pricing.

"We are seeing more and more leading finance organizations turn to Anaplan's solutions to create more dynamic, reliable, and connected planning and performance management systems," said Tony Levy, Global Head of Finance Solutions, Anaplan. "The caliber of our customers demonstrates our commitment to help organizations steer business performance more effectively through improved planning, analysis, and reporting."

"Across all industries, the office of finance is moving toward connected planning for better and faster decision-making," said R "Ray" Wang, Principal Analyst and Founder, Constellation Research. "A company's value and future success are increasingly based on how efficiently employees can connect with each other to share and add to their knowledge."

Anaplan was recognized as a Leader in the June 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Strategic Corporate Performance Management Solutions based on its completeness of vision and ability to execute. Download the report.

Gartner Disclaimer

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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 better-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.

SOURCE Anaplan

Related Links

https://www.anaplan.com


ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eight hundred Atlanta families in need will receive enough food to supplement meals for a week plus daily essentials, thanks to a partnership between PepsiCo and Feed the Children. The event kicks off at 10:30a.m. at Turner Field in the Gold Lot, 755 Hank Aaron Drive Southeast, Atlanta.

This distribution event is part of a larger initiative between the two organizations to help feed communities in cities throughout the United States. Half of today's recipients are unable to leave their homes due to medical conditions, immobility, or other challenging circumstances, and will have their food and essentials delivered to their door via Frito-Lay's fleet of trucks.

This is the sixth annual event PepsiCo and Feed the Children have hosted in the Atlanta community, where more than 25 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, but the second year to utilize Frito-Lay's trucks for delivery.

The receiving families have been identified and preselected by nonprofit organizations Open Hand Atlanta, African American Association of Georgia and Meals on Wheels Atlanta.

Each qualifying recipient family will be given:

One 25-pound box of nonperishable food items

One 15-pound box of personal-care items

One box of AVON products

Disney books

One 20-count Frito-Lay Snack Mix

PepsiCo beverages

Quaker Old Fashioned Oats

Life Cereal

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars

"We love being part of the Atlanta community and are proud to take part in this event year after year," said Scott Closson, zone sales director, south Georgia zone, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division. "We wanted to reach out to our friends and neighbors who might often be left out of events like this due to their circumstances or lack of mobility. We're thrilled we can utilize our fleet of trucks to make these deliveries to hundreds of recipients in need who are often underserved."

About Feed the Children

Established in 1979, Feed the Children exists to defeat hunger. It is one of the largest U.S.-based charities and serves those in need in the U.S. and in 10 countries around the world. It provides food, education, essentials and disaster response. Domestically, it operates 5 distribution centers (located in Oklahoma, Indiana, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania).

In fiscal year 2016, through its domestic and international programs, Feed the Children distributed 105 million pounds of food and essentials worldwide with a total value of $415 million, working with partner agencies to benefit 5.9 million people globally. It is accredited by GuideStar Exchange and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. Visit www.feedthechildren.org for more information.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated approximately $63 billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose  our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world is what enables PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE PepsiCo

Related Links

http://www.pepsico.com


MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Appsolutely, the blockchain omnichannel loyalty solution, today unveiled its LoyalPlatform, LoyalCoin (LYL) and LoyalWallet, to unify the complex and disconnected $1.68 billion loyalty industry and ensure that the value of "rewards" is converted into commerce. The platform is the foundation for a new "Loyalty Economy," a next generation ecosystem in which consumers can use a single currency (LYL) to redeem and exchange benefits from any participating brand, anytime and anywhere. Appsolutely's technology provides an unprecedented opportunity for brands to engage and build stronger relationships with consumers.

"While the value of loyalty is based on proven 'old school' methods of impacting consumers' relationships with brands, Appsolutely is advancing the industry with a 'new school' blockchain-backed philosophy that makes the value proposition of loyalty far more accessible," said Patrick Palacios, founder and CEO of Appsolutely, Inc. "Our LoyalPlatform, LoyalCoin and LoyalWallet enable brands to treat their high-value customers in a way that truly builds deep relationships for the first time."

The biggest success factor for loyalty programs is access to value and having a central place where rewards can be redeemed. The LoyalPlatform on blockchain opens up endless possibilities for redeeming rewards through a decentralized platform that makes it easier for brands to provide loyalty programs that enable consumers to participate wherever they want to use their rewards.

"The inability to redeem rewards is why loyalty programs in the United States have underperformed to date," said Palacios. "They're too fragmented, and it's difficult to get all the retailers on the same page to convert rewards. Blockchain offers a powerful, decentralized platform that brings cohesion to the loyalty marketplace."

In general, customer loyalty programs face issues with limited active users and low redemption rates. By creating a unified blockchain-enabled ecosystem where rewards from a variety of different brands can be exchanged and redeemed broadly via a unified token, it creates a more engaging, flexible and active ecosystem for loyalty programs.

"Appsolutely's vision is to provide the foundation of a new Loyalty Economy," said Palacios. "We're freeing loyalty from everything that has limited its effectiveness for decades by creating a more fluid and empowering model. Now brands and consumers can engage in a way that isn't like anything the market has seen before."

Components of the Loyalty Economy

LoyalPlatform is the ecosystem from Appsolutely that will spearhead the Loyalty Economy. By using a virtual currency, digital wallet, a series of white-label applications and a coalition of supporting merchants, Appsolutely will change the current loyalty landscape into a value-focused, cryptocurrency-based rewards system that dwarfs traditional rewards programs. LoyalPlatform will help customers be more engaged with companies' loyalty programs, while acquiring better rewards for their consumption.

is the ecosystem from Appsolutely that will spearhead the Loyalty Economy. By using a virtual currency, digital wallet, a series of white-label applications and a coalition of supporting merchants, Appsolutely will change the current loyalty landscape into a value-focused, cryptocurrency-based rewards system that dwarfs traditional rewards programs. LoyalPlatform will help customers be more engaged with companies' loyalty programs, while acquiring better rewards for their consumption. LoyalCoin (LYL) is the token that serves as the official virtual currency of the new Loyalty Economy. The goal is for consumers to be able to earn and spend LYL whenever and wherever they prefer to buy goods and services from any participating merchant within Appsolutely's Loyalty Economy. This creates an open loyalty ecosystem where the consumer decides where and how they'd like to redeem the rewards they've earned.

is the token that serves as the official virtual currency of the new Loyalty Economy. The goal is for consumers to be able to earn and spend LYL whenever and wherever they prefer to buy goods and services from any participating merchant within Appsolutely's Loyalty Economy. This creates an open loyalty ecosystem where the consumer decides where and how they'd like to redeem the rewards they've earned. The LoyalWallet is a mobile app that enables brands and consumers to store and use LYL to redeem rewards and buy items from all participating merchants (not just one). The LoyalWallet provides expanded features such as the conversion of LYL to other currencies. Rewards recipients can even convert rewards into fiat currencies and cryptocurrency counterparts, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and many others. This app will enables sending and receiving payments to and from other LoyalWallet users, as well as from participating merchants and other companies who enabled the option to pay with LoyalCoin.

In order to create and distribute loyalty value on the LoyalPlatform and fund the long-term value of the Loyalty Economy, brands will need to make LoyalCoin (LYL) available to consumers. LYL, an ERC20 compliant token built on the Ethereum network, is an integral part of the open-source development and operational environment, along with sample code, documentation, developer training, extensive API's, collaborative community tools, and access to 3rd party add-ons, tools and frameworks. LYL Tokens provide essential utility to LoyalPlatform, providing never before realized flexible value through distributed, omnichannel redemption channels.

Appsolutely will make LYL Tokens available through an initial token offering on December 11, 2017. Anyone interested in learning more about the tokens and Appsolutely's technology can download the whitepaper at https://loyalcoin.io/docs/LoyalCoin-WhitePaperV1.pdf.

About Appsolutely

Appsolutely is the creator of the blockchain-backed "Loyalty Economy," enabling brands and consumers to connect and transact more effectively via customer loyalty programs. Appsolutely has been a leader in loyalty apps since 2013. It provides an (award-winning) suite of offerings including LoyalPlatform, LoyalCoin and LoyalWallet that enable brands to increase their impact with customers and empower them with rewards that are easy to own, manage and redeem in a scalable environment. Appsolutely is a global company that partners with brands in every region of the world to achieve maximum return from their loyalty programs. Follow @AppsolutelyPH on Twitter, visit www.appsolutely.ph and read the company's whitepaper on how the LoyalCoin (LYL) will change loyalty programs as we know them.

Media Contact

Jay Kolbe

Spark PR for Appsolutely

appsolutely [at] sparkpr [dot] com

SOURCE Appsolutely

Related Links

http://www.appsolutely.ph/


At the core of Archisketch is a technology that captures space using AR and presents in to 3D/VR data. When a user captures the corner of a room, for example, the device automatically converts it to a 3D model. The user can then create various 3D images in real time by choosing and placing furniture, wall paper, and flooring materials according his or her personal tastes. All furniture pieces stored in Archisketch's library have the same specifications and dimensions as those actually sold in stores. The application also links directly to the websites of furniture manufacturers, allowing users to make purchases easily and conveniently.

The device begins by connecting to the user's smartphone, after which the AR-enabled device's laser sensor activates, measuring the distance between the user and the walls of the room in which the user stands. It then generates a 3D image of the room.

The device saves time and money for people preparing to move, and helps them design optimal spaces in their new home. In addition, the device can be used in various B2B sectors, such as interior design and real estate, anywhere in the world.

CEO Lee Jusung of Archisketch said, "These days, people are trying to do the interior design for their own homes in order to make their living spaces more lively, dynamic, and unique. People now regard their homes as multi-purpose spaces where they can relax and enjoy hobbies, instead of viewing them merely as places to sleep. However, doing the interior design for a new home is no easy task for most people. You have to check and measure every wall and corner of the home and find furniture to create the kind of spaces you want. With Archisketch, however, all the user needs to do is attach the device to his or her smartphone, and it will scan the entire space all at once. In this way, the device makes it much easier and more convenient for ordinary people to do 3D real-time modeling and try their hand at interior design."

The Archisketch device will be displayed at the Samsung Developer Conference in the United States on October 18 and a startup booth at Web Summit 2017, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 6.

The price of the Archisketch device will range from USD 119 to USD 134 for early-bird buyers, while the price of the package will be USD 249.

To contribute to this Kickstarter campaign, please visit http://kck.st/2yvvJBN.

Related link: http://www.archisketch.com/

About Archisketch

Archisketch's team got together for a habitat project, a volunteer activity group to build and design homes for disadvantaged people. After debating about Architecture and the problems that lie within the current system, Archisketch has been founded and joined by experts in electronics and telecommunication fields. Archisketch is a member company of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre.

About K-ICT Born2Global Centre

K-ICT Born2Global Centre is a full-cycle service platform for global expansion. Since inception in 2013, Born2Global has been setting the standard for successful startup ecosystem as the main Korean government agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Born2Global has expanded and transformed startups to be engaged, equipped and be connected with the global market.

Contact:

Jusung Eric Lee, CEO of Archisketch

[email protected]

Jina Lee, PR Manager of Born2Global

[email protected]

SOURCE K-ICT Born2Global Centre

Related Links

http://www.archisketch.com/


NurseConnect's nurses can assist with treatment-related issues ranging from how to administer an injectable medication to helping patients cope with side effects. This outreach ensures that patients know what to expect from their treatment and understand the importance of taking these medications on time and as directed. However, this program begins even before the individual's prescription is filled. Nurses often reach out to a patient right after a diagnosis of a condition like cancer, hepatitis C, HIV or infertility. As a result, the individual has a single point of contact throughout the entire treatment journey as they look to cope with the physical, emotional and financial burdens that can accompany their illness.

Avella is employing a nurse-staffed patient engagement center to provide a full range of services including one-on-one patient engagement along with reimbursement support, case management, hub support and clinical research support. The company then measures and monitors attributes such as drug adherence and adverse events as reported by patients, integrating this data into state-of-the-art internal systems. Patient experience data is also collected through the use of call monitoring, recording and surveys. And to assist in bringing new medications to market, Avella can provide its manufacturer partners robust population health and post-marketing surveillance reporting.

"NurseConnect leverages a model that is already proven in the healthcare industry today," according to Rebecca Shanahan, CEO of Avella. "Research consistently shows that nurses are among the most trusted working professionals in the nation. NurseConnect taps into that unique relationship of trust between patients and nurses in order to provide high-touch, personalized support that is enabled by advanced technology."

To learn more about NurseConnect, visit avella.com/NurseConnect.

About Avella Specialty Pharmacy

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Avella Specialty Pharmacy is a National Accredited Specialty Pharmacy, providing individualized care and support to patients since 1996. Avella's clinical pharmacists and staff members are experts in managing complex disease states and providing compassionate care. The company offers a nationwide distribution service to complement its retail locations. In 2016, Avella was named Specialty Pharmacy of the Year by NASP, a nationally recognized pharmacy trade committee. Inc. Magazine's 2016 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the country included Avella for the tenth consecutive year and also recognized Avella as the fastest-growing woman-led company in 2015. In addition, the Arizona Corporate Excellence Awards named Avella Specialty Pharmacy as the second fastest-growing private company based in the state in 2016. For more information, please visit www.avella.com.

Todd Speranzo

[email protected]

(623) 742-1719

SOURCE Avella

Related Links

http://www.avella.com


DENVER, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Barrett Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE: BBG) announced today that it is providing an update on certain third quarter of 2017 items, including commodity price and derivatives data.

For the third quarter of 2017, West Texas Intermediate ("WTI") oil prices averaged $48.20 per barrel, Northwest Pipeline ("NWPL") natural gas prices averaged $2.59 per MMBtu and NYMEX natural gas prices averaged $3.00 per MMBtu. The Company had derivative commodity swaps that settled in the third quarter of 2017 for 7,125 barrels of oil per day tied to WTI pricing at $58.77 per barrel, 10,000 MMBtu of natural gas per day tied to NWPL regional pricing at $2.96 per MMBtu and no hedges in place for NGLs.

Based on preliminary unaudited results, the Company expects to realize a cash commodity derivative gain of $7.3 million in the third quarter due to positive derivative positions. The Company expects its third quarter commodity price differentials to benchmark pricing  before commodity derivative gains and taking into account delivery location and quality adjustments  to approximate: WTI less $2.12 per barrel for oil and NWPL less $0.22 per thousand cubic feet ("Mcf") for natural gas. The Denver-Julesburg Basin oil price differential averaged WTI less $2.06 per barrel in the quarter. NGL prices averaged approximately 39% of the WTI price per barrel during the quarter.

The following table summarizes the Company's hedge position as of October 17, 2017:



Oil (WTI)

Natural Gas (NWPL)











Period Volume Bbls/d Price $/Bbl

Volume MMBtu/d Price $/MMBtu

4Q17 8,125 57.69

10,000 2.96 1Q18 8,000 52.87

5,000 2.68 2Q18 8,000 52.87

5,000 2.68 3Q18 6,000 51.94

5,000 2.68 4Q18 6,000 51.94

5,000 2.68 1Q19 1,500 50.38





2Q19 1,500 50.38





3Q19 1,500 50.38





4Q19 1,500 50.38







Realized sales prices will reflect basis differentials from the index prices to the sales location.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are 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. Words such as expects, forecast, guidance, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements herein; however, these are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release relate to, among other things, preliminary estimates of third quarter commodity derivative gains and commodity price differentials and future financial performance and business expectations.

These and other forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's judgment as of the date of this release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 filed with the SEC and other filings, including our Current Reports on Form 8-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, all of which are incorporated by reference herein, for further discussion of risk factors that may affect the forward-looking statements. Risks also include potential differences between expected reported results and actual reported results after the Company's financial statements and related reviews are finalized. The Company encourages you to consider the risks and uncertainties associated with projections and other forward-looking statements and to not place undue reliance on any such statements. In addition, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements based on future events or circumstances.

ABOUT BILL BARRETT CORPORATION

Bill Barrett Corporation (NYSE: BBG), headquartered in Denver, Colorado, develops oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Additional information about the Company may be found on its website www.billbarrettcorp.com.

SOURCE Bill Barrett Corporation

Related Links

http://www.billbarrettcorp.com


CARLINVILLE, Ill., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- While many students and families worry if they will be able to afford a college education, one small college in central Illinois is making a bold promisethe Blackburn Promise.

Blackburn College, Carlinville, Illinois, will now meet the financial need of all new students. Blackburn joins the ranks of a small number of colleges and universities that meet 100 percent of each individual student's financial need.

Hudson Hall on the Blackburn College campus was constructed by students as part of the nationally recognized, student-managed, Blackburn College Work Program.

Blackburn will be the only institution in the area that meets all financial need and one of only a few in the Midwest. According to US News, only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities offer this type of commitment to their students. In Illinois, only Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, and only Washington University in Missouri, offer the same commitment to student financial need.

"Meeting the demonstrated financial need of all new students is a bold initiative for Blackburn College but one that aligns very closely with the mission of the college  to provide affordable and accessible education. Removing financial barriers for new students will help us make the dream of a college education come true for many more students," Blackburn President John Comerford commented.

The process is simple. When students file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) they are informed of their Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). Blackburn will now recognize this EFC amount as the only cost required from the student toward tuition and fees. This will create a very equitable method of assigning education costs based on a student's ability to pay, removing financial restrictions for many students.

"The opportunity for young people is tremendous," noted Peter Oswald, Director of Marketing & Public Relations. "The Blackburn Promise provides an understandable path through the financial challenges faced by many families. If a student's EFC is zero, they will not pay anything toward tuition at Blackburn. If the EFC is $4,000---that's all they will have to come up with. Each student's financial aid package will cover the balance of costs."

Students must meet the admissions requirements for the college and participate in the nationally recognized, student-managed Blackburn College Work Program. Direct college costs covered by the Blackburn Promise financial aid package include tuition, fees, room and board.

"Blackburn has rigorous academic program. That, combined with the only student-managed Work Program in the U.S., provides students with a great education and experience that will lead to successful careers," noted Comerford. "Blackburn students make a remarkable impact wherever they go and the Blackburn Promise will make that opportunity available for many more deserving students."

Founded in 1837, Blackburn College is a four-year, co-educational liberal arts college located in Carlinville, Illinois. One of the eight work colleges in the U.S., Blackburn is the only one with a student-managed Work Program. Blackburn was also ranked by US News as one of the Top 50 Midwest Colleges and the #5 Best Value in Regional Colleges in the Midwest; and The Washington Monthly has ranked the college as the best baccalaureate college in Illinois and among the top 50 in the U.S.

To learn more, please visit: www.blackburn.edu

Media Contact:

Peter Oswald

Phone: 217-854-5781

Email: [email protected]

Related Links

Blackburn College Website

SOURCE Blackburn College

Related Links

http://www.blackburn.edu


AUSTIN, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Boardroom Events announced the winners of their Vendor Excellence and Midmarket CIO Awards.

Presented at the Fall 2017 Midmarket CIO Forum, these accolades recognize the best in technology collaboration in the midmarket sector.

Vendor Excellence Awards celebrate providers solving challenges with significant financial and overall business impact.

Winners and finalists include:

Best Midmarket Solution, Software: Information Builders Finalists: Mimecast, Netreo, Darktrace

Best Midmarket Solution, Service: Info-Tech Finalists: Genesis 10, vMOX

Best Midmarket Solution, Hardware: Scale Computing Finalists: Dell EMC | Nutanix, Green Revolution Cooling

Best Midmarket CIO Forum Newcomer: ZOOM Finalists: Darktrace, Morphisec

Best Midmarket Strategy, Select Sponsor: Darktrace Finalists: Dell Boomi, Halo BI, Silver Peak Systems

Best Midmarket Strategy, Elite Sponsor: Mimecast Finalists: Information Builders, Scale Computing

"These providers customize their products and services to meet the needs of our midmarket clients," said Charles Badoian, President of Boardroom Events. "Our core mission focuses on assisting executives on their professional journeys, and these awards are a testament to their relevance, research and insights."

Adam Waldron, CIO at Idaho Farm Bureau Insurance, was honored with the Midmarket CIO Award of Excellence for his partnership with Scale Computing.

Scale helped deploy a modern, high-tech suite of services for tech-savvy millennial work force, including a cloud-based P&C insurance lifecycle solution that is projected to save millions of dollars over the lifetime of the equipment by reducing licensing costs and infrastructure complexity.

Contact: Blair Shiver (786) 361-0454 x117 | [email protected]

Related links: http://midmarketcioforum.boardroomevents.com/

SOURCE Boardroom Events
MANCHESTER, Conn., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bob's Discount Furniture, the leading furniture retailer dedicated to untouchable value, today announced the opening of six new stores in the Los Angeles market. The furniture retailer will be cutting the ribbon on February 15, 2018 at its new locations in Baldwin Park, Huntington Beach, LA-Mid-Town, Long Beach, West Hills and Valencia. These six new stores will be Bob's first on the West Coast.

Bob's currently has 89 stores in 15 states across the East Coast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West regions, after adding more than a dozen new stores in the past year alone. In addition to the six new stores in Los Angeles, the furniture retailer has three others set to open on the same day in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The impressive nine store openings in a single day will take Bobs' total to 98 stores nationwide.

The six new Los Angles store locations opening Thursday, February 15, 2018 are:

7440 Carson Blvd

Long Beach, CA 90808

90808 6701 Fallbrook Ave

West Hills, CA 91307

91307 25560 The Old Road, Stevenson Ranch

Valencia, CA 91381

91381 3060 Baldwin Park Blvd

Baldwin Park, CA 91010

91010 16242 Beach Blvd

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

92647 4550 W Pico Blvd

LA-Mid-Town, CA 90019

"Bob's Discount Furniture was founded on the principles of honesty and integrity," said Bob Kaufman, co-founder and president emeritus of Bob's Discount Furniture. "Our growth into the Los Angeles market marks an exciting new chapter for Bob's. We are looking forward to changing the way customers experience furniture shopping."

The furniture retailer prides itself on its high-quality furniture at everyday low prices. Bob's provides value for its customers during every aspect of the shopping experience  from the first visit through the final delivery. Stores are fun, easy to shop, and feature cafes with complimentary coffee and sweets. Mybobs.com is the perfect place to research, shop, and buy online. Bob's offers furniture for any lifestyle, as well as the world-famous Bob-O-Pedic memory foam mattress.

Charitable and community giving have been important elements of Bob's since its founding in 1991. The team gives back through the Bob's Charitable Foundation and Outreach team, which donates more than $2.5 million to charities and organizations each year. To celebrate its entrance into the Los Angeles market, the Outreach team is selecting local shelters with help from The Pajama Program to participate in Bobs' Shelter Shopping Trips, where members are invited to privately shop free of charge for their desired furnishings. In addition to charitable partnerships with March of Dimes and Autism Speaks, Bob's is a proud partner of the Los Angeles Chargers and the official furniture store of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

About Bob's Discount Furniture

Bob's Discount Furniture provides a wide variety of quality furnishings  including living room furniture, bedroom furniture, dining room furniture, mattresses and home accents  at everyday low prices. The stores also offer a unique and enjoyable shopping experience featuring cafes in each store with free gourmet coffee, ice cream, cookies and candy. Since 1991, Bob's has built strong customer loyalty by offering the highest-value home furnishings at the lowest possible prices. With 89 furniture stores located throughout New England, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin, the Manchester, Conn.-based company has become the 12th-largest U.S. furniture chain and proudly holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Bob's is committed to supporting communities where its stores are located through a variety of charitable giving efforts. Bob's Discount Furniture Charitable Foundation has anchored the company's philanthropic work for more than 20 years. In addition, the Bob's Outreach program was created as a separate entity to help schools and children-related charities. The company donates more than $2.5 million to charities through these programs each year. For more information on Bob's charitable programs, visit http://www.bobscares.org/, and follow us on Twitter @MyBobs and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyBobs.

Media contact:

Sean Flanagan

Agency 451

[email protected]

617-986-0225

SOURCE Bobs Discount Furniture

Related Links

https://www.mybobs.com


FOSHAN, China, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited ("Bright Scholar," the "Company," "we" or "our") (NYSE: BEDU), the largest operator of international and bilingual K-12 schools in China*, today announced that it is scheduled to attend Morgan Stanley's Sixteenth Annual Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore on November 15 to November 16, 2017 at the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore.

Ms. Dora Li, Chief Financial Officer of Bright Scholar, will attend the conference and meet investors in the form of one-on-one and group meetings.

For further information, please visit the investor relations page of the Company's website at http://ir.brightscholar.com.

About Bright Scholar Education Holdings Limited

Bright Scholar is the largest operator of international and bilingual K-12 schools in China*. The Company is dedicated to providing quality international education to Chinese students and equipping them with the critical academic foundation and skillsets necessary to succeed in the pursuit of higher education overseas. It also complements its international offerings with Chinese government-mandated curriculum for students who wish to maintain the option of pursuing higher education in China. As of May 31, 2017, Bright Scholar operated 52 schools covering the breadth of K-12 academic needs of its students across seven provinces in China. In the first nine months of the 2017 school year ended May 31, 2017, Bright Scholar had an average of 29,613 students enrolled at its schools.

* In terms of student enrollment as of September 1, 2016, according to an industry report commissioned by Bright Scholar and prepared by Frost & Sullivan in 2017.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company's business plans and development, can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

IR Contact:

FleishmanHillard

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +852 2586 7825

SOURCE Bright Scholar Education Holdings Ltd.
NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) today announced the appointment of two prominent investment executives to leadership positions within its Private Banking business. BBH is pleased to report that Suzanne Brenner of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will join the Firm as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer (CIO). In addition, BBH is pleased to announce that Donald Hardie, a long-time private equity investor, has joined the firm as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager within the BBH Capital Partners private equity investment team. BBH Private Banking provides advice and capital to both corporate and private clients, including private business owners and families of substantial wealth. The firm has a deeply held, value-oriented investment philosophy focused on capital preservation and growth over the long term.

Bill Tyree, Managing Partner of BBH, said, "Private Banking is a substantial and important business for BBH, tracing its roots to the founding of our firm. The hiring of these two exceptionally talented professionals demonstrates our continuing reinvestment in the growth of this business. BBH Private Banking's mission is to protect and grow our clients' wealth over generations. Suzanne and Don bring proven investment expertise, paired with the kind of long-term perspective, disciplined practice and collaborative style that matches BBH's approach and drives results for our clients."

Suzanne Brenner will join the BBH investment team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she served 18 years in various investment-related leadership roles, including 10 years as CIO of the Met's endowment fund. Prior to that, Suzanne served as Director of Investments at the Rockefeller Foundation. In both roles, she built a collaborative investment culture and cohesive team, which produced excellent results through multiple investment cycles. In her role as BBH Private Banking CIO, Suzanne will lead the BBH Private Banking Investment Research Group, which is responsible for manager selection, capital allocation and investment decisions across the firm's Private Banking client portfolio. Suzanne will report to Jeff Meskin, the Partner responsible for Private Banking, and will work closely with Scott Clemons, who will continue to act as Chief Investment Strategist  a role he has held since 2010.

"I am thrilled to be joining BBH," said Suzanne, "a firm that I have long admired for its differentiated investment approach  one that utilizes deep fundamental research and value-oriented strategies to create long-term wealth. I look forward to working with the extraordinarily talented individuals at the firm and using my investment experience to continue to provide excellent results for BBH's clients."

Donald Hardie joins BBH's Capital Partners investment team to help spearhead an expansion of the Capital Partners platform focused on investments in lower middle-market companies. Since 2009, Don led private investments for a single family office based in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he was a Partner. In that capacity, Don was responsible for sourcing, evaluating and providing post-acquisition management and oversight of investments in lower middle-market companies across a variety of industries. Previously, Don served as a senior member of the U.S. private investment team of Investcorp International and its affiliates. Overall, Don has 28 years of experience investing in, advising and working with private middle-market companies. In his new role at BBH, Don will co-manage, along with Jeff Price, a private equity strategy providing highly customized investments to lower middlemarket companies looking for a strategic partner to help them grow.

"I am delighted to be part of the BBH family," said Don. "BBH has an outstanding track record in private equity investing, and I have known and admired the firm, its people and its culture for many years. We have successfully co-invested together in the past, so I know BBH provides a highly differentiated approach to lower middle-market private investing. I believe this approach makes BBH a preferred partner for founders, owners and senior management of middle-market companies because we provide deep expertise and flexible, patient capital to help them grow their businesses."

"We are excited to have attracted two investment professionals of Suzanne's and Don's caliber to join our investment team at BBH," said Jeff Meskin. "Importantly, they have proven track records of excellence and share our differentiated approach to investing and capital allocation, and they value the same tenets of capital preservation that have been the cornerstone of our investment philosophy for generations."

For more information, please contact Weber Shandwick at [email protected].



About Brown Brothers Harriman

BBH is a privately held financial institution that has been a thought leader and solutions provider for nearly 200 years. The firm serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions in its three business lines: Private Banking, Investment Management and Investor Services. In addition to the $31.4 billion in assets under management (AUM) in Private Banking, BBH Investment Management has approximately $55.9 billion in AUM, and the Investor Services business has $4.6 trillion in assets under custody.1 BBH's culture of accountability fosters deep and lasting relationships built on commitment, adaptability and trust. The company is independent, selective and specialized by design.

BBH Private Banking's mission is to be the preeminent provider of advice and capital to private business owners and people of substantial wealth to help them create, transition, preserve and grow their wealth. The firm serves both corporate and private clients in the following products and services: Private Wealth Management, Corporate Advisory & Banking and Private Equity.

1Investment Management AUM includes $23 billion in assets managed on behalf of BBH's Private Banking business. Figures are as of September 30, 2017.

Contact: Arielle Patrick

Weber Shandwick

[email protected]

212.445.8470

SOURCE Brown Brothers Harriman
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a decision by a second federal judge  this time in Maryland  to block the Trump administration from implementing Muslim Ban 3.0, the latest version of the president's travel ban.

CAIR and the Brennan Center for Justice filed suit against President Trump's Muslim Ban on behalf of six American Muslims impacted by the immigration restrictions. Civil rights attorneys, including CAIR National attorney Gadeir Abbas, delivered oral arguments against the ban earlier this week.

Video: CAIR, Other Civil Rights Groups Hold Presser After Md. Court Arguments on Trump's Muslim Ban

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ahy9jtJK5Q

In a broad ruling today, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang granted CAIR and other groups' request for a nationwide injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from implementing its latest attempt to exclude Muslims from the United States.

Judge Chuang ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to ultimately succeed in proving that anti-Muslim animus motivated the travel ban in violation of the Establishment Clause. He also noted that the ban violates federal law, which forbids the government from discriminating against visa applicants based on their nationality.

"This case is not a close call," said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri. "It is clear that Muslim Ban 3.0 illegally stigmatizes Muslims and disfavors Islam. We are hopeful that the appeals courts will see it the same way."

"Judge Chuang's decision is a good reminder that religious liberty is protected by the law and the Constitution, and that not even the president can take it away," said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, who delivered oral arguments in the case before Judge Chuang.

SEE: Second Judge Rules Against Latest Travel Ban, Saying Trump's Own Words Show It Was Aimed at Muslims

Yesterday, CAIR welcomed a decision by another federal judge in Hawaii to block the Trump administration from implementing the ban. The judge's decision only blocks the ban for 14 days.

SEE: CAIR Welcomes Federal Judge's Decision to Block Trump's 'Muslim Ban 3.0'

https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14716-cair-welcomes-federal-judge-s-decision-to-block-trump-s-muslim-ban-3-0.html

Today, CAIR will join a coalition of national and local American Muslim and civil rights organizations at the #NoMuslimBanEver rally and march outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

In September, CAIR -- with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Profeta & Eisenstein -- filed an amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of seven American Muslims.

READ Amicus Brief

These groups also filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit in August.

Read CAIR's Amicus Brief

In January, just days after Trump signed the first Muslim ban executive order, CAIR filed suit.

SEE: CAIR Files Federal Suit Challenging Constitutionality of Trump's 'Muslim Ban' Executive Order

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua.

CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, [email protected]; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


LONDON and NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice today announced the engagement of Ross McInnes as an Operating Advisor to CD&R's funds. Mr. McInnes, a seasoned corporate and finance executive, will advise on fund investment activities throughout Europe.

Mr. McInnes, Chairman of the Board of Safran, has held senior leadership positions at some of the largest industrial, defense and luxury goods businesses in the world. He joined Safran, the global supplier of systems and equipment for aerospace, defense and security, in 2009, where he held the position of Executive Vice President, Economic and Financial Affairs before becoming Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Safran, Mr. McInnes served as Vice-Chairman of Macquarie Capital (Europe), Executive Board Member at PPR (now Kering), Chief Financial Officer of Thomson-CSF (now Thales), and Chief Financial Officer at Eridania Beghin-Say. Mr. McInnes started his career in investment banking at Kleinwort Benson, followed by nine years at Continental Bank (now Bank of America) in London, Paris and Chicago.

"We are delighted to welcome Ross as an Operating Advisor," said CD&R Partner, Dave Novak. "His international profile, investment experience, extensive industry networks, and success leading industrial enterprises will give CD&R funds increased access, insight and reach as we pursue new opportunities across Europe, particularly in France."

Ross McInnes said, "I am very excited to be working with the experienced investment and operating team at CD&R. It is an exceptionally strong group with great values and a stellar reputation for transforming businesses."

Mr. McInnes was appointed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Special Representative for relations with Australia, and by the French Prime Minister as Ambassador of 'Choose Paris Region', a service to promote investment by foreign companies in Ile de France. In October 2017 he was appointed to co-chair "Public Action 2022", a committee formed by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. He serves as a Chairman of the Audit Committee at Eutelsat, Paris. He graduated from Oxford with an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and is fluent in French, English, Portuguese and Italian. He is an Officier of The Order of Legion d'Honneur.

About Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private investment firm. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of more than $24 billion in 75 companies representing a broad range of industries with an aggregate transaction value of more than $100 billion. In Europe, the Firm's recent investments include BUT, SPIE and Rexel in France and B&M, BCA, MFG, and Exova in the U.K., as well as Kalle and Mauser in Germany. The Firm has offices in New York and London. For more information, visit www.cdr-inc.com.

SOURCE Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Related Links

http://www.cdr-inc.com


INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Celadon Group, Inc. ("Celadon" or the "Company") (NYSE: CGI) today announced the promotion of Chase Welsh to Executive Vice President  Risk Management and General Counsel. In addition, he will serve as Secretary of the Celadon Board of Directors. Mr. Welsh previously served as Vice President  Risk Management.

"As we continue our transition back to being a top tier trucking company, it's important that we have the right talent in the right role. Chase has a keen insight into our legal needs and has been a strong partner with our business units," said Paul Svindland, Chief Executive Officer and Director. "In the time Chase has been here, he has become invaluable to our company and I am pleased that he will serve as our general counsel for years to come. As we make this transition, I would like to recognize former General Counsel, Ken Core's 17 years of service at Celadon. Ken was with us through much of the Company's rapid growth and we wish him the best in a well-deserved retirement."

The company also announced the hiring of John-Thomas "JT" Young as Vice President-Risk Management and Assistant General Counsel. Mr. Young graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2012. Young has been employed at Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hansen & Feary, a law firm based in Indianapolis that serves the legal and business needs of the transportation industry.

"JT brings significant trucking and transportation experience, as well as general legal support to Celadon," commented Svindland. "We're excited to have him join the Celadon team and look forward to utilizing the breadth and depth of his knowledge."

About Celadon

Celadon Group, Inc. (www.celadongroup.com), through its subsidiaries, provides long haul, regional, local, dedicated, intermodal, temperature-protect, and expedited freight service across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Company also owns Celadon Logistics Services, which provides freight brokerage services, freight management, as well as supply chain management solutions, including logistics, warehousing, and distribution.

This press release contains certain statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such statements are subject to the safe harbor created by those sections and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such statements may be identified by their use of terms or phrases, including "expects," "expected," "will," "would be," "intends," "believes," and similar terms and phrases. Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. In this press release, statements relating to the Company's transition back to being a top tier trucking company, among others, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Readers should review and consider factors that could impact results as provided in various disclosures by the Company in its press releases, stockholder reports, and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information :

Joe Weigel

Director of Communications

(317) 972-7006 Direct

[email protected]

SOURCE Celadon Group, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.celadongroup.com


MONROE, La., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) today announced its annual employee giving campaign will generate over $4 million in donations to more than 3,200 nonprofit organizations serving communities in 49 states and the District of Columbia in 2018. The total amount raised includes $2.7 million pledged by employees and a 50 percent match from the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation.

The company's annual employee giving campaign allows CenturyLink employees to donate to nonprofit organizations, schools or churches of their choice through payroll deduction or other methods. The CenturyLink Foundation then honors employee donations with a 50 percent match donated to the United Way serving the employees' communities.

"Our commitment to improving lives involves more than just connecting people to technology," said Kristy LaCroix, CenturyLink community relations manager. "It means strengthening the communities we serve by supporting the nonprofits those communities depend on for a variety of services and programs. Our Foundation is proud to partner with our employees in supporting these agencies and we are excited to see the impact these dollars will have across the country."

About the CenturyLink Foundation

CenturyLink's vision is to improve the lives of our customers by connecting them to the power of the digital world. CenturyLink extends this vision through the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to contributing to endeavors that improve the well-being and overall quality of life for people throughout CenturyLink's communities. Named after CenturyLink's founder Clarke M. Williams, the Foundation is endowed by CenturyLink to support community initiatives that encourage our employees to use their time, talents and resources to strengthen the communities in which they live and work.

SOURCE CenturyLink, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.centurylink.com


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), the Smarter Way to Student, today announced that it has acquired German-based Cogeon GmbH, a provider of adaptive math technology and developer of the math app, Math 42 (www.math-42.com). With this acquisition, Chegg will be able to provide self-guided and individualized math solutions to more students, deepening their reach in to the high school market.

"Math is a major pain point for students today," said Nathan Schultz, Chief Learning Officer of Chegg, Inc. "The technology we have acquired enhances our ability to tackle math deficiencies with tools that are self-guided, personalized, and on demand, better preparing students for success both in and out of the classroom. And the Cogeon team, led by a family of world-renowned mathematicians, will work with us to develop best-in-class products to improve how students learn complex math concepts."

Math deficiency is a large-scale issue that is pervasive in both education and workforce preparedness in the United States, as 64% of high school students are not prepared for college-level mathi, and over 40% of freshmen students must take at least one remedial math course.ii With this acquisition, Chegg will leverage Cogeon's unique A.I.-driven math technology to enhance current capabilities inside Chegg Study and expects to launch an integrated new product, Chegg Math, in the second half of 2018.

"We started our company with a desire to help the world solve and understand math," said Thomas Nitsche, Co-Founder of Cogeon. "Cogeon and Chegg share like-minded missions to bring students innovative, responsive tools that help improve their learning experience. By joining Chegg, we're able to deliver an important educational technology to millions of students to help them better understand their course material and give them needed skills to compete in the workforce."

Chegg has acquired Cogeon for EUR 12.5 million (or approximately USD 15.0 million) in an all-cash transaction. There are potential additional payments of up to EUR 7.5 million, payable in cash or stock in the discretion of Chegg, and up to EUR 3.2 million in restricted stock units over the next three years that remain subject to contingencies. As a result of this acquisition, Chegg does not expect any material effect on operations for 2017.

ABOUT CHEGG

Chegg puts students first. As the leading student-first connected learning platform, Chegg strives to improve the overall return on investment in education by helping students learn more in less time and at a lower cost. Chegg is a publicly-held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com.

ABOUT COGEON

Founded in 2013, Berlin-based Cogeon GmbH develops a scalable core technology for automated, individualized and adaptive mathematical learning applications. Cogeon's platform is a proven math learning system which optimizes individual math learning pathways for learning and solving math problems and exercises. Cogeon's primary applicationMath 42is a trusted math learning app offering hierarchical step-by-step exercises, concept walk-throughs, and personalized assessment, built upon an artificially intelligent learning engine. Built by a family of expert chess players and exceptional mathematicians with deep technical expertise, Cogeon's math technology is rooted in a unique combination of mathematical, technological and didactical frameworks.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including Chegg's belief that it, through its acquisition of Cogeon, will have the ability to reach more students, including high school students, will increase the value of what is provided to subscribers, increase Chegg's addressable market, Chegg's expectation that it will provide self-guided and personalized math solutions to more students and deepen its reach in to the high school market, Chegg's belief it and the Cogeon team will be able to develop best-in-class products, Chegg's expectation to launch an integrated new product, Chegg Math, in the second half of 2018, Chegg's contingent payments and equity issuances to Cogeon over the next three years and Chegg's expectation that the acquisition will not have a material effect on operations for 2017. Statements regarding future events are based on management's current expectations and are necessarily subject to associated risks related to, among other things, the potential impact on the business of Cogeon due to the acquisition, general economic conditions, competition, and integration risks, among others. Therefore, actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. For information regarding other related risks, see the "Risk Factors" section of Chegg's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on July 31, 2017 and Chegg's other SEC filings. You can obtain copies of Chegg's SEC filings on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or at Chegg's Investor Relations website at investor.chegg.com. The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date hereof, and Chegg undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason except as required by law.

i http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/there-reason-us-students-struggle-math

ii https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/reports/2016/09/28/144000/remedial-education/

SOURCE Chegg, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.chegg.com


FORT MYERS, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) today announced that it will receive the Women Executive Leadership Florida's (WEL Florida) 2017 Corporate Salute Elevate Award for the Company's advancement of gender diversity in its boardroom and C-Suite. Based on the 2017 WEL Census of top companies headquartered in Florida, the Elevate Award honors leaders who celebrate and reaffirm the financial and social benefits of gender diversity in corporate leadership.

WEL Florida is a non-profit organization that advocates, educates and connects accomplished women executives and periodically prepares a census of top public companies headquartered in Florida. Known as the WEL Census, the study reviews the most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including annual reports and proxy statements, to evaluate the number of women on boards and in executive positions. Based on those results, companies like Chico's FAS are honored with the Elevate Award for making significant contributions to promote, recommend and mentor women, and for their advancement of women to corporate boards and C-Suite leadership roles.

Shelley Broader, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are honored to be among our fellow Corporate Salute Elevate Award recipients for advancing diversity in the boardroom. Chico's FAS is a business that serves women, and we recognize the importance of ensuring that women play critical leadership roles at the Board and executive levels. We are proud to have a female majority on our Board and to have 80% female representation within our Executive Team."

The WEL Florida 2017 Corporate Salute event will be held at the T Pepin Hospitality Center in Tampa on October 18, 2017. Chico's FAS is among 32 companies being honored, which also include:

Tech Data Corporation



AutoNation, Inc.



Jabil, Inc.



Carnival Corporation



NextEra Energy, Inc.



CSX Corporation



Office Depot



Lennar Corporation



Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.



HSN, Inc.



MEDNAX, Inc.



Dycom Industries, Inc.



Tupperware Brands Corporation



Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated



ILG, Inc.



SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.



Kforce Inc.



BankUnited, Inc.



Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc.



Fidelity National Financial, Inc.



Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.



Roper Technologies, Inc.



Spirit Airlines, Inc.



SBA Communications Corporation



FirstService Corporation



HEICO Corporation



Intertape Polymer Group Inc.



Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.



National Retail Properties, Inc.



PGT Industries



Bankrate, Inc.

The event will feature keynote speaker Rick Goings, Chairman and CEO of Tupperware Brands, and will be emceed by Cynthia Smoot, News Anchor, FOX 13 News. The event will also honor Evelyn Follit, Founder and President of Follit Associates, with the 2017 Trailblazer Award for making significant professional and personal contributions to promote, recommend and mentor women.

For more information on Corporate Salute, visit http://welflorida.org/events/wel-corporate-salute-tampa-save-date-septemberoctober/

ABOUT CHICO'S FAS, INC.

The Company, through its brands  Chico's, White House Black Market, and Soma, is a leading omni-channel specialty retailer of women's private branded, sophisticated, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates and complementary accessories.

As of July 29, 2017, the Company operated 1,482 stores in the US and Canada and sold merchandise through franchise locations in Mexico. The Company's merchandise is also available at www.chicos.com, www.whbm.com, and www.soma.com. For more detailed information on Chico's FAS, Inc., please visit our corporate website at www.chicosfas.com.

ABOUT WEL FLORIDA

Women Executive Leadership, Inc. advocates, educates and connects accomplished women. WEL Florida is a not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to increase the number of women serving on corporate boards and in the executive suite through advocating, educating and connecting accomplished leaders. WEL Florida's membership is reflective of executive women across diverse businesses in Florida. For more information, visit www.welflorida.org.

SOURCE Chico's FAS, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.chicosfas.com


ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- As recovery efforts continue after numerous hurricane-related disasters, Church's Chicken is continuing to actively rally support for the American Red Cross and the communities who rely upon its services. On Monday, Oct. 16th, Church's presented the American Red Cross with a donation check for $5,000 raised 100% by a community-funded donation event in Beeville, TX following Hurricane Harvey.

"The impact of recent natural disasters across the country now affects thousands of people, and hundreds of Church's Chicken restaurants and their communities," said Joe Christina, CEO for Church's Chicken. "As true members of the community, we feel a responsibility to step up and support our affected neighborhoods wherever possible."

On Aug. 31st, Church's Chicken provided free meals to the storm-impacted residents of Beeville, TX. A "Pay What You Can" campaign ran alongside the effort, offering those who wished to contribute to relief efforts a chance to do so. Church's Chicken served over 2,200 meals and raised $5,000 from "Pay What You Can". Church's Chicken donated 100% of the proceeds from "Pay What You Can" to the American Red Cross to use for its ongoing efforts to coordinate shelter volunteers, deliver kitchen supplies, and provide meals to those displaced or otherwise impacted by the storms. During September, Church's Chicken restaurants throughout Texas were also able to raise another $6,458 for the Red Cross through community donations collected in $1 increments at checkout. To date, Church's has raised $11,458 in donations for the American Red Cross' relief and recovery efforts.

"We're so grateful for the support we are receiving for our Red Cross Hurricane Relief efforts from Church's Chicken," said Terri Badour, CEO of Georgia's Red Cross. "Their generosity thus far is especially important now, when so many people are in desperate need. Thanks to our partnership, help is already there in the form of emergency shelter, food, supplies, emotional support and so much more."

About Church's Chicken

Founded in San Antonio, TX in 1952 by George W. Church, Church's Chicken is one of the largest quick service restaurant chicken chains in the world. Church's Chicken specializes in Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared throughout the day in small batches that are hand-battered and double-breaded, Tender Strips, honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great value. Church's Chicken (along with its sister brand Texas Chicken outside the Americas) has more than 1,600 locations in 27 countries and international territories and system-wide sales of more than $1 billion. For more information, visit www.churchs.com. Follow Church's on Facebook at www.facebook.com/churchschicken and Twitter at www.twitter.com/churchschicken.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.



Contact: Peyton Sadler

866.571.3449

[email protected]

SOURCE Church's Chicken

Related Links

http://www.churchs.com


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Claery & Hammond, LLP was a donator for Los Angeles AIDS Walk 2017. The 31st Walk occurred on October 15, 2017. The firm stands among wide ranging donators from nation-wide corporations, world-wide organizations, as well as local, national, and international individuals. Claery and Hammond, LLP encourages others to support the cause.

AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the world's first walk to fight an epidemic. In its 31 years, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters to walk, and millions more to donate, raising more than $82 million to combat HIV and AIDS. The funds raised at the event remain a vital lifeline that sustains APLA Health's prevention, care, and advocacy programs for the thousands of men, women, and families affected by the disease in Los Angeles County. Proceeds also benefit more than 20 other HIV/AIDS service organizations that are able to participate and raise funds through the Community Coalition Initiative (CCI).

Visit APLA Health online to learn more about the life-changing programs and services it provides. For more information on HIV/AIDS, visit:

Los Angeles County Department of Health

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Office of National AIDS Policy

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

AIDS WALK LOS ANGELES SUPPORTS APLA Health and more than 20 other L.A. County AIDS service organizations. APLA Health provides life-saving services for people living with HIV/AIDS across Los Angeles County, including medical, dental, and mental health, as well as HIV testing, prevention, and education programs. APLA Health delivers care to over 14,000 people annually and is a leader on policy and legislation that affects the HIV/AIDS and LGBT communities.

Claery and Hammond, LLP encourages others to support the cause.

Contact [email protected] with for more information.

SOURCE Claery & Hammond, LLP
TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarity Capital, a leader in Global Wealth Management, announced that they are launching a Socially- Responsible Investment (SRI) strategy. The company is working with Greeneye, an advisory firm specializing in socially-responsible investments, in order to implement this initiative. SRI has increasingly been adopted by institutional investors in the US and Europe as an investment approach that combines both financial and social objectives.

Socially-responsible investments take into account environmental and social considerations and the risks stemming from the absence of proper corporate governance, in addition to regular financial and market risk considerations. Issues such as fair representation, workers' rights, workers' safety, equal opportunities, corruption and environmental pollution are all considered along with financial issues. Socially responsible investors avoid investing in markets that are considered "unethical" and invest heavily in markets that are thought to contribute substantially towards the good of society.

"Responsible investing has been a priority for us since the company's inception over a decade ago. We are excited to formalize this strategy, which is a natural extension of our values, and bring it to our clients," said Amir Leybovitch, CEO of Clarity Capital.

About Clarity Capital

Clarity Capital is a global investment firm that manages assets for institutional and individual investors worldwide, with offices in New York and Tel Aviv. Established in 2005 by Tal Keinan, David Steinhardt and Jay Pomrenze, Clarity is a pioneer of the emergent global financial services industry in Israel.

For more information, please visit www.claritycap.com

About Greeneye

Greeneye engages in research, consulting and support in the implementation of responsible investment strategies. The company provides data on the environmental, social and governance risk of corporations and financial products. Greeneye is a member of the network of Vigeo-EIRIS, an international research company that provides analysis on over 3,000 global companies. Greeneye is the winner of the 2016 Business Sector Green Globe Award.

For more information, please visit www.greeneye.co.il

The above does not constitute a recommendation for investment or a substitute for investment advice adapted to an individual's personal needs, nor does it constitute an offer to purchase securities.

SOURCE Clarity Capital
Entitled Perspectives on Canada's SMR Opportunity, the report summarizes responses from a broad range of stakeholders, including SMR technology developers, potential end users, host communities, supply chain companies and academic institutions. While submissions came from a variety of organizations representing the feedback of a diverse group of interested parties, there were areas of general agreement, including the positive economic benefits to Canada, alignment with Canada's commitment to fight climate change, important applications for remote communities, and the potential to enhance nuclear safety through next-generation nuclear technology.

"Based on the volume and quality of responses CNL received to this RFEOI, it is clear there is enormous interest in establishing an SMR industry in Canada, and in testing the technology through a prototype reactor at a CNL site," commented Corey McDaniel, Vice-President of Business Development and Commercial Ventures at CNL. "The information we've received through this exercise has been invaluable, giving us better visibility on the requirements for SMRs to be successful in Canada, and will help shape our program in the years ahead."

With respondents from across the globe, the breadth of technologies proposed reinforces the need for ongoing research. The designs featured enhanced safety systems and greater levels of efficiency, many also propose novel fuel types and engineered systems; these aspects will require intensive study and investigation prior to licencing and ultimately deployment. Responses to the report also explored the possibilities of SMR technology beyond the generation of electricity. A number of responses indicated interest in integrating SMRs as part of a more diverse energy strategy, with applications as varied as district heating, co-generation, energy storage, desalination, or hydrogen production.

CNL issued the report during an industry-focused vendor roundtable discussing SMR deployment on the margins of Natural Resources Canada's Generation Energy Symposium in Winnipeg. Hosted by CNL and featuring Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, the event welcomed key government and industry officials to a global discussion on the obstacles and opportunities in deploying SMR technology in Canada.

"The Government of Canada recognizes the potential of SMRs to help us deliver on a number of priorities, including innovation and climate change," said Parliamentary Secretary Rudd.

CNL has identified SMRs as one of seven strategic initiatives the company intends to pursue as part of its Long-Term Strategy, with the goal of siting an SMR on its Chalk River site by 2026. The company is working to demonstrate the commercial viability of SMRs and hopes to position itself as a global leader in SMR prototype testing and technology development support. The industry roundtable provided CNL with the opportunity to discuss SMR development in greater detail with a variety of stakeholders representing key areas of a potential SMR industry in Canada.

"Canada is an ideal country in which to establish the global SMR industry, with a domestic need for the technology, a mature and robust regulatory environment, and most importantly, with the facilities and expertise that CNL can offer potential vendors," commented Kathy McCarthy, Vice-President of Research and Development at CNL. "However, it is critical that we fully understand the challenges in SMR deployment, and that's why this RFEOI and roundtable are so important. I'm pleased to say that the event was a resounding success, and builds on the information we gathered through our RFEOI."

CNL's summary report, which discusses the results of its RFEOI, is now available to the public on its website at www.cnl.ca.

Upcoming Events:

CNL and Nuclear Energy Insider will co-host a webinar to discuss and answer questions about the RFEOI Summary report on October 19 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. EST. To register visit: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8895064847801155586?source=CNL

CNL has partnered with Nuclear Energy Insider's "International SMR and Advanced Reactor Summit 2018" in to be held March 27-28 to continue the discussion with an International Vendor Roundtable and dedicated Canada SMR Track.

About CNL

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact [email protected].

SOURCE Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

Related Links

http://www.cnl.ca/


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Energy Corporation (OTCQB: CPPXF) (the "Company"), an emerging international developer of small scale refineries integrated with local crude oil feedstock production, today announced that it has appointed Byron Tsokas to the position of Vice President of Business Development with the Company.

Mr. Tsokas will head up the Company's Vancouver office and report directly to the CEO. He will be directly responsible for identifying and coordinating new business initiatives with strategic, financial, and technology partners and markets in North America in support of the Company's expanding business operations in Indonesia. He will also be charged with the task of expanding the Company's media outlets and handling communications with existing and potential stakeholders of the Company.

Mr. Tsokas is a resident of Calgary, Canada. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Geology from the University of British Columbia and a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. He is registered as a practicing Professional Geologist (P. Geo.) with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and has been actively involved in the exploration and development of oil, gas and coal resources in Canada and internationally for the last 12 years. He also has experience in business development and project management for the mining, utilities and petroleum industries. Prior to joining Continental, Mr. Tsokas held a variety of technical and management positions for EnCana Corporation, Talisman Energy, TransAlta Corporation, Walter Energy, Rio Tinto Limited and Enhanced Exploration Pty Ltd.

Company CEO, Rich McAdoo, said of the appointment "Byron is a welcome addition to our management team and I am confident his unique background and experience will directly contribute to the Company's growth as we expand our operational activities in Indonesia."

On behalf of the Company,

Richard L. McAdoo

Chief Executive Officer

Further Info: www.continentalenergy.com

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward Looking Statements - Any statements in this news release that are not historical or factual at the date of this release are forward looking statements. There are many factors which may cause actual performance and results to be substantially different from any plans or objectives described in any forward looking statements. In this release, there are no assurances that the Company's planned refineries will be realized. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's regulatory disclosure documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

SOURCE Continental Energy Corporation

Related Links

http://www.continentalenergy.com


NOVI, Mich., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CPS) will hold a conference call on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 9 a.m. ET. The Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Edwards and Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Banas will discuss Cooper Standard's third quarter 2017 results, provide a general business update and respond to investor questions.

The Company expects to release results for the third quarter 2017 on Tuesday, Oct. 31. The Company's earnings results will also be posted to the Cooper Standard website (http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com) once released.

A link to the live webcast of the call (listen only) and presentation materials will be available on Cooper Standard's Investor Relations website at http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com/index.cfm.

To participate by phone, callers in the United States and Canada should dial toll-free 800-949-4315 (international callers dial 678-825-8315) and provide the conference ID 95008495 or ask to be connected to the Cooper Standard conference call. Representatives of the investment community will have the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation. Callers should dial in at least five minutes prior to the start of the call.

Individuals unable to participate during the call may visit the investors' portion of the Cooper Standard website (http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com) for a replay of the webcast.

About Cooper Standard

Cooper Standard, headquartered in Novi, Mich., is a leading global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include rubber and plastic sealing, fuel and brake lines, fluid transfer hoses and anti-vibration systems. Cooper Standard employs approximately 30,000 people globally and operates in 20 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cooperstandard.com.

CPS_F

Contact for Analysts: Contact for Media: Roger Hendriksen Sharon Wenzl Cooper Standard Cooper Standard (248) 596-6465 (248) 596-6211 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Cooper Standard

Related Links

http://www.cooperstandard.com


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Corigine, Inc. today announced that its USB 3.1 Gen 2 PC host and device controller intellectual property (IP) is certified by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) and compliant with USB SuperSpeed+, the fastest USB speed standard.

"Our comprehensive USB-IF certified IP solution offers a differentiated memory-efficient, power- and cost-sensitive architecture at the fastest USB speed," says Sheng Lu, president of Corigine. "This certification creates a highly competitive alternative to what's currently available for designers to incorporate the highest-performance USB functionality, providing them with greater product design flexibility."

USB SuperSpeed+, also known as USB 3.1 Gen 2, doubles the uppermost USB transfer speed to 10 Gbps. "At this speed, it is possible to take advantage of the performance of the latest generation of SSD drives and unleash smartphone and video applications that depend on high-speed data transfers," remarks Mike Demler, senior analyst at The Linley Group. With this USB-IF certification, Corigine's IP will enable deployment of millions of devices that need the fastest USB speed.

Corigine used its USB 3.1 Gen 1 IP experience to deliver a compact USB 3.1 Gen 2 IP core with a reduced power, memory-efficient and configurable design. A complete development environment from Corigine includes the PC host and device controllers, verification IP, IP subsystems, IP prototyping and software development kits, enabling shorter design cycles for customers. A 3.1 Gen 2 PHY from Corigine's partner M31 Technology Corporation of Hsinchu, Taiwan, is available in various process nodes.

"M31 is pleased to offer the 3.1 Gen 2 PHY in various process nodes including 28nm, 12nm and 7nm," adds Scott Chang, M31's vice president. "M31 is delighted to have USB-IF certification along with Corigine's USB Gen 2 controllers and pleased to offer the 3.1 Gen 2 PHY in 28nm as part of Corigine's complete and highly competitive offering."

Pricing and Availability

Corigine's USB 3.1 Gen 2 IP solution is shipping now. Pricing is available upon request.

About Corigine

Corigine, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor and IP company headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with design centers in Hong Kong, Nanjing and Shanghai, China. Corigine delivers intellectual property (IP) solutions for high-speed I/O as well as semiconductor products for connectivity, storage and machine learning applications targeted at cloud, automotive and smart city markets. Corigine's seasoned IP experts from top fabless semiconductor companies leverage an advanced architecture to deliver innovations for emerging applications for reduced power, area and memory utilization while ensuring maximum performance and configurability.

Engage with Corigine at:

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.corigine.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/17962577/

Twitter: @Corigine_US

For more information, contact:

Nanette Collins

Public Relations for Corigine

(617) 437-1822

[email protected]

SOURCE Corigine, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.corigine.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "We know healthcare companies or even insurance companies are currently gobbling up medical practice groups all over the country. Frequently the physicians in the practice group will take the best possible deal. Some of these 'best deals' include special incentive packages involving real estate leases or the purchase of medical equipment.

Stark Law Violations

"If the caveat is the healthcare company wants the medical practice group to increase their patient's admissions to a specific hospital it could be a violation of the Stark Anti-Kickback Laws, and this kind of information could produce a significant whistleblower reward. If you are a medical doctor and you possess this type of information please call us anytime at 866-714-6466. We are pretty sure this a huge problem nationwide and in every state." http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

In September 2017, the Department of Justice announced two New York State based hospitals agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians. The settlement resolves allegations that the hospitals submitted false claims to the Medicare program for services rendered to patients referred by physicians with whom the defendants had improper financial relationships. These relationships took the form of compensation and office lease arrangements that did not comply with the requirements of the Stark Law, which restricts the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them. In this instance, the whistleblower will receive $600,000.

According to the Corporate Whistleblower Center, "If you are a medical doctor, a medical practice group manager or a hospital executive and you have specific knowledge of about a serious Stark Law violation or violations please call us at 866-714-6466 and let's explore the whistleblower reward possibilities. Why sit on a potentially winning lotto ticket without ever knowing what it might be worth?" http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

The Corporate Whistleblower Center is also very interested in hearing from a physician if they have proof the following types of healthcare companies have financial relationships that violate the Stark Anti-Kickback Laws:

Blood Testing Company

A Rehab Center

A Skilled Nursing Facility

A Radiology Group

A Cardiology Group

A Pharmaceutical Company

A Medical Device Company

Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center: Do not go to the government first if you are a major whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "Major whistleblowers frequently go to the government thinking they will help. It's a huge mistake. Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information. Public revelation of a whistleblower's information could destroy any prospect for a reward. Do not try to force a company or individual to come clean stark on anti-kickback laws or overbilling Medicare. Come to us first, tell us what type of information you have, and if we think it's sufficient, we will help find the right law firms to assist in advancing your information."

The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality whistleblowers in every state, including California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, or Alaska. They are especially interested in hearing from medical doctors, medical practice managers or nurses who have information about kickback involving a medical doctor and any type of healthcare provider or company. http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

The Corporate Whistleblower Center is the premier advocate for whistleblowers in the United States. Unlike any group in the US, they can assist potential whistleblowers with packaging their information and providing the whistleblower with access to the most accomplished whistleblower attorneys in the nation. For more information, potential whistleblowers can contact the Corporate Whistleblower Center anytime at 866-714-6466 or visit http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

For attribution please refer to the September Department of Justice press release that discusses this specific matter.https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-york-hospital-operator-agrees-pay-4-million-settle-alleged-false-claims-act-violations.

Media Contact:

Thomas Martin

[email protected]

866-714-6466

SOURCE Corporate Whistleblower Center

Related Links

http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com


Beginning in Montreal, Quebec, on November 25 and 26, 2017 respectively, two trains will make the festive journey, travelling through both the U.S. and Canada to bring holiday cheer to 182 communities along CP's network. Each event is completely free, with CP encouraging every attendee to open their cupboards or wallets to ease hunger needs in their community. Local food banks will be accepting donations at each stop to ensure those less fortunate can access adequate food this holiday season and year-round.

"The Holiday Train program is all about local food banks and food shelves and the critical role they play in our communities," said Keith Creel, CP's President and Chief Executive Officer. "People come for the beautifully-lit train and stay for the incredible show  all in the name of community. The holiday season is the best time of the year, and we look forward to bringing together thousands of Canadians and Americans this season for this incredibly important cause and a great time."

CP is also encouraging fans of the train to donate heart-healthy food, as everyone should have access to healthy, nutritious food, regardless of circumstances. This supports the mission of CP Has Heart, a program dedicated to improving the heart health of men, women and children in North America. To date, this program has raised C$12 million for cardiac care and research.

The 2017 edition of the Holiday Train also concludes CP's Canada 150 celebrations and the Canadian train will feature the Spirit of Tomorrow car, which was part of the Canada 150 Train this past summer.

"I am delighted that Canadian Pacific will be bringing joy and holiday cheer to communities across the country with a special Canada 150 edition of their Holiday Train. What a wonderful way to bid farewell to this remarkable year, as we look to the future with hope and optimism," said the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage.

In line with the Canada 150 celebrations, the CP Holiday Train boasts its most stacked lineup of all-Canadian artists on tour in the program's history, including multiple Canadian Country Music Award and Juno Award winners.

Musical guests Colin James and Emma-Lee will kick off the Canadian leg in Montreal, QC on November 26, performing through to Calgary, AB. Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Band will take over in Calgary and continue the journey to Port Moody, B.C. The U.S. leg will feature Jim Cuddy, Devin Cuddy and Kelly Prescott from the kickoff in Montreal on November 25, through the northeastern U.S. to Windsor, ON. Terri Clark and Dallas Smith will then hop on board with Kelly Prescott to complete the trip from Chicago, IL to Brooks, AB. Jonathan Roy will give a Francophone performance at all stops in Quebec.

First-time CP Holiday Train stops this year include: St. Constant, QC; Chatham, ON; Neepawa, MB; Yorkton, SK; Bawlf, AB; Okotoks, AB; Oconomowoc, WI; Kasson, MN; and Mahnomen, MN. A full schedule is available at www.cpr.ca/holiday-train.

People visiting the Holiday Train are encouraged to take photos and enter CP's Capture the Spirit photo contest. Participants could win a trip aboard the 2018 CP Holiday Train as well as a $1,000 donation to their local food bank. Further details about the contest will be available closer to the start of the program on the Holiday Train Facebook page at facebook.com/HolidayTrain.

To help make this year the best yet for local food banks and food shelves, the Holiday Train asks fans to follow the train on social media, invite their friends and family and spread the message about the importance of heart-healthy donations by using #HealthyDonations. Supporters can follow the Holiday Train on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CPHolidayTrain. As part of Canada 150, CP and the Canada 150 Federal Secretariat are also partnering to promote the Holiday Train and the conclusion of the sesquicentennial celebrations. Use #Canada150 and #CPHolidayTrain as you track the progress of the Canadian train.

About Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific is a transcontinental railway in Canada and the United States with direct links to eight major ports, including Vancouver and Montreal, providing North American customers a competitive rail service with access to key markets in every corner of the globe. CP is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpr.ca to see the rail advantages of CP.

SOURCE Canadian Pacific Holiday Train
MACON, Ga., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 175 acres of land including a scenic 25-acre lake in Lizella, Georgia, will sell at auction Thursday, November 9, with John Dixon & Associates conducting the auction.

The land will be sold as part of a major bank auction of approximately 60 properties in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

"This land in Bibb County is adjacent to the Tobee Creek subdivision and is well positioned for a developer to turn into high-value lake lots," said John Dixon, president of the auction company.

The auction will also include 13.96 acres of land on Osigian Boulevard in Warner Robins, as well as 14 residential lots in the Whitney Ranch subdivision in Warner Robins.

"This area is very convenient to nearby shopping and restaurants and is only 25 minutes from Robins Air Force Base, making it a great location for homes serving those working at the base," said Dixon.

Also selling will be 191 acres of unimproved land on Manning Lake Road in Rome.

"We have a number of other attractive properties in this auction, such as a medical office condominium, some homes, a commercial office, land, waterfront homesites and other properties that can be used for income-producing investments or resold. All of these properties are bank-owned, and many will be selling without reserve," he said.

Also selling will be a luxury lake home, condominium and other properties around Alabama's Smith Lake, as well as a medical office building in nearby Walker County.

The auction will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, November 9, with live bidders gathering at the Doubletree by Hilton, 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. The auction be simulcast, with real-time remote bidding available by prior arrangement.

All of the properties are shown at www.johndixon.com. Those seeking additional information may also call 800-479-1763.

John Dixon & Associates, based in Marietta, Georgia, also has offices in Tallahassee, Clayton, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

For more information:

Carl Carter, 205-823-3273

SOURCE John Dixon & Associates

Related Links

http://www.johndixon.com


NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Diebold Nixdorf, (NYSE:DBD) will release 2017 third quarter financial results Tuesday, Oct. 31 before trading begins on the New York Stock Exchange. Andy W. Mattes, president and chief executive officer, Christopher A. Chapman, senior vice president and chief financial officer, and Juergen Wunram, senior vice president and chief operating officer will discuss the results during a conference call scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Information about Diebold Nixdorf's financial results, including a complete, full-text press release, supplementary financial data and an earnings overview presentation, will be accessible by visiting the Investor Relations section of Diebold Nixdorf's website located at http://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/earnings on Oct. 31. Live access to the conference call, as well as the replay, will also be available on this website. The conference call will last approximately one hour. Participants should plan to dial in 10 minutes prior to the session. Details on the call are as follows:



Dial-in number Passcode Time/Date Conference Call US/Canada: 800-289-0498 2890105 8:30 a.m. ET, Oct. 31, 2017

International: 719-325-4810





About Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) is a world leader in enabling connected commerce for millions of consumers each day across the financial and retail industries. Its software-defined solutions bridge the physical and digital worlds of cash and consumer transactions conveniently, securely and efficiently. As an innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, Diebold Nixdorf delivers unparalleled services and technology that are essential to evolve in an 'always on' and changing consumer landscape.

Diebold Nixdorf has a presence in more than 130 countries with approximately 24,000 employees worldwide. The organization maintains corporate offices in North Canton, Ohio, USA and Paderborn, Germany. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information.

SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf

Related Links

http://www.dieboldnixdorf.com


DENVER, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gregory A. Buford, MD, FACS, board certified plastic surgeon and Medical Director of Beauty by Buford in Denver, was recently voted a 2017 "Top Plastic Surgeon West" by Aesthetic Everything, the world's largest online network for physicians, brands, and technology companies in the aesthetic services industry.

The well-known Denver plastic surgeon and published health and wellness author was nominated by industry peers and selected among hundreds of entries by a panel of judges at Aesthetic Everything. As a 2017 Top Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Buford also received the prestigious Diamond Crystal Award, which distinguishes him as one of the highest rated physicians in the plastic surgery specialty.

Dr. Buford comments, "I always strive to offer my patients the very best when it comes to improving their appearance. Being recognized as a top plastic surgeon by national leaders in the aesthetic industry is not only a great personal honor, but also reflects the fact that so many patients in Denver and beyond trust Beauty by Buford to provide the beautiful results they seek with cutting-edge technology, exceptional patient care and safety, and innovative, personalized treatment plans."

Dr. Buford is a Nationally Recognized Authority on Aesthetic Medicine, Health & Wellness

The Aesthetic Everything Diamond Crystal and 2017 Top Plastic Surgeon West awards are just the latest among a long list of honors Dr. Buford has received in recent years. He is also a three-time winner of the Doctor's Choice Award in plastic surgery, as well as a TopDoc on RealSelf.coma status reserved for fewer than 10% of physicians on the cosmetic surgery online community, which has over 10 million users worldwide.

Dr. Buford is regularly sought out by the medical community, in Colorado and nationwide, as an authority on emerging aesthetic technology and treatments. As a certified Master Trainer for Allergan, Inc., the manufacturers of BOTOX Cosmetic, Juvederm fillers, and Natrelle breast implants, Dr. Buford regularly travels throughout the U.S. to train other plastic surgeons on the latest products and techniques. He also has been featured on ABCNews.com and in Vogue Magazine as an expert on cosmetic surgery issues. Most recently, Dr. Buford was selected to serve on the cosmetic medical advisory board for the functional nutrition company Mend.

Passionate about educating the public on the benefits of anti-aging medicine and clean living, Dr. Buford founded Core Aesthetic Publishing, which focuses on health and wellness media, and is the author of several books, including Beauty and the Business, the Girlfriend's Guide to the Vagina, a 67-page ebook available for download on his website, and his most recent top seller, Eat, Drink, Heal: The Art & Science of Surgical Nutrition.

For more information about Dr. Buford or his Denver plastic surgery practice and skin care center, Beauty by Buford, call 303-747-6719 or visit www.beautybybuford.com.

About Dr. Buford: One of Denver's top plastic surgeons, Gregory Buford, MD, FACS, is the founder and medical director of BEAUTY by BUFORD. The Official Plastic Surgeon to the Miss Colorado Pageant, he was named one of "America's Top Surgeons" and is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant for many non-surgical products and techniques. He can be reached at 303-747-6719 or on his website. Dr. Buford is available for interview upon request.

Media Contact: Dr. Gregory Buford, BEAUTY by BUFORD, 303-747-6719, www.beautybybuford.com

SOURCE Dr. Gregory Buford

Related Links

https://www.beautybybuford.com


CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and JOHNSTON, Iowa, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DuPont Pioneer and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard announced today that they have reached an agreement to jointly provide non-exclusive licenses to foundational CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property under their respective control for use in commercial agricultural research and product development. These two major CRISPR-Cas9 license holders are coming together with the shared goal of enabling all entities wanting to apply the technology for agricultural applications with a full range of CRISPR-Cas9 tools. Such foundational intellectual property (IP) for CRISPR-Cas9 technology will be freely available to universities and nonprofit organizations for academic research. Pioneer is a business unit of the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.

"The promise of CRISPR-Cas9 technology in the hands of many will result in a wide array of benefits for the global food supply ranging from higher and more stable yields of grains, fruits and vegetables for farmers; more nutritious, healthier and affordable foods for consumers; and, improved sustainability of agricultural systems for society," said Neal Gutterson, vice president of Research & Development at DuPont Pioneer. "It is profoundly important to ensure that this technology is made widely available for agriculture. By partnering with the Broad Institute, together we can maximize access to CRISPR-Cas9 around the world for the greater good."

"When DuPont Pioneer initially approached us to secure a license for commercial research, we both saw a unique opportunity to provide much broader access to the technology for agriculture," said Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute. "We applaud DuPont Pioneer for its commitment to advancing research and commercialization to accelerate progress in agriculture."

The complex CRISPR licensing landscape includes patents and patent applications from multiple parties. Entities often desire access to comprehensive IP, to ensure their ability to apply the scientific tools as widely as possible. To enable such access, Pioneer and Broad Institute have agreed on a joint non-exclusive licensing framework for agricultural use that (i) continues to provide non-exclusive access to IP from Broad Institute co-owned with its collaborators (including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Genome Center, New York University, The Rockefeller University, and the University of Iowa), and (ii) provides non-exclusive access to foundational IP from Pioneer and to IP from the licenses that Pioneer gained access through Caribou Biosciences, ERS Genomics and Vilnius University. License limitations exclude certain CRISPR technology applications, including for gene drive or tobacco products for human use.

Broad and Pioneer continue to retain the right to grant independent, non-exclusive licenses for the CRISPR-Cas9 IP that each institution controls to any interested entity.

To inquire about a license, commercial users should email Pioneer at [email protected] or visit the Broad website or contact [email protected]. Academic and nonprofit researchers do not require a license to use the technology for research.

Learn more about CRISPR-Cas applications in agriculture at http://crisprcas.pioneer.com

Learn more about the Broad Institute's efforts to offer CRISPR tools for agriculture on the Broad website.

About the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was launched in 2004 to empower this generation of creative scientists to transform medicine. The Broad Institute seeks to describe all the molecular components of life and their connections; discover the molecular basis of major human diseases; develop effective new approaches to diagnostics and therapeutics; and disseminate discoveries, tools, methods, and data openly to the entire scientific community.

Founded by MIT, Harvard, Harvard-affiliated hospitals, and the visionary Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad, the Broad Institute includes faculty, professional staff, and students from throughout the MIT and Harvard biomedical research communities and beyond, with collaborations spanning over a hundred private and public institutions in more than 40 countries worldwide. For further information about the Broad Institute, go to http://www.broadinstitute.org/.

About DuPont Pioneer

DuPont Pioneer, a business unit of DowDuPont Agriculture Division, is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics, providing high-quality seeds to farmers in more than 90 countries. Pioneer provides agronomic support and services to help increase farmer productivity and profitability and strives to develop sustainable agricultural systems for people everywhere. Science with Service Delivering Success.

About DowDuPont Agriculture Division

DowDuPont Agriculture, a business division of DowDuPont (NYSE: DWDP), combines the strengths of DuPont Pioneer, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences. Together, the Agriculture division provides growers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry, developed through a robust research pipeline across germplasm, biotech traits and crop protection. DowDuPont Agriculture is committed to delivering innovation, helping growers increase productivity and ensuring food security for a growing global population. DowDuPont intends to separate the Agriculture division into an independent, publicly traded company. More information can be found at www.dow-dupont.com.

Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "will," "would," "target," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words.

On December 11, 2015, The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont") announced entry into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, as amended on March 31, 2017, (the "Merger Agreement") under which the companies would combine in an all-stock merger of equals transaction (the "Merger Transaction"). Effective August 31, 2017, the Merger Transaction was completed and each of Dow and DuPont became subsidiaries of DowDuPont Inc. ("DowDuPont"). For more information, please see each of DowDuPont's, Dow's and DuPont's latest annual, quarterly and current reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, as the case may be, and the joint proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed by DowDuPont with the SEC on March 1, 2016 (File No. 333-209869), as last amended on June 7, 2016, and declared effective by the SEC on June 9, 2016 (the "Registration Statement") in connection with the Merger Transaction.

Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, including the intended separation of DowDuPont's agriculture, materials science and specialty products businesses in one or more tax efficient transactions on anticipated terms (the "Intended Business Separations"). Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause DowDuPont's, Dow's or DuPont's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (i) successful integration of the respective agriculture, materials science and specialty products businesses of Dow and DuPont, including anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, productivity actions, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined operations; (ii) impact of the divestitures required as a condition to consummation of the Merger Transaction as well as other conditional commitments; (iii) achievement of the anticipated synergies by DowDuPont's agriculture, materials science and specialty products businesses; (iv) risks associated with the Intended Business Separations, including those that may result from the comprehensive portfolio review undertaken by the DowDuPont board, changes and timing, including a number of conditions which could delay, prevent or otherwise adversely affect the proposed transactions, including possible issues or delays in obtaining required regulatory approvals or clearances related to the Intended Business Separations, disruptions in the financial markets or other potential barriers; (v) the risk that disruptions from the Intended Business Separations will harm DowDuPont's business (either directly or as conducted by and through Dow or DuPont), including current plans and operations; (vi) the ability to retain and hire key personnel; (vii) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the completion of the merger or the Intended Business Separations; (viii) uncertainty as to the long-term value of DowDuPont common stock; (ix) continued availability of capital and financing and rating agency actions; (x) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; (xi) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the Intended Business Separations that could affect the company's financial performance and (xii) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as management's response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the merger and the Intended Business Separations, are more fully discussed in (1) the Registration Statement and (2) the current, periodic and annual reports filed with the SEC by DowDuPont and to the extent incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement, by Dow and DuPont. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the Registration Statement are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on DowDuPont's, Dow's or DuPont's consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. None of DowDuPont, Dow or DuPont assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements regarding the proposed transaction and intended business separations, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

10/18/17

, , SM Trademarks and service marks of DuPont, Pioneer or their respective owners.

SOURCE Broad Institute

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STOCKHOLM, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The EQT Mid Market US fund ("EQT Mid Market US") today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Clinical Innovations (the "Company"). Clinical Innovations is the leading global, pure-play provider of single-use clinician-preferred medical devices for Labor & Delivery ("L&D") departments within hospitals. The Company has recently expanded its product portfolio to also serve the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ("NICU").

Clinical Innovations, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the largest medical device company exclusively focused on L&D. Already a market leader in several categories with products such as the Kiwi Vacuum-Assisted Delivery System and Koala Intrauterine Pressure Catheter, Clinical Innovations is developing state-of-the-art technologies and innovative medical devices that fulfill its mission of improving the lives of mothers and babies. The Company's manufacturing facility in Utah is ISO 13485 certified. Clinical Innovations has built the industry's largest specialized L&D-focused sales force and has developed strong relationships with specialty medical device distributors. The Company has approximately 165 full time employees and serves more than 80 countries globally.

Brendan Scollans, Partner at EQT Partners Inc. and Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market US, said: "We look forward to supporting Clinical Innovations' CEO Ken Reali and his team through their next phase of growth. The Company's portfolio of innovative and high-growth new products, combined with an impressive global sales organization, has enabled it to become a market leader within L&D. EQT's healthcare expertise and global presence will help the Company continue accelerating its international expansion and the broadening of its of best-in-class L&D and NICU product set through acquisitions."

Jerry He, Partner at EQT Partners Asia Limited stated: "We are impressed by Clinical Innovations' success in the fields of L&D and Neonatal care. Its product portfolio offers unique value to doctors, mothers and babies around the world. We are committed to supporting the Company's international growth strategy, especially as it looks to bring the strong product lineup to China and other Asian markets."

"We are eager to partner with EQT as we continue to develop our L&D and NICU strategy that we have executed over the past several years" said Ken Reali, President and CEO of Clinical Innovations. "EQT is an ideal fit for Clinical Innovations and our continuing growth. EQT's relationships, global presence and philosophy fit well with the Company culture and our strong commitment to delivering excellent products to clinicians to care for mothers and their babies", Reali added.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor to EQT Mid Market US. Moelis & Company and Cain Brothers served as financial advisors to Clinical Innovations.

Contacts:

Brendan Scollans,

Partner at EQT Partners,

Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market US,

+1-(917)-281-0849

KEKST:

+ 1-(212)-521-4800 (US media)

Daniel Yunger,

[email protected]

EQT Press Office,

+46-8-506-55-334

About EQT

EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 37 billion in raised capital across 24 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. EQT is an active investor and owner in the healthcare sector, including recent investments in Certara, Press Ganey, Ottobock, Sivantos, and Lima Corporate.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Clinical Innovations

Clinical Innovations is one of the largest medical device companies exclusively focused on labor and delivery and the neonatal intensive care unit. The company is already a market leader in several categories with products such as the Koala Intrauterine Pressure Catheter; Kiwi Vacuum-Assisted Delivery System; ROM Plus Rupture of Membranes Test; traxi Panniculus Retractor; ClearView Uterine Manipulator; babyLance Safety Heelstick; and the recently added ebb Complete Tamponade System. Clinical Innovations is expanding its global presence while developing state-of-the-art technologies and innovative medical devices that fulfill its mission of improving the lives of mothers and their babies throughout the world.

More info: www.clinicalinnovations.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/eqt-ab/r/eqt-acquires-clinical-innovations--llc,c2370407

SOURCE EQT AB

Related Links

http://www.eqtpartners.com


American Pharmacists Month is a national campaign sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) observed every October to celebrate and educate the public, legislators, and other health care professionals about the valuable contribution of pharmacists to their communities and to the healthcare continuum.

Celebrating an Official Commemoration

October 1st Mayor James Cahill officially declared October as American Pharmacists Month in the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Proclamation included mention of the "Healthcare City" of New Brunswick being home to Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey, the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, and pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Spectrum Pharmacy Products.

At the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, the Mayor's Proclamation was shared and celebrated with Rutgers pharmacy students by the school's Dean Joseph Barone and Assistant Dean Donna Feudo on October 12. Also in attendance at the celebration were the APhA student chapter president, Karishma Patel, and executives from Spectrum Pharmacy Products and the Spectrum Pharmacy Institute.

Dean Barone stated, "We very much appreciate Mayor Cahill and the City of New Brunswick honoring the important role of pharmacists and recognizing American Pharmacists Month, the university and the School of Pharmacy with this Proclamation. Our students are the future of pharmacy and will play a crucial role in the health and well-being of society."

APhA student chapter president Karishma Patel said, "American Pharmacists Month helps raise awareness of the pharmacy profession and it further enables student pharmacists to advocate for the profession as the role of a pharmacist evolves within the core professional healthcare team."

Spectrum Pharmacy Products Division President Craig A. Recatto, Ph.D., commented, "As a provider of continuing education for pharmacists through the Spectrum Pharmacy Institute, the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy reviews and jointly accredits our training courses. We share a commitment to providing excellence in pharmacist and pharmacy technician education. We are proud to support American Pharmacists Month and to celebrate it with the students."

About the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University

The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, part of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, offers a preeminent six-year professional curriculum leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree, along with innovative research and graduate programs of national distinction. Ranked 26th in the nation and first in the New York metropolitan region by U.S. News & World Report, the school is dedicated to excellence in health care and biomedical education, visionary scholarship in the pharmaceutical sciences, and exemplary clinical practice.

About Spectrum Pharmacy Institute (SPI)

Spectrum Pharmacy Institute is a 42,000-square foot pharmacy distribution, manufacturing, and training facility located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. SPI is committed to providing the finest academic learning experience in the industry. The Institute offers the latest comprehensive lecture-based and hands-on compounding education. Learning programs feature a cutting-edge multi-media, audio-visual classroom and laboratory experience, including ISO-Class 7 & 8 cleanrooms, fully functional teaching laboratories, current compounding equipment and supplies, and USP 800 compliant facilities.

Courses are written and presented by subject matter experts, and all education programs are reviewed by faculty of Rutgers University's Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy or the American College of Apothecaries, and jointly accredited with Spectrum Pharmacy Institute. For more information, visit spectrumpharmacyinstitute.com.

About Spectrum Pharmacy Products

Spectrum Pharmacy Products, a division of Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corporation, manufactures and distributes high-quality compounding chemicals, equipment and supplies. Spectrum has been serving compounders for more than 40 years with the industry's largest portfolio of USP/NF grade products and DEA Controlled Substances (Schedules I  V). Its bicoastal cGMP facilities are FDA registered and inspected, with additional certification to the ISO 9001:2015 standard. Spectrum is known for extensive laboratory testing with the highest standards and most modern instrumentation in the industry in both its New Jersey and California laboratories. For more information, visit spectrumrx.com.

Media Contact: Sandra Oak, Nsight Public Relations, 321-591-1508, [email protected]

Company Contact: Grant Gibson, Vice President, Marketing, Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp., 1-310-516-8000, ext. 4601, [email protected]

SOURCE Spectrum Pharmacy Products

Related Links

https://www.spectrumrx.com


"Prescription drug abuse has dealt a devastating blow to communities across the country, yet there are few initiatives aimed at positively preventing the abuse before it occurs," said EVERFI CEO Tom Davidson . "Through the Prescription Drug Safety Network, we are bringing together state officials, policy leaders, industry leaders, educators, and community organizations committed to combating this scourge by investing in prevention education. Everyone needs to be at the table to help solve this crisis."

Partners in the Network are making a commitment to include prevention education as a part of their response and will leverage EVERFI's digital learning solutions that reach more than 20,000 K-12 schools and 1,700 higher education institutions in all 50 states. The digital learning experience provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to make healthy prescription drug decisions. EVERFI's curriculum uses an evidence-based, public health approach and meets the Centers for Disease Control's National Health Education Standards and state academic standards to ensure broad-scale adoption.

Seventy-eight people die each day from opioid overdose, and another 20.8 million have a substance use disorder, but just 10 percent of those 20.8 million receive treatment, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's report Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. Young people are particularly vulnerable, The National Institute of Health's Institute on Drug Abuse reports that nonmedical use of prescription drugs is highest among young adults aged 18 to 25. The CDC reports that 1 in 5 high school seniors report having misused prescription drugs at least once.

Next week, EVERFI will be joined by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and other local officials and advocates at Linden McKinley STEM Academy in Columbus, Ohio where they will meet with students currently taking EVERFI's new prescription drug abuse course launched this fall.

As part of National Substance Abuse Prevention month, EVERFI and current Network partners will host, support, and participate in the following Network events:

Milken Institute Future of Health Summit ( Washington, DC )

) Prescription Drug Safety Network - Ohio K-12 Schools Launch ( Columbus, OH )

) Arkansas Attorney General Rutledge 'Prescription for Life' Network Events ( Arkansas - Benton , Bentonville , Batesville , Fort Smith , and Jonesboro )

Attorney General Rutledge 'Prescription for Life' Network Events ( - , , , , and ) Prescription Drug Safety Partner K-12 Schools Launch ( Denver, CO )

About EVERFI, Inc.

EVERFI, Inc. is the leading education technology company that provides learners of all ages education for the real world, through innovative and scalable digital learning. Founded in 2008, EVERFI has certified over 16 million learners in critical skill areas with more than 4,300 partners in all 50 U.S. States and Canada. EVERFI is an industry convener that builds Networks to tackle the toughest social issues, including the Campus Prevention Network, a coalition of higher education institutions committed to campus sexual assault and alcohol abuse prevention; and the Financial Capability Network, a coalition of industry leaders dedicated to improving financial outcomes for communities across the country. Some of America's leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, TPG Growth, and The Rise Fund.

Learn more about The Prescription Drug Safety Network here.

Media Contact:

Monique Waters

Senior Director of Corporate Communications

[email protected]

301-233-4241

SOURCE EverFi, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.everfi.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EW Healthcare Partners ("EW"), a leading healthcare growth equity firm with a global investment practice, has announced the addition of three senior executives to their investment team:

Lamberto Andreotti , former Chairman and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, a global pharmaceutical company, has joined as Senior Advisor in the New York office;

, former Chairman and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, a global pharmaceutical company, has joined as Senior Advisor in the office; William A. "Bill" Hawkins, III, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, a global medical device company, has joined as Senior Advisor in the New York office; and

office; and Bryan Morton , Founder, President and CEO of EUSA Pharma "I", a former EW portfolio company that was sold to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $700 million , and Executive Chairman of EUSA Pharma "II", has joined as Operating Partner in the London office.

Scott Barry, Managing Director who heads the EW New York office, commented: "We are delighted and honored to have three such accomplished senior healthcare executives join our investment team. Their in-depth operational experience, worldwide network of contacts, and ability to identify and take advantage of the fastest growing segments in pharmaceutical and medical device industries will be most valuable to the firm and our portfolio companies."

Bill Hawkins said: "I am pleased to join the EW team which is characterized by an extensive operating experience across the entire healthcare industry. I look forward to helping the firm identify and invest in some of the fastest growing healthcare companies and helping the investment team accelerate the growth of these businesses."

Lamberto Andreotti is Appointed Senior Advisor in the New York Office

Lamberto Andreotti is a former Chairman and CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb ("BMS"), a global pharmaceutical company with $100 billion market capitalization. Lamberto first joined BMS in 1998 as Vice President and General Manager of European Oncology and Italy, and advanced to President, Europe in 2000, President, International in 2002 and President, Pharmaceuticals in 2005. He became Chief Operating Officer in 2008 and was elected to the Board of Directors the following year. He was appointed CEO in 2010 and ultimately appointed Chairman of the Board in 2015. During Lamberto's tenure at BMS, he was credited with leading the company in enhancing the value of the company's pipeline, generating blockbuster sales, negotiating valuable partnerships with other major pharmaceutical companies, and achieving excellent shareholder returns. Among many other accomplishments under Lamberto's leadership, BMS led the development of a new class of drugs in immuno-oncology, which has revolutionized the treatment of many cancers.

Before joining BMS, Lamberto held the positions of Senior Corporate Vice President and President of Oncology at Pharmacia & Upjohn, and served in various senior roles at Recordati, Farmitalia Carlo Erba and KABI Pharmacia previously.

Lamberto also is a member of the Board of Directors of DowDuPont Inc. following the merger of DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company. He also serves as a Director for the American Italian Cancer Foundation.

Originally from Rome, Italy, Lamberto received his Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Universita La Sapienza of Rome and his Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

William A. "Bill" Hawkins, III is Appointed Senior Advisor in the New York Office

Bill Hawkins is a former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic, a global medical device company with $100 billion market capitalization. He brings to EW many years of experience in building some of the most dynamic and innovative medical device companies, and is among the most respected business leaders in the healthcare industry. Prior to Medtronic, Bill served as President and Chief Executive Officer of medical device company Novoste Corporation, where he led the development of the company's innovative stents. Previously, Bill held senior leadership positions at American Home Products, Johnson & Johnson, Guidant Corporation and Eli Lilly & Company.

Bill is well-known to EW as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bioventus, a Fund VIII growth equity portfolio company, where he serves on the Board together with EW Co-Founder, Marty Sutter and EW Operating Partner, Guido Neels. During his tenure as Chairman, Bill has guided the evolution of Bioventus into a rapidly growing and most profitable orthobiologics company with annual revenue approaching $300 million.

Bill received his Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in 1976, and an MBA from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, in 1982. Bill is an AIMBE Fellow and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2016.

Bryan Morton, CBE is Appointed Operating Partner in the London Office

Bryan Morton was the Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of EUSA Pharma "I", a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology and critical care, and a prior EW portfolio company. After five years of rapid growth, EUSA was sold to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for $700 million in 2012. Three years later, Bryan reacquired, together with EW, certain EUSA assets from Jazz Pharmaceuticals to create a new rapidly growing oncology specialty pharma company, EUSA Pharma "II" where Bryan is now the Executive Chairman. Previously, Bryan was the CEO of Zeneus Pharma, which he founded by purchasing Elan's European business for $120 million. Zeneus was subsequently acquired by Cephalon for $360 million after two years of rapid growth.

Bryan's entrepreneurial success is built on 30 years of commercial business development and general management experience in the pharmaceutical industry, spent largely with Merck & Co Inc. and BMS. He has extensive international experience, particularly in the US and Europe, having held senior positions, including at the Board and SVP level, in America, the UK, Belgium and Australia.

Bryan holds an MBA from Durham University and is an Honorary Professor at Durham University Business School. Bryan also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology from Aberdeen University in Scotland and is a graduate of the INSEAD European Management Program. In 2016, Bryan was honored by Her Majesty the Queen, and was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to the Healthcare Industry.

About EW Healthcare Partners

With over $3.0 billion under management, EW Healthcare Partners is one of the largest and oldest growth equity firms pursuing investments in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare services, and healthcare information technology. Since its founding in 1985, EW Healthcare Partners has maintained its singular commitment to the healthcare industry and has been involved in the founding, investing, and/or management of over 150 healthcare companies, ranging across sectors, stages, and geographies. The team is comprised of over 20 senior investment professionals with offices in Palo Alto, Houston, New York, and London.

For more information, please see www.ewhealthcare.com

Contact:

Scott Barry

Managing Director, New York

646-429-1251

SOURCE EW Healthcare Partners

Related Links

http://www.ewhealthcare.com


"We are absolutely thrilled to open our doors here in Stevenson Ranch," said Rob Mahan, Exer's chief executive officer. "It's an honor to provide the people of the Santa Clarita Valley with a convenient and affordable alternative to the emergency room when conditions become urgent or serious but are non-life-threatening."

With on-site X-Ray, IV, Lab, Splinting, Laceration, Pediatrics, Diagnostics and other services, Exer offers patients more comprehensive medical services than a traditional walk in urgent care. Each center is staffed with on-site ER Doctors who have on average over 15 years of experience stabilizing and treating patients in emergency medicine.

"We are on a mission to help people feel better, faster. Here in California nearly one-third of all ER visits are not considered to be true medical emergencies. We carefully designed our facilities to combine the best clinical expertise with the care and convenience people want, when they need it most. Each of our centers are equipped to stabilize and treat over 80 percent of cases seen daily in the local ER with little-to-no waiting and for a fraction of the cost," Mahan added.

Mahan said expanding Exer's medical services to the Santa Clarita Valley would not be possible without the support of their partners, Providence Health & Services.

"Providence is the country's third largest not-for-profit health care system," added Mahan. "By collaborating closely with their medical experts, we're able to bring emergency medicine directly into more communities around Southern California which helps to ease the strain on local Emergency Departments in the areas we serve."

"The opening of Exer More Than Urgent Care in Santa Clarita is an outstanding milestone as we continue to find new ways to provide our patients with access to quality and affordable healthcare options," said Erik G. Wexler, chief executive, Providence St. Joseph Health, Southern California Region, Los Angeles. "We're proud to support Exer and congratulate their expert medical teams for expanding their services to the Santa Clarita Valley."

In addition to Santa Clarita, Exer operates centers in Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Newbury Park, Northridge, Sherman Oaks and Redondo Beach. Exer is continuing its expansion in Southern California and plans to open a new clinic in Manhattan Beach in early 2018.

Exer More Than Urgent Care is open seven days-a-week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with little-to-no waiting and last patients are registered daily at 8:30 p.m. Exer accepts most PPOs, most HMOs and offers affordable payment options for those with minimal or no health insurance.

For more information about Exer More Than Urgent Care including location and recruitment opportunities, visit www.ExerUrgentCare.com.

ABOUT EXER MORE THAN URGENT CARE:

Exer More Than Urgent Care was founded by Cherlin Johnson, M.D., Deann Hampton and lead investor James Fay on May 15, 2013 with a common vision that some patients who are receiving care in an emergency room, could be better served in a more convenient, high-quality and affordable urgent care environment. For more information on Exer More Than Urgent Care, visit ExerUrgentCare.com.

ABOUT PROVIDENCE HEALTH & SERVICES:

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare system. Providence Southern California operates six award-winning hospitals and a comprehensive, fully-integrated network of primary care clinics, urgent care centers, home care, TrinityCare and TrinityKids Care hospice as well as Providence High School. Providence is anchored locally by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. With more than 3,400 physicians, Providence provides coordinated primary and specialty care through an array of physician groups and individual providers including Providence Medical Institute and physician groups in the South Bay, the West Valley and Santa Clarita. Providence affiliate, Facey Medical Group, provides primary and specialized care in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and Simi Valley. In 2016, Providence united with St. Joseph Health to form a new organization, Providence St. Joseph Health, with 50 hospitals in seven states. For more information, visit California.providence.org.

SOURCE Exer More Than Urgent Care

Related Links

http://www.ExerUrgentCare.com


RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today declared unconstitutional the historic cross-shaped Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial, which has stood since 1925 in honor of 49 Bladensburg-area men who gave their lives during WWI. Law firms of Jones Day and First Liberty Institute represent the American Legion.

"Today's decision sets dangerous precedent by completely ignoring history, and it threatens removal and destruction of veterans memorials across America," said Hiram Sasser, Deputy Chief Counsel for First Liberty.

Eight Republican and Democratic members of Congress filed a joint amicus brief with the Fourth Circuit in support of the memorial.

"This memorial has stood in honor of local veterans for almost 100 years and is lawful under the First Amendment," Michael Carvin, lead counsel for The American Legion and Partner at Jones Day, says. "To remove it would be a tremendous dishonor to the local men who gave their lives during The Great War."

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided the 90-year old war memorial violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Writing separately, Chief Judge Gregory wrote, "This Memorial stands in witness to the VALOR, ENDURANCE, COURAGE, and DEVOTION of the forty-nine residents of Prince George's County, Maryland 'who lost their lives in the Great War for the liberty of the world.' I cannot agree that a monument so conceived and dedicated and that bears such witness violates the letter or spirit of the very Constitution these heroes died to defend."

"The American Legion's commitment to preserving the Bladensburg Memorial has been unwavering," said Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty. "Their determination is appropriately illustrated by President Woodrow Wilson's words engraved at the memorial's base: 'The right is more precious than the peace; we shall fight for the things we have always carried nearest to our hearts; to such a task we dedicate ourselves.' We are exploring all of our options on behalf of the American Legion, including an appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Brief History of the Bladensburg WWI Veterans Memorial

In 1925, a local post of The American Legionthe largest veterans service organization in the country with approximately 2.2 million memberserected the Bladensburg WWI Veterans Memorial, also known as "Peace Cross," to honor 49 Bladensburg-area men who gave their lives serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in WWI. The memorial stood for almost 90 years without objection until the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit in February 2014 alleging the cross-shaped memorial is unconstitutional and demanding it be demolished, altered, or removed.

In November 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled the memorial is constitutional, citing the use of the cross as a military symbol of courage, sacrifice, and remembrance. On December 7, 2016, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard the case on appeal from the American Humanist Association.

To learn more, visit FirstLiberty.org/Bladensburg.

About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.

SOURCE First Liberty Institute

Related Links

https://firstliberty.org/


PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 17, 2017, following a three-week trial, Feldman Shepherd attorneys Alan M. Feldman, Daniel J. Mann and Edward S. Goldis secured a $15.57 million verdict for Isaac Espinoza, a pedestrian who was struck by a commercial truck-tractor driven by Ricky Hatfield, an independent contractor performing work for broker J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc.

Mr. Feldman stated he was "pleased the jury recognized that freight brokers have an obligation to retain careful and competent motor carriers and drivers. Had J.B. Hunt performed even the most cursory background check, it would have discovered Hatfield's terrible driving history that included a prior DUI while operating a tractor trailer, a prior reckless driving charge, and a discharge from employment with a trucking company for failing a drug and alcohol test during which he attempted to bribe the person who was administering the test to him. Had J.B. Hunt been aware of this appalling record, they admitted Hatfield never would have been permitted to haul cargo for their customers."

The plaintiff was on the shoulder of I-81 north, assisting a friend whose vehicle was disabled. Mr. Hatfield fled the scene of the accident on foot and was arrested nearby. Testing measured his BAC to be .171, over four times the legal limit for drivers of commercial vehicles. He was charged and convicted of DUI and other related offenses, and is currently incarcerated.

This case focused not only on the conduct of Mr. Hatfield, which was indefensible, but also on the decision of J.B. Hunt Transport,. to enter into an "Outsource Carriage Agreement" with Mr. Hatfield, an independent owner operator, without conducting any sort of a background check. The jury found Mr. Hatfield 60% responsible for the accident, but also recognized J.B. Hunt's role in contributing to the accident by apportioning 40% of the verdict to the company.

As a result of this incident, Mr. Espinoza sustained catastrophic disabling injuries, and will require constant care for the remainder of his life.

Inquiries should be directed to attorney Alan M. Feldman at 215-567-8300.

Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP has recovered some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states across the country. The firm represents plaintiffs in significant personal injury and complex civil litigation including medical malpractice, birth injury, motor vehicle accidents, defective products, and crashworthiness claims.

SOURCE Feldman Shepherd

Related Links

https://www.feldmanshepherd.com/


BERKELEY, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alton Logan spent 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, principally because four lawyers, who knew the identity of the real murderer --- he was their client --- remained silent for more than 2  decades given that the legal ethical code requires lawyer-client confidentiality.

For the first time, Logan will tell his painful story when he discusses his new book, Justice Failed: How "Legal Ethics" Kept Me to Prison for 26 Years at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, October 22 at the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, 2976-78 S. Wabash. Co author, Berl Falbaum, veteran journalist/author, will join Logan. The two will also speak at noon, Monday, October 23 in the Cook County Public Defender's Office, 69 Washington Street.

Logan describes how upon learning of his innocence, the lawyers drafted an affidavit testifying to his innocence and stored it in a strong box under the bed of one of the lawyers. The attorneys finally came forward after their client died while in prison where he was serving time for the unrelated murders of two police officers. Logan also states how he was the victim of police misconduct, and abuses by prosecutors.

The book has received praise from Kirkus Reviews, the New York Journal of Books and is an official Junior Library Guild Selection, adult crossover nonfiction.

The book is also praised on the back cover by Maurice Possley, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, G. Flint Taylor, of Chicago's People's Law Office, and Rob Warden, co-director, Injustice Watch, Inc., Executive Director Emeritus, Center on Wrongful Conviction, Northwestern University School of Law.

Falbaum, the co-author, was a general assignment and political reporter for The Detroit News, and served four years in state politics as administrative aide to Michigan's lieutenant governor.

He has published eight other books and was an adjunct faculty member in the journalism department at Wayne State University in Detroit for 45 years

The book, published by Counterpoint Press, of Berkeley, California, is available at local books stores, Amazon.com, Indiebound, B&N.com, and other web book-selling outlets.

SOURCE Counterpoint Press
Fort Worth Mayor Price started off the race by welcoming runners. "This is an incredibly fun time and a great cause," said Mayor Price, "and in typical Fort Worth fashion, people are giving of themselves for others and it's just wonderful to be here and see it happen."

"What this organization is doing for kids dealing with skin conditions is amazing and I wanted to be a part of it," said Villanueva, who has visited kids at Camp Wonder. "I suffer from alopecia and I hope today's event creates awareness." Villanueva has told Camp Wonder campers on many occasions: 'You have a skin disease; don't let the skin disease have you.'" He also posed for photos with campers and signed autographs.

CSDF works to improve the quality of life of children in the U.S. who suffer from painful, chronic and sometimes life-threatening skin diseases that affect not only their physical health but emotional well-being and self-esteem. Camp Wonder is an annual week-long sleep-away camp for children who would otherwise never get to experience camp because of the discomfort, pain, disfigurement, physical and medical limitations, and shame that accompany their skin diseases. Camp Wonder, including round-trip transportation to the California location, is free of charge for campers.

"The support of the Wonder Run and CSDF is a natural fit for Galderma and Nestle Skin Health," said Miles Harrison, president and GM of Nestle Skin Health in North America. "The Wonder Run was created by Nestle Skin Health employees and this initiative allows us to increase awareness about the physical, psychological and social implications of skin diseases, especially those in children. And it lets us raise funds in a fun, family-friendly environment."

"When I was younger, I would get bullied because I looked different," 15-year-old Mikaela Jauregui said. "People have always come up to me and said, 'Why does your skin look different than ours?' That`s always been a part of it.'"

Mikaela has attended Camp Wonder for two years in a row. Her mother, Diana, says it has been a life-changing experience for her. "My daughter came back from Camp Wonder a different person. She no longer lets her eczema define her and the experiences she had and the friends she met at Camp Wonder have made her more confident. We're thankful that there is a camp for children with skin diseases, a place they can go without feeling judged or ashamed," said Diana Jauregui, who ran the 5K with Mikaela.

Approximately 2,000 children have benefitted from the Camp Wonder experience since it was founded in 2001. Since 2012, more than $768,000 in funds and in-kind donations have been provided to CSDF and Camp Wonder by Galderma.

"Galderma's Cetaphil brand of cleansers and moisturizers is a long-time partner with Camp Wonder and provides a generous grant, employee volunteers and Cetaphil products both during the one-week camp and throughout the year to aide children's skin health needs," said Francesca Tenconi, CSDF founder. "CSDF is incredibly fortunate to benefit from its generosity as well as its innovative medical solutions and investment in skin health research." Tenconi was diagnosed at age 11 with a rare skin disease and felt an organization was necessary to focus on the unique problems of children and teenagers who suffer from skin disease. For her 16th birthday, she didn't ask for presents; she asked for donations and used those to create the foundation.

In addition to lead sponsors Cetaphil, Galderma and Nestle Skin Health, Wonder Run sponsors include:

Elite Circle: Lippe Taylor

Diamond: D+R Lathian Healthcare Multichannel Marketing; Pharm Force ; Schaefer Ad. Co.

; Schaefer Ad. Co. Platinum: AmeriPac; ERS Educational Resource Systems, Inc.; Trade Partners

Gold: Catapult; Dermatology Times; Elicit; The Fitzgerald Family; The Griffin Family; InTouch Solutions; Knipper Healthcare Marketing Solutions; MB Health; Metavision Media; Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide; PSAV; Targetbase; Twist Mktg; Wheels; Todd Zavodnick

Silver: The Baldwin Family; Coyote; DPAF Dermatology PA Foundation; Deutsch; Directions Research; DSGN; Everyday Health Inc. Professional; NCI Consulting; Runzheimer; SSCG Media Group; Symphony Health; Veeva

Bronze: Beignet Bus; The Clark Family; Fee, Smith, Sharp & Vitullo, LLP; Fish Creek; PV Communications, Inc.

In-Kind: Redstone Visual; Richardson Bike Mart

About Galderma

Galderma, Nestle Skin Health's medical solutions business, was created in 1981 and is now present in over 100 countries with an extensive product portfolio to treat a range of dermatological conditions. The company partners with health care practitioners around the world to meet the skin health needs of people throughout their lifetime. Galderma is a leader in research and development of scientifically-defined and medically-proven solutions for the skin, hair and nails. For more information, please visit www.galdermausa.com or www.galderma.com

About Nestle Skin Health

Nestle Skin Health's mission is to enhance quality of life by delivering science-based solutions for the health of skin, hair and nails. As one of the category's leading companies, Nestle Skin Health conducts ground-breaking product research to provide both the healthcare community and the consumer with an ongoing progression of innovative technologies and products to protect, serve and enhance skin health.

SOURCE Galderma

Related Links

http://www.galderma.com


RESTON, Va., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Collaborative Solutions is honored to announce that it has achieved national recognition as a top medium-sized workplace for the second year in a row. FORTUNE Magazine and Great Place to Work jointly named Collaborative Solutions #17 among the 100 Best Medium Workplaces.

"We applaud Collaborative Solutions for being named to our 'Best Medium Workplaces List' for the second year in a row," said Kim Peters, Executive Vice President of Great Place to Work. "95 percent of Collaborative Solutions employees told us that their workplace is great."

Fortune 100 Best Medium Companies to Work For

Collaborative Solutions received this recognition based on employees' anonymous responses to an extensive survey about their levels of trust, pride, and camaraderie at work. Great Place to Work reviewed more than 74,000 surveys from employees at hundreds of businesses in the ranking process, and chose 100 companies to honor for the exclusive 2017 FORTUNE Best Medium Companies to Work For list.

Outstanding small and mid-sized employers  as identified by their employees  are substantially more likely to report work experiences linked to retention, innovation and good customer service, according to research by Great Place to Work. The winning organizations also are more likely than their peers to maintain a healthy organizational culture as they grow larger and more complex.

Throughout Collaborative Solutions' 14-year history, the company has made its employee-centric culture a priority. Aside from work perks such as unlimited paid time off, culture events, and an open-door policy with executives, Collaborative is a meaningful place to work because employees display true teamwork and collaboration. "Being featured as a FORTUNE and Great Place to Work 'Best Medium Company to Work For' for the second year in a row is an incredible honor," said Collaborative Solutions President and Chief Culture Officer, Bob Maller. "We believe that Collaborative's success is dependent on and directly proportionate to the empowering, healthy, and fun work environment we've built, and are honored to accept this recognition."

"Known for pushing the boundaries of both Collaborative's services and their own abilities, our employees are constantly exploring new ways to deliver true Finance and HR transformation for our customers," said Founder and Chief Executive Officer Carroll Ross. "Their dedication and enthusiasm for company and customer success is infectious, and directly correlates to company honors like the FORTUNE Best Medium Companies to Work For."

Collaborative Solutions was also recognized as a Best Workplace in Chicago in 2017, Best Medium Workplace in 2016, and a Best Workplace for Millennials in 2015 by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. This distinction marks Collaborative Solutions' tenth workplace and culture award this year. To view our open positions, please visit the Careers page on our website.

About Collaborative Solutions

Collaborative Solutions is a leading global Finance and HR Transformation consultancy that leverages world-class cloud solutions to help deliver successful outcomes for its customers. As one of the longest-tenured consulting partners with Workday, Collaborative Solutions has a 98% customer satisfaction rate and has partnered with over 350 customers including global Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses, and education and government institutions.

Collaborative Solutions has deployed in over 125 countries and has experience with organizations ranging from 200 to 200,000 employees. Collaborative Solutions is based in the Washington, D.C., metro area with offices in Pleasanton, CA; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; Tampa, FL; New York City, NY; Toronto, Ontario; Dublin, Ireland; and London, England.

Contact:

Suzi Savarese

[email protected]

888-545-5387

SOURCE Collaborative Solutions
DALLAS, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale by its client, Power Sources Unlimited Inc. (PSUI), of PSUI's distribution and supply business to Sager Electronics. The acquisition closed October 2, 2017.

Power Sources Unlimited, headquartered in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is a specialty distributor of power conversion products. It is an ISO 9001:2008 authorized stocking distributor in North America for AC-DC power supplies, DC-DC converters, DC UPS, industrial power, medical power, LED power, green power and telecom/wireless power for small, medium and large quantity OEM customers. PSUI Owner and Founder Ray Newby and his inside technical sales team will now join Sager Electronics.

"PSUI has established a niche in power supply distribution, but the opportunity to bring our technical sales expertise to a broader scope of customers couldn't be ignored," said Newby. "The PSUI team is excited to join Sager Electronics and support its efforts to expand its specialized group, Sager Power Systems."

Sager Electronics, based in Middleborough, Massachusetts, is a leading North American distributor of interconnect, power and electromechanical components and provider of value-add solutions. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of TTI Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. company. Sager operates a national network of field sales representatives and power systems sales engineers, strategically located service centers across North America, and a value-add power solutions center located in Carrollton, Texas.

"PSUI is a small, but strong player in power supplies in North America with a well-established presence in the Northeast," said Sager President Frank Flynn. "This acquisition furthers our specialization in power by strengthening our technical expertise and enhancing our depth with our power supply manufacturers in common."

Generational Equity Managing Director Doug Smith's team, led by affiliate Ahmad Behjati with support from Generational Equity VP Ryan Johnson, successfully closed the deal. Bill Kushnir, Generational Equity Executive Managing Director, established the initial relationship with Power Sources Unlimited.

"It was a great pleasure to work with both PSUI and Sager, the leadership of both companies understand the value of Client and Human Resources," said Behjati. "Sager is a great home for PSUI's distribution and supply business and its employees, suppliers and clients. I believe we found a right home for PSUI's business and its team."

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, part of the Generational Group headquartered in Dallas with over 200 professionals located throughout North America, helps business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition and strategic growth advisory services. Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services. The M&A Advisor recently named the company its 2016 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more, visit http://www.genequityco.com or the Generational Equity press room.

For more information:

Carl Doerksen

972-232-1125

[email protected]

SOURCE Generational Equity

Related Links

http://www.genequityco.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In conjunction with the five-year anniversary of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance (GEA), the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA) has announced multiple recipients of the annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards. These awards honor Georgetown University alumni, who have launched successful business ventures. Historically, the platform solely recognized the Entrepreneur of the Year, but the GEA is now honoring recipients in a total of eight different categories.

"Georgetown University strives to prepare the next generation of global citizens to make a difference in the world, and this year's recipients of the Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards embody the Jesuit values of service to others and service to the community," said Bill Reynolds, executive director, Georgetown University Alumni Association. "This group of individuals are emerging leaders and are exemplary role models to our student body."

This year's winners include:

Entrepreneur of the Year: New York City -based Randy Goldberg , co-founder and chief brand officer of Bombas, which manufactures athletic socks, and donates one pair to a homeless shelter for every pair purchased.

-based , co-founder and chief brand officer of Bombas, which manufactures athletic socks, and donates one pair to a homeless shelter for every pair purchased. Social Impact: Washington, D.C. resident Scott Beale is founder and CEO of Atlas Corps, a leadership development program for the world's best social change professionals.

resident is founder and CEO of Atlas Corps, a leadership development program for the world's best social change professionals. Fastest Growing: Drew Clark is the San Francisco -based founder and CEO at California Cowboy, a lifestyle brand that designs innovative gear for the social frontier.

is the -based founder and CEO at California Cowboy, a lifestyle brand that designs innovative gear for the social frontier. Best of Retail: Nora Gardner is founder of Nora Gardner New York, a Manhattan -based and online clothing company dedicated to providing women with attire to help them feel confident, comfortable, professional and attractive.

is founder of Nora Gardner New York, a -based and online clothing company dedicated to providing women with attire to help them feel confident, comfortable, professional and attractive. Best of Hospitality: New York-City based Luke Holden is founder of Luke's Lobster, a seafood shack that brings traceable sustainable seafood to patrons across the country.

based is founder of Luke's Lobster, a seafood shack that brings traceable sustainable seafood to patrons across the country. Best of Tech: Baltimore -based Nick Miller was the founder and CEO of Parking Panda, an industry leading mobile application and optimization platform for parking, and is currently a strategy, operations and business development consultant.

-based was the founder and CEO of Parking Panda, an industry leading mobile application and optimization platform for parking, and is currently a strategy, operations and business development consultant. Best Mobile App: Hailing from Bethesda, Md. , Cherian Thomas is the co-founder and CEO of Spotluck, which brings dynamic pricing to the restaurant industry through discounts that fluctuate based on day, time, weather, and other factors that impact restaurant occupancy.

, is the co-founder and CEO of Spotluck, which brings dynamic pricing to the restaurant industry through discounts that fluctuate based on day, time, weather, and other factors that impact restaurant occupancy. Rising Star: Washington, D.C. residents and best friends, Ann Yang and Phil Wong , co-founded Misfit Juicery, a company that uses unused fruit to create juice and reduce food waste.

Winners will be honored at an awards celebration on November 2nd in Washington, D.C. The ceremony is open to the public, and individuals may register to attend here.

A call for applications for next year's Entrepreneurial Awards will open this spring.

About Georgetown University Alumni Association

Founded in 1881, the Georgetown University Alumni Association (GUAA) has grown to include more than 185,000 alumni from all 50 states and more than 160 countries. Its mission is to generate goodwill and support for the university and to foster a lifelong connection among alumni, the alma mater and the global Georgetown community. GUAA contributions are evident across campuses and schools. Alumni Association programs facilitate networking with fellow alumni and help establish social, service, and career opportunities around the world. For more information and to connect with GUAA, visit our website and find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance

The Georgetown University Alumni Association initiated the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance (GEA) in 2012 to serve as an aggregator and catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Georgetown University alumni community. The GEA sponsors two flagship events for alumni across the globe to gather in celebration of one another's achievements and aspirations: the annual Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards and the Alumni Pitch Competition. Leveraging the Jesuit mission to create leaders in the service of others, the GEA strives to foster and inspire social entrepreneurship and a dedication to advancing the university and the global community at-large.

SOURCE Georgetown University Alumni Association
ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The results were counted and Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) was recently announced as the winner of the very first Spirit of Volunteerism Award -- presented by the Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) of Atlanta at their 20th Annual IMPACT Awards. The exciting event was held at the new Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

The CVC's IMPACT Awards recognize some of the most philanthropic and community service-oriented companies in Atlanta  from small businesses and firms to multinational, publicly traded companies. This special and unique award was developed by the CVC to acknowledge the company that best exemplifies long-term corporate commitment to volunteerism and community service. The award also celebrates the CVC's 25th anniversary.

A live audience comprised of over 400 of Atlanta's business and nonprofit leaders selected GNG through instant voting by smartphone at the awards luncheon  a first for the organization. A panel of qualified judges had previously selected the company as a finalist along with two other notable companies. There are over 100 member companies within the CVC and 15 nominees for the Spirit of Volunteerism Award.

"On behalf of the CVC, I'd like to congratulate Georgia Natural Gas on winning the Spirit of Volunteerism Award," said Cheryl Kortemeier, executive director of the CVC of Atlanta. "I've had the opportunity to work with many organizations and I've been impressed with GNG's long-term commitment to deserving nonprofits and the people of Georgia -- especially children and seniors. We would like to commend Georgia Natural Gas on its well-deserved honor, and we are eager to see how the company will lead through its volunteer spirit in the future."

Georgia Natural Gas is a leading natural gas marketer in Georgia. The company has distinguished its company and brand over the years through community service efforts with its TrueBlue Crew Employee Volunteer Program. For 15 years, the company's community relations department has directed corporate efforts toward supporting organizations within four key focus areas: Children and Education, Seniors, Energy Assistance and the Environment.

"We are honored that the judges and the audience selected GNG as the winner of this award," says Maurice Baker, manager, community relations for GNG. "It means even more that our peers and colleagues selected us for this honor considering that there were so many exceptional companies that were nominated for the award. We are grateful to our colleagues who volunteer, serve on nonprofit boards, and support the company's community initiatives and objectives."

About Georgia Natural Gas

Georgia Natural Gas is part of SouthStar Energy Services. SouthStar is owned by Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). SouthStar also operates in Ohio as Ohio Natural GasSM, in Florida as Florida Natural Gas, in Maryland as Maryland EnergySM, in Michigan as Grand Rapids Energy, in New York as New York Natural GasSM, in New Jersey as New Jersey Energy, and in other parts of the Southeast as SouthStar Energy Services. SouthStar's subsidiaries in Illinois operate as Nicor Advanced Energy and Nicor Solutions. For more information, visit: www.gng.com.

SOURCE Georgia Natural Gas

Related Links

https://www.gng.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Down Syndrome Foundation thanked Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for scheduling a hearing on Down syndrome research with the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, October 25, 2017. Titled "Down Syndrome: Update on the State of the Science & Potential for Discoveries Across Other Major Diseases," the hearing will be the first Congressional hearing to explore how Down syndrome research can lead to new treatments for life-altering medical conditions including Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune disorders, and cancer. The hearing will include testimony from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), all champions for Down syndrome research funding in Congress.

"Funding for Down syndrome research at the National Institutes of Health unquestionably affects the health of people with Down syndrome," said Global Down Syndrome Foundation President & CEO Michelle Sie Whitten. "This important hearing will explore how current and future Down syndrome research can help people with Down syndrome and lead to life-changing treatments for devastating diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. We are grateful to Chairman Tom Cole and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro for scheduling this important hearing so Congress can learn more about the broad impact of Down syndrome research for millions of people who live with this particular condition, and for countless others who can benefit from the groundbreaking medical treatments that will develop as a result."

"The advocacy efforts of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Rep. Cheri Bustos, and Rep. Pete Sessions have been instrumental in advancing Down syndrome research," Whitten continued. "Their testimony will underscore the need to increase funding so we can continue these important efforts for people with Down syndrome and their families."

The Subcommittee will also hear testimony from internationally recognized researchers and leaders from the Down syndrome community including:

Michelle Sie Whitten, Founder, CEO, and President of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation

Dr. Joaquin M. Espinosa, Executive Director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and Director of The Functional Genomics Facility, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Co-Leader of the Molecular Oncology Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center

Dr. William Mobley, Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment, and Florence Riford Chair of Alzheimer's Disease Research, University of California - San Diego

Frank Stephens

Actor, Author and Advocate, Board of Directors of Special Olympics Virginia

Additional information can be found on the House Committee on Appropriation web site.

Read more about the Global Down Syndrome Foundation here: https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/

Media Contact

Name: Ed Mullen

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (202) 329-4855

Anca Call

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (720) 320-3832

Kathy Green

Email: [email protected]

Follow on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/GDSFoundation

Follow on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/GDSFoundation/

SOURCE Global Down Syndrome Foundation

Related Links

https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/

https://appropriations.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=395058

SOURCE Global Down Syndrome Foundation

Related Links

https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org


SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Hills Software, the largest independent software vendor for the Internet of Things (IoT), will showcase its broad portfolio and forward-thinking technology for automotive electronics and secure IoT devices at ARM TechCon, October 25  27, 2017 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Green Hills will be in booth #720 and provide executive meetings and product demonstrations.

Green Hills Software Sessions

Topic: Hack-proofing your C/C++ code Presenter: Greg Davis, Chief Architect, Green Hills Software Time: Tuesday, October 24  2:30pm  3:20pm Location: Ballroom E





Synopsis: While 85% of embedded designs use C and C++, these languages are notorious for allowing unsafe code practices that give hackers a way to attack. This talk shows exactly how to keep your internet-connected product safe by writing your code properly the first time. Well-proven tools and techniques can be used to augment any software design paradigm and to effectively hack-proof your code. Techniques include coding conventions, automatic run-time error checking, manual compile-time and run-time assertions, static analysis, and the most common mistakes to avoid.

Panel  Hypervisors: A Real Trend in Embedded, or Just Hype?



Panelists: Simon Davidmann, CEO, Imperas

Cesare Garlati, Chief Security Strategist, prpl Foundation

Brian Bailey, Editor, Semiconductor Engineering

Chris Turner, Director, Product Marketing, Arm

Jack Greenbaum, Director of Engineering, Advanced Products, Green Hills Software Time: Wednesday, October 25  10:30am  11:20am Location: Ballroom F





Synopsis: Security and functional safety are two key elements of embedded system development, and increasingly system architects are looking at solutions at the point where software touches the hardware. Processor architecture changes such as hardware virtualization extensions and TrustZone, and software changes in hypervisors and real-time operating systems (RTOS) take advantage of these architectural features. What are the real differences in these hardware and software technical innovations? For processors, how do hardware virtualization extensions compare with TrustZone for use for security and safety? For resource management, safety and security, how do new hypervisor offerings stack up to the established technology of RTOS? Are hypervisors a real trend in embedded systems or just hype?

Title: Migrating from Power Architecture to Arm



Presenters: Bobby Clarke | Senior Principal Applications Engineer, Arm

Greg Davis | Chief Architect, Green Hills Software Time: Wednesday, October 25  2:30pm  4:20pm Location: Great America J





Synopsis: This session will discuss issues with porting software from the Power architecture to the Arm v8-A architecture. We will provide a high level discussion of basic architectural differences, and then focus on some critical areas such as byte ordering, calling convention, data structures, and other important differences.

Panel: What does functional safety mean for the electronics supply chain?



Panelists: Andrew Moore, Senior Manager Segment Marketing Programs, Arm

Manuel Alves, General Manager of GPIS Automotive Microcontrollers, NXP

Mike Medoff, Senior Safety Engineer, Exida

Jack Greenbaum, Director of Engineering, Advanced Products, Green Hills Software

Neil Stroud, Director Functional Safety, Arm Time: Thursday, October 26  10:30am - 11:20am Location: Grand Ballroom C





Synopsis: We are relying more and more on electronics to make decisions that affect our lives, from assisted driving to robots in our home. Underlying all of this is a minimum requirement for functional safety, so that if things go wrong they will not produce results that endanger people. How does this requirement for functional safety affect the different parts of the IC supply chain? This panel attempts to answer that question with speakers from Arm, semiconductor company, RTOS vendor and Tier 1 supplier. They will speak about how collaboration from an early stage helps to accelerate the certification process and achieve the highest levels of safety, and the applications that will see most growth in the demand for safety-critical SoCs.

Green Hills Software Demos

Securing the Internet of Things

In collaboration with partners Qt and Clarinox, this demonstration showcases Bluetooth real-time sensor integration from Clarinox running on a Texas Instruments SensorTag device through a Qt-based human machine interface (HMI). The separation architecture of the Green Hills INTEGRITY RTOS assures freedom-from-interference.

Safety Instrument Clusters and Cockpit

Green Hills Software will demonstrate the INTEGRITY RTOS and Multivisor platform for the Renesas R-Car H3, featuring fully accelerated 3D graphics utilizing the PowerVR GX6650 3D graphics processing unit (GPU) for an INTEGRITY-based digital instrument cluster. The instrument cluster receives prioritized access to the GPU to achieve 60 frames per second, while simultaneously sharing access to the GPU for applications running on a virtualized Linux guest operating system.

About Green Hills Software

Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software is the largest independent software vendor for the Internet of Things (IoT). In 2008, the Green Hills INTEGRITY-178 RTOS was the first and only operating system to be certified by NIAP (National Information Assurance Partnership comprised of NSA & NIST) to EAL 6+, High Robustness, the highest level of security ever achieved for any software product. Our open architecture integrated development solutions address deeply embedded, absolute security and high-reliability applications for the military/avionics, medical, industrial, automotive, networking, consumer and other markets that demand industry-certified solutions. Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, with European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Visit Green Hills Software at www.ghs.com.

Green Hills, the Green Hills logo, MULTI, INTEGRITY and INTEGRITY Multivisor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Green Hills Software in the U.S. and/or internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Green Hills Software

Related Links

http://www.ghs.com


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. and JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SystemOne, the leader in global disease intelligence for rapid detection and response, recently announced that its GxAlert software is now configured to transmit HCV data for GeneXpert's Xpert HCV Viral Load assay. 71 million people were estimated to be infected with chronic HCV in 2015, and estimates point to the disease being responsible for 350,000 to 500,000 deaths per year. Unlike some other infectious diseases, for example HIV and TB, the number of deaths due to viral hepatitis is increasing over time.

Recent progress in treatment for HCV means that global health authorities are now able to discuss the possibility of eradicating HCV. "We believe eradication of any infectious disease can only happen when information moves more quickly than the disease," said Chris Macek, CEO, SystemOne. "Medical solutions are critical to saving lives, but they must be coupled with data solutions that enable clinical, logistical, global health and pharmaceutical stakeholders to know where and how to deploy resources and treatment. In HCV's case, earlier diagnosis is linked to better outcomes, and HCV is curable if the patient is linked to treatment."

GxAlert is now able to:

Monitor HCV Viral Load results in real-time

Provide insight into instrument utilization, error rates, inventory management and cartridge wastage.

GxAlert currently works with numerous diseases in over 35 countries, and its users rely on over 40,000 medical diagnostic and system notifications each month.

Xpert HCV Viral Load is a quantitative test that provides on-demand molecular testing for diagnosis and monitoring of HCV. Based on the GeneXpert technology, Xpert HCV Viral Load utilizes automated reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to provide a result within 105 minutes. GxAlert can now ensure that these results are automatically sent to healthcare providers to ensure prompt decision making.

"GxAlert can provide accurate, real-time reporting and linkage to appropriate care to support global targets," said Natasha Gous, Medical Science Liaison, SystemOne. "In May 2016, at the World Health Assembly, 194 countries adopted the first-ever Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, agreeing to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030."

About SystemOne:

Founded in Massachusetts in 2012, SystemOne focuses on producing solutions for disease surveillance and response. SystemOne has offices in Springfield and Boston, MA and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The company's new disease intelligence software, Aspect, addresses numerous infectious diseases including Zika, Ebola, HIV, Malaria, Hepatitis C and more on a host of diagnostic devices.

For more information please email us at: [email protected].

To connect with SystemOne on Twitter please visit:https://twitter.com/SystemOneCo

To connect with SystemOne on Instagram please visit:https://www.instagram.com/systemoneco

SOURCE SystemOne

Related Links

http://www.systemone.id


SOUDERTON, Pa., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC (HBO 2 Therapeutics) is the leading developer of hemoglobin based solutions that increase the oxygen carrying capacity of blood. The Company announced today the first human organ transplant of a previously rejected liver, reconditioned ex-situ with a warm perfusion solution oxygenated with Hemopure prior to transplantation.

The transplant was part of a pilot study in which donor livers considered unsuitable for transplantation are 'refurbished' in a perfusion machine. The donor liver was perfused with a special, cold Hemopure oxygenated perfusion solution, before being gradually warmed up to a temperature of 37 degrees to bring it 'back to life'. The donor liver regained its normal color and acidity and started to produce bile. Once it had been thoroughly tested for several hours outside the body, the liver was successfully transplanted into the patient.

Professor Robert J. Porte, Chief of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation at University Medical Center Groningen performed the transplant procedure. Dr. Porte commented that in addition to this being the first successful transplantation of a normothermically perfused liver in the Netherlands, this was also the first ever-clinical application of a hemoglobin-based solution for ex situ warm machine perfusion of a human donor liver. Dr. Porte went on to add: "This is an important step forward in the implementation of machine perfusion technology in Transplantation Medicine, which can help us to increase the number of organs for transplantation. It indicates we can preserve and test human organs at body temperature without the need for human blood products."

In a joint statement Zafiris Zafirelis and Gerald Kowalski, HBO 2 Therapeutics co-founders, President, and CEO respectively, said: "In addition to the existing applications for Hemopure, this significantly expands our overall market potential and leadership in the field of hemoglobin based solutions.

About Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC

Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC, headquartered in Souderton Pennsylvania, manufactures the oxygen carrying solutions Hemopure (hemoglobin glutamer - 250 (bovine) and Oxyglobin (hemoglobin glutamer - 200 (bovine), for human and veterinary use respectively. Hemopure is not approved by the FDA and classified as an investigational product in the US. Oxyglobin is FDA approved (NADA 141-067) for veterinary use to treat anemia in dogs. For more information please visit www.hbo2therapeutics.com

Contact:

HbO 2 Therapeutics LLC

Jerry Kowalski, CEO

[email protected]

Tel: +1 617 800 7215

SOURCE Hemoglobin Oxygen Therapeutics LLC

Related Links

http://www.hbo2therapeutics.com


Media representatives and journalists are invited and encouraged to interview Marticek on Thursday, October 19, from 9:30am  11:00am at Houston's Hotel ICON in the Acadia Room located at 220 Main Street preceding the Chamber's Disaster Recovery Luncheon with Mayor Sylvester Turner.

"The road to recovery for businesses after a disaster of this magnitude is not just long, it is unpredictable, uniquely overwhelming and taxing for all parties affected, including the employees of those businesses," Marticek said. "We must be proactive in a way that benefits the welfare of both the businesses and their personnel."

Marticek will be sharing critical ideas, strategies, and lessons learned from the now five-year recovery of New Jersey's catastrophic Superstorm Sandy and the efficacy of partnership between businesses, non-profits and government agencies for community restoration.

About Susan Marticek

Disaster recovery expert Susan Marticek has worked passionately in emergency management for 18 years with key positions at the American Red Cross, FEMA and the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG). Her dedicated assistance in recovery efforts for 9/11 and Hurricanes Katrina and Irene equipped her with effective knowledge, guidance and leadership, which yielded a broad network of mental, emotional and financial support for 5,000+ displaced individuals and more than $12 million to homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy.

About Compass 82

With a combined 65+ years experience in on the ground emergency management, insurance adjustment, expedited claims facilitation, legality training, home-building, hands-on education and training, and support network programming, Compass 82 aims to be a pioneer in national disaster recovery, delivering accelerated, comprehensive and proven solutions, tools and resources that systematically bridge homeowners, insurance companies, nonprofits, and government agencies to fast-track sustainable recovery. Founded by Susan Marticek, the organization recently partnered with Pennsylvania-based lumber company 84 Lumber who sponsored Compass 82 to host a series of educational workshops on the recovery and rebuilding processes for homeowners and contractors in the Houston area.

For more information on Compass 82, visit http://compass82.org

SOURCE Compass 82

Related Links

http://www.compass82.org


ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today signed three management contracts to introduce its luxury boutique hotel brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, to Asia. The first Kimpton properties in the region will be located in prime markets in Southeast Asia and Greater China, further solidifying Kimpton's appeal to global audiences.

Elie Maalouf, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group, The Americas said: "Our Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand is iconic for its unconventional approach to boutique hospitality and we're thrilled to introduce it to Asia in highly sought-after destinations in Indonesia and China. These new signings continue to deliver on our objective of bringing Kimpton to new places around the world powered by IHG's global scale and network of owner relationships."

Mike DeFrino, Chef Executive Officer, Kimpton, said: "Asia has always attracted travelers who are eager to discover something new and fully immerse themselves in both the destination and local culture. We look forward to welcoming those seeking an unscripted approach to boutique luxury that is centered in Kimpton's signature design, culinary know-how and heartfelt care."

These new signings extend the global footprint of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to Asia, following its expansion to Europe earlier this year. Acquired by IHG in January 2015, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, is renowned for its innovative and playful design and personal approach to guest service, using thoughtful perks and amenities, bound together with a sense of delight and discovery. The brand's understated approach to luxury inspires travelers with touches like in-room yoga mats, a hosted evening Social Hour, complementary bike rentals and other local flourishes.

Kimpton is also recognized for its award-winning portfolio of unique restaurants and bars led by talented chefs and bartenders. Common cornerstones include chef-crafted, seasonal menus that celebrate local farms and purveyors, heartfelt care, and vibrant interiors.

An immersion where history meets luxury in the heart of Shanghai

Poised to open in 2021, the Kimpton Shanghai Jing'an will feature 150 guest rooms and 120 villas that originally belonged to the British-American Concession. Similar to the villas, that were mostly developed between 1910 and 1930, the hotel's common areas will be housed in a historically reserved building.

A premium haven for travelers with discerning tastes in Sanya

Situated in one of the most premium travel destinations in China - Haitang Bay in Sanya, Hainan Province, this well-appointed 251-room, luxurious Kimpton Resort Sanya Haitang Bay will feature a dynamic rooftop pool, restaurant and bar. The hotel will have direct beach access and is scheduled to open in 2021.

A luxury and lifestyle sanctuary on the island of the gods, Bali

The first Kimpton located in Southeast Asia, Kimpton Bali, opening in 2019, will feature 50 luxurious villas and sits on the picturesque Nusa Dua coast. The new designed hotel blends with the local Balinese culture delivering guests a personalized experience that is both authentic and reflective of the ancient culture.

The new signings join the IHG family, which currently operates over 488 hotels across seven brands in Asia Pacific, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Holiday Inn Resort with a further 374 hotels in the development pipeline.

Media Enquiries:

For U.S. media enquiries, please contact Nina Beizai: [email protected] or [email protected].

ABOUT KIMPTON HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is the acknowledged industry pioneer that introduced the boutique hotel concept to the United States in 1981. Anchored in one-of-a-kind experiences, Kimpton operates more than 60 hotels and 70 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations and up and coming markets in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Time and again, Kimpton has demonstrated its commitment to creating spaces and experiences that are centered on its guests. From inspiring design that evokes curiosity to forward-thinking flavors that feed the soul, every detail is thoughtfully curated and artfully delivered. The Kimpton experience is always meaningful, unscripted and ridiculously personal.

Kimpton is highly regarded for its workplace culture and has been consistently recognized on the FORTUNE magazine "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Empowered employees bring to life the heartfelt guest experience that has come to define Kimpton.

In January 2015, Kimpton became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of hotel brands. For more information, visit www.KimptonHotels.com.

ABOUT IHG

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Resort, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,200 hotels and nearly 780,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with more than 1,500 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group; Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

Related Links

https://www.ihgplc.com


NOVI, Mich., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The importance of quality tests for high-performance electric-vehicle batteries will be discussed at the upcoming Automotive Testing Expo by INFICON, a leading developer, producer and supplier of leak-detection test equipment.

Thomas Parker, INFICON's North American automotive market sales manager, will discuss the importance of EV battery testing at the expo's Open Technology forum on Tuesday morning, Oct. 24 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. INFICON also will be an exhibitor (Booth 11014) at the expo which runs through Oct. 26.

EV battery packs are a critical concern for auto makers and their suppliers, especially as the number of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles increases. Faulty battery cells can lead to fires and even explosions.

Parker's presentation will cover advanced leak-detection methods available for testing high-performance lithium-ion battery packs. Currently, there are many questions concerning quality-control standards for EV batteries, but the proper application of available test methodology can ensure overall battery performance, quality and safety.

With vast experience in the industrial vacuum science field, Parker has expertise in leak detection equipment for the automotive industry. He provides INFICON leak detection consultation and technical assistance to automakers and suppliers throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States.

ABOUT INFICON

INFICON is one of the world's leading developers, producers and suppliers of instruments and devices for leak detection in air conditioning, refrigeration and automotive manufacturing. The company has manufacturing facilities in Europe, China and the United States, as well as sales and service offices throughout the world.

More information about INFICON automotive technology is available online at www.inficonautomotive.com.

SOURCE INFICON

Related Links

http://www.inficonautomotive.com


LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SpecialtyCare, Natus, NuVasive, Medtronic, and inomed Medizintechnik GmbH are the leading players in the global intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) market.





Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151518







The global IONM market is expected to cross $4 billion, growing at a CAGR close to 7.8% during 20162022. The market for IONM is relatively entrenched in developed countries, especially in the US and Europe.



North America will lead the market and the US will have the maximum share (90%) of the total market share in the region.



The orthopedic surgery segment is likely to post the highest growth CAGR in the application segment, whereas the neurosurgery segment will remain the largest market. The EP segment will dominate the market during the forecast period.



Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 20142015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 20172022



Major vendors profiled in the report are as following:

 SpecialtyCare

 Natus

 NuVasive

 Medtronic

 inomed Medizintechnik GmbH



Other emerging vendors are Accurate Monitoring, Cadwell Industries, Computational Diagnostics, Bromedicon Neuromonitoring, Clinical Neurodiagnostics, CNS Neuromonitoring, Dr. Langer Medical GmbH, IntraNerve, Medsurant Health, Neuro Alert, Neurophysiology Services Asia, Nihon Kohden Corporation.



Scope of the Report

The study considers the present scenario of the global IONM Market and its market dynamics for the period 2016?2022. It covers a detailed overview of various market growth enablers, restraints, and trends.



The study covers both the demand and supply sides of the market. The report also profiles and analyzes the leading five companies and 15 other prominent companies operating in the market.



The sale of major IONM market companies was aggregated to arrive at the market size. The same approach is used to calculate the market size in terms of revenue. An estimated 85?90% of vendors' capacity are mapped and considered in the calculations.



The report provides the analysis of the key segments of the market by end-users, geography, and vendors. It provides a detailed analysis of revenue from various segments:



Source Types

 In-sourced

 Outsourced



Methodology Types

 Evoked Potential (EP)

 Electromyography (EMG)

 Electroencephalography (EEG)



Application Types

 Neurosurgery

 Orthopedic surgery

 ENT surgery

 Cardiovascular surgery



Major Geographies

 APAC

 EMEA

 Latin America

 North America



The report provides a holistic view of the global IONM market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. It also provides information on some of the latest trends that have started to surface and are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.



This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.



IONM Market: Key Vendor Analysis

Vendors majorly focus on merger & acquisition to strengthen their presence



The global market can be termed as attractive one because of the growth prospects it holds. Mergers and acquisition are the major strategies used by vendors in the market. The report includes the news and details of the key mergers and acquisition of major vendors in the industry.



IONM Market Dynamics

Advent of portable and multi-modality IONM devices to boost the market



Increase in volume of surgical procedures, growing utility of intraoperative neuromonitoring in varied surgeries, technological innovations and increase in use of out-sourced Intraoperative neuromonitoring by small and rural healthcare centers are the major factors that are enhancing the growth of the market. Increasing demand for tele-neuromonitoring, advent of portable and multi-modality IONM devices, increase in strategic consolidations and integration of MI surgeries with intraoperative neuromonitoring are the latest trends that will boost the market and will pave the way for growth opportunities.



IONM Market: Segmental Overview

Neurosurgery segment is going to dominate the market during the forecast period



Outsourced intraoperative neuromonitoring is growing at a rapid pace due to its benefits over in-sourced monitoring. Hospitals prefer outsourced monitoring as it eliminates the need for purchase of premium priced Intraoperative neuromonitoring capital equipment and avoid the requirement to appoint full-time IONM professionals.



In terms of modality, the EP segment dominated the market with a major share of 68.25% of the global IONM market due to its broad range of surgical applications and the high utilization rate. This segment is anticipated to be driven at a slightly growth rate during 2016?2022 and will retain to be major segment of the global Intraoperative neuromonitoring market by modality type during the forecast period.



In terms of the growth rate, orthopedic surgeries are likely to grow at a higher CAGR than other surgical types. However, neurosurgery will remain the major revenue contributor during the forecast period in the application segment.



IONM Market: Geographical Analysis

IONM market in North America to be the largest market



The primary factor for the high share of North America in the global IONM market is the existence of the favorable and constantly improving reimbursement scenario in the region. The penetration of Intraoperative neuromonitoring devices is significantly higher in the US than other developed or developing countries worldwide.



Their demand in this region is also rapidly growing increased in rate of utilization of IONM for varied surgeries and due to increase in demand for out-sourced services. Europe is the second largest market, followed by APAC, Latin America, and MEA.



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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

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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They took a group photo and Jingting greatly extended his sincere gratitude to his fans and the birthday party was over. Jingting Bai did not want to see his fans getting wet in the rain and hoped they could go home, then he returned to the crew to continue his shooting. After Jingting Bai left, his fans still waited for the end of his shooting at the gate. At around 8:00 pm, Jingting Bai finished his shooting, and all his fans shouted, "Happy birthday, Jingting Bai" and extended their warmth and love to him. Later, Jingting Bai posted a message on Weibo, expressing his appreciation and love to his fans, sending them his warm wishes.

On October 16th, Jingting Bai continued to take part in the shooting of TV program "Happy Camp" in Changsha with other superstars. After that, he continued to shoot his new traditional Chinese costume TV series "Huang Quan", which is the first traditional Chinese costume TV series of Jingting Bai. The shooting period will last for over 7 months. All his fans are looking forward to his new Chinese costume style and his splendid performance.

A Brief Introduction about Jingting Bai:

Jingting Bai was born on October 15th, 1993, in Huairou District, Beijing. Since his start in 2014, he has attracted lots of attention from the public, but instead of working for other companies, he set up his own studio - Changjie (Shanghai) Film and Culture Studio, to work for himself.

During 2017, in addition to the filming of the Who's the Murderer III, Jingting Bai will mainly focus on the filming work of The Rise of Phoenixes. Though he has acted in many campus dramas displaying a gentle and warm style, he will portray Gu Nanyi who is an autistic man in the television series, The Rise of Phoenixes, which is quite different from his previous roles. It will be a great challenge and adventure for him, yet he regards it as a valuable opportunity to enrich his style in acting.

SOURCE Jingting Bai Studio
IRVING, Texas, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Caris Life Sciences, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, announced today the John Wayne Cancer Institute has joined the company's Precision Oncology Alliance (POA). The John Wayne Cancer Institute is the 18th institution to join the alliance, which was established to study the appropriate use of tumor profiling and develop standards of care for molecular testing in oncology.

"The John Wayne Cancer Institute, whose namesake died of stomach cancer, is a major participant in cancer research and a leader in training the next generation of oncologists," said John Marshall, M.D., Director of the Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Chairman of the POA Executive Committee. "Their involvement in our POA will add considerable insight, knowledge and skills to our goal of advancing cancer patient care via precision oncology."

As a member of the POA, the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica will actively participate in the development of standards of care and best practices for integrating and utilizing molecular profiling in oncology practice, while also striving to optimize the adoption of and patient access to personalized medicine in clinical settings. The institution will leverage Caris' comprehensive genomic profiling plus (CGP+) tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence, to enable the practice of precision medicine by identifying therapy options and clinical trial opportunities based on the unique molecular characteristics of a patient's tumor. The molecular insights generated will not only assist the physicians immediately in treatment planning, but the John Wayne Cancer Institute, along with the other POA members, will contribute data to Caris' C.O.D.E. database, which tracks molecular data and outcomes data.

"A large focus of our institute is on the biological mechanisms of cancer to better diagnose, treat and eventually cure the disease for all cancer patients," said Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Translational Neurosciences and Neurotherapeutics and Director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at John Wayne Cancer Institute. "Joining Caris' Precision Oncology Alliance will enable us to work more closely with other leading cancer centers to advance precision medicine through tumor profiling. We look forward to our collaboration with this group of committed institutions."

Caris Molecular Intelligence assesses DNA, RNA and proteins to reveal a molecular blueprint to guide more precise and individualized treatment decisions. Based on the unique molecular characteristics of an individual patient's cancer, the results help inform treatment decisions by identifying therapies that have the potential to be most effective and to rule out those that are less likely to provide clinical benefit.

About Caris Life Sciences 

Caris Life Sciences is a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine through quality and innovation. Caris Molecular Intelligence, the company's Comprehensive Genomic Profiling Plus (CGP+) molecular testing service and the world's leading immunotherapy diagnostic expert, assesses DNA, RNA and proteins, including microsatellite instability (MSI), total mutational load (TML) and PD-L1, to reveal a molecular blueprint to guide more precise and personalized treatment decisions. The ADAPT Biotargeting System, the company's revolutionary and unbiased profiling platform, is currently being utilized for drug target identification, therapeutic discovery and development, fixed tissue-based companion diagnostics, blood-based cancer screening and biomarker identification. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Caris Life Sciences offers services throughout the U.S., Europe and other international markets. To learn more, please visit www.CarisLifeSciences.com.

About the Precision Oncology Alliance

The Precision Oncology Alliance (POA) was established by Caris Life Sciences to promote the study and appropriate use of molecular testing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The POA consists of 18 leading cancer centers, including five NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, that have demonstrated a commitment to precision medicine and work collaboratively toward a common goal: to advance tumor profiling and establish standards of care for molecular testing in oncology. The POA has produced more than five peer-reviewed manuscripts and presented over 40 posters at industry conferences.

About Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare system. Providence Southern California operates six award-winning hospitals and a comprehensive, fully-integrated network of primary care clinics, urgent care centers, home care, TrinityCare and TrinityKids Care hospice as well as Providence High School. Providence is anchored locally by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. With more than 3,400 physicians, Providence provides coordinated primary and specialty care through an array of physician groups and individual providers including Providence Medical Institute and physician groups in the South Bay, the West Valley and Santa Clarita. Providence affiliate, Facey Medical Group, provides primary and specialized care in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and Simi Valley. In 2016, Providence united with St. Joseph Health to form a new organization, Providence St. Joseph Health, with 50 hospitals in seven states. For more information, visit California.providence.org.

Media Inquiries:

The Ruth Group

Kirsten Thomas / Joanna Zimmerman

+1-508-280-6592 / +1-646-536-7006

[email protected]

John Wayne Cancer Institute

Patricia Aidem

[email protected]

818-496-4780

SOURCE Caris Life Sciences

Related Links

http://www.CarisLifeSciences.com


DULUTH, Ga., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids 'R' Kids of Coles Crossing in Cypress, Texas celebrated its Grand Re-Opening this past Saturday under the new ownership of Allison and James Romo. The school's original owners, Glen and Pam Maxwell have owned the school since June 2007 and are Allison's parents. Allison has therefore seen the operations of the school for many years and hopes to continue providing excellent care and education for children in the Cypress area.

The Grand Re-Opening was hosted at the school on October 14, 2017 from 10- 2 PM. In attendance were Allison and James Romo, Glen and Pam Maxwell, their family, and members from the Kids 'R' Kids corporate office who have been working alongside the school and its new owners. Commenting on the event, Allison had this to say, "We are very excited to be the newest owners of this location in Cypress Texas. Thank you to the Kids 'R' Kids corporate office for having Ronnae Williams, Monique Baptiste and Jedia Christia come out and help co-host this event. It was a great day filled with fun games, good food, and educational enlightenment. It truly was a wonderful celebration and dedication of how we will continue to provide the best quality care and education for the children in our community".

During the event, members of the community and attendees had an opportunity to tour the school and see the facilities provided for children and their families, as well as a chance to speak to the new owners about the school and their hopes for its future. The event was catered by Kona Ice and Micks Smokin' Barbeque and Catering in Texas.

About Kids 'R' Kids Learning Academies

Headquartered in the North Atlanta suburb of Duluth, Georgia, Kids 'R' Kids Learning Academies provide a secure, nurturing, and educational environments for children (ages six weeks - 12 years) to bloom into responsible, considerate, and contributing members of society. With nearly 160 Learning Academies in 16 states, Kids 'R' Kids International is a family-owned and operated organization that ranks in the top three nationwide for franchised early childhood education centers (www.kidsrkids.com).

SOURCE Kids 'R' Kids International

Related Links

http://www.kidsrkids.com


ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kriser's Natural Pet, a specialty retailer focused on natural pet food, supplies and grooming, debuts its seventh location in the DMV Metro Area with a Grand Opening celebration on October 21st & 22nd in Arlington's Lee Harrison Shopping Center at the corner of Lee Hwy and N. Harrison St.

"Kriser's is thrilled to continue serving the pet parents of Arlington and to further our mission of helping pets in this vibrant community live a happy, healthy, natural lifestyle," said Brad Kriser, founder & CEO. "Every day, we strive to provide pet parents with the best natural products, services and education to help care for their furry families. To have the opportunity to touch even more families in Arlington is an honor. We can't wait to become a trusted resource and partner to more local pet parents."

Kriser's warm, welcoming shopping experience and highly educated staff are focused around a carefully curated selection of natural food, treats, toys, supplements and supplies from trusted brands that they feel good about recommending. Kriser's second location in Arlington will also offer grooming services by professional, caring groomers using natural products.

Kriser's Lee Harrison location will offer a number of activities and promotions throughout the Grand Opening weekend:

Free pet nail trimming (Sat & Sun from 10am-4pm )

) In-store raffles for store merchandise and grooming gift cards (Sat & Sun)

Free reusable shopping bags (Sat & Sun)

Free waste bag holders (Sat only)

Free engraved pet ID tags (Sun only)

Free can lids (Sun only)

Samples and product giveaways all weekend

PLUS Doorbuster raffles both Saturday and Sunday, whereby people in line each day at 10 a.m. will have the chance to win gift cards for on-the-spot shopping sprees.

Kriser's will host another event on Saturday, December 12th to celebrate their first month, with free pet/ parent digital photo portraits, goodie bags for the first 50 pets and more raffles and prizes. For store events, hours and details, visit http://www.krisers.com.

ABOUT KRISER'S NATURAL PET

Kriser's, often referred to by its customers as the "Whole Foods for pets," is a multi-unit pet retailer specializing in natural pet food, supplies and grooming. Founded by lifelong pet owner and healthy pet advocate Brad Kriser, the company has opened 45 locations across the country  Illinois (Chicagoland), Colorado (Denver & Fort Collins), Southern California (LA & Orange Counties), Texas (Houston, Austin & San Antonio), Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia  based on a model of educating consumers about pet nutrition and providing an unparalleled shopping experience in an inviting store environment. All products sold in Kriser's stores are carefully selected by Brad and his team, and endorsed as "Kriser's Approved" only after extensive review. In addition to carrying a large variety of natural food and treats brands, which have no corn, soy or by-products, Kriser's also offers professional grooming services using gentle, natural products and a wide selection of purposeful toys and supplies.

At the forefront of the natural segment of the flourishing pet industry, Kriser's has grown steadily with an unwavering commitment to pets. Kriser's has been recognized with multiple national honors for its excellence in the pet industry, including Pet Product News International's Retailer of the Year for Employee Engagement and Training in 2016, Best Overall Pet Retailer at the 2015 Global Pet Expo, and 2014 Pet Business Retailer of the Year. For more information, please visit www.krisers.com.

SOURCE Kriser's Natural Pet

Related Links

http://www.krisers.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay LLC, The Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, reports today that they are focusing a large portion of their pre-settlement cash advance funding capital toward victims of wrongful termination due to racial, gender, or age-related discrimination. With the recent six-figure payout to three plaintiffs in a racial discrimination case, and another six-figure payout to a plaintiff in an age discrimination case, Legal-Bay anticipates that there will be an influx of wrongful termination lawsuits in the New York, Texas, and California areas.

Legal-Bay provides financial assistance to people who have recently found themselves unemployed, and can provide cash advances to plaintiffs while their cases are tied up in litigation. These pre settlement funds can assist people dealing with lost pay, lost benefits, emotional stress, punitive damages, and legal fees.

Chris Janish, CEO, commented on the company's focus of assisting plaintiffs in similar situations, "We are seeing an increase of wrongful termination lawsuits being filed of late, and our applications for wrongful termination cases specifically in New York and California have been on the rise. We are committed to helping some of these individuals while they fight their cases and who are unable to earn wages by finding a new job. Due to higher incomes in California and New York, the average settlement value for wrongful termination cases is much larger in these states, but the cases tend to last much longer in the courts as well."

If you are actively engaged in a lawsuit as a result of wrongful termination, please visit the company's website at http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com for more information on how Legal-Bay can help you during this difficult time. Legal-Bay also helps victims involved in commercial litigation and verdict or judgment on appeal cases, as well as cases that result in personal injury.

Legal-Bay's programs are non-recourse lawsuit cash advances, also known as case funding, which means you only repay the settlement advance if you win your case. None of the programs should be considered to be a lawsuit loan, lawsuit loans, settlement loans, settlement loan, pre settlement loans, pre-settlement loans, pre settlement loan or a pre-settlement loan.

If you require immediate cash advance pre settlement funding, feel free to call Legal-Bay on its toll-free hotline at: 877.571.0405, where live agents are available to take a funding application.

Legal-Bay can assist you with a pre-settlement cash advance on your lawsuit while you are fighting your case. To apply now, go to the company's website at: http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com

Contact: Chris Janish, CEO

Email: [email protected]

Ph.: 877.571.0405

SOURCE Legal-Bay LLC

Related Links

http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com


MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: INFU) ("InfuSystem" or the "Company"), a leading provider of oncology infusion pumps and related services in North America, announced a feature segment that recently ran on a leading cable TV channel highlighting how InfuSystem infusion technology improves the quality of life of a patient going through the process of receiving chemotherapy.

Entitled "At-Home Infusion Made Easy," the segment ran on "The Balancing Act" Lifetime TV morning show on October 5th. The segment can be viewed on-demand at www.infusystem.com/LifetimeTV .

Featured in the segment is one of the over 300,000 new patients with gastrointestinal cancers that are estimated by the American Cancer Society to be diagnosed annually in the U.S. InfuSystem treats a large number of these patients with hardware, medication and services that serve as the gold standard in the industry.

"I get to get my chemo on the run... and that makes my life a whole lot easier," said the patient of his InfuSystem experience. As shown in the Lifetime TV segment, InfuSystem patients are able to spend more time in the comfort of their own home while receiving their infusion therapy.

Rich DiIorio, Executive Vice President at InfuSystem, said, "You'll see a great example of how InfuSystem patients are able to receive critically-important treatment in the comfort of their own homes. This allows them to continue to engage in the activities that are important to them, as opposed to spending their time in a hospital or infusion clinic."

"When it comes to immunocompromised chemotherapy patients," Mr. Dilorio continued, "more time in a hospital is generally not a good thing given the risk of hospital-borne infection, the anxiety resulting from being away from home, and the extraordinary costs associated with hospital stays."

"We hope that the Lifetime segment featuring a patient sharing his at-home experience with a broadcast audience will help to empower viewers, some of whom are currently, or at some point in the future will be, diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer, to learn more about their infusion therapy options, and thus make better-informed decisions about their own care and treatment."

The segment aired on Lifetime TV and will continue to air on affiliate stations. The segment may also be viewed on-demand at www.infusystem.com/LifetimeTV .

About InfuSystem Holdings, Inc.

InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of infusion pumps and related services to hospitals, oncology practices and other alternate site healthcare providers. With headquarters in Madison Heights, Michigan, the Company delivers local, field-based customer support and also operates Centers of Excellence in Michigan, Kansas, California, Texas, Georgia and Ontario, Canada. The Company's stock is traded on the NYSE American under the symbol INFU.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are considered to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," variations of such words, and other similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future actions, business plans, objectives and prospects, future operating or financial performance. In connection with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company is identifying certain factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Those factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, potential changes in overall healthcare reimbursement, including CMS competitive bidding, sequestration, concentration of customers, increased focus on early detection of cancer, competitive treatments, dependency on Medicare Supplier Number, availability of chemotherapy drugs, global financial conditions, changes and enforcement of state and federal laws, natural forces, competition, dependency on suppliers, risks in acquisitions & joint ventures, U.S. Healthcare Reform, relationships with healthcare professionals and organizations, technological changes related to infusion therapy, dependency on websites and intellectual property, the ability of the Company to successfully integrate acquired businesses, dependency on key personnel, dependency on banking relations and covenants, and other risks associated with our common stock, as well as any litigation to which the Company may be involved in from time to time; and other risk factors as discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in other filings made by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Our annual report on Form 10-K is available on the SEC's EDGAR website at www.sec.gov, and a copy may also be obtained by contacting the Company. All forward-looking statements made in this press release speak only as of the date hereof. We do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by law.

Additional information about InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. is available at www.infusystem.com.

CONTACT:

Joe Dorame, Joe Diaz & Robert Blum

Lytham Partners, LLC

602-889-9700

SOURCE InfuSystem Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.infusystem.com


The framework, to be adopted at the Third Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth on Oct. 19 in Seoul, South Korea, is the latest in a series of international agreements to promote sustainable urbanization in the coming decades, including the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by United Nations member states in 2015, and the New Urban Agenda adopted at the Habitat III conference in 2016. The Lincoln Institute has been engaged in these efforts to help promote municipal fiscal health and better land use practices.

The OECD's Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative, in which the Lincoln Institute is a partner, was launched as part of the broader OECD Inclusive Growth initiative. The Champion Mayor's initiative is an effort to tackle inequalities and promote inclusive growth policies in cities. In 2016, more than 40 global mayors signed on to the New York Proposal for Inclusive Growth in Cities, laying out policy priorities to achieve the initiative's goals, and the Paris Action Plan for Inclusive Growth in Cities, a more detailed agreement focused on addressing inequality in education, the labor market, housing and the urban environment, and infrastructure and public services.

The Lincoln Institute is one of several civil society partners including the Ford Foundation, the Brookings Institution, the Cities Alliance, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI  Local Governments for Sustainability (formerly the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), the National League of Cities, United Cities and Local Governments, and United Way Worldwide.

The Champion Mayors initiative is part of an ongoing Lincoln Institute-OECD collaboration, focused on land use governance, land value capture, climate change, urban planning for resiliency, green finance, and other land policy issues.

As part of the partnership with OECD, Policy Analyst Sena Segbedzi of the Lincoln Institute's International and Institute-Wide Initiatives team is working with the OECD at the organization's headquarters in Paris on the Champion Mayors initiative and other sustainable development projects. Segbedzi is a former program manager for the Ford Foundation, where she helped promote housing, transportation, and employment opportunities in U.S. cities including Detroit. She has extensive international experience including designing an emergency management plan for Lyon, France, assessing waste management systems in Senegal, and analyzing domestic violence advocacy programs in Ghana.

About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

About the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The mission of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.

SOURCE Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Related Links

http://www.lincolninst.edu


LOS ANGELES, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

USA News Group -Despite any pullback by indicators like the leading Lithium ETF of late, price forecasts are continuing to indicate rising prices for lithium, making lithium companies very attractive.

Companies in the lithium mining and production sector expected to benefit from the price increases include: Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX) (OTC: NMKEF), Galaxy Resources (OTC: GALXF), and NRG Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NGZ) (OTC: NRGMF).

Lithium continues to be a seriously hot commodity, with news about electric vehicles (EVs) filling headlines worldwide and prices for the white metal trending upward.

EVs depend on lithium-ion batteries for efficient storage and operation, and the massive increase in demand is creating a significant potential for shortfall in the very near future.

The upside to these changes is the fact that lithium companies are stepping up their game to provide more high quality lithium and add all new sources to help fuel the power source revolution taking place.

Some early stage lithium mining companies are entering hyper-development in order to capture the momentum being generated and move quickly to production.

One of these junior miners is NRG Metals Inc. (TSX-V: NGZ.V) (OTCQB: NRGMF), which is aggressively developing potentially very large lithium brine projects in South America in the prolific "lithium triangle" producing area.

Already big lithium mining and production companies are having a great run.

Companies with exposure to lithium are seeing their share prices gain markedly as demand forecasts contribute to price forecast increases. These include Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), the leading producer of lithium in South America's hotbed with a one year return of 69.6% from this time last year, Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX.TO) (OTCQX: NMKEF), a Canadian company focused on its new Whabouchi lithium project and establishing refining operations in Quebec, along with Australian miner Galaxy Resources (OTC: GALXF), with a 59.3% 1-year return so far in 2017.

PRICE FORECASTS REVISING UPWARDS

Battery-grade lithium carbonate is reflecting the rise in demand, which seems to be nearly unstoppable.

At present, battery-grade lithium carbonate prices are forecast to average $13,000 a ton over the 2017 to 2020 period from around $9,000 in 2015 to 2016, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

Lithium hydroxide, which is also battery-grade, is expected to average $18,000 a ton between 2017 and 2020 compared to $14,000 from 2015 to 2016.

The demand for lithium has been increasing continuously with each new announcement from not only supply chain industry players, but also from governments.

As an example, earlier in 2017, France and the UK outlined plans to ban the sales of all fossil fuel cars by 2040. That sounds like it's a way off, but this is the first whisperings of fossil fuel bans, which have since been followed by a whopper.

China, which leads in the EV space, announced in September that it plans to ban all fossil fuel vehicles in the near future.

Analysts in the space see these moves as positive for the battery mineral space overall and see China showing the largest growth in the EV cycle. They suggest that one new lithium mine at least needs to be brought on line each year through 2025 in order to meet the requirements.

Currently, just four companies account for about 86% of global lithium production, with 70% of lithium production based South America.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: NRG METALS

About two-thirds of proven reserves of lithium are concentrated in a small, high-elevation area of South America. The "Lithium Triangle" is located at the intersection of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

It's likely that if a company wants to develop new lithium reserves to production, this is the area to pursue.

That's case with NRG Metals, which has focused its lithium efforts in the Puna Region, widely regarded ass one of the most productive areas in Argentina, a country responsible for about 50% of the world's lithium.

NRG Metals is a Canadian miner, but has attracted some very high profile management in-country.

Their Chief Operating Officer is Jose Gustavo de Castro, the former country manager for Orocobre in Argentina until 2015.

Gustavo de Castro helped to grow the operation of Orocobre from 10 employees to 800 in construction and some 200 people in operations. He is credited with the exploration and development of the Orocobre Oraloz lithium project being brought to commercial production.

With solid mining management in place, NRG Metals has positioned itself right at ground zero for lithium. Its two core projects are the Salar Escondido lithium project; a well-developed project heading into drilling, and the Hombre Muerto North lithium project; with exploration now under way in the province of Salta.

The region is host to the Hombre Muerto Salar, where leading lithium producer FMC is producing approximately 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent per year, as well as Galaxy Resources' large development stage Sal de Vida project.

NRG Metals recently released news of its VES geophysical survey that has identified "a highly conductive horizon that is interpreted to represent a brine target with potential to host lithium."

Now, the company is drilling the property in order to detail the potential for lithium resources that it plans to take through to production.

Based on the rising forecast for lithium prices, producers and near-term producers of lithium hold a lot of potential. Those companies that use favorable pricing to advance to production could see early rewards.

Though it may be an early-stage developer in South American, NRG Metals could certainly use this to its advantage. NRG is rapidly advancing not one, but two significant lithium projects in the world's richest lithium region.

The current demand for lithium fuelling rising price forecasts demonstrates the need for solutions to add new lithium supplies or face potential shortage, and even price spikes.

POTENTIAL COMPARABLES

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB)

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. The company offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties and reagents for applications in lithium batteries and many other applications. Albemarle Corporation was founded in 1994 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX.TO) (OTCQX: NMKEF)

Nemaska Lithium Inc. intends to become a lithium hydroxide supplier and lithium carbonate supplier to the emerging lithium battery market that is largely driven by electric vehicles. On August 01st, the company released diamond drilling results from the 2017 drill program at its 100-per-cent-owned Whabouchi lithium mine project. The 4,361-metre drill program combines definition drilling to a depth of 50 metres in the five-year starter pit between sections 200E and 700E as well as expansion drilling in the Doris zone located immediately to the southwest of the main Whabouchi deposit.

Galaxy Resources (OTC: GALXF)

Galaxy Resources Limited is a lithium-focused resources company, with assets spanning Australia, Canada and Argentina. Galaxy is currently advancing plans to develop the Sal de Vida Lithium and Potash Brine Project ("Sal de Vida") in Argentina, which is situated in the Lithium Triangle, a region where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet. Sal de Vida is a proven high quality resource has excellent promise as a future low cost production facility. Galaxy also owns the Mt Cattlin Spodumene Mine near Ravensthorpe in Western Australia and the James Bay Lithium Pegmatite Project in Quebec, Canada.

For a more in-depth look into NRG Metals you can view the in-depth report at American News Group: http://usanewsgroup.com/2017/10/16/how-south-americas-lithium-triangle-is-gearing-up-to-feed-our-battery-addiction-3/

http://usanewsgroup.com

[email protected]

Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure: This piece is an advertorial and has been paid for. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this Report should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. We make no guarantee, representation or warranty and accept no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of USA News Group only and are subject to change without notice. USA News Group assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this Report and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, we assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information, provided within this Report.

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This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.





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SOURCE USA News Group
LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dickey's Barbecue Pit opens their newest location tomorrow, October 19 with four weeks of specials and giveaways, including free barbecue for a year for three lucky guests. The new location will be opened by Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchisee Roy Wen.

"The Dickey family welcomes Roy Wen to the Dickey's Barbecue Pit team," says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We look forward to the opening of his new location and the success of his store in Long Beach."

Dickey's will offer the following specials and giveaways for the next four weeks:

Thirsty Thursdays: Guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with free refills all day.

Philanthropy Fridays: "You Give, We Give"  Guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation, Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card as a thank you for their donation. All uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal.

Giveaway Saturday: Guests can register for a chance to win free barbecue for a year.

Kids Eat Free Sundays: Kids eat free with an adult purchase of $10 or more.

This will be Wen's first Dickey's Barbecue Pit location to open in California. "I am excited to open my first location and serve the members of my community Dickey's slow-smoke, Texas-style barbecue," says Wen.

To join Dickey's Big Yellow Cup Club and receive members-only specials and discounts, click here.

The new Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Long Beach is located at 421 W. Broadway Ave., Suite 521 Long Beach, CA 90802. The phone number is 562-432-3005.

To find the location nearest you, click here.

Find Dickey's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit www.dickeys.com/franchise or call 866-340-6188.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and home style sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded to nearly 600 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2017 again won a top 10 on the list. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

Media Contact:

Callie Head

[email protected]

Ashley Richardson

[email protected]

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


STAINES-UPON-THAMES, England, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: MNK), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, will present on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, at the Stifel 2017 Healthcare Conference, which takes place at the Lotte New York Palace, 455 Madison Ave., New York.

Matthew Harbaugh, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will represent the company in a fireside chat at 10:15 a.m. Eastern.

Individuals who cannot attend the meeting in person can find webcast information at: http://www.mallinckrodt.com/investors. A replay will also be available following the meeting.

ABOUT MALLINCKRODT

Mallinckrodt is a global business that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. Areas of focus include autoimmune and rare diseases in specialty areas like neurology, rheumatology, nephrology, pulmonology and ophthalmology; immunotherapy and neonatal respiratory critical care therapies; and analgesics and hemostasis products. The company's core strengths include the acquisition and management of highly regulated raw materials and specialized chemistry, formulation and manufacturing capabilities. The company's Specialty Brands segment includes branded medicines and its Specialty Generics segment includes specialty generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and external manufacturing. To learn more about Mallinckrodt, visit www.mallinckrodt.com.

Mallinckrodt uses its website as a channel of distribution of important company information, such as press releases, investor presentations and other financial information. It also uses its website to expedite public access to time-critical information regarding the company in advance of or in lieu of distributing a press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the same information. Therefore, investors should look to the Investor Relations page of the website for important and time-critical information. Visitors to the website can also register to receive automatic e-mail and other notifications alerting them when new information is made available on the Investor Relations page of the website.

CONTACTS

Investor Relations

Coleman N. Lannum, CFA

Senior Vice President, Investor Strategy and IRO

314-654-6649

[email protected]

Daniel J. Speciale, CPA

Director, Investor Relations

314-654-3638

[email protected]

Media

Rhonda Sciarra

Senior Communications Manager

908-238-6765

[email protected]

Meredith Fischer

Chief Public Affairs Officer

314-654-3318

[email protected]

SOURCE Mallinckrodt plc

Related Links

http://www.mallinckrodt.com


TORONTO and HOUSTON, TX, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. ("Medicenna" or the "Company") (TSX: MDNA; OTCQX: MDNAF), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval to commence trading on the OTCQX Best Market, under the symbol, "MDNAF". The Company's shares continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "MDNA".

OTCQX is an established market for global and growth companies with high financial standards. Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for Medicenna at www.otcmarkets.com.

"We are very pleased to be trading on the OTCQX as it will improve the Company's ability to attract a wider audience of investors from both inside and outside the United States. This corporate milestone will provide additional visibility within the investment community enabling us to build awareness more broadly and expand our current shareholder base in order to drive shareholder value", said Elizabeth Williams, Chief Financial Officer of Medicenna.

"Medicenna Therapeutics joins an impressive roster of Canadian companies, including more than 25 added this year, that cross-trade their shares on the OTCQX market to maximize their reach to U.S. investors. Trading on OTCQX will enable Medicenna to efficiently broaden accessibility to their news and financial disclosure and build visibility among U.S. investors," said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group.

Medicenna Therapeutics was sponsored for OTCQX by Burns Figa & Will PC, a qualified third-party firm responsible for providing guidance on OTCQX requirements and recommending membership.

About Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.

Medicenna is a clinical stage immuno-oncology company developing novel highly selective versions of IL-2, IL-4 and IL-13 Superkines and first in class Empowered Cytokines (ECs). Its wholly owned subsidiary, Houston-based Medicenna BioPharma, is specifically targeting the Interleukin-4 Receptor (IL4R), which is over-expressed by at least 20 different types of cancer affecting more than one million new cancer patients every year. Medicenna's lead IL4-EC, MDNA55 is enrolling patients in a CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas) funded Phase 2b clinical trial for recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) at leading brain cancer centres in the US. MDNA55 has completed 3 clinical trials in 72 patients, including 66 adults with rGBM, demonstrated compelling efficacy and obtained Fast-Track and Orphan Drug status from USFDA. Unlike most other cancer therapies, Medicenna's IL4-ECs have the potential to purge both the tumor and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, offering a unique treatment paradigm for a large majority of cancer patients.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS, OTC Markets connects a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. The company enables investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how OTC Markets creates better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com

OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

For more information, please visit www.medicenna.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the ability of the company to add new shareholders, increase shareholder value, future plans and objectives of the Company and others are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the risks detailed in the annual information form of the Company dated June 15, 2017 and in other filings made by the Company with the applicable securities regulators from time to time.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

SOURCE Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Montage Legal Group is honored to be named a 2017 Association of Fundraising Professionals National Philanthropy Day Outstanding Small Business. National Philanthropy Day is an event that publicly recognizes donors, volunteers, and organizations whose gifts of time, expertise and resources contribute significantly to the community. Montage will be honored in the "Outstanding Small Business" category at the 32nd annual National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon on Thursday November 16, 2017 at the City National Grove of Anaheim. Organizers anticipate that over 800 guests will attend the event, which is sponsored by the OCBJ, PBS So Cal, and OC Register.

Since its launch in 2009, Montage's co-owners/founders, Erin Giglia and Laurie Rowen, have actively supported the Orange County community, contributing both financially and through volunteerism to various organizations, and currently hold positions on the boards of the OCBA Charitable Fund, University of San Diego School of Law and WHW.

In 2011, Montage founded a legal community clothing drive to support WHW, a non-profit that provides the unemployed the skills and resources they need to get and keep a good job. The 7th annual "2017 Suits for a Cause" clothing drive engaged over 60 law firms to hold clothing drives of professional suits and accessories, which supported hundreds of job seekers.

In 2016, Montage owners and their children founded OC Kids Giving Back, a children's philanthropy group designed to spread awareness and raise funds for local non-profits. OC Kids Giving Back launched chapters in Los Angeles and San Diego, and raised a combined $15,000 in funds and donations during its first year for Thomas House Family Shelter, Operation Gratitude, Souls4Soles, Baby2Baby, Goods+, Irvine Animal Care Center, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Together We Rise and WHW.

In addition to their philanthropic efforts, Montage's owners have been recognized for their dedication to advancing women in the law, including OC Metro Magazine's 2011's "Top 40 under 40," feature stories in the ABA Journal and Forbes.com, NAWBO-OC's 2012 Entrepreneur to Watch, USD School of Law's 2012 Rising Star Recent Alumni Award, and 2014 Enterprising Women of the Year.

Montage's freelance attorney network consists of lawyers who opted out of prestigious law firms, and handle substantive projects for small to mid-sized law firms on an hourly basis, providing a cost-effective way for firms to manage case over-flow. For more information, please contact Erin Giglia at [email protected].

SOURCE Montage Legal Group

Related Links

https://www.montagelegal.com


DENVER, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MOUNTAIN HIGH ACQUISITIONS CORP. (OTCQB: MYHI) announces that it has expanded its pilot program, which is focused on providing turnkey infrastructure solutions to licensed cannabis growers. Now, with the help of its strategic partner D9 Manufacturing, Inc. (D9), the program agenda has expanded to include the development of reliable Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that growers will be able to utilize to greatly reduce the risk of low yield or failed grows. To that end, D9 is focused on fine-tuning SOPs and best practices which will enable growers to cultivate with efficiency, achieve above-average yields, and produce a harvest that is visually rich, extremely fragrant, pleasantly palatable, and free of harmful chemicals.

"We have a streamlined method from seed to harvest that produces a premium quality product consistently on a strict timeline," said D9's Chief Science Officer, Jeremiah Molinaro. "The proprietary design of MYHI's intermodal grow containers enables us to bring this cultivation technique quickly to any legal market. In fact, the standardized conditions allow us to achieve a 15 to 20% increase in yields over the industry standard using D9's proprietary cultivation process." This process is being documented by D9 using standard operating procedures (SOPs) in a cGMP format as part of MYHI's pilot program.

The first grow is currently underway in the two state-of-the-art intermodal cultivation containers that MYHI acquired in late July and subsequently leased to licensed grow operations in Arizona. D9 is overseeing the grows and projected yields per container are 64 to 94 pounds per harvest.

Last year The Bright Field Group, a cannabis market research firm, ranked Arizona number three on its list of the best places for cannabis investment. But although Arizona has one of the most robust markets for cannabis in the U.S., boutique-quality cannabis remains largely absent from the market there.

"D9's team of experts has produced scores of harvests that industry experts consider elite boutique-quality." said Ferrel H. Raskin, CEO of D9 Manufacturing, Inc. "The growing method to be spelled out in the SOPs will provide MYHI customers with an easily scalable and reliable grow solution, particularly when utilizing MYHI's intermodal cultivation containers. "

"Essentially, MYHI's objective is to help licensed operators minimize risk and optimize their business by providing licensed operators with affordable access to state-of-the-art equipment as well as proven SOPs and best practices that help maximize both the yield and the quality of their grows in a timely manner," said MYHI CEO Alan Smith.

About D9 Manufacturing, Inc.

D9 Manufacturing, Inc. is an Arizona based company that offers a wide variety of engineering, manufacturing and consulting services to the cannabis sector. On May 30, MYHI announced the engagement of D9 to assist in the identification, acquisition and development of infrastructure opportunities in the cannabis market.

About MYHI

Mountain High Acquisitions Corp. (OTCQB: MYHI) is a holding company focused on the acquisition and development of businesses and other assets within the cannabis sector. For additional information please contact Alan Smith at [email protected].

Press Releases may include forward-looking statements. In particular, the words "believe," "may," "could," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "propose," "plan," "intend," and similar conditional words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this news release about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the company. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof. The company takes no obligation to update or correct its own forward-looking statements, except as required by law or those prepared by third parties that are not paid by the company.

SOURCE Mountain High Acquisitions Corp.
ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new poll shows overwhelming support among Atlanta voters for a comprehensive smoke-free law that guarantees everyone the right to breathe clean air. Three-quarters of voters (76 percent) favor a law to prohibit smoking inside most public places  including workplaces, public buildings, offices, restaurants, bars and the Hartsfield-Jackson airport  including two-thirds of voters (67 percent) who strongly favor the proposed law.

Voters undeniably see secondhand smoke as a health hazard. Some 90 percent say it is a serious or moderate health hazard, including 75 percent who say it is a serious health hazard. The need for protection from secondhand smoke in all workplaces and public places has never been clearer.

Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer.





The U.S. Surgeon General has found that secondhand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, serious respiratory illnesses, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).





The Surgeon General has also found that secondhand smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year, there is no safe level of exposure, and only smoke-free laws provide effective protection.

"Voters know that secondhand smoke is a health hazard, and this poll shows that they want a strong law protecting their right to breathe clean air," said Andy Freeman, Georgia Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "While we safeguard our office workers from secondhand smoke, we still leave workers in bars, restaurants and our airport unprotected. We need to ensure that no workers are left behind when it comes to their health. The City Council should listen to the people of Atlanta and act quickly to make all workplaces smoke-free."



"Secondhand smoke is harmful to everyone, and everyone should be protected from it," said June Deen, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Health Promotions, American Lung Association of the Southeast. "No waitress waiter or bartender should have to choose between health and a paycheck. These hospitality workers have the fewest workplace protections, and that needs to change. It is a matter of fairness  everyone should have the right to breathe clean air at work  period."

"The link between secondhand smoke and cardiovascular disease is clear," said Michael Cortes, Government Relations Director at the Metro Atlanta American Heart Association. "Over 22,000 premature deaths from heart and blood vessel disease are caused by other people's smoke each year. Exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke by 20 to 30 percent."

The citywide survey of 500 likely 2018 voters was conducted by Lake Research Partners (August 15-20) and released today by the Smoke-Free Atlanta Coalition.

Among the other poll findings:

78 percent of voters think the right of customers and employees to breathe clean smoke-free air inside workplaces, restaurants, bars and the airport is more important than the rights of smokers to smoke and owners to allow smoking inside those places (11 percent).





than the rights of smokers to smoke and owners to allow smoking inside those places (11 percent). Over a quarter of voters (27 percent) say they would go out to restaurants and bars more often than they do now if the city passes a law making all restaurants and bars smoke-free, and a large majority (65 percent) would go out about the same amount as they do now. Just 7 percent said they would go out less often.





There is broad and deep support for this proposed law, and a majority of voters across all demographic and political subgroups strongly favor this law  women and men; young and old; college- and non-college educated; Democrats, Republicans and Independents; white and African-American voters; differing income groups; and residents from all areas of the city.





Voters are also clear that if the city council passes a law that prohibits smoking in all workplaces and public places, then the airport should be included (64 percent strongly agree, 75 percent agree).

The Smoke-Free Atlanta Campaign aims to educate the public about the dangers of secondhand smoke and campaign for comprehensive smoke-free workplaces in Atlanta.

Lake Research Partners designed and administered this survey that was conducted by professional interviewers from August 15-20, 2017.The survey reached a total of 500 likely 2018 voters in Atlanta, Georgia. Telephone numbers were drawn from a voter file sample. The margin of error for the sample is +/-4.4%.

SOURCE The Smoke-Free Atlanta Campaign
Aggressive step out drilling at the recently discovered South Arrow has intersected significant off-scale radioactivity in multiple holes, and has extended the strike length and vertical extent of high grade mineralization to 240 m and 185 m, respectively. High grade uranium mineralization occurs as accumulations of semi-massive to massive pitchblende similar to that seen in the High Grade Domains of the Arrow Deposit.

AR-17-166c1 (250 m up-dip and southwest of discovery hole AR-17-151c1) intersected 41.0 m of total composite mineralization including 6.2 m of total composite off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 54.0 m section (182.5 to 236.5 m). This is the shallowest significant off-scale mineralization encountered anywhere on the Rook I property .

(250 m up-dip and southwest of discovery hole AR-17-151c1) intersected including (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 54.0 m section (182.5 to 236.5 m). This is the . AR-17-160c1 (203 m up-dip and southwest of discovery hole AR-17-151c1) intersected 30.0 m of total composite mineralization including 3.5 m of total composite off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 157.0 m section (192.0 to 349.0 m).

(203 m up-dip and southwest of discovery hole AR-17-151c1) intersected including (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 157.0 m section (192.0 to 349.0 m). AR-17-163c1 (190 m up-dip and southwest of discovery hole AR-17-151c1) intersected 23.0 m of total composite mineralization including 2.2 m of total composite off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) within a 109.5 m section (162.5 to 272.0 m).

Two diamond drill rigs remain in operation at South Arrow as the Company continues to aggressively and systematically test this encouraging new zone. A total of eighteen assays remain pending.

A South Arrow longitudinal section and plan map with drill hole locations are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Garrett Ainsworth, Vice-President, Exploration and Development, commented: "Drill hole AR-17-160c1 represents a highly successful 203 m step out to the southwest from the initial discovery hole at South Arrow. The ability to hit high grade mineralization on an aggressive step out of this distance has been a common characteristic of the Arrow Deposit, which is located 400 m to the north of South Arrow on a separate conductor. South Arrow contains a broad alteration halo that surrounds multiple parallel stacked mineralized zones, which are two important features observed at the Arrow Deposit. Hole AR-17-166c1 at South Arrow has encountered the shallowest significant high grade mineralization anywhere on the Rook I property to date."

Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The scale of these South Arrow results are very exciting considering its very early in the discovery stage. They are unprecedented on the Rook I property and highlight the vast discovery potential of our dominant portfolio in the Southwest Athabasca Basin. An additional 5,000m of drilling has been allocated to South Arrow before the conclusion of the 2017 drilling program."

Table 1: South Arrow Drill Hole Data Drill Hole Athabasca

Group -

Basement

Unconformity

Depth (m) Handheld Scintillometer Results (RS-120) Hole ID Azimuth (From

Surface) Dip (From

Surface) Total

Depth

(m) From (m) To (m) Width (m) CPS Range AR-17-151c3 327 -70 405.00 103.30 280.5 281.5 1 <500 - 18000









290.5 292.5 2 <500 - 980 AR-17-152c1 327 -70 456.50 96.40 294.5 296 1.5 <500 - 1000









302.5 303 0.5 <500 - 810 AR-17-152c2 327 -70 540.50 96.40 333 337.5 4.5 <500 - 3300









341 342 1 <500 - 860









387.5 388 0.5 <500 - 520









405.5 406 0.5 <500 - 520









470.5 471 0.5 <500 - 540









481 482 1 <500 - 2200 AR-17-153c1 327 -67 546.00 97.80 373 373.5 0.5 500 - 3000









388.5 389 0.5 <500 - 730









391.5 393.5 2 <500 - 1100









414 417 3 <500 - 21000









454.5 455 0.5 <500 - 750 AR-17-153c2 327 -67 558.50 97.80 411 420 9 <500 - 6300 AR-17-157c1 327 -70 597.50 N/A 385 385.5 0.5 <500 - 530









388.5 389 0.5 <500 - 1300









396 396.5 0.5 <500 - 540









488 488.5 0.5 <500 - 530









528 528.5 0.5 <500 - 570









531.5 532 0.5 <500 - 800 AR-17-157c2 327 -70 639.00 N/A 400.5 402 1.5 <500 - 900









535.5 536 0.5 <500 - 700









543 544.5 1.5 <500 - 1800









547 548 1 <500 - 780









561.5 564.5 3 <500 - 680









577.5 579 1.5 <500 - 2690 AR-17-158c1 327 -70 600.00 N/A 438.5 439 0.5 <500 - 610









445 445.5 0.5 <500 - 950









452.5 460.5 8 <500 - 1750 AR-17-158c2 327 -70 579.50 N/A 486.5 488.5 2 <500 - 1450









496 497 1 <500 - 800









522.5 523 0.5 <500 - 600 AR-17-160c1 327 -68 393.00 97.60 192 211 19 <500 - 48000









223.5 233.5 10 <500 - >61000









241.5 242 0.5 <500 - 530









348.5 349 0.5 <500 - 3600 AR-17-162c1 315 -68 442.50 96.80 145 145.5 0.5 <500 - 1100









156 162 6 <500 - 56000









178.5 179 0.5 <500 - 970









199 200 1 <500 - 2200









254.5 256.5 2 <500 - 15000 AR-17-163c1 315 -68 438.00 96.15 162.5 163 0.5 <500 - 810









241.5 262.5 21 <500 - >61000









270.5 272 1.5 <500 - 4650 AR-17-165c1 315 -80 249.00 91.40 116 118 2 <500 - 5800 AR-17-166c1 310 -70 303.00 N/A 182.5 200.5 18 <500 - 42200









213.5 236.5 23 <500 - >61000 AR-17-168c1 315 -68 471.00 N/A 315 316.5 1.5 <500 - 2700 AR-17-169c1 315 -68 345.00 N/A 134.5 135 0.5 <500 - 630









138.5 144 5.5 <500 - >61000









152 153.5 1.5 <500 - 15000

Parameters:

 Maximum internal dilution 2.00 m downhole  All depths and intervals are metres downhole, true thicknesses are yet to be determined  "Anomalous" means >500 cps (counts per second) total count gamma readings by gamma scintillometer type RS-120  "Off-scale" means >10,000 cps (counts per second) total count gamma readings by gamma scintillometer type RS-120  Where "Min cps" is <500 cps, this refers to local low radiometric zones within the overall radioactive interval  Directional drilling has often resulted in mineralization intersected at a more favourable and shallower dip

South Arrow Drilling

AR-17-151c3

Hole AR-17-151c3 was a directional hole that departed pilot hole AR-17-151c1 at a depth of 123 m. It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 30 m above AR-17-151c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 144 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -61. Basement lithologies were intersected from the top of hole and dominantly consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, and foliation-controlled pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 3.0 m including 0.15 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to 18,000 cps) was intersected within a 12.0 m section (280.5 to 292.5 m) before the hole was terminated at 405 m.

AR-17-152c1

Hole AR-17-152c1 was a directional hole collared from surface at an angled orientation (-70) to the northwest (327 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 40 m southwest of AR-17-151c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 132 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -58. The hole intersected Athabasca Group sandstones between 91.3 m and the unconformity at 96.4 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 2.0 m was intersected between 294.5 m and 303.0 m. The hole was terminated at 456.5 m.

AR-17-152c2

Hole AR-17-152c2 was a directional hole that departed pilot hole AR-17-152c1 at 148 m. It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m below AR-17-152c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 159 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -68. Basement lithologies were intersected from the top of the hole that included semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 8.0 m was intersected within a 149.0 m section (333.0 to 482.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 540.5 m.

AR-17-153c1

Hole AR-17-153c1 was a directional hole collared from surface at an angled orientation (-67) to the northwest (327 azimuth). It was designed to test South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip from AR-17-151c2. Directional drilling was initiated at 126 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -61. The hole intersected Athabasca Group sandstones between 94.9 m and the unconformity at 97.8 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, fracture-hosted, foliation-controlled, and mineral replacement style pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 6.5 m including 0.55 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to 21,000 cps) was intersected within an 82.0 m section (373.0 to 455.0 m). The hole was terminated at 546 m.

AR-17-153c2

Hole AR-17-153c2 was a directional hole that departed pilot hole AR-17-152c1 at 294 m. Directional drilling was initiated at 126 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -69. It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip of AR-17-153c1. Basement lithologies were intersected from the top of the hole that included semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. Continuous mineralization of 9.0 m was intersected between 411 and 420 m before the hole was terminated at 558.5 m.

AR-17-157c1

Hole AR-17-157c1 was a directional hole collared from surface at an angled orientation (-70) to the northwest (327 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip of AR-17-152c2. Directional drilling was initiated at 198 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -66. The hole intersected Devonian-aged sandstones between 87.9 m and 93.7 m. No Athabasca Group sandstones were encountered. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 3.0 m was intersected within a 147.0 m section (385.0 to 532.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 597.5 m.

AR-17-157c2

Hole AR-17-157c2 was a directional hole that departed pilot hole AR-17-157c1 at 203 m. It was designed to test the South Arrow zone down-dip of AR-17-157c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 264 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -70. Basement lithologies were intersected from the top of the hole that included semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 9.0 m was intersected within a 178.5 m section (400.5 to 579.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 639.0 m.

AR-17-158c1

Hole AR-17-158c1 was a directional hole collared from surface at an angled orientation (-70) to the northwest (327 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip and northeast of AR-17-153c2. Directional drilling was initiated at 150 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -65. The hole intersected Cretaceous-aged mudstone between 71.8 m and 90.8 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 9.0 m was intersected within a 22.0 m section (438.5.0 to 460.5 m) before the hole was terminated at 600.0 m.

AR-17-158c2

Hole AR-17-158c2 was a directional hole that departed pilot hole AR-17-158c1 at 173 m. It was designed to test the South Arrow discovery 50 m down-dip of AR-17-158c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 189 m and the mineralized horizons were intersected at an inclination of -72. Basement lithologies were intersected from the top of the hole that included semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected disseminated and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 3.5 m was intersected within a 36.5 m section (486.5 to 523.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 579.5 m.

AR-17-160c1

Hole AR-17-160c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-68) to the northwest (327 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 190 m southwest of AR-17-151c3. The hole intersected Athabasca Group sandstones between 92.7 m and the unconformity at 97.6 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, vein-style, and semi-massive pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 30.0 m including 3.5 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) was intersected within a 157.0 m section (192.0 to 349.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 393.0 m.

AR-17-162c1

Hole AR-17-162c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-68) to the northwest (315 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 40 m up-dip of AR-17-162c1. The hole intersected Athabasca Group sandstones between 96.0 m and the unconformity at 96.9 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, vein-style, and semi-massive pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 10.0 m including 0.85 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to 56,000 cps) was intersected within a 111.5 m section (145.0 to 256.5 m) before the hole was terminated at 442.5 m.

AR-17-163c1

Hole AR-17-163c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-68) to the northwest (315 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip of AR-17-160c1. The hole intersected Athabasca sandstone between 92.25 m and the unconformity at 96.2 m. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, vein-style, and semi-massive pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 23.0 m including 2.2 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) was intersected within a 109.5 m section (162.5 to 272.0 m) before the hole was terminated at 438.0 m.

AR-17-165c1

Hole AR-17-165c1 was collared from surface at a near vertical orientation (-80) to the northwest (315 azimuth). The primary target was flat lying mineralization at the unconformity 55 m up-dip from AR-17-162c1. Basement-hosted mineralization was also expected immediately below the unconformity. No Athabasca Group sandstones were intersected indicating that the unconformity has been eroded at this location. Basement lithologies consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, and fracture-hosted pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 2.0 m was intersected between 116.0 m and 118.0 m before the hole was terminated at 249.5 m.

AR-17-166c1

Hole AR-17-166c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-70) to the northwest (310 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m southwest of AR-17-160c1. Directional drilling was initiated at 120 m and the mineralized zones were intersected at an inclination of -75 The hole intersected basement lithologies beginning at 94.2 m which consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, vein-style, and semi-massive pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 41.0 m including 6.2 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) was intersected within a 54.0 m section (182.5 to 236.5 m) before the hole was terminated at 303.0 m.

AR-17-168c1

Hole AR-17-168c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-68) to the northwest (315 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m down-dip from of AR-17-163c2. Directional drilling was initiated at 99 m and the mineralized zone was intersected at an inclination of -55 The hole intersected basement lithologies beginning at 84.4 m which consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 1.5 m was intersected beginning at 315.0 m before the hole was terminated at 471 m.

AR-17-169c1

Hole AR-17-169c1 was collared from surface at an angled orientation (-68) to the northwest (315 azimuth). It was designed to test the South Arrow zone 50 m up-dip from of AR-17-160c1. The hole intersected basement lithologies beginning at 96.5 m which consisted of semi-pelitic gneiss and orthogneiss of variable composition. Several broad deformation zones were encountered throughout. Extensive zones of hydrothermal alteration were also intersected which generally consisted of replacement- and hydrothermal breccia-style clay, chlorite and silicification. The hole intersected visible disseminated, vein-style, and semi-massive pitchblende mineralization in close association with deformation and hydrothermal alteration. A total composite mineralization of 7.5 m including 0.5 m of off-scale radioactivity (>10,000 to >61,000 cps) was intersected within a 19.0 m section (134.5 to 153.5 m) before the hole was terminated at 345.0 m.

About NexGen

NexGen is a British Columbia corporation with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of Canadian uranium projects. NexGen has a highly experienced team of uranium industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of uranium deposits and in developing projects through discovery to production.

NexGen owns a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, including a 100% interest in Rook I, location of the Arrow Deposit in February 2014, the Bow discovery in March 2015, the Harpoon discovery in August 2016 and the South Arrow discovery in July 2017. The Arrow deposit's updated mineral resource estimate with an effective date of December 20, 2016 was released in March 2017, and comprised 179.5 M lbs U3O8 contained in 1.18 M tonnes grading 6.88% U3O8 in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and an additional 122.1 M lbs U3O8 contained in 4.25 M tonnes grading 1.30% U3O8 in the Inferred Mineral Resource category.

Technical Information

Natural gamma radiation in drill core reported in this news release was measured in counts per second (cps) using a Radiation Solutions Inc. RS-120 gamma-ray scintillometer. The reader is cautioned that total count gamma readings may not be directly or uniformly related to uranium grades of the rock sample measured; they should be used only as a preliminary indication of the presence of radioactive minerals.

Split core samples will be taken systematically, and intervals will be submitted to SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories (an SCC ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 Accredited Facility) of Saskatoon for analysis. All samples sent to SRC will be analyzed using ICP-MS for trace elements on partial and total digestions, ICP-OES for major and minor elements on a total digestion, and fusion solution of boron by ICP-OES. Mineralized samples are analyzed for U 3 O 8 by ICP-OES and select samples for gold by fire assay. Assay results will be released when received and after stringent internal QA/QC protocols are passed.

All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by or reviewed and approved by Mr. Garrett Ainsworth, P.Geo., Vice President  Exploration & Development for NexGen. Mr. Ainsworth is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and has verified the sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained herein by reviewing original data certificates and monitoring all of the data collection protocols.

For details of the Rook I Project including the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied and key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Arrow Deposit, Rook 1 Property, Province of Saskatchewan, Canada" dated effective September 1, 2017 (the "Rook 1 Technical Report") prepared by Jason J. Cox, David M. Robson, Mark B. Mathisen, David A. Ross, Val Coetzee and Mark Wittrup, each of whom is a "qualified person" under NI 43-101. The Rook I Technical Report is available for review under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

U.S. investors are advised that while the terms "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves.

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the proposed transaction will be completed, the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward looking information or making forward looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, imprecision of mineral resource estimates, the appeal of alternate sources of energy and sustained low uranium prices, aboriginal title and consultation issues, exploration risks, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licenses, changes in laws, regulations and policy, competition for resources and financing, and other factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2017 under "Risk Factors".

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE NexGen Energy Ltd.

Related Links

www.nexgenenergy.ca


DALLAS, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc., ("NXRT" or the "Company"), (NYSE: NXRT) today announced that the Company is scheduled to host a conference call on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 am CT), to discuss third quarter 2017 financial results.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing (800) 210-9006 or, for international callers, (719) 325-2390, and using passcode Conference ID: 6163998. A live audio webcast of the call will be available online at the Company's website, http://www.nexpointliving.com (under "Investor Relations"). An online replay will be available shortly after the call on the Company's website and continue to be available for 60 days.

A replay of the conference call will also be available through Tuesday, November 7, 2017, by dialing (888) 203-1112 or, for international callers, (719) 457-0820 and entering passcode 6163998. The Company plans to issue a press release with third quarter 2017 financial results before market open on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

About NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc.

NexPoint Residential Trust is a publicly traded REIT, with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NXRT," primarily focused on acquiring, owning and operating well-located middle-income multifamily properties with "value-add" potential in large cities and suburban submarkets of large cities, primarily in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. NXRT is externally advised by NexPoint Real Estate Advisors, L.P., an affiliate of Highland Capital Management, L.P., a leading global alternative asset manager and an SEC-registered investment adviser. More information about NXRT is available at http://www.nexpointliving.com.

Contact:

Marilynn Meek

Financial Relations Board

212-827-3773

SOURCE NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nexpointliving.com


BOSTON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberX, provider of the most widely-deployed industrial cybersecurity platform for continuously reducing ICS risk, today announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has chosen to demonstrate how the CyberX platform can help accelerate adoption of behavioral anomaly detection technology.

According to NIST, "behavioral anomaly detection technology can provide a key security component in sustaining business operations, particularly those based on ICS."

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), a part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a collaborative hub where industry organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions work together to address businesses' most pressing cybersecurity issues. The NCCoE applies standards and best practices to develop modular, easily adaptable example cybersecurity solutions using commercially available technology.

CyberX is collaborating with NIST to help industrial organizations reduce risk by detecting and responding faster to targeted attacks, malware, and insider threats. CyberX's platform enables organizations to move from simple ICS perimeter security to continuous ICS threat monitoring, asset discovery, and threat intelligence. In particular, it incorporates patent-pending, ICS-specific behavioral analytics and self-learning to rapidly detect anomalous behavior.

This is particularly important now that WannaCry and NotPetya caused significant operational disruption and financial losses for manufacturing organizations worldwide.

"Recent cyberattacks on industrial organizations make it very clear that insufficient ICS security has a direct impact on the bottom-line," said Omer Schneider, CEO and co-founder of CyberX. "A key benefit of deploying CyberX at the NCCoE is the ability to help businesses implement Active ICS/SCADA Cyber Defense so they can continuously identify and counter threats. We are delighted to support NIST on this important initiative."

As part of the NCCoE project, CyberX will be demonstrated in simulated manufacturing environments incorporating a diverse range of HMIs, PLCs, and OT protocols from multiple OT vendors. The project will result in a NIST Cybersecurity Practice Guide demonstrating how companies can strengthen controls with behavioral anomaly detection, without impacting the performance of their operational technology (OT) environments.

In addition, the security characteristics of behavioral anomaly detection will be mapped to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), a practical and widely used standard for operationalizing controls based on business objectives.

About CyberX (Twitter: @CyberX_Labs)

CyberX provides the most widely deployed industrial cybersecurity platform for continuously reducing ICS risk. By monitoring OT networks for targeted attacks, malware, and insider threats, the CyberX platform enables organizations to prevent costly production outages, catastrophic safety failures, and theft of corporate IP.

Founded in 2013 by IDF cyber veterans previously responsible for protecting critical national infrastructure, CyberX has gained considerable industry recognition including being named a 2015 Gartner Cool Vendor and one of the "10 Coolest IoT Start-Ups" by CRN. CyberX is also the only industrial cybersecurity supplier selected for the SINET16 Innovator Award sponsored by the US DHS and DoD, and the only ICS security vendor recognized by the International Society of Automation (ISA).

The CyberX platform addresses the need for more robust industrial security by delivering continuous threat monitoring and asset discovery for ICS/SCADA networks, leveraging its deep understanding of industrial protocols combined with ICS-specific behavioral analytics, threat intelligence, and risk analytics.

An active member of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the ICS-ISAC, CyberX's groundbreaking ICS threat intelligence research was recently featured in the popular McGraw-Hill book series, "ICS Hacking Exposed." For more information visit CyberX-Labs.com.

Media Contact

Deb Montner, Principal

Montner Tech PR

203-984-7861

[email protected]

SOURCE CyberX

Related Links

http://CyberX-Labs.com


JOHANNESBURG, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Introduction

Sasol shareholders are referred to the Company's announcements on 20 September 2017 and 09 October 2017 regarding Sasol's broad-based black economic empowerment ownership transactions, the Sasol Khanyisa transaction and the Sasol Inzalo black economic empowerment transaction.

Notice of General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that a general meeting of shareholders of Sasol will be held at 10h30 on Friday, 17 November 2017 at The Hilton Hotel, 138 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, to transact the business stated in the notice of general meeting.

The board of directors has determined that the record date by when a person must be recorded as a shareholder in the securities register of the Company, in order to receive the notice of general meeting, is Friday, 13 October 2017. The record date in order to be recorded as a shareholder in the securities register of Sasol and to attend, participate and vote at the general meeting is Friday, 10 November 2017. The last date to trade in order to be recorded in the securities register of Sasol as a shareholder on the aforementioned record date is Tuesday, 7 November 2017.

Circular

Sasol shareholders are advised that the circular to shareholders dated 18 October 2017, which incorporates the notice of the general meeting ("Circular"), regarding the proposed Sasol Khanyisa transaction ("Sasol Khanyisa") was distributed to Sasol shareholders today, 18 October 2017. The Circular can be obtained, without charge, by downloading a copy from the Company's website, http://www.sasol.com or by requesting a copy from Sasol Investor Relations by means of either:

a. an e-mail to [email protected]; or

b. written correspondence posted to PO Box 5486, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa.

Contact:

Investor relations:

Cavan Hill, Senior Vice President: Investor Relations

Telephone: +27(0)10-344-9280

Alex Anderson, Head of Group Media Relations

Direct telephone: +27(0)10-344-6509; Mobile: +27(0)71-600-9605;

[email protected]

Matebello Motloung, Senior Specialist: Media Relations

Direct telephone: +27(0)11-344 9256, Mobile: +27(0)83-773-9457

[email protected]



SOURCE Sasol Limited
EAST HANOVER, N.J., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis today announced long-term study results supporting the positive safety and efficacy of Promacta (eltrombopag) in adults with chronic/persistent (enrolling patients that were 6 or more months from diagnosis) immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (ITP) were published online in Blood. The EXTEND study found that a majority of patients maintained a substantial clinical response and many no longer needed concomitant ITP medications. The research evaluated patients for up to 8 years of continuous treatment (median exposure of 2.4 years)1,2.

ITP is a rare and potentially serious blood disorder where the blood doesn't clot as it should due to a low number of platelets. As a result, patients with ITP experience bruising, bleeding and, in rare cases, serious hemorrhaging that can be fatal3. The goal of treatment in chronic/persistent ITP is to maintain a safe platelet count that reduces the risk of bleeding1,3.

"The EXTEND data published in Blood validate Promacta as an important oral treatment option that, by often increasing platelet counts, significantly decreased bleeding rates and reduced the need for concurrent therapies in certain patients with chronic/persistent immune thrombocytopenia," said lead author James Bussel, M.D., professor emeritus of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine. "With this information, physicians can better optimize long-term disease management for appropriate patients living with this chronic disease."

The efficacy results of EXTEND demonstrated that median platelet counts were elevated to 50109/L within two weeks of Promacta treatment, with median platelet counts >50109/L maintained for more than four years. Post-baseline, overall bleeding rates declined and the majority of bleeding that occurred during the study was Grade 1 or 2 according to the World Health Organization bleeding scale. Some patients (39%) were capable of reducing or permanently stopping one or more concomitant ITP medications without the need for rescue therapy, many of which sustained reduction for at least 24 weeks1,2,4.

"We conducted this trial, the largest of its kind in adult patients, to ensure that clinicians have comprehensive data on hand as they work with their ITP patients to make treatment decisions," said Vas Narasimhan, M.D., Global Head Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "The EXTEND results reinforce Promacta as a trusted treatment option that can be used over the long-term for those living with this chronic and rare disease."

Overall, the safety profile of Promacta was consistent with previous studies. The most common adverse events were headache (28%), nasopharyngitis (25%) and upper respiratory tract infection (23%). During treatment on EXTEND, 6% of patients experienced thromboembolic events1,2,4.

About the EXTEND Clinical Trial

EXTEND, an open-label extension study of four trials (TRA100773A, TRA100773B, TRA102537/RAISE and TRA108057/REPEAT) of Promacta, enrolled 302 adults with chronic/persistent ITP (6 or more months from diagnosis) who had received prior therapy for their ITP, and is the largest study of its kind. To qualify for the prior trials, patients must have had thrombocytopenia for at least 6 months (chronic ITP was previously defined as thrombocytopenia for 6 or more months).The objectives were to assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with Promacta, including the proportion of patients achieving stable platelet counts during treatment with Promacta; maximum duration of platelet count elevation 50109/L or 30109/L during treatment with Promacta, and the effect of Promacta on reducing and/or sparing concomitant ITP therapies, while maintaining a platelet count 50109/L1,2.

The study allowed each patient to achieve an individualized dose and schedule of eltrombopag based upon their platelet counts in the desired range between 50 to 200 Gi/L. Therefore, patients who were enrolled in EXTEND must have completed the treatment and follow-up periods as defined in previous protocol and must have not experienced eltrombopag-related toxicity or other drug intolerance on prior eltrombopag study even if resolved. In addition, patients who discontinued from a previous study due to toxicity were not eligible unless they received placebo1,2.

Promacta was started at a dose of 50 mg/day and titrated to 25-75 mg/day or less often based on platelet counts. Maintenance dosing continued after minimization of concomitant ITP medication and optimization of Promacta dosing. The overall median duration of exposure was 2.37 years (range, 2 days to 8.76 years) and mean average daily dose was 50.2 (range, 175) mg/day1,2. One hundred thirty five adult patients (45%) completed the study and 75 adult patients (25%) were treated for four or more years. Most patients were aged <65 years, female, and had platelet counts <30109/L at baseline. About one-third were using concomitant medications at baseline, and 53% had received three or more prior ITP therapies1,2. In addition, 91% (276/302) of patients achieved platelet counts 30109/L without rescue treatment, and 86% (259/302) achieved platelet counts 50109/L without rescue treatment1,2,4.

Grade 3 and 4 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 26% and 6% of patients, respectively. Grade 3 cataracts occurred in four (1%) patients and Grade 3 pain in extremity in six (2%) patients. Grade 3 AEs occurring in three (<1%) patients each included diarrhea, headache, migraine, dyspnea, decreased platelet count, and menorrhagia; those occurring in five (2%) patients each included pneumonia, fatigue, back pain, increased alanine aminotransferase, increased aspartate aminotransferase, anemia, and hypertension. Grade 4 anemia and thrombocytopenia occurred in three (<1%) and four (1%) patients, respectively. All other Grade 4 events occurred in one patient each1,2.

About Chronic/Persistent ITP

Chronic/persistent ITP is a rare and potentially serious blood disorder that is characterized by the improper functioning or destruction of platelets, which are blood cells that allow the blood to clot properly3. People who have ITP often have purple bruises or tiny red or purple dots on the skin3. They also display symptoms such as nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums during dental work, or other bleeding that is hard to stop3. The potential for drops in platelet counts may also cause emotional distress and may result in a hindered ability to do work or embarrassment due to visible symptoms5.

ITP is classified by duration from diagnosis into: acute (0-3 months), persistent (3-12 months duration) and chronic (>12 months duration). Chronic/persistent ITP is more likely to occur in adults, and women are affected two to three times more often than men3.

The goal of treatment in chronic/persistent ITP is to maintain a safe platelet count that reduces the risk of bleeding. Treatment is determined by the severity of the symptoms. In most cases, drugs that alter the immune system's attack on the platelets are prescribed to help manage bleeding and bruising in adults.

About Eltrombopag

Eltrombopag, marketed as Promacta in the United States and Revolade in countries outside the US, is approved in more than 100 countries worldwide for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an inadequate response or are intolerant to other treatments, approved in over 45 countries worldwide for the treatment of patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who are refractory to other treatments, and also approved in more than 50 countries for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic hepatitis C to allow them to initiate and maintain interferon-based therapy. Eltrombopag is approved in the US and in the European Union for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in pediatric patients 1 year and older with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids and immunoglobulins.

Important Safety Information for Promacta (eltrombopag)

Promacta can cause serious side effects, including liver problems, abnormal liver function tests, high platelet counts and higher risk for blood clots, and new or worsened cataracts (a clouding of the lens in the eye).

For patients who have chronic hepatitis C virus and take Promacta with interferon and ribavirin treatment, Promacta may increase the risk of liver problems. Patients should tell a healthcare provider right away if they have any of these signs and symptoms of liver problems including yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes (jaundice), unusual darkening of the urine, unusual tiredness, right upper stomach area pain, confusion, swelling of the stomach area (abdomen).

A healthcare provider will order blood tests to check the liver before starting Promacta and during Promacta treatment. In some cases, treatment with Promacta may need to be stopped due to changes in liver function tests.

The risk of getting a blood clot is increased if the platelet count is too high during treatment with Promacta. The risk of getting a blood clot may also be increased during treatment with Promacta if platelet counts are normal or low. Some forms of blood clots, such as clots that travel to the lungs or that cause heart attacks or strokes can cause severe problems or death. A healthcare provider will check blood platelet counts, and change the dose of Promacta or stop Promacta, if platelet counts get too high. Patients should tell a healthcare provider right away if they have signs and symptoms of a blood clot in the leg, such as swelling, pain, or tenderness in the leg.

People with chronic liver disease may be at risk for a type of blood clot in the stomach area. Patients should tell a healthcare provider right away if they have stomach area pain that may be a symptom of this type of blood clot.

New or worsened cataracts have happened in people taking Promacta. A healthcare provider will check the patient's eyes before and during treatment with Promacta. Patients should tell a healthcare provider about any changes in eyesight while taking Promacta.

Patients should tell a healthcare provider about all the medicines they take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Promacta may affect the way certain medicines work. Certain medicines may keep Promacta from working correctly. Patients should take Promacta at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after taking products such as antacids used to treat stomach ulcers or heartburn and multivitamins or products that contain iron, calcium, aluminum, magnesium, selenium, and zinc, which may be found in mineral supplements. Patients should ask a healthcare provider if they are not sure if the medicine is one that is listed above.

Patients should avoid situations and medications that may increase the risk of bleeding while taking Promacta.

The most common side effects of Promacta when used to treat chronic ITP in adults are: nausea; diarrhea; upper respiratory tract infection (symptoms may include runny nose, stuffy nose, and sneezing); vomiting; muscle aches; urinary tract infection (symptoms may include frequent or urgent need to urinate, low fever in some people, pain or burning with urination); pain or swelling (inflammation) in the throat or mouth (oropharyngeal pain and pharyngitis); abnormal liver function tests; back pain; flu-like symptoms (influenza), including fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, and body aches; skin tingling, itching, or burning; and rash.

The most common side effects of Promacta in children 1 year and older when used to treat chronic ITP are: upper respiratory tract infections (symptoms may include runny nose, stuffy nose, and sneezing); pain or swelling (inflammation) in the nose and throat (nasopharyngitis); cough; diarrhea; pyrexia; runny, stuffy nose (rhinitis); stomach (abdominal) pain; pain or swelling (inflammation) in the throat or mouth; toothache; abnormal liver function tests; rash; runny nose (rhinorrhea).

The most common side effects when Promacta is used in combination with other medicines to treat chronic HCV are: low red blood cell count (anemia); fever; tiredness; headache; nausea; diarrhea; decreased appetite; flu-like symptoms (influenza), including fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, and body aches; feeling weak; trouble sleeping; cough; itching; chills; muscle aches; hair loss; and swelling in the ankles, feet, and legs.

The most common side effects of Promacta when used to treat severe aplastic anemia are: nausea, feeling tired, cough, diarrhea, headache, pain in arms, legs, hands or feet, shortness of breath, fever, dizziness, pain in nose or throat, abdominal pain, bruising, muscle spasms, abnormal liver function tests, joint pain, and runny nose. Laboratory tests may show abnormal changes to the cells in bone marrow.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed WARNING and Medication Guide, for Promacta.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payer and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; general economic and industry conditions, including the effects of the persistently weak economic and financial environment in many countries; safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Located in East Hanover, NJ Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is an affiliate of Novartis which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis and @NovartisCancer at http://twitter.com/novartiscancer.

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library.

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact [email protected].

James Bussel, M.D. has received research support payments for his service on an advisory board as well as participated in speakers' bureaus sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

References

Wong R, et al. Safety and efficacy of long-term treatment of chronic/persistent ITP with eltrombopag: final results of the EXTEND study. Blood. October 2017 ; Online First Edition. Bussel J, et al. Final Safety and Efficacy Results from the EXTEND Study: Treatment with Eltrombopag (EPAG) in Adults with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (cITP). 2016 Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA). Copenhagen, Denmark . Immune Thrombocytopenia. US National Institutes of Health website http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/book/export/html/4917. Accessed October 16, 2017 . Novartis Data on File. Mathias S, et al. "Impact of Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) on health-related quality of life: a conceptual model starting with the patient perspective." Health and quality of life outcomes 6.1(2008):1.

SOURCE Novartis

Related Links

http://www.novartis.com


COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio is looking for new ideas to be brought to the fight against drug abuse and addiction through today's launch of the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge. This global challenge is seeking new approaches and technology solutions whether they be from regular citizens or researchers and scientists.

Ohio is spending $1 billion annually attacking the opioid problem from every direction including prevention, education, treatment and recovery, and law enforcement. Recently, Ohio Governor John R. Kasich called for Ohio Third Frontier funding to accelerate scientific and technological breakthroughs that could help combat the U.S. opioid problem. The Ohio Third Frontier is a state initiative that identifies and advances promising technology.

"Whether you're a medical or healthcare expert, or simply a concerned citizen, we are calling on everyone to be part of the solution," said Director David Goodman, chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

The Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge will leverage $8 million of a $20 million commitment to advance new ideas in the battle against drug abuse and addiction. The Challenge is a multi-phase, multi-million-dollar prize competition with escalating prize amounts associated with progressive levels of solution development.

The first stage is the idea generation phase, which will collect ideas from technical and non-technical audiences including caregivers, service providers, researchers, citizens, entrepreneurs and anyone impacted by the crisis. Up to five ideas from the idea generation phase with the highest likelihood of leading to a solution will be selected for a cash award of $10,000 each. In addition, runners-up will be entered in a drawing to win $500 prizes; 20 will be awarded to citizens and 20 to technical professionals and experts.

The second stage is the challenge phase, using expertise of the worldwide business and innovation community to advance technical solutions in the areas of prevention, treatment, and overdose avoidance and response.

The final stage is the product phase, enabling winners of the Challenge to further develop their technology for market entry.

Responses for the idea phase of the Ohio Opioid Technology Challenge should be submitted at http://www.opioidtechchallenge.com/ and are due by December 15, 2017 at 5 p.m. US EST. Winners will be announced in late January 2018, and the second phase of the program, the challenge phase, will launch in February 2018.

The Ohio Opioid Challenge is being managed by NineSigma North America Inc. The company specializes in helping organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors find new solutions, knowledge and partners to accelerate innovation.

"We are thrilled to help the Ohio Third Frontier with this important challenge to accelerate new ideas and scientific and technological breakthroughs to stop the opioid crisis in its tracks," said Dr. Andy Zynga, CEO, NineSigma North America Inc."

Contact: Lisa Colbert at 614-466-6212

[email protected]

SOURCE NineSigma; Ohio Third Frontier

Related Links

http://www.ninesigma.com


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading environmental education and youth leadership nonprofit EarthEcho International is bringing 26 U.S.-based middle school teachers from across the country on an exploration of water scarcity in Southern California. Led by explorer and environmental advocate Philippe Cousteau, Jr., EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design takes place October 23-27, through the support of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. The initiative is part of EarthEcho Expeditions, an annual program that leverages the rich Cousteau legacy of exploration and discovery to bring STEM education alive for today's 21st Century learners and their educators.

"EarthEcho Expeditions provides educators with the opportunity to bring the frontlines of environmental science and solutions into the classroom through exciting first-hand experiences that they can share with students around the world," said Philippe Cousteau, Jr., founder of EarthEcho International. "Water quality and scarcity are growing issues for communities worldwide. The resources created through EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design will help inspire and equip a new generation of environmental champions and problem solvers to create a brighter, more sustainable future starting in their own communities."

The participating teachers - or EarthEcho Expedition Fellows - will learn firsthand from scientists and engineers in Southern California by examining how urban communities are implementing community resilience practices to better manage water resources. Water by Design will explore issues of water management and scarcity as they relate to the impacts of the ongoing drought on both human health and development and natural coastal and ocean systems. Expedition Fellows will experience on-site production of video resources and participate in collaborative curriculum development of adventure-based STEM learning modules. These modules will introduce students across the world to the innovative engineering and technology solutions being implemented to conserve water resources. During 2018, the EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design modules created by these teachers for middle school classrooms will be distributed digitally to schools across the world at no charge.

EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design Expedition Fellows will explore a broad range of water-related issues and solutions including the following:

Exploration of the water supply that provides water for the more than 10 million Los Angeles county residents with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power

residents with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Examination of the innovative technology used to predict water resource availability with NASA's Airborne Snow Observatory and Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Understanding the process of desalinization at the West Basin Water Education Center to explore how to safely and effectively use ocean water to supplement the regional water supply

Visiting one of the largest aquaponics farms in the U.S. to understand how this innovative farming practice can reduce water resource consumption.

Selected from hundreds of submissions nationwide, the EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design Expedition Fellows bring diverse experiences and a passion for sharing STEM learning with their students. A full list of the 2017 Fellows and the schools they represent can be found at the end of this press release. You can also learn more about these remarkable teachers by visiting the EarthEcho website.

"We are thrilled to support teachers for the 2017 EarthEcho expedition in Southern California," said Sandra Evers-Manly, Northrop Grumman's vice president of global corporate responsibility, and president, the Northrop Grumman Foundation. "This is a unique opportunity for middle school teachers to experience an expedition first hand and bring the topic of water scarcity and the innovative engineering and technology solutions addressing the issue back into their classrooms. This initiative is closely tied to the company's commitment to supporting environmental awareness and stewardship and we are proud to partner with EarthEcho to bring this opportunity to life."

EarthEcho Expeditions: Water by Design is made possible through the generous support of the Northrop Grumman Foundation. In addition, the following organizations are collaborating with EarthEcho Expeditions to provide experts, resources and one-of-a kind educator experiences: West Basin Municipal Water District; Orange County Water District; The Ocean Institute; Los Angeles Water and Power; Future Foods Farms; Environmental Charter School; NASA Jet Propulsion laboratory; NASA Airborne Snow Observatory; The North Face; Washington Middle School; and The Journey School.

For more information and updates on EarthEcho Expedition: Water by Design follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/earthecho, Twitter: www.twitter.com/earthecho and Instagram: www.instagram.com/earthecho/. Check in with Philippe Cousteau and our Expedition Fellows by following #expeditionee.

For more information about Northrop Grumman and the Northrop Grumman Foundation, visit the www.northropgrumman.com/foundation.

EarthEcho 2017 Expedition Fellows

Name City, State School Name Grade Level Adrian Polizu Torrance, CA Madrona Middle School 7 & 8 Amy Truemper Aurora, IL Bednarcik Junior High School 7 & 8 Csilla Koppany La Habra, CA Imperial Middle School 8 Daryth Morrissey Fountain Valley, CA Vista View Middle School 7 & 8 Debra Brice San Marcos, CA San Marcos Middle School 8 Erika Magdalena Coronado South Gate, CA South Gate Middle School STEM Magnet 6 Heather Hendricks Palmdale, CA The Palmdale Aerospace Academy 6 Jim Trogdon Coventry, OH Coventry Middle School 6 Jinny Jung North Hollywood, CA Walter Reed Middle School 7 & 8 Katie Cohen Oak Park, CA Medea Creek Middle School 6-8 Kelsey McFadden Los Angeles, CA Girls Academic Leadership Academy 6 & 7 Kerry Cogan Lawndale, CA Will Rogers Middle School 6 & 8 Kim Jones Los Angeles, CA Thomas Starr King Middle School - Environmental STEAM Magnet 6 Laura Griffith Los Angeles, CA Arroyo Seco Museum Science Magnet School 7 & 8 Lawrence Ramos Los Angeles, CA Emerson Community Charter Middle School 6-8 Marianna O'Brien Santa Monica, CA Lincoln Middle School 8 Mary Shalaby Lawndale, CA Will Rogers Middle School 7 Mike Hale Ladera Ranch, CA Ladera Ranch Middle School 7 & 8 Susan Tate Whitehall, MI Whitehall Middle School 8 Tara O'Gorman Scarsdale, NY Casimir Pulaski School 5 Tashanda Giles-Jones Inglewood, CA Environmental Charter Middle School 6-8 Teresa Sikora Rockledge, FL Andersen Elementary School 5 Veronica Gardea Los Angeles, CA Thomas Starr King Environmental STEAM Magnet 6 Wendy Martinez Arroyo Grande, CA Harloe Elementary School 5 Winston Chang South Gate, CA Valiente College Preparatory Charter School 5 & 6

SOURCE EarthEcho International

Related Links

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LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global programmable logic controllers (PLC) market is expected to cross $46 billion by 2022.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151516





Establishment of semiconductor fabs and electronic assembly units in the Asian economies of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China that involve the highest degree of automation is set to increase the demand for PLCs.



The US is the world's largest market for PLCs, driven by a high degree of automation, better availability of range and awareness, followed by China. The modular PLC segment continues to witness maximum growth and will remain the dominant segment.



Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 2014?2015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 2017?2022



Major vendors profiled in the report are as following:

 Schneider Electric

 Rockwell Automation

 Siemens

 Mitsubishi

 Omron



Other prominent vendors include ABB, General Electric, Toshiba, Kontron, Honeywell, Panasonic, Bosch Rexroth, Eaton, Emerson Electric, and Yokogawa.



Scope of the Report

The report includes a detailed study of growth drivers, trends, and restraints of global PLC market. It considers the sale of programmable controllers or programmable logic controllers (PLC) at the manufacturer level to arrive at the market size.



Both the first-time and replacement demands were factored in while arriving at the market estimates annually.



The report provides the analysis of key segments of the market by product type, end-user, geography, and vendors. It provides a detailed analysis of revenue from various segments:



Product Type

 Unitary

 Modular

 Rackmount



End-Users

 Automotive

 Chemicals and Petro-chemicals

 Mining and metallurgy

 Paper, packaging, and printing

 Food and beverages

 Water and waste water treatment sector

 Oil and gas sector

 Other End-users



Major Geographies

 APAC

 Europe

 Latin America

 MEA

 North America



Key Countries

 China

 Japan

 Canada

 US



The report provides a holistic view of the global PLC market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. The report also provides information about the latest trends that are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.



This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.



PLC Market: Key Vendor Analysis

The competitive rivalry among vendors can be termed as moderate. While some vendors stay focused on certain end-users such as industrial automation, marine, and rail, many vendors have an extended product portfolio along with a wide array of integrable accessories and customization options.



Major vendors in the market are as followings

 Schneider Electric

 Rockwell Automation

 Siemens

 Mitsubishi

 Omron



Other prominent vendors include ABB, General Electric, Toshiba, Kontron, Honeywell, Panasonic, Bosch Rexroth, Eaton, Emerson Electric, Yokogawa.



PLC Market Dynamics

Enterprise networking and remote access propelling the HMI-PLC technology



Rise of augmented reality (AR) and immersive experiences, increased prominence of PACs and PLC-based PACs, more portable and open industrial automation architectures are the latest trends that is going to drive the market growth during the forecast period. Further, System-on-Chip (SoC) FPGAs provide a smarter approach to the PLC architecture and thus, the increased adoption of SoC FPGAs in programmable logic controllers architecture is also going to boost the market.



Enterprise networking and remote access propelling the HMI-PLC technology, overwhelming rise in global industrial automation expenditure, rise of smart cities and need for intensive programmable logic controllers and sensor networks and PLC-controlled implementation for smart homes are among the major growth driving factors of the global market. The report also includes the growth restraints of the market.



PLC Market: Segmental Overview

Automotive sector to remain as the largest end-user segment



The modular segment is expected to remain the largest segment as it is expected to contribute the maximum revenue and will witness maximum growth CAGR. Increased requirement for automation solutions in various industries, especially in manufacturing and varied applications among home and building automation end-users are some of the major growth boosters for this segment in the global PLC market.



Rackmount programmable logic controllers are also expected to witness growth during the forecast period. In End- user segment the automotive segment is expected to remain the largest end user segment followed by chemicals and petro-chemical segment.



PLC Market: Geographical Analysis

The US is the world's largest market for programmable logic controllers



The global PLC market, which is concentrated in four countries - China, Japan, Europe and the US - constituted almost half of the global market size in 2016. There has been a high degree of correlation observed with the extent of industrialization, availability, and investments in the public and private infrastructure and associated private and government spending on automation, constituting a major boost to the demand for programmable logic controllers. In 2022 the North America region is expected to dominate the market. The demand for programmable logic controllers in the region is driven by a high awareness of their advantages over conventional products, better product availability, and extensive reach of innovative products.



North America is followed by APAC.



China hosts some of the largest programmable logic controllers consumers in manufacturing in the world. The market in Europe is largely driven by the demand from key end-user industries in Germany, the UK, and France.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151516



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

SOURCE ReportBuyer

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LIVINGSTON, Texas, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forward-looking Polk County Commissioners approved the most up-to-date technology available in the U.S.  the Verity Voting system from Hart InterCivic  to replace an aging election system from another vendor. Verity will debut with voters in March 2018.

The new Verity Touch electronic voting system from Hart InterCivic makes voting straightforward with an easy to read touchscreen. The compact, lightweight devices save cost and effort for storage, transport and setup.

"We're looking forward to being able to program our elections much more quickly with Verity  its updated technology streamlines the process. Pre-election testing will be faster, too. Polk County will save on maintenance costs with the new system, and the units are not bulky and heavy like with our old system," said County Clerk Schelana Hock.

Selecting Verity Touch for efficient, secure electronic voting will allow the County to eventually transition to popular Vote Centers. Consolidating vote locations in this manner reduces the demand for hard-to-find poll workers, and the convenience of Vote Centers can increase voter turnout. Nearby San Jacinto County selected Verity earlier this year as the best system to support its Vote Centers.

Verity Touch and Controller options will improve the experiences of voters and poll workers. Touch includes a voter-friendly, intuitive touchscreen. In addition, the system's lightweight, removable tablet and accessibility features accommodate all voters, including those with disabilities.

"Voters will find Verity more user-friendly and easy to use," said Hock.

Hart's unique controller-model voting system, which can connect up to 12 voting terminals for central management from a single console, will improve efficiency. It is user friendly for poll workers and will reduce risk and minimize errors. Poll workers will open polls, close polls, and run reports on only one machine  the Controller  in each polling place, rather than performing every task on every device separately. With only one data storage medium per polling place to read into the tabulation computer at the elections office, election night results reporting is fast.

"We welcome Polk County to the Hart family," said Phillip Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. "We have served Texas voters for more than 100 years and look forward to sharing our experience as Polk makes this upgrade. Verity offers modern, flexible options that will adapt to their changing needs for years to come."

Verity is a federally and state certified system designed from the ground up to be secure and adaptable with all new hardware and software. Election managers appreciate Verity's reliable technology and its user-friendly approach.

With this upgrade, Polk County joins a growing number of Texas jurisdictions acting now to prepare for future elections. Since the Texas Secretary of State certified the latest release of Hart InterCivic's Verity Voting system in mid-December, Hart has shipped more than 7,000 Verity devices across the State. Federally certified in 2015, the secure and efficient system is also in use in numerous counties throughout the U.S.

Braithwaite expects more Texas announcements this year.

Learn more about Verity in Texas: http://www.hartintercivic.com/texas4verity.

About Hart InterCivic, Inc.

Austin-based Hart InterCivic is a full-service election solutions innovator, partnering with state and local governments to deliver secure, accurate and reliable elections. Working side-by-side with election professionals for more than 100 years, Hart is committed to helping advance democracy one election at a time. Hart's mission fuels its passionate customer focus and a continuous drive for technological innovation. The company's new Verity Voting system makes voting more straightforward, equitable and accessibleand makes managing elections more transparent, more efficient and easier. Only Hart offers a completely new, certified voting system with both electronic and paper options.

SOURCE Hart InterCivic

Related Links

http://www.hartintercivic.com


LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global pool equipment and maintenance market is expected to cross $17 billion, growing at a CAGR of 10.8% in terms of revenue during 2016?2022.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151515



In terms of volume, the market is likely to grow at a CAGR more than 11%. Increase in disposable income, growth in the travel and tourism industry, and construction of new pools are major factors that are likely to drive the market growth during the forecast period. The pool equipment products segment is expected to witness a high growth and is likely to dominate the market.



Also, the residential segment is likely to be the largest contributor to the global pool equipment and maintenance market.



While North America is expected to remain the largest market led by the US, RoW is likely to emerge as the second largest revenue contributor in the global pool equipment and maintenance market at the end of the forecast period. Hayward, Pentair, Zodiac, Maytronics, and Fluidra are the major leaders in the market.



Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 2014?2015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 2017?2022



Major vendors profiled in the report are as following:

 Hayward

 Maytronics

 Pentair

 Zodiac

 Fluidra



Other prominent vendors are Chemoform AG, Desjoyaux S.A., Emaux Water Technology Co. Ltd., FIJA Group, Guangdong Laswim Pool & Spa Equipment Co., Intex Recreation Corp., Lonza Group, Neptune Swimming Pools, NextPool Group, SCP Pool Corp., Waterco Ltd., and Pleatco LLC.



Scope of the Report

The report includes a detailed study of growth drivers, trends, and restraints of the global pool equipment and maintenance market. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the purchase of equipment essential for functioning and maintaining of swimming pools across the world.



The report provides the analysis of key segments of the market by product type, distribution channels, geography, and vendors. It provides a detailed analysis of revenue from various segments:



Product Type

 Pool equipment

 Pool maintenance



End-users Type

 Residential swimming pools

 Commercial swimming pools



Design Type

 Inground swimming pools

 Above ground swimming pools



Major Geographies

 APAC

 Europe

 North America

 RoW



Key Countries

 US

 Canada

 UK

 Australia

 Brazil

 France



The report also includes the analysis of distribution strategies of the global pool equipment and maintenance market.



The report provides a holistic view of the global pool equipment and maintenance market, companies involved in the market, and factors that are driving the growth. It also provides information about the latest trends that are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.



This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.



Pool Equipment Market: Key Vendor Analysis

New vendors are likely to face tough competition



Currently, the competitive scenario in the global pool equipment and maintenance market is intense. Many players are expected to expand their presence worldwide during the forecast period, especially in APAC, which is one of the fastest developing region, to increase the market share. New entrants that are likely to enter the market may face challenges as the industry requires a wide experience and capital to remain competitive in the market.



Pool Equipment Market Dynamics

Growth in tourism and hospitality and increased construction of swimming pools to drive the market growth



Growing inclination toward having personal pools, increasing trend to construct swimming pools with DIY setup, increasing online support options offering guidance for basic pool maintenance tasks, and implementing energy-efficient methods to increase cost savings are the latest trends that are likely to increase the global market growth. Further, increasing demand for additional swimming pool features, growing usage of eco-friendly products and changing purchasing behavior of customers in developed and developing countries are among the emerging trends that will shape the market in next five years.



Also, the usage of different materials to build swimming pools such as fiberglass, vinyl, and concrete is one of the major factors that is driving the global pool equipment market. In addition to it, growth of the tourism and hospitality industry, increase in urban population, and penetration of the internet contributing to the rise in awareness about pros and cons of having swimming pools for residential buyers are the significant factors that will boost the market during the forecast period.



Pool Equipment Market: Segmental Overview

The residential segment is likely to be the largest contributor



The residential segment is likely to be the largest contributor to the global pool equipment market and include buyers such as an individual house, apartment, and condominium owners. The number of swimming pools in the individual house segment is lower than the apartment and condominium segment.



However, the number of swimming pools in apartments and condominiums is increasing due to urbanization across the globe and rise in awareness to stay fit.



Likewise, the growth of in-ground pools will surpass above ground pools. The pool equipment segment is likely to witness the maximum growth and the pool pump segment is going to be a dominant segment.



Pool Equipment Market: Geographical Analysis

North America to remain the largest market and market in RoW and likely to surpass Europe in 2022



North America had the highest number of swimming pools in 2016, and it is expected to sustain its position during the forecast period. Europe held the second position in terms of a number of swimming pools in 2016, but RoW is expected to surpass it by 2022. RoW, which constitutes Latin America and MEA, is likely to account for more than 28% of the market share in terms of revenue and installed pool base, respectively in 2022.



The pool equipment market in APAC is characterized by demand for low-cost products.



It is fragmented in this region with Australia being the sole major contributor to the growth in the region. As the demand increases from other countries, the market in APAC will eventually start driving revenue growth.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151515



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

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free. Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

Proving Liability in Las Vegas Shooting Could Be Challenging

Courts Should Protect Media from Trump Threats

United Nations Celebrates 'Africa Week' Oct. 16-20

MEDIA JOBS

Global Industry Editor  Reuters (NY/MI/CA)

US Lifestyle Writer  The Independent (NY)

Editor, Digital Studio Middle East  ITP Business ( Dubai )

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

So You Want to Be a Ghostwriter. Here's What You Need to Know

Authors: How to Sign a Top Literary Agent

Blog Profiles: Thrifting Blogs

-------------------------------------------------------------------

EXPERT ALERTS:

Proving Liability in Las Vegas Shooting Could Be Challenging

Timothy Zeiger

Attorney

Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP in Dallas

Among the first lawsuits filed in response to the Oct. 1 Las Vegas massacre seeks to hold MGM Resorts, Live Nation, Bump Stock manufacturer Slide Fire and the estate of the gunman liable. Says Zeiger: "There does not appear to be any dispute that Stephen Paddock was the gunman, making the move to freeze the estate a prudent decision. Injured victims will often sue the estate of the person who acted negligently, such as when a careless driver causes a traffic fatality, or in this case carries out an intentionally malicious act. However, despite the reported size of his estate, given the large number of potential claims related to the horrific injuries and deaths he caused, the chance that any particular victim will be justly compensated from the estate does not appear to be likely and it is still too early to determine the legal responsibility of MGM Resorts, Live Nation or Slide Fire."

Zeiger, head of the litigation section at Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, notes that unless a tragedy is "reasonably foreseeable" and not just an "isolated, and up to now, unique crime," it will be difficult to prove negligence.

Contact: Rhonda Reddick, [email protected]



Courts Should Protect Media from Trump Threats

Paul C. Watler

First Amendment Lawyer

Jackson Walker LLP in Dallas

President Donald Trump's threats against NBC for news coverage he didn't like are not unprecedented, says Watler: "There is a long history of American presidents criticizing the coverage they receive in the press, with an equally long history of American journalists doing their jobs despite presidential disfavor. A few presidents, most notoriously Richard Nixon, actually attempted to turn their dislike of the media into official retaliation by government agencies or regulators. But those vengeful efforts at official harassment were abject failures. The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press stands as a fundamental bar to the type of vindictive action that the current president seems to contemplate or encourage. As long as we have federal judges who are true to their oaths to uphold the Constitution, media organizations should be protected from efforts to intimidate or subvert independent news reporting."

Contact: Kit Frieden, [email protected]



United Nations Celebrates 'Africa Week' Oct. 16-20

Efosa Ojomo

Research Fellow

Clayton Christensen Institute

"The theme of this year's UN 'Africa Week' conference (https://tinyurl.com/ybsxrhza) is encouraging, since 'prosperity' is one of the areas of focus. However, upon reading the details of what the week is intended to accomplish, unfortunately, there is no mention of the word 'innovation.' In addition, many of the recommendations aim to integrate Africa's 54 countries. If the 'Africa Week' conference focused on answering the simple question, "How can we get every working-age African employed?" the event would likely solve not just Africa's rising population and employment problems, but also its integration issues. Africa, as a region, will integrate only when it makes sense economically and politically. Until then, while it might not be impossible, it will be very difficult to organically advance the integration agenda."

A native of Nigeria, Ojomo moved to the U.S. to attend college. He earned a BS in Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Ojomo has spoken widely on the topic of global poverty and prosperity (see his TEDx talk at https://youtu.be/KjlRaaMduzo). He has also been interviewed broadly on the topic (see recent coverage in the Wall Street Journal at https://tinyurl.com/ycu6pfk3). He is based in Boston.

ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/efosaojomo

Website: https://www.christenseninstitute.org

Contact: Brian Hyland, [email protected]

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Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

Global Industry Editor  Reuters (NY/MI/CA)

US Lifestyle Writer  The Independent (NY)

Editor, Digital Studio Middle East  ITP Business ( Dubai )

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

SO YOU WANT TO BE A GHOSTWRITER. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. Like any type of freelance writing, ghostwriting comes with its challenges. Example: When you're on deadline, there's no time for writer's block. But much like freelancing, prep and ironing out logistics are the same: http://prn.to/2kDSsGV

AUTHORS: HOW TO SIGN A TOP LITERARY AGENT. For many authors, landing an agent is the most sought-after goal. It's long been considered the fastest and most profitable path to publishing success. If that's your goal, you'll want to check out these tips, techniques and resources to help you land the quality literary agent you're seeking: cisn.co/2xWj7DA

BLOG PROFILES: THRIFTING BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry/subject and profiles a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, they look at a few thrifting blogs: http://prn.to/2iiMSsG

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MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Phillip Fretwell, a managing director with global consulting firm Protiviti, has been named to Consulting magazine's inaugural "Global Leaders in Consulting" list. This new international award recognizes twenty individuals for their outstanding leadership qualities and influence over the consulting profession. Fretwell is recognized in the Excellence in Execution category.

Fretwell is responsible for Protiviti's independently owned network of Member Firms that deliver services to clients throughout the world. As a result of his development of the network over 11 years, Protiviti has 15 Member Firms that operate in Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE and Venezuela.

"Phil's development of Protiviti's member firm network has contributed significantly to our growth as a global consulting firm," said Joseph Tarantino, president and CEO of Protiviti. "Thanks to his diligence and expertise, we are able to support our global clients with a consistently high level of service throughout the world. We congratulate Phil on this award, which is richly deserved."

Member Firms complement Protiviti's overall global footprint that also includes locations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, The Netherlands, the U.K. and the United States.

Based in Orlando, Florida, Fretwell has 34 years of experience in enterprise risk management, internal auditing, due diligence and managing the risks of international expansion. He has provided internal audit services to more than 50 companies, many with global operations.

Fretwell has served as the chairman of the board of Junior Achievement of Central Florida and the president of the University of Central Florida Accounting Advisory Board. He is currently on the Florida State University Professional Advisory Board and is a frequent speaker on a variety of risk, control, governance and financial topics.

The 2017 Global Leader honorees will be celebrated at an awards dinner on December 7, 2017 in London, U.K., and their profiles will be published in the January 2018 edition of Consulting magazine.

About Protiviti

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. With more than 70 offices in over 20 countries, Protiviti and its network of independently owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit.

Protiviti has served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000 and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies. Protiviti also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index.

Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services.

Editor's note: Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Protiviti

Related Links

http://www.protiviti.com


TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ReliaQuest, a leading provider of IT security solutions, today opened the first-of-its-kind simulated cybersecurity storefront to provide cyber workforce skills for elementary students, in partnership with the Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay. Fifth grade students from across Hillsborough County can now experience what it would be like to work in the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, protecting other large businesses from hackers, malware and cyber-threats.

ReliaQuest, a leading provider of IT security solutions, opened the first-of-its-kind simulated cybersecurity storefront to provide cyber workforce skills for elementary students, in partnership with Junior Achievement.

JA BizTown is an indoor city where students assume the roles of business leaders and consumers for a daylong, immersive career-prep experience. In partnership with the School District of Hillsborough County, the Junior Achievement program introduces fifth graders to future career opportunities. The standards-driven content and experiences of JA BizTown help close the achievement gap. ReliaQuest joins more than 20 other storefront sponsors at Muma JA BizTown, including Publix, Raymond James, Bank of America, the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning and more.

ReliaQuest officially opened its storefront on Wednesday, Oct 18, with ReliaQuest CEO Brian Murphy co-hosting a ribbon cutting with his fifth grader counterpart that was assigned to be BizTown's ReliaQuest CEO for the day.

"Today's kids work with technology every day and already understand so many concepts around cybersecurity  whether they realize it or not," said ReliaQuest CEO Brian Murphy. "If we can highlight how cybersecurity impacts them every day and spark awareness, interest or passion at this age, imagine how much better off we'll all be in the future. We are proud to partner with JA Biz Town and look forward to working with the students. I fully expect to be working with the future technical and business leaders of ReliaQuest."

"Thousands of Hillsborough County school students gain skills in leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and financial literacy during their visit to JA BizTown. We are pleased that we can now add to that list cybersecurity awareness and IT knowledge," said Richard George, President of Junior Achievement Tampa Bay. "Exposing the students to such a highly regarded national IT security firm like ReliaQuest will have an impact far beyond their day at JA Biz Town."

About ReliaQuest

ReliaQuest advances the delivery, reliability and outcomes of IT security through co-management. Founded in 2007 and serving Fortune 1000 organizations in diverse industries, ReliaQuest helps customers better understand security threats to stay ahead of the curve. The company takes a collaborative approach, developing custom solutions based on each organization's risk profile and business goals, while leveraging existing investments in security hardware and software. ReliaQuest provides Incident Response, Security Engineering, Security Analytics and Threat Management solutions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from Security Operations Centers in both Tampa, FL, and Las Vegas, NV. ReliaQuest's model is recognized by industry experts as the emerging standard for healthcare, financial and retail organizations. The company has also received numerous accolades for its commitment to maintaining a positive company culture. In 2017 ReliaQuest CEO Brian Murphy was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Florida.

About Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay

Junior Achievement is the world's oldest and largest organization dedicated to teaching young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Last year, Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay reached 87,774 students in the Tampa Bay area. Visit jatampabay.org for more information.

For more information contact:

Kim Wilmath

Director of Communications, ReliaQuest

813-857-5397

[email protected]

SOURCE ReliaQuest

Related Links

http://www.reliaquest.com


WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Respiratory Motion, Inc., announced today its plans to launch the newest version of its ExSpiron 1Xi Minute Ventilation (MV) Monitor at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) in Boston, October 21-25 following recent FDA 510(k) clearance. This new ExSpiron requires no calibration, which greatly expands its range of use. Physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, EMT's and first responders can now easily assess and measure a patients breathing in seconds.

Respiratory failure is the third most prevalent cause of death in the US. Opioid-induced respiratory depression is increasingly common, not only in the hospital setting but in the community as well. While the opioid epidemic needs to be addressed at multiple levels, the ExSpiron now provides caregivers a convenient method to quickly, accurately and non-invasively assess breathing in a variety of settings. Despite the focus on the dangers of recreational use, opioids continue to be important in delivering pain relief during and after surgery and for certain categories of chronic pain. Similar to alcohol, each individual has a specific sensitivity (or tolerance) to opioids. Finding the right dose to manage pain without causing respiratory depression is challenging. In an era where clinicians and hospitals are concerned with both patient safety and patient satisfaction, safe pain control has become critical.

Respiratory Motion's ExSpiron is the first and only non-invasive monitor that can quickly and accurately assess a person's breathing. The ExSpiron measures Minute Ventilation (MV), Tidal Volume and Respiratory Rate. MV is the fundamental unit of breathing -- the amount of air that moves into and out of the lungs every minute. ExSpiron MV measurements have been shown to be superior to indirect measurements of breathing in numerous peer reviewed studies. These indirect measures are slow to respond when breathing drops to a dangerous level, whereas the ExSpiron responds first and most reliably to changes in breathing. Addressing early changes in respiratory status can prevent further deterioration leading to respiratory failure or arrest.

The new ExSpiron can be used easily and effectively in all areas of the hospital, as well as in the field, providing immediate, quantitative measurements of breathing (MV) when and where they are most needed. With rapid delivery of previously unavailable information about a patient's breathing, the new ExSpiron can be lifesaving.

The newest ExSpiron Minute Ventilation Monitor will be displayed at the ASA Conference, October 21st  23rd, 2017, at the Boston Convention Center, Exhibit #3623. The broad utility of the newest ExSpiron will be supported by five presentations over the course of the 5 day conference:

Minute Ventilation Prior to Opioid Dose as a Predictor of Opioid Induced Respiratory Depression in the PACU; Mayo Clinic; October 24 , 9:10AM

, Minute Ventilation at PACU Discharge as Predictor for Post-Operative Respiratory Depression on the General Hospital Floor; Cleveland Clinic Foundation; October 24 , 9:25AM

, Respiratory Volume Monitoring Postoperatively Can Identify Patients at Risk for Ventilatory Depression Following PACU Discharge; Tufts University Medical Center; October 22 , 11:00AM

Medical Center; , Evaluation of a Non-Invasive Respiratory Volume Monitor Without Patient Specific Calibration; University of Texas at Houston ; October 25 , 10:00  11:30AM

; , 10:00  Comparison of Respiratory Volume Monitoring Versus Capnography During Intravenous Propofol-Based Anesthesia; Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School ; October 22 , 10:00  11:30AM

About Respiratory Motion, Inc.

Respiratory Motion, Inc. is the global leader in innovative Minute Ventilation Monitoring, useful across a wide variety of patient populations and environments. Our mission is to improve the quality and experience of care and reduce costs by providing continuous, accurate, real-time, non-invasive respiratory monitoring wherever care is delivered. www.respiratorymotion.com

SOURCE Respiratory Motion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.respiratorymotion.com


Located in popular Parker, Reata Ridge features a distinctive collection of ranch and two-story homes with up to seven bedrooms and approximately 3,950 square feet. Prices at this notable new neighborhood start from the mid $500,000s, and residents will appreciate easy access to Douglas County schools, shopping, dining and commuter routes.

Part of the expansive Castle Rock masterplan for which it's named, Cityscapes at The Meadows boasts the builder's sought-after Cityscape Collection. With up to three bedrooms and approximately 1,800 square feet, this series of contemporary three-story homes is perfect for those seeking a low-maintenance lifestyle and unique features, such as rooftop terraces.

New homes at Cityscapes start from the upper $300,000s, and abundant amenities, including a community pool, parks, open space and trails, are within easy reach. The community also offers close proximity to area schools, the Outlets at Castle Rock, several restaurants and I-25.

Reata Ridge is located at the intersection of S. Parker Road and Stroh Road. Cityscapes at The Meadows is at the intersection of Meadows Parkway and Bilberry Street. Call 303.850.5760 or visit RichmondAmerican.com for more information.

About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

Operating under the name Richmond American Homes, MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries have built more than 190,000 homes since 1977. Among the nation's largest homebuilders, MDC's subsidiary companies have operations in 20 markets located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Mortgage lending, plus insurance and title services are offered by following MDC subsidiaries, respectively: HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit MDCHoldings.com.

SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

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VANCOUVER, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (RBFS) is expanding its reach, now serving as a preferred provider for IronPlanet, a leading online marketplace for used equipment and other durable assets.

IronPlanet's growing customer base will now have access to RBFS' LeaseFlex and PurchaseFlex financing solutions, which offer more flexibility and convenience compared to traditional bank financing when purchasing trucks and equipment.

"Ritchie Bros. Financial Services has a fast and easy application process, helping equipment buyers get quicker access to the cash they need to bid and purchase with confidence," said Sharon Driscoll, CFO of Ritchie Bros. and Board Chair at RBFS. "When RBFS was introduced six years ago, the company focused solely on providing financing solutions for customers of our live auctions. As the focus on the overall customer experience has evolved, RBFS has diversified, providing financing to customers buying equipment from other sources, including dealerships. Becoming an official preferred provider with IronPlanet is a logical next step for RBFS and an excellent opportunity for growth."

"We are thrilled to bring our various financing solutions to IronPlanet to help increase the purchasing power of its buyers," said Jim Case, CEO, RBFS. "Our goal is to make buying equipment easier than ever before. Our LeaseFlex and PurchaseFlex products cover a huge range of equipment types, ages, and financing terms; once pre-approved customers can shop for almost anything. We finance all brands. Our pre-approvals last 90 days and are quick and easy to renew."

Both IronPlanet and RBFS are part of Ritchie Bros., a publicly-traded (NYSE and TSX: RBA), global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks, and other assets, when, where and how they choose.

For more information about IronPlanet and Ritchie Bros. Financial Services, visit IronPlanet.com and/or RBFinance.com.

About Ritchie Bros. Financial Services:

Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (RBFS), established in 2011, is a financial services provider specializing in equipment financing solutions for construction, transportation, agriculture and other industries. Owned by Ritchie Bros., the publicly-traded global asset management and disposition company, RBFS is uniquely positioned to help connect equipment buyers with the right financing provider for their purchases. As of 2017, the company has funded more than US$1 billion in equipment and truck purchases with their PurchaseFlex Financing solutions. RBFS is based in Ritchie Bros.' corporate headquarters in Burnaby, B.C.

About Ritchie Bros.:

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a multitude of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros.Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing its exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; EquipmentOne, an online auction marketplace; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The company also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, Kruse Energy Auctioneers , and Cat auctions, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about the unprecedented choice provided by Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com.

Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros.
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") are investigating the proposed sale of Ruby Tuesday, Inc. ("Ruby Tuesday" or the "Company") (NYSE: RT) to a fund managed by NRD Capital. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, shareholders of Ruby Tuesday will receive only $2.40 in cash for each share of Ruby Tuesday that they own. KSF is seeking to determine whether this consideration and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the consideration undervalues the Company.

If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis S. Kahn ([email protected]) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857.

To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

206 Covington St.

Madisonville, LA 70447

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

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LINKOPING, Sweden, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra (STO: SECT B) signs digital pathology contract with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP). Sectra's digital pathology solution will be used in training and quality assurance programs for pathology laboratories. It will provide pathologists and scientists with a fast digital pathology solution, available at any time regardless of the participant's location.

"The Sectra solution will enable us to deliver digital slides and a consistent user experience in difficult image programs, such as cytopathology. This due to its ability to provide a seamless microscope-like experience even on heavily z-stacked virtual slides, mobile devices and lower bandwidth connections," says Derek Holzhauser, Chief Information Officer at RCPAQAP.

The solution will be used for the external quality assurance (EQA) programs that RCPA offers in Australia and in more than 60 other countries. Pathologists and scientists will have access to Sectra's solution through the program portal where they will receive cases and associated questions for assessment. The solution's zero-footprint viewer and smart streaming functionality enable access to the digital pathology images without large installations, at any time and in remote areas.

Sectra's digital pathology solution

Sectra provides a complete solution for primary diagnostics in pathology. Sectra's high-end review workstation provides pathologists with the right environment and tools to perform their work in a digital system and to reduce the pain-points associated with time-consuming and labor-intensive manual workflow. Sectra's digital pathology solution also allows seamless sharing of digital slides and patient data in multi-hospital environments, enhancing the workflows around consultations, frozen sections and second opinions.

The solution is part of Sectra's enterprise imaging solution that also supports radiology, cardiology, mammography, orthopaedics and other medical imaging. Since it is built on the same technical platform, Sectra's solution enables efficient integrated diagnostic workflows, supporting improved collaboration between radiology and pathology, two key players in efficient cancer care.

For further information, please contact::

Dr. Torbjorn Kronander,

CEO and President

Sectra AB, 46(0)705-23-52-27

Marie Ekstrom Tragardh,

Executive Vice President Sectra AB and President Sectra Imaging IT Solutions,

46(0)708-23-56-10

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/sectra/r/sectra-s-digital-pathology-solution-selected-for-external-quality-assurance-program,c2368875

The following files are available for download:

http://news.cision.com/sectra/i/sectra-digital-pathology,c2250883 Sectra digital pathology

SOURCE Sectra
DENVER, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SendGrid, a leading digital communication platform, today announced it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. SendGrid has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SEND."

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will act as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. William Blair & Company, L.L.C., KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Piper Jaffray & Co. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated will act as co-managers.

The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014 or email at [email protected] ; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 1-866- 803-9204, or email: [email protected] .

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About SendGrid:

SendGrid is a leading digital communication platform, enabling businesses to engage with their customers via email reliably, effectively and at scale. A leader in email deliverability, SendGrid has processed over 35 billion emails each month for internet and mobile-based customers as well as more traditional enterprises. For more information, visit www.sendgrid.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

David Banks

SendGrid

888-985-7363

[email protected]

Media Contact:

David Friedman

SendGrid

303-868-9641

[email protected]

SOURCE SendGrid

Related Links

http://www.sendgrid.com


LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ansell, Church & Dwight, Diamond Products, and Reckitt Benckiser are the leading players in the global sexual wellness market.





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The market is expected to reach $37.19 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 6.03% during 2016?2022. Factors such as an increase in per capita discretionary income of people globally and rapid growing number of dual-income households in developing as well as developed markets are major growth factors for the global sexual wellness market.



While the sex toy segment is going to be the major revenue contributor to the global sexual wellness market, the condoms segment will post the highest growth rate during the forecast period.



APAC will remain the largest market followed by Europe. Although the online distribution channel is going to witness a huge growth, the retail sale will constitute the major market share.



Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 2014?2015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 2017?2022



Major vendors included in the report area as following:

 Ansell

 Church & Dwight

 Diamond Products

 Reckitt Benckiser



Other Prominent Vendors Beate Uhse, Beijing Aimer, Bijoux Indiscrets, Billy Boy, BioFilm, BMS Factory, Bodywise, B. Cumming, CalExotics, Calvin Klein, Convex Latex, Cosmo Lady, Cupid Limited, Doc Johnson, Eau Zone Oils & Fragrances, Embry, Empowered Products, Fuji Latex, Good Clean Love, Guy & O'Neill, Hathor Professional, HBM Group, HLL Lifecare, ID Lubricants, Innova Quality, Innovus Pharma, IXu, Karex Berhad, L Brands, La Maison Lejaby, La Perla, LELO, Lise Charmel, Live Well Brands, Lovehoney, Mayor Laboratories, MD Science Lab, MTLC Latex, Orient Industry, PHE, pjur group, Sagami Rubber Industries, Sensuous Beauty, Shandong Ming Yuan Latex Co, Shanghai Dahua Medical Apparatus Co., Silk Parasol, Sliquid, StaySafe Condoms, STRATA Various Product Design, Suki (OhMiBod), Tenga, Thai Nippon Rubber Industry (TNR), The Yes Yes Company, Tianjin, Topco Sales, Trigg Laboratories, Triumph, Female Health Company, XR.



Scope of the Report

The study considers the present scenario of the global sexual wellness market and its market dynamics for the period 2017?2022. It covers a detailed overview of various market growth enablers, restraints, and trends.



The study covers both the demand and supply sides of the market. It also profiles and analyzes the leading 4 companies and 59 other prominent companies operating in the market.



Sales of major sexual wellness market companies (sex toys and condoms) were aggregated to arrive at an estimate of the market size in terms of volume. The same approach is used to calculate the market size in terms of revenue.



The report provides the analysis of the key segments of the market by product type, distribution channels, geography, country, and vendors. It provides a detailed analysis of revenue from various segments:



Product Type

 Sex toys

 Condoms

 Sexual lubricants

 Exotic lingerie

 Others



Distribution Channel

 Retail

o Sex specialty stores

o Mass market players

o Drug stores/pharmacies

o Grocery stores

 Online stores



Major Geographies

 APAC

 Europe

 North America

 RoW



Key Countries

 Canada

 China

 France

 Germany

 India

 Japan

 UK

 US



The report provides a holistic view of the global sexual wellness market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. It also provides information about some of the latest trends that are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.



This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.



Sexual Wellness Market: Key Vendor Analysis

As of now, the global market is dominated by vendors that have international presence. Many international players are expected to expand their presence worldwide during the forecast period, especially in the fast-developing countries in APAC and Latin America.



Major Vendors included in the report are:

 Ansell

 Church & Dwight

 Diamond Products

 Reckitt Benckiser



Other Prominent Vendors Beate Uhse, Beijing Aimer, Bijoux Indiscrets, Billy Boy, BioFilm, BMS Factory, Bodywise, B. Cumming, CalExotics, Calvin Klein, Convex Latex, Cosmo Lady, Cupid Limited, Doc Johnson, Eau Zone Oils & Fragrances, Embry, Empowered Products, Fuji Latex, Good Clean Love, Guy & O'Neill, Hathor Professional, HBM Group, HLL Lifecare, ID Lubricants, Innova Quality, Innovus Pharma, IXu, Karex Berhad, L Brands, La Maison Lejaby, La Perla, LELO, Lise Charmel, Live Well Brands, Lovehoney, Mayor Laboratories, MD Science Lab, MTLC Latex, Orient Industry, PHE, pjur group, Sagami Rubber Industries, Sensuous Beauty, Shandong Ming Yuan Latex Co, Shanghai Dahua Medical Apparatus Co., Silk Parasol, Sliquid, StaySafe Condoms, STRATA Various Product Design, Suki (OhMiBod), Tenga, Thai Nippon Rubber Industry (TNR), The Yes Yes Company, Tianjin, Topco Sales, Trigg Laboratories, Triumph, Female Health Company, XR.



Sexual Wellness Market Dynamics

Introduction of innovative condoms to propel the market growth



Implementing comprehensive sex education for teenagers, growing cases of AIDs/HIV, increasing prevalence of STDs, and increasing acceptance of sexual wellness products among women are the major factor that will enable the market growth during the forecast period. Penetration of internet services, improved economy, increased promotional and marketing activities, introduction of innovative condom designs are the emerging trends that are going to drive the market.



Sexual Wellness Market: Segmental Overview

Sex toys to remain the most dominant segment



Sex toys are witnessing a high demand from countries such as the US, China, and Japan. The segment is likely to account for a market share of 59.90% in 2022. The sex toys segment is followed by the condoms segment.



The exotic lingerie and sexual lubricant segments are witnessing increased demand among end-users.



Women are the majority buyers of these products worldwide. Sexual wellness products are mainly sold through retail distribution channels such as sex specialty stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, mass market players, drug store or pharmacies, and grocery stores.



Sexual Wellness Market: Geographical Analysis

APAC to remain the largest market



APAC is expected to remain the largest market with more than 38% market share. The region is led by China where sexual wellness products such as sex toys, condoms, and sexual lubricants are witnessing a surge in their demand.



The market for sexual wellness products is witnessing a high growth in regional markets such as India, China, Japan, and South Korea, and sexual wellness products are also gaining popularity among end-users.



Europe and North America to be the second and third largest market globally. The market in Europe is characterized by high demand for premium sex toys and condoms along with water-based and silicone-based sexual lubricants.



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Email: [email protected]

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LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

"Sonar system market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.33% during the forecast period."



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The sonar system market is projected to grow from USD 3.49 billion in 2016 to USD 3.72 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 4.33% from 2017 to 2022. The growth in this market can be attributed to the rising demand for sonar systems in tactical defense operations, increased adoption of sonars for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) techniques, and growing demand for sonar systems from the fishing industry. However, factors including radiations emitted from sonars at high frequencies that affect the marine life and water vegetation can restrain the growth of the sonar system market in the future.



"Based on product type, the seabed imaging and information sonar segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period."

The growth in the sonar system market can be attributed to the increasing demand for unmanned underwater vehicles in the commercial exploration of oil & gas and ongoing technological advancements in the field of autonomous underwater vehicles.



"Based on installation, the vessel mount segment accounted for the largest share of the sonar system market in 2016."

Based on installation, the vessel mount segment accounted for the largest share of the sonar system market in 2016. This can be attributed to the increase in various commercial and defense shipbuilding activities. These sonars are installed in ships in their hull. North America is expected to lead the vessel mount segment during the forecast period mainly due to by large naval shipbuilding orders in the US and Canada.



"North America was the largest market for sonar systems in 2016." North America led the sonar system market in 2016. The North America sonar system market has been studied for the US and Canada. The US is leading the sonar system market in North America. Factors responsible for the growth of the North America sonar system market are procurement of advanced sonar systems to incorporate in improved naval defense systems for the security of the country and increase in R&D for technological advancements of sonar systems by major players in the region.



The break-up of the profile of primary participants for this report:

 By Company Type: Tier 1  35%, Tier 2  45%, Tier 3  20%

 By Designation: C level  35%, Director level  25%, Others  40%

 By Region: North America  50%, Europe 30%, Asia Pacific  15%, Rest of the World 5%



Major players in the sonar system market are Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (Norway), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH (Germany), Furuno Electric Co, Ltd. (Japan), Navico (Norway), and Thales Group (France), among others.

Research Coverage

The study segments the sonar system market on the basis of mode of operation (commercial active, military dual mode, and military passive), product type (general-purpose hull mounted sonar, seabed imaging and information sonar, stern mounted sonar, dipping sonar, and others), installation (vessel mounted, towed, hand-held and pole mounted, airborne, UUV, others), frequency of operation (high, medium, low), application (defense and commercial), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World). The report provides in-depth market intelligence regarding market dynamics and major factors that influence the growth of the sonar system market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and industry-specific challenges), along with analyzing micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the sonar system market.

Reasons to buy the report:

From an insight perspective, this research report focuses on various levels of analyses  industry analysis (industry trends); market share analysis of top players; company profiles; emerging and high-growth segments of the market; high-growth regions; and market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:

 Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on sonar systems offered by top players in the market

 Market Sizing: Market size in the financial year 2015-2016 and projection of the market size from 2017 to 2022

 Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product launches in the sonar system market

 Market Overview: Market dynamics and subsequent analyses of associated trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities prevailing in the sonar system market

 Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets by analyzing markets for sonar systems across various regions

 Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the sonar system market

 Regional Analysis: Factors influencing market shares of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World

 Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of leading market players



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Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

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Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

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LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- South East Asia HVACR Market to reach $13.63 billion by 2023, Reports BIS Research



Heating, Ventilation Air-conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) market in the South East Asia (SEA) market is primarily driven by the growth in the construction sector. Leading manufacturers in the HVACR industry are tapping this market by introducing cost effective, energy efficient products in the region. The demand of regulating temperature expanded from industries to large commercial buildings and household applications.



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The three central functions of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning are interrelated, proving to be a necessity rather than a luxury in most parts of the world, especially in the Southeast Asia region.



This study includes an overview and analysis of the SEA Heating, Ventilation Air-conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) market, by type of products and components across various countries in SEA, allowing the researcher to develop a comprehensive outlook of the market. The report provides an extensive insight into various forms of developments, trends, and key participants. While highlighting the key driving and restraining forces for this dynamic market, the report also provides an in-depth analysis of the Porter's five forces model of the HVACR market and an assessment of the factors governing it. The report builds itself upon an all-inclusive value chain providing a clear understanding of the ecosystem of the HVACR products market.



The following key questions are answered in the "SEA Heating, Ventilation Air-conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) Market, 2017-2023" report:

 What are major types of HVACR products prevalent in Southeast Asia region?

 Who are the major players in Southeast Asia HVAC market and their respective company profile?

 What are the key market developments and strategies of leading players in Southeast Asia HVACR market?

 What are major drivers, challenges and opportunities for Southeast Asia HVACR market?

 What is the market size (value and volume) of window and portable/moveable air Conditioners in major countries across Southeast Asia region?

 What is the market size (value and volume) of mini split systems in different countries across Southeast Asia region?

 What is the market size (value and volume) of single packed systems in different countries across Southeast Asia region?

 What is the market size (value and volume) of chillers in Southeast Asia HVACR market?

 What is the market size (value and volume) of AHU and FCU in different countries across Southeast Asia region?

 What is the market size (value) of refrigeration cycle components across different products?



The report includes the profiles of major players such as Carrier, Trane, Johnson controls, Daikin, among others in the SEA HVACR market, allowing the readers to gain an insight into the various industry trends in this region.



Executive Summary

Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) has a strong growth in the South East Asia (SEA) market majorly because of the growing construction sector. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.30% during the forecast period (2017-2023). The HVAC market started gaining popularity in the early 20th century and has shown a promising growth ever since. However, the late 20th century brought a stagnation in the growth of the market. Nevertheless, the Air Conditioning (AC) market regained its momentum after the settlement of the global economic recession in 2008.



The SEA HVACR market is currently exhibiting a paradigm shift towards adopting the latest technologies and environment friendly cooling solutions such as Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF). Different regulatory, energy and other standards across SEA region (such as Montreal Protocol, National Energy Policy and Voluntary Commercial energy Codes, Energy conservation promotion act in Thailand, among others) are the major reasons why manufacturers are actively adopting more advanced cooling technologies.



The market value generated by the HVACR volume sales in the SEA region varies highly, as this is a very price sensitive market. Products with higher brand name, quality, energy efficiency, and good output are sustaining the higher market share. There are several Chinese, and other regional and local brands, that are holding a significant market share on the basis of lesser pricing but with lower quality products.



The leading players are focusing on increasing their market presence in this region by expanding distribution outlets in the region and launching products specifically designed for the local population. Furthermore, the regulatory bodies existing in this region play a crucial role in determining the market for the HVACR products.



The HVACR products market has evolved from the stages of rapid growth, then reaching towards stagnation, and subsequently gaining momentum again. The dynamic nature of the industry can largely be attributed to the increasing urbanization, unprecedented population growth in the SEA region, and frequently modifying governmental regulations for making the HVACR products more energy efficient, among others.



Geographically, Indonesia was the largest market in SEA region in the year 2016 in terms of value with a market value of $3.03 billion. The country is witnessing a high growth in hospitality and food industry and the increased awareness and focus on energy conservation have further contributed to the growth of this market. Furthermore, Malaysia is expected to witness the highest growth of 6.5% during the forecast period. In terms of the products split air conditioners attributed for the highest market volume in 2016 and are expected to grow at a decent pace during the forecast period. The demand is mainly expected to come from increased residential developments which have encouraged consumers to install energy efficient split units in homes, apartments and high/low end buildings, among others



The major players in this region such as Mitsubishi Electric, Dakin, Carrier, among others have focussed on developing innovative and energy efficient products to tap this opportunity in the market. Also, the companies have laid major emphasis on growing their sales and distribution network in this region to further increase their market share.



Countries Covered

 Indonesia

 Malaysia

 Thailand

 Vietnam



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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Civil lawyers from the law firm of Lessem, Newstat & Tooson, LLP are representing Darryl Williams in Williams v. Sterling, at al. BC590275. Williams alleges Donald Sterling owned and operated a Los Angeles Apartment complex in which Sterling subjected him to deplorable living conditions including a unit that was infested with bed bugs. Williams has a long legal history with Sterling including previous cases involving housing discrimination and is looking forward to his day in court. Lessem, Newstat & Tooson Partner Attorney J. Tooson stated this case was never about money for Mr. Williams' but about restoring his dignity and demanding fair treatment and the most basic clean and safe living conditions from property owner Donald Sterling.
ST. GEORGE, Grenada, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Today, St. George's University announced the creation of a $10 million scholarship fund for students interested in humanitarian work. Students may receive individual partial-tuition awards averaging $30,000.

"Social outreach and humanitarian work are central to our mission here at St. George's," said Dr. G. Richard Olds, president of St. George's University. "From Grenada to the thousands of hospitals and clinics worldwide where our graduates work, we've always sought to provide top-notch care to those in need. This scholarship fund will enable more students to pursue their passions for helping the underprivileged."

All students applying for admission for the January sessions will be automatically considered for the Humanitarian Scholarship. Eligible applicants will be evaluated based on their backgrounds in humanitarian work, such as dedicated work in Vistra, the Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, medical missions, or volunteer positions in community organizations  all activities that show a dedication to improving the general welfare of mankind and its communities.

The Humanitarian Scholarship is one of many awards currently available to St. George's students. The Legacy of Excellence Scholarship Program, for example, offers partial-tuition scholarships to students with strong academic records. CityDoctors scholarships are awarded to students who intend to practice in urban communities after graduation.

"We work hard to make medical school a feasible option for each and every one of our applicants," Dr. Olds added. "The more scholarships we can offer, the more diverse and well-rounded our student body will be."

About St. George's University

St. George's University is a center of international education, drawing students and faculty from 140 countries to the island of Grenada, in the West Indies, to its programs in medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, science, social science, information technology, and business. St. George's is affiliated with educational institutions worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. The University's over 17,000 graduates include physicians, veterinarians, scientists, and public health and business professionals across the world. The University's programs are accredited and approved by many governing authorities and repeatedly recognized as the best in the region. For more information, visit www.sgu.edu.

Media Contact:

Yael Wollstein

(202) 471-4228 ext 118

[email protected]

SOURCE St. George's University

Related Links

http://www.sgu.edu


LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151513



The growth is primarily driven by the inclination of the aging and disabled population toward active and independent living and substantial growth in the second-hand market for stairlift.

While seated stair lift constitutes more than 72% of the total market revenue, stair lifts with integrated wheelchair platforms are growing at a faster pace. The market in North America will witness huge growth during the forecast period.

Stair Lift Market Segmentation

Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 2014?2015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 2017?2022

Major Vendors included in the report are as following:

 Acorn

 Bruno Independent Living Aids

 Stannah

 Handicare

 ThyssenKrupp AG



Other prominent vendors in the market include Platinum Stair Lifts, Harmar, Otolift, MediTek, Savaria, Sugiyasu, DID  Daido, Kumalift, Hiro Lift, and Access BDD.

Scope of the Report

The report includes a detailed study of growth drivers, trends, and restraints and profiles the leading vendors in the market and other key vendors. The report also provides in-depth analysis of the global market and provides the growth forecast for the period 2016-2022

The report takes into consideration the sale of stair lift and spares to the first buyers from various end-user segments, including individuals, hospitals, medical centers, and commercial clients. The sale of both straight and curved stair lift was considered across various sales channels, including direct sales  online and offline. The market research report provides the detail of the market size in the following segments:



Rail Orientation

 Curved

 Straight

User Orientation

 Seated

 Standing and perched

 Integrated wheelchair platforms

Installation Type

 Indoor

 Outdoor



End-user Type

 Residential

 Hospitals and clinics

 Others

Major Geographies

 APAC

 EMEA

 Latin America

 North America

Key Countries

 Canada

 China

 Japan

 US

The report provides a holistic view of the global market, the companies involved in the market, and the factors driving its growth. It also provides information about the latest trends that have emerged and are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.

This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.

Stair Lift Market Dynamics

Inclination of aging and disabled population toward active and independent living to drive the market growth



Increased emphasis of government and private organizations for productive and active lifestyle for disabled population is one of the emerging trends for the growth of the market. Further, increasing prevalence of people suffering from disabilities, coupled with the high adoption of devices, new technology innovations, and high awareness for new variants of assistive devices, combined with supportive government grants is driving the market growth.

Stair Lift Market: Segmental Overview

The seated lift segment to post a CAGR of 9.7%.

Seated stair lifts, which host a provision for comfortable seating for the end-user, are the most preferred types, constituting as much as 72.25% of the total market revenue in 2016. The growth of seated stair lift outperforms perched lifts, which is characterized by safety concerns.

However, stair lifts with integrated wheelchair platforms are growing at a faster pace as they offer better self-control to the user during mobility. The market for with integrated wheelchair platforms market is estimated to grow more than $214 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period.

In terms of installation type, the indoor stair lift market is expected to reach to a significant number than outdoor. Similarly, by end-user segment, the residential segment is by far the largest segment by demand as there are no better cost-effective alternatives to stair lift for in-house mobility between multiple floor levels. The marginal utility of stair lifts in residential spaces is high, driven by low usage, long lifecycles, and easy installation and maintenance.

Stair Lift Market: Geographical Analysis

The US to remain the largest market in terms of revenue

This report considers four major regions: APAC, Europe, North America, and RoW. It also provides the market size and growth in major countries along with the driving factors, trends, and restraints.

The US is the largest market in terms of revenue generated not only for the stair lift market but also for the mobility-assistance and devices market. Rising geriatric population and increasing incidence of disability and obesity in the US are major factors driving the demand for mobility-assisting equipment in the region. Also, the presence of leading manufacturers of mobility-assisting equipment, including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and chairlifts in the region further contributes to the growth of the market in the region.

The UK is the largest market in Europe followed by Germany and the Netherlands; wherein there is a high ownership of mobility-assisting equipment and devices among the disabled and elderly population. Also, APAC is expected to grow at a faster rate driven by continually improving healthcare infrastructure and expanding target audience in key economies of India and China.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151513

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

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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They will be invited to tour common areas like the lobby, fitness center, private club room and rooftop terrace.

To RSVP for the Grand Opening, email Laura Henne at [email protected], or register as a VIP at StonehallBethesda.com.

To schedule a private appointment, call 301-747-3644.

"We're expecting a great turnout for the Grand Opening," said McWilliams|Ballard Vice President Laura Henne. "With this level of space and sophistication  and a limited number of residences available  we're expecting them to go quickly."

On the lower floors, Classic Collection residences combine the essential comforts of home with all the style and status of modern, urban living.

Club Collection residences span floors 6 through 8, with only four spacious corner residences per floor. Each is fit for single family living and each features an abundance of windows, natural light and sweeping city views.

Classic Collection residences start from $599K, while the Club Collection begins at $1.7 million.

Most penthouse residences were reserved during the pre-sales phase. Only one remains  priced at $2.5 million. It's distinguished by elegant, open living areas and an immaculately designed owner's suite, not to mention spacious private terraces with breathtaking views.

Each residence at Stonehall Bethesda also comes with reserved parking.

A covered porte cochere marks the main entrance to Stonehall Bethesda and the doors open into a stylishly decorated lobby, where a concierge will be available seven days a week to assist residents. A fully equipped fitness center featuring state-of-the-art workout machines will be open 24 hours a day.

Residents can also gather in the private club room or admire the stunning views of the city from the rooftop terrace, 10 stories above street level. Residents are only a short walk from world-class shopping, dining and more.

About Duball BW, LLC

Founded in 2004, Duball, LLC, is one of the leading real estate development and investment firms in the Washington, D.C., region with over 1.2 million square feet developed or in progress. Duball, LLC, serves as developer and investor in exceptionally located mixed-use real estate projects within the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan region. Duball's portfolio includes residential, retail and hotels with total asset value exceeding $750 million. Duball is capitalized by several investment partners, including institutional investment funds and pension funds and high net worth private investors. Duball, LLC, was the developer of the award-winning Lionsgate condominium, located in Bethesda, Maryland.

About McWilliams|Ballard

McWilliams|Ballard, based in Alexandria, Va., is a sales and marketing firm specializing in condominiums and townhomes. While focused in the Washington, D.C., metro area, McWilliams|Ballard has clients nationwide and has created partnerships with developers and builders to provide sales and marketing solutions from project inception to the final closed sale. In addition to start-to-finish sales and marketing, the firm also provides consultation and market research used by some of the largest development firms in the country. Founded in 1996, the firm's expertise now spans 13 states, including Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Florida, as well as the District of Columbia. As one of the most successful project development real estate and marketing firms in the country, McWilliams|Ballard has sold and settled more new homes than any other firm in the Mid-Atlantic region and is consistently ranked in the top 5 of national firms with a focus on for sale multi-family product. McWilliams|Ballard is also engaged with Duball, LLC, to market and sell the Cheval condominium residences at the corner of Old Georgetown Road and Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda.

Contact: Chris Ballard, McWilliams|Ballard

Phone: 703-869-3970

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Duball BW, LLC; McWilliams|Ballard
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mr. Chand explains: "If human ingenuity can land a man on the moon and reduce the humongous twin towers to rubble in a matter of minutes, then we can certainly develop technology to ever so slightly change the course and/or intensity of devastating category 4 & 5 hurricanes to avoid billions in damages."

Mr. Chand, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Internet Promise Group Inc., an innovation enterprise, could lead the development of such a technology, however is not inclined to do so. Previously, Mr. Chand has developed technology to remotely fight forest fires in 1/10th the time and 1/10th the cost, but never filed a patent for it.

The technology Mr. Chand is envisioning could ever so slightly change the course and/or the intensity of category 4 & 5 hurricanes without interfering with mother nature. It can certainly use help from human ingenuity to limit the damage caused by hurricanes.

Mr. Chand stated his reasons for having no interest in offering his innovation skills to the government, because he's experienced, "A wide spread culture of stealinga culture put in place by some politicians and forced upon the USPTO and Federal Courts to benefit the government and large corporations."

This culture of stealing, as Mr Chand sees it, hurts American greatness by diminishing protection of inventors and their innovations. Mr. Chand plans to write a follow-up opinion piece, identifying many past horror stories that have come out of the USPTO and the Federal Courts, which are still continuing today in support of their anti-inventor culture bias.

Mr. Chand thinks it's time that President Trump should send an unmistakable message to USPTO leadership and the Federal Courts. This message would underscore their primary purpose of existence is to support inventors and patents to make America great again. If they cannot do that, it is time that they resign immediately, or be fired.

IPG is a pre-IPO enterprise, and a unique enterprise in many ways, including being a first ever U.S. technology conglomerate. Tara Chand is the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Internet Promise Group (IPG); a prolific and visionary inventor, with over 50 patents, plus 100 patent-pending submissions. Please click the link for IPG's future plans.

Contact: Tara Chand (310) 787-1400 [email protected] Twitter:@TaraChandEsqIPGCEO

SOURCE IPG Inc.
MONTREAL, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Design Summit-Montreal 2017  China Pavilion, which is hosted by China Ministry of Commerce, organized by Trade Development Bureau of Ministry of Commerce, and co-organized by China National Machinery Industry International Co., Ltd., kicked off on 17th October, 2017 at Palais des congres in Montreal, Canada. This is the very first time that we have the Chinese Design in World Design Summit-Montreal (WDSM). The exhibition includes six design sections as follows: Architectural Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning.

In this China Pavilion, we have China's most representative designers and the design organizations to present their own styles: Zhoujie Zhang is the leader in Digital Design area, Chenchen Zhou has won the SPECIAL MENTION in Salone del Mobile, Milano-Salone Satellite, Yanrong Pan the winner of Kan Tai-Keung Design Award, newly outstanding graphic designer Wenbin Han, and the winner of Architecture Prize in the 2016 American Architecture Price (APP): LYCS Architecture.

The main objective of the WDSM is to develop a joint view of design professionals all over the world and to facilitate communications between decision makers, industrial representatives and the media. In the last few years, due to the acceleration of Chinese Manufacture Industrial transformation and upgrading, also the rapid development of industrial service, lots of great design organizations and individuals have been well-known. In this WDSM, they present together as China Pavilion, which not only demonstrates our development of local design services, but also provides a platform for our designers to communicate with foreigner professionals. This helps to create the connections between China local design professions and worldwide concepts. Thus, it will have profound impacts on accelerating internationalization of the Chinese Design Industry.

SOURCE China National Machinery Industry International Co., Ltd.
CINCINNATI, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hillman Companies, Inc. (NYSE-AMEX: HLM.PR) and The Hillman Group, Inc. (collectively, "Hillman" or the "Company") announced today that it ranked #12 on the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100, a ranking of 100 of the largest privately owned companies in the Cincinnati area.

"The companies ranked on the 2017 Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 continue to serve as a strong foundation for our local economy," said Frank Leggio, Partner and leader of Cincinnati's Growth Enterprise Services practice, Deloitte & Touche LLP. "Thanks to their strong business practices and ability to drive and sustain performance, these innovative, entrepreneurial businesses continue to grow, strengthening an already thriving local business climate."

Overall, 2017 Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 companies generate more than $36 billion in sales and employ nearly 107,000 people.

About the 2017 Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100

Since the launch of the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 in 1983, the program has honored greater Cincinnati's most recognizable private companies. Deloitte is joined by Great American Insurance Group and Enquirer Media to recognize private businesses for the tremendous economic and civic contributions they make to our community.

The Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 is an annual ranking and recognition of the largest, privately held companies in the greater Cincinnati area. The list ranks the top 100 companies by sales, as determined by a voluntarily submitted qualification form. In order to be eligible for the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100, companies must be privately held and headquartered in the 18-county tristate area. For more information visit www.deloitte.com/us/cincinnati100.

About Hillman

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman is a leading North American provider of complete hardware solutions, delivered with industry best customer service to over 26,000 customers. Hillman designs innovative product and merchandising solutions for complex categories that deliver an outstanding customer experience to home improvement centers, mass merchants, national and regional hardware stores, pet supply stores, and OEM & Industrial customers. Leveraging a world-class distribution and sales network, Hillman delivers a "small business" experience with "big business" efficiency.

For more information on the Company, please visit our website at http://www.hillmangroup.com or call Investor Relations at (513) 851-4900, ext. 60292.

SOURCE The Hillman Companies, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hillmangroup.com


The Union League Club of Chicago exists to enrich the lives of its members through the Club's "commitment to community and country." Founded in 1879 and tracing its roots to the Union Leagues of America movement dedicated to helping President Lincoln defend the Union, the ULCC has a 138-year history of supporting America's Armed Forces and our nation's veterans.

"We are extremely proud to host this event. It is special to the Club with both our commitment to country, as well as personal connections to the war," said ULCC President William J. Nissen. "As a Vietnam veteran myself, it is an honor to give back to the community and demonstrate the Club's service to military groups. We hope that all local veterans of the Vietnam War who served on active duty, and their family members, will attend and receive thanks they may have not received upon return home."

The event begins with registration at 10:00 a.m., followed by a reception and program. Guests will enjoy refreshments while perusing information from resource tables staffed by representatives of organizations serving veterans. The program features presentation of the official Department of Defense Vietnam War Commemorative Pin to Vietnam veterans, a performance by cadets of the West Point Glee Club, and keynote remarks by Erica Jeffries, Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

The "Salute to Vietnam Veterans" is open to all veterans of the Vietnam War who served on active duty from November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975 (regardless of the location of service) and their family members. Certificates of Honor also will be presented to surviving spouses of Vietnam veterans.

Prior registration is required. To learn more about the event or to RSVP, please visit https://vietnamvets.eventbrite.com.

The Union League Club of Chicago is not a part of, or endorsed by, the Department of Defense.

About Union League Club of Chicago and The Public Affairs Committee

Since its inception in 1879, The Union League Club of Chicago has been a cornerstone of the Chicago business, civic and cultural community. The Club's Public Affairs Committee (PAC) is at the forefront of the Club's ongoing commitment to community and country. The PAC and its various subcommittees address a wide range of public policy issues, sponsor programs on current affairs with prominent speakers, and serve as the conduit for the Club's involvement in civic affairs.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

ZAPWATER COMUNICATIONS, 312-943-0333

STEPHANIE REAY | GRACE MARSH

[email protected] | [email protected]

SOURCE Union League Club of Chicago
ATLANTA, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aptos, Inc., a recognized market leader in retail technology solutions, today announced that Tommy Bahama has expanded its investment in the Aptos Singular Commerce platform, adding Aptos Enterprise Order Management and Analytics to support seamless omni-channel experiences and one version of the truth across its enterprise.

The lifestyle brand and retailer  an Aptos customer since 2002  will continue to leverage its existing Aptos solutions, including Aptos Store for point of sale, CRM, Merchandising, Sales Audit and Loss Prevention.

Established in 1992, with corporate headquarters in Seattle, Tommy Bahama is the iconic island lifestyle brand that defines relaxed, sophisticated style in men's and women's sportswear, swimwear, accessories and a complete home furnishings collection. The company owns and operates over 160 retail locations worldwide, 18 of which offer a Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar.

To unite its online and offline commerce initiatives and to support a wide range of fulfillment scenarios, Tommy Bahama will deploy Aptos Enterprise Order Management. Aptos Enterprise Order Management functions across all in-store and digital touch points, including complete integration with Aptos Store, for a unified view of the online/offline intersection of commerce, order brokering, order management, order fulfillment and logistics.

Tommy Bahama will also deploy Aptos Analytics to support more profitable and customer-centric merchandising, direct-to-consumer and store operations decisions. Aptos Analytics combines data warehousing and sophisticated retail big data analytics into role-based, actionable and repeatable processes for improved insights and performance.

"Our loyal customers interact with us in-store and online, and also dine at our restaurants," said Lisa Atwood, executive vice president of operations, information technology and eCommerce, Tommy Bahama. "Our expanded investment in Aptos will support seamless, personalized experiences no matter how customers engage with the Tommy Bahama brand."

"Tommy Bahama is a distinctive lifestyle brand that is not afraid to reinvent itself and redefine the retail experience," said Noel Goggin, Aptos CEO and culture leader. "We're excited to advance our partnership with Tommy Bahama as it continues to transform its business for growth, customer centricity and the digital age. Additionally, Aptos appreciates the strong cultural alignment it shares with Tommy Bahama; both organizations are committed to giving back and making a positive difference in communities around the world."

About Aptos "Engaging Customers Differently"

In an era of virtually limitless choice, sustained competitive advantage only comes to retailers who engage customers differently  by truly understanding who they are, what they want and why they buy. At Aptos, we too, believe that Engaging Customers Differently is critical to our success. We are committed to a deep understanding of each of our clients, to fulfilling their needs with the retail industry's most comprehensive omni-channel solutions, and to fostering long-term relationships built on tangible value and trust. More than 1,000 retail brands rely upon our Singular Commerce platform to deliver every shopper a personalized, empowered and seamless experienceno matter when, where or how they shop. Learn more: www.aptos.com

Follow Aptos on Twitter @Aptos_Retail

Aptos, the Aptos logo, "Engaging Customers Differently" and "Singular Commerce" are trademarks of Aptos, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Aptos, Inc.

SOURCE Aptos, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.aptos.com


MILWAUKEE, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. retail candidates value shorter work weeks and flexible shift patterns over compensation and benefits according to new research from ManpowerGroup Solutions (NYSE: MAN), the world's largest RPO provider, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), the trade association for America's most recognized and innovative retailers.

The report "Inside the Heads of Job Seekers: U.S. Retail Candidate Preferences" provides retail employers insights and practical tips on how to attract and retain workers by offering NextGen flexible work practices and new ways to appeal to candidates. This research is timely for the industry: retail roles are the third hardest job to fill in the U.S. Talent shortages continue to escalate as retail work competes with the gig economy (including platform work like Uber) to attract workers seeking flexibility.

View the full report here:

"Inside the Heads of Job Seekers: U.S. Retail Candidate Preferences"

ManpowerGroup Solutions surveyed nearly 1,500 retail workers across the U.S. on how they want to work and found candidates want flexibility, or they'll go elsewhere. Unlike other industries where compensation is ranked as the top motivator, retail candidates rank type of work and schedule flexibility as the top two reasons they seek retail employment.

Twice as many retail candidates want part time work than any other industry and 31 percent of retail workers also prefer to choose their own shifts versus 18 percent across other industries.

"Employers across the U.S. are experiencing talent shortages and retailers are not immune. The retail industry is competing for workers who seek new ways of working, value flexibility and the ability to choose their own schedule," said Jim McCoy, Vice President of ManpowerGroup Solutions RPO and Global Practice Leader. "To attract the brightest and best, employers need to develop an attractive employer brand and demonstrate that they can offer people flexibility,, the option to better blend work and home, and the opportunity to develop their skills."

"As one of the nation's largest employers providing careers and opportunities to over 42 million Americans, the retail industry must continue to adopt hiring practices that offer employees the balance and flexibility they crave," said Evan Armstrong, Vice President of Government Affairs at Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). "We are pleased to partner with ManpowerGroup Solutions to help the industry innovate as the marketplace for job-seekers becomes more tech-forward and candidates are prioritizing flexible and innovative work arrangements."

ManpowerGroup Solutions shares key recommendations to engage candidates in the lead up to the busy retail holiday period and beyond:

Limber Up. Retail candidates value flexible working, and that's not just part-time jobs. Prioritizing workplace flexibility, supported by technology, will enable managers and employees to have a say in scheduling.

Retail candidates value flexible working, and that's not just part-time jobs. Prioritizing workplace flexibility, supported by technology, will enable managers and employees to have a say in scheduling. Diversify. Apply your market segmentation strategy to recruiting employees. Programs targeted at specific groups will open up new talent pools. For example, attract students with a well-crafted, flexible, term-time offer to build a steady pipeline of workers with in demand skills.

Apply your market segmentation strategy to recruiting employees. Programs targeted at specific groups will open up new talent pools. For example, attract students with a well-crafted, flexible, term-time offer to build a steady pipeline of workers with in demand skills. Collaborate. The retail industry depends on a part-time workforce to meet seasonal demands, and collaborative hiring platforms and communities  like ManpowerGroup Solutions' WorkMyWay network  provide access to on-tap talent seeking flexibility.

The retail industry depends on a part-time workforce to meet seasonal demands, and collaborative hiring platforms and communities  like ManpowerGroup Solutions' WorkMyWay network  provide access to on-tap talent seeking flexibility. Ping and Push. Sixty-seven percent of retail candidates want to be contacted two to four times per month by potential employers. With 86 percent of retail candidates using Facebook and 52 percent on Instagram, social media is an effective and efficient way to keep your brand front of mind, and push information about job opportunities direct to candidates.

To learn more about ManpowerGroup Solutions' candidate preferences research and download Inside the Heads of Job Seekers: U.S. Retail Candidate Preferences, visit:

http://www.manpowergroup.us/retail

About ManpowerGroup Solutions

ManpowerGroup Solutions provides clients with outsourcing services related to human resources functions, primarily in the areas of large-scale recruiting and workforce-intensive initiatives that are outcome-based, thereby sharing in the risk and reward with our clients. Our solutions offerings include TAPFIN-Managed Service Provider, Strategic Workforce Consulting, Borderless Talent Solutions, Talent Based Outsourcing and Recruitment Process Outsourcing, where we are one of the largest providers of permanent and contingent recruitment in the world. ManpowerGroup Solutions is part of the ManpowerGroup family of companies, which also includes Manpower, Experis, and Right Management. More information at www.manpowergroupsolutions.com.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for over 400,000 clients and connect 3+ million people to meaningful, sustainable work across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands  Manpower, Experis, Right Management and ManpowerGroup Solutions  creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across 80 countries and territories and has done so for nearly 70 years. In 2017, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the seventh consecutive year and one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup is powering the future of work: www.manpowergroup.com

About RILA

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) is the trade association for the world's largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs, and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers domestically and abroad.

About the Human Resources Leaders Council

Chief human resources executives from retail member companies meet to network and share information on leading practices, operational challenges, and industry trends. These leaders work collaboratively to identify opportunities in HR that could have a strategic impact on their organizations and provide direction for RILA's efforts in the human resources discipline.

To learn more, visit www.rila.org

SOURCE ManpowerGroup Solutions

Related Links

http://www.manpowergroupsolutions.com


Event

Telephone Number Earnings conference call on November 2, 2017 India  6:30 PM (IST) Mumbai main access +91-22-3938-1017 Toll Free number 1-800-120-1221 1-800-200-1221 Singapore  9:00 PM (Singapore Time) Toll free number 800-101-2045 Hong Kong  9:00 PM (Hong Kong Time) Toll free number 800-964-448 UK  2:00 PM (UK Time) Toll free number 0-808-101-1573 US  9:00 AM (Eastern Time) Toll free number 1-866-746-2133 For online registration http://services.choruscall.in/diamondpass/registration?confirmationNumber=5267915 Replay of Conference Call (2 November 2017 to 9 November 2017) Mumbai +91-22-3065-2322 Passcode: 68610#

About Vedanta Limited

Vedanta Limited is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves producing oil & gas, zinc - lead - silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia and Ireland.

Vedanta Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed company. Governance and Sustainable Development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety and environment and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company is conferred with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 'Sustainable Plus Platinum label', ranking among the top 10 most sustainable companies in India. To access the Vedanta Sustainable Development Report 2016, please visit http://sustainabledevelopment.vedantaresources.com/content/dam/vedanta/corporate/documents/Otherdocuments/SDreport2015-16/Vedanta%20SDR%20FY%2015-16.pdf

Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India and has ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more information please visit www.vedantalimited.com

Vedanta Limited

Vedanta, 75, Nehru Road,

Vile Parle (East), Mumbai - 400 099

www.vedantalimited.com

Registered Office:

Regd. Office: 1st Floor, 'C' wing, Unit 103,

Corporate Avenue, Atul Projects,

Chakala, Andheri (East),

Mumbai  400 093

CIN: L13209MH1965PLC291394

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements"  that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forwardlooking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

For further information, please contact:

Communications

Zarin Amrolia

Manager, Group Communications

Tel: +91-22-6646-1000

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Ashwin Bajaj

Director  Investor Relations

Tel: +91-22-6646-1531

[email protected]

Aarti Raghavan

VP  Investor Relations

Sneha Tulsyan

Associate Manager  Investor Relations

SOURCE Vedanta Limited

Related Links

http://www.vedantalimited.com


Viceroy's Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Smith, says of the accolade, "Over the years, I've had the good fortune of working directly with young talent, and Jeff Wu is among the best I have worked alongside. It's rewarding to witness the output of Viceroy's talent management, mentoring and succession planning programs. I have no doubt that Jeff will continue to excel as his career progresses, and he works toward holding a top leadership position within our industry."

With a passion for all things travel, Jeff Wu began his career with Viceroy Hotel Group three years ago when he was 24 years old. To date, he has received several promotions, and continues to increase his responsibilities within the organization. Areas of growth and accomplishments include outstanding performance in corporate finance, accounting, short and long range strategic planning, underwriting, acquisitions and development, and marketing, where he played a key support role in the recently launched Viceroy Brand video.

"Pride is at the core of our business and we couldn't be more proud of Jeff, his accomplishments, and his contribution to our brand," said Bill Walshe, Chief Executive Officer of Viceroy Hotel Group. "It's an honor to be named one of HOTEL MANAGEMENT's Thirty under 30, and we can't think of a more deserving candidate."

HOTEL MANAGEMENT magazine's "Thirty Under 30" is an annual industry recognition that spotlights rising talent deserving of widespread acknowledgement for their dedication to the field. Nominees must be 30 years old or younger, currently work at any level in a hotel field, have completed a significant project for his or her hotel or organization and be recognized by leaders of his or her own hotel or organization as an emerging leader.

The 2017 Thirty Under 30 winners are featured in the October 17 print issue of HOTEL MANAGEMENT, out today. Visit www.hotelmanagement.net to learn more.

ABOUT VICEROY HOTEL GROUP

Viceroy Hotel Group inspires travelers with one-of-a-kind authentic lifestyle experiences that bring together provocative design and intuitive service in sought-after locations. A leader in modern luxury, Viceroy's vibe-led hospitality is guided by the brand promise "Remember to Live," an affirmation to create lifelong memories for each and every guest. Viceroy destinations are segmented into three distinct portfolio tiers to help travelers find exactly the kind of experience they're looking for. The Viceroy Icon Collection properties include epic hotels and resorts in Chicago, Abu Dhabi, Beverly Hills, Riviera Maya, Snowmass, and St. Lucia, with forthcoming openings in Algarve, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Panama, Cartagena, and Vietnam. The Viceroy Lifestyle Series hotels and resorts are found in attitude-led destinations including New York and Santa Monica, with a forthcoming opening in Serbia. The Urban Retreat Collection properties in San Francisco have an independent spirit and bold, eccentric personalities. Viceroy Hotel Group is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) DISCOVERY, a unique loyalty program offering exclusive benefits and experiences to its members at over 550 hotels around the world. For more information, visit www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com. Follow Viceroy Hotel Group at facebook.com/viceroyhotelgroup and on Instagram and Twitter @viceroyhotels.

Contact: LFB Media Group - 646-455-0042

Erin Brunner | [email protected]

Priya Bhambri | [email protected]

SOURCE Viceroy Hotel Group

Related Links

http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com


BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE: WD) (the "Company") announced today that it will release its third quarter 2017 results before the market opens on November 8, 2017.

The Company will host a conference call to discuss the quarterly results on November 8, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Analysts and investors interested in participating are invited to call (866) 952-7525 from within the United States or (203) 518-9908 from outside the United States and are asked to reference the Conference ID: WDQ317. A simultaneous webcast of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.walkerdunlop.com/.

An audio replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate services and finance companies in the United States providing financing and investment sales to owners of multifamily and commercial properties. Walker & Dunlop, which is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, has over 600 professionals in 28 offices across the nation with an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.walkerdunlop.com


BAAR, Switzerland, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Weatherford International plc (NYSE: WFT) received top honors in two categories at the 2017 World Oil Awards, held Thursday, October 12, in Houston, Texas. The Raptor 2.0 cased-hole evaluation system was named Best Production Technology and the Endura dual-string section mill was awarded Best Well Integrity Technology.

The Raptor 2.0 system detects bypassed reserves with precise through-casing reservoir characterization, which enables operators to improve production and recovery. The Endura dual-string section mill significantly reduces the time of plug and abandonment operations and creates a stable and verifiable rock-to-rock barrier, enhancing the integrity of the wellbore at the end of its productive life.

"These two awards demonstrate our continuous commitment to innovation and technology leadership," said Karl Blanchard, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We are proud to provide our customers with competitive technologies and services that address industry challenges and enable operators to produce maximum value from their assets."

About Weatherford

Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies providing innovative solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in over 90 countries and has a network of approximately 860 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities and employs approximately 29,500 people. For more information, visit www.weatherford.com and connect with Weatherford on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Weatherford Contacts

Christoph Bausch

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

+1.713.836.4615

Karen David-Green

Vice President  Investor Relations, Marketing and Communications

+1.713.836.7430

SOURCE Weatherford International plc

Related Links

http://www.weatherford.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of Ruby Tuesday, Inc. ("RT" or the "Company") (NYSE: RT) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by private equity firm NRD Capital Management ("NRD"). Under the terms of the agreement, NRD will acquire all outstanding shares of RT in a transaction valued at approximately $146.00 million, offering RT shareholders $2.40 for each share they own.

WeissLaw is investigating whether RT's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, at least one analyst set a target price of $5.00 per share, a little over two times greater than NRD's offer price. Additionally RT shares traded above the offer price as recently as June, peaking on January 5 when the Company's shares traded for $3.58, or $1.18 above the offer price.

Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating whether RT's Board acted in the best interests of RT's public shareholders to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. If you own RT shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us, please contact Joshua Rubin by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at [email protected].

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/ruby-tuesday-inc/

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

http://www.weisslawllp.com


The resorts are situated in downtown Oranjestad, the capital city of Aruba, and adjacent to the port and downtown Willemstad, the capital city of Curacao. Tribal Chair Stephanie Bryan of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, owners of Wind Creek Hospitality, said "We are thrilled to add these incredible properties to our Wind Creek portfolio. We look forward to being part of the communities in Aruba and in Curacao. I know our guests will love being able to travel to two of the best Caribbean destinations as part of our Wind Creek Rewards program."

Located minutes from Queen Beatrix Airport, the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino resort sits in the middle of downtown Orangestad, Aruba's capital city, and overlooks the marina and cruise ship terminal. The property is well positioned to provide guests an opportunity to escape from their daily routines and experience something truly extraordinary. The resort offers two hotels with 431 rooms; numerous choices for dining; two shopping malls that include luxury retailers Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Cartier, Burberry, Rolex, and Bulgari; two casinos; and the private Okeanos Spa. The adjacent 40-acre private island offers exquisite beaches and is an ideal location for tropical weddings while business conferences and trade shows are at home in 22,000 square feet of event space.

The Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino is set amidst the historic Dutch Caribbean city of Willemstad. It stretches from the Otrobanda waterfront all the way to the main cruise ship terminal. Built within and around the fascinating Rif Fort  a 19th century landmark designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site  Renaissance Curacao offers a variety of boutiques, cafes, bars and restaurants, including the open-air boulevard of Renaissance Mall. The hotel offers 237 rooms and suites designed in a contemporary Caribbean flavor. Exclusive to the guests of the Renaissance Curacao is the Infinity Beach Club. It features an exceptional beach experience, infinity pool, spa cabanas, sweeping views of the Caribbean and a beachside bar & grill.

Advisors

Innovation Capital, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to PCIGA for this transaction. Jones Walker LLP and HBN Law acted as legal counsel to PCIGA.

About Wind Creek Hospitality

PCI Gaming Authority d/b/a Wind Creek Hospitality is the principal gaming and hospitality entity for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Dedicated to providing a first-class customer experience, the casinos and hotels of Wind Creek Hospitality are renowned for the genuine attention paid to their guests and every effort made to assure that those guests feel a sense of importance and belonging. The company currently operates seven properties throughout the states of Alabama, Florida, and Nevada as well as the online engagement platform Wind Creek Casino. www.WindCreekHospitality.com

About Poarch Band of Creek Indians

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are descendants of a segment of the original Creek Nation, which once covered almost all of Alabama and Georgia. Unlike many eastern Indian tribes, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians were not removed from their tribal lands and have lived together for almost 200 years in and around the reservation in Poarch, Alabama. The reservation is located eight miles northwest of Atmore, Alabama, in rural Escambia County, and 57 miles east of Mobile.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is the only federally recognized Indian Tribe in the state of Alabama, operating as a sovereign nation with its own system of government and bylaws. The Tribe operates a variety of economic enterprises, which employ hundreds of area residents. For more information, visit: pci-nsn.gov.

SOURCE Wind Creek Hospitality
MIAMI, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mi9 Retail, a leading provider of omni-channel retail software, is pleased to announce that Zadok Jewelers has selected the Mi9 Retail end-to-end jewelry suite to modernize and enhance its operations. This fully integrated, cloud-based solution includes Mi9 Mosaic POS, Clienteling, CRM, Mobile Inventory Management, Order Management, and Repairs. It also includes Mi9 Intelligence, the advanced analytics and business intelligence solution built on the Mi9 retail data warehouse.

Zadok Jewelers has been celebrated as Houston's premier luxury jeweler for over 40 years. As a sixth and seventh generation family-run business, Zadok Jewelers is one of the last independent jewelry stores in the nation. Their Houston showroom is among the largest in the country, and their loyal customers span the globe.

Zadok decided to migrate their existing system to the newest Mi9 Retail platform to take advantage of its mobile POS, CRM, and modern clienteling technology to foster increased sales and an even greater customer experience. The addition of role-specific dashboards and the advanced analytics in Mi9 Intelligence will enable the company to be even more agile and responsive to market and customer needs. This BI platform gives Zadok Jewelers access to data-driven insights that are typically only available to the largest retailers.

"We looked at other solutions and only Mi9 offers enterprise-grade technology designed for the unique requirements of luxury jewelers," said Segev Zadok, Executive Vice President and Owner of Zadok Jewelers. "Mi9 is committed to this industry, and their ongoing investments in clienteling, customer engagement, and business intelligence will help us continue to delight our customers while we evolve our business with modern technology."

"We continue to advance our comprehensive jewelry solution based on input from our customer base and the experts in our Jewelry Group," said Neil Moses, CEO of Mi9 Retail. "We are focused on helping our current customers migrate to our most modern retail applications, as we get new customers up and running quickly with a system that minimizes total cost of ownership and maintenance, while it helps them increase their top and bottom lines."

About Zadok Jewelers

A family-owned and operated business in Houston, TX for over 41 years, the Zadok family represents seven generations of master jewelers. The Uptown area store features a vast selection of certified loose diamonds and gemstones, platinum and gold engagement and wedding rings, fine jewelry, Swiss timepieces and fine crystal. This collection has earned Zadok Jewelers the reputation as Houston's largest and most distinctive couture jewelry, watch, and diamond gallery. Zadok Jewelers encompasses over 12,000 square feet in the Uptown/Galleria location- ten times its original size- and loyal customers spanning the globe. However, even with this continued growth over four decades, the Zadok family and staff strive to uphold seven generations of commitment to the highest standards of quality and service, while making customers feel welcome and comfortable  as though they are visiting an extension of the Zadok home.

About Mi9 Retail

Mi9 Retail is passionate about helping retailers create great experiences for their customers  online, in-store, and on any device. We know that great retail experiences happen when optimized inventory management intersects perfectly with well-executed customer engagement strategies to deliver higher customer loyalty, better margins, and a more engaged workforce. Our solutions for merchandise management, digital commerce, and store operations are used by leading retailers across the globe. The company is headquartered in Miami, FL, with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Visit www.mi9retail.com to learn more.

SOURCE Mi9 Retail

Related Links

http://www.mi9retail.com


Hollister Incorporated has signed an agreement to build a manufacturing facility in Kaunas FEZ. The company will establish a production plant on a 13ha plot of land, investing over 50 million and creating 300 jobs. The plant will initially produce ostomy products, with plans to expand production over time. 

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Bartender Jim Meehan took off time from his newly opened bar in Chicagos West Loop, Prairie School, to talk about his latest book, Meehans Bartender Manual (Ten Speed Press, Oct. 17). In it, he mixes cocktail history with bar design, and spirits production, along with comments from other professionals and 100 recipes for classic cocktails.

In 2007, Meehan opened the James Beard Award-winning PDT bar in New York City and subsequently published The PDT Cocktail Book (Sterling Epicure). Meehan lives in Portland, Oregon with his family, where he operates his consulting firm Mixography Inc.



What drew you to drink (literally) and turned you into a spirits nerd?

I took a job at a bar in college upon the recommendation of a friend and fell head over heels in love with the industry. If you peel away all the pageantry; running a bar is nothing more than hosting a party every night. The opportunity to get paid to work in a festive environment where you mingle among all walks of life makes me pinch myself to confirm its real nearly every day.

I got nerdy about my job when I decided to make it my career. I couldnt stand in front of a wall of bottles that I didnt know like the back of my hand. So I began researching and became even more enthralled. Whether youre a chemist or an economist, the spirits industry has a rabbit hole for everyone to disappear down once they realize all the angles you can explore.



We hear a lot about the effect of local foods and the farm-to-table movement. Is there a cocktail equivalent? Whats the effect of place on drinks?

The craft distilling boom has been a boon to bars, which allows them to mimic the locavore purchasing practices of top chefs. For instance, in Chicago, where I just opened a new bar called Prairie School, were featuring four Chicago beers on tap, an Illinois-based sparkling wine, and a variety of Midwestern spirits such as CH Vodka, Letherbee Fernet, Rhinehall Plum Brandy, and Deaths Door gin. Some of these products have national and even international distribution, while others are made in such small quantities that they dont make it out of the city.

While efficiencies in social media and digital communication have brought our world closer together, theyve also begun to homogenize regional customs, including peculiar drink preferences. I prefer to play up these singularities in my drink programs, whether thats Chicagos thirst for Malort or New Yorks connection to the Manhattan cocktail. Unlike wine, which takes on the terroir of the place the grapes are grown, distilled spirits connection to place relies more heavily upon the hand of the maker, which says a lot about the culture they come from if you pay close attention.



In the book, you write about 100 classic cocktails. Was it hard to pare the list down? What are a few that ended up on the cutting floor?

Yes and no. Cocktails are a lot like fashion, so guest preferences of a given time must be taken into consideration when you anthologize drinks for a book like this. Classic recipes like the Kir, Michelada, and Stone Fence would have been unusual choices ten years ago, but today, their composition conforms to the contemporary zeitgeist. I also had to take The PDT Cocktail Book and app into consideration, so I didnt double or triple down on information Ive already put out there.

Recipes like the El Presidente, Boulevardier, Kir, Tom & Jerry, Grasshopper, and Hot Whiskey arent in my PDT databases, while drinks like the Singapore Sling, White Negroni, and Pink Lady are. The most daunting taskalong the lines of picking your favorite childwas choosing which personal recipes to include. Some, like the Old Friend, were commissioned for projects Im no longer involved with, while others, like the Mezcal Mule, remain in heavy rotation in my bars. While Id like to have a say in what recipes Im remembered for, and am implicitly suggesting them here, it doesnt work like that.



Whats your favorite drink, and why?

I always say that my favorite drink is the one in front of me when someone asks. Its mostly meant to take the pomp and circumstance out of what I do for a living and downplay any gravitas that goes along with my personal preferences. The connection between what we eat and drink and memory is so visceral that its important to be where you are when youre out drinking instead of wishing you were elsewhere with others. I embrace the environment Im drinking in and and the companywhether thats a cup of coffee at a cafe, a bottle of beer and a shot in a dive bar, a gin Martini in a fancy hotel bar, or a Margarita at the pool. Context and companionship are vital to appreciating your drink, so I tend to go with the flow or at the very least, not make waves.
Black Dog & Leventhal founder and publisher J.P. Leventhal will step down on December 31 after 25 years with the company. BD&L, which Hachette Book Group bought in January 2015, has been folded into HBG's Running Press imprint, effective immediately.

"I am so proud of the many wonderful books we have published over the past twenty-five years, and of the smart, dynamic and dedicated team that built us to be the creative, market-responsive house that we are today," Leventhal said in a statement. "What fun weve had."

The Black Dog & Leventhal team will report to Kristin Kiser, v-p and publisher of Running Press. The publisher, best known for its nonfiction and illustrated books including The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, The New York Times: The Complete Front Pages, and The Louvre: All the Paintings, will publish The New Yorker Encyclopedia of Cartoons next year.

J.P. Leventhal has been a force in publishing, an original, and a splendid collaborator," HBG CEO Michael Pietsch said in a statement. "His genius for bringing visual content into books in new ways has brought joy to millions of readers. It has been a pleasure having him and his team become part of HBG, and we look forward to his DNA living on in the imprint he created.
After years of the U.S. suffering losses valued in the billions of dollars due to economically-motivated cyber espionage from China, there are some signs that China has begun to reduce its intrusions into U.S. private sector firms' computer networks. What led to this unexpected change in Chinese behavior? Is it because of the high-profile agreement signed by President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping last September? How sustainable is that agreement? And what broader implications does it have for the overall U.S.-China relationship? The answers to these questions carry important consequences for U.S. national interests.

It remains somewhat unclear whether China has indeed reduced its intrusions into U.S. private sector computer systems, as some U.S. cybersecurity firms that previously tracked Chinese cyber threat actors have claimed. The nature of hacking is such that it is virtually impossible to ever know for certain exactly what level of intrusion sets are occurring.

If China did reduce its economically-motivated cyber espionage, there are a number of possible explanations for why it did so. Some observers have argued that China actually started cutting back several months before last fall's summit agreement, perhaps taking steps to exert greater control over the community of military hackers. Other observers suspect that Chinese hackers may have simply redirected their efforts to other, more valuable or more vulnerable targets in other countries.

Others believe China was spurred to curtail its theft of intellectual property by the U.S. indictments of five Chinese military officers in 2014. Such observers also point to the hurried, unscheduled visit to Washington in early September last year of Meng Jianzhu, a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official in charge of political and legal affairs, just after the U.S. announcement that it was planning to push ahead with sanctions against Chinese actors for cyberespionage. In this view, Meng's last minute visit suggests that the Chinese leadership agreed to reduce its hacking of U.S. firms out of a fear that Xi's visit might be preceded by additional U.S. indictments of Chinese hackers.

Finally, some analysts worry that Chinese hackers, who were notoriously sloppy in their operational security, may simply have improved their practices and are now better able to mask their behavior, meaning that hacking hasn't actually gone down, it simply isn't being detected as frequently as in the past.

None of these explanations suggest that China changed its behavior because it concluded that private sector firms are illegitimate targets. China's assertions about cyberspace norms focus on the right of states to censor access to online information. Moreover, China's economy, the commanding heights of which are controlled by the state, differs dramatically from a market economy, where the private sector and the government are cleanly separated, making the U.S. argument that private sector actors are illegitimate targets an alien one to Chinese leaders.

Many observers suspect that China's apparent compliance with the cyber agreement represents little more than a shift in tactics that is probably temporary. Such analysts note that China did not lay down a costly marker, since it did not admit to having previously engaged in cyber espionage. Because it seems unlikely that China has suddenly changed its view of economically motivated cyber espionage wholesale, it is important for U.S. policymakers to keep focused on this issue. The U.S. should make clear that indictments may once again be sought if Chinese hackers resume cyber espionage against U.S. firms. At the same time, the United States should seek to expand the value of the bilateral agreement by supporting the inclusion of U.S. allies and partners so as to guard against possible backsliding or simple retargeting by China.

The 2015 cyber agreement should be seen as a potentially important first step, but by no means a final step, toward addressing the broader problem of Chinese espionage. At its heart, reducing cyber espionage against U.S. companies merely addresses a question of means, not ends. Even if China completely eliminates cyber espionage against U.S. companies, it will still continue targeting traditional U.S. national security actors through various means, including cyber espionage.

Similarly, Chinese efforts to steal valuable intellectual property and business proprietary information from U.S. private sector enterprises through human agents can also be expected to continue. Additional U.S. attention and resources will be needed to address these challenges.

A genuine reduction in Chinese economically-motivated cyber espionage could go some way toward easing tensions in the broader bilateral U.S.-China relationship. But absent changes in Chinese behavior toward U.S. friends and allies, a better attitude toward international law, and improvements in domestic human rights, the ultimate impact of a reduction in economic cyber espionage may simply not go far enough to restore the bilateral relationship to a healthy state.

Scott W. Harold is the associate director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy, a political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and a member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty.

This commentary originally appeared on The Cipher Brief on July 31, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
As the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has a lot at stake in the 19th Party Congress. In addition to changes in military leadership, the reports issued at a Party Congress invariably contain directives to the military, which can add impetus to ongoing initiatives.

As an example, in 2004, President Hu Jintao directed the military to develop as an integrated joint force. Immediately the PLA began trial efforts in the Shenyang and Beijing Military Regions to train personnel capable of fighting in such a manner. After the 17th Party Congress endorsed this shift in military strategy in 2007, the PLA extended these efforts to the entire military in 2009. The timing allowed military leaders to claim that the expanded effort reflected compliance with the directions from the 17th Party Congress. Regardless of whether this was in fact true, this example illustrates that the timing of when and how much the leadership increases resource commitments to major initiatives follows a political logic that is important for upholding the appearance of a CCP in supreme control.

The 19th Party Congress is likely to provide directions on three issue areas of high importance to the military. Reflecting the political logic outlined above, the military is likely to oversee an extension or acceleration of associated policies and initiatives following the Congress. The 19th Congress will call for: First, improvements in the professional quality of personnel; second, top down reforms to streamline and revamp organisations; and third, expanded efforts for security abroad, especially in matters related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Each of these areas reflect important, broader political-economic efforts to boost prospects for sustained economic growth and better governance, but they also carry significant implications for the military.

Improvement in the Professional Quality of Personnel

This party recognises that its ambition to lead a technologically advanced economy and ensure competent governance requires sufficient numbers of professional elites with a high degree of technical expertise and professional knowledge. Similarly, an increasingly technologically sophisticated PLA needs motivated, skilled professionals to carry out a broader range of missions, including outside China. Party and military leaders have tried for years to recruit and promote such individuals, but obstacles have persisted in the form of uneven policy implementation and resistance by cadres who stand to lose from change.

The Party Congress will probably endorse the promotion of younger officers who better understand the goals of the military's modernisation efforts.

To accelerate reform, the Party Congress will probably endorse the removal of unwanted personnel and enactment of policies to attract, retain, and cultivate desired professionals. For the former, the Congress will likely endorse Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive and removal of recalcitrant officials. In the PLA, this will mean the removal of unwanted senior officers and the promotion of younger officers who better understand the goals of the military's modernisation efforts. For the latter, the Congress will likely direct efforts to strengthen and enforce institutions, rules and regulations that encourage and reward the development of skilled professionals. These mutually dependent imperatives will require progress on both fronts to succeed, and the purges undertaken in the PLA  however brutal and unfortunate they may be to the victims  will probably help the military establish and enforce institutions, rules, and regulations needed to build a more professional, joint military.

Top-Down Reorganisations

The 19th Congress will likely call for stepped up efforts to carry out a broad array of top down set of structural reforms outlined in the 3rd Plenum to improve governance and improve the nation's economic performance. The PLA also faces daunting structural changes.

Since 2016, it has begun to overhaul its command structure as part of a broader transformation into a joint force. Among developments, it has abandoned the military region system patterned after the Soviet Army and instead adopted a joint theatre system featuring greater integration of all the military's services. Associated reforms have barely begun, and the appointment of more leaders supportive of such changes should give Xi Jinping more leverage to force through these structural changes.

Security Needs Abroad

Since taking office, Xi Jinping has highlighted major geo-strategic initiatives, the most important of which is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China has already pledged hundreds of billions of RMB for the initiative. However, the large overseas investments open major vulnerabilities. China's military will likely play an important role in safeguarding overseas interests, building on a growing presence abroad in recent years. Since 2009, the PLA has maintained a continual presence to combat maritime piracy off the horn of Africa. In 2017, China formally opened its first overseas military base, located in Djibouti. And China recently confirmed an expansion of its contribution of troops to United Nations peacekeeping forces to 8,000 personnel. In coming years, the PLA Marines could expand its presence abroad to protect embassies and China could conclude agreements for additional military supply ports in other locations.

The 19th Party Congress will occur just as the PLA is undergoing some of the most dramatic organisational and personnel changes it has experienced in decades. The disruptions of the anti-corruption drive and the dismantling of a decades-old command system has coincided with an ambitious modernisation program aimed at propelling the PLA into the upper tiers of world militaries. The 19th Party Congress should provide firm confirmation of the central leadership's endorsement of these changes and their intention to appoint military leaders capable of carrying them out. China's leadership will have its hands full steering the country's economy, politics, and security through what is expected to be a difficult period for the country.

However, if China's leaders can successfully overcome the formidable hurdles to economic and governance reform, the PLA should emerge from the Congress well positioned to meet its modernisation goals by 2020.

Timothy R. Heath is a senior international and defence researcher at the RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on China Policy Institute Blog on October 18, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Talpas The Next Boy/Girl Band is set to air on TV next year in Thailand, following the acquisition of the talent format by Kantana.





The content deal marks the third Asian territory for The Next Boy/Girl Band, which launched in Indonesia this year, with Vietnam to follow in 2018.The competition sees two record labels taking on each other to create the next boy/girl band. Starting off with the looks and moves, the talents must have what it takes to become part of the next pop phenomenon. But thats not enough ... in the next challenge they have to prove they can really sing, said Talpa when describing the show.The format made its debut in the Netherlands in 2016, and has appealed particularly to millennials and 13-17-year-olds through its interactive multi-channel approach, the production company said in a statement. The generated impressive views on Instagram and YouTube, extremely loyal fan bases for both bands and high rates for online exclusives, said Talpa.The use of new digital voting methods resulted in incredible voting engagement, with over five million votes across the series in Indonesia.
Verizon Communications has pulled Univision Communications networks from 4.7 million of its TV customers.





The Spanish-language broadcaster has sent a letter to FCC Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to register a complaint over the action, saying that the blackout came with no prior warning, and that Verizon rejected with no explanation a contract extension that would have kept the networks on the air.In my 40-plus years in the business, I have never seen a distributor so precipitously reject an extension and abruptly cease negotiating with a broadcaster, said Univision CEO Randy Falco in the letter, obtained by Reuters. Verizon should resume good-faith negotiations immediately.Univisions carriage deal with Verizon was set to expire at 5.01pm Eastern on Monday, and Verizon pulled the channels from its IPTV and mobile apps two minutes before.While some customers are relying on coverage of the recent natural disasters in Puerto Rico and Mexico, Univision is proposing an increase of more than double what they charge for access to their channels today, Verizon said in a statement on its website, adding that Univision was asking for an excessive price increase.
PokerGO will begin live-streaming select Aria High Roller Series final tables from the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.





Beginning on 27 October, fans will be able to watch the high-stakes tournament series, which features dozens of tournaments throughout the year and has been a staple of the Las Vegas poker scene since 2014. Since beginning with six events in 2014, the ARIA High Roller Series grew to 38 events in 2016 and has already hosted 36 events in 2017. Typically held once a month over the course of a weekend, the three-day tournaments include $10k, $25k, $50k and $100k buy-in events, with an average prize pool of $872,900.In May, Christian Christner took home the largest prize ever at the High Roller Series with more than $1.4 million in a $100k event.The Aria High Roller Series is a hidden treasure in the high stakes world that we are proud to share with PokerGO subscribers, said Joe Kakaty, president of Poker Central . The never-before streamed tournament series is a strong addition to our live poker schedule as we continue to provide the best poker programming for our subscribers.The tournaments feature some of the top high-stakes professional poker players in the world, including Brian Rast, Isaac Haxton, Jason Koon, and Erik Seidel, all competing throughout the year for tens of millions of dollars in prize money.The Aria High Roller Series brings together the best players, incredible prize pools and a truly electric atmosphere to deliver the year-round high stakes poker that I love being a part of, said Rast. Thanks to PokerGO, fans now have the chance to watch the best-of-the-best battle it out at the Aria tables on a regular basis.Sean McCormack, director of poker operations for Aria, said: We look forward to hosting one of the worlds top high-stakes events at the resort later this month. Our partners at Poker Central are the leaders in the industry and this is a great opportunity to offer the PokerGO viewers a chance to watch their favourite players compete in our tournaments live and on-demand.
Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
One day after pleading guilty to deserting his post in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl has sought dismissal of the charges against him on grounds that the case was tainted by President Donald Trump's calling him a "traitor."

Bergdahl faces a sentence of possible life in prison after pleading guilty on October 16 to desertion of his post in Afghanistan's Paktia province in a 2009 incident that led to his capture by the Taliban.

After five years in captivity, Bergdahl was released in a controversial prisoner exchange with the Taliban in 2014. Trump while campaigning last year repeatedly called Bergdahl a "traitor" and said the soldier should be executed for his actions.

Trump on October 16 said he wouldn't comment on Bergdahl's case, but added, "I think people have heard my comments in the past."

Bergdahl's lawyers cited Trump's latest remarks in asking a military court in North Carolina on October 17 to dismiss the case against Bergdahl, arguing that they make it impossible for the soldier to get a fair sentence from the court.

Bergdahl's lawyers said Trump's remarks are especially concerning now that he is commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces.

"President Trump stands at the pinnacle of an unbroken chain of command that includes key participants in the remaining critical steps of the case," the lawyers wrote.

The judge overseeing the case, Army Colonel Jeffery Nance, previously called Trump's campaign statements about Bergdahl "disturbing and disappointing."

But in a February ruling, he said they didn't amount to unlawful influence on the case because they were made when Trump was a private citizen running for office.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
International rights group Amnesty International has urged Russian authorities to abolish their "absurd" legislation used to punish an activist who shared LGBT-related articles on Facebook.

In a statement on October 18, Amnesty assailed Russia's "homophobic legislation" after a woman activist was fined for posting links to articles related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues on social media.

Amnesty said Yevdokia Romanova had earlier in the day been found guilty and fined $870 in a Samara court for spreading "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships among minors using the Internet."

She was accused of sharing links on Facebook in 2015 and 2016, including a Guardian newspaper article on a same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland and a Buzzfeed article about an LGBT exhibition in St. Petersburg.

"The absurd accusations against Yevdokia Romanova are a sad illustration of the desperate circumstances currently faced by activists working on LGBTI issues in Russia," said Denis Krivosheyev, Amnesty's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia.

"Even the simple freedom to share an online story with friends is now limited by legislation that is blatantly discriminatory and homophobic," Krivosheyev added.

Romanova is a member of a local LGBT chapter and an active member of the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Amnesty said.

The rights group said the law -- also known as the "homosexual propaganda" law -- was passed in Russia in June 2013.
Alyaksandr Korzhych was sent to the Pechy military training base northeast of Minsk just months after the 21-year-old was conscripted into the Belarusian armed forces.

Over his four-plus months there this year, he complained of being the target of hazing by senior officers. In particular, he told family and friends, he was being shaken down for money by his superiors.

On October 3, Korzhych was found hanging in the basement of the medical unit at the Pechy base. His feet were bound with a shoestring and a T-shirt cloaked his head.

The Belarusian Investigative Committee quickly ruled out criminal intent, judging instead that Korzhych had hanged himself in what it categorized as a suicide.

It was the second time in less than six months that a recruit had been found hanged at an army base in Belarus, sparking a debate about "dedovshchina," the particularly brutal form of hazing inherited from the days of the Soviet Union, and even calls for the resignation of the country's defense minister.

Like the earlier case, family and friends of Korzhych are convinced that foul play was involved.

"The probe's version that it was suicide is simply idiotic. A person isn't going to take his life in that way -- tying up his own legs and putting a T-shirt over his head," says Syarhey, a friend of Korzhych.

Convinced the military was simply going to sweep the case under the carpet, Svyatlana Korzhych, Alyaksandr's mother, took action, calling President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's spokeswoman.



"She told me that the investigation was ongoing and that all necessary measures were being taken. What kind of measures? They should remove the commander of the unit," Korzhych says. "Why are they allowing such killers into the army? What do they need them for?"

Coupled with the public outcry, Lukashenka, who has managed to keep a lid on any form of public protest during his two-plus decades of authoritarian rule, was moved to act.



His spokeswoman said the Belarusian strongman was personally overseeing the probe into Korzhych's death.



The Belarusian Investigative Committee announced on October 17 that eight soldiers were being investigated in connection with the death, with two detained. They face up to 12 years in prison if found guilty.

One of those being held is Artur Virbal, a lower-ranking officer who was found in possession of a bank debit card belonging to Korzhych.

His wife is convinced he is innocent, arguing those being targeted by the investigation were being made scapegoats to protect higher-ups.

"You understand perfectly well that they're not going to put away some colonel. [Senior officers] will come out of this clean," Anastasia Virbal says. "I know my husband. He also said his soldiers were his children. He was always proud of them, defending them all the time."

It's not the first suspicious death in the Belarusian Army in recent months.

Less than six months ago, on March 31, conscript Artem Bastyuk was found hanging dead. His family said he had suffered verbal abuse and even named some of those allegedly involved in the abuse.

Bastyuk's family, frustrated that nothing was being done, traveled two months later to Minsk to the Defense Ministry, where officials promised to "take care of the situation." Despite such assurances, the case was closed, with no action taken.

It was only reopened after Korzhych's death, which whipped up a storm of protest rarely seen in Belarus.

More than 10,000 people have signed online petitions calling for the resignation of Defense Minister Andrey Ravkov.

Recruits who had suffered from hazing in the Belarusian Army have begun to speak out about their own experiences.

Military hazing is not an uncommon phenomenon, but "dedovshchina" ("rule of grandfathers" in Russian) -- the brand the Belarusian armed forces inherited from the Soviet Union -- is particularly cruel, driving some into such despair that suicide may appear the only way out.

In Belarus, 37 suicides were registered in the armed forces between 2008 and 2017, according to statistics from the Defense Ministry. In 2017 alone there were four suicides in the Belarusian armed forces, according to media reports.



Analysts and former soldiers who served there say the base at Pechy offers the perfect conditions for hazing to flourish.



Some 4,500 personnel are employed at the base, according to the Belarusian Military Magazine, the official publication of the Defense Ministry. About 10 percent of Belarus's 48,900 military personnel are located there. Most recruits come for three or four months before moving on to a regular military unit, civilian life, or elsewhere.



"There are a lot of people there over a huge area; the people come in and out all the time. There's less control and discipline there," a recruit named Andrey told RFE/RL on condition that his full name not be used, out of fear of retribution.

Thirty-year-old Ihor, who served at the Pechy base in 2006 and also requested that only his first name be used, said that in his unit there was little hazing, but cautioned it "depended on the commander of each company."

Ihor said that while his unit was normal, a nearby one was much "tougher." In that unit, according to Ihor, a sergeant poured boiling water on the face of a young recruit. In this case, Ihor recounts, no one was held accountable.

"All of it is quickly covered up," Ihor claimed. "They've got their mafia."

Parents visiting their sons at the Pechy base are not eager to speak to the press about hazing or Korzhych's death.

"The soldiers didn't know the soldier who died, and there's no talk about 'dedovshchina,'" said one parent in an interview with Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America.

"No, nothing about 'dedovshchina.' No one talks about that," said another.

"You see, they're just afraid to say anything," said another woman whose son is serving at the base, before requesting that she not be shown on camera.

Written by Tony Wesolowsky based on material from RFE/RL's Belarus Service and Current Time TV
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told world leaders that the time to end Russia's war in Ukraine is "now" and called for the extension of a grain-export deal due to expire shortly, as heavy fighting continues in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

"I am convinced that now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped," Zelenskiy said in a video address to the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15.

"It will save thousands of lives," he said.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the highest-ranking Russian official present at the G20 summit, said Kyiv's conditions for restarting talks with Moscow were "unrealistic."

"All problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic," Lavrov told reporters on November 15.

Lavrov also accused Western countries of trying to "politicize" a joint declaration at the summit.

A draft declaration by G20 leaders seen by Reuters said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.

"Yes, our Western colleagues tried in every way to make that declaration politicized and tried to push through language that implied condemning the actions of the Russian Federation on behalf of the entire G20, which includes us," Lavrov said.

"But let's do this in a fair way and let's make it clear that, on this topic, we have differences," Lavrov said.

In his video address, Zelenskiy ruled out a "Minsk 3 agreement," a reference to two failed cease-fire deals between Kyiv and Moscow in 2014 and 2015 over the status of the eastern Donbas region.

"We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilization. There will be no Minsk 3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement," Zelenskiy said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shortly afterward said Zelenskiy's comments confirmed that Kyiv is not interested in holding peace talks with Moscow.

Zelenskiy urged Moscow to withdraw all its forces from Ukraine and reaffirm Ukraine's territorial integrity, warning that Kyiv would not compromise its sovereignty, territory, or independence. He also called for all Ukrainian prisoners to be released.

Zelenskiy outlined several approaches to achieve peace, including ensuring nuclear and food safety, the ending of hostilities, and a prevention of escalation.

He blasted "the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to," referring to rhetoric employed repeatedly by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskiy thanked the "G19," pointedly excluding Russia, for making clear that "there cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail."

Putin has shunned the gathering and sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Bali in his place.



A deal struck in July between the United Nations and Russia that allows the export of Ukrainian grains and other food products from ports blocked by Russian warships is due to expire on November 19.

Zelenskiy said the deal, which according to the UN has allowed the export of 10 million tons of grain and other food, should be extended indefinitely.

"I believe our export grain initiative deserves an indefinite extension -- no matter when the war ends," Zelensky said.

"The right to food is a fundamental right of every person in the world," he said, proposing to expand the deal to more Ukrainian ports.



Zelenskiy accused Moscow of an "attempt to turn the cold into a weapon" by launching waves of air strikes against key infrastructure ahead of the coming winter.

He also spoke in favor of a U.S.-led push for a price cap on Russian oil exports "so that energy resources are no longer used as weapons."



The Ukrainian military reported early on November 15 that its forces repelled waves of Russian attacks on positions in the Donetsk region, including Bakhmut and Belohoryivka, and on Novoselivske in Luhansk.

According to Ukraine's General Staff, the Russian military is accommodating recently arrived reinforcements in abandoned private houses in Luhansk.

The General Staff had previously said that in Luhansk, occupying Russian forces plan to carry out a complete evacuation of the civilian population from three settlements.

The Russian Army is also trying to hold captured territories and continues to equip defensive lines on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, the military said.

In the parts of Kherson region recaptured by the Ukrainian Army over the past week, Russia has destroyed "all critical infrastructure," Zelenskiy said in his regular nightly address on November 14.

Zelenskiy said there is no electricity, no communication, and no television in Kherson, saying the withdrawing Russian troops destroyed everything intentionally.

Earlier on November 14, Ukrainian national energy company Ukrenerho said Russia had destroyed key energy infrastructure supplying the entire right bank of the Kherson region and a significant part of the Mykolayiv region.

"Most of the liberated Kherson region has been without electricity since November 6," Ukrenerho chief Volodymyr Kudrytskiy said. "We are doing our best to supply people with electricity as soon as possible."



Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy said he spoke with U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on November 14 and told him that the Ukrainian military will not accept any negotiations, agreements, or compromise decisions regarding the end of the war.

"I assured that we will fight as long as we have the strength. Our goal is to liberate all Ukrainian land from Russian occupation," Zaluzhniy said on Facebook. "There is only one condition for the negotiations: Russia must leave all captured territories."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and BBC
Bosnian Serb lawmakers have passed a nonbinding resolution insisting on the "military neutrality" of Bosnia-Herzegovina's ethnic Serb-dominated entity, as part of an effort to oppose the country's potential membership in NATO.

Republika Srpska's legislative body in Banja Luka, the 83-member National Assembly, approved early on October 18 the text that also states that Bosnian Serbs will coordinate all future decisions on the issue with Serbia.

Opposition lawmakers were prevented from attending the session because they were protesting over unrelated issues.

The text was initiated by Republika Srpska's nationalist leader, President Milorad Dodik, who has championed Russian interests, voicing opposition to NATO, the EU, and U.S. influence in the Balkans.

Ahead of the vote, Dodik said, "They want to take the barracks without asking anyone in Banja Luka whether they want NATO troops in the Kozara barracks so they can show that there is no need for Republika Srpska to decide about anything."

"And then all of the sudden you have NATO here," he added. "The people do not want that and that's why my position is as it is and why I won't change it."

Since the Bosnian war ended in 1995, Bosnia has been split into two entities -- Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosniaks and Croats.

The two entities are linked by joint state-level institutions, including a tripartite presidency that must reach consensus before decisions can be made.

Pro-Russia Serbs in Bosnia are opposed to NATO membership, while Bosniaks and Croats who account for over 65 percent of Bosnia's population are generally in favor.

The 1995 NATO bombing of Bosnia targeted the Bosnian Serb Army and together with international pressure led to the signing of the U.S.-brokered Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian war. The Western military alliance has led multinational forces deployed to Bosnia after the war.

In 2006, the country joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program and engaged in a dialogue with the alliance on its membership aspirations and related reforms in 2008, but the process has since stalled.

With reporting by AP
Reports two weeks ago that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had thwarted a planned attempt to assassinate charismatic Salafi preacher Khamzat Chumakov and arrested three of the four would-be perpetrators risk exacerbating the long-standing conflict in Ingushetia between the adherents of traditional Sufi Islam, on the one hand, and of moderate Salafi Islam on the other.

The four men reportedly planned to detonate a Hyundai automobile crammed with explosives outside the mosque in the village of Nasyr-Kort where Chumakov preaches. The attack was timed for Chumakovs departure from the mosque after Friday Prayers, which are regularly attended by upwards of 5,000 worshippers. A search of the homes of the three men detained reportedly yielded quantities of explosives, but the Hyundai has not yet been traced.

Although the three suspects have not been publicly identified, Chumakovs relatives told the news portal Caucasian Knot they suspect the involvement of the Belkhoroyev extended family, whose ancestor Batal-hadji founded the eponymous Sufi vird (brotherhood). Chumakov, who lost a leg when a bomb exploded in his car seven years ago, was more circumspect, attributing the purported plot to unnamed destructive forces operating in Ingushetia and clans operating under the protection of external forces.

The enmity between Chumakovs followers and the Belkhoroyevs is perhaps understandable. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Ingush official explained to Caucasian Knot on October 12 that Chumakov has repeatedly criticized the Batal-hadji vird harshly on doctrinal grounds, while senior members of the brotherhood resent the fact that many of its younger members have transferred their allegiance to Chumakov.

Sheikh Batal-hadji Belkhoroyev was a contemporary and follower of the 19th-century Chechen Sufi sheikh Kunta-hadji Kisriyev, whom Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov has elevated in recent years to cult status. Tens of thousands of believers in Chechnya reportedly participate in the memorial ceremonies to mark the anniversaries of his birth and his deportation in 1864 by the tsarist authorities.

Based in the village of Surkhakhi, southeast of Nazran, the Batal-hadji Sufi brotherhood is said to be one of the most secretive in Ingushetia and is regarded with suspicion and mistrust by much of the local population. Its members wield considerable financial influence; their assets include a large market in Nazran and a string of gas stations, according to Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, who is the former director of the International Crisis Group's (ICG) Russia and North Caucasus Project.

In light of Batal-hadjis ties to Kunta-hadji, the Batal-hadji vird enjoys the support of both the Chechen muftiate and the republics leadership. Representatives of the Chechen muftiate attended the funeral in Surkhakhi a week ago of Sultan Belkhoroyev, the informal head of the brotherhood. As for the Chechen leadership, Sokiryanskaya says it makes use of some of the brotherhoods members to promote its agenda in Ingushetia. That agenda appears to be directed primarily against Chumakov and his fellow imam Issa Tsechoyev, who also professes the moderate Salafi Islam that is anathema to Kadyrov. Speaking at a conference in Grozny in February 2016, Kadyrov warned publicly that if those two clerics ever try to proselytize in Chechnya, heads will roll.

Consequently, Kadyrov came under suspicion when a car bomb exploded outside the Nasyr-Kort mosque just a few weeks later. Chumakov sustained only cuts and bruises in the blast but four other believers were injured, one of them seriously.

Ingushetias mufti Isa-hadji Khamkhoyev, who like Kadyrov is a member of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, has also criticized Chumakov for years, demanding that the republics leadership ban him from preaching. Indeed, Khamkhoyevs apparent refusal to seek common ground with the Salafi minority was one of the reasons that impelled Republic of Ingushetia head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to try to engineer his removal from the post of mufti and replace the muftiate with a Council of Alims ostensibly more amenable to promoting peaceful coexistence between the two strains of Islam.

But Ingush human rights activist Tamirlan Akiyev rejects the possibility that Khamkhoyev could have been behind the thwarted attempt on Chumakovs life. He pointed out that in recent months Khamkhoyev has not publicly criticized Chumakov. A relative of Chumakovs similarly opined that the muftiate would be incapable of organizing such an attack.

Furthermore, Khamkhoyevs position has recently been strengthened by an agreement reached between the muftiate and the republics Justice Ministry, which at Yevkurovs behest had launched legal proceedings to have the muftiate abolished -- even though as a public organization it was not subordinate to the republics authorities. Instead, the muftiate has agreed to amend at the next Congress of Muslims of Ingushetia (scheduled in 2019) those chapters of its statutes that the ministry claims violate the law.

The website onkavkaz.com attributes that agreement to the Kremlins reluctance to allow Yevkurov to set a precedent that would weaken the federal centers control over the Muslim community in his republic. It also claims the presidential envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Oleg Belaventsev, supports Khamkhoyev. Onkavkaz further suggests that the fact that Yevkurovs second term as republic head expires in 2018 may have served as an incentive to him not to try to force the issue.

Meanwhile, the Belkhoroyev family is apparently under pressure from Republic of Ingushetia authorities. In mid-September, Sultan Belkhoroyev wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin complaining of what he termed organized persecution in the form of constant illegal measures directed at persons who belong to our vird. According to Caucasian Knot, Belkhoroyev said that on August 19-20, some 40 searches were carried out at the homes of various members of the brotherhood, during which the police planted weapons. He attributed that pressure to members of extremist organizations who, he claimed, have infiltrated the law enforcement agencies over the past six years and who engage in intimidation and the fabrication of criminal cases against members of the Batal-hadji brotherhood. That pressure has become so great, Belkhoroyev continued, that members of the brotherhood are seriously considering emigrating en masse.

It is not known whether Belkhoroyev received a response from Putin before he died. Assuming his allegations of pressure and intimidation are true, such harassment would seemingly have had to have been instigated by Yevkurov personally -- possibly as a way of hitting back at Kadyrov, who has sought for years to undermine Yevkurov, including by encouraging his minions to lobby for the redrawing of the border between the two republics to transfer to Chechen jurisdiction districts currently part of Ingushetia.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.
It should strike us as pretty odd when the top diplomat of a major power promises to defend something that doesn't exist.

But that is exactly what Sergei Lavrov did this week.

Speaking at a youth festival in Sochi, the Russian foreign minister vowed that Moscow will respect, protect, and uphold the sovereignty of South Ossetia.

Now, South Ossetian sovereignty, of course, is a fiction.

South Ossetia is effectively a Russian-occupied protectorate -- and the only countries other than Russia that recognize it as an independent state are Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru.

According to international law, South Ossetia is part of Georgia.

So when Lavrov says Moscow will respect, protect, and uphold the sovereignty of South Ossetia, what he really means is that Russia will continue to disrespect, subvert, and undermine the sovereignty of Georgia.

Lavrov's pledge to defend South Ossetia's nonexistent sovereignty is, of course, not all that unusual.

Russian officials often talk about make-believe things.

They've pledged to defend Ukraine's border with Crimea, which also doesn't exist, since -- according to international law -- Crimea is part of Ukraine.

And they regularly call for diplomacy to resolve the so-called civil war in the Donbas, which also doesn't exist since the conflict in eastern Ukraine is a war of aggression instigated by Russia and Russia alone.

There is, of course, a reason for all this talk about imaginary things.

Every time Lavrov or another Kremlin official talks about the make-believe -- be it South Ossetian sovereignty, the Ukrainian-Crimean border, or the civil war in the Donbas -- the imaginary becomes normalized and reified.

It's a clever rhetorical trick, and we should not play along.

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Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili signed into law on October 19 the controversial constitutional amendments pushed through parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the teeth of vociferous objections by opposition parties from across the political spectrum and from Margvelashvili personally.

He explained that he decided to sign in order to avoid possible political destabilization, stressing that it was hard for him.

Georgian Dreams parliament faction adopted the amendments in the third and final reading in late September despite a concerted effort by Margvelashvili and the opposition parties to force last minute revisions. In light of Georgian Dreams categorical refusal to yield on the crucial issues of holding the parliamentary election due in 2020 under the fully proportional system, rather than the current mixed majoritarian-proportional system, and the manner of electing the president, Margvelashvili formally vetoed the amendments on October 9. Georgian Dreams parliament faction overrode that veto four days later after a debate lasting over five hours that two of the three opposition parliament factions boycotted.

The adoption of what opposition politicians and members of the presidential administration alike have branded the constitution of a single political force has exacerbated the rift between Georgian Dream on the one hand and the rest of the political spectrum on the other. That antagonism is unlikely to abate, given Georgian Dreams whopping parliament majority (115 of the 150 mandates), the resulting limited influence of the opposition, and widespread public indifference to the entire political process.

After the Georgian Dream majority passed the draft amendments in the third and final reading on September 26, Kobakhidze invited President Margvelashvili to veto just two of its provisions that Georgian Dream had already agreed, at the urging of the Council of Europes Venice Commission of legal experts, to alter. The first entailed making an exception for the parliamentary elections due in October 2020 to the proposed ban on the formation of election blocs and lowering the threshold for parliamentary representation under the proportional system from 5 to 3 percent of the vote. The second entailed abolishing the bonus system whereby the mandates left undistributed as a result of votes cast for parties that fail to garner the required minimum to qualify for representation in the new legislature are automatically given to the winning party.

Kobakhidze explained that if the president vetoed those two provisions, the parliament could amend the draft, thereby avoiding the need for a new legislative initiative.

On October 4, Margvelashvili met with representatives of the Georgian Dream parliament faction to discuss that option. The news portal InterPressNews.ge quoted faction leader Archil Talakvadze and faction chairman Mamuka Mdinaradze as telling journalists after the meeting, which Margvelashvilis parliamentary secretary Ana Dolidze had described as constructive and businesslike, that the two sides reached agreement that the two additional changes should be reflected in the revised constitution, but that Margvelashvili had not come to a definitive decision.

Margvelashvili then met the following day with representatives of the 20 opposition parties that had participated last month in drafting an alternative set of constitutional amendments. In addition to preserving the possibility of forming electoral blocs and lowering the barrier for parliamentary representation from 5 to 3 percent, those proposed alternative changes included switching to the fully proportional system prior to the 2020 parliamentary elections; preserving indefinitely direct presidential elections (which Georgian Dream advocated abolishing after the 2018 ballot); and preserving the National Security Council, which is chaired by the president.

In the course of the October 5 deliberations, the opposition revised and reduced its alternative demands to four; in addition to the two changes proposed by Georgian Dream, it insisted that the 2020 elections be held under the fully proportional system and that the Georgian president should be elected by the parliament only after the parliament becomes bicameral. The existing constitution stipulates that the parliament will become bicameral only after Georgia regains full control over its breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Explaining the rationale for those demands, Nika Rurua of the former ruling United National Movement said the issues that the ruling party proposed [as a basis] for imposing a veto are secondary and constitute only a fraction of our demands. The most important thing...is that the people should have the right to decide their own destiny, including electing the president.

Margvelashvili's office announced late on October 5 that he would veto the amendments, citing those four points. It said Georgian Dreams willingness to revise the draft to meet those four demands would constitute consensus and demonstrate that the amended constitution is not simply a one-party document.

Kobakhidze, who has repeatedly crossed swords with Margvelashvili over the past nine months, denounced that decision, saying that the president has squandered the opportunity to play a constructive role for once in the process of adopting the amendments and that the president and the opposition did everything to prevent reaching a consensus. He also claimed that the Venice Commission, which on October 6 released its final assessment of the proposed changes, regretted Margvelashvilis position.

Mdinaradze for his part warned that we shall take note of the veto in the event that the issues agreed with the Venice Commission are reflected in it. That is, the two issues on which a universal consensus has been reached. But if other points, whatever they refer to, are added to these two issues, we shall have to override the presidents veto, according to InterPressNews.

When Margvelashvili formally announced his veto of the amendments on October 9, however, the reasons he cited went beyond the four points agreed on during his deliberations with the opposition parties four days earlier. According to the website civil.ge, he also proposed that the parliament remove from the list of legitimate reasons for restricting freedom of belief preventing crime and administering justice. Echoing one of the Venice Commissions recommendations, he also advocated that a majority, rather than a unanimous vote, should be sufficient in the event that the Constitutional Court is called upon to rule on the constitutionality of election legislation. What he thought could be achieved by making those last-minute demands is not clear.

Even allowing for the bad blood between Margvelashvili and Kobakhidze, the latters criticism of Margvelashvilis actions over the nine-month process of drafting and adopting the amendments is not unfounded. First, Margvelashvili refused to participate in the role of the commission tasked with drafting the amendments because he was not named its co-chairman. Then he protested the proposal to abolish direct presidential elections immediately, whereupon the commission agreed that in 2018, when Margvelashvili is expected to seek a second term, the president will be elected by nationwide vote. And since the passage of the draft amendments in late June in the first and second readings, Margvelashvili has consistently sided with the opposition, calling repeatedly on Georgian Dream to ditch the existing draft and resume the entire process from scratch, while simultaneously offering to convene talks between Georgian Dream and the opposition on reaching consensus. Finally, he waited until the very last minute to float the idea of postponing the transition to the election of the president by parliament until a bicameral parliament has been created.

Analyst Ramaz Saqvarelidze has suggested that Margvelashvili may have been motivated primarily by self-interest, specifically the desire to improve his political rating prior to his bid for a second term. He may also have been seeking to demonstrate that even though the president is largely a ceremonial figure and real political power is vested in the prime minister, he still wields considerable political influence. Margvelashvilis insistence on preserving the National Security Council, which is subordinate to the president and which Georgian Dream proposed abolishing, and his frequent vetoes of legislation, tend to substantiate that hypothesis.

The consensus within Georgian Dream nonetheless appears to be that Margvelashvili went too far in seeking to sabotage the proposed amendments. As Georgian Dream lawmaker Zaza Gabunia was quoted by Caucasian Knot as saying during the October 13 parliament session, the president should be a neutral arbiter, and not the leader of the opposition.

All this is not to say that Georgian Dream was not also single-mindedly pursuing its own agenda, albeit with arguably greater finesse (as reflected in the timing of its proposed last-ditch concessions in September over allowing electoral blocs in 2020 and abolishing the unfair bonus system) to push through amendments that, as Caucasus scholar Tom de Waal has argued, all have analogies in EU countries and are [thus] hard to object to but which seen as a whole, and combined with Georgias lack of progress on judicial reform, look like an effort to weaken checks and balances and cement Georgian Dreams one-party domination for years to come. Certainly that is how the opposition perceives the entire process.

In an extended interview with InterPressNews, psychologist Nodar Sardjveladze highlighted one relevant factor that has blighted the political process in Georgia for years, namely the fact that in Georgia , taking ones opponents opinion into consideration is considered a sign of weakness." Consequently, Sardjveladze continues, the same brutal and primitive political reality exists in Georgia today as in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the various Georgian kings and princes spent more time and resources undermining and fighting each other than on seeking to stave off the common enemy. That continued focus on party rather than national interests does not bode well for the future.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.
An Iranian teenager sneaks up behind a cleric in the capital, Tehran, and knocks his turban off his head before dashing off.

The incident, uploaded on social media, is part of a new tactic employed by anti-government demonstrators in Iran.

Nationwide antiestablishment protests have raged across the Islamic republic since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died on September 16 shortly after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law on women's dress.

As the authorities have waged a deadly crackdown on the rallies, some demonstrators have turned to new tactics to sustain the monthslong protests, including tipping off Islamic clerics' turbans in the streets.

Many Iranians associate members of the clergy with Iran's Islamist regime, which many blame for the repression and corruption in the country.

While some Iranians have praised the "turban throwing" as an act of resistance, others have expressed concern that low-level clerics who are not affiliated with the state could become the victims of harassment and violence.

Lawmaker Mohammad Taghi Naqd Ali on November 10 called the new trend "the devil's conspiracy" and warned that young protesters tossing clerics' turbans were "playing with the lion's tail."

State media reported the arrests of two people in recent days who were accused of knocking off clerics' turbans.

London-based human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr said the tactic was a "brave and revolutionary act." Sadr, the co-founder of the rights group Justice for Iran, told RFE/RL that protesters were "humiliating" clerics without resorting to violence. "They're [targeting] the clergy's turban as a symbol of the crimes and corruption of the past 43 years as well as the privileges clerics have enjoyed," she said.

"There is no violence in it, and it also includes youthful mischief, which highlights the spirit of the revolution," Sadr added, referring to the monthslong protests that have posed the biggest threat to the establishment in years.

But Ahmad Zeidabadi, a Tehran-based journalist and former political prisoner, said that some of the clerics targeted in the streets "may be critics or even victims of [state] policies."

"This phenomenon...mainly targets clerics who do not hold any government positions," he said on Twitter, adding that senior clerics in powerful positions rarely appear in public and are often protected by security guards if they do.

Reformist cleric Hojatoleslam Ahmad Heidari, who was jailed in the past for his support for the opposition Green Movement, warned that the new trend could taint the "beautiful face of [the] protest movement against oppression and injustice."

"You're right to be angry at those wearing turbans," Heidari wrote on the news site Esafnews.com. But he added that "those who have a hand in power and are your target" are out of reach. He said many of the clerics targeted were "young and elderly" clerics who are not sitting in "ivory towers."

Attacks on clerics, particularly those who attempt to enforce Islamic codes in public, had been on rise in Iran even before the protests erupted, forcing many clerics to appear in public without their robes and turbans.

Last week, a cleric was reportedly hospitalized after being wounded in Karaj, near Tehran, amid antiestablishment protests in the city. The hard-line Fars news agency claimed that protesters attacked the cleric with knives.

Hassan Fereshtian, a Paris-based Iranian cleric and researcher, said the turban-throwing trend was the result of the "suppressed anger of the past four decades."

"If it aims at eliminating the clergy, we could be facing the start of violence," he warned in comments to RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "In fact, the clergy should be eliminated from the centers of power. But they shouldn't be eliminated from society."

Fereshtian, a student of the late dissident Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, expressed hope that Iran will reach a point "where secular people can live peacefully next to the clergy and unveiled women next to those who choose to wear the hijab."

In the past year, regime supporters have knocked off the turbans of clerics who had criticized the establishment, including former Interior Minister Abdollah Nuri and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi, who has been under house arrest since 2011 for disputing the 2009 reelection of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Iraqi government forces say they have taken control of areas previously held by Kurdish forces in the provinces of Nineveh and Diyala.

An army statement said on October 18 that Kurdish Peshmerga fighters withdrew from the areas before the arrival of the Iraqi forces.

It said the positions retaken included the Mosul Dam and the town of Sinjar in the northern Nineveh province and the towns of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad.

Earlier this week, Iraqi soldiers and allied militia took control of the city of Kirkuk, nearby oil fields, and other key installations in the northern Kirkuk Province.

The operation came three weeks after the country's autonomous Kurdish region held an independence referendum declared illegal by Baghdad.

Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said the operation was necessary to "protect the unity" of Iraq.

Kurdish regional leader Masud Barzani called for peace but vowed to continue working toward Kurdish independence.

Peshmerga forces had captured positions in Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Diyala provinces over the past three years during fighting against the extremist group Islamic State.

Voters in the autonomous Kurdish region and disputed Kurdish-held areas largely backed secession in the September 25 referendum.

Based on reporting by Reuters, the BBC, and AFP
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have agreed on steps to ease a severe bottleneck on the border and speed the flow of traffic between the two countries.

The agreement came in talks that ended late on October 18 between Kazakh Prime Minister Baqytzhan Saghyntaev and Kyrgyz Prime Minsiter Sapar Isakov in Astana.

Saghyntaev told journalists after the talks that as of October 19, priority for passage across the border would be given to travelers on foot and in cars with only their personal belongings, regular intercity buses, and trucks without cargo.

Saghyntaev said that the sides agreed to establish a working group led by deputy prime ministers of the two countries that "will be tasked to outline a road map in five days" to fully solve the situation.

According to the Kazakh prime minister, Astana had to tighten control along the border due to violations of customs and taxation regulations by Kyrgyz traders.

"Our customs officials report that Kyrgyz importers are making false declarations regarding Chinese goods when crossing the Kazakh border," Saghyntaev said. "We bear direct losses because of that."

He added that the Kyrgyz prime minister pledged to address the issue in a "constructive way."

Saghyntaev quoted Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev as saying relations between the two countries should be "an example of effective and mutually beneficial cooperation in the region."

The agreement came after Kyrgyzstan sent a communique to the World Trade Organization complaining of Kazakstan's tough treatment of Kyrgyz trucks and citizens at the border crossing.

Kyrgyzstan did not launch a full-scale trade dispute before the global trade agency, but notified its dispute settlement body about what Bishkek said were nine different trade rule violations by Astana, Reuters reported.

The Kyrgyz statement said Kazakh border guards were singling out Kyrgyz cargoes for inspections, and the border restrictions had nearly halved the flow of trade between the countries.

The chief of the Kyrgyz cabinet's political department, Chyngyz Esenkul-uulu, earlier told RFE/RL that Isakov's trip to Astana had been agreed by the neighboring Central Asian countries' prime ministers in a phone call on October 17.

The stepped-up Kazakh border checks came amid controversy after outgoing Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev accused Kazakhstan of interfering in the campaign for Kyrgyzstan's October 15 presidential election and criticized Nazarbaev over his long rule. Kazakh officials deny any link.

On October 7, Atambaev accused Kazakh authorities of "meddling in Kyrgyzstan's internal affairs" and of openly supporting Omurbek Babanov, the chief rival of Atambaev's favored successor Sooronbai Jeenbekov -- who ended up winning the election. The accusations came after Nazarbaev met on September 19 with Babanov.

Atambaev said on October 18 that he "probably" went too far when he criticized Nazarbaev, an authoritarian leader who has been in power in the larger, more wealthy country since before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

"Probably, I gave a way to emotions and did the wrong thing in criticizing the Kazakh president," said Atambaev, instead targeting what he suggested were self-interested Kazakh "oligarchs" bent on preserving their wealth and influence after Nazarbaev, 77, dies or hands power to someone else.

"Kazakhstans president trusts those who are around him. And those surrounding him are oligarchs. I think he is like me, easily trusts people," Atambaev said. "Meanwhile, the oligarchs are thinking about only one thing: what they would do after Nazarbaev, how they would save their cash and where they would hide it."

With reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and 24.kg
U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain has said that he'll hold up President Donald Trump's nominees for Defense Department posts until the Pentagon provides more information on its new Afghan war strategy.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on October 17, McCain said his committee needed details of the strategy so it can provide the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan with appropriate training and equipment.

McCain deplored what he said was a lack of communication from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and accused the administration of treating Congress as a lesser branch of government despite its power over spending under the U.S. Constitution.

"I had a better working relationship [with President Barack Obama's Defense Secretary Ash Carter] than I do with an old friend of 20 years," McCain said of Mattis.

McCain said though he and Carter often disagreed, "there was a lot of communications" between them. He contrasted that with a lack of information from the Pentagon under Trump.

"I think they had this idea, once that Trump won, that we are a unicameral government...and that they don't have to respond to what the constitution says," McCain said.

"We will not sit by without having a complete understanding of what is going on," he said.

Trump outlined his plan for Afghanistan in August, declaring that U.S. troops would "fight to win" by adding about 3,500 U.S. troops, attacking enemies, and "crushing" militant groups.

But McCain said it remained unclear how such a modest increase in troop strength could turn the tide in Afghanistan when that goal couldn't be achieved by tens of thousands of U.S. forces earlier in the war.

Trump also announced a shift in strategy that would link assistance in the future to getting results on the battlefield and to cooperation from the Kabul government and Pakistan.

McCain said he wanted to know specifically what Trump's conditions are for providing assistance. He said he was also seeking answers for how and when Trump would accomplish his goal of a political settlement in Afghanistan that includes elements of the Taliban.

McCain's demands come amid a renewed breakout of violence by the Taliban, which launched a string of suicide attacks on October 17 that killed at least 74 people.

They also come as missile strikes by suspected U.S. drones have killed more than 30 Taliban militants hiding in a border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent days.

A Senate website shows 17 Defense Department nominations pending before the Senate committee could be affected by McCain's blockade. Among them are Mark Esper, the nominee for army secretary, and Joseph Kernan, the nominee for undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

While vowing to block nominees until the Pentagon provides more information, McCain has made some exceptions. McCain's committee and the full Senate last month confirmed Marine General Joseph Dunford for a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And on October 17, the Senate confirmed David Trachtenberg to be principal deputy undersecretary of defense. McCain said he did not block Trachtenberg's nomination because he was partially satisfied with [the Pentagon's] commitment to provide us with answers to the questions.

With reporting by AP and DefenseNews.com
Pakistani officials say a bomb attack on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Quetta has killed at least six members of the country's security forces and one civilian.

The Pakistani Taliban, a militant group fighting Pakistan's government, claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted a truck carrying police officers on the Quetta-Sibbi Road early on October 18.

Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said that 22 people were also wounded in the blast, several critically.

He added that an investigation was under way to determine whether it was a suicide bombing or the explosives-laden vehicle was detonated remotely.

Dead bodies and the injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Quetta and the site of the explosion was cordoned off by security forces soon after the blast.

In a separate attack in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, officials said that police inspector Abdus Salam was killed in a drive-by shooting as he was on his way to work.

The militant extremist group Lashkar-e Jhangvi reportedly claimed to be behind the shooting.

Provincial Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that "the war against terrorism is not over."

"Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," he added.

Resource-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and a separatist insurgency that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004.

Also on October 18 in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities said that two security personnel were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a roadside bomb.

A local commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Sharyar Mahsud, was quoted as saying that his men were responsible for the attack in Bannu district.

With reporting by Reuters, Dawn, and AP
Evidence of widespread efforts in Russian schools to warn students about supporting opposition leader Aleksei Navalny keeps rolling in.

The latest known incident comes from the Far East city of Khabarovsk, where a school director reportedly warned a 15-year-old student that Russian security services would look into his support for Navalny, who the administrator claimed is a tool in a U.S. plot against Russia.

Like several other students across the country this year, 9th-grader Timur Valiullin surreptitiously recorded a meeting he had with school officials about his political activities, including Olga Kodina, director of 202nd Airborne Brigade Multidisciplinary Lyceum in Khabarovsk.

The audio file, which was published this week by the Khabarovsk branch of Navalny's presidential campaign, documents the dressing-down Kodina delivered to Valiullin and his parents over his efforts as a volunteer with Navalny's team.

At one point, Kodina warns that if Valiullin doesn't behave "quietly," Russia's powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) will "look into him." She suggests he has attempted to recruit fellow students into a "cult" and accuses him of disseminating pro-Navalny "propaganda" at the school.

The recording is one of numerous secretly recorded audio and video files

leaked online this year showing teachers and administrators at Russian schools and universities urging students not to take part in unsanctioned political protests, and portraying Navalny as a dangerous Pied Piper.

Kremlin critics have accused authorities of illegally exploiting the country's educational system to curtail dissent.

Navalny, 41, is an anticorruption crusader and fierce opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is seeking to run in the March 2018 presidential election that Putin is widely expected to enter and win for a fourth term.

Navalny has campaigned nationwide despite statements by federal election officials that he is ineligible to run because of a financial-crimes conviction in one of two high-profile cases that he says were fabricated as retribution for his political activities.

He has attracted a substantial following among young, digital-savvy Russians who have taken part in several nationwide anticorruption protests that he has organized this year. The youth turnout at these events has triggered handwringing among Russian officials.

Russia's top anti-extremism police official -- who, by coincidence, is named Timur Valiulin -- said this week that the parents and, possibly, teachers of minors who attend demonstrations staged without permission from authorities should be subject to punishment under the law.

"Undoubtedly, the participation of young people in unsanctioned street rallies is a matter of concern for us," the official told an October 17 meeting of Putin's human rights and civil society council in Moscow. "And we...are also troubled by the fact that such protesters are getting younger."

'Sitting There Getting Fat'

The potential blowback of a pro-Navalny movement at her school clearly weighed on the mind of Kodina during her meeting with Valiullin -- the student -- and his parents.

"Misfortune has befallen your home," she tells his parents. "And my home as well, because your son studies here."

She describes Navalny as a "thief" and a "product of U.S. security services"

For his part, Valiullin denied in an interview with RFE/RL that he has engaged in political campaigning in school. "I have never urged classmates to vote for Navalny and never passed out stickers, buttons, or newspapers in class," he said.

He brushed off Kodina's warnings about the FSB, calling it "nonsense, nothing more."

Reached by RFE/RL, Kodina said that the meeting in question took place on September 22. She accused Valiullin of releasing a manipulated recording that omitted parts of the meeting, including comments by a teacher who said the student was vocal about his political views in class.

Kodina, who is also a local lawmaker with the ruling United Russia party, declined to comment on her remarks about the FSB during the meeting but said she is "worried for this child."

"I am concerned because such kids are used by dishonest people," she told RFE/RL.

At one point in the recording, Kodina appears to agree with some of the Russian opposition's complaints. "Yes, we have a bad government. It has no rule of law. It oppresses poor homosexuals and other thinking people," she says.

She repeatedly cuts the student off -- at one point saying, "Shut your mouth!" -- and accuses him of insulting her as the school's director and as a Russian citizen "with your attitude toward the government that feeds you, that raises you for free, and educates you."

Valiullin replies: "Not for free, but rather with money from taxes that my parents pay."

After asking the student to tally up precisely how much his parents pay in taxes and accusing him of "sitting there getting fat" on public services paid for by other people's taxes, Kodina tells Valiullin: "Take your documents and get out of here."

Written by Carl Schreck based on reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service correspondent Darina Shevchenko


Ksenia Sobchak, the Russian socialite, TV personality, opposition activist, and daughter of a former St. Petersburg mayor, says she will run in Russias presidential election in March, a challenge to President Vladimir Putin, who is widely expected to run for reelection.

In a short video posted to her Instagram account and her website on October 18, Sobchak said her candidacy would serve as a way to cast a protest vote, a "vote against all," she said -- a reference to a feature that was common on many Russian election ballots until it was outlawed in 2006.

"There used to be the option of voting against all. It guaranteed that your vote would not be given to anyone. But this option was taken away so that our votes are even easier to steal, so the authorities can remain in power for even longer," she said.

"I am 36 and like any other citizen of Russia, I now have the right to participate in the presidential election. I have decided to exercise that right," she said.

"I want to return the chance to vote against all. This is our peaceful, lawful way to say: 'Enough is enough, guys. We're fed up with you. Together we are very strong,'" she said. "Whatever they promise, for what they speak out, we are speaking out in opposition. Against them. Against all."

The decision by Sobchak, whose father was a political mentor to Putin in the 1990s, roils the nascent effort to come up with a viable rival to Putin, who has ruled the country more or less for 17 years and remains widely popular.

Before becoming a TV personality and fixture at opposition rallies, Sobchak was a reality TV star and had been dubbed Russia's equivalent to Paris Hilton.

Putin has given hints that he would run for a fourth term as president, but has not formally announced a decision.

If Putin does run, he is expected to win easily.

Some critics have voiced suspicion that Sobchak's candidacy may have been backed or even engineered by the Kremlin, which analysts say is eager to bolster turnout and strengthen Putin's mandate in what could be his last presidential term.

Crusading lawyer Aleksei Navalny has vowed to run in the race, and he has built a formidable base among Russians, particularly younger voters, who have taken to his message of fighting corruption among top government officials.

However, Russian courts have convicted him of criminal charges that he and his supporters have lambasted as politically motivated. Election officials have said his conviction makes him ineligible to run under Russian law.

There was no immediate response from Navalny or his Anticorruption Foundation. He is currently serving a 20-day sentence imposed earlier this month by a Moscow court that found him guilty of repeatedly violating laws regulating protests and demonstrations.

Last month, however, Navalny publicly mocked the idea of Sobchak running for office, saying she would be endorsed by the Kremlin as the liberal rival to Putin.



"They need a caricature liberal candidate, especially if they don't want to register me. They'll say: 'We won't allow Navalny [to run] because he's a criminal extremist, but look, here is Ksenia Sobchak. She says everything the opposition wants,'" Navalny told his followers on YouTube on September 21.

Russian news agency TASS reported that the leader of Russia's Solidarity opposition movement, Ilya Yashin, will not support Sobchak's candidacy.

"I don't know what has changed," Yashin told TASS. "Solidarity supported Aleksei Navalny in the election and we haven't revoked support for him."

The decision is a reversal for Sobchak, who earlier derided leaked reports that said the Kremlin was looking for female candidates as a way to give the March election more legitimacy.

In an interview broadcast later on October 18 on Dozhd TV, Sobchak expanded on her motivations for running, and also said that she had recently met Putin for an interview for a television show about her father, Anatoly.

She said when she informed Putin she would be running for president, he did not look happy.

Anatoly Sobchak was mayor of St. Petersburg between 1991 and 1996. He was a mentor to Putin when he worked in the mayors office. Sobchak died in 2000.

Just before her appearance on Dozhd, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about whether the Kremlin would consider her a legitimate candidate.

"Ksenia is a very talented person. She has experience in various spheres, and she is rather well educated," Peskov was quoted by TASS and Interfax as saying.

"But if she plans to become a politician, she should start with a clean slate and gain experience, because politics is very different from journalism and show business."

Tom Balmforth contributed to this report from Moscow
A second round of missile strikes by suspected U.S. drones has killed at least 11 more Taliban, including senior commanders, a day after strikes killed 20 militants in the southeastern border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials said.

Baseer Khan Wazir, the top administrative official in the Kurram Agency, part of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, told Reuters on October 17 that the drones fired on Taliban hideouts and killed at least 31 people over two days.

Taliban sources told Reuters that 24 members of the extremist Haqqani network, which is based in Pakistan and allied with the Taliban, were killed in drone strikes over two days, including some commanders.

An Afghan official told the Associated Press that the latest drone strikes on October 17 killed 35 Taliban fighters, including a commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Abu Bakr, and other senior insurgents.

Abdullah Asrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia Province, told AP that another 15 militants were wounded in the strikes.

Mujeeb Rahman Chamkani, a lawmaker from Paktia, told AP that the latest strikes occurred as the Taliban were collecting the bodies of the 20 militants killed the previous day.

Intelligence officials said the drone strikes had targeted the Haqqani network and Bakr. They said the large number of militants present in the compound struck on October 16 showed the site was a main center for Haqqani network militants in the area.

The latest drone strikes came after attacks by Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 74 people on October 17. Most of the deaths from the bombings occurred in the southeastern provinces of Paktia and Ghazni.

Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Murad Ali Murad told a press conference in Kabul that the string of attacks, including one in western Farah Province that killed at least three people, were the "biggest terrorist attacks this year."

Many policemen as well as civilians were killed in the suicide bombings, which came one day after four nations sought to revive stalled peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban in Muscat, Oman, despite a boycott by the militant group.

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah in an interview with RFE/RL on October 17 vowed "a complete investigation" into the suicide bombings.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions insisted he answered truthfully when he earlier said that he had no contacts with "anyone connected to the Russian government" about the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, although he acknowledged he had meetings with the Russian ambassador at the time.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 18, Sessions said he believed the previous questions referred to whether he actively participated with the Russians in the U.S. presidential election, "not any casual conversation."

"I did not meet with them in any way about the elections," Sessions insisted.

Sessions is one of several past and current Donald Trump associates whose interactions with Russian officials have come under scrutiny after U.S. intelligence services determined that Moscow actively interfered in the U.S. presidential election to support Trump.

The contacts included interactions with Sessions, former U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn, and Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Kislyak Meetings

At least two congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller are investigating Russias actions during the presidential election and if there was any collusion between Trump's team before or after the November 2016 election.

In March, Sessions, who heads the Justice Department, was forced to recuse himself from any Russia-related investigations due to his own interactions with Russian officials before Trump's January 20 inauguration.

Sessions told the Senate panel he would not comment on his private conversations with Trump about the probe into Russian election meddling or the firing of former FBI Director James Comey until the president specifically waived his claim to executive privilege.

Comey was fired by Trump in the midst of the Russia investigation, leading to the appointment of Mueller as special counsel.



Sessions has admitted to having met with Russias ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, at least twice after initially failing to disclose the meetings.

'History Will Judge'

Kislyak's contacts with senior members of Trump's team during and after the presidential campaign raised concerns by many Democrats and others after the reports of possible Russian meddling surfaced. Kislyak has since left his post as Russias ambassador to Washington.

In his October 18 testimony, Sessions was grilled by Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat-Vermont) on his previous answers in response to written questions, leading to a heated exchange between the senator and Sessions.

"I asked you in writing whether youd been in contact with anyone in the Russian government about the 2016 election. You answered emphatically, 'No,'" Leahy said.

"We later learned about several meetings between you and Russian Ambassador Kislyakduring the height of the 2016 presidential campaign," Leahy added.

"Do you understand why members of this committee consider your answer 'No' was false testimony?

"Ive never accused you of colluding with Russians, but you clearly, in your answer 'No,' you concealed your own contact with Russian officials at a time when such contacts were of great interest of the committee," Leahy said.

Sessions responded by insisting that "I believe my answer was correct."

"The entire context of all your questions dealt with interference in the campaign by Russian officials," Sessions added.

"I took [the question] to mean not any casual conversion, but did I participate with Russians about the 2016 election -- that something was wrong."

Sessions also said he has not been questioned by special counsel Mueller's team in the Russia investigation, a probe Trump has often called a witch hunt.

Sessions declined to directly say whether he considered it to be a witch hunt, but said, "I think he [Mueller] will produce the work in the way he thinks is correct and history will judge."


Firuz, a 30-year-old gay man in Dushanbe, was not surprised by the announcement from the Tajik Prosecutor-Generals Office that it had compiled a list of what it says are 370 gay men and women in the poor Central Asian nation.

Firuz thinks he was added to the registry in 2016 when he was detained during a police raid on a nightclub in the Tajik capital.

He says he was interrogated at a police station, asked about his sexual preferences and the names of his sexual partners. Police also forced him to take a blood test to determine whether he was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, he says.

Asking that his real name not be used because he fears castigation by relatives and discrimination from his employer, Firuz says the Prosecutor-General Offices list is flawed, containing the names of nongays who have been wrongly labeled as homosexuals.

Those who are implementing this order to build a list of gays in Tajikistan just want to satisfy the government and bosses who have ordered them to create this list, Firuz says. I know that there are nongays on this list.

In fact, homosexuality was decriminalized in Tajikistan in 1998 when officials rescinded a Soviet-era law. But the newly announced registry shows that authorities act as if it is still a crime, employing a tactic of posing as the protector of the country's cultural, religious, and moral values, Firuz says.

The governments mindset is above the law in this situation, he says. Even though homosexuality is not a crime, there are raids in the evening at nightclubs and restaurants and at disco clubs.

They are trying to catch homosexuals and force them to take medical examinations in which they must give blood for HIV tests, Firuz says.

We are in this situation because the government of Tajikistan consists of radical secularists who have their own culture, he says. They answer only to themselves.

Its unclear exactly when authorities first began compiling lists of names; news of the registrys existence first came to light this month. Contacted by RFE/RL, the Tajik Interior Ministry refused to comment on the list.

The Prosecutor-Generals Office, meanwhile, defended the registry, saying that individuals were listed due to their vulnerability in society and for their safety and to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

Firuz says he also is concerned that he may become a target for harassment by authorities and from the public because he is listed on the registry.

Indeed, rights activists say Tajikistan's gay community is especially vulnerable to extortion because of fears that their sexual orientation could be publicly revealed with negative consequences in a country of conservative, Muslim values, where homosexuality is frowned upon.

Boris Dittrich, advocacy director for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights program at Human Rights Watch, told RFE/RL that the registry is part of a trend going on in which authorities in former Soviet republics are targeting gays.

Homophobic state policies are spreading in places like Russias Chechnya region, in Azerbaijan, and now in Tajikistan, Dittrich told RFE/RL.

Its a very scary situation when a government starts to register gays -- putting them on a list and then, usually, forcing them to undergo some kind of medical testing, Dittrich said.

Usually, people are forced to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases," he said. This is a violation of a persons right to privacy.

Human Rights Watch also documented cases in several African countries and Central Asia where authorities during the past seven years have forced suspected homosexual men to undergo anal examinations that seek evidence of homosexual conduct.

Dittrich says Human Rights Watch has not been able to determine whether Tajik authorities are forcing suspected gay men to undergo similar anal examinations, a practice he says is considered to be a form of torture by the United Nations.

But he notes that Human Rights Watch has documented the practice in another former Soviet republic in Central Asia: Turkmenistan.

What we know about Tajikistan is that it is a homophobic country that is very conservative and not very open about sexuality, Dittrich said. It is a very difficult country for gay men, in particular, to live in.

It is a predominantly Muslim country where clerics sometimes speak at the mosque in an attempt to turn worshippers against gays, he said.

Human Rights Watch has documented many cases of police violence against gays in the country.

In 2014, the U.S.-based rights organization said, Tajikistan's State Committee for Religious Affairs instructed imams at mosques across the country to preach against so-called "nontraditional sexual relations."

Amnesty International in 2014 documented what it said was a new campaign of harassment and violence against gay people whove been accused of moral crimes.
ON MY MIND

Aleksei Navalny has spent a lot of time in Russian courts over the past several years.

There was his trial for embezzlement in the Kirovles case back in 2013. There was his trial for fraud and money laundering in the Yves Rocher case in 2014. And there've been all those hearings over the years for participating in unauthorized protests.

But there is only one court that is not controlled by the Kremlin that has ever issued a ruling in any case involving Navalny -- the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

And it has done so in three separate cases.

In November 2016, the ECHR ruled that Navalny's conviction for embezzlement in the Kirovles case violated his rights and those of his co-defendant, Pyotr Ofitserov.

In February 2017, the European Court ruled that Navalny's conviction for participating in an unauthorized protest in 2012 was unlawful.

And this week, the ECHR ruled that Navalny and his brother Oleg were unfairly convicted of financial crimes in the so-called Yves Rocher case (see news story featured below).

Vladimir Putin has, of course, signed legislation effectively permitting Russia to ignore ECHR rulings it doesn't like -- which is a violation of Moscow's treaty obligations toward (and membership requirements for) the Council of Europe.

Russian courts have devised some convoluted work-arounds. After the ECHR's decision on Navalny's embezzlement conviction in the Kirovles case, the Russian Supreme Court followed suit and appeared to comply by overturning the verdict and ordering a new trial.

But in the new trial, the court issued the exact same ruling -- practically word-for-word -- as the overturned verdict. It was a clear and unambiguous snub of the ECHR ruling.

But despite all this, the ECHR's rulings remain a scathing indictment of Russian criminal justice.

IN THE NEWS

Russia's top antiextremism police officer says the parents of minors who attend rallies held without government permission -- and possibly their teachers, too -- should be liable for punishment under the law.

A U.S. judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against the Associated Press by aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and his brother Oleg were unfairly convicted of financial crimes at trial in the so-called Yves Rocher case in 2014.

A Moscow court has extended the house arrest for renowned theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose detention on fraud charges stunned the Russian artistic world and elicited support internationally.

Ukraine's military says that two of its soldiers were killed and four were wounded amid multiple cease-fire violations by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on October 17.

Protesters calling for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to enact anticorruption reforms or step down scuffled with police in front of Ukraines parliament at a rally organized by firebrand politician Mikheil Saakashvili and other opposition leaders.

WHAT I'M READING

Exporting Kleptocracy

Ilya Zaslavskiy has a report out for The Hudson Institute: How Non-State Actors Export Kleptocratic Norms To The West.

Online Book - A Successful Failure: Russia After Crime(a)

Intersection magazine has released a new online book, A Successful Failure: Russia After Crime(a), which is available here in PDF format.

My Bodyguard

In his column for Republic.ru, opposition journalist Oleg Kashin argues that recent talk about former Putin bodyguard and current Tula Governor Aleksei Dyumin becoming president is a sign of the times.

Social Conservatives On The Defensive?

In Vedomosti, political analyst Dmitry Travin argues that socially conservative Russian politicians like Natalya Poklonskaya and Vitaly Milonov are suddenly finding themselves on the defensive.

War And Governance In The Donbas

In a commentary for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Mark Galeotti of the Institute of International Relations in Prague argues that the war in the Donbas will be won by the force of example, not the force of arms.

The Purge Of The Governors

In an op-ed for The Moscow Times, Natalya Zubarevich, a professor at Moscow State University and a regional program director at the Independent Institute for Social Policy, takes a closer look at Putin's purge of regional governors.

What Will Putin Say?

In Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Aleksei Gorbachev previews Putin's speech later this week to the Valdai Discussion Forum.

What Is Holding Ukraine Back?

On The Atlantic Council's website, Olena Tregub, a millennium fellow at the Atlantic Council and secretary-general of the Independent Defense Anti-Corruption Committee, looks at what is really holding Ukraine back.

Russia And The West Through Ukrainian Eyes

Steven Pifer, a former U.S. State Department official and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, has a piece on the Council of American Ambassadors website on how Ukraine views Russia and the West.

Trolling Timeline

Mother Jones has produced a timeline of revelations about how Russia used social media to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The Hybrid Counter-War

Reid Standish has a piece in Foreign Policy on how Russia's neighbors are responding to Putin's hybrid-war tactics.
Ukraine's military says that two of its soldiers were killed and four were wounded amid multiple cease-fire violations by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on October 17.

Separatists forces violated the cease-fire 44 times in the previous 24 hours in Donetsk region, and Ukrainian forces returned fire 38 times, the military said in a statement on October 18.

The statement also said that militants used 82-120-milimeter mortars, antitank grenade launchers, and weapons used by infantry fighting vehicles.

Two other Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donetsk region on October 16.

Fighting between Kyiv's forces and the Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014.

Several cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed to resolve the conflict -- have failed to hold.

The latest cease-fire was agreed on August 22 in a phone call between the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine.
KYIV -- Ukrainian protesters who are demanding that President Petro Poroshenko enact anticorruption reforms or step down have clashed with police at a tent camp outside the parliament building in Kyiv.

At least 10 people were arrested on October 18 as police used tear gas against the protesters, Ukrainian media reported.

Russian news agency Interfax reported that several hours after the arrests, 11 of the detained protesters were released and rejoined other activitists at a tent city set up by the protesters outside the parliament building.

The police action came after, earlier on October 18, protesters blocked Hrushevska Street and Mariyinskyy Park outside the Verkhovna Rada building with dozens of tents.

About 200 protesters were at the site on October 18, saying they would stay until their demands were met, after a crowd of 4,500 people demonstrated outside the parliament against corruption.

A field kitchen was set up and barrel fires burned amidst about three dozen camping-style tents.

Serhiy Leshchenko, a reformist opposition lawmaker who is a vociferous critic of Poroshenko, told RFE/RL near the parliament that the president and his administration had provoked the protest.

"Poroshenko has ignored all the demands of the people in terms of anticorruption [measures]," Leshchenko said.

Demonstrators were outnumbered by police, but National Police chief Serhiy Knyazev had told reporters that the authorities weren't planning on forcefully removing the tent camp.

"We do not want to repeat old mistakes. We want to secure the citizens' right to express their will," Knyazev said.

"Old mistakes" may have been a reference to deadly attempts to crack down on the Euromaidan protests that pushed Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.

A tent camp set up on Kyiv's Independence Square was a prominent feature of the 2013-14 protest movement, which drew hundreds of thousands of protesters into the streets at times.

The rally on October 17 was spurred by disappointment in Poroshenko and his pro-Western government, which came to power after Yanukovych's ouster and is accused by critics of failing to root out high-level corruption.

Leshchenko said that a Maidan-style tent camp protest "is a part of Ukrainian political culture" and "is the only way" to gain the attention of Poroshenko, who he said has "lost touch with reality."

While he wasn't spending nights at the protest camp, Leshchenko said it would likely stay put "until the president answers to our goals."

Those goals include the creation of anticorruption courts, the abolition of parliamentary immunity from prosecution, and an overhaul of Ukraine's electoral legislation.

Leshchenko said that a fourth demand added late on October 17 -- legislation on impeachment procedures -- would put pressure on the president and "hold Poroshenko accountable."

At the rally on October 17, former Georgian President and Odesa region Governor Mikheil Saakashvili urged Ukrainians to press for Poroshenko to step down if he does not heed their demands.

Many of the protesters blocking the street are supporters of Semyon Semenchenko, a lawmaker and former commander of a volunteer unit in the war between Ukranian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people since it began in April 2014, after Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and has increased solidarity among many Ukrainians but added to political tensions in Kyiv.

Knyazev said that two police officers were hospitalized after scuffles that broke out when demonstrators started bringing tents to the site without police screening.

Knyazev's spokesman Yaroslav Trakalo said earlier that three protesters were also injured but did not need hospitalization.

With reporting by Christopher Miller and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A United Nations war crimes panel in The Hague is scheduled to deliver its verdict against former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic next month, after a trial that lasted more than five years.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said on October 18 that the verdict against the former general will be announced on November 22.

The 75-year-old Mladic is accused of 11 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for his alleged actions during the Bosnian war in 1992-95, when he was in charge of Serb forces.

He is accused of overseeing the massacre of more than 8,000 men and boys in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica in July 1995.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, Mladic's political counterpart, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison last year.

Prosecutors urged judges to convict Mladic and sentence him to life in prison.

Mladic's defense team called for acquittal on all charges, saying Mladic's guilt was never proven and that prosecutors wanted to make the Mladic "the symbolic sacrificial lamb for the perceived guilt" of Serbs during the war that left 100,000 people dead.

Mladic was indicted in 1995 but was only taken into custody in Serbia in 2011 and sent to The Hague to face trial.

The former general's trial is the last case under way at The Hague tribunal. So far, 83 suspects have been sentenced for their actions during the war. Many are appealing the convictions.

"The Mladic case with the Karadzic case are two of the most important, if not the most important, cases in the history of the tribunal, as we consider Mladic to be the main architect of the policy of ethnic cleansing in a number of municipalities in Bosnia," prosecutor Serge Brammertz told the media.

The tribunal is set to disband on December 31 after more than 20 years of operation.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa


A U.S. judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against the Associated Press by a Russian billionaire with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle said in the 21-page ruling on October 17 that aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who sued over a March story about his business relationship with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, had "cherry-picked sentences" that he wrongly claimed were defamatory and had not disputed "any material facts" presented in AP's story.

The judge also said Deripaska had failed to show AP's story was published with actual malice or with reckless disregard for the truth, a legal standard he had to meet for the case to move forward.

Instead, she said, Deripaska had complained that the story omitted what he considered crucial background.

"As the AP points out," Huvelle wrote, "this simply is not enough to make out a plausible case of actual malice."

The judge agreed with AP's characterization of Deripaska as a "limited-purpose public figure," whose wealth and interactions with the Russian government had made him the subject of media coverage for more than a decade.

Public figures have a higher legal standard to meet in arguing that statements about them are defamatory.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means Deripaska cannot bring it again.

The AP story revealed how Manafort, a decade before joining the Trump campaign, had proposed to Deripaska a confidential business strategy to support pro-Russian political parties and to influence politics, business dealings, and news coverage inside the United States, Europe, and former Soviet republics to benefit Putin's government.

Based on reporting by AP and TASS
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy this morning with periods of light rain and snow this afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the mid to upper 30s. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low 29F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
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Claim: An image contrasts radically different gun laws and homicide rates in Honduras and Switzerland. Rating: About this rating False

Every mass shooting event in the United States prompts renewed debate about the efficacy of gun control regulations, and the 1 October 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon that left nine people dead on was no exception. Such debates typically feature each side presenting charts contrasting violent crime and homicide rates in countries with permissive and restrictive gun ownership laws to make the case that the prevalence of guns corresponds to either higher or lower crime rates.

The wake of the Umpqua Community College shooting brought the widespread online circulation of an image which sought to make the point that two countries of roughly equal population, Honduras and Switzerland, had radically different laws regarding gun ownership and radically different homicide rates: Switzerland, where gun ownership is supposedly mandatory, has the world's lowest homicide rate, while Honduras, where gun ownership is supposedly prohibited, has the world's highest homicide rate:

First off, even before we check the specific claims about each country, we have to note that this item presents a flawed premise. For a comparison of this nature to be valid, the two things being compared should be fairly equivalent outside of the factors being examined, but that isn't the case here. The two countries mentioned here are so very different that this isn't just a comparison of apples and oranges; it's more like a comparison of apples and radishes.

Honduras and Switzerland are roughly equivalent in population (a little of upwards of 8 million people each), but other than that, they aren't the least bit similar in geography, economics, or culture. Switzerland is a small, landlocked country in western Europe surrounded by three of the most affluent countries in the world (Germany, France, and Italy) in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), and even though Switzerland itself is fairly small in population (96th in the world) and size (134th in the world), it ranks in the top 20 in terms of GDP. On the other hand, Honduras is a Central American country that is nearly three times the size of Switzerland and possesses coasts along both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean sea, but is a "lower middle-income country with persistent poverty and inequality challenges,"with a GDP only about 2.5% that of Switzerland and three neighbors (Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala) that share similar economic conditions. Not to mention that Honduras is right in the path of the flow of drugs shipped by sea and air from Colombia and has therefore been ravaged by the drug war and its attendant factors of massive criminal organizations, violence, and governmental instability.

As far as homicide rates go, Honduras does have the highest intentional homicide rate in the world at about 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people per year (which is even shockingly higher than the homicide rate of the next worst country, Venezuela, at 53.7). Although Switzerland's intentional homicide rate is indeed low at 0.6, it isn't quite the lowest in the world: it's bested by several other countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Iceland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, the latter two of which have some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the world. Moreover, a better metric for comparison purposes here might perhaps be the firearm-related death rate rather than the overall intentional homicide rate; in that case, Honduras is still the worst, but Switzerland doesn't fare quite as well (ranking behind about 43 other countries).

Additionally, it is not true that Honduras "bans citizens from owning guns" nor that Switzerland "requires citizens to own guns." Honduras enacted a ban on open and concealed carry in 2007, but a 2012 news report stated that "under the existing law, citizens are allowed to own as many as five personal firearms," and in mid-2014 Guns & Ammo rated Honduras as one of the "10 Best Countries for Gun Owners," saying that "Hondurans may purchase most popular types of shotguns, handguns or rifles for the recognized purposes of self-defense and recreation." While Switzerland ranks fourth among all countries in gun ownership per capita (much higher than Honduras), they do not "require" all their citizens to own guns. Switzerland has a long history of mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens. The government issues firearms to conscripted men which, after training, they take home with them and keep until the conclusion of their military obligation (about age 34 for non-officers), but no other citizens are "required" to own guns:

Switzerland trails behind only the U.S, Yemen and Serbia in the number of guns per capita; between 2.3 million and 4.5 million military and private firearms are estimated to be in circulation in a country of only 8 million people. Yet, despite the prevalence of guns, the violent-crime rate is low: government figures show about 0.5 gun homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010. By comparison, the U.S rate in the same year was about 5 firearm killings per 100,000 people, according to a 2011 U.N. report. Unlike some other heavily armed nations, Switzerlands gun ownership is deeply rooted in a sense of patriotic duty and national identity. Weapons are kept at home because of the long-held belief that enemies could invade tiny Switzerland quickly, so every soldier had to be able to fight his way to his regiment's assembly point. (Switzerland was at risk of being invaded by Germany during World War II but was spared, historians say, because every Swiss man was armed and trained to shoot.) The "gun in every closet" tradition was challenged in 2001, after a disgruntled citizen opened fire with his army rifle inside a regional parliament, killing 14 and injuring 14 others. The subsequent opposition to widespread gun ownership spearheaded a push for stricter arms legislation. The government and pro-gun groups argued, however, that the country's existing laws regulating the sale, ownership and licensing of private guns, which includes a ban on carrying concealed weapons, are stringent enough. The law allows citizens or legal residents over the age of 18, who have obtained a permit from the government and who have no criminal record or history of mental illness, to buy up to three weapons from an authorized dealer, with the exception of automatic firearms and selective fire weapons, which are banned. Semiautomatics, which have caused havoc in the U.S., can be legally purchased. The authorities made one concession, though: since 2008, all military  but not private  ammunition must be stored in central arsenals rather than in soldiers homes. The debate culminated in a nationwide referendum, when 56% of voters rejected the proposal initiated by anti-gun organizations to ban army rifles from homes altogether.



Swiss citizens may buy and keep firearms, subject to certain restrictions and licensing requirements:

An acquisition license is required primarily for handguns. Rifles and semiautomatic long arms that are customarily used by recreational hunters are exempt from the licensing requirement,whereas fully automatic guns are banned. An applicant for a weapons license must be at least eighteen years of age, may not have been placed under guardianship, may not give cause for suspicion that he would endanger himself or others with the weapon, and may not have a criminal record with a conviction for a violent crime or of several convictions for nonviolent crimes. The license is issued by the canton of residence of the applicant but is valid throughout Switzerland.



All in all, this meme compares two countries that aren't the least bit similar, then gets wrong nearly all the aspects of those countries it references. As such, it isn't the least bit useful or instructive as a discussion point for debates over gun ownership laws.
Incoming South Bend board members talk facility plans, community input

South Bend school board members elected this fall will likely play a role in shaping the district's footprint for years to come.
Four trailblazing figures from NASA's history are set to launch as new Lego minifigures on Nov. 1.

NASA astronauts Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, astronomer Nancy Grace Roman and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton are celebrated for their contributions to space exploration and astronomy in the new Lego Ideas set, "Women of NASA." Based on a fan-proposed and supported design, the set includes representations of the four female space pioneers, as well as three Lego builds that recreate the spacecraft and settings where the women made their mark on space history.

"Great for role playing space exploration missions," Lego said in a press release announcing the set on Wednesday (Oct. 18). "Explore the professions of some of the groundbreaking women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with the Lego Ideas Women of NASA set." [Gallery: First Photos of Legos "Women of NASA" Set]

The 231-piece building toy is recommended for ages 10 and older. It will retail for $24.99.

The women featured in Lego's "Women of NASA" set span the first five decades of the U.S. space agency's 60-year history.

The real figures behind Legos Women of NASA minifigures (top left to bottom right): astron-omer Nancy Grace Roman, computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, and astronauts Sally Ride and Mae Jemison. (Image credit: NASA)

Nancy Grace Roman, an accomplished astronomer, joined NASA in 1959, just one year after its founding, as the agency's first chief of astronomy. She is paired in the Lego set with a small posable model of the Hubble Space Telescope and a projected image of a planetary nebula. Roman is known to many as the "Mother of Hubble" for her role in planning in the venerable orbiting observatory.

Margaret Hamilton led the software engineering group at MIT's instrumentation laboratory in Boston when she and her team were tapped by NASA to develop the software for the Apollo spacecraft that carried astronauts to the moon. Hamilton and her team's computer programming played a critical role during the final few minutes leading up to the first lunar landing in 1969, avoiding Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin from having to abort their approach. ['Women of NASA' Lego Set: Q&A with Creator Maia Weinstock]

Hamilton's minifigure is matched with a build that recreates an iconic photo of her standing with a tower of her printed out Apollo Guidance Computer code.

Ride was selected with NASA's 1978 astronaut class, the first to include women and minorities. In 1983, she became the first American woman to fly in space. She logged a total of two weeks orbiting Earth on two shuttle missions. In addition to her role as an astronaut, Ride was a physicist and advocate for science education, especially for young girls.

Jemison, a physician and engineer, became the first African American woman to fly into space in 1992, logging nearly eight days aboard space shuttle Endeavour. An astronaut from 1987 through 1993, Jemison today leads the 100 Year Starship project, advancing the research needed for humanity to achieve interstellar travel within the course of a century.

Ride's and Jemison's minifigures, which are dressed in the appropriate style flight and pressure suits they wore to launch into orbit, are accompanied by a 4-inch-tall (12-centimeter) model of the space shuttle on which they flew.

Roman, now 92, Hamilton, 81, and Jemison, 60, are alive to see to their 1.5-inch-tall (4 cm) minifigure selves. Ride died in 2012 at the age of 61.

The design of each Lego Women of NASA minifigure is based on iconic photographs of the four trailblazing women. Both the Sally Ride and Mae Jemison figures include the correct mis-sion patch for their first space shuttle flight (STS-7 for Ride in 1983 and STS-47 for Jemison in 1992). (Image credit: Lego)

The "Women of NASA" set was chosen for production from the fan submitted and supported projects on the Lego Ideas website in February. Maia Weinstock, an editor, writer and producer of science and children's media, as well as the deputy editor at MIT News, the news outlet for the university, first proposed the set in July 2016. It took only two weeks for her project to achieve the 10,000 votes that were needed for a Lego production review.

Weinstock's original proposal included a fifth figure honoring NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, the "human computer" whose story was the basis for the 2016 movie, "Hidden Figures."According to Lego, Johnson's figure was omitted after the company was unable to obtain approval for her inclusion.

"We naturally fully respect this decision," a Lego spokesman told collectSPACE.com.

The "Women in NASA" is the fourth Lego Ideas set to be released that is based on real space exploration history. Earlier models have included Japan's Hayabusa asteroid sample spacecraft, the Mars Curiosity rover and NASA's Apollo Saturn V moon rocket. Two more sets, a space shuttle and a launch tower for the Saturn V are now under review.

See more photos of Lego's "Women of NASA" set to be released Nov. 1 at collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2017 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Chahid El Hafed (Sahrawi refugee camps), Oct 11, 2017 (SPS) - More than 100 NGOs demanded in an open letter from the President of the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) to send delegates to the Sahrawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik, sentenced to heavy penalties by a Moroccan court last July in a trial, deemed unjust and contrary to international law.

The open letter has been signed by 101 NGOs and associations, notably the National Committee of Solidarity with the Sahrawi People (CNASPS), Adala UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the US Association of Jurists (AAJ), the Association of Friends of the Sahrawi People in the Balearic Islands of Spain, the International Bureau for the respect of Liberties and human rights in Western Sahara (BIRDHSO), the for the respect of Liberties and human rights in Western Sahara (CORELSO) and the Foundation France liberties and the Movement against racism and for the friendship among peoples (MRAP).

"The ICRC has been solicited on numerous occasions and we are always answered" yes ", but today we are calling for the ICRC to fulfill its mission towards the 19 Sahrawi activists who have been unjustly imprisoned for seven years in Moroccan prisons," said Gianfranco Fattorini of the American Association of Jurists (AAJ) on Monday in Geneva.

In collaboration with the International Bureau for Human Rights in Western Sahara, the NGO sent an open letter to ICRC President Peter Maurer demanding for a delegation to visit these prisoners, sentenced by a Moroccan court last July to heavy prison sentences, following a trial deemed unjust by human rights organizations and defenders of the Western Sahara case, occupied by Morocco for more than 40 years.

The ICRC "is worried about the fate of these prisoners," said the AAJ.

Western Sahara is considered since 1963 - the end of the Spanish colonization- as a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations. In 1979, the UN General Assembly stated that it is a territory occupied by Morocco.

As a result, Western Sahara is under specific protection of the international humanitarian law.

The 19 Sahrawi political prisoners had been arrested following the forced and violent evacuation of the Gdeim Izik protest camp in Western Sahara on 8 November 2010. The activists, including several prominent figures, have always claimed their innocence, and guilt has not been established, according to many civil society organizations.SPS

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Shaheed El-Hafed, Oct 16, 2017 (SPS) - The Polisario Front has welcomed the forthcoming visit of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, and reiterated the willingness to cooperate constructively for the completion of the decolonization of the last colony in Africa, through enabling the Sahrawi people to its inalienable right to self-determination and independence.

In a statement sanctioning a meeting of the Permanent Bureau of the National Secretariat, chaired by President Brahim Ghali, the Polisario Front expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the session of the United Nations General Assembly and its Fourth Committee on Decolonization, its adherence to the respect for the legal nature of the question of Western Sahara, and application of the resolution 1514 of 1960 on the granting of independence to colonial peoples and countries.

The Permanent Bureau stressed the commitment of the Sahrawi side to respect the principles of the constitutive act of the African Union and to abide by the strict application of its decisions and mechanisms on various issues.

It condemned the serious attempts by foreign parties to support the Moroccan expansionist agenda, aimed at breaking the African ranks and damaging the African Union, its unity, harmony and international prestige. (SPS)

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T he top two former executives of Rio Tinto are being sued for fraud by a Wall Street watchdog and could be banned from senior business roles if found guilty.

Tom Albanese, who was chief executive, and Guy Elliott, who was finance director, are accused of breaking accounting laws in order to cover up a botched takeover deal by the miner.

The value of assets in Mozambique had plunged by 80% from the 2.8 billion purchase price in 2011. But the pair hid this from investors, auditors and their own board, alleges the civil complaint.

Elliott said he would step down from his non-executive director role at Shell with immediate effect. Shell said he could return if cleared.

Steven Peikin of the Securities and Exchange Commissions enforcement arm said: Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch. They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth.

Late last night, the Financial Conduct Authority in London said it had fined Rio 27 million over the issue, but is not pursuing the former executives.

Rio claims the SEC case is unwarranted.

Albanese, who is living in New Jersey after stepping down from Vedanta in August, said: There is no truth in any of these charges. I echo Rio Tintos confidence that these will be proved baseless in court.

A spokesperson for Elliott said: Guy also fully refutes these charges and will be vigorously contesting them.

The FCA and the SEC say Rio failed to disclose the fall in the Mozambique assets in good time. Investors should have been alerted in the 2011 year-end accounts, or at half-year results in August 2012.

Rio planned to move rapidly into coal production in Mozambique but the project ran into difficulties.

The SEC alleges the executives concealed the adverse developments, allowing Rio Tinto to release misleading financial statements days before a series of US debt offerings.

Rio Tinto raised $5.5 billion (4.2 billion) from US investors, about $3 billion of which was raised after May 2012, when executives at Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique had already told Albanese and Elliott the subsidiary was probably worthless, says the SEC. The asset was sold for $50 million.

The SEC added: Rio Tintos top executives allegedly breached their disclosure obligations and corporate duties by hiding from their board, auditor, and investors the crucial fact that a multibillion-dollar transaction was a failure.
A new report from the Housing and Finance Institute calls for radical changes to the planning system to help solve Londons housing crisis.

Its chairman, Sir Mark Boleat, advocates forcing local authorities, government and public bodies to increase the supply of land for housing, and making changes to the planning rules on land use, including allowing building on the green belt. He insists brownfield sites alone will not meet demand.

The report is right to say that we need drastically to increase the supply of housing.

And that requires changing the planning regime and giving serious consideration to building on the green belt. The changes he advocates are contentious: one persons nimbyism is anothers local accountability.

The report recommends, for instance, that planning decisions should be made by a small panel of trained individuals, from which people who live in the area would be excluded. All this should make for a vigorous, informed public debate.

But Sir Mark is also clear that house-building must take place in much greater concentration  he points out that central Londons population density is little more than half that of central Paris and well below the figures for central Tokyo and Manhattan.

That means that urban design needs rethinking.

Some of the highest-density areas of Paris are the Haussmann boulevards with their attractive apartment blocks; in London, many mansion blocks are high-density but beautiful. If more proposals for new developments were like these, we might find there would be significantly less local opposition to more housing.

Certainly we need more homes and a more liberal planning regime  but we need new thinking about the kinds of housing we build too.

Action on slavery

Today is Anti-Slavery Day, first created by an Act of Parliament in 2010. Modern slavery is the subject of the Evening Standard's special investigation.

Releasing his annual report earlier this week, Kevin Hyland, the anti-slavery commissioner, said that since this papers investigation began there has been an increase in law enforcement activity, and possible cases being reported in London.

Today the Home Office publishes a report identifying no fewer than 17 forms of modern slavery: in cannabis farms; in anonymous flats where women are forced to work as prostitutes; on building sites; in car washes and nail bars.

The Government is, laudably, spending 3 million in Vietnam to help stop trafficking of Vietnamese women.

The next phase of our investigation will be calling for remedies. We will be helping improve opportunities for survivors, working with the authorities to clamp down on industries where exploitation is rife, encouraging businesses to do more to combat modern slavery in their supply chains and advocating changes in the law.

Raising awareness is just the first step; now we need tough action.

Leaders against slavery

Booker gets it right

Sometimes the right horse wins the race. Last night the Man Booker Prize went to clearly the best book on the shortlist, Lincoln in the Bardo, the first novel from US short story writer George Saunders.

Set on a single night in 1862, when a grieving President Lincoln returns to the crypt in which his 11-year-old son has just been buried, the novel is narrated by a chorus of ghosts.

On the page, it looks like a play script  another Booker unreadable even? But it is funny and moving, the most tender celebration of life in the presence of mortality. A great choice.

With the musical Hamilton coming to London in December, US history is very much of the moment.
W ho gets custody of Nigel Farage? Thats what I want to know. I dont see why Britain should take him: he has, after all, been an MEP since 1999. But, in the divorce talks with the EU, matters of this sort are of secondary importance when compared with what really counts in all such sunderings. Which is money.

Twenty billion is peanuts: so the European Parliaments president, Antonio Tajani, told the BBCs Evan Davis on last nights Newsnight. And when you consider that the EU is committed to spending 960 billion over the period 2014-20 and has liabilities of more than 238 billion, I suppose such a sum might seem like small change.

At a dinner in Brussels tomorrow night, Theresa May will spell out the British plan for Brexit to her 27 EU counterparts. On Friday, they will discuss that plan in her absence. There is guarded hope in No 10 that the gathering may yield a bit more than deadlock, if not quite a breakthrough.

This weeks recognition by the EU Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, that the negotiations should accelerate has naturally encouraged this batsqueak of optimism. It is possible that the EU-27 will, in the words of the draft communique, authorise internal preparatory discussions on a future trade deal with Britain. But even this comparatively minor concession depends upon our partners accepting that sufficient progress has been made in three areas.

First, there is the question of EU nationals living here and the precise jurisdiction to which they will be subject after Britains departure. Second, much rests on the vexed question of the border between Northern and Southern Ireland. If ever there was a special case, this is it: to allow the literalism of the Brexiteers to jeopardise the Good Friday Agreement would be an act of unconscionable vandalism.

Third, and most important by far, is the question of cash, and how much our soon-to-be-ex-partners will demand before allowing the stalled talks to proceed to the terms of the new deal. May offers something in the region of 20 billion. There is scornful laughter in Brussels, where 60 billion is regarded as a reasonable minimum.

On both sides, the figures are presented as precise calculations but they are nothing of the sort. This is haggling, pure and simple. It has more to do with politics and face than statistical justice. The PM cannot be seen to be fleeced. Her EU counterparts want a final sum that can be presented as sufficiently punitive to their respective electorates.

The spanner in the works has been the disinclination of Angela Merkel and, to a lesser extent, Emmanuel Macron to speed things along. The German Chancellor may have been secured a record fourth term, but her domestic position does not give her much scope for magnanimity towards Britain. No 10 had counted on appreciable assistance from Berlin and has been weakened by its withdrawal.

David Davis was right yesterday to remark upon the lethal connection between the ticking of the clock and the hovering of the EU waiter with the bill. They are using time pressure to get more money out of us, the Brexit Secretary told MPs. That is whats going on. Its obvious to everybody.

It is indeed. On the Continent, they see a Government that insists it is united behind the PMs speech in Florence last month but does little to justify the claim. Yesterday Amber Rudd said it was unthinkable there would be no deal  while Davis maintained that the thinkability of such an outcome remained an essential deterrent.

The sparring between Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond over Brexit has become a spectator sport for the rest of the EU. It does not help May in the great poker game that her own Cabinet colleagues are peering over her shoulder and muttering acrimoniously to one another about the strength of her hand.

This is haggling, pure and simple. It has more to do with politics and face than statistical justice

Add to this the sudden onslaught of analysis from all quarters, warning of economic trouble ahead. The Resolution Foundation claims that a no-deal Brexit would cost the average UK household 260 a year. Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, warns in the Telegraph that firms will relocate abroad unless serious diplomatic progress is made by the end of the year. Most significantly, the OECD  adopting a new, more proactive strategy  predicts adversity for the British economy and urges a second referendum as a means of averting the pain.

All of this pressure helps the EU-27 to set the price for divorce. They know how badly Britain needs to get beyond the initial phase to negotiations about the future. And they know that  sooner or later, in phases or all at once  we will pay up.

I am reminded of a vignette in Philip Roths Portnoys Complaint, in which Portnoys cousin Heshie falls for a Polish drum majorette and is outraged by his familys opposition to the match. In the end, Uncle Hymie meets the girl by a lake and cuts a deal. He drew from his pocket an envelope containing five 20-dollar bills. And dumb, frightened Alice Dembosky took it. Thus proving something that everybody but Heshie (and I) had surmised about the Polack from the beginning: that her plan was to take Heshie for all his fathers money, and then ruin his life.

Like Alice, the EU plans to take our money and (up to a point) ruin our lives. How could it be otherwise? It is axiomatic for Brussels that Brexit must be a cautionary tale, not a liberation, a warning to others, not an inspiration. The plan is quite simple: to squeeze us till the pips squeak  and then some.
T he capture of Raqqa after a four-month siege means that the Caliphate declared by Islamic State three years ago has been largely destroyed.

At its peak, it ruled an area in western Iraq and eastern Syria the size of Great Britain and with a population of five or six million. It was this murderous quasi-state with an administration, money and a powerful army that made IS so much more dangerous than other terrorist movements.

The fall of Raqqa closely following the capture of Mosul in July puts IS on the road to defeat, but the determination it showed in defending the two cities is ominous. IS commanders will have known they were bound to lose because they were outnumbered and outgunned.

Aware of this, they long ago set up alternative hideouts and caches of weapons and food in the vast deserts between Iraq and Syria. Here they hope to survive and wait for a time when the political and military situation turns in their favour. They did this in Iraq 10 years ago when they were being hunted down by 150,000 American troops and their Arab allies.

IS will try to return but it may not succeed because it has lost the advantage of surprise. But, battered though it is and hemmed in by enemies on every side, it still has certain strengths.

Its leader Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi is apparently alive going by his latest message and will continue to be an inspiration to his remaining followers. Proof that he is dead would be a serious blow to those who still believe in his message.

The main reason why IS has been defeated is that it considered the whole world to be its enemy, with the result that it was attacked on multiple fronts by countries which do not normally cooperate with each other such the US and Iran.

This de facto coalition used its immense firepower to inflict devastating casualties on IS, but it is breaking up as states pursue their own interests on the assumption that IS is finished.

Any announcement of victory over IS is premature and could be dangerously misleading: IS will look to exploit quarrels among the victors, and in Iraq this is already beginning to happen as the Kurds confront the central government in Baghdad.

IS is a creature of war and it is only when the wars end in Syria and Iraq that IS will no longer find fertile soil in which to grow and flourish. The same is true of the rest of the Middle East and North Africa where chaos promotes the growth of militarised cults like IS.

Patrick Cockburn is the author of The Age of Jihad: Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East by Patrick Cockburn, Verso, 12.99.
The Duchess of Cambridge delighted fans this afternoon as she made her second public appearance in a week.

Joining Prince William and Prince Harry at London's West Ham football stadium, the young royals hailed the next generation of sports coaches.

An unannounced attendee, Kate opted for a sophisticated blue blazer by Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini to keep off the autumn chill.

Pairing the double breasted piece with a black polo neck sweatshirt, black skinny jeans and low-heeled boots, the jacket's loose skirting over the midriff was perfect for Kate's growing bump.

The Duchess of Cambridge - pregnancy style file 1 /66 The Duchess of Cambridge - pregnancy style file Scroll through the see the Duchess's best maternity looks... April 1, 2018 The Queen followed by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge exit after the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 1 April 2018 in Windsor Getty Images April 1, 2018 The Duchess of Cambridge leaves after the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on 1 April 2018 in Windsor, England Getty Images March 22, 2018 The Duchess on her final engagement before maternity leave at the Copperbox Arena Getty Images March 21, 2018 Visiting the Royal Society of Medicine AFP/Getty Images March 17, 2018 At the St. Patrick's Day Parade AFP/Getty Images March 12, 2018 Attending the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey Getty Images March 7, 2018 The Duchess opens the new headquarters of children's mental health charity Place2Be PA Wire/PA Images March 6, 2018 Visiting Pegasus Primary School in Oxford Getty Images February 28, 2018 The Duchess visits the National Portrait Gallery in a Orla Kiely dress AFP/Getty Images February 28, 2018 Kate joins Meghan Markle at the first annual Royal Foundation Forum Getty Images February 27, 2018 Kate stepped out to visit the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Getty Images February 21, 2018 The Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to Sunderland PA Wire/PA Images February 20, 2018 The Duchess arrived at The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange Reception in an Erdem dress Getty Images February 20, 2018 The pregnant royal was also joined by Sophie, The Countess of Wessex at Buckingham Palace Getty Images February 18, 2018 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the BAFTAs red carpet Chris Jackson/Getty Images February 7, 2018 Duchess Of Cambridge arrives to open the Action On Addiction Community Treatment Centre wearing a Goat coat Getty Images February 1, 2018 The Duchess being escorted into dinner by King Harald during her visit to Sweden and Norway with Prince Getty Images February 1, 2018 Visiting the Royal Palace in Norway Chris Jackson/Getty Images January 31, 2018 Visiting the Karolinska Institute in Sweden Getty Images January 30, 2018 Kate attends a Bandy hockey match during a Royal visit to Sweden Getty Images January 24, 2018 During a visit to the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute Getty Images January 23, 2018 At Roe Green Junior School Getty Images January 17, 2018 At Mittal Children's Medical Centre PA January 16, 2018 At Coventry Cathedral EPA January 10, 2018 At Reach Academy Getty Images December 25, 2017 At the Christmas Day Church service Getty Images December 12, 2017 At the 'Magic Mums' community Christmas party Getty Images December 6, 2017 At Media City Getty Images November 14, 2017 At Hornsey Road Children's Centre PA November 11, 2017 At the annual Royal Festival of Remembrance while pregnant with her third child Getty Images November 8, 2017 At the annual Place2Be School Leaders Forum while pregnant with her third child AFP/Getty Images November 7, 2017 At the Gala Dinner for The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families while pregnant with her third child AFP/Getty Images October 31, 2017 Playing tennis with children at the Lawn Tennis Association while pregnant with her third child Getty Images October 18, 2017 At West Ham's London Stadium for the graduation ceremony for more than 150 Coach Core apprentices while pregnant with her third child PA October 16, 2017 Wearing Orla Kiely at Paddington Station while pregnant with her third child Jonathan Brady/PA October 10, 2017 Duchess of Cambridge attends a reception at Buckingham Palace for Mental Health Day while pregnant with her third child AFP/Getty Images March 27, 2015 At the XLP Mobile recording Studio while pregnant with Princess Charlotte Getty Images March 13, 2015 At St Paul's Cathedral while pregnant with Princess Charlotte AFP/Getty Images February 12, 2015 At the home of Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) in Portsmouth Old Town while pregnant with Princess Charlotte Getty Images March 11, 2015 Wearing Hobbs at the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery while pregnant with Princess Charlotte Getty Images January 19, 2015 At Kensington Aldridge Academy while pregnant with Princess Charlotte Getty Images June 15, 2013 On the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images April 29, 2013 At Naomi House Children's Hospice while pregnant with Prince George Rex Features May 22, 2013 Wearing Emilia Wickstead at a garden party at Buckingham Palace while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images April 24, 2013 At an evening reception to celebrate the work of The Art Room charity at The National Portrait Gallery while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images April 23, 2013 At The Willows Primary School, Wythenshawe to launch a new school counseling program while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images April 21, 2013 At the National Review of Queen's Scouts at Windsor Castle while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images March 19, 2013 At the Child Bereavement centre in Saunderton while pregnant with Prince George AFP/Getty Images March 17, 2013 At a St Patrick's Day parade while pregnant with Prince George Getty Images

But while eager shoppers and fans of the Duchess's style eye up the 760 jacket, it seems Kate got her hands on one of the last as it is now entirely sold out.

Matching his wife, Prince William too wore a sea blue jacket which he paired with an open-neck white shirt and navy chinos.

The Duchess of Cambridge - style file 1 /220 The Duchess of Cambridge - style file Click through to see Kate's style evolution... Getty Images June 23, 2005 Kate and Prince William on the day of their graduation ceremony at St Andrew's University Getty Images August 6, 2005 At the Gatcombe Park Festival of British Eventing Getty Images May 6, 2006 Leaving Laura Parker Bowles wedding to Harry Lopes Getty Images December 15, 2006 At Sandhurst to see William take part in the Sovereign's Parade at The Royal Military Academy in Camberley AFP/Getty Images March 13, 2007 At the Cheltenham Race Festival AFP/Getty Images April 11, 2008 Wearing a Reiss coat at William's graduation ceremony at RAF Cranwell air base in Lincolnshire AFP/Getty Images November 16, 2010 Wearing Issa posing for photographs in the State Apartments of St James Palace after announcing their engagement Getty Images February 25, 2011 Visiting the University of St Andrews Getty Images April 29, 2011 Wearing Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen at the West Door of Westminster Abbey for her wedding to Prince William AFP/Getty Images April 29, 2011 Evening celebrations after her wedding to Prince William AFP/Getty Images June 9, 2011 Wearing a Jenny Packham dress at the 10th Annual Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) Gala Dinner AFP/Getty Images June 25, 2011 Wearing Alexander McQueen to present medals to members of the Irish Guards at the Victoria Barracks Getty Images July 1, 2011 Wearing an Issa dress at the Evening National Canada Day Celebrations in Ottawa Getty Images July 7, 2011 Wearing a Jenny Packham dress at Calgary Airport Getty Images July 9, 2011 Wearing an Alexander McQueen gown with Jimmy Choo heels at the BAFTA "Brits to Watch" event held at the Belasco Theatre Getty Images October 26, 2011 At an event in support of the 'In Kind Direct' charity at Clarence House Getty Images November 10, 2011 Wearing a bespoke Jenny Packham gown at a reception in aid of the National Memorial Arboretum Appeal at St James's Palace Getty Images March 15, 2012 Playing hockey with British hockey team members at the Riverside Arena during a visit to the Olympic Park AFP/Getty Images April 25, 2012 Wearing Matthew Williamson at the UK Premiere of 'African Cats' AFP/Getty Images June 17, 2012 Wearing Zara jeans, a Burberry shirt, Really Wild waistcoat and Le Chameau boots at an 'Expanding Horizons' Primary School camp Getty Images September 13, 2012 Wearing Alexander McQueen at an official dinner hosted by Malaysia's Head of State Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah of Kedah Getty Images September 14, 2012 Visiting Assyakirin Mosque Getty Images September 16, 2012 In Honiara on the Solomon Islands AFP/Getty Images September 18, 2012 At a 'fatale', a singing and dancing event AFP/Getty Images May 22, 2013 Wearing Emilia Wickstead at a garden party at Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty Images July 23, 2013 Wearing Jenny Packham while departing The Lindo Wing with their newborn son, George Getty Images September 12, 2013 Wearing Jenny Packham at the inaugural Tusk Conservation Awards at The Royal Society AFP/Getty Images October 23, 2013 Wearing Alexander McQueen while holding her son Prince George of Cambridge following his Christening at Chapel Royal in St James's Palace AFP/Getty Images April 16, 2014 Wearing Roksanda Ilincic at Sydney Airport Getty Images April 20, 2014 Wearing Alexander McQueen while leaving St Andrew's Cathedral following a Easter Sunday Service Getty Images June 15, 2014 With Prince George at the Royal Charity Polo during the Maserati Jerudong Trophy at Cirencester Park Polo Club Getty Images October 21, 2014 Wearing Jenny Packham at the Natural History Museum after she attended the Wildlife Photographer of The Year 2014 Awards Ceremony Getty Images March 11, 2015 Wearing Hobbs at the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery Getty Images May 2, 2015 Wearing Jenny Packham to step out with new-born daughter Charlotte outside the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital AFP/Getty Images October 26, 2015 Wearing a Jenny Packham gown at the Royal Film Performance of "Spectre" Getty Images March 3, 2016 During a short private skiing break in the French Alps Getty Images March 11, 2016 Visiting the mentoring programme of the XLP project Getty Images April 10, 2016 Playing cricket during the royal visit to India and Bhutan Getty Images April 14, 2016 With Bhutan's Queen Jetsun Pema at the Tashicho Dzong in Thimphu AFP/Getty Images April 15, 2016 Posing next to a prayer wheel on the trek up to Tiger's Nest Getty Images May 20, 2016 Wearing Alexander McQueen as she arrives at Land Rover BAR Getty Images July 6, 2016 Wearing a Barbara Casasola dress to announce the Victoria and Albert Museum as the winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2016 prize Getty Images August 24, 2016 Wearing LK Bennett to visit the Youthscape centre in Luton Getty Images September 2, 2016 Wearing Gap trousers on the Island of St Martin's in the Scilly Isles Getty Images September 25, 2016 Wearing Alexander McQueen to greet members of the public after arriving by sea plane at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre Getty Images September 27, 2016 Wearing Preen by Thornton Bregazzi for a reception at Government House in Canada Getty Images September 27, 2016 Wearing Dolce & Gabbana to visit Kelowna University during the Royal Tour of Canada Getty Images November 3, 2016 Wearing Self-Portrait at the UK Premiere of "A Street Cat Named Bob" Getty Images December 8, 2016 At an evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace Getty Images December 25, 2016 Attending a Christmas Day service at St Mark's Church in Englefield AFP/Getty Images January 11, 2017 Visiting a Child Bereavement UK Centre in Stratford Getty Images February 5, 2017 Competing against The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry during the Team Heads Together at a London Marathon Training Day at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Getty Images February 6, 2017 Attening the Place2Be Big Assembly With Heads Together for Children's Mental Health Week at Mitchell Brook Primary School Getty Images March 17, 2017 Attending a meeting with French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace Getty Images March 17, 2017 Attending a dinner at the British Embassy in Paris as part of their official visit to the French capital Getty Images March 18, 2017 Playing rugby at the Trocadero during an official two-day visit to Paris Getty Images March 28, 2017 Wearing a Temperley gown to the Portrait Gala at the National Portrait Gallery Getty Images April 4, 2017 Wearing Marchesa at the opening night of "42nd Street" at Theatre Royal Getty Images April 4, 2017 Attending the Service of Hope at Westminster Abbey Getty Images April 16, 2017 Attending the Easter Day service at St George's Chapel in Windsor in bespoke Catherine Walker Getty Images May 3, 2017 Feeding a lamb as she visits Author Michael Morpurgo's Farms for City Children in Arlingham, Gloucestershire Getty Images May 11, 2017 Wearing an Emilia Wickstead coat on a visit to Luxembourg Getty Images May 22, 2017 Arriving at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show wearing Rochas Getty Images June 17, 2017 Wearing Alexander McQueen with Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour Getty Images June 17, 2017 Wearing Dolce & Gabanna in the Parade Ring as she attends Royal Ascot 2017 at Ascot Racecourse Getty Images July 17, 2017 Wearing Alexander McQueen in Poland Getty Images July 19, 2017 Visiting the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with Prince William Getty Images July 19, 2017 Wearing Alexander McQueen at The Queen's Birthday Party at the British Ambassadorial Residence in Berlin Getty Images July 20, 2017 Wearing Hugo Boss Breton top to compete with Prince William as they cox rowing boats in a friendly race on the Neckar River in Germany Getty Images July 20, 2017 Wearing Jenny Packham in Germany Getty Images July 20, 2017 Wearing Markus Lupfer in Berlin Getty Images July 21, 2017 Wearing Emilia Wickstead to visit the Maritime Museum in Hamburg Getty Images August 30, 2017 Wearing Prada to visit The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Getty Images October 10, 2017 Wearing Temperley to attend a reception on World Mental Health Day at Buckingham Palace Getty Images October 16, 2017 Wearing Orla Kiely at an event at Paddington train station AFP/Getty Images October 18, 2017 Wearing a Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini blazer at London's West Ham football stadium PA October 31, 2017 Looking sporty at the Lawn Tennis Association in London Getty Images November 7, 2017 Wearing Diane von Furstenburg to attend a charity dinner at the Orangery at Kensington Palace AFP/Getty Images November 8, 2017 Wearing a Goat burgundy dress for the annual Place2Be School Leaders Forum in London AFP/Getty Images November 11, 2017 In a Catherine Walker & Co coat dress at the Royal Festival of Remembrance Getty Images November 28, 2017 In a Kate Spade dress at The Foundling Museum, London Getty Images December 6, 2017 Wearing a Goat dress in Manchester Getty Images December 12, 2017 Attending the 'Magic Mums' Christmas Party in Seraphine coat dress Getty Images December 14, 2017 Attending the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral Getty Images December 25, 2017 Attending the Christmas Day Church service in Miu Miu Getty Images January 30, 2018 Attending a dinner in Sweden wearing Erdem Getty Images January 31, 2018 At the Fotografiska Gallery wearing Erdem Getty Images February 1, 2018 At the Royal Palace in Oslo wearing Alexander McQueen AFP/Getty Images April 23, 2018 At the Lindo Wing wearing Jenny Packham Getty Images May 19,2018 At Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's royal wedding wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images June 9, 2018 At Trooping The Colour in Alexander McQueen Getty Images July 9, 2018 At Prince Loui's christening wearing Alexander McQueen AFP/Getty Images July 14, 2019 At Wimbledon with Duchess of Sussex wearing Jenny Packham Getty Images July 15, 2018 At Wimbledon wearing Dolce & Gabbana AFP/Getty Images October 10, 2018 At the V&A wearing Erdem Getty Images October 12, 2018 At the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images October 23, 2018 At a state banquet wearing Alexander McQueen AFP/Getty Images November 11, 2018 Attending a service to mark the centenary of the Armistic wearing Catherine Walker AFP/Getty Images November 11, 2018 At Remembrance Sunday wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images November 21, 2018 At UCL London wearing Paule Ka AFP/Getty Images November 28, 2018 At Leicester City Football wearing Catherine Walker Getty Images December 4, 2018 At a Christmas Party at Kensington Palace wearing Brora cardi and Emilia Wickstead skirt Getty Images December 4, 2018 At a reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps wearing Jenny Packham Getty Images December 5, 2018 At RAF Akrotiri wearing a Smythe blazer Getty Images December 11, 2018 Visiting Evelina London Children's Hospital wearing L K Bennett Getty Images December 25, 2018 At the Christmas Day service wearing Catherine Walker AFP/Getty Images January 15, 2019 The Duchess of Cambridge steps out in a Dubarry jacket, Zara jeans and Chloe suede boots Getty Images January 16, 2019 In Oscar de la Renta for a visit to The Royal Opera House Costume Department Getty Images January 29, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen in Dundee Getty Images January 29, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen in Dundee Getty Images January 29, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen in Dundee Getty Images February 5, 2019 In an Eponine London dress and L.K Bennett boots Getty Images February 10, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images February 13, 2019 Wearing bespoke Dolce & Gabbana Getty Images February 13, 2019 In glorious Gucci Getty Images February 27, 2019 In red Carolina Herrera and L.K. Bennett boots Getty Images February 27, 2019 In a Barbour puffer jacket Getty Images February 27, 2019 Wearing New Balance trainers and a Ralph Lauren sweater Getty Images February 27, 2019 Wearing Missoni Getty Images February 28, 2019 In Mulberry coat, dark blue court heels by Rupert Sanderson and a Jimmy Choo clutch bag Getty Images February 28, 2019 In Jenny Packham Getty Images February 29, 2019 In a khaki Barbour jacket, a red J.Crew jumper and her trusty brown Chloe boots Getty Images March 5, 2019 In a bespoke dress by her own private dress maker Getty Images March 6, 2019 Wearing a Sportmax coat, a Michael Kors dress with a bag by Manu Atelier and earrings from Kiki McDonough Getty Images March 11, 2019 Recycling a Catherine Walker coat and a Lock & Co. hat Getty Images March 12, 2019 Wearing a Gucci blouse and Jigsaw wide-leg trousers Getty Images March 12, 2019 Wearing bespoke Alexander McQueen Getty Images March 17, 2019 Opting for green McQueen Getty Images March 19, 2019 Wearing a Catherine Walker coat Getty Images April 21, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images April 25, 2019 In a Catherine Walker coat and a matching Rosie Olivia hat Getty Images May 1, 2019 Wearing Emilia Wickstead Getty Images May 7, 2019 In L.K Bennett trousers and a nautical jumper Getty Images May 8, 2019 In a Lorenzo Serafini blazer and black skinny jeans Getty Images May 8, 2019 Wearing a TROY London jacket and Penelope Chilvers boots Getty Images May 14, 2019 In Alessandra Rich Getty Images May 20, 2019 In floral Erdem Getty Images May 20, 2019 Wearing a broderie anglaise M.i.h blouse with brown culottes and white Superga sneakers Getty Images May 21, 2019 In an Alexander McQueen coat, a matching Juliette Botterill hat and delicate pearl earrings that once belonged to Princess Diana Getty Images June 3, 2019 In bespoke Alexander McQueen for the State Banquet Getty Images June 8, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen for Trooping the Colour Getty Images June 12, 2019 Wearing an off-the-shoulder Barbara Casasola dress Getty Images June 18, 2019 In Elie Saab Getty Images June 25, 2019 In Ridley London and Castaner espadrille wedges Getty Images July 1, 2019 In a Sandro dress and Accessorize earrings Getty Images July 2, 2019 Wearing a Suzannah dress and a belt and bag by Alexander McQueen Getty Images July 13, 2019 In bespoke Dolce & Gabbana and a bag by the same brand Getty Images July 14, 2019 In an Emilia Wickstead dress and Aldo shoes Getty Images September 5, 2019 Wearing Michael Kors for Princess Charlotte's first day at school Getty Images September 10, 2019 Wearing Emilia Wickstead Getty Images September 19, 2019 Wearing an Equipment blouse Getty Images September 26, 2019 Recycling her favourite Alexander McQueen coat for the fourth time Getty Images October 2, 2019 Wearing a dress from the collaboration of two lesser-known London-based brands, ARoss Girl and Soler Getty Images October 9, 2019 In Jigsaw culottes Getty Images October 14, 2019 In a custom two-piece by Catherine Walker Getty Images October 15, 2019 Getty Images October 15, 2019 Wearing a green tunic by Catherine Walker, trousers by Maheen Khan, a scarf by Satringi, and Zeen earrings Getty Images October 15, 2019 Wearing Jenny Packham Getty Images October 17, 2019 Wearing bespoke Maheen Khan Getty Images October 18, 2019 Wearing a traditional shalwar kameez - a traditional outfit of a long tunic and trousers - by Gul Ahmed Getty Images October 23, 2019 Wearing L.K Bennett PA November 18, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen Getty Images November 30, 2019 Wearing Alessandra Rich PA December 11, 2019 Wearing Alexander McQueen and Princess Diana's earrings Getty Images

Having revealed this week that their baby is due in April, Kate appears to have somewhat overcome her severe morning sickness known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum - which saw her miss Prince George's first day at school - in order to attend a number of official engagements.

Marking her first appearance since the announcement, the Duchess of Cambridge last week attended a reception at Buckingham Palace for Mental Health Day wearing a 795 Temperley dress.

Her second appearance came, somewhat surprisingly, dressed in an Orla Kiely number.

Wearing a blush pink dress with floral embroidery, Kate joined Prince William and Prince Harry to celebrate the film Paddington 2, at Paddington Station.
Queen Letizia of Spain attended a royal engagement at Madrids Zarzuela Palace on Tuesday, wearing the perfect autumnal outfit.

We all got a glimpse at Queen Letizia's sartorial prowess when herself and King Felipe VI visited the UK on a state visit back in July, but it seems the 45-year-old's style just keeps on getting stronger.

The Spanish royal met with charities on Tuesday wearing an elegant teal midi dress, which boasted big colourful blooms.

The look held a great resemblance to Kate Middleton's appearance earlier in the week, as she too wore a floral dresses and showcased a shorter haircut.

However, unlike Kate's Orla Kiely number, Queen Letizia's elegant outfit doesn't come with a big designer price tag.

In fact, the floral piece is by none other than high-street stalwart Zara, and retails for a modest 69.99.

Surprisingly, the gorgeous dress is still in stock. So, if you want to look royally stylish this autumn, we suggest you add it to you basket - ASAP.

Queen Letizia of Spain - style in pictures 1 /18 Queen Letizia of Spain - style in pictures October 17, 2017 At Zarzuela Palace in Madrid Getty Images September 27, 2017 At the Opening of vocational training course 2017/2018 at Instituto de Educacion Secundaria Getty Images September 14, 2017 At the opening of the Scholar University College year at the Salamanca Getty Images September 13, 2017 At the 'National Culture' awards Getty Images September 7, 2017 Receiving Members of Oncology Congress 'Esmo 2017' Getty Images August 6, 2017 With her daughter during a visit to the Can Prunera Museum Getty Images August 4, 2017 At a dinner for authorities at the Almudaina Palace Getty Images July 24, 2017 At the annual meeting with director of Cervantes Institutes at Museo Ruso San Petersburgo Getty Images July 21, 2017 At the opening of the International Music School Summer Courses Getty Images July 19, 2017 At Santo Toribio de Liebana Monastery for the Lebaniego Jubilee Year Getty Images July 17, 2017 At the National Fashion Awards in Madrid Getty Images July 14, 2017 At the Francis Crick Institute during a State visit Getty Images July 12, 2017 Arriving at Buckingham Palace Getty Images July 12, 2017 During a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty Images

Get The Look

Printed midi dress by Zara, 69.99

Visit this page to see more from the Duchess Of Cambridge's maternity wardrobe
W hat links a hijab, Kanye West, Pokemon Go, and a rather striking looking man called Graham?

All are shortlisted for the Beazley Designs of the Year award, now exhibiting the most innovative, thought-provoking and potentially world-changing designs of the last year.

The competition embraces design in myriad formats, with categories honouring innovative work in the fields of Architecture, Graphics, Product, Digital, Fashion and Transport. A winner will be announced in each of the categories on 25 January 2018.

Having been announced earlier this year, designs by all shortlisted parties can now be viewed at the Design Museum in Kensington in an exhibition that is itself displayed in a unique cave-like interior designed by award winning architectural practice Carmody Grove.

Take a look at our picks of some of the most ground-breaking and eye-catching work on display

The Life of Pablo Tour Merchandise

Whos it by? Kanye West and Mat Vlasic for Bravado

What is it? Kanye Wests melee of fashion and music perhaps reached its pinnacle with the release of his lyric-stamped collection of Life of Pablo tour merchandise, which was sold in 21 pop-up shops worldwide (at a slightly more affordable price than his Yeezy collections).

Pokemon Go

Whos it by? Niantic

What is it? On July 6th 2016, the world decided it had to catch them all. The ubiquitous augmented reality app has, to date, has been downloaded more than 750 million times by Pikachu-pursuants and Charizade-chasers.

Refugee Flag

Luke Hayes/The Design Museum

Whos it by? Yara Said with The Refugee Nation for Amnesty International

What is it? At the 2016, The Refugee Nation entered the Olympics for the first time, with a team of ten athletes. Yara Said designed the emblem for the team  an orange flag with a black stripe echoing the common patternation of a lifejacket.

Nike Pro Hijab

Whos it by? Rachel Henry, Baron Brandt, Megan Saalfeld and BroganTerrell for Nike

What is it? Two days before International Womens Day, Nike unveiled their single-layer, high-performance hijab. A much praised move, inspired by Saudi

Arabian athlete Sarah Attars gold medal win at the 2012 Olympics, it aims to change Muslim womens experience of sporting participation.

Wedge Dowel

Whos it by? IKEA

What is it? No activity is quite so simultaneously life-affirming and soul-destroying as putting together IKEA furniture. IKEA just made it a little bit easier with their introduction of the wedge dowel - a joint that requires neither glue (of course) nor tools (now youre interested).

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.

Whos it by? Adjaye Associates, The Freelon Group, Davis Brody Bond, SmithGroupJJR for the Smithsonian Institution

What is it? Sir David Adjaye recently received a knighthood for services to architecture, and this year saw the historic opening of the NMAAHC, his much-lauded design for which references the history of slavery, clad in ornamental 19th century style ironwork once typically crafted by enslaved African Americans.

Pussyhat

Luke Hayes/The Design Museum

Whos it by? Krista Suh, Jayna Zweiman, Kat Coyle and Aurora Lady

What is it? The knitted pink cat-eared hat that became the symbol of protest against Donald Trumps derogatory comments about women, and has since developed as the uniform of a global project to promote womens rights.

Meet Graham

Whos it by? Patricia Piccinini for Transport Accident Authority (TAC)

What is it? An interactive project focusing on Graham, a sculpture of a human body that is designed to survive a low impact car crash. Funnily enough Graham doesnt look like pretty much anyone youve ever seen before  and is a reminder of how woefully vulnerable the body is in a traffic accident.

Pro-EU anti-Brexit Campaign

Whos it by? Wolfgang Tillmans, Between Bridges

What is it? German born, partially London based artist Wolfgang Tillmans created this impassioned campaign as a response to the EU referendum. The campaign did not have the desired ultimate result, but did spread an intelligently communicated message of unity.

Beazley Designs of the Year will be on display from 18 October 2017  28 January 2018 at the Design Museum, designmuseum.org
T he brother of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has denied sexually harassing a producer after a television network said it was investigating allegations against him.

US broadcaster Spike said it was taking "very seriously" claims about Bob Weinstein made by Amanda Segel, a former executive producer of sci-fi series The Mist.

She said he made repeated romantic overtures and requests to join him for private dinners over the course of three months until her lawyer told him she would leave the show if he did not stop, US magazine Variety reported.

The allegation came after Harvey Weinstein resigned from the board of directors of the Weinstein Company after being accused by more than 30 actresses of sexual assault and harassment.

Ms Segel told Variety: "After 'no', anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didn't want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that 'no' is enough from now on."

Bert Fields, a lawyer for the youngester Weinstein brother, claimed Ms Segel's report was "riddled with false and misleading assertions".

"And we have the emails to prove it," he added. "But even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching.

"There is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment and even if you believed what this person asserts there is no way it would amount to that."

British police are investigating a sex assault allegation involving movie producer Harvey Weinstein (pictured) / AFP/Getty Images

The alleged harassment by Bob Weinstein, 62, was reported to have begun in summer last year during the making of the show produced by the Weinstein Company.

A Spike spokesman said: "We take all allegations of this nature very seriously, and are investigating."

Harvey Weinstein, 65, stepped down from the board of the Weinstein Company after the studio he co-founded more than a decade ago sacked him from his role as a chairman.

Through his spokesman, he has "unequivocally denied" allegations of non-consensual sex after three actresses accused him of rape in an article in The New Yorker.

This followed a bombshell investigation by The New York Times that claimed he paid off sexual harassment accusers over a period of decades.

Harvey Weinstein: What we know so far

Police in the UK are also investigating five allegations against him dating from the late 1980s to 2015, including reports of rape.

After the initial allegations were reported, Bob Weinstein said he was "mortified and disgusted by my brother's actions".

Actress Rose McGowan, who has made claims against Harvey Weinstein, has previously urged people not to let his younger brother "off the hook".
L ast night, American author George Saunders took home the 2017 Man Booker Prize for his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo.

Bookies favourite Saunders fought of stiff competition from five other authors - including How to be Both author Ali Smith - to pick up the high-profile fiction award.

Saunders now joins the likes of celebrated writers like Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro and Salman Rushdie as a winner of the hotly-contested literary accolade - meaning youll probably start to see his book in the hands of commuters across the London Underground in the coming weeks.

Before you rush out to pick up your copy, heres everything you need to know about the writer of the moment.

Who is George Saunders?

US writer Saunders was born in Amarillo,Texas, but grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago.

The 58-year-old is best known for his short-stories and essays, which often focus on consumerism, corporate culture and the role of mass media.

Saunders was not always a writer: he trained in geophysical engineering in his 20s, earning a S.S. in geophysical engineering from Colorado School of Mines.

Of his scientific background, Saunders has said, "any claim I might make to originality in my fiction is really just the result of this odd background: basically, just me working inefficiently, with flawed tools, in a mode I don't have sufficient background to really understand. Like if you put a welder to designing dresses."

In 1986, after finding a copy of People Magazine and reading a profile on Jay McInerny and Raymond Carver, Saunders was encouraged to apply for an MA in creative writing at Syracuse University.

From 1989 to 1996, he worked as a technical writer and geophysical engineer for an environmental engineering firm, but published short stories in his spare time.

Saunders got his break when he won the National Magazine Award for fiction in 1994 for his short story The 400-Pound CEO, and then again in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

The 2017 Man Booker Prize Shortlist 1 /8 The 2017 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Elmet by Fiona Mozley A commentary on contemporary English society, Elmet is about a young boy and his sister who recount the life they had in a home their father built by hand on land he does not own. 7.69, Amazon, Buy it now Autumn by Ali Smith Written rapidly after the 2016 Brexit vote, the book is viewed as a look at the themes and issues raised by the decision. It follows a 101-year-old former songwriter and his friendship with 32-year-old Elisabeth Demand, who was his neighbour as a child. 6.99, Waterstones, Buy it now 4321 by Paul Auster The book follows the life of Archie Ferguson, the narrative of which is told at four different times and in four different versions. Each chapter is split in to four, which tells each version of the story. 6.99, Amazon, Buy it now History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund Man Booker shortlist first-timer Fridlunds book is about a teenage girl living in northern Minnesota who struggles to come of age in a world of religious zealots and predatory teachers. 9.98, Wordery, Buy it now Exit West by Mohsin Hamid A book about emigration and the refugee crisis, the work follows a young couple who live in an unnamed city undergoing civil war. They flee, using a system of doors that lead to different locations around the globe. 8.99, Amazon,Buy it now Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders This book by Saunders, who is better known for short stories, is about the death of Abraham Lincolns son William and the presidents grief. Most of the work is set in the bardo, a space between life and rebirth. 8.99, Amazon,Buy it now

He also won both the MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships in 2006, The Story Prize in 2013 and the Folio Prize in 2014.

The New Yorker named Saunders one of the best American writers under the age of 40 in 1999.

He currently lectures at Syracuse University and lives in the Catskills.

So hes the second American to win a Man Booker prize?

Yes, last years winner Paul Beatty was the first US writer to chalk up a victory in Man Bookers 48-year history with his novel The Sellout (buy it here) - making Saunders the second.

Thats not to say America has been short of brilliant writers over the past half a century: until 2014, the prize was restricted to authors from the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland, but the fiction award was opened up to writers of any nationality writing in English.

What is Lincoln in the Bardo about?

The book tells the story of Abraham Lincolns grief after the death of his young son, Willie, at the dawn of the Civil War

Shattered by grief, Lincoln arrives at Georgetown cemetery under the cover of darkness, to visit the marble crypt where his sons body has been laid to rest.

Unfolding over a single night, the novel is set in the bardo - an intermediate space between life and death in the school of Buddhism.

The novel was inspired by a story Saunders's wife's cousin told him about how Lincoln visited his son Willie's crypt on several occasions to hold the body.

Many years ago, during a visit to Washington DC, my wifes cousin pointed out to us a crypt on a hill and mentioned that the grief-stricken Lincoln had, according to the newspapers of the day, entered the crypt on several occasions to hold the boys body, he said.

An image spontaneously leapt into my mind  a melding of the Lincoln Memorial and the Pieta.

I carried that image around for the next 20-odd years, too scared to try something that seemed so profound,."

"Finally, in 2012, noticing that I wasnt getting any younger, not wanting to be the guy whose own gravestone would read Afraid to Embark on Scary Artistic Project He Desperately Longed to Attempt, decided to take a run at it, in exploratory fashion, no commitments.

Man Booker judges praised the novel, hailing it an utterly original work and said it was deeply moving.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (Random House); buy it here.
I f youre looking at this article, you probably know all about the benefits of yoga.

You probably know that yoga can improve flexibility and posture; you probably also know it can improve symptoms associated with chronic health conditions; and youll definitely know that yoga can be a lifeline for people who suffer from anxiety and depression.

The problem is not the motivation to drag yourself onto a yoga mat a couple of times per week: its that its so painfully expensive.

If youre interning, just starting out in your career or you have other financial responsibilities, you might not be able to drop a casual 80 a month on an unlimited membership at a fancy yoga studio.

But the brilliant thing about living in London, is that theres a yoga class out there for every salary - and there are even places where you can do it for free.

So whether youre suffering from stress, bad posture or aches and pains, read on for our guide on where to practice yoga on a budget in the capital.

Supply yoga

This pretty neighbourhood yoga spot in Lower Clapton has a warm and welcoming atmosphere with big floor to ceiling windows and potted plants peppered everywhere. Classes cost just 8 and range from your average vinyasa flow, to stretches for cyclists and relaxing candlelit evening sessions. They also run regular yoga by donation classes: where you pay what you can afford, in cash, on the day. The money you spend on yoga classes funds free yoga for community support service users across East London. Feel good, do good.

supply.yoga; 20 Median Rd, London E5 0PL

Yogarise Peckham

Run by Emma and Sean (and Misty the adorable black pug), this colourful yoga studio on the third floor of Peckhams Bussey Building is the place to go for low-cost yoga in South East London. The large warehouse windows are a big bonus, bringing incredible light into the studios, while the walls are regularly filled with works from local Copeland Park artists. Emma and Sean run accessible community classes for yogis at all levels, asking for an honest donation from participants in return (the suggested contribution is 6). Booking is essential, so keep a keen eye on their Facebook and Twitter for upcoming classes.

yogarise.london; B2.1, The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Ln, London SE15 4ST

East London Community Wellbeing

As well as low cost yoga classes (ranging from 5 -10) frazzled urbanites can find a slice of calm for free in this Bethnal Green oasis. Its based in St. Margarets House, a charity which programmes low-cost and free events for the community - so you might even be able to catch an art exhibition right after your yoga flow session. They offer donation yoga classes on Sunday evenings at their cosy yoga space, focusing on clearing the mind, honing technique and leading you to holistic bliss.

stmargaretshouse.org.uk; 21 Old Ford Road London Tower Hamlets East E2 9PL

London School of Economics yoga

You dont have to be a student to make the most of LSEs fantastic yoga programme. The university, based in Temple, hold classes on Tuesday afternoons between 1-2.30pm and evening sessions on Thursday between 5-6pm. Theres a mix of vinyasa flow and dynamic power classes on offer, guaranteed to de-stress and give your body a good workout. An annual membership is a steal at 35 for non-LSE students, which entitles you to classes at the rock-bottom rate of 2 per session.

lsesu.com; Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE

Shutterstock / Dragon Images

Stress Project Yoga Holloway

This neighbourhood initiative was created to give a helping hand to Londoners with stress related illnesses and mental health problems. A stones throw away from Emirates Stadium on leafy Shelbourne Road, they hold a friendly and free yoga class every week. The classes are designed to relieve the symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress related health conditions - so if youve had a particularly busy day at the office, try switching out the glass of wine for some stress-busting wind-down moves.

stressproject.org; 2 Shelbourne Road, London, N7 6DL

Our Parks

The best thing about Our Parks is that it gets you out and about in the fresh air. This new, citywide wellness scheme has been created in partnership with local authorities to make it easy and free for Londoners to get fit. There are loads of different classes on offer, led by fully qualified instructors in parks across the capital. You can master the basics with their entry-level yoga classes or turn up the heat with a HIIT yoga session - the choice is yours.

ourparks.org

Shutterstock / wavebreakmedia

Lumi Power Yoga

Everyones gotta start somewhere, right? Thats the ethos behind Lumi Power Yogas LumiLove classes, which host cheaper sessions with yoga teachers whove recently completed their training. The sessions happen every Sunday from 2pm at their Hammersmith Studio, and cost just 5 each. Even better, all the money raised from the classes goes to charity - so everyones a winner.

lumipoweryoga.com; 121 King St, London W6 9JG
P eople across the UK will be celebrating one of the world's most colourful festivals over the next five days.

Diwali gets underway today (October 25), with the Festival of Lights commemorated all over the world by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

A hugely important date in the religious calendar, Diwali is celebrated through a variety of different traditions including the lighting of the diyas and decorating houses with rangoli artworks.

So if you're wondering why London is looking more more colourful than usual, here's everything you need to know about Diwali.

Diwali in London 2018 1 /5 Diwali in London 2018 Kennington Tandoor Over in south London, the family-run Kennington Tandoori will give its popular menu a revamp for Diwali, combining experimental dishes with modern twists on classics. Guest can feast on a tiger prawn mustard malai curry, Goan fishermans curry or an old Delhi chicken tikka masala infused with saffron. Benares Michelin-starred restaurant Benares is offering an exclusive thali lunch from Monday October 29 to Friday November 9. The hearty set menu will consist of seven dishes with two sides of naan and raita  as well as a dessert. Plates will include a fragrant tandoori sea bass and an aromatic lamb rogan josh. Gymkhana At Mayfair favourite Gymkhana, guests can tuck into meaty dishes like the tandoori masala lamb chop and guinea fowl biryani with a veggie pomegranate and mint raita. Trishna At Trishna, southwest coastal fish will be on the six-course menu with plates like the Koliwada squid and shrimps, hariyali bream and the Meen Manga curry.

When is Diwali?

Diwali falls on a different date each year, depending on the position of the moon. It lasts for five days and is one of the most popular Hindu festivals.

The celebratory period begins today, Friday October 25 and ends on Tuesday, October 29. This year, Diwali will fall on Sunday, October 27.

Friday: Dhanteras marks the beginning of celebrations

Saturday: Choti Diwali/ Naraka Chaturdashi is for preparing feasts and sweets

Sunday: Diwali/Lakshmi Pujan is the main day for feasting, visiting temples and spending time with friends and family

Monday: Govardhan Puja is a celebration of the bond between husband and wife

Tuesday: Bhai Dooj celebrates siblings, which often sees brothers visiting their sisters

AFP/Getty Images

What is Diwali?

Diwali is one of the most significant festivals in the Indian culture. Known as the festival of lights, the date is celebrated every year in the autumn in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern hemisphere.

One of the major festivals of Hinduism, it spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.

The word Diwali means rows of lighted lamps and it is known as the festival of lights because houses and shops are decorated with candles and colourful lights during the week.

For many people, Diwali honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fertility. The new business year will start, for many, at Diwali, and some will say prayers to the goddess for a prosperous year ahead.

In Jainism, it marks the spiritual awakening of Lord Mahavira. For Sikhs, it marks the day that Guru Hargobind Ji, the Sixth Sikh Guru, was freed from imprisonment.

How is Diwali celebrated?

Lights, lamps, music, food, decorations will all be a major part of this weeks festivities, with thousands attending Diwali lights switch-on events around the country.

Large firework displays are held to honour the legend of Rama, who according to local lore, was greeted with lights and celebrations after returning from exile.

AFP/Getty Images

Those celebrating the festival also light traditional earthen candles called diyas and decorate their houses with colourful rangoli artworks - patterns created on the floor using coloured rice or powder.

Families will also share Indian sweets and gifts, as well as giving food, money and goods to those in need.

During Diwali, it is also traditional for families to clean their homes in honour of the new season, as well as wearing new clothes during the five-day celebration.

What Diwali events are there in London?

Diwali in Trafalgar Square is one of the capital's biggest celebrations, with the area lit up as thousands gather to celebrate Diwali in London.

The colourful event takes place on Sunday, November 3 from 12pm-7pm and will feature a variety of music, dance, workshops and foods and crafts for the whole family.

Visit london.gov.uk for more information.
T wo friends mown down by a joyrider say their injuries have left them with life sentences after he was jailed for just four years.

Estelle Boon and Jonathan Cleaver, both 32, were queuing to get into the Old Queens Head in Islington in March when Jason Furtado, fleeing police in a stolen car, mounted the pavement.

Ms Boon, a PR consultant from Bow, was thrown on the bonnet of the silver Peugeot and broke her skull and leg. Mr Cleaver, a mechanical engineer, was carried along on the bonnet before falling off and being run over. He broke both legs and suffered head injuries.

Today Ms Boon said: It was as if someone had punched me in the face with incredible force. When I came to everyone was surrounding me and my head was bleeding... I was in so much agony I thought Id broken my back.

She was taken to hospital for a six-hour operation and had a steel rod put in her right leg.

Jonathan Cleaver spent three months wheelchair bound while having to learn to walk again

She said: I spent one week in hospital and in that time I was on morphine and in so much pain, I couldnt sleep and I was up all night crying.

She still sees a physiotherapist twice a week and a counsellor for anxiety.

Our injuries have been a life sentence because we dont know how long we will continue needing treatment, she said.

Injured: Estelle Boon

Mr Cleaver, who had to move out of London to be cared for by family, said: Its a life-changing experience and it makes you appreciate what you have.

A third victim, Charlotte Harris, broke her collarbone and eye socket. After the crash in Essex Road, at 11pm on March 25, up to seven people were seen fleeing the car.

Furtado, 20, of Islington, was arrested and admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking. He was jailed at Blackfriars crown court on Friday and will be banned from driving for three years on release.

Ms Boon said: Its given me some sort of closure.

Aqeel Smith, 18, of Ilford; Malique Howe, 19, of Lewisham; and two boys, 17 and 15, were convicted of aggravated vehicle taking. Smith got 18 months in a young offender institution. Howe got a 12-month sentence, suspended for a year. The 17-year-old got 18 months detention and the 15-year-old was given a 12-month youth referral order.
P olice helicopter shortages pose a major risk to public safety during incidents such as the London terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire, senior officers have warned.

Helicopters carried personnel and did reconnaissance for up to 13 hours during the Westminster Bridge and Borough Market attacks.

But they can only fly for two to three hours at a time, so each major incident takes up five or six of the UK fleet of 19. That meant other calls for police air support had to go unanswered, officers warned.

The concerns are revealed in minutes for a meeting of the National Police Air Service (NPAS). It cited the attacks in London and Manchester, the Grenfell fire, and the Justice for Edson protest march in Stratford in June.

Attack: Helicopters supported emergency crews during the London Bridge attack on June 3 / AFP/Getty Images

Details of how many requests for air support had to be turned down during the London attacks were redacted from the minutes, but sources said services were restricted both during the incidents and for some time afterwards.

NPAS raised the threshold for Threat, Harm and Risk used to gauge whether or not to dispatch helicopters.

The annual spend on helicopters has been slashed from 53.5 million in 2012 to 38.5 million now with eight out of 23 police airfields shut and the service centralised.

Grenfell Tower: Helicopters have been relied on for support during incidents / Nigel Howard

Phil Matthews, a former helicopter air observer seconded to the Police Federation, said: It is frustrating; theres a lack of resources, and when you get a major incident, service to other incidents inevitably suffers.

The aircraft can save lives during car chases and rescues but often only make a big difference if they arrive quickly, he said. Shortages were worsened because of an ageing fleet. Six helicopters were retired last year but four new reconnaissance planes were yet to arrive.

The minutes say NPAS wrote to Home Secretary Amber Rudd in March and June highlighting concerns around future fleet strategy and financing but received no response.

NPAS chief Mark Burns-Williamson called that unacceptable at the meeting in June. The Home Office has since asked for fully costed proposals to renew the fleet. Chief Constable Dee Collins of West Yorkshire Police, which runs NPAS, said: Weve had some challenges but nothing I would not expect as the first pathfinder national policing capability.
P olice have urged Londoners to safeguard their valuables against gangs of thieves targeting gold and jewellery during Diwali celebrations - the five-day festival of light due to begin tomorrow.

The warning comes after more than 50 million worth of gold and jewellery was stolen from communities across the capital last year.

Intelligence shows that criminal networks are increasingly involved in lucrative 'family gold theft' which affects many families including those from the Asian, Jewish and Maltese communities across various locations in London.

Police said people can be particularly vulnerable to thieves at this time of year, due to an annual rise in burglary and robbery, and as the nights draw in.

The festival period tends to see a spike in this type of crime largely due to more gold and jewellery being worn as communities travel across London to different venues - whether temples or other people's homes.

Burglars use various tactics in their search for the jewels, including ripping up floorboards, and removing bath panels and safes. And thieves keen to cash in on the gold often go on to send the valuables through second hand outlets.

Met police have issued a number of safety precautions to the public, in addition to tackling the problem of gold crime through a series of different initiatives.

Keep your valuables safe Take a photograph of your valuables

Property mark your jewellery, by using a traceable liquid

Consider installing CCTV cameras and burglar alarms as a deterrent

Avoid keeping jewellery in bedrooms and bathrooms

Consider keeping your jewellery safe with the National Pawnbrokers Association rather than in a safe

Cover valuables up while travelling in public.

When out, keep to well-lit areas and try not to travel alone.

This includes the marking of gold and jewellery, working with partners to offer secure storage facilities to store precious items and building community contacts via the Family Gold Network, which offers support and advice on crime prevention methods.

Detective Superintendent Corrigan said: "Gold will continue to be highly desired by criminals due to the speed and anonymity with which it can be exchanged for large sums of cash.

"These pieces of gold and jewellery are not just valuable possessions, they are also of great sentimental worth, and if stolen, would have a huge impact on owners.

"Our proactive measures to tackle these crimes has seen reductions in offences, however there is more to be done.

"As part of this work, we urge Londoners to take action to safeguard their gold and jewellery by following our simple crime prevention advice."
S hocking footage has emerged of a moped thug walking into a busy north London cafe and snatching a laptop from a woman's hands.

CCTV footage filmed at the Bread and Bean Cafe in Archway showed a helmet-wearing suspect dashing inside and grabbing the laptop from the victim who is sitting near to the door.

The 10-second clip, which was posted on Twitter, showed the victim working on her laptop next to a window as the thief walked in.

He then prised the laptop from her hands before running back out of the door and jumping onto the back of an accomplice's waiting moped which then speeds off out of view.

A number of people inside the cafe tried to stop the suspect who was too quick for them. The footage is being investigated by Met Police.

Moped gangs have been an increasing problem in London in recent months with many pedestrians walking along the pavements having their mobile phones snatched.

The cafe said it has been targeted by moped gangs twice in the last three weeks.

Speaking to MailOnline, cafe owner Valbona Sadiku said: "It's unbelievable that these moped gangs will now actually enter people's property, it's gone to another level, it's horrific."

She said moped robberies are now "so blatant and frequent" that police should set up traps to try and catch them".

The cafe has called on London mayor Sadiq Khan to do more to stop the worrying rise in moped gangs, tweeting: "[Sadiq Khan] this needs to stop. We need more police."

Islington Police said: "We are aware of this. It has been reported and is being investigated. We will be in Archway putting new signage up tomorrow warning of crime."

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on the non-emergency line 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
C ouncils across London today warned of a hidden crisis that could force them to cut funding for children with special educational needs.

There is a 100 million black hole in the capitals budget to help them, analysis by London Councils found.

Hackney has already been forced to plug its 6 million gap by reducing the high needs funding it gives to schools for vulnerable pupils by five per cent, amid fears other councils could follow.

Deputy mayor Anntoinette Bramble said: Reducing funding is absolutely the last thing we want to do. As a former SEN teacher, I know the importance of adequate funding, but there simply is no other option left to us.

She has urged Education Secretary Justine Greening to reform high needs funding, used to pay for anything from extra teaching assistants to speech therapy.

London Councils claimed the funding had effectively been frozen while the number of children needing it had risen 10 per cent since 2013.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said funding had been increased but because of local pressures councils would get additional help, including 1.3 million for Hackney in 2017-18.
T he mother of a two-year-old boy who died after medics missed five opportunities to spot pneumonia today called for national improvements in the care of young children.

Musab Hamid was sent home by a GP, A&E doctors at Northwick Park hospital and a locum GP at the privately run adjacent urgent care centre over five days despite worsening symptoms.

Coroner Andrew Walker said it was likely that if Musab had been admitted to hospital he would have been recognised as seriously unwell earlier and he would not have died when he did.

His mother Asha Abdullah, 21, from Neasden, said: A part of me died with my son. He was my only child, my world and he died needlessly. It wouldnt be right if I didnt do something to highlight what happened and to try to make changes so other families dont have to go through the same loss.

It is heart-breaking to know that had things been done differently, hed probably still be here. On the last occasion that I was sent home with him he was really sick. He had never been so ill, but I wasnt told what to look out for.

Tragic error: Mus'ab Hamid with his mother Asha Abdullah / Pics from Hudgell solicitors

The coroner issued Harrow clinical commissioning group, which pays Greenbrook Healthcare to run the UCC, with a prevention of future deaths report.

All children under five seen at a UCC in north-west London who have previously been assessed by doctors twice in five days are now referred for a paediatricians review.

Ms Abdullah, who is bringing a civil claim for negligence against the locum GP who was the last to see her son at the UCC, wants the protocol rolled out nationwide.

Her lawyer Jodi Newton, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: The only possible positive outcome from the heart-breaking loss of Musab has been his mothers determination to get answers and bring about changes in healthcare which will, without doubt, prevent more children dying. Changes should not be limited to a local level. Lives can be saved nationally.

Ms Abdullah had first taken Musab, who had a fever and had not eaten, to a GP on January 22 last year. She was told to take him to A&E where he was diagnosed with a virus and sent home. She returned to the GP three days later and was given ibuprofen and paracetamol.

With Musab struggling to breathe, she returned to the A&E the next day, January 26, but was sent to the UCC, where the locum doctor decided, without checking his blood pressure or levels of dehydration, that he was not seriously ill and sent him home.

The following day she called an ambulance but he could not be saved and died from cardiac arrest. Musab had not received childhood pneumococcal vaccines, which the coroner said would probably have protected him from the infection that caused pneumonia.

Dr Sally Johnson, medical director for Greenbrook Healthcare and Dr Charles Cayley, medical director from London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, said the new policy for children under-five had been in place since December 2016. They added: It is our aim and our wish to ensure that events such as these never happen again.
T housands of dental patients have been wrongly classed as fraudsters and fined for claiming free treatment.

More than 27,000 patients including vulnerable people with dementia and learning difficulties were mistakenly issued 100 penalties between May 2014 and July 2016.

The NHS fines more than 40,000 people a year for wrongly claiming exemptions from standard dental charges. The penalties are designed to stop fraudsters getting free treatment but dentists warn vulnerable patients are caught up in the system by mistake.

The NHS Business Services Authority, which issues the fines, said it was working to improve its system.

Patients who can prove they are exempt or have "an exceptional reason" for the charge to be waived do not have to pay, it added.

More than 117,000 fines, amounting to about 4m a year, were issued between May 2014 and March this year. Patients who are exempted from payment for treatment are randomly screened against NHS and government databases to check they are eligible.

But dentists say many people are unfairly fined for simply ticking the wrong box, and 90 per cent of penalties challenged by patients are overturned on appeal. More than 30,000 fines were challenged between May 2014 and July 2016.

The British Dental Association (BDA) said the figures "underscore the difficulties in determining whether a patient is exempt or not". It is calling for reforms of the system.

Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, the organisation's chair of general dental practice, described the system as "confusion by design" and said charges put patients off seeking treatment.

"NHS charges exist to discourage patients from seeking dental treatment, and now appear to be delivering results even among those who don't need to pay," he said.

He added: "We have vulnerable patients who either cannot navigate the bureaucracy or are simply never made aware of their entitlements. What looks like confusion by design is leaving parents in the dark and dementia patients on the receiving end of 100 fines."

Charlotte Waite, a senior dentist in Loughborough, told the BBC she sees the problem on a "daily basis".

"This has become a significant barrier to care," she added. "It can cause a lot of distress if people feel they are seen as fraudulent."

Patients with special educational needs, dementia or other cognitive conditions were most likely to be hit by erroneous charges, said the BDA.

Brendan Brown, director of citizen services, said: "There are various reasons why we were initially unable to confirm their entitlement, for example the patient may have moved but not updated their address with their practice, or changed their name and not updated their exemption certificate. In situations like these, the patient contacts us and we close their case.

"We continually review our data matching process and make improvements where possible. Were also working with various partner organisations to educate patients and healthcare professionals on the rules around eligibility for free dental treatment, to reduce the number of incorrect claims caused by confusion or lack of awareness."
L ondon is braced for gale-force winds and heavy rain after forecasters issued a weather warning for the capital.

A yellow warning of wind has been issued by the Met Office, alerting Londoners that severe weather could hit the capital on Saturday.

Forecasters have warned that the wet and windy conditions are expected across southern England and the west of Wales.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said wind speeds could reach 40 or 50mph in the capital and could be as high as 60 or 70mph on the south coast.

He told the Standard: Saturday will see wet and windy weather moving in from the Atlantic which will affect the southern counties.

In London there will be heavy showers and strong winds of around 40 or 50mph. There is a yellow wind warning in force for Saturday including in London.

Temperatures will be around 16 or 17C but will feel a bit cooler because of the wind.

The Met Office is closely monitoring the situation and if the yellow warning is upgraded to an amber warning then the weather system will be classed as a storm.

If it becomes a storm it will be named Storm Brian.

Earlier in the week three people were killed when Storm Ofelia battered the UK and Ireland, bringing with it hurricane-force winds as high as 119mph.

Mr Dewhurst said: "We are going to keep an eye on it for the next couple for days but at the moment it looks like a typical area of low pressure."

He added: By Sunday the wind will ease but a wet and windy start to next week is expected.

Thursday and Friday will see grey skies with patchy rain and possibly the occasional bright spell.
T ube chiefs have banned naked pictures of Gary Lineker and ordered the advertising company to put underwear on the TV presenter.

Lineker, 56, was photographed for a major retailer due to be revealed on Monday.

The advert, which appears on Page 58 of todays Evening Standard, was rejected because it depicts men, women or children in a sexual manner or displays nude or semi-nude figures in an overtly sexual context.

A source at the advertising company said: The images were never meant to be provocative. It was a tasteful joke about Gary presenting Match of the Day in his pants when Leicester won the league. We were told the images were suggestive because they went too far down. We respect the decision.

New campaign: Gary Lineker

Transport for London said: We continually work with advertisers and brands to ensure that all adverts meet our mutual requirements. A slightly amended version of this campaign will run on our network from October 23.

Last week TfLs agents ordered tights firm Heist to cover up a topless dancer even though only her bare back was shown.

Heist Studios, which launched its first advertising campaign on the London Underground this month, was told by TfLs agents to add a bandeau top to its image of a dancer leaping through the air in a pair of tights.

The model is facing away from the camera and no part of her chest is visible in the shot.

This image showing a topless dancer prancing in tights was banned from the Tube

In an email to Heists creative director Edzard van der Wyck, seen by the Standard, a member of staff at Exterion Media, which holds the 1.1 billion advertising contract for the Tube, said one of TfLs stipulations is we cannot run topless models on the Underground.

The email continued: Whilst I know this is only showing a bare back, it still depicts a topless model. If we could add a boob tube around the back I think this would be passed.

Ellie Howard, the head of community at Heist, said: We were told to cover up the offending area  her back. Its bonkers.

"We were very excited about sharing our image of a strong, female dancer wearing our tights, especially since womens underwear ads are usually so heavily sexualised, but it seems that the back of a female dancer is unacceptable.

TfLs guidelines prohibit advertisements which depict men, women or children in a sexual manner or display nude or semi-nude figures in an overtly sexual context.
M ost of London's councils are not protected from cyber attacks, new research has revealed.

Major phishing scams pose a huge risk to 82 per cent of local authorities which have not implemented an email system to keep residents safe, a report by security experts shows.

The public are vulnerable to hackers impersonating government email accounts, according to cloud data intelligence company OnDMARC.

Local government bodies are failing to execute the necessary safeguards to protect their constituents, experts said.

The majority still lack an email authentication protocol, known as DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance), which establishes whether emails are fraudulent.

Secure your inbox: Organisations were advised in June to secure their emails to protect customers from attacks / Getty

Hackers could use convincing fake government emails to trick recipients into sharing personal details or hand over cash.

Just six of the capital's 33 local authorities had implemented DMARC. Four organisations were using the system in 'protection' mode, which means that malicious emails will still be delivered to junk or spam folders, statistics showed.

Two authorities, in Hillingdon and Merton, were set to 'reject' mode, which blocks emails from being sent.

Councils in Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, Waltham Forest and Kensington and Chelsea also use the system.

The Greater London Authority are among those not using the software.

London authorities yet to implement DMARC in protection mode: Bexley Council

Bromley London Borough Council

Ealing Council

Enfield Council

Greater London Authority

Greenwich Council

Hackney London Borough Council

Haringey London Borough Council

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham

London Borough of Barnet

London Borough of Brent

London Borough of Camden

London Borough of Croydon

London Borough of Harrow

London Borough of Islington

London Borough of Lewisham

London Borough of Newham

London Borough of Redbridge

London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Southwark Council

Sutton Parish Council

The London Borough of Havering

The London Borough of Lambeth

Wandsworth Borough Council

Westminster City Council

DMARC protects customers from someone impersonating a business.

It gives a company or local authority the power to find out details about every service sending emails on behalf on an organisation.

Once the system is set up, emails pass through a security assessment before they are sent out.

Organisations will specify a policy on what to do with emails that fail the assessment - they can either be blocked, or delivered to the customer's junk or spam inbox.

The National Cyber Securtiy Centre (NCSC) recommended in June that authorities implement the email authentication protocol, which is globally acknowledged as the only way to guarantee the legitimacy of email from addresses.

Without DMARC in place, there is no way for a recipient of an email allegedly coming from these local government domains to be sure the sender is legitimate.

Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyber threat - 91 per cent of all cyber attacks start as phishing emails, according to research from PhishMe.

Randal Pinto, COO and co-founder of OnDMARC said: The UK Government has deemed DMARC as an essential step in protecting residents of London against phishing attacks, so its disappointing to see so few local authorities in the capital neglecting to shore up their email defences.

The problem with email is that it was never created as a business tool. It was created to be as simple as possible. Everyone thinks email is secure, but when email is passing through to another server it is not secure.

You can use someone elses domain from a high reputation to deliver scams. It can be very specific, so if someone knows that someone is expecting some information to transfer money, they can use run-of-the-mill tools to impersonate the council to get information or a transaction."

Mr Pinto said that local authorities the process to implement government guidance on cyber security should be improved. A digital marketplace called G-Cloud 9 exists to help local authorities buy DMARC services.

He said: There is open guidance on security, but between that and it making its way down to the decision makers, I think that can be improved.

"Its not clear to us whether every council knows about G-Cloud 9, and that there is a process where they can buy DMARC from suppliers. Some councils have implemented it so the info is making its way in, but why its not widely used is not clear.

"Everything is available to councils  its just the last mile of education and awareness so that they understand the risk and they know where to get the solution from.

A spokesperson for the Greater London Authority, said: Cyber security is a top issue for the Mayor and his new Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell, and the GLA has strong protections in place to ensure that its IT systems are not at risk of phishing attacks.

"City Hall is continuing to work closely with the London Digital Security Centre, a venture that is funded by the Mayor, to find ways to improve Londons resilience.
B ritain is to spend 3 million to stop women being trafficked from Vietnam to work here in brothels, nail bars and cannabis factories, the Government announced today.

The money will help catch criminals organising the trade, as well as supporting victims and preventing others being lured into modern slavery.

It follows evidence that Vietnam, along with countries such as Albania and Nigeria, is one of the top sources of overseas trafficking victims forced into slavery in this country. The spending was announced as the Home Office published a new report which identifies 17 different types of modern slavery in the UK, with disturbing details of how individual victims suffer.

They include one case in which a 13-year-old Romanian girl was trafficked into Britain by criminals, including her father, to carry out forced begging.

She spent seven hours a day on the streets and was then beaten and forced to hand over the money she raised, while also being used as a domestic slave by her abusers. In another case involving a trafficking victim, a London man arranged for a 14-year-old girl from a Lincolnshire care home to be driven to the capital to be sexually abused by him.

Other children trafficked for sexual exploitation were under 13. Trafficking from Vietnam, which accounted for 451 of the 3,805 slavery victims identified in the UK last year, remains a prime concern and prompted the decision to spend taxpayers money there.

Home Office minister Sarah Newton said: No matter what we do to eradicate the sickening and inhuman crimes associated with modern slavery here in the UK, true success can only be achieved by taking the fight onto the global stage.

We will be investing 3 million to tackle the issue in Vietnam, where so many victims are trafficked with the promise of a better life, only to find themselves enslaved. The UK is spending a total of 33.5 million fighting slavery in high-risk overseas nations. Other countries where slavery victims come from include China, Ghana, Nepal and Pakistan.
Holmen continues to redraw its boundaries.

Acting on a recommendation from the Holmen Planning Commission, the Holmen Village Board approved a petition at its Oct. 12 meeting to annex more land from a neighboring town.

Town of Holland property owner Jerrod Johnson submitted the petition to have his farm located on Glomstad Road in Long Coulee annexed to the village.

Village Administrator Scott Heinig estimated about 130 acres of the slightly more than 167-acre farm could be developed.

This property is in the town of Holland, but is included in the boundary agreement, Heinig added.

The village signed a boundary agreement with Holland in March. The agreement specifies the lands the village can annex from the town. Any property owner with land outside the designated boundaries can have their properties annexed if the request is approved by a majority of the town board members.

At the villages planning commission meeting last month, Commissioner Greg Grokowsky asked whether the village has a policy regarding farmland preservation.

The county spends a lot of time talking about that in their rural planning processes, said Heinig. But a focus on farmland preservation isnt really in the villages comp plan (comprehensive plan), as our plan focuses more on controlling growth. If an individual or family wants to keep their land in ag, however, the village would support it.

Holmen Public Works Director Dean Olson also told Grokowsky there are restrictions preventing development on bluffs and ridges.

Bluff land is preserved through ordinance restrictions and is also preserved through the villages high water reservoir level (the elevation where the villages water supply maintains pressure), said Olson. Because the bluffs are higher than what the water reservoirs can service.

Vacating right-of-way

The Holmen Village Board also approved vacating the right-of-way previously platted for the old Holland Business Park. The previous plat for a commercial development located along State Hwy. 35 is now included in the plans for the McGilvray Park addition. Most of the streets drawn on the previous Holland Business Park plat were never developed.

Its sensible to move forward (with vacating the right-of-way) for development in that area, said Heinig.

The approval to vacate the platted roadways will allow the developer to redesign the plat for the new subdivision.

The developer is planning to build a mixed-use addition on a nearly 90-acre parcel east of County Hwy. XX. The plans for the subdivision include sections for commercial, multi-residential, twin-homes and single family residents.
T heresa May has directly promised the three million EU citizens living in Britain that she will make it as easy as possible for them to stay after Brexit.

The Prime Minister said the Government and Brussels are "in touching distance" of a deal on citizens' rights and promised to involve EU expats in the design of a "streamlined" digital process for registering to remain.

In an open letter posted on her Facebook page and mailed to 100,000 EU nationals, she repeated her message that "EU citizens living lawfully in the UK today will be able to stay".

The offer comes as Mrs May prepares for disappointment at a European Council summit where leaders of the remaining 27 EU member states will agree that it is too early to begin formal negotiations on a future trade relationship, as Britain had hoped.

Addressing the 27 leaders over dinner in Brussels on Thursday, the PM will urge them at least to begin preparatory talks among themselves about the transition to a future relationship, so they are ready to begin negotiations "as soon as possible".

Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn will also travel to the Belgian capital to accuse Mrs May of "bungling" the withdrawal process and declare that Labour "stands ready to take up responsibility for the Brexit negotiations".

The Labour leader will meet three EU prime ministers, as well as chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and European Parliament president Antonio Tajani.

Mrs May received a boost on Wednesday, as Council president Donald Tusk declared he will recommend that the EU27 begin "internal preparations for talks on the transition and the future relationship" which could begin as early as the next scheduled summit in December.

But Mr Tusk warned that progress in December would require "more concrete proposals from the British side", in comments reflecting pressure from Brussels for further UK concessions on a so-called "divorce bill" which could reach 60 billion euros (53bn).

Mrs May's official spokesman indicated that she will urge the EU27 to concentrate on the future opportunities for co-operation, rather than the details of unstitching Britain's 44-year membership.

May and Juncker embrace after Brexit talks

"The Prime Minister will reiterate her commitment to a successful Europe with the UK as a strong and committed partner," he said.

"She will urge fellow leaders to focus on the shared opportunities and challenges ahead and encourage them to move the conversation on to consideration of the future partnership and implementation period so they are ready to engage in that discussion as soon as possible."

Mrs May will be excluded from the Friday morning session when Mr Barnier will brief the EU27 that "insufficient progress" has been made in divorce talks to move on to trade negotiations.

While agreeing that the process was not yet sufficiently advanced for trade talks to begin, Mr Tusk said that "promising progress" had been made since Mrs May's keynote speech in Florence last month, at which she committed Britain to meeting obligations estimated at around 18 billion (20bn euros) incurred as an EU member, as well as following EU rules during any implementation period.

But Mr Corbyn warned of the danger that Britain may crash out of the EU without a deal: "As the Government's splits and Brexit bungling become ever more damaging, Labour stands ready to take up responsibility for the Brexit negotiations.

"A no-deal Brexit would be a bad deal for Britain, threatening jobs and living standards. It would also harm our European neighbours. That's why it's in all our interests to increase the pressure for real progress in the current talks and move on to negotiations about our future trading relationship."

The two-day summit has been moved out of the glitzy Europa Building, opened last year after a 300 million renovation and nicknamed "the Space Egg", to the less glamorous Justus Lipsius building next door, after toxic fumes from drains left staff ill.

In her open letter, Mrs May announced that representatives of EU nationals will be invited to sit on a new User Group, meeting regularly to iron out any problems with the process of applying for the new "settled status" to remain in the UK.

The cost of registration will be kept "as low as possible" and it will be made simple to swap permanent residence rights for settled status, she said.

Expats will no longer have to show they have comprehensive sickness insurance.

Britain wants to offer the new status to EU citizens with five years' residence and is aiming to start registrations at the end of next year.

Mrs May has so far refused to give the three million EU nationals an unconditional right to stay until similar rights are granted to more than one million Britons living on the continent.

Differences remain over EU demands for European Court of Justice jurisdiction over the rights of citizens living in Britain.

In the letter, Mrs May said: "We are in touching distance of agreement.

"I know both sides will consider each other's proposals for finalising the agreement with an open mind.

"And with flexibility and creativity on both sides, I am confident that we can conclude discussions on citizens' rights in the coming weeks."

She added: "We want people to stay and we want families to stay together.

"We hugely value the contributions that EU nationals make to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the UK. And I know that member states value equally UK nationals living in their communities.

"I hope that these reassurances, alongside those made by both the UK and the European Commission last week, will provide further helpful certainty to the four million people who were understandably anxious about what Brexit would mean for their futures."
A European grandee has dismissed Theresa Mays cash offer to the European Union as peanuts amid new signs of foreign leaders playing hardball over money in Brexit talks.

European Parliament president Antonio Tajani said Britain should be offering up to 53 billion (60 billion) rather than the 18 billion offered so far by the Prime Minister.

In talks, alarm bells rang on the British side when EU negotiators refused to agree to mutual recognition of British and EU lawyers, nurses, doctors and accountants who qualify after the UK leaves in March 2019.

The refusal was seen as a tactic to get more money out of Mrs May, but raised a question mark over the prospects for millions of young professionals.

In outspoken comments, Mr Tajani branded the UK not realistic in its approach to the so-called divorce bill  and echoed Margaret Thatchers language when she secured the British rebate.

European Parliament president Antonio Tajani / Getty Images

We need our money back, as Mrs Thatcher said 30 or 40 years ago. This is important for us, he told BBCs Newsnight. We need not one euro more, not one euro less.

Mrs May travels to Brussels tomorrow to make an address to EU leaders at a summit dinner.

Downing Street said she would not be making concessions but calling on Europe to move onto talks about trade and a vital transitional period after Brexit.

Brexit Secretary David Davis hinted that Britains proposal for mutual recognition of professional qualifications was being exploited by the EU when he told MPs it was a reasonable proposal that should be quickly agreed to. London MEP Syed Kamall, who is an interlocutor at the talks in Brussels, said the EU seemed to be using it as leverage in the negotiations.

Theres no reason why it couldnt be sorted now, he said.

It betrays the EUs willingness to use peoples livelihoods as leverage in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, a senior City figure warned that unless progress was made firms would have no choice but to move jobs to other EU countries in order to ensure they can keep trading.

London Stock Exchange Group chief executive Xavier Rolet suggested that jobs would be lost overseas unless details of a transitional period were agreed by the end of the year.
W hite men in the UK earn on average 9,000 more a year than people from ethnic minority backgrounds, research has revealed today.

The study, from the International Inequalities Institute and Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE), showed that women and men from ethnic minority groups would have incomes totalling an extra 127 billion a year if their salaries matched those of white men.

Broadcaster June Sarpong, who commissioned the research, said today: Unless you are a white British man, working in the UK today means you lose out. These figures demonstrate the urgent need for clear policy from government and business to urgently close the income gap.

The study found:

Bangladeshi men and women face the biggest income gap, with the average Bangladeshi man earning 10,000 less than a white male per year.

Pakistani women fall the furthest behind white men, earning 260 a week less, or 13,561 annually.

Black Caribbean men earn 72 less per week, compared with white males, while black Caribbean women earn 145 less.

Chinese men have salaries most closely aligned to white males, receiving around 17 less.

Professor John Hills, of the LSE, said: There are many reasons why the incomes of women and men from different ethnic groups are behind those of white British men.

Sometimes it is the choices couples make over caring, and who works part-time. Sometimes it is outright discrimination, where what people get does not fully reflect their roles. But sometimes, it is sheer waste, where people have ended up in jobs where as a country we are not making the best use of their skills and abilities.

The average white mans salary, according to the research, is 676 a week, or 35,000 a year.

While differences in qualifications have traditionally been a key contributor to income gaps, white British men currently do not have higher levels of qualifications than most other groups.

Previous research suggests that pay differences persist even when educational qualifications and occupation are controlled.

Sarpong is interviewed in ES Magazine tomorrow.
T heresa May today ducked giving a straight answer about whether Britain has a legal right to change its mind about Brexit.

In a written reply, the Prime Minister declined to reveal whether Article 50, which notified the EU of Britains intention to go, could be reversed.

Mrs May was accused of hiding the legal position from the British public for fear of giving ammunition to anti-Brexiteers.

She dodged the question six times in the Commons last Monday, merely saying the Government had no intention of stopping Brexit.

Her latest non-answer was in writing, however, which MPs say shows she is concealing the true position rather than uncertain how to reply. Asked by Labour MP Chris Leslie to reveal her understanding of the law, Mrs May referred him to her previous answers in the Commons.

Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest 1 /16 Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest Demonstrators head towards Parliament Square. REUTERS Signs include 'I love EU' REUTERS The pro-EU march began in Hyde Park Corner. Si Carrington 'NHS? Brexit Wrexit' Oliver Day The march took protesters through the streets of London. Oliver Day One protester brought along a papier mache Queen, in reference to the blue and yellow hat she wore at the State Opening of Parliament. Peter Bailey 'Exit Brexit' Jonathan Hawley The September sun shone as activists marched through the streets. Martin Tod Roads were blocked during the protest. Maggie Jones The campaigners set off shortly after 11am from Hyde Park Corner. Maggie Jones The rally saw the activists march through the streets of central London. Johann Ketel EU colours of blue and yellow were seen throughout the march. Judi Conner

Asked to clarify, Downing Street replied this morning: We are not revoking. End of story.

Mr Leslie said: The PM is not denying that parliament has a right to retract the Article 50 notice letter. Legal experts are increasingly saying that a letter of intention is completely different to a binding commitment. Lord Kerr, who drafted Article 50, agrees.

Lib Dem leader Vince Cable, whose party is committed to reversing Brexit, said: Theresa May is trying to pull the wool over peoples eyes by dodging this crucial question.

Tory MP Anna Soubry said the key battle for her party was to stop a no-deal hard Brexit but the ability to halt Brexit would become significant if a good deal is not struck. I sense many people around the country are wondering if they made a mistake in voting Leave based on a pack of falsehoods, she said.
T heresa May performed an embarrassing U-turn today by scrapping a hotline charging people up to 55p a minute for advice on welfare benefits.

The Government announced there will be a new freephone number instead to help people on the breadline.The about-turn came a week after Jeremy Corbyn challenged Mrs May over the charges during Prime Ministers Questions  and on the day of a Commons vote on the controversial rollout of Universal Credit.

The phone announcement by Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke appeared to buy a delay in a Tory rebellion over the welfare benefit.

Mr Gauke made the concession to a committee of MPs looking into complaints that thousands of people have suffered six-week delays in getting money under the new Universal Credit system. He said: I have decided that this will change to a freephone number over the next month.

Work and Pensions secretary David Gauke / PA

It has been the long-standing position to operate local line charges for benefit inquiry lines, but having reviewed this matter more widely I will be extending the freephone numbers to all of Department for Work and Pensions phone lines by the end of the year.

It was reported that up to 25 Tories were rallying against Mrs Mays roll-out of Universal Credit, including outspoken critic MP Heidi Allen.

Last night she and two other Tory MPs, Sarah Wollaston and Johnny Mercer, were seen in Downing Street in what has been seen as a last-minute meeting with the PM on the benefits.

Mr Mercer tweeted no chance this morning about Labours call to pause the benefits extension.

This was largely seen as a sign that Mr Gauke successfully placated MPs with the freephone number.

In PMQs last week, Mr Corbyn lambasted Mrs May over the helpline, which benefit claimants say is costing them up to 55p a minute if they call from a mobile phone, although less on fixed lines.

Mr Gauke said the advice line was not a premium line and added that the DWP does not make a profit from it. Ms Allen welcomed the shift as really great news.
G oogle Maps has been forced to drop a feature that estimated how many calories users could burn off in a walk after accusations that it was fat-shaming.

The feature, which was rolled out to some iOS users last week, measured the calories users burnt by the number of cupcakes they equalled.

Critics said that the cupcake feature could be triggering for those with eating disorders, as they had no option to turn it off.

An explainer on Google Maps said: The average person burns 90 calories by walking one mile. To help put that into perspective, weve estimated how many desserts your walk would burn. One mini cupcake is around 110 calories.

While some welcomed the feature as motivational for exercise, others were annoyed by the extra health advice as the calorie estimates appeared without explanation on how to disable the feature.

Critics said that an excessive fixation with calorie tracking is a marker of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, so the calorie estimates could have a negative impact on sufferers.

Taylor Lorenz, an American politics and technology reporter, said: Do they realise how extremely triggering something like this is for people who had eating disorders? Not to mention just generally shamey.

Also these calorie estimates take nothing about you or your health into account so they are just wildly inaccurate and useless.

However, the feature was praised by anti-obesity campaigners, who called it a brilliant incentive to exercise.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said, according to The Times: Google should get awards rather than abuse. For as many who have taken the company to task there will be scores more who will welcome its move. Polls show just how many people would like to see the length of time required to burn off a slice of carrot cake displayed with it.

Google has taken that idea a step further by stating just how healthy that walk to your destination could be for you. A brilliant incentive to exercise.

The app tallied calories according to mini cupcakes, which are about 110 calories each.

Khushbu Shah, an American food journalist, said: Thank you for shaming me for my mini-cupcake consumption, Google Maps.

Google said the experiment had been withdrawn based on strong user feedback and would no longer appear on the app.

The Standard has approached Google for comment.
C hannel 4 have been accused of brownfacing in a row over a documentary showing a white woman disguised as a Muslim complete with darkened skin.

Katie Freeman, 44, was given a prosthetic nose, fake teeth and darkened skin as she filmed My Week As A Muslim.

The show documents Ms Freeman's experiences in Manchester in the week after a terror attack at the city's arena that killed 22 people.

Described as an attempt to challenge stereotypes, the show aimed to give the the 44-year-old a "chance to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background."

Katie Freeman starred in the documentary / Channel 4

However, when a trailer for the show aired on Tuesday, viewers took to social media to slam the nature of Ms Freeman's disguise.

One wrote: "What the f*** is this? Channel 4 has totally missed the mark here. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to put prosthetics on somebody to make them a caricature of people of a different race (as if being white and Muslim are exclusive anyway)? On primetime TV in 2017? Madness."

Another bemused commenter simply wrote: "Did they...brownface her?"

On Twitter, viewer Alice Beggs said: "Just saw Channel 4 have a show called 'My Week As A Muslim' where this white woman has brownface and prosthetics so she can learn about racism etc. Because god forbid we just listen to Muslims when they tell us what abuse they get."

Another criticised Channel 4 for not "actually following a Muslim poc (person of colour) and documenting their life, instead of doing this".

Before Ms Freeman underwent the transformation, she admitted she would avoid sitting next to a Muslim on public transport because "you see them and think they're going to blow something up", the Daily Mail reported.

She later said she was shocked by the level of abuse she suffered in the course of the programme.

During one incident in which someone shouted "f****** Muslims, in this town?" as she walked past her local pub.

Ms Freeman lived with Saima Alvi, a Muslim woman, during filming for the show.

Ms Freeman with her host family / Channel 4

The 49-year-old told of the abuse she suffers regularly. She said: "It's very humiliating that I am pigeon-holed or put in the same box as a terrorist.

"What I have learnt is that there are genuinely nice people who are unfortunately misled about Islam."

Ms Freeman prepares to undergo her transformation, criticised by some as "brownface" / Channel 4

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Fiyaz Mughal, founder of community cohesion group Faith Matters, said: "This is trying to drive ratings by racial stereotyping. Channel 4 needs to apologise.

"If you are trying to bridge divides, what message does it send to Muslim communities that people think of you in a certain way? That certain crude facial characteristics are what defines you as Asian?"

The show's executive producer, Fozia Khan, defended the programme, told the Daily Mail: "The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be a part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than just observe as an outsider."

My Week As A Muslim is due to be broadcast by Channel 4 on Monday at 9pm.
A n 87-year-old woman dubbed Americas most successful jewel thief has vowed to finally end her life of crime  after being caught stealing from a Walmart.

Doris Payne is thought to have stolen more than 1.5 million during seven decades of jewel heists, including operations in Monte Carlo and Tokyo.

She now claims to be putting her past behind her for good after pleading guilty to the theft of $82.22 (65) worth of groceries and electronics.

At Chamblee Municipal Court in Georgia, Judge Angela Duncan told her: Dont come back, Ms Payne.

Ms Payne responded: I wont.

In a 2013 documentary titled The Life & Crimes of Doris Payne, she said she regretted nothing except being caught.

Officials believe she has used up to 20 aliases over the years in order to carry out her heists.

She is reported to have never hurt anyone in the thefts, using nothing but slight of height and disguises.

She was spare jail over the Walmart theft and after the hearing told CBS 46 she wanted attention in order to sell her book rights.

I've done everything but pee in the street to get attention to get the money to get it, she said.

She added to Fox News: Im going on about my life's dream doing for foster kids, young boys.

Any and all money I ever get from a book will go in that fund.
You can tell the Communist Party congress is underway because the internet slows down.

The VPN (virtual private network) services many of us use to get around Chinas Great Firewall of online censorship repeatedly fail to connect.

And the propaganda is set to max.

In the street outside my apartment block in Beijing, huge red banners pledge to Unswervingly Uphold the Partys Leadership, while security guards with red armbands keep watch from what feels like every corner.

Wherever you look, there are reminders that this a country under Communist Party control.

At this congress, we are witnessing an exhibition of Xi Jinpings control over the Party.

Since Mao Zedongs death in 1976, there has been progress towards the principle of collective leadership - to ensure that power could never again be concentrated in the hands of one man.

Now we seem to be heading in the opposite direction.

Xi is expected to use this five-yearly meeting to consolidate his position as the countrys most powerful leader in decades, promoting his allies, and very possibly enshrining Xi Jinping Thought in the party constitution - an honour only previously awarded to Chairman Mao.

If he follows the example of his predecessor, this would be the halfway point in his tenure, but there are growing doubts that he plans to stand down at the end of his second term in 2022.

Instead, he seems to be laying the groundwork for a prolonged period in power, as he sets out his vision for what he calls the China Dream.

Xis message is not dissimilar to Donald Trumps. As he explains it, he inherited a mess: a country whose global standing was diminished, an economy in trouble, and a party mired in the swamp of corruption, but now he is making China great again.

Expect to hear about the extraordinary progress made so far, as he builds his case to be seen as the countrys third great leader.

If Mao united the country, declaring the Chinese people had stood up, and Deng set them on the path to getting rich, now Xi is making them strong.

This vision of strength includes a powerful military, which he is pictured presiding over in combat fatigues, as the head of a country that is now reclaiming its rightful place in the world.

There is a darker side to life in Xis China dream.

Human rights groups say he is overseeing the most severe crackdown on civil society since 1989, as sources of dissent, both real and imagined, are silenced and jailed. Lest we forget in the ensuing pageantry, a Nobel laureate died in custody here this year. His widow is still missing.

But the party doesnt want to talk about that.

* Katie Stallard is the Asia Correspondent for Sky News.
D onald Trump has denied telling the grieving widow of a US soldier that he knew what he was signing up for and insisted the claim is totally fabricated.

Florida congresswoman Frederica Wilson said she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Mrs Johnson's husband, Sergeant La David Johnson, when the president called and made the remarks.

After the allegations emerged, the US President tweeted: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

But Sgt Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, said she was in the car and the statement is true.

She added that "not only did he disrespect my son" but he was disrespectful to her son's widow.

Congresswoman criticises Trump for war widow comments

Ms Jones-Johnson said she did not record the conversation.

Democratic lawmaker Ms Wilson told CNN: "The president evidently is lying, because what I said is true.

"He doesn't even know how to sympathise with people. We're grieving. This is a grieving community.

Denial: Donald Trump / REUTERS

"It's disgraceful for him to even tweet about this. This gentleman has a brain disorder and he needs to be checked out."

Sgt Johnson was among four servicemen killed in the African nation of Niger earlier this month when militants thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State group ambushed them while they were patrolling with Nigerian troops in unarmoured trucks.

Ms Wilson said she did not hear the entire conversation, and Ms Johnson told her she could not remember everything that was said when asked it about it later.

"When she hung up the phone she looked at me and said, 'He didn't even know his name'. Now that's the worst part," Ms Wilson told CNN.

Mr Trump has been criticised for not reaching out straight away to relatives of the four killed in Niger.

On Monday, he said he had written letters that had not yet been mailed. His aides said they had been awaiting information before proceeding.
P resident Donald Trump faced fresh condemnation today for telling the grief-stricken widow of a soldier who died serving his country that he knew what he signed up for.

Mr Trump made the remark in a five-minute call to pregnant Myeshia Johnson to offer his condolences over the death of her husband, La David, one of four US Special Forces troops killed in Niger.

He reportedly said that 25-year-old Johnson knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens it hurts anyway.

The Florida family was astonished, said Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who was sitting next to the widow when she took the call as she drove to Miami airport to collect her husbands remains yesterday.

Despair: Myeshia Johnson sobs over the coffin of her husband La David

Yes, he said it, she said. Its so insensitive. He should have not have said that. He shouldnt have said it.

It was almost like saying, You signed up to do this, and if you didnt want to die, shouldnt have signed up, she added.

I wanted to curse him out, the congresswoman said. I asked the family to give me the phone so that I could, but they wouldnt.

The sergeant and three fellow soldiers were killed by Islamic State-linked fighters ion October 4. His body had to be left behind and it took two days before it was recovered, according to US Africa Command. The presidents failure to comment publicly on the tragedy for 12 days after the deaths provoked a firestorm of criticism.

When he finally broke his silence, Mr Trump claimed wrongly that past presidents often did not call the families of fallen soldiers.

Soldier: La David Johnson

His comments triggered an angry denunciation from former Obama deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, who called Mr Trump as a deranged animal.

Mrs Johnson was later filmed sobbing as she leaned over her husbands flag-draped coffin.
A US judge has blocked the latest version of Donald Trumps travel ban just hours before it was set to take effect.

Judge Derrick Watson granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the government from enforcing the policy on Tuesday.

In September, the Trump administration announced the restrictions affecting citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen - and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

Hawaii argues the updated ban is a continuation of President Donald Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States".

Other courts are considering challenges to the policy. In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are seeking to block the visa and entry restrictions in the president's latest proclamation.

The proposed travel ban has faced widespread opposition / AP

Washington state, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York and Maryland have challenged the policy before US District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who struck down Mr Trump's initial ban in January.

That policy led to chaos and confusion at airports nationwide and triggered several lawsuits, including one from Hawaii.

When Mr Trump revised the ban, state Attorney General Doug Chin changed the lawsuit to challenge that version.

In March, Judge Watson agreed with Hawaii that it amounted to discrimination based on nationality and religion.

A subsequent US Supreme Court ruling allowed the administration to partially reinstate that 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day ban on all refugees.

But it said the policy did not apply to refugees and travellers with a "bona fide relationship" with a person or entity in the US.

Hawaii then successfully challenged the government's definition of which family members would be allowed into the country.

Judge Watson ordered the government not to enforce the ban on close relatives such as grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts.

The judge's order on Tuesday prevents acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from implementing the latest travel ban.

Theresa May calls Trump's travel ban 'wrong'

Judge Watson said he would set an expedited hearing to determine whether the temporary restraining order should be extended.

He found Trump's executive order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor".

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the new restrictions ignore a federal appeals court ruling that found Mr Trump's previous ban exceeds the scope of his authority.

The latest version "plainly discriminates based on nationality in the manner that the 9th Circuit has found antithetical to ... the founding principles of this nation," the judge wrote.

The government has said the new policy was based on an objective assessment of each country's security situation and willingness to share information with the US.

The White House blasted the judge's decision, calling his order "dangerously flawed".

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Hawaii decision "undercuts the president's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States".

She said the restrictions are "vital" to ensuring foreign nations comply with US security standards.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said it will appeal against the ruling "in an expeditious manner".
H undreds of men, women and children were killed during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, condemned as 'ethnic cleansing', a report has warned.

The report published by Amnesty International on Wednesday comes after up to 15,000 Rohingya were stranded on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border over the weekend.

The humanitarian organisation has called for an arms embargo on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, when Myanmar security forces began a scorched-earth crackdown against Rohingya villages.

Up to 15,000 refugees fleeing from the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar (Redux / eyevine) / Redux/eyevine

Myanmar's government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the UN and others have said the response was disproportionate.

The continuing flight of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said "at least" hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

Stranded: Rohingya were waiting for access to dry land in rice paddies near Palangkhali wtih driving tropical rain coming at night (Redux / eyevine) / Redux/eyevine

The witnesses repeatedly described a badge on their attackers' uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Myanmar's Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Myanmar's army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Children and elderly people were among those in the mass exodus of Burma (Redux / eyevine) / Redux/eyevine

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

Several hundred people were said to have been killed in the five villages that Amnesty reported on. Given that dozens of villages across Rakhin state were targeted in a similar fashion, Mr Wells said the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards away were untouched.

Satellite image from Human Rights Watch shows what they say is the complete destruction of a Rohingya village in close proximity to an intact Rakhine village, Maungdaw township, Myanmar. / AP

"It speaks to how organized, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country," Mr Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose acomprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Myanmar authorities do not act swiftly.

Amnesty said: "It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar."

A new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend. Witnesses said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

On August 25, a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security posts, causing dozens of casualties, according to Myanmar authorities. The brutal attacks against Rohingya that followed were described by the UN as "textbook ethnic cleansing."
A n Irish meteorologist has received a heart-warming message from a little girl in the wake of Storm Ophelia.

Joanna Donnelly, from Met Eireann, Ireland's Met Office, presents weather forecasts for television broadcaster RTE.

As Storm Ophelia gathered momentum, Ms Donnelly warned Ireland about potential destruction expected as the storm hurtled towards the coast.

One adorable viewer, Olivia O'Driscoll, wrote personally to the meteorologist in the aftermath to thank her.

Ms Donnelly posted a picture of the sweet handwritten letter to Twitter on Tuesday with the caption My work here is done.

The letter reads:

Dear Ms Donnelly,

Thank you so much for warning us all about Hurricane Ophelia and calling a red warning. My Dad is a fisherman and he is safe. My Grandad is a fisherman too and he is safe.

From Olivia O'Driscoll

Schull,

West Cork

P.S. Thank you for two days off school.

Hundreds of people in the Republic of Ireland were without power and water yesterday as the clean-up after Storm Ophelia began.

Hurricane Ophelia - In pictures 1 /45 Hurricane Ophelia - In pictures Waves crash over the lighthouse as storm Ophelia approaches Porthcawl, Wales Rebecca Naden/Reuters The scene in Crosshill, in the south side of Glasgow, after the front of a block of flats, which are due for demolition, was brought down in high winds as Storm Ophelia sweeps across Scotland PA The scene in Crosshill, in the south side of Glasgow, after the front of a block of flats, which are due for demolition, was brought down in high winds as Storm Ophelia sweeps across Scotland PA A car drives through sea foam whipped up by the wind of Hurricane Ophelia at Trearddur Bay Getty Images A 'road closed' sign is seen submerged in floodwater during Storm Ophelia in Galway, Ireland Reuters People run from a wave whipped up by Hurricane Ophelia as it crashes over the seafront in Penzance in Cornwall Getty Images Waves break on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph PA A plane flies past the Shard in central London, as the sky takes on an unusual orange colour caused by Storm Ophelia Dominic Lipinski/PA Dare devils run out to a diving board Salthill, Galway, Ireland, as Hurricane Ophelia batters the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph PA Winds batter the harbour as storm Ophelia hits Cork, Ireland Kieron O'Connor/Reuters A tree surgeon cuts up a fallen tree in Penzance in Cornwall, England Matt Cardy/Getty Images 10-year-old cocker spaniel Lily (left) and two-year-old Italian Spinone Lottie on their walks in strong winds at Lands End, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Ben Birchall/PA A woman take a photograph as waves crash up onto Penzance seafront in Cornwall Matt Cardy/Getty Images A woman photographs the sun rise at Penarth Pier as Hurricane Ophelia approaches the west coast of the United Kingdom Matthew Horwood/Getty Images People take selfies in waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Niall Carson/PA Empty streets in Kilkee, Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Niall Carson/PA An uprooted tree lies in a road as storm Ophelia hits Cork, Ireland Reuters A man walks the coastal path beside the stormy sea at Whitehead on the Irish Sea coast, north east of Belfast in Northern Ireland, Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images People take sandbags to protect homes from a storage shed on the Dublin Bay coast on the outskirts of Dublin Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Waves break on Longships lighthouse off the coast of Lands End, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Ben Birchall/PA An overhead road sign on Belfast's M2 motorway warning drivers of, "Strong Winds Forecast Today", as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Liam McBurney/PA A woman walks past waves crashing on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Ben Birchall/PA Winds batter the coast as storm Ophelia hits the County Clare town of Lahinch, Irelan Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters People walk across a beach as storm Ophelia approaches near Trearddur Bay in Anglesey, Wales Phil Noble/Reuters A woman walks past waves crashing on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph Ben Birchall/PA Dare devils run out to a diving board Salthill, Galway, Ireland, as Hurricane Ophelia batters the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph PA Sea foam whipped up by the wind of Hurricane Ophelia covers the promenade at Trearddur Bay Getty Images Huge waves strike the harbour wall and lighthouse at Porthcawl, south Wales AFP/Getty Images Saltcoats on the west coast of Scotland as Storm Ophelia hits Britain's west coas PA Dare devils run out to a diving board Salthill, Galway, Ireland, as Hurricane Ophelia batters the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph PA The Galway Atlantaquaria National Aquarium of Ireland building is seen submerged in floodwater during Storm Ophelia in Galway, Ireland Reuters A worker clears fallen trees off a road during Storm Ophelia in the County Clare area of the Burren, Ireland Reuters People walk on a seaweed-covered path during Storm Ophelia in Galway, Ireland Reuters A car drives through a flooded road that is covered in seaweed during Storm Ophelia in Galway, Ireland Reuters

Weather warnings have now been lifted as the storm moves away from the UK and out to the North Sea.
A man who tried to use a blowtorch to get rid of spiders ended up burning down his home in Arizona.

Fire crews were called to the scene in Tucson to stop the fire from spreading.

An elderly woman was carried out of the burning home by her son and neighbours. She suffered minor injuries, officials said.

It took almost 30 minutes for 23 firefighters to extinguish the blaze, according to US reports.

Firefighters said the cause of the fire was under investigation but it was believed to have been started by a blowtorch used to burn spiders from underneath the mobile home.

The Red Cross is helping two residents who were displaced by the fire.
A gunman has been caught after a shooting in Maryland that left three people dead and two fighting for life.

Police were hunting the "armed and dangerous" man after the incident just before 9am local time at a business park 30 miles from Baltimore.

Schools and businesses in the area around Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, as well as the set of Netflix series House of Cards, were placed on lockdown.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said police were looking for a 37-year-old suspect, Radee Labeeb Prince.

Prince is also suspected of later shooting a man at a second-hand car dealership 50 miles away in Wilmington, Delaware.

The man was shot three times and rushed to hospital, according to local reports.

The two people injured in the first shooting are said to be in a critical condition and were rushed to Baltimore's Shock Trauma Center, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Fatal shooting: Police at the scene at a business park in the Edgewood area of Harford County Wednesday / Rex Features

Following the shooting, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said "the killer remains on the loose", adding that the two critically injured victims had been shot in the head.

The owner of a home improvement company based at the business park said the victims and the suspect all worked for him at the same company, Advanced Granite Solutions.

Barak Caba said the suspect has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator.

He was thought to have sped away from the scene in a 2000 black Acadia with a Delaware licence plate.

Investigators are treating the first shooting as a workplace violence incident, according to Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office, which is assisting local police.

Prince was eventually detained in Delaware after almost 12 hours.
A second US judge has blocked Donald Trump's travel ban just hours before it was due to take effect.

The injunction was granted in Maryland on the same day that Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii blocked the revised ban.

Judge Theodore Chuang granted a nationwide preliminary injunction after Judge Watson on Tuesday. The latest ban from the Trump administration, released in September, sought to place travel restrictions on citizens of eight countries.

These affected citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and some Venezualan government officials and their families. They were due to go into effect on Wednesday.

Judge Chuang said the plaintiffs "are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest favor an injunction."

He noted Trump posted a document called "Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration" on his website in December of 2015. He also highlighted other references by Trump, including calls for keeping Muslims out of the US.

The president's lastest attempt at a travel ban came in September, when he issued a proclamation targeting people from Muslim-majority countries.

The proclamation also included North Korea and some officials of Venezuala.

The Trump administration said the ban was based on an assessment of each country's security and whether they would share information with the US.

Ruling: Judge Derrick Watson hearing arguments on whether to extend his temporary order blocking Trump's revised travel ban / AP

The ruling came after Judge Watson granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the government from enforcing the policy on Tuesday.

Judge Watson's ruling said the new ban fails to show that nationality alone makes a person a greater security risk to the U.S.

The Hawaii judge said the Trump's latest travel ban suffers from the same problems as a previous version.

He argued that the updated ban is a continuation of President Donald Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States", and said the latest version discriminates based on nationality.

Donald Trump blast "judicial overreach" as Hawaii judge blocks travel ban

Judge Chuang's ruling said the administration had "not shown that national security cannot be maintained without an unprecedented eight-country travel ban."

In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are seeking to block the visa and entry restrictions. Washington state, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York and Maryland are challenging the order in front of the Seattle judge who struck down Trump's initial ban in January.

The White House calls Tuesday's decision "dangerously flawed." The Justice Department says it will appeal.

The restrictions were the third set of travel restrictions issued by the president to be thwarted, in whole or in part, by the courts.
T housands of Islamic State foreign fighters could return to Europe after their dreams of a caliphate were crushed with the fall of their stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, the EUs security commissioner has warned.

Julian King said some of them may be intent on terror attacks.

We have a list of about 8,000 potential foreign terrorist fighters that have been highlighted by European member states which is held by Europol, he told the BBC.

Not all of those are EU nationals, but in every case there is a possibility they might seek to return to Europe.

Some are going to die, some are going to seek to go elsewhere, to continue what they regard as their struggle. But a number may seek to come back to Europe, and we need to be ready to try and deal with it.

Hundreds of young men, and some women, travelled from Britain, France, Germany and Belgium to Syria to join IS, with large numbers also going from other EU nations.
G ame of Thrones star Lena Headey has claimed Harvey Weinstein was "furious" after she rejected his advances.

The actress, 44, shared an account on social media of an interaction with the movie mogul, who is facing dozens of allegations of sexual assault by stars across the film world.

Headey said she was left in tears and feeling "completely powerless" after Weinstein attempted to invite her into his hotel room following a breakfast in Los Angeles.

She also spoke of an earlier incident at the Venice Film Festival when Weinstein made a "suggestive comment" to her which she laughed off.

She wrote on Twitter: "I was genuinely shocked, I remember thinking, it's got to be a joke, I said something like.. Oh come on mate?!?? It'd be like kissing my dad !!"

She said that years later, Weinstein asked her to meet for breakfast before attempting to ask her about her love life, until she "shifted the conversation back to something less personal".

After he visited the toilet, he asked her up to his room to give her a script, she claimed.

Harvey Weinstein on the Oscars red carpet at this year's awards / Getty Images

She continued: "We walked to the lift and the energy shifted, my whole body went into high alert, the lift was going up and I said to Harvey, I'm not interested in anything other than work, please don't think I got in here with you for any other reason, nothing is going to happen I said.

"I don't know what possessed me to speak out at that moment, only that I had such a strong sense of don't come near me."

Headey added: "He was silent after I spoke, furious. We got out of the lift and walked to his room. His hand was on my back, he was marching me forward, not a word, I felt completely powerless, he tried his key card and it didn't work, then he got really angry.

"He walked me back to the lift, through the hotel to the valet, by grabbing and holding tightly to the back of my arm, he paid for my car and whispered in my ear 'Don't tell anyone about this, not your manager, not your agent'.

"I got into my car and I cried."

Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of women in the film industry, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan, Alice Evans and Sophie Dix, and an increasing number of Hollywood stars have condemned his alleged actions.

Meanwhile, another woman contacted British police on Sunday, claiming Weinstein sexually assaulted her in Westminster in 1992.

Scotland Yard had earlier confirmed three accusations had been made relating to alleged sexual assaults in London in 2010, 2011 and 2015.

These followed another claim, passed to Scotland Yard detectives by Merseyside Police, relating to an alleged sexual assault in the capital in the late 1980s.

The latest allegations came as more British women came forward saying they were raped by Weinstein, one of whom is Hollyoaks actress Lysette Anthony.

She told the Metropolitan Police she was attacked by the movie mogul in her London home in the late 1980s.

Another woman, an unnamed former Miramax employee, said Weinstein - who co-founded his film studio in the late 1970s with his brother - raped her in the basement flat of his London offices in around 1992.

The fresh allegations follow several made by actresses in the US against Weinstein - four of rape and more than 30 of sexual harassment - and come after his British wife Georgina Chapman said she was leaving him.

Through his spokeswoman, Weinstein has "unequivocally denied" any allegations of non-consensual sex after three actresses said he had raped them in an article in The New Yorker.
H arvey Weinstein has resigned from the film company he founded 12 years ago admitting he has a real problem, it was reported today.

The film-maker reportedly went public with an apology as he officially quit the board of the Weinstein Company, telling directors he was sorry for trouble and confusion caused, according to website TMZ.

He had previously been fired as co-chairman but retained a seat on the board. Weinstein, who joined the board meeting by phone from a rehabilitation clinic in Arizona, is said to have claimed he wanted to build a new life.

Some 40 women have now come forward with allegations that he sexually assaulted and harassed them. Weinstein, 65, remains adamant any relationships he had were entirely consensual.

Harvey Weinstein in 60 seconds

News of the decision came as his younger brother Bob, co-founder of the studio behind blockbusters including The Kings Speech, The Artist and Django Unchained, fiercely denied fresh accusations from another actress.

Amanda Segel, an executive producer of the cable series The Mist, told Variety that Bob repeatedly made romantic overtures to her over three months last year, and that her lawyer notified company leaders.

Bert Fields, a lawyer for Bob Weinstein, said the Variety article was riddled with false and misleading assertions.

Speaking out: Rose McGowan alleges that Harvey Weinstein raped her / WireImage

In a series of tweets posted yesterday, Lena Headey, the British star of Game Of Thrones, alleged that Harvey Weinstein had sexually harassed her.

She joined a stream of prominent actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino who have accused Weinstein of abusing his position.

Business partners have cut ties with the studio. Amazon has shelved two projects and last night carmaker Lexus, sponsor of the reality show Project Runway, said it was evaluating our partnership with the studio.

Another actress, Larissa Gomes, told the Los Angeles Times that when she was 17 Weinstein asked her to bare her chest and tried to kiss her on the lips.

Star Wars director JJ Abrams told Radio 4s Today programme: People knew that he was a bully but I didnt have a clue as to the extent. I admire enormously the women who have come forward, because it must be horrific.

I think its probable that he cant be a lone operator. My guess is that theres abuse of power in any industry and Im sure that Hollywood is no exception.

The Royal Court Theatre is holding an event to give people the opportunity to share their own experiences of sexual harassment and said it is time to confront the abuses of power that have been occurring in our own industry for years.
ESB Bank, which has offices in La Crescent, Caledonia and Eitzen, Minn., has asked state and federal regulators for permission to acquire State Bank Financials branch office at 109 S. Walnut St. in downtown La Crescent.

We anticipate the transaction to be completed with State Bank Financial in the first quarter of 2018, ESB President, CEO and Chairman of the Board Ronald G. Chamberlin said.

We will be moving our location next door to our new building, 109 S. Walnut St., and will offer our clients complete full-service banking, including drive-up banking capabilities, Chamberlin said.

ESB Bank, formerly known as Eitzen State Bank, opened its current La Crescent location at 111 S. Walnut St. in January 2016. Chamberlin said ESB Bank is the only financial institution headquartered in Houston County, and was chartered in 1909.

We are pleased to reach this (sale) agreement with a longstanding community bank like ESB Bank, said Tim Kotnour, president and CEO of La Crosse-based State Bank Financial.

Kotnour said State Bank Financial is grateful to the community for its past support, but decided to reduce locations to focus on its growth plans in western and central Wisconsin.
N atalie Dormer says she lives in fear because of the uncertainty of her life in acting.

In her new West End role in Venus In Fur, the ex-Game Of Thrones star plays an actress auditioning for a part.

This play reminds you of the fear, Dormer, 35, told the Standard at the press night after-party. The moment you lose that fear that youre not going to be employed tomorrow, then you lose your edge.

You have to live in fear. Youre never home and dry as an actor.

Natalie Dormer - in pictures 1 /30 Natalie Dormer - in pictures Newest role Natalie Dormer as Cressida in the upcoming Hunger Games film Raunchy Natalie with co-star Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones HBO Good judgement The actress as Niamh Cranitch in Silk Posh boys Natalie Dormer stars as Charlie in The Riot Club All together Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks and Natalie attend the photocall for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 at Corinthia Hotel London last night (Photo credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images Wild side Natalie at the Extremely Piaget Launch Event in October (Photo credit: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Piaget) Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images Queen Bee Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell with Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell Royal affair Natalie and co-star Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (Photo credit: Allstar Collection/BBC) BBC Natalie Dormer attends the press night after party for "Venus In Fur" at Mint Lea Dave Benett Natalie Dormer attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2017 held at the Tate Modern Ian West/PA Natalie Dormer attends The London Evening Standard British Film Awards at Claridge's Hotel Dave Benett Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer poses with her medal at the finish line after completing the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2016 Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Natalie Dormer attends a Fashionable Screening of the Paramount Pictures film "Zoolander No. 2" at Empire Leicester Square Dave Benett onathan Rhys Meyers (Henry VIII) and Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn) in The Tudors BBC / SONY Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones HBO Natalie Dormer arrives at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Taylor Kinney accepts the award for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor from actress Natalie Dormer onstage during the People's Choice Awards 2016 Kevin Winter/Getty Images Natalie Dormer attends the UK Premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" at Odeon Leicester Square Dave Benett Natalie Dormer attends the UK Premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" at Odeon Leicester Square Dave Benett Natalie Dormer attends the Roksanda show during London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2015/16 at Seymour Hall Dave Benett Natalie Dormer attends an after party following the World Premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" at Victoria House Dave Benett Natalie Dormer attends the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

I also dont think any actor has to draw deep to search for emotional rejection!

David Ivess sexually charged two-hander examines issues of feminism and masochism.

Dormer plays actress Vanda Jordan, who is auditioning for director Thomas Novachek, played by Oakes, for a production based on the 1870 novella Venus In Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.

Oakes, 34, who plays Prince Ernest in ITVs Victoria, added: Theres the old saying that youre only as good as your last job.

"I dont think thats quite right  I think youre only as good as your next job. Theres no guarantee its ever going to come about, so you may as well do your last one as best as you possibly can.

Natalie Dormer interview on The Forest

Dormer said of the plays themes: It feeds upon what feminism and humanism need to be in our modern society.

The actress rose to fame as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors and later won the part of the ambitious Margaery Tyrell in Game Of Thrones, appearing in five seasons of HBOs fantasy epic.

She also starred in The Hunger Games films and has written her first movie, In Darkness, with fiance Anthony Byrne.

I suppose I am drawn to strong characters, she said at the party at Mint Leaf, Haymarket. I like challenges. Its like acting gymnastics. I always choose things on a case-by-case basis.

Venus In Furs director, Patrick Marber, worked with Dormer when she starred in his play After Miss Julie at the Young Vic five years ago, the last time she trod the boards.

She has previously spoken about her practical attitude to portraying sex.

Last year, she told the Standard: When I started my career, I was grateful to get the job. People would say, The Tudors was so hyper-sexualised, why on earth would you make that decision?

Well, I made the decision because I was unemployed.
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Qatar is negotiating to buy 24 Typhoon fighters from Britain. Qatar would then join its neighbors (Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) who are already operating this aircraft. This purchase is seen as partly a diplomatic move, to develop closer relationships with Western nations via this expensive purchase while also obtaining another powerful warplane. This is the third such purchase of modern warplanes since 2015, when Qatar ordered 24 Rafale fighters from France for $7.6 billion. In 2016 Qatar ordered 36 American F-15QA fighter-bombers for $12 billion with the option to buy another 36 for $9 billion. The cost of the Typhoons was not mentioned but will probably be about $8 billion. All these aircraft are excellent, but each in a different way

The Rafale design is a further evolution of the Mirage 2000 (from the same manufacturer) and has the Delta Wing configuration common with the Mirage designs but with canards (a small forewing is placed ahead of the main wing) added. Rafale has a maximum speed of 2,450 kilometers an hour and a range of over 3,700 kilometers. It is equipped with a 30mm cannon and can carry nearly ten tons of weapons. Qatar already has a dozen Mirage 2000 fighters and has been expanding its pilot training program since 2012.

The F-15QA is believed to be similar to the 153 F-15SA fighter-bombers Saudi Arabia has been using. The F-15SA is a special models of the F-15, similar to the two-seater F-15E, and unlike the single seat F-15Cs the Saudis already had optimized for ground attack. Israel protested selling the Saudis such advanced bomber technology, but the U.S. worked this out via secret discussions. The Saudi "F-15SA" is similar to the South Korean version of the F-15E, the F-15K. This is a customized version of the 36 ton U.S. F-15E (a two seat fighter bomber version of the single seat, 31 ton F-15C fighter). Already in service for over twenty years, the F-15E can carry up to 11 tons of bombs and missiles, along with a targeting pod and an internal 20mm cannon. The Saudis began receiving the new F-15SAs in 2016.

The F-15E is an all-weather aircraft that can fly one-way up to 3,900 kilometers. It uses in-flight refueling to hit targets anywhere on the planet. For the Saudis this means they can keep these bombers in the air longer, searching for targets. Smart bombs make the F-15E particularly efficient. The second crewman (the backseater) handles the electronics and bombing. The F-15E remains a potent air-superiority fighter, making it an exceptional combat aircraft. This success prompted Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore to buy it, paying about $100 million per aircraft. In the U.S. Air Force the F-15E is one of the most popular aircraft for combat pilots to fly, even more so than the new F-22.

Then there is the Typhoon. Developed and built by a consortium of the largest European defense firms Typhoon was a replacement for the Cold War era Tornado fighter (a contemporary of the Su-27, F-15 and F-16). Development began in the 1980s and first flight was in 1994, after the Cold War unexpectedly ended. This reduced the urgency to get Typhoon into service, which didnt happen until 2003. The Typhoon turned out to be a pretty good warplane. This was discovered early on. By 2008 there were 135 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters in service, and they aircraft have been in the air for a combined 35,000 hours (as of the end of 2007.) Half those hours were flown in 2007, as the Eurofighter entered regular service in several nations. About 20 percent of those flight hours were for flight testing, but the rest were for day-to-day operations. The future looked bright. But since then, competition from American and Russian fighters for export sales and the lack of European enthusiasm for more purchases has dimmed sales prospects. Typhoon got into combat in 2011 over Libya and performed well, but the demand from export customers (and local ones) was just not there. So the sale to Qatar was important to the Europeans. Typhoon has since been modified to operate as a fighter-bomber and can carry up to seven tons of weapons. Normally it carries a combination of smart bombs, missiles and additional fuel tanks and can stay in the air for two to four hours per sorties depending on the mission. A new AESA radar has been developed for Eurofighter and the Kuwaiti ones will get this as well as a maneuverability upgrade.
The government declared, quietly but in several ways, that its effort to revive the military has reached the point where military spending can be reduced and more spent on reviving the economy. The government points out that because of additional military spending since 2011 the NATO threat has been blocked and that, not another Cold War, was the real objective of all the military spending and accusations that NATO was scheming to surround and destroy Russia.

Back in 2011 there was a major shakeup in the government as the plan to give military spending priority was implemented. Many senior officials, including the Minister of Finance disagreed with this and pointed out that this was what the communists constantly did during their 70 year rule and was the main reason Russia fell further behind the rest of Europe (and the world) in economic development. Most of those dissenting officials were removed from their jobs but, in an often unnoted move, not persecuted or punished and some were encouraged to continue advising the government but doing it quietly. Then came the unexpected collapse of oil prices in 2013 and economic sanctions because of the aggression against Ukraine. The government was forced to cut back on the military revival. Not just because there was less money but because the sanctions made existing economic problems (corruption and revival of the police state) worse. That triggered a massive flight of skilled Russians and non-Russians (who had come to participate in the economic revival that was not working as expected) as well as Russian and foreign cash that was seeking investment opportunities elsewhere. That crippled many defense related industries which now could not obtain qualified technical or management personnel. It was also more difficult to get cash to expand or upgrade manufacturing facilities. All this led to a growing number of missed deadlines and embarrassing public failures of new warships, combat aircraft and armored vehicles. In the end this forced the government to make the quiet declaration of military victory and returning to economic revival.

Despite all the positive spin the Russian economy is still in decline. Business bankruptcies continue to rise, new business creation declines while cash and key people continue to flee. The government says it is ready to deal with even lower (about $40) oil prices but what people see around them says otherwise. Unemployment rates rise and living standards continue to slide. The population continues to shrink, not just because of more migration but because of fewer births. Government controlled media propaganda to the contrary, the people are not feeling optimistic about Russia. Anyone who could do the math would agree. The situation would get visibly worse in the 2020s. Russia needs a plan to deal with that and none appears to be in the works.

The reality is that the NATO threat was a myth but the growing economic problems are not. This is made clear via opinion polls and international economic surveys. The corruption rankings put Russia among the most corrupt nations and those are the ones that have the worst economic and military performance. The most recent corruption surveys show Russia as more corrupt than China and Russia has the same corruption rankings as Ukraine and most of the other nations that used to be part of the Soviet Union. Do you see a pattern here? A growing number of Russians (and others who used to be ruled by Russians) certainly do. East European nations have much less corruption and much better economies. Russians easily see this in neighbors like Poland, Finland and the Baltic States.

A more recent international survey, of Global Competitiveness, ranked 137 countries on how well the local conditions (low corruption, economic freedom and opportunity and robust economy) facilitated the ability of that nation to compete in global markets. The top five were Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Germany. Russia was 38, Iran 69, Pakistan 115 and so on to the bottom five (Mauritania, Liberia, Chad, Mozambique and Yemen). Despite all that Russian political opportunists have found it easier (or more expedient) to exploit the ancient Russian fondness for considering themselves the cure for major threats to the neighborhood. Russia had dealt with Mongols, Napoleon, Nazis and is still trying to do something with NATO.

Syria

The government made it clear that Russian forces in Syria will not be reduced anytime soon because with the rebels defeated Russia has two military bases in Syria to develop and agreements to continue training and rebuilding the Syrian military. Opinion polls in Russia show 54 percent of Russians approve of the Russian efforts in Syria, but 34 percent oppose the Syrian operation and that percentage is increasing. While the government has kept Russian casualties down it has not demonstrated how the expensive operations in Syria are helping the average Russian.

In the past week senior Russian military officials visited Israel and met with their counterparts. Russian migrants comprise one of the largest national groups in Israel and this was highlighted when a Russian general, in uniform, publically honored over a dozen Israelis from Russia who had served in the Red Army during World War II. Such service is a big deal in Russia where the World War II victory over Germany, and the huge losses (about 18 percent of the Soviet population died during the war) are regarded as a historic achievement. Russia and Israel have often worked together, even during the communist period (that ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union did). Russia tries to maintain its alliance with Turkey and Iran while also remaining on good terms with Israel and the Arab oil states in the region. During this visit Israel repeated that it could not and would not allow Iran to establish itself militarily in Syria. The visiting Russians were non-committal as usual but the fact is that Russia and Israel have a longer and better relationship than the one Russia has with its new allies (and traditional enemies) Iran and Turkey. Israel continues to fire on Syrian and Iranian forces that act aggressively towards Israeli forces. There were several incidents of that so far this month and Russia does not denounce Israel. But Russia does not openly back Israeli proposals of how to deal with Iranian forces in Syria.

Over the last few months Russia, Iran, Turkey and the Assads have turned the de-escalation (and ceasefire) zones into slaughterhouses by resuming attacks on pro-rebel civilians and any rebels they can find. That played a role in the collapse of any coordinated rebel resistance to Assad efforts to regain control over the entire country. The most effective weapon used against the rebels is airpower, which is mainly supplied by the Americans and Russia.

The U.S. and Russia have a hot-line they have been using, during October, some 20 times a day to coordinate their air and ground operations so they do not fire on each other. Russia has similar arrangements with Turkey (that is not needed much) and Israel (more often than Turkey) to avoid unwanted clashes. Most of the airstrikes in Syria are by the American led coalition. This is followed by Russian and Assad aircraft (who work closely together) and finally the Israelis and Turks.

ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is rapidly losing it personnel and territory because of constant attacks by just about everyone (Turks, Kurds, Assad and his Iranian and Russian allies as well as the Americans and sundry other minor players). As ISIL is being put down everyone is thinking about the next phase of the civil war. The winners want to get rewarded for their service. The Syrian Kurds want autonomy in the northeast (mainly Hasakah province) and protection from Turkish efforts to keep the Syrian Kurds away from the Turkish border. Thats going to be a problem. There are more problems in the north, such as the FSA (Free Syrian Army). This group was a major player early on because it was largely secular and popular with Western nations. But most Syrian rebels preferred more radical groups like al Qaeda and eventually ISIL. FSA continued to exist and eventually found a patron in Turkey, which apparently plans to turn over control of the Syrian side of the border to FSA, if the Assads and Syrian Kurds can be taken care of.

Then there is the Iranian situation. Iran wants to turn Syrian into a protectorate where Iran will establish military bases and organize a Shia militia similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon. No one besides Iran is particularly fond of this plan, even current Iranian allies Turkey and Russia. The Iraq government, despite, being controlled by Iraqi Shia Arabs, does not want to submit to any form of Iranian control and Israel has made it clear it will fight rather than allow Iran to set up shop in Syria.

Iran and Russia have both signed deals with the Assads to establish military (mainly naval) bases in Syria. Iran and Russia are doing this for different reasons. Russia has always wanted a secure Mediterranean naval base. Iran wants bases in Syria because Iran has openly called for the destruction of Israel since the 1980s and is now seeking leadership of the Islamic world and control of Mecca and Medina.

It is possible for Russia and Israel to continue working together, as they have done since Israel was created in the late 1940s. Even during the communist period (especially from 1948 to 1991) Russia often worked closely with Israel while also courting Arab states that wanted Israel to disappear. Russia continues this policy of maintaining multiple alliance with Turkey and Iran while also remaining on good terms with Israel and the Arab oil states in the region. Give the Russians credit, they are getting away with it. But it is becoming increasingly difficult.

Israel remains openly hostile to a permanent Iranian presence in Syria. Turkey quietly agrees and Russia is seeking opportunities for itself but seems to dislike the Iranian long range plan. Israel is quite blunt about describing Iran as replacing ISIL as the new threat to just about everyone. Russia sometimes supports that openly and Israel keeps trying to improve relations with the unstable Turkish Islamic government. Meanwhile Iran keeps moving in.

Russia has long had problems with Israel over where Iranian forces can go in Syria. Russia is enforcing the no-fly aspect of the de-escalation and ceasefire zones that are being set up in parts of Syria that rebels have lost control of. This includes parts of the Israeli border (the Golan Heights) and Hezbollah leaders cant help themselves and boast to the media that Hezbollah has thousands of troops on the Golan Heights border and more are moving in daily. This issue becomes a news item every few weeks because thats how often Russian and Israeli officials meet to discuss mutual concerns about what is going on in Syria and to ensure that Russian and Israeli forces avoid firing on each other. Israeli air attacks still take place in these ceasefire zones but less frequently than outside these zones. The main problem is that Israel detects Hezbollah and Iranian forces using the ceasefire zones, has compiled evidence and is pressuring Russia to stop supporting these ceasefire zones. Israel has said it will attack any Iranian forces (especially Hezbollah) that get within 40-80 kilometers of the Israeli border. Currently Russia says it will only agree to five kilometers and implies that Russian warplanes and air defense systems will side with Iran if there is a problem. That has not been the case so far as long as Israel restricts its airstrikes to some limited list of items Israel and Russia have informally agreed on. This is not working for Israel because five kilometers is close enough for Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militias to fire mortar shells and portable rockets into Israel.

Russia and the Syrian government realize that Iran intends to control a post-war Syria and attempt to turn it into a Shia majority nation (via forced conversions and expulsions of stubborn Sunnis). That would make the Assads totally dependent on and subservient to Iran, something that most Assad supporters are not in favor of. But defying Iran does not appear to be a practical option because the most effective troops the Assads have are the 20,000 or so Iranian supplied Shia mercenaries. Israel is also aware, as are Russians, Turks, the Assads and nearly all Syrians, that Iranian efforts to take control of Syria are unwelcome. Since Iran is currently run by a religious dictatorship any opposition in Syria must be overcome because Iran is on a Mission From God and not to be interfered with. The Iranians, as far as everyone but Iran is concerned, are simply replacing one brand of Islamic fanaticism with another as the ISIL presence is extinguished in Syria.

Ukraine

The latest ceasefire agreement went into effect in late August and so far local and foreign ceasefire monitors have counted about a thousand violations where rebel or Russian forces fired on Ukrainian troops. Thats about 15-20 incidents a day so far. All that firing (or machine-guns, mortars, rocket launchers and artillery) has caused about fifty casualties so far, including at least seven dead. Russia is stalemated in Ukraine but is apparently going to become more active once the Islamic terrorist threat in Syria is completely crushed.

Venezuela

Negotiations for Venezuela to buy Russian submarines have resumed as of early October when the Venezuelan president visited Russia to make deals. Few details were released, except for the revival of the 2005 effort to buy four subs. Those negotiations fell apart but have been revived to use a billion dollar loan from Russia to buy two Kilo class subs. That was not the main item on the agenda; keeping a Russia-friendly government alive in Venezuela was. President Maduro, seeking to become president-for-life of Venezuela relies a lot on trading access to his mismanaged oil wealth with China and Russia in return for whatever it takes to keep Maduro in power. Russia and China have already loaned Venezuela over $50 billion and have obtained claims on Venezuelan oil as collateral. But that is useless if Maduro is overthrown so Russia, which long subsidized nearby Cuba, has a unique opportunity in oil-rich Venezuela. Cuba had few natural resources but Venezuela is another matter.

China and Russia hold most of the $70 billion in foreign debt Venezuela has. Russia has about 30 percent of that and continues to make loans while China is standing aside and allowing Russia to supervise the rescue effort. Iran and Cuba also provide special skills and are also negotiating their fee. Thats how a dictatorship works. You steal what you can and pay what you must to keep it. Since 2013 Venezuelan GDP has dropped 35 percent and per-capita GDP is down 40 percent. Things will get worse before they get better even with a police state. Thats because the new government must put priority on keeping the government employees, especially the ones with guns, satisfied and content to follow orders. You dont need a Cuban advisor to point that out but the Cubans provide practical advice on how to get it done as quickly as possible. Russia and China are willing to provide the needed equipment on credit.

October 13, 2017: The Americans announced that it will not continue to support the 2015 treaty that lifted sanctions on Iran because Iran is not keeping its end of the deal. The U.S. has some political support in the other countries (China, France, Germany, Russia and Britain) that signed the deal but China and Russia still back the treaty and all five of those countries have already sold Iran billions of dollars worth of goods and services and are reluctant to give that up just because Iran is cheating a bit. Russia was particularly critical of the United States for not being a team player and trying to wreck an international agreement.

October 12, 2017: In the Philippines government officials revealed that Russia had sent military aid that included 5,000 AK-47 type assault rifles and 20 military trucks.

October 11, 2017: Russian and Iranian companies agreed to develop software to connect Iranian and Russian credit card and electronic banking systems. China is also working on developing an alternative to the Western financial system that has been dominant for several centuries.

October 10, 2017: Russian foreign aid declined in 2016 (from $1.16 billion to $1.o2 billion). These are the only two years since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 that foreign aid exceeded a billion dollars. During the 1990s most foreign aid consisted of forgiving Cold War era debts, which, usually, were unpayable anyway. As of 2016 the amount of old debts to forgive has declined to the point where there is little left. Since 2014 (sanctions and low oil prices) Russia has had to cut government spending more and more each year and nothing, not even defense or foreign aid, is spared.

October 9, 2017: Russias only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetzov, is having its much-needed refurbishment curtailed, again. Kuznetzov was due for nearly $900 million in upgrades and repairs. That budget has now been cut in half. This is bad news. In 2016 when Kuznetzov last visited the Mediterranean foreign military pilots flying close by could not help but notice that there was a lot of rust on the deck of the carrier and the vessel looked unwell. This was not a good sign. The only other ship of the Kuznetzov class was purchased by the Chinese in 1998 and completely refurbished by 2012 to become the Chinese Liaoning. It is now in service and looks a lot better than the Kuznetzov, which has had some updates since the 1990s but a lot of this work is suspect. Back in 2012 a military procurement official was prosecuted for substituting cheaper, substandard parts for new ones meant for the Kuznetzov. The corrupt official used forged documents to get away with this but members of the crew noticed the substandard parts and reported it. The Kuznetsov has been sent back to the shipyard several times since 2005 to fix problems and update equipment. Much was wrong with the ship, due to poor design, sloppy workmanship, or corruption. Its gotten so bad that lackadaisical sailors are threatened with being sent to serve on the Kuznetsov as a way of motivating them. These cruises south were mainly for publicity purposes and without an extensive refurbishment Kuznetsov cannot go to sea regularly. The reduced budget for Kuznetsov will concentrate on keeping the carrier operational but not much more. Currently the ship has serious problems with its engines and many other mechanical and electrical systems. These must be fixed for the ship to remain mobile and habitable. This is important not for military purposes but because Kuznetsov is the flagship of the fleet and a symbol of Russian naval power. So enough must be done to at least keep up appearances.

October 8, 2017: Russia enacted a new law that allows foreigners serving with the Russian military (active duty or as military contractors) to serve overseas. It is believed that this has already been happening and the new law simply confirms that. Not that many foreigners serve in the Russian military, despite hopes that more would join. To get in the foreigner must be a legal migrant, speak adequate Russian and pass a background check.

October 7, 2017: Ukrainian officials believe a Russian military contractor (called Wagner) has, on orders from Russia, restored discipline in rebels controlled areas of Donbas by kidnapping or assassinating rebel leaders who were not following orders from Russia. The Wagner firm is a major Russian military contractor with thousands of personnel in Ukraine and Syria. What little is known about Wagner is collected from Internet posts (usually in social media) about the death of Wagner employees in Ukraine or Syria. There is so much data like that freely available that it is possible to get a good idea about the size and activities of Warner and other military contractors Russia uses.

October 6, 2017: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province) an American airstrike hit a convoy of Syrian government forces (and Iran backed Shia mercenaries) who had moved too close to the U.S. controlled Tanf border crossing (into Iraq). This airstrike killed seven and wounded sixteen and occurred two days after these forces came closer than 55 kilometers to Tanf. The Americans had an arrangement with Russia that if anyone came closer than 55 kilometers the U.S. would first call the Russians (on a special hotline) to warn them that the Americans would attack the intruders. Apparently the Russians could not get the Iran-backed forces to retreat and the U.S. struck. Airstrikes like this have occurred since late May despite repeated warning to the Russians to persuade their allies (the Assads and Iran) to remove forces from the area. The first airstrike (May 20) was carried out because a convoy had entered a de-confliction zone the U.S. and Russia had agreed would be controlled by U.S. backed rebels who operate out of training bases in Jordan and the Tanf base near the Iraq border. The Iranian mercenaries (Hezbollah and Shia from other nations) militia did not try to advance again for a while. In response to the American air strike the Russians accused the U.S. of allowing ISIL and other Islamic terrorists to take shelter in the Tanf no-go zone and from there make attacks outside that zone. No evidence of this has been presented but the Russians have to say something that wont offend their Iranian ally.

October 5, 2017: Saudi Arabian and Russian officials met and discussed Saudi interest in buying Russian military equipment. The discussions resulted in the Saudis offering to spend $2 billion to obtain four batteries of S-400 air defense systems. Turkey recently agreed to a similar purchase. The Saudis already have an updated American Patriot air defense system which has been very effective dealing with dozens of ballistic missiles Yemeni rebels have fired at Saudi Arabia. The main purpose of buying S-400s was to gain support from Russia and counter the recent Iranian acquisition of older S-300 systems. The Saudis have already made several large arms purchases from Russia, including setting up factories in Saudi Arabia to produce Russian weapons under license.

October 4, 2017: Two Russian subs off the Syrian coast fired ten Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in eastern Syria. This is a frequent occurrence and the best kind of advertising for Russian arms exports.

October 3, 2017: In northwest Syria (Idlib province, west of Aleppo and bordering Turkey) a Russian airstrike badly wounded Abu Mohammad al Jolani, a senior leader of a rebel faction allied with al Qaeda. Jolani was meeting with his subordinates and the air strike killed or injured twelve of them as well as about fifty bodyguards. Jolani apparently had an arm blown off and was in critical condition. Jolani was one of the founders and senior leaders of al Nusra. This group evolved into a larger coalition (Tahir al Sham) which is now leading the rebel effort to hold onto some of Idlib province while trying to keep the rebels from fighting each other. With Jolani out of action (temporarily or permanently) the rebel resistance becomes much weaker. Already some rebel groups have accused Tahir al Sham of making a deal to give most of Idlib province to Turkey and the Assads in return for certain favors. Such deals are being offered by the government and some rebel factions have been willing to talk.

Elsewhere in central Syria ISIL claims it executed one of the two Russian soldiers it captured in September. The problem is that Russians say the two men are not exactly soldiers. One of them has been identified as Grigory Tsurkanov. He is an active member of a very pro-Russian government Cossack military veterans group. Apparently the two captives belong to one of the several military contractor firms Russia employs to provide experienced military personnel in Syria to supplement active duty Russian troops. It is an open secret that the 38 Russian military personnel killed in Syria since 2015 does not include contractor personnel and if contractor casualties were counted the number of Russian dead in Syria would be 50-100.

October 1, 2017: North Korea established a second link to the worldwide Internet via Russia. This high speed fiber optic line reaches the North Korean border as part of the Russian railroad (which is how Russia has long strung long distance telephone and telegraph access). This gives North Korea two high speed Internet connections with the outside world, the other one is via China. Russia is believed to be more involved with North Korean Cyber War operations than anyone will admit and this new Internet connection is part of that.

September 29, 2017: Satellite photos confirm that Russia has brought in a second S-400 air defense battery to guard bases in Syria. These SAM (surface to air missile) units are guarding Russian bases near the coast but because of the coastal mountains the radars cannot detect low flying aircraft or UAVs (like American cruise missiles) on the other side of the mountains. There appear to have been some other shortcomings with the Russian air defense systems deployed to Syria, especially the S-400. As a result some of the S-400 equipment is actually S-300 systems modified to deal with low altitude targets. Several A-50 AWACS have been based in Syria for over a year, but Russia has only 17 of these aircraft and they are prone to maintenance and reliability problems. The A-50s can deal with low-flying anything, at least when the A-50 sensors are working. Syria has allowed the U.S. and Israel an opportunity to examine advanced Russia systems in action, noting what works, what doesnt and often why.

September 28, 2017: Israel and Russia increased trade by 25 percent in the first six months of 2017. That is an increase of nearly $400 million and is a big deal with Russia because trade with most other Western nations is way down because of sanctions related to the Russian 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

September 27, 2017: Turkey finally signed an agreement on September 12th to purchase the Russian S-400 SAM (Surface to Air Missile) system and paid an initial deposit on the $2.5 billion deal. The contract provides Turkey with four S-400 battalions and technology transfer. Thus two battalions will be built in Russia and the other two in Turkey. This is not the first time a NATO country has bought Russian air defense systems. Greece bought two batteries of the S-300PMU1 (each battery with a radar and command center plus four launcher vehicles, each carrying four missiles) in the late 1990s and stationed them on Crete, where they remain in use. NATO and Israeli tech experts got an opportunity to examine the equipment and was apparently not impressed. More worrisome is that Turkey is on its way towards leaving NATO. Thats because the current Turkish government is pro-Islam, not pro-secular as all Turkish governments had been from the 1920s until 2000. For nearly a century democratic Turkey was a bastion of stability in the Middle East. That ended with the election of an Islamic government and the subsequent efforts by that government to make their rule permanent and decidedly undemocratic. That in itself is a problem for NATO, Israel and the Middle East in general.

September 25, 2017: In Iraq the autonomous Kurds who control much of northern Iraq went ahead and held the referendum on Kurdish independence. Over 90 percent of Kurds backed independence. Russian ally Turkey threatened to shut down the oil pipeline the Iraqi Kurds use to export oil in their territory. In addition Turkey would close the roads between Turkey and Iraq. Russia has invested $4 billion in Iraqi Kurdish territory and would lose most of that if the Iraqi Kurds find themselves cut off by Turkey and at war with the rest of Iraq. Encouraged by all of this Iraq sent troops to take back control of Kirkuk and in the last few days appear to have done just that.

September 24, 2017: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province) Russian airstrikes have hit U.S. backed SDF forces again. American troops often accompany SDF troops (as advisors and to call in air strikes) and because of that the U.S. has advised the Russians to leave SDF forces alone.

September 23, 2017: Valery Asapov, a Russian general, was killed while advising Assad forces in eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province). Before coming to Syria Asapov had commanded Russian troops on the Ukraine border (and apparently inside eastern Ukraine as well). It was later revealed the Asapov was chief of staff for all Russian forces in Syria and also deeply involved with rebuilding and running the Syrian military. Within a week Asapov was buried with full military honors in Russia.

September 19, 2017: Chinese and Russian warships began joint training exercises near the Russian Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok. Chinese warships have been up here before (in 2013) but this time the Chinese warships moved through the Sea of Okhotsk for the first time. This is near the Kuril Islands, which Japan and Russia have a long-standing dispute over.

September 18, 2017: Russia has been accused of deliberately launching airstrikes on civilian targets in Syria. This comes after several hospitals in rebel held areas were hit. Russia contends that the rebels often base fighters, headquarters and military supplies in hospitals.
The La Crescent Police Department has written numerous citations against Canadian Pacific Railway for blocking public crossings for longer than 10 minutes, according to the citys Police Chief Doug Stavenau, but he doesnt think the fines have an impact on the huge railroad company.

Minnesota statute limits the amount of time a train can block a public crossing to 10 minutes, Stavenau said, but Canadian Pacific trains regularly stop at crossings in La Crescent for longer than that, causing problems for businesses and residents.

The railway in La Crescent is owned by Canadian Pacific and is part of the heavily traveled route that runs through St. Paul and Winona, before it separates from that route just north of town, and heads south towards Dubuque, Davenport and Kansas City. La Crescent has both public and private crossings along the tracks.

One of the public intersections is located by Truss Specialists and Classic Rock Products, and the other connects to the bike path behind the former Commodore Club and current Flea Market. Delays are frequent at both public crossings, the police chief said. Canadian Pacific has never contested any of the citations against it from the La Crescent police department, he added.

If they were to stop south of town a mile or two farther, instead of right where the switch is, that would alleviate all the blocked crossings, said Stavenau. Even for the private ones.

A dispatch center in Minneapolis is responsible for controlling the trains passing the rails in La Crescent, Stavenau said, rather than the engineer or conductor aboard the train.

Its not just trains blocking crossings that bothers some residents of La Crescent. Loud train whistles that go off night and day as trains pass through the city also are an issue. Conductors are required to employ three whistles each time they pass a private intersection, said Stavenau.

Our residents now have some viable complaints, said Stavenau. At two-three oclock in the morning, they are getting disturbed.

The city considered consolidating railroad crossings in La Crescent to create a whistle-free zone, but Stavenau said because of the private crossings to the south, it was determined that a whistle-free zone would not be enough to silence the area.

Stavenau said the city is now hoping the Federal Railroad Administration will work with them to format a consolidation plan for the crossings to create a quiet-zone that would actually work.

Frank Tetzlaff has resided in the Hills Mobile Park on Sycamore street for the last five years, which is less than 50 yards away from the railway. Tetzlaff said he thinks the train whistles have gotten more disturbing over the past two years, and that hes been interrupted from his sleep numerous times from the whistles. But even Tetzlaff is skeptical much can be done.

Fighting the railroad is like fighting the federal government, said Tetzlaff. Wont get anywhere.

Meanwhile, Stavenau said hes working to establish better communications with Canadian Pacific to see if a resolution can be found to problems between the city and railroad company.

Thats the frustrating part, because in my eyes, the solutions are easy, said Stavenau. Its just figuring out how we get in real communication with each other.

Canadian Pacific spokesman Andy Cummings said the company has been in touch with the city of La Crescent.

We will engage directly with them and seek solutions to the issue, Cummings added.

The problem of the trains blocking railroad crossings for lengthy periods of time and issues around the noise from train whistles are expected to be discussed at the next meeting of La Crescent Common Council, which is Oct. 23.
New York City is the latest state to allow companies to test their self-driving vehicle technologies on its streets. Surprisingly, the first company to take advantage of the newfound freedom is not Tesla, Waymo or even Uber. Rather, it's automotive giant General Motors and Cruise Automation, the company's self-driving car tech department.

It's worth noting that New York City's self-driving car testing program is a bit different than what we've seen from other states in the past. Rather than opening the metaphorical floodgates to every self-driving vehicle tech company out there, the city is tightening up its rules - and not everybody is on board just yet.

In addition to the city requiring a round-the-clock police escort for each self-driving vehicle (which the company must reimburse the city for), all test participants are required to cover each of their vehicles with a $5 million insurance policy. A company like General Motors likely has enough resources to make these requirements a non-issue.

Despite these tight restrictions, New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo seems optimistic about the future of autonomous vehicles. In a statement, he claims that "Autonomous vehicles have the potential to save time and save lives," and expressed his interest in working with GM and Cruise Automation on this technology moving forward.

These rules may seem overbearing to some but with the crowded, fast-paced nature of life in New York City and its large number of pedestrians, it makes sense to put safety first. Still, with how tight these rules are, it's unsurprising that the likes of Tesla and Uber are taking a back seat for the time being - but that likely won't last long. The sheer amount of data said companies could obtain from NYC's busy streets could significantly outweigh any potential costs.
Between the release of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the launch of Mixed Reality headsets and the unveiling of the Surface Book 2, Tuesday was a busy day for Microsoft.

Adding to the docket, October 17 also brought news that Microsoft is resurrecting its beloved IntelliMouse.

Microsoft's IntelliMouse is well-known among longtime computer users as it helped popularize several innovations in pointing technology over the past several decades - many of which came before the rise in popularity of enthusiast-class gaming mice. Its iconic look is simple yet familiar.

Unfortunately, Microsoft discontinued the fan-favorite roughly half a decade ago.

The new pointer, called the Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse, recently surfaced on Microsoft's website and is said to be inspired by the IntelliMouse 3.0. The description further notes that it has "exceptional" tracking, a DPI range of up to 3,200 and the firm scroll wheel that fans loved about the original.

The listing doesn't specify a launch date or price point.

Found is a TechSpot feature where we share clever, funny or otherwise interesting stuff from around the web.
The Supreme Court this week announced that it will hear a landmark Internet privacy case dealing with the ability for law enforcement and government officials to access data stored in other countries. The case is called US v. Microsoft and the two have been fighting since 2013.

Four years ago, federal investigators believed they located the e-mail account of a drug trafficker. They obtained a warrant to get data from the Microsoft Outlook account which was registered in Ireland. Microsoft partially complied by handing over information that was stored on its US servers but refused to retrieve any data from Ireland. The case was escalated to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York; they sided with Microsoft.

If the Supreme Court was to side against Microsoft, their legal team described the outcome as a "rule for global chaos." It would mean that US officials could access any data they wanted around the world as long as they had a warrant. The legal team went further, stating, "we would go crazy if China did that to us."

The Stored Communications Act was cited in the 2nd Circuit Court's decision. They asserted that data stored in the US could be accessed through the proper legal channels but this does not extend past the border.

The DoJ, on the other hand, is arguing that regulations such as these hamper the government's ability to obtain electronic evidence and fight crime.

Rather than going to the Supreme Court, Microsoft Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith has campaigned for new privacy legislation from Congress. He argues that current laws are outdated and were designed for floppy disks, not modern cloud computing.
Five days after the company placed him on a leave of absence amid allegations he sexually harassed a female producer, head of Amazon Studios Roy Price resigned yesterday. The studio's chief operating officer, Albert Cheng, will take over Price's role on an interim basis.

Amazon suspended Price after Man in the High Castle producer Isa Hackett gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter in which she talked about the "shocking and surreal" experience he put her through.

Hackett, who is the daughter of late legendary science fiction author and Man in the High Castle writer Philip K. Dick, said Price repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her following the San Diego Comic-Con in 2015.

Hackett had previously declined to give specifics about the incident as she didn't want "to distract or deflate the energies of all the people who are so invested in these shows," but felt compelled to speak out following the Harvey Weinstein revelations.

Amazon hired a private investigator to look into the incident after it was brought to the company's attention, but Hackett said she was never informed of the inquiry's outcome.

On the same day that the Hollywood Reporter article was published, actress Rose McGowan tweeted that Price didn't listen to her claims that Weinstein raped her. Price brought him onboard for a producer role on one of her shows, and Amazon Studios won what McGowan called "a dirty Oscar."

1) @jeffbezos I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn't been proven. I said I was the proof. --- rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017

4) @jeffbezos I am calling on you to stop funding rapists, alleged pedos and sexual harassers. I love @amazon but there is rot in Hollywood --- rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017

Amazon said it was reviewing its options for the projects it had with The Weinstein Co. On Friday, it cut ties with the production company.

Harvey Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. He is currently being treated in an Arizona rehab facility for sex addiction.

Yesterday, Amanda Segel, an executive producer for the now-canceled Mist TV series, claimed that Harvey's brother Bob Weinstein made unwanted advances toward her when she worked at the Weinstein company last year.
On Nov. 14, 2018, the Indigenous leader was killed by a Carabinero while he was trying to protect a teenager on a tractor. | Read More
As you probably have heard, RSV is hitting early and hitting hard this year. Here at Winona Health, my fellow caregivers in Pediatrics and Family Medicine and I are fielding many questions from concerned parents and child care providers. We are always happy to be your resource!
The City of Black River Falls has CDBG funds available to assist low to moderate income people with housing rehabilitation. These funds are distributed as interest-free deferred loans and there are no monthly payments. The homeowner pays the loan back when the property is sold or no longer their primary residence.

The Community Development Block Grant funds can be used for housing rehabilitation, including but not limited to: re-siding, fixing or replacing a roof, replacing inefficient windows and doors, correcting plumbing and electrical issues.

Funds can also be used to correct any lead hazards in the house. In some cases, funds may be used to make homes or apartments more accessible for disabled individuals.

Income-eligible persons may apply for a loan to help pay eligible closing costs and provide up to 50 percent of the required down payment. Assistance is not to exceed 10 percent of the purchase price of the home.

Landlords who rent to limited monthly income tenants can also receive assistance through the citys CDBG Housing program.

The CDBG funds will be offered to landlords as a zero percent interest installment loan. Monthly payments are made to the City of Black River Falls housing program and the repaid funds will be used to finance other housing rehabilitation projects within the City of Black River Falls.

Eligibility requirements state that all occupants of housing units to be rehabilitated under this program must meet the county median income limits as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for Jackson County.

The City of Black River Falls housing coordinator will provide housing rehabilitation applications to eligible persons.

To receive an application or for more information, please contact Janet Zimmer at 715-235-9081 or-1-800-472-7372 or in person at the City of Black River Falls Office at 101 S. 2nd Street in Black River Falls.

The City of Black River Falls wants to help those in unsafe or unhealthy conditions first; therefore, loans will be prioritized by need.
2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Plug and Play - Review By Larry Nutson

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Plug and Play

By Larry Nutson

Senior Editor and Bureau Chief

Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

Will 2017 be the dawning of the age of automotive electrification?

I, along with many others, thought 2010 was going to be. But, it didnt turn out that way. Why? The growth in EV and plug-in hybrid charging station infrastructure didnt happen the way it was expected.

However, that didnt stop major automakers from continuing to develop EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids. In the global business world of today, other nations are driving these developments. The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in major urban areas is in the forefront. And as the worlds population continues to re-urbanize this will become even more important.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the company credited with inventing the minivan segment more than 30 years ago, has been very busy. With the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica they reinvented the minivan segment with an unprecedented level of functionality, versatility, technology and bold styling.

Taking the minivan a step further, the Pacifica Hybrid provides a class-exclusive, innovative hybrid powertrain. Its the first electrified vehicle in the minivan segment and achieves 84 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) in electric-only mode and 33 miles of all-electric range.

The 33-mile electric-only range is plenty for most drivers daily commutes. And for that family vacation, the Pacifica Hybrid has plenty of room for families, young or older, and all the their toys and gear.

The Pacifica Hybrid has a 566-mile total gas and electric range. For me this was important since my wife and I would be taking a weekend road trip to visit family.

No range anxiety is a key strength of a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Or better put, the huge driving range is a really big plus. We would have no refueling stops along the way.

The Pacifica Hybrid uses Chryslers 3.6-L Pentastar V6 that has been modified and features an Atkinson cycle combustion system. This is paired with a dual-motor eFlite electrically variable transmission. There are two electric motors driving the vehicles wheels through a planetary gear set and a one-way clutch.

The 16-kWh battery pack is stored under the second-row floor and can be recharged through a front fender port. The regenerative braking system provides additional driving range by recharging the battery. Complete recharging can be with the included 120V Level-1 charger taking fourteen hours or with a dealer available 240V Level-2 charger taking two hours.

The way Chrysler engineered the Pacifica Hybrid is that it runs off the battery just like a pure EV until the battery charge is depleted. Then the gas engine starts up and drives the vehicle. When my Pacifica Hybrid media-loaner arrived the battery was down from it being driven to me. But, no worries.

We set off on our road trip heading east from Chicago along the interstate to southeast Michigan. I had some past experience driving the Pacifica Hybrid on its launch program but this would be my first extended drive. What I soon realized was that even though the battery was too low to drive the vehicle, whenever I lifted off the throttle and decelerated the engine shut off and we went into electric driving mode.

For our 246 miles of driving, we had 224 miles on the gasoline engine and 22 miles on pure electric.right around 10%. Overall fuel economy was 30 mpg.

After a weekend of driving here and there and then back home again, we totaled 668 miles, with 576 gasoline-miles and 92 electric-milesabout 14% electric and averaging 28 mpg.

Upon return home I used a conveniently located Level 2 charger thats about a mile away to charge the battery fully. I drove around for the next few days ending up traveling 37 miles in pure electric for an effective 63 mpg fuel economy.

Looking at these driving experiences begs the comparison to the non-hybrid gasoline engine Pacifica that has EPA test-cycle fuel economy ratings of 18 city mpg, 28 highway mpg for a combined rating of 22 mpg. As is with hybrids, the best reductions in fuel consumption take place in urban-use, city-type driving,

The bottom line is that you can drive the Pacifica Hybrid every day on pure battery power and never use a drop of gasoline. With charging at home and at your workplace you could cover a bit better than 60 miles without using any gasoline.

For 2017, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is offered in Premium and Platinum models, starting at $41,995. With the available $7,500 federal tax credit, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid pricing theoretically starts as low as $34,495, not including any additional state or local incentives, making it lower priced than a comparable gasoline-engine Pacifica.

For 2018 all Pacifica trim levels have upgraded multimedia systems and a standard blind spot warning system with cross-traffic detection. The 2018 Pacifica Hybrid lineup consists of three models--Touring Plus, Touring L and Limited, which now aligns more directly with the entire Pacifica lineup.

Note that on the Pacifica Hybrid the battery is placed below the floor, in the center of the vehicle where the center stown go seats normally would fold. Therefore, the Pacifica Hybrid is available with quad-seating, with two foldable center-row seats that are removable. Total seating capacity is for seven (2/2/3).

More info and specs on the entire Pacifica line-up can be found at www.chrysler.com. No matter which model might best suit your driving needs I strongly recommend you purchase all the driver-assistance safety features that are offered. The cost of this safety equipment will be recovered if it saves you from just one car crash.

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica has received many awards including being named the 2017 Family Vehicle of the Year by the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA).

MORE INFO

 2017 Larry Nutson, the Chicago Car Guy
13-Year-Old Girl Secretly Gives Birth and Leaves It on Teachers Porch: Report

A 13-year-old Baker, Lousiana, girl secretly gave birth to a child and left it on the porch of her teachers home, it was reported.

[The child] was fully healthy, Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said, WBRZ reported. When the child was found, the umbilical cord was still attached.

Police said the teen girl didnt know that she was pregnant until she gave birth Sunday morning. The girl then tried the clean up the scene and dropped the child off at her teachers house.

The girl, who wasnt identified, birthed it herself.

She didnt have a clue about what to do with the child, so she thought about the school teacher, Dunn said.

Her parents had no idea that she was pregnant either, police said.

The unnamed teacher heard a knock on her door and when she opened it, she saw just the child.

When she opened her door, the baby was on the step, Dunn said.

Officials are still investigating the incident.

Were looking at a frightened 13-year-old, and she really didnt know what to do, Dunn explained, The Advocate reported. She chose (what) she thought would be safe for the baby.

The child weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces and is now in the Department of Children and Families custody.

Were going to let them decide whats best for the baby from here, he said.

Louisianas Safe Haven Law says that if one cant care for your baby or if its well-being may be in danger, one can bring the child to a designated facility within the first 60 days of the childs life.

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When the family of a North Carolina boy who died of cancer last year visited the childs grave site, they found only a plywood slab and mud.

The grave marker of Jake Leatherman, 5, who passed away after succumbing to leukemia, was repossessed, WCNC-TV reported. It now sits at the Southeastern Monument Company warehouse.

Hindsight says that was the wrong thing to have done, said Reverend J.C. Shoaf, the owner of the monument company.

Shoaf said that he and the family have been embroiled in a financial battle for months.

Amanda Foster WBTV spoke with both the parents of the 5-year-old and the company who made the marker. Hear from both of them, on WBTV News at 11pm. Posted by WBTV News on Monday, October 16, 2017

According to the Charlotte Observer, citing Shoafs company, the boys marker has since been restored at no expense to the family.

But Shoaf said that the family first ordered a smaller marker, but the next day, they wanted an upgrade. According to WCNC, which saw the invoice, the family still owes Shoaf more than $900 for the upgrade.

The balance was never paid, he said, adding that hes sent several messages, made phone calls, and sent mail to them.

Youve got to pay your bills, and a company cant keep on giving away markers, giving away markers, and pay your bills and stay in business, he said.

Shoaf added that he wished he never took the marker away now because the story has since sparked national headlines.

Its been torment, Shoaf told the broadcaster. Weve been threatened on the telephone, harassing phone calls.

I lost a child too, I know what it is to lose a child, he added.

Want to see entire story on 5yo Jake Leatherman's funeral and @NASCAR's heart? #MollysKids WATCH here: https://t.co/rO8seBi93P Thx to all. pic.twitter.com/vawBJmzbJH  Molly Grantham WBTV (@MollyGrantham) November 10, 2016

Last year, Jake made national headlines when NASCAR driversincluding Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, and Ryan Elliswent to his funeral. The boy reportedly was a fan of the sport.

He repossessed it, like it was a car, his mom Crystal Leatherman said Monday, Oct. 16 of the missing grave marker. This is my lowest point.

Disbelief? Anger? I dont know how to put this into words, Wayne Leatherman added. I had a hard time going to the grave anyway, but now theres a hole there. Its just wrong.

Regarding the grave marker upgrade, Wayne Leatherman added that his family was never told about any additional costs by the firm.

Shoaf issued a statement to WBTV about restoring the marker.

We waive all expenses from the Leatherman family, he told WBTV. If there are charges to be paid to the cemetery to have this reinstalled, we will pay all expenses for doing that.  In hindsight, it was a big mistake to have the cemetery remove it, we see it now, but we do offer the family our condolence and forgiveness  we hope they forgive us. It has hurt everybody involved, and we hope they have it in their heart to forgive us for it. Our prayers are with the family, and we hope we can be friends down the road.
Amid Strained Ties, North Korea Congratulates China on Party Congress

North Korea congratulated China on its 19th Communist Party Congress on Wednesday (October 18) amid increasingly frayed relations between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyangs nuclear weapons programme.

The central committee of the Norths ruling Workers Party of Korea said that China had made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told journalists at a daily news briefing in Beijing that many foreign political parties, organisations and dignitaries had sent their congratulations, including the Workers Party of Korea.

Officials and experts in South Korea had worried that Pyongyang may conduct a weapons test to coincide with the opening of the twice-a-decade congress in Beijing. However, there was no sign of that as Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his opening speech this Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

On April 5, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile just a day before the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A woman walks past a television screen showing file footage of a North Korean missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul on April 5, 2017. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

China, Pyongyangs sole major ally and which accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade with the isolated country, has said it will strictly enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions banning imports of coal, textiles and seafood, while cutting off oil shipments to the North.

Chinas Commerce Ministry also said that, following the latest U.N. sanctions passed on Sept. 12, North Korean firms in China and joint ventures in China and overseas would be shut down by January.

Reuters
The need for mental health help in schools has become an increasing priority in school districts throughout the country.

In smaller areas like Jackson County though it can be a struggle getting those students the help that they need, so the Black River Falls School District is taking steps to combat that.

The district recently entered in an agreement with Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan to help allow the professionals to come directly to the school and offer help.

Previously students and families would have to travel to these services on their own time and as superintendent Shelly Severson noted, that can be taxing on parents.

Particularly if the family is low income, parents can only take off so many days before theyre in jeopardy of losing their jobs, Severson said. Add on to that some of these offices our families could be traveling to say La Crosse, so its saving them the cost of travel and time.

In the case of Lutheran Social Services, their closest office is in Eau Claire and allowing the professionals to come to BRF directly helps out greatly.

Lutheran Social Services works with around 30 schools in both western Wisconsin and upper Michigan currently to provide the service.

This isnt the first time the district has partnered with services before as they work with Stein Counseling to provide similar services.

The school district certainly knows how important it is to provide these services whenever possible.

One of the biggest problems that mental health help was facing other than travel was the long waiting lists some students would be put on before they could even get help.

If a family decides that this is an avenue they want to go down, they are sometimes truly put on a waiting list for six months before they can get an appointment, Severson said.

Once the initial appointment is made, more regular meetings can be scheduled, but that long wait is still a large hurdle for some.

The new agreement with Lutheran Social Services would eliminate a lot of those problems as once the parents and school come to an agreement for treatment, Lutheran Social Services then comes to the school.

Schools provide a more structured and safer environment for the kids who have experienced trauma, Lutheran Social Services program supervisor Tami Christianson said.

Christianson said that sometimes a home can be too chaotic for someone whos experienced trauma, so being able to come into the schools helps a lot.

The program has seen a lot of success and positive responses from schools and families.

The schools really appreciate having another resource, Christianson said.

While the school has worked with counseling before, Lutheran Social Services had asked for a more formalized arrangement, but its not funded by the district or advertised for.

The state right now requires us to have these [memorandum of understanding] in place Lutheran Social Services program manager Amy Larsen said.

The funding comes entirely from the county or comprehensive services.

We are basically saying if theyre already servicing one of our kids, then come here and do it, were fine with it Severson said.

The whole idea behind these agreements and partnerships is removing the barriers that might be around getting mental health.

Its become more prevalent in schools as districts and administrators become more aware of the issue and start working towards solutions.

Its a crisis that we have to start working together to meet the needs, Severson said.

A couple of students have already worked with other providers that are working with the school, so these programs are seeing success already.

The elementary school is currently part of a statewide mental health grant for professional development of teachers.

Teachers arent being trained to diagnose mental health problems, but instead to recognize students who appear to have had a traumatic experience or may be living in trauma.

They are not mental health counselors, but they are learning tools to help with students that are struggling, Severson said.

Severson said that if students came to them mind, body and spirit whole, the education would be easy, but its never that simple and theres always basic needs that need to be met.
Arkansas Babysitter Accused in Babys Death

A babysitter in Arkansas was charged in the death of an infant who was in her care, local reports say.

Melissa Garcia-Rivera, 21, was taken to the Benton County jail last week and has remained there, said the Rogers Police Department.

Garcia-Rivera couldnt get the baby girl she had been caring for to sleep, KWNA-TV reported. The baby was reportedly being fussy.

The babysitter then allegedly placed a pillow on top of the child, who was 8 months old. The baby then tried to push herself up.

The woman then threw another pillow and a fleece blanket on the infant. According to local police, that was a total of eight pounds.

A short while later, she found the child to be unresponsive, according to what she told police over the phone last Thursday, Oct. 12, reported Arkansas Online.

Last Tuesday, Oct. 10, the unnamed infant was taken to Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas by her fiance, Marco Antonio Garcia. The girl was pronounced dead there.

Hospital workers found the child soaked in sweat with a temperature of 100.5 degrees.

Arkansas Online later reported that Garcia-Rivera said she had placed two pillows on top to get the child to sleep.

She reportedly told officials that she did not understand why [the child] did not kick the pillows and blanket off, Arkansas Online reported. She placed the blanked over the babys head, just trying to keep it dark so [the infant] would go to sleep.

An autopsy was inconclusive regarding the infants cause of death. No trauma or signs of disease or defect were discovered.

Garcia-Rivera was arrested on Oct. 12, and faces manslaughter charges.

Garcia-Rivera is slated to appear in Benton County Circuit Court on Nov. 20.
Boyfriend of Woman Who Said Shes Expecting Quintuplets Speaks out After There Was No Baby at All

'Doctors told me it was a phantom pregnancy'

A man who thought his girlfriend was pregnant and he was going to be a first-time father was stunned when they got to the hospital.

According to the Toronto Sun, Paul Servat, 35, and Barbara Bienvenue, 37, went to the hospital in Montreal.

She let me choose the names, Servat told the QMI Agency, a news company, as he stood among donated gifts. I lost everything, it was my whole life.

Bienvenue surprised Servat with the news that she was expecting months before the due date. Later, she said that she was going to have twins, then triplets, then quadruplets. After that, she said shes expecting five babies.

We were so happy, Servat said. Even my parents, they were so looking forward to having grandchildren.

Servat took Bienvenue to the hospital and staff told him there was no record of her pregnancy before a nurse took him aside and showed him the blood test results.

She told me she was not pregnant, he said, referring to what the nurse told him.

The doctors told me it was a phantom pregnancy, said Servat.

He said that Bienvenue was so convinced she was pregnant that her belly got bigger and even had morning sickness.

The two met online last summer, and they amassed a significant amount of pregnancy-related gifts.

Ill return all these things to people who sent them or give them (away), Servat said.

Im a good person and I have nothing to do with these lies.

According to QMI Agency, Bienvenues family and close friends werent surprised with the strange incident.

Bienvenue had faked leukemia and other illnesses in the past.

She cut ties with us in recent months, said the relative. She didnt want us to know about her game.

A phantom pregnancy, or false pregnancy, is the belief that you are expecting a baby when you are not really carrying a child, WebMD says.

People with pseudocyesis have many, if not all, symptoms of pregnancy  with the exception of an actual fetus. Some men experience a related phenomenon known as couvade, or sympathetic pregnancy. They will develop many of the same symptoms as their pregnant partners, including weight gain, nausea, and backache, it says, while adding that pseudocyesis.

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Florida Sheriff Cracks Down on Prostitution, Nets 277 Arrests, 5 Possible Human Trafficking Victims

The largest operation ever conducted of the Polk County Sheriffs Office led to 277 arrests. Most were prostitutes and men soliciting prostitutes.

But the operation, dubbed No Tricks, No Treats, also netted five possible victims of human trafficking.

The operation started Tuesday, Oct. 10, and concluded Sunday, Oct. 15.

Undercover detectives responded to online advertisements of prostitution and also posed online as prostitutes.

Of the 209 arrested men who solicited prostitutes, the youngest was 16 and the oldest 64. Three of them were doctorsone of them a pediatricianone was a Marine Corps colonel, and one was a police sergeant from the sheriffs own office. A veteran of 17 years, the officer only solicited a prostitute over the phone and didnt go to the appointment.

He got putting one and one together or maybe he recognized the undercover females voice because the undercover female recognized his voice, said Sheriff Grad Judd during a Tuesday press conference. Our supervision went to the house and arrested him. He apologized for putting us in that position and immediately resigned from the sheriffs office.

About quarter of the men were married. One had only been married four days.

Of the 51 arrested for prostitution, 13 were males. The youngest was a man who turned 18 less than three months ago.

The possible victims of human trafficking were four women and one man aged 21-36. They were referred to a non-profit helping to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking.

If we had put all the resources in this operation and I could have only told you that we identified five potential victims of human trafficking, it would have been a grand slam, Judd said.

The other 17 arrests were based on pimping, drug possession, and other charges.

Two men were arrested for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a minor. The detectives posed as 14-year-olds online and the men were arrested after traveling to meet who they thought were children.

Judd said such sting operations are primarily to improve the quality of life in the community.

The 277 arrested had a combined prior history of 897 charges (371 felonies, 526 misdemeanors). These folks arent little angels, Judd said.

Engaging in sex trafficking thus means associating with such people.

It is a dangerous proposition when you go to a motel room or walk up to a house or pick somebody up on a street corner, Judd said. You dont know, first off, what kind of dangerous person youre getting in a car with. What kind of mentally ill person you getting in a car with. You certainly dont know what their medical condition is.

Judd said hundreds of people refused to solicit prostitution from the undercover detectives once they learned theyd had to go to Polk County, which he said was a sign his sting operations are indeed pushing sex trafficking out, even though not everybody is getting the message.

Is it working? Yes. But obviously, some people live under a rock, he said.
Body camera footage captured the shootout between police and Brian Disario on Oct. 12. (Courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office)

Footage Captures Gun Fight With Man Who Murdered Over Imaginary Girlfriend

Florida police have now released a dramatic 911 phone call and officer body camera footage that captures some of the last minutes of Brian Disarios life.

Disario shot family friend David James Armstrong while the two men were at Disarios mothers home in Port Richey on Oct 12.

Disarios mother, whose name has not yet been released, called 911 after her son shot Armstrong twice. As she speaks with the operator, she narrates the rest of her sons shooting rampage.

Police released the video footage and audio recording of the call on Monday, Oct. 16.

Fox News has reported that Disario shot Armstrong because he believed Armstrong was hitting on his imaginary girlfriend.

Hes shooting one of my friends here, hurry, Disarios mother told the 911 operator, making repeated requests for officers to be sent quickly.

The 911 operator assured the mother police were on their way and asked for a description of her son.

Hes white, hes 300 pounds, hes big, and hes having a schizophrenic episode, she said.

What kind of gun is it? asked the operator.

I dont know, its a big [expletive] machine gun. Just do what you gotta do, get somebody here.

Hes got two guns, she later clarified, telling the operator that the victim, Armstrong, was in the garage bleeding.

Hurry, she pleaded.

Theyre coming as fast as they can I promise, said the operator. Are you safe?

I am in the garage, he is inside the house, said Disarios mother.

If you do need to talk to him speak softly and calmly, do not upset him, advised the operator. I have a lot of officers coming.

Thats when Disario started shooting in the house.

Dear God, get them here quickly before he kills the rest of us, said Disarios mother.

Then someone, presumably the mothers boyfriend, the only other person in the house, can be heard shouting in the background.

I know, you [expletive]. What the [expletive] are you doing man, he yelled.

Come on, put it away man, he aint gonna do nothing no more. Dont [expletive] shoot him again, shouted the boyfriend as the operator advised again not to shout at Disario.

Then more gun gunshots ring out.

Oh my God, the mother said.

Hes shooting him  Im running from the house, said Disarios mother.

Oh my God, hes outside the house with a gun. Hes coming outside.

Hes walking down the street with a gun, toward the school.

Oh my God, its an automatic rifle. Oh my God.

Thats when officers arrived on the scene.

Body camera footage from two of the responding officers captures officers arriving on the scene, preparing their weapons, and walking toward the house.

As they approach from the side of the house, Disario came out.

Hands bro! Put your [expletive] hands up, shouts an officer, his own rifle raised and pointed at Disario.

But Disario raises his rifle instead and starts firing at police.

Hes shooting at somebody on the street, the mother said from a hiding place behind the neighbors house.

Somebodys shooting at him, said a man, presumably her boyfriend.

After the brief standoff with officers, police said Disario returned inside his mothers house and shot himself.

Police said Disario had a Core 15 CXV AR-15 rifle and a .22 caliber rifle with no markings on it to identify the make or model.

The officers involved in the shooting are being hailed as heroes.

We are not currently aware of how he obtained the firearms but we are working closely with ATF to see if there is anymore information we may obtain, reads a statement from police.

Two of the deputies involved in the standoff are now on administrative leave, standard protocol in officer shootings.

The case remains under investigation.




Financier and philanthropist George Soros attends the official opening of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) at the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin on June 8, 2017. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

George Soros Pours $18 Billion Into His Foundation

Left-wing billionaire George Soros has transferred nearly $18 billion of his fortune to his Open Society Foundations over the last several years, making it one of the worlds largest organizations for political activism and philanthropy.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the transferred money accounts for the majority of his fortune. The Journal notes that Open Society has now joined the top ranks of philanthropic organizations, appearing to become the second largest in the United States by assets, after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Soros has a personal net worth of $23 billion, as of Wednesday, Oct. 18, according to Forbes.

Soros gained his wealth as an investor and hedge fund manager and has since become a leading backer of liberal causes and political candidates, including Hillary Clinton.

The move could be part of a plan to make sure Soross political activism continues after he passes away.

Open Societys 2017 budget is $940.7 million, covering all major continents and 10 broad programmatic themes, according to their website.

The foundation has been the subject of controversy for its work in the United States for supporting controversial causes such as Planned Parenthood and Black Lives Matter.

Soros gave at least $33 million in one year to support groups that emboldened the on-the-ground activists in Ferguson, according to 2015 tax filings of his nonprofit foundation.

Back in 2014, the foundation also contributed $1.4 million to help pass Californias Proposition 47, a bill that reduced charges of drug possession and minor theft to misdemeanors.

Soros has also donated to groups fighting the implementation of U.S. voter ID laws, which Democrats say discourage minorities from voting, and Republicans say can protect against voter fraud.

In the United States, he has helped organize opposition to President Donald Trump. Recently, it was found that he donated to anti-Trump resistance organization The Center for Community Change Action, according to tax forms obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Soros has been a key financier behind many revolutions around the world and has also played a significant role in the crashing currencies of countries, including most famously in 1992 when he famously broke the bank of England.

Soros is described as a financial terrorist in a Chinese military document, Unrestricted Warfare, which was penned in 1999 by two then-colonels and has become a foundational document of the Chinese regimes asymmetrical hybrid warfare programs.

From NTD.tv
ICYMI: Anonymous Woman Picks Up $400 Dinner Tab for Firefighters Battling Fire

A woman at a Dennys restaurant decided to pick up the $400 tab for a group of firefighters who came in to have dinner, after battling a blaze.

That blaze was the La Cadena Fire in La Loma Hills, according to the Colton Fire Departments Facebook page, and was successfully put out.

Around 25 firefighters were eating at the local restaurant when the women, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the staff she would pay for the firefighters meals.

It was a way for the anonymous woman to show her appreciation and gratitude for the firefighters who risked their lives on duty serving the community. Not just in Colton, California, but all across America.

Not only did the women the over $400 meal tab, including tip, she also paid an additional $100 so that every member could enjoy dessert.

We thank you for your generous show of support, reads the Facebook post from the Colton Fire Department, on behalf of all the firefighters who were fighting the La Cadena fire and other fires in the area.

We are all honored to serve the citizens of our communities, the post reads further.

Colton Fire Department spokesman Capt. Tom DeBellis said these acts of kindness from the local community were not unheard of, but always greatly appreciated, according to The Press-Enterprise.

It happens all the time, DeBellis said. More so when were on big fires. People just anonymously donate money to cover the bill. They want to do what they can to help. In a small community like Colton, it happens quite frequently.

Very nice thing to do. Makes the world a better place! read one Facebook comment under the fire departments post.

Another post read The lady will be blessed 10 fold!

Clearly an act of kindness can go a long way to making a persons day, or in this case, successfully making the days of 25 firefighters.

From NTD.TV
Stephen Schuck and security guard Jesus Campos of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, are interviewed by host Ellen DeGeneres during the taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in Burbank, California in this photo released on Oct. 18, 2017. (Michael Rozman/Warner Bros./Handout via REUTERS)

Las Vegas Hotel Guard Says He Heard Drilling, Then Hail of Bullets

A hotel security guard wounded by the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people told a U.S. television talk show on Wednesday that he heard drilling before the shooter began spraying a hallway with hundreds of rapid-fire rounds.

Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos, the first person to confront gunman Stephen Paddock, gave The Ellen DeGeneres Show his first public account of how he responded to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Contradictory statements from police and the hotel about what time Campos arrived at Paddocks room have raised questions about the police response. Campos himself came under increased scrutiny last week after he skipped out on scheduled television interviews.

The guard told DeGeneres he had been called to check on an open stairwell door near Paddocks suite on the 32nd floor. He found it was blocked by a metal bracket, and he called hotel security to send up a building engineer.

At that time I heard what I assumed was drilling sounds and I believed that they were in the area working somehow, said Campos, who was joined for the interview by the engineer, Stephen Schuck.

Campos said he took cover when Paddock began shooting from behind the door.

I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. Thats when I called it in on my radio that shots have been fired, he said.

After he was hit, Campos said, he used his cellphone to call the hotels security desk in order to keep the emergency radio frequencies clear.

When Schuck arrived on the 32nd floor, Campos leaned out and he said, Take cover! Take cover! and yelled at me, Schuck said. Within milliseconds, if he didnt say that, I would have got hit.

Police have said that Paddock, a 64-year-old avid gambler, fatally shot himself before they entered the room. He wounded almost 550 people when he opened fire on an outdoor concert from his window, according to authorities, and strafed the hotel hallway with about 200 bullets.

Las Vegas police on Friday presented a third version of the timeline for the shooting that showed they responded immediately to the gunfire, and that Paddock shot Campos at about the same time he opened fire on concertgoers.

By Ian Simpson
Man Caught With Dozens of Illegal Aliens Stuffed in Semi Truck, 10 Died, He Pleads Guilty

For some, the heat and stuffiness were unbearable. Over 100 bodies thronged the trailer, traveling further inland after illegally crossing the United States border. Some had trouble breathing and passed out. They started taking turns breathing through a hole in the wall, banged on the wall to get the drivers attention. No answer.

They were all willing to pay large sums for the ride, but when the rig stopped and the back door opened, some of them laid on the floor dead.

That was July 23. Sunday, shortly after midnight behind the South San Antonio Walmart by Interstate 35.

Somebody called the San Antonio police about a suspicious vehicle. When they arrived, a Walmart employee told them about the trailer and people needing help. The officers found the trailer open, with 39 people standing and lying inside.

Eight were dead, two more died later in a hospital.

In the cab sat James Matthew Bradley Jr. At first, the 61-year-old said he had no idea there were people in the trailer. He was just as surprised as anyone when he opened the door and had Spanish people pouring out.

But on Oct. 16 he admitted to a different story, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and one count of transporting aliens resulting in death.

Based on court documents, it happened like this:

Multiple groups of illegal aliens crossed the border, at least some on rafts over Rio Grande, and gathered in Laredo. One man paid over $650 for the crossing. Thats what the Los Zetas cartel charged, he was told. Another paid over $2,600 for the Mexican part of the trip. Additional $5,500 was supposed to be paid at the final destination, said one of the survivors, who headed to San Antonio.

One group of 24 waited 11 days in a stash house in Laredo before boarding the trailer, while another was trucked to the trailer immediately after an overnight hike from the border.

On July 22, at around 9 p.m., the trailer door opened. There were 98-200 people inside, based on different accounts. The driver gave each group a different colored tape to mark themselves for smugglers waiting at the destination. He told them not to worry and that the trailer had refrigeration. He then closed the door again.

It was pitch black inside the trailer. And hot. The passengers had already waited for hours inside with no food or water. Finally, it started to move. Next stop: San Antonio, a 2-hour ride, perhaps two and a half.

The first hour was OK, one survivor told investigators. But the refrigeration was a lie. At least it didnt work. It was 100 degrees inside. There were supposed to be four ventilation holes in the walls. But it seemed only one was open. As some started to pass out, people took turns breathing through the hole.

Around midnight the rig stopped. The people inside were so weak they fell on each other as the driver hit the breaks. The doors opened and the people poured out. Six black SUVs waited to pick them up. They were full in minutes and immediately took off.

When the police arrived, Bradley was detained and the survivors hospitalized. Four of them, unaccompanied minors aged 14-17, were handed to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Of the rest, one remains in a hospital, seven have been deported, and nine are in custody of immigration authorities. Some have been released, according to Adelina Pruneda, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

Bradley faces up to life in prison. He forfeited to the government his rig, $5,600 in cash, and a .38 caliber pistol recovered from the cab.

Pedro Silva Segura, 47, of Laredo was also arrested in connection with the incident. An illegal alien himself, he faces multiple charges including one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented aliens for financial gain resulting in death.

This case is a glaring reminder that alien smugglers are driven by greed and have little regard for the health and well-being of their human cargo, which can prove to be a deadly combination, said Shane Folden, special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, according to a Justice Department press release.
Manhunt Ongoing for Suspect in Maryland Mass Shooting

Maryland police have released more information about a shooting at a business park that left three dead and two injured.

The suspect, 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince, committed a targeted attack at a business located at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, Maryland, located north of Baltimore, according to the Harford County Sheriffs Office. Gunshots were reported at around 8:58 a.m. local time, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told Fox News.

We have lost three lives so far this morning in Harford County, Gahler said, adding that it wasnt a random shooting.

All five of the victims are reportedly employees at Advance Granite Solutions, according to Gahler. Officials said he was associated with the business.

Prince has yet to be captured, and hes considered armed and dangerous.

Theres an individual out there on the loose who committed one of the most heinous acts weve ever seen in our county, certainly we consider him armed and dangerous, Gahler told reporters.

We do not believe that anybody else was involved in this incident, he said, NBC reported.

The owner of Advanced Granite Solutions said Prince had been an employee there for four months, The Associated Press reported.

Radee Labeeb Prince may be seen in a 2008 Black GMC Acadia SUV

with Del Registration PC064273. Use extreme caution if you see him. pic.twitter.com/eVYQ9tSS7D  MD State Police (@MDSP) October 18, 2017

Prince might be driving a 2008 Black GMC Acadia SUV with a Delaware Registration of PC064273.

A massive manhunt is underway.

State helicopters are in the air and State Troopers are on the ground from multiple barracks, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wrote in a statement on Facebook. I ask all citizens  especially those in this area  to please remain vigilant, and if you think you may have any information about this terrible crime, please call 911 immediately.

Shock Trauma, a hospital in Baltimore, said two victims are critical.

Update on patients from #EdgewoodShooting: Confirming the two patients being treated at Shock Trauma are both in critical condition  Shock Trauma (@shocktrauma) October 18, 2017

A park and much of the surrounding area around the business park were on lockdown amid the search for Prince. Some schools were also closed.

The names of the victims have not yet been released.
Massachusetts Elementary School Cancels Halloween Parade Saying Its Not Inclusive

An elementary school in Massachusetts is canceling its Halloween festivities this year because they are not inclusive enough.

Boyden Elementary School in Walpole, Massachusetts told parents on Tuesday, Oct. 17, it was canceling its usual costumed Halloween parade this year because it is out of our ordinary routine and can be difficult for many students, CBS Boston reports.

Also, the parade is not inclusive of all the students and it is our goal each and every day to ensure all students individual differences are respected.

This year Halloween falls on a Tuesday.

On the Friday before, the school will host an after-school Monster Mash/Pasta Bash featuring The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, a not so scary Haunted Hallway, dancing and games.

Costumes are optional but strongly encouraged, the events flyer says.

On the actual holiday, the school will host a black and orange spirit day event.

As with all our spirit days, students can choose to participate or not, the school said in a release, according to WCVB.

This isnt the first school in Massachusetts to cancel its Halloween activities citing inclusion.

Last month, Mitchell Elementary School in Needham, about 10 miles south of Boyden Elementary, canceled theirs saying the holiday is not inclusive and can be awkward for some children.

From NTD.tv
Holiday lights and summer flower baskets may be sparse in some communities next year as Xcel Energy will be enforcing its rule to keep distribution poles free of decorations Jan. 1.

The National Electric Safety Board has a lot of clearance requirements. We also have to have people that are certified and trained to be working near power lines. With those rules in place, our standard is to have nothing attached to electric poles, said Christie Black, Xcel Energy outdoor lighting project coordinator.

Four villages in Jackson County will be affected including Melrose, Alma Center, Hixton and Taylor. This decision means that no hanging baskets, American flags, decorative lights or any other decoration hanging from an Xcel Energy distribution pole will be allowed after Jan. 1.

Any town or city or village that Xcel owns the poles, they are going to be in the same boat as we are, Alma Center Village Board President Kenneth Ristow said. Hopefully they get enough gruff that they will allow it.

Alma Center discussed alternatives, and also realized they were out some money since they recently purchased some lighted decorations for its poles.

Hixton discussed the possibility of using more ground decorations, while Taylor discussed changing service providers.

Black said that changing service providers would be difficult since it was regulated by the Public Service Commission in Wisconsin. Ultimately Xcel Energy is not offering many options for municipalities.

We are just talking with the communities to let them know that they might want to explore some other alternatives. We have heard of some villages that they are looking more at decorating on sidewalks, possibly decorating outdoor business fronts, but nothing can go on our distribution poles, Xcel Energy spokesperson Chris Ouellette said.

Ouellette said this is not a new rule, but that they are going to begin enforcing the rule next year across the eight states they service.

We have noticed over the last several years that some communities have been putting things on the distribution poles without permission or working with the company to do so and there have been some safety issues with the size of decorations and height, Ouellette said.

Xcel Energy has also run into issues with access to distribution poles due to decorations.

They pose problems for our crews if they have to go in and do some repair work on distribution poles. There have been times where crews have not been able to access what they need to because of things in the way, Ouellette said.

Black said there is only one exception to putting decorations on the poles, We do have an application process for a street light pole only, so if there is a pole that serves just a street light we can work with the municipality on allowing attachments with that as long as they contact the outdoor lighting department and we go through our process with an application and agreement and so forth.

Hixton Public Works Superintendent Jim Simonson expects that about 10 poles in Hixton would qualify under this distinction, with few of them available on Main Street. The situation would be similar in all the other municipalities served in Jackson County.

Since the changes wont go into effect until Jan. 1, this will be the last year many municipalities will be able to decorate.

We are trying to get out and work with our communities and let them know. We know that the holiday season is coming up and we know that there are some that like to decorate for the holidays and we will let it go, but Jan. 1 is when we will start to make sure they are all complying with the proper terms, Ouellette said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia on Sept. 7, 2017. (REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin)

Putin Bursts into Laughter over Plans for Pork Exports to Indonesia

Russian President Vladimir was captured on video laughing after a minister proposed exporting pork to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country.

In the Oct. 13 meeting, Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachov made the comment after talking about exporting more pork to Asia.

They (Germany) send half their pork to export. Look at Germanys numbers: five and a half million tonnes of pork produced a year, of that almost three million is exported to all countries, to China, to Indonesia, to Japan, Korea, and so on, said Tkachov, Euronews reported.

Putin then responded: Indonesia is a Muslim country. They do not eat pork there.

Tkachov jokes: They will. Putin says, No, they will not, the Daily Mail reported.

Okay, South Korea, Tkachyov responded, The Telegraph reported. Whats the difference?

Then, Putin covered his face and laughed.

The agriculture minister then clarified to say that he originally meant South Korea, not Indonesia.

Indonesia is the worlds fourth most populous country in the world with about 240 million people. It is the worlds most populous Muslim-majority country with 87 percent.
(L-R) Bob Weinstein, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO, John Antioco, and Harvey Weinstein speak with reporters at a press conference announcing The Weinstein Company's deal with Blockbuster Inc. for exclusive rights to rent theatrical movies and direct-to-video titles at Blockbuster in New York City, New York, on Nov. 15, 2006. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Report: Bob Weinstein Now Accused of Sexual Harassment

Bob Weinstein, the co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, was accused of sexual harassing a producerallegations he has denied.

In a Variety report, The Mist, producer/show runner Amanda Segel said that he made romantic overtures toward her and asked her to have private dinners with him. She says the alleged harassment started in the summer of 2016 and lasted for about three months until her lawyer told The Weinstein Company executives that she would leave the show if Weinstein does not stop.

It comes more than a week after Weinstein Company co-founder Harvey Weinstein was accused by a slew of women of sexual assault, harassment, and misconduct. He was fired from the company he founded and is reportedly being investigated by the FBI.

No should be enough, Segel told Variety of the allegations. After no, anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didnt want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that no is enough from now on.

Bob Weinstein, via attorney Bert Fields, vehemently denied her allegations, Deadline reported.

Varietys story about Bob Weinstein is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching. There is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment, and even if you believed what this person asserts, there is no way it would amount to that, the statement from Fields says.

The Weinstein Company issued a statement Monday.

Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in LA in June 2016. He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made, it said.

According to Variety:

During the dinner, Weinstein asked Segel highly intimate questions and made romantic overtures to her, according to Segel. He wanted to know her age because he told her he didnt want to date anyone younger than his daughter. He told Segel that he was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel because his daughter was staying at his home in Los Angeles. About halfway through the dinner, Weinstein asked Segel if she would drive him back to the hotel so that he could let his driver go for the night. Segel agreed. When she took him to the Sunset Boulevard hotel, he asked her to come up to his room. She declined. After that night, Weinstein began sending emails to Segel with questions that were outside the scope of work on The Mist. He said he wanted them to be friends. She said that was possible but in a non romantic way, and reiterated that she was not open to dating.

Later, she claimed that Weinstein got angry and screamed at her over a production issue in a conference call. Segel then told the other executives that she was harassed by Weinstein for three months before retaining a lawyer.

After The New York Times and The New Yorker published reports in which numerous women accused Harvey, Bob Weinstein criticized his brother in the press, saying that he was unaware of the gravity of the allegations against him.

Bob Weinstein also claimed there was no [expletive] way was I aware that that was the type of predator that he was, Rolling Stone reported.
A rocket is launched as part of the Zapad 2017 military exercises at the Asipovichy military training ground on Sept. 18, 2017, in in Asipovichy, Belarus. (Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

Russia Completes Tests of a New Ballistic Missile

Russia has confirmed that it had finished testing a new silo-based short-range ballistic missile on Oct. 18.

The new missile, the Iskander-M, is a tactical missile carrying a conventional warhead.

The Iskander-M is designed to destroy battlefield targets such as artillery, rocket launchers, command and communications centers, and aircraft and helicopters parked at airfields.

Maj. Gen. Oleg Kislov, head of the Kapustin Yar testing range at Russias Dombarovsky missile base, said the Iskander-M missile hit its target at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, this launch marked the completion of a series of tests of Iskander system at the Kapustin Yar testing range.

The completion of the testing of a new missile for the Iskander system is among the most significant events that happened recently, Kislov told state news agency RIA Novosti.

Activity has increased at the Dumbrowsky base this year. Kislov claimed that more than 160 projects, representing every branch of the Russian armed forces, were being worked on at the base in Russias Orenburg region.

In addition, intense effort is underway to modernize the training grounds testing facilities, new facilities are being built and the old ones are being modernized, Kislov concluded.

Skirting INF Regulations

The Iskander-M, with a claimed range of about 250 miles and a payload of 1,543 pounds, does not violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). However, the missile is nuclear-capable.

The Iskander effectively replaces Russias Oka-class nuclear missile, which was banned by the INF treaty.

An earlier test, reported by the state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, claimed that an Iskander-M launched from a site in Astrakhan traveled 300 miles to a test range in Kazakhstan, confirming that the Iskander missile is accurate out to its maximum potential range of 310 miles.

Stepped-Up Missile Development

Russia has completed more than 50 ballistic missile launches so far in 2017.

Col. Gen. Sergey Karakayev, commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, announced in December that Russia has also been developing new heavy-class thermonuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, called Sarmat.

According to media reports, the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant is ready to start mass production of the new super-heavy thermonuclear armed missiles.

The new nuclear missile is expected to be online in 2019 or 2020.

From NTD.tv
Russia Increasing Pressure on North Korea

A day after enacting new U.N. sanctions, Russia says it won't start new joint projects with North Korea

North Korea is finding itself increasingly isolated as Russia and China have joined the United States in imposing new sanctions on the regime.

Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday enacting new sanctions, which were agreed on by the U.N. Security Council last month.

On Tuesday, Russian media reported that the country wont move ahead with new joint projects between the two countries. However, existing projects in trade and economics will not be frozen, Russian media cited Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka as saying.

Russia also condemned North Koreas latest underground nuclear test and called on its regime to start negotiations with South Korea, something the North has refused so far.

China had already started implementing the U.N. Security Council sanctions last month. The new sanctions prohibit all sales of natural gas to North Korea and limit the amount of oil that can be sold to it. China also took additional steps and ordered Chinese banks to stop providing financing to North Korea and ordered North Korean businesses in China to shut down within 120 days.

The move came after months of pressure by President Donald Trump on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to take action on the rogue regime.

China is North Koreas largest trading partner by far, accounting for an estimated 90 percent of all trade with North Korea. However, North Korea has been looking to Russia as an alternative to China.

According to a high level North Korean economic official who defected in 2014, the North Korean regime started looking to Russia after relations with China started to decline.

Ri Jong Ho, who spoke at the Asia Society in New York on Oct. 16, said relations between North Korea and China had been declining under Chinas new leadership. Ri said that Kim Jong Un convened a meeting with high level North Koreans in 2014, after Xi visited South Korea in an apparent snub to the North, saying all economic and military ties with China should be severed.

Related Coverage US and South Korea Kick Off Military Drills Amid Threats from North Korea

According to Ri, Kim told the high level officials to focus all efforts on creating commerce and trading with Russia. However, this did not work out as planned, and cooperation between Russia and North Korea has been limited.

They wanted to import crude oil from Russia  however, without money, nobody will give you anything, Ri said.

One of the major export products of North Korea to Russia, is its laborers. According to Ri, in 2014 there were around 40,000 to 50,000 North Korean laborers working abroad. This provided the communist regime with a vital access to foreign currency.

The laborers in Russia and China are reportedly working in slave-like conditions, while their wages are used to boost the North Korean regime.

President Trump is currently running a massive pressure campaign on North Korea in an attempt to get the regime to denuclearize. Trumps administration is combining diplomatic, economic, and military options to pressure the regime.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this week that Trump had instructed him to continue diplomatic options, while military options are also being prepared.

However, he said that the diplomatic efforts will continue until the first bomb drops.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) speaks to reporters on following a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. Oct. 17, 2017. (REUTERS/Eric Thayer)

Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on Obamacare, Trump Voices Support

WASHINGTONTwo U.S. senators on Tuesday announced a bipartisan breakthrough to shore up Obamacare for two years by reviving federal subsidies for health insurers that President Donald Trump planned to scrap, and the president voiced support for the deal.

The agreement worked out by Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray would meet some Democratic objectives, including a revival of the subsidies for Obamacare and restoring $106 million in funding for a federal program that helps people enroll in insurance plans.

In exchange, Republicans would get more flexibility for states to offer a wider variety of health insurance plans while maintaining the requirement that sick and healthy people be charged the same rates for coverage.

The Trump administration said last week it would stop paying billions of dollars to insurers, part of the Republican presidents effort to dismantle Obamacare, former Democratic President Barack Obamas signature healthcare law.

Trump hoped to make good on his campaign promise to dismantle Obamacare when he took office in January, with Republicans, who pledged for seven years to scrap the law, controlling Congress. But he has been frustrated with their failure to pass legislation to repeal and replace it and is now backing a plan that could keep Obamacare in place at least until the 2020 presidential campaign starts heating up.

The law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, extended health insurance coverage to 20 million Americans, but Republicans say it is intrusive and ineffective.

This takes care of the next two years. After that, we can have a full-fledged debate on where we go long-term on healthcare, Alexander said.

It is unclear whether the agreement can make it through Congress.

Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said it had broad support among senators in his party, but it was harder to gauge possible support among Republicans.

Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who helped sink earlier Obamacare repeal legislation, voiced backing for the new plan, but conservative Republicans may be less welcoming.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, threw his weight behind the effort. In an interview with Reuters, Sanders said Alexander was a well-respected figure known for bipartisanship and that the Tennessee senators reputation would help propel the legislation through the Senate.

Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the plan to a vote on the Senate floor and urged the House of Representatives to take it up then as quickly as possible so Trump can sign it.

Trump Offers Support

Trump said on Tuesday the 2010 law was a disaster and virtually dead. But he indicated he could get behind the Alexander-Murray plan.

It is a short-term solution so that we dont have this very dangerous little periodincluding dangerous period for insurance companies, by the way, Trump told a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Trump added that once Congress completes work on his proposed tax overhaul, he wants lawmakers to again take up broader legislation that failed in the Senate last month that would divvy up federal healthcare money as block grants to states.

Despite backing the deal, Trump repeated his criticism that the subsidies amounted to a giveaway by the federal government that had enriched insurance companies.

Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Alexander is its chairman.

She said the two were able to find common ground on the steps aimed at stabilizing the insurance markets created under Obamacare.

The subsidies to private insurers cost the government an estimated $7 billion this year and were forecast at $10 billion for 2018. Trumps move to stop them had raised concerns about chaos in insurance markets.

Shares of U.S. hospital operators, including Tenet Healthcare Corp and HCA Healthcare Inc, moved higher after news of the deal. Tenet shares closed 5.3 percent higher, while HCA rose 2.2 percent. Shares of some U.S. health insurers also extended their gains on the day, with Anthem Inc finishing up 1.9 percent and Centene Corp gaining 3.2 percent.

Analyst Brian Tanquilut of global investment banking firm Jefferies, who focuses on hospital companies, said that if the deal is passed in Congress, it should stabilize the Obamacare insurance exchanges and improve their viability.

Hospitals will avoid a potential spike in bad debt and charity care next year, Tanquilut said. This is obviously a good step. Its bipartisan and guaranteed for two years.
Serious Ohio Crash Leaves Ambulance Driver Dead, Others Injured

A severe car crash on Saturday, Oct. 14, left an emergency medical technician dead and another injured.

Their ambulance was hit by another vehicle in Ridgeway, Ohio, The Courier reported. Krista McDonald was driving an ambulance for the Southeast Hardin Ambulance District when a vehicle failed to yield.

Hardin County,Ohio  Local media reporting that an EMT was Killed last night when their Ambulance was struck and overturned. A Second EMT was transported to a Trauma Center via Air medical with Serious injuries. . Our thoughts are with those effected by this terrible accident this morning. A post shared by Kempter's Fire Wire (Official) (@kempterfirewire) on Oct 15, 2017 at 8:02am PDT

The vehicle slammed into the ambulance, ejecting McDonald and EMT Peggy Eastman. McDonald was pronounced dead at the scene, said the local Hardin County Sheriffs Office.

Eastman and a passenger of the other car, driven by Rachael Willeke, were taken to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

No patients were reported in the ambulance.

Several other people were hospitalized in the crash, LimaOhio.com reported.

The Bellefontaine Police Department suffered a tragic loss, Chief Brandon Standley of the Bellefontaine Police Department told the website. Dispatcher McDonald volunteered for years as a paramedic and enjoyed her time helping others. Krista was an extremely talented, hard-working and dedicated public servant who gave her life doing what she loved to do. Krista will be sadly missed by her BPD family. The members of our agency send our condolences to Kristas family and friends through this difficult time.

The ambulance was returning to its base after responding to an accident earlier in the evening, it was reported.

The crash is under investigation by the Hardin County Sheriffs Office, 10TV reported.
A police mug shot of Jeffrey Michels, who turned 65 on Oct. 18, was taken on Oct 12, 2017. (Courtesy Seminole County Sherrif's Office)

Serviceman Missing for 40 Years Found Living in Florida Under Alias

Just over 40 years ago, Jeffrey Michels, 24, disappeared from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. Now, thanks to some help from a Facebook group that tracks down missing servicemen, Michels has been foundthough he may have wished otherwise.

Michels, now 65, was found after Veteran Doe, an online group that tracks down missing veterans using social media, posted a picture of him on its Facebook page on July 9.

It turns out, nothing untoward had happened to Michels, or at least nothing that prevented him from finishing his service commitment.

Instead, he was living a double life in Sanford, Florida, living in a high-end gated community called Terra Bella under an assumed name, reportedly with a wife and children.

Calls to phone numbers for Michels and his wife listed on a police booking form went unanswered. It is not known why he risked criminal prosecution for desertion and left the Army.

Amelia Pearn, a volunteer with Veteran Doe said she was surprised by the outcome of this case but glad that Michels is alive.

From the sounds of it, he may have just been a young man who made a mistake and then, possibly, he just didnt know how to resolve it, she said.

Michels has not made any public statements on his arrest, nor have the police given any explanation. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) directed questions about Michels to its Office of Special Investigations (OSI). The OSI did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.

The Seminole County Sherrifs Office had little it could add.

We served the arrest warrant on Mr. Michels and had him in our jail initially, Public Information Officer Bob Kealing wrote in an emailed response.

But Kealing could not provide further details on the case.

This is a US Air Force case and any particulars of the investigation would have to come through them, he wrote.

In Michelss booking form, police list his occupation as construction and his birthplace as East Liverpool, Ohio. The form states that he was booked for one count of military desertion and has a scar on his left leg, near his ankle.

It says he was booked on Oct 12, and that he is not in custody, listing his assigned cell as OUT.

The Florida business registry shows that Michels registered a company under his assumed name on Sept. 17, 1998.

That company, the Atlantic Development Corporation, was originally located at 335 Spruce Wood Road, Lake Mary, Florida. A google street view of the current home at that address shows a large house in a nice neighborhood.

The companys filings over the years reveal it changed locations multiple times and eventually added a second director, Karla Lantz.

Police list Michels spouse as Carla Lantz on his booking form.

According to WFTV, Michels is now in the custody of the USAF.

It is not clear what the final charges laid against him will be as the statute of limitations for desertion has expired.

The Daily Mail reports he will stand trial in a military court.
Advanced Granite Solutions at 2111 Emmorton Park Road in Maryland (Google St View)

Shooting in Maryland Leaves at Least 3 Dead, 2 Injured

Police say incident appears work-related

A workplace shooting in Edgewood, Maryland, left several people dead and injured, it was reported Wednesday.

The shooting took place Wednesday morning in Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, located northeast of Baltimore, WJLA-TV reported.

Its unclear how many were shot in total.

Officials told WJLA that three people died and two were injured in the 9 a.m. shooting at Advanced Granite Solutions at 2111 Emmorton Park Road, Edgewood.

We can confirm we on the scene of a shooting in the Emmorton Business Park. Multiple injuries reported.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) October 18, 2017

MEDIA ALERT: Media partners, please refrain from airing any tactical positioning. Thank you.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) October 18, 2017

Radee Prince, 37, was identified as the suspect in the case, the Harford County Sheriffs Office said, adding that he was associated with Advanced Granite Solutions, the WJLA report said.

All five of the victims who were shot were associated with the business.

Update on patients from #EdgewoodShooting: Confirming the two patients being treated at Shock Trauma are both in critical condition  Shock Trauma (@shocktrauma) October 18, 2017

Alert: Police Activity in area of Emmorton Business Park. Avoid the area.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) October 18, 2017

Price hasnt been arrested yet, and a manhunt is underway.

Police consider him armed and dangerous.

#BreakingNews Kenley who is in the lockdown sent me this video. Follow @FOXBaltimore Emmorton Business Park Harford County pic.twitter.com/fteLIanUan  Kathleen Cairns (@CairnsKcairns) October 18, 2017

Two patients are being treated by Shock Trauma, a Baltimore trauma hospital. Both are reportedly in critical condition.

Several businesses in the area are locked down. Edgewood schools were placed on a modified lockdown, CBS reported.

A red Dodge Charger with Delaware license plates might be what Price is driving, authorities told CBS News.

Modified lockdowns at specific Edgewood area schools; please visit website for additional information.  HCPS (@HCPSchools) October 18, 2017

ATF authorities are in the area to assist local law enforcement.

Special agents from ATF's Baltimore Field Divison are on scene at Emmorton Business Park shooting scene to assist partners @Harford_Sheriff https://t.co/FNGqScijHF  ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) October 18, 2017

The park is located south of the intersection of Interstate 95 and Route 24.
Sign Posted in Front of Dairy Queen Draws Outrage

A Dairy Queen in a Wisconsin town triggered outrage recently.

The sign reads, This restaurant is politically incorrect before noting that staff members say, Happy Easter, Merry Christmas, and God Bless America, WDJT-TV reported last month.

The franchise owner, Kevin Scheunemann, says that the restaurant salutes the U.S. flag, gives thanks to the troops, and offers free sundaes to veterans on Veterans Day.

I felt the sign was appropriate to hang in terms of being transparent about the views of the owner and staff, he said, adding that those kinds of values and principles are becoming controversial in society.

Scheunemann said that he starting hanging the sign up in front of the restaurant four years ago after a customer complained about the music in the shop. After posting the sign, he said he hasnt experienced other problems.

A person from Oregon posted a photo of the sign, which says In God we trust, at the bottom.

Some people complained and commented to Dairy Queens corporate headquarters, posting comments on its social media pages.

Corporate. Please do not make a statement that goes against Freedom of Speech and Religion. The 1st Amendment is what makes this country great, wrote one Facebook user in support of the sign.

Some locals agree with his decision.

He posted it on the door so you see it before you walk in, said April Serwe, who owns a nearby bar. You dont have to walk in if you dont agree with it. In this small community, I dont think its a problem, added local resident Liz Torrison. Were all just liking each other and having fun.

The company, according to a Dairy Queen spokesperson, does not encourage our independently owned and operated franchisees to post non-business related messages in their locations or on their external reader boards. The sign expresses the views of this independent owner only and does not speak for ADQ [American Dairy Queen] 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, Fox News reported.

Scheunemann said that its been good for his business bottom line.

I got people driving hours to take a picture with (the) sign, Scheunemann told GoMN.
Vanished Las Vegas Guard Reappears for 8 Minute Interview With Comedian

The Mandalay Bay security guard who vanished after canceling five interviews with major television networks last Thursday reappeared in an 8-minute pre-filmed segment with comedian Ellen Degeneres due to air at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, and confirmed that it was his last public appearance.

DeGeneres guided security guard Jesus Campos through the details of the official narrative. He alleged that he was shot through the doors of Stephen Paddocks 32nd-floor hotel suite at Mandalay Bay after responding to a door alarm.

Campos told DeGeneres that when he was sent to check on a door alarm on the 32nd floor, he came up a stairwell from the 31st floor, but the door he was supposed to check would not open so he went back down and ascended via a different staircase.

When he reached the door from the other side, he noticed that it was held shut with brackets and reported what he saw to security, which dispatched an engineer. Campos said that as he was walking away from the door, he heard what sounded like drilling. Officers who stormed the shooters hotel room said that they saw tools and drill bits inside.

Campos continued to say that the drilling noise was later followed by rapid automatic gunfire. He ducked, saw that he was wounded and reported shots fired to security.

Campos noted that he did not report that he was wounded on the radio and used his cellphone instead in order to clear the radio traffic for security to coordinate a response.

Campos also said that as he took cover, he saw a female leaving a room and told her to get back in because it was not safe. Later, a building engineer who was dispatched entered the hallway and walked toward the bracketed door Campos described. As the engineer came near Campos, the guard told him to take cover just before another round of shots was fired.

The studio interview with DeGeneres appears to have been filmed with no audience. DeGeneres made no fanfare ahead of the appearance, despite the fact that major networks were lined up to hear from Campos before he abruptly canceled his interviews last week.

Campos was joined in the interview by hotel building engineer Stephen Schuck, who claims that Campos saved his life by telling him to take cover. Schuck recalled his side of the story, saying that he came to the hallway from an upper floor and didnt know what was happening until he saw Campos.

Schuck told Newsweek on Oct. 12 that he used his radio to inform security about shots fired, but he did not mention this fact in the interview with DeGeneres.

Campos has been at the center of several official narrative changes as police and the FBI continue to attempt and piece together what happened before high-stake gambler Paddock carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern in U.S. history.

Campos was initially hailed a hero for interrupting Paddock several minutes after the shooter began to fire on the crowd across the street. But the authorities changed this narrative several times, raising questions about the efficiency of the response by hotel security and police.

DeGeneres has slot machines branded with her image at MGM Grand, which is owned by the same company as Mandalay Bay. She plugged the machines on her show on Sept. 20 this year, less than two weeks before the Oct. 1 mass shooting in which 58 people were killed and more than 500 injured.

From NTD.tv
For 130 years, Wisconsin provided care for our aging veterans. Our state committed resources to build a beautiful campus on the Chain O Lakes. Known as the Veterans Home at King, the home gives veterans and their families a picturesque retirement.

Recently, stories leaked out from King that all was not well. Delayed maintenance, slipping quality of care and management decisions, in the name of cost cutting, took away amenities central to veterans quality of life. Impersonal vending machines replaced the coffee shop stocked with home-baked goods.

Concerned, Audit Committee members directed the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) to investigate. Recently, the Audit Committee held a public hearing to examine the LABs reports and plan future action.

Among many findings, auditors uncovered serious problems with short staffing and low staff morale. During the study period, auditors found overtime worked by staff was equivalent to hiring more than 70 additional full-time staff. Staff were subject to mandatory overtime rules. High turnover especially hit part-time staff.

Three-fourths of staff, who responded to an LAB survey, reported staff morale was poor or very poor. Almost 40 percent of survey respondents said they planned to look for a job outside of King in the next six months, 70 percent of respondents said they were not paid competitive wages. Half of survey respondents reported they were not happy with the way overtime was assigned. The vast majority (86 percent) responded that they disagree or strongly disagree that King had sufficient staff to handle the workload.

Committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about staffing and insisted funds intended for King were not siphoned off to pay for other budget needs.

I described the lawmakers worry in this way; King receives both state and federal funds. The money comes to the home with the understanding that it is for the care of specific veterans. The operating budget for King had extra money  what auditors called a surplus.

Why wasnt the surplus in the operating budget used to fix problems at King? For example, there are two easy ways to fix overtime and retention problems: hire additional staff and pay them more than theyd get elsewhere.

I asked Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Zimmerman, So, the state is washing money designated for the veterans care at King through their budget and putting it into the Veteran Trust Fund to balance the fund and pay for other programs?

Lawmakers and many veterans groups insist this surplus should go into the direct care of veterans at King, first. The Secretarys response to inquiring committee members was that they approved the transfer of funds from the home when lawmakers approved the state budget.

Budget writing committee co-chair John Nygren (R-Marinette) said nothing could be further from the truth. He reminded the secretary that, just a few weeks ago, the budget committee unanimously approved new oversight measures on veteran home funds. The Governor vetoed this legislative oversight.

This was not the first time the governor took away oversight powers by the legislature.

Auditors reported, in 2013, Governor Walker vetoed lawmakers oversight of the transfer of money from King for other purposes. The Governor then took the largest single sum$12 million  out of Kings budget in 2016. This transfer was so large, it ate into funds needed for regular operations.

I and others thought King should have spent MORE to keep up with the delayed maintenance, staffing and other problems.

The secretary hedged, was evasive or argued with members when asked about the transfers or complying with LABs request for documents. He called the press reports that drove the initial audit unfounded negativity. He argued against keeping licensed nursing home administrators at the home and, at times, discounted morale as a problem.

Audit members are united in their commitment that problems at King be resolved. Our Audit Committee will continue efforts to assure veterans homes are adequately funded and staffed.

The Secretary would be wise to work with the Audit Committee as we act in our role as stewards of the peoples money for the protection of veterans at King and elsewhere.
Vietnam Vet Died at VA Hospital While Nurses Aide Played Computer Games: Report

A nurses aide at a VA hospital in Massachusetts is accused of playing video games instead of checking on a patienta Vietnam veteran. He died last year, the Boston Globe reported.

Bill Nutter, 68, lost his second leg to diabetes and had arrhythmia, which could stop his heart without any warning.

He was staying at the Bedford VA Medical Center, ranked by the Veterans Administration as one of the nations best hospitals.

Nutter was found dead on July 3, 2016, and a doctor at the VA hospital said that a staff member didnt check on him hourly as they were required to do.

Patricia Waible, the nurses aide, admitted to playing video games at work instead of watching the veteran. Cameras at the hospital showed that she didnt get up from her computer, the paper reported.

A nurse's aide plays video games while a Vietnam veteran dies at the Bedford VA Medical Center. https://t.co/B4hacKkNMq pic.twitter.com/dNhqL5ahMk  The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) October 17, 2017

Waible was suspended without pay, according to the newspaper.

Now, the VA inspector is investigating the allegations against the aide, along with assistance from the U.S. Attorney Generals Office and the FBI, reported the Boston Herald.

Reports say that the probationary nurse who found Nutters body made a slit-throat gesture as she told her boss about the incident. That nurse was later fired.

I hold the VA responsible for all of this. Theyre responsible for their employees, the veterans daughter, Bridgette Darton, told the Globe. How many other people did this lady cause issues with?

My dad might not have lived another five months, who knows? But if we could have had another month with him  this lady took that away, Darton added to the paper.

A number of elected Massachusetts officials issued statements on the incident.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) wrote on Twitter: This is a disgrace. Our veterans deserve better. Ill be demanding answers and accountability from @DeptVetAffairs.

This is a disgrace. Our veterans deserve better. Ill be demanding answers and accountability from @DeptVetAffairs. https://t.co/GJkP639N08  Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 17, 2017

Added U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (DMass.) in a statement to the Herald: When families trust the well-being of their loved ones to the VA, they deserve the peace of mind that comes with quality, compassionate care. That any veteran is subject to the treatment described today is unconscionable, and we must use every available resource to not only get to the bottom of what happened at the Bedford VA, but also to make sure it never happens again.

Michael Hartigan, the spokesman for U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (DMass.) , said: A primary concern of hers has been that the Bedford VA has been without a permanent director for so long. She has repeatedly requested that VA and Administration officials update her directly with regard to actions they are taking to address complaints raised not only in these articles, but also by veterans who have reached out to our office directly, the Herald reported.
Washington Boy Who Went Missing, Found Dead in Dumpster

A 6-year-old boy who went missing in Lynwood, Washington, on Monday was found just a day later.

The body of Dayvid Pakko was found in a dumpster on Tuesday morning, Oct. 17, KING-TV, an NBC affiliate reported. A relative of the boy is currently in custody.

Pakko went missing from his apartment complex located in the 15700 block of 44th Avenue West on Monday afternoon.

Shari Ireton, the sheriffs office spokeswoman said that Pakko stayed from school on Monday because he was feeling sick. His mother had left the home and was at work, KING-TV reported.

Deputies found the body before 2 a.m. in a dumpster just around the corner from the front door of his apartment.

The Snohomish County Sheriffs Office said in an Oct. 17 Facebook post that it was waiting for the county medical examiner to provide the cause and manner of death.

Detectives are processing the crime scene and are expected to be working for several hours, the office wrote. Cause and manner of death, as well as identification, are pending from the Snohomish County Medical Examiner.

The department also said, There is evidence that the boy was the victim of homicide and that detectives are processing the crime scene.

Deputies said that a 19-year-old man who is a relative of Pakko is in custody and considered a suspect. A representative said detectives are still investigating and have yet to determine a probable cause before recommending arrest charges.

People on Facebook offered their condolences, as news of the death spread throughout the online community.

Ireton told KING-TV that it wasnt immediately clear if the man in custody was watching Pakko before his Monday disappearance.

According to Ireton, there are no other suspects.

In an earlier Facebook post on Monday from the sheriffs office, they mentioned that he was mildly autistic and was last seen around his home on Monday at 2:30 p.m.

According to KING-TV, over 100 volunteers had searched throughout the night for Pakko.

From NTD.tv
President Donald Trump at a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, in the Rose Garden of the White House on Oct. 17, 2017. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

White House Says Order by Hawaii Federal Judge Is Dangerously Flawed

A block placed by a Hawaii federal judge on a presidential proclamation limiting travel from eight countries with security risks, is undercutting the presidents ability to keep the country safe, the White House said in a statement.

Judge Derrick Watson blocked the revised version of the so-called travel ban just hours before it was set to take effect on Oct. 18.

Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States, the White House said in a statement.

The presidential proclamation which was issued on Sept. 24 places limits on citizens from eight countries traveling to the United States.

Almost all citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen would be banned indefinitely from entering the United States as of Oct. 18. Some Venezuelan citizens will be restricted, and Iraq citizens will not be subject to restrictions, but will face heightened scrutiny.

The new rules do not apply to legal permanent residents of the United States, and visas already issued to citizens from those countries will not be revoked. Once the nonimmigrant visas expire, however, they will be subject to the new restrictions.

The White House said that the decision to restrict travel on the countries came after an extensive review by the Secretary of Homeland Security and other cabinet members.

These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation, the White House statement said.

The White House said the Justice Department will defend the travel restrictions.

Earlier this month the Supreme Court decided not to take action on a different challenge from the state of Hawaii on an earlier version of the travel ban. That ban is set to expire on Oct. 24.

The Supreme Court also dismissed another case originating in Maryland. The Justice Department had requested the case be dismissed because the ban in question had been replaced already by an updated one.

Review Process

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reviewed almost 200 countries between March and July to identify those that needed to provide more information with visa applications to satisfy U.S. authorities that the individual is not a security or public-safety threat.

One criterion was document integrityfor example, whether a country issued passports with an embedded chip or not, or whether the country could provide evidence that their citizens are who they say they are.

Other criteria include whether the country is a known or potential terrorist safe haven; whether it is a participant in the Visa Waiver Program; and whether it regularly fails to receive its nationals who are subject to orders of removal from the United States.

The DHS initially identified 16 countries as being inadequate and 31 additional countries as at risk of becoming inadequate based on those criteria.

The State Department then spent 50 days engaging with those countries to help them meet the criteria and avoid travel restrictions.

Those engagements yielded significant improvements in many countries, the proclamation states. Twenty-nine countries, for example, provided travel document exemplars for use by Department of Homeland Security officials to combat fraud. Eleven countries agreed to share information on known or suspected terrorists.

Charlotte Cuthbertson contributed to this report
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces fire their arms during a battle against ISIS terrorists to retake the central hospital of Raqqa, Syria, on the western frontline of the city on Sept. 28. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

With Loss of Raqqa, the ISIS Caliphate Is Ending

The ISIS terrorist group is losing one of the last strongholds of its proclaimed caliphate, as coalition forces reach the final stages of pushing it out of the city of Raqqa in Syria.

Raqqa was the groups last major stronghold, following its recent loss of Mosul in Iraq. The terrorist group is now being pushed into the Euphrates River Valley, and its self-proclaimed state is ending.

According to Drew Berquist, a former intelligence officer and editor-in-chief of OpsLens, ISIS was well aware that these two capitals would fall and they needed to branch out. The terror group had sent members into Libya, Yemen, other parts of Africa, and Europe.

For ISIS, being pushed out of Raqqa and Mosul means theyre going to have less funds coming in, less command and control infrastructure, said Berquist. He added that it also crushes their will, and this will likely weaken their resolve to fight in the region.

This may not be absolute, however. According to Robert J. Bunker, adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute at U.S. Army War College, The caliphate is literally being torn to shredsbut ISIS will wear it like a martyrs shroud for ongoing propaganda and recruitment purposes.

ISIS will have bragging rights, he said, that it took a coalition of nations and factions backed by the United States and Russia to topple their regime, and theyll likely use this to recruit terrorists.

Bunker noted, as did Berquist, that ISIS had seen their territorial demise coming and have been physically and ideologically planning for it. Bunker said this may mean that the group was moving personnel and financial resources out of the region with this in mind.

Bunker said that ISIS may go underground, taking the form of an insurgency in Syria and Iraq, and try to launch terrorist attacks against the West while looking for regions with weak governments where it can again establish control.

He added, however, that the U.S. military will likely continue to fight ISIS wherever it tries to take power. He said, The U.S. will follow themunless, of course, Russia or some other regional power has allies in the area and they go after ISIS themselves.

Examples of this were already seen on Oct. 16, when the Pentagons DoD News reported that U.S. forces had killed dozens of ISIS members during strikes on ISIS training camps in Yemen, coordinated with the Yemeni government. The report noted that Yemen has been a hub for terrorist recruiting, training, and transit.

Berquist said that as ISIS loses Raqqa, its many fighters may flee or surrender, while some remnant groups will continue to fight in a less organized fashion. He said it will be difficult for ISIS to launch any coordinated attacks unless it can re-establish a base of power.

The largest threat from ISIS, Berquist said, will likely be the members who infiltrated Europe with the migrants. A lot of them are facilitators, recruiters, not the ones pulling it off themselves, he said. Those are the tough ones to take down.

He noted reports that police in the United Kingdom had identified 20,000 people known for their extremist views, but added that that only includes those who authorities are aware of, and thats just one location.

Chief of Staff General John Kelly said, during an Oct. 12 White House press briefing, This cancer of terrorism, as we crush it in the caliphate, as you all know, is moving in other directions to include the West into Western Europe.

Kelly said, however, that the United States of America will stand with any country against terrorism.

The Fall of the Caliphate

The eventual collapse of the ISIS caliphate was inevitable, according to Max Abrahms, professor of political science at Northeastern University.

Abrahms, who has dedicated much of his research to the use of violence by terrorist organizations and political regimes, says the use of violence against civilian populations is a fast track to self-destruction.

Since ISISalso called the Islamic Statedeclared its caliphate in 2014, Abrahms said, I predicted hundreds and hundreds of times the implosion of the Islamic State, because this is a group that behaves in a manner that will doom a militant group.

He noted that many think tanks have been proven wrong in their analysis of ISIS, as some said its use of violence against civilians, its propaganda videos with gory violence, and its strict and brutal methods of control were deemed as strategic.

The think tank community was so slow to figure out what was going on, he said. The problem is not just that Islamic State used violencemany militant groups use violence. The problem is that Islamic State didnt know how to use violence.

It just tried to kill anybody, all over the world. And this basically united the world against the group, Abrahms said. But the think tank community, for years, since June 2014, has been lauding every decision of Islamic State as strategic. Groups that use violence in this fashion have historically paid a steep price.

The defeat of ISIS was accelerated under the Trump administration, which removed red tape from the battlefield and established a clear mission to kill terrorists. Defense Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis said in May that the United States had switched to annihilation tactics against ISIS, and that our intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return to their home countries.

Vice President Mike Pence said during an Oct. 13 press conference that thanks to the presidents leadership, ISIS is on the run.

Berquist says the strategy has made a difference, but a major boost to U.S. forces and allies was the attitude and mindset that President Donald Trump brought to the war. He said troops have gotten behind the Trump policy of America first, and that for troops on the ground, the focus is shifting much more back toward lets just do the job, lets do the mission.'

The operators on the ground want to get stuff done, Berquist said, noting that much of the bureaucracy that hampered operations in the past has been lifted.

Returning Order

While ISIS is losing its caliphate, the conflict in the region may still be long from over. According to Bunker, the retaking of Raqqa from ISIS is just the first step in what will likely be a long and difficult process of stabilizing the area.

Abrahms noted that while ISIS used extreme violence to quickly form its caliphate, the ideas that drove it may still persist in the region. He said, Islamic State is just the most vocal group on behalf of a caliphate, but the idea of a caliphate has been around for a long timethat dream is not going away. The idea of having sharia law is not going away with the end of the Islamic State.

He noted that most of the Middle East, and especially Iraq and Syria, have many problems with or without ISIS. The creation of Islamic State created a short-term confluence of goals among parties who otherwise dont get along at all, Abrahms said.

So now that Islamic State is getting incised from Iraq and Syria, the other adversaries are likely to clash.

Bunker noted the same problem. Raqqa was taken by the Syrian Democratic Forceswhich is primarily Kurdish with some Arab elementssupported by the United States, he said, noting that in the conflicts among the Kurds, the Iraqi government, and the Shia militias, the different factions are beginning to position themselves for what comes next.

In Syria, he said, the Assad regimebacked by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollahis beginning to exert more pressure on the Kurds, as will the Turks and the Iranians, in order to ensure that the Kurds dont get sovereign independence.

Facing this, he said, The Kurds are likely going to have their hands fullstabilizing Raqqa and other recently seized areas is probably not going to be a priority for themeven more so now that the U.S. is trying to stay out of the Kurdish and Iraqi territorial dispute.

The U.S. government is aware of this looming issue, and the Trump administration is working to help stabilize the region as ISIS falls. Part of this process was detailed by Mark Swayne, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability and humanitarian affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, during an Oct. 4 hearing.

Swayne said that in Iraq in particular, the U.S. government is working with its partners to stabilize the region and help internally displaced persons return to their homes. He said, We are working closely with the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and our coalition partners on near-term stabilization activities to support the government of Iraq.
Woman Marries Man She Met in Nightclub 12 Years Ago, Turns Out Hes Royalty

A woman married a man she met 12 years ago at a nightclub in Washington D.C. It turns out he is a prince, and a descendant of the last emperor of Ethiopia.

When Ariana Austin met Joel Makonnen at the Pearl nightclub, he approached Austin and her friend with a cheesy pick up line, The New York Times reported.

I said, You guys look like an ad for Bombay Sapphire, or whatever the gin was, Mr. Makonnen said. He then quickly went for the win. Not even five minutes later I said, Youre going to be my girlfriend.

Official pics are here! All credit to the talented @dotunayodeji. Planning by @favoredbyyodit Dress @lazarobridal #AriJo #royalwedding #moretocome  A post shared by Ariana Austin Makonnen (@chezariana) on Oct 16, 2017 at 4:39pm PDT

Makonnen is a great grandson of Haile Selassie, the 225th in a line of emperors that ruled Ethiopia until a coup in 1974. Legend has it that Selassies family lineage traces all the way back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, according to an earlier Times report. Makonnen didnt reveal his royal heritage to Austin until they started seriously dating.

You dont expect to meet the person youre going to marry at Pearl, said Jami Ramberan, bridesmaid and the friend who was with Austin at the club the night she met Makonnen.

Austin is an American, of African-American and Guyanese descent. She has a grandfather that was lord mayor of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. Austin and Makonnen were both busy, ambitious people at the time they met. Constant travel and dedication to career and education prevented them from getting married sooner.

I think we both had this feeling that this was our destiny, Austin said. But I felt like I had things that I had to do.

"It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked." EMPEROR HAILE SELASSIE I @Romarley pic.twitter.com/uCr4aKGGI4  Rohan Marley Fans (@Team_RoMarley) October 8, 2017

The couple had a highly decorated wedding in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian tradition at a church in Maryland. They were both crowned during the ceremonies. The wedding started at 11 a.m. and continued into the late evening. The festivities were led by at least 13 priests and clergy and took place across two states. Over three hundred guests attended, including VIPs with connections to the royal family.

Makonnen recalls the day he proposed. Austin was alone in her parents house at the time and heard loud banging on her door. She didnt answer. She called her parents because she thought it was a burglar. Makonnen left, and then came back again. Austin finally opened the door, the Times reported.

She thought somebody was trying to break in, said Bobby Austin, the brides father. And it was just the poor guy trying to propose to her.

I think I said, Lets take this journey together, Makonnen said. When I proposed she was like, Its about time.

The couple plans to settle down in the Washington D.C. area.

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Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals and the La Crosse Radio Group will present their annual radiothon from Thursday through Saturday to raise money for CMN Hospitals.

The event will be broadcast live from the lobby of the Gundersen Clinic, 1900 South Ave., on Kicks 106.3 (WQCC-FM), Eagle 102.7 (KQEG-FM) and Magic 105 (WLXR-FM) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The broadcasts will feature inspirational stories of area children, including the CMN Heroes for 2017-18 through the Gundersen Medical Foundation and others who have benefited from CMN Hospitals.

All proceeds are used to help children in the Coulee Region. Donations also can be made by calling 800-853-6889 or online at Gundersens CMN website.
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TOMAH  Despite a slight delay, officials at Tomah Memorial Hospital are set to open its new Occupational Health & Wellness Clinic in Tomahs Industrial Park on Oct. 30.

Hospital clinic operations director Kyle Berra said construction of the 3,400-square-foot facility at 1401 Townline Road was pushed back a few weeks to accommodate final details of the building and the roll-out of the new Epic electronic medical record system which went live at Tomah Memorial Oct. 1.

Officials broke ground for the new facility in March.

One of the big requests we received from the local businesses is that they would like a site closer to them, Berra said of the new facility. We felt that by moving into the industrial park we would be right around the corner or across the street from many of our largest employers in the Tomah or Monroe County area, Berra said.

Occupational Health services were provided in various offices at Tomah Memorial Hospital.

Berra said the new facility will offer more space for the department. The clinic will not be open to the general public, but will specialize in work-related services, whether that be a work-related injury or a pre-employment type of a need.

He said health services include; rehabilitation services like pre-work screens, evaluations and conditioning, drug collections and testing, physical exams, testing and vaccinations, plus health, wellness and education services at the clinic and on-site at the business or industry.

I think businesses are always facing more scrutiny from regulatory agencies to cut down on work-related injuries, Berra said. The businesses are really making an effort to hire the right people for the job, those who are healthy enough to do the job and for those that are unfortunate enough to be injured on the job, they want them to get back to full work as safely as possible.

Berra said the clinic will accommodate walk-in patients for drug screenings, but the majority of patient visits will be by appointment through the employees business or local health care provider. He said TMH Occupational Health & Wellness offers services to about 100 area businesses and industries.

The one-story, $500,000 facility includes patient examination rooms, a rehabilitation area, audiology room, radiology facility and staff working space.

Berra said the facility would include a staff of seven, including a nurse practitioner, registered nurse, a medical assistant, a drug collection specialist, imaging technician, patient access representative and community outreach assistant. He said additional employees could be added as business volume dictates.

I think its going to be a huge advantage for area businesses in terms of work productivity, family nurse practitioner LuAnn Fowler said of the new facility.

The clinic will be open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
What's next for SD Gov. Kristi Noem as she heads into her second term?
Property owners living in the Western Technical College District will see their tax rates go down this year.

The technical colleges board, which represents the 11 western Wisconsin Counties that make up the districts boundaries, voted to approve a $29.7 million levy on Thursday. The total tax levy is increasing by 2.07 percent from last year, but due to property values rising more quickly than the levy, residents will see a 2.32 percent decrease in their tax rates.

With the new rate, property owners will pay $153.20 per $100,000 in value, down $3.64 from last year. Western is just a portion of the property tax bill owners pay, which also includes taxes levied by the local school district, municipality and county.

Taxes are one of three legs that support Westerns $111 million budget. The two-year technical college with campuses in La Crosse, Black River Falls, Independence, Mauston, Tomah and Viroqua also expects to receive $22.4 million in state aid this year.

Nearly a third of that aid will be tied to measured outcomes. The other leg of funding comes from tuition, which increased about 1.4 percent this year to about $130 per credit for two-year degree seekers and $176 per credit for students in two-year transfer programs.

Western Vice President for Finance Wade Hackbarth said enrollment is higher than projections, up about 1.4 percent. This bodes well for the college, which relies on student growth to provide additional revenue.

One of the challenges we are facing is the box of revenue we have, Hackbarth said. It is a challenge to grow since so much is out of the control of the college.
Right until the end, Gord Downie never looked back.

We already knew how this song was going to end. Still, when the news broke on Wednesday morning and the country gasped, the heartache we felt last year after learning about his terminal brain cancer came rushing back.

And this time it wont go away.

Stolen from us at the age of 53, Downie is leaving when we need him most. Who will write the songs that cross generations and slice across geography? Who will be our poet laureate and history professor, our spirited raconteur and unflinching critic, our tour guide to the past and cultural voyager of the future?

Have your say

Even after the diagnosis of glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer that often leaves no margin of hope, Downie did not retreat to the shadows. There was no hint of self-pity. If anything, the frontman for the Tragically Hip shifted into overdrive as he led his beloved band on a final tour in 2016, filling stadiums and moistening eyes as the country started the grim ritual of mourning what we had not yet lost.

Downie was dealt the cruellest of hands. And he doubled down on living.

Gord knew this day was coming, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. His response was to spend this precious time as he always had  making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss . . . on the lips.

Gord said he had lived many lives. As a musician, he lived the life for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No one.

Whats amazing about these many lives, and the hard work he devoted to each, is the lack of compromise that defined them all. He was told the end is near and he somehow found new beginnings. In the darkness, he found ways to keep creating in the light, to keep on loving and, ultimately, keep on giving.

We should all be blessed with such grace, drive and selfless resolve.

It was like Downie had discovered a kink in the space-time continuum and was operating at full speed for 60 hours per day. It was like he was determined to keep serving as a unifying force while nudging Canada in the right direction.

His new solo album, Introduce Yerself, comes out on Oct. 27. On Sunday, at 9 p.m., the CBC will air the broadcast premiere of Gord Downies Secret Path in Concert, which was filmed last fall at Roy Thomson Hall and is a project that acknowledges a dark part of Canadas history  the long-suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system  with the hope of starting a national conversation and furthering reconciliation.

On the most primal level, the loss of Downie the Musician hurts because of what the Hip represented for more than three decades. This was a band that scored the sound track to thousands of lives as a generation came of age.

Regardless of who you were and where you were growing up, the Hip was there when called upon. Their music filled our days and nights. And as if by sonic osmosis, all these years later, even non-fans can hum more Hip songs than they might suspect.

Tragically Hip fans left flowers and tributes to Gord Downie in the bands hometown of Kingston, Ontario, on Wednesday. One local man said the singers death feels like losing a pillar of the community. (The Canadian Press)

This is why their best-known tracks  including New Orleans is Sinking, Bobcaygeon, Blow at High Dough, Courage, Ahead by a Century, Fifty-Mission Cap, At the Hundredth Meridian  can now feel more like nostalgia than music. That inimitable voice will forever be a gateway to the past.

Downies songs are, in the end, our memories.

But on an intellectual level, the loss of Downie the Conscience may prove to be the bigger forfeiture. Secret Path started as a collection of 10 poems inspired by the 1966 death of 12-year-old Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who succumbed to exposure after trying to escape on foot from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School to find his family.

Downie has crusaded for reconciliation and, along the way, challenged Canada to do more. In the pantheon of popular music today, there is no natural heir apparent, at least not anyone who had the influence and power of Downie.

His convictions flowed from ideas, and not the other way around.

His sense of nationalism, often misunderstood, was rooted in equality.

But at this time of mourning, when our grief feels like looping power-chords, let us just do what Downie never did, which is look back.

Thank you, Gord, for the songs, the albums and the memories. Thank you for the cryptic lyrics and the madcap performances. Thank you for the crazy dancing and the vivid poetry. Thank you for always wanting to live in a better country and for always wanting that country to be Canada.

Social reaction to death of Gord Downie

vmenon@thestar.ca

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OTTAWAThere was an uncommon slowness in Justin Trudeaus step Wednesday morning as he walked toward the weekly Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, his thoughts weighed heavily with the news that Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie had died.

I thought I was going to make it through this but Im not, the prime minister said, his voice cracking with emotion, tears streaming down his face.

It hurts.

Read more: Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie dead at 53

A couple of hours before, the Hip had announced that their lead singer died Tuesday night at the age of 53 after a more than year-long battle with brain cancer.

We all knew it was coming, Trudeau said. But we hoped it wasnt.

Social reaction to death of Gord Downie

Trudeau added that Canada was less of a country for having lost Downie.

There was a personal connection between the prime minister and the musician that was only seen publicly on a few occasions.

As his band wrapped up a 15-stop farewell tour in Kingston, Ont., in the summer of 2016, Downie called out to Trudeau, who was in the audience, urging him to take action on behalf of Canadas Indigenous peoples, to make their lives better.

Before that show, Trudeau embraced Downie backstage and later described the bittersweet moment as both a celebration of Downies life and a chance to say goodbye.

In the months that followed, it was evident that Trudeau had taken the singers message to heart as his government took several steps to reconcile with Indigenous communities over the treatment of aboriginal children and families under the residential schools program.

On Wednesday, through tear-welled eyes, Trudeau commended Downie for his love of country, his profound ability to use words to create landscapes and his dedication to the plight of Indigenous Canadians.

Gord was my friend, but Gord was everyones friend, Trudeau said. He knew, as great as we were, we needed to be better than we are, he added.

Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had, and not just loved it in a nebulous oh, I love Canada way, he loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life.

Conservative MP Tony Clement called on the government to consider a state funeral for the iconic singer.

I think they should really consider it, I really do, he said. I think he matters that much to Canadians.

Downies death went beyond Ottawas political realm, with Library and Archives Canada tweeting a line from the Tragically Hip song Its a Good Life If You Dont weaken.

For a good life, we just might have to weaken; And find somewhere to go; Go somewhere were needed.

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HAIDA GWAII, B.C.-Soaring over Gwaii Haanas, the pilot points out coastal temperate rainforests, sea lions, humpback whales and an invisible fault line in the Pacific Ocean that he calls the true edge of North America like he has seen them all a million times but is still awed.

The sea is too stormy for Peter Grundmann to land the six-seat de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver  Canadas iconic bush plane  to get in a Zodiac and explore historic Haida village sites with a Haida Watchman. And its choppy enough in the air that another seaplane is heading home because people are throwing up and feeling queasy.

Not us. Were buckled in tight and loving the turbulent Plan B flightseeing trip over this wild place thats quietly known as the Galapagos of the North, even if not everyone loves the nickname or the growing attention that comes with it.

But I desperately want to set foot on Gwaii Haanas, and the Inland Air Charters pilot is allowed one landing per trip, so when we spot a calm bay on the Pacific side, Grundmann swoops down and floats our plane to shore for a quick visit.

This is crazy awesome, enthuses Haida Watchman David Dixon as we scramble along a rocky shore in Gowgaia Bay, stopping to pick up a battered plastic wrapper thats surely debris from the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami debris. This is my first time being here and Ive been doing this for years, so we are very lucky.

Dixon, wearing a traditional Haida cedar hat that took him months to weave, was born here but works for an Indigenous catering company in Vancouver most of the year. When he first applied to be a Watchman, there were bets on how, how long I would last  two weeks, two months  before going back to the city.

He loves it.

Traditionally, Haida Watchmen were posted at strategic spots around a village to raise the alarm if enemies approached. Now the Haida Gwaii Watchmen Program post guardians at five historic village sites on Gwaii Haanas from May to September, welcoming visitors while protecting the natural and cultural heritage. The Council of the Haida Nation works closely with Parks Canada, which issues permits to allow only 12 people to be at each village site at a time on the islands of beauty.

The full name of this federally protected spot is Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site. If thats hard to wrap your mind around, then so is the entire archipelago of Haida Gwaii.

One of Canadas hottest emerging destinations, Haida Gwaii was renamed in 2010 from the Queen Charlotte Islands. It lingers in Canadian minds as the place where the Haida won a showdown against loggers over Lyell Island (now part of Gwaii Haanas) in the mid-1980s.

If the Isle of Arran is Scotland in miniature, then Haida Gwaii in Northern British Columbia should be considered Canada in miniature or, better yet, a perfect version of this country.

With a population not quite reaching 5,000 and two main islands (Graham Island in the north and Moresby Island in the south, which includes Gwaii Haanas, plus about 150 smaller islands), this is a culturally and biologically rich place.

Rugged, primal, wild, spirited, fierce, mythic, and magical are the words most used for Haida Gwaii. Canadian artist Emily Carr came here twice for inspiration. There is storm watching, sea kayaking and surfing, totem poles and longhouses, mountains, rainforest and old-growth forest, seafood, seabirds and land animals, loggers, artists, environmentalists and hippies, plus an Edge of the World Music Festival to play on the edge-of-the-world appeal.

Bucket-list material for folks looking to connect with the planet, Sarah Musgrave wrote in EnRoute magazine. Make that connect with the planet while disconnecting with the modern world since its a shock to face minimal cell service and painfully slow Wi-Fi.

There are tsunami warning signs along the roads, though, urging people to go to higher ground or inland in case of an earthquake like the one in 2012 that was Canadas second largest. Haida Gwaii is our most earthquake-prone area and experts predict another large quake and tsunami are coming. Islanders have no choice but to be self-sufficient.

From the airport, I head straight into the woods to the Tow Hill/Blow Hole hike with Haida House guide Phred Collins, a builder, bird expert, biologist-geologist of sorts and a lover of falcons.

Like all non-Haida people, he takes extreme care with his language, saying things like this is Haida land and Im a settler here. Canada says this is Canada. The Haida say this is Haida Gwaii. Collins talks with great passion about Haida Gwaii and warns its very difficult to absorb it all, and were dealing with a different paradigm here, in a place where people are willing to stand up for the land, the landscape.

We marvel at Western red cedar, Sitka spruce, Western hemlock, red alder and moss-covered trees that provide homes for rare birds. We try salal berries. Collins details the seasonal species matrix that makes this Canadas Galapagos. He warns that we must write about the realities of this place and ensure we dont turn Haida Gwaii into Disneyland.

Like all islands, the fact that Haida Gwaii is so far from the mainland (an eight-hour ferry ride from Prince Rupert) lets distinct sub species thrive.

Collins shows me my first banana slug, a thumb-sized creature I learn later from Parks Canadas Cohen Isberg are kind of the unknown hero of our forest floor. Banana slugs eat dead leaves and plant material, turn them into rich soil, and create nurse logs (fallen trees that decay and support other plants and creatures).

Banana slugs are part of the reason we have such beautiful forests, says Isberg on the Spirit Lake Trails moss-carpeted forest and admiring cultural plant enclosures and culturally modified trees used by the Haida for things like canoes, totem poles and medicine.

The learning is non-stop.

This is the wild West Coast. Its pretty temperamental, says Shawn Cowpar, co-owner of Haida Style Expeditions, on a boat cruise where I hear about the rhythm and dangers of the ocean tides and watch a feisty young bear travel the shoreline.

At Haida chef Roberta Olsons home-based Keenawaiis Kitchen, I have a family-style local feast with venison, berries, salmon and seaweed. I cant get enough kaaw  herring roe that spawns on kelp and is fried in butter.

My last day is spent walking the Golden Spruce Trail, driving logging roads and exploring the forest and coastline with Dale Lore, a former logger and former local mayor turned tour guide and medicine/food forager with 10,000 hours spent walking the Haida Gwaii forest.

I was pretty friggin redneck. It was pretty embarrassing, admits Lore, who repeatedly stresses that his tours explain history not culture and the goal is to have you appreciate what these people are and achieved and did.

Its an important distinction for a non-Haida to make, especially when Lore leads me into the woods where a huge Haida canoe being carved out of a cedar tree lies moss-covered and abandoned, likely due to a smallpox epidemic. I can walk into 22 of these canoes, boasts Lore. Another 10 to 15 havent been found. The logging companies got rid of the rest.

Lore unpacks all kinds of hard-earned wisdom, which he calls my truth, my whole truth and nothing but my whole truth. The best, which is true here and everywhere, is this one: The more you learn, the stupider you feel.

To visit Haida Gwaii, he figures, you need at least 10 days to even begin to understand it. An amazing number of people around the world want to get here, says Lore. Im one of them, but only have five days so cant even pretend to understand it, only to love it and want to know it better.

Jennifer Bain was hosted by Destination British Columbia and the Northern B.C. Tourism Association, which didnt review or approve this story.

When you go:

Get there: I flew Air Canada to Vancouver and took Pacific Coastal Airlines the next morning from the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) South Terminal to Masset on Haida Gwaii.

Get around: Some lodges offer all-inclusive packages, but otherwise a car rental gives the most freedom. Book well in advance as vehicles are limited.

Stay: I stayed at luxury ecolodge Haida House at Tllaal (haidahouse.com) where the meals are fantastic and the beach is minutes away. It specializes in all-inclusive Haida culture and adventure packages. I stayed at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport (fairmont.com) on either end of my trip. Its inside YVR and my soundproofed room overlooked planes at their gates and came with a plane spotting guide.

Eat: The Haida House at Tllaal Dining Room is open to the public for meals. I also had a family-style meal at Haida chef Roberta Olsons Keenawaiis Kitchen (find it on Facebook, reservation only, February to September) in Skidegate. Jags Beanstalk (jagsbeanstalk.com) in Skidegate has a bistro and espresso bar as well as guest rooms.

Do this trip:

Parks Canada (pc.gc.ca) oversees permits and trips to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site, which can be reached by sea or air.

Inland Air Charters (inlandair.bc.ca) does flightseeing tours.

Haida Style Expeditions (haidastyle.com) does boat tours for storytelling and fishing.

Dale Lore (dalelore@gmail.com) is a Haida House tour guide but can also be booked privately. His son Alan Lore runs Budgies Backpackers (budgiesbackpackers.com) and does guided kayak tours (http://www.kayakhaidagwaii.comkayakhaidagwaii.comEND).

Do your research: hellobc.com, lovehaidagwaii.com, gohaidagwaii.ca

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SMITHS FALLS, ONT. Joshua Boyle, a Canadian who was rescued with his family last week by Pakistani troops, said Tuesday that his wife had to be rushed to the hospital and remains there.

Boyle told The Associated Press in an email that his wife, Caitlan Boyle, was admitted Monday. His email did not specify why she was taken to the hospital.

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If Pakistan failed to free Boyle family SEAL Team 6 would have, U.S. officials say

After a lifetime in captivity, the children of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman begin to heal

Lets make the best of this: Ex-hostage Joshua Boyle explains why he and his wife had kids in captivity

My first concern has to be the health of my wife and children, Boyle wrote.

He also declined to offer any details about his wifes condition following an inquiry from The Canadian Press.

We really just need the world to have some patience and compassion, some propriety and decorum, he wrote in an email. Please, give it a couple days.

Boyle, his American wife and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. Four children were born in captivity.

Joshua Boyle said after landing at Torontos airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.

Joshua Boyle, Caitlan Coleman and their three children arrived in Canada on Oct. 13, ending a five-year-long kidnapping ordeal. (courtesy: Pakistan Defence/Facebook)

In prior email exchange with AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child but later told the CBC that it was a forced abortion. The Taliban said in a statement it was a miscarriage.

On Monday, Boyle told the AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, Hey, lets make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.

Were sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands, Boyle told AP. We always wanted as many as possible, and we didnt want to waste time. Caits in her 30s, the clock is ticking.

Boyle said their three children are now 4, 2 and somewhere around 6 months.

Honestly weve always planned to have a family of 5, 10, 12 children ... Were Irish, haha, he wrote in an email.

The parents of Caitlan Boyle have said they are elated she is free, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan.

Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable, Caitlans father, Jim Coleman said, told ABC News.

With files from Canadian Press

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WINNIPEGJust one of the many cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women has left a Manitoba community divided, a family struggling with grief and a mistrust of the justice system, a national inquiry was told Tuesday.

On its second day of hearings in Winnipeg, the inquiry heard about the ripple effects from the killing of Roberta McIvor  a 32-year-old woman who was decapitated on the Sandy Bay Ojibwa reserve northwest of Winnipeg on July 30, 2011.

Its really hard on me still. I still sometimes cry myself to sleep at night, McIvors daughter Justine Strong said, sobbing occasionally as she spoke.

I try my best to be the best mother  just like her  because I know everything I did with my life, shed be really proud of me.

Read more: Family of Indigenous girl found frozen to death in Winnipeg testifies at MMIW hearing

Strong was 14 when she last saw her mother, who was going out for the evening to visit friends. McIvors body was found the next morning  her head on one side of a road, her torso on the other.

Authorities told the family the decapitation was inadvertent and caused by a seatbelt during a violent carjacking. Two teenage girls from Sandy Bay pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to two years in custody and one year of supervision in the community.

The family immediately had doubts about how accidental the decapitation was. It occurred on the third anniversary of the death of Tim McLean, a young carnival worker who was beheaded by a fellow passenger aboard a Greyhound bus on a Manitoba highway in a case that made international headlines.

The family also believed others in the community of 2,500 were involved in the killing, perhaps by helping out the killers before or after. Suspicion and rumours grew. The family did not know who to trust.

My community was so split in half that people were hiding murderers within our community, the victims cousin, Alaya McIvor, told the hearing.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions.

The family was taunted, McIvor added. Strong said she left Sandy Bay right after finishing high school.

I dont feel protected in the community and ... it just doesnt feel like home any more.

The inquiry also heard about the death of Cherisse Houle, 17, originally from the Ebb and Flow First Nation  an Aboriginal community 40 kilometres down the road from Sandy Bay. Her body was found in a creek bed just outside Winnipeg on July 1, 2009.

Her death remains a mystery and no one has been charged.

I know for a fact someone took my daughter to the outskirts and killed her, the teens mother, Barb Houle, told the hearing.

My daughter didnt get to live her life.

As with the McIvor family, Houles death had a ripple effect. Her mother recalled spiralling into depression and substance abuse. Cherisses brother, Jordan, died in a shooting in Winnipeg three years later.

Cherisses young son was left without a mother.

The other day, I had him and ... he said, If I could have one wish, I wish I could see my real mom for one day, Barb Houle said.

The Winnipeg hearings follow earlier meetings in Smithers, B.C., and Whitehorse, Yukon. The inquiry has faced criticism from some families about delays, poor communication, a lack of transportation and accommodation support. One commissioner and some staff members have resigned.

Alaya McIvor told Tuesdays hearing she does not have faith in the process.

Youre failing us, McIvor said. This is not what family members picture as a national inquiry.

Her remarks were met with some applause from the audience.

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OTTAWAThe Liberal government appears to be taking a pass on several proposals put forward by a parliamentary committee to assist Canadas struggling news industry.

In a letter to Heritage Committee chair Hedy Fry, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said Monday the government recognizes the important role news media plays in Canadian society.

But the letter signalled the government will not pursue some of the committees 20 recommendations to help news outlets adapt to a changing media landscape, and was silent on others.

Specifically, the letter cast doubt on allowing not-for-profit media outlets to obtain charitable status, allowing them to issue income tax receipts for donors.

Joly, along with Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, wrote that its not clear such a measure would help not-for-profit journalism in Canada.

The model has achieved some success in other countries, such as ProPublica in the United States and The Guardian in the U.K., and was recommended by journalism organizations and academics who testified at the committee.

The government is also not commenting on a proposal to fund a new initiative to train Indigenous journalists, which the committee recommended be run through the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). The letter notes APTN is a private network, and encouraged the committee to take the matter up directly with them.

Jolys letter commits the government to continue to study other recommendations, such as expanding the eligibility of the Canada Periodical Fund, and exploring tax issues around foreign news aggregators like Facebook and Google.

Fry, a Liberal MP, acknowledged it was disappointing the ministers letter did not engage on more of the committees specific recommendations.

We heard a lot of testimony and put in a few recommendations that were carefully thought out, because we are very concerned about this issue as a committee, Fry said in an interview Tuesday evening.

(As) chair of the committee, I was disappointed that some things werent addressed. But I am being an optimist . . . . Were not letting this go.

Government support for the newspaper industry is a fraught subject and the source of considerable debate within the industry itself. But over 15 months, a number of media organizations and outlets  including the Toronto Star  appeared before the committee to outline the challenges facing the industry.

Those include advertising revenues being sucked up by companies like Facebook and Google, the rise of so-called fake news, and Canadians declining access to local journalism.

In a speech last month, Joly ruled out any direct government support to prop up failing media models.

Our approach will not be to bail out industry models that are no longer viable. Rather, we will focus our efforts on supporting innovation, experimentation and transition to digital, Joly said.

A representative for Jolys office said Tuesday night the work is not over when it comes to the Liberals thinking on cultural policy, noting a response to the committee required within 120 days.

Pierre Nantel, the New Democrat vice-chair on the committee, said theyve already spent 18 months on this issue as the whole ecosystem is on fire.

Its a lame response, Nantel said of Jolys letter.

Its a complicated issue, and this is all interconnected . . . . The main point is that the consumer has changed their way of consuming news and culture, and our system has been caught off guard.

Peter Van Loan, the committees ranking Conservative, said hes largely happy with the governments response. The Conservatives dissented from the committees report, arguing Canadians can decide for themselves what media outlets to support.

But John Hinds, the president of print and digital media advocacy group News Media Canada, said that if local newspapers fail, it will be felt by more than just those who still subscribe.

You lose a newspaper in a small community, you lose that medium of record, you lose the economic impact and the broader way for the community to talk to itself, Hinds said.

I think there are real challenges out there. And I think we need to figure out how to talk to the government and explain that to them.

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The Star talked to five women from Victoria and asked them about the study that suggests the B.C. capital is the best place to be a woman.

Boma Brown, 26, Support Network for Indigenous Women & Women of Colour founder

Brown, whos of Nigerian descent and previously lived in Botswana and in the U.S., has been in Victoria for six years. While the city has become more diverse in that time, she said, its still difficult for a woman of colour.

I think living in Victoria is, I dont know if unique is the right word, but its an interesting experience, she told the Star by phone.

Victoria is on the West Coast, so its really beautiful and the weather is great and I think that attracts a lot of immigrants and people who are retired and tourists and things like that. So in that regard its really awesome. But the unfortunate reality is for a person who is a woman of colour who moved here there isnt a lot of community.

She said a lot of people who move to the city, particularly from other countries, can end up feeling isolated in terms of having people who look like you, who speak your language, who eat the food you like to eat.

For a long time after moving to Victoria, she would travel to Toronto twice a year with an empty suitcase to pick up all the food she couldnt get at home.

And in 2014 she founded the Support Network for Indigenous Women & Women of Colour, hoping to support other women experiencing the same possible feelings of isolation.

Gillian Worley, 24, electrical engineering co-op student

After three years in Victoria, Worley said she sincerely loves the city.

I feel safe to walk and bike around at night, she said.

In her experience, she said the city was accepting of all those who identify as women, and is encouraging of uniqueness and authenticity.

That being said, I speak from a place of majority demographic, she cautioned, though she said that it was her hope that minority groups would say the same thing about their city.

There was a sense of camaraderie, she said, among her female friends and other women in the community that wasnt felt in other cities shes lived in.

She spent two years in Vancouver, and found it busier and less personal.

Even though Victoria is a city, it feels smaller because women seem to look out for each other. I would agree that Victoria is one of the best Canadian cities for women for these reasons.

Kaitlin Ruether, 23, full-time student

Ruether moved to Toronto this fall after five years in Victoria.

In terms of safety, or the feeling of safety, Victoria definitely feels like the safest place Ive ever lived, Ruether wrote in a Facebook message. I think it has to do with the citys mentality of community and this atmosphere it has of a town  or at least the small city off the coast of Vancouver.

Since moving to Toronto, though, she said that shes found a higher focus on ideas of diversity and equality between men and women. Some of the smaller-city features of Victoria, which made it feel safe to live in, also led to more difficulty when it came to seizing opportunities.

It feels harder to work your way into anything, and even more so as a woman, she wrote.

So, for her, being in Toronto meant increasing the possibilities in her life.

Sarah Petrescu, 39, Victoria Times-Colonist reporter

Victoria has the same personal safety risks for women that any other city has, Petrescu wrote in an email to the Star. That said, you dont often worry about random cougars on the loose near downtown Toronto.

(Police and conservation officers chased down a wild cougar on the loose in Victoria late in 2015, drawing considerable local and media attention.)

Petrescu added that, in some ways, she found Victoria to be the best place for women  dubbed Chicktoria by some for its high female population numbers. Its easy to network and build support groups, to make lasting friendships and raise a family. Where leadership and salary opportunities lack, creative income-generating ideas flourish  check out our Etsy shops.

But, as a journalist, she said she also sees the many single mothers and marginalized women bearing the heaviest load in what she called a brutal zero-vacancy rental market with a high cost of living.

Bobbi Turner, 60, executive director of Island Sexual Health

Tuesday was the first Turner had heard of Victoria being ranked so highly for women, and she laughed when thinking about what to say.

Golly, thats an interesting question, she said. Its not one Ive ever really thought about.

The Island Sexual Health clinic where Turner works had over 22,000 patient visits last year  predominantly women  and she said its becoming the only medical resource for many.

Its extremely difficult right now for anyone to get a family physician, Turner said of the city. So from a health-care perspective, this doesnt bode as well for women in Victoria.

The majority of their clients dont have a family doctor, making it difficult to access health care outside the realm of sexual health.

This is, for many of them, the only place that they can go to get services.

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MONTREALThe career of one of Quebecs most popular and powerful television personalities screeched to a halt Wednesday after a string of allegations that he harassed employees and engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour.

One of Eric Salvails alleged victims, Marco Berardini, said in an interview that he has been inundated with messages of support and inquiries from others who have had encounters with the host and producer since coming forward with the story of his alleged abuse, which dates back to 2003.

Theres no satisfaction in this, Berardini said by telephone from Los Angeles. I wish that there was and maybe there will be but for now its just sad.

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A report published in La Presse cited 11 individuals who said they had been subject to harassment, abuse and inappropriate sexual behaviour while they were working for Salvail or were in his company.

They include incidents in which he allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments to his employees, where he touched employees suggestively against their will and where he exposed himself.

In a meeting he stood up, he took out his penis and he asked what I would do to excite him, said one person who spoke to La Presse on condition of anonymity.

The Star has not been able to independently verify any of the alleged claims.

The condemnation and the consequences of the allegations have been stunning for the award-winning host of a zany late-night talk show who was co-host just last month of the Prix Gemeaux, the French-language version of the Gemini awards for television and film excellence.

Groupe V Media, which broadcasts the talk show, En Mode Salvail, said they were suspending the show indefinitely and would also be reconsidering its partnerships with Salvail & Co., his production company.

Similarly, Salvail has been suspended from his Rouge FM radio show, which will be replaced by another show until the matter is resolved, a Bell Media spokesperson said.

Salvails lawyer, Jacques Jeansonne, refused to comment on the allegations, shortly before Salvail himself addressed the matter on his Facebook page Wednesday.

I was shaken by what was published this morning. Im approaching this situation with an enormous amount of empathy for those who I may have made to feel uncomfortable or hurt. I never meant to bother anyone, he wrote.

In such circumstances, I am lucky to have the support of my friends, my colleagues and my partner. I have chosen to take a professional pause of several days, a pause that will permit me to focus on these events.

French-language public broadcaster Radio-Canda said it is re-evaluating its partnership with Salvail and his production company, but said that it had received no complaints about Salvails behaviour.

Corporate sponsors including Metro, McDonalds and Air Transat have also suspended their deals in the wake of the allegations.

Salvail was to have flown across Quebec on a Boeing 737 Wednesday to pick up 75 contest winners and their guests who had won a trip to Montreal for a taping of the entertainers show. The carrier said it honoured the flights, but grounded Salvail.

We believe this decision is the most appropriate in the circumstances as we wait for light to be shed on these allegations, Air Transat said on its Twitter account.

Wednesday was also emotional and eventful for Salvails alleged victims, said Berardini, a Montreal-born makeup artist and stylist who now works with the biggest celebrities in Los Angeles.

He said he received hundreds of messages of support and heard from a number of people who wanted to share their own experiences of sexual impropriety.

It makes me feel pissed off that so many people are going through this terrible thing every day. Its making me stronger and making me want to keep standing up, because its not an easy thing  its an embarrassing thing.

Berardini told La Presse that Salvail sought out his professional fashion advice in an awkward encounter in 2003 in which the TV host changed into a pair of skimpy black underwear and asked the stylist: Do you think Im sexy?

Then Salvail allegedly made a show of adjusting the fabric.

He didnt masturbate, but he clearly wanted me to look at his penis, Berardini told the paper, adding that he sought shelter in the bathroom.

I was panicked.

Several months later, when Berardini was hired to work on a Salvails television show, he recounted crouching down to get something from his bag and being accosted by the entertainer.

He said to me: Wow! What an ass! You should bend down more often. Youre wearing those jeans just to excite me. Then he touched his inner thigh and said: And I think it worked! 

Another time, Berardini told La Presse, he lost patience with Salvails unwanted overtures.

He was standing in front of me and he touched my hair. He said: You have such nice hair. Id like to pull it while making love to you. 

When he stood up to Salvail and told him to stop, the entertainer got angry and berated the stylist, telling him he was ugly, fat and incompetent.

He just wanted to destroy me.

Speaking to the Star Wednesday, he said he never wanted to come forward.

I never wanted to lend my name to this until I heard other peoples stories, some being much, much worse than mine, he said.

But you know what? I work with the biggest stars in the world. I live in L.A. Im successful and Im lucky. That guy will never hold power over me again.

He said it is particularly difficult for a man  gay or straight  to go public and admit being abused, harassed or exploited because of social stigmas around sexuality.

They did nothing wrong. You just went to work and youre supposed to be able to go to work and feel respect from people and thats it.

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Dozens of small communities will have to find a new place to hang holiday lights and flower baskets next year when Xcel Energy cracks down on unauthorized power pole decorations.

The Minnesota-based utility plans to begin enforcing an existing rule across its eight-state service area to comply with industry standards and to keep untrained people away from power lines.

We have noticed over the last several years that some communities have been putting things on the distribution poles without permission or working with the company to do so and there have been some safety issues with the size of decorations and height, said Xcel spokeswoman Christine Ouellette. There have been times where crews have not been able to access what they need to because of things in the way.

Ouellette said in some cases heavy flower baskets have caused poles to lean.

Xcel is working to determine which of 249 Wisconsin communities with Xcel-owned poles may have hung decorations on its power distribution poles, but Ouellette said there may be as many as 100. About 125 have approval to decorate Xcel street lights.

Company spokesman Matt Lindstrom said Xcel is working to figure out which communities in its Minnesota territory have decorated power poles.

Four affected villages in Jackson County have discussed options from using ground decorations to changing service providers. The village of Alma Center recently purchased decorations for its poles.

Hopefully they get enough guff that they will allow it, Alma Center village President Kenneth Ristow said.

Xcel plans to begin enforcing the rule in January.

We know that the holiday season is coming up and we know that there are some that like to decorate for the holidays and we will let it go, but Jan. 1 is when we will start to make sure they are all complying with the proper terms, Ouellette said.
Two Toronto police officers who were caught on camera making fun of a woman with Down syndrome intend to plead guilty to Police Service Act charges, a disciplinary tribunal was told Wednesday.

Const. Sasa Sljivo and Const. Matthew Saris were charged after Pamela Munoz received a dashboard camera recording that was made when the officers pulled over her car in November 2016.

The video caught one officer laughing as he made fun of Munozs 29-year-old daughter, Francie, referring to her as a half woman and a little disfigured.

Related story: Mother of girl with Down syndrome enraged after finding police dashcam footage of officers insulting her daughter

Toronto police documents detailing the charges allege that Sljivo was the officer doing the talking. He faces two charges under the Police Act: one for allegedly using profane, abusive or insulting language in contravention of the Ontario Human Rights Code and Toronto police policy, procedures and standards of conduct, and the second for allegedly acting in a disorderly manner likely to discredit Toronto police.

Saris faces one count for allegedly being complicit in Sljivos comments and failing to report his conduct to a superior.

Neither officer was present at Wednesdays hearing, which was adjourned until Nov. 28.

Munoz said she wasnt surprised by the announcement that the officers intend to plead guilty. Its on tape, everyone can hear it, and its obvious everyone has done what theyve done, she said in an interview after the hearing.

Were just surprised and disappointed [the guilty plea] didnt happen earlier, she said. Why not from day one?

Munoz didnt bring Francie to the hearing on Wednesday, saying that she was tired. She doesnt understand why the police didnt apologize to her, why its taking so long, why she has to keep going back, she said.

In July, Sljivo and Saris sent a letter to the family apologizing for their inexcusable remarks and taking full responsibility.

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders has also apologized to the family in person. Saunders told CP24 that the officers actions were not a fair representation of what goes on on a day-to-day basis.

Munoz said she and her husband, Carlos, are exhausted by the long process. I have a migraine. Ive taken so many days off work, she said. My husband is stressed to the max.

Jennifer Macko, the familys lawyer, said Wednesdays hearing was mostly administrative, in order to set a date for the officers to enter their pleas.

Macko said she has received no explanation for why the process has dragged on so long.

For us, this is all really about creating an open forum, said Munoz. We want everyone to see whats going to happen. Are they going to plead guiltywhat will the punishment be?

Munoz also remained cautious about the eventual outcome of the disciplinary hearing. This is only intent [to plead guilty], she said. Anything can happen between now and Nov. 28.

With files from Wendy Gillis and Azzura Lalani

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What youre about to see is very graphic.

The warning on Tuesday morning came from Crown Attorney Meghan Scott.

Delivered at the very minute that a dozen teenagers filed into the courtroom on one of those school field trips to see justice in action.

They appeared to endure the ordeal without visible trauma. But I kept thinking: Leave. Now. Go.

There are some things that should never be displayed in public.

And this  autopsy photos of the dismembered remains of 24-year-old Rigat Ghirmay  was the worst Ive ever witnessed in decades of covering trials.

Murder porn.

I wondered, too: Would these exhibits  final violation of an Eritrean refugee chopped up into pieces, allegedly in her own bathtub  have been put up on a screen, in open court, if the victim was a young white middle-class female?

Because it is no longer routine for such grisly evidence to be paraded in court.

One person who didnt look up at all: Adonay Zekarias, on trial for first-degree murder. He picked at his cuticles, stared into space, leaned in as a translator spoke quietly into his ear.

But he never cast a glance at those gruesome images.

Ghirmays remains were discovered at separate locations, three years apart. Her torso  actually, both legs from below the waist but with feet missing  were happened upon by a passerby, Francis McMullen, on May 24, 2013, stuffed into a duffel bag and left near a pathway in the Black Creek Flood control area. That spot was about 500 metres from Zekariass residence.

The second discovery was made by bone collector Michael Paquet on two expeditions a week apart to the Lavender Creek Trail in April 2016. The first cache was long leg bones and bone shards that Paquet originally believed were animal specimens. Returning to the site later he found a plastic bag that contained a clearly human skull, ribs and other bones  the rest of Ghirmay, apart from the feet and her right hand, which have never been found.

It was the torso  most of Ghirmays lower half, retrieved only nine days after the woman was last seen alive, so still fleshy and not extensively decomposed  that sent shudders through the courtroom as Dr. Toby Rose, a forensic pathologist, testified about the remains she had autopsied.

This is the entire specimen, Rose, deputy chief of forensic pathology with Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, said crisply, with the detachment of an expert who specializes in the dead, a corpse whisperer.

And there Ghirmay is on the screen, severed just above the belly button, still wearing yoga pants and her underwear, with a deep slash across one leg, as if someone had tried to saw through below the knee cap but not finished the job.

Bisecting a human being at the waist, noted Rose, is not particularly strenuous work. There arent any bones there to go through . . . until you get to the spine.

Oh, but it got excruciatingly more horrific.

In another slide, the truncated body is now naked. So terribly vulnerable. Rose points out splash marks on the buttocks, indicating that some type of liquid had spread across the area. Yes, it might have been acid, it might have been bleach. But testing revealed no definitive cause. Just as Rose could not determine cause of death by what she had on the table. There were no obvious injuries such as a bullet hole or a stabbing wound. Ghirmay may have been strangled, who knows? Rose didnt have a neck that could have shown compression injuries.

It can be difficult to determine a cause of death even when I examine (a body) in the best of circumstances. In this case the circumstances are the worst.

She did draw attention to a few body part defects, evidence of small injuries that she concluded occurred after death.

Of particular scrutiny to Rose, during the autopsy, was a tiny puncture to the external genitalia. And here we were presented with an excised scrap of flesh from the clitoris to the anus. It might have been significant as an indicator of sexual assault trauma but Rose could draw no conclusions. There were no internal injuries. Ghirmay had been a healthy young woman.

But we stared at the specimen anyway, in magnified dimensions, these most intimate details of a dead womans anatomy. With no discernible reason for why Ghirmay should have been so miserably exposed.

It was another pathologist who conducted the post-mortem on the jumble of bones found by Paquet but Rose, who reviewed the findings, presented them to court. Her circumstances were worse, said Rose of her colleague. She only had a skeleton.

Those desiccated remains showed no bony injuries but there were some indications of changes she saw in the bones that could have been caused by an object with a blade, a straight edge and a pointed end. A knife in other words.

The prosecutions theory is that Zekarias killed Ghirmay  a close friend whod briefly shared an apartment with him  to prevent her from taking any suspicions she may have had to police about the Oct. 23, 2012 murder of another woman, Nighisti Semret. The mother of four, also a refugee from Eritrea  as is the accused  was stabbed to death in a Cabbagetown alley as she walked home after her night shift as a hotel maid.

It is unknown if Ghirmay and Semret knew each other. But both certainly knew Zekarias. Semret had helped Zekarias  they both lived for a time at Sojourn House, a refugee shelter  fill out immigration paperwork. All three came to Canada from Eritrea.

Zekarias was Semrets killer. He was convicted of first-degree murder in June 2015 and sentenced to life in prison. Although simultaneously charged with Ghirmays murder, the trials were severed. This trial, four years after Ghirmay was last seen alive  captured on surveillance video entering her Shuter Street apartment building with Zekarias  is judge-alone, which is why so many details about the earlier crime have been heard in open court: How he fled to Germany for two months after the Semret slaying and monitored reports of the police investigation on his laptop searches; how he returned to Canada in February 2013 when detectives still believed they were looking for a white suspect who walked with a limp; and how, crucially, hed been taken to hospital, mere hours after Semret was killed, to be treated for severe wounds to both hands, which he claimed had been caused by a slamming door.

DNA taken from beneath Semrets fingernails led police to dramatically change their suspect description, revealing that the killer had probably absorbed serious injuries to his arms or hands during the assault, and also announcing a $50,000 reward for information resulting in an arrest.

Ghirmay had ridden in the ambulance with Zekarias. She was with him when he purchased his plane ticket to Germany. In the months prior to his arrest, they were frequently seen together as Ghirmay bought a TV, a cell phone, and signed a lease on a subsidized housing apartment.

No motive has ever been learned for why Semret was murdered.

But there was plenty of motive for silencing Ghirmay  a victim, in a final indignity, stripped of all her secrets in court.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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Seven years of part-time (classified as partial load and teaches 7-12 hours a week) employment have forced Liz Brockest to put life goals on hold.

Im delaying any plans to have kids because I dont even have job security to know that I can provide for my family, said the 34-year-old teacher in the Transitions to Post-Secondary Education Program at George Brown.

From the picket lines on the downtown campus Tuesday, she talked about the perils of juggling multiple gigs just to pay rent and other bills. Brockest, one of thousands of faculty members across Ontario colleges on strike this week, has to reapply for the same job every semester.

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Its incredibly stressful, she said, never sure about her next contract and what courses shell be allowed to teach. I teach courses about equity, fairness, human rights, and Im in an environment where my employer is not providing the same things to me.

Part-time and temporary employment may be here to stay, said labour researcher Wayne Lewchuk, adding that strikes will probably continue, including at universities.

Precarious work has been a trend for the past 20 years, a result of a fairly conscious campaign led by temporary employment agencies who see it as a better way of running businesses, Lewchuk said.

The dominant management theory now is that it makes sense to hire people on a temporary basis, to worry less about their development as more capable and productive employees, and simply focus on the short run, he explained.

Lewchuk was the lead author of a 2015 report on precarious employment, which found that about 52 per cent of workers in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are in temporary, part-time or contract positions.

He said the education sector is particularly affected by this trend, mainly because budgets are being squeezed and part-time teaching is seen as a cost-effective measure.

College staff are asking for at least a 50-50 ratio between full-time and part-time employment, but colleges say it would be too costly. Negotiations are currently on hold.

The strike is a sign that the situation is reaching a breaking point, said Lewchuk.

I think in the long run, we all suffer from this, he said.

Its not clear that students are getting the best deal by having instructors who are scrambling to put a life together teaching at multiple institutions and never getting enough money.

Clarification - October 18, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that referred to Liz Brockest as being a part-time teacher. In fact, she is classified as a partial load faculty (those that teach fewer than 7-12 hours a week). The striking faculty members across Ontario colleges come under full-time and partial load classifications. Part-time (those who teach less than 6 hours a week) and sessional instructors are not on strike.

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A Toronto physician who was found to have stroked a patients buttocks, routinely hugged and kissed her and once said she would be a good lover has lost his licence.

A discipline panel of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario ordered earlier this month that Dr. William Art Beairsto, who practised family medicine and psychotherapy in Leaside, should not only have his licence revoked for sexual abuse, but also post credit in the amount of $16,000 to cover therapy costs for the patient, known as Patient A.

The college will not confirm if it referred the case to the police, only that it complied with its policy on reporting physicians acts to the police.

The October 2015 policy states, among other things, that the college will forward a copy of its discipline decision to police in any matter that raises issues of physician criminal actions. The college said it is barred by law from providing a patients name to police unless the patient consents.

The case again highlights that there is no provision in law that makes it mandatory for all health professional colleges to report complaints about members to the police, something that has divided lawyers and advocates.

Toronto police said that Beairsto is not facing criminal charges. The 69-year-old physician was found guilty of sexual abuse by a panel of the colleges discipline committee in August 2016, and had been suspended since November. His lawyer declined to comment to the Star.

Since the passage of Bill 87 in May, it is mandatory that a physician found guilty of groping be immediately suspended pending the outcome of their penalty hearing, where their licence must now be revoked.

Beairstos lawyers had argued at his penalty hearing in March that the amendments to the Regulated Health Professions Act brought in by Bill 87 should not apply because his case came before the passage of the bill. They argued to extend his suspension by three months, coupled with further training and supervision.

Before Bill 87, a discipline panel still had the discretion to impose penalties when it came to groping. Indeed, the panel was harshly criticized as recently as 2016 for handing down suspensions for groping, rather than revoking licences.

But the four-member panel in the Beairsto case agreed with the colleges lawyer that the provisions in Bill 87 were retroactive and that the doctor should lose his licence. Even if not for Bill 87, the panel said they would still have revoked his licence.

Counsel for Dr. Beairsto argued that the legislative changes should not be applied retrospectively because the imposition of mandatory revocation would be punitive, and that different strategic decisions with respect to his defence might have been made had they known that mandatory revocation was a possibility, the panel wrote.

The panel noted that Beairsto had previously come under the colleges radar in 2010 for a complaint of egregious boundary crossings/violations with a patient. That complaint was never sent to a public discipline hearing.

Instead, Beairsto was cautioned in secret, ordered to participate in a psychotherapy support group, and stop seeing patients with certain significant personality disorders, among other things.

The issue of whether sexual abuse by physicians should always be reported by the colleges to the police has been the subject of debate.

An independent task force, set up in the wake of a Star investigation on doctors still at work after sexually abusing their patients, specifically recommended against a mandatory reporting rule in its final report to Health Minister Eric Hoskins. Some of the task forces recommendations formed part of Bill 87.

Understandably, we all wish for a simple solution to a complex problem in our society, wrote chair Marilou McPhedran, now a senator, and Sheila Macdonald, provincial co-ordinator of sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centres in Ontario.

The task force notes that patients who have experienced sexual abuse by a health professional have, and should continue to have, the option to report the abuse to the police and proceed through the criminal justice system process, should they so choose.

However, the task force asserts that choice is essential for patients who have experienced abuse and that the patient must retain agency and control as the decision-maker in these situations.

At the CPSO, part of its policy is that it will offer to assist a complainant in filing a report to the police if they choose to do so.

Medical malpractice lawyer Paul Harte disagrees with some aspects of the task forces findings, and said colleges should always be reporting to police, and include the name of the complainant whether or not they have consent.

The task force was, rightfully so, very much focused on the complainant, but I think you need to balance that against the need to protect the public, said Harte.

We have to have some faith in the police that they're going to be able to handle these situations, in the same way they handle other sexual abuse allegations.

Aside from finding Beairsto stroked Patient As buttocks, other findings the discipline panel made against him last year included:

Beairsto hugged and kissed Patient A on the cheeks after their psychotherapy sessions, which the committee found to be inappropriate, but not sexual abuse. Patient A found this conduct weird, while Beairsto testified that he kissed both male and female patients on the cheeks in a cocktail party manner, and hugged them European-style. He said he regrets hugging Patient A, and now only hugs and kisses his gay male patients, as this allows him to demonstrate that, as a straight man, he is not homophobic.

Patient A testified that Beairsto touched himself near his genitals and then smelled his hand. The doctor said he did not touch his crotch, but may have moved his hand from somewhere below his desk to his nose as part of a demonstration to explain that smelling ones vaginal discharge could be helpful in determining if a vaginal infection had resolved. He testified that Patient A misinterpreted his efforts to give some practical medical advice.

The committee found Beairstos description of the encounter to be unprofessional.

It is so outside the norm of what is a professional way to communicate medical information that, even if not salacious as alleged, it is completely inappropriate, and the committee finds Dr. Beairstos conduct to be disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, the committee said.

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Striking faculty and Ontarios colleges both say they remain in contact with a mediator, and will return to talks when he thinks there is any hope of movement by either side.

The job action by 12,000 professors, partial-load instructors, librarians and counsellors is now in its third day. The strike affects about 300,000 students across the province.

At Queens Park on Tuesday, both the premier and post-secondary minister urged the colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union to restart negotiations and put an end to the strike.

I am very concerned about it, said Premier Kathleen Wynne. We are paying very close attention to it. I hope that, in the very short future, we will see that the parties are at the table and they can hammer out an agreement.

Read more: Students caught in crossfire amid strike at Ontario colleges

Wynne, however, also said the government, which is not involved in the negotiations, did not want to undermine the collective bargaining process.

It is always an uncomfortable position for everyone and a very, very distressing situation when people are not able to go to their classes, Wynne said during question period. I know that the instructors and the teachers who are out dont want to be out either. They want to be in the classroom with their students.

Deb Matthews, minister of advanced education and skills development, said she and Wynne have made the public pleas for talks to resume, and told reporters that I know that they can find the solution without interference from us . . . . We are letting the process unfold.

She said she knows students are anxious and I share their anxiety, but I think we still have to let the process work.

When the strike is over, students need not worry about losing credits, she added, as they figure out a way to get students back on track.

For now, both the colleges and faculty remain far apart on key issues.

JP Hornick, chief OPSEU negotiator for the faculty, said the government could play a role by reversing the chronic starving of the system and give the proper resources to colleges, which she said are now the lowest funded education system in Canada.

Its lovely that theyd like us to get back to the table, she said. And as one of the major funders of the colleges, they have a lot to say in that.

During the strike, a mediator continues to reach out to both sides.

Sonia Del Missier, who heads the colleges bargaining team, said, when (the mediator) deems it appropriate, he will call us back to the table.

He works with the two sides, and will make the determination based on the information he is receiving from both the parties, she said.

Hornick expects the mediator to check in soon, but you dont go back to the table unless one of the sides is willing to move.

She said the union did alter its offer before calling a strike.

The colleges, which, during negotiations, upped their salary increase offer, have said the two sides are $250 million apart. Hornick said that amount, spread around 24 colleges, isnt an insurmountable amount of money.

The government will have to provide the colleges with funding once Bill 148 is in place anyway, because it demands equal pay for part-time workers, Hornick said.

The colleges have said they cant meet the unions demands for 50 per cent of the total number of teachers to be full-time, not only because of the cost, but because it would not give them any flexibility.

Don Sinclair, CEO of the College Employer Council, called it a recipe for disaster, especially given declining enrolment.

He noted that half of all instructional hours are taught by full-timers.

The colleges are offering a 7.75-per-cent raise over four years, and the union wants 9 per cent over three.

Patrick Brown, leader of the Ontario PC party, said the government promised labour peace, and that students would be in the classroom and pressed the premier to do more.

Students cant afford . . . not to be in class, he said during question period. They cant afford to miss their mid-terms. I know this is uncomfortable for the government. The labour peace they promised has not been realized. But I want to see students in the classrooms. I want to see students back at colleges.

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WASHINGTONA CIA drone was circling a remote valley in northwest Pakistan last month when it picked up an unusual sight: a young woman and children in a militant camp. To intelligence analysts, she appeared to be an American abducted five years earlier while backpacking in Afghanistan with her Canadian husband.

The grainy images were a breakthrough. Military planners mobilized members of the Navys SEAL Team 6, an elite group of commandos, to mount a rescue, according to senior U.S. officials. But the operation was called off amid concerns, and days later, the CIA watched in alarm as militants drove the family out of the camp and across Pakistans lawless tribal lands.

The top U.S. diplomat in Pakistan, Ambassador David Hale, turned to his host country, one of the officials said, delivering an urgent message to the Pakistani government: Resolve this, or the United States will.

The implication was clear. If the Pakistanis did not act decisively, the United States would set aside its unease and launch a raid deep inside the country to free the family. It would be another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, conducted by the same elite Navy SEAL commandos well into Pakistan without its governments knowledge. And a failure to act would underscore U.S. officials belief that the Pakistani government gives safe haven to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network that had kidnapped the family.

Pakistani officials said they acted within hours. With assistance from U.S. intelligence, they located the vehicle and rescued the family last week in a dramatic confrontation with its captors. Inside the car were Caitlan Coleman, 31; Joshua Boyle, 34, her Canadian husband; and their three children.

The rescue ended an intensive effort by U.S. intelligence officials to locate the couple  who had been taken hostage in October 2012  and their children. When she and Boyle were kidnapped, Coleman was seven months pregnant; she gave birth three times in captivity and had one forced abortion.

U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the release of Joshua Boyle, Caitlan Coleman and their three children. The five are finally free after five years of being held hostage in Afghanistan by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. (courtesy: The White House/YouTube)

The CIA declined to comment. Trump administration officials cast the rescue as a win for Pakistan without publicly acknowledging that officials there had to be pressured into conducting the operation.

This is a positive moment for our countrys relationship with Pakistan, President Donald Trump said in a statement.

Efforts to free the family had stalled repeatedly, and the familys time as hostages was harsh. Boyle has said that his wife was raped and that she was forced to have an abortion, a charge the Taliban has denied.

Read more:

Caitlan Coleman, recently freed hostage, rushed to hospital

Mother of ex-hostage Amanda Lindhout speaks out on victim shaming, Joshua Boyle and her disgust with Ottawa

Hey, lets make the best of this: Ex-hostage Joshua Boyle explains why he and his wife had kids in Taliban captivity

In August 2016, they seized an Australian, Timothy Weeks, and an American, Kevin King, 61, both teachers at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. Navy SEALs launched a rescue operation but came up empty; a tip about the where the men were being held turned out to be outdated.

But last month, the U.S. intelligence community caught a break. The CIA had positioned the drone over a Haqqani encampment in the Kurram Valley, a region near Pakistans border with Afghanistan. It spotted the woman believed to be Coleman among the armed fighters.

The commandos of SEAL Team 6, tapped to rescue the family, started rehearsing. The raid was to take place not far from where the CIA had originally spotted the family, according to one military official.

Joshua Boyle, Caitlan Coleman and their three children arrived in Canada on Oct. 13, ending a five-year-long kidnapping ordeal. (courtesy: Pakistan Defence/Facebook)

But the risky operation planned on Pakistani soil was called off because some in the U.S. government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were Coleman, Boyle and their children, according to the officials. Others voiced worries about the difficult terrain and the moon  it was too bright for a nighttime airborne raid.

Why the Haqqanis decided to move the family is not clear. But on Oct. 11, as they headed toward Kohat, a city farther inside Pakistan, U.S. intelligence officials realized they could not let the opportunity to save the family slip by  the United States had to act.

U.S. officials formed a plan to press the Pakistani government. Trump was briefed, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson both backed the idea that should the Pakistani government decline to try to rescue the family, the Navy SEALs would go in.

Officials said that as Hale, the ambassador, conveyed the Trump administrations demands, other senior officials, including Gen. Joseph L. Votel, who oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and southwest Asia as head of the U.S. Central Command, were also applying pressure.

The push worked. U.S. officials said the Pakistanis acted quickly, intercepting the vehicle with Coleman and her family. According to Pakistani security officials, they were able to shoot out the tires of the vehicle, but the captors manage to flee.

Boyle has said a gun battle ensued before he and his family were freed, but U.S. officials remained skeptical and a Pakistani military spokesman has said only that the vehicles tires were blown out.

In an interview after he was freed, Boyle praised the Pakistanis: Our gratitude is boundless.

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BANGKOKBurmese security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International said in a new report Wednesday that calls for an arms embargo on the country and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Burmese security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages. Burmas government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.

The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Burma, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Read more: Rohingya Muslims being wiped off Burmas map

Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh watch their homes burn across the border in Burma

Starving Rohingya babies, moms, trapped in Burmese tent city

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Burmas Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Burmas army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Burma border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

Our correspondent reports from a sprawling makeshift city that houses hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, driven from their homes by Burma's military. (The New York Times)

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnestys reporting. Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred metres away were untouched.

It speaks to how organized, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Burmese military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country, Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Burma and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Burmese authorities do not act swiftly.

It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar [Burma], Amnesty said.

Witnesses and a drone video shot Monday by the UN refugee agency show that Rohingya are continuing to flee persecution in Burma and crossing into Bangladesh.

The video showed thousands upon thousands of Rohingya trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees stretches for a few kilometres.

The new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend, witnesses said. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands of newcomers near one border crossing Tuesday. Several said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

Nearly 60 per cent of the refugees are children. The UN childrens agency, UNICEF, warned Tuesday that without immediate additional funding, it will not be able to continue providing life-saving aid and protection to Rohingya children. UNICEF said it has received just 7 per cent of the $76 million it needs.

On Aug. 25, a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security posts on Aug. 25, causing dozens of casualties, according to Burmese authorities. The brutal attacks against Rohingya that followed have been described by the UN as textbook ethnic cleansing.

Buddhist-majority Burma has denied citizenship for the Rohingya since 1982 and excludes them from the 135 ethnic groups officially recognized, which effectively renders them stateless. They have long faced discrimination and persecution with many Buddhists in Burma calling them Bengalis and saying they migrated illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in the country for generations.

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WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump in a tweet Wednesday denied that he had told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Africa this month that her husband must have known what he signed up for.

But the mother of the fallen soldier stood behind the account, saying that Trump did disrespect the family with his comments during a phone call.

The president was reacting to a Florida congresswoman saying the family of Sgt. La David T. Johnson was astonished by that remark during a phone call from Trump on Tuesday. Trump said he has proof that the conversation did not happen as recounted by Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson. He did not elaborate, but the claim again raised questions about whether the president tapes calls and conversations.

Wilson told MSNBC on Wednesday that Johnsons widow, Myeshia, was shaken by the exchange.

She was crying the whole time, and when she hung up the phone, she looked at me and said, He didnt even remember his name. Thats the hurting part.

Read more: Trump offered a grieving military father $25,000 in a call, but didnt follow through

Wilson went on to say Trump was almost like joking. He said, Well, I guess you knew  something to the effect that he knew what he was getting into when he signed up, but I guess it hurts anyway. You know, just matter-of-factly, that this is what happens, anyone who is signing up for military duty is signing up to die. Thats the way we interpreted it. It was horrible. It was insensitive. It was absolutely crazy, unnecessary. I was livid.

She was in tears. She was in tears. And she said, He didnt even remember his name. 

On Tuesday, Wilson told The Washington Post that Trump had told Johnsons widow, He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway.

Wilson said she was riding in a limousine with Johnson when the president called, and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

He made her cry, Wilson said.

Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Post on Wednesday that she was in the car during the call from the White House and that President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband.

U.S. President Trump is continuing to reject a Florida congresswoman's account of the commander in chief telling the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for." Trump says that he "didn't say it." (The Associated Press)

Jones-Johnson, speaking to The Post via Facebook Messenger, declined to elaborate.

But asked whether Wilsons account of the conversation between Trump and the family was accurate, she replied: Yes.

The White House did not confirm or deny Wilsons account on Tuesday.

The Presidents conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private, a White House official said in a statement.

The White House had said Tuesday that Trump placed calls Tuesday to the families of all four service members killed in Niger on Oct. 4. The calls followed Trumps claims Monday and Tuesday that his Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama, had not often made such calls to families. Former Obama administration officials strongly dispute that claim, saying Obama engaged families of fallen service members in various ways throughout his presidency.

Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Fla., was found dead after initially being reported as missing after the attack.

He was a driver assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

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U.S. President Donald Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 (U.S.) and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said.

Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, told The Washington Post that Trump called him at his home in Zebulon, N.C., a few weeks after his 22-year-old son and two fellow soldiers were gunned down by an Afghan police officer in a suspected insider attack June 10. Their phone conversation lasted about 15 minutes, Baldridge said, and centred for a time on the fathers struggle with the manner in which his son was killed.

I said, Me and my wife would rather our son died in trench warfare,  Baldridge said. I feel like he got murdered over there.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Trumps offer of $25,000 adds another dimension to the presidents relations with Gold Star families, an honourific given to those whose loved ones die while serving in support of the nations wars. The disclosure follows questions about how often the president has called or written to grieving military families.

The Washington Post contacted the White House about Baldridges account on Wednesday morning. Officials declined to discuss the events in detail.

But in a statement Wednesday afternoon, White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters said: The check has been sent. Its disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognized as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the president, and using it to advance the medias biased agenda.

Trump said this week that he has called every family of somebody thats died, and its the hardest call to make. At least 20 Americans have been killed in action since he became commander-in-chief in January. The Washington Post interviewed the families of 13 and found that his interactions with them vary. About half had received phone calls, they said. The others said they had not heard from the president.

In his call with Trump, Baldridge, a construction worker, expressed frustration with the militarys survivor benefits program. Because his ex-wife was listed as their sons beneficiary, she was expected to receive the Pentagons $100,000 death gratuity  even though I can barely rub two nickels together, he told Trump.

Read more:

Somebody screwed up here: Why did Trump take 12 days to address the deaths of four soldiers, and why did he attack Obama?

Trump did disrespect my son: Mother backs report of presidents horrible call to soldiers widow

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls Trump a soulless coward

The presidents response shocked him.

He said, Im going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000, and I was just floored, Baldridge said. I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, No other president has ever done something like this, but he said, Im going to do it. 

The president has faced worsening backlash since details emerged of his phone call Tuesday with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed Oct. 4 alongside three other U.S. soldiers in Niger. After not addressing the incident for 12 days, Trump on Monday falsely claimed that previous presidents never or rarely called the families of fallen service members. In fact, they did so regularly.

Rep. Frederica Wilson said Trump called Johnsons widow, Myeshia Johnson, on Tuesday and said her husband knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway. Wilson was riding in a limousine with the wife and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

U.S. President Donald Trump strongly disputed a Florida congresswoman's account that the commander in chief told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for." (The Associated Press)

Trump denied the allegation Wednesday morning. But the fallen soldiers childhood guardian, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she also was in the car when the White House called, and said that President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband.

In all, seven Gold Star families contacted by The Post said they have had phone conversations with Trump. Most said they appreciated the gesture. Four families said they have not received a call and were upset. One said Trump had not called but that they knew the late soldier would not want his death politicized. An additional family said that it had corresponded with the White House but declined to elaborate.

The Associated Press reached one other family, that of Army Spec. Etienne Murphy, 22. His mother said she received neither a call nor a letter from the president.

Baldridge said that after the president made his $25,000 offer, he joked with Trump that he would bail him out if he got arrested for helping. The White House has done nothing else other than send a condolence letter from Trump, the father said.

I opened it up and read it, and I was hoping to see a check in there, to be honest, the father said. I know it was kind of far-fetched thinking. But I was like, Damn, no check. Just a letter saying Im sorry. 

The experiences of other Gold Star families were more typical.

The family of Sgt. Cameron Thomas, a 23-year-old Army Ranger killed April 27 in a raid on Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Afghanistan, met with Vice-President Mike Pence at Dover Air Force in Delaware as the soldiers casket arrived from overseas. They had a 20-minute call with Trump about two weeks later, said Thomass father, Andre.

He gave his condolences and made some comments how different his paperwork was when it went across his desk, the father said in a phone interview. Said most of the paperwork he sees in these types of death says, Hes respected by his peers. He said Camerons stuck out because it said he was respected and loved by his peers.

The grieving father said he then spoke at length about his sons love for the Army and his determination to become a Ranger, a distinction he earned at age 19. About midway through the phone call, the elder Thomas shared with Trump that he had voted for him, and that got him on another tangent that extended the conversation for about 10 minutes, the father said.

The president then spoke about his work in office and the strides that hes made in the short time hed been president, Thomas said.

Thomas said the family was touched by the phone call. The father of a Mormon family with 12 children, seven of them adopted, he was concerned about the attention and publicity that his sons death could bring. But talking to the president helped him put things in perspective and realize that his son belonged to the country.

Politics is politics, and maybe some people wouldnt care to hear from him, he said. But putting politics aside, it does mean a lot to a family, their child.

U.S. President Trump is continuing to reject a Florida congresswoman's account of the commander in chief telling the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for." Trump says that he "didn't say it." (The Associated Press)

William Lee, 40, shared a similar experience, saying that his entire family spoke by phone with Trump after his brother, Army 1st Lt. Weston Lee, 25, was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29.

He was very cordial nice and very nice, Lee said, of the call, which he said lasted about five or six minutes.

Lee said the president spoke to them about how impressive my brother was, how he had read the reports, reading everything about Weston, and he could tell how amazing he was. And talking to us, he could tell how strong we were and how strong he must have been. We were all pretty devastated.

It meant something the leader of our nation calling us and showing the honour and respect to my brother that I feel my brother earned, the brother said, his voice cracking.

Quinn Butler, whose 27-year-old brother, Aaron, was killed in August by an explosion in Afghanistan, said that their parents received numerous letters from generals and other leaders, but no call or letter from Trump.

Aaron Butler, a Special Forces soldier, was very supportive of Trump and appreciative for what he has done for the military, his brother said. The soldier believed that Trump helped initiate some changes that have enabled commanders to make more progress against the militants in Afghanistan.

Quinn Butler said that he was surprised that his parents did not receive a call from Trump, considering his brother was a very elite soldier, a soldier who had given everything. But he said that Aaron would not want his death politicized.

I think that Aaron would be very upset if anything was manipulated to show that he didnt support Trump and that he wasnt appreciative of the things that he did do, because he was, the brother said.

Euvince Brookss son, Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, was killed Aug. 13 in Iraq. He has not heard from the White House. The presidents claim this week that he had called every military family to lose a son or daughter only upset the Brooks family more.

Brooks said that after watching the news on Tuesday night he wanted to set up a Twitter account to try and get the presidents attention.

I said to my daughter, Can you teach me to tweet, so I can tweet at the president and tell him hes a liar? he said. You know when you hear people lying, and you want to fight? Thats the way I feel last night. Hes a damn liar.

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Take a knee in protest (as some athletes are showing us) or bend a knee in supplication? This is the stark choice Canada faces as the NAFTA negotiations enter the final stretch.

To continue to negotiate NAFTA with the Americans in the present climate, places us squarely in the ranks of supplicants allowing our once beloved neighbor to the south to dictate the terms of a treaty, not negotiate one with us. To push the pause button and leave the room now, preserves our dignity as a nation. No less than that may now be at stake.

Is there is a spirited debate going on in official Ottawa about the risk of waiting (to possibly be humiliated) or walking tall? We are not negotiating the development of a Jersey Shore casino. We are negotiating over our economic future. However, how we negotiate and what we are prepared to endure is about who we are. We dont have much time to figure that out. Pride among peoples has led to unfortunate consequences; but no less so acquiescence misunderstood as weakness.

There is a strong argument that it would be irresponsible to walk out and risk NAFTA. The responsible and less risky course is certainly to stay at the table and hope for the best. And that would be so very Canadian of us. Far more irresponsible, however, may be to squander our sovereignty participating in a sham, waiting on the whims of a foreign leader.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland criticized others at the negotiating table for what she called unconventional proposals after the latest round of NAFTA talks ended in Washington. The talks are now being pushed into 2018. (The Canadian Press)

The U.S. president may be wrong when he equates the U.S. national interest only with its economic interest. But he is certainly incorrect when he assumes that economic interest is the only thing that drives other countries, not also pride, or history, or dignity.

What drives us? Do our economic needs trump (forgive me) our pride, our dignity and our sovereignty? That is a question that should be in urgent debate within the top ranks of the Government of Canada and among Canadians.

We stand up or we yield. Policy maker or policy taker? There is a choice. To wait for President Trump to pull the plug, as he keeps threatening that he may or may not do, allows him to ultimately humiliate Canada when he walks as he will. A bully needs a target. If that is Canada, others will have us in their sights next.

We know how this movie ends: with no deal or the President pulling out, even if a deal is at hand or agreed to. The United States is no longer a dependable trading partner and Canada needs to act accordingly. The president may cancel NAFTA today or tomorrow or next week. He may do that just because he can or because he really believes this is a good negotiating tactic, or because he neither understands the implications for his own country, or simply doesnt care. He may be bedeviled by other challenges and playing tough with Canada has been so easy. It should not be.

We leave the talks now and push pause and we assert our sovereignty. We would be doing so: with regret and in the belief that NAFTA can be improved and knowing that we have been engaged in a good faith effort to do that. Canada should return to the negotiating table when the U.S. administration is ready to negotiate a new deal that can be a win/win for all and not just for them. And that should be our last word on the subject for quite a while.

The foreign affairs minister says despite goodwill among parties in the ongoing NAFTA renegotiation talks, significant gaps remain. Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday shes glad the countries have agreed to extend talks into 2018.

The clue to what is going on may be found in an animated musical from 1999. President Trump may have watched too many reruns of South Parks deliciously named film, Bigger, Longer and Uncut. He is certainly humming a song from that film whose refrain is:

Blame Canada. Blame Canada.

Seems that everything has gone wrong since they came along.

Blame Canada. Blame Canada.

Its not even a real country anyway.

Blame Canada before someone thinks of blaming us.

It is time to leave the room. This will lay the matter and the consequences squarely at the presidents feet. The president wont be able to use the threat of abrogation as a tactic or a ploy. He will have to cancel NAFTA or not (and its not clear if he can in fact do so without Congress).

He wont be able to blame Canada. It will be his actions that will open up a schism between the White House and Congress and the governors, which will in time be turned to our benefit. NAFTA will continue well beyond the six-month notice period as its abrogation by the president (if that happens) and his authority to do so, is challenged in Congress and the courts.

Let plucky Canada be the disrupter now. Leave the table and this can be a defining moment in our history. The price of doing otherwise has become too high. You cant blame Canada.

Barry R. Campbell is a former Member of Parliament and president of Campbell Strategies.

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The half-way mark of the Trudeau government this week is an excellent time to assess its performance and to look back as well as ahead to Liberal prospects for re-election in 2019. So far, many commentators remain unimpressed.

How to assess this government? For a start, we can look at promises made in the 2015 election campaign and resulting record of achievement. According to the non-partisan initiative called the TrudeauMetre  run by the group Polimeter  the Trudeau Liberals made a whopping 226 promises in the last campaign.

These analysts say the government has achieved 58 of these along with 73 in progress, for a total of 131. Of the 226, 59 promises have not yet been taken up and 36 have been outright broken, for a total of 95. Prominent among promises kept are various tax measures; prominent among those broken is of course the pledge to change Canadas electoral system. So depending on your point of view, the glass is either half full or half empty on Liberal promises at the half-way point.

As interesting as this exercise may be, it is not adequate to the task at hand. Canadians will not be sitting with a scorecard based on 226 promises when they vote next time. They will be thinking about how the government is dealing with the big issues at hand. This may well include views about various promises fulfilled and broken  but it will include much more than that. Governments not only have to deal with their pledges but have to deal with new and emerging circumstances. And its the new challenges that are often so crucial.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced an unexpected financial crisis in 2008-2009 when in government. It is worth mentioning that Harper promised austerity in response to the crisis but ended up introducing a stimulus package. He broke a promise. But his government was seen to have handled this crisis extremely well and was rewarded with a majority government in 2011.

The Trudeau government has its own unexpected crisis and that is the shock of a Donald Trump-led U.S. administration and the resulting threat to trade relations. This file will loom large in how the Liberals are assessed in 2019. The issues besetting them now  the poor launch of both the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and the small business tax reforms  may not even figure in the next campaign.

Two factors will help the incumbents.

First, Canadians usually reward even a modestly competent government with a second term. The Chretien-Martin Liberals won four election victories; the Harper Conservatives won three. So unless the Liberals are exceptionally inept, and there is no sign of that, history will work in their favour.

And second, a strong economy will help their prospects. Economic growth and job growth have impressive over the recent period, and barring a massive downturn, the incumbents are bound to benefit.

There is one more way that we might assess the Trudeau Liberals. When I was digging through the polling data from the 2015 election, one fact jumped out at me, and that was the huge desire for change. Depending on question wording, a frequent finding was that 60 to 70 per cent of Canadians wanted change. This is what Canadians voted for and so we can ask whether this government has delivered.

The answer has to be yes. The policy changes have been significant. The Liberal promise to run a deficit of $10 billion (now $17 billion in 2016-17) and spend it on infrastructure and other programs represents substantial change from the Harper Conservatives. Carbon pricing, legalizing marijuana, the child tax credit, and ending income splitting represent significant change. The first act of the new government was to bringing back the long-form census. There are many other examples. There can be no doubt that we have policy change.

But there is more. The entire demeanor, tone, presentation and language of this prime minister are different, representing a huge break from the past. Half the cabinet is female. The look and feel is vastly different. Words like gender and feminist would never be uttered in the previous government but today are commonplace. The change has been profound.

By focusing on the topics and travails of the day, we sometimes miss the big picture.

Donna Dasko teaches in the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto and is former Senior Vice-President of the polling firm Environics Research Group.

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So whats the bottom line in the deal that hands control of Bombardiers struggling C Series airline project over to the European giant Airbus?

Just this: taxpayers in Canada have sunk well over a billion dollars into the venture for the privilege of subsidizing jobs making planes in Alabama.

This is an amazing deal for Airbus, which gets a controlling share (50.01 per cent) in the C Series for an investment of  exactly nothing at all. It wont even take on any of Bombardiers debt. What it contributes is its financial and organizational muscle plus a scheme to dodge punitive tariffs imposed on the C Series by the U.S. Commerce Department.

At a stroke, Airbus takes out Bombardier as a potential competitor in the growing market for jets carrying 100 to 150 passengers. And it sets itself up to compete vigorously in that category with the other big global aerospace powerhouse, Boeing.

It plans to do all that by opening up a production line to build the C Series in  Alabama. That gets around the Trump administrations insistence on protecting American jobs.

But it does it at the cost of moving production south of the border for a plane in which Bombardier has already sunk $6 billion. The Quebec company is also on the hook to cover hundreds of millions of dollars more in potential losses for the project.

Who can doubt that if the C Series finally takes off under the new Airbus management more and more production will be shifted from Quebec to low-wage, anti-union Alabama? Airbus, headquartered in Toulouse, France, and operating globally, will have no allegiance to Quebec or keeping jobs there, which is the reason that the Quebec and federal governments have poured billions in subsidies, loans and outright grants into the company over past decades.

In just the past two years governments have put more than $1.6 billion into the C Series. Quebec invested $1.3 billion in 2015 and last January the federal government committed $372.5 million, all in the name of propping up high-tech jobs in the province.

No wonder, then, that Quebecs opposition parties are outraged at this latest surprise twist in the Bombardier story, and rightfully so. Amir Khadir, a member of the provinces National Assembly for the left-wing Quebec solidaire, says taxpayer dollars will end up subsidizing Airbus jobs in Alabama. Thats about the size of it.

Another opposition leader is calling for the provinces auditor general to tell Quebec taxpayers just what has become of their $1.3 billion, and what the value of the Quebec governments 19 per cent share in the C Series project is at this point.

Thats a good question. Likewise, Ottawa ought to give federal taxpayers an accounting of the $372.5 million in financial assistance it committed to in January. Bombardier has gone to great lengths in the past, including multiple court cases, to keep the amount of public subsidies it receives secret. At this point, though, the minimum taxpayers should expect is an accurate and transparent look at what their investment is worth and how much of it they can expect to get back.

What can be said of this deal is that it may be the best Bombardier could manage given the crippling 220 per cent duties imposed by the Trump administration, with the threat of more protectionist measures to come.

Better, from Bombardiers point of view, to salvage some part of the C Series project than to see the whole thing collapse. Certainly, the company benefitted immediately from a 20-per-cent spike in its share price.

But from the point of view of taxpayers who have been called upon again and again to come to the rescue of the company in the name of preserving jobs in Canadas supposedly vital aerospace sector, this is a big slap in the face.

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Humber College student Kate Nodwell fears she wont graduate from her three-year public relations course if she cant finish her last eight weeks of classes by year-end. She has a one-way ticket to England for a coveted internship that starts in January, and shes not about to give that up.

Calvin McDonnell, who hopes for a career in water treatment, wonders how hes going to make up the lab time he needs to analyze water samples for chemicals during his last year of environmental technology at Fanshawe College in London, Ont.

And Greg Kung, a second-year paramedic student at Humber, says his class is being robbed of a crucial part of the program  ride-alongs with crews in the community to experience life on the job.

Read more: College strike hits third day, no talks scheduled

They are among the roughly 300,000 college students across Ontario caught in the crossfire this week as 12,000 faculty went on strike Monday after negotiations ended between their union and the provinces 24 public colleges.

I cant sleep because of all this and I have classmates feeling the same way, says Nodwell, 28, who is in her final year of an advanced diploma.

The internship she lined up in England is for the work semester required to complete her diploma. She cant put that on hold if classes extend into the new year as a result of the strike.

Like students across the province, Nodwell is uncertain how the labour disruption is going to affect her studies and her future, and has been relying on news reports and social media for updates since full-time professors, part-time instructors, counsellors and librarians walked off the job.

Ive worked so hard, says Nodwell, who has two part-time jobs to pay for school. But the lack of reliable information, uncertainty and inability to plan is causing a lot of anxiety.

She says she fully supports striking faculty but when you add it all up its very, very stressful and were just being left in the dark.

Talks, which ended Sunday after the bargaining team for the colleges rejected the final offer from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, were not scheduled to resume as of late Tuesday.

Calvin McDonnell, 21, was so upset when he heard the news Sunday that he wrote to his local MPP, NDP education critic Peggy Sattler, who recounted his situation during Question Period at Queens Park on Monday, demanding the government send both sides back to the bargaining table.

McDonnell said in an interview he is laden with OSAP loans and doesnt want to take on more debt as a result of delayed completion of his program.

Right now its our most intense semester, says McDonnell. Most of our study is in the lab and tuition is paying for the equipment.

But all that is currently cancelled.

College students arent the only ones affected. There are currently 91 collaborative programs in Ontario run through partnerships between universities and colleges. Depending on the program, those are also experiencing cancellations.

About 5,000 students enrolled at University of Guelph-Humber, located on the Humber campus in Toronto, are facing cancelled classes, including those taught by Guelph University professors.

Thousands of students in collaborative nursing programs involving 13 universities and 21 colleges are also feeling the impact.

The largest such program is between Ryerson University, George Brown College and Centennial College. Its currently business as usual for students who enrolled through the university, while students whose home site is one of the colleges are dealing with cancelled classes and placements, said Ryerson spokesperson Johanna VanderMaas.

At Queens Park on Tuesday, Premier Kathleen Wynne urged the colleges and union to restart negotiations and put an end to the strike.

I am very concerned about it, said Wynne. I hope that, in the very short future, we will see that the parties are at the table and they can hammer out an agreement.

But paramedic-in-training Greg Kung of Humber says the practical nature of many college programs means that valuable workplace learning is missed with every day of the strike.

Losing the hands-on experience is causing a lot of pressure, says Kung, 28. Judging from other students weve talked to in programs like nursing, there is a sincere worry and anxiety.

Thats a big concern for Avery Mackintosh, who is taking a one-year graduate certificate in addictions and mental health at Durham College.

While it may be possible to catch up on reading academic material, she says the crucial workshop component of the program, which allows students to role play and be critiqued on their interaction skills, is key.

A lot of the content is practical skills, says Mackintosh, 22, who earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Trent University.

Were not learning everything we should be learning.

James Fauvelle is learning  just not exactly the way he expected. Fauvelle, 40, is in his second year of Centennials social service worker program, which he says has a strong social justice component.

So hes organizing a Toronto march from Bay and Bloor Sts. to Queens Park at noon Thursday to show our solidarity with faculty  many of whom are part-time and teach anywhere from seven to 12 hours a week.

Fauvelle says he works part-time and his wife is juggling three jobs so the situation is taking its toll.

Honestly, a lot of us just cant afford it, he said.

OPSEU is seeking more job security for those instructors and wants half of faculty to be full-time  versus the current one-third they represent by head count. Full-time staff currently account for half the teaching hours.

With files from Kristin Rushowy

Andrea Gordon can be reached at agordon@thestar.ca

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Well-known economist and market doomsayer Marc Faber has resigned from the board of Sprott Asset Management at the request of fellow directors after Faber released a racially charged newsletter on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

Faber, who is the editor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, wrote in a newsletter: "Thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the U.S. would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority."

Faber was an independent director at Toronto-based asset management firm Sprott since 2010. Sprott CEO Peter Grosskopf said Faber's comments are "deeply disappointing and completely contradictory with the views of Sprott and its employees" in a statement released Tuesday.

Faber, reached via email by TheStreet, offered the following: "If stating some historical facts makes me a racist, then I suppose that I am a racist. For years, Japanese were condemned because they denied the Nanking massacre."

Faber also offered the full text of a recent news story about the Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird being removed from some Mississippi schools.

He suggested people read his "report about the statues being taken down." Faber said in a report that the statues of Confederate soldiers that have ignited a politically and racially charged discord in America are homages paid to "honourable people whose only crime was to defend what all societies had done for more than 5,000 years: keep a part of the population enslaved."

Faber has long been quoted by financial media, including TheStreet.

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Reckitt Benckiser plc (RBGLY) posted weaker-than-expected third quarter sales and cut its full year revenue outlook as it cautioned it will reorganise its business and face challenges in the months ahead.

Reckitt said that comparable revenues for the three months ending in September fell 1% to just of 3.2 billion ($4.22 billion), compared to analysts' forecast of a 0.5% like-for-like gain. The group's baby formula business, which it now controls after the closing its $18 billion purchase of Mead Johnson (MJN) earlier this year, saw sales rise 1% and benefited from strong growth in China, the company said.

However, Reckitt said it sees net revenue from Mead to fall by around 2%, or at best be flat to comparable sales last year, for the full 2017 year. It also expects only flat revenue growth for the entire business over its full fiscal year, compared to an adjusted target of 2% growth it forecast when it reported second quarter earnings in July.

"We have made great progress over the last five years, as we have transformed our Group into one where consumer health now represents more than half of our business," said Reckitt CEO Rakesh Kapoor. "We are working to create two focused, agile and fully accountable Business Units - RB Health (incorporating MJN) and RB Hygiene Home, effective from Q1 2018."

"I will lead the new Health business directly and Rob De Groot, who is currently our head of ENA, will become President of the Hygiene Home business, reporting to me," Kapoor added.

Reckitt, whose brands include Durex condoms and Lysol disinfectants, had cautioned in July that its second quarter revenues would take a significant hit as a result of the impact of the petya cyber attack that spread across Europe and Asia over the summer.

Reckitt shares closed at 7,055.63 pence each in London Tuesday after rising 0.29% on the session to trim their three-month decline to around 9.15%.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) - Get Free Report said Wednesday, Oct. 18, that it has started production at the first of two new 650,000 tons-per-year, high-performance polyethylene lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas.

The two new polyethylene lines are part of a multi-billion-dollar Exxon expansion in the Baytown area of Texas. The company said it's planning to invest more than $20 billion over 10 years to expand its presence in the Gulf region.

The Mont Belvieu plant will reach more than 2.5 million tons per year at capacity, which makes it one of the largest polyethylene plants in the world, Exxon said.

The rapid expansion comes just two months after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas' Gulf Coast with unprecedent flooding that shuttered businesses across the state.

Exxon stock was down 0.33% to $82.68 in early afternoon trading Wednesday.

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Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells. The company operates through five segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running, wellbore placement, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD), equipment manufacturing, and rig instrumentation services; and logging-while-drilling systems and services, as well as drilling optimization software. The company also offers REVit, an automated real time stick-slip mitigation system; ROCKit, a directional steering control system; SmartNAV, a collaborative guidance and advisory platform; SmartSLIDE, an advanced directional steering control system; and RigCLOUD, which provides the tools and infrastructure to integrate applications to deliver real-time insight into operations across the rig fleet. In addition, it manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and other drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools; and provides aftermarket sales and services for the installed base of its equipment. As of December 31, 2021, the company marketed approximately 301 rigs for land-based drilling operations in the United States, Canada, and in 20 other countries worldwide; and 29 rigs for offshore platform drilling operations in the United States and internationally. Nabors Industries Ltd. was founded in 1952 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Full coverage of the Delphi murders: Look back at 5 years of stories
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

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Hello,

We are in process of finalising our trip to Veitnam over next Easter for around 12-14 days. We will arrive from Bangkok and will need to get back to Bangkok to return on our long international flight home.

So we would to know what is best to do start in the North Hanoi and work our way down or vice versa, planning to do most of the internal travelling by plane to save time. Yes and Phu Quoc is also on the list to do.

Many Thanks in advance
So with 15 days to explore Vietnam I would consider visiting 4 places.

For the beach part Phu Quoc is an obvious choice, but I would really consider visiting Con Dao. it is less visited by foreign tourists and has a more relaxed atmosphere, offers some beautoful remote beaches and some very interesting (and sad) historic sites. I certainly prefer Con Dao to Phu Quoc.

Here are some information and photos of the island.

https://solotravellerontour.com/con-dao-island/

The Mekong Delta is a good choice to see a bit of rural Vietnam. The rice fields, floating markets and seeing the mighty Mekong is very appealing.

For culture and some cities I would visit Hoi And Hanoi if you have not visited them. if you have covered Hanoi, you coudl then add Hue to the list.

For the right order I would cover Hoi An / hanoi or Hue / Hoi An first, fly to Can Tho for the mekong Delta, and then either fly from Can Tho to Don Dao, or travel to Soc Trang south of Can Tho and take the ferry to Con Dao (cheaper option), and then fly from Con Dao to HCMC for your 5-6 days there.

That could be a nice itinerary to explore and relax.

I hope this helps.

Edited: 5 years ago
It doesn't make sense for this trip and you can't actually use the JR Pass on Nozomi trains in any case (although you can still travel from Tokyo to Osaka with it using good train services, just not Nozomi).

On the other hand if you want to do multiple daytrips from these locations it could maybe make sense. Some people go from Osaka to Hiroshima and back in a day (which is a long journey but possible and in my opinion quite fun). If you're just going to spend 6 days in Kansai (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji) then a JR pass isn't worth it for this and there are other passes available (e.g. the Kansai thru pass) that cover small trips like this and will cost you more like 5,000 yen for three days. Even those passes aren't worth it in many cases as these kinds of trips aren't very expensive if you just buy a single ticket.
Just yesterday returned from Beqa and stayed at Beqa Lagoon and Resort. Snorkeling is FANTASTIC. The folks their are a 5-star PADI CENTER so they also have diving and snorkeling outings. The resort, staff, food, entertainment and the people on the island are a friendly, genuinely easy going, and polite people. 3 meals are provided daily and excellent. Water, tea, and coffee is included. Soda and drinks are extra and a bit expensive though. The staff at the resort are top notch. They are undergoing superb landscaping upgrades. No crime but they do have security and by day 2 everyone knows your name and all speak English. A MUST SEE AND STAY in our book and YES we plan to return next holiday.

Edited: 5 years ago
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- Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Wafula Chebukati has expressed his fears over the upcoming October 26 election

- He indicated his motions have been defeated by majority of commissioners in the electoral body

- The IEBC Chairman asked the staff who have been adversely mentioned in bungling the annulled August 8 presidential poll to step aside

- Chebukati's remarks comes just hours after the shocking resignation of IEBC Commisioner Roselyn Akombe

- He reiterated Akombe's claims that he is under siege, revealing the commissioners are partisan

The electoral commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati has issued a tough warning to politicians and IEBC staff at a time when one of the commissioners has resigned.

Chebukati also shared his frustrations in running the commission and in preparing for the repeat election set for October 26.

He made his address on Wednesday,October 18, the same day IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe resigned.

Chebukati has admitted frustrations at IEBC.Photo:Citizen.

READ ALSO: Diamond Platnumz house

The IEBC chairman also issued an ultimatum to senior members of the commission secretariat mentioned adversely by Opposition leader Raila Odinga as having bungled the annulled August 8 presidential to resign immediately.

Raila has demanded that the commission CEO Ezra Chiloba and 11 others must leave office before any election is done.

I shall not go down in history as a returning officer who drove this country into a deeper crisis I will not allow anyone to destroy this country, he said in an emotional statement which was a veiled warning to political players that he will resign if the political stalemate goes on.

He revealed that he had suffered challenges in leading the commission adding many of his decision had been shot down by a majority of his fellow commissioners.

Chiloba has been asked to resign.Photo:Soft Kenya.

"It is difficult to conduct a free, fair and credible election. My motions have been defeated by majority of the commissioners, he added.

Chebukati said the country was in a critical political situation which had been made worse by the chest thumbing by both NASA and Jubilee.

He however said he will not resign as was expected by many adding that he was putting Kenya first.

We are face with the dilemma as a country due to the current political situationKenyans have very high expectations from me but I cannot go ahead with a divided commissionResigning would be an easy thing to do but Im not doing that Im putting Kenya firstI warn the politicians who are threatening my staffs, Im giving them a yellow card, I will not allow that, said Chebukati.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
It was fun in the sun on Sunday as the Aranguez savannah was the place to crown winners of t
Russian-backed militants launched 44 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas in last day. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed, another four servicemen were wounded.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

"Over the past day, illegal armed groups violated the ceasefire 44 times. The Ukrainian Armed Forces opened fire on the enemy 38 times. As a result of the fighting, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed, another four servicemen were wounded," the statement reads.

In Donetsk direction, illegal armed formations used grenade launchers and heavy machine guns to shell Ukrainian strongholds outside Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), Butovka coal mine (11.4km north-west of Donetsk), Novoselivka Druha (23km north of Donetsk), Troitske (69km west of Luhansk) and Mayorske (45km north of Donetsk). ATO troops also came under small arms fire near Kamyanka (62km south of Donetsk) and Pisky (12km north-west of Donetsk).

In Mariupol direction, the tensest situation was observed on the outskirts of Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk), where militants fired 82mm mortars, anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms at Ukrainian positions. In addition, the enemy opened fire from 120mm mortars on Ukrainian strongholds near Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol) and used 82mm mortars to shell Ukrainian troops outside Lebedynske (16km north-east of Mariupol).

In Luhansk direction, Russian-backed militants used 82mm mortars and weapons on infantry fighting vehicles near Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk). Positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine outside Krymske (42.5km north-west of Luhansk) and Popasna (90 km north-west of Luhansk) came under small arms fire.

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Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four soldiers were wounded as a result of combat actions in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone in Donbas in the past twenty-four hours.

Ukrainian Defense Ministrys Spokesman for ATO issues Andriy Lysenko said this at a briefing on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Unfortunately, two Ukrainian servicepersons were killed, four were wounded as a result of military actions over the past day, Lysenko said.

He also specified that Russian-backed militants launched 44 attacks on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the past twenty-four hours.

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Three private houses were damaged in Marinka of Donetsk region as a result of shelling by militants.

"The militants fired at the city at about 6 pm yesterday. The mortar shelling of the residential areas of the city lasted almost an hour. Three private houses were damaged," the Marinka police department of Donetsk region reported.

Noted that people were at home during the shelling, there were no casualties.

The police continue to inspect the area.

All facts of crime were determined according to article 258 (terrorist act) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said that the visit of President of the Republic of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca opens a new page in bilateral relations based on an active dialogue and mutually beneficial projects.

The Ukrainian president stated this in his speech at the Ukraine-Malta business forum, the presidents press service reported on Tuesday evening.

President Poroshenko also stressed he has good reasons for a firm belief in a very promising future of the Ukrainian-Maltese trade and investment partnership. According to the results of the first half of 2017, the trade in goods and services between Malta and Ukraine increased by 64%. "This is the result of effective contacts between the Presidents, Governments, the effective work of the Prime Ministers and the ministries," he added.

Also, Petro Poroshenko stressed that Ukraine is ready to present Malta certain offers on the issue of privatization. In particular, in the field of energy, infrastructure projects, ports, chemical industry, etc. He also added that SMEs in Ukraine could be interesting for Maltese investments.

The Head of State also listed a number of reforms currently being implemented in Ukraine: the energy reform, which is one of the most successful; continuation of modernization of infrastructure; decentralization reform.

We are ready to resume privatization. The draft law of Ukraine on privatization of state property is coordinated with the position of the IMF, submitted to the parliament. This makes procedures more transparent and faster, as well as more secure for investors, he informed.

President Poroshenko called the attraction of $ 3 billion by placing Eurobonds for a 15-year period another symbol of increasing trust of investors. According to him, about 400 foreign investors participated in the agreement, which was the first issue of Ukraine since 2014.

President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, in turn, noted the importance and efficient of the reforms in Ukraine.

"We believe that in a favorable business environment, it is time when we should act decisively and help our people and businesses establish cooperation," the President of Malta said, noting that this is related to SMEs as well.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of the Republic of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca took part in the Ukraine-Malta business forum in Kyiv, during which an agreement on the creation of the Ukraine-Malta Business Council was signed.

In the course of the forum, the Agreement between the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry of Malta on the establishment of the Ukraine-Malta Business Council was signed, the presidents press service reports.

The agreement will facilitate broad involvement of small and medium-sized businesses in the bilateral cooperation, as well as the entry of Ukrainian companies into the EU markets.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of the Republic of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca noted a positive influence on various spheres of social and economic life of two states after the establishment of direct air connection.

President Petro Poroshenko emphasized that his meetings with the President of Malta yield practical results, the press service of the Head of State reported.

"One of the most important results is the introduction of connection between Malta and Ukraine," he said.

The Head of State believes that establishing direct air connection between our countries will have not only a tourism dimension. "This is education, this is business contacts, social programs and more," he added.

I really appreciate that these practical achievements of our negotiations bring our countries together. More Ukrainians, having the opportunity to travel without a visa, will go to Malta, discover this beautiful country for themselves, Petro Poroshenko said adding that Maltese will also be able to visit Ukrainian Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa and other interesting historic sites of our country.

President of the Republic of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca noted that connection between our countries is extremely important for making them more accessible to citizens. "We are convinced that Maltese and Ukrainian tourists will be able to enjoy the diverse colorful culture of our countries. To discover the history and the fact that makes our countries unique, " she said.

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Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk, being on an official visit to the United States to attend the annual meetings organized by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington, held a meeting with US Special Assistant to the President for Global Economics and Finance Mathew Haarsager to discuss the progress in Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF.

The Ukrainian Finance Ministry reported this following the meeting of Danyliuk with the US official.

During the meeting, we discussed the progress in Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF and the reforms required for the successful completion of the IMF program, the Ukrainian Finance ministry reported.

A reminder that last week the Ukrainian finance minister announced that at the current stage of talks with the IMF, Ukraine expects to receive the next IMF tranche under the Extended Fund Facility program before the end of this year.

At the same time, a few days earlier, Danyliuk also said that Ukraine was going to complete a program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund until 2019.

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The financial technologies have become one of the key talking points at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.

Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk, who took part in the mentioned event as part of the Ukrainian delegation, posted this on his Facebook page.

"The main global issues that were discussed during the Meetings this time and that have an impact both on national economies and the world economy on the whole: corruption, tax evasion and the need for a more efficient fiscal policy. The issue of financial technologies has also become one of the key talking points," Danyliuk wrote.

According to the Ukrainian Finance Minister, the participants in the Annual Meetings regarded the cryptocurrency as a challenge, not a problem, and agreed on the need to take a common stand.

According to Danyliuk, this issue is also relevant for the Ukrainian government and the National Bank.

"In Ukraine, we are also working with the NBU and other financial market regulators and experts to better research the nature of the cryptocurrency and to work out a stand regarding the appropriate regulation in Ukraine. There are many undecided questions. The status of cryptocurrency in Ukraine is not defined by the law, but this does not mean that the cryptocurrency is banned. Ukraine should follow the global trends and not lose a chance to use new technologies and innovations in the financial sector.

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The Government of Ukraine has taken a number of steps to ensure predictable conditions for business development and reduce corruption.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said this at the Cabinets meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Business starts to develop in the predictable conditions. If you ask the business representatives, they will say that corruption in VAT has been destroyed by our government. We launch new services. Nine million Ukrainian entrepreneurs have the opportunity for working in the e-office of a taxpayer," Groysman said.

He also added that the government ensured the greater transparency of customs clearance procedures and the more effective fight against smuggling.

"There is still much to be done, but the measures taken have secured 34% increase in revenues," Groysman said.

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The United States Department of the Treasury will assist Ukraine in conducting the reform of the State Fiscal Service.

The press service of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine reports this following the meeting of Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

"The parties discussed the project on comprehensive reform of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, which aims to radically change the work and philosophy of the fiscal service. The United States Department of the Treasury is one of the main partners and supports the implementation of this project," the statement reads.

As reported, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk made a working visit to the United States as part of the Ukrainian delegation to the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.

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From July 1 to December 31, 2017, Estonia holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The beginning of the EU's negotiations with Britain on Brexit and the acute problem of migrants undoubtedly have a great influence on the agenda of the presidency. However, for Estonia this was not an excuse for refusing to implement the priorities that it outlined. The key priority is the promotion of digital development in the EU, a component of which is cybersecurity. At the same time, Estonia also pays much attention to Ukraine - in matters of assistance in reforms and international efforts to deter Russian aggression, Estonian Foreign Minister Sven Mikser said in an interview with Ukrinform.

Q: Mr. Minister, the EU summit was held in Tallinn in September. What did Estonia want to achieve as a host country, which determined the agenda of the meeting?

A: This summit, which is actually the only summit-level meeting during our presidency in Tallinn, was mostly focusing on the digital agenda. Obviously Estonia has built over the years a bit of brand in that particular area, but we sincerely believe that the future is to a large degree digital. So there's quite a lot happening, there's quite a lot that has been put on the table by previous presidencies, by the Commission and obviously Estonia during our half-year presidency wants to advance those agenda points, be it the emergence of the digital single market or the free movement of information across the border. We believe that by facilitating free movement of information, developing it into another one of those basic freedoms of the EU would have a very significant economic impact, would actually make Europe much more competitive.

So there's a lot on the digital agenda that we want to move forward during our presidency, but also make sure that these issues will remain on the table after our presidency. And to a large degree this summit was about bringing all the EU member states to the same page with regard to the digital development, and obviously these developments come also with new threats. So cybersecurity is also a very big part of this digital agenda: building our systems, platforms, forms of cooperation up in such a way that they would not be vulnerable to cyberattacks or other cybercrime or threats that exist in a digital sphere.

And then in addition to this digital agenda another issue that was discussed among the heads of state and government was the future of Europe. That is something that has been very important particularly after the Brexit vote and after the launch of the Brexit negotiations. How the future Europe will look like: be it sort of an institutional framework or the governance in socioeconomic policy areas. We want to encourage the intellectual effort in that area as well.

Q: What important events are expected before the end of the EU presidency?

A: These were some of the issues, but when we look down the road we have still the Eastern Partnership summit coming up in Brussels in November, which is a very important event on our presidency calendar and also a very important policy area in our presidency agenda. We have had already a number of preparatory events, and we've involved eastern partners in several ministerial meetings held in Tallinn. We've organized conferences (some of them still yet to take place in October) that prepare the groundwork for that summit-level meeting in Brussels.

Then also we have during our presidency an EU-Africa summit also in November in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Those summit meetings will be chaired on Europe's behalf by the permanent president of the Council, but the rotating presidency obviously takes part in shaping the agenda to some degree. And we wanted to include also when it comes to the EU-Africa Union summit, we've made sure that while the main focus is on providing opportunities for the young generation, digital agenda would also be part of the summit.

Q: What events related to Ukrainian policies, Ukraine's relations with the EU, Estonia, which have already passed or will be held in these six months, would you particularly note?

A: It was the EU-Ukraine summit [held in Kyiv on July 12-13] that took stock of the recent developments in the EU-Ukraine relations. That was, I think, a very important event. I think the fact that finally we could overcome those political difficulties, (some of them actually EU internal political difficulties) and get the Association Agreement verified was very significant. This means that now we can basically start using the opportunities entailed in that agreement and fully implement that agreement. This is something that is very visible for Ukrainian people. This has been a very important development, and I've been very much personally involved in working with my Ukrainian counterpart, Minister Klimkin. I met him this year on a number of occasions but most recently during my visit to Kyiv, but also at the margins of the numerous multilateral meetings, where we had very constructive talks. So Ukraine has been featured very prominently.

Also when we are speaking about this positive agenda, something that we should not forget about is the fact that there is still an ongoing foreign aggression against Ukraine and a part of the country is still under occupation and the part of the country is still illegally annexed to Russia. We are also simultaneously working with Ukraine to help with reform efforts, we are also working internally in the EU, but also with a broader international community, democratic nations to maintain pressure on Russia in form of sanctions and overall political pressure in order to bring Russia back to internationally acceptable behavior and see that those wrongs that have been done will be corrected. And we are basically maintaining the sanctions regime and if necessary updating it and making sure that the sanctions will remain in place until Russia has fulfilled its obligations under the Minsk agreement, and we are also giving real content to the sanctions on the non-recognition policy of the Crimean annexation. Those are also things that are still put very high on the list of priorities.

Q: Russian-Belarusian exercises Zapad 2017 caused considerable concern among neighboring countries and NATO. What conclusions have been made at the Estonian Foreign Ministry?

A: It's a pattern. Russia has been regularly running those large-scale military exercises in a manner that is not fully transparent. They've been splitting those exercises into smaller constituent parts so that not to have to invite international observers under the Vienna document [an international agreement of the OSCE participating states envisaging the implementation of confidence and security measures in the region]. We've also seen in past Russia using those large-scale exercises and troop movements to conceal much more sinister operations, aggressive operations against neighbors. So it's always been our position that we need to maintain awareness and readiness during those exercises.

That's something that NATO allies and member states have learned from the Russian war against Ukraine that started in 2014, that actually we should not ignore those aggressive imperialist ambitions of the leadership in Kremlin and we should maintain constantly very high level of awareness and keep a very close eye on military movements and troop movements even if they happen inside Russian territory. Obviously with that latest Zapad exercise significant part of that exercise took part on Belarussian soil which was a cause for additional concern and reason to be particularly tempted to the appealing situation. We know that the Belarussian regime has been doing a very delicate act of sitting on a fence trying to avoid falling to either side but it was very important also to see that those troops that arrived in Belarus would after the conclusion of the exercise leave.

Q: Ukraine declared the Euro-Atlantic vector of development. How do you see Ukraine's place in today's Europe?

A: First of all we believe that the choice of a strategic direction is a sovereign choice of each and every nation. So no third country should have a veto about this. So we absolutely support the right of Ukraine to choose its own geopolitical orientation, to choose its affiliations. When it comes to Euro-Atlantic integration than obviously it is also conditions based process. There's a very serious reform effort that is required in order to move forward. We have seen very positive significant developments recently with a ratification of this long-delayed Association Agreement with a visa-free travel. But there's still a lot to be done by way of implementing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and using all the opportunities entailed within the Association Agreement. Plus obviously there are important reforms in many policy areas that are still far from being completed. But obviously Estonia and many other nations are ready to assist Ukraine in that effort by a way of sharing our experience and expertise in other more practical more technical ways. Ukraine has been for Estonia for many years one of the most important partners when it comes to our development cooperation. We have identified Ukraine as a country where even a small country like Estonia can make a very meaningful impact by the way of working and sharing our own reform experience

Oleg Kudrin, Riga
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) condemns terrorist attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, which claimed the lives of 300 people.

UWC President Eugene Czolij stated this, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The Ukrainian World Congress is appalled by these acts of terrorism targeting innocent civilians and expresses solidarity with the Somalian people in the wake of these tragedies," UWC President Eugene Czolij said.

On behalf of the 20-million strong Ukrainian diaspora, the UWC expresses sincere condolences to the families of the victims and prays for all of the victims of these acts of terrorism.

As reported, at least 300 people were confirmed dead after a double car bombing rocked Mogadishu on Saturday, making it the deadliest attack in Somalia's modern history.

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The Council of Europe should immediately start to protect Crimean residents from the de facto Russian authorities on a peninsula that neglect human rights and constantly violate them.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba said this, speaking at the 1297th meeting of the Committee of the Ministers Deputies, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Russia neglects principles enshrined in the basic documents of the Council of Europe, the decisions of its statutory bodies and Russias international obligations and commitments. We stress that the Council of Europe should proceed with the implementation of the Committee of Ministers decision on Crimea and to protect the population of the peninsula from continued violations of their rights by the occupying power," Kuleba said.

He reminded that a large number of single pickets took place in Simferopol, Dzhankoy, Gvardeysk, Belogorsk, Feodosiya and other cities of the occupied Crimea on October 14t. More than one hundred people were reported protesting against the arbitrariness of Russian security forces against the Crimean Tatars. At least 34 persons were detained.

The diplomat called on the Secretary General, Commissioner for Human Rights as well as other officials and institutions of the Council of Europe to step up their efforts to protect the population of Crimea.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko held a phone conversation with President of Romania Klaus Iohannis.

This has been reported by the press service of the Head of State.

The presidents discussed the Law of Ukraine "On Education" in the context of the protection of linguistic rights of national minorities, as well as topical issues of Ukrainian-Romanian relations.

The Romanian president confirmed the immutability of support for Ukraines territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty.

The Ukrainian president invited the Romanian president to make a visit to Ukraine in the near future.

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The Consul General of Ukraine in the city of Rostov-on-Don received permission from the Russian side to visit Ukrainian Pavlo Hryb, illegally detained in the pre-trial detention center of Krasnodar, on October 23.

Head of the Consular Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's Consular Service Vasyl Kyrylych stated this at a press conference in Ukrinform on Wednesday, October 18.

"On October 13, the Consulate General of Ukraine in Rostov-on-Don re-applied for permission to visit illegally detained Pavlo Hryb. According to preliminary information, the consulate received permission to visit Pavlo Hryb on October 23," Kyrylych said.

As reported, 19-year-old Pavlo Hryb disappeared in Belarus on August 24. Later it turned out that he was in Krasnodar's detention facility No. 5 on charges of "terrorism." Krasnodar's law enforcement agencies arrested the Ukrainian until October 17.

On October 18, the Russian court extended arrest of kidnapped Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb until January 4, 2018.

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Poland and Ukraine will sign a declaration with specified directions of the language implementation of the article of the Law "On Education" for Ukrainian schools in which training is conducted in Polish.

Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science Lilia Hrynevych and Polish Minister of National Education Anna Zalewska agreed on this during a meeting on October 17, the press center of the Ministry of Education and Science reported.

"We understand the importance for Ukraine of the assertion of the Ukrainian language as a state language, and we also pay a lot of attention to the development of our language in Poland. However, we have bilateral agreements. Paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the Law says that some subjects can be studied in the languages of the European Union. But the word can is not a guarantee. There must be a guarantee that a certain part of the subjects will be studied in Polish," the Polish minister of national education said.

The Ukrainian minister said that the generality of the article is explained by the fact that this is a basic law, and more detailed formulations will be written out in the profile Law "On General Secondary Education", as well as in the by-laws of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Hrynevych also noted that the Ministry of Education and Science plans to gradually increase the proportion of subjects that are studied in Ukrainian.

Now the parties are working on the text of the declaration, which will be signed in the near future.

According to the official statistics, about 400 thousand children of national minorities study in 735 Ukrainian educational institutions.

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The United Arab Emirates plans to develop cooperation with Kyiv in the field of tourism and advertising.

The press service of Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko informed this after his meeting with Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates Salem Ahmed Salem Al Kaabi.

"Salem Ahmad Salem Al Kaabi has noted that it is important for the UAE to develop cooperation with Kyiv in the field of tourism and advertising as a new destination for tourists from the UAE," the report reads.

In addition, the ambassador expressed interest in participating in the project for improvement of parks. In this regard, Vitali Klitschko instructed Kyivzelenbud municipal company to form a list of proposals for the embassy.

During the meeting, the parties discussed prospects for cooperation between Kyiv and the UAE cities. In particular, Klitschko noted that Kyiv was interested in attracting foreign companies, including those from the UAE, to upgrade the urban infrastructure.

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The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) has called corruption and the power of the oligarchs in Ukraine as a major "internal enemy" for further development of the state.

The commission stated this in a report published on its official website.

"The resilience and influence of Ukraine's oligarchs are at the heart of the country's persistent corruption. Oligarchs have captured the Ukrainian state, crowding out non-corrupt political parties and competing with one another to steal Ukraine's wealth," reads the report.

Ukrainian oligarchs are "not so much businesspeople as courtiers," who transform political and personal connections into monopolies supported by the state, according to the commission.

The report notes that two phenomena have given rise to this system of oligarchic competition: the lack of reforms in the first years of Ukraine's independence and gas arbitrage.

"Today's Ukraine has implemented many important reforms that have helped to counter corruption, specifically in energy, finance, and economics. However, judicial reforms continue to lag behind," the document says.

In this regard, it recommends that Ukraine move forward with remaining reforms, supported by both civil society and the international community. "Ultimately, the oligarchs must be transformed from courtiers into entrepreneurs and businesspeople so as to finally end the pervasive institutionalized corruption," the report says.

This can be done with the help of a powerful civil society and free media.

The report makes numerous recommendations by sector, with an emphasis on the importance of reforming the judiciary. In particular, "Ukraine should establish an anticorruption court as soon as possible, so as to provide the final necessary piece of Ukraine's anticorruption architecture," the Helsinki Commission said.

The report also discusses greater e-government and press freedom as mechanisms to empower Ukrainian civil society, including independent media, to monitor the reform process and prevent backsliding.

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The Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus in late September again asked the Belarusian Foreign Ministry to provide information on the circumstances of the disappearance of Ukrainian citizen Pavlo Hryb in Gomel, due to the absence of any official response from the Belarusian side.

Head of the Consular Support Unit of the Consular Service Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Vasyl Kyrylych said this at a press conference at Ukrinform on Wednesday, October 18, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The Belarusian side has not provided any official information about the possible detention of Pavlo Hryb on Belarusian territory. In this regard, the Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus at the end of September reiterated its request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus to provide information on the circumstances of the possible detention of Pavlo Hryb on Belarusian territory," Kyrylych said.

He added that there was currently no relevant information from the Belarusian side.

The father of the Ukrainian illegally held in Russia, Ihor Hryb, in turn, said that he had recently received answers to his appeals to the Russian president and the FSB office in the Krasnodar Territory regarding the circumstances of his son's detention.

"These two answers had almost identical text, which states that Pavlo Hryb was detained on the territory of the Russian Federation and that he was presented with respective charges there. That is, once again I want to emphasize that this is a lie," he said.

He said that representatives of the competent authorities in Belarus had told him in an informal atmosphere that Pavlo was detained in the city of Gomel by a group of unidentified persons, taken to Russian territory and transferred to another group of people, who then took the boy to the Smolensk region, where Pavlo was kept in a certain room and only there a protocol on his detention was drawn up.

Hryb said that he had filed official requests to the Belarusian side about the circumstances of the disappearance of his son.

"I received reports that relevant investigative actions are being carried out to clarify [the circumstances of the disappearance]. No more specific information is available. What I said is unofficial information," he said.

As reported, 19-year-old Pavlo Hryb disappeared in Belarus on August 24. Later it turned out that he was in Krasnodar's detention facility No. 5 on charges of "terrorism."

On October 18, a court in Krasnodar extended the arrest of the Ukrainian kidnapped in Belarus until January 4, 2018.

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Two minor political parties have accepted an offer from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party to assume seats vacated by the opposition if the countrys top court rules it should be dissolved.

The parties accepting the offer are Funcinpec and the Cambodian Nationality Party (CNP), while the League for Democracy Party (LDP) declined to take part in the deal.

The Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether the Cambodia National Rescue Party broke the law after its president was charged with treason.

Under proposed amendments to the political parties law approved by the CPP, the CNRP could be dissolved and its seats in parliament, the Senate and local authorities handed to other parties.

Nhep Bun Chin, Funcinpec vice president, said the party accepted the offer knowing it would be open to criticism. Criticism is a normal thing, he said. It is the law. If the law states that the seats go to the Funcinpec Party, I cant decline the offer. I apologize. If someone offers you a million dollars, and the money is legal, should we not accept it?

Seng Sokheng, president of the CNP, echoed Bun Chins comments.

Kov Kea, a LDP spokesperson, said the party had declined the offer because it wanted to win the popular vote, not be handed seats it had not won at the ballot box.

The seats belong to the Cambodia National Rescue Party, he said.

On Tuesday, the CNRPs senators issued a statement saying they would reject the proposed amendments that could see them out of a job.

The U.S. State Department on Monday said it was deeply concerned by parliaments approval of the amendments.

Heather Nauert, State Department spokeswoman, said in the statement that if ratified, the amendments, in conjunction with the lawsuit by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior to dissolve the CNRP, would effectively disenfranchise the millions of people who voted for the CNRP in the 2013 and 2017 elections.

Sok Eysan, a CPP spokesman, said that Cambodia would not heed foreign pressure to abide by things like the U.N. Charter.
Strict security measures have been put in place as China's Communist Party is set to host a high-level meeting in Beijing that will usher in a much-anticipated reshuffle of the ruling party's top leadership. Another surge of refugees make the trek from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Two Chinese nationals are among those indicted on charges they manufactured tons of powerful narcotics that were then peddled in the United States. U.S. and Japanese diplomats agree on the need to be prepared for the worst if diplomacy with North Korea fails.
The United Nations refugee agency has appealed to Bangladeshi authorities to speed up the registration process for up to 15,000 Rohingya refugees stranded at the countrys border with Myanmar. More than half a million Rohingyas who have fled violence in Myanmar in recent weeks are already in refugee camps in Bangladesh, many of them in unregistered camps, where food, shelter, drinking water and sanitation are scarce. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.
Trade ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico wrapped up a contentious fourth round of talks this week, aimed at modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement. But the Trump administrations proposals to reshape NAFTA have some trade analysts wondering if the 23-year-old trade pact can survive. Mil Arcega has more.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday declined to discuss his conversations with President Donald Trump concerning the Russia probe and defended the president's immigration agenda in often-heated exchanges with lawmakers on Capitol Hill



"I will not be able to discuss the content of my conversations with the president," Sessions said in his first appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee since becoming America's top law enforcement officer.



The attorney general stuck to that response that a president's private conversations are privileged as Democratic senators repeatedly sought answers about what Sessions and Trump might have discussed pertaining to the Russia investigation, as well as the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

Sessions did, however, tell senators that he has not been interviewed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election. Asked whether he has confidence in Mueller's work, the attorney general was noncommittal.



"The process has to work its will  history will judge," Sessions said.



Trump has criticized the special counsel's probe as a "witch hunt" and berated the attorney general for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.



On other topics, Sessions spoke far more freely. He vigorously defended President Trump's decision to end a program that has shielded undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation, and he said so-called "sanctuary cities" that refuse to cooperate with federal officials in identifying undocumented people deserve to lose federal funding.



In both cases, Sessions said Trump is correcting "an erosion in respect for the rule of law."



Senators of both parties pushed back. Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina challenged Sessions on the president's decision to sunset the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, unless Congress enacts a new program into law.



"Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated, and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving their country, brought to this country through no fault of their own?" asked Tillis, who has co-authored legislation to benefit DACA recipients.



"I say that it cannot be the policy of the United States that one can bring a young person [illegally] in the country, and they can't be deported," Sessions responded, adding that Trump wants DACA recipients to be dealt with "compassionately" as part of a larger package of immigration reforms and measures to boost U.S. border security.



Trump often has pledged to build a wall between the United States and Mexico. Asked whether he expects a barrier to be constructed spanning the entire 3,000-kilometer U.S.-Mexico border, the attorney general said, "No, the president has made clear he doesn't expect that."

Sessions, who represented Alabama in the Senate before becoming attorney general, came under fire from former Democratic colleagues for asserting during his confirmation hearing that he had no contact with Russian officials during last year's campaign. Sessions, who backed Trump and served as a campaign surrogate, later admitted to having met with Russia's ambassador on several occasions.



"The ambassador from Russia is Russian," Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota said pointedly.



"I conducted no improper discussions with Russians at anytime," Sessions insisted.

The attorney general testified hours after Trump posted a series of tweets blasting Comey once again for the FBI's probe of Democrat Hillary Clinton's handling of emails. Clinton, a former secretary of state, was Trump's 2016 election challenger.

Earlier this year, Comey testified that, before firing him, Trump repeatedly pressured him to wrap up the Justice Department's Russia investigation, wanting him to "lift the cloud" surrounding the inquiry.



"Did the president ever mention to you his concern about lifting the cloud' on the Russia investigation?" asked the committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California.



"Senator Feinstein, that calls for [revealing] a communication that I've had with the president, and I believe it remains confidential," Sessions responded.
Human Flow by internationally acclaimed artist and activist Ai Weiwei, highlights the plight of refugees around the world. The Chinese dissident is not the first to make a documentary about the displaced, but his film captures the flow of humanity on a planetary scale.

Ai filmed in 23 different countries in 40 different refugee camps where people fleeing war, environmental crises and religious persecution were staying. His goal is to show that the flood of refugees has global repercussions.

You are forcibly robbing this human being of all aspects that would make human life not just tolerable but meaningful in many ways, says a voice in the documentary.



According to the film, over 65 million people in the world today have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Using cameras attached to drones, Ai Weiwei records humanitys movement from up high.

Ai, a renowned artist known for his massive art installations with social and political connotations around the world, is an unassuming, soft- spoken man with a thoughtful expression. Sitting opposite me in one of the studios of the Voice of America, he snaps my picture on his iPhone along with many others he has taken that day of people and exhibits on VOAs hallways. I feel like an art installation. I ask him what prompted him to make a film about human flow.

It was serendipitous, he responds.



An unexpected opportunity

While vacationing on the Greek island of Lesbos with his family, Ai saw a boat full of refugees approaching. He started filming immediately on his phone.



Known for his political activism against communist China, his imprisonment, torture and subsequent exile, he lives in Berlin now and one would hardly believe that anything could take the Chinese dissident by surprise. But as he relates, filming and living with refugees in makeshift camps was unlike anything he had experienced before.

We have been hearing about the refugees all the time in the news. But to see a real group of people come down is very different. You see the children, the women, and you see those elderly people and they are tired, they are frightened, they basically risk their lives, give up everything, to come to just try to find safe conditions. Even though I grew up in a communist society we didnt see these kinds of things happen. So, for me it is a shock, and I think its an opportunity to learn about what really happened. 



Human Flow shows masses fleeing wars, religious persecution, and environmental disasters. At times his film feels like another one of his enormous art installations, with humanity playing a dual lead, both as a massive organism and as single individuals staring into a camera. The effect is more visceral than intellectual and that is exactly what Ai Weiwei wants to convey.

We wanted to build an understanding about human flow. Human flow as always happens in human history. In many cases, it is part of our humanity and our civilization, he says.

Stemming the flow

But the social anomaly of our times, says the filmmaker, is the effort by countries to stem that flow by preventing refugees from crossing borders and integrating into new societies. After a harrowing sea voyage and days of walking, many refugees from the Middle East make their way to northern Greece, only to be stopped on its border with Macedonia.

Over seventy borders have built up their fences and walls and have forbidden any refugee to pass through. So, by doing that, they are really not only stopping the life line of those refugees to try to find a safe place, even just temporarily across the border and go to another location, but are also putting them in extremely dangerous conditions."

Ai talks about human smuggling and sex trafficking of a very vulnerable population, mostly of women and children.

At a refugee camp in Turkey, he films an exasperated doctor trying to take care of the young. He points to a baby: two months old, and born here but he didnt have any vaccinations. The deplorable health conditions are one of the many problems plaguing the stateless. A man stands knee high in mud, looking at a cemetery filled with drowned refugees, relatives and friends. He hides his head in his hands and sobs.

A warning for the future

Ai Weiwei warns if we dont save those people from displacement, entire generations -- born without identity, prospects for a better life or a country -- will be vulnerable to extremism and radicalization.

I think, if you see so many children growing up under these conditions, in this 65 million people, now its getting much bigger, with 420,000 refugees added from Myanmar, how will these children behave, when they grow up, after they have seen how their parents have been badly treated, unfairly treated, the world watching but doing nothing. What kind of image would remain in their minds?

Ai Weiwei is very critical of Europe and the United States for lacking empathy, leadership and vision about the refugee issue. He sees the elections of ultra-right governments in Europe and of Donald Trump in the US as dire for refugees worldwide.

It certainly requires global leaders and also every citizen to be involved to solve the problem, he says, warning, if this does not change, no ones future is safe.
Tens of thousands of people protested Tuesday night in Barcelona against the Spanish government's detention of two Catalan separatist leaders.

The demonstrators carried candles and banners demanding the release of Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, who are being held on possible sedition charges.

Prosecutors accuse Cuixart of the Omnium Cultural movement and Sanchez of the Catalan National Assembly of provoking violence against police during a pro-independence march last month.

Catalan leaders have called the two political prisoners, which the government denies.

Earlier Tuesday, Spain's top court ruled Catalonia's independence referendum was illegal, saying that regional law backing the vote violated Spain's constitution.

The Catalan government had passed the "self-determination referendum law" on September 6. Spain's high court said the law must be suspended temporarily as it assessed the Spanish government's opposition to it, but Catalonia went ahead with the referendum on October 1.

According to court regulations, the suspension was to last five months while judges come up with a ruling, but the pro-independence coalition ruling Catalonia claimed that the universal right to self-determination outweighs Spain's laws.

Catalonia's government spokesperson, Jordi Turull, told reporters Tuesday Catalonia would not "surrender" its secession bid and reiterated calls for talks with Madrid on what he called "a democratic mandate" for independence.

Spain has given Catalonia until Thursday to reverse any moves it has made to secede or face direct rule from Madrid.

Catalonia, Spain's most prosperous region, is home to 7.5 million people. Its capital, Barcelona, is one of Europe's major tourist attractions. Catalonia has its own language and distinct culture, and is deeply divided over independence.

The Catalan government said that 90 percent of Catalans who participated in the October 1 referendum voted for independence from Spain. Many opponents of independence boycotted the vote, reducing turnout to around 43 percent of eligible voters.
Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton strongly criticized President Donald Trumps disruptive rhetoric on North Korea, while speaking in South Korea on Wednesday.

There is no reason for us to be bellicose and aggressive, said Clinton during an address to the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul.

Cavalier threats

Clinton took issue with the presidents disparaging description of Kim Jong Un as little rocket man and his threats to respond to a North Korean provocation with fire and fury.

With the fate of millions of people resting on a diplomatic resolution to the crisis with North Korea, it should go without saying that cavalier threats to start a war are dangerous and shortsighted, she said.

She also said that picking fights with Kim Jong Un just puts a smile on his face and gives the leadership in Pyongyang the international attention it craves.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson this week had defended President Trumps disruptive tweets and public comments as attempts to create action forcing events to move diplomacy forward.

Coercive diplomacy

While Clinton disagreed with Trumps aggressive style, she seemed to endorse his administrations overall coercive diplomacy strategy to pressure the Kim Jong Un government to give up its nuclear weapons program.

She agreed that North Koreas rapid progress toward developing a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland constitutes an existential security threat to the United States.

But the former secretary of state offered no alternative policy prescriptions to prevent further testing, proposed no inducements or concessions to facilitate talks and offered no comment on the Chinese and Russian proposal to freeze the North Korean nuclear program in exchange for a suspension of U.S., South Korean military drills.

Instead she echoed the Trump administration in advocating that the international community should increase economic sanctions on North Korea to force Kim Jong Un to denuclearize or face collapse, that China must do more to implement sanctions, and that in the meantime U.S. allies need to maintain a strong military deterrence.

Clinton was also critical of China's retaliatory actions against South Korean companies doing business in China following the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea.

De facto nuclear state

Clinton said the United States and its allies should respond with proportional force to a North Korean provocation, while Trump has said the U.S. would totally destroy North Korea if attacked.

Any preventive military action to eliminate North Korean nuclear or missile sites risks triggering a war that could devastate and destabilize the region. But a number of leaders and analysts say sanctions alone will not force the leadership in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear deterrent, especially in light of Trumps threatening language.

I think we have to accept the reality that we are going to be living with a nuclear armed North Korea for the foreseeable future. As a practical matter denuclearization is no longer a realistic objective, said Gary Samore, a former White House arms control coordinator during the administration of President Barack Obama, who is currently with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Reassure allies

Clinton also said the United States needs to be a steady, consistent and predictable force to keep the peace in Asia, and that Trumps approach has been both reckless and counterproductive.

Washington's allies, she said, have expressed concerns over the reliability of the United States given Trumps past criticisms on unfair trade and insufficient defense payments to host U.S. military forces in the region.

President Trump is scheduled to make his first official visit to Asia in early November. He will travel to Japan, South Korea and China before attending trade and security summits in Vietnam and the Philippines.

The South Korean presidential office said in a statement that it expects President Trump to address not only bolstering the Korea/U.S. alliance, and a response to North Koreas nuclear problems, but also his policy vision on the peninsula and Northeast Asia.

Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has announced plans to appeal a Moscow court's decision Monday to fine the encrypted messaging service some $14,000 (800 thousand rubles) for failing to provide law enforcement agencies with user information and access to private correspondences.

Providing security services with encryption keys to read users' messaging data violates Russia's constitution, he said in a post on Vkontakte, Russia's version of Facebook, which he co-founded in 2007.

"Everyone has the right to privacy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraphic and other communications," Durov said, quoting constitutional excerpts.

Russian special services need decryption keys to "expand their influence at the expense of the constitutional right of citizens," he said, building on similar comments Durov made in September, when he announced that FSB officials had requested backdoor access to Telegram.

Russian security officials have said encryption codes are vital to protecting citizens against terror attacks such as those earlier this year in St. Petersburg, in which perpetrators, Kremlin officials says, communicated via Telegram.

According to Pavel Chikov, a prominent Russian human rights lawyer, the FSB state security organization (formerly KGB) is trying to gain technical access by announcing ultimatums and making threats. While fines levied aren't too burdensome for a company of Telegram's size, they do indicate an FSB willingness to block Telegram from continuing to operate in the country.

Third-party hackers

The situation, Chikov said, is similar to legal proceedings that resulted from FBI requests for encryption access to Apple iPhones  a request that ultimately was dropped, leaving federal investigators to rely on third-party hackers.

Secrecy, anonymity and "the ability to communicate in such a way that representatives of the state do not hear these conversations," should also be respected in Russia, Chikov told VOA Russian.

"Generally speaking, if we are talking on [a conventional] telephone, the conversation is protected by constitutional guarantees," Chikov said. However, Russian police and various state security agencies can obtain court-ordered warrants to tap the phone of specific individuals suspected of a plotting criminal activities  and they have the technical acumen required to do it.

Although privacy laws are generally the same for peer-to-peer text-messaging devices, Russian security agencies lack the technical sophistication to hack Telegram's encrypted conversations.

Durov 'most likely right'

Professor Ilya Shablinsky, a constitutional law expert with Moscow's National Research University, says Durov is "most likely right" that FSB demands represent a constitutional violation, as allowing FSB access to Telegram would allow for users' correspondence to be read.

"When that constitutional norm was drafted, correspondence was typically drafted on paper," he said.

"And the Russian Constitution's authors never envisaged a technological variant [such as Telegram]. In this case, we do not know exactly what kind of information the FSB requested, and what it means for Telegram to provide that information."

According to Shablinsky, although a Russian court can demand access to correspondences of a specific individual who is suspected of committing a crime, it is not known whether the provision covers access to the decryption devices for an entire network of users.

The free instant-messaging app, which lets people exchange messages, photos and videos in groups of up to 5,000 people, has attracted about 100 million users since its launch in 2013.

Telegram threatened

In June, Roskomnadzor, Russia's state communications watchdog, threatened to ban Telegram for failing to provide user registration documents, which were requested as part of a push to increase surveillance of internet activities.

Although Telegram later registered, it stopped short of agreeing to Roskomnadzor's data storage demands. Companies on the register must provide the FSB with information on user interactions; starting from 2018, they also must store all of the data of Russian users inside the country, according to controversial anti-terror legislation passed last year, which was decried by internet companies and the opposition.

Telegram has 10 days to appeal Monday's decision.

'No planned block'

Asked about a potential block of the service, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said, "As far as I know ... there is no discussion of a block at this time."

But observers like Chikov say the risk is quite high.

"It is not necessarily going to happen right after the decision on the penalty comes into effect, as I believe that the authorities will still take a pause and try to negotiate with the company's management," he said. "However, with its refusal to provide access to correspondence, Telegram entered into direct conflict with the interests of the special services. Consequently, the political weight of people who decide to block is significantly higher than that of the same Roskomnadzor."

Telegram, one-tenth the size of Facebook-owned rival WhatsApp, has caught on in many corners of the globe, including for a while with Islamic State as an ultra-secure way to quickly upload and share videos, texts and voice messages.

Durov, who has been described as "the Russian Mark Zuckerberg," spent years fending off intrusions into his users' communications, forging an uncompromising stance on privacy after founding VKontakte, only to lose control of that social media company for refusing Russian government demands to block dissidents.

Since leaving Russia in 2014 to set up Telegram in self-exile, Durov and his core team of 15 developers have become perpetual migrants, living only a few months at a time in any one location, starting in Berlin, then London, Silicon Valley, Finland, Spain and elsewhere. The company is incorporated in multiple jurisdictions, including Britain.
A high-level U.S. delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jonathan Cohen met Wednesday with senior Turkish diplomats to resolve bilateral tensions.

A diplomatic crisis erupted earlier this month with the arrest of local U.S. consulate employee Metin Topuz on terrorism charges, triggering tit for tat sanctions on the issuance of visas.



"I believe this problem will be resolved soon," Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday in a television interview.



In an apparent gesture to ease talks before the U.S. delegation's visit to Istanbul, Turkish authorities released Topuz's wife and son from custody, although they still face charges.



Resolving bilateral tensions could prove key to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to challenge Turkey's neighbor Iran.

"Assuming he [Trump] is committed to combating Iran's influence in the region, he needs a new wingman," said political consultant Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners, referring to Turkey.

Yesilada added that Trump's current new ally, the Syrian Kurds, "are too lightweight to [do] the job, so Turkey comes to mind." But he said Turkey is "Iran's new best friend and America's worst enemy. There is obviously [a] current visa ban and [the] arrest of consular employees as well."

Washington's support of the Syrian Kurdish militia the YPG in its fight against the Islamic State has infuriated Ankara. The YPG was part of efforts to capture Raqqa, the jihadists self-declared capital in Syria. But Ankara accuses the YPG of being linked to the PKK that is fighting the Turkish State and is designated by Washington and the European Union as a terrorist organization.



The Turkish government has accused the YPG of seeking to create an independent state on its border, which it fears could lead to similar demands from its own restive Kurdish population.

Common ground

Analysts say Turkey and Iran have found common ground over thwarting Kurdish independence and share lucrative trading interests.



This month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Tehran to coordinate efforts against Iraqi Kurdish secession.

"It seems there is a deal in place, although the Iranian foreign policy spokesman denied it, but news from the ground the Iranian Revolutionary Guard closed two of the three border gates with Iraqi Kurdistan and they also closed their airspace, notes former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who opened Turkeys consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan.

But Ankara's long term strategic interests may well coincide with Washington's. While Turkey and Iran have a common position toward Kurdistan, Djamchid Assadi, an Iran expert at France's Burgundy Business School, said politically, there are regional tensions they cannot solve.

He said "once they have solved the problem over Kurdistan, then problems which appear secondary will again come to the fore, like Syria."



Until recently, Erdogan was equally vocal with Washington in expressing concern over what he called "Persian expansionism."

Iran and Turkey are historically regional rivals. Ankara strongly supported rebels fighting the Tehran-backed Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. And until recently, Erdogan frequently accused Baghdad of pursuing a sectarian agenda against Iraqi Sunnis at Tehran's behest.

Foreign policy shifts



But observers say Turkish domestic politics is increasingly dictating its foreign policy. Erdogan is facing re-election by 2019 in what is expected to be a close vote. Cracking down on Kurdish independence aspirations plays well with Turkish nationalists, a key Erdogan voting constituency.



Wednesday he renewed his attack on the Iraqi Kurdish leadership, accusing them of acting "hysterically" and warning they will be "held to account. "Monday, Turkish forces carried out a cross border raid against PKK bases in Iraq for the first time since 2008.



Erdogan also warned Wednesday Syrian Kurdish forces could face attack. "When the time comes, one night we will come to you suddenly and will do what we have to.Have we done it in Idlib? We have. "Earlier this month, Turkish forces entered the Syrian Idlib region as part of a deal with Moscow and Tehran to create a de-escalation zone.



Former Turkish diplomat Selcen suggests there will be no change in Turkish foreign policy toward the Kurds until presidential elections. But analysts warn the price of that policy could be high for both Ankara and Washington.



"We [Turkey] could capitalize on Trump's desire to punish Iran to bargain a more pro-Turkey policy in Syria and to expand our sphere of influence in the Middle East geography," claimed analyst Yesilada. "What we risk is greater Iranian influence that will eventually exclude us [Turkey] from our hinterland."
U.S. President Donald Trump voiced his opposition Wednesday to a bipartisan accord on national health law changes, a day after saying he supported it.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday, "We've said all along that we want something that just doesn't bail out the insurance companies but actually provides relief for all Americans. And this bill doesn't address that fact. We think that this is a good step in the right direction. This president certainly supports Republicans and Democrats coming to work together, but it's not a full approach, and we need something to go a little bit further to get on board."

A two-year accord between Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray came after weeks of negotiations between the two in the aftermath of failed efforts in recent months by the Republican-controlled Senate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the seven-year-old health care law championed by former President Barack Obama commonly known as Obamacare.

Trump, at a White House news conference on Tuesday, called the deal, which would have to be approved by Congress, "a short-term solution."

"Lamar has been working very, very hard with ... his colleagues on the other side and Patty Murray is one of them in particular. And they're coming up and they're fairly close to a short-term solution," Trump said.

On Wednesday morning, however, Trump posted a tweet that focused on financial gains for insurance companies and made no mention of his position on the deal.

Trump said he still wants to overhaul Obamacare under an already-defeated plan to send federal money in block grants to each of the country's 50 states and allow them to set their own policies for providing health care for poorer Americans.

Trump last week ended subsidies to insurance companies  about $7 billion annually in reimbursements the government was paying to the insurers to offset their costs to provide cheaper insurance policies to low-income people.

"This is money that goes into the insurance companies to line their pockets, to raise up their stock prices," Trump said at Tuesday's briefing.

The Alexander-Murray agreement would restore those payments, a policy heavily favored by Democrats and some Republicans.

At the same time, in a proposal aimed at winning Republican support for the compromise, state governors, rather than state legislatures, would be given the right to approve insurance plans that provide "comparable affordability" to Obamacare plans on the market, Alexander said.

Without Trump's support, the compromise stands little chance in Congress as a stand-alone piece of legislation, but some Democrats voiced the hope they might be able to attach it to other must-pass legislation in early December when funding for government operations expires.

When asked Wednesday whether the proposal has the president's support, Alexander said he has had three conversations with Trump and gave him "full credit for engineering this bipartisan agreement."

"He told me that he wanted to encourage me, but that he will review it as I would expect a president to do," Alexander said. "He might want to add something to it. It may come up as part of end of the year negotiations, we'll see. But I think the president understands that there's a gap between now and whenever a block grant bill could take effect, which could be 2021 or 22 and during that gap we don't want chaos with millions of Americans hurt."

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer offered his reaction to the proposal Tuesday, saying, "We've achieved stability if this agreement becomes law."

While Democrats have uniformly lined up in support of Obamacare, Republican lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully dozens of time to repeal the law, which is anathema to them chiefly because it requires most Americans to buy health insurance, or pay a fine if they do not. No Republican voted for Obamacare in 2010 when a Democratic-controlled Congress narrowly passed it, with many Republican lawmakers calling it government over-reach because of the tax provision.

Since then, the law has gained in popularity, with national polls showing a majority of Americans want to keep it.

Most American workers get their health insurance coverage through their employers, with the government subsidizing health care payments for older, disabled and poorer Americans. Those most affected by the latest fight over the law are the 20 million people who get insurance under Obamacare, buying their insurance as individuals rather than helping pay for it at a workplace.
Melania Trump is urging the public to continue to donate to help the victims of recent hurricanes.

The first lady says in a new public service announcement that "your help is still needed." She directs viewers to an online list of organizations active in the disaster response and asks that they donate. Mrs. Trump accompanied President Donald Trump when he visited Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico after the hurricanes.

The couple also gave a total of $1 million to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity and other organizations after Hurricane Harvey struck the Houston area in late August.

The White House says the public service announcement was done in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead response agency for the storms.
The University of Florida campus in Gainesville was on edge Wednesday, a day before white nationalist Richard Spencer is scheduled to speak there.

The school has called in hundreds of law enforcement officers from federal, state, county and city sources in an effort to avoid a repeat of the deadly violence that erupted in August at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

The University of Florida initially denied Spencers request to speak there but later university president Kent Fuchs said the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution required it to allow the event.

Fuchs estimates the school will spend $600,000 on security for Spencers speech Thursday.

The National Policy Institute, which is run by Spencer, is paying $10,564 to rent space for the speech.

I fully understand freedom of speech cannot be burdened legally with the full cost of this, but on the other hand were being burdened, Fuchs said Wednesday. So taxpayers are subsidizing hate speech.

In anticipation of trouble, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Monday, saying a "threat of a potential emergency is imminent'' in Alachua County, where the school is located.

In his order, Scott cited several Spencer appearances that have resulted in violence and "civil unrest," including in Charlottesville where a counterdemonstrator was killed.

Carrying torches, Spencer's supporters were joined by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis at the Unite the Right rally to protest the removal of a statue honoring Confederate General Robert E. Lee. They clashed with local law enforcement officials as well as counterprotesters that included the so-called antifa movement (short for anti-fascists).

After Scott's emergency declaration, Fuchs said the school received many calls from parents concerned about safety.

Parents want to know, Why is the governor declaring a state of emergency and yet you, President Fuchs, are saying my son or daughter should be going to class? That (announcement) elevated that tension, locally with parents and brought a national visibility to this, Fuchs said.

Fuchs said he hopes the event will end up bringing the community closer together, and that it can be used to create a dialogue about race.
Participants of a conference in Cairo have been pondering the use of new technology to build the future of African cities.

A three-day gathering of African innovators and entrepreneurs got under way at Cairo's French University Wednesday as enthusiastic participants shared ideas and discussed technological developments to help build a better future for the continent's estimated one-and-a-quarter-billion residents.

Nigeria's Afrilabs organized the conference and its head, Michael Oluwabgemi, believes that using technology is the key to breaking down artificial borders between people and countries.

"We need to start using technology to break down the artificial walls that have been set up among ourselves," said Oluwabgemi. "Technology offers the unique solution. Technology does not respect borders."

One topic centered on the need for African universities to do a better job of innovating and of using those innovations constructively. Participant Idriss Bello from Nigeria complained that universities are often failing to tailor their intellectual assets to their productive output.

"We are failing to closely link what we learn in schools with the issues, the problems we have in the ecosystem," said Bello. "So, you have thousands of projects just sitting in libraries, sitting in books without being commercialized, or being translated into actual solutions to our problems."

Despite the best efforts of the African continent's nearly 250 universities, no African country was listed on last year's global innovation index.

Another subject that participants focused on was the active engagement of women in the economic and technological future of their countries. A woman entrepreneur, Florence Toffa from Ghana, deplored the cultural stigma in many African countries of women becoming active entrepreneurs.

"For most of the women I come across, the common challenge has always been: right after school, the expectations from families is that maybe get a job, get married and start a family," said Toffa.

Afrilabs stressed its own theme of using technological hubs in several dozen countries on the continent to connect those seeking solutions in one place with problem-solvers in another. As the head of one hub in West Africa put it, "We need to encourage Africans to be job-creators, rather than job-seekers."
American author George Saunders won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for Lincoln in the Bardo, a polyphonic symphony of a novel about restless souls adrift in the afterlife.

It is the second year in a row an American has won the 50,000 pound ($66,000) prize, which was opened to U.S. authors in 2014.

The book is based on a real visit President Abraham Lincoln made in 1862 to the body of his 11-year-old son Willie at a Washington cemetery. It is narrated by a chorus of characters who are all dead, but unwilling or unable to let go of life.

By turns witty, bawdy, poetic and unsettling, Lincoln in the Bardo juxtaposes the real events of the U.S. Civil War  through passages from historians both real and fictional  with a chorus of otherworldly characters male and female, young and old. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is the transition state between death and rebirth.

Baroness Lola Young, who chaired the Booker judging panel, said the novel "stood out because of its innovation, its very different styling, the way in which it paradoxically brought to life these almost-dead souls."

Saunders was awarded the prize by Prince Charles' wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a ceremony at London's medieval Guildhall.

Accepting his trophy, Saunders said the book's style may be complex, but the question he posed at its heart was simple: Do we respond to uncertain times with fear and division, "or do we take that ancient great leap of faith and try to respond with love?"

The author said he resisted telling the story of Lincoln, an American icon, for 20 years. But the novel, which took four years to write, turned out to be pointedly timely at a divided time for the United States.

Saunders said Lincoln had "a quiet, confident generosity of spirit."

"He underwent, I think, a kind of spiritual growth spurt that we don't see very often," outgrowing the "lazy, racist attitudes" he was raised with, the author said.

"His compassion and his heart kept growing out even as his own life was becoming more and more difficult," Saunders said.

"Contrast that with the current administration that seems intent on shrinking the commonwealth of compassion until we can only care about people who are exactly like us. It's a complete eradication of the American ideal."

Lincoln in the Bardo is the first novel by the 58-year-old Saunders, an acclaimed short story writer who won the Folio Prize in 2014 for his darkly funny story collection Tenth of December.

A former oil industry engineer who teaches creative writing at Syracuse University in New York state, Saunders is probably best known outside literary circles for a commencement speech he gave in 2013 with the key message "Try to be kinder." It went viral on the internet, became an animated cartoon and was published as a book.

Booker finalists

He had been bookies' favorite to win the Man Booker, which usually brings the winning novelist a huge boost in sales and profile.

Saunders beat five other finalists: New Yorker Paul Auster's quadruple coming-of-age story 4321; U.S. writer Emily Fridlund's story of a Midwest teenager, History of Wolves; Scottish author Ali Smith's Brexit-themed Autumn; British-Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid's migration story Exit West; and British writer Fiona Mozley's debut novel Elmet about a fiercely independent family under threat.

Saunders is the second American in a row to win the prize, founded in 1969 and until 2013 limited to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The 2016 winner was Paul Beatty's The Sellout.

The move to admit all English-language writers spurred fears among some British writers and publishers that Americans would come to dominate a prize whose previous winners include Salman Rushdie, Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel.

Young said the judges "don't look at the nationality of the writer. I can say that hand on heart  it's not an issue for us. The sole concern is the book."

Prize organizers said 30 percent of the 144 books submitted by publishers for consideration this year were American, a figure slightly down from last year.

Young said the five jurors met for almost five hours Tuesday to choose the winner, finally agreeing unanimously on Saunders.

"I'm not going to pretend it was easy," she said. "We didn't have any major meltdowns at all. But we did have quite fierce debates."
Touch Savuth battled in the trenches of local politics for almost 15 years before she and 47 colleagues from the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) finally cracked the ruling partys stranglehold on commune seats in Cambodias Kandal province.

Taking control of just under 40 percent of the provinces 127 communes, they had smashed the dominance of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), which won every one of those seats in the 2012 local ballot.

But just months after tasting that triumph, Savuths promotion to chief may soon be annulled if the Cambodian Peoples Party follows through with its plan to dissolve her party in an ongoing crackdown on opponents ahead of next years national election.

On Monday, the government pushed through amendments to Cambodias electoral law that would see almost all 489 seats the CNRP won across the country in June gifted to the CPP, should the opposition party be dissolved.

Savuth, a health worker who partly credits her work helping the sick for the deep roots she has formed in the electorate, said the community would not take such a betrayal of trust lightly.

Citizens trust all four CNRP [members] in the commune council. If we were kicked out, they will be lost and wont know who they can trust to solve their problem, she said at the Akrei Ksat commune office in Lvea Aem district last week.

They vote for us to serve them, who will serve them when we are gone?

At a roadside drink shop next door, the man she deposed, Douch Chan, sat with a small team biding their time.

We have worked with each other for a long time. So she knows the work, he conceded of his long time rival.

Chan, who had beaten Savuth at every commune election since they began in 2002, has not come to work in his new role as her subordinate since shortly after he was deposed -- an absence he attributed to a long illness before declining to be interviewed.

But down here at the local level in Lvea Aem district, the tone of political discourse is vastly more respectful and civilized than the bickering and mudslinging characteristic of the national debate.

At the adjacent commune of Sarikakeo, the CPP Second Deputy Chief Thong Lok said the council had been running smoothly since 2012 even as control swung from his party to the opposition.

There was no internal conflict even a few months after the new commune chief. It is going smoothly, he said.

He actually feels affinity for his colleagues from the other side of the aisle.

If it was an order from the upper class, we have to follow the order and the law. I cant object but yes I regret because I have been working with them for many years, he said of the seemingly imminent political demise of CNRP chief Duong Savorn.

Monday's legislative amendments suggest Thong Lok and his CPP associates would regain control of Sarikakeo commune and practically all others around the country if the CNRP is dissolved.

Under the amendments, control of the communes is to the party that came second in the June ballot.



None of these politicians know what will happen to the CNRPs commune seats if the party is dissolved.



Mondays national assembly amendments suggest they will go to other minor parties, not the CPP.



However many communes were only contested by the two major parties, leaving just the CPP to absorb CNRP seats and complicating their already tenuous claim that multiparty democracy remains in tact.



At the national level, the FUNCINPEC party has been reawakened to fill almost all of the seats vacated by the CNRP - assuming they are dissolved by Cambodias courts. It will also theoretically pick up many commune seats under the new amendments.



In an interview with Reuters on Sunday, FUNCINPECs leader, the notoriously malleable former co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, appeared confused about what his partys role would be in this newly crafted political landscape.



We are not puppets, he reportedly said. We are definitely not an opposition party but we dont always, always, always say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. We can say no.

Ranariddhs party filed the complaint seeking the dissolution of the CNRP, with a spokesman telling The Phnom Penh Post they did it because they took all my supporters.



Thus far the response from opposition supporters to the comprehensive dismantling of their party has been near silence - a far cry from the mass protests that erupted after the disputed 2013 election.



Back at Akrei Ksat commune last week, a National Election Committee registration team sat idly in Touch Savuths office as she went her about her daily duties. Practically no one had arrived to register.



Voters in her constituency felt impotent both at the ballot and in the streets, she said.



They dont have power, even they have the right to vote to choose their commune chief, but their commune chiefs are being dissolved. So they lose faith in doing any protest.



Relaxing in the front yard outside of the commune office, Kong Kimyorn, who lost his position in the last election after representing the CPP for 15 years, told VOA he had resigned himself to a new role of election monitoring.



It is good to have the opposition party, he said. Without opposition parties who can check each others work, the country will not develop.



Then his former boss walked over and Kimyorn fell silent.
The newly Turkish-built military base in Mogadishu was the original target of Saturdays deadly truck bomb, a senior Somali intelligence official told VOA Somali.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says all the intelligence reports received before this attack -- and information gathered since the explosion occurred -- indicated the Turkish military base was the target.

This base is the most strategic target for them, its going to produce an organized army and they have to preemptively destroy that, the source said.

The official said the National Intelligence and Security Agency had prior information that al-Shabab was planning to attack the Turkish military base.

Turkish and Somali officials inaugurated the base on Sept. 30. More than 200 Turkish troops will train 1,500 Somali troops with a target of training at least 10,000 Somali soldiers. The chief of staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, General Hulusi Akar, said during the opening ceremony that his government plans to help Somalia until the country gets "militarily stronger."

Somalia has published a plan to establish a 22,000-strength army before the African Union troops leave the country. AMISOM will start gradual withdrawal by October of next year.

Al-Shabab did not claim the attack but Somali government officials and terrorism experts strongly believe that al-Shabab militants were behind the explosion.

Tweet: Harun Maruf reports on explosion

"Whether they claim or not claim makes no difference. We know the act that has happened, its al-Shabab," former intelligence officer Abdi Hassan Hussein told VOA Somali. "The information we are getting so far shows this is the work of al-Shabab. It has their hallmarks."

The bombing was the deadliest in Somalias history killing more than 300 people.

The truck

Somali security officials have confirmed to VOA Somali that they have questioned the driver of a Toyota Noah minivan who was arrested on Saturday after trying to walk away from the scene.

According to the source, the driver parked the minivan and got out and made a phone call, possibly to get instructions. The public tipped off security officials who shortly arrived at the scene. While police were waiting for the bomb in the minivan to be dismantled, it exploded. No one was injured. The main deadly bombing and the minivan explosion were connected and believed to both be part of a complex attack, officials said.

Intelligence sources also confirmed that four other al-Shabab suspects were arrested in connection with the bombing including a member of Amniyat, al-Shababs security and intelligence branch, who operated in Mogadishu. In addition, Somali intelligence has identified the driver of the truck who carried out the attack and is known to be an al-Shabab member, according to the sources. His name has not yet been released.

The truck that carried out the attack was an old construction site vehicle imported from Italy. It was stopped by security forces manning a main checkpoint at Siinka Dheer outside Mogadishu. The driver called out to a man known to the soldiers who allowed the truck and driver to proceed, the sources say.

Tweet: Harun Maruf reports on truck bomb

It was then stopped at a second checkpoint inside Mogadishu near the former U.S. embassy. The security team there asked if the driver knew anyone who would be able to identify him and allow him to pass through the checkpoint. He did not.

One of the soldiers made a radio call listened (to) by multiple officers and reported that they have a truck and they suspect it could be al-Shabab. He asked for bomb experts to inspect the truck, said a security official at Mogadishus Joint Special Operations Command.

The driver was ordered to park the truck on the side of the road but the driver panicked, maneuvered and sped past the checkpoint, he said. "A soldier chased the truck as it collided with a three-wheeled motorcycle and a minibus before detonating in the midst of the busy junction."

The bomb

The heaviest bomb al-Shabab detonated in Mogadishu before Monday's explosion was 250 kilograms. Officials believe this was at least twice that weight.

Former director of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, told VOA that the truck bomb was prepared in the vicinity of Afgoye, about 30 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu. The town is controlled by government forces, but al-Shabab controls large farmlands and forests to the east and west of the town.

This truck came from Lower Shabelle in particular the farmland near Afgoye that is where they prepared it, Fiqi said.

Abdi Hassan Hussein, the former lead intelligence officer of Puntland region, confirmed that he learned the vehicle came from an al-Shabab controlled areas outside Mogadishu.

This truck passed through the government checkpoints, he said.

Hussein said the government needs to pacify the regions neighboring Mogadishu where such massive attacks are organized.

You cannot defend Mogadishu from the outskirts, you have to conduct operations and stabilize those neighboring regions.
Iraq's military said Wednesday its forces recaptured control of more areas from Kurdish fighters, including the Mosul Dam, after carrying out an operation to reclaim the city of Kirkuk and oil fields in the northern part of the country.

The military statement said "security has been restored" in Kirkuk.

Kurds had taken control of the area in 2014 during the chaotic sweep by Islamic State militants through northern and western Iraq. The country's central government demanded the Kurds relinquish control, and acted after Kurdish authorities went through with an independence referendum last month.

The Iraqi forces have faced little resistance, with Kurdish fighters retreating without a fight in most of the areas reclaimed in the past few days.

The two sides have fought alongside each other during the campaign to oust Islamic State from Iraq and each has received military support from the United States.

"Our efforts for the moment is aimed at minimizing potential for additional confrontation, aimed at de-escalating tensions, returning to a sense of normalcy and stability," U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Joseph Pennington said Tuesday.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters the United States is not taking sides in the tensions between its allies.

"Our advisors are not supporting the government of Iraq, and we're not supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government activities," Nauert said. "We're trying to get the situation calmed as best as possible."

The United States was among those that joined with Iraq in opposing the Kurdish referendum. Iran and Turkey, which each have large Kurdish populations as well, were also against it.

Questioning the goal behind the vote, Iraqs ambassador to the United States, Fareed Yasseen, told VOA on Tuesday: "The whole idea was to keep our focus on fighting ISIS. This is why all the countries in the world, including the U.S., tried to convince the Kurdish leadership to postpone at the very least, this idea of referendum."

Who wants war? Yasseen added, referring to concerns that tensions may escalate into a civil war between Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

A fight for independence

Earlier Tuesday, President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani said the Kurdish vote for independence "won't be in vain." He also defended his intention to prevent a civil conflict, saying "We never wanted to fight, but fighting has always been imposed on us."

Some analysts said while Iraqi forces are trying to restore their control over disputed territories, Baghdad already has in Kirkuk what it needs to block independence.

"What is needed now is to calm the situation," said Daniel Serwer of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. "Baghdad and Irbil need to be back to the negotiating table, where they can discuss Kurdistans relationship with the rest of Iraq."

In a statement, the State Department said it supports a "peaceful exercise of joint administration by the central and regional governments" in all disputed areas.

Pennington told VOA under Iraqs constitution, the central government has the rights to have a presence in disputed territories, and there is a "constitutional mechanism."

"Obviously before we can get to the details of what that would look like, you need to have a stabilized environment to have those discussions" and to bring people together, added Pennington.

U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-supported coalition fighting Islamic State, said: "What we have seen is a peaceful handover of areas around Kirkuk. They handed over the keys if you will."

He said that aside from a skirmish south of Kirkuk early Monday that claimed the lives of Iraqi forces and Peshmerga fighters after miscommunications at a Kurdish checkpoint, "there have been no further reports of armed conflict or contact between the two groups."

He said U.S. military commanders are continuing to "monitor the situation, and our leaders, talking with counterparts in both the Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga, urge all sides to avoid escalation. These tensions distract from our unified fight against ISIS, which remains a very real threat here in Iraq."
Israeli forces raided Palestinian media companies in the West Bank overnight in an operation the military said was carried out in response to incitement of violence against Israelis.

Eight companies were ordered to shut down for six months and two people were arrested.

Palestinian officials strongly condemned the raids, saying they violated press freedom.

Israel's actions came hours after the government announced it would not talk with a Palestinian government that includes the militant group Hamas, unless a number of demands are met. They include Hamas' disarmament, its repudiation of violence, and recognition of Israel.

"The government of Israel will not carry out political negotiations with a Palestinian government that relies on Hamas, a terror organization which calls for the destruction of Israel," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office Tuesday.

Netanyahu also wants Hamas to give up Iranian support and return the remains of two Israeli soldiers and free two Israeli citizens believed to be held in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

There is little chance Hamas will agree to any of Israel's demands. Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called them "unacceptable Israeli interference in internal Palestinian affairs."

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said "any Israeli remarks will not change the official Palestinian position to move forward with the reconciliation efforts to achieve the hopes and aspirations of our people in ending the division."

Hamas and the more moderate Fatah movement reached a preliminary agreement last week to re-unify after a 10-year split. The split left Palestinian territories divided between two governments -- the militant Hamas in the impoverished Gaza Strip and the more moderate Fatah in the West Bank.

Previous attempts at a united Palestinian government failed.
The head of Kenyas electoral commission had tough words for the countrys politicians the day after one of his commissioners resigned and fled the country. The resignation casts further doubt on whether the commission can organize a credible re-run of a presidential poll next week.

The chairman of Kenyas Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Wafula Chebukati, spoke hours after one of the commissioners resigned and fled to the U.S.

Let me be very clear, I am giving a yellow card to all political leaders in this country. I will not tolerate threats on my staff anymore. I will not tolerate interference in the commission anymore, Chebukati said.

Announcing her resignation, Commissioner Roselyn Akombe said she had received death threats which she found particularly concerning, given that the IEBCs technology manager was found tortured and killed just a week before the polls in August.

In her statement, Akombe said that infighting and political pressure have rendered the IEBC incapable of holding a credible re-run of the presidential poll on October 26.

The IEBC chief also expressed doubts in his remarks Wednesday.

Without critical changes in key secretariat staff, free, fair and credible election will surely compromised. I, therefore, call on the staff who have been adversely mentioned to step aside to allow the project team to function without interference, Chebukati said.

Opposition candidate Raila Odinga has pulled out of the re-run saying the IEBC has failed to remove the individuals responsible for the botched August 8 vote. Opposition protests demanding electoral reform have turned violent, with three people killed this week.

Kenyas Supreme Court voided the results of the August presidential poll saying the IEBC had not followed the constitution and electoral law. The ruling put Kenya on a tight deadline, with the constitution giving IEBC just 60 days to organize a fresh election.

Further adding to tensions, lawmakers from the ruling Jubilee party pushed through changes to the electoral law in parliament last week to prioritize manual transmission of results over the electronic system.

On Wednesday, IEBC chief Chebukati called for a meeting with all political leaders.

I cannot move forward with a divided commission. Before the 8th of August election, the commission amicably worked, devoid of any division. I cannot move forward when presidential candidates refuse to put their personal interest aside and for once serve the country. I took this job to make Kenya better, not to draw it in a crisis, Chebukati said.

In a series of tweets Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta called for an extended period of prayer and reconciliation this weekend. Kenyatta has been campaigning nationwide. He has condemned the Supreme Courts nullification of his win in the August 8 poll, calling the judges crooks, but has said he is ready for the re-run on October 26.

Addressing a rally in the capital Wednesday, Raila Odinga reiterated his decision to boycott the poll and called for a large demonstration on voting day, saying it would be the biggest yet.
A member of Kenya's election commission has resigned just a week before the presidential re-vote, adding another layer of political turmoil in the East African nation.

Roselyn Akombe issued a statement from New York Wednesday saying the planned October 26 re-vote "cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election." Akombe says the embattled electoral commission, known by its acronym IEBC, is "under siege" from infighting and political intimidation.

"The commission has become a party to the current crisis," says Akombe. She urged her former colleagues "to be courageous and speak out."

Akombe told BBC Radio she fled Kenya after receiving numerous threats to her safety.

President Uhuru Kenyatta won re-election in the initial August 8th vote, but the Supreme Court invalidated the results nearly a month later, due to irregularities and illegalities on the part of IEBC. Kenya's constitution calls for new elections to be held within 60 days of nullification.

But the re-vote itself has been thrown into chaos since last week, when opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew his candidacy. Odinga says the electoral commission did not replace officials he blames for the irregularities in the earlier election, which he lost to Kenyatta.

Despite his refusal to participate in next week's re-vote, the IEBC says Odinga's name will not be removed from the list of eight candidates who took part in the August election.

Human rights group says dozens of Kenyans have been killed in protests since the initial elections.
Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government are accusing Iran of playing a key role in the fall of disputed territories in northern Iraq including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a claim rejected by Iranian officials.

This week the Iraqi government forces backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) marched into the Kurdish-controlled disputed territories after Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga withdrew from the region.

"Iranians were leading the battle on Kirkuk and our forces had to withdraw to protect the lives of Peshmerga," Sheikh Jaafar Mustafa, the commander of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, said in a statement Monday.

"The decision [to withdraw] was not a mistake," he emphasized.

The Iraqi army and the PMF started their advances into Kirkuk on Monday after weeks of threats following the Kurdish referendum.

Faced with minimum confrontation from Kurdish forces, the army captured the entire city including its key military installations and oil fields in a few hours.

While claiming that it respects Iraq's sovereignty, Iran has refused its involvement in the takeover.

"Iran has no role in Kirkuk operation and most Iraqi Kurdish people are opposed to [KRG president] Masoud Barzani's ambitions," Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters Tuesday after a meeting with France's special envoy for Syria.

"We saw that almost without any conflict, the region came under the control of Iraqi central government. Barzani must realize and admit that he has made a mistake," he said referring to the controversial referendum vote that Kurdish leader adamantly supported.

Importance of Kirkuk

Kirkuk is rich with natural resources including gas and oil, and is part of territories claimed by both the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan region. The city came under the control of Kurds in 2014 when the Iraqi forces left their bases following a large scale push by the Islamic State terror group.

The conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government over control of the city is decades old. What exacerbated that situation was Kurdish Regional Government's decision to proceed with the controversial referendum and the inclusion of Kirkuk in the vote, despite strong opposition from the central government in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider-al-Abadi said the takeover is within the "national constitutional mandate" to reinstall Baghdad's power over the "federal facilities" in Kirkuk and other disputed territories.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition spokesperson told reporters Tuesday that based on their available intelligence, they have not seen Iranian IRGC units or the PMF in Kirkuk.

"We don't have any reporting or any indications that there are units in and around Kirkuk of [IRGC] elements," Colonel Ryan Dillion said.

But a statement from the Peshmerga Ministry on Monday claimed the Iraqi operation was led by an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) known as Iqbal Pur.

Domestically, some put the blame on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) as well, alleging that because of their rivalry with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party, they yielded the way for advancing Iraqi and PMF forces.

"The attack, which came from the Iraqi government, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and IRGC's Quds forces, is in retaliation to the calls for freedom by the people of Kurdistan," the Ministry of Peshmerga said in a statement. "Unfortunately, some PUK leaders aided the conspiracy  by leaving some key defense lines to the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Iranian IRGC."

Ruling PDK officials blamed Iran for sowing the division among Kurdish political parties and using PUK as a means.

PUK officials denied the allegations of teaming up with Iran and cited the prevention of casualties to Kurdish forces as reason behind their retreat.

Monday's retreat continued onto Tuesday as well, with Kurds withdrawing from more territories in Nineveh Plains and the town of Sinjar.

Regional Influence

Experts say the neighboring countries, including Iran, Turkey and Syria, which are home to a significant number of Kurdish population, fear that an independent Kurdistan could have a domino effect in the region. To prevent that, they argue that these powers take advantage of the internal divisions amongst Iraqi Kurds.

"It is clear that there is no coherence between Kurdish leaders and their forces," said Ammer Goli, a Hamburg-based Kurdistan affairs analyst.

"Kurdish forces are not lined under one banner or joint command but show their allegiances to various leaders and factions," he added.

Goli said Tehran has tried to sustain its leverage on the PUK for strategic purposes while the ruling PDK has warmed up its relations with Ankara.

Tehran strongly opposed the Kurdish referendum from the beginning and its strongman Ayatollah Khamenei called it a "plot by Zionists."

Iranian officials reportedly met with the PUK leaders several times in an attempt to dissuade them from their September 25 independence referendum.

Some experts believe Iran has maximized its benefits from the recent developments in northern Iraq and the region.

"Tehran has been the winner of the conflicts in the region so far," Julian Roepcke, a Germany-based analyst with Bild newspaper, told VOA.

"It is difficult to know if the Iraqi forces and its affiliated Shiite PMF militia started their attacks with a green light from Tehran, but the result seems to be in Tehran's benefits," Roepcke added.
The hotel security guard who is a witness to the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history says he was shot while walking in a hotel hallway outside the suite where Stephen Paddock was holed up.

A spokeswoman for The Ellen DeGeneres Show says Jesus Campos made the comments for a show to air Wednesday about the Oct. 1 Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people.

Campos has said that he was sent to the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel to investigate an open door alarm.

In interview excerpts on NBCs Today show, Campos says he was walking in the hallway when he was wounded by shots fired through Paddocks suite door.

Campos says he used his security radio to alert hotel officials that shots had been fired.
Work is expected to begin next year on a memorial to be built on the exact spot where a British general turned over his sword to his American counterpart after the Battles of Saratoga during the American Revolution.

Officials held a ceremonial ground breaking just outside the village of Schuylerville on Tuesday, the 240th anniversary of the British surrender on October 17, 1777.

The $1 million memorial is set for the site where British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered his sword to American Gen. Horatio Gates following the history-changing battles fought nearby.

The project will include pathways, a wall with information about the site's significance and a sculpture depicting Burgoyne's surrender.

The property will be turned over to the National Park Service and become part of Saratoga National Historical Park, which operates the nearby battlefield and related sites.
Greg Pence, one of Mike Pence's older brothers, has filed a tax document indicating he will seek the eastern Indiana congressional seat that the vice president and former governor represented for 12 years.

He formed the Greg Pence for Congress Committee on Monday, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Greg Pence, who once ran the family's now-bankrupt chain of Tobacco Road convenience stores, previously said he had been courted to run for the district, which covers a broad swath of central and southeastern Indiana, including Muncie and Columbus.

As the vice president's brother, he is likely the hands-down favorite to win in the overwhelmingly Republican district. He has a famous name, owns an antique business in the area and even bears a striking resemblance to his brother, with a close-cropped head of white hair.

Its likely he will also be able to tap into the same fundraising network his brother enjoyed in the state  if not nationally.



Bob Grand, a major Republican fundraiser and powerbroker in Indiana politics, previously told the AP that Greg Pence would be an ideal candidate.



Hes a community leader, hes been involved in this community, hes obviously got good name ID. I think all those things are positive, Grand said in June when Greg Pence's name was first floated as a possibility.

Greg Pence lives in Columbus, Indiana. Thats the same town the family grew up in after the Pences father, Edward, relocated from Chicago and later built a gas station empire.



Greg Pence eventually took over the company, Kiel Brothers Oil Co., from his father. But the business, which operated a chain of convenience stores under the name Tobacco Road, went bankrupt under Greg Pences watch in 2004.



That wiped out more than $673,000 of Mike Pences net worth, according to Pences 2006 tax filings, which he has publicly released.


A car bomb attack struck a Pakistani police truck in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least five policemen and two civilians. In a separate attack in Quetta, a police officer was gunned down by assailants riding on a motorcycle, authorities said.

Also Wednesday, a roadside bombing near a tribal area along the border with Afghanistan killed two troops.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the car bombing, which took place in the Saryab Road area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan.

Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the police chief in Quetta, said 24 people were also wounded, several critically.

An investigation is underway to determine whether it was a suicide bombing or whether the explosives-laden vehicle was detonated remotely when the police truck was passing by, he said, adding that the death toll could increase.

The Pakistani Taliban said the attack was a "suicide mission.''

Sarfaraz Bugti, the home minister for Baluchistan, visited the site of the explosion. Afterward, he said such attacks would not bring down the morale of the security forces.

"We are at war and our security forces are being targeted as they are crushing the enemies,'' Bugti said. "We will continue the war against these terrorists and we will defeat them.''

In the drive-by shooting, two men on a motorcycle shot and killed police inspector Abdus Salam as he was on his way to work. Cheema, the police chief, said the gunmen fired multiple shots on him before fleeing.

A banned Pakistani militant group, Lashker-e-Jhangvi, said it was behind the slaying of the police officer.

Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baluch separatist groups demanding a greater share of the province's resources but Islamic militant groups also operate in the region.

The roadside bombing that killed two members of Pakistani paramilitary forces struck near a security post close to the North Waziristan tribal region, two intelligence officials told The Associated Press.

The troops were returning from the town of Mir Ali when the bomb went off near their vehicle, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. A manhunt was underway to find the perpetrators, they added.

A local commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Sharyar Mahsud, said his men were responsible for the attack.
Greek riot police used batons to stop an attempted theater invasion by monks, priests and other Orthodox Christians protesting what they claim is a blasphemous play.

Wielding poles with Greek flags on them, some of the 100-strong crowd tried to break a police cordon Wednesday outside the Aristoteleion Theatre in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Protesters oppose the staging of "The Hour of the Devil," an adaptation of a story by Portuguese author Fernando Pessoa about a discussion between a young woman and a personable devil.

Chanting "Freemasons out of Greece!" they brandished religious banners and icons.

Cast member Evgenia Samara voiced shock and surprise at the protest, while director Grigoris Apostolopoulos said the "symbolic" play speaks about good and evil in all humans.
Does the United States still have hard work ahead of it in enabling women to attain equality with men? The answer, according to a new large-scale survey, may depend on whether it's coming from a Democrat or a Republican.

The survey, released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, found a sharp partisan divide on several questions related to gender equality.

According to Pew, Democrats are largely dissatisfied with the nation's progress on this issue  69 percent say the U.S. hasn't gone far enough when it comes to giving women equal rights. Among Republicans, 54 percent say things are about right; only 26 percent say the country has more work to do.

Do American men have easier lives than women? Another big partisan gap: 49 percent of Democrats say this is true, compared to 19 percent of Republicans.

Among Democrats, those with a college education are far more likely than those with no college experience to express dissatisfaction with the current state of gender equality. While 81 percent of Democrats with at least a bachelor's degree said the U.S. hasn't gone far enough in giving women equal rights, that view was shared by only 55 percent of Democrats with a high school diploma or less. There were no significant education gaps among Republicans in views of the state of gender equality.

Pew's researchers also inquired about personal experiences with gender discrimination.

Overall, 43 percent of women said they have experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly because of their gender, compared to 18 percent of men.

Democratic women were more likely than GOP women to say they experienced such discrimination  51 percent versus 34 percent. Among men, it's Republicans who more often say they suffered gender discrimination  20 percent compared to 14 percent of Democratic men.

Large majorities in both parties  89 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of Republicans  said it's very important for women to have equal rights with men in the U.S. The perceptions differed on where the country is in achieving that goal.

Analyzing the results

The Pew report did not seek to analyze reasons for the partisan gap. Christina Hoff Sommers, a former philosophy professor who is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, suggested the reasons were complex, but added this observation:

"The Republican Party is the daddy party; the Democratic Party, the mommy party. And now mom's a Feminist," she wrote in an email.

Carrie Lukas, president of conservative Independent Women's Forum, said Pew's findings supported her view that conservatives are focused on creating equal opportunities, not mandating outcomes.

"When they look at society  at how women are outperforming men at every level of education and are increasingly entering and succeeding in new professions and in the public sphere  they think that we are doing tremendously well in moving toward that goal," she said in an email.

"On the other hand, liberals are focused on equal outcomes: they define success as men and women being equally represented in all walks of life," she added. "They are frustrated that we are falling short on this measure, and want government to step in and do something to change those outcomes."

Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women's Law Center, said Pew's findings "reflect the current polarized public debate that has only been inflamed by the Trump administration."

"In reality, there isn't a partisan divide for women who experience harassment at work or in school, women who are harmed by the wage gap, or families who are struggling because they don't have affordable child care," Goss Graves said in an email. "And the solutions to these problems shouldn't be partisan either."

The nationally representative survey of 4,573 adults was conducted online Aug. 8-21 and Sept. 14-28, concluding before the national furor over sex harassment allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Participants were recruited via random telephone calls, and those without internet access were provided with it.

Pew said the margin of error for the full sample of responders was plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
Every month, Fatma Ahmed sends $200 of the earnings she makes in London to her family in Somalia.

"It's for daily life. For rent, for buying grocery things, to live over there. Because actually in Somalia, that much we do not have," she said.

Remittances from overseas diaspora constitute a vital part of the economy of many developing nations, none more so than Somalia, where the inflows add up to more than foreign aid and investment combined. However, analysts warn that the industry is poorly understood by regulators and banks, putting the welfare of millions of people at risk.

The two million Somalis living overseas send an estimated $1.3 billion back home every year. With no formal banking system in Somalia, most of the diaspora use remittance services.

Technology makes that possible, says Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, one of Africa's biggest remittance services.

"Now, it is so instant, where we have the latest technology, with the internet, secure channels that we can use to send money back home," Duale said. "Or we use mobiles  smartphones, technology where it will help us to deliver money quickly, but less costly. Technology is supporting us also with the compliance issue."

Remittance companies rely on global banks to route the money, and those banks must comply with regulations on money laundering and the financing of crime and terrorism.

Citing those concerns, many banks have chosen to withdraw from the market. Such a move is unnecessary, says remittance industry expert Laura Hammond of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.

"Very often, it is not based on any kind of empirical evidence that shows that money is going into the wrong hands," Hammond said. "The fear is just there is a conflict in Somalia, there's the al-Shabab movement. And so there is a problem in a sense, a real precarious nature of the Somali remittance industry."

The industry received a high-profile boost last month as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1 million using the remittance firm Dahabshiil, along with mobile phone companies Somtel and eDahab, with the money transferred "live" to 1,000 families suffering the drought in Somalia.

The technology is moving fast. However, the cooperation of the global banking system remains key, and the remittance industry wants regulators to do more to support this lifeline.
Teenagers are turning away from traditional social media like Facebook and increasingly turning to Snapchat to communicate with their friends, according to a new study released Wednesday.

According to Piper Jaffrays semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens research survey, 47 percent of teenagers said Snapchat is their favorite social media platform, compared with just nine percent who said Facebook was their favorite.

The results show a sharp spike in the number of teens who said Snapchat is their favorite platform, up from 24 percent when the survey was given in the spring of last year.

In addition to Snapchat and Facebook, 24 percent of teens said they preferred Instagram  virtually unchanged from 2016  and seven percent said they prefer Twitter, down from 15 percent last year.

For the report, Piper Jaffray interviewed 6,100 teens in 44 states, with an average age of 16.

While Snapchat is the most popular social medium used by teens, it is also the most harmful for them, according to a study released earlier this year by the British Royal Society for Public Health.

The study, which ranked the psychological impact of various social media on teenagers, showed Snapchat, along with Instagram, to cause the largest number of health and well-being issues among those surveyed.

Those issues include anxiety, depression, quality of sleep, body image, loneliness and real-world friendships and connections.

Shirley Cramer, the chief executive of the RSPH, said Snapchat and Instagram likely cause the most mental health issues among teens because both platforms are very image-focused and it appears they may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people.

To combat the negative influence of social media, the researchers recommend adding pop ups that warn users of heavy usage, which was supported by 71 percent of the people surveyed.
US-backed forces fighting ISIS in Raqqa say "major military operations" in the city have ended and that the jihadists have lost control of their self-declared capital.

The development marks a decisive victory in the fight against ISIS, though US officials said there were still pockets of resistance in the city.

"Major military operations in Raqqa are finished but they are now clearing the city of sleeper cells -- if they exist -- and mines," Talal Salo, spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, told CNN. The SDF is a coalition of Arab and Kurdish fighters.

"The situation in Raqqa is under control and soon there will be an official statement declaring the liberation of the city."

Symbol of ISIS decline

The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa is a symbol of the terror group's decline -- it now controls a small strip of territory along the Euphrates river in northern Syria.

The city became the de facto capital of the terror group's self-proclaimed "caliphate" following a sweep of territorial gains in Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Foreign fighters swelled the ranks of ISIS in Raqqa, which it used as a base to launch terror attacks around the world.

A sustained effort to retake the city began in early June, in an operation led by the SDF and backed up by coalition air strikes. The SDF announced the final phase of the operation at the weekend.

In the past few days, the SDF said it had cleared ISIS fighters from the National Raqqa Hospital and Paradise Square, the infamous area in the center where ISIS jihadists carried out public beheadings and crucifixions.

The terror group's black flag was hauled down from Raqqa's stadium, its last hideout in the city, on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

"The SDF have taken casualties in the past hours and we expect there will still be pockets of ISIS fighters in the coming days," coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon told CNN.

In a sign that the SDF operation was nearing a conclusion, coalition air strikes had eased off in the past week. There was only one US airstrike in Syria Monday, but that was far from Raqqa. Dillon said the SDF hadn't asked for air support in the past couple of days.

Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), the award-winning network of citizen journalists who remained in the city throughout the occupation, tweeted Monday that 30 buses and 10 trucks were used to transfer ISIS fighters from Raqqa.

The group also said that since the US-backed operation to free Raqqa began in early June, there had been 3,829 airstrikes on the city, 90 suicide bombings and 1,873 victims. It said 450,000 people had been displaced.

"We don't consider it a liberation because SDF has committed many human rights violations against civilians," Abdalaziz Alhamza, co-founder of RBSS told CNN.

"Most of Raqqa people, including us, were looking forward to the day that ISIS would be defeated, but not in this scenario, having a new leadership that committed many human rights violations," he said.

Alhamza also warned that the ISIS ideology was still spreading. "They might disappear from Syria and Iraq but they will appear somewhere else," he said, adding that many will probably have returned to their families in the countryside.

Humanitarian crisis grows

Meanwhile Save the Children warned that the humanitarian crisis was escalating, despite the retreat of ISIS in the region. "The military offensive in Raqqa may be coming to an end, but the humanitarian crisis is greater than ever," the aid group's Syria director Sonia Khush said in a statement.

It warned that some 270,000 people who had fled the fighting in Raqqa still needed help, and that refugee camps were "bursting at the seams."

It said that most families had no homes to return to and that thousands of civilians were displaced in the eastern Deir Ezzor province, where fighting was still ongoing Tuesday.

"Many are plagued by nightmares from witnessing horrific violence and will need extensive psychological support," Save the Children said.

Mohammad Hassan contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he holds the military leadership in Myanmar responsible for the current refugee crisis affecting the countrys Rohingya Muslim population.

More than half a million Rohingyas have crossed the border into neighboring Bangladesh in recent weeks, fleeing a crackdown on their minority community by the Burmese military after Rohingya militants launched deadly attacks on state security forces.

The crackdown, which has resulted in widespread atrocities, has prompted intense international condemnation, though officials in Myanmar still continue to deny the crisis exists.

We really hold the military leadership accountable for whats happening with the Rakhine area, Tillerson said Wednesday. Whats most important to us is that the world cant stand idly by and be witness to the atrocities that are being reported in the area.

Tillersons comments came following a report from the human rights activist group Amnesty International, in which Myanmar security forces are accused of carrying out a systemic purge of the Rohingya people.

According to the report, which is based on interviews with more than 100 refugees, security forces shot hundreds of Rohingyas who were trying to flee their villages and burned to death the elderly and sick who were too weak to flee.

In some villages, security forces also raped or sexually assaulted women and girls, the report said.

Tillerson said someone is going to be held to account for the atrocities.

"And its up to the military leadership of Burma to decide what direction they want to play in the future of Burma because we see Burma as an important emerging democracy, he said. But this is a real test, its a real test to this power-sharing government as of how theyre going to deal with this very serious issue.

Amnesty researcher Matthew Wells said the group will publish another report in the near future detailing individual criminal offenses, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

According to Wells, doctors have treated hundreds of Rohingyas for gunshot wounds that are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.
President Donald Trump has denied making insensitive comments to the wife of an American soldier killed in Niger, saying he has proof a Florida lawmaker fabricated a story saying the president told the soldier's widow that her husband knew what he signed up for.

The congresswoman, who made the charge Tuesday, has rejected the presidents statement, and says she has proof that her story is accurate.

Sergeant La David Johnson was among four U.S. soldiers killed Oct. 4 near the Niger-Mali border in an ambush that U.S. officials believe was carried out by Islamic State-affiliated fighters.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who represents the district where Johnson's family lives, said she was listening in on the call Trump made to Johnsons widow, Myeshia, while family members were in a limousine en route to an airport to meet the soldiers body.

Recounting phone call

Speaking to MSNBC on Wednesday, Wilson said Trump was almost like joking, during the conversation, which was on a speaker in the car.

He said, Well, I guess you know, something to the effect that 'he knew what he was getting into when he signed up, but I guess it hurts anyway,  Wilson explained to MSNBC.

It was horrible. It was insensitive. It was absolutely crazy, unnecessary. I was livid, she said.

WATCH: Trump Defends His Handling of US Soldier's Death in Niger

La David Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she was also in the car, and that President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband.

Trump responded to Congresswoman Wilson's allegations Wednesday, tweeting that she had totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

Later, as he sat down for a meeting with a group of senators, Trump again rejected the familys version of the phone call.

I didn't say what that congresswoman said; didn't say it all. She knows it. And she now is not saying it, Trump replied to a reporters question. I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was, sounded like a lovely woman.

As a debate over the propriety of the president's words raged on cable news networks Wednesday, the Florida lawmaker fired back with a Twitter post of her own: I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myesha Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump. Not the woman or the wife,  Wilson wrote.

In a separate interview with CNN, the lawmaker said, I have proof, too. This man is a sick man.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Wilson of mischaracterizing the phone call for political purposes. I think it is appalling and disgusting what Representative Wilson has done and the way shes politicized this.

Sanders refused to get into the details of the presidents conversation with Myeshia Johnson, but said several White House staffers, including Chief of Staff John Kelly, had been listening in on the call.

The presidents call as recounted by multiple people in the room believe that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country, and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero in their family and I dont know how you could take that any other way, Sanders said.

Actions questioned

Trumps handling of the deaths of U.S. servicemen and women was raised at a Rose Garden news conference Monday, when he was pressed about why he had not commented on the incident 12 days after it happened, and had not contacted the families of the four killed in Niger.

In his reply, Trump said he had written letters and would call the relatives, adding that generals serving in his administration had told him some previous presidents, including Barack Obama, had not always personally contacted families of fallen American soldiers,

That claim sparked outrage and sharp rebukes from former members of Obama's staff. Alyssa Mastromonaco, who served as Obama's deputy chief of staff, described Trump as a deranged animal and uttered an expletive in calling his comment a lie.

The Politico website reported Wednesday that the National Security Council staff had drafted a statement of condolence on Oct. 5, a day after the incident happened. But it was never issued, possibly because there was some initial confusion about the number of casualties.

U.S. military officials have ordered a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the ambush that killed Sergeant Johnson and three other members of an elite airborne Army unit that was assisting local forces approximately 200 kilometers north of Niger's capital, Niamey.



Pentagon officials say there are about 800 U.S. troops in Niger in an operation underway for five years against the Boko Haram militant group and other terrorist organizations.

Press Secretary Sanders said Wednesday that the deaths of four U.S. soldiers would not weaken Washington's resolve.

We want to continue to work with our coalition forces to completely destroy and defeat ISIS right now. That's the priority and that's the focus, and that's what we're going to continue to be focused on at this time, she said.
The United Nations Secretary-General said Wednesday that the Central African Republic is at a critical moment and everything must be done to ease growing communal tensions and preserve gains to keep the fragile nation on the right path.

Antonio Guterres will travel to the Central African Republic next week, to meet with the countrys leaders and visit the nearly 12,000-member U.N. peacekeeping mission.

The country has been struggling with sometimes deadly inter-communal tensions for the past five years between two armed groups -- the mostly Muslim Seleka and largely Christian anti-Balaka.

Another serious outbreak of violence between the two groups erupted in May, and Guterres warned that the situation remains very troubling.

Across the country, communal tensions are growing, violence is spreading, and the humanitarian situation is deteriorating," he said.

The numbers of people in need of humanitarian aid is surging, with almost 600,000 internally displaced and more than half-a-million driven to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The violence has been deadly for peacekeepers and aid workers, as well as civilians.

Guterres said he has asked the Security Council for an increase in peacekeepers to calm the situation.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the C.A.R. has been the epicenter of sexual abuse and exploitation allegations against the United Nations. One mission chief has been fired and peacekeepers from accused countries have been repatriated.

Guterres will be accompanied on his visit by his recently appointed victims rights advocate.

We are determined to ensure that the voices of victims are heard  I will myself be ready to meet with victims and their families  in and beyond the Central African Republic. Victims must be at the center of our response if we want our zero-tolerance policy to be successful, he said.

Guterres said despite challenges, fragile gains such as the election of a president and government and the establishment of a special criminal court must be preserved and strengthened.
United Nations judges will decide next week on a verdict in the trial of former Bosnian Serb army leader Ratko Mladic, who is accused of war crimes stemming from the conflict in the Balkans during the 1990s.

Mladic, dubbed the butcher of the Balkans, is the last soldier to face war crimes charges in the court, which was set up to deal with the fallout from the Bosnian war that raged from 1992 through 1995.

Mladic has been charged with 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in leading sniper campaigns in Sarajevo and the killings of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.

Prosecutors have asked the International Criminal Tribunal to sentence Mladic to life in prison. Last year, attorney Alan Tieger said anything less than a life sentence would be an insult to the victims, living and dead, and an affront to justice.

Mladics defense lawyer Dragan Ivetic has accused prosecutors of seeking to make the former general a symbolic sacrificial lamb for the perceived guilt of all Serbs during the war.

He called for Mladic to be acquitted on all charges.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) begins collecting social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information and search results from all immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. Wednesday.

While the measure was announced in late September, DHS has been tight-lipped about how it will collect the data and who will scrutinize it.

The sweeping practice broadens earlier efforts under President Barack Obama.

This amendment does not represent a new policy, said DHS spokesperson Joanne Talbot. DHS, in its law-enforcement and immigration-process capacity, has and continues to monitor publicly available social media to protect the homeland.

The new policy is an amendment to the 1974 Privacy Act. It includes monitoring of green card holders and naturalized citizens as well as relatives of immigrants, doctors who treat immigrants, law enforcement officials who certify an immigrant's cooperation in an investigation, and attorneys and others who assist immigrants.

Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University in Washington, questioned the practicality of reviewing so many accounts on social media.

Purely from a practical standpoint, I dont see how DHS has the resources to implement this, he shared on Twitter.

Despite the logistical challenges, some U.S. lawmakers have been pushing the government for years to do more to monitor publicly available information about people coming into the country.

In 2015, after attackers carried out a mass shooting in San Bernadino, California, Republican Senator John McCain introduced a bill requiring DHS to search social media websites of prospective foreign travelers and immigrants. At the time he said, "it is critical that we have the strongest policies and procedures in place for background checks that reflect the evolving security threats facing our nation."

Changes to Privacy Act

The Privacy Act was introduced in 1974 after President Richard M. Nixon resigned when it was revealed he broke into files of the Democratic Party at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. The measure was designed to curb the government's ability to gather information on individuals.

It establishes, a code of fair information practices that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies, according to the Department of Justice.

I cant think of any situations where this monitoring and record-collection has been used in an abusive way, said Major General Charles J. Dunlap Jr., who retired from the Air Force in 2010.

But if it were, that would need to be immediately addressed and rectified, said Dunlap, who is also a law professor and executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security at Duke University in Durham, N.C. I dont think this will have much effect on international students studying in the U.S.



I do think that DHS is to be commended by trying to be more transparent about what they are doing, he said.

Worries over government monitoring

The majority of social media users are at or around college age, according to the Pew Research Center: 86 percent of people ages 18-29 use at least one social media site, compared with 80 percent of those between the ages of 30-49, and 64 percent in the 50-64 demographic, and 34 percent among seniors aged 65 and older.

In a way I feel that this is terrifying, because now, a part of our privacy is being violated, said Erick Cortez, a student and permanent resident from the University of Arkansas. Cortez is studying broadcasting and political science.

Originally from El Salvador, he said he is anxious and worried about what he posts on social media.

Many people like myself use social media to follow and be surrounded by others that share a similar opinion, he said. But now that they [DHS] will be monitoring our social media accounts, I feel like my freedom if speech is being revoked and I won't be able to express how I feel.

Michael Manansala, who grew up in Minnesota and came to the U.S. from the Philippines 18 years ago, said DHS is overstepping its boundaries.

As a naturalized citizen, I'm extremely uncomfortable with USCIS and DHS invading my privacy through the collection of my social media information and search results without a warrant or my consent, wrote Manansala in one of thousands of comments on the Federal Register.

I think the DHS serves a vital function in preserving our national security, said Manansala. That being said  Im just as American as a natural-born citizen. As Americans, we are owed equal protection and treatment under the law.

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The United States is condemning, in the strongest terms, the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Galizia who was investigating alleged government corruption.

"It was a cowardly attack that took the life of a talented and brave ... reporter who dedicated her career to fighting the rule of law and shining a light on corruption," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday.

She said the FBI has responded quickly to the prime minister's call for U.S. help in the investigation. A Dutch forensic team is also in Malta to help.

Monday's blast blew up Galizia's car just moments after she left her home. It set the vehicle on fire and sent it careening into a field.

Galizias son saw his mothers car explode, but there was nothing he could do to save her.

"My mother was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists," Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote on Facebook. "She was also targeted because she was the only person doing so."

Several hundred people protested her murder outside the Maltese courthouse Tuesday.

Galizia was investigating alleged ties between Maltese government officials and offshore banks and companies that are often used to avoid paying taxes.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was among those under suspicion because of information gleaned from leaked documents known as the Panama Papers, which gave details on the tax havens.

Muscat denied any wrongdoing and sued Galizia. But he condemned her killing and vowed to investigate.

Just 30 minutes before her death, Galizia wrote on her blog "There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate."
On Tuesday, nearly 30,000 pages of declassified records from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta between 1964 and 1968 were published in a collaboration between the National Declassification Center (a body within the National Archives) and the nonprofit National Security Archive, located at George Washington University. The period includes the Indonesian militarys mass killing of 500,000 to 1 million suspected Communists in 1965-66, which the U.S. materially supported at the time.

It is the largest and most significant release from the National Declassification Center, which was created by a 2009 Executive Order from then-President Barack Obama in order to improve transparency. The files provide further detail on how the U.S. Embassy kept track of the mass killings, as well as hoped to undermine labor movements, as the country transitioned into the Suharto military dictatorship.

An Ambitious Undertaking

The National Declassification Center responded to our and other scholars' criticism over several years that the Center shouldn't just work on the low-hanging fruit, the classified administrivia, but take public interest, and scholarly interest, into account, and set priorities with public input, said Tom Blanton, director of the nonprofit National Security Archive. My early impression had been that the NDC was avoiding the highest-level and most highly classified files, he said. Many scholars had asked for the Indonesia embassy files from the 1960s to be declassified, because of the mass murders and historical turning points that took place then.

This is the first time the National Declassification Center has pursued a project due to public interest, said Bradley Simpson, a University of Connecticut professor who founded the Indonesia/East Timor Documentation Project. He said that two high-impact documentaries from Joshua Oppenheimer on the mass killings, a subsequent resolution from Oppenheimers Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) to President Obama, and a formal request from Indonesias Human Rights Commission to the U.S. government were all factors in their release.

Simpson led a team of seven volunteers who helped scan and digitize the documents, which will be posted online in a searchable database. It was a labor of love, but worth it given the nature of modern research, said Simpson, who founded the Documentation Project in 2002. The government is only required to hand over physical files that are marked for declassification, which is unwieldy for subsequent scholars interested in the material.

This is a good blueprint for how the National Archive can make formerly classified documents available to the public for posterity, he said.

Documentaries Ongoing Impact

It is hard to overstate the impact of the documentaries The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, which are respectively about the perpetrators and victims of the 1965-66 killings, on the renewed conversation over Indonesia's mid-century anti-Communist purge. For a long time the issue was verboten, even though so many families were personally impacted by it.

Barack Obama, who moved to Jakarta as a child in 1967, later recalled in his memoir how news of the very recent killings only reached his mother as innuendo, half-whispered asides.

I am especially grateful to Joshua Oppenheimer for his work to bring this moral outrage into the public view, said Senator Udall, in a statement released on Tuesday.

Today represents real progress, said Udall. But in Indonesia, many of the individuals behind these murders continue to live with impunity, and the victims and their descendants continue to be marginalized and unrecognized Here in the United States, we must encourage the continued democratic progress of a vital ally, and we must confront our own role in these terrible acts.

Gaps Remain

The release of files on US involvement in Indonesia began in 2000, when the American State Department released Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968.

The major extant question, even after this new dump of Embassy files, is about the complete nature and extent of American support for the Indonesian military during the killings.

It is already known that the CIA provided radios, for the military to coordinate murders across the archipelago, and kill lists of Communist Party-affiliated individuals. The full story would require the further declassification of CIA and Defense Attache files from the period, said Simpson. But the raw material of intelligence gathering is among the most closely held secrets in the U.S. government. There is no guarantee that those documents will ever see the light of day.

There is precedent for the U.S. government to use declassified files as a diplomatic tool: in 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered hard disks of CIA records on Chiles Gen. Augusto Pinochet and Argentinas Dirty War of military repression to those countries governments.

So it could happen with Indonesia too, said Simpson. But its unlikely at the moment. I dont think the Trump Administration is interested in questions of human rights or historical accountability, regarding Indonesia or otherwise.
They raised a flag in Paradise Square, a notorious traffic circle in which the jihadists had staged brutal public executions, including beheadings, leaving severed heads on display for days afterwards. And then the victors doughnut-spun armored vehicles around in mimicry of how Islamic State militants celebrated their takeover of the city three years ago.

There was relief and pride in the faces of the Kurd fighters as they savored the crushing blow they delivered IS this week, marking the end of four months of grueling fighting against the militants for control of the city of Raqqa, the jihadists de facto capital.

Wrecked buildings now surround the square, renamed during ISs three-year tenure as Hell Square. Like the rest of the city no building has been left unscathed by the battle for Raqqa. But who will rebuild and how fast is unclear.

And other questions remain unanswered about Raqqas fate. How many of the citys inhabitants will return and how quickly? Who will govern a city that will struggle to exorcise the ghosts of the medieval-style depravity and cruelty inflicted on it?

More wars

As in neighboring Iraq, which saw Iraqi forces along with Shi'ite militias and Yazidi fighters wrest control of disputed territory from Iraqi Kurds, other wars are shaping in the wings in Syria, fear locals and analysts.

In Raqqa, a civilian council made up of Kurds and Arabs has been set up by the victorious Syrian Democratic Forces, with the support of the United States and other Western backers, to take over the running of the razed city. But resentments could build fast, if local Arabs feel they are being bossed around by the Kurds and are not respected in the governance of the city, Raqqa is historically Arab, not Kurdish.

Within hours of the SDF resting control of Raqqa, Arab political activists who oppose IS and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed disdain. We dont consider it a liberation because SDF has committed many human rights violations against civilians, the activist network Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently tweeted Wednesday.

The flags only changed, Raqqa from occupation to another, the network added.

Another Arab activist group, Eye on the Homeland, warned recently that civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes, up to 2,000 are thought to have been killed in the fight, would allow militants to convince local Sunni Arabs that these military forces do not have their interests at heart, providing opportunities for further radicalization.

Meanwhile, a humanitarian crisis is worsening. International agencies estimate at least 270,000 people have been displaced from Raqqa, and the camps where they are being hosted have insufficient food, water and medicine.

Humanitarian crisis

With high levels of destruction reported in and around Raqqa, most families have little or nothing to return home to and will likely be stuck in camps for months or years to come, the international aid group Save the Children warned Tuesday.

Tuesday, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the international coalition battling IS, tweeted, We have pre-positioned aid, will help clear IEDs, restore services. But at the same time, officials in Washington have emphasized the U.S. role will be limited.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all parties involved in the Syrian conflict to facilitate access for humanitarian aid to reach Raqqa, while reiterating the urgent need to reinvigorate the political process aimed at finding an end to the more than six years of fighting.

To the south of the city, Syrian government forces linger. At one point earlier this year it looked as if the Syrian army supported by Russia might be poised to beat U.S.-backed forces to Raqqa. How long before Damascus wants control of Raqqa remains unclear and President Bashar al-Assad has said in the past Raqqa is a symbol and that it is his duty to retake all of Syria.

He likely wont have to struggle to recover Raqqa. Officials in Washington say at some stage they will hand it over.

We will restore basic services, not (do) the nation-building that the U.S. government previously engaged in in other countries, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters Tuesday. She said the goal is to get it up and running and then turn it over to other countries and the host country.

Comprehensive settlement

But anti-Assad activists question the point of rebuilding in Raqqa or in de-escalation zones being set up by foreign powers elsewhere in Syria, if it merely lays the groundwork for future violence and unrest. Rebuilding before there is a comprehensive political settlement of the Syria conflict is putting the cart before the horse, they say.

Conversations about Syria are quietly shifting away from an evasive political solution and towards the allure of post-conflict reconstruction, argued Rouba Mhaissen on the website Syria Deeply. In areas where violence has effectively ceased, violations of human rights have not, and rampant arbitrary detention, forced displacement and the constant threat of retaliation continues, she added.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians will soon start trickling back into the wasteland that used to be their hometown and, seeing the destruction, they wont necessarily be inclined to trust their new rulers, argues Aron Lund, an analyst with U-S.-based policy research group The Century Foundation

In these hints of future conflict and ethnic strife rests the Islamic States hope for a comeback, he adds.
The White House is reacting furiously to a federal judge blocking President Donald Trump's latest executive order that would have banned entry to travelers from several countries beginning Wednesday.

"Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States," said a White House statement issued Tuesday shortly after Judge Derrick Watson ruled against restrictions on travelers from six countries the Trump administration said could not provide enough information to meet U.S. security standards.

The travel order would have barred to various degrees travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Watson's temporary restraining order does not interfere with restrictions on North Korea and Venezuela.

Justice Department defends White House

The Justice Department "will vigorously defend the presidents lawful action," the White House said, contending its proclamation restricting travel was issued after an extensive worldwide security review.

The Justice Department called the ruling incorrect and said it will appeal the decision "in an expeditious manner."

Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke said: "While we will comply with any lawful judicial order, we look forward to prevailing in this matter upon appeal."

No change for North Korea, Venezuela

The new travel order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the United States,'" Judge Watson wrote in his opinion.

The White House argues that its restrictions "are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our nation."

Officials in the White House are expressing confidence that further judicial review will uphold the president's action.

Hawaii involved for third time

Consular officials have been told to resume "regular processing of visas" for people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, according to a State Department official.

The suit on which Judge Watson ruled on Tuesday was filed by the state of Hawaii, the Muslim Association of Hawaii and various individuals.

"This is the third time Hawaii has gone to court to stop President Trump from issuing a travel ban that discriminates against people based on their nation of origin or religion," said Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin. "Today is another victory for the rule of law."

Molly McKitterick contributed to this report.
The White House is reacting furiously to a federal judge blocking President Donald Trump's latest executive order that would have banned entry to travelers from several countries beginning Wednesday.

"Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States," the White House said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The White House response came shortly after Judge Derrick Watson ruled against restrictions on travelers from six countries the Trump administration said could not provide enough information to meet U.S. security standards.

WATCH: Marchers in DC Protest Travel Ban

On Wednesday, a judge in Maryland joined the suit, arguing that Trump's own words led to the decision to block the ban.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang heard arguments Tuesday brought by advocacy groups led by the International Refugee Assistance Project, which argued that the current travel order still amounts to a Muslim ban, and that it exceeds presidential authority.

The travel order would have barred to various degrees travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

Watson's temporary restraining order does not interfere with restrictions on North Korea and Venezuela.

The Justice Department "will vigorously defend the presidents lawful action," the White House said, contending its proclamation restricting travel was issued after an extensive worldwide security review.

The Justice Department called the ruling incorrect and said it will appeal the decision "in an expeditious manner."

Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke said: "While we will comply with any lawful judicial order, we look forward to prevailing in this matter upon appeal."



The new travel order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the United States,'" Judge Watson wrote in his opinion.

Vital restrictions



The White House argues that its restrictions "are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our nation."

Officials in the White House expressed confidence further judicial review will uphold the presidents action.

Consular officials have been told to resume "regular processing of visas" for people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, a State Department official said.

The suit on which Judge Watson ruled on Tuesday was filed by the state of Hawaii, the Muslim Association of Hawaii and various individuals.

"This is the third time Hawaii has gone to court to stop President Trump from issuing a travel ban that discriminates against people based on their nation of origin or religion," said Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin. "Today is another victory for the rule of law."



Tailored approach

Trump said in the September 24 proclamation announcing the new order: "As president, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people. The restrictions announced are tough and tailored, and they send a message to foreign governments that they must work with us to enhance security."



The new ban dropped Sudan from the list, but it added Chad, Venezuela and North Korea to the original six Muslim-majority countries. And in each case, the directive varies. For Syria and North Korea, all immigrants and visitors are banned. The same is true of Iran, except that students are exempted.

Immigrants and people on business or tourist visas are blocked from Chad, Libya and Yemen. Visitors from Somalia may come to the United States while immigrants are barred. In the case of Venezuela, only certain government officials are disallowed.

The September proclamation provides varying rationales for the new strictures, thought to be more defensible in court than something more sweeping.

"North Korea does not cooperate with the United States government in any respect and fails to satisfy all information-sharing requirements," the presidential declaration said.

Venezuela was cited for failing to cooperate "in verifying whether its citizens pose national security or public safety threats." U.S. officials also said the Caracas government does not willingly receive Venezuelans deported by the United States.

Chad, a "valuable and important" counter-terrorism partner, failed to share terrorism-related and other public safety information, the proclamation said.
MADISON  There is nothing new about hurricanes. Benjamin Franklin charted the flow of the Gulf Stream in the 1780s, mapping the fast-moving river of warm water that sweeps up from Florida, travels swiftly across the Atlantic to Europe and regathers speed in warm waters off the west coast of Africa.

Then and now, the Gulf Steam contributes to the formation and intensity of hurricanes.

Nor are wildfires a recent phenomenon. The biggest wildfire in California history in terms of square miles scorched took place in the late 1880s, long before it became the nations most populous state.

Whats new is that a combination of inattention to science, human behavior and poor public policy is making things a lot worse before and after such disasters strike.

The sprawling city of Houston is flood-prone. It is situated on a low-lying coastal plain and built on soil that doesnt drain well. Over time, much of the regions wetlands have been lost  about 30 percent between 1992 and 2010 alone  and replaced with impervious surfaces. It shouldnt be surprising that huge amounts of rain such as what was dumped by Hurricane Harvey would result in massive loss of property and even lives.

The victims of Harvey in Houston and elsewhere arent to be blamed, of course. Blame should be reserved for public policies that have made a naturally flood-prone city more so. The nations fourth-largest city does not have a zoning code. It has a storm water system one expert described as not designed for anything much stronger than a heavy afternoon thunderstorm. Developers routinely build homes in 100-year floodplains.

And yet, aid will pour into Houston in the forms of grants, tax breaks and federal incentives that likely wont compel local and state officials there to change anything.

In California, out-of-control wildfires in northern California have killed more than 30 people and spanned at least 265 square miles. Such fires have natural causes, including lightning, but its more often humans who provide the spark. When fires break out, they tend to spread by consuming fuel along the way  underbrush not removed, dry crops and vegetation, forests not thinned by controlled cuts or burns, and buildings in fire-prone areas. In California, the federal Environmental Protection Agency itself is at least partially to blame, refusing to allow more prescribed fires near developed areas.

The EPA is ignoring the fact that prescribed fires emit far less pollutants than wildfires, said Brent Haglund, chief executive officer and chief science officer for the Sand County Foundation in Madison. The pollutants released in a wildfire, especially when it reaches dwellings and other development, will curl your hair.

As with hurricane-stricken areas in the Gulf Coast and Florida, federal aid in California may not come attached with strings designed to lessen the severity of wildfires when they inevitably occur.

Whats the lesson for Wisconsin? There are low-lying areas that are flood-prone and drought could turn its forests into tinderboxes, but a more recent example involves resource management and the fight over high-capacity wells in central Wisconsin.

A Dane County judge ruled Oct. 11 that the state Department of Natural Resources must consider the cumulative effects of high-capacity wells, most often tapped to water crops, on nearby lakes, streams, rivers and other wells. The judge cited the states Public Trust Doctrine and a 7-0 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in a similar case. Her ruling essentially trumped a legal opinion by Wisconsins attorney general, which said the DNR lacks the authority to place conditions on developers of high-capacity wells.

There is ample precedence to be found, as well, in longstanding Texas law governing groundwater use. In 1904, the Texas Supreme Court ruled people can drill wells on their own property at free will and pleasure  unless it captures someone elses water, at which point it is essentially theft. The creation of Texas groundwater conservation districts a few decades later has allowed science and public policy to meet, compelling competing local interests to talk first and sue later.

When there is an earnest desire to get the incentives right and to align them with public policy, people will turn to scientific tools to help solve problems, Haglund said.

Natural disasters will happen, with or without climate change. The trick is understanding how to mitigate the effects of those disasters before and after they happen.
At the opening of a top level political meeting Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a sober assessment of the challenges facing the worlds second largest economy and its ruling Communist Party, laying out an ambitious vision that stretches forward to the middle of this century and pledging to build what he called a modern socialist country for a new era.



In a near three-and-a-half hour speech at the opening session of the 19th Party Congress, Xi spoke confidently about the countrys future and its opportunities. He also stressed that an increasingly strong Communist Party would continue to chart the path forward.

But such an effort is not without its challenges.

Xi has overseen a massive anti-corruption drive since rising to power five years ago, which has punished more than one million officials and led to the downfall of several high-ranking party members as well. He said the fight against corruption will always be in progress and is still the partys biggest threat.



In his speech, he spoke frequently about the struggles Chinas leadership faces, mentioning the word struggle more than two dozen times.

As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, the party must apply new approaches. To forge iron, one first needs to get strong, Xi said. A party and its authority rests on winning the hearts and minds of the people. What the public opposes and hates, we must address and resolve.

Growing demands



Xi said the demands of Chinas near 1.4 billion people are becoming increasingly broad.

Not only have their material and cultural needs grown; demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment are also increasing each day," he said.



But much like other topics Xi spoke about in his address, which left some struggling to stay awake and hungry as it pushed past noon, it was unclear how Chinas ruling party would do just that.

Although the Chinese leader mentioned growing demands for democracy, he made it clear that no major political reforms were on the horizon.

"A political system cannot be criticized abstractly without consideration for social and political circumstances, and historical cultural traditions. It cannot look up to one man as the highest authority or blindly copy foreign political systems without regard for specific conditions," Xi said.

Tighter controls



Xis first five years as Chinas top leader has been marked by an ever-increasing tightening of expression both online and in society. As Xi has sought to forward his vision for China, he has led a sweeping crackdown on civil society and locked up dissidents and lawyers.



He has shown little signs of loosening that grip. In fact, the 19th Party Congress is expected to further expand his power.



During the twice-a-decade gathering, Chinas Communist Party rulers will reshuffle their leadership and install a new Politburo Standing Committee, a top group of leaders that will rule the country for the next five years. The body is expected to be filled with more members who are loyal to Xi and part of his faction within the party.

Economic development



On the economy, Xi said that Chinas development is not a threat to any country and that it would continue to open its doors to foreign companies. He said that China would expand access to its services sector and deepen market oriented reforms, while strengthening state owned companies.

In his speech, Xi tried to balance his emphasis on socialism and state control with promises of fair play towards foreign companies who can bring in the new and innovative technologies his government eagerly wants.

"All businesses registered in China will be treated equally," he said while promising to "protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors."

Analysts say Xis pledge, which did little to boost markets in China on Wednesday, is a response to growing complaints of discrimination that foreign-invested companies say they face here. They add that it also highlights the government's preference for foreign companies establishing joint ventures and offering up their technical know-how, as opposed to operating from overseas destinations.

Xi said in his address that the Communist Party aims to develop China into a basically modernized, innovation-driven country by 2035 and to become a modern strong power by 2050.



Saibal Dasgupta contributed to this report
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A family is seen in their front yard in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. (Alvin Baez/Reuters)



A beach affected by Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

Long before the winds of Hurricane Maria reached Puerto Rico, another disaster had been wrenching and scattering the lives of island residents.

During the decade before Maria, economic decline and depopulation, a slower-moving catastrophe, had been taking a staggering toll: The number of residents had plunged by 11 percent, the economy had shrunk by 15 percent, and the government had become unable to pay its bills.

It already ranked among the worst cycles of economic decline and depopulation in postwar American history, and projections indicated that the islands slide could continue for years.

Then came Maria.

Now, even as officials in Washington and Puerto Rico undertake the recovery, residents are expected to leave en masse, fueling more economic decline and potentially accelerating a vicious cycle.

We are watching a real live demographic and population collapse on a monumental scale, according to Lyman Stone, an independent migration researcher and economist at the Agriculture Department. The hurricane hit might just be the kick in the pants Puerto Rico needs to really fall off this demographic cliff into total epochal-level demographic disaster.

Whatever happens with Puerto Rico, moreover, will have far-reaching effects, because while the disaster is felt most keenly on the island, the accelerated exodus is already being felt on the mainland.

Cities popular with Puerto Ricans, such as Orlando, Hartford, Conn., and Springfield Mass., are bracing for more students, many of whom come from families living below the poverty level.

Politicians, meanwhile, are weighing the potentially significant electoral consequences of a wave of migrants expected to lean Democratic  especially in Florida. The swing state already boasts half a million Puerto Rican-born residents, and more are expected in Marias aftermath.

Indeed, at a news conference last week, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello warned that without significant help, millions could leave for the U.S. mainland.

Youre not going to get hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans moving to the States  youre going to get millions, Rossello said. Youre going to get millions, creating a devastating demographic shift for us here in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico Treasury Secretary Raul Maldonado has warned, meanwhile, that without more aid, the government could suffer a shutdown by the end of the month.

Prolonged bouts of economic decline and depopulation have afflicted parts of the United States before. During seven years in the 1950s, the number of people living in West Virginia dropped by 8 percent. New York lost 4 percent of its population in the 1970s. And during one stretch in the 1950s, Arkansas shed a whopping 11 percent of its people.

But in depth, the cycle of economic decline and depopulation on the island of 3.4 million people may prove the most punishing.

Even before Maria, you had what looked like a death spiral going on, said Gregory Makoff, a bond researcher who worked on the Treasury Departments Puerto Rico team and now is a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation. Now its no longer theoretical. In a weeks time, theyve lost another huge chunk of the population.

Compounding problems



U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from Puerto Rico attach an American flag to a vehicle on Oct. 14 in Yauco, Puerto Rico. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

For years before the economic slide, companies such as Merck, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo had collectively saved $2 billion or more annually under a key tax break that gave U.S. companies an incentive to set up operations on the island.

But in 2006, the tax break was eliminated, taking away a key incentive for companies to operate there. It was one of many factors blamed for the islands decline.

Among the others: The islands electrical power system is outdated and saddles islanders with bills roughly double what they are on the mainland; an exodus of doctors has opened holes in the health-care system; and the economys most critical sector, manufacturing, has been shrinking even more rapidly than the rest of the economy, affected not just by the lost tax break but also by global competition.

Only about 40 percent of people in Puerto Rico are employed or seeking work. By contrast, the U.S. figure for what economists call labor force participation is about 63 percent.

Finally, the governments inability to pay off more than $70 billion in debt has provoked a congressionally mandated oversight board and a new fiscal plan that calls for efforts to raise taxes and significant cuts to the government. Even with optimistic assumptions, that plan predicted continuing shrinkage of the economy.

As a result, for Washington and Puerto Rican officials planning a recovery, the ongoing exodus poses a multifaceted dilemma

Theyve got to start from the ground up, Makoff said of any new plan for the island.

In the short term, at least, the island is likely to see an economic boost; rebuilding after a hurricane often injects a jolt of spending into local economies.

But according to recent research of 90 years of natural disasters in the United States, published as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, major natural disasters also have unfavorable effects: They increase out-migration, lower home prices and raise poverty rates.

Like many on the island, Sergio M. Marxuach, policy director for the Center for a New Economy, a San Juan-based think tank, said a massive federal investment is necessary.

Were going to need some significant government intervention  essentially a big rescue package, not only to rebuild the economy but get it growing, he said. People are saying, I dont want my children to grow up in a place where the economy is going to be devastated for the next 10 years. If enough people think that way, its going to be a self-reinforcing downward spiral.

A lethal blow



Youngsters bicycle through Yauco, Puerto Rico. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

In addressing complaints about ongoing struggles on the island, President Trump noted this week that the disaster in Puerto Rico in many ways had begun years ago.

Puerto Rico was in very poor shape before the hurricanes ever hit. Their electrical grid was destroyed before the hurricanes got there. It was in very bad shape, was not working, was in bankruptcy.

Indeed, interviews with Puerto Rican businesspeople indicated that even if the obstacles left by Maria can be overcome  most notably the widespread lack of electricity  a return to economic life as it was before the storm is untenable.

Take Frank Joseph Sugden, 51, the owner of an established family tuxedo and gown business in Bayamon. His company, Top Hat, once had three stores but now has just one. With the reductions over the years, hes had to lay off 10 employees.

Now, after Maria, weddings and other formal parties have been largely canceled through December, so his store is closed. Two of his remaining eight employees are considering leaving for good. His wife wants him to leave, too. To make up for the lost business, hes started to do insurance work on the side.

He worries whether Puerto Rico is in a death spiral.

I think so, yes, and Im not too sure were going to come out of it, Sugden said. Weve just been kind of shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, and this is kind of a lethal blow.

Leo Aldridge, a lawyer with offices in San Juan and New York, described the post-Maria migration from the island as the Jet Blue revolution. People are buying a ticket and getting the hell out.

But the trouble began long before the storm. After a law class he teaches at the University of Puerto Rico, he said, his students frequently ask how they can arrange a bar exam and job on the mainland.

All the time, kids come up to me to say, What do I have to do to get off the island? What bar review do I have to take?  Aldridge said. This was all before the hurricane. . . . People are leaving and leaving and leaving.

Even those who evince optimism acknowledge that more difficult times lie ahead.

We will move forward better than we were before, said Joaquin Fernandez Quintero, the president of Telemedik, a telehealth company that employs about 400 people.

But he said that about 10 percent of the employees in his Mayaguez office will move to the States in the coming weeks, several of them high-level employees. And hes not sure when they will be coming back.

People are getting frustrated and depressed, Fernandez Quintero said. A lot of small and medium companies will be closing because they cannot maintain their operations. It will be a complicated process.

Steven Mufson contributed to this report.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer speaks with senior adviser Jared Kushner last week at the White House. Lighthizer has taken a lead role in negotiations about the North American Free Trade Agreement. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump has tried to bring his abrasive dealmaking style to the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations, but the fourth round of talks ended Tuesday without any sign that Canada and Mexico were planning to knuckle under to U.S. demands.

Ministers from both nations said that the U.S. proposals unveiled over the past week went well beyond their countries own red lines, though they agreed to remain at the negotiating table and extend talks through the end of March 2018.

In a reflection of Trumps stance, U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer exchanged sharp words with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts at a briefing Tuesday afternoon, saying he was disappointed that they were reluctant to give up unfair advantages. He asserted that trade deficits do matter and we intend to reduce them.

The negotiators rhetoric comes as the White House appears to be leaning toward its more strident voices on trade.

While Lighthizer has taken the lead, Peter Navarro, a top White House trade adviser who lost his senior perch within the administration, remains influential. Last month, he circulated two documents that he created, stating without any supporting facts or data that a weakened manufacturing base could lead to a host of socioeconomic problems, including higher abortion rate and increased spousal abuse.

[How a group of Florida tomato growers could help derail NAFTA]

During the past week of negotiations, Lighthizer has introduced several particularly controversial proposals. They included a sunset clause that would require the renewal of the agreement every five years; rules of origin that would tighten U.S. requirements for domestic content, especially for automobiles, to qualify for zero-tariff treatment; and an end to the transnational courts that settle international business disputes.

He also laid out limits on U.S. procurement from companies in Canada and Mexico while demanding greater access for U.S. companies seeking to sell goods and services to those governments. Canadas foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland, said that the proposal left Canada and Mexico combined with less access to the U.S. procurement process than Bahrain.

Although NAFTA was designed 23 years ago to encourage investment and the freer flow of goods between the three countries, continuing to design a national manufacturing policy largely dependent on exports to the United States for balance cannot long continue, Lighthizer said. He added that it is unreasonable to expect that the United States will continue to encourage and guarantee U.S. companies to invest in Mexico and Canada primarily for export to the United States.

We have seen no indication that our partners are willing to make any changes that will result in a rebalancing and a reduction in these huge trade deficits, Lighthizer said. Now I understand that, after many years of one-sided benefits, their companies have become reliant on special preferences and not just comparative advantage.

Freeland said that an agreement cannot be achieved with a winner-take-all mind-set. She said that what negotiators had seen over the past few days was a series of unconventional proposals that make our work much more challenging.

Freeland countered that U.S. proposals to increase U.S. national content in goods given favored treatment within NAFTA would severely disrupt supply chains and put in jeopardy tens of thousands of jobs.

She said that U.S. proposals would turn back the clock on openness and predictability and in some cases run counter to World Trade Organization rules.

Freeland said that Canada does not consider bilateral trade balances to be the most important indicators in trade talks, but she noted that the United States has only a slight, $8 billion trade surplus in goods and services with Canada and that, in manufactured goods alone, the United States has a $36 billion surplus with Canada.

Though Trump has called NAFTA the worst agreement ever, he has heard from a cacophony of voices within the White House on how he should proceed on his trade threats.

White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn has tried to press Trump to be cautious, worried about what abrupt changes might mean for the United States and the global economy. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has focused much of his attention on dealing with what he views as trade imbalances between the United States and China, although some of those decisions have also been delayed as the White House has focused on NAFTA.

Lighthizer has emerged in recent weeks as one of the most strident voices within the White House, pushing back on foreign ministers and business groups that have urged caution.

Congressional Republican leaders have expressed opposition to the hard-line stance the White House has taken in the NAFTA talks, urging it to move much more slowly. And many business groups have also pushed back, saying that the Trump administrations threats to withdraw from NAFTA could throw the economy  particularly exports  into turmoil. Congress would probably have to vote on major changes to NAFTA as part of a new ratification, but the White House has mostly rejected congressional warnings so far.

With Mexico running up to a presidential election in the middle of next year, to ask their president to do things to help the United States at the expense of Mexico is a non-starter in negotiating terms, said C. Fred Bergsten, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

In Mexico, politicians reacted angrily to the U.S. stance. Dolores Padierna, a leftist senator who serves on a congressional committee that tracks the NAFTA talks, said of Trump: This New York magnate has a sick hatred of Mexico; his words and proposals are like poison snakes.

[How Trump is about to make the worst deal ever even worse]

She said that Mexicos secretary of economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, should leave the talks.

At the news conference Tuesday, Guajardo said that in order for the efforts of Mexico, the United States and Canada to be fruitful, we must understand that we all have limits. He added despite our current differences, we must ensure that the decisions we make today do not come back and haunt us tomorrow.

Matthew Kronby, a former Canadian trade negotiator who worked on Canadas recent free-trade agreement with the European Union, suggested that the hard-line U.S. tactics were not meant to get an agreement.

My question is whether the objective is to put forward proposals that Canada and Mexico and even the U.S. Congress wouldnt be able to accept and use that as a pretext to start the process of withdrawal. That may be the administrations endgame, he said.

The break in NAFTA negotiations Tuesday coincided with an announcement by Canadian jet maker Bombardier that it would partner with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The deal might give Bombardier an avenue to circumvent the punitive 300 percent in preliminary tariffs the Commerce Department has slapped on the company since Sept. 26.

It also puts Airbus in a stronger position to compete with Boeing, which had filed the trade complaint against Bombardier.

The Bombardier case also shows how difficult it is to draw bright national borders around products. For the companys CS100 jets, it orders fuselage parts made in Shenyang, China. The jets wings are made in Belfast, where their assembly sustains a few thousand jobs. The landing gear comes from German and French suppliers. The engine, which has a competitive advantage in fuel efficiency, is made by Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney.

Aaron Gregg in Washington, Gabriela Martinez and David Agren in Mexico City, and Alan Freeman in Ottawa contributed to this report.

Correction: This article has been corrected to say that the United States has an $8 billion trade surplus in goods and services with Canada. An earlier version said it had a slight $8 billion deficit.
I would like to thank Congressman Ron Kind for supporting the Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Accountability legislation.

His staff in Washington, D.C., allowed me to meet with them to advocate for this legislation.

Despite some special-interest opposition to the bill, he did the right thing and crossed the aisle to work with Republicans on a piece of legislation that addresses the root problems at the VA: lack of accountability.

He had the courage to speak from the House floor in support of the bill when many in his party opposed it because of union special interests. He led the way in getting other Democrats on board.

For these reasons, despite my criticisms of numerous Wisconsin congressional officials over the past three years in the wake of the Tomah VA scandal, I strongly endorse Congressman Kind for re-election in 2018.

Ryan Honl, Tomah
"Freakish" (Hulu streaming) Meghan Rienks and Melvin Gregg star in Season 2 of this horror series about a group of students who find themselves trapped in their high school following a chemical plant explosion. (Rachael Thompson/Hulu)

Survivor (CBS at 8) The castaways switch tribes, but it doesn't go well for one contestant.

Empire (Fox at 8) The Lyon family pays tribute to Prince at a lavish party.

Riverdale (CW at 8) Betty heads up an effort to save Pop's diner.

Speechless (ABC at 8:30) Jimmy attempts to give JJ the talk on a camping trip.

Law and Order: SVU (NBC at 9) A high school student goes missing after a vicious cyberbullying attack.

Mr. Robot (USA at 10) Elliot works to undo the damage caused by the Five/Nine hack.

Broad City (Comedy Central at 10:30) Abbi's mom (guest star Peri Gilpin) visits.

Premieres

Check, Please! DC (WETA at 8) This six-episode docu-series, hosted by Compass Rose owner Rose Previte, explores the Washington-area dining scene.

Car vs. America (Fusion at 8) This twelve-episode travel series follows two editors of the car-obsessed website Jalopnik as they travel the country in search of weird vehicles.

Documentary

Frontline: Mosul (WMPT at 10, WETA at 10:30) The documentary series examines the battle to defeat the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq.

Special

CMT Artists of the Year 2017 (CMT at 8) Little Big Town, Andra Day, Common and Lee Ann Womack perform at this live ceremony, which honors country music's biggest stars. This year's event will also pay tribute to those affected by recent hurricanes and the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Returning

Property Brothers (HGTV at 9) Season 11.

Undeniable Joe Buck (AT&T Audience Network at 8) Season 4.

Late Night

Daily Show (Comedy Central at 11) Lena Waithe.

Kimmel (ABC at 11:35) Howard Stern, Cardi B.
As a state senator, Ralph Northam began expanding his financial portfolio to include stock in companies that do extensive business in Virginia. In early 2013, he reported owning between $10,000 and $50,000 of stock in Dominion Energy, Virginias largest utility and the top corporate donor to local campaigns.

Later that year, Northam voted on eight Senate bills Dominion lobbied on. As lieutenant governor in 2015, he praised legislation that suspended audits of Dominion by state regulators, a measure denounced by consumer advocates but touted on Wall Street as a boon to shareholders.

And if Northam, a Democrat, is elected governor next month, he probably will approve or veto bills that affect the utility  and very likely the value of his personal investment. The same is true for the other companies active in Virginia in which he owns stock: AT&T, Bank of America, Norfolk Southern, Kraft Heinz, DuPont, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson and Mondelez International.

Northam and his Republican opponent in the race, Ed Gillespie, have had extensive financial or business relationships with companies active in Virginia, raising questions about how those ties could influence their governance of a state known for unusually lax ethics laws. Northams investment in Dominion  although apparently permissible under Virginias ethics laws  already has opened him up to accusations that he has put the companys bottom line ahead of the publics interests.

[Ed Gillespies lobbying career included work for firms with vast interests in Virginia]

In particular, he has come under attack from environmentalists for not opposing a 600-mile natural gas pipeline Dominion is planning to build with several smaller partners.

Environmentalists say the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would damage some of the states most naturally pristine areas, while proponents  including Gillespie and Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe  say it would curb energy costs and create 8,800 jobs. Northam has tried to stake out middle ground by calling for a rigorous and transparent review of the pipelines environmental impact.

Northam says that if elected governor, he would put his stock investments in a blind trust managed by a trustee who could sell or purchase stock without his knowledge. The campaign notes that he has backed some policies opposed by Dominion, including McAuliffes veto of a 2016 bill that would have extended tax credits for coal plants.

I have always put the interests of those I have served first, and I promise to do that as governor, Northam, a pediatric neurologist, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

But some pipeline opponents argue that Northam cant help but be influenced by his Dominion investments.

Your personal investments and campaign contributions weigh on decisions, thats just reality, and Dominion is such a force in Virginia politics, said David Sligh, conservation director of Wild Virginia, a nonprofit group that opposes the pipeline.

Gillespie has mutual funds and partnership interests in three investment funds but no stock holdings, according to his campaign disclosure form. Last year, he advised four companies with vast interests in the state  AT&T, Bank of America, Microsoft and Anthem. If elected governor, Gillespie would almost surely face legislative or policymaking decisions affecting his former clients interests.

Gifts scandal involving former Gov. Robert McDonnell triggers debate over Virginia ethics laws.

Virginias conflict-of-interest laws generally allow lawmakers and state officials to vote on legislation affecting a company in which they own stock if colleagues own stock in the company and so also would be affected. For example, the law seems to permit Northams votes on bills affecting the utility in 2013 because several other state senators also had holdings in Dominion.

If the rules were more stringent, ethics experts say, an administration and part-time citizen legislature made up of doctors, bankers, developers and lawyers would be prevented from acting on innumerable bills and policies.

Public officials should not profit from their government service, but the reality is that people are going to have investments, and a relatively small interest shouldnt affect their decision-making, said Paul Nick, president of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, a nationwide association. Its similar to the idea that accepting a cup of coffee shouldnt affect your decision-making, but an all-expense paid trip will.

Anna Scholl, executive director of Progress Virginia, a liberal advocacy group that pushes for higher ethics standards, said she thinks Northam has complied with the letter and spirit of the law.

The challenge is, how do you balance ethics restrictions with a citizen legislature in which they all have outside business interests? she said.

Northams campaign said his stock purchases were recommended by a financial adviser, independent of anything going on in state government.

Most of the eight Senate bills Northam voted on after listing the Dominion stock on his disclosure form were technical and not controversial. Of the bills Northam voted to support, Dominion favored five and ultimately did not object to three, a company representative said.

Northam is not alone in state government in investing in Virginia companies; 10 lawmakers reported owning Dominion stock last year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP.

Republican Sen. Frank W. Wagner owned stock in Dominion valued between $5,000 and $50,000 when he sponsored the 2015 law suspending biennial financial audits by state regulators through 2022. He sold the stock later that year because, he said, I didnt want whats going on with Ralph Northam. I didnt want any reproach like I was trying to help myself.

VPAP records show that Wagner, who lost the GOP primary to Gillespie, later purchased $5,000 to $50,000 of stock in Dominion Energy Midstream Partners, a limited partnership formed by Dominion Energy with assets separate from the state-regulated utility.

Aside from Dominion, disclosure filings show, Northam owns stock worth between $5,001 and $25,000 in seven companies that do significant business in Virginia and are potentially affected by legislation and policy in the state: AT&T, Bank of America, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez International, Verizon, Norfolk Southern and DuPont. He owns between $50,001 and $250,000 in Johnson & Johnson, another company that has interests in the state.

Some of those companies directly interact with the governors office. McAuliffe unveiled a $1.9 million grant from a state economic incentive fund last March to help Norfolk Southern move 165 employees to Norfolk. A few months later, McAuliffe and other officials announced that DuPont would pay $50 million to settle claims that it contaminated 100 miles of river and flood plain. Northam's campaign said he was not involved in these decisions.

As lieutenant governor, Northam said he would not participate in tiebreaking votes on legislation affecting Dominion. None have come up. But the next governors administration will have to consider requests for air quality permits related to the pipeline, and continue monitoring the project.

In Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Dominion says delays in pipeline permits and negative publicity could have an adverse impact on company finances. An analysis by Credit Suisse, a financial services company, estimated the pipeline would add about 6 percent to the value of the $49 billion company.

If he becomes governor, Northam may also face legislation repealing the 2015 law that suspended Dominion audits. Northam has said he backed the law, signed by McAuliffe, because it increased the use of solar power and included assistance for low-income customers. But consumer advocates argue that it delays potential rate cuts and allows the utility to avoid paying millions of dollars in potential refunds.

After the Virginia Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the rate-freeze law brought by a group of utility customers, Goldman Sachs said that if not for the court decision, rate changes could provide a head wind of a 20-cent decrease in earnings per share.

Since his comments in 2015, Northam has steered clear of the debate.

When an issue threatens a major donor, you dont see a lot people stick their necks out, said Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City), who plans to try to overturn the rate freeze next year. The lieutenant governor was no different than anyone else.

The $5 billion pipeline would move natural gas extracted from shale by fracking in West Virginia through central and southern Virginia and into North Carolina, with a spur flung out to Hampton Roads. Northams leading challenger in the Democratic primary, former congressman Tom Perriello, made his opposition to the pipeline a signature issue.

On the defensive during a May debate, Northam touted a letter he wrote urging the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to strongly consider a more rigorous review that would analyze the pipelines impact on individual water crossings.

But a few weeks later, DEQ said it would not issue individual permits for every waterway crossed by the pipeline. Instead, state officials would rely on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water quality review. DEQ never responded to Northams letter, and he did not follow up, public records show.

This is the most important environmental issue facing the state, and Northam failed to use his bully pulpit, said Jonathan Sokolow, a Democratic activist who supported Perriello. It seems improper to own stock in a company youre supposed to be regulating, and even more troubling are the campaign contributions.

Dominion has poured more than $10.8 million into Virginia campaigns over the past two decades, more than any other company, according to VPAP. Northams campaign and a political committee he controls received more than $88,000. Employees of and lobbyists for the company also contributed about $63,000. Northam has backed a ban on corporate contributions.

Gillespie also has received campaign donations from Dominion, although far less  $53,500, plus $20,500 from employees and lobbyists.

Just like other companies and trade associations, Dominion is proud of the work we do every day in the communities where we live, work, and raise our families, spokesman David Botkins said. Why should we be excluded from the political process?

This is the first of two stories examining how Virginias gubernatorial candidates could face challenges leading the state because of their financial dealings with companies that have extensive interests there. Tomorrow: Republican Ed Gillespies work as a lobbyist and a consultant

Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.

Read more:

Dominion, leading corporate citizen in Virginia, facing political backlash.

Dominion CEO urged employees, shareholders to consider pipeline during primary election.

Northam wins backing of environmental groups opposed to pipeline.


Yellowfin tacos at Nobu. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post)

Columnist

(Satisfactory/Good)

After a receptionist at a shiny new bauble told me it would be weeks until I could dine there, I did what I typically do when a restaurant says no on the phone or online: I showed up just before the doors opened and figured a hopeful smile might land me a spot.

A young man in black attire exited the establishment at 4:54 p.m. and encountered two wannabe customers standing in blazing sunlight. Do you work there? I asked, and he nodded. Can we get a drink at the bar?

[Tom Sietsemas Fall Dining Guide]

We open at 5 p.m., he replied.

Fair enough. The two of us cooled our heels outside until showtime before trying the door.

Reservations? asked a young woman behind a counter she shared with a bevy of tight smiles. Actually, we dont, I said. Before I had a chance to tell her the two of us could eat quickly, even at the bar if necessary, she cut me off with the restaurant equivalent of a left swipe on Tinder. Unfortunately, she said, were fully committed tonight.

I glanced at the empty lounge, on the opposite side of the empty dining room, and asked if we could be seated there. She gestured help yourself. Two of us walked past a number of low tables with reserved signs on them and seated ourselves at a tall table near the bar.

Welcome to Nobu, the 38th branch of the contemporary Japanese chain made famous by Tokyo-born Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and, a month into its debut, already the most pretentious restaurant in Washington.

Nobu, which originated in New York 23 years ago, gets my dubious award for upselling, too. You may be asked "Still or sparkling?," as if local water isn't an option, and offered shishito peppers and edamame as if they were gratis, only to later see them on the bill. Following a little spiel about Matsuhisa, an early fusion specialist, a server asks if diners would like the restaurant to cook for them, without mentioning a price. (Only when I asked for an a la carte list one night did an attendant offer menus he had been holding behind his back.) Plus, the way the staff grabs plates, I wouldn't be surprised to learn they work on commission.



Washington resident Claudia Zhao, right, with her mother, Xue Li, in the lounge at Nobu. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post)

All the above is entirely unfortunate, given the food, which can be very good (if very expensive). Among the dishes that explain the fascination with the brand is the simply billed tiradito. A Nobu classic inspired by the founders time in Peru, the $22 dish arranges supple slices of fluke like spokes on a wheel against a soft yellow pool of yuzu and lemon juices. Each ribbon of raw fish comes with a burnt-orange dot of rocoto paste (based on Peruvian chile pepper), further electrifying the eating.

Shocks  some pleasant, others disagreeable  are something of a theme at Nobu, which asks you to eat its costly food with disposable chopsticks.

[Michelin is too buttoned-up to see the stars of D.C.s dining scene]

The flimsy utensils will make quick work of fried rock shrimp draped in spicy aioli, another longtime signature of the chain. Squid scored to look like pasta and moistened with garlic sauce and clarified butter was considered novel when it was first served in Los Angeles in the late 80s, at the forerunner to Nobu, Matsuhisa, but in 2017 strikes me as quaint.

Fleshy shiitake mushrooms tucked into a hillock of mixed greens is another standing tradition; fried garlic chips and some serious heat in the dressing help winnow the mountain into just a few leaves on the plate. Priced per piece ($6 to $11), sushi is well-made, meaning the pads of rice are not too firm and the fish is cut with precision, but the tempura is notable more for the way it is fried (lightly, so as to leave no sign of oil on the plate) than its batter (which shoots blanks).

The word that best sums up miso-glazed black cod, described by a server as the dish that made Nobu famous: unforgivable. What should be a star turn is a vaguely sweet slab of protein whose $40 price tag includes nothing more than sweet circles of miso and sake in the corners of its square plate.



Tiradito, a fan of raw fluke in yuzu sauce. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post)

Nobu Now showcases current notions at the restaurant. The best of the bunch may be lobster tempura with jalapenos, cilantro and red onion, a warm seafood salad that hits all the right buttons when the sweet, searing, pungent and sharp flavors are combined. Spicy tuna crispy rice is only half true. The rice  pressed into chewy dice, flash-fried and served as a bouquet of skewers  is as advertised. But the tartare, meant to be applied to each threaded bite, proves tame. Tiny tacos  lush minced yellowtail dabbed with tomatillo salsa, short ribs striped with sesame guacamole  presented in crisp corn clutches are a fun idea, but dont mistake them for anything more than a bite. Tacos for Munchkins, my significant other calls them.

You might want to bring a (clean) fly swatter to dinner. It will come in handy as youre trying to dine amid the many plate-grabbers at Nobu, where meals are also frequently interrupted by How is everything? and Can I order anything else?

[Komi, Metier join the Michelin star ranks, but no D.C. restaurants earn a coveted third star]

The food at Nobu faces stiff competition from the service, and not in a positive way.

The low-ceilinged space, on the ground floor of a luxury condo building in the West End, is beautifully lit but otherwise unremarkable, as if Nobu is counting on its staff and its clientele to provide color. Dinner is frequently punctuated by cries of welcome ("Irasshaimase!") from the cooks behind the sushi counter; the low thump-thump-thump of background music is the sort you might associate with the last time someone dragged you to a club fronted by suited muscles and a velvet rope.

The rooms best features are the padded chairs at the sushi counter and the cozy booths running down the center of the room. Theyre designed for lingering (should your wallet and patience allow).



Chefs behind the sushi counter. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post)

On the surface, Nobu appears to be as hot a ticket as no-reservations Bad Saint or four-star Pineapple and Pearls. When, just before my third visit, I tried to book a table for four around 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2, the reservation system Resy informed me only 5 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. seatings were available. "In better news," Resy explained, "a table for 4 people is next available Tuesday, October 31"  a full month later, in other words.

As I was getting ready to vacate my tall table near the bar on that first visit, fresh utensils suddenly appeared. The chef and the manager want you to try dessert, the waiter explained. Why? I asked, thinking I had been made. We do this for everyone, he replied.

I wish I believed him.

Dessert wasn't what I wanted, I told the server. What I really hoped for was a table. Here it was 7 p.m., two hours after I had walked in, and most of the tables with "reserved" notices were still vacant. "Where is everybody?"

The specialty of the house at Nobu has less to do with a dish than with an attitude. Its called obnoxious.

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NOBU

(Satisfactory/Good)

2525 M St. NW.

202-871-6565.

noburestaurants. com.

Open: Dinner Monday through Saturday.

Prices: Plates to share $9 to $40.

Sound check: 75 decibels / Must speak with raised voice.
Columnist

Hi, Carolyn: Our son-in-law recently lodged a complaint that our daughter shared: that we are far too involved in their personal business. It makes him uncomfortable to know his wife talks to her parents about much of their lives.

We understand and would happily step back but are not sure how to accomplish that considering they live rent-free in a home we own  this arrangement was supposed to last a year, but has stretched to three  and receive free child care from us two days a week. We are not choosing to be so intimately involved in their daily lives, but do not see how its avoidable when they are so reliant on us.

They are not in a position to buy a home yet, and it would be wasteful for them to start renting just to have more independence from us. No one wants to end the babysitting arrangement, although this is largely whats leading to our son-in-laws discomfort. Also, I am not sure our daughter was supposed to share her husbands comment. We are feeling awkward, underappreciated and a little bit hurt. What should we do?

 Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.: You could step back to admire how beautifully your daughter just made his point, by oversharing his concern about oversharing.

That would require a level of detachment, though, that I suspect you havent achieved.

For one thing, you cite a financial arrangement as a defense for an emotional one, and it doesnt work that way. Ask anyone rearing aloof teenagers: They can depend on you utterly and break bread with you daily and keep you thoroughly, exquisitely shut out of their inner emotional lives, if they so choose. Being enmeshed on one front doesnt guarantee it on others.

Nor does being in control on the financial front entitle you to control on another.

There is intimacy in child care, granted, especially since kids are so gleefully unfiltered when it comes to dishing on their parents. But you can still opt not to close that circuit, easily: 1. Dont circulate what your daughter shares with you; 2. Dont circulate what the kids burble to you, unless its utterly superficial or utterly serious; 3. Dont give them unsolicited advice, rearrange their cupboards, correct their parenting techniques. If asked for advice, answer only minimally, leaving room for follow-up questions.

You can start applying these best practices on this very topic, since the oversharing issue isnt about you, its strictly between husband and wife. Say so when your daughter brings it up: Well be mindful not to butt in, starting now: You two need to work it out on your own.

Ill flag one thing that I hope doesnt sabotage this advice. Abusers often isolate partners by demanding privacy  eavesdropping on calls, say, and trying to clamp down on whats shared. I dont necessarily suspect it here but must be thorough.

Please see how your opinion has jumped into their finances, too, and withdraw it; whether you think renting is "wasteful" is irrelevant. Maybe rent money would be extremely well-spent toward their health and independence as adults, spouses and parents.

And maybe charging them rent, which you then save for them, would help set them free? Just one idea toward a larger point: Hereafter, contribute only toward making yourselves obsolete. Its a parents most precious gift.

Write to

Carolyn Hax

at

tellme@washpost.com

. Get her column delivered to your inbox each morning at

wapo.st/haxpost

.
A few Fridays ago, in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, Smithsonian curator Frank Blazich put on headlamp, checked his bag for a tape measure, and descended into the subbasement of Oyster-Adams intermediate school in search of the past.

Oh, wow, he said, coming to a metal door marked with a yellow and black pinwheel. Look at that.

Blazich had come because my colleague and I invited him. Wed become obsessed with talking about nuclear attacks and fallout shelters, and thats what was on the other side of this door: an intact fallout shelter dating to 1962. A time capsule to a nations panic, lined up in a long, concrete hall.

These were the water barrels, Blazich said, pointing to a wall of 17  -gallon drums labeled Office of Civil Defense. Think five people per barrel, and we could get a rough approximation of who would be down here.

We counted: More than 100 people would have sheltered here to save themselves from nuclear apocalypse. The world outside, in this scenario? Annihilated.

So, each person would get 10,000 calories for two weeks, Blazich continued, blowing dust off a stack of tinned crackers. The crackers  All Purpose Survival Biscuits  would probably have been made of bulgur wheat, he explained. When the pyramids of ancient Egypt were excavated, archaeologists discovered unspoiled bulgur wheat; Cold War scientists figured the stuff must be indestructible.

Wed gotten interested in this shelter for a few reasons:

1) Intact ones are rare; they were supposed to be dismantled in the 1970s.

2) North Koreas Kim Jong Un is scary. He keeps surpassing predictions related to his nuclear arsenal  in September, he tested a weapon with seven times the yield of those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On Monday, a North Korean official said the country wouldnt stop until its missiles could reach all the way to the East coast of the mainland U.S.

3) Our own president, a man not known for measured responses, has said that attacks would be met by fire and fury like the world has never seen, and has taken to calling Kim Little Rocket Man.

So, to the fallout shelter.



Frank Blazich, curator at the National Museum of American History, in the 1962 fallout shelter. Image from video by Erin P. OConnor/The Washington Post.) (Erin P. O'Connor/The Washington Post)

We found first-aid kits. Tongue depressors, cotton swabs. A yellowing pamphlet with instructions for treating everything from skin rashes to sucking-wounds in the chest.

We found the latrines: barrel-shaped containers meant to be topped with a rubber seat. Blazich sat on one to make sure hed assembled it correctly, then noticed my colleague, Erin OConnor, filming him. Youll have a video of me online, he said, bursting into laughter. The guy sitting on a 50-year-old toilet.

Here we sit, on the fallout shelter toilet, because of the last reason were down here:

4) We want to solve a mystery. Who this shelter was intended for, who the stuff belongs to now. We want to understand, in a grimly practical way, what it felt like the last time the country saw bunkers as a solution because we were all going to be blasted to holy hell.

What is a fallout shelter?

President John F. Kennedy had a problem. It was 1961 and Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev was threatening to cut off access to West Berlin. We do not want to fight, but we have fought before, the president said in a July speech. He requested the government shell out $3.2 billion in military spending  including $207 million to identify spaces for fallout shelters. The United States could be bombed at any minute; shelters represented last-ditch hope for survival.

The money wasnt enough to actually build shelters  it was up to volunteers to see through construction. Civilians would be defending themselves against nuclear war.



David Krugler, author of This Is Only a Test: How Washington, D.C., Prepared for Nuclear War, in an intact 1962 fallout shelter. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)

The District of Columbia took the lead, explains David Krugler, whose book, "This Is Only a Test," tells the story of nuclear preparation in the nation's capital. Churches and schools were surveyed. Basements were measured. In offices, employees signed up as air raid wardens, prepared to slap on armbands and shepherd co-workers to safety. In the food industry, companies produced shelter biscuits and "carbohydrate supplements"  fruit-flavored candies to add flavor to confinement.

Krugler tells us all of this, then says that we are not the only ones to have recently called him asking about nuclear warfare. North Korea has everyone worried.

The D.C. public school spokeswoman says the same thing: Lots of people have been inquiring about the fallout shelter in Oyster-Adams  probably who had read the history-buff blogs we had, which catalogue possible shelter locations.

And speaking of Oyster-Adams, heres what weve learned so far:

In the summer of 1962, a bunch of D.C. schools were designated potential shelters (Adams wasnt on the initial list, but was added a few months later).

What is the civil defense using as an interpretation for this word, fallout shelter? asked a school board member identified as Mrs. Steele in meeting transcripts from September of that year.

A Mr. Riecks explained: a fallout shelter was a place with a lot of radiation-resistant concrete between you and a nuclear bomb. We have in our schools spaces for 28,000, he said, citing a school called Macfarland, which could shelter 340.

He noted, however, that Macfarlands population was 1,300. The thousand students who couldnt fit would just be taken to areas that were as safe as possible.

Is there any basis for determining which 340 students go into those spaces? a Mr. Yorkelson wanted to know.

What is to prevent people in the street from rushing into the building and preempting the spaces assigned for children? asked a Col. Hamilton.

The short answer was, nothing. Nothing to determine which third of the student body got the shelter spaces, and nothing to keep the space from being swarmed. The short answer was that if there was a nuclear attack in the capital of the United States of America, people would by flying by the seats of their pants.

Prep for war that never came

But that, of course, was the urtext of what was happening in America in the era of fallout shelters.

We wanted to know about our little shelter. What patriotic first-grade teacher had volunteered to be the air-raid warden at Oyster-Adams? What did fourth-graders remember about practice drills in the basement? How did the experience shape them, and when they looked at those walls of survival biscuits, did they see fear or salvation?



A first aid manual found in an intact fallout shelter dating from 1962, under the Oyster-Adams school in Washingtons Adams Morgan neighborhood. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)

Our search for answers became a lesson in the slipperiness of history: When the fallout shelter was built, the elementary school was called John Quincy Adams. When it later merged with another school, all records of the previous incarnation were jettisoned.

Seeking old yearbooks or class rosters, we visited the D.C. public school archives, digging through old newsletters and floor plans. Nothing. The public-school archives led us to a public-school warehouse, which led us to the Districts city archives. Nothing.

We reached out to the Districts Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, which is what the Office of Civil Defense transformed into. Nothing. Someone recommended we try the National Archives in College Park, Md., but we didnt, because the odds seemed slim. And because we are journalists, not Indiana Jones. And because it was beginning to feel a little weird, for the two of us to take such fervent responsibility for a bunch of old barrels of water.

So there it is, an unsolved mystery. Biscuits, tongue depressors, latrine covers, thermometers and salt tablets, all meant for a nuclear war that never came. Nobody knows who they belong to, and nobody has any reason to take them away.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war

We did find something else, though. Just when we had given up on our mystery, we found somewhere else to poke around. A different address. A different time capsule, but with the same kinds of memories.

While rifling through DCPS archives, we started to notice correspondence between the Office of Civil Defense and Gordon Junior High School in the Glover Park neighborhood.

In 1963 the school had a proposal. The only highly publicized trials in fallout shelters had been conducted on naval officers who, it could be argued, might not represent the average American. A Gordon teacher was proposing to place 62 students in the schools shelter for a period of 36 hours to see how they made out.

A roster was assembled. The school had an illustrious student body, and some participants received notations: Mother is Press Secretary to First Lady, Mrs. Johnson, said one. Father is U.S. Representative Arnold Olsen, Montana. There were children of Ethiopian and Indian diplomats, the son of a Turkish attache.

An article was written about the proposed experiment in the Evening Star, and caused a minor uproar. Some of us believe that a shelter program may be psychologically damaging, read a letter to the editor signed by social workers and ministers. It would tend to make nuclear war seem inevitable to children.

Nevertheless, the experiment went forward. Participants assembled in the auditorium, greeted with seriousness by Principal J. Dallas Shirley. Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war, he told them. We are under threat of imminent attack.

The students filed down to a subbasement none of them had known existed. They were divided into committees: Sanitation. Medical. Food. The shelter was filled with cots covered in paper blankets. Like an olive-green paper, remembers Christie Carpenter, the student whose mother was Lady Bird Johnsons press secretary. They made a lot of noise. My recollection is I didnt sleep a wink.

Barry Truder remembers being assigned to the Recreation committee and organizing an impromptu talent show. He invited people to make their own bingo cards. They sang Little Bunny Foo Foo in a round.

Verona Budke was placed on the Communications team, staying in radio contact with the outside world, which came in the form of pretend news updates: A number of bombs had fallen in Washington, one told them. There is great danger from radioactive fallout.

The night wore on. The students were told another group was seeking refuge  allowing them in would expose the students to radiation poisoning. But the other group contained children, they were told, so they voted to let them in.

The night wore on. One of the students, a boy whose father had been Kennedys assistant press secretary, started feeling lethargic. The Communications team radioed the outside world; it was determined the boy had German measles. They moved his cot to the other side of the room.

Walter Combs was on the Contamination committee, the group whose job it was to measure radiation levels in the shelter. He watched as his science teacher swung a Geiger counter around his head like a cowboy with a lariat, to capture the ambient air.

Walter was in seventh grade. That year, hed seen yellow megaphones rise above the Washington skyline, which would be used to tell the city when the Russians were bombing. Hed sat through the Cuban missile crisis, when a social studies teacher said, We are not going to have class today. We are just going to sit and look at each other because, depending on what happens, we might not ever see each other again.

Now, in the shelter, he watched his science teacher lassoing the air to see if it was poisonous, and he began to wonder whether it was all futile. What, after all, was the point? If this had been real and if the readings had been bad, what would they have done? Gone outside where the air was worse? There was no available treatment. There was only sitting below a school auditorium in a roomful of his 12- and 13-year-old classmates, and hoping the walls were thick enough.

1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos from inside a 1960s nuclear fallout shelter in Washington View Photos With North Korea as the latest nuclear threat, a look at a nearly untouched fallout shelter in Washington, D.C. Caption With North Korea as the latest nuclear threat, a look at a nearly untouched fallout shelter in Washington, D.C. Evelyn Hockstein Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

And, they werent. Or, they were, but not entirely. Or they were, but not as surveyors had intended or hoped for.

The story of fallout shelters, it turns out, is partly a story about safety in the nuclear age, but its more about the placebo effect in times of panic. In a grimly practical way, the emotion of being inside one was a pleasant reassurance of self-deception.

Originally, when the government sent surveyors to find suitable shelter locations, they sought buildings that had a protection factor of 200, meaning that anyone in the shelter would be 200 times less exposed to radiation than a person outside, in the elements.

But the surveyors didnt find enough spaces, so the criterion were expanded: The fallout shelters at Gordon Junior High and Adams Elementary could have had a protection factor as low as 40, which mightnt have killed you, but it could have made you sick.

In many ways, Washington was the least sensible place to develop an extensive fallout shelter program. Shelters were never designed to withstand bombs, only radiation aftermath.

But in a dense, urban environment like Washington, its the bombs that would have killed people  quickly and before anyone could seek cover. Shelters in a rural town would have greater lifesaving potential, but that was the Catch-22: places where fallout shelters would have worked best were the places that nobody was likely to bomb.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the dismantling of the shelter program began. Attention was turned to safeguarding against natural disasters instead  preparations that seemed both more tangible and more likely needed.

The people who stayed really passionate about civil defense were laughed at by some; they were shrugged off by others, says Krugler, the author.

There were other, smaller indignities in the fallout shelter program:

The carbohydrate supplements, meant to add a nutritional boost, were probably made with the red dye that was later banned because it was found to cause cancer.

Frank Blazich, the Smithsonian curator, heard a rumor that after the quiet decommisioning of fallout shelters, the carcinogenic fruit pebbles were sent to secretaries in government office buildings where they were then placed in candy bowls, to be eaten by the American public.

It was not clear what happened to the biscuits. Another mystery.

Down in the subbasement of Oyster-Adams, we found a tin that had already been opened. Not 50 years ago, we assume, but more recently, by some other intrepid seeker of history. The bulgur crackers looked like Saltines, and under Frank Blazichs advice that they were probably still good, we tried one.

It tasted awful. Stale, mostly. It tasted like all the things we are afraid of, and all the things we do to convince ourselves that we are safe.
Alexandria

These were among incidents reported by the Alexandria Police Department. For information, call 703-746-4444 or go to alexandriava.gov.

ASSAULTS

Braddock Rd. W., 4300 block, 7:02 p.m. Oct. 6. An assault was reported.

Dow Ave., 5700 block, 10 p.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Duke St., 4300 block, 9:47 p.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported.

Duke St., 4300 block, 4 p.m. Oct. 6. An assault was reported.

Executive Ave., 3800 block, 12:36 p.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported.

Fairbanks Ave., 5100 block, 5 a.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported.

Four Mile Rd., 700 block, 10:09 a.m. Oct. 9. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Four Mile Rd., 700 block, 6:18 p.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported.

Glebe Rd. W., 1000 block, 7:29 p.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Jefferson St., unit block, 2:19 a.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

King St., 500 block, 4:50 a.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported.

Luna Park Dr., 100 block, 4 a.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Madison St., 1300 block, 3:52 p.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Mount Vernon Ave., 1000 block, 8:45 a.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Quantrell Ave., 5800 block, 9:50 p.m. Oct. 9. An assault was reported. An arrest was made.

Quantrell Ave., 5900 block, 10:05 p.m. Oct. 7. An assault was reported.

Seminary Rd., 4600 block, 7:40 p.m. Oct. 9. An assault was reported.

Seminary Rd., 4900 block, 11:06 a.m. Oct. 10. An assault was reported.

Van Dorn St. N., 1500 block, 6:45 p.m. Oct. 3. An assault was reported.

Windsor Ave. E., 300 block, 7:33 p.m. Oct. 4. An assault was reported.

PEEPING TOM

Iverson St. N., 900 block, 9:48 p.m. Oct. 5. An arrest was made in a peeping tom incident.

ROBBERIES

Duke St., 5100 block, 8:07 a.m. Oct. 9. A robbery was reported. An arrest was made.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Armistead St. N., 400 block, 5:53 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Beauregard St. N., 2200 block, 5:38 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

Beauregard St. N., 2200 block, 6:18 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

Braddock Rd. W., 3800 block, noon Oct. 7. A theft was reported.

Bradford Ct., unit block, 5:21 p.m. Oct. 3. Property was stolen.

Bragg St. S., 100 block, 9:47 a.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Bragg St. S., unit block, 2:13 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Canyon Dr., unit block, 10:25 a.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Commonwealth Ave., 100 block, 10:05 p.m. Oct. 9. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Commonwealth Ave., unit block, 10:23 p.m. Oct. 8. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Custis Ave. E., 500 block, 3:16 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Derby Ct., 5600 block, 8:18 p.m. Oct. 6. A theft was reported.

Duke St., 4400 block, 4:38 p.m. Oct. 7. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Duke St., 5300 block, 1:44 p.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported, and property was damaged.

Duke St., 5900 block, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Edsall Rd., 6000 block, 7:35 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported, and property was damaged.

Eisenhower Ave., 2400 block, 4:36 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

Eisenhower Ave., 4500 block, 6:21 a.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported.

Harwich Ct., 5700 block, 11:41 a.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported.

Henry St. N., 1000 block, 6:45 p.m. Oct. 9. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Holmes Run Pkwy., 5300 block, 5:59 a.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

Holmes Run Pkwy., 5300 block, 2:09 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Howard St. N., 500 block, 1:07 p.m. Oct. 2. A theft was reported; property was damaged.

Jefferson Davis Hwy., 3800 block, 8:40 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

Kenmore Ave., 4600 block, 1:10 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported; property was damaged.

Kenwood Ave., 1600 block, 12:45 p.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported; property was damaged.

King St., 600 block, 3 p.m. Oct. 5. An employee theft was reported.

King St., 3500 block, 10:10 a.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

King St., 3500 block, 1:03 p.m. Oct. 5. A theft was reported.

King St., 3500 block, 6:39 p.m. Oct. 4. A theft was reported.

Milan Dr., 3800 block, 9:03 p.m. Oct. 3. A theft was reported and property was damaged.

Mill Rd., 2300 block, 9:12 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Mount Vernon Ave., 3400 block, 6:34 p.m. Oct. 6. A theft was reported.

Mount Vernon Ave., 3900 block, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 4. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Mount Vernon Ave., 4100 block, 8 p.m. Oct. 5. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Old Dominion Blvd., 3900 block, 5 p.m. Oct. 5. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Oronoco St., 400 block, 8:12 p.m. Oct. 3. A theft was reported.

Phoenix Mill Pl., unit block, 2:38 p.m. Oct. 7. A theft was reported.

Pickett St. N., 2200 block, 7:15 p.m. Oct. 9. Property was entered.

Pickett St. S., 200 block, 8:10 p.m. Oct. 9. A theft was reported.

Princess St., 1400 block, 8 a.m. Oct. 4. A theft was reported.

Reynolds St. S., 100 block, 4:15 p.m. Oct. 4. A theft was reported.

Roanoke Ave., 5400 block, 5 p.m. Oct. 2. A theft was reported; property was damaged.

St. Asaph St. N., 600 block, 2:27 p.m. Oct. 6. A theft was reported.

Seminary Rd., 5000 block, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 7. A theft was reported.

Stultz Rd., 300 block, 12:17 a.m. Oct. 4. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

Union St. N., 100 block, 4:54 p.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported.

Van Dorn St. N., 1400 block, 2:40 p.m. Oct. 7. A theft was reported.

Van Dorn St. S., 100 block, 3:14 p.m. Oct. 7. A theft was reported.

Van Dorn St. S., 500 block, 1:45 p.m. Oct. 8. Property was entered. An arrest was made.

First St., 1200 block, 2:06 p.m. Oct. 10. A theft was reported.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

Alfred St. N., 100 block, 3:47 p.m. Oct. 4. A vehicle was stolen.

Armistead St. N., 400 block, 3:59 p.m. Oct. 8. A vehicle was stolen.

Armistead St. N., 500 block, 2:01 a.m. Oct. 2. A vehicle was stolen.

Armistead St. N., 500 block, 1:18 p.m. Oct. 8. A vehicle was stolen.

Ascot Ct., 5500 block, 12:03 p.m. Oct. 8. A vehicle was stolen.

Fayette St. N., 1000 block, 1:05 p.m. Oct. 6. A vehicle was stolen.

VANDALISM

Columbus St. N., 400 block, 9:26 p.m. Oct. 6. Property was damaged.

Dewitt Ave., unit block, 1:25 p.m. Oct. 9. Property was damaged.

Limerick St., 1800 block, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 4. Property was damaged.

Union St. N., 100 block, 5:29 p.m. Oct. 9. Property was damaged.

Union St. S., 300 block, 10:45 a.m. Oct. 6. Property was damaged.

First St., 1200 block, 9:31 p.m. Oct. 3. Property was damaged.

Arlington

These were among incidents reported by the Arlington County Police Department. For information, call 703-558-2222 or visit newsroom.arlingtonva.us.

ASSAULTS

Clarendon Blvd., 3100 block, 2:10 a.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported.

Columbia Pike, 3400 block. An assault was reported.

Columbia Pike, 4800 block, 1:26 a.m. Oct. 7. After an altercation inside a business, a man approached a male with a knife and struck him with a glass bottle, causing lacerations. The male was treated at a hospital. An Arlington man, 32, was charged.

Courthouse Rd. N., 1400 block. A harassment incident was reported.

George Mason Dr. N., 1600 block. An assault was reported.

Pershing Dr. N., 3900 block, 11:10 p.m. Oct. 8. An assault was reported.

Thomas St. N., 500 block, 3:16 p.m. Oct. 6. Two people fought.

Walter Reed Dr. S., 800 block. An assault was reported.

PEEPING TOM

McKinley Rd., 900 block, 9:08 p.m. Oct. 4. A man was seen peering into a house's window and fled when he was confronted by a witness. An investigation was ongoing.

ROBBERIES

23rd St. S., 500 block, 2:43 a.m. Oct. 9. A man robbed a male of personal belongings at knifepoint. An investigation was ongoing.

THEFTS/BREAK-INS

Arlington Blvd., 1500 block, 5:55 a.m. Oct. 5. Auto parts were stolen from a vehicle.

Army Navy Dr., 900 block. A theft was reported.

Cathedral Lane and N. Glebe Rd. Property was stolen.

Crystal Dr., 2700 block. Identity theft was reported.

Columbia Pike and S. Cleveland St. Identity theft was reported.

Culpepper St. S., 2500 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Fairfax Dr., 2200 block. A theft was reported.

Four Mile Run Dr. S., 4000 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

George Mason Dr. S., 1300 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Glebe Rd. S., unit block, 11:26 a.m. Oct. 4. A man took a purse from a shopping cart; witnesses tried to stop him. The man fled on foot to a training center, where he was detained until police arrived. A man, 53, of no fixed address, was charged.

Hayes St. S., 1000 block. A shoplifting incident was reported.

Hayes St. S., 1100 block. A theft was reported.

Hayes St. S., 1400 block. A shoplifting incident was reported.

Jefferson Davis Hwy., 2100 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Jefferson Davis Hwy., 2400 block. A shoplifting incident was reported.

Lee Hwy., 5700 block, 3:27 a.m. Oct. 7. Property was stolen from a business.

Manchester St. S., unit block. Property was stolen from two vehicles.

Mckinley Rd., 800 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Monroe St. N., 900 block, 4:45 p.m. Oct. 8. A theft was reported.

Rock Spring and N. Glebe Roads. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Scott St. N., 1400 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

Stafford St. N., 1300 block. A theft was reported.

Underwood St. N., 2500 block. A theft was reported.

Utah St. N., 1000 block, 3 p.m. Oct. 5. Property was stolen from a garage.

Wilson Blvd., 1000 block, 6 p.m. Oct. 6. Property was stolen from a convenience store.

Wilson Blvd., 1100 block. A theft was reported.

Wilson Blvd., 1500 block. A shoplifting incident was reported.

Wilson Blvd., 1600 block, 1 a.m. Oct. 5. A credit card was stolen.

Fourth St. N., 3900 block, 1:15 p.m. Oct. 7. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

24th Rd. S., 2400 block. Property was stolen.

28th Rd. S., 4500 block. Property was stolen from a vehicle.

MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS

Pershing Dr. N., 4300 block, Oct. 5. A gold 1999 Toyota Camry was stolen.

VANDALISM

Fairfax Dr., 1500 block. A vehicle was tampered with.

Hayes St. S., 1100 block. Property was damaged.

Lang St. S., 2800 block. A vehicle was damaged.

Lee Hwy., 3700 block. Graffiti was reported.

Troy St. S., 2700 block. A vehicle was damaged.

Eighth Rd. S., 5100 block. Property was damaged.

34th St. S., 4500 block. Property was damaged.
Demonstrators with the Center for Popular Democracy hold a protest to demand more recovery assistance for areas hit by recent hurricanes, including Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, during the "March for Just Recovery," on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Touting a sign that read Paper towels are not enough, Jean Clark, a software developer from Silver Spring, Md., joined a few hundred others Wednesday on a march from the Capitol to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to protest what they say is an inadequate response by President Trump to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico.

Clark said she was particularly incensed by Trump's visit to the U.S. territory after Hurricane Maria, during which he tossed paper towels to a crowd. She and other protesters want debt relief and more aid for the island.

We have not forgotten you, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), speaking about Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as she addressed the crowd outside the Capitol. You are our brothers and sisters. You are our fellow U.S. citizens. And you are part of our hearts.

[Most of Puerto Rico has been in the dark for 28 days]

Trump last week announced that he may withdraw federal relief workers from Puerto Rico, where more than 80 percent of the island's 3.4 million people are still without power, and 75 percent do not have working cellphones. Residents are struggling to access food, clean water, gasoline and money.



US Sen. Elizabeth Warren D-Mass.) speaks to demonstrators at a protest outside the U.S. Capitol to demand more recovery assistance for areas hit by recent hurricanes, including Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

We are on the verge of a public health catastrophe, said Melissa Mark-Viverito (D), speaker of the New York City Council, who came to the District for the march.

Mark-Viverito (D), a native of Puerto Rico, told The Washington Post that Trump at least tried, with varying degrees of success, to express empathy for victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida.

With Puerto Rico, he didnt even try, Mark-Viverito said. Hes shown a real disrespect for the people of Puerto Rico. Its like he is kicking us while we are down.

[San Juan mayor slams Trump administration comments on Puerto Rico]

Following a backlash at his suggestion that federal aid workers might be recalled from Puerto Rico, Trump appeared to try to reassure the island last week.

The wonderful people of Puerto Rico, with their unmatched spirit, know how bad things were before the Hs, he tweeted. I will always be with them!

On Monday, Trump agreed with former FEMA director James Lee Witt's assessment that he would give the Trump administration an A-plus for its response to the string of hurricanes  including in Puerto Rico.

Theyve maxed out probably how many people they could put there, said Witt, a Democrat who ran the agency under President Bill Clinton. I know theyre all working frantically, but sometimes thats not enough.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to allow an undocumented immigrant teenager in its custody to have an abortion and said she was astounded that the Trump administration was trying to block the procedure.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the pregnant teen, cheered the judge's ruling as a major victory for abortion and immigrant rights.

We never should have had to fight this in the first place, said Brigitte Amiri, a senior ACLU staff attorney who argued the case on Wednesday. It should never have been something that we needed to go to court over.

Late Wednesday, however, the Justice Department appealed the case, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay District Judge Tanya Chutkans ruling.

The government asked the appeals court to rule by 9 p.m. on Thursday, to prevent the 17-year-old, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, from having an irreversible elective abortion while the appeal is pending. The government said the teenager, who is in her 15th week of pregnancy, still has a number of weeks in which she could legally and safely obtain an abortion.

Hours earlier, Chutkan had ordered the government to allow the teen to visit the abortion provider located closest to her shelter in Texas on Thursday and undergo state-mandated counseling before terminating the pregnancy on Friday or Saturday. Texas bars most abortions after 20 weeks.

Failure to comply with the terms of this Order may result in a finding of contempt, wrote Chutkan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.

[Read Chutkans order]

The case of the Central American teen has drawn national attention. Democrats in Congress expressed opposition to the government's stance, while Texas and seven other states filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting it.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the antiabortion group Susan B. Anthony List, said Chutkans ruling sets a dangerous precedent for officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who she said were trying to protect the life and dignity of the teenage girl and her unborn child.

Court filings make clear that the government is trying to prevent minors in its custody from having abortions, a departure from U.S. practice under Obama. Scott Lloyd, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the HHS agency that cares for unaccompanied minors caught crossing the border, said in an email in March that federally funded shelters "should not be supporting abortion services pre or post-release; only pregnancy services and life-affirming options counseling."

During the hearing Wednesday, Chutkan asked Justice Department lawyer Scott Stewart whether he thought illegal immigrants had constitutional rights and whether he believes that the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade , which guarantees a woman's right to an abortion, is still the "law of the land."

Stewart acknowledged the ruling but said the government views this case differently because the teen is an undocumented immigrant in federal custody. He signaled that undocumented minors do not have a constitutional right to an elective abortion in federal custody, unless it is a medical emergency, and also said immigrants here illegally have minimal protections in this country.

Im not going to give you a concession on that, Your Honor, he said.

The judge laughed. This is remarkable, she said.

Chutkan said the teen's immigration status was irrelevant and that she still had constitutional rights. She wrote that the teen will "suffer irreparable injury," including health risks, if the government interferes with her abortion plans. Chutkan also barred the government from forcing the teen to reveal her abortion decision to anyone or retaliating against her or the federally funded shelter housing her in Texas. She did not immediately act on an ACLU request to apply her ruling to other minors in federal custody.

By refusing to allow the girl to be transported to have an abortion, Chutkan said, the government appeared to be offering the teenager two options: voluntarily return to a nation she fled to have an abortion; or carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

I am astounded by that position, Chutkan said.

In court filings, the Justice Department said the government has strong and constitutionally legitimate interests in promoting childbirth, in refusing to facilitate abortion, and in not providing incentives for pregnant minors to illegally cross the border to obtain elective abortions while in federal custody.

Chutkan countered during the hearing that the teenager does not need a medical emergency to exercise her right to an abortion. She said the teen had followed state and federal rules: She obtained permission from a state judge in Texas to have an abortion and would cover the expenses herself or with help through her court-appointed guardian.

All the government had to do, Chutkan said, is process the paperwork to let the girl visit the clinic, just as they would if she needed to have her tonsils removed.

The judge pointed out that the federal workers took the teenager, against her wishes, to a Christian pregnancy facility for counseling aimed at persuading her not to abort, and also informed her mother about the pregnancy. Both steps potentially violated the girls constitutional protections, Chutkan said.

"The government didn't seem to have any problem facilitating that," Chutkan said.

The teen has been in federal custody since early September, when she was caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Her native country has not been made public.
The budget shortfall for the next fiscal year in Maryland is not as large as originally projected, the chief legislative analyst told a joint panel of state lawmakers on Tuesday.

Warren G. Deschenaux, executive director of the Department of Legislative Services, said the anticipated budget gap of about $740 million has been reduced to $250 million.

He said bond premiums, overestimates in health-care costs for state workers, a reduction in the Medicaid caseload and recent budget cuts made by the Board of Public Works accounted for the lower projection.

The outlook is better than I expected it to be, Deschenaux said.

To cover the smaller shortfall, he suggested that the General Assembly consider freezing everything at current levels except for mandated spending such as K-12 education and reimbursements for care providers who work with the disabled.

While the news was rosier than in previous years, analysts noted that the forecast did not include the devastating impact that federal changes to health care or the tax code could have on state revenue.

And analysts suggested that the state continue to look closely at the continued fall in sales-tax revenue, largely a result of consumers relying more on online commerce as well as the effect of an aging population that has different spending patterns.

For fiscal 2019, the lions share of the change in the budget gap comes from the states getting more than expected in bond premiums, Deschenaux said.

Del. Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, asked whether the expected bond premiums should be included in the fiscal outlook. But Deschenaux said the projection, like estimated revenue from sales taxes, is always a part of the forecast.

A move by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to cut spending from the states current budget freed up $61 million to plug the shortfall, Deschenaux said.

Last month, the Board of Public Works approved the $61 million budget cut, which included reducing health department spending by $22 million, eliminating 30 positions at public higher education institutions to save $8 million and cutting more than $8 million from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese investigative journalist who exposed her island nations links with the so-called Panama Papers, died when a bomb destroyed her car. (Malta Independent via AP)

The first attack came in 1995, when Daphne Caruana Galizias front door was doused with fuel and set ablaze. She told her three children that the fire had simply been caused by candles, left outside for too long. Privately, she believed that she was targeted for retaliation. Her collie was killed soon after, left in front of her home with a slit throat.

A reform-minded political columnist, Mrs. Caruana Galizia had written an editorial for the Sunday Times of Malta, her countrys largest newspaper, calling for the commander of Maltas armed forces to resign because his children had been linked to drug trafficking.

Fearing for her familys safety, she took her own children out of school and for several weeks stayed away from her home in Bidnija, a small town in the hills of one of Europes smallest countries.

Nothing more came of the story. But in 2006, shortly after she published an article critical of neo-Nazi groups in Malta, a stack of tires was arranged behind her house and set on fire. My brother happened to be coming home at night and noticed the fire, her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, said in a phone interview. If he hadnt noticed, we probably would have been burned alive.

Mrs. Caruana Galizia, who faced what her family described as an escalating series of retaliatory attacks for her independent reporting on Maltese politics, died Oct. 16 after her Peugeot 108 exploded near her home in Bidnija. She was 53.



Forensic experts walk in a field after a powerful bomb blew up a car and killed Mrs. Caruana Galizia. (Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

Malta police are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI, as requested by Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat. If Mrs. Caruana Galizia is found to have been targeted, she will be the 28th journalist killed for her work this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Mrs. Caruana Galizia was in some ways an unassuming muckraker. Though she established herself early in her career as a scorching political commentator, since 2004 she had run Taste & Flair, a lifestyle magazine published by the Malta Independent newspaper.

Writing and editing the magazine's stories, mainly about Maltese cuisine, was her day job. In her free time, she posted articles to a blog called Running Commentary, a website that made her Malta's most prominent investigative reporter and, as Politico wrote in one recent profile, "a one-woman WikiLeaks."

On some days, the site drew more than 400,000 readers, a figure that dwarfed the audience of Malta's main newspapers and nearly equaled the country's population. Her posts ranged from commentary on the country's "19th-century" treatment of women to more salacious items, including a report that a Maltese government minister was seen in a German brothel. The minister denied the story and in February received a warrant to freeze Mrs. Caruana Galizia's bank accounts.

Her recent work was fueled by the Panama Papers, a 2016 leak of more than 11 million documents that linked government officials around the world to secretive offshore shell companies. Mrs. Caruana Galizia's work occurred independently of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative effort led by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in partnership with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other media organizations. (Her son Matthew is a software developer and data journalist with ICIJ.)

In blog posts based on documents from the Panama Papers, she tied Muscats government  including his wife, chief of staff and energy minister  to several shell companies. She alleged that officials had been receiving illicit payments funneled by the government of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet satellite state.

Officials denied the charges, and Mrs. Caruana Galizia soon faced a deluge of libel threats and suits. In addition, her bull terrier was poisoned and nearly killed earlier this year, Matthew Caruana Galizia said, and one of her younger sons, a Maltese diplomat, was recalled from his post in New Delhi without explanation. Before her death, Matthew said, his mother had planned to sue the government, arguing that the diplomatic ouster was intended as retaliation for her reporting.

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Everyone knows Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine, both politically and personally, but nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way, Muscat said after Mrs. Caruana Galizias death.

Maltas government had been in a state of near-disarray since Mrs. Caruana Galizia began publishing her allegations, with Muscat holding snap elections in June in an attempt to solidify his four-year hold on power. Shortly before the election, Ken Mifsud Bonnici, an adviser to the European Commission, wrote that Malta was facing a veritable collapse of the rule of law.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote that his mother "was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists." He blamed the "incompetence and negligence" of the police and government for her death.

This is what happens when the institutions of the state are incapacitated, he continued: The last person left standing is often a journalist. Which makes her the first person left dead.

Daphne Anne Vella was born in the resort town of Sliema on Aug. 26, 1964. Her father owned a business that imported and installed elevators, and her mother was a homemaker. She married Peter Caruana Galizia in 1985.

Mrs. Caruana Galizia joined the Times of Malta two years later, working as a reporter and then a columnist before moving to the Malta Independent as an associate editor in 1992. As a columnist, she developed a flair for fiery, opinionated writing that carried over to her blog.

In 1997, she received a bachelors degree in archaeology from the University of Malta.

In addition to her husband, survivors include their three sons and her mother and father.

Mrs. Caruana Galizias last post, published a half-hour before her death, described her increasing frustration over a lack of accountability for government corruption. In a court hearing that morning, the prime ministers chief of staff, Keith Schembri, said he had not been able to respond to accusations of corruption because of a medical condition.

"There are crooks everywhere you look now," she wrote. "The situation is desperate."
For 130 years, Wisconsin provided care for our aging veterans. Our state committed resources to build a beautiful campus on the Chain O Lakes. Known as the Veterans Home at King, the home gives veterans and their families a picturesque retirement.

Recently, stories leaked out from King that all was not well. Delayed maintenance, slipping quality of care and management decisions in the name of cost cutting took away amenities central to veterans quality of life. Impersonal vending machines replaced the coffee shop stocked with home baked goods.

Concerned, Audit Committee members directed the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau to investigate. Recently, the Audit Committee held a public hearing to examine the LABs reports and plan future action.

Among many findings, auditors uncovered serious problems with short staffing and low staff morale. During the study period, auditors found overtime worked by staff was equivalent to hiring over 70 additional full-time staff. Staff were subject to mandatory overtime rules. High turnover especially hit part-time staff.

Three-fourths of staff who responded to an LAB survey reported staff morale was poor or very poor. Almost 40 percent of survey respondents said they planned to look for a job outside of King in the next six months. Seventy percent of respondents said they were not paid competitive wages. Half of survey respondents reported they were not happy with the way overtime was assigned. The vast majority (86 percent) responded that they disagree or strongly disagree that King had sufficient staff to handle the workload.

Committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about staffing and insisted funds intended for King were not siphoned off to pay for other budget needs.

I described the lawmakers worry in this way: King receives both state and federal funds. The money comes to the home with the understanding that it is for the care of specific veterans. The operating budget for King had extra money  what auditors called a surplus.

Why wasnt the surplus in the operating budget used to fix problems at King? For example, there are two easy ways to fix overtime and retention problems: hire additional staff and pay them more than they would get elsewhere.

I asked Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Zimmerman, So, the state is washing money designated for the veterans care at King through their budget and putting it into the Veterans Trust Fund to balance the fund and pay for other programs?

Lawmakers and many veterans groups insist this surplus should go into the direct care of veterans at King first. The secretarys response to inquiring committee members was that they approved the transfer of funds from the home when lawmakers approved the state budget.

Budget writing committee co-chair John Nygren, R-Marinette, said nothing could be further from the truth. He reminded the secretary that, just a few weeks ago, the budget committee unanimously approved new oversight measures on veterans home funds. Governor Scott Walker vetoed this legislative oversight.

This was not the first time the governor took away oversight powers by the legislature.

Auditors reported in 2013 Gov. Walker vetoed lawmakers oversight of the transfer of money from King for other purposes. The governor then took the largest single sum  $12 million  out of Kings budget in 2016. This transfer was so large, it ate into funds needed for regular operations.

I and others thought King should have spent MORE to keep up with the delayed maintenance, staffing and other problems.

The secretary hedged, was evasive or argued with members when asked about the transfers or complying with LABs request for documents. He called the press reports that drove the initial audit unfounded negativity. He argued against keeping licensed nursing home administrators at the home and, at times, discounted morale as a problem.

Audit members are united in their commitment that problems at King be resolved. Our Audit Committee will continue efforts to assure veterans homes are adequately funded and staffed.

The secretary would be wise to work with the Audit Committee as we act in our role as stewards of the peoples money for the protection of veterans at King and elsewhere.

Democrat Kathleen Vinehout, Alma, represents the 31st state Senate District.
One man was injured Tuesday night in a fire in an apartment house in Silver Spring that apparently was linked to smoking in his apartment, authorities said.

The fire broke out around 9 p.m. in a first floor unit in a four story apartment house in the 100 block of Schuyler Road, said Pete Piringer, the spokesman for the Montgomery County fire and rescue service. Flames were intense for a time, he said.

He said the victim, a man in his mid-60s was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Piringer said investigators thought that the man was using oxygen while smoking.

His condition was not thought to be life-threatening, Piringer said. Firefighters helped other people leave the building, amid thick smoke, Piringer said.

He said several families living in the building would be displaced. Damage was estimated at $100,000. About 100 firefighters went to the scene, which is about a mile east of downtown Silver Spring, and near Sligo Creek.
Former Maryland delegate Michael L. Vaughn, on right, is accused of accepting more than $100,000 from liquor store owners in exchange for favorable votes on liquor-related legislation and is awaiting trial. Here, Vaughn and his attorney William Purpura leave a courthouse in March. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

The former director of the Prince Georges County liquor board pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in a wide-reaching bribery scandal, admitting he facilitated thousands of dollars in payouts to elected officials and eventually tried to undermine an FBI investigation while he was wired as an informant.

David Dae Sok Son, 41, of Bowie entered guilty pleas on counts of bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., in a case involving elected officials, lobbyists and shop owners trying to expand liquor sales in Prince Georges.

Son, who was also a commissioner of the Prince Georges liquor board from 2005 to 2014, acted as a middle man between liquor store owners and elected officials to influence state legislation related to Sunday liquor sales, the government said.

When the FBI questioned Son in December, he then tried to tip off people being investigated about the probe, prosecutors said.

Son also told a restaurant manager in Beltsville who had agreed to pay a $50,000 bribe for a liquor license that the authorities were investigating the manager.

Son pulled the manager into the walk-in cooler so the two could talk privately, according to Sons plea agreement. Son told the manager that the Feds were watching the manager and the manager should skip town. 

The manager  who had paid roughly $40,000 in bribes  subsequently left the country, prosecutors said.

In a handwritten letter to someone else being investigated by the FBI, Son told the person that he had been taken by the Feds and was wired during a previous conversation. In the letter, Son also detailed who the FBI was monitoring and listed those who were cooperating with authorities.

Son is one of eight people charged in the federal probe.

Former Prince Georges County Council member and Maryland delegate William A. Campos (D-Pr. Georges) is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to accepting $40,000 to $50,000 in kickbacks in exchange for official favors. Former delegate Michael L. Vaughn (D-Pr. Georges) is accused of accepting more than $100,000 from liquor store owners in exchange for favorable votes on liquor-related legislation. He is awaiting trial.

Authorities accused Son of being involved with several bribes of $1,000 to $5,000 each from 2012 to 2015 to Campos and Vaughn.

[Federal bribery charges filed over Prince Georges liquor licenses]

Payouts occurred in the mens room at a restaurant and the parking lot of a shopping center, according to the plea agreement. During one lunch, Son told Campos that a liquor store owner was going to hook you up. Campos then received an envelope with $4,000 cash in the restroom of a restaurant to ensure liquor store owners and a lobbyist funding the bribe would receive Sunday liquor sales licenses, the plea agreement said.

The following month, Son connected Vaughn with liquor store owners, who said theyd pay as much as $50,000 for legislation that would benefit their sales, prosecutors said. Vaughn later agreed to introduce related legislation and then received a $4,000 payment facilitated by Son, prosecutors said.

[30 months of wiretaps, hundreds of recordings underpin Md. bribery charges, prosecutors say]

Son faces up to 35 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

An attorney for Son could not be immediately reached for comment.

Others arrested in the federal investigation include: Matthew Gorman, a Hyattsville liquor lobbyist who pleaded guilty to bribing a state legislator; Felix Nelson Ayala, a Rockville accountant who pleaded guilty to bribing Campos in exchange for government funding; Anuj Sud, a former county liquor board commissioner accused of taking money in exchange for favorable votes; and Young Jung Paig and Shin Ja Lee, liquor store owners accused of funding bribes to Campos and Vaughn.

Gorman, Campos, Paig, Lee and Ayala are awaiting sentencing. Vaughn and Sud are awaiting trial.
In the rain before dawn in Baltimore on Monday, a police officer found himself in danger-charged circumstances that the citys police commissioner said are rare even for law enforcement personnel: he came upon an armed robbery while it was in progress.

Within a few seconds after the officer, in uniform, drove up to a convenience store in the northeast section of the city, a robber ran out the door. He had not, according to police, lowered the sawed off shotgun which he had used to enforce his demand for money.

The officer fired. The suspect fell to the pavement just outside the store, a few feet from the door. He was fatally wounded, Baltimore police said.

In a news conference held Monday, a few hours after the incident, Baltimore Police chief Kevin Davis said police throughout the United States train specifically for similar situations: those in which officers interrupt armed robberies as they are being committed.

But he said most officersgo their entire careers and they never interrupt a robbery in progress.

Its actually a rarity in any jurisdiction.

Still rarer, apparently, was one particular aspect of Monday mornings fatal confrontation. It can be seen in its entirety, from start to finish, on surveillance video. Some came from both outside and inside the store, before the officer arrived on the scene. Some of it apparently came from the officers body worn camera.

The video is grainy and not all is clear. But it is terrifying, nevertheless, and despite any technical shortcomings it provides a stark depiction of a few moments in which life and death hang in the balance.

It shows the robber entering the store, carrying what appears to be a gun. It shows the robbery being carried out. It shows the robber, pointing the weapon at the store clerk.

In those early moments inside the store, on Harford Road about 2:50 a.m. there would appear to be no possibility that the robber can be aware of the fate that is about to befall him.

Nevertheless, the situation seems to carry an undertone of tension. That tension only seems to increase as a vehicle arrives in the store parking lot.

It is a marked police car, characterized, police say, by its red and blue lights. They are on. In the video, the robber standing at the counter, seems to turn his head to the right, to where the car is arriving, justoutside the store window.

The clerk, according to police, was ordered to put money into a bag. When the police car rolls up, he had not yet passed the bag back to the waiting robber. Seconds pass, tension appears to increase, and then the bag is turned over.

As the officer drove up, police said, he may have been able to see the confrontation.

With the bag returned to him, the robber darts for the door. He has the bag. And he also has the gun, according to police. He opens the door.

As the robber ran out, said T.J. Smith, the chief spokesman for the Baltimore police, who narrated the video, shots are fired. They are the officers shots.

Later, in answering questions, Smith said the robbers gun was raised as he (the robber) left the store, As the man left, Smith said, The gun was still up.

After the fatally wounded robber crumpled and fell, police said officers who went to the scene tried to save him until rescue personnel arrived.

Police said the sawed-off shotgun the robber carried was not loaded.

But, Davis said, even replica guns scare you just as much as a real gun. And, he added, the gun carried by the robber was more than a replica. Although it was unloaded, he said, it was real.

He and Davis said the robber had the opportunity to drop it and surrender, but chose not to do so.

In addition, they said the gun appeared similar to one used in a number of other store robberies in Baltimore. The white tape wrapped around its handle was a significant point of similarity, they said.

As for the amount of money taken, it was small.

Smith said it totaled $26, and he called the death that came about in the attempt to steal it a tragic loss of life.
A D.C. Superior Court jury Wednesday found a Bowie, Md., man guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 fatal shooting of a man who federal prosecutors say was a witness in another murder case.

During the nearly four-week trial, prosecutors argued that on Nov. 14, 2011, Stanley Moghalu, 30, walked up and fatally shot 27-year-old Ronald D. Smith to prevent the latter from cooperating with prosecutors and testifying in the trial of a man charged with murder six months earlier.

One of Smiths friends, Charles Harrison, was shot nine times in the incident and lost the use of his right arm. The shooting occurred at the intersection of 21st and M streets in Northeast D.C.

During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenn Kirschner and Gilead Light argued that Moghalu was a close associate of David Warren, one of the men charged in the May 2011 slaying of Ervin L. Griffin. The prosecutors argued that Moghalu wanted to prevent Smith from testifying against Warren. Still, in 2014, a jury found Warren, now 31, guilty in Griffins killing.

Moghalu, who was also found guilty of assault with intent to kill, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 26 by Judge Jose M. Lopez.
A shooting suspect who was the focus of a day-long manhunt was arrested Wednesday evening, hours after he allegedly opened fire on his co-workers in Maryland, killing three and wounding two, then drove 50 miles to his home state of Delaware, where police say he gunned down an acquaintance.

The deadly mayhem, which unfolded in less than two hours, began shortly before 9 a.m. when the gunman, identified by police as Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, shot five employees at Advanced Granite Solutions, in a business park in Edgewood, about 40 miles northeast of Baltimore, authorities said. They said that three of those victims died and that the others were hospitalized in critical condition.

The gunman then drove to a used-car dealership in Wilmington, Del., where he shot an acquaintance in the head and body, probably with the same handgun he used in Maryland, Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said. That victim survived.

Officers who responded to a report of gunshots at the dealership were tending to the victim when they saw Prince, a Wilmington resident, driving away in a black 2008 GMC Acadia with Delaware license plates, Tracy said.

"We were able to give a short chase but lost the vehicle," the chief said at a news briefing late Wednesday afternoon, hours after the 10:46 a.m. shooting.

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An intensive search for Prince, involving numerous police officers in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as federal agents, ended at 7:05 p.m. in Newark, Del., where Prince was arrested by federal agents after a brief foot chase, Tracy said Wednesday night. He said Prince threw away a .380-caliber handgun during the chase, which the agents recovered.

After a day of media coverage, with photos of Prince appearing on numerous websites and TV stations, a tipster called authorities in the early evening and reported seeing Prince in Newark, about 20 miles southwest of Wilmington. The suspect had just parked his GMC Acadia on a street named Cobble Creek Curve and was walking toward nearby Glasgow High School, Tracy said.

Police descended on the area, and, at 6:46 p.m., another tipster, in a subdivision a few blocks from the school, reported seeing Prince walking along Thanksgiving Way.

He was actually walking in the neighborhood, Tracy said. He wasnt threatening anyone. The chief said it was not clear what Prince had been doing in the area between the time he was seen leaving his vehicle and when he was spotted on Thanksgiving Way.

Then, just after 7 p.m., two Baltimore-based agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives came upon Prince in the neighborhood.

When he saw that they had spotted him, he actually took off running, threw the gun, and they were able to apprehend him about 75 feet later and recover the gun, Tracy said. Whether that was the weapon used in the shooting was not immediately known.

The dead victims were identified by authorities as Bayarsaukhan Tudev, 53, with a last known address in Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, with a last known address in Aberdeen, Md.; and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Md. The names of the others who were shot were not made public.

If investigators know of a motive for the shootings, they were keeping it to themselves. But they stressed that Prince knew the victims and that the attacks were targeted, not random.

My suspicion is that if he could have shot more individuals, this incident would have resulted in a greater loss of life, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler told reporters after the gunfire at Advanced Granite Solutions, which makes and installs granite counter tops. Prince, who had worked there for about four months, has a long arrest record  mainly for nonviolent crimes  but relatively few convictions, according to police officials and online court records.

According to Gahler, Prince was scheduled to work Wednesday in Maryland.

In Delaware, Tracy said: I dont know what goes through peoples minds. There could be something thats going on at that workplace, meaning Advanced Granite. As for the Wilmington victims association with Prince, the chief said: Theyve had beefs. . . . Theyve had some past history on criminal cases. He declined to elaborate.

Karen Flowers, 51, of Wilmington said in an interview that she has known Prince since he was a child. He was raised by caring parents, she said, including a strict father.

Its not like he came from a bad home, Flowers said Wednesday evening, standing outside 28th Street Auto Sales & Service, site of the Wilmington shooting. Im trying to find out what the hell happened . . . that triggered him to do this.

She said, He just snapped.

At the Emmorton Business Park, where the Maryland killings occurred, people were running in and out of Advanced Granite when William Earp, 56, pulled up Wednesday morning in his tractor-trailer rig. Amid the chaotic scene, Earp said, he walked toward the building and was told about the fatal shootings.

At the door, a woman said, "There's blood everywhere," Earp, of Abingdon, Md., recalled in an interview. Around the woman, other people seemed to be panicking, he said. He said he saw one man leaning against the hood of a car crying.

They were all running back and forth, he said. They were just petrified.

Jackie Holsopple, general manager of the Red Roof Inn hotel across the street from Advanced Granite, said she was working at her computer when she heard sirens.

A housekeeper standing outside told her, "You should come out here and look at this."

Holsopple said that she went out and that quickly, police officers were pouring in. One walked up to Holsopple and a group standing with her.

Theres an active shooter, the officer told her. You should go inside and stay inside.

At an outdoor prayer vigil, Advanced Granite's manager, Ibrahim Kucuk, appeared shaken. His hands trembled as he held a sheet of paper on which he had written his thoughts: "Words cannot express our shock and sadness," he said. "We are a small business and we know each employee intimately. We have worked together with these wonderful people for years in a peaceful setting. We will be here to support their families and to grieve with them." A man who identified himself as an employee of 28th Street Auto Sales, where the Wilmington shooting occurred, said by phone that he was at a hospital with the wounded man and would not answer questions.

On its Facebook page, the company posted an image of three candles, for its slain employees, with the message: "Praying that God grants peace to the soul of our dearly departed."

Wednesdays shootings in Maryland were not Princes first alleged incident of workplace violence, court documents show. In February, the owner of another countertop company, JPS Marble and Granite, filed a petition in Harford County District Court, asking a judge to order Prince to stay away from him.

"I fired him for punching another employee on the face," the owner said in the petition, which was denied for lack of evidence. "He came back to our business justifying what he did was right because the other guy was saying some things that he did not like. I still did not take him back after about three times that he went to me."

After the owner got an official letter notifying him that Prince was seeking unemployment benefits, we responded that he was fired & already working for another company. The owner said Prince then visited again and cursed & yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy & very aggressive on me.

The owner added, "He did not hurt me physically, but I do not want to wait 'till he will."

Steve Chetelat, the manager of K.C. Flooring, near Advanced Granite, said he was outside his business Wednesday, washing the front windows, when he heard a commotion.

I heard the most bloodcurdling screams and hollering, Chetelat said.

He looked back, across the street, to the rear of Advance Granite, where slabs of granite are stored. He said he could not see what was happening because of two large trees. But to him it sounded as if several people were arguing. He said he did not hear anything that sounded like gunshots.

Minutes later, police officers swarmed the area. "Get back in and lock up," one of the officers ordered. "The gun man is still on the loose."

Larry Hunt, manager of R.E. Michel Co., a heating and air conditioning parts business near Advanced Granite, said he and other employees were outside talking to a customer about 9 a.m. when they also heard the loud arguing.

Hunt, who did not hear gunshots, said that suddenly emergency vehicles came toward them with sirens on, and employees were ordered to go inside and stay there.

By 10:15 a.m., Hunt said, he and six customers and employees were locked inside the heating and air conditioning store and could see first responders outside.

"We were very nervous," Hunt said.

Justin Wm. Moyer, Perry Stein, Magda Jean-Louis, Lynh Bui, Ellie Silverman and Michael E. Ruane contributed to this report.
Built in memory of the forty-nine men of Prince Georges County who died in World War I, the Peace Cross stands 40-feet-tall. (Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday declared unconstitutional a towering cross-shaped monument that has marked a major intersection in Prince Georges County for 90 years.

In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the 40-foot-tall memorial maintained with thousands of dollars in public funds has the primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.

The ruling by the three-judge panel does not mean the monument must be immediately removed from public land.

Supporters of the memorial, known as the Peace Cross, said the decision sets a dangerous precedent and vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The question for the 4th Circuit was whether the cross  which stands at Maryland Route 450 and U.S. Route 1 in Bladensburg  is a memorial to local men lost in World War I or an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion that should be removed from public land.

Built in 1925 with funding from local families and The American Legion, the marble-and-cement cross honors 49 Prince Georges County men who died in the war. On the base are the words: valor, endurance, courage and devotion. A bronze tablet lists the names of the men and includes a quote from President Woodrow Wilson. The monument is part of a larger memorial park in the immediate area honoring veterans of several wars.

[Could moving a giant cross or cutting off its arms resolve 1st Amendment case?]

Even with the nonreligious elements, the court said Wednesday, the sectarian elements easily overwhelm the secular ones, making it an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment that prevents the government from favoring a particular religion.

The cross is by far the most prominent monument in the area, conspicuously displayed at a busy intersection, wrote Judge Stephanie D. Thacker, who was joined by Judge James A. Wynn, Jr. in the opinion Wednesday by the appeals court located in Richmond.

Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory dissented, writing the First Amendment does not require the government to purge from the public sphere any reference to religion.

The ruling comes as public displays of religion have been challenged in courts throughout the country. The Supreme Court has not given clear guidance, allowing some monuments with religious content to stand while rejecting others on public sites.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a state agency, owns the land and monument, and has spent about $117,000 to maintain and repair the cross, in addition to setting aside $100,000 for renovations.

Gregory wrote the majority ignores certain elements of the memorial . . . and confuses maintenance of a highway median and monument in a state park with excessive religious entanglement.

In his dissent, Gregory said it was significant that the monument had been public property for 50 years without a constitutional challenge.

Thacker disputed the importance of the lengthy period of time: Perhaps the longer a violation persists, the greater the affront to those offended.

In closing, Gregory quoted the words on the memorial honoring the veterans: I cannot agree that a monument so conceived and dedicated and that bears such witness violates the letter or spirit of the very Constitution these heroes died to defend.

[Read the full 4th Circuit opinion here]

Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit that helped The American Legion defend the cross, called the courts decision an outrageous ruling that sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the removal of memorials across the country.

Shackelford said the religious-freedom organization would take the case to the Supreme Court. Were certainly not going to stop here, he said. If this is the law, everything else is in danger.

In response to concerns about the impact on other memorials, the 4th Circuit opinion noted, for instance, the crosses at Arlington National Cemetery are smaller and displayed among religious symbols of many religions both on headstones and monuments. The ruling includes a photo of headstones from the cemetery.

The initial challenge in Maryland was brought by the American Humanist Association, a Washington-based group that represents atheists and others. The group did not dispute the monument is a memorial, but said in court that a giant cross on government property sends a message of exclusion in violation of the First Amendment.

A District Court judge in 2015 declined to order the cross removed from public land, saying it is a historically significant secular war memorial and that the government agency had a nonreligious reason for maintaining it.

[Judge: Forty-foot cross is not a government endorsement of religion]

In response to the 4th Circuit ruling on Wednesday, the humanist associations executive director, Roy Speckhardt said, government war memorials should respect all veterans, not just those from one religious group.

If the Supreme Court does not agree to take up the Prince Georges case, the ruling would stand and a District Court judge would have to decide whether to order the removal of the cross.

At oral argument last December, Thacker and Wynn suggested the legal issues could be resolved outside of court by moving the site of the cross  or by cutting off the arms of the cross to form an obelisk.

Park and Planning Commission officials remain convinced the memorial is legal and have not engaged in any serious consideration of the idea of transferring the land to a private organization, according to Adrian R. Gardner, the agencys general counsel.

The commissioners, Gardner said in an email Wednesday, will determine how best to advance the communitys interest in light of the ruling.
In this Sept 4, 2017 photo, Justin Fairfax, right, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. speaks at a Democratic breakfast with, from left, Attorney General Mark Herring, gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and U.S. Sen Tim Kaine in Buena Vista, Va. (Bob Brown/RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ralph Northam omitted any mention of Justin Fairfax, the partys African American candidate for lieutenant governor, from about a thousand pieces of campaign literature, which Fairfax called a mistake. The incident has stoked tensions within the Democratic ticket, threatening to alienate African American voters three weeks before Election Day.

The palm cards with photos of Northam and Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) were produced for canvassers with the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), which asked that Fairfax be excluded because it did not endorse him. Fairfax has spoken critically of two proposed natural gas pipelines that the union supports.

The literature was a sliver of the 1.5 million pieces produced by the Northam campaign, and homes that received palm cards without Fairfax also received literature with the entire ticket, the Northam campaign said.

[Interested in Virginias governors race? Follow our Facebook group]

Nevertheless, a photo of two palm cards  one with and one without Fairfax  made its way around social media this week and provoked outrage.

It reeks of subtle racism, if not a tone deafness about how we are going to win in November, said Quentin James, the founder of Collective PAC that supports black candidates, including Fairfax. Leaving Justin Fairfax off . . . even if its only for a small universe of union members, still sends the wrong message.

In an interview Wednesday, Fairfax called the move to exclude him a mistake by the Northam campaign but wouldnt call it racism.

Everyone who is looking at this will make their own judgments about this particular instance, he said. This should not have happened, and it should not happen again, and there needs to be robust investment in making sure that we are communicating with African American voters and we are engaging our base.

Hours later, Fairfaxs campaign released a more conciliatory statement.

This is a strong ticket and one that is working well together, it said. One piece of literature does not change that. Voters from across the commonwealth have responded enthusiastically to Justins candidacy and the entire Democratic ticket. They are excited about our plan to offer more educational opportunity, economic growth, and more access to health care and they will reject the divisive and cynical politics of our opponents. Thats why Justins been endorsed by organizations like the VA AFL-CIO, Virginia Education Association and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.

Some black leaders called the issue a distraction.

Democrats, particularly minority Democrats, need to stay focused on the goals, and the goal is to make sure Justin wins, that Ralph wins, that Mark wins, said Andrea Bailey of the Prince William County NAACP.

View Graphic The latest stories and details on the 2017 Virginia general election and race for governor.

The dust-up comes the day before former president Barack Obama is scheduled to headline a rally in Richmond with Northam, Fairfax and Herring. Obamas appearance, at the citys convention center, is designed to motivate the Democratic base, particularly African American voters.

Most polls have shown a tight contest between Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie. Virginia is holding the nations only competitive statewide contest, which is being closely watched as a hint of whats to come in next years midterm elections.

Fairfax would be the first African American elected statewide in Virginia since L. Douglas Wilder became the nations first elected black governor in 1989. Blacks make up roughly a fifth of the Virginia electorate and are crucial for Democrats to win statewide.

Fairfax and Northam discussed the matter over the phone Tuesday, both campaigns confirmed.

A spokesman for Northam said the exclusion of Fairfax from the palm cards was not meant as a snub. We are committed to winning all three statewide offices and will continue to work together  as we have been working together  throughout the final weeks of the campaign, Northam campaign spokesman David Turner said.

[Dark money superlawyer bills herself as ethics attorney]

LIUNA did not respond to questions about its canvassing efforts, but it defended its decision to not endorse Fairfax.

It is not in [members] interest for us to back a candidate who has a record of opposing infrastructure projects that our members will work on and rely on to provide them with good family-supporting middle-class jobs, said Dave Allison, business manager for the unions Baltimore-Washington District Council.

Phillip Thompson, president of the Loudoun County NAACP, said the exclusion of Fairfax from literature reinforces a perception that the Democratic Party sees him as an outsider and is taking the black vote for granted.

A lot of us feel the Virginia Democratic Party has never been a very inclusive group, and they always kind of marginalize African Americans without providing any grounds for advancement, said Thompson. Hillary [Clinton] won the state of Virginia because of the African American, Hispanic and minority vote. . . . Justin is a perfect person to help them do that again, and they still dont support him.

Fairfax, a 38-year-old attorney from Fairfax County, ran for attorney general in 2013, largely unknown to Democratic Party insiders.

He narrowly lost in the primary and spent years cultivating relationships with party officials before his second statewide run. But tensions persisted, including when he was denied a speaking slot at a party convention in 2016.

[Fairfaxs journey from party outsider to insider]

Turner stressed that Northam has been working to help Fairfax and other Democratic candidates.

Ralph Northam is making a historic investment in the coordinated campaign, including giving or raising $9 million in Get Out The Vote efforts for the entire ticket without asking for any additional investment from the ticket mates, Turner said.

Michael Halle, a political adviser to Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) who ran the Democratic coordinated campaign in 2013, said the omission of Fairfax from the palm cards was being blown out of proportion. Democratic voters targeted by canvassers are inclined to vote for the entire ticket, and the full ticket often is not on literature  including Northam, when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2013, Halle said.

The more important thing is getting people out to vote than who is on the piece of literature, Halle said. Theres no effect in mobilization from whose picture or whose name is on literature.

Virginia Republicans and conservative media outlets pounced Wednesday, highlighting the incident to emphasize intraparty divisions.

The GOP has also been accused of racially tinged attacks against Fairfax.

Fairfaxs Republican opponent, Jill Holtzman Vogel, questioned whether he could talk intelligently about issues in their last debate  a comment that the chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia said belongs in 1957 instead of 2017.
Vice President Pence points to Republican candidate for Virginia governor Ed Gillespie at the end of a campaign rally Saturday at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Abingdon, Va. (Andre Teague/AP)

Ed Gillespie's perceived snubbing of a former Donald Trump operative he had hired to whip up support for his gubernatorial campaign is causing an uproar among GOP activists already exasperated by Gillespie's highly cautious stance toward the president.

Jack Morgan had expected to play a key role at a Gillespie rally headlined by Vice President Pence on Saturday in Abingdon, a coal country region that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November, activists said. But he found himself sidelined.

Gillespie hired Morgan, a colorful evangelical preacher and former 9th Congressional District GOP chairman, as his ambassador to Trump country after nearly losing the June primary to a rival who had run in the presidents bombastic, populist image.

But Gillespies campaign did not let Morgan help plan or speak at the rally  over the objections of another GOP candidate who employs Morgan, state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, who is running for lieutenant governor and wanted him to introduce her.

Morgans wife was so offended that she refused to drive John Whitbeck, chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, to the airport for his return trip, according to three Republicans familiar with the matter. And in an area of the state that Gillespie needs to turn out in force to overcome Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Nov. 7, activists took to social media to vent their outrage.

I will guarantee you all this, Republican activist William Totten, the Smyth County director for Vogel, wrote on Facebook, should Ed ever run for anything in politics again I will work my every waking moment to make sure he loses the primary.

Blunter still was activist Patricia Bast Lyman. Ed showing his elitist butt to the 9th was a MONUMENTAL error from which he will not recover,  she posted on Facebook.

Morgan has told associates that he quit the Gillespie campaign but will continue to work for Vogel, according to the three Republicans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Gillespie spokesman David Abrams denied that Morgan quit but would not elaborate.

Jack Morgan is working hard to help us turn out our vote in critically important Southwest Virginia, Abrams said. Any rumor about Jack Morgan quitting is false.

Morgan declined to be interviewed, but in a brief text to The Washington Post he wrote: I continue to work to ensure the entire Republican ticket wins on Nov. 7.

He did not initially respond to a follow-up text seeking to clarify if that meant he was still working for Gillespie or only Vogel. But hours later, in a text message coordinated with Gillespies campaign, Morgan wrote that he had not quit. He directed further questions to the campaign, which declined to specify any public events that Morgan would staff over the next week.

View Graphic The latest stories and details on the 2017 Virginia general election and race for governor.

Vogel spokesman Chris West declined to comment.

Coming three weeks before Election Day, the episode is just one sign that Gillespies risk-averse, thread-the-needle approach to Trump and hot-button cultural issues is backfiring with some members of his partys conservative base.

In the past two weeks, Gillespie has struggled to smooth over relations with some religious conservatives after privately promising a Northern Virginia business group that he would oppose any legislation seeking to regulate bathroom use by transgender people  a stance that conflicted with some of his public statements.

On Monday, the Virginia First Foundation issued a statement saying that neither candidate for Virginia governor lines up with its position that transgender people should be required to use the bathrooms that correlate with their gender at birth.

[Gillespie wins backing of business PAC after vowing to oppose bathroom bills]

And on Tuesday, conservative radio host Laura Ingraham criticized Gillespie on the air for his apparent reluctance to campaign with Trump, and for rebuffing her offers to stump for him or put him on her show.

"I actually offered to help him!" Ingraham said, marveling that Gillespie was raising money that day with former president George W. Bush in Richmond and Northern Virginia. "But he thinks George W. Bush is going to  I don't know. God bless him. I hope it all works out."

Abrams said Gillespie has been trying to find a date to appear on Ingrahams show.

Most of Gillespies conservative critics say they will still vote for him over Northam, but they question how hard the grass roots will work for him. Most polls show the race  the nations only competitive governors contest  about tied. A lot is riding on the results, which will be widely read as an early referendum on Trump and a harbinger of the 2018 congressional midterm elections.

Gillespies campaign is a still-unfolding case study in whether an establishment Republican can successfully navigate swing-state politics in the Trump era.

A former Republican National Committee chairman, Washington lobbyist and adviser to Bush, Gillespie has struggled to find his footing regarding Trump. He has tried to avoid weighing in on Trumps policies and tweets. When Trump surprised Gillespie with a tweeted endorsement Oct. 6, Gillespie did not even retweet it.

[Trump backs Gillespie for Va. governor]

In a purple state that gave Hillary Clinton her only Southern victory last year, Gillespie has looked for ways to excite rural Trump supporters without turning off moderates and inflaming Democrats in the states deep-blue population centers.

Prominent Republicans, from the White House on down, urged Gillespie to hire Trump strategists after he nearly lost the June primary to Corey Stewart, a Prince William supervisor and Trumps onetime Virginia campaign chairman who dubbed him Establishment Ed. In August, Gillespie hired Morgan, who had worked for Stewart during the primary, to lead his efforts in Southwest Virginia.

Putting the blunt-spoken preacher and motivational speaker on the payroll carried some risk. In a Facebook video posted while campaigning for Gillespie and Vogel, Morgan warned that the country was on the brink of civil war and that communists were behind the effort to remove Confederate statues.

[Gillespie hires Trump operative who believes country is on verge of civil war]

But Morgan, a military veteran who lost a leg rendering aid at the scene of a car accident, is well known and highly regarded in the region.

"The thing I love about Jack is he's bold, he's bold in his speaking," said state Sen. Charles W. Carrico Sr. (R-Grayson), a friend. "People are tired of political answers, and that's what Jack brings to the table."

Morgans swaggering style is a reliable hit with local audiences, but in a backroom at the Washington County Fairgrounds, as organizers reviewed the program schedule ahead of Pences arrival, Gillespies campaign staffers made it clear that Morgan would not be on stage.

[Jill Vogel embraces the Trump agenda in her Virginia race]

Carrico, who attended part of the meeting, said that Morgan appealed to him for help.

Jack was upset, said Carrico. Jack is a dynamic speaker because he speaks from the heart, and, you know, sometimes events like these, especially when its involving a vice president, the candidate likes to be in control and have a message.

Morgans wife appeared to take the snub even harder than he did, refusing to drive Whitbeck, the party chairman, back to the airport. Morgan himself eventually did so, according to four people familiar with the events.

Whitbeck dismissed that account as coming from a bad source, but he did not elaborate. She drove me one way and Jack the other, he said via text.
John Adams (R), who is in a heated attorney general's race in Virginia this fall, makes an appearance at the 15th KORUS (Korean/United States) Festival at Sully Historic Site on September 23 in Chantilly, VA. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

John Adams, the Republican candidate for Virginia attorney general, briefly had his law license suspended in 2011 for failure to pay annual fees to the state bar, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post from Democrats.

Letters from the state bar show that Adams was warned on Sept. 16, 2011, that his failure to pay dues and assessments could lead to suspension. That suspension was invoked Oct. 7, 2011. He paid the costs within two weeks, and his license was reinstated.

John is a member of both the Washington, D.C. and Virginia Bars. Due to an oversight, John was late paying his Virginia annual dues and it was quickly rectified, said Taylor Thorney Keeney, the Adams campaigns communications director.

View Graphic The latest stories and details on the 2017 Virginia general election and race for governor.

Adams is running against incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring (D) in the Nov. 7 election.
In cooperation with local businesses, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will collect deer heads for chronic wasting disease surveillance testing within Vernon and Crawford counties during the 2017 archery, crossbow and gun hunting seasons.

If you harvest an adult deer within these counties, please consider submitting the deer head from any harvested adult deer for CWD testing.

Deer heads can be dropped off at the following locations:

Vernon County

Kumlin Taxidermy, 201 Main St., De Soto, 608-648-3696;

Howling Hollow Taxidermy, S3752 Eckert Lane, Genoa, 608-769-6496;

Timberland Trophies, 104 Willow Lane, Westby, 608-634-4868; and

Kickapoo Valley Reserve (24-hour DNR self-service kiosk), intersection of state Hwy. 131 and Heisel Road, Rockton.

Crawford County

Rick Lange Taxidermy, 1213 S. Tenth St., Prairie du Chien, 608-326-6799;

Kumlin Taxidermy, 201 Main St., De Soto, 608-648-3696; and

NCS Gunsmithing (24-hour DNR self-service kiosk), 815 E. Campion Blvd., Prairie du Chien.

In addition, hunters may also drop-off deer heads or have lymph nodes extracted at the DNR Service Station in Viroqua (pending staff availability). Contact the DNR Viroqua office at 608-637-3938 in advance to make arrangements.

Wisconsins citizens and cooperators play a key role in CWD sampling efforts in Wisconsin, and department staff would like to thank all participants and collection cooperators for their continued efforts.

Sick deer reports

Samples will also be collected from sick adult deer exhibiting signs of CWD in all three counties. Everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for deer that appear sick or are otherwise acting abnormally so biologists can assess if symptoms are consistent with CWD infection. Sick deer can be reported to your local DNR office or directly to the following DNR Wildlife Management staff:

Crawford and Vernon counties: Dave Matheys, 608-637-3938.

For more information and a list of participating taxidermists and deer processors, visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords CWD sampling. For CWD testing results, search keywords CWD test results.

Deer hunters are encouraged to check out the frequently asked questions page for more information regarding deer hunting in Wisconsin.

The FAQ feature provides brief responses to a wide variety of deer hunting questions, ranging from deer management unit boundaries to antlerless permits.

To view the FAQ page and more information regarding archery and crossbow deer hunting, search keyword deer.
Former acting Drug Enforcement Administration head Chuck Rosenberg has declined to discuss his role in the drafting of the bill. (Alex Brandon/AP)

A Los Angeles congresswoman who co-sponsored a controversial law that has hobbled the Drug Enforcement Administration said Tuesday that the head of the agency personally assured her that the measure would not hamstring law enforcement efforts.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), an original co-sponsor of the bill, called Tuesday for an investigation into whether the law is harming enforcement against bad actors and requested hearings to examine whether she was misled.

Chu, in a letter to the chairmen of two key House committees, said then-acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg told her in a Sept. 22, 2016, meeting after the measure became law that it did not interfere with the DEAs ability to successfully stop bad actors.

Her letter is the first to detail Rosenberg's position on the law since The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" revealed Sunday that it stripped the DEA of its most potent weapon against drug distributors that have allowed hundreds of millions of narcotic painkillers to spill into the black market.

The law, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, was primarily pushed by Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.)  who withdrew Tuesday from consideration to be the nation's next drug czar after the reports sparked angry reaction to his role.

Chu said in her letter that she had been concerned after reading a July 10, 2016, Los Angeles Times account of dissent within the DEA over the law, which had been signed by President Barack Obama three months earlier, and that she had asked for a meeting with Rosenberg.

During the meeting, Chu wrote, I learned that the DEA had provided consultation during the drafting of H.R. 471, and while the agency felt the legislation was unnecessary, he reiterated that it was not the agencys position that this bill would interfere with the agency efforts to stop harmful opioids from entering our communities.

The Post and 60 Minutes reported Sunday that DEA and Justice Department representatives signed off on the final wording of the Senate bill that became law after lengthy negotiations with the staff of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah). Hatch made that point in a speech on the Senate floor Monday.

But DEA officials said the agency was forced to accept a compromise it did not want to avoid language that would have crippled enforcement even more. Emails cited in the story supported that position.

They would have passed this with us or without us, said one DEA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Our point was that this law was completely unnecessary.

The DEAs chief administrative law judge, John J. Mulrooney II, has concluded that the law makes it all but impossible for the agency to freeze the shipments of large drug distributors via an immediate suspension order.

If it had been the intent of Congress to completely eliminate the DEAs ability to ever impose an immediate suspension on distributors or manufacturers, it would be difficult to conceive of a more effective vehicle for achieving that goal, Mulrooney wrote in an article to be published in the Marquette Law Review.

The DEA did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday, and Rosenberg has declined to comment.

Chu, one of the few Democrats to co-sponsor Marinos bill, said in her letter to the committee heads that she believed it would help independent and community pharmacists, most of whom are small business owners who provide vital services for their communities.

She asked the House Energy and Commerce committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to look into the matter.
TEXAS

Pilot in balloon crash probably was impaired

The pilot in the deadliest hot-air balloon crash in U.S. history was probably impaired by Valium, opioids, and cold and allergy medicine when he ignored weather warnings and flew the ride into a power line, investigators said Tuesday.

In addition to Valium and oxycodone, there was enough of the over-the-counter antihistamine Benadryl in Alfred Skip Nicholss system to mimic the impairing effect of a blood alcohol level of a drunk driver, said Nicholas Webster, a National Transportation Safety Board medical officer.

During a meeting in Washington, the NTSB revealed its findings about the July 2016 crash near Austin that killed all 16 people aboard. Investigators scolded the Federal Aviation Administration for lax enforcement of the ballooning industry and recommended that balloon pilots submit to the same medical checks as airplane pilots.

Nichols, 49, had at least four convictions for drunken driving, although no alcohol was found in his system after the crash. Investigators said Nichols was told during a weather briefing before the flight that clouds may be a problem. He brushed off the warning.

 Associated Press

MICHIGAN

Judge orders Flint to pick a water source

A judge on Tuesday ordered officials in Flint to choose a long-term source of drinking water by next week, saying the city council is showing a breathtaking lack of leadership.

Gov. Rick Snyders administration sued Flint to force the council to approve a 30-year deal with the Great Lakes Water Authority, a regional water agency, which has been serving the city since a lead disaster was declared in fall 2015.

Mayor Karen Weaver agrees with the plan, but the council hasnt been convinced and only recently hired a consultant. A court-appointed mediator has been unable to broker a settlement.

U.S. District Judge David Lawson expressed frustration and set a Monday deadline for Flint to sign up with Great Lakes Water or come up with another long-term solution. He didnt indicate what would happen if the deadline is missed.

Flint ran into extraordinary trouble when managers appointed by Snyder (R) put the city on water from the Flint River in 2014 while a pipeline was being built to Lake Huron.

The corrosive water wasnt properly treated, and lead leached from old plumbing into homes of the approximately 100,000 residents.

 Associated Press

MINNESOTA

Little-used defense for pipeline protesters

A Minnesota judge took the unusual step of allowing four protesters to use a necessity defense, enabling them to present evidence that the threat of climate change from Canadian tar sands crude is so imminent that they were justified in trying to shut down two Enbridge Energy oil pipelines last year.

Emily Johnston and Annette Klapstein freely acknowledge that they turned the emergency shut-off valves on two pipelines on Oct. 11, 2016, in Clearwater County in northwestern Minnesota. It was part of a coordinated action by Climate Direct Action activists to shut down five pipelines that carry tar sands crude from Canada to Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Washington state. A total of 11 activists were charged.

Johnston and Klapstein, who are from the Seattle area, said Tuesday that as far as their legal team knows, this is the first time that a judge has allowed a full necessity defense on a climate change issue.

Michael Foster of Seattle was convicted Oct. 6 of targeting the Keystone pipeline in North Dakota. The judge in his case barred him from using a necessity defense. He faces up to 21 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 18. A defendant who filmed him was convicted of conspiracy and faces up to 11 years.

Johnston and Klapstein are due to go on trial Dec. 11 on felony charges of criminal damage to critical public service facilities and other counts. In an order Friday, Clearwater County District Judge Robert Tiffany said the four defendants must clear a high legal bar.

 Associated Press

Child dies after woman sits on her as punishment: A 325-pound Florida woman is charged with killing her 9-year-old cousin by sitting on the child to punish the girl. Veronica Green Posey, 64, was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child, the Pensacola News Journal reported. The Escambia County Sheriff's Office report identified Posey as the girl's cousin. Paramedics and deputies responded to the family's Pensacola home following a 911 call Saturday. The arrest report said two other adults, Grace Joan Smith and James Edmund Smith, are charged with child neglect.

Airport security officers fired over treatment of passenger: The Chicago Department of Aviation fired two security officers who were involved in an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a United Airlines flight after refusing to give up his seat. Officials say one of those officers, a sergeant, also was part of an attempt to cover up some details of the incident, which happened in April at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Four officers were involved in the incident involving passenger David Dao, who had been aboard a flight to Louisville. The department suspended the two other officers.

Woman charged with drowning her children: Police in Wilmington, Del., charged a woman with drowning her infant son and the baby's 5-year-old half brother. Police said Tuesday that officers found a 3-month-old boy and a 5-year-old boy drowned in a bathtub Monday morning. Kula Pelima, 30, the mother of the infant, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Investigators have been in touch with the father of the boys, who is being held in Pennsylvania by immigration officials. Police say Pelima called police about 8:30 a.m. Monday to say that she had drowned the children.

 From news services
Fall is here, and its time to look back on the quickly passing old year, and also to look ahead to the upcoming new year. Thats what the Vernon County Historical Society will do at its annual banquet Sunday, Nov. 5, when we honor our volunteers and elect new officers.

The party will be held at the Viroqua American Legion, located at 120 N. Rusk Ave. Well begin with a social time at 12:30 p.m., followed by a buffet dinner at 1 p.m. The dinner menu is baked chicken, beef tips, mashed potatoes, green beans, lettuce salad, rolls and an apple dessert.

After the dinner, American Legion member Pete Swanson will give us a brief history of the Viroqua post. The William A. Jacobson Post No. 138 was chartered Dec. 12, 1919, one year and one month and one day after the end of World War I. The post was named for Vernon County soldier William Jacobson of Asbury Ridge, town of Viroqua, who was killed in action in France in October 1918. This American Legion post compiled the Vernon County War History book that is one of our chief resources during the World War I centennial.

Another highlight of the annual banquet will be the Volunteer of the Year award. This year we are pleased to honor Loann Frie for her tireless work managing the historical societys funds, painting projects and parade floats, among many other activities. We are especially grateful for all the extra work she has taken on since the untimely death of volunteer Marcia Andrew. The Lifetime Achievement award will be given posthumously to Marcia, in memory of her decades of service to the historical society.

Everyone is welcome to attend the annual banquet. Tickets are $15 each. Please contact the museum by Oct. 31 to make your reservation.

Note that the museum will be closed this Friday, Oct. 20, so that staff can attend a Wisconsin history conference in La Crosse. Both the museum and the Sherry-Butt House will be open Saturday, Oct. 21, from 1-5 p.m.

Regular hours for the museum through the end of October are Monday through Friday, noon- 4 p.m. Beginning Nov. 1, the museum will move to its winter hours of Tuesday through Thursday, noon-4 p.m.
President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act during a ceremony at the White House on July 26, 1990. Joining Bush are Rev. Harold Wilke, rear left; Evan Kemp, chairman of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, left; Sandra Parrino, chairman of the National Council on Disability; and Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Council on Disabilities. (Barry Thumma/Associated Press)

Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, represents Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

On May 28, 1988, Lisa Carl went to her local movie theater, something millions of Americans can do with ease and comfort. Yet when Lisa tried to go into the theater, the manager refused her ticket, denying her entry because Lisa had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair. When an advocate called the theater owner about the incident, the manager coldly stated, "I don't want her in here, and I don't have to let her in."

Lisa later testified before Congress, I was not crying on the outside, but I was crying on the inside. I just wanted to watch the movie like everyone else. While the cruelty is heartbreaking, the true outrage was that in 1988, the law actually sided with the theater owner, who was free to legally discriminate against Lisa and deny her access to a public theater because she was born with a disability.

Fortunately, millions of Americans with disabilities and their families refused to accept this discrimination. They shared their stories and pushed and prodded a bipartisan coalition of legislators to end decades of legally sanctioned discrimination through passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

At the signing ceremony, President George H.W. Bush noted that before the ADA, "tragically, for too many Americans, the blessings of liberty have been limited or even denied. The Civil Rights Act of '64 took a bold step towards righting that wrong. But the stark fact remained that people with disabilities were still victims of segregation and discrimination, and this was intolerable." Bush declared, "Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down."

Decades later, the forces of discrimination are working hard to rebuild that wall. Led by the hospitality and retail industries, special interests want to shift the burden of ADA compliance away from business owners and onto individuals with disabilities. They're backing a bill that has already passed the House Judiciary Committee, the so-called ADA Education and Reform Act, which would reward businesses that fail to comply with the law. The bill would allow businesses to wait until they are notified of their failure to meet legal obligations before they even have to start removing barriers that prevent Americans with disabilities from leading independent lives.

This offensive legislation would segregate the disability community, making it the only protected class under civil rights law that must rely on "education"  rather than strong enforcement  to guarantee access to public spaces. As the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Rights Task Force and other civil rights organizations wrote in opposing this bill, "We know of no other law that outlaws discrimination but permits entities to discriminate with impunity until victims experience that discrimination and educate the entities perpetrating it about their obligations not to discriminate."

For decades, from enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through passage of the ADA, Congress has worked to enshrine the principle in law that no American should be denied access to a public space because of who they are, be it their race, nationality, religion, gender or disability. The ADA Education and Reform Act betrays this bipartisan legacy.

Businesses have had 27 years to comply with the ADA public-access protections. Yet rather than investing time and energy to achieve this goal, they are waging a propaganda campaign to convince Congress that their own lack of accessibility isnt the problem  so-called drive-by lawsuits are. Notably, supporters of the ADA Education and Reform Act often do not dispute that they are violating the law. Rather, they simply resent being sued for what they believe are minor ADA infractions.

Ever since I lost my legs when an RPG tore through the cockpit of the Black Hawk helicopter I was flying over Iraq, getting around has been difficult. I can't always enter restaurants or other public spaces. I have to spend a lot of time planning how to get from one place to the next.

An incline that is a few degrees too steep or an entrance that is a few inches off the ground can determine whether I am able to access an area without assistance. Being unable to independently enter a movie theater, store, hotel or restaurant is not only humiliating, it limits the freedom to pursue certain jobs, to access necessary services and to enjoy basic conveniences that most Americans dont think twice about.

I understand that not everyone thinks about these things because, for most of my adult life, I didnt either. But the truth is that everyone, whether they realize it or not, is just one bad day away from needing accessible options to help them get around their community.

While I understand people might not think of some ADA violations as significant at first glance, I can assure you they are more significant for those of us with disabilities than you know.

If Congress passed this misguided legislation, it would send a disgraceful message to Americans with disabilities that their civil rights are not worthy of strong enforcement. It is not too late to defeat this dangerous legislation and keep every American living with a disability from becoming a second-class citizen.
Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) was a major supporter of legislation that weakened the Drug Enforcement Administrations ability to crack down on drug distributors. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

President Trump announced Tuesday that Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), his nominee for drug czar, was withdrawing in the wake of an investigative report detailing how he helped pass legislation weakening the Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to go after drug distributors, even as opioid-related deaths continue to rise.

With Marino's withdrawal  announced by the president in a morning tweet  the administration's scrutiny of the law intensified. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said he was "very concerned about it" and planned to review whether the DEA needs "more tools" to carry out its mission.

But it was unclear how aggressively Congress will reassess a bill that was passed last year with no opposition. A spokesman for Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the panel was exploring the idea of holding an oversight hearing to learn what had changed since President Barack Obama signed the bill.

Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, sought to increase pressure for action and cheered Marino's exit. They argued that his nomination demonstrated a lack of commitment from Trump to addressing the opioid crisis that has gripped the nation.

A Washington Post/60 Minutes investigation published Sunday explained how a targeted lobbying effort helped bolster legislation, known as the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, that made it harder for the DEA to act against giant drug distributors, some of which were fined for repeatedly ignoring warnings from the agency to shut down suspicious sales of hundreds of millions of pills.

The law makes it virtually impossible for the DEA to freeze such questionable shipments from the companies, according to internal agency and Justice Department documents and an independent assessment by the agencys chief administrative law judge in a soon-to-be-published law review article. That powerful tool had allowed the DEA to immediately prevent narcotic painkillers from spilling into the black market.

"As a former prosecutor who has dedicated my life to aggressive and faithful enforcement of our laws, I have reached the difficult decision that the best course of action is to remove the distraction my nomination has created to the utterly vital mission of this premier agency," Marino said in a statement Tuesday.

But he defended his legislation, saying it was a balanced solution for ensuring those who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do.

[Read the investigation: The drug industrys triumph over the DEA]

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), an original co-sponsor of the bill, called Tuesday for an investigation into whether the law is harming enforcement and for hearings to examine whether she was misled about its impact.

Chu, one of only a few Democrats to put her name on the bill, said then-acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg  who has declined repeated interview requests  told her in a meeting last year after the measure became law that it did not interfere with the DEAs ability to successfully stop bad actors.

A letter sent by Chu on Tuesday to two House committee chairmen is the first account of Rosenbergs position on the law.

Chu said in her letter that she had thought the law would help independent and community pharmacists, most of whom are small business owners who provide vital services for their communities.

In another development Tuesday, the nations largest drug manufacturing lobby broke ranks with the distributors and urged the laws repeal.

We need to ensure the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has sufficient controls and authorities in place to prevent illicit diversion of controlled substances, Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement.

He also said Congress should consider whether existing criminal and civil penalties are sufficient to ensure reporting of suspicious orders of controlled substances in a timely fashion.

Trump declined Monday to express support for Marino, nominated in September to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, when asked about him during a news conference.

On Tuesday, the president took to Twitter to inform the nation of Marinos withdrawal, while adding: Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!

Trump has pledged to declare a national emergency next week to address the opioid crisis  a move he first promised in August, when he said the epidemic exceeded anything he had seen involving drugs in his lifetime.

Marino, 65, represents Pennsylvanias 10th Congressional District, a solid-red, mostly rural area that voted overwhelmingly for Trump last year.

In his statement, Marino said he looks forward to remaining in service to the people of Pennsylvanias Tenth Congressional District and continuing my long record of championing solutions to better equip law enforcement to combat drugs.

Marinos staff called the Capitol Police when The Post and 60 Minutes tried to interview the congressman at his office last month. In the past, Marino has said the DEA was too aggressive and needed to work more collaboratively with drug companies.

[From Sunday: Rep. Tom Marino, the industrys advocate in Congress]

After reports of Marinos withdrawal Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Trumps announcement the right decision but said the nomination is further evidence that when it comes to the opioid crisis, the Trump administration talks the talk, but refuses to walk the walk.

Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), whose state has been hard hit by the opioid epidemic, and who was among the first to call for Marinos nomination to be withdrawn, said he welcomed the news.

We need a drug czar who has seen these devastating effects and who is passionate about ending this opioid epidemic, Manchin said in a statement. I look forward to working with President Trump to find a drug czar that will serve West Virginians and our entire country.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who plans to introduce a measure that would repeal the law weakening the DEAs authority, said Tuesday that she is trying to find a larger piece of legislation that could serve as a vehicle for the repeal effort.

There certainly will be a vehicle by the end of the year, McCaskill said. Were going to have several must-pass things at the end of the year, if we cant do it before.

A senior aide to Schumer said that Democratic leaders were still determining the best possible path for a repeal effort.

Several Republicans who worked on the legislation have pushed back against critics of the law, arguing that it was vetted with the proper agencies and there was plenty of time for any objections to be heard.

The Obama administrations Justice Department and the DEA both were consulted on and approved of the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act before it was unanimously approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, the Grassley spokesman said.

He added, The committee is exploring the idea of holding an oversight hearing to determine whether the agencies positions have changed and whether changes are needed to the law.

Marino spent years trying to move such legislation through Congress.

The Post and 60 Minutes reported Sunday that DEA and Justice Department representatives signed off on the final wording of the bill that became law after lengthy negotiations with the staff of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah)  a point Hatch made in a speech on the Senate floor Monday.

But the DEA officials said the agency was forced to accept a compromise it did not want to avoid language that would have crippled enforcement even more. Emails cited in the report supported that position.

"They would have passed this with us or without us," said one DEA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Our point was that this law was completely unnecessary."

The DEAs chief administrative law judge, John J. Mulrooney II, has concluded that the law makes it all but impossible for the agency to freeze the shipments of large drug distributors via an immediate suspension order.

If it had been the intent of Congress to completely eliminate the DEAs ability to ever impose an immediate suspension on distributors or manufacturers, it would be difficult to conceive of a more effective vehicle for achieving that goal, Mulrooney wrote in an article to be published in the Marquette Law Review.

The DEA did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Top Obama administration officials have declined to discuss how the bill came to pass.

Anne Gearan, Karoun Demirjian, Sari Horwitz and Ed OKeefe contributed to this report.


South Korean national flags hang on a barbed-wire fence near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

It has become the ultimate symbol of American resolve against the threat of North Korea: a visit by the U.S. commander in chief to freedoms frontier, the heavily guarded demilitarized zone that has separated the North and South for 64 years.

Wearing bomber-style jackets, surrounded by military officers, peering through binoculars, all but one president since Ronald Reagan have gazed across the barren strip of land at the 38th parallel from an observation post where they've been moved to talk tough. In April, Vice President Pence, undertaking the same solemn ritual, said he toured the DMZ so the North Koreans could "see our resolve in my face."

But as President Trump prepares for a 12-day swing through five Asian nations next month to bolster international pressure on Pyongyang, the administration is divided over whether he should make the pilgrimage, an issue that remains unresolved. Some aides worry a visit could further inflame already heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, while others have expressed concern over Trump's personal safety, according to people who have spoken to administration officials.

Asian foreign policy veterans of both the Obama and George W. Bush administrations said it would be foolish for Trump not to go. But the White House is facing opposition from South Korean President Moon Jae-ins administration and the U.S. State Department over fears that a visit would ratchet up Trumps war of words with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

A White House spokesman declined to comment, saying the administration was not ready to release the full itinerary for Trumps trip, which is scheduled to last from Nov. 3 to Nov. 14.



Vice President Pence arrives at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in April. (Lee Jin-man/Associated Press)

Asked during a news conference this week whether a DMZ visit would provoke Pyongyang, Trump said the trips details were not finalized and added: I didnt hear in terms of provoking, but we will certainly take a look at that.

Trump has already done plenty of provoking amid reports that North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are making more-rapid advances than expected. Trump has repeatedly mocked Kim as "Little Rocket Man," and he declared during a United Nations speech last month that the United States is prepared to "totally destroy" the North if necessary.

Kim has responded with his own harsh rhetoric by calling Trump a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard" and by threatening to strike Guam and test a nuclear device over the Pacific Ocean.

Trump will have plenty of other chances to talk tough, starting with a tour of the Pearl Harbor military base in Hawaii on his way to Asia. In Tokyo, the president is scheduled to meet with the parents of a Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean agents four decades ago, and in Seoul, he will deliver a speech to the South Korean National Assembly.



President Obama at Observation Post Ouellette in the Demilitarized Zone in 2012. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

But current and former U.S. officials said a presidential visit to the DMZ sends a more pointed message to the American and South Korean troops who patrol the border region just 30 miles north of Seoul  as well as the enemy forces on the other side  that the United States remains committed to the bilateral defense treaty that has been in place since the armistice that halted fighting in the Korean War in 1953.

The DMZ functions as a kind of amplifier, said Daniel Russel, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs under President Barack Obama and is now a senior fellow at the Asia Society. The message takes on a more martial and ominous tone when it comes out of a military command post on North Koreas doorstep.

George H.W. Bush is the only president since Reagan toured the DMZ in 1983 not to visit, although Bush did make his own trip while serving as Reagans vice president.

Obama visited the DMZ during a 2012 trip to Seoul for a nuclear summit, telling the troops that "the contrast between South Korea and North Korea could not be clearer, could not be starker, both in terms of freedom but also in terms of prosperity."

In 1993, President Bill Clinton told reporters during a DMZ tour that if the North ever used nuclear weapons "it would be the end of their country." Clinton walked so far across the "Bridge of No Return" that joins the two Koreas that U.S. Secret Service agents reportedly brought rifles into the area to protect him, in violation of the Korean War cease-fire.

Officials in Seoul and Tokyo are eager for Trump to reaffirm his commitment to the U.S. defense treaties with the East Asian allies. The president has unsettled Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by criticizing U.S. trade imbalances with those nations, pulling out of a 12-nation Asia-Pacific trade accord and demanding a renegotiation of a bilateral trade pact with South Korea that Obama signed in 2011.



President Clinton takes the lens caps off a pair of army binoculars after looking through them and not getting a very good view from the Oulette guard post in the demilitarized zone. (Greg Gibson/Associated Press)

At the same time, Moons advisers fear that a Trump visit to the DMZ could increase the chances of a miscalculation that could provoke a military confrontation or have other unintended consequences, such as harming Asian financial markets or disrupting planning for the Winter Olympics, which will be held in February in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Evan Medeiros, who served as senior Asia director at the National Security Council under Obama, said Trump needs to be crystal clear on the U.S. position on North Korea and suggested that the costs of not visiting the DMZ could be greater than going.

If he doesnt go, guess what the next story is? said Medeiros, who accompanied Vice President Joe Biden to the DMZ in 2013.

Already some foreign policy experts are mocking the White House's hesitation. On Tuesday, Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert who operates a popular Twitter account, included a chicken emoji with his retweet of a South Korean news report that U.S. and South Korean officials were steering Trump away from the DMZ.

Former U.S. officials emphasized that Trumps national security team could craft a visit that achieves the symbolic message  speaking to the troops, touring Observation Post Ouellette  without directly provoking the North with hostile words.

But they acknowledged that the president, who would be accompanied by reporters, is prone to straying off message.

Weve never had a president go to the DMZ who has implied the U.S. is preparing for preventative war with North Korea, said Michael Green, who served as senior Asia director at the NSC under President George W. Bush.

In February 2002, Bush visited the DMZ less than a month after he had called North Korea, Iran and Iraq the axis of evil during his State of the Union address. The presidents speechwriters proposed having Bush deliver remarks akin to Reagans seminal tear down this wall speech in West Berlin in 1987.



George W. Bush gazes out at North Korea from Observation Point Ouellette in the demilitarized zone in 2002. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

But Green said Bush's team eventually came to conclude that such a moment could be misinterpreted as a provocative call for regime change in Pyongyang. Instead, they sent him to the Dorasan train station near the border to call on the North to open an uncompleted railway between the two countries.

Like the United States, South Korea has become a beacon of freedom, showing to the world the power of human liberty to bring down walls and uplift lives, said Bush, who also visited the DMZ observation post. Today, across the mines and barbed wire, that light shines brighter than ever. It shines not as a threat to the North but as an invitation.
Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, appears at a campaign stop at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 18, 2016. (John Minchillo/AP)

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski huddled with Senate Intelligence Committee investigators for more than three hours Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Lewandowski is one of several Trump campaign officials whom the Senate Intelligence Committee has interviewed in recent months as part of its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections and allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials.

Committee staffers have also interviewed Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort, who succeeded Lewandowski as Trump's campaign manager. Trump fired the combative Lewandowski in June 2016 after turf battles with other members of the then-candidate's inner circle.

[Trump fires top aide in an urgent move to reboot his floundering campaign]

As campaign manager, Lewandowski was looped in on a Trump campaign staffer's efforts to broker a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, though it is unclear whether Lewandowski played a role in the planning.

Even after his official departure, Lewandowski maintained close ties with the campaign and was on the campaign payroll as recently August of last year.

Lewandowskis interview with Senate investigators occurred on the same day that the House Intelligence Committee attempted to obtain depositions from senior executives of Fusion GPS, the firm behind a salacious dossier detailing allegations stemming from Trumps personal and business dealings in Russia, as part of their probe into allegations of Russian meddling.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) approved subpoenas for senior executives of Fusion GPS this month. Senior executives Thomas Catan and Peter Fritsch spoke behind closed doors Wednesday morning but refused to answer questions, invoking the First Amendment and their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

No American should be required to appear before Congress simply to invoke his constitutional privileges, said Josh Levy, a lawyer for the executives, calling the proceedings an indignity that even Watergate investigators didnt foist upon their witnesses.

Our clients have cooperated with Congress. We have worked with the other committees investigating this matter to strike the balance between Congresss right to information and our clients privileges and legal obligations, Levy said in an emailed statement, referring to an August meeting Senate Judiciary Committee investigators held with Fusion GPSs chief executive, Glenn Simpson.

Simpson did not meet with the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, which conducted the depositions with Catan and Fritsch as two separate, 45-minute meetings. Rep. Thomas J. Rooney (R-Fla.), who is one of two members assisting Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.) with running the investigation, was the only member of the committee to be identified as present during the interviews alongside staff members.

Read more at PowerPost
President Trump became the subject of an unusual public lobbying campaign over the fate of the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday as Senate Democrats and a key Republican sought to salvage a bipartisan health deal while conservatives pressured the president to disavow the agreement.

In a morning tweet, Trump appeared to distance himself from the compromise, which would authorize payments to insurers that help offset millions of lower-income Americans' health costs in exchange for granting states greater flexibility to regulate coverage. But the president later told reporters that he was not closing the door on a deal altogether, and proponents of the plan authored by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sought to keep him on board.

The convoluted campaign, in which Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) insisted that a deal remained in reach even as he blasted the presidents zigging and zagging, underscored the unpredictable nature of dealmaking in Trumps Washington. With constantly shifting alliances, the citys key political players are jockeying to win the presidents support one issue at a time.

For Senate Democrats, trying to sway Trump to back the plan carries both potential risks and rewards. Working with a president despised by their base and prone to changing his mind could drag them into a political quagmire with unpredictable outcomes.

For conservatives who are pressing for a different deal or oppose the idea of propping up the Affordable Care Act, the moment presents a test of how much influence they have with the president, who has suggested a greater willingness to hash out deals with Democrats and become more and more frustrated with his own party.

[Another last-ditch effort to tackle Obamacare stalls within hours of its release]

For both sides, the presidents conflicting signals have created a chaotic situation where even some of Trumps aides have found themselves scrambling to keep up with the latest developments.

He began the morning by warning that the new agreement might be tantamount to an insurance giveaway. I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins cos who have made a fortune w/ OCare, Trump wrote on Twitter.

But shortly afterward, Alexander  who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and was encouraged by the president to pursue a deal  said in an interview that Trump expressed an openness to preserving it in a phone call Wednesday morning.

He told me that he wanted to encourage me but that he will review it, as I would expect a president to do, Alexander said. He may want to add something to it. It may come up as part of the end-of-the-year negotiations. Well see.

Speaking later to reporters in the Cabinet Room, Trump praised Alexanders efforts, saying, If something can happen, thats fine, but I wont do anything to enrich the insurance companies.

Theyve been enriched by Obamacare like nothing anybodys ever seen before, the president added.



Sens. Patty Murray D-Wash.) and Lamar Alexander R-Tenn.) attend a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the morning after they reached a deal to resume federal payments to health insurers that President Trump had halted. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Although Trump has repeatedly described cost-sharing payments as a bailout to insurers, the money directly covers the discounts that low-income Americans on Affordable Care Act plans receive for deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. This group includes about 7 million Americans earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

Insurers are obligated to provide the discounts, which totaled about $7 billion this year and are estimated to reach $10 billion next year, even if the federal payments are cut off. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Trumps decision last week to end the subsidies will cost insurance carriers more than $1 billion this year.

Facing the prospect for months that the Trump administration would cut off the payments, most insurers have opted to factor this shortfall into their 2018 premium rates for their customers. The cutoff in cost-sharing payments has translated into premium increases of 12 percent to 20 percent, according to several analyses.

Alexander suggested that he may tweak the language of the proposal to address Trumps concerns that insurers would benefit from the cost-sharing reduction payments. He added that during their Wednesday call, he told Trump that he was about to tell reporters, Theyre underestimating your leadership on health care, because what youve done is youve created a bipartisan option for the Senate and for the country.

Alexander said that the compromise already has language to ensure that the subsidy benefits go to consumers, not to insurance companies, but he was open to making it stronger.

Schumer, for his part, alternated between attacking Trumps inconsistent policy positions and arguing for why the president and the deals proponents agreed on a short-term health-care fix.

Trump ended the cost-sharing reduction payments, known as CSRs, last week, arguing that they were illegal because they were not explicitly authorized under the Affordable Care Act. He left it to Congress to decide whether to fund them.

[Senators strike deal to save Obamacare payments as insurers push to raise rates]

Schumer, who discussed the prospect of a bipartisan deal with Trump less than two weeks ago when the president called him in the Senate gym, said in a floor speech that the allegations of an insurance bailout show that the president doesnt know what hes talking about.

It helps people who are sick and need health care. It keeps their premiums low, Schumer said of the funding, adding that there is language in the agreement that bars insurers from pocketing the money.

During the negotiations, Democrats had proposed delaying the open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act plans, which is set to begin Nov. 1, for a month after the bills enactment to ensure that firms could lower their 2018 premium rates to reflect the fact that the government would keep funding the subsidies. White House Domestic Policy Council Director Andrew Bremberg opposed that provision, Schumer said, but he added that Democrats are willing to insert stronger language to guarantee that insurers pass on the payments to their customers.

Were all of the same mind, Schumer said of Trump, Senate Democrats and Alexander. And we can do that.

In a brief interview Wednesday afternoon, Murray brushed aside the presidents hostile rhetoric.

This is not about the president. This is about just doing the right thing so the American peoples rates dont go up, and thats where were focused, she said.

Asked whether she was willing to alter the terms of the agreement, Murray replied: No. We have a deal; were moving it forward.

Some Democrats said they have no reservations about trying to solve a problem that, in their view, was created by Trump and for which his party will be blamed if Congress takes no action.

We know doing this will be good for the country, said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). I hope that people here arent that cynical, that, Why would you do it just because its good for the country? 

But conservatives were already mobilizing to block the measure, which would authorize CSR payments for two years. The framework would also allow insurers to offer catastrophic insurance plans to consumers 30 and older on Affordable Care Act exchanges while maintaining a single risk pool. It would shorten the period for federal review of state waiver applications; expedite reviews for states in emergency circumstances and those with waiver proposals that have already been approved for other states; and allow governors to approve state waiver applications rather than require state legislative approval.

Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, whose political action committee backs antiabortion candidates, described the proposal Wednesday as "an inadequate, shortsighted approach which fails to address the abortion funding problems created by the health-care overhaul."

"Right now nearly 900 health-care plans subsidized by taxpayer dollars cover abortion, forcing taxpayers to be complicit in the destruction of human life," she said. "In no way does the Alexander-Murray bill fulfill Republicans' campaign promise to repeal and replace the ACA."

A handful of Senate Republicans have expressed support for the plan, including Mike Rounds (S.D.), John McCain (Ariz.) and Bill Cassidy (La.). But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has not committed to bringing it up for a floor vote, and some GOP senators questioned Wednesday why they should keep funding the subsidies.

Well, I dont want to just vote to put paint on rotten wood, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters. I just want to understand what the benefits are. I understand the money going out the door.

Several key House Republicans said they dont see how the bill would win passage in their chamber.

Many senior White House officials oppose the bill, according to administration officials and Republicans who have been briefed on the matter. At times, Trumps aides have been sidelined as he has conferred with Alexander, according to one Republican, fueling confusion about the state of negotiations.

The bipartisan plan does enjoy support among patient rights groups, although they have raised concerns about whether the flexibility it offered could raise health-care costs. On Wednesday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network endorsed it.

"This deal offers important, immediate action to stabilize the individual insurance market," said the group's president, Chris Hansen. "Restoring $106 million per year in outreach and education programming would help to reduce public confusion over the law and ensure more people who need health coverage get it."

Even as elected officials and interest groups debated in Washington how to handle cost-sharing payments, attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would require the administration to continue making the payments to insurers. The attorneys general argued that the court order was needed "to prevent immediate and irreparable harm to the Plaintiff states and the millions of Americans who benefit from affordable health coverage under the ACA."

While Schumer made no predictions as to whether the bipartisan agreement would actually make it to Trumps desk, he held out hope that the president could serve as an ally in the end.

This president keeps zigging and zagging, Schumer said on the floor. Our only hope is maybe tomorrow, hell be for this bill.

John Wagner, Jordan Frasier and Paul Kane contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
1 of 15 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Where We Live | Central Shaw in Northwest Washington View Photos Residents love the diversity and accessibility, but the neighborhood still is a work in progress. Caption Residents love the diversity and accessibility, but the neighborhood still is a work in progress. Justin T. Gellerson Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

When Julia Mirabellas husband, Kyle Thomson, told her hed found a house for them on Craigslist in the central part of the Districts Shaw neighborhood, she said she didnt think it was legitimate.

But it was: a three-level attached rowhouse dating to 1875, with a back yard. It was a home they could live in, at least for a while, and it had a space they could rent out in the basement.

Our first reaction was, it was too good to be true, said Mirabella, 32, an attorney with a D.C. law firm. I like walking to work downtown and like living in an urban environment. Thomson, who is an attorney with the Food and Drug Administration, commutes to White Oak, Md.

The couple, who just celebrated their second anniversary, closed on their house in February and have been getting to know their environment and neighbors since then.

Theres a lot of diversity here, Mirabella said. I really enjoy that. I feel like were part of a community in the best way.

The couple bought their house from their neighbors, whose residence is very similar to theirs. When they first moved in, the previous owners gave a party in their honor.

[Once youre out of the car, Stone Ridge is a pretty cool place to live]

Mirabella and Thomson are at work renovating their home. We have no regrets about the neighborhood, about the house, she said. Yet they face challenges. The house needs a lot of work. Its our very first house, the only thing weve owned.





Neighborhood concerns: Relative newcomers to central Shaw enjoy the conveniences of the neighborhood  the O Street Market, including a Giant Food, as well as access to two Metro stations, an easy walk to work, wine bars and restaurants. Yet they are aware of issues that have become a focus of some of the Central Shaw Neighborhood Association's meetings. Shaw is broken up into several associations representing various geographic areas of the neighborhood.

Central Shaw has undergone change throughout much of its history. For example, some of the buildings that have been boarded up since being burned during the 1968 riots are beginning to be developed. The wine bars and new restaurants have sprung up in the past seven years or so.

Lesly Weber McNitt and her husband, Dave, are among those newcomers who arrived in central Shaw in 2010 and have watched the changes unfold. We knew that there was planned development and this neighborhood was to have revitalization, said Lesly McNitt, 34, president of the Central Shaw Neighborhood Association. We didnt know the timeline.

What they didnt necessarily anticipate was the sound of gunshots they heard after moving into their rowhouse. Were been on this crazy journey together, she said.

There have been other neighborhood associations in the area, but this one was formed about seven years ago to grapple with change with a "collective voice," she said.

Both she and Dave, 35, had been renting in Dupont Circle when he found the rowhouse, and he moved first. The couple, both from the Philadelphia area, met in the District.

Of their decision to move to Shaw, she says she was uncertain but decided to make the move. Initially, she said friends wondered why they would move to Shaw. Now, those same people think the McNitts made a smart decision. "We definitely took a risk," she said.

[Rockvilles Potomac Woods is a nice mix and has plenty of room for kids to run]

Central Shaw includes part of the Shaw Historic District, established in 1999 by the D.C. Historic Preservation Offices Office of Planning.

Initially an ethnically and economically diverse neighborhood, according to the brochure developed by the preservation office, Shaw was home to European immigrants and free African Americans, and, during and after the Civil War, increasing numbers of southern Freedmen flooding to cities in search of work.

The brochure says that the name Shaw was first used in the mid-20th century to describe the area surrounding Shaw Junior High School, which was named for Col. Robert Gould Shaw (1837-1863), white leader of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

Individuals rather than developers built the original frame and brick houses in Shaw in the 1870s and 1880s, and later, developers built small rows of speculative houses, according to the Shaw Historic District brochure.



October 10th, 2017 - Shaw - Washington, D.C. The 1600 block of 8th Street NW in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Justin T. Gellerson for The Washington Post (Justin T. Gellerson)

One of the issues the neighborhood association is grappling with is rats, according to Lesly McNitt and some longtime central Shaw residents.

Jackie Hart, who bought her house in central Shaw in 1989, said she believes in working with everyone in the neighborhood to solve problems. From the first, said Hart, now 72, she became friendly to everyone.

She recalls a time when she knew everybody and remembers the block parties between the 1500 and 1600 blocks of Eighth Street NW. Change is inevitable, she said. How you grow with it or your attitude about it is optional. The neighborhood is not as cohesive as it used to be. There are some really nice people who have moved in.

Some of the older people in the neighborhood have died or sold their homes for considerable sums, and moved to Prince George's County, according to Alexander Padro, a 6E Advisory Neighborhood Commission member. He described it as a way to create a "college fund" for their grandchildren.

Living there: Central Shaw is bounded roughly by P Street NW to the south, Ninth Street NW to the west, Rhode Island Avenue NW to the north and Seventh Street NW to the east.

In the past 12 months, according to Suzanne DesMarais, a real estate agent with Compass, seven residential properties have sold in the neighborhood, including five houses and two condominiums. They range from a two-bedroom, one-bath condo in a rowhouse for $580,000 to a three-bedroom, three-bath 1912 house for $1.325 million.

The only residential property on the market is a two-bedroom, two-bath condominium in a building dating to 1898, listed for $625,000.

Schools: Seaton Elementary, Cardozo Education Campus (middle and high schools).

Transit: Central Shaw is roughly equidistant from two Metro stops: Mount Vernon Square/Seventh Street-Convention Center and Shaw-Howard University, both on the Green and Yellow lines.

Crime: In the past 12 months, according to D.C. police, four burglaries, three aggravated assaults and five robberies were reported within the neighborhood's boundaries.
You are a passenger hailing a ride in a city both historic and hip, a guardian of custom and a hub of change. You might not realize it, but your taxi choice  go with tradition or punch an app?  puts you right in the middle of a debate about the future of work, technology and who regulates whom.

In London, the ride-sharing company Uber, employing tens of thousands of gig-working immigrants in humming Japanese hybrids, finds itself in a high-stakes brawl with the long-established cabbie business, whose iconic black taxis are operated by old-school drivers whove spent years committing to memory every street in the city.

Last month, the London transit authority dropped a bombshell. It was not going to renew Uber's 5-year-old license, it said, because the Silicon Valley corporation was not a "fit and proper" company to run a taxi service. The authorities revealed few specifics but said Uber had failed to report serious criminal offenses allegedly committed by its drivers. They also said Uber was not conducting rigorous background and medical checks on its operators.

Commuters were stunned.

More than 3.5 million people here have downloaded the app, making it one of the biggest ride-hailing markets in the world. There are 40,000 Uber drivers cruising around London. They are allowed to keep driving for now, pending an appeal the company filed Friday. Almost 900,000 people have signed an online petition against the ban.



A smartphone displays the app for the ride-sharing service Uber as a traditional London cab passes by. On Friday, Uber filed an appeal against London authorities decision last month not to renew its operating license, citing safety reasons. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images)

[How 800,000 people are trying to save Uber in London]

The Uber fight in London not only pits new ways against old, it also reveals modern-day ruptures in the labor market  such as, what is the value of a worker who knows things versus a worker who knows how to look up things online?

There is also this: In multicultural London, Uber drivers are far more likely to be named Ali or Muhammad, while black-cab drivers tend to be an Ollie or a Brian. And the fight is playing out in a city where much of the white working class finds itself challenged by the forces of globalism, mass immigration and galloping technological change, all hot-button topics since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

After they were alerted that their license to operate would be yanked, Ubers libertarian-minded executives accused London of going Luddite  hostile to cutting-edge technology. The company claimed that officials had caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice.

The accusations didnt go down well. Londons mayor, Sadiq Khan, a child of immigrants and a rising star in the Labour Party, said that tech companies such as Uber were indeed welcome but needed to play by the rules.

Many cities around the world have seen tussles among taxi and Uber drivers. But the clash in London is stark because it so clearly pits a bespoke experience  the boxy black cab, straight out of central casting, the East London driver as tour guide with volumes of opinions  against techie upstarts.

A new arrival from Libya or Bangladesh with a work visa can start driving for Uber within weeks of landing in London, assisted by GPS navigation systems, their cellphone screens guiding them with Google Maps and the Israeli-designed Waze.

[Israeli drivers forgo traditional GPS devices to ride Waze craze]

Meanwhile, the London cabbie often spends two or three or four years studying for "the Knowledge," a mind-maze battery of exams that involve memorizing more than 25,000 streets, mews and passageways and 20,000 landmarks.

Uber is relatively cheap  and popular, especially among the young. Black cabs can be pricey, and to hail one, you sometimes have to look away from your phone and wave your arm.

An Uber to Heathrow or Gatwick airports might cost $50. A black cab can charge twice that, a round-trip ride costing as much as a discount plane ticket to Spain.

After the Uber ban was announced, cabbie John McDonnell felt that his protests against the ride-hail app had finally paid off.

They werent going to push us around, said the 51-year-old driver, who has attended numerous anti-Uber demonstrations, standing on the hood of his car and waving a Union Jack flag.

To him, Transport for Londons decision meant that Londons cabbies had won  and shoved a Silicon Valley giant back on its heels.

Weve been here for 350 years, and this American company comes in and decides to take over? Thats not on, McDonnell said, referring to the days when London taxis were horse-drawn carriages.

He thinks that taxi drivers should be professionals, as he is, and that Britains immigration policy should favor migrants with special knowledge. We will have the skilled people. We dont want the unskilled, he said.

The ease with which Uber drivers can get up and running irks many cabbies.

Im like a doctor, and they are like a cleaner compared to us, said Tony Bensalem, 58, a black-cab driver who was driving along the Mall, a tree-lined road that links Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. Someone comes from Italy, France, wherever, they have no job, and then they have Uber. I think its wrong, 100 percent.

Harsha Prabath Kumara, a 33-year-old Uber driver originally from Sri Lanka, said he doesnt understand the allegation that Ubers service is unsafe. You can see the drivers name, the drivers license details, you can see the drivers rating and feedback others have given, you can see what kind of person he is. If you dont like it, you can reject it straight away, he said.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's new chief executive, issued a conciliatory statement from San Francisco admitting the company "got things wrong." He would fight the London ban, he said, "with the knowledge that we must also change."

Khosrowshahi flew to London to meet with regulators face to face. Jo Bertram, Uber's top U.K. executive, resigned. Uber, it seemed, was trying to turn a page after a scandal-ridden year that exposed a toxic corporate culture and growth-at-all-costs approach.

[What to know about Ubers months of crises]

Its unclear whether the road ahead for Uber in London is long or short. But many of the drivers interviewed for this article  both Uber and black cab  think the ride-hailing service will remain in some capacity.

Uber is not going anywhere, said Clifford Weeks, 58, a jovial black-cab driver wearing a jean jacket and black cap who drove from Trafalgar Square to the Royal Festival Hall without pausing to look at a Google map or a device.

That doesnt matter, he said of the Knowledge exams. People just want to get from A to B. And Uber, he acknowledged, is generally cheap.

Weeks recalled the day his own daughter said she was an Uber rider. One day, she said, Dad, I use an Uber cab. You can imagine that should be heresy in my house, but people love it.

One day, out of curiosity, he watched his daughter and her friend use the app and was floored to see a car roll up 50 seconds after they had punched in the postal code.

Am I sour? No, not really. Its just how it goes, he said, shrugging. If they say Uber will no longer be on the streets on London, Id be very surprised. Id eat my hat.

If Uber is forced out of London  as it has been in other cities around the world  many expect something else will fill the vacuum.

This is technology. This is the future, said Ovidiu Vilcea, a 29-year-old Uber driver from Romania, nodding at the smartphone affixed to his windshield.

He drove past Londons Natural History Museum, famous for its dinosaur collection. Looking in his rearview mirror, he said: If its not Uber, its going to be another company soon.

Read more:

Uber chooses a surprising new leader: the CEO of Expedia

What is Ubers stock really worth? Who knows?!

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
One of the officials in charge of overseeing next week's presidential election in Kenya resigned Wednesday, fled the country and said the vote could not be fair.

Rather than contradict her, however, the election commissions chairman, Wafula Chebukati, also said he did not think a credible election was possible.

Roselyn Akombe, one of seven election commissioners, said in a statement that the Oct. 26 election had no chance of being credible and fair and that it had become increasingly difficult for her to perform her duties at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

We need the commission to be courageous and speak out, that this election as planned cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election, she said. The commission has become a party to the current crisis. The commission is under siege.

The move is the latest blow to Kenya's 20-year-old democratic process and comes after a previous election prompted accusations of bias and protests. The social unrest and political uncertainty have hit an economy already faltering because of a severe drought.

Chebukati praised Akombe for her work and said he had not been able to reform the IEBC.

I have made several attempts to make critical changes, but all my motions have been defeated by a majority of the commissioners. Under such conditions, it is difficult to guarantee free, fair and credible elections, he said at a news conference. Without critical changes in key secretariat staff, free, fair and credible elections will surely be compromised.

President Uhuru Kenyatta handily won reelection Aug. 8 with 54 percent of the vote, but in an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court annulled the results a month later, citing irregularities, and ordered a new election. Opposition candidate Raila Odinga accused the IEBC of bias and demanded that it be scrapped.

[Kenya election rerun raises fear of new violence and economic woes]

On Oct. 10, Odinga pulled out of the fresh election, saying it could not to be free and fair under the current commission.

Kenyatta on Wednesday recommended that Kenyans turn to prayer to see the nation through the election.

"After consultation with religious leaders, I have reached this decision to call on all Kenyans to pray for their country in their mosques, temples and churches, culminating in a national day of prayer on Sunday," he said.

In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday from New York, Akombe, who holds a U.S. passport, said she fled to the United States because she feared for her life. She noted that a senior election official, Chris Msando, was killed before the August election.

Some election officials have been attacked in certain parts of the country, and the environment was not conducive for a general election, she said.

It broke my heart in the last few days to listen to my staff in the field, [the] majority of whom truly want to do the right thing, express to me their safety and security concerns, she said.

"This was met with more extremist responses from most commissioners, who are keen to have an election even if it is at the cost of the lives of our staff and voters," Akombe said.

Her comments appear to echo the rallying cry of "no reforms, no elections" from Odinga's supporters ahead of the rerun.

"Akombe's resignation just shows us that there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we may not know, but what is for sure is that, as Raila said, we cannot go into the elections with the IEBC as it is," said Joe Oketch, an opposition supporter in Nairobi's Kibera slum.

For supporters of Kenyatta, however, the resignation changes nothing. They insist that the country must just get through this fraught electoral season.

"We all experience various challenges in our various places at work. We choose to stay or leave. She chose to leave," said James Mango, a trader at Nairobi's Wakulima market.

"Things have to move on," he said.

Paul Schemm in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this report.

Read more:

Kenyas Supreme Court annuls election result, orders new vote

Kenyan election thrown into turmoil as top opposition candidate withdraws

Kenya bans protests, setting up showdown with opposition supporters

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Hamed Sinno, center, the lead singer of the Lebanese band Mashrou Leila, performs at the Dubai International Marine Club. (Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)

A crackdown on gay people in Egypt intensified in recent days as security forces raided cafes in downtown Cairo and courts delivered harsh prison sentences, further driving the nation's LGBT community underground.

More than 60 people have been arrested, human rights activists said, since a concert last month by a rock group where some members of the audience waved a rainbow flag  photos of which went viral on social media and caused public outrage.

Security forces have also detained people at their homes in the middle of the night, and have used apps and online chat rooms to entrap those believed to be gay. Some cafes frequented by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have been shut down.

Some of those arrested have endured beatings and other abuse in their prison cells, while others have been subjected to forced anal examinations, human rights activists said.

The targeting of the community was never on this scale before, said Doaa Mostafa, a human rights lawyer who is representing a man and woman arrested in the latest crackdown.



Hamed Sinno, left, lead singer of the Lebanese group Mashrou' Leila, and guitarist Firas Abou Fakher read social media posts in Beirut. (Hussein Malla/AP)

The sweeps have unfolded as international human rights activists have denounced the Egyptian government and urged an end to the arrests. On Friday, the United Nations human rights office described the anti-gay raids in Egypt and similar assaults in Azerbaijan and Indonesia as unjust and violations of international law.

As of Tuesday, at least 20 people in Egypt had received prison sentences ranging from six months to six years, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said, including four people who were sentenced Saturday to three years each.

The crackdown is the latest sign of the repression of political and social freedoms under the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. Extrajudicial killings by state security forces have soared, say human rights groups, as have arrests of political opponents. Hundreds of websites, including independent media, have been blocked.

[New phone app tracks forced disappearances in Egypt]

Gay rights activists view the suppression of their community as part of an effort to distract from the country's pressing political and economic woes, including rising costs of living and declining government subsidies, that have fomented anger on the streets.

Targeting the gay community, activists say, appeals to Egypt's mostly conservative population; both Muslims and Christians consider homosexuality a sin. A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 95 percent of Egyptians believed that homosexuality was socially unacceptable.

The rainbow flag incident has made the public furious, and this gave an opportunity for the government and state security to start the arrests, said Mohamed, an Egyptian gay rights activist who requested that his last name be withheld for security reasons. They are showing the people that We are conservative. We are embracing our traditions and customs. 

Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt. But authorities have been targeting gay people under a 1960s anti-prostitution law that contains a clause against debauchery, which Egyptian courts have interpreted to include homosexuality.

The latest detentions constitute the biggest action taken against the gay community since the 2001 arrest of 52 people at the Queen Boat, a floating nightclub on the Nile. Over the next three years, an estimated 200 more were arrested, activists said.

Since late 2013, after a military coup led by Sissi ousted the elected Islamist government, an estimated 550 people accused of being gay have been arrested, activists said. More than 250 men have been prosecuted for their perceived sexual orientation, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, whose lawyers are defending those facing trials this month.

The current wave of incarcerations was set off when concertgoers waved a rainbow flag at a performance by Mashrou Leila, a Lebanese band with an openly gay frontman. As images spread on Twitter and Facebook, lawmakers, TV personalities and religious leaders publicly condemned homosexuality as well as the actions of the concertgoers, further fueling the crackdown.

The arrests put an end to the defaming of Egypts image and its youth, Mostafa Bakri, a parliament member, told Youm7, a local newspaper. He added that those detained should be put on an immediate trial because they deliberately aimed to use this event to claim Egypt is a country of homosexuality, and this is not true.

Some were arrested for waving rainbow flags, and others for their Facebook posts.

In some cases, individuals were reportedly arrested after being entrapped by law enforcement officials on apps and in Internet chat rooms, U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on Friday. Charges include habitual debauchery, inciting indecency and debauchery, and joining a banned group. 

Doaa Mostafa, the human rights lawyer, said both of her clients  Ahmed and Sara  are in jail awaiting trial. Sara was arrested this month at her home in the middle of the night. Both had been at the concert, waving rainbow flags.

Security guards ordered other female prisoners to attack Sara in her cell, Mostafa said.

She was beaten up for one night, she added.

Egyptian authorities did not respond to requests for comment but have denied allegations by human rights groups of widespread torture by the nations security forces in detention facilities.

Activists say that many in their community have left the country in recent weeks  or are considering doing so soon.

Were getting lots of messages from people seeking help getting out of the country, said Mohamed, the activist, who has left Egypt for work and is planning to return only when it is safe. In the next few months, more people will leave and seek asylum outside Egypt.

Heba Farouk Mahfouz contributed to this report.

Read more

Egyptians forget their woes, briefly, as their soccer team heads to the World Cup

Egypts long, bloody fight against the Islamic State in Sinai is going nowhere

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeatedly insisted Wednesday that his private talks with President Trump were off-limits to lawmakers  infuriating Democrats who for months have sought details of how the FBI director was fired amid a probe into Russias election interference.

During a contentious five-hour oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic senators peppered the nations top law enforcement officer with questions on former FBI director James B. Comey, Trump and the ongoing investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential race. But for the most part, Sessions declined to offer any new details about those matters.

He would not say what Trump told him before Comeys firing, offering only that the president asked for his advice in writing. He said he has not been interviewed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is leading the probe that is exploring, in part, whether Trump obstructed justice leading up to Comeys removal.

Sessions lambasted the former FBI director, saying he did not believe "it's been fully understood the significance of the error that Mr. Comey made" concerning the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. But he would not say whether the president, in deciding to remove Comey, mentioned the Russia case in their discussions. He also would not say if he was aware of a draft letter detailing reasons that Comey should be removed.

At one point, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked Sessions if he could commit to not putting reporters in jail for doing their jobs, a reference to the presidents attacks against the media and the many leak investigations the Justice Department is conducting.

I dont know that I can make a blanket commitment to that effect, but I would say this: We have not taken any aggressive action against the media at this point, Sessions said. He added: We always try to find an alternative way, as you probably know, Senator Klobuchar, to directly confronting a media person, but thats not a total blanket protection.

The oversight hearing marked the first time Sessions has appeared before the Judiciary Committee since his confirmation hearing in January. Lawmakers pressed the attorney general on a variety of topics  including his legal opinion on the travel ban, the DACA program for illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children and his threat to strip sanctuary cities of federal grants. But as with many political affairs in Washington in 2017, much of the hearing was spent talking about Russia.

Sessions recused himself from the Russia case because of his role on the Trump campaign, though he could be someone with whom Mueller wants to speak. He said he would be willing to cooperate with the probe and that he has not been asked for an interview.

Of his personal confidence in Mueller, Sessions said: I think he will produce the work in a way he thinks is correct, and history will judge. He said he was not involved in the case even before his recusal and that he did not know if it would be appropriate for Trump to pardon people who were under investigation by Mueller. But he added that the pardon power is quite broad.

Democrats, in particular, have long been interested in Sessions's own meetings with Russians, after The Washington Post reported in March that he had spoken twice last year with Sergey Kislyak, then Russia's ambassador to the United States, and did not disclose the encounters when asked during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general about possible contacts between members of Trump's campaign and representatives of Moscow.

Sessions offered a slightly new wrinkle Wednesday, asserting that he may have discussed Trump campaign policy positions in his 2016 conversations with Kislyak. The attorney general said it was possible that some comment was made about what Trumps positions were, though he also said, I dont think there was any discussion about the details of the campaign.

The Post reported in July that Kislyak reported back to his superiors in the Kremlin that the two had discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow. Sessions has previously said he did not "recall any specific political discussions," though he allowed that most ambassadors are "pretty gossipy" and that it was "campaign season" when he and Kislyak talked.

In one of the testiest exchanges of the hearing, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who had asked Sessions about the Trump campaign and Russia contacts at the confirmation hearing, accused the attorney general of changing his story over time.

While Sessions first asserted that he did not have communications with the Russians, he now seemed to only be denying that he had inappropriate discussions about election interference, Franken said.

Sessions shot back that Frankens question came with a very, very troubling lead-up and that he answered in a way that I felt was responsive to what you raised in your question. The two men interrupted each other, and, at one point, Sessions erupted. Mr. Chairman, I dont have to sit in here and listen to his charges without having a chance to respond, he said. Give me a break.

Democrats had warned Sessions that they expected him to answer questions about his conversations with Trump, especially as they might relate to the firing of Comey and the Russia investigation. Sessions, though, said in his opening remarks that he would not. Nor would he honor Democrats request that he detail the particular topics on which Trump would assert executive privilege and block his testimony, he said.

I can neither assert executive privilege nor can I disclose today the content of my confidential conversations with the president, Sessions said.

At a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in June, Sessions also refused to detail his conversations with the president. But Democrats have questioned his rationale for not providing at least some information. In a letter to Sessions last week, they said the attorney general needed to formally identify the topics over which Trump would assert executive privilege  and Sessions thus could not address  and fully answer questions about the others.

[Jeff Sessions testifies: Refuses to say whether he spoke to Trump about Comeys handling of Russia investigation]

"We expect that when you appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 18th, you will have determined whether the president will invoke executive privilege as to specific topics and will be prepared to answer completely all questions in those areas on which he has not," the Democrats wrote. "As to the former category, we will expect you to provide the Committee with a list of issues over which the privilege has affirmatively been asserted."

Sessions also used the hearing to defend Trump's travel ban, saying it could help prevent terrorist attacks in the United States. He called the directive  which was blocked by two federal judges Tuesday and Wednesday  an "important step" in the fight against terror.

"It's a lawful, necessary order that we are proud to defend," Sessions said, adding, "We are confident we'll prevail, as time goes by, in the Supreme Court."

He said military leaders had told him to expect an "increase in attacks" as the Islamic State is pushed out of strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

Sessions sparred with Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) over his attempts to withhold federal grant money from Chicago over the city's "sanctuary" policies. A federal court recently blocked Sessions from doing so, and Durbin said the attorney general was wrong to harp on the city's rise in violent crime while also trying to take resources.

"You want to cut off federal funds to that city, and come here and criticize the murder rate. You can't have it both ways," Durbin said.

Sessions shot back that federal authorities "can't take over law enforcement for the city of Chicago" and that they needed city officials to notify them when illegal immigrants were scheduled to be released from jail.
A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday issued a second halt on the latest version of President Trumps entry ban, asserting that the presidents own comments on the campaign trail and on Twitter convinced him that the directive was akin to an unconstitutional ban on Muslims.

U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang issued a somewhat-less-complete halt on the ban than his counterpart in Hawaii did a day earlier. Chuang blocked the administration only from enforcing the directive on those with a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States, such as family members or some type of professional or other engagement in the United States.

[Syrian family fears reunion would be out of reach under Trump travel ban]

But in some ways, Chuangs ruling was more personally cutting to Trump, as he said the presidents own words cast his latest attempt to impose an entry blockade as the inextricable re-animation of the twice-enjoined Muslim ban.

Omar Jadwat, director of the Immigrants Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and represented those suing in Maryland over the ban, said: Like the two versions before it, President Trumps latest travel ban is still a Muslim ban at its core. And like the two before it, this one is going down to defeat in the courts.

The third iteration of Trumps ban on U.S. entry by certain foreign nationals had been set to go fully into effect early Wednesday, barring various types of travelers who are citizens of Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. Even before Chuangs ruling, though, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked the ban  at least temporarily  for all of the countries except North Korea and Venezuela.

That judge, Derrick K. Watson, prohibited the administration from applying the measure to any citizen of the six countries, not just those with a bona fide U.S. tie. But his ruling did not address whether Trumps intent in imposing the directive was to discriminate against Muslims. He said the president had merely exceeded the authority Congress had given him in immigration law.

The Justice Department already had vowed to appeal Watsons ruling, which the White House said undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States. Both Watsons temporary restraining order and Chuangs preliminary injunction are also interim measures, meant to maintain the status quo as the parties continue to argue the case.

[Federal judge blocks Trumps third travel ban]

The administration had cast the new measure as necessary for national security and as a step that was taken only after officials conducted an extensive review of the information they needed to vet those proposing to come to the United States. Those countries that were either unwilling or unable to produce such information even after negotiations, officials have said, were included on the banned list.

These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation, the White House said in a statement after Watsons ruling.

Like Watsons order, Chuangs 91-page ruling also found that Trump had exceeded his authority under immigration law, but only to a degree.

Trumps order  which has no specified end date and no requirement of renewal  violated a nondiscrimination provision in the law in that it blocked entry to the United States on the basis of nationality, Chuang wrote.

But Chuang said he could not determine, as Watson did, that Trump had violated a different part of federal immigration law requiring him to find that entry of certain nonimmigrant travelers would be detrimental to U.S. interests before blocking them.

Chuang instead based much of his ruling on his assessment that Trump intended to ban people of the Islamic faith, and thus his order had run afoul of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution. When Trump was a presidential candidate in December 2015, Chuang wrote, he had promised a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, and all of his comments since then seemed to indicate his various entry bans were meant to fulfill that promise.

After his second ban was blocked, Chuang wrote, Trump described the measure as a watered down version of his initial order, adding, we ought go back to the first one and go all the way, which is what I wanted to do in the first place. The president had then revoked and replaced his first travel ban, which had also been held up in court.

In August, with courts still weighing the second version, Chuang noted that Trump endorsed what appears to be an apocryphal story involving General John J. Pershing and a purported massacre of Muslims with bullets dipped in a pigs blood, advising people to study what General Pershing . . . did to terrorists when caught. 

[Trump said to study Gen. Pershing. Heres what the president got wrong.]

In September, as authorities worked on a new directive, Trump wrote on Twitter that the travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific  but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!

Chuang had pressed challengers at a hearing this week on what the government would have to do to make the new ban legal, and he noted in his ruling that the new directive had changed from the previous iterations. The government, for example, had undertaken a review process before issuing the new measure and had added two non-majority-Muslim countries to the banning list.

But Chuang wrote that he was unconvinced that government officials had simply relied on the results of their review and instead believed they made certain subjective determinations that resulted in a disproportionate impact on majority-Muslim nations. He wrote that the government offered no evidence, even in the form of classified information submitted to the Court, showing an intelligence-based terrorism threat justifying a ban on entire nationalities, and he asserted that even the new measure generally resembles President Trumps earlier description of the Muslim ban.

The initial announcement of the Muslim ban, offered repeatedly and explicitly through President Trumps own statements, forcefully and persuasively expressed his purpose in unequivocal terms, Chuang wrote.

The suits in federal court in Maryland had been brought by 23 people and seven organizations that said they would be harmed by the new ban.

Read more:

Why Trumps latest travel ban included these eight countries

Why did the U.S. travel ban add Chad? No one seems quite sure.

Almost no North Koreans travel to the U.S., so why ban them?
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday in Washington. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday took a swipe at China, saying it had undermined international law and norms, as he called for greater military and economic ties between the United States and India.

Well never have the same relationship with China, a nondemocratic society, that we can have with India, Tillerson said in answering a question after a speech on India at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

[Trump hails democratic bonds in meeting with Modi]

In pointed criticism of Beijing, which the United States is urging to be tougher on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, Tillerson made an unflattering comparison between the ways India and China have progressed over the past two decades.

China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order  even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations sovereignty, he said. Chinas provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the United States and India both stand for.

The United States seeks constructive relations with China, he added. But we wont shrink from Chinas challenges to the rules-based order or where China subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries and disadvantages the U.S. and our friends.

Tillersons remarks came in advance of his upcoming trip to South Asia, including a visit to New Delhi. He echoed remarks by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis before his trip to India last month, characterizing security as one of the key strategic pillars of the U.S.-India relationship.

A senior State Department official told reporters that the speech aimed to establish a foundation for U.S.-India relations over the next century. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under State Department rules for briefing reporters, said India and the United States can work with Japan and Australia to ensure democratic values triumph over Chinas growing influence in the region.

The secretary spends a lot of time dealing with problems, the official said. India is an opportunity.

Tillerson said the Trump administration seeks to dramatically deepen ties with India, including militarily. He noted India has been designated a major defense partner, which will allow the United States to sell it more defense hardware with sophisticated capabilities that Washington zealously guards, granting access only to its most trusted allies.

In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage, Tillerson said. I want to make clear  with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the United States is that partner.

Tillerson made only passing reference to Pakistan, Indias neighbor and regional rival, saying Washington expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there.

His remarks came as President Trump is preparing for a 12-day trip to five Asian nations, including China, that will focus on security and trade. The administration has taken a harder line with Beijing as Trump has grown frustrated by its inability, or unwillingness, to exert greater influence on North Korea to stop its nuclear and ballistic-missile tests.

[China watches in frustration as North Korea crisis enters dangerous spiral]

Last month, Trump signed an executive action aimed at granting the Treasury Department greater authority to impose sanctions on foreign companies that do business with Pyongyang, and the president said Chinas central bank was enacting a similar crackdown on banks in that country, which is North Koreas biggest trading partner. But experts said it was unclear whether China would follow through with the tougher rules.

The warm relationship between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped alleviate fears in New Delhi that Trumps early rapport with Chinas President Xi Jinping would draw Washington closer to Beijing.

David Nakamura contributed to this report.
President Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said.

Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Sgt. Dillon Baldridge, said that Trump called him at his home in Zebulon, N.C., a few weeks after his 22-year-old son and two fellow soldiers were fatally shot by an Afghan police officer on June 10. Their phone conversation lasted about 15 minutes, Baldridge said, and centered for a time on the father's struggle with the manner in which his son was killed  shot by someone he was training.

I said, Me and my wife would rather our son died in trench warfare,  Baldridge said. I feel like he got murdered over there.

[Latest: After delay, Trump fulfills his $25,000 promise to the father of a fallen U.S. soldier]

Trumps offer of $25,000 adds a dimension to his relationships with Gold Star families, and the disclosure follows questions about how often the president has called or written to the parents or spouses of those killed.



Chris Baldridge and his son Dillon Baldridge. (Family Photo)

The Washington Post contacted the White House about Baldridges account on Wednesday morning. Officials declined to discuss the events in detail.

But in a statement Wednesday afternoon, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said: The check has been sent. Its disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognized as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the President, and using it to advance the medias biased agenda.

It took 18 months for President Barack Obama to fulfill a similar promise made to the family of Kayla Mueller, who was killed in 2015 while she was held captive by the Islamic State in Syria. Obama's undisclosed sum, for a charity set up in Mueller's name, arrived only after a report by ABC News called attention to what the president later described as an oversight.

[12 days of silence: How Trump handled the deadliest combat incident of his presidency]

Trump said this week that he has called every family of somebody thats died, and its the hardest call to make. At least 20 Americans have been killed in action since he became commander in chief in January. The Post interviewed the families of 13. About half had received phone calls, they said. The others said they had not heard from the president.

In his call with Trump, Baldridge, a construction worker, expressed frustration with the militarys survivor benefits program. Because his ex-wife was listed as their sons beneficiary, she was expected to receive the Pentagons $100,000 death gratuity  even though I can barely rub two nickels together, he told Trump.

The presidents response shocked him.

He said, Im going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000, and I was just floored, Baldridge said. I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, No other president has ever done something like this, but he said, Im going to do it. 

The president has been on the defensive since details emerged of his phone call Tuesday with the widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed Oct. 4 along with three other U.S. soldiers in Niger. After not addressing the incident for 12 days, Trump on Monday falsely claimed that previous presidents never or rarely called the families of fallen service members. In fact, they did so regularly.

[The private life of Sgt. La David Johnson, the slain soldier ensnared in a Trump controversy]

White House officials circulated a statement of sympathy for the soldiers killed in Niger after the attack, but it was never released, Politico reported Wednesday. It is not clear why the statement was never released, but it was prepared when the Pentagon had said only that three soldiers were killed and before officials disclosed that a fourth soldier, Johnson, also was killed. His body was recovered Oct. 6, two days after the attack.

Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) said Trump called Johnsons widow, Myeshia Johnson, on Tuesday and said her husband knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway. Wilson was riding in a limousine with the widow and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

Attempts to reach Myeshia Johnson on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Trump denied the allegation Wednesday, saying in a tweet that Wilson had totally fabricated what happened and that he had proof. But the soldiers childhood guardian, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Post that she also was in the car when Trump called, and said that President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband.

Trump later expanded his denial, saying that he did not say what Wilson alleged and that she knows it.

He added: I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was  sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people arent too surprised to hear that.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president, saying in a news briefing that Trump was completely respectful during the call. Several White House officials, including Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, were in the room at the time, she said.

In all, seven Gold Star families contacted by The Post said they have had phone conversations with Trump. Most said they appreciated the gesture. Four other families said they have not received a call and were upset. One said Trump had not called but that they knew the late soldier would not want his death politicized. An additional family said it had corresponded with the White House but declined to elaborate.

The Associated Press reached one other family, that of Army Spec. Etienne Murphy, 22. His mother said she received neither a call nor a letter from the president.

Baldridge said that after the president made his $25,000 offer, he joked with Trump that he would bail him out if he got arrested for helping. The White House has done nothing else other than send a condolence letter from Trump, the father said.

I opened it up and read it, and I was hoping to see a check in there, to be honest, the father said. I know it was kind of far-fetched thinking. But I was like, Damn, no check. Just a letter saying Im sorry. 

The experiences of other Gold Star families were more typical.

The family of Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, a 23-year-old Army Ranger killed April 27 in a raid on the Islamic State in Afghanistan, met with Vice President Pence at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the soldiers casket arrived from overseas. They had a 20-minute call with Trump about two weeks later, said Thomass father, Andre.

He gave his condolences and made some comments how different his paperwork was when it went across his desk, the father said in a phone interview. Said most of the paperwork he sees in these types of death says, Hes respected by his peers. He said Camerons stuck out because it said he was respected and loved by his peers.

Thomas said he spoke at length about his sons love for the Army and his determination to become a Ranger, a distinction he earned at age 19. About midway through the phone call, Thomas said he told Trump that he had voted for him, and that got him on another tangent that extended the conversation for about 10 minutes.

The president then spoke about his work in office and the strides that hes made in the short time hed been president, Thomas said.

Thomas said the family was touched by the phone call. The father of a Mormon family with 12 children, seven of them adopted, Thomas said he was concerned about the attention that his sons death could bring. But talking to the president helped him put things in perspective and realize that his son belonged to the country.

Politics is politics, and maybe some people wouldnt care to hear from him, he said. But putting politics aside, it does mean a lot to a family, their child.

William J. Lee, 40, said his entire family spoke by phone with Trump after his brother, Army 1st Lt. Weston Lee, 25, was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29.

He was very cordial and very nice, Lee said, of the call, which he said lasted about five or six minutes.

Lee said the president spoke to them about how impressive my brother was, how he had read the reports, reading everything about Weston, and he could tell how amazing he was. And talking to us, he could tell how strong we were and how strong he must have been. We were all pretty devastated.

It meant something, the leader of our nation calling us and showing the honor and respect to my brother that I feel my brother earned, Lee said, his voice cracking.

Quinn Butler, whose 27-year-old brother, Aaron, was killed in August by an explosion in Afghanistan, said that their parents received numerous letters from generals and other leaders, but no call or letter from Trump.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, a Special Forces soldier, was very supportive of Trump and appreciative for what he has done for the military, his brother said. Quinn Butler said his brother believed that Trump helped initiate some changes that have enabled commanders to make more progress against the militants in Afghanistan.

Butler said that he was surprised that his parents did not receive a call from Trump, considering his brother was a very elite soldier, a soldier who had given everything. But he said that the soldier would not want his death politicized.

I think that Aaron would be very upset if anything was manipulated to show that he didnt support Trump and that he wasnt appreciative of the things that he did do, because he was, the brother said.

Euvince Brookss son, Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, was killed Aug. 13 in Iraq. He has not heard from the White House. The presidents claim this week that he had called every military family to lose a son or daughter only upset the Brooks family more.

Brooks said that after watching the news on Tuesday night he wanted to set up a Twitter account to try to get the presidents attention.

I said to my daughter, Can you teach me to tweet, so I can tweet at the president and tell him hes a liar? he said. You know when you hear people lying, and you want to fight? Thats the way I feel last night. Hes a damn liar.

Julie Tate, Anne Gearan and Kristine Phillips contributed to this report.

Read more:

Inside Trumps decision to send more troops to Afghanistan

Death of U.S. soldier in Afghanistan highlights the evolving role of conventional combat troops there
Ksenia Sobchak, shown here in 2012, gained her celebrity status by hosting a TV show. She announced her candidacy for the Russian presidency on Wednesday. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Ksenia Sobchak  the socialite, journalist, former opposition figure and daughter of Vladimir Putin's political mentor  announced her candidacy for president Wednesday, courting a protest vote in a presidential bid that appeared to get official approval from the Kremlin.

In a campaign statement in the Russian daily Vedomosti that barely mentioned Putin and focused instead on public dissatisfaction with Russian politics, she said that she was "outside of ideology" and not a fan of Russia's annexation of Crimea (though she denied being against it).

I am against all,  she wrote, announcing her candidacy. You are not for Sobchak, you are voting against all  against Yavlinsky, Zyuganov, and Putin. The first two refer to opposition candidates Grigory Yavlinsky and Gennady Zyuganov. Putin, who has not announced his candidacy despite the elections being less than six months off, has been president or prime minister of Russia since 1999.

[Putin stays silent on whether hell seek reelection]

In the past six months, Russia has seen a rise in protest sentiment among young people in high school and college, and the government is looking to channel that anger into a safe political movement. Those young protesters were largely inspired by the anti-corruption whistleblower and protest leader Alexei Navalny, who has been disqualified from running by multiple felony charges that he claims are politically motivated.

Sobchak announced her candidacy on the independent TV Rain channel. Half an hour earlier, Dmitry Peskov, Putins personal spokesman, told the channel that her candidacy was seen as legitimate by the Kremlin.

If I understand correctly, Ksenia fully falls under the provision of our Constitution, he said. She is a Russian citizen who, according to the Constitution, may run for president, naturally, after the completion of all necessary procedures and formalities, which are also spelt out in our laws.

The New Times, a liberal Moscow weekly that reported her candidacy several hours before it became official Wednesday, suggested that Sobchak was hoping to break back onto federal television channels, where she had made her name before being banned because of her political views. Her participation will probably split the protest vote, drawing from Navalny supporters, the magazine said.

Sobchak is the daughter of Anatoly Sobchak, the former St. Petersburg mayor who hired a young Putin as his deputy mayor in the tumultuous 1990s. It has been rumored, though never confirmed, that Ksenia Sobchak is Putins goddaughter.

Sobchaks father died in 2000. Her mother, Lydumila Narusova, is a former member of Russias upper house of parliament. Sobchak, who is not backed by a political party, must collect 300,000 signatures to register as an independent candidate. She has an Instagram account with 5.2 million followers and is a regular guest at black-tie events.

Putin has not said that he plans to step down. He has been in power since New Years Eve 1999, when President Boris Yeltsin announced he was stepping down. Putin, who has shuffled between the presidency and the role of prime minister, has been in power for more than 6,630 days, a month longer than former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnevs 6,601 days in office.

A powerful oligarch, Mikhail Prokhorov, stepped in as a liberal candidate during the 2012 presidential elections, when he captured 8 percent of the vote as an independent. Some thought his candidacy was welcomed by the Kremlin, making Putins inevitable victory appear more legitimate. Despite taking third place in those elections, Prokhorov has since exited politics. Other candidates have run consistently since 1996 with little success. Putin has regularly won more than 60 percent of the vote and often more than 70 percent.

Sobchak spoke during the 2011 and 2012 white ribbon protests against Putin, which brought 100,000 people onto the streets in protest of alleged vote rigging and Putins return to the presidency in 2011. But she has limited her role in politics since then, largely focusing on a television show on the independent (and often opposition) channel TV Rain, while working on other private projects.

She first gained fame for her role on the Russian "Big Brother" takeoff "Dom-2," or "House-2," where contestants from across Russia live in a house together and viewers can watch their daily lives.

Read more

Can Russia have a Bernie revolution? A Sanders campaign veteran says hes trying.

Kremlin critic Navalny gets 20 days in jail, calls it a birthday present for Putin

Putin becomes longest-serving Russian leader since Stalin

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
WSU Documentary Highlights Power of Global Engagement

October 18, 2017

OGDEN, Utah  Two new classrooms, a library, new books and a latrine are making life and education more accessible for the children of the Eduardo Mondlane Secondary School in Mozambique. A documentary chronicling the Weber State University group that made the improvements possible will premiere Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Browning Center Austad Auditorium. The public is invited to the free screening and panel discussion that will follow. To reserve a seat, visit bit.do/windowsofchange.

The 58-minute documentary, Windows of Change, was produced by Weber State digital media advisor Drew Tyler and his wife, communication instructor Stacey Cragun Tyler. Their work captures the powerful bonds established between Weber State volunteers and residents of the Mahubo village on the southeast corner of Mozambique.

It's not very often you get to work on a project that has such a profound effect on your outlook on life, Drew said. This documentary has opened my eyes to the value of serving others and the joy that can come from it. It has restored my faith in humanity. There are amazing people in the world both here and abroad. Having the opportunity to capture and share that story with others is both exciting and rewarding.

The trip was organized in conjunction with a broad collaboration of Weber State groups as part of the Global Community Engaged Learning program (GCEL). The group selected the Mondlane school and agreed to construct two classrooms and a library  the latrine was added as a last-minute request, just as the WSU group was preparing to leave Mozambique.

The expansion allows the crowded school of 400 to offer two additional years of education, extending instruction through the 12th grade.

The reason I take students out of the Utah bubble is to show them there is a world outside with people who have the same needs, the same desires, the same wants, said Julie Rich, associate dean of the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences and trip organizer. You cant get that in a classroom. I hope students look around and observe and come home with a greater appreciation for what they enjoy as the privileged 1 percent of the world.

A contest held in September 2016 with Weber States interior design, construction management and design engineering technology students produced the building renderings, which included the floor plan, elevations, color scheme and a design element of a large and colorful tree painted on the exterior plaster.

Once they had the design, a team of 31 volunteers participated in extensive trip planning and preparation. They attended a class taught by Rich and her colleagues Jeremy Farner, design engineering technology associate professor, and Mike Moon, Center for Community Engaged Learning assistant director. They studied Mozambique geography and culture, researched poverty and effective ways of providing humanitarian service. They learned construction design techniques and participated in hands-on experiences by mixing mortar and concrete, then building and stuccoing cinder block walls. They also raised $57,000 to cover construction costs.

The Weber State group traveled to Mozambique May 11, 2017. Residents of the village and students at the school joined to help with the physical labor required. When the project was completed, most of the community turned out for the May 27 dedication.

In the documentary, students and administrators of the Mondlane school explain how two classrooms and a library will make a meaningful, lasting impact on their village.

If people could understand that sometimes its better to help in education, said Nera Nhanombe, an English teacher at the Mondlane school. When you do something like that, you are giving a tool to people that allows them to do something in the future.

Stacey Tyler said she hopes watching students from Weber State help make a better future for students in Mozambique will inspire others to become engaged world citizens.

In terms of dreams, the students I interviewed wanted the same things I want for my children: a good education that will help them become successful adults in the community and in the workplace, Stacey said. It was an honor to meet these people and learn about them and see how they interacted and worked with us. It's something I'll never forget.

A second screening of the documentary is scheduled Nov. 13 at 2:30 in the Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater. The event is free, and the public is welcome.

Visit http://weber.edu/ccel/global.html to learn more about next years project. Visit these links to view the 1-minute trailers:

https://youtu.be/xefIyeBdypw

https://youtu.be/RWJaJNjPYNI

https://youtu.be/uStaSll6JtY

For photos, visit the following links:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/October/i-55Fkqtx/0/24bf0311/X2/IMG_7952-X2.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/October/i-M5KStm5/0/61b2af2b/X2/hand2-X2.png

https://photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/October/i-NRLWCkz/0/ca32d9e6/X2/freeze%20frame-X2.png

https://photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2017-photos/October/i-GDKDjT2/0/78212e57/X2/DSC00811-X2.jpg

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Eco-touring fun in Far North Queensland

I passed a hitchhiker on the highway once, stars and stripes on his backpack, socks and sandals on his feet and, in his hands, a sign saying The Reef. He didnt need any more explanation as to his destination; he just needed someone with a penchant for his particular company over the next 2000km.

One of our iconic natural wonders, The Reef has always been on my bucket list. However, when I found myself pinned to the wall by a Pommy backpacker tout in Cairns who presented me with a dozen different options of how to be shepherded onto a boat with upwards of 100 others and chugged out to a well-trodden pontoon, I began to wonder whether there was another way.

A week later, I find myself climbing aboard Big Mama, a 60-foot sailing boat, where a shell-beaded Lisa ushers me and 11 other guests below deck into the family kitchen to help ourselves to a cuppa and scones. Taking mine upstairs, I locate a beanbag on the top hull and snuggle in for the 90-minute sail out to the reef.

Chartering from Mission Beach, 140km south of Cairns, this three-person sailing crew of mum Lisa, dad Stu and 10-year-old Fletcher  all equally brown-skinned and blonde-haired  are tour guides about as down to earth (or ocean) as you could find.

The ocean is calm and the sea breeze just cool enough to make the sun into a shawl. Coco, the tiny sea dog, nestles in beside me. Im almost asleep when the call of Whale! jolts me upright in time to see two forked humpback tails splash in unison.

Lisa comes over to chat. Since meeting Stu 20 years ago its been life on the open seas, sailing and racing throughout Australia and Asia. Fletcher sits behind me doing his maths homework. Without a land base, Big Mama is Home, school and workplace.

The sail is so enjoyable I almost forget about the destination. Like a migratory bird finding its way back to the same tree, Stu drops anchor at his pick of reef in what appears to be open ocean.

Its intuitive, Lisa says. He grew up on boats.

Im handed snorkel and goggles (fins can damage the coral) and suddenly Im in there  The Reef  and its more spectacular than Id imagined.

Im handed a snorkel and goggles (fins can damage the coral) and suddenly Im in there  The Reef  and its more spectacular than Id imagined, a riot of colours, shapes, textures and sounds. Giant purple clams, schools of fluorescent blue fish at my fingertips, tiny spirals of fringed animals that recoil on touch  its as bright and strange as an animation.

Homebound, the wind picks up and the spinnaker is raised. Without an engine, we fall silent and rest in the flap of sail, the swish of water against hull, in the captivating simplicity of life at sea.

Some nights when whales breach in phosphorescence and you can hear the fizz of shooting stars, its just magic, Stu says.

The fishing line dragging behind us brings in a large Spanish mackerel, lunch for tomorrows guests.

Ive seen the reef, but Ive also had a peek into a way of life as free as the winds this family travels on.

Natures offerings

Far North Queensland is home to two World Heritage hotspots  the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforests  and visitors can find themselves trapped inside a tourist town rather than immersed in the wild nature they came to see.

Scratch a bit beneath the tinsel, though, and the traveller intent on an authentic eco-experience amid the jungles, reefs and white-sand beaches can find an adventure.

In & around The Daintree

Our Daintree dreaming list went something like this: immersed in wild nature but with a touch of luxury, no mobile reception, healthy food cooked for us, hammocks, croc-free freshwater swimming holes close by as well as secluded beaches, walking trails enough to satisfy my desire for adventure, massage and yoga classes.

Soon I was no longer a landlubber but out on the deep blue, equidistant between two green spires of land, my arms, like fins, my only means of travel.

The boxes were ticked shortly upon arrival at Prema Shanti Yoga and Meditation Centre in the heart of the Daintree. Two wide hammocks swung invitingly on a large wooden verandah overlooking lush tropical rainforest. The nearby swimming hole was so blue it could have been Photoshopped.

Every morning the 10 or so guests gathered in the yoga hall to meditate before breakfast; we met again in the evening for a yoga class before crossing our legs under the long wooden outdoor table where the hearty vegetarian dinner was served.

Meeting the others became part of the experience. Rather than an anonymous holiday hotel, this felt like a kind of yoga retreat, with all of us, including the owners Janardhan and Mara, stretching, aumming and dining together.

While I could have easily spent the week mooching between hammock, library, waterhole and yoga mat, exploration of the Daintree beckoned. Each day I ventured out to find a new walking trail, doubly glad when I returned for the evening stretch and delicious curry and a mobile phone silent and still.

Top eco picks

Walkabout Cultural Adventures offers boutique rooms, a yoga temple, a meditation room, library, bikes for hire, a network of rainforest tracks and a long stretch of safe freshwater swimming holes, plus of course a seven-day-a-week program of yoga and meditation classes and vegetarian dinners.

offers boutique rooms, a yoga temple, a meditation room, library, bikes for hire, a network of rainforest tracks and a long stretch of safe freshwater swimming holes, plus of course a seven-day-a-week program of yoga and meditation classes and vegetarian dinners. Mount Sorrow Walk. Captain Cook didnt have such a lush time of it up in FNQ. Cape Tribulation was so named when his ship Endeavour ran aground on a reef in 1770; nearby Mount Sorrow was similarly named in a fit of despondency. The walk to the top however is stunning and relatively quiet. The 7km trail climbs from the coastal lowlands of Cape Tribulation up the rainforest-clad ridge to a lookout offering views of the coastline, Snapper Island and beyond. Allow 46 hours.

Captain Cook didnt have such a lush time of it up in FNQ. Cape Tribulation was so named when his ship Endeavour ran aground on a reef in 1770; nearby Mount Sorrow was similarly named in a fit of despondency. The walk to the top however is stunning and relatively quiet. The 7km trail climbs from the coastal lowlands of Cape Tribulation up the rainforest-clad ridge to a lookout offering views of the coastline, Snapper Island and beyond. Allow 46 hours. Walkabout Cultural Adventures is an Indigenous-owned and -operated cultural tour company in the Daintree. Juan, a Kuku Yalanji guide, offers half-day or full-day adventures along the coastline and rainforest, sharing the knowledge and understanding the Kuku Yalanji people have of the land and sea.

is an Indigenous-owned and -operated cultural tour company in the Daintree. Juan, a Kuku Yalanji guide, offers half-day or full-day adventures along the coastline and rainforest, sharing the knowledge and understanding the Kuku Yalanji people have of the land and sea. The Botanical Ark. The lifes work of Alan and Susan Carle, The Botanical Ark is one of the worlds greatest collections of tropical ethnobotanical plants, boasting more than 3000 tropical species that Indigenous rainforest cultures use including fruit, spices and nuts. The private villa accommodation is limited to eight guests, who also enjoy a private beach and freshwater swimming hole.

In & around Mission Beach

Two hours drive south of Cairns, we found a little piece of paradise at Mission Beach. The gateway to a string of tropical islands along the Cassowary Coast, Mission also backs onto the pristine World Heritage rainforest at the Clump Mountain National Park. While well equipped for tourists, the town maintains a low-key village feel  Byron Bay 20 years ago  with plenty of opportunities to explore the natural Beauty.

Paradise was even sweeter a few beaches north of the main Mission Beach, when we discovered Bingil Bay campsite. This is what wed travelled 2000km for, tumbling out of bed and straight onto a quintessential tropical beach to watch the hibiscus-red sunrise while resting against a coconut tree.

When the opportunity came to swap my land legs for a sea kayak and paddle out to Dunk Island, I didnt hesitate.

The day dawned so still I could see my reflection in the water. Soon I was no longer a landlubber but out on the deep blue, equidistant between two green spires of land, my arms, like fins, my only means of Travel. David, our guide from Coral Sea Kayaks, directed us first to a mangrove sandbank between two islands, inaccessible to even the smallest of dinghies. A turtle darted mere metres in front and a pair of pied oystercatchers raised the alarm over our heads, close as we must have been to their nest.

Its a booby, called David, seeing me crane my neck to glimpse an unfamiliar sea bird.

We rounded the white-sand coast to Dunk Island  named, David informed us, after the second Earl of Halifax, George Montague Dunk, when Cook sailed past the island on June 9, 1770. David turned out to be a wealth of both naturalist and historical knowledge of the area and a passionate advocate for conservation of his local patch of paradise.

Rather than an anonymous holiday hotel, this felt like a kind of yoga retreat, with all of us, including the owners, stretching, aumming and dining together.

I was amazed to hear that the canopy of green that covers the island was stripped bare by cyclone Yasi only five years ago. The damaged rooftops from the abandoned resort could still be seen from the water.

We landed on a small bay for lunch and a snorkel. Like the tourist industry, the coral suffered badly from the cyclone but I was still enthralled by the variety of fish finding life among the ruins.

An onshore wind whipped up on the way back. The great wilderness of Hinchinbrook Island lay long and shadowy as a sleeping whale to the south.

Were heading out there for a seven-day paddle on Sunday, David said. Wanna come?

Id love to, I said wistfully. Next time.

Top eco picks

Coral Sea Kayaking offers ecologically sound paddling trips ranging from short half-day sea-kayaking tours to week-long wilderness expeditions, group charters and private sea kayak hire.

offers ecologically sound paddling trips ranging from short half-day sea-kayaking tours to week-long wilderness expeditions, group charters and private sea kayak hire. Big Mama is a family-operated sailing business operating out of Mission Beach offering a range of sailing expeditions from day-long reef snorkels to overnights private groups of up to six. Big Mama operates between April and January.

is a family-operated sailing business operating out of Mission Beach offering a range of sailing expeditions from day-long reef snorkels to overnights private groups of up to six. Big Mama operates between April and January. Sanctuary Retreat is an affordable and unique rainforest eco-lodge and yoga retreat set on 50 acres of natural tropical rainforest near Mission Beach. Less than 2.5 per cent of the land area is actually used for the hotel, the rest set aside under a perpetual Conservation Agreement for wildlife preservation. As such, it is one of the most likely places to see a cassowary, for which I can vouch. The 15-minute rainforest walk from the carpark to the retreat centre delivered my first up-close encounter with the rare bird. As well as a wilderness experience, Sanctuary is also Australias biggest yoga retreat centre with yoga schools from all over Australia running retreats year round. Accommodation is rainforest huts or deluxe canopy cabins. As well as being spacious and quiet, Sanctuary has a homely feel, with a communal kitchen, library and outdoor dining area offering a view of the ocean.

is an affordable and unique rainforest eco-lodge and yoga retreat set on 50 acres of natural tropical rainforest near Mission Beach. Less than 2.5 per cent of the land area is actually used for the hotel, the rest set aside under a perpetual Conservation Agreement for wildlife preservation. As such, it is one of the most likely places to see a cassowary, for which I can vouch. The 15-minute rainforest walk from the carpark to the retreat centre delivered my first up-close encounter with the rare bird. As well as a wilderness experience, Sanctuary is also Australias biggest yoga retreat centre with yoga schools from all over Australia running retreats year round. Accommodation is rainforest huts or deluxe canopy cabins. As well as being spacious and quiet, Sanctuary has a homely feel, with a communal kitchen, library and outdoor dining area offering a view of the ocean. Bingil Beach Cafe. A visit to Mission Beach isnt complete without a visit to the locals favourite, Bingil Beach cafe. Decked out like a hippy beach shack from the 70s, the Bingil Bay Cafe is a place to spend hours writing postcards, reading a book, checking out the local art, chatting to the family owners and indulging in the delicious home-cooked delights, great coffee, fresh juices and beer from around the globe. The kitchen is open from 7am to 8.30pm every day.

In & around Cairns

A trip to Cairns isnt complete without a visit to the iconic Rustys fresh food market. Youll think youre in Asia with the hullaballoo of fruit sellers and coconut vendors. Open Friday to Sunday, if you plan your visit in time for the Sunday closing, youll soon find yourself loaded up with boxes of avocados, custard apples, black sapotes and dragonfruit.

In the mountains above Cairns lies the popular tourist destination of Kuranda. For a true retreat, consider a week at the raw vegan sanctuary that is Fairyland House. Owner and fruitarian Zalan offers a range of escapes including yoga, massage, meditation and, of course, as much tropical fruit as you can eat. Check out Airbnb for details.

Venture a bit further inland and explore the beautiful (and infinitely cooler) Atherton Tablelands. Visit the biodynamic Mungali Farm, home to one of the best yoghurts in the country. For a true wildlife experience, consider staying at The Canopy Treehouses near Tarzali. With six treehouses set in 100 acres of rainforest located on the Cairns Highlands, this eco-rainforest resort blends award-winning luxury accommodation with a passionate regard for environmental and wildlife principles.
It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of...
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This article was published 18/10/2017 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba activist who survived human trafficking and buried a cousin killed in a carjacking flatly dismissed the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls as a failure on Tuesday.

The second day of weeklong hearings in Winnipeg began with the blistering indictment and wrapped up with a mother interrupting questioning to insist, I just want to tell my daughters story.

In between, the inquiry heard from two community advocates who picked up the same theme: Indigenous people are left to eke out lives of despair on the margins of society. However, they are demanding space to be heard, not just at the inquiry, but at all levels of public life in Canada.

The international community is watching. Canada is watching. And when the world is watching, its not the time to cut corners, Leah Gazan said at hearings that continue through Friday at the downtown Radisson hotel.

In calling for the commission to better support families and listen more closely to their calls for change, the Winnipeg-based advocate warned people will show up to testify whether the inquiry is ready for them or not.

Go to the communities. Ask, what do you need? Dont wait for them to come to you. We forget how to nurture in bureaucracies but (if you do), youll have a lot more faith in this inquiry, she said.

Gazan spearheaded a national social media campaign called #WeCare in the lead-up to Ottawas announcement of the inquiry a year ago. It drew hundreds of Canadians who posted selfies in of support Indigenous women and the inquiry.

Tuesdays meetings began with Alaya McIvor, who tours Canada as an advocate for Indigenous women and girls, two-spirited and transgender people. A survivor of human trafficking, her family calls her aunticle to honour her status as a two-spirited human being.

This is supposed to be our inquiry. Not your inquiry. No family should be left behind, McIvor testified. You should not be denying any family here or in any other Canadian city or give them an ultimatum saying, We might come back. I dont believe in this. Im sitting here because of my auntie. She believed in this inquiry.

McIvor talked about helping organize a walk to raise awareness about violence against First Nations women after her cousin, Roberta McIvor, was killed.

We walked to Toronto and then to Parliament Hill (in Ottawa) with six caskets, with thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous womens names on them, McIvor said. This is not what I walked across Canada for.

In Winnipeg, more than 75 relatives of missing and murdered women are expected to testify  and more are coming forward each day. There are two rooms set aside for public hearings, as well as hearings in private sessions.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Barb Houle, mother of Cherisse Houle who was was found dead in Sturgeon Creek in 2009, is comforted by friends and family members as she talks about her daughter during the MMIW inquiry at the Radisson Hotel Tuesday.

One of the four commissioners sat throughout the public hearings on Tuesday. Michele Audette is a former president of the Native Womens Association of Canada, which led sustained calls for a national inquiry. She expressed sympathy for the families.

What I want to say is Im sitting here, honoured to watch and receive your collective truth and Im very sincere (about that), Audette said. She told the McIvors they were blessed to have a strong advocate to speak up for their family.

Many families dont have that. They are voiceless.

McIvor was scheduled twice Tuesday, first to testify about her early life being exploited by human trafficking and then about her slain cousin.

Roberta McIvor, 32, was found decapitated on the side of a road in 2011 on Sandy Bay First Nation in Manitoba. Within a year, two teenage girls in the Ojibway community were jailed in the horrendous carjacking and both pleaded guilty to manslaughter in McIvors death.

The crime pitted neighbour against neighbour and left a devastating impact on the entire family.

I forced myself to finish school and I got out of there as fast as I could. It just doesnt feel like home anymore, McIvors daughter, Justine Strong, told the hearings.

Later, Barb Houle testified about the death of her daughter, Cherisse Houle, 17, a ward of child and family services who was found dead in Sturgeon Creek on the citys outskirts in 2009.

Houle also redirected a commission lawyer leading her testimony by quietly interrupting and insisting, I just want to tell my daughters story.

Houle then described how child welfare workers intervened in a custody dispute with her ex-husband and how their family and Cherisses life spiralled out of control from there, until her daughter died. Her son was killed a year later.

For the Houle family, the portrayal of Cherisse in the media after her death as a drug addict and a prostitute was the final straw in a lifetime of being dehumanized.

This is a cycle of abuse that needs to change. We dont wake up every day to do drugs and neglect our kids Were always looked at like were nothing and that needs to change, said Houles cousin, Elexcyus Kramble.

Cherisse had a great big smile You could be in the worst mood and shed walk in and youd forget what you were upset about and thats what needs to be remembered.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 18/10/2017 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man with mental illness who stabbed his wife to death shortly after immigrating to Canada in 2012 has been found not criminally responsible.

Teklu Mebrahtu was suffering a mental disorder in January 2012 when he stabbed his wife Alche Kidane, 34, and did not believe that what he had done was morally wrong, said Court of Queens Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg.

The couple from Eritrea had lived in Canada for just five months when Mebrahtu stabbed his wife 12 times, left her in the bathtub of their downtown Winnipeg apartment suite, and phoned 911 to report hed killed her. Mebrahtu was charged with second-degree murder.

SUPPLIED Alche Fsehaye Kidane was 34 when she was killed.

In summarizing her decision Wednesday, Greenberg said the defence conceded that Mebrahtu caused his wifes death and the Crown conceded he was suffering from a mental disorder. The only contentious issue was whether he knew it was morally wrong. Greenberg said she was convinced that Mebrahtu  who the Crown conceded was suffering psychosis and paranoid delusions at the time  believed that his actions were morally justified.

Defence lawyer Wendy Martin White had argued Mebrahtus delusions  particularly his belief his wife was trying to poison him  led him to kill her.

He felt he was morally justified in doing what he had done, his lawyer told the court during his trial.

An interpreter was in court Wednesday morning explaining the judges decision to Mebrahtu, who was shackled and led into court by two sheriffs officers. Mebrahtu remains in custody and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Court heard earlier that he spent four months in the psychiatric ward at Health Sciences Centre while in custody and received electric-shock treatment to bring him out of a reported catatonic state. The judge granted the Crown prosecutors request for a DNA order on Mebrahtu.
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This article was published 18/10/2017 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:QkuWtuRr:wfpvideo

One of Winnipegs most notorious criminal cases may forever remain an unresolved mystery after Mark Grant was found not guilty for the 1984 abduction and killing of 13-year-old Candace Derksen.

Court of Queens Bench Justice Karen Simonsen said Wednesday the Crown had failed to adequately prove its second-degree murder case, leaving her no choice but to set Grant free. She said believing someone might be guilty, or even probably is guilty, isnt enough to meet the high standard required by law.

Fundamentally, the totality of the evidence that I accept, its cumulative effect, falls short of the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, Simonsen wrote in her 130-page decision.

Candace Derksen

Outside court, both Cliff and Wilma Derksen said they were thankful to the justice system despite the outcome. They praised police, the Crown and the judge for their hard work and tenacity.

Wilma said she hopes the Crown doesnt launch an appeal and this represents the final chapter in this legal saga.

You know its been 33 years. This just means its over for us, the process is over. In that its a relief, said Wilma. Of course there was a bit of disappointment that it didnt arrive at the conclusion that we had personally arrived at. Thats going to be a little hard to come to grips with.

Grant, 53, was first arrested in 2007  more than 22 years after Candace was found frozen to death in a Winnipeg lumber yard shed following a massive public search that spanned nearly six weeks. She went missing Nov. 30, 1984, on her way home from school in Elmwood.

The abandoned shack where Candace Derksen's frozen body was found on Jan 17, 1985. (Ken Gigliotti / Winnipeg Free Press files)

The so-called smoking gun in the case was believed to be DNA evidence which police believed pointed the finger of blame directly at Grant, a career criminal with a history of violent, sexual offences.

Grant went on trial before a jury in 2011 and was found guilty. However, the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial. The high court ruled the trial judge erred by not allowing the jury to hear evidence that could have pointed to another suspect, and took into account potential frailties of DNA evidence linking Grant to the crime.

Grants retrial ended this past May, with Crown prosecutor Brent Davidson conceding there were major issues with the DNA evidence that had consumed so much of the trial  in both the way it was handled at the scene and the way it was eventually re-tested and processed. Simonsen heard from more than a dozen witnesses and many hours worth of dense, DNA-focused scientific testimony over the course of six weeks.

Mark Edward Grant had "no comment" about Candace Derksen's slaying when interviewed by police.

The DNA recovered from slightly more than four metres of twine used to bind Candaces wrists and ankles  leaving her hog-tied in the storage shed as she froze to death  was heavily criticized by expert geneticists called to testify by Grants defence lawyer Saul Simmonds. The results of a third DNA test on twine extracts pointed to Grant; the first two came back inconclusive. Two internationally recognized DNA experts testified the DNA analysis  completed by Molecular World lab director Amarjit Chahal  was fatally flawed and scientifically corrupt.

On the last day of Grants retrial, the Crown conceded the judge shouldnt rely on the DNA results extracted from the twine, but argued the case turns on more than DNA, suggesting Grant had the means and opportunity to kill Candace.

That argument ultimately fell short.

For 10 years hes been maintaining his innocence. Unfortunately this is a system that sometimes doesnt listen. Mark Grants lawyer, Saul Simmonds

The DNA testing results and conclusions are fraught with difficulty. The DNA testing results are unreliable and, therefore, of no value to the Crown, Simonsen wrote.

Simonsen also dismissed a Crown witness who testified she was threatened by Grant in 1988 after she heard him confess to killing Candace. Tonia Lachance, who was then a friend of Grants girlfriend, said she heard Grant say I killed her during a group discussion about Candace.

A couple of seconds later he added, No, I didnt. Im just kidding, she testified. Lachance said Grant later threatened her not to tell anyone about the remark, or hed do to me what he did to Candace. She didnt speak to the police about it for 19 years. The Crown said her fear of Grant explains why she didnt come forward sooner.

I have real concerns about the credibility of Ms. Lachances evidence about Mr. Grants comments; I am not satisfied of its truthfulness. Even if she was sincere, having genuinely convinced herself that these events occurred, I would question the accuracy of her recollections, Simonsen wrote.

Simonsen also had to deal with another key issue, namely that of a then-12-year-old girl who claimed she was abducted and tied up in a boxcar in similar fashion to Candace nine months later. The woman, whose name is protected by a court order, wasnt allowed to be heard by jurors in the first trial which was a big part of the successful appeal. In this second trial, her testimony was allowed. Although Simonsen expressed concerns about the womans credibility  shes previously recanted her story in a pre-trial hearing and now says she was lying about lying  the judge made no findings either way because of finding reasonable doubt on the rest of the evidence.

Grant has been in custody since his arrest a decade ago. He was expected to be released late Wednesday to begin what his lawyer said would be a very difficult transition.

He obviously has got a lot of time to catch up on. He has to put his life back together. Hes in a position in which hes been sitting in custody for 10 years and realistically for DNA that has been flawed from the outset, Simmonds said outside court. For 10 years hes been maintaining his innocence. Unfortunately this is a system that sometimes doesnt listen.

I ache for everybody out there who wants to believe in the justice system and I think it looks as if its failed again. But I think as far as resolution goes, I think all of us can resolve to be better people, better parents. Wilma Derksen

Simmonds said the fact a jury convicted his client on essentially the same evidence Simonsen has now acquitted speaks to the appreciation of trying to explain DNA to the layman is not an easy thing to do.

The Crown has 30 days to decide whether they wish to appeal Simonsens decision. Simmonds said theyd face an uphill battle after conceding the DNA evidence is flawed.

My heart goes out to anyone who loses a child, as Im sure everyone else feels. The Derksens have lost a child and I cant in any way replace that. Nor can anyone, said Simmonds. The sad thing is that sometimes in our zeal to try and find someone responsible, we sometimes go the wrong way. Thats whats happened in this case.

The Derksens said Wednesdays outcome doesnt change anything about Candace.

Wilma Derksen wipes away tears at her daughter's funeral in January 1985. (Ken Gigliotti / Winnipeg Free Press files)

We know that her legacy now continues to live. And thats what important to us, said Wilma. She said the major concern now is public safety, considering Grant is going to return to society where he clearly hasnt functioned well throughout most of his life.

We want safety for our children. Weve experienced what its like to have an unsafe community, said Wilma, adding shes hoping for the best. You know in some ways, I hope hes been given a second chance. And Im hoping the clarity weve had will be there for him.

The family honoured Candace Wednesday night at their home with family and friends by lighting 33 candles, one for every year that has passed since her death.

Theres no resolution in the legal sense, thats true. But we know what we know, said Cliff. Im sure it was very difficult for her but she made the call that she had to make, so I respect that.

It has been a real precious journey of learning so much. We cherish the journey of 33 years, said Wilma. I ache for everybody out there who wants to believe in the justice system and I think it looks as if its failed again. But I think as far as resolution goes, I think all of us can resolve to be better people, better parents.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

r__v__grant_2017_mbqb_176

Posters were put up around the city seeking information on Candace Derksen's disappearance. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files) Pallbearers carry Candace Derksen's casket to the gravesite though blowing snow on Jan. 24, 1985. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files)
Opinion

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This article was published 18/10/2017 (1854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a revelation at last weeks labour arbitration hearing between the citys ambulance paramedics union and city hall that raised eyebrows and raised the question of who, if anyone, is in charge of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS).

Troy Reidy, vice president of Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU) Local 911 and the unions only witness, had been grousing about the close relationship Fire Paramedic Chief John Lane seems to have with rival union leader Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg (UFFW). Reidy cited a July 28 visit by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the citys busiest fire station, on Osborne Street, complaining that paramedics hadnt been invited to join the firefighters.

When Lane took the stand on Thursday afternoon, city lawyer John Jacobs asked him about Trudeaus visit. To the surprise of many, including arbitrator Arne Peltz, Lane said Forrest had organized the visit without getting prior approval from Lane or any other senior WFPS manager.

According to the UFFW website, the great chefs on two shift treated the Prime Minister and his daughter to a great firehall lunch. (Photo: uffw.ca)

Lane said he found out about it only after the fact, in a text message from Forrest.

Peltz, a veteran labour arbitrator, interrupted Lanes testimony to make sure he understood what Lane had said: a visit by the prime minister to the citys busiest fire station had been arranged by the president of the firefighters union, without the prior knowledge or consent of the chief or any other senior member of the chiefs management team.

Forrest and the firefighters appeared to be quite proud of the PMs visit. According to a post on the UFFW website, Trudeau, his young daughter Ella and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr were given a tour of the station, and then the firefighters talked to Trudeau and Carr about their role as firefighters and paramedics. Later, the guests were treated to a homemade lunch at the station, courtesy of the firefighters.

There were lots of photos of everyone involved.

The prime minister doesnt just drop in unannounced. Security is tight. The RCMP usually sends a canine unit to sniff for bombs ahead of the prime ministers visit. The security team wants to know the names of the people who are going to be there.

And the Osborne fire station is the citys busiest. The crews can be called out at any time. In fact, according to the UFFW website, the station crew had already responded to a blaze on Sherbrook Street earlier that morning.

But for the entire time Trudeau, his daughter, Carr and the security detail were at the station, there were no calls. Lucky for them.

Or, as it was suggested, Forrest pulled the entire station  crew and apparatus  out of service for Trudeaus visit without managements knowledge or approval. As if he owned it.

Forrest told the Free Press the citys fire halls have an open door policy and visitors  even the prime minister  are welcome at any time.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) with United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg president Alex Forrest. (Photo: uffw.ca)

The Prime Ministers visit was an informal drop by the fire hall like any person can do in Winnipeg, Forrest said in an email. We have an open door policy where anyone during the day can drop by the fire hall. Many people visit fire halls without the knowledge of the Chief.

It seems Forrest was underplaying his role in the July 28 event. The post on the UFFW website said the visit was planned, there were firefighter union executives on hand and Forrest took credit for hosting the event: On Friday July 28th, a visit was organized for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet our crew at 4 station It was an honour to host the sitting Prime Minister at the hall.

This incident may not factor into the central dispute surrounding the unions grievance against city hall  the citys failure to take any action after the respectful workplace complaint filed by the 156 paramedics against Lane had been upheld.

But it certainly makes clear the familiarity Forrest has with Lane and his senior management team that he can confidently take the citys busiest fire station out of service without fear of consequences.

And its certain to be the subject of conversations between Lane and Doug McNeil, the citys chief administrative officer. Perhaps even the councillors on the protection committee, which oversees the WFPS, might have a few questions for Lane themselves the next time he is required to make a report to them.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
First flight to land in remote British territory St Helena

Tourist numbers are expected to increase from 1,000 to 59,000 by 2042

Officials are hoping a new airport on the remote island of St Helena will boost tourism, after spending 285,000 of taxpayer money on the airport's development.

From Saturday, October 14, flights between Johannesburg, South Africa and the British overseas territory off Africa's west coast will be operated weekly via SA Airlink.

Due to the position of the island, which sits in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, the trip will take six hours and 15 minutes including a stop in Windhoek, Namibia.

Until now, a six-day jaunt by ship from South Africa had been the only way of getting to the island.

The RMS St Helena's final voyage will take place in February 2018.

A tourism boost

St Helena receives around 52 million in annual aid from Britain. The Government is hoping the new airport will improve tourism links to the island and make St Helena more self-sufficient.

The Department for International Development (Dfid) had forecast tourist numbers will increase to 59,000 by 2042, up from just 1,000 last year.

Lisa Phillips, governor of the island, said: "As the big day draws near, I for one am getting really excited about the new chapter in St Helena's history.

"I am sure everyone will give this first flight a huge St Helena welcome."

'Staggering' miscalculations

Prolonged delays developing the airport have cost millions, with planners underestimating the problem the island has with trans-Atlantic winds.

An opening ceremony in April 2016 had to be abandoned after it took three attempts for a commercial plane to land on the runway.

A damning report from December calls it "staggering" that MPs could not foresee the problem with wind shear.

"We asked the department how, if Charles Darwin could have experienced and described the problem of wind shear on St Helena in 1836, it commissioned a 285.5m airport, paid for by the British taxpayer, without properly appreciating the danger of this effect," the report said.

When travelling to remote islands and destinations, worldwide travel insurance should be an essential part of planning your trip.
Three weeks since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, relief efforts have been woefully inadequate, as cries for rapid assistance and support continue to go unheeded. Hospitals are running low on medicine, while the number of patients being admitted keeps rising. Many medical personnel have not been able to return to work. Hospital generators, used to produce electricity, are low on fuel. More than 85 percent of the island remains without electricity, 45 percent lacks running water and only limited information from remote regions is available to assess the dire conditions plaguing the islands population.

According to the New York Times, the mayor of Canovanas, a region in the northeast of the island, reported that several people in her city had died of Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection caught from the floodwaters. Puerto Rico usually sees about 20 to 30 cases a year, with possibly one death per year. Officials are extremely concerned about a spike in such waterborne infections.

The authorities are urging people to only drink bottled water, wear protective shoes and avoid handling potentially contaminated water or soil. Despite FEMA reporting the distribution of 7 million liters of water, there is a scarcity of clean water in rural communities, whose residents are resorting to washing and bathing in local rivers and springs. According to a story published in Metro US, in Comerio, a town in the mountainous interior, the floods destroyed the sanitation pipelines and took all the drinking water. In a town with 7,000 families, there are only two tank trucks that can distribute water to approximately 200 families per day.

As of last week, only four mobile hospitals had been set up and 10 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams have been sent in by the federal government. The USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds and 11 operating rooms, arrived more than a week ago, but they are still not seeing the number of patients they expected. According to the Times, the Puerto Rico Department of Health only sent 82 patients to the Comfort over a six-day period. Given the nearly complete failure of islands infrastructure, it is not surprising that authorities have limited capacity to mobilize help for people in need of medical assistance and attention. Many of the local residents report they have yet to see FEMA.

Leptospirosis is a widespread and prevalent zoonotic disease occurring in some temperate but predominately tropical regions. The World Health Organizations Leptospirosis Burden Epidemiology Group has estimated 873,000 cases per annum, with 48,600 deaths.

The bacterium causing the disease is a spirochete of the genus Leptospira. The disease is synonymous with Weils disease, Swineherds disease, rice-field fever, waterborne fever, cane-cutter fever, swamp fever, etc., highlighting its connection with field work in wet environments. The spirochete can infect a variety of both wild and domestic animals, especially rodents, which are important reservoirs for maintaining the transmission in most settings.

Once the rodents are infected, they shed the organism in their urine, resulting in contamination of the water and soil. The bacteria can remain viable for days to months. Human infections occur through exposure to contaminated environmental sources via cuts, skin or mucosal abrasions, conjunctiva and possibly oral ingestion.

Leptospirosis has ceased being a notifiable disease nationally since 1995, with the exception of Hawaii. In the tropics, endemic infections are related to poverty, where lack of sanitation and poor housing conditions lead to infections. Occupational exposure such as subsistence farming and living in rodent-infested and flood-prone urban slums are the main causes of infection. Large outbreaks affecting thousands occur during the rainy seasons and flooding.

Observational studies from Salvador, Brazil, noted elevated antibodies of previous exposure among low-income and black populations, citing proximity to open sewers, accumulated refuse and rat sightings as risk factors. They also noted that an increase in 1 US dollar per capita of household income was associated with an 11 percent decrease in infection risk. In developed countries, sporadic outbreaks occur from participation in activities such as freshwater swimming for triathlons or recreational travels to high endemic areas.

The clinical course of the disease is most often limited or mild, but can evolve into a severe and potentially fatal infection. With the transmission of the spirochete, there is a 2- to 26-day incubation period (usually about 10 days) before symptoms abruptly begin, which is on par with the recent reports. These include high fevers, rigors, muscle and joint pain and headaches. Conjunctival suffusion (redness of the eyes without the discharge seen in conjunctivitis) is a finding that occurs in about 55 percent of patients and should raise the suspicion of Leptospirosis.

Complications in a small subset of infected individuals include jaundice and renal failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, acute respiratory syndrome, inflammation of the eyes, neuropathy, inflammation of the heart and skeletal muscles. Renal failure may lead to electrolyte abnormalities requiring supportive care. These complications can carry a high mortality rate, even in hospitalized patients.

Antibiotics can help with mild to moderate infections. Patients with severe manifestations need hospitalization for supportive care and intravenous antibiotics. Prevention control follows the logical measures through avoiding stagnant water and animal farm water runoff, rodent control, and protection of food from animal contamination. In endemic areas, prophylaxis with the antibiotic doxycycline seems to reduce cases of Leptospirosis.

The immediate dramatic events of a hurricane garner much media attention: the news correspondent leaning into the gale force winds trying to describe the storm into his microphone while the wind howls; or residents of the devastated communities emerging from the shattered homes wading in chest-high water. However, the most concerning aspects of these catastrophes develop long after the storm has subsided. The public health infrastructure is often dismantled by the storm and delays the immediate care needed to prevent problems from injuries, exposure to hazards and drownings. Initial infections are mainly gastrointestinal and wound-related.

Flood waters are heavily contaminated by sewage waste and toxic chemicals. These can lead to issues such as severe and prolonged diarrhea. These conditions can be lethal for the very young and elderly. In Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, cholera introduced by UN aid workers became a serious epidemic. Small wounds can become readily infected, leading to sepsis.

Tetanus, for which a vaccine is readily available, can become a serious concern as puncture wounds are likely when wading in contaminated water and soil. Waterborne mosquito infections can spread viruses like Zika, dengue and West Nile disease. Orthopedic injuries are also more common in this phase of the recovery as people set to rebuild their lives again.

These are only the more immediate physical impacts. Later, the anxiety and depression from those traumatized and displaced permeate into the community.

What is alarming in Puerto Rico is the discrepancy between optimistic official reports and the desperate urgency with which local officials are requesting assistance. Without establishing direct lines of communications throughout the region and triaging the appropriate services to these regions, matching resources with needs will remain a dire problem.

Suffering from such destructive processes can be reduced and communities made whole again. Such storms are predictable, and a network of islands and countries could prepare material, personnel, and finances to come to each others aid and assistance.

Necessary internationally based emergency organizations could be assembled to respond to these devastations. The technological expertise is more than possible. An effective humanitarian response would entail the rapid deployment of the resources of the country to mitigating the disastrous consequence of the hurricane.

However, the subordination of the needs of those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Maria, and Harvey and Irma before it, to the capitalist market means that the relief effort is deplorably underfunded and bureaucratically mismanaged. President Trumps responsedemanding that aid to the island be predicated on repayment of debtis the most honest expression of the contempt on the part of US authorities for the plight of the Puerto Rican population.
On Friday, the death toll from the September 7 and 19 earthquakes that devastated southern Mexico and Mexico City had officially reached 471. That same day another earthquake, 5.5 in magnitude, struck Mexico off the coast of the state of Oaxaca, near the epicenter of the huge 8.1 September 7 temblor.

Speaking from the National Palace on Fridaythe International Day for Disaster ReductionMexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said that due to the loss of human lives and damage from the September temblors, Mexico is now a much stronger country, with greater social awareness and a sense of community. He called on Mexicans to recognize and put above the damage and suffering the unity of Mexicans, their solidarity and the love for Mexico [that] is the passion of all Mexicans  and the great strength of Mexico.

Pena Nieto claimed that at this moment we have the integrity, the full capacity, the institutional strength to face this challenge and to support the population that was damaged; that Mexico today has a society with greater awareness of civil protection and [earthquake] prevention  with greater capacity of the institutions of the Mexican State at all its levels  to work at preventive tasks.

In the same vein, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong added that the earthquake disasters gave Mexicans the opportunity to realize the potential that we have when we work together, the opportunity to meet again in the solidarity that distinguishes us.

What empty blather, smuggled in under the guise of an imaginary classless national interest! The reality of Mexico is that of a divided, horribly unequal society in which a small layer at the top lords over the mass of the population. This is the capitalist reality that precludes working together on a mass scale to meet critical human needs.

The truth is that the corrupt Mexican government, which operates as the instrument of international capital and the Mexican oligarchy, had more than ample opportunity, especially in the wake of the 1985 earthquake that killed tens of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands, to anticipate or take serious measures to reduce the extent of the damage. It failed miserably to do so. Nor has the government made serious efforts to aid those devastated by the September earthquakes.

It was instead the immediate efforts of the Mexican working classthose thousands of civilians who volunteered long hours to help those affectedthat for the first couple of weeks provided the critical response in terms of food, water, supplies, equipment, medical aid, psychological counseling, and searching for victims in collapsed buildings.

Pena Nieto had to acknowledge the efforts of those civilian volunteers, but cynically used them to push his fairy tale that all Mexicans had learned from the earthquakes to work together regardless of their status or circumstances. He heaped praise on the Mexican Army, the Navy and the Federal Police, forces that, as usual, were slow to respond with emergency relief, and focused their immediate concerns on forestalling any threat of civil unrest.

On Friday, Oxfam Mexico also issued a statement of its findings as to the response to the earthquakes, presenting the real state of affairs.

Government failure to prepare for earthquakes

The emergency caused by the September earthquakes, it reported, showed the authorities ignorance about the mechanisms and rules for responding to a humanitarian crisis, both those established by the country and international minimum standards.

The statement went on: In the three entities mentioned, problems of coordination between the government, civil society and affected people were detected. The response of civil society surpassed the capacity of government institutions to channel the donated aid.

Another important shortcoming, according to Alejandra dHyver, coordinator of the Reduction of Risks of Disasters and humanitarian aid for the charitable organization, was that the authorities have not made an adequate census of the damage and of the people affected, and the limited information available is not disaggregated by sex or age group, which makes it difficult to address the specific needs of children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities. DHyver noted that the evaluation of the Oxfam Mexico field team showed that the most affected population is comprised of low-income people, and especially women, a much higher percentage of whom work from home, and who have seen increased workloads in terms of care (in part due to school closings), lost income and jobs.

That is, once again, the working class and poor have borne the brunt of the damage from the failure of the government to adequately prepare and plan for major earthquakes.

As to replacement shelters, although shelters were set up, many people only come to receive help (water, food, sanitation and hygiene), but refuse to stay because the facilities do not have adequate physical conditions or for fear of belongings they have left in their homes being stolen, which indicates the urgent need for housing reconstruction.

We must combat the structural vulnerabilities evidenced by recent earthquakes and prevent them from reproducing during the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction stages, in order to prevent loss of lives and livelihoods in future earthquakes, concluded dHyver.

These findings made a mockery of Pena Nietos claim on Friday that the most important effort of the government at the moment is to ensure that families who lost their homes may very soon have a new space to return to live.

Urgent housing need

About 40 buildings in Mexico City completely collapsed during the 7.1 magnitude September 19 earthquake. But upwards of 4,000 were so badly damaged that the structures have been or will be deemed uninhabitable. Many housed hundreds of residents, so those without lodging number in the thousands.

An example is a building that collapsed in the Tlaplan delegation (borough) in southern Mexico City that was the subject of dramatic television coverage, as teams of rescuers pulled nine bodies from the rubble of the collapsed six-story structure, as well as 18 who survived. That building was one of 10 damaged in a complex that housed 500 apartments and more than 1,500 people.

Residents of the complex provided a snapshot of the citys working and lower middle classes, including teachers, small businessmen, pensioners, public-sector employees and office workers. Many are now without housing, shelter or significant financial resources. As for some who were able to purchase apartments through social security subsidies, that was their only significant asset.

Many of those displaced by the earthquakes lived on fixed incomes such as small pensions, and most lacked insurance. Many are forced to double up with relatives, friends or in public shelters. Others must resort to temporary structures to find refuge.

Many await word from inspectors as to whether their buildings will be safe enough to return to. As one retired employee with a wife and two children from the Tlapan complex told the Los Angeles Times last week, No one tells us anything. We dont know when we can go back to our homes. It could be months.

Doctors Without Borders reported last week, based on assessments made by teams in the field, that there are also high levels of anxiety, fear, and hyperalertness among those displaced.

Miguel Angel Mancera Espinosa, the mayor of Mexico City, warned at a Friday press conference that his government will not permit improvised housing. The mayor cited a group in the Iztapalapa delegation that tried to convince neighbors to settle in camps of structures made with poles and sheets. Mancera Espinosa emphasized that such peoples camps, camps that lasted forever following the 1985 earthquake, would be dismantled, but his government thus far has not taken serious steps to provide alternative shelter.

His government only recently started a program to cover interim rent payments and provide low-interest housing loans and grants. This Mexico City Rebuilding, Recovery and Transformation Plan adopted at the end of September allocates the paltry sum of $2.8 million to restore over 10,000 buildings affected by the earthquake.

People are rightly skeptical as they fill out the aid forms. The government does not say when it is going to provide aid, and the amount surely will not be enough to resettle.

On Friday, Mancera Espinosa directed most of his attention to new building regulations he said would be in place within three weeks, which would focus on rules for new buildings and a regulatory framework for restructuring the buildings that were severely damaged by the September 19 earthquake.

This is an old and discredited song. After the 1985 earthquake, regulations were adopted as to new building, and reinforcement of existing damaged structures. The regulations were either inadequate or largely unenforced.

A high number of the buildings that suffered substantial damage in the September 19 earthquake were new or recently remodeled buildings. Many were the subject of citizen complaints about safety, according to an investigation and report by the Guardian newspaper.

Thousands of construction violations

Since 2012, Mexico City residents lodged on the order of 6,000 complaints about construction project violations. In 2016 alone, residents filed 1,271 complaints with the Environmental and Zoning Prosecutors Office as to violations of zoning or land use ordinances. Residents and advocacy organizations say the city government did not act on the vast majority of complaints, which were often made in response to visual damage following earthquakes, or that there is no public record of a response. When city reviews were done as to what repairs were required, they often were not communicated. When complaints were reviewed and passed on to the City Urban Development and Housing Secretariat (Seduvi) to act on, usually nothing happened.

Developers easily circumvented the regulations due to lax city enforcement, or outright corruption.

I have not seen a single sanction, Josefina MacGregor of Suma Urbana, a group of neighborhood associations in Mexico City, told the Guardian. Facing pressure from citizens, the government will sometimes say that they are going to sanction the developers [for building violations]. But its not true.

After the 1985 earthquake many residents abandoned Mexico Citys center. But city government incentives led to massive development over the last decade. Despite warnings from civil engineers that tall new developments were shifting and drying out soil, increasing earthquake risks, and of massive construction projects weakening the foundations of neighboring buildings, such development in the citys center proceeded at a breakneck pace.

A reform after the 1985 earthquake required hiring a licensed Director Responsible for Construction (DRO in Spanish) to oversee meeting compliance with earthquake prevention requirements as to new building construction. DROs were routinely bribed. Yet in 2016, Mancera Espinosas office suspended legislation that permitted city departments to sanction DROs.

The law required that the city conduct a review of the structures of schools, hospitals and housing built following the massive 8.1 September 7 Oaxaca earthquake, which was felt in Mexico City. None was performed.

Despite massive casualties and damage from the 1985 earthquake, during the ensuing three decades the entire Mexico City development regime served the interests of developers and their profits, not the safety of its residents. The results are there for all to see. Nothing the Mexican president or government officials say about preparedness and solidarity can paper over this naked reality.
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Blac Chyna speaks against Rob Kardashian at a July news conference. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Blac Chyna filed a lawsuit against Rob Kardashian and his family Tuesday for allegedly damaging her brand and verbally and physically abusing her.



In the filing obtained by PEOPLE, Chyna, 29, claims she has suffered significant damages since her ex-fiances explosive social media rampage July 5, in which he shared graphic and expletive-ridden content about the mother of his child  including three naked photos  while accusing her of drug/alcohol abuse and infidelity.

According to the lawsuit, Chyna (born Angela White) alleges the nude photo scandal  along with influence from the Kardashian family  are what got Rob & Chyna, her E! reality show with 30-year-old Kardashian, axed before a season 2.

Rob Kardashian is an abuser intent on destroying Angela White, the mother of his baby, who left him in 2016, the complaint states. In revenge, the Kardashian-Jenner family became media predators, slut-shaming her on social media and killing her hit television show, which had already begun filming a second season.

She names Rob, his mom Kris Jenner and his sisters Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner in the complaint and asks for unspecified damages.

Rob Kardashian and his powerful, vindictive family have done enough damage to Ms. Whites career and professional reputation, which she singlehandedly built from scratchwithout the help of a famous last name. This lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable, the lawsuit states.

Chyna also accuses Rob of physical abuse, saying when she tried to call Tyga  Kylies ex and the father of Chynas 5-year-old son King Cairo  Rob immediately grabbed the phone from her hand and violently knocked her to the ground where she landed on her hands and knees.

She says she called Kings nanny, who took the boy away, and locked herself in her bedroom.

However, Rob Kardashian lost all control and tore the hinges off of Ms. Whites bedroom door, according to the suit. Ms. White then retreated to the bathroom, hid in the bathroom closet, and locked the door.

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She says she recorded Rob yelling and ransacking her closet. The complaint states, Ms. White suffered pain and difficulty walking for days following the domestic dispute as a result of Rob Kardashian violently knocking her to the ground.

In September, her lawyer Lisa Bloom tweeted about the suit.

Slut shaming is cruel and damaging, and I am proud to join @BlacChyna in standing against it. Thats what White v. Kardashian is all about, she said, referencing Chynas birth name, Angela Renee White.

The tweet came one day after Bloom shared a photo of herself with Chyna, writing, Do NOT disrespect my client. I got your back, @BlacChyna. Stay tuned for chapter 2, yall.

Do NOT disrespect my client.

I got your back, @BlacChyna. Stay tuned for chapter 2, yall. pic.twitter.com/7fcZxV8e0Y  Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) September 26, 2017

After Kardashians social media attack in July, Chyna and her legal team accused the reality star of violating Californias revenge porn laws, claiming in court documents obtained by PEOPLE that he allegedly hit her and threatened to kill himself multiple times. A judge later granted her a set of restraining orders against him.

Kardashians actions also launched a two-month-long custody war over the former couples 10-month-old daughter Dream Renee. The two agreed to joint custody on Sept. 15, PEOPLE confirmed  though at the time, Bloom said the decision does not resolve all disputes between Chyna and Rob.

Chyna is pleased that Rob has agreed to peacefully coparent Dream with her, as she has been requesting all along, Bloom said. Because Rob agreed to continue to stay away from Chyna and not contact her, Chyna has agreed to take the domestic abuse hearing scheduled for Monday, Sept. 18, off calendar. She will always have the right to go back into court if further incidents of domestic abuse occur.

A source recently told PEOPLE that Kardashian, who has been lying extremely low since the scandal, is focusing his energy on Dream.

Rob is okay, the source said. Rob and Chyna have other issues they need to figure out, but this is a good start. Ultimately, he mostly cared about hashing out a custody agreement for Dream. He loves his baby girl and she is his focus.

In September, Rob and Kylie sued Chyna for battery, assault and vandalism, claiming she attempted to choke Rob with an iPhone cord during an intense fight at Kylies house last December.

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"It's so good to see famous people again!"

He's back!

"It's so good to see famous people again," David Letterman declared as he took the stage as a guest on Tuesday's Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The 70-year-old comedian's appearance on JKL -- which is filming all week in Brooklyn, New York -- marked the first time he's been on late-night TV since he retired over two years ago as the host of CBS' The Late Show.

"It feels so good to be out of the house, ladies and gentlemen!" Letterman joked before calling out Paul Shaffer, the former band leader of The Late Show, for also making an appearance on Kimmel's program. "Paul, you work here now?"

MORE: David Letterman Returning to TV With New Netflix Series

Letterman sarcastically revealed what he misses most about being on TV every night. "I miss wearing makeup," he mused, later adding, "I'm profiling through, 'Was I fired or did I retire?'"

Kimmel -- who wore a tie that Letterman gifted him when he left The Late Show -- insisted, "You retired! There was a whole thing."

Letterman then took a walk down memory lane and recalled the time he gifted Conan O'Brien with a horse, which didn't go over too well.

The intention behind the present was that O'Brien would bring the horse out on his show and it would "take a dump" on the stage, an idea that Letterman found "hilarious."

However, the former host said a few days later, he learned something went "terribly wrong."

"I get this warm, lovely letter that says, 'My wife loves the horse, and she's going to keep the horse because she an equestrian'" Letterman reminisced. "Now I'm screwed because I was counting on him returning the horse and I get my money back."

WATCH: David Letterman Talks Late-Night Television Today, Shades Jimmy Fallon -- 'I Would've Went to Work on Trump'

Further defending the gift, he exclaimed, "It was joke! Take a dump on the stage, load him up, get him back!"

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O'Brien has apparently changed his mind about the horse since his "warm letter."

"From what people are talking about, Conan will just not shut up about the horse. The horse has gone crazy, maybe its from being around Conan all day," Letterman quipped. "Of course he's unridable, all he had to do was take a dump on the stage."

For 33 years, Letterman fans got to watch jokes such as these when he was a late-night television host, first getting his start on NBC's Late Night before going on to host The Late Show.

On May 20, 2015, over 13 million people watched Letterman host his final episode of The Late Show. Here's a look at some of the highlights from the memorable evening:

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A Canadian man who was held hostage in Pakistan with his American wife and their three children for five years is speaking out about the couples decision to have children while in captivity.

Were sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands, Joshua Boyle told the Associated Press of himself and his wife Caitlan Coleman. We always wanted as many as possible, and we didnt want to waste time. Caits in her 30s, the clock is ticking.

Last Wednesday, Pakistan secured the release of Coleman and Boyle along with their three children, Jonah, Noah and Grace  all born in captivity. The family spent five years in terrorist custody after being abducted during a hiking trip in Afghanistan.

Boyle told the AP that he and Cait, who was seven months pregnant at the time of her abduction, had always wanted a big family, so they decided: Hey, lets make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.

The couple have three children aged 4, 2, and around 6 months,  Boyle said.

Honestly, weve always planned to have a family of five, 10, 12 children, he told the publication. Were Irish.

The couple was abducted in 2012 while traveling in Afghanistan and have been held by the Haqqani network, which has ties to the Taliban, in Pakistan, the Associated Press reports. Coleman gave birth three times while in captivity.

On Friday, Boyle detailed some of the horrific abuse his family received at the hands of the militants.

During a press conference at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto captured by The Guardian, Boyle revealed that among the many cruelties they suffered was the rape of his wife and the murder of their infant daughter born in captivity, who he said was slain in retaliation for his refusal to accept an offer from the familys abductors.

Upon the familys release, Colemans father, Jim, slammed Boyle for his decision to take their pregnant daughter to the country in the first place. Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable, he told ABC News.
McKayla Maroney claims she was sexually abused by Dr. Larry Nassar beginning when she 13 years old  find out more

McKayla Maroney took to Twitter on Wednesday, October 18, to claim she was sexually abused for years by Larry Nassar, the doctor for the U.S. Womens National Gymnastics team and Olympic team.

Amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment from multiple actresses against Harvey Weinstein, who has denied accusations of rape, the gymnast shared her own story to explain how common the incidents can be. People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood. This is happening everywhere, she wrote. Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse.

"Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving 'medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.' It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first National Team training camps, in Texas, and it didn't end until I left the sport, Maroney, 21, wrote. It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated.

According to ESPN, the doctor is currently facing 22 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct from 125 women and he has already pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges in July, although he will not be sentenced until November 27. Nassar also faces charges in state court in Michigan, largely related to women who allege that he digitally penetrated them during medical exams for his own sexual gratification.

The former Olympian detailed one particularly terrifying alleged night with Nassar. "For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old," she wrote. "I had flown all day and night with the team to get to Tokyo. He'd given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a 'treatment.' I thought I was going to die that night."

Our silence has given the wrong people power for too long, and its time to take our power back, Maroney wrote in conclusion of her post. And remember, its never too late to speak up.

Story continues

Maroney won a team gold medal in 2012 as well as a silver medal for the individual vault. Her disappointment with losing out on the gold was famously captured onscreen as she crossed her arms and pursed her lips, leading to a now-viral meme.

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Aiming for a level of output not seen since the two-reeler silent movie days, Netflix plans to put out a new original movie on average every four and a half days in 2018, for an eye-popping total of 80 releases, content chief Ted Sarandos said after todays release of third-quarter earnings.

That level compares with eight in the quarter that ended September 30, Sarandos said. His brief comments came during a 40-minute video conversation between a single analysts and the companys top executives, aimed at breaking down the quarterly results, which were highlighted by continued subscriber growth and higher net profits.

The films range from the typical million-dollar Sundance hit, he continued, all the way up to something on a much bigger scale such as Bright at the end of this year or The Irishman, which is currently in production. Bright stars Will Smith and Irishman Robert De Niro, the latest sign that A-list movie talent is giving Netflix a spin. One major question is the viability of traditional wide-release patterns given the wariness shown by many large exhibitors about booking titles that can be streamed at home day and date.

Sarandos cited the strong reviews for Noah Baumbachs The Meyerowitz Stories, a festival favorite starring Dustin Hoffman and Adam Sandler whose Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% puts it in rare company in the original streaming movie game. Once the current slate rolls out, including The Irishman in early 2019, Sarandos said, People will start seeing the potential for this big movie initiative.

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President Trump's Net Worth Plummets by $600 Million as He Drops 92 Spots on Forbes' Rich List

Donald Trumps net worth has taken a nosedive since he turned to politics, according to Forbes.

The magazines venerable list of the countrys 400 richest people ranks the president at #248, dropping an astonishing 92 spots from last year. The publication now lists his net worth at $3.1 billion.

Forbes cites several reasons for the fall. Specifically, a tough New York real estate market, particularly for retail locations; a costly lawsuit and an expensive presidential campaign. Less than two weeks after being elected president, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle lawsuits against the now-defunct Trump University.

Trumps fall comes during what Forbes calls another record year for the wealthiest people in America. Bill Gates tops the list for the 24th consecutive year with an estimated net worth of $89 billion, while Jeff Bezos remains in the number two spot worth approximately $81.5 billion. Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg, Charles Koch, David Koch, Larry Page and Sergey Brin round out the top ten.

According to Forbes, the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trumps ranking.
Credit: Ross HalfinZZ Top has been forced to postpone most of the remaining dates of their 2017 Tonnage Tour as bassist Dusty Hill deals with a health issue.

According to a statement from the band, Hill "is addressing a tummy ailment and is following a directive to lay low for the next few weeks."

The band has postponed a total of 18 dates on its 2017 itinerary, spanning from a show this past Sunday, October 15, in Baltimore through a November 12 concert in New Orleans.

The Texas blues-rock trio is planning to return to the stage for a previously announced December 29 concert at Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. ZZ Top is hoping to reschedule the postponed dates sometime in 2018. In addition, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers reveal that they're plotting to "blow it out in 2019 as they celebrate a big '50'!"

Here's a list of all of ZZ Top's postponed gigs:

10/15 -- Baltimore, MD, Hippodrome Theatre

10/18 -- Columbia, SC, South Carolina State Fair

10/20 -- Fayetteville, NC, Crown Theatre

10/21 -- Richmond, VA, Altria Theater

10/22 -- Upper Darby, PA, Tower Theater

10/24 -- Red Bank, NJ, Count Basie Theatre

10/25 -- Port Chester, NY, Capitol Theatre

10/27 -- Boston, MA, Orpheum Theatre

10/28 -- Hampton Beach, NH, Hampton Beach Casino

10/29 -- Reading, PA, Santander Performing Arts

10/31 -- Morristown, NJ, Mayo Performing Arts Center

11/1 -- Greensburg, PA, Palace Theatre

11/4 -- Norfolk, VA, Constant Convocation Center

11/5 -- Charleston, SC, North Charleston Performing Arts Center

11/7 -- Savannah, GA, Johnny Mercer Theater

11/8 -- Tallahassee, FL, The Pavilion at the Centre of Tallahassee

11/9 -- Melbourne, FL, King Center for the Performing Arts

11/12 -- New Orleans, LA, Saenger Theatre

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Business mogul Richard Branson visited Today and explained a recent blog post in which he detailed being nearly conned out of $5 million. Branson told Matt Lauer, I got a call from the minister of defense in England, who I know. And he sounded like the minister of defense. And he said that a British diplomat had been kidnapped, and they were not legally allowed  the government wasnt allowed to put up the money. And they said they needed $5 million from me.

Luckily, Branson did a little investigating before writing a check and realized it was a scam. Unfortunately, one of Bransons wealthy friends was not so lucky. Branson said that someone called a businessman friend of Bransons pretending to be him, saying he was stuck in the British Virgin Islands and wanted $2 million to help the people of the BVI, and could the friend give Branson the $2 million. The businessman later asked Branson to reimburse him for the money. It turns out that Bransons friend may have been duped by the same con man who put on a posh British accent in the earlier case.

Branson summed up his experience on Today: I think what this says is that, you know, we can afford  businessmen can afford maybe to lose $2 million. But there are millions of people being conned every day now. I mean, its frightening.

Watch: Nicole Kidman bashfully defends that Alexander Skarsgard Emmy kiss:

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The Las Vegas security guard who was wounded while trying to stop shooter Stephen Paddock at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on Oct. 1 has spoken out on The Ellen DeGeneres Show  after many had expressed concern over his whereabouts.

Jesus Campos recounted to DeGeneres how he was shot in the leg as he approached the room on the 32nd floor of the hotel on the Las Vegas strip. From that corner room, Paddock fired down onto a crowd of some 22,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. According to authorities, the gunfire continued off and on for about nine to 11 minutes. Paddock killed 58 and injured another 489.

Campos appearance on a pre-taped episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show ends speculation about his whereabouts after he skipped out on other scheduled interviews, and  according to some  went missing. The interview is set to air on Wednesday.

Im walking down [the hallway] and I believe thats what caught the shooters attention, Campos told DeGeneres, noting that he was on duty, patrolling the stairwells when he noticed the door to the 32nd floor was blocked off.

As I was walking down I heard rapid fire and at first I took cover. I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. Thats when I called it in on my radio, that shots had been fired.

Tomorrow, the first people to encounter the Las Vegas shooter are here  security guard Jesus Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck. pic.twitter.com/dDmjzN6xBx  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 18, 2017

Paddock shot Campos through the door of his hotel suite and soon building engineer Stephen Schuck found Campos wounded. Schuck appeared on Ellen alongside Campos.

I saw Jesus and I started to hear shooting. At the time I didnt know it was shooting, I thought it was a jackhammer, Schuck said. Thats when Jesus, he leaned out and he said, Take cover! Take cover! Yelled at me, and within milliseconds if he didnt say that I wouldve got hit.

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Paddock was still shooting as Schuck approached, and the engineer noted that he felt the pressure of bullets passing his head.

Paddock was found dead in his suite of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before midnight, as law enforcement closed in.

Campos has shied away from the spotlight as he was hailed a hero in the wake of the shooting. Now, he is ready to share his story, and has given an update on his recovery.

[Im] doing better each day, he told the host. Slowly but surely, just healing physically and mentally.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Campos disappeared from the public eye on Friday after canceling a series of interviews with Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC.

David Hickey, the president of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America union, told the Times he hadnt seen or heard from Campos in four days.

We have had no contact with him Clearly, somebody knows where he is, Hickey said, adding that Campos was meant to attend a meeting with MGM representatives  a meeting he never attended as he disappeared from the waiting room shortly before Hickey walked out to get him.

When I got in touch with the other union member, I was told Campos was taken to [health clinic] Quick Care, Hickey said. He explained he hadnt heard from Campos afterward and told reporters that interviews with the security guard were cancelled.

The company that owns the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino told the Times in a statement Tuesday that Campos wants to tell his story at a time and place of his choosing.

Hes asked that everyone respect his request for privacy, the statement read. We could not be more proud of Jesus.

Campos was hailed a hero after he reportedly sprang to action the night of the Las Vegas shooting, approaching the hotel room unarmed as Paddock sprayed the crowd below with high-powered weapons fire.

Paddock saw Campos coming through the cameras he had rigged in the hallway. When Campos got to the room, Paddock fired through the door, hitting him in the leg. Campos then used his radio to raise the alarm.

Schuck was checking the hotel doors when he also came under fire but was able to dive out of the way thanks to, he says, Campos yelling at him to take cover.
Photo: Getty.

Since Donna Karan founded Donna Karan New York in 1984, her clothes have been emblematic of working women, from Hillary Clinton as First Lady to Candice Bergens Murphy Brown. So it was especially surprising when she parroted victim-blaming talking points to the Daily Mail last week, just days after the initial New York Times report on Harvey Weinsteins entrenched sexual misconduct broke. She told the Mail in a red carpet interview that Weinstein and his wife are wonderful people and then asked some questions:

I also think how do we display ourselves? How do we present ourselves as women? What are we asking? Are we asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality? . . . You look at everything all over the world today and how women are dressing and what they are asking by just presenting themselves the way they do. What are they asking for? Trouble.

One of Weinsteins alleged victims, Rose McGowan, called Karan scum in a fancy dress; she was far from the only critic. Karan released a statement days later that called her quotes taken out of context. But she showed even more contrition while speaking with Bridget Foley, executive editor of fashion trade publication Womens Wear Daily on Monday. Here she is making a meal of her words:

It was not what I meant. I [so regret] that that came out of my mouth because, as I was avoiding Harvey, and what [a] blur . . . I am really, really apologetic. I have been dressing women for 40 years and I show their sensuality, I have done it in my advertising campaign, I have shown it as a mother, as a grandmother, as a woman, [Ive shown] her legs and her hosiery and her bras and her fragrance. And I have always had men and women together. So the fact of what I said wasit was inappropriate and I just went off. And I shouldnt have done it. I was exhausted, I was tired and [when] it came back to me, I was shocked that I even said this myself. Because I was preparing in my mind what I was going to say in the theater. And I just went off on something that I shouldnt have, and I apologize profusely. I regret it so strongly.

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In her telling, Karan caught herself by surprise. I was shocked, she said. I was absolutely in a state of shock. I said, I said that? That was the first thing out of my mouth. What? I didnt say that. Thats ridiculous.

There is still a 14,148-strong petition asking Nordstrom to drop the line and #BoycottDKNY gained some traction in the last week. Karan, however, stepped down from her eponymous brand in 2015, so though the designer stepped in it, its not likely to stick, unlike some other public figures finding that no distance from Harvey Weinstein is far enough.

This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.

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Jessica Chastain speaks at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards in L.A. on Oct. 16, 2017. (Photo: Getty Images)

Jessica Chastain has said she was warned from the beginning about Harvey Weinsteins reputation, so she was able to avoid that type of interaction with him. She wasnt so lucky with another producer in the biz.

An honoree at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards, the Zero Dark Thirty and The Help actress used her time at the podium to speak out about sexual misconduct she has endured during her career, similar to the way her colleagues Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon did last night. In addition to dealing with a lot of nonsense among some of her male co-stars, the two-time Oscar nominee said she was sexually harassed by a producer.

I didnt want to say something that could be taken the wrong way or offend some person, so for too long, didnt say anything, Chastain began. I was on set with actors who showed up to work intoxicated  and I quietly worked alongside them. I had a second AD [assistant director] beg me for help coaxing an actor into putting his video games down so we could shoot.

The most brow-raising confession was the one she saved for last. She told the crowd, I had a producer spank me as I walked past him in the hallway. And she said she was scared to speak up about these things because I was worried that I might be made unhirable.

Jessica Chastain attends the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards in L.A. on Oct. 16, 2017. (Photo: Getty Images)

Chastain said that the turning point for her  both personally and professionally  was when she started to take a stand. She saw her fears subside and her career continue to grow.

I stopped making myself invisible or small, and to my shock and my happiness, my career has not stalled, she said to the applause of the room. She ended by calling the sexual abuse inexcusable and proclaimed that it needs to stop now.

Chastain spoke out early following the first wave of accusations against Weinstein by the New York Times on Oct. 5. On Twitter, she wrote that she had been warned from the beginning about the Weinstein Company honcho. The stories were everywhere.

I was warned from the beginning. The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an enviornment for it to happen again.  Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) October 9, 2017

When one follower noted that she appeared in a Weinstein Company-distributed film, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, she replied that was only because the director, Ned Benson, wanted him to do it  and she noted that she spoke against it.

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Because the director wanted him, even after I spoke against it.  Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) October 9, 2017

In recent days, Chastain showed her support for her Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby co-star (and bff) Jess Weixler, who went public on Instagram to say that she endured several years of Harvey propositioning me. Weixler says she was very grateful I was warned and noted that she had multiple women protecting me with stories.

Jessica Chastain and Jess Weixler with Harvey Weinstein at a Cannes Film Festival in 2014. (Photo: Getty images)

Chastain regrammed Weixlers post, writing, Much love to you sister. Thank you for sharing your story with the world. She ended by calling her friend a warrior. Takes one to know one.





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Jesus Campos

Jesus Campos has been called a hero by many after leading police to Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock's hotel room after he opened fire on a country concert, killing 58 people and wounding over 500.

After taking a gunshot wound to the leg, the Mandalay Bay security guard directed officers to the shooter's location and stayed behind to evacuate hotel guests.

But now it seems the hero is missing.

The president of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America union, David Hickey, reported October 16th that it had been four days since he last saw Campos. They were coordinating a series of interviews together about the Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas, which included appearances on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

RELATED: 7 New Details About Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock's History And What His Alleged Prostitute Said About His Violent Tendencies

At some point during a meeting with MGM representatives  inside the suite Campos was staying in at a nearby hotel  he left and never came back.

Hickey said he learned from another union member who was in the meeting that Campos was taken to Quick Care health clinic.

He hasn't heard anything about his whereabouts since.

A spokesperson for the UMC Quick Care said they had "heard nothing" about Campos attending one of their facilities.

"Right now I'm just concerned where my member is, and what his condition is," Hickey said. "It's highly unusual. I'm hoping everything is OK with him and I'm sure MGM or the union will let (media) know when we hear something."

RELATED: Families And Friends Share The Photos, Names, And Stories Of The Las Vegas Shooting Victims

Hickey said it was Campos who wanted to go public and tell his story so he could move on.

"The last four days [before he vanished] his state of mind was getting better, he was looking forward to telling his story and moving on with his life. The last day he seemed fine, he told CrimeOnline.

Story continues

A man was hired to guard Campos' house to prevent news media from entering the property, but it's not clear who hired him to be there.

One of his neighbors, Jamie Ruano, said Campos was a private person.

"He's a hero, Ruano said, and nobody knows where he is.

At this time, Campos has not officially been reported as a missing person.

RELATED: 13 New Details About Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock, His Girlfriend And Why Police Are Now Saying He Had An Accomplice



Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 10:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTangos Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).

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Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

From Town & Country

Kate Winslet is the latest Hollywood star sounding off on her experience with Harvey Weinstein.

Back in 2009, Winslet won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Reader, which was (like many other Oscar-winning films) distributed by the Weinstein Company. The actress thanked 19 people in a heartfelt speech that night, but left out Harvey Weinstein and the Weinstein Company completely. And, according to Winslet, it was "deliberate."

"That was deliberate. That was absolutely deliberate," Winslet told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. "I remember being told. 'Make sure you thank Harvey if you win.' And I remember turning around and saying, 'No I won't. No I won't.' And it was nothing to do with not being grateful. If people aren't well-behaved, why would I thank him?"

Winslet and Weinstein's working relationship dates back to Winslet's first film, Heavenly Creatures, which was released in 1994. The Peter Jackson-directed movie was distributed by Miramax Films, the production company Weinstein founded with his brother Bob. Winslet added that Weinstein reminded her constantly that she got her start in a Weinstein-funded movie.

The fact that I'm never going to have to deal with Harvey Weinstein again as long as I live is one of the best things that's ever happened and I'm sure the feeling is universal.

"For my whole career, Harvey Weinstein, whenever I've bumped into him, he'd grab my arm and say, 'Don't forget who gave you your first movie,'" Winslet told the Times. "Like I owe him everything. Then later, with The Reader, same thing, 'I'm gonna get you that Oscar nomination, I'm gonna get you a win, I'm gonna win for you.'"

"But that's how he operated," Winslet continues. "He was bullying and nasty. Going on a business level, he was always very, very hard to deal with - he was rude.

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Winslet was one of the first celebrities to condemn Weinstein's actions when the allegations of his sexual misconduct were revealed. And while she hasn't claimed any sexual harassment against the producer, Winslet did address the toxic work environment she encountered while filming The Reader. "I can't even begin to describe the disgraceful behavior that went on," she told the paper. "And I'm actually not going to because it's a can of worms that I'm not prepared to publicly open - nothing to do with sexual harassment, thankfully, lucky me. My god. I somehow dodged that bullet."



Winslet has not worked with Harvey or on a Weinstein Company film since The Reader. "The fact that I'm never going to have to deal with Harvey Weinstein again as long as I live is one of the best things that's ever happened and I'm sure the feeling is universal," Winslet said.

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Photo credit: Hearst Communications, Inc. All rights reserved

From Town & Country

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have announced plans to visit Norway and Sweden in early 2018, at the request of the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The royal family shared the news this morning via Twitter:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undertake an official visit to Norway and Sweden at the request of the FCO in early 2018. pic.twitter.com/Kl7rlZW5nO - Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 17, 2017

Much like this summer's royal tour of Germany and Poland, this trip is believed to be part of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's unofficial duties as Brexit ambassadors, attempting to strengthen relations with other European countries as the UK prepares to leave the EU.

It has yet to be revealed whether Prince George and Princess Charlotte will accompany their parents on this royal tour (though our fingers are certainly crossed).

Earlier this week it was rumored Will and Kate would be making a trip to Scandinavia in November of this year, as opposed to early next. Perhaps Kate's hyperemesis gravidarum played a role in that decision; she is currently still suffering from the severe morning sickness, which typically gets better further along in the pregnancy.

I'm told that, #kate's health permitting, she & #princewilliam will visit Norway & Sweden next month after Harry goes to Denmark. pic.twitter.com/vU5833B0ax - Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) October 13, 2017

A more detailed itinerary including exact dates of the royal tour has yet to be released. We'll be sure to update this post as we know more.

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Four employees of the Chicago Department of Aviation have been disciplined for their part in the violent removal of a doctor from a United Airlines flight earlier this year.

The CDA  which oversees two Chicago airports, Midway and OHare  disciplined the employees following the Chicago inspector generals review of the incident at OHare involving United Airlines and Dr. David Dao, according to a quarterly review made public Sunday.

Of the four employees, two were fired, one was suspended for two days and the other resigned after being suspended. They were disciplined for mishandling the incident and the reporting of it.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson said the April 9 incident started out as a non-threatening situation but escalated after CDA employees got involved. Ferguson found that the employees mishandled the situation, which resulted in the physically violent forcible removal of a passenger.

@united @FoxNews @CNN not a good way to treat a Doctor trying to get to work because they overbooked pic.twitter.com/sj9oHk94Ik  Tyler Bridges (@Tyler_Bridges) April 9, 2017

As a result of the inspector generals review, the CDA fired one aviation security officer who they found violated the agencys use-of-force policy. The officer, who remained unnamed in the review, used excessive force on Dao, causing him to hit his face on an armrest, sustain a concussion, broken nose and lose two teeth, the review said.

The other fired CDA employee was an aviation security sergeant who was involved in the deliberate removal of material facts from an employee report of the incident. The review says the sergeant also approved incident reports that did not include all essential information of the confrontation.

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The inspector generals office did not return HuffPosts requests for clarification on what facts the sergeant removed from the report and why.

The CDA also handed down five-day suspensions to two security officers because of their incident reports. Both officers appealed, and the CDA granted a two-day suspension to one officer while the other resigned.

One officer was suspended for making misleading statements in two separate reports. The second suspended officer, who has resigned, made material omissions when reporting on the actions of the officer who violated the CDAs use-of-force policy and was fired.

Passengers questioned the use of force as Dr. David Dao was dragged off the United Airlines flight on April 9. (Photo: TylerBridges)

Dao was seated on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on April 9 when airline staff asked passengers to volunteer to give up their seats for United staff members. When no one volunteered, the staff chose passengers at random. Dao, who was among those randomly selected, refused to give up his seat, leading airline staff to call CDA officers to remove him from the plane.

The officers violently pulled Dao from his seat and dragged him unconscious down the aisle. Other passengers took video of the confrontation, which sparked national outrage.

The inspector general found that there was significant confusion within the roles and expectations of the CDAs aviation security officers and recommended that the CDA make it clear to officers what their roles and responsibilities are.

In July, three months after Dao was dragged off the plane, the CDA removed the word police from all airport security uniforms and vehicles. The department also announced that the Chicago Police Department would be handling all of the airports disturbance calls going forward.

This rescinds the current directive guiding incident dispatch, and defines coordination on responses with the Chicago Police Department, the department said at the time.

Dao reached a settlement with United Airlines under undisclosed terms less than three weeks after the incident. The deal included Daos agreement to not sue the city.

United CEO Oscar Munoz first called Dao disruptive and belligerent in an email to employees but later took full responsibility for the incident, which he called truly horrific, and he promised to do better.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Washington (AFP) - A police manhunt was underway Wednesday for a gunman who stormed a suburban Maryland business park, killing three people and injuring two others before escaping.

With the shooter at large several area schools were placed on lockdown, officials said, while the nearby set of popular Netflix show "House of Cards" was also reportedly locked down.

The suspect, 37-year-old Radee Prince, was associated with the granite business in Edgewood, northeast of Baltimore, where the shootings took place according to Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.

"This does appear to be a targeted attack, limited to that business," Gahler said as he confirmed there were three dead and two other victims who were transported to trauma centers in serious condition.

Police were investigating Prince's connection with the business, known as Advanced Granite Solutions. All five victims were employees of the business, Gahler said.

While the sheriff told reporters that investigators do not believe anyone else was involved, "there's an individual out there on the loose who committed one of the most heinous acts we've ever seen in our county."

"We certainly consider him armed and dangerous," he said.

Variety magazine reported that the set of "House of Cards," which is partly filmed in Maryland, was placed on lockdown while police searched for the shooter.

The executive producer of the series, Dana Brunetti, addressed the incident in a Facebook post, and criticized cable networks for not immediately reporting it.

"Shooting near House of Cards set," Brunetti wrote. "I turn on the news to see what is happening, and guess what theyre covering? Not the 5 dead and 3 wounded while gunman is still on the loose."

Some of the school lockdowns were later lifted, according to Harford County Public Schools.

The incident was the latest mass shooting in a country where such killings have become commonplace.

On October 1, a gunman in an upper-floor casino hotel room opened fire on concert-goers in Las Vegas, killing 58 and wounding more than 500 in the deadliest shooting in recent US history.

To date in 2017 there have been 285 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter -- in the United States, or nearly one per day.
Well, that didnt take long.

The last pockets of the Islamic State in Iraq have still not been recaptured, and already the countrys sectarian divisions are coming out in the open as the common enemy dissipates.

On Monday, as Iraqi regular forces and Shiite militia rolled into the city of Kirkuk that lies at the center of the territories and oil fields disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi government, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued this statement: ISIS remains the true enemy of Iraq, and we urge all parties to remain focused on finishing the liberation of their country from this menace. The U.S. commander on the ground, Maj. Gen. Robert White, said the same thing: We continue to advocate dialogue between Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. All parties must remain focused on the defeat of our common enemy, ISIS, in Iraq.

Translation: We have been given no political strategy from Washington, so please, everyone, just stick to our military plan until we work one out.

It is astonishing that we have arrived at this point, again. In war, strategy is supposed to connect operational action on the ground to wider political goals. Yet since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States and its allies have time and again been fixated on operational goals with no plan for what comes next politically.

Time and again, we have had what passes for political strategy defined in the negative without a positive political counterpart to tell us not only what you dont want but what you do want. You can try to liberate Iraq, Libya, or Syria from a given menace all you want, but what comes next?

I dont need to waste words rehashing the details of the most epic failure of strategic planning in U.S. history  the absence of any serious political plan for post-invasion Iraq in 2003. That was a strategic performance from the White House, the Defense Department, and the National Security Council so abominably incompetent that still today it remains hard to believe it really happened.

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In Libya in 2011, the failure to plan for what came after the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi gave us jihadi chaos. The result is that it now looks like Moscow will get its man, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, to rule at least half the country. In other words, its now perfectly possible that we get a Russian satellite state on Europes doorstep, turning the refugee flows across the Mediterranean Sea on and off at will.

In Syria, those who pushed for the U.S. intervention failed to answer the basic question of how to avoid Libya-like jihadi chaos if Bashar al-Assad were actually toppled and so ended up arming rebels with no accompanying political strategy. The result, as we know, was a botched U.S. campaign.

But here we go again: We are nearing a military success against the Islamic State but have failed to define the peace that follows, because no serious attempt has been made to even define what that peace should look like in advance. This is what happens when you fixate on defeating an enemy militarily but dont bother with political strategy.

The inevitable result of having no political strategy is that others will fill the vacuum and determine the future. Thats why, in a June column, I wrote: [T]he Trump administration should now lay out a positively defined political vision for the Middle East, which would accompany and tether its negatively defined anti-Islamic State and anti-Iranian goals. At this time, the fundamental part of this vision must be a clear U.S. position on the future of Kurdish-held areas in Iraq and Syria.

Plainly, that has not happened. The absurd result is that we now have an Iraqi force that includes Iranian-backed Shiite militia using U.S.-issued military equipment to drive the KRGs Peshmerga from Kirkuk, in the same week that President Donald Trump emphasized the threat of Iranian proxies to regional stability.

In fairness, the Trump administration inherited this problem. In a paper he published this month titled A Lasting Defeat: The Campaign to Destroy ISIS, Ash Carter, defense secretary under President Barack Obama, wrote, My principal concern at this juncture is that the international communitys stabilization and governance efforts will lag behind the military campaign. But Carter makes not one single concrete political recommendation for what those efforts should practically involve, beyond the ambition that ISISs rule of terror must be replaced by stable, effective, legitimate governance. President George W. Bush rehearsed similar such vague pieties about Iraq after Saddam Hussein: generic humanitarian jargon employed to cover for the absence of an actual political strategy.

One counterargument is that the United States should not play politics in the region and just let local players shape their own future. Of course, the reality is that this would not be a straightforward case of self-determination but a policy position in which the fate of Iraq and Syria is left to other outside players, above all Iran and Russia.

In Iraq, there is a looming fight within Iraqs majority-Shiite political groupings between a more nationalist camp and a pro-Iranian one, with the Shiite militia groupings that now provide much of Iraqs internal security split between the two. The desire to maintain what little U.S. influence remains among Iraqi Shiites informs the reluctance to support full Kurdish sovereignty. Doing so would surely infuriate Baghdad and risk driving it even closer to Tehran.

However, the Kurds have proved to be a reliable and relatively secular U.S. ally since Washington protected the region from Saddam after the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and have played a key role in the fight against the Islamic State. Its not unreasonable to think that the KRG, having been let down by Washington in its recent push for independence, will now increasingly turn toward Moscow. Notice how Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft built up its position in Iraqi Kurdistan ahead of last months independence referendum.

Of course, Kurdish sovereignty would greatly anger Turkey. But at some point Washington needs to decide whether it is appropriate to have what increasingly looks like a dictatorship in a NATO alliance ostensibly committed to preserving democracy. Backing the Kurds in Iraq, and perhaps also in Syria, would send a powerful signal that Ankara cannot take Washingtons support for granted.

These are hard choices, and they are upon us now. There are no simple answers, only trade-offs. But strategy in historical reality has ever been thus. The problem here is that Washington has not committed to any of these choices, and so other players are instead determining the peace settlement on the ground.

If that is actually the plan  for the United States to stand back and let the gains and losses lie where they fall  so be it. But if so, that should be made plain, as well as the risk of letting the politics determine themselves weighed against the proposed value of the United States disconnecting from the politics of the Middle East.

However, it seems to me that this is not, in fact, the plan. Rather, it seems that the fixation on achieving a military victory first, and only then talking about the politics of what comes next  as if it were a nice sequential process  is the reason why there seems to be no U.S. political strategy. Call it the mission accomplished approach.

U.S. military success against the Islamic State now risks initiating the violent coming-apart of Iraq because there is no common enemy to align the countrys various factions together. The Trump administration must present a political strategy, right now, because the window to avoid very obviously repeating the mistakes of the past is rapidly closing.
Tesla (TSLA) will thrive in the world's largest auto market, according to one Wall Street firm.

Piper Jaffray reiterated its overweight rating on Tesla shares, saying the company's electric car quality is far ahead of its peers in China.

"After meeting with an electric vehicle (EV) trade group this week in Beijing, we still think Tesla has little to fear from Chinese brands, at least based on the current competitive landscape," analyst Alexander Potter wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "Branding and performance are just as important, and in this regard, we think nobody (least of all Chinese OEMs) can compete with TSLA."

Tesla's China sales rose to $1.07 billion last year from $319 million in 2015, according to an SEC 10-K filing.

Potter reaffirmed his $386 price target on Tesla shares, representing 10 percent upside to Monday's close.

"Anyone who has taken a ride in a Chinese EV will tell you that, like most other Chinese sedans, these vehicles just aren't compelling consumer products," he wrote.

The analyst said China will start an electric vehicle quota system in 2019. Large automakers will be required to purchase electric vehicle credits for 10 percent of total production that year, increasing to 12 percent by 2020.

"Companies that fail to achieve the quotas will be able to buy credits from companies that exceed the quotas," he wrote.

Tesla's stock is up 64 percent this year versus the S&P 500's 14 percent return through Monday.

The company's stock fell 1.4 percent Monday after a report that it fired hundreds of employees. Its shares are up 0.2 percent shortly after the market open Tuesday.

Some investors are also concerned about the company's cash burn and ability to meet its Model 3 production goals.
The Krack flaw affects potentially all Wi-Fi networks

Apple and Google have promised software updates to patch a critical flaw in Wi-Fi technology that would allow hackers to steal credit card numbers, passwords and private messages from internet users, while Microsoft says it has already issued an update.

The "Krack" vulnerability that emerged on Monday affects potentially every Wi-Fi network in the world and is seen as one of the biggest security scares in years. It sparked a rush of updates from technology companies on Monday, although many had known about it for weeks.

Apple said it had developed updates to iOS and MacOS that were in testing and would be released within weeks. Microsoft said an automatic security update issued last week had fixed the problem for Windows 7, 8 and 10 users.

Google, which develops the Android software that runs on the majority of smartphones, said it would release a patch on November 6. However, since Android manufacturers have to release their own security updates, it may be months until some phones are safe, and others may never be secured.

The Krack vulnerability, uncovered by a Belgian researcher on Monday, exploits a flaw in the way data is secured as it travels over the air between a device like a PC or smartphone and a Wi-Fi router. It forcibly installs a new "key" into the encryption protocol, meaning a hacker within range of the network could decipher information such as passwords and credit card numbers as it travels.

Krack attack | What to do about it

Mathy Vanhoef, the researcher who discovered the vulnerability, warned that it "works against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks".

The software updates should go some way to limiting the security scare, although internet users have also been urged to patch their routers.

A handful of router manufacturers have issued fixes or promised them, although BT, Sky and Virgin have not yet issued any guidance to customers about how to they need to update routers supplied by the companies.

A BT spokesman said: "Were aware of the issue and well be working with industry to update software as appropriate."

Virgin Media said: "Our security teams are always alert to any potential issues for our customers." Sky said: "We take the security of our customers extremely seriously and, along with the rest of the industry, are looking into this matter as a priority."
Apple has responded to Senator Al Franken's concerns over the privacy implications of its Face ID feature, which is set to debut on the iPhone X next month. In his letter to Tim Cook, Franken asked about customer security, third-party access to data (including requests by law enforcement), and whether the tech could recognize a diverse set of faces.

In its response, Apple indicates that it's already detailed the tech in a white paper and Knowledge Base article -- which provides answers to "all of the questions you raise". But, it also offers a recap of the feature regardless (a TL:DR, if you will). Apple reiterates that the chance of a random person unlocking your phone is one in a million (in comparison to one in 500,000 for Touch ID). And, it claims that after five unsuccessful scans, a passcode is required to access your iPhone.

More significantly, Apple provides a summary on how it stores Face ID biometrics, which gets to the heart of the privacy concerns. "Face ID data, including mathematical representations of your face, is encrypted and only available to the Secure Enclave. This data never leaves the device. It is not sent to Apple, nor is it included in device backups. Face images captured during normal unlock operations aren't saved, but are instead immediately discarded once the mathematical representation is calculated for comparison to the enrolled Face ID data."

On the topic of data-sharing, it writes: "Third-party apps can use system provided APIs to ask the user to authenticate using Face ID or a passcode, and apps that support Touch ID automatically support Face ID without any changes." It continues: "When using Face ID, the app is notified only as to whether the authentication was successful; it cannot access Face ID or the data associated with the enrolled face."

Interestingly, the company dodges the Senator's question about data requests from law enforcement. But, by indicating that data lives inside a "secure enclave" that it can't access, it's suggesting that it won't be able to handover info that it doesn't possess. It could also be holding back in light of its scrap with the Department of Justice last year, which saw it refuse to unlock an iPhone 5C owned by the San Bernardino shooters.

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As Sen. Franken noted in his letter, Apple trained its Face ID neural network on a billion images. But, that's not to say the photographs were of a billion different faces. For its part, Apple claims it looked at a "representative group of people" -- although it's still silent about exact numbers. It adds: "We worked with participants from around the world to include a representative group of people accounting for gender, age, ethnicity and other factors. We augmented the studies as needed to provide a high degree of accuracy for a diverse range of users." Of course, we'll get to see how accurate Apple's tech is when the new iPhone makes its way into more hands next month.

For now, it seems the Senator is satisfied with the company's initial response, which he plans to extend into a conversation about data protection. You can read his full statement below:

"As the top Democrat on the Privacy Subcommittee, I strongly believe that all Americans have a fundamental right to privacy. All the time, we learn about and actually experience new technologies and innovations that, just a few years back, were difficult to even imagine. While these developments are often great for families, businesses, and our economy, they also raise important questions about how we protect what I believe are among the most pressing issues facing consumers: privacy and security. I appreciate Apple's willingness to engage with my office on these issues, and I'm glad to see the steps that the company has taken to address consumer privacy and security concerns. I plan to follow up with the Apple to find out more about how it plans to protect the data of customers who decide to use the latest generation of iPhone's facial recognition technology."
By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Crown Resorts Ltd was accused of tampering with poker machines on Wednesday when a lawmaker tabled a video of whistleblowers in parliament, sending shares in the casino firm sliding.

The allegations, which Crown has denied, prompted gambling authorities in the state of Victoria, where its flagship casino is located, to say they would launch an investigation.

Independent lower house member and anti-gambling campaigner Andrew Wilkie used parliamentary privilege, which lets lawmakers make sensitive allegations without legal repercussions, to make the video public.

The accusations present a fresh headache for Crown, which is nearly half-owned by billionaire James Packer, after the arrest of more than a dozen employees in China caused it to retreat from an ambitious global expansion plan.

On the recording, unidentified people whose faces were heavily pixelated accuse Crown's casino in Melbourne of fixing poker machines by removing built-in controls designed to regulate gambling rates.

They also allege that Crown encouraged customers to disguise their identities to avoid detection by anti-money-laundering agency AUSTRAC, and that the casino failed to stop drug use and domestic violence on its premises.

"If the allegations are true, it does suggest that there is a systemic problem rather than a rogue individual," Wilkie told a news conference.

He added that he had verified the identities pf the people on the video as former employees of Crown but declined to say how the video came to be made. A former intelligence official, Wilkie has long campaigned for a crackdown on slot machines.

Crown said in a statement that it rejected the allegations and that Wilkie should "immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged".

Shares in Crown fell 4 percent on Wednesday to give the biggest listed casino operator outside China a market value of A$7.7 billion ($6 billion).

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"Some kind of investigation into this, that has some powers to compel evidence, is really what will be needed to get to the bottom of this," said Francis Markham, a researcher at Australian National University who specialises in poker machines.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, which oversees Crown's Melbourne casino, said in a statement it took claims "of this type extremely seriously and they will be thoroughly investigated".

The state agency added it was currently conducting a routine review of Crown's casino licence - one that it conducted every five years.

An AUSTRAC spokesman said the agency "takes all allegations of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing non-compliance seriously and will be examining these allegations further".

After the arrests of employees in China on suspicion of selling casino holidays in violation of that country's gambling ban, Crown quit the island of Macau and Las Vegas to focus on Australia. It recently received final government approval to expand beyond the cities of Melbourne and Perth and build a A$2 billion resort on the Sydney waterfront.

The company's renewed focus on Australia has offered an appealing strategy for shareholders but it has stoked criticism from anti-gambling campaigners worried that Australia has less than one percent of the world's population but more than a fifth of its slot machines.

($1 = 1.2745 Australian dollars)

(Additional reporting by Colin Packham and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Jane Wardell and Edwina Gibbs)
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio (Screengrab via University of Delaware)

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that 14 world leaders have sought him out for insight into President Trump.

One European prime minister, describing how Trump pushed the prime minister of Montenegro, Dusko Markovic, out of his way at a NATO summit, compared him to Il Duce, a moniker for the mid-20th-century Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Biden said.

Biden, appearing at an event at the University of Delaware alongside Ohio Gov. John Kasich, also criticized Trumps treatment of another head of state, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump has recently referred to Kim as Rocket Man as a result of his nuclear provocations, sometimes throwing in one of Trumps favorite slurs, little.

Despite Kims hostility to the United States, Biden said, You dont refer to him as a little guy.

Biden also disclosed that he is frequently contacted by frustrated Obama administration holdovers still working in government. Although we have a president who does not understand governance, Biden said, he urges government workers not to abandon their posts.

They call me all the time, Biden said of government employees. I say, Please stay, please stay. There has to be some competence and normalcy.

The former vice president also lamented the absence of certain basic social norms in politics, contending that certain conventions are an arbiter of how we work together.

The destruction of these norms is generating chaos, Biden said. Its generating chaos internally.

He cited President Trumps manner, but noted earlier examples of disrespect as well, including the nickname Bubba for former President Bill Clinton, and the occasion when Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., yelled, You lie! at former President Barack Obama during a joint session of Congress.

Biden and Kasich appeared onstage with a moderator, who had to do very little to keep the conversation flowing between them, although Biden dominated the session. The two politicians, although they are from different parties, seemed to share an affinity based on their working-class origins, and were whispering cordially to one another as they were introduced at the start of the program.
New York (AFP) - Bombardier's alliance with Airbus creates new hurdles for Boeing, but the US giant could respond by deepening its collaboration with Brazil's Embraer and launching a new aircraft, analysts say.

The surprise deal with Airbus was designed to let Bombardier proceed with its C Series program and avert draconian US sanctions that had been ordered in a preliminary Commerce Department decision in response to a Boeing complaint.

"Anything that's good for Airbus is bad for Boeing of course," said Jim Corridore, an analyst at CFRA Research, summarizing the reaction of many observers to the Airbus-Bombardier venture.

The deal grants Airbus an immediate stake in the program for C Series planes, which carry 100 to 150 passengers.

Airbus will hold a 50.01 percent stake of the venture and gain key new plane capacity without the normal huge up-front capital outlay, in exchange for using its sales and marketing heft to lift C Series sales.

Boeing for its part said the partnership was a non-event as far as the sanctions case, which is based on the contention that Bombardier received billions of dollars in subsidies from Canadian government officials.

"The announced deal has no impact or effect on the pending proceedings at all," said Boeing general counsel J. Michael Luttig in a statement released by a spokesman.

"Any duties finally levied against the C Series (which are now expected to be 300%) will have to be paid on any imported C Series airplane or part, or it will not be permitted into the country."

But analysts said Airbus' entree into Bombardier's C Series program raised pressure on Boeing.

- New Boeing offering? -

"We think Airbus wants to bring additional pressure to bear on Boeings narrow-bodies and expand its North American and Chinese footprint," said Morningstar analyst Chris Higgins in a note.

The deal gives Airbus a fresh supply of state-of-the-art single-aisle aircraft through 2025 to compete with Boeing's 737 Max 8, which carries up to 200 passengers.

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Noting that Airbus' larger single-aisle plane are outselling those from Boeing, "the tie-up puts the squeeze on Boeing from both sides," Higgins said.

"We think the chances of a new program launch from Boeing within the next 12 months have gone up a bit and now sit well above 50 percent," Higgins added.

"Boeing must quickly step up in single-aisle planes if it wants to be a player with the new technologies," said Michel Merluzeau of Air Insight.

In June, Boeing said it was studying plans for a new "middle of the market" plane that had triggered interest among carriers. The concept discussed by Boeing was for a somewhat larger plane capable of carrying 220 to 270 customers, Boeing official said at the time.

Boeing could also strengthen ties with Embraer, whose single-aisle plane the E2 directly competes with the C Series. The three versions from the Brazilian company will come into service between 2018 and 2020.

Boeing and Embraer already work together on the KC-390 military planes.

The Boeing complaint against Bombardier alleges that the subsidies allowed the Canadian company to sell planes to US carrier Delta Air Lines at below cost.

To counter the case, Airbus and Bombardier plan to shift some work on the C Series to Alabama, where Airbus already has a plant.
By Andrew MacAskill and Amanda Ferguson LONDON/BELFAST (Reuters) - The chances of Northern Ireland's political parties restoring a power-sharing agreement are "not positive" and Britain will have to impose a budget early next month if talks cannot be salvaged, the minister for the region said on Wednesday. Northern Ireland has been without a regional administration since its collapse in January, raising the prospect of direct rule being reimposed from London, potentially destabilizing a delicate political balance in the British province. Britain will need to draw up a budget - a move one of the region's smaller parties said would effectively constitute direct rule - if an executive is not formed by the week starting Nov. 6, James Brokenshire said. "If I had given evidence to this committee last week I might have indicated some momentum, more progress. That progress stalled at the end of last week," Brokenshire told a parliamentary committee, adding London would also have to pass legislation by Oct. 30 to enable an executive to be formed. "Unless there is a renewed spirit of compromise then the outlook for imminent resolution is not positive." Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who played a central role in brokering the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland, used a brief trip to Dublin this week to travel to Belfast and meet the main parties. But the main impediment in the talks between the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Irish nationalists Sinn Fein remains disagreement over improved rights for Irish language speakers, an issue that has dogged negotiations for months. Sinn Fein's leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, described Brokenshire's budget comments as "not helpful in the sense that it clearly signifies that would be the end of this phase of negotiations." Considerable challenges remain, she said. The Irish government, which is co-facilitating the talks, has said Northern Ireland needs a devolved government to give it a greater say in Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union, set to have a bigger impact on the province than on any other part of the United Kingdom. Ireland's foreign minister last week said reverting to direct rule from London for the first time in a decade would be a "devastating" blow for reconciliation in the province. Brokenshire said while he has no desire to do so, all options - including direct rule - must be considered if no agreement can be reached. "We are on a glide path to greater and greater UK government intervention," Brokenshire said. "We can't go on much longer." (Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Stephen Addison and Janet Lawrence)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it had summoned the Chinese ambassador in recent days to express its concern that a British rights activist was denied entry to Hong Kong last week. "We are very concerned that Ben Rogers, a UK national, was denied entry into Hong Kong on 11 October in absolute disregard of the 'one country, two systems' principle," Foreign Office minister Mark Field said in parliament. He added: "Foreign Office director-general for economic and global issues summoned the Chinese ambassador on this issue over the past few days." Rogers, a co-founder of the ruling Conservative Party's Human Rights Commission, has been a vocal critic of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong's treatment of human rights activists, including that of jailed student protest leader Joshua Wong. Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is governed under a "one country, two systems" principle that promises it a higher degree of autonomy and freedom than on the mainland. Last week, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London needed an explanation from Hong Kong and Beijing on the matter. (Reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)
A state-sponsored campaign of systemic, targeted abuse has driven more than half of Myanmars Rohingya population out of the country in a matter of weeks. Many of the alleged and documented atrocities against the minority Muslim group amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, Amnesty International charges.

In its latest report, My World Is Finished, the human rights organization identifies specific Myanmar military units linked to a series of gruesome assaults in the countrys Rakhine State that have led at least 530,000 Rohingyas to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in less than two months.

On Aug. 25, an insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked a number of government security posts, killing 12 state officials. The militarys brutal retaliation has widely targeted Rohingya men, women and children, who already had extremely limited rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Amnesty is among several human rights groups that have documented state-sponsored violence against the Rohingyas during the current crisis, including unlawful killings, sometimes involving the use of landmines; forcible displacement; rape; arson and looting; torture, including beatings and sexual attacks; and other inhumane acts such as the denial of life-sustaining supplies and aid.

Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar wait to be let into Bangladesh on Oct. 16. (Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

These extensive, egregious human rights violations and crimes have been committed within a context of decades of systemic persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar, but the Amnesty report described the current ethnic cleansing campaign as beyond anything in the countrys recent history.

Based on more than 150 interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, the report accuses the Myanmar Armys Western Command, the 33rd Light Infantry Division and the Border Guard Police of committing the most abhorrent acts of violence.

The Western Command in particular has been intimately involved in some of the worst abuses, including large-scale killings and targeted burnings, Amnestys Matthew Wells told reporters on a conference call. Wells spent the past several weeks at the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

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In the report released Tuesday evening, Wells recounted meeting a 12-year-old girl named Fatima whose parents and siblings had been killed. Men in uniform opened fire on her family as they attempted to flee from their burning village, she recalled. Fatima said she saw her family members fall to the ground with bullet wounds as she ran. Then she was shot in the thigh.

I fell down, but my neighbor grabbed me and carried me, she said.

Amnesty sent photos of her injury to a forensic medical expert, who confirmed that she had been shot from behind. Fatimas account matches other witness testimonies saying the military had shot them as they fled.

An incredibly concerning number of Rohingyas are arriving in Bangladesh with gunshot wounds, Wells told reporters.

Shara Jahan, sitting for a portrait in Bangladesh's Kutupalong Refugee Camp, was badly burned before she fled Myanmar. (Photo: Andrew Stanbridge/Amnesty International)

Shara Jahan also told her story to Amnesty. The 40-year-old woman was home with her husband and sons when they noticed nearby houses on fire. The men ran outside as she called for her younger children inside the house. Soon, Jahans home caught fire. She escaped with severe burns, only to learn that her husband and 20-year-old son had been shot and killed.

No one was there to save me, she told Amnesty. We lost our children, we lost our husbands. It is very hard.

Tirana Hassan, Amnestys crisis response director, described the military-led crackdown as heinous and disproportionate.

In this orchestrated campaign, Myanmars security forces have brutally meted out revenge on the entire Rohingya population of northern Rakhine State, in an apparent attempt to permanently drive them out of the country, she said.

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Taslima, a 20-year-old Rohingya refugee, cries on Oct. 16 after her father died while crossing the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. (Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Amnestys researchers have asked Myanmar authorities to grant them direct access to Rakhine State, but have yet to receive a response. Theyre urging the government to allow human rights groups, journalists and the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission unrestricted access to the region to investigate alleged crimes by both the state and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.

The report also calls on international institutions  including the U.N. Security Council, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  to impose a comprehensive arms embargo as well as financial sanctions on senior Myanmar officials reasonably suspected of serious crimes.

Myanmar has been accused of downplaying the crisis. The U.N. recently removed a report from its website detailing the Rohingyas desperate living conditions after receiving pushback from the Myanmar government. The countrys civil leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has dismissed mounting reports of atrocities as misinformation.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will visit South Asia next week, described the Rohingyas plight as heartbreaking on Wednesday. If the alleged atrocities are true, he said, someone is going to be held to account for that.

Whats most important to us is that the world cant just stand idly by and be witness to the atrocities that are being reported in that area, Tillerson said. We really hold the military leadership accountable for whats happening.

Myanmars military and government have repeatedly denied responsibility for the persecution of Rohingyas and have attempted to justify the current crackdown  actions that fit a longstanding pattern of impunity, according to Amnesty.

This article has been updated with comment from Tillerson.

Also on HuffPost

An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal, in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesd, on Sept. 11, 2017.

Rohingya Muslim refugees disembark from a boat on the Bangladeshi side of Naf river in Teknaf on Sept. 13, 2017.

Recently arrived Rohingya refugees wait to receive aid donations on Sept. 13, 2017, in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Exhausted Rohingya refugees rest on the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, on Sept. 10, 2017.

Rohingya refugees reach out their hands to grab aid packages in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 17, 2017.

Rokeya Begum, 23, holds her 4-day-old twins born in a makeshift tent on Sept. 17, 2017, in Kutupalong, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

Rohingyas are seen after arriving by boat on Sept. 14, 2017, in Shah Porir Dip, Bangladesh.

Rohingya refugee children carry an old woman in a sling near the Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 13, 2017.

This photograph taken on Sept. 12, 2017, shows Rohingya refugees arriving by boat at Shah Parir Dwip on the Bangladesh side of the Naf River after fleeing violence in Myanmar.

A Rohingya Muslim woman gets off a boat after crossing over from Myanmar into the Bangladesh side of the border, in Shah Porir Dwip near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on Sept. 13, 2017. Rohingya Muslims pay local fishers 36 U.S. dollars in order to cross to Shah Porir Dwip peninsula.

A Rohingya refugee girl sits next to her mother who rests after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Sept. 6, 2017.

A Rohingya refugee man pulls a child as they walk to the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat through the Bay of Bengal in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, on Sept. 10, 2017.

Rohingya Muslim refugees build temporary makeshift shelters, after crossing the border from Myanmar, in the Bangladeshi town of Teknaf on Sept. 10, 2017.

Rohingya refugee people take part in Eid al-Adha prayer near the Kutupalang makeshift refugee camp, in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 2, 2017.

Rohingya refugees climb up a hill after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 8, 2017.

A Rohingya refugee boy stands in a queue to receive relief supplies given by local people in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 16, 2017.

A Rohingya refugee carries a child through a paddy field after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Sept. 6, 2017.

A local man carries an old Rohingya refugee woman as she is unable to walk after crossing the border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Sept. 1, 2017.

A Rohingya refugee boy walks in the water after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Sept. 1, 2017.

Rohingya refugees stands in an open place during heavy rain, as they are held by Border Guard Bangladesh after illegally crossing the border, in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on Aug. 31, 2017.

Rohingya refugees stretch their hands to receive aid distributed by local organizations at Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 14, 2017.

Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy path at Thaingkhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Sept. 14, 2017.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Christian Shepherd and Stella Qiu BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday laid out a confident vision for a more prosperous nation and its role in the world, stressing the importance of wiping out corruption and curbing industrial overcapacity, income inequality and pollution. Opening a critical Communist Party congress, Xi pledged to build a "modern socialist country" for a "new era" that will be proudly Chinese and steadfastly ruled by the party but open to the world. Although his wide-ranging address made clear there were no plans for political reform, Xi said China's development had entered a "new era", using the phrase 36 times in a speech that ran nearly 3-1/2 hours. "With decades of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era," Xi said. The twice-a-decade event, a weeklong, mostly closed-door conclave, will culminate in the selection of a new Politburo Standing Committee to rule China's 1.4 billion people for the next five years, with Xi expected to consolidate his control and potentially retain power beyond 2022, when the next congress takes place. The 64-year-old Xi, widely regarded as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, spoke to more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing's cavernous, red-carpeted Great Hall of the People, including 91-year-old former president Jiang Zemin. Security was tight on a rainy, smoggy day in the capital. (For multimedia coverage, click http://reut.rs/2gN2YqY) As expected, the speech was heavy on aspiration and short on specific plans. On the economy, Xi said China would relax market access for foreign investment, expand access to its services sector and deepen market-oriented reform of its exchange rate and financial system, while at the same time strengthening state firms. During Xi's first term, China disappointed many investors who had expected it to usher in more market-oriented reforms, especially in the debt-laden state sector. "If Xi gets the political mandate that he is expected to out of the congress, then my hope is that the state sector reforms actually get done," Damien Ma, fellow and associate director at U.S. thinktank the Paulson Institute, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "If not, then I would also revise my assessment of the state of reforms in China. There have been talks in Beijing that the state sector will be a focus after the 19th party congress, so we need to see." The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said it welcomed commitments to open wider the door and treat all companies equally, but said European companies operating in China continued to suffer from "promise fatigue". "The only cure for this is promise implementation," it said in a statement. In what was probably an indirect reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy, Xi promised that China would be fully engaged with the world, and reiterated pledges to tackle climate change. Trump this year opted to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate pact. "No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation," Xi told the delegates, among them Buddhist monks, Olympic medallists, farmers and at least one astronaut. Xi set bold long-term goals for China's development, envisioning it as a "basically" modernised socialist country by 2035, and a modern socialist "strong power" with leading influence on the world stage by 2050. But he signalled there would be no significant political reforms, calling China's system the broadest, most genuine, and most effective way to safeguard the interests of the people. Xi has overseen a sweeping crackdown on civil society, locking up rights lawyers and dissidents and tightening internet controls as he has sought to revitalise the Communist Party and its place in contemporary China. "We should not just mechanically copy the political systems of other countries," he said. "We must unwaveringly uphold and improve party leadership and make the party still stronger." FIRM ON GRAFT, TAIWAN Xi praised the party's successes, particularly his high-profile anti-graft campaign, in which more than a million officials have been punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed, saying it would never end as corruption was the "gravest threat" the party faces. On self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, Xi said China would never allow the island to separate from China, adding that China would strive to fully transform its armed forces into a world-class military by the mid-21st century. He made no mention of neighbouring North Korea, which has angered Beijing with repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions. Pyongyang sent a congratulatory message ahead of the meeting. Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China's rising might on the world stage. Focus at the congress will be on how Xi plans to use his expanded authority, and moves to enable him to stay on in a leadership capacity after his second term ends in 2022. That could include resurrecting the position of party chairman, a title that would put him on par with Mao, the founding father of modern China. "In all aspects he is on the right track to be our next Chairman Mao," Su Shengcheng, a delegate from the northwestern province of Qinghai, told Reuters. "He will lead the party and Central Committee to continue its way to success." As with other major set-piece events in the capital, Beijing has been blanketed with security in the run-up to the congress, with long queues of passengers at some subway stations waiting to go through metal detectors and be patted down. Large red banners plastered around Beijing trumpet the congress, while censors have stepped up already tight monitoring of the internet. Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat, China's top social media platform with more than 960 million users, said late on Tuesday that "system maintenance" would render users unable to alter profile pictures, nicknames and tag lines until month-end. The disabled features are sporadically used to show solidarity for popular social and political causes. (Additional reporting by Philip Wen, Pei Li, Michael Martina, Cate Cadell, Kevin Yao, Yawen Chen, Elias Glenn and Se Young Lee; Writing by Ben Blanchard and Tony Munroe; Editing by Nick Macfie and Clarence Fernandez)
Internet conspiracy theorists are beside themselves amid claims that first lady Melania Trump has a body double.

The only "evidence" of this theory is footage taken of Trump standing next to her husband, President Donald Trump, as he gave remarks regarding the Iran nuclear deal and hurricane relief for Puerto Rico Friday.

RELATED: Melania Trump visits Florida following Hurricane Irma



In the short clip, the president calls out Melania Trump during a press conference, a move conspiracy theorists on Twitter claim to be an effort to cover up his wife's alleged absence.

"My wife, Melania, who happens to be right here," the president said.

"We've done a great job in Puerto Rico," President Trump says of hurricane relief efforts https://t.co/76jXCrGqVV  NBC News (@NBCNews) October 13, 2017

Some commented that the differences lie in the first lady's details: the sunglasses, her coat and the shape of her nose.

Melania doesnt look like herself here...  Equilibrium (@Iustitia_Omnib) October 17, 2017

Im not one for conspiracies but thats not Malania.....  Jax Exotic (@ArkieJack) October 16, 2017

And, as Newsweek noted, since the footage made its debut online, Google searches like "Melania Trump double" and "Fake Melania" have shockingly seen a spike online.

But it wouldn't be the first time a woman in the political sphere faced accusations of using body doubles.

During the presidential election last year, then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton began trending online with hashtags such as #bodydouble or #hillarysbodydouble.

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SEE ALSO: Twitter conspiracy theorists erupt over Prince Harry's 'devil' hand gesture while greeting Melania Trump

Conspiracy theorists fingered Teresa Barnwell, a comedian who professionally impersonates Hillary Clinton, as the former Secretary of State's stand-in at 9/11 memorial event.

#HillarysBodyDouble trended-a side by side comparison raises some uncomfortable conspiracy questions #USelectionspic.twitter.com/pABe6TMkgu  Monica Jasuja (@jasuja) September 12, 2016

And still, a year after the Clinton body double claims were denounced as false, Melania Trump is now facing her own side-by-side image comparisons by social media.
In the fourth season of "Gotham," viewers see the emergence of the criminal landscape for which Gotham City is best known, with Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock at the forefront of the fight against the most depraved and unhinged villains. While Gotham City fights for normalcy, a new hero rises, as Bruce Wayne begins to assume responsibility for the citys well-being. Join actor Crystal Reed as she takes the BUILD stage to discuss her role as Sofia Falcone, the strong, intelligent and calculating daughter of Don Falcone, who returns to Gotham to help Gordon take down Penguin.
Democrat Doug Jones is running against Republican Roy Moore. (Photo: Brian Schoenhals/Getty Images)

Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones raised $1.3 million between July and September, an impressive amount for the former U.S. attorney who has so far attracted relatively little support from the national party.

Jones now has $1 million cash on hand, according to the third-quarter total that was provided to HuffPost.

These fundraising numbers are the latest proof that our campaign is continuing to gain incredible momentum with grassroots support from throughout the state of Alabama, said Sebastian Kitchen, communications director for the Jones campaign. Alabamians know that Doug cares about kitchen table issues that are important to them and know he will stand up for hardworking families in the Senate.

More than 22,000 people have donated to the campaign since Jones jumped into the race in May, and more than 3,500 people have signed up to volunteer.

As a U.S. attorney in 2002, Jones was the lead prosecutor in the case against two of the men responsible for the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hes running against Republican Roy Moore in the Dec. 12 special election to replace Jeff Sessions, who vacated the seat when he became President Donald Trumps attorney general. Moore defeated Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who had the backing of the GOP establishment  including Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

It was a bruising primary, and the Senate Leadership Fund  a super PAC that is backed by McConnell  has said it currently has no plans to step in to help Moore defeat Jones.

On the Democratic side, Jones has so far not received any financial backing from the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, although the groups have sent out fundraising appeals on his behalf.

He is attracting attention, though  partly because of his compelling biography, but also because he is running against Moore. The Human Rights Campaign, the nations largest LGBTQ rights organization, recently endorsed Jones. Former Vice President Joe Biden also went to Alabama and held a rally for him.

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There are concerns about whether Jones actually has a shot at beating Moore in the red state  and whether national support will help or hurt him amongst voters who may be looking for someone without strong establishment ties.

As chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Moore told state probate judges to ignore the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling declaring marriage equality the law of the land. He recently referred to people of color as reds and yellows, and once said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) should not be able to serve in Congress because hes Muslim.

Moores campaign did not return a request for comment on his fundraising numbers.

Want more updates from Amanda Terkel? Sign up for her newsletter, Piping Hot Truth, here.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

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Julian Castro, Elizabeth Warren, Michelle Obama and Cory Booker

Hillary Clinton had barely hung up the phone after conceding to Donald Trump when disappointed Democrats began mulling who could succeed where she had failed in four years' time.

The Republican's shock win, after months of polls had suggested the Democratic nominee was favourite, devastated the Democrats and left the party considering how best to move forward.

Senate Democrats will spend the coming days and weeks reflecting on these results, hearing from the American people, and charting a path forward, said Senator Charles Schumer.

The defeat will spur much soul-searching within a party that was already divided after the fierce battle in the primaries between Mrs Clinton and the more left-wing Bernie Sanders.

Here are some of the names being touted as potential Democratic candidates in the 2020 presidential election.

Elizabeth Warren

The Massachusetts firebrand is near the top of most lists for future candidates. The senator, a heroine on the populist left who would appeal to supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, was quick to rally the party after Mrs Clinton's defeat, warning Mr Trump that he would face a battle within the White House.

"We are going to be smart, we are going to be organised, we're going to use our time and talents in a strategic and careful way, but we are going to fight back. We are not going to turn this country over to what Donald Trump has sold," Ms Warren, 67, said in an interview with television network MSNBC.

Elizabeth Warren Credit: AP

When asked who she would choose as a running mate for 2020, the mother-of-two laughed and deflected. That is a long way off, she said. We dont have energy to waste on that.

Arthur Schwartz, a Manhattan Democratic district leader who backed Mr Sanders during the primary season, said she would be fantastic". Were going to hear a lot from her over the next four years, he added.

Ms Warren also sparked a feminist movement with her objections to the confirmation of Senator Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General. The phrase, "nevertheless, she persisted', uttered by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, went viral and spread to women's persistence in breaking barriers.

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Kamala Harris

Californian senator Ms Harris, just the second black woman ever elected to the Senate, is also among the favourites to lead the Democrats into the next election.

The daughter of Indian and Jamaican parents won her seat in 2016. However, talk of a possible run, along with comparisons to Barack Obama, have circulated since the 52-year-old became the first woman elected to serve as Californias attorney general in 2010.

Senator Harris speaks at rally in support of DACA at the U of C Irvine Student Center in Irvine, California Credit: Reuters

Her reputation and standing has grown considerably since Donald Trump was elected in November 2016, becoming one of the the president's most outspoken critics. She addressed the Women's March in January, aggressively grilled Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an open Senate hearing, and lambasted the president for his response to the Charlottesville white supremacists' rally.

"I say if Kamala Harris runs, she is the Democratic nominee," Conservative commentator and author Ann Coulter said.

John Delaney

John Delaney, a three-term Democrat congressman from Maryland, was the first to officially throw his hat into the ring.

The 54-year-old son of an electrician, whose business career has made him one of the wealthiest members of Congress, announced in September that he was not seeking a fourth term in Congress - instead he would devote time and money to his White House campaign.

"I think am the right person for the job, but not enough people know that," he told the Telegraph at a gathering of around 40 Democratic activists held in a suburban home in southern New Hampshire.

Congressman John Delaney was the first to announce a White House run for 2020 Credit: Getty

"So the way I solve that problem is by getting in early and spending more time."

Mr Delaney pitch is unashamedly moderate and believes the party must attract bipartisan support if it is to win back the White House.

Andrew Cuomo

If Senator Warren would be favoured by the Sanders camp, Andrew Cuomo, the New York Governor, would be among the preferred candidates for the party establishment. Even as Mrs Clinton was watching the disappointing results come in on Tuesday night, Democratic officials and donors gathered at her event at the Javits Center were talking up Goernor Cuomo.

The governor of New York is always a potential candidate, said a Democratic Party insider who was at the event, according to the New York Post.

Andrew Cuomo Credit: AFP

Asked on Wednesday about a possible role in the 2020 presidential race, Mr Cuomo, 58, said: I see a role for myself as governor of New York.

Like Mrs Clinton, however, the father-of-three also comes with political baggage, with two former aides, Joseph Percoco and Todd Howe, having been involved in corruption scandals.

Whether he envisions a White House run could come apparent when he makes a decision on whether to seek re-election for a third term in 2018.

Tim Kaine

As Hillary Clinton's running mate in the last election, the Virginia senator would also be seen as an establishment figure. The 58-year-old has extensive experience in public office, having served as governor of Virginia for four years prior to becoming senator. He is fluent in Spanish, which will appeal to the party's aim to recruit more Hispanic voters.

He is also a familiar figure in Washington, having sat on the influential armed services and foreign relations committees, the budget committee and was also the state's lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond.

Profile | Tim Kaine

Recent history shows a run for vice-presidency can precede a bid for the top job. Joe Lieberman, Al Gores running mate in 2000, later ran for president in 2004, and John Edwards, John Kerrys running mate in 2004, later ran for president in 2008.

When his name was first touted to be Mrs Clinton's running mate, the father-of-three said: "I'm boring. But boring is the fastest growing demographic in the country."

Cory Booker

The New Jersey Senator, who was reportedly on Mrs Clintons shortlist for her running mate and endorsed her early on in her campaign, has emerged as one of the most prominent African-American elected leaders in the country.

The 47-year-old is a gifted campaigner with a large following, particularly on social media, and would engage well with black voters and young people.

"He is a popular senator here in the state. He's made friends in the Senate there. He's raised his profile," Patrick Murray, head of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, told Politico.

Cory Booker Credit: AP

Senator Booker made a strong impression at the Democratic National Convention, giving an impassioned, soaring address around the theme of "America, we will rise".

While Senator Warren was quick to keep up the attack on Mr Trump after election, Mr Booker's tone echoed that of President Barack Obama.

"I feel like I have no choice but to be hopeful and determined. My heart wants to give him space to prove that he will unite America."

Julian Castro

The grandson of a Mexican immigrant, the Texas Democrat was raised by a single mother in a poor neighbourhood of San Antonio, where he later became mayor.

The 42-year-old burst onto the national stage in 2012 when the then mayor of San Antonio delivered the keynote speech at the Democratic convention - the first Latino to be awarded the privilege by either party. The strong performance earned many plaudits and drew instant comparisons with Barack Obama, the first African American to speak in the same coveted slot in 2004.

The young and charismatic politician, whose twin brother Joaquin serves in the US House of Representatives, went on to become the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development two years later and is considered one of the partys brightest rising stars.

He was talked about a possible running mate for Mrs Clinton. Now the father of two is being linked with the top job.

When asked if the Democrats should review the party's direction after the election, he said: Of course, any time especially in an election like this where youre expected to win and you dont, it makes sense to go back and understand what happened.

Kirsten Gillibrand

The respected New York Senator, who was also talked of as a possible VP candidate, took Mrs Clinton's seat in a special election in 2010 and admitted when she was chosen that many would not have heard of her. "I realise that for many New Yorkers, this is the first time you have heard my name and you don't know much about me," she said at the time, before vowing to "represent the many diverse views and voices of the entire state as your senator." She was elected for a full term in 2012.

During her time in Congress, the 49-year-old mother-of-two was influential in scrapping Dont Ask Dont Tell, a policy which effectively prevented gay people from serving, and brought more transparency to Washington by publishing online information such as her public schedule and personal financial disclosures.

Kirsten Gillibrand, with Bill Clinton Credit: AP

Addressing the issue of women in politics, she once said: "My own experience in Congress is when women are on committees and at hearings, the nature of the discussion is different, and the outcomes are better - we reach better solutions, better decisions are made."

Ms Gillibrand is considered a centrist Democrat who could win over some Republicans, while her opposition to gun control measures has drawn prompt criticism from some of New York's more liberal officials.

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic socialist senator from Vermont, fought hard to beat Mrs Clinton in the primaries, drawing crowds of more than 10,000 people to his rallies and running on a populist platform that promised to rein in Wall Street and redistribute America's wealth.

Such was the split in the party that some of his supporters couldn't bring themselves to vote for Mrs Clinton in the election.

The 75-year-old sounded as if he was resuming his campaign when he told the party this week that it should be "embarrassed" by its failure to reach out to white working-class voters and criticised Mrs Clinton for accepting millions of dollars in speaking fees from large corporations and US banks.

Hillary Clinton vs Bernie Sanders

"You cannot be a party which, on one hand, says we're in favour of working people, we're in favour of the needs of young people, but we don't quite have the courage to take on Wall Street and the billionaire class," Mr Sanders said. "People do not believe that. You've got to decide which side you're on."

He also refused to rule out running for the presidency in 2020. "Four years is a long time from now," he said. "We'll take one thing at a time, but I'm not ruling out anything."

Michelle Obama

Amid all the chatter of who could replace Mr Trump in 2020, the First Lady has created the greatest clamour. Yet she is also probably the least likely to run.

The 52-year-old mother-of-two charmed the US, and the world, for eight years to become one of the most popular presidential spouses America has seen. She then became known as one of the most effective political communicators around with her barnstorming speech at this year's Democratic National Convention and her emotional attack on Mr Trump in the summer.

Yet Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president and a friend of the Obamas, was adamant in ruling out a White House run from the First Lady. "Absolutely not," she told Vogue.

David Axelrod, a strategist close to the Obamas, said in a radio interview that he would bet everything I own against her running for office.

Hillary Clinton

Could she run for a third time? The former secretary of state, who failed to beat Barack Obama in 2008 and then Donald Trump in 2016, has already ruled out the possibility of another White House bid.

But after taking some time to lick her wound in the woods near her home in Chappaqua, the former First Lady has come out fighting this year.

Donald Trump shakes hands with Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of their first presidential debate Credit: Reuters

Any losing candidate needs an explanation for their defeat - and Mrs Clinton literally wrote the book on it. Bringing out What Happened just months after the election, she has laid the blame on former FBI Director James Comey and Russian interference.

In an appearance on CBS This Morning last month, Chelsea Clinton was asked if her mother might run again. She replied, "Oh I have no idea ... I don't think so".

Mr Trump certainly thinks she should challenge him again. "I hope Hillary runs," he said during a press conference. "Hillary, please run again! Go ahead."
Donald Trump, the US President, takes questions at a White House press conference - AP

Donald Trump has triggered furious row with Barack Obamas former aides after accusing his predecessor of never calling the families of Americas war dead.

The US President was accused of an outrageous and disrespectful lie after spontaneously making the claim during a press conference.

Mr Trump also faced a backlash from relatives of fallen soldiers who said that other former presidents he criticised had personally consoled them.

Mr Trump's comment came after being pushed on why he had failed to comment on the deaths of four soldiers in Niger on October 4.

It has led to a heated debate about the US Presidents tendency to make what critics say are overblown and misleading statements when publicly challenged.

However Mr Trump has refused to back down, urging reporters to talk to military figures including his chief of staff John Kelly to prove his point.

The row was ignited when Mr Trump defended his record of writing and calling relatives of American soldiers killed in action during a press conference.

If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls. A lot of them didn't make calls, Mr Trump said.

I like to call when it's appropriate, when I think I'm able to do it. They have made the ultimate sacrifice, so generally I would say that I like to call.

The comment triggered an immediate backlash, with the US President softening his claim when challenged a second time at the press conference but not abandoning it entirely.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders later backed up Mr Trump's comments, saying that the President wasn't criticizing predecessors, but stating a fact".

However pictures soon circulated online of Mr Obama meeting the caskets of fallen troops as they returned from Afghanistan - something he was photographed doing dozens of times at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Aides who worked for Mr Obama also took to social media to defend their former boss in the strongest terms.

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This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards, said Ben Rhodes, Mr Obama's foreign policy adviser.

Alyssa Mastromonaco, a deputy chief of staff under Mr Obama, called Mr Trump a deranged animal while former attorney general Eric Holder wrote: "Stop the damn lying - youre the President.

There was also criticism from those linked to Mr Bush, who oversaw the invasion of both Afghanistan and Iraq after the September 11 attacks.

Freddy Ford, a spokesman for the ex-president, said Mr Bush wrote to all the families of the fallen while in office and called or met hundreds if not thousands of relatives.

One sister of a killed American solder also described how Mr Bush listened while I screamed at him and then held me as I sobbed.

Pushed on his comments during a round of talk radio interviews on Tuesday, Mr Trump refused to back down, urging reporters to ask the military about Mr Obamas record.

He also said they should ask Mr Kelly - the former general now chief of staff to Mr Trump whose son died in Afghanistan - whether he got a call from Mr Obama.

Mr Trump did tone down his comments, saying: "I really speak for myself. I am not speaking for other people. I don't know what (George W.) Bush did. I don't know what Obama did.

"I believe his policy was somewhat different than my policy. I can tell you, my policy is I have called every one of them."
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto pose at the presidential palace in Mexico City on 12 October after discussing Nafta: ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trumps North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) negotiators reportedly seem uncomfortable with the position they have been put in during negotiations and don't like" what they are being asked to do

According to the CBC News, a source told them the US delegation at the latest round of negotiations on reforming the deal have been uncomfortable with the demands they are presenting, which appear to have been dictated to them by the Trump administration.

It appears the hectic pace of the two-week rounds of negotiations, which aim to be wrapped up by the end of the year, are only exacerbating the confusion about what the US actually wants out of the deal.

Part of the problem may be because Mr Trumps chief negotiator US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was not involved in Oval office meetings last week between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mr Trump.

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross was there, however.

Mr Trudeau also travelled to Mexico to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and reaffirm a commitment by the two to stay in Nafta.

"As we move forward with renegotiations, we will continue to work toward our shared goal of a win-win-win agreement to ensure that the new provisions are fair and beneficial to all three countries involved," Mr Trudeau said.

The negotiations are taking place because Mr Trump came close to withdrawing from the trilateral deal in April, having repeatedly called it the worst trade deal ever made.

Withdrawing from the trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the US was one of Mr Trump's key promises on the campaign trail in 2016. He claimed it is a "job killer" and was antithetical to his "America First" approach to governing.

This is not Mr Trump's first foray into withdrawing the US from major trade agreements. Early in his term, he took the US out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was close to being fully approved among the 12 nations participating.

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Withdrawing from Nafta exacerbates an already shaky relationship between the US and Mexico. Mr Trump has been consistently promising his base of support that he will build a nearly 2,000 mile border wall.

He said it was specifically to stop illegal immigration into the US. However, on the campaign trail and well into his first year in office, he has continually promised that Mexico would pay for such a wall with no explanation of how he would get them to finance the project, which many estimates put at close to $25 billion.
Mr Trump has fallen almost 100 places: Getty

Donald Trump, whose business empire has continued to operate alongside his presidency, has fallen close to 100 places in a prestigious ranking of Americas wealthiest people.

The Forbes annual list ranking the 400 richest Americans, says Mr Trump has tumbled 92 places to 248th. Last year, he was ranked at 156th.

The magazine said the Presidents total wealth had fallen $600m to a net worth of $3.1bn, largely due to a weakening in the New York City retail and office real estate markets. The magazine said the downgrading of his wealth was also a result of new information it had collected.

It has long been unclear precisely how wealthy Mr Trump really is. When he announced in the summer of 2015 that he was running for the White House, he boasted about how rich he was and held up a financial statement detailing what he said were $9.2bn in assets and $8.7bn in net worth.

Im not doing that to brag, he said. Because you know what? I dont have to brag.

Yet analysts were quick to question Mr Trumps self-assessment. An filing with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently revealed he was probably worth no more than half of what he claimed. Back then, Forbes reckoned he had total wealth of $4bn.

On Tuesday, Luisa Kroll, Forbes magazine senior wealth editor told CNBC that Mr Trump had not sought to boost his ranking on the list, as she said he had in previous years.

Well see if he tweets today, she said. I know he cares a lot.

The President, whose wealth has been tracked by Forbes since 1982, shares his spot on the list with the 27-year-old Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of the parent of Snapchat, and the youngest person included.

At the top of the list, Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates tops for the 24th consecutive year, with a net worth of $89n this year. Amazons Jeff Bezos, worth $81.5bn, retains the No. 2 spot for the second consecutive year, the magazine said.

Meanwhile, iconic investor Warren Buffett, who before 2016 held the second spot for 15 consecutive years, has been listed at third place for the second year in a row.

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The magazine said that the billionaires on its list have a combined total net worth of $2.7 trillion, up from $2.4 trillion in 2016. The minimum net worth now required to be counted among the very richest Americans hit a record high of $2bn, up from $1.7bn in 2015 and 2016. There were 169 billionaires who did not make the cut.

Americas richest are richer than ever. The minimum net worth to make the Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans is now a record $2bn, said Luisa Kroll and Kerry Dolan of Forbes.

But even at these new heights, entrepreneurs are breaking into the ranks for the first time as they mint fortunes in everything from Netflix and telecom to vodka and fishing.
Donald Trump told the widow of a fallen US soldier that he knew what he was signing up for, it was claimed yesterday as an attempted condolence backfired spectacularly.

The US President was said to have made the comment when calling the wife of La David Johnson, a 25-year-old killed recently in Niger, West Africa.

Two people listening into the call - including Mr Johnsons mother - confirmed he made the remark and called it disrespectful.

However Mr Trump denied the claim in the strongest terms and said he had proof the words had not been spoken, implying a recording existed.

The row comes after Mr Trump faced criticism earlier this week for how he consoles relatives of Americas war dead, when he in turn criticised Barack Obama.

The trigger had been the killing of four US Special Forces soldiers in Niger, which Mr Trump did not publicly acknowledge for 12 days.

.@RepWilson, who rode with Sgt. La David Johnson's widow, said she heard part of call with President Trump: "He must've known what he signed up for."pic.twitter.com/7q0nEMFQy1  Kanisha Jackson (@Kanisha1Jackson) October 18, 2017

In an effort to defuse the row, Mr Trump called Mr Johnsons widow Myeshia, who picked up while being driven to the airport where her husbands body was being returned.

Listening in on the call, which was put on speaker phone, was Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson as well as other family members.

Ms Wilson later claimed that Mr Trump had said of the fallen soldier: He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway.

Ms Wilson said that Mr Johnsons widow was crying the whole time during the call, adding: When she hung up the phone, she looked at me and said, He didnt even remember his name.

The comment triggered a furious back and forth as the US President denied the comments were ever made but other corroborated the claims.

Mr Trump tweeted: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

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He later added: I didn't say what that Congresswoman said; didn't say it all. She knows it.

My heart is broken for the family of La David Johnson. 6 month pregnant 25 year old widow with 2 other kids. No words. Please show her some love and support!pic.twitter.com/X4lvPgVxhK  Kanisha Jackson (@Kanisha1Jackson) October 18, 2017

I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was  sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the Congresswoman said, and most people arent too surprised to hear that.

However Ms Wilson responded: "I still stand by my account of the call b/t Donald Trump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump. Not the woman or the wife.

The Congresswomans account was later verified by the soldiers mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, who had been listening in on the call.

She said: President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband.

The White House did not confirm or deny Ms Wilsons account on Tuesday. An official said: The Presidents conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, later said Mr Trumps call had been completely respectful but did not dispute the words attributed to him.
Republican Senator from Arizona John McCain (C) speaks to members of the news media at the Senate subway before a procedural vote to advance debate on tax reform, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 17 October 2017 - EPA

US President Donald Trump launched into a fresh war of words with a fellow Republican on Tuesday, warning John McCain "I fight back, and it wont be pretty" after the respected senator criticized him in a speech.

Speaking on Monday night at an event held to honor his lifes achievements, McCain accused Trump of spreading a "half-baked, spurious nationalism."

The former presidential candidate and war hero, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in July, added the US must not retreat from global leadership nor "find scapegoats (rather) than solve problems."

Trump lashed out Tuesday, telling conservative radio host Chris Plante: "People have to be careful because at some point I fight back.

"Im being very nice. Im being very, very nice. But at some point I fight back, and it wont be pretty."

McCain has proved a thorn in Trumps side in recent months, twice helping to scupper his partys attempts to repeal a healthcare law that was a signature accomplishment of former president Barack Obama.

Asked by AFP what he made of Trumps latest missive, McCain shrugged the matter off. "I do what I have to do and I work with him as much as I can, and I do what I need to do for the people of Arizona," he said.

"Thats the way Ive been for the last 35 years."

Regarding Trumps suggestion he would fight back, McCain responded simply: "I have faced some pretty tough adversaries in my life."

President Donald Trump, taking questions, points to a reporter in the Rose Garden of the White House, after a working lunch with Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (L), October 16, 2017, in Washington, DC Credit: UPI / Barcroft Images

The latest drama came weeks after another senior Republican, Senator Bob Corker, claimed the presidents behavior on the global stage was pushing the country to the brink of conflict.

Trumps frequent sparring with congressional leaders is seen as potentially damaging to his legislative agenda, with Republicans holding only a slim majority in the Senate.

Profile | John McCain
Jakarta (AFP) - The emir of Qatar held talks with Muslim-majority Indonesia on Wednesday, more than four months into a Saudi-led blockade against the Gulf emirate.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's two-day visit to Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest economy and the worlds most populous Muslim country, comes amid heightened Gulf tensions.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar on June 5 over its alleged support of extremism, charges Doha denies.

Talks focussed on investment and trade opportunities in energy, infrastructure and tourism.

But the emir said the two leaders also discussed the unjust siege of his country by neighbouring Gulf states.

We have also reminded to the [Indonesian] president that Qatar is always ready for dialogue to find a solution to this issue, because there is no winner in this problem. We're all brothers, and we're all losing because of this crisis," the emir said through an Arabic interpreter at the presidential palace in Bogor.

Al-Thani led a delegation of 40 businessmen who also accompanied him to Malaysia and Singapore.

"This is a very important visit and the first visit for emir Al Thani to Indonesia which also coincides with the commemoration of 41 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Qatar," Widodo told reporters after closed door talks.

Qatar and Indonesia signed memorandums on aviation, health and education and discussed a number of issues facing the Muslim world, including the plight of Rohingya refugees.
Asnatural disastersunfoldacrossthe world, celebrity chefs are stepping up to help out.

Big names in food, fromGuy Fieri toSkinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel, have gotten creative in their responses to disasters such as this months wildfires in California, Septembershurricane in Puerto Rico and Augustscatastrophic flooding in Houston.

In some cases, their actions turn political: This week, U.S.-based chefJose Andres publicly vowed that his nonprofit would continue feeding Puerto Ricansuntil locals could take care of themselves, directly contrasting PresidentDonald Trumps recent threats topull aid from the area.

Last week, Anthony Bourdain delivered powerful remarks against people who say chefs shouldnt comment on politics.

Fuck that. Is there anything on this planet more political than food? No there is not, he told audiences at a TimesTalk panel.

We heartily approve of these chefs helpful efforts in times of crisis. Heres whos helping out.

Jose Andres

The chefs foundation, World Central Kitchen, has prepared and delivered more than a million meals to residents of Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria ravaged the island in late September, The Washington Post reports. Things kicked off when Andres flew down just after the disaster to cook for hungry residents with local chef Jose Enrique and organize kitchens, volunteers and food trucks around the island. The month prior, he made meals for victims of the Houston floods.

A post shared by Jose Andres (@chefjoseandres)on Oct 17, 2017 at 2:41pm PDT

Guy Fieri

Last week, the Sonoma County, California local evacuated his own home during the fires and organized a makeshift outdoor kitchen at a local veterans building. Since then, he and a team of chefs have fed more than 5,000 people a day, Eater reports. Fieri also set up a donation page with the Salvation Army, where you can contribute to fire relief.

A post shared by Omar Bell (@omarjbell)on Oct 16, 2017 at 7:42pm PDT

Bethenny Frankel

In early October, Frankel chartered four planes to Puerto Ricoto deliver2,000 pounds of nonperishable meals along with canned goods, water and other necessities. The month prior,she delivered suppliesto victims of thedeadly earthquake in central Mexico. Before that, she raised more than $300,000 for Houston victimsvia her charity program,B Strong.

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A post shared by Bethenny Frankel (@bethennyfrankel)on Oct 1, 2017 at 2:57pm PDT

Mario Batali

Along with other big-name restaurants, Batalis Otto pizzeria donated 10 percent of its proceeds to World Central Kitchens operations in Puerto Rico and Haiti onWorld Food Dayin October.

Emeril Lagasse

Aside fromparticipating in World Food Day, Lagassedonated 10 percent of proceeds from his New Orleans restaurant to victims of Hurricane Harvey back in September.

Wolfgang Puck

Two weeks ago, the L.A. chefhosted a dinner fundraiser with other local talents to benefit those affected by HurricanesIrmaandMaria.

Paula Deen

Last month, Deen hosted a fundraiser at a Texas brewery for Hurricane Harvey victims.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Flexibits, the company behind popular calendar app Fantastical, is releasing a new app for macOS today. Cardhop is another take on a default productivity app. This time, the company is trying to improve the Contacts app. It is available on the Mac App Store for $19.99, with a $14.99 introductory sale.

Ive been using Cardhop for a few weeks, and its been a breath of fresh air when it comes to managing my contacts. If you manage hundreds of contacts and contact dozens of people every week, Cardhop makes it much easier to find everything you need, add new information and contact people. In many ways, it feels like Spotlight for your contact database.

Cardhop is a menubar app for macOS, which means that many people will interact with the app by clicking on the icon in the top bar. You can also open it with a keyboard shortcut and keep an icon in the dock.

[gallery ids="1556568,1556565,1556566,1556567,1556571,1556569,1556570"]

The first thing youre going to notice is that the main way to interact with Cardhop is the search field. When you open the app, youre ready to start typing. By default, Cardhop also presents todays birthdays and your most recent contacts. You can also scroll through all your contacts, but theres no need to do it if you can just search.

Of course, you can type a first name or last name and see the contact entry. But the search field has a few hidden tricks up its sleeve. You can also type an action followed by a name. For instance, if I write call Jordan, Cardhop knows I want to call TechCrunchs Jordan Crook because shes my favorite Jordan in my address book. After pressing enter, I can initiate a call on my iPhone via Bluetooth or on my Mac using the FaceTime app and Wi-Fi calls.

Cardhop also supports iMessage, Skype, Telegram, FaceTime, FaceTime Audio, email, etc. You can customize the shortcuts for each contact.

Similarly, adding new information is probably my favorite feature. You can just dump a bunch of information and Cardhop will figure out what to do with it. For instance, if you type Sherlock Holmes work phone 555-123-4567 birthday 9/30, itll create a new entry or add new information to an existing entry with everything in the correct field.

Cardhop doesnt try to reinvent the wheel and relies on the existing syncing services of the default Contacts app. So if youve already added an iCloud or Exchange account to the Contacts app, youll find the exact same contacts in Cardhop. When you edit information in Cardhop, the app uses the same database. So everything you edit in Cardhop is going to instantly sync with your iPhone and other devices.

Just like Fantastical, Cardhop is a well-designed app and Im quite impressed with the attention to details given that its just a 1.0 version. It lets you browse your contacts, do something and move on with your work in no time. And maybe the best contact app is the one that gets out of the way.
Michael Brown, the former FEMA head who was widely blamed for the Bush administrations slow response to Hurricane Katrina, sees some familiar patterns in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The same breakdown in coordination between different levels of government that exacerbated the disaster of Katrina also contributed to struggles to respond adequately to Maria, Brown told TIME this week.

Brown, who resigned as FEMA director under President George W. Bush amid criticism of his handling of Katrina, praised the Trump administrations overall response to Maria. But he said that the unified command center in Puerto Rico was ineffective at coordinating and managing resources, as some local officials would not or could not make it there because they were isolated by the storms damage to the islands infrastructure. In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, New Orleans lacked a federal command center on the scene altogether, according to a government report commissioned to assess the event.

I think presidents and certainly FEMA have learned that you got to have a unified command structure to respond to any disaster, Brown said. In Puerto Rico, we see that there are many people who havent learned that.

David Paulison, who succeeded Brown as FEMA leader under Bush, offered a similar assessment. What we had in Katrina was a disconnect between the federal, state and local level, he said. In Puerto Rico I see that same breakdown.

Those assessments were challenged by a senior FEMA official in Puerto Rico. I know both Mike and Dave and I have a lot of high regard for them, but thats just not the case on the ground here, Mike Byrne, the federal coordinating officer for Puerto Rico, said in a phone interview from San Juan. Byrne said he meets daily with Puerto Ricos governor at the command center established early on in San Juan and several times a day with his staff, and has an inter-governmental coordinator in each of the islands 78 municipalities. I not only have ground troops at the most minute level, I also have constant access to the highest levels, he said.

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Byrne, who took over for another FEMA official a week ago, acknowledged that Puerto Ricos physical isolation and the comprehensive damage of the storm  which knocked out power and cell phones, and many roads  slowed the initial response. But with 77 helicopters and 19,000 troops on the island three weeks after the storm, the relief effort was robust, Byrne said, delivering one million liters of water on Oct. 17, and 600,000 meals. So theres always slow ramp up time, but once you get the pump primed, things get moving. And it took longer to get this pump primed, because its 1,000 miles from the mainland.

Despite these efforts, Puerto Rico remains in dire straits, with much of the island without electricity or access to clean drinking water nearly a month since the storm struck the U.S. territory, leaving at least 48 people dead. Still, many natural disaster experts agree with Byrne that delays in response have been due to the islands location and lack of infrastructure, rather than issues with the federal governments response. Brown said the Trump administrations response in Puerto Rico was pretty much textbook. James Lee Witt, who served as FEMA director for the entirety of the Clinton presidency, told the Washington Post he would give the Trump administration an A-plus for its handling of the storm  something Trump picked up on in remarks this week.

I was very honored, Trump said Monday. Hes the FEMA director of the Clinton administration. Gave us an A-plus for how we responded to the hurricane aftermath.

Perceptions of the response have also been affected by President Trumps social media habits. While Trump put resources at FEMAs disposal, he distracted from recovery efforts at times with tone-deaf comments and online feuds with some local officials, including San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz. Last week, Trump threatened to pull FEMA and the Department of Defense from the island. Trumps advisers would prefer not to focus on the Presidents Twitter feed. Judge us by the actions, Mick Mulvaeny, Trumps director of the Office of Management and Budget, told CNN earlier this month. Judge us by whats happening on the island.

-With reporting by Karl Vick
As if you needed another reason to love beer.

WhenRichard Spencerand his small group of white supremacist fanboys show up at the University of Florida in Gainesville on Thursday, they may be addressing an awfully small crowd.

Thats thanks to a genius plan hatched by the folks atAlligator Brewing, who have pledged to give a free beer to anyone who picks up two free tickets to attend Spencers talk, then swings by the brewery instead.

With 800 tickets available, the brewery could hand out as many as 400 free beers.

We unfortunately cant stop him from bringing his hate to Gainesville,Alligator explainedin an Instagram post announcing the campaign, but we can empty the room so his disgusting message goes unheard.

Spencertold the Miami Heraldhis organization is aware of the brewerys offer, and the group is trying to counter it by distributing its own tickets to the event.

But its unclear how Spencer and his supporters plan to make racism  includingwhat they call peaceful ethnic cleansing more appealing than free beer.

Alligator head brewerAaron Kahn told WCJB the brewery will honor the deal no matter who distributes the tickets.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
(Photo: Fox News)

On Fox News, being a voice for common sense will leave you singing solo. The channel showcases choral voices harmonizing noisily as one, to trill that Hillary Clinton is the devil, or that the media  which somehow never includes Fox News itself  is out to destroy President Trump. The rare contributor who is hired to represent something other than the right wing (what is Juan Williams supposed to be, a liberal? Mmmm, hes not really, but OK) frequently finds him- or herself shouting over the shouting just to be heard. How rare it is to come upon someone who attempts to apply simple common sense, to walk the road of reasonability, on Fox. And thus we come to praise Gillian Turner.

Ive become aware of Turner under her official title of Fox News Contributor during the past year or so  in other words, since Trump turned news culture into pop culture and vice versa. (Covering the news is now a TV critics beat just as much as covering the latest sitcom or drama.) Turner specializes in foreign policy analysis, and is often introduced as having worked as a policy adviser in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, which is Foxs way of signaling, Hey, we got a moderate here! What first caught my attention about Turner is that she often pauses before she speaks, to gather her thoughts, and then phrases her answers in a calm, nuanced manner. You may think that doesnt sound particularly impressive, but trust me  having watched every day-segment of Fox News programming more or less constantly in recent months  to pause and respond calmly on Fox is as rare as hearing Sean Hannity say, You know, I must admit youve changed my mind.

Given that our president seems hellbent on starting a nuclear war with North Korea, Turner has been called upon frequently in recent months to explain the concept of diplomacy to Fox News viewers. Oh, who am I kidding? She has to explain the word diplomacy to Fox News hosts, who are so trained to argue, squabble, and squawk, they often dont even hear each other. Turner has sometimes been enlisted as a substitute co-host on The Five, where seating her in the crossfire between Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, and Kimberly Guilfoyle is like asking her to stand in the middle of a Mexican town when the Wild Bunch comes galloping through.

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Turner is also deployed occasionally on Outnumbered, Foxs noon hour, whose gimmick is to have four women and one lucky guy discuss the days events. There, Turner frequently finds herself the one unlucky person on the panel wholl speak for simple accuracy and truth. On the Sept. 26 Outnumbered, the subject was a congressional committees request for emails from Jared Kushners private email server. The panel immediately turned this into a discussion of  of course!  Hillary Clintons emails. When Turner pointed out that this story had nothing to do with Clinton (Ive sat on this couch for a thousand hours debating Hillary Clintons use of a private email server), her colleagues turned on her with a collective fury. It starts at about 27:30 in this clip; by 29:00, Turner is plaintively yelling, Can I finish my point?

I have seen Turner in this position many times. She frequently operates as a fact-checker, pointing out when whatever show shes on takes its rightward twist. On an Oct. 11 Outnumbered, the panel played a clip of Hillary talking about her election defeat, which was then used by the Outnumbered hosts to condemn Hillary for blaming sexism for her loss. Turners turn finally came, and she  yes  paused, and then observed, Lets be honest here for a moment. Is that really the argument she was making in this interview? I didnt hear her say, I lost because there is a gender imbalance.  I dont think its fair for us to be approaching this as if thats what she said in this interview. Well, the first mistake Turner made there was saying, Lets be honest, because that aint gonna happen when it comes to a Clinton segment.

But more broadly speaking, Turner operates as a valuable corrective to some of the channels loopier tendencies. Its interesting that the channels management is clearly interested in using her but has no idea where or how. She has popped up as a weekend anchor on Americas News Headquarters, where she seems quite sensibly bored reading the days headlines and getting condescended to by co-anchor Eric Shawn. Turners foreign policy expertise gets its best workout when shes on Chris Wallaces Fox News Sunday, but she will also  ever-pluckily  plop down onto the set of Gutfelds wild and woolly Saturday-night smackdown-fest, The Greg Gutfeld Show. Tucker Carlson Tonight enables her to show a more relaxed side, in his lighthearted Top That segment.

Shes also booked occasionally on Howard Kurtzs Media Buzz, where I cherish a moment, during the July 16 show, when she said, Im one of those people that cringes when I watch cable news battles, where people attack each other. That theres someone on Fox News who has a core of civility gives me hope in humanity. I have no idea what Fox plans to do with Turner, although if I had to guess, Id say they might be grooming her as a permanent replacement for Dana Perino on The Five, should Perinos new afternoon show, The Daily Briefing, take off in the ratings. (That is a long long-shot, by the way.) All I do know is that Turner is easily the sanest opinionator on Fox News. Im just not sure whether, from the networks point of view, that makes her invaluable or a sitting duck waiting to be executed.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Remembering those who died in the Mid-Valley. Photos submitted by family members to accompany their obituaries in the Albany Democrat-Herald a
Caitlan Coleman, the American woman who spent five years as a hostage of the Taliban, was reportedly rushed to the hospital less than a week after her release from captivity.

Coleman was admitted on Monday and remains in the hospital, her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, who was also detained by the Taliban, told The Associated Press. He did not specify her condition.

Coleman and Boyle had been backpacking in Afghanistan in 2012 when they were abducted by the Taliban-allied Haqqani network. Coleman was pregnant at the time.

The couple and their three children, all born in captivity, were rescued by the Pakistani military last Wednesday. They traveled Friday to Boyles parents home in the Canadian town of Smiths Falls.

Boyle said on Friday that his youngest daughter suffered a medical emergency but told CTV News the next day that doctors believed she would recover.

My wife has been through hell, Boyle wrote in an email to the AP. She has to be my first priority right now.

Boyle claims their captors raped his wife and forced her to abort a fourth child, though the Taliban denies both accusations. Coleman had a natural miscarriage, according to a statement from Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Boyle believes they were abducted because it was well-known by the eventual-kidnappers that Caitlan was heavily pregnant, he explained in an email to the Canadian Press. [The captors] spoke often immediately following the kidnapping that America will pay for you very quickly, America will not want to risk the baby is born here in prison.

He described the conditions of their detention as remarkably barbaric and said he and his wife were often separated and beaten.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The father of a slain U.S. Army corporal says President Donald Trump offered him $25,000 over the phone earlier this year while calling to offer his condolences and then never followed through, according to The Washington Post.

Chris Baldridge told the publication that a few weeks after his 22-year-old son, Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, was gunned down by an Afghan police officer on June 10, he had a 15-minute phone call with the president. Baldridge said he told Trump of his struggle with the manner in which his son was killed, according the Post story, and was offered $25,000 after telling the president about his frustration with the militarys survivor benefits program.

Baldridge said he can barely rub two nickels together, and that his ex-wife would receive the Pentagons $100,000 death gratuity because she was his sons beneficiary.

According to the Post story: [Trump] said, Im going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000, and I was just floored, Baldridge said. I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, No other president has ever done something like this, but he said, Im going to do it.

But Baldridge told the Post he had not yet received a check yet. He said he did receive a condolence letter from the administration, adding that he opened it up and read it ... hoping to see a check in there.

I know it was kind of far-fetched thinking. But I was like, Damn, no check. Just a letter saying Im sorry, he told the Post.

Shortly after the Post story appeared on the newspapers website Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said that a check was sent, but it was not made clear when that was.

The story comes on the heels of backlash Trump is taking from some Gold Star families, who called the presidents delayed response to the Oct. 4 deaths of U.S. soldiers in Niger an abdication of his first duty as commander in chief to recognize the sacrifices of the troops and their families.

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(Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Trump waited more than a week to address the incident, and a call he made to the widow of one of the soldiers killed has become shrouded in controversy.

Myeshia Johnson, the wife of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, received a call from Trump on Tuesday and her conversation with the president was overheard via speakerphone by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). Wilson said that Trump remarked on the phone, But you know he must have known what he signed up for.

How could you say that to a grieving widow? Wilson said. And he said it more than once. I said this man has no feelings for anyone. This is a young woman with child who is grieved to her soul.

Trump denied that he made the comments and said Wilson fabricated her claim. I have proof, Trump tweeted, although he has not offered that evidence.

Trump also wrongly claimed earlier this week that previous presidents didnt call the families of fallen service members, singling out his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama. An Obama spokesman told HuffPost on Monday that Trump was wrong and that President Obama engaged families of the fallen and wounded warriors throughout his presidency, including through calls.

Also on HuffPost

Service members sleep at the Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Fitness and Sports Complex during exercise Key Resolve, March 2, 2015.

Recruits of Oscar Company, 4th Recruit Training Battalion, make their beds during the morning routine Nov. 7, 2013, on Parris Island, South Carolina.

French and U.S. Army Soldiers bed down during a field training exercise March 16, 2016, in Arta, Djibouti.

U.S. Army Rangers, rest for a moment in between events during the Best Ranger Competition 2016, at Fort Benning, Ga., April 16, 2016.

Candidates from the Air Force Security Forces Center Ranger Assessment Course 16-1 take a well-earned nap after successfully completing a 12-mile ruck march in less than 3 hours on April 22, 2016.

U.S. Army Special Forces Green Berets, assigned to 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Operational Detachment-A, sleep inside a hide site during a special reconnaissance mission while participating in Integrated Training Exercise 2-16 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Feb. 16, 2016.

After a 2 a.m. wake-up call, Citizen-Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 296th Infantry Regiment of the Puerto Rico National Guard take a apower napa during a flight on a C-130 Hercules aircraft before their next mission for Annual Training 2015 at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The 296th will be conducting their AT 2015 in coordination with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Louisiana National Guard from May 30 a June 13. According to Lt. Col. Hector Santiago, the 296th commander, one of the reasons for his unit to train in Fort Polk is to be able to use weaponry they cannot use in Puerto Rico due to temporary terrain constraints. Some of the weapons schedule to be used are the .50-caliber Browning machine gun (50 Cal), M120 Mortar System and the BGM-71 Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided Missile (TOW) among others.

Soldiers at Patrol Base Mahawil sleep in either the bombed-out headquarters building or "tent city," a compound of 12-person tents.

U.S. Army Capt. Michael Nguyen, 3rd Squadron 17th Regiment headquarters commander, sleeps in the early morning hours after a night mission during Decisive Action Rotation 14-09 at the National Training Center, Aug. 20, 2014.

General Dynamics Electric Boat test engineers rest in modified berthing facilities located in the Torpedo Room aboard PCU Virginia during Bravo trials. The torpedo room can be reconfigured to meet a variety of operational missions including bunking a special operations team.

Beds are lined up in a hangar Oct. 8, 2014, at Avon Park Air Force Range, Fla. During Moody's Wing Readiness Inspection, more than 200 Airmen deployed to Avon Park and lived in close quarters after duty hours.

Marines with Company I, Battalion Landing Team 3/8, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, relax in their berthing during down time aboard USS Kearsarge, September 6, 2010.

A U.S. Marine Corps corporal with 4th Platoon, Company C, 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, kicks off his 4th of July sleeping on a hammock hung across two AAVs on a beach in Ancon, Peru the morning after his units initial launch off of the amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans.

Chief Petty Officer Albert S. Spiess, master-at-arms, left, inspects a berthing space as Petty Officer 1st Class Jun R. Gozon, culinary specialist, berthing petty officer in-charge, logs discrepancies during a messing and berthing inspection aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is part of the forward-deployed Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is conducting spring patrol to the Western Pacific Ocean.

A U.S. Soldier sleeps next in a waterproof sleeping bag next to a tent during Talisman Sabre, Pacific Pathways 2015 at Shoalwater Bay Training Area near Rockhampton, Australia, July 11, 2015.

U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Aircraft Group 36 sleep during a lunch break while constructing a classroom during Exercise Cobra Gold 2013 (CG 13) at Ban Nam Chiao Elementary School in Lam Ngob District, Trat Province, Kingdom of Thailand, Jan. 21, 2013.

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus tours berthing spaces aboard the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS West Virginia (SSBN 736) during a visit to Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Mabus visited various commands and facilities and held an all-hands call with Sailors and Marines to discuss the current and future status of the Department of the Navy.

U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force Darwin, stay in tents during the beginning of Exercise Hamel at Cultana Training Area, South Australia, Australia, June 30, 2016.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
(EDGEWOOD, Md.)  A man with a lengthy criminal past who was fired from a job earlier this year for punching a colleague showed up for work at a countertop company as scheduled on Wednesday and started shooting five of his co-workers, authorities said. Three of them were killed and two critically wounded.

Less than two hours later, Radee Labeeb Prince drove to a used car lot about 55 miles (90 kilometers) away in Wilmington, Delaware, and opened fire on a man with whom he had beefs in the past, wounding him, police said.

The shooting rampage set off a manhunt along the Interstate 95 Northeast corridor. Police cruisers were stationed in medians, and overhead highway signs displayed a description of Princes sport utility vehicle and its Delaware license plate. The FBI assisted state and local authorities in the manhunt.

SEARCH for SUSPECT:

RADEE LABEEB PRINCE 11/5/79

2008 Black Chevy Acadia DE Tag PC064273

Call 911 if you see the suspect. pic.twitter.com/v8y18FOEUi  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) October 18, 2017

This is a person with no conscience, Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said. Hes desperate right now.

Authorities said it wasnt clear why Prince open fired with a handgun on his colleagues.

Prince is a felon with 42 arrests in Delaware. Court records showed he had been fired from a Maryland job earlier this year after allegedly punching a co-worker and threatening other employees. He also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, was habitually late paying his rent, was repeatedly cited for traffic violations and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol counseling in recent years.

The rampage began Wednesday about 9 a.m. at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Deputies arrived in four minutes but Prince had already fled.

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Kevin Doyle of Thornhill Properties said he was getting tools from his truck when he heard screaming and saw three men running from the office park. The men told him someone was shooting and he asked if they had called 911. They said no, even though, Doyle said, they had phones in their hands.

I think they were just so scared, they didnt (call 911). They had a look of terror, he said.

The victims and the suspect worked for Advanced Granite Solutions, which designs and installs countertops, the company owner told The Associated Press. Prince has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told AP in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who spoke at an unrelated event, said authorities in helicopters and on the ground were searching for Prince, who may be driving a black 2008 GMC Acadia with the Delaware license tag PC64273.

The second shooting took place at the 28th Street Auto Sales and Service shop in Wilmington, Delaware. The police chief wouldnt elaborate the history the victim and Prince had, other than to say: This individual knew the people he wanted to shoot.

The victim was shot in the vicinity of his head and once in the body but was expected to survive.

Police chased Prince briefly after he left the used car lot, but they lost him, and havent seen or heard from him since, the chief said.

Prince was fired from JPS Marble and Granite earlier this year and scared his previous employer so badly that he tried to get a restraining order in February.

At one point, Princes former boss Philip Siason said: He came to see me, cursed and yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me.

A Harford County District Court judge denied the order, saying the case didnt meet the required burden of proof.

Investigators were treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and didnt see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Since November 2014, Prince has rented a three-bedroom town house in Elkton  about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the office complex  with his girlfriend, according to a Maryland property manager.

Prince often paid his rent late, but was always polite and cooperative, said Heather Todd of Homes for Rent. The company filed eight petitions for nonpayment against the couple, but they always ended up paying and the company never had to schedule an eviction.

Prince faced several gun charges in March 2015 in Cecil County, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a handgun in vehicle. However, the charges were dropped about three months later. Its not clear why.

Wilmington, Delaware, police said Prince had 15 felony convictions there. In King County, Washington, in 2014, he was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license, according to Komonews.com.

Court records also showed that he was required to undergo drug and alcoholism counseling at the time.

Prince racked up four traffic citations in King County in 2012 and 2013, mostly for speeding.
By Christine Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more outfront role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in the South Korean capital of Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension between Pyongyang and Washington has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump's social media comments on North Korea, saying, "The insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don't think they've benefited the United States".

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader "little rocket man" on a suicide mission, and vow to destroy the country if it threatens the United States or its allies. In turn, the North called Trump "mentally deranged" and a "mad dog".

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile to hit the United States.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said the United States did not rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

The situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point "and a nuclear war may break out any moment", North Korea's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong had told a U.N. General Assembly committee on Monday.

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In Seoul, the vice foreign minister said on Wednesday South Korea was considering levying its own sanctions on the North, although no decision has been made yet.

CHINA PRESSURE

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said Washington's allies have increasingly been expressing concern over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming distracted with North Korean threats and be "as forcefully patient" as possible.

Regarding China's role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off trying to "tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions" against North Korea.

North Korea's relationship with its main ally and trading partner China have been strained by its rapid pursuit of weapons programmes, with many of Pyongyang's recent tests coinciding with major Chinese events.

There had been fears that North Korea would conduct another test to coincide with the start of China's five-yearly party congress on Wednesday. Instead, Pyongyang sent Beijing a congratulatory message.

The central committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea said China had made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the guidance of the Communist Party of China.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success".

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention North Korea in his more than three-hour-long address at the opening of a key Communist Party Congress.

CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

Clinton said retaliatory actions by China over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, which targeting the latter's firms doing business in China, would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job reining in the North.

China says the powerful radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system could be used to pierce its territory, and has taken aim at South Korea's businesses. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Korea's missile threats.

"The Chinese can't have it both ways," Clinton said. "They can't do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face."

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)
(SEOUL)  Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that cavalier threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are dangerous and short-sighted, urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a more outfront role in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea), said Clinton at a forum in the South Korean capital Seoul, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face, Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trumps comments towards North Korea on social media, saying the insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I dont think theyve benefited the United States.

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader little rocket man on a suicide mission, and vowed to destroy North Korea if it threatens the United States or its allies. North Korea has in turn called Trump mentally deranged and a mad dog.

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant to sit down at the table while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said the United States didnt rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

North Koreas Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong told a U.N. General Assembly committee on Monday that the situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment.

Story continues

CHINA PRESSURE

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said Washingtons allies have increasingly been expressing concerns over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming distracted with North Korean threats and be as forcefully patient as possible.

Regarding Chinas role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off trying to tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions against North Korea.

North Koreas relationship with its main ally and trading partner China have been strained by the rapid pursuit of its weapons programmes, with many of Pyongyangs recent tests coinciding with major Chinese events.

There had been fears that North Korea would conduct another test to coincide with the start of Chinas five-yearly party congress on Wednesday. Instead, Pyongyang sent Beijing a congratulatory message.

The central committee of the Norths ruling Workers Party of Korea said China had made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the guidance of the Communist Party of China.

We are greatly pleased over this, the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it sincerely wished the China congress satisfactory success.

CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

Clinton said Chinas retaliatory actions against South Korean companies doing business in China following the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job containing and deterring North Korea.

China has been curbing South Korean businesses there since Seoul decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, saying its powerful radar could be used to pierce its territory. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Koreas missile threats.

The Chinese cant have it both ways. They cant do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face, she said.
On Monday, a high-ranking Iranian military leader joined a number of the country's officials in condemning President Donald Trump's use of the term "Arabian Gulf" to refer to a region traditionally called the Persian Gulf in the U.S. and many countries around the world.

At the commencement of a four-day naval symposium in Italy, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari called into question Trump's motivation for using the often politically charged phrase during the president's announcement of a new U.S. strategy toward Iran on October 13. While a number of Arab states that rival Iran in the strategic region refer to it as the "Arabian Gulf," most U.S. officialsincluding Trump's presidential predecessorshave historically used the more commonly known and U.N.-recognized name, Persian Gulf, or simply "the Gulf."

Related: In Trump's war with Iran, U.S. allies are siding with Russia and China

It indicates his lack of understanding and knowledge of history, because the name of the Persian Gulf has been always in historical records and there are so many documents to prove that, Sayyari said, according to Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency.

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Hamed Jafarnejad/Fars News/Reuters

Trump's decision to use the controversial term highlights a historic dispute over what the region should be called, and it has been largely received in Iran as an attack on the country and its cultural history. The name "Persian Gulf" dates back to ancient maps and documents created by the Persians, whose empire once expanded across the Middle East and whose nominal significance to the Gulf has persisted throughout the ages, being later carried on by successive Greek and British rulers, according to The New York Times.

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The first unified opposition to the label came amid the rise of Pan-Arabism in the 1950s, with leaders such as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser insisting that fellow Arab countries claim the strategic, mostly Arab region's name from Iran, then ruled by Western ally Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi following a 1952 CIA-backed coup that restored him to power. Even Nasser, however, used the term "Persian Gulf" in some of his early speeches, expressing solidarity with Arabs "from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf" in the 1950s.

The "Arabian Gulf" cause was increasingly picked up by the Arab monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula, especially Saudi Arabia, as frictions arose with Iran, which has been led by a revolutionary Shiite Muslim government since 1979. Certain branches of the U.S. military, which maintains a sizable presence in the region, have sided with their Arab allies in using the term "Arabian Gulf," but many continue to use both terms interchangeably.

Despite trash-talking Saudi Arabia during his presidential campaign for what he thinks are insufficient contributions to U.S. defense, Trump has since positioned himself as a fervent supporter of Riyadh, especially as he escalates his opposition to Iran. Both the U.S. and Iran are actively battling the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, but Iran's expanding sphere of influence presents a major obstacle to U.S. interests in the region.

The naming dispute also highlights the muted ideological differences that haunt Iran's partnership with Syria, whose Baathist government is a bastion of secular Arab nationalism. Iran is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest allies, and Iranian support has played a crucial role in helping the Syrian leader regain momentum against a six-year rebellion by insurgents and jihadis threatening his rule. But the proliferation of Iran-backed, foreign militias may present a challenge to Assad's efforts to stabilize his mostly Arab, Sunni Muslim country.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency has interchangeably used the terms "Arabian Gulf" and "the Gulf" to refer to the region but does not appear to have publicly incurred the wrath of its Iranian ally, as other outlets have.

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SANA/Reuters

While Trump's use of the term was just one of many attacks hurled at Iran during last week's announcement, in which he refused to certify a 2015 nuclear treaty and accused the country's government of being "a fanatic regime" that sponsors terrorism abroad, it received one of the most indignant responses of all. Iranians stormed Trump's official Instagram and Twitter accounts with choice words for the president, and even Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shared his outrage on social media.

"Everyone knew Trumps friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is too," the diplomat tweeted Friday.

The October 13 remarks were the first time Trump has publicly used the term "Arabian Gulf," and while he appears to have usually referred to the region as "the Gulf" before, he hasn't always felt this way. In one of the billionaire real estate mogul's earliest forays into politics, Trump used the term "Persian Gulf" in a 1987 advertisement in The New York Times. In it, he called on the U.S. government to "stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves" and specifically targeted Saudi Arabia and Japan.

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The self-described Islamic State finally lost its tenuous grip on the Syrian city of Raqqa on Tuesday as U.S.-backed forces retook the extremist groups last major urban territory following a four-month military campaign.

Raqqa has been ISIS de facto capital for years and was one of the first cities that fell under the groups control during its rapid takeover of territory in 2014. ISIS enforced draconian laws during its rule, dictating daily life and carrying out horrific punishments for dissent.

But the last ISIS fighters in Raqqa have now either surrendered, died or fled, leaving behind bombed out buildings and rubble-covered streets. In ISIS place, Kurdish-led forces that retook the city did doughnuts in a tank as they celebrated in a public square formerly used for beheadings.

Raqqas recapture marks a major blow for ISIS, culminating a steady depletion of its coveted territory that included losing the Iraqi city of Mosul earlier this year. The extremist group has lost thousands of fighters during the ongoing international anti-ISIS offensive and has seen its influence in Iraq and Syria dwindle.

ISIS has long anticipated the fall of urban centers like Raqqa, however, and for months has moved key forces out of the city as it prepares to focus more on insurgent attacks and its online presence. But, although ISIS will adapt and persist, losing the city that was once the organizations central hub will likely see a fundamental shift in how the group operates.

It marks the end of the so-called caliphate as we knew it, Amarnath Amarasingam, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, told HuffPost.

They are now on the defensive and will continue on as an insurgency, which still wreaks havoc both internally and abroad.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by U.S. Special Forces, talks on the radio near Raqqa's stadium as the SDF clears the last positions on the front line on Monday. (Photo: BULENT KILIC via Getty Images)

ISIS now faces the challenge of keeping its organizational structure intact and maintaining some physical presence in Iraq and Syria, while also reworking its narrative to convince followers they still command power and respect.

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At the height of its territory, ISIS propaganda put heavy emphasis on a vision of a lasting and expanding caliphate that would take over wide swaths of land. But ISIS grandiose rhetoric has come up against the reality of the groups consistent military losses, including last year giving up the town of Dabiq, a place that figured heavily in its apocalyptic ideology.

Ever since the fall of Dabiq, their messaging has undergone a slight shift to say that land is no longer that important and thats not what they were fighting for this whole time, Amarasingam said.

This is, of course, a bit ridiculous since the establishment of the so-called caliphate was a major part of what established them as a presence to be reckoned with.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces takes cover from sniper shots near the central hospital of Raqqa on Oct. 1. (Photo: BULENT KILIC via Getty Images)

ISIS still holds some areas of Syria and parts of Iraq, but nothing on the scale of Raqqa or Mosul. Whereas the group used to boast of having its own currency, hospitals and courts, it will now likely retreat to mountains and villages in eastern Syria, where its fighters can go underground.

Many analysts expect the next phase for ISIS to be a return to the type of insurgent attacks that dominated the groups tactics before its rise in 2014. The group has proved that it can remain a deadly and destabilizing force even after being pushed out of an area, and it has carried out hundreds of attacks in recent years on recaptured Syrian and Iraqi cities.

As ISIS has suffered consistent defeats in Iraq and Syria, it has also increasingly highlighted international terrorist attacks as proof of its international reach. The group has continued to claim responsibility for mass killings in Europe, North America and Iran as propaganda victories and proof that its still relevant.

Carrying out attacks abroad has always been very important for ISIS since the very beginning, Amarasingam said.

With increasing losses on the ground, though, I think they will emphasize these more and more as a way to prove to their supporters that they are still viable and capable of carrying out attacks in the West.

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An aerial view of Palmyra on March 28 shows that many of the ancient city's monuments were still standing.

A view of the Great Colonnade in Palmyra.

Parts of the Great Colonnade remain in Palmyra.

Here's another view of Palmyra's Great Colonnade.

Islamic State militants reportedly staged executions at the Roman Theater.

Ruins of the Arch of Triumph, which was destroyed by Islamic State militants in October 2015, remain in Palmyra.

Here's another general view of Palmyra's ruins.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli authorities approved another large set of plans for settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, bringing the total for the week to more than 2,600, settlement watchdog Peace Now said.

Some 1,323 settlement housing units were given a green light on Wednesday, while 2,646 have been advanced this week, it said, as part of a government push to expand West Bank settlement construction.

The plans passed this week, criticised on Wednesday by the European Union, are at various stages in Israel's complex approval process. A planning committee overseeing West Bank settlement construction granted the latest approvals.

Peace Now said the settlement push was "distancing us daily from the possibility of a two-state solution".

"The government is sending a clear message to settlers: Build illegally and anywhere and we will find a solution for you," it said in a statement.

Government officials have pledged a major boost in settlement home approvals this year, with US President Donald Trump so far much less critical of such plans than his predecessor Barack Obama.

Israeli officials say a total of around 12,000 housing units will be given various stages of approval this year, four times the amount in 2016.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and settlement advocates wield heavy influence in his ruling coalition.

- 'Detrimental' -

In a response to the plans for settlement homes advanced on Tuesday, the European Union called on Israel to reconsider.

"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks," an EU statement said.

The bloc voiced particular concern about proposals to build settler homes in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002 and about the start of preparatory groundwork in the east Jerusalem area of Givat Hamatos.

Story continues

Construction in Givat Hamatos would "severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the EU said, adding that it would continue work with international and regional partners to try to restart dialogue.

Trump has also said he is seeking to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which have been frozen since a US-led initiative collapsed in 2014.

However, his administration has offered no details of its plans and he has yet to commit to a two-state solution to the conflict -- long the focus of international peace efforts.

Settlement building in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem is considered illegal under international law.

It is also seen as a major obstacle to peace as the settlements are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Prominent members of Netanyahu's coalition openly oppose the idea of a Palestinian state and advocate annexing most of the West Bank.

Netanyahu recently said he plans no uprooting of settlements, blaming Palestinian "incitement" and attacks against Israelis, among other issues, for the lack of progress in peace efforts.

About 430,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.6 million Palestinians in the West Bank, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Hebron (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israeli forces raided Palestinian media offices across the occupied West Bank overnight in what a military spokesman on Wednesday called a "large-scale operation" against incitement.

The raids on eight companies came hours after the Israeli government declared that it would not deal with an emerging Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas unless the Islamist group made radical changes.

Israeli officials said the raids targeted companies that provide services to Hamas television stations. Notices were posted saying the companies were to be closed for six months.

"Israeli army forces last night raided eight Palestinian production and media companies that provide services to Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds TV channels," the head of an Israeli defence ministry unit known as COGAT, Yoav Mordechai, wrote on Facebook, referring to Hamas channels.

"These two channels broadcast constant incitement against the state of Israel. It is no secret that these two channels inspired, several times, terrorists to go out and commit terrorist attacks against innocents."

Israeli officials provided no specific examples of the alleged incitement. At least one of the companies targeted says it provides various services to a range of local and international news media.

The Palestinian Authority said it condemned the raids "in the strongest terms".

"Occupation forces committed a blatant aggression and gross violation of all international laws when they stormed Palestinian cities and raided media offices," PA government spokesman Yusef al-Mahmoud said in a statement.

He said the measures were a "clear challenge to the international efforts, especially the American efforts, to seek an opportunity for compromise and lay the foundations for peace and security with the agreement of all sides".

US President Donald Trump has been seeking ways to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

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- Equipment seized -

A Palestinian journalists' union official in the southern West Bank city of Hebron said the offices of three companies providing production services to Hamas television channels were closed and equipment and documents seized.

They were named as Palmedia, Ramsat and Transmedia, a satellite broadcasting facility where two members of staff were arrested, the union official said.

An official with Palmedia told AFP that three of its five offices in the West Bank were closed, including its headquarters in Ramallah as well as in Hebron and Nablus.

Some 50 people were out of work due to the Palmedia closures, he said. The company provides services to a range of local and international media, according to the official.

"This act threatens Palmedia's ability to continue its work to provide its services for satellite channels and produce a number of TV shows for several local, Arab and international media outlets," it said in a statement.

Transmedia executive director Ibrahim al-Hossari told AFP "production companies in Palestine and all over the world provide production services that are more technical than news".

"We are not a news agency," he said. "Our work is purely technical and we are not responsible for the content provided by these channels."

The Israeli military said that security forces had carried out a "large-scale operation" over incitement.

"It's important to emphasise that we see a clear link between instigating for violence, radicalism, and the media," military spokesman Jonathan Conricus told AFP.

"We understand the connection between those, and that is why the (Israeli military) conducted today's operation."

Last week, rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas signed a landmark unity deal aimed at ending a decade-long split.

Israel said Tuesday it would not negotiate with a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas if the Islamist movement does not disarm, recognise the country and renounce violence.

The government statement also demanded that president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority "continue to act against Hamas terror infrastructures" in the West Bank.

Hamas has run the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip for a decade, but also has a presence in the West Bank, where Abbas's Fatah is based.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008 and the Islamist group is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

Hamas seized Gaza in 2007 in a near civil war with Fatah that followed an electoral dispute after polls won by the Islamist movement.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's government decided Tuesday not to negotiate with a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas if the Islamist movement does not disarm, recognise the country and give up violence.

The decision by the security cabinet, announced in a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, comes after rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas signed a landmark unity deal last week aimed at ending their decade-long split.

The statement said negotiations would not be held until a range of conditions were met -- and it seemed unlikely that all demands could be reached.

"The government of Israel will not carry out political negotiations with a Palestinian government that relies on Hamas, a terror organisation which calls for the destruction of Israel, until it fulfils the following conditions," the statement said.

Beyond the initial three demands, it also said Hamas must no longer be supported by Iran, which provides it with military assistance.

In addition, it said the remains of two missing Israeli soldiers must be returned from the Gaza Strip to Israel.

Three Israeli civilians believed held in Gaza, all said to be mentally unstable, must also be returned, it said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told AFP that the organisation would ignore such "blatant Zionist interventions in Palestinian issues."

"The response must be to continue to strengthen the internal Palestinian front, and complete the reconciliation in every file under what was agreed in the Cairo agreement," he added.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah, based in the occupied West Bank, and Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, signed the unity agreement in Cairo on Thursday.

Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina also dismissed the Israeli declaration.

"Israeli remarks will not change the official Palestinian position to move forward with reconciliation efforts and achieve the hopes and aspirations of our people," he said in a statement to official news agency WAFA.

Story continues

"The international community, including the American administration, has welcomed the return of the Palestinian national authority to the Gaza Strip," he added.

The Abbas-led Palestine Liberation Organisation has recognised Israel, unlike Hamas.

- Gaza humanitarian crisis -

The Palestinian Authority, currently dominated by Fatah, is due to resume control of the Gaza Strip by December 1 under the deal.

However, previous such attempts at reconciliation have repeatedly failed.

A major sticking point is expected to be Hamas's refusal to disarm its 25,000-strong armed wing.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, but diplomats say it would be possible to form a unity government that they could deal with that does not officially include the Islamist movement.

A previous attempt at a unity government in 2014 was made up of technocrats deemed acceptable by the international community, though that bid fell apart.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008, and the Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade.

Egypt has also kept its border with Gaza largely closed in recent years.

Hamas seized Gaza in 2007 in a near civil war with Fatah that followed an electoral dispute after polls won by the Islamist movement.

After Hamas's victory, it faced demands from the international community that it renounce violence and recognise Israel, which it refused to do.

Hamas has faced increasing isolation and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip in recent months, including a severe electricity shortage.

Abbas has imposed a series of sanctions on the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, including cutting electricity payments, which has worsened the shortages.

Hamas has reached out to Cairo for help, hoping to have the Rafah border with Egypt opened.

In return, Cairo has pressed Hamas to move forward on reconciliation with Fatah.

With previous failed reconciliation attempts in mind, many analysts are treating the latest bid with caution, waiting to see if actual change will occur on the ground.
Hebron (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israeli forces raided Palestinian media offices in the occupied West Bank overnight in what a military spokeswoman on Wednesday called a "large-scale operation" against incitement.

The raids came hours after the Israeli government declared that it would not deal with an emerging Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas unless the Islamist group made radical changes.

A Palestinian journalists' union official in the southern West Bank city of Hebron said that the offices of three companies providing production services to Hamas television were closed and equipment and documents seized.

They were named as Palmedia, Ramsat and Transmedia, a satellite broadcasting facility where two members of staff were arrested, the union official said.

Israeli media said that a total of eight media firms were raided overnight, including in Ramallah and Bethlehem, but the Israeli army did not confirm those reports.

Palmedia offices in the northern West Bank city of Nablus were also sealed, an AFP photographer reported.

The military spokeswoman told AFP that security forces "searched a number of media and production offices suspected of broadcasting inciting content, encouraging, celebrating and promoting violence and terrorism against Israelis."

"During the large-scale operation, media stations such as Ramsat and Transmedia were closed," she added.

"In addition forces seized equipment and documents from media companies that provided services to Al Aqsa and Al Quds -- TV channels that are illegal organisations," referring to Hamas TV stations.

She did not say how many offices were closed or give any details of the alleged incitement.

Israeli public radio said that the troops posted military orders on the office walls closing the premises for six months.

Last week, rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas signed a landmark unity deal aimed at ending a decade-long split.

Story continues

Israel said on Tuesday it would not negotiate with a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas if the Islamist movement does not disarm, recognise the country and renounce violence.

The government statement also demanded that president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority "continue to act against Hamas terror infrastructures" in the West Bank.

Hamas has run the Gaza Strip for a decade, but also has a presence in the West Bank, where Abbas's Fatah is based.
Mourners at a funeral service for a police officer who was among five police officers shot dead the previous week, in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 16, 2016: REUTERS/Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News/Pool

More American police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2016 compared to the prior year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Statistics released by the FBI show that 118 cops died last year, up 37 per cent from 86 killed the prior year. While some of those deaths were accidental, the majority - 66 of them - were intentional slayings, up from 41 in 2015.

Guns felled almost all of the officers, according to the FBI, though four of them were deliberately run down by vehicles.

Donald Trump has consistently positioned himself as a staunch law-and-order advocate and has argued since the presidential campaign that policing is unfairly under assault. He has vowed to toughen criminal penalties and said the attacks on our police must end.

That rhetoric has paralleled the rise of Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to draw attention to African-Americans who die at the hands of police officers. the In recent weeks, Mr Trump has provoked a furor by lambasting professional athletes who kneel during the National Anthem to protest police brutality.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions decried the staggering numbers on police deaths as shocking and unacceptable and said the increase vindicates Mr Trump's approach. Mr Sessions earlier this year directed prosecutors to seek the maximum possible penalties, reversing an Obama-era turn toward leniency for drug offenders.

Our law enforcement deserves the support of the people they serve, Mr Sessions said in a statement. Fortunately we have a President who understands this. President Trump ran for office as a law-and-order candidate; now he is governing as a law-and-order President.
Comedian Jim Jefferies took a moment during The Jim Jefferies Show to discuss the current sexist culture in America and the #MeToo social phenomenon.

Jefferies started the topic off by saying, Ive been known to make the occasional inappropriate or sexist joke.  But Ive always believed that my people understood those are jokes and dont represent my actual beliefs. Then came the day when a large part of America was willing to write off p***y grabbing as locker room talk and I started to rethink that.

If youve been sexually harassed or assaulted write me too as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n  Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15, 2017

Jefferies went on to say the #MeToo movement, which encourages women to speak out on social media about being sexually harassed and/or assaulted, has helped him come to a realization.

He said, We as men have been incredibly ignorant about whats happening right underneath our noses. The women who are now sharing their painful experience are some of the richest, most powerful, and beloved women in the country. And if they are fearful of speaking out, just imagine how hard it must be for every other woman in the world.

Before wrapping for commercial break, Jefferies said, I was stupid to think that people like Harvey Weinstein were rare.  We need to create a culture where women feel safe coming forward about their experiences, and when they do, we need to hear them. Every week on this show I say I think we can do better. I know I can.

The Jim Jefferies Show airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Watch as John Oliver rips into the Academy for not treating other offenders like Harvey Weinstein:





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Senator John McCain, echoing the sentiments of his Monday night speech in Philadelphia, said Tuesday that he is worried the United States is reverting to the nationalistic tendencies that characterized the 1930s.

Asked about his speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Monday, McCain declined to elaborate on whether his criticism of nationalism includes President Trump.

What I was talking about is an environment here of  a reversion of the attitude to the 30s, which was one of the major reasons we fought World War II, McCain told reporters at the Capitol.

In that speech, McCain did not mention President Trump or anyone in his Administration by name. But, after discussing his years of service, he implicitly seemed to invoke criticism of the White House, slamming what he called some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems.

This ideology, he continued is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.

When Trump was asked about McCains speech on Tuesday, he seemed to assume the rhetoric was lodged at the White House.

People have to be careful because at some point I fight back, Trump said in a radio interview on WMAL Tuesday when asked about the speech. Im being very nice but at some point Ill fight back and it wont be pretty.
(BATESVILLE, Miss.)  A Mississippi judge has declared a mistrial after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of a man charged with burning a woman to death.

Jurors had deliberated between nine and 10 hours in the trial of 29-year-old Quinton Tellis. The deliberations started Sunday and ended Monday, when the jury indicated that it was not able to agree on a verdict.

Tellis could have faced up to life in prison without parole had he been convicted of capital murder in the death of 19-year-old Jessica Chambers.

It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors will retry the case.

Chambers was found walking along a road near her burning car the night of Dec. 6, 2014 in Courtland, Mississippi, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee.

Firefighters and paramedics treated her at the scene and spoke with her. She had third-degree burns over most of her body when she died hours later in a Memphis hospital.
The Trump administration must turn over all emails and memos used to make its decision to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the 2012 program created to protect undocumented youths from deportation, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

If the communications between the White House and the departments of Justice and Homeland Security are made public, it could offer a window into the political machinations behind the Trump administrations abrupt call to torpedo DACA.

The order is part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by several parties in the Northern District of California in an effort to overturn the Trump administrations decision last month to rescind the program.

The Trump administration left DACA in place for months, even after scrapping rules that conflicted with the presidents immigration priorities in February and after canceling an Obama administration program in June that would have shielded the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens from deportation. That program, known by its acronym, DAPA, was never implemented due to a legal challenge led by the state of Texas.

But U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Sept. 5 that the White House would end the DACA program, arguing that a looming legal threat, again led by the state of Texas, would likely result in the courts declaring the program unconstitutional. Immigrant rights groups and many prominent Democrats criticized that logic, noting that the program had hummed along for five years without legal challenge.

Trumps about-face on DACA was widely viewed as a triumph of immigration hard-liners in his administration, including Sessions, who viewed the program as unconstitutional.

Lawyers representing the administration have already supplied the court with a series of documents explaining their rationale for nixing DACA.

But U.S. District Judge William Alsup noted that lawyers representing the federal government in oral arguments had acknowledged they rescinded DACA with input from the White House. Despite this, defendants have failed to provide even a single document from any White House officials or staff, the decision reads.

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The documents supplied by the Trump administration also failed to include any communications with subordinates of Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, who might have helped shape the decision to end DACA. It strains credulity to suggest that the Acting Secretary of DHS decided to rescind a program covering 800,000 enrollees without consulting one advisor or subordinate within DHS, the ruling says.

Alsup ordered the Trump administration to also provide similar documents that informed Kellys decision to leave the DACA program intact in February, when he canceled the Obama administrations deportation priorities.

The Trump administration has been ordered to hand the documents over to the court by Oct. 27.

Five lawsuits challenging the Trump administrations decision to kill DACA filed in the Northern District of California were consolidated into one. That lawsuit includes the one filed by a coalition of states led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) and another filed by Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration.

Separate lawsuits challenging the end of DACA were also filed in New York.

The lawsuits typically argue that the White House violated the Administrative Procedure Act when it canceled the program, resulting in a due process violation.

Also on HuffPost

Ashton Kutcher

Ashton Kutcher spoke out onstage as host of the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 29, 2017. His remarks came just two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States for three months.



"Everyone in airports that belong in my America! You are part of the fabric of who we are, and we we love you and we welcome you."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards spoke out about how she was "horrified" by the immigrant ban, being the child of an immigrant herself.



"I am American patriot. I love this country and because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. And this immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American."

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano took to Twitter to support her friends.



"My best friend Alaa Mohammad Khaled is Muslim His parents were Palestinian refugees His brother is DJ Khaled RefugeesWelcome"

Taylor Schilling

Taylor Schilling with the cast of "Orange is the New Black" during the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"We stand up here representing a diverse group of people, representing generations of families who have sought a better life here, We know that it's going to be up to us and all of you to keep telling stories. What united us is stronger than the forces that seek to divide us."

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington wears a safety pin during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"Ill be wearing one of these tonight. On my arm. To show solidarity. We will not stop fighting for our safety & the safety of our fellow citizens and human beings. Actors are activists, no matter what, because we embody the worth and humanity of all people."

George Takei

George Takei posted on Twitter, sharing an article that made people think about the immigration ban. He wrote, "I hope we're all paying attention."

Dev Patel

Dev Patel stopped on the red carpet to speak out during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"I've just flown in from India and to fly into what was a nightmare, to realize that this is actually happening right now in the world, in a country where I live, it's heartbreaking. The first thought that came in my head was just thousands of children and mothers and young fathers that have turned up to these shores with hope, and they're being swatted away. It's just so divisive and negative and wrong. It's scary, it's really scary."

Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen took to Twitter sharing where a protest was being held.

Sophia Bush

Sophia Bush took to Twitter in support of human rights.



She later tweeted, Bravo to the courts. At least some folks in charge adhere to the Constitution. #NoHate #NoFear #RefugeesAreWelcomeHere.

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson addressed the ban during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



I would like to make plea for everyone, if they can, any money they have to spare please donate to the ACLU to protect the rights and liberties of people across this country.

David Harbour

David Harbour addresses the ban while accepting an award for "Stranger Things" during the SAG Awards.



"Now, as we act in the continuing narrative of 'Stranger Things,' we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies, we will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no home. We will get past the lies, we will hunt monsters. And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions. We will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak, the disenfranchised and the marginalized!"

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo shared on social media what he really thought about the immigration ban.

Mahershala Ali

Mahershala Ali during the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.



"When we get caught up in the minutiae and the details that make us all different, I think there's two ways of seeing that. There's the opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique, and then there's an opportunity to go to war about it and say that this person is different from me, I don't like you, let's battle."

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus shared a multicolored image about standing alongside immigrants in the United States.

Michael Moore

Michael Moore took to Twitter in outrage.



"To our Muslim neighbors in the world: I & tens of millions of others are so very sorry. The majority of Americans did not vote 4 this man."

Emma Stone

Emma Stone also addressed the ban during the SAG Awards.



We have to speak up. Staying silent only helps the oppressor, not the victim. Right now I hope that people seeing things that are being done that are unconstitutional and inhumane would say something."

Lily Allen

Singer Lily Allen took to social media to express her opinion about the immigration ban, calling it "a heinous act."

Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne

Simon Helberg and Jocelyn Towne brought a sign to the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Mira Sorvino

In February 2017, an appeals court decided against Donald Trump's proposed travel ban.



Actress Mira Sorvino tweeted after court ruling, saying, Thank God!!And TY to all the judges, and lawyers and citizens who protested! This is our America! #nomuslimban #lovenothatemakesamericagreat.

Albert Brooks

After the appeals court ruling, Albert Brooks tweeted: Looks like the appeals court is not getting that Ivanka Trump gift basket.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is seen backstage at the SAG Awards.



I think we as Americans better learn to unite, We need to put our elected officials feet to the fire and demand that they work together or they wont get back into office."

Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner took to Twitter after the Immigration Ban became public.

Kumail Nanjiani

"Silicon Valley's" Kumail Nanjiani tweeted: "As someone who was born in Pakistan I can tell you coming into America is VERY difficult. A #Muslimban accomplishes nothing but hate."

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum shared on Twitter, "Refugees are FLEEING TERROR. They are not terrorists. #muslimban."

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Nairobi (AFP) - Kenya's polls chief cast doubt Wednesday on his organisation's ability to hold a credible vote next week, as opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed to disrupt the election with mass protests.

In the latest bombshell to hit the presidential election, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chief Wafula Chebukati laid bare internal divisions and accused both major parties of interference.

His no-holds-barred statement in which he slammed the "arrogance and narcissism of our political class" came just hours after another commissioner announced she had quit after fleeing to New York in fear for her life.

"Let me be very clear that this is a yellow card to both sides. I will not tolerate the interference in the commission anymore," said Chebukati.

"Political leaders who are supposed to build the nation have become the greatest threat to the peace and stability of the nation."

Kenyans are due to go to the polls on October 26 for a second time, after the Supreme Court last month overturned the result of the initial election due to "irregularities" in the counting process, and mismanagement by poll officials.

The ruling was a rare victory for veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claimed the poll was rigged in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta, and seen as a sign of Kenya's mature democracy and institutions.

However the decision has been followed by acrimony, legal battles and confusion over how to carry out a new election that would be accepted as credible, within a constitutionally mandated 60-day period.

Odinga last week announced he was withdrawing from the race, arguing the move would legally force the IEBC to begin the whole process from scratch, which would allow more time for deep reforms.

However, the commission has pushed forward with plans to hold the election.

On Wednesday Odinga addressed a rally of thousands of supporters, vowing there would be "no election" on October 26.

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"Protests will go on, on the 26th (there) will be the biggest demonstrations in the whole country," he said.

- Election 'mockery' -

In a statement announcing her resignation as one of seven IEBC commissioners, Roselyn Akombe said that the panel could not provide a credible election.

"I do not want to be party to such a mockery to electoral integrity," she wrote.

In an interview with the BBC, Akombe said she feared for her life and would not return to her home country in the foreseeable future.

"She is one of our finest brains and it is very sad," said Chebukati of her resignation.

Chebukati said that operationally, IEBC was ready to hold the election, but politically the environment left a lot to be desired.

"We are faced with a dilemma as a country, one between the status of operational preparedness and the political environment for credible elections," he said.

The Supreme Court had accused the IEBC of bungling the electronic results and basing the outcome on dubious documents that could not be verified.

- Free, fair poll 'compromised' -

Chebukati outlined steps taken to ensure all tallying forms were standardised, that network coverage to allow transmission of results was improved and that poll officials were better trained.

But he questioned how credible the election would be if Odinga did not take part, raising examples of polls boycotted in Zimbabwe and Burundi, leading to long-term legitimacy issues and economical crises.

"I've made several attempts to make critical changes but all my motions have been defeated by a majority of the commissioners," he told journalists.

He said that without changes to key secretariat staff -- the permanent members of the IEBC -- a "free, fair and credible election will surely be compromised."

He called on these members to "step aside to allow this team to function without interference."

Kenya's IEBC has a controversial history. A discredited body that presided over a deeply flawed 2007 poll -- which triggered violence that killed over 1,100 people -- was replaced by commissioners which were forced to resign last year after violent opposition protests.

The body that had overseen elections in 2013 had been accused of bias, mismanagement and was dogged by corruption allegations.

Chebukati later invited Odinga and Kenyatta, embroiled in a dynastic political feud that started when their fathers fell out after independence, to a formal meeting on Thursday for talks which he had earlier said would "douse the tension in the air."

- Election 'at any cost' -

In her statement Akombe said field staff had in recent days expressed concerns about their safety, especially in areas hit by opposition protests against the IEBC.

In the western opposition stronghold Kisumu, rowdy youths on Wednesday disrupted a training session for polling officials, pulling down tents and chasing away trainees, chanting "no reforms, no elections" as they stoned their vehicles.

Akombe accused her colleagues of seeking "to have an election even if it is at the cost of the lives of our staff and voters."

Odinga on Tuesday suspended a protest campaign to push for reforms after three people were shot dead in demonstrations.

Some 40 people have now died since the election, mostly at the hands of police, according to rights groups.
By Katharine Houreld NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga decided not to stand in next week's presidential election to avoid defeat rather than for reasons of principle, the deputy president said on Tuesday. Odinga was due to face President Uhuru Kenyatta on Oct. 26 in a repeat of a presidential vote held in August but he withdrew his candidacy, saying the electoral commission had failed to institute reforms to guarantee fairness. Kenyatta won the Aug. 8 election by 1.4 million votes. The Supreme Court annulled the election citing procedural irregularities and ordered that it be held again. "Odinga is running away from a humiliating defeat," deputy president William Ruto told journalists. "He has to find this excuse and that excuse and the other excuse to try and justify his exit." He said the government wants Odinga to run but could not force him. "Legitimacy is a matter that concerns us and it concerns us because we believe in a democracy," he said. The ruling party is confident Kenyatta can win and secure a second and final four-year term in office, Ruto said, citing their majority in parliament and regional governorships. Political turmoil connected to the elections has hurt Kenya's economy. The country has East Africa's richest economy and is a stable Western ally in a tumultuous region. Odinga says the election board has failed to meet conditions to guarantee fairness, including firing key personnel he blamed for mistakes during the last poll. Ruto said the board could agree to Odinga's demands as long as the election went ahead. On Sunday, the board ran adverts in national newspapers showing which demands it had agreed to and why others were rejected. It has agreed to more than half of opposition demands and says it cannot agree to others due to time constraints. Odinga has called for daily protests to force the reforms. His supporters have defied a ban by authorities on protests in the centre of Nairobi, as well as in the port city of Mombasa and the western city of Kisumu, which is Odinga's stronghold. On Tuesday Odinga blamed police and ruling party supporters for disrupting a planned rally in central Kenya and told reporters that he was planning to travel around the country to direct protests in the coming days. "We as NASA are very clear about what we want. We said we don't want to go for an election without proper reforms. We don't want to escort Jubilee to the altar," he said. "If Jubilee wants, to have a proper contest, they will have it." PROTESTS AND POLICE Ruto said the protests were an attempt to create crisis and encourage international mediation that might lead to a power-sharing government, as happened in the wake of civil disturbances after an election in 2007 in which hundreds died. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Monday at least 33 people were killed in Nairobi during a police crackdown on opposition supporters after the August vote. The police said the report was "based on falsehoods." [L8N1MR39L] The opposition said in a statement it was disturbed by the death on Monday of a high school student in the western city of Kisumu, Odinga's stronghold. The security forces were trying to "subdue" people seeking a fair election, it said. Local police said a young man was killed by a bullet in unclear circumstances. Also in Kisumu, a two-year-old girl was hospitalized on Monday and had a bullet removed from her neck, doctors at the city's main hospital said. The girl was playing outside her home when she was struck with a stray bullet, her mother Lydia Kageha told Reuters. She said she could hear teargas canisters and gunshots in a nearby neighborhood where police and protesters had clashed. Police said they were investigating. A police spokesman said election board officials were attacked by "hooligans" in several towns in western Kenya on Tuesday and warned against interference with the board's work. (Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo, George Obulutsa and Maggie Fick; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
Paris (AFP) - The French parliament on Wednesday adopted a tough new anti-terrorism bill that gives authorities vastly expanded powers to search homes, restrict movement and close places of worship.

The bill, which was passed by the Senate after modifications to address concerns about civil liberties, makes permanent some of the exceptional measures contained in the state of emergency imposed after the November 2015 Paris attacks.

The emergency laws expire on November 1.

The most punitive elements of the new bill will be reviewed annually by parliament and are scheduled to lapse at the end of 2020.

- House arrest -

The interior minister can place suspected jihadist sympathisers who are not accused of a specific crime under a loose form of house arrest.

Under the state of emergency, the individual was confined to his or her home.

The "individual surveillance measures" contained in the bill, which can last up to a year, allow the individuals to go beyond their front door but they must remain with the boundaries of their town or city.

If they want to go further they must wear an electronic bracelet.

They have 48 hours to appeal the restrictions to a judge and must report to the police once a day.

- Home searches -

A local police chief can ask a judge for a warrant to search -- the bill uses the term "visit" -- the homes of people with suspected terror links.

The person whose home is searched can be held for four hours, during which documents, data and objects can be seized.

- Places of worship -

The top government official in each of France's regions can order the closure of mosques, churches or other places of worship for six months if preachers are found to have incited attacks or glorified terrorism.

Investigators will not be required to provide proof of radical preaching or writings. The venue can be closed on the basis of the "ideas and theories" circulated among devotees.

The management of the religious site will have 48 hours to appeal the closure. Non-compliance will carry a three-year prison sentence and fine of 45,000 euros ($53,000).

Story continues

- Security zones -

The authorities can seal off areas around a place or an event, such as a rally or a concert, that they deem vulnerable to attack.

People wanting to enter the area will be subjected to searches by the police or private security guards.

- Border checks -

The police will have more powers to carry out stop-and-search operations in border areas -- one of the most controversial elements of the bill which rights groups fear will be used mainly against migrants and Muslims.

Under the rules of the visa-free Schengen area, France can already carry out spot identity checks in border areas as well as at international airports, ports and train stations.

The bill expands that to include the areas around train stations as well as a swathe of territory around international ports and airports, up to 10 kilometres (six miles).

- Radicalised public servants -

A civil servant working in an area related to security or defence can be forced to change jobs or even be dismissed from the public service if he or she is found to hold radical opinions.

Soldiers can be discharged on similar grounds.

- Wiretapping -

The intelligence agencies can continue to use algorithms to tap into phone and email communications to try to detect suspicious behaviour.

The bill also transposes into French law an EU directive allowing security services to access the travel data of airline passengers.

burs-cb/gd/jm
One of Maltas best-known journalists, Daphne Caruana Galizia, has died after a bomb exploded in the rented car she was using on Monday. She had worked on the Panama Papers revelations and filed a report to police saying she had received threats just two weeks earlier.

Her death has elicited widespread condemnation around the world. Heres what to know:

Who was she?

Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was an investigative journalist who specialized in covering corruption in the Mediterranean nation of Malta, and had worked extensively on the 2016 Panama Papers revelations.

Caruana Galizia was considered a thorn in the side of her countrys government. Her work exposed the links between Malta and offshore tax havens, and her blog, Running Commentary, was one of Maltas most popular websites.

In one strand of her investigations she reported that Prime Minister Joseph Muscats wife and a number of his political allies had disguised shell companies in Panama which were linked to income from Azerbaijan. Muscat and his wife denied the allegations.

What happened?

Caruana Galizia had just begun to drive away from her home near Mosta, on Maltas main island, when a bomb exploded in the rented car she was using. Photos from the scene showed the wreckage of the Peugeot strewn by the blast well into a roadside field. She had filed a police report saying she had received threats just two weeks before her death.

She was alone in the car, and had posted her last blog post minutes before she left the house. Her son was the first to arrive at the scene after hearing the explosion.

What are the Panama Papers?

The Panama Papers were a leak of data from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which first made headlines in April 2016 after a coalition of newspapers led by the German Suddeutsche Zeitung broke the story in unison. The trove of 11.5 million documents revealed the scale of the use of offshore holdings by rich and powerful people around the world. Offshore business holdings in tax havens like Panama are a way to disguise the ownership of assets whilst making use of relaxed foreign tax laws.

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The Panama Papers revelations played a role in the downfall of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davi Gunnlaugsson among others.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the group that coordinated the Panama Papers reporting, condemned Caruana Galizias murder, adding that it condemns violence against journalists and is deeply concerned about freedom of the press in Malta.

Whos responsible for her murder?

No suspects have yet been identified by police. The victims son Matthew Caruana Galizia, who is also a journalist and a member of the ICIJ, blasted Maltas mafia state in a Facebook post after his mothers murder. My mother was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists, he wrote.

When there is blood and fire all around you, thats war. We are a people at war against the state and organised crime, which have become indistinguishable. He ended his post by accusing the Prime Minister, members of the cabinet and the long list of police commissioners who took no action of complicity in his mothers murder.

How have people reacted?

In a statement, Muscat said Caruana Galizia was one of my harshest critics, on a political and personal level, however he denounced her killing as an unacceptable and barbaric attack.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange tweeted he was outraged, and offered a 20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of responsible parties.

Outraged to hear that Maltese investigative journalist+blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia has been murdered this afternoon not far from her home with a car bomb. I issue a 20k reward for information leading to the conviction of her killers. Her blog: https://t.co/XQCEXBKYn3 pic.twitter.com/ITHlBRzr0J  Julian Assange ???? (@JulianAssange) October 16, 2017

Herman Grech, the online editor of the Times of Malta, wrote for the BBC: Daphne Caruana Galizia was loved and resented in equal measure in politically divided Malta  but she will go down in the Mediterranean islands history as one of the most influential writers.

Reporters Without Borders said it was appalled by her murder and called for a full and independent investigation into her death.

The leader of Maltas Nationalist party claimed the killing was a political murder. What happened today is not an ordinary killing. It is a consequence of the total collapse of the rule of law which has been going on for the past four years, he said in a statement.

On the streets of Malta, hundreds of people attended an evening vigil in Caruana Galizias memory.
By Mustafa Mahmoud KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdish Peshmerga forces have retreated to positions they held in northern Iraq in June 2014 in response to an Iraqi army advance into the region after a Kurdish independence referendum, a senior Iraqi commander said on Wednesday. An Iraqi military statement said government forces had taken control of Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh province, including the Mosul hydro-electric dam, on Tuesday after the Peshmerga pulled back. On Monday, Baghdad's forces recaptured the major oil city of Kirkuk to the south shortly after the Peshmerga abandoned it. The Peshmerga had advanced into Nineveh and the Kirkuk region over the past three years as part of the war against Islamic State militants, filling a void left by a temporary collapse of the Iraqi army in the face of an IS onslaught. "As of today we reversed the clock back to 2014," the Iraqi army commander, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. There was no immediate comment from Kurdish leaders. The territory taken by the Peshmerga as it rolled back Islamic State was outside the official boundaries of the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), mainly in Kurdish-populated areas claimed historically by the Kurds. With this week's withdrawals from disputed territories, Peshmerga forces appeared to have re-deployed roughly along the KRG's boundaries. Iran and Turkey joined the Baghdad government in condemning the Iraqi Kurds' Sept. 25 referendum, worried it could worsen regional instability and conflict by encouraging their own Kurdish populations to push for homelands. With the referendum having given Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a political opening to regain contested land and shift the balance of power in his favor, it may prove a gamble that makes the KRG's quest for statehood more elusive. 61,200 DISPLACED BY IRAQI ADVANCE Around 61,200 people were displaced Iraq's military operation in and around Kirkuk, a city of over 1 million, over the past 48 hours but most were now returning to their homes, the U.N. humanitarian affairs office in Baghdad said. Witnesses said, however, that dozens of Kurdish families began to flee Kirkuk on Wednesday for Sulaimaniya inside the KRG for fear of attack by Shi'ite Popular Mobilization paramilitaries, allied with Baghdad and armed by Iran, that had entered the city along with government forces. "We have a family member with the Peshmerga and we are afraid we might get arrested by the Popular Mobilization. We are fleeing towards Sulaimaniya," said the driver of one car filled with his family. At least 150 vehicles were seen streaming out of Kirkuk at one point. But most subsequently turned around and returned home after local police assured them that fears of reprisals were groundless, a Reuters reporter said. Though Kurdish-owned shops in Kirkuk were mainly closed on Wednesday due to concern about the presence of Shi'ite militia, there were no reports of serious incidents as federal security forces patrolled the streets, witnesses said. "We call on all parties to do everything possible to shield and protect all civilians impacted by the current situation," Lisa Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said. Abadi ordered the prosecution of anyone found circulating fake videos aimed at inciting strife between Kurds and Arabs and endangering civil peace in areas retaken by Baghdad's forces. The Kurdish vote was championed by KRG President and KDP party chief Masoud Barzani but not supported by the rival PUK party, in part because of the strong opposition of the Kurds' longtime ally the United States. The United States sided with Abadi's Shi'ite-led government in rejecting the Kurds' secessionist move. Barzani has stood by it, saying the overwhelming "yes" for independence "won't be in vain" and would be pursued by peaceful means. 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 multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire fell apart and left Kurdish-populated land split between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Mustafa Mahmoud

KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdish Peshmerga forces have retreated to positions they held in northern Iraq in June 2014 in response to an Iraqi army advance into the region after a Kurdish independence referendum, a senior Iraqi commander said on Wednesday.

An Iraqi military statement said government forces had taken control of Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh province, including the Mosul hydro-electric dam, on Tuesday after the Peshmerga pulled back. On Monday, Baghdad's forces recaptured the major oil city of Kirkuk to the south shortly after the Peshmerga abandoned it.

The Peshmerga had advanced into Nineveh and the Kirkuk region over the past three years as part of the war against Islamic State militants, filling a void left by a temporary collapse of the Iraqi army in the face of an IS onslaught.

"As of today we reversed the clock back to 2014," the Iraqi army commander, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. There was no immediate comment from Kurdish leaders.

The territory taken by the Peshmerga as it rolled back Islamic State was outside the official boundaries of the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), mainly in Kurdish-populated areas claimed historically by the Kurds.

With this week's withdrawals from disputed territories, Peshmerga forces appeared to have re-deployed roughly along the KRG's boundaries.

Iran and Turkey joined the Baghdad government in condemning the Iraqi Kurds' Sept. 25 referendum, worried it could worsen regional instability and conflict by encouraging their own Kurdish populations to push for homelands.

With the referendum having given Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi a political opening to regain contested land and shift the balance of power in his favour, it may prove a gamble that makes the KRG's quest for statehood more elusive.

61,200 DISPLACED BY IRAQI ADVANCE

Around 61,200 people were displaced Iraq's military operation in and around Kirkuk, a city of over 1 million, over the past 48 hours but most were now returning to their homes, the U.N. humanitarian affairs office in Baghdad said.

Story continues

Witnesses said, however, that dozens of Kurdish families began to flee Kirkuk on Wednesday for Sulaimaniya inside the KRG for fear of attack by Shi'ite Popular Mobilisation paramilitaries, allied with Baghdad and armed by Iran, that had entered the city along with government forces.

"We have a family member with the Peshmerga and we are afraid we might get arrested by the Popular Mobilisation. We are fleeing towards Sulaimaniya," said the driver of one car filled with his family.

At least 150 vehicles were seen streaming out of Kirkuk at one point. But most subsequently turned around and returned home after local police assured them that fears of reprisals were groundless, a Reuters reporter said.

Though Kurdish-owned shops in Kirkuk were mainly closed on Wednesday due to concern about the presence of Shi'ite militia, there were no reports of serious incidents as federal security forces patrolled the streets, witnesses said.

"We call on all parties to do everything possible to shield and protect all civilians impacted by the current situation," Lisa Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, said.

Abadi ordered the prosecution of anyone found circulating fake videos aimed at inciting strife between Kurds and Arabs and endangering civil peace in areas retaken by Baghdad's forces.

The Kurdish vote was championed by KRG President and KDP party chief Masoud Barzani but not supported by the rival PUK party, in part because of the strong opposition of the Kurds' longtime ally the United States.

The United States sided with Abadi's Shi'ite-led government in rejecting the Kurds' secessionist move. Barzani has stood by it, saying the overwhelming "yes" for independence "won't be in vain" and would be pursued by peaceful means.

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 multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire fell apart and left Kurdish-populated land split between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Lena Dunham made her long-awaited debut on American Horror Story: Cult this week as Valerie Solanas, the woman who, in real life, shot legendary artist Andy Warhol.

The star of the series, Evan Peters, who has been killing it as Kai Anderson, morphed into Warhol for this episode, who told Solanas, Oh, Valerie  You know women cant be serious artists.

In the episode, outraged by Warhol, Solanas went to Warhols studio and fired at him three times. Her first two rounds missed him, but the third round was a straight shot to the chest just after she told him, You had too much control over my life. Down with the patriarchy. Suck my d***, Warhol!

She then went on to form a cult of girls, telling them, Our fellow women will realize they have nothing to fear from the evolutionarily inferior male, and they are going to rise up and join us. But a few of these bitches are gonna have to die first.

In real life, Solanas not only went down as the woman who attempted to assassinate Warhol, she also was regarded as a pioneer in the feminist effort after writing The Scum Manifesto, which was also portrayed in this episode. SCUM stands for the Society for Cutting Up Men. Our goal is to kill all men who are not a part of the mens auxiliary of scum, said Solanas in a scene with her fellow feminists.

Of course, there were also many gruesome kill scenes in this episode, titled Valerie Solanas Died for Your Sins: Scumbag, which we all know is the best part of American Horror Story.

American Horror Story: Cult airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

Check out the edited version of American Horror Story, which still showed a violent mass shooting:

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Last week marked a major event and anniversary in Malala Yousafzais life. 5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford, she wrote on Twitter with a photo of her school books.

5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls' education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford. pic.twitter.com/sXGnpU1KWQ  Malala (@Malala) October 9, 2017

Shot in the head by Taliban militants for defending her right to pursue an education, shes now being attacked for a different reason. An unverified photo of a woman thats purported to be the 20-year-old has surfaced and was shared by Pakistani media outlets.

Malala Yousafzai in UK Posted by Siasat.pk on Saturday, October 14, 2017

The woman in the image is wearing a headscarf, skinny jeans, a bomber jacket, and brown boots with a small heel.

According to social media, Yousafzais outfit indicates her Westernization, which will eventually lead to her tossing whats left of her religion and culture, like her hijab. How long till the scarf is off too? one follower commented on the photo. [J]ourney from malala to oolala, someone else wrote. I was thinking of preaching someone about keeping our culture of clothes alive when living abroad, and giving them example of Malala but I think, I cant do that now.

now jeans..shoessoon that dupatta will be out  Lunatic living. (@Lunatic6923) October 15, 2017

That was the reason the bullet directly targeted her head long time ago.#MalalaYousafzai #UK pic.twitter.com/M1DGEhLwho  Muhammad Waqas Awan (@Waqas6671) October 15, 2017

Others are comparing her to Mia Khalifa, a porn star. When i saw first i thought that its mia khalifa, someone wrote on Facebook. [M]alala I thought she is mia khalifa.

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This criticism has sparked a major debate, and people are coming out in droves to defend the young Pakistani woman, who became the youngest Nobel Prize recipient at 16. Leave her alone She is the only Pakistani to address the Canadian Parliament and represent her faith. More than you losers out there Who are mere keyboard warriors. Leave her alone, someone wrote on Facebook. This is her choice and do understand its nearly impossible to wear shalwar kameez in UK weather, u can wear kameez with jacket but shalwar? said another follower. People who are calling her Mia Khalifa. Shame on all of you. Malala has done more for women than you morons can dream off. wrote a third. [P]roud Pakistani moment. her dupata is still there. not like our ruling elites or hypocrites country men.

Malala Yousafzai photographed wearing jeans and all the haters go wild. This mentality is what keeps nations and societies in decline. pic.twitter.com/5ZtuEGwA6p  Marium Soomro (@Marium_Soomro) October 16, 2017

Malala Yousafzai targeted by trolls for 'wearing skinny jeans and high heels' instead of traditional Muslim dress  Just fuck off, internet.  Andy Jessop (@AndogJessop) October 17, 2017

Muslims offended by Malala Yousafzai wearing jeans instead of Muslim dress.

Shame they weren't offended by having half her face blown off.  The Batrag (@batrag57) October 18, 2017

Many pointed out that shes still representing Pakistan appropriately. There is much Haya in her dress even in London than most of fashionable ladies here in Pakistan. P.S: Even she wore Dupatta in London unlike many dont wear in Pakistan, someone wrote on Facebook.

Malala Yousafzai trolled for 'wearing skinny jeans and heels' Nobody should criticize her for what she wears as long as acceptable code  syed muhammed rehan (@1_aviation) October 18, 2017

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Valletta (AFP) - Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia Wednesday as "his biggest adversary" but vowed to track down and bring her killers to justice.

The centre-left premier, who was accused by the blogger's son on Tuesday of being complicit in his mother's death, attempted to shift the spotlight onto the main opposition Nationalist Party, saying it had been the focus of Caruana Galizia's latest investigations.

"It is unthinkable in a country like Malta to die for your job, in Caruana Galizia's case for what she wrote," Muscat said in an interview with Italy's La Repubblica daily.

"She was probably my biggest adversary, she attacked me from when I was leader of the opposition. But that was her job," he said, adding that he had called in "the FBI and other European security services" to find her killers.

Caruana Galizia, who had been called a "one-woman Wikileaks", was killed in a car bomb on Monday.

She had lately used her widely-read blog to make a series of detailed allegations of corruption in Muscat's inner circle, some based on the Panama Papers data leak.

Muscat refused to speculate on who might be behind her death, but said that "the easiest thing for me to do would be to point the finger against the opposition, the leader of which was the subject of Daphne's latest stories".

- 'Cowardly attack' -

In an interview with La Stampa daily, he raised opposition leader Adrian Delia again, saying the blogger had accused him of "money laundering, prostitution and more".

Muscat also said she had written on her blog about receiving threats "from people in the opposition" over the last month, but that he could not verify the claim.

On Tuesday Delia called on Muscat to step down, accusing him of personally failing to safeguard the blogger's life.

Muscat responded to that charge in an interview with Maltese TV, saying he could not impose police protection on someone who did not want it.

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Dutch forensic experts arrived on the island on Tuesday to aid the investigation.

Police sources said Semtex explosives were believed to have been used in the car bomb, a demolition compound known to be favoured by terrorists in large-scale attacks.

Cauana Galizia's killing has sent shock waves around the world with the United States the latest country to condemn it.

"It was a cowardly attack that took the life of a talented and brave reporter who dedicated her career to ... shining light on corruption," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

"The Government of Malta and Malta police force have been in contact with the FBI about the investigation and the FBI is providing specific assistance."
The security guard at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas who was among the first to encounter mass killer Stephen Paddock during his deadly Oct. 1 shooting spree has apparently broken his silence.

Jesus Campos is scheduled to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday for an interview with the talk-show host.

DeGeneres tweeted an image of Campos and maintenance worker Stephen Schuck, who also encountered Paddock, speaking with her on the set of her show.

Tomorrow, the first people to encounter the Las Vegas shooter are here  security guard Jesus Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck. pic.twitter.com/dDmjzN6xBx  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 18, 2017

Campos was shot during an Oct. 1 confrontation with Paddock during a deadly spree in which the gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds of others.

Schuck told NBC News that he came upon Campos, who was shot in the leg, as Paddock fired into the hotels hallway and nearby rooms.

When the first shooting started, I was kind of frozen for a second, Schuck said. He yelled at me, Take cover! Take cover! If he yelled a second too late, I would have been shot.

Campos was set to speak with the media last week but disappeared shortly before scheduled interviews.

David Hickey of the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America labor union, called it highly unusual at the time.

Im hoping everything is OK with him, and Im sure MGM or the union will let [media] know when we hear something, Hickey told Fox 5 Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts, the parent company of Mandalay Bay, said Campos simply wanted some privacy.

Jesus Campos wants to tell his story at a time and place of his choosing, the company told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday. Hes asked that everyone respect his request for privacy. We could not be more proud of Jesus.

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Also on HuffPost

People hug and cry outside the Thomas & Mack Center after a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.

A cowboy hat lies in the street.

VIDEO: Rapid fire from shooter(s) in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/jgzCTQRUZP  Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 2, 2017

Las Vegas police search for the gunman while protecting fleeing fans.

Fans run from the Route 91 Harvest festival after a gunman opened fire.

Others dive for cover.

Some fans drop to the ground.

People run from the Route 91 Harvest festival.

People scramble for cover.

HORRIFIC SCENE: Do not let this be called anything else but DOMESTIC TERRORISM. AP reports 2dead 13critical & dozens injured. #MandalayBay pic.twitter.com/q7faKkCPpN  Eduardo Samaniego (@EduSamani) October 2, 2017

A man in a wheelchair is helped away.

People run for cover.

EYEWITNESS: Chilling footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/7OfAwg0ReO  Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017

A person takes cover amid the shooting.

A person runs barefoot from the shooting.

Police officers stop a man who drove down Tropicana Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard, which had been closed.

A pair of cowboy boots lies in the street outside the concert venue.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Three people are dead after a shooting at a business park in Maryland.

Sheriffs for Harford County said they were on the scene at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood - about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Baltimore - with two other people critically injured.

Harford County sheriff's office said federal officials had detained a suspected gunman at about 7.30pm local time. Maryland State Police had identified 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince as the alleged shooter.

Mr Gahler also said the suspect had fled the scene in a black 2008 GMC Acadia with Delaware license plates and was to be "considered armed and dangerous," the Baltimore Sun newspaper reported.

We can confirm we on the scene of a shooting in the Emmorton Business Park. Multiple injuries reported.  Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) October 18, 2017

#WANTED Radee Labeeb Prince. Suspected of shooting five people in Harford Co. biz park. Considered armed & dangerous @MDSP @Harford_Sheriff pic.twitter.com/I5NGrM7zFz  MD State Police (@MDSP) October 18, 2017

Radee Labeeb Prince may be seen in a 2008 Black GMC Acadia SUV

with Del Registration PC064273. Use extreme caution if you see him. pic.twitter.com/eVYQ9tSS7D  MD State Police (@MDSP) October 18, 2017

All five victims are believed to be employees of Advanced Granite Solutions, where the shooting happened, the sheriff said.

According to police, Mr Prince is an employee of the company though that was unclear at first.

They said a gunman walked into the business with a handgun and shot five employees just before 10 am local time.

The two injured were taken to Baltimore's Shock Trauma Center, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Update on patients from #EdgewoodShooting: Confirming the two patients being treated at Shock Trauma are both in critical condition  Shock Trauma (@shocktrauma) October 18, 2017

Other businesses in the Emmorton complex and five schools in the Edgewood area have been placed on lockdown  meaning students are being kept in the buildings, and visitors are not permitted  at the advice of the sheriff's office, the county school system has said.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are also on the scene to assist local police.

Mr Gahler has also said police do not believe any other individuals were involved in the shooting and that it appears "to be a target attack, limited to that business."

According to the local newspaper, a residence in Cecil County, Maryland has been searched in relation to the incident.

Cast and crew from the Netflix programme House of Cards were filming nearby and are also on lockdown. Actress Robin Wright is on set, but actor Kevin Spacey was reportedly not on set today.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in a statement that "state helicopters are in the air and state troopers are on the ground from multiple barracks" to assist in bringing in the suspect in this "tragic shooting."

Mr Prince is also under suspicion for a shooting in Wilmington, Delaware that occurred nearly two hours after the Edgewood shooting which occurred at the 28th Street Auto Sales & Service. Local radio station WBAL reported that Mr Prince has family in the Wilmington area as well.

Mr Prince was convicted in 2003 on multiple burglary charges. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but served only two. According to court records, he was ordered to pay $34,500 in restitution as well, the Baltimore Sun reported.

He was also charged in 2015 in Cecil County, Maryland with felony possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm in his vehicle, however prosecutors in that case dropped the charges. It is unclear immediately as to why the charges were dropped.

The alleged gunman was also named in a restraining order in February 2017, but it was ultimately denied. No details about that case have been released as yet.
Joseph Orsebo and Rachel Nguyen were found locked in an embrace: Go Fund Me

Locked in an embrace, the bodies of a pair of hikers who went missing three months ago in Californias Joshua Tree national park are thought to have been found.

Joseph Orbeso, 21, and Rachel Nguyen, 20, had been missing since 28 July, after they failed to check out of their Airbnb.

Their car was found a week later near a popular trail in the park, called the Maze Loop. It is thought they were hiking in extreme heat.

At the time temperatures were around 38C and it was unclear if they had had water supplies with them.

The remains, which were discovered over the weekend have been sent to San Bernardino coroners office to be formally identified and a cause of death to be recorded.

Mr Orbesos father, Gilbert, was with the Joshua Tree search and rescue team when the bodies were found.

I believed that I was going to find them, he told KESQ. I didnt know when, but I had my answer today.
The Daily Beast

Instagram/The Daily BeastThe four University of Idaho students allegedly slain in a home just off campus on Sunday were identified Monday as detectives continue to search for their killer. Police identified the victims are Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kaylee GonCalves, 21. Cops have remained tight-lipped about what happened Sunday afternoon, declining to say how the four students were killed or what potential motive their killer may have had. Art Bettge, the mayor
Harare (AFP) - The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has sued a Lebanese businessman for failing to deliver a $1.35-million diamond ring she ordered for her wedding anniversary, state media reported Wednesday.

"First lady Dr Grace Mugabe is suing fugitive businessman Mr Jamal Joseph Ahmed for $1.23 million (1.05 million euros) over a diamond ring deal that went sour last year," The Herald newspaper said.

"In breach of the agreement, Mr Ahmed failed to deliver the ring, triggering a legal wrangle."

In 2015, Grace Mugabe placed an order for a 100-carat diamond ring worth $1.35 million to mark the anniversary of her wedding to the 93-year-old leader.

"The plaintiff wanted to purchase a unique diamond ring for her wedding anniversary celebrations," said court documents seen by The Herald.

"The defendant tendered a diamond ring worth $30,000 and naturally, the plaintiff refused to take possession of an inferior ring."

Grace Mugabe demanded a refund but Ahmed paid back just $120,000.

In court documents filed last year, Ahmed said he had offered to repay the money in instalments and claimed he had already paid back $150,000.

In January Ahmed went to court to stop Grace Mugabe from seizing his properties over the diamond ring spat.

Grace Mugabe has however denied attempting to seize Ahmed's properties, saying police had been guarding his premises because he was wanted for alleged crimes.

The Lebanese businessman holds a Zimbabwean permanent residence permit, but no longer lives in southern African country.

Ahmed also claimed to have received threats from officials from Zimbabwe's spy agency -- the Central Intelligence Organisation -- as well from Grace herself and a son from her first marriage, Russell Goreraza. She has denied the allegation.

Grace, 52, married Mugabe in 1996. She now heads the ruling ZANU-PF party women's league.

She has said that she has the right to rule the country like any other Zimbabwean and is now seen to be among those manoeuvering to replace her husband.
The situation on the Korean peninsula is so unstable a nuclear war may break out any moment, the countrys deputy U.N. ambassador Kim In Ryong has said.

Speaking at a U.N. General Assembly committee on disarmament, Kim attributed tensions to the U.S. deployment of nuclear assets in South Korea and joint American-South Korean military drills that include plans to remove Pyongyangs leadership.

The situation on the Korean peninsula where the attention of the whole world is focused has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment, Kim said Monday, just after the U.S. began joint naval mine warfare drills with South Korea over the weekend, and prepared for a Maritime Counter Special Operations exercise beginning Tuesday.

Kim blamed the U.S. for the countrys inability to adopt the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty (NBT), claiming his country supports the denuclearization efforts but cannot be part of it.

As long as the U.S. who constantly threatens and blackmails the DPRK with nuclear weapons rejects the NBT the DPRK is not in [a] position to accede to the treaty, he said, referring to his country by its official name Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

10_17_Kim Jong Un

KCNA/via Reuters

In his statement, Kim did not once mention that his country fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles this year aloneflying them over Japan on two occasionsbut claimed North Korea had become a full-fledged nuclear power and is a responsible nuclear state.

The deputy ambassador also skipped the most inflammatory parts of his written statement, which threatened the U.S. with severe punishment should Americans invade, and pledged not to use nuclear weapons against any other country so long as no one supported the American military efforts.

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While the diplomat insisted Pyongyang would not give up its nuclear weapons for anything, U.S. State Department officials reiterated Secretary of State Rex Tillersons commitment to diplomacy until the first bomb drops, as he said Sunday.

"Our focus is on diplomacy to solve this problem that is presented by the DPRK, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said Tuesday, as quoted by Reuters, after meeting his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo. We must, however, with our allies, Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail," he added.

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North Korea's deputy UN ambassador warned Monday that the situation on the Korean peninsula "has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment."

Kim In Ryong told the UN General Assembly's disarmament committee that North Korea is the only country in the world that has been subjected to "such an extreme and direct nuclear threat" from the United States since the 1970s  and said the country has the right to possess nuclear weapons in self-defense.

He pointed to large-scale military exercises every year using "nuclear assets" and said what is more dangerous is what he called a US plan to stage a "secret operation aimed at the removal of our supreme leadership."

This year, Kim said, North Korea completed its "state nuclear force and thus became the full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges, including the atomic bomb, H-bomb and intercontinental ballistic rockets."

"The entire US mainland is within our firing range and if the US dares to invade our sacred territory even an inch it will not escape our severe punishment in any part of the globe," he warned.

Kim's speech follows escalating threats between North Korea and the United States, and increasingly tough UN sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that his country is curtailing economic, scientific and other ties with North Korea in line with UN sanctions, and the European Union announced new sanctions on Pyongyang for developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the North Korean crisis "will continue until the first bomb drops." His commitment to diplomacy came despite President Donald Trump's tweets several weeks ago that his chief envoy was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom he derisively referred to as "Little Rocket Man."

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North Korea's deputy UN ambassador called his country's nuclear and missile arsenal "a precious strategic asset that cannot be reversed or bartered for anything."

"Unless the hostile policy and the nuclear threat of the US is thoroughly eradicated, we will never put our nuclear weapons and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table under any circumstances," Kim said.

He told the disarmament committee that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea  North Korea's official name  had hoped for a nuclear-free world.

Instead, Kim said, all nuclear states are accelerating the modernization of their weapons and "reviving a nuclear arms race reminiscent of (the) Cold War era." He noted that the nuclear weapon states, including the United States, boycotted negotiations for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was approved in July by 122 countries at the United Nations.

"The DPRK consistently supports the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the efforts for denuclearisation of the entire world," he said. But as long as the United States rejects the treaty and "constantly threatens and blackmails the DPRK with nuclear weapons ... the DPRK is not in position to accede to the treaty."
Former United States' President Barack Obama delivers a speech during the Green Economy Summit 2017: PABLO GASPARINI/AFP/Getty Images

The Obama administration potentially knew of corruption at a Russian nuclear supplier years before it agreed to sign over 20 per cent of US's uranium supply to the company, a new report has claimed.

The Hill claims federal agents found evidence of illegal payments made to an employee at a Russian nuclear company years before the Obama administration allowed the company to make a major business deal.

Employees at Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom  the regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex  received bribes and kickbacks from American companies as early as 2009, according to the Hill. An undercover agent made secret recordings, collected financial records, and intercepted emails documenting the payments  the earliest of which was recorded in September 2009.

But in 2010, the Obama administration allowed Rosatom to move forward with the purchase of Canadian mining company Uranium One, effectively giving Moscow control of more than 20 per cent of Americas uranium supply. The next year, they allowed Tenex to expand the amount of nuclear products they sold in the US.

The decision sparked controversy years later, following a 2015 bombshell report: The New York Times found Moscow had paid millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation at the same time the US was pondering the Rosatom deal. Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State at the time.

A spokesman for Ms Clintons presidential campaign told the Times that no one had ever produced "a shred of evidence supporting the theory that Hillary Clinton ever took action as secretary of state to support the interests of donors to the Clinton Foundation".

To suggest the State Department, under then-Secretary Clinton, exerted undue influence in the U.S. governments review of the sale of Uranium One is utterly baseless, the spokesperson said.

That same year, federal agents arrested Vadim Mikerin  a top executive at Tenex  for arranging more than $2m in payments in exchange for contracts from the company, according to the Department of Justice.

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During the DOJ investigation, Mikerin admitted to conspiring with others to send more than $2m to offshore shell company bank accounts in Cyprus, Latvia and Switzerland. He was forced to forfeit the money, and was sentenced to 48 months in jail.

The arrest made little news at the time, but legislators told the Hill that they were concerned that the Obama administration had not disclosed reports of corruption earlier.

Not providing information on a corruption scheme before the Russian uranium deal was approved by US regulators and engage appropriate congressional committees has served to undermine U.S. national security interests by the very people charged with protecting them, said former Representative Mike Rogers, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee while the investigation was being conducted.

He added: The Russian efforts to manipulate our American political enterprise is breathtaking.
Mr Obama's former staff members have insisted he did speak with relatives of those killed in action: Getty

Barack Obamas White House photographer has led the charge in rebutting Donald Trumps claim that his predecessors did not call or console families of soldiers killed in action.

Pete Souza, who has used his Instagram account to take subtle digs at Mr Trump, posted a picture of Mr Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama consoling the parents of Army Sergeant 1st Class Jared C Monti.

Mr Monti, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2006, had been posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour, the nations highest award for military valour, wrote Mr Souza in the caption. It was the first of 52 Medals of Honour Mr Obama would award during his eight years in office.

I also photographed him meeting with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and family members of those killed in action, he wrote.

Mr Souza was inspired to act after Mr Trump had suggested that he was rare among presidents in that he either wrote or spoke with relatives of service members killed in action.

If you look at President Obama and other presidents - most of them didn't make calls. A lot of them didn't make calls, Mr Trump had said. He later sought to walk the claim back, though did not apologise for his error when it was pointed out.

Mr Souza, who left the White House this January when Mr Trump assumed the presidency, said Mr Obama was also known for making monthly visits to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, to visit wounded soldiers. These visits were not made public until near the end of his time in office.

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He and Ms Obama also had a Gold Star Christmas tree every year, honouring the families of fallen soldiers.

These visits were almost never on the public schedule, done quietly, not boasted about.https://t.co/M1dfUn2CSI  Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) October 16, 2017

Several staffers and former Cabinet members also took to social media to criticise Mr Trump as well.

Mr Trump was responding to questions as to why he had remained uncharacteristically silent on the deaths of four US soldiers in Niger 12 days ago.

Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, Dustin Wright and Sergeant La David T Johnson were ambushed when patrolling with Niger troops by militants thought to be affiliated with terror group Isis.

It was the deadliest attack on the US military since he took office in January.

I was told [Mr Obama] didnt often and a lot of Presidents dont. They write letters...I do a combination of both. Sometimes its a very difficult thing to do...President Obama, I think, probably did sometimes and maybe sometimes he didnt. I dont know. Thats what I was told, he said to reporters.

Delila OMalley, whose Twitter bio says she is a lifelong Republican but opposed to Mr Trump, called the president a fat f***ing liar.

The Gold Star family member described when her brothers remains were returned home after he was killed in the Iraq war, saying President George W Bush listened while I screamed at him & then held me as I sobbed.

.@realDonaldTrump When my brother was killed, Pres Bush listened while I screamed at him & then held me as I sobbed, you fat fucking liar. https://t.co/SEIw74OeZG  Delilia O'Malley (@DeliliaOMalley) October 16, 2017

The tweet has received nearly 120,000 retweets.

Alyssa Mastromonaco, former Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr Obama, said Mr Trump's claim was a f***ing lie.

that's a fucking lie. to say president obama (or past presidents) didn't call the family members of soldiers KIA - he's a deranged animal.  Alyssa Mastromonaco (@AlyssaMastro44) October 16, 2017

Mr Obamas foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes called it an outrageous lie and reminded followers when Mr Trump mocked a Gold Star family last year on the campaign trail - Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Humayun was killed in 2004 in Iraq.

This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards. Also: Obama never attacked a Gold Star family. https://t.co/JgzTUIzWIa  Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 16, 2017

The 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Retd. General Marty Dempsey said both Presidents Bush and Obama as well as the First Ladies cared deeply and worked tirelessly for soldiers.

POTUS 43 & 44 and first ladies cared deeply, worked tirelessly for the serving, the fallen, and their families. Not politics. Sacred Trust.  GEN(R) Marty Dempsey (@Martin_Dempsey) October 17, 2017

Former Attorney General Eric Holder followed suit, tweeting to Mr Trump to stop the damn lying and included a picture of Mr Obama at Dover Air Force Base, saluting and waiting for the bodies of fallen service members.
Rep. Thomas Marino, R-Pa., speaking at a news conference on Capitol Hill, Sept. 23, 2011. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)

Rep. Tom Marino, President Trumps pick for drug czar, unceremoniously withdrew his name from consideration after a public outcry over his ties to the pharmaceutical industry, including sponsoring a bill that weakened the Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) ability to crack down on suspicious opioid sales. But the news stories that led him to quit also raised questions about how it could have passed through Congress with virtually no opposition and been signed into law by then President Barack Obama  an ally in the fight against opioid abuse.

The machinations of Washington are complex, but its hard to overstate the influence  often behind the scenes  of lobbyists. For years, the opioid industry has been funding nonprofit organizations that promote patient access to their drugs. These medical organizations pushed for Congress to approve Marinos Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, which serves the interests of major drug distributors and retailers.

On Jan. 26, 2015, a number of organizations nominally interested in ensuring legitimate access to pain medication wrote to Marino, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Judy Chu, D-Calif., praising their fight for the now controversial legislation. They argued that the country needs need a balanced approach to the opioid abuse crisis that ensures access for pain patients while stopping drug abusers. Among the groups were the Alliance for Patient Access, which describes itself as a national network of physicians dedicated to ensuring patient access to approved therapies and appropriate clinical care and the American Academy of Pain Management (since renamed the Academy of Integrative Pain Management), which describes itself as an organization advancing integrative pain care approaches defined by the National Institute of Health.

As of June 2017, the Alliance for Patient Access list of associate members and financial supporters contains over two dozen pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Purdue Pharma. The latters marketing practices have been blamed for fueling the opioid epidemic.

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Federal agencies, law enforcement, pharmaceutical industry participants and prescribers each play a role in working diligently to prevent drug abuse and diversion, they wrote. However, it is also imperative that legitimate patients are able to obtain their prescriptions without disruption.

OxyContin pills at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (Photo: Toby Talbot/AP)

Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University, said this argument  that legitimate pain medication patients should not pay the price for the fight against drug abuse  is how the opioid lobby has framed (and continues to frame) the issue of prescription abuse from the beginning.

These pain organizations make the case for the opioid lobby. But if you scratch the surface, youll find that the pain organizations that signed the letter are receiving money from the opioid lobby, Kolodny told Yahoo News.

Kolodny said the opioid lobby often uses phony front groups to support its efforts in blocking any reduction in prescribing  and uses them very effectively.

An explosive investigation by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes released Sunday revealed that Marino had accepted large donations from the pharamceutical industry while pressing for the legislation that they favored.

The next day, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced that she would introduce legislation to repeal the law.

Heroin users prepare to shoot up in a South Bronx neighborhood that has the highest rate of heroin overdose deaths in NYC. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center, said that the pharmaceutical industry creates or co-opts nonprofits to use as their mouthpieces. This is called third-party strategy: removing the drug industrys fingerprints to make their marketing look like education or grassroots advocacy. She said by paying off groups, Big Pharma ensures their espousal of market-friendly opinions (such as endorsing new drugs to fight problems caused by old drugs)  and their silence on drug costs.

Fugh-Berman also directs PharmedOut, a research and education project at Georgetown that exposes the effect of drug marketing on prescribing. PharmedOut recently released a list of patient and consumer advocacy groups that do not receive payments from the pharmaceutical industry. They could only identify 10 health advocacy groups in the U.S. and six in Canada. Although Fugh-Berman acknowledges they may have missed a few (and plans to update accordingly), the number of truly independent voices is still tiny compared to the 7,685 patient advocacy groups in the U.S. None of the 19 pain organizations that signed the letter to Marino and others appears on the list.

The voices of industry-funded groups drown out the voices of independent groups. Thats what is meant to happen, Fugh-Berman told Yahoo News. The industry-funded groups are undermining public health in this country.

Fugh-Berman, who used to chair the National Womens Health Network, cited the controversy surrounding the female-libido boosting pill flibanserin, sold under the trade name Addyi, as an example of how independent groups can differ drastically from industry-funded groups on these issues.

She said Sprout Pharmaceuticals gave money to womens groups as part of a public relations campaign. The result was two conflicting pieces of advice to women, from groups that did, or did not, take the grants. The independent womens groups said that viewing low libido as a disease was an invention of the pharmaceutical industry, and that the drug is actually dangerous, whereas the others called Addyi the biggest step forward in womens health since the birth control pill.

Unfortunately, the media represented this as a cat fight among the womens groups, Fugh-Berman said. But if you actually separated it by funding, 100 percent of the groups that got money supported the drug and 100 percent that didnt take money opposed the drug.

On these issues, she wishes that more people would hear from the groups that can truly represent the interests of consumers or patients because they are not beholden to corporate funders.

Those groups struggle for money. They struggle for survival, she said.

Legitimate chronic pain organizations do exist. Kolodny noted that Pain Australia teamed up with a medical organization to keep codeine from being an over-the-counter drug.

A legitimate pain organization would not be against efforts to address the opioid crisis or efforts to promote more cautious prescribing because opioids are lousy drugs for chronic pain, Kolodny said.

Fugh-Berman said opioids are great medications for severe pain  such as the days after surgery or end-of-life care  but do not work well for chronic pain: they cause addiction, respiratory depression, cardiovascular disease, etc.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 91 Americans die from opioid overdose every day, and that more than a half-million died from drug overdose from 2000 to 2015.

The pharmaceutical and health products industry consistently ranks toward the top of lists of contributors to federal election campaigns. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that the industry donated $28,103,688 to congressional campaigns, with $23,215,767 going to incumbents during the 2016 election cycle. Congress has already received $6,965,956 for the 2018 elections.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Johannesburg (AFP) - The ANC has held power in South Africa since Nelson Mandela won the first post-apartheid elections in 1994, but the battle to be its new leader threatens to split the party apart.

Rivalries are intensifying within the African National Congress ahead of a conference in December when delegates will choose the party chief to succeed Jacob Zuma, who will remain the national president.

For months, the divisive contest was a two-horse race between deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, a wealthy former businessman, and Zuma's ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's former home affairs minister.

The vote threatens to permanently break up the ANC, which united many black South Africans during the struggle to end white-minority rule when the party was banned and its leaders jailed.

With the ANC's future suddenly in peril, a surprise new name has emerged in the race, campaigning as a candidate who could keep the party together and save it from losing power in the 2019 election.

Zweli Mkhize, the party's shrewd and well-connected treasurer, has been criss-crossing the country, drawing large, enthusiastic crowds to speeches that tap into anger at the ANC's many troubles.

"When people criticise the ANC, we must accept that they are not lying," the 61-year-old told a packed community hall in Kagiso township outside Johannesburg last week.

"They say we have leaders who are seen to be arrogant... we need to prove to them that we are worthy of being elected."

- 'Huge risk of splitting' -

Mkhize, a former medical doctor who fled into exile under apartheid, is a party veteran largely untouched by the corruption scandals that have engulfed Zuma and his allies.

Zuma has been accused of backing Dlamini-Zuma to protect himself from prosecution after leaving office but, if she wins, senior party figures could walk away and form a "new ANC" party.

"For the ANC, there is a huge risk of splitting as a result of this leadership fight," political analyst Stephen Grootes said. "It is going to be a very difficult."

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Under Dlamini-Zuma, the ANC would be more likely to lose the 2019 election as the black urban vote does not support her, Grootes said.

But if her arch-rival Ramaphosa became leader, it would also trigger deep resentment and fear among Zuma's loyal patronage network within the party.

"Mkhize says he can keep the trust of the president's faction and at the same time can grow the economy and root out corruption -- that is how he positions himself," said Grootes.

"He is the only compromise on the table. He is not ahead at the moment, but there is a chance he could win."

The prospect of a split is now openly discussed within the ANC.

"We are aware that others are planning to form a new party if they lose the December national conference," Bathabile Dlamini, a key supporter of Dlamini-Zuma, said this week.

- Growing pains of democracy? -

With the leadership race yet to officially begin, Mkhize was cautious about the growing excitement around his candidacy.

"Members of ANC want to be well informed about leaders who might be considered for nomination," he told AFP, dismissing the "compromise candidate" label.

He described the ANC's woes as "the pains of growing up as a democracy" in South Africa, but said the party would "survive all of this" and retain power in the next election.

For those in the crowd at his Kagiso speech, Mkhize offered a chance to avoid potential disaster.

"There is so much infighting that a split is possible," said ANC branch member Sihle Sibisi, 40.

"People are tired of this. We need someone who can deal with the factions or we will be in trouble with the voters".
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared Marawi liberated from terrorists, signalling an end to almost five months of fighting in the southern Philippine city.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence. That marks the beginning of rehabilitation, Duterte declared before assembled troops on Tuesday, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Dutertes announcement follows Mondays confirmation that the two foremost leaders of the ISIS-inspired coalition that overran the city had been killed in battle.

Read more: What the siege of a Philippine city reveals about ISIS deadly new front in Asia

More than 1000 people, including over 800 militants, have died since fighting began on May 23, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The conflict has displaced in excess of 350,000 people.

Estimates of how much it will cost to rebuild Marawi  which has been gutted by aerial bombardment as well as the protracted ground war  have varied, but Philippine Secretary of Defence Delfin Lorenzana recently put the figure at around 100 billion pesos ($1.95billion), CNN Philippines reports.
Mahmud Ahmad, now 39, was put on Malaysias most-wanted list in April 2014 after joining Hapilons Abu Sayyaf terrorist group

The Philippine army on Tuesday said it was hunting down a Malaysian professor primed to be next Isil leader in Southeast Asia after the terrorist movements two most senior regional commanders were killed in battle.

Isils Southeast Asia emir, Isnilon Hapilon, and Omarkhayam Maute, leader of the Isil-affiliated Maute group were shot on Monday morning in a surgical operation carried out by Philippine special forces in the besieged southern city of Marawi.

The army is in the final stages of liberating the Muslim city in the province of Mindanao after it was invaded by Isil-linked terrorists on May 23, causing 360,000 to flee.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi liberated on Tuesday, although the military said 20-30 rebels were holding about 20 hostages and still fighting it out.

In a rousing address to soldiers, Duterte said he would never again allow militants to stockpile so many weapons, but Marawi was now free and it was time to heal wounds and rebuild.

"I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from terrorist influence, that marks the beginning of rehabilitation," Duterte, wearing a camouflage cap and dark sunglasses, said during his unannounced visit.

But the morale boost of gunning down the terrorist leaders was short-lived after it emerged that Mahmud Ahmad, 39, the groups Malaysian financier and chief recruiter, could take over the reins.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte raises a clenched fist, as he shouts declaring Marawi "liberated" during a ceremony inside the battle area of Bangolo district in Marawi on October 17, 2017 Credit: AFP

Ahmad, who holds a doctorate in religious studies and worked as a university lecturer in Malaysias capital, Kuala Lumpur, was named as Hapilons second-in-command in a July report by the Indonesia-based Institute of Policy Analysis and Conflict [IPAC].

Sitting in the inner circle of the Marawi command centre, he was the contact for foreigners wanting to join the fight in the Philippines or Isil in the Middle East, said the report.

It wasnt just Indonesians and Malaysians contacting Dr Mahmudhe was also the contact for Bangladeshis in Malaysia who wanted to join the fighting in Mindanao, IPACs director Sidney Jones told Reuters.

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Rohan Gunaratna, an analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, described Mahmud as the most important ISIS leader in Southeast Asia.

Mahmud grew up in a crowded Kuala Lumpur suburb, before studying at Pakistans Islamabad Islamic University in the late 1990s and training at an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.

In 2000, he returned home and to lecture at the University of Malaysia, while also writing a book on jihad under his nom de guerre, Abu Handzalah.

He was put on Malaysias most-wanted list in April 2014 after joining Hapilons Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which is notorious for violent kidnappings and beheadings.

Government troops pass destroyed buldings and houses in Datu Sa Dansalan in Marawi city, southern Philippines Credit: REUTERS

His current location is unknown. General Eduardo Ano, head of the Philippines Armed Forces, said on Tuesday that he was still in the main battle area with some Indonesians and Malaysians.

However, Malaysias police counter-terrorism chief, Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, claimed in July that Mahmud had managed to sneak out of from Marawi City to another safe place with his followers.

The armys pledge to target all remaining terrorists has not reassured Marawi locals, many of whom have lost their homes.

Were afraid that they [terrorists] are planning another revenge attack after the killing of Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute. Maybe it will spread to Basilan, Hapilons home turf, or to another city near Marawi, city government employee, Alihussein Datuharon, told the Telegraph.
The USNS Comfort has been deployed to Puerto Rico, but nobody knows how to get patients to it: Getty Images

A floating hospital could help desperate patients in Puerto Rico, but nobody knows how to get there.

Clinics on the island have been overwhelmed with patients since Hurricane Maria made landfall there, but patients and staff say theyre not sure how to start sending sick people over. The ship, the USNS Comfort, is sitting right off shore with just 13 per cent of its 250 beds in use nearly two weeks after it arrived.

The Comfort was deployed to Puerto Rico as a part of the US federal response to the storm, which devastated the island and left hospitals vulnerable to power outages, limited water supplies, and food shortages.

The Puerto Rico Department of Health gets to decide which patients can get care aboard the Comfort, but referrals have been minimal so far.

Ricardo Rossello, the governor of the island, told CNN that the issue was not because a lack of infrastructure, or physical means of getting patients to the ship.

The disconnect or the apparent disconnect was in the communications flow, Mr Rossello said. I asked for a complete revision of that so that we can now start sending more patients over there.

For doctors and care providers working in clinics and hospitals running on generators, speeding up the process could mean life or death for patients. While the official death toll has creeped up to 48 so far, reports from the island indicate that people have been dying in hospitals as doctors run out of medication or fuel from generators, leaving people who rely on oxygen, or dialysis, at risk.

As of Sunday, 85 per cent of the island still lacked power.

Captain Kevin Robinson, the mission commander aboard the Comfort, told CNN that help is waiting for those in need.

I know that we have capacity. I know that we have the capacity to help. What the situation on the ground is thats not in my lane to make a decision, Mr Robinson said. Every time weve been tasked by [Puerto Ricos] medical operation centre to respond or bring a patient on, we have responded.

The ship has 250 beds, and just 33 of them are in use.
Today marks the anniversary of one of the most controversial land deals in American history: the Alaska Purchase or Seward's Folly. On October 18, 1867, the United States took possession of Alaska from Russia under the terms of a formal land transfer, in a ceremony in the town of Sitka.

In todays popular culture, William Seward is best known for his association with Abraham Lincoln. But his name is also forever linked to a decision back that brought Alaska into the fold as a United States territory, at a bargain price.

The cost for Alaska in 1867 was $7.2 million, which is about $119 million in current dollars.

Link: Read the treaty

Secretary of State Seward negotiated the deal in an extended bargaining session with Russian minister to the United States Eduard de Stoeckl on March 30, 1867. The Senate passed the treaty a few days later, but the House held up funding the purchase for more than a year, as the public debate raged over the purchase price and soundness of Sewards decision.

The Alaska Purchase gave the United States a land mass of 586,412 square miles, an area about twice the size of Texas. But it came at a time when the United States had just ended the Civil War, and it had an abundance of underpopulated land.

Prior to World War II, Alaska suffered from a bit of an inferiority complex and its own internal politics. In the wake of "Sewards Folly," Alaska avoided national attention until its Gold Rush began in the 1890s.

It became a territory in 1912 and started making noise about becoming a state four years later. As its strategic importance became obvious during World War II, in 1946 Alaska held a referendum asking Congress to consider it for statehood.

The Democrats during the 1950s favored Alaska as the 49th state, while the Republicans wanted Hawaii admitted by itself. The reason was that each new state gets two U.S. senators and at least one new House member, and the admission of a new state can swing votes in Congress.

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Alaska became the 49th state in January 1959 after a compromise was reached in Congress.

In recent years, there has been some revisionist history about Sewards decision. In 2009, University of Iowa economist David Barker argued, using a different set of statistics, that the federal government has lost money on the Alaska deal since 1867because of the amount of federal subsidies spent on Alaska. The fact that the federal government has not profited from Alaska supports the contention of the new Western history that the West has generally been subsidized by the federal government, he said.

That theory was contested on a New York Times blog a year later by two professors in Alaska, who said Barkers calculations didnt take into account broader measures.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Thad Cochran has delayed his return to Washington following a medical procedure, his office said on Monday, possibly complicating passage of a budget blueprint that is needed to push through the Republicans' plan for tax reform. "After a day of monitoring his condition, and on the advice of his physicians and other health care professionals, Senator Cochran has postponed his return to Washington," said Brad White, chief of staff for the Mississippi legislator. "The senator has expressed his intention to return to the Senate when his health permits, and to fulfill his commitment and duties to the people of his state," White said in a statement. The Senate is trying this week to pass a partisan budget blueprint that would help guide federal spending. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. If Cochran is not present for votes, Republicans could afford to lose no more than one other vote, assuming all 46 Democrats and two independents oppose the budget measure. In addition to sketching out overall spending levels for this year and beyond, Republicans want to use the "budget resolution" to pave the way for the party later this year or next year to pass a major tax-cut bill without any Democratic support. Cochran, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helps oversee the legislation that funds most government programs and activities. In early December, Congress must extend those funds or risk partial government shutdowns. (In 4th paragraph, corrects to show that Republicans could afford to lose no more than one other vote, not two votes) (Reporting by Makini Brice and Richard Cowan; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
(Reuters) - Cyber security watchdogs and researchers are issuing warnings over risks associated with a widely used system for securing Wi-Fi communications after the discovery of a flaw that could allow hackers to read information thought to be encrypted, or infect websites with malware.

An alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Computer Emergency Response Team on Monday said the flaw could be used within range of Wi-Fi using the WPA2 protocol to hijack private communications. It recommended installing vendor updates on affected products, such as routers provided by Cisco Systems Inc or Juniper Networks Inc.

Belgian researchers Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens of Belgian university KU Leuven disclosed the bug in WPA2, which secures modern Wi-Fi systems used by vendors for wireless communications between mobile phones, laptops and other connected devices with Internet-connected routers or hot spots.

"If your device supports Wi-Fi, it is most likely affected," they said on the www.krackattacks.com website, which they set up to provide technical information about the flaw and methods hackers might use to attack vulnerable devices.

It was not immediately clear how difficult it would be for hackers to exploit the bug, or if the vulnerability has previously been used to launch any attacks.

Finnish security firm F-Secure said experts have long been cautious about Wi-Fi's ability to withstand security challenges of the 21st century.

"But the worst part of it is that it's an issue with Wi-Fi protocols, which means it affects practically every single person in the world that uses Wi-Fi networks," it said on its website.

Microsoft Corp said it had released a security update for Windows. Customers who applied the update, or had automatic updates enabled, would already be protected, it said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

CERT New Zealand and CERT India asked users to apply security updates. CERT NZ suggested using ethernet cables and to connect directly into the network, when possible.

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"Given the complexity of updating smart devices such as mobile phones, CERT NZ also strongly recommends disabling Wi-Fi when it isn't required," it said in its advisory. (http://bit.ly/2gfho2b)

The Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group that represents hundreds of Wi-Fi technology companies, said the issue "could be resolved through a straightforward software update".

The group said in a statement it had advised members to release patches quickly and recommended that consumers quickly install those security updates.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and Dustin Volz in Washington; Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Susan Thomas, Dan Grebler and Jacqueline Wong)
Men are tweeting how they will change rape culture in response to the viral #MeToo campaign.

On Monday, Australian journalist and screenwriter Benjamin Law created the hashtag #HowIWillChange as a way for men to publicly commit to actionable change against cultures of sexual violence. Guys, its our turn, Law tweeted. After yesterdays endless # MeToo stories of women being abused, assaulted and harassed, today we say # HowIWillChange.

Guys, it's our turn.



After yesterday's endless #MeToo stories of women being abused, assaulted and harassed, today we say #HowIWillChange.  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

The Me Too campaign was originally created by activist Tarana Burke 10 years ago, but was recently turned into a hashtag after actress Alyssa Milano wrote a call-out on Twitter asking followers to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault using the phrase Me too.

Since the hashtag went viral on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people  mostly women, but some men and genderqueer folk  shared stories of sexual misconduct that ranged from sexual harassment to rape. The act of sharing stories and realizing how many women have had similar experiences was cathartic and powerful for many survivors.

As #MeToo stories flooded social media, many women began asking men what they were going to do to address rape culture. Laws #HowIWillChange allowed men to do just that.

Law kicked off the hashtag by sharing actionable steps hes going to take to address sexual violence.

#HowIWillChange: Regularly donate to a women's shelter in my area. https://t.co/dSkaXzBgGS



Or help women elsewhere:https://t.co/GfbGN245W7  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: Pull up men I know on sexism & report them for rape. I have less to lose than women doing the same. https://t.co/KAuACyuNzu  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: Acknowledge that if all women I know has been sexually harassed, abused or assaulted, then I know perpetrators. Or am one.  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: Recognise I don't need to be a perpetrator to be a bad guy. Questioning harassment, not doing anything about itall as bad.  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: I'll do all this without expecting to be congratulated or praised since women do the heavy lifting every other fucking day.  Benjamin Law  (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017

On Wednesday, Milano retweeted Laws original call-out and asked men to weigh in on the conversation using the hashtag #HowIWillChange.

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Men on Twitter responded to Milanos call-out with heartfelt ways theyre going to commit to ending sexual violence against women.

I will call out other men on sexism, one man wrote. I wont be complacent with the status quo. I wont allow another man to harass a woman.

Another male Twitter user wrote he will never accept the diversion tactics of abusers, and never enable, even passively, the behaviors that lead to this.

Scroll below to read more #HowIWillChange tweets.

I will call out other men on sexism. I wont be complacent with the status quo. I wont allow another man to harass a woman. #HowIWillChange  RedBeard (@PhilRedbeard) October 18, 2017

#HowIWillChange means acknowledging MY OWN capacity for harmful behaviour, and taking responsibility for unlearning that toxicity  biryani brah (@garliquorice) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: I will confront anyone who make sexist statement about women even as silly jokes.  Fabian Haquin (@inj4ll) October 18, 2017

#HowIWillChange When I interview for jobs, I will ask how many women executives are in the company, and what the pay gap is.  Ben Jackson (@DadoftheDecade) October 18, 2017

#HowIWillChange? Never accept the diversion tactics of abusers. Never enable, even passively, the behaviors that lead to this.  Alex Soul Rots (@solwat) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange I will keep showing my 3 sons and one grandson how to honor & respect women.



Guys - meaningful change starts in the home.  Jesse T. Smith (@JSmith4Congress) October 17, 2017

#HowIWillChange Learning more about women's issues instead of expecting them to explain to me how they are impacted https://t.co/CtbgJQsY5b  Alex Druce (@AlexDruuuce) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange: I will listen to women more closely, seeking to understand before seeking to be understood. Then, if it helps, I will act. https://t.co/LF4cjbJHwe  Andrew Webster (@web_stirs) October 16, 2017

#HowIWillChange I will take a more active role in smashing rape culture in my community without fear of being called a "snitch" or "pussy"  Grant Knepper (@GrantKnepper2) October 17, 2017

Not letting "guy talk" be a thing, especially when it's derogatory to women. People shouldn't be scared to live their lives #HowIWillChange  Nathaniel Prince (@xanthan18) October 18, 2017

I will never blame a victim, and I will never stand and watch as a man makes unwanted advances on a woman #HowIWillChange  Michael (@TrippyTrappy_Jr) October 17, 2017

Head over to Twitter to read more from #HowIWillChange.

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Nearly four decades ago Fazol Ahmed returned to his native Myanmar with his family under a Rohingya repatriation scheme. Now he is back in the teeming camps of Bangladesh with his wife and children, a refugee once again.

Ahmed is among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh since an upsurge in violence in neighbouring Myanmar in August that the UN has said amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Unlike most, he has been here before.

Ahmed's family fled an earlier wave of violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 1978, when he was still a child.

"We couldn't take it any more," he said, recalling the campaign of violence that forced his family of rice farmers from their village in mainly Buddhist Myanmar in 1978.

"They were kidnapping young people. They killed some and demanded ransoms for others," he said, accusing the Myanmar army and the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists who also inhabit the state.

Ahmed, who gave his age as 41 though his white-flecked beard and testimony suggest he is older, said there were far more people in the camps this time round.

His story -- recounted to AFP on a bamboo bench in Kutupalong, the largest of the camps -- underscores the intractable nature of the unfolding refugee crisis.

Impoverished, overcrowded Bangladesh is now home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, the majority of whom have arrived in less than two months.

Most live in desperate conditions with limited access to food, clean water or proper sanitation.

Dhaka has made clear it wants them to return to Myanmar and is in talks with the government about taking them back.

But Ahmed's experience demonstrates the difficulty of negotiating a lasting return to a country mired in a cycle of hate, where the Rohingya are reviled as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

- Firing rocket launchers -

Last time around, Ahmed's family spent eight months in Bangladesh before returning under an agreement between the two countries' governments whereby around 200,000 refugees were repatriated.

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After two days of interrogation in an internment camp in Myanmar they arrived in their village of Shil Khali in Maungdaw, the district nearest the border with Bangladesh, to find their house damaged and all their crops destroyed.

"We went to the hills and cut down trees to rebuild the house. It took three to six months to return to normal work," he recalls.

Once the returned refugees were finally back on their feet, he said, their Buddhist neighbours returned to extort money from them.

Decades passed and Ahmed married. His wife gave birth to four sons and two daughters.

Then in late August this year, he was preparing for early morning prayers when he heard a series of explosions.

He rushed outside and saw fire in the distance.

"The army was firing rocket launchers at houses and mosques," he said.

Ahmed and his relatives rushed into the jungle before their own village came under attack.

Hoping to return to retrieve at least some of their possessions, he said he hid in the undergrowth and watched as soldiers took women into the houses and slit the throats of young children.

"The soldiers gathered the men on the side of the road and tied their hands behind their backs," he recalled.

The killing lasted three hours before the villagers' bamboo homes were doused in petrol and set alight.

Ahmed watched as his village went up in flames before fleeing into the hills to join his family who had hidden there.

For two days they survived on leaves before finally resolving to cross the Naf river, a natural frontier between the two countries, and go into exile in Bangladesh.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been severely criticised for her failure to curb the military crackdown, has said the country would take back "verified" refugees.

But for Ahmed and others like him, that provides little hope.
WASHINGTON  In 2005, the foundation run by Judge Roy Moore, now the Republican nominee for a Senate seat in Alabama, accepted a $1,000 donation from a group founded by Willis Carto, a white supremacist, Nazi supporter and World War II vet who famously said he regretted fighting for the U.S instead of Germany.

The Foundation to Defend the First Amendment is one of several nonprofit groups Carto used to shuffle money around to his anti-Semitic and racist conspiracy publications, to fund Holocaust deniers, and, apparently, to donate to Moores nonprofit. The Carto-founded group touts its support for Moore and his Foundation for Moral Law on its web site. The contribution to Moores group stands out as one of just a handful it has made to organizations not explicitly involved in Holocaust denial.

The people who run the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment have an ideology that is, Total Nazi; and notice I didnt say neo-Nazi, Todd Blodgett, the former head of the white supremacist record label Resistance Records  and later an FBI informant  told HuffPost.

The contribution to Moores nonprofit from Cartos group was found after a HuffPost review of public tax documents. There is no evidence that the nonprofit returned the check.

Moores campaign did not respond to a request for comment. His foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama, is shown at a campaign stop before the primary election that he won. (Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images)

Carto, who died in 2015, was one of the most notable leaders of the racist and anti-Semitic far right in the U.S. after World War II. Through his Liberty Lobby political advocacy group and its attendant publications  including American Free Press and SPOTLIGHT magazine  he spread racist and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories to his readership.

Carto supported former Alabama Gov. George Wallaces segregationist presidential campaign in 1968 before founding the Populist Party, which gave a political platform for noted racists like David Duke. In 2004, he signed the Duke-penned New Orleans Protocol, which advocated for the mainstreaming of white supremacist ideology. Cartos publications included those where the white supremacy was watered-down in an effort to target paleo-conservative supporters of Pat Buchanan. Other publications explicitly promoted Nazism and fascism.

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In addition to donating to Moores group, the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment provided tax-exempt donations to Carto publications including The Barnes Review, an explicitly white supremacist magazine that in 2004 ran an article stating that Adolf Hitler should have won the 1938 Nobel Peace Prize.

But most of the nonprofits donations went to support Holocaust deniers, in particular those who faced prosecution in Europe or Canada. In 2005, the same year the foundation donated to Moores nonprofit, it also gave $1,000 to Ingrid Rimland, a Holocaust denier married to Ernst Zundel, who himself had been imprisoned in Germany for promoting Holocaust denial. The foundation also gave $1,000 that year to Germar Rudolf, whom the U.S. extradited to Germany to face Holocaust denial charges in 2005. The Canadian Association for Free Expression, a white supremacist group headed by Paul Fromm, also received $1,000 from the foundation in 2005. Two other $1,000 donations in 2005 went to a 9/11 truther group called Reopen911.org and to Police & Military Against New World Order, a far-right wing conspiracy organization. The latter group, however, returned the $1,000 donation in 2006.

At the time the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment donated to support Moores nonprofit, the group was headed by a Carto protege named Jim Tucker Jr. Tucker, who died in 2013, was a writer for both SPOTLIGHT and American Free Press with a specialty in conspiracy theories related to the Bilderberg Group, an international collection of leaders in business and government. Other individuals who sat on the board of the nonprofit at that time included Christopher Bollyn, a 9/11 conspiracy theorist who claims Israel was behind the attacks, and American Free Press author Pat Shannan, who believes both 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing were committed by the U.S. government with Israeli help.

The basic goal of every editorial board meeting for Carto was to find out whats upsetting people and find ways to blame it on Israel, said Blodgett, who frequently sat in on editorial meetings at both SPOTLIGHT and The Barnes Review.

Moore, a controversial figure even within Alabama, has emerged as a favorite of the far-right wing in the U.S. and earned the endorsement of former White House chief strategist and Breitbart head Steve Bannon. A former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Moore was kicked off the court in 2003 for refusing a court order to remove a statue of the Ten Commandants that he placed at the state courthouse. After winning election to serve as chief justice again in 2013, Moore was suspended in 2016 for refusing to comply with the U.S. Supreme Courts Obergefell ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the nation.

Moore has called for the criminalization of homosexuality; said that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress; believes, without any evidence, that some parts of the U.S. live under Sharia Law; claimed, like President Donald Trump, that former President Barack Obama is not an American citizen; blamed the 9/11 attacks on gays and abortion; and lamented the divisions between reds and yellows, an apparent reference to Native Americans and Asian-Americans.

Former adviser to President Donald Trump and executive chairman of Breitbart News, Steve Bannon, speaks at a campaign event for Roy Moore. (Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images)

Moore is much closer to our ideal Alt-South candidate: Southern, Christian, populist and nationalist, slashing and willing to defy the federal government, Shannan, the 9/11 truther who sat on the board of the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment when it donated to Moores nonprofit, wrote in an endorsement of Moore published last month. The White vote in the South, which was splintered during the late 20th century, has reconsolidated like it was in the Jim Crow South.

Shannan added that he declined to endorse Moore until after the primary, because it would have been fodder for a media narrative that white supremacists support Roy Moore and would have been an unnecessary distraction in the race.

The receipt of a contribution from a bonafide pro-Nazi organization is far from the first controversy surrounding Moores Foundation for Moral Law. The nonprofit paid more than $1 million to Moore between 2007 and 2012, far more than the group reported on its tax disclosures, according to the Washington Post. Moores group also hosted two events at its offices by neo-Confederate, pro-secession groups, according to a CNN report.

The foundations largest known donor is Michael Peroutka, a Maryland county commissioner who used to sit on the board of the League of the South, a white Christian separatist group, according to Talking Points Memo. The League of the South was one of the organizers of the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, that ended with the killing of a counter-protester.

When HuffPost called the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment, the phone was answered by an operator who stated the location as American Free Press. HuffPosts call was then directed to Chris Petherick, the editor-in-chief of American Free Press and current head of Cartos foundation.

When asked to explain the groups 2005 donation to the Foundation for Moral Law, Petherick responded, Thats Roy Moore. Then he hung up.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said that Blodgett sat in on meetings at SPOTLIGHT and American Free Press. He sat in on meetings at SPOTLIGHT and The Barnes Review.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The Obama administration signed a controversial nuclear deal with Moscow despite prior FBI findings that Russian officials were bribing their way into the U.S. atomic energy industry, according to government documents just published by The Hill.

A confidential U.S. witness deployed by the FBI infiltrated Russias nuclear industry and made secret recordings, collected financial records and intercepted emails dating back to 2009 that showed that Moscow engaged in bribery and kickbacks with an American uranium trucking company, documents show.

But the Obama administration insisted no evidence existed of Russian interference and that there were no national security concerns for committee members to go against the deal in 2010.

The deal that boosted Vladimir Putins nuclear footprint in the U.S. took place in October 2010 when the State Department and the Committee on Foreign Investment unanimously agreed to a partial sale of Uranium One, a Canadian mining company, to the major Russian nuclear company Rosatom, effectively sending more than 20 percent of the U.S.s uranium to Moscow.

In 2011, the Obama administration gave the green light for Rosatoms Tenex subsidiary to sell uranium to American nuclear power plants. Before the deal, Tenex could only sell reprocessed uranium from dismantled Soviet nuclear firearms to power plants in the U.S.

Russian exortion threats and kickbacks brought legitimate national security concerns, "And none of that evidence got aired before the Obama administration made those decisions, a souce who insisted on anonymity out of fear of retribution told The Hill.

Then-U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who was appointed by Obama and now works as President Donald Trumps deputy attorney general, and then-Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who serves as deputy FBI director under Trump, supervised the investigation, documents show.

FBI agents also gathered documents and a witness account that Russian officials routed millions of dollars to ex-President Bill Clintons charitable foundation while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat on a committee that gave a nod to the dealings with Moscow.

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Like the Obama administration, the Clintons said there was no evidence to prompt them to go the other way on the Uranium One deal.

The Department of Justice investigated the Russian plot for close to four years, keeping the information under wraps while the Obama administration approved the deal instead of bringing immediate charges,

A November 2014 indictment states that Vadim Mikerin, a director of Rosatoms Tenex, did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire confederate and agree with other persons  to obstruct, delay and affect commerce and the movement of an article and commodity (enriched uranium) in commerce by extortion from 2009 to January 2012.

The House Intelligence Committee chairman at the time, former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, told The Hill that he was never informed about the "breathtaking" Russian efforts to manipulate Americas enterprise. Many lawmakers back then had serious concerns about the Uranium One deal, he said.

Not providing information on a corruption scheme before the Russian uranium deal was approved by U.S. regulators and engage appropriate congressional committees has served to undermine U.S. national security interests by the very people charged with protecting them, Rogers said, short of labeling it a coverup.

But the newly published documents will certainly raise questions about Obama's nuclear deal  a topic that then-candidate Donald Trump consistently raised on the campaign trail even before he took over the White House and had access to the information revealed this week.

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Moscow (AFP) - A manned Soyuz rocket suffered a partial loss of pressure as it returned to Earth earlier this year, Russia's space agency said Wednesday, in the latest glitch to hit the country's space industry.

The incident during a voyage back from the International Space Station in April did not put the crew's life in danger, the Roscosmos space agency said in a statement.

"As the Soyuz MS-02 (space capsule) descended from orbit, it experienced a slight loss of pressure during the opening of its main parachute," Roscosmos said.

"This in no way endangered the well-being of the crew as they were wearing sealed space suits."

Cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko were in the spacecraft with NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, according to a NASA report at the time.

The problem came to light during a meeting of NASA's ISS Advisory Committee this week and was reported by the industry journal Space News.

"This situation was investigated with the cooperation of NASA. After that, successful launches and landings of the capsule were carried out," Roscosmos general director Igor Komarov said in the statement.

But Space News said the loss of pressure was "one of a series of events that have raised questions about the reliability of Russian vehicles supporting the ISS".

Most of those incidents have involved unmanned spacecraft, though in 2015 a solar array -- a type of power supply that captures energy from the sun -- failed to deploy on time during a manned Soyuz docking.

In December last year, an unmanned Progress ship carrying supplies lost contact with Earth minutes after blast-off and burnt up in the atmosphere over Siberia.

A commission appointed to investigate the malfunction concluded it was caused by the break-up of the Soyuz third stage rocket engine, either due to "foreign materials" getting inside or an assembly fault.

In April 2015, a failed Progress launch was also blamed on a problem with the Soyuz rocket, a space workhorse dating back to the Cold War-era.

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Russia, which is currently the only country executing manned space flights to the ISS, put all space travel on hold for nearly three months.

A group of astronauts had to spend an extra month on the station.

In June this year one man died and another was hospitalised after they were caught in a fire on the steppes of Kazakhstan triggered by falling debris from a Russian space launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Corruption scandals have also plagued the new Vostochny spaceport in Russia's far east.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  A month after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, many of the 3.4 million citizens on the island are desperate for aid as they struggle daily to find basic necessities like food, drinking water, medicine and consistent forms of communication.

The islands capital, San Juan, has fared better than the other 77 municipalities. But just outside the metropolitan areas, impoverished communities in towns like Canovanas and Loiza are still impatiently waiting for FEMA or any government aid to arrive four weeks after the storm.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto, 54, says she has visited towns like Loiza and Comerio outside of her municipality and witnessed bleak scenes, and has called the Federal Emergency Management Agencys response to the hurricane inefficient and bureaucratic. Shes also criticized President Donald Trumps leadership during the current crisis in Puerto Rico.

During a sit-down interview on Sunday, Cruz Soto told HuffPost she has theories about why federal aid has been slow to arrive to towns no more than than 30 minutes from the capital. She also painted a picture of the stark conditions Puerto Ricans are facing in the metropolitan area and beyond.

I have learned in this disaster of a situation many things, Cruz Soto said. One is that we will no longer be able to hide our poverty and our inequality with palm trees and pina coladas; and two, that the dialogue, the discourse and what youre seeing have to go hand in hand.

Before you could go somewhere and all these green trees and palms trees would be literally hiding away the more disadvantaged areas of San Juan and of Puerto Rico, she said. They are raw there [now] for us to see.

In San Juan, like on the rest of the island, most residents lead their lives under the sweltering Caribbean heat with no electricity to run air conditioning or fans. Many gather inside some of the small number of businesses with generators but head home as soon as the midnight curfew kicks in. Cell service is spotty at best, but phones are only useful if youre able to find a place to charge them.

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At least 84 percent of the metropolitan area has running water, according to the Puerto Rico government website. But that doesnt mean much for those living in high-rise buildings.

Because San Juan is a lot of buildings, people have not seen the devastation, Cruz Soto said. Those buildings have become human cages, especially for the elderly and the sick. You dont have food, you dont have water, you dont have electricity, so the water does not pump up to the 14th and 15th floor.

The mayor said her administration has cleaned more than 66 million pounds of debris, vegetative material and domestic waste since Sept. 19. But there is a lot more left to do, particularly since the citys priority continues to be the well-being of its residents, she said.

You think when the hurricane is gone and you go outside [that] youll be able to start rebuilding but you cant, Cruz Soto explained. You have to make sure you save lives first and then start cleaning the debris.

On the outskirts of San Juan

Cruz Soto said she and her team have canvassed 37 communities outside of San Juan and 12 municipalities have gone to her directly for help.

The mayors have come to us and they say Mira Yulin, we have no food, no water, no one has gone to see us, she said. What am I supposed to do? Just say, Oh, go on your merry way because what I have is for San Juan? Whatever San Juan gets, we make sure to service our people but we make sure that we have enough to share with other people.

HuffPost visited a community in Canovanas, approximately 19 miles from San Juan, during which multiple people came up to reporters asking if we were FEMA. While describing the scene to Cruz Soto, she interjected: What does that tell you? Where is FEMA, right?

Many officials, including the Puerto Rican governor, have justified FEMAs slow response on the island since Maria hit by pointing to logistical issues, including road damage and port closures.

That is the most ludicrous, ridiculous, offensive explanation, Cruz Soto said of the explanation. The most powerful country in the world cannot get supplies to [an island that is] 100 miles by 35 miles wide? They dont want to get the supplies there. Thats a different story. How have I been able to get to these towns? I take my trucks, if theres a tree in the way we get it out and move it out of the way, we push on.

An absent federal government

When asked why the federal government would not want to get the supplies to these areas, Cruz Soto says she can think of no other explanation for why the response has been so lacking.

Its unthinkable that they cannot, so it must mean that they do not want to, she said.

Though she does have at least one theory as to why the federal governments response has been so halting on the island.

It may be easy to try to disregard us, Cruz Soto said. It may be easy because were a U.S. territory and a colony of the United States. But we are people dammit and I dont care what the political status is.

Cruz Soto compared the federal response in Puerto Rico to the one after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, where she says the world saw how the U.S. did everything they could.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz outside the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, a stadium that's been functioning as the city's headquarters for supply distribution. (Photo: Carolyn Cole via Getty Images)

She also said that there are more than 300 people from the U.S. mainland  including organizations like the AFL-CIO, the Teamsters and the UFCW, who are working to bring aid to people  which she described as the true spirit of the United States.

But why would you systematically deny food and water and medication to a group of people?, Cruz Soto continued. Its close to genocide. And I know its a strong word but it is close to genocide.

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Rather than dying from a horrendous act of nature, were dying from the horrendous inaction of men and women  of one particular man  because Ive seen the FEMA people who are out on the field, she said. Their hearts go out. They want to do more.

In response, Cruz Soto said shes asked the United Nations to stand by Puerto Rico.

It is a human rights violation to deny people to access to drinking water, she said. And dammit were dying. This is not a hyperbole; you saw it. This is not getting better as the days go by.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions conceded Wednesday that the U.S. government is not doing enough to prevent future interference in elections by Russia and other foreign adversaries.

Were not, Sessions said, when asked by Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., if the government is taking adequate action to prevent meddling in its elections. The matter is so complex that for most of us were not able to fully grasp the technical dangers that are out there.

Sessions said he accepts the U.S. intelligence communitys findings that Russia interfered with the 2016 election and may attempt to do so again. He said the Justice Department has been aggressively looking into the stealing of trade secrets in the private sector and noted that the FBIs computer experts are also highly trained.

Are we at the level we need to be yet? I dont think so, Sessions conceded.

He also said there is no review underway of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and how to address them.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Sessions the name of the person at the Justice Department in charge of making suggestions to Congress about what laws needed to change in order to protect the election system from foreign interference.

Sessions said the head of the national security division would be the best person to talk to, but admitted he was not looking into that specific issue.

Ill be frank I dont know that were doing a specific legislative review at this point, Sessions said. I take that as a suggestion.

Whitehouse shot back. As you know there are multiple congressional committees that touch on cyber security and it really complicates life if theres not somebody at the Department of Justice whose job it is to work with us on cybersecurity legislation and the silence has been deafening, he said.

Several senators including John McCain of Arizona and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are introducing legislation requiring political ads placed on Facebook and other online outlets to follow the same disclosure rules as political ads that air on TV. This would likely close a loophole that allowed foreign nationals to advertise online in U.S. elections last year, violating the spirit of federal law.

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Klobuchar asked Sessions for his support for that legislation during the hearing and he agreed the law does need updating given technologys advances.

But some state voter registries are reportedly still vulnerable to hacking, and Congress is still looking for a solution to that ahead of the midterm elections in 2018. The Department of Homeland Security has taken the lead in alerting states about whether hackers have targeted their voter registry systems.

Sessions also said the problem of Russia and other foreign nations pushing misinformation in the United States was still not resolved.

Read more from Yahoo News:
EDGEWOOD, Md. (AP) -- A man with a lengthy criminal past who showed up for work at a countertop company on Wednesday and shot five of his co-workers has been arrested, authorities said. Three of them were killed and two critically wounded.

Less than two hours later, Radee Labeeb Prince drove to a used car lot about 55 miles (90 kilometers) away in Wilmington, Delaware, and opened fire on a man with whom he had "beefs" in the past, wounding him, police said.

The shooting rampage set off a manhunt along the Interstate 95 Northeast corridor. Police cruisers were stationed in medians, and overhead highway signs displayed a description of Prince's sport utility vehicle and its Delaware license plate. The FBI assisted state and local authorities in the manhunt.

Prince was "apprehended a short time ago in Delaware by ATF and allied law enforcement agencies," the Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland tweeted Wednesday night.

Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said Prince was arrested in Glasgow, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, after a tip led authorities to his vehicle. Prince was spotted nearby and discarded a handgun when he saw police had recognized him. He ran about 75 feet (22 meters) before being captured. No one was hurt in the apprehension.

Authorities said it wasn't clear why Prince opened fire with a handgun on his colleagues.

The sheriff's office said Wednesday night on its Facebook page that the people who died were Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53, of Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland, and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland.

Prince is a felon with 42 arrests in Delaware. Court records showed he had been fired from a Maryland job earlier this year after allegedly punching a co-worker and threatening other employees. He also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, was habitually late paying his rent, was repeatedly cited for traffic violations and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol counseling in recent years.

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The rampage began Wednesday about 9 a.m. at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Deputies arrived in four minutes but Prince had already fled.

Kevin Doyle of Thornhill Properties said he was getting tools from his truck when he heard screaming and saw three men running from the office park. The men told him someone was shooting and he asked if they had called 911. They said no, even though, Doyle said, they had phones in their hands.

"I think they were just so scared, they didn't (call 911). They had a look of terror," he said.

The victims and the suspect worked for Advanced Granite Solutions, which designs and installs countertops, the company owner told The Associated Press. Prince has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told AP in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

The second shooting took place at the 28th Street Auto Sales and Service shop in Wilmington, Delaware. The police chief wouldn't elaborate the history the victim and Prince had, other than to say: "This individual knew the people he wanted to shoot."

The victim was shot in the vicinity of his head and once in the body but was expected to survive.

Police followed Prince briefly, but they lost him and haven't seen or heard from him since, the chief said. On Wednesday night, police in Delaware said Prince's car had been found unoccupied, a spokeswoman said.

Prince was fired from JPS Marble and Granite earlier this year and scared his previous employer so badly that he tried to get a restraining order in February.

At one point, Prince's former boss Philip Siason said: "He came to see me, cursed and yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me."

A Harford County District Court judge denied the order, saying the case didn't meet the required burden of proof.

Investigators were treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and didn't see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Since November 2014, Prince has rented a three-bedroom town house in Elkton  about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the office complex  with his girlfriend, according to a Maryland property manager.

Prince often paid his rent late, but was always polite and cooperative, said Heather Todd of Homes for Rent. The company filed eight petitions for nonpayment against the couple, but they always ended up paying and the company never had to schedule an eviction.

Prince faced several gun charges in March 2015 in Cecil County, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a handgun in vehicle. However, the charges were dropped about three months later. It's not clear why.

Wilmington, Delaware, police said Prince had 15 felony convictions there. In King County, Washington, in 2014, he was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license, according to Komonews.com.

Court records also showed that he was required to undergo drug and alcoholism counseling at the time.

Prince racked up four traffic citations in King County in 2012 and 2013, mostly for speeding.

____

Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Matthew Barakat in McLean, Virginia, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
Freetown (AFP) - Sierra Leone said Tuesday it plans to auction off a massive 709-carat diamond at a December sale in New York, aiming to make a clean break with the "blood diamonds" of its past.

The stone, which was unearthed in March, is the largest discovered in Sierra Leone in almost a half-century and is between the 10th and 15th largest ever found worldwide, experts say.

Sierra Leone authorities told reporters that the massive gem will go up for sale on December 4 at Rapaport Auctions, which specialises in the diamond trade.

The government has pledged to be transparent in the stone's sale, mindful of the history of cross-border diamond trafficking that fuelled Sierra Leone's civil war from 1991-2002.

Such "blood diamonds" were often found by enslaved members of the population, who were killed or maimed by rebel groups if they refused to dig.

The 709-carat behemoth was discovered by Emmanuel Momoh, an Evangelical pastor who is also one of hundreds of so-called artisanal miners in Kono, Sierra Leone's key mining district.

Momoh said he hoped the sale would "improve the lives of the people by providing water, electricity, schools, health facilities, roads and bridges" in the Kono region.

The state expects to collect 15 percent of the sale's proceeds and a 30-percent income tax.

Sierra Leone had initially looked to sell the diamond at home but the best offer the country received was $7.7 million (6.5 million euros) in April, which the government deemed insufficient.

It then decided to sell abroad. The rough stone was shown in Israel on Monday and Tuesday and will be on display in the Belgian city of Antwerp -- one of the world capitals for diamond trading -- from October 30 to November 10.

The diamond -- known under its official name as the "diamond of peace" -- will then be shown at the United Nations in New York, authorities said.

"We are grateful to the pastor for transferring the diamond to the government rather than smuggling it abroad," presidency spokesman Abdulai Bayratay said.

Conflicts and controversy surrounding "blood diamonds" led the international community to enact a process known as "Kimberley" in 2003, which certifies diamonds as "conflict-free".
Professional drifting first came to the United States in 2003 with the D1 Grand Prix, a one-off exhibition of the Japanese drifting series set at Irwindale Speedway in California. The event was such a success  it was reportedly the first time the Speedway had sold out its 10,000-seat capacity  that it spawned the Formula Drift series that debuted the next year. Irwindale Speedway has since become the most iconic venue for drifting in the United States, serving as the final event on the Formula Drift calendar where the champion is crowned, as well as hosting several more D1 Grand Prix events. It has rightfully earned the nickname "House of Drift."



That's all set to end, though, as it was announced in 2015 that the property on which the speedway resides would eventually be demolished and replaced with a shopping mall by a development company that purchased the facility out of bankruptcy in 2012. Since the announcement, the venue has continued to host numerous motorsports events while the developers cut through the red tape of changing the site's zoning designations and signed on tenants. But in August of this year, it was officially announced that the speedway would cease operations on Jan. 31, 2018. That means the Formula Drift event at Irwindale from this past weekend will likely be the last professional drifting event at the venue that first ushered them in.





Formula Drift Irwindale 2017

Formula Drift Irwindale 2017

Formula Drift Irwindale 2017

Formula Drift Irwindale 2017





If this was indeed Irwindale's last professional drift event, then it certainly went out on a good note. Drivers, some of whom have been competing at Irwindale from the beginning and have since become legends in the sport, put on a show for the sellout crowd, and past champions like Reese Millen and Samuel Hubinette even came back to make an appearance and say their goodbyes. And like every year, a new champion was crowned, with Irishman James Deane taking home his first Formula Drift title. With the way he dominated the 2017 season, it probably won't be his last.



So what will take Irwindale's place on the Formula Drift calendar? "It will be difficult to replace such an iconic track and location in the heart of Southern California, but the series has been anticipating this announcement for quite some time," said Formula Drift in a statement back in August. "We will disclose more information during our annual SEMA press conference in November."



Even so, many of those involved in the series we talked to are still holding onto the hope that something might happen to allow Irwindale to stay on the calendar for 2018. Maybe a setback in the land development, or perhaps simply a miraculous change of heart from the current owners. Either way, the chants of "One more time!" from the crowd seemed to have a dual meaning on Saturday night.



Related Video:

Up in smoke: Irwindale Speedway hosts its last Formula Drift event originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:15:00 EDT.
By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - When Somalia's deadliest truck bomb exploded on Saturday, Abdi Ali Ibrahim raced to the smoking crater just meters from where his beloved sister Asha had a small business selling fuel. The truck had detonated next to a fuel tanker causing a huge fireball and the road was strewn with body parts. Hopeful that Asha, a pregnant mother-of-two, may have been injured and taken away by ambulance, Ibrahim embarked on a frantic round of Mogadishu's hospitals, starting with the biggest, Madina. "I found many dead bodies, injured ones, body parts and burned bodies that were horribly shrunken. She was not there," he told Reuters as he sat hunched on a bench. For two days Ibrahim clung to the hope that 44-year-old Asha had somehow survived the twin bombings that killed more than 300 people, the worst such attack in Somalia's history. The bombings were similar to others claimed by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents although the militants have yet to claim Saturday's attacks. Experts say the target may have been nearby government buildings, but the bomb went off too early. Rushing from hospital to hospital, Ibrahim was nauseated by the piles of burned flesh, but also tormented by the slim possibility his sister and her unborn baby might have survived and be in pain somewhere needing his help. Finally, Ibrahim returned to the scene where Asha sold fuel. "Just three meters away from where she sat, I saw a dark hole blown by the truck bomb. I could see sacks laid by the road upon which police placed organs, heads, limbs," Ibrahim said. "I saw her hand on a stone under a tree. It was her hand and it had the ring on her finger." Ibrahim took the hand to his elderly mother. He said she cried so hard that at first her words were inaudible to the crowd of relatives pressing around her. "She touched the hand three times and said, 'This is the hand of my daughter, I am sure. This is the ring on her finger ... go and bury her'." MASS BURIALS As the scale of the attack became clear, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo ordered three days of national mourning, doctors begged for blood donations, and the city's overstretched ambulance workers who had toiled to save the injured found time to begin ferrying the dead to the morgue. Mass burials of unidentifiable bodies began, the blackened corpses wrapped in white sheets. Perhaps one of them was Asha. That gave Ibrahim and Asha's children from her first marriage, a 21-year-old son and 23-year-old daughter, a new problem. Could they conduct a funeral service for a hand if they could not find a body? "I asked many clerics how I should bury a hand," Ibrahim said. "Some said funeral prayers must be conducted over the hand before burial. Others rejected my idea and said no funeral prayer could be given for a body part." "Finally I washed the hand, wrapped it in a piece of white shroud and buried it in a grave." The dilemma is becoming more and more common. Al Shabaab is using bigger and bigger bombs. In 2016, 723 Somalis were killed in 395 bomb attacks, according to Nairobi-based think-tank Sahan Research, up from 193 deaths in 265 attacks in 2015. This year will probably be another grim record in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been riven by civil war since 1991. According to think-tank Sahan, 40 percent of those killed last year and more than half of the injured were civilians. The Islamist insurgency that began in 2007 has been steadily losing ground since it was driven out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011 but its ability to mount devastating attacks remains. Ibrahim said he was distraught when he first saw Asha's hand but is glad now that he found it. "I am satisfied because I know my sister has died," he said. "There are many people who have not even found a single piece of their missing loved ones." (Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; writing by Katharine Houreld; editing by David Clarke)
Madrid (AFP) - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has until 0800 GMT on Thursday to tell Madrid whether or not he is declaring independence from Spain.

If he does not give a clear response, the central government says it will take the unprecedented step of seeking to suspend Catalonia's autonomy.

This would involve triggering the never before used Article 155 of Spain's constitution -- the so-called "nuclear option" which opens the way for Madrid to impose direct rule over the semi-autonomous region.

- How did we get here? -

Catalonia's separatist regional government held a referendum on independence on October 1 despite Spain's Constitutional Court ruling it illegal.

Puigdemont then suggested he could declare independence in the wealthy northeastern region but offered to "suspend" secession to give time for negotiations with Madrid -- prompting the central government to give him until Thursday morning to clarify his intentions.

Failing a final answer, the government says it will trigger Article 155 in a move that would further escalate Spain's worst political crisis since it emerged from military dictatorship in 1977.

While Puigdemont points to what he said was a 90 percent "yes" vote in the referendum, many who back unity with Spain in the deeply divided region stayed away, with turnout of only 43 percent.

Anti-independence voices also say the chaotic vote, which saw a heavy police crackdown, lacked official electoral standards.

- What does the constitution say? -

Under its constitution adopted in 1978, Spain is one of the Western world's most decentralised nations.

Its 17 regions have varying degrees of control over issues such as education and healthcare, with Catalonia among those with the most autonomy.

But Article 155 says that if a region's government breaches its constitutional obligations or "acts in a way that seriously threatens the general interest of Spain", Madrid can "take necessary measures to oblige it forcibly to comply or to protect said general interest".

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- What would be Madrid's next steps? -

Article 155 would allow the central government to "take control of political and administrative institutions of the rebel region", Teresa Freixes at the Autonomous University of Barcelona told AFP.

According to Javier Perez Royo of the University of Seville, measures could include "suspending the regional government, placing the (Catalan police force) Mossos d'Esquadra under the orders of the interior ministry" and even "closing the regional parliament".

Madrid could also use Article 155 to call regional elections in Catalonia in a bid to overcome the political impasse, said Jose Carlos Cano Montejano at Madrid's Complutense University -- a very likely option.

- How does the triggering process work? -

Rajoy could not invoke Article 155 unilaterally.

He has already taken the first step -- informing Puigdemont of his intention, allowing him a period of grace to fall in line.

Next, Rajoy would turn to the Senate, Spain's upper house where his conservative Popular Party holds a majority.

The government would have to send a list of the specific actions it is planning to take under Article 155 to the Senate, which would need to be debated and approved by a committee, said Antonio Barroso, analyst at thinktank Teneo.

After that the text would be sent to the Senate plenary for a debate and final vote.

The whole procedure would take about a week.

- Any additional options ? -

Article 155 is just one of several options Rajoy has in seeking to head off Catalonia's separatists.

The government could declare a state of emergency, which would usher in limits on freedom of movement and assembly, said Cano Montejano.

And legislation signed in 2015 could allow Madrid to argue the Catalan standoff amounts to a national security crisis which would allow it to claim additional powers such as passing laws by decree or taking direct control of Catalonia's regional police force.

The government can also let the criminal cases which have been opened against Catalan leaders run their course.

Puigdemont is under investigation for civil disobedience, abuse of office and misuse of public funds. If convicted, he would be banned from holding public office.

Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero has been charged with sedition -- a crime that carries up to 15 years' jail time -- for failing to stop the referendum going ahead.

Pro-independence leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez have also been charged with sedition and detained pending an investigation.
A new lawsuit brought by three former Tesla employees alleges that they were subject to constant racial discrimination and harassment in the electric car company's factories. The case, first reported by the Mercury News, was filed yesterday in the Alameda County Superior Court in California.

The three plaintiffs in the suit are African American. The men describe the repeated use of racial slurs and use of racist drawings by coworkers and superiors. They claim they reported the multiple and repeated incidents to both the staffing agency that hired them and their supervisors at Tesla. One man, Demetric Diaz, believes that his reporting of this treatment to his supervisor led to his eventual firing. Owen Diaz, another plaintiff, left the company after his supervisor neglected to address this treatment.

However, the Tesla spokesman told Mercury News that they had received no communications in regard to racism from these workers. They found one email from Owen Diaz to his supervisor that reported a coworker's aggressive behavior. "That email made no mention of the use of any racist language or epithets," the spokesman said. Additionally, Tesla underlines the fact that these workers were employed by the staffing agency, not the company directly.

This isn't the first that's been brought against Tesla for racial harassment. A man named DeWitt Lambert has a similar case, stating that he was subject to repeated and continuous racial slurs by coworkers. What's more, the company just fired hundreds of workers this week due to poor performance reviews. It's too early to say how this case will go, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on over the coming months.
(Reuters) - Five children and their mother were killed early on Wednesday when fire engulfed their rural Texas home about 100 miles east northeast of Houston, Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis said.

Firefighters responded to an alarm shortly after midnight and discovered the bodies as they put out the blaze, which destroyed the home, Davis said.

"Tough situation, really a horrific scene here and just so sad that were dealing with six victims at a house fire," Davis told Beaumont television station KFDM shortly after the fire had been put out.

The identities of the mother and the children, who ranged in age from 3 to 11 and included a set of 4-year-old twins, were being withheld pending notification of other family members, he said.

Davis told Reuters by phone that investigators expected to have their preliminary findings on the fire's cause later on Wednesday.

The tragedy took a toll on the close-knit community, especially the firefighters who answered the call, he said.

Its one thing to have a fatality, and it's one thing to have a fatality of a child, but to have multiple child victims, thats mentally just devastating for the first responders," Davis said.

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Steve Orlofsky)
By Ian Simpson (Reuters) - An employee of a Maryland kitchen countertop company fatally shot three co-workers and critically wounded two others on Wednesday and is being sought for a later shooting in nearby Delaware, authorities said. A manhunt was on for the suspected gunman, Radee Prince, 37, who entered Advanced Granite Solutions in Edgewood, Maryland, just before 9 a.m. and fired multiple shots from a handgun, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told reporters. Three people died at the company's premises in a business park northeast of Baltimore. Two people were taken to a hospital, one of whom had come out of surgery, he said. Gahler called the shooting a "targeted attack." Asked about the gunman's possible motive, he said: "We believe he's tied into a relationship here at work." Prince had worked for Advanced Granite Solutions for the past four months and had been scheduled to work on Wednesday, the sheriff said. The suspect fled in a black GMC Acadia with Delaware license plates. Police in Wilmington, Delaware, about 30 miles (48 km)northeast of Edgewood, said Prince was also being sought for a shooting there at 10:46 a.m. that injured one man. Wilmington police spokeswoman Stephanie Castellani said the victim identified the shooter as Prince, who fled in the same vehicle. Prince has been arrested 42 times in Delaware and has 15 felony convictions, she said. "He is a dangerous individual," said Castellani, adding that the motive was not yet known but Prince was associated with all six victims. "We do not know if there is a beef going on between the victims and the suspect." (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; additional reporting by Chris Kenning in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney and Lisa Shumaker)
By John Zodzi LOME (Reuters) - Four people were killed in Togo on Wednesday in clashes between security forces and demonstrators calling for an end to a half century of Gnassingbe family rule, the security minister said. Opposition activists have been demonstrating since August against Gnassingbe's administration and say a constitutional reform he has proposed would allow him to rule the West African country until 2030. Colonel Damehame Yark, the security and civil protection minister, told a news conference that one person was shot dead and around sixty others arrested in the capital, Lome. Another three died of gunshot wounds in the second-biggest city, Sokode. "These are too many deaths. We'd be wise to preserve the peace," he said. The latest bout of protests followed the arrest in Sokode on Monday of a Muslim imam accused of urging his followers to murder soldiers. Clashes erupted after the arrest. A crowd killed two soldiers and one other person died in unspecified circumstances, the government said in a statement. About 20 other people were injured, it added. The deaths reignited a mass protest movement against President Faure Gnassingbe, who succeeded his late father Gnassingbe Eyadema in 2005. The protesters are calling for his resignation. "We deplore this toll and we say that backing down is out of the question. Despite what we have suffered, we will maintain our call for protests tomorrow," said Brigitte Adjamagbo, one of the leaders of the opposition movement. She said the coalition was aware of two people killed, including an 11-year-old child, as well as twenty others who were seriously injured and dozens of arrests. In a bid to curb demonstrations, the government has banned marches and mass protests on weekdays. But young protesters in Be, a working-class neighborhood in eastern Lome, defied the ban on Wednesday. They erected barricades with bricks and burning tyres and threw stones at security forces, who responded with volleys of tear gas. "This is our last bastion," shouted one demonstrator, Ayi Koffi. "We have no arms, no gas. We do not have cars to pick up people. We have come out barehanded to say, enough!" In a statement, the International Organisation of La Francophonie, a group comprised mainly of French-speaking countries including Paris's former colonies, said that nothing justified the violence. "Dialogue must be prioritised in all circumstances," it said. The controversial constitutional reform will be decided by popular referendum after the bill failed to win approval from parliament following a boycott by opposition lawmakers last month. (Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Joe Bavier and Ralph Boulton)
No. 10: Barcelona, Spain (31 per cent increase) The port in Barcelona is the main getaway to the Mediterranean, which increases interest in the destination while also offering accessible means to sightsee. Or, you can hop on board one of the many, many, many cruises available if thats more your thing.

Tip: Book two months in advance to receive the best prices (even six weeks out will still have low prices, but watch out as they increase greatly after that).

KAYAKs 2017 holiday data was recently unveiled, highlighting the most searched places for holiday travel this year, as selected by Canadians. Findings are taken from flight searches conducted between January 1, 2017 through to September 28, 2017, and the searches coincide with travel planned between December 1, 2017 and January 15, 2018.

KAYAKs research found that Canadians book their holiday flights later than Americans, who start locking down plans in September. Canadians do it a month later in October (so nows the time to get planning!). This could perhaps have to do with the order of Thanksgiving; Americans may need to plan earlier since their Thanksgiving holiday is in November rather than October, and they dont want to miss out on deals and be rushing last minute to figure out plans. However, KAYAK notes that flight prices tend to decrease at the beginning of November and remain pretty constant throughout the holidays, so does the extra month really matter?

As for when Canadians tend to search for both domestic and international flights, KAYAK reports that the 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST window during weekdays is primetime. After all, who doesnt like to day dream about vacation while sitting at work? Friday is the cheapest day to fly out of Canada (or across Canada) and Monday is the cheapest day to return.

Interesting to note is that Canadians tend to take an average of 13 vacation days (three more than those in the U.S.) during the winter holidays, which is three more days than last years findings.

Other interesting findings worth mentioning:

For the second year in a row, people flying out of Ottawa are opting for places in the U.S. when picking their holiday spots.

Hawaii is a go-to spot for those flying out of Edmonton, but for the first time in four years, Hawaii didnt make the top trending list for Calgarians, according to KAYAKS results.

Note: All flight searches are round-trip economy flights, excluding price outliers based on certain criteria. Prices may vary.

Click through to see the 10 top trending holiday destinations that got Canadians excited this year.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Chicago (AFP) - An American who drove an unventilated truck packed with undocumented migrants across the US-Mexico border, resulting in 10 deaths, has pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges.

James Matthew Bradley, 61, acknowledged Monday he had conspired to transport and had in fact transported "aliens resulting in death," -- admitting to his role in the July drama in which as many as 200 Mexican and Guatemalan migrants were crammed into a sweltering tractor trailer, prosecutors announced.

Bradley faces up to life in prison, after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty. His sentencing has been scheduled for January 22.

Police, responding to an emergency call by an employee at a San Antonio Walmart -- not far from the border with Mexico -- discovered 39 undocumented migrants in or near the truck parked in the store's lot. The trailer's air conditioning was broken and ventilation holes were clogged.

The migrants told police that they took turns breathing out of one usable ventilation hole, and some people passed out from the heat.

Of the 10 who perished, eight died inside the truck and two at area hospitals. Bradley was arrested at the scene.

"This case is a glaring reminder that alien smugglers are driven by greed and have little regard for the health and well-being of their human cargo," Homeland Security Investigations agent Shane Folden said in a statement.

A federal grand jury in September indicted alleged co-conspirator Pedro Silva Segura, 47, on smuggling and conspiracy charges. He was identified as an undocumented immigrant living in the Texas border city of Laredo.

In court documents filed earlier in the case, migrants interviewed by police recounted a harrowing journey. They described banging on the walls to get Bradley's attention as they struggled to breathe while some succumbed to the heat and passed out.

"The driver never stopped," according to one of the migrants interviewed, identified only as J.M.M-J. "People had a hole in the trailer wall to provide some ventilation and they started taking turns breathing from the hole."

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The migrants' interviews offered a window into human smuggling supported by violent Mexican cartels, in which migrants paid thousands of dollars to make the journey to the United States.

J.M.M-J said he was a Mexican national and part of a group of 29 people who were smuggled into the United States, joining another 70 migrants already in the truck's trailer at a rendezvous point.

According to the migrant's recollection, his smuggler said "people linked to the Zetas" cartel were offering protection for the journey through Mexico to the US border, and that once arriving in the country, he was to pay $5,500.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) of fabricating the claim that he told the widow of a soldier killed in combat that she mustve known what he signed up for.

I have proof, Trump tweeted. He offered no evidence.

Wilson stood by her account of the presidents phone call with the widow, telling CNNs New Day that she, too, has proof of Trumps conversation. He is a sick man, she said. Hes cold-hearted and he feels no pity or sympathy for anyone.

Army Sgt. La David Johnson was killed during an ambush in Niger earlier this month. Myeshia Johnson, his pregnant widow, received the call from Trump on Tuesday.

The fallen soldiers mother said she also heard the call, and confirmed Wilsons account was accurate.

In an interview before Trumps tweet on MSNBCs Morning Joe, Wilson called Trumps conversation with Johnson absolutely crazy and said the president didnt even remember La David Johnsons name.

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017

Pressed for said proof later on Wednesday, Trump told White House pool reporters to let [Wilson] make her statement again and then youll find out.

President Trump: "I didn't say what that congresswoman said. I didn't say it at all. She knows it. And she now is not saying it." pic.twitter.com/uZt1Xjtj9u  CSPAN (@cspan) October 18, 2017

Shortly after, Wilson reiterated her claim in a tweet.

I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myesha Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump. Not "the woman" or "the wife."  Rep Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) October 18, 2017

Wilson was with Johnson at the time of the Tuesday call and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone. She recounted the exchange to South Floridas NBC affiliate.

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Sarcastically he said: But you know he must have known what he signed up for, Wilson told NBC6. How could you say that to a grieving widow? I couldnt believe ... and he said it more than once. I said this man has no feelings for anyone. This is a young woman with child who is grieved to her soul.

The fallen soldiers mother, who said she also heard Trumps speakerphone conversation, confirmed that Wilson accurately repeated what the president said.

President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband, Cowanda Jones-Johnson told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Trump claimed Monday that past presidents didnt honor fallen soldiers the way he does. His predecessors, namely President Barack Obama, didnt make calls themselves, he said.

The statement was widely disputed, and Trump went on the attack. He invoked his chief of staff John Kellys late son, Robert, who died in Afghanistan in 2010, to continue lambasting Obama.

You could ask General Kelly, did he get a call from Obama? Trump told Fox News on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified Trumps claims later on Wednesday, saying that although there were no tapes of the conversation, several other staffers  including chief of staff John Kelly  were present when it occurred.

This article has been updated to include Cowanda Jones-Johnsons comment, statements Trump made to reporters, a tweet from Rep. Frederica Wilson and a statement from Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
President Trump has doubled down on his claim that President Obama and other past commanders in chief failed to call the families of American military personnel killed while serving abroad.

Read: Eminem Slams 'Kamikaze' President Trump in Scathing 4-Minute Freestyle Rap

I mean, you could ask Gen. Kelly  did he get a call from Obama? You could ask other people. I don't know what Obamas policy was, the president told Brian Kilmeade on the Fox News host's radio show Tuesday.

Kelly, now Trump's chief of staff, lost his son, Second Lt. Robert Kelly in Afghanistan in 2010.

A Trump White House official told CBS News that Obama never called Kelly.

Trump unleashed a firestorm Monday when he was asked if he called the families of the four U.S. special forces soldiers killed in Niger earlier in the month.

If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls. A lot of them didn't make calls, Trump claimed on Monday.

Furious over the remarks, many have been unloading on Trump.

Read: Trump Calls Special Counsel for Russian Ties 'Single Greatest Witch Hunt of a Politician in American History'

On The View Tuesday, Whoopi Goldberg said, "You don't need to bring up Obama, what is wrong with you?"

Alyssa Mastromonaco, who was Obamas deputy chief of staff, called Trump a deranged animal on Twitter Monday evening.

Delilia OMalley, the Gold Star sister of a U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan, directed a tweet at Trump Monday, saying: "When my brother was killed President Bush listened while I screamed at him and then held me as I sobbed, you fat f***ing liar."

Watch: Donald Trump's Ex-Wife Ivana Says He Still Asks Her for Advice: 'Should I Tweet? Should I Not Tweet?'

Related Articles:
President Donald Trump's lies and falsehoods still have the power to incite new levels of rage and disbelief.

Trump uttered one such falsehood on Monday, when he claimed that former President Barack Obama never got in touch with the families of United States soldiers who were killed while serving the country.

Many of Obama's former staff members defended their ex-boss, calling the statement "outrageous" and labeling Trump a "pathological liar."

SEE ALSO: Barack Obama crashes Michelle's talk with super sweet tribute for their 25th anniversary

Obama's defenders ranged from aides to speechwriters to former Attorney General Eric Holder.

that's a fucking lie. to say president obama (or past presidents) didn't call the family members of soldiers KIA - he's a deranged animal.  Alyssa Mastromonaco (@AlyssaMastro44) October 16, 2017

Trump is a deeply disturbed ignoramus who is a pathological liar, but Mitch McConnell is cool with it cuz tax cuts or something https://t.co/8GwjnD3t9b  Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) October 16, 2017

Stop the damn lying - youre the President. I went to Dover AFB with 44 and saw him comfort the families of both the fallen military & DEA. pic.twitter.com/HhE4KbTBkJ  Eric Holder (@EricHolder) October 17, 2017

Ben Rhodes, a foreign policy adviser and speechwriter for Obama, also decried Trump, writing "Also: Obama never attacked a Gold Star family."

This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards. Also: Obama never attacked a Gold Star family. https://t.co/JgzTUIzWIa  Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 16, 2017

Rhodes' note refers to the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump attacked the parents of Humayun Khan, a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq in 2004. Khan's father, Khizr, blasted Trump at the Democratic National Convention, saying that the then-candidate was inciting hatred of Muslims.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, also defended former presidents from Trump's assault.

POTUS 43 & 44 and first ladies cared deeply, worked tirelessly for the serving, the fallen, and their families. Not politics. Sacred Trust.  GEN(R) Marty Dempsey (@Martin_Dempsey) October 17, 2017

In addition to defending the former president, Obama adviser David Axelrod asked that the nation not get dragged into another one of Trump's "sideshows."

I recall @Barack Obama consoling families of the fallen, as he did on this trip to Dover. Saddest part of his job. https://t.co/joVYuOVftH  David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) October 17, 2017

But the more important truth is that four young Green Berets are dead; their families grieving. Let us focus on them, not silly sideshows. https://t.co/FzLbThPFmg  David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) October 17, 2017

But Trump  whether by intent or default  is great at generating sideshows, and he continued to do so on Tuesday morning when he dragged Chief of Staff John Kelly into his fray.

I mean, you could ask General Kelly did he get a call from Obama," Trump said during a radio interview. "You could ask other people. I dont know what Obamas policy was. I write letters, and I also call.

Kelly  a former general and former head of the Department of Homeland Security  lost his son, a 2nd Lt., to a land mine in Afghanistan in 2010. According to Politico, Kelly sat with former First Lady Michelle Obama during a dinner for Gold Star families in 2011. Barack Obama was the host.
President Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday morning in order to denounce former FBI Director James Comey and take an apparent swipe at his own Justice Department.

Trump was reacting to the release of FBI documents that seem to confirm that Comey, whom Trump controversially fired in May, began drafting a statement about the outcome of the investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server months before any conclusion was reached.

Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete, Trump tweeted. Many people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didnt do this-obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?

As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her! he later added.

In a release titled Drafts of Director Comeys July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server, the FBI posted an email Comey sent to colleagues May 2, 2016. The body of that email has been redacted, but two weeks later, on May 16, 2016, Comeys chief of staff forwarded it to several more people asking them to please send me any comments on this statement for discussion with the Director at a later date.

In the summer 2016 speech, Comey announced that he was not recommending charges against either Clinton or her aides over her exclusive use of a private email system as secretary of state. Comey nevertheless accused Clinton of being reckless with classified information.

But additional emails were later discovered as part of the FBIs investigation into former Rep. Anthony Weiner, then the husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, as part of a federal investigation into Weiner sending lewd material to an underage girl.

Comey announced shortly before the election that he had learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation that would need to be reviewed by investigators. The Comey announcement was widely covered, and Clinton has since said it was one of the decisive factors in her loss. Comey later declared that the new emails didnt change his view that neither Clinton nor her aides should face charges.

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When Trump fired Comey in May of this year, the White House suggested that the reason was Comey being overly harsh in his public statements about Clinton. Trump undermined that reasoning when he said in an interview he had already decided to fire the showboat Comey before the Justice Department issued its recommendation that he do so.

Comey said he believed that the firing was actually related to the FBIs investigation into whether Trump campaign associates colluded with the Russian government to influence the election. Trump has repeatedly railed against the investigation, and he reportedly told Russian diplomats in the Oval Office that firing Comey relieved great pressure.

A special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, is now overseeing the Russia investigation.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Family members of Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in an ambush in Niger this month, have launched a GoFundMe campaign raising money to send the soldiers children to college.

In a phone call on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told Johnsons widow that her husband knew what he signed up for, according to Democratic Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, who said she heard part of the conversation on speakerphone. Wilson criticized the comment as insensitive.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, Trump said Wilson had totally fabricated what he said.

Myeshia Johnson, who is pregnant with the couples third child, met her husbands body at Miami International Airport on Tuesday. The couple also has a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son.

The widow of Sgt. La David Johnson hugs the casket carrying his remains. He was among 4 killed in #Niger Heartbreaking - God Bless her. pic.twitter.com/6GxLOh0iiJ  ginger maddox (@gingercbsmaddox) October 17, 2017

The GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $217,000 as of Wednesday morning.
President Donald Trump has been slammed for falsely suggesting former President Barack Obama did not call the family members of soldiers who died in action.

Commenting that he had written letters to the families of the four soldiers killed in Niger, the president on Monday hit out at his predecessor, in an accusation that immediately prompted fact-checking pundits on social media to shoot down Trumps accusations as a lie.

I have written them personal letters, they have been sent or theyre going out tonight but they were written over the weekend. I will at some point during the period of time call the parents and the families because I have done that traditionally, MSNBC cited Trump's remarks regarding the fallen U.S. elite soldiers in Niger last week.

The traditional way if you look at president Obama and other presidents, most of them didnt make calls, a lot of them didnt make calls. I like to call when it's appropriate, when I think Im able to do it. They have made the ultimate sacrifice so generally I would say that I like to call, he added.

Trump on soldiers killed in Niger: "President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls ... I call when it's appropriate." pic.twitter.com/sgj5iEuDhz  Axios (@axios) October 16, 2017

Obamas former foreign policy adviser and speechwriter Ben Rhodes wrote on Twitter: This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards. Also: Obama never attacked a Gold Star family."

This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards. Also: Obama never attacked a Gold Star family. https://t.co/JgzTUIzWIa  Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 16, 2017

Other Twitter users also shared examples of former presidents honoring fallen soldiers, in an attempt to dispute Trumps assertions.

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President Obama showed all of honor & dignity of a real President. I'm ashamed of Trump's lie. He dishonors us all. HT @Tanker_wife4life pic.twitter.com/QUxAqcjTvJ  Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) October 16, 2017

that's a fucking lie. to say president obama (or past presidents) didn't call the family members of soldiers KIA - he's a deranged animal.  Alyssa Mastromonaco (@AlyssaMastro44) October 16, 2017

When Trump was challenged on his comments about Obama at the press conference, he added: I dont know if he did [call the families] no, no. I was told that he didnt often, and a lot of presidents dont write letters. I do a combination of both. Sometimes its a very difficult thing to do but I do a combination of both.

President Obama I think probably did sometimes and maybe sometimes he didnt, I dont know, thats what I was told. All I can do is ask my generals. Other presidents did not call, theyd write letters. And some presidents didnt do anything but I like, when I can, the combination of a call and also a letter, he added.

It is not the first time Trump has made an assertion about Obama that turns out to be incorrect. Indeed, Trump entered the national political arena as a vocal member of the birther movement, falsely insisting Obama was not born in the U.S., and pushing for him to show his birth certificate to prove he was not born in Kenya.

On another occasion, Trump claimed that Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential election, in an allegation the FBI later said they had not found any evidence of.

And Trump's team is not immune to "fake news" involving Obama, as his former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer claimed the Republican had the biggest inauguration crowd in history. Spicer apparently dismissed images that show Obama had a far larger crowd at his 2009 inauguration.

In addition to mounting falsehoods about Obama, Trump has also targeted the former president's legislation with a number of exaggerated statements that back his own policies above those of Obama.

On several occasions, Trump has suggested Obamacare "covers very few people," apparently forgetting that 20 million were people covered at the time he made such a statement.

The latest false suggestion about Obama from the president has prompted a strong reaction on social media, particularly from former Obama aides who have responded to Trumps statement.

Pete Souza: 'I photographed [President Obama] meeting with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and family members of those killed in action.' pic.twitter.com/01pICn3YVo  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 16, 2017

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President Trump claims he has proof that a Democratic congresswoman is lying, but if his proof is anything like the evidence hes promised to offer for some of his other controversial assertions, the nation will believe it when  or if  it sees it.

The latest controversy follows the deaths of four U.S. soldiers who were ambushed by militants while on patrol in Niger. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., said Tuesday night that Trump, in a condolence call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, remarked that he knew what he was getting into. The presidents reported comments, which Wilson said she overheard on a speaker phone in the car with Myeshia Johnson and the fallen soldiers mother, were widely criticized as insensitive, leading to a Trump retort via tweet Wednesday morning: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

Since that tweet, the fallen soldiers mother confirmed to the Washington Post that Wilsons account was correct, telling the newspaper, President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband. Will we see Trumps promised proof? Asked for it shortly afterward, the president said, cryptically, Let her make her statement again and then youll find out. The White House said Wednesday afternoon that while the call was not recorded, chief of staff John Kelly was also on it.

President Trump during a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

But the president, whose favorite praise is to call something incredible, has a history of saying things that are, literally, that. Whether its accusations of sexual assault, the birther movement or private conversations with the FBI director, the president has hinted at the existence of, or even promised to provide, evidence that never came to light.

The Comey tapes

After Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May, stories began to leak about their conversations, including one in which the president reportedly asked for a loyalty pledge from Comey. Trump responded by tweeting, James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

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Those tapes became a monthlong distraction, as members of both Congress and the media sought clarification whether the White House had indeed recorded conversations between the president and the FBI director, whom he fired over the handling of the bureaus investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. On June 9  nearly a month after the initial tapes tweet  Trump said hed have something next week but that everyone would be disappointed. It took until June 22 for Trump to confirm what everyone assumed by then, that no such tapes existed.

Charges of sexual misconduct

Candidate Donald Trump speaks to the audience at a campaign rally in October 2016. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters)

In October 2016, a number of women came forward to accuse Trump of sexual harassment and assault, following the publicizing of the leaked Access Hollywood tape of Trump boasting he had touched and kissed women without their consent. At his campaign events in the wake of the allegations, the GOP nominee defended himself in a variety of ways, including the assertion that his accusers were not attractive enough for him to have harassed. He also claimed he had proof that the claims are preposterous, ludicrous and defy truth, common sense and logic at a Florida rally. We already have substantial evidence to dispute these lies, and it will be made public in an appropriate way, and at an appropriate time, very soon.

That rally was on Oct. 13, 2016, and in the year-plus since, the Trump camp has not released any evidence disproving the claims against him. If he has any, it may come to light as a result of a subpoena by one of the accusers seeking all documents concerning any woman who asserted that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.

Birtherism and wiretaps

Trump has also claimed to have evidence that former President Barack Obama was born outside the United States and wiretapped him during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In 2011, Trump claimed on camera that he had sent investigators to Hawaii to look at the circumstances of Obamas birth, and they cannot believe what theyre finding. Perhaps because the investigators couldnt believe it, Trump never disclosed what it was they supposedly found. The following year he tweeted that an extremely credible source has called my office and told me that @BarackObamas birth certificate is a fraud. He never provided this supposedly credible information, but his leadership in the birther movement helped his popularity with portions of the Republican base that would help fuel his successful run through the GOP primaries.

On Sept. 16, 2016, five and a half years after Obama released the long form birth certificate that proved he had been born in Hawaii, Trump said, without apology, that he accepted that President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

Once he took the White House, Trump claimed that he had just found out Obama had ordered his campaign to be wiretapped. Trump has supported that assertion in part by citing the incidental collection of calls from another investigations. Others have said that the fact that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort was wiretapped vindicates the president, but that investigation began in 2014, well before Trump had announced his intention to run for president and Manafort had joined the team. After six months of congressional inquiries and questions from the press yielding no evidence to support the claim, the Justice Department reported in September that it couldnt find any evidence that Trump Tower had been wiretapped.

Read more from Yahoo News:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled support for a bipartisan healthcare deal in the U.S. Senate, saying it was a short-term fix to get through a "very dangerous little period" but not the ultimate answer to U.S. healthcare needs.

"The solution will be for about a year or two years," Trump told reporters at a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "It is a short-term solution so that we don't have this very dangerous little period."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
A Florida congresswoman described President Donald Trumps phone call to the widow of a soldier killed during an ambush in Niger as insensitive after the president reportedly said the man mustve known what he signed up for.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) was in a car with Myeshia Johnson, the pregnant widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called her Tuesday and spoke for about five minutes, according to South Floridas NBC affiliate. Wilson said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

Sarcastically he said: But you know he must have known what he signed up for, Wilson recounted to NBC6. How could you say that to a grieving widow? I couldnt believe... and he said it more than once. I said this man has no feelings for anyone. This is a young woman with child who is grieved to her soul.

Sgt. La David Johnson is a hero. @realDonaldTrump does not possess the character, empathy or grace to be president of the United States.  Rep Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) October 18, 2017

Wilson, speaking to CNN, said her community was angry about the comments and described Johnson as a local hero.

We dont have many heroes in our young men in Miami-Dade County, but he was a hero for us, the congresswoman told host Don Lemon. When asked what her immediate reaction was, she said: I asked them to give me the phone, because I wanted to speak with him. And I was going to curse him out. That was my reaction... I was livid.

.@RepWilson, who rode w/ Sgt. Johnson's widow, said she heard part of call w/ Pres. Trump; "He must've known what he signed up for" @NBC6 pic.twitter.com/Rep6ERrQEb  Michael Spears NBC6 (@MikeSpearsNBC6) October 17, 2017

The White House declined to comment on the account in statements given to The Washington Post and an ABC affiliate.

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The presidents conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private, an unnamed official said in the statement.

Four Green Berets were killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month, and two others were wounded. Following a question about why he hadnt spoken about their deaths publicly or called troops families, Trump said Monday that he had written personal letters and that he planned to call later. He then used the opportunity to falsely assert that his predecessors didnt make calls themselves.

Former President Barack Obama frequently called the families of soldiers killed in action and visited those wounded during his administration. President George W. Bush visited troops at the Walter Reed medical center 16 times before he left office.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed on Twitter late Tuesday that Trump had called all four families of those killed, saying he offered condolences on behalf of the country.

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.@POTUS spoke to the families of those KIA in Niger to offer condolences on behalf of the country. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.  Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) October 17, 2017

Trump returned to the subject Tuesday, using the death of Chief of Staff John Kellys son in 2010 to illustrate Obamas record on calling bereaved families, saying his predecessor did not call in that instance. Obama invited Kelly and his wife, Karen, to a breakfast in 2011 for Gold Star families who have lost children in combat. They were seated at a table with first lady Michelle Obama.

Wilson on Tuesday described Trumps call as insensitive in an interview to a local ABC affiliate. She was with Myeshia Johnson and her two children, ages 2 and 6, as she watched the casket carrying her husband arrive at Miami International Airport.

He should have not have said that, Wilson told ABC 10, before repeating, He shouldnt have said it.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Washington (AFP) - The grieving mother of a US soldier slain in an ambush in Niger reportedly said Wednesday that President Donald Trump had disrespected her son during a call he made to offer his condolences.

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Sergeant La David Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post.

She said she agreed with an earlier account of the conversation given by a lawmaker who heard part of the call and accused Trump of insensitivity after he told Johnson's pregnant widow that the young soldier "knew what he was signing up for."

For more news videos visit Yahoo View.

Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida, said she listened in to part of a group phone call between the president and the grieving family.

"I didn't hear the whole phone call, but I did hear him say, 'I'm sure he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,'" she told CNN.

Trump denied making the comments, tweeting Wednesday: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

He later told reporters: "I did not say what she said," and that "I had a very nice conversation."

When asked about what "proof" he could offer, Trump said: "Let her make her statement again then you will find out."

Johnson was among four US soldiers killed October 4 in Niger, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence.

The Miami native's body was returned home Tuesday afternoon. He is survived by his wife Myeshia Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third child.

After the phone call, Myeshia "was crying, she broke down. And she said 'he didn't even know his name,'" said Wilson, referring to Trump.

Trump had faced criticism for not contacting the families of the soldiers killed in Niger right away.

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At a press briefing on Monday, he said he had written them letters and would call soon, while accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of neglecting to call as many grieving families as himself.

He also suggested on a call to Fox News radio Tuesday that Obama had not made a condolence call to retired Marine general John Kelly, Trump's White House chief of staff, after his son was killed in action in Afghanistan.

The statements sparked outrage from former Obama aides, who said Trump's claims were baseless.
It was almost too easy to predict what would happen.

A president who is infamous for his inability to show empathy tries to convince the media he is the most caring president ever. And it completely backfires.

President Donald Trump had been silent for more than a week about the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger, in what was the deadliest combat operation during his time in office. So it wasnt surprising when a reporter questioned him during his Monday press conference about this topic.

Why havent we heard anything from you so far about the soldiers that were killed in Niger? And what do you have to say about that? the reporter asked.

Trump could have used the moment to talk about the fallen service members. But instead, as he often does, he made it about himself. He tried to brag about how compassionate and considerate he is.

Ive written them personal letters. ... I will, at some point during the period of time, call the parents and the families  because I have done that, traditionally. ... So, the traditional way  if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didnt make calls, a lot of them didnt make calls. I like to call when its appropriate, when I think Im able to do it, Trump said.

Aides to previous presidents hit back on Trumps claim, noting he is not the first president to call fallen service members families. Trump, feeling defensive, brought up his chief of staff John Kellys son  who died serving in Afghanistan  to make a political point: He noted that Obama did not call Kelly when his son died in 2010.

Its not clear whether Kelly agreed to the politicization of his son. But in the past, he has been reluctant to talk about him and has asked that his death not be brought up. Several Obama advisers were shocked that Trump stooped to that level, and even the White House seemed uneasy with the whole thing; officials would confirm that Kelly never received a call from Obama, but they only agreed to do so anonymously.

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The day after the press conference, Trump finally called the families of the service members killed in Niger. That move could have put the controversy to rest. But instead, it made Trump look even more insensitive.

Trump reportedly told Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, that her husband knew what he signed up for. Those comments were relayed by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), who is close to the family and was in the car when Trump called Johnson.

Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that Wilson was lying and said he had some sort of proof.

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017

But later Wednesday, La David Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, confirmed that the president had shown disrespect to her family.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders created doubt that any proof of Trumps statement would ever turn up, when she told reporters Wednesday afternoon that there was no recording made of the phone call.

Sanders said it was a disgrace for the media to characterize Trumps act of kindness as an act of callousness, and she went after Wilson for speaking out. She refused, however, to say whether Trump had used the words Wilson claimed he said.

The presidents call, as accounted by multiple people in the room, believe that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic, and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country, and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero in their family, and I dont know how you can take that any other way, she said.

A reporter also asked her whether Kelly signed off on Trumps political use of his sons death; Sanders said she was unsure if he did.

In a statement Wednesday, Wilson said she stood firmly by her account of Trumps call.

This is personal for me, not political, she said. Sgt. Johnson was a member of my community and of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project that I founded to help boys of color build successful futures. ... The loved ones Sgt. Johnson leaves behind are my constituents and my job now is to do all that I can to help them heal. Ill save the bully pulpit for the necessary task of uncovering the circumstances surrounding the ambush and working to help ensure that our soldiers have all of the resources and support that they need while putting their lives on the line to keep others safe.

Later Wednesday, the news kept getting worse for Trump. Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, told The Washington Post that the president called him when he lost his son in June. Trump promised to send him $25,000 and set up an online fundraiser for the family, Baldridge said, but he never followed through.

Presidents have traditionally acted as comforters-in-chief, both to the nation and on an individual level. President Ronald Reagan was particularly known for his speeches to a grieving public, and President Barack Obama delivered a moving eulogy in Charleston after a white supremacist killed black churchgoers there.

At the personal level, President Abraham Lincoln famously wrote a letter to a widow, Mrs. Bixby, expressing his sympathies:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.

Trump has not had any such moment. When he traveled to Texas to address the Hurricane Harvey response, he spoke at length about what a great job he and his team were doing.

And when he went to Puerto Rico, he told one family of hurricane survivors: Have a good time.

Want more updates from Amanda Terkel? Sign up for her newsletter, Piping Hot Truth, here.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Sarah N. Lynch and Makini Brice WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. lawmaker who was President Donald Trump's pick for drug czar withdrew on Tuesday after a report he spearheaded a bill that hurt the government's ability to crack down on opioid makers flooding the market with the addictive painkillers. Trump had pegged Representative Tom Marino, a Republican from Pennsylvania, to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as the administration faces an epidemic of opioid overdoses that is killing tens of thousands of Americans annually. The position required Senate confirmation. Trump wrote on Twitter: "Rep. Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar. Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!" Marino worked as a federal prosecutor under Republican former President George W. Bush, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and served on Trump's transition team after the Republican president was elected last November. Marino said in a statement he had decided to "remove the distraction my nomination has created to the utterly vital mission of this premier agency." He defended his role in helping pass the bill that was criticized for weakening attempts to rein in opioid use. He said the legislation would help create "a balanced solution for ensuring those who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do so, while also empowering the Drug Enforcement Agency to enforce the law and prevent the sale and abuse of prescription drugs." Marino said he had been the target of "unfair reporting" and false allegations by a former DEA employee, who he did not name. The Washington Post and the CBS program "60 Minutes" published an investigation on Sunday that showed Marino had worked to weaken federal efforts to slow the flow of opioid drugs. The legislation championed by Marino, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year by Democratic President Barack Obama, was the product of a drug industry quest to weaken the DEA's authority to stem the flow of painkillers to the black market, according to the report. The law made it almost impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotics shipments, according to government documents cited by the Post. Trump has been criticized for his response to the opioid epidemic. He has yet to declare it a national emergency as he pledged to do on Aug. 10 following a recommendation by a presidential commission. Asked about that at a news conference on Monday, Trump said he would make the declaration next week. Such a move would boost funding for various forms of treatment and give the government more flexibility in taking steps to expedite action. Nine months into his presidency, Trump has not named a chief for the Drug Enforcement Administration, currently headed by an acting administrator. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were responsible for more than 33,000 U.S. deaths in 2015, the latest year for which data is available. Estimates show the death rate has continued rising. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Marino's withdrawal "the right decision," but added that "the fact that he was nominated in the first place is further evidence that when it comes to the opioid crisis, the Trump administration talks the talk, but refuses to walk the walk." NEW INDICTMENTS No. 2 U.S. Justice Department official Rod Rosenstein, asked about the Marino-backed law during a news conference announcing indictments against accused Chinese fentanyl traffickers, said the Trump administration would review the law. Rosenstein said he was "not prepared to answer" whether the administration would ask Congress to repeal it. "We are going to look into these issues ... about what tools DEA has available to it. And if we conclude they don't have the appropriate tools, then we will seek more tools," Rosenstein said. The Justice Department announced the indictments of two major Chinese drug traffickers on charges of illegally making and selling fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid painkiller, over the internet to Americans. The department said it charged Xiaobing Yan, 40, and Jian Zhang, 38, with conspiring to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and chemically similar drugs. It said Zhang's actions led to four deaths. Trump's opioid commission, headed by Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, cited government data showing that since 1999 U.S. opioid overdoses have quadrupled, adding that nearly two-thirds of U.S. drug overdoses were linked to opioids such as heroin and the powerful painkillers Percocet, OxyContin and fentanyl. (Reporting by Makini Brice and Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by David Gregorio and Andrew Hay)
U.S. forces overseas joined European allies in a successful live-fire combat drill against an array of missile threats, including ballistic and anti-ship cruise missiles off the western coast of Scotland.

Eight NATO allies took part in the U.S.-led Formidable Shield 2017 self-defense drill on Sunday, according to a statement by U.S. naval forces in Europe which detailed the latest maneuver.

Warships from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States joined forces to carry out integrated air and missile defense in a hypothetical scenario where a ballistic missile is hurtling towards an ally and cruise missile fire is threatening allied anti-ballistic capabilities.

The U.S. ship in the drillthe U.S.S. Donald Cookwas the one launching the guided missile that successfully intercepted the ballistic threat. The missile destroyer vessel fired a Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missile to take out the enemy weapon.

Meanwhile Spanish and Dutch frigates rushed to Donald Cooks cover, suppressing enemy fire that sought to stop the missile-destroyer from intercepting a ballistic threat. Spains SPS Alvaro de Bazan fired an Evolved SeaSparrow Missile to halt an incoming anti-ship cruise missile while the Dutch HNLMS Tromp ship fired ESSMs in the face of two incoming anti-ship cruise missiles.

According to the U.S. Navy, the added layer of defense provided by the European ships was the first example of NATOs smart defense concept, in which air defense units rushed to the rescue of a missile defense ship such as the Donald Cook, while it was busy with a mission of its own.

The maneuver was one of several missile scenarios that allies practiced over the nearly month-long Formidable Shield exercise held at the U.K. Ministry of Defense's Hebrides Range, on Scotlands western isles. The exercise, which concludes on Wednesday, drafted 14 ships, 10 aircraft, and approximately 3,300 personnel from 10 allies.

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"I am extremely proud of the Task Group members and their performance during these complex, live-fire engagements," said U.S. Task Force 64 Commander Shanti Sethi. "The exercise scenarios are designed to test our limits and give us a unique opportunity to truly practice how we would fight together as an alliance. We are coordinating and sharing information in real time the way we would in a real IAMD (integrated air and missile defense) operation."

Missile defense, particularly against medium and long-range missiles, has long been at the bedrock of NATOs collective security, first stemming from the threat posed by the Soviet Unions nuclear arsenal during the Cold War. As tensions with Moscow once again peaked in 2014 after Russian military actions in southern and eastern Ukraine, the importance of NATO being able to neutralize ballistic missiles has increased.

Now North Korea has also raised the concern of allies, having already showcased a rapidly increasing developing nuclear program and a widening range of its missiles. The North Korean regime has openly voiced its aspirations to construct an intercontinental ballistic missile that would put virtually any corner of the world in its strike range.

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Kampala (AFP) - Ugandan police on Wednesday banned what it termed illegal demonstrations over plans to remove presidential age limits, seen as paving the way for President Yoweri Museveni to serve a sixth term in office.

A bill removing the age limit for the president was introduced in parliament last month, and MPs are currently holding consultations with ordinary Ugandans to seek their views.

"Consultations must not include illegal demonstrations, illegal processions, inciting violence, use of hate campaigns, use of abusive language, acts of hooliganism of any sort, intimidation of any persons perceived to be supporting the removal of the age limit," the assistant inspector general of police, Assuman Mugenyi, said in a statement.

In Uganda, opposition demonstrations are routinely denied permission, meaning any rally is considered illegal.

Mugenyi ordered police to ensure MPs only hold consultations in their respective constituencies.

On Tuesday night police fired teargas and rubber bullets at a crowd of hundreds of opposition supporters protesting the age limit bill.

The current curbs would prevent Museveni, in charge for the last three decades, from running for a sixth consecutive term in 2021.

Museveni is aged 73, while the current law blocks candidates over 75.

The leader of the opposition in parliament Winnie Kiiza told AFP the police directive was "unconstitutional".

"We are going to challenge it by all means," said Kiiza.

It is unclear when the bill will come before parliament
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Thursday morning to discuss the political crisis in Northern Ireland, May's spokesman said.

During his time as president, Clinton played a central role in brokering peace in the British province, where a power-sharing administration collapsed in January and opposing sides have since been unable to break the political deadlock.

Clinton travelled to Belfast this week to meet political parties and try to break the impasse.

"He and the PM wanted to take this opportunity to discuss Northern Ireland ..," May's spokesman said.

"Obviously work is ongoing in trying to reach a solution and to get the compromises that are necessary to get the devolved administration up and running again," he added.

Earlier the British government minister for the province said the chances of reaching a deal there were "not positive".

The meeting with Clinton is due to take place at 0830 GMT in May's Downing Street office.

(Reporting by William James, writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - A new center-left party pledging to bring "bottom up" democracy to Japan may prove the surprise success story of an election on Sunday, although the party is forecast to win a mere sliver of seats compared to Prime Minister Shinto Abe's ruling bloc. Abe's conservative Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition is on track to roughly match the two-thirds "super majority" it held in parliament's lower house before dissolution, helped by divisions in the opposition camp and jitters over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, media forecasts say. But the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) formed just this month could become the core of opposition to Abe's LDP if, as some forecast, it challenges Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's flashier conservative Party of Hope for the top opposition spot. The CDPJ opposes Abe's proposal to revise the post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of the military. Whether to revise the U.S.-drafted charter has long been a symbolic marker dividing Japan's left and right, and Abe is expected to use his big win to push for amendments. CDPJ founder Yukio Edano, 53, who grabbed the spotlight as Japan's top spokesman during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, formed the CDPJ on the run after the main opposition Democratic Party's leader stunningly decided the party would run no candidates and encouraged members to run on Koike's slate. Edano told Japanese media he was inspired by the "Stand up, Edano" tweets he received after the Democrats imploded. Many Democrats jumped on the Hope bandwagon. Others either declined to join or were shut out after refusing to sign off on a hawkish security stance that echoes that of the LDP. Some joined Edano's party, others are running as independents. OUTDATED LABELS A Sankei newspaper survey published on Tuesday predicted the CDPJ would get between 46 and 60 seats, compared to initial estimates that about 30 of its 78 candidates would be elected. That compared to 39 to 57 seats for the Party of Hope, which is running 235 candidates. [http://tmsnrt.rs/2kGwCm5] A Kyodo news agency survey released on Wednesday also forecast the CDPJ could become the biggest opposition group. If so, that would suggest voters unhappy with Abe are seeking not a conservative replica of the LDP but a more liberal alternative, political analysts said. The failed Democratic Party was a fractious mix of liberals and conservatives, saddled with an image of incompetence after a rocky 2009-2012 rule. "Almost all parties have been conservative and there is no party for liberal voters to vote for," said University of Tokyo professor Yu Uchiyama. "If this party is successful in attracting liberal votes, there could be a prospect to do well." Edano, however, eschews what he calls outdated labels such as "liberal" or "left", terms often associated with Cold War-era socialists or communists that can turn off mainstream voters.Unlike the more authoritarian LDP, he stresses commitment to individual civil rights, rather than obligations to the state, and wants to redistribute wealth to create a more equitable society. "I want to take a first step toward creating a 'bottom up' society ... toward a trend that is neither left, nor right, but moves forward," Edano said during a debate this month. STRUGGLE TO DIFFERENTIATE The lack of preparation time, and a shortage of cash and candidates will be formidable obstacles for the CDPJ to overcome. It could also struggle to differentiate its economic policies from those of the LDP, which has long been more center-left than right when it comes to bread-and-butter issues. Edano's group wants to put off a sales tax hike and exit nuclear power. The LDP says it will keep nuclear power as a key energy source and raise the sales tax in 2019 but divert revenue to education and child care from repaying public debt. Both parties promise equal pay for equal work, higher wages for day care and elder care workers and more financial support for education, although they differ on details. A Reuters poll published Wednesday showed Japanese companies overwhelmingly want Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition to stay in power but about two-thirds want it to lose seats. The poll showed significant opposition in the corporate world to Abe's plans to raise the sales tax and to delay bringing down the fiscal deficit. "Abenomics would be comfortably left-of-center in most developed democracies," said Tobias Harris, an analyst at advisory firm Teneo Intelligence. A healthy showing by the CDPJ could lure more lawmakers to its ranks after the election, although low voter turnout could diminish its performance as could competition with the Japanese Communist Party on the left. "If the CDPJ comes in second, in a couple of months they will have grown and become the core of a new center-left opposition party," said Chuo University professor Steven Reed. (Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) - A new centre-left party pledging to bring "bottom up" democracy to Japan may prove the surprise success story of an election on Sunday, although the party is forecast to win a mere sliver of seats compared to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc.

Abe's conservative Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition is on track to roughly match the two-thirds "super majority" it held in parliament's lower house before dissolution, helped by divisions in the opposition camp and jitters over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, media forecasts say.

But the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) formed just this month could become the core of opposition to Abe's LDP if, as some forecast, it challenges Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike's flashier conservative Party of Hope for the top opposition spot.

The CDPJ opposes Abe's proposal to revise the post-war, pacifist constitution to clarify the ambiguous status of the military. Whether to revise the U.S.-drafted charter has long been a symbolic marker dividing Japan's left and right, and Abe is expected to use his big win to push for amendments.

CDPJ founder Yukio Edano, 53, who grabbed the spotlight as Japan's top spokesman during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, formed the CDPJ on the run after the main opposition Democratic Party's leader stunningly decided the party would run no candidates and encouraged members to run on Koike's slate.

Edano told Japanese media he was inspired by the "Stand up, Edano" tweets he received after the Democrats imploded.

Many Democrats jumped on the Hope bandwagon. Others either declined to join or were shut out after refusing to sign off on a hawkish security stance that echoes that of the LDP. Some joined Edano's party, others are running as independents.

OUTDATED LABELS

A Sankei newspaper survey published on Tuesday predicted the CDPJ would get between 46 and 60 seats, compared to initial estimates that about 30 of its 78 candidates would be elected.

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That compared to 39 to 57 seats for the Party of Hope, which is running 235 candidates. [http://tmsnrt.rs/2kGwCm5]

A Kyodo news agency survey released on Wednesday also forecast the CDPJ could become the biggest opposition group.

If so, that would suggest voters unhappy with Abe are seeking not a conservative replica of the LDP but a more liberal alternative, political analysts said. The failed Democratic Party was a fractious mix of liberals and conservatives, saddled with an image of incompetence after a rocky 2009-2012 rule.

"Almost all parties have been conservative and there is no party for liberal voters to vote for," said University of Tokyo professor Yu Uchiyama. "If this party is successful in attracting liberal votes, there could be a prospect to do well."

Edano, however, eschews what he calls outdated labels such as "liberal" or "left", terms often associated with Cold War-era socialists or communists that can turn off mainstream voters.Unlike the more authoritarian LDP, he stresses commitment to individual civil rights, rather than obligations to the state, and wants to redistribute wealth to create a more equitable society.

"I want to take a first step toward creating a 'bottom up' society ... toward a trend that is neither left, nor right, but moves forward," Edano said during a debate this month.

STRUGGLE TO DIFFERENTIATE

The lack of preparation time, and a shortage of cash and candidates will be formidable obstacles for the CDPJ to overcome.

It could also struggle to differentiate its economic policies from those of the LDP, which has long been more centre-left than right when it comes to bread-and-butter issues.

Edano's group wants to put off a sales tax hike and exit nuclear power. The LDP says it will keep nuclear power as a key energy source and raise the sales tax in 2019 but divert revenue to education and child care from repaying public debt.

Both parties promise equal pay for equal work, higher wages for day care and elder care workers and more financial support for education, although they differ on details.

A Reuters poll published Wednesday showed Japanese companies overwhelmingly want Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition to stay in power but about two-thirds want it to lose seats. The poll showed significant opposition in the corporate world to Abe's plans to raise the sales tax and to delay bringing down the fiscal deficit.

"Abenomics would be comfortably left-of-centre in most developed democracies," said Tobias Harris, an analyst at advisory firm Teneo Intelligence.

A healthy showing by the CDPJ could lure more lawmakers to its ranks after the election, although low voter turnout could diminish its performance as could competition with the Japanese Communist Party on the left.

"If the CDPJ comes in second, in a couple of months they will have grown and become the core of a new centre-left opposition party," said Chuo University professor Steven Reed.

(Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
About 40 percent of the student body at the University of Florida in Gainesville is non-white. This Thursday, their school will host a famous white supremacist who has called for the peaceful ethnic cleansing of the U.S. to create a white ethno-state. Some Nazi-enthusiast fanboys will be there to cheer him on.

The university said legally it has no choice but to let Richard Spencer speak at the school, however evil and repugnant his views might be, and even if it means spending $500,000 on security  roughly equal to the yearly tuition for 78 in-state undergraduate students.

Richard Spencer's Thursday speech has prompted a state of emergency declaration by Florida's governor. (Photo: Jim Bourg / Reuters)

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) this week, in a move usually reserved for natural disasters, declared a state of emergency.

Prior speaking engagements involving Mr. Spencer at universities in Alabama, California, Texas, and Virginia have sparked protests and counter-protests resulting in episodes of violence, civil unrest, and multiple arrests, said Scotts executive order, which makes more law enforcement resources available.

Spencer tweeted out a photo of a hurricane approaching Florida with his head at the center. BREAKING, he wrote, Hurricane Ricardo expected to hit Gainesville this Thursday.

BREAKING: Hurricane Ricardo expected to hit Gainsville this Thursday. pic.twitter.com/85eDCcnvdZ  Richard Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) October 16, 2017

In the two months since he was a top-billed speaker at the large white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia  which erupted into violence and ended with a neo-Nazi allegedly running down counter-protesters with a car, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer  Spencer has been busy suing or threatening to sue a slew of state universities who refused to offer him a venue to speak.

Some universities  thanks to Americas expansive free speech laws and an early 1990s Supreme Court decision  have since capitulated. Spencer will likely get his post-Charlottesville campus speaking tour. And Gainesville is his first stop.

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As a state entity, UF must allow the free expression of speech, the school said in a Q&A it posted online. We cannot prohibit groups or individuals from speaking in our public forums except for limited exceptions, which include safety and security.

The university, according to the Q&A, initially blocked Spencer from speaking in September due to specific threats and a date that fell soon after the Charlottesville event. Allowing him to speak in October gave the university more time to make security arrangements.

White supremacists march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Aug. 11, 2017, the night before holding a violent "Unite The Right" rally. (Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Theres a reason Spencer has targeted state universities, Dr. Clay Calvert, a professor and First Amendment expert at the University of Florida, told HuffPost.

Private universities could exclude Spencer without First Amendment issues, he said. But because state universities are government institutions, the First Amendment is triggered.

A university could deny a platform to a speaker who incites violence or imminent lawless action, Calvert said, but not simply for offensive rhetoric. (In April, a federal judge forced Auburn University in Alabama to host Spencer, ruling that there was no evidence he advocated violence.)

Still, Spencers offensive rhetoric has led to violent clashes between his white nationalist supporters and counter-protesters. When he holds an event at a university, a large police presence is required.

And according to the Supreme Court, its up to the university to pay for it. Deciding on a case in 1992, Justice Harry Blackmun laid out the legal doctrine known as the hecklers veto.

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Speech, Blackmun wrote, cannot be financially burdened, any more than it can be punished or banned, simply because it might offend a hostile mob. In other words, speech cant be prohibited because of financial issues. In Spencers case, that means the University of Florida is stuck with the $500,000 in security costs.

Spencer, speaking to HuffPost, put the blame for the security costs on counter-protesters. That money, he said, is not to protect the university from me or anyone on the alt-right. Instead, its himself and supporters who need protection from leftist groups like Antifa, he said.

Obviously, Im not going to engage in any violence, Spencer said.

Although the University of Florida cant stop Spencer from speaking here Thursday, there is potentially a way it could block him in the future.

Spencer wasnt invited or sponsored by a student group to speak at the University of Florida. He paid $10,000 to rent a campus venue. Some public universities, however, require those renting venues to have a student sponsor.

But if the University of Florida were to add this requirement, Calvert said, that would probably destroy a lot of other speech. And the requirement doesnt always stop white nationalists from coming to campuses.

Former Breitbart News editor and white nationalist provocateur Milo Yiannoppoulos found a handful of supportive students at a conservative student newspaper at the University of Berkeley. They offered to sponsor an event last month for him, and he in turn gave money to their newspaper. (What had been planned as a four-day rally, however, ended up as a small gathering on a single day.)

Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley in September. (Photo: Christopher Mathias HuffPost)

Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said universities shouldnt be looking for ways to block white supremacists from speaking on campus in the first place. Thats what they want, he said.

Spencer wants to wrap himself in the First Amendment, Cohen told HuffPost. If he had his druthers, the university would deny him and he would go to the court and win, and he could claim to be a First Amendment hero.

So what to do if a white supremacist shows up on campus? The SPLC recommends depriving them of a spectacle.

Hold an alternative event  away from the alt-right event  to highlight your campus commitment to inclusion and our nations democratic values, the group says on its website.

But there are many in Gainesville who plan on confronting the Spencer and his supporters. Hundreds if not thousands are expected for a #NoNazisAtUF march through campus Thursday to the Phillips Center for Performing Arts, where Spencer will be speaking.

Timothy Tia, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Florida and a #NoNazisAtUF organizer, told HuffPost people like Spencer have to be considered a serious threat to this country. They are white supremacists, after all, who want to take power.

It might be unthinkable now, but it was unthinkable two years ago that someone as divisive and offensive as Donald Trump would become president, Tia said.

All u fascists bound to lose pic.twitter.com/o49BDaMZHL  Roxy  (@redrawnoxen) October 14, 2017

Roxanne Palmer, a 30-year-old cartoonist and barista who is on the steering committee for the Central Florida Democratic Socialists of America, said its important to confront people like Spencer on campus.

Getting used to ignoring Nazis is a pretty dangerous path to start heading down, as I think even a casual student of history can tell you, she said.

Protests are never that popular in their own time, Palmer said. Most moderate, centrist people look back on the civil rights movement with near-universal fondness, but at the time, white folks thought that sit-ins and Freedom Rides were hurting the cause. They werent necessarily opposed to the ideas of these groups, but [thought], Please, stop making such a fuss.

She continued: If people continue to say we should just ignore the alt-right, I have to ask: At what point do you STOP ignoring them? I know that, 10 years from now, I want to be able to say that when Nazis came to Gainesville, I stood up to them, shoulder to shoulder with friends and neighbors.

America does not do a good job of tracking incidents of hate and bias. We need your help to create a database of such incidents across the country, so we all know whats going on. Tell us your story.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The top US commander in the Pacific warned Tuesday he must "imagine the unimaginable" in responding to the threat posed by the North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, made clear that while diplomacy remains the preferred option in pressing Pyongyang to abandon its atomic weapons programme, that approach is backed by "credible" military power.

"Many people have talked about military options being unimaginable regarding North Korea," Harris said at an annual forum in Singapore.

"Folks, I must imagine the unimaginable. And what is unimaginable to me are North Korean nuclear-tipped missiles delivered in Los Angeles, in Honolulu, in Seoul, in Tokyo, in Sydney, in Singapore," he said.

US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis "do not come to me and ask for diplomatic or economic solutions," he added, speaking at an event organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"They come to me and ask for hard power options and that's what I provide them."

Tensions over North Korea's weapons programme have soared in recent months, with Pyongyang launching a flurry of missiles and conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

Trump has engaged in an escalating war of words with the North's leader Kim Jong-Un, trading personal insults and threatening to "totally destroy" the country if it threatens the United States.

But US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that Trump wanted to avoid war, even though the president said on Twitter that Tillerson was "wasting his time" with diplomacy.

Harris declined to comment when asked if the US military options included a preemptive strike.

But he called Kim a "reckless dictator" and warned that "combining nuclear warheads with ballistic missiles in the hands of a volatile leader ... is a recipe for disaster."

North Korea on Monday told the United Nations that it will never negotiate the dismantling of its nuclear weapons unless the United States reverses its "hostile" policy.

The US and South Korea on Monday began a 10-day joint naval exercise in a fresh show of force against the North, with a US aircraft carrier and two US destroyers taking part.
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's opposition said its newly-elected governors would refuse to participate Wednesday in a swearing in ceremony before the pro-government Constituent Assembly, which it does not recognize.

The Democratic Union Roundtable (MUD) said it would not allow its five governors to be subjected to "the blackmail of the fraudulent Constituent Assembly" after President Nicolas Maduro threatened to remove them from office if they refused.

"We will only be sworn in before God and the respective legislative councils and not before the fraudulent Constituent Assembly," the MUD said in a statement shortly before a special swearing-in session convened at the legislative palace.

The opposition had previously said it would not participate but doubts remained until shortly before the ceremony because of internal divisions.

It was unclear early Wednesday whether the refusal would mean the governors are dismissed as Maduro has threatened, and if so, who would replace them.

However, constitutional specialist Jose Vincent Haro said there was no obligation to go before the assembly. "According to the constitution of each state they must be sworn in before the legislative council of their state."

The results of Sunday's closely-watched regional elections were a crushing blow for the opposition coaliton, which had characterized the elections as a referendum on Maduro after months of deadly street protests earlier this year failed to unseat him.

Maduro created the Constituent Assembly in July to bypass the opposition-dominated parliament, packing it with his allies.

International powers have condemned the creation of the assembly, and accuse Maduro of dismantling democracy by taking over state institutions in the wake of an economic collapse caused by the fall in the price of oil, its main source of revenue.

The government took 18 states in Sunday's elections and the MUD only five, despite opinion polls putting it ahead in as many as 18 states.

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The oppostion coalition, which accuses the National Electoral Council of being a vehicle of the government, rejected the result and called for a full audit of the electoral process, saying it was riddled with "irregularities."

An immediate consequence of the poll is the opposition's refusal to hold talks with the government on ending the country's political and economic crisis without a full recount of the vote.

"We will not take part in exploratory talks or negotiations unless (the authorities) agree to a recount," said Angel Oropeza, one of the MUD coalition's leaders.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Steve Helber/AP; screen capture from Ed Gillespie TV ad, Getty Images

Ed Gillespie often insists that the gubernatorial election in Virginia should mainly be a dialogue about the deeply researched policy papers hes put out on seemingly every topic under the sun.

And while that may be true, the Republicans campaign might be best known at this point for a series of TV ads in which photos of heavily tattooed Latino men are displayed as the words KILL, RAPE, CONTROL flash across the screen.

That ad has aired, to my knowledge, far more than any other ad, said political sage Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginias Center for Politics. I see it several times a day in flipping through channels.

The ad stretches facts to suggest Democratic nominee Ralph Northam  the incumbent lieutenant governor  authorized sanctuary cities in Virginia for undocumented immigrants, even though there are no sanctuary cities in the commonwealth. But it is most noteworthy because of how different it is from the way Gillespie has talked about the Latino community in the past.

Gillespie supporters like Jason Miyares, a Republican state delegate from Virginia Beach and a former prosecutor, say that the GOP nominee for governor is running an inclusive campaign and that his ad is simply endorses law and order.

I give Virginians a lot more credit maybe than some other people, said Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee. They understand the average MS-13 member is not the person they live along side with, work alongside with, and worship alongside with. Virginians are a lot smarter than that.

But its hard to imagine Gillespie running an ad like his MS-13 spot a few years ago, because for over a decade hes been a leader of the Republican effort to bring Latinos into the GOP and tone down anti-immigration rhetoric. The inflammatory nature of the TV ad illustrates to many observers how even the most moderate Republicans are being pulled to the hard right by the Republican Party base.

A screen capture from an Ed Gillespie campaign ad.

And there are echoes of another devoutly religious political figure who decades ago ran statewide in a Southern state with a moderate message, lost, and then changed his approach in a second campaign to try to win over voters animated at least in part by fear or dislike of minorities: Jimmy Carter.

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*****

In 2010, Gillespie oversaw the GOPs effort to take control of more state legislatures. It was a wildly successful effort that gave the party control of redrawing congressional districts in many states, an advantage Gillespie helped the party use to augment their control of the House.

For Gillespie, it was another victory in a career marked by success, from wealthy and powerful lobbyist to chairman of the Republican National Committee to top White House adviser under President George W. Bush.

But Gillespie was still troubled by the Republican Partys movement away from being a welcoming place for racial minorities, especially Latino voters.

In the summer of 2011, Gillespie announced that he wanted to recruit 100 Latino candidates to run as Republicans for state legislature seats around the country. The demographics of America are changing, and any political party that fails to recognize that is going to find themselves consigned to minority status in the not-too-distant future, Gillespie said.

A month later, I interviewed Gillespie in his Virginia office just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to talk more broadly about the Republican Party and the Latino vote.

As Latinos become more integrated into our society and our country, theyre going to register in bigger numbers and more actively participate in the political process, Gillespie said.

Gillespie said the GOP had alienated Latino voters through its harsh anti-immigration rhetoric.

Sometimes [the GOP] sounded anti-immigrant, Gillespie said. And that turns people off.

Part of the solution, he said, would be more aggressive outreach to the Latino community.

We need to be on Telemundo and Univision and all of the Spanish-language radio markets in some of the urban areas and get our message out, Gillespie said.

In 2013, Gillespie was a supporter of the comprehensive immigration reform effort, which passed the Senate but ran out of steam in the House.

Ed Gillespie, Republican Senatorial candidate, greets voters at the Chesterfield county fair in Richmond, Va., in 2014. (Photo: Bill OLeary/Washington Post via Getty Images)

A year later, when Gillespie ran for the U.S. Senate, he was less enthusiastic about the 2013 reform effort. But in 2015, he reiterated his past comments about the changing face of the electorate, and said the GOP must adapt.

But then in 2016, Donald Trump was elected president while denouncing Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals, and Gillespies path to the governors mansion became far more complicated. Things became even more difficult when Gillespie only barely defeated a Trump-like primary challenger in June, Corey Stewart.

[Gillespie] almost lost the primary to a far-right guy who was campaigning as a borderline racist, Sabato said. I mean [Stewarts] from Minnesota, good God. Ive known him for years. Hed say anything to get in office.

Gillespies narrow win was a wake-up call. A large number of Republican voters were obviously attracted to Stewarts hard-line anti-immigration stance and to his robust defense of Confederate monuments.

Gillespie and his campaign will often talk about his detailed policy positions on a wide range of issues, from sea level rise to transportation to substance abuse and addition to criminal justice reform. Gillespie has released 20 policy papers explaining how he would govern, and his favorite lament is that the press is not covering issues of substance.

That may be true, but Sabato said thats because the voters Gillespie needs to win arent motivated by those issues either.

Gillespie has had more detailed policy positions than any candidate Ive seen, Sabato said. But Trump-style voters dont care about any of that.

The Trump people have no enthusiasm for [Gillespie] but the only thing theyve praised him for is his anti-immigrant and pro-monument stances, Sabato said.

The Gillespie campaign believes this is a misreading of the issues, and that gang violence and monuments are both issues that resonate with wide swaths of Virginia voters.

This is a serious issue in the commonwealth, and a gubernatorial candidate should absolutely be talking about it and putting forward solutions to address it and make our communities safer, said Gillespie spokesman Dave Abrams. The ads highlight important policy differences between Ed and Ralph Northam. Ed is the only candidate in the race with a detailed plan to combat MS-13 and other gangs to make all Virginians safer, especially those who live in immigrant communities that are the most vulnerable to MS-13 violence.

The lieutenant governors campaign is conflating violent criminals here illegally with all immigrants, not Ed, who is himself the son of an immigrant. Ed knows that we can be a welcoming commonwealth, and a safe one too, Abrams said.

But others believe that Gillespie, a devout Catholic, is doing whats necessary to win, but may not be excited about it. Several Democrats in the state remarked after Gillespie and Northams second debate that even though the monuments controversy was hurting the Democrat, who had endorsed removing many of them from public places, Gillespie didnt take the opportunity to press the issue.

He pulled his punches, one senior Democratic operative told me, arguing that it showed Gillespie had moral qualms about being a cheerleader for Confederate statues.

Vice President Mike Pence with gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie during a campaign rally in Abingdon, Va., on Oct. 14. (Photo: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

Gillespie said in the debate that clearly, when youre on the side of slavery, youre on the wrong side of history. He also advocated putting the statues in historical context, which often means moving them out of public places of honor to museums, though Gillespie himself has never advocated for that, and Northam has.

And when I interviewed Gillespie this past summer back in his Alexandria office, he had positive things to say about the Black Lives Matter movement.

But Gillespies TV ads about monuments leave a different impression, repeatedly hammering the point that he believes they should stay up.

Our history is our history, and we need to teach it, not erase it, he says in one. They need to stay up.

Sabato said Gillespies MS-13 ad, and his ads in favor of Confederate monuments, were clearly not in line with who Gillespie is. But, Sabato said, given a choice between staying pure and possibly winning, hes chosen possibly winning, which is what most politicians do.

It is reminiscent of Jimmy Carters 1970 run for governor of Georgia.

*****

In 1966, Carter, a state senator, made winning black voters a focus of his campaign for governor. He lost, and watched Georgians instead elect an avowed segregationist, Lester Maddox.

Two years later, Alabama Gov. George Wallace  a voice for racist whites who wanted to preserve segregation  won five Southern states and 10 million votes in his third-party run for president. One out of every five Americans who voted in that election cast a ballot for Wallace.

In 1970, Carter ran again for governor in Georgia, and that time he won. But his campaign had a very different flavor that time. Carter has pitched much of his campaign toward Wallace voters, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote on September 6, 1970.

Carters TV commercials included a catch phrase referring to Carter  our kind of man  that was cribbed from Wallaces own ads in Alabama. Carter himself criticized his opponent, former Gov. Carl Sanders, for blocking Wallace from speaking on state property, and told voters hed gladly have Wallace address the legislature.

Former Georgia state Sen. Jimmy Carter in 1970. (Photo: John Storey/AP)

Carters aides were responsible, according to his longtime adviser Peter Bourne, for distributing flyers showing Sanders standing next to an African-American player for the Atlanta Hawks, where Sanders was part owner, while the player poured champagne over Sanders head.

Carter promised white parents who had pulled their children out of integrated schools and put them in all-white private schools that he would do everything he could for private schools. And he sought and received the support of the states most strident white supremacists and segregationists, including Maddox.

Carter defended himself when I interviewed him in 2015 for my book on the 1980 primary.

I never made a racist statement or a racist inclination, Carter told me. But I did get the more conservative country votes there in Georgia because I never did anything to alienate them.

But according to published reports at the time in 1970, Carters response to his win was muted, because the born-again Christian questioned the lengths to which hed gone to achieve his goal.

After he won, Carter declared in his inaugural speech that the time for racial discrimination is over and tried to reassure black leaders in the state that he would be for them as governor. Carter went on to become president in 1976, and his post-presidency has been a model of philanthropy and humanitarian work.

For Carter, that 1970 campaign is an obscure footnote. If Gillespie defeats Northam on on Nov. 7, perhaps decades later his current campaign will also be largely forgotten. And the race is tight by all appearances.

But like Carter, Gillespie will likely have to grapple with his own conscience regardless of the election outcome.

In 2014, Sanders said in an interview that while he was disappointed that his political career ended in 1970, he was happy with the decision he made not to make a play for Wallace voters.

Everyone I know of at some point in their life takes a stand in what they have done. What I did, what I didnt do, Im happy and satisfied, he said.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, weakened by poor election results, opened talks Wednesday on forging a three-way coalition government, with all sides hailing a constructive start but warning of a "long road ahead".

Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which won the September vote without obtaining a clear majority, launched exploratory talks with the liberal and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), followed by a meeting with the left-leaning and environmentalist Greens.

To avoid a breakdown that would force new elections, all sides will have to agree in the coming weeks on tough compromises on thorny topics ranging from immigration to EU reform to climate policy.

The CDU's general secretary, Peter Tauber, was cautiously optimistic after the separate discussions with the FDP and the Greens, telling reporters they had been "good talks".

It sends "a strong signal" when such disparate parties were showing a willingness to listen to each other and overcome their differences, he said.

"But we still have a good ways to go," he added.

The Greens' political director, Michael Kellner, described the discussions with the conservatives as "constructive talks" focussed on finding solutions.

"But what's also clear is that we still have a long road ahead," he added.

The Greens and the FDP will hold their own talks on Thursday.

All sides are then set to meet jointly on Friday to open negotiations that could form a government by January in the EU's top economy.

The alliance, which would be a first for Germany at the national level, has been dubbed "Jamaica" because the parties' black, yellow and green colours match those of the Caribbean country's flag.

"Jamaica and Germany are 8,500 kilometres apart," the FDP's secretary general Nicola Beer told reporters. "I think today the first few metres of that journey have gone well."

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- Merkel ally resigns -

The delicate negotiations come as Merkel, long seen as Europe's most influential leader, is increasingly described as a lame duck after her party slumped to its worst result since 1949 in last month's general election.

"If the CDU had any kind of challenger waiting in the wings, Merkel would have reason to worry," the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily wrote.

In the latest fallout from the vote, the CDU's state premier in Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, on Wednesday unexpectedly announced he was stepping down to make way for a younger generation.

The move comes after his party was narrowly beaten in the eastern state by the far-right, anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Tillich, 58, said Saxony faced "great societal challenges" that required "a new and fresh energy".

If trouble is brewing in Merkel's party, her more conservative Bavarian allies, the CSU, are in disarray, fearing another poll drubbing in state elections next year.

Having long railed against Merkel's decision to allow in more than a million asylum seekers since 2015, the CSU has signalled a sharp shift to the right to win back voters from the anti-immigration AfD.

Horst Seehofer, head of Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the CSU, reiterated Wednesday that limiting immigration was a "very, very important" goal.

The CSU's negotiator Alexander Dobrindt said earlier that Sunday's election victory in Austria of rightwing candidate Sebastian Kurz showed that the CDU/CSU must "position ourselves as a conservative force in these negotiations".

Such talk only heightens distrust with the Greens, who favour a multicultural society that welcomes refugees.

Greens negotiator Juergen Trittin pointed to growing rightwing and populist tendencies in the CDU/CSU bloc and warned that their hardline demands on the refugee issue would present "massive hurdles".

- 'Caretaker role' -

The FDP is an easier fit, having previously served with the conservatives for lengthy stretches until they humiliatingly crashed out of the Bundestag at the last election in 2013.

Its youthful leader Christian Lindner, who led the party back into the Bundestag, has presented his own tough demands as he eyes the powerful finance ministry.

On the eve of the talks, Lindner even cautioned Merkel to refrain from any bold moves at the EU level, especially if it cost German taxpayers, before a new government is formed.

"I expect Merkel... to make it clear that her government is only performing a caretaker role," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Given the competing interests, and the weeks of haggling over posts and policy ahead, the Spiegel Online news site predicted that "with a bit of luck, Germany may have a new government by January."
(Photo: HuffPost)

(Photo: HuffPost Video)

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TRUMP REPORTEDLY TELLS PREGNANT WIDOW OF FALLEN SOLDIER: HE KNEW WHAT HE SIGNED UP FOR Trump reportedly told the pregnant widow of a soldier killed in Niger that he mustve known what he signed up for, according to Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson. The hashtag #HeKnewWhatHeSignedUpFor began to trend on Twitter, as many slammed the president for his insensitive phrasing. Trump also politicized the Afghanistan death of his Chief of Staff John Kellys son, asking if President Barack Obama had called Kelly after his son was killed by a land mine. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook]

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WHY THE LOSS OF RAQQA Is a critical defeat for ISIS. And this reporter saw it fall, writing about the airstrikes if you stay, land mines if you flee. [HuffPost]

NEWSWEEK JOURNALISTS ARE WEIGHING A SEX DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST THE MAGAZINE Following the tenure of recently departed global editor-in-chief Matt McAllester. Employees detailed a pattern of male cronyism. [HuffPost]

THE MOST POWERFUL JOURNALIST IN HOLLYWOOD PROTECTED HARVEY WEINSTEIN FOR YEARS In the 1990s, Peter Bart turned Variety into one of the most powerful institutions in Hollywood. In doing so, he helped turn Harvey Weinstein into another. [HuffPost]

BOB WEINSTEIN HAS ALSO BEEN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT According to executive producer Amanda Segel. Meanwhile, the Weinstein scandal has resulted in several Hollywood A-listers speaking out about their own sexual assaults. Reese Witherspoon says she was assaulted at 16, America Ferrera when she was 9. Jennifer Lawrence told how she had been forced to stand in a degrading lineup of nude women early in her career. Game of Thrones star Lena Heady said Harvey Weinstein had made sexual advances on her over the years. And designer Donna Karen apologized for victim-blaming while defending Weinstein. [HuffPost]

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WHATS BREWING

IN ONE WEEK, PLAGUE CASES MORE THAN DOUBLED IN MADAGASCAR Yes, that kind of plague. [HuffPost]

THE SCARAMUCCI POST ASKED READERS HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY THOUGHT HAD BEEN KILLED IN THE HOLOCAUST The former White House communications director apologized and tweeted he will be making a $25,000 donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is named after a Nazi hunter. [HuffPost]

THE MANDALAY BAY SECURITY GUARD SHOT BY THE LAS VEGAS SHOOTER IS SET TO APPEAR ON ELLEN TODAY Jesus Campos had briefly disappeared from the national spotlight and seemed to have gone into hiding. However, hes speaking out on Ellen today. [HuffPost]

A GUIDE TO OPEN ENROLLMENT That you can actually understand. [HuffPost]

KATE MIDDLETON HAS A DUE DATE Which could overlap with the queens birthday (and the author of The Morning Emails, just saying. Yes, we share a birthday. Yes, you should mark your calendars for April 21.). [HuffPost]

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President Trump doubled down on his assertion that his predecessor didnt call the families of fallen soldiers, citing the death of his chief of staffs son in Afghanistan.

Speaking with Fox News Brian Kilmeade on Tuesday, Trump again suggested that President Obama didnt call military families, a claim that members of the Obama Administration had rebutted.

He then referenced White House Chief of Staff John Kellys son, Robert Michael Kelly, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 at the age of 29.

Now, as far as other representatives, I dont know. I mean, you could ask General Kelly did he get a call from Obama, he continued. You could ask other people, I dont know what Obamas policy was. I write letters and I also call.

The remarks thrust Kellys son in the spotlight, leading to multiple stories about Obamas response to Kellys loss.

In the past, Kelly has avoided talking about his sons death, telling a Marine officer introducing him in a speech not to mention it and writing to the Washington Post that he did not want to draw too much attention to it.

We are only one of 5,500 American families who have suffered the loss of a child in this war, he wrote in an e-mail to the Post for that article. The death of my boy simply cannot be made to seem any more tragic than the others.

He had a similar response to the Boston Globe. We are not inclined to make ourselves out to be any different, just because Im a lieutenant general in the Marines, he said.

Trump made the initial claim that Obama did not call the families of fallen soldiers when he was asked if he was going to call the four U.S. Army special operations commandos killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.
In his first television interview since the Las Vegas mass shooting, Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, along with building engineer Stephen Schuck. Campos gave his account of being the first person on site during the shooting that left 58 dead and hundreds injured.

Campos was sent to inspect a fire door that had been propped shut by the gunman. He originally thought the sound of the gunshots from the automatic weapons was drilling. Campos then calmly recounted the moment he was shot by the gunman: As I was walking down, I heard rapid fire, and at first, I took cover. I felt a burning sensation; I went to go lift my pant leg up, and I saw the blood. Thats when I called it in on the radio that shots have been fired.

Schuck walked down the hall moments later. Campos yelled to Schuck, Take cover! Take cover! Schuck then described bullets immediately flying by his head.

Thanks to Campos, Schuck was unharmed. Campos also alerted another guest to take cover in her room.

Campos and Schuck both took the time to thank the first responders, medical staff, the Las Vegas community, and people at the concert for helping during the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Ellen DeGeneres said that she wanted to give the two men money for their bravery, but the two humbly declined.

Watch: Ellen DeGeneres tells Megyn Kelly why she wont let Trump on her show:

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His identity card bore the number 0001, and following Chinese President Xi Jinpings keynote speech Wednesday morning to open the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there is no doubt that his unrivaled primacy will continue for the next five years  and possibly beyond.

Taking the stage at Beijings vast Great Hall of the People to the cadenced applause of 2,280 delegates, as the Peoples Liberation Army band belted out its traditional Welcome March, Xi warned that to achieve great dreams there must be a great struggle, as he laid out his vision for a second term as the Asian superpowers strongest leader for generations.

The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is no walk in the park or mere drum-beating and gong-clanging, Xi said while delivering the CCPs work report, which details the nations progress in economic, cultural, defense, political and foreign affairs over the last five years and its priorities looking forward. The entire party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts.

Exactly who will lead those efforts will be now be decided behind closed doors, after the journalists and cameras are ushered away and the real business of the conclaves gets underway in secret. Delegates must choose the Partys 200-strong Central Committee, which in turn endorses the makeup of its key executive bodies: the 25-strong Politburo and apex five-to-nine-member Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). Those announcements will come at the end of the week-long Congress, with their composition hinting to what extent Xis influence has swelled.

In the meantime, Xis opening speech will be parsed for hints at what is to come. He stuck a nationalist tone throughout, urging cadres to shun erroneous ideology for that of Chinese origin. Acknowledging serious economic challenges, in a rare display of candor, Xi also vowed to let markets play a decisive role and to deepen supply-side reforms, in remarks that belied the socialist hammer and sickle and red star iconography that adorn the Mao-era chamber.

Story continues

In a positive sign for foreign investors, Xi said that his government must greatly relax market entry restrictions and give equal and fair treatment to all companies registered in China. However, he hedged his remarks by saying China also must develop the public sector.

Expressing the need for discipline, Xi also vowed to lock-in his sweeping anti-corruption drive, urging those gathered to resist pleasure seeking, inaction, sloth and problem avoidance. He reinforced his desire to reform the nations military and build world-class armed forces that obey the partys command, and can fight and win wars. But Xi also moved to counter accusations of expansionism, which especially dog Beijings activity in the South China Sea, where his navy has been reclaiming and militarizing disputed rocks and reefs.

China will always remain the builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and upholder of international order, Xi said.

Xi finished his three-and-a-half hour speech to rapturous applause from the audience  a sea of navy blue suits fringed by military uniforms, though also peppered with delegates attired in the elaborate costumes of Chinas myriad ethnic minority peoples. But beyond the painstakingly constructed aura of representation, many of the key decisions have already been taken by elites in the shadows, devoid of even delegates input, let alone that of the CCPs 89 million members or Chinas 1.4 billion citizens. Still, the outside world will only know the result of those decisions on the final day of the Congress when, according to convention, the new committees are unveiled on stage.

Analysts will then try to divine Xis policy priorities of the next five years from the personnel promoted to key leadership positions. Doing so is an imperfect science  the 18th Congress in 2012 didnt presage that the defining features of Xis first term would be the anti-corruption campaign and expanding Chinas regional influence, for example.

I would caution against being too determinative in concluding the policy orientation for the second term just based on the personnel line-up, says Nicholas Consonery, head of Asia geopolitical intelligence at the FTI Consulting business advisory firm.

Prior to the Congress, there was much conjecture that Xi Jinping thought would be added to the national constitution, in a move that would put Xi on a par with Communist Chinas founder Mao Zedong. However, Xis speech defined his governing philosophy over the next five years as Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era  language more on par with the philosophies of former leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao.

That hasnt stifled speculation that Xi may try to stay on beyond his mandated ten-year term. According to convention, two or three younger leaders who are the anointed candidates for future president and premier should be promoted to the PSC . But the absence of younger appointees on the PSC at the Congresss close may suggest that Xi intends to retain power for himself. Another sign could be Xi assuming the position of party chairman, which would put him on a level with Mao.

Although controversial, there would be significant support for such a move. Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies at Kings College London, says the prevailing mood within the CCP is that strong leadership is required to push through necessary economic reforms. Not a Maoist kind of all-conquering, all-powerful leadership, that can detract from the party, he says, but strategic use of leadership to help the party become a sustainable entity.

For Xi, it is simply imperative to get the Congress out the way before the visit of gaffe-prone U.S. President Donald Trump slated for early November.

The simple reason is that Trump is unreliable, says Prof. Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London. The Trump visit could significantly boost Xi Jinping, but it could also deeply embarrass him. It would be a gamble.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors  even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress . In a three-and-a-half hour speech both retrospective and forward-looking, Xi discussed China's progress and signaled how China sees its national development and international role in the next five years.Of particular interest to investors will be how the world's second-largest economy will move forward as authorities attempt to clean up the fallout from three decades of breakneck growth. In his speech, Xi said China will push ahead with market-oriented reforms of its foreign exchange rate as well as its financial system, letting the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources.The government will "clean up rules and practices that hinder a unified market and fair competition, support development of private firms and stimulate vitality of all types of market entities," Xi said, while pledging to further open China's services sector to foreign investors."China's open door will not be closed  it will be only be opened wider," he said.Even as Xi expressed support for market reform and private firms, he also called for stronger, bigger state firms.The government will "promote strengthening, improvement and expansion of state capital, (and) effectively prevent loss of state assets, deepen reform of state-owned enterprises, development a mixed-ownership economy and cultivate globally competitive world-class firms," Xi said.The once-every-five-years Communist Party Congress, which started Wednesday, is an exercise in the election of leadership ranks in China that will culminate in the membership set-up of the Politburo Standing Committee. That top echelon of power will be announced next Wednesday, and analysts are predicting that Xi will consolidate his power and extend his term.Over 2,000 pre-screened Chinese Communist Party members  including at least one member from the estranged territory of Taiwan  are in attendance.Some are hoping that a more powerful Xi will be able to push through structural and economic reforms more thoroughly than he did during his first five years. During his Wednesday address, Xi also broached the political hot potato of runaway real estate prices in the country. Property "is for living in, not for speculating in," Xi said to applause, an indication that the Chinese government will continue to manage the real estate market closely.Xi's call for more open market conditions are a welcomed signal for investors  although China is still a relatively closed market with foreign ownership of equities and bonds under 2 percent  said Ben Luk, State Street Global Markets' global macro strategist.Luk advised caution, as there are still many governance issues to be solved.Celebration of socialismDuring his speech, Xi also signaled China's ambitions as he said the Communist Party will develop China into a "great modern socialist country" by the middle of the 21st Century.Touting the successes of socialism and of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi also rejected the copying of any foreign political system. Xi's speech followed a commentary in state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday that championed an "enlightened Chinese democracy" amid "crises and chaos" in Western liberal democracies. "Under the leadership of a sober-minded, forward-looking [Communist Party of China], Chinese-style democracy has never been healthier and China has absolutely no need to import the failing party political systems of other countries," it said in a commentary.Although China's influence is growing, it will not be a threat to any country, Xi said, pledging peaceful development on the international stage. China, he claimed, will not engage in hegemony.Even so, Xi affirmed China's sovereignty over the territory of Taiwan, stressing the principle of peaceful reunification. He also affirmed and touted the success of the "One Country, Two Systems" in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao.Reuters contributed to this article. Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors  even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress . In a three-and-a-half hour speech both retrospective and forward-looking, Xi discussed China's progress and signaled how China sees its national development and international role in the next five years. Of particular interest to investors will be how the world's second-largest economy will move forward as authorities attempt to clean up the fallout from three decades of breakneck growth. In his speech, Xi said China will push ahead with market-oriented reforms of its foreign exchange rate as well as its financial system, letting the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources. The government will "clean up rules and practices that hinder a unified market and fair competition, support development of private firms and stimulate vitality of all types of market entities," Xi said, while pledging to further open China's services sector to foreign investors. "China's open door will not be closed  it will be only be opened wider," he said. Even as Xi expressed support for market reform and private firms, he also called for stronger, bigger state firms. The government will "promote strengthening, improvement and expansion of state capital, (and) effectively prevent loss of state assets, deepen reform of state-owned enterprises, development a mixed-ownership economy and cultivate globally competitive world-class firms," Xi said. The once-every-five-years Communist Party Congress, which started Wednesday, is an exercise in the election of leadership ranks in China that will culminate in the membership set-up of the Politburo Standing Committee. That top echelon of power will be announced next Wednesday, and analysts are predicting that Xi will consolidate his power and extend his term. Over 2,000 pre-screened Chinese Communist Party members  including at least one member from the estranged territory of Taiwan  are in attendance. Some are hoping that a more powerful Xi will be able to push through structural and economic reforms more thoroughly than he did during his first five years. During his Wednesday address, Xi also broached the political hot potato of runaway real estate prices in the country. Property "is for living in, not for speculating in," Xi said to applause, an indication that the Chinese government will continue to manage the real estate market closely. Xi's call for more open market conditions are a welcomed signal for investors  although China is still a relatively closed market with foreign ownership of equities and bonds under 2 percent  said Ben Luk, State Street Global Markets' global macro strategist. Luk advised caution, as there are still many governance issues to be solved. Celebration of socialism During his speech, Xi also signaled China's ambitions as he said the Communist Party will develop China into a "great modern socialist country" by the middle of the 21st Century. Touting the successes of socialism and of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi also rejected the copying of any foreign political system. Xi's speech followed a commentary in state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday that championed an "enlightened Chinese democracy" amid "crises and chaos" in Western liberal democracies. "Under the leadership of a sober-minded, forward-looking [Communist Party of China], Chinese-style democracy has never been healthier and China has absolutely no need to import the failing party political systems of other countries," it said in a commentary. Although China's influence is growing, it will not be a threat to any country, Xi said, pledging peaceful development on the international stage. China, he claimed, will not engage in hegemony. Even so, Xi affirmed China's sovereignty over the territory of Taiwan, stressing the principle of peaceful reunification. He also affirmed and touted the success of the "One Country, Two Systems" in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Reuters contributed to this article.



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Wellington (AFP) - New Zealand's populist kingmaker Winston Peters says he will finally reveal on Thursday who he is supporting in the country's deadlocked general election, after keeping voters waiting almost four weeks.

The South Pacific nation has been in political limbo since the September 23 vote failed to deliver a clear majority for either conservative Prime Minister Bill English or his centre-left rival Jacinda Ardern.

They both require support from Peters' New Zealand First (NZF) to pass the 61 seats needed for a win, giving it a decisive role in the election even though it only won seven percent of the vote.

The 72-year-old political veteran has already missed several self-imposed deadlines to settle the issue but indicated in a statement Wednesday that he was at last ready to show his hand.

"New Zealand First will be in a position tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon to make an announcement on the result of negotiations following the 2017 general election," he said.

Peters has thrashed out policy positions over 11 days of negotiations with Labour, National and his own NZF, including one-on-one meetings with English and Ardern.

The talks have been held in secret but Peters' demands are expected to centre on issues such as cutting immigration, banning foreign home buyers and boosting regional development.

Just as important could be what ministerial position NZF's potential coalition partners are willing to offer to Peters.

In the past, he has claimed to scorn "the baubles of office" but his record shows he will support either side of politics if the right offer is made.

He opted for National in 1996 in return for being made deputy prime minister and backed Labour in 2005 after it agreed to make him foreign minister.

But he did not see out either term of office as a minister, leading critics to say that any government that relies on Peters to prop it up is inherently unstable.

"I'm thinking it won't last whatever it is... there's an inbuilt self-destruct mechanism," former MP Peter Dunne said this week.

"The fact that you'd build something on the basis of vanity suggests there's going to be a point where the vanity's upset."

Peters was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1996 in a row over privatising state assets and stood down as foreign minister in 2008 amid an investigation into undeclared political donations.
The Islamic State implemented a double strategic move in the Sinai area on Sunday night. First it fired rockets into Israels populated area in the Gaza vicinity, and several hours later it launched a major attack on the Egyptian army in the Sheikh Zuweid area near El-Arish.

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These two operations, which the organization claimed responsibility for, had two purposes: One, to demonstrate that despite being beaten in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq and being driven away from them, ISIS is still alive and kicking; and two, to disrupt Hamas reconciliation agreement with Fatah and its tightening relations with Egypt.

Both the reconciliation agreement between the two Palestinian organizations, and mainly the cooperation agreement with Egypt, contradict ISISs interests. The rocket fire into Israel, in the Gaza vicinity, is therefore aimed at raising the tensions and perhaps leading to an escalation and an active military conflict between the Gazan terror organization and Israel.

An ISIS force in Sinai. The terror organization is possibly moving its main activity from Syria and Iraq to the peninsula

Another purpose of the ISIS operation is to attract activists who are fleeing Syria and Iraq and looking for a new area of activity on behalf of ISIS and its Salafi ideology.

ISIS has been forced to painfully give up a key part of its religious ideology, which separates the organization from al-Qaeda and other Salafi groupsthe caliphate idea. It has lost the territory it took over in Syria and Iraq, which it declared the area under caliphate sovereignty and under the control of the caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In Iraq, the area was conquered by government forces with heavy backing from the Americans, the Kurds and Shiite militias sent by Iran. In Syria, the area was mainly conquered by a Kurdish Arab militia which receives American aid and backing.

The caliphate idea was one of the things that allowed ISIS to gain a lot of capital as a result of enslaving the local population, selling oil from the wells it took over, demanding ransom for hostages and imposing taxes on the population. All this is now slipping from its fingers and threatening to disappear. ISIS is losing one stronghold after another in the area defined as a caliphate, and these places are also being occupied by the Syrian army with Russian and Iranian backing.

Alternative channels

The IDFs Intelligence Directorate estimated a long time ago that in such a situation, ISIS would seek two alternative channels. This first channel is mass attacks in Western Europe, North America and Africa, which are carried out not only by ISIS people who have returned from or fled Syria and Iraq, but also by locals inspired by ISISs social media activity. These inspiration attacks, as they are called in the West, allow ISIS to keep gaining prestige and supporters despite the blows it is suffering in the Middle East.

The second channel is decentralizing ISISs activity outside Syria and Iraq. The attempt to turn Libya into an ISIS center failed, and the organization members are now mainly left with Sinai and Boko Harams area of activity in Africa.

The Sinai Peninsula, despite being a limited area in which the Egyptian government is constantly fighting the Islamist organization, is still an attractive place where ISIS occasionally scores achievements. The organization also threatens the Suez Canal and the ships that cross it and is capable of expanding its activity from there into Egypt.

The rocket landing site in the Gaza vicinity, Sunday night. A short-term achievement for ISIS (Photo: Eshkol Regional Council spokesperson)

A number of Bedouin tribe leaders in Sinai, mainly in the south and center of the peninsula, recently protested ISISs activity following promises they received from the Egyptian government and because ISIS is disentangling the traditional-family-tribal fabric that has characterized the Bedouin tribes in Sinai until now. The tribe leaders managed to restrict ISISs activity in southern and central Sinai, but the organization is still active in northern Sinai and is executing suicide bombings and successful attacks on the Egyptian army and police. These attacks are not only murderous but also sophisticated, and because they are carried out in several places simultaneously, they almost always claim a heavy price from the Egyptian security forces.

Egypt is operating its air force and armored forces in Sinai unlimitedly, while Israel is turning a blind eye to the massive amounts of forces and weapons Egypt is bringing into Sinai in contradiction of the security appendix of the peace agreement between the two countries. Recently, Egypt also succeed in reaching an agreement with Hamas, disconnecting ISIS from its ideological logistic backing and from the route it used to have for evacuating injured activists into the Gaza Strip.

Under its new leader in the strip, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas prefers to ease the Gazans distress and reach an agreement with Egypt and a reconciliation agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rather than continue the alliance and the aid provided to the organization. That is the reason he has stepped up the security measures in the Philadelphi Route and is preventing ISIS people from moving in and out of the strip. He is also arresting activists of ISIS-affiliated Salafi organizations within the strip quite intensively.

As a result, ISIS feels the need to act against the enemies of its Sinai branchEgypt, which is fighting the organization with certain yet insufficient success, and Hamas, which is currently cooperating with Egypt in a bid to ease the lives of the strips residents.

Sunday nights operation did bring ISIS the return it had hoped for, at least in the short run. The Rafah Crossing, which had been closed for four months, was not opened Monday morning, and the strips residents were unable to leave for Egypt or return to Gaza. The second achievement is the rocket fire against Israel, which boosts ISISs prestige in the Muslim world and strengthens its image as an organization that fights not only Muslims but also Jews and the other heretics.

Israel is facing a dilemma. The practice is that in any event of fire or an infiltration into Israel, whether from Syria or from the Gaza Strip, the ruler in that area is declared responsible and the IDF acts against it. The spillover fire from Syria, for example, leads to limited attacks on Syrian army posts, and the rocket fire from Gazaalthough it is not Hamas doingleads to limited attacks on Hamas posts.

In Sinai, its a different story. The peninsula is a sovereign Egyptian area, and the Egyptiansespecially President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his peoplefear for their countrys national dignity and wont tolerate Israeli military activity on their territory, even against ISIS.

Aware of the Egyptians sensitivity, Israel usually avoids attacking targets in the Sinai Peninsula, as long as there is no concrete and imminent danger to Israeli lives, like in 2012 when it thwarted a terror attack in the Kerem Shalom area. In such an event, Israel acts without seeking permission, but keeps a low profile so as not to irritate the Egyptians. Sources within ISIS and the foreign press claim Israel secretly attacks ISIS commanders and centers in Sinai when it gets an intelligence-related chance to do so.

Sunday nights rocket fire, which was a strategic move on ISISs part, doesnt fall into any of the categories in which Israel allows itselfdespite the good relations it seeks to maintain with Egyptto engage in military activity inside Sinai. When the fire comes from Sinai, Israel exercises restraint and lets the Egyptians act, especially as the Egyptian army is highly sensitive these days following the loses its suffered in Monday mornings attack in Sheikh Zuweid.

What happened Sunday night possibly marks the beginning of a relocation of ISISs main military activity from Syria and Iraq to Sinai. The Israeli defense establishment is already preparing for this possibility.
Israel's Security Cabinet decided Tuesday, after five hours of discussions, that peace talks with the Palestinians would not be renewed as long as the Palestinians refuse to accept a series of conditions, including Hamas's disarmament, the return of both living Israeli citizens and the bodies of IDF soldiers from Gaza, and Hamas recognizing Israel and honoring past agreements, as well as disengaging from Iran.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu updated US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Israels stance, which could make it very difficult for the Americans to restart peace talks. To support the stance, the Israelis stressed that US President Donald Trump stated in his speech Friday that Hamas was a terror organization.

The decision could also cause trouble for the Egyptians, who brokered the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement over interests that mostly have to do with the battle against ISIS in Sinai.

From right to left: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of Hamas military wing and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photos: Yonatan Sindel, AFP)

The cabinet meeting was divided into two discussions, each lasting two and a half hours. The ministers were briefed by all security bodies: The IDF, the Shin Bet and the Mossad. In a very thorough discussion, the defense officials stressed the Palestinian reconciliation was facing a lot of hurdles, and chances of real reconciliation were slim. The cabinet decision basically affirms a similar 2014 cabinet decision which followed the creation of a previous Palestinian reconciliation government.

Nothing is actually changing. Israel isnt halting its security coordination with the Palestinians, which is in Israel's interest. The gestures Israel decided on before Trumps visit will continue too. Israel will keep transferring tax money it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf and will not impose any sanctions on the PA.

The Qalqilya building plan will remain suspended until further notice and will not be advanced under the current situation. Despite pressure from settler leaders, the cabinet did not discuss massive construction in the settlements or building West Bank bypass roads at a cost of NIS 800 million. As a result, the settlers are planning to step up their protest activities against Netanyahu.

The plan to expand the West Bank city of Qalqilya has been suspended

We must not forget that although the cabinet stated there would be no negotiations until Hamas is disarmed, there have actually been no negotiations for the past three years. The Americans have so far failed to come up with an outline for talks, so the terms unanimously approved by the cabinet apply to new negotiations. On the other hand, senior ministers say this is a significant decision, as the chances the Americans would be able to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table have become slim.

Senior government officials said Israel was unable to accept a situation in which Hamas joins the Palestinian government while holding on to its weapons and pursuing the production of missiles against Israel. Netanyahu said during the cabinet meeting, We wont let it turn into a terror organization with under the guide of a state, like the situation in Lebanon.

The defense officials said Abbas was also concerned he would have the Hezbollah model within his own home. Cabinet ministers argue that was what would actually happen: Abbas will take civil control over Gaza, and Hamas will remain a military organization like Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Abbas is concerned hell have his own Hezbollah (Photo: AFP)

The cabinet decision states: Following previous decisions, the Israeli government will not hold political talks with a Palestinian government that is supported by Hamas, a terror organization calling for the destruction of Israel, as long as the following conditions are not fulfilled:

Hamas will recognize Israel and desist from terror in accordance with the Quarter conditions.

Hamas disarmament.

The return of bodies of Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians held in Gaza.

Gaza will be placed under the full security control of the Palestinian Authority, including border crossings to prevent smuggling.

The PA will continue its activities against Hamas terror infrastructures in Judea and Samaria.

Hamas disengagement from Iran.

Funds and humanitarian equipment will be allowed to enter Gaza only through the PA and the systems created for that purpose.



From right to left: Israeli citizen Avera Mengistu and fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. One of the conditions for renewing negotiations is the return of bodies of Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians held in Gaza

Senior state officials say the conditions set by Israel actually bolster Abbas in his reconciliation talks with Hamas. Abbas doesnt want the Hezbollah model in Gaza either. He is afraid of the tunnels. He is afraid of Hamas growing strength and of its weapons. These terms are convenient for Abbas, one of the sources said.

Abbas favors foothold in Gaza over negotiations

The driving forces behind the wording of the cabinet decision were Ministers Zeev Elkin and Naftali Bennett, who pushed for the reaffirmation of the 2014 cabinet decision that the Israeli government would not hold political negotiations with a Palestinian government supported by Hamas.

The word supported was used to apply to a situation in which the government wont include ministers who are actually affiliated with Hamas, but will still be supported by the organizationjust like the current government led by Rami Hamdallah, which was established following the 2014 reconciliation. The Palestinians used the claim that the government includes no Hamas members to convince the Americans not to cut their aid.

At first, the right-wing ministers believed the prime minister would try to avoid a conflict with the Americans and refuse to adopt an overly tough policy against the Palestinians. They thought Netanyahu would drag his feet and prefer not to make any decision.

The Palestinian governments visit to Gaza (Photo: AP)

PA officials, meanwhile, appeared unfazed by the cabinets decision to suspend the negotiations, as such negotiations have not been held since 2014.

While the American team has not given up on the possibility of bringing the two sides to the negotiating table, the Palestinians believe the chances that the ultimate deal would be signed with Prime Minister Netanyahu are slim to nonexistent. It seems Abbas has also come to terms with the fact he wont be the Palestinian leader who eventually signs a peace agreement with Israel.

The Ramallah leadership will thus keep reaching out to Gaza in a bid to slowly and carefully restore its control of the strip, from the civil responsibility to authority over the crossings. This approach was stressed in the response issued by Abbas spokesman to the cabinet decision: Gaza first, peace with Israel later.

Another reason for the Palestinian sides apparent self-confidence is the strong and stable backing they are receiving from Egypt these days. It seems the initial agreement signed in Cairo hasnt sent the Americans into a state of panic either.

While Hamas and Fatah are still facing major obstacles, at the moment, Abbas likely understands that gambling on a reconciliation, which would give him a foothold in Gaza, is better than gambling on another round of negotiations with the most right-wing government Israel ever had.
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Normally Im a bit of a lone wolf when I travel, keeping to myself. It takes a lot for me to be super outgoing and meet people.

Im quiet, I sit in the back and I observe. Im a people watcher through and through.

But that doesnt mean Im not interested. In fact, Im exceptionally curious, just socially shy and awkward (well I used to be, I know thats hard to believe with this BLOG thing  Im a fake extrovert). But I like to watch people. I imagine what their names are. I invent their backgrounds and stories. I look at how they talk.

And man, let me tell you, Kyrgyzstan is the place for people watching.

For one thing, there are a lot of people. For another, unless youve spent some time in Central Asia, its a place that is probably very different from what youre used to. Also, its just a fascinating cultural place; a giant melting pot of nomadic traditions meet post-Soviet Union vibes slash unique modern Islam.

I mean, Kyrgyzstan and its people couldnt be more interesting to the curious traveler.

For me, it was the kind of place where I wanted to be around people. I was so eager to learn why things were the way they were, what things meant, what different food was, what words meant in the different languages. It goes on and on.

And lucky for me I had different guides with me throughout the whole trip. Its super cheap to hire guides in Kyrgyzstan, and I highly recommend it if you want to learn a lot about the place youre exploring. Youll also meet more people with a guide and translator with you. Its a very helpful foot in the door.

It also helped I had my friend Eric (Instagram) with me to help me shoot photos and video, and he is very much the opposite of me. Incredibly outgoing, Id walk into a room, and hed already know everyones names, stories and probably a few dirty jokes in Kyrgyz before I even introduced myself. It certainly made meeting people heaps easier with him around.

I went to Kyrgyzstan expecting my favorite part to be the nature, but I ended up leaving falling in love with all of the incredible humans I met there. The biggest impression on me was how friendly and welcoming universally across the board everyone was. From the guides to the shepherds, to drivers to grandmas, everyone had a smile and a big cup of tea for you in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan still seems like a place where you wave at people you dont know and always say hello.

One of my goals with photography is to get better at portraiture. Its my favorite type of image but its the hardest for me to shoot because Im naturally quite shy.

I dont feel super relaxed taking other peoples photos yet, and Im still working on developing the fun kind of positive atmosphere that allows the person to feel comfortable enough for you to get a good shot of them. To me, it still feels quite intrusive even though I always ask permission.

Once an awkward turtle, always an awkward turtle.

Luckily Eric to the rescue! I wanted to share some of my favorite captures of the people who made my adventure in Kyrgyzstan so special. The majority were shot by Eric, but hey, some are mine too. I really wanted to share them with you all because each person here touched me in some way and helped me fall in love with this little corner of Central Asia a little bit more. And this is my thank you letter to them for sharing their world with me.

Enjoy!

Are you a people-watcher too when you travel? Do you enjoy portraits? Whats your favorite? Share!

One of the first locals we met on our horse trek over the Bozuchuk Pass

Azamat and his eagle Ak Zholtoi  Kyrgyzstans champion eagle hunter

A local shepherd family we camped with in the mountains

My favorite photo  a quick iPhone snap passing a young shepherd in the mists

Our incredible guide Kanybek pouring tea for us for the first time in Bishkek

A feast in one of our group tents on our horse trek over the Bozuchuk Pass

Our amazing guide Eldos in the Skazka Canyon

Our mountain guide Daniyar as we head into the Bozuchuk Pass

A boy and his little kitten at the Kyzyl-Tuu yurt camp

The cutest, chubbiest baby youve ever seen nomming on some cheese

A local shepherd in the Jergez Valley

Our young guide who led us up to Kol Tur Lake, and carried my camera bag like it weighed nothing on his front for hours as I suffered from bronchitis. He spoke no English and had nothing but smiles and thumbs ups

Working the traditional felt tapestries with Janil Baishova, at the Golden Thimble Workshop in Bakonbaevo  she had the kindest eyes youve ever seen

One of our amazing drivers who drove us all over Issyk-Kul

Outside the first local family yurt we stayed in the Jerghez Gorge

Our amazing host Emil in Jygalan  a mountain village and one of my favorite places in Kyrgyzstan  him and his wife Gulmira run the Alakol guesthouse and it was my favorite place we stayed, there was much food, laughs and vodka til 2am had by all

Bektemirov, one of the national yurt building champions (seriously) and his apprentice

A local shepherd and his baby near Ailanysh

Many thanks to USAID for hosting me in Kyrgyzstan, like always Im keeping it real, all opinions are my own, like you could expect less from me
Leading through Change

Professional Development Event

October 19-20, 2017

K-State Olathe



This event will feature Bruce Tulgan, one of the nations leaders in management training and generational diversity, discussing leading through workplace change. From beginning to end, speakers will provide attendees with tools, best practices and new insights to find success in a changing landscape. The conference is open to all interested professionals.

Tulgan is an author, business consultant and founder of RainmakerThinking Inc.  a research, training and consulting firm that specializes in generational issues in the workplace. His books include: Not Everyone Gets a Trophy and Managing Generation X. He will provide a half-day, hands-on workshop discussing leading through workplace change.

The conference is a collaboration of the MAB program and K-State Olathe, with the support of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City.

Program:

Thursday, October 19 8:00 a.m. Registration and Networking 9:00 a.m. Welcome

Dr. Ralph Richardson, Dean and CEO, Kansas State University Olathe 9:15 a.m. Todays Agribusiness Climate

Dr. Allen Featherstone, KSU Agricultural Economics Department Head, MAB Program Director 9:45 a.m. Break 10:00 a.m. Enter, Shift, Control: Data Risk and Leadership

Jarrod Benson, Koch #Marketing in a Digital Age

Dustin Johansen, Vice President, Osborn & Barr 10:45 a.m. Break 11:00 a.m. Mergers and Acquisitions: Guiding Your Company Through Change

Paul Casady, Executive in Residence, Professor of Practice, Kansas State University Olathe Sky is the Limit: Leveraging Unmanned Aerial Systems

Robert Boyd, FAA Designed Airworthiness Representative, Xwindaero Consultants; Kurt Carraway, Executive Director, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, K-State Univ.; Russ Plaschka, Career and Workforce Development Specialist, Ks Dept of Agriculture 11:45 a.m. Break 12:00 p.m. Conference and KC Ag Business Council Luncheon

Richard B. Myers, President, Kansas State University 1:00 p.m. Leading through Change Workshop

Bruce Tulgan, Founder, RainmakerThinking 5:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception and Networking 6:00 p.m. Dinner and Evening Keynote - Telling our Story in Times of Change

JJ Jones, Co-Founder, Roots & Legacies, Consulting, Inc. Friday, October 20 8:00 a.m. Networking 9:00 a.m. Welcome

Dr. Allen Featherstone, Agricultural Economics Department Head, MAB Program Director 9:15 a.m. Policy Outlook for Leaders - Point/Counterpoint Discussion

Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh, Professor, Kansas State University

Dr. Mark Edelman, Professor, Iowa State University 10:15 a.m. Break 10:30 a.m. Legal Considerations for Leadership

Mark Anstoetter, Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, and Bridget Halbur, Associate, Shook, Hardy & Bacon 11:30 a.m. Conference Wrap Up and Closing Remarks

Dr. Allen Featherstone, Agricultural Economics Department Head, MAB Program Director 12:00 p.m. MAB 20th Anniversary Celebration Luncheon Click here for more information on sessions and speakers.

Thank you to our conference sponsors!

Gold

Silver

Bronze

If you have questions, or are interested in being a sponsor of the event, please contact Deborah Kohl at dkohl@ksu.edu. For more information on sponsorship levels.
President Donald Trump will ask U.S. allies to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program in an upcoming trip to the Asia-Pacific region. Hell also meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Trump has praised Duterte for his deadly war on drugs that has left thousands dead, according to a leaked transcript of an April phone call.

The White House says Trump will travel in November to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines from Nov. 3 to Nov. 14. Trump will also stop in Hawaii.

In South Korea, Trump will meet with President Moon Jae-in and call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea.

In Japan, Trump will meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and participate in a meeting with families of Japanese citizens abducted by the North Korean regime.

Trump will also meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang and attend two trade summits.

The White House says the travel will underscore his commitment to longstanding United States alliances and partnerships, and reaffirm United States leadership in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Vice President Mike Pence is meeting with Japans deputy prime minister on economic issues ahead of President Donald Trumps trip to Asia next month.

Pence says alongside Japan Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso that hes confident the U.S. and Japan will make progress toward their goal of developing stronger economic ties.

Pence kicked off the U.S-Japan economic dialogue during his trip to Japan last spring

Aso says the U.S. and Japanese ties are supported by the two nations close economic relationship. He says they hope to bring the relationship to new heights. The two leaders were also conferring on security issues in the Korean Peninsula. MDT/AP
Asias two biggest economies both have their most powerful leaders in decades  and neither one has much incentive to mend a relationship that has long been volatile.

Polls show Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abes ruling party is heading for a landslide win in an Oct. 22 election, putting him on track to become the longest-serving leader in the countrys history. Similarly, President Xi Jinping may enter his second term next week as Chinas strongest leader in at least a generation.

When both men rose to power in 2012, ties were at the lowest point since the nations agreed to establish diplomatic ties in the early 1970s. Fears of a military clash swirled as ships and planes from both countries tailed one another around disputed islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyus in China. Anti-Japanese demonstrations in China hurt trade and investment.

While Abe and Xi have managed to stabilize ties since then  even meeting one-on-one several times  conflicting interests make it unlikely that the next five years will bring a breakthrough in relations. The divide has been evident recently in their approach toward North Korea, with Xis push for talks contrasting with Abes call for more pressure against Kim Jong Un.

More broadly, Xi is pushing to expand Chinas military and economic influence throughout Asia, while Abe wants to counter that with stronger defense capabilities and alliances.

Abes quest for a more powerful Japan also stems from a strong feeling of insecurity in the face of Chinas aggressiveness  not just in and around Japan, but in East Asia, Giulio Pugliese, a lecturer in war studies at Kings College London and co-author of a book on Sino-Japanese politics, said by email. What we are and will be witnessing is a quieter standoff.

Mistrust between the two countries runs deep. In a poll published by the Genron NPO in September last year, more than 90 percent of Japanese said they had a unfavorable impression of China, and almost 77 percent of Chinese had a negative view of Japan.

Still, the two countries have grown more connected economically despite the animosity. China is Japans biggest trading partner, while Japan is Chinas second-largest. Japan has welcomed about 5 million Chinese visitors so far this year  more than from any other country  and the number continues to grow.

Japan also faces the risk of being left behind as an increasingly confident China seeks a greater say in the global economic and security order. Abe saw a setback when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, while Xi has seen almost 70 countries sign up for his signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

They need each other economically, said Jiang Yuechun, a senior research fellow with China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. Economic cooperation acts as the ballast of this relationship, and that is the reason why the Sino-Japanese relationship cant be burned.

In the near term, analysts are expecting Abe and Xi to meet for the second time this year after they each secure a fresh political mandate. That could happen as early as next month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, where they sealed their first one-on-one meeting in 2014 with an awkward handshake.

If they get together, Abe would likely press his case for a long-delayed three-way summit this year in Japan, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Xi, meanwhile, will seek to persuade Japan to join the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

There have been some signs of a detente.

Unlike previous years, no cabinet ministers in Abes party marked the Aug. 15 anniversary of the wars end with a visit to Tokyos Yasukuni Shrine  a place seen by many in China as a symbol of Japans past military aggression. Incursions by Chinese government vessels into what Japan sees as its territorial waters around the disputed islands  often used as a diplomatic signal  remained steady in August, rather than spiking as they did last year.

In a speech last month in Tokyo, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua said there was a tendency to gradually improve the overall trend despite complexities in the relationship. He noted that Japan and China have strengthened cooperation in trade, investment and finance after Abe recognized the importance of Xis Belt and Road Initiative.

Still, comments made after a visit by Japanese dignitaries to China last month for an event marking the 45th anniversary of the normalization of ties showed that large obstacles remain. Yu Zhengsheng, the Communist Partys No. 4 leader, said that complex problems remained between Japan and China and that Abe should take the initiative to fix them.

I thought it would be a conversation about how great things were, but he was surprisingly harsh, former foreign minister Yohei Kono, who attended the meeting, told reporters in Tokyo afterward.

Noriyuki Kawamura, a professor at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, said the mood was similar when he attended an anniversary conference in China last month. The Abe administrations public criticism of China over its actions in the South China Sea  as well as its dispatch of military vessels to the region  are particular stumbling blocks, he said.

Even so, some analysts see a need for Japan to engage with China to bring about a peaceful solution to regional problems like North Korea. Closer ties would also help Japan influence China as its growing strength changes the world order, according to Bonji Ohara, a former naval attache at the Japanese embassy in Beijing.

The problem now is who will be making the international rules, with the rise of China, said Ohara, now a senior research fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo. China has said clearly its not happy with the current rules, but theres no discussion of how new rules can be created. We need to have that discussion, and that cant happen without strong political ties. Isabel Reynolds, Bloomberg
The Angolan government will submit to parliament a proposal for a competition law to bring an end to monopolies and other imperfections in the countrys market, the new Angolan president said on Monday in Luanda, cited by Angolan news agency Angop.

Joao Lourenco, in a State of the Nation address at the opening meeting of the First Legislative Session of the 4th Legislature of the National Assembly, said that the government would establish a legal framework to facilitate the operation of companies, which promote and defend free enterprise, competitiveness and competition in order to safeguard consumers rights.

President Lourenco also said that he will pay special attention to companies that face difficult situations and even struggle for survival due to the crisis, as they guarantee employment, the sustainability of families and keep the economy running.

He reiterated that he will propose tax incentives for companies that decide to invest in the interior of the country, including those that promote cooperation between the city and the countryside, reducing regional imbalances and poverty, to increase employment and income for families.

In his speech, the Head of State also noted the governments program for export promotion and import substitution, with the active participation of domestic and foreign investors, a strong focus on family agriculture and also on the mechanization of production methods. MDT/Macauhub
The trend of co-working spaces has been on the rise, particularly in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with entrepreneurs, creatives and start-up businesses engaged in these spaces.

The main benefits of co- working spaces are that they allow start-ups to save capital on rent and share creative ideas. Rex Loi, a Macau- based entrepreneur, recently opened a co-working space in the region and he aims to grow the trend in Macau.

Co-working spaces are generally grouped into three categories, according to their variety of tenants. The early and still popular model targets young freelancers and artists, while the other types mainly cater to startups and multinational companies.

Loi, who is the owner of ItWorks! co-working space in Macau, said he first experienced the trend when he resided in Taiwan and upon returning to Macau he saw the need for such spaces to be available in the region.

I was originally a freelancer and I met a group of people that have a need for this space. Because some spaces in Macau are too big, they dont need that much space, the young founder explained.

The company caters to freelancers and startups in the city and provides users with a set of equipment and a set of services.

With a monthly membership fee of MOP1,500, Loi said ItWorks! currently has five members in addition to their casual users who only acquire a day pass, which costs MOP80.

Speaking to the Times, Loi remarked that rent remains a challenge to new entrepreneurs and startups who do not require a large space. With the use of co-working space, these residents will be able to save a significant amount of capital.

Referencing several regions where co-working spaces are widely used, the entrepreneur is confident that the trend will also increase in Macau.

Its just the beginning. Hong Kong has developed this culture for a long time but we just started a year or two ago, Loi argued.

There are more and more start-ups in Macau and some technical freelancers only need to use the computer to start their jobs so they should try to rent just rent a [space] and start their work, the founder recommended.

ItWorks! also offers users access to conference rooms to conduct business activities and events when they have the need.

Meanwhile Matthew Lam, a user of the co-working space, believed that the space is useful for expanding his network.

The 23-year old user noted that he chooses a co- working space rather than working from home, noting a co-working environment enables me to work more efficiently, it has less distractions and he continued to say that ItWorks is a great place for him to meet people.

For the co-working space owner, he believes that such spaces increase the users collaboration by providing them with a place and a community where sharing ideas relating to their projects and businesses will happen naturally.

The main core value of the working space is people, for example connections. In Taiwan, its more prominent, Loi compared.

The founder added that the culture of co-working space in Macau is not as evident compared to Hong Kong or Taiwan but he predicts it will expand in Macau. Most of its local users are under the age of 40 and are not yet capable of renting a space independently through the real estate market.

Usually these people are starting their business or careers, and usually the problem they face is the rent. The rent is too high so they are attracted to this place, Loi said.

In the future, Loi hopes to hold activities so that the users will be able to share their experiences of working in the co-working space with theirs who are considering becoming members.

New work trend in Hong Kong attracts multinational companies

T

he popularity of co-working spaces has risen significantly in Hong Kong.

A recent report by the South China Morning Post indicated that the users of co-working spaces are diversifying past individuals involved in start-ups and small businesses; the spaces are becoming attractive to multinational companies who are keen on building flexibility in their real estate portfolios.

As cited in the report, Hong Kong based co-work space Campfire Collaborative Spaces offers private and shared office spaces, meeting rooms and chill-out zones.

Occupying a few floors in an industrial building, Campfire aims to create an industry- oriented ecosystems  co-working communities for people in the same field.

Along with solving the dilemma of the citys high rents, Campfire also aims to create a network for young entrepreneurs.

Were entrepreneurs in multiple industries, and weve always found we draw the most inspiration from people in the same fields. Were creating these spaces with that in mind, says Albert Fung, one of the companys co-founders.

The founders of the co-work space also aim to create links among each other and facilitate introductions for suppliers, partners and distributors and clients to assist their co-entrepreneurs to run their businesses.

Co-founder Wang Tse even hinted that such spaces would allow entrepreneurs and startups to focus more on their businesses resources rather than worry on spending its capital on rents.

Our members add value to each other, and co-working enables them to save money so they can pursue a more balanced lifestyle and utilize their resources towards developing their business, Tse said.

Real estate services firm Colliers indicated that by 2030, 30 percent of all office space will be co-working. These co-founders believe that sharing economies will give developers the chance to better utilize space.
Australia and East Timor agreed on the full text of a draft treaty defining maritime boundaries, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said in a statement released in The Hague, Netherlands.

The statement said that this draft treaty delimits the maritime border between the two countries in the Timor Sea, and addresses the legal status of the Greater Sunrise gas field, the establishment of a Special Regime for Greater Sunrise, a path to resource development and resulting revenue sharing.

The two countries will now continue their internal approval procedures for signing the Treaty, said the statement.

The meetings held in The Hague are part of a dialogue for conciliation between Timor-Leste and Australia, conducted by a Conciliation Commission under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and overseen by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The document adds that as the two countries have agreed on the delimitation of maritime borders, attention is now focused on the Greater Sunrise field and the Conciliation Commission will remain involved in the process to ensure that a well-informed decision is made.

The main unresolved issue is how the gas from the Greater Sunrise field will be processed, particularly if a pipeline will be built to Darwin in Australias Northern Territory or to the south coast of Timor-Leste, and the decision will affect how revenues will be shared between the two countries.

The Greater Sunrise field contains estimated reserves of 144 billion cubic metres of gas and 226 million barrels of gas condensate, with a total value of USD40 billion. MDT/Macauhub
The sixth edition of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) ended yesterday with a ceremony attended by the Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and Executive Chairman of GTEF, Alexis Tam. Next year, the European Union will be invited to be a partner region.

In his closing speech, Tam remarked that the widening scope of participation in the Forum demonstrates its increasing influence.

The Secretary also emphasized the commitment to pursuing the vision of building an advanced international tourism platform that brings together decision makers and leaders of the global tourism industry.

The Forum has underscored the remarkable role of our city in the region. Not only is Macau eagerly seizing the opportunity of the Belt and Road Initiative, we are also a core member in Chinas strategic planning of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area development, Tam said. We task ourselves to enhance the synergy effect these national projects will play with our own positioning as the world center of tourism and leisure.

Also at the closing ceremony, GTEFs vice chairman and secretary-general, Pansy Ho, said, With political will, psychological consensus and mutual trust, regional collaboration can create a sustainable ecosystem likened to a spider web.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, the event brought together around 1,500 ministerial officials of tourism and related sectors, industry leaders, experts, scholars and participants from across the globe.

During the GTEF, the World Tourism Organization and the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre presented their fourth annual joint research report of Asia Tourism Trends. The 2017 report analyzes the prospect of future tourism development in Asia, with the hope of guiding decision makers and industry leaders in their formulation of long-term development plans.
The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia slammed into Ireland with wind gusts of up to 130 kph yesterday [Macau time], killing at least three people, grounding planes, shutting schools and causing widespread power outages.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people to stay indoors until the storm passed. Tens of thousands of homes were without power and the military was placed on standby. Some hurricane-force gusts were reported 30 years to the day after a weather event dubbed the Great Storm of 1987 battered southern England.

It is a very dangerous storm, Varadkar said. The last time there was a storm this severe, 11 lives were lost, he added, referring to Hurricane Debbie, which hit Ireland in 1961.

Although Ophelia has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, Irelands National Emergency Coordination Group on Severe Weather warned that the storm is still unprecedented, with serious life-threatening conditions.

Irelands weather service, Met Eireann, described the storm as the most powerful on record to have ever been this far east in the Atlantic.

Forecasters warned of flying debris, such as tiles blown from roofs. Large waves around coastal districts tossed sand and rocks onto coastal roads, seafronts and properties.

Wind warnings were in place for Northern Ireland, parts of Wales and western parts of England. Planes were grounded at several locations in the British Isles.

Some 130 flights were cancelled at Dublin Airport, while flights were also grounded at Manchester Airport. Both Ryanair and Easy Jet cancelled flights at Belfast International Airport, with more cancellations expected. Several flights to British airports were also diverted because of unusual odors on board thought to be associated with the remnants of the storm.

Authorities warned anyone with travel plans to contact their airline.

In parts of the United Kingdom and in Frances Brittany region, the sky turned an eerie color as Ophelias winds carried a mix of sand from the Sahara and particles from forest fires in Spain and Portugal, where 40 people have died. On social media, people posted pictures of London landmarks against yellow-orange skies.

A non-profit group that provides lifesaving services around the British Isles warned people to stay away from seas and beaches.

Matt Crofts, lifesaving manager for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, said coastal waters are particularly dangerous and unpredictable, with large waves and swells being a major risk.

As tempting as it is to watch crashing surf, it isnt worth the risk of being struck by large waves that can easily knock weather watchers off their feet, Crofts said.

The sea is far more powerful than you think and your chances of survival are slim if you are dragged into the swell, he said.

And there is more to come. Flights and ferries were cancelled in parts of Scotland, and authorities warned of coastal flooding in the southwest. Danica Kirka, London, AP
Thousands more Rohingya Muslims are fleeing large-scale violence and persecution in Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh, where more than half a million others are already living in squalid and overcrowded camps, according to witnesses and a drone video shot by the U.N. office for refugees.

The UNHCR video shot yesterday [Macau time] shows thousands upon thousands of Rohingya Muslims trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees stretches for a few kilometers.

Witnesses say a new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands of newcomers near one border crossing yesterday. Several said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

In Geneva yesterday, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya had fled since Sunday night  raising the overall total to 582,000 refugees who have left Myanmar since Aug. 25.

He said the latest influx came through the Anjuman Para border crossing point, and many of the new refugees explained they had fled when their villages were set on fire. Anjuman Para is in the Palong Khali area where the drone video was shot.

As of this morning, they are still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village in Bangladesh, Mahecic told a news briefing. They are waiting for permission to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side.

The violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmars Rakhine state erupted after a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security outposts on Aug. 25 and the military responded with brutal attacks against the Rohingya Muslim population.

The exodus of Rohingya has continued, with a few small breaks, over the last eight weeks.

The new arrivals, almost all terrified and starving, described scenes of incredible violence with army troops and Buddhist mobs attacking Rohingya homes. The U.N. has described the violence as textbook ethnic cleansing.

More recent refugees have also said the Rohingya were being starved in a bid to make them leave.

A woman who spoke to the AP on yesterday after her arrival said they had had no food to eat.

We came here two nights ago with lots of difficulties. It took us eight days to reach here, said Anjuma, who gave just one name.

Several refugees said Bangladesh border guards were not letting them move toward the refugee camps and they were forced to spend the night in the open in pelting rain.

Myanmar officials have denied any systematic violence against the Rohingya Muslims. On Monday, the commander in chief of the countrys army accused them of bullying Buddhists in Rakhine with the help of foreign organizations, which he said includes the United Nations.

Senior General Min Aung referred to the Rohingya as Bengalis as he spoke to Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. under secretary-general for political affairs.

Many Buddhists in Myanmar call the Rohingya Bengalis and say they migrated illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in the country for generations. Most Rohingya have been denied citizenship since 1982 and are excluded from the countrys 135 official ethnic groups, which effectively renders them stateless.

Bengalis themselves need to accept the fact that they are Bengalis, not Rohingya, the army chief said. Dar Yasin, Coxs Bazar, AP
Japans corporate enfant terrible Takafumi Horie built one of the countrys most successful Internet businesses, stood for parliament, went to prison and started a space company that aims to put the countrys first privately funded rocket into orbit. Now he has a new frontier: cattle.

The founder of Interstellar Technologies has teamed up with his friend Hisato Hamada to form Wagyumafia, which brands, promotes and distributes Wagyu beef. Horie, 44, compares the soft, fatty meat with Domaine Romanee-Conti, a wine estate in Burgundy, France, that has built its brand into one of the most expensive in the world.

While Wagyu is as scarce as good Burgundy, it has been sold cheaply by JA, said Horie, referring to Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, the nations largest farmers group. Im confident that the beef can be sold at much higher prices in global markets.

Since unveiling their first, members-only restaurant in Tokyo in September 2016, Horie and Hamada have opened three more shops. Membership has risen to 1,000, about 300 of whom are from overseas. Wagyumafia has held tasting events in New York, Paris and Singapore and plans to open its first overseas restaurant in San Francisco next year.

By mafia we mean a syndicate of ex-IT entrepreneurs, said Hamada, 40, former publisher of an online movie magazine. Our project is to deliver Wagyu produced by selected farmers directly to global buyers, bypassing middlemen and without advertising. We find customers via social media and pop-up events.

Wagyu comes from four Japanese breeds of beef cattle  Black, Brown, Shorthorn and Polled  that typically produce intensely marbled meat, with a higher percentage of unsaturated fat than most other beef. That makes the soft, flavorful steaks the worlds most-expensive meat.

At Hamadas new shop in Tokyos Roppongi district, a favorite area for foodies, Wagyu sells for 30,000 yen (USD268) a kilo. (The cheapest bottle of Romanee Conti costs about 46,000 yen, with top vintages in the city fetching more than 1 million yen.)

Wagyu prices are rising in Japan due to the increased costs of calves, Hamada said. The average price of a Wagyu-producing calf reached a record 852,287 yen in December, more than double the rate four years ago, according to Zen-Noh, the trading arm of JA. As many of the older farmers retire, companies are being forced to rear their own cattle to keep up supplies.

To cope with rising costs for Wagyu calves, we decided to start breeding them by ourselves, said Aichiro Yamaguchi, a spokesman for Japanese retailer Daiei, a subsidiary of the nations biggest supermarket chain operator Aeon Co.

Daiei, which operates Wagyu feedlots on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, bought 15 Wagyu cows in December for breeding. The company plans to expand its herd to 500 by 2020 and aims to slash beef-production costs by 30 percent, he said.

Hamada first met a Wagyu farmer when he was distributing Food, Inc., a documentary film about corporate farming in the U.S. A farmer who saw the film invited Hamada to visit his farm in the southern Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki.

The farmer, Muneharu Ozaki, feeds his cattle organic ryegrass and natural mineral water, with a home-made mix of 12 ingredients including barley and corn. He shuns additives such as antiseptics and antibiotics.

What I want to produce is tasty beef that my family members can enjoy without any safety concerns, said Ozaki, who studied cattle farming for two years in the U.S.

Hamada was impressed by the taste of Ozakis beef and his way of raising cattle. Later, while working as a a French movie buyer, he met three-Michelin-star chef Alain Ducasse, who told him Wagyu could become a killer ingredient for Japan in the global food market.

He and Horie, the former president of web portal Livedoor, are trying to build a premium brand as demand for Japanese beef soars overseas, especially in China, where food quality and safety has become an increasing concern.

Japans biggest export market was Hong Kong which bought 353 tons in the first six months of 2017, followed by the U.S. with 201 tons. Cambodia, a transit point for Wagyu shipments to China, was the third largest buyer with 197 tons.

China maintains a ban on Japanese beef after Japans first incidence of mad-cow disease in 2001. Exports are set to expand as Taiwan lifted its ban on Japanese beef in September.

Japan reached a trade agreement with the European Union this year to eliminate tariffs on Japanese beef. The government aims to boost Wagyu exports to 25 billion yen by 2020.

Wagyu is on the same path as sushi, which has expanded rapidly across the globe in the past decade, said Dan Christiansen, food director of MASH steak house in Copenhagen, the biggest overseas retailer of Japanese Wagyu.

Wagyumafia sources five brands of beef from 15 farms, including Ozakis. The best known Wagyu abroad is Kobe beef, the top-grade meat from Tajima, an old province that is now in the north of Hyogo prefecture. Tajima is a mountainous region in the west of Japan with few open fields, clear spring water and chilly nights.

Tajima cattle are smaller than other Black Wagyu types and their meat has better texture, said Kyukou Tanaka, a 42-year-old farmer from the area. The region produces less than 1 percent of the beef cattle grown in Japan.

Our cows have maintained a pure lineage over the past 2,000 years because they are kept in an isolated area surrounded by mountains, Tanaka said in an interview in Tokyo. Their purity is the biggest difference from other types of Wagyu. His 40-month cow was selected as the champion in the Wagyu contest of Hyogo prerefecture last year, and sold for 200,000 yen a kilogram.

Wagyumafia seeks to buy only the top 10 percent of Kobe beef, Hamada said. Its famous Kobe beef cutlet sandwich costs 20,000 yen.

Its incredible. There is nothing like this, said American percussionist Lenny Castro after tasting Tanakas beef at a Wagyumafia restaurant opening in September. Its totally different from other beef.

Hamada and Horie are in talks to license Wagyumafia shops in the U.S., U.K., Hong Kong, Thailand and Macau.

Im always thinking how to hack the world, Horie said. With Wagyu, Ill make my name known to the world. Aya Takada, Hiromi Horie, Bloomberg
For comparison, the following year Apple and the iPhone won the same award for Best in Show. In subsequent years, Nike, Tesla and Microsoft were recipients.

Still, Eder was guaranteed nothing despite winning the prestigious award. He worked on his vision for seven years while also working full time as a designer at Priority Designs in Columbus, Ohio.

Progress came slowly, but surely. It hasnt been a full-court press this entire time, he said. The first several years were a slow drip process.

After all, Eder graduated in 2006 and the first preproduction unit wasn't built until 2013.



That type of timeline and commitment is a challenge not every newly graduated design student can hurdle.

Many students will start out of school with an idea and after a year or so they give it up," said DAAP Professor Craig Vogel They have to make a choice. [Some] stay with it [and] they do whatever they can to focus on it.

Eder hopes the commercial launch of Include Fitness will help the people who need it the most, like Rosemarie Rossetti, who was paralyzed from the waist down when a tree fell on her during a bicycle ride.



Rossetti, an internationally known speaker and advocate for universal design and green building, knows how difficult visits to the gym can be for wheelchair users.
BOISE  AARP Idaho will host a statewide telephone town hall at 10 a.m. Thursday to discuss timely health insurance issues such as Medicare open enrollment, Medicare fraud and recent rule changes regarding Medicare supplements. This opportunity is available for anyone with Medicare questions, regardless of being an AARP member or not.

Dean Cameron, director of the Idaho Department of Insurance, and Shannon Hohl, supervisor of the Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisors program, will provide up-to-date information about Medicare and answer callers questions. Lupe Wissel, AARP state director, will moderate the discussion.

To take part in the telephone town hall, call 877-229-8493, toll-free, a few minutes before the call begins and use code 114768 or visit www.https://vekeo.com/event/aarpidaho-3463/.

Medicare beneficiaries who want to make changes to their coverage can do so during open-enrollment, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.
Twin Falls County

Monday arraignments

Jose M. Valncia Flores, 40, Wenatchee, Wash.; failure to carry drivers license on person, failure to purchase or invalid drivers license, $500 bond, warrant vacated Oct. 15.

April M. Cloward, 24, Elko, Nev.; possession of a controlled substance, Released on own recognizance, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Amber Nicole Spradling, 19, Jerome; robbery (conspiracy), robbery, $150,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Christopher L. Nevarez, 32, Buhl; false information provided to an officer, failure to purchase or invalid drivers license, released on own recognizance, public defender appointed, pretrial Nov. 14.

Vianey A. Picazo, 27, Bakersfield, Calif.; possession of a controlledsubstance, false information provided, possession of paraphernalia, bond $35,000 public defender appointed, prelim. Oct 27.

Jose Camarena, 39, Bakersfield, Calif.; use or possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use, possession of a controlledsubstance, providing false information to an officer, $50,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Miguel Gonzalez-Valdez, 24, Burley; battery, released on own recognzance, public defender denied, pretrial Nov. 14.

Oscar Garcia Jr., 25, Hansen; drug trafficking in marijuana, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, $150,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Jennifer Kay Owens, 33, Twin Falls; possession of a controlled substance, $50,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Jeremy Dee Glandon, 46, Twin Falls; domestic battery, attempted strangulation, second degree kidnapping, $100,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Eric John Oakland, 23, Edmonds, Wash.; possession of a controlled substance, $35,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Orlando Omar Alvarez, 42, Filer; driving under the influence second offense  felony, $50,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Ginan Mohamad Hassan, 22, Edmonds, Wash.; possession of a controlled substance, $35,000 bond, public defender appointed, prelim. Oct. 27.

Jose Camarena, 39, Bakersfield, Calif.; fugitivestate of California warrant (2 counts), $35,000 bond, defendant waived counsel, waiver of extradition signed.

Tuesday arraignments

Jason Cory England, 37, Twin Falls; driving under the influencesecond offense, bond previously posted, private counsel, pretrial Nov. 28.

Grant Arnold Dixon, 20, Buhl; trespassing, unlawful entry, $1000 bond, public defender appointed, pretrial Nov. 28.

Michelle Baldwin, 49, Jerome; battery, released on own recognizance, public defender appointed, pretrial Nov. 21.
WENDELL  Try to create and share a document using Google Docs, Kari Wardle told a group of Wendell teachers.

The content doesnt have to be creative, Wardle said Friday, pointing out a couple of teachers working in Wendell Elementary Schools computer lab. Those guys are busy putting clip art in over there.

About 25 teachers were learning how to create and share digital documents. Its a tool they can bring back to their classrooms to share information and collaborate with fellow teachers, or have students submit assignments digitally and provide quick feedback.

The training was part of a PBS pilot project, the Teacher Community Program, launched last year.

It operates in five states with rural areas: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, North Dakota and Iowa. A full-time certified teacher for each state is working as a teacher ambassador.

What theyre trying to do is really figure out how they can support teachers in states that are largely rural and have fairly large populations of low socio-economic students, Wardle said.

Training focuses largely on helping teachers implement technology and digital media in a meaningful way in their classrooms.

Teachers are navigating challenges such as poverty among their students and a lack of devices such as iPads or Chromebooks to use in their classrooms  or a lack of training on how to use what they have.

Wardle, who has been a teacher ambassador for Idaho Public Television since January, is working with teachers in rural communities across Idaho. She was previously a fifth-grade teacher at White Pine Elementary School in Burley for eight years.

She works regularly  with visits at least once a month  with four Magic Valley schools: Wendell Elementary School, Wendell Middle School, Gooding Elementary School and Popplewell Elementary School in Buhl.

Wardle has also partnered with elementary schools in Marsing and Emmett to provide teacher training, but doesnt visit on a regular basis.

She wants to increase awareness of free, standards-based resources from PBS and Idaho Public Television available for teachers to use in their classroom.

Wardle said she has learned is theres often a lack training for teachers on how to use technology in their classroom. Schools and school districts invest money in devices, roll carts of iPads and Chromebooks into classrooms and say, See you later, she said.

As a result, some teachers dont use the equipment or use it ineffectively, she said.

Using a phone or iPad as an individual is a way different ball game than putting it in front of 30 second-graders, Wardle said. I think districts take that for granted.

Also, the playing field for school technology isnt level, she said, adding many Boise-area schools have one device per student, a ratio often lower in rural districts.

At Wendell Elementary School, Wardle comes to campus twice a month for Tech Talk Thursdays. She provides training to small groups of teachers during their 40-minute preparation time.

Wardle connects well with teachers and shares stories from her own classroom experiences, Wendell Elementary Principal Paula Chapman said, and that keeps training sessions engaging and relevant. Teachers benefit most from when it comes from another teacher.

Its also beneficial to receive on-site training focused on smaller schools, she said, without having to drive to Twin Falls. In addition to training and curriculum resources, Wardle can also help with co-teaching or watching a lesson.

She has really become a wealth of different resources, Chapman said.

Last school year, Idaho Public Television started by looking at seven potential Magic Valley school districts to serve, including the percentage of children living in poverty and test scores.

We felt like surrounding the Magic Valley area would be a good place to start, Wardle said, partly because Twin Falls is a nearby hub that could help with finding community partners.

Wardle conducted a needs assessment with six schools interested. She narrowed down the pool to four schools.

Chapman found out last school year Wendell Elementary was among the schools selected for the three-year Teacher Community Program. Now, its in the second year.

Wardle said she has discovered teachers are hungry for training on how to use technology in their classroom, and to make technology-driven lesson plans.

Teachers see the value of using it, she said. They just dont have the training they need.

Not anymore.
TWIN FALLS  Women in Idaho working full-time jobs generally earn 76.5 percent as much as men, according to a new study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2016, Idaho women working full-time jobs reported median weekly earnings of $645. Mens weekly earnings were $843.

And it may seem the gap between mens and womens salaries is widening: Just three years ago, Idaho women were making more than 85 percent of what men made.

The study didnt compare job-to-job, but measured wage differences based on a survey of 60,000 households nationwide.

Economists say the difference in wages between men and women could reflect the differences in the kinds of industries that employ predominantly women versus those that employ predominantly men.

Retail is an area where women are more predominant, and its lower paying, Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Todd Johnson said.

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, in 2016 women accounted for about 60 percent of the retail workforce in Twin Falls County and Idaho as a whole.

Womens wages may also be lower if they work in education  a field in which 69 percent of Twin Falls County workers were women.

And while women hold a significant percentage of hospital jobs  75 percent of them statewide  oftentimes they are working in the lower-paying positions, such as nursing, Johnson said.

In food processing, where more than 1,900 Twin Falls County workers were employed in 2016, women make up only 32 percent of the workforce. An increase in these higher-paying jobs may not be as likely to be helping women. But women make up a growing percentage of food processing workers. In 2012, only 27.8 percent were women.

Idaho Department of Labor Regional Economist Jan Roeser said sometimes, traditional gender roles can affect whether a woman can attend college or how long it takes.

The caretaker role is one that really impacts women, she said.

But the rate of women enrolling in college is growing, Roeser said.

Theyre seeing thats really needed to get ahead, she said.

Since 1998, Idaho women have typically made between 71 percent and 86 percent of what men made. Whats important to keep in mind is the fluctuations between years is still statistically close, Johnson said.

In percentage terms, its really not as drastic as it might immediately appear, he said.

And the apparent decrease in womens earnings compared to mens in Idaho may be even less significant considering the small sample size.

Womens weekly earnings in Idaho ranked 49th among the 50 states in 2016; and mens weekly wages ranked 40th.
BOISE  The Idaho State Department of Education is now accepting holiday-card contest submissions from Idaho students in grades K-6. The deadline for submitting artwork is Nov. 13. Entries should be mailed to: Idaho State Department of Education, Holiday-card Contest, attn.: Jo Ann Bujarski, P.O. Box 83720, Boise, 83720-0027.

Drawings should be on 8.5 x 11-inch paper in a landscape format and must be labeled on the back with the students name, grade, school, school district and teachers name. Students are encouraged to completely fill the page but keep the design simple, using as many colors as they want. Students may use watercolors, colored paper, magic markers, crayons or a combination of those items.

Winning entries from each grade level will be published on the Department of Education website, and one drawing will be selected for use as the departments official holiday card. The young artist who submits the winning design will receive cards for personal use. For a look at past winners and contest guidelines, go to www.https://www.sde.idaho.gov/events/card-contest/.
BURLEY  Firefighters extinguished a blaze Oct. 16 at a vegetable-dehydrating plant, Idaho Dehydration and Processing LLC, also known as Ida Pro, in southwest Burley.

This was the third major fire in four months there, said Shannon Tolman, Burley fire chief.

Tolman said the Oct. 16 fire was different from the other two. It started inside the plant in the companys main tumbler that is used to dry the product. The 911 dispatch at 1:30 p.m. as a stack on fire at the plant, 2601 Washington Ave.

The cause is still undetermined.

Tolman said firefighters had the initial fire under control within a half hour but there were additional hot spots that they put out. One of the hot spots went through the tubing system and started another fire in a scrubber to the east of the plant, he said. The scrubber was the location of the two other fires.

Sparks caused the other two fires, Tolman said.

Firefighters were on scene for six hours but had the fire completely under control in three hours.

We stayed for a while and watched things, Tolman said.
TWIN FALLS  Its a symbol of accomplishment and celebration: Ringing a bell after finishing chemotherapy treatment.

Its something Kristi Hill wanted to do.

Within one week in September 2013, she found out she had stage three uterine cancer and shed become a grandmother for the first time.

Around that time, she was watching the TLC television show The Little Couple.

(Jennifer Arnold) had the same cancer I did, Hill said. When she finished chemo, she had the opportunity to ring the bell in the chemo suite.

Hill told her husband she wanted to do that. But St. Lukes Mountain States Tumor Institute in Twin Falls didnt have a bell.

On Hills last day of treatment, two friends gave her a bell. When she rang it, patients at MSTI heard it and started clapping.

Right away, Hill knew she wanted to donate the bell to MSTI. Now, its mounted on a wall.

Hill recently celebrated four years of being cancer-free and took her granddaughter to Disneyland. And she recently found out shell have a second grandchild soon, a boy.

An outpatient imaging registered nurse at St. Lukes, Hill interacts with cancer patients every day. She refers to herself as the bell lady.

Being a cancer survivor is a common denominator she shares with cancer patients, she said, and its an ice breaker when she discloses she has walked a similar path.

It makes us besties right away, she said.

Hill often hears stories about patients ringing the bell when they complete their cancer treatment, including one woman who rang it so hard part of it broke.

For those still in treatment, its encouraging to see others ring the bell, Hill said. Every bit of hope, thats what they need along the way.
HANSEN  Ever had your spine tingle? Or felt the hair rise on the back of your neck? If not, youll have that chance at the weeks end.

Spooky stories, sights and sounds will abound Friday and Saturday at the historic Rock Creek Stage Station and Stricker Homesite south of Hansen.

Even if youve been to Stricker After Dark before, this year will be something new and different, said Jennifer Hills, president of Friends of Stricker and descendant of Herman and Lucy Stricker.

At this years Stricker After Dark, volunteers will take guests on a candlelit tour of the 1900 Stricker home along the Old Oregon Trail.

Guests can also take a moonlit stroll through the grounds, sit by a roaring campfire, or visit the Interpretive Center.

Thousands of emigrants in the 19th century stopped at the site to rest. Some never left, and are buried in a nearby cemetery.

The house tour is recommended for ages 6 and up, and children cannot be carried on the tour.

All the proceeds from Stricker After Dark stay at the Stricker site and will go toward maintaining and preserving the site.

Find Friends of Stricker on Facebook.
TWIN FALLS  Weeks after being placed on administrative leave, Twin Falls fire chief has resigned.

Tim Soule sent a letter late Friday notifying city administration of his immediate resignation. The city announced Tuesday that it accepted. Soule had been on paid administrative since Aug. 29 as the city conducted an investigation. City officials have declined to disclose what they were probing, other than to say it was not connected to criminal activity.

Tuesday marked one year to the date since Soule was sworn in as fire chief, with an annual salary of $123,188.

According to a legal separation agreement obtained by the Times-News, Soule will continue to be paid through Dec. 16, representing gross pay of $26,059. After withholding and retirement, the net salary payment is $18,823.53.

Additionally, the city has agreed to pay out $7,832.51 in gross pay for accrued vacation; $2,538.78 for insurance and $4,341.43 for the employers retirement contribution.

The parties also agreed to the specific wording in a press release to announce Soules departure.

City Manager Travis Rothweiler said in a statement: Soule possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience about fire and emergency response services. Its difficult for us to lose that, but we also recognize that not all professional relationships are the right fit, and moving in a new direction will benefit the organization and community.

The city does not intend to publicly discuss what led Soule to leave, but it will explain the reasons to battalion chiefs, union representatives and other fire department leadership, according to agreement. But only if they sign non-disclosure agreements that prohibit them from telling others what they learn.

Soule also issued a statement: The Twin Falls community is fortunate to have such outstanding men and women serving their life safety needs with the Twin Falls Fire Department. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of initiatives, over the past year, that have benefited the Department, City and surrounding community.

An Ohio native, Soule began his firefighting career in the suburbs of Cleveland before moving on to Kalispell, Mont. Prior to moving to Twin Falls, he served as deputy chief of the East Fork Fire Protection District in Minden, Nev. He has more than 25 years of experience in fire and emergency services.

Soule was selected from among three semi-finalist candidates based on qualifications in emergency management, leadership and community involvement.

Since his leave from duty, the departments operations have been managed by three battalion chiefs, with the captains reporting to them.
Jayco is expanding its operations in Twin Falls. Great news even with our low unemployment rate. The more skilled jobs will be filled by people who have been under employed, and those jobs taken by people who want more hours or pay. All of this is a good thing for our community.

County Commissioner Don Hall was quoted as saying, Ive had this theory that a community is either growing or dying. You cant stay static in this environment. I agree with him; however, I want to emphasize the last sentence. In fact, I will add that growth is not as important as dynamism.

There are probably as many problems with growth as there are with decline in a community. Growth does have the advantage of positive feeling, which most people would rather deal with. Unfortunately, the positive feelings can somehow overcome caution and looking further into the other consequences of that growth.

The advantage a community or a business gains from growth should always be economic resilience. Both businesses and communities need to be able to survive when economic conditions threaten survival. Having diverse money-generating entities is a main part of resilience. Businesses who gain their profits from diverse sections of the economy, and employ and develop workers with diverse skills, can prevent tough times from overtaking an entire community. Having more than one anchor business as well as a fair number of mid-size employers not dependent entirely on any one of them is also a way to have a resilient business climate.

I caution, however, that resilience is harmed by resource mismanagement, and that is a problem only government can deal with. Increased urbanization anywhere usually means taking agricultural land out of production. It can also alter complex ecosystems. The loss of agriculture is a loss of economic potential. Ecosystems include not only threatened biodiversity; poor management can damage watersheds and air quality, which make further economic expansion difficult.

The infrastructure needed to support increased population: schools, housing, health care, roads, utilities, and quality-of-life enhancement are all a part of the resources needed for growth. These resources create positive economic activity. However, for the parts financed through a governmental entity, revenue must equal expense or the infrastructure will hinder economic resiliency.

Two government tools handle some of the problem of resource mismanagement: zoning and urban renewal. I suggest that both the city and the county coordinate on these two activities. So far, the county has not followed the example of Twin Falls and created an up-to-date master plan. Land is a valuable resource, and when not managed well, economic opportunity as well as quality of life can be irrevocably damaged. Private property must be respected, but good policy solves problems in advance of crisis and anger.

The other area where we can consider land stewardship is urban renewal. This is a state as well as a city and county issue. Property that is allowed to molder is not only an eyesore. It is a drain on economic resilience. It has been developed from bare land but allowed to decrease in value to the community. It contaminates the value of surrounding properties, it produces less tax revenue while still consuming fire protection, public safety and transportation infrastructure. This is an area where tax incentives to improve, sell or vacate property actually produce economic resiliency as well as public revenue.

Economic growth is produced by bringing outside investment into a community, but it also is produced by existing investment producing more local investment. In other words, moving money through the local economy productively. There have been some exciting efforts made in local investment in Twin Falls, but I would like to see more collaboration by the smaller cities and Twin Falls county in encouraging local efforts to grow our area. There are talented people here in southern Idaho, and there is no reason why we cant create an even wider area of economic resiliency here.
Omans national carrier has announced the departure of its boss who handed over his resignation.

Paul Gregorowitsch, the Dutch national who has been steering the company since 2014, has resigned from his post and the companys board of directors has accepted the resignation, reports say.

The company has not elaborated on the Gregorowitschs departure but thanked him for his efforts during his stay as head of the company.

The Dutch national previously worked at Air Berlin and Air France-KLM.

Abdulaziz Saud AlRaisi, executive vice president for products and brand development has been appointed as CEO caretaker for the meantime before the company finds a new leader.

Gregorowitschs resignation is taking place at a time the company is trimming its expansion plans due to slow pace of economic growth around the Gulf region.

The company reportedly recorded hundreds of millions of loss last year.

According to analysts, the Sultanate and the airline however are in a good position to take advantage of a surge of air traffic because of the economic blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt.

The boycotting countries have shuttered air links with Qatar, therefore forcing anyone wanting to travel between Qatar and any of those four countries to do so via a third country.

Oman and Kuwait, which have adopted neutral stance in the Gulf crisis, are among those serving as these third countries.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) military command has announced the death of two UAE pilots killed in their aircraft crash in Yemen.

The pilots identified as Major pilot Ali Saeed Saif Al Mesmari and first lieutenant Pilot Badr Yahiya Mohammed Al Marasheda died in the crash of their jet carrying duties in Yemen.

The General Command said a technical failure caused the crash.

The countrys state-run news agency WAM had reported that an Emirati soldier died Monday of wounds suffered earlier in the Yemen war.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led Pan-Arab coalition involved in Operation Restoring Hope in Yemen aiming at restoring President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.

The campaign began in 2015 after Iran-backed Houthi rebels chased President Hadi out of capital Sanaa.

The coalition has lost hundreds of soldiers in the warfare, which has killed close to 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

The UAE in August lost 4 soldiers in a helicopter crash during a routine mission.

The military spokeperson said the aircraft experienced technical dysfunctions.

Over 100 UAE troops have been killed since the beginning of the war on Yemen.
US defense and security company Lockheed Martin will deliver Bahraini defense forces 16 F-16 fighter jets worth $3.8 billion.

Bahrain on Tuesday said the deal was signed during a defense exhibition in the Gulf kingdom.

Under the deal, the Maryland-based company will supply 16 upgraded F-16 jets.

Washington in September green-lighted the sale of military equipment worth more than $3.8 billion, including F-16 jets, upgrades, missiles and patrol boats, to the archipelago, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet.

Relation between Bahrain, largely populated by Shia Muslims, and the US have improved under President Donald Trump who has vowed to help US gulf allies better defend themselves.

Lockheed Martins Executive vice President, Richard Ambrose who was present at the signing of the deal said Bahrain is the first country in the region to sign such a deal with the American company.
Stanford Provost Persis Drell, PhD, told the group, Quite simply, we wont get the right answers without women in leadership roles.

The conference was held with the aim of beginning a movement for change. It featured some 400 female leaders from 68 countries, representing 250 universities, companies and nonprofits.

Harriet Mayanja-Kizza, MD, dean of medicine at Ugandas Makerere University, noted that in her sub-Saharan country, nearly all the bedside care is provided by women, whether theyre nurses in hospitals or family members at home.

I have had people tell me its better for the wife to outlive the husband because the wife can look after him, she told the audience. If the wife is sick, she has to find a sister or an aunt to take care of her.

Yet women in Uganda are not encouraged to join the medical profession or the sciences. She said that when she went to medical school, only 8 percent of the students were women; now its 30 percent. Yet, she said, Women have many things pulling against them, including the fact that many girls drop out of school by the age of 12 and are urged into early marriage and childbirth. Those who do make it into higher education have to balance family demands; one graduate student told her she was due to give birth the day her classes began. She had employed a caregiver who could sit by a tree outside to look after her baby so that she could occasionally leave class to feed the child.

Earlier this year, Sania Nishtar, MD, a Pakistani cardiologist and activist, was short-listed as a nominee to be director-general of the World Health Organization. She was the only woman on the list. During the campaign for the position, she said she visited dozens of countries.

Womens leadership was not on the agenda of most governments, Nishtar said. There were very few that talked about appropriate gender representation. That is a mindset that clearly needs to change.

A lot to gain

Men have a role to play as well through programs that mentor women and promote them as role models, said Peter Piot, MD, director of the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Theres the reality that in order to achieve gender parity, men have to give up something, Piot said. But it will be better for them ultimately.

Gary Darmstadt, MD, professor of pediatrics and associate dean for maternal and child health at Stanford, agreed. Where you have greater gender equity, mens longevity improves, as does womens longevity, he said. So I think we have a lot to gain.

Toward the end of the daylong conference, the participants talked about concrete actions for change and received advice from some distinguished panelists on how to become change agents.

Perus former minister of health Patricia Garcia, MD, PhD, MPH, said women seeking to advance in the global health field should be persistent and passionate and be willing to speak up and be open to unexpected opportunities. That is, in essence, the story of her own career.

Where you have greater gender equity, mens longevity improves, as does womens longevity.

Garcia was the dean of the School of Public Health at Perus Cayetano Heredia University in 2016 when she received a surprising call from the countrys president, she said. The president invited her to his home, and after they talked, he offered her the countrys top health job.

I thought it was an opportunity to make a difference in my country, although I knew the average time of a minister in my country was six months, she said, speaking rapid-fire and with hand flourishes. I have to tell you it was really tough, really tough. There was a lot of politics and corruption, which she said she fought against.

Still, Garcia said she managed to make some headway, increasing access to human papilloma vaccination by 85 percent, introducing telemedicine and electronic medical records and raising the salaries of health workers, among other initiatives. She lasted a year and two months in the job before the presidents entire cabinet resigned in September 2017 and she returned to the university. In the process, though, she said she learned a great deal, offering this advice to the audience:

You have to work with passion, and you have to love what you do, and I do love public health. Do your best to create opportunities. Thats why I jumped into the ministry of public health, though everybody thought I was crazy  though I call it passionate crazy. And fight against your own fears. Raise your voice when you need it. Thats what I learned. And be honest. Be perseverant and also have patience because change takes time.

After her talk, Donna Shalala, PhD, former U.S. secretary for health and human services and the panels moderator, offered a lighthearted suggestion: You know, Patty, the United States has an opening for a minister of health, she said.

The conference was sponsored by 18 organizations.

The London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has agreed to host the next conference in 2018. Patricia Garcia and Agnes Binagwaho, MD, PhD, former Minister of Health for Rwanda, also have offered to host future conferences, Barry said.
The Ugandan government has announced that it will borrow $287 million from Exim Bank of China, as part of its electrification process.

According to the countrys finance minister David Bahati, the funds will enable electricity supply to 287 settlements in the landlocked regions of the East African nation, as well as the counties of Karamoja and West Nile.

The government, through its Rural Electrification program, has managed to extend power to most parts of the country thus improving peoples living conditions, he said.

Currently, the number of Ugandans accessing electricity has gone up from the previous 19% to about 24 %, Bahati disclosed.

Ugandas current installed generation capacity is close to 900MW.

The government is constructing many mini hydropower plants, which will add about 300MW to the national grid.

The government has recently signed a cross-border agreement allowing Uganda to extend electricity inside the South Sudan border towns.

China has extended large lines of credit to Uganda in recent years, mostly for infrastructure, including power plants, roads and an airport refurbishment.

Earlier this year Uganda asked China for a $500 million loan to help build almost 600 km of roads in the countrys oil-rich west.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco has ordered the immediate closure of the Office for the Revitalization and Execution of Institutional Communication and Marketing of Administration (GRECIMA).

According to local media, Journal de Angola, President Lourenco issued the closure orders via a press release that relieved GRECIMA boss, Manuel Antonio Rabelais, of his post and transferred the bodys operations to an office under the presidencys communications unit.

GRECIMA, one of the legacies of president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, worked to improve the image of the oil-rich nation and its president.

It is composed of three departments, which ensure the functioning of the communication, institutional information, marketing and image areas of Angola and its Executive.

President dos Santos last month handed over the baton to former Defense Minister Joao Lourenco after 38 years at the helm.

Joao Lourenco was himself responsible for propaganda in the political bureau of the governing Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).

After 40 years of independence, the Angolan media remains largely controlled by the MPLA. The government owns the only radio and television stations that broadcast across the entire country, as well as the official news agency.
Ombudsman: Public Defender should become too comfortable in Govt

By Messenger Staff

Georgias Public Defender, Ucha Nanuashvili, whose term in the role expires in December, says that a public defender must not create a comfort for government.I urge the public defender, who will replace me, not to become too comfortable in any government, Nanuashvili stated.He says he has no information who may replace his position.It is not a question, which I should be asked Nanuashvili said.He refrained from stating where he may continue his career.Nanuashvili was recently grilled by Interior Minister Giorgi Mghebrishvili, who criticized Nanuashvili for making a statement over the alleged abuse of a person at a police station."The Minister does not have a full understanding of the Public Defender`s mandate and, in general, of human rights," the Ombusdman responded.This is very sad because the Public Defender behaved in accordance with the mandate, when the Minister speaks using jargon, I think it is very sad, and in fact there are systemic problems in that the aim of this statement is simply to overshadow what actually happened," Nanuashvili added.The candidate, who gains the most votes in the 150-member legislative body, will be appointed for the Public Defenders position.What is of utmost importance is to share common beliefs and values about the mission and tasks of the Public Defender among all stakeholders, in particular, the Ombudsmans office, the government, non-government sector and wider Society. Without this common understanding and commitment to adhering to protection of human rights from the side of Ombudsmans office and the government any promising candidate might fail the publics expectations.
The News in Brief

Lavrov: Moscow Will Respect South Ossetian Sovereignty



Moscow will respect and uphold the sovereignty of South Ossetia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on October 16 at a panel discussion on the sideline of the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi.



Responding to the question on the possibility of unification of South Ossetia and North Ossetia (a republic in the North Caucasus) within the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov noted that in the Soviet Union, as you are aware, this was the case  there was a united Ossetia and then, it was divided into two by a deliberate decision. Back then many things were transferred from one republic to another, including Crimea, in disregard to the Soviet Constitution.



The Russian Foreign Minister touched upon the Russo-Georgian War as well, saying that the Russian peacekeepers and the Russian army helped stop the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili from resolving the territorial problem [of South Ossetia], as he used to call it, contrary to the OSCE decisions, despite the fact that there were peacekeepers, Russian and Ossetian, and also Georgian, who were withdrawn few hours before the start of this agression.



We will respect in every way and assist in upholding the sovereignty of South Ossetia through our closest allied relations, the Foreign Minister concluded. (Civil.ge)







Circassians prevented from attending jailed activists court hearing



The regional court in Russias Krasnodar region upheld the decision made by the lower court to imprison a popular 67-year-old Circassian civic activist, while his supporters were barred from attending the trial on Monday.



The trial lasted only 27 minutes and upheld a 10 thousand rubles (USD 170) penalty against Ruslan Gvashev. Gvashev did not appear in court for health reasons.



A group of Circassians and Kabardins heading from Nalchik to Krasnodar by minibus were stopped in the morning by Russian police and barred from entering the city, citing a minor offense by the driver. Nonetheless, a handful of Gvashev supporters managed to gather in front of Krasnodar court to challenge the decision.



Ruslan Gvashev was fined for extremism after he organized a mass prayer on May 21, a day of remembrance for Circassians and Abkhaz who perished during a period in 19th Century when Russia conquered north western Caucasus and brutally quelled fierce local resistance. Hundreds of thousands of Caucasian highlanders were either massacred or driven out of their homeland. Many of them, mostly Sunni Muslims, left the Caucasus and resettled to different parts of the Ottoman Empire.



Every year, Circassians gather in the small village Golovinka, near Sochi, for a public prayer ceremony next to a 200-year-old saddle tree they regard as sacred. Russian authorities, fearing separatist sentiments in the Caucasus, have usually grudgingly accepted this event, but this year Russian police broke up the gathering, declaring it illegal and extremist.



Gvashev has a great deal of informal authority among Circassians and other related Caucasian ethnicities, including Abkhaz, and his detention caused widespread indignation. Protest rallies were held in several cities across western Caucasus, including Sochi, Sokhumi and other places with a significant Circassian and Abkhaz population.



Circassians (native name Adyghe) live in the north Caucasus in the Russian Federations autonomous regions Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria, and Republic of Adygea. They have various sub-ethnic groups which feel themselves bound by shared history and culture. In a broader sense, the term includes also Abkhaz people since they are originally related to Circassians. Hence, during the War in Abkhazia in 1992-93 many Circassians took an active part in hostilities against Georgia. Gvashev was one of those who fought in that war. He had the rank of colonel and also played a key role in mobilizing volunteers from North Caucasus.



However, during last decade, Georgia made efforts to normalize relations with Circassians. Particularly notable is the fact that Georgia is the sole country in the world which has officially recognized Tsarist Russias policies in 19th century against western Caucasuss indigenous peoples as a genocide. On May 20, 2011 the parliament of Georgia declared that the mass annihilation of Circassian during the Russian-Caucasian war and thereafter constituted a genocide as defined in the Hague Convention of 1907 and the UN Convention of 1948. (DF watch)







Wizzair to operate flights from Kutaisi to Athens



Central and Eastern Europe's leading low-cost airline Wizzair has announced the launch of a new route.



The company will operate flights from Kutaisi to Athens twice a week, on Thursday and Sunday. According to the company, Athens is a perfect place for spending long-term holidays or weekends.



The flights will be launched on May 17, 2018. Tickets are available at for 53.99 GEL: wizzair.com (IPN)




@alextdaugherty

The federal corruption trial into New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen added a new character on Tuesday: current Florida congressman and former Gov. Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg.

Crist's unannounced 2010 visit to Melgen's home is being used by Menendez's defense team to show that the New Jersey senator was engaged in a political, not personal, relationship when the eye doctor paid for Menendez's flight from New Jersey to Florida.

Crist, a former Republican who was running as an independent for U.S. Senate in 2010, visited Melgen's home in Palm Beach County on the weekend of Oct. 9, 2010, the same weekend that federal prosecutors allege that Melgen bribed Menendez by paying for his flight on a private jet.

Melgen's wife, Flor Melgen, testified in federal court on Tuesday that Crist showed up to their home, but Salomon wasn't there.

He was looking for my husband. He knew that my husband was Bobs friend, and he was wondering if he might be with him, Flor Melgen testified. I didnt know he was going to spend the night at my home and I wasnt prepared.

Crist dined with Flor and her family before meeting Salomon later in the evening.

I had to order food because there was no food prepared at my house, Flor Melgen said.

Crist was in the midst of a U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Kendrick Meek at the time, a race eventually won by Rubio. Crist's spokesperson said in an email to the Miami Herald that his visit to Melgen's house was political in nature.

"The Congressman was a candidate for the U.S. Senate at the time, meeting with a potential donor," said Crist spokesperson Erin Moffet.

Federal prosecutors allege that Salomon Melgen supplied Menendez with private flights, hotel stays, vacations and thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for official favors. Menendez is a Cuban-American New Jersey Democrat who frequently sides with Miami Republicans that favor a hard line against Cuba.

Defense attorneys argued that Menendez's Oct. 2010 trip to Florida was political in nature and used Crist's visit to back up their theory. If the trip was political, defense attorneys argue that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee should have reimbursed Melgen instead of Menendez paying for the trip himself.

After Crist spent the night at Melgen's house, he wrote a $100 check to cover his visit, according to Flor Melgen.

"I was very surprised when he gave me the check," Melgen said. "I asked him why, and he told me it was because of the dinner and because he spent the night at my house."

Prosecutor Monique Abrishami used Crist's check as a way to further bash Menendez during cross-examination.

This is a check from Charlie Crist to your husband? Abrishami said.

Yes, Flor Melgen said.

So at least this politician knows how to pay you back for things? Abrishami said.

Federal judge William Walls then instructed the jury to ignore Abrishami's remark.

"What lawyers [do] from time to time...is engage in the practice of a throwaway question," Walls said. "A throwaway question is one that the questioner knows obviously is objectionable and he or she wants to make a point."

Earlier this week, Walls allowed the trial to proceed on all charges after Menendez's defense team attempted to have the most serious charges thrown out.
@alextdaugherty

For months, president Donald Trump and various conservative groups have courted moderate Democrats to join in their plan to overhaul the nation's tax system, which hasn't been significantly changed since 1986.

This week, the Senate will likely vote on a 2018 budget proposal, and Americans for Prosperity, a Koch Brothers-backed group that is pushing for tax reform, is urging Sen. Bill Nelson to vote in favor in a new digital ad released on Wednesday.

"Nelson has hinted at being willing to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to reform the tax code to make it more fair and efficient," AFP Florida director Chris Hudson said in a statement. "This is a once in a generation opportunity that deserves his full endorsement immediately."

Passing the budget plan would enable the GOP to proceed on their tax overhaul without a 60 vote threshold in the Senate, a necessity when Republicans only control 52 seats. Some moderate Democrats like North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin have indicated a willingness to work with Republicans on taxes.

Nelson, one of 10 sitting Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018 in states won by Trump in 2016, voted against a procedural motion to start debate on the 2018 budget on Tuesday. The motion passed on a 50-47 party line vote.

Watch the ad here.
@alextdaugherty

Sen. Marco Rubio has a lot of reasons not to visit Venezuela.

The Florida senator successfully pushed the Trump administration to take a hard line on the Venezuelan government, managed to invite Venezuelan opposition leader Lillian Tintori to the White House, and is the target of a potential death threat from socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello.

But that didnt stop Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from extending an invite to Rubio on Tuesday.

We can walk the streets together, Maduro said, according to Stephen Gibbs from the China Global Television network.

President Maduro invites @marcorubio to visit Venezuela. "We can walk the streets together", he says.  Stephen Gibbs (@STHGibbs) October 17, 2017

Rubio declined the offer.

Look forward to the day I can visit a democratic Venezuela instead of one governed by dictator Nicolas Maduro or drug lord Diosdado Cabello, Rubio tweeted.

Look forward to the day I can visit a democratic #Venezuela instead of one governed by dictator @nicolasmaduro or drug lord @dcabellor https://t.co/u1oRgoN38A  Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 17, 2017

The exchange represents the latest in an ongoing war of words between Maduro and Rubio. Rubio chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees Latin American affairs.

In August, Rubio appeared on Venezuelan independent television to voice his opposition to Maduro after the Trump administration imposed more sanctions on members of Venezuelas socialist ruling party.

There is no U.S. economic blockade on Venezuela, Rubio said in Spanish. Yet the economy of a rich nation is in shambles, because the Maduro government has given away your oil and much of your sovereignty to Cuba. For Nicolas Maduro, who I am sure is watching, the current path you are on will not end well for you.

Read more here.
Written by Elise St. Esprit, CAS communications intern

For a college student, having the opportunity to travel and study abroad is often an unforgettable and life changing experience. With programs ranging in subjects from economics to geology to comparative religion, the choices Miami offers feel nearly endless. There are hundreds of study abroad and study away programs for students to chose from both domestically and in 90 countries around the world.

One interdisciplinary program Miami offers takes students to Pristina, Kosovo for two months during the summer. Kosovo is a developing nation in the Western Balkans that declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a series of wars and ethnic cleansing in the late 1990s.

Journalism students intern at the KosovaLive360 newsroom alongside their professional staff for 8 weeks during the summer.

The program is open to all majors, with a focus on journalism, international studies, and global diplomacy.

While in Kosovo, students take two classes in the morning, an international studies course focused on peacebuilding in the Balkans and a journalism capstone course, JRN 421: The Role of News Media in a Democracy. This course is designed to examine the crucial role that news media play in democratic societies, according to visiting assistant professor of media, journalism, and film Ed Arnone, who directs the Kosovo summer program.

"Half of the students in our Kosovo program practice journalism through their afternoon internship at KosovaLive360, an online news magazine based in Pristina," Arnone said. "The other half intern at non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Kosovar Stability Initiative, whose work focuses on social justice, health, education, environment, or democracy building programs.

Arnone began the Kosovo program 10 years ago in a partnership with both Carl Dahlman, professor of global and intercultural studies, and Kelmend Hapciu, a veteran Kosovar journalist and founder and editor-in-chief of KosovaLive, which was established 15 years ago as an independent, nonprofit news agency.

Students who choose the NGO internship are placed in organizations like Foundation Together Kosovo and work with Kosovars on projects like drafting funding proposals or social engagement. Meanwhile, those who intern in the newsroom work alongside professional reporters to produce 3 to 5 in-depth stories about issues facing Kosovo today.

Students enjoy a weekend off on the beautiful beaches of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Pictured in the background is Blackwater Bay, the infamous battle scene featured in 'Game of Thrones' season two.

"It is unusual to see a study abroad program that integrates coursework and internships in such a complementary way," Arnone said.

Outside the classroom, students are given 3-day weekends for travel around the Balkan states. In the past, they have visited surrounding countries like Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Serbia. In mid-July, the program travels to Dubrovnik, Croatia for a weekend to visit the famous beaches and Old City  which doubles for Kings Landing in the TV series Game of Thrones.

Professor Dahlman conducts research focusing on the former Yugoslavia and helps to coordinate the Kosovo program.

"The idea of going as a student to a post-conflict country and looking squarely at those issues is unique," Dahlman said. "There are not any other workshops that I can think of that go to a country that has so recently declared its independence to look at the specific issues around becoming a new country."

"Our Kosovo program is also unique in the sense that students have to confront much more directly what daily life is like for the people who live there," he continued. "It's a smaller program, and as a result, students really have to engage more with locals, learning to navigate and work with them, taking on a new language, and doing all the things necessary to work in foreign correspondence."

Dahlman added, "A lot of workshops can carry an English language bubble with them. Our program is small enough that students can't really stay inside that bubble, try as they might!"

"I really liked the size of the program, said junior Chris Shoemaker, a double major in English literature and political science who took part in the trip this past summer. "All of us got really close with each other and made a ton of Kosovar friends too. It's one of those unique experiences that you share with only a few people."

Graduate student in geography Mike Browne came on the trip as a teaching assistant for the international studies course, Peacebuilding in the Balkans [a version of ITS 365]. Prior to attending Miami, he taught English in Istanbul, Turkey for two years and visited the Balkans during the time.

"The most important takeaway I hope everyone gets from study abroad is being exposed to the diversity of cultures and the way other people think," Browne said. "This in turn opens up most students' worldviews and gives them an idea of how big and complex this world really is."

Elise St. Esprit, the author of this article, was also a participant in this year's Summer Kosovo program.

See also:
ABC/Image Group LA Since he retired from touring in 2014, George Strait has made T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas his unofficial home to play live. Thats a relationship that will continue into 2018.

King George has schedule two shows for February 2 and 3, with tickets going on sale Friday, October 27.

We said from the beginning that we would listen to the fans and follow what they want, George explains. Fan support is just as strong now as it was when we started, and we are responding to that interest by adding shows in 2018.

Fellow Texans Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen will open the concerts at T-Mobile Arena.

The Country-Music-Hall-of-Famer has also scheduled three shows next year that arent in Vegas, but are relatively close to his home in the Lone Star State. Hell play BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1 and 2, before heading to Frank Erwin Center in Austin on June 3.

You can find out more about tickets at GeorgeStrait.com.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A Montana conservation organization says a national fast food chains new elk sandwich runs counter to principles of fair chase hunting and wild meat consumption by promoting game farming.

The Montana Wildlife Federation sent a letter to the CEO of Arbys on Tuesday criticizing the restaurant for offering an elk sandwich in three western locations, including Billings. Arbys previously sold venison at five locations last year, using deer raised as livestock.

Wild game cannot be commercially sold in Montana.

The positive response to our limited offering of venison last year was so widespread and passionate that we knew we had to find a way to offer it nationwide, Jim Taylor, chief marketing officer of Arbys Restaurant Group, Inc., said in a news release. On October 21, we want hunters and meat enthusiasts across the country to visit their local Arbys and enjoy this amazing sandwich. Its a perfect example of the level of innovation coming from our teams and our commitment to creating experiences that guests can only get at Arbys.

MWF in its letter states the sale of farm-raised elk and deer in Montana clashes with a voter initiative passed in 2000 prohibiting new game farms in the state and banning shooting of the animals for a fee. Existing game farms could continue to operate but are prohibited from transferring licenses to another person or entity. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks says 29 licenses are still active for game farms, which are also called "alternative livestock" facilities, although not all currently house animals.

Farm-raised game meat sandwiches run counter to core Montana values of public wildlife and consumption of healthy protein through ethically killed game, the letter says. Elk and deer are best left as wild, free-ranging animals that are part of the public trust, managed by the state for the benefit of all Montanans.

Farmed deer and elk also present disease concerns such as chronic wasting disease passed from domestic to wild animals, the letter says.

In an interview, MWFs Nick Gevock said the organization commends Arbys for supporting hunting and eating deer and elk, but feels the farm-raised aspect is "tone deaf to Montana values."

I just hope they have a conversation with us about better ways to promote hunting or consumption of game, because we strongly support that, because these are not wild animals, he said.

Some Montana restaurants have continued to offer farm-raised deer and elk following the passage of the voter initiative. MWF sees the large-scale promotion by Arbys as the main reason for the response letter, Gevock said.

"We worked closely with a supplier in New Zealand to source our limited-edition venison and elk," Arby's spokesman Luke DeRouen wrote in an email. "We use meat that is grass-fed and free-range farmed using responsible practices.

"We have also worked with the Georgia Wildlife Federation to better understand policies related to serving game."

Arby's worked with GWF because the company is headquartered in Atlanta, DeRousen said.
Montana is an amazing state to hunt. It has some of the longest hunting seasons in the West, healthy herds of game and access to millions of acres of public land.

Hopefully, the following big game forecast will give you some valuable information for planning that next outing.

SW Montana

Its referred to at times as the elk factory of Montana, and its true elk numbers, in general, across southwest Montana are solid, bordering on great.

From the Pintler Mountains on the west side of the region to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness to the east, southwest Montana is defined by high, rugged country and an abundance of public land. Big game thrives here, particularly elk.

Though in general hunter success last year was about average, it wasnt helped by mild weather. Typically, elk hunter success during the general season improves dramatically with snow, which gets elk moving and makes them easier to track.

South of Butte  from Mount Haggin to the Big Hole Valley  elk numbers are robust and consistent with last years numbers, said FWP Region 3 wildlife biologist Vanna Boccadori.

South of Bozeman, elk numbers are also in good shape, with hunters seeing good success in many hunting districts along with an abundance of access due to large amounts of public land. In several areas, like the Madison Valley, elk numbers remain above population objectives.

South of Helena elk numbers are also strong.

In the area around Townsend, hunters have run into access issues as elk have tended to congregate on private land in recent years, said FWP biologist Adam Grove. He suggests that hunters work on securing access to private lands early. Overall, elk numbers in the area are well over objective.

Around Helena, elk hunting is largely weather dependent, said FWP biologist Jenny Sika. If it snows during hunting season, elk hunter success increases. If not, hunters have to work harder and success drops. But in general elk numbers are good throughout the area.

Several hunting districts in southwest Montana have elk shoulder seasons. These antlerless seasons are focused on private land and are typically outside of the general big game season. Hunters interested in shoulder seasons should make sure they read and understand the regulations. Each hunting district is different. And, as always, hunters must get permission to hunt private land.

In general, mule deer numbers are steady across southwest Montana. In some areas, like around Townsend, mule deer numbers are still on the rebound from recent lows. But in general numbers are stable or on the upswing.

White-tailed deer numbers continue to look solid across the region. However, much of the best white-tailed deer habitat is on private land  river bottoms or irrigated crop land.

For antelope in southwest Montana, the story is similar to deer. Numbers are stable or on the upswing. Antelope hunters this year can expect similar numbers to what theyve seen the last couple of years.

North-central

When it comes to deer, elk and antelope, the outlook for north-central Montana is good for the fall 2017 hunting season.

Milder winters the last couple of years and, depending on the species, fewer B licenses (those are licenses for either antlerless animals or doe/fawns) have allowed several species to increase their numbers and come close to management objectives.

The last few years with milder winters weve had better fawn production and recruitment, said Cory Loecker, FWP wildlife biologist in Great Falls. And weve restricted our B licenses.

Recruitment refers to when a young animal survives its first year and is added to the population.

Mule deer from the Rocky Mountain Front to east and south of Great Falls are at management objective or even above in a few spots.

Were better than we were 20 years ago, said Brent Lonner, FWP wildlife biologist in Fairfield. But that doesnt mean we are at the high population levels we saw in the 1970s and 1980s. I dont know if well ever get back there.

Lonner said those mule deer numbers from a generation ago were probably artificially high and unsustainable in the long run.

The current lone exception to the mule deer upswing is around Lewistown, where numbers lag by about a year.

For white-tailed deer there are good numbers most everywhere in the north-central part of the state.

However, prairie whitetails are closely associated with lands enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, which pays landowners to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality.

Removing lands from CRP can hurt whitetails and other wildlife species.

Meanwhile, antelope are staging a comeback in the region.

Prairie pronghorn numbers had declined for a couple of years, but population levels have returned to average with above-average fawn production this year.

That bodes well for the future.

Again, the exception is the eastern part of the region, where antelope numbers are below objective. But the good news is better fawn production.

As for elk, the news is good, better, best. Throughout north-central Montana, elk numbers are at or above objective.

There is no lack of elk, Lonner said. The challenge is in the fall when hunters cant find them.

The problem then is often a lack of access, he said.

All this good news doesnt guarantee meat in the freezer for hunters this fall, but the ingredients to success are present.

South-central

Mule deer numbers are stronger in the prairies and foothills of south-central Montana than in the mountains. Overall numbers are nearly the same or slightly better than last year.

Along the face of the Beartooth Mountains and the western slopes of the Pryors, mule deer numbers remain quite low except for northwest of Red Lodge, where numbers are approaching the long-term average.

Mule deer northwest of Billings are at record numbers, while north of the Musselshell River to the Snowy Mountain foothills they are similar to last year and increasing slowly. Northeast of Harlowton biologists counted fewer mule deer this past spring. Northwest of Harlowton last years mule deer buck harvest was the highest in five years.

In the Boulder River drainage and in hunting districts north of Big Timber, mule deer numbers are mostly the same as last year and slightly above the long-term average. The number of bucks and the antlered-deer harvest in those districts remains low, however.

North and east of Billings, mule deer numbers and last years harvest were slightly above average and similar to last year. The number of fawns is slightly below the long-term average.

White-tailed deer numbers appear to continue their rebound from the 2011 disease outbreak that drastically thinned the herds.

In the Boulder River drainage and hunting districts north of Big Timber, white-tailed deer hunters should expect an experience similar to last year as numbers are stable to slightly better than in 2016. In the Stillwater, Red Lodge Creek and East Rosebud areas, white-tailed deer numbers have recovered nicely with relatively high numbers of bucks.

Along the Musselshell River downstream from Shawmut and along Flatwillow Creek, white-tailed deer numbers have rebounded to levels seen before the 2011 outbreak.

North and east of Billings, white-tailed deer numbers continue to increase from the most recent disease outbreak with estimated populations the second largest in 35 years.

Elk numbers throughout south-central Montana remain at record highs. Access to private land where many of the elk spend the hunting season is difficult. The number of elk are below objectives only in the upper Boulder River drainage, where much of the land is accessible.

Antelope densities south of the Yellowstone River southwest of Billings are below average. But between the Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers numbers are close to all-time highs. In all areas between Columbus and Harlowton, the number of antelope is stable and near the long-term average. Biologists reported seeing quite a few large antelope bucks during this summers surveys.

North of the Musselshell River, antelope numbers have increased slightly from last year and are approaching the long-term average. Northwest of Roundup, antelope numbers increase some the further north one hunts.

East of Billings, antelope numbers are looking better north of the Yellowstone River while herds south of the Yellowstone continue to struggle. South of the river, buck/doe rations are lower than average and hunter success has been below average for the past two years. North of the river, antelope numbers  and fawns in particular  are the highest since 1989 and they continued to increase this summer.

Northwest

In the northwest corner of Montana, the story for 2017s hunting season was really started last winter with deep snowfall across much of the region.

The snowpack in some areas was exceptional, making for low survival rates in some areas for elk calves and deer fawns.

For elk, calf recruitment was lower than in previous years, consequently the number of antlerless licenses was reduced for the 2017 season. However, the impact of the hard winter didnt seem to be as dramatic as initially thought. Bull and cow ratios across the region remain stable.

Northwest Montana is unique white-tailed deer country. While most of the state is dominated by mule deer, thats not the case up here. White-tailed deer can be found from river bottoms and agricultural land to evergreen forests and high country.

However, fawn recruitment was impacted by the winter. Thats the bad news. The good news is adult survival was strong and if we see a normal winter this year, hunters wont notice a dip in deer numbers.

White-tailed deer numbers were most impacted in the North Fork of the Flathead River.

Mule deer counts in the region remain at about their long-term average.

Western

Elk numbers in Western Montana are robust. FWP wildlife biologists counted 26,226 elk this spring, the second-highest total in 53 years of annual aerial surveys. Numbers of bull elk in the surveys were notably strong, probably reflecting the light harvest last fall. Elk survey results, past and present, for every hunting district in FWP Region 2 are available online and at Region 2 headquarters in Missoula.

Dry weather and fires in the region will contribute to more elk in irrigated crops on private land. Hunters hoping to participate in shoulder seasons this fall or winter should secure permission on private land now, and purchase an elk B-license now for private lands where B-licenses are valid.

White-tailed deer numbers appear to be on an upward trend, owing to the past couple years of excellent fawn production and average-or-better winter survival. It seems that most does had twins, this year and last. Biologists noticed more good bucks in the velvet over the summer. Dry weather and fires in the region will tend to concentrate deer, like elk, in irrigated crops on private land even more than usual. Fresh burns could be good places to hunt if fall rains come and if a fall green-up occurs.

Opportunities to hunt mule deer are somewhat limited in Western Montana. Many districts require the hunter to have obtained a permit or B-license through the statewide application process. Hunters with buck permits or hunters hunting in districts where a special permit is not required for a buck should plan to go high in the mountains to match their stamina with the biggest bucks. An emerging opportunity for hunters in Region 2 is to hunt mule deer on private lands, where numbers generally are growing.

Antelope hunting is a minority sport in Western Montana, where numbers have increased to about 400 following transplants by FWP to the Deer Lodge vicinity in the 1940s. Hunting is limited to a few hunters with permits obtained in the statewide drawing process. More information on Region 2 antelope is available online and at Region 2 headquarters in Missoula.

Southeast

The badlands, farmland and rolling prairie of southeast Montana is home to a vast number of animals, including rapidly rebounding populations of mule deer, near-average antelope numbers and a growing number of elk.

Mule deer in the region continue to be on a strong upward trajectory from their low point in 2012. Following back-to-back severe winters in 2009-10 and 2010-11, mule deer numbers bottomed out at 61 percent of long-term average. Spring 2017 surveys indicate populations are 45 percent above long-term average.

In just five years, weve gone from extremely low to extremely high deer numbers, said FWP biologist Melissa Foster. The age structure of the population continues to improve. Early in that recovery, the population was heavily skewed toward younger age classes; we had lots of yearlings, lots of 2-year-olds, but fewer mature deer. Thats perfectly natural. Its a result of the boom in production following the population decline.

With fewer mouths on the landscape, almost everyone enters winter in good body condition, Foster explained. Theyre able to find winter browse and thermal cover, resources are essentially unlimited and fawn production and survival rates are extremely high.

Going into the 2017 hunting season, biologists expect that there still wont be many old deer on the landscape. Deer in the 6- to 8-year-old range would have survived as fawns or been born following the severe winters when fawn production and survival rates were low. Five-year-olds this year would have been born in 2012, a year with good fawn production but low numbers of deer. Numbers of 3- and 4-year-olds will be better, and there will once again be high numbers of yearlings and 2-year-olds.

We have probably hit a high point for deer numbers, Foster said. At 45 percent above the long-term average, habitat degradation is already beginning to occur. The drought this year means that deer will enter winter with fewer fat reserves than prior years. Huge numbers of mouths on the landscape means that it will be more difficult for deer to find good winter browse and thermal cover.

Habitat is important and high numbers of deer can have an effect.

Deer can and do have the ability to eat themselves out of house and home, said John Ensign, FWP Region 7 wildlife manager. When deer numbers are high like they are right now, they impact winter browse. As that browse component declines, so does the number of deer that the landscape can support.

Its counterintuitive, said Foster. But the best thing that we can do oftentimes to improve deer numbers is to harvest more deer.

Good harvests can mean better deer health through the winter and into spring because the habitat can better handle the pressure.

The antlerless mule deer quota this year was increased to 11,000, which means theres plenty of opportunity for hunters to fill their freezers while helping to maintain herd health, Ensign said.

Whitetail numbers have held steady in southeast Montana. Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease outbreaks have been localized in scale and small in magnitude since 2012. Local hunters will recall the last major EHD outbreak in 2011, which caused heavy mortality in whitetails throughout many parts of Region 7.

We are at a good place right now with whitetail numbers, Ensign said. As deer densities increase, the risk of major EHD outbreaks increases. The disease is transmitted by a biting midge. When you get deer in close proximity, its an ideal situation for disease transmission.

Its impossible to stockpile wildlife, including whitetails, he said. Whether in the form of disease, drought or harsh winters, Mother Nature always intervenes.

Hunters who do their homework by scouting and visiting with private landowners should have success locating good areas to hunt whitetails.

Montana antelope populations are for the most part continuing to recover and grow from previous years' winter kills and low fawn numbers in Central and Eastern Montana.

Summer production surveys indicate that southeast Montana antelope numbers have increased 74 percent from the low in 2012, and are now hovering near the regionwide long-term average.

The total count across the region is slightly below last year. Antelope numbers in the northeastern portion of the region are near long-term average. Populations north of Hysham and Forsyth are still somewhat depressed. Individuals who know that area and typically hunt it may still find success there, but groups looking to harvest does may do better to focus their efforts in the southeastern portion.

In the western portion of the region antelope numbers have improved since 2012 but remain well below historic averages. Antelope numbers are best in the southern portion of the region.

This year, just like last, FWP is offering more licenses than in the previous few years, which reflects the improving population.

These are good times for elk hunters, as Montana elk populations continue to be strong across most of the state. In many hunting districts, however, access to private lands can be difficult, which can affect hunting success given landownership patterns and distribution of elk.

Even if you didn't draw a special permit this year, remember that Montana offers numerous opportunities to hunt for elk with just a general hunting license.

The most recent winter surveys indicated that elk in southeast Montana are continuing moderate growth and gradual expansion into unoccupied available habitat. FWP biologists observed strong calf recruitment (52 per 100 cows) and an excellent composition of bulls (40 per 100 cows).

The Missouri Breaks (hunting district 700) and Custer Forest Elk Management Unit (HDs 702, 704, 705) remain the two core elk populations. Outside of these areas, elk numbers across the region are low, distribution is spotty and elk are primarily found on private land where public hunting access is limited.

Bull hunting is by permit only in HDs 700, 702, 704, 705 and the far western portion of 701. In HD 703 and in the rest of 701, hunters can pursue either-sex elk with a general license.

New starting in the 2016 hunting season is the 007-00 B license. This license is valid for antlerless elk throughout Region 7 except for the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Custer Gallatin National Forest. An easy way for hunters to remember where they can use the 007-00 antlerless elk license is that its valid everywhere except what is green on a Bureau of Land Management ownership map (green being national forest or federal wildlife refuge areas). It is important for hunters to note that there are no elk shoulder seasons in any of the hunting districts in Region 7.

Additional antlerless opportunities exist in the region via a general and/or B-license, and hunters are encouraged to review the regulations for more details on those opportunities.

Hunters should be aware that the Lodgepole Complex fire burned over 225,000 acres in the western portion of HD 700 (and 45,000 acres in HD 701). Much of the area that burned in HD 700 was timbered elk habitat; however, roughly two-thirds of the elk habitat in HD 700 was not burned (the northern boundary of the fire was near Squaw Creek). Further, within the burn perimeter there is a mosaic of small pockets that were not burned, and areas where the fire did not reach the crowns of the pines. Pending additional moisture and some cool-season grass regeneration, hunters might still have success finding elk within the burn perimeter.

Northeast

Mule deer populations are still on a steady increase across the region but vary depending on the hunting district. Generally speaking, the mule deer are above long-term averages. Areas of note are north of Havre, where mule deer numbers are well above average, and in the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, north of the Missouri, where mule deer numbers are below average.

White-tailed deer are on the increase across the region, but still just below average. Populations in the eastern part of the region in more of the prairie/cropland habitats are doing better than populations along the Milk and Missouri rivers. Although whitetails are recovering in recent years, still expect lower deer numbers in areas along those rivers.

In the northeast corner of the state, decline in CRP and habitat changes are moving deer around and they may not be in traditional areas.

Elk hunting opportunities in most areas in Region 6 are limited to licenses/permits awarded through special drawings. Those hunting districts where elk hunting is allowed on a general license are mostly areas with smaller elk populations and very limited elk hunting opportunity.

Regionwide, the weather conditions the past several years have been favorable for elk with milder winters and good spring precipitation, although 2017 has been hotter and drier. Elk populations in the region continue to fair well and have been increasing. Elk numbers are above average across the region.

Elk shoulder seasons will occur in northeast Montana from Dec. 15-31. Hunters interested in participating in this hunting season will have had to already drawn a shoulder season license (License 696-00 or 699-00) to hunt during this shoulder season. General season elk licenses are not valid during the elk shoulder season in FWP Region 6. The Missouri Breaks shoulder season license (699-00) is not valid on the CMR Refuge.

Make sure youre familiar with the regulations for the area you plan on hunting.

In general, antelope populations are stable to increasing across the region, but in most cases still remain below long-term averages. Antelope licenses are distributed through the drawing system. Major reductions in licenses were seen following the winter of 2010-11, however some increase in licenses have been seen since that time. Those who have drawn licenses should have a very good opportunity to harvest an antelope.

Fire danger is higher throughout the region so please be careful while hunting and camping and avoid driving or parking in taller vegetation. Please also check all local fire restrictions prior to hunting.
Standardized test scores for Montana high school juniors dipped last year, according to information released by the Office of Public Instruction.

Last spring was the fourth year that all Montana juniors have taken the ACT, a college-readiness standardized test, and it was the second year the test will be used to meet federal testing requirements for high schoolers.

Montana students averaged a score of 19.7, down from 20.0 last year. Scores are given on a 36-point scale.

Scores dipped across the board in reading, English, science and math. Writing scores for 2016-2017 were not reported.

For the third year in a row, Missoula high school scores were higher than the state averages even though they, too, declined slightly from an average of 21 last year to 20.6 this year. Sentinel saw the only increase in the district, going from an average score of 21.2 in 2015-16 to 21.5. in 2016-17. Scores went from 19.5 to 19.3 at Big Sky, 22.4 to 21.2 at Hellgate, and 19.9 to 18.5 at Seeley Swan.

At least one of Montana's neighbors that also tests all juniors reported a drop; Wyoming's average score decreased from 20 last year to 19.7 this year.

Nationally, ACT scores were reported by graduating class, which isn't comparable to scores for juniors. The graduating class scores were not reported at a district or school level.

When Montana began offering the ACT to all juniors in 2014, the move was billed as a way to get more students to consider applying to college, as they'd have an entrance exam score in the bag. But after a glitchy first year of Smarter Balanced tests  which are taken by other grade levels to meet federal test requirements  then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau tagged in the ACT for juniors instead of Smarter Balanced.

The Montana Board of Public Instruction criticized how Juneau announced the move, but ultimately signed off on the change. Current Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen argued that scores reported for juniors taking the ACT under Juneau were falsified and out of compliance, but a subsequent report found no violation.

OPI has put together a panel to align Montana standards to the ACT, as the test and standards are currently not directly linked. A lack of alignment is a common federal criticism of states who use the ACT test for federal accountability.

Missoulian reporter Jayme Fraser contributed to this report.
A Missoula man who pleaded guilty to setting his mother's home on fire in December was sentenced Tuesday to pay more than $140,000 in restitution.

Conner DeYott also must seek counseling for anger management as part of his six-year deferred sentence from Missoula County District Court Judge Karen Townsend.

According to court documents, on Dec. 2, Missoula police officers and the fire department responded to reports of a house fire in the 1800 block of 11th Street. Upon arrival, police and fire officials found DeYott alone in the house.

DeYott told the fire department investigator the blaze started when he moved gasoline containers to the basement for storage through the winter and tripped, spilling gas onto a candle in his bedroom. DeYott escaped through the bedroom window.

Inside the home, fire investigators noticed differences between evidence and DeYott's story, including burnt furniture in the living room.

DeYott's mother, the owner of the home, was on a trip in Minneapolis at the time of the fire and said DeYott was angry with her because she didn't leave her car keys so he could use it while she was gone, according to court documents.

Investigators were able to determine the fire was started intentionally, originated in several distinct areas and that gasoline was used to start it. DeYott was charged in February, and pleaded guilty to felony arson as part of a plea agreement in July.

A deferred means the case eventually will be erased from DeYott's record if he stays out of trouble.
The pair accused of killing and dismembering two people in the basement of a Missoula home in August have been threatening to kill detention officers at the Missoula County jail, as well as threatening other inmates, according to court records.

Missoula County Attorney Kirsten Pabst first voiced concerns about Augustus Standingrock and Tiffanie Pierces behavior and threats while in custody during their court appearance in early October.

Each is charged with deliberate homicide and accountability for deliberate homicide after an Aug. 17 arrest in which the bodies of 15-year-old Marilyn Pickett and 24-year-old Jackson Wiles were found in three tubs filled with chemicals in the basement of Pierces home.

On Monday, Pabst filed motions asking the judge to allow the jail to determine whether Standingrock and Pierce should be allowed to visit the law library at the jail to do research for their cases, citing a litany of conduct violations each have had in custody.

Pierce, the county attorney wrote in her motion, threatened to stab another inmate in late August, saying. You just signed your death warrant.

She has also repeatedly threatened jail officers, including telling one she would beat him with chains, another that if I am ever without restraints, I will (expletive) you up and kill you, and saying of a third that she wanted to rip that (expletive)s head off.

Pabst said Pierce discussed with another inmate how to kill someone without a weapon, including how much "force/torque pressure" would be needed to break a persons neck by hand. Pabst said Pierce also talked about finding the family members of jail staff and hurting or killing them, and using the cords from a wall-mounted camera to strangle officers.

She allegedly said if she gets out she would shoot a police officer in the head.

According to the county attorneys motion, Pierce has threatened to cause trouble for the transport team that brings inmates to court, and said she would cause problems at court appearances. Her hearing in early October was without issue, although Pierce was put at the table furthest from the public and the door, which is usually occupied by the prosecution.

The county attorney wrote that Standingrock also has had violent infractions, including a roughly two-hour long incident on Sept. 11 where Pabst said the jails special response team was deployed after Standingrock threatened staff with the sharpened handle of a shower brush.

He also has challenged a detention officer to a fight, and told other inmates to stab and kill guards. You can take them, according to Pabsts motion.

Standingrock has been put in restraints and kept in a maximum security cell.

Throughout his stay, (Standingrock) has tried to harm officers, threatened to harm officers, destroyed property, and has been caught with a sharpened pencil at least three times. It is clear he intends on continuing on this path, Pabst wrote.
Last week, University of Montana bigwigs and others in higher education lined up along both sides of the sidewalk leading up to the Liberal Arts Building to honor Dennis and Gretchen Eck.

The donors walked down the center, and then straight through the new building entrance and under the new lettering that read "Eck Hall." Dennis is a UM alum, and the couple has committed $8.3 million to the building to date.

On Friday, UM commemorated the renovations, including the latest completed component, a lobby and grand entrance that more directly links the building and its core curricula with the Oval, the center of campus.

At the podium in the new entryway, Dean Chris Comer said he used to work in Washington, D.C., and he recalled a quote inscribed on a building he'd walk past on 16th Street: "The world is founded on three pillars: Study. Service. Benevolence."

The dean later found a translation of the Talmud he liked better. It said the world is founded on study, service and "acts of loving kindness."

"We all should know this renovation has come about because of love inside the Eck family," Comer said.

The funds have been used to renovate in phases three floors of the main academic corridor of the Liberal Arts Building and are bringing the latest technological tools to the faculty and thousands of students who take more than 600 classes in 30 classrooms in that structure.

Tuesday, a couple of UM students chatted outside the entrance.

Acacia Probert, a senior, said she wasn't overly interested in the renovation, but she's glad power tools aren't buzzing during her tests anymore. She also appreciates the modernization, although she said the building still has some "stale" classrooms.

"Especially in springtime, it just smells like feet stewing in there all day," Probert said of the old rooms.

Craig Brown, a business student, said it's good UM found donors who were willing to give money to fix a building rather than put up a new one.

"That's the last thing this campus needs is another building," Brown said.

Indeed, at the celebration, Dennis Eck said he hopes the process UM used to modernize the building is one it can replicate elsewhere on campus. Eck was closely involved in the planning stages of the remodel, and he wants other donors to know UM is careful with gifts.

"There was a distinct attempt not to waste anything," Eck said. "That message needs to get out, that people will really take care of your money."

The result, which includes a small seating area on the ground floor and larger study area overlooking the lobby, is high quality and one he's proud of, he said.

In fact, the gathering spaces in the building were one of the main goals of the design, said Jameel Chaudhry, UM architect. In the past, he said the building had a stark, harsh environment for students with no social spaces, a primary complaint.

Instead of talking with each other and studying in the building after classes, students would take off for the University Center, he said. Now, the place has hangout spaces designed with them in mind.

"I think it will be successful, and I think students will look at it positively," Chaudhry said.

Brenna Love, vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Montana, was already pleased with the upgrades in the basement lecture hall. She said students used to cut class just to avoid the dark room.

"They remodeled it during this construction, and it's beautiful," said Love, noting the natural light.

"I'm excited for incoming freshmen to not have to hang out in that dungeon."
A newly ordained Catholic priest who is also new to Butte packed his Ford Explorer with all kinds of fly-fishing gear late Tuesday night so hed be ready for a group trip to the Missouri River at sunup Wednesday.

When Father Kirby Longo went outside about 7 a.m., however, all the gear and virtually everything else in his SUV parked next to St. Anns Catholic Church had been stolen.

But read on.

Within hours, a man who was married at St. Anns in 1969 read about Longos misfortune online in the Montana Standard from Seattle and is sending the priest a new Sage rod and reel to start replenishing his gear.

I called Father Longo and told him the people in Butte are very nice people, you just happened to run into some bad apples, Gary Pyfer said by phone from Seattle, where he has a dental practice.

Whoever got into Longos SUV took most everything, including items in the glove compartment and middle console. They took fly rods and other gear  some of them gifts  and more than 50 flies he spent hours tying himself.

The gear was worth about $3,000, he figures, but it's hard to put a price on the flies.

Its kind of what I had accumulated over the past 10 years of fishing, Longo told the Standard. They even took a bike lock and cleaning supplies. They cleaned it out.

Longo was ordained June 23 and moved from Billings to Butte in July so he could join Father Tom Haffey at St. Anns Catholic Church on Farragut Avenue. He has been living in the church rectory and thats where his Explorer was parked.

The SUV has a keyless entry-system and Longo figures he must have left the back window ajar when he was done loading around midnight Tuesday. He called police Wednesday morning and an officer came out and took a report.

Longo had friends in town from Colorado that he attended the seminary with and they planned to head up to the Missouri near Wolf Creek for a day of fishing. Mike Poole from Missoula was going to join them, but he said he got a call from Longo about the theft and the day-trip was scrapped.

Poole called the Standard to say he felt sick about it and the newspaper contacted Longo. The same thing happened to Poole a couple of years ago, he said, and Longo had only been in Butte a few months.

I feel violated, too, Poole said. I really do. A lot of that was treasure people had given him.

Longo said he planned to check pawn shops for his gear but believes its more likely the thieves will try to sell it on eBay. He said police have a system for checking for stolen goods and hopefully that would yield results.

Pyfer said he and his wife, Julene, grew up in Butte and met in the second grade at Whittier Elementary School. They graduated from Butte High School in 1965 and were married at St. Anns four years later.

They moved to Seattle more than 40 years ago, he said, but he comes back to Montana often to fly fish and reads the Standard online every day. When he read about the theft, he decided to act.

He said he told Longo the fly rod would be in the mail by Friday.

Butte is a very nice place, Pyfer said. I dont care what city youre in, youre going to have bad apples.

Undersheriff George Skuletich said he had not seen the theft report yet but when it comes to finding stolen property, online resources are the first investigators turn to.

Police often visit an online database that lists pawn shop items, classified sites, Facebook, eBay and other sites for buying and selling goods, he said.

People with information may call the sheriff's department at 406-497-1120.
Hunters, and all outdoor enthusiasts, are being reminded to be good stewards of the land and to respect private and public property.

Since the start of hunting season, there have been reports of vandalizing of block management area boxes, hunters driving off road, illegal trespassing, hunters being shot over, littering and livestock being shot. Below are just a few of the things that hunters and all outdoor enthusiasts should be aware of when enjoying Montana's resources:

 Littering  Not only is littering careless and unsightly, it is against the law. This includes toilet paper, and the proper management of human waste.

 Leave gates as you find them  If a gate is closed, close it behind you. If it is obviously open (pulled all the way back to the fence), leave it open. If you are unsure, contact the landowner or public land agency.

 Know your target and beyond  Hunters must be sure of what they are shooting at (species, sex, etc.), and know what lies beyond their target (houses, outbuildings, livestock, vehicles, other hunters).

 Be aware of fire danger at all times, and use precautions.

 Be weed free  Check clothes, dogs, ATVs, and vehicles for weeds and weed seeds to help prevent the spread to other private and public lands.

 Avoid driving on muddy roads  Unless it is a well-graveled road, walk.

 Avoid ridge driving and driving to overlooks  Not only is this a poor strategy while hunting, it is considered as driving off road if it is not already an established trail.

 Ask for permission to hunt  Montana law requires permission for all hunting on private land. Even if the land is not posted, hunters must have permission from the landowner, lessee, or their agent before hunting on private property.

 Completely fill out BMA slips  If a hunter doesnt correctly fill out a block management slip, they are hunting without permission.

 Know where you are located  Whether you are hunting public land, private land, or land enrolled in an access program such as block management, it is every hunters responsibility to know where they are to avoid trespassing. Maps are always available, as are GPS chips and cell phone apps to aid in orientation.

 Driving off road  While hunting on private property, a person may not drive off established roads or trails without landowner permission. Off-road travel on public land, including game retrieval, is prohibited unless designated as open. Consult appropriate land agency or land maps for specifics.

 Accessing public lands  Access to public lands (on a private road) through private land requires permission of the private landowner, lessee, or their agent.

 Camping  Camping is allowed on most public lands (see agency regulations), but permission is needed to camp on private property and BMAs.

 Know the rules  Consult BMA maps for specific rules on block management property, including: driving on roads, parking areas, no shooting zones, walk-in only areas, camping, number of hunters allowed, game retrieval, etc. Rules for most land agencies can be found on maps and/or on brochures. Go to the appropriate agency website or local office for information.

 Report violations  Report any hunting and fishing, trespassing, vandalism, or other criminal activity you see to 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668).

Also remember that this time of year is a very busy time for landowners. Cattle and other livestock are being moved from their fall pastures, and are often brought near the homesite for winter feeding and care. Please use common sense and respect when around these activities.

FWP also offers a free online program called The Montana Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project. This project is an information program for anyone interested in promoting responsible hunter behavior and good hunter-landowner relations in Montana.

The program is delivered through an interactive website utilizing questions, videos, and feedback as well as opportunities for you to test your knowledge on a variety of practical topics related to hunter-landowner relations and responsible hunter behavior.

Go to http://fwp.mt.gov/education/hunter/hunterLandowner/ to learn more and complete the program.
With help from the public, game wardens have identified and interviewed suspects and are pursuing charges in a mule deer slaughter in McCone County discovered Sunday.

Eight mule deer were found dead from shotgun blasts that used ammunition typically used for birds. The deer were discovered by a county resident along a two-mile stretch of road 528. One fawn, which was still alive, had to be killed by a warden.

Wardens are now working with the McCone County attorney, and charges are pending, according to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks press release.

Our job is not to prosecute the case; our job is to present the evidence and details of fish and wildlife crimes to the proper county attorney for prosecution, said Region 6 warden captain Ron Howell. Ultimately, it will be up to the McCone County Justice Court to determine the outcome.

Warden Todd Tryan thanked the public for phoning in to provide information. He is working with the TIP-MONT program to determine reward possibilities for individuals who came forward with key information.

The 1-800-TIP-MONT program is a toll-free number where individuals can report violations of fish, wildlife or park regulations. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for providing information that leads to a conviction.
Kinder Morgan Inc., one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, has donated $10,000 to the Alex Thatcher Memorial Scholarship Fund at Montana Tech. The scholarship fund is in honor of Tech petroleum engineering alumnus who died in a tragic accident in May of 2017.

Alex graduated from Butte High School and then went on to attend Tech where she graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering in 2015. After graduation, she moved to North Dakota to work for Kinder Morgan.

We are pleased to contribute to the Alex Thatcher Memorial Scholarship at Montana Tech, said Kinder Morgan Midstream President Duane Kokinda. Alex was a respected and important part of our team in Williston, N.D. Her passing was a tragic loss for all who knew her. We wish her memory continues to live on through future Montana Tech students whom this scholarship will support, he added.

The Thatcher family issued this statement:

Our family is greatly appreciative of the entire Kinder Morgan company and their generous donation to Alexs scholarship fund at Montana Tech. Alex truly loved her time at Kinder Morgan, as she met some wonderful people, and was living out her dream of being a petroleum engineer. We cannot thank Kinder Morgan enough, as the people became an extremely important part of Alexs life  becoming her family away from home. Thank you Kinder Morgan for your support which has surpassed what we could have ever imagined.

Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 84,000 miles of pipelines and 155 terminals. The pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and more. The terminals store and handle petroleum products, chemicals and other products.
With heated exchanges and soft warnings, a roomful of deeply invested wildlife advocates forecast stormy passage of a coming effort to end federal protection of grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Last March, the federal government moved to remove roughly 700 grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from Endangered Species Act protection and turn management over to state wildlife agencies. That likely will include a hunting season for grizzlies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

While that rule faces court challenges, federal and state bear managers are now considering the same delisting for about 1,000 grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem between the Canadian border and Missoula.

In a preview of what faces the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committees Missoula meetings in November and December, an informal gathering on Tuesday debated what remains to be done before those northern continental divide bears reach recovery.

Grizzly Bear Recovery: Crossroads or Crosshairs was put together by a coalition of groups generally opposed to delisting the grizzly. That included the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force, Wilderness Watch, the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club and Wild West Institute.

But it gave equal time to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear biologists and retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen, who spent 35 years shepherding the predator through Endangered Species Act oversight.

Servheen argued passionately with Fred Allendorf, a retired University of Montana conservation geneticist with equally renowned career experience in wildlife biology. Allendorf predicted the federal government had no chance of delisting grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, because the area's bears couldnt meet a standard known as the distinct population segment.

To do that, Allendorf said those successful bears in Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex had to acknowledge the far less-successful recovery zones in the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk mountains to the west. And the government hadnt made that determination yet.

Theres been a (distinct population segment) policy for 20 years, Allendorf said. You cant ignore that. You cant say the Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirks are separate distinct population segments. So you cant legally delist the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

Servheen countered that the distinct population policy wasnt the deciding factor in the delisting debate.

You cant let grizzly bear recovery get wrapped around the axle of a policy that doesnt apply and will ruin public support, Servheen responded. If we keep refusing to delist, the public will eventually say screw you. People are not going to get in line and work on something thats impossible.

On a separate track, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Wildlife Program Manager Dale Becker warned that dozens of tribal governments and organizations objected to the sport-hunting provision of state management.

Theres more than just biology related to species recovery, Becker said. Grizzly bears are a cut above pretty much every species on the reservation. Their role with the tribes has tremendous cultural, spiritual and ecological significance.

And many tribes, including those on the CSKT, Blackfeet and Wind River reservations that have direct management responsibilities for grizzlies on their lands, want to exercise their sovereign governmental rights to consult with the U.S. government on bear management.

The delisting documentation and biology is good, Becker said of the justification for taking grizzlies off federal protection. But the trophy-hunting is a show-stopper. A reservation boundary doesnt serve as a fence for bears. We need to work closely with other agencies on how to manage them, and its frustrating that that government-to-government consultation hasnt happened.

Independent bear advocate Mike Bader challenged the delisting process from a more policy-focused perspective.

The exact number of bears is less important than where and who they are, Bader said. While they may be thriving in isolated wilderness areas between Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, Bader said their long-term survival depends on the ability to travel between those ecosystems and reproduce. And those linkage corridors remain vulnerable to logging, motorized disturbance, housing development, agricultural activity and a shoot-shovel-and-shut-up mentality toward co-existence with predators.

State grizzly management plans also dont account for climate change that might affect bears food sources, political mandates to increase logging and forest management, increased backcountry recreation, and hunting pressure on grizzly populations in British Columbia and Alberta, Bader said.

FWP research wildlife biologist Cecily Costello countered that those concerns are addressed in state grizzly responsibilities.

Im a bit taken aback by these claims that theres a rush to delist, Costello said. Its been 45 years that weve worked on this. The population has filled in the areas that we expected it to fill in. Weve set goals and met goals and asked people to accept life-changing events in their communities all around the ecosystem. Weve made a social contract. When will it be enough to say we can still conserve bears, but by different means?

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Subcommittee meets November 29 in Missoula. Its decisions get forwarded on to the full Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee meeting on December 12 and 13, also in Missoula. Agendas for both meetings have not yet been posted.
How many of us remember Stanley K. Hathaway?

Or Thomas S. Kleppe?

How many folks are concerned about where David Bernhardt may be?

Not exactly household names?

Hathaway and Kleppe were both secretaries of the Interior, and both came from states neighboring Montana (Hathaway from Wyoming, Kleppe from North Dakota). Both served in the mid-1970s, and now mostly reside on lists of Interior secretaries.

As for Bernhardt, he is currently deputy secretary of the Interior.

We bring their names up not as some extreme trivia question, but as the best demonstration that citizens don't hang on every move nor every leader within the Department of The Interior.

While anyone working for the Department of The Interior deserves our thanks, especially in a place with plenty of public lands like Montana, the leaders who serve or who have served aren't exactly a top concern or even top of mind.

Yet Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke believes that it is essential that Interior employees and the public know exactly when he is in the office. In a rather unbelievable story published in The Washington Post, Zinke has ordered that the Department of the Interior Secretary flag (yes, there is such a thing) be flown above the Interior's office building when he is there, and taken down when he leaves.

The gesture gets repeated daily, and is a custom apparently borrowed from the military. When Zinke is not on site in D.C., a flag is flown whenever the deputy secretary is in the building.

The Washington Post reports that many of the cabinet-level secretaries have their own flags, although they haven't been used in decades. Apparently the pretentious gesture does little more than add to wasteful government spending by buying useless flags. In addition, it also serves as a snooty reminder of just how much Zinke apparently thinks of himself  that he needs a flag to announce his arrival.

Spokeswoman Heather Swift had the chutzpah to claim that flying the flag when Zinke was in the building was a matter of accountability  you know, people can actually tell when he's at the office.

Yet was that really the issue with voters? Do voters really believe that cabinet secretaries don't show up at the office? We think more citizens are concerned about what Zinke does once he's at the office, not where is he actually at.

Wasting what is probably a nominal amount on a flag that no one recognizes is problematic: That's the entire purpose of a flag  everyone has to understand the symbol. Beyond that, government officials have to go to the work of raising and lowering a flag when Zinke is around. If that's not a waste of government time, we don't know what is. For an administration that pledged to redouble efforts on matters important to the American people, Zinke would do well to remember the people aren't clamoring for more flags.

The gesture isn't symbolic, as Zinke's staff would have you believe, it's exactly what's wrong with government. No one is worried about when Zinke is in "garrison"  as his staff puts it. The Trump Administration has touted that it is draining the swamp and returning America back to the citizens. But having the heraldry of a flag announcing that Zinke is in the building is an elitism that seems more fit for royalty and demonstrates that Zinke believes a certain amount of genuflection is order.

The Washington Post reports that Zinke also has commissioned commemorative coins with his name on them to give to staff and visitors. Zinkes predecessors and some other Cabinet secretaries have coins bearing agency seals, but not personalized ones.

These actions are pompous and a betrayal of his Montana roots. Montana is the kind of place where most of us know our senators and governor by their first name. We live in a state that values face-to-face conversation that doesn't have to happen through intermediaries and underlings. We also believe a nod, handshake or the quick honk of a horn is enough of a greeting. We don't need flags.

Beyond the sheer arrogance it takes to announce your presence with flags, Zinke's actions are not historic and they're not a move toward transparency. Instead, they represent militarization of civilian government. The tradition of flying flags has its American roots in the military when commanders were on site.

While Zinke's service in the military is admirable, secretary of Interior is not a military post. We're not a government run by the military. This is a civilian government still. While we don't doubt Zinke's long military career may help him in leadership, it was not a prerequisite.

Secretary Zinke, running a flag up a flagpole may earn you a salute from your staff, but it won't earn you respect.

 The Billings Gazette
Money is the lifeblood of our economy, but our financial system is a train wreck in slow motion.

After the banking system collapsed in 2008, only ruinous borrowing has even allowed us to pretend that our economy is recovering. If you borrow credit card money, has your income gone up? No. If you subtract all the borrowing, our economy has actually been shrinking. We face an economic catastrophe when the bill comes due. Our banking system has been giving us a false recovery and transferring wealth from the poor to the rich in the process.

The people of Montana are drowning in debt. I am running because we must solve the debt problem before the next financial crisis hits, or we are all in big trouble.

To fix our economy, we must stop the banking system from sucking our economy dry. The banking system truly is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money (Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone magazine). We wont get help from Jon Tester. Goldman Sachs is Jon Testers third-largest campaign contributor, and 10 of his top 20 contributors are financial institutions whose practices I plan on reforming from top to bottom.

It doesnt help matters that Jon Tester sits on the Senate Banking Committee, which is supposed to police the big banks. Congress feeble attempt at reforming the financial system, the Dodd-Frank bill, only pretended to fix things. Dodd-Frank took the wind out of the sails of all the folks who worked so hard to bring change to Wall Street. Passing a pretend bill was worse than passing no bill at all.

I have a plan to reform the banking system, and I will get the job done in short order. I will bring a new financial system and a new framework to help everyone, including those without college educations, start a business and get the money they need without borrowing. We should not be forced to accept loans from banks to start businesses.

We need a brand new social safety net to ensure that no one falls through the cracks. Lets not kid ourselves  the kind of social safety net we want is generous and expensive. We have to solve finance so that we can help people help each other.
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MUSCATINE  The city of Wilton is joining together to stand with the family of a teenage cyclist who was hit by a car and injured last Friday.

While on her way to work, Sylvia Clark Hansen, 19, was riding her bike when she was hit by a car on Highway 38 in Wilton. According to a police report from the Iowa State Patrol, a 36-year-old Muscatine resident, whose name is being withheld, was driving just south of 100th Street/Cedar Muscatine Road when the car collided with the back tire of a bicycle.

The crash threw the cyclist, Hansen, into the windshield and hood of the car. She is currently at University Hospitals, Iowa City, with a coma, head injuries and several broken bones, according to a news release.

The Wilton city government, police department, churches, schools and residents are working to spread the word and support the Hansen family, including Syliva's parents, John and Colleen Hansen.

"Sylvia is one of our own and along with her family, we want everyone to be aware of the danger of walking, running or riding a bicycle or even a moped after dark," Police Chief Tim Leathers said.

The Wilton Police Department has started a campaign called "See the inVESTment," and hopes to donate a reflective vest to anyone who rides a bike, runs or walks after dark in the city. Officers have been passing out vests to moped drivers and free vests are available at the Wilton Police Department or Wilton City Hall.

Residents have also started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Hansen family. So far, the site said more than $8,000 has been raised.

The crash is under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

Sarah Ritter
MUSCATINE  This year, Muscatine Community School District is starting preparation for ACT as early as the third grade. Using readiness benchmarks linked to the ACT material, students will be assessed for their English, math, reading, science and writing to determine their incremental readiness.

Four years ago, only grades eight through 10 took the Aspire curriculum. A year ago they extended it from grade four and up, and now the district is beginning this assessment work in the third grade.

"From our standpoint the Iowa Assessment is certainly meaningful, but from a student or parent perspective, how meaningful is it?" said Chris Nienhaus, principal at Muscatine High School. "Obviously doing well on the ACT opens doors to college. Our mindset is to offer a rigorous curriculum so that students are prepared for college even if they dont decide to do it."

The State of Iowa requires the Iowa Assessment to be taken by all students. But the legislature left up to individual districts to decide what their other student assessment would be. Muscatine chose the College Board's ACT Aspire program.

"We want students to start thinking about going to college and preparing for the test as early as possible, which is why we are adopting the testing starting at grade three," Nienhaus said. "Having something that revolves around the ACT test gets them in the mindset that college is a possibility."

Part of this change is making sure that more students are taking the ACT in the district. The ACT costs a little over $43 per test. Though there is a fee waiver for some low-income students, this cost barrier has been detrimental to their ability to take the test.

In a 2014 study, the ACT reported that on average, low-income students which they define as having a family income of $36,000 per year or less performed worse on the ACT than their wealthier peers. Among their reasons were lack of exposure to the recommended core curriculum prior to the exam and access to the test.

Muscatine students have access to the ACT itself, which the school provides now at no cost. Consequently, participation numbers have increased. Between 2013 and 2014 in Muscatine Community Schools, the number of ACT participants jumped from 160 to 200. Between 2015 and 2016 that number jumped from 183 to 300. In 2017, that number had risen slightly to 317.

Since this spike in participation, the average composite score for the district is trending down. In 2017, the average composite score for Muscatine, 19.4, dipped below that of the state, 21.9.

Nienhaus said that with more students taking the test, the score drop is not a surprise. He hopes that the implementation of the ACT Aspire program over time will lead toward higher scores for the future. He said that for many students there are still some things they can do to prepare.

"No. 1, take the most rigorous course work available to you," Nienhaus said. "We went from 8 AP classes to 22 AP classes. We had no Pre AP classes. Now we have several at the high school and the district has implemented Pre AP for math and language arts as early as the fifth grade. Obviously not every student should take AP or Pre AP, but we want all kids to try them and know what college work is all about."

The other thing for Nienhaus is paying attention to what skill sets the Aspire assessments say the student needs work on.

"What happens with this is that they keep track of everything you do," Nienhaus said. "Starting in third grade, it will follow them all the way through. By the time they are in their junior year, it gives them ideas on things to focus on and skill sets to improve your score. They'll have a nice report that gives them data points for the long term."
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
When Louis Salem relocated his furniture store recently to its new location at 1326 Main St. in Napa, he brought with him his time-honored way of doing business: When a customer leaves his store, they leave happy.

Thats my number one goal, said Salem. We are not interested in a one-time deal; we want everyone in this town to become a repeat customer.

Salem, who has operated Furniture 4 Less for 27 years, says repeat and referral customers are what keep him in business.

We are doing good business here, because when people come in, they buy, he said. I tell customers to check 10 furniture stores first and then come and see us. I guarantee we will give them the best price and the best service.

We want three things from customers, Salem said: a hug, a kiss, and of course, their business.

He likes that he has become a familiar face downtown. When I walk around downtown people recognize me and say hello, they call me the furniture man, he chuckled.

When we re-opened the store a few months ago at our new location, we had old customers coming in with tears in their eyes to welcome us back, Salem said. His store had previously been located on Jefferson Street, Soscol Avenue and Silverado Trail.

Customers are our gold mine, we dont want to sell them once and never see them again. Sometimes we just give small pieces of furniture away to long-time customers because we know they will be back, he added.

You name it when it comes to the furniture we carry: living room, dining room, bedroom, all kinds of mattresses. At any price level. If we dont have something you want, we can often get it here in a day, Salem said.

We will often deliver for free if thats important, and we can deliver the same day most of the time at any time that suits our customers.

Salem has raised his children here, and two of his sons have worked with him at the store. His son, Omar, worked in the store many years and is now a police officer with the city of Napa. Today, his younger son, Louai, is working in the store. Salem also has a daughter, Myriam, who is a dispatcher with the Berkeley police department.

Some of our customers are buying because they have purchased a bigger home, others have just moved here and they just want something basic, Salem said. We are also helping sellers and real estate agents to stage homes when they put houses up for sale.

Our business is really very simple, he said. When you see furniture you want you come to me and I will get you the best price.

Salem would like to renovate the Furniture neon sign above his building, but said it depends on him getting a long-term lease.

If we can afford to stay here for the long term, I will get it fixed but otherwise it doesnt make sense, he said.

Furniture 4 Less is open daily, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday  Friday, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends. Visit his website at furniture4lessnapa.net.
As a director of the Napa County Taxpayers Association, I have been monitoring Napa Valley College actions as it proceeds with plans to place a huge $280 million school bond tax on the June 2018 ballot. A detailed outline of tasks has been developed, which started in May 2017, and ends with a bond measure on the ballot for Election Day in June 2018.

A key component of the task outline is a survey of voters, which has been conducted by a research consultants polling to judge the potential support for a new Napa Valley College bond measure. I can only assume that the college administration does not believe the level of community non-support for any new bond measure as clearly indicated by the results of the last two bond measure attempts that the residents of Napa defeated.

My letter to the editor published in an Aug. 23 article resulted in a response from the college president, Dr. Ron Kraft, indicating that the college had not yet made a decision to propose a new bond measure. The results of the consultants polling are now available on the college website.

According to the consultants report, only 22.7 percent of those polled said they would Definitely vote yes for a new bond measure. Similar polling results for the failed 2014 college bond shows that 25 percent of those polled said they would Definitely vote yes. Since a bond, tax will pass only if it receives approval by 55 percent or more of the voters, these statistics clearly indicate a new tax proposal at this time will fail.

One might logically ask why so many people do not support a new college bond. Here are several reasons:

First, the college was reported to have lost $70 million of most recent bond tax that did pass as a result of cost overruns.

Second, the college failed to identify specific bond projects with valid cost estimates in their last failed bond proposal and apparently does not intend to do so in planning for this bond proposal. A related administrative issue is that just recently, the state threatened to close the college nursing program due to substandard administration and teacher qualifications.

Napa Valley College has already lost two bond tax elections. Obviously, more work on a deeper understanding of the underlying reasons for the poor public support for the last failed bond measure, as well as the lack of support demonstrated by recent polling is required. This should be a first step leading to rebuilding the public trust and perceptions before any new bond is proposed.

This is serious, and I recommend that the college administration and trustees review the underlying causes and actual low public support statistics before proposing another bond tax. Two lost bond tax elections are bad enough, but zero for three could be catastrophic.

I believe that the college administration and the board of trustees should now come to a logical conclusion and not propose a new bond tax for Napa Valley College at this time.

Jack Gray, Director

Napa County Taxpayers Association
Since the wildland fires began on Sunday, Oct. 8, nearly 154,000 acres have burned in Napa and Sonoma counties. In those fires, 29 people have died.

Its been a hellish time since then as firefighters battle the Atlas, Tubbs and Nuns fires. Were no strangers to natural disasters, having had numerous fires in the past and floods and earthquakes, said state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa. But this one has significantly impacted more people than any of those, probably all put together.

Throughout the state, more than 11,000 firefighters continue to fight 12 large wildfires that have burned more than 245,000 acres.

Statewide, according to Cal Fire, the death toll remains at 41, more than 5,700 structures have been destroyed and some 34,000 people remain evacuated, but as firefighters contain the fires, people will continue to go back to their homes.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Napa County Sheriffs Office lifted evacuation orders in two more fire-scarred areas  Green Valley Road and Partrick Road. Wild Horse Road, east of Green Valley, will remain under evacuation for the moment, the office said.

Central LNU Complex

The Central LNU Complex is made up of four fires: Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns and Oakmont. All but Tubbs are in Sonoma County, although the Nuns Fire threatened Oakville and St. Helena in Napa County on Sunday.

On Tuesday, St. Helena City Manager Mark Prestwich said that work to ensure full fire containment continued.

Cal Fire crews are strengthening dozer-created fire containment lines and aerial assets are assisting with these efforts. The fires do not pose a present threat to properties in St. Helena under current conditions. These fires will continue burning to containment lines for several days before they are fully extinguished, he said.

The Nuns Fire, however, continues to produce excess smoke in the valley.

Due to these active wildfires and changing wind patterns, the Bay Area Air Quality District advises that air quality throughout the Bay Area could be impacted for many days to come.

As of Wednesday morning, Cal Fire stats show that 22 people have died in those four fires, which have burned 103,285 acres. Containment ranged from 63 percent for the Pocket Fire (12,430 acres) to 91 percent for the Tubbs Fire, which started in Calistoga and burned through to Santa Rosa. It burned 36,432 acres.

It is expected to be contained on Friday, Oct. 20. The three fires have destroyed 5,017 structures and damaged 264. One of the deaths was that of a volunteer firefighter from Missouri, Garrett Paiz, 38, who died after crashing the water tender he was driving on Oakville Grade on Monday.

As of Wednesday morning, resources on these four fires include 5,274 personnel, 579 engines, 101 hand crews, 95 bulldozers, 60 water tenders, 32 helicopters and 10 air tankers.

Schools remain closed

On Tuesday, the Napa County Office of Education said that schools throughout Napa County would remain closed through Friday because of the poor air quality. The school districts include: Calistoga Joint Unified; Howell Mountain Elementary, Napa Valley College, Napa Valley Unified, Pope Valley Union Elementary, St. Helena Unified and the direct student services programs of the Napa County Office of Education.

Students attending Angwins Pacific Union College returned to campus on Tuesday after being gone for a week. Classes began on Wednesday.

According to a PUC press release, among the first responders working tirelessly to contain the wildfires were several PUC students who volunteer with the local Angwin Volunteer Fire Department, along with many college staff and faculty members, including J.R. Rogers, director of recruitment and fire chief for the Angwin Volunteer Fire Department.

He said, Over 11,000 firefighters and first responders have been working around the clock and the containment of the fires continues to increase, which is extremely positive. Angwin continues to remain safe from harm and it will be really great to see the students back on campus. I cant express how proud I am of the Angwin Volunteer Fire Department and Napa County fire crews. Our team is made of Angwin community members, faculty, staff, and students and the dedication theyve shown during this extremely difficult time has been inspiring to me.

For the last week, the Virgil O. Parrett Field, has been the staging area for Cal Fires helicopters and other aircraft assisting with fire relief efforts, according to the press release. The aircraft have helped with water dropping, supply runs, mapping fire hot spots, and coordinating with air tankers dropping fire retardant. PUC has provided housing for many of the pilots to help with these efforts.

For the past several days, Napa Valley College had served as an evacuation shelter for Calistoga residents, but the college closed the shelter on Monday. The college will reopen for classes on Monday, Oct. 23.

Calistoga repopulated

More Calistogans returned to town after a mandatory evacuation was lifted on Sunday afternoon, but the sidewalks were still sparse of pedestrians on Monday.

Anticipating that the evacuation would be lifted, City Manager Dylan Feik said officials contacted the owners of Cal Mart and Silverado ACE as well as the three gas stations in town to give them some time to get prepared for the repopulation.

Trucks started to roll in with goods on Sunday and deliveries continued through the day on Monday to both Cal Mart and ACE.

Sean OBrien, assistant store manager at Cal Mart, said they had to get rid of quite a bit of perishable items such as dairy and produce. A lot of companies were very helpful in responding and making deliveries, he said.

Tim Petersen, co-owner of ACE, said they were stocking up on things like respirator masks, cleaning supplies, paint, Tyvex suits, gloves, goggles, phone chargers, pipe fittings, shovels and rakes, and such.

Calistoga Roastery was open for a short time Sunday while co-owners Eva King and Clive Richardson were throwing out the perishable items, and Richardson was fixing a sink leak. They wanted to offer coffee and a place for folks to catch up, King said.

The best thing is seeing the faces of people coming back, King said.

Southern LNU Complex

The Atlas Fire, which makes up the Southern LNU Complex, has burned 51,064 acres and was 83 percent contained at 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to Cal Fire. Six people had died in the fire, which started at 9:52 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 8. Cal Fire reports 421 structures had been destroyed and another 66 damaged.

Fighting that fire were 3,253 personnel, which includes 61 hand crews. Resources were 330 engines, 30 water tenders, 15 helicopters, and 36 bulldozers.

Headlines tell grim story

Looking at the headlines in the Napa Valley Register, one can track the wildland fires path.

-Tuesday, Oct. 10: Fires besiege rural Napa

-Oct. 11: Blazes rage

-Oct. 12: At the mercy of the wind

-Oct. 13: You are on your own

-Oct. 14: Glimmer of hope amid destruction

-Oct. 15: Historic disaster

-Oct. 16: Valley shows signs of recovery

-Oct. 17: One-stop disaster center opens

-Oct. 18: After the fire, housing a priority

Editors Note: Anne Ward Ernst, editor of The Weekly Calistogan, and Napa Valley Register reporter Barry Eberling contributed to this story.
Before the tragedies of the fires that raged through the Napa and Sonoma valleys and tore the focus of our attention from the beauty of the autumn, there were two brief days when it seemed that no place on earth could be quite as beautiful as Northern California.

Walking from a shaded parking lot, through the oak forest and across the ever-flowing Ritchie Creeks wooden bridge, there seemed plenty of time to reflect on the natural rhythm of autumn in valley, with a light breeze blowing and yellow leaves falling gently to the ground thick with acorns.

Each step seemed to lead further back in time until the splashing sound of the creek was mixed with an eerie sound of fiddle music coming from a turn in the path.

There was just a glimpse of a little girl wearing a gingham bonnet up ahead dodging beneath an immense hollowed-out linden tree. Then the sight of an old wooden flume  high above on stilt-like trellises  came into view along with the brown clapboard wall of an ancient building with its hand-hewn shingled roof.

The Bale Grist Mills 36-foot diameter water wheel turned slowly, while down below a village of craftsmen and women dressed in 1840s garb had set up tents, tables, trays, pots and pans to celebrate Old Mill Days, the unique Napa Valley harvest celebration at the Bale Grist Mill Historic Park between St. Helena and Calistoga.

The celebration held Oct. 7-8 was an opportunity for young and old to relive the lives of valley folk in the 1840s. There were kids sitting on shaving horses, trying their hands at fashioning shingles with spoke shaves. Others had grabbed the handles of a buck saw and were pushing and pulling the enormous saw through the logs.

Under the oaks there was a demonstration of a rope-making machine, an outdoor cook kitchen with cast iron pots, a medicine show with a doctor selling patent medicines, a soldier dressed in Civil War attire talking about his weapons, a woman showing the art of making lace by hand, and a place for kids to borrow period appropriate clothing to join the fun.

Beneath the mill, a group of local musicians with banjo, guitar, fiddles and jugs were plunking out an old-time tune.

Up above, inside the threshing room of the mill there was home-made mill-ground corn bread and the opportunity to slather each thick piece with home-made butter.

Up the plank walk and into the mill itself park volunteers were demonstrating how the giant wooden structure transformed the gravitational energy of water flowing from Ritchie Creek into a machine that could grind the grains that had once flourished in the fields of the settlers of the Napa Valley.

Outside, beneath the flume, younger children were enjoying the experience of pouring and sifting the ground grain, bucket to bucket. Others were constructing corn-husk dolls at an impromptu workshop on the picnic tables.

The Bale Mill had originally been sited and built in 1846 by Dr. Edward Turner Bale on property in Rancho Carne Humana land grant. Bale lived near the site until his death in 1849. The original mill stones from that time are still used today in the fully operational structure.

Each year the Old Mill Days celebration allows children and adults to visit and participate in one of the Napa Valleys most significant and unique historic recreations. It is a time to relish the natural rhythms of life as it must have existed more than 170 years ago for the original settlers of California.

Hard to believe that, in the early hours of the following morning, the valley itself would suffer so much from wind and fire. So much was to be lost in those days that followed.

But for that brief instant on Saturday and Sunday, Old Mill Days seemed to capture the spirit and the essence of the settlers of Northern California.

Thankfully the Bale Grist Mill escaped the terrible conflagration of the following weeks fires. Perhaps, in recalling those two brief days, we can learn to see the mill as a testament of the resilience and ingenuity of our ancestors in this wild and natural place called Napa Valley. We will need their strength in the days, months and years ahead.
As I write this, the threat to St. Helena is subsiding but not quite past. A few changes of clothes and my most precious documents are still stashed in a go bag in case of an evacuation. Im taking big gulps of fresh air, having taken it for granted for so long. And yet my trifling inconveniences pale next to the tragedies that have affected our neighbors in Santa Rosa, Atlas Peak, Napa and Calistoga. As I wrote last week, Dear Readers: Prayers, donations, volunteer time  please give what you can.

***

Lets try to forget about the fires for a few minutes. John Hawkley, production manager for the Star and the Napa Valley Register, is known for his prize pumpkins. True to form, he grew another whopper this year. See the picture of it next to my column? How much do you think it weighs? Take a guess and Ill tell you a little later.

***

Heres some good news, which we could all use right now. Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed AB 317, which provides $25,000 a year in state matching dollars for Napa Countys three farmworker housing centers. The wine industry itself provides the lions share of funding for the centers, and its great to see the state chipping in.

***

Last weeks fires and the resulting power outage forced the library to reschedule the last entry in Jay Greenes A Brief History of Russia lecture series. Greene will now cover From Stalin to Putin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the library. Thanks to the Friends & Foundation, St. Helena Public Library, for its support.

***

From an anonymous correspondent: On the west side of town, with the smoke looking ominous over Spring Mountain, on Sunday morning a woman was spotted praying with her rosary dangling from her hands. First she stood for a long time, hands raised toward the sky. Later she went down on all fours in the middle of the street, still with one hand raised toward the sky, rosary dangling. I cant think of anything to add.

***

As usual, inspiring stories of hope emerged from the darkness of last week. Vintner Robin Baggett of Alpha Omega Winery donated 10 barbecue units and the Baggett BBQ Team to Operation BBQ Relief, which set up shop in Napa and Sonoma counties and fed thousands of first responders and displaced residents daily. Thats just one of many examples of the wine industry and the rest of the community reaching out to help. Big kudos also to Ines Chiarello and the rest of the crew at the St. Helena firehouse, which has been serving three meals a day ever since the fires started.

***

While getting away from the fires last week, Mariam Hansen of the St. Helena Historical Society checked out the Sutro Library in San Francisco, which is part of the California State Library. Local history buffs will be charmed to learn that she found an ad for the St. Helena Star from 1885. Editor and proprietor: W.A. Mackinder. Subscription rate: $3 a year. Publication schedule: Twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Best of all, the papers self-description: An organ of the Upper Valley and representative of the Chief Wine-Producing Region of the United States. Well said. See more of Mariams discoveries at the St. Helena Historical Societys Facebook page.

***

How inspiring it is to see the many signs along Main Street thanking our courageous first responders. As one of them says, The love in the air is thicker than the smoke.

***

John Hawkleys pumpkin weighed in at a healthy 1,456 pounds. Were you close?
- North Korea may collapse in 12 months - ex government official.





- Kim Jong-un desperately wants relations with the U.S..





- Current sanctions imposed by the White House on North Korea are historically high.

A former senior ranking North Korean official has stated that the country may not last up to a year with the current state of sanctions levelled against it by the United States.





Ri Jong-ho, who ran an international network of North Korean businesses which funnelled money into the hermit kingdom, said the country "desperately wants relations with the US".





"The sanctions that the White House has imposed on North Korea are of a historic level," Mr Ri told an Asia Society event in New York.





"Never before has the country faced such tough sanctions. I don't know if North Korea will survive a year with these sanctions. People will die," he said.





He added: "Right now the leadership of North Korea have deployed missiles aimed at the US and are doing these provocations, but they desperately want relations with the US."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-17 20:53:28|Editor: ying

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BERLIN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The German armed forces (Bundeswehr) have stopped their training mission in northern Iraq over security concerns, German media reported on Tuesday.

The decision was first announced by the Ministry of Defense on Monday. According to a spokesperson, the security of German military personnel was threatened by the recent escalation of tensions between Kurdish militia forces and the Iraqi national army.

Iraqi troops have advanced into Kurdish-controlled regions of northern Iraq, seizing strategic assets such as oilfields and military bases and closing in on the important city of Kirkuk. Bagdad is hereby reacting to a controversial independence referendum held by Kurds in the north of Iraq.

According to the legally non-binding poll held in September, the vast majority of Kurds want their region to secede from Iraq.

German armed forces have been stationed in northern Iraq to train Kurdish Peshmerga units for fight against the so-called "Islamic State" (IS). The Defense Ministry said that it would discuss the developing situations with other allies participating in the international effort against IS.

Berlin had announced earlier that it would re-assess whether it would continue to deploy its approximately 140 soldiers in northern Iraq in light of the implications of the Kurdish independence referendum. Thousands of local inhabitants have already fled their homes out of fear of a civil war.

The stand-off between the Kurdish regional government and Bagdad raises difficult questions for the German armed forces which rely on both parties as partners in the fight against the IS. The Defense spokesperson was keen to emphasize that Berlin had provided weapons to Peshmerga units on the understanding that these would be used exclusively against the IS.

The Left party parliamentary delegate Sevim Dagdelen has urged German troops to retreat from the region "immediately and entirely" in light of recent events. Dagedelen called on Berlin to end its support to the Kurdish Peshmerga and allow the existing mandate for the mission to expire in January 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 01:30:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of Italians who moved to another country rose by 15.4 percent in 2016 compared to the previous year, the Migrantes Foundation, a Catholic organization, reported Tuesday.

A total of 124,076 Italians emigrated in 2016, according to the Migrantes report titled "Italians in the World", which compiles data from ISTAT national statistics agency, INPS national pension fund, and the Bank of Italy.

The majority leave for work reasons, since 77 percent of emigrants are adults aged 22-54, the report said.

Most Italian emigrants moved to another European country, primarily Britain, followed by Germany, Switzerland, and France. Other favored destinations included Brazil and the United States, according to the Migrantes report.

A fairly recent trend is that China, Romania, and the United Arab Emirates are now among the first 25 preferred destinations of Italian emigrants, the report shows.

"Over the past three years we've seen a flow of Italian professionals who were hired in China, and also of families who left Italy in hopes of finding better opportunities there," Delfina Licata, who edited the Migrantes "Italians in the World" report, told Xinhua. "They range from artisans, to engineers, to import/export professionals," Licata said.

Another interesting trend, she said, is the flow of Chinese-Italians to China. "They have Italian nationality and they are bilingual (in Italian and Chinese), and this opens up interesting opportunities for them," she explained.

Overall, 55.5 percent of the emigrants in 2016 were men and 62.4 percent were unmarried, according to the report. However there were also entire families moving abroad, including children under 10 years old and grandparents aged over 65. A large portion, or 39 percent, was aged 18-34 -- a 23.3 percent jump compared to 2015.

Another 25 percent were aged 35-49, up 12.5 percent over 2015, while 9.7 percent were aged 50-64, according to the Migrantes report.

The researchers called this latter, older group "the unemployed without a hope" -- professionals who lost their jobs in Italy and faced "enormous difficulties in finding (work) that would allow them to support their families and their lifestyle".

The positive aspect of this flow of people away from Italy is that emigrants carry their homeland within them, according to Migrantes. "The land of origin writes an indelible story in each of its inhabitants, and when he becomes a migrant he will always take it with him, in whatever part of the world he may travel to," the report said.

"The migrant is the best ambassador of the land he has left behind," the report said, calling this "an incentive to the knowledge and appreciation of Italy, as well as a driver of development and economic and cultural growth".

As of January 1 this year, Italy's population numbered just over 60 million, according to ISTAT. Just under 5 million, or 8.2 percent, have emigrated abroad.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 02:40:45|Editor: Song Lifang

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ABUJA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday embark on a state visit to Turkey to address defense cooperation, security, education and migration issues with Turkish authorities.

Buhari's working visit to Ankara followed an invitation by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a presidency statement on Tuesday.

The Nigerian leader is also billed to visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, where he will meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman, the statement said.

The state visit coincides with the ninth D-8 Summit slated for Oct. 20 in Turkey.

The D-8, also known as Developing-8, is an organization for economic development and cooperation between Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Buhari, the statement noted, would also use the occasion of the summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries.

The summit, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the organization, is to focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among member countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 03:00:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ACCRA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday announced the establishment of a joint commission to implement the ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on the delimitation of their maritime boundaries.

The agreement was reached at the end of a two-day official state visit by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara to Ghana.

Both Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Ivorian counterpart expressed their commitments to ensure the smooth implementation of the ITLOS ruling and indicated that the composition of the joint committee would be decided later.

The ITLOS last month rejected Cote d'Ivoire's claims that Ghana had infringed its sovereign boundary in oil exploration within a disputed zone.

The Hamburg-based tribunal prescribed new coordinates for the demarcation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

Akufo-Addo and Ouattara also agreed to work closely on a win-win strategy for a sustainable cocoa industry, pledging to work together to enhance border security to curb the smuggling of cocoa.

Addressing the press after both sides signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), Akufo-Addo said it was obvious that if Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire remained in harmony and were determined to work together, the benefits would inure to the wider group in West Africa, not just to both populations.

"We should, and can be and I believe that now we are making it clear to the world that we are determined to be the vehicles that make possible for the greater cooperation and integration of the people of West Africa," he said.
A bullet train drives in the fields of Binyang County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Huang Xiaobang)

ATHENS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will set another milestone in the long and historic road of China's outstanding transformation, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has said.

"A quick glimpse at the last five years reveals the remarkable progress, both domestically and internationally, that China has achieved under the successful leadership of President Xi Jinping," he said in a written statement to Xinhua.

"Therefore, I see the 19th National Congress as another milestone in the long and historic road of the outstanding transformation of China," he told Xinhua ahead of the key meeting, which opens Wednesday in Beijing.

The CPC has led China since its first national congress in Shanghai in 1921 and has now paved a new path -- socialism with Chinese characteristics -- for the development and prosperity of a modern China that is open to the world, he said.

"I rest assured that regardless of the specific outcome of the 19th National Congress, the Chinese people will continue to follow the prudent path of gradual modernization of the New China, a major and indispensable actor for global prosperity and stability," he said.

"In other words, using the Chinese popular saying and wisdom, I expect the Chinese leadership to keep 'crossing the river by touching the stones,'" the minister said.

"I, personally, and the Greek people will follow with genuine interest this prominent event, while looking forward to further enhancing our excellent bilateral relations with China, our friend and strategic partner," he said.

Kotzias said Greece and China, as cradles of the Western and Eastern civilizations respectively, share a special relationship that has lasted thousands of years and is based on mutual respect and understanding.

"This unique relationship has been the foundation upon which we initiated, together, the Ancient Civilizations Forum," he said, noting that the forum "is now gaining further momentum ... as an important forum for bolstering dialogue and cooperation on cultural issues."

The Greek official also said his country staunchly supports the unity of China, fully respecting the one China policy and Beijing's stance on Taiwan, as well as the "one country, two systems" practice.

"As the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China ... is about to kick off, I think that the whole world will follow with close interest its rulings and deliberations," he said. "I wish the participants and the Chinese people every success."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 04:01:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LAGOS, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's commitment to attain a 30 percent renewable and low-carbon energy mix at low cost by 2030 is clear, firm and unshaken, a top official said Tuesday.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola reiterated the government's commitment at the third edition of the Africa Today Summit in Abuja, the nation's capital.

The summit is a platform designed to discuss issues relating to African economies with a view to advising governments on best policy measures to improve their economy.

Fashola said the government's commitment to change the power outlook for Nigeria and to exploit opportunities for renewable energy at a low cost and low-carbon mix was being driven by necessity, contract and policies.

The minister recalled that available power in May 2015 was 2,690 MW, 85 percent of which generated by gas-fired plants.

This, he said, made the nation vulnerable whenever there was a gas shortage or damage to gas pipelines and assets.

This resulted in the government's plan to diversify energy sources and optimize other assets for power production by producing an energy mix that targeted 30 percent renewable energy by 2030, the former Lagos state governor told his audience.

According to him, the government has signed 14 solar power purchase agreement with developers with the potential to deliver over 1,000 MW of solar power.

The government is in advanced stages of procurement for six small hydro dams for private sector operation.

Fashola said the government has expanded the national grid capacity for on-grid power from 5,000 MW in 2015 to 6,900 MW in September.

The approval of mini-grid regulations to guide registration and licensing for small consumers and off-grid developers has started yielding results, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 05:01:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DUBAI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Dubai International Airport (DXB) will fall short of its 2017 passenger target, which was set at around 90 million passengers, said Paul Griffiths, the CEO of Dubai Airports, the holding firm of DXB.

Griffiths made the remarks at a media pre-briefing on the biennial Dubai Airshow 2017 scheduled during Nov. 12-16.

He said "in the airline industry you must always expect the unexpected," referring to number of setbacks such as the U.S. laptop ban or the ongoing Qatari crisis, which started on June 5 this year.

Since then, the airspace of Dubai remains closed for aircraft flown by government-controlled carriers Qatar Airways and Qatar Executive Jet.

Moreover, on July 20, the United States had ended a four-month long laptop ban for U.S.-bound direct flights from several airports in the Middle East including DXB.

Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), confirmed earlier that the laptop ban had an impact on passenger demand, as the international carrier of the UAE reduced flight frequencies on five of its routes to the United States.

Despite these hurdles, "we had some extraordinary achievements this year, as we exceeded 8 million passengers a month, lasting three months so far," said Griffiths.

"Short-term obstacles must never be the management guideline at DXB. It is important for airports to take a long-term strategic view," he added.

Griffiths has predicted in 2016 that DXB, the world's busiest civil aviation hub, would target more than 90 million travelers in 2017.

In 2016, annual traffic at DXB increased by 7.2 percent to reach 83.6 million passengers.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 05:26:40|Editor: Song Lifang

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NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. auto giant General Motors' subsidiary company Cruise Automation is applying to begin the first sustained testing of vehicles in fully autonomous mode in New York State in early 2018.

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday.

"Autonomous vehicles have the potential to save time and save lives, and we are proud to be working with GM and Cruise on the future of this exciting new technology," Guomo said.

Following the state's recent legislation allowing the testing of autonomous technology through a pilot program, GM's Cruise Automation is applying to begin testing in Manhattan in New York City, according to the release.

The testing will include an engineer in the driver's seat to monitor and evaluate performance, and a second person in the passenger seat.

The Department of Motor Vehicles and State Police will work with Cruise and GM to ensure all testing meets relevant safety, vehicle and insurance requirements.

Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise Automation, said that testing in New York will accelerate the timeline to deploying self-driving cars at scale. "New York City is one of the most densely populated places in the world and provides new opportunities to expose our software to unusual situations, which means we can improve our software at a much faster rate."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 07:20:09|Editor: liuxin

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Delegates pose for a group photo during the Pre-COP23 meeting at Denarau, an island near Fiji's third largest city of Nadi, on Oct. 17, 2017. A total of 300 delegates from over 60 countries and regions, international institutions, civil society organizations and business leaders are gathering here to attend the two-day conference, namely Pre-COP 23, which officially started here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 07:22:12|Editor: Song Lifang

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Image taken on Oct. 12, 2017, shows a woman washing the bottles of artisanal wine in San Blas, province of Cienfuegos, Cuba. Five years ago, Orelvis Rodriguez decided to take up winemaking on the suggestion of a friend, and now he is a well-known winemaker. Here, in the small town of San Blas, Bodegas Rodriguez, or the Rodriguez Winery, has become known for its artisanal winemaking, without the use of chemical additives. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez)

By Raul Menchaca

CIENFUEGOS, Cuba, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Five years ago, Orelvis Rodriguez decided to take up winemaking on the suggestion of a friend, and now he is a well-known winemaker.

"I used to be a farm worker and it was a friend who introduced me into the world of wines, which I knew nothing about at that time," Rodriguez, 35 years old, told Xinhua at his small vineyard, located in the Guamuhaya Mountains in Cienfuegos province in central Cuba, some 400 meters above sea level.

Here, in the small town of San Blas, Bodegas Rodriguez, or the Rodriguez Winery, has become known for its artisanal winemaking, without the use of chemical additives.

Rodriguez joined the Jagua Club, which gathers 67 provincial winemakers, and began to learn the art of oenology.

To everyone's surprise, his winery went on to win the Grand Prize at the National Wine Festival in February.

Artisanal wines, including fruit wines, compete in several categories, from white, red and rose to bubbly, dry, semi-dry, sweet and semi-sweet.

His entry, a semi-dry wine made of cherries, surpassed the 117 wine competitors across the country.

At his one-hectare vineyard, Rodriguez cultivates the Vitis tiliifolia, commonly known as the Caribbean grape, but he also makes wines from tropical fruits, among them guava, cashew and tamarind, with a monthly production between 200 and 300 12-bottle crates that are sold at stores in the provincial capital Cienfuegos.

His next move, he says, is to legally register the Bodegas Rodriguez brand in a bid to expand the family business. His wife helps to design the labels and paste them on the bottles.

The president of the Jagua Club, Hector Ledesma, says the secret of Rodriguez's success lies in the area's privileged climate and the pure water of the Matagua River, which runs down from the mountains.

"The climate conditions help a lot, in addition the water is not chlorinated, it comes from natural springs," said Ledesma, who holds a PhD in Ecological Sciences from Spain's University of Alicante.

At the turn of the 19th century, the French founding fathers of Cienfuegos brought with them the Mediterranean Vitis vinifera grapevine, with which they made their wines in Bordeaux. But the plant did not adapt to the local climate, so they had no other alternative but to start using the country's fruits as raw material.

In time, the wines made in Cienfuegos gained fame. Four plants were opened to produce wines, with special emphasis on a wine made with papaya.

Production stopped after the 1959 Revolution, because the factories were needed to manufacture more essential goods for cooking.

Since economic reforms were launched by President Raul Castro in 2008, small-scale family businesses like Rodriguez's have begun to flourish.

The budding entrepreneur now dreams that Bodegas Rodriguez will in the not-too-distant future become one of Cuba's exportable items.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 09:02:25|Editor: Song Lifang

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ISLAMABAD, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Both the Pakistani government and army have rejected that recent drone attacks allegedly conducted by the United States targeted Pakistani territories, adding that the targets were in Afghanistan.

No drone strikes have taken place in Kurram Agency in northwestern Pakistan, the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said late Tuesday in a statement, adding that there has been no airspace violation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in that area.

"Military operations are being conducted in Khost and Paktia, Afghanistan by Resolute Support Mission (RSM) and Afghan forces, opposite Kurram Agency. During the last 24 hours, a number of air engagements have taken place in those areas inside Afghanistan with reports of heavy losses to terrorists," the ISPR said.

Local reports said that three drone attacks took place in the bordering area between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past 24 hours and about 31 people were killed and many injured. The reports quoted local officials in Pakistan's northwestern Kurram Agency that last night's strike was located in the agency in Pakistan.

The ISPR said that the operations were a follow up of Pakistani army chief's visit to Afghanistan, which has enhanced coordination between the forces, adding that RSM timely shared details about the said operation within Afghan territory to Pakistan.

"A better security coordination will take both countries towards enduring peace and stability defeating the common enemy," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif urged the United States to limit its drone attacks when relevant countries are trying to revive the negotiation between the Afghan government and Taliban.

He also said that the drone strikes in Pak-Afghan border are not in the Pakistani territories, adding that border between Pakistan and Afghanistan are not well defined.

Local reports said that the attack targeted militant houses and a key militant commander was among the killed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 09:22:36|Editor: Song Lifang

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The Communist Party of China (CPC) opens the 19th National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened Wednesday as socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a "new era."

Xi Jinping is delivering a report titled "Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era."

The theme of the congress is to "Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind, hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation."

"The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation," Xi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 09:37:40|Editor: Song Lifang

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SANAA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Six members from a family, mostly children, were killed Tuesday night in an airstrike carried out by Saudi-led coalition in Yemen's northeastern province of Jawf, a local security official told Xinhua.

The airstrike hit the civilian house in Rohoob area of Barat Alanan district, killing the husband, wife and their four little girls, and destroying their house, the official said by phone on condition of anonymity.

A boy, the only survivor from the family, was critically wounded from the airstrike, said the official.

Rohoob area is a populated agricultural area and is about 20 km south of the battlefront, where fighting has been raging on between Shiite Houthi rebels and the government forces backed by the coalition warplanes.

The strike is the latest among a series of airstrikes in the war-torn Arab country since the coalition launched a large-scale air campaign against the rebels in Yemen more than two and a half years ago.

Residents said the family's house was targeted again a few minutes later when rescuers were trying to approach the house to help rescue possible survivors.

They said no rescuers were hurt as they were still a few meters away from the house.

Six days ago, a coalition airstrike targeted a family's house in Nehm district on the northeastern outskirts of the capital Sanaa, killing five civilians, mostly children and injuring three others from the same family, according to a local security official and residents.

In March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict to back the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Houthi rebels, who seized most of the country's northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.

More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the war with over 3 million others displaced, according to UN agencies.

The country has also been hit by a deadly cholera epidemic and is on the brink of mass famine.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 09:47:44|Editor: Song Lifang

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump defended his controversial claim Tuesday that his predecessors didn't properly console families of slain soldiers, invoking the death of the son of White House chief of staff John Kelly.

"For the most part, to the best of my knowledge, I think I've called every family of somebody that's died, and it's the hardest call to make," Trump said Tuesday morning during an interview with Fox News radio host Brian Kilmeade.

"As far as other representatives, I don't know, I mean you could ask General Kelly, did he get a call from Obama?" Trump added.

Kelly's son, Marine Corps Lieutenant Robert Kelly, was killed by a landmine in Afghanistan in late 2010.

Kelly, former secretary of Homeland Security for the Trump administration, was appointed in late July to replace Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff.

A White House official said Kelly didn't receive a call from then President Barack Obama at that time, but Obama hosted a breakfast in May, 2011 for Gold Star families, attended by Kelly and his wife.

"You could ask other people. I don't know what Obama's policy was," Trump said Tuesday.

"I write letters and I also call. I really speak for myself. I don't know what Bush did. I don't know what Obama did," he said.

The president's comments came after he said during a White House press conference Monday that most of his predecessors, including Obama, did not call the families of fallen service members.

Trump was answering a question about why he had spoken publicly about the killing of four U.S. soldiers who got ambushed by Islamic State (IS) fighters in Niger earlier this month.

"I've written them personal letters," Trump said. "I will, at some point during the period of time, call the parents and the families -- because I have done that, traditionally."

"So, the traditional way -- if you look at president Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls, a lot of them didn't make calls," Trump stressed. "I like to call when it's appropriate."

But the president backtracked and blamed "the generals" for giving him inaccurate information when pressed about how he could assert that Obama did not make calls to families of fallen troopers.

"President Obama, I think, probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn't. I don't know. That's what I was told. All I can do is (to) ask my generals," he explained.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement later Tuesday that the president had spoken to "all four of the families of those who were killed in action in Niger."

"He offered condolences on behalf of a grateful nation and assured them their family's extraordinary sacrifice to the country will never be forgotten," she added.

Trump's remarks on his predecessors and how they responded to fallen service members have drawn sharp criticism, most notably from aides of the previous Obama administration.

Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, called Trump's claim "an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards."
Members of Armed Forces of the Philippines patrol in Marawi, the Philippines, on Oct. 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Jef Maitem)

MANILA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared victory over Islamic State (IS)-linked extremists that took over the southern city of Marawi in May, ending nearly five months of fierce fighting that have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence that marks the beginning of rehabilitation," Duterte said in a speech to the troops and officials in Marawi.

Duterte arrived in Marawi to congratulate the Philippine security forces for wresting the city from IS-linked extremists.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Restituto Padilla said on Tuesday that there are still about 30 "armed elements or strugglers" in Marawi.

Among the remaining six to eight foreign terrorists is Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, the alleged financier of the terrorist group with links to IS jihadist group in the Middle East, he said.

Padilla added that there are still about 60 to 80 extremist-occupied buildings that need to be cleared.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said Marawi has been declared liberated.

"The small number of the remaining enemy can now be considered a law enforcement matter and does not constitute serious threat to hinder the succeeding phases of national government programs," Ano said.

"What remains now is mopping up operations against Maute-ISIS stragglers in a small area. We can now begin the next phase which is damage assessment which is part of rehabilitation and reconstruction," Ano said.

Hours after the May 23 terrorists' attack, Duterte declared martial law for 60 days on the entire island of Mindanao. In July, Philippine legislators voted overwhelmingly to extend martial law until the end of the year to deal with Islamist insurgents.

On Sept. 21, Duterte said that he would lift the martial law once the Marawi conflict is over and cleared of militants.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a radio interview that they are currently conducting assessment whether to lift or continue imposing martial in the Mindanao region.

Ano said on Tuesday that martial law should continue in the region, saying there are still extremist groups operating in the southern Philippines.

"But if everything is already okay, we will recommend to (Duterte) for the lifting of martial law," Ano told a radio interview.

Aside from the Maute group, the Philippines also battles with other IS-linked groups like the Abu Sayyaf militants in the island provinces of Sulu and Basilan and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguinao, a province in central Mindanao.

The military said the Abu Sayyaf group has up to 400 fighters while the BIFF has up to 300.

Col. Romeo Brawner, one of the military commanders on the ground, told reporters in Marawi that the declaration of liberation of the city "is a strategic statement to tell the world that the war with IS is over."

Brawner, however, said clearing up operations will continue to rid the areas with improvised explosive devices, booby traps, and other unexploded ordnance laid out by the retreating militants.

After the mopping up operation is completed, the rehabilitation will start to eventually pave the way for the return of the displaced city residents, he said.

Duterte's declaration came a day after the killings of Isnilon Hapilon, the alleged leader of IS in Southeast Asia, and Omarkhayam Maute.

At dawn on Monday government troops killed the two top IS leaders who led the jihadist extremists that took over the city on May 23. The two along with Maute's brother, Abdullah, with the help of Indonesian and Malaysian extremists, took mover the city since.

The fighting dragged on for nearly five months and has killed more than 1,000 people, including more than 847 extremists and 163 soldiers and policemen.

Ano said on Monday the deaths of Hapilon and the last of the remaining Maute brothers signaled the end of the IS-linked extremist groups particularly in the southern Philippines.

"We have nipped the budding terrorism (in the country), and stamped out the leaders of the Daesh-inspired terrorist group. We will not allow terrorism to reign in Marawi city or elsewhere in the country," Ano said, adding that killings of the two "means their center of gravity has crumbled."

The AFP called on Tuesday for a heightened security and increased vigilance in the wake of the killings of top pro-IS leaders.

Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the commander of the AFP's Eastern Mindanao Command, directed all military units to raise their alert level and "prevent possible reprisal from the so-called "Maute-ISIS sympathetic groups after the deaths of Hapilon and Maute."

"We ask everyone to be vigilant and to report to the authorities any suspicious activities in their respective communities," said Guerrero.

The 148-day conflict has also displaced the city's more than 200,000 residents and about 300,000 more outside Marawi city, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.

The military said at least 47 civilians have been killed by the terrorists. The health department said in July that 40 civilians died of sickness in government-run evacuation centers in nearby provinces. Thousands of evacuees are still housed in the centers.

The militants have also taken hostage several residents and used them as shield or forced them to fight the troops, the military claimed.

Months of airstrikes and heavy fighting have severely damaged many of the city's infrastructure, including buildings and houses.

Television footage and images revealed the huge destruction in Marawi. Large swaths of the city, especially in the central business district, are a pock-marked moonscape of heavily damaged buildings, shops and houses.

Once the city is cleared of homemade bombs and unexploded ordnance, Duterte said the rebuilding and rehabilitation will start to pave the way for the return of thousands of displaced residents.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 10:28:08|Editor: Song Lifang

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CANBERRA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- As part of a new effort to help save the critically-endangered swift parrot from extinction on the island state of Tasmania, Australian researchers have turned to crowdfunding to help bankroll a new and potentially life-saving piece of technology.

Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) and the National Environmental Science Programme on Wednesday revealed that they were seeking donations from the public to help save the swift parrot, which is currently at risk of extinction due to predatory sugar gliders - a species of gliding possum introduced to Tasmania early last century.

In a media release, ANU conservation scientist Dr Dejan Stojanovic said the number of swift parrots in Tasmania had been consistently declining as a result of being massacred by sugar gliders, which love to eat the small birds as well as eggs and chicks at night when the parrots sleep.

He said as it was hard to get conservation funding, the researchers were turning to crowdfunding to help bankroll a device which helps protect the parrots in their man-made nesting boxes - also funded by the public last year.

"In some of these places, we've never had a chick survive. If we don't intervene immediately, this year could be a huge blow to the conservation of this species," Stojanovic said on Wednesday.

"We have developed a sugar glider excluding device that locks the front door of nest boxes at night, when parrots are at risk, but opens during daylight to let parrots move freely.

"The door is triggered by a light sensor to open at sunrise and to close at sunset. It is powered by a solar panel and has a back-up battery. The prototypes we tested worked well, and the parrots didn't mind the machinery.

"Our main problems now are costs and timing. The birds are starting to arrive and are looking for nesting sites now, so we need to act right now."

Stojanovic said due to the generosity of Australians last year, the conservationists had been able to install hundreds of nesting boxes on Bruny Island on Tasmania, but the next step would involve installing the anti-possum technology.

"With the support of more than 1,000 people through crowd funding, and by working with arborists and volunteers, last year we installed hundreds of nest-boxes on Bruny Island," he said.

"It boosted the population by about 300 birds - that's huge for a critically endangered animal - but unless we can install enough possum excluders this year, those big gains will be lost and we could have less swift parrots than ever before by the New Year."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 10:48:19|Editor: Song Lifang

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday that no major trading partner of the United States, including China, manipulated their currencies.

In its Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, the Treasury Department concluded that no major trading partner of the United States met the standard of currency manipulation in the first half of 2017.

However, it put China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland on its "monitoring list," which means their foreign exchange policies bear close monitoring.

The Treasury Department said it places "significant importance" on China adhering to its G20 commitments to refraining from engaging in competitive devaluation and not to target China's exchange rate for competitive purposes.

The Treasury Department also said China's efforts to prevent a sudden depreciation of its currency had helped the United States and global economy.

China's recent intervention in foreign exchange markets and tightened capital controls "have likely prevented a disorderly currency depreciation" that would have negative consequences for the United States, China, and the global economy, the report said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this year that China had not been manipulating its currency for months, a sharp reversal from his campaign rhetoric.

The International Monetary Fund also said in August that Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) remains broadly in line with fundamentals.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 11:03:25|Editor: Song Lifang

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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Pacific island of Guam saw a record number of tourist arrivals and the arrival of more South Korean visitors despite an escalating verbal war between the United State and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

According to a joint release from the Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) and the Office of the Governor published Tuesday, in the fiscal year ending last month, more than 1.5 million people visited Guam, up 3.2 percent against the previous fiscal year, setting a new record of tourist arrivals.

Despite the record increase, tourists from Japan dropped sharply, the Guam Daily Post reported, quoting GVB Chief Executive and President Nate Denight as saying that almost all the school groups from Japan and a number of meeting attendees canceled their planned trips since August.

However, South Korean arrivals to Guam in September rose by more than 30 percent year-on-year, Denight said.

Guam became a focus amid heated rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang this summer. The DPRK military once said it would accomplish a strike program against Guam in mid-August, as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's stern warning to the DPRK earlier.

Guam is a U.S. territory situated in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean, with 160,000 residents.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 11:18:33|Editor: Song Lifang

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Senate voted on Tuesday to reverse a Supreme Court decision which determined the suspension of Senator Aecio Neves' mandate on corruption accusation.

By 44 votes against 25, senators voted to annul the Supreme Court's ruling and gave Neves his Senate mandate back.

Neves, being investigated for corruption, was caught on tape openly discussing bribes of 2 million Brazilian reals (about 632,000 U.S. dollars) with businessman Joesley Batista, one of the owners of meatpacking company JBS. Neves' cousin was afterwards filmed receiving a large sum of money in a briefcase.

In the recording, Neves mentioned that he needed to send someone trustworthy to get the money, and even if the accomplice tried to sell him, he could always have the man killed.

In late September, the Supreme Court, in an attempt to curb Neves' influence in the Senate, ordered his suspension and ruled that the senator was to have no contact with other defendants in the process and was under house arrest in the evenings and weekends.

The Senate protested, alleging interference of the judiciary in the legislative power. In response, the Supreme Court gathered in a full session and decided that they could not freely suspend congressmen without congressional approval, which led to the Senate's decision to vote on Tuesday.

Local media reported that Brazilian President Michel Temer was personally invested in the case, and worked to ensure that the suspension would be overruled.

The support of Neves and his Brazilian Social Democracy Party is essential for Temer who manages to win key votings in the upcoming weeks, including the voting to decide whether to submit the president to trial for criminal associations and obstruction of justice.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 12:08:52|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on all countries to work together for a clean and beautiful world and tackle climate change through cooperation.

Delivering a report to the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi said, "To make new and greater contributions for mankind is our Party's abiding mission."

Xi called on the people of all countries to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.

"No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation," Xi said.

The challenges he mentioned include global economic growth that lacks energy, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, hotspot issues in some regions, as well as unconventional security threats such as terrorism, cyber-insecurity, major infectious diseases, and climate change.

For climate change in particular, Xi proposes that all countries in the world be good friends to the environment, cooperate to tackle climate change, and protect the planet for the sake of human survival.

The report describes China as having been taking "a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change" and "an important participant, contributor, and torchbearer in the global endeavor for ecological civilization" over the past five years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 12:08:53|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping said Wednesday the Communist Party of China (CPC) has the resolve, confidence and ability to defeat separatist attempts for "Taiwan independence" in any form.

The CPC stands firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow the historical tragedy of national division to repeat itself, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress.

"We will never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," he said.

"Recognize the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

The 1992 Consensus embodies the one-China principle and defines the fundamental nature of cross-Straits relations.

"We ... are ready to share development opportunities on the mainland with our Taiwan compatriots first," he said.

"We will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots," he said.

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 12:34:04|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping said Wednesday the policy of "one country, two systems" has proved to be the best institutional guarantee for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao after their return.

The policy is the best solution to the questions of Hong Kong and Macao, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th national congress of the Communist Party of China.

The governments and chief executives of both regions will be supported to advance democracy with well-ordered steps, maintain law and order, and fulfill the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, he said.

"We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country," he said, adding that priority will be given to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao; and regional cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta.

Policies will be improved to make it more convenient for the people from Hong Kong and Macao to pursue career development on the mainland, he said.

Xi stressed that patriots should play "the principal role" as the Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong and the Macao people govern Macao.

"We will develop and strengthen the ranks of patriots who love both our country and their regions, and foster greater patriotism and a stronger sense of national identity among the people in Hong Kong and Macao," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 13:59:31|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Security officials gather at the blast site in southwest Pakistan's Quetta on Oct. 18, 2017. At least six policemen were killed and 22 others injured when a suicide blast hit a security forces truck in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday morning, local Urdu TV channel AJJ reported. (Xinhua/Irfan)

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least six policemen were killed and 22 others injured when a suicide blast hit a security forces truck in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday morning, local Urdu TV channel AJJ reported.

According to local media reports, the blast took place at about 9:15 a.m. local time when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives laden vehicle into the security forces truck in Saryab area of Quetta, the capital of the country's southwestern Balochistan province.

Raziq Cheema, deputy inspector general of police in Quetta, while confirming the casualties said the security forces truck was carrying about 30 policemen to duty when it came under attack, adding that there were general threats regarding an incident of terrorism in the city.

Rescue teams and law enforcement agencies rushed to the site immediately after the attack and shifted the bodies and injured to Civil Hospital Quetta.

Doctors in the hospital said the death toll might further rise as some of the injured are in critical condition.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and kicked off a search operation in the surroundings.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Sana Ullah Zehri condemned the attack and called for the best possible medical treatment to the injured.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 14:19:40|Editor: Song Lifang

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TOKYO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) F4 fighter jet caught fire as it was taxing to a runway at an airbase in Ibaraki Prefecture, both the Ministry of Defense and the ASDF said Wednesday.

The fire, which started at around 11:45 a.m. local time at the ASDF's Hyakuri Air Base, was extinguished by rescue personnel about 30 minutes later, ASDF officials said.

They added that the two pilots aboard escaped the burning plane without injury.

Officials at the base said that Ibaraki Airport, which shares the runway with the ASDF base was unaffected, and that the area the F4 fighter jet caught fire was not being used by civilian aircraft.

They added that civilian flights to and from the airport have even unaffected by the incident.

Self-Defense Force personnel are looking into the cause of the fire, officials said.

The F4 jet was scheduled to undertake a series of training drills after taking off from the base in the northeastern part of Kanto, on Japan's main island of Honshu, ASDF officials said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 14:49:46|Editor: Liangyu

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JINAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China has become the most attractive wine exporting destination in the world, according to major wine exporters and professionals at a seminar concluded in eastern China's Shandong Province Tuesday.

Jorge Heine, Chile's ambassador to China, said Chile's wine exports to China had risen considerably in the last few years. "China surpassed the United States to become Chile's largest export market in 2014, and more than 200 wineries are now exporting products to China."

Wine exports from South Africa to China have also registered a sharp jump since 2013, according to Shao Wenjing, vice chairman of the South African Premium Wineries Association.

In the first eight months of this year, China imported 474 million liters of wine, up 15.76 percent from a year ago. The total value of imports rose 8.78 percent to over 1.7 billion U.S. dollars during the same period.

The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) said Chinese consumers drank 1.72 billion liters of wine in 2016 -- a yearly increase of 6.9 percent, the highest in the world.

Ma Yong, secretary general of China National Food Industry Association said China had become a driving force in global wine consumption and the figure was expected to grow further with the improvement of Chinese living standards.

Sponsored by the China National Food Industry Association and China Alcoholic Drinks Association, the two-day seminar attracted nearly 200 professionals and representatives from major wine exporting markets, including France, Italy, the United States, Chile, South Africa and Australia.
People visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 15, 2015. (Xinhua file/Liu Tian)

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Tuesday expressed its worry about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ritual offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of Japan's annual autumn festival.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told a press briefing that a responsible Japanese politician sent an offering once again to the Yasukuni Shrine beautifying the history of an aggressive war.

Noh said the South Korean government expresses its concern about the action.

The war shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead during World War II and is seen as a symbol of the militarist Japan.

Visits and ritual offerings made by proxy to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have consistently sparked strong criticism and hurt the feelings of China and South Korea and other countries brutalized by Japan during the Pacific War.

Noh urged the Japanese government to show its humble introspection and self-reflection with sincere actions based on a right perception of history.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 14:54:48|Editor: Song Lifang

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PHNOM PENH, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- One male garment factory worker was killed and 37 others were injured when two trucks crashed on Wednesday in Southern Cambodia's Takeo province, according to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

The NSSF, which covers for the victims' medical expenses, said in a statement that a truck loaded with a rice threshing machine crashed head-on into a truck transporting garment factory workers at 6:05 a.m. local time in Baty district.

"One worker died on the spot, and 37 others got injured including two in severe condition," the statement said, adding that the ill-fated workers had been rushed to hospitals after the crash.

The driver of the truck loaded with a rice threshing machine escaped the scene after the fatal accident, it added.

Transporting garment factory workers in open trucks to and from factories is common in this Southeast Asian nation. In January last year, two trucks, carrying garment factory workers, crashed into each other in Western Kampong Speu province, leaving five female workers dead and 68 others wounded.
Japanese lawmakers visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 15, 2015. (Xinhua file/Lan Jianzhong)

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Tuesday expressed its worry about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ritual offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of Japan's annual autumn festival.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk told a press briefing that a responsible Japanese politician sent an offering once again to the Yasukuni Shrine beautifying the history of an aggressive war.

Noh said the South Korean government expresses its concern about the action.

The war shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among 2.5 million Japanese war dead during World War II and is seen as a symbol of the militarist Japan.

Visits and ritual offerings made by proxy to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have consistently sparked strong criticism and hurt the feelings of China and South Korea and other countries brutalized by Japan during the Pacific War.

Noh urged the Japanese government to show its humble introspection and self-reflection with sincere actions based on a right perception of history.

Abe last visited the controversial shrine in December 2013, when his visit enraged China and South Korea in addition to strong backlash from the United States, which said it was disappointed with Abe's decision.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:09:55|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KABUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A would-be suicide bomber riding an explosive-packed bicycle has been arrested on the outskirts of Afghan capital of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

"Yesterday, Afghan National Police (ANP) arrested a suicide bomber with an explosive-rigged bicycle before he could reach his target in Chahar Asyab district of Kabul," the ministry said in a statement, adding the timely police action foiled a terrorist incident in the city.

The ANP also seized a truck full of explosives over the weekend in Kabul, where more than 150 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and over 200 wounded in a truck bomb blast months ago.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:14:57|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A federal judge in Hawaii issued an order Tuesday blocking U.S. President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, one day before it was scheduled to take full effect across the United States.

The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu stops Trump's third attempt to implement a travel ban. The latest version was issued on Sept. 24, barring various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Venezuela.

The ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor," Watson wrote in a 40-page ruling granting the state of Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order nationwide.

"It lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States,'" and it "plainly discriminates based on nationality."

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin heralded Watson's ruling against the travel ban that he said "discriminates against people based on their nation of origin or religion."

"Today is another victory for the rule of law. We stand ready to defend it," he said in a statement.

The state has been fighting each version of the travel ban. Trump's third attempt to implement the travel ban has, for now, met the same fate as the previous two -- blocked by litigation in the federal courts.

Trump's earlier bans, from January and March, were struck down by several federal courts before the Supreme Court allowed part of the second ban to take effect in late June. The second version of the travel ban, issued in March, had barred residents of six Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

The White House called Watson's ruling a "dangerously flawed district court" order that "undercuts the president's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States."

It said the travel ban was issued after an extensive worldwide security review by the Secretary of Homeland Security, and following consultation between the president and members of the cabinet, including the Secretaries of Homeland Security, State, and Defense and the Attorney General.

"These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation," the White House statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:35:01|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Peter Bellew explained Wednesday that the love for his country Ireland is pulling him back to the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.

"I got a call from Ryanair late evening two weeks ago to be chief operations officer. It is Ireland's greatest company. They need my help and there is a big challenge. It is a form of national service," Bellew said in a statement.

Bellew also emphasized that he said "No" to Ryanair when he was asked to join the group on Sept. 27.

"But a week later the call came and in life we can really never say never. I am looking forward to being close again to my family and friends 14 hours away in Ireland," Bellew said, adding that love for his country is pulling him back to Ireland.

Earlier on Tuesday, Malaysia Airlines management said the announcement of Bellew to re-join Irish low-cost airline Ryanair was "unexpected" as Bellew stated his commitment to Malaysia Airlines when asked to comment on speculation that he would re-join Ryanair at a press conference on Sept. 27.

The statement came after Ryanair announced to the London Stock Exchange that Bellew would re-join Ryanair team in Dublin as chief operations officer from Dec. 1.

Bellew also denied interference from Khazanah Nasional, the Malaysian government owned investment company, when undertaking his transformation plan for Malaysia Airlines.

"There has been no interference. Although possibly I drove Khazanah mad with my constant questions and wish for consensus," he said, adding that the investment arm has supported him in accelerating the transformation plan.

On the outlook of the loss-making Malaysia Airlines, Bellew said the national carrier should move to profits after achieving another 4 percent to 5 percent growth in revenue monthly.

"Success is just within our grasp. Not always easy to gain but in the second quarter, (the group)'s revenue increased 7 percent," he said.

He added that Malaysia Airlines is now revived from China to Britain and Australia, which will continue to yield a revenue growth of more than 5 percent.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:35:02|Editor: An

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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A three-episode documentary by Discovery Channel on the changes China has undergone under President Xi Jinping and aired ahead of the 19th national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has impressed viewers abroad with the technological progress it depicts.

The documentary, titled China: Time of Xi, was broadcasted on Oct. 14-16 on Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, reaching over 200 million viewers in 37 countries and regions including Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Oh Ei Sun, special adviser for Malaysia's Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute's international affairs, said he was especially impressed by China's high-speed railways.

The Malaysian scholar said in just five years, China has developed the world's largest network of high-speed rail, which has not only raised the quality of Chinese people's lives but also serves as an important example of China switching its focus from quantitative development to qualitative development.

Oh, who is also adjunct senior fellow of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, said he was equally impressed by China's technological innovation as well as environmental initiatives, as presented in the documentary.

Besides, China was also making very good use of the electronic platform. "People ... (can) shop easily online and many parts of China are essentially a cashless society with currency transactions carried out online instead of using real ... cash," he said.

He also found China's environmental management impressive. "Who would have imagined five years ago that China would be taking the lead in implementing the Paris Climate Change Accord?" he said, also noting China's development of a sophisticated sharing economy and green technology to generate new and renewable energy.

The documentary also covers China's foreign policy under Xi. "(In)this part of the world, we are mostly concerned with the Belt and Road Initiative, especially the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road," Oh said.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

Oh hoped China would continue to engage with Southeast Asia in deepening and broadening trade interaction, financial connectivity and news infrastructure build-up.

"We are in favor of eventually reaching a community of common destiny with China," he said. "Of course, to reach that stage we do need a lot of integration and China is in a very good position to assist us."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:40:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- An official of Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Roselyn Akombe, resigned on Wednesday, calling for a halt to next week's presidential elections.

In a statement released from New York, Commissioner Akombe said there is need for the regulatory body to be courageous and speak out. The election slated for Oct. 26 cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election, the statement said.

Akombe alleged a partisan approach by some of her colleagues, saying "it has become increasingly difficult to continue attending plenary meetings where commissioners come ready to vote along partisan lines and not to discuss the merit of issues before them."

The IEBC commissioner was supposed to inspect the printing of the ballot papers in Dubai,the United Arab Emirates, but instead went to the United States.

Akombe had become the face of the IEBC by conducting virtually all media interviews on its behalf. She said she had tried her best, given the circumstances, but "it has become increasingly difficult to appear on television to defend positions I disagree with in the name of collective responsibility."

The current political conditions did not exist when the Supreme Court issued orders on Sept. 1 to organize the presidential election within 60 days, she said.

The poll standoff between the ruling coalition led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and the opposition coalition, the National Super Alliance, occurred after the leader of the latter, Raila Odinga withdrew from the repeat polls, accusing the IEBC of failing to implement the reforms requested by them.

Akombe said next week's presidential poll should be postponed in light of the ongoing political turmoil and disagreements among the stakeholders.

She said she had shared detailed reports from staff in the four counties in Western Kenya most hit by the ongoing protests -- Nairobi, Siaya, Kisumu, and Homa Bay, hoping it would bring sobriety to the IEBC's decision making.

"Instead, this was met with more extremist responses from most commissioners, who are keen to have an election even if it is at the cost of the lives of our staff and voters," she said.

The IEBC staff are getting last-minute instructions on changes in technology and electronic transmission of results. In some parts of the country, the training of presiding officers is being rushed for fear of attacks from protestors, she added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:45:05|Editor: An

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URUMQI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region sent the first batch of 100,000 medical kits to rural residents in Aksu Prefecture Tuesday.

They are among 1.84 million medical kits to be given for free by Xinjiang to rural farmers and herdsmen in Aksu, Kashgar, Hotan and Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture of Kizilsu this year, according to Xinjiang Health and Family Planning Commission.

Xinjiang has invested around 140 million yuan (around 21 million U.S. dollars) to provide a medical kit for every rural household in these areas.

The kit consists of regular first-aid medicine, painkillers and cold remedies. More of the medication can be obtained for free in designated local clinics once it is used up, the commission said.

The project is a new move for Xinjiang to improve rural health care. In 2016, the autonomous region launched a free health check program.

The first overall health checks covered more than 17.5 million residents and cost over 1.49 billion yuan. A new round of universal health checks in the region is underway.
Burke/Triolo Productions/Thinkstock Ricky Skaggs will be this years special guest on the annual CSX Santa Train, as it travels from Shelby, Kentucky to Kingsport, Tennessee on November 18 to deliver food, toys and winter clothes to the people of Appalachia. This will be the 75th year for the tradition.

RaeLynn performs her latest single Lonely Call Wednesday during the 10 a.m. hour of NBCs Today show.

Carrie Underwood and husband Mike Fisher helped raised $500,000 for Danitas Children during a fundraiser this weekend in Nashville. The money goes to help the people of Haiti.

If you missed Dierks Bentleys Tuesday morning appearance on ABCs Good Morning America, you can see it online now.

You can watch The Chew's Clinton Kelly play a game of "I Beg Your Parton" with Dolly herself in a new YouTube video from the legend's Tuesday appearance on the ABC show.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:50:08|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TOKYO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Flight operations of the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E transport helicopters were resumed Wednesday amid local protests and opposition from the central government, following the crash of one of the choppers a week earlier in Okinawa.

According to local media reports, a CH-53E took off Wednesday morning from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa, where the helicopters are based.

Despite the U.S. Marines confirming on Tuesday the safety of the CH-53Es, the resumption of the helicopters' flights has drawn harsh criticism from both local and central governments who had been waiting for further clarification on the safety of the choppers.

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said in a statement that the U.S. military's decision was "reckless and utterly intolerable."

He added the U.S. military had "failed to clarify the cause of the CH-53E's crash-landing a week ago and what measures would be taken to ensure that such a mishap does not occur again."

Onaga, according to local reports, also implored the central government to "take further action."

Japan's Defense Minister, Itsunori Onodera, reiterated Onaga's sentiments in saying that a full explanation of the helicopter's crash had not been provided by the U.S. military nor the reason why it believed the helicopters were safe to fly again.

"It is extremely regrettable that the same type of helicopter as the one that crash-landed is flying again when the central government has not been provided with sufficient information as to why the U.S. military had judged CH-53Es were safe to operate," Onodera told a press briefing in Tokyo.

While Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the commanding general of U.S. Marine Corps Forces in Japan, said following the crash that a "96-hour operational pause" would be applied to all CH-53E helicopters, Onodera had demanded the choppers be grounded for an "indefinite period" of time until their safety could be ensured.

On Tuesday evening, however, the U.S. Marines announced that flight operations for the CH-53Es would be resumed, with a press release stating that Nicholson is "satisfied that the CH-53E aircraft is prepared to return to safe flight operations" and the decision "was not taken lightly."

"Aviation experts have conducted a thorough review of the maintenance records and found no issues with the standard maintenance practices, actions, technical directives, periodic inspections and no operational matters to warrant concern," the statement said.

The latest aviation incident involved a CH-53E transport helicopter catching fire in midair during a training drill on Oct. 11 and bursting into flames as it made an emergency landing near the Northern Training Area, which is located just 300 meters away from a residential area.

The U.S. Naval Safety Center rated the accident as the most serious "Class A." It said that a fire broke out in the helicopter's engine, which forced it to make crash-landing.

The CH-53E helicopter belongs to the controversial Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

The base is central to a relocation spat between the local and central government.

Okinawan officials and residents want to see the base relocated outside the prefecture, whereas the central government maintains that relocating it to a pristine coastal region within Okinawa remains the only solution.

Accidents involving helicopters have been frequent in Okinawa, where local citizens have also had to contend, more recently, with accidents involving the controversial tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft, which can take off and land like a helicopter but fly like a fixed-wing plane.

Okinawa hosts the majority of U.S. military facilities in Japan, yet the tiny sub-tropical island accounts for just a tiny percentage of Japan's total land mass.

Officials and Okinawans have long-suffered from incidents of U.S. military accidents and crimes committed by military or affiliated personnel and are ardently calling for their base-hosting burdens to be lifted.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 15:55:09|Editor: An

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ALGIERS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Algeria's ruling and opposition parties both are showing keen interest in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), given its major role in China's development as an economic power.

Mekki Zoulikha, a member of the central committee of the ruling National Liberation Front, said China was a pivotal country and the CPC had contributed to the development of China's domestic and foreign policies, transforming the country into an economic giant.

She noted that the 19th CPC National Congress, which opened Wednesday in Beijing, will analyze current international and domestic situations and set guidelines and policies in line with the trend of the times.

Noamane Laouar, a leader of the Movement of Society for Peace, Algeria's main opposition, said his party has been closely following all CPC national congresses.

"China's development stands at a new historical starting point, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new phase of development," he commented.

The CPC national congress, held every five years, elects the party's leadership and draws a blueprint for national development for the next five years and beyond.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:05:13|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Armed militants attend a surrender ceremony in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, Oct. 18, 2017. A total of 14 anti-government militants gave up fighting and handed over their weapons to local authorities in the northern Jawzjan province on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)

SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 14 anti-government militants gave up fighting and handed over their weapons to local authorities in the northern Jawzjan province on Wednesday.

"Our door is open for the armed oppositions and I am calling upon all armed insurgents to give up fighting and resume normal life," provincial governor Mawlawi Lutfullah Azizi said at a ceremony to welcome the former fighters.

A 10-member group of Taliban outfit and four militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) group in two separate events laid down arms and surrendered to government in Shibergan city Wednesday morning.

Their surrender to the government came amid infighting between Taliban and IS fighters in Qush Tipa district of the restive Jawzjan province.

Infighting between the two rival militant groups have claimed scores of lives besides rendering countless families homeless over the past couple of months.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:34:54|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Afghan security force members inspect the site of Taliban attack in Andar district of Ghazni province, Afghanistan, Oct. 17, 2017. At least 15 Afghan security forces were killed and 12 others wounded after Taliban attacked with two car bombs a district office building in eastern province of Ghazni on Tuesday, police said. (Xinhua/Stringer)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:15:15|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BAGHDAD, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi forces completely ended major operations to recapture disputed areas claimed by Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, the Iraqi military said on Wednesday.

The troops "ended imposing security to remaining areas of Kirkuk (province), including al-Debis area, the town of al-Multaqa and the oil fields of Khubbaz, northern Bay Hassan, southern Bay Hassan, the Imposing Security in Kirkuk Operations Command said in a statement.

The troops also redeployed in the areas of Khanaqin and Jalawlaa and related villages and towns in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the statement said.

In the northern province of Nineveh, the troops redeployed in the areas of Makhmour, Bashiqa, and some areas in Nineveh Plain, in addition to Mosul Dam, the city of Sinjar, the town of al-Awiynat and the Rabia area near the border with Syria, the statement added.

The statement came after the Kurdish Peshmerga forces withdrew, leaving Kirkuk city and surrounding areas to the Iraqi forces without fighting.

On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, ordered government forces to enter the oil-rich Kirkuk province in northern Iraq to regain control of the ethnically-mixed disputed areas.

In his first statement after the withdrawal of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces from Kirkuk province, the Kurdish regional President Masoud Barzani said, "due to the withdrawal, the (defensive) line changed to be on the line that was agreed upon between Baghdad and Erbil before the operations to free Mosul on Oct. 17, 2016."

This line "will be the basis of understanding on how to deploy Iraqi forces and troops in the Kurdistan region," Barzani said.

Disagreements between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government have been running high for years. The ethnic Kurds consider the northern Kirkuk province and parts of Nineveh, Diyala and Salahudin provinces as disputed areas and want them to be incorporated into their region, a move fiercely opposed by the Arabs and Turkomans and by the central government in Baghdad.

Tensions are escalating between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas.

The independence of Kurdistan is opposed not only by the Iraqi central government, but also by most other countries as it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and undermine the fight against IS militants.

Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Iran and Syria, fear that the Iraqi Kurds' pursuit of independence threatens their territorial integrity, as large Kurdish populations live in those countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:35:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a vice-ministerial meeting on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam of South Korea met with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and his Japanese counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama. It was the first such trilateral meeting since January in Washington.

After the meeting, the three diplomats held a joint press conference, saying they shared the view over the urgency to stably manage situations on the Korean Peninsula while continuing pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to resolve its nuclear program.

They shared evaluations on current situations on the Korean Peninsula, while confirming a common goal of the complete dismantlement of the DPRK's nuclear program in peaceful ways.

They also agreed to make all diplomatic efforts, including sanctions and dialogues, in close cooperation among the three countries for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:40:22|Editor: An

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SINGAPORE, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Discovery is very proud of its new documentary about Chinese President Xi Jinping's ideas, said Vikram Channa, vice president of the Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

The three-episode TV series titled "China: Time of Xi" focuses on Xi's ideas and visions on governance and concluded its debut on Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific late Monday.

The documentary was broadcast on Oct. 14-16 to 200 million viewers in 37 countries and regions.

The idea of shooting a documentary about China's achievements over the past five years under the leadership of President Xi has come out "instinctively," Channa told Xinhua in an interview.

It's all natural, Channa said, given China's huge successes, its faith in its development mode, and Xi's significant global impact, especially with China's Belt and Road Initiative.

A TV series with Xi's name would attract a lot of viewers, he added.

In Channa's opinion, the Belt and Road Initiative is fascinating as it represents the developing world's perspective of globalization.

Therefore in the third episode titled "All Aboard, China: Time of Xi," China's logic and motivation for the initiative is explained, Channa said.

It's incredible that China, based on its past accomplishments and successes, offers an alternative way of continuing globalization at a time when many countries are questioning it, he said.

Channa said the challenges that China is facing, such as how to use science and technology for economic transformation, are also being faced by many other countries.

"It's quite amazing how we reached the point where China's success and its faith in its model of development can be shared," he said.

The world is very curious about what will happen to China next, because there are so many lessons and experiences that are relevant to other developing countries in the world, he added.

What is special about the documentary is that it's Discovery's first TV series on the topic of China's policies, said Channa.

He said the documentary has led to a new level of understanding of China for his Discovery colleagues.

Discovery usually presents films on science and technology, survival, culture, history and travel. This time the network used its story-telling techniques to address a hard topic on policy in a bid to make it accessible to a global audience.

The documentary includes interviews with a panel of experts and scholars, including former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, U.S. scholar Robert Kuhn, British scholar Martin Jacques, Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore and Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:45:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has allocated 300,000 U.S. dollars to improve the living condition of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

The donation by the Iranian top leader followed a letter by his representative in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) about the unfavourable conditions of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

In the letter, Khamenei was detailed about the displacement of Rohingya Muslims and the necessary measures to be taken by the IRCS in this regard.

The assistance came after Amnesty International accused Myanmar's security forces of committing crimes against humanity as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children have fled the country.

Iranian officials have repeatedly voiced readiness to construct emergency camps and field hospitals for the refugees on Bangladesh's border with Myanmar.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:50:27|Editor: An

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by Xinhua writer Chen Shilei

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- As the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) kicked off Wednesday, it has drawn great attention and expectations from across the world.

The over 2,200 delegates attending the five-yearly national congress on behalf of more than 89 million CPC members will elect a new central committee and anti-graft body and draw a new blueprint for development of the world's largest developing country for the next five years and beyond.

GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE

The meeting has great significance not only for the CPC and China, but also for the world, as China is enjoying increasing global influence.

"The significance for us outside China are the decisions that will be made by the conference as they may have a global impact," Ken Ogembo, an economics lecturer at Kenya's Kenyatta University, told Xinhua. "The role of China in global affairs has grown much more that the world will be watching."

Amid a slow recovery of the global economy, a rise of protectionism and isolationism as well as other challenges such as terrorism, China serves as a stabilizer of the world economy and a responsible player that embraces win-win cooperation in global affairs.

"China's stability is very important for the world; after all China has become the driving force of global economic development," Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, told Xinhua.

In its latest report, the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for the global economy. One important reason is the stronger-than-expected performance of the Chinese economy in the first half of 2017 and the Chinese government's continuous policy support.

Khairy Tourk, a professor with the Stuart School of Business of Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, spoke highly of China's achievements in the past five years.

Tourk noted that China has maintained a spectacular pace of economic growth, kept the yuan stable amid many difficulties, reduced its debt, and adopted innovative strategies.

In the eyes of Mahmoud Raya, director of "China in Arab eyes" news website in Lebanon, China's presence on the international arena is not limited to the economy "as China is present at the political, security, military, cultural and social levels as well."

Tourk said the CPC has played a very important role in China's achievements, saying that the party "provides the country with a vision and turns this vision into reality."

In fact, the CPC also has a vision for the world. In his address at the UN Office at Geneva in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, further expounded his vision of building a community of shared future for humankind.

To turn this notion into reality, Xi urged members of the international community to jointly promote dialogue and consultation, cooperation and cross-cultural exchanges, as well as environmental protection.

"I'm confident that people are beginning to get what Xi Jinping talked about in Davos," said Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club, an independent business network committed to promoting positive links with China.

"It's about letting all develop together in a sustainable way and find out our solutions through peaceful ways rather than conflict," he added.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

As the 19th CPC National Congress will determine the direction of China's development for the next five years and beyond, expectations are running high across the globe.

Tourk, the professor from Illinois Institute of Technology who is also a China expert, said: "My expectation is that the country is going to be more open in the future. And this would allow more foreign direct investment by China overseas and foreign investment by multi-nationals in China itself."

Paul Sheard, executive vice president and chief economist of S&P Global, an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in New York City, expected that China will accelerate reforms that are needed to sustain longer-term growth even at the expense of lower short-term growth.

"China should continue deepening its reforms and legal system construction," said Lins, the Brazilian expert, adding that along with social progress, the process of implementing reforms will meet more difficulties and a firmer determination is needed.

"I believe the CPC has such determination," Lins said.

Others hope that China will play a more active role in addressing global challenges such as climate change and trade protectionism.

History proves that economic globalization and free, open economic policies will bring countries more benefits instead of damage, said Gerishon Ikiara, an international economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

The fact that China's active participation in global economic cooperation and support for open and free global trade have benefited itself and all other countries across the world is a very good example, he added.

Ikiara expected China to continue to play a leading role in shaping the global system of trade integration, pointing out that this will help spur global growth.

For Yukio Hatoyama, former Japanese prime minister, the current most pressing issues facing the world are climate change and environmental protection.

"I hope the new Chinese leadership will play an important role in solving global environment issues," he said.

(Jin Zheng in Nairobi, Zhao Yan and Chen Weihua in Rio de Janeiro, Xu Jing in Chicago, Li Liangyong in Beirut, Gui Tao in London, Sun Oumeng in New York, Yang Ting and Deng Min in Tokyo contributed to the report.)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 16:58:35|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Dogs are worshiped during Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Oct. 18, 2017. "Tihar", the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated for five days. Each day is dedicated to different religious figures including cow, crow, and dog, which signifies deep relations between human beings and animals. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:20:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

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LUANDA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China remained the top destination of Angolan goods and services in the second quarter of 2017, accounting for 52.6 percent of Angolan exports, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said here Tuesday.

That other major destinations for Angola's exports was India (8.8 percent), followed by Canada (5.9 percent).

In the same period, vis-a-vis Angola's imports, China was in second place with 15.7 percent, after Portugal (17.3 percent), followed by the United States (8.0 percent) and South Africa (5.9 percent).

Within Africa, Angola's exports mostly went to South Africa (62.2 percent), followed by Togo (21.1 percent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.3 percent).

The INE said Angola's exports increased by 8.6 percent year on year, while imports fell by 3.4 percent.

Angola's balance of trade was 817.706 billion kwanzas (4.92 billion U.S. dollars), resulting from the behavior of oil prices. Oil is Angola's main export product.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:20:33|Editor: Lu Hui

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LUSAKA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Wednesday.

-- The Zambian government has made strides in the implementation process of an e-government system aimed at improving service delivery.

Secretary to the Treasury Roland Msiska said the government was spending 9 million U.S. dollars on the implementation process of the electronic management system, dubbed "e-Cabinet system," which was expected to be completed in December. (Times of Zambia)

-- The Zambian government has been urged to accelerate geological mapping programs in the country as this will lead to discovery of other mineral deposits to drive investment in the mining sector.

Herryman Moono, secretary of the Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ), an association for economists, said discovering more mineral deposits will enhance the mining sector's competitiveness. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has called for forgiveness and unity among citizens, saying unity was vital for the country's development.

The Zambian leader said that without unity, there would be no development in the country, adding that unity makes people to work with clear minds. (Daily Nation)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:20:34|Editor: Lu Hui

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ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Ethiopia's major media outlets on Wednesday.

-- The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), being built on the Nile, will start generating hydroelectric power in the current fiscal year, said an official.

Board chairman of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation for the Construction of GERD, Debretsion Gebremichael, said the dam will start to generate power this year as its construction is going on in full momentum. (Ethiopian News Agency/ENA)

-- Government Communication Affairs Office (GCAO) of Ethiopia said that Bereket Simon had submitted a letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to resign from his post as deputy director general of Policy Study and Research Center with the rank of minister, GCAO Minister Negeri Lencho told FBC. (Fana Broadcasting Corporate/FBC)

-- Addis Ababa will host the Tripartite National Technical Committee Meeting on the Renaissance Dam on Wednesday. (Ethiopian News Agency/ENA)

-- Water, irrigation and electricity ministers of Egypt and Sudan paid a visit to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project on Tuesday accompanied by their Ethiopian counterpart, Sileshi Bekele. (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation/EBC)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:35:41|Editor: Lu Hui

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JAKARTA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia said on Wednesday that it would intensify coordination with the Philippines over possible return of militants taking part in the siege of Marawi following liberation of the southern Philippines city from terrorists' control.

Lauding the defeat of terrorists in Marawi, spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Arrmanatha Nasir said Indonesia would continue monitoring the situation, particularly the anticipating wave of Indonesian militants' return to the country.

"Indonesia positively welcome the latest results (defeat of terrorists) in Marawi. This is what Indonesia and the Philippines have been attempting for. It is resulted from the trilateral cooperation between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia," Nasir said.

The three Southeast Asian nations have conducted joint patrol to address security threat in southern Philippines waters, mostly from piracy of Philippine terrorist groups.

Nasir confirmed death of Indonesian militants during the battle in Marawi that erupted since May, saying that it had also been verified by the Philippines authorities.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced liberation of Marawi from terrorists earlier this week after the military killed terrorist groups' leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute.

The five-month siege over Marawi has claimed 1,000 lives and displaced 400,000 others, reports said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:40:43|Editor: Lu Hui

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BOGOR, Indonesia, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia and Qatar agreed on Wednesday to boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and tourism.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo held a meeting with visiting Emir of Qatar Syaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the state palace.

"His Excellency Emir Al Thani and I had talks on efforts to bring cooperation on infrastructure and tourism to a higher level," President Widodo said after their meeting.

The Qatari emir led a huge business delegation, according to Widodo.

The Indonesia president invited Qatari investors to continue parking their capitals in Indonesia, such as in power plant projects.

"Indonesia will continuously encourage Qataris to invest in Indonesia," said Widodo.

The two countries inked deals on air transport, health, education, youth and sports.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 17:55:49|Editor: Mengjie

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Taylor Walker-Lear climbs the Mutianyu Great Wall with the help of her walker and the support of her family on June 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

by Xinhua writer Xiong Maoling

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Once built to keep invaders out, the Great Wall, one of China's best-known faces, has now become a platform to bring people together. For Taylor Walker-Lear, an 11-year-old Australian schoolgirl, it is a magic ladder which carried her closer to her dream.

Taylor was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects movement and coordination. But her indomitable willpower has sent her on missions to create public awareness about the disorder and raise funds for people living with it.

In March 2016, she summited Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia at 2,229 meters above sea level. When her mother Toni asked her what her next goal was, she answered: "Mount Everest might be a little too hard right now, but maybe the Great Wall."

On June 6 this year, her wish came true. With her walking aid, the support of her parents and sponsor, and accompanied by a group of primary school volunteers from Beijing, Taylor realized her dream in China by climbing the stretch of the Great Wall known as Mutianyu despite rain and an ensuing chill.

The Mutianyu part was built by General Xu Da in the early Ming Dynasty more than 600 years ago, and was mainly used for military defense.

Taylor moved ahead slowly yet steadily, and with determination. When the stairs were too steep to maneuver on her own, her parents lifted her, encouraging her to keep going.

The journey started near Watch Tower No. 14, somewhere in the middle of the Mutianyu Great Wall. In the dim and cramped tower, Taylor attentively listened to the guide narrating the long history of the Great Wall. Then she went to a little window in the tower to look at the magnificent view below.

"It's amazingly beautiful!" she told Xinhua.

Her father Simon said China holds a "magical appeal" for Taylor, even though she couldn't define it exactly.

MISSION P0SSIBLE

In preparation for her Great Wall mission, Taylor underwent physiotherapy for months to strengthen her legs and build up stamina. She also swam.

Simon said she is passionate about swimming and wants to be a Paralympic swimmer like Jacqueline Freney, fellow Australian with cerebral palsy who won eight golds in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

In September 2016, Taylor went through a major surgery to improve her motor function. After that, she was able to stand straight like other children. Asked whether the operation was painful, she said breezily: "It's all right."

Toni said her daughter never cried while recovering from the surgery despite the pain. "She is such a courageous kid. She always pushes herself to be the best she can be," she said.

Dougal Cameron, a volunteer who accompanied Taylor on her Great Wall trip, said he was inspired by her. "It was obviously painful for her to walk so far along the Great Wall. She is amazing," he said

The trip to the Great Wall was surreal for Toni. "We are so grateful for all the support Taylor received from all corners of the world," she said.

PAYING IT FORWARD

One person who deserved special thanks was Norman Li, a Chinese businessman who works and lives in Sydney. He sponsored Taylor's China trip.

When Li, who owns a health and skincare company, learned about Taylor's dream to climb the Great Wall, he was touched and decided to sponsor Taylor's and her family's trip to Beijing.

He then arranged a one-week visit, which also included a short trip to Shanghai. By sponsoring the trip, he told Xinhua he was expressing his gratitude.

When Li went to study in Australia about three decades ago and then started working there, he said warm-hearted locals helped him in various ways.

"What I did for Taylor was also to repay those Australians who gave me a hand years ago," he said. As an old Chinese saying goes, "A drop of water in need shall be returned with a burst of spring in deed."

During her climb, a group of Chinese primary school students followed Taylor closely. Before she started out, they gave her a red rooster doll,symbolizing the Year of the Rooster according to the Chinese calendar, to bring her luck. The little gift lit up Taylor's face.

Simon said Taylor was inspired by so many people who accompanied her, their support reinforced her confidence and made the climb easier.

Toni said the Chinese were above and beyond their expectations. "China is really opening its arms, and people are so warm, kind, friendly ... They are really interested in Taylor and her story," she said.

This was also part of Li's intention -- to enable foreigners to better understand China and the Chinese. "I hope they can know more about China's development. It's so different from their old perception," he explained.

Taylor now has a new mission: to train hard so that she can take part in the swimming events at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. The walk on the Great Wall has given her a booster dose of confidence she needed for that.

(Xinhua reporters Xu Haijing, Wang Shang and Chen Chen contributed to this report.)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 18:30:59|Editor: An

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CHANGSHA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese company on Wednesday signed a framework agreement with German wind turbine maker Senvion to supply 100 wind driven generators.

According to the agreement, CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Co., Ltd., based in Zhuzhou City, central China's Hunan Province, agreed to produce at least 100 3.7MW-144 wind turbines for Senvion in the next three years.

These generators will be delivered to markets in Europe, North America and Australia.H Zhou Junjun, chairman with the CRRC Zhuzhou Electric, said noise control technology higher than the world industrial standard was a key factor that helped the company win the deal.

Headquartered in Hamburg, Senvion is one of the world's leading manufacturers of onshore and offshore wind turbines with more than 7,000 installations across the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 18:46:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BERLIN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Official "Jamaica" coalition negotiations between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Greens are scheduled to commence on Wednesday just over three weeks after Germany's federal elections.

The conservative sister parties CDU and CSU will both meet representatives of the FDP in the morning before holding talks with a Green party delegation later in the day.

The coalition negotiations are widely-anticipated to prove difficult, given the large differences in political outlook between the four parties involved.

CSU leader Horst Seehofer paid his first ever visit to the Green party headquarters on Tuesday night in a bid to build trust.

CDU secretary general Peter Tauber called for the potential coalition partners to put the interests of the country ahead of their own before the start of talks on Wednesday. Tauber warned that although talks would be "very difficult", the parties should think of the importance of their cooperation as a signal for social cohesion in Germany.

In turn, CSU secretary general Andreas Scheuer emphasized that the CDU and CSU would not allow the FDP and Greens to play the two sister parties against each other.

The CDU/CSU faction entered coalition negotiations "well positioned" and "concentrated", Scheuer insisted.

Striking a more conciliatory tone, Green party leader Cem Oezdemir and CDU vice-chairman Volker Bouffier both called on the Jamaica parties to refrain from insisting on red lines and instead enter talks with an open mind.

Nonetheless, the FDP reiterated its demand on Wednesday for a new immigration regime which differentiated clearly between labor migration, political refugees and people displaced by war.

The current system had been "overwhelmed" and needed to be "re-adjusted", Joachim Stamp (FDP), North-Rhine Westphalia's Minister for Integration, told press.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:21:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Up to 11 militants loyal to the Taliban group were killed and six others wounded following air raids in the northern Afghan provinces of Kunduz and Badakhshan, an official said on Wednesday.

"Afghan forces targeted militants hideouts in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz and Jurm district of Badakhshan, leaving six insurgents dead in the first incident and five other in the second attack," Ghulam Hazrat Karimi, press officer of the army 20 Pamir Division based in the region, told Xinhua.

According to the source, six fighters have also been injured, following the bombing in the restive Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province, with no Taliban comment on both incidents.

The Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where the militants have been recruiting from among the youth.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:21:22|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KABUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have detained 11 people for alleged drug-related crimes within a week, authorities said Wednesday.

"Afghan security forces and the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) have cracked 12 drug cases and captured 11 persons involved in the cases in Kabul, Paktika, Nangarhar, Kapisa, Panjshir and Kunar provinces within the last one week," the Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said.

Among the arrestees was one woman, it said in a statement.

The CNPA also seized 19 kg of heroin, 89 kg of opium and 533 kg of hashish, the statement said, adding that the CNPA also seized seven vehicles and 11 mobile phones from the arrested.

"A total of 700 U.S. dollars and 130,600 Pakistani rupees (about 1,250 U.S. dollars) as well as 30 bullets and a telecommunication radio were also confiscated from the arrestees," the statement noted.

Following initial investigations, the CNPA has handed over the cases to the Central Narcotics Tribunal (CNT), a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:21:23|Editor: An

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Xi Jinping (C, front), Li Keqiang (3rd R, front), Zhang Dejiang (3rd L, front), Yu Zhengsheng (2nd R, front), Liu Yunshan (2nd L, front), Wang Qishan (1st R, front), Zhang Gaoli (1st L, front), Jiang Zemin (4th R, front) and Hu Jintao (4th L, front) attend the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

by Xinhua writers Li Zhihui, Zhang Zhengfu and Wang Cong

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has unveiled the "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" as the latest step on the journey to building a "great modern socialist country" as its 19th National Congress opened Wednesday.

Addressing the opening session, Xi Jinping outlined a two-step approach to becoming a great modern socialist country once building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is completed by 2020.

Hailing achievements in reform, opening up and socialist modernization during the past five years, Xi said socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era. "This is a new historic juncture in China's development."

According to Xi, socialist modernization will be basically realized from 2020 to 2035. From 2035 to the middle of the century, China will become a great socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful.

By then, China will be a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence. Prosperity for everyone will be basically achieved, Xi told about 2,300 delegates attending the country's most important political meeting in five years.

The goal exceeds the Party's previous plans to "basically realize modernization" by the middle of the 21st century. It also sets a higher target for China's modernization in terms of material, political, cultural and ethical, social and ecological development.

The two-step approach is an important component of the new Thought, a long-term guide for action.

The Thought builds on and further enriches Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development. It represents the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, Xi said.

Xi listed 14 points that underpin the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

The principal contradiction facing Chinese society is that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, Xi said.

The people's desire to live a better life is increasingly broad. Not only have material and cultural needs grown, but demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security and a better environment are increasing, Xi said.

The report outlines the development of a modernized economy and socialist democracy, stronger cultural confidence and improved social wellbeing.

Xi called on the Party's 89 million members to regard as their goal "the people's aspirations to live a better life."

The CPC is the highest force for political leadership, Xi said, stressing strict governance over the Party and improvement of the Party's ability to govern and lead. Having gained overwhelming momentum in its fight against corruption, the Party is determined to secure a "sweeping victory" over "the greatest threat" to the Party.

The congress, held in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing and presided over by Li Keqiang, will deliberate an amendment to the CPC Constitution. Delegates will elect a new CPC Central Committee and a new CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Established in 1921, the CPC founded the People's Republic of China in 1949 and began reform and opening up in 1978.

Over the past five years, China's GDP rose from 54 trillion yuan (8.2 trillion U.S. dollars) to 80 trillion yuan, contributing more than 30 percent of global economic growth. More than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Over 1,500 reform measures have established general frameworks for reform in major fields, and the country is building world-class armed forces.

The country has entered an era with the greatest composite national strength since the Opium War of 1840 which plunged China into the darkness of domestic turmoil and foreign aggression.

The Chinese nation has stood up, grown rich, and become strong, and it now faces the brilliant prospects of rejuvenation, Xi said. "Scientific socialism is full of vitality in 21st century China."

It also shows other developing countries the way to modernization, and offers wisdom through the Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind, he said.

But China is still and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism. Its international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed, Xi said.

"Achieving national rejuvenation will be no walk in the park," Xi said. "It will take more than drum beating and gong clanging to get there."

Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind. "No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion."

"This is a very powerful and strong report with a lot of determination," said Holly Snape, editor of the English version of the report. "It sends a message about how China intends to move forward, and how China will take the lead in promoting development of the world."

The report provides a new alternative for the rest of the world to speed up development, said Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, an American NGO promoting U.S.-China ties.

Wang Xianghong, a congress delegate from east China's Jiangsu Province, said the dream of building a modern socialist country will surely come true "as long as we unite around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core."

(Zuo Wei and Liu Jie contributed to this story)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:31:29|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NADI, Fiji, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Austrialia's Minister for International and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti stressed on Wednesday the importance of the role played by women in addressing climate change problems.

Speaking on women's leadership in climate change diplomacy at the two-day Pre-COP23, also known as ministerial dialogue, in Denarau, an island near Fiji's third largest city of Nadi, Bainimarama said women and girls are both critically vulnerable to some of the worst effects of climate change and vital to an effective response.

As the world experiences the extreme weather events, rising seas and changes to agriculture caused by climate change, women often have the least resources to cope. And this can add an extra burden to the poverty and lack of opportunity that billions of women around the world already face, he said.

Women are also powerful agents for change, he said, adding that "We also know that when women are well represented in decision-making processes, their ability to share skills and knowledge strengthens our collective effort to face the challenge of climate change."

He said that Fiji's delegation to Bonn consists of close to 50 percent women and they would obviously encourage other delegations to aspire to increase the proportion of women on theirs.

"Improving the status of women is a core imperative in tackling the effects of climate change. That is what we are doing in Fiji. And that is what we must do around the world," he said.

Meanwhile, Austrialia's Minister for International and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti said the successful implementation of the historic Paris Agreement depends upon effectively engaging women and girls.

"Women, as agents of change, are critical to pursuing sustainable development and the transition to a low emissions climate resilient world. We know that women and girls are disproportionally impacted by climate change, particularly in developing countries.

Based on current trends women will not be equally represented in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change until 2040, in parliaments until 2065, and will not make up half the world's leaders until 2134, the minister said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:36:31|Editor: Zhou Xin

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MOSCOW, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Russia has detained five residents of the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya on suspicion of producing and selling firearms to terrorist groups, the Russian Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

"More than 20 Makarov pistols with silencers, over 400 cartridges for Makarov and Yarygin pistols, and a large number of components for firearms were seized," the ministry's spokeswoman Irina Volk said in a statement.

She did not disclose which terrorist groups the detainees allegedly had connections with.

Violence has been plaguing Chechnya since the mid-1990s, with separatists and extremists frequently attacking governmental, military and police facilities as well as civilians.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:36:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

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PHNOM PENH, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is ready to deploy up to 30,000 security personnel during the Water Festival, to be celebrated on Nov. 2-4 in capital Phnom Penh, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

National Police's deputy chief Gen. Kirt Chantharith said tightening security will be the top priority as hundreds of thousands of rural people will flock to Phnom Penh to enjoy the festival.

"Between 20,000 and 30,000 security personnel will be deployed during the festival," he told reporters.

Water Festival is the biggest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation. Besides viewing the regatta on the Tonle Sap River in front of the Royal Palace in the daytime, festival-goers can enjoy processions of illuminated floats and fireworks over the river at night.

According to the National Committee for Organizing National and International Festivals, approximately 270 boats from across the kingdom will take part in the competition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:41:35|Editor: An

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Xi Jinping (C, front), Li Keqiang (3rd R, front), Zhang Dejiang (3rd L, front), Yu Zhengsheng (2nd R, front), Liu Yunshan (2nd L, front), Wang Qishan (1st R, front), Zhang Gaoli (1st L, front), Jiang Zemin (4th R, front) and Hu Jintao (4th L, front) attend the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping on Wednesday painted a particularly optimistic outlook for the future of the world's second-largest economy in an effort to substantiate the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, promising a "great modern socialist country" by the middle of this century.

Addressing the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi spelled out a two-stage development plan for the country in front of more than 2,300 delegates selected from 89 million Party members.

By the mid-21st century, new heights are expected to be reached in every dimension of material, political, cultural and ethical, social, ecological and military advancement.

China will become "a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence," Xi told an applauding audience, which included senior Party and government officials as well as grassroots representatives such as workers and farmers.

Xi's grand ambitions far exceed previous expectations for that period.

Previous plans -- often framed as the country's second centenary goal marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China -- only spoke of "a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious."

As Xi set a higher goal for about 30 years from now, the country's modernization drive is picking up speed.

In his speech, Xi said China will build on the foundation created by the "moderately prosperous society" with another 15 years of hard work, to ensure that socialist modernization is basically realized by 2035.

It will be the first time in history that over one billion people are lifted into modernity in such a short period of time.

By that point, the country's economic and technological strength will have increased significantly, and rule of law for the country, the government, and society will be basically in place.

Part of Xi's modernization drive includes developing a modernized economy by furthering supply-side structural reform, building China into a manufacturer of quality and developing advanced manufacturing, and by protecting entrepreneurship and encouraging innovation.

He also envisioned stronger cultural soft power, greater appeal of Chinese culture by 2035, and a better environment.

On the military front, the modernization of national defense and the armed forces will be basically completed by 2035, and by the mid-21st century, the military should be fully transformed into world-class forces, Xi told the session.

In many ways, the twice-a-decade gathering, the most important event on China's political calendar, will mark a milestone in the history of the CPC and the Chinese nation.

A new leadership -- whose five-year term will extend beyond 2020 when the building of a moderately prosperous society is expected to be finished -- will be elected, and the CPC Constitution will be amended.

Experts widely believe China has entered an era with the greatest composite national strength since the Opium War around 1840, which plunged China into the darkness of foreign aggression and domestic turmoil.

In particular, the great progress registered by the world's second-largest economy over the past five years has offered the momentum for China to achieve its modernization goals.

In the past five years, China's GDP rose from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan, contributing more than 30 percent of global economic growth.

Meanwhile, more than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Over 1,500 reform measures have been launched, establishing general frameworks for reform in major fields and lending greater impetus for growth.

"This is a new historic juncture in China's development," Xi said. "Scientific socialism is full of vitality in 21st-century China."

But China is still facing severe challenges and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism. Its international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed.

"Some acute problems caused by unbalanced and inadequate development await solutions; and the quality and effect of development are not what they should be," Xi said.

China's ability to innovate needs to be stronger, the real economy awaits improvement, and the country has a long way to go in protecting the environment.

"We must devote great energy to addressing development's imbalances and inadequacies, and push hard to improve the quality and effect of development," Xi said.

"Achieving national rejuvenation will be no walk in the park," he continued. "It will take more than drum beating and gong clanging to get there."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 19:46:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BERLIN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The German government has drastically reduced the number of approvals for arms exports to Turkey in 2017, the magazine Spiegel reported on Wednesday.

German authorities, in response to a parliamentary enquiry by the Left party (Linke), said Berlin approved ten separate arms exports to Turkey worth 4 million euros (4.7 million U.S. dollars) between Aug. 1 and Oct. 8, 2017.

The average monthly figure in 2016 was as high as at 18 approvals worth 7 million euros in total, said the report.

Traditionally close relations between Germany and Turkey have come under intense strain following a failed military coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

A recent wave of arrests of German citizens on suspicion of terrorist activities in Turkey has prompted Berlin to take a new and more aggressive stance towards Turkey.

The German Foreign Office has warned German tourists and investors to stay clear of Turkey, whilst several senior politicians threatened to strip Ankara of financial aid which it receives from Germany and the European Union.

Addressing the controversial subject of German arms exports, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) had said in September that his government had put several large orders for military technology from Turkey "on hold."

Nevertheless, the Left party's foreign policy spokesperson Sevim Dagdelen said that it was an "incredible scandal" that some arms were still being exported to Turkey in light of the diplomatic spat between the NATO partners. Dagdelen called for an immediate and unconditional halt to arms exports.
The photo shows Joan Clos, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), during an Xinhua interview. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai)

by Wang Xiaopeng and Peter Mutai

NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Africa is in a crucial time and the successful story of China in linking urbanization and development would be a source of learning for the continent, Joan Clos, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

With an average GDP per capita of around 2,000 U.S. dollars, the current economic picture in Africa was a little bit like what China was when it initiated the opening-up process in 1978, he said.

"Africa has a huge demand for development, with a young population searching for a better future," Clos said, adding that there were "quite big lessons to be shared between Africa and China."

Clos said an array of measures taken by the Chinese government in pushing urbanization and development over the last five years has left him impressed.

"Addressing the question of environmental sustainability, for example, in the case of Chinese cities, has been a very important one," he said.

"The successful history of Chinese urbanization is a linkage between urbanization and development," Clos said, stressing that the success did come at a price, like the issue of environmental problems.

He hailed China's support at the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris in late 2015 and its championing of sustainability in tackling the issue within the country and beyond.

The measures and policies taken by China add to an "already successful process of linking urbanization with industrialization," Clos said.

He is upbeat about the future of China-Africa relations, noting that the last five years has seen a very clear advance in ties between the two sides.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed by China in 2013 to connect the vibrant Asian economic circle at one end and Europe at the other, and then extend it further to other regions, is "another clear sign of added impetus to this process of China-Africa cooperation," Clos said.

The UN-Habitat chief, who is scheduled to travel to Guangzhou, southern China, to attend the global observation of 2017 World Cities Day on Oct. 31, said he looks forward to enhanced relations between the UN agency and China.

"We have built a very positive relationship that we would like to continue in the future," Clos said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:16:44|Editor: An

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BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has encouraged graduates of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at the prestigious Peking University to be leaders of reform and development in their own countries.

Xi announced the establishment of the institute during a series of summits commemorating the 70th anniversary of the UN in 2015. In an effort to train high-end talent for developing countries, the institute admitted 48 government officials, lawmakers, financial professionals and scholars from 27 developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe for master's and doctoral degrees in September 2016.

The institute's first 26 postgraduates read out a thank-you letter to Xi at their commencement in July, thanking China for offering them the opportunity to learn Chinese experiences in the reform and opening-up.

In a reply last Wednesday to their letter, Xi said he was delighted that the students had benefited as the first graduates of the institute.

Xi said the purpose of the institute, as the students hoped, was promoting fair, inclusive and sustainable development.

"South-South Cooperation is a great cause for developing countries to grow stronger together and tackle challenges," Xi said. "China will give full play to the role of the institute and help developing countries to find a path of common development and prosperity."

"Your mission is to explore a sustainable development path that suits your own country and become leaders of national reform and development," Xi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:30:50|Editor: Yang Yi

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Photo taken on Oct. 17, 2017 shows the Hualong One ZH-65 steam generator being hoisted for shipment in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. The cutting-edge domestic steam generator Tuesday departed for the first demonstration nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design. It was designed for the No. 5 unit of Fuqing Nuclear Plant in Fujian Province, a project of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). (Xinhua/Zhai Li)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:26:47|Editor: An

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ISTANBUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The economic success and growing influence China has achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) show that the Asian country represents hope for mankind, said a Turkish political party leader.

In a recent written interview with Xinhua, Dogu Perincek, chairman of the Patriotic Party, highlighted China's achievements in building socialism and its solidarity with the developing countries.

That has turned China and the CPC "into a source of hope for the whole humanity," he said ahead of the 19th CPC National Congress, which opened Wednesday in Beijing.

"China today represents hope for the whole humanity," said Perincek. "We have to keep that hope alive. Hope for a world free of imperialism, a world of free and independent nations, a multipolar world, a world that is following the path of shared growth."

In Perincek's view, the greatest success of the CPC lies in that it has given the Chinese people "confidence," which he believes has contributed to China's economic growth and its strength in defending free trade.

"Every time I visited China, I encountered a new China," said Perincek, who has visited China nine times. "I always returned to Turkey with the feelings of both surprise and admiration."

The "Chinese model" will gain followers in the coming years, he added.

Noting that China has promoted sustainable development and actively participated in efforts to combat climate change, he said China is playing a vital role in building a "new world order" and a "multipolar world."

Beyond that, he added, China is advancing common development and prosperity through cooperative platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Perincek said the Belt and Road Initiative is of great importance in building a multipolar world and promoting the Eurasian continent as a space for shared growth.

"This initiative starts the Asian Age, and builds the backbone of Eurasia and the path humanity will follow," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:26:48|Editor: Zhou Xin

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DOHA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Wednesday called for dialogue to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Gulf.

Al-Thani told reporters after talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, south of Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

"We conveyed ... that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win," Al-Thani said, "We are all brothers who are suffering because of this crisis."

The Qatari emir led a delegation of 40 businessmen who also accompanied him to Malaysia and Singapore.

His Asian tour came more than four months into a Saudi-led blockade against the Gulf emirate.

The Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and has imposed an air, sea and land embargo against the tiny gas-rich Gulf state, citing Doha's support to terrorism and extremists.

Qatar has strongly denied these charges and has been seeking diplomatic and economic support from Turkey and Iran, which is Saudi's arch rival, to break the blockade.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:36:51|Editor: Zhou Xin

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RABAT, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 8 million tourists visited Morocco between January and August 2017, up 10.4 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, according to Tourism Ministry.

International tourist arrivals jumped 13.1 percent, while Moroccans living abroad visiting their homeland rose 8.1 percent, the Ministry said in its latest statistics for the January-August 2017 period.

Arrivals from the traditional European emitting markets showed an increase by 14 percent in German tourists, 10 percent in Dutch and Spanish visitors and 8 percent in French and Belgian tourists, the ministry noted.

As for emerging emitting markets for Morocco, the statistics shows a 315 percent increase in Chinese tourists, while the number of visitors from Japan, South Korea, U.S. and Brazil posted a growth rate of 43 percent, 41 percent, 32 percent and 52 percent, respectively.

Morocco's main tourist destinations, Marrakesh and Agadir attracted 60 percent of overall tourists visiting the North African kingdom, up by 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

By August 2017, tourism revenues reached nearly 4.94 billion U.S. dollars, 5 percent increase compared to the same period last year, the ministry said.

A total of 10.3 million tourists visited Morocco in 2016, up 1.5 percent from 2015. Morocco expects tourist arrivals to grow 6 percent in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:41:53|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were wounded Wednesday after troops of India and Pakistan fired upon each others positions and frontier areas on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, police said.

The two sides resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling in Poonch and Rajouri districts, southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

According to Indian defense officials, the firing started in the morning and continued for several hours.

"Our troops guarding the LoC retaliated and gave a befitting reply to the Pakistani shelling," an Indian army official said. "The intermittent exchange of fire was continuing when the last reports came in."

Reports said several houses and parked vehicles were damaged due to firing.

The damage on Pakistani side of LoC due to Indian firing was yet to be received.

Over the past several weeks, the troops from both sides posted in the frontier locations are resorting to cease-fire violations and targeting each others' positions and civilian areas. The flare up has also triggered civilian migrations besides resulting into killings of troops as well as civilians.

It is unclear what prompted the fresh stand-off between the troops of the two sides.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 20:46:55|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Iran will cut 2015 international nuclear deal into shreds if the United Stats chooses to tear it up, Press TV reported.

Khamenei welcomed the European governments' opposition to the U.S. President Donald Trump's refusal to certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"But this is not enough for them (EU) to say that he (Trump) should not tear up the JCPOA," he said, adding that "the JCPOA serves their interests."

"As long as the other party has not torn up the JCPOA, we will not tear it up ... Iran will rip the deal into shreds if the other side decides to tear it up," he said.

Besides, Europeans need to take practical measures in the face of Washington's threats to the deal, and refuse to join voices with the U.S. in its opposition to Iran's regional role and defense program, he stressed.

Khamenei also dismissed Western criticisms of Iran's conventional missile program, noting, "Why do you, yourself, have missiles? Why do you have atomic bombs?"

Europe, should "avoid meddling with our defense issues," Khameni pointed out.

On Friday, the U.S. president refused to certify Iran's international nuclear deal and accused Tehran of sponsoring terrorism, saying that he would deny Iran's "all paths to a nuclear weapon."
Photo taken on March 19, 2017 shows a little girl waiting to get water at an Internal Displaced Person (IDP) camp in Doolow, a border town with Ethiopia, Somalia. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

MOGADISHU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes this year by conflict and severe drought ravaging several parts of Somalia, a global charity said on Wednesday.

The Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) regional director, Gabriella Waaijman, said the displaced Somalis are seeking food and water mainly due to severe drought.

"We are alarmed at the massive scale of this crisis," Waaijman said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. "On average, a staggering 3,500 people per day have fled their homes this year searching for food and water to stay alive."

Drought has been gripping the Horn of Africa nation for the third year in a row.

"We are witnessing a mass exodus from rural villages not seen since the deadly 2011-2012 famine that killed 260,000 people," Waaijman said.

The charity said dry rural communities across Somalia have nearly turned into ghost towns, as crops failed, livestock died and families fled in droves after they ran out of all food reserves.

Some 49,000 people fled their homes in September alone and most migrated to overcrowded camps in urban areas, where Somalis share their stories of survival.

NRC is responding to the crisis with direct cash relief for drought-affected families, in addition to other programs.

Waaijman said while drought was the main cause of displacement in Somalia this year, other causes included conflict, insecurity and flooding.

"We have to continue this urgent response to prevent another famine from occurring in Somalia. Donors have made significant contributions towards this emergency, but more funding is needed," Waaijman said.

"Predictions for the next rainy season are unfavorable. This would push more people over the edge, so continued support is needed," warned Waaijman.

The drought crisis has been worsening in 2017. Half the population, over 6.2 million people, now need humanitarian assistance. With families on the move in search of food, 388,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:01:58|Editor: Zhou Xin

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`ATHENS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The latest group of 234 refugees was transferred from Greece to France on Wednesday as part of the EU refugee relocation program with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

Greek Migration Policy Minister Yannis Mouzalas who was at the Athens international airport to see them off welcomed France's solidarity with Greece, stressing that much remains to be done to effectively deal with the refugee and migrant crisis.

With wide smiles on their faces, 132 adults and 102 children, most of them families of two to nine people, left Athens for Lyon dreaming of a better future.

France has so far relocated 4,091 asylum seekers from Greece out of 20,471 people relocated in all EU countries, according to figures up to Oct. 6 by a French embassy press release. Eighty percent of the asylum seekers relocated to France are from Syria.

Two years after EU members states agreed to relocate tens of thousands of refugees from Greece and Italy, the two countries at the forefront of the crisis, the targets have not been fully met.

Mouzalas urged on Wednesday for more assistance to be provided to refugees.

"A decision has been made for relocation directly from third countries... If we want to crack down on the mafia rings involved in human trafficking, the EU must adopt as its main tool of solidarity the direct resettlement from the countries where these refugees and migrants are. This is a very important issue for us," the Greek official said.

"Relocation is a principle of solidarity and there should be more solidarity in the EU in trying to help countries which are on the frontline in receiving these people. Relocation cannot be the only tool. It has to be complimented with resettlement from the countries where these people are as refugees," IOM's Regional Response Coordinator Gianluca Rocco told media at the airport.

On his part, French Ambassador to Greece Christophe Chantepy stressed that France is fully engaged in the process of refugee relocation.

"The relocation policy worked and it is a success. It is a symbol of solidarity in Europe and you all know that solidarity is the EU's blood. This is a new beginning in their lives for all these people, families and children," he said.

Adel from Syria stayed in Greece for one year and 9 months. He landed on Greek shores with his uncles and aunts. Gradually some of his relatives were relocated to Finland, others to Norway and Belgium. He was the only one left in Greece.

He was travelling alone on Wednesday hoping for the best.

"It is a new beginning now, I have been stuck here for a long time...I am going to another country where I will have a more stable life...I hope I will have a normal life again and be as any human being, in a safe place," he told Xinhua.

"I wish to start a new life, good life and I am dreaming to become a pilot," said Mustafa from Iraq.

More than a million refugees and migrants have reached Greece since early 2015 risking their lives on boats provided by smugglers to cross the Aegean. Hundreds perished in the waters.

Most of the people who reached the Greek islands continued their journey to central and northern Europe unofficially until the closure of the borders along the Balkan route in the winter of 2016.

Since then, more than 60,000 people have been stranded in Greece. According to the Migration Policy Ministry, Greece expects that half will stay in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:12:02|Editor: Zhou Xin

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by David Musyoka

NAIROBI, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan university lecturers are rushing to get doctorate degrees as a deadline looms for staff teaching in institutions to have the qualification.

The Commission for University Education (CUE), the sector's regulator, in 2015 set the deadline for attainment of the qualification before early 2018.

The directive prompted a majority of the lecturers to enroll in full-time and evening classes to meet the CUE requirement.

Some of those interviewed on Tuesday, however, expressed concern that the deadline may be missed given the low completion rates at local universities.

Overburdening of examiners and lack of adequate infrastructure for doctoral courses have been cited as some of the causes of low completion rates.

It takes nine years to complete a PhD, and about four for a master's degree in Africa.

In Kenya, most university lecturers are experienced in their fields of study but lack doctorate degrees.

Carlos Ombonya, who is pursuing his PhD at a university in Nairobi, expressed fears that he may not meet the deadline as he is working on a project.

"I am doing research and this is my second year but I am barely half into the work. I am hoping to be done early 2019," he said.

Ombonya, however, lauded the directive, noting that some university dons had stayed for years without getting the degrees.

"Some have never published a research in journals. Such dons are a letdown to university education," he said. "As a PhD holder, you must lead by example, showing the kind of academic work you have published and latest research and innovations you have come up with to build the country."

Laura Kimani, a lecturer who recently acquired her PhD, concurred.

"This directive by CUE was good as it will not only enhance quality teaching in universities," she said.

Such stringent measures will make Kenya's university education system rated higher and increase enrollment of foreign students, Kimani said.

Some dons, however, are opposed to the directive, saying the quality of teaching offered by a university lecturer should be pegged on experience and not number of academic papers acquired.

"It's not about acquiring new knowledge. I have enrolled for a PhD so as not to be kicked out of class. Otherwise I'm an experienced lecturer. I have taught for three decades," said a lecturer who sought anonymity for fear of victimization.

According to the CUE, last year, Kenya produced a paltry 230 doctorates, against a target of 1,000. The country has a total of 71 universities, both public and private.

CUE chairman Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha said the deadline remains in force, and from early 2018, "only lecturers with a PhD will be allowed to teach in universities."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:22:04|Editor: Zhou Xin

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AMMAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Wednesday stressed the country's rejection of any attempts to alter the historic situation in Jerusalem which honors coexistence, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

At a meeting with Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, the king highlighted efforts to protect the holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem.

The king emphasized Jordan's keenness on harnessing the Palestinian unity to face all challenges imposed by the Israeli occupation on the Jerusalemites, stressing that holy Christian Islamic sites receive same due attention as holy Islamic sites in the city.

Jordan, which oversees the holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, will continue to play its role and defend the assets and properties of the churches in the city at all international fronts.

He added that any attempts to confiscate the assets of the Christians in Jerusalem were invalid and should be ceased.

The Patriarch said the Jerusalemites highly value the Jordanian role in this regard and its support to the Palestinian issue.

He added that Jordan's efforts support the steadfastness of the Palestinians.

The Patriarch said efforts were underway to prevent plans by Israel to confiscate lands affiliated to the Church and other assets.

He also briefed the king on efforts exerted to stop Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem and to prevent any expansion schemes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:27:06|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub (2nd R) and his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri (3rd R) hold a press conference in Damascus, capital of Syria on Oct. 18, 2017. Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub agreed Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to boost military cooperation between both countries. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub agreed Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to boost military cooperation between both countries.

Meeting in Damascus, both commanders discussed the achievements made in fighting terrorist groups in Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

"We held plenary talks which included a comprehensive assessment of all the current developments, and we discussed in details the relations binding our armies and the mutual desire to enhance these relations," Ayoub said in a joint press conference following the talks.

He stressed that the war against terrorism will continue till eliminating it completely and restoring security and stability to entire Syria.

Ayoub, meanwhile, pointed out to the "accumulating experience" of the Syrian army and its allies that has been achieved during the battles, saying such experience will play a "key role" in the war against terror.

Bagheri said Iran will continue to support the Syrian government and military forces in the face of the terror groups.

"We are here in Damascus to coordinate and cooperate in facing our common enemies of Zionists and terrorists," Bagheri said, adding that "we discussed means of enhancing relations in the future and outlined the bilateral cooperation."

The Iranian official's visit to Syria came just days after Israel fired multiple rockets on a Syrian military base in the countryside of Damascus.

At the time, Israel said it was reacting after the Syrian air defense shot on Israeli warplanes in the Lebanese airspace.

The Syrian army, however, said the Israeli warplanes infiltrated the Syrian airspace.

Israel made it clear that it will not tolerate more Iranian influence in Syria, especially near its borders, and thus hit several military positions, claiming they contained Hezbollah-bound weapon shipments.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:27:06|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and seven others injured Wednesday after a passenger carrier vehicle collided with a goods truck in northern Indian state of Punjab, police said.

The accident took place near Bhikhi town in Mansa district, about 185 km southwest of Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab.

"Today a collision took place between Toyota Innova vehicle and a goods truck, resulting in death of seven people and injuring seven others," a police official said. "There were 14 people inside the Innova vehicle at the time of collision."

According to police the Innova collided head on with the truck when its driver was trying to overtake another vehicle.

Locals said the injured were admitted to nearest hospital.

According to an official report released last month on an average India witnessed over 400 deaths in road accidents every day during 2016.

Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:42:09|Editor: An

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by Xinhua writer Xu Lingui

BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- In his 1927 book "Decisive Moments in History," Austrian writer Stefan Zweig wrote that though a critical moment rarely occurred, when it did it would be decisive for the course of history for decades or centuries.

In years to come, it might be that people recall the current Communist Party of China (CPC) national congress as one such moment for the country, perhaps even for the world.

Past CPC national congresses taught us that the twice-a-decade meeting is not just important as a leadership reshuffle, but is equally essential for setting the way forward for China's future.

In a report delivered to the congress on behalf of the outgoing CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping said China would become a "great modern socialist country" by the middle of the 21st century.

China will have become a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence, with a modern economy, advanced culture and world-class armed forces.

Common prosperity for everyone is basically achieved. The Chinese people enjoy happier, safer, and healthier lives, Xi said.

On the eve of the congress, French newspaper Le Monde printed, in large Chinese characters, "China, a rising great power" on the front page with an eight-page special report on China's emergence.

Le Monde is not alone seeing such a trajectory. U.S.-based financial firm Morgan Stanley published a report in February, predicting China's per capita income to grow from 8,000 U.S. dollars now to 12,500 dollars by 2027.

In his speech, Xi said that socialist modernization will have been basically realized by 2035.

If this goal is reached, the CPC would turn socialist China into one of the world's richest and most powerful countries on earth -- the first time a Marxist party has achieved such a feat.

Karl Marx, the 19th century German philosopher, believed socialism would create a better future beyond capitalism. More than a century after his death, the CPC is applying his theories in practice, albeit with Chinese characteristics, and leading the country from poverty to prosperity.

As late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said, "When China enters the front ranks of nations, we shall not only have blazed a new path for the peoples of the third world, but also -- and this is more important -- we shall have demonstrated to mankind that socialism is the only path that is superior to capitalism."

The 20th century witnessed fierce rivalry between socialist and capitalist camps, but the fall of the Soviet Union dealt a heavy blow to the world socialist movement. However, China resisted such head-winds and marched into the new century with a sinicized Marxism.

On Wednesday Xi declared that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.

Scientific socialism is full of vitality in 21st century China; the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics is flying high and proud for all to see.

The illusion that socialism is over is now dead in the water.

It is clear that capitalism is completely unfit to monopolize the world's ideology. This has been more true than ever since the 2008 financial crisis whose prolonged impact still causes ripples across the developed world. And so the wealth gap widens, the working class suffers, and the society remains divided.

The cracks in capitalism are all-too-easy for everyone to see. It is no surprise that there is a growing nostalgia for socialism in the West.

In the developing world, China's experience offers them a new option to speed up development while preserving their independence.

The 21st century is likely to see capitalism lose its appeal while the socialist movement, led by China, rapidly catches up.

Many economic observers are upbeat on the prospect of China overtaking the United States as the world's top economy this century. London-headquartered global accounting firm PwC predicts this may even happen before 2030, no matter one calculates the gross domestic product in market exchange rate (mer) term or in purchasing power parity (ppp) term.

The day China overtakes the world's most advanced capitalist country will be a milestone in history, a history that follows thus:

-- In the 19th century, Marx conceived scientific socialism.

-- In the 20th century, the Russian Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin kick-started the application of Marx's theories in real world politics.

-- In the 21st century, the Chinese experiment showed the world that socialism could achieve its full potential in a developing country, living up to a time-honored Chinese slogan: Socialism is great.

Marxist theorists see the transition from capitalism to socialism as inevitable but agree the process will be a long and arduous one.

Today, the socialist and capitalist camps seem more likely to maintain a relationship that is both competitive and cooperative for a very long time. Nevertheless, both ideologies can and should peacefully co-exist in an era of globalization, or as Xi put it, "in a community of shared future for mankind."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:42:10|Editor: Zhou Xin

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ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia and Sudan agree on the benefits of a 6,450 MW hydro-power dam project Ethiopia is building on Blue Nile river, an official said on Wednesday.

Hailu Abraham, head of public relations at the office of Ethiopia's National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation on the Construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said the dam, which is being built in western Ethiopia, 40 km from the Sudanese border, will prevent siltation and climate extremes in Sudan by providing a regulated water flow once completed.

Water and irrigation ministers from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt are meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to discuss issues regarding technical studies on the dam.

Construction of the dam was launched in April 2011. When completed, it would be the largest power project in Africa.

The Ethiopian government said recently the dam project is 60 percent complete and that it would start testing power generation in 2018.

Sudan's position on the dam is crucial for Ethiopia as Khartoum has in the past been closer to the position of the other riparian nation, Egypt, both expressing concern that the dam would reduce their water share.

Ethiopia's Blue Nile river contributes to 59 percent of the Nile basin's water flow, with Egypt, which relies on the Nile as the only ground fresh water source.

Sudan and Egypt made an agreement in 1959 to share exclusively the entire average annual flow of the Nile river among themselves.

"Sudan came around to Ethiopia's position on the mutual benefits of GERD after seeing the benefits of a 300 MW hydro dam project commissioned in November 2009 in a Nile tributary river Tekeze," said Abraham.

He added Tekeze river, which flows to Sudan, had in the past caused flooding during the rainy season and drought during the dry season. With the commissioning of the hydro dam, a regulated water flow has prevented both climate extremes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:47:11|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KAMPALA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Uganda on Wednesday repatriated 45 former Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) rebels back home for disarmament and reintegration.

Brig. Richard Karemire, Ugandan military spokesman, told Xinhua by telephone that the 45 former rebels of the defunct M23 applied voluntarily to go back home.

"I wish them the best. That is their home and country. Similar arrangements are being made to repatriate others," said Karemire.

The former combatants were transported to the border town of Bunagana where they were handed over to the DRC Ambassador to Uganda, Jean Pierre Massala.

M23 was a strong rebel group in eastern DRC before it was defeated by a joint United Nations intervention force in November 2013.

The governments of Uganda and DRC and M23 reached an agreement in 2014 regarding the return of 1,377 former rebels camped at Bihanga military training school in the western district of Ibanda for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration back home.

Of the 1,377 ex-combatants, only 200 have returned home for official disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program.

Uganda expressed concern in September that DRC was slow at reintegrating the former rebels who have been camping in western Uganda.

"We have a problem. These people have no status here. They are not prisoners, they are not refugees. What do we do with them?" Sam Kutesa, Uganda's minister of foreign affairs, told reporters in September.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 21:52:14|Editor: Zhou Xin

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KAMPALA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has called for an Africa-Russia summit to discuss strategic development issues.

Museveni, according to a State House statement issued here on Wednesday, said this while meeting a 30-member Russian delegation on Tuesday.

The Russians, led by Vice Minister for Telecommunications and Mass Communications Alexey Volin, were in Uganda to discuss bilateral cooperation in areas such as cyber security, information technology, agriculture, transport infrastructure, and development of smart cities.

Museveni said the summit is needed so that strategic development issues between the two sides can be discussed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 22:17:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

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ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's deputy prime minister escaped an assassination attempt in which unknown militants opened fire and targeted his convoy in the country's southern province of Lahj on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua.

The attackers in military uniform and driving military vehicles opened fire, triggering a shootout with guards and soldiers who were protecting the Deputy PM Abdul-Aziz Jubari, said the security official in the convoy traveling in Toor Baha area of Lahj province.

The source added that the convoy was passing through a main road in Lahj province after ending a visit to neighboring Taiz province and heading back towards Aden province, the temporary capital of the country.

The unknown attackers fled the scene and Jubari escaped with no injuries among his guards.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but Yemeni security officials accused militants allied with the Shiite Houthi rebels of being behind the failed assassination attempt.

Yemen's internationally-backed government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for more than two years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country.

The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to the power.

The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.

UN statistics showed more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around three million.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic since April, with about 5,000 cases reported every day.
Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub (2nd R) and his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri (3rd R) hold a press conference in Damascus, capital of Syria on Oct. 18, 2017. Both agree to boost military cooperation between the two countries. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub agreed Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to boost military cooperation between both countries.

Meeting in Damascus, both commanders discussed the achievements made in fighting terrorist groups in Syria, according to state news agency SANA.

"We held plenary talks which included a comprehensive assessment of all the current developments, and we discussed in details the relations binding our armies and the mutual desire to enhance these relations," Ayoub said in a joint press conference following the talks.

He stressed that the war against terrorism will continue till eliminating it completely and restoring security and stability to entire Syria.

Ayoub, meanwhile, pointed out to the "accumulating experience" of the Syrian army and its allies that has been achieved during the battles, saying such experience will play a "key role" in the war against terror.

Bagheri said Iran will continue to support the Syrian government and military forces in the face of the terror groups.

"We are here in Damascus to coordinate and cooperate in facing our common enemies of Zionists and terrorists," Bagheri said, adding that "we discussed means of enhancing relations in the future and outlined the bilateral cooperation."

The Iranian official's visit to Syria came just days after Israel fired multiple rockets on a Syrian military base in the countryside of Damascus.

At the time, Israel said it was reacting after the Syrian air defense shot on Israeli warplanes in the Lebanese airspace.

The Syrian army, however, said the Israeli warplanes infiltrated the Syrian airspace.

Israel made it clear that it will not tolerate more Iranian influence in Syria, especially near its borders, and thus hit several military positions, claiming they contained Hezbollah-bound weapon shipments.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 22:32:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NANCHANG, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A French art school has set up a research center in east China's Jiangxi Province, hoping to strengthen exchanges between French ceramic artists and Chinese craftsmen.

ENSA Limoges (Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Art de Limoges) opened a research and testing center at Kudan, a famous workshop in the city of Jingdezhen, China's "Porcelain Capital."

Five ceramic artists -- three holding master's degrees and two researchers -- will study pottery and exchange ideas with Chinese craftsmen.

Jeanne Gailhoustet, director of the school, said it will be a great experience for young French artists to communicate with Chinese companies. They are expected to create new ideas and products at Kudan, she added.

Duan Zhenmin, who runs a shop at Kudan said Jingdezhen's ceramics don't sell well in European markets because the designs are completely different from western styles.

The center will serve as a platform where local craftsmen can learn European designs and marketing methods, Duan said. "Chinese ceramics businesses must also look to the international market, not just the domestic market," he added.

The French city of Limoges, where the school is based, is widely known for its porcelain. It is said to produce more than 50 percent of all porcelain made in France.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 22:47:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MADRID, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The State Prosecutor in the Spanish Region of Galicia confirmed on Wednesday that an investigation has opened to discover "whether there are indication of planned coordination" in the wave of forest fires which claimed four lives over Sunday and Monday.

Around 150 different fires began over the weekend in Galicia, with a further 35 in the neighboring region of Asturias.

As well as claiming four lives, the flames ravaged the countryside, burning over 5,000 hectares of woodland and causing damage to property.

The arrival of rain and cooler weather means the fires have now been either extinguished or are under control. A 55-year-old man has been arrested for accidentally provoking a fire close to the city of Vigo as he burned stubble.

However, the Prosecutor believes it is important to discover "if the numerous fires belong to a complex criminal initiative making up of groups who perused collective aims."

The Civil Guard in the province of Lugo confirmed that they have identified a dozen people in relation to the fires which affected the hills in the area, but advised that there have not been any arrests as they look to see if the people they have identified were actually involved in provoking the fires or have previous convictions for similar offenses.

Meanwhile, opposition groups in the Galician regional assembly have strongly criticized regional leader Alberto Feijoo for having laid off over 400 firemen.

The opposition argues that the layoffs and the environment policy of the ruling People's Party had greatly increased the risk of wildfires.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 22:47:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Forces of the Libyan Government of National Accord took over port of Tripoli after violent clashes against an armed group that had been stationed inside the port for years, a security source said Wednesday.

"The central security forces took control of the seaport of Tripoli after violent clashes that erupted Tuesday and lasted until Wednesday dawn," the source at the Tripoli Security Directorate said, adding that the forces expelled the armed group that was illegally stationed in the port.

The clashes caused no casualties and limited damage to the port, the source added.

A social reconciliation delegation was at the port when the clashes broke out, but managed to leave on Tuesday unharmed, the source said.

The port of Tripoli was built in 1986 and is Libya's largest port in terms of traffic and commercial transactions.

The capital city has witnessed violent clashes in past two days between government forces and outlawed armed groups, killing and injuring several people, and flights were suspended in the nearby Tripoli International Airport.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:27:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KAMPALA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's ministry of health is investigating a suspected outbreak of the deadly Marburg hemorrhagic fever in the eastern district of Kween, a ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.

Vivian Nakaliika, the ministry of health spokesperson, told Xinhua by telephone that a team has been dispatched to Kween to investigate the suspected outbreak of Marburg following two index cases that reportedly died of the disease.

"We are investigating the possible outbreak of Marburg in Kween. A team has been dispatched to collect samples and monitor the suspected cases," said Nakaliika.

She said the ministry will on Thursday issue an official statement about the suspected outbreak.

An outbreak of Marburg was last reported in central and western parts of the east African country in 2014.

Marburg is a severe and highly fatal disease caused by a virus from the same family as the one that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, according to the World Health Organization.

According to the global health body, the illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with severe headache and malaise.

Case fatality rates have varied greatly, from 25 percent in the initial laboratory-associated outbreak in 1967, to more than 80 percent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1998-2000, to even higher in the outbreak that began in Angola in late 2004.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:47:47|Editor: Hou Qiang

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by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's growing ties with China have generated a keener interest among the Turks in learning the Chinese language and culture that has never been seen before.

"Learning the Chinese language is something that I've wanted for some time, because I'm interested in Asian cultures," Elif Aslan, a 16-year-old student of a private high school in Ankara, told Xinhua.

"Like the Turkish culture, the Chinese culture is also very rich, there are similarities in fact and I like it," she said with a smile, while her classmates nodded.

Aslan chose to study Chinese as a second foreign language as English is the compulsory foreign language the school requires its students to learn.

Turks now can learn Chinese in at least 10 universities across the country, mainly in big cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, as well as in private Chinese language teaching programs.

At the Cagri Dil Okulu (Cagri Language School) in downtown Ankara, courses are offered to middle-aged students who can study Chinese by interacting face to face with native Chinese teachers.

"We opened these courses some seven years ago. In the beginning, we had three or four students. But since four years ago, there has been an increase of interest in Chinese language, and now we have several classes of 15 pupils each," Bahar Ozturk, one of the managers of the Cagri Language School, told Xinhua.

"We have a class full of students who are passing a proficiency test here in Chinese," said Ozturk, explaining that the popularity of this language results from China's ever growing economic power in the world.

"People want to learn Chinese as communication practices in order to go there and get a job there, or start a company and trade with fellow Chinese companies," she said.

Since 2012, the China-Turkey ties have been growing steadily and, accordingly, the bilateral trade has witnessed a sharp rise. Regular exchange of visits by officials from the two countries also helped promote the cultural exchange between the two countries, located on the east and the west ends of the Asian continent.

China's direct investment in Turkey was valued at 642 million U.S. dollars in 2016 and is likely to balloon as China is working on many infrastructure projects in Turkey.

Turkey, a major regional player and G20 member, is also one of the hubs of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China due to its geographic location, making it a natural point of confluence on the ancient Silk Road.

Another popular place for the Turks to learn Chinese language is the Confucius Institute located in the prestigious Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara.

The institute offers general Chinese language and business courses to both METU students and the public. It aims to introduce the Chinese culture, history, economy, politics and foreign policy to Turkey's academic community as well as to experts from other professions.

The institute launched for the first time in April a Chinese language course for the employees in the Office of the Turkish Prime Ministry. It became so popular that many other state institutions want to follow suit.

Du Yun, one of the headmasters of the institute since April 2016, told Xinhua that there are about 280 students currently learning Chinese at his institute.

"And there are another 1,400 primary and middle school students learning Chinese in Ankara at seven teaching sites", Du said.

He believed that the popularity of Chinese language in Turkey is due to the increasingly important global influence that China boasts.

Some Turkish students choose to learn Chinese language not only for the love of Chinese culture, but also because they want to study in China, or to conduct research on China's experience of development, Du said.

"And the main and ultimate goal is to find a job in a Chinese company or to work in China," he said.

Yusuf Islam Tuna, one of Du's students, is a good example.

Tuna fulfilled his dream of pursuing his education in China by obtaining his bachelor's degree in economics at METU, which enabled him to get a scholarship for joining a six-month intensive Chinese studying course in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, Fujian province.

After that, he was enrolled into a master degree program on Chinese economy at the Renmin University in Beijing.

"After mastering fully the language, I started my master's degree on Chinese economy in Renmin University and all of this started from taking lessons at the Confucius Institute in Ankara. It was a life change," Tuna said.

He was very thankful to his Chinese teachers in Ankara, not only for teaching him the language but also offering valuable assistance and guidelines on how to live and work in China.

"The role of the institute in realizing China's long-term goals is essential, and this establishment is concretely contributing to improving the China-Turkey relations," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:52:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The recent U.S. drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had killed the mastermind of the deadly attack on a Pakistani school that left 144 kids and teachers killed, local media reported Wednesday.

The militant, known as Umar Mansoor, claimed responsibility for the attack on the school located in capital city Peshawar of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2014, and later another attack at Bacha Khan University in 2016, which left 22 people killed.

Mansoor was among over two dozen militants who were killed in a recent string of drone strikes, a few km away from Pak-Afghan border in Afghan's province of Pakita, ARY News said.

The report added that the commander got injured in Tuesday's drone strike and was shifted to some "safe place" by the militants where he succumbed to injuries.

In an email to local media, proscribed organization Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) confirmed Mansoor's death, saying that he was the commander of Dara Adam Khel and Peshawar chapter.

TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said that they had chosen militant commander Khalifa Usman Mansoor Hafizullah to replace Omar Mansoor.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:52:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and two others wounded in a shooting at an office park in the U.S. state of Maryland, authorities said Wednesday.

The shooting took place at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, roughly 50 km northeast of Baltimore, the Harford County Sheriff's Office tweeted Wednesday morning.

The shooter is believed to have fled the scene, while police are asking people to avoid entering the area.

CNN reported earlier that five people were shot during the incident.

Five schools in the Edgewood area were placed in lockdown after the shooting.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:57:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISTANBUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish military intervention into the Syrian province of Idlib, widely deemed necessary for Turkey's security, is full of risks and could weaken Ankara's hand in dealing with other threats in the region, analysts cautioned.

"Turkey stepped into a trap in Idlib and the risk is big," Haldun Solmazturk, a retired general with the Turkish military, told Xinhua.

Like many others, he felt that Ankara had to intervene as Idlib represents the most immediate and biggest threat to Turkey's security.

As part of a deal finalized by Turkey, Russia and Iran in Kazakhstan's Astana last month, Turkish troops entered Idlib province last week to monitor truce between the Syrian government and rebel groups.

The province, one of the four de-escalation zones in war-torn Syria, stretches over a large area in northern Syria and is mainly controlled by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.

Around 15,000 armed rebels are estimated to be in the province on the Turkish border, while a major portion of them are from the ranks of Nusra Front, which did not join the Astana peace process and is recognized as a terrorist group.

"At least three brigades of troops and a police force of that size are needed to maintain security in Idlib," stated Solmazturk, who currently chairs the Incek debates at the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute.

Turkey felt the need to militarily intervene as it feared it might face a huge wave of migrants from Idlib in case the Syrian army moves to eliminate the jihadists.

It is quite likely that the terrorists in the area would try to flee to Turkey in such a case, posing a serious security threat to Ankara.

Around 1.5 million civilians currently live in Idlib province, while Turkey has already hosted some 3 million Syrians who fled the war.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which supports the military operation, warned last week that the country may find itself in a trap in Idlib.

The party's leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu maintained that Turkey was given the dangerous task of eliminating the jihadists in Idlib.

Noting the Turkish military will have to fight the jihadist groups Ankara had previously supported, he said "this elimination will come at a very heavy cost."

Turkey fears that the Kurdish militia in Afrin canton neighboring Idlib may have moved, backed by the U.S., to drive the jihadists from the area if Ankara did not intervene.

Such an eventuality would mean an expansion of the Kurdish-controlled area toward the Mediterranean Sea along the Turkish border, a development feared by Ankara as it would greatly raise chances for the emergence of a U.S.-backed Kurdish state.

Together with the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region along the Turkish border, a Kurdish belt in Syria would risk physically cutting off Turkey from the Arab world.

Unless the jihadists lay down arms or choose to join Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), a clash seems most probable.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be responsible for any casualties in Idlib, the CHP leader said, arguing the threats facing Turkey now are a result of the government's wrong policy of trying to overthrow the Syrian government.

The government's earlier wrong policy led Ankara to step into this trap, echoed Solmazturk.

Although working together with Russia and Iran, Damascus's allies in the civil war, Turkey still refuses to see the Syrian government as legitimate.

Until mending ties with Russia last year after shooting down a Russian jet, Turkey's ruling Islamist party supported some rebel groups fighting to topple the Syrian government headed by President Bashar Al-Assad.

Top Turkish officials said their troops entered Idlib as part of the Astana deal, but Damascus condemned the intervention as occupation and demanded an immediate withdrawal.

According to a report by Russia's Sputnik news portal on Sunday, the speaker of the Syrian parliament, Hammoudeh Sabbagh, said in a speech in St. Petersburg that the Turkish operation was not discussed in Astana talks.

In the view of Solmazturk, the speaker's remarks were mainly aimed at putting Damascus in the right place in terms of international law.

Syria may be concerned that Turkey could set up a lasting state-like structure following an extended stay in the area, Hasan Koni, a professor of public international law at Istanbul Kultur University, told Xinhua.

"Damascus does not trust Ankara," he said.

Turkish troops must stay in Idlib until threats from Syria are gone, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said last week.

According to most estimates, there are around 15 different Sunni rebel groups in the area and Ankara has sway over some of them.

Turkey played a significant role when many of the rebels now in Idlib were allowed in December last year to travel to the province from other places based on a deal with Russia, Iran and the Syrian government.

There have reportedly been no clashes with the jihadists since the Turkish intervention began around a week ago.

"The risk of a clash may increase" as Turkish troops approach the city of Idlib under the control of Nusra Front, Koni said.

Under the Astana deal, the Turkish military will be responsible for the inner parts of the province including the city of Idlib, while Russia will be monitoring truce in the outer sections.

The Turkish troops, accompanied by FSA militants, have so far moved ahead through negotiations with rebels in the area, according to press reports.

In case of a slight escalation of tension in Idlib, Turkey would need to direct all its attention and much of its resources there, said Solmazturk.

The analysts thought that the Idlib operation could, in case of an outbreak of clashes, significantly weaken the Turkish military's capacity to simultaneously deal with other threats, as the armed forces are still smarting from a hard crackdown launched in the aftermath of a failed military coup last year.

Noting Idlib is not only quite a large area to take control of, it is also difficult to identify who is there, Solmazturk said "Turkey does not have sufficient resources for such an operation."

"Due to troops to be transferred to Idlib, the military may have difficulty in its fight against the PKK, in focusing on the threat by Kurdish cantons in northern Syria," he added.

Turkey has been fighting against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for over 30 years, which is trying to establish an autonomous region if not an independent Kurdistan in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

By taking advantage of the war in Syria, the PKK-linked Kurdish militia, known as People's Protection Units (YPG), has carved out three autonomous cantons along the Turkish border, which Ankara sees as an existential threat.

Following the failed coup, it is difficult for the Turkish military to simultaneously fight the PKK, the rebels in Idlib and deal with the Kurdish cantons effectively, said Koni.

The Turkish military has around 7,500 of its members dismissed in the ongoing purge, with about 300 of them jet pilots. Many others are facing judicial investigations over suspected links to a network blamed for orchestrating the putsch.

Turkey also has troops in northern Syria in an area stretching from Afrin canton, which lies to the north of Idlib, to the Euphrates River in the east.

The area was captured from the Islamic State in a military operation launched from August last year till March this year that was aimed mainly at stopping the three Kurdish cantons from uniting along the Turkish border.

"If the rebels (in Idlib) feel they are threatened by the Turkish military, then an armed clash would break out," remarked Koni, who also thinks the Idlib operation is a necessary move.

Yeni Safak, a pro-government daily, claimed on Monday that the Turkish military would act to drive the YPG from Afrin after establishing security in Idlib.

The analysts believe it is a "story" aimed for domestic consumption only.

"Turkey can't take such a step," Koni argued. "It wouldn't dare to damage its relations with Moscow at a time when the Turkish-U.S. ties are already quite strained."

"Afrin is a problem for Turkey, but circumstances are not suitable for it to be tackled militarily. Neither Russia nor the U.S. would allow an intervention against Afrin," added Solmazturk.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:57:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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YEREVAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Heads of the Investigative Committees of Armenia, Belarus and Russia signed bilateral memorandums on cooperation here Wednesday, the official website of the Investigative Committee of Armenia said.

Aghvan Hovsepyan, Ivan Noskevich and Alexander Bastrykin, heads of the Investigative Committees of Armenia, Belarus and Russia, respectively,signed memorandums between the Investigative Committees of Armenia and Belarus, as well as of Armenia and Russia.

After the signing ceremony, Hovsepyan said the memorandums "will deepen cooperation in the field of pre-trial investigation, new methods of expert research, scientific and practical seminars and conferences, exchange of experience and others."

The heads of the committees also took part in a joint session of the board of the Investigative Committees of Armenia, Belarus and Russia.

Later Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received the leaders of the Investigative Committees of Belarus and Russia.

Sargsyan said professional cooperation and exchange of experience between state structures of partner countries was very important, especially when new technologies and opportunities were emerging and helping to find the most productive solutions, thereby increasing their effectiveness.

Since 2016, cooperation between the Investigative Committees of Armenia, Belarus and Russia has entered an active phase. On Sept. 14, 2016, they issued a statement on the need to intensify cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:57:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HANOI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has requested the two ministries of the National Defence and the Public Security not to let any mistake happen during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week slated for Nov. 6-11 in central Da Nang city.

At a working session with officials of the two ministries and relevant offices on Wednesday, the president stressed that the week is the most important event of the APEC Year 2017 with the participation of heads of state and over 10,000 delegates from 21 APEC economies as well as representatives from both domestic and foreign enterprises and press agencies, Vietnam News Agency reported.

He noted that the regional and global political-security situations have seen complicated and unpredictable developments with a series of armed, racial and religious conflicts, terrorism activities and territorial disputes.

The state leader requested concerned forces to ensure absolute security for heads of state and delegations, as well as ministers and delegates attending the event, with the priority given to preventing terrorism, fire and explosion, and ensuring traffic safety, food safety and hygiene.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-18 23:57:54|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON -- Five people were shot at an office park in Harford County in the U.S. state of Maryland, authorities said Wednesday. (US-Maryland-Shooting)

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NEW DELHI -- At least eight people were killed and over a dozen others injured on Wednesday after a blast inside fireworks factory triggered a fire in India's eastern state of Odisha, police said.

The fire broke out Wednesday evening at Bahabalpur in Balasore district, about 224 km northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. (India-Firecrackers Factory Blast)

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ISLAMABAD -- A fatal road accident occurred on Wednesday in Pakistan's south Sindh province, leaving eight people killed and 25 others injured, local media said.

The incident happened when two passenger vans collided on Wednesday in Sehwan area of the province, Dunya News reported. (Pakistan-Road Accident-Toll)

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MADRID -- Both the Spanish prime minister and the deputy prime minister have said that the government is prepared to apply Article 155 of the Constitution and temporarily suspend the autonomy of the Catalan region in the northeast of the country.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government has threatened to apply the measure unless Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont clarifies by 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Thursday whether or not he declared the independence of the region on Oct. 10 and to retract that declaration if that is indeed the case. (Spain-Catalan Autonomy) Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:02:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DOHA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Qatari Emiri Air Force has sent a C-17 plane to Mogadishu, Somalia to aid victims of last week's terrorist attack, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Wednesday.

The plane was carrying medical equipment and first aid to help the injured in the terrorist explosions that killed and injured hundreds, the report said.

A Qatari international search and rescue group, and a comprehensive medical team were also sent to participate in the treatment of the wounded, and the evacuation of them through an air bridge for treatment outside Somalia.

Somalia has supported Qatar in its crisis that erupted in June, as Somali civil aviation authorities reported increased Qatar Airways traffic over Somali airspace.

The Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and has imposed an air, sea and land embargo against the tiny gas-rich Gulf state, citing Doha's support to terrorism and extremists, a charge that Qatar has denied.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:02:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Denis Elamu, Julius Gale

NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Wednesday renewed commitment to restoring permanent ceasefire, following latest revelations by the UN peacekeeping chief that rising insecurity and tension are caused by lack of political will to halt military operations.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Mawien Makol said the government remains committed to the restoration of permanent ceasefire amid ongoing High-Level Revitalization consultation by members from the regional body Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

"The government is fully committed to restoration of the permanent ceasefire; we are also committed to implementation of the 2015 peace agreement. And so any accusation on our commitment is not fair, we are doing what we can on this revitalization process," Makol said in Juba.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary General of Peacekeeping operations, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, that South Sudan's government is not fully committed to the peace revitalization process seen as the last chance for ending the more than three years of violence.

He also added that genuine political will to halt military operations, and peaceful negotiations are necessary to achieve sustainable peace in the country.

Renewed violence between government troops and SPLA-IO rebels in the Northwest Waat area of Bieh state in October has left more than 91 people killed, according to the South Sudan army.

Meanwhile, the body monitoring South Sudan's 2015 peace agreement has called on the country's political actors and estranged groups to support efforts led by the East African bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to revive the shattered pact and find a political solution to more than four years of conflict.

Festus Mogae, Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), also welcomed the IGAD-led revitalization process, saying that it reignites hopes of lasting peace and stability in the war-torn East African country.

He called all parties to the conflict to take necessary steps and compromises to revitalize the implementation of the shattered peace agreement without further delay.

"After more than a year of unacceptable turmoil and unimaginable distress suffered by millions of South Sudanese, this revitalization process offers an opportunity for the leaders of all communities to sit together, bring the violence to an end and determine a political path forward," Mogae told a stakeholders meeting in Juba.

IGAD announced on Tuesday that a high-level forum seeking to find solutions to the South Sudan conflict-now entering its fourth year will convene within two months.

South Sudan has been ravaged by civil war that erupted in late 2013.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under United Nations pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April 2016, but was shattered by renewed fighting three months later.

The conflict has since created one of the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world, with some 4 million people forced to seek safety in UN protected camps and in neighboring countries, according to the UN.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:07:58|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD -- At least seven people, including six policemen, were killed and over 22 injured when a suicide blast hit a security forces truck in Quetta city in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan on Wednesday, reported local media.

Sarfraz Bhugti, Home Minister of Balochistan, said the attack happened when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the security forces truck in Saryab area of Quetta, killing seven people on the spot and wounding 22 others. (Afghanistan-Suicide Blast)

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NADI, Fiji -- Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and Austrialia's Minister for International and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti stressed on Wednesday the importance of the role played by women in addressing climate change problems.

Speaking on women's leadership in climate change diplomacy at the two-day Pre-COP23, also known as ministerial dialogue, in Denarau, an island near Fiji's third largest city of Nadi, Bainimarama said women and girls are both critically vulnerable to some of the worst effects of climate change and vital to an effective response. (Fiji-Women-Climate Change)

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NEW DELHI -- At least eight people were killed and over a dozen others injured on Wednesday after a blast inside fireworks factory triggered a fire in India's eastern state of Odisha, police said.

The fire broke out Wednesday evening at Bahabalpur in Balasore district, about 224 km northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. (India-Fireworks Factory-Blast)

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir -- At least eight people were wounded Wednesday after troops of India and Pakistan fired upon each others positions and frontier areas on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, police said.

The two sides resorted to heavy firing and mortar shelling in Poonch and Rajouri districts, southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Kashmir-Firing) Enditem
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Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:18:04|Editor: Song Lifang

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MOGADISHU, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations said Wednesday it has stepped up delivery of coordinated and comprehensive humanitarian response following last Saturday's attack in Mogadishu.

A joint statement from the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said the UN has mobilized its staff members and resources in response to appeals from federal and government authorities to aid Somalis affected by last Saturday's bomb blasts in the capital Mogadishu.

The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Raisedon Zenenga, said the UN family in Somalia was deeply saddened by the devastating attacks that killed over 300 civilians and injured more than 500.

"We have called upon our colleagues in the UN family to donate blood. At the same time, the entire UN family is also mobilizing in support for the response by the Federal Government and the local administration," he said.

Zenenga was among 137 UN staff members who have donated blood as of Tuesday in response to an emergency appeal from local and government authorities.

He noted that many hospitals in the city had been overwhelmed by the number of people wounded in the attacks and were running short of supplies.

Zenenga said the UN is working closely with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to ensure they provide adequate support to federal and local government ministries and agencies.

"Our support as the UN family will partly go through AMISOM, including some equipment and medical supplies. We also have agencies such as UNDP that will provide support directly to the Banadir administration's response," Zenenga said.

Apart from the UN, NGOs, donors, the private sector, member states and civil society organizations are stepping up search and rescue efforts, including providing urgent life-saving assistance through the government-led emergency response center.

Assistance provided so far include earthmoving and fire equipment, ambulances, cash, medical and food supplies and tents.

Over 300 people have been confirmed dead, over 330 people injured with nearly 200 people still missing as of Tuesday, according to the UN.

The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has deployed technical advisors, medics and explosives-detecting dog teams at the site of the main bomb blast near the Safari Hotel since last Sunday.

UNMAS Somalia Director, Alan Macdonald, noted the important role played by the agency's sniffer dogs in the search for secondary explosive devices around the perimeter area of the main blast site.

"In the second day, the response changed, we have explosive detection dogs but we've also augmented that with combat engineering support where we are helping the AMISOM soldiers with heavy equipment for removing rubble at the site," said Macdonald.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:28:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday received a telephone call from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence who offered thanks for the recovery of an American hostage, her Canadian husband and three children, the Prime Minister's office said.

The Haqqani Network, a group affiliated with the Afghan Taliban kidnapped the couple in Afghanistan in 2012.

Pakistani army said last week that security forces rescued the hostages from terrorist custody through an intelligence-based operation after the Islamabad-based American diplomats shared information that the hostages would be shifted to Pakistan's Kurram tribal region.

"Speaking on behalf of the U.S. government, Vice President Pence thanked the government of Pakistan and praised the professionalism of the Army and the intelligence agencies for the swift response and safe recovery of the U.S. national Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children," a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

Pence reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and said that the United States would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region, the statement said.

Reaffirming Pakistan's resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil, the prime minister assured the U.S. Vice President that Pakistan would respond to any actionable intelligence shared by the U.S. side.

The two leaders agreed to maintain high level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the Prime Minister's office said.

Pence also accepted the invitation of the prime minister to visit Pakistan in the near future, it said.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also called to convey the U.S. government's gratitude for the safe recovery of the hostages, the Prime Minister's office said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:33:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Three Finnish citizens have been charged for allegedly having prepared a terrorist crime, the state prosecution office announced on Wednesday.

One of them is also accused of giving training for terrorist crimes and another for recruitment of people for terrorist purposes.

The three men traveled from Finland to Syria in 2013 and allegedly participated in terrorism. Charges concern both activity in Finland and in Syria.

The men were arrested in Finland in 2013. Upon the completion of the police investigation, the men were released awaiting trial.

To finance their belligerent plans, the men established an aid association to give them cover. The financial crimes will be dealt with separately. The men have denied all the charges.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 00:38:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIGA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private equity investment firm Providence Equity Partners (Providence) has become the official owner of Latvia's leading commercial TV channels LNT and TV3 as it has completed the acquisition of the Baltic business of Swedish media holding Modern Times Group (MTG), Latvian media reported Wednesday.

MTG announced the deal already in the spring of 2017, but the Latvian Competition Council approved it only this week.

The former MTG companies in the Baltic states will be united under a new name - All Media Baltics, or AM Baltics.

MTG has sold its Baltic business for 115 million euros, and the American investor has promised to inject another 10 million euros in the AM Baltics companies over the coming year. The financing is meant for technological development, including the Latvian television channels' switch to HD broadcasts.

The media companies' takeover has also been approved by the Latvian government.

A few years ago, Providence acquired Bite mobile operator, which provides services in Latvia and Lithuania.

AM Baltics head Pierre Danon said at a news conference in Riga on Wednesday that the Baltic companies might be resold in the next five to ten years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:03:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISTANBUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Red Crescent Society is speeding up its cross-border activities to provide more aid to the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib facing a worsening humanitarian situation, the aid group said on Wednesday.

"In Idlib, the humanitarian situation is unfortunately one of a large-scale drama," Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent Society, told reporters in Istanbul.

He said the number of people fleeing to Idlib from other Syrian cities, including Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Damascus, has hit 800,000 lately as a result of constant clashes between terror groups.

The displaced are living in 400 makeshift camps with conditions far from being satisfactory in terms of meeting their urgent needs, he noted.

"To meet the demands of these people, the Turkish Red Crescent Society has accelerated its cross-border activities," the chairman said, adding his institution plans to help build infrastructure, hospitals and new housing units in the region.

He expressed hope for expanded aid operations across Idlib as Turkey has launched a military operation in the province mainly controlled by Nusra Front, which is treated as a terror group.

"We have just one aim, to make sure there is not one place inside Syria that humanitarian aid cannot reach," he said.

Currently 13.5 million people are considered in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, according to a report released by the Turkish Red Crescent Society.

Aid groups have allocated 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, but 2.1 billion dollars more are needed to cover basic humanitarian needs of Syrians, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:03:22|Editor: Song Lifang

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ATHENS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Around 7,000 refugee and migrant children aged 6 to 16 years old will be attending public schools and reception facilities for refugee education (RFRE) in Greece, the Education Ministry announced on Wednesday as part of this year's educational program.

The Greek government introduced last year a plan to give schooling to thousands of refugee children who have been left stranded in Greece after the closure of the borders along the Western Balkan route in February 2016.

According to the ministry, this year a total of 2,439 children living with their families in apartments and hotels rented for asylum seekers will be attending morning classes and a total of 2,360 that currently live in refugee camps will attend afternoon classes in reception facilities for refugee education.

George Angelopoulos, the General Secretary of the Greek Education Ministry, said during a press conference that around 2,000 children will register the next 15 days, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

It is expected that a total of 1,000 public schools across Greece will participate in the educational program for refugee and migrant children. In addition, 30 kindergartens will be added to the program by next month.

A year after the implementation of the refugee schooling program, the Education Ministry said that a total of 5,000 refugee and migrant children participated in the project.

According to figures, that number reflects the 40 percent of the refugee children population that was recorded last year in Greece.

With most of them never having attended school or been out of education for more than two years the aim was to help refugee children integrate into the local society.

"For the first year of its implementation, the percentage of the participation is quite successful," Angelopoulos told reporters.

Despite problems regarding shortages of teachers in schools, Angelopoulos stressed that the program has received "a very positive response from the educational community".
A van passes by the Europa building in Brussels, Belgium, on March 10, 2017. The European Council held its spring summit from March 9 to March 10. It was the first European Council summit held in the Europa building after a decade-long construction period. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)

BRUSSELS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming EU summit will take place at another venue after a "noxious fumes" incident, in which some staff fell ill in the building supposed to host the summit.

The noxious fumes are caused by technical issues affecting the ventilation in the kitchens of the Europa building, according to a statement of General Secretariat of the Council.

As a precautionary measure, the summit scheduled on Oct. 19-20 will take place in the Justus Lipsius building, which is next to the Europa Building, said the statement, adding that the programs and schedules of the summit remain unchanged.

A staff member stands inside the Europa building in Brussels, Belgium, on March 9, 2017. The European Council held its spring summit from March 9 to March 10. It was the first European Council summit held in the Europa building after a decade-long construction period. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)

The incident is the second of its kind within a week in the Europa Building.

On Oct. 13, some staff in the building were affected by noxious fumes caused by "a chemical reaction between two industrial cleaning products" in the kitchens of Europa building.

After a decade-long construction, the building became the home of the two institutions representing the EU member states, the Council of the European Union and the European Council, since the beginning of this year.

The building hosted its first EU summit in March.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:23:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Wednesday condemned "the heinous and cowardly terrorist attacks" carried out by the Taliban in various provinces of Afghanistan.

Suicide bombers and gunmen targeted police and government facilities in Paktia, Ghazni and Farah provinces on Tuesday, killing more than 70 people and wounding over 200 others.

In a press statement, the members of the Security Council condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms" and expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Afghan government.

They underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice and urged all states to cooperate actively with the Afghan government and all other relevant authorities in this regard.

They reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. They reaffirmed the need for all states to combat threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:28:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIEV, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian army has incurred its worst daily losses since the start of the new ceasefire with pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine, official figures showed Wednesday.

According to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, two government soldiers were killed and four others injured in the past 24 hours in clashes with rebels amid escalated violence.

The number of attacks carried out by insurgents against the government army had increased twofold in the past three days, said the statement on the ministry's website.

The ministry has suggested that the rebels have stepped up their offensive ahead of the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's crisis, which is taking place in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

In turn, the insurgent-run DAN news agency blamed the government forces for the escalation of the tensions, saying two civilians were injured in the attacks on the rebel-controlled areas. The insurgents have not commented on their casualties.

The conflict between government troops and insurgents in eastern Ukraine has been raging since April 2014, claiming about 10,000 lives.

On Aug. 25, the confronting sides declared the ceasefire to ensure children's security ahead of the new school year. The truce has brought relative calm to the restive region.

In September, five Ukrainian army soldiers were killed in combat with rebels, while three others fall victims to the explosions, which marked the lowest monthly casualties of the Ukrainian forces since the start of the conflict.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:28:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The use of mobile money in Kenya declined by the biggest margin in August, pointing to jitters related to East African nation polls first held on Aug. 8.

Kenyans transacted on mobile phone 2.8 billion U.S. dollars during the month, down from 3 billion dollars in July, Central Bank of Kenya data showed Wednesday.

It was the biggest fall since the start of the year, with mobile money transactions recording rise and decline in use in separate months during the period.

According to the apex bank's data, the highest transaction Kenya recorded in the first eight months of the year was 3.2 billion dollars in March. That equally was the highest the country has ever transacted in the history of the technology.

And the August reading is the lowest in 2017 so far, as the rest of the transactions in the other months standing at between 2.9 billion dollars and 3.1 billion dollars.

Kenya in August held one of the most competitive elections which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta re-elected but his win was cancelled by the Supreme Court on Sept. 1 due to irregularities and illegalities.

The East African nation is set to hold repeat polls on Oct. 26, from which the opposition has announced a withdrawal, plunging the country into a crisis.

Before the August polls, there was fear of violence making some people travel to their rural homes while others stockpiled food and other basic items, including cash.

This, therefore, saw Kenyans cut mobile money transactions that include remittances to their kin as uncertainty loomed, what analysts attribute to the drop in usage.

"It is not possible to send money to friends or even family if you are unsure that you would make more the next day. This is the situation Kenyans faced during the August polls. The lengthy electioneering period I believe would also hit September and October transactions," said Ernest Manuyo, a business management lecturer in Nairobi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:33:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to the Central African Republic (CAR) next week to visit peacekeepers as a gesture to solute the blue helmets around the world.

"Peacekeeping operations are among the international community's most effective tools for meeting the challenges of global peace and security. Peacekeepers show tremendous courage in volatile environments, and great dedication in helping countries rise from the depths of armed conflict," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the year, 67 peacekeepers have died in the line of duty, including 12 in the CAR, he noted.

Guterres also linked his visit with the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers.

"We know that the good work and tremendous sacrifice of peacekeepers around the world has been tarnished by the appalling acts of some UN personnel who have harmed the people they were meant to serve. I am pained that some peacekeepers are alleged to have committed egregious acts of sexual exploitation and abuse against the people of the Central African Republic."

He said he would be accompanied by Jane Connors, the newly appointed the first "victims' rights advocate" of the United Nations. "We are determined to ensure that the voices of victims are heard, in and beyond the Central African Republic. Victims must be at the center of our response if we want our zero-tolerance policy to be successful," said Guterres.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:33:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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AMMAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan and Governor General of Australia Peter Cosgrove held talks on Wednesday, pledging to forge closer ties and enhance cooperation in various fields.

During their meeting in Amman, the two leaders discussed bilateral ties as well as the latest regional and international developments, the Royal Court of Jordan said in a statement.

They stressed the need to continue coordination and consultation on various issues of common interest with the aim of boosting bilateral ties and enhancing global peace and security.

The king said Jordan is keen to expand economic, security and defense partnership with Australia.

He said that, as both countries face joint threats and challenges, Cosgrove's visit provides an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation, exchange views, and work within a holistic approach to counter terrorism.

They also discussed the efforts to advance the peace process and relaunch serious and effective negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to achieve comprehensive peace in the region.

The talks also dealt with the burden shouldered by Jordan, which is home to 1.3 million Syrian refugees.

The king voiced appreciation of the support provided by Australia to Jordan through continuing its humanitarian and relief services to the refugees.

The two sides also highlighted the need to intensify efforts to achieve a political solution to the crises in the Middle East and to fight terrorism.

The Jordanian leader reiterated the need to preserve the historical and legal status in Jerusalem, and protect the Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city.

Also Wednesday, Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki met with the Australian official to discuss means to boost the bilateral ties.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:38:37|Editor: Hou Qiang

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ROME, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Rome prosecutors have requested a life sentence for an HIV-positive man who knowingly infected 30 women through unprotected sex, local media reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors also asked he should be placed in daytime solitary confinement for two years.

Rome native Valentino Talluto, 32, is charged with malicious epidemic and aggravated bodily harm for knowingly infecting the women with the virus from when he discovered he was HIV positive in April 2006 through Nov. 23, 2015, the day prior to his arrest, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Intentionally causing an epidemic by spreading a pathogen is punishable with life in prison in the Italian criminal code.

Talluto has reportedly plead ignorance of the risks of HIV infection. The man, who met most of his alleged victims online, is also charged with the secondary infection of an eight-month-old baby, who was born with brain damage "caused by the HIV-positive state contracted from the mother during birth", according to prosecution papers cited by ANSA.

Investigators have discovered a total of 57 incidents of unprotected sex, but believe Talluto may have directly or indirectly infected more people who have not turned to authorities, according to ANSA.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIEV, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian government has approved the country's cooperation program with the United Nations (UN) for 2018-2022, the cabinet's press service said Wednesday in a statement.

Under the initiative named Ukraine-UN Partnership Framework, Kiev plans to attract about 675 million U.S. dollars from the organization in the next five years to finance a string of development projects in Ukraine.

In particular, the UN assistance would be directed to such areas as economic development, environment protection, employment, social protection, citizens' safety and others.

The Ukraine-UN Partnership Framework is set to be signed by Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv and the UN representatives next week. It will replace the previous cooperation program, which has expired in 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 01:43:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Oct.18 (Xinhua) -- Italy has busted an international crime ring that smuggled stolen oil from Libya into Italy, officials announced Wednesday.

"Trafficking in stolen oil destined for consumption as fuel: 9 suspects arrested," the Finance Guard tweeted in the early hours of Wednesday morning, posting video footage documenting their operation, code-named "Dirty Oil".

Charges include international racketeering with intent to smuggle oil aggravated by Mafia methods, because one of the arrested suspects, named as Nicola Orazio Romeo, is linked to the Santapaola-Ercolano organized crime clan in Sicily, the Finance Guard said in a statement.

A total of five Italians have been arrested, including the CEO of an Italian oil wholesale company called Maxcom Bunker S.p.A., a business consultant, and a company employee.

Also arrested were two Libyans: the leader of an armed militia operating in Libya near the Tunisian border, who is already detained in Libya on oil smuggling charges, and a man who is suspected of handling the militia's financial affairs.

Two Maltese nationals were also arrested on suspicion of organizing the shipments along with the help of the Mafia mobster, according to the Finance Guard statement.

The fuel stolen from Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) was escorted by Libyan militias onto refitted fishing boats, shipped using fake Saudi certificates of origins via a system of shell companies to Malta and then to Sicily, where it was siphoned into the legal fuel market at cut-rate prices, according to the Finance Guard.

The Finance Guard said they documented over 30 such shipments totaling over 80 million kilos of stolen oil worth about 30 million euros (35.36 millin U.S. dollars) in the course of their one-year investigation.

"We cannot exclude that part of the profits from this illicit traffic ended up in the hands of (the so-called Islamic State) ISIS (militia)," Catania Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro told reporters during a televised press conference.

The investigation was sparked by a complaint filed by Italian oil and gas giant ENI, Italian ANSA news agency reported. (One euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 02:08:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SKOPJE, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- More than 445,000 people living in Macedonia can barely make their ends meet, as they live on 100 euros (117 U.S. dollars) a month, Macedonian statistical office said Wednesday.

The figures on poverty in Macedonia are concerning as they showed that besides jobless people and seasonal workers, poverty has increased even among people who have a regular job.

Social issues experts here said Wednesday that the Macedonian government should take rapid and concrete measures to tackle such concern.

They voiced the need for a national strategy to crack down poverty.

"In the category of households, the poorest ones are households with 3 to 4 children," experts told local media.

On its part, Macedonian Ministry of Social Issues said that it considered poverty a very serious problem.

"The new government is taking measures to improve this situation, planning on increasing social aid and offer other concessions for poor families," local media cited deputy minister Elmi Aziri as saying Wednesday.

According to a report of the World Bank on poverty levels in 2016, Macedonia is ranked among countries with the highest level of poverty in Western Balkans.

World Bank data showed that one third of Macedonia's population lived in moderate poverty, while 30.7 percent of the population live on less than 5 U.S. dollars a day.
Iran allocates 300,000 U.S. dollars to improve the living condition of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar on Wednesday. (Xinhua Photo)

TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has allocated 300,000 U.S. dollars to improve the living condition of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

The donation by the Iranian top leader followed a letter by his representative in the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) about the unfavourable conditions of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

In the letter, Khamenei was detailed about the displacement of Rohingya Muslims and the necessary measures to be taken by the IRCS in this regard.

The assistance came after Amnesty International accused Myanmar's security forces of committing crimes against humanity as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children have fled the country.

Iranian officials have repeatedly voiced readiness to construct emergency camps and field hospitals for the refugees on Bangladesh's border with Myanmar.
Qatari air force has sent a rescue team as well as medical equipments and first aid to help the injured in the terrorist explosions. (Xinhua Photo)

DOHA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Qatari Emiri Air Force has sent a C-17 plane to Mogadishu, Somalia to aid victims of last week's terrorist attack, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Wednesday.

The plane was carrying medical equipment and first aid to help the injured in the terrorist explosions that killed and injured hundreds, the report said.

A Qatari international search and rescue group, and a comprehensive medical team were also sent to participate in the treatment of the wounded, and the evacuation of them through an air bridge for treatment outside Somalia.

Somalia has supported Qatar in its crisis that erupted in June, as Somali civil aviation authorities reported increased Qatar Airways traffic over Somali airspace.

The Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and has imposed an air, sea and land embargo against the tiny gas-rich Gulf state, citing Doha's support to terrorism and extremists, a charge that Qatar has denied.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 02:59:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Congress on Wednesday that the U.S. stock market could fall significantly if Congress do not pass tax reform.

"There is no question that the rally in the stock market has baked into it reasonably high expectations of us getting tax cuts and tax reform done," Mnuchin said with a Washington-based news website Politico in a podcast.

"There's no question in my mind that if we don't get it done you're going to see a reversal of a significant amount of these gains," he said.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has increased by about 20 percent since Donald Trump's win in the presidential election in November 2016, a fact Trump has mentioned frequently on the twitter.

Mnuchin's warning comes ahead of a vital vote in the Senate on Thursday on a budget resolution, which would pave the way for a tax cut worth up to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars over 10 years.

The White House said in a statement that President Trump on Wednesday had a productive meeting about tax cuts and reform with the bipartisan group of Senators from the Senate Finance Committee.

"The group discussed the historic nature of tax cuts and reform, and stressed the urgent need to deliver tax relief for the middle class by cutting taxes and simplifying the burdensome tax code," the statement said.

The Trump administration, together with Congressional Republicans, last month released a unified framework for tax reform, which will cut tax rates for businesses and individuals while lacking details on how to consolidate fiscal position in face of big tax cuts.

Economists have criticized that wealthy people, not middle class, would be the big winners in the tax reform framework and the plan would also push up U.S. fiscal deficits and public debt.

A minority of middle-class households, particularly upper-middle-class households with several children living in high-tax states, would actually experience tax increases, according to Alan Viard, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 03:04:02|Editor: Zhou Xin

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A fire fighter checks debris of wildfire near Santa Rosa, California, the United States, Oct. 19, 2017. The deadliest California wildfires have rendered 22,000 people homeless since they broke out 10 days ago, despite major progress in bringing the statewide blazes under full control, fire authorities said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The deadliest California wildfires have rendered 22,000 people homeless since they broke out 10 days ago, despite major progress in bringing the statewide blazes under full control, fire authorities said on Wednesday.

The wildfires have, by Tuesday, burned a combined number of 210,000 acres of land across the state, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a press release.

The wildfires killed 42 people, including a firefighter who died in a vehicle rollover in combating the fires, the first death toll from the rank of firefighters in more than a week of fight against the wildland fires, it said.

Nearly 10,000 firefighters continued battling 13 large wildfires burning in the state, and cooler temperatures and increased humidity overnight have aided firefighters in their efforts, CAL FIRE said.

Light rain forecast for northern California, the major impact areas of the most devastating wildfires in the state, will help in the containment progress, it added.

More than 90 percent of the fires in Sonoma County, the worst hit area in the ongoing disaster in California, where 19 of the 42 deaths were recorded, has been brought under controlled, according to CAL FIRE estimates.

Full containment, which means the fires will no longer be able to spread, is expected Friday for Sonoma County.

Evacuation orders have been lifted in many counties of northern California, including Napa County, another hardest-hit area, and residents were gradually allowed to go back home for their rebuilding efforts.

California, with a summer warm temperature and low humidity, is vulnerable to forest fires. From 2006 to the end of 2016, an average of 8,317 wildfires took place in the state and burn more than 2,300 acres every year, statistics show.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 03:09:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LAGOS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria had started a process of reducing the cost of cancer drugs by 50 percent in hospitals through direct procurement to ensure availability of quality and cost-effective chemotherapy agents in the country, an official said Wednesday.

Speaking at a symposium on Breast Cancer in southwest city of Akure, Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, said the government will establish dedicated cancer chemotherapy wards in nine federal tertiary institutions across the country.

Adewole added that the center would be provided with all necessary equipment to provide adequate supportive care which has been lacking in hospitals.

According to him, the initiatives will make cancer treatment relatively affordable by patients.

In the same vein, Rotimi Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State, promised to establish a breast cancer management center in the state to support the fight against the scourge.

The governor reiterated his commitment to the fight, saying that he had strong belief in advocacy of Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN).

Akeredolu, who solicited support for breast cancer awareness campaign, also called on well meaning Nigerians to help those in dire need to combat breast cancer.

He said all hands must be on deck to fight the dreaded disease, calling on women to strive hard to have proper knowledge of the scourge.

According to medical experts, breast cancer is recognized as a major public health problem in developing countries. It is a common form of cancer among women globally.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 03:14:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ministers of Water and Irrigation of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on Wednesday discussed on ways to continue the two commissioned studies on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which are not progressing at the required level.

Egyptian Irrigation Minister, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Sudanese Minister of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity Affairs, Muataz Musa, and Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, Sileshi Bekele, have on Tuesday visited the dam's construction site in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz regional state on the Blue Nile River, located some 40km east of Ethiopia's neighboring country Sudan.

Since the commencement of the construction of the dam, the three countries agreed to conduct an assessment by an International Panel of Experts (IPoE) so as to build trust among Ethiopian and the two lower riparian counties.

After the assessment, the Panel of Experts recommended studies to be conducted on filling and operation of the dam's reservoir, including its impact on the lower riparian countries.

Following the recommendation of the IPoE, the three countries hired two French firms, Artelia and BRLi, to conduct two studies on the dam at a cost of 4.5 million Euros in September 2016. The progress of the two studies, however, has not met expectation.

The three ministers, during their discussion in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday, have discussed on ways to solve differences related to technical studies of the dam, which will be Africa's largest hydroelectric dam upon completion with a total volume of 74,000 million cubic meters.

Bekele, who affirmed Tuesday's visit as an impetus for further discussions, indicated that the difference related to the construction of the dam could be resolved "if it is perceived rightly and regardless of political and other issues."

Bekele also stressed the need for cooperation in the filling and operation of the dam as one of the 10 principles that the heads of the three countries agreed in March 2015 in Khartoum.

Abdel Aty, who expressed his country's disappointment at the delay of the work of the joint study scheduled to start last February, indicated that Egypt was "very concerned with the delays in the joint studies recommended by the International Panel of Experts (IPOE)."

Abdel Aty, who recalled the contract that was signed with the consultancy firm back in September 2016 to commence the studies on February 15 this year, stressed that the situation is critical considering the inability to approve the Draft Inception Report so far.

Musa on his part said that the Nile River should be the foundation of cooperation and development between the three countries, adding a consensus needs to be reached regarding the preliminary report.

According to the Ethiopian Water, Irrigation and Electricity ministry, the construction of the dam has presently reached 60 percent completion.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 03:44:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ZAGREB, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Zagreb County Court on Wednesday evening ruled one-month investigative detention for Ivica Todoric, founder of Croatia's debt-laden food and retail group Agrokor.

Ivica Todoric, owner and former CEO of the biggest private company in Croatia, is not in the country and no one knows where he is. If he doesn't show in Croatia soon, police will announce an international arrest warrant.

The remaining 14 persons suspected of financial wrongdoing, among them his sons and son-in-law, will not be detained.

On Monday, when police arrested 12 members of the former management of Agrokor for their possible involvement in the white-collar crime, Todoric wrote on his personal blog that he was not on the run and that he would defend himself in the court if necessary.

A day later he wrote that none of his colleagues in the company were guilty and that he is the only one responsible for possible wrongdoings.

Despite spectacular arrests with a live coverage of Croatian media on Monday, all 12 members were released after the Zagreb County Court rejected State Prosecutor's Office request for a month-long detention. The prosecutor's office will appeal against the court decision.

Before crisis hit the company, Agrokor retail chain was a leader in the entire South-East Europe retail market.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 03:59:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A manhunt was underway Wednesday for a gunman who killed three people and critically wounded two others at a granite business in U.S. state of Maryland, authorities said.

The gunman, identified as 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince, opened fire with a handgun at around 9:00 a.m. at Advanced Granite Solutions, a granite supplier near a business park in Edgewood, roughly 40 kilometers northeast of Baltimore, according to Harford County Sherriff's Office.

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told a press conference that all the victims were employees of the company, and two wounded were in critical condition.

Prince had worked as a machine operator at the granite business for about four months and was scheduled to work on Wednesday, Gahler said.

The sheriff said deputies arrived at the scene within minutes of the report of the shooting. Considered armed and dangerous, Prince was believed to flee in a black GMC Acadia with Delaware plates.

"This does appear to be a targeted attack, limited to that business," Gahler said. "We do not believe that anybody else was involved in this incident."

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said the survivors had gunshots wounds to the head, adding that state police were working with federal and local law enforcement officers on tracking on the suspect.

Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office, said investigators were treating the shooting as an incident of workplace violence, and didn't see ties to terrorism.

Local officials said schools and business in the Edgewood area were placed on lockdown as a precaution.

Prince is also wanted in connection with another shooting that occurred hours later in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, according to a police advisory. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the second shooting.

Local newspaper said Prince had several prior arrests and run-ins with law enforcement.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 04:09:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LJUBLJANA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar has proposed that Slovenia and Croatia set up a joint commission to demarcate border, Slovenian media reported on Wednesday.

Cerar's proposal was conveyed in a letter he sent to his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic on Monday, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

The joint commission would launch the demarcation of the border in line with the border arbitration award handed down by the arbitration tribunal in late June this year, Cerar proposed.

Croatia has refused the international award made by the Hague International Tribunal over a decades-old border dispute between the two countries.

Plenkovic reiterated his government's position on Wednesday before the Croatian parliament, saying the award is non-binding for Croatia.

The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in June that much of an area of contested waters between Slovenia and Croatia should be awarded to Ljubljana, giving Slovenia direct access to international waters.

However, the ruling was rejected by Croatia, which withdrew from the arbitration process in July 2015 by invoking Article 60 of the Vienna Convention, which allows termination of an agreement in case of a grave breach.

Croatia withdrawn the arbitration, after media revealed alleged secret call records between a judge at the PCA and the Slovenian representative in the court about lobbying other judges to influence the outcome of the arbitration in Slovenia's favor.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 04:39:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HAVANA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 representatives from different institutions of Cuban civil society on Wednesday demanded U.S. President Donald Trump to put an end to the economic embargo against Cuba and continue the process of normalizing ties.

In their annual meeting against this U.S. policy, different organizations said the blockade is the main obstacle to Cuba's economic and social development, having cost the island over 130 billion U.S. dollars in loss since it was imposed in 1962.

"The main goal of this obsolete policy that new U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is strengthening continues to be the same as when it started. It seeks to destroy the Cuban revolution and interfere in our country's internal matters," Elsa Gutierrez, international relations chief of the Cuban Women's Federation, said at the forum.

Gutierrez said the blockade is a "flagrant" violation of human rights and also seeks to stifle the island's economic relations with other nations in the world.

Meanwhile, Jose Ginarte, President of the Cuban Union of Lawyers, said the recent setback in bilateral relations due to alleged "sonic attacks" on U.S. diplomats in Havana was an "excuse" by the White House to once again start a "confrontation" with Cuba.

"We denounce false pretexts such as the alleged acoustic attacks on U.S. diplomatic personnel to justify Trump's aggression against the dignity of Cuba, whose history demonstrates its unrestricted respect for international law, especially the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations," he added.

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno, who chaired the event on behalf of the government, said this year's civil society forum was taking place in a new context marked by a "setback" in bilateral ties with Washington.

He indicated that even after relations with the U.S. were restored in 2015, the embargo remained intact, causing great harm to Cuba's economy and commercial relations with other nations.

Moreno said the current circumstances under Trump are "complex" and marked by an intensification of the economic embargo against Cuba.

Over the last 25 years, Cuba has presented an annual resolution at the UN General Assembly against the U.S. economic blockade, which has been supported by the vast majority of the global community.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 05:14:49|Editor: Mengjie

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Xu Chen, Chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce - USA (CGCC), speaks during the launching ceremony of a China-U.S. investment and cooperation database in New York, the United States, on Oct. 18, 2017. The comprehensive China-U.S. investment and cooperation database was launched on Wednesday in New York city, aiming at enhancing cooperation between the Chinese and U.S. business communities and promoting Chinese investment in the United States. The database, the first investment information database serving Chinese companies and their partners in the United States, was established by the China General Chamber of Commerce - USA (CGCC), the largest nonprofit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the United States. (Xinhua/Wu Rong)

NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A comprehensive China-U.S. investment and cooperation database was launched on Wednesday in New York city, aiming at enhancing cooperation between the Chinese and U.S. business communities and promoting Chinese investment in the United States.

The database, the first investment information database serving Chinese companies and their partners in the United States, was established by the China General Chamber of Commerce - USA (CGCC), the largest nonprofit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the United States.

The platform features CGCC members' key information, such as company information, locations, products and services, and major contacts. Subscribers can search company information by region, industry, or type.

Xu Chen, chairman of CGCC, said he hopes the database will be a convenient tool for members searching for information, seeking to form new partnerships and looking for business opportunities.

Meanwhile, the organization also launched a FDI (foreign direct investment) tracker on its new website. Companies are now able to track the number of deals Chinese companies have made in the United States, and investment volume by industry, investment type, and location.

CGCC has more than 1,500 company members, 53 of which are 2017 Fortune Global 500 companies.

By the end of 2016, CGCC Chinese member companies employed over 200,000 people in the U.S. labor force and invested approximately 100 billion U.S. dollars in various industries across the United States.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 05:29:54|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD -- The Kurdish regional electoral commission on Wednesday halted preparations for the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on Nov. 1 due to current crisis in Kirkuk province.

In a statement released two weeks before the election, the regional Independent High Electoral and Referendum Commission (IHERC) said it decided to suspend the preparations for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections due to the recent violence in Kirkuk and other disputed territories. (Iraq-Kurdish)

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DAMASCUS -- The main commander of the military operations against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour was killed by a mine explosion Wednesday, local media reported.

Issam Zahreddine, also known as Lion of the Republican Guard, was a Major General of the Syrian Republican Guard and was leading the military operations of the Syrian army against IS in Deir al-Zour. (Syria-Explosion)

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DAMASCUS -- Syria's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ali Ayoub agreed Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to boost military cooperation between both countries.

Meeting in Damascus, both commanders discussed the achievements made in fighting terrorist groups in Syria, according to state news agency SANA. (Syria-Iran)

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JERUSALEM -- Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a Palestinian after he allegedly ran towards them with a knife in his hand in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the military said.

The incident took place at the Gush Etzion Junction, near a major settlement bloc in central West Bank. (Israel-Palestine) Enditem
Photo taken from Shanghai Tower on July 22, 2014 shows a view of downtown Shanghai, east China. Shanghai Tower, a megamall skyscraper under construction, stands approximately 632 meters high and has 128 stories, with a total floor area of 380,000 square meters. (Xinhua/Huang Weiguo)

by Tian Ying

BERLIN, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- When Wang Xiongshi, a Chinese doctorate student, returned to China after two years, he found changes and development so astonishing that he risked falling behind.

"It surprised me that sharing bikes and mobile payment are readily available," said Wang, who studied automobile engineering in the Technology University of Berlin.

He said a tour visit to start-up parks and incubators in several cities, organized by the Chinese Communist Youth League for Chinese overseas students, also impressed him with its enabling environment for entrepreneurship.

Wang is not alone in such a "homecoming shock." It's a consensus among Chinese students in Germany that gaps between China and developed countries are narrowing. China's rapid catching-up has brought them confidence, and above all, more opportunities both academically and professionally.

Chen Cheng, a doctorate student in ecological economics with Berlin-based Humboldt University, said: "Nowadays what you can find here also exists in China's big cities. Therefore, the shock sustained by Chinese overseas students, resulting from differences in cultural and recreational activities or lifestyle, is no longer pronounced as it was years ago."

On the other hand, it is in Germany that Chen felt changes come a bit too slow. "The use of PayPal is still not very convenient here, and I think Chinese respond faster to new things," Chen said.

"China turns different each time I go back home, but here seldom anything changes during my four-year stay. China is catching up at an enormous speed," said the student, adding "We feel more confident than never before."

Apart from confidence, China's rapid development and rising international standing have brought tangible benefits for overseas students in Germany.

"Since the United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement and China became a leading player in the battle against climate change, many countries are eager to cooperate with China," Chen said, explaining how his research in the climate field is benefiting from such a development.

Increasing cooperation between Chinese and German researchers affords Chinese students greater opportunities. Chen cited a project jointly led by China's National Natural Science Foundation and German Research Foundation, which is open to scientists from both countries, as an example.

The project attaches great importance to climate and environment researches, and Chinese doctorate and post-doctorate students in Germany take it as a good opportunity to pursue their academic goals, Chen said.

Moreover, an increasing number of Chinese enterprises are going global, some taking over foreign companies. Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group's purchase of German robotics firm Kuka, for example, brought employment opportunities to Chinese students in Germany as they are valued for their local know-how and language competencies.

Lu Xiaozheng, head of Chinese student association in Technology University of Berlin, noticed a marked increase in the number of job fairs jointly organized by her association and Chinese enterprises engaged in bilateral trade and businesses in recent years.

Besides, German companies and other Germany-based foreign companies are more likely to hire Chinese students to expand their China businesses, Lu said.

Economic growth also means better job opportunities back home. Wang Xiongshi said as many Chinese enterprises excel in new-energy vehicles, there are a great deal of employers he can choose from if he returns home.

For Chen, he said "there's never been a greater time than today for overseas students to return to the homeland", explaining that the country offers various programs such as the "1,000-Talent Program" to attract overseas researchers back home.

Besides, various localities are jostling for talent. "As long as you are truly competent, there will be a stage for you to shine in China," Chen said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 05:34:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Embassies of the Netherlands, Hungary and South Korea have officially resumed their duties in the Libyan capital Tripoli after a three-year closure due to the security situation in the country, a Libyan security official said on Wednesday.

"The embassies of the Netherlands, Hungary and South Korea began their official functions in Tripoli after a closure of more than three years." Wissam Jama, Head of the Diplomatic Security Service of the Ministry of the Interior, told Xinhua.

Dutch Ambassador, Eric Strating, personally opened his country's embassy in Tripoli on Wednesday, Jama added.

"Diplomats resumed working from their embassies in Tripoli following the security stability and expelling of most of the militias and outlaws from the capital. Great efforts have been made by the Diplomatic Security forces to secure embassies in Tripoli." Jama said.

Most of foreign embassies and diplomatic missions to Libya left Tripoli following the heavy fighting that erupted in Tripoli in 2014 between rival armed groups, which led to the current political division in Libya.

Most foreign embassies and diplomatic bodies, including the UN Support Mission in Libya, have moved to neighboring Tunisia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 05:40:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Hungary, the Netherlands and South Korea have reopened their embassies in Tripoli after a three-year closure, a Libyan security official said Wednesday.

"The embassies of the Netherlands, Hungary and South Korea began their official functions in Tripoli after a closure of more than three years." Wissam Jama, head of the Diplomatic Security Service of the Interior Ministry, told Xinhua.

Dutch Ambassador Eric Strating personally opened his country's embassy in Tripoli on Wednesday, Jama added.

"Diplomats resumed work at their embassies in Tripoli following the security, stability and expelling of most of the militias and outlaws from the capital. Great efforts have been made by the diplomatic security forces to secure embassies in Tripoli," Jama said.

Most foreign embassies and diplomatic missions to Libya left Tripoli following the heavy fighting that erupted in 2014 between rival armed groups, which led to the current political division in Libya.

Most foreign embassies and diplomatic missions, including the UN Support Mission in Libya, have moved to neighboring Tunisia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 06:05:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called for a peaceful settlement in the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, state-run MENA news agency reported.

Shoukry said, during a phone with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari, that Cairo is following up the ongoing incidents in Iraq and stands by the whole Iraqi people.

He said that Egypt hopes the crisis of Kirkuk will be peacefully settled.

During the call, al-Jaafari thanked Shoukry over Egypt's interest in following up the current developments in Iraq and its keenness on Iraq's unity and stability.

He further said the Iraqi army avoids exposing to danger the lives of Iraqi people during the operation of retaking the oil-rich city.

On Monday, Shoukry urged in a statement the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government to exercise self-restraint and not to further escalate tensions.

Disagreements between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government have been running high for years. The ethnic Kurds consider the northern Kirkuk province and parts of Nineveh, Diyala and Salahudin provinces as disputed areas and want them to be incorporated into their region, a move fiercely opposed by the Arabs and the central government in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also the commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces on Monday ordered government forces to enter the oil-rich Kirkuk province to regain control of the ethnically-mixed disputed areas.

Iraqi security forces then fully recaptured the city and took control of the government building after the Kurdish forces withdrew from the city.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 06:25:13|Editor: Song Lifang

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Wu Haitao (front C), the charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East at the UN headquarters in New York, Oct. 18, 2017. China on Wednesday asked for more efforts to tackle the Palestine issue, saying the international community should have a sense of urgency to push for a political settlement. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday asked for more efforts to tackle the Palestine issue, saying the international community should have a sense of urgency to push for a political settlement.

The Palestine issue is the crux of the Middle East crisis and a root cause of many problems in the region, Wu Haitao, the charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations, told an open debate of the Security Council.

Palestine and Israel are neighbors that share a fate. Accelerating the political settlement of the Palestine issue through dialogue and consultation is in the fundamental interests of both Palestinians and Israelis and conducive to durable peace and stability in the region, he said.

He warned that the Palestine-Israel situation is fragile, the conflicts centering on settlements are acute and the humanitarian situation in Gaza is grave. At the same time, the Palestinian people's demand and aspirations for correcting the historical wrongs and resuming the exercise of their unalienable national rights are strong.

He asked for efforts to push for political settlement on the basis of the two-states solution, which he said best fits the realities in the region, has won broadest international recognition, and is demanded by UN General Assembly resolutions.

Parties concerned should push for the resumption of peace talks on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions, the "land-for-peace" principle and the Arab Peace Initiative in a bid for a comprehensive, fair and durable solution, he said.

Wu asked to remove negative factors that would impede such an endeavor and called for sincerity for peace and the building of mutual trust. It is imperative to stop all settlement activities in occupied territories, to cease the closure of Gaza, to enhance measures that would improve the livelihood of the Palestinian people and to prevent violence against civilians, he said.

He asked the international community to coordinate efforts and boost synergy for peace. Recently, the international community has increased attention to the Palestine issue and made various efforts to push for the resumption of peace talks. China supports all efforts toward peace between Palestine and Israel, he said.

The recent progress in intra-Palestine reconciliation is conducive to unity within Palestine, to the resumption of peace talks with Israel and to the attainment of Palestinian statehood and peaceful co-existence with Israel, said Wu. China commends Egypt's diplomatic efforts to broker the deal between Fatah and Hamas, he said, adding that the international community should build on the progress and promote peace.

China is a staunch supporter of Palestinians' legitimate course and an active mediator for peace between Palestine and Israel, he said. China firmly supports the two-states solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state with full sovereignty and independence on the basis of the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

China will follow as general guide President Xi Jinping's four-point proposal on the settlement of the Palestine issue and will work with various parties toward a political settlement, he added.

On the Iran nuclear issue, Wu said the 2015 agreement between Iran and six world powers helped defuse a crisis and consolidate the international non-proliferation regime. The agreement was an important achievement in terms of international security governance and multilateralism and also a good example for addressing hot spot issues through political and diplomatic means, he stressed.

China hopes the parties concerned will cherish and safeguard the agreement as a historic achievement, honor their respective obligations and ensure the comprehensive implementation of the agreement and properly settle their differences through dialogue and consultation in a concerted effort to peace and stability in the Middle East, said the Chinese envoy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 06:30:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MADRID, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- With the clock ticking until the 10 a.m. deadline on Thursday set by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to answer whether or not he declared the independence of the Catalan region on Oct. 10, a possible solution to the apparent stalemate has appeared, according to Spanish media reports.

Rajoy has said unless Puigdemont replies to his question and takes steps to revoke any declaration of independence, he will begin the steps to apply Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution suspending Catalan autonomy and imposing direct rule from Madrid.

However, the El Pais newspaper on Wednesday quotes "government sources" as saying that Rajoy would be willing to not active Article 155 if Puigdemont was willing to call new elections for the Catalan regional government just over two years after the last elections in the region.

This is similar to statements made by Spanish Socialist Party leader, Pedro Sanchez, who commented from Brussels that if Puigdemont called elections, Article 155 would not be applied.

Wednesday began with a Control Session in the Spanish Congress with Rajoy saying "tomorrow (Thursday) ends the time required for Puigdemont. He has the opportunity to make clear whether or not he declared independence", and adding his government had "the obligation to defend the rights of all Spanish people".

These words were backed up by Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, who said that unless Puigdemont attended to the question, "it will mean Article 155 is applied... We will always apply the Spanish Constitution and applying Article 155 is applying the Constitution," she added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 06:35:16|Editor: Hou Qiang

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HELSINKI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- New vistas of the Finnish forest industry were celebrated on Wednesday in Aanekoski, central Finland.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto officially inaugurated the giant bio product plant owned by Finnish Metsa Group and Japanese Itochu.

Niinisto described the situation of the Finnish forest industry as a text book example of benefiting from free trade. "As a small and open economy, we have been able to make use of our knowhow, inventiveness and natural resources," Niinisto said.

Niinisto raised also the impact of the wood based innovations. "Wood is already used as an alternative to plastic, cotton and man-made fabrics," he reminded.

The 1.2-billion-euro investment is the largest ever in the history of the Finnish forest industry. When reaching full production, the annual output will be 1.3 million tons of pulp.

Of this amount, 500,000 tons of birch pulp go mainly to domestic industrial use, while the 800,000 tons of hard wood pulp will increasingly go to Chinese market albeit Europe is the main export area.

The plant consumes daily 240 truck loads and 70 railroad cars of wood. The direct value chain of the plant gives employment to 2,500 people in the production, transport and harvesting.

Research institute ETLA has estimated that the Aanekoski plant will create 12 billion euros in additional value for Finland during its estimated life span of 30 years.

Jyrki Ali-Yrkko, an executive at ETLA, told business daily Kauppalehti that Metsa Group has good prospects for international success with wood based textiles due to the experience of the partner, Itochu. "There is a strong societal demand for a new textile replacing cotton," he said.

Jyrki Ali-Yrkko said it is important that Finland today has three major industrial bastions -- the rising pulp sector, the automotive production in Uusikaupunki and the shipbuilding cluster in Turku area.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-19 07:14:04|Editor: liuxin

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People protest against the new travel restrictions near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Oct. 18, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 expanded a travel ban to include visitors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in East Asia, Venezuela in Latin America and Chad in central Africa. Meanwhile, Trump kept the controversial travel ban which was set to expire on Sept. 24 on five of six countries, namely Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, and lifted restrictions on Sudan. The new travel restrictions are expected to take effect on Oct. 18 and will be indefinite, according to president's proclamation, which the White House said has the same force as an executive order. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)
gorodenkoff/iStock/Thinkstock(ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) -- From their desks in St. Petersburg, Russian Internet trolls at a company with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to co-opt American civil rights activists and use them to stoke racial tensions and stir political unrest, authorities said.



Congressional investigators tell ABC News that two online groups  BlackMattersUS and BlackFist  were among those used by Russian operators to reach out directly to unwitting individual Americans engaged in political activism and, in this case, encourage them to help organize rallies, train in self-defense and create music videos. In some cases, those activists even received financial support.



This effort, according to authorities, was the brainchild of the Internet Research Agency, the same St. Petersburg-based company identified by members of Congress as a key arm of the larger Russian operation aimed at influencing U.S. elections. That effort, as first reported by the the Russian publication RBC, now appears to be much broader than previously known, moving beyond the virtual world.



The Facebook and Twitter accounts associated with both groups have since been suspended, and ABC News could not reach any of the people identified online as being members of either group. Executives from both social media giants are expected to appear before Congress early next month to discuss steps they are taking to confront Russian efforts to infiltrate their platform, the scope of which is still not fully understood.



The strategy appears to be a mix of suppressing votes, stoking fear and doing all they can to help their preferred candidate in Donald Trump and tear down Hillary Clinton, said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee who has seen Russian social media posts turned over to Congress by Facebook and Twitter.



By piggybacking on the themes of the Black Lives Matter movement, Russian agitators succeeded in convincing people interested in those same social justice causes that this stealthy foreign-backed effort was legitimate.



Ronnie Houston, a hip-hop artist in Ferguson, Missouri, who goes by the name Rough the Ruler, told ABC News that someone claiming to be from BlackMattersUS contacted him on the Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram in March of 2016 and asked him to record a song for them about the social issues that were going on. He produced a short music video featuring video clips from marches, graphics touting the BlackMattersUS website, and lyrics describing police as assassins and protesters as avengers.



If he had known the group was not rooted in the Black Lives Matter movement, he said, he would not have agreed to record the song.



No man I wouldn't have done it, he said. Wouldn't have done it at all.



Conrad James, an activist in Raleigh, North Carolina, says he was approached in September 2016 by a woman who claimed to represent BlackMattersUS and asked him to speak at a rally they were hosting in Charlotte. James said more than 600 people turned up.



They definitely were trying to stir-up trouble, James said of BlackMattersUS. Their intent was obviously to have some type of emotionally filled rally where people are adding fuel to the fire that was already happening around Charlotte.



Nolan Hack, an activist from Los Angeles, said BlackMattersUS asked for his help organizing civil rights rallies last year and he was reimbursed for some of his travel expenses.



He said the notion of a Russia connection never entered my mind.



A pair of bloggers whose social media posts and YouTube videos were pushed out from the St. Petersburg troll farm carried the most pointed political messages.



We, the black people, we stand in one unity said one post, by a pair of bloggers purporting to be from Atlanta named Williams and Kalvin. We stand in one to say that Hillary Clinton is not our candidate.



Federal officials and Facebook executives confirmed to ABC News that the William and Kalvin videos, first reported on by The Daily Beast, originated not in Atlanta, but in Russia. The men in the video appear to speak with a British accent and some investigators believe they may actually be somewhere in Africa, not Atlanta.



This effort doesnt appear to have stopped after the election. At least six American trainers paid this year by a group called BlackFist to offer free self-defense classes around the country, urging people to be ready to protect your rights and to let them know that Black Power Matters.



Omewale Adewale, a fitness trainer in Brooklyn, New York, says he was paid $320 via TK to conduct four classes in a month.



Its very sneaky, Adewale told ABC News. Its very underhanded.



Roger McNamee, a venture capitalist and early investor in Facebook, says this effort is evidence of the Russian strategy to anger both sides of the equation.



Classic Russian intelligence techniques of taking the most extreme voices and amplifying them, he said. It was the perfect petri dish for this kind of campaign.



Swalwell said he wants Congress to find a way to address this type of interference without infringing on peoples rights.



Russia was able to use our greatest strength, freedom of speech, and turn it into a weakness, Swalwell said. I think we have to find what is that fine line between making sure my mom can post any political opinion that she wants but an organized intelligence service of a foreign country isn't able to weaponize social media.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Gov. Okorocha

Below is the statement signed by Sam Onwuemeodo, the Governors Chief Press Secretary;

**********************

(1) President of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma was in Imo State, where God does new things on daily basis using Governor Rochas Okorocha as a veritable tool. He came on Friday, October 13, and left on Saturday, October 14, 2017.

(2) While the good people of the State and all men and women of goodwill were celebrating the good things Mr. Zumas visit has brought to the State both in the short-run and in the long-run, the opposition in the State, out of glaring frustration decided to make much ado in the social media over the Statue of the Man in Owerri. Those of the former Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme and others had earlier been unveiled.

(3) These enemies of our people did not see the good things associated with Mr. Zumas visit or what it portends for the State, for good, but only saw the statue that was erected as an encouragement to the man.

(4) For the avoidance of doubt, when we talk about opposition in Imo, we are talking about only three people. And because they are only three, they recruited as many young people as possible and unleashed them on the social media. One could have twenty networks in different names just to deceive the general public.

(5) Out of these three people that Constitute the opposition in Imo, two want to govern the State in 2019. One wants to install a governor from his zone in 2019.

(6) Few days before the coming of President Zuma, we had told the world the reasons for his coming, and Principally for the signing of MoU between Jacob Zuma Education Foundation and Rochas Foundation College of Africa.

(7) For that purpose, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Rochas Foundation College of Africa, former President Olusegun Obasanjo also came that Friday. We were at Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport when President Zuma landed at about 7:10pm. And it was a Celebration galore for men and women of good spirit present, especially seeing that the Imo International Cargo Airport has become a reality.

(8) That night, he was at the Eze Imo Palace to be accorded Imo traditional way of welcoming such an august Visitor.

(9) On Saturday, October 14, 2017, the signing of the MoU proper took place at the venue of the Rochas Foundation College of Africa between the Zuma Foundation represented by the Chairman of the Foundation Ms Dudu Myen and Rochas Foundation represented by Aham Okorocha, with the two leaders standing behind them. It was an emotional outing seeing indigent Children from all over Africa calling themselves brothers and Sisters. It was shown live on TV and well publicized. These enemies of good things kept mute.

(10) In his emotion-laden speech at the event, President Zuma said Africa cant develop without education. The only way Africans can confront challenges imposed on them by the Colonial Masters is through education. The Founder of this Rochas Foundation is a true African, who has understood the problems of Africa and what to do to solve the problems. Rochas is beginning to solve the problems of Africa by educating Children from all the length and breadth of the African Continent.

(11) President Zuma Continued I have found a real African brother who shares in my vision. I have agreed with him that we will Collaborate and make the foundation very strong and when we do, we may have found solution to African problems. I am proud to associate with another great visionary who has discovered therapy for African problems.

(12) To the African Children, President Zuma said I believe each and every one of you has a history like me. If I can make it without seeing the walls of any School, you can make it even better because of the quality education you are getting in this Foundation. At the end of his speech, he shook hands with some of the Students, which elicited emotional tears from those present.

(13) In his own speech, Governor Okorocha said, I am glad that the vision I had 17 years ago has grown in heaps and bounds. The Rochas Foundation Colleges have over 15,000 Students across the nation and over 4,000 graduates in different fields. As it stands today, I have dedicated 75% of my wealth to the Foundation. I have WILLED 75% of whatever I have to the Foundation. Every Child here is a story. Some of them their parents died of Ebola. They will all finish their Universities here and then go back to their Countries to contribute to the economic development of their Countries.

(14) After the signing of the MoU, President Zuma went into a very serious meeting with Imo businessmen and others from outside the State at the Ikemba Ojukwu Centre, including Leo Stan Ekeh of Zinox Computers, Dr. Pascal Dozie of Diamond Bank, Chairman of Innoson Motors, and a host of others.

(15) At the meeting with South African delegation, it was agreed that the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport would partner with South African Airline; approval was also extracted for the setting up of a South African Consulate in Owerri, which would entail travelers to South Africa now processing their visas in Owerri; and a Payment Centre also to be established in Owerri for easy business transactions; and partnership in the areas of Power, gas, agriculture and hospitality. These pieces of information were pushed out for Public Consumption.

(16) After the meeting, the government of the State decided to encourage the South African President to do more and appreciate him for coming by honouring him with a Merit Award and erecting his statue.

(17) And in his speech at the Award event and for the first time in recent time, President Zuma said No South African must kill a Nigerian and no Nigerian must kill a South African. The relationship between Nigeria and South Africa should be stronger than any other part, for the sake of the Continent of Africa. Africans must come together to address African problems. We are the same people.

(18) Giving reasons for the Award, Governor Okorocha said Today, we have decided to honour you for your love for education. Though you were deprived education in your early days in life, you are working to make sure that every poor Child went to School. Your love for education is the connection between you and the government and people of Imo State.

(19) Now, does it not call for pity for these elements who have chosen not to see the good stories or good news from Mr. Zumas visit but only decided to make much noise over a statue. Even to the extent of attaching non-existing cost to the statue.

(20) And in case these Galatians do not know, if all we need to do to attract good things or investments to Imo is erecting statues, then, we have no option than to erect as many of such structures as possible. We owe no one apology. Rochas made a promise to open the doors of Imo to the rest of the world, for good and he is doing that and we cannot be deterred by these enemies of our people.

(21) PDP in Imo is dead. The remaining people in the Party will soon join APGA because Imo people have Continued to ask them what they did with the 12 years mandate Imo people gave to them, beyond rampant Gala nights and drinking of Moet, Xo, Hennessy etal. And for two or three of such people in APC who think that they can make a headway by insulting the governor, we are only waiting and watching to see the extent they can go.

(22) If it was in the days of PDP, Schools and Markets would have been shot down. And roads closed because President Zuma was coming. But none of such things was done because Rochas and his government have human face. The PDP for the 12 years they held sway never attracted any meaningful visitor to the State except PDP NEC members who were coming to loot the State.

(23) In all these gimmicks, their target is 2019. And if calling Rochas Alhaji in Government House, and branding Imo Women, PDP widows against Rochas could not help them in the 2015 election, then, there is no guarantee that the noise over a statue of a man that brought good tidings to the State will in any way help them in 2019.

(24) When the time comes, we will catalogue Rochas achievements and Challenge opponents or Contenders to display theirs. You do not ask for peoples mandate in the vacuum. There must be a basis for that. That is the edge we have over them in quantum.

(25) If it was now, these same elements would have told Naaman not to obey Elisha by going to wash himself seven times in River Jordan. And he would not have got his healing over leprosy because they would have refused to see far. Imo State is on the fast lane of development. And those who want to remain behind can do so. We wont wait for them.

Imo is in the hand of God.

Sam Onwuemeodo

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor
Federal Government on Wednesday said the military is not involved in any monkey pox vaccination as presently rumoured.

The rumors had spread like wildfire that the military was injecting monkey pox virus to people in their medical outreach across the country.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole said this when he briefed State House correspondences at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He was with the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina.

According to him, the eleven states are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa and Rivers.

While stressing that outbreak was confirmed in Bayelsa, he said that out of the 19 samples tested, 3 tested positive from Bayelsa 12 tested negative from Bayelsa, and 4 tested negative from Lagos.

He explained that the military medical outreach has never harm anyone and in some cases involved in road construction and other services.

He said Council also received an update of the public health of the nation. We informed Council about the latest development with respect to the Monkey Pox virus outbreak. So far, as of today, there are 74 suspected cases in 11 states of the country. We have confirmed three in Bayelsa state, We are still expecting the results of other ones.

We are also doing advance test in NEDE, that is the African Centre of Excellence for Genomes and Infections Disease to really understand the genomes of this virus. Even when they are negative, the laboratory attendance should be able to tell us what exactly they are. We will also be able to locate and identify the origin so that we can take adequate precaution. he said

On the military vaccination rumors, he said It is also important to use this opportunity to dispel the rumour circulating in the country that the military is vaccinating people and trying to spread monkey pox across the country. The military is not involved in any vaccination exercise and I must also really educate the Nigeria people about how vaccination campaigns are done.

Federal will take the lead but we do not conduct campaign without involving states. So, there is no way we will do campaign for vaccination without working with the states and it is the state that will be in front and we provide support.

The rumour that federal is involved in monkey pox vaccination campaign is not true. And as of today, we are only doing vaccination campaign in three states against other diseases.

We are doing vaccination campaign against yellow fever in Kwara and Kogi because of yellow fever outbreak in some parts of the country. We are also doing cholera vaccination in Borno state and so anybody carrying the rumour, please help us educate Nigerians that it is not true. We are not vaccinating anybody, we plan to do missiles campaign very soon and we will also do yellow fever before the end of the year and we will let you know.

You will never find Federal staff conducting vaccination campaign without the support and active participation of the state ministry of health, this is just to correct the misconception. he stated

Asked whether he was disowning the military over the issue, he said With respect to what the military is doing, I spoke about vaccination and not about military campaign. The military as part of a campaign of winning over the heart and soul of the people havel got engaged in several things. In the past, the military was noted of even constructed roads, the military will do outreaches, measure blood pressure, talk to people. These are normal things, I referred only to vaccination.

We had to request for the assistance of the military in Borno state to reach inaccessible area with respect to the polio campaign so we have worked with the military in the past and we will continue to work with them.

There are doctors in the military, there are nurses and when you go abroad, some of the best institutions abroad are those ones managed by the military. So we cannot disown the military. But what I want to put across is that the military is not involved in any vaccination. he said

On the report of illegal traffickers of kidney, he said With respect to the harvest of organs we received advice periodically from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, from National Security Adviser about goings on around the world. One of which is the harvest of organ illegally and it is our duty to alert Nigerians that this is ongoing, they should be careful, they should seek advice, they should patronize only accredited institution.

And as we rebuild our health infrastructure there will be less need for anybody to travel out and so we spare Nigerians the agony of falling victims of some of these illegal practices.

Speaking on the growing drug abuse among the youth, he said We are quite aware of this. Abuse will take several forms. Abuse of substances that are smuggled into the country in higher doses than normal. For example we have metadol and tramadol and even Viagra being smuggled into the country. Look at the dosage, the Viagra dosage is three times normal and when you look at the tramadol it is three to four times normal and once NAFDAC officials come in contact, they are impounded and destroyed.

We are also working with the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria to educate people about the abuses. We are aware of the abuse of cough mixture because of the content and we are working hard in respect to this.

Stressing that Nigeria is part of the campaign against tobacco, he said that the country is implementing the framework convention in tobacco control.

As of Monday we were part of the ECOWAS meeting to look at how do we raise taxes on tobacco. That meeting we really worked to prevent smuggling on tobacco products, we looked at how we can raise taxes on tobacco products. It is known that Nigeria has one of cheapest tobacco prices in the world and that will contribute to the abuse. That convention and recommendations coming from there will really contribute to raising taxes on tobacco and also generating resources that will go into health.

The Minister of Water Resources disclosed that the Council also approved the sum of N236 million for the completion of Sabke dam in Katsina state.

He said One Memo from my ministry was considered today as part of our efforts to improve the hethrege for irrigation, we have been committing ourselves to completing many of the irrigation projects we inherited in the past two years. One of such is the Sabke irrigation project. This is a project that started as far back as 1997 during the PTF days but was abandoned and then reawarded in 2009, completed 95 percent by 2012 and again abandoned.

When we came into office, I commissioned a technical audit of all the ongoing project and n the ministry and because of the status of that project having attained 95 percent completion, it became a priority project because it was a low hanging fruit for us to complete.

Unfortunately, when the contractor was mobilised to site, we found out that a lot of component of the irrigation project had been vandalized and for us to be able to put that project into effective use, we now have to do a lot of rehabilitation works and we therefore brought a memo seeking Council to give us an augmentation of about N280m for us to be able to complete the work 100 percent and make it fit for the purpose and Council considered and approved this memo.
There was drama in Nyeri County Assembly in Kenya after nominated MCA, Elizabeth Nyawira, was kicked out by the Deputy Speaker over indecent dressing.

The Deputy Speaker claimed that Elizabeth was not dressed according to the assemblys code.

See photos below
The poor power generation and distribution in the country took the center stage in the Senate on Tuesday, as after over one hour of debate on ways and means to improve the power sector, the upper chamber resolved to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a separate power minister with no further delay.

According to The Nation, Senate insisted that the appointment of a separate power minister would ensure concentration in the power sector.

Senator Francis Alimikhena (Edo North) who moved the motion for the appointment of a separate minister of power, posited that such a measure would assist the country to shore up the power sector.

The senate resolution followed the adoption of a motion on The need to establish and delegate Special Purpose Vehicles to execute and operate Major Power Sector Development Projects,sponsored by Senator Mustapha Bukar (Katsina North)

Senator Bukar in his lead debate said that the National Assembly enacted the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 on March 11, 2005, which kick-started the process of privatization of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) towards developing a Competitive Electricity Market with the establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to provide for the licensing and regulation of the entire value chain of the Nigerian Electricity Market (NEM)

He also noted that the privatization exercise became effective on November 1, 2013 when the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was sold and transferred to successful bidders of the 6 Generation Companies (GENCOs) and the 11 Distribution Companies (DISCOs), while the ownership and control of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) was retained by the Federal Government for strategic reasons.

He said

Quote

Further notes that in its quest to bridge the power gap for sustained economic growth in Nigeria by adding significant new generation capacity to Nigerias electricity supply system, the Federal Government conceived the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) in 2004, which metamorphosed into Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) incorporated in 2005.

Aware that this institution oversees Generation portfolio consisting of 10 gas-fired power plants with cumulative design capacity of 4,774 MW; Total Asset value of $8.5 Bn including generation projects accompanied by supporting transmission, distribution and gas infrastructure projects and due to gas supply shortage and uncompleted transmission projects, only about 1,200 MW was accessible to the national grid at that time.

Consequently upon the commencement of the privatization and establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Market, the role of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing (FMPW&H) was restricted to Policy and oversight of the autonomous agencies operating in the Nigerian Power Sector; these are the:

Transmission Company of Nigeria; National Power Training Institute of Nigeria; Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Limited (NELMCO); Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Rural Electrification Agency

Notes that considering the need for continuous development of the Power Sector infrastructure, the Federal Government remains committed to developing project initiatives in order to increase generating capacity and diffuse the energy mix beyond thermal generation to renewable energy, such as hydro-power, solar power and wind energy.

Consequently, certain project initiatives were retained for direct supervision by the Federal Ministry of Power. These included, but are not limited to:

3,050 MW Mambilla Hydropower project; 700 MW Zungeru Hydropower project, 215 MW Kaduna Thermal Power project; 50 MW Katsina Wind Power project

Further Notes that annually significant and incremental sums are appropriated towards these projects and the National Assembly has been approving such appropriation in the interest of conceived intention to improved generation capacity to the Nigerian citizens;

Worried that there are challenges of managing such projects because the Federal Ministry of Power, as currently constituted, does not have the required professional competence and resources to effectively execute these projects, hence they resort to engaging contractors and consultants for every project development activity;

Also worried that the implementation of large scale projects is always fraught with the risk of cost and schedule overrun, with attendant consequences on overall contract sum;

Notes that turnkey Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) projects have FIDIC Conditions of Contract being applicable with strict provisions for liquidated damages, such as fixed contract sum and set delivery period. Unfortunately, these conditions of contract cannot be met under the setting of a ministry;

Further notes that necessary project management controls needed for effective delivery are not enforceable on the Federal Ministry of Power; these are:

Cost Control, Schedule Control, Quality Assurance (Q-plan, Q-criteria, etc.), Procurement Control (personnel, inspection and expedition), Design Control (Design compliance and value engineering), Change Order Control (Management of scope variations); Document Control (Review & timely approval of designs).

Worried that with the engagement of multitudes of consultants, there is a risk of lack of ownership and knowledge transfer upon completion and commissioning of the projects, which would hamper proper management of the facilities when in operation. This is the current situation being experienced at the 215 MW Kaduna Power plant under construction by the Ministry;

Aware that Nigeria has had successful record of implementing several mega infrastructure projects to completion and it is imperative to draw on such models utilized for refineries, fertilizer plants and steel mills (Kaduna and Port Harcourt Refineries, National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria Plc (NAFCON), Delta Steel Company Limited and the 3 Inland Rolling Mills). Each of these Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) had full management team and foundation staff to manage the execution of the project on site. Upon completion, the Project Managers were appointed as the Managing Directors, while full-stream staff members were recruited prior to commissioning the projects;

Further aware that when the Federal Government was keen to build Gas based power plants, it created the Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria (NDPHC) to build, manage and operate these schemes. Although some of the power generating plants have been sold, NDPHC has continued to own and run these plants while the Government is preparing to sell the remaining plants;

Worried that with the privatization of the power sector, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works & Housing is rapidly expanding its project implementation activities rather than limit its role to General Policy direction pursuant to Section 33 of the EPSR Act 2005.

This attitude has not given the regulatory body, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and other agencies created by the Reform Act the enabling environment to develop their capacity to regulate and create the electricity market required to attract investment in the sector. This assertion is evidenced by the fact that over N100billion has been provided for the construction of power projects by the ministry under the 2017 budget. Recently, the Federal government announced the approval of over $5billion for the construction of the Mambila hydro project under the ministry.

The Katsina State lawmaker prayed the Senate to accordingly resolve to urge the Federal Government to immediately incorporate SPVs for the implementation of the following alternative energy projects:a. Hydropower Projects; b. Solar Power Projects; and c. Wind Power Projects;

Urge the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to use gas as the source of Energy for the Kaduna Project in accordance with the original project concept and the MOU signed with gas suppliers to complete the project as adequate provision has been made for the project in the 2017 Budget;

Urge the Federal Government to employ qualified management team to take charge of the project development in the SPVs and gradually resource the companies in readiness for full operations when the projects are commissioned;

Urge the Federal Government to transfer all generation, transmission and rural electrification projects to the respective agencies for proper administration;

Urge the above-named SPVs when created to comply with the provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act by applying to NERC for the generation licenses and to the TCN for Grid inter-connection approval.
EARTH GROANS, a metal band with a Christian message, includes two area natives. Shown here (from left) are bassist Kaden Burton of Minnesota, vocalist Jeremy Schaeffer of South Dakota, guitarist Zachariah Mayfield, originally of Pierce, and drummer Brady Mueller of Norfolk.
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The noose is tightening around the Polisario and their mentor Algeria in their scheme to use international fora as a platform to spread anti-Moroccan propaganda. The decision by Russian embassy in Algiers to deny the Polisario delegation visas to take part in the World Festival of Youth and Students (Oct 14-22) has dealt a heavy blow to the Tindouf-based separatists.

Nearly one hundred participants saw their visa applications rejected at a moment Algeria prepared a military aircraft to transport them to Sochi.

The decision raised question marks in Algeria, which offers its passports as well as financial and diplomatic backing to Polisario propaganda globally.

The World Festival of Youth and Students has for long been used by separatists and their proponents as a venue to spread anti-Moroccan propaganda. The previous editions were marred by incidents of violence against the Moroccan delegation. In the 2010 edition, which was hosted in South Africa, the Moroccan delegation was attacked by members of the Polisario and their supporters who attempted to abort the organization of a conference on Moroccos territorial integrity.

The opening ceremony of the World Festival of Youth and Students took place in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday, with President Vladimir Putin saying that the event will gather 30,000 people from 180 countries, making it the most representative in history.

The festival, organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) along with the International Union of Students since 1947, is being held in Russia for the third time after being staged in Moscow in 1957 and 1985.
Morocco recorded significant progress in the field of human rights in conformity with its constitutional commitments, said the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2016.

The report points out to the legislative reforms undertaken by Morocco to protect human rights, strengthen the rule of law and promote democratic practices.

In this regards, the report highlights the legislative activity undertaken in Morocco in support of key fields such as migrant rights, womens rights, the reform of the judiciary and the penitentiary system.

The EU document also commends Morocco for the reform of legal texts concerning the organic laws on the Superior Council of the Judiciary and on the Statute of Magistrates, the review of the Criminal Code and the adoption by the government of two organic laws relating to participatory democracy, i.e. the right of legislative initiative and the right of petition, adopted by the Parliament on 31 May 2016.

The report also underscores the launch of Moroccos national anti-corruption strategy, a contractual framework of 10 programs comprising 239 projects across the sectors and bodies concerned.

On womens rights, the document indicates that Morocco approved in 2016 the setting up of the Authority for Equality and Fight against Discrimination (APALD).

Concerning Moroccos efforts to fight human trafficking and improve the living conditions of migrants, the report says that the Kingdom enacted the law against trafficking in human beings in August 2016, and that the laws on asylum and migration are at a draft stage.

It also recalled that in 2016, Morocco has launched the second phase of regularization of illegal migrants.

In 2016, the EU pursued its cooperation efforts in support of the reforms undertaken by the government, the EU document adds, concluding that in general terms, there has been a positive momentum on the legislative framework, with an important number of texts adopted or in the process of being finalized. The EU remains committed to supporting the reform process through an effective implementation of the Constitutional principles.
King Mohammed VI received on Tuesday at the royal palace in Rabat the personnel envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara, Horst Kohler, who visited Morocco as part of a regional tour including Tindouf, Algiers and Nouakchott.

Horst Kohler, a former president of Germany, also met Prime Minister Saadeddine El Othmani and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

Kohlers tour, his first since he took up his functions early September, seeks to unlock talks on the regional dispute over the Sahara.

After his tour and contacts in the region, the UN envoy will report back to the UN Security Council on October 24.

He was appointed last August by UNSG Antonio Guterres as his new personal envoy for the Sahara in replacement of Christopher Ross, whose tenure failed to score any breakthroughs in negotiations on the Sahara issue.

Talks on the regional dispute have actually been in a deadlock for years, but analysts are expecting Kohler, who boasts more than 35 years of experience in government and international organizations, to lead UN mediation with pragmatism.
Saif Al-Islam, son of Mummar Gaddafi has vowed to drag Qatar before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the role the tiny rich Gulf country played in the overthrow of his fathers regime in 2011, lawyer of the Gaddafi family has told media.

Khalid Al-Zaidi said his client is also preparing his political comeback, adding that Libyans still support him.

Saif was freed in July after being held in Zintan. He was granted amnesty by the east-based parliament of Tobruk.

Head of the UN Special Mission in Libya last month said all Libyans including Saif are allowed to take part in the new political plan of action with presidential and general elections as climax next year.

Zaidi noted that Saif will soon erect an international organization to sue Qatari senior officials, including former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, before the ICC.

Doha leagued with NATO to ouster Gaddafi in the 2011 revolution, which has left the country with no central administration.

Saif himself is wanted by the ICC for war crimes committed during the uprising.

A decision to hand over Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has to be made by the UN Security Council.

Qatar is not a signatory to the ICC protocol.
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, on Wednesday commended Morocco for its great presidency of the COP22, begun in Marrakech in November 2016.

The Moroccan presidency was great, and we had an incredible partner with whom we delivered together the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1), said the UN official on the sidelines of the works of the 2017 Ministerial Dialogue, known as Pre-COP, she is attending in Nadi, Fiji.

In a statement to MAP correspondent, Patricia Espinosa also expressed appreciation and gratitude to Morocco for the extraordinary support given to Fiji in order to advance the climate change agenda, stressing her confidence in the future of the process initiated in Paris and confirmed in Marrakech.

The UN official deemed that the Pre-COP in Nadi was successful with the involvement of all delegations who came with an open mind and a constructive attitude. She noted however that negotiations will be complicated in view of the nature and diversity of the issues to be raised in Bonn, during the COP23, next November 6 through 17.

The Pre-COP in Fiji is an important and constructive step towards another successful COP23 after Paris and Marrakech, she said, noting that the world does not wait for the end of negotiations and that several initiatives have been put in place around the world.

The ministerial meeting, co-chaired by Salaheddine Mezouar and the Prime Minister of Fiji, Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, respectively presidents of COP22 and COP23, served as a platform for high-level political discussions on the main issues of the COP23 negotiations. It also discussed the operationalization of the Paris Accord and reaffirmed the signatory countries commitment to take significant steps to advance the implementation of the Marrakech roadmap.
Bannon on the march. Photo: Ross D. Franklin/AP

The Trumpist insurgency has picked its champion in Arizona. On Tuesday night, Steve Bannon endorsed Kelli Wards primary challenge to Senator Jeff Flake in front of a crowd of proud deplorables at the Scottsdale Hilton.

Its an open revolt, and it should be, Bannon said, before introducing the former state senator. These people hold you in total contempt  They think youre a group of morons. Bannon went on to inform the Arizonans that Jeff Flake probably in his gut  doesnt like you, and that the GOP Establishment wanted them to shut up.

In recent weeks, the Breitbart rebellion had eyed Arizona state treasurer Jeff DeWit and former state GOP chairman Robert Graham as potential standard-bearers in the Grand Canyon State. But Robert Mercer, the hedge-fund billionaire whose largesse puts teeth into Bannons bluster, has been on Team Ward since early August, when he committed $300,000 to her super-PAC.

Ward is a former physician, state legislator, and failed Senate candidate whos best known for holding a town hall on chemtrails, and reacting to the news of John McCains brain cancer by calling on him to step down and give her his job.

Arizona is an increasingly purple state. In a midterm where Democrats are expected to be more energized than Republicans  and where Team Blue has few more promising Senate targets than Arizona  the GOP will need every advantage its got to prevent Democratic congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema from winning a seat in the upper chamber next year. Replacing a quasi-moderate incumbent like Jeff Flake with an alleged (though, not necessarily actual) conspiracy theorist who has repeatedly evinced impatience for John McCains death  and who was, just this week, publicly denounced by two former Breitbart reporters whod worked on her 2016 Senate bid  might look like a classic example of conservative self-sabotage.

And yet, at this point, its entirely possible that Ward is a stronger general-election candidate than Flake is. Which isnt saying much: The Arizona senators approval rating is presently hovering at around 18 percent.

Flake has taken a unique  and bizarre  approach to anti-Trump Republicanism. Arizonas junior senator has done Trumps bidding on virtually every matter thats come before the upper chamber. This statistic does not merely reflect Flakes conservative policy views: He voted to confirm a retired neurosurgeon with no experience in government or housing policy  who had recently declared himself unqualified to run a federal agency  as the head of Housing and Urban Development. He voted for the skinny repeal health-care bill, a piece of legislation so ill-designed that several of his conservative colleagues only voted for it on the understanding that it would never actually become law. And, Flake joined all his Republican colleagues in voting to make a man who had written birther blogs a federal judge.

But while Flake walks the walk of Trump sycophant, he has emphatically refused to talk the talk. The senator penned a book-length indictment of the Trump presidency, and his partys role in abetting it  one that condemns the birther movement that launched Trumps political career, and the apparent, taped confession to serial sexual assault that nearly ended it.

The number of voters who want their senator to publicly disparage the Republican president while doing virtually everything in his power to advance that presidents policies appears to be rather small. Had Flake decided to take at least one high-profile, substantive stand against the GOP agenda, he might be in better shape: Despite giving the president far more cause for consternation, McCains approval rating is about 40 points higher among Arizona voters, largely thanks to high levels of support from the states Democrats.

But he didnt. And now polls show Flake trailing Ward by double digits in the GOP primary, and Sinema by high single digits in the general election.

It remains to be seen whether Trump himself will officially endorse Wards campaign. Although he tweeted a pseudo-endorsement in August, the president has been trying to make nice with Mitch McConnell in recent days  and the Majority Leader has little affection for Flakes challenger.

Nonetheless, its hard to imagine Trump rallying to Flakes defense. Beyond the fact that Trump despises public displays of disloyalty, theres just little reason to think hes a safer general-election bet. Ward may not be capable of winning over Democrats, but at least she can turn out Trumps base. Flake, by contrast, can do neither  having done too little to distinguish himself from the president, and too much to live up to his own name.
Bipartisanship was nice while it lasted. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Days after President Trump took concrete steps to sabotage Obamacare, opening loopholes to allow people to purchase unregulated insurance and cutting off payments to insurers that offset the cost of covering poor Americans, Trump revealed what passes for a strategy in his administration. He reportedly called Republican senator Lamar Alexander last week and told him he wants to see legislation that restores the cost-sharing reduction payments he just cut off. Trump even told reporters, Republicans are meeting with Democrats because of what I did with the CSRs  because I cut off the gravy train  suggesting he deserves credit for bipartisan talks that have been under way for months. (A day later, he posted a counterproductive tweet attempting to blame Democrats for the consequences of ending CSR payments.)

Its too late for Trump to task Congress with fixing the problem he created (his go-to maneuver these days), as he cut off CSRs just two weeks before the start of the Obamacare marketplaces 2018 open enrollment period. Even if Congress took action tomorrow, it probably wouldnt prevent huge premium increases next year.

Another reason Congress cant help Trump out of this mess: They simply dont want to. On Tuesday, Alexander and Democratic senator Patty Murray announced theyd reached a deal to stabilize Obamacare for the time being by funding the subsidies for two years. The Washington Post has a rundown of the other terms of the agreement:

The framework would also allow insurers to offer catastrophic insurance plans to consumers aged 30 and older on ACA exchanges, while maintaining a single risk pool. It would shorten the time period for federal review of state waiver applications, expedite review for states in emergency circumstances and those with waiver proposals that have already been approved for other states, and allow governors to approve state waiver applications rather than requiring state legislative approval.

Alexander emphasized that the legislation would not allow states to change the essential benefits insurers are now required to offer individuals and small businesses under the ACA, or let insurers discriminate against consumers with preexisting conditions.

Though Trump responded by declaring the Affordable Care Act virtually dead once again, he seemed to support the deal. Itll get us over this intermediate hump, he said during a White House press conference on Tuesday, calling it a short-term solution so that we dont have this very dangerous little period.

Most Senate Democrats seemed enthusiastic about the plan, but it appears Trumps inconsistent backing of the measure failed to inspire Republicans. The Post reports that Senate leaders, who made multiple failed attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare, were noncommittal. We havent had a chance to think about the way forward yet, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, minutes after the deal was announced. Senator John Cornyn, the majority whip, said, I think Senator Alexanders done good work. And to me, it really depends on a few things. He then wondered if stabilizing Obamacare is compatible with the GOPs long-term goal of destroying the law.

Republicans in the House, who eventually passed an Obamacare repeal bill in May, were more openly hostile.

None of our guys voted for Obamacare, said Representative Tom Cole. Theyre not very interested in sustaining it.

Representative Mark Walker, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, tweeted: The GOP should focus on repealing & replacing Obamacare, not trying to save it. This bailout is unacceptable.

Further efforts to repeal Obamacare appear to be on the back burner after last months failed push to pass the Graham-Cassidy bill. For now, many Republicans seem content to focus on tax cuts and hope people buy Trumps effort to shift the blame to Democrats. Senator Thom Tillis worried that the health-care deal might be a distraction, warning, We dont want to shift our focus away from tax reform.

In my view, this agreement avoids chaos, Alexander said while pitching the plan on Tuesday. And I dont know a Democrat or a Republican who benefits from chaos. He might want to place another call to President Trump.
Lets get improbable. Photo: Jonathan Newton

There are three more statewide elections left this year before the big landscape of the 2018 midterms begins to unfold. There are gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia on November 7, and a special U.S. Senate contest in Alabama on December 12. All three will inevitably be overhyped and overinterpreted as providing Delphic guidance for what happens next year or even in 2020. But as some new polls in Virginia and Alabama show, some crazy things could happen.

There are a variety of reasons Ralph Northam should be comfortably winning the Virginias governors race over Ed Gillespie: a cash-on-hand advantage, the recent Democratic lean of the state, a superior biography (hes a doctor and veteran while Gillespies a lobbyist), the historical pattern of the White House party losing nine of the last ten gubernatorial tilts. Add in the fact that Gillespie seems to be modeling his campaign on the worst of the president (defending confederate memorials and demagoguing about Hispanic gangs) at a time when Trump is not very popular in the Old Dominion, and youd figure the GOP was fighting an uphill battle. Yet a new survey from the respected Monmouth University polling outfit has Gillespie up by a point at 48/47.

Meanwhile, in Alabama, a state where no Democrat has won a statewide election in a decade, and where the Republican senator being replaced, Jeff Sessions, did not even have a general election opponent in 2014, a fresh Fox News poll has Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore running even at 42 percent. Presumably there are some supporters of the candidate Moore vanquished, appointed GOP senator Luther Strange, who are being slow to get behind the Judge. But Stranges most avid supporters, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump, have come around instantly. And support from Trump, at least, ought to be worth something in Alabama, a state he carried by 27 points last November.

If Gillespie were to win in Virginia and Jones in Alabama, the political commentariats desire to use the results as a 2018 bellwether might be totally frustrated.

To be clear, the new polls dont necessarily reflect deep trends and could be outliers. The Monmouth survey is the first to show a Gillespie lead since March. Northam leads in the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls by 3.5 percent. As recently as two weeks ago, a Washington Post survey had Northam ahead by 13 points.

Theres been less general election polling in Alabama, but every survey other than the new one from Fox has shown Moore leading. His margin in the RealClearPolitics polling average is 4.4 percent.

Still, theres no question now that Gillespie has a punchers chance in Virginia, as does Jones in Alabama. It will be interesting to see how much national money the two parties pump into either or both races, and how media types choose to divine what is and is not working.

There is one state where a 2017 gubernatorial contest is showing little or no prospects of offering a surprise. In New Jersey, a new Fox News poll shows Democrat Phil Murphy leading Republican Kim Guadagno by 14 points. Thats close to Murphys 16.8-point advantage in the RealClearPolitics polling average. Guadagno hasnt gotten the lead down to single digits in any survey yet; thats about what youd expect for a lieutenant governor and protege of the profoundly unpopular term-limited incumbent Chris Christie. Even in this unstable political age, some things just dont change.
Photo: Michael Rozman Stephen Schuck and Jesus Campos on Ellen.

In his first interview since being shot by Stephen Paddock at the Mandalay Bay on October 1, security guard Jesus Campos gave Ellen DeGeneres a rundown of the moments the led to his becoming the first of many victims in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

Campos, whose whereabouts had been mysterious in recent days, said he was initially summoned to the 32nd floor of the hotel by a notification regarding a stairwell door that had been left open. When he got to the door from inside the stairwell, it was blocked and could not be opened. Campos said he rerouted and approached the stairwell door from the other side, finding a metal bracket preventing it from being opened.

Campos called for an engineer to look into the door and began walking down the hallway, passing through a heavy door that slammed shut. That, he believes, is what alerted Paddock to his presence.

As I was walking down, I heard rapid fire, and at first I took cover, he said. Campos soon felt a burning sensation.

I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. Thats when I called it in on my radio that shots have been fired, Campos said. And I was going to say that I was hit, but I got on over my cell phone just to clear radio traffic so they could coordinate the rest of the call.

Stephen Schuck, the engineer responding to the call about the stuck door, arrived shortly after via service elevator. When he heard the shots Paddock was firing into the crowd at the country-music festival across from the hotel, he said he initially thought it was a jackhammer.

Thats when Jesus leaned out and said, Take cover, take cover, Schuck said. Within milliseconds, if he didnt say that, I would have got hit  They were passing behind my head, and I could feel pressure.

Campos added that a hotel guest popped into the hallway during these tense moments and he directed her back into the room. DeGeneres hailed the two men as heroes and presented Schuck with gifts.

The sitdown with DeGeneres comes nearly a week after Campos bailed on scheduled interviews with Sean Hannity, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN. Its unclear why Campos skipped out on those interviews, but Las Vegas police say hes still cooperating with the investigation.

Camposs version of events has become highly sought after as the official timeline of the shooting has shifted. Police initially said Paddock stopped shooting at the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest festival and turned his gun toward the hotel hallway to shoot Campos. A week after the shooting, the story changed. Campos was shot, police said, before Paddock began firing on the crowd.

The interview on Ellen did little to illuminate the questions still lingering about the moments before the shooting and the police response that followed. And Campos appears to be done talking. Youre talking about it now and then youre not going to talk about it again, DeGeneres said to Campos near the end of the interview. I dont blame you, because why relive this over and over? she said. Campos nodded along.
Be afraid. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The White House is coming down with a bad case of deja vu: Senate Republicans are squabbling over ostensibly intractable visions for the partys top legislative priority; illness is threatening to narrow Mitch McConnells already rail-thin margin for error; Paul Ryans far-right flank is poised to reject any compromise with a chance of surviving the upper chamber; polls are exposing the profound unpopularity of the GOP agenda; and renegade senators are hawking their own alternatives to the leaderships blueprint.

To President Trump and his administration, the quest for tax reform looks like repeal and replace (i.e. flail and disgrace) all over again.

The good news for the White House is that the Senate passed a motion Tuesday to open debate on a 2018 budget resolution  a prerequisite for getting tax cuts out of the upper chamber with only 51 votes  with no Republican defections. And, 24 hours after postponing his return to the Senate indefinitely due to health problems, Mississippi senator Thad Cochran now intends to be in D.C. in time to vote for that resolution.

The bad news is everything else. Its true that senators dont normally vote to advance legislation to debate if they arent willing to ultimately support it. But John McCain provided a memorable counterexample during the health-care fight  and now Rand Paul is signaling that he intends to perform the same anomaly, unless billions in military spending are stripped from the resolution. The Senates defense hawks will never swallow that bitter pill. If the Kentucky libertarian sticks to his guns, McConnell can only afford to lose two other votes or the budget resolution will fail.

Now, odds are McConnell will clear that hurdle. Approving a budget resolution doesnt commit anyone to a particular tax reform bill, but merely establishes the broad requirements for future legislation (which senators will have the opportunity to vote down, should they choose). In other words, the stakes of being a team player here are much lower than they were when McCain killed skinny repeal.

But for that same reason, the fact that the resolutions success isnt a certainty is deeply inauspicious for the tax package itself.

After all, this is supposed to be the easy part of the easy part: Once McConnells caucus reaches agreement on a resolution, it will need to find consensus with the House, which has already passed a very different resolution. And while the Trump administration is pushing for the House to accept the Senates terms, its far from clear that the lower chamber is prepared to do so.

Paul Ryans caucus barely inched its resolution across the finish line, amid conservatives harrumphing about the inadequacy of its cuts to spending on anti-poverty programs. The House budget mandates $203 billion in cuts to domestic spending. The Freedom Caucus wanted more than double that; the Senate resolution mandates approximately $0.00 (the resolution does ask the Natural Resources Committee to find $1 billion in savings, but thats largely a pretext to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling).

These are not minor differences. Rather, they reflect the defining divide  both between Senate and House Republicans and within each of their caucuses. While everyone wants giant tax cuts, the partys right-wing wants to partially offset them with reductions to social spending; the mainstream Republicans wants to do so by ending various tax deductions; and a small, but potentially decisive faction, wants to fully offset them with some combination of the two.

The deep unpopularity of the Republicans unifying goal  large tax cuts for the rich and corporations  gives each faction a potent talking point to use against the others. Opponents of closing loopholes, like Rand Paul, can point to the Trump plans enormous giveaways to the one percent, and argue that itd be obscene to give relief to those fat cats while simultaneously raising taxes on upper-middle-class families by eliminating the state and local tax deduction (SALT). Republican moderates can strike similarly populist notes when resisting the rights demands for cuts to Medicaid and food stamps; and the partys few sincere deficit hawks can do the same when asking, Wont someone please think of the grandchildren?

But okay: Lets say the House holds its nose and agrees to add $1.5 trillion to the deficit while resisting the urge to take food away from impoverished children. Even in this rosy scenario, Republican tax writers would still find themselves back in the vicinity of square one. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the GOPs initial framework for its tax cuts would add $2.2 trillion to the deficit over the next decade  $700 billion more than the Senate resolution allows. And that score assumed that the final plan would generate $1.3 trillion in revenue by ending the SALT deduction. But the White House is already backing off that proposal, in the face of opposition from Republicans who represent high-tax states. Right now, the ostensible plan is to limit the deduction to individuals with incomes lower than $400,000  a measure that would only produce $481 billion in revenue over a decade. Meanwhile, the plans other major pay-for  good for $1.6 trillion worth of revenue  is the repeal of the personal and dependent tax exemptions, another loophole closure that hurts the upper middle class.

Assuming that they can find agreement on capping SALT and repealing those exemptions, Republicans will still need another $1.1 trillion in revenue raisers or spending cuts, just to meet the formal requirements imposed by the Senate budget resolution. If tea party hardliners and GOP moderates band together in opposition to middle-class tax hikes of any kind, then the party will find itself more than $2 trillion over the Senates deficit cap.

At that point, the GOP could try to scale back the size of its rate cuts for corporations and small businesses. But members of the Freedom Caucus have said that they wont tolerate cuts any smaller than those already on the table. If the corporate rate is above 20 percent and if the small business rate is above 24 percent I would vote against it, Mark Meadows, the caucuss chairman, recently said.

So: If everything goes according to plan, House and Senate Republicans will soon agree on a budget resolution  and find themselves with a trillion-dollar math problem.

Mitch McConnell would then need to devise a means of making the presidents tax plan more than $1 trillion less generous, while losing a maximum of two Republican votes (assuming Democrats dont break ranks)  or one, should Cochrans health sideline him again.

Tennessees Bob Corker has already vowed to oppose any tax reform bill that adds a penny to the deficit. Rand Paul is (ostensibly) opposed to any package that eliminates deductions used by the middle class, or that lifts statutory caps on military spending, and John McCain wont vote for any legislation that displeases the Pentagon. And then theres Susan Collins, who is leaning toward voting for the resolution, but has expressed skepticism about the tax plan, itself. Shovel more than a $1 trillion worth of vegetables onto a tax plan thats already unpopular in its present almost-all-candy form and it isnt hard to see the Maine senator going maverick.

So, from one angle, this thing looks near-dead already: Corkers a hard no; Paul and McCain have irreconcilable demands; and Collins is the unsafest of bets.

Things can change in a hurry on Capitol Hill. Congressional Republicans have an enormous incentive to just pass something on taxes, so as to remain in their donors good graces. And the Obamacare repeal push amply demonstrated how little most Republican lawmakers red lines actually mean.

Still, the math here, in both the Senate and the budget, looks impossible. If the White House wants to get anything passed by early next year  let alone by the end of this one  its going to need to trim its sails soon, and encourage conservative stalwarts to lower their expectations.

Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson (of all people) appears to see the writing on the wall. Hes pushing a plan B that would end all taxes on corporate profits and raise them dramatically on dividends and capital gains. While in its present form, Johnsons proposal is prohibitively expensive and radical, a more modest version of the same scheme (one that lowers the corporate rate instead of abolishing it) has won the support of both left- and right-leaning think tanks in the past. This is probably because the plan offers a coherent answer to a genuine policy challenge  namely, how policymakers can encourage companies to operate within the United States without exacerbating income inequality, as business tax cuts generally do. Johnsons plan could ostensibly solve this puzzle by ensuring that shareholders receive no significant benefit from a large cut in the corporate rate.

Alas, the White House, and GOP leadership, see Johnsons efforts as the opposite of constructive. Theyre keeping their eyes on the (impossibly ambitious) prize. All signs point to so much losing ahead.
So far, the third time wasnt the charm. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Try as he may, Donald Trump cant catch a break in his quest to curtail Muslim immigration into the United States. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Hawaii  the same one Jeff Sessions once derided as a judge on an island in the Pacific  dealt the president yet another setback in his bid to impose travel restrictions on a number of nations, most of them Muslim-majority.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson (who has reportedly received threats for not going along with Trump), made quick work of the third iteration of the travel ban. That order, which was set to go into effect tomorrow, bars visitors from eight countries  Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen  indefinitely. Watson concluded that it violates federal immigration law as interpreted in binding court precedent. Professional athletes mirror the federal government in this respect: they operate within a set of rules, and when one among them forsakes those rules in favor of his own, problems ensue, Watson wrote.

The precedent Watson relied on in his ruling came from, of all places, Trumps least favorite appeals court: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. In June, the appeals court ruled that our chief executive had all but ignored the language of the law, which requires that the president make a reasoned finding that the entry of certain immigrants is detrimental to the interests of the United States. Thats a precondition Trump again failed to satisfy, Watson said, in part because the new travel ban contains internal incoherencies that have nothing to do with national security.

To wit: Why would the government bar nationals from countries that have never been implicated in deadly terrorist attacks on U.S. soil? And why would Iran, which the U.S. government describes as a state sponsor of terrorism, still be allowed to send some of its nationals here under a valid student visa? Watson couldnt tell. (In a footnote, he dinged the Trump administration for not letting him see a classified Department of Homeland Security report that may have given him some insights into the thinking behind the ban.)

For good measure, Watson pointed out all the times Trump has launched Twitter tirades about his travel ban. The record runs deep:

Judge Watson, in blocking Travel Ban 3.0, says the record has only gotten worse on anti-Muslim animus. See fn. 9 (collecting tweets). pic.twitter.com/dI6rW5A4E5  Adam Liptak (@adamliptak) October 17, 2017

In another part of his ruling, Watson also concluded that in broadly singling out certain countries and not others that may be more danger-prone, Trump fell short of the laws prohibition on nationality-based discrimination. Thats a little softer than saying Trumps executive order drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination  a conclusion that another court did reach.

Its unclear how long Watsons ruling, which applies nationally, will be in effect. The Supreme Court should soon decide what to do with Trump v. Hawaii, the administrations appeal of the 9th Circuit ruling that Watson cited. That case has been at a standstill, as it concerned the temporary version of the travel ban that expired last month. On Tuesday, the Trump administration vowed to appeal Watsons new ruling on the permanent ban, so the Supreme Court may decide to hold off until this latest challenge makes its way through the courts.

UPDATE: Overnight, a federal judge in Maryland jumped into the fray and also blocked the revised ban. As the judge did back in March, when he put the brakes on the second version of it, he went farther than his colleague in Honolulu and said that Trumps ban is, in effect, a Muslim ban. Which is to say, the restrictions dont just violate federal law, but also the Constitutions protections against religious discrimination.

When the government chooses sides among religions, the inevitable result is hatred, disrespect, and even contempt from those who adhere to different beliefs, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang wrote in his 91-page opinion.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. government has indicted two Chinese nationals for allegedly manufacturing and shipping illegal cocktails of the drug fentanyl into the United States, which authorities said has contributed to a national crisis with an "extraordinary death toll."



Xiaobing Yan, 40, and Jian Zhang, 38, both of China, were indicted in separate cases in recent weeks, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.



The move represents the first time U.S. authorities have filed charges against major fentanyl traffickers based in China, where authorities believe the vast majority of illegal fentanyl is being made or otherwise sourced.



"[It's] an extraordinary epidemic and crisis that has been building for some time," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told ABC News Pierre Thomas in an exclusive one-on-one interview.



In the United States last year, a third of all fatal drug overdoses came from fentanyl alone -- 20,000 of the 64,000 fatal drug overdoses in total.



One Nation, Overdosed: Snapshots of Americans struggling under the opioid crisis



"The fentanyl that we see in the United States is believed to all be coming in some way from China. In some cases it's manufactured in China and then shipped, either through the mail or through other countries to the United States. In other instances the precursor chemicals come from China, and the fentanyl is manufactured in Mexico, for example."



Yan allegedly used different company names online to sell fentanyl and similar drugs directly to customers across the United States, and he even tracked changes to U.S. drug laws so he could tweak his recipe and evade U.S. law enforcement.



"Chemists can make just a slight modification so that the new version is not identical to the previous version" and is therefore not banned by current U.S. law, Rosenstein told ABC News.



Yan faces federal charges in Mississippi.



Zhang allegedly ran a network of labs in China that manufactured fentanyl and sold the drug online. He and eight others -- five Canadian citizens, two residents of Florida, and a resident of New Jersey  have been indicted by a federal grand jury in North Dakota for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in the United States and other drug-related conspiracies. Zhang allegedly sent thousands of packaged to U.S. customers since 2013.



Rosenstein warned that those buying fentanyl have little way of knowing what theyre truly getting, and "just a few grains of pure fentanyl can actually case death."



The acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Robert Patterson, said that while "overdose deaths are at catastrophic levels [I] challenge all of us to look beyond the statistics."



"Instead, focus on the individuals behind those numbers," he said at a press conference in Washington. "Part of the solution related to this unnecessary loss of life has to come from discussions, which can be difficult and uncomfortable. Each one of these deaths impacts real people, from the immediate victim to all those whose lives they've touched."



Chinese authorities have been assisting the Justice Department in their investigations, but U.S. investigators have faced challenges because the ingredients used to make fentanyl are not necessarily illegal in China, according to Rosenstein.



"The situation now is that some of these labs operate legally in China, but they're violating U.S. law when they ship it here," he told ABC News. "Were hoping that [China] will step up now that weve demonstrated that Chinese nationals are [distributing] this poison and causing deaths in the United States."



Chinese authorities, however, have apparently not taken Yan or Zhang into custody.



"We don't know exactly what the Chinese are going to do," Rosenstein said, noting that the United States does not have an extradition treaty with China. "They might be willing to hold them accountable there ... so were going to share the evidence with them."

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Trump finally called the families, and he made the controversy worse. Photo: Pool/Getty Images

When asked on Monday why he had yet to say anything about the deaths of four U.S. service members killed when they were ambushed by ISIS fighters in Niger on October 4, President Trump said he had drafted letters to their loved ones, and planned to call them too. Then he tried to deflect criticism by falsely suggesting that President Obama and his other predecessors did not regularly call the families of fallen soldiers.

Trump then doubled down on the claim, implying that Obama hadnt called his chief of staff John Kelly after his son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Kelly, who has tried to keep his sons death out of the political arena, attended at least two events the Obamas held for military families in the years after his sons death.

Incredibly, the story took an even more appalling turn on Tuesday evening. In his call with Sergeant La David T. Johnsons widow, Myeshia Johnson, on Tuesday, Trump said, He knew what he signed up for  but when it happens, it hurts anyway, according to Representative Frederica Wilson.

The congresswoman told WPLG Local 10 News in Miami that she listened to the entire call on speakerphone while she was riding in a limousine with Johnsons family to meet his casket at the airport. Wilson told the Washington Post that Johnson broke down when Trump made the remark. He made her cry, Wilson said, adding that she wanted to take the phone and curse him out, but the Army sergeant holding the phone wouldnt let her talk to the president.

Wilson reiterated her account on CNN, adding that when Trump called Myeshia Johnson had just been told her husband cant have an open-casket funeral.

Florida congresswoman says the President told the widow of a fallen soldier "he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts" pic.twitter.com/fB2PALhxiG  CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) October 18, 2017

By Wednesday morning, Trump had chimed in on Twitter. He claimed Wilson had totally fabricated what he said to Johnsons widow. He added, in parenthetical, that he had proof, though he did not offer any.

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017

Trump disputed Wilsons characterization again on Wednesday. I didnt say what the congresswoman said, he told reporters. I did not say what she said.

Trump, asked for proof that Rep. Wilson mischaracterized his conversation w/Johnson's widow, says: Let her make her statement again." https://t.co/UR9z5x12Th  Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) October 18, 2017

But Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, backed up the congresswomans story. Jones-Johnson, who said she was in the car with her daughter-in-law when President Trump called, confirmed Wednesday to the Washington Post that Wilsons report was accurate. President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband, she told the paper.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, when asked what proof Trump had that Wilsons account was false, told reporters that the conversation with Johnsons widow had not been recorded. However, she said, several staffers, including Chief of Staff John Kelly, sat in on the call.

Q: What proof does Pres. Trump have when he says Rep. Wilson is not telling the truth?

Sanders: "...there were several people in the room." pic.twitter.com/uGdj8Wc7KB  CBS News (@CBSNews) October 18, 2017

The presidents call, as recounted by multiple people in the room, believe that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic, and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country, and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero in the family, Sanders said, I dont know how you can take that any other way.

Sanders focused on the tone of Trumps remarks to Johnsons family, and did not specify exactly what was said. I think it is appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way she has politicized this issue, she said.

Sarah Sanders on Rep. Wilson: "I think it is appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way that she has politicized this issue." pic.twitter.com/P16dRhRLVV  Axios (@axios) October 18, 2017

Sergeant Johnson, 25, leaves behind two children, a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son, and Myeshia is six months pregnant with their third child. Friends praised his dedication to his family, and the determination he showed in working his way from a job at Walmart to becoming a special operations soldier, fighting alongside Green Berets. He was a member of 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, a mentorship program founded by Wilson, which set up a scholarship fund for his children.

USASOC identifies fourth soldier killed in Niger. Sgt. La David Johnson of Miami Gardens, Florida. #abc11 pic.twitter.com/G3JXEobU8k  Morgan Norwood (@MorganABC11) October 7, 2017

As The Atlantics David A. Graham argued, whether intentionally or not, Trumps inflammatory rhetoric over the past two days shifted the focus to defending previous presidents from his attack, and away from questions about what happened in Niger. The Pentagon has not offered many details about the attack, and an administration official told CNN that nearly two weeks later its still unclear what happened.

Twelve U.S. soldiers from the Armys 3rd Special Forces Group were accompanying about 30 Nigerien troops on a mission near Tongo Tongo, Niger. According to CNN, following a meeting with local leaders, the troops were ambushed by roughly 50 ISIS-affiliated militants wielding small arms, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades.

The U.S. soldiers were armed only with rifles, and had traveled to the site in unarmored pickup trucks. The U.S. troops called in French fighter jets for air support, but they were unable to engage. Reuters said they could not help because the firefight was at close quarters, but multiple officials told CNN that Niger does not allow air strikes on its territory.

Eventually French military helicopters were able to evacuate the dead and wounded U.S. soldiers. The remains of three U.S. soldiers  Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Dustin Wright  were retrieved, but somehow Sergeant La David Johnson was separated from the rest of the group. His body was recovered two days later.

Reuters reported that French officials were frustrated by the actions of the U.S. military, and felt it acted with limited intelligence and insufficient contingency planning. Marine Lieutenant General Frank McKenzie, the director of the Pentagons Joint Staff, told reporters the mission was not designed to be a combat patrol, but there was a pretty good level of planning and French forces responded within 30 minutes. Later, Defense Secretary James Mattis said he completely rejected any notion that the rescue effort was too slow.

The Defense Department said on Tuesday that it is launching an internal review of the mission in Niger. The preliminary findings are expected by the end of the week, but will likely remain classified.

Both Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain and Jack Reed, the committees top Democrat, have said the Trump administration needs to be more forthcoming about what happened in Niger.

Reporter: Is the Trump administration being up front about what happened in Niger?



"No," McCain said, per @KilloughCNN  Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 18, 2017

I think the administration has to be more clear about our role in Niger and our role in other areas in Africa and other parts of the globe, Reed said. They have to connect it to a strategy. They should do that. I think that the inattention to this issue is not acceptable.

Representative Wilson, a Democrat, said the Johnson family needs answers, and called for a congressional probe.

They were upset because they dont know why he was separated from the rest of the soldiers, Wilson continued. This could turn out to be another Benghazi, and I have asked for an investigation.

I certainly will be fighting for an investigation into this travesty. We owe it to the families. https://t.co/S7I4BGQRAi  Rep Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) October 18, 2017

This post has been updated throughout.
Deal or no deal? Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

As the fourth round of NAFTA negotiations wrapped up Tuesday, the three North American nations agreed to disagree: With Mexico and Canada unwilling to abide the Trump administrations demands for radical, America first reforms  and the White House still insisting that itd prefer no deal to a bad one  the nations have agreed to postpone the next round of talks for nearly a month, and use the interim to reflect on their differences.

New proposals have created challenges and ministers discussed the significant conceptual gaps among the parties, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, Mexican secretary of the economy Ildefonso Guajardo, and Canadian foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland wrote in a joint statement. Ministers have called upon all negotiators to explore creative ways to bridge these gaps.

The Trump administrations deal-breaking demands had included a sunset clause, which would automatically end the agreement in five years, unless all three parties agree to extend it; a rule requiring all cars and pickup trucks imported to the U.S. from Canada or Mexico be constructed from a minimum of 50 percent American-made parts; and the curtailment of the investor-state dispute-settlement process, which allows tribunals of (predominately business-friendly) attorneys to arbitrate disputes between nations and corporations.

The first of these proposals is bizarre  the American president has the power to initiate withdrawal from the agreement at any time, and the text of the deal is regularly renegotiated. The second is antithetical to NAFTAs animating purpose, which was to promote duty-free trade across North America, while erecting a few light trade barriers against wares from other continents. And the third is actually, probably a good idea.

Regardless, Mexico and Canada are having none of it. And it isnt hard to see why: The Trump administration has explicitly branded its request as a losing proposition for its partners. Democratically elected governments do not, typically, champion plans to disadvantage their own citizens at the behest of unpopular foreign leaders.

Remarkably, in his own comments to reporters Tuesday, Lighthizer suggested that Americas neighbors would need to accept an agreement that benefited their nations less than the current one does, or else the U.S. would abandon the trade pact.

After many years of one-sided benefits, [Mexico and Candas] companies have become reliant on special preferences, Lighthizer told reporters. But the president has been clear that if we are going to have an agreement going forward, it must be fair to American workers and businesses that employ our people at home.

That rhetoric would suggest that NAFTAs days are numbered. On the other hand, the fact that the Trump administration agreed to the delay might betray its own fear of seeing the deal unravel. Regardless, no one should underestimate this presidents willingness to defy expert advice, for the amusement of his nationalist base.
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by U.S. special forces, holds their flag at the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqqa on October 17, 2017. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

United Statesbacked forces said Tuesday they have recaptured the city of Raqqa from ISIS, dealing a major blow to the militants that claimed it as the capital of its so-called caliphate. After ISISs defeat in Mosul, Iraq, this summer, Raqqa stood alone as jihadists last significant urban stronghold. Its apparent liberation stands as a key strategic and symbolic victory over the terror group, and ISIS, once in control of large swaths of territory, is now clinging to a few clusters of land and a strip of real estate that includes parts of Syrias eastern Deir ez-Zor province and Iraqs Anbar province.

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate at the front line in the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists crumbling stronghold of Raqqa on October 16, 2017. Photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

The battle to retake Raqqa began in June 2017, led by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab fighters. The SDF waged war from the ground for months, while the U.S. backed up their allies from above, pounding the city with air strikes. On Tuesday, a representative for the SDF declared the offensive over. ISIS fighters had either surrendered or been killed by SDF, a spokesman said, whose forces were clearing the city of landmines and rooting out any sleeper cells. SDF still celebrated the hard-won victory, tearing down the ISIS flag from the National Hospital in Raqqa, one of the last landmarks to be cleared of ISIS militants.

Following the liberation of the National Hospital in Raqqa, #SDF fighters take down Daesh flag raised in the centre of the city. #Raqqa #YPG pic.twitter.com/KxAExutHIR  Rojava Defense Units | YPG (@DefenseUnits) October 17, 2017

Final moments of Martyr Adnan Abu Amjad phase for #Raqqa's liberation is happening now as #YPG-led #SDF clears city of last Daesh terrorists pic.twitter.com/FOHAK5Pr8W  Rojava Defense Units | YPG (@DefenseUnits) October 17, 2017

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announce victory over ISIS in Raqqa.



Yesterday the first day in months with no coalition air strikes in or around the city. pic.twitter.com/O4a35YYstB  ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 17, 2017

The U.S. Central Command has not yet confirmed ISISs total defeat, saying more than 90 percent of Raqqa is in SDF control. Some small pockets of ISIS resistance may remain.

President Donald Trump, in an interview with radio talk-show host Chris Plante, attributed the (not-yet-confirmed by the military) victory over ISIS to himself. I totally changed rules of engagement. I totally changed our military, I totally changed the attitudes of the military and they have done a fantastic job, he said. ISIS is now giving up, they are giving up, they are raising their hands, they are walking off. Nobody has ever seen that before.

But the hard task of restoring Raqqa still awaits. The city had been under ISISs control since 2014, its residents brutalized by their terror regime. Months of air strikes and ground fighting have left the city in ruins. An estimated 1,000 civilians have been killed in the months-long offensive, and more than 270,000 displaced, reports the New York Times.

The fate of the ISIS fighters, especially those foreign militants, is still uncertain. Reports suggested that the two sides had negotiated a settlement that would have allowed the last ISIS fighters to evacuate. The U.S. has denied those reports, saying any buses leaving the city were reserved for civilians. Still, as ISIS clings to its remaining territory, the fear remains that these remaining militants, who can blend in with the general population in Syria and Iraq, will change tactics and wage a deadly insurgency from within. Theres also real concern that the thousands of foreigners who flocked to Syria to join up with ISIS will return to their homes in Europe or Central Asia, and stage attacks from there.

The liberation of Raqqa ends ISISs reign, but also lays bare a new set of conflicts. The Syrian Democratic Forces are a somewhat uneasy alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab fighters; now that the common enemy is defeated, who will control the city? ISIS is also under siege from Russian- and Iran-backed Syrian government forces in Deir ez-Zor, where Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is trying to consolidate his control over the country once gain. That underlying conflict  the Syrian civil war, now in its sixth year  wont go away with ISISs defeat. Instead, it opens up the potential for a scramble for territory. (U.S.-backed forces, for example, have already claimed theyve come under siege from Russian aircraft this fall near Deir ez-Zor.) And kicking ISIS off the map is one thing; taking out its ideology another. The conditions that fueled the extremist groups rise remain as potent as ever in war-torn Syria.
Photo: Twitter

On Friday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced that new rules were in the works that would prohibit unwanted sexual advances, non-consensual nudity, hate symbols, violent groups, and tweets that glorifies violence from being shared on Twitter. The move followed the success of the #WomenBoycottTwitter protest, which arose after actress Rose McGowans account was suspended late Thursday evening.

The surprisingly specific nature of Dorseys announcement seemed to suggest that a crackdown on some of Twitters most infamous members (read: actual Nazis) may be imminent. But given Twitters extremely shaky track record when it comes to doing basically anything that would infringe upon the rights of literal swastika-waving Nazis, Dorseys claim that these changes will start rolling out in the next few weeks is likely no more than lip service to outraged users.

While we wait to find out, you can actually take matters into your own hands and use this little-known feature to punch Nazis off of your timeline all by yourself.

First, open Twitter on a desktop and navigate to Settings. Under the Content header, youll see options to choose your country. Pick Germany (or France, if thats your thing), and like magic, those Nazi accounts will vanish.

One Weird Trick to get nazi imagery off twitter pic.twitter.com/pCDvRu5JwY  MicHELLSpookcault (@christapeterso) October 12, 2017

As first pointed out by blogger Kevin Marks, this feature works because the sharing of Nazi imagery is illegal in both Germany and France, so Twitter is required to filter certain problem accounts or posters out. Changing your country wont turn your Twitter feed German, nor will it affect your local Trending Topics, all it will do is kick the most egregious of Nazis off of your timeline.

So go forth and block en masse! You can even pretend for a moment that you live in a country that actually prohibits outright Nazism, I wont tell.
Theres the honorable practice of buying expensive furniture that youll have for a lifetime and pass down to your grandkids, and then the perhaps more reasonable short-term alternative of just buying really cheap stuff thats totally recyclable. That youll have no problem trashing when its time has passed. A three-month sublet that youre leaving too soon to consider investing even $50 in a nightstand? When you have a toddler whos just coloring on everything? For that, there is cardboard furniture, which is more lightweight, easy-to-assemble, and trashable than even Ikea.

We first learned about the possibilities of cardboard through the Australian brand Karton that sells real beds and dressers made out of cardboard that are kind of unbelievably intricate, and then we went in on Amazon and discovered even more fully recyclable designs. For those in temporary spaces, for those with small kids, and for those who love DIY, see below for the best Amazon has to offer in cardboard furniture.

Privacy Room Divider A simple wall divider that can fold up and disappear under the couch. You can also spruce up the plain black by drawing on it with chalk or accessorizing with stickers. This is cardboard, after all! Buy at Amazon Buy Buy at Amazon Buy

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The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best womens jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

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If youre like us, youve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair, but the hand sanitizer and the electric toothbrush. We asked actor Daniel Radcliffe, whose new film Jungle opens Friday in select theaters and On Demand/Digital HD, about the jeans, workout shoes, and protein bars he cant live without.

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong, by Angela Saini $32 I always have to have actual books  not out of any sense of snobbery over an e-reader, but its just that I need a piece of paper in front of me. I noticed that learning lines off a computer takes so much longer for me. So when I travel, it always looks like Im smuggling books. Right now, Im reading this fantastic work of nonfiction about how gender biases have affected how science has treated women. Id highly recommend it. $32 at Amazon Buy $32 at Amazon Buy

Speed Stacks Sport Stacking Set This is a lifesaver. I actually cant live without these. Have you ever seen the documentary abut the kids who do speed stacking, Stacked? Its basically like Spellbound only with stacking cups. I watch practically every documentary I can on iTunes. So I saw the film and became really into the idea of stacking cups, because its apparently a skill that youre the best at between the ages of 8 and 14. I loved it so much my friend actually got me a set and now Ill practice all the time. Buy at Amazon Buy Buy at Amazon Buy

Quest Nutrition Protein Bar, Cookies & Cream, 12 count $21 for 12 This will sound weird, but I cant live without Quest bars. When I was doing Jungle, I sort of felt like the character had been lost for a while and not eating a lot and so it felt wrong for me to be eating too much, so the Quest bars were one of the things I allowed myself. I was having a filet of fish and one of those bars a day. Some people are like, Protein bars taste weird, and I get that, but Ive been eating them so long theyre actually good to me. I like the cookies-and-cream and the chocolate ones. What you do is put them in the microwave for 20 seconds and crush almonds or pecans on them, and then theyre a delicious treat. Or you can cut them into mini squares and stick them in the oven. $21 for 12 at Amazon Buy $21 for 12 at Amazon Buy

AEO Extreme Flex Skinny Jean $50 Jeans are particularly hard to find for me, so most of the good jeans Ive had have actually come off of sets Ive been on. Im five-foot-five and have been for a very long time, so it means I have accumulated a lot of jeans. Right now all I wear is a pair of American Eagles that I got off the set of Imperium. $50 at Aerie Buy

Durhams Bee Propolis 500 mg 120 Capsules $18 Everyone is always complaining about plane travel doing something bad to them, and I travel so much I feel like I need all the help I can get. I was in a play earlier this year, and everyone in the play was taking it. It seems to be working? It definitely did stave off any feelings of a cold I had during the run of the play. Is it actually bee shit? Thats what I need to know. $18 at Amazon Buy $18 at Amazon Buy

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The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the favorite shopping items of Lena Dunham, Olivia Wilde, Carole Radziwill, Courtney Love, John Cameron Mitchell, Aubrey Plaza, and Linda Rodin. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.


Uganda Technology and Management University (Utamu) last week saw off 284 of its former students, graduating with degrees and diplomas at a colorful ceremony at Silver Springs hotel in Bugolobi.

The graduands received postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications in various business and computer-based programmes.

Addressing the graduands, vice chancellor Prof Benon Basheka challenged them to use the skills acquired to create employment, while spreading the gospel of Utamu by their good works.

Some of Utamu graduands

In his speech, he explained that 80 per cent of the graduates were from the School of Business Management, while 62 per cent were male students and only 38 per cent female.

University Chancellor Dr Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, urged the graduands to make an impact on society.

If you want to change the world, begin with making your bed; education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world; it is the key to reducing poverty and preventing needless debts, he said.

The chancellor also commended the graduands on their hard work and strong commitment, which he said is much needed in todays world of work.

Dr Kalonzo Musyoka, who is also a former Kenyan vice president, hosted several political leaders, including Moses Wetangula, Kenyan high commissioner to Uganda Geoffrey Okanga and Ugandan parliamentarian Gerald Karuhanga.



nyapendi.victoria1@gmail.com
Opposition members of parliament have accused the police of manufacturing and acting on false intelligence reports to obstruct their campaigns against the lifting of presidential age limits.

Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa made the accusation before a large crowd during the oppositions third joint consultative rally in Kampala, held at Kalerwe on Monday.

They claimed that we had given people sticks to beat up others but we havent done anything of that sort. They want to use it to stop our rallies. We want to do all our rallies peacefully, Munyagwa said.

The MP said he learnt of an alleged security plot to block opposition rallies on grounds of fake intelligence, a claim police denied yesterday.

The leaders say police is again being used by the government to stifle dissenting voices and ensure that the opposition does not wake up the people from their sleep.

But Kampala Metropolitan Police commander Frank Mwesigwa told The Observer that indeed they had intelligence that Munyagwa armed people.

We as police are the consumers of intelligence, and not the MPs. They cannot claim to have better intelligence than us because it is intelligence that determines our operations, Mwesigwa said.

On Monday, The Observer did not see civilians carrying sticks during the Kalerwe rally. In recent weeks, the police have restricted the movement and activities of certain opposition politicians.

The restrictions have intensified as public agitation against the ruling partys push to amend Article 102(b), removing the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates has mounted.

Several opposition leaders and parliamentarians have been stopped from leaving their homes under the colonial era preventative arrest ordinance. The police say they act on intelligence that these leaders planned to foment chaos in the city by burning petrol stations.

Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura also partly justified the surrounding and eventual storming of parliament in late September as a pre-emptive security operation to stop the opposition from burning down the building. No actual suspects have been brought to book, however. Mwesigwa told The Observer that all they do is take them in for cautioning.

As the opposition embarks on nationwide consultations of voters about the proposed presidential age limit removal, there is widespread fear that police will crack the whip although the force says this is not their intention.

Our interest is not to stop these rallies but to ensure that they are peaceful and the message delivered is not inciting. Some of these MPs are telling people that they should attack police and we are watching them. If you arm people with sticks, that calls for cancellation of your permission to hold rallies, Mwesigwa said.

Under Ugandas public order law, police is only supposed to be notified of a rally, peaceful demonstration or any such public activity. Its powers to grant permission previously wielded under Section 32(2) of the Police Act were quashed by the Constitutional court in its ruling on the Muwanga Kivumbi vs Attorney General (constitutional petition No. 9, 2005) in May 2008.

The court found that the police act was prohibitive; instead of being regulatory in as far as it contravened Article 29 of the constitution, which guarantees the inherent human right and freedom to assemble and demonstrate.

After Igara West legislator Raphael Magyezi tabled his private members age-limit bill two weeks ago, house speaker Rebecca Kadaga urged MPs to consult their constituents on the proposed amendment.

Several ruling party MPs have since been booed, heckled and forced to flee their constituencies when they attempted to defend the bill.

The NRM leadership has now advised its MPs to change tact and selectively pick who they invite for consultation on this very polarising bill. The opposition legislators criticised this decision.

We shall not allow our constitution to be discussed in bedrooms. When we were looking for votes, we came to the people and now that this bill has come up, we all have to go back to the people and consult them, Lubaga North MP Moses Kasibante said.



The rallies

During the Monday rallies at Kalerwe and Bwaise, various legislators, area councillors and chairpersons rallied the masses to join the struggle against the bad amendment, saying they break no law in opposing it.

The curtain between you and your freedom is fear. If you overcome this fear that you have, you will give Uganda the best gift in a lifetime, Kyadondo East MP Kyagulanyi Ssentamu said.

In Kalerwe, a sizeable number of people, many of them donning red outfits and ribbons  a colour that has been adopted for the resistance -- gathered.

After about two hours, the leaders made a procession to Bwaise playground, paralysing traffic where they passed, as traffic policemen looked on.



kamogajonathan50@gmail.com
The Opposition in Parliament has vowed to continue holding joint consultative meetings on the controversial 'age limit' bill, describing the recently-issued ban as stupid.

On the backdrop of an order issued to all regional police commanders (RPCs)and district police commanders (DPCs) barring MPs from holding consultations in constituencies they do not represent in Parliament, opposition legislators led by the Leader of Opposition (LoP), Winnie Kiiza warned the Police against issuing political orders, insisting that they will continue holding joint rallies across the country.

The rallies are meant to seek views of voters on the Constitution (Amendment) Bill (No.2) 2017, which among others seeks to amend Article 102 (b) to remove presidential age limits capped between 35 years and 75 years.

For police to wake up and say, you know we are dispersing your crowds is stupid and stupidity of untold magnitude. For Police to determine where I should go even when Kayihura called MPs from his place in Kisoro where they are not born and then he comes up with a stupid order through Mugyenyi, it is unbelievable, a visibly furious Kiiza told journalists.

LoP Winnie Kiiza (L) and MP Muwanga Kivumbi

According to the directive issued on October 16 by Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP), Asuman Mugenyi, all RPCs and DPCs are ordered to should ensure that MPs strictly consult in their constituencies only and those moving or intending to move in order to support counterparts or consult outside their constituencies must be stopped.

The directive also states that consultations must not include illegal demonstrations; illegal processions; inciting violence use of abusive language and intimidation of persons perceived to be supporting the removal of age limit, among others.

However, Kiiza insisted that no amount of teargas and bullets will deter the legislators from holding their consultative meetings, adding that police should desist from giving political orders and stick to its work of providing security for Ugandans.

Police should not tell MPs how they should do their work. If I believe in my opinion that a member should visit me in my constituency, I dont see why Police should think that the member should ask for permission from police and get a visa, she said.

Muwanga Kivumbi (Butambala County), who doubles as shadow minister of Internal Affairs, castigated the police directive, saying it offends the Constitution and it will be challenged in the courts of law.

Kivumbi accused the Inspector General of Police, General Kale Kayihura of trying to usurp the powers of the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga in trying to direct where the legislators, who are tasked to legislate for the nation, should consult.

The security apparatus must also pronounce itself on the age limit like other institutionsI dont envisage a person with a Masters degree in law in the name of the IGP and the so many lawyers that they can come up with this writing. It is absolutely absurd and regrettableWe are free to go and consult with or without the Speakers directiveYou cannot fight an idea whose time has come, Kivumbi noted.

He also accused Kayihura of being partisan and loyal to the NRM government, through his recent declaration to support the president, during the opening the John Kale Memorial Institute of Science and Technology over the weekend.



Yesterday, Police fired bullets and teargas to disperse residents of Kasubi who were attending a consultative rally organized by Moses Kasibante (Rubaga North) and other opposition leaders.

Kasibante accused the Police of defying the speakers directive to the MPsto hold consultations with their constituents with the bill.

What we are doing is a parliamentary process. A bill is by force in place to entrench dictatorship in Uganda it is now the IGP Kale Kayihura who is regulating the parliamentary process. Kale Kayihura is now trying to usurp the powers of the Speaker, by becoming the person guiding MPs on how to do their work, Kasibante said.

The MPs have scheduled to hold a joint rally tomorrow in Kyengera, Busiro East, led by Medard Ssegona and Nateete in Rubaga South - Kato Lubwamas constituency.

eyotaru@gmail.com
One person has been shot dead in Rukungiri and scores injured as as police unsuccessfully tried to disperse a charged crowd at an FDC party rally today.

The deceased has been identified as Edison Nasasira alias Kakuru, believed to be in his 30s and a resident Kafunjo cell, Eastern division in Rukungiri. He's been working as a taxi tout at Nabugabo stage in Rukungiri municipality.



It all started when police that was being commanded by Richard Emuna, the Rukungiri District Police Commander blocked all routes heading to Rukungiri municipal stadium where, the area member of parliament, Roland Mugume Kaginda was to address a rally.

Some of the recovered bullet shells from the 'battleground' in Rukungiri today

Kaginda was accompanied by former FDC president Dr Kizza Besigye and other top FDC officials including Ingrid Turinawe and Patrick Oboi Amuriat. Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago was also among the politicians slated to address the rally.



Kaginda and his team wanted to hold consultations this afternoon about the proposed constitutional amendment to remove presidential age limits.

However, police fired teargas and live bullets in the air to disperse supporters who arrived in large groups wearing red ribbons and singing, 'Otagikwataho', meaning don't dare touch it. This is in reference to Article 102(b) of the constitution which sets 35 and 75 years respectively, as minimum and maximum age caps for a president.



The red ribbons have since become a symbol against lifting of the age limit. The supporters braved teargas and live bullets and started pelting stones at police officers. In the process Kakuru was shot in the head, dying on spot.



Besigye's car was also shot at and a bullet appeared to go through its rear windscreen, while that of Turinawe had its entire rear windscreen shattered.



DPC Emuna declined to comment on the issue. However, he had earlier said that police was not informed and that there was no way they could allow such a gathering.

Yesterday, police ordered all regional police commanders and district police commanders to ensure that no joint opposition consultations take place, saying no MP outside his constituency should be allowed to hold consultation meetings on the age limit in another area.

According to the earlier schedule, Patrick Oboi Amuriat who is also campaigning for the FDC party presidency, was to hold a rally at the same venue. According to Turinawe Police had 'cleared' the rally.

Virginia Kyarugahe, the FDC party chairperson for Rukungiri District insists that police was notified in time, but they are only biased. Several FDC supporters were also seen being arrested.

While the ever-swelling crowd first stayed away, engaging police in running battles, they eventually overpowered the officers pelting them with stones and forcing them to flee from the scene. Turinawe described the situation as "police firing bullets like popcorn" and that the sky was "raining stones".

The crowd, who were also singing religious songs and chanting anti-age limit amendment slogans, fought with the officers telling them they were ready to die and that "Rukungiri is not Kampala" (where protestors flee from the police). They removed the tire cutters that police had placed in the road to block Besigye's convoy from advancing to the stadium.

Residents of Rukungiri singing the national anthem while marching with the body of a man shot dead by police earlier ?@arbettu #AgeLimit pic.twitter.com/ZE8i6yH5fQ  The Observer (@observerug) October 18, 2017

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The latest numbers tell the irrigation story: In Alabama, only 15 percent of the land currently available for farming is irrigated, a far cry from Mississippi's 61 percent of cropland and Georgia's 40 percent. Over time, that lack of irrigation translates into huge revenue losses for the state's agricultural industry.

"Farmers often struggle in deciding when and how much to irrigate, and this prevents them from achieving their full yield potential," said Brenda Ortiz, associate professor in the Auburn University College of Agriculture's Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences and an agronomist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. "For many Alabama farmers, irrigation is a new practice, so they are looking for training, technology and information to support their decisions."

With grants totaling more than $1 million, Ortizalong with fellow College of Agriculture faculty members and colleagues at other universities and agencieshopes to increase irrigation adoption and close the irrigation knowledge gap in Alabama.

Auburn has received a grant of $946,684 from the Conservation and Innovation Program of the Natural Resources and Conservation Service, or NRCS. The project focuses on increasing the adoption of climate- and water-smart irrigation practices among Tennessee Valley farmers in Alabama and Tennessee.

Working with Auburn are the USDA-ARS-National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, the University of Tennessee, Alabama A&M University, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, NRCS Alabama and three cooperating farmers.

"This grant focuses on the demonstration of practices that already have been proven or tested," Ortiz said. "The project will be conducted with farmers in their fields. Research might be included, but the majority of the work is focused on the demonstration of new and innovative practices."

A second, $106,208 grant from a partnership with the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District in Georgia involves integrating precision irrigation technologies to demonstrate variable-rate irrigation systems in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia.

While Alabama has a great deal of catching up to do in irrigation, producers are excited by the possibilities, Ortiz said. In fact, based on the number of funding applications USDA-NRCS has received in recent years, the adoption of irrigation is on the rise in the state.

Obviously, the grant dollars couldn't have come at a better time.

"There is an increasing interest in expanding irrigation, and state agencies are looking for data on how much water a crop needs that can be supplemented by irrigation and on the best irrigation practices farmers can adopt to increase water-use efficiency while maintaining or increasing yields and protecting the environment," Ortiz said.

In 2016, Ortiz surveyed Alabama farmers and crop consultants to gauge how confident they felt about irrigating properly.

"Fifty-eight percent said they did not have much experience using technology like soil-sensor data for scheduling irrigation," she said. "Farmers don't know if they're using the right rate, and they don't know if they're applying it at the right time. This is because they haven't been using irrigation in Alabama as long as producers in neighboring states."

The need for training on irrigation water management training in the state is reflected in the low adoption rate of water-smart irrigation technologies, Ortiz said. Of the estimated 1,022 farms scheduling irrigation in the state, only 8 percent use available technologies while 40 percent still rely on empirical methods like feeling the soil.

That is why the new irrigation project is so important.

"To apply water where and when it's needed, we will demonstrate variable-rate irrigation, allowing us to apply different water amounts over a single field," Ortiz said. "We also are demonstrating the use of soil-sensor technology to quantify and determine how much and when we need water."

While she wants to see irrigation expand in the state, though, she's aware that rapid adoption without proper management can lead to detrimental environmental impacts, similar to the rapid depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains.

In Georgia, for example, 563,000 acres of irrigated cropland are in the Flint River Basin alone, with most withdrawals coming from the Upper Floridan Aquifer. This high irrigation demand has drastically changed water- and land-use patterns throughout southwest Georgia, impacting the sustainability of streams, rivers and aquatic species.

The Ortiz-led project will demonstrate the current Alabama irrigation model: withdrawing water from creeks or streams and storing it in irrigation ponds/reservoirs for irrigation use during the summer.

"Some of the farmers selected for this project have or are currently building reservoirs to store water, enabling us to demonstrate the benefits of this approach," said Puneet Srivastava, a member of the research team and director of the Auburn University Water Resources Center.

An innovative aspect of this multistate and multidisciplinary project is the use of climate information to support water management practices. Most of Alabama's rainfall occurs in non-crop-growing months, and farmers irrigate summer crops when surface water sources do not have sufficient flow and the likelihood of drought is high.

"The Southeast's climate, especially winter and spring seasons, is strongly influenced by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)," Srivastava said. "Rainfall amounts and temperature distribution change between El Nino and La Nina phases of ENSO. Research has demonstrated the usefulness of ENSO forecasts to support water withdrawals."

In north Alabama, irrigation projects will be demonstrated in three fields on three different farms located in Greenbrier, Town Creek and Tanner. Two of those fields have irrigation ponds adjacent to them.

"These farms have large fields with significant variability in terms of soil texture and topography, so we can irrigate at the right rate, right time and at the right location," Ortiz said.

One of the participating farmers is Brent Shaw of Shaw Farms in north Alabama's Limestone County. Shaw is a row-crop farmer who is currently growing soybeans and plans to plant either corn or cotton next year. He began irrigating in 1990 with one center-pivot irrigation system and now runs 11 pivots that draw from wells, creeks, aquifers and lakes. He also built a five-acre lake recently and will start drawing from it soon.

"We're looking for any way to be more efficient in applying water to our crops," Shaw said. "About 35 percent of our 4,200 acres of cropland is irrigated, and I wish it was 100 percent."

He's excited about the possibility of variable-rate irrigation and what it will mean in the future.

"We'll use variable-rate irrigation to focus on specific zones in the field where we need water most," he said

The research and demonstration project also will involve small-scale farmers who will partner with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives to work on drip irrigation and soil-sensor technology that will improve irrigation scheduling. The funding will help upgrade the cooperating famers' center pivots to variable-rate irrigation and provide soil-sensor technology to use for the demonstration.

"More importantly, we will use these farms as learning and demonstration sites to train neighboring farmers," Ortiz said. "We want to meet with these farmers regularly to tell them what our data is telling us and what potential irrigation decisions can be made from the data being collected. We want to build a learning network for our farmers."

Auburn research team members in addition to Ortiz and Srivastava are Jasmeet Lamba from the Department of Biosystems Engineering and Brittney Goodrich from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. Several extension agents and agronomists located in north and southeast Alabama also will be involved in the project.
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The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
A farmer may have witnessed a family of Bigfoots on his farm triggering a photo to go viral earlier this week.

The grainy photo captured at night, featured at least one of them running through a ranch in Fresno County, California.

According to a Fox 26 report, paranormal expert Jeffrey Gonzalez said the farmer saw a family of five or six Bigfoots running in the middle of the night.

One of them, which was extremely tall, had a pig over its shoulder. And the five scattered and the one with the pig was running so fast it didnt see an irrigation pipe and it tripped, with the pig flying over, Gonzalez said.

The region has its ties to the creature stemming from its most famous sighting in August 1976 in Whitehall.

According to Post-Star archives, three teens were driving on Abair Road, when they came upon the 7-foot-tall creature covered in hair. Several local residents, including police officers, said they encountered Bigfoot as well.

The sighting has led to annual festivals, attracted tourists and film crews to the region.

In 2015, Bigfoot hunters were in the area filming for Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot in their search for the creature.

Bigfoot is not alone, as the region is known for other mythical creatures including Champ or Champy in Lake Champlain and Georgi in Lake George, which was later determined a hoax.

I am more familiar with the legend of Champ, growing up just outside Plattsburgh. I remember seeing the famous grainy photo of the Loch Ness monster descendant and reading the accounts on field trips and in the paper.

Every trip on one of the Lake Champlain ferries would trigger a search for the monster and a trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without a joke to watch out for Champy or a quick scan of the horizon.

Whether you believe in the existence of the beasts or not it is always amusing to take a look at the evidence and wonder.

 Adam Colver
QUEENSBURY  Warren County leaders are happy with the candidates they got for county attorney, but not so enthralled with those who are seeking the county administrator post.

The county received 21 resumes for the administrator position, and decided Tuesday that only one of them warranted an interview.

Nine lawyers put their names in to replace Brian Reichenbach as county attorney, and five of them were deemed worthy of an interview. Reichenbach stepped down at the end of September in order to keep his post as Lake George town justice.

Acting County Attorney Mary Elizabeth Kissane is serving as his replacement, and she acknowledged Tuesday she is among the nine people who applied for the job.

Acting Warren County Administrator Kevin Geraghty said the county received a proposal from a Glens Falls law firm to privatize county attorney work with the firm instead of hiring a full-time lawyer, but supervisors have decided not to go that route.

I think the board would like to have someone in-house, he said.

Meanwhile, the process to find a new administrator has not moved as quickly. Geraghty said the county is leaving the application process open for administrator, hoping to attract more candidates. Many of the resumes came in through automated online services that send subscriber resumes out for certain types of positions.

There is one that we would like to interview, he said.

Geraghty, who is also the Warrensburg town supervisor, has been serving as part-time administrator since March 2016, when Paul Dusek retired. He has decided he no longer wants to do both jobs, and the county hopes to have a new administrator in place early next year.

Supervisors would not identify the candidates for either post, saying some did not want their present employers to know. Kissane gave a legal opinion that it would be considered an invasion of personal privacy to publicly identify them at this stage.

County supervisors on the boards Personnel & Higher Education Committee met Tuesday to discuss the two positions, and quickly went into a closed-door executive session despite questions from Glens Falls 3rd Ward Supervisor Claudia Braymer and Horicon Supervisor Matthew Simpson about whether the discussion should happen in public.

The committee instead voted unanimously to discuss the positions behind closed doors.
Saratoga & North Creek Railways first shipment of rail tank cars destined to be stored on its line north of North Creek arrived in Warren and Essex counties on Tuesday to be put in storage.

The company acknowledged that the first phase of its cars destined for indefinite storage made its way over the line from the south.

Several people who saw the train headed north said they counted 26 or 27 cars, and that the line was moving north of North Creek on Tuesday night. An engine returned south later in the evening without the cars.

SNCR general manager Justin Gonyo would not say how many cars arrived or where they were left.

Cars were moved into storage yesterday, Gonyo said in an email. No comment on location as this will only promote trespassing.

The company has gotten backlash from Warren and Essex counties leaders and environmental groups over the plan to store tankers on the line the railway owns in Essex County, which crosses the state Forest Preserve.

While SNCR says they were cleaned and not considered hazardous, there were concerns raised about aesthetics and pollution concerns.

Ed Ellis, president of SNCRs parent company, Iowa Pacific Holdings LLC, said last week that the railroad was within its rights to store the cars, and that it would only reverse course if it was compensated for the seven-figure revenue the storage plan would bring the railroad. He said they would only be visible to those trespassing on the rail line.

The money was needed to maintain the tracks, as SNCRs tourist train and freight train operations have not brought in the revenue the county wanted.

Ellis would not elaborate on Gonyos comments as to the train cars that arrived Tuesday.

I can confirm the cars moved, but we are not disclosing how many or the location, he said.

Warrensburg Supervisor Kevin Geraghty said residents of Thurman reported seeing a line of tank cars, some with graffiti on them, during Tuesday afternoon. Others in North Creek reported it heading north around 5 p.m.

A Facebook user, identified as Dylan Smith of North River, posted a video of black tank cars with graffiti and the markings UTLX and NATX on them riding on a wooded rail line. He wrote that it was on the Saratoga & North Creek Railway line.

While the Warren County Board of Supervisors Legislative & Rules Committee passed a resolution opposing use of the line to the north for storage, Geraghty said there did not seem to be a way to halt the plan.

Justin (Gonyo) did tell us they were on their way, Geraghty said. I dont think there is anything we can do about it.
FORT EDWARD  The Hudson Falls man accused of arson and murder for a fire last month that killed his girlfriend told police that he was upset with her because he believed she was involved with another man, court records allege.

Derrick M. Guilder told police he set the Sept. 6 fire after he became really pissed off when concluding that 18-year-old Ashley M. Coltrain had apparently been seeing someone else.

Earlier that day, he had gone through her smartphone and found that she had been exchanging cellphone messages with a man she called babe, leading to an argument between Guilder and Coltrain, he told police. Police said she was believed to be planning to end their relationship.

Guilder initially told investigators he didnt know how the fire started. But around 9 p.m. that night, as investigators told him what fire investigators found during their inquiry, Guilder eventually told police he did something really, really stupid and started the fire by igniting papers.

When I lit the fire, I wanted everybody in the house to die, he told police, according to court records. I wanted us to go out together, like a family.

He later added, I wanted to die but I didnt want her to ... Im extremely sorry, I wish it was me.

Guilder, 22, suffered smoke inhalation from the fire, and confessed hours later as he was questioned in Glens Falls Hospital by Hudson Falls Police and State Police, officials said.

More than two hours of videos and a written statement from that questioning were filed Wednesday in Washington County Court.

Guilder is seen in the recordings lying in a hospital bed, a tube in his nose, seeming calm and showing little emotion as he spoke with Hudson Falls Police Detective Scott Gillis and State Police investigators D.J. Mosher, Kevin Reppenhagen and James West, repeatedly going over what happened during the early morning hours as fire tore through the couples North Street home.

Guilder told police that he was upset she had apparently been seeing a neighbor while he was working to support them.

He told police he set newspaper (which he said contained Coltrains mothers obituary) on fire with a lighter and placed it near a couch, then went up to the second-story bedroom the two shared and laid down next to Coltrain without telling her about the fire.

Eventually smoke made its way to the second floor, and the two called 911 and scrambled to find their ferrets and get out.

Guilder said he ripped an air conditioner from a window and climbed out, telling Coltrain to get out and yelling for her, but saying he didnt see her at that point.

I think she was already gone, he told police.

Hudson Falls firefighters recovered Coltrains body from the burned home later that morning.

Court records include recounting of a number of other alleged admissions by Guilder, including police witnessing him later telling his mother in Glens Falls Hospital, I did it ... I killed her.

I started the fire and someone died that didnt deserve to die, he was quoted as telling her. I was just sick of everything.

Hudson Falls Police Patrol Officer Ed Ackley wrote that he found it unusual that Guilder seemed to have no remorse or concern about his girlfriend, who remained trapped in the home in the moments after he was rescued.

While the subject was coming down the ladder with me, he stated, please get my ferrets and cat,  Ackley wrote.

Guilder also told police he wrote a will earlier in the day, though it was unclear if police recovered it.

The statements were filed Friday at Guilders arraignment, but initially sealed from public view.

The Washington County District Attorneys Office had sought to seal them indefinitely out of concerns about potentially hurting Guilders right to a fair trial. But Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan found Wednesday that there was insufficient basis to conclude that the release of the evidence could taint potential jurors.

Guilder has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree arson and second-degree criminal mischief charges. He worked in the hospitals housekeeping department. The charges are punishable by up to 25-years-to life in state prison.

He was arrested the day after the fire as he was released from Glens Falls Hospital.

He is being held in Washington County Jail without bail, pending further court action on Dec. 15. His lawyer, Theresa Suozzi, did not return a phone call for comment Wednesday.

Coltrain was a 2016 graduate of Hudson Falls High School who worked for two years at Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom amusement park and had been enrolled at SUNY Adirondack.
EASTON  Experts on growing and marketing industrial hemp will be at the Washington County Fairgrounds offices from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the crop and new state regulations encouraging its growth.

The meeting is being organized by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Washington County will be hosting an informational session for farmers interested in learning about the crop.

I think this is a great opportunity for farmers to learn about growing hemp, said Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff, who has been one of the biggest advocates of bringing the crop to the county.

Cornell University Professor Larry Smart, state Department of Agriculture and Markets policy analyst Tim Sweeney and Sunstrand LLCs Trey Riddle will discuss the science of growing hemp, the states hemp pilot program, the approval process for becoming a hemp grower/producer, and markets for hemp distribution.

Smart will discuss growing hemp and what has been learned from growing trials in the state. Sweeney will talk about the approval process for growing hemp, and Riddle will discuss potential markets for hemp.

Farmers across Washington and Saratoga counties have long understood hemps potential to become a cash crop, and I am pleased that we in the Legislature have been able to support this important industry, Woerner said in a press release.

Earlier this year, the states industrial hemp pilot program was expanded to include farmers and businesses.

Through Nov. 22, the state Ag Department is soliciting farmers, businesses, and research institutions interested in growing and processing industrial hemp as part of the pilot program.

The state will also make $5 million available in grants for machinery and equipment needed to process industrial hemp.

RSVPs are not required but are appreciated and may be made to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Washington County at 518-746-2560 or washington@cornell.edu.
FORT EDWARD  About 35 Fort Hudson Health System staff were waving posters and chanting calls to management for more staffing and a signed contract outside the Fort Edward facility on Wednesday afternoon during an informational picket.

What do we want? union organizer Tanya Grant asked the workers through a megaphone.

Contracts, they yelled.

When do we want it?

Now.

Be fair to those who care.

And as the staff, who are members of 1199 SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, walked up and down Broadway in front of the five-star nursing home facility waving signs and donning dark purple shirts with the slogan, Safe Staffing Saves Lives, truckers laid on their air horns in approval.

Ive been a nurse for 20 years and I feel like my license is at risk because we are so short staffed, said June Ragnacci, an LPN who has worked at Fort Hudson for eight years. She added that she loves her patients and wants to be sure they get the care they deserve.

The nursing facility and the union  representing about 200 at Fort Hudson  are currently at the negotiating table for a new contract and will meet again on Monday.

We hope management will do its best to address these issues, Grant said.

Still, Ragnacci added that staff have taken concerns about staffing and mandated work hours to top management and the requests have fallen on deaf ears.

They say its the budget, she said. This is the worst staffing crisis I have seen in my career.

According to late September memos to staff from Elizabeth Parsons, director of human resources, and Holly Vaughn, director of nursing, there were more than 30 full- and part-time shift vacancies at the facility. The memos indicate that there were openings for four full-time LPNs; eight full-time CNAs; and 27 part-time CNA shifts.

Parsons declined comment on the staffing concerns.

At this point in the negotiations, we believe its most productive to have our discussions with SEIU at the bargaining table, she said in an emailed message.

Fort Hudson CEO Andy Cruikshank, in a prepared statement, said: Fort Hudson, like all skilled nursing facilities, is faced with a challenging labor market.

We have an aggressive new employee recruitment program in place, including sign-on bonuses, and have welcomed more than a dozen new employees to our team over the past three weeks, Cruikshank said in the statement.

Nonetheless, Grant said five LPNs left the facility in the last few weeks.

There is a 25 percent turnover rate. This isnt like a grocery store or a shoe store, these are people, she said. And these girls (and guys) work hard.

According to Cruikshanks statement, Fort Hudsons employee retention rate has been recognized two years in a row by the state Dept. of Health as being higher than the industry standard.

The 2016 National Healthcare Retention & RN Staffing Report said that in the Northeast, which includes New York, the health care facility vacancy rate is about 20 percent and turnover of CNAs is between 17 percent and 23 percent.

Grant continued.

They are running all the girls, she said. They work 16-hour days and then eight hours later they are back for another shift.

The way Grant explained it, because of state mandates, a facility can force an employee to stay at the facility for an additional shift. That means if a CNA works the 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, she would remain at work for the 2 to 10 p.m. shift, and then is required to be back at work the next morning for the 6 a.m. shift.

If they are mandated, they are exhausted, Grant said. They are burning out their staff.

Cruikshank said in the prepared release that the employees do an outstanding job of caring for our residents, as evidenced by the five-star quality rating recently awarded our facility by the federal government.

Ragnacci, the LPN, said workers strive for quality, and even six or seven years later she still remembers patients who have died. But without adequate staffing, they can only do so much.

The residents are the most frail of our community, said Grant. Management has failed the residents. They need adequate staffing.
Hal Bain is running for a seat on the Queensbury Town Board. I called him Tuesday and left him a message.

He never called back, but that is not unusual.

He may be the least communicative political candidate Queensbury has ever seen.

When there were rumors last summer Bain was dropping out of the race because of his health, a Post-Star reporter asked him if he was sick, injured or in the hospital?

No response.

After losing the Ward 1 Republican primary to incumbent Tony Metivier, he was asked if this was the end of the campaign.

He wouldnt answer.

Then last week, emails revealed Bain was being used as a pawn by Queensbury Republicans to oust Metivier. Queensbury Town Board member Doug Irish wrote in an email that Bain could resign after he was elected and Republicans could appoint a replacement.

Bain was asked if knew about this? Did he agree to resign? Would he resign if he won?

Still, no answer.

What Irishs emails indicate is that he and his fellow Republicans are attempting to perpetrate a fraud on the voters in Ward 1. They are running a candidate  and the candidate is going along with it with his silence  who has yet to confirm he will serve if victorious.

Irish and his fellow Republicans have made it their mission to punish Metivier because he did not vote with the rest of the Republicans when Irish proposed that Queensbury change its legal representation to a law firm that had members active in Republican politics. Metivier would not go along.

He thought the town should have lawyers who were above the political fray.

Metivier voted to do what was right, instead of what the party wanted him to do.

Sure enough, the Queensbury Republican Committee, stacked with Irish and the towns lawyer, refused to endorse Metivier for this years election.

Metivier stood up to them again and went door-to-door and got signatures for his nominating petitions to get on the ballot for the Republican primary. He took his case directly to the people in Ward 1.

He won the primary over Bain.

More importantly, the people in Ward 1 showed they know right from wrong, and what the Republicans were doing to Metivier was wrong.

What I found even more contemptible was, when Irish was confronted with the email evidence, he stood by it and insisted this is the way things are done.

It is sad there are people like Irish who believe conniving shortcuts are acceptable virtues when you want your own way.

What he especially doesnt understand is most people dont think the way he does. They believe voters should make up their own minds on issues and that candidates who are elected should serve.

Shortcuts are not acceptable.

I still believe most people have a moral compass and a true north when it comes to right and wrong and bitterly oppose the type of scheming Irish and his Republican cohorts have adopted as acceptable behavior.

At Monday nights Town Board meeting, Metivier read a statement.

He related that a constituent was embarrassed to live in this town because of these political shenanigans.

Metivier called out Irish for collecting a paycheck even though he is living out of state and has not been to a board meeting in four months.

He called out Town Board member Brian Clements and supervisor candidate Rachel Seeber for their support of Irish and wondered if more business decisions would be made based on political affiliation.

Residents in the town of Queensbury should not be embarrassed. They should be proud they have someone like Metivier standing up for what is right and just.

Ken Tingley is the editor of The Post-Star and may be reached via email at tingley@poststar.com. His blog The Front Page discusses issues about newspapers and journalism. You can also follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kentingley.</&box_em>
Update: A man on the run from Illinois State Police has ended, according to Trooper Jason Wilson.

Shawn Nicholas Taylor, 36, surrendered to police shortly after 5 a.m., Wilson said.

Taylor, of East Falmouth, Mass., fired shots and ran from police after a routine traffic stop late Sunday on Interstate 80 near Atkinson, Ill.

Earlier report: Illinois State Police are currently engaged in a manhunt in the Atkinson, Ill. area.

The incident began late Sunday night.

Police are looking for Shawn Nicholas Taylor, age 36. He is described as a white male with green eyes. He is 6-feet 2-inches tall and has curly brown hair.

Taylor was last seen on foot, wearing glasses and a black T-shirt. He is armed and considered extremely dangerous.

Residents in the area are urged to lock all doors and vehicles and not pick up any pedestrians. They should call 911 for anything out of the ordinary. As morning approaches, all residence in the area are reminded use caution when approaching and entering out buildings.

The Atkinson/Galva Blacktop has been closed because of this incident.

A perimeter has been set in the vicinity South of Interstate 80 and West of the Atkinson/Galva Blacktop.

More details as they become available.
First responders in Scott County mourned the loss of one of their own Wednesday as Davenport Fire Marshal Mike Hayman was laid to rest at Mount Calvary Cemetery.

Fire, police, sheriff and emergency medical services personnel lined up outside St. Anthony's Catholic Church at 4th and Main streets to honor Hayman.

Interim Fire Chief Jim Bickford, friends with the late marshal for 33 years, said Hayman left behind an indelible legacy.

We came up through the ranks together and for the past 17 years we have shared the challenges and joys of being part of the Davenport Fire Departments staff," Bickford said. "He was a great firefighter and even better person. Mikes death is a huge loss to me, the department, and the community. His knowledge, calm demeanor, confidence and sense of humor will be deeply missed."

Hayman passed away last Thursday after being admitted to the intensive care unit at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, the previous night.

He joined the department in 1984 before being promoted to captain and fire marshal in 1998 and then to assistant chief of fire prevention in 2001.

Hayman was recognized by the Iowa Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators, or IAAI, for bringing arson investigation training to eastern Iowa and supporting the organization's annual training seminar. He was awarded the IAAI Life Member Award, the organization's most prestigious honor, in 2013.

Davenport has long held one of the highest arson conviction rates in the state.

"I think Mike and I educated each other about the successful investigation and prosecution of arson crimes," County Attorney Mike Walton said last week. "He taught me the science of firefighting and cause determination, and I taught him about the judicial process. He fostered a close working relationship between the Davenport Fire Department and the County Attorneys Office that remains to this day."

In announcing the city's community policing initiative Tuesday, Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch choked up as he said the relationships and bonds the city was hoping to forge paralleled those Hayman would be remembered for.

"You can't replace him, but that spirit, that heart is what we're talking about here," Klipsch said. "He created a bond with everybody he met throughout the community."

Hayman is survived by his wife, Deborah; son, Trevin; father, John; and siblings Colleen Adrian, Mark Hayman, Gregory Hayman and Angela Smith.

At 12:34 p.m. Wednesday, dispatch from the Scott Emergency Communications Center announced the end of watch for Hayman.

"He will be forever in our hearts," the dispatcher said.
Davenport Police are following up on a lost boy situation from Monday, but Major Jeff Bladel said no charges have been filed at this time.

At 6:25 p.m. Monday, officers were dispatched to the 2400 block of Tremont Avenue in Davenport, responding to a report of a found child. The call came from a concerned resident who noticed the small child was walking alone in the neighborhood.

The officers canvassed the area, door-to-door, trying to find the childs family, but were initially unsuccessful, the major said.

At that point, police put out a bulletin to the media to help locate the boys parents or family members. In about three hours, the parents were located. The parents called police shortly after viewing the media information, Bladel said, and the child had not been harmed.

The incident is being followed up by the Iowa Department of Human Services, and detectives from the Davenport Police Department. No further information is available, Bladel said.
Yes, the Plantation brings back memories. My girlfriend told me I would not find anyone sitting at home and asked me to go to a Halloween dance with her. I was 30 and I had given up on finding a male partner.

It was October 1966 after a night of dancing at a singles club at the Black Hawk Lodge, Rock Island, when a fellow who did not dance, tapped me on the shoulder at the end of the dance when I walked by him. It was 1 a.m. and I wanted to go home, being tired from dancing all evening. He asked me to go to the Plantation to get acquainted.

My girlfriend found a date too and off we went to the Plantation. It was my first time there. The Tahitian Room was wonderful. It was magical. The hand-painted murals caught my eye. I had a drink, but I cannot remember what it was. He, Bill then took me home. In May 1968, we got married. Molly and Matthew were both born in October.

One time, Bill and I went back to the Plantation. It wasn't as magical as the first night there, but still spectacular. Bill died June 1, 1994. Now, I have my memories of the Plantation and Bill.

Mary Hart Flaherty

Davenport
Chadron could become the next community in the state to implement a community solar program if it can generate enough interest and locate land for the project that fits within its budgetary constraints.

The council discussed the idea with Terry Rajewich of the Nebraska Public Power District Monday. A community solar program is a large solar facility thats connected to a distribution line, allowing multiple customers in the community to purchase shares in the solar power. For those who are interested in solar power, it has the advantage of eliminating the up-front capital investment required for individual solar units, Rajewich said. It also makes it available to those whose properties dont lend themselves to solar power.

Green energy is becoming more important in many sectors, Rajewich noted.

We have customers that say they want X percent of their energy in renewables, she said, citing Pine Ridge Hospital as an example. Community solar programs offer a three to seven-year return on their investment, and the facilities typically last 20-25 years.

Cities with community solar programs through NPPD offer customers the chance to purchase shares of solar power in 150-kilowatt blocks. Rajewich presented an example of a 1,000-kilowatt customers bill Monday using a seven-cent solar energy charge and 5.8-cent avoided cost credit per kilowatt. The customers bill reflected an additional $8 cost to own the shares of the community solar project. Should NPPDs avoided cost rise, however, the customers credit would increase, therefore decreasing the overall bill.

Chadron could start with a solar project as low as 200 kilowatts but cannot build one larger than 1.15 megawatts. Scottsbluffs 128-kilowatt solar project generates enough power for about 33 homes, Rajewich noted. Kearneys nearly six-megawatts set to come online next year could power half of Chadron.

A group of interested individuals turned out for Mondays meeting, after having worked to gauge interest in the community over the last several weeks. More than 150 homes are included on a list presented to NPPD as potential community solar customers.

That is phenomenal, Rajewich said, who later added that she handles more inquiries about solar energy from Chadron than anywhere else in her service area.

The majority of people responded very positively, said Cheryl Welch, who was among those working to determine the level of interest in the community. I think the interest is profound in finding more sustainable energy.

Those she visited with were well aware that it could add a few dollars to their bill each month, but were more interested in reducing their carbon footprint.

Personally, I think it would be a very progressive step for our community to take, Welch continued, adding that it shows those considering relocating here that the city has a mindset of planning for the future.

Roger Wess, who would be ineligible to take part in the community solar project because he owns his own 12-watt solar system, strongly encouraged the city to explore the option.

For each solar panel we put in we are reducing the carbon footprint for our kids and grandkids, he said. Its a tremendous opportunity.

The council took no action on the matter Monday, but expressed interest in at least exploring the idea, starting first with determining where any such project might be sited and if the purchase of land, if needed, was workable within the budget.
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. | Twentieth Air Force is made up of operators, maintainers, defenders and support personnel who are tasked with providing the nation and its allies with the most responsive leg of the nuclear triad. Walking the hallways of the Numbered Air Forces headquarters, sporting an obviously different blue uniform, is Lt. Aaron Stockard who brings another perspective to the ICBM operations division from the nuclear submarine leg of the triad.

Stockard provides important insight as a participant of Air Force Global Strike Commands Striker Trident program. The program aims to professionally develop future nuclear professionals by placing two missile combat operators from 20th AF in either Submarine Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, or Submarine Force Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to learn about the Navys SSBN mission. Likewise, two submarine warefare operators are stationed either at 20th AF, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, or Air Force Global Strike Command, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The overall goal of the program is to, provide a greater breadth and depth of experience for future planners and leaders in the nuclear deterrence mission.

The Kansas City native arrived at F.E. Warren in June of 2017 and has been learning the ins and outs of the ICBM mission in order to take back what he learns to enhance the entire nuclear enterprise. He took some time to answer a few questions about his nuclear experience thus far.

Why did you choose to be a submarine warfare officer in the Navy?

Its a small, secretive community where junior officers are given a great deal of responsibility from the beginning. Few other communities in the Navy have the daily officer and enlisted interactions as does the submarine force. You work directly with junior enlisted sailors and can have an enormous impact on their quality of life.

Why did you apply to the Striker Trident Program?

It was my number two choice out of 10 listed for shore duty from a selection of more than 50 jobs. I don't think many other junior officers wanted to go to Wyoming, but I went to school and met my wife in Denver. Multiple senior people told me if I ever had the chance I should do something for shore duty outside of my normal community, and I thought an Air Force exchange program was a good opportunity to achieve this.

What do you do at 20th Air Force?

For the first few months I've been here I've tried attending as many TDYs and briefings as I could in order to build up my knowledge of the ICBM mission. Im currently working on two projects. First, Im building my own mission brief on submarines and hope to start giving it to groups at F.E Warren in October. Second, I am organizing a 12-person TDY to the Navy Strategic Systems Programs Office in Washington, D.C., and then a ballistic missile submarine tour in Norfolk, Virginia, in November. If I get positive feedback, I intend to work with the ICBM Center of Excellence to make it a reoccurring TDY.

What have you learned so far and what will you take back with you to the nuclear submarine mission?

So far Ive learned a better understanding of how the Minuteman III weapon system works, current and future issues with the nuclear stockpile, the planning and targeting process, and what organizations outside the triad encompass the nuclear enterprise. When I return to a submarine, Id like to build a training platform that can easily be adopted by other boats to improve the aspects of the nuclear mission that are not transparent to the daily mission of the SSBN. The SSBN crews are well trained in the execution of their nuclear mission, but lack training in any nuclear weapons aspects outside their mission. I feel I have a good opportunity to bring valuable knowledge back to the submarine force that will improve sailors understanding of how their mission integrates into the much larger picture of the nuclear enterprise.

Why is the Striker Trident Program important?

In order to maintain the worlds most credible nuclear deterrence, its future leaders must be well rounded in all aspects of the nuclear enterprise. The Striker Trident Program provides the tools required to build well-rounded leaders that will ensure credible nuclear deterrence into the future. 

What are your plans for the future?

Ill be at 20th Air Force for 18 more months. The next step in my Navy career will be to attend Submarine Officer Advanced Course in Groton, Connecticut for 6 months. Then, Ill be assigned a department head billet as either a navigator, weapons officer, or engineer for approximately 32 months on another submarine.

How do you like being land locked?

I love it. It's nice not always being out to sea or standing duty on the boat.
STURGIS- The Meade County Commission met in regular session on Wednesday, October 11. We were honored to open the meeting by recognizing Lori Bratland, Deputy Treasurer and Kirk Chaffee, Director of Equalization and Planning for their respective 30 years (employment) of commitment and service to the citizens of Meade County.

Bob Weyrich, SD Department of Agricultural Development, presented an overview of agriculture development within the state and the impact in Meade County. In 2016, the number of farms and ranches in SD was at 31,000 - down 300 farms since 2015.

He requested the commission appoint representatives from our county to work with the County Site Analysis Program (CSAP). The CSAP will collect Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data which is used to identify potential sites that could fit various ag related development projects within the county. We selected Pat Kurtenbach, SEDC and Kirk Chaffee as our appointed designees.

Members from Bear Butte Valley Water, Inc. were on hand to request an easement for county right-of-way in the northwest corner of the county. This ROW will allow them to put in more water lines and support more customers; their request was granted.

Commissioners set Dec. 13, at 10 a.m. as the date/time set to receive bids for the Elk Vale Road project. The bids will be received at the Erskine Building in the Commissions meeting room.

The commission discussed whether a local candidate in Meade County could form their own political action committee (PAC). On the advice of the county auditor, and the SD Secretary of State, it was determined that a candidate cannot be the chairperson or treasurer for their own PAC.

We discussed a policy change on the overtime work-period for patrol deputies. That policy was changed from a 28 day work-period to a 14 day work-period for overtime calculations.

Finally, each month we are honored to acknowledge a local veteran for their service, commitment and sacrifice to our country. The October veteran of the month is Howard Mehringer. Mr. Mehringer flew helicopters in Vietnam for one year with the 1st Air Cavalry. Of note, his father flew B-24s, B-17s, and B-29s in WWII. His son was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 where he passed away. Mehringer is an active member with the local Shriners.

It was nice to have a light agenda after a long meeting two weeks ago when we finalized the 2018 budget.
Two men were scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday in a Box Elder rape case, but in the end, one of them decided to instead face a jury.

Under a deal with prosecutors, 49-year-old Marvin Payne pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a crime. The Colorado man admitted taking cellphone photos as his buddy, Toby Rolfe, allegedly molested a 28-year-old female acquaintance.

The men had been drinking in the garage of Rolfes Box Elder home in the late hours of Sept. 27, 2016, when they picked up the woman, Payne told 7th Circuit Judge Robert Mandel. The group bought more alcohol, drove back to Rolfes place and partied, Payne said.

Why did you take the pictures? Mandel asked.

Goofing around, Payne, who appeared in a pin-striped black suit, said before pausing. I dont know how to answer that, Im sorry. I dont know exactly why."

Around 4 a.m., law enforcement arrived at Rolfes home. Pennington County sheriffs deputies went to the scene after receiving a call from witnesses, who apparently saw the sexual assault taking place, according to court documents.

When he was handcuffed, Payne said, deputies discovered in his pocket his cellphone that contained the womans photos.

Rolfe, 44, had also been set to plead guilty Tuesday morning, according to court records. When he went before Judge Mandel, however, Rolfe instead asked to be set for trial on his third-degree rape charge.

The trial has been scheduled for Jan. 2 to 4. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Payne, meanwhile, can be sentenced up to five years for being an accessory. But before he can be sentenced, he has to testify against Rolfe at trial, in accordance with his plea deal with the Pennington County States Attorneys Office.

Deputy States Attorney Wayne Venhuizen earlier said the prosecution held overwhelming evidence against the defendants. Four people allegedly witnessed Rolfe assaulting the woman while Payne was taking photos.

The victim had been completely out during the incident and was barely breathing when first responders reached her, Venhuizen said. The woman remembers having one drink before passing out, he said.

The woman, who spoke during a hearing in November, said: "I trusted, and I was let down."

Payne was originally charged with aiding and abetting third-degree rape, which carries a 25-year prison sentence.

Each man has been released from the Pennington County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond. Their bonds had initially been set at $500,000 cash or surety.
Police are searching for a man they say robbed Toby's Casino shortly after midnight today.

The man was described as around 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, wearing a dark hooded shirt, blue jeans, black shoes, sunglasses and a white bandanna over his face.

According to a news release from the Rapid City Police Department, the man entered the casino on East North Street around 12:20 a.m., brandished a pistol and demanded money from an employee.

The employee handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, and the man left the casino.

Anyone with information about the robbery or the identity of the suspect is asked to call 394-4134. An anonymous tip can also be sent by texting "RCPD" and the information to 847411.
South Dakotas annual Systems Change Conference for educators returns to Rapid City Wednesday through Friday.

Thursdays keynote speaker will be Tony Frontier, co-author of Five Levers to Improve Learning: How to Prioritize for Powerful Results in Your School.

Pernille Ripp will be Fridays keynote speaker. An author and blogger, she founded The Global Read Aloud, a literacy initiative that connects 2 million students from 60 countries as they read the same book.

The Systems Change Conference is a project of the Midwest Alliance of Professional Learning and Leadership. For more information, visit systemschange.net.
The Journey Museum & Learning Center's newest exhibit, "Wild Blue Yonder  The Story of Ellsworth AFB," opens with a reception at 5 p.m. Friday.

Just in time for the 75th anniversary of Ellsworth Air Force Base, this exhibit celebrates the past, present and future of South Dakotas only military installation.

Qusi Al-Haj, West River director for U.S. Sen. John Thune, will speak at the event. The exhibit takes visitors on a journey through more than seven decades of Air Force history in the Black Hills. Beginning as Rapid City Army Air Base in 1942, Ellsworth Air Force Base was renamed after Brig. Gen. Richard Ellsworth in 1953. The exhibit includes interactive experiences, including an emblem design station.

For more information, call 394-6923 or email visserv@journeymuseum.org. The museum is at 222 New York St.
So President Trump is trying to give the average middle-income American family a tax break of $4,000 per year while Rapid City council members are taking a majority of it away in personal property tax increase and water and sewer rate increases. What will be next?

Congresswoman Kristi Noem voted against aid to the American citizens of Puerto Rico in their need for drinking water, food, medical supplies, reconstruction etc., which does not represent South Dakota values. Shameful.

SD Citizens for Liberty is doing good work with their scoring of legislators' actual votes. This will help us "drain the swamp" next election.

Rapid City donates $2 million to Rural America Initiatives, donates real estate worth $1.4 million to SDSM&T and raises water rates for its citizens 43 percent. Thank you Rapid City.

Just wondering if it would be possible to give senior citizens some sort of tax relief before we are forced out of our homes that we have faithfully paid taxes on for the past 45 years? If this tax and that fee is such a little amount, why is it that when added up I won't be able pay them all and maintain a standard of living?
PIERRE | The Wednesday meeting of the state Railroad Board was the last for chairman Todd Yeaton.

The manager of the Kimball grain-loading terminal said he wouldnt seek reappointment when his current term expires Oct. 30. He served more than 14 years.

Yeaton made the announcement after reading the now-standard invitation for current or past members of the board to publicly declare any conflicts of interest. He said it was time to step back.

Whether its real or perceived, he said, I just feel its best.

State Transportation Secretary Darin Bergquist read a proclamation from Gov. Dennis Daugaard declaring Wednesday as Todd Yeaton Day in South Dakota. The ceremonial statement noted Yeatons contributions to resurrection of the state-owned Mitchell-Rapid City rail line. Its been rebuilt from Mitchell west to Presho.

Daugaard described Yeaton as an outstanding South Dakotan.

Bergquist said vice chairman Harlan Quenzer of Mitchell would open the November meeting and board members then could select their new chairman. Youre going to be greatly missed, Quenzer told Yeaton. I learned an awful lot.

Yeaton and Bergquist stood and shook hands. Thank you for the support all the years, Bergquist said.
U.S. court dismisses Deripaskas libel lawsuit against Associated Press

MOSCOW, October 18 (RAPSI)  The U.S. Federal District Court of Columbia has dismissed a libel lawsuit filed by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska against the Associated Press (AP) news agency over an article about alleged interference of Russia in U.S. Presidential elections, the case documents read on Wednesday.

Deripaska filed the lawsuit in May. The contested article stated that Russian entrepreneur paid for services of Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for Donald Trump.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs argument stating that he is not a limited-purpose public figure in the context of controversy, noting that the businessman is known as Russian oligarch and that he has been the subject of more than a decade of media coverage on topics related to his wealth and his relationship with the Russian government. In addition, the court found no evidence of malice in actions of the Associated Press.

Here, the question must be, if Deripaska and Manafort did not have a contract to further Russian interests, is it defamatory for the AP to say they did? Under the circumstances, the answer must be no, the court stated. It was noted that the businessman did not deny the existence of the contract and that there is a lot of information confirming that Deripaska associated himself with Russian government. The court believes that alleging the same association by the AP was not defamatory.

According to the courts ruling, the article in question did not contain any single statement as false that is both capable of verification and capable of defamatory meaning. As such, reformulation of Deripaskas arguments did not address this fact and the lawsuit was dismissed.
Alleged Ukrainian Right Sector member arrested in Russia

MOSCOW, October 18 (RAPSI)  Ukrainian national Roman Ternovsky allegedly implicated in the activities of Right Sector nationalist organization banned in Russia has been arrested in Rostov-on-Don, the Russian Investigative Committees press service reports Wednesday.

Investigators believe that Ternovsky took part in pickets, rallies and other mass events in Ukraine as a member of Right Sector. Moreover, he propagated online the organizations activity on his Facebook page among users including Russian citizens.

The man has been placed in detention, according to the Investigative Committees press service.

Right Sector is a Ukrainian association of radical nationalist organizations. In January and February 2014, its members clashed with police and seized administrative buildings in Kiev. Since April 2014, Right Sector has been involved in fighting the protest movement in eastern Ukraine.

In November 2014, Russias Supreme Court declared Right Sector an extremist group and banned its activity in Russia. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Right Sector leader Dmitry Yarosh for alleged incitement of terrorism.

In January 2015, Right Sector was added to the Russian register of prohibited organizations.
Former District Court Judge Russ Fagg of Billings visited Hamilton Monday as part of his run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Jon Tester. The Republican said he's running on a platform of balancing the budget, limiting government, protecting private property rights and preserving the Second Amendment. "I want to empower the people, not the government," Fagg told about 15 people who turned out for his rally outside the Ravalli County Museum.
The Corvallis Community Coalition rallied in front of the Ravalli Electric Cooperative on Monday in a show of support for the building reserve levy that will be on ballots of Corvallis voters, Nov. 7.

The coalition is a grassroots group of community members with a focus of improving the schools and community.

The Corvallis School Board voted to place the $1.7 million levy on the ballot to purchase 21.23 acres and buildings just north of the middle school belonging to Ravalli Electric Cooperative. The levy would cost $345,000 per year for five years, adding about $35 per year to the tax bill for the owner of a $100,000 home.

The Corvallis Community Coalition hopes to engage community members to recognize the value of Corvallis schools to students and community.

Todd Wyche is a Corvallis resident with children in the school district. He also is treasurer of the Corvallis Community Coalition and said the levy would fund a rare opportunity to purchase buildings and property adjacent to the school.

Corvallis school enrollment is increasing and this provides an opportunity to grow in the future, Wyche said. The REC is selling that property to somebody and the school district has the first right of refusal to buy that property.

It would be a shame if the district didnt buy the property and some other less community-minded business moved in. It could be some kind of neighbor that we wouldnt want 15 feet away from the school.

Corvallis resident Ellen Davis is raising her grandchildren in first and fifth grades.

Im raising another generation of children and looking at their future, Davis said. This is a great opportunity to expand the school - it needs to grow and we hope to see that as a community.

Davis said the community benefits when people select Corvallis Schools as a place for their children to learn. She noted that buying the REC property is an investment not just in children but for the entire community.

I understand people who are retired thinking they dont have children in this district, but they have to look at the bottom line  it is an entire generation," she said. "We all live in Montana and we want Montana to be successful. To do that we have to educate our children and we need a good school to do that.

Cobey Williamson has two children in Corvallis schools. After speaking with school officials, he said their analysis showed the school needs more land to grow.

I dont understand all their needs and I havent seen the analysis, but the fact that there is some property available just adjacent to their current property makes sense, he said, adding that as a member owner of Ravalli Electric, the purchase would keep the money in the community.

We are sort of paying ourselves, he said. REC is going to move anyway. Heres an opportunity to get a good buy on that land with buildings.

Williamson said he grew up in western Montana and noticed there is not as many young people coming into the community as professionals.

It is likely that we will get the same people back when they finish school in those professional occupations, Williamson said. Doctors, administrators, managers are going to come from this group of kids going through this school. The best way we can prepare them is an investment in their future.

Williamson noted that the levy is only for five years.

The best thing is to go speak with the administrators - they mapped this all out, he said. I trust them as experts and I think REC is offering a good deal.

Corvallis Community Coalition member Jack Davis said it makes economic sense to purchase the REC land, especially since the school already rents a portion of the space. That rent could increase with a new owner.

If it becomes a high-density subdivision, that will add more kids to the school district and the school district will have no place to go, Davis said. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If the levy fails, the school will have to look at different places with higher prices. It will cost more money in the future, and this levy is only five years.

Corvallis Community Coalition formed two weeks ago and has a Facebook page with voter information. It is mailing postcards with information on one side and a mini-poster on the other for car or home window display to spread the word.

The school board also is hosting presentationsm with the next one set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the new Finns Taphouse (owned by Pamela Kaye), 352 Woodside Cutoff Road. The information session is open for the public and school administrators and staff will be there to answer questions.

It does take a village to raise a child, Ellen Davis said. We are all responsible to raise healthy productive children and having a great community is just part of it.

For more information, visit the Corvallis Community Coalition Facebook page, corvalliscommunitycoalition@gmail.com, or the schools website www.corvallis.k12.mt.us.
Join the community conversation on local challenges and collaborative solutions at the second Bitterroot Community Symposium on Nov. 3.

The forum will be hosted by Bitterroot Collective Impact and Bitterroot College, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the college at 103 So. Ninth St. in Hamilton.

The topic happens to be on homelessness. Last year it was on collective impact, so we will discuss the outcomes of last years symposium and move forward, said Roch Turner, director of Workforce Programs and Development at Bitterroot College. We are going to identify and address critical issues in the Bitterroot Valley and discuss how nonprofits, local government, and community members and collectively meet the needs of the community.

Tim Petersen, project coordinator for the Bitterroot Collective Impact, said the symposiums tagline is "Sensing Opportunity."

We will be reviewing the Bitterroot Taskforce on homelessness and housing that resulted from last years symposium, and the community survey we did, he said. We were gathering baseline information and Ill be able to reveal some of the information from our housing needs assessment that well be publishing after the first of the year. It takes time to complete, but collaboration makes the research thorough.

Bitterroot Community Symposium welcomes keynote speaker Larry Swanson, Director of the OConnor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana and the Centers endowed Scott Senior Fellow in Regional Economy. Swanson is a Ph.D. economist who studies and evaluates regional and sub-regional economies, patterns of growth, and changes in the region.

The symposium will provide collaboration opportunities include a networking luncheon.

Well have breakout sessions to discuss affordable housing and Jim Morton from the Human Resource Council will lead that, Peterson said.

Other breakout sessions will have discussions on apprenticeship, business development, entrepreneurship and workforce development.

Im excited because I think well have great discussion leaders who are experts in their field and this a continuing process to bring the community together to address local solutions to local challenges, Peterson said.

Last year more than 90 participants - community members, business owners, government workers and nonprofit volunteers - attended the Bitterroot Community Symposium. They examined ways to work together for solutions to community problems.

The Bitterroot Community Symposium is put on through a partnership.

Bitterroot Collective Impact is a program of Bitter Root Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. (Bitter Root RC&D) and has been able to fund the symposium through a grant from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation.

As we are redefining ourselves as Stewards of Rural Community, we are trying to develop the community and continue what weve been doing since 1965, when the Bitter Root and RC&D was established. Peterson said.

Register online at umt.edu/bitterroot-college. The cost to attend is $15 and registration will remain open through Nov. 3, but lunch is only guaranteed if registration is completed by Oct. 27. Teachers will be eligible for continuing education units.

For more information visit to the Bitterroot College website umt.edu/bitterroot-college, contact Turner at 375-0100 or bc@umontana.edu, or contact Peterson at 381-2051 or tim@tppeterson.us.
MOIESE  The big bull came into the small round pen with its tail sticking straight up in the air.

The bison had been through this before.

Only this time, there wasnt a crowd of bystanders packed on the walkways above. There werent any shouts from behind or poles poking at it. And there werent any rattling cans or electric hotshots, either.

With a snort, it whirled around away from the open gate as it looked for another way out. The sound of its hoof bouncing off the side of the metal wall reverberated in the still air as all the people hovering above moved ever so slowly and quietly.

Thats right, said Darren Thomas as he waved his hand gently through the air in the direction of the gate. Be real slow with him. Lets just slow him down and let him find the way.

Standing in the top end of an upright culvert, National Bison Range biologist Amy Lisk gently waved a plastic blue flag just behind the bull to help encourage him to step inside the gated chute, where hed be weighed and his electronic ear implant recorded.

Eventually, he did just that.

The bull was just one of close to 350 that would find its way through the maze of chutes as a crew of biologists, wardens, veterinarians and others with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took note of their general condition and took some blood samples from a smattering of the adults.

This years crop of bison calves was fitted with an electronic chip about the size of a kernel of rice that would be used to identify them for the rest of their lives. Biologists also collected hair from the calves tails and took a blood sample that would be used to create a DNA marker that could eventually determine their future home.

This years roundup had a different feel than most.

Traditionally, the event brings busloads of school-aged children and carloads of interested adults to see the bison up close and learn through a variety of accompanying educational offerings.

The dangerously dry conditions that followed the summers challenging fire season gave managers of the bison range pause and they opted to push the event back nearly a month to ensure the fences were tight and the ranges moist enough to avoid any kind of flare-up.

Lisk was among the five horseback riders who attempted to drive the estimated 350 bison that inhabit the range into holding pastures located just above the complex of chutes where the animals are worked annually.

Thats not an easy task, Lisk said. Bison are extremely agile and fast. They tend to go whichever way they want to go and like to test the boundaries.

"You have to have some good skills on a horse to stay up with them in the steep and rough terrain here on the range. It certainly tests your horses physical capabilities.

Lisk said they try to get all the bison rounded up, but theres always some that manage to escape.

We didnt get everyone, she said. While we want to see as many as possible, we also are making a concerted effort to treat them more as wildlife rather than livestock. If we dont see an animal every year, thats OK.

The focus is on preserving the genetics of the National Bison Range herd, which is considered among the best in the nation.

Lee Jones, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife health specialist, places her efforts on keeping that gene pool viable.

Our goal is to keep inbreeding down as much as possible, Jones said. The animals that are most highly related to the rest are removed from the herd.

At this point, its been determined that the range has the capacity for about 350 bison. Every year, in an effort to keep that number relatively stable, a number of animals are moved to other bison ranges managed by either U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or various Indian tribes.

Fifty were culled from the herd this year.

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR in Colorado will receive 25. Another 10 will go to a brand new herd in the Eastern Shoshone Tribes Wind River Reservation. The last 15 will be sold to a variety of different entities through a sealed bid process.

Typically, the bison from the National Bison Range are highly sought after because their genetics are considered pure, said Barry Petersen, the ranges acting project leader. There are a lot of other bison herds that have cattle bred into them. The people who buy bison from here are looking to improve their genetics.

While biologists do look for any outward signs of disease, Petersen said the animals arent vaccinated or wormed like cattle.

We dont do any form of treatments, he said. As far as were concerned, they are wildlife. From the years that Ive spent around them, I know that they are amazingly tough. They can withstand an awful lot and do just fine.

But that doesnt mean that they dont respond to a bit of gentleness.

Every year, Lisk said employees at the National Bison Range look for ways to handle the bison in the least intrusive manner possible. They have redesigned the chutes and found new, less stressful ways to move the bison through them.

They have also upgraded their computer system to allow them to keep better track of how well the bison are doing out on the range and to help determine which ones need to be culled to keep the herds gene pool safe.

Theres been a shift in perception on how we should handle the bison, Lisk said. Weve tried to get away from the concept that we can force them to what it is that we want them to do. Now we try to ask them to do it and let them make the decision themselves.

As a result, there havent been any injuries to either man or beast over the last few years.

Its just a lot less stressful, Lisk said. If you give them time, theyll make the right decision. They are intelligent animals. No one likes to have three or four bosses poking them with a stick at the same time. Thats what we want to avoid.
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The South African and Algerian regimes, fervent advocates of the separatist theses of the Polisario Front and its chimerical republic SADR, threaten to thwart the Africa-EU Summit scheduled for November 29-30 in Abidjan, the capital of Cote dIvoire.

The two regimes that demand the participation of the pseudo-SADR, an entity not recognized as a sovereign State by the United Nations, went as far as threatening Cote dIvoire to transfer the summit from Abidjan to the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, as if the continental organization was their own preserve. It is arrogance in the extreme!

To counter the ??sidelining of the so-called Sahrawi republic at the 5th Euro-African Summit, Algerian and South African diplomats pulled out their heavy artillery. Actually, they want to impose the presence of the Polisario mercenaries at this summit and at the same time snatch a de facto recognition of the SADR by the European Union, killing thus two birds with one stone.

Pretoria and Algiers have pressured the AU Executive Council, which held a special session in Addis Ababa on Monday (October 16), to reaffirm the right of all African Union member states to take part in the activities and meetings of the Pan-African Organization. Had they forgotten that the European Union has never recognized the SADR as a sovereign State?

The Algerian Foreign Ministry, acting as if it were the spokesman for all Africans, issued a statement warning that Decision 942 of the 31st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of July 2017, which reaffirms the right of all member states to participate in meetings where the African Union is involved, also provides for a sanction. The sanction, the statement said, consists in depriving member states that do not comply with the decision of the right to host AU meetings. Algerias message is clear: transfer the Summit to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

On its part, Pretoria gave Cote dIvoire an ultimatum: invite before October 27 all states recognized as such by the AU, including of course the pseudo-SADR.

The whole question is whether the European Union and the Ivorian government will or will not give in to this blackmail, whose geo-strategic motives are barely veiled.
Renovating for a banquet hall? Ted Boniecki stands on a plank Sunday inspecting the renovations he and Lenny Stevenson (on sidewalk) were performing on the former Legends Night Club building...

Suspect steals, abandons cars in crime spree A 33-year-old Clare woman is behind bars following a strange sequence of events that began with the suspect allegedly abandoning her car at a Croswell...

Safe heist suspect nabbed after chase The second suspect wanted in a May breaking entering at the county fairgrounds now faces additional charges for fleeing police. The 22-year-old Peck man was...
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 NFL Commish and player write to Senators to "offer the National Football League's full support for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017" | Main | Reviewing how federal prisons deny rehabilitative programming to undocumented prisoners 

The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy Nation article which carries this subheadline: "A new investigation shows that DA associations are thwarting changes to the death penalty, sentencing, and more." My first reaction is being shocked, shocked that prosecutors oppose reductions in their power, but this story is still an interesting read. Here is an excerpt:

District attorneys associations exist in most states. They consist of dues-paying membersgenerally the lead prosecutors from every county or district in the state  and have bylaws, like most professional groups. As professional organizations, they also have nonprofit status; their activities include public education and training as well as lobbying.

For the most part, these prosecutors associations adopt a tough on crime stance, advocating for legislation that would give them greater discretion to lock people up. They all too often act as a roadblock to significant reforms, says Udi Ofer, director of the Campaign for Smart Justice at the American Civil Liberties Union. In state after state, weve seen DA associations hold back reforms that are supported by Democrats and Republicans alike.

According to Fordham University law professor John Pfaff, prosecutors are the single most important factor in the increase of prison populations, because they tend to file charges even when the evidence suggests that someone should go free, and generally pursue the harshest sentence they can get. District attorneys and county prosecutors can opt to drop charges  for example, by refusing to prosecute marijuana possession  or to favor pretrial intervention. But Pfaff found that between 1994 and 2008, even as crime and arrest rates fell, the number of felony charges filed by prosecutors increased. From this data, he concluded that prosecutors were driving the phenomenon of mass incarceration through punitive charges and penalties.

Prosecutors have one big reason to protect harsh sentencing: Today, around 95 percent of federal and state criminal cases end in a plea bargain. Such agreements, in which the defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a fixed sentence, avoid the time and expense of a jury trial, making it faster and cheaper for prosecutors to close cases. And the more draconian the punishments that a prosecutor has at her disposal  high mandatory minimums, say, or the ability to charge a youthful offender as an adult  the more leverage she has to persuade someone to take a plea bargain instead of risking a trial.

In the last year or so, criminal-justice reform has topped the legislative agenda in several states, from conservative Florida and Louisiana to liberal California, and advocates for reform exist across the political spectrum, from the conservative Right on Crime, the Koch brothers, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich to the ACLU and Black Lives Matter. In response, prosecutors associations have pushed legislators hard to reject such reforms. And, in most cases, they have succeeded.
 "Prosecutors Are Banding Together to Prevent Criminal-Justice Reform" | Main | Law enforcement group pressing Trump Administration to support criminal justice reform 

Jacob Schuman, a federal public defender, has this new Marshall Project commentary examining federal Bureau of Prisons policies that deny access to rehabilitative programs to a certain notable prison population. The piece provides a review of policies that are scattered in complicated program statements that can often escape scrutiny. The piece is fully headlined "Federal Prisons Dont Even Try to Rehabilitate the Undocumented: The Bureau of Prisons fails to provide basic resources to undocumented prisoners." Here is how it starts:

The federal Bureau of Prisons claims its mission is to provide work and self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens. When it comes to undocumented offenders, thats a lie.

The truth is that the BOP discriminates against undocumented people by denying them access to essential drug counseling and job training in prison.

As President Trump threatens to lock up even more undocumented immigrants, its time for the BOP to reform these exclusionary policies, which are both ineffective and inhumane.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that about one-third of all the people sent to federal prison each year are illegal aliens. In 2016, more than half of all federal criminal prosecutions involved immigration-related offenses.

Despite the BOPs rehabilitative promises, the agency excludes these prisoners from its best addiction and vocational programs. The BOP officially bars any prisoner subject to an order of deportation from participating in its most intensive, nine-month Residential Drug Abuse Program, as well as from its compensated job-training program, Federal Prison Industries.The BOP similarly shuts out undocumented prisoners from its reentry-focused Release Preparation Program and even from its faith-based Life Connections Program.

The BOP strictly limits the access of undocumented prisoners to its other rehabilitative services. For example, some prisons offer occupational education programs intended to teach inmates marketable skills, but regulations specify that undocumented prisoners may only participate if resources permit after meeting the needs of other eligible inmates.

The BOPs three-month Nonresidential Drug Abuse Program doesnt officially exclude undocumented prisoners, but officials still sometimes prevent prisoners from participating if theyre subject to deportation.

The only remaining rehabilitative programs are a short drug abuse education course as well as a few literacy and English classes. (Unlike other incarcerated people, however, prisoners subject to deportation arent required to attend.)

Even the few programs theoretically open to undocumented people are, in practice, denied to many because the government primarily incarcerates them in for-profit facilities that arent required to offer rehabilitative services.
The jury selection process in the case of Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate's alleged murder of Kate Steinle has crossed another milestone today, as prospective jurors sat before a San Francisco Superior Court judge for a series of interviews that will help narrow down the juror pool even further.

According to the Examiner, also present was chief attorney of the SF Public Defender's Office, Matt Gonzalez, who instructed the jurors to take the immigration debate "off the table" when considering Garcia-Zarate's case. The Chronicle reports that District Attorney Diana Garcia shared the same sentiments, as she told the jurors, "A lot of you are angry that this has been used to promote a political agenda that you do not agree with. I'm here to tell you that that will not be a part of the case."

Previously, Garcia-Zarate's case made headlines as politicians debated immigration policy; Garcia-Zarate represented an extreme example of the dangers of becoming a sanctuary city, as he's an undocumented immigrant. The Chron explains that Garcia-Zarate was "on track for a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country."

Kate Steinle's father, Jim Steinle, has asked multiple times that her case not be used for political purposes. Despite the fact that the law calling for harsher punishment for deoprted immigrants re-entering the country is called "Kate's Law," Steinle has gone on the record to say that their family had nothing to do with its naming.

As the Examiner tells it, Judge Samuel K. Feng, who oversaw this round of interviews, told the prospective jurors, "Mr. Garcia Zarate's status is not an issue. It is not to be considered in any way by you." One of Gonzalez's interview questions pertaining to the political furor even drew laughs, as he asked, "Would anybody be less likely to return a verdict because they knew the president of the U.S. didn't like it?"

Also present was Garcia-Zarate himself, who, according to KRON 4, claimed that the shooting was "accidental" and pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing.

Related: Photos Surface Of Accused Kate Steinle Killer Two Months Before Shooting


The 253-kilometre section will connect the capital city of Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima.



Arkhom said all Thai agencies concerned have conducted the study for six times and there is still a problem over a section running past limestone mining areas in Saraburi.



The problem will be addressed only if the three mining companies agree to allow the rail line to be built past the areas, he said.



He said Thailands Office of the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has been asked to speed up talks with the three companies.



Chaiwat Thongkhamkhum, the office director, said he has negotiated with the three companies, particularly over compensation for land expropriation.



An agreement is expected to be reached this month so that the construction of the 3.5-kilometre section between Klang Dong and Pang Asok stations can start in November.



The next stage is to extend the track to Nong Khai on the border with Laos to southern China.



The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting its southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.



In mid July, the Thai Government approved an investment worth 5.2 billion USD to build the Thailand-China high-speed railway. BY VIETNAMPLUS.
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DAKOTA CITY | A South Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to shooting and killing his wife.

Bei Sheng Chen filed written pleas Monday in Dakota County District Court to charges of first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault and use of a firearm to commit a felony.

No trial date has been set, though District Judge Paul Vaughan scheduled a pretrial conference for Dec. 1. Chen remains in custody on a $1.25 million bond.

Chen, 41, is accused of fatally shooting Mei Huang, 33, on Sept. 6 near the Law Enforcement Center at 701 W. 29th St. in South Sioux City.

Police officers responding to the sound of two gunshots found Huang lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. Chen was found near her, taken into custody for questioning and later arrested. A firearm was found at the scene. The shooting was based upon a domestic dispute, court documents said.

If found guilty of first-degree murder, Chen would face a sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors also will have the option of seeking the death penalty. The other charges against Chen carry maximum prison sentences of 20-50 years.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Big Ox Energy's renewable energy plant contributed to toxic odors that endangered the public and violated the federal Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a document.

In a "letter of warning" to Big Ox, the EPA Region 7 in Kansas City said its investigators during a Jan. 10-12 inspection found that "discharges of pollutants from Big Ox, alone or in conjunction with other sources, resulted in the creation of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes ... in quantities that could cause worker health and safety problems, in violation" of national pretreatment standards.

In the letter, dated Oct. 4, the EPA said it is forwarding its findings to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality to consider any penalties. The NDEQ is taking the lead on the Clean Air Act probe, the federal agency noted.

Noxious fumes from sewer lines forced more than two dozen families from their homes last year. The putrid odors began in mid-October when sewer gas permeated the homes in a five-block area of Red Bird Lane and Le Mesa Way, along 39th Street, both indoors and outdoors.'

Many residents blamed Big Ox's plant, which went online Sept. 2 in the city's Roth Industrial Park, for causing the issues in the line the residents and the plant, at the time, shared. The plant turns industrial waste into methane for sale to a natural gas pipeline.

Almost all residents said they suffered from nausea, headaches, sleep disturbance, emotional distress and other effects. Some residents said they had visited the hospital for their symptoms, sometimes multiple times.

Several of the residents have started taking legal action against the city of South Sioux City and have mentioned Big Ox will also be the subject of future legal action.

Big Ox in January had denied culpability for the sewer gases, saying other industries have also affected the hydrogen sulfide levels in the sewer lines and that individual plumbing deficiencies in many of the affected homes played a major role. South Sioux City's administration has largely aligned with Big Ox Energy's assessment.

Big Ox spokesman Kevin Bradley could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night.
SIOUX CITY | With big changes ahead for an Sioux City-based ambulance agency, a Woodbury County department leader wants the mid-year addition of three paramedic jobs to serve rural residents.

The addition of three jobs would cost an estimated $97,555 for the first six months of 2018. If the Woodbury County Supervisors agree to fund the changes for a full allotment into the 2018-19 fiscal year, the cost will be $195,110 annually.

The supervisors in a Tuesday county board meeting expressed difficulties in finding money to pay for the new jobs, both in a half-year addition and then in subsequent fiscal years.

I dont think anybody is against this, but we dont have the funding for it at the moment, Supervisor Rocky De Witt said.

The supervisors discussed the hirings, but will not make a decision until a future meeting, likely by Oct. 31.

Citing financial difficulties, the 35-year-old Siouxland Paramedics in August informed city of Sioux City officials that it would cease providing 911 services to Sioux City and North Sioux City by year's end. Sioux City Fire Rescue, a department of the city of Sioux City, will run a new emergency medical services division that will respond to 911 ambulance calls beginning Jan. 1.

Woodbury County Emergency Services Department Director Gary Brown said with Sioux City Fire Rescue personnel taking on the differing role in January, the trickle-down effect is that the changes "will not allow them to respond to rural paramedic assists." Brown said the exception will be that in "catastrophic" incidents Sioux City Fire Rescue could respond in the county, but outside of that county officials need to fend for themselves and beef up personnel.

Brown proposed three jobs be added by Jan. 1: two full-time operations officers/paramedics and a paramedic who would work three-fourths time.

Brown called them a "necessity for citizens living in and traveling within rural Woodbury County." He said counties across Iowa are stepping up with more funding for paramedic personnel, since there is a growing dearth of volunteers for small-town ambulance and fire crews.

Brown said over the last four months there have been 130 calls for paramedic assistance in the county when the Emergency Services did not have a paramedic scheduled to work.

Supervisors Matthew Ung and Jeremy Taylor said they have qualms about being able to afford the new paramedics personnel. One proposal discussed was to tap county reserve funds, and a full financing proposal will be aired when the issue returns for a vote.

Early in 2017 Brown sought to add two paramedics as part of setting the fiscal year 2017-18 budget, but that hiring was not approved.
SIOUX CITY | Continuing to push forward out of displeasure on the operation of the Sioux Rivers Regional Mental Health and Disability Services group, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors by the end of October will seek to get the three-county agency dissolved.

Two weeks ago, the county supervisors voted to leave the Sioux Rivers Regional Mental Health and Disability Services group, which also includes Sioux and Plymouth counties, at the end of June 2018.

They went a step further on Tuesday in a county board meeting, passing a resolution advocated by Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor that the entire regional agency be dissolved. That motion passed on a 4-1 vote, over the objections of several people who spoke at the meeting.

You are tossing this around like it is a childish game, said Nathan Vander Plaats, of Sioux City.

Taylor contended termination of the region is a more preferable step than withdrawal by Woodbury County, which has yet to be formally completed after the vote of two weeks ago. He added that "withdrawal will likely necessitate termination anyway, because Sioux and Plymouth counties cannot stand alone as a region."

The Iowa Department of Human Services oversees the division of counties into regions. Taylor said his discussions with DHS officials shows the direction of DHS is to move to larger regions rather than small ones.

Woodbury, Sioux and Plymouth counties formed the Sioux Rivers group in July 2014 after the state changed from a local to a regional method of delivering mental health services for low-income people.

Over the subsequent months a rocky relationship developed, with other Woodbury County supervisors threatening to leave the group in August 2016. The Sioux Rivers CEO and others in recent meetings wanted Woodbury County to not exit.

The resolution approved Oct. 3 by the county supervisors said the Sioux Rivers board, management and staff have demonstrated an unwillingness to operate in a transparent and equitable manner to ensure that appropriate mental health and disability services are provided to the residents of Woodbury County.

The next meeting of the Sioux Rivers Board of Governance will be on Oct. 24 at the Plymouth County Courthouse in Le Mars.

Taylor's proposal included a vote to have he and Woodbury County Supervisor Keith Radig, who are the two county representatives to the Sioux Rivers Board of Governance, in the upcoming Sioux Rivers board meeting introduce a measure to dissolve Sioux Rivers Regional Mental Health and Disability Services.

Supervisor Marty Pottebaum continued his votes toward keeping Woodbury County in Sioux Rivers, voting against Taylor's resolution. The affirmative votes came from Taylor, Radig, Rocky DeWitt and Matthew Ung. Radig said he agreed with Taylor that Sioux Rivers is not functioning well.

Ten members of the public spoke on the issue during the hour-long discussion, with nine urging the county supervisors to not leave Sioux Rivers. Some people said they feared services to people with substantial mental health needs could be undermined, and two said it appears Taylor and other Woodbury County Board members havent been able to compromise and work with other Sioux Rivers officials.

Connie Barrett, a Sioux Rivers employee, said, The service system is not brokenIn the name of the people you serve, you need to change your vote.

The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors last week began looking east when trying to find a new group of counties to join. In that action, the supervisors approved embarking on negotiations with Rolling Hills Community Services Region, with members from Buena Vista, Sac, Calhoun, Carroll, Cherokee, Crawford and Ida counties, who would have to agree to add Woodbury County.

Taylor said it is conceivable Woodbury County could be joined in some future region by Plymouth and Sioux counties, and that he would not stand in the way of that.
SIOUX CITY | Dive teams were deployed early Tuesday afternoon to confirm whether the outline of an object located in the Missouri River is a vehicle that splashed into the water a day earlier.

The vehicle entered the river at about 4:20 p.m. Monday near the site of the former Argosy riverboat casino, but searchers were unable to determine whether the outline is that of the car that is believed to a small, dark-colored vehicle, a press release said.

The release said the team will make a decision on the feasibility of the dive Wednesday after searchers surveyed the area Tuesday.

Sioux City Police Lt. Brad Bollinger said the car went over a curb in a nearby parking lot and through a chain-link fence before going down the bank into the river.

"The dynamics of how the vehicle entered the river leads us to believe it was occupied," Bollinger said.

Two boats equipped with side-scan sonar were on the river by 9 a.m. Tuesday. Personnel with the Sioux City Police Department, Sioux City Fire Rescue, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Woodbury County Sheriff's Office are involved in the search. Divers had previously not been involved in the search because of the low visibility in the river.

Bollinger said police have checked throughout the region for reports of missing persons or motorists who did not reach their destination. No reports had been filed, he said. Footage from Iowa Department of Transportation traffic cameras in the area is being reviewed to see if the vehicle can be seen and identified. Bollinger said at least one witness was able to snap a photo of the car before it became submerged.

On Monday, authorities searched as far downriver as the U.S. Highway 20 bridge. The search was called off at 8:30 p.m. because of darkness. How long the search will take place has yet to be decided, Bollinger said.

"We'll continue the search for the remainder of the day, then we'll re-evaluate when we will continue the search or if we'll continue the search another day," he said.

Police are asking that anyone who knows of a missing person or has information about the vehicle call the police department at (712) 279-6960.
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PELLA | Amid rising pressure from Midwest politicians, President Donald Trump has told the Environmental Protection Agency to back off potential cuts in renewable fuel volumes, according to a national report.

Bloomberg, citing sources it didnt identify, said EPA was told to abandon the possibility of lowering biodiesel requirements and counting ethanol exports toward the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Renewable fuels leaders said those proposed changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard would have a devastating impact on the industry and, by extension, Iowas agricultural economy.

Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds spoke by phone with Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Reynolds said she was given no promises regarding specific elements of the renewable fuels mandate, but that she nonetheless was encouraged by the discussions.

I had a very productive call with President Trump. Both of them (Trump and Pruitt) affirmed to me their continued commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard, Reynolds said.

Midwest politicians, led by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have been ratcheting up the pressure on the administration over the issue, frequently reminding the White House that Trump had pledged support for the RFS during the 2016 campaign. Grassley, one of the most senior lawmakers in the Senate, is a longtime promoter of renewable fuels.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who holds a key position on a Senate committee overseeing nominees to the EPA, said Wednesday that she wanted assurances the spirit and letter of the RFS would be followed.

We just need very clear answers on where they are with the RFS, and if we dont receive those assurances, then Im not likely to move anybody ahead that could undo the RFS, Ernst said Wednesday.

Ernst is a member of the Senates Environment and Public Works Committee, where Republicans hold an 11-10 edge.

On Wednesday, the committee postponed consideration of Trump appointee William Wehrum to head the EPAs office of air and radiation, which oversees the RFS. The postponement came after Ernst had expressed reservations about Wehrum.

Midwest lawmakers met Tuesday with Pruitt to push for the RFS, and before that session Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said administration nominees to the EPA could be at stake.

Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said after Wednesdays press conference that if the Bloomberg report is accurate, its good news for the renewable fuels industry and Iowa.

He added, however, that advocates will continue to press the issue until the administration publishes official rules.

If its true, thats great, Shaw said. If these reports are accurate, then were kind of at Step 2, which is (Trump) not just having it on his radar but making the decision to tell the EPA to get back on track. But we are not going to take anything for granted. Were not going to let up our pressure until we see final rules and official documents.

When asked for Reynolds reaction to the Bloomberg report, a spokeswoman said the governor was encouraged by her conversation with Trump and will continue working on the renewable fuels issue.
THE MINI: It is apparent to me that the 2022 elections have shown nationally that there are a majority group of Republicans that chose the rul
Canada  October 18, 2017  Niko Block

On June 15, 1841, the newly established Legislative Council of the Province of Canada  a body of twenty-four appointed lawmakers  was gathered in its chamber in Kingston. Its speaker, a businessman and nationalist named Austin Cuvilliers, began the days proceedings by reminding his peers of their mandate: Many subjects of deep importance to the future welfare of the Province demand your early attention, he said, but the most important of them is the adoption of measures for developing the resources of the Province. The rapid settlement of the country, the value of every mans property within it, the advancement of his future fortunes are deeply affected by this question.

Three months later, the legislature created what would become one of Canadas most important institutions in promoting those objectives: the Canadian Geological Survey, whose purpose was and remains the mapping of geological resources for private exploitation. At the time, it was only the second institution of its kind in the world, following on the heels of Britains Geological Survey by only six years. But in the Canadian context, it was also a precedent-setting institution in its own right, because it was very much on the vanguard of settler-colonial strategy. Australia, for instance, did not create a geological survey until a decade later, and the United States did not do so until 1879.

One hundred and seventy-six years later, the Canadian state remains more committed to  and dependent upon  the mining business than any other government in the world. Three-quarters of the worlds mining companies today are headquartered in Canada, and approximately 60 per cent of them are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), whose website consistently brags that they broker more than half of global investment in the industry. The bulk of this investment comes from outside of Canada, while the majority of the production it finances also occurs abroad; the TSX is simply a safe and uniquely accommodating conduit for extractive capital.

Outsiders to the world of finance might worry about what it means for Canada to have so many of its eggs in one industrial basket. But from the time of its inception the Canadian government has actually struggled to secure this intimate relationship with the industry, and that strategy has in fact generally succeeded in promoting the states central objectives of white settlement and capital expansion. Those objectives, of course, extend far beyond the mining business. They have informed almost every aspect of Canadian government policy, and at a very general level they have been associated with countless humanitarian atrocities  above all the displacement and dissolution of so many indigenous nations.

But the long and ongoing history of Canadian mining has played a strikingly prevalent role in that broader trajectory. From the nineteenth-century gold rushes to present-day multinational production chains, Canadian miners have all too often committed or condoned acts of violence against rural and indigenous peoples  sometimes in the name of securing contested land, and sometimes simply because of the ugly dynamics that emerge when hundreds of wayward men descend on small and isolated communities.

Carving Out Canadas Niche

These patterns have been well documented, most of all in recent years by the Ottawa-based research group Mining Watch. The bigger question  one that deserves attention amidst the hoopla of the sesquicentenary  is the question of how Canada historically obtained this special niche in the global economy.

The answer is that from the 1840s onward, the Canadian government developed at least six distinct institutions designed specifically to promote resource extraction both at home and abroad: the geological survey; free-entry mining laws; preferential tax policies; business-friendly conventions in the Canadian judiciary; generous diplomatic support; and the expansive structure of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

For Alain Deneault  author of Imperial Canada Inc. and other books on the industry  this uniquely extractivist environment marks Canada as what he calls an accommodation state: a country that has committed to offering political and financial concessions to a specific industry in the era of corporate globalization. In other words, he says, Canada is a legal haven for the industry, a country where no real strong constraints apply to mining corporations.

The Geological Survey was simply the forerunner of this political system, which has become increasingly elaborate over the decades. The Survey began promoting copper extraction in the Bruce Peninsula almost immediately after its establishment, and in the 1850s played an integral role in establishing the oil and bitumen business around what is now Sarnia. In 1867, the organizations purview expanded massively, and its growing team of geologists proceeded to map petroleum and iron ore deposits in Ontario, coal in Nova Scotia, and copper in Quebec.

As Ottawa moved to sequester the massive western territories then controlled by the Hudsons Bay Company, the Survey too turned its sights toward the west. In 1871, the Survey began to explore the geological formations around the proposed railroad route extending from Ontario to British Columbia, a region that gold-seeking whites had already begun to colonize en masse. These expeditions stoked early interest in the coal and petroleum deposits of Alberta and BC, as well as the mineral potential of several formations along the Pacific coast.

Confederation also laid the groundwork for the free-entry policies that would later develop across Canada. Under the terms of the British North America Act, minerals were handed over to the provinces, meaning that only they had the legal jurisdiction to grant or deny mining permits or tax mining activity. In conjunction with Canadas liberal trade policy with the U.S., the construction of this fragmented regulatory regime one hundred and fifty years ago has generated a business-friendly climate in which it is virtually impossible for the state to tax or regulate the extractive industry in any meaningful way. Ontarios government in the 1880s, for instance, tried to develop a mining policy that would enable it to do just that, but it soon became clear that investors would simply move their business elsewhere. After a half-hearted attempt, Queens Park eventually capitulated with the Mines Act of 1906, which allowed miners to claim geological resources on virtually all public lands and First Nations reserves  a free-entry policy that profoundly undermined First Nations sovereignty, and virtually absolved the industry of any environmental responsibilities.

New challenges Face Old Hurdles

Over the past decade, some important amendments to Ontarios Mines Act have enhanced corporate responsibility and First Nations jurisdiction. Another progressive move recently came from the Yukon Court of Appeal, which in 2013 ruled against free-entry on First Nations land, prompting speculation that BC may eventually have to follow suit.

But the problem of regional (and international) competition for extractive investment remains very much in place today  a dynamic that puts even well-intentioned provincial governments in a deeply contradictory position. It means that although the principle of free-entry mining and prospecting is now being challenged in some provinces and territories, the governments willingness and ability to tax the industry remains weak. Indeed, because any governments ability to tax capital is always inversely related to capitals ability to transcend governmental borders, the continual expansion of global trade networks throughout the past century and a half have gradually pushed Canadian tax policy in an increasingly business-friendly direction.

In some ways, this can be seen as a pattern of path-dependency throughout the history of Canadian capitalism: capital markets were heavily invested in resource extraction from the very beginning, and the Canadian government has therefore become increasingly congenial towards the industry over time. Were the state to suddenly antagonize the industry, the capital flight that would ensue could do serious damage to the broader economy, at least in the short-run.

This dynamic has arguably been the central determinant behind the historical trajectory of Canadas capital markets, a trajectory in which those markets began as the conduit for domestic investment and gradually transformed into the primary conduit for resource extraction across the globe. Both the Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges  established in 1874 and 1875 respectively  were heavily invested in mining from their inception. By the early twentieth century Toronto had decisively become the industrys favourite, given its near-total absence of financial regulations.

The TSX retained its tight relationship with the industry throughout the next century, largely by attracting huge quantities of U.S. capital into extractive projects at home. Motivated by the generous terms set by the provincial and federal governments, foreign ownership in the extractive sector (including both mining and petroleum,) rose to 59 per cent by 1960. These terms included schemes in which profits were completely tax exempt in a mines first three years of operation, royalties were extremely low, and corporations were permitted to write off much of their asset values by claiming depreciation.

These policies almost exclusively benefitted the largest players in the market. As economist Eric Kierans noted in a report for the government of Manitoba in 1973, mining corporations in the province were earning massive profits of 33 per cent  funds that were almost entirely requisitioned by the four largest firms. (Indeed, over half of the active mining claims in Manitoba at the time were held by a single firm, Inco. )

In the nineteen-eighties and nineties the TSX began to solidify its position as the headquarters of the mining industry at the global level, in part by capitalizing on the congenial environment offered by the Canadian state, and in part by absorbing the worlds other major mining exchanges. Since 2001, the TSXs parent company  the Toronto Market Exchange  has absorbed the capital markets of Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary, generating a broad and liquid market exchange that operates across multiple political jurisdictions.

Business-Friendly Policies

A plethora of business-friendly legal reforms since the eighties have also helped the TSX to consolidate its position in the industry. Beginning in 1983, the Canadian government introduced a system of flow-through shares which provide a major tax incentive for investment in small mining firms  a policy that the industry has hailed as a godsend, but that public-interest advocates have rightly criticized for draining government coffers. In fact from 2007 to 2012 alone, this policy has diverted an estimated $2.5-billion away from the public.

The Canadian state also began to situate itself at the centre of the global industry in the 1980s. Since the late 1940s, the Geological Survey had made extensive use of aeromagnetic survey technologies, which had enabled them to map Canadas geological profile with unprecedented ease. In the subsequent years, the Survey  working closely with the Canadian International Development Agency  sponsored aerodynamic mapping projects in Brazil, Cameroon, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Niger, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Thailand.

With the rapid proliferation of free trade agreements in the 1990s, a new wave of international investment arrived in the Canadian stock exchanges. At the same time, it became much easier for firms based in Canada to initiate extractive projects abroad  which they have done throughout the Global South, and particularly in Latin America. As a result of these transformations in the global economy, the Canadian states commitment to the industry has grown significantly deeper in the last twenty-five years.

Throughout that time period the Canadian judiciary, far from counterbalancing corporate interests, have generally protected them. In 2015, for instance, the Supreme Court of British Columbia threw out a case brought by a group of Guatemalan citizens who claimed they had been beaten and abused by the security personnel at a mine controlled by the Vancouver-based Tahoe Resources Inc. The basis for this decision was not that the plaintiffs claims were not credible, but rather that a Canadian court does not have jurisdiction over the actions of a Canadian company operating abroad. This judicial doctrine, known as forum non conveniens, is no longer recognized as valid in most British and European courts, making Canada a uniquely favourable home base for multinational mining corporations. (At the same time, however, Ontarios courts have recently agreed to hear another case being brought by Guatemalan plaintiffs against the Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals, suggesting that there is still potential for the judiciary to move in a progressive direction.)But perhaps the most striking political development in recent years has been the increasingly close connection between the extractive industry and Canadas diplomatic corps. Orchestrated among a variety of agencies within the ministry of global affairs, Canadas foreign economic policy in the Global South has almost singularly been constructed around the promotion of Canadian mining interests. The general pattern, it seems, involves a confluence of investment from extractive corporations, an injection of funding to support those projects from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and, sometimes, overt meddling in the governance of the recipient country.

Dirty Diplomacy

CIDAs role in the restructuring of Colombias mining laws is a particularly disturbing example of how federal funds have been used to benefit the industry at the expense of people across the Global South. Between 1997 and 2001, CIDA funneled $11.3-million into Colombia in order, in their own words, to offer advice, training, and institutional strengthening in the environment, hydrocarbons and mining sectors. At the same time, CIDA also worked closely with a Colombian corporate law firm to draft a free-entry-style legislation. When the law was enacted in 2001, 40 per cent of Colombia was opened up to resource extraction, and over half of the contracts awarded in the immediate aftermath went to Canadian firms. The full extent of Ottawas involvement in drafting the legislation remains somewhat ambiguous, but, as James Rochlin and Gustavo Gallon have written in their book Profits, Security, and Human Rights , it is clear that the mining laws changed dramatically after the CIDA project, significantly dropping the Colombian government take  the final amount accruing to the government through royalties and taxes on minerals and petroleum.

All of this occurred during a period of major instability in Colombia, during which the military struggled to assert full sovereignty over the countryside. But the pattern behind these rural battles was far from random; in fact 87 of the people forcibly displaced during this time period came from resource-rich regions, and many subsequently had their land transferred to mining and oil interests. As Todd Gordon and Jeffery Webber document in their recent book, Blood of Extraction: Canadian Imperialism in Latin America , the role of Canadas diplomatic corps has been equally ignominious throughout the region  particularly in Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru.

For Deneault, all of this fits into a consistent pattern of colonialism, in which Canada has continually competed for extractive capital at the expense of its purported humanitarian values. Our legacy is related to the colonial era, says Deneault. Canada was and in some ways remains a colony. Our public institutions are the legacy of the British Empire when it was about exploiting resources for European markets. We still have these laws today, and this approach. 
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
WASHINGTON (Oct. 18, 2017)Rep. John Delaney, D-Potomac, announced Tuesday that he is co-sponsoring legislation to make it easier for the Drug Enforcement Administration to combat the opioid epidemic.



The bill, called the "Opioid Immediate Suspension Order Act of 2017," was introduced Monday by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia. Four Democratic representatives, including Delaney, have co-sponsored the legislation, but no Republicans, according to Connolly's office.



An April 2016 law modified the Controlled Substances Act to make it harder for the DEA to suspend a pharmaceutical distributor's license, even if the attorney general saw "an imminent danger to the public health or safety." This procedure is usually used to stop suspicious shipments of prescription drugs, a statement from Connolly said.



This new bill reestablishes the previous threshold for the DEA to take action, giving the organization the oversight power it had before the 2016 law passed.



"We absolutely have to restore the DEA's ability to crack down on distributors who are flooding our communities with opioids," Delaney said. "The opioid crisis has caused so much suffering in Maryland and it's appalling that DEA authority was weakened"



In Maryland, 418 people died from prescription opioid overdoses in 2016, and that number has steadily risen since 2012, according to statistics from the state's Behavioral Health Administration. Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency for the opioid crisis in March, announcing $50 million for enforcement, prevention and treatment services over the next five years.



Delaney said the federal government needs to do more to combat the opioid crisis.



"In addition to passing this legislation to empower the DEA to go after bad actors, we need to give law enforcement the resources they need, invest in public health, protect people's access to treatment, and hold those who are responsible for this crisis accountable," he said.



President Trump said during a Monday press conference that he would declare a national emergency for the opioid epidemic next week.



The following day, Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pennsylvania, Trump's nominee for drug czar, withdrew himself from consideration for the position. Marino was nominated last month to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policyand the fight against the opioid epidemicbut stepped down following a report by the Washington Post and "60 Minutes" on his support for a bill that weakened the DEA's power.



"Now is not the time to tie DEA's hands," Connolly said in a statement. "We need to hold everyone along the supply chain accountable, from the pharmaceutical distributors, to the pharmacies, to the prescribers."
Stan Brock, the founder and president of Remote Medical Area at a RAM Clinic in Baltimore, Md. Oct. 11, 2017. (Photo: Oluwatomike Adeboyejo)

BALTIMORE

(October 18, 2017)Over thirteen hundred uninsured and underinsured Marylanders arrived in downtown Baltimore to receive free healthcare from Remote Area Medical Clinic and other groups over two days last week.This is the first time Remote Area Medical, a non-profit organization created to provide medical assistance for people in developing countries, has held a clinic in Maryland. They partnered with the United Way and other Maryland health organizations, which also provided medical services at the clinic.With maladies including tooth infections and failing eyesight, people came from inside and beyond Baltimore, lining up as early as 11:30 p.m. the previous day, in hopes of receiving free dental, vision and general health services."(My) fillings fell out and  when I went (to the doctor) they wouldn't pull it. They kept giving me antibiotics, sending me back (to) come up with the money," said Carrie Ellis, 48, a Baltimore native. "I am on a fixed income, I support myself, my daughter, and 4-year-old grandson."Ellis, who said she suffers from several health conditions such as Graves' disease, and arthritis in her legs and arms, uses a self-made artificial front tooth to restore her old confidence."I've kind of suffered a whole lot with not being able to get them pulled," Ellis said. "I just want to be able to smile again."Ellis, who did have some teeth pulled at the clinic, said she hopes to save enough money to get dentures.Remote Area Medical holds dozens of clinics in the United States every year and provides free health careoften dental and vision servicestargeted at impoverished communities.There is no guarantee that all who attend Remote Area Medical clinics will receive medical attention. The fate of their health care is dependent solely on a limited bracelet-based system. However, no patients were turned away from the Baltimore clinic, according to Remote Area Medical.Within three hours of opening the clinic on Thursday morning, 659 people were seen, and 445 of them received $251,000 worth of dental work.By Friday evening, when the clinic closed, 1,317 people received some kind of medical attention as a result of the services provided over both days. By Friday, a total of 945 people received $544,651 worth of dental services and 433 received $101,990 worth of eye care service, according to Remote Area Medical."We are going to see a range of people today," said Cynthia Kipp, a senior executive assistant for one of the largest insurance companies in the region, who volunteered at the event. "People who are homeless, and we are probably going to see people who are middle class, who just cannot afford insurance and have very high deductibles."Many people who have access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act are unable to pay for dental or vision care, which are two of the most expensive health services."A lot of people do have have high deductibles and a lot of people do have high premium rate increases that are probably forcing them in this type of care," said Kipp.More than 450 volunteers partnered with Remote Area Medical at the Maryland clinicfrom the extraction of rotten teeth by students at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, to the flu shots administered by students at the School of Pharmacy at Notre Dame of Maryland University.According to Remote Area Medical, 608 people who attended the clinic are unemployed, and many patients told Capital News Service that they viewed the clinic as a rare opportunity to receive medical assistance because they rely on city services and local non-profit organizations to meet their needs."Many of these people have a decision to make. Do they eat tonight? Do they have a place to stay tonight? Or do they get their tooth fixed? And so, that tooth goes on back burner and that dental care may go on the back burner for a while," said Dr. Louis DePaola, associate dean of clinical affairs for the University of Maryland School of Dentistry."We just spoke to a person and they had 10 teeth extracted today," DePaola said Thursday. "Our objective is to raise their level of oral health and do as much as possible in as little time as possible."Through the partnership with United Way, basic medical care was provided to those at the clinic. Students from the University of Maryland School of Medicine checked individuals' vitals and recorded the medical history of those participating in the clinic.United Way provided clinic participants with legal assistance, employment opportunities, and housing information through several partnerships."I smile every day but I want to smile more at having something of my own again," said Robin Moore, 59, who received dental care.Moore said she is now homeless in Baltimore after suffering a workplace injury.Moore was one of one of the many who arrived as early as 2 a.m. Thursday morning to get housing and medical assistance.Stan Brock, the former co-host of American television series "Wild Kingdom," is the founder of Remote Area Medical Clinic.The idea for the organization was created when Brock was injured while living with an Indian tribe in Guyana, South America, too isolated for medical aid."I will like to be able to come here on a regular basis," said Brock. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in this country that can't afford to go to the dentist and can't afford to go to the eye doctor. These are the most expensive services. So when an organization like Remote Area Medical comes to your area it makes a difference for those people."Since the establishment of RAM in 1985, the organization has held more than 800 temporary clinics, Brock said.To learn more information about Remote Area Medical visit ramusa.org/.
ANNAPOLIS (Oct. 18, 2017)Maryland's Board of Public Works approved the surplus of 10 University of Maryland properties Wednesday for an ongoing community redevelopment project known as the Greater College Park Initiative.



The university's president, Wallace Loh, took the podium at the Maryland State House to show his support for the project and the Terrapin Development Co., a recently created limited liability corporation, which will develop and manage the real estate on the edges of the College Park campus.



"We are not in the real estate business," Loh said to the board, which includes Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. "However, we are in the business of innovation and entrepreneurship."



Loh told University of Maryland's Capital News Service that with the transfer of these properties to the Terrapin Development Co., the university can continue its work to foster "an innovation hub" as well as a desirable place to live and work.



"To make sure that this mission of the university will outlast us here," Loh told the board. "We want to institutionalize it and that's why we've set up this LLC, that will enable us to do business at the speed of business and will continue long after we're gone."



State Sen. James Rosapepe praised the revitalization efforts. The senator represents Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties and serves as the chair of the College Park City-University Partnership.



Rosapepe said these projects were born of the same broad university plan that included the construction of the Purple Line light rail and of College Park Academy, a charter school that opened its doors this year.



Before Loh came on the scene in 2010, Rosapepe said, the university in College Park was like "an ivory tower, isolated from its environment."



"Frankly, sometimes, we're hostile to the community and that led to a situation six or seven years ago where only 4 percent of university faculty and staff lived in College Park," Rosapepe said.



But now, the college and the city are partners, Rosapepe said.



"The city is the check and balance. When the city and the university come together, great things happen," he said. "When they go in different directions, either nothing happens or bad things happen."



Many of the surplussed properties are on the east side of Baltimore Avenue, "an area of campus that years ago was the back-of-the-bus operationsparking lots, auto repair, aging student housing, old warehouses," said Carlo Colella, University of Maryland's vice president for administration and finance.



At this time, there isn't a specific building-by-building proposal for the 10 properties that have been surplussed, Colella said. But they are all essential to the continuing redevelopment.



For now, step onethe surplusis complete. Step two comes in 45 days, when the board will vote on the official transfer of the properties to the Terrapin Development Co. The company, which is operated by the university and its foundation, can acquire, develop, lease, manage, and sell real property.



The following are surplus properties approved for transfer at Wednesday's meeting:



 UMD land (southern wing of service building, 7757 Baltimore Ave.)



 Parking lot (immediately east of Ritchie Coliseum, 7675 Baltimore Ave.)



 4505 Campus Drive



 4608, 4610, 4624, 4642, 4644 Norwich Road (Old Leonardtown Road)



 4425 Campus Drive (Bldg. 11)



 7761 Diamondback Drive (Bldg. 6)



 8320-8400 Baltimore Avenue



 Parcel C (immediately northeast of The Hotel at UMD, 7777 Baltimore Ave.)



 Parcel B (immediately north of The Hotel at UMD, 7777 Baltimore Ave.)



 4100, 4103, 4109 Metzerott Road
Quantaz Lamar Shields, age 28, of Leonardtown, Maryland; and Trevone Damone Butler, age 25, of Lexington Park. (somd.com file photos)

GREENBELT, Md.

(Oct. 18, 2017)Quantaz Lamar Shields, age 30, of Leonardtown, Maryland, was sentenced today by the United States District Judge Paul W. Grimm to 23 years of imprisonment for committing four armed robberies in St. Mary's County, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to those robberies.The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning, Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, and Sheriff Tim Cameron of St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office.According to the guilty plea and accompanying factual stipulation, between October 20, 2015 and October 28, 2015, the defendant entered multiple locations while brandishing a firearm and stole business proceeds and other items. On November 5, 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a location associated with Shields and located a 9mm Beretta handgun with a magazine containing six 9mm live rounds that Shields had used during each of the armed robberies. Law enforcement also located a Samsung flip phone that was used to communicate with the codefendant, Trevone Butler, during one of the robberies. During another search warrant executed at Shields's sister's residence, law enforcement seized over $2,000 in U.S. currency hidden throughout the house. Prior to the warrant, law enforcement obtained a recorded conversation between Shields (who was incarcerated) and his sister, where Shields directed his sister to deposit money into his commissary account from money hidden in her shed.Butler was previously sentenced on December 2, 2016 to 57 months imprisonment for his role in the robberies.Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI and St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, who prosecuted the case.Two Men Indicted for Armed Robbery of 5 Stores in St. Mary's Co., March 24, 2016
As our community moves through its LGBT history month, there are three local events of interest worth noting, even though, shockingly, none of them were my birthday today.

First, lets talk about the Pride Center and where we have been. There was a time not too long ago in South Florida, when gay men and women met in dark alleyways, not in Cadillac dealerships along Federal Highway. Your willingness to stand up and be counted as conscientious citizens, not closeted queers, has built new lives for countless generations of gay men and women.

Our legacy tomorrow and our history today has been written by your courage, and dont let anyone ever take that away from you. It was not always an easy road. Wilton Drive was no rainbow. When people like Charlie Bado came on a radio show to talk about his new organization, in the 1980s, Gays United Against Repression and Discrimination, (GUARD), Fort Lauderdale was not issuing proclamations. They were raiding gay bookstores and bars, arresting gay men at every turn.

The South Florida gay community has grown from fringe groups with bullhorns standing on the corner of the streets to owning them. At the end of this month the display of gay humanity celebrating Halloween in Wilton Manors will be nothing short of remarkable. For the Pride Center: it is demonstrative proof that our community has leadership which embraces and enhances our lives, making us players who are a part of our cities, not apart from them.

There is a second group of people to celebrate and call attention to during this history month, and though they did not make our cover this week, they are all cover girls. Apparently, this is the first time the Miss Florida International Pageant is being showcased in Broward County.

Like the transgender Southern Comfort Conference, or Pride Fort Lauderdales noble bid for World Pride, our area codes are moving up in the LGBT universe. We are not just 305 anymore; 954 matters.

Hey, there is a reason I have been successfully publishing the Express Gay News, and now the South Florida Gay News, since 1999. Its because you have made our community consequential. Whether it is gay professionals expanding their law firms, or LGBT guest houses lining our beaches, the greater Fort Lauderdale Gay business community is drawing national attention and international tourism.

We are fortunate to have the backing and the bullhorn of the Broward County Convention and Visitors Business Bureau behind us. Thank you, Richard Gray.

All of you have played a part in being stakeholders in our lives. Be proud of your role in building our corner of the world, whether you boldly advertised yourself as the first openly lesbian candidate for office or the first gay realtor to lead the Fort Lauderdale board. Maybe, like George Castrataro, you have used your firm to advocate civil rights. We each do our part.

You see, you bucked the tide, you dealt with adversity, and now you are entitled to an ice cream cone from the Wilton Manors creamery- because the two proud gay parents who own that place are only there today because of what you did yesterday. With every gay dentist that opens and advertises his practice in Oakland Park on the pages of SFGN, you lend authenticity to our lives and advocacy to our cause. You become our history.

The Miss Florida Pageant celebrates years of hard work by courageous performers whose cutting edge politics paved the way for our progress today. When the gay community needed voices to speak out or fundraisers to generate revenues for HIV patients, they were our first responders. The Miss Allysons of our world have done so much for so many with class and distinction; grace and honor along the way. Cant say enough about our ladies in lace.

Long before there were Pride centers, there were Tiny Tinas amongst us donning the mantle of activism to fight for our rights- to pave the way and set our course. Before there was an Our Fund to raise monies to seed our legacies, drag queens were our soldiers, albeit dressed in uniforms much more lavish than some of our own. They put themselves out there when a lot of us were still afraid to do so.

Last week I was thinking how far the gay community has come in my own lifetime. I remember 40 years ago standing with Dean Trantalis, Bev Cothern, Tom Bradshaw, Robin Bodiford, Gary Steinsmith, Jamie Bloodworth and a few others, creating a little group of activists called United Citizens for Human Rights. We were all outsiders looking in. Not any more.

I remember Alan Schubert pitching a shovel of dirt to kick off the groundbreaking of a new Pride Center on Andrews Avenue. I remember Alan Terl and Brad Buchman arguing for domestic partnership legislation in the 1990s at the Broward County Commission meetings, and Dennis Delia protesting Reverend Kennedy and the Coral Ridge Churchs opposition to anything gay. I remember when the LGBT community was an afterthought, heck, an after birth. Not any more.

I saw last week that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has led a charitable endeavor to bring relief, supplies and sustenance to our friends and families in Puerto Rico. Not too many years ago, Father Bill was pleading with cities to allow us to open food banks for people living with HIV in South Florida. Not any more. Now we have men like Michael Weinstein at AHF stewarding worldwide non profits which enable relief efforts for the needy around the globe.

I saw a new gay kickball league being founded and written about in our newspaper last week. I wondered if they knew about the gay softball league so many guys like myself, Jim Stork, Stan Butler, Dave Liddy and a score of others provided the impetus for 35 years ago. Go to the Village Pub and read the plaques saluting those pioneers. Its our history, and whether you were a plumber or a painter, you helped color our lives, Jerry Polis.

We cant and all wont make headlines. But we can all make and have made headway. Its not just gay history month. Its a celebration of how far we have come from being Boys in the Band to the leaders of it. We are architects of the new tomorrow. We tear down closets. We dont build them. Not any more.

Our community has gone from dark alleyways to civic celebrations and block parties closing down streets and opening doors. We are about social organizations, charitable ventures, and community involvement. Our paper and community now celebrates businesses who make a difference. You want press? Tell us about the pet project you sponsor, not just the 2 for 1 special you are promoting this weekend.

To those who are 20 and struggling with who you want to be and where you want to go, let me share this about gay history month. What matters most is not where we have been. Dont worry about me reminiscing about what happened once before.

What matters most is where you want to go, and the history you want to create. To thine own self be true. Be who you are. Become all you can be. Make that happen and you will write your own history.
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




Itokawa JAXA

Curtin University planetary scientists have shed some light on the evolution of asteroids, which may help prevent future collisions of an incoming rubble pile asteroid with Earth.

The scientists studied two incredibly small particles brought back to Earth from the asteroid Itokawa, after they were collected in 2005 from the surface of the 500 metre-wide asteroid, by the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft.

The capsule and its precious cargo returned to Earth in 2010, landing near Woomera, Australia with only about 1500 asteroid dust particles on board  most of them much smaller than the width of a human hair.

The Geology-published research, Collisional history of asteroid Itokawa, used the Argon-Argon dating technique to investigate when impact crater events happened on Itokawa, offering a glimpse into the asteroids impact history.

Lead author of the study, Associate Professor Fred Jourdan from the Department of Applied Geology within the Curtin WA School of Mines, explained Itokawa was no ordinary asteroid, with fly-by pictures taken by Hayabusa prior to sampling in 2005 showing it had a peanut-like shape and resembled a rubble pile of boulders and dust more than solid rock.

In fact, analyses by Japanese scientists revealed the asteroid had a violent past. Prior to being a rubble pile, Itokawa was part of a much larger asteroid that was destroyed by a collision with another asteroid. Our job was to try to find out when that collision happened, Dr Jourdan said.

Dr Jourdan explained that the analyses were not without challenges, due to the extremely small size of the particles.

Using our noble gas mass spectrometer at Curtin University, a revolutionary new machine that we customised for extra-terrestrial samples, we were able to measure tiny amounts of gas and analyse these fragments from Itokawa, Dr Jourdan said.

The impact-shocked particle indicated a small-scale collision that occurred 2.1 billion years ago, whereas the other non-shocked particle preserves a very old age, similar to the formation age of the solar system itself.

According to these results and a series of models, the scientists concluded that asteroids do not always break up due to a single cataclysmic impact. Instead, they can internally fragment due to the medium-sized collisions that constantly batter large asteroids until they shatter from impact.

The final impact could be seen as the straw that broke the camels back, Dr Jourdan said.

Our results tell us that Itokawa was already broken and re-assembled as a rubble pile about 2.1 billion years ago, showing that rubble pile asteroids can survive a much longer time in this state than researchers previously thought.

This is due to their cushion-like nature and the abundance of dust in between the boulders.

He continued to explain these research results are not only important to understand how our solar system works, but can inform us on the best way to prevent any future collisions of an incoming rubble pile asteroid with Earth.

Due to the success of the teams study, they have been awarded four new particles from Itokawa, and will now look for more information to be unlocked from this asteroid.

Manager of the Curtin Argon-Argon Laboratory Ms Celia Mayers said the team plans to work on samples from the Hayabusa 2 mission, which is on its way to Asteroid Ryugu, and is anticipated to bring back samples in 2020.

We also recently set up a collaboration with China that plans to bring back samples from the moon in a few years, Ms Mayers said.

Dr Jourdan and his colleagues at Curtin University conducted their research at the John de Laeter Centre.

Professor Fred Jourdan is available for interview today, please contact the Curtin media team for assistance.

About Curtin University

Curtin University is Western Australias largest university, with more than 58,000 students. Of these, over 15,000 are international students. The Universitys main campus is in Bentley near the Perth CBD. Curtin has five other campuses across WA, Malaysia and Singapore, with a new campus opening in Dubai in 2018. Curtin also has presence at a number of other global locations.

Curtin is celebrating 50 Years of Innovation in 2017  the combined history of the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), which opened its doors to students in 1967 and Curtin University, which opened in 1987. Today, Curtin is estimated to be ranked 180th and in the top one per cent of universities worldwide, and 9 th in Australia in the highly regarded Academic Ranking of World Universities 2017 (ARWU), and features highly in a number of other key world rankings. The University has built a reputation around innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, being at the forefront of many high-profile research projects in astronomy, biosciences, economics,mining and information technology. It is also recognised globally for its strong connections with industry, and for its commitment to preparing students for jobs of the future. For further information visit curtin.edu.au.
Dance of the heavyweights: two neutron stars orbit each other, spiralling ever closer together, radiating gravitational waves in the process. Astrophysicists have long been theorizing that neutron stars, the cores of burnt-out, massive suns, could create gamma rays burst. The image of the real event GW170817 comes from a numerical-relativistic simulation. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

For the first time, researchers have simultaneously measured the gravitational waves and the light from two merging neutron stars.

Multi-messenger astronomy, combining the observation of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, begins with this event, registered on 17 August 2017 at 14:41:04 CEST. Together, the complementary methods will considerably increase our understanding of extreme astrophysical events. For example, this discovery confirms that two merging neutron stars are indeed the precursor to short gamma-ray bursts and that the explosion following this merger  known as a kilonova  is the source of heavy elements in the Universe. During the 17 August observations, researchers at the Max Planck Institutes for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam and Hannover, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, played a central role.

The two LIGO detectors in Hanford (Washington state, USA) and Livingston (Louisiana) observed the signal referred to as GW170817 for around 100 seconds. The measurements made by the Virgo detector in Tuscany, near Pisa, Italy, improved localization in the heavens substantially and allowed the researchers to constrain the origin of the wave to a spot in the southern skies of only 28 square degrees  around 130 times the apparent size of the full moon.

Only 1.7 seconds later the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi satellite registered a gamma-ray burst, known as GRB 170817A, from roughly the same direction as the gravitational wave signal. The probability that this encounter was purely coincidental is one to 200 million  the odds of having six correct numbers in the lottery are considerably better!

At first, the detection of this new gamma-ray burst by Fermi did not really seem extraordinary, says Andreas von Kienlin, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, who also helped build the instrument. We observe four or five new gamma-ray bursts per week. Only later did the researcher learn about the LIGO and Virgo observatory measurements: We immediately knew that this was a historical event.

A further surprise is that the gamma-rays and the gravitational waves were not detected at exactly the same time, but with an approximately two-second time difference. These and the additional observations provide us with unique insights into the physics in and around this event, says von Kienlein.

Integral, another gamma-ray mission with a Max Planck instrument on board  the SPI  also observed high-energy radiation from the merger. The signal we observed may not have been very bright, but we can confirm the Fermi result with a completely independent gamma-ray detection, says Roland Diehl, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and co-investigator for the SPI. With regard to the link between gamma-ray burst and gravitational waves, we are on safe ground here. Moreover, we can clearly connect a short gamma ray burst to a neutron star collision for the first time, says Diehl.

The very precise localization of the LIGO/Virgo observation allowed a handful of observatories around the globe to search the area of the heavens from where the signal originates only a few hours later. Optical telescopes, including the GROND instrument on the 2.2 metre Max Planck Society telescope in the La Silla observatory at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), discovered a new point of light, similar to a star, near the NGC 4993 galaxy. This lenticular galaxy system is approximately 130 million light-years from Earth.

For the astronomers, one thing is certain: the optical object, the gamma-ray burst and the gravitational waves all originate from one and the same source: the merging of a pair of neutron stars. Eventually, more than 70 ground- and space-based observatories noted the event in the x-ray, ultra-violet, visible, infra-red and radio wave spectra.

These agreeing observations give us a detailed picture of this event from three minutes prior to the merger up to several weeks later, says Jochen Greiner, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics scientist responsible for building GROND.

This opinion is shared by the scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover and Potsdam: In itself, the first evidence of gravitational waves emitted by merging neutron stars is already extremely exiting. However, the combination with dozens of follow-up observations in the electromagnetic spectrum makes it truly revolutionary, say Alessandra Buonanno and her Director colleagues Bruce Allen and Karsten Danzmann.

Identification of GW170817 as a binary star system consisting of two neutron stars, and observations of electromagnetic radiation following their collision, allow conclusions on the previously mysterious origin of the short gamma-ray bursts to be reached.

While we did have strong hints that merging neutron stars are indeed the progenitors for short gamma ray bursts, we did not have final proof. The simultaneous observation of this two-second burst by Integral and Fermi, and by the gravitational wave detectors, is the first conclusive evidence that at least some of these gamma ray bursts are indeed powered by neutron star mergers, says Rashid Sunyaev, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

Analyses of the LIGO data returned a relatively small distance of the merging neutron stars from the earth of around 85 to 160 million light years, in agreement with the 130 million light years to the assumed parent galaxy NGC 4993. In contrast to previous gravitational wave observations, the scientists calculated the masses of the merging objects as 1.1 to 1.6 times that of our Sun, comparable to that of known neutron stars and dissimilar to that of black holes.

Neutron stars are the extremely dense, exhausted remains of massive stars, with diameters of only around 20 kilometres. Astrophysicists have studied the merger of two such star corpses in theory for a long time  and have enjoyed confirmation in the observation of the GW170817 signal: The physical parameters of the transient event match the theoretical predictions for a so-called kilonova from a neutron star merger remarkably well, says Anders Jerkstrand from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

In particular, the rate at which the light from the source dimmed over the ten days following the merger exactly corresponds to the forecast that the ejecta are dominated by radioactive elements much heavier than iron says Jerkstrand.

Two neutron stars merging in a gamma ray burst liberates enormous quantities of energy. At the same time, dense matter is expelled at high velocities. Because the ejected matter displays a high concentration of free neutrons, the heaviest elements in the universe can form from them. The process involved is referred to as rapid neutron capture or, more briefly, the r-process.

The origin of the heaviest chemical elements in the universe was a mystery to us scientists for a long time, says Hans-Thomas Janka, lead scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. Now we have the first observational proof that neutron star collisions may be the sources of these elements. They may even be the main source of the r-process elements.

The observation and characterization of minutes-long signals from merging neutron stars, concealed in detector noise, demands extremely precise waveform models. Members of the Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity department at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics developed models which were deployed as templates in the optimal filter searches that discovered GW170817.

In addition, Max Planck researchers played a central role in the development and implementation of the search algorithms used to observe GW170817. As members of the team that investigated the signal immediately after its discovery, they immediately removed a temporary spurious signal from data delivered by the LIGO Livingston instrument.

This allowed the position in the heavens to be so precisely pinpointed that astronomers were able to observe a quickly fading visible light glow within twelve hours of GW170817s discovery. They had thus identified the parent galaxy and redshift, leading to measurement of the Hubble constant and therefore to the distance.

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics also helped to develop and apply analysis algorithms and waveform models, allowing them to identify the source of GW170817 as a binary neutron star system. In an additional insight, the results contradict theories that assume highly repulsive nuclear forces, because they predict relatively large and therefore highly deformable neutron stars.

In Potsdam, both analytical methods and numerical simulations were adopted to construct modern waveform models which predict weaker repulsive nuclear forces in GW170817s neutron stars. Moreover, Max Planck scientists have investigated electromagnetic signals created by the ejection of matter as the stars merged. These signals contain information on the creation of heavy elements in the universe, as discussed above.

In a domino effect, GW170817 has set off a spectacular sequence of astrophysical observations, simultaneously solving long-standing mysteries and presenting us with new ones, says Alessandra Buonanno, Director at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam. Remarkably, GW170817 has also delivered insights into the nature of ultradense matter in the interior of the most fascinating and extreme objects in the universe  neutron stars.

Scientists in the Observation-based Relativity and Cosmology department at the institute in Hannover played a central role during the first hours of analyses, as well as in the characterization of the gravitational wave signal and understanding the source. Even in my wildest dreams I would not have dared to hope that we would simultaneously demonstrate the first discovery of a binary neutron star by gravitational waves, the corresponding gamma-ray burst and the electromagnetic signals. I imagined we would only see such a thing after 20 or more observations of two merging neutron stars. This is fantastic!, as Director Bruce Allen stated.

This is the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy and a greater understanding of our universe. We are very proud to play a central role in measuring gravitational waves, because our lasers, developed and tested in the GEO600 project, are at the heart of all gravitational wave observatories, summarizes Max Planck Director Karsten Danzmann, Allens colleague at the Hannover institute.
The Russian 68P cargo craft is pictured just meters away from docking to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA. NASA

Traveling about 252 miles over eastern China, the unpiloted Russian Progress 68 cargo ship docked at 7:04 a.m. EDT to the Pirs Docking Compartment of the International Space Station.

On-Orbit Status Report

68 Progress (68P) docking: Saturday morning, 68P launched from Baikonur after a two day delay. This morning, 68P docked successfully to DC1 nadir, bringing supplies to the ISS.

JAXA Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) #13 Installation: Following the docking of 68P, a crewmember stowed two canister bags containing protein samples in the JAXA Freezer-Refrigerator Of STirling cycle 2 (J-FROST2). This experiment will run from today through removal for return on Soyuz 51S. The canisters contain protein samples prepared by Japanese and Russian researchers from universities, national research institutes, and the private sector. The purpose of this activity is to obtain high quality protein crystals in the microgravity environment at 20 degrees C for about 9 weeks. The results obtained by JAXA PCG #13 contribute to the development of drugs for multidrug-resistant bacteria, Alzheimers disease, muscular dystrophy and periodontitis. They will also aid in the development of a blood substitute and biosensor.

Advanced Nano Step Microgravity Measurements Apparatus (MMA) Cable Connection: After successfully adjusting the position of the cell stage to resolve movement issues during sample observations last week; today the MMA cable connection to the medical laptop was completed to measure MMA data during the Advanced Nano Step experiment run. JAXAs Advanced Nano Step experiment investigates the relationship between impurity incorporation mechanisms and the quality of obtained protein crystals should be clarified for the progress to an advanced stage of the space utilization for structure-based drug design. In this mission, we observe the protein crystal growth surfaces of glucose isomerase crystals in space in the presence of various impurities with the use of a Michelson interferometer. In addition, we also clarify the crystal surface morphology on the molecular step level by using the laser confocal microscope. We evaluate the crystal quality of the returned crystals.

Human Research Program (HRP) Collections (Biochemical Profile, Repository): Today a 52S crewmember completed Flight Day (FD) 30 urine sample collections that began yesterday and blood sample collections in support of the Biochemical Profile and Repository experiments. The samples were placed in the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI).

The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples are obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results, which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body.

Repository is a storage bank used to maintain biological specimens over extended periods of time and under well-controlled conditions. This repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions.

Fine Motor Skills (FMS): A 51S crewmember completed a Flight Day 80 FMS session, where the subject performs a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. The investigation studies how fine motor skills are affected by long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal of FMS is to answer how fine motor performance in microgravity trend/vary over the duration of a six-month and year-long space mission; how fine motor performance on orbit compare with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance trend/vary before and after gravitational transitions, including the periods of early flight adaptation, and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.

USOS Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) #46 Preparations: Today the crew configured tools, reviewed EVA procedures, and conducted a conference with ground specialists in preparation for next weeks EVA. The goals of USOS EVA #46 include Removal and Replacement (R&R) of the degraded CP13 camera and R&R of the Latching End Effector (LEE) A Camera Lens Assembly (CLA).

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

HRF Generic Urine Collection Male  Subject

??-8. H/W set up

Body Mass Measurement  BMMD

ISS HAM Radio Power Down

USOS Window Shutter Close

??-8. Closeout Ops

HRF Generic Frozen Blood Collection

EML ON-Board Training

HRF Generic Refrigerated Centrifuge Configuration

EML Gas Valves Opening

Photo TV Battery Charge Initiation

Check Closure of SM window shutters 6,8,9,12,13,14 Note 5

HRF Generic Refrigerated Centrifuge Spin Conclude

MDLT MMA Cable Connect

Charging EVA Camera D4 Battery

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis

HRF Generic Sample MELFI Insertion

Auxiliary Laptop Computer System Virus Definition File Update

Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test  Subject

??? maintenance

MPEG2 Multicast Test via Ku-band (Activation/Deactivation of TV data and MPEG2 Multicast controls).

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

BIOPLENKA. Activation of [???-?] thermostat #5 in +4C mode

Preparation for Progress 437 Docking

Fluids Integrated Rack Hardware Gather

Progress 437 Docking to DC1

Activation of MPEG2 Multicast TV Monitoring Equipment. Tagup with specialists

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring

Activation of mpeg2 multicast video recording mode

PROGRESS 437 DOCKING TO DC1, Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops after Docking

Camera Light Assembly Retrieval

Photo TV Battery Charge Swap

Closing Applications and Downlink of MPEG2 Multicast video via OCA

Miniature Exercise Device Surface Pro 3 Charge

In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) Hatch Seal Inspection

Z1 Dome Egress

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Light Assembly Configuring

Glacier Sample Transfer to MELFI

??? 437 and DC1 Interface Leak Check

Handover. Leak Check, Hatch Opening, Installation of Quick Release Screw Clamps (???)

Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record

DC1-?? Hatch Opening

Opening of Progress-[??] Transfer Hatch

Quick-disconnect screw clamps (???) installation

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review

WRM CWC Stowage

Physical Fitness Evaluation (on the treadmill)

COLLECTING AIR SAMPLES USING ??-1? SAMPLER IN PROGRESS 437

Progress 437 Deactivation, Air Duct Installation

MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 1

Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup

Progress 437 (DC1) Transfers of Critical, Priority and US Cargo Items, and IMS Ops

Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD)  Lab

KRISTALLIZATOR. PCG Transfer from Progress, Inspection, and Handover to USOS

KRISTALLIZATOR. Photo of PCG Kit Handover from USOS

JAXA PCG Sample Installation

Transfer of Konyugatsiya, Produtsent, Bioplenka, Konstanta-2 from Progress and Setup in Thermostat at +4 deg C

Miniature Exercise Device Procedure Review

STRUKTURA. Luch-2 Hardware Transfer from Progress

Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review

STRUKTURA. Process Activation and Stowage. Tagup with specialists

STRUKTURA. Photo during the Experiment and at Exposure Location

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB)/Metal Oxide (METOX) Installation

MICROVIR. Transfer from Progress

Photography of traces left by Active Docking Mechanism Probe on DC1 Passive Mechanism Receiving Cone

MICROVIR. Removal of Cassette-M No.3-1 and No.3-2 from the kit and deployment on panel

Photo TV Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Camera Turnaround

Downlink Photos of Docking Cone Internal Surface via OCA

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference

ISS HAM Radio Power Up

Photo TV Battery Charge Deactivation

Preparation for Antivirus Scanning on [???] Laptops

Completed Task List Activities

ESA-PAO-RCROSS

MAGVECTOR USB stick Restow at MagVector Front Panel

Photo/TV RED 960GB SSD Stow

Photo TV Node 2 AVN443 HD Encoder Move

Portable Computer System (PCS) 1553 Card Remove and Replace

VEG-03 Plant Pillow Water X2

Wanted Poster for Clean Room Gloves

Ground Activities

All activities were copmpleted unless otherwise noted.

Standard commanding

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Tuesday, 10/10: EVA Preps (robotics support setup & procedure review), METEOR, Miniature Exercise Device, FIR LMM config

Wednesday, 10/11: EVA procedure review, Off Duty

Thursday, 10/12: EVA Preparation (tool configuration, procedure conference, cuff checklist preparation, equip lock prep), JEM A/L (MBSU/JOTI removal, Kaber plate install

QUICK ISS Status  Environmental Control Group:

Component  Status

Elektron  On

Vozdukh  Manual

[???] 1  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1)  Off

[???] 2  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2)  On

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab  Standby

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3  Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab  Idle

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3  Operate

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)  Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)  Standby

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab  Full Up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3  Off
Aquaculture is creating new rural markets catering to strong demands for fish and building economic resilience in poor, food-insecure inland areas.

To provide communities with sustainable access to fish and counteract the impact of the recent Ebola virus outbreak in 2014, which almost halted agricultural production, WorldFish is working in Tonkolili district with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) to build fish ponds.

Fish accounts for 80% of animal protein consumption in Sierra Leone, yet FAO figures show that only 2% of marine fish make it to inland rural markets because of poor road infrastructure, a non-existent cold chain, and a fish product market that remains in its infancy. People living inland have therefore been confined to small subsistence fish farming, and an aquaculture sector that is still suffering from the effects of the 1991-2002 civil war, which disrupted agricultural activities and led to Sierra Leones hatcheries being abandoned.

Farmers cluster together to build the ponds, which are then managed by individual farmers. Since 2016, 150 ponds with a density of 2.5 tilapia fry per m2 have been constructed, or are undergoing construction or rehabilitation work in inland wetlands, creating an ecosystem capable of retaining water even during the dry season. According to Colby Silvert, WorldFish project extension coordinator, This model is promoting semi-intensive fish farming as a small business and should allow small-scale farmers to turn a decent profit.

In order to help farmers generate additional income and enhance market access, We train farmers to carry out research about the local markets and secondary outlets such as restaurants, adds Silvert. As more fresh fish comes onto the market, therell be less need to transport marine fish from Freetown.

The initiative has also renovated the hatchery in Makali that was destroyed during the civil war to address a major obstacle to the development of aquaculture in the country: the current supply of fry, fingerlings, and fish feed  critical inputs in fish farming  is estimated to meet only 34% of the demand according to WorldFish assessments. The factory, which is owned by the government and employs six people, is being used by WorldFish to select genetically viable species to supply fish fry to farmers.

Smoked marine fish is easy to transport and, when packaged, can fetch between 0.95 and 3.30/kg in rural areas. However, Fresh fish is higher value, and is more popular with consumers, explains Paul Bangura, an FAO aquaculture consultant. Fish from local farms can be transported fresh or still alive straight to local markets in rural areas.

In 2015 and 2016, FAO and the MFMR launched two projects to build 64 breeding ponds, each 400 m2, in Bo, Kenema, Kono and Tonkolili districts. The ponds are owned and managed by community groups of no more than 30 members, mostly young people. About 800 farmers  30% of whom are women  have directly benefited from these projects, and 128 have received fish farm management training. The initiative has also delivered training to 16 officials from the fisheries and agriculture ministries, who now have the knowledge and skills to help farmers manage their stock, assess fish quality and bring their products to local markets.

FAO estimates suggest that the 64 ponds will produce 20,000 kg of fresh fish each year in one or two harvests  which represents almost half of the countrys current total annual freshwater fish output of 45,000 kg.
In a sleepy little corner of Manhattans Financial District is a small stretch with only three or four businessesa Dunkin Donuts, a sandwich shop, and as of late summer, a specialty coffee spot known as Boundless Plains Espresso. And no, this cafe isnt trying to knock out its neighbors with better artisanal sandwiches and donuts. Its just trying to brighten things up.

Theres actually a permit that says we cant serve donuts here since were next door to them, laughs co-owner Michael Vona as we joke about the shop, who moved from Melbourne, Australia to open Boundless Plains with his friend Jo Black, a former attorney who has since traded in the legal briefs for a portafilter.

The Australian-inspired cafe keeps a focus on service and meticulous coffee prep, but above all, seems intent on carving out a space of lightness in the cavernous Financial District. While much of New Yorks cafe scene seems to thrive off of dim, romantic lighting, this cafe is the total opposite: it glows with rows of indoor spotlights and roped lighting that lines the backs of the benches. Marble countertops, white-tiled ceilings, and walls encourage light to bounce around the room, creating a radiating space that heavily contrasts the world immediately outside.

While the Financial District primarily exists as a destination for tourists and businessmen, this small space is aimed at taking a neighborhood approach. Whether youre a tourist or not, Vona and Black will be sure to ask your name and where youre from before getting your drink. They want to get to know every single customer that walks through their doorswhich has been surprisingly easy thanks to the areas condo boom, slowly filling up the morning lines with regulars who are actual residents, not just day-jobbers.

Its easy to build a cafe thats based on relationships when the owners started out as cafe friends themselves. Prior to opening Boundless Plains, Vona was part of a family operation in Melbourne called Cento Mani, a coffee joint with homemade pasta. Here, Black and Vona crossed paths and quickly became friends beyond the bar. When Cento Mani switched ownership, Vona later moved to New York to assist in Blacks efforts to create a similar small coffee shop that mirrored her previous Melbourne experiences.

Treats like chia pudding, granola parfaits, and acai keep mornings fresh and healthy, but avocado toast with Australian goat feta and tomato toast pack a heartier start for the day. While the menu will remain small, itll likely keep changing based on customer feedback and season.

At first I had a great [$12] falafel on the menu, but people were like, You could find that for three dollars on the sidewalk in New York! Black exclaims.

While the inspiration here may be Australian, Boundless Plains keeps everything else local, with the citys Parlor Coffee Roasters, employing their citrusy full-bodied Prospect Blend for espresso. They maintain quality control with a Mahlkonig EK43, Curtis brewers, and a La Marzocco Linea PB with integrated scales. Like the food menu, the coffee menu is equally straightforward, with nothing more than standard milk espresso beverages, drip coffee, and for fun, a chai and a matcha latte. Teas hail from Greenpoints Bellocq, and pastries are provided by nearby Black Fox Coffee, whose chef Allison Fox also helped Vona and Black create the food menu.

Inside Boundless Plains brightly lit space, talking to Vona and Black, one thing is clear: the owners sunny optimism definitely radiates beyond the shops unassuming doors.

Katrina Yentch is a Sprudge contributor based in New York City. Read more Katrina Yentch on Sprudge.

All photos by Katrina Yentch unless otherwise noted.
Latte art party, spooky, scary. On Thursday, October 26th the city of Portland, Oregon will play host to an evening of ghoulish glee, as a terrifying crypt of bone-shaking brands team up for a latte art dance of death. Your hosts? Oracle Coffee, a multi-roaster coffee bar in Portlands SW Waterfront neighborhood. Your sponsors? A haunted cemetery of like-minded ghouls, including Baratza, Fellow Products, La Marzocco, Acaia, Black Rabbit Service Co., Townshends Tea, Jasmine Pearl, Espresso Parts, Oatly, and Sprudge.

Doors open at 7pm. There is no buy-in to snag one of 32 competitor slots, and the event features free drinks and pizza from beloved Portland slice merchants Sizzle Pie. Prizes include gifts from Baratza, Fellow, Sprudge, and that scariest substance of all: cold, hard cash. The throwing of down will occur to a positively spooktacular soundtrack of Halloween ear worms presented by DJ Spooky Sprudge.

Learn more and check out the events code of conduct here on Facebook. We hope to see you thereif you dare.
The second leg of the three-track international Friendship competition between the visiting New Zealanders and the hometown NAADA team was contested Tuesday night on the betting card at Yonkers Raceway and when the judges hung the official sign the Kiwis Cheree Wigg emerged victorious with Big Turn On in a 1:57.1 clocking.

Second place went the New Zealands Gavin Cook while the USAs Jennifer Lappe saved face for the NAADA team by finishing third.

But the race was dominated by the talented ladies with the Kiwis Colleen Nequs finishing fourth giving the visitors three of the first four placings.

When the starting judge said Go New Zealands Mike Maynard charged to lead from the six-hole with 62-1 shot Every Intention and they had command at the first stanza as the timer flashed :28.1. Still in command as they passed the halfway point in :57.2 the early fractions soon began to take toll on the leader.

Still second but tiring as they paced by the three quarters in 1:27.1 Maynard and Every Intention watched as Ms Wigg and Big Turn On zoomed by to take command. In the lane Big Turn On was the strong horse and rebuffed late charges from both Dirty Devil (Gavin Cook) and Lucky Man (Jennifer Lappe) to score a solid one length triumph.

It was great, Cheree Wigg said via telephone about her driving victory tonight at Yonkers. I got away OK from the mobile in third place, followed the leaders and then popped out at the three quarters and skipped away on the turn. My horse was strong and held off the others to win it.

The winner, a six-year-old altered son of Mr Big, is owned by Joseph Di Francesco and trained by Bruno Nicolo. He paid $12.20 for win and set up a $75.50 all-Kiwi Exacta.

The final leg of the USA-New Zealand Friendship Competition will be contested tomorrow at Monticello Raceway where two events are slated as races three and six on the 10-card.

(NAADA)
A man has pled guilty to setting a fire at a barn that killed 13 horses this past April.

According to an article on wlns.com, Payton Mellema recently agreed to a plea deal in connection to the deadly April 8, 2017 fire at The Barn for Equine Learning in western Michigan.

The fire that Mellema set thoroughly burnt a 12-stall barn. Thirteen of the 15 horses that were on the property lost their lives in the blaze. The two horses that survived had been new additions to the property.

The Barn for Equine Learning, which is a not-for-profit organization, provides youth and adults the opportunity to discover new experiences, challenge themselves, and grow through the healing power of horses in a therapeutic setting. The Barns horses had also spent time with the students in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programs.

A shot of the aftermath of a tragic barn fire in Michigan

According to the wlns.com article, Mellema, who lived close to the property that housed the barn, will spend three years at a mental health facility as part of the plea agreement.

Mellema also pled guilty to animal cruelty and arson charges as part of the agreement. He is scheduled to be back in court on October 31.

(With files from wlns.com)
The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie...
It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here.
Twenty-five firefighters from Southwest Washington were scheduled to head home Tuesday morning after helping California fire crews combat blazes over the weekend.

But when a new wildfire flared up near Boulder Creek, Calif., their plans changed.

As of Tuesday evening, five different fire engines  all from Cowlitz and Clark counties  were headed to the Bear Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

So far, the Bear Fire has injured five California firefighters and caused 150 people to evacuate their homes. The fire was 5 percent contained Tuesday night, according to the California Office of Emergency Services.

It will be the third wildfire the Southwest Washington strike team has worked on in four days. (Strike teams typically consist of five fire engines with three to four personnel on each engine.) The team previously helped fight the Nuns Fire in Sonoma County and Atlas Fire to the north and west of Napa and Solano counties.

Fires in Northern California claimed 40 lives last week, making it the deadliest wildfire week in state history. Wildfires also burned more than 230,000 acres and approximately 5,700 structures, according to the Office of Emergency Services.

The Southwest Washington strike team is made up of firefighters from the Longview Fire Department; Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue; Cowlitz 1 Fire & Rescue and Clark County Fire District 3.

The team includes five firefighters who were also deployed to the Eagle Creek Fire in Oregon, which started Sept. 5 and is still burning in the Columbia River Gorge.

Firefighters from Southwest Washington were eager to help with the California blazes.

This was an assignment that people stood up for, said Cowlitz 2 Captain Burt Thayer in a phone interview with The Daily News on Tuesday.

Thayer said the team has had to adjust to Californias 24-hour firefighting shifts. After spending a full day on duty, crews also get a 24-hour break. In Washington and Oregon, crews typically work 16-hour shifts for up to a week straight.

Monday was the teams day off, so the crews used it the opportunity to rest, said Thayer, who also serves as the strike teams captain.

Unlike Washington and Oregon, once people voluntarily evacuate an area in California, they are not allowed to return until the evacuation orders are lifted, he said.

Thayer said the team encountered an elderly couple who were trying to decide whether to evacuate. The couple didnt want to leave but needed supplies to stay in their home, so the strike team gave them gas from their fire engines and drinking water.

A number of people have died while fleeing the fires.

Similar to its neighbors to the north, California had a wet spring that turned into a dry summer. This caused an intense period of plant growth followed by a long period of drought  the perfect storm for an extreme fire season, Thayer said.

Over the the weekend, wildfire potential was the worst in recorded history, he said.

As more California wildfires are contained, out-of-state strike teams will start to head home.

The Southwest Washington strike team was one of six such strike teams that were ready to leave Tuesday, Thayer said.

With the Bear Fire in its initial attack phase, Thayer said hes not sure how much longer the team will be deployed.

Wildland firefighters depend on colleagues who stay behind to cover for them in their absence.

The important thing to emphasize is the folks back home, he said. We wouldnt be going out if we didnt have those folks backing us up and working the extra shifts.
AL's dialogue with CEC today

22-member delegation gets PM's approval: It will directly oppose BNP's six proposals

As a part of ongoing dialogues with the country's registered political parties, a delegation of the ruling Awami League will meet Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda today [Wednesday] apparently to convey their opinions about the next parliamentary elections.

Party sources said, the 22- member delegation will be led by party's general secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.

The list of delegation was prepared by Awami League's advisory council member HT Imam, who also heads party's election management committee, and Obaidul Quader. Later, it was sent to Prime Minister and party's president Sheikh Hasina to get final approval. Of the 22 members, veteran leaders Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Motia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karin Selim, Mohammad Nasim and Dr Moshiur Rahman, among others, have been named as participators.

Though AL presidium member Syed Ashraful Islam's name is on the list, he will not take part in the dialogue for staying abroad due to his wife's illness, sources said.

Meanwhile, the AL has decided to take direct opposite stance to BNP's six proposals. Taking part in today's dialogue, the AL will place 11-point proposals to the CEC. And all the proposals will be reverse to the BNP's proposals, said an AL presidium member last night.

He said: "The AL will propose that, the incumbent ministers will stay in the polls-time supportive government headed by PM Sheikh Hasina. Besides, the parliament will not be dissolved during the election. However, there will be no session in the last three months." The BNP earlier on Monday during a dialogue with CEC gave 20 proposals, including dissolution of parliament and a polls-time supportive government to oversee the next general elections. Apart from it, the BNP also demanded deployment of armed forces personnel provided with magistracy power during the polls.

Against this backdrop, the AL will propose CEC not to bring the armed forces under the definition of law enforcement agencies. Rather, the ruling party will propose to engage armed forces as a striking force during the polls.

Moreover, the AL is set to give specific proposal to CEC for amending the Representation of People's Act [RPO] targeting the upcoming polls.

"The next elections will be held in line with the Constitution. It's a settled issue. The election was held in 2014 as per Constitution. Then why BNP is demanding another system now? BNP will have to participate in the election considering that Sheikh Hasina will stay as head of the poll-time government," Mohammad Nasim said.

Several AL leaders said, the ruling party will be compelled to amend the constitution, if it accepts BNP's demand. But there is no possibility of amending constitution over the polls system in the near future.

Interestingly, the AL will hold dialogue with CEC at a time when Nurul Huda is facing tremendous criticism from the ruling party stalwarts for lauding BNP founder General Ziaur Rahman that "he had restored multi-party democracy" in the country. "BNP has many contributions as a big political party in the country", the CEC also said during the dialogue with BNP delegation on October 15. Countering the statement, Mohammad Nasim yesterday asked the CEC to remain tight-lipped. "Why you are talking so much? We are politicians here to talk. You better stay tigh-lipped."

On August 22, the election commission started series dialogues with 40 registered political parties with a view to taking their opinions over its preparation for the next parliamentary elections. The commission first of all sat in talks with Sangskritik Muktijote.


Flood damages over Tk 15 cr in livestock sector



The recent devastating flood caused Taka 15.68 crore loss in livestock and poultry sector in 21 flood affected districts across the country, said a Department of Livestock Services (DLS) report.

The onslaught of flood has damaged some 2,121 livestock and poultry firms, 13,159 cattle heads, 5,41950 poultry flocks and huge amount of animal and poultry feeds, the DLS report details.

"The DLS has already sent a proposal with an outlay of over Taka 52 crore to the concerned ministry for providing relief assistance to the flood affected livestock and poultry farmers across the country,"said Director General (DG) of the Department of Livestock Services.

The proposed money would also be spent for vaccination, drugs, feed supply for flood affected livestock and poultry feed, he added.

Meanwhile, the DLS has ensured emergency healthcare service through providing vaccination and drugs for the livestock and poultries by deploying 130 medical teams at upazila level, Haq said.

The DLS, so far, has provided vaccines to some 3,37,840 livestock and 8,45,936 poultry flocks and health care services to 1,40,945 livestock and 8,25,415 poultry flocks in 21 districts, the DG said.

In Naogaon district, a total of 806 livestock firms and 4,532 cattle heads were damaged during the onslaught of flood.

In Tangail, a total of 334 livestock firms and 7,101 cattle heads were damaged in the devastating flood while 490 poultry firms and 3,85,000 flocks were damaged in the flood in the district.

In Kurigram, some 197 livestock firms and 1074 cattle heads were damaged in the district.

In addition to this, 491 tonnes cereal animal food worth of Taka 1.50 crore and 10,187 tonnes hay (straws) worth of Taka 7.07 crore were also damaged in the flood.

Regarding the rehabilitation programme in livestock sector, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Narayon Chandra Chanda said "We have send a message to the government ... a proposal has also been sent to the finance ministry ...But no further initiative so far has been taken by the government."
What forces are fueling Myanmar's Rohingya crisis?

Eleanor Albert :

Discriminatory policies of Myanmar's government since the late 1970s have compelled hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to flee their homes in the predominantly Buddhist country. Most have crossed by land into Bangladesh, while others have taken to the sea to reach Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Renewed violence, including reported rape, murder, and arson in 2017, triggered a massive exodus of Rohingya amid charges of ethnic cleansing against Myanmar's security forces. Those forces claim to be carrying out a campaign to reinstate stability in the western region of Myanmar.

Who are the Rohingya?

The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority who practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam. A majority of the estimated one million Rohingya in Myanmar reside in Rakhine State, where they account for nearly a third of the population. They differ from Myanmar's dominant Buddhist groups ethnically, linguistically, and religiously.

The Rohingya trace their origins in the region to the fifteenth century, when thousands of Muslims came to the former Arakan Kingdom. Many others arrived during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Rakhine was governed by colonial rule as part of British India. Since independence in 1948, successive governments in Burma, renamed Myanmar in 1989, have refuted the Rohingya's historical claims and denied the group recognition as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The Rohingya are largely considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many trace their roots in Myanmar back centuries. Neither the central government nor Rakhine's dominant ethnic Buddhist group, known as the Rakhine, recognize the label "Rohingya," a self-identifying term that surfaced in the 1950s, which experts say provides the group with a collective political identity. Though the etymological root of the word is disputed, the most widely accepted theory is that Rohang derives from the word "Arakan" in the Rohingya dialect and ga or gya means "from." By identifying as Rohingya, the ethnic Muslim group asserts its ties to land that was once under the control of the Arakan Kingdom, according to Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, a Thailand-based advocacy group.

Map of Rohingya migration routes

What is the legal status of the Rohingya?

The government refuses to grant the Rohingya citizenship, and as a result the vast majority of the group's members have no legal documentation, effectively making them stateless. Myanmar's 1948 citizenship law was already exclusionary, and the military junta, which seized power in 1962, introduced a law twenty years later stripping the Rohingya of access to full citizenship. Until recently, the Rohingya had been able to register as temporary residents with identification cards, known as white cards, that the junta began issuing to many Muslims, both Rohingya and non-Rohingya, in the 1990s. The white cards conferred [PDF] limited rights but were not recognized as proof of citizenship. Still, Lewa says that they did provide some recognition of temporary stay for the Rohingya in Myanmar. In 2014 the government held a UN-backed national census, its first in thirty years. The Muslim minority group was initially permitted to identify as Rohingya, but after Buddhist nationalists threatened to boycott the census, the government decided the Rohingya could only register if they identified as Bengali instead.

Rakhine State is Myanmar's least developed state, with a poverty rate of 78 percent.

Similarly, under pressure from Buddhist nationalists protesting the Rohingya's right to vote in a 2015 constitutional referendum, then-President Thein Sein canceled the temporary identity cards in February 2015, effectively revoking their newly gained right to vote. (White card holders were allowed to vote in Myanmar's 2008 constitutional referendum and 2010 general elections.) In the 2015 elections, which were widely touted by international monitors as free and fair, no parliamentary candidate was of the Muslim faith. "Country-wide anti-Muslim sentiment [PDF] makes it politically difficult for the government to take steps seen as supportive of Muslim rights," writes the International Crisis Group.

Muslim minorities continue to "consolidate under one Rohingya identity," says Lewa, despite documentation by rights groups and researchers of systematic disenfranchisement, violence, and instances of anti-Muslim campaigns [PDF].

Why are the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar?

The Myanmar government has effectively institutionalized discrimination against the ethnic group through restrictions on marriage, family planning, employment, education, religious choice, and freedom of movement. For example, Rohingya couples in the northern towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung are only allowed to have two children [PDF]. Rohingya must also seek permission to marry, which may require them to bribe authorities and provide photographs of the bride without a headscarf and the groom with a clean-shaven face, practices that conflict with Muslim customs. To move to a new home or travel outside their townships, Rohingya must gain government approval. Moreover, Rakhine State is Myanmar's least developed state, with a poverty rate of 78 percent, compared to the 37.5 percent national average, according to World Bank estimates. Widespread poverty, poor infrastructure, and a lack of employment opportunities in Rakhine have exacerbated the cleavage between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya. This tension is deepened by religious differences that have at times erupted into conflict.

What's caused the recent exodus?

Clashes in Rakhine broke out in August 2017, killing more than five hundred people after a militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed responsibility for attacks on police and army posts. The government declared ARSA a terrorist organization and the military mounted a brutal campaign that destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages and forced more than five hundred thousand Rohingya to leave Myanmar, approximately half of the estimated Rohingya population in the country. Myanmar's security forces allegedly opened fire on fleeing civilians and planted land mines near border crossings used by Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.

Rights groups and UN leaders have condemned the escalating violence and atrocities, which have been described by a number of observers as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The clashes and exodus have created what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls a "humanitarian and human rights nightmare." At an emergency UN Security Council meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Myanmar authorities have carried out "brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority," and she called on members to suspend weapons provisions to the military. Other Security Council members, like Russia and China, have resisted increasing pressure on Myanmar's government because they say it is trying to restore stability. An international response that consists primarily of assigning blame for this humanitarian tragedy is no longer tenable.

Sectarian violence is not new to Rakhine State. Security campaigns in the past five years, notably in 2012 and 2016, also resulted in the flight of tens of thousands of Rohingya from their homes. Most displaced Rohingya have been forced to take shelter in squalid refugee camps, many across the border in Bangladesh where humanitarian resources are stretched thin. Children, women, and the elderly make up much of the latest wave of refugees who have fled to Bangladesh. According to employees of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, camps were able to provide less than one liter of water a day per person and medical services were operating beyond their capacity, as of September 2017. Other refugees have turned to smugglers, paying for transport out of Bangladesh and Myanmar and risking exploitation.

Where are the Rohingya migrating?

Bangladesh: Most Rohingya have sought refuge in nearby Bangladesh, which hosts tens of thousands of registered refugees. Hundreds of thousands of unregistered Rohingya refugees are also believed to live in the country, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates. Conditions in most of the country's refugee camps are dire, driving many Rohingya there to risk a perilous voyage across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. In January 2017, Myanmar agreed to begin talks with Bangladesh on refugees, yet border posts in Bangladesh have at times forcibly returned Rohingya. Amid the refugee influx in September, Bangladesh announced that it would create special identity cards for Rohingya to help bring order to the surging migrant flow and expand the existing camps for refugees.

Malaysia: As of August 2017, more than 88 percent of Malaysia's 149,100 registered refugees were from Myanmar, including sixty-one thousand Rohingya, according to the United Nations. Rohingya who have arrived safely in Malaysia have no legal status and are unable to work, leaving their families cut off from access to education and health care.

Thailand: Thailand is a hub for regional human smuggling and serves as a common transit point for Rohingya. Migrants often arrive there by boat from Bangladesh or Myanmar before continuing on foot to Malaysia or by boat to Indonesia or Malaysia. The military-led Thai government has cracked down on smuggling rings after the discovery of mass graves in alleged camps where gangs held hostages. Dozens of people, including a general, provincial officials, and police, were found guilty in 2017 of the deaths of trafficked Rohingya. But some experts say punishing traffickers only disrupts the networks, but does not dismantle them.

Indonesia: The Rohingya have also sought refuge in Indonesia, although the number of refugees from Myanmar there remains relatively small. During the spring 2015 migration surge, Indonesia's military chief expressed concerns that easing immigration restrictions would spark an influx of people. Amid international pressure, Indonesia admitted one thousand Rohingya and provided them with emergency assistance and protection. Has civilian leadership changed the Myanmar government's policies?

In 2016, Myanmar's first democratically elected government in a generation came to power, but critics say it has been reluctant to advocate for Rohingya and other Muslims for fear of alienating Buddhist nationalists and threatening the power-sharing agreement the civilian government maintains with the military.

Some observers saw the establishment in August 2016 of an advisory commission on ethnic strife led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a positive development, but subsequent outbreaks of violence have curbed this optimism. Violence will not bring lasting solutions to the acute problems that afflict the Rakhine State, said Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, has denied that ethnic cleansing is taking place and dismissed international criticism of her handling of the crisis, accusing critics of fueling resentment between Buddhists and Muslims in the country. In September 2017, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said her government had "already started defending all the people in Rakhine in the best way possible."

How is the region responding?

Protesters have at times gathered in cities in Pakistan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh to condemn the killing and persecution of Rohingya. In September 2017, Bangladesh's foreign minister condemned the violence in Rakhine as "genocide" and Indonesia has called on the Myanmar authorities to halt their campaign and bring an end to the violence. Yet governments in Southeast Asia lack established legal frameworks to protect refugees' rights, and the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have not coordinated a response to the deepening crisis.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand-all ASEAN members-have yet to ratify the UN Refugee Convention or its protocol. ASEAN itself has been silent on the plight of the Rohingya and on the growing numbers of asylum seekers in member countries, largely because of its members' commitment to the principle of noninterference in each other's internal affairs.

How have others responded?

In December 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama lifted sanctions against Myanmar, saying that the country had made strides in improving human rights. The move came amid a crackdown on Rohingya and was criticized by some as premature. In September 2017, the United States committed $32 million to supply food, medical care, water, and shelter for Rohingya who have fled but there has been no talk of reimposing sanctions. Advocacy groups including Human Rights Watch, the Arakan Project, and Fortify Rights continue to appeal to major international players to exert pressure on Myanmar's government. Others, such as Priscilla Clapp, a former U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, say that placing sole blame on Myanmar oversimplifies and misrepresents the complexities of the country's historical ethnic diversity. "An international response that consists primarily of assigning blame for this humanitarian tragedy is no longer tenable. It is time for the international community to organize a realistic, workable solution," writes Clapp.

Annan's advisory commission published its findings in late August 2017, after a year of investigation. It recommended that Myanmar lift restrictions on movement and citizenship. "Tensions remain high and they risk becoming worse. Violence will not bring lasting solutions to the acute problems that afflict the Rakhine State," Annan said.

Resentment of the minority group has run deep for generations. Without overhauling "a culture of pervasive prejudice" and ensuring that Rohingya are treated as human beings, the situation in Rakhine State is unlikely to improve, says journalist and author Francis Wade.

Courtesy: Council for Foreign Relations


Diplomacy must work in Korean peninsula

THE Korean peninsula is closer to war again as a North Korean official reaffirmed on Monday Pyongyang's commitment to developing a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching "all the way to the East coast of the mainland US." He said his country is currently not interested in diplomacy with the US until it achieves that goal, as per international media reports.







President Trump is serious to carry out a pre-emptive strike on the North this moment but Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense and such other senior administration officials are still committed to try diplomacy until the first weapon fired. We believe that the volatile situation must be held under check because such war involving nuclear warheads will destroy the region.







North Korea is not ruling out diplomacy, but wants to send a clear message that the DPRK has a reliable defensive and offensive capability to counter any aggression from the United States, as per reports quoting North Korean officials. The comments offer a sobering challenge to the US and the Trump administration giving mixed messages regarding diplomatic efforts with North Korea. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Americans should be concerned about North Korea's ability to reach the United States with an intercontinental ballistic missile, cryptically telling reporters that if the threat grows "beyond where it is today, well, let's hope that diplomacy works."





Significantly, Kelly noted that Pyongyang "is developing a pretty good nuclear re-entry vehicle. "For a missile to successfully strike a target it would have to re-enter the earth's atmosphere without breaking up. Kelly's comments seem to indicate that the US believes North Korea is close to achieving what would be a key breakthrough for their missile program.





A North Korean official is said to have stated that two additional steps are needed to achieve its goal of a reliable ICBM. Last week, North Korean state media renewed a threat to launch missiles toward the US territory of Guam, warning that "reckless moves" by the US would compel Pyongyang to take action.





It appears that North Korea is ignoring President Donald Trump's warning of decisive US response with 'fire and fury' and the way it is proceeding with new missile programme on test pad may trigger the war in the peninsula any time now. Trump with his unpredictable temper may start it while senior administration officials and Congress are trying to limit the President's power to order the first strike without broad-based approval. Its cost may be too big for the US and its two allies - Japan and South Korea in addition to the North in terms of devastation and loss to human life. Many believe North Korea would not use the weapons first. Kim values his regime's survival above all else and knows the use of a nuclear weapon would start a war he could not win. So the US should avoid war and wait.






Traffic chaos in city as Khaleda returns home

City experienced huge traffic gridlock following the arrival of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia from the UK on Wednesday afternoon, causing immense sufferings to commuters.

Staff Reporter :

Traffic around the city came to a standstill on Wednesday afternoon, as BNP supporters took to Airport Road to greet Khaleda Zia on her return home.

BNP chief Khaleda Zia returned home yesterday after three months stay in the UK.

She landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka by a flight of Emirates Airlines around 5:10 pm.

Her arrival created traffic chaos in city, as roads leading to the airport were chocked with processions and motorcades of BNP activists. They took to the both sides of airport road and its thoroughfares since 2:00 pm to welcome Khaleda Zia at the airport halting vehicular movement. It ultimately affected the traffic in other parts of the capital.

The Bijoy Sarani-Mirpur, Mirpur-Mohakhali, Airport-Khilkhet, Banani-Kakoli roads saw clogged with heavy traffic jam that caused untold sufferings to commuters. The jam also extended up to Tongi, slowing down Dhaka to Tongi bound vehicles, officials of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said.

They said all major roads stretching from Airport to Kuril Biswa road remained gridlocked since 2:00pm due to the gathering of BNP supporters.

"Traffic almost came to a halt on the airport road causing huge inconvenience to hundreds of commuters, Al Mamun, a business man, told The New Nation.

He said it took him two hours to reach his Uttara residence from Banani instead of the usual half an hour.

Many people headed for their destinations on foot due to the massive gridlock.

Massive traffic snarl was also seen in many areas of the capital in the afternoon.
US with BD over Rohingya issue: Bernicat



Urging global leaders to come forward to resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis, US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat on Wednesday said the USA will be there beside Bangladesh over Rohingya issue.

"The USA will always stand beside Bangladesh on Rohingya issue," she told a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at its office here.

Praising Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership, she said Bangladesh has shown a humanitarian attitude to the forcedly displaced Rohingya people.

About the Bangladesh's RMG sector, Bernicat said there was instability in Bangladesh following its national elections in the past and buyers may take into consideration the probable political instability over the upcoming national election while placing their orders.

The US envoy stressed the need for modernising Chittagong seaport with sophisticated machineries and equipment, and hiring skilled manpower to strengthen its capacity.

During the meeting, BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman said the people of Bangladesh like no violence and there will be no unexpected situation in the country over the next general election. BGMEA vice-president Mohammad Nasir and its directors Miran Ali and Md Munir Hossain were, among others, present at the meeting, said a BGMEA press release.
China, Russia's role important in resolving Rohingya crisis: EU

European Union (EU) Ambassador in Dhaka Rensje Teerink on Wednesday said the role of China and Russia is very important in finding a solution to Rohingya crisis but economic interest apparently made the 'solution difficult'.

"Countries like China and Russia aren't really ready to go step forward," she said adding that it is always a question of the flow of money and whether the investment is flowing.

The newly appointed Ambassador also said Myanmar is an important part of larger Belt and Road initiative China is currently devising and put it into operation which might be a reason why many countries are not so outspoken even in the face of ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses.

"So, it's a very difficult question," the EU envoy said laying importance of taking to China, Russia and India on board, and mentioned that it is very difficult part of the equation.

The Ambassador said it wants to see Myanmar's reply before taking any toughest measures like imposing economic embargo or other restrictive measures against the country.

"We've to first see what and how Myanmar is going to respond before using all these avenues. Let's first see how they reply and in due course other measures can be taken," Teerink said mentioning that economic embargo is the strongest measure they could take.

In general terms, she said they do not see any goodwill from Myanmar side so far to really come forward and respect their commitments. "Absolutely, there's no progress."

One of the commitments is to work with Bangladesh to take back their nationals from Bangladesh.

The new EU Ambassador was interacting with diplomatic correspondents at 'DCAB talk' in a city hotel.

On Monday, the EU and its member states decided to suspend invitations to the Commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces and other senior military officers and review all practical defence cooperation.

"It's a symbolic measure but I think it's an important one and a significant message to Myanmar," Teerink said.

The EU confirmed the relevance of the current EU restrictive measures which consist of an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression.

The decision was conveyed on Monday in the wake of the disproportionate use of force carried out by security forces.

The European Council may consider 'additional measures' if the situation does not improve, but also stands ready to respond accordingly to positive developments.

"We'll have to follow the situation very closely in the coming weeks," Teerink said.

The EU also intends to seize the opportunity of the forthcoming ASEM Foreign Ministerial Meeting to be held in Nay Pyi Taw on November 20-21 to engage, in the margins thereof, in a constructive dialogue with the government and will also continue to liaise with all Asian partners in this regard.

"This is a very important meeting and we look forward to it to convince Myanmar to do the right thing," said Teerink.

She said EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides will arrive here on October 30 to see the Rohingya situation on the ground.

The EU will continue to address these vital issues and all the challenges linked to the process of democratic transition in the framework of its continuing engagement with the government of Myanmar and in all relevant international fora, notably the UN. Ambassador Teerink also talked about EU's interest to send election observation mission ahead of the next national election in Bangladesh.

She, however, said it depends when Bangladesh's interest and the election observation mission will be deployed once Bangladesh sends invitation to that end.

The EU Ambassador submitted her letter of credence to President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Tuesday.

She joined the European Commission in 1995 as administrator for South Asia. In 2006, she was appointed Deputy Head of Unit for India, Nepal, Bhutan and Saarc.

DCAB President Rezaul Karim Lotus and General Secretary Pantho Rahman also spoke on the occasion.
Myanmar forces use targeted campaign to terrorise, drive out Rohingyas: Amnesty

Various diseases have broken out at Rohingya Camps in an epidemic form. This photo was taken from Balukhali Camp on Wednesday.

Amnesty International says Myanmar security forces are using crimes against humanity in a targeted, systematic and widespread campaign of violence to drive Rohingyas out of Rakhine state.

In their latest report on the crisis on Wednesday, the rights organisation says dozens of eyewitnesses have accused specific units of using murder, rape and burning.

"In this orchestrated campaign, Myanmar's security forces have brutally meted out revenge on the entire Rohingya population of northern Rakhine State, in an apparent attempt to permanently drive them out of the country," said Amnesty International Crisis Response Director Tirana Hassan. "These atrocities continue to fuel the region's worst refugee crisis in decades."

"Exposing these heinous crimes is the first step on the long road to justice. Those responsible must be held to account; Myanmar's military can't simply sweep serious violations under the carpet by announcing another sham internal investigation. The Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, must take immediate action to stop his troops from committing atrocities."

The organisation says the interviews are corroborated by satellite imagery and data and photo and video evidence. The operation thus amounts to a 'widespread and systematic attack, amounting to crimes against humanity', it said. Amnesty says it has documented murder, deportation and forcible displacement, torture, rape and other sexual violence, persecution, and other inhumane acts such as denying food and other life-saving provisions, which are all considered crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

The testimonies include accounts from 120 Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks and 30 interviews with medical professionals, aid workers, journalists and Bangladeshi officials. Following ARSA attacks on Aug 25, Myanmar security forces surrounded Rohingya villages in Rakhine and opened fire, killing or seriously injuring hundreds of people, Amnesty said. This was repeated in 'in dozens of villages across Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung townships'. Amnesty says it has documented the killings of a dozen people in Chein Kar Li, Koe Tan Kauk, and Chut Pyin villages in Rathedaung Township; and Inn Din and Min Gyi, in Maungdaw Township. The death tolls were highest in Chut Pyin and Min Gyi, where the organisation estimates scores were killed. The Amnesty report included interviews with seven Rohingya survivors of sexual violence by Myanmar security forces. It also found remote satellite sensing evidence of at least 156 large fires in Rakhine since Aug 25, but says it may be an underestimate. On Tuesday, rights organisation Human Rights Watch released a separate report that claimed to have satellite evidence that 288 Rohingya villages had been burned in Rakhine state. Over half a million Rohingya refugees have crossed the border into Bangladesh since the military operation began on Aug 25.


Threats to start war with North Korea `dangerous, short-sighted`: Hillary

Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump\'s \"dangerous and short-sighted\" war of words with North Korea.

Reuters, Seoul :

Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more outfront role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," said Clinton at a forum in the South Korean capital Seoul, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said, but did not mention Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump's insults towards North Korea on Twitter, saying "the insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don't think they've benefited the United States".

The tweets are making future negotiations with North Korea difficult, she said, adding that Washington should "incessantly, persistently work" to get involved parties to dialogue with North Korea.

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader "little rocket man" on a suicide mission, and vowed to destroy North Korea if it threatens the United States or its allies. North Korea has in turn called Trump "mentally deranged".

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said Washington's allies have increasingly been expressing concerns over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming sidelined with North Korean threats and be "as forcefully patient" as possible.

Regarding China's role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off in taking a "more outfront role" in trying to "tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions" against North Korea.

Clinton said China's retaliatory actions against South Korean companies doing business in China following the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job containing and deterring North Korea.

China has been curbing South Korean businesses there since Seoul decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, saying its powerful radar could be used to pierce its territory. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Korea's missile threats.
AL leaders meet Ctg WASA officials

A Correspondent :

The leaders of Bangladesh Awami League Chittagong city committee held a meeting with the officials of Chittagong WASA at its office in the port city on Tuesday.

Managing director of Chittagong WASA Engineer A K M Fazlullah disclosed that the Chittagong WASA is going to solve the crisis of water of the city dwellers within short time as the undergoing projects are likely to be completed as soon as possible.

The leaders of Awami League Chittagong city committee called upon the WASA official to meet the demands of water of the city dwellers as soon as possible.

Among other leaders of Awami League Chittagong city committee, Khorshed Alam Sujan, Naimuddin Ahmod, Altaf Hossain Bachu, Shafique Adnan, Chandan Dhar, Moshiur Rahman, WASA member Tapon Chakraborti, and Managing director of Chittagong WASA Engineer A K M Fazlullah addressed the meeting. Besides, the top officials of Chittagong WASA also present at the meeting.
Unwarranted mindfulness and meditation practices may cause harm

Life Desk :

Mindfulness or Meditation techniques should not be oversold to people without caution or condition-specific modifications. Studies of intervention such as mindfulness based stress reduction(MBSR)may not provide valid or reliable evidence. According to the National Institutes of Health's stage model, only 30 percentage of MBIs have progressed past the first stage in clinical research.

No concrete scientific evidence has been provided and the developmental research on the subject seems to be lagging behind the people's widespread use of mindfulness and meditation techniques, discussed a group of 15 experts In an article published In Perspectives on Psychological Science journal.

'scientific studies are needed to clarify on implementation of mindfulness and meditation techniques as it may lead to waste of time and money and sometimes even worse needless adverse effects.'

Recent years have seen a huge surge not only in media and scientific articles about mindfulness and meditation, the authors wrote, but also in the implementation of medical interventions for everything from depression to addiction, pain and stress.

The widespread adoption of therapies has put the field at a critical crossroads, the authors argued, where appropriate checks and balances must be implemented.

"Misinformation and poor methodology associated with past studies of mindfulness may lead public consumers to be harmed, misled and disappointed," they wrote.

Co-author Willoughby Britton, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University said: "We are sometimes overselling the benefits of mindfulness to pretty much any person who has any condition, without much caution, nuance or condition-specific modifications, instructor training criteria, and basic science around mechanism of action.

The possibility of unsafe or adverse effects has been largely ignored. This situation is not unique to mindfulness, but because of mindfulness's widespread use in mental health, schools and apps, it is not ideal from a public health perspective."

Lead author Nicholas Van Dam, a clinical psychologist and research fellow in psychological sciences at the University of Melbourne in Australia, said that the point of the article is not to disparage mindfulness and meditation practice or research, but to ensure that their applications for enhancing mental and physical health become more reflective of scientific evidence.

So far, such applications have largely been unsupported, according to major reviews of available evidence in 2007 and again in 2014.

"The authors think there can be something beneficial about mindfulness and meditation," Van Dam said. "We think these practices might help people. But the rigor that should go along with developing and applying them just isn't there yet. Results from the few large-scale studies that have been conducted so far have proven equivocal at best."

Added co-author David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, "Sometimes, truly promising fields of endeavor get outstripped by efforts to harvest them before they're really ripe; then workers there must step back, pause to take stock, and get a better plan before moving onward."

Future efforts to improve the quality of mindfulness and meditation research will be bolstered by a new research center at Brown University, led by Eric Loucks, an associate professor in the university's School of Public Health

. "The center's mission will be to perform high-quality, methodologically rigorous research about impacts of mindfulness on health, and to offer collaborative, evidence-based resources for hospitals, schools and businesses that are interested in offering mindfulness-based interventions," Loucks said.

Among the biggest problems facing the field is that mindfulness is poorly and inconsistently defined both in popular media and the scientific literature.

According to the authors, there "is neither one universally accepted technical definition of 'mindfulness' nor any broad agreement about detailed aspects of the underlying concept to which it refers." As a result, research papers have varied widely in what they actually examine, and often, their focus can be hard to discern.

"Any study that uses the term 'mindfulness' must be scrutinized carefully, ascertaining exactly what type of 'mindfulness' was involved, what sorts of explicit instruction were actually given to participants for directing practice," the authors wrote.

"When formal meditation was used in a study, one ought to consider whether a specifically defined type of mindfulness or other meditation was the target practice."

"Without specific, well-defined terms to describe not only practices but also their effects, studies of interventions such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) cannot provide valid and comparable measurements to produce reliable evidence.

" As part of its proposed remedy, the new article offers a "non-exhaustive list of defining features for characterizing contemplative and medication practices."

Along with specific, precise and standardized definitions, similar improvements in research methodology must also come, the authors wrote.

"Many intervention studies lack or have inactive control groups," Van Dam said. The field also has struggled to achieve consistency in what it is being measured and how to measure those things perceived to be of greatest importance to mindfulness.

Van Dam said the situation is akin to earlier psychological research on intelligence. This concept proved to be too broad and too vague to measure directly.

Ultimately, however, psychologists have made progress by studying the "particular cognitive capacities that, in combination, may make people functionally more or less intelligent," he and his co-authors wrote.

Thus, the authors wrote, "We recommend that future research on mindfulness aim to produce a body of work for describing and explaining what biological, emotional, cognitive, behavioral and social, as well as other such mental and physical functions, change with mindfulness training."

A wide variety of contemplative practices have been studied for an even larger variety of purposes, yet in both basic and clinical studies of mindfulness and meditation, researchers have rarely advanced to the stage where they can confidently conclude whether particular effects or specific benefits resulted directly from the practice.

Measured by the National Institutes of Health's stage model for clinical research, only 30 percent of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have moved past the first stage, and only 9 percent have tested efficacy in a research clinic against an active control.

"Given the absence of scientific rigor in much clinical mindfulness research, evidence for use of MBIs in clinical contexts should be considered preliminary.," the authors wrote.

The proposed agenda for future research is rigorous and extensive, Van Dam said. "Replication of earlier studies with appropriately randomized designs and proper active control groups will be absolutely critical," the authors continued. "In conducting this work, we recommend that researchers provide explicit detail of mindfulness measures, primary outcome measures, mindfulness/meditation practices and intervention protocol."

Researchers and care providers involved with delivering MBIs have begun to become more vigilant about possible adverse effects, the authors wrote, but more needs to be done. As of 2015, fewer than 25 percent of meditation trials actively monitored for negative or challenging experiences.

Van Dam said recent efforts to assess the neural correlates of mindfulness and meditation with technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetoencephalography, may perhaps have the potential to bring new rigor to the field.

Nonetheless, he and his co-authors also express concern in the article that these technologies so far have not fulfilled this potential.

The authors note that technologies such as MRI depend on subjects remaining physically still while being tested, and image quality can be affected by subjects' rate of breathing.

Experienced meditators may be better suited to maintaining ideal physiological states for MRI studies than are inexperienced individuals or non-meditators.

Due to such problematic factors, between-group differences in brain scans might have little to do with the mental state researchers are attempting to measure and much to do with head motion and/or breathing differences.

"Contemplative neuroscience has often led to overly simplistic interpretations of nuanced neurocognitive and affective phenomena," the authors wrote. "As a result of such oversimplifications, meditative benefits may be exaggerated and undue societal urgency to undertake mindfulness practices may be encouraged." .

Ultimately that's the authors' shared concern: Insufficient research may mislead people to think that the vague brands of "mindfulness" and "meditation" are broad-based panaceas when in fact refined interventions may only be helpful for particular people in specific circumstances. .

More, and much better, scientific studies are needed to clarify these matters. Otherwise people may waste time and money, or worse, suffer needless adverse effects.

"This paper is a coordinated effort among concerned mindfulness researchers and meditation scholars to rectify this gap to maximize benefit and minimize harm from MBIs," Britton said.

Source: Eurekalert
Commitment to save Rohingyas a must

Time is ripe for int'l community to mobilize adequate resources: UN Principals call for solidarity with Rohingyas: Pledging Conference in Geneva on 23 October to urge governments to share burden

Describing terrible sufferings of Rohingyas staying in the camps of Coxs Bazar, the International Organization for Migration [IOM] has warned that if adequate resources are not mobilized by the international community thousands would suffer without food, shelter and health care.

The IOM is now coordinating the humanitarian response to the crisis in Bangladesh in support of the Bangladesh government's efforts.

Its Director General William Lacy Swing, who on Wednesday completed a three-day visit to Bangladesh, said: I saw women carrying small babies, only a few days old, sometimes born while their young mothers were fleeing deadly violence in torrential rains. I saw young children, who had lost not just their parents, but any remnants of hope. We must make a commitment to these women and children, who are among the most vulnerable in the world, that we will do everything in our ability to ensure that their suffering stops here.

The IOM DG said, If adequate resources are not mobilized by the international community, we cannot make that commitment. Thousands will suffer without food, shelter, health care and protection, said.

IOM, the Government of Bangladesh and our partners have made a commitment to strengthen support to Rohingyas. Now it is time for the international community to echo that support, Swing noted.



The needs on the ground are enormous, in quantity and complexity. I am impressed by the Government of Bangladeshs mobilization of its own resources, as well as the local communitys support, from identifying land to be converted into settlements to providing food, water and healthcare to Rohingyas. We cannot forget, who the first responders to this emergency were and who remains on the frontline of the response  Bangladeshis, said Swing.

Swing also highlighted the critical importance of a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Myanmar, based on the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State established by Myanmars Office of the State Counsellor and the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Humanitarian aid alone is not a solution. The root causes of this crisis are in Myanmar and there can be no lasting peace in Rakhine without inclusive development. We see the recommendations as a roadmap to peaceful co-existence and welcome the Myanmar Governments commitment to implementing the Commissions findings. The first step in that implementation process will be to urgently allow UN agencies to resume their work in Rakhine State, he said.

Meanwhile, three top UN personalities, including Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees[UNHCR], Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and William Lacy Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration[IOM] have made an appeal to the international community to express solidarity to the displaced Rohingyas.

In a joint statement issued on Monday, they said every day more vulnerable people arrive with very little -- if anything  and settle either in overcrowded existing camps or extremely congested makeshift sites.

They are fully dependent on humanitarian assistance for food, water, health and other essential needs. Basic services are under severe strain. In some sites, there is no access to potable water, and sanitation facilities are absent, raising health risks for both the refugees and the communities hosting them, the statement continued.

We call on the international community to intensify efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the plight of the Rohingya, to end the desperate exodus, to support host communities and ensure the conditions that will allow for refugees eventual voluntary return in safety and dignity. The origins and, thus, the solutions to this crisis lie in Myanmar.

Let us all come together on 23 October at the pledging conference and send a strong message to the Rohingya refugees and their generous hosts in Bangladesh that the world is there for them in their greatest time of need, the statement said.

It is to be noted that, a Pledging Conference in Geneva on 23 October 2017 is being organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA], International Organization for Migration [IOM] and UNHCR and co-hosted by the European Union and Kuwait.

According to UN officials, the meeting would urge governments from around the world to show their solidarity and share the burden and responsibility. The international support for the US$434 million Joint Response Plan, which was recently launched by the UN and partners, is urgently needed to sustain and scale up the large humanitarian effort, they said.

Officials of the Coxs Bazar district administration said much more assistance, especially basic shelter, is urgently needed to tackle the situation. It is estimated that 72% of the total Rohingya population in Coxs Bazar is residing in the camps of Ukhiya upazila.

A recent assessment conducted by Needs and population monitoring [NPM] found that the majority of the Rohingya population in Coxs Bazar is between 18 to 59 years old [37%] and 6 to 17 years old [28%]. There is almost equal proportion of Male [49%] and Female [51%] both for the total as well as for each of the age group category [+/- 1%].

The assessment highlighted lactating mothers [9.2%] and Pregnant Woman [4.9%] as the two highest number of vulnerable groups within the population. There is 3.6% of the to-tal number of households are female headed and 2.2% by elderly persons.

Although Bangladesh has kept its borders open and offering shelter to them, most of the Rohingyas are now staying in the camps in an inhuman condition. The local administration, NGOs, volunteers and the United Nations are working to provide food and shelter. But it is too insufficient for the large number of displaced persons, according to local sources.

Over 1.2 million, registered and unregistered Rohingyas, have so far been taken shelter in Bangladesh fleeing discrimination, violence and persecution, as well as isolation and fear, in the northern Rakhine State of Myanmar.




3 killed at Maryland office park shooting

AP, Edgewood :

A gunman opened fire at a Maryland office park on Wednesday morning, killing three co-workers and wounding two others, authorities and the business owner said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler identified the shooter as 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince. He said Prince opened fire with a handgun and then fled the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood.

Police were looking for him, and he was considered armed and dangerous. The sheriff did not release a motive for the shooting. The owner of a home improvement company in the office park said the victims and the suspect all worked for him at

Advanced Granite Solutions. Barak Caba told The Associated Press in a brief telephone interview that the suspect has been an employee for four months. He said the man was a machine operator.

Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details. The wounded were in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Center's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
Employees work at an Oi SA store in Brasilia, Brazil. [Photo/Agencies]

China Telecommunications Corp, the country's third largest telecom carrier by mobile subscribers, said on Wednesday that Brazilian telecom company Oi SA was among the several potential targets it had considered for investment, Bloomberg reported.

The news came after its two rivalsChina Mobile Communications Corp and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltdset up subsidiaries in Brazil earlier this year to pursue business opportunities in the large South American country.

"We have been actively looking for overseas expansion and have looked at many different projects, including Oi," said Yang Jie, chairman of China Telecom, in an interview at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Yang's words represent the most explicit public remarks about China Telecom's interest in the debt-laden Brazilian firm.

Oi, which provides phone services in hundreds of Brazilian cities, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Also known as the largest filing of this kind in the country's history, the carrier has been struggling with a debt of $19 billion.

"Compared with other economies in South America, Brazil has an array of advantages as it is not only one of the major powers with the fastest economic growth but also has a stable political environment and hence an ideal market for telecom firms," said Xiang Ligang, a smartphone expert and CEO of telecom industry website Cctime.

China Telecom disclosed earlier this year that the carrier will invest more than $1 billion over the next three to five years to expand its presence in economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Its rivals China Mobile and China Unicom set up branches in Brazil respectively in September and October.

"An investment in Oi is very valuable for China Telecom, for a local partner will make its expansion plan far easier. With an increasing number of Chinese traveling abroad in recent years, having an overseas presence has become very important for Chinese telecom firms," he added.

By the end of 2016, China Telecom had more than 4,700 overseas employees, with branches and offices in 30 countries and regions, most of which are involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The State-owned company said it would also step up resources to complete four cross-border telecom infrastructure initiatives, including the China-Pakistan information corridor, the China-Laos-Thailand and the China-Bangladesh-Myanmar-India projects.
If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs.
1.

Liars wrote Floridas history, but screenwriters wrote Miamis. The liars swindled tourists by inventing outlandish tales of treasure coast pirates who never existed. They tricked snowbirds into buying swampland sight unseen. Local tourism boards spun yarns about the Fountain of Youth, and upon this foundation of lies and limestone they built statewide industries of day tours, time shares, theme parks, and souvenirs.

The screenwriters did something different. Instead of ginning things up, they toned things down. They took factual vignettes from Miamis boom days and smoothed them out for mass-market consumption, creating sexy highlight reels of hot nights, glitz, and fast thrills. Whereas the most popular stories in Floridas history were fabricated by marketers and speculators, the most popular Miami myths were borne from the truth. By simplifying them, the screenwriters took the tales nationwide.

No city in America owes more of its reputation to popular culture and less to reported history than Miami. One reason is because the city, incorporated in 1896, lacks as much scholarly or critical examination as its older peers. Theres no Power Broker for Miami; theres no City on the Make; and dont get me started on Tom Wolfe. Yet its also because by now, with no disrespect to Arva Moore Parks, there are precious few historical or journalistic touchstones that could ever be more widely read than Miami Vice was viewed. In most imaginations, the closest thing Miami has to an essential story is Scarface. While flawed, maligned, and largely filmed in Los Angeles, the film successfully hit on the four foundational (and true!) pillars of Miamis modern development: Cuban immigration, glamorous nightlife, its edgy underbelly, and the narcotics trade fueling it all. Because they came first and made the most noise, Scarface and Miami Vice solidified Miamis reputation. Once America met Crockett, Tubbs, and Tony, they got the gist.

Or so they thought. In Hotel Scarface, Roben Farzad uncovers the real stories that inspired those screenwriters. Along the way, he proves that the Magic Citys reality has always been wilder, deeper, and more complicated than it seems. Best of all, Farzads nonfiction accountfreed from MPAA ratings and the FCCincludes some of the most salacious details the screenwriters couldnt: pasta fetishes, CIA-backed narco-trafficking, Dom Perignon baths and all.

2.

Set in the age of Donna Summer and deviated septums, Hotel Scarface is about Coconut Groves infamous Mutiny Hotel and its members-only nightclub. Located steps from Biscayne at 2951 South Bayshore Drive, the Mutiny was at the time Miamis version of the Tropicana Club, and would go on to serve as the inspiration for the Babylon in Scarface. Here, celebrities did the hustle alongside narco kingpins and the law enforcement officers building cases against them. During the clubs three decades in operation, you could be stayin alive with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Randy Newman, Frankie Valli, and The Eagles. If you stayed overnight, your ostentatiously decorated room might have been last occupied by Rick James, Led Zeppelin, Joe DiMaggio, or Tony Dorsett. If he wasnt busy freebasing, you could blow rails in the bathroom with David Crosby. (He wrote a lousy song about the place.) So enmeshed were these groups that, at one point, an FBI wiretap was rendered useless because agents couldnt hear their targets over Liza Minelli loudly asking her friend for another bump. It was the kind of place where you could blow $100,000 on a tab without even meeting the manager.

In more than 50 short chapters, Farzad positions the Mutiny as an operational hub for the kingpins who opened the spigots of cash financing Miamis rise. By the turn of the decade, Farzad writes, the 130-room hotel and club was a criminal free-trade zone of sorts where gangsters could both revel in Miamis danger and escape from it. These were the outlaws who connected Peru and Colombia to the Bahamas, and eyed South Florida as their entree to North America. Along the way, a thousand coca leaves (street value: $625) would turn into a kilogram of paste and high-quality base ($6,500), and then get cut and diluted into two kilograms of cocaine ($80,000). From there, it would be cut again and distributed across the U.S., and in this way, that $625 investment could turn into $600,000. These insane margins meant that by the 1980s, one third of Miamis economy was narcotics-based. The whole city was in on itknowingly or not. For want of money laundering, skyscrapers, dirty banks, and business fronts shot up. For want of quick bucks, support staff convened: hitmen, drivers, pilots, watermen, weapons importers, and prostitutes. At one point, the Moonflower Escort Company set up a twenty-four-hour dispatch office on a yacht in the marina in front of the hotel so it could service Mutiny clientele. Alongside these objectively criminal enterprises sprang businesses operating in gray areas. Who do you think serviced those cigarette boats? Luxury boutiques and exotic car dealerships opened because Miamians had so much money to spend. Exclusive clubs did the same. You could mint millions a day and blow it all at the Mutiny, winking at the very cops who were until recently on your ass, Farzad writes.

Hence the complication. The story above is one simply told by a thousand screenwriters: drug dealers rise up, live large, meet babes, spar with rivals, and get killed or arrested. It identifies clear sides: good guys and bad guys. But the real story, as Hotel Scarface shows, goes deeper, and the lines are less clearly drawn. Those law enforcement officers and city officials who frequented the Mutiny? They were either directly involved in the drug trade or they were using the place for intelligence so they could build bigger casessometimes international ones. Those smugglers running drugs over the Florida Straits? They brought U.S. government-issued weapons back to Nicaraguan Contras, and sometimes they shuttled Contras and Cuban counter-revolutionaries into to the U.S. for CIA training. (Between the DEA, CIA, FBI, IRS, and a litany of in-state law enforcement agencies, there was no shortage of confusion.) Ricardo Monkey Morales made a living out of facilitating this kind of criminal-government overlapand he frequently used the Mutiny as his headquarters. Howard Gary, Miamis city manager, partied alongside Ray Corona, the founder of First Sunshine Bank. The two of them shared a cocktail table with a group of lawyers (the cocaine bar) who defended Miamis most infamous dealers in court, and they all listened to music spun by a Mutiny DJ who was attending classes at the University of Miami. These guys financed cars and paid for breast implants for the Mutiny waitresses they liked the most. The government, the financial sector, big law, higher education, and medical institutions all benefited from drug moneywhen theres enough to go around, who cares where capital comes from? How can you repossess fake breasts? Farzad quotes Attorney General William French Smith, who described some of these crooked officials eventual busts as demonstrative of one of the most important aspects of the scope of drug trafficking activities: the penetration of the financial and business communities. Years later, a former cocaine dealer who hung out with the biggest dealers of his day remarked that, had he and his buddies ever snitched on the precise level of that penetration, thered be a lot of institutions dead, rotting and stinking in Miami right now.

At its best, Hotel Scarface reads like South Floridas version of The Westies, and native son Roben Farzad shares T.J. Englishs eye for power dynamics. Farzad argues persuasively that revolutionary politics served as the dividing line between Miamis first and second generations of Cuban-born cocaine cowboys. Dealers like Carlos Carlene Quesada and Rodolfo Rudy Redbeard Rodriguez Gallo, who dominated Miamis drug trade in the 1960s, arrived in Florida at a time when Fulgencio Batistas mafia- and U.S. government-backed Cuban regime was being overthrown by Fidel Castro. They didnt expect to stay long, but while they waited out the counter-revolution, why not make some money in America? They brought over the mafias prevailing attitudes about municipal governments: that everything could be bought and sold. If not exactly Cosa Nostra, they even had a mob-driven sense of decorum. (At the Mutiny, Fridays were for mistresses, Saturdays for wives, and never the twain should meet.)

The next era was ushered in by Cuban immigrants whod come to America as very young childrensome because of Operation Pedro Pan. For these narcos who grew up in Miami, and attended American high schools, there were fewer delusions about one day returning to Cuba and resettling their homeland. While they shared their predecessors aversion to violent crime, preferring to pay off rivals rather than kill them, men like Jorge Valdes, Willie Falcon, and Sal Magluta were self-aware criminals largely in it for themselves first, and the counter-revolution second:

Though their blue-collar parents wanted them to study hard and chase the American dreamcollege degrees, doctor, lawyer, etc.most instead dropped out of high school and chased a life of speedboat racing, good weed, and hot and loose women. Death to Castro!sure. The Boys hated the bearded despotdetested him. They toasted every new year with hopes for a Cuba libre. Its just that the hedonism of 1970s Miami wasnt so bad in the meantime.

By the 1980s, the wheels fell off. A third era began, one in which more nihilistic, violent criminalssome of them Marielitosupped the ante. Their presence at the Mutiny wasnt welcome. The old guard moved on to more exclusive clubs. After all, nothing is more American than climbing a ladder, and then pulling it up from under you. While the earlier cocaine cowboys held out incandescent hope about one day reclaiming their homeland with the help of backing from the U.S., the later generations saw no hope of working with the government. Theres was a more cynical attitude, ubiquitous by the time Joan Didion wrote Miami:

Here between the mangrove swamp and the barrier reef was an American city largely populated by people who believed that the United States had walked away before, had betrayed them at the Bay of Pigs and later, with consequences we have since seen. Here between the swamp and the reef was an American city populated by people who also believed that the United States would betray them again, in Honduras and in El Salvador and in Nicaragua, betray them at all the barricades of a phantom war they had once again taken not as the projection of another Washington abstraction but as their own struggle, la lucha, la causa, with consequences we have not yet seen.

They were also far less obedient to Mafioso codes, which meant they were also far more violent. Their arrival coincided with a shocking rise in the homicide rate. In 1978, Farzad notes, there were 243 murders in the Miami-Dade County. From 1979-1981, those numbers rose each year to 320, 515, and 621. By 1981, Time declared Miami Paradise Lost. This attracted national attention, and before long the War on Drugs was declared, the most flamboyant dealers were tracked down, and the Mutinys heyday came to an end. Farzads feat is taking readers along for that rideits riveting stuff, and he does yeomans work linking the eras politics to its popular culture.

3.

Have times changed? In a sense. The Mutiny today is a luxury apartment building in which the median age of tenants approaches 85 years. Coconut Grove transitioned from a nexus of luxe nightlife into a dingier but nevertheless raucous hub of college bars, and then more recently it quieted down due to neighborhood complaints. Now youre more likely to find a nice brunch than a nose bag. Gone are the days of the Dadeland Massacre and shootouts on U.S. 1; downtown Miamis streets today are mostly bloodless.

Yet in other ways, the citys essence has remained the same. John Rothchild was entirely correct in 1982 when he wrote that to describe crime as Miamis problem would be like describing oil as Houstons problem, and hes a different kind of correct today. Crime is still the lifeblood of South Florida, although these days that crime is committed with computers and conference calls in board rooms around the world. It involves a bevy of foreign actors, from Russians to Venezuelans and everyone in between. (Did you hear the one about the oligarch who bought Donald Trumps $45 million home for $95 million, and then demolished it before ever setting foot on the property?) Instead of white powder, white collars are whats fueling South Floridas real estate development: the jet set treats cities like Miami as safety deposit boxes, setting up multi-layered shell companies and plunking anonymized cash into multimillion dollar condos, which sit empty while others buy the surrounding units. Last year, 90 percent of the new construction in Miami was purchased with cash. This year, the Treasury Department flagged 30 percent of surveyed luxury real estate transactions for suspicious activity and potential money-laundering. It doesnt matter, though, because if enough super-wealthy absentee tenants buy in the same building (anonymously), theyll eventually raise the value of one anothers purchases, which they can go on to sell to the next generation of jet setters for quick windfalls of cash. By the time law enforcement notices, the early investors have laundered all the money they used on their initial deposits, and turned hefty profits. Does it surprise anyone that after New York, Miami was the American city named most frequently in the Panama Papers?

That change is reflected in relatively recent works of art, too. Charlie Smiths Men in Miami Hotels, which I lovingly call a sugar-free version of Thomas McGuanes Ninety-two in the Shade, demonstrates Miamis current operational mode. In the book, which takes place almost exclusively in Key West, a criminal named Cot alternately works for, double crosses, and then evades his Mafioso benefactor holed up in a luxurious South Beach hotel. Readers never meet him. In other words, crime emanates from Miami but takes place far away from it, and the head honcho lives an unbothered life of comfort off the spoils.

Likewise, the pilot episode of Justified begins when Raylan Givens shoots a hitman in broad daylight at South Beachs Delano Hotel. (In Elmore Leonards Fire in the Hole story upon which the show is based, the shooting takes place at the Cardozo.) Givens, a U.S. Marshal, is punished with forced reassignment to rural Kentucky. After all, this is the Miami of the 21st century! The city may have approached 700 murders a year during its 1980s boom in narco-violence, but last year, there were 84. In the past, shootouts took place all over the city. Now, theyve been pushed into certain under-served neighborhoods. (Last year, Miami was named the worst city in America in terms of income inequality, and thats a big reason why.)

As in Men in Miami Hotels, local criminal elements in Justified receive orders from their boss in Miami. Occasionally, the Magic City sends hitmen up to rural Kentucky to set matters straight. Miami is the center spoke on a wheel of crime, and it turns in all directions. In Bloodline, the Rayburn family was doing just fine until Danny took a southbound bus from Miami to his familys palatial home in Islamorada.

One consequence of this shift in popular reputation is that now Miami has become an aspirational brand for criminals who are no longer the ones getting their hands dirty. Miami is home to the bosss boss; setting up shop in Miami signifies that you might be crooked but you dont need to slum it anymore. Downtown, criminality has been gentrified. Brickell and Miami Beach have become havens for wealthy retireescriminal and non. This is true in art: Lil Wayne rapped that gangsters dont die, they get chubby and they move to Miami, and Fat Trel brags about drinking peach Ciroc while in Miami, eating chicken, steak, and shrimp linguine. Its also true in life: the anonymous people paying cash for Bal Harbour apartments are definitely not on the up and up, but they are living large. Lydia Kiesling wrote that Florida is Americas Orient, which is true, but Id argue that more and more Miami is becoming Americas Dubai. Its a playground for the ostentatiously wealthy to flaunt their ill-gotten gains in resorts and hotels staffed by an increasingly powerless and impoverished local populace. These days, setting a narco crime thriller in Miami is as anachronistic as opening a speakeasy in Hells Kitchen. (Need proof? The upcoming reboot of Scarface is set in Los Angeles.) If anything, what Miami needs now is a bitcoin-based Wolf of Wall Street reboot set in Sunny Isles.

The Mutiny got shut down, but a new generation of wealthy criminals has turned all of Miami into the same thing.

4.

At the time of this writing, with most of Florida recently savaged by Hurricane Irma, it feels gauche to invoke Atlantis. And yet, the parallels are undeniable. In Platos account, Atlantis was the city that antagonized Athens; its kings had the hubris to establish for themselves a society different from the idyllic Republic, which repelled Atlantean encroachments. The point Atlantis served in Platos story was to prove that there are consequences for societies that dont follow the rules: sooner or later, if they dont destroy themselves, the gods will abandon them and the seas will bury all they ever had.

P. Scott Cunningham wrote that living in Miami feels like living in the first third of a novel, in which the plucky protagonist is suffering setback after setback, but something must change, right, or why would there be so many pages left? But what if Miamis story really is a short one? What if its more of a novella? In On Returning to Miami, Nick Vagnoni writes to the city, Maybe your sky seems aloof because / everyone comes here to forget, or maybe / there just isnt much to remember here / yet. Existence on the edge of Florida has always felt ephemeral, transient. Relatively speaking, the states barely been above water. Donald Justice wrote that he will die in Miami in the sun, and in the Mutinys days it was gunslingers you had to worry about, but arent the winds and the seas more likely to claim us all?

And when that happens, who will money save?
COLUMBIA  SolAmerica Energy, a full-service provider of solar energy, is launching a new operation in Edgefield County. This new 10-megawatt (MW) project is expected to bring approximately $13 million of new capital investment.

SolAmerica Energy develops, finances, constructs and operates commercial and utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects. Based in Atlanta, the company has built solar projects for many of the leading companies in the Southeast and has developed projects for nationally-recognized investors and owner-operators.

Located on Davis Road in Ridge Spring, the companys new 10-MW solar farm is situated on approximately 100 acres and is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2018. For more information on SolAmerica, visit the companys website at www.solamericaenergy.com.

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Han Solo 'Star Wars' spinoff has a title

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The young Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film finally has a title: "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

Director Ron Howard announced the title Tuesday in a Twitter video celebrating production wrap on the anthology film starring Alden Ehrenreich as the grumpy space smuggler originated by Harrison Ford.

The film also stars Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newtown and focuses on Han and Chewbacca before they joined the rebellion.

The film has had some well-known production turmoil. Deep into the shoot directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller abruptly left the project and were replaced by Howard.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is set for a May 25, 2018, release.

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Airbus notches win over rival Boeing with Bombardier deal

PARIS (AP)  Airbus scored a point in its high-stakes rivalry with Boeing by striking a deal just across the U.S. border.

The European plane maker reached an unusual, no-cost deal with Canada's Bombardier that sent Airbus shares up Tuesday, boosts both companies' prospects in Asia and should save thousands of Bombardier jobs from Quebec to Northern Ireland.

It could also help Bombardier avoid heavy U.S. duties that had helped push the Canadian company near bankruptcy. The announcement late Monday gives Airbus a majority stake in Bombardier's C-Series passenger jets, and some C-Series planes will now be built at an Airbus plant in Mobile, Alabama.

Boeing called it a questionable deal by two state-subsidized competitors.

It is a rare bright spot for Airbus, which is currently facing growing legal troubles stemming from corruption investigations in Britain, France and Austria. Airbus shares rose 2.8 percent in Tuesday in Paris before falling back slightly to 79 euros.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders sought to assure investors that the Bombardier deal will save money for both companies by combining supply chains and production. He argued that it will improve the appeal for C-Series jets, which have struggled for customers.

"This puts us in an excellent position ... with no cost, with no risk," Enders said of the deal. He added it will allow Airbus to expand activities in China and "strengthen our global industrial footprint."

While Airbus rejected a deal with Bombardier three years ago, Enders said Airbus is feeling more confident now in the C-Series jets and its own ability to take on another production line.
The Times and Democrat's Cathy Hughes has been named a group publisher for the Orangeburg newspaper's parent company, Davenport, Iowa-based Lee Enterprises.

Hughes on Wednesday was named Tier Three Group Publisher. She will oversee operations in Flagstaff, Arizona; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Maysville, Kentucky; Longview, Washington; Napa, California; Santa Maria, California; and Hanford, California. She will remain publisher in Orangeburg.

Cathy is an excellent operator with a long history of success in Orangeburg, said Julie Bechtel, president and publisher of Lees Central Illinois Group and company group publisher. Were excited to bring her experience and leadership to these additional markets.

Hughes is a 45-year veteran of the newspaper industry. She held a number of positions with The Times and Democrat, including general manager, advertising director and business manager before being named publisher in 1999.

I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with other publishers in Lee and look forward to sharing among the group the innovative ideas each has developed, Hughes said. We have many common challenges, and I hope that working and communicating together as a group will benefit us all.

Hughes chairs the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Foundation and was the charter president of the Rotary Club of Orangeburg-Morning. Her former service includes treasurer and chair of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce, and president of the South Carolina Press Association.

Hughes holds a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina and is a graduate of the Diversity Leadership Institute of Furman University. She and her husband, Randy, have two children and four grandchildren.

Hughes will begin the new role Nov. 3 and continue to report to Julie Bechtel.

Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of local news and information, and a major platform for advertising, with daily newspapers, digital products and nearly 300 weekly and specialty publications serving 50 markets in 22 states.

Year to date, Lee's newspapers have average circulation of 0.9 million daily and 1.2 million Sunday, and estimated to reach almost 3 million readers in print alone.

Lee's markets include St. Louis, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; Davenport, Iowa; Billings, Montana; Bloomington, Illinois, and Tucson, Arizona.

Lee common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE.
As a trained historian, I take issue with Major W. Ashby Rhames letter of Sept. 10 titled, History Lesson on R.E. Lee. Rhames presentation is regrettable since his assertions are not supported by the historical record and simply throw more fuel on todays incendiary and misinformed national uproar about the origins, aftermath and memory of the Civil War.

First, Robert E. Lees wife was not the granddaughter of George Washington; he fathered no [legitimate] children. Rather, Mrs. Lee was the only surviving child of GW Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Dandridge Custis, who married Washington as a widow with children. Thus, Mrs. Lee was the step-great-granddaughter of our first president.

Second, Rhame tells us that Lee believed slavery was a great evil and that Mrs. Lee violated Virginia law by teaching their slaves to read and write  both of which are true, though the implications are not clear. Is this Rhames rebuttal to those who renounce Lee as a slaveholder and white supremacist? If so, what has he disproved? Among devout Christian slaveholders, there was nothing uncommon about what Lee said or his wife did. Lee did believe that persons of African descent were inferior to white people  the sine qua non of white supremacy. Simply because he did not manifest that belief in vicious language does not mean that he was not a white supremacist.

In a letter written to his wife in 1856, Lee described slavery as a moral & political evil, but went on to qualify that it was a greater evil to the white man [my emphasis] than to the black. He then resorted to the time-worn ad hominem attack on people of African descent: The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known and ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.

Third, Rhames confident assertion that Lee declined command of the Union Army because he supported states rights is patently false. Whose words should we believe, those of Major Rhame or Robert E. Lee? On Jan. 23, 1861, a month after South Carolina had seceded, Lee wrote a letter from Fort Mason, Texas, and in words of unmitigated clarity affirmed that secession was both unconstitutional and treason.

I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any State if her rights were invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union.  I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It was intended for perpetual union.

As strongly as Lee condemned secession, he nonetheless inserted a caveat about honor that explains his decision to follow Virginia into war -- not the Confederacy per se. The high-born sons of England carried with them to Virginia the powerful cultural inheritance of the medieval code of honor and its internalized hierarchy of values  family and fiefdom being the most cherished. For much of the Virginia colonys 150 years, Lees family stood among its wealthiest, most powerful and highly regarded. And like every other colony, its people identified themselves as Virginians. With little contact or interest in the other, each colony developed as a country-in-microcosm whose people displayed fierce pride and identification with their respective cultures and histories. This is perhaps the most significant legacy of the colonial period.

The competing loyalties of Robert E. Lee are better understood when we consider that his father, Major General Henry Light-Horse Harry Lee III, fought valiantly  much of it in South Carolina as a partner-in-daring with Francis Marion  to establish Americas independence and the government that, as his sons letter also states, did not intend to bequeath anarchy to the liberated colonies. On the other hand, Lees reverence for Virginia, his ancestral country, reflects his adherence to honor; once the Virginia convention voted to secede, Lee believed he had no choice but to acquiesce in his states defense. He resigned his commission and with a heavy heart, declared for Virginia. He did so without a hint of swagger or jingoism, knowing full well the skill, resources and fury of the U.S. Army; the overwhelming material disadvantages of the South, and the portentous implications of there being no Confederate navy.

Fourth, to address another of Rhames convoluted and mistaken presentations around the disposition of Lees home at Arlington:

A. The federal governments occupation of Arlington did not constitute an overreach or act of animus by the federal government. The mansion sat on the highest elevation in the environs of Washington, D.C., and would have provided Confederate artillery a deadly position from which to bombard and destroy the national capital. The Union Army simply followed the first rule of warfare: secure the enemys most threatening field position.

B. The federal government did not single out and demand that Lee pay Arlingtons taxes as an act of humiliation. The facts are these: the federal government never recognized the Confederacy as a legitimate nation, but as a group of American states in rebellion. In 1862, Congress passed legislation to make clear that the wars disruption had not abrogated the tax obligations of Southerners. Federal commissioners kept an accounting of tax debts that would be settled after the war.

C. The proximity and occupation of Arlington rendered it vulnerable to forfeiture and sale resulting from a tax delinquency  still the law today. (It was not possible nor practical to seize property deeper in Southern territory.) The taxes due on Arlington in 1862 amounted to $92.07. Rhame makes the preposterous claim that federal tax commissioners refused to accept Mrs. Lees payment and turned her away because of her sex. The allegation calls for Rhames evidence because Mary Lee never presented herself. She had abandoned Arlington in May 1861 having learned from a cousin in the Union Army that its occupation was imminent; she decamped for the safer environs of Richmond to be nearer her husband. Fragile health often confined Mrs. Lee to periods of bedrest. Even had she not suffered poor health, the 180-mile round-trip to Washington would have placed her life in grave danger: Stonewall Jackson ravaged to points north and west; the Union Army occupied Yorktown to the east. Mrs. Lee sent her cousin Phillip R. Fendall to pay the taxes and it was he the commissioners turned away precisely because Mrs. Lee, the owner, had not appeared. For obvious reasons, Gen. Lee could not.

D. The federal government purchased Arlington at public auction in January 1864 for $26,800. Contrary to what Rhame claims, the government did not seize it and begin burying soldiers there. At the end of 1863, the two Washington-area veterans cemeteries neared capacity and, acting rationally, the U.S. quartermaster general ordered that a new location be found. By May 1864, the government faced the ghoulish task for burying an estimated 30,000 Union dead slaughtered in the Wilderness and Overland campaigns of May 1864. Arlingtons sweeping acreage presented itself as the logical choice for their graves. (Note: In the 1870s, the Lee family sued the U.S. government on grounds that the property had been confiscated without due process. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Lees favor and returned the property to him. Lee then sold it back to the U.S. government for $150,000 -- roughly $3.2M today.)

Fifth, Major Rhame tells us that after surrender, Lee worked with [President] Andrew Johnsons program of Reconstruction. It is not possible to comprehend the majors allegation or intention because President Johnson had no program of Reconstruction.

In May 1865, Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty and pardon to all Southerners who had participated in the rebellion, with the exception of those whose service met any one of 14 specified conditions. Like other high-ranking military officers, Lee was required to submit his pardon application directly to the president, and he did so on June 13, 1865. In October, he signed an amnesty oath, but never received a pardon. (Congress posthumously restored his citizenship in 1975.)

If Rhame believes that Lees submission of a pardon application and signing an oath  which he broke in 1861  constitutes working with a program of Reconstruction, he engages in egregious deception.

I am a native white Southerner, the 16th generation descendant of planters, politicians and decorated Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. My ancestors arrived in the 1620s from England and Scotland; they accumulated their wealth from the forced uncompensated labor of unfree people in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and Louisiana. My heritage is nothing but the American South, just as it is for millions of white and black Americans.

Slavery made the South the South. It is the heart of Southern heritage and by right belongs to all whose people lived and died through its tragic history. I do not reflexively genuflect before the Rebel flag and find the incessant haranguing about it offensive. To deny its affinity with slavery and white supremacy is cowardice.

My views do not render me a pariah worthy of denigration. Over my life, Southern white men and women have ridiculed me. They have told me that I am neither a Southerner nor South Carolinian. They have even gone so far to declare to my face that I am not white. The neo-Confederate habit of hurling juvenile insult appears in Rhames letter when he likens people like me to ISIS and Saddam Hussein.

With his letter, Rhame dared to assume the role of scribe and yet, there is hardly a particle of truth in his History on R.E. Lee. If he and other devotees truly honor the generals memory and military service, they would emulate his composure and heed his words after Appomattox: I think it wisest not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered.

Finally, Major Rhame warns, Sadly, you can [change history]. Given the erroneous content of his history, my reply is, Sir, you are guilty as charged.

Elizabeth Robeson of Orangeburg earned a B.A. in history from Furman and holds graduate degrees in American history from the University of Mississippi and Columbia University in New York City.
By Trend





Poland supports the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor as a means to supply south-east Europe with gas alternative to the dominant Russian supplier, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.

Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, stressed that his country looks forward to Azerbaijan contribution, thanks to its raw material potential, to the deepening of Europe's energy security.

"The Southern Gas Corridor will allow 10 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas per year to be exported from Caspian Region to European countries. It is not a big volume, but it is the foundation for further expansion and cooperation," he said.

The minister said that the common goal should be both to promote Azerbaijani energy independence and to seek new sources of gas for the Southern Gas Corridor, which will further strengthen its real potential for diversification in south-east Europe currently dominated by the Russian supplier.

The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor is an EU initiative to reduce Europes dependency on Russian gas.

The SGC project a series of pipelines which will carry Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas to Europe  is a unique project opening up route for Caspian energy sources. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.
By Trend





The visit of Turkish MP Garo Paylan to Yerevan in September, as well as the visit of Turkish citizens Ufuk Uras, Ali Bayramoglu, Said Cekinoglu and Erol Katircioglu to the occupied Azerbaijani territories is a provocation, Kenan Yasan, Turkish journalist, columnist of several newspapers, told Trend.

He said that these people once again demonstrated their true identity and political affiliation.

Yasan noted that the statement of Garo Paylan, the MP from the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) that Turkey should recognize the so-called Armenian genocide contradicts common sense and, of course, doesnt reflect the opinion of Turkish citizens.

One shouldnt let the forces, the actions of which are directed against the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, activate, Yasan said.

The expert noted that both in Azerbaijan and Turkey, it is necessary to oppose actions that could spoil the relations between the two fraternal countries.

On September 22, Turkish citizens Ufuk Uras, Ali Bayramoglu, Said Cekinoglu and Erol Katircioglu illegally visited Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region, occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the illegal visit of Turkish citizens to the occupied Azerbaijani territories did not reflect Ankaras official policy.

Grave Crimes Investigation Department of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office filed a criminal case under the Criminal Codes Article 318.2 (illegally crossing Azerbaijans state borders). All four individuals are accused under the abovementioned article. A measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against them. They were declared internationally wanted.

An appeal was sent to the Turkish law enforcement to detain the four individuals.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on
By Trend





Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan resorts to any provocation to preserve the status quo in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani MP Tahir Karimli told Trend on October 17.

The Azerbaijani MP said that for this purpose, the current Armenian leadership violates all diplomatic norms.

"The Armenian president knows that Azerbaijans territorial integrity will be restored, Karimli said. The whole world has recognized Nagorno-Karabakh region as an integral part of Azerbaijan, therefore the Armenian president avoids diplomatic negotiations.

President Sargsyan avoids negotiations for Azerbaijan to start to liberate its lands by military means and then Armenia will say again that Azerbaijan is disrupting negotiations, while the Armenian side allegedly agrees on a peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said.

"Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the conflict peacefully and the whole world is aware about it, Karimli said. President Sargsyan resorts to similar methods for the international organizations to exert more pressure on Azerbaijan."

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Geneva on October 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
By Trend





Negotiations with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his team will not yield any results, Azerbaijani MP Elman Mammadov told Trend on October 18.

Constructive talks should lead to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensure Azerbaijans territorial integrity. If this problem is solved, Sargsyan's power will be destroyed. So, it does not matter how much Sargsyan participates in the talks, after them he speaks differently, he said.

Armenia does not want to take a fair position in the negotiations. Sargsyan is a war criminal. If a war criminal who should be in prison is a head of state, there is nothing else to expect from him. He acts in accordance with the laws of the criminal world, and not in line with international law, Mammadov added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan held a summit in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

Relations between the two NATO allies  Turkey and the United States  have become even more complicated after the arrest of Turkish national working in the U.S. consular office.

Previous tensions had other reasons such as the Syrian issue, failed coup in Turkey and U.S. court cases against Turkish officials.

The U.S. special delegation arrived in Turkey on October 17 in an effort to resolve the crisis between the two countries which erupted following the arrest of an employee of the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.

As part of the negotiations aimed at normalizing Ankara-Washington ties, the U.S. delegation put forward a number of conditions, Turkish media outlets reported on October 18 citing a diplomatic source.

One of the conditions is to present evidence that the previously arrested U.S. consular officer in Turkey had links with Fethullah Gulen movement, as Turkish authorities claim.

Moreover, Turkey should provide the U.S. with full information about the progress of the investigation.

The U.S. and Turkey previously suspended the mutual issuance of non-immigrant visas. Non-immigrant visas are issued to people who travel for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study.

This decision followed the October 4 arrest of a Turkish national who works at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul for alleged involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt aimed to overthrow the Turkish president. The U.S. embassy stated earlier that it was deeply disturbed over the arrest and rejected the allegations against the employee as wholly without merit.

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in New York, where Trump praised Erdogan as a friend despite tensions in two countries relations over a number of issues.

This latest incident aggravated the already tense relationship between Washington and Ankara. The two countries have clashed over the U.S. support for Kurdish rebels in Syria as well as Turkish demands that the United States extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric whom Ankara blames for a military coup attempt of last July.

In addition, Ankaras rapprochement with Russia and purchase of S-400 missiles become the subject of criticism by the U.S.
More than 400 delegates and exhibitors from the Arab region are taking part in Sibos 2017, an international financial summit organised by SWIFT, a global provider of secure financial messaging services.



The event is being held in Toronto, Canada from 16-19 October.



Over 8,000 banks, financial and securities institutions, regulators, corporate customers and service providers meet at Sibos every year to discuss the key issues shaping the global financial industry.



Under the theme of Building for the Future, the 2017 conference programme will look at major industry trends including cybersecurity, financial crime compliance, artificial intelligence (AI), the impact of geopolitical and regulatory shifts, and data and identity.



Sido Bestani, SWIFTs head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa, said: For nearly 40 years, Sibos has brought together decision makers, business leaders and financial experts to network, collaborate and make sense of changes in the industry. This year, delegates from the Middle East will engage with regional and global experts in Toronto.



Over 400 delegates and exhibitors from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon have registered.



Khaled Moharem, head of Mena at SWIFT, said: The Middle East hosted Sibos in 2013 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Since then, regional support for Sibos has grown year on year. Middle Eastern banks want to be part of the global conversation about the future of the industry, its challenges and opportunities, since they are at the forefront of adopting the latest technology to increase efficiencies and better serve their customers.



The 2017 programme will be structured around four main streams: banking, compliance, securities and technology. The banking stream will cover the future of payments and the challenges facing correspondent banking.



There will also be sessions exploring new collaboration models for banks and corporates, with increased demand from treasurers for speed, transparency and traceability in cross-border payments and a renewed push on digitisation in the trade finance sector. The compliance stream will look at developments in financial crime compliance and how banks are responding. The securities stream will examine how regulatory changes are shaping market infrastructures, and how the market players are responding.



Finally, the technology stream will consider the profound impact that breakthrough technologies are having on financial services, and how they can deliver value to customers as well as address the challenges of cybersecurity. Other themes like AI, blockchain and fintech ventures will be tackled.  TradeArabia News Service
Abu Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala has announced the launch of its new venture capital business in partnership with leading Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.



The venture capital initiative will sit within the group's financial investment arm, Mubadala Capital, said the company in a statement.



A dedicated ventures investment team will be based in San Francisco, the first Mubadala office in the US, it added.



"Mubadala's venture capital business intends to become an active member of the ventures community, leveraging Mubadala's global scale and power," remarked Ibrahim Ajami, head of the ventures unit.



"Our differentiators include a long-term partnership mindset, access to Mubadala's portfolio of global assets across 13 sectors, and our strategic partnership with SoftBank," he added.



The ventures investment team in the US will initially oversee three main business areas:

*Mubadala Ventures Fund I - A $400 million early growth venture capital fund with two main investors, Mubadala and SoftBank. The fund plans to invest in exceptional founder-led companies creating scalable technologies and businesses. Investments will focus on Series A and beyond, with the goal of building a portfolio of 25 companies in North America and Europe. The fund will have a broad enterprise technology focus.

*A $200 million ventures Fund of Funds that will invest in both established and emerging fund managers. Under this program, Mubadala intends to invest $50 million to $70 million per year in US and European-based venture capital funds.

*Overseeing and managing Mubadala's $15 billion commitment to the SoftBank Vision Fund, working in close partnership with SoftBank executives in California.



''We are excited to partner with Mubadala and invest in their first venture capital fund," remarked Rajeev Misra, CEO of the SoftBank Vision Fund.



"Mubadala is a strategic partner to SoftBank, and this initiative will be an important part of the Vision Fund's ecosystem of companies and entrepreneurs. Mubadala's approach to venture capital and their San Francisco office indicates a long-term commitment to the technology community," he added.



The venture capital initiative builds on a decade of investments Mubadala has made in the technology sector, beginning in 2007 with a significant stake in Advanced Micro Devices, said the statement from Mubadala.



In addition to its stake in AMD, Mubadala owns GlobalFoundries, the world's second-largest pure-play semiconductor manufacturer; Al Yah Satellite Company (Yahsat), which has two satellites in orbit with a third launch planned for 2018; Cognit, a joint venture with IBM to bring Watson in Arabic language to the Middle East; Injazat Data Systems, a cloud computing provider in the Middle East; and Khazna, a data center company located in the UAE.



Mubadala also has a significant stake in Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, known as du.



"We are looking at companies that will transform major industries around the globe. In line with our company's values and our portfolio strategy, we want to be a real partner to entrepreneurs and founders as they grow their companies globally," explained Ajami.



Mubadala Capital, which focuses on the management of alternative assets, invests globally across a range of asset classes, including equity and credit, public and private securities, direct and third-party managed funds, while also managing a number of sovereign investment partnerships. Mubadala Capital manages more than $10 billion of assets across its portfolio.-TradeArabia News Service
The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) has recently issued a warning to UAE nationals and residents about traveling to Madagascar, following the countrys report of an alarming increase of cases of pneumonia.



The Ministry also encouraged those who need to travel to Madagascar to take extra precautionary measures during their trip, which include maintaining close coordination with key agencies like the Dubai Health Authority, Health Authority - Abu Dhabi and General Civil Aviation Authority.



Dr. Fatima Al-Attar, vice-president of the National Committee for International Health Regulations and the Control of Pandemics, confirmed the absence of infected cases in the country and that the Ministry will soon issue a circular for health workers covering essential information on the pulmonary disease--including standard definition of cases, diagnosis, isolation procedures, prevention of infection, treatment and follow-up of surrounding people.



MOHAP is calling on all travellers wishing to travel to visit the Ministrys Traveller Health Clinics and health authorities throughout the country to learn more about the latest developments in the world, including Madagascar, for medical advice, vaccines and preventive and curative services.



Dr. Fatima also pointed out that the Ministry is currently working in close cooperation with the Dubai Health Authority, Health Authority - Abu Dhabi and General Civil Aviation Authority for the preparation of awareness leaflets that can be distributed during the flights by civil aviation to those coming from the concerned countrieshighlighting information and advice on the disease, its symptoms and how to obtain medical treatment. The treatment of these cases is provided free of charge if they occur. She also highlighted the role of Traveller Health Clinics in the provision of health advice and safety requirements when traveling to Madagascar and the strengthening of shipyard and rodent control procedures, particularly in ships coming from these affected areas.



Al Attar explained that the health authorities in Madagascar have developed a system to prevent the spread of the disease globally by examining the departures from Madagascar, including the examination of temperature and patient history. In case a passenger is suspected of exhibiting symptoms of the disease, the patient will be prevented from travelling and will be provided with an immediate treatment of antibiotics. The awareness effort also looks towards giving people surrounded by an infected person with preventive treatments to ensure non-contamination. She also stated that there are no direct flights between the UAE and Madagascar, only indirect flights via domestic and international airlines through Kenya and Ethiopia.



Al-Attar stressed that health security and risk prevention and pandemics is a national priority in the UAE and falls in line with its strategy to protect society from diseases through strengthening the international health regulations and applying them in the UAE.



She added that the Ministry will remain steadfast in its commitment to be abreast of global developments and committed to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise and promote the level of health of individuals, prevent the spread of diseases and provide comprehensive medical services. - TradeArabia News Service


BT, one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, and Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, have announced a global partnership to co-create innovative solutions in the area of industrial and enterprise internet of things (IoT).



The partnership aims to drive better business outcomes for global customers, including greater efficiency, productivity and cost savings.



The companies will initially focus on exploring and designing asset intelligence and predictive maintenance solutions to deliver the desired outcomes for customers in industry sectors such as manufacturing and transportation.



Announced at Hitachi's recent inaugural user conference, Hitachi Next 2017, in Las Vegas, US, the partnership unites BT's global network infrastructure, cloud capabilities and cyber security expertise with Hitachi's extensive operational and information technology (OT/IT) expertise, next-generation Lumada IoT platform software and integrated IoT services and solutions portfolio.



The companies' combined technology, infrastructure and expertise will help their mutual customers to take full advantage of connected intelligence and advanced data analytics to streamline processes and optimise business performance on a global scale.



Bas Burger, CEO Global Services, BT, said: Our partnership with Hitachi will help BT to accelerate innovation and ease the path to digitalisation and IoT for our customers around the globe.



Hitachi's OT, IT and IoT expertise, long-standing customer engagements and its Lumada IoT Platform will combine ideally with our global infrastructure, cloud services and cybersecurity expertise to create powerful IoT offerings that will help maximise the success of our global customers' digital transformation journeys, he said.



Ryuichi Otsuki, CEO at Hitachi Vantara and vice-president at Hitachi Ltd, said: IoT represents a critical inflection point, in which the interests of business, industry and society are now intersecting and aligning like never before.



We see the creation of strategic partnerships with leaders and market makers like BT as a critical underpinning to Hitachi's IoT strategy as we move our company and business into the next phase of its evolution, he said.



The first business solutions resulting from this collaboration are expected to be available in Q1 2018, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Eutelsat Communications has acquired 100 per cent of Noorsat, one of the leading satellite service providers in the Middle East for a consideration of $75 million, debt free and cash free, from Bahrains Orbit Holding Group.



Established in 2004, Noorsat is the premier distributor of Eutelsat capacity in the Middle East, serving blue-chip customers and providing services for over 300 TV channels almost exclusively from Eutelsats market-leading Mena neighbourhoods.



The acquisition of Noorsat fits with Eutelsats broader strategy of streamlining distribution within selected core video neighbourhoods where it can create value. It will allow Eutelsat to strengthen the long term commercial development of its market-leading video positions in the Arabic world and increase its direct access to end-customers, facilitating stimulation of High Definition TV take-up and the upselling of incremental video services.



Michel Azibert, Eutelsat chief commercial and development officer, said: Noorsats capabilities and market knowledge will further consolidate our longstanding position in the dynamic Middle East video market. By integrating Noorsats service platform and teams we are underlining our commitment to serving customers in one of the key markets within in our global footprint.



The acquisition will add upwards of $15 million to Eutelsats consolidated revenues on an annualised basis after the elimination of the capacity leased by Eutelsat from Noorsat. Its slightly dilutive impact on Eutelsats EBITDA margin will be absorbed within the current margin objectives, a statement said.



Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across video, data, government, fixed and mobile broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location.  TradeArabia News Service
The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) said that this years Arab Lifetime Achievement Award will recognize the illustrious Egyptian writer Wahid Hamed, celebrating his achievements in screenwriting and contributions to the industry.



One of Egypts most acclaimed writers with a career that spans four decades, Hamed has an impressive list of credits to his name. Hamed is set to receive the award at the Festivals 14th edition, running from December 6  13.



Wahid Hamed is renowned for his diverse work and extensive contribution to Egyptian cinema and television. An Egyptian native from the governate of Sharqia, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology before starting his career with drama work in the late 1960s.



His breakthrough came in the television series Dreams of the Fly Boy (1978), which started his longtime collaboration with distinguished actor Adel Imam. Iconic work was created when the pair came together, including Al Erhab wel Kabab (1992), a black comedy about government corruption and the working class of Egypt, as well as Al Ghoul (1983) and Toyour El Zalam (1995), which focused on political corruption and the Muslim brotherhoods dogma in Egypt. The two also partnered on the critically-acclaimed and issue-tackling The Yacoubian Building (2006), which saw Hameds son, Marwan, take the directors chair.



With almost 40 films and countless television titles to his name, Hamed has worked alongside many esteemed Egyptian directors, including Yousry Nasrallah, Atef El Tayeb and Sherif Arafa, among others. Known for his daring themes in the face of controversy, Hameds own work has overcome difficulty to reach the silver screen.



Written in the mid-80s, the touching and renowned drama Al Baree (1997) faced a lengthy censorship battle, due to its controversial political messages. It was not released until 19 years post its production and only after the ending was changed. Hamed decided to establish his own production company, Wahid Hamed Film Productions, to help bring his and others work to the big and small screen.



Hamed also worked on the famed political comedy Maali Al-Wazeer (2002), which again featured his unique take on government corruption. He has received critical acclaim and a bevy of awards across countless film festivals, most notably for his films El Leeb Maa El Kobar (1991), Ehky ya Scheherazade (2009) and Ot W Far (2015). His last television series Al Gamaa (The Brotherhood) (2010) and Return of Al Gamaa (2017) tackled the history of Imam Hassan Al Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its impact across Egypt.



DIFFs chairman, Abdulhamid Juma said: The longevity and diversity of Wahid Hameds career is testament not only to his great talent, but also to the importance of talented writers to the industry. Screenwriting is a unique art that is the backbone of any story, without which directors could not build a compelling and impactful tale. We are delighted to welcome Mr. Hamed to Dubai to honour his talents with the Arab Lifetime Achievement Award.



Hamed said: I am very touched to receive this prestigious award from the Dubai International Film Festival and look forward to accepting the award in person in Dubai this December.  TradeArabia News Service
Dubais Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to enhance the cooperation between the two entities.



The MoU provides for holding workshops on the sidelines of the Dubai International Projects Management Forum focusing on humanitarian and development projects.



Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA signed the MoU on behalf of RTA, and Frode Mauring, UNDP resident representative to the United Arab Emirates, signed it on behalf of the UNDP.



Al Tayer was delighted with the signing of the MoU with the UNDP as it concurs with the announcement of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, declaring 2017 as The Year of Giving in the UAE. It also reflects the noble values of the UAE community, which gives much weight to the social responsibility and the spirit of collaboration with community members.



As part of its initiatives marking The Year of Giving, RTA has launched the RTA Foundation with the aim of delivering charitable services and non-profit seeking social initiatives offering transit means to specific individuals or bodies. In coordination between RTA, government bodies and the private sector, the Foundation will seek to enhance charitable projects related to public transport in underdeveloped and disadvantaged countries to bring about a positive impact on the standard of living in those countries, Al Tayer said.



Mauring will take part in the discussion panel headlined: Development Project Management on the second day of the Dubai International Projects Management Forum (DIPMF) 2017. Participants in the session include Saeed Al Tayer, CEO and managing director of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), and Mohammed Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation.



Discussions will cover the role of development projects in leveraging the development and prosperity of countries along with some examples in this regard.  TradeArabia News Service
BMW Group sales of electrified vehicles in September topped the 10,000 mark for the first time in a single month, taking sales in the first three quarters of 2017 to higher than that achieved in the whole of 2016.



With the companys electrified line-up already totalling nine models, a total of 10,786 (+50.5 per cent) BMW i, BMW iPerformance and MINI Electric vehicles were delivered in September, bringing the year-to-date total to 68,687 (+64.2 per cent).



We are pleased to see the ongoing, strong sales development of our unrivalled range of electrified vehicles, with independent reports confirming our leadership in the field of electromobility, commented Dr Ian Robertson, BMW AG Management board member for Sales and Brand BMW.



The BMW Group has the largest share of the electrified market worldwide; this year, weve already sold more electrified vehicles than in the whole of last year and we are well on track to deliver our target of 100,000 by year-end. The continued significant sales growth of these vehicles is due in part to the increasing availability of the BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid, which in some markets accounts for up to a third of BMW 5 Series sedan sales, he continued.



September also saw growth in overall BMW Group sales. Despite the current changeover of the significant BMW X3 model, deliveries in the month totalled 239,764 (+0.8 per cent) worldwide, bringing the year-to-date total to 1,811,234 (+3.7 per cent). Both figures represent best-ever sales for the respective period.



Global BMW brand sales in the first three quarters of 2017 increased by 3.9 per cent with a total of 1,537,497 customer deliveries worldwide. These record figures can be attributed to increased sales across a variety of models in the portfolio.



The BMW X family remains a strong growth driver, despite availability of the BMW X3 being significantly affected by the current model changeover. Total BMW X sales were up 12.5 per cent (522,360) in the first nine months of the year. Other models contributing significantly to sales growth this year include the BMW 1 Series (143,018 / +10.8 per cent) and the BMW 7 Series (47,880 / +14.7 per cent). Meanwhile in September, the new BMW 5 Series achieved sales growth of 48.8 per cent (23,737) in markets excluding China, where the 5 Series is currently in model changeover.



The first nine months of the year also saw MINI achieve new record sales: worldwide, a total of 271,394 were delivered to customers, an increase of 2.8 per cent.



MINI continues to achieve sustainable sales growth with the new MINI Countryman proving a particularly strong growth driver, commented Peter Schwarzenbauer, BMW AG Management Board member for MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad.



The popularity of the first ever MINI plug-in hybrid, which has already been delivered to more than 2,700 customers worldwide since it was introduced in June, is particularly exciting, he continued.



Almost one in ten Countryman sold in September was a MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 (fuel consumption in the EU test cycle: 2.3-2.1 litres/100 km, electricity consumption 14 kWh/100 km, CO2 emissions: 52-49 g/km).



The Goodwood-based Rolls-Royce brand delivered 2,343 (-10.7 per cent) cars to customers in the first three quarters of the year. This result takes into account the current absence of Phantom from the market, pending first customer deliveries of New Phantom in January 2018, and challenging market conditions within the global luxury sector in a number of regions around the world.



Significant rebalancing of the companys manufacturing plant in preparation for new models has proceeded throughout this period. New Phantom was unveiled in July in London to worldwide acclaim and already has a strong order book.



BMW Motorrad once again achieved record sales in September, with 14,090 motorbikes and maxi-scooters delivered to customers. This was an increase of 15.3 per cent compared to the previous year. In the first nine months of the year, 127,818 units were delivered to customers  an increase of 10.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.  TradeArabia News Service
Evonik, one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies, celebrates this month the 10th anniversary of the creation of its brand name with a series of events across the Middle East.



Dr Hendrik Schoenfelder, newly appointed president of Evonik Middle East and Africa (Mena), said: Our 10th birthday marks the creation of a new brand identity that united a group of companies with a legacy in the chemicals industry that started more than a century ago.



The first anniversary celebration in the Middle East was held at Dubai Opera, in Dubai, UAE, gathering around seventy representatives of key players in the regional chemicals industry.



Similar events will be organised in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran before the end of the year.



Annick Braun, regional financial officer of Evonik Middle East and Africa, said: I am happy to be a part of our first 10th anniversary celebration starting in Dubai, and I am sure that this event will create a great dialogue platform between our team and customers across the region.



Through former brand identities, Evonik started doing business in the Middle East since the 1960s with operations in Egypt and Iran. Today, the German-based conglomerate is present in the region with five offices and one manufacturing plant.



At our company, we understand that the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is the growth region of the future, and I am very pleased to be in this region and celebrate with our partners this special occasion, Schoenfelder concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
Utico, the Middle Easts leading full service private utility, today unveiled a path-breaking solar investment programme, SolarFree, for homeowners and announced an investment outlay of more than $100 million for the project.

In a statement, Utico said the innovative scheme will help revolutionise the home rooftop solar power generation market which has been picking up in Dubai following the launch of the landmark Shams Dubai solar programme of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

We believe that our solar investment proposition which will guarantee the worlds fastest cash pay back to investors, along with an option to recoup full investment in the project within a maximum of three years, will be a huge incentive to homeowners to switch to solar power, in turn promoting green economy, Richard Menezes, managing director of Utico, said.

He said Uticos goal was to complete solar installations across 5,000 homes in the next 18 to 24 months. Homeowners can install SolarFree rooftop solar systems without getting into any long-term liability through power purchase agreements or long term lease as is currently practiced.

SolarFree, will literally free up the home rooftop investors equity in the project, rather than getting him into liability and long-term debt. Moreover, the investor will also gain from RoI (return on investment) through regular and fast cash paybacks based on the solar power generated, Menezes said.

He said that an investor can opt to get back investment in the solar installation from Utico within 18, 24 or 36 months. Investors will also have an option to buy the system through an in-house finance arrangement.

Menezes said Dewas Shams Dubai works on a net metering scheme and hence Uticos offering offers an incentive almost akin to feed-in tariff giving home owners a classic payback and return mix.

Under SolarFree, we will offer the sale of the system at a fixed price guaranteeing home owners a return even if the solar system does not produce any power and an optional programme that offers the home owner get his investment back within a period of three years. The time frame can be shorter even for elite qualified consumers, Menezes said, adding that there are no other hidden costs.

He further said the investment deal is purely based on green economy principles and the larger aim was to mitigate climate change by promoting use of solar power.

We have always based our business model on innovation and sustainability from inception and thanks to the encouragement and blessings of the wise leadership of the UAE, we have been able to make tremendous progress in offering consumer friendly initiatives, Menezes added. - TradeArabia News Service
Hywind Scotland, the worlds first commercial-scale floating wind farm, was inaugurated today in Scotland, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has announced.

The renewable energy project paves the way for the development of wind energy resources in areas beyond the reach of existing offshore wind technologies, said Masdar, a 25 per cent shareholder in the wind farm alongside Statoil of Norway, which owns 75 per cent of Hywind Scotland.

Scotlands First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Norways Minister for Energy & Petroleum Terje Sviknes attended todays formal unveiling of the plant. They were joined by Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO of Mubadala Investment Companys Aerospace, Renewables & Information Communications Technology platform; Rawdha Al Otaiba, deputy head mission, UAE Embassy in the UK; and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar.

The completion of Hywind Scotland, together with next months inauguration of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of eastern England, brings the total power generating capacity of the UK-based renewable energy projects in which Masdar is an investor to more than 1 gigawatt (GW), the statement said.

Further optimising the output of the wind park by mitigating the intermittency of wind energy, Hywind Scotland will also be connected to a 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) lithium battery. Once installed, the Batwind storage solution will have the same battery capacity as 2 million smart-phones.

Masdar has a long-standing commitment to renewable energy in the United Kingdom, and we are immensely proud to deliver our first project in Scotland alongside our partners, said Mohamed Al Ramahi of Masdar.

Hywind Scotland is showing that floating wind technology can be commercially viable wherever sea depths are too great for conventional fixed offshore wind power. This opens up a number of new geographies, and we are already looking at future opportunities with our partners, building on our existing international portfolio in wind energy and solar power.

Al Ramahi said: The addition of the Batwind battery storage solution adds another exciting dimension to the project by supporting the advancement of a technology with the potential to further improve efficiencies and lower costs for offshore wind.

Floating around 25 km off the coast of Aberdeenshire in water depths of 95-120 m, Hywind Scotland is now supplying electricity to an estimated 20,000 British households. The projects five wind turbines, each with a capacity of 6 megawatts (MW), were secured into place in August after being towed across the North Sea from Norway.

Hywind Scotland is Masdars third UK-based wind farm. It joins the worlds largest offshore wind power development currently in operation, the 630MW-capacity London Array, and the 420MW Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, which will be officially launched in November.

Besides Hywind Scotland, Masdar is a partner with Statoil in Dudgeon, and the two companies have pledged to collaborate on future renewable energy projects.

The cost of floating wind power technology is expected to follow a similar downward trajectory to that of onshore and bottom-fixed offshore wind power. According to Statoil, the overall offshore wind sector has the potential to grow from a global capacity of 13GW in 2015 to more than 100GW by 2030, with floating wind technology accounting for a significant share of that expansion.  TradeArabia News Service
The condition of toilets in UAE businesses may deter  or attract  customers, according to a recent survey.



Half of Emiratis who experience unclean toilets vow to never again frequent the business or will think twice before doing so in the future, according to the 2017 Healthy Hand Washing Survey conducted in the UAE by Bradley Corporation, a leader in public facility hand washing and sanitaryware. About a third will tell a friend and name the business.



Conversely, there's a positive bottom line to providing pleasant toilet conditions. About 80 per cent of Emiratis say they've made a conscious decision to visit a particular business because they know it has clean, well-maintained toilets.



"The importance of toilet cleaning and maintenance can't be understated when it comes to customer satisfaction and loyalty," said Mohamed Barakat, Middle East international sales manager for Bradley Corporation, a leading manufacturer of commercial plumbing fixtures and public toilet accessories.



"Ninety-one per cent of Emirates residents told us they would expect the toilets at a company that produces quality products or services to also offer a high quality experience. The WC is a direct reflection of a business."



Despite the high value Emiratis put on good toilet environments, the survey showed a rise in poor conditions. A significant majority (86 per cent) of Emiratis report they've had a particularly unpleasant experience in a public toilet due to the condition of the facilities  a substantial increase from 69 per cent who recalled poor conditions in 2015.



Rising negative encounters mean more tarnished perceptions of the associated businesses. Half of Emiratis believe that an unclean toilet indicates poor management or shows management doesn't care about its customers. For one-third, an unclean toilet causes them to lower their opinion of the business.



When asked what improvements they'd like to see in public toilets, Emiratis named better cleaning and stocking of supplies, more effective technology and touchless fixtures.



The quest for cleaner and touch-free public toilet environments may explain why respondents rank toilet flushers, sinks and handles on cubicles, entrance doors and faucets as the top surfaces they dislike touching.



Further, Emiratis use a variety of techniques to avoid coming in contact with fixtures in a public toilet. Seventy-seven per cent use a paper towel so they don't have to touch the toilet flusher, door handle or faucet handle. Others hover above the toilet seat and some use their elbow to turn the faucet on or off, operate the flusher or the towel dispenser.



The most mentioned toilet aggravations in UAE are clogged or unflushed toilets, unpleasant smells, an overall dirty appearance, and empty or jammed toilet paper dispensers.



The annual Healthy Hand Washing Survey queried 522 adults across the Emirates about their hand washing habits in public toilets and concerns about germs, colds and the flu. Participants were from around the country, were 18 years and older, and were split between men and women (55 and 45 per cent).  TradeArabia News Service
Louvre Abu Dhabi today signed the first exclusive platinum partnership with UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways.The symbolic ceremony took place under the museums spectacular dome and its Rain of Light effect.



Louvre Abu Dhabi will officially open on November 11 as an iconic landmark on the citys geographical, cultural and tourist landscape. The architectural masterpiece is one of only a few truly universal museums in the world, awe-inspiring in both its scale and design.



Saif Saeed Ghobash, director general of the Department of Culture & Tourism  Abu Dhabi, said: This important partnership comes at an exciting time as we prepare for our grand opening next month. Louvre Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways not only bring people from around the world to Abu Dhabi, but they are both universal in nature. For the museum, this idea of universal is about understanding human connections from the beginning of time until the present through art. We look forward to celebrating Louvre Abu Dhabis opening with the support of our Platinum partner.



As a Platinum partner, Etihad will work closely with Louvre Abu Dhabi on areas of brand partnership, marketing, social media, public and media relations, events and exhibitions, cultural exchanges, cargo support, inflight programming, and travel trade support. Etihad Airways destination management company, Hala, will collaborate with the museum on bespoke tour packages in Abu Dhabi.



Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways chief executive officer, said: Louvre Abu Dhabi is a universal institution showcasing the achievements of mankind in art, in culture, in humanity  a beacon welcoming visitors to these shores for generations to come.



Etihad Airways and Louvre Abu Dhabi are two leading characters in the same story and we share a deep bond. As the national airline of the UAE, flying from Abu Dhabi to the world, we are also a universal connector of people. Together with our partners at Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Department of Culture & Tourism  Abu Dhabi, we are committed to bringing guests from across our global network to our home, and to co-creating experiences which will showcase this magnificent museum. - TradeArabia News Service


Recognising the vital role of food in celebrations and traditions that bring people together, Emirates Cabin Crew surprised and delighted residents of all ages in the heart of Dubai, marking the start of Diwali.



Emirates Cabin Crew gave out hundreds of decorated boxes of sweets in Meena Bazaar, a popular area in Dubai known for its ethnic shops and bustling streets where many people shop for their traditional Diwali essentials. The crew members also helped create a traditional Rangoli to celebrate the festival of lights.



Travellers are able to get a taste of Diwali delicacies available onboard this year on all India-bound Emirates flights during the week of Diwali celebrations, which is set to start on October 19. Sweets distributed included Ladoos and Khajur burfi, along with other specialties like Moong Dal burfi, all embellished, representing the traditional decoration of Diwali.



Emirates has been flying to India since its inception in 1985. The airline operates over 170 flights a week from Dubai to nine Indian destinations: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. - TradeArabia News Service
How destinations market themselves as social media grows in importance will be a key topic at WTM London 2017, the leading global event for the travel industry.



The issue will come under the spotlight for two days of the event, on November 6 and 7, when panel discussions and a keynote speaker will feature during the Social Media programme at WTM London, organised by Travel Perspective.



Marketing professionals will not want to miss a key session on the WTM Global Stage, when a panel - chaired by social media expert and former Times journalist Steve Keenan - will discuss the question Is influencer marketing the way forward for destinations?'. Among those on the panel will be key figures from social media marketing specialists Whalar, Qubist and Dash Hudson. The discussion will take place on November 8 and will run from 14.05 to 15.00.



This will be followed immediately by another session that looks at the topic from a different angle. Why destinations have to change how they sell themselves will examine how Airbnb and Visit Sweden have worked together to promote the country. Additionally, Visit Jersey will describe how video content is now used to accompany and illustrate accommodation and package tour offers.



The panel will also show how Airbnb has launched Trips, which encourages accommodation owners to turn tour guide. The session will ask if this new collaborative model is the way forward.



The discussion will be moderated by author, journalist and social media consultant Mark Frary and will include speakers from Visit Sweden, Visit Jersey, Airbnb and Cape Town Tourism.



A keynote session the day before, on November 6, will see a face-to-face interview with Travelocity founder Terry Jones. Jones will discuss how Artificial Intelligence will become more important for the industry and how to use it to innovate. Jones, who will be interviewed by Frary, was also involved in the launch of Kayak and is currently chairman of Wayblazer, a company already using Artificial Intelligence to disrupt the traditional travel market.



Face to face with Terry Jones takes place on the WTM Global Stage, 14.00 to 14.50.



WTM London, Conference and Seminar Manager, Charlotte Alderslade, said: Social media has already impacted travel in an enormous way and Artificial Intelligence will have an increasingly large impact in the years to come, so these sessions are a must for any marketeer.



The programme also includes sessions on how social media can help World Heritage sites manage tourism sustainably and how to grow a personal brand as a vlogger; plus Facebook comes under scrutiny in a live interview.



The two days culminate in the Best of Social Media 2017 awards, with five finalists, a judging panel and an audience vote to find the Awesome Winner 2017. - TradeArabia News Service


Travelport, a leading travel commerce platform, has announced a new global agreement with Al Tayyar Travel Group, a leading travel company in the Middle East.



As a result of this multi-year agreement with Travelport, Al Tayyar and its subsidiaries will continue to use Travelports open platform and benefit from its Universal API technology. This enables the groups agencies to develop and connect their systems to the widest choice of content and provide the integrated, personalised travel experiences that the connected traveller of today demands. Travelports industry leading point of sale tool, Travelport Smartpoint, also helps Al Tayyars agencies optimise services and develop their business globally.



Commenting on the renewed agreement, Abdullah bin Nasser Al Dawood, chief executive officer and board director at Al Tayyar Travel Group, said: The renewal of our agreement with Travelport demonstrates our commitment to serve the end traveller even better, by providing our agency partners with a rich choice of content. We are delighted to continue building on the success we have enjoyed already from this fruitful partnership as we continue to develop our business.



Gordon Wilson, president and CEO of Travelport, added: We are delighted that Al Tayyar Travel Group has chosen our platform once again to drive its agencies effectiveness and global expansion. The group is a great partner and an impressive user of our technology. So, we are proud to play a major role in supporting its goals.



With a prominent local, regional and international presence, Al Tayyar was founded and established by Dr. Nasser Bin Aqeel in 1980. The companys 3,000 employees now serve customers in over 430 branches within Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa region as well as Malaysia, Canada, USA, Australia, Europe and the UK. The group operates in continental Europe and the UK through Elegant Resorts, a leading provider of luxury travel services and Clarity, one of the UKs largest travel management companies, following its recent merger with Portman Travel. - TradeArabia News Service
Surveys and interviews with state leaders, educators and parents raised a broader question about what Wyomings education system should be offering to its students, consultants told lawmakers Thursday.

The responses  collected over recent months as part of the consultants wide-ranging review of the education funding model here  covered a range of topics, from special education to the effectiveness of the existing funding system. The consultants, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, used three different methods to obtain responses from three different groups:

one-on-one or small-group interviews with state leaders, like Gov. Matt Mead, state Superintendent Jillian Balow, the heads of several state education organizations, and others;

panels with more than 200 total educators in four towns across Wyoming;

an open online survey that had more than 1,200 responses from educators, parents, students and others. Forty-eight percent were parents, and 44 percent were educators.

The information was relayed by the consultants to the lawmakers on the Select Committee for School Finance Recalibration, which is charged with examining Wyomings system for funding education. Thursdays meeting, which will continue Friday, is the first time the consultants have brought completed analysis to the committee, which must have its work finished by the end of January at the very latest.

The wide range of responses to the consultants survey revealed a deeper question at the heart of Wyomings education system: What should its ultimate goal be? Should it be used to ready students for a college campus, or should it prepare them for an office or job site?

The answer was both. Educators interviewed by the consultants and the broader range of people who took an online survey said that students are generally ready for college but that more emphasis should be placed on preparing those teenagers who will join the workforce after high school.

Either way, the respondents said, students should be ready for any post-high school path, and right now, the education system may be overemphasizing college readiness.

Justin Silverstein, one of the consultants who presented the findings to lawmakers, said that topic came up in every interview the firm performed.

Survey (r)espondents often argued that not every student is going to go to college, so the educational program should ensure that they can be successful in whatever path they pursue, the consultants wrote in a memo to lawmakers.

In 2014, roughly 53 percent of Wyoming high school graduates went straight to college, one of the lowest rates in the nation.

Some of the interview respondents said the potential overemphasis on college readiness can be traced to districts striving to offer Hathaway Scholarship requirements, at the expense of workforce readiness courses. Because of the classes schools must ensure students have the opportunity to take, theres less time for career technical education courses, the consultants were told.

School and districts are making staffing and course offering decisions based upon the opportunities they need to provide students to be eligible; for example, providing a fourth year of math, they wrote in their memo.

Still, there was some push back at the meeting. Paige Fenton Hughes, the superintendent for Converse County School District No. 1, said her district offered a lot of career technical education. But there werent a lot of jobs in Converse County for a high school graduate with a strong background in CTE.

Kids can be perfectly successful without a college education, that may have been true, she told lawmakers near the end of the meeting. I dont think thats true anymore.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, a Laramie Democrat and University of Wyoming professor, agreed and said that was especially true for women.

For girls, they need to go to college, she said. It concerns me some if we dont encourage our young people to consider postsecondary education.

Educators said that a compounding factor is the dearth of qualified CTE teachers in Wyoming. Last spring, UW announced it was ending its CTE program, formally hosted at UW-Casper, because of low enrollment. A number of people  including UW instructors  had come to its defense as essential and unique to the state.

The elimination of that program did not come up at Thursdays re-calibration meeting, which was coincidentally held at the UW-Casper part of Casper Colleges campus.

Response to

the

funding model

There was consensus elsewhere in the results. For example, educators on the panels consistently advocated against further budget cuts and to continue providing districts with block grants because of the flexibility they give districts.

The educators also spoke out in favor of the current 100 percent reimbursement policy for both transportation and special education spending. Essentially, every dollar a district spends in either of those areas is reimbursed by the state.

Still, there was some disagreement.

For instance, educators generally felt they were meeting the needs of special education students. But parent respondents felt the opposite, the consultants told lawmakers on the recalibration committee.

Additionally, educators felt that the funding model that the state has used since 2005 is responsive to districts and students needs. But parents were more likely to disagree.

Elsewhere in the responses:

10 percent of educators said special education services for students with severe needs could be improved. For instance, the consultants noted that Wyoming has no school for the deaf or blind;

some educators also warned that recent cuts were having an effect on the educational program theyre required to provide to students and others said they didnt want electives cut;

survey respondents were divided on whether all districts in the state could provide students the opportunity to meet the Hathaway Scholarships requirements, though Connolly noted that no district has ever notified officials that its unable to.
Just three decades after photography was invented, William Henry Jacksons camera documented the waterfalls through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone during the U.S. geological and geographical study in 1871.

His work also revealed hot spring pools and terraces, lake shores and other sights that people today travel from around the world to see.

A year later, his photographs helped Congress decide to establish the Yellowstone area as the first national park.

As the expedition crew led by Ferdinand Hayden embarked, they stayed up late in camp as some members who claimed to have already been to the area described the sights ahead of them. Their leader, Ferdinand Hayden, said nothing, according to Jacksons writing recalling his travels.

He was satisfied to let Wonderland tell its own story to himself as well as to the rest of us, for most of it had not yet been seen by the eyes of white men, Jackson wrote in his autobiography.

A display of Jacksons images made shortly after the expedition are on display through November at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, the first time this particular collection of his photos has been displayed in Wyoming.

Let Wonderland Tell its Story: William Henry Jacksons 1871 Albertypes features a rare collection of 61 Albertype prints. Visitors can see half of the set this month and the other half next month. The show also includes a few prints from one of Jacksons later journeys through the park as well as one silver albumen print likely created by the photographer himself.

Youre looking at some important history, the collections owner Lee Silliman said. These were the images and the process that convinced Congress to enact the Yellowstone founding bill.

Making history

Only a few sets printed using the Albertype process were made from Jacksons 1871 images, Silliman said. This is the first full exhibition in Wyoming of Sillimans set, which has been displayed in Montana, Utah and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. Sillman created the frames out of Brazilian cherry wood at his frame shop, he said.

The Montana photographer and art collector has spent years studying the parks history. For 17 years, he made his own treks into the backcountry with a large-format camera. Thats how he became interested in Jacksons work, he said.

The equipment Silliman carried with help from a few friends and mules was light packing compared with Jacksons load. The pioneer photographer hauled 300 pounds of equipment through the terrain as he created the first widely-distributed photographs of Yellowstone National Park, Silliman said.

The exhibit includes Jacksons descriptions of the wet, collodion glass plate process long before film replaced it. Hed trek to compose and focus his shot and return to his dark box to prepare the plate. Then hed go take the photo, and finally return to immediately develop the glass negative. He could create, at most, 15 to 20 photographs a day, Jackson wrote.

He also detailed his experiences with the landscape. Theyd wake before sunrise to find the best views of the waterfalls of Yellowstone River, for instance. The iconic lower falls gave ...a most entrancing thought  that we were in the presence of one of the grandest views in the world, and one that had never before been photographed, Jackson wrote.

A rare display

Jackson likely created many images from the survey as silver albumen prints  by exposing light-sensitive silver suspended in an egg white emulsion coated on paper. But a new printing method, invented in 1868 by German photographer Joseph Albert, promised a more affordable way to mass produce images.

Since the goal was to spark excitement for a future Yellowstone National Park, Hayden sent Jacksons plates to the studio of the American patent-holder for the process, Edward Bierstadt.

The project never happened, however. Its believed a fire that broke out at the plant at the time halted the effort, perhaps out of alarm for the safety of the one-of-a-kind glass negatives, Silliman said.

Just few sets of Albertypes were created from the printers proofs, including the incomplete set Silliman bought, according to a press release for the show.

The images Jackson and painter Thomas Moran created through the expedition played a significant role in establishing Yellowstone National Park, Silliman said.

Id say they could share 50 percent of the credit for convincing people of the essence and the beauty and the truth of Yellowstone, he said.

Moran captured the colors, while Jacksons photos blended art with documentation. Silliman agrees with nineteenth-century historian Hiram Martin Chittendens quote he included in the exhibition.

Description might exaggerate, Chitterden wrote, but the camera told the truth; and in this case the truth was more remarkable than exaggeration.
Church pumpkin patch

First Christian Church Pumpkin Patch, 520 CY Ave., is open 4 to 7 p.m.

Wednesday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 5:30 p.m., 328 E. A; 7 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, closed; 7 p.m., 520 CY; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A; 8 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open. Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 15th and Melrose, at the church. Web site: http://www.urmrna.org.

TOPS #162, weight loss support, 8:30 a.m., 1868 S. Poplar.

Deadline for Beginning Experience

Beginning Experience of Wyoming is hosting a Casper weekend Friday through Sunday. It is a weekend program that offers healing and renewal to divorced, widowed and separated men and women. It is a nonprofit, faith-based comprehensive program offered to all persons, regardless of religious preference. A Beginning Experience weekend offers support and direction to help resolve grief or anger that can follow the end of a marriage by divorce, separation or death. The weekend can be a time for a real awakening, a re-evaluation, and a new beginning. Beginning Experience is a positive experience of hope. You can anticipate an intense reflective, possibly painful, but spiritually honest self-encounter. You will also find support, warm fellowship, and community. The next Beginning Experience weekend will be in Casper and starts promptly at 7 p.m. Friday and runs through Sunday around 4 p.m. You must commit to the entire weekend. The cost of the weekend is an offering of $150, which includes sleeping arrangements, meals, and materials. No one is turned away if you dont have enough money. Scholarships are available. Registration deadline is Oct. 18.

Ask these team members for more information: Curtis at 307-240-1232 or email westcurtis2014@gmail.com; Diane at 307-262-4142; Paulette at 307-267-6375.

Pumpkins for a purpose

Join Meals On Wheels for its third annual pumpkin patch at the Meals on Wheels Building, 1760 E. 12th St. Pumpkin sales continue through Oct. 31. All pumpkins are Wyoming grown. Hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pumpkins will be $5 for a small, $10 for a medium and $15 for a large. Specialty pumpkins will be available in limited quantities. For more information, please call the office at 265-8659 or visit www.mealswheels.com. Find us on Facebook under Natrona County Meals On Wheels.

Toastmasters meet

Toastmasters is a step-by-step program designed to learn how to prepare and deliver presentations (planned and impromptu), improve communication and learn leadership skills. Students are always welcome. Review the website at toastmasters.org. Pioneer Toastmasters meets the first and third Wednesdays, noon to 1 p.m. at Eggingtons Restaurant (upstairs meeting room). Contact Kevin at 307 371-5364 or Mary Ann at 234-0158.

Pulled pork at the Elks

Wednesday Night Special at the Casper Elks Lodge is pulled pork with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn and roll. All you can eat for $7 children 5 to 12 are $3, serving from 6 to 7 p.m. or until gone. Members, significant others and guest accompanied by a member. For more information, call 234-4839. The menu is subject to change. All proceeds go to any of the Elks Charities.

Halloween light show

The Wagners present the fourth annual Halloween light show at their house, 3148 Whispering Springs. The show will run nightly from 6 to 10 p.m. and from 6 to 11 p.m., on Friday and Saturday. There will be candy for kids on Halloween night. The Christmas light show, which includes an optional donation of food for Joshuas Storehouse, will begin on Nov. 25.

Escape Room at Stage III

Get your friends together for an Edgar Allan Poe-themed Escape Room at Stage III. Poe is missing from his study, and the police suspect foul play. Groups of up to six players have 45 minutes to search for clues, solve puzzles and figure out where the author has gone. Ticketing is at stageiiitheatre.org.
A frustrated federal judge declined Wednesday to dismiss a case brought by a Wyoming woman who sued the state because it operates a boot camp program for only male prisoners.

Taylor Blanchard is serving time in a boot camp in Ocala, Florida, after suing the state this summer alleging her civil rights were violated. Blanchard is the first woman to have been recommended to a boot camp program, but she was initially sent to prison to begin serving a six- to 10-year sentence.

Since the lawsuit began, lawyers have submitted 40 filings in the case  an unusually high number that Judge Scott Skavdahl noted during the proceedings.

This case is a whole three months old, he said. Were done chopping wood. Were gonna start the fire.

Skavdahl went on to deny a motion brought on behalf of Wyoming Department of Corrections officials that sought to have the case dismissed. Skavdahl allowed Blanchards attorneys to modify their original complaint with allegations of two constitutional violations, which rendered the defendants motion moot, the judge said.

The case has been transformed since it was brought in July, said Blanchards American Civil Liberties Union attorney Stephen Pevar.

A judge had recommended Blanchard attend a boot camp program when sentencing her for a probation violation after she failed a required in-patient substance abuse program. Because Wyoming does not offer a womens boot camp, Blanchard was being held in the Wyoming Womens Center when she filed suit. Since then, she has transferred to the Florida boot camp, which her lawyers say violated her civil rights.

Because Blanchard is being held thousands of miles away from her Wyoming home and was placed in a program shorter than the Wyoming program, her attorneys claim that her 14th Amendment right to equal protection is being violated.

In Wyoming, a judge can recommend a rehabilitative boot camp program for offenders under the age of 25. The inmates spend much of their 17-hour days in Newcastle focused on work and physical activity.

Inmates who successfully complete the program can then ask a judge to reduce their remaining prison sentence.

The judge also declined a motion Wednesday for expedited discovery filed by the plaintiffs, saying that part of the proceedings would be handled in conference. Discovery is a pretrial stage of court proceedings in which the plaintiffs can request evidence.

Skavdahl said he would consider a motion by Blanchards lawyers for a preliminary injunction. The motion would have immediately required prison officials to either create a womens boot camp in Wyoming, add a womens wing to the Newcastle program or begin sending both men and women to out-of-state camps. Skavdahl said he had grave concerns about ordering such a change before hearing the case. He said he would decide the matter at a later date.

Justin Daraie, an attorney representing corrections officials, argued two factors necessitated treating men and women prisoners differently. First, he noted that there were more male prisoners than females. Secondly, he cited the differing needs of the two populations.

The Constitution requires equal treatment but not identical treatment, he said.

Before adjourning, Skavdahl warned against filing unnecessary motions or using court filings to bring attention to the case.

If you want press releases, dont file them here, the judge said.
Another woman pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges Wednesday in connection to the case of a Casper doctor whos accused of illegally prescribing painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.

Melissa Bishop pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver oxycodone and conspiracy to deliver heroin. In exchange for her pleas, the prosecution agreed to cap its argument for sentencing to three to six years on each count. The sentences would run at the same time.

The prosecution also dropped two additional conspiracy charges against Bishop.

Bishop appeared in Natrona County District Court to enter her pleas wearing a jail uniform.

When Judge Daniel Forgey asked her if she pleaded guilty, Bishop responded in a calm tone.

I do, she said, leaning slightly forward.

Bishop told the judge that Dr. Shakeel Khan had written her a prescription that she sold to others to support a drug habit.

When her oxycodone prescription ran out, Bishop used and sold heroin instead, she said.

Both oxycodone and heroin are opioids, potent pain-relieving drugs that can cause physical dependence. Heroin is illegal altogether, while oxycodone is tightly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Khan and his wife, Lyn Khan, are facing a total of 45 charges in their case, which is being conducted in federal court.

Prosecutors allege that Dr. Khan sold painkiller prescriptions in exchange for cash. Defendants in the case are alleged to have signed forms at Khans request indicating they would not describe the doctor as a drug dealer.
Wyoming Department of Health officials painted a stark picture to lawmakers Monday of long-term care spending in a state with an aging population and a Medicaid deficit thats likely to grow in the coming years.

They were taken aback, department director Tom Forslund said of lawmakers on the Labor, Health and Social Services Committee.

Even in the short term, the numbers are bleak: Medicaid currently faces a more than $20 million deficit, a number thats almost certain to grow in the coming years as Wyomings population continues to age and require more long-term care. According to the report Forslunds staff prepared for the legislative meeting, the cost to Wyoming Medicaid for long-term care could increase from $130 million in 2017 to between $184 million and $312 million in 2030.

Those numbers dont lie, and we as a state of Wyoming are going to face significantly higher costs over the next 13 years, and the question is, what are we going to do about it? Forslund said.

The overall problem is compounded further by the fact that as Wyoming ages, the population of people capable of working and paying taxes  and working in health care to treat the elderly  will diminish.

(W)hile Wyomings population is expected to grow to a total of 665,672 persons in 2030, most of this population growth will be in the two older demographics (65+), the health department wrote.

On top of that, costs will continue to rise and people are increasingly unprepared for retirement, the department found.

Then theres the matter of cuts the health department has absorbed in recent years. As Wyoming has labored under a struggling economy, agencies across state government have been slashed. Forslund said his department has lost around $100 million in recent years, and he expects more cuts in the coming months.

Thats a problem not only because the department is losing funding, but because it also means Forslund has fewer options to absorb the Medicaid shortfall. There are less places to turn to within the department from which he can draw money.

Forslund said that the purpose of the presentation to lawmakers wasnt to offer solutions; it was to raise awareness. He said the path forward will become clearer over the coming months and that he will likely meet with the committee again after the coming legislative session, which will end in mid-March 2018.

But generally, he said, the state can save Medicaid dollars by keeping the elderly in their homes and out of long-term care facilities for as long as possible. He added thats also the patients general preference, to remain in their home.

We said were going to look at what some of the other states are doing to promote in-home care versus institutional care because that runs almost half the care of institutional care, Forslund said. The longer you can keep them in the home, its cheaper for the state and people are happy.

Still, theres no magic bullet or singular solution, he stressed, but the state can help the situation by providing resources for people living at home and making Wyoming an attractive destination for the private sector, who can provide health workers to treat the elderly who need care in their home.

There are going to be less people working in the next 13 years in terms of people working versus people over 80 compared to today, Forslund said.

Long-term care is expensive, especially in Wyoming. Between 60 and 70 percent of nursing home patients receive Medicaid funding, according to the department. Nursing home rates have risen from more than $55,000 a year in 2006 to roughly $90,000 last year, according to department data.

The department concluded that for the average retiree, accumulated personal assets will not provide sufficient cash flow to pay for the annual costs of long-term care, even in the least expensive settings.

In those situations, the state often picks up the slack.

For now, the state faces that $20 million-plus deficit in Medicaid spending. Asked how the state would fill that, Forslund said its just a projection and theres hope that it wont be as bleak in reality.

He added that hes frozen spending throughout the health department, and between the two  frozen spending and a hopefully smaller deficit  the state can fill much of the shortfall.

The Legislature might fill that gap, a special appropriation, I mean, theres a variety of options, he said. Right now, its the middle of October.
CODY  All rise, Sam Krone said at the end of his Oct. 12 sentencing hearing for felony larceny and misdemeanor theft charges.

Have you ever heard a defendant say that before? Krone joked to the courtroom.

For stealing over $9,600 in Park County Bar Association funds during his more than a decade-long tenure as the organizations treasurer, Krone, a former Park County deputy prosecutor and state legislator, was given a 15-day jail term, to be served piecemeal, at his discretion, over the next six months.

He was also given 20 days house arrest, the terms of which will allow him to leave the house for work and to do two hours of shopping per week.

Three years probation, 240 hours of community service and a bulk restitution payment to the Bar Association to pay back the purloined funds cap off Krones punishment.

The larceny charge carried up to 10 years in prison and the theft up to six months in jail.

Five other counts, including two additional felonies, were dismissed as part of Krones plea package.

Certainly this is a lenient plea agreement in your favor. But I think its overall fair, too, presiding district judge Marvin Tyler of Pinedale said of the terms.

The judge said his office has in recent months fielded several calls from Park County residents who wished to weigh in on the severity of Krones punishment.

My office staff, of course, refused [callers] access, Tyler said.

Because Krone cut his deal with the Wyoming Attorney Generals office  prosecuting Krones case due to the defendants relationships with the Park County legal community  Tyler had little say in the sentencing decision.

Judges have veto power over such agreements, but they cannot rewrite their terms. Trial judges rarely reject such arrangements between prosecution and the defense.

The case had already taken over a year, a fact alluded to by James Causey, senior assistant to the Wyoming Attorney General.

Getting restitution for the victim impacted, in this case, the Park County Bar Association, was paramount, Causey said.

While the case dragged on, with Krones attorney Charles Pelkey filing for multiple extensions and continuances, the Bar Association could not recoup its embezzled funds. With Krones guilty plea entered, the deal requires he pay the Bar back by the end of this week.

As part of Krones agreement, he had to issue a statement apologizing for his years of larceny.

I certainly screwed up, he said.

Krone cast the incidents as the casual mishaps of a busy man.

I did a sloppy job of being the associations treasurer, Krone said. I was not a good steward of their funds.

He said he didnt realize how much hed stolen over the years. The amount of money that was unaccounted for  I was shocked by that, your Honor, Krone continued.

And Krone said hed cooperated with investigators, readily producing all documents requested.

His legal team, however, had unsuccessfully filed to suppress bank records seized in his case.

Causeys portrayal of Krones years of thievery was somewhat less forgiving.

He had degrees in finance, Causey said, dismissing the notion that $9,634 went missing due to a series of mistakes. We really think a higher standard should be upheld.

Given the manner in which [the crimes] were conducted and the time over which they were conducted [between 2010 and 2013], Causey asked for five years probation.

Saying most probation violations occur near term or not at all, Tyler ordered three years of court supervision, Pelkeys recommendation.

For the jail term, Krone can serve it in consecutive days, or weekends, or holidays  however you want to do it, Tyler said. It just needs to be done [within six months].

He said Krone could be jailed outside of Park County to avoid coming into contact with any inmates he had incarcerated before being fired.

Probation is a privilege, Tyler reminded Krone.

After the hearing had ended, Krone declined to comment on whether he would ever return to a life in law or politics.

Before getting back in his car to start the return to Cheyenne, Causey described the plea agreement as a necessary evil.
SHERIDAN  The Sheridan City Council has adopted a nondiscrimination resolution after deciding not to specify that the measure applies to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

The resolution passed unanimously Monday instead says all Sheridan residents should live free from discrimination. Mayor Roger Miller says it's still a strong statement.

Members of the public had differing opinions about whether to include the LGBT language in the nonbinding resolution.

Laramie in 2015 passed a stronger nondiscrimination ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gay and transgender people at work and in housing and public places.

Cheyenne officials decided to hold off on a similar law last summer.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  Walking purposefully across the brittle October grass, Philip Zemke was searching for what he called our settling place. Behind him strode a group of 25 individuals, dressed warmly against a cool fall breeze despite the sunshine.

So my dear friends, you can make a pretty good-sized circle here, Zemke said, gesturing around him as he dropped a fringed leather satchel loaded with braided sweet grass that would be gifts to those attending.

At the center of the settling place was a depression of raw dirt, where bison had rolled, along with a large pile of old bison dung. The hillside gathering place above the Lamar River offered expansive views of the Beartooth Mountains to the north, and to the south rose Specimen Ridge, known for its trees petrified 50 million years ago when they were smothered by volcanic debris.

This is a place of relationships, said Zemke, 71, a minister at Unity of Bozeman church. We are all related here, and weve all come because we feel a relationship to this place and who lives here.

Cancer free

Zemke and his friends  Scott Frazier, John Potter and Gerald Sherman  had gathered to offer a blessing for the land, the parks wildlife and for the people of the world on this October day. For Zemke, it was also a chance to honor two of his guests on the trip, and another who couldnt attend.

I just finished a three-year walk with throat cancer, is the way Zemke put it. During that time, Connie Lewis and Roxanna McLaughlin  who were present for the prayer  along with Cynthia Meeker helped shuttle Zemke to his many chemotherapy appointments.

So they are here to be honored, he said.

Zemke felt lucky to be cancer free and able to give the blessing. During his journey he learned that many people who survive throat cancer may lose their voice or desire to eat.

Youve given us this gift in generosity, Zemke prayed, his face and palms uplifted to the sun, may we share it.

Broad blessing

The ceremony  which included a blessing by Frazier, a prayer by Sherman, offerings and gifts of tobacco, a smudging with burning sweet grass and songs by Potter accompanied by H.P. Fritz and his wife, JaNae  was also a way to honor the parks wildlife. Four different tribes were represented.

A lot of people come to have their picture taken with a buffalo, Frazier said. We dont do that. We came to ask their blessing for our lives.

Frazier, a Crow and Santee tribal member who lives in Billings, said he has been coming to Yellowstone since he was a boy. Potter said that for 30 years he has been visiting the park to perform blessings in different places, always with permission from the National Park Service, and often with Frazier.

We want to be out in the open, Potter said, a Red Lodge artist. We want to be on record as individuals trying to do good things for the park, for the land and the wildlife, and for the people.

Wolf brothers

When wolves were captured in Canada and released into Yellowstone beginning in 1995, Frazier, Potter and Fritz held a Sun Dance in the park and adopted the wolves.

Frazier publicly thanked Yellowstone Wolf Project biological science technician Rick McIntyre, who was present, for his years of work in the park and also for teaching others about the wild canines.

This is the wolf man, Frazier said. If I ask him a question I have to be careful because it may take him an hour to answer. We call him an oral historian. We are very blessed to have him. He works for us. When he retires hes going to take a bunch of that information and put it down so future generations can learn.

Frazier also prayed for the safety of animals like wolves and bison that are hunted when they leave the parks boundaries, comparing the parks borders to the edges of an Indian reservation. He asked for rain to nurture the grass to feed the animals and prayed for family members, young and old, as well as those struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. He prayed for world peace, compassion and patience.

This moment is forever, and you can come to this moment any time you wish, he said.

Moved to tears

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Lacee Gengenbacher was so touched by the ceremony that she introduced her 4-year-old daughter, Adeline, to the crowd.

Adeline fought cancer for a year and a half, Gengenbacher said, choking back tears as her daughter, wearing a pink coat and sparkling silver Minnie Mouse sneakers, clung to her leg. Shes been cancer free for a year now.

After the ceremony, Gengenbacher noted that Adeline and McIntyre have become friends.

They have a connection, she said. Theres an ease between the two of them.

It was McIntyre who invited Gengenbacher and her family to the blessing, but Yellowstone is a place they visit often, calling it home for her husband, Dereks, heart.

Its our way to escape the world, Derek said.

Or find it, his wife responded.
The Arizona Supreme Court wont intercede to overturn the just-approved 3.3 percent rate hike approved for the states largest electric utility.

In a brief order Tuesday the justices rejected a bid by Bob Burns, one of the members of the Arizona Corporation Commission, to overturn the decision by his other four colleagues in favor of the increase for Arizona Public Service. Burns argued that the process followed by his colleagues did not comply with statutory and constitutional requirements for a full airing of all relevant issues before they voted.

But Tuesdays order does not end the fight.

Burns still has another case pending in Maricopa County Superior Court. There he is asking Judge Daniel Kiley to rule that he had the right to subpoena APS executives and their records as part of the inquiry to determine if the company was really entitled to collect an additional $7 million a month from customers. A hearing on that case is set for later this week.

If Kiley rules that Burns rights were violated, that could pave the way for a ruling requiring that the entire rate case be reheard from scratch, this time with the testimony and documents that Burns wants. And depending on what that turns up, it also could open the door for Burns to seek to disqualify one or more of his colleagues from voting on the case because of financial support they received from APS for their election campaigns.

The court ruling comes as Gov. Doug Ducey appointed former state Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa, to the commission. He replaces Doug Little, also a Republican, who quit to take a post in the Trump administration with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Olson left the Legislature at the end of 2016 to make an unsuccessful bid for Congress. Now a senior tax analyst for the Apollo Education Group in Phoenix, he will serve out the 15 months remaining on Littles term; at that point he would have to decide if he wants a full four-year term of his own.

Ducey, in a prepared statement, said Olson has built a reputation as a strong proponent for taxpayers and an incredibly hard worker.

Tuesdays Supreme Court order does not explain the decision to spurn Burns request.

But the ruling comes after Mary OGrady, the companys attorney, told the justices there was no reason for them to jump into the legal fray now, what with the parallel case before Kiley. She argued that Burns petition to the high court to void the rate hike was an attempt to gain leverage in that other case by putting the new rates at risk.

The court should reject that ploy, OGrady wrote.

There was no immediate response from Burns.

He had previously conceded to Capitol Media Services there was no legal precedent for the extraordinary relief he was seeking in having the justices void a rate increase which had been approved by the commission. But Burns insisted that the current political situation  including the open hostility between him and the other four commissioners  forced him to try to seek Supreme Court intervention.

Among the issues Burns wants explored is how much of $3.2 million donated anonymously to help elect Republicans Little and Tom Forese to the panel in 2014 came from APS or parent Pinnacle West Capital Corp. A spokesman for APS will neither confirm nor deny the companys role in that campaign.

Burns sought to question company executives about the cash.

APS was more upfront about the $4.2 million it spent last year to ensure the five-member commission remained an all-Republican affair.

Burns said all that raises the question of whether the other commissioners were beholden to APS.

Bill Richards, his attorney, was more pointed in his arguments.
Interceptors made by Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems knocked down a ballistic missile as well as three anti-ship cruise missiles in a multi-national exercise led by NATO off the coast of Scotland.

During Sundays test, the U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook successfully detected, tracked and intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target with a Standard Missile-3 Block IB guided missile, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.

At the same time, the Spanish frigate SPS Alvaro de Bazan fired an Evolved SeaSparrow Missile against an incoming anti-ship cruise missile, while the Netherlands frigate HNLMS Tromp fired Evolved Seasparrows against a pair of incoming anti-ship cruise missiles.

The MDA said the exercise, which also included ships from Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, was the first time NATOs smart defense concept was demonstrated with ships serving as air-defense units protecting naval ballistic missile defense units.
Film Fest Tucson

 What: The festival will feature a total of 30 films, both narratives and documentaries in short and feature-length format.

 When: Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 19-22.

 Where: Most screenings take place at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, located at 160 S. Scott Ave.

 Admission: Tickets to Film Fest Tucson screenings are $10 each. There's also a $60 pass good for all screenings and admission to the special Third floor VIP lounge at the Scottish Rite.

 Visit: FilmFestTucson.com for the full schedule and to buy tickets.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Oct. 18 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
PHOENIX  The states top transportation official says theres no need to rename the Jefferson Davis Highway in Arizona because as far as his agency is concerned it no longer exists.

John Halikowski acknowledges that the Arizona Highway Commission voted in 1961 to designate U.S. 80 through Arizona as the Jefferson Davis National Highway. Davis was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, and Arizona was one of 15 states to adopt the highway name.

But there is no longer a U.S. 80 in Arizona, Halikowski pointed out in a letter to Ryan Ehrfurth, a staffer for the Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names. Various stretches of the roads it covered now carry different numbers, including U.S. 60 and Arizona 80.

As U.S. 80 disappeared, Halikowski said, so did the designation.

But his letter will not end the debate that has erupted in Arizona and elsewhere about the presence of monuments and markers for the Confederacy.

One of those markers, proclaiming the Jefferson Davis Highway, now sits in the right of way along US 60 near Apache Junction. Originally located along U.S. 70 at Duncan, near the New Mexico border, the rock and granite monument was moved to its current location in the 1960s with state approval.

It remains there with at least tacit state permission.

And its going to remain, at least for the time being, Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Tait said Tuesday.

Engineers have determined its not an immediate safety hazard, he said, so there are no safety reasons to remove it. Tait said ADOT wants to talk to whoever owns the monument before making any decision  but conceded the state has no idea who that is.

We certainly would appreciate that the organization that claims ownership would contact us, Tait said. Our understanding is its changed hands a few times over the last couple of years.

ADOTs claim it needs more time drew derision from state Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Laveen, who has been pushing for years to rid the state of all monuments and memorials honoring the Confederacy. He said it took the agency two years just to come to the conclusion that the highway is a legal nonentity.

Now were running into another game, he said, adding it could take ADOT another two years to search out the owner. Bolding said the claim of needing permission has no merit and sets a bad precedent.

The solution is simple, Bolding said: Now that we know that highway no longer exists, its ADOTs responsibility to move the monument.

Tait, however, said theres another hurdle. We may be required to do some historical analysis pursuant to federal law to see if it qualifies for federal protection.

Halikowskis letter follows a meeting last month of the state Board on Geographic and Historic Names. The board has authority over certain designations, including mountains, rivers and roads.

Board members were presented with several petitions to remove the designation. A board staffer said he was able to find a reference to Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway on some official ADOT maps, though they dated from 1992.

One proposal would rename the road for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., while another suggested honoring former Gov. Rose Mofford. But those stalled amid questions to ADOT of whether the highway designation still exists.

Dennis Preisler, chairman of the names board, said the panel could still pursue putting those names on at least a stretch of U.S. 60, even though there is now no need to first strip away the Jefferson Davis name. But he said that has complications of its own, including the fact that some stretches already have other designations, including Superstition Highway.

What that means, Preisler said, is there will be no immediate decisions made when the board meets again next month.

Other monuments to the Confederacy and those who fought for it exist in Wesley Bolin Plaza across from the state Capitol and at the state Veterans Cemetery in Sierra Vista. There also is a sign praising Confederate soldiers at Picacho Peak, the site of the only Civil War battle fought in Arizona.
Over the sole objection of his former board adversary Ally Miller, retired Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll was appointed Tuesday as Green Valley justice of the peace.

Supervisor Steve Christy, Millers fellow Republican and the supervisor from Carrolls old district, made the motion for his predecessors appointment.

Carroll was one of eight candidates who sought the job. Among the others were two attorneys, several of whom had worked as small-claims hearing officers at the court and others with years of court or law enforcement experience.

During the call to the public, Lou Sampson questioned Carrolls qualifications , describing him as a professional politician and adding that there are many highly qualified candidates for this job.

Miller echoed those criticisms and also described the former colleague with whom she often clashed as a carpetbagger.

Of all of the candidates who applied for this position, there is one who I dont believe has the experience, qualifications or the temperament to be justice of the peace, she said.

His other former colleagues, on the other hand, came to Carrolls defense.

Supervisor Richard Elias said Carroll, who was appointed to the board in 1997 and elected several times before retiring in 2016, would make a fine justice of the peace, and that he had served as supervisor without a stain upon his record.

Carroll said his years on the board will help him make fair and reasonable decisions as a judge, and he intends to begin taking courses soon to prepare for the job. Among the goals he has for his tenure is to respond to the declining caseload in the precinct, which is a major reason why the previous judge resigned. Justice of the peace salaries are based in part on caseloads.

I think its important for all of us to know that I have a lot to learn and Im aiming to make that a reality in a very short time, Carroll said, adding later of the jobs responsibilities: I take it very serious, peoples freedom.

As to Millers claim that he wasnt a precinct resident, Carroll said he has been renting in Green Valley since August and intends to sell his current home .

Green Valleys previous JP, Lisa Royal, endorsed Ron Newman, a local attorney who has served as a judge pro tempore at the court and ran unsuccessfully for JP in Precinct 10 in 2016. A number of residents also sent letters in support of R. David Kryder, a business consultant and small-claims officer who lost a bid for the judgeship in 2010. Like Carroll and most of the candidates, he is a non-attorney. Arizona law does not require justices of the peace to be attorneys.

Many also sent letters backing Carroll.

He has much experience dealing with difficult issues and has always been a gentleman, regardless of the situation, Michael Lund of Green Valley wrote of Carroll. In addition, he has taken a mediation course which is certified by the Arizona Bar Association.

Some raised concerns about the appointment adding to Carrolls pension. However, Christian Palmer, a spokesman for Arizonas Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, which oversees the Elected Official Retirement Plan, said that because Carroll already retired and is receiving benefits, there is no way for him to add to those benefits with additional years working for the county. He is also ineligible for an additional pension.

The job will come with a pay bump, though. In 2016, Carrolls last year on the board, the supervisor was paid $78,706, according to salary records. That same year Royal made $94,750, less than her fellow justices because of the declining caseload.
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen (L) welcomes head of the People's Party (OeVP) Sebastian Kurz in is office at the historic Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria, Oct 17, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

VIENNA - Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on Tuesday held his first talks with Sebastian Kurz, leader of People's Party (OVP) which is the winner of Sunday's legislative elections.

Kurz said later that they had a "good talk," and spoke about a number of issues, including what potential coalitions could be formed under the next government.

Van der Bellen is expected to task the People's Party leader with the duty of forming the next government when the vote count is finalized later in the week.

OVP becomes the strongest party in the parliament by receiving some 31.6 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, followed by the Social Democrats (SPO) on 26.9 percent and the right populist Freedom Party on 26 percent.

To form a government, OVP needs to build a coalition with SPO or the Freedom Party.
The Associated Press spoke Tuesday with family members who have lost loved ones in U.S. military operations and asked them about their interactions, if any, with the president at the time  George W. Bush, Barack Obama or Donald Trump.

Here's a sampling of their stories:

SPEAK NO ILL

Jodie Missildine's 20-year-old stepson, Alex Missildine, was killed Oct. 1 when an IED exploded near his vehicle in Ninawa Province, Iraq.

Missildine joined the Army right after finishing high school in Tyler, Texas, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He had been in Iraq for less than a month when he was killed.

Jodie Missildine said the family had received an outpouring of support from Washington since receiving news of Alex's death. But when asked if Trump had been in contact, she said, "We will not speak ill of a president who adores his troops."

 Emily Schmall, Fort Worth, Texas

'TEARS TO MY EYES'

Natalie Healy, of Exeter, New Hampshire, lost her son, Daniel Healy, in 2005. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who died on a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

She received a letter of condolence from Bush. "President Bush didn't call us at the time, which didn't bother me, particularly. I got to meet him a couple of times afterward and he was extremely sensitive, and his sincerity about how I was doing brought me to tears, to tell you the truth.

"I could feel his warmth and concern, and his sincere caring."

The first time, in Manchester, New Hampshire, "he said, 'How are you doing, Mrs. Healy?' I said, 'I'm fine, sir.' And then he put a hand on either side of my shoulders and he said, 'No really, how are you doing?' Well, I wasn't expecting him to be like that, so it brought tears to my eyes, and I do not cry in public. That really touched me."

 Kathy McCormack, Concord, New Hampshire

'DUMBFOUNDED'

Ann Baddick's 26-year-old son, Army Sgt. Andrew J. Baddick, of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, drowned on Sept. 29, 2003, while trying to save a fellow soldier whose vehicle plunged into a canal.

She said she received a signed letter of condolence from Bush. She and members of her family also met with him at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

"He couldn't have been any nicer and more sincere."

As for Trump's comments suggesting that presidents before him did not adequately reach out to Gold Star families: "I was just dumbfounded when I heard it last night. I thought, 'My God, you don't know what you're talking about.'"

 Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

'MADE ME FEEL GOOD'

It was less than 24 hours after Natasha De Alencar had seen her husband's body returned from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base that she got a call from Trump offering his condolences. She doesn't remember how long they spoke. It was a bit of a blur.

"He asked about my kids. He asked about their school and sports. I felt a tad bit better."

Her husband, Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, 37, a Special Forces soldier, was shot and killed in April in Afghanistan in an operation against Islamic State militants. His death was the first U.S. combat death in Afghanistan in 2017.

"It made me feel good, knowing what my husband had done for his country," that Trump took the time to call, she said. "My husband was awesome. My world sucks without him."

"Any chance I get to speak about that man, I take it." She lives in Okaloosa County, Florida.

 Matthew Barakat, Northern Virginia

STILL WAITING

Relatives of Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, a Springfield, Massachusetts, native who was killed in an attack on the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015, received a formal letter from Obama but not a phone call.

Joseph Sullivan, of Hampden, Massachusetts, is the brother of Sgt. Sullivan, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He says his 40-year-old brother helped rescue more than a dozen soldiers when a Kuwait-born gunman unleashed a barrage of fire in an attack that began at a nearby military recruiting center.

Sullivan says the letter he described as "boilerplate" came a few weeks after his brother died. But his parents were "kind of" waiting for a phone call from Obama, and not getting one has bothered them since.

 Crystal Hill, Boston

'A BEAUTIFUL WORD'

Army 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee of Bluffton, Georgia, was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29. About 10 days later, Trump called the family, 10 minutes sooner than had been arranged.

"He did what he said he was going to do," Aldene Weston Lee, the soldier's mother, said of Trump. "That held a lot of weight with me."

Lee said her husband, Eddie, did all the talking with Trump as she listened on a speaker phone along with her son, stepson, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

"The first thing he said was how very sad he was for us to have lost Weston and that it made him very sad," Lee said. "He said, 'I have things in front of me that nobody else has access to and, from everything I can see and everything I know, your son was a very, very fine young man.'"

Trump said to her husband: "I bet you that you never had any trouble with him." Eddie, replied: "No, sir, I never did."

The conversation lasted about five or six minutes, Aldene said, and Trump never sounded rushed.

His tone, she said, was more like that of a fellow parent than of her son's commander in chief.

"He said, 'From all accounts your son was a lovely young man,'" Lee said. "He said that a couple of times. And I thought, I hadn't thought about using 'lovely,' as far as my son being a young man. But that's a beautiful word."

 Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

NO WORD

Sheila Murphy's son, Army Spc. Etienne J. Murphy, 22, died May 26 after an armored vehicle he was riding in rolled over in Syria. The Army told his family Murphy's death was "non-tactical"  meaning he didn't die in combat  but revealed few other details, citing an open investigation.

The Army Ranger's parents in Snellville, Georgia, in metro Atlanta never heard from Trump by phone or by letter. Neither did Murphy's widow.

"Because it was non-combat, I feel like maybe he thought it was an accident, it doesn't matter," Sheila Murphy said. "But my son was in Syria."

She said the Army casualty assistance officer assigned to her family told her "the White House called him to ask about us. And he told me that we were going to be receiving a letter from the White House."

Nearly five months later, Sheila Murphy said, no letter has arrived.

She said she finally wrote a letter to Trump about six weeks ago, to let him know she and her husband still are grieving, but got no reply.

"It wasn't a mean letter," she said. "I was telling him I know he's a grandfather. I told him I'm trying to be here for my grandkids, but some days I don't want to live."

 Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

BUSH TO OBAMA

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, 30, of Raynham, Massachusetts, died in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, when his unit encountered enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He fought with 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York.

One of Monti's men, Pvt. Brian Bradbury of St. Joseph, Missouri, was shot during the encounter. Monti, who enlisted at age 17, twice left cover and ran into the open under intense enemy fire to retrieve the wounded soldier. On Monti's third attempt, he was struck, and died on the field. Three others, including Bradbury, also died during the fight.

Monti's father, Paul Monti, said he received a signed letter of condolence from Bush, though no phone call.

But in 2009, Obama called him to say Jared had been awarded the Medal of Honor. "He was very gracious on the phone and told me that he and the entire nation were proud of my son," Paul Monti said.

"When I met him in Washington he was again very gracious and he and Mrs. Obama were very genuine in their compassion. They made a positive out of a very sad day."

 Mark Pratt, Boston

CALL FELL THROUGH

Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, 25, of Jackson Springs, North Carolina, was killed along with another soldier in a suicide attack in Afghanistan in August.

His widow, Brittany Harris, said the White House did offer to set up a call with Trump but "it fell through" and no letter came from the president. She figured Trump was too busy with the approach of Hurricane Harvey and North Korea woes. The family, though, saw Vice President Mike Pence at Dover Air Force Base, where they went to receive Michael's remains, and found Pence's words comforting.

Now 17 weeks pregnant, Brittany Harris said she's had an outpouring of support from the Pentagon and others in government, handwritten notes from Defense Secretary James Mattis and many others. "Everybody treats me like gold, salutes me, takes off their hats for me," she said.

 Jonathan Drew, Raleigh, North Carolina

BROTHER IN BUSH'S ARMS

Judy Parker's 22-year-old son, Army Spc. William Evans, of Hallstead, Pennsylvania, was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq in September 2005. He was one of six members of the Pennsylvania National Guard killed in roadside bombings that month.

Parker said Bush came to the Fort Indiantown Gap Army post in northeastern Pennsylvania shortly after her son's death, to meet her family and the families of the other Guard members killed that month. He met privately with each one.

"He took my son who was just 21 and held him and let him cry. He said he didn't know what he would do if it was his child."

Judy Parker now lives in Chenango Forks, New York.

 Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

NO CALL

Aaron Butler, a 27-year-old guardsman from Monticello, Utah, was killed Aug. 16 at a booby-trapped building in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. His mother, Laura Butler, and family spokesman Bill Boyle say Trump has not called. Many other officials have.

"The family is very careful that they do not want to be pulled into a partisan slugfest," Boyle said. "He would be very upset if his name or his death or his sacrifice was used as a tool to divide the country, and they're fearful that this could happen."
So here we go. Martha McSally supports the trump tax package. No surprise there. She say she wants to help the middle class and small business owners. This tax proposal is really designed to give Large corporations and the super rich huge tax breaks. All we have to do is remember when Ronnie and George Bush did the same thing. None of that "trickled " down to the middle class. None. The deficit went through the roof. Ronnie had to borrow over 1.3 trillion dollars from Social security to keep the country afloat . Never paid a dime back. Tell me, how is this going help the middle class? What's more likely is the uber rich will buy a new house in France, new boat or any number of things to help themselves. You like to claim you are a moderate. Maybe it's time to show it.
BEIJING, Oct 18 - Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a critical Communist Party Congress on Wednesday with a pledge to build a "modern socialist country" that will never copy the political systems of others and will remain open to the world.

Xi's wide-ranging speech kicked off the twice-a-decade congress, a week-long, mostly closed-door conclave that will culminate with the selection of a new Politburo Standing Committee that will rule China's 1.4 billion people for the next five years.

He set out his vision as he addressed more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, including 91-year-old former president Jiang Zemin.

"Through a long period of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, this is a new historical direction in our country's development," Xi said in a speech carried live across the nation on state television.

China will relax market access for foreign investment and expand access to its services sector, as well as deepen market-oriented reform of its exchange rate and financial system, while at the same time strengthening state firms, he said.

China's political system is the broadest, most genuine, and most effective way to safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, Xi said.

"We should not just mechanically copy the political systems of other countries," he said.

Video: Bloomberg

Firm on graft, Taiwan

Xi praised the party's successes, particularly his high-profile anti-graft campaign.

"The fight against corruption has formed an overwhelming posture and strengthened in development," he said.

Xi has waged a relentless fight against deep-rooted graft since assuming power five years ago, with more than a million officials punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed.

He also said China had firmly opposed and prevented independence for self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, over the past five years.

While the speech was high on aspiration and short on policy specifics, its language will be parsed for signals or policy directives, including on the direction of reforms for the world's second-largest economy.

Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up political rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China's rising might on the world stage.
Check out what is in the news today, October 18

Politics

-- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, on Tuesday organized a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Vietnams entry into the force.

-- U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius disclosed during a farewell meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday before ending his term that he will continue his stay in Vietnam and work in the education sector.

Society

-- Major General Ho Sy Tien, head of the criminal police division under the Ministry of Public Security, confirmed on Tuesday they had arrested six suspects involved in the arson of a car earlier this month in which the director of a company in Ho Chi Minh City was killed and his deputy and another passenger sustained serious injuries when they were traveling in the Mekong Delta.

-- The Da Lat City Forest Ranging Office in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Tuesday requested that local police investigate the poisoning of another 151 pine trees with weed killers in Ta Nung Commune.

-- A 29-year-old male student at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in Binh Thanh District was killed on the spot on Tuesday evening after getting hit by a falling slab of concrete right in the school yard.

-- Military training flights and one commercial flight at the Cam Ranh International Airport were delayed for 20 minutes on Tuesday after security guards detected three unattended dogs scurrying on the runway.

Business

-- Very few farmers and even businesses have purchased insurance for their plants and animals despite constant susceptibility to natural disasters and extreme climate patterns, and the governments incentive policies.

-- Many investors in condotels at Bavico Nha Trang Hotel, located in the namesake beach city in south-central Khanh Hoa Province, which had been discovered breaking many regulations during its operation, have filed their complaints with competent agencies, demanding the company hand over their purchases.

-- Representatives of Switzerland Tourism and leading tour operators from the European nation on Tuesday conducted a reconnaissance trip to Ho Chi Minh City and held a meeting with over 40 travel firms from across Vietnam to boost the number of tourists between the two countries.

-- The Department of Natural Resources and Environment in the southernmost province of Ca Mau has revealed nine local businesses had been slapped fines totaling over VND2 billion (US$87,072) for environmental offenses.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
SBS will premiere Canadian crime drama Cardinal next week (it has been on SBS on Demand since June).

The 6 part series stars Billy Campbell as Detective John Cardinal and Karine Vanasse as Lise Delorme, investigating the murder of a young girl in Algonquin Bay.

This is an adaptation of Giles Blunts mystery novel Forty Words for Sorrow.

It premiered in Canada in January.

In this six-episode mystery series, burned-out Detective John Cardinal (Billy Campbell) is brought back into the Algonquin Bay Police Homicide Unit when the hunch he wouldnt let go  and got him demoted  about the disappearance of 13-year-old Katie Pine is proven horribly correct.

With his young new partner, Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse), Cardinal relentlessly tracks Katies killer, which soon leads him to a series of murders that are escalating in frequency and intensity. Cardinal soon begins to suspect that Delorme has a hidden agenda of her own, and struggles to keep from her a dark secret buried in his past that keeps threatening to resurface.

As they race to catch the most brutal killer their small Northern Ontario town has ever seen Cardinal struggles to keep his head above water as the life hes built with his wife and daughter threatens to unravel.

10.25pm Wednesday 25 October on SBS.
Chris Baths name may be in contention to join Today but she will be part of an ABC documentary series before any of that eventuates.

The former Seven presenter narrates ABCs upcoming Keeping Australia Safe, a six part factual series about national security, produced by the ITV team behind Keeping Australia Alive.

Is Australia safe? Do we feel safe? Are the threats we face real or perceived? Are we putting the right resources into the right areas? And what is the cost, other than money, of keeping Australia safe?

Keeping Australia Safe is arguably the most ambitious observational documentary series ever undertaken in Australia.

More than 24 government and private institutions granted privileged access for cameras to record their operations over the same 48-hour period. The entire 6-part series was shot in 2 days  revealing what it takes to protect our national security and personal security and at what cost (to the budget and to who we are).

8:30pm Tuesday November 7 on ABC.
Discovery will screen motoring event Mega Race across two channels in November as teams Fast N Loud and Street Outlaws go head-to-head in a grudge match.

Fast N Louds Richard Rawlings and the Gas Monkey crew have thrown down a challenge for Street Outlaws notorious Big Chief and the guys from Midwest Street Cars: build a car then hit the track to put them to the test and find out which crew comes out on top. Adding to the tension, both teams have less than three weeks to complete their builds under a very strict and limited budget.

Rawlings and his crew are renowned for their custom car builds, and for this race, itll be all hands on deck as nothing is left to chance in the bid to construct a winning race car. Taking on a challenge from outside their racing community, Big Chief (aka Justin Shearer) is risking his reputation as he sets out to prove his dominance over the motoring icon from Fast N Loud. And in a challenge of skills, Gas Monkey Garages master mechanic Aaron Kaufman will take on Street Outlaws FarmTruck and AZN in a hazard-riddled obstacle course of autocross and a tug-of-war.

Will one of Americas finest street racers leverage his technical racing skills to emerge victorious, or will Rawlings and his crew design an indomitable vehicle and cruise their way to a win? Both sides talent, experience and grit will come into play when Mega Race is simulcast on Discovery Channel and Discovery Turbo. Reputations are on the line.

After weeks of car-building, these two crews are ready to face off in California, but they also bid farewell to Gas Monkeys beloved bearded wonder, Aaron, whos making this his last project before he heads out on his own.

Its the first ever Mega Race, and as the drivers strap up and pull to the line, theyll be hitting the pedal hard in a bid for the top spot. Bragging rights are up for grabs, but which team will get the glory?

Monday 6 November at 8.30pm on Discovery / Discovery Turbo.
The Greens have launched an industry inquiry, this time to focus on the value that Australian television and music contributes to our society, through economic benefits, export potential and community.

Big commercial broadcasters complain that creating Australian programming doesnt suit their business model but what they seem to ignore is the immense value Australian content has on our society and how we can project Australia to the rest of the world, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The way we watch television has changed with online and on-demand services like Netflix and Stan. We need local content requirements for these service too, just like is being done in other countries around the world.

Screen Producers Australia CEO, Matthew Deaner, welcomed the announcement.

As an industry, we welcome the attention our issues are being given by the federal parliament. This year we have had a House Inquiry, a Content Review and now a Senate Inquiry. The more light we can shine on our industry through these complementary processes and demonstrate its importance and value to Australians, the better, he said.

The Economic and Cultural Value of Australian Content on Broadcast, Radio and Streaming Services will deliver its report on 9th May 2018.
For Americans, The Atlantic Hurricane Season usually brings haunting reminders of Hurricanes' Galveston (1900), Andrew (1992), and Katrina (2005); all three caused destruction so great that the infrastructure of entire cities was wiped out.

Climate Change and Migration

The 2017 hurricane season has brought new reminders of devastation, and new names to blame; Harvey, Irma, and Maria have made clear that the United States is still not invincible to climate change. The military can compete with mother nature by rescuing survivors and strategically getting resources to hard-to-reach areas, but the battlefield is still uneven and vulnerable to future attacks.

Donations of food and money, while desperately needed (please visit globalgiving.org) are only short-term solutions to a long-term problem.

The devastation of a changing climate which renders millions without income, food, or shelter can appear quietly. In contrast to metres of flooding left by a hurricane, a lack of rain can be equally as lethal. Droughts spark economic and food insecurity in regions dependent upon arable land.

For many people, waiting is not an option; migration is key to survival. Those who are fleeing their homes due to these circumstances must either migrate or starve. To date, over 21.5 million people have been displaced due to climate change.

The migration debate: questions of sovereignty

As the area of habitable land decreases across Earth, the principle of sovereignty will be in direct contention with ethical questions, namely: To what extent do states have an obligation to accept those displaced by climate change? Are climate change migrants entitled to benefits as refugees who are unable to return home?

The migration debate is hot with discussions such as these.

Do the countries who have polluted the most have the greatest responsibility to citizens of other countries harmed by their CO2 emissions? This would presume that the most industrialised populous countries of which the US ranks third, behind India and China carry the most responsibility.

The Trump Administration has, however, decided to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement a bold move, distancing America from any agency in the pollutants it omits, and from a responsibility to any other citizens but her own.

Of course, the Trump Administration is drawing even finer lines around citizenship, as Trumps rhetoric and actions continue to isolate islander Puerto Ricans American citizensfrom those who inhabit the continental United States. As Puerto Ricans remain in dire need of assistance barely a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall, Trump warns that aid wont last forever. This statement comes as most of the island still lacks power and clean water. Like any community ravaged by a natural disaster, most medical patients in particular are in need of immediate evacuation and relocation to the continental United States while rebuilding efforts take place.

Fortunately, even in their isolated position, American citizenship still affords Puerto Ricans this possibility under sovereignty.

America, by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, is not containing herself from climate change. How climate change will affect each individual country is not yet known; American citizens could very well be the ones needing to migrate in the years to come. What is known, however, is that it is a collective, global problem requiring collective action. Sovereignty is at stake, as are the lives of those whose habitat will inevitably change.
Addressing the home affairs committee, UK's Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, announced this Tuesday that the circa three million European citizens living in Britain shall start their registration process by the end of next year. To get the process underway, the Home office's "default position" allows the acceptance of applications.

Told to MPs, Rudd said that an agreement has yet to be settled between the Home Office and Treasury, on how much extra funds will be added to the already (50 million made available for the registration system.

Yet to be determined as well, are the rather pertinent aspects of defining the rights, in detail, to family reunions of EU nationals in the UK, which are to be still negotiated.

Included, for example, are the minimum income thresholds when bringing non-EU spouses into Britain.

Brexit: 1,200 extra staff for the ordeal

In order to make it as smooth as possible, this registration will require the recruiting of an extra 1,200 staff members. While reassuring sceptic MPs that it shall not carry the same burden as seen on the existing permanent residence application, (which surpasses 80 pages), instead. Rudd spoke of an "easy access", through online registration.

Further on and with the eventuality of a "no Brexit" on the table, a member of the Commons home affairs urged Phillip Rutman, the Home Office's permanent secretary, to comment on border patrol. Although stating that it would be the last option, Rutman also said that he is unable to rule anything out.

UK Brexit plan to deter EU immigrants

With the publishing of a leaked draft, (by the Guardian), which allegedly hinders low-skilled EU migrants to be granted temporary residence permits after Brexit, Amber Rudd confirmed now that a white paper on immigration will see light, before the end of this year.

All the while, activists campaigning for the3million group are opposed to any involvement of the Home Office in the registration process.

Following their outlined letter, addressed last August to the European Commission, the response was that of support, as both the European Commission and the European parliament insist on their European court of justice to prevail in the UK, even after Brexit.

With oversight over the rights of EU citizens, (whose settlements in the UK preceded the country's divorce), the European Commission now waits for a law to be passed which will assure to the principle of citizen's rights in the UK.
Already today, British Prime Minister Theresa May has bowed to the demands of the Labour Party, which she is generally averse to. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, last week, called for the charges on work and pensions helplines to be scrapped, and they have been, much to the behest of the work and pensions secretary. This shows that May is listening to the concerns of the British people and the concerns of the MPs as a whole, not just those who share her own interests.

But Labour have also called on May to pause the rollout of Universal Credit until the whole thing can be straightened out, and thats something shes refused to do.

Corbyn wanted May to put the universal credit on hold until a new and better benefits system can be put in place, since he sees the current system as being in a shambles, but May has ruled out the pause.

May/Corbyn rivalry rages on

According to Corbyn, The fundamental problems of universal credit remain: the six-week wait, rising indebtedness, rent arrears and evictions. Will The Prime Minister now pause universal credit and fix the problems before pressing ahead with the rollout? It turns out that the answer is no, she wont. After bowing to the pressure to help people once, shes back to being her stubborn old self.
The single deadliest attack in Somalias history saw the Death Toll rise to over 500, according to reports from the Guardian, even as emergency workers continue to dig through the rubble created by a bomb. The blast collapsed buildings and set nearby cars ablaze. It seems that nearly all the dead were killed by the first bomb which exploded on Saturday, according to an Associated Press report published by NBC News, The number of dead is likely to go even higher as the rubble is cleared. Many individuals are still missing.

Other authorities have indicated that a definitive death toll may never be established because the remains of individuals were destroyed by the heat from the blast.

An additional 300 people were injured when the explosion occurred, turning a crowded shopping district into a nightmare in just a few minutes. The mayor of the city where the bombing occurred has called for those who own earth moving equipment to come to the aid of potential survivors and to help find the bodies of those who have died.

Terror blame

Terror wont win, said Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who also called for a three-day mourning period to honor the victims, according to USA Today. I call on our citizens to come out, extend help, donate blood and comfort the bereaved. Lets get through this together.

There are indications that the death toll could continue to rise as more earth is moved and additional victims are uncovered.

The attack has been blamed on a Somali militant group al-Shabab, although they have not made a statement regarding the explosion. The group is responsible for a series of attacks in the last few years. They are focused on creating a radical Islamist state. The Somalia President has stepped up his efforts to combat this group.

This militant group has targeted population centers, not showing any concern for the families, children, and other civilians that are hurt during their journey to a radical Islamic state. Still, this attack has shocked a nation as details continue to come to light about how the attack was carried out. Journalists were among the victims of the attack.

Bombing damages

The bombing damaged the Qatar embassy and slightly injured one of their employees. Relatives of those who have been hurt and killed are flocking to the area hospitals, to both claim their loved ones and to find those who might still be alive.

Families have lost the heads of their households, putting their children and livelihoods at risk. Nations throughout the International Community have condemned the attack and praising the response of the Somali security forces, as well as the first responders.

Today is the worst day of my life. We are overwhelmed by the high number of the casualties. I have been working at this hospital for more than seven years, and I never saw or heard this number of deaths, said Ahmed Osman, a nurse at the Mogadishus Medina Hospital, in an article by Kevin Sieff and Abullahi Mire of the Washington Post.

The militant group who is blamed for the attack promotes a strict following of the sharia law, which includes violent physical punishment, including amputating hands and other harsh sentences for minor crimes.

The attacks of the militant group are another challenge for this poor African country. The current president is the first democratically elected president in more than two decades. The election was conducted by members of their parliament, due in part to threats of violence by the al-Shabab militant group.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump decertified the Iran nuclear deal, citing Iran's violation of the 'spirit' of the deal, thereby initiating the process by which Congress can vote to re-impose suspended sanctions within 60 days. The President supplemented the decertification with outlining a broad new strategy toward the Iranian regime, targeting not only its nuclear ambitions but also its regional threats, particularly its support for terrorism and militants. He announced the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity.

Spirit of the deal

Many defenders of the JCPOA reject Trumps references to the deals spirit. But this position ignores the fact that there were indeed broader intentions behind the nuclear agreement  intentions that the president is required to consider when reporting to Congress on the status of the deal.

Congressional ratification of that deal was contingent upon the president not only periodically verifying Iranian compliance but also affirming that the ongoing suspension of sanctions is in the vital national security interest of the United States. And this is not just something that the US arbitrarily added to the multilateral agreement; it is an extension of the language used in the preamble of the JCPOA, which states that the signatories anticipate that full implementation of this JCPOA will positively contribute to regional and international peace and security.

Therefore, if there is reason to believe that the agreement is having the opposite effect, as by facilitating the escalation of Irans destabilizing influence in the region, then there is adequate justification for revisiting the agreements terms and enforcement.

The simple fact is that Iran is not living up to the spirit of the deal, and that is important to the future of the deal itself, and also to broader calculations regarding international policy toward Iran.

The issue, of course, is not just the spirit of the agreement. The problem with the JCPOA is that it does not seriously address the weaponization aspect of Irans nuclear program.

In addition, the NCRI-US most recent publication, "Iran's Nuclear Core", highlights six locations, primarily military sites, that are directly linked to nuclear weaponization, none of which is currently subject to international inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Missiles program and causing instability

The problem with sanctions relief is and always has been that it opens up the possibility of Tehran utilizing newfound wealth for the expansion of activities that directly undermine the broader purpose of the JCPOA. Even if the agreement had succeeded in constraining the regimes nuclear ambitions, the door would be open to more regional interventions by the IRGC, expanded weapons development including the development of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and more arms transfers to non-state actors, along with the general support of terrorist groups with well-established links to Tehran.

And indeed, this is exactly what has happened. There is even reliable intelligence, as presented in a newly released report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), to suggest that this is precisely the strategy laid out by the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the wake of the nuclear negotiations.

Although the JCPOA was decidedly favourable to Tehran, the fact remains that the mere decision by Tehran to sit down at the negotiating table was the acknowledgement of a serious crisis and the existence of compelling Western leverage against the regime. In order to compensate for the appearance of compromise with bitter enemies, Khamenei set out to boost the regimes ego and force-projection elsewhere.

This preoccupation has been reaffirmed time and again since the deal went into effect. Domestically, it has been expressed through the increased frequency of close, potentially dangerous encounters between IRGC vessels and US Navy ships. And on the global stage, it has been expressed through provocative missile tests backed up by severe anti-Western rhetoric, and by the deep integration of the Iranian regime's mercenaries into conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

Mass regional terrorism

By July 2016, the Iranian regime had deployed 70,000 fighters to the civil war in Syria alone, contributing greatly to the destruction of Aleppo and effectively forestalling any political solution involving the removal of the brutal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. Now, it is widely believed that a permanent foothold has been established in the country not only for the IRGCs extraterritorial wing, the Quds Force but also for Iranian proxies like Hezbollah.

The same is true in Iraq, where Iranian officials have made it clear that they will not accept the dissolution of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of extremist militia groups that have been modelled after the IRGCs Basij paramilitary in Iran.

Elements of the PMU have been accused of ethnic cleansing of Sunni communities, underscoring the fact that an expanded Iranian presence in the region may simply replace the Islamic State (ISIS) with a comparable militant threat supported by the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Threatening global security

In any event, existing Shiite militant groups like Hezbollah are certainly benefiting from the growth in Iranian wealth and influence. These are among the groups that have enjoyed dramatic improvements in the missile capabilities as a result of Iranian collaboration. Furthermore, their general receipt of funding from the regime has also grown in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal and its financial windfalls for Tehran.

There is simply no question as to whether this undermines the national security interests of the United States or the overall global security interest. And in so doing, it also plainly undermines the spirit of the JCPOA. There is also no question as to whether these sorts of activities will continue to expand. They will do so unless additional, coordinated efforts are undertaken to rein in Irans malicious behaviour and to shore up the weaknesses in the nuclear agreement.

What needs to be done

At various times since the JCPOA went into effect, Tehran has proudly and publicly expanded its missile activities and its funding for the foreign activities of the IRGC. It is time for the international community to seriously question the value of any agreement which allows Iran to carry on such activities with impunity.

Now that the administration has announced a new strategy toward Iran, practical actions need to be taken to ensure Tehran is in compliance.

First, the IRGC's murderous forces need to be evicted and expelled from the region, including Syria and Iraq. Second, the regime's access to the international banking system must be cut off. Third, UN Security Council resolutions must be implemented completely with respect to the regime's nuclear weapons project. There should also be unconditional access to the regime's military and non-military sites, without exception. And finally, the regime's human rights abuses must be referred to the Security Council, including its massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988.

It would be one thing if the JCPOA definitively halting Tehran's nuclear progress, but Iranian regime officials themselves have repeatedly boasted that it does no such thing. In hopes of coercing the other signatories into standing by the deal, figures like regime Foreign Minister Javad Zarif have threatened to immediately resume nuclear activities at a much higher level than before the deal went into effect. Such threats should only serve as a wakeup call regarding the need to address the mullahs' ambitions with much more assertiveness. Only this would be in keeping with the spirit of the JCPOA.
A man from Texas is accused of stealing $1.2 million worth of fajitas over a period of nine years. Investigators linked the accused to the felony after discovering that he was ordering a huge number of fajitas at his workplace, but the organization did not serve the food item to employees. According to the Brownsville Herald, Gilberto Escaramilla, an ex-employee at the Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department, got caught in his nine-year-long act when he missed work one day due to a medical appointment.

Juvenile Department worker arrested

In August, the day Escaramilla was out of the office, a delivery driver contacted the kitchen of Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department to inform them of a drop off of 800 pounds of fajitas.

Interestingly, the woman who answered the call informed the driver that the juvenile department did not have the food item on its menu as the kitchen did not serve Tex-Mex food to its employees. However, the delivery guy reported that he was delivering the product for the last nine years to the Juvenile Department kitchen. While the bizarre incident sounds like a joke, over the last nine years fajitas worth $1.2 billion were delivered to the accused, per Luis V. Saenz the District attorney.

The bizarre scam

The call to the Juvenile Department kitchen was made by a driver employed by the Labatt Food Service in Harlingen. On getting informed that it was delivering fajitas to the department kitchen for over nine years, the woman who received the call was alarmed and quickly decided to inform her supervisor.

The very next day, Escaramilla was fired and subsequently arrested.

The orders that the accused placed over the last nine years were sufficient to place a charge of state jail felony theft of between $2,500 and $30,000. On August 9, 2017, a day after he was fired from his job, the District Attorneys Office of Special Investigations Unit obtained a search warrant for Escaramillas home.

On searching, officials found packets of fajitas stuffed into his refrigerator. The police arrested him the same day. Saenz further revealed that Escaramilla would line up customers to sell the fajitas before he placed the order for the food items. Once he received the fajitas from the Labatt Food Service he would deliver the item to his consumers the same day. Till now, the police have been able to zone in on two of Escaramillas customers who are cooperating with the authorities for the investigation.
Leah Messer recently began dating again on "Teen Mom 2." As fans saw weeks ago, the mother of three decided to get back on the dating scene during filming earlier this year and started out on the dating app Bumble, where she met her first date after browsing through several men's images.

While Messer's efforts to date didn't start out very well, she has faced a number of romance rumors in recent weeks and suggested that she may have recently gone through a breakup on Instagram. "You should never feel like you have to hold onto someone in order to keep them in your life," she told fans in an October 16 post.

Continuing on, Leah Messer said that if someone wants to leave, one should let them do so. Messer also encouraged her fans and followers to focus their energy on those around them who meet them halfway and show the same amount of love to them that they've shown to others. Around the same time, Messer shared a meme about being single.

Leah Messer is twice divorced

Messer married her first husband, Corey Simms, in 2010 but split just months later after admitting to cheating on him with her former boyfriend Robbie Kidd. Messer and Simms share seven-year-old twins Ali and Aleeah and in 2013, Simms married second wife Miranda, with whom he shares a young daughter.

In 2012, after just months of dating, Leah Messer married second husband Jeremy Calvert and one year later, they welcomed their daughter Adalynn Faith.

However, despite her second effort at a lasting love, Messer once again faced a split in 2014 when her husband publicly proclaimed that he had caught her with Kidd and announced his plan to file for divorce.

Messer and Calvert were rumored to be getting back together earlier this year after they were spotted hanging out with one another at a local bar in Charleston, West Virginia.

That said, they never actually got back together and Calvert is currently back together with on again, off-again fiancee Brooke Wehr.

Leah Messer was rumored to be pregnant earlier this year

Although Messer hasn't gone public with any new boyfriends in 2017, she faced pregnancy rumors months ago. A short time later, Messer shut down the reports, revealing that she has no plans for a fourth child at the moment.

To see more of Leah Messer, her family, and her co-stars, including Kailyn Lowry, Jenelle Evans, Briana DeJesus and Chelsea Houska, tune in to the eighth season of "Teen Mom 2." New episodes of the series air every Monday night at 9 PM on MTV.
If you didn't think "The Real Housewives of orange county" supplied enough drama yet, just hold on for a while longer because the real stuff is about to implode. Lydia McLaughlin, Meghan King Edmonds, and Peggy Sulahian tease that Iceland will bring out some claws among the cast. Last season, the ladies traveled to Ireland and tempers flared out of control. What's about to unravel on this season?

'Nowhere to hide' in Iceland

Lydia and her husband are headed to Iceland for a business trip involving their magazine, NOBLEMAN. Lydia asked the rest of the "RHOC" cast to join them, which will put some of the women who don't get along within close proximity of one another.

Lydia tells E! News that season 12 "finally really picks up and everybody is together and we leave the country together so there's nowhere to hide, conversations have to happen." She explains that everyone will be put on the spot to talk or share how they're feeling about one another. Think about Tamra Judge and Vicki Gunvalson, and Shannon Beador and Peggy. Those four are having perhaps the most dysfunction at this time on the show. Lydia spills that fans have been "waiting for starts to happen."

Meghan agrees that things get crazy in Iceland, calling it "f**cking insane." She says it 's like being on Mars and that the "unexpected" unfolds throughout the "entire trip." So much happens that at least ten episodes -- or even a whole season -- could be made from it, Meghan says.

Peggy reveals that there are a "couple of battles" when the "RHOC" cast is in Iceland. Not only feuds, but plenty of crying, yelling, and other drama. She sums it up by referring to it as a "roller coaster."

Someone goes home early

Shifting friendships, confessions, and fights among the cast will "go down" in Iceland. Lydia went on to say that everyone was stressed, getting very little sleep, away from family, and in another country.

She even shares that someone ends up flying home early because she's so upset.

Reunion Gossip

While the "RHOC" reunion hasn't taped yet, there's already talk about which couch some of the ladies will be on. Vicki hinted in an Instagram post which couch she'll sit on when she's asked hard questions by Andy Cohen. Vicki was photographed with Peggy, Lydia and Kelly Dodd.

What do you think will happen in Iceland? The destination episodes will begin next week when "The Real Housewives of Orange County" airs on Monday, October 23 at 9 p.m., ET/ 6 p.m., PT on Bravo.
Jenelle Evans shared a photo on her Instagram page on Monday that immediately led to backlash from her many fans and followers. Following last week's episode of "Teen Mom 2," which seemingly showed David Eason freaking out on Evans' kids, Evans took to Instagram to share a photo of her husband teaching her oldest son, eight-year-old Jace, to shoot a gun.

"Thank you so much babe for being there for Jace," Evans wrote in the caption of a photo of her husband laying beside her son. "When all the dads were helping out their kids, [David Eason] stepped right in,"" she continued.

"Wish I knew what I was doing when it comes to BB guns."

Jenelle Evans told her fans and followers last week that she had deactivated her social media pages and would be focusing on her family as she contemplated a possible exit from "Teen Mom 2." However, just days later, Evans returned to Instagram and appeared to have something to prove.

Jenelle Evans' fans weren't happy to see her son with a gun

After the longtime reality star shared her latest Instagram photo, she received tons of backlash from fans who suggested that David Eason was a danger to her children. "I'm happy Jace will be able to protect himself... from your husband," one person wrote in the comments section of the photo. In another comment, a fan said that Jace has repeatedly said that he doesn't want to be around Eason because he's scared of him but Evans keeps forcing it.

A third person said that Eason was "manipulative" and "psychotic" and warned that he would blow "soon."

"I pity those poor kids!" the person added.

Jenelle Evans married David Eason last month

After about two years of dating, Evans and Eason tied the knot during a backyard wedding ceremony at their North Carolina home. As fans will recall, Evans and Eason welcomed their first child, daughter Ensley Jolie Eason, in January of this year after initially announcing the news to their many fans and followers on Instagram.

Throughout the eighth season of "Teen Mom 2," Eason has faced tons of backlash in regard to his treatment of Evans' children, specifically three-year-old Kaiser, who was heard begging for food during last week's show.

To see more of Jenelle Evans and her family, including husband David Eason, tune in to new episodes of "Teen Mom 2" season eight on Monday nights on MTV at 9 p.m. Also starring on the show are Leah Messer, Chelsea Houska, Briana DeJesus, and Kailyn Lowry.
Every celebrity has had to deal with bad photos from the paparazzi. Most celebrities take it in stride and try to make the best of the situation. After all, there are angles that make everyone look bad. Kim Kardashian has been dealing with the paparazzi for a long time, and for the most part, she can ignore the bad photos that they take sometimes. However, after a recent trip to Mexico, Kim is having a hard time moving on and getting back out there. A report by People has confirmed this news.

The new phobia

On the most recent episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," there was a lot of talk about Kim and her body.

Ever since their trip to Mexico, Kim Kardashian has been overwhelmed with insecurities about her body. She said that seeing these photos all over the media has caused her to develop body dysmorphia. Kim had a meltdown on the way to the 2017 Met Gala back in May, where she said she was going to throw up.

Everyone goes through their own insecurities, but it doesn't make sense for someone like Kim Kardashian to feel that way about their body. However, ever since being robbed in Paris, Kim has had a lot of insecurities. The pictures from Mexico remind her of that time and how everyone made fun of her and mocked her for what had happened. While none of this is the star's fault, she can't help but feel insecure about everything that's going on.

Luckily, her sisters have ways to help her get through this.

The possible solution

Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian had a rough time watching their sister go through this. It got so bad that Kim had resorted to staying home most of the time so that she wouldn't have to deal with the media. But even when she stayed home, Kim would see the pictures of herself from Mexico all over the internet.

Finally, Kourtney had had enough.

Kourtney Kardashian first suggested that Kim stay off of social media, but Kim didn't listen. Finally, she and Khloe had had enough and deleted all of the apps from Kim's phone themselves. The two had to remind Kim that it was the easiest way for her to get through things.It was her own isolation after being robbed in Paris that helped her move past the event.

Khloe and Kourtney were upset to see Kim so insecure about herself, but are happy to help her move past it. They all have their own insecurities as well, but they aren't about to let their sister go through this alone. With the support of two of her sisters and the rest of her family, we're hoping that Kim Kardashian will be back to being herself soon.
Mayim Bialik has been a major topic on social media since she published her co-ed piece "Being a Feminist in Harvey Weinsteins World" on Friday. In the article, she attempted to describe what life is like for women not only in Hollywood but every industry. Many say she missed the mark as she put more emphasis on discussing the advantages of women who are not "perfect 10s."

Not the norm

In her article, Bialik described herself as different from other girls. She said her physical features like her nose and chin made her distinctly different from the other girls attempting to make it in Hollywood.

When she was young, she even considered getting plastic surgery done on her nose and breasts.

Her family was not big on the idea of her entering Hollywood, warning her that the powerful men who ran the business "only wanted one thing." She avoided makeup and manicures at the request of her mother and was always encouraged to be herself when auditioning for parts.

The self-proclaimed feminist left Hollywood at 19 to pursue a college degree in neuroscience but returned years later hoping to get into the spotlight. She discussed how excited she was to land her role in "Big Bang Theory" and said that she related to her character's wish for being "the hot girl."

There's an upside

Bialik went on to explain that she discovered the benefits of not being that "hot girl" in Hollywood.

Referring to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the actress said that not aiming to perfect her physical beauty has kept her safe. "I have almost no personal experience with men asking me to meetings in their hotel rooms," she happily told readers.

She described most of Hollywood's women as having "impossible standards of beauty" that lead to things like Weinstein's sexual harassment.

What got readers upset was her statement about how she dresses. "I dress modestly. I dont act flirtatiously with men as a policy," said Bialik.

The statement triggered a bad reaction from women all across Twitter. One user called the actress out for "placing blame on victims." She went on to say that Bialik essentially meant that Weinstein's victims could have avoided their harassment had they not worn makeup or gotten manicures as she did.

Gabrielle Union spoke out about her past with sexual abuse. "Reminder. I got raped at work at a Payless shoe store. I had on a long tunic & leggings so miss me w/ "dress modestly" s--t," said the actress. Bialik's intent was to bring women together, but she instead placed blame on over 30 women who have alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein.
TMZ obtained information regarding Harvey Weinstein's 2015 employment contract and reported that he may have been let go from the company's Board Of Directors illegally, due to the way the contract is worded. Allegedly, if Weinstein were to be sued for sexual harassment or misconduct, which resulted in a settlement, as long as this settlement was paid, the Weinstein Company had no problem with it.

What did Harvey's employment contract say?

According to TMZ, the employment contract states Weinstein should compensate the Weinstein Company if he was in violation of their Code of Conduct, which was specified to be by treating "someone improperly".

Weinstein would also have to pay the company damages of $250,000, increasing by $250,000 per occurrence.

Once these damages were paid, the Weinstein Company could take no further action against Harvey, meaning that the mogul would not be at risk of losing his job. TMZ claims the contract stipulates that Harvey would only be eligible for dismissal if he was convicted of a crime, or if he was indicted, neither of which has happened yet.

Did the Weinstein Company actually know?

The New York Times obtained information that Harvey's brother, co-founder of the Weinstein Company, issued a video conference last Tuesday with the help of the company's president, David Glasser. In this conference, employees of the company were told that the Board of Directors was not aware of payments made to women, which had resulted from sexual misconduct cases.

They reiterated that these claims against Harvey had come as a complete surprise to them and any suggestion otherwise was fabricated.

However, the New York Times was made aware of "interviews and internal company records" indicating that the Weinstein Company did indeed know something. Back in 2015, confidential settlements were made to women, which were referred to in emails by Weinstein himself to the Board of Directors.

The Weinstein Company has since responded by explaining it did not know the real reasons for the settlements. Instead, it thought they were to "cover up consensual affairs", rather than misconducts.

TMZ reported on the 12th October 2017 that it was informed by sources that the Weinstein Company would only have been able to fire Weinstein had he not informed the Board of Directors of paying settlements in relation to sexual harassment cases. Harvey signed his contract in 2015 and no further settlements have allegedly been made since - meaning his dismissal from the Weinstein Company was potentially illegal.
Nelly may not be off the hook for an alleged rape after all. The rapper was accused of raping a 21-year-old woman on his tour bus earlier this month. A week later, the woman's attorney said she would not testify against Nelly, but police have made it clear they are not dropping the case.

On October 7, Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., was arrested by police in Auburn, Washington after he allegedly raped a woman he met at a nightclub. According to TMZ, Nelly asked the unnamed woman to accompany him to his tour bus that was reportedly parked in a nearby Walmart parking lot.

She initially told police she turned down the rappers advance but he told her to "shut up" and raped her.

Police ready to meet with prosecutors

The woman's attorney has confirmed that her client will not testify in any criminal proceedings against Nelly, but police in Auburn will not put the case to rest. Although they have yet to file charges against him, a new report from TMZ states that authorities plan to present the case to prosecutors as soon as this week.

Billboard reports that Attorney Karen Koehler issued a statement on October 13 that confirmed her client wanted to stop the investigation. The woman who initially accused Nelly of rape doesn't think she can stand up against a celebrity and no one will believe her story.

Even without her testimony, police feel that they may still have a case. TMZ's sources state that police in Auburn are still obtaining evidence and won't be deterred by the fact that Nelly's accuser doesn't want to testify against him.

Nelly's attorney speaks out

Although the Auburn police are moving forward with the case, the rapper's attorney, Scott Rosenblum tells The New York Daily News he expects the case against his client to be closed.

He is currently working with a private investigator to help prove the woman is looking for money and fame. Although the alleged rape is still under investigation, Attorney Rosenblum is confident Nelly will not be charged.

Clearly, Nelly trusts his attorney and is not letting possible rape charges get in the way of his performance schedule.

On Saturday, one week after he was arrested, the 42-year-old rapper performed at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida.

After the show, TMZ spotted him hanging out at the Rockwell Nightclub with his friend and fellow rapper, T.I. who told his buddy to put the "bulls***" behind him.
Commander Cao Xianjian, a top jet fighter pilot of the PLA Navy, said he is looking forward to taking off from the deck of the nation's first domestically developed aircraft carrier, which is currently under construction.

"I am eager to operate from the new carrier. It must be more advanced and stronger than the CNS Liaoning," he said, referring to China's first carrier. "Now we are busy honing our combat capabilities and skills to become good carrier-based pilots as soon as possible," he told China Daily before traveling to Beijing as a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opens on Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People.

Cao, 36, a native of East China's Shandong province, has served 14 years in the People's Liberation Army and is qualified to fly seven types of aircraft, but it was a serious accident that launched him to national prominence.

During routine training in April 2016, the flight control systems on his J-15 fighter jet malfunctioned, and the aircraft fell into the sea. He tried his best to save it, but ultimately was forced to eject, two seconds before it plunged into the water.

"When malfunctions happen with a plane, the first thought that comes to our mind is 'How can I fly it back?' - not ditching it," Cao said. "A good pilot would never give up on the aircraft if there was any other choice."

Because the altitude at which he ejected from the J-15 was too low for the parachute to fully spread, he nearly hit the surface before his fall was arrested only minimally.

Cao's lumbar vertebrae were fractured, requiring two surgeries at Beijing's Navy General Hospital.

Doctors said Cao would likely have to bid farewell to his flying career, as the injuries were so bad that they had to put two steel plates inside his body to sustain his spine.

When he awoke from anesthesia after the first surgery, he asked a doctor: "Will I be able to fly again?" He was determined to return.

Cao began to exercise soon after nurses removed the stitches from the surgical incision. He managed to persuade doctors to carry out the second surgery ahead of their treatment schedule so he'd have more time for flight training. He didn't want to miss the carrier-based pilot's qualification test this year.

After months of rehabilitation, doctors decided in March that Cao had recovered sufficiently to return to his unit and resume his flight training.

China commissioned the Liaoning in September 2012, after several years of refitting on a half-built vessel purchased from Ukraine. Two months later, Dai Mingmeng landed on the carrier in a J-15, becoming the first Chinese pilot to do so. In May 2013, the PLA Navy established its first carrier-borne aircraft unit with Dai as its commander.

Cao said he was recruited by Dai's unit in 2013 and has spared no effort to qualify as a carrier-based pilot.

"I will never give up my flying career because of the injuries," he said.

On May 30, Cao became the first of a new generation of J-15 pilots to land a plane on the Liaoning, fulfilling his pledge. He was awarded a special badge to mark the achievement.

Cao said he looks forward to flying his fighter over expanses of ocean as the nation's carriers sail ever farther into blue waters.
BEIJING - Xi Jinping on Wednesday started delivering a report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on behalf of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC.

CPC opens 19th national congress as China enters 'new era'

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened Wednesday as socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a "new era."

Xi Jinping is delivering a report titled "Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era."

The theme of the congress is to "Remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind, hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation."

"The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation," Xi said.

Socialism with Chinese characteristics enters new era

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, Xi Jinping said Wednesday at the opening session of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"We will unite the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and lead them to a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the drive to secure the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era," he said while delivering a report.

China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development. The prospects are bright but the challenges are severe, he said.

Cause of CPC, nation sees 'historic shifts' in past five years

Xi Jinping said Wednesday that "historic shifts" have been made in the cause of the Communist Party of China and the country in the past five years.

China's GDP rises from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan over five years

Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China's GDP rose from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan (about 12.1 trillion US dollars) over the past five years.

Over 60 million people lifted out of poverty in past five years

More than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty over the past five years, Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.
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HA NOI  Viet Nam spent over US$165 million importing 6,111 complete built-up cars in September, a 22 per cent reduction compared to previous month, according to the preliminary report of the General Department of Customs.

The report showed a significant decline in the number of Indonesian cars entering Viet Nam. In September, only 320 cars were imported from the country, down from the 2,976 units imported in August.

Meanwhile, the import of US vehicles impressed car buyers in September with 427 units imported to Viet Nam, up 25 per cent from the previous month. With this import volume, the US ranked as the third largest exporter of cars to Viet Nam, after Thailand (2,765 units) and China (1,100 units).

In the latest report of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), the sale of imported cars in September reached 6,477  a slight decrease of 2 per cent compared to the last month. SUV Toyota Fortuner emerged as the best-selling imported car with a total of 1,267 vehicles being sold. Currently, Fortuner is being imported from Indonesia.  VNS
HA NOI  The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) will be one of the first commercial banks in Viet Nam to co-operate with the General Department of Customs to provide 24 hour e-tax payment service.

The service will provide support to businesses to directly pay taxes for customs activities any time, including holidays, and any place with an internet connection.

Payments of enterprises will be confirmed by BIDV and customs clearance procedures will then be complete. This is likely to help shorten time and reduce costs for firms in customs clearance. Firms can also find all their tax payment information at customs offices and enjoy preferential offers from the bank.

The co-operation between the General Department of Customs and BIDV follows the e-tax payment service of banks and the 24-hour customs clearance project. This is considered a breakthrough for the customs sector in terms of reform of administrative procedures, facilitating firms in import-export activities.

Since 2010, BIDV has co-operated with the General Department of Customs to connect the e-payment portal and import-export tax guarantee. The co-operation has contributed to accelerating administrative reform in the tax area.

BIDV has co-operated with the State Treasury of Viet Nam and the General Department of Taxation to develop several convenient payment services for the business community and promote non-cash payment in the country.  VNS
QUANG NINH  Northern Quang Ninh Province has issued a document to promote markets and flights from/to Van on International Airport.

Under Document No 7704/UBND-DL1, the provincial Peoples Committee asked the Department of Transport to complete procedures on planning and investments at the airport as well as hasten progress to put the project into operation before April 1, 2018.

The Department of Tourism would develop a market promotion plan for the airport and report it to the provincial Peoples Committee before the end of this month.

The province urged Van on Investment and Development Jsc - Sun Group, the projects investor, to complete legal procedures to put the airport into operation and actively cooperate with carriers such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet for support and consultancy on the first flights. In addition, the developer must study and raise policies to encourage carriers to start flights to Van on.

The airport started construction in 2015 under the build-operate-transfer model with total investment of VN7.5 trillion (US$329 million), of which the province invested VN700 billion for land clearance.

In February, the Prime Minister gave his nod to the policy to upscale the airport from a domestic to international airport.

To date, a 3.6km runway is nearly complete and the developer is hastening the construction of other works to put the airport into operation by April 2018.

Van on International Airport is considered an important infrastructure project of the Van on Special Economic Zone.

In July, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave his nod to develop Van on into a special administrative-economic unit (special economic zone) of the northern region.

Deputy Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Van Thanh at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue in August said Van on had attracted total investment of VN36 trillion to development infrastructure projects.  VNS
HA NOI  The thirteenth Viet Nam - Singapore Connectivity Ministerial Meeting, held yesterday in Ha Noi, promoted economic links between the two countries and enabled a review of bilateral investment.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung told the meeting that Singapore was a leading partner of Viet Nam in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia.

He said Singaporean businesses had amply contributed to education, information, transport, banking and tourism, adding that Viet Nam had been increasingly active in improving the national investment and business environment and boosting confidence for the Singapore business community.

Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hong Kiang, said Viet Nam was an important partner to Singapore as the two nations had many mutually complimentary characteristics.

Dung hoped that the two sides would expand co-operation to raise bilateral trade and investment, exchange information - and handle any problems for Singapore enterprises.

Ministerial representatives from both countries assessed the implementation of trade agreements in six areas of investment - finance, information and communication technology, education and training, transport and trade, and services.

They said trade and investment co-operation had been positive. Bilateral trade had grown by an average of 12 per cent per year.

Since 2013, they said the relationship had been upgraded to strategic partner level, with Singapore as Viet Nams second largest trading partner in ASEAN after Thailand.

Viet Nam is also the sixth largest trading partner for the island state after China, Japan, the United States, the European Union and South Korea. Last year, Viet Nam became Singapores eleventh largest trading partner.

In the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade turnover reached US$5 billion, up by 16.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Vietnamese exports to Singapore reached $1.7 billion, up 28.9 per cent from 2016. Imports from Singapore reached $3.3 billion, up by 10.6 per cent over last year.

In terms of investment, Singapore has 1,918 effective investment projects with a total registered capital of more than $41.38 billion, ranking third among the top 12 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, after South Korea and Japan.

Singapores investment in Viet Nam is mainly in the form of 100 per cent foreign capital and joint venture, with an average amount of registered investment capital of about $21.6 million per project.This is $12.9 million higher than the average amount for any other foreign investment project in Viet Nam .

In the first eight months of 2017, Singapore had $3.93 billion of registered capital in Viet Nam of which $2.84 billion was newly registered capital, $718 million of additional registered capital and $370 million in share capital.

Viet Nam has 93 investment projects in Singapore with a total capital of $235 million. This makes it twelfth out of 72 foreign countries and territories with Vietnamese investment projects. These projects chiefly focus on oil and gas, mining, retail, services, information technology, and logistics.

Nonetheless, the co-operation between Viet Nam and Singapore in the remaining areas, while fast developing, has not been corresponding with the potential and needs of mutual co-operation with much room for growth, said Lim.

The meeting was jointly organised by the MPI and Singapores Ministry for Trade and Industry, with a follow-up session focusing on channelling Singapore investment into Quang Tri Province.  VNS
HCM CITY  Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up 90 per cent of businesses in Viet Nam, should take advantage of new marketing tools like social media to have access to global value chains, experts said at a meeting held yesterday in HCM City.

Speaking at the forum on SMEs, Mai Huynh, a representative of a Facebook team based in Singapore, said there were 53 million active Vietnamese Facebook users on a monthly basis.

Of the figure, 96 per cent use Facebook on their smartphones, while 68 per cent of Vietnamese view pages about enterprises selling products on Facebook, creating a huge potential for online marketing.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, deputy director of the SMEs Promotion Centre of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that SMEs were expected to have great opportunities to enter the global market in the digital economy.

SMEs should take advantage of digital applications and minimise logistics and transaction costs by using the powerful tools of social media, she said.

The fourth industrial revolution, which is digitally based, can help SMEs purchase goods and services in global value chains, opening up market access, attracting foreign investment, and accessing advanced production technology, according to Tam.

However, most SMEs lack international customers and markets. Only 21 per cent of Vietnamese SMEs participate in global value chains.

This challenge results in SMEs being less likely to benefit from the advantages of FDI, which include technology transfer, knowledge transfer and enhanced productivity.

In addition, a major barrier for SMEs is the high cost of technology, while knowledge about e-commerce is still limited, hindering growth.

More than 90 per cent of Vietnamese businesses are SMEs. They often encounter difficulties in accessing capital and technologies and lack management skills and connectivity, all of which are major hindrances when joining supply chains.

Links among producers and distributors in supply chains are weak and have created unhealthy competition, making it more difficult for Vietnamese to join big markets.

Though the Government has stepped up reform of institutions and improved the business environment, experts said it should minimise administrative procedures to help firms join supply chains.

The forum was organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Facebook.  VNS
HA NOI - Telecommunications, IT and retail firms took the lead in terms of profitability last year on the list of Profit500  the top 500 firms with the highest profits in Viet Nam.

The ranking, announced by Viet Nam Report Company on Tuesday, revealed that the industries witnessed high profit growth despite accounting for a small number on the list, with 3.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent of the total companies, respectively.

Experts believe that the IT sector will continue seeing strong growth in the future.

In addition, the food and beverage sector also showed high business results, both in terms of the number of firms on the list and highest average pre-tax profit.

The construction, building materials and real estate sector has the highest number of firms in the ranking, accounting for 17.4 per cent of the total. It was followed by the financial and food and beverage sectors, with 11.4 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

Most of businesses on the list reported increasing revenue and profit in the first nine months of the year and showed optimism in terms of prospects and profitability next year.

More than 26 per cent of the surveyed firms believed that instability in the economys growth had been one of the biggest challenges to profitability of businesses this year. Enterprises paid attention to climate change and disasters in the past two years, impacting their production and business.

Viet Nam Reports survey also said over a half of the local companies believed that sales in the first three quarters of the year had the most impact on their revenue, and not prices or spending. Firms paid attention to human resources, sales and marketing, and IT. Some 70 per cent of businesses said investing in human resources brought positive results in their profit.

Firms planned to focus on applying IT and automation as well as developing human resources for sustainable growth next year.

They expected that IT would have the highest growth in the future, followed by construction, real estate, healthcare, retail and trade centres.

The Profit 500 ranking aims to honour Vietnamese firms with high profitability and potential to become key pillars for the countrys future development. These firms have also contributed to promoting Viet Nams brand name in the international business community.

The ranking has independent assessments based on criteria of return on total assets, return on equity, return on revenue, pre-tax profit and revenue. In addition, it also determined businesses reputation on the media and labour scale.

The award ceremony is on November 23 in Ha Noi.  VNS

List of 10 highest profit firms:

1. Viettel Group

2. Samsung Electronics Viet Nam Co Ltd

3. Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)

4. Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk)

5. PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation

6. Viet Nam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank)

7. Truong Hai Auto Corporation

8. Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank)

9. Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam

10. Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Company
HCM CITY  The gift market for Vietnamese Womens Day, October 20, this year is offering customers a wide range of products and services.

Le Trong Van of HCM City, who was choosing gifts for his mother and wife at a supermarket in District 3, said: In the past I would give my wife some money to buy gifts for my mother and herself. But this year I want to make a difference.

I think my mother and wife will be surprised with my gifts.

He said he would buy a skincare product for his mother and cloth for making ao dai (Vietnamese long tunic) for his teacher wife.

Van is not the only man buying gifts for the women in their lives on the occasion.

And to take advantage of this, supermarkets and malls in HCM City are offering a wide range of gifts and services to satisfy all kinds of demands, and have launched promotions to attract customers.

Big C supermarket chain is offering discounts of up to 50 per cent on more than 1,000 items from 200 famous brands and freebies under its Ton vinh ve ep Viet (honouring Vietnamese beauty) programme until March 20.

The programme focuses on skincare, make-up, body care, hair care and fashion products.

Big C has also launched dozens of varieties of gift boxes with nice designs and reasonable prices.

It is offering a 50 per cent discount on the second item purchased of certain cosmetics.

Korean supermarket chain Lotte Mart is organising the Beauty Expo 2 at all its stores nation-wide until October 20, promising customers an enjoyable shopping experience and a chance to meet their idols.

It features several activities with the participation of prestigious brands like Unilever, P&G, LOreal, Kao, Unicharm, ROHTO, and Francia.

In addition, thousands of items are being sold at discounts, customers can enjoy free beauty treatments and various amusement activities, get the chance to win diamonds from a lucky draw programme and participate in competitions to win prizes.

Co.opmart supermarket is offering 25-50 per cent discounts on womens fashion products.

Cosmetics, gift boxes, kitchen utensils, food and other products are also being sold at big discounts.

Jewellery companies have introduced new collections and launched promotions.

PNJ has launched many new jewellery collections together with promotions and a lucky draw with total prizes worth over VN1 billion. The programme will run until October 22.

Its PNJ Silver has introduced a new collection, and until October 22, customers with bills worth VN700,000 and above will get a two-in-one canvas bag as a gift.

Many other supermarkets as well as cosmetics and fashion shops and spas are running a slew of promotions.

Besides cosmetics, jewellery and clothes, flowers are also popular as gifts.

Shops at the Ho Thi Ky Flower Market have increased supply to meet the higher demand. They have also hired more staff to pack and deliver flowers.

Dalat Hasfarm said its supply of cut flowers to the market has not increased much compared to last year, but the supply of long-lasting potted flowers with high duration is 20 per cent higher, mainly of rose, kalanchoe and begonia.

At Thi Nghe Market on October 17, a bunch of 10 roses cost VN80,000 compared to VN50,000-60,000 a few days earlier.

Phuong, a flower shop owner at the market, told Viet Nam News that the prices are expected to increase further on the holiday.  VNS
HCM CITY  Vietnamese rice producers and exporters should focus on quality and supplying products that are in demand to sustain the production and export of the grain and add value to the grain, a meeting heard in HCM City yesterday.

Speaking at the meeting held to discuss Viet Nams Rice Market Development Strategy from 2017 to 2020, Phan Van Chinh, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trades import-export department, said the global rice market had seen changes, with major importing countries increasing domestic production.

Free trade agreements theoretically create opportunities for Viet Nam to boost exports to these markets, but to do so Vietnamese rice must meet the quality standards set by these markets.

To achieve sustainable production and export, the Government has approved a strategy for the 201720 period.

Tran Xuan Long of the import-export department said one of the goals of the strategy was to gradually reduce rice export volume but increase value.

Thus, the annual export volume is expected to be 4.5-5 million tonnes by 2020, earning an average of US$2.2-2.3 billion.

Between 2021 and 2030 the annual volume is expected to be around four million tonnes, earning $2.3-2.5 billion. The make-up of the exports would also be restructured then, with a focus on increasing the export of fragrant, speciality, japonica and high-grade white rice, he said.

Viet Nam would focus on Asian and African markets, with China, Bangladesh and ASEAN members such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia remaining key markets.

Huynh Minh Hue, general secretary of the Viet Nam Food Association, said the main varieties of rice traded in global markets are basmati, parboil, fragrant, white broken rice, sticky rice, japonica, and white long-grain rice.

Viet Nam is well placed in terms of sticky rice, fragrant, white broken rice, and white long-grain rice, he said.

He said rice traders should capitalise on their advantages to develop nearby and traditional markets whose demands dovetail with Viet Nams conditions.

To improve the competitiveness of rice traders, which is one of the measures in the strategy, businesses should focus on improving quality and marketing and cut costs, he said.

Rice traders and exporters should establish links with farmers to ensure supply meets market demand and efficiency, he said.

Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An Hi-tech Farming JSC, said rice traders who have contracted farmers that use safe production processes have bagged export orders from the beginning.

The country should have zoning plans for each variety of rice based on soil conditions in different areas and use technology to improve the quality and value, he said.

Delegates at the meeting called on the Government to speed up negotiations and sign agreements on hygiene and food safety standards with importing countries.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should decide on and apprise exporters about the process of quality inspection and hygiene and food safety regulations in line with those agreements, they said.

Relevant agencies should review seaport planning and speed up loading and unloading of goods at ports to reduce logistics costs, they said.

They called for co-operation among traders in promoting exports.

According to the VFA, Viet Nam is expected to export 5.6 million tones of rice this year.  VNS
South Korea is Viet Nams third largest trading partner, while Viet Nam is Koreas fourth largest trading partner.  Photo vietrade.gov.vn

HA NOI  A quarter of a century of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and South Korea has yielded substantial progress, especially in investment and trade, said Bui Huy Son, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trades Viet Nam Trade Promotion Department ( Vietrade).

Two-way trade increased 86 times from US$0.5 billion in 1992 to $43.4 billion last year, he said at a workshop in Ha Noi yesterday. South Korea is Viet Nams third largest trading partner, while Viet Nam is Koreas fourth largest trading partner.

In terms of investment, South Korea surpassed Japan to become the largest foreign investor in Viet Nam in November 2014.

Cooperation has been boosted further since the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and Korea (VKFTA) went into effect in December, 2015, the director added.

Manufacturing sectors are the leading sector of export growth to Korea, enjoying preferential FTA conditions. The sector achieved $5.4 billion in exports in the first six months this year, an increase of 28.6 per cent over the same period last year.

Exports of agricultural and aquatic products reached $497.2 million, increasing 29.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Under Vietnams tariff reduction commitments, the import of Korean machinery and electronic products, spare parts and raw materials of textiles, leather and footwear increased by 16-20 per cent.

I believe that besides the efforts of Vietnamese agencies in supporting Vietnamese businesses in applying the VKFTA, the support of the Republic of Korea Embassy in Viet Nam and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) was valuable and notable, Son said.

With the determination of the twos governments and the proactivity of enterprises, the goal of reaching bilateral trade turnover of $70 billion by 2020 is feasible, he emphasised.

Kotra, Vietrade, the general department of customs and other Vietnamese agencies are doing their best to instruct Vietnamese businesses to apply VKFTA, said Han Kyung Joon, deputy director of Kotra. But, he added, to maximize VKFTA opportunities, businesses themselves need to be proactive to thoroughly study the agreement and grab investment and business opportunities. Vietnamese companies could also ask for support from Kotras VKFTA support centre in Ha Noi.

Park Chul Ho, director general of Kotra, advised Vietnamese exporters to ensure good preparation of papers and procedures, such as certificates of origin (C/Os).  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Prime Minister Vuong inh Hue, has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to carry out the equitisation of Viet Nam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2) in accordance with the approved scheme.

This is part of the Deputy PMs written statement on financial supervision of Vinafood 2 that was sent to the two ministries recently.

Hue asked MARD to host and co-ordinate with the finance ministry to evaluate the results after two years of implementing Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs direction on Vinafood 2s financial supervision.

He also wanted the two ministries to clarify the shortcomings, subjective and objective causes, responsibilities of units and individuals, and methods. The report will be submitted to the Prime Minister in the first quarter of 2018.

In early July, MARD announced the findings of the Vinafood 2 inspection, pointing out many mistakes in asset management and the loss of subsidiaries worth hundreds of billions of ong.

Specifically, the inspection conclusions indicate that from 2014 to the time of inspection, Vinafood 2 violated regulations when it sold assets on land and transferred the land use rights in southern provinces of Tien Giang and Tra Vinh, with a total value of over VN114 billion (US$5 million).

With regards to high-class hotel projects, office buildings and commercial centres for rent at 34-36-42 Chu Manh Trinh and 33 Nguyen Du, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM City, the General Director of Vinafood 2 has agreed with Viet Han Group on compensation and site clearance of 34 households on the land. This agreement between the two sides is contrary to MARDs document and the PMs direction.

Accordingly, the amount of compensation and site clearance estimated by the two sides was VN68 billion, which would come from the MoFs Public Property Administration Department. Thus, if it was implemented in accordance with this agreement, the State budget would lose 80 per cent, equivalent to VN54 billion.

As per the 2016 financial report, Vinafood 2 achieved net sales of VN9.95 trillion ($438 million), a year-on-year decrease of 36 per cent and after-tax profit of VN157 billion, up 15 per cent over the previous year. By the end of 2016, Vinafood 2s accumulated loss stood at VN798 billion. As of December 31, the actual value of the Vinafood 2 parent company was VN14.61 trillion, of which the actual value of State capital was VN5.38 trillion.  VNS
HA NOI  The Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) and Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) on Tuesday signed a comprehensive co-operation agreement in Ha Noi.

Under the agreement, the two sides will co-operate to fully exploit their available potential, thus bringing benefits to SMFs members and Vietcombanks customers.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, inh Thi Thai, Vietcombanks deputy general director, said the strategic relationship between Viet Nam and Singapore has been enhanced following the official visit of Lee Hsien Loong in March.

The bilateral trade between the two countries reached US$14 billion last year. Viet Nam has been the Singapores 12th biggest partner, while the latter has been one of three countries with the highest FDI capital in Viet Nam.

Many Singaporean-invested projects have been operating effectively, contributing to the growth of Viet Nams economy, increasing export turnover and creating jobs.

Vietcombank is the first bank with representatives in Singapore to supports firms investing in Viet Nam. The bank also established an FDI Customer Division, which has a team to serve Singaporean investors.

Douglas Foo, SMFs chairman, said the co-operation would support SMF in finance, banking and trade activities. Vietcombank, which has been operational since 1963, would help SMFs members in payment, cash management, trade finance and foreign currency services.

The two sides also organised a meeting between Vietcombanks customers and SMFs investors to exchange business opportunities, diversify distribution channels and help develop the market.

SMF, which was established in 1932 in Singapore, includes manufacturing and other related firms. It has more than 3,000 members in many sectors such as property, electricity, food, beverage, energy and chemical.

SMF has been one of two federations operating strongly and it has had the most significant effect in Singapore.  VNS
HCM CITY  The 12h Viet Nam International Woodworking Industry Fair opened in HCM City on Wednesday, with over 350 firms from 28 countries and regions taking part.

Seven international pavilions at the exhibition set up by the US, France, China, Germany, Sweden, Taiwan, and Canada are showcasing many woodworking machines and components used in the wood and furniture processing sector.

Besides, many suppliers of high-performance woodworking machinery and equipment from Europe, America, Oceania and Asia have gathered under one roof to constitute a one-stop business trading platform for industry players seeking to upgrade operations.

Two seminars on the woodworking sector will be held on the sidelines of the expo to provide an insight into the industry and offer professional opinions and solutions.

Organised by the Viet Nam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company (Vinexad) and Yorkers Trade & Marketing Service Co, the exhibition, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre, will go on until October 21.

Viet Nam earned over US$5.5 billion from export of wood and wood-based products in the first nine months of this year, up 11 per cent year-on-year, with the US, Japan, China, and the EU being key markets, according to the Viet Nam Timber and Forest Products Association.

Full-year exports are expected to top $8 billion, Ngo Sy Hoai, the associations deputy chairman, said.

Technology plays a crucial role in the woodworking industry, he said, adding that Vietnamese firms need to invest more in modern technologies to reduce cost and improve their productivity and quality.  VNS
HA NOI  The national carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Peoples Committee of central Khanh Hoa Province signed a deal to promote investment, trade and tourism and strengthen the image of the two sides on Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Vietnam Airlines will study increasing the frequency of flights and open new domestic and international routes to Khanh Hoa Province. The firm will also offer preferential fares to local tourism and investment promotion delegations and help the province promote tourism at international fairs for the next three years.

Meanwhile, Khanh Hoa Province will support Vietnam Airlines new routes, while enhancing the capacity of Cam Ranh airport. The airline has also been recognised as the official carrier of major events in the province.

The two sides also agreed to co-operate to support media delegations travelling to and from Europe and North East Asia to explore the potential of tourism in the province and to introduce Khanh Hoa to these markets.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of provincial Peoples Committee Le uc Vinh said the agreement was expected to help the province have more international flights to and from Cam Ranh International Airport, from European and Asian markets and spread the tourism brand name Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa globally.

Duong Tri Thanh, general director of Vietnam Airlines, said the agreement marked a new step between the two sides, which would make co-operation more effective.

Vietnam Airlines commits to Khanh Hoa Province to perform effectively as a national airline, alongside the province to promote the tourism potential of Khanh Hoa," said Thanh.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Jetstar Pacific operate four routes connecting Khanh Hoa with cities including Ha Noi, HCM City, a Nang and Vinh with frequency of 100 flights per week. In the first nine months of this year, the number of passengers to Khanh Hoa on Vietnam Airlines and Jetstar Pacific flights increased by 9 per cent compared with the same period last year, reaching over 1.3 million passengers, accounting for 62 per cent of total domestic arrivals to the province by air.  VNS
HA NOI  Shares declined on the HCM Stock Exchange on Wednesday as investors looked for short-term profits when the VN Index reached the intraday high of 831 points.

The benchmark VN Index inched down 0.07 per cent to end at 827.72 points. It rose to 831.15 points during the session after gaining 1.08 per cent on Tuesday.

Nearly 199 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VN4.76 trillion (US$211.8 million).

Wednesdays trading figures were up 12.2 per cent in volume and 21.7 per cent in value compared to the previous session.

Market breadth became quite negative with 166 declining stocks against 105 gaining ones, while 45 stocks ended flat.

Large-cap stocks performed badly, with 18 of the 30 top companies by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 basket ending lower than they started. The VN30 Index fell 0.20 per cent to 816.84 points.

Banks, property developers, brokerage firms and steel producers saw their share prices decline after they had performed well to lift the stock market on Tuesday.

Among the seven listed banks on the southern market, MBBank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB), Sacombank (STB) and Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BID) were decliners.

VCB lost 0.7 per cent and BID edged down 0.5 per cent. VCB jumped nearly 5 per cent on Tuesday while BID rose a total of 6.7 per cent in the previous three sessions.

On the opposite side, the VN Index avoided a slump as shares of FLC Faros Construction Corp (ROS) hit its daily rising limit rate of 6.9 per cent and consumer goods producers such as brewer Sabeco (SAB) and food and beverage company Masan (MSN) kept growing.

The VN Index struggled with rising pressure from profit-takers, which was triggered when the benchmark touched the level of 831 points, according to Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Co (SHS).

However, the pressure was not high enough to push the benchmark into a slump, the Ha Noi-based securities firm wrote in its daily report.

The positive thing on Wednesday was the rising liquidity, which proved investor confidence remained good and it was expected to keep supporting the market in next sessions.

On Thursday, the VN Index could fluctuate between 822 and 831 points, SHS said, adding that it would need a strong boost to clarify its trend in the near future.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index was down 0.38 per cent to close at 109.43 points, ending a three-day increase of 1.3 per cent.

More than 53.5 million shares were traded on the northern market, worth nearly VN990 billion.  VNS
Artist Hoang Ha Tung has just returned from the Netherlands where hed held a solo exhibition in the old city of Kampen, about 90km from Amsterdam. The exhibition displayed portraits of Dutch and Vietnamese farmers. The paintings of Vietnamese farmers were done from May to August in Viet Nam, and that of the Dutch farmers done during the trip. Two Dutch artist friends took him around the country and he was able to meet and paint Dutch farmers living along rivers.

Tung, whose work has gained a lot of international recognition, spoke about the exhibition and his experience in the Netherlands.

What was the defining experience in your trip to the Netherlands?

Dutch artist friends of mine help set up a working schedule for me. They took me to meet farmers at their farms in Kampen - a very old city. I was able to paint them and the Kampen landscape. I found it interesting that there was no tourist in Kampen. It looks set in the past. While the residents are friendly, I felt they were not too eager to have strange tourists who would break peace and quiet. The city has about 20 churches. I saw people going to the church on Sundays and enjoying weekend markets selling products like cheese, fresh vegetables and fruits on Saturday.

At my exhibitions opening ceremony, I presented three paintings of the farmers. After the trip, I have painted 24 oil-on-canvas paintings, including five landscapes. Many people came to the exhibition including the City Mayor.

I presented all my paintings to the farmers who I painted, and the landscapes I gave to the exhibition organisers. I also sold some of the paintings I took from Viet Nam. It was interesting that buyers asked me to write my full name, instead of my signature.

What were some of the memorable moments while painting the Dutch farmers?

There are many. One of the first portraits that I did was of Jean Anbert. He has thousands of cows and all his family members work on the farm. He asked me to paint him working with a milking machine, but I told him that I wanted to paint his portrait. I painted him in about 30 minutes and he liked it very much. He asked why I didnt paint his cows, because he loves them.

His old sister, who lives far away, came to the exhibition and saw one of my paintings of Anberts farm. She was moved to tears because the painting reminded her of her childhood. It made her miss her parents and her time at the farm.

Once, I painted a farmer, but his wife liked the painting so much that she asked me to paint her and their daughter, too.

What was the difference you saw between Dutch and Vietnamese farmers ?

They are both simple and strong people. However, Dutch farmers have a much easier life than Vietnamese farmers. The Dutch farmers work is less labour intensive thanks to technology. Each family has cars and some of them have boats to get to Amsterdam. From a painters perspective, Dutch farmers are fresh and full of energy while Vietnamese farmers look weather-beaten.

So the exhibition offered an interesting comparison between the East and the West, not just between people and landscapes, but also the material used. I used traditional Vietnamese do (poonah) paper and Chinese ink. Oil-on canvas and do paintings are very different.

For me, it was the first time I was using Dutch oil paint, which is the best and most expensive one in the world used by professional artists. I particularly found the red colour sparkling. I bought about 30kg of oil paints to bring home. - VNS
HA NOI  A duplicate of the Cai Rang Floating Market, a national intangible heritage treasure and unique cultural feature of southwestern Viet Nam, will be among the special sights and activities planned for the annual Vietnamese Great National Solidarity and Cultural Heritage Week. The events will take place at the Viet Nam Nationalities Village for Culture and Tourism from November 18 to 23.

The event aims to honour the cultural heritage of Viet Nams more than 50 ethnic groups, enhance national unity and celebrate the 87th anniversary of the Traditional Day of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (November 18) and Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23).

Nearly 200 representatives of 13 ethnic groups, such as the Tay, Dao, Thai and Kho Mu, will take part in the events, along with local tourism associations, travel agents, international and domestic tourists.

As one of the three largest floating markets in the southern province of Can Tho, Cai Rang trades in the specialties and typical fruits of the Mekong Delta region, contributing to the preservation and promotion of local cultural features. The floating market is one of the most popular destinations in Can Tho for local and foreign tourists.

The Cai Rang Floating Market originated in the early 20th century in a location favourable for water traffic and trading. The market opens early in the morning and operates until about 9am everyday. Products, mainly fruits and vegetables, are hung on the boats bamboo poles so tourists and locals can easily know which products each boat is selling.

The market, which has thrived for over a century, has been a centre for commerce in the city and its neighbouring provinces, such as An Giang, Vinh Long, ong Thap, Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.

The UKs Rough Guide series chose the Cai Rang Floating Market as one of the ten most impressive markets in the world.

Another highlight of the six-day event will be the National Great Solidarity Festival, followed by a conference entitled "Constructing and Developing the Viet Nam Nationalities Village for Culture and Tourism in the New Period". The event will culminate in the inauguration of the first phase of the Phap An Pagoda under construction in the village.  VNS
HA NOI  A handmade lacquer work from Viet Nam will go under the hammer at Christies in London today.

It is the first time that the creativity and workmanship of Vietnamese craftsmen and craftswomen is highlighted by the well-known international auction house.

Titled Borderline, the exclusive item is a collaborative work between Paris-based Vietnamese actress and designer Tran Nu Yen Khe, and the Vietnamese haute lacquer house Hanoia. While the sketch was done by Khe, the craftsmen of Hanoia turned her drawing into a sophisticated work of art.

According to the designer, known more as an actress working closely with her husband, Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung, Borderline expresses the line between the past and the present, and between tradition and modernity.

Based on the shape of the Vietnamese traditional conical hat, non, it has a functional value as a tray, but it is also an example of traditional culture expressed through contemporary design.

On the conical form runs a brilliant vegetal pattern in perfect harmony with a lacquered background of the drawing of a barbed wire fence inlaid by gold leaf made at Kieu Ky Village on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

The designer said that the idea for the decorative pattern came from the flowery bushes that grow around barbed wire fences, something she saw in many rural places across Viet Nam.

The wire is also a symbolic image evoking a hot topic in todays world  immigration. The bold colours of red and orange not only evoke the image of Buddhist pagodas, they also present the activeness of contemporary Vietnamese society.

One of artisans joining the project, the Head of Research and Product Development Department at Hanoia, Tham Van Sy, said: It was challenging, interesting and exciting to work together with such a famous figure.

To turn her ideas into technical sketches, Sy had to talk with her everyday via Skype, with the support of her husband as interpreter, because the designer-actress is not completely fluent in spoken Vietnamese.

Apart from the sophisticated making process, the one-off piece, which took three months to complete, also required other important techniques, of which was the conjunction between the upper and lower parts.

The story behind is always much more complicated than whatever you see. Its not easy to join two separate parts  an up-side-down conical-shaped piece with a round pedestal  without affecting its original structure while still maintaining the balance. We had to devote a lot of our mind and time for just this one step, he said.

Together with 15 other handcraft items from China, Japan and India, Borderline will be go under hammer at the starting price of 2,000 pounds. This auction will be live and clients can bid online at https://bit.ly/2hC9L6h

Hanoia CEO Nguyen Thi Tuyet Thanh said proceeds from the auction of Borderline will be used to launch a contest for young Vietnamese designers.

She also said after this collaborative work with Yen Khe, Hanoia will continue to work with other famous Vietnamese and international artists to create other exclusive, unique designs.

Although Vietnamese handcraft products are abundant, they are not competitive because they dont have attractive designs, she said.

The designer

Yen Khe was only one year old when her family left Viet Nam in 1974 and migrated to France. She grew up in Paris. After her high school graduation, she spent one year at the Ecole du Louvre, followed by a degree in design and interior architecture at the Camondo school in Paris. She also took dramatic art classes. Filmmaker Tran Anh Hung, who was looking for an actress for his short film graduates, found her in this class. After starring in Hungs first film, she has worked with him on all his projects.

She is best known for her roles in her husbands trilogy: Cyclo (1995), The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), and The Vertical Ray of Sun (2000). Hungs latest movie Eternity (2016), which stars Audrey Tautou, also features Khes voice as narrator. As Hungs partner and closest collaborator, Khe is also in charge of costume and set designs of all his films.  VNS
THE HAGUE  Dutch officials toasted on Tuesday the opening of what is being called the worlds first 3D-printed concrete bridge, which is primarily meant to be used by cyclists.

There was applause as officials wearing hard hats and workmens jackets rode over the bridge on their bikes at the inauguration in the southeastern town of Gemert.

"The bridge is not very big, but it was rolled out by a printer which makes it unique," Theo Salet, from the Eindhoven University of Technology, told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Work on printing the bridge, which has some 800 layers, took about three months after starting in June and it is made of reinforced, pre-stressed concrete, according to the university.

"One of the advantages of printing a bridge is that much less concrete is needed than in the conventional technique in which a mould is filled," it said on its website, adding "a printer deposits the concrete only where it is needed."

The eight-metre bridge spans a water-filled ditch to connect two roads, and in conjunction with the BAM Infra construction company was tested for safety to bear loads of up to two tonnes. Although designed for bikes, it could take up to 40 trucks, the designers said.

"We are looking to the future," said the head of BAM, Marinus Schimmel, adding in a statement that his company was constantly "searching for a newer, smarter approach to addressing infrastructure issues and making a significant contribution to improving the mobility and sustainability of our society."

3D printing meant "fewer scarce resources were needed and there was significantly less waste," he added.

The Netherlands is among countries, with the United States and China, taking a lead in the cutting-edge technology of 3D printing, using computers and robotics to construct objects and structures from scratch without using traditional manpower.

Last year a Dutch architect unveiled a unique 3D printer with which he hopes to construct an "endless loop" building.

And a Dutch start-up called MX3D has begun printing a stainless-steel bridge, of which a third is already completed. The aim is to finish printing by March and lay the bridge over an Amsterdam canal in June.  AFP
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives outgoing US Ambassador Ted Osius in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received outgoing US Ambassador Ted Osius in Ha Noi yesterday, congratulating the diplomat on a successful term in Viet Nam.

The PM said that during the envoys tenure, more Vietnamese and US leaders exchanged visits than during any other period, including a historic visit to the US by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in July 2015, a visit to Viet Nam by US President Barack Obama in July 2016, and his own tour of the US in May 2017.

Economic, trade and investment remained key for relations, with trade growing from US$36 billion in 2014, when Osius took office, to more than $50 billion at present. Total US investment in Viet Nam has surpassed $10 billion. He expressed his belief that with the sound development of Viet Nam-US ties, these figures will keep rising.

Welcoming an upcoming visit to Viet Nam by President Donald Trump, PM Phuc applauded Ambassador Osius contribution to the enhancement of bilateral relations. Viet Nam-US ties will continue to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he added.

For his part, Osius said the PMs visit to the US last May helped drive development in bilateral relations and voiced his hope that the upcoming visit by President Trump would boost ties to a new height. The diplomat also said he the two countries relations, especially in education, would continue to progress.

He also praised Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities efforts in organising the November 6 to 11 meetings of 21 heads of state in the central a Nang City , which Trump will attend, calling it an occasion for the country to show its dynamism to the world.

Osius also revealed that he would stay on in Viet Nam after his tenure ends, and work in the education sector. VNS
ASTANA  National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan told Kazakhstans top legislators yesterday that trade between the two countries should be boosted, along with ties on security-related issues, education and training, culture and tourism.

The top lawmaker is on a three-day visit to Kazakhstan at the invitation of Senate Chairman Kassym Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the Mazhilis (lower house), Nurlan Nigmatulin.

This is the first-ever visit to the Central Asian country by a leader of the Vietnamese parliament.

At her meeting with Tokayev in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, she suggested the two sides review the outcomes of the first year of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (Viet Nam-EAEU FTA).

She also proposed finalizing and signing an extradition agreement, boosting joint work in line with the education-training cooperation agreement signed in September 2009, and implementing the tourism agreement signed in November 2011.

The Vietnamese legislature wants to strengthen ties with the Kazakh parliament at regional and global forums, she told both parliamentary leaders. To that end, she told them, the 14th Vietnamese NA had established the Viet Nam-Kazakhstan Friendship Parliamentarians Group.

Trade growth

Tokayev, for his part, predicted that trade this year would reach $450 million, compared with $370 last year, due to implementation of the free trade pact. He nonetheless said the trade turnover was still below its potential and asked for more active involvement of legislators in pushing their governments to promote trade.

Kazakhstan welcomes small- and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises, he said, adding that the two nations would continue working closely to celebrate the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties this year.

Ngan noted that trade grew from below US$80 million before 2012 to more than $360 million in 2016, and would soon reach $500 million due to the free trade pact.

Chairwoman Ngan informed embassy staff and Vietnamese expatriates about the outcomes of the recent sixth plenum of the 12th-tenure Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee, the socio-economic situation since the beginning of the year, and preparations for the parliaments fourth sitting in late October.

At the talks with with Nigmatulin, Ngan noted that the bilateral relationship was thriving in various areas, ranging from politics to economy, trade, culture, tourism and security.

"The Vietnamese Government and relevant agencies support and create favourable conditions for foreign businesses, including those from Kazakhstan," the top legislator affirmed, expressing her wish that Kazakhstan would help Vietnamese firms seeking investment opportunities in the country.

Nigmatulin said Kazakhstan hoped to further beef up partnerships with Viet Nam in the fields of agriculture, transport and tourism.

Both agreed that Viet Nam should increase its export of rice, rubber, coffee, seafood, computers, phones, machines and equipment to Kazakhstan while importing metal, steel and iron, ore, minerals and other products from the country.

In the realm of security, Ngan suggested that the two nations should intensify cooperation and focus on exchanging information and combating terrorism, transnational and high-tech crimes, and illegal immigration.

Nigmatulin said Kazakhstan want to exchange legislative experience with Viet Nam and suggested the two sides expand cooperation between specialised committees of the two parliaments.-VNS
President Tran ai Quang, Chairman of the Defence and Security Council and Commander of Armed Forces, visits to the Mieu Mon Training Centre of the Ministry of National Defence in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang

HA NOI  The Viet Nam Peoples Army (VPA) should always remain alert and continually improve its combat strength, President Tran ai Quang, Chairman of the Defence and Security Council and Commander of Armed Forces, said yesterday.

"The need for constant vigilance and improvement is especially important in the context of complicated and unpredictable global and regional developments," he said.

The VPA should also serve as the faithful and trustworthy political and fighting force of the Party, State and people, he said.

Quang made his remarks during a working visit to the Mieu Mon Training Centre of the Ministry of National Defence in Ha Noi.

Reporting on its performance in 2017, Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff, said the army had fulfilled its assigned tasks well, including advising the Party, the State and local authorities about military-defence tasks, training its force, organising drills and keeping the troops combat ready.

The army had worked with police and other forces to deal with crisis situations in a timely manner, establishing itself as the core force in protecting the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity by keeping its borders, airspace, seas and islands secure.

The VPA had also been a key force in responding to natural disasters with its search and rescue operations, and in settling war consequences. It had also effectively taken part in reinforcing local political systems, Giang said.

President Quang lauded the Defence Ministrys achievements in leading and instructing the implementation of military-defence tasks.

He asked the Central Military Commission and the ministry to continue implementing resolutions of the Party Central Committee, the targets and tasks set in the resolution of the armys 10th Party congress, as also other tasks assigned by the Party, State and people.

The defence establishment needs to have a firm grasp of the situation and advise the Party and State about socio-economic development associated with defence and security. It should also step up building a revolutionary, regular, elite and modern VPA, the President said.

The Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry need to keep optimising the combined strengths of different forces, be active, creative and steadfast in achieving set targets, while ensuring safety during training, drills, and search and rescue operations.

Quang also stressed the need for stepped-up communication to raise peoples awareness of and attention to the army and its tasks.

He asked the defence establishment to strengthen Party building and clean-up efforts, fight the degradation morality and lifestyle, while studying and following late President Ho Chi Minhs teachings.

The commission and the ministry must work closely with police and relevant forces to defeat all sabotage plots and other activities of hostile forces, help maintain political security and social order and security, and ensure absolute safety for important events, especially upcoming activities of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, Quang said.  VNS
Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh (L) meets with Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipila yesterday in Helsinki.  VNA/VNS Photo Doan Tan

HELSINKI  Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipila affirmed that Finland wants to enhance ties with Viet Nam in a meeting yesterday with Vice President ang Thi Ngoc Thinh in Helsinki.

He underscored the need to establish a strategic partnership across education-training, innovation, clean technology, water resources management and forestry.

He also expressed his delight that he would visit Viet Nam next year on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, while extending his sympathies to Viet Nam over its large losses of life and property in recent floods.

Thinh asked Finland to actively support Viet Nam  European Union ties, especially the signing and adoption of the European Union  Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

She and the PM agreed on measures to boost trade ties potential fields such as information technology and communications, clean water supply, forest wood industry and renewable energies.

The two also discussed the importance of maintaining global peace and security and working closely together at the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting, ASEAN and the European Union, and other multilateral forums to achieve the goal.

Meeting Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Maria Lohela, Thinh expressed the wish that Finland would continue maintaining official development assistance (ODA) to Viet Nam to cope with climate change, affirming that the Vietnamese government would continue working closely with Finland to build projects that effectively use Finlands ODA.

Lohela, in reply, said the Finnish parliament would continue encouraging domestic firms to do business in Viet Nam, adding that there remains room for bilateral co-operation.

The two sides vowed to reinforce ties in fields of Finlands strength and Viet Nams needs and to maintain the bridging role played by Vietnamese nationals in Finland.  VNS
ASTANA  The National Assembly (NA) of Viet Nam supports the win-win cooperation between the governments of Viet Nam and Kazakhstan based on refining their legal systems to enable businesses and investors to access each others market.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the remark at a meeting with Kazakhstan Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev in Astana on Tuesday as part of her ongoing official visit to the country.

She proposed the Kazakh Prime Minister and government create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to explore investment opportunities in Kazakhstan.

The chairwoman also expressed her pleasure at the growing traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.

The bilateral high-level delegation exchanges have contributed to enhancing political trust and created a momentum to boost their multidimensional collaboration, she noted.

She thanked Kazakhstan for close coordination with Viet Nam at multilateral forums and hoped the two nations will continue maintaining and strengthening information exchange for better understanding and mutual assistance.

While referring to the growing cooperative ties between the Vietnamese and Kazakh legislative bodies, Ngan noted the outcomes of her talks with Chairman of the Mazhilis (lower house) of the Kazakhstan Parliament Nurlan Nigmatulin.

She said the two sides agreed on measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation, by promoting the cooperative relations between the two countries.

On his part, PM Sagintayev highly valued the visit by Chairwoman Ngan, which took place on the occasion of the 25th founding anniversary of Viet Nam-Kazakhstan diplomatic ties.

He recognised the positive outcomes of the bilateral economic and trade partnership since the two countries signed and implemented the Viet Nam-Eurasian Free Trade Agreement.

The two sides agreed to evaluate the one-year implementation of the agreement and seek more effective measures to optimise benefits from the deal, he said.

The same day, Chairwoman Ngan met with Deputy Chairman of the Nur Otan Party Abraruly Kul-Mukhammed who spoke highly of the Viet Nam-Kazakhstan cooperation in various fields, particularly oil and gas.

He affirmed that Kazakhstan considers Viet Nam a close friend and hopes to enhance cooperation with the Communist Party of Viet Nam.  VNS
BINH DUONG  Police of the southern province of Binh Duong have arrested Lu Te Chiang from Taipei (China), wanted for illegally possessing guns and bullets.

The provincial polices immigration management division on Monday found Lu hiding in a restaurant on Bau Bang Street, Lai Uyen Commune, Bau Bang District.

In 2010, Taipeis Nantou City court handed down a 43-month jail sentence to Chiang for illegal storing guns and bullets. Lu, however, did not serve his sentence and escaped to Viet Nam. A wanted order was issued for Chiang the same year.

The Binh Duong Police are co-ordinating with the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to process necessary procedures to hand over Chiang to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HCM City.  VNS
HA TINH  Ha Tinh Province police have arrested Tran Thi Xuan, 41, for alleged "activities to overthrow the Government".

Police yesterday announced that the woman living in Thach Kim Commune in Loc Ha District was arrested based on Article 79 of the Penal Code.

They said they would initiate a full investigation into the case.  VNS
HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang has requested the ministries of National Defence and Public Security not to let any unfortunate incidents occur during the APEC Economic Leaders Week in the central city of a Nang from November 6-11.

At a working session with officials of the two ministries and relevant offices in Ha Noi, President Quang stressed that the APEC Economic Leaders Week is the most important event of the APEC Year 2017, with the participation of heads of state and more than 10,000 delegates from 21 APEC economies as well as representatives from both domestic and foreign enterprises and press agencies.

He noted that the regional and global political-security situations have seen complicated and unpredictable developments with a series of armed, racial and religious conflicts, terrorism and territorial disputes.

Together with peaceful evolution strategies and sabotage plots by hostile forces and criminal activities, these are threats to the security of the APEC Economic Leaders Week, he said.

The State leader asked the Ministries of National Defence and Public Security, the security-health subcommittee and localities involved to review and complete their plans to safeguard the meeting and backup schemes to deal with arising problems.

It is necessary for relevant forces, agencies and localities to work closely and give specific tasks to each unit to avoid being on the defensive, he stressed.

President Quang requested concerned forces to ensure absolute security for heads of state, heads of delegations, ministers and delegates attending the event, with priority given to preventing terrorism, fires and explosions, and ensuring traffic safety, food safety and hygiene.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Bui Van Nam said since the end of 2016, the ministry has worked with other agencies in ensuring security and safety for six senior officials meetings, six ministerial meetings and hundreds of meetings held in eight provinces and cities nationwide.

Established in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US and Viet Nam.  VNS
A NANG  The central city of a Nang has proposed building a world-class paediatric hospital in Cam Le District, with an estimated price tag of US$300 million.

Ngo Thi Kim Yen, director of the citys heath department, said the city urged the ministry of health to begin construction of the high-tech paediatrics hospital to serve people in the central and Central Highlands region.

Yen said the establishment of a new paediatrics hospital would ease overcrowding at the citys Paediatrics and Obstetrics Hospital. Opened in 2012 and designed to hold 600 beds, the hospital now operates with more than 1,600.

The city plans to designate land for the development of the new hospital in the newly launched Hoa Xuan Eco-Urban Area.

According to the central paediatrics hospital, retired doctors and professors from Japan, Germany, the Czech Republic and other developed countries will be invited to work at the hospital and provide training courses for young staff.

The city and the ministry will also call for private sector investment in high-quality medical services in the region.

a Nang currently has 11 hospitals with 1,000 doctors and more than 620 consulting rooms and medical care centres. VNS
HA NOI  A series of activities aiming to raise young peoples awareness about the Viet Nams implementation of the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals will take place in Ha Noi this December.

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are a set of targets that UN member states, including Viet Nam, are attempting to reach by 2030. Together, the goals are intended to end poverty and protect the environment.

The first event is the 2017 Creative & Innovative Youth Award. This is the first time the award has been organised in Viet Nam to honour youth organisations working for community development in the 2015-17 period.

As planned, the award will be given in December 3 with financial support from Irish Aid. The first prize is worth VN17 million (US$750). The deadline for applications is October 28.

Vu Duy Kien, coordinator of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studiesthe organiser of the awardsaid on Tuesday the award was created after the centre worked with 45 youth organisations and found that the number of youngsters who knew about the 17 SDGs was less than expected.

The second event, The story of Kien Village, is a forum where 70-80 people under the age of 30 will gather to learn about the importance of youth force in the implementation of SDGs in Viet Nam. It will be held on December 1 and 2 on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

The participants will be offered chances to share their initiatives to deal with current social problems in the country. The forum was also designed for young people to build up their professional networks.

Another event, International Volunteer Day, will be organised on December 3 at Ha Nois pedestrian streets around Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) Lake by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee. The event will consist of discussions on the role of voluntary activities in achieving the SDGs in Viet Nam.

Pham Quang Huy, a first-year student of Ha Noi Culture University said he was eager to join the activities. But Huy said the organisers should do more to promote the activities via mass media so that more young people will learn about them and plan to attend.

Pham Thi Hong Net, Advocacy Officer for Oxfams Education Programme, said the organisers are considering developing an alternative phrase to describe the goals, as "Sustainable Development Goals" may sound inaccessible to vulnerable young people living in remote areas. Different terminology, she suggested, might help people in rural communities more readily see the relevance of the goals to their lives.

In May, the Government issued a National Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which demonstrates the countrys commitment to achieving the global SDGs.  VNS
HCM CITY  The Ministry of Health has instructed peoples committees in provinces and cities throughout the country to ensure that preventive methods against hand-foot-mouth disease are being carried out as the number of incidences has increased.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 730 children in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho have contracted the common viral illness, which affects mostly infants and children younger than five years old. The figure is an increase of more than 100 compared to the same period last year, according to the citys Preventive Health Centre.

The illness can sometimes occur in older children and adults, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Typical symptoms of hand-foot-mouth disease include fever, mouth sores and a skin rash.

Hand- foot-mouth disease is spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing, or contact with blister fluid or feces of an infected person.

ong Thap Province has recorded more than 4,170 children with the disease since the beginning of the year, an increase of 123 per cent against the same period last year.

Many other provinces in the Mekong Delta region have seen an increase of incidences of hand-foot-mouth disease.

Nguyen Cong Tuan of Vinh Long Provinces Department of Health told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the virus had spread among children at kindergartens.

Dr Huynh Minh Truc, head of the Can Tho Preventive Health Centre, said the peak season started from September and ended in November.

Because of the spread of the disease in kindergartens and schools, the centre has given guidance to teachers about identifying kids with the virus and isolating them in a timely fashion, Truc said.

Teachers were also told to wash toys and other teaching aids and keep the school environment clean, he added.

According to the Ministry of Healths recommendations, people should wash hands regularly, especially before cooking meals and feeding or holding babies.

They should disinfect dirty surfaces and soiled items and avoid close contact such as kissing, hugging, or sharing eating utensils or cups with infected people or those suspected of having an infection, the ministry says.

As of October, the country had more than 65,000 incidences of hand-foot-mouth disease, an increase of 10 per cent compared to the same period last year. Nearly 30,000 of the cases required hospitalisation. VNS
A NANG Decades after the end of conflict between Viet Nam and the US, teams from the two countries are still working to restore soil contaminated by toxic chemicals employed by the American military during the war.

Yesterday, the teams announced substantial progress on one such effort, the Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination at a Nang Airport Project. The project has successfully treated over 94,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil, eliminating the health risks from dioxin exposure, and is expected to be completed by early next year.

Major General and Deputy Head Commander of Air Defences, Bui Anh Chung, announced the update at a working visit with a delegation of US politicians, led by Ted Yoho, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific within the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, in a Nang yesterday.

Chung said the project, which was launched in 2012, contributes to the Viet Nam-US bilateral relationship and will result in a cleaner, safer environment for the people of a Nang.

Chung noted that almost 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam were contaminated with landmines and bombs during the American Waraffecting 61,300 sq.km, 18.22 per cent of the countrys area, all told.

He said it was estimated that Viet Nam would spend decades cleaning land from Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs) and toxic chemicals used during the war.

Chung also said that the chemically contaminated areas were not just former military airbases (a Nang, Phu Cat, Bien Hoa), but also mountainous areas like A So commune in A Luoi District in Thua Thien-Hue and Sa Thay district in the Central Highlands Kon Tum Province.

The Major General also expressed appreciation for the support and co-operation from partners including the US Agency of International Development (USAID), US Pacific Command, Viet Nam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), Golden West Humanitarian Foundation and others.

He said the airport dioxin remediation project had received fund of more than US$100 million, of which $2.6 million from Viet Nam Government.

Chung also said Viet Nam, in co-operation with the US, had repatriated 1,000 boxes containing remains of the US soldiers missing in action (MIA), of which 700 were identified with matching DNA, over the last 40 years.

He said Viet Nam, in co-operation with Laos and Cambodia, had accompanied Vietnamese witnessesveterans of the conflictto conduct 67 searches for the remains of US soldiers missing-in-action in Laos and Cambodia.

During the working visit, Chung also asked the US to continue supporting Viet Nam with non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) in cleaning dioxin contaminated areas in the former airbases of Bien Hoa in ong Nai Province and Phu Cat in Binh inh Province. The assistance has also been used to clear UXO contaminated areas and support the victims of landmines and bombs.

In August, representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, Air Defence-Air Force Command and the US Agency of International Development (USAID) formally signed an agreement to return over 12.7ha of dioxin remediated land at the a Nang International Airport to the control of the Ministry of Transport, after the projects teams had been working on the land for years

The project, which completed its first phase in May, has handed over a 5.97ha area for the development of runways and parking lots at the airport in preparation for the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit in a Nang on November 5-11.

As planned, the project will return more than 16ha in the first quarter next year for the airport expansion project.

a Nangs former US air base is considered a dioxin hot spot. Other dioxin-polluted spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of ong Nai and Phu Cat Airport in Binh inh Province. VNS
CAN THO  The Investigation Agency in southern Can Tho City said it had decided to investigate six people who are directors, accountants and heads of local enterprises for allegedly involvement in illegal trading of value-added tax (VAT) invoices.

They are identified as Luong Ngoc Huyen and Nguyen The Hung, chief accountants of Can Tho Housing Development Joint Stock Companys Sand Exploitation Establishment; Le Chi Cong, head of Sand Exploitation Establishments Construction Team No 1; inh Hong Chau, accountant of the Construction and Tourism Joint Stock Companys western branch; Vo ang Tuyet Suong, director of two one member limited companies of Van Thanh Phat Trading and Service and Minh Phat Construction and Trading Service; and Tran Cong Thanh, director of HDV Joint Stock Company.

All of them are banned from leaving their residential areas, e-newspaper Vietnamplus reported.

Last month, the police discovered Huyen, who was delivering 20 VAT invoices to Hung at a coffee shop in Ninh Kieu District, with total sales of over VN769 million (over US$34,100).

The police also seized 111 VAT invoices of the four companies, worth VN5.3 billion ($235,500), upon searching Huyens house.

She admitted she bought these invoices from Suong, the director of two limited companies.

After searching Hungs workplace, the police seized 117 VAT bills, with sales of VN2.1 billion ($93,300) from five businesses.

At the police station, Suong confessed she had set up two companies without any business activities to mainly purchase and sell VAT invoice. Suong also claimed to have sold 589 invoices, worth VN25.7 billion ($1.1 million), to 51 enterprises.

The police are investigating the cases further.  VNS
HA NOI  The Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) will continue to co-operate with the Vietnamese Government at a higher level to further effectively implement Japanese ODA-funded projects in the future.

This was stated by JICA chief representative Fujita Yasuo yesterday at a press conference held to review the implementation of ODA projects in the first half of the fiscal year -- from April to September 2017.

During the six months, several ODA projects were effectively carried out, contributing to the countrys sustainable development, he said.

According to the chief representative, the ODA projects focused on three main fields -- growth promotion and competitiveness enhancement, preparedness for vulnerable issues, and administrative improvement.

In the first half of the fiscal year, the total pledged ODA capital was JPY61.8 billion (US$548 million), of which JPY51.2 billion (US$ 454 million) was disbursed.

So far, several projects have been completed and put into operation, such as Bac-Nam (North-South) Express, Lach Huyen International Port in Hai Phong City, Thac Mo Hydro-power plant in southern Binh Phuoc Province and POLYVAC vaccine production.

Although positive results had been achieved by executing the ODA projects, slow progress in capital disbursement was a main obstacle that needed to be removed, Fujita Yasuo said.

Besides this, slow progress of project approval by concerned Vietnamese offfices and slow pace of ground clearance seriously affected project implemementation.

Fujita Yasuo said the obstacles would impact Viet Nams sustainable economic development and keep foreign investors away.

To accelerate Japanese ODA projects, JICA asked the Vietnamese Government to review and simplify procedures to disburse capital soon.

In the future, JICA would focus on projects that used capital from private businesses, he said.  VNS
WASHINGTON  Canada, the United States and Mexico on Tuesday pushed into 2018 the current talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying significant disagreements remained among the three sides.

At a press conference in Washington, representatives of the three governments exchanged mutual accusations of intransigence -- leaving the success of the talks, and the future of the 23-year-old trade pact, in doubt.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to scrap the landmark regional trade pact, describing it as a "disaster" that resulted in the export of US jobs.

After four rounds of talks squeezed into a two month period, negotiators will now allow a month-long cooling-off period before returning to the bargaining table in Mexico on November 17.

But the apparent deadlock in the talks underscored how a keystone of regional trade -- US trade with Mexico has tripled since 1993 to US$1.2 trillion -- was now in jeopardy.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland accused the US on Tuesday of "a winner-take-all" mindset that sought to undermine the agreement and she took aim at US proposals on rules of origin for duty-free trade in autos and for rules on access to markets for government procurement contracts.

"Weve also seen a series of unconventional proposals in critical areas of the negotiations that make our work much more challenging," Freeland told a joint press conference in Washington.

Likewise, Mexican Finance Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal suggested Mexico had stretched as far as it could in making concessions.

"We must all understand that we have limits," he said. "We must ensure that the decisions that we make today do not come back to haunt us tomorrow."

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer accused Mexico and Canada of being unwilling to relinquish unfair advantages that he said broadened the $500 billion US global trade deficit.

"Frankly, I am surprised and disappointed by the resistance to change from our negotiating partners," Lighthizer said.

"As difficult has this been, we have seen no indication that our partners are willing to make any changes that will result in a rebalancing and a reduction in these huge trade deficits."

"Countries are reluctant to give up unfair advantage," said Lighthizer.

"But the president has been clear that if we are going to have an agreement going forward it must be fair to American businesses and workers that employ our people at home."

Headed for a breakdown?

The US currently has a trade deficit with Mexico of greater than $60 billion but according to Freeland, the Canadian foreign minister, the US currently enjoys a small surplus with Canada of about $8 billion out of more than $630 billion in annual trade.

Yet at a separate news conference on Tuesday, she said the US had proposed limiting its NAFTA partners access to US government procurement contracts.

"The US has put forward a proposal that according to our calculations would give Canada and Mexico less access to the US government procurement market than Bahrain currently enjoys," she said.

Begun at the behest of the Trump administration, the new negotiations have set nerves on edge among market participants, with several US proposals likely to face stiff opposition from US industry and lawmakers.

US industry has reacted harshly to the trade talks. The US Chamber of Commerce has said the US bargaining position encourages other countries to strike trade bargains that bypass the US and threatens to reduce US access to export crucial markets.

Scott Miller, a trade expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a member of an advisory committee for the State Department, said the talks appeared headed for collapse because certain US proposals were non-starters for US industry and for lawmakers.

These included requiring US-made content in autos and auto parts that cross the Mexican and Canadian borders duty-free as well as weakening or undoing dispute settlement provisions.

"Either trading partners reject them and the talks break down, or Congress rejects them and NAFTA 2.0 doesnt happen," Miller said.

"This is an opportunity, if the Congress will only take it, to involve themselves in whats going and put these negotiations on a path that isnt headed for a breakdown."  AFP
BANGKOK  Asian energy ministers from 36 exporting and consuming countries will meet in Bangkok in early November for discussions ranging from fossil fuel, gas and disruptive technology.

This round of the biennial forum is billed as one of the industrys most important as potential energy market transition possibilities will underpin future energy security implications  a top economic agenda for most nations.

The 36 Asian ministers will be joined by 20 heads of energy-related international organisations. The Thai Energy Ministry plays host to the forum under the theme Global Energy Markets in Transition: From Vision to Action. The United Arab Emirates is the Bangkok forums co-host.

The event will take place during November 1-3 at the Shangri-la Hotel, Bangkok.

Thai Energy Minister Gen Anantaporn Kanjanarat said the meeting underpins the development of the increasingly complex and dynamic relationships between energy producers and consumers in Asia and beyond.

The ministers will divulge on visions and implications of energy markets, natural gas, renewable energy transition with advanced technology options  all of which will shape the future worlds energy markets.

This gathering will update on the energy outlook in Asia especially oil market and its impact, touching on global issues and challenges influencing the oil markets in Asia. The Thai Energy Ministry cited the example of an extensive agglomeration and closer co-operation among OPEC member countries and the recent unrest in many parts of the world that may affect the oil price.

As for gas market, especially LNG, there will be a platform for a policy dialogue between exporting economies such as Western Asian Countries and energy importing economies such as China, Japan, Korea and ASEAN member countries. Both sides want to explore for more secure, stable and sustainable future for both oil and gas market.

The forum will also look into the spread of disruptive energy technologies from fossils to cleaner and renewable energy. Highlights are the rise of solar rooftop, electric vehicle uses and energy storage system development. The critical challenge for the industry is to ensure the momentum of technological innovation and its transformation and to speed up progress.

Anantaporn said the Thai government pursues the policy to ensure predictable, long-term support in all stages of innovation to cope with future disruptive technology. Thailand is one of a few countries in Asia with explicit disruptive technology policy.

He said also Thailand is recognised as the ASEAN leader in renewables energy and energy efficiency; plus action plans under Thailands Energy 4.0 policy and Integrated Energy Blueprint.  The Nation/ANN
WAVERLY  Company officials say nearly 60 jobs will be lost in a cutback at the Nestle plant in Waverly. The company plans to phase out up to 49 full-time, hourly jobs and seven salaried positions at its Waverly plant in 2018, according to Roz OHearn, corporate and brand affairs director for Nestle USA. No layoffs will occur this year.

Nestle has recently completed a thorough evaluation of the productivity of our various manufacturing facilities across the U.S., with emphasis placed on streamlining our operations so that we can bring products to market faster and more economically, OHearn said. Therefore, we will begin to adjust employment levels at our Waverly facility to better match the needs of the business.

Employees were notified Monday, OHearn said. OHearn noted it was possible the company would consider eligibility for retirement and attrition.The staff of 254 workers in Waverly makes various products including hot cocoa mix, Nesquik, Tasters Choice and Ovaltine. In total, Nestle employs 51,000 people in the U.S. at 120 plants in 47 states. A phone call to Teamsters Local 238, the union that covers Nestle employees in Waverly, was not immediately returned Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Waterloo

Fire Alarms Oct. 12 6:34 a.m., 1650 Camelot Drive, No. 212 (Camelot Apartments), assist resident.

8:38 a.m., 875 Fisher Drive (Kwik Star), motor vehicle accident.

11:43 a.m., 1422 Commercial St., citizen complaint.

5:26 p.m., 517 Stokes Drive, unauthorized burning.

9:08 p.m., 1200 block of East Donald Street, no incident found.

9:46 p.m., 1420 Northey St., assist resident.

Fire Alarms Oct. 13

12:32 a.m., 1039 Virginia St., assist resident.

Fire Alarms Oct. 1

Ambulance runs: 26

3:29 p.m., Highway 20 and Interstate 380, automobile accident.

5:07 p.m., 1120 Magnolia Parkway, natural gas leak.

Fire Alarms Oct. 2

Ambulance runs: 22

8:49 a.m., 1402 Logan Ave., fluid spill.

10:36 a.m., 184 Sabrina Circle, assist resident.

1:07 p.m., 1718 Zamora Drive, assist resident.

1:34 p.m., 223 W. Fourth St., false alarm.

Fire Alarms Oct. 3

Ambulance runs: 18

12:45 a.m., 2222 Logan Ave., child locked in vehicle.

Fire Alarms Oct. 4

Ambulance runs: 18

10:08 a.m., 184 Sabrina Circle, assist resident.

12:23 p.m., 1400 Maxhelen Blvd., assist resident.

1:07 p.m., 500 Sycamore St., assist resident.

3:45 p.m., Dane Street and East Mullan Avenue, automobile accident.

5:04 p.m., 1400 Maxhelen Blvd., assist resident.

7:06 p.m., 611 Broadway St., vehicle fire.

Fire Alarms Oct. 5

Ambulance runs: 21

1:27 a.m., 848 Kern St., assist resident.

3:41 a.m., 905 Baltimore St., assist resident.

4:15 a.m., 430 Oliver St., assist public.

11:53 a.m., 203 Lafayette St., assist resident.

4:03 p.m., Hammond Avenue and Shaulis Road, automobile accident.

4:20 p.m., 4107 Hammond Ave., fluid spill.

7:50 p.m., Dave Street and Mullan Avenue, automobile accident.

Fire Alarms Oct. 6

Ambulance runs: 25

9:19 a.m., 600 Park Lane, false alarm.

9:39 a.m., 303 Adams St., assist resident.

2:28 p.m., Kimball and Ridgeway avenues, automobile accident.

4:21 p.m., 515 Lime St., false alarm.

5:08 p.m., 1137 South St., building fire, cause under investigation.

5:42 p.m., East Sixth and Franklin streets, automobile accident.

7:39 p.m., 1331 Flammang Drive, lightning strike.

9:10 p.m., 1481 Newell St., smoke alarm.

10:50 p.m., 706 Home Park Blvd., smoke removal.

Police Log Penny Jo Hilton, 52, of 816 Fowler St., was arrested Oct. 10 at home and charged with domestic assault.

Christian Cody Wilson, 26, of 3031 E. Shaulis Road, was arrested Oct. 10 at 3421 West Ninth St. and charged with serious domestic assault. He was later charged Oct. 12 with child endangerment causing injury. He allegedly smacked a 4-year-old child and, while in an argument with his live-in girlfriend about it, kicked her in the face. He also stabbed himself in the leg on accident, according to police.

Jared Daniel Scott, 22, of 2924 Dell Drive, was arrested Oct. 9 at his home for domestic assault with strangulation and carrying weapons. He allegedly assaulted Desiree Peache, 22, and officers found a stun gun when they arrested him.

Stanley Albert Thoms, 69, of 1111 Sycamore St., was arrested Oct. 9 at 416 Dunham Place for first-offense operating while intoxicated following an accident with a utility pole.

Jennifer Ann Glidewell, 30, of 1308 Leavitt St., was arrested Oct. 8 at 1826 Forest Ave. for aggravated domestic assault. She allegedly assaulted Corry Monroe.

Ernesto Medoza-Aguilar, 41, of Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 8 in the 500 block of Montero Drive for second-offense operating while intoxicated, forgery and providing false identification information following a crash.

Noah Joseph Powers, 18, of 704 Knoll Ave., was arrested Oct. 4 for first-offense operating while intoxicated in connection with a March 2 traffic stop.

John Benedict Ketchens Jr., 64, of 910 Mulberry St., was arrested Oct. 2 at 1410 W. Ridgeway Ave. for third-offense operating while intoxicated and driving while revoked following a traffic stop.

Marvin Devonitate Exson, 28, of 709 W. Third St., was arrested Oct. 1 in the 100 block of Wellington Street for second-degree burglary. He allegedly crawled through a window at 121 Wellington while a resident was home.

Devon Lee Martin, 20, of 3516 Carlton Drive, Cedar Falls, was arrested Oct. 1 in the 200 block of Western Avenue for simple domestic assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief. He allegedly assaulted Breann OConnell on Sept. 24 and broke her phone.

Raul Ocampo-Landa, 23, of Iowa City, was arrested Oct. 1 in the 300 block of West Fifth Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Shane Robert Seda, 44, of 1210 W. Parker St., was arrested Oct. 1 at his home for serious domestic assault. He allegedly assaulted Christine King, 37.

Dazarris Shemeek, 25, of 116 Lindale Ave., was arrested Oct. 1 on Idaho Street for serious domestic assault and violation of a no-contact order. He allegedly assaulted Laquanisha Stovall on Sept. 17.

Brandon Lee Fleming, 22, of 233 East End, Evansdale, was arrested Sept. 30 on Sergeant Road for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Marquise Jimmy Johnson, 30, of 533 Dawson St., was arrested Sept. 30 at 3605 Canterbury Court for domestic assault with strangulation. He allegedly assaulted Jalissa Simmons.

Catherine Faye Lee, 61, of 5503 Rochelle Drive, was arrested Sept. 30 on Hess Road for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

John Wesley Sailor Jr., 34, of 500 Sycamore St., was arrested Sept. 29 at 703 Milwaukee Ave. for domestic assault. He allegedly assaulted Toni Ketton, 27.

Anthony John Marson, 26, of 416 15th Ave., Gilbertville, was arrested Sept. 28 at 1501 E. San Marnan Drive for third-degree theft. He allegedly took items from Target.

Burglaries: Aiyana Little reported a damaged entry-door frame during an attempted burglary to her home at 1425 Shamrock Drive, #8, between Oct. 11 and 12. Tywoana Mitchell-Franklin reported the theft of four TVs and watches from her home at 431 E. Argyle St. on Sept. 22. Lavon Mitchell reported the theft of video game items during a burglary to his home at 827 W. Third St. on Oct. 4. Gregory Smith reported the theft of a water heater and a furnace from a rental property at 2858 E. Fourth St. on Oct. 3.

Theft: Chasity King reported the theft of a cell phone from Crossroads Center on Oct. 12. Jeff Ferrie reported the theft of a security camera from Menards, 1051 E. San Marnan Dr., between Oct. 7 and Oct. 12. Copper piping was reported stolen from a construction site at 3800 Greyhound Park Driveon Sept. 22.

Norman Eugene Jones, 42, of 202 Ash St., was arrested Oct. 6 on Conger Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated and possession of crack cocaine. Police found a pipe with crack residue following a traffic stop.

Kent E. Billings, 58, of 314 Jefferson St., was arrested Oct. 4 on West Eighth Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Tony Bernard Davis Trimble, 22, and Denzel Demarco Deshawn Wilson, 18, both of Cedar Rapids, were arrested Oct. 3 at 2936 University Ave. for third-degree fraud. They allegedly attempted to pass a fraudulent check for $951 at Great Western Bank.

Rodnisha Marie Frost, 29, of 1944 Franklin St., was arrested Oct. 2 on North Barclay Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated and three counts of child endangerment following a traffic stop where three children, ages 6, 7 and 8, were passengers.

Cedar Falls

Police Log

Ryan Irvin Shaffer, 34, of 1322 Inglewood Ave., Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 8 at 205 E. 18th Street for third-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Samonti Cacedric Tooson, 19, of 638 Cottage St., Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 6 at the police station for simple domestic assault. He allegedly assaulted Michaela Bush.

Kristopher Michael Kaufman, 26, of 1321 Iowa St., was arrested Oct. 6 for domestic assault with strangulation. He allegedly assaulted Phillip Kaufman.

Nicole Jolayna Nielsen, 31, of 717 Lilac Lane, was arrested Sept. 26 on Seventh Street for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Clayton Lee Guzzle, 34, of Cedar Falls, was arrested Sept. 27 for aggravated domestic assault, fifth-degree criminal mischief and two counts of child endangerment.

Black Hawk County

Sheriffs Log

Ditanial Dujuan Barnes, 33, of Portage, Ind., was arrested Oct. 12 at the jail on warrants for third-offense domestic abuse assault, failure to appear and violation of parole.

Renae Ann DeLong, 52, of Circle Drive, Dunkerton, was arrested Oct. 11 at the jail for second-offense operating while intoxicated.

Sarah Kay Nelson, 32, of 22 W. Eagle Road, was arrested Oct. 8 at her home for simple domestic assault. She allegedly assaulted Jason Good.

Kevin Dyree Seuffernlein, 22, of Evansdale, was arrested Oct. 7 on Hess Road for first-offense operating while intoxicated following a traffic stop.

Salvador Aguilar Garcia, 33, of 1107 Cedar St., Cedar Falls, was arrested Oct. 7 on Highway 20 for first-offense operating while intoxicated.

Rebecca Shree Todd, 34, of Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 4 at the jail for third-degree theft. She allegedly took $57 worth of vodka from Hy-Vee on Ansborough Avenue on Sept. 29.

Johnny Shantarivunta Patterson, 27, of 627 Beech St., Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 3 for third-degree sexual abuse. He allegedly forced a female to have sex June 5, 2016.

Camille Michelle Pries, 19, of 535 Edison St., Waterloo, was arrested Oct. 3 for simple assault. She allegedly assaulted Angela Williams on Sept. 27.

Andrea Maria Meza, 24, of Independence, was arrested Oct. 2 for third-degree theft. She and others allegedly took $752 worth of items from Walmart on Sept. 20.
Annual craft sale

set at Covenant

WATERLOO  Covenant Medical Centers employees activities committee will be host the annual fall craft sale from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in Classrooms 1 and 2.

Items include table runners, handmade greeting cards, quilted and crocheted items, wreaths, pottery, hooded bath towels, personalized cups, signs and tiles, barbecue sauce, wooden items, hair ribbons, baked goods, jewelry, decorative jars, quilling, soaps and lotions, clothes, purses, towels and potholders and more.

The public is encouraged to attend. No credit or debit cards can be accepted.

Church hosts

harvest meal

RAYMOND  The St. Joseph Catholic Parish will host its harvest breakfast, silent auction and bake sale from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sunday at Reuter Hall, 313 E. Central.

The menu includes scrambled eggs, sausage patties, homemade cinnamon rolls, hash browns, juice, coffee and milk.

Cost is $7 for adults, $5 for youths ages 4 to 12 and free for children ages 3 and younger. Everyone is welcome to attend.

UNI museum

hosts lectures

CEDAR FALLS  The Friends of the University of Northern Iowa Museum will present the fourth presentation of a new lecture series, the Rural Schoolhouse Speakers.

The lecture will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Marshall Center School at 2301 Indiana St. on the UNI campus.

The Rural Schoolhouse Speaker Series explores the era of the one-room schoolhouse in Iowa, including the history of rural schools, the teaching and learning experiences, and how the school building was once the heart and center of the community.

The series is free and open to the public. Free parking and handicapped accessibility is available.
INDEPENDENCE  An Independence resident has been sentenced to prison for allegedly returning to the United States after being deported.

Judge Leonard Strand sentenced 39-year-old Ranulfo Antonio Juarez-Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico, to 11 months in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded one count of illegal re-entry following a felony conviction.

Authorities said that before Juarez was departed in May 2014, he was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in both Washington County and domestic assault in Linn County in 2013. He allegedly returned to the county, was convicted of illegal reentry in September 2015.

Juarez was then arrested for operating while intoxicated in July 2016 in Grundy County and in May 2017 in Buchanan County. He was indicted on his current reentry charge following the Buchanan County arrest.
CHARLES CITY  A Floyd County jury found Antoine Williams guilty Wednesday of second-degree murder.

Williams, 36, of Charles City, had been accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Nathaniel Fleming just before 10 p.m. on June 30 outside the Clarkview Apartments  now known as the Casa Apartments.

Williams nodded silently as the verdict was read Wednesday and a roll call of each jurors decision was taken.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister said after the verdict the justice system did its work. Williams could face up to 50 years in prison. Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey told reporters Williams himself and many witnesses probably led to the jurys decision.

I believe the defendants confession he had given to the agent (Jon Turbett) as well as eyewitness testimony by many of the witnesses is what the jury would have put the emphasis on, she said.

Nellie OMara and Steve Kloberdanz, who represented Williams, declined comment.

McAllister and Ginbey argued Williams planned to shoot Fleming, and that he should pay for committing such a crime.

Were all responsible for our actions, McAllister told the jury during closing arguments Tuesday. Sometimes the truth is hard. Sometimes the truth hurts.

The defense countered by arguing Williams was acting in self-defense when Fleming appeared to reach for a gun in the center console of the car he was driving that night.

The jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching its verdict Wednesday. The trial started Oct. 10.

He will be sentenced at a later date.
WATERLOO  Police have arrested a Waterloo woman for allegedly taking thousands of dollars from her mother.

According to court records, 45-year-old Jennifer Lynn Glaspie had power of attorney for her mother in May and June 2017, during which time she obtained a $8,100 cashiers check from her mothers account and deposited it in her own account at a different bank.

On the same day, she allegedly withdrew another $3,000 from the mothers account through a different branch, court records state.

Glaspie told police her mother had told her to take the money from her account, but other witnesses disputed that account, records state.

Another time, she allegedly withdrew $1,200 from her mothers account and claimed it was going to another relative.

Glaspie, of 533 Riehl St., was arrested for first-degree theft and dependent adult exploitation. She was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail.

The mother died in July, and court records show Glaspie asked the court to intervene and remove another family member who was appointed as the estates administrator. She claimed financial records were taken from her mothers home.
WATERLOO  Officials say a threat made by a West High School student Tuesday night over social media was not credible.

Principal Andy Miehe notified parents by phone and email Wednesday morning of the situation, which involved the social media app Snap Chat.

Late last night, a student put a threat on their Snap Story that they thought would get them some attention, Miehen said in the message.

Waterloo Community Schools spokeswoman Tara Thomas said the district worked with Waterloo Police to ensure the threat was not credible and West could provide a safe environment.

Had we learned otherwise from police, we would have taken appropriate action to ensure staff and students were not put in harms way, she said. We take every communication seriously and immediately involved the police, who are now addressing the situation.

In reference to disciplinary action, Thomas said the police will determine with the school how this plays out. She added, When it rises to this level of threat, students need to understand the police will be involved and the threat will be taken seriously.
CEDAR FALLS  Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbells list of supporters is growing in the Cedar Valley.

Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, announced Wednesday the endorsement of Iowa Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, and former Waterloo Mayor Buck Clark.

Kressig said in a statement that Hubbell got his support because he would put education first.

Fred has centered his campaign on first and foremost investing in education, and as governor, he will fight so Iowas public education system will once again lead the nation, Kressig said.

Clark, meanwhile, focused on Hubbells business experience.

Freds decades of experience leading large businesses, along with his years in state government helping eliminate budget waste have uniquely prepared him to be a governor for all Iowans  both urban and rural, Clark said in a statement.

Aside from his business experience, Hubbell also served on the Iowa Power Fund, which helps Iowa invest in renewable energy, and in the Iowa Department of Economic Development overseeing efforts to respond to the film tax scandal in 2009.

Im proud to welcome Rep. Kressig and Mayor Clark to my campaign for governor, Hubbell said in a statement. Their work in Black Hawk County exemplifies the type of leadership Iowa needs to get our economy growing, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with them in the coming months and beyond.

Hubbells most recent endorsements grow on past support from Cedar Valley politicos.

Hubbell got the endorsement of Iowa Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, just last week, and Hubbell had previously announced the endorsements of former Cedar Valley representatives, Deborah Berry, Doris Kelley and Jane Teaford.

Hubbell is one of seven Democrats seeking their partys nomination for governor. The primary election will be held in June.
DES MOINES  Pending federal action will have significant impacts on health care and the renewable fuels industry in Iowa.

Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in the nations capital next week, where she will have an audience with Vice President Mike Pence to discuss those issues, the governor said Tuesday.

Were working on both fronts, Reynold said Tuesday at her weekly news conference at the Iowa Capitol. I can do both issues at one time and I have to do both issues because its really important for the state of Iowa and for Iowans.

Iowa is awaiting word whether the federal government will approve its waiver request to tweak its use of federal health care dollars to help make insurance options more affordable for some low-income Iowans in 2018. The state submitted what officials call the stopgap proposal in June.

President Donald Trump in August told a top federal health care official to reject the proposal after reading about it in a newspaper article, the Washington Post recently reported.

State officials say they have remained in constant contact with the federal administration, working to get approval.

Were in touch with the White House almost every single day regarding the stopgap proposal, Reynolds said.

The ruling will impact health insurance options in 2018 for roughly 72,000 Iowans. If the stopgap proposal is not approved, costs could spike enough to make insurance too expensive for more than 20,000 Iowans, the state has estimated. If the proposal is approved, it could face legal challenges because it strays from how the federal Affordable Care Act was written.

Reynolds said she plans to discuss the stopgap plan with federal officials, including the vice president, while in Washington, D.C. She does not have a meeting planned with Trump.

Reynolds said she also will discuss the federal Renewable Fuels Standard with Pence and Scott Pruitt, director of the Environmental Protection Agency, during her trip.

The EPA is considering lowering the amount of biofuels that are required for production, which state renewable fuels officials say would hurt the industry and tangentially the states agricultural economy.

The RFS has an impact on Iowans as well, on our economy, Reynolds said. Especially as weve seen the volatility in commodity prices. Its really, really important now that we dont do one more thing to really impact commodity prices (which will impact) farmers and families across the state of Iowa and the Midwest.

In the case of the renewable fuels, Reynolds is striving to preserve a program Trump pledged to support during his 2016 campaign.

They need to follow through with what they told us when they were campaigning and what they promised that they would do to support the Renewable Fuel Standard, Reynolds said. And were not going to let up.

Job training top priority

A state program designed to ensure 70 percent of Iowas eligible workforce has post-high school education or training by 2025 is the administrations top priority, Reynolds said.

She said her budget proposal will include funding for scholarship and grant programs for the program called Future Ready Iowa.

This is the No. 1 priority of our administration, Reynolds said. Its necessary. Its critical.

Reynolds said how much state funding she will propose will depend upon revenue estimates that will be published in the coming months. When a reporter asked whether her proposal will be closer to $5 million or $30 million for the scholarships and grants, Reynolds said, Somewhere in between.

The scholarship and grant programs were among recommendations made Tuesday by Future Ready Iowa officials.

The other recommendations are to improve and expand support for Iowans who are completing college or career training; expand internships and apprenticeships in high-demand careers; identify early education tools that prepare students for a changing economy; and create collaborations between businesses and regional workforce and education groups.
DES MOINES  Pending federal action will have significant impacts on health care and the renewable fuels industry in Iowa.

Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in the nations capital next week, where she will have an audience with Vice President Mike Pence to discuss those issues, the governor said Tuesday.

Were working on both fronts, Reynold said Tuesday at her weekly news conference at the Iowa Capitol. I can do both issues at one time, and I have to do both issues because its really important for the state of Iowa and for Iowans.

Iowa is awaiting word whether the federal government will approve its waiver request to tweak its use of federal health care dollars to help make insurance options more affordable for some low-income Iowans in 2018. The state submitted what officials call the stopgap proposal in June.

President Donald Trump in August told a top federal health care official to reject the proposal after reading about it in a newspaper article, the Washington Post recently reported.

State officials say they have remained in constant contact with the federal administration, working to get approval.

The ruling will impact health insurance options in 2018 for roughly 72,000 Iowans.

Reynolds said she also will discuss the federal Renewable Fuels Standard with Pence and Scott Pruitt, director of the Environmental Protection Agency, during her trip.

The EPA is considering lowering the amount of biofuels required for production, which renewable fuels officials say would hurt the industry and tangentially the states agricultural economy.

In the case of the renewable fuels, Reynolds is striving to preserve a program Trump pledged to support during his 2016 campaign.

They need to follow through with what they told us when they were campaigning and what they promised that they would do to support the Renewable Fuel Standard, Reynolds said. And were not going to let up.
PELLA  Amid rising pressure from Midwest politicians, President Donald Trump has told the Environmental Protection Agency to back off potential cuts in renewable fuel volumes, according to national reports.

Bloomberg, citing sources it didnt identify, and several agricultural publications said EPA was told to abandon the possibility of lowering biodiesel requirements and counting ethanol exports toward the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Renewable fuels leaders said those proposed changes to the RFS would have a devastating impact on the industry and, by extension, Iowas agricultural economy.

Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds spoke by phone with Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Reynolds said she was given no promises, but nonetheless was encouraged by the discussions.

I had a very productive call with President Trump. Both of them (Trump and Pruitt) affirmed to me their continued commitment to the Renewable Fuel Standard, Reynolds said.

Midwest politicians, led by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have been ratcheting up the pressure on the administration over the issue, frequently reminding the White House that Trump had pledged support for the RFS during the 2016 campaign. Grassley, one of the most senior lawmakers in the Senate, is a longtime promoter of renewable fuels.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who holds a key position on a Senate committee overseeing nominees to the EPA, said Wednesday she wanted assurances the spirit and letter of the RFS would be followed.

We just need very clear answers on where they are with the RFS, and if we dont receive those assurances, then Im not likely to move anybody ahead that could undo the RFS, Ernst said Wednesday.

Ernst is a member of the Senates Environment and Public Works Committee, where Republicans hold an 11-10 edge.

On Wednesday, the committee postponed consideration of Trump appointee William Wehrum to head the EPAs office of air and radiation, which oversees the RFS. The postponement came after Ernst had expressed reservations about Wehrum.

Midwest lawmakers met Tuesday with Pruitt to push for the RFS, and before that session Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said administration nominees to the EPA could be at stake.

The EPA did not respond directly to a request for comment about the Bloomberg report, but a spokesperson said in an email Pruitt doesnt want to take any steps to undermine the objectives in the statute of the RFS. We continue to work with RFS stakeholders to ensure EPA is applying the statute in a meaningful way, as Congress intended.

Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said after Wednesdays press conference if the Bloomberg report is accurate, its good news for the renewable fuels industry and Iowa.

He added, however, advocates will continue to press the issue until the administration publishes official rules.

If its true, thats great, Shaw said. If these reports are accurate, then were kind of at Step 2, which is (Trump) not just having it on his radar but making the decision to tell the EPA to get back on track. But we are not going to take anything for granted. Were not going to let up our pressure until we see final rules and official documents.
CEDAR FALLS  Cedar Falls native Robbin Hahn could sight-read any piece of music. The pianist loved passing on her love of music. And when she was diagnosed in 2011 with pancreatic cancer, Hahn, of Minneapolis, wouldnt tolerate negativity or sadness. Instead, she wanted that energy channeled into something good.

She passed away in March 2012, but her spirit is very much alive in her niece Olivia Diercks, nee Hahn.

Diercks, of the band The OK Factor, wanted to help raise awareness of the particularly aggressive cancer to honor her aunts memory. So, she and bandmate Karla Colahan decided to participate in this years Purple Light vigil in Cedar Falls.

I dont think anyone in my family was really familiar with how aggressive that type of cancer is, and then also just how horrible the rate is for survival, said Diercks, originally from Cedar Falls. Once that affected our family so deeply, I was just interested in how I could get involved.

This years vigil will be at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Center for Energy & Environmental Education on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged at purplelight.org but also will be accepted at the door.

Diercks band will perform ahead of the event as well as during the program.

The program will feature short remarks from survivors of the disease; UNI chemistry professor Nalin Goonesekere will discuss recent pancreatic cancer research he and his team have conducted; remarks honoring the survivors in attendance; and a reading of names of those who have lost their lives to the disease.

Cancer conversation continues with environmental edition WATERLOO  Organizers of this years Ignite the Cancer Conversation know the excuses people 

Diercks said the Purple Light vigils each fall are important for raising awareness.

I think its a really important event that people in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls community need to know about and should be part of, just to learn more about this specific type of cancer, Diercks said. Cancer in general affects everybody, and its rampant, and so I think even just learning about this specific kind can be educational and it can all just help people understand how pancreatic cancer, specifically, is just (so deadly); weve got to find a cure for it.

Pancreatic cancer has a 9 percent survival rate and is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, according to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The disease often has vague symptoms that make it hard to diagnose.

Diercks, a cellist, said community engagement is an important part of The OK Factors work. She hopes someday to host a music festival in the Cedar Valley to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer and raise funds for researching the disease.
Iran Criticizes UN for Silence Over ISIS Crimes Against Assyrians

A lawmaker representing Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in the Iranian Parliament has accused the UN of closing its eyes on the crimes committed by ISIS against Assyrians in the Middle East. In an address to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Russia's Saint Petersburg, Yonathan Betkolia slammed the human rights groups as well as the UN for their silence over ISIS crimes against the Assyrians and said these entities have closed their eyes to the these crimes. According to a Farsi report by ICANA, he also referred to the developments in Iraq and Syria which are historical homes to Assyrians and said since the emergence of ISIS in these two countries, the Assyrians have been oppressed. "These people have seen the most deadly strikes on their thousands-year-old identity and history and were forced to leave their homes." According to Betkolia this comes as the so-called democratic and rights groups as well as the United Nations remained silent towards the humanitarian tragedy committed by ISIS.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 17, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 17, 2017 | 01:04 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The Paducah Board of Commissioners and McCracken County Fiscal Court met at City Hall Monday night to hear a presentation from Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center Executive Director Dale Edmondson about his county's 911 center.



Edmonson said Campbell Countys governing structure began in 2001 with the approval of an inter-local agreement among the Campbell County Fiscal Court, the City of Newport, and the City of Fort Thomas. This agreement created the Campbell County Dispatching Board, and consolidated three 911 entities. A consolidated 911 center was constructed in the Newport City Building with services beginning in July 2002. The Dispatching Board is a board of seven public safety members with no elected officials on the board.



The Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center is funded with a service fee on the property tax bill for homes and businesses. The $75 flat fee replaces the monthly land line fee. The Dispatch Center also receives revenue through the State Commercial Mobile Radio Service Board through a surcharge fee that the State places on wireless phones.



The Paducah 911 Center is operated by the city, and has service agreements with McCracken County and volunteer fire departments. The Paducah 911 Center serves about 65,000 residents, and averages more than 164,000 calls per year. It has 22 full-time employees.
WASHINGTON DC  The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought forth by two Pagans concerning the Ten Commandments monument previously erected in front of Bloomfield City Hall. Because SCOTUS declined to hear the case, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, stating that the monument should be removed, will stand.

Wiccan Priestess Janie Felix and Pagan Buford Coone, with the full support of the ACLU, challenged their home city of Bloomfields installation of a Ten Commandants monument on public property in 2014.

The ACLU argued that city officials accorded preferential treatment to the monuments sponsors, disregarding many city ordinances and policy requirements that would regulate the monuments installation.

Ms. Felix said she is happy the justice system worked in this case and hopes it sets a solid legal precedent for future cases. She says that she is also thankful to the ACLU for their assistance.

I am grateful for the help and driving force of the ACLU in supporting this important legal fight. I find it sad the the City of Bloomfield was so misguided in this case, money was squandered by the city to pursue the appeals, money that is owed the ACLU for court fees, which they will be hard pressed to pay. It has been hinted that I am to blame!

History of the Monument

On April 3, 2007, Bloomfields Councilor Kevin Mauzy made a presentation of a monument to display the Ten Commandments in front of Bloomfield City Hall serving as a historical and art display for the city.

As noted in the official meeting minutes, the proposal was approved and the funds were to come from private donations from the community.

In 2014 testimony as reported by The Albuquerque Journal, Mauzy said, [The monument] was not for religious purposes. It was for historical purposes and to beautify the city.

After the approval, the Council adopted a resolution permitting private citizens, groups and organizations to sponsor displays on City Halls lawn. The official resolution outlined the scope and approval process for such an installation. For example one requirement states that all displays must reflect the history and heritage of the Citys law and government.

There was an almost immediate outcry from people of many religious backgrounds. At the 2007 meeting, the City Manager urged the Council to delay the monuments approval until legal concerns were addressed. Opponents spoke at council meetings, sent letters-to-the-editor of local newspapers, and signed petitions. One Bloomfield citizen even launched a blog called Bloomfield NM Ten Commandments Monument.

Despite the myriad protests, the monument was erected in June 2011.

The group funding the Ten Commandments monument was the Four Corners Historical Monument Project, which was led by councilor Kevin Mauzy himself. Twenty-one days after the 2011 monument ceremony, the Council amended the 2007 resolution stressing the limits of usable lawn space.

Later that year, the group installed two other monuments, the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address, within that same space.

The Legal Case

Felix says she wanted to be part of the legal case because the principle of the suit was very important to her.

The conservative Christian agenda of our community railroaded this monument through, ignoring our petitions, our voices and barreled through as if it was their Deity given right to push their faith and to ignore all others, says Felix.

She says that she faced considerable negative responses from some in the local community for being part of the lawsuit. In addition to hostile stares when she was in local stores, Felix says there were also threatening comments in the newspaper and on call in radio programs. She says, for the most part, she was able to ignore it.

However, she notes that there was one thing she couldnt ignore.

I think the hardest thing to handle was the suggestion that only two Pagans were making everyone else bow to their needs, says Felix.

She says this wasnt at all true, The reality was that the other person and myself had nothing to lose, like our jobs with the city, so we were willing to be the face of the suit. We were the face in front of many who could not come forward.

The City Council for Bloomfield says that other groups could have funded their own monument to be placed at city hall.

However, opponents say that this isnt true. They say there isnt room for any other monuments.

The ACLU was watching the events surrounding the monument unfold since the beginning in 2007. After sending letters-of-concern and launching an investigation, the ACLU finally decided to file a lawsuit on Feb. 9, 2014. According to the filed complaint:

The City of Bloomfield accorded preferential treatment to the monuments sponsors, disregarding many city ordinances and policy requirements that would regulate the monuments installation. Public records requests also reveal that Mauzy sought and received legal advice on the monument from the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization that often advocates for the merging of government and religion.

In that complaint, Mr. Coone is recorded as saying the display shows that the City favors the Christian religion and supports Christianity over other religions [and]  violates the U.S. Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution. In the same document, Janie Felix says, [the monument] sends a message of exclusion to those who do not adhere to that particular religion.

In March 2014, the case went to trial before U.S. District Judge James A. Parker in Albuquerque. Judge Parker ruled in favor of Felix and Coone in August of that year.

The city appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, and that case was heard in Sept. 2015.

In November of 2016, the court issued its decision, affirming the lower courts ruling.

While it did note that the cluster of other [historically-based] monuments surrounding the Ten Commandments can dampen the effect of endorsement, the court said, the city would have to do more than merely add a few secular monuments in order to signal to objective observers a principal or primary message of neutrality. Thus the impermissible taint of endorsement remains, and as we have said, nothing sufficiently purposeful, public, and persuasive was done to cure it.

The city then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States, who refused to hear the case. A denial of a Petition of Certiorari doesnt mean SCOTUS agrees or disagrees with the decision or that it will impact any other similar cases, but it does make the decision from the Court of Appeals the final decision in this case.

Felix says everything she went through over the years this case took winding through the legal process was worth it. I was aware that it could take a long time to get through all the step, she says. And, yes, I would definitely do it again!
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Boza, Svetochka and I voted on when to leave for the Tiny Russian Village

It was not a fair vote to be sure! I am at a disadvantage, Boza votes the way his mommy wants and that is that!  Therefore, since Svetochka is happy to hang around Moscow and ride her bike, go shopping for stuff and play on the internet. She voted to sit here another day and leave on Thursday. Boza immediately voted the same as Svetochka 

Then weighing my odds at the situation; I voted to stay another day also

See democracy at work

I just do as I am told I am a Good Boy!

* * * * *

Therefore, I will work on the car some more, wait another day, grumble around a bit, smile when asked, Is all okay? and take a nap! Oh yes and write this post

* * * * *

Something I have talked about on this blog (WtR) is about the true corruption in America. I have spent years looking at how America has pointed tainted fingers at Russia and tried to slide her behavior off and paste it onto Russia. Russia is and has been a corrupt country, as all are, but. America is and has always been much more corrupt than I ever found Russia. As I have said, Americans hide the corruption better than Russians!

[contentcards url=http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-17/united-states-weinstein-complicity-greed-corruption-status-quo]

United States Of Weinstein? Now that is some truth. And I have always said it and been attacked for my thoughts about the US and her corruption

This article below is right on the money about America and it was during a train trip I made that the subject of ignorance of corruption by Americans was brought up

Life is interesting

WtR
On my train trip to Ukraine I had the opportunity to talk with a man who had been a Merchant Seaman for the Soviet Union. He was born near Lake Baikal in Siberia. When he reached 17 years old he relocated to St. Petersburg. Then he completed his schooling as a merchant seaman. He also got his Doctorate in Aquatics Biology. Once him and I realize that I am a Biologist in Genetics and he in Aquatics. It was just too much fun and 8 hours later it was time for him to get off the train. He lived in a Russian border town

I am telling you this about him because he is an intellect and is very worldly and well traveled. I know that many of you think that I am some idiot from America that has no sense at all. But I am an intellect and worldly and well traveled

Our conversation covered topics from Biology to Politics

To make a long, very long, story short. I will communicate about one part of our conversation that hit home with me. Lets talk about corruption

He asked me a question. It was something that has bothered him and we had turned to politics at this time in the conversation. He asked me, Why do Americans ignore their own corruption? He then went on to explain that he had friends who had moved to America and are now back in Russia. He had had talks with these friends and one thing that they saw time and time again in America was the ignorance of corruption that is everywhere and present in all aspects of American life. From given gifts to the teacher, to kickbacks in the corporate world

I absorbed that information while he continued. He then went on to say that in Ukraine and Russia and many other countries from the CIS. That we are corrupt and we know it. We do not hide the fact. We do not ignore the fact. We are very open about corruption, it is part of our life and we know it

But, and this is where I realized that he is very correct. He said that in all his travels around the world from Soviet era to modern times. He saw a Western world full of corruption and bribes were rampant. But everyone turns their heads, if at all possible. He said that his friends experienced the same situation in America and they were always baffled at the fact that people in America looked the other way when corruption happened. But if ever it was discovered then they acted like it was the worst thing that ever happened. Like it was the only time that it has happened. People (Westerns) seemed to feel that if you do not see it or notice it, then it was and is not happening. So just do not look for it (Sorta a see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil!)

He then waited for an answer from me. Now if you know me, from reading my blog then you have a very good idea about what I would say in response. I will make it short and say that East and West have very different ideas about what constitutes corruption and a perfect example is the lobbying system in the government in America. Nothing on earth is more corrupt and pathetic than that

Definition for lobbyist: someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for legislation that favors the lobbyists employer. Usually accompanied by money, power and greed

The bottom line is that the Western world is very corrupt but unlike the Eastern world that makes jokes about her corruption and discusses corruption at the dinner table as an everyday conversation. The Western world likes to facade over the issue of corruption and bribes and only deal with them when they rear their ugly heads and no longer can be ignored

I found the train ride this time to be a stimulating ride and the topics of discussion were varied. Maybe I will write another article about some of the things we talked about. Sorry, but I wont bore you with our discussion on Invertebrate Zoology 

Post by Kyle Keeton

Windows to Russia!
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Mexican architecture firm FR-EE, led by Fernando Romero, has been named as the winner of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, which aims to create one of the worlds first Hyperloop corridors, connecting Mexico City to Guadalajara in 38 minutes. A new transport system, called Mexloop, will accelerate the regions powerhouse economy and booming automobile, aeronautic, pharmaceutical, technology, and services industries, evolving its busiest supply chains and trade corridors and transforming its economy, spurring innovation and development, and creating job opportunities.

Selected from the pool of over 2,600 entrants, FR-EE's proposal will create a new "megalopolis" of 42 milliongrowing to 60 million by 2050by linking four of Central Mexicos major metropolises, including the capital and its two most populous cities, and el Bajio, its fastest growing region.

Fernando Romero's firm FR-EE will lead a team comprised of Arup, an engineering and technology company Sener, security company Thornton Tomasetti, law firm Baker McKenzie, IMEXDI, global management consultants McKinsey & Company, JLL, transport logistic company Voyage Control, Integralis Consulting Group and graphic design practice Bruce Mau Design.

Mexloop's winning corridor for the Hyperloop One Global Challenge provides an in-depth look at the potentials of developing a groundbreaking new transport system with state-of-the-art intermodal hubs and transit oriented development across central Mexico.

"Linking the countrys major population, cultural, industrial, and manufacturing centers, the proposal harnesses over 30% of its population and nearly 40% of its GDP, connecting Mexico Citythe capital and most populous citywith the El Bajio cities of Queretaro, Leon and Guadalajara into a new Megalopolis and reinforces its status as Mexicos fastest growing and one of the most dynamic regions in Latin America," said Mexloop.

"The proposal takes an approach to locating stations and leveraging development to further diversify and strengthen its array of manufacturing and technology industries, reinforce its network of top universities and R&D centers, and create radically new opportunities for people to live, work, and be anywhere, in minutes," added Mexloop.

Mexloop Hyperloop corridor will help to alleviate traffic in the worlds most congested city and the surrounding megaregion, integrating with other transport modes and reducing travel times between Mexico City and Guadalajara to 38 minutes at speeds of over 1,000 km/h / 600 mph.

The system promises to enhance Mexico's global transport and logistics performance and secure the country as a leader in autonomous mobility and other innovative transportation-related research, particularly when considered in tandem with the construction of Mexico Citys New International Airport, and the countrys nearly $600 billion in public infrastructure development.

In naming the consortium's proposal a winner, Hyperloop One lauded Mexloop for its comprehensive team structure and public-sector engagement, as well as the strategy of building on its proposal to catalyze a strategic, high-technology hub in the Bajio region, centered around next-generation transportation industries such as aerospace engineering, autonomous software, and advanced and precision manufacturing to create a new Hyperloop industry, and identifying opportunities to build and develop an Hyperloop knowledge ecosystem through university partnerships, training and certification programs, and professional development.

Combined, these would form the basis of a thriving new transport technology industry and supply chain, and a platform for Hyperloop One to test, create, manufacture, develop, and export its revolutionary new technology to the rest of the world by partnering with Mexicos industry leaders.

Hyperloop concept was first developed by Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, Tesla Motors and co-founder of PayPal. Musk first founded Hyperloop Technologies in a garage in Los Angeles' Los Feliz neighborhood in June 2014.

Hyperloop is the first new major mode of transportation in 100 years. Its designed to be safe, energy efficient, and reliable. It will take you directly to your destination at speeds of up to 700 mph, above land or underground.

FR-EE and the consortium submitted plans for route system, stations and exact locations with pod designs and logistics. The plans has attracted considerable public-sector support and received an endorsement from Camara Mexicana de la Industria de la Construccion / Mexico Construction Industry Chamber's (CMIC), including its inclusion in its Infrastructure 2030 Plan.

FR-EE is currently working on one of the world's biggest airports for Mexico City, in collaboration with by Foster+Partners. Construction work started on site this May and Fernando Romero is sharing the construction images of the mega airport on his social media. In 2016, Fernando Romero unveiled his envision on Mexico And USA border with border city over hexagonal layout, presented at the London Design Festival.

FR-EE is the winner of WA Awards in the 13th Cycle with Soumaya Museum, is one of key projects of the firm built in Mexico.

All images  FR-EE

> via FR-EE/Mexloop
BUFFALO, NY, October 18, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On November 12th, a Brazilian delegation of 15 schools, represented by 21 educators responsible for 60 thousand students visited Global Concepts Charter Schools in Lackawanna as part of their US tour of educational facilities. Global Concepts Charter was the first charter school on the tour sponsored by Humas-EAD and Liaison America. There are multiple reasons that a charter school would be of interest to the Brazilian educators. One, charter schools such as Global Concepts do more with less and are run similar to private schools. In Brazil, there is tremendous inequity when it comes to public v. private education. Director of Humus-EAD, Sonia Simoes Colombo explained, "private schools [in Brazil] are the desired choice for Brazil's families" because the college preparation is superior to what the public schools can possibly offer. Getting accepted at one of the countries' best Colleges (which are free) requires early education institutions to fiercely compete for the best students and the best practices.



Dr. Paul Kenneson from the education department at St. Bonaventure University helped arrange the tour at Global Concepts. She commented that the delegation "was amazed at the Disneyesque feeling of the K-8 building. The decorations and wall murals were stunning. The fact that the band was practicing and they stopped everything to play a spontaneous song for the delegation was pleasantly unexpected." At the high school tour, Dr. Kenneson praised the "endearing and welcoming" students and faculty saying that Global Concepts was one of the highlights of their world tour.



Global Concepts Charter C.E.O. Tracy McGee was up to the task of explaining what a charter school is to the delegation through a Portuguese interpreter. He identified the challenges that charter schools and explained to the delegation it is possible to "do more with less." The tour of Global Concept Charter School District's four buildings showed in detail how it is possible for educators to use tremendous creativity and empowerment to deliver quality education. Mr. McGee used the example of the school's curriculum. "Teachers driving the curriculum creates a better work environment and buy-in with the school's overall mission. The proof is both in the test results and from the character of graduates who have gone on the do great things in the community. The result of the Brazilian delegation tour will result in an exchange program with the working title "Global Connects." Students from Global Concepts and students from the Brazilian schools will be holding classroom teleconferencing in an effort to prepare students today to be leaders of tomorrow.



Global Concepts Charter School in Lackawanna NY has entered their third charter renewal and was recently recognized by U.S. News as one of the best High Schools in the United States. Global Concepts Charter school began as a K-5 elementary school in 2001, then added the Middle School, the High School, and the Ruben Santiago-Hudson Performing Arts Center.



# # #
Bay Areans are in a constant state of dress-upBay to Breakers, Burning Man, Pride, the Edwardian Ball, a random Tuesday and, of course, Halloween.



Pragmatically, that translates to an uninterrupted demand for curly red wigs and iridescent leggings with cats on them. Luckily, we are well stocked with dippy stores that look like a maniac collector of all things kooky and spooky opened a museum. Feather boas, masks, makeup, glitter, accessories. You name it, and these stores have ityear-round.

Handmade masks by Annie Hallat of Masque Arrayed (Courtesy of Annie Halt)

Costumes on Haight

Costumes on Haight has been around for 23 years. Offering everything from tutus to masks, makeup to wigs, and even rentals, you'll find everything you need here for that the ultimate dress-up party. // 735 Haight St. (Lower Haight), costumesonhaight.com .





Fantasy Clothing Co

It's a sweet, sweet fantasy stepping into Fantasy Clothing Co (you get the reference right?). The store was a San Rafael mainstay for 28 years before making the jaunt over to SF. Shop new and used costumes, for rent or purchase; a selection of vintage; and an array of accessories to complete your look. // 1275 Folsom St. #100 (SoMa), fantasyclothingco.com





Piedmont Boutique

Piedmont Boutique is an integral part of what makes the Haight so offbeat and unique. Originally opened in the Castro in 1972, the shop is an SF staple where all of your costume dreams are ready to be assembled. Delve into an insane selection of jewelry, gloves, tutus, feather boas, wigs, fur everything, and more. Piedmont also creates their own exclusive clothing, which means if you don't find something you like, they can make you custom garb within 2-3 days.// 1452 Haight St. (Upper Haight), piedmontboutique.com





Serrahna

Serrahna is not a costume store, but rather a magical stomping grounds for boho queens. Fulfill all your gypsy attire needs to complete your fortune telling, nomadic, flower child outfit. //5303 College Ave. (Oakland), serrahna.com





The Dark Entry

Enter if you dare for goth, punk rock, and alternative apparel. The Dark Entry is a one-stop shop for costumes, occult paraphernalia, combat boots, lingerie, body jewelry, purses, and specialty hair dye. If you're looking for a creatively-inspired costume for, say, a burner party, this is your stop! // 2589 Telegraph Ave. (Berkeley), darkentry.com





Masque Arrayed

In the Berkeley studio of Annie Hallat, you'll find hundreds of handmade masks that range from animals to shaman-inspired to traditional theater-esque. Whether you want to be a fox, vampire, or magical spirit, Masque Arrayed has something for you. And if not, she can custom create the mask of your nightmares. // 1610 Carleton St. (Berkeley), masquearrayed.com





Young's Wigs

Need a new do for your Halloween look? Young's Wigs has a plethora of manes in a multitude of lengths and colors. Go for a rave-inspired neon bob, flowing Rapunzel locks, or rainbow fro. // 2701 Telegraph Ave. (Oakland), Facebook





A.C.T. Costume Rentals

Imagine you lived in every decade, and kept all your clothes. This would be your closet. Well guess what? It actually exists at A.C.T. It's easy to spend hours here hunting for period pieces and oohing and aahing over the plethora of unearthed finds. It's a wonder the amount of detail that goes into theatre productions. // 1119 Market St. (Mid Market), actcostumerentals.org





House of Humor

For over three decades, House of Humor has been supplying the Pensinsula (and beyond) with more than 12,000 costumes and accessories, a large selection of lingerie, and more than 1,000 wigs (just for starters). This is the place to create your ideal female rapper/pop starlet persona with a wardrobe of wigs to match. // 747 El Camino Real (Redwood City), thehouseofhumor.com





Cynthia's Costumes & Parties

In San Carlos, Cynthia's Costumes goes beyond costumes to provide decorations, props, music, stories, and games for a wide variety of themed shingdigs. They also have enrichment programs for kids that make learning history fun. Note: Cynthia's is by appointment early, so make sure to call ahead. // 1313 Laurel St. Suite 204 (San Carlos), cynthiascostumes.com





Fun House Theatrical

This family-owned shop offers endless costumes, as well as Ben Nye and Kryolan theatrical makeup. Also find entire dedicated sections for Michael Jackson, as well as mustaches and beards. // 130 E Fremont Ave. (Sunnyvale), funhousetheatricalcostumes.com





Natasha's Attic

Tucked away in San Jose is Natasha's Attic, in the costuming game for 40 years. Here, you can peruse a seemingly endless supply of more than 50,000 rental costumes, a multitude of outfits you can purchase, and hundreds of wigs, among other goodies. Bonus points for costume designers and seamstresses on site to guarantee your costume is tailor-made to your taste. // 1238 S. Bascom Ave. (San Jose),natashasattic.com





Assistance League Costume Bank

The Costume Bank is stocked with limitless options for creating the perfect costume from outfits to accessories. The icing on the party cake? Knowing that proceeds help benefit the Assistance League, a nonprofit that provides essentials for newborns born into low-income families, as well as affordable housing for Stanford patients receiving lifesaving treatment. // 169 State St. (Los Altos), losaltos-assistanceleague.org/costume-bank
Corona Heights Park (Including States Streets + Piexotto Playgrounds)

Located 500 feet above sea level, lay out your blanket at the park's summit to enjoy your picnic with views of the San Francisco Bay. Come spring and early summer, the park's a great place to watch countless butterflies do their graceful thing. For the young ones, both States Streets and Piexotto Playgrounds have ample equipment to run amok on. // Roosevelt Way and Museum Way (Cole Valley), sfrecpark.org

Mt. Olympus Park

Tank Hill



Looking for a lower body workout? Feel the lactic acid burn by climbing this 570-foot summit, was once considered the geographic center of the city. An obelisk is all that remains of the statue that used to be found at its peak. // Upper Terrace (Cole Valley), sfrecpark.org

Once a prime piece of real estate, the city shut down any construction on this SF gem in the 1970s, forbidding housing from being built on top of it. Still pristine some 40 years later, Tank Hill sits 650-feet atop the surrounding verdure, lending itself to sublime views of Cole Valley and beyond. // Clarendon Rd. and Twin Peaks (Cole Valley), sfrecparks.org

Panhandle Park

This long and narrow green space near Golden Gate Park is both a one-mile commuting stretch for bikers and a place for picnics and pick-up hoops games. While it's not as nice as GGP, it's still a favorite of neighbors who lug out their barbecues to the green on weekends. // Stanyan S. and Fell St. (Haight-Ashbury) sfrecpark.org

Grattan Playground

Let the kids kick, dribble, and play catch at this small family-friendly park. Dogs, too, are welcome as long as they're leashed. // 1180 Stanyan St. (Cole Valley), sfrecpark.org

Interior Greenbelt

A hidden Cole Valley treasure, the Interior Greenbelt is located just south of Golden Gate Park, a click north of Twin Peaks. Covered entirely by blue gum eucalyptus and remnant bushes, there's little here besides sublime hiking trails. On-leash dogs may hike alongside their owners,. // Stanyan St. and Belgrade St. (Cole Valley), sfrecpark.org

Buena Vista Park

The oldest official park in San Francisco, Buena Vista is considered to be a window into the Bay Area. On a clear day, the western side of the green space provides sweeping views of GGP, the Pacific Ocean, and even northward up the coast to the white cliffs of Drake's Bay. // Buena Vista Avenue and Haight Street (Haight Ashbury), sfrecpark.org
Like many neighborhoods in the city, Hayes Valley is poised for post-pandemic life. The sunny enclavewedged between Mid-Market, Lower Haight, and the Western Additionis optimistic about the return of vaccinated shoppers hunting for everything from hipster kicks to one-of-a-kind clothing to Insta-famous jewelry.

The boutique-heavy 'hood is made extra dope thanks to the wealth of delectable, internationally inspired restaurants, charming wine bars, and fun (regular) bars that draw all manner of local folk, bon vivants, and tourists. They come for the shopping, eats, and drinks but stay for the people-watching.

Our favorite perch? A bench in Patricia's Green, situated in the middle of all the action and across from the much-loved, multi-purpose outdoor Proxy space with converted shipping containers inhabited by Ritual Coffee, Smitten, Juice Shop, and Aether. Plus, it plays host to rotating art exhibits and events.

While we're bullish on the future, we'd be ignoring the elephant grizzly in the room if we didn't acknowledge that Hayes Valley looks a little different 18 months after lockdown. Retail, especially small indie shops, has been ravaged by the shutdown and, sadly, many of our favorite stores and a few restaurants didn't survive. RIP: Acote, Azalea, Ver Unica, Welcome Stranger, Nancy Boy, Dish, Aiken, Cary Lane, Seldom Seen, Sean, Gazette, Gimme Shoes, Will Leather Goods, EI Home, Alternative Apparel, Straw, Urban Remedy, Barcino, The Grove, Stacks, Dobb's Ferry, Biergarten, Little Gem, The Riddler, Plaj, and 20th Century Cafe.

Sigh.

But there's only one thing to do and that's move on to better and brighter days. Use our cheat sheet to guide you through your next sojourn around the neighborhood.

Grab Drinks and Wine in Hayes Valley With colorful tile work, funky art, and a sunny patio, Anina is a sweet spot for sipping creative punch bowls and spritzes. (Courtesy of Anina) True Sake(560 Hayes St.) sells sake instead of serving it. Owner Beau Timken's in-depth knowledge of sake has made his cozy store (the first in the U.S. dedicated to sake) a real destination for all who love the Japanese brew. // Pick up a bottle (or case) of fine wine at Arlequin(384 Hayes St.). // Ensconce yourself in the black and white interior of Fig & Thistle(313 Ivy St.) to try their choice selection of California beers and wines; or if seasonal cocktails are in the cards, head to the swanky Noir Lounge(581 Hayes St.). // Get some fresh air with your punch bowl at the colorful Anina(482 Hayes St.), which has an Instagram-worthy patio perfectly framed by fairy lights. // Ebb & Flow(294 Ivy St.) serves chill-chic vibes and a selection of vino from small producers and family-owned vineyards. It also has a charming outdoor setup with heat lamps. // A few blocks off the main drag, Birba (458 Grove St.) is a garden oasis and a perfect spot for relaxing with friends over a couple bottles of wine. // If you like to people watch as much as you like to imbibe, Brass Tacks(488A Hayes St.) serves up some tasty cocktailstry the Brass Smash (Venezuelan rum, Cynar, mint and lemon). If you're lucky, you can scoop the window view while you enjoy it. (Note: BT was closed at press time but should be up and serving cocktails soon.) // Show off your captain's drawl at Smuggler's Cove(650 Gough St.) while you sip on their famous hot buttered rum. Cheers!


Courtesy Polk County Sheriffs Office

Perhaps you have a bucket list. Perhaps it contains a few thrill-seeking moments, like skydiving or bungee-jumping.

Most people probably wouldnt recommend this for your list, though: A Des Moines, Iowa, man was arrested this month after he led state troopers on a short car chase. Afterward, he claimed the chase was on his personal bucket list.
The Action Feature Film is now being Crowdfunded & Shooting will Take Place in Finland, Estonia & Albania!

Internationally renowned film director Leonid Lopatin has announced that he is raising funds and support for the upcoming action feature film titled Bitter Wind. The film is a story of action, crime, thrill and suspense with a talented cast performing alongside a seasoned crew. Moreover, the upcoming criminal feature film will be shot in multiple locations including countries such as Finland, Estonia and Albania.

With your support we are able to produce and finalize this film project faster and we will be able to reach a higher level giving the auditory an unforgettable experience. Said Leonid Lopatin, the Director of this upcoming feature film, while announcing its launch on Indiegogo. According to the director, the film production company is relying heavily on the fans and is welcoming them to make pledges in this Indiegogo campaign.

All funds raised through this crowdfunding campaign for the film will be used in covering the expenses of travel tickets, accommodation, advertising and distribution. Moreover, the goal of this Indiegogo campaign is to raise a sum of EUR 50,000 and supporters can participate by making pledges.

The Indiegogo Campaign is located on the web at:

www.indiegogo.com/projects/bitter-wind-criminal-feature-film and supporters from around the world can make pledges to support this film. These pledges can range from EUR 5 to EUR 15,000, with each pledge offering a great reward to the backer. More details are available on the Indiegogo campaign page of the film.

About Bitter Wind

Bitter Wind is an upcoming action and criminal feature film from a European filmmaking company. The film will be shot in Finland, Estonia and Albania, with some of the most talented cast and crew members on board. The creators of this film are raising funds and support to make this film a reality and they are therefore welcoming everyone to pledge in this Indiegogo campaign.

Media Contact

Company Name: Jupiter4movie

Contact Person: Leonid Lopatin

Email: jupiter4movie@gmail.com

Phone: +358 505830237

City: Pietarsaari

State: Ostrobothnia

Country: Finland

Website: www.indiegogo.com/projects/bitter-wind-criminal-feature-film
RPMGlobal Holdings Limited (ASX:RUL), formerly Rungepincockminarco Limited, is engaged in the provision and development of mining software solutions, advisory services and professional development. Its principal activities include software licensing, consulting, implementation and support; technical, advisory and training services to the resources industry and laboratory gas testing.

Its segments include Software Division, Advisory Division and GeoGAS. Software Division provides software offerings, including maintenance, training and implementation services to mining companies. Advisory Division provides consulting and advisory services, which cover technical and economic analysis, and assessment of mining activities and resources on behalf of mining companies, financial institutions, government departments, and agencies and suppliers to mining companies and projects. GeoGAS Division provides services to coal mining clients in respect of gas content testing and relevant consulting services.


Confidentiality Agreements...

Rouyn-Noranda, Oct 18, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - At least two Confidentiality Agreements (CA's) have been signed with Explor ( CVE:EXS ) ( E1H1:FRA ) ( EXSFF:OTCMKTS ) in the past two months. A couple of other CA's are in legal process.



A CA to most is no big deal. However, you have to ask the question, why would well established mid-tier, or large producers negotiate & sign such a document if they were not really interested in a specific asset, or assets in the Explor portfolio? Obviously, they wouldn't waste their time reviewing volumes of material; analyzing the merits of the asset(s), or ultimately preparing an offer, would they? The only way they would even consider signing such a document is if they could clearly see a pronounced benefit to their future production, assuming the price is right. Given the advanced exploration status at the Timmins Porcupine West GOLD Resource (TPW), and its proximity to various mills in the Timmins GOLD Camp, I would venture this asset is being seriously scrutinized by a prospective suitor, or two, (or three?).



Likewise, given Copper is at three-year highs, I would suspect we may be seeing new, or renewed interest in the company's Chester Copper Resource in New Brunswick, Canada as well. Both of those property blocks have NI 43-101 Resource Estimates with interesting numbers. Then we have the large GOLD exploration property blocks at East Bay, PG-101, Eastford, and Kidd Creek. Any serious mid or large producer would be happy to add any of these to their portfolios, given historical GOLD, and/or Copper production, & future potential. It should be noted that the 3,000-meter drilling program at East Bay has been on hold for a number of weeks now, opening one's thinking to a number of possibilities for that historically GOLD rich block of claims & concessions. So, whilst the macro factors with their ebb & flow, wreck havoc with the GOLD sector, Dupont, and his crew are intensely busy negotiating a brighter future than the market might suggest.



Having just returned from a promising trip to Europe, Dupont is confident that the proposed million- dollar drilling programs at the TPW, and the Chester property will be underway in due course. Personally, I think those will be financed either through an outright property sale, Joint Ventures, or Earn-In Agreements.



NOTE: This forum commentary was published from a third party source. It has not been verified by the company.





About Explor Resources Inc.





Explor Resources Inc. (CVE:EXS) (OTCMKTS:EXSFF) (FRA:E1H1) is a Canadian-based natural resources company with mineral holdings in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Explor is currently focused on exploration in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The belt is found in both provinces of Ontario and Quebec with approximately 33% in Ontario and 67% in Quebec. The Belt has produced in excess of 180,000,000 ounces of gold and 450,000,000 tonnes of cu-zn ore over the last 100 years. The Corporation was continued under the laws of Alberta in 1986 and has had its main office in Quebec since 2006.


Web Shield & iSignthis to deliver unified KYB & UBO KYC

Melbourne, Oct 18, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian Securities and Frankfurt Stock Exchange cross listed iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) ( TA8:FRA ), the global leader in RegTech for identity verification, is pleased to announce that it has executed an agreement to integrate its Paydentity(TM) UBO Service with Web Shield Ltd's InvestiGate platform.



Highlights:



- Web Shield's Know Your Customer Corporate/Business (KYCB) InvestiGate Platform to feature Know Your Customer (KYC) for individual UBO's, PSC's and Directors



- iSignthis Service to be enabled for all Web Shield customers globally from Nov 2017



- Web shield will actively promote iSignthis Paydentity through the InvestiGate platform to existing and new customers.



Web Shield is a world leader in Know Your Customer Corporate/Business (KYCB) Customer due diligence services, which focusses verifying legally incorporated entities, corporations, clubs, trusts and associations. Each of these entities will ultimately have one or more natural person behind them, who also needs to be identified and verified. The InvestiGate platform currently identifies the natural person, but does not incorporate KYC services that can verify the individual natural persons who comprise the Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO), Persons of Significant Control (PSC) or directors of the entities being subjected to due diligence by its customers.



iSignthis integration to Web Shield's platform will allow InvestiGate customers to also benefit from the unique Paydentity(TM) KYC Solution, whereby the unification of KYCB and KYC individual will be a world's first to offer complete end to end customer due diligence services automatically. Verification of natural persons has until now been a largely manual process, that requires extensive time and persistence to complete.



Web Shield is an official MasterCard Merchant Monitoring Service Provider (MMSP), and serves the global market of acquiring banks and payment service providers. Web Shield currently serves over 140 clients all around the globe, with their current customer base mainly in the US, UK, Europe and the CIS countries.



"We saw the exceptional work done by iSignthis on Paydentity(TM) and instantly knew that we had to integrate it into our InvestiGate underwriting platform," said Web Shield CEO and Founder Christian Chmiel. "This partnership provides our customers with another valuable tool to mitigate risk in their merchant portfolio. Whilst Web Shield has been a global company from the beginning, the ideas behind its solutions were first developed in the Compliance departments of Germany's expanding merchant acquirers of the late 2000's. Today, Web Shield counts the majority of Germany's international acquiring business and globally-minded payment service providers among their customers - which was one of the deciding factors for moving its headquarters to Leipzig in 2015."



iSignthis CEO John Karantzis said, "We are delighted to be delivering wholesale identity services to Web Shield. Paydentity(TM) solves the verification problem of UBO/PSC's globally, and together with InvestiGate, forms the worlds most advanced customer due diligence platform, targeting natural and legal entities. The partnership with Webshield is strategic, allowing iSignthis to deliver core product into an adjacent market sector, as well as establishing a means to penetrate the German market."



John Karantzis further said "The 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) now includes a requirement to verify UBO's and PSC's typically after they have been identified as being associated with an entity by Webshield or other means. This is a new requirement that incorporates AML regulated sector businesses including marketplaces, trading sites, payment service providers, acquiring banks, and law and audit firms. Verifying the UBO/PSC, which is a new requirement under the 4AMLD, would take several days effort, and it can now be done in less than five minutes. This revolution in cost reduction and time saving is made possible by the Paydentity(TM) solution."



Since the 2011 Financial Crises US banks alone have incurred compliance fines of approximately US$119 Bn whereas the total global market for KYC for business compliance is thought to be US$70Bn (Source ASX:KYK )



About Web Shield (www.webshield.com)



Web Shield's mission is to identify criminal or non-compliant traders in your portfolio and protect them from problematic new customers.



Our high-precision digital investigation tools InvestiGate and PULSE enable financial institutions, acquiring banks and payment service providers to make sound onboarding decisions and alert you if existing customers are questionable.



Our software-as-a-service solutions show where risky situations arise and your best options when it comes to effective risk reduction - to save you time and money.



Web Shield is an official Mastercard Merchant Monitoring Service Provider.



To view the German release, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/ZOZEP65J





About iSignthis Ltd





iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.


Renounceable Rights Issue - Dispatch of Prospectus

Adelaide, Oct 19, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Havilah Resources Limited ( ASX:HAV ) (Havilah or Company) advises that the New Prospectus (dated 16 October 2017) and the Entitlement and Acceptance Forms for renounceable right issue (Rights Issue) were dispatched to eligible Shareholders today.

Highlights



- 1 for 7 renounceable pro rata Rights Issue at an issue price of $0.20 per New Share.



- One free New Option for every two New Shares issued with an exercise price of $0.40 expiring on 30 November 2019.



- Shareholders can apply for Additional New Shares in excess of their entitlement.



- Issue to raise up to $5.4 million before costs, fully subscribed.



- All directors of Havilah intend to participate in the Rights Issue.



- Funds will be used to advance the Company's copper-gold assets towards production.



Details of the Rights Issue: Havilah announced on 5 October 2017 a pro rata one (1) for seven (7) renounceable Rights Issue for shareholders registered as at 7:00 pm (CDT) on the record date of 10 October 2017 (Eligible Shareholders). Each Eligible Shareholder will be entitled to subscribe for one (1) New Share in Havilah at $0.20 for every seven (7) shares registered in their name on the record date of 10 October 2017 (Entitlement). For each two (2) New Shares issued under the Offer, one (1) attaching free New Option to acquire one (1) ordinary share at $0.40 on or before 30 November 2019 will also be issued.



Eligible Shareholders who accept their Entitlement in full will have the opportunity to apply for additional New Shares at a price of $0.20 each (Additional New Shares) under a top up offer (Top Up Offer). For each two (2) Additional New Shares issued, one (1) attaching free New Option to acquire one (1) ordinary share at $0.40 on or before 30 November 2019 will also be issued.



For further details about the Rights Issue please refer to the New Prospectus released to the ASX and lodged with ASIC on 16 October 2017.



From 16 October 2017, the New Prospectus, with full details of the Rights Issue, will be available to download from both the ASX website (at www.asx.com.au) and the Company's website (at www.havilah-resources.com.au), and has now been mailed to Eligible Shareholders with an Entitlement and Acceptance Form.



The indicative timetable for the Rights Issue is as follows



Activity: Announcement of renounceable Rights Issue & lodging of previous Appendix 3B with ASX

Date: 5 October 2017



Activity: Previous notice sent to Shareholders containing information required by Appendix 3B

Date: 6 October 2017



Activity: Shares commenced trading ex-Rights

Date: 9 October 2017



Activity: Rights started trading

Date: 9 October 2017



Activity: Record Date for Offer participation

Date: 10 October 2017



Activity: Rights Issue Prospectus lodged with ASIC and ASX

Date: 16 October 2017



Activity: Lodging of Appendix 3B with ASX

Date: 16 October 2017



Activity: Notice sent to Shareholders containing information required by Appendix 3B

Date: 16 October 2017



Activity: Prospectus and Entitlement and Acceptance Form despatched to Eligible Shareholders and Opening Date of the Offer

Date: 18 October 2017



Activity: Rights trading ends

Date: 24 October 2017



Activity: Deferred settlement trading commences

Date: 25 October 2017



Activity: Closing Date of Rights Issue and Top Up Offer (5.00 pm CDT)

Date: 31 October 2017



Activity: ASX advised of any Shortfall

Date: 3 November 2017



Activity: Proposed date for the issue of New Shares and New Options

Date: 7 November 2017



Activity: Deferred settlement trading ends

Date: 7 November 2017



Activity: Normal trading of New Shares expected to commence

Date: 8 November 2017



Activity: Holding statements dispatched

Date: 9 November 2017



The timetable is indicative only and the Company reserves the right to vary it at any time without prior notice subject to the Listing Rules and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).





About Havilah Resources Ltd





Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) is a debt free South Australian gold producer having recently financed and developed its first gold mine at Portia in north-eastern South Australia. It plans to follow on with three copper-gold-cobalt mining developments at North Portia, Kalkaroo and Mutooroo, which are underpinned by a JORC resources mineral inventory of over 1.4 million tonnes of copper, 3.6 million ounces of gold, and 18,000 tonnes of cobalt.


James Bay Project Notice Submitted and Further Drilling

Perth, Oct 19, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Galaxy Resources Limited ("Galaxy" or the "Company") ( ASX:GXY ) ( GALXF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to advise that it has now submitted a Project Notice for the James Bay Lithium Project ("James Bay" or the "Project") to the Government of Quebec, and the Federal Government of Canada, together with local stakeholders. The Project Notice submission marks the start of the regulatory process aimed at securing the necessary mining and infrastructure licenses. It also advises the Government of the proposed scale, scope and timeline of the James Bay Project so that it may set the appropriate levels of regulatory assessment.



The preparation and submission of this project description is the initial step in the environmental impact assessment process, where Galaxy advises in writing, the relevant Quebec ministry (Ministere du Developpement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, or "MDDELCC") and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency ("CEAA"), of its intention to undertake the project. The project description also allows the relevant government agencies involved to determine the type of environmental study to be conducted and to issue a formal notice indicating the nature, area and scope of the study expected from the project promoter.



The Project Notice outlines the general characteristics of the project. The Project is situated in the Nord-du-Quebec administrative region of Quebec, where Galaxy is planning to develop an open-pit lithium mine that would be located along the James Bay Road.



Aside from the pit, the mining facility will include an ore concentrator, tailings/waste rock/ore/overburden storage areas, as well as accompanying infrastructure. The concentrated ore will be trucked to a transfer site, where it will be transported by train south, to the proposed conversion facility to be processed into lithium chemicals.



The Company is also pleased to announce further assays from its 2017 drilling campaign at James Bay. The aim of this drilling was to support a mineral resource upgrade to be incorporated into the ongoing Project feasibility study work.



In March 2017, the James Bay team commenced a ~33,000m diamond drilling campaign to extend and develop the existing James Bay resource. This drilling program has now been completed. All remaining assays are expected to be received by the end of October 2017. Results from a further 16 holes for an aggregate 3,879m drilled can now be reported.



All intercepts below are reported downhole.



Highlights from this round of drilling and assay are:



- 88.7m @1.63% Li2O from 150.3m to 239.0m (drill hole JBL17-107)



- 28.7m @ 1.54% Li2O from 28.5m to 57.2m (drill hole JBL17-108)



- 66.0m @ 1.71 % Li2O from 144.33m to 210.3m (drill hole JBL17-128)



- 102.8m @ 1.56% Li2O from 79.7m to 182.5m (drill hole JBL17-129)



- 37.7m @ 1.43% Li2O from 82.16m to 119.7m (drill hole JBL17-147)



Managing Director and CEO, Anthony Tse, commented "We expect to receive the last assays from this drilling program this month. The updated resource estimate work has been awarded to SRK Canada. Galaxy has now established its office in Montreal and engaged Primero Group to deliver engineering input into the James Bay feasibility study. With the Project Notice now submitted, we will advance our work on the feasibility study, including engaging with local stakeholders, the Cree First Nation and the Quebec Government in advancing the development of this world class hard rock lithium resource. "



Final assay results will be released as they are received over the coming weeks. All results are listed in Table 2 (see link below).



ABOUT THE JAMES BAY PROJECT



The James Bay pegmatite swarm is located 10km south of the Eastmain River and 100km east of James Bay. The property is accessible by paved road from the James Bay Road which cuts through the property close to the 381km road marker on the highway Route/109 from Val d'Or, Quebec, Canada. Val d'Or is approximately 526km westward from Montreal, Quebec. A large multi-service truck stop is located at marker 381. Discovered in the 1960's and then known as the Cyr property the site consists of a swarm of 35 pegmatite dykes that belong to the rare-element 'class', the LCT (Li-Cs- Ta) 'family' and the albite-spodumene 'type' per the classification by Cerny (1991).



To view tables and figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/22DYP447





About Galaxy Resources Limited





Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX:GXY) (OTCMKTS:GALXF) is an international S&P / ASX 200 Index company with lithium production facilities, hard rock mines and brine assets in Australia, Canada and Argentina. It wholly owns and operates the Mt Cattlin mine in Ravensthorpe Western Australia, which is currently producing spodumene and tantalum concentrate, and the James Bay lithium pegmatite project in Quebec, Canada.

Galaxy is advancing plans to develop the Sal de Vida lithium and potash brine project in Argentina situated in the lithium triangle (where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet), which is currently the source of 60% of global lithium production. Sal de Vida has excellent potential as a low cost brine-based lithium carbonate production facility.

Lithium compounds are used in the manufacture of ceramics, glass, and consumer electronics and are an essential cathode material for long life lithium-ion batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as mass energy storage systems. Galaxy is bullish about the global lithium demand outlook and is aiming to become a major producer of lithium products.


Kalkaroo Pre-Feasibility Study on Track

Adelaide, Oct 19, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Havilah Resources Limited ( ASX:HAV ) (Havilah) is pleased to report that the pre-feasibility study (PFS) work on the Kalkaroo Copper-Gold Project in northeastern South Australia is progressing as planned. Under the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreed with Wanbao Mining Limited (Wanbao) in May 2017, RPM Global are managing the PFS study, which is being sponsored and funded by Wanbao.



Highlights



- Large portion of the PFS data evaluation work has been completed by RPM Global.



- Results to date are consistent with Havilah's past work and meeting expectations.



- Upgraded resource estimate of 232 million tonnes @ 0.49% copper and 0.37 g/t gold validated by RPM Global.



- Completion of PFS by the end of the year is on track.



Background



RPM Global has been working closely with Havilah over the last four months in assimilating, evaluating and validating all of the technical data that Havilah has previously generated for the project. Of note is that RPM Global's rigorous analysis has validated Havilah's upgraded resource estimate of 232 million tonnes @ 0.49% copper and 0.37 g/t gold, with a less than 4% change in tonnage and a 15% increase in the Measured Resource due to re-allocation of some Indicated Resource component. Currently, mining optimisation studies are a main focus of RPM Global's work, and this in turn will lead to an independently determined Probable Ore Reserve based on the Measured and Indicated Resource estimates. This can then be used as the basis for generating an industry acceptable valuation for the Kalkaroo project, leading to the publication of an NPV for the Kalkaroo Copper-Gold Project.



An extensive metallurgical testing program is now largely complete, using a range of drill core samples supplied by Havilah. This work has also validated Havilah's previous metallurgical work, with generally improved metal recoveries. Locked cycle tests for the chalcocite ore generated >83% copper recovery and >72% gold recovery with a concentrate grade of > 29% copper in only one stage of cleaning, indicating no abnormal metallurgical recovery challenges. Gold recoveries in the native copper ore are >72% Au using a combination of gravity and flotation.



Wanbao has remained actively engaged throughout, having provided valuable marketing information and they are currently assisting with obtaining indicative prices for high quality Chinese processing plant components. Senior Wanbao technical personnel will be visiting Australia at the end of the October for a workshop on the PFS with RPM Global and Havilah.



At this stage RPM Global have indicated that the PFS study is on track to be completed by the end of December as planned. Wanbao will have a further two months after delivery of the PFS to make a decision on their possible future participation in the project.



Legal drafting of the Kalkaroo native title mining agreement with the Adnyamathanha and Wilyakali people is now largely complete. Some funds raised from the rights issue will be used by Havilah to meet its attaching financial obligations upon signing this agreement. The regulators have indicated that the Kalkaroo mining lease will be issued as a matter of course once the executed native title mining agreement is lodged and registered.



Commenting on the above, Havilah Managing Director, Dr Chris Giles said: "Our association with Wanbao and their consultants has been highly productive and beneficial for Havilah.



"A lot of work has been completed in a short time and we are pleased that our earlier work has been independently validated by highly experienced technical experts.



"We look forward to further productive discussions at the end of October with Wanbao and RPM Global, and for the completion of the PFS on time by the end of December.



"The outlook for copper is positive and significantly higher multiples are now being paid in the market place for quality copper assets in safe jurisdictions such as the recent example of the White Range Copper Project in Queensland, with multiples more than double that typically paid 2 to 3 years ago.



"One of the big positives to come out of the PFS study will be the independently determined Probable Ore Reserve statement that will allow firm valuations to be placed on Kalkaroo for the first time" he said.



About Wanbao Mining Limited (www.wbmining.cn)



Wanbao Mining Limited is a Beijing-based specialist international mining company with substantial copper mining operations in Myanmar and copper and cobalt mining and smelting operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently Wanbao controls resources of more than 9 million tonnes of copper, 400,000 tonnes of cobalt and 800 tonnes of platinum. This year Wanbao is targeting 150,000 tonnes of cathode copper production from its Myanmar operations, where it has successfully developed and applied proprietary bacterial leaching technology.



About RPMGlobal (www.rpmglobal.com) ( ASX:RUL )



RPMGlobal is a global leader in the provision of advisory services to the mining industry. Its global team has over 45 years of experience in the mining industry and is the world's largest publicly listed group of independent technical experts, including 200 specialists in 20 offices across 13 countries. RPMGlobal is well qualified to carry out the PFS work, having completed over 50 metalliferous PFS/FS studies and hundreds of compliant projects under relevant international reporting standards. Many of RPMS's team members have direct operational experience enabling them to add value via their practical advice. RPM 's Beijing office established in 2005 works for some of China's largest state owned and private enterprises on their outbound investment and ensures effective communications with Chinese partners and equipment suppliers.



About the Kalkaroo Project



Kalkaroo is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in Australia, containing JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources of 232 million tonnes of copper and gold for over 1.1 million tonnes of copper and 3.3 million ounces of gold (refer ASX announcement 29 March 2017). The project is capable of producing high quality coppergold concentrates plus copper metal (as native copper) and gold dore. To develop the Kalkaroo project at an optimum mining and throughput rate requires a major capital investment and considerable operational expertise.



To view figures, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/60X9IH10





About Havilah Resources Ltd





Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) is a debt free South Australian gold producer having recently financed and developed its first gold mine at Portia in north-eastern South Australia. It plans to follow on with three copper-gold-cobalt mining developments at North Portia, Kalkaroo and Mutooroo, which are underpinned by a JORC resources mineral inventory of over 1.4 million tonnes of copper, 3.6 million ounces of gold, and 18,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Wizz Air UK Limited has filed an application for the grant of an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and Operating Licence (OL) with the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom (CAA).





Subject to receipt of its AOC and OL from the CAA, Wizz Air UK will begin operations in the UK in March 2018 with several UK-registered aircraft.



The London Luton operating base of Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. will become a Wizz Air UK operation which will see the Company invest in local resources employing more than 100 people (management, pilots and cabin crew) by end of 2018. Routes not taken over by Wizz Air UK will continue to be operated by Wizz Air Hungary, maintaining and continuing to expand the groups network of 41 routes from London Luton.



Wizz Air Chief Executive Officer, Jozsef Varadi commented: We are pleased to announce that we are seeking a UK AOC and Operating Licence, further signalling our commitment to the important UK market. It is a natural, next-step in the development of our UK business and will bring additional investment and jobs to our UK base at London Luton. The UK remains the single biggest travel market in Europe and we are currently the UKs eighth largest operator and this move is also part of our broader strategy to ensure that our UK operations are Brexit-ready. We look forward to working with the CAA to take this application forward.



Wizz Airs first ever flight in May 2004 was from Katowice to London Luton Airport. Today WIZZs UK network consists of 73 routes to 41 destinations from nine airports. In the past 12 months, Wizz Air carried more than seven million passengers on its low-fare UK routes, representing 14% growth year on year and supporting over 5,400 local jobs in associated industries. Since the beginning of operations more than 40 million passengers have travelled with Wizz on its UK routes, from the UK to Central and Eastern Europe.




Actor Elizabeth Hurley said she does not want her son Damian to be famous and feel trapped.

The 52-year-old actress said she does not want her 15- year-old son, who she has with her former partner Steve Bing, to follow in her footsteps, reported The Daily Telegraph.

I certainly dont want a child of mine to be famous. Its the worst thing to be trapped in your house and not be able to leave, Hurley said.

The actor added that her son finds it uncomfortable if she gets too friendly with his teachers.

Damians not [embarrassed. Most people are embarrassed when their parents sing, or dance, or wear dresses. He loves all that, but he doesnt like me being too jokey with his teachers.

Maybe its because were talking to teachers but it always makes me laugh because theres so little one can do as a controlling parent wanting to help your children We try, but in the end, were all just like, Whatever the child will do.
And on Oct 4, 2017, in Little kids and 'toxic stress': we can solve this

Parents who spank their kids. First graders who already had behavioral problems were even more disruptive if their parents spanked them. Spanking has also been linked to mental health problems and cognitive difficulties.

Parents who are emotionally distant. This can contribute to: behavioral problems, insecurity, and emotional difficulties.

They're helicopter parents. Over-controlling parents have been linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression in children. Researchers found these children were less open to new ideas and more self-conscious.

Parents who yell at their kids a lot. Shouting, cursing and insults can have the same negative effects as physical discipline.

Parents who let kids watch TV when they're really young. Researchers said children who watched more TV were less likely to participate in class and had lower math scores.

They're authoritarian. Authoritarian parents discourage open communication . They make demands without explaining why. One study showed, when these parents checked children's homework it inhibited the child's overall school performance.

Parents of unsuccessful kids could have these 6 things in common.

Raising children requires good parenting techniques as well as avoiding bad habits. A positive body image help children develop socially. Quality time with kids also helps them in school. But just as important are avoiding mistakes that can curtail a child's social, physical, emotional and intellectual development . The following is a transcript of this video.

Oct 16, 2017, Business Insider: Parents of unsuccessful kids could have these 6 things in common

Several news sites have openly claimed that the emotional, behavioral, and learning problems affecting so many children and causing such difficulties at school are the result of bad parenting, also known as childhood trauma.

Clearly schools are taking a decisive role in mental health areas today like never before.

The article advised teachers to be on the lookout for signs of anxiety disorders and to take steps to help kids deal with them.

All these can also be the start of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders, according to the researchers.

Researchers also found that anxiety symptoms among adolescents often materialize at school, and these symptoms include obsessions/compulsions, social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, separation anxiety, physical injury fears, generalised anxiety, and posttraumatic stress.

The use of antidepressants by young people aged 15 to 19 rose 44 percent among boys between the years 2004 to 2013 and by 48 percent among girls in the same period.

Up to 1520 percent of children and adolescents aged three to 18 are inhibited by mental problems such as anxiety, depression and behavioural disorders, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Its important to redouble efforts to improve mental health and prevent mental illness by detecting adolescents with anxiety problems, conclude the researchers.

The researchers found that having various anxiety problems were linked to a reduced health-related quality of life.

Take a look at recent headlines and its clear we have resigned ourselves to accept that our children are in need of help. The Scandinavian publication Science Nordic flat-out said so in September in the story, Teachers can help nip mental illness in the bud .

Teachers are struggling to deal with many students with serious behavior problems. There is strong criticism over the actions of schools where they physically restrain out-of-control students or lock them in seclusion rooms. In Britain, there have been huge increases in the number of students being permanently excluded because of assaults on other children and on teachers, even among preschool students.

NOTE: American parents don't seem to realize that they are being blamed for their kids mental health issues. Schools have gone from institutions of elementary and secondary learning to... institutions. And soon, as this trend continues unabated by a realistic crisis response, we will have a return to institutionalization of Americans. We are brain injuring kids at a breakneck speed. Not just autism - mental illness, crippling anxiety, depression. Parents haven't forgotten how to raise kids. Teachers haven't forgotten how to teach. The RAW MATERIAL - the kids - are different. Institutions are coming. Mark my words. Pharma and pediatricians are to blame first, I think. Then the food industry. Then technology and the trend away from a belly crawling infancy to seated 24/7 and standing too soon. Anne is following the tragedy closely. See her list of headlines at the end of this post. The facts are out there - Anne is connecting the dots. K By Anne Dachel Stress, mental illness, childhood trauma, anxiety, depression theyre plaguing our children at ever-increasing levels. Schools are making a major effort to address the situation. I have seen literally HUNDREDS of stories from everywhere in the English speaking world in the last couple of months. Educators from pre-school to universities are talking about the emotional difficulties our children have to deal with. Schools are partnering with mental health clinics and hiring additional counselors, adding calming rooms, and holding workshops so teachers can understand that the student of the 21 st century is a very vulnerable individual.

CNN called out parents for the toxic stress theyre causing in children.

We now know that there is another significant consideration: Prolonged stress at home can disrupt development and set children back before school even begins.

A growing body of research shows that trauma at home can seriously affect a child's health and education. Physical or emotional abuse, neglect, parental mental illness, exposure to violence or the accumulated burdens of poverty can trigger what is known as a "toxic stress" response.

In the short term, this can inhibit children's ability to learn, to manage emotions and build relationships with peers, putting them at a disadvantage before they ever even set foot in a classroom. Children who have experienced four or more traumatic experiences are more than 30 times more likely to have a learning or behavior problem than their more fortunate peers.

In the long run, toxic stress can actually disrupt the development of the brain and other organs and body systems and increase the risk for chronic disease, heart attack, stroke, mental illness and cognitive impairment well into adulthood.

Despite the prevalence of toxic stress and the severity of its impact on children's lives, existing education, health, and social support systems are not set up to help the children most likely to experience trauma, which often goes untreated.

As a member of the autism community and as someone in touch with a lot of other parents, all this talk about anxiety is nothing new. Anxiety is so often a part of the disorderand in many cases, its severe. We mean extreme fear over new situations, sudden changes in routine and constant preoccupation with things being a certain way.

Experts have been studying anxiety as a factor in autism for a long time, as this report from the University of Indiana shows.

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) will receive another diagnosis at some point in their development. In a 2008 study, seventy percent of a sample of children with ASD ages 10 to 14, had also been diagnosed with another disorder. Forty-one percent had been diagnosed with two or more additional disorders (Simonoff, et al). These additional disorders, or comorbid diagnoses, can at times be extremely debilitating for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The most common types of diagnoses are those related to anxiety.

Recently researchers at The University of Amsterdam reviewed 31 studies that focused on the presence of anxiety disorders in children under 18 years old with ASD. Upon review of these studies, researchers concluded that about 40% of children with ASD had at least one comorbid diagnosed anxiety disorder (van Steensel et al., 2011).

So is the common presence of anxiety disorders in children with ASD just an unfortunate coincidence?

Does one thing have anything to do with the other?

Could the behavioral/mental conditions rampant among our children be subtler forms of the damage we call autism? I have to ask because I remember a similar conversation I had with Dr. Andrew Wakefield back in July.

In part of that Skype interview entitled, What Happens To A Nation if You Shave a Few IQ Points off Its Children?

Dr. Wakefield addressed the explosion in special education in this country, in some places totaling one in five students, even one in four, like in Woodland Hill, PA.



Here was my question: Do you feel that weve focused too narrowly on a link between vaccines and autism while ignoring other damaging effects of vaccination?

Andy:

The answer lies in the way in which medicine naturally takes place, the way in which diseases present to doctors. Medicine gives you the sharp end first.

Andy went on to describe regressive autism with a dramatic change in the health of a child.

The parents are clearly aware that there is something wrong with this child. So the way in which we at the Royal Free saw this and many doctors around the world have seen this, is to see these severe acute cases first. Those are the original ones described, and then as you go on and understand it, the spectrum necessarily and inevitably broadens as you realize that this is affecting many children, but perhaps to a lesser degree or to subtly different degrees.

So medicine gives you the sharp end first. That is just the natural way it happens.

At the other end of the spectrum, what would happen if you simply shaved nine points off the IQ of every child in the country? How long would it take to be picked up?

Lets say vaccines do pervasive damage to the brain, and it varies from child to child. At one end of the spectrum, it is a severe disintegrative disorder, and at the other end of the spectrum, its just taking nine points off a childs IQ. How long would it take the system to pick that up, and who would pick it up?

Well, it wouldnt necessarily be picked up by doctors, because you dont go and say, well my child is less intelligent than his other siblings or his cousins, and I want him investigated. That doesnt happen.

What happens is its reflected at a population level in schools exactly as were seeing now. So if you dumb down a nation, if you dumb down the children of a country, that will be reflected in failing grades, fewer people being smart enough to go to college, more failure, more expulsion from schoolall of these kinds of things that then take a long time to recognize and are picked up in a different system, the educational system. And indeed in the prison system, so a lot of these children who have behavioral disturbances are being expelled from school, and they will and they are ending up in the prison system. The prisons are full of people with the kind of disorders were concerned with.

Have we over-focused? By necessity, no, because thats where we were led by the patients, and that it absolutely crucial, but it is quite obvious, and people have been saying this for a long time, that vaccines are associated with a range of neurological and immunological disorders which affect children now in academic fashion. This is not something new.

So what happens if you inject multiple neurotoxins into vulnerable babies and small children? Will there be it just different degrees of toxic impact?

Will some, like Hannah Poling, develop autism? (Yes, medical experts at HHS conceded her vaccine injury case that resulted in autism. And yes, she did have a pre-existing condition that made her susceptible to a vaccine reaction, but no one makes any effort to determine which children carry the same risk.)

Will other children just lose a few IQ points, and will still others develop one of the behavioral conditions routinely diagnosed in our children, like the all-too-common anxiety disorders?

Maybe its time we stepped away from the solitary claim that vaccines cause autism. The vaccine promoters have successfully changed autism into an acceptable condition that only requires awareness and services, Andrew Wakefield has been made into the all-time fall guy for falsely linking vaccines to autism, and health officials will never admit that any increase in autism ever means more children actually have autism.

AUTISM is a NORMAL and ACCEPTABLE part of childhood. Period.

But what about whats happening in our schools? Why are so many children in special education? Why do 20 percent of students today suffer from anxiety? Why are schools spending big amounts to address behavioral issues? How long can we sustain this change in children? Will every child in the future have some kind of diagnosis?



###



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.

Oct 16, 2017, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin: Walla Walla school staffers to get child trauma training

Oct 16, 2017, Nova Scotia Chronicle: Early start times put students at risk of developing anxiety, depression: study

Oct 16, 2017, (Troy, MO) Lincoln County Resource Board to fund $1.2 million in 2015 for childrens [mental health] services

Oct 15, 2017, UCLA Daily Bruin: Mental health screenings, treatment services now free for all students

Oct 12, 2017, (Ann Arbor) Michigan Daily: Students, faculty talk mental health resources on campus at panel talk

Oct 12, 2017, Lexington (MA) Wicked: Experts say many causes for Lexingtons youth mental health crisis

Oct 12, 2017, Hutchinson (WA) News: Childhood trauma and the effects on student performance

Oct 12, 2017, Pell City, AL, St. Clair News: Sensory room gets funding

Oct 11, 2017, Good Housekeeping: "Sesame Street" Just Launched a Series of Videos to Help Kids Cope With Trauma

Oct 11, 2017, New York Times: Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?

Oct 11, 2017, Our Windsor (Ontario, Canada): Student mental health needs growing, Ontario colleges say

Oct 10, 2017, (Provo UT) Daily Universe: Anxiety rises among college students

Oct 8, 2017, Irish Times: Teachers to be trained to help reduce pupils anxiety

Oct 8, 2017, Cape Cod (MA) Times: Falmouth partnership aims to manage students mental health struggles

Oct 7, 2017, BBC: Special needs pupils' exclusion rate 10 times higher

Oct 7, 2017, NY Newsday: Complex trauma disorder among youth needs recognition, experts say

Oct 6, 2017, UK TES: Pupils 'failed' by lack of mental health training for teachers

Oct 6, 2017, UK Oxford Mail: Violence rocks our schools: primary school expulsions soar by 57 per cent in Oxfordshire

Oct 5, 2017, (UK) York Region: Violent special needs classroom incident still haunts York Region teacher 2 years laterSchool board weighs best course of action for teachers, students

Oct 4, 2017, Fayetteville AR News: Ozark Guidance Teaches About Classroom Trauma

Oct 4, 2017, UK Yorkshire Post: Schools need greater focus on mental health

Oct 4, 2017, CNN: Little kids and 'toxic stress': we can solve this

Oct 4, 2017, Santa Fe (NM) Reporter: Restraining Order Santa Fe Public Schools moves toward compliance with a new law on student restraint and seclusion

Oct 4, 2017, Sault Ste. Marie Star (Ontario): OP-ED: The sad ABCs of classroom violence

Oct 4, 2017: Alliston, ON, Simco.com: Student attacks against teachers a concern in Simcoe County

Oct 3, 2017, New Zealand Herald: Teachers kicked and bitten by students

Oct 2, 2017, (UK) Hertfordshire Mercury: Surge in Hertfordshire school expulsions following rise in pupil attacks on adults

Oct 2, 2017, Herald Scotland: GROWING numbers of young children face being parked on readily available drugs

Sept 29, 2017, (Cheshire, UK) Warrington Guardian: Rise in pupils excluded for abusive behavior

Sept 29, 2017, The News, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia: Teachers learn skills to help students suffering with mental health issues

Sept 29, 2017, WTOK-TV, Meridian, Ms: Self-harming students receive help from school

Sept 29, 2017, (UK) Northwich Guardian: West Cheshire state schools hand out 1,783 exclusions in just one year

Sept 28, 2017, Red Deer News Now (Alberta, Canada): Wolf Creek Public Schools hires additional staff to work with severely disabled students

Sept 28, 2017, CBC News (Nova Scotia): Worker hit with chair raises alarm about violence at Sydney youth centre

Sept 28, 2017, Toronto (Canada) Globe and Mail: How schools aim to head off mental-health woes

Sept 27, 2017, The Mint Hill (NC) Times: Its not fussiness Sensory processing disorder is a real problem

Sept 27, 2017, Bangor Daily News: York school system nearly $1M over budget in special education spending

Sept 27, 2017, The Vermont Commons: Breaking the vicious cycle of childhood trauma

Sept 27, 2017, UK, East Anglian Daily Times: Physical assaults against teachers on the rise in Suffolk and Essex

Sept 27, 2017, Midland (MI) Daily News: Grant will boost mental health services for students

Sept 27, 2017, UK Tes: Teachers must learn to tackle pupil distress, psychologists say

Sept 26, 2017, EdSource: Addressing early childhood trauma requires shift in policy, more training for teachers

Sept 26, 2017, Duluth News Tribune: Duluth adds social-emotional learning specialists to two schools

Sept 26, 2017, The Irish News: First of its kind nursery provides specialist day care for kids with complex needs

Sept 26, 2017, Patch Lexington, MA: Meeting Will Address High Stress Among Lexington High School Students

Sept 26, 2017, Petoskey (MI) News: Schools put state's seclusion/restraint policy into effect

Sept 25, 2017, Insauga.com: Ontario Teachers Calling for Action on Student Violence

Sept 25, 2017, BBC: NHS staff to help anxious school pupils

Sept 25, 2017, ITV (UK): Pilot scheme to launch specialist mental health services in Wales' schools

Sept 25, 2017, Oswego County (NY) Today: Sensory Rooms Provide Calming Environment For Local Students

Sept 23, 2017, Oneida (NY) Daily Dispatch: Mental health program aims to help youths

Sept 23, 2017, UK Mirror: Mental health crisis in universities amid record number of student suicides

Sept 23, 2017, The UK Guardian: Schools fear impact of budget cuts amid girls' mental health crisis

Sept 22, 2017, Wicked Local, Hudson: Schools bring new focus to social-emotional learning

Sept 21, 2017, Orange (TX) Leader: LU awarded $1.8 million to enhance school counselor mental health training program

Sept 21, 2017, The Tennessean: Nashville teacher restrained 4-year-old boy in locker multiple times, new lawsuit states

Sept 21, 2017, Australia, Daily Telegraph: Disabled Kids Neglected Despite Record Funding

Sept 21, 2017 Danvers (MA) Wicked: Training Danvers teachers to work with students with anxiety

Sept 21, 2017, Petosky (MI) News: New strategies offer help for area students with mental health issues

Sept 21, 2017, London TES: Primary teachers 'ill-equipped' to spot pupils' mental health problems

Sept 20, 2017, The UK Guardian: Primary school teachers 'not trained to deal with mental health issues'

Sept 20, 2017, WKBT TV, LaCrosse, WI: Northside Elementary aims to become a 'trauma-informed' school

Sept 20, 2017, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dal News: Helping Teachers Address Mental Health in Their Classrooms

Sept 20, 2017, The Hutchinson (KS) News: Speaker to focus on effects of childhood trauma

Sept 20, 2017, Dundee, Scotland, Sunday Post: Study finds one in four girls aged 14 has depression

Sept 19, 2017, Logan, UT, Cache Valley Daily: Local group studying childhood trauma

Sept 19, 2017, Lima, OH online: Ada schools trains in mental health first aid

Sept 19, 2017, Worcester (MA) Telegram: Experts presentation in Worcester explores effects of childhood trauma

Sept 19, 2017, Eden Prairie (MN) Current: Back to school: Practical tips for kids with mental health disabilities

Sept 18, 2017, KVOA-TV, Tucson: 4 Your Health: Schools not equipped for serious health issues

Sept 18, 2017, Battle Creek Enquirer: Harper Creek schools seek to help traumatized students

Sept 18, 2017, Edwardsville (IL) Intelligencer: Mental health on campuses requires more attention

Sept 17, 2017, Worcester (MA) Telegraph: As I See It: Addressing childhood traumas and their lifelong implications

Sept 17, 2017, New Zealand Stuff: Mental health intervention for preschoolers could be the answer to our high suicide rates

Sept 16, 2017, Khaleej Times UAE: Kids as young as three at risk of depression

Sept 15, 2017, Phoenix Daily Tribune Phoenix Center, Marble Falls ISD expand partnership through mental health care services

Sept 15, 2017, Huff Post (UK): Number Of Children With Autism Being Excluded Has Risen And Its 'Incredibly Troubling'

Sept 14, 2017, Newsweek: WHY ARE SCHOOLS LOCKING UP SO MANY OF OUR KIDS?

Sept 13, 2017, CBC News (Canada): Durham teachers want more special needs support, say violence rising in elementary schools

Sept 13, 2017, CafeMom.com: IOWA SCHOOLS ARE PUTTING KIDS IN LOCKED BOXES FOR TIME-OUT

Sept 13, 2017, Beloit (WI) Daily News: Board Updated on Use of Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

Sept 12, 2017, Wannaroo Community News, Australia: Koondoola: Burbridge Schools new multi-sensory room awakening students senses

Sept 12, 2017, Wichita Falls, TX, NBC 3: Documentary highlights childhood trauma

Sept 10, 2017, Maui News: You are not aloneDealing with challenging behavior was topic for 52 early childhood professionals

Sept 9, 2017, NJ.com: Hunterdon County Partnership for Health and school districts work to reduce stress in students

Sept 9, 2017, (UK) The Sheffield Star, Yorkshire: Hundreds march to protest Sheffield Council's 'failings' towards children with special needs

Sept 9, 2017, Auckland (New Zealand) Newshub: Call for doubling of counsellor numbers in schools S

Sept 9, 2017, Radio Prague (Czech Republic): RISE IN LEARNING DISABILITIES AMONG STUDENTS

Sept 8, 2017, Fort Atkinson (WI) Daily Union: District starts Trauma Informed Schools initiative

Sept 8, 2017, Vermont Lawmakers Examining How The State Addresses Childhood Trauma

Sept 8, 2017, ClickonDetroit: High school-based clinic improves students' health Staff offers variety of physical, mental health services

Sept 8, 2017, Fox News Seattle: Anxiety rates among students rise as school year starts

Sept 8, 2017, Education Drive, Washington DC: Sensory rooms can improve special education comfort, engagement

Sept 5, 2017, Huff Post: Schools, Please Stop Locking Kids in Closets

Sept 5, 2017, (UK) The Guardian: People give up: the crisis in school support for children with special needs

Sept 5, 2017, Radio New Zealand: Special education wait times 'appalling'

Sept 4, 2017, Southern MN (Owatonna, MN): CDC finds distressing jump in suicide rate for middle school students

Sept 4, 2017, Jerusalem Post: One to Three Students in Every Classroom Suffer from Depression

Sept 3, 2017, New Zealand, Stuff.co.nz: Police handcuff children as number of 111 calls from schools rise

Sept 3, 2017, Reading (PA) Eagle: Reading School District addresses violence at Reading Intermediate High School

Sept 3, 2017, Corry, PA, GoErie.com: New mental health services available for Corry students

Sept 2, 2017, Sudbury (Ontario) Star: Sudbury Accent: Back-to-school anxiety

Sept 1, 2017, Portsmouth, NH, Seacoast Online: Rochester Rep wants to reform school restraint policies

Aug 31, 2017, Camden (NY) Courier Post: Calming classroom shows kids empathy, coping skills

Aug 30, 2017, St. Joseph (MI) Herald Palladium: BH schools takes on mental health crisis

Aug 29, 2017, UK Guardian: The rise in student mental health problems  I thought my tutor would say: deal with it

Aug 28, 2017, The Scotsman: 250,000 children in Scotland lack mental health support

Aug 28, 2017, Education Dive, Washington, DC: As states seek to reduce suspensions, schools look for ways to handle discipline

Aug 27, 2017, London Daily Star: School pupils as young as FOUR face suspension at school
Qatar Airways has joined a group of private sector, non-government organisations and government agencies to combat wildlife crime across transportation networks.

As a partner in the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, Qatar Airways has increased its commitment as a signatory to the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration to protect endangered species from illegal trade and transportation.

Alongside ROUTES, Qatar Airways will help raise awareness and build capacity with Qatar Airways staff and strengthen solutions to help stop the trafficking of wildlife.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said: We have a prominent position in establishing industry solutions to global threats, such as the illegal transportation of endangered wildlife.

"Qatar Airways is proud to stand with other aviation industry leaders to state that we have zero tolerance for this criminal activity. As a result, we have devoted resources to raise awareness to not only eliminate wildlife trafficking, but to protect these creatures that we value.

ROUTES Partnership chairperson Michelle Owen said: We are thrilled that Qatar Airways is joining ROUTES and taking an increased leadership role against wildlife trafficking within the aviation sector. ROUTES is a transformational partnership that is strengthened by the knowledge and motivation that members like Qatar Airways contribute.

ROUTES and Qatar Airways signed a Partnership Memorandum of Understanding in May 2017, officially making Qatar Airways the newest member of the ROUTES Partnership.

Qatar Airways Cargo, the worlds third largest international cargo carrier, implements rigorous procedures in its requirements of consignors, in an enhanced effort to prevent and detect misconsignment, one of the chief ways this illegal trade is carried out.

The illegal trade of wildlife is the fourth largest black market in the world  worth approximately $20bn annually  and impacts more than 7,000 species of animals and plants.

An analysis of global airport wildlife seizure and trafficking data published in May this year revealed that criminals are exploiting air transport to smuggle protected and endangered animals and animal products on commercial flights.

The report, Flying Under the Radar: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector, analysed airport seizures of ivory, rhino horn, birds and reptiles from January 2009 to August 2016.

Collectively, these four categories account for about 66% of all trafficked wildlife, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and serve as indicators for wider trends within illicit wildlife trafficking.

Criminal organisations involved in wildlife trafficking are often directly connected to other trafficking networks, including the smuggling of narcotics, arms and people. Wildlife traffickers regularly exploit the increasing connectivity of global transportation, threatening human health and security, creating risk throughout industry supply chains and pushing animal species into extinction.

The ROUTES Partnership supports the transport sector by providing targeted data analytics, empowering personnel with the necessary tools and information to be a part of the solution, raising awareness among clients and staff and ultimately embedding solutions within existing company policies that help stop the trafficking of wildlife.

Focus: Illegal wildlife trafficking  Killing by numbers

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October 18, 2017

The Egyptian government is making noticeable progress in its fight against the black cloud  a thick layer of smog from burning rice straw that spreads across Cairo and the Nile Valley for several weeks after the rice harvest each autumn.

This year, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment has convinced farmers to stop burning rice straw and instead collect it and hand it over to the government to be recycled and turned into other products.

Agricultural waste represents an economic value, and the ministry has embarked on a plan to turn rice straw into natural fertilizers and animal fodder, Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy said, according to the semi-official daily newspaper Al-Ahram.

The minister added that the government is planning to establish a factory in the Nile Delta governorate of Beheira in order to turn rice straw into paper using an environmentally friendly Chinese technology.

Shehab Abdel Wahab, the head of the Environmental Affairs Agency affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, told local media that burning rice straw is responsible for 43% of the black cloud phenomenon, while traffic fumes constitute 23% and garbage burning 12% of the problem.

This year, the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture launched 336 workshops and symposia to raise awareness among farmers about the economic and environmental importance of rice straw and the harm resulting from its burning. During the workshops, farmers were urged to collect rice straw and hand it over at collection points nationwide to be recycled and turned into fodder and fertilizers. Farmers get 50 Egyptian pounds ($2.83) for every ton of rice straw they hand over. Government figures seem to indicate that many farmers have reacted positively to the governments awareness campaigns.

According to a report released by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, a total of 50,000 tons of rice straw have been collected, about 7,261 tons of which have been recycled and turned into feed and fertilizers from mid-August until now. The government plans to collect 350,000 tons of rice straw and recycle about 220,000 of them, the report added.

The governments plan comes as Egypts farmers have been hit hard by a 2014 decision to increase fertilizer prices on the retail market by 33%. Making matters worse was the increase in fuel prices by up to 47%; a decision taken by the government following the November pound flotation to cut budget deficit and stimulate economic growth.

In addition to awareness campaigns, the government also started to punish violators in order to limit the practice. Farmers burning rice straw must pay a fine ranging between 5,000 and 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($283-$5,700). Farmers who repeat such a violation may face a prison sentence of up to one year.

Ahmed Fathi, an environmentalist and the head of a nongovernmental organization concerned with environment protection, lauded the governments recent moves to combat the black cloud phenomenon, saying the efforts have shown positive results.

The government has finally set out a sound, well-knit plan to fight this bad practice, Fathi told Al-Monitor.

Fathi also said the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture should organize more awareness campaigns to encourage more farmers to stop burning rice straw and start collecting it and handing it over to the government.

If such campaigns continued and made a marked success, rice straw would turn into a bounty for the country. It would generate a lot of revenues, and it can also be exported to other countries, the young environmentalist added.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) reported, According to the Annual Report on Solid Waste Management issued by the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs in 2013  Egypt generates 30 million tonnes of agricultural waste, accounting for 34% of the entire waste generated.

According UNIDO, Agricultural waste constitutes the largest source of waste generated in Egypt. Agricultural waste management has untapped potential to create jobs in rural and marginalized communities.

Management of agricultural waste, including rice straw, can be a golden egg for Egypt. It can provide thousands of job opportunities, satisfy the needs of fertilizers for the countrys farmers and increase export rates, Fathi said.
October 17, 2017

CAIRO  Pope Francis has confirmed that Egypt will be included as an official Roman Catholic Church pilgrimage destination next year, sparking hope that the country's tourism industry can be revived. The first pilgrims should begin arriving in Egypt in May, according to Tourism Minister Yahya Rashed.

The pope endorsed the designation Oct. 4 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism then announced Oct. 5 that the path of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) in Egypt more than 2,000 years ago will be part of the Vatican pilgrimage program for 2018.

Rashed said it is a tourism achievement for Egypt to hold a place in Catholic religious rituals. He called on Christians around the world to follow in the Holy Family's footsteps as it fled King Herod in Bethlehem to Egypt.

Rashed headed an Egyptian delegation to the Vatican Oct. 4 that included parliament members, businessmen, investors, tourism officials and journalists. The trip followed up on the pope's historic visit to Egypt in April.

Ahead of the April visit, Pope Francis said in a speech broadcast on TV, I am truly happy to come as a friend, as a messenger of peace and as a pilgrim to the country that gave more than 2,000 years ago refuge and hospitality to the Holy Family as they fled the threats of King Herod.

Rashed predicts religious tourism will attract 20% of the world's 2.2 billion Christians, almost 1.3 billion of whom are Catholics. Christian religious tourism in Egypt, which is mainly concentrated around St. Catherine's Monastery in southern Sinai, now accounts for about 3% of Egypt's tourism business.

Nader Girgis heads the Committee for the Revival of the Holy Family Itinerary, which is affiliated with the Tourism Ministry. Girgis said in a TV statement Oct. 4 that at the behest of Pope Tawadros II  the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark  a number of documents and manuscripts have been collected to confirm the route of the Holy Family in Egypt. He noted that the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church possesses many documents that confirm the route in Egypt and explain in detail the journey of the Holy Family from the time they entered Egypt until their return to Palestine. Their journey lasted three years and 11 months.

Father Boulos Halim, the spokesman for the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, told Al-Monitor that the Holy Family's journey is an important part of the world's religious heritage, and he too believes it will promote religious tourism to Egypt.

Egyptian tourism plunged in the years following the 2011 revolution because of political and security turmoil. Tarek Amer, the governor of Egypt's Central Bank, had said in a Jan. 23 press statement issued by parliament's Economic Affairs Committee that the total number of tourists coming to Egypt fell by 42% in 2016 to 5.4 million, compared with 9.3 million in 2015. He said Egypt's tourism revenue fell to $3.4 billion in 2016, from $11 billion in 2010, a 69% decline in six years.

Halim told Al-Monitor the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Antiquities have been coordinating to prepare the religious destinations expected to be on the Holy Family's itinerary. Several places have been restored already, and most of the others are being worked on.

The duration and cost of the tour haven't been determined yet.

In an interview with CBC TV channel Oct. 4, Rashed noted that by May, eight archaeological sites to be included in the 25-site route will be ready to receive Christian pilgrims. They include the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, the Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo (also known as the Hanging Church), the three monasteries of Wadi El Natrun  Saint Bishoy Monastery, Monastery of the Syrians and the Paromeos Monastery  the Church of the Holy Virgin in Jabal al-Tayr, the Monastery of Al-Muharraq at Mount Qosqam and the St. Mary Monastery in Mount Drenka.

According to the General Authority for Tourism Promotion, the first part of the journey took the Holy Family members from Bethlehem to the Gaza Strip. They then entered Egyptian territory via the Zaranik Protectorate in northern Sinai, then traveled to central Cairo before reaching Asyut governorate in southern Egypt.

Father Rafic Greiche, the spokesman for Egypt's Catholic Coptic Church, told Raseef22 news Oct. 6 that the church hasn't decided which destinations will receive tourists, adding that the state is studying whether it's feasible to include northern Sinai destinations given security concerns.

A series of terrorist attacks this year in Egypt have targeted Christians. On Feb. 19, the Islamic State (IS) broadcast a video in which it called for targeting Christians in Egypt and vowed to launch more attacks. Subsequently, it claimed responsibility for three such operations: On April 9, 46 people were killed by bombs placed in two churches in the northern governorates of Gharbia and Alexandria. On May 26, at least 26 people were killed after gunmen attacked a bus carrying Christian pilgrims to a monastery in the southern governorate of Minya. On Dec. 11, 25 people were killed in an explosion at a church affiliated with St. Mark Cathedral in the Abbasid district of Cairo.

Khaled Okasha, the director of the National Center for Security Studies, told Al-Monitor that because of the security issues, the Holy Family tourist program isn't likely to include northern Sinai destinations. However, some cities there such as Rafah, Arish and Sheikh Zuweid might be included at a later stage.

Hundreds of members of the army and police have been killed in IS attacks in northern Sinai, which intensified after mid-2013 when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was defense minister and army chief at the time, deposed former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi in the wake of mass protests against his rule.

Okasha said the state has identified areas where the security forces are ready to confront any terrorist attacks. The security forces will have to bear an additional burden of securing the specified destinations in the Holy Family's itinerary and countering terrorist operations, but they are up for it, he added.
October 18, 2017

After nine months of disavowing the Obama administrations Iran policy, US President Donald Trump has finally unveiled his strategy toward the Islamic Republic: all-out confrontation. His Oct. 13 speech announcing the policy was nothing short of war mongering and marks the elimination of any prospects for successful US-Iran diplomacy.

Trump's address and the White House fact sheet detailing his Iran policy centered on traditional US rebukes of Iran over its regional influence, defensive capabilities (such as its ballistic missile program), its domestic policies and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Of course, he also followed through with his threat to decertify Iranian compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), against the wishes of his senior advisers and European allies, and even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly verified Irans compliance with its obligations under the nuclear deal. Trump also said that if a solution to the JCPOA was not reached with Congress and US allies, then the agreement will be terminated. Furthermore, while he stopped short of designating the IRGC as a terrorist group, he imposed new sanctions on the organization.

Trumps Iran policy is based on an amalgamation of the most hard-line talking points on Iran uttered by every US administration since 1979, with the sole exception of President Barack Obamas second term. Every US president since 1979 has accused the Iranian government of being a state sponsor of terrorism, destabilizing the region and transgressing the rights of its people. US policies all evoked a desire for regime change through attempting to isolate Iran and mobilize regional and international powers against it, exporting arms to regional states hostile to Iran, supporting violent opposition groups and separatists inside Iran, and engaging in covert war aimed at sabotaging Irans economic and military capabilities.

Trumps speech was notable given that it was light on actual strategy. Instead, he relied on polemics and insults bound to offend Iranians of every political stripe, particularly through use of the term Arabian Gulf to refer to the historically and internationally recognized name for the body of water that separates Irans southwestern coast and the Arabian Peninsula. Of note, the United States officially refers to the latter as the Persian Gulf, as does the United Nations. Consequently, such rhetoric reinforces to the Iranian people the disingenuousness of Trump's references to their proud history  culture  [and] civilization; this, coupled with Trumps outright ban on Iranians entering the United States, negates any Trump claim of siding with them.

With respect to the JCPOA, Trumps speech and his newly laid-out policy reveal that he seeks to goad Iran into withdrawing from the deal. Given international support for the landmark accord, he is in a bind, and thus aims to kill the deal by attempting to create international consensus over sanctioning Iran for non-nuclear reasons that have to do with purported Iranian malign behavior in the region.

While Trumps speech won him immediate official acclamations from the Israeli, Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini governments, traditional US allies in Europe all publicly declared their strong support for the JCPOA and intention to continue diplomatic engagement with Iran. The IAEA reiterated that Iran is fully in compliance with its obligations under the deal. Thus, it appears that the United States is experiencing unprecedented international isolation on Iran. Indeed, after Trumps speech, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, The international community, and the European Union with it, has clearly indicated that the deal is, and will continue to be, in place.

The situation could also quickly deteriorate given the Trump administrations increasingly frequent declarations of regime change as an overarching foreign policy objective. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated Oct. 15 that Washingtons endgame is for the Iranian government to be toppled. By committing to a regime change policy, Trump is not only contradicting his own campaign rhetoric, which castigated US policies of regime change under Obama and President George W. Bush, but is violating the UN charter and reviving memories in the Iranian public of the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mossadegh. Such attempts by Trump to create cleavages between the Iranian public and government, or even within the government in Tehran, are futile  and fatal to any endeavor to negotiate with Tehran on any issue.

Trumps decertification of the JCPOA and his ultra-hawkish, anti-Iran rhetoric have not only alienated US allies, but predictably united a usually divided Iranian public behind their government. Moreover, with his vociferous attacks on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the IRGC, Trump has ruled out any possibility for negotiations with Tehran and put the two countries on a dangerous trajectory toward war.

After nearly 40 years of pursuing confrontational, zero-sum strategies toward Iran, the United States has only seen its regional influence wither and its autocratic allies prove unsustainable, while Iran has emerged as a major regional power.

For Trump to now take such a hostile stance toward Iran  and especially Ayatollah Khamenei and the IRGC  positions the United States to be perpetually at odds with the Islamic Republic and remain entangled in costly interventions in the region at unnecessary cost to its human and material resources and global standing.
October 18, 2017

New Labor Party chair Avi Gabbay made a few surprising statements this week that made it abundantly clear he was abandoning the partys traditional ideological stand as leader of the center-left, hoping to lure voters on the political right and gain sufficient support to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gabbay  a newcomer to the Labor Party who was elected in the July 10 primaries to lead it  surprised most members of his party except for his ally, Knesset member Shelly Yachimovich. She claimed there was nothing new in his position. Many voters of the Zionist Camp  a two-faction union of which Labor is the senior member  who are also seeking a Netanyahu alternative were also likely taken aback by Gabbays statements.

Speaking on Oct. 14 at an event in the southern city of Beersheba, Gabbay declared that he would not sit with the Arab Joint List party in any future government. We will not sit with them, unequivocally. I do not see anything that connects us to them," Gabbay said. The following day he veered further to the right, addressing a gathering of party activists like a die-hard right-winger: We have to understand a very simple thing: We are the strong ones here. They always scare us, but we are the stronger ones. We are stronger than the Arabs. We do not have to be afraid of them; the Arabs have to be afraid of us," Gabbay said. And as if that were not enough, he added, Jews in the Land of Israel must rely solely on themselves and ensure that everything is under their control. He also told the stunned party members that he had met senior defense officials, half of whom do not believe there is any Palestinian partner for peace negotiations.

Before his party members could fully understand the direction in which their new leader was taking them, Gabbay continued to dismantle one by one Labors traditional positions. Party supporters who had sworn allegiance to the heritage of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin  assassinated in 1995 for trying to make peace with the Palestinians  heard the new chairman tell Channel 2 TV that there was no need to vacate West Bank settlements as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. If we make a peace agreement, why should we evacuate?" he said. "I think that the dynamics or terminology we have become accustomed to here, where 'if you make peace you evacuate,' are not necessarily true." Gabbay made all of these statements in the span of 72 hours.

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh gave Gabbay an ultimatum. If he and the Labor Party want us to do our part to replace the regime, he and his top party members must now say clearly that they regard us as a legitimate group. If not, we will stop talking to him, Odeh threatened. The Joint List must show Gabbay and the Labor Party that from now on there are no more free political lunches, he added.

Gabbays statements should be regarded on two levels: The first is his views regarding an accommodation with the Palestinians (There is no partner) and the price of peace (no settlement evacuation). The second is his attitude toward Israels 20% Arab minority. Although his associates said he had been speaking about members of the Arab Joint List specifically and not about all Arab citizens, it is hard to set the two apart. His remark to the effect that the Zionist Camp has nothing in common with the Joint List, for which most Israeli Arabs were forced to vote or risk not having any representation in the Knesset, was seen by most Arabs as a hostile targeting of them all. The Joint List, a union of four small parties, was only formed after Avigdor Liberman, head of the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, pushed through legislation raising the electoral threshold to keep the small Arab parties out of the Knesset.

Odeh claims Gabbay doesnt understand the math: Without the support of the Arab List  currently the third-largest Knesset faction with 13 lawmakers  the Zionist Camp hasnt a hope of replacing the Netanyahu government. We Arabs constitute 20% of the population. Anyone wanting to change the political map must understand that without us, its impossible, he said. Netanyahu, he added, understands this equation far better than Gabbay. Odeh points to the 1999 elections in which Israelis were given two ballots  one for the party of their choice and the other for prime minister  and 94% of Arab voters picked Labors Ehud Barak, who defeated Netanyahu for the premiership.

In rioting that broke out in October 2000, 13 Arab Israeli protesters were shot to death by police, a traumatic event that created a major rift between Israeli Jews and Arabs. The government was led at the time by Ehud Barak and the Labor Party. But despite the October events, Arab Knesset members from all factions continued to regard Labor as a potential partner. Now, it would seem, they have no one they can back. Not Netanyahu, who warned on the day of the 2015 elections against Arabs coming in droves to the polls, and not Gabbay, who shortly after assuming office essentially delegitimized the Arab legislators and ruled out coalescing with them.

Gabbay did not explain what led him to make such controversial declarations. One can assume that he has a hard time seeing himself in the same government with the provocative Knesset members of one of the Arab factions that constitute the Joint List, namely Haneen Zoabi and Jamal Zahalka of Balad. But crossing off the entire list, en bloc  in addition to saying that Israel need not give up its West Bank settlements in any future agreement with the Palestinians and that there is no Palestinian partner with which to make peace  alienates the Arab voters once and for all from the Labor Party. It also casts a sense of despair among Arab Israelis, confirming their worst fears that no good can come out of the Israeli political system for them. The disillusionment could also hurt the Joint List, which in the next elections will have to work hard to convince the Arab public that it can still bring about positive change on their behalf and give them a reason to head for the ballot box.
October 18, 2017

RAMALLAH, West Bank  Hundreds of contraband Israeli SIM cards have been seized at the Palestinian border in the past three months. In the West Bank, the Palestinian Customs Police announced Oct. 8 that it had seized 110 cards in Jericho, south of the West Bank. On Oct. 5, 380 cards were seized in Hebron. On Sept. 24, 200 cards were seized in Nablus in the north. The biggest seizure took place Aug. 20, when 2,200 SIM cards and prepaid-phone cards were confiscated in Nablus.

The use of Israeli SIM cards in the Palestinian territory has increased due to the technology gap with neighboring countries, as Israel dominates communications. While Israeli companies provide 4G services to their customers, Palestinian companies only provide 2G services.

The Ministry of Telecommunications prohibits the sale of settlement products, including cellphones and services, in the Palestinian markets. Israeli communications companies provide services to Israeli settlers, so their signal booster towers are installed in the West Bank settlements.

On April 6, the Palestinian attorney general warned all shops and communication service points that possession or circulation of Israeli SIM cards is a crime under Palestinian law.

Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology Suleiman Zuhairi told Al-Monitor, The use of Israeli SIM cards is significantly increasing due to the siege on the communications sector, which deprives us of the advanced technology and services that Israeli companies provide and cannot be compared with the services provided by the Palestinian companies. This has resulted in a black market for Israeli SIM cards.

Palestinians obtain SIM cards from various sources. Zuhairi explained, Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers who work within the Green Line can easily buy the cards. In Area C, the cards are smuggled and sold in shops and in streets, taking advantage of the Palestinian security apparatus' inability to reach them, as the area is under Israeli control.

Zuhairi said, There arent any reliable figures on the number of Israeli cards [in illicit circulation], but according to our estimates, theres about half a million, an estimate close to that of the Palestinian Telecommunications Group. CEO Ammar al-Eker told Al-Monitor, Our estimates indicate that there are about 450,000 cards, compared to 150,000 in 2014. This means that the number has tripled in three years.

Palestinian officials hope that the advent of 3G services to the West Bank will reduce the problem. Launching 3G services soon, in addition to lowering the telecommunications rates in Palestine to a level affordable by citizens, will motivate many people to let go of their Israeli cards, Zuhairi added.

The use of Israeli cards is costing the Palestinian economy, since Israeli companies that profit from the Palestinian market and compete with Palestinian companies in their own cities do not pay licensing fees or taxes to the Palestinian treasury.

An early 2016 World Bank report estimated that the cellphone sector in the Palestinian territories incurred between $436 million and $1.2 billion in losses due to Israeli restrictions over 2013-2015. Unlicensed Israeli operators control more than 20% of the West Bank market, while telecommunications companies in Palestine are unable to operate in 60% of the West Bank territories that fall under Israels control (Area C), according to the World Bank report.

Palestinians hope that the agreement with Israel, signed in April, according to which Israel will allow Palestinian cellphone companies to provide 3G services, will help. We hope that the provision of 3G services helps reduce the number of Israeli SIM cards used in Palestinian territories. We are still installing stations. We have installed 250 sites out of a thousand, due to Israels delay in allowing equipment into the stations, Eker added.

Asked about the role of Palestinian regulatory agencies in combatting Israeli cards, Eker said, The regulatory agencies are making efforts in this regard, but they need to do more and the judiciary should prosecute card smugglers who have operated with impunity."

There is a law prohibiting the sale of Israeli cards, as they are unlicensed by Palestine and dont have distributors, commercial agents or signal towers in the West Bank. Whatever is seized or confiscated is referred to the Ministry of Telecommunications to take the appropriate legal measures, Luai Bani Odeh, head of public relations for the customs police, told Al-Monitor.

Bani Odeh explained that more than 4,710 Israeli cards have been seized from early 2017 through the end of September.

Bani Odeh warned against the danger of Israeli SIM cards, saying, Israeli cards are used when committing criminal offenses such as theft and drug distribution, as they cannot be tracked by Palestinian [security] services, unlike Palestinian SIM cards. Palestinian numbers can be tracked through the attorney general, who notifies the company.

The advent of 3G services in the Palestinian territories will not immediately end the use of Israeli SIM cards, but it will be a step forward for Palestinians
October 18, 2017

MOSCOW  Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu paid a two-day visit this week to Israel  his first as the top Russian military commander. On Oct. 16, Shoigu met in Tel Aviv with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and the Israel Defense Forces' Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot. On Tuesday, he was hosted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hours before Shoigu landed in Tel Aviv, the Israeli air force destroyed a Syrian army anti-aircraft battery in an alleged retaliation to Damascus firing a missile at Israeli planes while they were on a reconnaissance mission over neighboring Lebanon. Israel said it informed Russia of the incident in real-time mode and comprehensively briefed Shoigu to alleviate a potentially negative response from Moscow.

Unlike Shoigus snap visit to Damascus in September, which was shrouded in mystery, on this trip to Israel he was clear about his purpose: Besides the military and military-technical cooperation [between our countries], the main issue remains the fight against terrorism, as well as the [general] situation in the region. Separately, wed like to discuss everything that has to do with Syria. [Russias] operation there is coming to its end. There are several points that require urgent solutions and discussion of further prospects.  There is a lot to talk about, said Shoigu in his opening statement at the meeting with Liberman.

In response, Liberman said Israel values its relations with Russia for the sincere, candid dialogue [between the two].  Im positive that this is the way to solve all the problems. He spoke first in Russian and then repeated his remarks in Hebrew.

Shoigus allusions to military-technical cooperation imply the interest Israel apparently has in purchasing Russias heavy infantry fighting vehicle, the BMPT Terminator. Russia reportedly deployed the vehicle in Syria for field trials against the Islamic State (IS) and it came in handy for urban fights. Commenting on the prospects of the deal between Russia and Israel, Andrei Frolov, a military analyst and editor-in-chief of the Russian journal Eksport Vooruzheny (Arms Export), told Al-Monitor, The Israelis have never directly bought arms from Russia. There were a few projects on the modernization of Soviet military equipment in third countries, but never a direct purchase  unlike the Russians, who did buy weapons from Israel. If the sale were to happen, it would be emblematic, yet we shouldnt be overestimating the financial or military significance of the [potential] deal.

What was more important in the Shoigu-Liberman talks was the military coordination between Moscow and Tel Aviv at the current stage, as well as how the two states are going to approach Syria and Iran in the long run.

Shoigus statements that the Russian campaign in Syria is coming to its end triggered a flurry of speculation over the future course of Moscows policies in the country. Frolov said the remarks  the way they were formulated  sound rather abstract: Its hard to tell whether it really is coming to its end. One needs to know the exact initial [operational] goals to be able to make precise conclusions.

It's hardly the first time Russia has proclaimed the end was near. In February, Shoigu said Russian troops would be coming home. In March, President Vladimir Putin announced the goals in Syria were completed and indeed ordered the drawdown of Russia's main forces  but the Russian campaign is still going. In late August, Shoigu stated the war in Syria had reached a de facto end. In September, at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin reiterated the idea, saying, "Conditions for peace have been created in Syria. Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that 92% of the Syrian territory was freed from [IS]. So if the goal was to defeat the terrorists, as Putin proclaimed when Russia entered Syria two years ago, the mission is indeed coming to an end. Yet Russia is facing an array of other challenges, including complications over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's growing presence.

Russian diplomacy takes pride in its flexibility and openness to different players in the Middle East.

Iran was especially large on Shoigus agenda during the meeting with Netanyahu. Following the encounter, the Israeli prime minister wrote on his Twitter page, Iran is attempting to establish itself militarily in Syria. I told the Russian DM: Iran needs to understand that Israel will not allow this. Russias reputable Kommersant newspaper cites its sources in the Defense Ministry as saying the Shoigu-led delegation shared with the Israelis details of Russias air force operations in Syria and Iran's contribution to the fight against terrorism in that country. Moscow also provided some information on the way the four de-escalation zones in Syria will function. Israel opposes the idea of Iran being one of the intermediaries in the process, but Russia is set to maintain the current framework.

Russias support for Hezbollah has also been on the agenda for the two parties, with the Russians supposedly assuring the Israelis that their dealings with the group don't go beyond targeted planning of certain operations in Syria and that Moscow doesnt supply it with arms.

Russian diplomacy takes pride in its flexibility and openness to different players in the Middle East. From Assad and Tehran to the Syrian opposition and Tel Aviv, from Doha to Riyadh, from Turks to Kurds and from Libyas Gen. Khalifa Hifter to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, Moscow tries to engage virtually all stakeholders. This is no easy mission, and the military incident between Israel and Syria on the day of Shoigus visit has exposed the objective limits of Russia's power to keep conflict-bound actors apart.

Given Israel's role in the region, its military power and its willingness to use it, it is critical for Putin to continue the current level of communication with Netanyahu to ensure Russias own presence is immune from any Israeli assaults. But it is also clear Israel is determined to stop Iran's growing presence near Israel's borders. At the same time, Tehran is resolved to expand and solidify its presence. Moscow doesnt see that situation as its own fight and is working to dodge potential complications of ending up on either side.

Israel has been rather loyal to Russias military presence  and realizes its own gains from it  and Iran has been crucial to Russia on the ground in Syria. But Russia's goals in Syria arent ultimately about either Israel or Iran. Moscow is, however, wary of each party trying to work Russias presence to the detriment of the other. For instance, Russian media outlets have recently raised questions about Irans intentions when it changed the location of an Iran-to-Hezbollah arms transfer point from the border with Lebanon to central Syria, closer to Palmyra. As a result of that change, Israel will have to fly deep into Syrian territory to make its bombing raids on the transfer point and could at some point clash with Russian air forces or harm Russian advisers thought to be stationed at Palmyra.

Such moves are likely to happen more often and represent a long-term challenge to Moscow. Russia will need to sit down with Israel and seriously talk about whether Israel's interests can be squared with Russias interests, and whether Moscow really has any leverage over Tehran, whether in Syria or beyond. Shoigu's visit appears to be important in this very regard. Similar conversations need to be held with Iran  and thats the likely goal of Putin's visit to Tehran in early November.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and fine-art photographer Miguel Gandert shows his work highlighting his mestizaje heritage, and the fusion and tension of the relationship between Spanish Colonial and Native Cultures of the Americas. Runs through 12/29.

Querer means to want, to desire, to be in a place, with its people. In folk terminology, querencia is such a place, the center space of desire, the root of belonging and yearning to belong, that vicinity where you first beheld the light. Querencia, in collective terms, is homeland. ~Enrique Lamadrid, Nuevo Mexico Profundo

Miguel Gandert tells stories. He tells stories of his homeland, New Mexico (and beyond), its people and the cultural practices that distinguish communities from each other while simultaneously revealing their kinship. You will have to form your own words, however. Ganderts stories are told through penetrating, black and white photos. A primary focus of his work is his own mestizaje heritage and the fusion and tension of the relationship between Spanish Colonial and Native Cultures of the Americas.

Miguel Gandert, a native of Espanola, NM, is an award-winning documentary and fine-art photographer and filmmaker. His photographs have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the world and are in numerous public collections including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Museum of American History and Art at the Smithsonian.

Querencia: Rituals of the Rio Arriba opens Friday, October 6 at the New Mexico Humanities Council, 4115 Silver Ave SE, Albuquerque. An artists reception will be 6:00 pm  8:00 pm with an artist's discussion at 7:00 pm. The exhibit closes December 29, 2017.
October 18, 2017

The Saudis are increasingly desperate to find a way out of the Yemeni quagmire. They apparently believe Yemen's ex-dictator, their longtime enemy Ali Abdullah Saleh, can help.

A Russian medical team flew into Sanaa on Oct. 11 with the approval of the Saudis, who control Yemeni airspace. The Russian surgeons then performed a life-saving procedure on the 75-year-old Saleh. Some reports say the surgery took place at the Russian Embassy in the capital. Saleh's exact health issue is unclear, but it apparently is a result of the severe burns and other injuries he suffered during an assassination attempt in 2011. At the time, the Saudis rushed him to a hospital in the kingdom, where his life was saved. He formally gave up the presidency the next year.

During his 34 years as Yemen's president, Saleh clashed repeatedly with the Saudis. In 1990, Yemen tilted toward supporting Iraq in the Kuwait crisis. The Saudis expelled a million Yemeni guest workers to punish Saleh and bring down the Yemeni economy. In 1994, Riyadh backed the south Yemeni secessionists with military and diplomatic support, hoping to split the country in two. Their machinations failed, leaving Saleh in office and the royal family humiliated. They finally eased him out of office in 2014 to be replaced by his deputy.

The United Nations Security Council has sanctioned Saleh for failing to abide by the terms of his dismissal from office  sanctions the Saudis supported and lobbied for. By some accounts, Saleh has hidden in foreign accounts tens of billions of dollars he looted from the Yemeni economy during his misrule of the country. The UN imposed a global travel ban on Saleh and sought to seize his assets.

After the Russian doctors saved Saleh, the Saudi press reported, "Saudi-led coalition intervenes to save seriously ill Saleh's life!" The reports noted that this is the second time Riyadh saved Saleh from his injuries. No explanation for why Riyadh wanted Saleh to live was offered. Nor was the permission to fly into Sanaa, breaking the Saudi blockade of Yemen, put into a larger context.

Most likely the Saudis are hoping to break the rebel alliance between Saleh and the Houthis, which has been fraying this year. The Saudi war effort is costly and contributing to the flatlining of the Saudi economy. It is unpopular in the West. The battlefield is a brutal stalemate that has produced the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world. If the rebels split, perhaps the Saudis and their partners can prevail against the Houthis.

Both King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have their prestige heavily invested in this war. They rushed into it precipitously 2 years ago. They feared Iran was taking control of Yemen via the Houthis and creating an Iranian bridgehead on the Arabian Peninsula. The irony of saving Saleh to find a way out of the mess is rich.

Salman was in Moscow earlier this month for an unprecedented state visit to Russia. President Vladimir Putin provided a very positive reception, and Russian media extensively promoted the visit. Old promises of arms sales were dusted off and recycled.

It is reasonable to assume that the king and Putin discussed the Yemeni imbroglio. Russia has been openly critical of the UN's approach to the conflict, which Moscow rightly says is too friendly to the Saudi argument and insufficiently even-handed. Moscow was the only Security Council member to abstain from the council vote to back the Saudi coalition two years ago. It has maintained its embassy in Sanaa despite the Saudi blockade.

The Russians worked with Saleh during his decades in power. He was then a master of playing geopolitics from a weak hand. It was the demise of the Soviet Union in 1990 that set the stage for his greatest triumph, the peaceful union of Yemen's north with the former Soviet communist client state in the south, called the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. Russia lost its naval base in Aden as a consequence.

The Russians may hope that helping the Saudis in Yemen and working with Saleh to resolve the war will increase the perception that Russian influence in the Arab world is reviving. Their intervention in Syria has gained much attention. Reluctantly the Saudis are accepting that Russian support for Bashar al-Assad has trumped their support for his Sunni enemies, despite billions from the Saudi intelligence services. So using Russian doctors to save Saleh may be the ticket to success in Yemen.

But Saleh is a declining player. The Houthis have systematically taken control of his bases and loyalists this year, as tensions with their putative partner grew. Now some Houthi leaders are calling for the rebellion to take control of his money to rebuild the economy. With his health deteriorating, the ultimate survivor of modern Yemeni politics is unlikely to be the Houthis' undoing. There may be no way out for the kingdom except to acknowledge Houthi control of north Yemen.
October 18, 2017

The Sultan and the Saint, an award-winning film about a historic dialogue between different faiths, has premiered to wide applause in Egypt, the home of its central character, Sultan Mohammad Malik Al-Kamel ibn Al-Adel Al-Ayoubi.

The 60-minute docu-drama was first screened Oct. 12 by the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Weekly, an English-language newspaper, to a small audience of religious leaders, intellectuals, writers and historians. On Oct 17, it was screened again in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypts coastal city of Alexandria.

The Sultan and the Saint is a true story of peaceful discussions between two men of faith, the Muslim ruler Sultan Al-Kamel and the Christian Francis of Assisi, who later became one of Christianity's most revered saints. Their encounter took place during the Crusades in 1219, at the height of east-west tensions, in Damietta, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of Cairo.

The film is narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons and stars Zack Beyer as Sultan Al-Kamel and Alexander McPherson in the role of Francis. Written and directed by Alex Kronemer, the film is based on Paul Moses' book The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace.

Combining fast-paced action and interviews with renowned historians and religious scholars who comment on the events and dialogue between the two men, the film illuminates the desire of the two main characters for peace and their love of God. Francis, who is a traveling preacher at the time and has yet to become one of the most important scholars of the Christian faith, keeps warning against war and urges forgiveness  views in sharp contrast with those of many other Christians. The film shows Sultan Al-Kamel, the nephew of the great Muslim ruler Saladin, as holding beliefs similar to those of Francis and as sharing a warm relationship with the Copts. God creates us to get to know each other, not to quarrel, says the sultan in one scene.

When Francis comes to meet the sultan in the heat of the Crusades to ask him to bring an end to the long-running conflict, the sultan, close to victory, welcomes Francis and treats him with hospitality and generosity and the two men spend a week together. In the sultans camp, Francis engages in one of the great moments of inter-religious dialogue with the sultan and his followers, observing rituals of faith such as prayers. He departs with a deeper understanding of Islamic spirituality that inspires him later in his writings that urged Catholics to treat Muslims with great respect.

The film reveals the possibility of coexistence, open-mindedness and dialogue in that period, Rev. Antonio Adeeb, the secretary of the Franciscan Order in Egypt, told Al-Monitor.

He said that the film showed that the other must be respected. What Francis had found out was that Muslims are not severe, but the contrary  they pray, fear God and are merciful, as it was clear in the scene of distributing bread to the defeated crusaders, he said. At the same time, the sultan saw that among the crusaders, there was a man who called for peace and dialogue.

Adeeb added, We really want more films like this. It must be screened in universities and schools so that we can see religion as a factor that helps us get to know each other, not as dividing us.

Farida el Naqqash, a well-known Egyptian writer and journalist, said the film carried a humanitarian, moral and civilized message that calls for interfaith dialogue. It also aims to fight extremism and sectarianism, she told Al-Monitor.

However, Naqqash said that the film contains a historical mistake as it has Arabs use the word crusaders. At that time, Arabs called crusaders frenja (the Franks).

Egyptians at that time called them frenja because they were invaders. It was not a Muslim-Christian issue but colonization, she said.

Naqqash called for the film to be screened widely in order for people to know their history and discuss it.

Ezzat Ibrahim, the editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Weekly, said the film is important and relevant to today's conflicts. The docu-drama work presents the history of the relationship between East and West, Ibrahim said after the screening, which was organized in collaboration with the Baltimore-Luxor-Alexandria Sister City Committee.

He said the cooperative screening of the film at one of Egypt's state-owned press foundations reinforces the power to build bridges with cultural institutions in the West and opens channels for further cooperation.
October 18, 2017

A Turkish court accepted an indictment this week of 11 human rights activists on terrorism charges that carry prison sentences of up to 15 years in a case the United Nations has said could silence critics.

The defendants include Taner Kilic, the chairman of Amnesty International in Turkey, and Idil Eser, Amnesty Internationals Turkey director, who were implicated after police raided a workshop on coping with stress and information security on an island off the Istanbul coastline in July.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the meeting was an attempt to prolong a failed military coup that sought to overthrow him in July 2016.

This is clearly an overtly politically motivated prosecution [in which] public statements by officials have been problematic and prejudicial to the investigation, Andrew Gardner, Amnestys researcher on Turkey, told Al-Monitor. In Turkey, the political leaders and the pro-government media are driving these events, not an independent investigation.

Also in jail awaiting the trial set to begin on Oct. 25 are Swiss national Ali Gharavi and Peter Steudtner, a German citizen whose arrest escalated diplomatic tensions with Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the case exemplified how innocent people are caught up in the wheels of justice in Turkey.

The UNs office on human rights said at the time the arbitrary detention and arrests prevented rights defenders from working in safety and that they must not be silenced.

The dense, at times garbled 17-page indictment seeks prison sentences of between 7.5 and 15 years for attending an illegal meeting. One columnist who is normally sympathetic to the government called it an indictment of absurdities.

The suspects are accused of aiding an assortment of outlawed groups. A Facebook message from a self-proclaimed member of the armed Kurdistan Workers Party asking about joining Amnesty is presented as proof the international rights group shelters militants.

Other evidence included a text message urging workshop participants to turn off their phones and enjoy the boat ride to one of Istanbuls most popular tourist destinations.

The prosecutor also accused the activists of attempting to exploit the main opposition Republican Peoples Party Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglus march for justice against the governments crackdown on civil society to spread turmoil across the country similar to the Gezi Park protests in 2013.

Amnestys Kilic was not at the workshop because he was jailed the month before, but he is still accused of organizing the seminar and of membership in a religious network headed by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey says masterminded the July 2016 coup attempt. The new indictment risks trying him twice for the same alleged crimes.

The main evidence against Kilic appears to be that his cellphone allegedly contained ByLock, an encrypted messaging application authorities say was used by Gulens followers. Kilic is quoted in the indictment as saying he did not download the software, and Gardner said two expert reports show that ByLock was never downloaded to his phone.

Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people and sacked about 110,000 civil servants and members of the security forces under a state of emergency following the coup attempt. This week the government extended the state of emergency for another three months, giving it the power to rule by decree.

In more signs of the deteriorating climate this week, a prosecutor opened an investigation into a local Fox TV presenter and his lawyer after the journalist reported that a Cabinet ministers spouse had used ByLock. Both men are accused of insulting a state official and denigrating the government.

On Tuesday, another prosecutor said he was seeking almost 13 years in prison for the online editor at Cumhuriyet for a tweet on the newspapers account that said a prosecutor investigating the coup plot had been mowed down when he was killed in a traffic accident. The tweet was deleted 55 seconds later. The editor is accused of spreading terrorist propaganda.

Cumhuriyet, one of Turkeys oldest dailies and among the last still criticizing the government, is already at the center of the trial of 17 of its staff members accused of aiding the Gulenist network.

Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europes human rights commissioner, submitted a report to the European Court of Human Rights accusing Turkey of violating the courts fundamental conventions by using the judiciary to silence critics and impede free speech in the Cumhuriyet trial, the paper reported. Muiznieks office did not reply to a request for comment.

The next hearing in the Cumhuriyet trial is set for Oct. 31. On Oct. 24, the trial begins for six journalists who reported on leaked emails purportedly belonging to Erdogans son-in-law Berat Albayrak, the countrys energy minister. They are accused of disclosing state secrets.

All of these cases that have come under the post-coup crackdown that have encompassed journalists, political activists and now human rights defenders  are part of a policy to silence [those] who are dissenting against the governments policy under the state of emergency, Amnestys Gardner said.

He added, Unfortunately, there is not an independent judiciary in Turkey in which to try these politicized cases.
October 16, 2017

Turkey plans to boost its military spending significantly next year, according to preliminary budget figures revealed this week.

Turkey is currently the world's 18th-largest military spender, with an estimated 2016 outlay of $14.8 billion, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institutes (SIPRI) Fact Sheet, which was released in April. SIPRI notes the figure is an estimate because, since the attempted military coup in July 2016, detailed data has become difficult to obtain.

But one fact is beyond dispute: The government is planning to meet an expected 30% increase in military defense expenditures by direct taxation of its citizens and a series of price hikes to be borne by the public.

The Finance Ministry gave parliament a draft 2018 budget Oct. 16 and expects to hand legislators the final proposal Oct. 25. Though education is to receive the largest chunk of the budget, Minister Naci Agbal told local media the huge hike in military spending reflects a "war economy." He cited "geopolitical risks and the budget increases these risks require." He said that of about $7.2 billion in extra revenues to be derived from surcharges on vehicles, fuel, real estate and personal income taxes, about $2.3 billion will be directly allocated to the defense industry. Turkey is expecting a $5.2 billion increase in 2018 defense expenditures.

According to Agbal, in 2018 a supplementary $7.5 billion will be transferred to Turkeys military/defense budget. Of this new funding, about $2.3 billion will be allotted to the Defense Industry Undersecretariat, which procures Turkeys weapons systems and equipment. Moreover, the Defense Ministry budget will rise by 41% to $12 billion. The budget of the Interior Ministry will be augmented by 25%, the Gendarmerie Command budget will increase by 42%, while the national police budget will go up by 18% and the National Intelligence Service budget will get an additional 20%.

All told, about $26 billion will be spent on military defense expenditures, out of a total national budget of $195 billion. That amount is likely to put Turkey in SIPRIs top 15 defense spenders in 2018.

According to Arda Mevlutoglu, a well-placed expert on the Turkish defense industry, a new trend is visible in Turkeys defense and security spending. He said that because of Turkeys growth rate, rapid increases in military defense expenditures are not reflected in gross domestic product. Mevlutoglu also cited a notable increase in national manufacturers' income, saying, For example, while the total revenue of the Turkish defense and aeronautic industries was $1.855 billion between 2006-2016, it is now $5.968 billion.

Turkey, while updating its national defense and deterrence capacity during the past 10 years, also has been focusing on long-term investments and mobilizing national resources. There was little off-the-shelf procurement to combat security threats, as Ankara believed its defense and security resources were adequate to cope with existing and anticipated threats.

But Mevlutoglu emphasized that, especially with developments in Syria and Iraq, "the nature and dimensions of threats in the region usually exceed the capacity of any one regional country to cope with."

"This requires that a sensitive balance has to be maintained between long-term capacity development nationally" and urgent needs to procure items from outside sources.

Mevlutoglu elaborated: In modern combat and similar operations, ammunition consumption usually exceeds all predictions. We saw examples of this in the 1999 NATO operation [against Yugoslavia], 2003 Gulf War, 2011 Libya operation, Yemen operations of the Arab coalition and lately in the US-led coalition operation against the Islamic State. [Long-running] struggles against asymmetric threats in the combat zone [require] serious production and accumulation of ammunition. ... Because of the asymmetric and urban warfare requirements, the need for specific equipment and vehicles, which are usually high-cost items, exceed all expectations.

Although the predicted budget increases to defend Turkeys national interests in Syria and Iraq appear high, it's possible such amounts are still inadequate for procurement from national and foreign defense industries. In short, the additional economic burden of further military operations in Syria will be considerably higher than before.

According to the Turkish military's latest figures, released in April, Turkey has 362,284 armed military personnel, excluding the Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard. Of that figure, 201 are generals, 25,728 officers, 64,655 noncommissioned officers, 47,167 contract sergeants, 16,018 contract privates first-class and 208,515 nonprofessional conscripts. Only 45% of the Turkish Armed Forces can be classified as fully professional.

With this structure, Turkey has Europes second-largest army, if Russia is included.

According to a military source who asked to remain anonymous, about 70% of Turkeys military/defense spending goes toward personnel expenses. Of the remaining funds, 25% is spent on new weapons systems and only 5% goes to modernization and research and development projects. Obviously, Turkey has to find ways to curtail personnel expenses while transforming to its military to a professional force and reducing its size, without sacrificing operational effectiveness.

The source added that Turkey currently buys more than 60% of its military equipment and supplies from national resources. This ratio will increase to about 70% in three years. Local production is of vital importance for Turkey, but when compared with foreign resources, local costs are far too high. Turkey has to find new markets for its local production to ensure its defense industry's sustained growth.

However, given the lengthy state of emergency, it's been difficult to conduct a transparent debate in parliament and in public on how to cut the number of military personnel effectively.

That might explain why I couldnt find a single reliable report, analysis or academic study during my research for Turkey's 2016-2017 defense and security expenditures. There is simply no reliable data for the past two years. Turkeys already-opaque defense/military expenditures are now concealed behind a screen of secrecy.

Correction: Oct. 18, 2017. An earlier version of this article included statements from Minister Naci Agbal identified as given to Al-Monitor. They were rather made to local Turkish media outlets.
Commercial real estate agent Ali Wilburn and residential agent Emily Stewart recently launched Urban Realty, a boutique real estate company in Birmingham.

"With a focus on purposeful communities, Urban Realty merges the evolving needs of residents with attractive local businesses to develop mixed-use spaces that improve Birmingham's urban fabric," the company said in a press release.

Urban Realty's integrated business model connects the commercial and residential sectors. The company states that it is focused on developing thriving social environments that increase both the value of Birmingham real estate and the quality of life for its residents and business community.

"We recognize the momentum of Birmingham's recent growth has created opportunity for a new, fresh perspective in real estate," said Wilburn, a principal at Urban Realty. "If you'd like to invest and catalyze Birmingham's revitalization, we can connect you with the right opportunity."

Wilburn has extensive experience as a commercial real estate broker in her hometown of Birmingham, having most recently worked at Shannon Waltchack. She is a candidate for the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation and serves as a chair on the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Birmingham Retail Advisory Board. She has expertise representing landlords, specializing in retail / office leasing and investment sales.

"A strong sense of community can have a positive impact on the health and vitality of its residents," said Emily Stewart, a principal at Urban Realty. "You are where you live, and we help build vibrant, amenity-rich neighborhoods that increase connectivity and maximize value."

Stewart has a diverse background with extensive experience in residential and commercial real estate. As a Birmingham transplant, this Dallas, Texas native said she appreciates the Magic City's growth potential and has an innovative vision for developing and connecting urban communities.
Birmingham's Capstone Building Corp., has begun work on Mobile's Cottage Hill, a $9 million multi-family housing development.

Construction is scheduled to wrap on the development, which covers more than 98,000 square feet, next May. It will be located at 7600 Cottage Hill Rd.

The first part of a multi-phase development, Cottage Hill will have 80 units within four buildings, along with a separate clubhouse for residents on the property. Capstone Building is the general contractor, with Pennrose Properties LLC of Philadelphia, Penn., as the developer.

Michael Hendrickson, director of pre-construction and estimating for Capstone Building, said the development "will provide an inviting and comfortable home for future residents."

"We are excited to bring a spacious and affordable housing option to the west Mobile community," Hendrickson said.
Birmingham's proposal for Amazon's second corporate headquarters is on its way to Seattle.

"The hard copies went out this morning," Rick Davis, senior vice president for economic development at the Birmingham Business Alliance, told AL.com on Wednesday afternoon. "The digital edition is going out tonight or the first thing in the morning."

Amazon announced on Sept. 7 that it is seeking a site for a second headquarters, which will eventually employ 50,000. The company released an eight-page request for proposals detailing its requirements (including 8 million square feet of building by 2027, access to an international airport with direct flights to Seattle and highly educated labor force).

Birmingham launched a public campaign a few weeks later.

"I thought for the time we had our proposal laid out a great road map for how we would bring Amazon to Birmingham, and how we would work in concert with them to create the kind of city that their people would want to live in," Davis said.

While Magic City is considered a longshot for Amazon HQ2, Davis said the "true value of the process" has been pulling together a team from multiple agencies to work towards a common goal.

It will now be easier to get that team together again to work on proposals for other large projects, he said.

Davis said people laughed out loud when Alabama bid for a Mercedes-Benz plant in 1992. They aren't laughing now, he said.

Details of Birmingham's bid for Amazon weren't released.

The team that worked on the proposal included staff from the city of Birmingham, the Jefferson County Commission, mayors of the largest 10 cities in Jefferson County, Birmingham Business Alliance, Alabama Power, Spire Energy, Big Communications, Alabama Department of Commerce, Rev Birmingham, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Birmingham Airport Authority and Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority.

Moody's Analytics Inc. released a list of what it considers to be Top 10 contenders for the Amazon HQ2, and Birmingham didn't make the cut. Two Southern cities, though, Austin and Atlanta, made the cut though at No. 1 and 2, respectively.

Birmingham, though, received positive national attention for its media campaign. "That is a tremendous value," Davis said.

The Washingtonian ranked Birmingham's public campaign for Amazon HQ2 No. 1 in a list of nine cities. Magic City's campaign included the installation of three gigantic Amazon boxes and #bringatob.

Davis said he expects it could be early 2018 before Birmingham knows whether it made the cut.
If Birmingham really wants Amazon's second headquarters, it's going to need a lot more than giant cardboard boxes on the sidewalk.

Nearly every city in North America that meets the population requirement  and even many that don't -are fighting for the project that will eventually employ 50,000 people. Proposals are due Thursday.

Birmingham's #bringatob campaign is cute, and it's gotten several nods in national media. But it's not the only one. There's Stonecrest, Georgia, that's offered to rename itself Amazon, Georgia and give the company 345 acres of land if it's chosen. There's Kansas City, Missouri, whose mayor bought 1,000 Amazon products that will be given to charity and reviewed them each with a reason Amazon should move to the city. There's Tucson, Arizona, who sent a 21-foot saguaro cactus to Amazon's Seattle headquarters.

But it's highly unlikely that Amazon is going to be swayed by a giant cactus or giant boxes. How do we know this? Because they've told us exactly what they want. And it's unlikely that ego is going to overpower things that will directly affect their bottom line  things like incentives, tech talent and the perfect site.

AL.com spoke to experts about each of the criteria on the request for proposals  while it's largely open ended, here's an in-depth look at Birmingham's strengths and weaknesses.

Site, real estate and time to operations

Dan Lovell, the Director of Graham & Company's Office Group, offered some numbers to put Amazon's site requirements in perspective: Amazon wants a footprint equivalent to all of Birmingham's office space in the entire central business district -- combined.

Imagine 16 Wells Fargo towers: that's how big this eventual requirement is. Amazon wants up to 8 million square feet of building by 2027, which is about exactly the size of the totality of downtown's office market.

"That includes the power company, city offices, all of the single tenant buildings," Lovell said. "We'd be creating an additional central business district."

The entire Birmingham office market is only around 27 million square feet, Lovell said.

The good news  a 30-mile radius around downtown Birmingham goes a long way. Amazon has said it wants to be within 30 miles of a central business district of a metro with 1 million people or more, and in Alabama that stretches into Tuscaloosa and Cullman counties. Amazon is asking for 100 acres, which is a lot  but Alabama has experience rounding up good land and infrastructure.

After all, look at Mercedes' 1,000-acre site, with its 6-million square foot plant  and who ever heard of Vance before that?

"If Amazon comes to you and says you won, you just need to find us 100 acres, then that deal gets done, no question," Lovell said. "The real estate is not exactly the most important piece."

Incentives

It's hard to compare how good one city is at offering incentives compared to another, said Amanda Ross, an Assistant Professor of economics, finance and legal studies at the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama. That's because for a project this big  Amazon is estimating over $5 billion in capital investment over the first 17 years  normal rules don't apply. These incentives packages tend to be so huge, and so individualized, that there aren't many data points and they aren't terribly comparable.

But the fact that Alabama has had big wins with big factories like Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Airbus suggests that Alabama has experience luring big projects with big incentives.

"Mercedes had many good competitors as well. I believe Alabama has something to make it more attractive than other locations," Ross said. "The fact that Alabama got Mercedes here leads me to believe that we have experience offering good incentives."

That's good news, because while it's impossible to tell how Amazon will weigh all of its requirements in its RFP, incentives are likely to be among the top priorities, Ross said.

Of course, some of the incentives that Alabama offers many of its blue collar companies  like AIDT, which is often included in incentives packages to train workers in skills for industrial and advanced manufacturing jobs  won't be of much use to a tech company like Amazon. If Birmingham wants to recruit Amazon, it can't follow the template for incentives packages it used to successfully recruit advanced manufacturers like Autocar or Oxford Pharmaceuticals.

Operating costs

The massive tax breaks afforded to projects this big makes operations costs between states difficult to compare apples to apples, Ross said.

"They typically have a special deal, a special set of incentives with regards to tax breaks," Ross said. "What's actually the case with a lot of these multimillion dollar plants, the corporate income tax rate is not what's relevant because they're offered these incentives and they're rarely paying what the actual rate is. When they move, they usually don't move without a special legislative package. They don't expect to pay the corporate income tax rate  they end up with their own rates."

There's no doubt that it's cheaper to do business in Alabama than most other states. But Amazon did specify that it wants a stable business climate. The Tax Foundation ranks Alabama on the bottom half for the state business tax climate index, but it's very stable.

"We're at least stable, trending up," Ross said.

Labor force

This is likely going to be one of the biggest challenges for Birmingham, according to Mekael Teshome, an economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

The most recent Census estimates show that 29.9 percent of Birmingham-area residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. That's only slightly below the national figure of 31.2 percent, but of course, Birmingham isn't competing against the national average. Birmingham is competing against other cities of 1 million people or more  and Birmingham is low even for the South. In Atlanta, for example, 37.7 percent of people have a bachelor's or higher. In Charlotte, 34.4 percent do. In Nashville, 34.2 percent do. And all of these cities are putting in a full-court press.

Another problem: Alabama has one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest numbers put Alabama's rate at 56 percent -the third-lowest rate in the country, only above West Virginia and Mississippi. Labor force participation by MSA is a little harder to measure, but it's not a good sign.

The good news, Teshome said, is that Birmingham is a sort of corporate hub, with large headquarters like Regions Financial Corp., BBVA Compass, and EBSCO Industries. Some of that labor force could translate to Amazon  but a lot of it probably couldn't, because the financial services and tech industries are pretty different.

"Birmingham is a corporate hub, at least for Alabama. It's the population center where corporate jobs are concentrated. But when it comes to maybe, technology, we have a different specialization. Birmingham tends to do better with financial services," Teshome said. "Alabama does have a tech industry. It exists, but the concentration isn't there  it's not really matured compared with other areas.

Amazon also specifies it wants a strong university system, and U.S. News & World Report ranked Alabama as no. 49 out of 50 for higher education. The ranking considered educational attainment, graduation rate, college debt and tuition cost.

Many experts in this story pointed to Alabama's success at recruiting auto manufacturers as hope to recruit Amazon. But labor force is the major difference  auto plants don't need many workers with college degrees. Amazon, presumably, does.

"Amazon and the other types of investments we've been able to attract are kind of like apples and oranges," Teshome said. "The Amazon investment would probably require people to relocate to Birmingham, because the workforce isn't there, and then they have to consider, well, is this the kind of area that people I want to hire want to live in? I don't know how they're going to judge that. It's just a different industry. We're good at manufacturing stuff, we've got great logistics, but technology is a different ball game."

Logistics

Logistics is an area of great strength for Birmingham, according to Burcu Keskin, a professor at the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Commerce who specializes in distribution and supply chain optimization.

"Logistically, Birmingham is actually in a great place to attract Amazon, mostly because it's at an intersection of two major highways  Highway 65 that goes north and south, and Highway 20 that goes east and west," Keskin said. "We're strategically located to plug into the interstate grid in other places."

Amazon has also requested access to mass transit, including metro and bus routes. Birmingham obviously isn't strong on this point. But Keskin speculates that this is probably a more important point where traffic is much worse, like Atlanta or Boston.

Keskin said she thinks Amazon should locate in the South, partially because cost of doing business is much lower. If they choose to locate in the region, commute times are much lower in Birmingham than in other competitors like Nashville and Austin.

"They're in a good place compared to the other cities in the South," Keskin said. "I'm quite optimistic."

One big weakness: Amazon said it wants an international airport with daily direct flights to Seattle, among other major cities. Birmingham-Shuttlesworth barely qualifies as international, and it does not have direct flights to Seattle. It's definitely not a hub.

But the airport is very expandable, Keskin said.

"I don't think it should be a deal-breaker for them," Keskin said.

Cultural fit

James Kleckley, Director of East Carolina University's Bureau of Business Research, has seen the way cultural fit can impact business in his own state of North Carolina.

Consider the law known as House Bill 2, the controversial law that, among other things, banned people from using any bathroom that didn't match the gender on their birth certificate while in public facilities like schools or parks.

Before parts of the bill were repealed, the D.C.-based liberal think tank published a study that detailed potential economic losses caused by boycotts over the bill through 2018 as worth more than $500 million. PayPal and Deutche Bank both stopped plans to hire hundreds of workers, citing the bill.

"(Cultural fit) is hard to measure, but when you have something like HB2, it's kind of overtly saying we don't welcome diversity, and as a result of that, there were companies that said, North Carolina was on our list, but we're not going there anymore," Kleckly said. "What we don't have is the counter argument of companies that came here because of HB2. In my mind, it's likely you're going to find them. We do have evidence of companies that did not come because of it."

Alabama doesn't have such a bathroom bill. But it will likely have a senator who's nationally known for being removed from office twice, once for refusing to remove a monument to the 10 commandments and once for ordering Alabama's probate judge to defy federal court orders on same-sex marriage. Republican representation probably won't rule a state out, but frontrunner Roy Moore has suggested that homosexual conduct should be illegal, and has in the past hopped on the "birther" movement falsely suggesting that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

It's not just Moore. While Birmingham's politics may jive well with Seattle's, Alabama's don't.

Some have suggested that Amazon might consider Alabama because of the impact that it could have on the state's politics. And while it certainly could, most experts agree that Jeff Bezos isn't looking for charity here  he's looking for the best fit for his company at the lowest price.

"I think they could change any state for the better. But I think that's icing on the cake, not the cake itself," Kleckley said. "The idea of changing Alabama for the better, or changing North Carolina for the netter, might be a completely different idea of what the people in Alabama or North Carolina think is better."

Quality of Life

Every community applying is going to tell you that theirs is the best to live in, so it isn't worth delving in Birmingham's specifics. Although Birmingham is an exceptionally low cost of living, so that could be one advantage.

The RFP does specify it wants "educational opportunities" and again, this is probably not great for Birmingham. It's tough to measure exactly, because there are so many different districts in Birmingham's metro area, but per-pupil spending in Alabama earned the state no. 42 out of 51 in a recent census report. U.S. News & World Report ranked Alabama 47 out of 50 for pre-K through 12 education based on enrollment and quality of preschool, test scores, and the public high school graduation rates.

"It's not just education for the potential workers, but it's also the potential workers' children and families. They're going to have to bring in a lot of people for this," Teshome said. "Do they want to live here? Do their spouses want to live there? Can they raise their children here? Local education systems are a part of that. I don't really have a metric for that, but that's a challenge too."

So does Birmingham actually have a shot?

The short answer: most experts think so, but it's one heck of a longshot.

Few who are honest disagree that Birmingham is unlikely  it barely surpasses Amazon's requirement of a metro area with one million people; Amazon requires an international airport, which BHM barely qualifies as, and it doesn't have direct flights to Seattle; and Birmingham isn't known for a robust mass transit system, which Amazon lists as a core preference in its core site preferences.

"Everybody's got a shot until they Amazon says you don't have a shot," Kleckley said. "There are going to be cities with advantages over other cities. You can't look at Alabama and rule them out, and I would assume that Birmingham is the one place in the state they would consider."

Amazon has listed eight things it wants in its perfect headquarters, and there's no city that's going to be the best and every single one. The New York Times has picked Denver as the perfect place. Moody's picked Austin, Texas. A Bloomberg columnist put it between Toronto, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas or Denver.

The reason there's so much variance among these experts is because no one knows how Amazon will weigh its requirements. The earlier requirements the RFP lists  the incentive package, a strong labor force and low operating costs are likely the most important, most of the experts in this story . But even if Amazon was looking only at those factors, there'd still be a lot of disagreement on what's the top city.

Yes, it's a lot of resources that could be spent elsewhere. But Teshome said it's still worth trying  economic development agencies and others vying for the headquarters will learn from it, and it's more likely to help them get another corporate headquarters. Alabama has a lot of success in landing blue collar jobs projects like Mercedes-Benz and Airbus, but it doesn't yet have a lot of success stories in courting big white collar projects. Vying for Amazon could make Birmingham more likely to land the next big white collar project that comes along.

"The exercise is not futile. There are benefits that extend beyond just Amazon," Teshome said. "It has policy makers, community leaders, it has everybody thinking about what it takes to attract this investment."
An elderly Dora man is jailed in Mississippi on Alabama charges that he sexually abused two young girls.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday announced charges against 82-year-old William C. Christenson.

Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the investigation began Aug. 14 when sheriff's investigators received credible information that two young girls had been abused by an adult suspect. Youth Services Division detectives launched an investigation and identified Christenson as the suspect.

Detectives presented their findings to a grand jury in September, which returned indictments charging Christenson with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12.

Christenson was arrested over the weekend in Mississippi. He is being held in the Neshoba County Jail awaiting extradition to Jefferson County.
Meet the men and women keeping a 24-hour vigil on the spot where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was killed.

Moscow, Russia  On a cold, rainy October morning, Moscows Red Square was almost deserted. As I was making my way towards the Moscow River along the Kremlins eastern wall, the light rain turned into a steady downpour.

By the time I stepped onto the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, gusts of strong northerly wind were making it difficult even to hold on to my umbrella.

I was looking for something I wasnt sure I would find: a sign marking the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot on February 27, 2015.

What I found was more than a sign: a dozen neatly arranged flowerpots lined the pavement of the bridge. In between the pots were black-and-white portraits of Nemtsov.

I looked around: there was no one on the pavement, except me and an elderly man with a bushy white beard and a long khaki raincoat sitting on a small stool.

I found it odd that he was just sitting there in the pouring rain. I thought perhaps he was selling something, so I approached him.

No, Im on shift, he said. They destroy the memorial, so we keep watch here to make sure it doesnt disappear.

His hands emerged from under his raincoat. He took off his black mittens and introduced himself: Grigory Saksonov, a human rights defender.

He is part of a small group of concerned citizens who call themselves the Nemtsov Bridge and who have established a 24-hour watch over the makeshift memorial.

They decided to do so after there were attempts shortly after Nemtsovs death to remove the memorial.

Since then it has been attacked a number of times by right-wing activists and also regularly removed by the municipal cleaning service.

Moscows local authorities have refused to allow the installation of a plaque in the memory of Nemtsov and have rejected suggestions to rename the bridge to bear his name.

I asked Saksonov if he was a friend of Nemtsov. No, he wasnt, and he didnt even know him personally, Saksonov replied. Then why sit here in the cold rain?

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We are here because our hope is that people will wake up, he said. They are killing all our democrats. And they are calling us the fifth column, calling us traitors.

Nemtsovs murder has been the latest in a string of political assassinations in Russia since the early 2000s.

He, like other opposition figures with liberal and democratic views who opposed the war in Ukraine, had been called the fifth column by conservative commentators and Kremlin loyalists.

Just before his death, Nemtsov was working on a report detailing Russias military involvement in the Ukrainian war, which the Kremlin refuses to admit to this day.

In June this year, a Moscow court sentenced five Chechens for Nemtsovs murder. Zaur Dadaev, who shot him, received 20 years in prison and his four accomplices were handed jail sentences between 11 and 19 years.

Dadaev is a former military officer in the Chechnya-based Sever battalion, which Nemtsov had mentioned in his report as being deployed to the Donbas region of Ukraine in 2014.

Shortly after Dadaevs arrest, Chechen leader Ramazan Kadyrov wrote on Instagram that he knew him as a genuine Russian patriot [] who couldnt have made a step against Russia, suggesting that he, as a religious man, must have been upset over Charlie Hebdos anti-Muslim cartoons and Nemtsovs support for the French magazine [Nemtsov had written a very short blog post on the topic that had not really attracted much public attention].

After initially admitting to the murder, Dadaev later claimed he was tortured into confessing.

Criminal conviction

In June this year, Nemtsovs daughter Zhanna, said in an interview that he had a plan to run in the 2018 presidential elections.

Unlike opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is likely to be disqualified because of a past criminal conviction, Nemtsov wouldnt have had legal problems to stop him running and challenging Vladimir Putins presidency.

After his death, he became even more of a political symbol for Russians opposing the current government.

His ideas are close to us: democracy, [democratic] transfer of power, said Tatyana Kozlova, who, along with another volunteer, Evgeny Mishchenko, had taken over the watch from Saksonov.

It was 8:30pm, and the rain had now become a light drizzle.

Kozlova, who works as a courier, said she did not support any particular party and also did not know Nemtsov personally.

They dont like this [memorial] under the walls of the Kremlin. It is reminding them, it is like a needle in the eye for them, she said.

As I waved goodbye to Kozlova and Mishchenko, they told me to come back for the overnight shift. There would be two poets guarding the memorial.

At midnight I was back, and there were indeed two poets standing guard: Alexei Mikheev and Andrei Margulev.

The night, like a ship worker, pulls the ropes of the dawn, the pillow had turned into a stone from sleeplessness, the summer threatened a terrible death, these children have played a game of war, Mikheev said, reciting one of his poems dedicated to the 2012 anti-government protests that he attended in Moscow.

He said he came every week from the city of Perm (about 1,400km from Moscow) just to do the overnight shift at the memorial. For him, its an opportunity to hang out with like-minded people who oppose the current government.

Margulev explained that the vigil at the memorial, which began shortly after Nemtsovs death, has persisted despite regular harassment.

The group has lost one member, Ivan Skripnichenko, who was struck in the face by an unidentified man at the memorial.

Fatal assault

Skripnichenko died a week later in a hospital where he was supposed to have surgery on his broken nose.

He was one of a number of Kremlin critics who have been physically assaulted in the past few years by ultra-nationalist activists.

The authorities did not open a formal investigation into Skripnichenkos case. His photo now can be seen at the memorial.

His death, however, has not weakened the determination of the group.

In the winter, in  25C, strong northern wind and 90 percent humidity, there will be a person here on shift. Perhaps it is difficult for you to imagine? Margulev told me.

It is indeed, I replied.

He said the vigil is not just about Nemtsov and his murder.

We do this so we can clear our conscience. This is our fight. This is all we can do so we dont become like those who are ruling us right now, Margulev said.

He said the group would continue the vigil at Nemtsovs memorial until the authorities allow a plaque to be installed on the bridge.

Follow Mariya Petkova on Twitter: @mkpetkova
EU meeting in Brussels comes amid deteriorating relations and calls to freeze Ankaras EU membership bid.

Tensions with Turkey will be high on the agenda of the European Union summit this weekend, amid calls within the bloc to freeze relations.

Turkish and European officials have been in a war of words, with Ankara accusing members of the EU of supporting terrorism and EU politicians alleging a deterioration of democratic and human rights in Turkey.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that EU leaders would not make a decision on whether to freeze Ankaras EU membership bid during the upcoming summit in Brussels, which begins on October 18.

We will certainly not take any decision, but I would like to listen to the views of my colleagues on bilateral relations with Turkey, she said in her weekly podcast on Saturday.

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In September, in a televised debate before Germanys parliamentary elections, Merkel said that Turkey should not become a member of the EU.

Merkels ultimate aim is to convince other member states to approve suspending membership talks with Turkey, said Can Baydarol, the deputy chairman of the Ankara-based European Union and Global Research Association.

However, after Emmanuel Macrons presidency in France, Berlin and Paris have been in a power struggle within the EU. It is not possible to achieve that consensus due to Frances stance against such a move towards Turkey, Baydarol told Al Jazeera.

France and certain other countries believe Turkey has a crucial role in the Middle East, given the currently ongoing multiple crises. This is the reason why Merkel recently said that they will not make a decision on suspension of talks in this summit.

Areas of cooperation

Turkey and the EU have been cooperating on issues such as the refugee crisis, security and Syrias war  a situation that appears to have made some member states hesitant to cut ties.

As part of a 2015 deal, Ankara received EU funds in exchange for the return of refugees to Turkey, but questions remain over the efficacy of the agreements implementation in light of the rising tensions.

Erdogan, accusing Brussels of not keeping its side of the deal about visa-free travel for Turks, various times threatened to open his countrys border with the EU for refugees to pass freely.

The EU member states and Turkey also share intelligence and are allies in the coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS).





But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sharply rebuffed the bloc in the recent months, stating publicly that his country does not need the EU any more.

They do not accept us. But have they put an end to the [membership] process? No. They are wasting our time  If youre honest, make your statement and we will finish the job. We dont need you, Erdogan said in a public address this month.

The declining relations between Ankara and the EU took a dive in March when the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and Denmark banned Turkish ministers from addressing immigrants and expatriates in rallies within their borders for a referendum that changed Turkeys parliamentary system to an executive presidency a month later.

Dutch authorities actively intervened after a Turkish minister tried to reach a consulate in the country to address Turks living there, leading to a diplomatic crisis.

Erdogan compared the ban on ministers to Nazi practices and called Dutch authorities Nazi remnants.

The members of the European Parliament (EP), an EU legislative body with limited influence over Turkeys membership talks, have at various times called for the process to be suspended in non-binding votes.

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The latest was in July, when the EP called on the European Commission, the EUs executive body, and member states to suspend the accession negotiations with Turkey without delay if the constitutional reform package is implemented unchanged.

The constitutional changes, passed in Turkeys April referendum, give the president to be elected in 2019 new powers to appoint vice presidents, ministers, high-level officials and senior judges. It allows the president to dissolve parliament, issue executive decrees and impose states of emergency.

Following the referendum, far-right parties in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium had called for people with Turkish origins living in those countries to return to Turkey if they voted Yes.

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EU member states have been united in their condemnation of the Turkish governments detentions and purges of tens of thousands of people after a failed coup attempt in July 2016.

Local and international rights groups have accused the government of using the coup attempt as a pretext to silence opposition in the country.

The government has said that the purges and detentions aimed to remove from state institutions and other parts of society the supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based, self-exiled religious leader on whom Ankara blames the attempted coup

Turkish concerns

The Turkish government accuses several EU member states of actively supporting terrorism.

Ankara has alleged that EU states are harbouring Kurdish and far-left fighters, as well as people linked to the failed coup.

Germany is abetting terrorists, Erdogan said earlier this year, adding that Berlin did not respond to thousands of documents requesting extradition of suspects wanted by Ankara. The accusation was echoed by other top Turkish officials.

The Turkish president has also targeted the governments of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and non-EU Switzerland for allowing rallies in support of terrorism within their borders.

In one such rally in Switzerland in March, a banner showing a gun pointed at Erdogans head was caught on camera.

EU threats

Since the post-coup attempt arrests started, EU member states have discussed economic sanctions on Turkey, such as cutting EU aid.

Last month, Germanys Merkel threatened to restrict her countrys economic ties with NATO ally Turkey to pressure Ankara to release eleven German citizens arrested after the coup attempt. They include journalists Deniz Yucel and Mesale Tolu, and human rights activist Peter Steudtner.

We will have to further cut back our joint economic cooperation with Turkey and scrutinise projects, Merkel said.





Those threats, however, were never implemented.

Austria, another staunch opponent of Turkeys EU bid, has on multiple occasions pushed to suspend talks, only to be rebuffed by other member states. Regardless, the talks have been practically frozen for years, with no progress made.

Baydarol told Al Jazeera that the European Commissions annual progress report on the membership talks with Turkey, to be released in November, would be an important follow-up to this weekends summit, as the report is expected to sharply criticise Turkey.

Taking these criticisms in the report and the Commissions recommendation into consideration, the EU leaders might make a concrete decision on Turkeys EU bid in the coming summits, he said.

Follow Umut Uras on Twitter: @Um_Uras
Durban, South Africa  Eighteen-year-old Mlungisi Mokoena should be in school, but here he is, on a weekday, guarding his one-room wooden shack roofed with steel sheets.

He belongs to one of 50 families living in a green belt of forest on the corner of Wiggins and Blinkbonnie outside the eastern port city of Durban.

I dont have school uniform, Mokoena says, looking a little sheepish.

Mokoena says that in August, police and the citys land invasion unit entered the settlement with axes and shotguns. They demolished homes, burned belongings and fired rubber bullets at resistors.

Mokoena was shot in both his legs. His home was razed to the ground too.

I only had two pairs of pants, one shirt, and two pairs of socks, when they came, they burned it all down. I was left with just a school shirt and two left socks, he says.

Since August, his home has been demolished two more times.

Mokoenas story is similar to the experiences of many families here.

Fifty-eight-year-old Noncedile Diko, a domestic worker employed at a middle class family home down the road, returned from work to find her shack razed. She now lives under a collection of plastic and cardboard  branches hold up the sheets, and her home resembles a teepee.

Nhlanhla Kubeka, 27, is still nursing a head injury after being shot at close range with rubber bullets. He says he is afraid to go find work, fearing he might return to an empty home.

Debris of razed homes litters the forest. A splattering of fractured steel sheets, broken pieces of wood, glass and rubbish lie between drying clothes and dirty stoves.

Unemployed men gather in the shade of the slinga berry and mango trees and talk numbly. There is no electricity, save for some siphoned lines, and certainly no water. Shrubs serve as toilets.

Children play inside the abandoned large gutter pipes lying about; they taunt and tease each other, blind to the unfit surroundings.

Demand for housing

Land and housing remain contentious issues in post-apartheid South Africa. According to a 2016 report by Peoples Environmental Planning (PEP), an NPO that supports communities living in informal settlements, there are some 12 million people without adequate housing in the country.

According to current estimates, the housing backlog stands at about 2.1 to 2.5 million units, PEP said.

With the rural economy collapsing, demand for housing close to the cities is on the rise; vacant land in Blinkbonnie Road is prime property.

The city has made it clear that it is not willing to tolerate land invasions.

Warren Burne, a counsellor for the Westville area, told Al Jazeera that the poor living conditions there were of their own making.

Earlier this year, a Durban High Court judge ruled that certain people living in Blinkbonnie road were protected from having their shacks demolished.

The court identified 35 families who could live in the forest and gave their homes numbers, marked on their doors or walls in red paint. The Municipality says that the houses that are now demolished were new settlements, a point of contention with the shack dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo.

George Bonono, a spokesperson for the movement, told Al Jazeera that it was not clear where those living in the forest were now supposed to go.

Little wonder 18-year-old Mokoena wants to complete school and become a lawyer.

After the turmoil of the past five months, he has good reason.

I want to become a lawyer, so I can fight for peoples rights.

I just hope that this does not become something that will destroy me, he says.
But why are world leaders so reluctant to use the word genocide for the persecution and killing of the Rohingya?

On the night of August 25, an attack on Myanmar security forces by a handful of Rohingya militants in Northern Rakhine State prompted a brutal government counteroffensive that has, in turn, led to the greatest refugee crisis of the 21st century. Since then, more than 500,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, with some estimating that as many as 15,000 continue to make the dangerous journey each day. In fact, in terms of rate of escalation, this is the greatest mass exodus  and has the makings to become the most significant humanitarian catastrophe  since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when over 800,000 Hutus and moderate Tutsis were slaughtered over a mere 100-day period.

To much of the international community, Myanmars Rohingya crisis appears sudden, with few to no warning signs; indeed, it is only in recent weeks that the word Rohingya has begun to crop up in international headlines and to seep into the worlds collective consciousness and conscience. Yet as a human rights lawyer who has long followed the Rohingya situation  and was present in Northern Rakhine the morning the violence erupted  I can say there is no question that the crisis unfolding now has been in the making for years, if not decades. Perhaps more importantly, by international legal and historical standards, the crisis bears all the characteristics of a genocide in bloom.

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In fact, for those who have followed the situation closely, the use of the word genocide should come as no surprise. For generations, the Rohingya have faced an ever-growing list of discriminatory policies and state-sanctioned rights violations designed to cull the unwanted minoritys numbers and force them from their ancestral lands: key markers of genocide.

The oldest among them have seen their citizenship revoked and their children born stateless; they suffer tight restrictions on movement and access to education and healthcare; and the number of children a couple may bear has been legally limited to two.

The Rohingya also regularly endure extortions for minor offenses; they have been barred from gathering in groups of more than five and require permission to hold routine events (like marriages); and have even faced limitations on the materials used to build or repair homes and other buildings (brick and concrete being considered too permanent for the unwanted minority). Direct reports from at least one prison also indicate that some prisoners from other parts of the country had been released early on condition that they resettle in Northern Rakhine in order to maximise the Buddhist population and limit Rohingya landholdings.

The Rohingya have also endured periodic crackdowns designed to drive them from their land, dating at least as far back as Operation King Dragon in 1978, with more recent pogroms in 1991 and 2012. Since 2012, smaller spates of violence have erupted, each time accompanied by reports of government and mob-led village raids and burnings, rapes and murders (sometimes two-sided), and ever-increasing restrictions on Rohingya movement and activity.

Yet the present crisis undoubtedly represents the most extreme and disproportionate onslaught of violence, with widely corroborated horror tales from Rohingya refugees of savagely violent gang rapes, merciless tortures and beheadings, and even babies tossed into fires.

If Myanmar continues to refuse access to Northern Rakhine by neutral observers, then there will be no way for the international media to provide the balanced reporting frequently demanded by Myanmar's citizenry. by

If not adequately frightening on their own, these facts must be placed in a disconcertingly modern context: for there has never been a more powerful tool for the rapid dissemination of hate speech and racist-nationalist vitriol than Facebook and other social media. From a Western perspective, the dangers are easy to spot; one need only look to social medias role in recent elections and political debates to witness the rate at which false information can spread, and the surprising number of individuals who can fall prey to hateful and dangerous rhetoric, a phenomenon presently blazing across Myanmar society.

Yet perhaps most disturbingly, historically, one can hardly fail to see the parallels between the current use of social media in Myanmar and that of radio in Rwanda to incite mob violence. The key exception is that social media is by all accounts an even faster, more graphic, immersive, democratic, and ultimately, dangerous tool for the dissemination of hate speech: perhaps the most significant precursor to genocide.

Still, despite these new realities, the conflict we see now may once have been preventable, if not for the dancing around international law and realpolitiking at which the worlds governments have played ever since the term genocide first entered the international legal lexicon in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

In the wake of World War II, the international community of states came together in an unprecedented manner, forming the United Nations, and  as one of its first orders of business  passing the Genocide Convention in 1948, which forbade a series of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.

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The Convention placed heavy weight on the use of the term genocide by governments  essentially requiring that, once a party to the Convention recognised that a genocide was occurring in another state, it bore a responsibility to act to stop the atrocities. Unfortunately, the planets collective memory and joint resolve proved short-lived, as international governments  and particularly the United States  have spent decades performing mind-bending linguistic backflips to avoid public use of the term.

Instead, we see politicians using turns of phrase such as genocidal acts may have been committed to circumvent outright use of the word itself  and in turn, to avoid violating what is perhaps international laws most sacred treaty.

It thus comes as little surprise that the Rohingya crisis has until recently garnered little international attention. In fact, to date, only one world leader  Frances newly-minted President Macron  has dared utter the word, vowing on September 20 to work with the Security Council to condemn this genocide which is unfolding, this ethnic cleansing.

Unfortunately, the very structure of the UN makes coordinated intervention (like deployment of a peacekeeping mission) highly unlikely, as this would surely be met by a Security Council veto by China. Indeed, such intra-UN constraints help to explain why  though many in the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide have long been aware of the Rohingya crisis  the Special Adviser has spoken rarely and hesitantly on the situation.

This is despite the fact that the Myanmar government has engaged in at least four of the five genocidal acts outlined in the Genocide Convention, including killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

But if not genocide, what might we call the horrific situation unfolding in Northern Rakhine? No doubt the Rohingya issue is viewed much differently throughout Myanmar, where most believe the Rohingya to be illegal Bengali migrants of questionable (or at least exceedingly different) moral character; reproducing at a high and disproportionate rate (factually disproven); and hell-bent on Islamicising the predominantly Buddhist nation. Indeed, I have met many educated Myanmar citizens  from aid workers to fellow human rights lawyers  who carry these views, and who are quick to except the Rohingya from rights that they would otherwise view as inherent to all human beings. It is this pervasive dehumanisation of the Rohingya  backed by military and religious forces that rely on the existence of a despised other to maintain some semblance of power amidst Myanmars precarious democratisation  that have allowed for the Rohingyas continuing persecution.

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Admittedly, the atrocities we witness today in Northern Rakhine are not entirely one-sided. Surely, many Rakhine Buddhists also suffer the effects of conflict, and international media should also report on this suffering. Yet having visited many Rohingya and Rakhine villages, and remaining in touch with many Rohingya and Rakhine contacts, I also could not in good conscience equate the two groups experiences or poverty levels, as many in Myanmar print and social media circles routinely demand of international observers.

Rakhine Buddhists are surely poorer than most ethnic groups in Myanmar (excepting, perhaps, only the Rohingya), and many do currently suffer alongside the Rohingya in terms of physical and food security. However, it would be false to suggest that as many Rakhine Buddhist villages have been looted and razed, or as many Rakhine Buddhist individuals raped, tortured, slaughtered, or otherwise victimised, as have the Rohingya. And while I know of some Rakhine Buddhists who have also become internally displaced  no doubt under deeply abhorrent circumstances  the fact is they possess the freedom of movement to do so and a greater chance of attaining aid and even alternative livelihoods elsewhere in Myanmar.

All that said, if Myanmar continues to refuse access to Northern Rakhine by neutral observers, then there will be no way for the international media to provide the balanced reporting frequently demanded by Myanmars citizenry. Instead, as it stands, we outside observers must rely either on our own direct experience to date  as I have here  or on reports flooding across the border from, one must imagine, the most vulnerable Rohingya. In the meantime, it appears that the international community of states, favouring inaction, has tiptoed around such deeply disturbing refugee accounts for far too long. And from the perspective of an international lawyer, based on the information that is presently available to outsiders, there can only be one word for the Rohingya experience in Myanmar: and that word is genocide.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Amnesty International has said it has strong evidence that the Myanmar army committed crimes against humanity in northern Rakhine State.

A new report published by the global rights group on Wednesday detailed mass killings, rape, torture and forcible transfers of Rohingya Muslims in the armys ongoing campaign against fighters from the persecuted minority.

Amnesty has called for the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar and set targeted sanctions against senior officials.

The report said hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women and children have been the victims of a widespread and systematic attack, and that Myanmars security forces unleashed an attack against the Rohingya population in its entirety.

The armys Western Command was responsible for some of the worst violations, it said.

The Amnesty report, based on about 150 witness accounts, satellite data, and photo and video evidence, is the most detailed and comprehensive analysis to date since Rohingya refugees began pouring into Bangladesh in late August.

Efforts to reach the Myanmar government were unsuccessful.

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Officials have previously denied any systematic violence against the Rohingya, who they consider as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Laura Haigh, Amnestys Myanmar researcher, said the crimes they documented were similar to the armys abuses against other ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including the Kachin, Shan and the Palaung.

There are common threads here: A military that is completely unaccountable, often out of control, and impunity that breeds further impunity, she said.

And its time for that to stop.

The violence in Buddhist-majority Rakhine erupted after an armed group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked at least 30 security posts on August 25.

An estimated 582,000 refugees have now fled Myanmar and thousands more are continuing to make the perilous journey on foot to the countrys border with Bangladesh, the UN said on Tuesday.

Page after page in the Amnesty report, entitled My World Is Finished, provide detailed testimonies of widespread killings, rapes, and burning of entire villages.

Burned all over

In one account, a 30-year-old woman from the village of Min Gyi, also known as Tula Toli, said soldiers killed scores of men and older boys, raped the women, torched Rohingya homes, and burned people, including children, to death.

They [the soldiers] first hit us in the head, to make us weak  Then, they raped us, she said.

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Soldiers then set fire to the house she was assaulted in, but she said she managed to escape after her seven-year-old daughter found a weak point in the huts bamboo siding.

I was burned all over, she told Amnesty. The flame was so hot. When I ran, the fire was still on me. The clothes we wore, they were all burned.

The pattern was similar in dozens of villages across Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathetaung townships, the report said.

The Myanmar army killed at least hundreds of Rohingya women, men, and children in the hours and days since the ARSA attacks in August, it said. Many people were shot as they ran away.

The elderly and disabled were often unable to flee and were killed or burned in their homes.

Mohamed Zubair, 26, told Amnesty he left his 90-year-old grandmother in their home when the military opened fire on his village, Chut Pyin, in Rathetaung.

I asked her to follow us to the hill. She said, Im old, they wont do anything to me. Go,' Zubair said.

In hiding, he watched as soldiers torched his village, including the house where he had left his grandmother.

When the military left, he found his grandmother dead, her body burnt very seriously.

More than a dozen other witnesses from Chut Pyin also described seeing soldiers, border guards and local vigilantes deliberately burn down Rohingya parts of the village, and leave the non-Rohingya areas intact, the report said.

The accounts of targeted burning were backed by satellite imagery.

Amnesty said the killing of the elderly, disabled and children demonstrated the militarys campaign has been far from a clearance operation in the sense of being designed to root out ARSA members.

Instead, it has been an attack on the Rohingya population as a whole, with the seeming objective to cleanse Rakhine state of that entire population.

Amnesty said its investigations into the responsibility of specific units and individuals were ongoing, but testimony indicates that a unit led by Major-General Maung Maung Soe was disproportionately involved in some of the worst crimes.

Witnesses consistently described a patch on soldiers uniforms that match the one worn by Western Command, the report said.

Amnesty said it is also investigating claims that ARSA fighters killed Hindu men and women, and burned ethnic Rakhine villages.

Haigh, the researcher, said Amnesty wants to see the UN General Assembly adopt a strong resolution on Myanmar as a first step to end the violence.

Wed like to see a strengthened call for a global arms embargo, in addition to targeted sanctions on specific senior military officials who are responsible for crimes, she said.

Myanmar must also allow unfettered access to UN investigators, she said.

Myanmar has strongly denied allegations of human rights abuses.

On Monday, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Myanmars army told UN officials that soldiers acted lawfully in their response to attacks by ARSA.

On his official Facebook page, Min Aung Hlaing said UN comments on Rakhine, which include allegations of ethnic cleansing, were totally contrary to the situation on the ground.
Political parties suspend campaign for legislative elections after reported recovery of Santiago Maldonados body.

Argentine political parties have suspended campaigning for legislative elections after the discovery of a body thought to be that of a missing activist who disappeared two months ago during a police operation.

Rights groups said Santiago Maldonado, 27, was last seen being detained by paramilitary police as they moved to disperse a protest march by the Mapuche indigenous group in Chabut, about 1,800km southwest of Buenos Aires, on August 1.

Both government and opposition parties suspended campaigning for legislative elections as the body was being brought to Buenos Aires for formal identification and an autopsy at the request of the Maldonado family.

Coastguard divers discovered the body in a river in southern Argentina and an investigator involved said there are reasons to believe it is Maldonado.

He said Maldonados national identity card and a jacket that a witness said he was wearing when he went missing were found with the body.

The protesters were demanding the release of a jailed Mapuche indigenous leader and the return of lands belonging to the Italian clothing company Benetton that are claimed by the Mapuche as their ancestral territory.

People at the protest said they saw police beat and detain Maldonado after he and others blocked a road.

Transferred for autopsy

Maldonados family has accused the police of being behind the disappearance.

Police never confirmed the arrest and denied wrongdoing.

The body was being transferred for an autopsy at the request of the family, their lawyer Victoria Heredia said.

The family is asking for precautions to be taken over how and where the body is stored until an autopsy is carried out, she said.





The lawyer said the body was found in a place where it was visible to the naked eye. We dont understand why it should appear in an area that had already been swept three times.

The Maldonado family called for privacy in a statement: It is not possible to establish either the identity or the cause of death until the experts have completed their work. We are asking that our privacy be respected at this difficult time.

The case has embroiled President Mauricio Macris government in a political storm.

Macri has made no comment on the finding of the body and on Tuesday sent Claudio Avruj, the human rights minister, to Chabut, where his car was stoned by protesters.

Calls were issued on social networks for a demonstration on Wednesday at the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
Appeal comes as Madrid sees fresh regional regional polls as way out of crisis but also warns of suspension of autonomy.

Spain appears to have offered Catalonias separatists a way out of their dispute with the central government, suggesting fresh elections in the region could resolve the crisis.

The reported offer is the latest development in a political back-and-forth between Madrid and Barcelona since the disputed October 1 referendum on secession from Spain.

Hours before Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont faced a 10am local time (08:00 GMT) Thursday deadline to say whether or not he is declaring independence, a government source told AFP news agency that elections could be considered a return to legality.

The government had earlier warned Puigdemont that unless he backed down, Spains government would start proceedings to take direct control over the semi-autonomous region.





All I ask of Mr Puigdemont is that he acts with good sense, Mariano Rajoy, Spains prime minister, told parliament on Wednesday as the government threatened to trigger Article 155 of Spains constitution, a never-before-used provision that would allow it to suspend Catalan autonomy.

But there were increasing indications later on Wednesday that elections are being considered as a way to steer clear of these uncharted waters.

Incidentally, Article 155 has never been used in since the Constitution was ratified in 1978, and Spanish authorities are not quite sure how it would unfold.

Spain has been in limbo since Catalonia held the banned referendum, which prompted a police crackdown that shocked the world.

Only possible path

On October 10, Puigdemont declared independence for eight seconds in Barcelona before suspending the declaration to encourage talks Madrid.

Rajoy responded with an ultimatum, giving Puigdemont until Monday, October 16, to clarify his stance.

That day, Puigdemont instead offered two months of dialogue with Madrid to foster independence.

Madrid then extended the deadline to October 18, but threatened to invoke Article 155.

Elections sanctioned by Madrid  unlike the referendum, which the Constitutional Court ruled illegal  would allow Catalan voters to have a say on how to move forward.

The only possible path for Mr Puigdemont is to restore legality and, from a political point of view, move the elections forward, Spains opposition Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, who is working with the government on the Catalan issue, said in Brussels.





With Puigdemont due to meet the leadership of his PDeCat party on Wednesday night, a Catalan government source said elections were not one of our priorities but did not rule them out.

Tensions have also risen over the detention of two influential Catalan separatist activists, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, who were set to spend a third night in jail on Wednesday pending an investigation into sedition charges.

Amnesty International, the global rights group, joined calls for them to be freed, branding the charges against them excessive, after tens of thousands of people held a candle-lit rally in Barcelona on Tuesday urging their release.

Referendum fallout

The Catalan government said 90 percent of the October 1 referendum votes were in favour of independence, but turnout was less than 50 percent.

With its own language and culture, Catalonia is proud of its autonomy but its 7.5 million people are deeply divided over independence.

There are fears that moving to impose direct rule could inflame tensions in a crisis that has already led to huge street rallies and unnerved EU neighbours.

The dispute has prompted a business exodus, with more than 800 companies moving their legal headquarters out of Catalonia in a bid to minimise the instability.

Separatists argue that wealthy Catalonia, which represents about a fifth of Spains economic output, does too much to prop up the rest of the country and would be better off going it alone.

But opponents say the region has more clout as part of a bigger Spain and that the instability could be disastrous for its economy.

 With additional reporting by Al Jazeeras Creede Newton in the Catalan region
It took over 30 years for the world to recognise Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhars discoveries.

Described as a child prodigy and hailed as the first astrophysicist to win the Nobel Prize for a theory on the evolution of stars, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar would have been 107 on Diwali this Thursday.

In his honour, Google is changing its logo in 28 countries to a doodle, or illustration, of him and the Chandrasekhar Limit.

But in his lifetime, the Indian American astrophysicist was not always recognised for his achievements. This is his story:

Intellectual family

Born in Lahore in 1910 to a Tamil family, Chandra was home tutored until age 12.

In his autobiography, Chandrasekhar referred to his mother as My mother Sita was a woman of high intellectual attainments.

His uncle, Sir CV Raman, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

Also in 1930, Chandrasekhar completed his bachelors degree in physics at the Presidency College in Madras, India (known today as Chennai).

Chandrasekhar was then awarded a scholarship by the government of India to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in the UK. He completed his PhD studies in 1933.

Married to Lalitha Doraiswamy in the southern Indian city of Madras, Chandrasekhar praised his wifes patient understanding, support, and encouragement and called those the central facts of my life.

Belated recognition

Working as a researcher at Cambridge University, Chandrasekhar made his most significant discovery, which became known as the Chandrasekhar Limit. But his colleagues were sceptical of his discovery and sought to discredit it.

According to the Open University, English astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington persuaded Chandrasekhar to present his findings at the Royal Astronomical Society in London on January 11, 1935.

At the astronomical society, Eddington then gave a lecture to demolish the young researchers calculations and theory, dismissing it as mere mathematical game playing.

More than 30 years later, in 1966, scientific research with computers and the hydrogen bomb gave credit to Chandrasekhars calculations.

Black holes, central to Chandrasekhars theory, were identified in 1972. His calculations contributed to the understanding of supernovas, neutron stars and black holes.

Security clearance

In 1937, Chandrasekhar emigrated to the US and started working at the University of Chicago.

During World War II, he was invited to join the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos to make a nuclear bomb, but delays in the processing of his security clearance prevented him from joining.

Still, Chandrasekhar contributed to the war effort, working for the Ballistic Research Laboratory in Maryland.

In 1953, 16 years after he came to the US, Chandrasekhar was granted US citizenship. He died in Chicago at the age of 85.

Quotes

In his book, Truth and Beauty, he offered his advice to aspiring scientists, What a scientist tries to do essentially is to select a certain domain  and see if that takes its appropriate place in a general scheme which has form and coherence; and, if not, to seek further information which would help him to do that.

In his autobiographical sketch for the Nobel Prize ceremony, he described what motivated his scientific quest, When, after some years of study, I feel that I have accumulated a sufficient body of knowledge and achieved a view of my own, I have the urge to present my point of view, ab initio, in a coherent account with order, form, and structure.

In an interview, Chandrasekhar praised the US, I have one advantage here in the United States. I have enormous freedom. I can do what I want. Nobody bothers me.

Honours
Majd Tahhans only wish is to see his imprisoned father, fearing he may soon part with life as he battles leukaemia.

Majd Tahhans life is hanging by a thread.

As he lays on his hospital bed in critical condition, the 19-year-old young mans only wish is to see his imprisoned father before he parts with life.

In his 19 years, Majd, who is battling leukaemia  a cancer of the blood  has only spent two years and eight months in total with his father, Rajab.

His father was imprisoned in 1998, when Majd was only four months old, on charges of killing an Israeli settler.

Rajab was subsequently released in 2011 under a prisoner exchange deal for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who had been captured by Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamic Resistance Movement.

Less than three years later, Israeli occupation forces embarked on a campaign of mass arrests in the Palestinian territories when three Israeli settlers disappeared in the West Bank.

Hundreds of Palestinians were rounded up, and many of those who were released in the 2011 deal were rearrested and their sentences were reinstated, including Rajabs.

Despite having found out shortly after the incident who had carried out the kidnapping and killing of the three settlers, Israeli authorities kept those who were rearrested in prison.

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Rajabs life sentence was reinstated on secret evidence, including claims he violated the conditions placed on him when he was released, according to the family.

This is not about politics [] It is an issue of depriving a son from his father. What is being asked of anyone with a conscience is to realise that there is a son in need of his father, a close relative of Majd and Rajab, told Al Jazeera from Jerusalem.

Were not even asking for Rajab to be released because we know they wont release him. We just want the son to see his father  even for just 30 minutes, he said, adding they would be content with transporting Majd with an ambulance to the prison.

Majd has bone marrow failure and he is not stable. He has no immunity  any germ or virus that enters his body can end his life at any moment.

When Majd descended into critical condition last week, the family reached out to non-governmental organisations and lawyers to pressure Israel, but they say that there have no positive indications so far.

The family said they submitted an official request to the Israeli Prison Service last week but have not received a response yet.

The father, Rajab, managed to smuggle a letter to his son out of Nafha prison in the south of the country, where he is currently languishing.

Forgive me for not being next to you while you fight the disease  forgive me for not sharing your pain, the letter read.

Not the prison, nor the guards or the fences, can keep us apart.

Although Rajab was released in 2011, he was rearrested in 2014 under article 186 of the Israeli military order 1651.

Article 186 allows Israel to rearrest Palestinian prisoners who had been released in an exchange to serve the remainder of their original sentences based on secret evidence not accessible to the former prisoner or their lawyer.

In a 2015 report, the Jerusalem-based Addameer prisoner rights group said it found 62 cases since the 2011 exchange deal in which former prisoners were rearrested under article 186.

The use of the article in times of political tension can be classified as collective punishment  a violation of international law  according to the group.

Article 186 is markedly incompatible with international standards and fair trial guarantees [] the use of secret evidence to constantly arrest and detain individuals in occupied Palestine is also critically neglectful in the scope of international human rights law, Addameer said in the report, adding that the order contravenes with the basic internationally recognized right of appearing before a court following detention.

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There are some 6,279 political prisoners in Israeli jails, according to Addameer. Some 465 of them are administrative detainees being held on secret evidence, unaware of the accusations against them, and are not allowed to defend themselves in court. Their detention periods can be indefinitely renewed.

The arrest of the former prisoners was obviously a political move used to put pressure on those who had kidnapped the settlers. They told us Rajab had violated the conditions of the deal  but that the evidence cannot be disclosed, the relative said.

The case has highlighted the double standards that Israel uses in dealing with Palestinian and Israeli prisoners.

In September, Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who was sentenced to prison after being caught on video shooting and killing a severely wounded Palestinian, was released for four days to celebrate the Jewish new year, Israeli media reported.

Despite the politics surrounding the issue of Palestinian prisoners, the family said their demands are solely humanitarian.

Is it impossible? Is it unrealistic to ask for 30 minutes? The relative said.

We do not wish this feeling on anyone  not even on our enemies.
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo says groups fingerprints can be found on blast that killed more than 300 people.

The president of Somalia has blamed al-Shabab for the countrys deadliest attack, in which more than 300 people were killed.

Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo told Al Jazeera that the armed groups fingerprints could be found on Saturdays blast in the capital, Mogadishu, explaining that al-Shabab had a history of similar attacks.

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This is their fingerprints, this is what they have done, Farmajo said, before calling on the international community to help combat the group.

Al-Shabab has a strong presence in the south of the country.

If they succeed here, theyll [find it] easier to promote their crazy ideology and their political ideology to the youth in the United States and Europe, he added.

Al-Shabab has not claimed responsibility for Saturdays blast, but the Somali leader had no doubt it was responsible.

I thought they would claim, but maybe they feel that this is a huge responsibility, Farmajo explained, referring to the scale of the atrocity.

The Somali presidents comments come as emergency workers continue to comb through the rubble, looking for the remains of those who died, with officials warning that some bodies might never be found.

Al Jazeeras Mohammed Adow, reporting from Mogadishu, said investigators were trying to find out where the attackers procured the military grade explosives believed to have been used in the attack.

Another focus, officials say, is whether al-Shabab had help from within the security forces, he said.

The Somali government has been fighting al-Shabab for the best part of a decade and expelled the fighters from Mogadishu in 2011 with help from African Union soldiers.

Al-Shabab has since retreated southwards and continues to hold swaths of territory there.
Elderly people remember the dark shadow of Franco as Spain and Catalonia grapple with tensions over secession vote.

El Bruc, Catalonia, Spain  Three generations of Catalans gathered outside on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in El Bruc, a town of 2,000, to celebrate the matriarch of the family, 81-year-old Teresa Bou.

Paella, one of Spains most famous dishes, was on the stove. Though it comes from Valencia, the Catalan-speaking region to the south of Catalonia, it has become a must-try dish for tourists visiting Barcelona.

Cava, a sparkling wine produced in Catalonia, was served. The nearly 20 members of Bous family sat in the October sun, speaking Catalan.

So many cultural staples of Catalonia were appropriate: Bou is very Catalan.

Since the political crisis over Catalonias independence began, she has been known to say Bury me in the Catalan flag!

Bou, in a moment of heated debate over independence, vowed she would never again step foot in Spain.

The events of October have weighed heavily on the matriarch. Bou has felt very patriotic and sentimental for the cause of Catalonias independence. Maybe not very rational, but very sentimental, the octogenarian said.

Bou views the push for independence as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: For the first time in a century, were capable of uniting. We have the hope of constructing a new country  more just, freer and more equal.

Francos shadow

For Bou, and many Catalans regardless of their age, a discussion about independence isnt complete without mentioning the brutality of Spains civil war, which began in 1936, and the Franco period, which lasted from 1939 to 1975.

The Spanish Civil War had been raging for more than three months when Bou was born in October 1936.

Though the war ended in 1939, she lived through its consequences. Bou described her memories of people accused of war crimes being summarily executed in 1945.

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The memory still unsettles her: It left a large mark on me, Bou said, almost shaking. They shot them like they were sheep.

The Franco government was responsible for a wide gamut of human rights abuses and was known for its efforts to homogenise Spain. Catholicism was the only state-sanctioned religion. Minority languages and culture, such as Catalan, were made illegal.

Bou recounted that, although she spoke Catalan at home, it was as if it didnt exist anywhere else. Catalan nearly disappeared, Bou said.

While attending an all-girls Catholic school at the age of 16, Bou met a teacher who was pro-Catalan, but did not indoctrinate the students  he opened my eyes that there was a country I didnt find in the text books.

I didnt vote

Franco died in 1975, but not before naming former King Juan Carlos as his successor. The world assumed Spanish autocracy would continue  Franco groomed Juan Carlos to rule Spain with the same authoritarian streak.

Juan Carlos instead stewarded a democratic transition. Political parties were made legal, and a constitution was written and approved in 1978. The first democratic government was formed in 1982.

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Bou said she had some hope for the future after the death of Franco. But like many Catalans, aspects of the democratic transition displeased her.

The country was to remain a monarchy, which Bou thought was bad for the people, and the Peoples Party, Spains foremost conservative party, was founded by former ministers from Francos government.

The transitional government passed an amnesty law that protected crimes committed during the Civil War and Francos reign.

I quickly realised they were the same dogs with different collars, Bou said of post-Franco Spanish politicians. Nothing changed  so in the [first free] elections in 1977, I didnt vote.

Though there is no official count of the people killed or disappeared during the Franco government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) placed the number at more than 100,000 between 1936 and 1951.

The crimes werent legally acknowledged until the Law of Historical Memory was passed in 2007. Spanish courts have routinely failed to investigate allegations of horrendous crimes of the past, HRW said in 2010.

The Spanish Ministry of Justice has taken some steps towards recognising victims, such as compiling a map showing the mass graves that nearly cover the country, but the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which has ruled since 2011, has been criticised for neglecting enforcement of the law.

The path of Gandhi

The Spanish High Court ruled the October 1 referendum on independence illegal and ordered police to stop the vote.

Images of the national police and Civil Guard, a military contingent tasked with law enforcement, assaulting voters, some of whom were elderly, shocked the world.

HRW said that excessive force was used to stop the vote.

Two elderly women discussed the violence at a popular restaurant in Barcelonas trendy Gracia neighbourhood.

Soft-spoken Paula Soler Font, a woman in her late 60s, said she saw violence first-hand on the day of the referendum. The police didnt discriminate between young or old, she said.

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Since then, Madrid and Catalonia have been engaged in a political barter. Puigdemont declared and then suspended independence on October 10. Prime Minister Rajoy issued an ultimatum to Puigdemont to clarify his stance on independence by Monday, October 16.

On October 16, Puigdemont offered two months of dialogue. In response, Madrid granted a three-day extension while threatening to enact Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which would strip Catalonia of its independence.

It will happen soon. [Catalan President Carles] Puigdemont will declare independence, Soler said.

Regarding the back and forth between Puigdemont and Rajoy, Soler said Puigdemont is allowing the situation to de-escalate, while gaining international support.

If the Spanish government does enact Article 155 and national police are again sent to Catalonia, Soler said Catalan people would take the path of Gandhi. Its the only choice we have.

Solers companion, 71-year-old Marta Fabregat, agreed. Catalans have neither arms nor a desire for violence. Nonviolence is the way to independence.

Back in El Bruc, Bou echoed the nonviolent sentiments of Fabregat and Soler. She added that it wouldnt be easy.

Whether or not independence is declared, there will be tough years ahead, Bou concluded.
Hackers, an annulled election result and the main opposition leader pulling out. What is happening in Kenya?

On October 26, Kenya is supposed to head to the polls for the second time this year. The results of an earlier election on August 8 were nullified by Kenyas Supreme Court after allegations of widespread irregularities in the electronic transmission of vote results.

KENYA ELECTION TIMELINE:

July 31  Body of manager with electoral commission found, reports of torture August 8  Kenya votes in presidential election August 11  Uhuru Kenyatta, who has served since 2013, announced winner August 11  Protests in support of opposition candidate Raila Odinga turn violent September 1  Supreme Court nullifies result of election, sets rerun for October 26 October 10  Opposition candidate Odinga pulls out of rerun October 26  Rerun scheduled to take place

Since the August 8 election, Kenya has seen massive protests and bouts of violence erupt in several parts of the country. Scores of people have died since then and main opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew from the second round of elections because of a lack of electoral reform.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that at least 67 opposition supporters have been killed since August 11, when Uhuru Kenyatta was announced as the winner.

With one week until new elections are supposed to take place, the opposition has pledged more protests in the days running up to the crucial vote.

And in a surprise development on Wednesday, Roselyn Akombe, a senior official from the electoral commission, resigned and left the country, saying the poll lacks credibility.

How did we get here?

Days before the vote, tension soared as the body of Chris Msando, acting director for information and communications technology at the commission overseeing the election, was found in a forest near the capital. The opposition described his death as a heinous murder, saying it was gravely concerned about its implications.

On August 8, Kenyans voted for a new president. More than 15 million people cast their vote, eventually leading to a victory for incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, who secured 54 percent. His main competitor, Raila Odinga, received almost 45 percent of the vote.

It was the first time Kenya used a new electronic voting system because, during previous elections, the electoral commission was often accusations of stealing votes.

In 2007, the opposition alleged voting fraud, leading to mass killings and displacement after incumbent Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner. At least 1,200 people died and 600,000 were displaced.

However, despite the new system in place, the opposition contested this years results. Odinga claimed hackers infiltrated the database of the election body to manipulate the democratic process.

The system has failed, Odinga said. We shall hold vigils, moments of silence, beat drums and do everything else to draw attention to the gross electoral injustices.

In the days following the vote, the opposition protested against Kenyattas win. The rallies turned deadly the following week when police shot several pro-Odinga demonstrators.

Why did the Supreme Court nullify the result?

Odinga took his allegations of election fraud to the Kenyan Supreme Court, eventually leading to the court nullifying the result.

According to the Supreme Court, the board overseeing the 2017 vote did not have all the tally forms when they announced results. It also said that some forms lacked security features such as watermarks, signatures or serial numbers, which called their authenticity into question.

There were also several problems with the electronic voting system. The Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) refused the court full access to its computer system, which meant the oppositions claims of hacking could not be proved or disproved.

In a response to the annulment, incumbent President Kenyatta said he personally disagreed with the ruling but he would respect it, as much as I disagree with it.

The court also decided that new elections should be held within 60 days of the decision. Originally, the date for the new elections was supposed to be October 17, the election commission said.

However, Odinga said he would only participate in the new vote if reforms were implemented. One of his main demands was replacing the head of the electoral commission. He also wanted a different company to take care of printing ballots.

There will be no elections  until the conditions that we have spelled out in the statement are met, Odinga said.

Plans to hold the vote on October 17 were scrapped because more time was needed to meet the Supreme Courts requirements, the electoral commission announced.

The rerun is now set for October 26.

If Odinga was unhappy with the result, why did he withdraw from the rerun?

Odinga supporters continued to protest, sometimes leading to violence. And on October 10, Raila Odinga officially withdrew from the planned election. According to the opposition leader, the electoral commission had failed to implement the necessary reforms.

We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel  All indications are that the election scheduled for October 26 will be worse than the previous one, Odinga said.

Shortly after Odingas withdrawal, Kenyan parliament passed a new law, which says if one candidate withdraws, the other automatically wins the presidency.

This led to renewed protests by Odinga supporters, which again turned deadly.

The government responded by banning further protests, citing safety concerns, but the opposition refused to comply.

What next?

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Odingas position has led to further confusion over the impending election.

The opposition leader said he might consider returning to the Supreme Court for clarification on whether the October 26 poll was legal.

As far as we are concerned, [the original Supreme Court] ruling is still valid, Odinga said during a visit to London. What we are demanding is that the electoral commission should respect the Supreme Court and carry out elections in accordance with the ruling.

Abdullahi Boru Halakhe, a Nairobi-based political analyst with Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera another decision by the Supreme Court seems inevitable.

The country is divided and every camp is interpreting the Constitution the way that suits their interests. Each side is hoping that the law will be on their side when things go to court, Boru said.

In one way or another, it looks like we will end up at the Supreme Court again, he said.
Muslim women particularly vulnerable of rising racist sentiment say activists and victims, as government releases study.

The number of hate crimes against Britons of ethnic or religious minorities soared around the time the UK voted to quit the European Union and in the aftermath of recent attacks, according to a government report.

The Home Office said on Tuesday the 29 percent rise in a year marked the biggest annual jump in hate crimes since figures were first recorded in 2011. Between 2015 and 2016, there were 62,518 reported offences. The following year, that number rose to 80,393.

There was a genuine rise in hate crime around the time of the EU referendum, the report said, referring to the Brexit referendum.

Religious or racially aggravated offences rose in the months leading up to the vote, from about 3,500 recorded incidents in April 2016 to more than 5,000 in June of the same year, when the decision to leave the EU was announced. In June 2017, reported hate crimes peaked at 6,000.

The Home Office said figures rose in the wake of the Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena and London Bridge attacks, which took place in March, May, and June of this year respectively, together claiming more than 30 lives.

Hate crimes and Islamophobia tend to rise after violence where suspects are said to be Muslim, with followers of the Islamic faith suffering collective punishment.

Muslim women targeted

Muslim women suffer disproportionately, said Ragad Altikriti, a senior member of the Muslim Association of Britain.

Statistics have proven that hate crimes against Muslims increase significantly around terrorist attacks, she told Al Jazeera.

[And] Brexit was considered to many as a signal that refugees are not welcomed  [so] there was an increase in hate crimes including the Muslim community, especially women who are visibly Muslims. The headscarf was conflated with being foreign and not welcomed.

Zainab Mir, 21, became a victim earlier this year.

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I was travelling on the Tube when a lady stood up and pointed at me. She shouted youre the reason this country is terrorised, Mir told Al Jazeera. It was a very busy train, but only the guy next to me asked If I was OK. Nobody else said anything.

Despite reporting the incident, police told Mir there was no CCTV footage, and they were unable to pursue the case. The experience has made her feel uneasy, she said.

I didnt feel very safe afterwards; I always made sure I was with someone and didnt go anywhere I didnt need to. Even now Im still more aware of people around me because I dont want it to happen again. Im definitely more vigilant, she said.

Some 30 percent of religiously motivated offences in the last year involved violence against the victim, the Home Office said.

An attack on Londons Finsbury Park Mosque on June 19, in which a van driver targeted Muslims, left one dead and 11 injured.

There are criminals and attackers on every side, Altikriti told Al Jazeera. Muslims were able to say we can be victims too, and it forced those in power to think about the countrys Muslim population and consider how the rise in hate crime has affected them.

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The UK is home to 2.8 million Muslims.

Samina Ansari, 37, has been attacked three separate times over the past 10 years.

From being attacked in her car at a red light by two white men with a pitbull [dog] on a metal lead almost nine years ago, to having ISIS shouted at her and her nine-year-old son on a street in Glasgow last week, Ansari said she suffers from long-term effects.

You end up reliving each one of the incidents and that experience. I have felt quite violated, and at points, it took a toll on my mental well-being, she told Al Jazeera.

Political events such as the EU referendum and the election of US President Donald Trump, who is seen as an Islamophobe, have had an effect, Ansari said.

Hate crime has always been there, but its almost like the state of our politics, following the Brexit vote and election of Trump, have given people a license to become more vicious in their attacks, she said. Muslim women seem to be the primary target.
The United States Justice Department has indicted two Chinese men for manufacturing and shipping thousands of doses of the potentially deadly drug Fentanyl directly to US consumers.

The United States Justice Department has indicted two Chinese men for manufacturing and shipping thousands of doses of the potentially deadly drug Fentanyl directly to US consumers.

The US says the men ran at least two chemical plants in China which produced tonnes of Fentanyl and other opiate substances.

The indictment is part of a wider operation to combat opioid abuse which has affected many communities in the country.

Al Jazeeras Gabriel Elizondo reports from New York.
The 48-hour offensive saw Kurdish forces entirely confined to their long-standing three-province autonomous region.

Iraqs military says it achieved its objectives in a lightning-quick operation that saw troops sweep through disputed Kurdish-held territory in a punishing riposte to an independence vote last month.

Iraqi troops and allied militia retook the northern province of Kirkuk and its lucrative oil fields on Monday and Tuesday, as well as formerly Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh and Diyala provinces  all outside the autonomous Kurdish region.

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Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Kurdish hopes for an independent state were now a thing of the past.

Security has been restored in sectors of Kirkuk, including Dibis, Al-Multaqa, and the Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields, Iraqs Joint Operations Command said on Wednesday.

Forces have been redeployed and have retaken control of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa, Mosul dam, Sinjar and other areas in the Nineveh plains.

The 48-hour operation saw Kurdish forces almost entirely confined to their long-standing three-province autonomous region in the north.

It dealt a body blow to the regions finances by depriving it of the output from the Kirkuk oil fields, which had made up much of its exports.

Many people who fled the region continued to return on Wednesday.

We are about to enter [the city], but we dont know if it is safe or not, resident Hassan Khader told Al Jazeera. Where else can I go? Its better to go back to our house and our city.

It remains unclear how many Peshmerga fighters were killed in sporadic clashes during the takeover.

Since last night weve received 25 corpses of Peshmerga troops killed in battles of Kirkuk and its suburbs, Barzan Mohammed, a morgue official in the Kurdish regions second city of Sulaimaniyah, told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi called on British energy giant BP on Wednesday to help develop fields in the northern province.

The Iraqi oil ministry signed a consultancy contract with BP in 2013 to help the state-owned North Oil Company develop the Havana and Baba Gurgur fields. Luaybi appealed to the firm  whose origins lie in the development of oil in then British-ruled Iraq nearly a century ago  to quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oil fields.

But it was never implemented as Baghdad lost control of the fields to Kurdish forces the following year during the chaos of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levants (ISIL, also known as ISIS) capture of the region in 2014.
The Israeli army closed several Palestinian media companies in the occupied West Bank in a wave of raids overnight Tuesday, drawing criticism from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The Israeli military authority in the occupied territories, COGAT, said in a statement that they raided eight Palestinian companies, accusing them of inciting violence against Israel.

These practices are part of a mentality that rejects peace, said Palestinian government spokesperson Yusuf Mahmoud.

Israel also reportedly detained 14 Palestinians in overnight raids across the West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency Maan.

The raids came a week after Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah reached a deal to heal their decade-long rift and form a unity government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel is opposed to any deal involving Hamas unless the group disarms and recognises Israel, requests which have also been made by the US.

Known as Gaza and West Bank, Palestinian territories are under continued siege and occupation of Israel for the past 50 years.
Election board says it cannot guarantee presidential rerun will be free and fair as political parties stage rallies.

The political crisis in Kenya appears to be deepening, with the head of the election board saying it cannot guarantee next weeks presidential election rerun will be free, fair and credible.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has invited the countrys political leaders to meet in advance of next weeks vote, which President Uhuru Kenyatta insists will go ahead.

Wafula Chebukati, the IEBC chairman, has also asked all parties to stop interfering in the election process.

Kenya is scheduled to hold a presidential election rerun next week after the countrys Supreme Court annulled the results of the August 8 vote because of irregularities and illegalities in the electoral process.

In that election, more than 15 million people cast their ballots, eventually leading to a victory for Kenyatta, who secured 54 percent.

Chebukatis comments came as rallies were held in the capital Nairobi on Wednesday by the two main political parties.

The opposition has demanded that some electoral officials in charge of the last poll should be replaced.

Mass protest call

Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, called for mass protests on October 26, the day of the presidential election, which he has refused to take part in.

Protests will go on. On the 26th [it] will be the biggest demonstrations in the whole country, he told a rally of thousands of supporters in a suburb of Nairobi.

Odinga received almost 45 percent of the vote in the August 8 election.

Kenya has witnessed weeks of street protests leading to the deaths of several opposition supporters.

A court lifted on Tuesday the governments ban on protests at major centres in the countrys three main cities.

Odinga, Kenyattas main challenger, announced last week he was pulling out of the race after claiming his demands for reform of the IEBC had not been met.

Making the announcement, he said, All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.

Commissioner resigns

In a related development, Roselyn Akombe, an election commissioner, has resigned and left Kenya, saying her staff was facing intimidation and threats.

Akombe said late on Tuesday the IEBC was partisan and part of the political crisis facing the country.

It has become increasingly difficult to continue attending plenary meetings where commissioners come ready to vote along partisan lines and not to discuss the merit of issues before them, Akombe said in a statement.

The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017. I do not want to be party to such a mockery to electoral integrity.

Local news media reported that Akombe fled to New York City, fearing for her safety.

Parliament last week passed an election law amendment stating if one candidate withdrew from the rerun vote, the remaining one would automatically win.

The vote was boycotted by opposition politicians.
Irans top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran would not walk out of the multinational nuclear deal and welcomed backing given by its European signatories.

But he warned that if the United States tore up the deal, Iran will shred it, referring to a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump, state TV reported.

A day earlier the Iranian president in an address to the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution in Tehran echoed the same sentiments. President Rouhani said the Iranian nations unity and hope on the one hand, and the international communitys support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and cooperation with Tehran on the other hand would force the US administrations political authorities to withdraw and reconsider their policies.

He also noted that Irans economy has become stable and remains calm and unaffected by the foreign pressures.

Irans leadership reaffirms its commitment to JCPOA after US president Donald Trump on Friday said his administration cannot and will not certify Irans compliance with the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), to Congress, as he set out a new strategy for dealing with Iran.

He also said that his new strategy begins with imposing tough sanctions on the IRGC, accusing Iran of proliferation of missiles and weapons that threaten its neighbors global trade and freedom of navigation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also released several posts in his Twitter account saying, Today, Iraniansboys, girls, men, womenare ALL IRGC; standing firm with those who defend us & the region against aggression & terror.
Recently released US documents show US government was aware of mass killing of communists in 1965-66 after Suharto coup.

The US government had intimate knowledge of the mass killing of alleged communists in Indonesia in the mid-1960s when half a million people were slaughtered, newly declassified documents show.

The documents also reveal that Indonesian army intermediaries told Western embassies they were considering toppling then President Sukarno less than two weeks after the mysterious killing of six generals that sparked the bloodletting.

The murder of the generals on September 30, 1965, is still widely depicted as an attempted communist coup against Sukarno.

The murders were used as a pretext for an anti-communist pogrom by Indonesias military and proxy groups that led to at least 500,000 deaths.

One of the worst massacres of the 20th century, the killings in 1965 and 1966 have never been officially investigated and perpetrators have never faced justice.

One cable from the US embassy in Jakarta to the US Department of State, written three months after members of the communist party, the PKI, were first targeted, said there were an estimated 100,000 PKI deaths.

Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said redress for victims was long overdue.

Indonesias chief security minister, Wiranto, declined to answer questions. The army deputy chief of staff, H Siburian, said he had not seen the documents so could not comment.

The US embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

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While the documents do not solve the mystery of why the six generals were killed in 1965, they do show the United States and its Indonesian military allies were deeply concerned about Sukarnos left-wing policies and ties to the communists.

Then US ambassador Marshall Green wrote on October 12, 1965, the army had approached Western embassies through an intermediary and said they were considering a quick move to overthrow Sukarno, although no final decision was made.

In the event of such a coup, Green said the US could help with anything from covert operations and assistance transport, money, communications equipment, or arms.

In January 1967, Major-General Sjarif Thajeb told a US embassy official Sukarno planned to accuse foreigners and their little army friends of orchestrating the killings. The presidents plan had galvanised the military hawks to overthrow Sukarno by March.

Army General Suharto became acting president in March, ushering in three decades of military dictatorship.
Hundreds protest Trumps latest ban on individuals from six Muslim-majority countries, North Korea and Venezuela.

Washington, DC  On the day Donald Trump was elected US president, Shereen Ali, a sophomore at Rutgers University, was working as a server at her fathers New York restaurant.

One customer looked me in my face and said, I cant wait until this man becomes president so he can kick all the Muslims out of this country and stop all of them from coming in,' Ali recalled.

The first thing that came to my mind was that I wouldnt be able to go visit my family in other countries or that they would never be able to come here, she told Al Jazeera.

On Wednesday, Ali joined several hundred activists in Washington, DC, to protest the Trump administrations latest attempt to bar various individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Venezuela.

Chanting No ban, no wall, human rights for all! protesters gathered in Lafayette Square, next to the White House, for speeches from campaign leaders before marching to the Trump International Hotel .

The demonstration, dubbed #NoMuslimBanEver, was organised by a coalition of immigration and civil rights organisations.

Carrying signs and American flags, many protesters told Al Jazeera that the administrations succession of travel bans had affected them personally.

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Yusuf Muse, a US citizen who emigrated from Somalia in 1991, said that he had not seen his parents in 27 years.

After sponsoring them to come to the US, Muse decided to postpone the reunion until the government stopped trying to shut down travel from Somalia.

Its very upsetting, Muse said. Sometimes, I dont sleep.

Legal blocks

Organisers had planned the march for Wednesday, the day that the third version of the presidents travel ban was scheduled to go into effect.

The event turned more hopeful than expected, however, after a federal judge in Hawaii on Tuesday temporarily halted the administration from implementing most of the restrictions.

A second similar injunction was issued earlier on Wednesday by a federal judge in Maryland.

Linda Sarsour, a prominent civil rights activist and one of the event organisers, welcomed the ruling but cautioned against complacency.

I love Hawaii, but for me, it was a small battle won in the larger war that were in right now to protect immigrant communities, Muslims and refugees, Sarsour told Al Jazeera.

We cant just celebrate and go home. We have to stay out fighting, and thats why were here today rallying in Washington, DC.

Unlike the administrations first two executive orders, Trumps latest travel ban was indefinite.

In an effort to strengthen the measure against legal challenge, the administration included country-by-country specifications for which citizens would be barred from entry.

The ruling by Judge Derrick K Watson in Hawaii halts only the restriction on travel from Muslim-majority nations, allowing the restrictions on Venezuela and North Korea to move ahead.

Advocates argued that Venezuela and North Korea had been added to obfuscate what remained at heart a Muslim ban.

They just threw these countries in to balance out allegations that this is a Muslim ban, said Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

If you look at the impact on travellers from North Korea and Venezuela, its so small, she told Al Jazeera.

One, there werent that many people coming from North Korea on immigrant visas, to begin with, and for Venezuela, the ban is limited to  government officials and their family members.

The Trump administration contends that the ban targets the eight countries for failing to provide enough information to vet prospective travellers.

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Watsons ruling undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

The administration announced that it will appeal the ruling, and activists, including Henrike Dessaules, communications director for the International Refugee Assistance Project, say they know they are in for a long legal fight.

We will continue to litigate against this ban and any other versions of it that violate the rights of Muslims, refugees or immigrants, Dessaules said.
Ex-US diplomat says Iraqi Kurds independence inevitable and Baghdad government cannot prevent it from happening.

Peter Galbraith, a former US diplomat and author who is also an adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government, believes Kurdish independence is inevitable and that the Iraqi government cannot prevent it from happening in the long term.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from New York City on Wednesday, he argued that the takeover of Kirkuk by Iraqi troops served to simplify the case for Kurdish independence, not complicate it.

Iraqi troops and allied paramilitaries retook the northern province of Kirkuk and its lucrative oilfields on Monday and Tuesday, as well as formerly Kurdish-held areas in Nineveh and Diyala provinces  all outside the autonomous Kurdish region.

Iraqs military says it achieved its objectives in a lightning-quick operation that saw troops sweep through disputed Kurdish-held territory in a punishing riposte to a secession referendum last month.
Foreign minister says Riyadh bringing back the dark ages during its four-month long blockade of its Gulf neighbour.

Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of trying to engineer regime change during its four-month blockade of its Gulf neighbour.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNBC on Tuesday that Riyadh is attempting to destabilise Qatars leadership.

We see [Saudi] government officials talking about regime change  We see a country that is bringing back the dark ages of tribes and putting them together in order to create a pressure on connected tribes in Qatar, he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, accusing Doha of supporting extremism and terrorism and cosying up to Iran  a regional nemesis.

Qatar has vehemently denied all allegations.

Sheikh Mohammed said the plan of the blockading countries was not to thwart terrorism but to disrespect and bully.

It is nothing to do with stopping financing terrorism or hate speech while they are doing the same by promoting incitement against my country, promoting a regime change in my country, he told the US broadcaster.

Qatar is the worlds largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and also houses the regions biggest US military base with more than 11,000 American troops.

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Sheikh Mohammed said the blockade has impeded the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in the region.

The airspace blockade meant that Qatari aircraft providing logistical support for the American military base have been diverted, and Qatari officers participating in operations against ISIL were expelled from the Bahrain-based US military headquarters.

So there are a lot of things which undermine  the global efforts in countering  Daesh, Sheikh Mohammed said, referring to ISIL by an Arabic acronym.
Qatar ready for dialogue over Gulf blockade because we are all brothers and no one will win, emir says.

Qatars leader says he is open to dialogue in resolving the four-month blockade imposed by Gulf neighbours, calling the move an unjust siege.

Speaking in Indonesia  which has the worlds largest population of Muslims and close ties to the Arab world  Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said he discussed the crisis with President Joko Widodo.

We conveyed  that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win, Sheikh Tamim told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital Jakarta.

We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis, he added.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival, Iran. Doha denies the allegations.

President Widodo did not publicly address the Gulf dispute.

This is a very important visit and the first visit for Emir Al Thani to Indonesia, which also coincides with the commemoration of 41 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Qatar, Widodo told reporters.

The Saudi-led bloc has made a list of 13 wide-ranging demands of Qatar, including closing down Al Jazeera Media Network and curbing ties with Iran.

Kuwait and top United States officials have attempted to mediate between the parties, but there is little sign the crisis will be resolved soon.
Montreal, Canada  Quebec has passed a contentious law that would make it illegal for Muslim women, and other individuals, who cover their faces to receive public services, including riding public buses.

Members of the provincial legislature voted 65-51 in favour of the legislation on religious neutrality, known as Bill 62, on Wednesday morning.

The law forces citizens to uncover their faces in order to receive or give public services in the French-speaking province.

It applies to provincial and municipal employees  including doctors, nurses, teachers and daycare workers  and public transit workers.

Shaheen Ashraf, a board member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women based in Montreal, said she was disturbed and unsettled and upset that the legislation was passed.

Muslim women in Quebec are feeling targeted by the law, which is the latest in a series of attempts by the provincial government to raise the issue of Muslim womens attire, Ashraf told Al Jazeera.

The message theyre sending to those women is that you stay home and dont come out of your house because they are choosing to cover their faces and they cannot board a bus or use any public transportation or receive any services, she added.

So what are they supposed to do?

U njustified infringement

Quebec Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee first tabled the bill in 2015 after several years of contentious debates in the province over religious symbols in the public sphere and the issue of religious accommodation for minorities.

Vallee has defended the legislation, telling CBC News this week that it was about living together in harmony.

Its a bill about guidelines and clearly establishes neutrality of the state, Vallee said.

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The Liberal Party, which holds a majority in the provincial legislature, backed the bill, while opposition parties voted against it because they said it did not go far enough.

The ban will go into effect immediately, but the provincial government has not provided clear guidelines for how public agencies should respond when individuals seek services with their faces covered.

The government is expected to form a committee to provide advice soon.

Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said in a statement that the legislation is an unjustified infringement of religious freedoms that runs contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Gardee added that the advocacy group will be looking into legal avenues to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of Canadian Muslims and, by extension, those of all Canadians.

Impossible to implement

The government has said individuals would be able to apply for an exemption based on religious accommodation.

It plans to release guidelines before July on how such religious accommodation exemptions will be allocated.

Currently, the bill states that accommodation is possible for a handful of reasons, including as long as it does not compromise the principle of State religious neutrality.

But legal experts and mayors across the province have questioned how such an exemption, and the law itself, would be implemented.

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Denis Coderre, the mayor of Montreal, Quebecs largest city, has accused the provincial government of overstepping its authority by telling municipalities how they can administer public services.

Coderre has said Bill 62 will be impossible to implement.

Are we going to say to the driver, Ive become the burqa or niqab police, and Ill decide who gets on the bus or not?' Coderre was quoted as saying in August by the Globe and Mail.

And if the driver says you can come in, will we have citizens who take the law into their own hands?

Meanwhile, Maxime Pedneault-Jobin, the mayor of Gatineau, Quebec, recently told CBC the legislation is a solution to a problem that doesnt exist except in principle.

Haroun Bouazzi, co-president of AMAL-Quebec, an association that works on issues of secularism and citizenship in the province, said many Muslims in the province are afraid to speak out against the legislation.

People are scared because the debate is extremely violent, he told Al Jazeera.

Bouazzi said that by passing the legislation, Quebec has affirmed that it can take away fundamental rights with no real nor urgent reason.

Its a sad day for democracy in Quebec.
Bomb targets police vehicle killing at least seven people and wounding 22 others in the capital of Balochistan province.

Islamabad, Pakistan  A suicide bomber has killed at least seven police officers and wounded 22 others in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.

The attack targeted a truck carrying police personnel on the citys main Saryab road on Wednesday morning, local police official Muhammad Akbar told Al Jazeera.

Provincial home minister Sarfaraz Bugti, speaking to media at the site of the attack, said those attacked were elite officers.

Six police officers and a civilian were killed and 22 wounded, said provincial chief minister Sanaullah Zehri, speaking to reporters at the hospital where the wounded were being treated.

It was a suicide attacker who appeared to be in a car with between 70 to 80kg of explosives, Zehri said.

Television footage from the scene showed the mangled and scorched wreckage of the truck lying by the side of the road. Police cordoned off the area around the blast site immediately following the attack.

Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, has often been at the centre of attacks by both religious armed groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (also known as the Pakistan Taliban) and armed ethnic Baloch separatists fighting for independence from Pakistan.

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The people of Balochistan are fighting this war on the front line, Bugti said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesdays attack. Balochistan has, however, increasingly come under attack from groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others.

Last week, five people were killed in an attack on the citys minority Hazara Shia Muslim community.

Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 18 people when he attacked a Sufi shrine near the town of Jhal Magsi, about 165km south of Quetta.

The province has also been the site of a decade-long armed separatist campaign by ethnic Baloch fighters who are fighting for independence in the resource-rich province.

Earlier this week, the Baloch Liberation Army, one of the main armed groups, claimed it killed two Pakistani security personnel deployed to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the Panjgur district.

CPEC, a $56bn infrastructure project, will see a major trade corridor constructed from Chinas southwestern Xinjiang province that runs through the length of Pakistan, culminating in a major port in the Balochistan town of Gwadar.

The project envisages the linking of Chinese markets directly to Arabian Sea trade routes through the construction of roads, rail and other infrastructure, as well as the construction of at least 19 power generation projects across Pakistan.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim
Roselyn Akombe, a top commissioner from the countrys electoral body, says next weeks poll will not be credible.

A senior official from Kenyas electoral commission resigned and left the East African country saying next weeks polls will not be credible.

Roseyln Akombe  a commissioner at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)  said late on Tuesday the body was partisan and part of the political crisis facing the country.

It has become increasingly difficult to continue attending plenary meetings where commissioners come ready to vote along partisan lines and not to discuss the merit of issues before them, Akombe said in a statement.

The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017. I do no want to be party to such a mockery to electoral integrity, Akombe said.

Local media reported Akombe fled to New York City fearing her safety.

Kenya is scheduled to hold a presidential election rerun next week after the countrys Supreme Court annulled the results of the August 8 vote because of irregularities and illegalities in the electoral process.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, President Uhuru Kenyattas main challenger, pulled out of the race last week after claiming his demands for reform of the electoral body were not met.

Announcing his withdrawal, Odinga said: All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.

The opposition has demanded that some electoral officials in charge of the last poll should be replaced.

Parliament last week passed an election law amendment stating if one candidate withdrew from the rerun vote, the remaining one would automatically win. The vote was boycotted by opposition lawmakers.

Kenya has witnessed weeks of streets protests leading to the deaths of several opposition supporters. Odinga on Tuesday called off the daily demonstrations following the killings of some of his followers.

A court lifted on Tuesday the governments ban on protests at major centres in the countrys three main cities.
State governor declares state of emergency before rally against white supremacist event at University of Florida.

Large protests are expected to take place in opposition to a white supremacist event at the University of Florida (UF), amid increasing tensions that have led the states governor to declare a state of emergency.

On Thursday, Richard Spencer, director of the National Policy Institute, a Virginia-based white supremacist think-tank, is slated to speak at UF in Gainesville.

Chad Chavira, a student and one of the organisers of the No Nazis at UF protest, said he expects thousands of people to demonstrate against Spencers presence.

Our stance from the beginning is that Richard Spencer should not have a platform here and that the university should not have provided him with one, Chavira told Al Jazeera.

By hosting Spencer, not only does it bring white nationalists into the community, he said. But it also emboldens the ones who are already here and gives [Spencer] the opportunity to recruit those who are on the fringe of his movement.

Spencer is a leading member of the alt-right, a loosely-knit coalition of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis who advocate a white ethnostate.

On Monday, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in Alachua County, where the university is located, in anticipation of the speech.

I find that the threat of a potential emergency is imminent, the governor said in an executive order.

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We live in a country where everyone has the right to voice their opinion, Scott said in a separate statement, according to the Tampa Bay Times. However, we have zero tolerance for violence, and public safety is always our number one priority.

Asked on the Alt-Right Politics podcast what he would do if the university announced a last-minute cancellation, Spencer claimed he would still go through with the event.

If there is some kind of totally unwise decision on behalf of the university to suppress our rights, he said, we will use the university as a public space, and we will certainly exercise our right to free speech.

At the time of publication, the National Policy Institute had not replied to Al Jazeeras request for a comment.

Deadly violence

In a statement released earlier this month, UF said it expects security precautions to cost $500,000 and involve the participation of several law enforcement agencies, including the universitys police department, the Alachua County Sherriffs Office and the Gainesville Police Department, among others.

Although UF leadership has denounced Spencers white supremacist rhetoric, the university, as a state entity, must allow the free expression of all viewpoints, the statement read.

Of that total, Spencers National Policy Institute has been asked to pay $10,564 to rent the venue and contribute to security costs.

The event comes just two months after Spencer and hundreds of white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the Unite the Right rally, which descended into widespread violence.

When Unite the Right participants descended on Charlottesville on August 12 to protest the citys decision to remove a Confederate monument, they clashed with community members, anti-racist activists and anti-fascists.

The violence boiled over when James Fields, who was photographed marching with a neo-Nazi group earlier in the day, allegedly ploughed his car into an anti-racist march, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring at least 19 others.

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Amid public outrage in the wake of Heyers killing, Spencer and other white supremacist groups faced a string of cancellations at university campuses, including UF, and in cities across the country.

Although UF initially cited security concerns when it blocked Spencers request for a permit to hold a speech on September 12, he was permitted to reschedule for a later date after threatening legal action against the university.

Last week, the University of Cincinnati announced it would allow Spencer to speak on campus. The university has yet to confirm the events date and venue.

Scott Crow, an Austin, Texas-based author and former anti-fascist organiser, dismissed concerns that cancelling far-right events constituted a violation of their right to free speech.

They dont care about free speech at all, said Crow, whose upcoming book, Setting Sights, examines the history of left-wing self-defence. They are using it as a ruse to get back in these places, and liberal cowards are letting them do it.

Protect our allies

Although Spencer coined the term alt-right in 2008, the movement grew to national prominence last year during Trumps presidential campaign. Supporting his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policies, the alt-right celebrated Trumps victory in the November 2016 presidential elections.

Since Trumps inauguration in February, supporters of the movement have increasingly engaged in street brawls with anti-fascists (known colloquially as Antifa) and anti-racists in cities and towns throughout the US.

In Berkeley, California, anti-fascists broke through police barricades and battled right-wing protesters during the Say No to Marxism rally in Berkeley, California. Police arrested at least 13 people during the altercations.

They don't care about free speech at all. They are using it as a ruse to get back in these places, and liberal cowards are letting them do it. by Scott Crow, author and former anti-fascist organiser

Earlier that month, hundreds of alt-right supporters and anti-fascists faced off in Portland, Oregon, where gun-toting members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group, used pepper spray on counterdemonstrators.

On April 15, as far-right groups assembled in Berkeley for pro-Trump demonstrations, they clashed with anti-fascists and other counterdemonstrators, using pepper spray, poles and makeshift weapons.

They are calling for genocide and exclusion of huge populations of people. Thats not a disagreement, Crow added. Anywhere they have public speaking events  anti-fascists will be there.

With tensions high in Gainesville in the run-up to Spencers speech on Thursday, UF President W Kent Fuchs urged students and others to avoid the event in a video statement released last week.

Mitch Emerson, a community organiser involved in planning the rally, insists that it is important for students and community members to voice their opposition to Spencers presence on campus.

Showing up is important because it makes the message clear and helps protect our allies, he told Al Jazeera.

We dont want them in our community, our state or our country. Wherever they try to espouse their hate, people should come together and stand united against them.
President Xi Jinping sets out long-term vision during Communist Party congress as he seeks to consolidate power.

Who is the most powerful person in the world? Many would say US President Donald Trump. But the international news publication, The Economist, argues it is actually Chinas President Xi Jinping.

While Trump focuses on protectionism, Xi is bidding for global leadership on multiple fronts.

Among them: a grand infrastructure plan to link large parts of the world economy; an Asia-focused bank to counter the World Bank; Chinas first overseas military base; and a military build-up in the South China Sea.

Analysts say Xi wants to be a transformative leader along the lines of Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong. He has eliminated rival power centres in an anti-corruption campaign, and has amassed more personal power than any recent predecessor.

So, what will the latest Communist Party congress reveal about Chinas global aspirations as the US turns inward?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Einar Tangen  political and economic affairs analyst

Jabin Jacob  fellow, The Institute of Chinese Studies

Isaac Stone Fish  senior fellow, Asia Societys Center on US-China Relations
In a chaotic and emotional Student Senate meeting Tuesday, 43 students signed up for public debate, asking senators to work toward canceling classes Thursday ahead of Richard Spencers speech and to increase funding for the Counseling & Wellness Center.

Students should not have to fall behind their classes if they fear for their safety, said Shreyas Amol Jethwani, the creator of a movement called #NotOnMyCampus, which launched a Facebook page at 6 p.m. Tuesday asking students to speak up at Senate. Students should not be forced to be put in harms way.

In an unofficial vote, Sen. Zachariah Chou (Inspire, Murphree) asked for senators to raise their hands if they want class canceled.

As hands shot into the air, some senators stared slack-jawed, apparently waiting for order to be restored in the chamber.

But then Senate President Ian Green and Senate President Pro-Tempore Janae Moodie raised their own hands, eagerly.

When Student Body President Smith Meyers spoke about Spencers event, Chad Adams, a #NoNazisAtUF organizer, spoke out of turn and asked Meyers what he was doing exactly to represent students.

As Green (Impact, Business Administration) hit the gavel and asked the sergeant-at-arms to intercede, Adams talked over him. Meyers said he could only speak to senators, so Senator Ben Lima (Inspire, District D) repeated the question.

While condemning white supremacy during her report, Pro-Tempore Janae Moodies voice shook while she said Spencer had the right to free speech, but not the right to change students moral compasses.

I know, and I hear you, Moodie said, crying. I really do hear you. Were doing our best.

Emotions also ran high as students told senators about their battles with mental health illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts. The students were upset that UFs local fee committee rejected a proposed 71.4 cent increase per credit hour for the Counseling & Wellness Center.

As a response to Chous letter to the editor published Monday in the Alligator, Haley Smith, a member of the local fee committee, wept as she said the process is more complex than most students understand.

She said even if the committee had voted to increase student fees, Gov. Rick Scott would have vetoed the proposal because he based his campaign on affordable college for everyone.

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Meyers said his administration received funding for 12 counselors from UFs Provosts Office for the next three years. He asked students to help him ask UF to reduce the centers overhead costs and lobby the state for funds. The overhead cost is the 13 percent charge on the expenditures of UFs auxiliary organizations that produce revenue, which includes the CWC, according to Alligator archives.

We have three years to fight for this money and make it not come from students pockets, Meyers said.

UF student Lillian Rozsa told senators how she was diagnosed with depression last Spring and was lucky to get professional help in Tallahassee, where she was interning. Recently, she said, shes felt her mental illness return, so she requested an appointment at the CWC.

But she was told to wait until Nov. 3.

Today, Im fine, but I dont know where my demons will be tomorrow, she said. Thats scary.

Sen. Paulo Bazan (Impact, Engineering) asked students who spoke during public debate to remember senators are students too, and they are also afraid.

Everybody here cares and matters, Bazan said. Were really trying to do our best here, we just dont know how to sometimes.

Students sit in at the Student Government Student Senate meeting on Tuesday. Although 43 students signed up for public debate, more students filled the chambers to object senators silence regarding the lack of funding for the Counseling & Wellness Center and Richard Spencers visit to UF on Thursday.
It seems established in our common knowledge that comedy is tragedy plus time. This applies to what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as what is to come of Richard Spencers visit to UF on Thursday. The initial cancellation of Spencers event is not an attack on freedom of speech,but actually championing the matter.

Our right to freedom of speech does not exist in absolute terms. We need a supporting environment in order to have the presumption of innocence or freedom of assembly, to give just two examples. Of course, being able to distinguish between the abuse or the simple exercise of a right is the job of an intellectual. In addition, it is important to see the comedy in the tragic behavior of some of the people who share the same space with us in order to live in true democracies and not just in representative republics.

Freedom of speech and assembly is one of the fundamental rights in nontotalitarian societies. There is, however, a catch on that. As the Spanish judge Elpidio Jose Silva said in May, talking about another fundamental right as the presumption of innocence, in order to uphold such a right, you need a convenient environment to make it flourish. In other words, we need a proper way to prove to our fellow citizens they are truly innocent through, for example, a fair court. The same, I consider, applies to freedom of speech. If we allow certain groups of people to use those rights with trickery, or as something you can use against others, we are losing what those rights represent; we are escaping from them.

The only way to confront the important issue of social survival is through intellectuality. As Ibram Kendi, the winner of the 2016 National Book Award, said in his speech during the December 2016 UF graduation ceremony, It is so embarrassing, but there are doctorates who are not intellectuals. Just like there are M.D.s who are not healers. I connected that moment with one of my favorite scenes from Spanish cinema: A peasant tells another he has been thinking about becoming an intellectual since he has nothing to lose. It is true, self-reflection and the desire of knowing and changing the world are not a choice, but a duty; a tragic duty that slowly becomes a comedy when you realize it is the right thing to do.

Comedy is tragedy plus time, but there is no general rule about how long we have to wait for a good laugh. I like to believe the case with the white supremacist is just the one we need to finally come out with a good joke. Being intolerant toward the intolerants is a necessary paradox that is not funny anymore. Maybe that is why we are losing the battle for our rights, because we are taking them too seriously under the form of ridiculous postures of impotence nostalgia within a shell of undeserved privilege.

Denying an intolerant spokesman to talk about intolerance at an educational institution, and feeling confused about whether it is good or bad, makes you somebody with serious problems to solve in terms of defending your rights. We cannot let the tragedies of today engulf us in a never-ending agree-to-disagree moment because, at least, this is just a form of laziness; and, at worst, it is a collective suicide. Seeing the comedy within tragedy is not an easy job, but it is the only way to at least gather enough courage to keep going. Who knows, maybe the next time you confront the political views of somebody else you will be able to recognize the difference that sometimes does not exist between a neo-Nazi skinhead and an average bald guy.

Francesc Morales is a UF doctoral student in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies.
Gainesville has been featured in Expedia, Inc.s The 12 best music towns in the nation, an article published in September. While some students find this surprising, others think its been a long time coming.

The city was featured for its underground punk scene and for the various venues throughout Gainesville.

Chloe Mulliner, an Expedia Viewfinder staff writer, found out about Gainesvilles music scene through research as well as insight and tips from the team at Expedia.

Once we uncovered Gainesvilles devotion to live music, we knew we had to put it under the spotlight, Mulliner wrote in an email.

Mulliner and her team were mostly impressed, and surprised, by Gainesvilles punk scene.

We had no idea that there was such a thriving punk following in northern Florida, so it was fun for us to explore that further and see what gets the local crowd on its feet, she said.

When the Expedia team heard about The Fest, an annual music festival in Gainesville, they knew the city had that certain something unique and different from other places, Mulliner said.

When putting towns in the spotlight, Mulliner and her team wanted to avoid showcasing places that are excessively talked about and already known in the music industry. Instead, they wanted to discover cities from all areas that have their own musical flair, such as Gainesville, Mulliner said.

Mayra Yaji, a 21-year-old UF advertising senior, attends concerts in Gainesville at least twice a month and at least once a month for bigger artists in cities nearby.

Im a little surprised Gainesville made this list, Yaji said. I do think good music comes out of Gainesville, I just dont think there is enough to get it to one of the top spots in the country.

Gainesville made this list with its underground punk music scene in mind, but Yaji thinks Gainesville is missing a lot of variety outside of that scene.

Not a lot of artists come to Gainesville, she said. Whenever I go to big name concerts, I have to go to Orlando or Jacksonville, so it surprises me that Expedia was willing to give Gainesville that title when not a lot of artists come here.

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About a month ago, High Dive held a band showcase which had a pretty decent turnout, Yaji said. Three bands from Gainesville performed at the showcase, but turnout for these shows are not usually like that, Yaji said.

Sometimes shows are not packed, and it does not help that a lot of these shows are on school nights, Yaji said.

Yajis main conclusion about the music scene in Gainesville is that there needs to be more variety.

Yaji personally likes the alternative/pop rock genre and feels that Gainesville has a lot of that, but there are not enough options for people who enjoy listening to other types of music.

Its very hard for them to find concerts that they would like to attend here, so I feel like Gainesville needs to have more of a variety of shows and more venues, Yaji said.

Yaji thinks if Gainesville was a bigger city, more artists, both big and local, would be more willing to do concerts in the area.

On the other hand, Matthew Fowler, a 20-year-old UF economics and English junior and vice president of the UF record label Swamp Records, thinks the article makes total sense.

Its about time that the punk scene in Gainesville gets that kind of recognition, Fowler said. A lot of people that dont live here were sort of surprised when I told them the magnitude of the punk scene.

Fowler has attended concerts at, and even performed at, one of the venues mentioned in the article: Hardback Cafe.

The atmosphere at Hardback Cafe is very intimate and is generally a smaller venue than others. Having a smaller venue is great for local bands and start-ups because if about 40 people come to the show, the band feels as though theyre playing a sold-out show with a packed room, Fowler said.

Hardback also has a distinct look with moody lighting and spray paint on the walls. The venue is already cool looking, making further decoration often unnecessary, Fowler said.

To Fowler, the best part of the music scene in Gainesville is the comradery.

For example, Fowler has gotten to know a lot of the people who work the doors at the venues.

As someone who has been playing in bands since I was 15 and started in Gainesville when I first got here, everyone was just very friendly, Fowler said. Everyone picks each other up when you fall down. Everyone in the music scene is just easy to work with.
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will open at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and conclude on Oct. 24, a spokesperson said Tuesday.



Tuo Zhen, spokesperson for the 19th National Congress of CPC, held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People, briefing the media on the upcoming congress.



The credentials of 2,280 delegates to the 19th National Congress have been approved, he said.



He introduced that the agenda includes: to hear and examine a report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee; to examine a work report of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection; to deliberate and adopt an amendment to the Party's Constitution; to elect the Party's 19th Central Committee and Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.



The constitution amendment will include new governance concepts, thoughts and strategies proposed by the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, he added.



Tuo stressed that China's policy of utilizing foreign investment will not change, Chinas protection for the lawful rights and interests of the foreign companies will not change, Chinas commitment to provide better services for the investment and operation from all companies will remain unchanged.



Chinas reform and opening up is now at a new starting point, he said, noticing that China will continue to stick to the basic policy of opening up, and open even wider to the outside world.












English News Op-Ed: The CPC at its 19th National Congress

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 18 Octobre 2017



What is it about the Party, the CPC, and its governing philosophy, that makes Xi so committed to enhancing the Partys governing power? What are the Partys positions and policies, organization and governance, vision and challenges? Why has China opted for perpetual CPC leadership? What innovations has Xi brought to the Partys leadership role in the economy and society? Why has Xi elevated strict discipline of the Party to the highest level of national importance, the fourth of his Four Comprehensives for governing China? Why is his anti-corruption campaign so relentless?

Robert Lawrence Kuhn Foreign analysts and media look to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for clues about Chinas future. It is no secret that President Xi Jinping, during his almost five years as Chinas senior-most leader, has strengthened the Partys role in governing China  and foreigners have questions. Im asked these questions by foreign media and I think it useful to state and examine them.

What is it about the Party, the CPC, and its governing philosophy, that makes Xi so committed to enhancing the Partys governing power? What are the Partys positions and policies, organization and governance, vision and challenges? Why has China opted for perpetual CPC leadership? What innovations has Xi brought to the Partys leadership role in the economy and society? Why has Xi elevated strict discipline of the Party to the highest level of national importance, the fourth of his Four Comprehensives for governing China? Why is his anti-corruption campaign so relentless?

Answers to these questions lead to a more basic question: How has the Party led China to its remarkable development and modernization? How has the Party adapted to changing conditions, kept up with the times? What can we learn from the Partys history, its triumphs and tragedies? What is it about the Partys recent past that it must now be rejuvenated?

But can a system with a perpetually ruling party discipline itself, itself establish credible checks-and-balances? What challenges does the Party face? What does the Party consider its greatest dangers? And what are its enduring ideals, its visions for the future? Under Xis core leadership, how might the Partys role in governing China develop over the next five or ten years?

China requires strong leadership to maintain stability given Chinas unique, complex challenges: domestically (slower growth, industrial overcapacity, endemic pollution, imbalanced development, income disparity, social injustice, social service demands) and internationally (regional conflicts, sluggish economies, volatile markets, trade protectionism, ethnic clashes, terrorism, geopolitical rivalries, territorial disputes).

Xis unprecedented anti-corruption campaign has won strong public support. His determination to root-out corruption and cut the wasteful and detested perks of officialdom is altering how officials in government, and executives in state-owned enterprises, work and even think.

But some foreign analysts see Xis anti-corruption campaign as a weapon of political power, thus reflecting their superficial and one-dimensional understanding of China. Befitting the size and complexity of the country, for almost every decision of importance, Chinas leaders have multiple motivations or reasons.

For the anti-corruption campaign, I can see ten motivations or reasons.

First, to state the obvious, officials who are manifestly corrupt are brought to justice. To manage Chinas huge society, there must be respect for law and judicial impartiality.

Second, by combatting corruption the Party increases public trust, building confidence in the Partys leadership.

Third, by combatting corruption the Party functions more effectively and efficiently, making decisions for the general good, not biased by personal benefits.

Fourth, corruption distorts markets, so that by reducing corruption, resources are allocated more efficiently.

Fifth, corrupt officials impede economic reform because change threatens their private interests. The removal of corrupt officials facilitates reform.

Sixth, corrupt officials thwart rule of law for personal interests and prosecuting them strengthens rule of law for the national interest. Rule of law is exceedingly important, the third of Xis Four Comprehensives.

Seventh, some corrupt officials, in addition to enriching themselves, have non-standard political ambitions that could destabilize the system; their removal helps maintain national unity and political stability, which is essential for China.

Eighth, for China to become a world business center, China must have world-class business ethics and standards.

Ninth, combatting corruption benefits Chinas entire society, elevating morality and restoring Chinese civilization as a paragon of ethics and integrity.

Tenth, for China to become a global role model, China must exemplify morality and rectitude.

The CPC is a work in process. For the world to understand the China, it must understand why the Party asserts that its continuing political leadership is optimum for Chinas development. One key is the Partys adaptability, stressing experimentation and testing of new policies.

The benefits of a system with a single leading party include implementing critical policies rapidly and assuring that strategies which require long-term commitment, have long-term commitment - for example, China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The Partys leadership is deemed essential for China to continue its current development. Yet to continue to earn its leadership, the Party has a higher obligation to enhance rectitude of governance, standards of living and personal well-being  which includes rule of law, transparency in government, public oversight, institutionalized checks and balances, increasing democracy, various freedoms, and human rights.

Going forward in the new era, the Party faces challenges - furthering economic reform and transformation, and guiding social development and transition - while at the same time, improving transparency and building institutions that are self-regulating. The Party claims a historic mission. The Party will continue to be judged by the results.

********************************************

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual, political/economics commentator, and international corporate strategist. He is the host of Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn on CGTN.





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The Australian High Commission in collaboration with Pearls Africa Youth Foundation marked the International Day of the Girl through an event held on the 14th of October, 2017 themed, The Importance of Girl Child Education in Nigeria. The event brought together, girls from different communities in Lagos state to be mentored through an interactive panel []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
As part of the Sub-Saharan Africa Fast Power Reverse Trade Mission, USTDA will host a business briefing for U.S. businesses interested in learning about new project opportunities in select African markets. Attendees will be able to interact with senior-level attendees from public and private entities in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, and Mozambique, and learn more about []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
In the aftermath of weeks of conflict in the Libyan coastal city of Sabratah, IOM, the UN Migration Agency is providing support to more than 14,000 migrants, previously held in numerous informal detention centres and camps and now transferred to Zuwara and an assembly point in Sabratha. Since the outbreak of the crisis in recent []Source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
Part of Obamas baleful legacy is that during the Scarborough Shoal Incident of April to June 2012, the Filipino president travelled to Washington to ask Obama for U.S. support. Obama didnt offer support, no operational support followed and China read that as the signal to seize territory from a U.S. ally. As is the usual pattern, the consequence of not dealing forcefully against a minor aggression will lead to a much bigger war down the track.

The Chinese leader that organised the seizure of Scarborough Shoal, Xi Jinping, became a national hero and that gave him the political momentum to see off rivals to become president of the Peoples Republic of China the following year. As retired U.S. Navy captain James Fanell noted, while in the West the Scarborough seizure was treated as a minor fisheries dispute, Chinese scholars recognized the significance of Xis template for mooting U.S. alliances by undercutting confidence in defense agreements, calling it the Scarborough Model.

Emboldened by Obamas acquiescence, China is preparing for a short, sharp war to seize the Senkaku Islands from Japan. They are building specialised equipment to that end. Again from Captain Fanell:

Size matters in confrontations at sea, especially between coast guard vessels. As China has sought more of its neighbors maritime sovereignty, it has built ever-larger coast guard ships. These are intended to enable its civil maritime forces to carry out Chinas campaign more aggressively (having the biggest ship on scene), and to conduct them at increasing distances from Chinas coastline. As such, China has demonstrated its commitment to have the largest coast guard vessels in the Asia Pacific region. In 2014, China commissioned the largest coast guard cutter in the world, at 12,000 tons, the Zhongguo Haijing 2901. This cutter first went to sea for the first time in May 2015 and is subordinated to the East China Sea area of responsibility. A second ship of the class, CCG 3901, was completed and made ready for operations in January 2016. The Communist Partys Peoples Daily made the purpose of these ships crystal-clear, stating they were designed to have the power to smash into a vessel weighing more than 20,000 tons and will not cause any damage to itself when confronting a vessel weighing under 9,000 tons. It can also destroy a 5,000-ton ship and sink it to the sea floor.

Note carefully the combat assault mission of these Chinese Coast Guard ships.

Sinking ships by ramming is a throwback to how triremes did battle in the Mediterranean. It also tells us how China plans to start its war. The super-sized Chinese coast guard ships will ram and sink Japanese coast guard vessels. When the Japanese Navy responds by sinking the Chinese coast guard ships, the Chinese PLA Navy will come over the horizon with amphibious assault ships. China will claim to be the aggrieved party and offer to end hostilities, leaving it in possession of what it seized.

The Chinese have been doing some dry runs for the conflict to come. Around midday on August 5th, 2016, some 200 to 300 Chinese fishing boats swarmed into the contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands of Kuban and Uotsuri, followed by 15 Chinese coast guard vessels by August 9th. Come the actual battle, there will be hundreds of Chinese vessels to be sunk, much like plinking tanks in the deserts of the Middle East.

Chinas intent is plain, the next question is the timing. The Communist Party of China has directed the Peoples Liberation Army to transform itself into a force that will be ready to take Taiwan by 2020. A Senkaku campaign will be a lot easier than subduing Taiwan, and possession of the Senkakus in turn will make the Taiwan campaign easier to mount by partial envelopment of that island. The PLA Navy is still expanding and China might not start its war until its navy is somewhat larger than it is now. Of particular interest is a new class of amphibious assault ships, the Type 075. Approximately the size of the U.S. Navys Wasp-class ships, the Type 075 is projected to carry up to 30 helicopters and have the ability to launch six helicopters simultaneously. The first Type 075 class may be launched in 2019 and in service in 2020. Another four might be built by 2025.

There are a few other considerations which have the potential to bring forward Chinas war plans. Chinas economic growth is mostly debt-funded construction of unproductive assets, so Chinas debt to GDP ratio continues to climb. Everyone knows this is unsustainable, that it will end in tears but nobody knows when. A stalling economy and tens of millions of personal bankruptcies as Chinas real estate bubble pops would encourage the regime to distract the public with a foreign military adventure. Then there is the question of Chinas energy supply. Chinas strategic petroleum reserve is estimated to be about 700 million barrels and still building at one million barrels per day. The Chinese reserve will probably keep building until the day the war starts and U.S. and Japanese submarines begin sinking Chinese tankers.

But the big story in energy, internationally, is the projected peaking of Chinese coal production in 2020 before it starts falling away due to resource exhaustion. Chinese coal production of over four billion tons per annum is about four times the U.S. production level. Coal is the source of two thirds of power generation in China, about the same for chemical feedstocks and is the source of all the nitrogenous fertiliser they use. The energy content of Chinese coal production is equivalent to 58 million barrels of oil per day. The production cost of coal, and thus the cost of doing everything in China, will start rising once production has peaked. It is unlikely that Chinas nuclear power sector will expand fast enough to compensate. Thus Chinas competitiveness relative to countries that have plenty of coal remaining will fall. This will factor into President Xis timing of his war.

Now is the time to ask Lenins question What is to be done? The important thing is to shun anything made in China because that just funds their aggression. Choose the Samsung offering over the iPhone for no other reason. And be nice to any Japanese or Vietnamese you meet. We need them to have courage.

David Archibald is the author of American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare
It is an article of faith among many that some of the most patriotic Americans are immigrants. Leaving one's country and culture in search of a better life has a way of clarifying the reasons for making such a consequential choice. The freedoms and opportunities we enjoy as native-born citizens, but can sometimes take for granted, are often even more deeply cherished by new Americans in their adopted homeland. Trading up carries with it a reminder of what one has lived down  and can be all the more meaningful for it.

In a similar way, it may also be true that the most passionate adherents to political ideology, or a candidate embodying such views, are those who have cast off an opposing party or politician they found wanting. Nothing brings into high relief the folly of one's voting choices like deep disillusionment with the elected officials or party in whom one has put one's trust.

Like the immigrant, then, for whom America matters even more when compared to the system they've fled, the lately anointed conservative may feel greater affinity for a core set of newly held beliefs, particularly in contrast to the liberal ideals he deserted. Rejecting something is purposeful. And not having a thing of value only makes the getting of it more valuable.

This is why the Cuban who fled Castro's fascist regime has great clarity  as does the Trump voter who abandoned Obama.

They both know full well what they escaped.

The silent minority of centrist, independent, or disenchanted liberal voters who threw over the Democratic Party in order to help put Trump over the top on election day may have been a crucial factor in Trump's win. For this group of voters, who rejected the hope and change promised by Barack Obama as ultimately hollow and corrupted, Donald Trump represented a chance to sandblast the entrenched bureaucracy of Washington and return power to the people.

Think about it this way: the desire to reject the well heeled vampire the left has become was so great that America was willing to elect a coarse, unrefined reality TV star with zero political experience to run the country just because he seemed to have the courage of his convictions and wasn't Barack Obama, or some iteration thereof.

Obama voters  or at least the ones who paid attention  witnessed our 44th president's mendacity about the transparency of his administration, the ACA's freedom of choice, the responsibility for the terrorism in Benghazi, the ransom payments to Iran, the deadly overreach of Fast and Furious, and the targeting of conservatives by the IRS, to name but a few. For those not still in thrall to Obama's impressive speech-making and statesman-like bearing, the cynicism of these shell games became corrosive to keeping faith in him.

Voters accurately determined that Obama was a Trojan horse  a figure with a promise of change who went on to undercut his pledges with lies, and who bent the Constitution to his will via imperial fiat masquerading as executive privilege. Obama's deceptions, along with the rightful resentment against the iron maiden that political correctness had become, won Trump the presidency.

Did these political migrants have misgivings about supporting a man like Donald Trump? To a one  more than likely. Trump's blunt candor and his inartful rhetoric are an acquired taste, at best. Without a prepared speech, the president can inspire a kind of reflexive wincing in even his most avid defenders when he speaks. He is boorish, vain, thin-skinned, and vengeful  hardly the boxes anyone checks when filling out the "Adjectives That Describe a President" form.

And yet something real emanates from him  something true. For Americans habituated to the oiled pandering and doubletalk of many career politicians, Trump's flat, syntax-challenged style is a strange balm. He is an antidote to politics as usual  one that goes down with a spoonful of salt rather than sugar.

Whether this long-shot bet will pay off is still in question. The roulette wheel is presently spinning, and sometimes, it threatens to career off the table. But the fact that millions of Americans decided to ignore the odds and bet anyway tells you something about what kind of intuitive desperation about the state of the union occasioned such risk-taking.

The dirty little secret of what was a lurid, divisive election cycle is that Trump won on the issues. People were paying attention.

Seen by daylight, the odds that a handsome, gifted, whip-smart orator with charisma to burn and two terms of the American presidency under his belt would be succeeded by a brazen, awkward, rhetorically challenged vulgarian, a force of nature with an outer-borough attitude and bad hair, are vanishingly slim. But it happened  and, in part, because a clutch of reasonable Americans who crossed their fingers and hoped for the best with Obama, instead saw the entrenched power, bureaucratic sprawl, and deep-seated corruption of government expand beyond reckoning  and the middle and lower classes thrown under the globalist bus. These folks voted with their feet and walked away from the left.

The story is likely apocryphal, or speculative at least, but it resonates either way. It goes something like this: Donald Trump decided to run for president of the United States the night of the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner at which he was mocked without mercy by both Seth Meyers and Barack Obama. This smug, elite takedown of Trump was weaponized by the rapier invective of the left's canon of comedy writers, and its message to Trump was simple: you are a classless embarrassment, and your persona justifies any cruelty leveled against you.

It took a few years, but Trump's chickens came home to roost  along the ivory walls of the White House. Lesson learned: don't poke the bear just because it's fun to be cruel, for one day the bear may eat you  or at least make you cry pathetically on air, as Meyers did on election night.

Is there a quiet sea change at play in the heartland  one that involves re-assessing one's self-assumptions about party, ideology, and core beliefs? Just ask former Democrat and liberal talk show host Dave Rubin, who "left the left" because he sees the progressive movement devolving into authoritarianism. Or read the sobering story of gay journalist Chadwick Moore, who was ostracized by his community for the crime of writing neutrally about provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, then came out again  as a conservative. Or consider that Democratic governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, who switched to the Republican Party because, as he stated to his constituents at a rally attended by Trump, "I can't help you anymore being a Democrat."

What might these startling horses changing midstream portend about the future of the Democrats? Are these defections a Cassandra's vision of a party in decay?

I could conjecture, but I can really speak with authority only about myself, however anecdotally. I voted for Barack Obama twice. I wasn't happy about it. And then, eyes wide open  I voted for Donald Trump.

I did this in spite of his flaws and his effrontery. I did it because of his vision of America as a place where the state bends the knee to its people, instead of the reverse  a place where silenced Americans get their voices back.

I have no regrets about my decision  only hope. I believe that with any luck, a change in the weather, and the wind at his back, Trump could be the transformational president I thought Obama might be.

Just maybe.

Godspeed, 45.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled 4-0 earlier this month that imports of home washing machines from South Korea, mainly by Samsung and Lucky-Goldstar, are harming American manufacturers. It is now up to Pres. Trump to accept or reject the commissions recommendation for a retaliatory tariff. He should accept it.

This decision goes to the heart of a broader question: Is the Trump administration serious about enforcing trade rules and making trade work in the national interest, as he promised on the campaign trail?

Some background: Whirlpool, the leader in the U.S. washer market, has been losing ground to Samsung and Lucky-Goldstar in recent years. They, in turn, claim they are gaining market share simply due to higher quality and lower prices.

An investigation in 2013 by the U.S. government, however, exposed a more disturbing story. Samsung and LG are indeed selling washers at lower prices, but doing so through a strategy called dumping. That is, they are selling below production cost with the goal of eventually driving U.S. manufacturers out of business.

For understandable reasons, dumping has long been illegal under U.S. law and international trade agreements, including the Korea-U.S. Trade Agreement (KORUS). South Korea does not tolerate foreign (read Chinese) companies dumping in its own markets.

After the U.S. government ruled that Samsung and LG were dumping and imposed a retaliatory tariff, the firms responded by first stockpiling washers in the United States and then shifting their production to other countries -- first China, then Vietnam and Thailand -- in order to evade the tariff, which was country specific.

As a result, Whirlpool and other U.S. manufacturers continued to suffer from illegal dumping. Therefore, Whirlpool decided this year to file a so-called safeguard petition with the ITC under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. A safeguard petition asks the ITC to determine whether imports are causing serious injury to an American industry. It targets imports from any country, thus preventing the country-hopping Samsung and LG have engaged in.

Safeguard provisions are a normal and necessary enforcement mechanism in a world where trade agreements have rules Both the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations used them.

Unfortunately, some people dont understand this. Whirlpools critics have argued that the company is seeking a corporate bailout. Several members of Congress have written to the ITC opposing granting the tariff.

Opponents of the tariff have appealed in the name of so-called free trade. But this is a misunderstanding. For a start, given the manifold ways in which Korea keeps its own markets closed, subsidizes its industries, and has manipulated its currency, genuine free trade between the U.S. and South Korea simply does not exist. Acquiescing to the status quo would not further it.

Furthermore, even for those who are satisfied with the current charade version of free trade, in which America opens its markets in reality, but many foreign nations only do so on paper, the case highlights sensitivities that, if improperly managed, could undermine U.S. support for the global trading system as a whole.

Few issues featured as prominently in Donald Trumps campaign as the idea that the United States is getting the raw end of trade deals. As a recent Morning Consult poll found, Trumps view -- which does not take issue with international trade per se, but questions whether existing free trade arrangements benefit the United States -- is consistent with the outlook of the American people.

The reason is the American people intuitively understand what our countrys globalist political class refuses to admit: free trade does not work if it is undertaken on an unequal playing field. It does not work when one side, with the support of its national government, engages in dumping aimed at wiping out an American industry.

The Korean firms cant deny the facts of this case. So they are now trying to muddy the waters, and buy support in Congress, with disingenuous promises about job creation. Legislators from Tennessee and South Carolina are now touting plans by these companies to build factories in their states.

In all likelihood, however, Samsung and LG will simply establish final-assembly kit plants, which operate largely on imported parts and that can be moved abroad when the threat of trade enforcement subsides. But this will displace the long-term plants of American companies, which use more domestically produced parts and thus create more jobs in their supply chains. (Investment in such plants is already being cut back in anticipation of imports.) It is not a winning job-creation strategy.

Failure by the Trump administration to take action against Samsung and LG would amount to an abandonment of the presidents campaign promise, and could incite a backlash not only against particular foreign manufacturers, but also against the broader international trading system. Indeed, Trumps manufacturing and trade policy advisor Peter Navarro has cited dumping by Samsung and LG as precisely the kind of trade cheating that must be stopped.

The administration is already hearing grumblings from its base for failing to follow through on its campaign promises about trade. As a candidate, Trump lambasted the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement as a job-killing trade deal and one-way street, but has yet to renegotiate or terminate the deal as promised.

The risk of a political backlash is particularly acute in the washer case because members of Congress are publicly going to bat for foreign companies like Samsung and LG. Household washers  your humble washing machine as the Wall Street Journal put it  are familiar products that voters understand. Manufactured in swing states like Ohio, with contentious Senate and House races on the horizon, the issue could easily be championed by populist candidates.

Amid growing trade imbalances, the days when the United States could just ignore the costs of illegal trade practices are over. It is incumbent on the Trump administration to send a message to our trading partners that economic partnership requires respect for agreed rules, including that dumping is illegal. It can do so by acting on the ITCs forthcoming recommendations on trade sanctions and imposing a tariff.

Economist Ian Fletcher, author of the book Free Trade Doesnt Work. is one of Americas foremost experts on the problems of free trade. From 2010 to 2012, he was Senior Economist of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Before that, he was Research Fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council. Before that, he was an economist in private practice serving mainly hedge funds and private equity firms. Educated at Columbia and the University of Chicago, he lives in San Francisco.
Former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power is denying, emphatically, to Congress, that she ever requested 260 unmaskings of Americans caught up in intelligence surveillance dragnets during President Obama's last year in office. She says someone else did it.

The Daily Caller reports:

Someone within the Obama administration's intelligence apparatus made requests to unmask the identity of Americans named in intelligence reports on behalf of Samantha Power, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. That's what Power told the House Intelligence Committee last week during a closed-door interview. South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy revealed in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday that Power was "emphatic" on the point that someone else in the Obama administration made the unmasking requests that have been attributed to her. Fox News recently reported that Power made approximately 260 unmasking requests  a rate of one per business day  in her final year in office, including up through the end of Obama's term.

Many of these unmaskings, which are supposed to be done only under extraordinary circumstances, were of people affiliated with then-candidate President Trump. After the unmaskings were done, the information was leaked to the press. No one has been caught or punished for these illegal acts, which would have put an ordinary soldier, sailor, or spy in prison. This is why Rep. Trey Gowdy and others in Congress are trying to get to the bottom of the matter.

Could Power really be making excuses? Claiming that the dog ate her homework? Trying to get out from the consequences of totalitarian state acts on unwitting Americans? Trying to make the issue go away as unresolvable?

Maybe.

But there's also the chance she is telling the truth.

As I wrote back in September:

It's baffling stuff, because it was so unprecedented. To request the unmasking of an American is supposed to be done only in exceptional circumstances, given the potential for Stasi-like abuse of power. Power made it her daily preoccupation even as she was supposed to be doing her United Nations job.

That raises questions of what it was for. Apparently, it was the Trump campaign she was spying on. Yet she never came off as a typical slimy political operative such as was commonly seen hanging around the Obama administration. Sure, she was a troglodyte lefty, but she never came off as a campaign expert.

We have yet to see any outrage from Power that someone might have been using her security access for these illegal unmaskings. Perhaps it's there, and it's just not been reported. What's more, we have yet to see any desire by Power to get to the bottom of it, even though it's her name all over the problem. All we know is that she wants to get out of it. It seems natural that she would want the real culprit who stole her name and password, and put her in the congressional dock (and maybe a real one later on), to be found. It seems natural that she might have a few ideas about how this came about. But thus far, there is no news to that effect.

Could she be protecting someone  say, President Obama, or one of his creepier ideological associates, such as Valerie Jarrett or Ben Rhodes? Did she give them her identification and password? If so, she should be held responsible for that.

The other possibility is that she's issuing a warning, saying she doesn't mean to be the fall guy for this Stasi-like act, as someone who's staked her professional reputation on being a sanctimonious human rights campaigner. If so, it would be more admirable, given that she would be much more likely to be helpful in identifying the real culprit.

Because not only were these maskings an illegal free-for-all for the Obamatons, redolent of every other socialist regime that spies on its own people, but they also were an unaccountable free-for-all, with someone using someone else's name to avoid responsibility and getting away with it. That's not how real democracies are run; it's how banana republics are run and totalitarian socialist regimes.

Let's look for a sign as to what Samantha Power's real loyalties are  to the rule of law or to Obama's political machine.
A blockbuster story in The Hill yesterday is being given the silent treatment by the mainstream media. That won't last for long.

Lowell Ponte gets to the essence of what the story by John Solomon and Alison Spann reveals about the sham effort to pin Russian collusion on Donald Trump.

"Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow," sources told Solomon and Spann. But acting FBI investigators at the time  including then-U.S. attorney Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller, the man Rosenstein would later choose to investigate possible Russian collusion that helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election  apparently did not share this information about Russia with key members of Congress.

The FBI under Robert Mueller and the Department of Justice under Eric Holder and his U.S. attorney Rosenstein allowed a strategic natural resource to slip into the control of a rival hostile power and declined to act on corruption investigations into the Clintons  all while keeping Congress and the public in the dark about the unfolding crime involving the highest levels of politics.

This is actual collusion with Russia, and now the guy who let the FBI stand by as the collusion operated; as the deal was signed; the speaking fees were received; and vast amounts of cash were channeled to the slush fund legally known as The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation is heading the investigation into Russian collusion.

Clarice Feldman points out that today, Senator Grassley's Judiciary Committee is conducting DoJ oversight hearings, with A.G. Sessions testifying before the committee and the cameras. Clarice thinks it should be a blockbuster.

Keep in mind that Sessions has been at the mercy of the incumbent staff and is only now getting his own people confirmed at senior levels. Marcy Wheeler of the New Republic is worried about Brian Benczkowski, just confirmed as the new head of the DoJ's criminal division.

My own view is that a housecleaning at the FBI and DoJ is needed. Let's look for the parties responsible for covering up this scandal, which should be the biggest political scandal in American history.
The award-winning television show Meeting of Minds, created by Steve Allen in the 1970s, featured such characters as Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx, and Marie Antoinette discussing the issues of the day.

The latest meeting of minds features a cast of Never Trump characters debating Donald Trump's state of mind, with the president's defenders on the other side of the table.

Setting the stage last weekend, "125 psychologists and other mental health professionals," dressed "in black and wearing red plastic strips around their necks reading 'Danger,'" marched in New York City behind a banner reading "Duty to Warn." Their demand: "that President Trump be thrown out of office."

Consider the warnings posed by our media friends and the counters by Trump defenders.

David Axelrod says Trump is "jealous" of "the esteem with which Obama left office" and that Trump aims to "obliterate the Obama legacy" and that Trump thinks "fulfilling his campaign promises" is "chum in the water."

Michael Goodwin, writing at nypost.com, responds:

And so it goes, day after day, issue after issue. Stripped of policy fig leaves, the media reaction amounts to, "You can't do that! That's not how Barack Obama did it!" See, the newcomer isn't welcome to the neighborhood. The White House and the presidency still belong to Obama.

Charles Blow at nytimes.com expands on Axelrod's theme, contending that "Trump's consuming obsession with undoing everything Obama did" is because it is "cold and miserable standing in the shadow of someone greater and smarter, more loved and more admired."

Blow adds: "There is a thing present in Obama and absent from Trump that no amount of money or power can alter: a sense of elegant intellectualism and taste."

Victor Davis Hanson, writing at amgreatness.com, responds:

Trump in contrast, in gesture, accent, vocabulary, and rashness, sounds like a cigar-chomping blue-collar machinist out of our past who is said to be outrageous in his crudity only because he is condemned by those who are far more outrageous in their mannered sobriety.

At the other end of the Never Trump spectrum, George Will, writing at nationalreview.com, states that "Trump's energy, unleavened by intellect and untethered to principle, serves only his sovereign instinct to pander" to his base, who, according to Will, Trump "disdains" as a "basket of gullibles."

Hanson counters: "Pollsters, pundits, and the media have vastly underestimated how many in America loathe multimillionaire celebrities, pampered athletes, and triangulating politicians  the usual targets of Trump's invective."

An opinion piece at thehill.com by Bill Press says Trump has "turned into a one-man wrecking crew" whose "sole mission is to systematically destroy, one by one, everything Obama accomplished."

And Jeffrey Frank at newyorker.com writes, "[I]f a wrecking ball could transform itself into a Presidency, it would look much like the one that's been fashioned by the President we now have, Donald J. Trump."

Michael Goodwin responds:

It's nine months into the administration, and there is no rest for the hair-on-fire coverage. ... Every report is a parade of horrors that celebrates critics as truth-telling prophets. ... The hyperbolic language is designed to stoke partisan fear and rally the resistance.

Howard Fineman at huffingtonpost.com says the "conventional wisdom about President Donald Trump is clear enough: He's an infantile, ignorant moron," adding that "Democrats hope against hope that he will be impeached over Russia."

Hanson replies: "Thinking (or hoping) that President Trump will implode, quit, be jailed, sicken, die, or be impeached is not an agenda."

Fineman further observes that "if Trump is a moron, he is a moron on a mission  and with more method to his madness than his enemies understand or want to consider." "The tweets are a useful distraction  a kind of air cover for his carpet bombing of federal policy and programs."

Hanson amplifies Fineman's point:

Fresh episodic targeting serves two purposes. Trump is a sort of Road Runner: gone to reply to the next provocation by the time his Wile E. Coyote critics can put their hands around his long-gone neck. The pushback against him is usually yesterday's news drowned out by tomorrow's new melodrama. ... And when a president is doing downfield blocking, others are relieved of the interference. A Trump secretary of defense or national security advisor exercises power and influence in ways unimaginable in comparison to most earlier counterparts.

Paul Krugman at nytimes.com has said Trump's efforts to roll back Obamacare are about "sabotage" and "spite." And House minority leader Nancy Pelosi has renamed Trump's Obamacare executive order "President Trump's executive sabotage."

F.H. Buckley at nypost.com maintains that rather than sabotage, Trump is returning to "constitutional government":

Do you remember how glum Barak [sic] Obama looked after last year's election? ... He was looking at all his unconstitutional executive orders going down the tube. Obama kept the Affordable Care Act looking healthy via an extra-constitutional grant of $1 trillion to health-insurance companies. That required congressional approval, and Obama's decision to bypass Congress was held unconstitutional by a federal court. President Trump's decision Thursday to halt the bailout makes the litigation moot and represents a return to constitutional government.

Buckley adds that the Iran deal "was a treaty that should never have been adopted without two-thirds approval in the Senate, as required by the Constitution":

From 2013 to 2017 we experienced a period of monarchical government under good King Obama and his executive diktats. Under Trump we're seeing a return to constitutional government. Sometimes that means that things don't happen, and don't get passed. But if so, it's as the Framers intended.

Roger Kimball, writing at amgreatness.com, concludes that "on the ground, in the real world, Trump is methodically pushing ahead with the agenda he campaigned on." "In all of these areas, Trump is proceeding not as a wrecking ball but as a deliberate, if often voluble and sometimes exasperating, agent of change."

"Either way," Hanson adds, "the Trump presidency is moving at a speed likely unmatched by his predecessors, and he is getting somewhere fast."
The British National Health Service (NHS) has provoked a firestorm by temporarily banning surgeries on people who smoke and those who are obese. Patients who smoke must quit for at least eight weeks before non-urgent surgery, and obese people must lose weight before the NHS gives the go-ahead.

The Telegraph:

In recent years, a number of areas have introduced delays for such patients - with some told operations will be put back for months, during which time they are expected to try to lose weight or stop smoking. But the new rules, drawn up by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Hertfordshire, say that obese patients "will not get non-urgent surgery until they reduce their weight" at all, unless the circumstances are exceptional. The criteria also mean smokers will only be referred for operations if they have stopped smoking for at least eight weeks, with such patients breathalysed before referral. East and North Hertfordshire CCG and Herts Valleys said the plans aimed to encourage people "to take more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing, wherever possible, freeing up limited NHS resources for priority treatment". Both are in financial difficulty, and between them seeking to save 68m during this financial year.

No one denies that quitting smoking and losing weight are good ideas regardless of whether surgery is needed or not. But this move by the NHS has nothing to do with concern about the patient's health and everything to do with rationing resources.

Ian Eardley, senior vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said it was wrong to bar NHS treatment to any group of patients. "Singling out patients in this way goes against the principles of the NHS," he said. "This goes against clinical guidance and leaves patients waiting long periods of time in pain and discomfort. It can even lead to worse outcomes following surgery in some cases," he said. "There is simply no justification for these policies, and we urge all clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to urgently reverse these discriminatory measures." The senior surgeon said he was concerned that the latest rules were the "tip of the iceberg". And he raised concern about the fact such policies meant patients were refused a referral without even seeing the specialist who should take such decisions.

The surgeon is correct. This is a classic slippery slope for the NHS, where anything in the future that saves money can be justified.

How about an age limit on performing any surgery? Is it possible in the future that treatment will be denied on a cost-benefit basis? If you're not contributing to society, will the NHS decide that you're not worth saving?

This is not a bug; it's a feature of total government control of a country's health care system. Decisions are made by bean-counting bureaucrats who don't really care about patients or their families.

It would be advantageous to remind voters about policies like this when Democrats, as a party, run on a single-payer health insurance program.
George Soros has reportedly transferred $18 billion from his personal fortune to the Open Society Foundations, making the non-profit one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world.

The Wall Street Journal estimates Soros's net worth at $23 billion.

L.A. Times:

Soros, who lived through the Nazi occupation in his native Hungary, later fled communist rule in the country and eventually immigrated to the United States. He has become a leading backer of liberal causes and candidates, including Hillary Clinton.

Soros established his first foundation in 1984 in Hungary, and he founded the Open Society Foundations in the U.S. in 1993. Soros has spent nearly $14 billion funding a host of programs around the world, including refugee relief and public health efforts.

The foundation said it is the second-largest in the world after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Open Society's 2017 budget is $941 million, with giving organized around seven global regions and 10 themes, including early childhood and education, human rights movements and institutions, and justice reform and the rule of law.

But the foundation has been the subject of controversy for its work in the United States, such as supporting Planned Parenthood and criminal justice issues also advocated by the Black Lives Matter movement.

In 2014, the foundation contributed $1.4 million to help pass California's Proposition 47, which reduced drug possession and minor theft charges to misdemeanors. Soros provided other funding less directly.
Before the Obama administration approved Russia's acquisition of more than 20 percent of America's uranium supply, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found Russian racketeering involved.

This shocking news is in a must-read investigation by reporters John Solomon and Alison Spann in The Hill on October 17.

"Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow," sources told Solomon and Spann.

But acting FBI investigators at the time  including then-U.S. attorney Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller, the man Rosenstein would later choose to investigate possible Russian collusion that helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election  apparently did not share this information about Russia with key members of Congress.

Solomon, Spann, and The Hill might win a Pulitzer Prize for their excellent investigative reporting...if it incriminated Republicans. But since it instead found potential wrongdoing by Democrats, the mainstream media will either ignore or find fault with it.

This investigation points to important issues it does not spell out, so we shall use it as a stepping stone to touch on three of them:

1. The new investigation clearly indicates that Mueller and Rosenstein knew of Russian millions paid to Bill and Hillary Clinton's foundation. This foundation served as a slush fund that paid for some of her political activities and subsidized her campaign staff before 2016.

This is a priori evidence of Russian influence in American politics  in the form of more than $145 million funneled by Russia to the Clintons. Ms. Clinton ran for president in 2008 and was clearly positioning herself to run again in 2016.

Yet Mueller persists in not investigating Ms. Clinton as a suspect in his fishing expedition that seeks some crime of "election collusion by Russia," yet to be found, committed only by President Trump. Can Mueller continue stonewalling after this new evidence?

2. Russia has been doing more than trying to corner the world uranium market, as China has done with rare-earths. Russia also builds reactors for others, reportedly including eight reactors it has contracted to build for Iran. Could American-supplied uranium already be part of the reactor fuel supplied to Iran for a Russian-built reactor now in operation, despite the non-proliferation spirit of the Iranian nuclear deal?

3. Has Hillary Clinton created not a "Circle of Life," but a circle of death by profiting from selling to Russia the very nuclear materials that Iran could soon turn into ICBM warheads or terrorist nuclear weapons? Will Iranian (or North Korean) nukes that come home to roost and destroy American cities have an invisible sign on them that says "Made in USA"? Is this to be the Clintons' and President Obama's legacy?

Lenin famously said the last capitalist will sell the rope with which he ends up hanged. Nobody is greedier than Hillary Clinton.

Lowell Ponte is a veteran think-tank futurist and author or co-author of eight books. He can be contacted for interviews at radioright@aol.com.
The granite quarries located along the Nile, in the city of Aswan, supplied some of the finest quality stones for the construction of temples, sculptures and monuments in ancient Egypt. The famous Cleopatra's Needle, now located in London, as well as several structures in the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and at Giza were constructed from stones quarried in Aswan.

In the northern region of Aswans stone quarries lies an Unfinished Obelisk, resting on its side. It was supposed to be the tallest and the largest obelisk ever erected in Ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, the obelisk was never completed. While carving, cracks began to appear in the granite causing the project to be abandoned. Because the carvers had carved it directly out of the bedrock, it can be found exactly where it was 3,500 years agoits bottom side still attached to the bedrock.

It is believed that the obelisk was constructed and abandoned during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut in the 15th century BC. The obelisk was commissioned perhaps to complement the Lateran Obelisk which originally stood at Karnak Temple in Egypt but was later taken to Rome by the Romans. If completed, it would have stood approximately 137 feet, and would have been the heaviest obelisk ever erected in Ancient Egypt.

The unfinished obelisk offers unusual insights into ancient Egyptian stone-working techniques, as the scratches made by the workers tools can still be seen clearly on its rock surface. Some ocher-colored lines were also found on the surface, which were probably drawn to mark the places where the workers were supposed to carve out the granite. Archeologists believe that the Ancient Egyptians used small balls of Dolerite, which is a type of rock harder than granite, to cut through the rock. Once the sides were cut down into the rock, the obelisk had to be separated from the bedrock. For this, they dug small cavities in the body of the rock along the line of desired detachment and those cavities were filled with wood spikes. The wood was then thoroughly wetted with water until it expanded causing the rock to crack along the drawn lines and finally got detached from its base.

The entire quarry is now an open museum and arranged to preserve these structures as archaeological treasures of the country.

Photo credit: Dan Lundberg/Flickr

Photo credit: Jorge Lascar/Flickr

Photo credit: Hiddenincatours.com

Photo credit: Hiddenincatours.com

Photo credit: Hiddenincatours.com

Photo credit: Hiddenincatours.com

Sources: Wikipedia / Ask Aladdin / Wikipedia
(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian priest kidnapped in Nigeria last week, has been freed, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Radio capital Wednesday.

Alfano said Father Pallu was "well".

Alfano said "during the course of the night the foreign ministry crisis unit communicated to me the liberation of Father Maurizio Pallu, the missionary who had been kidnapped in Nigeria.

"We await him in Italy soon".

Alfano said "according to what his Neocatumenal brothers also say, he is travelling to Abuja.

He said that while some things may have changed since last night, "the information we have is positive". Sources at the Rome Vicariate also confirmed Father Pallu had been freed.

Father Pallu', 63 today, was kidnapped at Benin City in southern Nigeria last week.

He phoned his mother Sunday night to tell her he was well and would be released "in a few days", Vatican Insider reported Monday. Laura Pallu', 92, made the phone call public during a prayer vigil for her son's release in the parish of Santa Lucia La Sala in northern Florence.

Father Pallu', a priest from the Rome diocese, was kidnapped Thursday in Nigeria, sources said Friday, adding that the foreign ministry's crisis unit had already been alerted and the Rome prosecutor's office anti-terror unit has opened a probe.

The foreign ministry said no effort was being spared in the case, in a "dutiful" framework of confidentiality.

Rome prosecutors are investigating a suspected terror crime, judicial sources said. While Islamist terrorists Boko Haram were initially suspected, they have since been all but ruled out.

Sources said Florence-born Pallu was stopped with four other people on his way to Benin City.

They were stopped by an armed group that stole all their belongings and abducted the priest who has been on a mission to Nigeria for three years.

Pallu' graduated in history before setting off as a lay missionary around the world, for 11 years.

In 1988, when his father died, he joined a Rome seminary and in 1991 was ordained as a priest.

Two years later, spent working as a chaplain, he was sent to the Netherlands.

The Rome diocese said it was praying for his liberation.

Florence Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Betori said he was following the case with "apprehension" and urged people to pray for Father Pallu.


PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian missionary priest kidnapped in Nigeria last week, has been freed, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Radio capital Wednesday.

Alfano said Father Pallu was "well".

Alfano said "during the course of the night the foreign ministry crisis unit communicated to me the liberation of Father Maurizio Pallu, the missionary who had been kidnapped in Nigeria.

"We await him in Italy soon".

Alfano said "according to what his Neocatumenal brothers also say, he is travelling to Abuja." He said that while some things may have changed since last night, "the information we have is positive". Sources at the Rome Vicariate also confirmed Father Pallu had been freed.

Father Pallu told Vatican Radio that "I had moments of fear but I have to say I felt very much the assistance of the saints, of the Virgin Mary, of Carmen Hernandez (founder of the Neocatecumenal Way). "They took three of us hostage, a Nigerian brother, a Nigerian girl student, and me. They let us go at about 10 o'clock last night.

"I've been kidnapped twice in a year but I'm convinced that God will destroy the work of the Devil. Another important thing to stress is this: the two kidnappings took place on the feast of the Madonna of Fatima, October 13".

Asked if he will be returning to Italy, he replied: "They have told me to come back to Italy. I'd like to stay here because you beat the Devil by being here.

"When they let me come back (to Nigeria) I'll come back here very happily and I'll offer my poor person for the evangelisation of Nigeria".

Florence Mayor Diego Nardella called Pallu's release "splendid news" while former Florence mayor, ex-premier and Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi echoed that sentiment, phoning Florence Archbishop Giuseppe Betori to send his best wishes.

Father Pallu', 63 today, was kidnapped at Benin City in southern Nigeria last week.

He phoned his mother Sunday night to tell her he was well and would be released "in a few days", Vatican Insider reported Monday. Laura Pallu', 92, made the phone call public during a prayer vigil for her son's release in the parish of Santa Lucia La Sala in northern Florence.

Father Pallu', a priest from the Rome diocese, was kidnapped Thursday in Nigeria, sources said Friday, adding that the foreign ministry's crisis unit had already been alerted and the Rome prosecutor's office anti-terror unit has opened a probe.

The foreign ministry said no effort was being spared in the case, in a "dutiful" framework of confidentiality.

Rome prosecutors are investigating a suspected terror crime, judicial sources said. While Islamist terrorists Boko Haram were initially suspected, they have since been all but ruled out.

Sources said Florence-born Pallu was stopped with two other people on his way to Benin City.

They were stopped by an armed group that stole all their belongings and abducted the priest who has been on a mission to Nigeria for three years.

Pallu' graduated in history before setting off as a lay missionary around the world, for 11 years.

In 1988, when his father died, he joined a Rome seminary and in 1991 was ordained as a priest.

Two years later, spent working as a chaplain, he was sent to the Netherlands.

The Rome diocese said it was praying for his liberation.

Florence Archbishop Betori said he was following the case with "apprehension" and urged people to pray for Father Pallu.

Pope Francis also said he was praying for Pallu.


(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian missionary priest kidnapped in Nigeria last week, has been freed, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Radio capital Wednesday.

Alfano said Father Pallu was "well".

Alfano said "during the course of the night the foreign ministry crisis unit communicated to me the liberation of Father Maurizio Pallu, the missionary who had been kidnapped in Nigeria.

Later on Wednesday Alfano said Pallu will be back in Italy on Thursday. "I have spoken to Don Pallu," Alfano said via Twitter. "He is at our embassy in Abuja. "His words were of joy, without resentment. Tomorrow he will return to Florence". Father Pallu told Vatican Radio that "I had moments of fear but I have to say I felt very much the assistance of the saints, of the Virgin Mary, of Carmen Hernandez (founder of the Neocatecumenal Way). "They took three of us hostage, a Nigerian brother, a Nigerian girl student, and me. They let us go at about 10 o'clock last night.

"I've been kidnapped twice in a year but I'm convinced that God will destroy the work of the Devil. Another important thing to stress is this: the two kidnappings took place on the feast of the Madonna of Fatima, October 13".

Asked if he will be returning to Italy, he replied: "They have told me to come back to Italy. I'd like to stay here because you beat the Devil by being here.

"When they let me come back (to Nigeria) I'll come back here very happily and I'll offer my poor person for the evangelisation of Nigeria".

Florence Mayor Diego Nardella called Pallu's release "splendid news" while former Florence mayor, ex-premier and Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi echoed that sentiment, phoning Florence Archbishop Giuseppe Betori to send his best wishes.

Father Pallu', 63 today, was kidnapped at Benin City in southern Nigeria last week.

He phoned his mother Sunday night to tell her he was well and would be released "in a few days", Vatican Insider reported Monday. Laura Pallu', 92, made the phone call public during a prayer vigil for her son's release in the parish of Santa Lucia La Sala in northern Florence.

Father Pallu', a priest from the Rome diocese, was kidnapped Thursday in Nigeria, sources said Friday, adding that the foreign ministry's crisis unit had already been alerted and the Rome prosecutor's office anti-terror unit has opened a probe.

The foreign ministry said no effort was being spared in the case, in a "dutiful" framework of confidentiality.

Rome prosecutors are investigating a suspected terror crime, judicial sources said. While Islamist terrorists Boko Haram were initially suspected, they have since been all but ruled out.

Sources said Florence-born Pallu was stopped with two other people on his way to Benin City.

They were stopped by an armed group that stole all their belongings and abducted the priest who has been on a mission to Nigeria for three years.

Pallu' graduated in history before setting off as a lay missionary around the world, for 11 years.

In 1988, when his father died, he joined a Rome seminary and in 1991 was ordained as a priest.

Two years later, spent working as a chaplain, he was sent to the Netherlands.

The Rome diocese said it was praying for his liberation.

Florence Archbishop Betori said he was following the case with "apprehension" and urged people to pray for Father Pallu.

Pope Francis also said he was praying for Pallu.


(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian priest kidnapped in Nigeria last week, has been freed, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Radio capital Wednesday.

Sources at the Rome Vicariate also confirmed Father Pallu had been freed.

Father Pallu', 63 today, was kidnapped at Benin City in southern Nigeria last week.

He phoned his mother Sunday night to tell her he was well and would be released "in a few days", Vatican Insider reported Monday. Laura Pallu', 92, made the phone call public during a prayer vigil for her son's release in the parish of Santa Lucia La Sala in northern Florence.

Father Pallu', a priest from the Rome diocese, was kidnapped Thursday in Nigeria, sources said Friday, adding that the foreign ministry's crisis unit had already been alerted and the Rome prosecutor's office anti-terror unit has opened a probe.

The foreign ministry said no effort was being spared in the case, in a "dutiful" framework of confidentiality.

Rome prosecutors are investigating a suspected terror crime, judicial sources said. While Islamist terrorists Boko Haram were initially suspected, they have since been all but ruled out.

Sources said Florence-born Pallu was stopped with four other people on his way to Benin City.

They were stopped by an armed group that stole all their belongings and abducted the priest who has been on a mission to Nigeria for three years.

Pallu' graduated in history before setting off as a lay missionary around the world, for 11 years.

In 1988, when his father died, he joined a Rome seminary and in 1991 was ordained as a priest.

Two years later, spent working as a chaplain, he was sent to the Netherlands.

The Rome diocese said it was praying for his liberation.

Florence Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Betori said he was following the case with "apprehension" and urged people to pray for Father Pallu.


(ANSA) - Rome, October 18 - Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian priest kidnapped in Nigeria last week, has been freed, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Radio capital Wednesday.

Alfano said Father Pallu was "well".

Alfano said "during the course of the night the foreign ministry crisis unit communicated to me the liberation of Father Maurizio Pallu, the missionary who had been kidnapped in Nigeria.

"We await him in Italy soon".

Alfano said "according to what his Neocatumenal brothers also say, he is travelling to Abuja.

He said that while some things may have changed since last night, "the information we have is positive". Sources at the Rome Vicariate also confirmed Father Pallu had been freed.

Floremce Mayor Diego Nardella called it "splendid news" while former Florence mayor, ex-premier and Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi echoed that sentiment, phoning Florence Archbishop Giuseppe Betori to send his best wishes.

Father Pallu', 63 today, was kidnapped at Benin City in southern Nigeria last week.

He phoned his mother Sunday night to tell her he was well and would be released "in a few days", Vatican Insider reported Monday. Laura Pallu', 92, made the phone call public during a prayer vigil for her son's release in the parish of Santa Lucia La Sala in northern Florence.

Father Pallu', a priest from the Rome diocese, was kidnapped Thursday in Nigeria, sources said Friday, adding that the foreign ministry's crisis unit had already been alerted and the Rome prosecutor's office anti-terror unit has opened a probe.

The foreign ministry said no effort was being spared in the case, in a "dutiful" framework of confidentiality.

Rome prosecutors are investigating a suspected terror crime, judicial sources said. While Islamist terrorists Boko Haram were initially suspected, they have since been all but ruled out.

Sources said Florence-born Pallu was stopped with four other people on his way to Benin City.

They were stopped by an armed group that stole all their belongings and abducted the priest who has been on a mission to Nigeria for three years.

Pallu' graduated in history before setting off as a lay missionary around the world, for 11 years.

In 1988, when his father died, he joined a Rome seminary and in 1991 was ordained as a priest.

Two years later, spent working as a chaplain, he was sent to the Netherlands.

The Rome diocese said it was praying for his liberation.

Florence Archbishop Cardinal Giuseppe Betori said he was following the case with "apprehension" and urged people to pray for Father Pallu.


TUNIS - The number of victims recovered from the sea after the ramming by the Tunisian navy of a migrant boat heading to Italy off the Kerkennah islands on the night of October 8-9 has risen to 45, defence minister spokesman Belhassen Oueslati has said.

The search for the missing continues. Meanwhile the special crisis unit set up by the health ministry is working at full capacity to identify the victims of a tragedy that Tunisian Premier Youssef Chahed has defined a "national drama". At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday he promised to support the victims' families.
Death toll in ramming of Tunisian migrant boat rises to 45 Another body recovered by navy

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, OCTOBER 18 - The number of victims recovered from the sea after the ramming by the Tunisian navy of a migrant boat heading to Italy off the Kerkennah islands on the night of October 8-9 has risen to 45, defence minister spokesman Belhassen Oueslati has said.



The search for the missing continues. Meanwhile the special crisis unit set up by the health ministry is working at full capacity to identify the victims of a tragedy that Tunisian Premier Youssef Chahed has defined a "national drama". At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday he promised to support the victims' families. (ANSAmed).




BRUSSELS - The European Parliament is set to give its first green light on Thursday to a legislative proposal for reform of the Dublin system regulating asylum applications within the EU. The civil liberties commission will vote on a draft that eliminates the principle whereby applications for asylum must be processed by the country of first entry and replaces it with an automatic and permanent system of relocation. Most of the parliamentary groups (S&D, EPP, ALDE, GUE and Greens) intend to vote in favour, the draft proposal's rapporteur Cecilia Wikstrom said.

Under the proposal, the redistribution of asylum seekers will be determined by a series of criteria such as whether the applicant already has relatives in a member state, the Swedish MEP told journalists. Each country will have a quota calculated on the basis of GDP and population. Two further elements of the proposal are of particular interest to Italy.

One is the introduction of a three-year transitory period in which the states that have historically received most asylum seekers will continue to have greater responsibility.

The other is the introduction of a filter against relocating asylum seekers with only a poor chance of having their application granted. In this case, the applications will continue to be processed in the country of first arrival, which will receive additional assistance from the EU.

Further, the cost of repatriating unsuccessful applicants will be entirely covered by the EU.


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Hosted by EgyptAir and under the auspices of the Minister of Civil Aviation, HE Sherif Fathy, the event includes a two-day top-level summit, an exhibition featuring 70 exhibitors, and a meet-the-buyer programme.



The conference programme is being driven by an advisory board made up of no fewer than 10 airline chief executives as well as representatives of key sectors such as MRO, cargo operations, airports, safety and business aviation.

"The value of the advisory board has been priceless," said Alan Peaford, MBE, who will be chairing the conference. "We are really getting into the nitty gritty of what is important for the airlines and the whole aviation industry and I think we will be going into some new areas of thinking. With involvement in the programme from organisations like AfRAA, IATA, ACI, and ICAO I am confident there will be a line-up of speakers and panellists that will be both impressive and drive the discussions forward."



Heading the agenda will be security. Minister Fathy backed the need to have the subject as a major theme. "Security  especially cyber security  is one of the biggest threats to aviation." he said.



Former EgyptAir Maintenance and Engineering chairman Hisham Nasser, who is now recognised as a leading advisor on MRO will be one of the speakers addressing how the maintenance industry must change. "From physical security to the protection of paperwork and records, the industry needs to be focused," he said.



Speakers will be coming from across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.



Chris Zweigenthal, chief executive of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa will be leading airlines from the south of the continent. Speakers from the main associations, from the African Development Bank, major manufacturers and the innovators of the latest technology developments will also be addressing the conference.



The Summit will be looking into the regions infrastructure to understand what is needed and how it can be funded; "Of course the old thorny issue of Open Skies will arise, but with several airline panels from legacy flag carriers to new LCCs, I dont think there is consensus. We could really get to grips with why it is taking so long  and if it will ever happen," Peaford said.



Mark Brown, managing director of Times Aerospace who are the main organiser of the event said the exhibition was already at 60% sold with nearly six months to go.

"With 10 airline CEOs as partners on the event, we have been promised great support from those companies to bring along key personnel. The exhibitors are excited and so are we. Having the backing of the Minister and the support of the whole EgyptAir group as our main sponsor has been fantastic. There are government to government invitations being sent out and I am convinced we will be seeing a great turnout."
Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Commander of Bahrain Royal Guard and High Committee Chairman of BIDEC 2017, the organising Committee, said that hosting a major event such as BIDEC is a translation of the aspirations of the wise leadership, and has assumed a privileged position on the global events map in various fields, especially in the field of defense, to be known since ancient times as the crossroads of civilisation and a land of peace.

He pointed out that BIDEC is the first tri-service defence exhibition in the region, covering land, sea and air.

BIDEC provides a unique opportunity to meet experts, specialists and representatives of major defence equipment companies and all three services in one place. It will also serve as a platform for the world's leading companies to showcase the latest defence systems and modern technologies. BIDEC will also provide the military authorities with the opportunity to access the latest technology, equipment and hardware.

BIDEC will host a number of features at various sites across the country that will strengthen Bahrains position as a leading destination in hosting international events and enhance the role of the exhibition, which will include Parachute Demonstrations, Shooting Demonstrations, Military Vehicle Demonstrations and a Warship Display.

Sheikh Nasser added that BIDEC is experiencing heavy participation of the largest international companies in the defence industry, indicating BIDECs unparalleled success which will bring together more than 50 senior military and political leaders and officials from friendly and allied countries, with more than 180 exhibitors and international manufacturers and suppliers of the most advanced equipment, technology and military systems, as well as 115 display stands at the exhibition, attracting local, regional and international audience of key decision-makers from governments, armies and defence industries from more than 50 countries.
Working directly with Inmarsat, EAD Aerospace developed the complete solution, produced the engineering package and received the STC within a tight timeframe, allowing the end customer, Qatar Airways, to begin the installations around regular maintenance inputs.

EAD Aerospace is very proud to have achieved this STC for Inmarsat and their end customer Qatar Airways. This ARINC 791 installation is light in weight with minimal intrusions into the fuselage, making it easy to install and maintain for airlines. SUMS is a natural fit for such a retro-fit project. said Marc Pinault, CEO of EAD Aerospace.

With the first installations complete, the B777 fleet roll-out continues with the ease of installation of SUMS allowing aircraft to be completed during scheduled maintenance visits without the need for extended ground-time, and with a minimum of man-hours in comparison with typical complex, large antenna installations.

The solution provides Qatar Airways with access to the Inmarsat GX Aviation service providing high-speed in-flight connectivity to the passengers via their wireless devices. Inmarsat GX Aviation utilises Ka-Band frequencies, enabling the highest data rates currently available With the first Qatar Airways Boeing 777 retrofit installation already complete and several more underway, were looking forward to seeing Qatar Airways passengers experience consistent, reliable and high-speed Wi-Fi in the sky when the service goes live later this year said Leo Mondale, President of Inmarsat Aviation.
King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah has recently been undergoing major works that will initially expand the airport capacity from 13 to 30 million annual passengers. KAIAs expansion is a huge and complex project that will be conducted in 3 phases until 2035, with a final target capacity of 80 million annual passengers. In 2018, the planned opening of a new terminal with 46 gates for international and domestic flights will clearly impact and improve how airlines work and operate to and from the airport.

In order to prepare Saudia and Flyadeal for operational readiness and transfer (ORAT) at the new terminal and to ensure that the move is managed successfully, Egis will support the two airlines through specific consultancy services, from project planning through to post-opening support. The scope of works includes a gap analysis and assessment of Saudias current status in relation to requirements and readiness within the new terminal that includes people, processes, and IT; an assessment of Saudia and Flyadeal business strategy in relation to the facilities; planning assistance for operation readiness including training, familiarisation, testing and trials; and support through the post-opening period.

Egis will work closely with Saudias Project Management Office (PMO). Also, this will require coordination with many stakeholders at the airport, including the Civil Aviation Authority (GACA), the airport operator (Changi Airport Group), the contractor (Saudi Bin Laden Group), the construction manager (Dar-Al-Handasah), Saudia subsidiaries, and government agencies involved such as immigration or Customs.

We are particularly honoured to provide our support to Saudia and Flyadeal in this complex and challenging project. Our team will make sure to closely assist Saudia and Flyadeal to meet their expectations until operations at the new terminal run like business as usual says Egis Aviation Middle East Director Jacques Khoriaty.


When the Middle East business was set up in 2008, Gama Aviation worked with a consortium of local private equity investors called Jet Set comprising Growthgate Capital Corporation, Bahrain, Crescent Investment, and Felix Trading which held the majority shareholding.

Today Gama Aviation announced the acquisition of the 51% Jet Set interest for a cash consideration of $5.1m. Gama now owns 100% of Gama MENA.


The delegation included representatives from Kuwait University, Kuwait Advanced Technology Foundation and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR).

The tour began at UAE Space Agency headquarters in Abu Dhabi, where the delegation was briefed on the Agencys latest development and the progress of its missions and projects, as well as achievements made at organizational, legislative, scientific and educational levels since the establishment of the agency.

Following the meeting, the delegation toured Yahsat Space Laboratory at Masdar Institute, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) facilities, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and the Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS).

Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of UAE Space Agency, said: Hosting the Kuwaiti delegation comes within the framework of the UAE Space Agency's strategic plans to enhance its links with prominent global and regional entities in the space sector. The Agency is ready to cooperate with various Arab parties to develop joint projects capable of developing the current space capabilities.

The delegations visit today highlights several areas of cooperation for the near future, which comes in line with the Agency's goals of uniting Arab efforts in the aim of launching joint space related projects, he added.
Mobile wallet company Paytm on Wednesday said gold worth Rs 120 crore has been transacted within six months of launch of sales.

Paytm on Wednesday said gold worth Rs 120 crore has been transacted within six months of launch of sales on its platform. (Photo: Paytm Gold| Twitter)

New Delhi: Mobile wallet company Paytm on Wednesday said gold worth Rs 120 crore has been transacted within six months of launch of sales on its platform and the number of buyers crossed one million mark on the Dhanteras day.

The company said it witnessed 12 per cent surge in gold sales on Dhanteras, which was celebrated on Tuesday across the country. It is an auspicious day to buy gold, silver and other metals.

"More than 60 per cent of Paytm Gold sales were from smaller cities and towns, with southern and eastern states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal registering the maximum demand," Paytm said in a statement.

A landmark of over a million customers transacted the yellow metal worth Rs 120 crore on its platform within six months of launch, it noted.

A majority of the customers purchased gold worth up to Rs 500, while more than 70 per cent customers were millennials - pointing at an increasing trend of consumers choosing Paytm Gold as the preferred method for long-term savings, it said.

"Gold gives us an extraordinary opportunity to create a wealth solution that is trusted and used by consumers across every nook and corner of the country," Paytm senior vice president Nitin Misra said.

Paytm partnered with Indias only internationally accredited refinery MMTC-PAMP to launch Paytm Gold on its platform. This will allow customers to buy 24 carat 999.9 pure gold online and store it in the MMTC-PAMPs most secure, 100 per cent insured lockers at no additional charge.

Customers can also request this gold to be delivered at their homes in the form of minted coins or sell it back online to MMTC-PAMP at transparent market-linked prices.
Traders fear sales may dip by upto 50 per cent.

Assocham said that its survey reveals that the overall consumer confidence has decreased from last year.

New Delhi: People are spending less this Diwali as consumer sentiments is down, said a survey by Assocham. Small traders association CAIT on Wednesday said that it fears that sales this Diwali seasoncould be down by as much as 50 per cent against last year.

The slowdown in commercial markets of the country continues even today, the day of Dhanteras which is considered as most auspicious day to buy gold or silver jewellery, utensils and kitchenware and appliances on this day. There is gloomy atmosphere in sales outlets of these commodities today having a very low turn out of people all over the country, said CAIT.

It said that perhaps it is most disappointed Dhanteras for the traders in past more than 10 years. It is feared that if situation goes like this in remaining two days of Diwali, this slowdown may reach to 50 per cent in comparison to last year, it said.

CAIT said that it is estimated that today the sale of gold and silver went down to 30-35 per cent in comparison to last year. This itself speaks the continued slowdown of the market, it added.

CAIT said that traders fear that wedding season which begins from October 31 doesnt meet the same fate.

It asked the Reserve Bank to direct the banks to encourage lending on easy terms with lower rate of interest.

After demonetisation, the banks have surplus funds and are placed better to lend money which may further infuse cash liquidity life to the markets, it noted.

Meanwhile, Assocham said that its survey reveals that the overall consumer confidence has decreased from last year. This is reflected in the decrease in spending across all age brackets and income levels, said the industry chamber.

The economic slowdown seems to have hit where it hurts. This negative shift in the consumer sentiment has clearly made its way into their spending habits, said D.S. Rawat, secretary general, Assocham.

The festive season extends from October to December, comprising Navratri, Durga Puja and Diwali celebrations and culminating in Christmas and the New Year.
It looks like theres trouble in paradise for the rumoured lovers.

If rumours from Salman Khans camp are to be believed, its not visa woes, but the actors final goodbye behind Iulia Vantur heading back to Romania. Salman and his rumoured girlfriend seem to have drifted apart ever since Katrina Kaif sauntered back into the actors life.

According to a friend of Salman the rift with the Romanian model and actress had been building up for a while.

Salman has been showing more than a passing interest in Katrinas career and life, ever since she broke up with Ranbir Kapoor. During the shooting of Tiger Zinda Hai, Salman and Katrina got really close again. We dont know how close, but close enough to rattle Iulia, who wanted to fly out to Abu Dhabi where Salman was shooting. But she was not allowed to the friend trails off.

We now hear that Iulia has left India and her visa has expired. On previous occasions, Salman would immediately get her visa renewed. But this time the lady left the country with no visa to assure her return to India. Is this the end of Iulias romance with Salman?
The actress says that she has had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault but she doesn't speak about them very often.

Los Angeles: Actor Reese Witherspoon has opened up about being sexually assaulted by a director when she was just 16.

The 41-year-old star hoped the Harvey Weinstein scandal will encourage women to speak up about harassment, reported People magazine.

"This has been a really hard week for women in Hollywood, for women all over the world, and a lot of situations and a lot of industries are forced to remember and relive a lot of ugly truths," Witherspoon said during her speech at the Elle Women in Hollywood.

Dozens of women have come forward to allege Weinstein, a heavyweight Hollywood studio head, of sexual assault and in some cases rape.

Sharing her story, Witherspoon said, "I have my own experiences that have come back to me very vividly and I find it really hard to sleep, hard to think, hard to communicate a lot of the feelings that I've been having about anxiety, honest, the guilt for not speaking up earlier.

"(I feel) true disgust at the director who assaulted me when I was 16 years old and anger at the agents and the producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment. And I wish that I could tell you that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasn't. I've had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault and I don't speak about them very often."

Witherspoon said reading about stories of other brave women convinced her to finally "speak up and speak up loudly because I actually felt less alone this week than I have ever felt in my entire career."

"I have just spoken to so many actresses and writers, particularly women, who have had similar experiences and many of them have bravely gone public with their stories. That truth is very encouraging to me and everyone out there in the world because you can only heal by telling the truth."

The actor-producer hoped that there would be a "new normal" where women have other women's back.

"It makes me so sad to talk about these issues, but I would be remiss not to," Witherspoon concluded.

Her comments come after dozens of women have come forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct including Cara Delevingne, Ashley Judd, Gywneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.
Rob loves that Katy is a free spirit and she has given him good advice when it comes to relationships.

After Robert Pattinson and FKA Twigs broke up, Katy Perry is staying by the Twilight actors side. It was reported on EOnline.com that Rob was spotted getting extremely affectionate with the Swish Swish hitmaker in early August during a dinner outing.

A source told the website, No one really understood what he saw in FKA, but they always supported him. As far as Katy goes, they have been good friends for a while. They have many mutual friends and have always kept in touch. They arent serious as of now, but Rob has always had an interest in Katy.

Another source added, Rob has been leaning a lot on Katy since his split with FKA Twigs. They talk on the phone regularly and make sure to see each other when they both arent working. They have many common interests and also know how to have fun and party. Although they have been flirtatiously romantic, they have still remained good friends. Rob loves that Katy is a free spirit and she has given him good advice when it comes to relationships.
Rajesh was on his way home after attending a RSS unit meeting when he was attacked by a group of men.

New Delhi: The BJP and the CPI(M) continued their march politics on Tuesday, with the Marxist partys leaders marching to the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and BJP president Amit Shah taking to the streets in Kerala. Both parties have been indulging in allegations and counter-claims over the killing of their cadres in the state, specially in its northern areas.

While Mr Shah marched in Kerala in protest against the killing of RSS workers allegedly by Leftists, the CPI(M) responded with its own march to the BJPs headquarters, accusing the RSS of killing CPI(M) workers. We warn the BJP that if they continue to create violence in Kerala, they will not see even one MLA elected from the state, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

Leading the march, he accused the RSS-BJP of having triggered the violence in Kerala and asserted the saffron party wouldnt be able to win even a single state if they continued to do so. We warn the BJP that if they continue to create violence in Kerala, they will not see even one MLA elected from the state, the CPI(M) general secretary said.

Mr Yechury, who was joined by other party leaders and workers at the rally, accused the BJP and RSS of trying to build up their political and social base in Kerala through violence and terror. Taking a dig at the Mr Shah, he said the BJP president had run away from Kerala and returned to Delhi as he had to save his son, who is accused of corruption. The red flag  a reference to the Lefts symbol  cannot be removed, he added.

In Kerala, the BJP chief carried on with his Janraksha Yatra, hitting out at Keralas CPI(M)-led LDF over the political violence in the state and asked chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan if he was prepared to take moral responsibility for the killing of 13 innocent BJP-RSS workers.

I am asking the Kerala chief minister if e is prepared to take moral responsibility for the killing of 13 BJP-RSS workers in the state after the LDF government came to power, Mr Shah said, adding: Chief minister saheb, if you want to fight us, let us fight in terms of development and ideology. CPM, you can do as much violence you want, but you cant stop the BJPs ideology, he said. The BJP padayatra was to highlight the Lefts atrocities in Kerala under the LDF government.

Kerala has witnessed widespread tension and violence since the killing of E. Rajesh, a 34-year-old RSS activist, in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital.

Rajesh was on his way home after attending a RSS unit meeting when he was attacked by a group of men.

He had later died at a private hospital. The Left parties see a sinister plot in the Centre taking a keen interest in state affairs and accuse the BJP of trying to expand its footprint in the state.
Citing media reports Sitharaman also alleged that there were at least three transactions between them with serious financial implications.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday asked Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul to break their silence over media reports which claimed that Robert Vadra had links with fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the silence of Ms Gandhi and Rahul will be construed as acceptance of charges against Vadra. She also cited media reports and alleged that a London house linked to Mr Vadra was refurbished by Bhandari, who also made arrangements for his travel abroad.

Sitharaman also claimed that an amount of 7.5 lakh Swiss franc was deposited in a bank account of Bhandari and asked if there was a connection between this and the money spent on refurbishing the London house linked to Vadra.

Responding to the BJPs allegations, Mr Vadra today put out a philosophical message. Good Morning, I am capable, I am strong. If I believe in myself, I can turn my dreams into a plan, and my plan into my reality, said a quote on his Mr Vadras Facebook post along with his photograph and a few horses running by a sea.

Citing media reports Sitharaman also alleged that there were at least three transactions between them with serious financial implications.

Addressing a press conference, Ms Sitharaman asked, Why senior leadership of the Congress, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, is keeping a studied silence?

Referring to Mr Gandhis frequent tweets, the minister wondered why he was keeping silent on this matter. She also claimed that the Congress leader was copying Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked what the CBI was doing as it was investigating Bhandari, she said this question should be put to the agency. The government is taking all steps to bring the absconding arms dealer back to India to face law, she added. Party spokesperson G.V.L Narasimha Rao said, If you believe that Vadra is innocent and then why not file a defamation suit? The silence shows guilt.
Former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti are among the candidates for the state assembly elections.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released a list of all the 68 candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for November 9.

New Delhi: Just a day before Diwali, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released a list of all the 68 candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

The state will go to polls on November 9.

The counting of votes however, will take place on December 9.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti are among the party candidates for the state assembly elections.

BJP CEC announces a list of 68 candidates for upcoming legislative assembly elections 2017 in Himachal Pradesh. https://t.co/CT9ZVDVeCr pic.twitter.com/yT1sOi0nn3  BJP (@BJP4India) October 18, 2017

The list also include Anil Sharma, Congress veteran Sukhram's son, who quit his party recently to join the BJP.

Dhumal, a two-time chief minister, will contest from Sujanpur instead of Hamirpur, which he represents in the outgoing assembly.

Dhumal and Union minister J P Nadda are seen as two most likely choices for the post of chief minister if the saffron party comes back to power in the Congress-ruled state.

The BJP has not named its chief ministerial candidate.

The BJP Central Election Committee had met last week to finalise their candidates in the state.

The BJP list came two days after the process of filing nominations started for the assembly polls. The last date of filing nominations is October 23.

(With inputs from PTI.)
Union tourism minister said the government had 'elaborate plans' for the historical monument.

Union tourism minister Alphons Kannanthanam said that the Taj Mahal was 'India's pride' and core of tourism circuit. (Photo: File | PTI)

Thiruvananthapuram: Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam on Tuesday said that the Taj Mahal was "India's pride" and core of tourism circuit, after a BJP MLA questioned the monument's place in the country's heritage.

"Taj Mahal is India's pride. There is no doubt, we hold pride in Taj Mahal," he told a news channel in Thiruvananthapuram.

He also said the government had "elaborate plans" for the historical monument.

Read: We must take pride in our heritage: PM Narendra Modi

Stating that BJP's stand on the issue was very clear, Kannanthanam said, "Taj is core of tourism circuit. The UP government is developing new destinations and Taj is already hugely popular."

Kannanthanam's comment comes a day after Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Sangeet Som questioned the the 17th century architectural marvel place in India's heritage and said history would be rewritten to erase Mughal emperors from it.

Som, the party's legislator from Sardhana, also distorted history to say it was built by an emperor who had imprisoned his father and targeted Hindus.

Read: UP BJP MLAs remark on Taj Mahal sets off furore

Announcing that he would visit Agra next week to review tourism schemes, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that the Taj Mahal was a historical monument regardless of the emperor who had built it.

Read: UP CM Yogi Adityanath on damage control after party MLA's 'Taj is a blot' remark

"It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Mata's sons," the chief minister said in Gorakhpur.

Som's comments on the Taj Mahal had come after the Adityanath government reportedly omitted the 17th century monument from an official booklet on tourist destinations.
Speaking to journalists at the City Convention Centre in the state capital here, the Dalai Lama reminded them of their responsibilities.

Imphal: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday said he dreamt of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as its members. The spiritual leader, who arrived here on Tuesday on his maiden visit to Manipur, asserted that India would make steady progress if people overcame their differences with humanism.

Speaking to journalists at the City Convention Centre in the state capital here, the Dalai Lama reminded them of their responsibilities.

Media persons have a huge responsibility of educating people, bringing in a sense of oneness, handling corruption and criminal activities, he said.

The revered leader also said that he hoped to see an Asian Union, comprising India, Japan and China, some day.

I am an admirer of European Union, African Union and Malaysia Union. I dream of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as members, he said.

Asked about the conflicts and insurgency in the Northeast, the Dalai Lama said problems existed all over the world and people should address their concerns patiently.

Citing the hostile relationship which had consumed the European countries, prior to the Second World War, he remarked that all countries had suffered devastating consequences in the conflict and then looked forward towards a common development, ultimately leading to the birth of the European Union.

The spiritual leader also recalled his interaction with Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the Tibet uprising in 1959 and said the leader had insisted that he talked to the Chinese government to resolve conflicts.

He said Tibet was no longer seeking separation or independence from China. Later in the day, during a civic reception programme, Assembly Speaker Y. Khemchand, who had invited the Dalai Lama to Manipur, said the message of religious harmony and peace should be imbibed into human conscience to resolve conflicts in multi-ethnic states.

The spiritual leader also said that the world was changing as people were moving at a rapid pace for materialistic gains, thereby forgetting the inherent values of life. Security personnel had been carrying out strict verification and frisking processes, and combing operations in view of the Dalai Lamas visit.
The MHA said some states requisition Central forces for situations that can be handled by the local police.

New Delhi: In the wake of the ongoing standoff with the West Bengal government on the deployment of Central forces in Darjeeling, the home ministry informed all states that paramilitary forces should not be used as a substitute for the state police and should be deployed only in case of an emergency.

The MHAs communication comes in view of the West Bengal government approaching the Calcutta high court and getting a stay on the Centres order to withdraw 700 Central police battalions from the Darjeeling hill districts which has seen an agitation for over three months now over the issue of a separate state of Gorkhaland. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also discussed the issue with Union home minister Rajnath Singh and protested against the Centres decision.

In its communication, the MHA has directed the states to constitute a separate committee to examine requirements of Central forces after analysing the internal security situation, intelligence inputs and availability of Central forces in nearby areas. The Centre, the advisory said, had already formed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the deployment of paramilitary forces as they need to deal with other important issues like protecting borders, counter insurgency and other anti-national activities that require immediate and swift action on their part.

The MHA said some states requisition Central forces for situations that can be handled by the local police. The states are often reluctant to release these Central forces after deployment, and this should be avoided unless there are valid and justified security reasons to retain them.

Deployment of Central forces comes at a cost which the state governments have to pay for, but there are huge outstanding amounts against some states and Union territories, the ministry clarified. The states, it added, should follow the laid-down SOPs and form a committee headed by an additional DGP (law and order), including the representatives of the Intelligence Bureau and of the Central paramilitary forces.

It said the government has sanctioned a number of India Reserve Battalions in the states, and these are not being used optimally by state governments, it said. The basic purpose of the IRBs was to make states self-sufficient in tackling law and order and internal security situations by avoiding dependence on Central forces, the MHA added.
The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to work with full dedication towards creation of New India by 2022, it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the directors and deputy secretaries in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said silos are a big bottleneck in the functioning of the Union government and asked bureaucrats to adopt innovative ways to break these to speed up various processes of governance. He has asked the bureaucrats to work with dedication towards creation of New India by 2022.

He conveyed the message during interactions with around 380 directors and deputy secretaries working in various departments and ministries in the government of India, the PMO said in a statement here on Wednesday. The interactions were held in four groups, it added.

Subjects such as governance, corruption, public enterprises, government e-marketplace (GeM), health, education, skill development, agriculture, transportation, national integration, water resources, swachh bharat, culture, communication and tourism came up for discussion during the interactions, the statement said.

The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to work with full dedication towards creation of New India by 2022, it said.

He said that silos are a big bottleneck in the functioning of the union government, the statement said. He urged the officers to adopt innovative ways to break silos, which will result in the speeding up of various processes of governance, it added.

In the same vein, the PM said officers at the level of director and deputy secretary must create teams, to achieve better results.

Minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh and senior officers from PMO and Cabinet Secretariat were present during the interactions held over various days, the last one being on Tuesday.
Police suspects attack by terrorists on Aijaz Ahmad Lone, who was found dead in Wathoo village of Shopian, a police official said.

The police suspects that he has been killed by militants. (Photo: Representational/File)

Srinagar: A school teacher was found dead on Wednesday with his throat slit in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.

Aijaz Ahmad Lone was found dead in Wathoo village of Shopian, a police official said.

According to a report in NDTV, three terrorists were recently killed in a security operation inside the teacher's house.

The police suspects that he has been killed by militants.

"We are investigating the case," the offcial said.
Car not parked in proper site, had no safety lock

New Delhi: Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday pointed that chief minister Arvind Kejriwals famous blue WagonR was parked 100 metres away from the designated parking site and had no safety gears in place.

Mr Baijal, in a written communication to the CM, said that the due to Delhi polices collective effort, the car which was stolen could be found in just two days. The L-Gs letter was in response to the CMs communique after the theft of his car where he questioned the law and order situation in the national capital.

Post the incident, CCTVs of the place of incident and border areas were scanned intensively. Intensive checking of parking places were carried out and all the Picket Staff was put on alert and at last due to these integrated efforts, Delhi Police recovered the stolen Wagon R car within two days, the L-Gs letter said.

The L-G further said that he regularly reviews the law and order situation of Delhi with the commissioner of police and senior officers and various decisions and steps have been taken in these review meetings to make the law and order machinery of Delhi more effective and public-oriented.

The Delhi police is taking prompt and effective action in cases of motor vehicle thefts and due to their sincere efforts; Delhi police has arrested 3,252 auto lifters till September, he said.
Mr Tiwari said, All the officials have been instructed not to cooperate with the ghat samitis without the tacit approval of the concerned legislator.

New Delhi: Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, on Tuesday, expressed doubts over the claims of the Delhi government regarding the preparation of Chhath puja, an important festival of Poorvanchalis, who comprise one-third of Delhis population.

Mr Tiwari has alleged that the government is playing with the religious faith of lakhs of people by making preparations for the festival only on pen and paper.

The Delhi BJP president claimed that neither garbage and filth have been removed from Yamuna banks as yet, nor have the Chhath puja ghats been prepared where the festival has been taking place for years.

Lakhs of people in the capital are preparing for the Chhath festival, which will be held after a week. Instead of making arrangements, the government is busy playing politics he said.

Mr Tiwari said, All the officials have been instructed not to cooperate with the ghat samitis without the tacit approval of the concerned legislator. The samitis are also being pressurised to put up hoardings carrying prominently the photo of the chief minister, Mr Tiwari added.

The Delhi BJP chief also said, Preparation for the puja cannot be left at the governments mercy. So, I have written letters to all the three civic bodies to provide maximum facilities at the Chhath ghats, especially sanitation arrangements. The BJP workers will also facilitate Shram Daan to help the officials of the municipal corporations.
The 80,934 square metre plot would provide additional housing stock for the police personnel who have been demanding better facilities.

Mumbai: The government has taken steps to expeditiously resolve the problem of police housing after freeing up an around 80,000 square metre plot in suburban Malad by changing its status from No Development Zone to Residential Zone to build a new police colony there. About 2,500 police families will be rehabilitated there and an additional 6,000 to 7,000 affordable houses, which would be open to the public, would be constructed as well.

The 80,934 square metre plot would provide additional housing stock for the police personnel who have been demanding better facilities. Police housing was one of the works on the priority list of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. However, there had been a few hurdles in building them.

The issue was repeatedly raised on several occasions and the government was under pressure to have the houses built for the police. Mr Fadnavis had announced that 50,000 houses would be built for the police till 2019. In December 2015, the government approved police housing at Ghatkopar and Worli. It approved 64 staff quarters for police constables at Ghatkopar (east) and at Worli, 108 staff quarters for police constables and 28 staff quarters for police officers.

An official from the urban development department said, the proposal for police housing was on cards and it was awaiting approval. This will help in creating police housing as well as affordable housing. The reservation of no development zone has changed to residential zone so that the construction can come up in the space.

The state government already sanctioned Rs 298.67 crore in 2015 for police housing. In addition to this, the Police Housing Corporation has been given Rs 500 crore, which will be used for the housing.
Grace Smith called Posey, who is her niece, to her house to help with disciplining the girl, according to the report.

Veronica Green Posey, 64, was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child, The Pensacola News Journal reported. (Photo: Escambia County Jail/Facebook)

Florida: A 325-pound (150-kilogram) Florida woman is charged with killing her 9-year-old cousin by sitting on the child as punishment.

Veronica Green Posey, 64, was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child, The Pensacola News Journal reported. The Escambia County Sheriffs Office report identified Posey as the girls cousin.

Paramedics and deputies responded to the familys Pensacola home following a 911 call Saturday. Posey told deputies she sat on Dericka Lindsay as discipline for being out of control.

During the punishment, Dericka told Posey and two other adult relatives, who are identified in the report as the girls parents, that she couldnt breathe. When Posey got up, Dericka wasnt breathing. Authorities said Posey called 911 and started CPR on the child.

The arrest report said Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith, are charged with child neglect.

Grace Smith called Posey, who is her niece, to her house to help with disciplining the girl, according to the report. She told investigators that Posey hit the girl with a ruler and metal pipe before the child ran to an armchair.

James Smith told investigators that Posey sat on the girl for about 10 minutes before she complained she couldnt breathe. She stayed on the chair for an additional two minutes before getting up, he said.

Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, issued a statement that called the childs death appalling. He said the agency will work with the sheriffs office to hold those responsible for her death accountable.

As the family has a prior interaction with the child welfare system, a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system, the statement said.

Posey was released Monday on $125,000 bail. The Smiths remained in jail, with Grace Smiths bond set at $75,000 and James Smiths bond at $50,000. Escambia County jail records didnt list an attorney for Posey or the Smiths.
The US and India are cross-screening known, suspected terrorists, and later this year, will convene new dialogue on terrorist designations.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also said that states that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish, in an apparent dig at Pakistan. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday said the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and such a move will improve Islamabad's international standing as well as stability in the region.

He also said that states that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish, in an apparent dig at Pakistan.

"We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region," he said while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top US think-tank.

"It is the obligation, not choice, of every civilised nation to combat the scourge of terrorism. The United States and India are leading that regional effort together," he said.

By taking decisive actions against terrorists, Tillerson said, Pakistan furthers stability and peace for itself and its neighbours, and improves its own international standing.

President Donald Trump in August unveiled his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in which he had hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists.

America's relationships in the region stand on their own merits, Tillerson told the audience.

In his major India policy speech, Tillerson said India-US cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism has strengthened in recent years.

"In the past decade, our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded significantly. Thousands of Indian security personnel have trained with American counterparts to enhance capacity," he said.

The US and India are cross-screening known and suspected terrorists, and later this year, the two countries will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations, he said.

"We are coordinating our counter-terrorism efforts more than ever before," the secretary of state said.

In July, Tillerson said, he signed the designation of Hizbul Mujahidin as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because the US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

Tillerson said India can serve as a clear example of a diverse, dynamic, and pluralistic country to others a flourishing democracy in the age of global terrorism.

The sub-continent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, and India's diverse population includes more than 170 million Muslims the third-largest

Muslim population in the world, he said.

"Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society," said the top American diplomat.

He said India is a partner of the US in Afghanistan. "As we implement President Trump's new South Asia strategy, we will turn to our partners to ensure greater

stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. India is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and we welcome its assistance efforts," he said.

President Trump had vowed to boost strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan. Trump had also sought an enhanced role for India to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last week warned that the Trump administration's desire to inject New Delhi in the war-torn country would be "detrimental" as he rejected any role for India in Afghanistan.
Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

Washington: The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"This reform of the UN Security Council is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, the UK, the US and France and none of them want to give that up," Haley said at an event.

"So the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," she said at the event organised in Washington by the US India Friendship Council.

The US is open to UN Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council, after she gave her keynote remarks.

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council. "Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she said.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is a need to focus "on Russia and China" -- the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long, India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council. India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries -- India, Brazil, Germany and Japan -- met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council, including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the General Assembly session, including from BRICS and IBSA. Several countries have taken up the floor of General Assembly to support India's permanent membership.
Haley said one of the pillars of Trump's strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

In her address to an event organised by the US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a 'tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists'. (Photo: PTI/File)

Washington: India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has "taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interests in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

Critically, we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by the US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists."

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance. India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," Haley said.

"So having them helps not only with infrastructure and the aid that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (they can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the groundwork that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan... India is going to help us with that," Ms Haley said in response to a question.

Haley said Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. "It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why?" she said. "Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.
Trump asserted that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire world with immense loss of human life.

North Korea has a military nuclear weapons programme and also has a significant amount of chemical and biological weapons. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: United States President Donald Trump will start his five-nation tour from November 3 to call on the international community to pressurise North Korea over its nuclear programme.

During a five-nation Asia tour plus a stop in Hawaii from November 3 to 14, Trump will "call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea", said The White House in a statement.

North Korea has a military nuclear weapons programme and also has a significant amount of chemical and biological weapons. Since 2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The country has come under sanctions after conducting a number of nuclear tests, beginning in 2006.

Trump, in his address at the UN General Assembly last month, said North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un is "a rocket man, who is on a suicide mission".

He further said, "It is time for North Korea to realise that de-nuclearisation is its only acceptable future."

Trump asserted that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire world with immense loss of human life.

"No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals armed with nuclear weapons and missiles. The United States had has great strength and patience, but it is forced to defend itself or its allies we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," Trump said.

Trump will visit Japan from November 5 for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a meeting with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyodo News reports.

The Abe-Trump talks and Trump's meeting with the kin of abduction victims - including the parents of Megumi Yokota who was abducted when she was 13 - are expected to take place on November 6, Kyodo News quoted Japanese officials as saying.

According to the White House, Trump will also meet with US forces stationed in Japan and members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

In the bilateral summit, Abe and Trump are expected to affirm close coordination in addressing North Korea's nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korea's involvement in many more disappearances. While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Pyongyang maintains that eight -- including Yokota -- have died and the other four never entered the country.

After visiting Japan, Trump will travel to South Korea for talks with President Moon Jae In on November 7. Trump will also speak at the National Assembly, at which he will celebrate the "enduring alliance and friendship" between Washington and Seoul.

During a visit to Beijing from November 8, the US leader will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a series of commercial and cultural events.

On November 10, Trump will travel to Danang, Vietnam, for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and deliver a speech at an APEC business summit.

"In the speech, the president will present the United States' vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and underscore the important role the region plays in advancing America's economic prosperity," the White House said.

After meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on November 11, Trump will visit Manila the following day for summit meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to the White House, Trump will attend a US-ASEAN summit and bilateral talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on November 13 before heading back home, according to the White House.
The decision comes ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to India.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government during the Obama administration for the Electromagnetic Launch System (EMALS) built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy. (Photo: General Atomics)

Washington: The US has decided to release the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier, according to the Trump administration.

The decision comes ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to India. A formal date of the visit has not been announced yet.

The Trump administration has informed India of its decision.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government during the Obama administration for the Electromagnetic Launch System (EMALS) built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy.

Due to its flexible architecture, EMALS can launch a wide variety of aircraft weights and can be used on a variety of platforms with differing catapult configurations.

The Trump administration sent a response to India on Monday about its decision to release this technology.

Aerospace expert Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive, US and International Strategic Development, of General Atomics said earlier that General Atomics is planning to open an office in Delhi to support the Indian government's military requirements.

The Indian Navy plans to integrate the US-made EMALS catapults into its future supercarriers.

This gesture ahead of the Tillerson's visit is another indication of the strategic alliance US wants to foster with India, informed sources said.

Last month, the Defence Secretary Jim Mattis visited India.
Sirinporn Chumboonchu split with her husband upon learning about his affair.

The soldier allegedly shot her thrice in the back in front of shoppers at a local supermarket. (Representational Image | Photo: File)

Bangkok (Thailand): A soldier in Thailand was arrested for allegedly stalking his pregnant wife and shooting her dead in the middle of a supermarket using a 9mm automatic weapon.

According to Daily Mail, during the conundrum, stray bullets hit a seven year old boy, Kumpoon Poonitanitrat, in the foot and shop assistant Phothisawan Rudda, 32, in the chest.

She fled their home in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, to stay with her family but Pichet followed her to Udon.

The incidents followed after Sirinporn Chumboonchu 40, split from her husband, Pichet, 41, upon learning that he was having an affair.

The soldier allegedly shot her thrice in the back in front of shoppers at a local supermarket on Friday, because she refused to reconcile with him. She died later in hospital.

Pichet was shot in the chest during the incident by his own gun, but police believe it was a result of a gun getting jammed.

Tung Kottanasorn, a witness said, Everybody screamed. Some ran away and some people lay on the floor.this was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. It was like an American movie. I thought there was a robbery.

Col Suchat Uthayo, Inspector of Udon Thani Provincial Police, said that the soldier had been arrested on suspicion of murder and carrying a firearm in public.
The Taliban claimed the more deadly of the two assaults, a coordinated attack on police in the southeast city of Gardez in Paktia province.

Afghan security personnel walk at the site of a suicide attack at a police training centre in Gardez, capital of Paktia province. (Photo: AFP)

Gardez, Afghanistan: Two separate suicide and gun attacks on police and soldiers in Afghanistan left at least 71 dead and nearly 170 wounded on Tuesday in the latest devastating assaults on beleaguered security forces.

The Taliban claimed the more deadly of the two assaults, a coordinated attack on police in the southeast city of Gardez in Paktia province.

That assault killed 41 people and injured 158, according to the interior ministry, and left hospital officials calling for blood donations. There were desperate scenes as relatives queued for news of loved ones after the hours-long battle.

A separate ambush blamed on the Taliban in the neighbouring prov-ince of Ghazni killed 25 security officials and five civilians with 10 wounded, the interior ministry said.

Afghanistans Army and police, on the front line against the Taliban since foreign combat forces pulled back in December 2014, have suffered shocking casualties over the past year. The hospital is overwhelmed and we call on people to donate blood, said Shir Mohammad Karimi, deputy health director in Gardez, who put the number of wounded there at more than 200.

Doctors and nurses rushed to attend to the wounded women, children and police filling the corridors where some bodies also lay. Outside, university students formed a queue to donate blood, a photographer said.

The attack, claimed by the Taliban in a tweet, began when two suicide bombers driving an explosives-laden truck and a Humvee blew them up near the training centre, which is close to the Paktia police headquarters.
At a time of acute nuclear threat, European leaders intend to preserve the agreement signed with Iran despite Trumps threat to terminate it. For UN atomic agency, the deal is fundamental for the security of the US, its allies and the region. The IMF rejects the US presidents demand to cut loans to Tehran.

Tehran (AsiaNews)  European Union foreign ministers issued a joint statement following a meeting yesterday afternoon in Luxembourg. In it, they said that "At a time of acute nuclear threat the EU is determined to preserve the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) as a key pillar of the international non-proliferation architecture".

European foreign ministers defended the deal signed by Iran and six world powers in 2015, which US President Donald Trump has disowned. The US leader has threatened to scrap the agreement, and last week called on Congress to impose new sanctions against Iran.

Last Friday, Trump accused Iran of failing to live up to the terms and spirit of the nuclear agreement. On Monday, he raised the possibility once again that he might try to end the deal completely.

"It might be total termination, that's a real possibility, some would say that's a greater possibility," the US leader told reporters.

Trumps remarks fly in the face of official statements by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEC), which verified eight times that Iran "is implementing all its nuclear related commitments following a comprehensive and strict monitoring system."

In view of this, the IAEC called on the United States to maintain its commitment to the JCPOA and to "consider the implications for the security of the [United States], its partners, and the region before taking further steps."

The UN agency insisted that lifting nuclear-related sanctions "strengthens cooperation and allows for continuous dialogue with Iran."

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini also addressed the issue.

Next month, she is scheduled to visit Washington to discuss of the nuclear issue. She plans to urge US lawmakers not to pull out of the Iran deal, which was aimed at slowing Iran's potential path toward developing a nuclear weapon.

Likewise, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said, "We must be able to demonstrate that when a nuclear agreement has been concluded that we respect it".

In Washington, barely 24 hours after President Donald Trump called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to stop lending to Iran, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde firmly said no, adding that the IMF sees "no reason to change anything in the guidelines that we have received from [its] Board and [will] continue to operate in the same manner."

The row between the IMF and Trump on Iran is just the latest in the war of words between the US administration and the international organisation.

The United States remains the IMFs main contributor; however, the latter insists on maintaining its decision-making autonomy with respect to economic relations with Tehran.
The Council of the Europe publishes the report on "Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2016". Weak judicial system, lack of education, violence against women, discrimination of minorities, presence of terrorism. This morning an attack on a police convoy.

Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Council of the Europe expresses "serious concern" about the human rights situation in Pakistan. The body notes that although in 2016 the government of Islamabad has taken some institutional and legal measures, "wide-ranging human rights concerns persist in the country and are exacerbated by a weak judicial system, religious extremism and Islamic militants ".

Almost as confirmation of the turbulent conditions in which the country is living, there was another attack in Quetta this morning. According to witnesses, a bomb exploded at the passage of a police vehicle carrying 35 agents. According to the latest updates Dawn, at least seven police were killed and another 22 wounded, but the toll is only provisional.

In the annual report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World in 2016, published on October 16, the Council of Europe speaks of "security challenges that continue to slow progress in access to justice and the rule of law" in Pakistan. "The rule of law remains uncertain in much of the territory - reads in the document - and access to limited justice. In 2016, Pakistan continued to execute death sentences on a large number of prisoners, even slightly less than the previous year. "

The report highlights that there are great differences in the country among the citizens, and particularly among women living in big cities or inland. Pakistan remains the first among the worst countries where a young girls, due to lack of education, are subject to the phenomenon of forced marriages and there is also child labour. An analogous situation exists for religious minorities, "living in fear of persecution and violence," and for women, victims of physical abuse and discrimination.

According to the analysis, some improvements have taken place mainly through the transfer of powers and competencies to provinces and local governments. At the same time, there is no "full autonomy for NGOs that must become fully operational". "The role played by civil society organizations - the conclusion - in the development and humanitarian assistance in democratic society must be strengthened."
Peace Now: The project will "affect the West Bank". Permits expected to be issued today to speed up the construction process. The government plan targets significant growth in settlements in Palestinian territories. For the first time since 2002, Hebron also involved.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The expansion plan enacted by Israeli authorities continues, and envisages the construction of 1,292 new settlements in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank. According to Israeli NGO Peace Now activists, ahead of the occupation, the government has granted its permission for the start of the new phase of work.

NGO spokesman Hagit Ofran, points out that new constructions will involve "the whole West Bank", without providing further details on the distribution. Today, he adds, authorities should issue additional permits to speed up the construction process.

Approximately 4,000 new housing units are to be built in the West Bank under the government's push. A plan aimed at the significant growth of settlements of Jewish settlers in Palestinian territories. On October 16, an Israeli committee approved permits for 31 colonies in Hebron. This is the first green light to construction in the most sensitive center of the West Bank since 2002. Several hundred Israeli settlers live in the heart of Hebron, under an impressive armed guard of the Israeli army. They are surrounded by about 200,000 Palestinians.

The new housing units in Hebron should arise around Shuhada Street; once home to an important street market, leading to a holy place where, according to tradition, the Biblical Abraham is buried. Today, the road is largely blocked to Palestinian access.

The United Nations and the vast majority of the international community consider all Israeli colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be illegal, according to international law. On 23 December, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, requesting the Israeli state to immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem.

The peace talks broke up in 2014, triggering an escalation of violence in the face of which the international community's increasingly evident inertia (or impotence).
Francis receives delegates from the "World Conference of Religions for Peace". "All men of good will, especially those who hold responsibilities, are called to work for it." "Whoever commits violence or justifies it in the name of religion severely offends God".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Believers of every religion" are called to invoke peace, while "those who commit violence or justify it in the name of religion severely offends God", said Pope Francis today, before the general audience, as he received the delegates of the "World Conference of Religions for Peace."

Peace  he said  remains an urgent task in todays world, where so many peoples are scarred by war and conflict. Peace is both a divine gift and a human achievement. This is why believers of all religions are called to implore peace and to intercede for it. All men and women of good will, particularly those in positions of responsibility, are summoned to work for peace with their hearts, minds and hands. For peace has to be crafted. In this effort, peacemaking and the pursuit of justice go together.

The religions, with their spiritual and moral resources, have a specific and unique role to play in building peace. They cannot be neutral, much less ambiguous, where peace is concerned. Those who engage in acts of violence, or try to justify them in the name of religion, gravely offend God, who is peace and the source of peace, and has left in human beings a reflection of his wisdom, power and beauty.

The Pope expressed his esteem and appreciation for the work of Religions for Peace. You provide a valuable service to both religion and peace, for the religions are bound by their very nature to promote peace through justice, fraternity, disarmament and care for creation.

There is a need for a common and cooperative effort on the part of the religions in promoting an integral ecology. The Bible helps us in this regard by reminding us of the Creator, who saw all that he had made, and it was very good (Gen 1:31). The religions have the wherewithal to further a moral covenant that can promote respect for the dignity of the human person and care for creation.

Thanks be to God, concluded Pope Francis in various parts of the world we have any number of good examples of the power of interreligious cooperation to oppose violent conflicts, to advance sustainable development and to protect the earth. Let us continue along this path! We trust in the Almightys help and in the good will of believers and so many others.
by Melani Manel Perera

They created the "Supatha" group of the Holy Family four years ago. Since then, they have worked on behalf of people in distress and the environment. The desire to live as "one family" in gratitude to God.

Colombo (AsiaNews) - "If we look back at the last few years and all the things we have achieved and experienced we are very happy and proud. But the glory of everything goes only to our beloved Jesus. Only with his blessing, with that of Mary and Joseph we could do all this,  says Chamudi Fernando. The young teacher is speaking about her experience with Supatha, the group of young Sinhalese of "Holy Family Youth" which she leads, in Nugegoda (a suburb of Colombo).

"Four years ago, on October 3, 2013, our Nattegoda Supatha group was born to realize the dream of the Good Father, Father Pierre Bienvenu Noailles."

In the beginning, there were only three girls, but after meeting with the reality of the Holy Family thanks to Sister Timely, Chamadu began to invite the youngest female students in the school. "So now there are in 30 in our group ".

Over the past four years, the Nugegoda Supatha has carried out large and small spiritual and charitable activities. Among them, the "day together" to teach children and young people in the village of Sirigampola, in the diocese of Chilaw, the meaning and the value of family, life, and to give priority to studies. Young people who "wanted someone to listen to them" with whom girls are still in touch.

Last Christmas, the group also distributed aid for school (textbooks, bags, stationery and shoes) to all children of a small school in difficulty in Bolawalana village, where the Sisters of the Holy Family do catechism.

Supatha's youth also commit themselves to the environment as encouraged by the "message of the Holy Father in Laudate si and in response to the urgent needs of floods and droughts."

Next Christmas aid will be distributed to about 30 girls in a family house supported by the government in Colombo. "They are mostly people who have faced so many difficulties ... some have become pregnant because of rape, others have no parents."

In addition to Chamudi, the group is made up of Brayni, Amanda, Dimithri, Wasana, Sonali, Prabhani, Hiruni and Lamniny. They want to live as a single family and share with joy the thanksgiving to God for His guidance and the blessing of spending their young lives at the service of others.
The White House has confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump is set to make his third large presidential foreign trip. This time, he will travel to Asia for the usual round of November summits, in addition to more than a few tense bilateral meetings with allied leaders who have grown increasingly concerned about U.S. policy towards the Korean peninsula, reports the Diplomat.

From November 3 to 14, Trump will travel to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and stopover in Hawaii on his way back.

While in Asia, in addition to his bilateral meetings, Trump will participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit (and its associated meetings).

The agenda in Asia, from the perspective of the White House, is relatively simple: emphasize the administrations America First priorities on trade and win assurances from regional leaders that they will rein in North Korea.

But this trip will be anything but simple. Perhaps the overriding task for Trumps trip will be assuring Japan and South Korea of a coherent strategy towards dealing with the problem of North Koreas nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs while also reassuring them of ongoing US extended deterrence commitments.

The decoupling cat came out of the bag earlier over the summer, when North Korea twice showed its intercontinental-range ballistic missile capabilities. We have already seen bilateral US-Japan and US-South Korea statements draw attention to the sustainment of extended deterrence commitments in the age of the North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile.

While in Seoul and Tokyo, Trump will have to make that clear himself. As we saw with his speech earlier this year to NATO leaders in Europe, this might not be the easiest task. It is one thing when skittish allies see the boilerplate language on the ironclad US-South Korea and US-Japan alliances in statements released by the Department of Defense or after high-level bilateral talks, but a presidential assurance will be necessary.

In China, too, Trump will have the challenging task of managing a bilateral relationship that has very much left the honeymoon period after the April Mar-a-Lago meeting between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinas acquiescence to two new United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions has kept it in Trumps good graces, but the America First trade agenda continues to loom large in this relationship. Will Trump take an economic nationalist message with him to Beijing?

In Vietnam and the Philippines, Trump will have two very different challenging tasks as well. In Hanoi, he will need to sustain a relationship with an important U.S. partner that was considerably accelerated by the Obama administration in its last year. Though Vietnams disappointment at the failure of a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement with the United States included is less palpable now, Hanoi will seek to sustain momentum in its relationship with Washington.

In Manila, Trump will come face-to-face with President Rodrigo Duterte, a U.S. ally who had lambasted Trumps predecessor and flouts human rights. Trump, who is not known to show even perfunctory concern for human rights issues, will likely be unable to convey U.S. concern about Dutertes deadly drug war, that has claimed thousands of lives to date.

Instead, Trump will seek to extend U.S. backing to the Philippines fight against Islamic militants in the countrys south and shore up the alliance. Any statements on the South China Sea disputes while in Manila will be closely watched for as well.

Perhaps the greatest wild card of Trumps trip will be his presence at the APEC and ASEAN summits. As he showed earlier this year at the G7 and the G20, Trump does not shy away from hot button issues in multilateral forums. He disappointed the G7 leaders with his insistence on excising climate change from the declaration and, at the G20 summit in Germany, he was distracted and absent.
Big Queensland meat supplier launches legal action against Coles





The major Queensland beef producer Australian Country Choice has filed a Queensland Supreme Court action against its sole customer, Coles Supermarkets.

In a statement of claim over breach of commercial contract, the producer, Australian Country Choice (ACC) claims that Coles has sold and continues to sell beef into international markets, breaching ACCs external sales contract.

Coles has repeatedly breached its obligations, failed to act in good faith and taken steps that threaten the very core of our business, ACC Managing Director David Foote said.

ACC is Coles biggest beef supplier, providing over 50 per cent of the supermarkets beef products.

It will be business as usual, Foote said, when addressing what the contractual dispute means for Coles and ACCs northern supply chain network of cattle suppliers.

Foote said ACC had no choice but to commence legal action after exhaustive negotiation failed to resolve differences.

To date, Australian Food News has been unsuccessful in reaching Coles Supermarkets for comment on this matter.

According to lodged court documents, ACC is claiming it alone has rights to export excess meat not sold in Australian Coles stores, including edible meat and offal.

The two parties are allegedly disputing the phrase edible meat offal used in a contract with ACC believing it means they have the exclusive rights to export both edible meat an offal. Coles allegedly believes it means ACC has the rights export offal whilst Coles can export other meat.

Coles has become a large exporter

ACC moved into meat export in 2001, establishing a range of large food service and retail customers across Asia.

In describing ACCs relationship with Coles, Foote said, for most of our 40-year partnership, the relationship has been strong and mutually beneficial.

Coles launched its own trading group over 12 months ago, with a focus on exporting wine and other high-end consumables to markets such as China and Hong Kong.

More recently, Coles advertised for a meat sales executive to join its trading group, to explore complementary products.

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Victoria to ban the plastic bag





The Victorian State Government has announced it is banning single-use lightweight plastic shopping bags in Victoria.

A date for the ban is yet to be announced with business and community consultation on how best to implement the ban occurring first.

In a statement, the Victorian Labor Government said bans in other states and territories had resulted in undesirable results including increased use of heavier duty plastics and it wishes to consult with different parties so a workable scheme can be created.

Victorian State Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily DAmbrosio, said banning single-use plastic bags will slash waste, reduce litter and help protect marine life.

We will work closely with Victorian communities and businesses to design the ban, were proud that were doing our bit to reduce the impact plastic bags have on our environment, MP DAmbrosio said.

The 2017/18 Victorian Budget allowed AUD $30.4 million over four years to fund ways that improve management of waste and the recovery of resources.

Victorias plastic bag ban follows on from Queenslands decision to do the same in November 2017.

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The number of visitors to Australia continues to rise with the country proving to be popular with people from China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the latest official statistics show.But fewer people are visiting Australia from the UK and South Korea, according to the data which is published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).Overall in trend terms the figures show that short term visitor arrivals to Australia during August 2017 reached 756,000, a month on month rise of 0.8% and some 7.9% higher than in August 2016.The biggest increase in visitors was from China with numbers up by 22.8% year on year, followed by a 19.5% rise from Hong Kong and 15.7% rise in visitors from Malaysia. Those from the UK fell by 3.2% and there was a fall of 2.5% in visitors from South Korea.There was also a 14.1% rise in visitors from India, a 6.8% rise in visitors from the United States compared to the same month in 2016, a 4.7% rise in visitors from Singapore, a 4.5% rise in visitors from Japan and a 0.2% rise from those coming from New Zealand.Experts expect Australia to continue to be popular with Chinese travellers, rising to 3.3 million a year by 2026. But they also warn that Chinese people are becoming more adventurous and seeking other destinations too.The increasing affluence of the middle class in China, the end of travel restrictions for most Chinese citizens, and improved travel connections between China and the rest of the world have seen the number of Chinese tourists soar. There are also an increasing number of Chinese students looking to study for degrees in Australia and elsewhere around the world.Helping the number of visitors from China has been a rise in the choice of air routes. For example, the number of Chinese airlines flying to Australia is up from four in 2014 to seven today. Total annual seat capacity from China is now at 1.5 million, up by 76% since 2013.Figures from the Chinese Government show that Australia ranks eighth in the list of overseas destinations for Chinese travellers, coming in behind Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the US, Indonesia, the Maldives and Singapore.Separate figures from Tourism Australia confirm the popularity of the country with 702,800 visitors, a rise of 11.2% compared to August 2016. The figures also show that there have been 8.7 million visitors in the 12 months to August 2017, a rise of 8.2% and an extra 660,000 more visitors on the previous year.As with the ABS data, these figures show that the biggest increase has come from China with 116,300 or 23.2% more visitors from the country. Visitors from New Zealand were also up, a rise of 3.3% or 115,800 people.The biggest decline was in visitors from Singapore, down by 36,600 or 19.2%, followed by a fall of 4.6% or 37,500 people from the UK and a fall of 0.8% or 49,900 people from the United States.Holidays and visiting friends was the top reason for visiting Australia overall with 702,800 doing so in the year to August 2017, a rise of 11.2% compared with the same period in 2016.
Chart courtesy of GM.

China is the worlds largest automotive market, both in terms of sales and units manufactured. In calendar-year 2016, there were 28 million vehicles manufactured in China, representing almost a third of the total global production.

The Chinese OEM brands have performed the best in the Chinese domestic market, gaining market share from foreign brands by introducing new small crossovers, which as elsewhere in the world, continue to be the type of automotive products desired by consumers.

A case in point is the Chinese OEM Geely, which nearly doubled sales year-to-date in the 2017 calendar-year on strong demand for three new crossovers.

On the other hand, another Chinese OEM Great Wall Motor Co., the countrys largest manufacturer of crossovers and SUVs, has seen a softening of sales as its product line has started to grow long-in-the-tooth.

Great Wall Motor Co. was founded in 1984 and is the 7th largest automaker in China, with a market share of 3.8%. In 2016, it had sales of 1.1 million vehicles, with SUVs making up 933,000 of the total units sold.

Great Wall recently made international news when it was reported to be interested in buying Jeep, which has expanded global production into Latin America, Asia, and Europe. In 2016, Jeeps global sales were 1.41 million vehicles, of which, a third were sold outside North America in major markets such as China, Brazil, and India.

Other OEMs selling crossovers are also experiencing vulnerability because of stagnant product lineups. From 2013 to 2014, PSA achieved robust sales growth in China after it launched two small crossovers, the Peugeot 2008 and 3008. Since then, the French automaker has failed to freshen its product lineup. As a result, its two joint ventures with Dongfeng Motor Co. and Changan Automobile Co. have experienced declining sales volumes.

One reason for the decline is that Chinese consumers change vehicles more often than owners elsewhere, and they are particularly interested in crossovers, which makes newer models more desirable to them.

In April 2017, General Motors launched the all-new third generation 2018 Chevrolet Equinox crossover SUV in China, with kickoff sales off to a good start. The Equinox has held its own in Chinas highly-competitive crossover segment accounting for 4,600 deliveries in August, 3,500 in July, 5,400 in June and roughly 4,000 in May. Most recently, Chevrolet introduced the Equinox RS appearance package exclusively for the Chinese market, a first for the brand.

The Buick Envision is by far GMs most succesful crossover ever with its China sales surpassing 15,000 units in August 2017.

One reason for the enhanced popularity of the Envision versus the Equinox is because of the strength of the Buick brand in China, which was the first brand that GM sold in China when it entered the market 20 years ago. In addition, Equinox sales were temporarily constrained at launch due to product availability in the country, which has since been resolved.

Reflecting the strong popularity of SUVs among Chinese consumers, GM China reported a 42% year-over-year increase in sales of SUVs.

In the first eight months of 2017, GM and its joint ventures in China delivered a record 2,381,834 units.

Cadillac Sales Soar in China

Another brand experiencing an increase in sales in the Chinese market is Cadillac. For GM, it is experiencing strong sales for its luxury vehicles and SUVs, while sales for its small-cars have softened for GM and other OEMs in China.

General Motors said its sales in China rose 12% in August 2017 fueled by strong growth in its SUV sales and the continued success of its Cadillac luxury brand, which saw sales increase to 51% in August 2017 to 15,014 vehicles. For comparison, in the month of August 2017, the Cadillac brand sold 15,016 vehicles in the U.S. In a milestone for the Cadillac brand, China surpassed the U.S. as its largest global market in January 2017 in terms of total sales year-to-date.

Cadillac currently builds the CT6 sedan, the long-wheelbase ATS sedan, XT5 crossover and the XTS sedan at GMs joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp.

The XT5 luxury crossover continues to lead sales for the brand with 89,111 units delivered worldwide so far in 2017. August was its second-best month in the U.S. with 7,236 units sold.

Another Cadillac model built by SAIC-GM is a longer-wheelbase version of the ATS sedan, called the ATS-L. The longer wheelbase Chinese model has more room in the back seat than the regular ATS, a big selling point in China, which has contributed to its popularity and strong sales among Chinese buyers. Globally, sales of the ATS model grew 8.9% for the month, driven by market share gains in the U.S. and Canada. As in the U.S., the midsize XT5 crossover SUV is selling briskly in China, with nearly 5,000 sold.

GM is also reporting brisk sales of the larger CT6 sedan in China, which was newly introduced last year.

By tripling its China sales in five years, Cadillac has surpassed Lexus, Land Rover, and Volvo to become Chinas No. 4 luxury brand in terms of sales volume. Until a few years ago, most Cadillacs sold in China faced a 25% tariff imposed on imported vehicles. Now, almost of the Cadillacs sold in China are built in Shanghai, mostly at a recently opened $1.3 billion GM factory, the companys hi-tech assembly plant. In addition, local production has made it possible for Cadillac to price its vehicles a little below the German Big Three. Cadillac has also opened hundreds of dealerships in recent years.

Overview of China and its 10 Join Ventures Chart courtesy of GM. GM China is a wholly-owned venture of General Motors, which is headquartered in Shanghai. It has 26 plants across China employing more than 58,000 employees. These 26 plants are comprised of 17 vehicle assembly plants, eight powertrain plants, and one component plant. GM China has 10 joint ventures (JVs), for the complete car manufacturing and component and parts manufacturing in China. SAIC-GM, which used to be named Shanghai GM, is a Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai operating as a joint venture with General Motors. The company had sales of 1.9 million vehicles in 2016. Another joint venture is SGMW, which is the acronym for SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. SGMW is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Guangxi Automotive Group, which manufactures commercial and consumer vehicles sold in China under the Wuling and Baojun brands. In addition, GM China also has technology centers and commercial vehicle centers in China. In particular, GM has two R&D facilities in China. GM China Advanced Technical Centers, which is called ATC, is the most comprehensive and advanced automobile development center in China, said Brian Luo, marketing support manager for GMs VSSM China, based in Shanghai. ATC includes research and development, advanced design, vehicle engineering, engineering, and the OnStar laboratories. The first phase of the ATC facility was completed in September 2011. The second phase opened in November 2012. As a member of GMs global engineering and design network, it is developing solutions for GM on a domestic and global basis, said Luo. GM China also operates the Guangde proving ground, which is its biggest facility in China. It includes more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) of test track and support facilities that enable it to carry out testing involving 67 different driving conditions in China. GM China had vehicle sales of 3.8 million units in 2016, which represents almost 40% of GMs global sales.

Globally, Cadillac sold 32,084 units in August 2017, maintaining a 15-month run of consecutive growth. The brand is on pace to surpass last years total of 308,718 vehicles sold. In August 2017, year-to-date, sales are up 39,354 units compared to August 2016, totaling 221,566 units.

The transformation of Cadillac continues to accelerate with the globalization of our commercial footprint, said Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen. The market share expansion in international markets and the escalation of transaction prices in the United States creates a strong foundation for sustainable growth.

Buick Launches New Models

As the first GM brand introduced in China, Buick has become a very popular brand in the Chinese market, and it has been the biggest driver of GMs success in the worlds largest car market.

The top seller in China for last year was the Buick Envision, which has a stylish exterior design and super comfortable interior. The vehicle provides a very strong driving performance and is well equipped with comprehensive safety features, said Brian Luo, marketing support manager for GM China. Luo, who is based in Shanghai, joined General Motors in 2008.

In 2016, the top five best-selling GM vehicles in China were the Buick Envision, Buick GL8, the Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback NB, the Wuling Sunshine, and the Wuling Hong Guang.

In August 2017, Buick sales rose 9.6% to 103,277 units, an impressive number driven by sales of four key models:

Buicks big seller in China is the Excelle GT, a compact sedan mechanically related to the now-discontinued U.S.-market Buick Verano. GM sold over 40,000 in August 2017, up 41% from a year ago.

The new-generation Buick GL8 is an upscale minivan made for the Chinese market. The GL8 was all-new last fall. Its sales in August 2017 were up 125% over the older model a year ago.

The compact Buick Envision SUV hasnt been a huge seller in the U.S., but has been well received by Chinese consumers. GM sold over 15,000 in August 2017.

Sales of the LaCrosse sedan, another Buick that was all-new last year, almost doubled from a year ago to about 8,100 units.

GM China has introduced a wide range of new products in 2017. One new model is the Buick Velite. Another is the new Buick Regal, which was introduced on July 21, 2017. The other new model is the Buick GL8 25S. A new product from SGMW is Baojun 510. Its a B compact SUV in China. Another model is the Baojun 310W which was introduced in July 2017.

The 2018 Buick Regal made its official debut at the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show. The Chinese version of the Regal retains a traditional four-door sedan layout with a sealed trunk. Photo courtesy of GM.

SGMW is the acronym for SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile, which is a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors, and Guangxi Automotive Group, which manufactures commercial and consumer vehicles sold in China under the Wuling and Baojun brands.

Chevrolet sales in China rose to 46,705 vehicles. The big news for Chevrolet in China is the debut of the all-new Equinox crossover SUV, which just began rolling out in the Chinese market. The Equinox has the potential to be a huge hit for GM in China. Its off to a good start, with over 4,600 sold in August.

The Baojun brand is GMs answer to low-cost domestic Chinese automakers. It offers affordable models aimed at young families. Its a big seller, with 82,658 sold in August. Nearly 33,000 sales were of Baojun 510, an affordable compact SUV that had huge sales for GM in August.

For years, GMs Wuling brand sold small, inexpensive commercial vans to Chinese tradespeople. However, sales of commercial vans have declined as Chinas construction boom has faded. In response, Wuling has shifted to emphasize sales of passenger versions of those vans under the Hong Guang nameplate.

Although sales are still recovering Wuling sold 80,771 vehicles in August 2017  the Hong Guang lineup sold over 34,000 units. Wuling plans to launch an affordable SUV later in 2017 to help boost sales.

Trends that will Impact Future Fleet Sales in China

China is GMs largest market in terms of retail sales for the fifth consecutive year and it is an important component in the companys global strategy.

GM plans to strengthen its core business through global growth initiatives and an aggressive product launch cadence, while continuing to focus on driving cost efficiencies.

Strategically, GM is transforming itself from a traditional automaker into a personal mobility provider. GMs plans to capitalize on the future of personal mobility were summarized in a 2015 presentation given by GM CEO Mary Barra.

The convergence of rapidly improving technology and changing consumer preferences is creating an inflection point for the transportation industry not seen in decades, said Barra. Some might find this massive change to be daunting, but we look at it and see the opportunity to be a disruptor. We believe our decades of leadership in vehicle connectivity is fundamental to our quest to redefine the future of personal mobility.

As part of this global strategy, GM China has adopted a two-pronged strategy to succeed in the rapidly changing automotive industry.

The first prong is to strengthen and grow its core business of building and selling great cars, trucks, and crossovers.

The second prong is to define and lead the future of personal mobility through the creation of an entirely new transportation business model, and to lead the development of the technology necessary to support these new business models.

In addition, domestic market conditions will also influence future fleet sales. For instance, the central government of China announced two reforms that will be beneficial to fleet sales in China.

Central Government Mandates Vehicle Reform for State-Owned Enterprises: The vehicle reform mandate for State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) is part of a broader anti-corruption movement in China. The vehicle reform mandate has prompted many SOE companies to revise their company car policies so only a few top managers are now given a company car.

Previously, there was concern that the eligibility criteria to receive a company-provided vehicle at SOEs was too liberal. Who will be impacted by the new SOE vehicle mandate will be mid-level managers, who in the past were provided with a company vehicle and, in some cases, even a driver. With the reframing of the eligibility criteria many of these mid-level managers will no longer receive a company vehicle, but instead will be offered a driver allowance or reimbursement program. The reform is flexible whereby some mid-range managers may instead opt to purchase their fleet vehicle or lease it through a leasing company.

Tax-Free Vehicles for Students Returning from Overseas Studies: The third reform offers Chinese students who have studied abroad the ability to purchase a tax-free vehicle when they return to China. This has the potential to be a significant volume of purchases since more than 300,000 students study abroad each year. When a student returns to China after graduating from a university abroad, they will have three months to buy a tax-free vehicle in China.

Each year, 10,000 students return to China following graduation. These students represent a big group with purchasing power who are becoming a focus for our fleet efforts in the future.

Pharmaceutical Fleets in China

A frequent question about the Chinese fleet market deals with the local pharmaceutical industry. The question is whether pharmaceutical fleets in China will eventually mirror the fleet practices of pharma fleets elsewhere in the world. In particular, will Chinese pharma reps be assigned a company-provided vehicle to call on customers as are their counterparts elsewhere in the world?

Currently, fleet sales are very low to pharmaceutical companies operating in China. Usually, a pharma rep in China is not assigned a company vehicle and instead uses public transportation or motor bikes to meet with customers. The prediction by some fleet observers is that eventually (and gradually) these representatives will begin to expect a company car and not be satisfied with their current transportation options.

Forecast of Chinese Market

The near-term forecast for Chinas auto industry is that its growth rate will moderate in relation to prior growth.

In 2018, Beijing will restore the sales tax for vehicles with engine displacements of 1.6 liters or smaller to 10% from 7.5% this year presenting an economic headwind to the Chinese fleet industry. In addition, it is anticipated that there will be new sustainability programs mandated to fleets to reduce automotive emissions. For instance, China has set a goal for EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles to make up at least a fifth of the countrys light-vehicle sales by 2025.

The Chinese government offers generous subsidies to makers of new-energy vehicles. It also plans to require automakers to earn enough credits or buy them from competitors with a surplus under a new cap-and-trade program to boost fuel economy and lower emissions.
Photo courtesy of Workhorse Group

Office products dealer W.B. Mason has taken delivery of its first Workhorse electric, range-extended step van, leased through Ryder System.

The Workhorse E-Gen electric vehicle has an average range of 120 miles on a single charge and reduces vehicle emissions by 75% compared to a conventional step van, according to the company. The vehicle has a proprietary chassis design, powertrain, battery management system, and real-time Emtron telematics system.

"Adding Workhorse E-Gen electric vehicles to our fleet promotes efficiency and an even better delivery experience for our drivers and customers," Leo J. Meehan III, president and CEO of W.B. Mason.

The powertrain combines a lithium-ion battery pack and a BMW 2-cylinder gasoline engine that is used in the BMW i3 to extend the range of the vehicle. The step van will operate on electric power for the first 60 miles, and the gasoline engine can double the range to 120 miles.

Ryder is the primary distributor and provider of service and support for Workhorses light- and medium-duty range-extended electric vehicles in North America.

"W.B. Mason is a national leader in last-mile delivery, and their sophisticated body designs demonstrate their innovation in vehicles," said Steve Burns, chief executive officer of Workhorse. "The adoption of Workhorse E-Gen step vans takes that innovation a step further with the integration of cutting-edge, sustainable electric transportation."
Americares is one of the organizations that Enterprise has donated to in Puerto Rico.

As recovery work continues across Puerto Rico and damage estimates grow in the wake of Hurricane Maria, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation is making three donations totaling $250,000 to assist with immediate needs of those on the islands:

- $100,000 to Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, the United Way chapter in Puerto Rico that provides both short-term and long-term assistance and relief efforts across a range of partnerships;

- $100,000 to Americares, a health-focused relief organization that helps people affected by poverty or disaster (in addition to $250,000 the Foundation pledged to Americares in the wake of Hurricane Irma);

- $50,000 to SPCA International, which supports shelters and rescue groups helping animals abandoned and displaced by natural disasters.

These pledges are in addition to the $1 million the Foundation gave to support Hurricane Harvey relief in late August, as well as $750,000 donated to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Irma support, and another $1 million gift to the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) earlier this year, according to Enterprise.

This year, the Foundations support for natural disasters has grown to more than $3 million.

We have all seen the images of Puerto Rico in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria and know many on the island have a long road to recovery, said Carolyn Kindle Betz, senior vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation.

But we also know that the support of Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, Americares, and SPCA International will help bring hope and much-needed relief to disaster victims across the island, Kindle Betz added. These organizations are making a positive difference under incredibly difficult conditions and we are proud to support them in their efforts.
Photo courtesy of StratosFuel

StratosFuel Inc., a developer of hydrogen fueling stations, received a notice of proposed award from the California Energy Commission for a $684,421 grant to launch a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) carsharing service.

The grant will go toward purchasing 15 FCEVs that will be deployed in Southern California.

The award comes after the California Energy Commission released a Grant Solicitation entitled Innovative Service Mobility Demonstrations with Zero-Emission Vehicles on March 9. The grant solicitation made $3 million available  in an effort to fund up to four innovative electric vehicle mobility service projects in four specific California Regions.

The carsharing fleet of 15 FCEVs will increase zero-emission ridership in disadvantaged communities and increase usage at public-funded hydrogen refueling stations (HRS). To start, the vehicles will be deployed near the Ontario, Calif., and Riverside Calif., hydrogen stations.

Having this fleet will be a great opportunity to increase the utilization of our Zero Impact Production [ZIP] facility, and to further the use of our cost-competitive renewable hydrogen furthering our goal of making hydrogen an everyday fuel, said Jose Magana, chief operating officer of StratosFuel.

StratosFuel will begin sharing cars under its brand name StratosShare. Users will be able to rent vehicles based on location. Fees will include fuel and insurance. Riders will have the option to rent a vehicle by the hour or day.

We want to provide a zero-emission vehicle alternative to the shared mobility sector and do so with convenience, said Jonathan Palacios-Avila, CEO of StratosFuel Inc. Sharing a FCEV is a great opportunity for drivers to understand the simplicity of driving and refueling an electric vehicle in minutes.

StratosFuel plans to expand its FCEV fleet to other regions in California, as well as add more vehicles to the fleet, according to the company.
October 18th.

1977: Citizens United to Protect Our Children, an organization in Portland OR, announced they had failed to get enough signatures to get a recall election of Mayor Neil Goldschmidt after he declared Portlands Gay Pride Day.

1990: Former Supreme Court justice Lewis Powell declared that he believed he made a mistake by voting to uphold Georgias sodomy laws in the 1986 Bowers v Hardwick case.

In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bowers v. Hardwick to uphold Georgias sodomy law, and with it similar laws in twenty-five other states and the District of Columbia. It had been reported that Justice Powell had originally voted to strike down, but a few days later he changed his mind and became the deciding vote in the courts 5-4 decision. His retirement the following year gave him plenty of time to think about what he had done. Four years after Bowers, Powell spoke before a group of law students at New York University where he was asked how he reconciled his vote in Bowers, which limited the right to privacy, with his vote in Roe v. Wade, which extended a womans right to privacy to include whether she wanted to have an abortion. I think I probably made a mistake on that one, Powell said of his Bowers decision.

Powell later explained to a law journal, I do think I was inconsistent in a general way with Roe. When I had the opportunity to reread the opinions a few months later, I thought the dissent had the better of the arguments. But Powell refused to consider his deciding vote all that important. I thought it was a frivolous case. I still think it was a frivolous case. He considered his decision as one of little or no importance, because, he said, no one had actually been prosecuted for homosexual conduct.

1990: Three white supremacists: Robert John Winslow, Stephen Nelson,, and Procter Baker were convicted of conspiring to blow up Neighbours Disco a gay bar in Boise, Idaho.

Robert John Winslow, a twenty-nine year old former infantryman from Laclede, Idaho had it all figured out. He used a towel spread out on a table top to represent the area around Seattles Neighbours Disco, a popular nightclub in the Capital Hill gayborhood, as he explained to Rico Valentino how it would all go down. Theyd plant four bombs in the alley adjacent to Neighbours rear entrance. Theyd paint them black and hide them in the shadows, on opposite sides of the alley. They could even use propane to create a fireball effect. Then someone would phone the bar with a bomb threat and everyone would evacuate out into the alley. Fag burgers! Winslow laughed. Why? Winslow said that homosexuals in America were threatening white Christianity. They also talked about bombing the Anti-Defamation League, cars owned by Jews, and businesses owned by blacks and Chinese.

They began planning the operation on April 20, 1990, during an Aryan Nations celebration of Hitlers birthday, and now they were ready to do it. Winslow, Stephen Nelson, 35, and Procter Baker, 58, who had served as master of ceremonies for the birthday observance, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian (Aryan Nations) at Hayden Lake, Idaho. But Valentino, a former professional wrestler, was a paid informant who had been working undercover for three years for the FBI. He wore a wire as Winslow laid out the plans. He also collected evidence at the Aryan Nations compound in Idaho. On May 12, 1990, Winslow and Nelson were arrested after driving with Valentino to Seattle. FBI agents trailed the van and arrested them in a motel parking lot near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Agents found pipe-bomb components, a .38-caliber pistol, a 12-gage shotgun and white-supremacist literature. Baker was arrested at his home in Coeur dAlene. A search of his cabin in Kendrick turned up a partially assembled pipe bomb.

On October 18, 1990, Nelson, Winslow, and Baker were convicted of conspiracy and manufacturing and possessing pipe bombs. Nelson and Winslow were also found guilty of using interstate commerce in a conspiracy and possessing firearms during a violent crime. Winslow was sentenced to nine years, Nelson eight, and Baker to two years. The sentence was considered light: they had faced 20 to 25 years. But U.S. District Judge Harold Ryan rejected prosecutors contention that their actions amounted to domestic terrorism, and he also declined the governments request to add time to the sentenced based on the intended victims.

1991: Admiral Frank B Kelso, chief of naval operations, announced that the explosion of the USS Iowa which killed forty-seven men had been proven not to have been caused by a wrongful intentional act and apologized to the family of Clayton Hartwig. Hartwig had been accused of intentionally causing the blast as an act of suicide following the break up of a homosexual affair. (It was NEVER proven that Hartwig was a was homosexual.)

On April 19, 1989 in the Number Two 16-inch gun turret aboard the USS Iowa exploded, killing 47 crewmen who were inside the turret. Iowa crewmen were ordered to remov the bodies, throw damaged equipment overboard and repaint the damaged turret the next day  all without taking photos or gathering any evidence. Investigators immediately set out the theory that Second Class Gunners Mate Clayton Hartwig, was killed in the blast, had committed suicide by detonating the explosion after an alleged affair with another male soldier ended. As far as the Navy was concerned, that explained everything and the case was closed.

But Congress and the general public werent satisfied. After mounting criticism, Navy Secretary J. Lawrence Garett III ordered the service to reopen the investigation and hand it over to independent investigators. During that investigation, a sample of gunpowder of the same type used on the USS Iowa exploded during a ram test, which simulated the process of raming bags of gunpowder into the gun during loading. With that, the original investigation, which was based on circumstantial evidence, also went up in smoke. The Navy was left with nothing to do but apologize. For this, on behalf of the U.S. Navy, I extend my sincere regrets to the family, said a statement from Adm. Frank Kekso, chief of naval operations. The Navy will not imply that a deceased individual is to blame for his own death, or the death of others. He also apologized to the other families of those who died because such a long period has passed, and despite all efforts, no certain answers regarding the cause of this terrible tragedy can be found.

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Stephen Moore is a senior economic analyst with CNN. He served as a senior economic adviser to the Trump campaign.
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Nairobi tycoon Jimmy Wanjigi sharing story with his colleagues after police left his residence. PHOTO | CITIZEN TV

Nairobi Tycoon Jimmy Wanjigi came out from his strong room just after the NASA presidential flagbearer Raila Odinga visited his home. The NASA financier locked himself for 48 hours in his strong after he got information that he was to take to the police custody.Businessman Jimmy Wanjigi has come out of hiding from his strong room after police left his residence in the late hours of Wednesday morning.Wanjigi had locked himself in what is believed to be a strongroom since Monday, October 16, when police raided his home in Muthaiga, Nairobi, in an operation that would last over 48 hours.In a photo captured after he resurfaced, the tycoon is seen sharing a hearty moment with a number of individuals at his mansion, where police yesterday recovered seven guns and 600 rounds of ammunitionA multi-agency team drawn from the elite Flying Squad, Special Crimes Prevention Unit and General Service Unit (GSU) could not manage to get Wanjigi out of his hideout.They, however, left a trail of destruction after trying to force internal doors open using sledgehammers and bolt cutters as well as dismantling some of the surveillance cameras mounted at the premises.It is also alleged that what police recovered in his residence came with the Police as the CCTV footage shown to Raila Odinga revealed. A footage that shown the Police came with the firearms and then recovered them by themselves was delivered to the Opposition leader as evidence as Jimmy Wanjigi through his lawyer James Orengo file a case against the invasion.NASA leaders are expected to address the injustices done to Wanjigi and many others in Kenya including the Former IEBC IT expert Musando on the Mashujaa day. Raila Odinga said that the Demonstrations will continue next week after the Principals give out their directions.
Nairobi county treasury is broke and county workers are marking time to down their tools. The Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has urged the workers to stay in office as he is in talks with the National Treasury.The Nairobi county is left with a deficit after the Nairobi governor claimed to have paid debts. The Nairobi Governor who flushed of the county levies to the small business people has been hit with almost a one Billion deficit just three months after he was sworn in.The county also requested the Treasury to loan it Sh800 million to clear an overdraft it took from a commercial bank.Acting county secretary Leboo Morintat asked Treasury CS Henry Rotich to release Sh1.2 billion being equitable share for September.The letter was also signed by acting head of county treasury Stephen Mutua and acting chief finance officer Ekaya Alumasi.The county also requested the Treasury to disburse an advance of October equitable share of Sh1.29 billion to pay the workers their October salaries."Additionally, the county requests for a further credit facility of Sh800 million offset the current expensive interest cost on overdraft facility at Cooperative Bank of Kenya."The over 13,000 county employees have threatened to down tools over the pay delay. The county's wage bill stands at Sh1.2 billion per month."It is unfortunate that the delay has been occasioned by sabotage in the Finance Department led by the outgoing Finance CEC.""He has deliberately refused to make a formal request to the Controller of Budget to release funds on time," Sonko said.The governor, however, said that he had already met CoB chair Agnes Odhiambo who agreed to authorize the disbursement of the funds."It is, therefore, my sincere hope that the county staff will bear with us during this difficult period as we await approval from the Controller of Budget. Efforts are being made to ensure such delays do not re-occur in the future," he said.The looming county workers strike comes after the CoG Josphat Nanok requested the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to give out the county funds.Many governors have been talking to the CS Treasury Henry Rotich over the heating strikes from the majority of the counties. Nairobi county governor Mike Sonko has accepted the fact that there is no money in county hall and wrote a letter for a loan from the National Treasury.
Jimmy Wanjigi with NASA Co-Principal Moses Wetangula. PHOTO | Courtesy

Police from different units raided the house of a Nairobi businessman Jimmy Wanjigi yesterday for almost 48 hours. The Police said they were following orders from "above" and the court order that James Orengo brought from the court was damaged by the police.Jimi Wanjigis' cry was the Police assault and threat to rape his wife. The Police threatened to chop off and rape his wife if he chose to block them from their orders."They assaulted my wife (Irene Nzisa) as she tried to record the breakages in the house. GSU officers came into this home guarding us like we are criminals. It's very sad that a government can do that to its citizens," Jimmy Wanjigi said."If they can do that to some of us who live in estates, I cannot imagine how much common mwananchi is harassed in the country," he added.Police have teargassed the supporters, beat them up with batons and shot some including children and denied Amnesty's report that at least 33 people have been killed."It's very sad that 'these' people are attacking me today yet their government was formed here. Raila and Uhuru shook hands here in a show of peace," he said."My support for Baba remains unwavering and unshaken because it is every Kenyan's right to support anyone they wish to without victimisation," he claimed."We thank Raila for supporting us when we were under siege by the government...it's a shame that the government would not heed to requests to stop the attacks and destruction," he said."I hope this is a lesson because this is a show that there are people who are willing to take politics too far.""I told the officers in charge to allow lawyer Orengo to access the premises...I talked to them but they refused to 'let him in' and insisted they had orders from above." he stated."The President started this when he threatened the Judiciary and has continued for the past few weeks. We now are witnessing a rogue security apparatus being used at will by the government but they will not derail our efforts to make Kenya a better country," he noted."Jimmy Wanjigi is no stranger to Uhuru Kenyatta because we have been here and we know it was just a set up by the government. The weapons found in the house in Malindi were recovered in the sea in 2012 so we are just witnessing a secret vendetta," he said.Orengo condemned the raid saying the government was behind it as the orders speculated from above were from the highest post in the government."It is very sad that we have witnessed a show of a failed state. Police should also be ashamed of not obeying orders from the courts," he said.The government has been busy blocking all roads for the opposition to thrive in the elections. Jubilee government blocked the Supreme court financier, kicked out the Non-Governmental organization and later executed people who were seen to block jubilee victory towards the August elections."They planned to execute the Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and they failed, they also planned to assassinate the Homa bay women representative Gladys Wanga but failed terribly and they tried Embakasi east Mp Babu Owino but public shame the government. We fought for Multi-partyism and we succeeded, we fought for democracy and Former president retired, we are now fighting for liberation and democracy for the next generation." Siaya Senator James Orengo said.NASA coalition is now planning for a parallel rally/celebration for the Mashujaa day. The statehouse spokesperson Manou Espisu also confirmed that Sunday will be a National prayer day as the country is facing a political and economic crisis.
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The Weeknd returned to Houston looser and livelier  but with the same arsenal of emotive hits.

The singer born Abel Tesfaye was here in May for a sold-out show at Toyota Center. He returned Tuesday to the venue on a new leg of his Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour.

It was, as expected, much of the same from the earlier stop, including massive set pieces meant to look like a spaceship, a runway that reached almost to the back of the venue and a crowd who knew every word of every song.

ICONIC: Whitney Houston brought her Bodyguard Tour to The Summit 23 years ago

That familiarity is reflected in his sales numbers.

The Weeknd was recognized this week by the Recording Industry Association of America as the only artist to earn a two-times platinum album, "Starboy," released in the last year that also includes four platinum or higher songs. (Platinum status certifies sales of 1 million copies.)

The "Starboy" single is five times platinum. "I Feel It Coming" is two times platinum. "Party Monster" and "Reminder" are both platinum. He was also recognized for earning 11 platinum or multiplatinum certified songs during the last five years.

Onstage, he was more relaxed in his presence and rawer in his vocal delivery. Opening song "Starboy" was accentuated with runs. He literally kicked his way through "Party Monster" and "Reminder."

The songs fed into each other, and there were frequent shout outs to Houston. He zipped solo through collaborations with Drake ("Crew Love"), Ty Dolla $ign ("Or Nah") and opener Nav, who returned for "Some Way."

SOOTHING SOUNDS: B.o.B., Lyric Michelle, DJ Chose highlight Harvey relief concert

"Often" and "Acquainted" typified The Weeknd's balance of mood and momentum, both enthusiastic singalongs built on dark emotion. And there's no denying the pop propulsion of the final stretch of songs: "Secrets," "Can't Feel My Face," "I Feel it Coming" and "The Hills."

"We have to come back to Houston at least one more time this year," he told the crowd. Given the fervent reception, a third time would indeed be a charm. And likely another sellout.

Rapper French Montana's opening set included a cameo by Slim Thug. The Houston native has a towering presence and laidback charisma that overshadowed much of Montana's performance.

Montana returned later in the show with recent hit "Unforgettable," which was sandwiched into The Weeknd's set. It felt more like a break for the headliner to catch his breath.
A Houston man suspected of trafficking methamphetamine through Southeast Texas pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Jeffrey Clive Arnold, 35. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, spokeswoman Davilyn Walston said in a press release.
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A mom and her five children have died after their Hardin County residence caught fire early Wednesday morning, according to information from the sheriff's office.

Firefighters responded to a call from neighbors about a fire in the 8700 block of Fountain Drive just north of Silsbee at 12:15 a.m., Sheriff Mark Davis told BeaumontEnterprise.com.

Inside officials the found the bodies of the woman and her children, ranging in ages from 3 to 11 which included one set of twins. Randy Feldschau, pastor of Cathedral in the Pines Church, identified the adult victim as Ashley Pickering.

They lived in a freestanding apartment behind another home that belonged to the grandparents, Davis said. That home was not damaged.

The Hardin County Sheriff's Office is working the investigation with the Texas State Fire Marshals to determine the cause of the blaze but Davis said that preliminary investigations do not indicate suspicious circumstances.

"It's just horrendous," Davis said. "It is a sad and unfortunate incident that claimed the life of an entire family. I think everyone is in a state of shock and it has been very emotional for the firemen at the scene ... There wasn't a dry eye. "

Justice of Peace Charles Brewer has ordered autopsies to be performed at the Jefferson County Morgue for all six victims, Davis said.

The two eldest children were students at Silsbee Elementary and Edwards-Johnson Memorial Silsbee Middle School, according to Communications Director Daniel Elizondo.

The Silsbee Independent School District released the following statement:

"Silsbee ISD is deeply saddened to learn the news of a family in Silsbee that lost their lives in a house fire. News of this nature is not easy by any means, especially in our a close-knit community. We offer prayers to those close to the family and our first responders as they cope with this devastating tragedy. We have learned two children lost in this fire were students at Silsbee ISD, and our staff will be offering support to the campuses as needed. Silsbee ISD will ensure that our students and staff will be comforted during this difficult time."

There will be two vigils for the family tonight: One at 6:30 p.m. at Silsbee High School, and one from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Cathedral of the Pines Church in Beaumont.

Updates will follow as more information becomes available.
Two-thirds of businesses in Northern Ireland have said that they are finding it more difficult to recruit workers from the EU more than a year on from the vote for Brexit.

And, according to the latest quarterly economic survey from the NI Chamber of Commerce and BDO, the overall economic results are "uninspiring".

Around half of local manufacturers said they were set to raise prices on goods due to a surge in rising costs.

As for the impact of Brexit, two-thirds of companies across the sectors said recruiting EU migrant workers was now more difficult than before the vote to leave. Around one-quarter of firms also said they had difficulty in retaining workers over the last three months.

Overall, the results show that the Northern Ireland economy continued to grow during the quarter, although there were some signs of a slowing, despite a positive performance in export markets.

Ann McGregor, NI Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said: "The uninspiring results we see in our third quarter findings reflect the fact that political uncertainty, the vagaries of the Brexit process and the resulting currency fallout are continuing to weigh on business growth prospects.

"The slump in sterling is pushing up sourcing costs for importers. Businesses are coming under increasing pressure to pass these costs onto customers at a time when their spending power is already squeezed."

Around one in five companies said that they had been impacted as a result of the vote for Brexit, while a third said it had affected their plans for growth or expansion.

As for the role of EU workers, 17% of firms said they were "very important" to business.

But for larger companies with more than 250 employees, that number shoots up to 38%.

Brian Murphy, managing partner at BDO Northern Ireland, said: "Currency is of course only one factor impacting upon performance, but the latest quarterly economic survey indicates firms are responding to concerns with revised and realistic expectations of sustained or improved turnover and more modest profit margins.

"The next few months may see rising prices and a squeeze on some sectors, but despite the challenges we remain well placed to ride out the turbulence."

A greater number of businesses, around 55%, are increasingly concerned about currency fluctuations and the weak pound impacting on imports and increasing the cost base.
A Co Tyrone manufacturer has landed a 3.6m deal to export its trailers to Norway.

Nugent Engineering has announced a major partnership in a three-year deal with trailer company Tysse.

The Dungannon firm, which employs around 78 staff, will supply its range of commercial trailers to the company.

Nugent Engineering managing director Shane Nugent says the deal is "a very encouraging development for a local company securing its place in the international marketplace".

"The interest in Nugent is increasing because Europe is fast becoming a market for high quality, robust trailers. Demand is showing a new generation of consumers, particularly in the Norwegian market, which has the highest number of trailers per capita due to its geography and rugged terrain. We are confident that this deal will dramatically increase our demand in Europe and, in turn, will lead to further job creation," he added.
Britain's Got Talent will be on the hunt for the next big thing at two Northern Ireland venues next month.

Preliminary auditions will take place at Fairhill Shopping Centre in Ballymena on Tuesday, November 7 from 12pm-4pm.

The centre's managers have said the auditions will take place in the old HMV unit opposite Debenhams.

Meanwhile, CastleCourt Shopping Centre in Belfast will also host auditions on Friday, November 17 from 11am - 5pm.

Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

During the upcoming BGT auditions, hopefuls will perform for the show's producers.

They will then decide whether or not each auditionee will be put forward to perform for judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.

The 2017 Britain Got Talent title was won by 33-year-old musician Tokio Myers, who received 250,000 and a spot in the Royal Variety Performance.

Two Northern Ireland acts made the live semi-final shows - St Patricks Primary School Junior Choir, from Rathfriland, Co Down and Omagh man Ryan Tracey who attempted to break the world balloon modelling record while blindfolded.

Britain's Got Talent will return to ITV in 2018.
Angela Scanlon is the redhead who outshines - literally - broadcasting queens Davina McCall and Holly Willoughby in the current TV ads for Garnier hair colourants.

The Irish presenter landed the glossy commercial alongside the famous twosome after she made a sparkling impression on BBC's The One Show and on the Robot Wars series, which she co-hosts with Dara O Briain.

Belfast-bound on November 16 to host this year's Royal Television Society (RTS) NI Programme Awards at The MAC, the vibrant 33-year-old can hardly believe her luck.

"I grew up watching Davina doing those ads; it was surreal to find myself there beside her," she says. "I kept thinking, 'have they made a mistake? When are they going to throw me out?'

"I never thought TV work was an option - I didn't plan to be in this job; no-one in my family and nobody I knew was, either. It happened by accident."

Now London-based, Angela grew up "outdoorsy and tomboyish" in Ratoath, Co Meath, half an hour's drive from Dublin, where she has an apartment. She's the second eldest of four girls; her parents own a construction company and she credits them with giving her an independent streak, having encouraged her and her sisters, as children, to make cakes and jam to sell to the neighbours.

That early entrepreneurial training led Angela - who's known for her intelligence and quick wit - into a business course after she left school, and a handbag stall in Dublin city centre.

"I'd no notion of doing media studies," she recalls. "I started selling bags imported from London at a stall outside Powerscourt Shopping Centre while I was still a student.

"I ended up doing personal shopping to make money and through that I got asked to do styling for Xpose on TV3 and Off The Rails on RTE, which was great experience.

"I'd get a call from Xpose in the morning to come in and do a piece at 1.30pm and I'd have to book the models, do the styling and the commentary. I learned how to produce very quickly."

This gave the charismatic newcomer the experience to pitch herself for presentation roles and self-made documentaries, including Angela Scanlon's Naked Truth and Oi! Ginger, on the perception of redheads and the reactions invoked by the flame-haired among us.

As her fame grew, she was even given her own column in the Irish Independent Weekend magazine.

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"I was a bit of a giddy messer at school but I'm naturally curious and I did love writing - although I cringe when I read my diaries from back then," she admits. "I loved writing my column for the Independent; it was good to branch out from fashion. But I was travelling a lot then for TV work and I couldn't keep it up."

Cited as one of Vogue magazine's Ones to Watch in 2013, Angela was chosen to co-present RTE's Getaways travel show with Belfast's Joe Lindsay, and reported from destinations such as Croatia, Italy and Majorca. Based in Belfast for her segment on the Causeway Coast, she developed a genuine affinity with the city.

"There's a slightly different humour in the north - very wry and dry," she remarks, before launching into an uncannily accurate Belfast accent. "I tuned in fairly quickly. There were a few colloquialisms I was completely unaware of, like, having a 'wee biccie' with every cup of tea."

"But there's not a massive difference between northerners and southerners. I love Belfast; it's a great city."

Filming for the first series of Getaways coincided with Angela's marriage in June 2014 to her long-term boyfriend, eco entrepreneur Roy Horgan, from Cork. While putting the finishing touches to her Wicklow wedding plans, she managed to fit in a modelling job for Japanese Elle magazine between filming for Getaways. On the big day, she wore a custom-designed vintage-style dress by Offaly designer Sorcha O'Raghallaigh, who has previously created costumes for Lady Gaga.

"I designed my wedding dress myself, which made it really special but a slight disaster - it started out as a two-piece and I was still sewing it together before I walked up the aisle," she laughs (she has a big dirty laugh and huge open-mouth smile, like actress Kate Hudson's).

"With the Getaways filming, we barely had time for a honeymoon. It felt like I was everywhere and nowhere, which is quite unsettling in many ways. It wasn't normal."

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She left Dublin in 2016 to pursue television work in London, living with Roy in Hackney, initially. The couple moved to a more spacious house in a leafier area recently, near her friends Sharon Horgan and Amy Huberman, where she takes to the couch to binge-watch drama series when she manages to get some time off.

"Roy's a Game of Thrones fan - he says I ruin it for him by constantly commenting on technical things, like the camera angles and the cutaway shots," she chuckles.

"We've both lived here for three years - I don't think I could cope if Roy wasn't based here too. He's a self-employed businessman. He likes to keep out of the spotlight."

With that, the listening-in PR person on the line asks me "to move on" from personal questions, her presence a sure sign of Angela's now starry status across the water. She remains unpretentious and chatty, however, and slightly incredulous at her rapid ascent to celebrity.

Following in the footsteps of her fellow countrymen Graham Norton and Dara O'Briain, she gets invited to all the best parties in central London.

"I was at a reception in the Irish embassy in honour of Gloria Hunniford - I met her and Eamonn Holmes there," she enthuses. "Eamonn's absolutely brilliant. I was more aware of Eamonn, growing up, than Gloria, as we were always plugged into the Irish channels.

"I love him; he's so much fun and really supportive. He contacted me via Twitter to offer his support, which was so brilliant - I'm sure he has a lot to be getting on with. And Gloria's a force of nature. She's lovely and she's still a knock-out - she's a little ball of energy and as fresh as a daisy. She's still so passionate about what she does."

She adds Claudia Winkleman, Zoe Ball and Emma Willis to the list of broadcasters she admires, as well as the late Terry Wogan. She has a very Irish gift of the gab and the ability to think on her feet, an essential prerequisite for live television presenting.

Earlier this year she hosted The One Show with Matt Baker, while Alex Jones was on maternity leave, and she joined the programme again this summer for a special week from the Antrim Coast.

She says: "I can't wait to head back to Belfast to host the television awards. Northern Ireland is a real hub of creativity internationally with award-winning productions like Game of Thrones, Line of Duty, The Commute and The Fall - I love Gillian Anderson and the sheer scale of the production on Game of Thrones is breathtaking.

"It has done so much for tourism. It's a massive boost to a tiny place like Northern Ireland. It could have been a flop but it has blown everyone away."

Much admired for her sense of style, she hopes to find "something vintage" to wear to the RTS Awards. She isn't averse to flea markets and she likes quirky design.

"I love Simone Rocha - I went to her show at London Fashion Week," she says. "She doesn't radically change her collections from season to season; the clothes are so ethereal. I'm not girly at all when it comes to fashion, though. I'm quite practical.

"There was a grey Prada jacket with beading down the side I wore for a photoshoot recently, that I liked. It weighs a tonne. I don't spend that much on clothes or shoes or bags but I got a Balenciaga jacket for 280 once - that was a good bargain.

"I'm not into leggings - they are not trousers. You're only supposed to be wearing them when you're jogging. I like skinny jeans and runners. They don't have to be Converse but the best ever pair I wore were Converse."

It seems the world is currently Angela's oyster. She's now a regular on The One Show and Radio 2, and the go-to girl for music festival and awards night coverage, including the BAFTAs.

"There's other stuff in the pipeline I can't talk about," she adds, predictably. "The States? I've never thought about it. Although if an opportunity came up, hmmm, I wouldn't say no."
A Bible college in Northern Ireland will host a conference that will see participants pray for those addicted to pornography.

The organisers of The P Word Conference - a partnership between Christian campaigners in CARE and the Naked Truth Project - believe porn damages relationships, harms the brain and negatively affects society as a whole.

CARE's churches development officer for Northern Ireland, Tim Houston, said Christians need to confront the problem of pornography addiction.

"Pornography has never been more accessible, affordable, anonymous or addictive," he said. "Pornography use is widespread in our communities, including in our churches, and we need to address it due to the damaging impact it can have on those who watch it and those who are in the industry.

"Christians have a long reputation of standing up against harmful norms that have become commonplace in society today.

"This is another issue that we will not only speak out on, but partner with church leaders to equip them to talk about why we should tackle pornography addiction and pastor people through it.

"P Word resources the church to understand the social costs of pornography and gives leaders the tools needed to address the issue back in their churches and communities, leading to long term, positive change."

Prominent church leaders and leading experts will be gathering together on Friday to discuss, pray and tackle the issue of pornography that's impairing their congregations and communities.

The P Word Conference will be taking place at Belfast Bible College in Dunmurry on Friday, from 10am to 4pm.

Organisers said delegates will receive an understanding of the social costs of pornography but also be given practical tools to help them feel equipped to address porn in their churches and communities.

There will also be a prayer space, set up by 24-7 Prayer, for those who want to intercede and pray for this issue during the event.
Former US President Bill Clinton receiving an honorary doctorate from Dublin City University president Brian MacCraith earlier in the day

Former US President Bill Clinton at the Culloden Hotel after meeting with DUP leader Arlene Foster

Former US President Bill Clinton at the Culloden Hotel after meeting with DUP leader Arlene Foster

Former US president Bill Clinton has revealed that a peace building centre named in his honour and built on the site of the IRA's notorious 1987 Remembrance Day bombing will be revamped.

Since his first visit to Northern Ireland in 1995 Mr Clinton has been the most high-profile international champion of the peace process.

As he returned here yesterday, Mr Clinton held separate engagements with DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams and the republican party's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill.

The private discussions came as the two parties remain at loggerheads in negotiations to restore powersharing.

After his meeting with Mrs Foster, Mr Clinton announced a new educational initiative in her home constituency of Fermanagh.

An academic link-up involving Dublin City University, Ulster University and University of Massachusetts (UMass) will see the re-generation of the Clinton Centre in Enniskillen.

A permanent memorial to the 12 people killed in the Poppy Day massacre will be incorporated into the new-look centre.

"I think it is altogether fitting that there is going to be a monument to what happened at Enniskillen," said Mr Clinton.

"I think it is also important that this small community where a very big bad thing happened will able to launch good things for the future and I am thrilled."

Mrs Foster welcomed the initiative.

"It is a sad reality that Enniskillen is known to many across the world as a result of the 1987 bomb in the town," she said.

"I have worked with many of the survivors of that bomb.

"A permanent memorial for the victims being incorporated into the remodelled Clinton Centre will be a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives and those who still live with the scars."

At the start of his comments, the former president told the DUP leader he did not like describing her as "former" first minister and expressed hope the institutions would be back up and running soon.

"We are going to get this going again I think," he said.

After meeting with Mr Clinton elsewhere in Belfast, Mrs O'Neill said: "We had a wide-ranging discussion on a number of issues including the current difficulties facing the political process, efforts to restore the political institutions on the basis of rights and equality and the implications of Brexit."

Mr Clinton had been due to fly to Northern Ireland on Monday but the trip was postponed due to Storm Ophelia.
Marvi Kashkoush, who passed away at the weekend, with his wife Edith

A Ballycastle grandfather who fled Iraq's invasion of Kuwait over 25 years ago before making Northern Ireland his home has passed away from cancer.

Marvi Kashkoush died peacefully aged 68 on Saturday night at the Causeway Hospital after fighting his illness for 13 months longer than his doctors expected.

A family notice said he was the "beloved husband of Edith and much loved father of Christopher and Michael, father-in-law to Danielle and Arlene as well as loving grandfather of Sophia and Ariana."

Photographer Kevin McAuley, his close friend of 27 years, said he remembered a true friend who shared a common passion for amateur radio.

Posting his tribute on social media, Mr McAuley said he first met Mr Kashkoush after knocking on his door with a journalist for a story.

"The family had fled Kuwait during its invasion by Iraq in 1990 and ended up in Ballycastle," he recalled.

"Having no idea what sort of a reception we would get, we knocked the door around 2pm and left at about 6pm, the rest was history."

Describing Mr Kashkoush as "a great man for a yarn," the two discovered many common interests. "Marvi had an incredible talent when it came to the mechanics of how anything worked or functioned, unreal," he said.

"He was my all-round repair man in every sense of the word. He could be called at any time of the day or night."

It also helped, he said, that Mr Kashkoush had a fascination for news, "be it up the street or on the other side of the world".

He added: "He loved the sea and we made many trips to all sorts of places. He helped me with many things to do with amateur radio, with no real interest in the actual hobby. One day he rang me and said 'I can't beat you, so I am joining you'."

Mr Kashkoush soon became popular with many who shared the same hobby around the world.

"He was a very regular and popular person on all bands," said Mr McAuley.

"People across the world ask me about him when I am transmitting. He was the type that you never forgot, if you spoke to him.

"He was one of the kindest people I ever came across in my travels. Nothing was ever a trouble, he would have done anything for anybody at any time.

"A lot of people could learn a lot from Marvi about the common hand of friendship, and kindness."

Mr Kashkoush's funeral takes place at 4pm tomorrow at Roselawn Crematorium.
Just 600 homes in Northern Ireland were without power last night after the Storm Ophelia clean-up got under way.

NIE Networks said it had restored power to the majority of the 53,000 customers affected by the storm following a Northern Ireland-wide effort to repair the damage to the electricity network.

Its emergency crews and engineers worked through last night in some areas, but due to the extent of the damage, small pockets of customers in the worst affected areas, mainly the South East, still had no power overnight.

Meanwhile, a school in south Belfast is set to re-open today despite losing it's roof to Ophelia's violent winds.

St Joseph's College on the Ravenhill Road sustained the worst damage of any school in Northern Ireland as 80mph winds ripped through.

The worst storm to batter our shores since 1961 ripped the top of the roof off one of the school's buildings on Monday.

However, a contractor has already been out to view the damage and secure the building temporarily, and the school is set to re-open this morning.

All schools across Northern Ireland closed on Monday and Tuesday on the orders of the Department of Education.

A spokesman for the Education Authority (EA) said that it had received no other reports of major damage to any other schools in Northern Ireland.

The EA has advised principals to examine their premises and reported any damage caused by the storm.

Chief executive Gavin Boyd wrote to principals yesterday thanking them for their co-operation this week, adding he wants the focus to be on getting schools back to normal as soon as possible.

"I would like to thank you for your cooperation over the last few days as we have all worked to ensure the safety of all of our children and young people," he stated.

"I understand that it has been a disruptive few days and the efforts of school staff are greatly appreciated in keeping parents informed in challenging circumstances.

Mr Boyd went on to advise principals to carry out a full check of their school premises if they have not already done so.

The EA chief also confirmed that school transport arrangements will be in place today, but warned that the storm damage has caused some road closures.

"Where road closures impact on transport arrangements, some pupils may be required to access school transport at alternative locations temporarily. We will seek to keep any disruption to a minimum and we appreciate continued cooperation from schools, pupils and parents," he added.

Rural insurer NFU Mutual estimated that the devastating gales affecting Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of Scotland could lead to claims costing 5m-10m.

NFU Mutual, which insures over 70% of UK farmers and thousands of rural homes and businesses in Northern Ireland, launched its emergency claims plan to speed help to its policyholders.

Martin Malone, NFU Mutual manager for Northern Ireland, said yesterday: "Based on what we are hearing today from our network of offices across Northern Ireland, damage appears to be mostly for slates or roofing sheets ripped from houses and farm buildings - together with damage to properties and vehicles from falling trees. This morning, we had 52 claims reported to us by Northern Ireland policyholders.

"However, with policyholders only now able to check damage as the winds subside, this is likely to rise."

It also emerged that Northern Ireland's emergency planning group did not meet until 2pm on Monday - two hours after weather alerts highlighted the storm then posed a risk to life.

It was revealed on the BBC's Nolan Show that the Civil Contingency Group did not meet face to face until the storm has already started battering many parts of Ireland.

A similar organisation in the Republic, the National Emergency Coordination Group, had been in continuous session from 10.30am on Sunday morning.

Interviewed on the Nolan Show, former PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan said that Northern Ireland's methods for dealing with potential disaster were out of date.

He added: "On one level it seems strange, on another (level) we have to remember that we don't have a government at the moment.

"The civil servants are there but there are no ministers. And unfortunately it's like being someone who has had a stroke, the brain has ceased to function and it doesn't work the way it should."

A statement from Stormont's Executive Office said: "The Met Office first alerted responders to Ophelia on Friday 13 with a yellow warning.

"The upgrading of the Met Office warning to an amber alert on Sunday resulted in the convening of a multi-agency teleconference meeting later that day."
A man arrested the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Taskforce has been charged for being a membership of a proscribed organisation.

A man arrested by the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Taskforce has been charged with membership of a proscribed organisation.

The 32-year-old was arrested during an investigation into the activities of the UDA in west Belfast.

Besides membership of a proscribed organisation, the individual has also been charged for the offence of being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs.

These charges have been reported to the PPS.

He is due before Laganside Magistrates Court on Thursday morning.
A handout satellite image captured by the The Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellites OLCI instrument on October 11, 2017 and released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Octob er 15, 2017 shows Hurricane Ophelia over the Atlantic Ocean about 1300 km southwest of the Azores islands. Hurricane Ophelia strengthened to a Category 3 storm as it passed near the Portuguese Azores archipelago on Octoer 14 on route for Ireland. Five counties in the west of Ireland will be placed on red alert for "severe" weather conditions from October 16 morning to early October 17, the Irish Meteorological Service said. / AFP PHOTO / EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ESA " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -/AFP/Getty Images

This satellite image released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Ophelia on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. The remnants of Ophelia could bring 80 mile an hour (130 kilometer an hour) wind gusts, disruption and damage to Ireland and Britain as the work week gets underway, weather services said Sunday. (NOAA via AP)

Met Eireann forecaster Evelyn Cusack at a meeting of the National Emergency Coordination group in Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday October 15, 2017. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia Ireland. Weather forecasters are warning of a potential threat to life as Hurricane Ophelia is set to batter Ireland. Photo credit should read: PA Wire

PENARTH, WALES - OCTOBER 16: A woman photographs the sun rise at Penarth Pier as Hurricane Ophelia approaches the west coast of the United Kingdom on October 16, 2017 in Penarth, Wales. The hurricane comes exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 which killed 18 people and is estimated to have caused 1bn in damage to property and infrastructure. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

A fisherman looks on at Penarth Pier as Ophelia approaches the west coast of the United Kingdom on October 16, 2017 in Penarth, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

A man uses a smartphone camera at the 40 Foot swimming area on the Irish Sea coast at Glenageary, County Dublin, on October 16, 2017 as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

A man takes a swim at the 40 Foot swimming area on the Irish Sea coast at Glenageary, County Dublin, on October 16, 2017 as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia. Schools were closed on October 16 as Ireland braced for an "unprecedented storm", with authorities warning that violent winds, rain and storm surges could pose a risk to life. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Empty streets in Kilkee, Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph.Niall Carson/PA Wire

A man takes a swim at Sandycove, southeast of Dublin on the Irish Sea coast, on October 16, 2017 as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

A woman walks her dog in the coastal village of Carrigaholt on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia batters the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. Niall Carson/PA Wire

Pedestrians pass as dark clouds gather at Dublin Bay on October 16, 2017 as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia. Schools were closed on October 16 as Ireland braced for an "unprecedented storm", with authorities warning that violent winds, rain and storm surges could pose a risk to life. Ophelia, the largest hurricane ever recorded so far east in the Atlantic Ocean, was downgraded to a storm before it hit the Irish coast but the Met Eireann national weather service warned people to remain indoors. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

A ship at anchor off of Carrigaholt on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. Niall Carson/PA Wire

A man loads the boot of a car with sandbags to protect homes on the Dublin Bay coast on the outskirts of Dublin on October 16, 2017 as Ireland braces for the passing of the storm Ophelia. Schools were closed on October 16 as Ireland braced for an "unprecedented storm", with authorities warning that violent winds, rain and storm surges could pose a risk to life. Ophelia, the largest hurricane ever recorded so far east in the Atlantic Ocean, was downgraded to a storm before it hit the Irish coast but the Met Eireann national weather service warned people to remain indoors. / AFP PHOTO / Ben STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. A lone busker from Japan faces a tough day ahead as the city centre streets continue to empty. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 Belfast City Centre shuts down ahead of storm Ophelia. Business closed their doors with employees being sent home for safety as Ireland north and south braces for the storm. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

A woman braces as waves crash on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

People battle the waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A woman walks past waves crashing on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

A man take selfies in waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Waves break on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

People take selfies in waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A couple watch waves break on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Members of the public take photographs of waves crashing on the sea wall at Penzanze, Cornwall, as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

People battle the waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th October 2017 The scene on the Albertbridge in East Belfast after the front of a building collapsed as Hurricane Ophelia begins to batter the city. Photo by Matt Mackey

People take selfies in waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday October 16, 2017. The tropical storm has made its way across the Atlantic and Ophelia's remnants reached home shores on Monday, resulting in "exceptional" weather - exactly 30 years after the Great Storm of 1987 killed 18 people. See PA story WEATHER Ophelia. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire

A man take selfies in waves and high wind at Lahinch in County Clare on the West Coast of Ireland as Hurricane Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland with gusts of up to 80mph. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Storm Ophelia reaches the coastline of Warrenpoint on October 16th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

A fallen tree is cleared from a road off the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast as clear up begins after storm Ophelia. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Over 50,000 homes and businesses were left without power in the wake of Storm Ophelia in Northern Ireland with some 850 still without electricity.

Worst affected areas include remain in the Newry and Downpatrick areas.

Northern Ireland Electricity said the storm caused "widespread damage" to the network throughout Monday and into Tuesday. The clear up has begun with numerous roads around the country still blocked by fallen trees. Some seaside homes were evacuated and all schools closed.

The Republic faced the full force of the storm with hundreds of thousands cut off and near quarter of a million still without power on Tuesday morning. The storm claimed the lives of three people. A man was killed as he tried to clear a tree with a chainsaw and two others died in road incidents. In a call with Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her sympathies and offered her support.

Schools are to reopen on Wednesday.

Read More

<< Below is our live blog on how the storm unfolded across Northern Ireland >>
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar seeing the work of ESB network crews who were repairing damaged power lines

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Sinn Fein and the DUP are no longer close to a deal to restore power-sharing at Stormont.

The Taoiseach admitted that hopes which surfaced last week of an imminent agreement had now dwindled.

He said the "big things" were not being dealt with in Northern Ireland because the two main parties were "arguing about the intricacies of an Irish Language Act".

On the reasons for the lack of progress, he said: "I will let the different parties account for themselves as to what went wrong."

Mr Varadkar was speaking during a visit to areas in Co Kildare hit by Storm Ophelia.

When asked about the chances of a political breakthrough at Stormont, he said: "At the moment they're not close to a deal.

"Things did look encouraging at the start of last week and became less favourable during the week."

Mr Varadkar listed the pressing problems Northern Ireland faced in the absence of a functioning government.

"There are big things to deal with," he said.

"Brexit could have a huge impact on Northern Ireland. Their public services are about to run out of money because the budget allocation is running out.

"They have big challenges in their health service and ... they are facing some very severe water damage and, meanwhile, both the DUP and Sinn Fein are arguing about the intricacies of an Irish Language Act.

"It would seem to me that what the people of Northern Ireland want is for their politicians to get together and start looking after the business of Northern Ireland and making sure Northern Ireland has a unique voice in these negotiations on Brexit."

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has criticised the Taoiseach over his remarks regarding Irish unity in an interview with BBC's Spotlight last night.

"I wouldn't like us to get to the point whereby we are changing the constitutional position here in Northern Ireland on a 50% plus one basis," Mr Varadkar said.

"One of the best things about the Good Friday Agreement is that it did get very strong cross border support - that's why there was a 70% for it.

"I don't think that there would be a 70% vote for a united Ireland in the morning, for example, or anything remotely close to that.

"And I really think we should focus on making the agreement that we have work." In response, Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy said the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland supported Irish unity.

"The Irish government should reflect that and defend the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, including the right of a majority to vote for a united Ireland," he added.

"The Good Friday Agreement is absolutely clear in enshrining the right of the Irish people to self-determination through referenda, north and south.

"If a simple majority vote in favour of reunification, both governments are then obliged to legislate for it. The Good Friday Agreement is the legal and internationally-biding position."

Mr Murphy said there was "an onus" on Dublin "to plan for unity, to become a persuader for unity, to build the maximum agreement and to secure and win a referendum on unity".

As a "co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, the Taoiseach should be "seeking to defend the agreement in all its parts, not seeking to undermine it," he added. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood urged the Taoiseach to stick to what was decided by politicians in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

"While the SDLP continue to work as persuaders for unity and want to see the largest possible endorsement across the island, the Good Friday Agreement provides that a simple majority is the mechanism," he said.

"It would be unwise to attempt to re-negotiate the principle of consent at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement.

"It is what the Irish people, North and South, signed up to in 1998."

In a wide-ranging interview with Spotlight, Mr Varadkar also spoke candidly about Brexit, his decision to come out as a gay man, and his family's role in the struggle for independence in India.
Stormont has paid over 500,000, which Jim Allister said was squandered, on catering and broadcasting

More than half a million has been spent on catering and broadcasting at Stormont over the last ten months - despite the collapse of devolution.

Over 300,000 of public money was spent on a broadcasting contract since January despite the fact that neither the Assembly sittings nor committees have been taking place regularly.

And more than 200,000 has been spent in the same period to subsidise catering services at Parliament Buildings.

Power-sharing collapsed in January after the late deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned from his post in protest over the handling of the RHI scheme.

A small number of sittings took place at the end of January and one on March 13, but it has been far from business as usual at Stormont.

Talks have so far failed to result in an agreement to restore power-sharing arrangements.

In the past week DUP leader Arlene Foster said "substantial issues remain to be resolved".

The spending figures emerged following a series of Assembly Questions asked by TUV leader Jim Allister.

The biggest sum is being spent on keeping the broadcasting contract, which the Assembly Commission renegotiated in July. When Stormont is active, sittings of the full Northern Ireland Assembly, known as plenaries, are broadcast live on the Assembly website. Committee meetings are also shown.

Mr Allister was told that broadcasting services and equipment are being kept in a state of readiness for the return of MLAs.

It was stated: "The Assembly Commission agreed a variation to the broadcasting contract at its meeting on 5 July, 2017. The variation of a reduction of 7.5% to the existing monthly contract fee was initially agreed for a period of three months until 10 October.

"The decision to agree to extend the variation for a further three-month period until 10 January 2018, should it be required, was agreed at the most recent Assembly Commission meeting which took place on 25 September 2017.

"The normal monthly costs of the current broadcasting contract are 34,850.84. Under the current variation the monthly cost is 32,237.03."

Meanwhile, the cost of the catering subsidy has varied from month to month.

The Assembly Commission said: "Where the cost of providing these services exceeds the monies taken in, the extra cost is incurred by the Assembly.

"This operating cost is sometimes referred to as a subsidy."

In January the subsidy was 34,789.41, which dropped to 30,463.58 in February, 22,044.92 in March and then increased to 31,745.86 in April before dropping to 22,538.16 in May and to 9,037.14 in June.

But the subsidy increased to 34,065.70 in July and 28,967.59 in August.

Mr Allister queried the spending, which he says will "rightly raise questions as to why public money continues to be squandered on this project".

"The public are simply expected to pay up and look cheery. It could only happen in Stormont," he said.
Theresa May would not have needed DUP support in the House of Commons if the snap general election in June had taken place using revised plans for new constituency boundaries, leading polling experts have estimated.

And the DUP - which has hit out at the plan - would be playing second fiddle to Sinn Fein in terms of MPs, the experts indicated, if the number of Northern Ireland constituencies went down from 18 to 17.

The review of boundaries is aimed at reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600, representing broadly similar-sized electorates.

The calculations were based on revised recommendations by the three boundary commissions in Great Britain, as well as the initial proposals from the NI Boundary Commission which has not yet published revised plans.

The panel of experts calculated that under the revised boundaries, the DUP would have gone down from 10 seats to seven.

But they also suggest that Sinn Fein would have gone up from seven seats to nine.

North Down's Lady Sylvia Hermon would remain unaffected.

Mrs May's failure to secure a majority in June makes it highly unlikely that the reforms will now take place, with MPs - including the DUP - expected to vote them down.

A DUP spokesman said: "These are projections and estimates, not actual votes cast by the people of Northern Ireland.

"The DUP has been a consistent critic of the proposals to reduce the number of constituencies in the UK in general and Northern Ireland in particular.

"We want to see the greatest level of representation for Northern Ireland in Parliament."

In its submission to the Boundary Commission, the DUP had said it did not accept the body's initial recommendations.

"The DUP has consistently criticised the present legislation as much more likely to produce poor boundaries and the Commission's proposals appear to have gone out of their way to fulfil our concerns," the party stated.

"The end result of this flawed approach is an unnecessary level of change and constituencies that make statistical sense but very little else."

It added that the proposals "would produce an unrepresentative political result that would have the potential to have far-reaching and negative political consequences for the constitutional stability of Northern Ireland".

The calculations may provide ammunition for critics who argue the changes, if implemented, will have the impact of making it easier for Tories to win power.

The PM would have won a Commons majority of about 16 for the Conservatives under new rules, the experts reckoned.

The analysis was carried out by Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, emeritus professors of politics at the University of Plymouth and Associate Members of Nuffield College, Oxford. They were assisted by respected Northern Ireland elections pundit Nicholas Whyte.

The academics calculate that if the revised plans had been in place for the snap general election in June, the Conservatives could well have won an overall majority in the Commons, which is due to see a reduction in the number of MPs from 650 to 600 under the proposals.

Prof Rallings and Prof Thrasher said: "This suggests a Conservative majority of 16 - or effectively 25 if Sinn Fein are assumed not to take their seats."

They cautioned that these can only be estimates and that precise figures, such as on the swing needed to win a seat, would take longer to calculate and check.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Alistair Carmichael urged the Government to pull the plug on the plan, claiming it would take a "miracle" for the proposals to be approved by Parliament.

Mr Carmichael said: "The DUP will not wear this review. Nor will many Tory backbenchers. The Government should stop wasting public funds and bow to the inevitable."
The Prime Minister has said it is vital that Stormont's power-sharing Executive is restored so that local politicians can making decisions about Northern Ireland.

Theresa May discussed progress at the talks in a telephone call yesterday to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "They discussed the political situation in Northern Ireland and their shared concern over the lack of devolved government (for) nine months.

"Both leaders noted that while progress has been made over the past few weeks significant gaps still remained, including on Irish language, and it was up to the two main parties to overcome differences and reach agreement."

The Prime Minister had made it "absolutely clear" that it was in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland to see an Executive up and running "so that local decisions could be made by local politicians", the No.10 spokeswoman said.

Responding to Mrs May's comments, Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill said the Tory Government wasn't a "neutral broker".

Ms O'Neill said: "Their reckless and partisan approach is a central cause of the current crisis.

"Whitehall's repeated austerity cuts to the north's block grant and the refusal to implement the legacy agreement from Stormont House have badly undermined the sustainability of the power-sharing institutions and our ability to deal effectively with the past.

"They have refused to progress the Bill of Rights and Irish Language Act, formed a formal political partnership with the DUP at Westminster and are pursuing a hard Brexit which further undermines past agreements and the political process here."

Mrs O'Neill said if the talks were to succeed, there must be "a step change in the British Government approach and a clear demonstration that past agreements and any new commitments will be honoured".

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Office minister Chloe Smith said the Executive needs to be up and running as soon as possible so its voice can be heard at the Brexit talks.

Speaking at a British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary made up of elected members from Britain, the Republic and Northern Ireland in Liverpool yesterday, she stressed that time to restore the political institutions was quickly running out.

"In order to make real progress with prosperity in Northern Ireland we need a functioning, effective devolved government," she said.

"A devolved government that can contribute to the important discussions about how the UK will leave the EU, alongside the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales."

Ms Smith insisted that it was down to the country's two largest parties to come together and make the agreement.

"The issues that remain to be resolved between the parties are small in number but no one should underestimate how difficult this gap is for the parties to bridge," she said.

Ms Smith said if agreement wasn't reached soon, James Brokenshire would have to carefully consider the next steps available to him. He has previously warned that he will pass a budget for Northern Ireland in the House of Commons by the end of the month if there isn't a political breakthrough.

"It would be with great regret and reluctance that increased political decision-making from Westminster would become a reality," Ms Smith said.

"But, if a deal is not reached imminently, that greater involvement, beginning with Westminster legislation to set a 2017-18 budget for Northern Ireland, risks becoming inevitable." Ms Smith said.

Brexit minister Robin Walker told delegates that leaving the EU wouldn't mean a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

"We place a huge value on the relationship between Ireland and the UK and the issues unique to Ireland and Northern Ireland will always be at the forefront of the negotiations," he said.
Nadeen and David McInteggart from Bangor said some of their guests werent able to attend due to the storm

A newlywed couple had a cliffhanger of a wedding shoot during Storm Ophelia - at rocky Ramore Head on the north coast.

Amber and Thomas Hamilton, both 30, appeared windswept but happy as Ophelia raged around them and waves crashed at the foot of the Portrush cliffs.

After the ceremony at the local Town Hall, an adventurous photographer suggested going up to Ramore Head to take some dramatic shots for their wedding album.

Ali and Laura Photography, which took the photos, said: "It was windy but it added to the dramatic feel and made the best images.

"The couple were completely up for it and didn't mind the windswept look. It was windy but once we were up there we made sure the bride and groom held on to each other tight."

Their first dance was to Ophelia by The Lumineers, chosen from an album that the couple played as they travelled from New Orleans to Amber's home of Wisconsin last year.

They met in April 2016 after some of their friends did a spot of matchmaking at a wedding. Amber had come to the UK to study in London and went to a friend's wedding where Thomas was a member of the band.

Amber said: "He was seated at the top table with me, which was odd as he wasn't a member of the wedding party. I think my friends had arranged it, but didn't expect just how well we would get on."

Amber, a paper restorer, added: "A hurricane was the last thing I was expecting on my wedding day.

"We had some friends come over from New Orleans who had experienced Hurricane Katrina and they couldn't believe that they had come to Ireland and got caught in a hurricane."

Thomas, a shop manager, said: "I think the hurricane happening was definitely a talking point. We both wanted to get closer to the cliff because we're adventurous but we had to stay safe."

Meanwhile, Bangor couple Nadeen (29) and David McInteggart (32) also tied the knot on Monday, exactly 11 years after they first set eyes on each other.

Unfortunately, the weather meant some of their guests were not able to attend the wedding, held at the picturesque Orange Tree House in Greyabbey, as Northern Ireland was battered.

Nadeen said: "We had been aware there might be rough weather a couple of days before but because we booked an October wedding we kind of knew that we might not get the best day. It was so typical of us to get married in the middle of a hurricane."

David added: "Everyone pulled together to make it work and the live band made a huge effort in coming down. The hurricane made our day a wee bit more memorable and I don't think it will be forgotten. All in all, it was a belter of a day."
A UVF flag was displayed in a Northern Ireland town hall during a loyalist band contest last weekend.

The flag was displayed at Carrickfergus Town Hall by a colour party for controversial Scottish band Greengairs Thistle which takes part every year in a parade on the Shankill Road to commemorate UVF killer Brian Robinson.

A video viewed more than 9,000 times on the Facebook page of the Shankill Road Defenders flute band shows the flag being held by a bearer in Greengairs Thistle's colour party for over half an hour as the band plays.

The town hall event was organised by the Shankill Road Defenders which also takes part in the annual Brian Robinson commemoration parade.

Robinson was killed by the SAS in 1989 after he shot dead Catholic man Paddy McKenna in a random sectarian attack as he walked along the Crumlin Road.

A wedding was moved from the town hall to accommodate the loyalist band contest.

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Local Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson last night said it was "deeply disturbing" that a paramilitary flag was on display in premises meant to be a shared space.

He called on Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to explain their vetting process for groups seeking to use their facilities.

A council spokeswoman said it would be "reviewing the footage provided by the Belfast Telegraph".

Ten bands took part in the competition in the packed town hall.

A website for Glengairs Thistle says the band is excluded from taking part in Orange Order parades.

It states that in 1987, it was summoned before the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland which objected to its uniform then "as the uniform had links with paramilitary organisations".

It continues: "The band were expelled for life and members of the band who were also members of the Orange Order were expelled from the order for life. The band were also expelled from all Orange social clubs".

The website notes the band's history of "working with the Loyalist Prisoners Welfare Association in Belfast" which "was set up to aid the men and women of the Ulster Volunteer Force who became incarcerated ... while fighting for their political beliefs".

Mr Dickson hit out at the displaying of the UVF flag at the council premises. The East Antrim MLA said: "Carrickfergus Town Hall is a facility for everyone and it's absolutely unacceptable to see flags in support of an illegal paramilitary organisation being flown openly.

"This should never have been allowed and I would challenge Mid and East Antrim Council to outline exactly what their vetting process is for groups seeking to use local facilities.

"And again, to those facilitating the event at the time, why were no interventions made?"

Mr Dickson expressed concern that a band "allegedly banned by the Orange Order in Scotland and not allowed to take part in any official events" was allowed "to turn Carrickfergus Town Hall into their own arena".

He added: "Flags and emblems like this are used to intimidate others.

"It is not the kind of environment the majority want to see facilitated in Carrickfergus - especially within our civic centre which should remain a shared space."

The Mid and East Antrim Borough Council spokeswoman said: "This booking is an annual melody concert run by the Shankill Road Defenders flute band who host a number of visiting bands.

"Council is reviewing this footage provided by the Belfast Telegraph."

In response to the moving of a wedding to Carrickfergus Castle to accommodate the band contest, the spokeswoman said: "There was a clash of bookings with a wedding party booked for the same venue on the same date.

"Council offered the couple the choice to relocate the ceremony to an alternative approved venue in close proximity to the town hall, which as a gesture of goodwill, council covered a small cost for the relocation."

Shankill Road Defenders had enlisted the help of former X Factor contestant Wagner to promote the band competition last week.

In a video Wagner, who had no knowledge that the UVF flag would be displayed, said people could look forward to "an evening of culture".
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks to media in Londonderry on Saturday next to the mayor of Donegal, Gerry McMonagle

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been branded insensitive and been urged to apologise for the "hurt and offence" caused after he was accompanied by an 'on-the-run' suspect on an official visit to Londonderry.

Shelley Gilfillan, niece of IRA murder victim Lexie Cummings, said she was outraged that Sinn Fein's Donegal mayor Gerry McMonagle, once suspected of the murder of her uncle, made up part of the Taoiseach's entourage during his visit on Saturday.

In 2012, DUP MP Jim Shannon used parliamentary privilege to accuse Mr McMonagle of the 1982 IRA murder of UDR man Mr Cummings in Strabane.

A week after the murder Mr McMonagle was arrested and remanded in custody until he was brought to trial a year later. When the trial started Mr McMonagle was released because papers were not properly countersigned and was promptly rearrested as he left court.

After being released for a second time, Mr McMonagle fled over the border, moving to Donegal, where he became a Sinn Fein councillor, mayor of Letterkenny and now mayor of Donegal. Ms Gilfillan said she has now written to both the PSNI and the Taoiseach to ask them to apologise for the "hurtful" incident.

"I have asked the police for a meeting and I have written to the Taoiseach. I really think that the Taoiseach should have done his homework and looked to see who he was bringing with him. This is very hurtful. An apology would be a start," she said.

Ulster Unionist justice spokesman Doug Beattie MLA said Mr Varadkar's move was insensitive and called for him to apologise for the offence caused to the Cummings family.

"It is inconceivable that someone in Leo Varadkar's office was unaware of the potential hurt that would be caused by standing beside this man. It was hugely insensitive," he said.

In 2010, Ms Gilfillan found out Mr McMonagle's name had been submitted by Sinn Fein as an 'on-the-run' when she received a report on the killing from the Historical Enquiries Team (HET).

The DUP's Gregory Campbell said that the PSNI Chief Constable had questions to answer.

"I will ask him if McMonagle is someone they have a continuing interest in and want to question and if he is, given the fact that he has appeared in Northern Ireland, are they planning to ensure that proceedings are put in place so that they can question him about any outstanding matters," he said.

Sinn Fein said Mr McMonagle was accompanying the Taoiseach "in his democratically elected capacity as the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council under the auspices of the North West Strategic growth partnership."

The Taoiseach's office declined to comment yesterday.
An employee who took off with almost 600 of perfume and make-up from a duty-free shop at Belfast International Airport has been warned the case meets the criteria for jail.

Suzanne McCormick (50), of Knockcairn Lodge in Dundrod, Co Antrim, admitted the single count of theft at Antrim Magistrates' Court yesterday. In July this year she stole items worth 573.33 from Aelia Duty Free Shop. A prosecutor said the defendant was a member of staff at the store and it was being treated as a "breach of trust". Adjourning the case, District Judge Liam McNally said he needed a pre-sentence report. He added he would take into account the defendant's clear record.
A man who burst into a courtroom and launched a foul-mouthed rant from the public gallery yesterday said he wanted his remarks covered by the local newspaper.

William Walter Kyles (46), of Greenpark Drive in Antrim, was at the town's Magistrates Court where he was due to be sentenced in relation to being disorderly at Antrim Area Hospital.

Before his defence lawyer Ben Thompson arrived, Kyles burst into the court, forcing other proceedings to be halted as he said: "I had to sign myself out of hospital for this f***** here, f****** b****** you." Mr Thompson said his client was sorry when his case was called. Sentencing was adjourned until November.
Secretary of State James Brokenshire has set a deadline for the Northern Ireland political talks before he is forced to set a budget.

Addressing the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee he said the absolute latest date for establishing an Executive in order for a budget to be set was the week commencing November 6.

Mr Brokenshire said that would be the latest opportunity for a budget to pass through the Assembly but if no deal was evident, he would need to begin the legislation process for the week beginning October 30 at Westminster. There would need to be a deal in place, or a clear indication there was a deal before that Monday.

He said legislating for a budget from London did not "denote" direct rule, but repeated "we're on a glide path to more Westminster intervention" and setting a budget was a significant step toward it.

"The landing lights will be on and landing gear coming down," he said, "clearly the ultimate destination could be direct rule."

Deal or no deal

Deal needed for Executive formation on week of November 6 to pass budget

No deal - legislation for budget at Westminster must begin on week of October 30

He said there had been no breakthrough in the talks and paid tribute to the "incredible" work of the civil service, but decisions needed to be made on matters such as budgets and contract renewals in the voluntary sectors as well as "loss of opportunities".

"But that could not continue," he said.

Mr Brokenshire said the focus was on restoring the institutions but he would need to legislate for a budget through Westminster by the end of October. He said for the Westminster parliament to legislate for a budget in Northern Ireland would be "significant and serious and a firm step backwards".

I might have indicated momentum and progress... that stalled last week.

"The prospects do not look positive at this time," he added.

"A breakthrough has not been reached. Whilst if I had given evidence to this committee last week, I might have indicated some momentum, some more positive progress, that momentum stalled at the end of last week.

"I would like the parties to recognise the spirit of compromise."

He said he recognised the public pressure on MLA pay and will keep the issue under examination and if there was no change would deal with the matter. Mr Brokenshire also rejected he wasn't acting impartially in light of the deal the DUP had struck with his party to operate a minority government.

Gregory Campbell asked the Secretary of State to consider differentiating between MLAs pay and office allowances to allow elected members to serve their constituents.

On his options, Mr Brokenshire said legally he could only call another election. Every other option needed to be legislated for at parliament, the minister said. He would not discuss a timetable for implementing full direct rule.

"The best possible outcome is for locally elected politicians to make decision and be held accountable by a locally elected assembly - that is the bedrock of the Belfast Agreement," he said.

Asked about the prospect of direct rule, Northern Ireland Office permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens said his department was "ready for a range of contingencies" and had been increasing its staff.

On Brexit, Mr Brokenshire said he was confident on a solution on the border and ruled out cameras. He also said political donations would be published "soon".
Former US president Bill Clinton arriving at the Culloden Hotel in Belfast for private engagements where it is understood he will meet with DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Prime Minister Theresa May and ex-US president Bill Clinton are to meet to discuss the Northern Ireland political impasse.

A Downing Street spokesman said the two would meet on Thursday in Number 10.

It comes after Mr Clinton visited Northern Ireland on Tuesday. He met separately with Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill for private meetings.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "He and the PM wanted to take this opportunity to discuss Northern Ireland and also the ongoing partnership between the Government and the Clinton Health Access Initiative's work to lower the cost of HIV/Aids treatment worldwide."

Earlier, Sinn Fein said the current talks process "had some way to go" but the end of the road was near after Secretary of State James Brokenshire said he will legislate for a budget from Westminster at the end of the month if there is no deal.

On Monday night the DUP leader said: "Northern Ireland needs government and if that cannot be achieved at Stormont then Westminster will be required to provide it.

Addressing DUP members and supporters in Co Tyrone Mrs Foster added she was "determined to try to achieve an agreement that can be supported by unionists and nationalists".

She said: "While solid progress has been made in some areas differences do remain and hurdles have yet to be overcome."
Theresa May is to discuss the current political situation in Northern Ireland with former US president Bill Clinton, Downing Street has said.

Mr Clinton, who has been visiting the UK and Ireland, will meet with the Prime Minister in Number 10 on Thursday.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "He and the PM wanted to take this opportunity to discuss Northern Ireland and also the ongoing partnership between the Government and the Clinton Health Access Initiative's work to lower the cost of HIV/Aids treatment worldwide."

As president, Mr Clinton played a key role in helping to secure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which led to power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

Currently the devolved institutions at Stormont remain suspended following collapse of the administration in January in the wake of the resignation of the late Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.

During his visit to Northern Ireland, Mr Clinton met privately with the leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, the two biggest parties in the assembly.

Mrs May's spokesman however made clear that he had not been used to deliver a message on behalf of the Government, although efforts to restore power-sharing were continuing.

"Obviously work is ongoing in trying to reach a solution to get the compromises that are necessary to get the devolved administration up and running again," the spokesman said.
The 27-year-old appeared in court in Enniskillen

A man has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of a young mother in a car crash.

Padraig Toher, 27, of Bawnboy Ballyconnell in Cavan, kept his head lowered as he stood in the dock at Enniskillen Magistrates Court accused of killing 23-year-old Natasha Carruthers.

Ms Carruthers, a mother of one, died after a car crash near Derrylin earlier this month.

A defence lawyer told the court that Toher "deeply regrets his role in the accident".

The lawyer added: "He asked to extend his condolences and sympathy to the family of Ms Carruthers."

Toher faced a total of 10 charges, including Ms Carruthers' manslaughter and causing grievous bodily injury by dangerous driving to two other passengers.

He was also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by allegedly arranging to have repairs carried out to a BMW motor vehicle.

Other charges included failing to remain at the scene of an accident and failing to report an injury accident.

He was also charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon, namely a metal bar, and being concerned in the supply of cocaine.

Toher did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.

The District Judge told the court Ms Carruthers' death was a "tragic loss of life" and extended his sympathies to her family and friends.

The case was adjourned until November 15 for mention.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the vast majority of insurance policies are valid for damage from Storm Ophelia.

About 125,000 homes and businesses remain without power, 85,000 are without broadband, landline and mobile access and 58,000 without water in the wake of the storm.

The Taoiseach said Government would engage with the insurance industry in the coming days.

But he urged consumers to read the fine print on policies as well.

"We do think this will be a little bit different to flooding," the Taoiseach said.

"I know that when it comes to severe weather that causes flooding, that quite a number of people find themselves un-insured because they are on floodplains or have been flooded before.

"We expect this will be different. Nobody is in a hurricane path. It's different to a floodplain.

"We think that in the vast majority of cases people will be insured and will be covered but the best thing to do is to read your own policy and contact your insurer as soon as you can."

Energy chiefs in ESB Networks warned that progress to reconnect remaining homes, mostly in the south of the country, would take several days.

Mr Varadkar said that in the wake of Storm Darwin in early 2014 that it was eight days before the network was fully repaired.

It is expected that the majority of the 119,000 customers who remain cut off will have their power restored over the next four days.

"But the company warned that some customers in isolated pockets will not be reconnected until Tuesday.

ESB Networks is also prioritising power connections to water treatment and supply plants after the storm wiped out services to tens of thousands.

Fifty grid repair staff from Northern Ireland Electricity joined efforts on Tuesday night and teams from Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man, northern England and France will begin working on lines on Wednesday and in the coming days.

An ESB Networks spokesman said: "As we move down to lower voltage repairs this work slows down as individual faults are repaired."

The company also began posting estimated power restoration times on its Powercheck app and powercheck.ie.

By lunchtime on Wednesday Northern Ireland Electricity said fewer than than 150 homes and businesses remained without power in its region.

Schools across the Republic also reopened after a two-day shutdown because of the threat from power outages and risks to travel at the height of the storm.

Three people died when the ex-tropical storm, the strongest system to hit Ireland in almost 60 years, battered the country on Monday.

Meanwhile, agriculture chiefs urged co-operatives to co-ordinate efforts and keep dairy farms running through black-outs.

Sean O'Leary, national dairy chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), said the most pressing problem was the welfare of herds and protecting milk supplies.

He said: "Ensuring that cows can continue to be milked is crucial from an animal welfare point of view, and maintaining refrigeration is essential to ensure the valuable quality milk produced is not spoilt or wasted."

Some co-ops, including Glanbia, have arranged teams of electricians and are ensuring generators are moved to where they are needed most, the IFA said.

Mr O'Leary added: "It is essential that co-ops would co-ordinate their efforts, especially in the South West, the South East and the West, where the impact from Ophelia on the power grid seems to have been the greatest."
Boy, 16, charged with murder over stabbing outside Parsons Green Tube station (Yui Mok/PA)

A teenage boy has been charged with murder over a stabbing outside Parsons Green Tube station.

The 16-year-old also faces a charge of possession of a bladed article over the fatal attack.

He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on Thursday.

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Omid Saidy, 20, was killed outside the London station on Monday, where 30 people were injured in a terror attack last month.

Mr Saidy, from Fulham, was knifed after asking a drug dealer and another man to leave the area, Metropolitan Police said.

He was pronounced dead in Parsons Green Lane at 8.30pm.

An 18-year-old man, a friend of the victim who arrived on a moped, was also stabbed in the attack and is still in hospital with serious injuries, police said.

He has been arrested on suspicion of affray.

Expand Close Forensic officers at the scene outside Parsons Green Tube station where Omid Saidy was killed (Yui Mok/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Forensic officers at the scene outside Parsons Green Tube station where Omid Saidy was killed (Yui Mok/PA)

The teenage suspect was also injured during the attack and was arrested after being released from hospital.

A second suspect, described as a black male dressed in dark clothing, fled down Harbled Road in the direction of Fulham Court.

Officers have renewed their appeal for any witnesses or anyone with footage of the incident to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, who is leading the investigation, said: We continue to piece together a picture of how the sequence of events leading to and immediately following the murder took place.

It is imperative that we speak to anyone who was in the area of Parsons Green station between 7pm and 8pm who may have witnessed the murder or the actions of the suspects immediately following the incident.

In addition, I am keen to identify the black male who fled Parsons Green Lane immediately following the murder and am appealing for footage that members of the public may have recorded as events in the area took place.

Although we have charged a male with Omids murder, this is still a live and ongoing investigation.

Expand Close A search is underway for a second suspect who fled down Harbled Road in the direction of Fulham Court (PA Wire) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A search is underway for a second suspect who fled down Harbled Road in the direction of Fulham Court (PA Wire)

A young man has tragically lost his life for simply asking a drug dealer to move on.

I urge anyone who can assist our investigation to come forward without delay.

Anyone with information can call 0208 785 8099 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The Crown Prosecution Service has warned people not to post anything online that could prejudice the court case.

Angela Moriarty said: The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings are now active and that the defendant has a right to a fair trial.

It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.
Police are considering the possibility that all the attacks are linked (Joe Giddens/PA)

Nine females  three aged 11  have been approached and sexually touched by an attacker in the last three months, police said.

Two women aged 27 and 25, and seven children aged 11 and 13, have been approached by a man who assaulted them before fleeing on foot in the Greenwich and Lewisham areas of London.

All nine attacks took place in broad daylight between June 30 and October 16 with three taking place within half an hour on October 5, officers said.

Police are considering the possibility that all the attacks are linked and have released CCTV of the latest incident  in Honor Oak Road on Monday at 4pm  in a bid to help identify a man.

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Superintendent Lee Hill of Greenwich Police said: These incidents were very frightening for the victims. I am appealing to the public to help identify and locate this man as quickly as possible.

Although none of the victims have suffered physical injury, the effects of becoming a victim of sexual assault can be lasting and traumatic.

There is a possibility that these incidents are part of a linked series of attacks as a number of victims have provided very similar descriptions of the attacker  a white man aged between 40 to 50 years old, with short white or blonde hair. This is one line of inquiry detectives are exploring.

Scotland Yard said patrols in the areas have increased and officers are speaking to local schools to reassure pupils and parents.

Mr Hill added: I am concerned that there may be more victims who have not yet come forward and are not receiving the support that they may need. I would urge any victims who have not yet come forward to contact police.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
A 15-year-old boy fighting for his life in hospital after a horrific knife attack has been named by police.

Kyron Webb was found unconscious following the assault on Worsley Avenue in Moston, Manchester on Tuesday evening.

He was given emergency first aid before being taken to hospital, where he is in a life-threatening condition, Greater Manchester Police said.

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A 13-year-old boy was arrested following the incident but he has since has since been eliminated from police inquiries, the force added.

Chief Superintendent Wasim Chaudhry said: My heart goes out to Kyron and his family as he continues to fight for his life.

The boy who was arrested has now been released without charge, but our investigation is still rapidly expanding.

We know that the answer to the question of what happened to Kyron lies in what others know.

We are asking anyone who witnessed what happened to him to come and talk to us.

Kyrons family quite rightly have a lot of questions, and I wont stop until we are able to answer them.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 0161 856 9908 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
US District Judge Derrick Watson blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its latest travel ban, just hours before it was set to take effect (George Lee /The Star-Advertiser via AP, File)

A judge in Hawaii has blocked the latest version of the Trump administration travel ban just hours before it was set to take effect.

US District Judge Derrick Watson on Tuesday granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the government from enforcing the policy.

The Trump administration in September announced the restrictions affecting citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen - and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

Hawaii argues the updated ban is a continuation of President Donald Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States".

Other courts are considering challenges to the policy. In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are seeking to block the visa and entry restrictions in the president's latest proclamation.

Washington state, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York and Maryland have challenged the policy before US District Judge James Robart in Seattle, who struck down Mr Trump's initial ban in January.

That policy led to chaos and confusion at airports nationwide and triggered several lawsuits, including one from Hawaii.

When Mr Trump revised the ban, state Attorney General Doug Chin changed the lawsuit to challenge that version.

In March, Judge Watson agreed with Hawaii that it amounted to discrimination based on nationality and religion.

A subsequent US Supreme Court ruling allowed the administration to partially reinstate that 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day ban on all refugees.

But it said the policy did not apply to refugees and travellers with a "bona fide relationship" with a person or entity in the US.

Hawaii then successfully challenged the government's definition of which family members would be allowed into the country.

Judge Watson ordered the government not to enforce the ban on close relatives such as grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts.

The judge's order on Tuesday prevents acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from implementing the latest travel ban.

Judge Watson said he would set an expedited hearing to determine whether the temporary restraining order should be extended.

He found Trump's executive order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor".

The judge, appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the new restrictions ignore a federal appeals court ruling that found Mr Trump's previous ban exceeds the scope of his authority.

The latest version "plainly discriminates based on nationality in the manner that the 9th Circuit has found antithetical to ... the founding principles of this nation," the judge wrote.

The government has said the new policy was based on an objective assessment of each country's security situation and willingness to share information with the US.

The White House blasted the judge's decision, calling his order "dangerously flawed".

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Hawaii decision "undercuts the president's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States".

She said the restrictions are "vital" to ensuring foreign nations comply with US security standards.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said it will appeal against the ruling "in an expeditious manner".
SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move back to their vans followed by members of the public after storming into polling station to confiscate ballot boxes and ballots where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move back to their vans followed by members of the public after storming into polling station to confiscate ballot boxes and ballots where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move back to their vans followed by members of the public after storming into polling station to confiscate ballot boxes and ballots where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: A man and a child holding a red flower run from the police as they move in on the crowds as members of the public gather outside to prevent them from stopping the opening and the intended voting in the referendum at a polling station where the Catalonia President Carles Puigdemont will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - People clash with Spanish Guardia Civil guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIGRAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images

People hold Andalusian and Catalan pro-independence 'Estelada' flags during a demonstration in support of the referendum in Catalonia on October 01, 2017, in Granada. / AFP PHOTO / JORGE GUERREROJORGE GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images

People, holding Andalusian and Catalan pro-independence 'Estelada' flags, walk with a banner reading "Andalusian workers for the right to decide" during a demonstration in support of the referendum in Catalonia on October 01, 2017, in Granada. / AFP PHOTO / JORGE GUERREROJORGE GUERRERO/AFP/Getty Images

A woman casts her vote in a school, assigned to be a referendum polling station by the Catalan government in Girona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. The Spanish government and its security forces are trying to prevent voting in the independence referendum, which is backed by Catalan regional authorities. Spanish officials had said force wouldn't be used, but that voting wouldn't be allowed.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A protestor tears an 'Estelada' (Pro-independence Catalan flag) while another (L) tries to burn it during a demonstration called by far-right groups against a referendum on independence for Catalonia, on October 01, 2017 in Barcelona. / AFP PHOTO / PAU BARRENAPAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images

CORRECTION - Spanish Guardia Civil guards drag a man outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIG / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [RAYMOND ROIG] instead of [KENZO TRIBOUILLARD]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Voting cards are seen inside the voting station at the Escola Industrial of Barcelona school on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Spanish Guardia Civil guards drag a man outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIGRAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Crowds gather to cast their ballot in the referendum vote at Escola Industrial of Barcelona school polling station on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Spanish Guardia Civil guards grab a man outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Catalan president was supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / Raymond ROIGRAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty Images

MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Anti-separatist demonstrators hold Spanish flags and shout slogans during a protest in support of Spain's unity as Catalonian votes in referendum on October 1, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: People protest as police try to control the area in their attempt to cast their ballot today at a polling station in the referendum vote on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Spanish riot police swings a club against would-be voters near a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police have forcefully removed a few hundred would-be voters from several polling stations in Barcelona. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot today at a polling station in the referendum vote on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: A person confronts police trying to control the area as people attempt to vote at polling station in the referendum vote on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: People protest as police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot today at a polling station in the referendum vote on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: A man protests as police arrive to control crowds gathered to cast their ballot in the referendum vote at Escola Industrial of Barcelona school polling station on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Members of family comfort each other after failing to vote in the referendum because of the Spanish police closing their polling station on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

A flag that reads "Hong Kong Independence" (C) is seen with the British colonial-era Hong Kong flag (C) and the pro-independence 'Estelada' Catalan flag (R) as activists take part in an annual protest march on China's national day in Hong Kong on October 1, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Anthony WALLACEANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: People hold umbrellas and wait in the rain to cast their ballots to vote in the referendum at Escola Collaso I Gil public school polling station on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: A woman holds a dog as people wait in the rain to cast their ballots to vote in the referendum at Escola Collaso I Gil public school polling station on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

BARCELONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: A gate locks people out as police try to control the area where people wait to cast their ballot in the referendum vote at Escola Industrial of Barcelona school polling station on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. More than five million eligible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Police move back to their vans followed by members of the public after storming into polling station to confiscate ballot boxes and ballots where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voter queue to cast their vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voters celebrate with Cava after casting their votes in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter casts her vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter casts her vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter casts his vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter casts her vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter casts her vote in the town hall of Palamos, Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. An official returns a voter identity card before casting her vote in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voters cheer after voting in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voters in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voter hold a ballot paper to vote in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter uses that back on a fellow voter to cast their vote at the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voter distributes ballot papers in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. A voter shouts to the crowd and shows his Catalan identity card after voting in town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Local Catalan Police known locally as Mossos d'Esquadra, arrive at Palamos town hall just as doors open for people to vote in the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Local Catalan Police known locally as Mossos d'Esquadra, arrive at Palamos town hall just as doors open for people to vote in the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. People in town of Palamos Catalonia await the town hall to open to be able to vote in the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voter hold a ballot paper in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Palamos, Catalonia, Spain. 1st Oct, 2017. Voter hold a ballot paper to vote in the town hall of Palamos in Catalonia during the banned referendum for independence from Spain. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN - OCTOBER 01: Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today on October 1, 2017 in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain. More than five million elegible Catalan voters are estimated to visit 2,315 polling stations today for the Catalonia's referendum on independence from Spain. The Spanish government in Madrid has declared the vote illegal and undemocratic. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Spain and Catalonia are fast approaching a moment of truth that will determine the future of Spain as a unified state.

What happens will have profound and far-reaching consequences, not just for Spain itself but for rest of Europe and, in particular, the EU.

President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont argues strongly that he and his independence supporters have received a valid mandate through the recent controversial referendum to declare Catalonia an independent state, free from the control of Madrid.

In that referendum, which was declared unconstitutional and illegal by the Spanish supreme court, there was a turnout of 43%, of which 90% voted in favour of independence.

Supporters of independence argue that the vote would have been greater and much more convincing if the Spanish Government had not undermined the poll with brutal policing and the confiscation of ballot papers and other disruptive tactics.

The pro-Spanish side of the argument says that, given the fact that the poll was illegal, most anti-independence supporters stayed at home and effectively boycotted the referendum, thus undermining the result.

Indeed, the recent massive pro-Spanish demonstration in Barcelona is visual evidence of substantial opposition in Catalonia itself to independence.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, in a very risky exercise in brinkmanship, has laid down a deadline to Puigdemont to say whether there has or has not been a formal declaration of independence.

But Rajoy has done great damage to the cause of Spanish unity by his appalling misuse of the national police against the illegal referendum.

It was reminiscent of the RUC's brutal assault on civil rights demonstrators in Derry on October 5, 1968.

Rajoy should understand that heavy-handed policing is, in fact, counterproductive to his aim of retaining Catalonia within the Spanish State.

By using excessive force, he alienated international public opinion for his argument that Catalonia should remain within Spain. The two leaders are now playing for very high stakes, which could easily end in grief for both sides of this highly charged and emotional argument. This is identity politics at its worst.

Before any of us here take sides in this complex argument, it would be best to remind ourselves of the wasteful and appalling slaughter of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. It was the greatest catastrophe to affect the country in the 20th century.

It was similar to the bloodletting and destruction of the disastrous civil war that has engulfed Syria for the past six years.

Even back then, in the late-1930s, idealistic, high-minded young men from all around the world, carried away by their zeal for a political cause, volunteered to fight on either side, because it had become an international stage for competing ideologies, especially fascism and communism. It was also the precursor of the Second World War that was to follow in 1939.

After winning the conflict, nationalist leader General Franco ruled Spain as a highly centralised dictatorship until his death in 1975.

During his reign Franco brutally suppressed any political opposition, including minorities, especially the Catalans and the Basques. This went even to the extent of suppressing the use of the Catalan language.

The greatest achievement of modern Spain was overcoming the traumatic legacy of the Civil War and making a successful, peaceful transition from the Franco dictatorship to a democratic nation that has devolved considerable power of self-government to Catalonia, the Basque Country and other regions, such as Galicia.

It is this precious and extraordinary achievement that should not be put at risk due to narrow centralism, selfish regionalism, nor dangerous identity politics.

Spain has existed as a unified state for the past 500 years since the union of the two Catholic monarchs, Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon.

Doubtless, not as long as England and France, but much longer than other European states such as Italy and Germany, which only came into being in 1861 and 1871 respectively. What is required now is cool heads and long reflection on Spain's tragically divided past and the avoidance of a rerun of that tragedy.

What is needed is a peaceful, democratic settlement that addresses the legitimate concerns of both parties.

Language, culture and identity should be respected and, more importantly, fully accommodated.

A legally agreed and unimpeded referendum, such as in Scotland, should be a top consideration. All steps by both sides should be democratic, legal and reasonable.

Given our own divided history, we should not be taking sides, but should help both sides to reach a peaceful agreement. There is too much for all of us to lose.
Boeing has fallen victim to the law of unintended consequences in its bid to block sales of Bombardier's C Series aircraft in the US. The action against the Canadian firm, which has a vitally important manufacturing operation in Northern Ireland, opened the door for Airbus to ride to the rescue.

Airbus and Boeing have had long-running disputes, and no doubt the American firm will try to challenge the move by the European plane-maker to take a majority shareholding in production of the C Series.

Airbus plans to assemble the aircraft at its American factory, thereby circumventing the 300% US tariffs imposed on the model, which would have made it virtually impossible to sell there.

This is good news for Northern Ireland where 1,000 workers - and more in the supply chain - are involved in making the innovative composite wings, a feature helping make the C Series one of the most economical in its class and a front-runner in the short haul market.

But it will be the middle of next year before the Airbus deal goes through, and no doubt there will be further turbulence in the interim. As one of the unions pointed out, the devil will be in the detail, but there is no denying that Bombarier workers here are in a much better place than they were last week.

What the Boeing-Bombardier dispute brought into sharp relief was the importance of the plane-making operation to the local economy. Global aircraft markets are volatile and the big manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus hold enormous sway.

Northern Ireland has a long tradition in plane-making and the skill and innovation of the workforce is apparent, but it could be put at naught by external factors.

It does not appear that Airbus' intervention was the result of any political pressure, but rather the company seeing a good business opportunity sweetened by the chance to score a point over Boeing.

Apart from the DUP appealing to the Prime Minister to intervene in the dispute, Northern Ireland was voiceless at a time of crisis due to the stasis at Stormont.

The lack of a functioning devolved administration makes the province a less desirable place for inward investors to do business and decreases our ability to find new jobs.

Bombardier's plight was a grim warning to local politicians to up their game, get back to work and devise policies to boost the economy.
THE EU says that the people of Northern Ireland can choose to be British, Irish or both. The choice of independence is disallowed, principally as it would not be supported by the British or Irish Governments.

The Good Friday Agreement, therefore, was not a framework for full self-determination. In a similar way, Spanish law forbids Catalonia full self-determination.

If the people of Northern Ireland were to be offered dominion status, instead of remaining in gridlock with the present arrangements, would dominion status gain favour? It would, firstly, need to be argued for and then put to the electorate. A new framework for Northern Ireland governance could include an adaption of constitutional frameworks from overseas.

The parties should look at relevant parts of constitutional frameworks from Indonesia, Luxembourg, Singapore or even the United States that could be applied here post-Brexit.

In modern Northern Ireland, a consensus for the common good must be strived for. One aim for NI parties might be to set up a financial centre in Belfast post-Brexit, adopting the Singapore model. But it would require new political structures, which, through weighted majority voting, would circumvent any one party having a veto on progress. If a new 'NI First' party was mooted, it would take a few years and a lot of money to gain traction.

If an existing party were to reinvent itself, then playing the 'NI First' card could attract floating voters from all sides.

DAVY BUSTARD

By email
Indonesian anti-terror police stand guard as officials in Jakarta present to the media some evidence seized from suspects in recent militant attacks, June 22, 2017.

Indonesian extremist groups have started taking donations via social media, making it tougher for officials to track terrorist financing, government officials confirmed Wednesday.

Funds intended for Islamic State-linked terror networks were formerly channeled through nonprofit organizations, but militant groups shifted their strategy by getting online donations from sympathizers, according to a White Paper report released by the Indonesian government on Wednesday.

This is due to the development of fundraising trends for terrorist activities and terrorist organizations, the report said. In 2013 to 2015, they used nonprofit organizations, now they turn into using social media.

The report was jointly prepared by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Before its public release, Gen. Suhardi Alius, commander of the BNPT, told a news conference on Sept. 27 that the White Paper aimed to serve as a guide for government institutions on how to counter terrorism in the county.

The objective is to review terrorist network mapping and risk mapping, Kiagus Ahmad Badarudin, the head of PPATK, also said at the conference.

In August last year, PPATK told an international security meeting in Bali that more than U.S. $763,000 was transferred from foreign countries to fund terrorism in Indonesia, between 2014 and 2015.

They had many ways of sending the funds, for example, through our migrant workers in Malaysia, Singapore and Middle Eastern countries, PPATK Deputy Chairman Agus Santoso told reporters. The money can be directed to Indonesia through various countries, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and many more.

Indonesia, home to the worlds largest Muslim-majority population, prepared the report in compliance with global efforts to prevent and eradicate money laundering and terror financing, officials said.

Donations via social media and dues from terror-cell members, as well as self-funding are the current preferred financing routes for militants, officials said.

In this case, social media is used as a means of communication to call for donations, BNPT deputy commander Brig. Gen. Hamidin told BenarNews.

The new trend of financing via social media marks a major shift from criminal activity, such as motorcycle theft and robbery, which was common in 2013 to 2014 as sources for funding militancy, the report said.

It mapped the funding sources by tracing the pattern of financial transfers and banking transactions related to terror cases that occurred between 2014 and August 2017.

The shift in the level of risk on remittances is caused by an increase in money coming from abroad aimed at terrorist activities, the report said.

It said remittance money from Malaysia, Australia and Hong Kong was used to buy weapons from militants in the southern Philippines. It did not provide details.

Indonesia has been wracked by terror attacks targeting police and houses of worship since the 1970s.

Few of them inflicted major casualties, but a bomb attack on Oct. 12, 2002, killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in the tourist district of Kuta on the island of Bali.

Last year, at least 160 people with alleged ties to Islamic State (IS) were arrested in Indonesia, according to National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian.

In August last year, security ministers from more than 20 countries, including Indonesia, Australia, the United States, England, India and China attended a counter-terrorism meeting in Bali.

The meeting took place amid widespread fears that militant groups were expanding in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines, where a small band of militants are still locked in fighting with government forces in the southern city of Marawi.

The battle, which erupted on May 23, has left more than 1,000 people dead, including 822 militants and 164 Philippine security forces.
While the event happens deep in rural parts of Berkeley County, it is no less important. It started over two decades ago by a woman once paralyzed from a tumor on her spine. She later beat back the disability enough to walk and get back to work and life. Read moreAnnual Kids Day is back on in Berkeley County
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For Immediate Release, October 17, 2017 Contact: Blake Kopcho, (805) 708-3435, bkopcho@biologicaldiversity.org Oakland City Council Passes Resolution Opposing Offshore Fracking, Drilling Trump Order to Expand Offshore Leasing Meeting Resistance in California OAKLAND, Calif. The Oakland City Council today approved a resolution opposing new fossil fuel drilling off the California coast and fracking in existing offshore oil and gas wells. Offshore drilling threatens our states environment and economy. We must be smart and transition to clean power for our future rather than selling decades-long oil leases or polluting our waters with toxic fracking chemicals, said Oakland City Council member Dan Kalb, who sponsored the resolution. Coping with sea-level rise will be a challenge for Oakland and other East Bay cities. Trumps 20th century drilling push would only make things worse. The vote follows President Trumps April 28 executive order urging federal agencies to expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters. Trumps order could expose the Pacific Ocean to new oil leasing for the first time in more than 30 years. Todays resolution was supported by the Center for Biological Diversity, which has organized a series of California resolutions opposing offshore drilling and fracking. Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Arcata, Goleta, Malibu, San Luis Obispo and Cayucos have passed resolutions opposing new offshore drilling, and several more communities are currently working on similar resolutions. Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties have also recently sent letters to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke opposing new oil and gas leasing in the Pacific. Californians are uniting in opposition to Trumps reckless designs on our coastline. Oakland today joined a long and growing list of cities calling for a clean energy future, not more dirty drilling and fracking, said Blake Kopcho, an organizer at the Center. Opening the Pacific to new offshore leasing will bring oil spills, toxic pollution and catastrophic changes to our climate. The Oakland resolution call for: A ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling, fracking and other well stimulation in federal and state waters off the California coast;

A ban on new federal oil and gas leases in the Pacific Ocean;

A rapid phaseout of all offshore oil and gas extraction off Californias coast. The last offshore lease in federal waters off California was in 1984, but Trumps order seeks to renew the leasing program. There are more than 30 offshore drilling platforms and hundreds of miles of underwater oil and gas pipelines off Californias coast. Operators want permits to frack offshore wells, using chemicals that are toxic to wildlife. Separate lawsuits filed by the state of California and the Center challenging the federal governments approval of offshore fracking are pending in federal district court.
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
HARARE, Zimbabwe - The overhauled Zimbabwe.misa.org website provides in-depth analysis and commentary, as well as the latest developments in the media and information sectors.

MISA Zimbabwe has launched its revamped website to make it easier to keep up with freedom of expression and access to information developments in Zimbabwe and across southern Africa.

The overhauled website provides in-depth analysis and commentary, as well as the latest developments in the media and information sectors. Notably, it holds an extensive collection of papers, publications and legislation in the website's Resource Centre (APO.af/6roXKS).

To allow stakeholders to easily track the state of media freedom and freedom of expression in the country, MISA Zimbabwe publishes alerts documenting media violations and victories directly to its website.

The website also includes a comprehensive media directory with contact details of all media outlets in Zimbabwe, from community broadcasters to newspapers and media training organisations.

Free speech and access to information are basic human rights. Importantly, they are also essential to making government and other institutions transparent and accountable, said Tabani Moyo, Acting Director of MISA Zimbabwe. That's why we have spent months redesigning and reorganising our new website  to make sure those looking for information can find it quickly and easily.

With our support for the MISA website, we aim to help everyone, from stakeholders and politicians to journalists and ordinary citizens, know more about their fundamental rights.

To promote the right to information and free speech more broadly, MISA Zimbabwe provides content in a diverse range of formats, such as video, graphics and text. Zimbabwe.misa.org works on mobile devices as well as on PCs to make it as accessible as possible.

Articles on the website are now simpler to understand now and shed more light on issues at hand, said Tamuka Charakupa, a blogger and MISA Zimbabwe member, adding that the redesigned site is much easier to navigate.

DW Akademie, a German media development organisation, provided technical and editorial support for the website development.

With our support for the MISA website, we aim to help everyone, from stakeholders and politicians, to journalists and ordinary citizens, know more about their fundamental rights to information and freedom of expression, said Natascha Schwanke, head of DW Akademies Africa Division. And also help everyone know why its so vital to support these rights and find out when they are being eroded and how they can be better upheld.
At the recent Nigeria Brand Awards, Centrespread Grey was announced as the Iconic Brand Agency of the Decade' Award at the 2017 edition of the awards.

Centrespread Grey receives award.

The honor, which came in the Customer Services Excellence Category, attests to the agencys professionalism and numerous achievements in the Nigerian marketing communications industry for over three decades.

The coveted Nigeria Brand Awards, in its seventh edition, is an annual event designed to honor outstanding achievements and innovation in the marketing communications space. At this years edition, awards were given in about 25 categories across different market segments.

Chairman of the award committee, Mike Samson, said in his address that the 2017 edition of the Nigeria Brand Awards was geared towards encouraging greater innovation and customer service excellence in the private and public sector.

Centrespread Grey managing director, Tola Obi, said the acknowledgement is an acknowledgement of the agencys track record in client service and business management.

The award is a testament to the fact that in our over three decades journey as an agency, we pride ourselves in co-creating with the client to identify what matters most in order to offer bespoke solutions to address the business needs and achieve the desired return on investment for our clients, she said.

Centrespread Grey commenced its operation in the Nigerian market in1982 and has over the years, built up a formidable reputation as one of the countrys most successful marketing communications entities.

It recently signed an affiliation with the Grey Communications Network in April 2017. The agreement grants the Nigerian agency access to global tools and resources from the Grey network.
Chris Weylandt, founder and CEO of furniture and decor retailer Weylandts , forms part of the impressive line-up at this year's Business of Design conference held in Cape Town last week and Johannesburg this week.

Chris Weylandt

Weylandts began as a modest furniture retail store opened by Chris's father Edgar Weylandt in Windhoek, Namibia in 1964. Chris took up the reigns of the business after studying at UCT and completing his articles to qualify as a CA, and has been credited with transforming the business into the luxury interior retail powerhouse it is today.

The Weylandts retail chain now comprises 11 stores  eight in South Africa, two in Namibia and one in Melbourne  and boasts above 20% year-on-year growth since 1999. Chris also owns Maison Wine Estate in Franschhoek, which is home to one of South Africas top-voted restaurants, The Kitchen, and produces a range of award-winning wines.

Weylandts stocks an ever-expanding range of furniture and homeware from around the globe alongside the products designed and manufactured by Weylandts itself. Throughout the retailer's skillfully curated inventory is a visible focus on unique, contemporary, quality design which is showcased in a high-end retail space that makes many South African retail environments appear lacklustre in comparison.

We got in touch with Chris to hear his thoughts on the state of homeware design in SA, Weylandts' successful expansion and what he's learnt about being in 'the business of design'.

As a Business of Design speaker this year, comment on the importance of events like these that recognise the role design plays in various industries.

I think events like this help to do two things. Firstly, to bring business and design closer together which helps businesses grow and design to flourish. Secondly, to highlight the importance of human design, in an ever more automated world. Design, indeed any form of innovative creativity, is something no machine will ever be able to truly do, and thus something we must cherish and stimulate.

What will you be sharing during your talk and what is the key takeaway?

My topic is 'The Basics of Retail'. I will be taking the delegates through eight basic lessons I have learnt and that have moulded the Weylandts business over the years. Primarily I will be presenting these through the back door perspective to give delegates a view of how business works, rather than the public view of how a business looks.

Comment on the current state of furniture/homeware design in South Africa and how it compares globally.

We have a unique culture and environment in SA and I love seeing this influence design  from tribal patterns, ancestral production techniques and materials used. In that aesthetic regard, we are up there with any country in the world.

To what and whom do you attribute the massive success of Weylandts?

Its down to my father's determination, my vision, my familys support, the hard work of everyone who has ever worked for Weylandts, our loyal customers and of course a slice of luck!

Tell us about your experience expanding the business from Namibia into South Africa and Australia. Any key lessons learnt?

Namibia is where it all began; from there we expanded into South Africa, and four years ago we opened in Melbourne, Australia. Expanding into new territories is always exciting, but also a steep learning curve understanding the local buying habits, tastes, and regulations. The key is adapting to these quickly, and we are fortunate to be a nimble organisation that is able to do that.

You also own Maison Wine Estate in Franschhoek. What inspired the move into this area?

I love good wine, local food and beautiful scenery!

If you could travel back in time and give yourself one piece of business advice, what would it be?

See a transaction with a customer as the start of the relationship, not the end.

Connect with the Weylandts brand on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

For more business inspiration and wisdom, head over to our Entrepreneur Month special section.
Hellocomputer Cape Town along with FCB Cape Town and FCB East Africa, all three agencies within the FCB Africa fold, have successfully landed an Uber Kenya project after a swift yet effective pitch process.

The collaborative group effort turned out to be a winning formula and the team will be going on to deliver an integrated campaign that is custom fit for the growing Nairobi market with the launch of a revolutionised product offering.

We are thrilled to be working with Hellocomputer and FCB, and look forward to the upcoming campaigns," said Uber General Manager Sub Saharan Africa, Alon Lits.

The combined team is excited to work with the innovative technology company that has shaken up the personal transport industry the world over, added Hellocomputer Cape Towns Managing Director, Robyn Campbell.

Ubers bold expansion plans into Africa are incredibly exciting and we are thrilled to be a part of helping solve local sustained adoption in this emerging territory. Lets roll, Nairobi!




The University of Cape Town has been awarded a grant for the work of Professor Musa Mhlanga in the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's first open request for applications in support of the Human Cell Atlas community.

Professor Musa Mhlanga of the IDM at UCT

Professor Musa Mhlanga at the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Institute for Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine (IDM) is among 38 recipients being recommended for the funding is being made possible in part by a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative donor advised fund, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Dr Mhlangas co-principal investigator in the grant is Dr Macha Nikolski of the University of Bordeaux.

The Human Cell Atlas will study and document the types, numbers, locations, relationships and molecular parts of every human cell. This information will allow us to better understand how healthy cells work and what goes wrong when cells aren't healthy. The data generated by the project will be made openly and freely available, becoming a fundamental resource for scientists.

"The Human Cell Atlas is not only going to revolutionise the way we see human biology, but it's also going to revolutionise medicine," says Mhlanga, who was among nearly 500 applicants of which about 8% were recommended for funding.

Of the grantees, nine  including the Mhlanga Lab  are outside the US. Mhlanga says he hopes to harness the opportunity to extend South Africa's involvement in collaborative, world-leading research.

Absolutely transformative

Mhlanga compares the significance of the Human Cell Atlas to that of the Human Genome Project: a 13-year, international collaboration to sequence the entire human genome. "Once we have cellular resolution for the trillions of cells in your body, we will be able to say whether a particular cell signature or cell structure signifies the onset of Alzheimers or schizophrenia, or infectious disease, for example."

"Diseases like mental illness will change dramatically because we will have the ability to peer into the brain and understand its onset, and potentially how to rebalance things  this will be absolutely transformative. And that's just giving you a glimpse of the possibilities that the Human Cell Atlas will create."

The funding that the Mhlanga Lab has been awarded facilitates their participation in the initial phase of the Human Cell Atlas, which involves exploring and developing tools that will be applied in the project's future phases of mapping and characterising all human cells.

Mhlanga and his colleagues are developing a technique, called spatially resolved omics, that aims to apply cell biology methods in a novel way to visualise  at the level of an individual cell and single molecules  the relationship between where RNA (ribonucleic acid) is located in a cell and where proteins from that RNA are located. RNA is a molecule (much like DNA) that carries code ('copied' from DNA) dictating how proteins are constructed (translated). If they are successful, the researchers' new technique will help to quantitatively answer questions like: Once RNA has been made, where does it go in the cell? Where in the cell are proteins made? Do they move once they are made and, if so, where to? In what quantities do they collect?

As a global collaboration with far-reaching implications, the Human Cell Atlas  and the grant awarded to the Mhlanga Lab  represents an opportunity that could revolutionise our understanding of human disease and medicine. "It's an opportunity for Africa to participate in high-impact research  a region that normally isn't involved in this type of work. It's a way to make scientific knowledge creation, and access to it, more equitable," says Mhlanga.

"This grant is another step in my personal journey to make an impact and contribute positively to developing basic scientific research and knowledge creation in South Africa."

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a philanthropic organisation established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr Priscilla Chan, a paediatrician and philanthropist, in 2015. The organisation's current focus is supporting science, through biomedical research, and education, through personalised learning.
In just two days, on Thursday, 19 October, the winners of the Sikuvile Journalism Awards will be announced at The Venue Greenpark also known as Johannesburg World Trade Centre in Sandton, Gauteng. The day of the Awards marks exactly 40 years after the banning of The World newspaper by the Apartheid regime and the detention of its editor Percy Qoboza.

Last year's Journalist of the Year, Siphe Macanda of the Daily Dispatch.

The 2017 Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards is both a memorial honour and a reminder of Qobozas values and belief in courageous and ethical journalism, says Moshoeshoe Manare, deputy managing director, Tiso Blackstar and a director at the Publishers Support Services (PSS). He adds that the anniversary is both a reminder of where we come from and the responsibility bestowed on journalists operating in a free open democracy.

The Publishers Shared Services (PSS), in partnership with Standard Bank, continues to support this prestigious initiative to celebrate and honour men and women who dedicated themselves to telling the truth in an undisguised manner.

He adds that the PSSs commitment to the values espoused by Qoboza is also reflected in the theme of this years awards: Fake Free News. As PSS, which represents the industry with more than 500 newspapers and magazines, we are extremely concerned by the consequential effect of fake news on the journalism profession and its negative influence on the public trust.

Limitation of the constitutionally entrenched media freedoms

The challenge facing the media today is not only the external pressures geared towards the limitation of the constitutionally entrenched media freedoms, but also a legitimacy crisis posed by this dangerous phenomenon he says. The purveyors of fake news seek to delegitimise and cast aspersions on the integrity of credible media organisations and journalists such as the recipients of our awards.

The irony is that the free flow of information that Qoboza and his peers fiercely defended, and new media platforms that everyone in our industry embrace today are being framed as key drivers of the proliferation of fake news. He adds. Of course, this is incorrect.

Fellow PSS director, Hoosain Karjieker, Mail & Guardian CEO, adds to this. As our view of the world is increasingly fuelled by falsehood, distortion and deceit, we realise the importance of journalism as an act of truth telling. It is crucial that journalists retain their duties as watchdogs of democracy, in pursuit of the truth and in service of an accurate perspective of the world we inhabit.

Public interest should drive and inform agenda

Manare says the answer to the crisis of fake news is not to reject social media or limit free flow of information, but to empower the public to draw the distinction between the values Qoboza stood for and those who seek to abuse the social contract between the media and the public.

We can only crystallise this distinction through strict adherence to the press code and by ensuring that public interest  and nothing else  drives and informs our agenda.

When it comes to the Awards, Karjieker, says this annual recognition of excellence in South African journalism not only seeks to reward the best journalism in the country but to further encourage the best practice of journalism, especially among young people.

I commend the finalists on the quality of their work and I hope these Awards help you to continue telling the stories that keeps our leaders honest, and our society free.

This year the Awards incorporate the Frewin, McCall and Joel Mervis Awards.
NAIROBI, Kenya - Online food delivery company, Jumia Food, has appointed Shreenal Ruparelia as its new managing director. She takes over from Duncan Muchangi who joins Jumia Pay.

Shreenal Ruparelia

Jumia Food Kenya has a listing of over 200 restaurants in Nairobi and Mombasa. Including Kenya, the Jumia Food service is present in eleven countries in Africa including Nigeria, Morocco and Uganda.

Ruparelia brings on years of experience with a background in management consulting, startups and e-commerce gained across Australia, Asia and East Africa. Her appointment and transition comes as a milestone in a succession plan rolling out after the larger company, Jumia Group rebranded to consolidate all its ventures under one umbrella.

I am excited to join the Jumia Food team at a time when e-commerce is experiencing unprecedented growth in the country and in the African continent at large, says Ruparelia.

In this new role, she cites customer experience as a core priority. The online marketplace highly depends on the execution offered by operational support throughout the customer journey. With a growing listing of restaurants, a strong customer base and a rapidly expanding technology-oriented marketplace, we are focusing on creating more strategic partnerships as well as investing in more online innovation aimed at driving efficiency." The new managing director also expressed her focus on the companys alcohol delivery subsidiary, Jumia Party.
President Jacob Zuma's latest cabinet reshuffle is nothing more that a thinly-veiled smokescreen to get his crony, David Mahlobo into the energy portfolio to push through the nuclear deal with Russia. Thereby depositing a hefty chunk of change into the president's retirement fund.

"It is well known that David Mahlobo has a close relationship to the presidents nuclear ambitions ,which is deeply concerning. The fact that this announcement comes only months before the much-awaited Integrated Resource Plan and Integrated Energy Plan are due to be finalised, means that vested interests and the protection of the nuclear agenda are clearly playing a role in cabinet appointments. Penny-Jane Cooke, Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner says.

"This is nothing less than a dysfunctional power play, and is generating a situation where the instability creates even more opportunities for corruption. Greenpeace Africa condemns any actions aimed at protecting an obscure nuclear deal in the strongest possible terms.

Guess who's going to make a lot of money?

There are strong rumours that Russian nuclear agency Rosatom is the front-runner to win the nuclear contract. Mahlobo was one of a small entourage which accompanied Zuma on a visit to Russia earlier this year, where the president met privately with Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The meeting was presumably about the nuclear deal, which has been stalled by legal action by Greenpeace and the South African Faith Communities' Environment Institute.

So how will Zuma benefit personally from the whole deal? Well, his son, Duduzane, and his close friends, the Guptas, through their Oakbay company, own a uranium mine, Dominion Rietkuil Uranium (renamed Shiva Uranium). When they bought it a few years ago, the mining industry was laughing up their collective sleeve, because although it was a very rich deposit, the mine was known to be a dud. So, guess what fuel a nuclear power plant needs? Guess who owns a very big uranium deposit? Guess who's going to make a lot of money if the nuclear deal goes through?
The bird flu outbreak in South Africa has wiped out more than 15% of layer hens and with the resultant shortage of table eggs, comes the prospect of hefty price increases. More than four million chickens have been or are in the process of being culled, according to the South African Poultry Association's (SAPA) interim CEO, Dr Charlotte Nkuna.

This includes almost four million layers, 360,000 broiler breeders and just over 31,000 layer breeders, she said. The layer flock stood at about 24 million before the outbreak of the bird flu. Nkuna added that more than 23 commercial farms have already been affected.

Image Supplied

Prolonged shortage of eggs

According to agricultural economist, Prof Johan Willemse, the shortage of table eggs could lift prices by 15% to 20%. Furthermore, as things stand, it can take anything from one to two years for the layer flock to return to levels they were before the bird flu outbreak, which means a prolonged shortage of eggs, Willemse said.

Nkuna said the recovery depends on how quickly the chicken farmers are willing to risk repopulating. We anticipate that it will take an average of six months for the farms to be repopulated, some maybe sooner and others preferring to wait a bit longer. This also depends on the available funds to be able to buy the replacement stocks, she added.

According to Nkuna, there are some that are considering importing table eggs. However, the cost of air transport makes it somewhat uneconomical. And, if the cheaper option of sea fright is considered, the time it takes to transport by sea will make it very difficult to get the eggs to South Africa within the prescribed shelf life. Willemse said imports are problematic because of eggs being such fragile produce.

A torrid time for producers

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 in chickens was detected in South Africa for the first time in late June in Mpumalanga but has since spread to other provinces including the Western Cape, Gauteng, Kwazula-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern Cape.

Liana Steenkamp from agricultural group Laeveld Agrochem said the H5N8 strain, which is usually spread by wild birds, does not pose a direct threat to humans.

Steenkamp added that the producers of chicken and eggs have had a torrid time in recent years. First we had higher feed prices the last two seasons because of the drought, followed by the increased import of chicken. And now the devastating impact of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu.

According to Steenkamp, the virus will also have a negative impact on the animal feed sector. Based on figures from the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association, almost 65% of last years animal feed sales went to the poultry industry.

The mass culling of laying hens will also affect South Africas export of table eggs to neighbouring countries like Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Direct job losses due to the bird flu have already risen above 1,000, with further losses expected in secondary sectors.

The Western Cape Government said last week that the outbreak in the province has already led to the culling of 2.4 million layers and 73,000 breeder birds. Alan Winde, the Western Capes Minister of Economic Opportunities, said the disease was spreading rapidly despite increased control measures.

More poultry products are consumed every year

According to SAPA, South Africas broiler and egg producers, in rand terms, make up the largest segment of South Aricas agricultural sector, contributing 18% of all agricultural production and 39% of all animal products in 2016. The beef sector is the nearest competitor, contributing 12,7% to the turnover of all agricultural production and 27,5% of all animal products. Approximately 76% of the birds in the South African poultry industry are used for meat production, while the remaining 24% is used in the egg industry.

Data from SAPA shows that more poultry products are consumed every year than all the other animal protein sources combined. The South African poultry industry last year provided 63.1% of animal protein (excluding milk) consumed in the country.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries data shows (see accompanying graph) that the per capita consumption of poultry meat and eggs in 2016 stood at 39.04 kg and 7.89 kg respectively, with a combined per capita consumption of 46.93 kg. Per capita consumption of beef, pork, and mutton and goat were 19.47 kg, 4.69 kg, and 3.40 kg respectively.
Group Five's share price surged as much as 42% on Monday, 16 October, after it received an unsolicited firm-intention cash offer for its European assets and businesses from Greenbay Properties for R1.6bn.

One market commentator welcomed the news, saying it indicated how much value was potentially locked up in the group. But the listed construction and engineering company was less enthusiastic, describing the offer as undervalued.

It comes after an exodus of executives and board members from Group Five in the past nine months, amid confusion over the company's strategy and painful losses, mostly as a result of its South African engineering and construction cluster.

The assets comprise concession stakes in central and eastern Europe, including its Bulgarian assets and Intertoll Europe operations and maintenance contracts that provide significant annuity income.

The share price shot up as much as 42% during the day and was almost 25% higher at R11.50 by the close. This gives Group Five a market capitalisation of about R1.291bn.

Group Five has plunged in value since the global financial crisis struck in late 2008. The stock was nearly R70 a share at the time but has languished amid years of appalling South African construction markets.

Greenbay is a real estate and infrastructure investments group listed on the JSE and in Mauritius. Group Five said it had not had an opportunity to fully consider the offer, or the opinion of an independent expert, as it was received after close of business on Friday.

"We believe this offer substantially undervalues the target assets in relation to other expressions of interest received," said Nonyameko Mandindi, the chairwoman of the independent board.

"In line with its fiduciary duties, the independent board will consider the merits of the offer and respond to Greenbay once [it] has determined what course of action is in the best interests of Group Five's shareholders," Mandindi said. "We will also appoint an independent expert to provide a fair and reasonable opinion in relation to the offer."

Greenbay CEO Stephen Delport said on Monday the company was already invested in toll roads and airport businesses across the world.

"That's part of our strategy," he said. "We have a lot of capital to expand [Intertoll's] business."

Group Five said last week that CEO Themba Mosai, supported by his executive team, had formulated a revised strategy and optimal structure for the group, which the board had approved in principle.

The European investments and concessions cluster has been the standout performer for Group Five in recent years. "We view the announcement in a positive light as it illustrates how much value there is in Group Five's operations, both locally and abroad, and the possible value uptick for investors willing to stick around for the turnaround to occur," Dexter Mahachi, an analyst at Momentum Securities, said on Monday.

"However, management has previously indicated that they are not about to sell off the crown jewels, so I am not entirely certain the deal will go through at these pricing levels," Mahachi said.

The firm offer follows Group Five's recent indication that it had received a number of expressions of interest for different businesses in the group. It remains open for acceptance by Group Five until 20 October.

"Group Five could definitely benefit from this deal as the amount offered is above the current fair value of the concession assets in my opinion. It will, however, reduce the derisking benefit that the concessions assets provide " given their profitability and the low operational risk," Garth Arenz, research analyst at Avior Capital Markets, said on Monday.

Source: Business Day
Gauteng Premier David Makhura says the province has 120 schools that caters for learners with special needs.

We remain steely in our determination to build a quality public education system that benefits all, regardless of their circumstances. We are promoting inclusive education, Premier Makhura said.

He was speaking on Tuesday at the opening of state-of-the-art Nokuthula School for learners with special educational needs.

Today we are making it possible for an additional 560 leaners with special educational needs to access quality education and thus stand a better chance to participate fully in economic and social life, Premier Makhura said.

The province has thus far refurbished 13 schools successfully converting them into proper special schools. Five more schools will be refurbished in due course.

In all our special schools we do have exit plans for our learners. In terms of these plans we are working with parents, the educators and the leaners themselves to develop a post-school career path for individual leaners taking into account their unique circumstances, Premier Makhura said.

He said some of the learners can be accommodated within the provinces flagship youth empowerment initiative, Tshepo 1 million.

The province is using the programme to break down barriers for young people to access decent employment, skills development and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The work we are doing to improve the quality of education offered to learners with special needs forms part of the specific interventions we are making to improve education outcomes in our province.

These interventions include harnessing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to provide smart schools and classrooms of the future, ensuring the universal access of Grade R, expanding the post-matric bursary scheme, establishing schools of specialisation and ensuring that the performance gap between learners from fee-paying and no-fee paying schools is narrowed, Premier Makhura said.

Focus on crime against children

He said he was perturbed and angered by the sexual, harassment, abuse, molestation and rape of girl learners in schools.

Premier Makhura said he wants the Provincial Police Commissioner to focus on the crimes against girl children.

I want to send a strong message to those involved that we are coming for them. We shall remove them from the education system and society by ensuring that they are prosecuted and sent to jail. They have hit us where it hurts most, Premier Makhura said.

He said the Schools Governing Bodies (SGBs) must hold all principals accountable for what happens in their schools.

I want MEC Panyaza Lesufi and [Gauteng Education] Head of Department...to ensure that all teachers and staff involved must be fired! Let us join hands to make our schools safe for all our children, especially the girl learners, Premier Makhura said.
Kenyan coding academy Moringa School is to host a female only edition of its Moringa Prep introduction to coding course, with the aim of graduating more women developers.

Moringa School said the decision to host a 'Womens Bootcamp' is informed by the belief that women in tech can contribute to moving the industry forward, as such the school hopes to support more women in becoming developers.

The five-week full-time course will begin in November, and teach participants the fundamentals of programming.

Graduates of the Womens Boot Camp will be eligible to progress to Moringa Schools full-time immersive Moringa Core programme in January, where they will specialise in Android or full-stack development paired with soft skills matched to employer needs.

The course fee for Moringa Prep ranges between $400 and $800 (depending on location and nationality), and Moringa School is offering a 50% discount for the womens edition.

Apply here.

This article was originally published on www.disrupt-africa.com.
At a press conference in Johannesburg City Hall together, Airbnb Global Head of Public Policy and Public Affairs, Chris Lehane released the Africa Report , a study highlighting the economic and social benefits for families and communities using Airbnb. The study shows that there are now more than 100,000 homes in Africa listed on Airbnb and that there have been more than two million all-time global guest arrivals using Airbnb. This has helped to spread tourism benefits beyond hotels and tourist attractions.

The announcement was followed by a commitment by Airbnb that it will invest $1m in community-led tourism projects in Africa through 2020.

Hosting on Airbnb: Creating new economic opportunities for locals

The study shows that the typical Africa host on Airbnb earns $1,500 yearly and the typical listing on Airbnb is shared for 18 nights per year. Across the continent, hosts earned a total of $139m by sharing their homes with guests, and hosts on Airbnb keep up to 97 percent of the accommodation charge. The average host's age in Africa is 43 and the host community is evenly split between women and men. For many Africans, being able to turn their greatest expense - their home - into a source of additional revenue is good news. Home sharing is healthy tourism by virtue of being not only inclusive but also sustainable, helping people create new economic opportunities for themselves in the homes and communities where they live.

Travelling with Airbnb: Spreading benefits to local hosts and their communities

Home sharing helps emerging destinations welcome more visitors in a scalable and sustainable way. Since September 2012, there have been over two million guest arrivals on Airbnb in Africa and guests stay on average over four nights per stay. In the past year, 1.2 million guests used Airbnb to visit Africa - more than double compared to the previous year. Close to 60 percent of trips in the past year were booked by millennials - an increase of 36 percent compared to 2012 - and close to 20 percent of guests are travelling as part of a family.

Intracontinental travel accounts for the greatest share of guests, with African guests representing 29 percent of all incoming guests, followed by France, the US and the UK. With up to 97 percent of the accommodation charge remaining in the hands of hosts and almost half of all guest spending taking place in the neighbourhoods where they stay, the positive economic impacts of home sharing can be significant for emerging travel destinations.

Airbnb: Boosting the economy in South Africa and beyond

Home sharing on Airbnb boosted the economy in South Africa by roughly $250m in the past 12 months, including host income and guest spending. While South Africa still represents the biggest market in terms of Airbnb guest arrivals, other countries are also increasingly benefitting from home sharing. In the past year, countries such as Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria have seen all seen guest arrivals growth of over 50 percent, with Nigeria noting a guest arrival growth of 325 percent.

Ensuring equitable and sustainable growth

The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, said: "Johannesburg is a city of inclusivity. As the new administration, our goal is to ensure equitable and sustainable growth, especially in our poorest communities. Any initiative that assists the city in accomplishing our goal is welcomed. The African continent needs to create entrepreneurial mindsets in the whole population, this can only be done if we show people that they already have the tools needed to participate in the economy."

Chris Lehane and Herman Mashaba at the announcement (Image Supplied)

Lehane said: As tourism in emerging destinations is increasing, our platform helps to ensure this growth is inclusive and community-led by benefiting regular people, communities and local businesses that have sometimes never seen tourism dollars before. Airbnb can be a major engine for economic empowerment throughout Africa. We look forward to working with communities across the continent to harness their innovative spirit and technology on our people-to-people platform to help spread tourism benefits across Africa.

Lehane is in South Africa this week to highlight the benefits that travel using Airbnb is bringing to Africa and to pledge Airbnbs commitment to help build an engine for economic empowerment that boosts local families and their communities.
Cape Town International Airport management confirmed that several shots were fired shortly after 5am this morning (Wednesday, 18 October 2017) on the upper roadway in front of the terminal building. Two people have been injured , with one person hit by a stray bullet who was stabilised before being taken to the hospital.

Gang violence

Although the motive behind the shooting still needs to be confirmed, it is suspected that it is gang-related and information has already surfaced that links the shooting to other recent gang-related shootings, notably, the shooting at Cubana in Stellenbosch last Saturday.

#AirportShooting Several bullet holes in a glass sliding door. LI pic.twitter.com/bhkeTOpUUT  EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 18, 2017

It is said that notorious gang boss Jerome Booysen was the target of the attack. According to another EWN report, a second person was injured and, while police are not confirming the identity of the second wounded man, sources say that it was indeed Booysen.

Crime around SA's airports

An increase in gang violence in the area is starting to take its toll on citizens and industries. Numerous comments on social media make it clear that both citizens and travellers do not feel safe. It has escalated to the point where the government is considering deploying its army in the Cape Flats. This latest incident will surely exacerbate the problem.

#AirportShooting

We no longer safe in this country, every time you leave de house in d morning u pray so hard to return home safe  #TrapaDrive (@LeratoLeps) October 18, 2017

The question remains...

How did the perpetrators get into the airport with the guns? Security needs to be tightened!!!! #AirportShooting pic.twitter.com/TtrbcUoIf2  Sheldon Cameron (@CameronStuntin) October 18, 2017

#AirportShooting daily life on cape flats. When will @Our_DA step in?  Nurzaan (@nurzaanallie) October 18, 2017

While Cape Town International Airport has been named the leading airport in Africa, the shooting will indelibly leave a scar in the minds of travellers who are aware of the incident.

Although this is an isolated case in Cape Town, OR Tambo International Airport has also seen a spate of crimes including airport-following crimes - the latest of which saw seven Iraqi diplomats attacked and robbed. This a few weeks after the hijacking of 36 Dutch tourists.

The tourism industry is growing increasingly concerned regarding these attacks. It is of the utmost importance that travellers to South Africa feel safe, particularly as the industry is readying itself for peak season. In an EWN report on the incident, Acsas Deon Cloete says We are going into peak season, everyone is ready and prepared. This is the last type of thing that you require or need.
Peugeot Citroen South Africa has introduced a "Guaranteed Future Value" (GFV) programme which will ensure that its customers can drive a new Peugeot vehicle every few years.

Through the GFV programme, the car brand will rule out extending its warranty period of three years or 100,000km. Instead, the programme encourages owners to upgrade their vehicles more often, without incurring additional costs.

The South African market is undergoing a shift that is line with international trends where we see customers shifting from vehicle ownership to mobility. Although it is in its infancy here in South Africa we can already see this trend developing and obtaining traction, said Francisco Gaie, managing director of Peugeot Citroen South Africa.

Peugeot now offers an Assured Future Value (AFV) financial agreement called Motion Finance a product of WesBank.

In todays world of mobility, we understand that customers are looking for peace of mind when it comes to financing their vehicles, said the marketing manager, Dineo Mofokeng.

With Motion Finance, Peugeot Citroen South Africa guarantees customers the future value of their vehicles.

Speaking at the launch of the Peugeot 3008 SUV in early August 2017, Gaie, acknowledged the concerns around Peugeots trade-in value perceptions and gave his assurance that he would do everything possible to alleviate these interpretations. We believe our GFV programme is a step in the right direction and will change the perceptions of Peugeots trade-in value, he said.

To be rolled out on Peugeot 208 Active model

The new programme will initially be rolled out on the Peugeot 208 Active model and subsequently be introduced across the range. We are positive that customers will welcome the introduction of the Guaranteed Future Value programme which will encourage them to replace their vehicle at the conclusion of their three-year warranty Francisco added.

How it works

Select your Peugeot 208 Active

Choose a repayment period (Terms from 24, 36 and 48 months)

Agree to a maximum mileage (available options 40 000 km to 80 000 km)

Agree on a deposit, or 0% deposit and monthly payment to suit your budget

At the end of the Motion Finance agreement period you can choose one of three options provided that all conditions of Motion Finance are met:

Renew: Return your Peugeot as per the guaranteed buy-back program and renew your Motion Finance agreement on a new Peugeot model of your choice. Return: Return your Peugeot on the guaranteed buy-back program and end your Motion Finance contract. Retain: Keep your Peugeot and re-finance it at the guaranteed buy-back value. This will not form part of the Motion Finance agreement. You will enter into a traditional finance agreement under new terms and conditions.

Several car manufacturers offer a guaranteed value programme, linked to a lease agreement or finance contract. This usually hinges on the car being returned with a complete service history, without major damage and within a pre-determined mileage limit.

At the end of a pre-defined period, most programs allow customers to upgrade their vehicle, or hand it back to the dealership.

Peugeot Citroen South Africa now also offers a service plan to insure the guaranteed buy-back of your vehicle. The Peugeot Protect plan will maintain and restore your vehicle (for an agreed period) from damages that result from everyday wear and tear in return for a small fee.

This will assist customers in keeping their vehicles in showroom condition, thereby guaranteeing the future value of their vehicle.

The Peugeot Protect plan is not limited to models purchased on the GFV programme, it covers all new and used Peugeot transactions, Francisco concluded.
Dutch officials toasted on Tuesday, 17 October, the opening of what is being called the world's first 3D-printed concrete bridge, which is primarily meant to be used by cyclists.

There was applause as officials wearing hard hats and workmen's jackets rode over the bridge on their bikes at the inauguration in the southeastern town of Gemert.

"The bridge is not very big, but it was rolled out by a printer which makes it unique," Theo Salet, from the Eindhoven University of Technology, told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Work on printing the bridge, which has some 800 layers, took about three months after starting in June and it is made of reinforced, pre-stressed concrete, according to the university.

"One of the advantages of printing a bridge is that much less concrete is needed than in the conventional technique in which a mould is filled," it said on its website, adding "a printer deposits the concrete only where it is needed."

The eight-metre bridge spans a water-filled ditch to connect two roads and, in conjunction with the BAM Infra construction company, was tested for safety to bear loads of up to two tonnes. Although designed for bikes, it could take up to 40 trucks, the designers said.

"We are looking to the future," said the head of BAM, Marinus Schimmel, adding in a statement that his company was constantly "searching for a newer, smarter approach to addressing infrastructure issues and making a significant contribution to improving the mobility and sustainability of our society."

Less resources, less waste

3D printing meant "fewer scarce resources were needed and there was significantly less waste," he added.

The Netherlands is among countries, with the United States and China, taking a lead in the cutting-edge technology of 3D printing, using computers and robotics to construct objects and structures from scratch without using traditional manpower. Last year, a Dutch architect unveiled a unique 3D printer with which he hopes to construct an "endless loop" building.

And a Dutch startup called MX3D has begun printing a stainless-steel bridge, of which a third is already completed. The aim is to finish printing by March and lay the bridge over an Amsterdam canal in June.

Source: AFP
Right2Know (R2K) Western Cape will be hosting a panel discussion on media freedom in commemoration of Black Wednesday at the Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The panel discussion is being held in partnership with AIDC, AmaBhungane, and Worker's World Media Production.

Forty years after the apartheid government clamped down on dissent, R2K intends to reflect on the current challenges that the media and community movements face when it comes to censorship.
PR Newswire

LONDON, October 19, 2017

LONDON, October 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

London is Europe's leading fintech hub, according to recent investment data from London & Partners. Global investors continue to pump large sums of money into London fintech companies with the research revealing that 2017 is set to be a record year for investment into both London and the UK's fintech sectors.

Over $1 billion (825m) has been poured into the UK's financial technology companies since the beginning of the year, with double the amount raised compared with the same period in 2016. The research also suggest that British companies are on course to raise more money in 2017 than the records set in 2015, with the data showing firms have already received more investment than the first three quarters of 2015.

London continues to provide a major boost to the UK's fintech sector, with London firms raising over $980m (769.41m) and accounting for over 90 per cent of all investment into fintech companies across the UK in 2017.

The findings have been released to coincide with an upcoming trade mission of London financial technology companies to Money 20/20, the world's largest fintech conference. Led by the Mayor's International Business Programme, a delegation of 12 of London's fastest growing fintech companies will showcase themselves at the global trade show and explore investment and expansion opportunities in the US market.

Companies joining the delegation include foreign exchange banking app, Revolut, which recently raised $66m in Series B funding and AI based ID verification app Onfido that received $30m in funding in September this year. Other London fintech businesses on the trade mission include: Divido, Fluidly, Vega One, Fractal Labs, Monese, PixelPin, Smarkets, Starling Bank, Sthaler and Yoyo Wallet.

London's Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal, said: "London remains a world leader in fintech and the companies on the Mayor's trade delegation are at the forefront of this exciting sector. More than 1 billion in venture capital has been invested into London's fintech sector since the EU referendum - this is yet more proof that global investors believe London will remain a leading fintech hub for many years to come.

In the past five years London's fintech sector has received more than five times the amount of investment than any other major European city. Since 2012, London fintech companies attracted more VC money than Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin and Amsterdam combined.

London has also seen significantly more venture capital investment than many other global fintech hubs including Hong Kong, Mumbai and Singapore. Global investors still see San Francisco, Beijing and New York as the top three hubs for fintech but London is the fourth largest globally.

Separate research from specialist banking and investment firm, Investec, confirms London's global appeal, with the findings showing that over one third of investors into London's fintech sector in 2017 were based overseas. The data also shows that the proportion of non-EU based investors into London fintech companies has increased significantly since last year.

Kevin Chong, Investec's Co-Head of Emerging Companies said: "Reaffirming the global appeal of London's Fintech sector, in 2017 we have seen a large number of international investors invest in London Fintechs who have not invested in London previously."

James Layfield - Founder & CEO Blackbox Global Inc and London Technology ambassador said: "With a world leading financial centre and a thriving technology hub, we know that there's a real desire for these teams to work together in London. It's a perfect example of how the best minds in tech and finance can come together to develop the banking solutions of tomorrow, we have built solutions in London to address these challenges, from onboarding to culture, and funding to fast-tracking."

At a national level, the United States leads the way for fintech investment with over $25 billion worth of VC funding over the last five years. China ranks second globally with a significant increase in investment over the last few years taking its total to over $14.5 billion. The UK remains the largest fintech hub in Europe and the third largest globally, with British firms attracting over $3.8 billion since 2012.

SOURCE London & Partners
BMW is looking to form a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor.

The car giants are considering the possibility of opening an assembly plant in the eastern Chinese city of Changshu, a BMW executive said, while declining to say what type of vehicles would be put together there.

A venture with Great Wall would be BMWs second in China, the worlds largest auto market. It has a joint venture with local carmaker Brilliance China Automotive Holdings (1114.HK). Foreign carmakers have to operate in the market with local partners. BMWs China sales grew 11.3% last year and it is the countrys second-largest premium brand after Volkswagens Audi.

BMW is trying to stay ahead of third-place Daimlers Mercedes-Benz, which recorded 26.6% growth in China sales in 2016 thanks to a fresher model line-up.

Foreign carmakers have recently announced a raft of investments and tie-ups in China, especially in electric vehicles.

China wants electric and hybrid cars to make up at least a fifth of the countrys auto sales by 2025 and plans to loosen joint-venture regulations in the market. Tesla, Ford, Daimler, and General Motors are among firms that have already announced plans for making electric vehicles in China.

Meanwhile, Volkswagens Czech carmaker Skoda has underscored its commitment to its home country, saying it was planning to add jobs there amid worries the business could lose some production to Germany.

Skoda has become Volkswagens second most profitable brand in terms of operating margin and is on target for record sales in 2017. But capacity is hitting a limit and its success is causing tensions inside the German car group.

Skoda chief executive Bernhard Maier yesterday said that the Czech Republic would remain Skodas home and that it was adding jobs locally to meet capacity demands.

At the moment, concerning global demand, we are not able to cover it from the Czech Republic, (and) for this reason we are looking around at other production capacities, he said.

Reuters
The Army bomb squad has made safe a pipe bomb found in Rathkeale, Co Limerick.

Members of the Defence Forces arrived at the scene just after 12:15pm today and evacuated a number of houses and local businesses.

The area was cordoned off during the operation which finished just after 2pm.

The device was removed for further examination and will be handed over to Gardai to help them with their investigations.
By Fiachra O Cionnaith, Political Correspondent

Savita Halappanavar died as a direct result of Ireland's restrictive abortion laws and not simply because she contracted sepsis, the author of the independent report into her death has said.

Prof Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran made the comment as he said the eighth amendment is "not working" and declared his "surprise" it has taken five years since Savita's death for a discussion on its removal to take place.

Speaking during a meeting of the cross-party Oireachtas committee on the future of the eighth amendment which also heard former master of Holles Street Hospital Dr Peter Boylan call for the immediate repeal of existing laws and warn politicians will face "groundhog day" if they fail to do so, Prof Arulkumaran said the reality is Savita died because of Ireland's abortion laws.

Asked specifically by Independent senator Lynn Ruane "if the presence of the eighth amendment cost Savita her life", Prof Arulkumaran - who authored the report into her death - said: "It was very clear the things holding the hands of physicians was the legal issue. Anybody, any junior doctor, would have said this is a sepsis condition, we must terminate.

"She did have sepsis. However, if she had a termination in the first days as requested, she would not have had sepsis. If she had the termination when asked for it, the sepsis would not arise.

"We would never have heard of her and she would be alive today," he said.

The comment was later contradicted by Independent TD Mattie McGrath, who said there is "lots of differing opinion on that".

However, Prof Boylan responded on behalf of the witnesses, saying both he and Prof Arulkumaran "had the opportunity of reviewing her medical notes" and as such "have an unfair advantage" over the TD.

Prof Arulkumaran also told the committee he is "surprised" by the fact a referendum on the eighth amendment is only taking place now, telling Solidarity-PBP TD Ruth Coppinger he made such a recommendation in his 2013 report and "nobody took notice of it".

The expert physician separately said the eighth amendment is "not working" and told Independent senator Ronan Mullen in one heated exchange about a woman dying on her return home from Britain after an abortion: "The mistake is not Marie Stokes. The mistake is with Ireland. That is the root cause."

Speaking during the same meeting, Prof Boylan told Fine Gael senator Jerry Buttimer Ireland will face "groundhog day" over and over unless the abortion question is definitively answered now.

"We'll be back, you've got to do something now," he said when asked what he would tell committee members if they do not recommend a repeal vote.

In an eight-minute speech to the committee during her own question time, Fine Gael senator Kate O'Connell also strongly called for abortion law reform, saying she was flying back from Britain last week and "walked down the aisle wondering who was travelling back" after an abortion.

Urging TDs to stop thinking about "our own careers" and telling them "to be brave here", Ms O'Connell asked Prof Arulkumaran, Dr Boylan and Mayo University Hospital specialist Dr Meabh Ni Bhuinneain to "stop pussy footing about" and say what Ireland should do, saying there is "a need to spell it out".

"Legislation, discuss with the woman based on the request for termination if she wants," said Prof Arulkumaran, while Dr Ni Bhuinneain said "use the result of the Citizens' Assembly".

Dr Boylan added simply: "Repeal the eighth and replace it with legislation."
A UK lotto millionaire accused of defilement of an under-age Irish teenage girl has been further remanded in custody pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

A judge granted an adjournment for the DPPs directions but warned he was marking time passing.

The British man, who is in his late twenties, was arrested in Dublin in July after he travelled to Ireland to speak to the teen's mother about his relationship with her daughter whom he allegedly met through an internet chat-room.

The wealthy businessman was charged with four counts of engaging in a sexual act with a child under the age of 17 years on dates in 2016 and this year.

Bail with a range of strict conditions was set at 200,000 and he was remanded in custody. He faced his sixth hearing appearing before Judge Victor Blake at Cloverhill District Court.

The defendant has not yet taken up bail.

Judge Blake heard that the file on the case is with the DPP and he was told directions have to be obtained. He adjourned the case until the end of this month and he said that he was now noting time passing.

At an earlier stage, he told the prosecution that he was starting the clock on it.

The alleged offences are under Section Three of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006, which can carry jail terms of up to five years. Last month the High Court refused to reduce the bail.

At his first hearing, Garda Stephen Faulkner objected to bail alleging the man frequently travelled over from the UK by ferry to meet the girl for sex and gardai have recovered videos of sexual activity from the defendants phone.

He had said a complaint was made by the teens mother in January that her daughter, who is in her mid-teens, and the man were in a sexual relationship.

The alleged injured party outlined that she met him through a named online chat-room in 2015, the bail hearing was told. Garda Faulkner said the girl was subscribed to the under-17s category of the website.

It was alleged they exchanged details and then communicated through Snapchat and WhatsApp.

Garda Faulkner had said it was alleged the man first came to Ireland to meet her last year.

It was alleged they stayed in a hotel in Dublin and had sexual intercourse. She was aged 15 at the time and had told the accused, the court has heard.

Garda Faulkner alleged that the man came back by ferry every four to six weeks.

It was alleged the girls mother alerted gardai and an investigation began.

The court was also told that gardai allegedly recovered images and videos of sexual activity taking place and some recording during the course of sexual activity.

Last year he bought her a designer ring worth 2,500 telling the shop assistant it was an engagement ring, the district court has heard.

His bank accounts showed he won a substantial amount in the UK lotto, the garda has said.

Bail has been set in the mans own bond of 100,000 which has to be lodged. He also needs two independent sureties, each in the sums of 50,000, to be approved by the court.

In the event that bail is taken up he cannot have any contact directly or indirectly with the girl or her family, the judge ordered.

The other conditions of bail state he has to reside at an address in Ireland agreed by gardai, sign on twice daily at his local garda station from 9am until 12pm and 5pm until 8pm; maintain a 11pm to 8am curfew at his address and be available to gardai calling to his residence during those hours; surrender his passport and not apply for other travel documents; have a mobile phone which must be switched on 24 hours a day and he has to stay out of certain areas.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkars much criticised Strategic Communications Unit has advertised for four recruits to be seconded from the civil service, write Daniel McConnell and Elaine Loughlin.

An internal email, seen by the Irish Examiner, shows that the unit is looking for a principal officer (salary up to 102,212); an assistant principal officer up to 81,924); a higher executive officer (56,415) and an administrative officer (58,251).

Mr Varadkar yesterday accused the opposition of extraordinary paranoia over his 5m unit after he confirmed there are 20 politically-appointed staff in his department.

In the Dail, he detailed the names and ranks of the 20 appointees, nine of which are special advisors, who according to his comments, cost the taxpayer up to 1.95m a year at the top end of their scales.

Not all of those named have reached the top end of their increment scale.

Responding to Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, Labour leader Brendan Howlin and Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald, Mr Varadkar detailed all the people he has appointed since taking office.

There are 20 politically-appointed staff employed by my department. Nine of these are advisers, including two special advisers to the Government chief whip, he said.

Those based in my department in Government Buildings are: Brian Murphy, chief of staff, paid at deputy secretary grade [157,433] ; John Carroll, head of policy and programme implementation, paid at assistant secretary grade [122,313 to 139,728].

He added: Nick Miller, spokesman and communications adviser to the Taoiseach is paid at assistant secretary grade; Patrick Geoghegan, special adviser, is paid at assistant secretary grade; Angela Flanagan, special adviser, paid at principal officer grade [77,849 -to 102,212]; Philip OCallaghan, special adviser, paid at principal officer grade.

Feargal Purcell, Government press secretary, is paid at assistant secretary grade, Mr Varadkar said, but it is understood he is to leave his role in the coming weeks, having served as Enda Kennys press secretary since 2011.

Ex-Fine Gael senator Jim DArcy has been appointed Mr Varadkars Brexit special adviser and is paid at assistant principal grade [62,966 to 81,924] while Lisa Tavey, a personal assistant, is paid at higher executive officer grade [44,816 to 56,415].

Mr Varadkar also revealed a number of other political appointees. Catherine Halloran, deputy Government press secretary, is paid at principal officer grade  she is principally press officer for the independent ministers, he said.

Sarah Meade, assistant Government press secretary, [is] paid at principal officer grade; Tony Williams, chief strategist for the Independent Alliance, paid at principal officer grade; Donall Geoghegan, political co-ordinator for the Independent Ministers, paid at principal officer grade, he added.

This story originally appeared in the Irish Examiner
Burma security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International has said in a new report.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, when Burma security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages.

Burma's government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.

The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Burma, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers' uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Burma's Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Burma's army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Burma border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnesty's reporting. Mr Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards away were untouched.

"It speaks to how organised, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country," Mr Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Burma and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Burma authorities do not act swiftly.

"It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar," Amnesty International said.

AP
Diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul today to discuss policy responses to North Korea's accelerating efforts to expand its nuclear weapons programme.

Before flying to Seoul for talks with South Korean vice foreign minister Lim Sung-nam, US deputy secretary of state John Sullivan and Japanese deputy foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama met in Tokyo on Tuesday and vowed to find more ways to apply pressure on Pyongyang.

The vice-ministerial discussions will be followed by a meeting between the countries' top envoys for the currently-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea that also involved China and Russia.

North Korea has been rejecting the six-party meetings since 2008.

The talks came as the United States and South Korea held joint naval drills involving fighter jets, submarines and other naval vessels, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, to train for potential North Korean provocations. The allies regularly conduct joint exercises that Pyongyang condemns as invasion rehearsals.

North Korea in recent months has tested purported thermonuclear weapons and long-range missiles and flew two powerful new mid-range missiles over Japan between threats to fire the same weapons toward Guam, a Pacific US territory and military hub.

After his meeting with Mr Sugiyama in Tokyo on Tuesday, Mr Sullivan said that the focus at the State Department was still on diplomacy to solve the problem and eventually denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

"We must, however, with our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail," he said, adding that the United States must be prepared to defend itself and its allies.

South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said ahead of the Seoul meetings that the allies were committed to "stably managing the situation" and pursuing all available avenues for North Korea's denuclearisation, including efforts to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

North Korea's deputy UN ambassador, Kim In Ryong, said Tuesday at the United Nations that his country planned to conduct more satellite launches, which outside governments see as a cover for banned tests of missile technologies.

On Monday, Mr Kim told the UN General Assembly's disarmament committee that the situation on the Korean Peninsula had "reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment", citing the US-South Korea drills and what he called US plans to remove the North's leadership.

He said the North had the right to possess nuclear weapons in self-defence because it was under the direct nuclear threat of the United States.

AP
About 60 people remain unaccounted for in the California counties of Napa and Sonoma more than a week after deadly wildfires started in the US state.

Crews have made progress controlling the blazes, but reported the first death from the firefighting effort after a driver was killed when his truck overturned on a winding mountain road.

The driver, who was delivering water to the fire lines, crashed before dawn in Napa County on a road that climbs from vineyards into the mountains.

He was identified as volunteer firefighter Garrett Paiz, 38, of Missouri, a privately contracted water tender driver.

After days of gusts that constantly fanned the fires, better weather offered a chance for crews to get the upper hand more than a week after the blazes, which have killed at least 40 people, started devastating the state's celebrated wine country.

The smoky skies started to clear in some places, and thousands of people got the all-clear to return home.

About 40,000 evacuees are still waiting for permission to go back to their communities, down from 100,000 on Saturday.

The number of missing people has reduced from roughly 100 on Monday, although it is unclear how many people are actually missing because reports have included duplicate names or names of people who were safe but unable to call relatives.

Some people reported as missing also never knew someone had been looking for them.

- AP
Iran's supreme leader has described Donald Trump as "mentally retarded" as he urged Europe to do more to back the 2015 nuclear deal after the US president refused to re-certify the pact.

European companies have rushed into the Iranian markets since the landmark accord, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments show he hopes to leverage them into protecting the nuclear deal.

While offering harsh criticism of Mr Trump, Ayatollah Khamenei wants to ensure that Tehran continues to have access to the international market for its crude oil as part of efforts to revive a stagnant economy.

"The European governments have underlined the nuclear deal's issue and condemned the US president's remarks," Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to comments posted on his official website.

"We welcome this approach but it is not enough that they only tell him not to tear up the deal. The nuclear deal is to their benefit."

He said: "I will not spend time to respond to the nonsensical comments by the foul-mouthed president," and referred to Mr Trump and his administration as "mentally retarded".

He also warned that if the US tears up the deal, "we will shred it into pieces".

The 2015 deal curbed Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions on Iran.

European aviation consortium Airbus signed billions of dollars in sales agreements with the Islamic Republic, France's Total SA and state-run China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn agreement with Iran to develop the country's massive offshore natural gas field, and French motor manufacturer Groupe Renault signed a $778m deal.

Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union - the other parties to the nuclear accord - have been telling Mr Trump's administration to stay in the deal.

His refusal last week to re-certify has sparked a new war of words between the Islamic Republic and America, fuelling growing mistrust and a sense of nationalism among Iranians.

Mr Trump also criticised Europeans for their participation in Iran's energy projects.

He said he de-certified the accord on the grounds that Iran had committed several violations of the deal but he did not announce a withdrawal from the pact, instead shifting it to Congress for a decision.

AP
Update 4.55pm: A gunman has opened fire at a Maryland office park, killing three co-workers and wounding two others, authorities said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler identified the gunman as 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince.

He said Prince opened fire with a handgun and then fled from Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood.

Police are looking for him and he is considered armed and dangerous. The sheriff did not release a motive for the shooting.

The owner of a home improvement company in the office park said the victims and the suspect worked for him at Advanced Granite Solutions.

Barak Caba said the suspect has been an employee for four months, and was a machine operator.

The wounded are in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Centre's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Centre in Baltimore.

The FBI is assisting local authorities to find Prince. Investigators are treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and do not see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Nearby schools have been locked down as a precaution.

The business park is just south of the Interstate 95 interchange with Route 24.

Earlier:

Multiple injuries have been reported in a shooting at an office park in north-east Maryland in the US today.

Harford County Sheriff's Office said officers are at the scene at Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood.

As a precaution and on the advice of the sheriff's office, students at five nearby schools were being kept indoors and no visitors were permitted.

The business park is just south of the Interstate 95 interchange with Route 24.
Pakistani police say they have arrested a Muslim cleric for alleged involvement in the murder of social media model Qandeel Baloch.

She was found strangled in her home in the city of Multan last year after posting racy pictures on Facebook of herself with the cleric, Mufti Abdul Qawi.
An award-winning actress who has accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of rape has said she has left her native Italy after being "slut-shamed" in the press.

Asia Argento, one of three women who accused the movie mogul of rape in a recent article in the New Yorker magazine, has vowed to return to the country "when things improve to fight alongside all the other women".

Far-right daily Libero published an article entitled: 'First they give it away, then they whine and pretend to repent', with the subtitle reading: 'Falling for your boss's sexual advances is prostitution, not rape', according to Mashable.

Argento told Variety that she has been "shamed by the Italian media, which is medieval, adding that "until the 60s you could kill your wife and it was called murder of honour, if she had cheated.

Until 1996 rape was considered a crime against morals, not against a person."

Argento originally told The New Yorker that she did not speak out until recently because she feared that Weinstein would crush her.

I know he has crushed a lot of people before, Argento told the New Yorker.

Thats why this storyin my case, its twenty years old, some of them are olderhas never come out.

In the same article, the actress admitted that she had "consensual sexual relations with him multiple times over the course of the next five years".

Harvey Weinstein, 65, has unequivocally denied all allegations of non-consensual sex through a representative.

Separately, the brother of Harvey Weinstein has denied sexually harassing a producer as a television network investigates the claims.

US broadcaster Spike said on Tuesday that it is taking "very seriously" allegations about Bob Weinstein made by Amanda Segel, a former executive producer of sci-fi series The Mist.

She said he made repeated romantic overtures and requests to join him for private dinners over the course of three months until threats from her lawyer that she would leave the show if he did not stop, US magazine Variety reported.

The allegation came as Harvey Weinstein resigned from the board of directors of The Weinstein Company after being accused by more than 30 actresses of sexual harassment and assault.
Church of the Brethren Newsline

October 18, 2017

The most recent grants from the Global Food Initiative (GFI) bolster agriculture in several nations including Burundi, Ecuador, India, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela. Find out more about the work of the GFI and how to support it at www.brethren.org/gfi .

Burundi

An additional allocation of $9,872 has been given for farmer training in Burundi. The grant recipient, Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Services (THARS), will use the grant for its Farmer Field School activities. Funds will pay for seeds, fertilizer, training sessions, plowing, land rental, and administrative costs. This is the third year of what THARS hopes will be a five-year project. Previous grants to this project total $26,640.

India

An allocation of $8,210 supports agriculture work in Ankleshwar, Gujarat State, India. The Rural Service Center (RSC) provides services to local farmers, with proceeds going to allow the RSC to support work in areas of even greater need. In the grant application, RSC contact Darryl Sankey reports, The rural community needs exposure to modern farming techniques of leveling and tilling land, to increase the production of food grain, and sanitation and hygiene, and promoting usage of Bio Gas as cheap source of energy. Funds will be used for land leveling activities (terracing) to allow for irrigation; seeds and fertilizer for crop trials; classes for adults in modern farming techniques, hygiene, sanitation, and bio-gas production; as well as costs associated with tractors and program staff salary and transportation needs.

Venezuela

An allocation of $6,650 supports a new rice-growing initiative in Venezuela. The project is an initiative of the Asociacion Iglesia de Los Hermanos Venezuela (ASIGLEHV or Church of the Brethren in Venezuela) and Fundacion Cristiana Restauracion (Christian Restoration Foundation of the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela). The harvest, projected to be over 50 tons and grown on 10 hectares (approximately 25 acres), will be distributed as follows: 50 percent to Brethren church members in need, 20 percent to community groups, and 30 percent to the Venezuelan government (obligatory). Funds will be used specifically for the purchase of seed, fertilizer, pesticides, tractor rental, and a percentage to the land owner (a church member) for the use of his land. A professionally trained agronomist, also a church member, will be a consultant to this project.

Dominican Republic

An allocation of $4,750 supports a rabbit raising project of Iglesia de los Hermanos (the Church of the Brethren in the Dominican Republic). Brethren mission worker Jason Hoover will work closely with the leadership of Iglesia de Los Hermanos on this project, which will serve 43 participants in 17 communities. Rabbits and cages will be provided as loans, and must be repaid. The grant money will purchase animals, materials for cages, water bottles, and instructional materials, and will fund training seminars. Funds also will cover the travel costs of Abe Fisher of Bunkertown Church of the Brethren, McAlisterville, Pa., who works with Juniper Missions in Haiti and who has provided training to staff and members of Eglise des Freres Haitiens (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti).

Ecuador

An allocation of $3,000 supports the establishment of two agroforestry demonstration and teaching plots in Ecuador. This is a project of La Fundacion Brethren y Unida (FBU, the United and Brethren Foundation), a nonprofit that arose from the work of the Church of the Brethren in Ecuador in the 1950s and 1960s. The project will support about 500 families in the communities of Picalqui and Cubinche. Goals for use of the grant are: an agro-ecological demonstration plot working to empower young people and children of the community of Cubinche in agroecology; training for 40 young men and women in basic subjects of agro-ecological production; development of six productive reforested plots in Picalqui and Cubinche (500 trees); basic training to prepare healthy and nutritious foods that improve the nutrition of children and youth in the community. Funds will purchase seed, vegetable seedlings, organic fertilizer, wire caging, irrigation equipment, community trainings, and staff transportation. Twenty youth from each community will be selected for the project.

For more about the Global Food Initiative go to www.brethren.org/gfi .

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.
Over 100 scholars, representing 36 countries, attended the University of Bristols inaugural International Scholars Reception at the Wills Memorial Building this month.

Vice-Chancellor & President, Professor Hugh Brady, and the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Lesley Alexander, officially welcomed the exceptional scholars to the University and the City of Bristol, acknowledging their already significant achievement in being there.

The University of Bristol partners with over 30 scholarship and sponsorship organisations worldwide. Representatives and scholars from numerous organisations attended the reception, including the Fulbright Commission, Chevening, Ashinaga, the China Scholarship Council, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the Karta Initiative.

Students from places as far afield as Uzbekistan, China and the Ivory Coast, shared the stories and motivations that led them to pursue subjects as diverse as public policy, robotics and aeronautical engineering.

Gathering under the gaze of portraits of previous Chancellors, including Sir Winston Churchill and Nobel-prize winning scientist, Dorothy Hodgkin, all were united by a sense that a University of Bristol education marks the start of their journey towards realising their visions for a better world.

University of Bristol Vice-Chancellor & President, Professor Hugh Brady, said:

Take a moment this evening to appreciate the opportunity that lies ahead of you, and get to know each others cultures.

Think big. You are the leaders of the future. Think about the world you are going to live in. You have the opportunity to shape it.

Dalia Elmelige  Fulbright Scholar

Bristols position as a City of Sanctuary for refugees and its thriving non-profit sphere were a big draw for Fulbright Scholar, Dalia Elmelige, when she was looking for somewhere to undertake her Masters in International Development & Security.

I was drawn to study at Bristol because Im really interested in Development and Security, and the University of Bristol is one of few institutions which offer a combination of the two.

I had visited Bristol once before to stay with a friend so I knew it was a great city with an excellent University, said Dalia.

Dalia is passionate about exploring issues of identity and integration and how by simply meeting peoples most basic human rights and needs we can help prevent radicalisation.

Her interest stems from previous research she has conducted into the factors which make people vulnerable to groups such as ISIS, and her first-hand experience of working with refugee communities in Copenhagen.

As a first generation American with Egyptian heritage, she identifies first and foremost as Egyptian. However, having grown up in Florida she is no stranger to issues of identity and integration herself and it is partly this experience which drives her.

I hope one day to have the opportunity to work for the United Nations and ultimately I would like to be the Director or Founder of my own organisation, so I can help shape a world in which the human rights of every single citizen are respected and upheld, she said.

With her passion, drive and a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship behind her, theres every reason to believe she will succeed.

Dogba Djaze, Ivory Coast  Ashinaga

Dogba Djaze from the Ivory Coast has a vision to completely transform the aeronautical industry in Africa. It is this ambition which drove his decision to study Aerospace Engineering here at Bristol.

Djazes personal circumstances and exceptional educational performance lead to him being awarded a scholarship through the Ashinaga African Initiative (AAI). The AAI project aims to alleviate poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa by supporting the higher education of young orphaned students who have the desire to make a difference.

Djaze is now embarking on his third year as a University of Bristol student and loves the city he currently calls home.

Bristol is an excellent city, very friendly, especially if you are an international student. The student life here is great!

Last year, he and classmates built an aeroplane wing and this year they will be developing this further. However, Djaze is also interested in revolutionising the way flight routes work across Africa. Whatever flight path he chooses, there is no doubt he has the drive, skills and knowledge to make it a success.

Yunfei Li  Chinese Scholarship Council

Yunfei Li completed his Masters in Molecular Neuroscience at Bristol in 2011. He always hoped he would be able to return to the University and city he had grown so fond of.

After five years working as a surgeon in his hometown of Henan in China, he was given the opportunity to come back to Bristol thanks to the backing of the Chinese Scholarship Council, and this year he embarked on his PhD in medicine.

I really enjoyed my first time at Bristol so I am very happy to be here again. I previously made many friends here, with both my classmates and supervisors. Bristol was my first choice for my PhD - its really an excellent university, said Yunfei.

When he returns to China after his PhD, Yunfei will specialise in treating osteoarthritis. But for now he is enjoying all that Bristol has to offer:

Bristol is a very beautiful city. It has so much going on, it easily competes with much bigger cities, and I find it a very friendly and interesting place to live.
How you can help Give A Christmas to Lower Bucks families in need
A 24-year-old man is facing a slew of felony charges for illegal straw purchase of 21 guns at gun stores, almost exclusively in Bucks County. Leonard Truesdale was arraigned on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, on 21 counts each of making false statements on firearm purchase forms, criminal conspiracy to make false statements on firearm purchase forms and selling or transferring...
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October 31, 2022

Buddy TV

In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options...
Barrys in quite a good mood (making breakfast and catching up on the TV he missed) when this episode of The Flash begins. But he cant just go back to how things were before he left (mainly, leading the team and thinking the Flash is just him), as he learns when Iris calls him out on it and makes the two of them attend couples therapy.

Also in Mixed Signals, Gypsy breaches in for a date with Cisco, but his work interrupts those plans. Elsewhere, Caitlins still struggling with, and hiding from the others, her Killer Frost side, as it almost comes out when theyre alerted of the unauthorized breach that ends up just being Gypsy.

The Flash Season 4 Spoilers: Will the Crossover Feature a Double Wedding? >>>

Dont Take Credit for Someone Elses Work

The team first learns theyre dealing with a hacker when a tech billionaire is shaken to death in an elevator and Cisco finds encrypted code in the system.

Kilgore then strikes again, taking control of a guys car. But fortunately, even though Barry doesnt listen to Iris when he should have and turns the car down a street under construction, Barry stops Tim from crashing into a brick wall at 120mph to his death.

The same code is found in the cars system. Caitlins the one who figures out that its an organic virus with a digital sub-base. Theyre dealing with a meta.

Kilgore goes after Tim again at CCPD, using the bomb squads equipment to bring a grenade to where Joe is questioning him, but thanks to the distress signal on the teams phones, Barry is alerted and saves them.

Tim runs off to warn Sheila, the third person involved in stealing an app, Kilgore, from the meta, Deacon. When she refuses to apologize for doing so, Deacon hacks her insulin pump. Wallys able to save her, but by then, Deacon has gotten away with Tim.

Deacon makes Tim admit over a live stream that he and the other two stole the app from him and got rich while he got nothing. Not only can Cisco track them, but he and Caitlin have also created bio-digital antibodies to stop him by inverting the binary code his powers are derived from in his DNA.

Fortunately, Barry and Wally arrive on the scene to save Tim from a deadly, painful game of wishbone, but thanks to Ciscos many tech upgrades to Barrys new suit, Deacon takes control of it and uses the weapons system to knock out Wally.

When Deacons distracted, Barry speeds away and has to use a payphone to make a collect call (from Guys, help me!) to the team. He then learns his suit has a flotation mode (in case he loses his speed while running on water) and a self-destruct protocol (since theyve encountered an evil version of Barry before), one that is activated. (Barry really should have read Ciscos instruction manual for the suit.)

Since Barry cant get the suit off (thanks to another upgrade of Ciscos), Iris comes up with a solution: he needs to throw a lightning bolt at himself. It could kill him, but he trusts her, and it does work in time for Barry to stop Kilgore from shooting Tim and inject him with the antibodies.

Kilgore is put in a cell in the meta wing of Iron Heights, and hes surrounded by three layers of signal dampening walls, so he shouldnt be a problem anymore  right? (Wrong.) He wasnt in Central City during the particle accelerator explosion, so howd he get his powers? It was a real life-changer, and since he wasnt the only one, Central City is about to have its hands full, is all hell tell Barry and Joe.

But theres definitely something off about the look from the Warden as he looks in on Kilgore before we check in with the Thinker and find out that Kilgore is just where he wants him. Next up is to find the (11) others.

Quiz: Which TV Scooby Gang Do You Belong To? >>>

Therapy is Good for the Soul

Caitlin suggests to Iris that she and Barry try couples therapy, something she and Ronnie did when they went from just working together to working together and dating and had trouble communicating. But were Barry and Iris, Iris protests, not thinking they need it since theyve known each other since childhood.

However, after Barry doesnt listen to her in the field, Iris thinks it might not be the worst idea and he reluctantly agrees. And in those sessions, there is some humor (despite all the friends and family members theyve lost) as they try to explain how serious their communication problems can be (life or death!) without revealing that hes The Flash.

But then the truth comes out when Iris blurts out, How could you leave me? getting to the heart of the issue. Its not something they can talk about in therapy, but it is something they talk about back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Hes everything to her, Iris explains, and she was the one who had to lie to friends and family about where he was. He didnt want to leave her, he assures her. And while he put on a brave face, it was killing him inside. He admits that he didnt talk it through with her because he knew he wouldve stayed if she asked him to.

With the ring on her finger, she tells him that we are the Flash. He doesnt have to carry the weight of the city on his own. And thats a sentiment that Barry later echoes.

Earth-19s Shmoopy Romantic Holiday

Unfortunately for Gypsy, Cisco has to keep postponing (and eventually cancels) their date night due to work. Gypsy says its fine, but Caitlin clues Cisco in on the truth: its not fine, at all.

Cisco then offers to make it up to Gypsy another night, which is when she admits that on her Earth its 1-1-1 Day, the day you celebrate with the one you love, when one soul plus one soul equals one soul. Its sappy and shmoopy, yes, but something about Cisco makes Gypsy want to do shmoopy things.

So once Kilgore is locked up, Cisco puts together a fancy candlelit dinner and promises to always make it up to her when catching deranged killers gets in the way of their dates.

What did you think of Barry and Iris couples therapy sessions? What do you think of 1-1-1 Day? And do you think that warden is sketchy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Flash season 4 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. Want more news? Like our Facebook page.

(Image courtesy of The CW)
Campus News

Geology expands focus on climate science

NASA climate scientist Kristin Poinar, who will join the UB geology faculty in January, gives a TED Talk last spring in Vancouver, BC, on her research on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Photo: Ryan Lash/TED

By CHARLOTTE HSU

We now have four researchers working in this area, which is quite large when it comes to groups focused on glaciology.  Beata Csatho, professor and interim chair Department of Geology

The Department of Geology and the RENEW Institute will welcome a new hire in January: Kristin Poinar, a NASA climate scientist whose study on giant cracks in the Greenland Ice Sheet made headlines worldwide in early 2017. Although Poinar will not be in Buffalo until 2018, Western New Yorkers will have an opportunity to get to know her much sooner. A TED Talk Poinar gave this spring was posted online earlier this week. TED Talks are short, powerful talks that explain influential ideas. Poinars talk shares how she used computer modeling to discover what happens to meltwater that trickles into deep fissures, called crevasses, in the Greenland Ice Sheet. She found that instead of refreezing inside these massive chasms, the water reaches bedrock and finds its way to the ocean, contributing to global sea-level rise. Sea levels are rising and are going to continue to rise, says Poinar. If we are to plan, as a society, how to cope with coastal floods, saltwater encroaching into our drinking water and disruption at our ports, we need to know just how much seas will rise, and how fast that is going to happen.

A growing focus on climate change research

A view of a crevasse field on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Water is not visible in the crevasses, because meltwater doesn't enter them until about 40 feet below the surface, where a firn aquifer lies. Credit: Clement Miege/University of Utah A view of a crevasse field on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Water is not visible in the crevasses, because meltwater doesn't enter them until about 40 feet below the surface, where a firn aquifer lies. Photo: Clement Miege/University of Utah

At UB, Poinar joins a geology department that has grown its climate change research group in recent years, with a focus on glaciology, the study of glaciers and ice sheets. We now have four researchers working in this area, which is quite large when it comes to groups focused on glaciology, says Beata Csatho, professor and interim chair of the department. Numerical modeling is very important for understanding how ice sheets and glaciers behave, and Dr. Poinar has expertise in this area. By having her here, we will be able to do more exciting experiments. It makes us more competitive. Like Csatho and the departments other climate scientists, Poinar will be a member of UBs RENEW Institute, which tackles complex energy and environmental issues and their social and economic ramifications. RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) is funding 50 percent of her position. With Kristin joining UB, we are filling a key scientific gap in the RENEW Climate Change and Socioeconomic Impacts focus area, says Amit Goyal, Professor of Empire Innovation and director of RENEW. She joins the university at a time when both the RENEW Institute and geology department are looking to expand their expertise in climate change research. For years, the geology departments core climate scientists were Csatho, who uses satellite data to monitor ice sheets, and Jason Briner, who uses geologic evidence from Arctic research expeditions to study the Greenland Ice Sheets response to prehistoric climate change. The group grew in 2015 with the hire of geochemist Elizabeth Thomas, an assistant professor of geology who investigates how precipitation in two sensitive areas  the Arctic and East Asia  responded to climate change over the past several hundred thousand years. Poinar, a postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, will join the department as an assistant professor of geology.

The mystery below the ice
U.S. women's soccer looks to its rising stars for next World Cup
IT service major says the rise in captives expanding their operations in India is an opportunity that would help deepen relationships with clients and offer services and solutions at competitive costs.

India is witnessing a second wave of global firms looking to expand their captives and cut outsourcing to vendors such as as they look to build in-house capability in areas such as digital, analytics and cloud. This, they feel is core to their business which they want to retain instead of depending on third party vendors to deliver.
The state-run company (India) Ltd has committed an investment of Rs 12,940 crore to expand its natural gas pipeline network to 18,000 km, up from 11,000 km at present.

"Our envisaged pipeline network is expected to be completed by December 2020. The natural gas pipeline network would cover 769 km in Odisha, where the investment would be Rs 4,000 crore", said Ashutosh Karnatak, director (projects), (India) Ltd.
Tea producer Goodricke Group today said it has acquired eight tea brands of Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) for Rs 20 crore as part of its expansion of packaged tea business.

Godfrey Philips is one the leading tobacco manufacturers in India. The deal will mark GPI's exit from the packaged tea business.

Goodricke Group, under the deal, will have rights on trademarks, titles and brands associated with the tea business, the company said in a statement.

The brands acquired are Tea City, SC Gold, Symphony, Samovar, SC Premium, Super Cup, Rangoli and Utsav.

"This acquisition will bring synergy to our branded tea business and help us integrate all channels and develop this department further," Goodricke Group CEO and MD AN Singh said.

The producer of Darjeeling tea, Goodricke Group is a constituent of Camellia Plc, UK a global conglomerate, which is into agriculture, engineering, financial services and food distribution.

The sale is in line with Godfrey Phillips' decision to exit the packaged tea business which contributed less than 3 per cent of the gross turnover of the company, Godfrey Phillips said.

"With the acquisition of these brands, the size of the packet tea business will increase from 25 per cent to 33 per cent and is expected to bring in revenue of Rs 100 crore," Singh told PTI.



Goodricke is presently managing a business of nine million kilograms of packet tea through the FMCG route. It hopes to sustain 14 million kilograms after acquiring the Godfrey Phillips brands, its distributions and operation rights in the markets of J&K, Punjab, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the spokesman added.
UltraTech Cement, India's largest cement maker with a capacity of 93 million tonnes, has delivered a weak set of numbers for the July-September quarter as it is in the process of completing one of country's biggest acquisitions - Jaypee Cement's 21.2 million tonne unit. Higher depreciation and interest cost related to acquired units dented UltraTech's profitability during the period, which is the first operating quarter post acquisition.
The housing and urban affairs (HUA) ministry has agreed to the suggestion of the Delhi government for reviewing the functioning of Delhi Metro by an expert group -- to be acceptable to both the governments -- and has invited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for talks, a ministry source said today.

In a letter to Kejriwal today, the source said, HUA Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has invited him for talks on the terms of reference of the study and related matters.

"Since you are keen on a study of various aspects of the functioning of DMRC by an expert group, acceptable to both governments, this ministry is open to your suggestion and we can take it forward together in the best interests of the DMRC.

"This, in turn, should benefit the people of the capital as well. I would be happy to have a detailed discussion on the terms of reference of the proposed study and related matters, whenever convenient," the source, quoting Puri's letter, said.

Earlier in a letter to Puri, Kejriwal had suggested the HUA ministry that "an independent expert group, acceptable to the central and Delhi governments, be set up immediately to review all the issues" relating to the functioning of DMRC, the source said.

The letter was sent to the ministry after the fare hike came into effect recently.

Kejriwal had called for rationalisation and restructuring of DMRC for which a review of the organisation, management, control and accountability of DMRC is required for coming out with cogent recommendations.

In another letter, the chief minister had suggested that the ministry should allow the initiative of the Delhi government to examine matters relating to DMRC, the source said.

Referring to earlier communication by his ministry, Puri reiterated that Metro fare hike cannot be enquired into by either the Delhi government or the central government as per the provisions of the Metro Act and no unilateral enquiry could be initiated into other matters of DMRC since both the governments are equal equity shareholders in DMRC.

Puri, in his letter, also urged Kejriwal to send the Delhi Metro Phase-IV proposal to the Centre at the earliest and expressed concern over its alleged delay of two-and-a-half years.

Puri also urged Kejriwal to ensure action on the comprehensive report on 'Decongesting Delhi' prepared over a year ago by his ministry in consultation with the Delhi government.

He also sought early decision Delhi-Meerut RRTS project which has been lying with the Delhi Government for over an year now, the source said.
In July this year, the Indian government introduced an injectable contraceptive, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), best known as depo provera, into the public health system. The contraceptive would be made available for free through Mission Parivar Vikas, which seeks to improve family planning services in 145 high-focus districts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led statewide protest march in Kerala finally came to an end in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday two weeks after BJP president Amit Shah kicked off the Jan Raksha Yatra in Kerala from the political hotbed of Kannur.
that are constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission will now be called 'Izzat Ghar'. In yet another push to the Narendra Modi-led government's 'Clean India' campaign, the centre has directed states to call 'Izzat Ghar', or something equivalent in a local language that means house of dignity. This novel nomenclature is the brainchild of the Uttar Pradesh government.
US President Donald Trump has hailed the extraordinary contributions of Indian-Americans to science, medicine, business and education in the country as he celebrated his first Diwali at the White House.

Trump was joined by senior Indian-American members of his administration including Nikki Haley, his Ambassador to the United Nations and Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah, his Principal Deputy Press Secretary also joined Diwali celebrations.





"As we do (celebrate Diwali) so, we especially remember the People of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the world's largest democracy," Trump said in a Facebook post along with a video of his Diwali celebrations inside the Oval Office.

Trump said he greatly valued his "very strong relationship" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.

The president's daughter Ivanka also joined him in celebrations, according to a picture released by the White House.

In his remarks, Trump said Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to the country and to the world.

Trump addressing a gathering of Indian -Americans on occasion of Diwali. Photo: Facebook.

"You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve BRAVELY in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land," he said.

"Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in THE PEOPLES HOUSE. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American family," Trump added.

Diwali, he said, is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion.

"A time of peace and prosperity for the New Year, it is a tradition that is held dear by more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide and more than 2 million Hindus in the United States. It is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains in America, India and around the world," he said.

The tradition of Diwali celebration at the White House was first started by President George Bush.

During his term, it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, former president Barack Obama lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Room of the White House.

In his last year in office in 2016, Obama for the first time observed the festival of lights in the Oval Office.
Railway stations in 15 cities could soon offer residential apartments as part of a larger plan to redevelop them. These stations include New Delhi, Thane near Mumbai, and Howrah near Kolkata.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister are committed to building an "ambitious" partnership that benefits not just their countries but also other nations working towards peace and stability, America's top diplomat said today.

US Secretary of State told a audience that Modi's visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new era of strategic relationship.

" and Prime Minister Modi are committed more than any of our leaders before them to building an ambitious partnership that benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability," said Tillerson in a major policy speech before CSIS, a top US think-tank.

Tillerson is scheduled to visit next week.

"My visit could not come at a more promising time for the US- partnership. As you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of relations between our two countries," he said.

Tillerson said his relationship with India goes back to 1998, when he began working on issues related to India's energy security and has made many trips to Delhi.

"It was a privilege to do business with Indian counterparts then, and it has been my great honour this year to work with Indian leaders as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning to Delhi next week, for the first time in my official capacity," Tillerson said.

Referring to the fact that earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, Tillerson said it was a tangible illustration of India and the US expanding their energy cooperation.

The Trump Administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to work together, he asserted.

Noting that more than 600 American companies operate in India, Tillerson said the US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone.

The bilateral trade hit a record of roughly USD 115 billion last year, a number US plans to increase, he said.

"Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion," he said.

The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how and Prime Minister Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both economies, he said.
India is tightening quality controls for consumer and capital goods, officials say, a move that follows calls to curb cheap imports from China amid diplomatic tensions between the world's two most populous nations over their shared border.

The new rules target toys, electronic goods, machinery, food processing, construction and chemicals, sectors dominated by China, and come amid greater scrutiny of mainland firms looking to enter India's multi-billion dollar power transmission and telecoms business.

For India's toy retailers, who import everything from toy cars to musical phones and even robots from China, the new requirements have meant supply disruptions just ahead of the Diwali festive season.

The government's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approximately 23,000 standards across industries, many of which are never fully enforced, officials say. Now, government departments have been asked to carry out laboratory tests and spot inspection to ensure goods conform to the regulations.

"We have started this work on a war footing, to have quality control orders for almost every product that we are consuming in the country," said Ramesh Abhishek who heads the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

The new rules apply to both foreign manufacturers and domestic firms.

However, two people familiar with trade policy who did not want to be named said the sectors targeted are ones in which China controls more than two-thirds of the market, such as toy and stainless steel good industries, and where there have been "chronic" complaints of substandard products.

Separately, Indian Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma said her department will soon release new guidelines, raising quality norms for welded stainless steel pipes that are used in oil and gas as well as construction sector.

"There is evidence of China exporting semi-finished and finished goods using stainless steel that do not meet the BIS standards," Sharma said.

India's trade ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the new rules. China's Foreign Ministry referred questions to the Commerce Ministry, which did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Bilateral trade between India and China boomed to $71.45 billion in 2016-17 from $1.83 billion in 1999-2000, though most of this is skewed to Chinese exports.

The trade deficit has widened to $51.1 billion over the past year, a nine-fold increase over the last decade, despite repeated Indian calls for China to address the imbalance and open its markets.

Those trade differences are now being amplified by the resurfacing of a long-running border dispute, which has stirred protectionist sentiment in India.

In June, a nationalist group tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party began a campaign to discourage the use of Chinese goods in the country.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the main Hindu nationalist organisation that fights for domestic industry and agriculture, has planned a protest rally in Delhi later this month against the influx of Chinese products.

TOYS FROM CHINA

The new testing requirements for toys focus on their chemical content and flammability and demand more stringent testing for those that are electrically operated.

China accounts for 85 percent of India's $760 million toy industry and these are priced at anything from 50 cents to $150.

Several toy importers are urging the government to delay the new regulations until the festival season is over, saying it would choke supply.

"It comes out of the blue, with no forewarning and gives no time for retailers to prepare for compliance," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India that represents over 1,000 members.

"As a result, it will have grave consequences, such as losses in terms of huge amounts of money paid as advance by retailers to suppliers overseas and a loss of jobs as some businesses that sell only toys will have to shut shop."

While the new rules could hurt local retail consumption, other industry participants argue they will ultimately help local firms by improving standards and keeping low-end imports in check.

They follow similar moves in August, when the government ordered makers of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs to register their products with the BIS for safety checks in an industry where smuggling of Chinese products is rampant.

"There is a need for stronger enforcement for compliance to these standards," said Sumit Joshi, vice chairman and managing director, Philips Lighting India, the country's largest LED maker.
India and Japan on Wednesday agreed to explore joint cooperation in the areas of sourcing, swapping and optimisation of liquefied natural gas sources in the global market and commercial exploitation of methane hydrates.
The government planners now dreaming up Indias first smart city realise they have a problem. To solve it they are planning to dispatch a fleet of drones, bury the power grid and link a biometric database to every square foot of land here in Indias newest state capital.
Meeting priority sector targets could be challenging for banks this year, as at least two sectorsagriculture and educationare showing signs of stress.
The upcoming December ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Argentina is set to see a clash between richer nations ( the United States and the EU) and India over the push for a proposed set of global rules on e-commerce.
In his latest visit to India earlier this month, Amin H Nasser, president and chief executive officer, Saudi Aramco, quoted International Energy Agency data to say India is likely to be among the worlds fastest-growing oil markets, with demand almost doubling to about 10 million barrels a day by 2040.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas conferred with Swachh Bharat Inter-Ministerial Award on October 2, 2017

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) has been awarded with Swachh Bharat Inter-Ministerial Award by Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation Shri S. S. Ahluwalia in the presence of Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, and Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation Shri R. C. Jigajinagi in recently held Swachh Bharat National Award ceremony on Gandhi Jayanti, 02nd October 2017 in New Delhi. The award in the inter-Ministerial category was presented to MoPNG on the basis of the activities undertaken in the past three years and was received by Senior Adviser (PNG).

This event was organized to mark the third anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Swachh Bharat Diwas, and the conclusion of Swachhata Hi Seva fortnight.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been proactively involved in making India clean mainstreaming Swachhta in our regular activities. The focus of MoPNG has been not only to garner peoples involvement but also to bring about behavioural and attitudinal change through unique/special contribution to the cause of Swachh Bharat Mission, through innovative and unconventional practices/approaches. Some of the innovative activities undertaken by Oil & Gas CPSEs, under the administrative control of MoPNG, inter-alia include, launch of Project Saraswati to tap the ground water resources along the course of Paleo-channel of river Saraswati in Haryana to tide over severe water crisis in summer; construction of unique zero energy based vegetable cellars in Nang village near Leh for helping potato farmers by preventing rotting of farm produce due to extreme temperatures; construction of bio-toilets in Leh (J&K) and Mahanandpur (Bihar), making ODF localities such as Bharatnagar (Maharashtra), Gandhigaon (Assam) etc., cleaning Himalayas in collaboration with Indian Mountaineering Foundation and organizing competitions on Swachhta Apps.

Under the Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan, to reduce the drop-out rate among girl students due to non-availability of separate toilet facilities, Oil CPSEs/JVs have constructed more than 20,187 school toilets. These toilets are used by more than 5 lakh girl students. More than 95% of the toilets have been constructed in rural areas. Under waste to fuel projects, Oil & Gas CPSEs have taken initiatives for implementation of waste to fuel projects on a pilot basis across 7 States.

Tourist/religious iconic places have been earmarked for Oil and Gas CPSEs with focus on special clean up initiative focusing on maintenance and upkeep of tourist/religious places. The best iconic place award was given to Golden temple, Amritsar and Special awards were given to Mata Vaishno Devi temple, J&K and Meenakshi temple, Tamil Nadu, adopted by HPCL, IOCL and BPCL respectively.

MoPNG is fully committed to contribute its best in making Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a Jan Andolan and in building a clean, green, healthy, sustainable and inclusive New India".
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Photo: Reuters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a critical Communist Party Congress on Wednesday with a pledge to build a modern socialist country that will never copy the political systems of others and will remain open to the world.
Veteran investor left the boards of money manager Sprott and mining Novagold Resources and Ivanhoe Mines after he claimed in his newsletter this month that the US would look like Zimbabwe if it had been settled by black people instead of whites.
Its an interesting paradox that ordinary people asked to choose the best form of government dont necessarily choose  the only form structured around how they feel about such questions. A 38-country survey published by Pew Research Center on Monday shows most people prefer a technocracy, with a minority favouring a type of military or civilian authoritarianism.
Despite flooding in some regions, Gujarat should have a record kharif groundnut production of 3.14 million tonnes, from 2.94 mt in last year's season, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India's (SEA)'s survey. Sowing had marginally decreased to 1.6 mn hectares, from 1.64 mn ha last year.
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Reliance Industries (RIL), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Transmission, Hindalco Industries and Indraprastha Gas are among 21 stocks from the S&P BSE500 index, which hit their respective new highs on the BSE on Wednesday in an otherwise weak market.
With the festive season round the corner, Airbnb launched its Diwali campaign, inviting the world to celebrate the vibrant festival with India, the way locals do. In line with Airbnb's vision of a world where anyone can "Belong Anywhere', the campaign captures how there are no strangers on Airbnb.

The campaign, which comes under the umbrella of Airbnb's 'Live There' vision, follows the journey of a traveler during the auspicious festival of lights, when the whole country basks in the spirit of festivity.

She is seen being welcomed into a beautiful home and by the family of her Airbnb host. Guided by the local expertise of her host, the traveler spends her time in India indulging in typical Diwali preparation eating sweet treats, decorating the home with flowers and a splash of colour, and most importantly lighting lamps to bring light into the home and into life.

The premise of the Diwali campaign appeals to the sensibilities of the new age traveler who is seeking a one of its kind experience by immersing oneself in the local life and creating vivid memories.

"The best way to experience a new place is to immerse oneself in the local culture by living like locals do, and Airbnb offers travelers the chance to do just that. Festivals are an intrinsic part of any culture, and the 'festival of lights' is a time when India comes together in the spirit of celebration. The Airbnb Diwali campaign resonates this spirit by showcasing how the tradition of Indian hospitality can make anybody feel like a local. It aims to give travelers a glimpse of the enriching experience when they travel to India and live with Airbnb hosts," said Juliana Nguyen, ?Regional Brand Marketing Director, APAC, Airbnb.

The campaign is a part of Airbnb's larger global campaign, Live There, which gives travelers a refreshing perspective of popular destinations through curated experiences which break away from standard itineraries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Deepika Padukone had enough and she wants everything to stop immediately.

Ever since Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmavati' had been in the making, the controversies' surrounding the movie doesn't seem to stop.

Now, the lead actress of the film is angry and frustrated with ferity the film has been receiving.

Taking to Twitter, Deepika posted a series of tweets slamming the protesters for destroying an artist's work of Padmavati's rangoli.

"Absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!disgusting and appalling to say the least!," she wrote alongside the badly destroyed rangoli artwork.

"Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on?," the actress continued. "Allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!?"

The actress also reached out to Union Minister Smriti Irani by tagging her in one of her tweets, writing: "This has to stop NOW & action must be taken! @smritiirani"

Irani, recently assured the smooth released of the much anticipated movie 'Padmavati' which also stars Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in the leads.

Earlier this year, Rajput Karni Sena disrupted the shooting of the film in Jaipur by vandalizing the set and misbehaving with Bhansali.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat on Wednesday reviewed security situation in the Kashmir Valley.

Chinar Corps Commander Lieutenant General J. S. Sandhu briefed the Army Chief on the latest operations and updated him on the overall security scenario along the Line of Control (LoC) as well as in the hinterland.

Chief Rawat addressed all officers in Badami Bagh Cantonment and complimented them for providing excellent military leadership in the most challenging circumstances.

He also commended all ranks for their relentless pursuit towards achieving the objective of bringing in peace and normalcy to the Valley.

The Army Chief was received by Lieutenant General Devraj Anbu, Northern Army Commander and Lieutenant General J. S. Sandhu, Chinar Corps Commander on his arrival in Srinagar today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minster Smriti Irani on Wednesday questioned Congress party's silence over the Bofors scandal and asked for their clarification.

Addressing a press conference here, Irani said, "For too long Congress conveniently kept quiet. It's time they answer what is the involvement of Congress leaders then and now in Bofors saga."

She further quoted Michael Hershman and said, "he (Hershman) indicated that there are some Congress leaders who then took money in the scam and don't want to be identified."

Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asserted that they will probe the "facts and circumstances" of the Rs 64 crore Bofors gun pay-off scandal mentioned by private detective Michael Hershmam in television interview.

Speaking to ANI, CBI Chief Spokesperson A. Dayal said, "CBI has learnt of matter pertaining to Bofors, aired on a TV channel containing Michael Hershman's interview. Facts and circumstances as mentioned in interview (of Michael Hershman) will be looked into as per due process by CBI".

Hershmam alleged that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation on Bofors gun pay-off scandal, adding that Rajiv Gandhi was "furious" when "our work was uncovered"

Hershman, who is the president of US-based private detective firm Fairfax, alleged that the bribe of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in the Swiss account.

The Bofors scandal, occurred between India and Sweden during the 1980s and 1990s, initiated allegedly by the Congress party politicians and implicating the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and several other members of the Indian and Swedish governments.

The Bofors 155 field howitzer deal was mired in controversies after members of both Indian and Swedish governments were allegedly found involved in accepting kickbacks for facilitating the deal between the two countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dogs in Nepal are being worshiped on the second day of tihar festival on Wednesday.

The second day of Tihar is known as "Kukur (Dog) Tihar", the day of dogs.

The dogs that are regarded as guardian and messenger of Yama are offered garlands, breads and are worshiped with vermilion powder and flowers.

The Rigveda, one of the Vedas in Hindu religion, Samara- the mother of dogs assists Indra, the ruler of heaven in retrieving stolen cattle.

In Central Dog Training School in Kathmandu the dogs were conferred with garlands and medal for their special contribution in providing security and solving cases.

"The dogs that are deployed at the time of investigation from our Nepal Police have gained height of success. They have contributed majorly during the investigations and they are the means of investigation, a tool for us," Dr Deuti Gurung, the Superintendent of Nepal police told ANI highlighting the role played by dogs at the time of investigations.

Amongst the 80 dogs in the training school one of the dogs was conferred with the title of "Dog of the Year" on the basis of its role in solving the cases.

The dog training school brings dogs from abroad and some are breaded here, trained and prepared for investigation.

The dogs in the school also played a crucial role in rescuing and finding the survivors buried beneath the rubbles and at the time of VVIP visit from foreign nations.

"I was really moved by what the dogs showed and I didn't expect them to be so clever like that they were doing everything we said," Alice Drake who watched the showcase of dogs and the procession on Wednesday said.

In another religious book of Hindu religion, the Mahavarata it has the plot of Yudhistir's refusal to enter heaven without his devoted dog which represents the concept of Dharma and path of righteousness.

Honoring the role played by the dogs Nepal on the Second day of Yama Panchak or Tihar the pet or the stray dogs are worshipped early in the morning for the devotion and sincerity they have shown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Google today celebrates the 66th anniversary of the Studio for Electronic Music with a new Doodle.

The famous logo has been transformed into a colourful animation of the Studio for Electronic Music, the pioneering studio that mixed electronically synthesised sounds into a new genre of music.

Today's doodle was created by Berlin-based illustrator Henning Wagenbreth.

"The concept for a studio to create electronic music was birthed by composers Werner Meyer-Eppler, Robert Beyer, and Herbert Eimert, who for years had brainstormed the technical requirements of the challenge," explained Google.

"Artists in the studio created breakthrough beats, editing and mixing sounds using new types of equipment and technical composition.

"Composers and producers came from far and wide as the studio became a breeding ground for musical innovation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lambasting the killing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosai, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday stated that the guilty must be brought to book.

Gandhi in a tweet, expressed, "I strongly condemn the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosai in Ludhiana. Violence is unacceptable. The guilty must be brought to book."

Earlier in the day, police recovered the bike which was used by assailants to kill Gosai from an area near Fagguwal on NH-1.

RSS leader Ravinder Gosai was shot dead by unidentified men on a motorcycle in Ludhiana's Kailash Nagar, on Tuesday morning, when he was returning from the RSS branch.

The incident comes two days after another RSS worker, Nidesh, 28, was attacked in Kerala.

The local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit has blamed the attack on CPM workers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Late Heath Ledger was, as accepted by many, the best Joker of this generation.

The actor, who posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Male) for the portrayal of the diabolical clown, went to extreme lengths to prepare for his career-defining role.

And now an interesting fact has been revealed about Ledger's dedication to get into the character of The Clown Prince of Crime.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, new book '100 Things Batman Fans Should Know Before They Die', contains an unearthed interview with Ledger, director Christopher Nolan and Batman actor Christian Bale, who reveals that during the film's iconic interrogation scene, Ledger encouraged him to make the physical altercation between the two authentic.

In the interview, Bale said, "As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realises that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him, the more he enjoys it. The more I'm giving him satisfaction. Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion."

Adding, "He was kind of egging me on. I was saying, 'You know what? I really don't need to actually hit you. It's going to look just as good if I don't'. And he's going, 'Go on. Go on. Go on...' He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total."

Bale noted that Ledger completely embraced Nolan's vision for the film, which was a darker drama, instead of just comic book "caricatures".

Bale, director of 'The Dark Knight', also shared some of the influences for The Joker character.

"Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, these kinds of punk influences were some of the things we talked about. We also talked about the character of Alex in 'A Clockwork Orange'. He's very anarchic and yet somehow has great charisma, both in the book and in the film," noted Nolan.

Author Joseph McCabe conducted the interviews with Bale and Nolan in 2008 around the time of the film's release and spoke with Ledger in November 2007, when the actor was promoting 'I'm Not There'.

Ledger died at age 28 on January 22, 2008.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two-time Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank has finally signed his next project.

The actress will be next seen in 'I Am Mother', the Australian sci-fi thriller from director Grant Sputore, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Swank joins Clara Rugaard in a unique mother-daughter story.

The movie centers on a teenage girl (Rugaard) raised underground by a robot mother designed to repopulate the earth following an extinction event. Their unique bond is threatened when a blood-drenched stranger, played by Swank, is taken in by the teen, only to find herself at odds with her gear-and-piston parent.

Overnight, the stranger casts doubt on the mother's claims about the outside world and begins to unravel the fabric of their insular family. Unsure whom to trust, the girl begins to probe into mother's dubious nature and uncovers the truth of her greater mission.

The movie is based on an original concept by director Grant Sputore and writer Michael Lloyd Green.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released a list of 68 candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections.

As per the list, former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will contest the polls from Sujanpur seat. Pramod Sharma will contest from Shimla Rural while Ratan Singh Pal from Arki seat.

The decision was taken during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and other members of CEC.

The BJP has yet to declare the chief ministerial candidate.

Earlier on October 15, Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief presided at CEC meeting to finalise its candidates for Himachal Pradesh Elections.

Voting for Himachal Pradesh elections will be held in a single phase on November 9 and the result will be declared on December 18.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tamil actor Ilayathalapathy Vijay's fans allegedly clashed with pro-Kannada activists outside a theatre in Malleshwaram on Wednesday.

The clashes erupted after the fans of the Tamil actor allegedly attacked a local for staring at Vijay's cutouts erected outside the Sri Radhakrishna Theatre, where his film 'Mersal' was being screened.

The screening of the film was also stopped due to the commotion.

Meanwhile, Kannada activists also staged protests in Mysore, where a theater was forced to stop screening of the film.

It is not the first time that pro-Kannada organisations are staging protests against a non-Kannada film.

Earlier this year, director S.S. Rajamouli's Baahubali: The Conclusion faced an unofficial ban from pro-Kannada groups for the remarks made by Sathyaraj over nine years ago.

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United States' Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday reassured that the US is the "reliable partner" that India needs, adding that the two countries have the responsibility to "do the needful".

"US and India don't just share affinity for democracy, but have a vision for the future. It is time to double down on a democratic partnership with an India that's still rising, and rising responsibly for the next 100 years. US has chosen wisely in terms of India as a strategic partner. India needs a reliable partner, and the United States is that partner," he said, while delivering his remarks on "Defining Our Relationship with India for Next Century" here.

Discussing the importance of developing the Indo-Pacific region into one of peace and stability, Tillerson said that India and the US need to serve as eastern and western beacons, so that it does not become a region of disorder, conflict and predatory economics.

On the financial front, Tillerson projected that Asia's GDP will surpass 50 percent in the coming years, adding that it is important for the US to capitalise on its relations. However, he also said that it is important for emerging democracies and economies to have alternatives for infrastructure investment. With emphasis on China, Tillerson drew attention to infrastructure investments and financing, saying not enough jobs were being created amidst increasing debt burdens.

Tillerson also said India needs to constantly work on its economic reforms, and laid emphasis on getting economic partnerships right and enhancing regional connectivity, thereby presenting more options for sustainable development.

"India has witnessed a number of economic reforms in the recent past. However, it is easy to implement what is needed and sit back. But what needs to be noted is that you're never done, as the around keeps changing. There is a need to have a better business environment for both domestic and foreign companies to invest in. It is also important to choose your partner wisely," he said.

"While India is suffering from restricted access to technology, exchange of technologies and ideas between Bengaluru and the Silicon Valley is changing the world," he added.

Tillerson, who will be visiting New Delhi next week, said the visit "could not come at a more promising time for US-India relationships". He also said the US-India '2 plus 2' inaugural dialogue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump is much-anticipated.

Hailing India as an example of a "democratic, diverse and pluralistic" economy amid growing global terrorism, Tillerson said the two countries must enhance multilateral efforts through greater cooperation in the maritime domain, cyber security and humanitarian assistance, along with increasing convergence, thus offering the Indo-Pacific region an opportunity to expand rule- based global system.

"India has been rising significantly in the recent past, and so has China. However, the manner in which the growth has taken place is different, and our relations with the two countries are also different. India has grown taking into account its neighbors as well. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had said the two largest democracies should have the two greatest militaries, and I couldn't agree more. India and the US should be in the business of strengthening others' capacity to protect their sovereignty," said Tillerson.

He also used the platform to extend his greetings to Indians on the occasion of Diwali.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When it comes to buying property in Dubai, Indian investors are quite willing to shell out big sums, as per a recent survey. The study conducted by Dubai Property Show, reveals the purchase pattern of Indians looking to invest in Dubai real-estate, along with the preferred property type.

According to the study, a majority (88 percent) of Mumbaikars and residents of nearby cities that include Pune, Ahmadabad and Navi Mumbai, are primarily looking to invest between Rs 3.24 Crore -6.5 Crore, whereas eight percent would like to seal the purchase within the budget range of Rs 65 Lakhs-3.24 Crore. Rest was looking to buy properties above Rs 6.5 Crore.

While selecting the property type, apartments emerged as a winner at 33 percent, with villas following at 17 percent. Commercial property and land stood at 9 percent and 6 percent respectively. Around 35 percent were undecided at the time of answering the survey questions.

Dubai Property Show is geared for its third exhibition in Mumbai from November 3 to 5 at Bandra Kurla Complex.

"The data reflects Indian investors' faith in Dubai's highly lucrative real-estate industry, both in terms of rental and resale. In fact a recent Knight Frank report quotes that from 2012 to 2017, Indian residential property buyers have seen an overall return of 49.3 percent in Dubai, the highest anywhere in the world. As astute investors, Indians understand that they are getting their value for money, since Dubai offers a bright economic future, stability, affordability, class and comfort. Dubai is also among the most affordable property destinations, and the strengthening of rupee further nudged investors in this direction," said Asanga Silva, General Manager, Dubai Property Show.

For years, Indians have consistently been the most prolific non-GCC buyers of Dubai real-estate. From January 2016 to June 2017 alone, they bought property worth more than Rs 42,000 Crores in the emirate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four civilians have been injured in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the Balakote sector of Poonch. Pakistan initiated indiscriminate firing in Balakote sector of Poonch, and Manjakot sector of Rajouri, early Wednesday morning.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police confirmed the news of the attack on Twitter. The tweet said, "Today morning Pakistan violated ceasefire by resorting firing at Dabbi, Nijot and Basoni posts in Balakote Sector Mendhar. Army retaliating."

This unprovoked firing has been continuously witnessed from the Pakistani side across the border, in which many Indian security personnel and civilians have lost their lives.

The ceasefire violations, which amounted to 228 in 2016, have reached 503 this year (till October 5).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire in Balakote sector of Poonch, and Manjakot sector of Rajouri, Wednesday morning.

The Indian Army is strongly retaliating to it and the firing is still on.

Earlier, four civilians, including children, were injured after Pakistan on October 14 initiated indiscriminate firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Bhimber Gali Sector along the Line of Control (LoC).

This unprovoked firing has been continuously witnessed from the Pakistani side across the border, in which many Indian security personnel and civilians have lost their lives.

The ceasefire violations, which amounted to 228 in 2016, have reached 503 this year (till October 5).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scores of devotees flocked to the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Sheikh ul Aalam Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali on the occasion of his 598th Urs (death anniversary).

The shrine of Hazrat ul Aalam, also known as Alamdar Kashmir, is regarded as the most sacrosanct of Muslim shrines in the Kashmir Valley.

"People from various parts of the country gather here to pay their respects at the holy shrine. He always gave a message of brotherhood, irrespective of creed, colour and religion. The youth should read his messages of peace," said Mushtaq Ahmad, a devotee.

Sufism is the defining feature of Jammu and Kashmir society. It was in 1400 A.D. that the wandering Sufis arrived in Kashmir. Sufism became the way of life for the majority of the people in the valley.

A uniquely syncretic and tolerant culture evolved with Sufism and spiritual ingress. Such was the influence of Sufism that it constituted superstructure and sub-structure, values and belief systems of the people of Kashmir.

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A 22-year-old pregnant woman struggled for an hour at a government hospital in Karnataka's Mandya district on Wednesday.

The family claimed there were no doctors present in the hospital when the woman was brought there at around 7.30 this morning. They added that even primary health centres in the district were closed.

After hours of labour, the local media contacted the Malavalli Taluk Hospital and arranged for an ambulance.

The woman delivered a baby boy later in the day.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday arrived in Chicago on the first leg of his 9-day tour of United States, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.

Naidu's three-nation tour is aimed at attracting investments for his state.

During his visit, Naidu will participate in internationally renowned World Food Prize-2017 award ceremony event on October 19 in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.

To adopt the best agriculture technologies available across the globe, the Chief Minister will also participate in a multi-stakeholder consultation workshop over 350 top agricultural scientists, representatives from top seed and agro companies on October 18 in Des Moines, Iowa, US.

Besides investments, the chief minister will also aim at adopting best practices and latest technologies and finalising the designs of iconic buildings of Amaravati.

Naidu, leading a high level delegation, will be meeting several political, business and trade leaders in bilaterals, round-tables, conferences and other important events.

The Chief Minister will receive the prestigious Golden Peacock Award for the category Corporate Governance and Sustainability in London, UK.

During first leg of his foreign tour from October 18 to October 20, the Chief Minister will travel to New York, Chicago and Iowa in the US.

In Iowa, Naidu will meet the state governor, state university president, Secretary of Agriculture and other prominent leaders.

He will also participate in a stakeholder consultation workshop where he will explain about Mega Seed Park coming up in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh to over 350 top agricultural scientists, representatives from top seed and agro companies.

He is also scheduled to meet members of Global Telugu Entrepreneurs Network (GTEN) in Chicago to invite them to set up businesses in Andhra Pradesh.

After finishing his US tour, the Chief Minister will be visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi in UAE from October 21 to October 23.

He is scheduled to meet Emir of Dubai, Minister for Happiness, and Minister for Economy and several business leaders in Dubai.

He will meet Chairman of Emirates Group to discuss on improving the air connectivity in the state and Oman Endowments Minister to discuss on Airports ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh.

In Abu Dhabi, the Chief Minister will meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Minister for Culture, Youth & Social Development and several business and trade leaders.

He will also hold bilateral meetings with chairmen of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi Oil Company. He will also participate in an exclusive dinner meeting hosted by Dr.B.R.Shetty and other prominent business leaders.

During the final leg of his tour from October 24 to October 26, the Chief Minister will be travelling to London. He will visit world renowned architect firm Norman Fosters + Partners to finalise the designs of iconic buildings in Amaravati.

He will also participate in a round-table meeting with UK-India Business Council.

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United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday blamed the democrats for increase in Obamacare premiums.

In a tweet, Trump said, "Any increase in ObamaCare premiums is the fault of the Democrats for giving us a 'product' that never had a chance of working."

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

Last week, Trump cut off cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments under Obamacare. The CSR payments are made by the federal government on a monthly basis to health insurance companies.

The Trump administration said it would stop paying Obamacare insurers billions of dollars in reimbursements for discounts that insurers must give by law to low-income customers of their Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans.

This is not the first time, Trump has criticised Obamacare. On Monday, Trump told reporters: "Obamacare is finished. It's dead. It's gone. You shouldn't even mention it. It's gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare any more."

Meanwhile, Senators reach bipartisan deal to salvage Obamacare subsidies that Trump eliminated last week.

According to The Guardian, Republican senator Lamar Alexander announced on Tuesday that he had reached a deal with Democrat Patty Murray to fund the federal payments - intended to help insurance companies cover the medical needs of low-income Americans - in exchange for allowing states more regulatory flexibility under the Affordable Care Act.

Trump wants to repeal Obamacare and introduced the American Health Care Act (AHCA), or nicknamed 'Trumpcare', which was passed by House on May 4 this year.

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Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, returned to the country on Tuesday, after a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, the Dawn quoted sources, as saying.

General Bajwa's quiet visit to the two Middle East countries coincided with a meeting of representatives from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US, in Muscat, Oman, to revive the stalled Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG).

During the tour, the army chief reportedly met key Emirati leaders, including Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the UAE.

According to Arab News, he thanked the UAE government for extending "humanitarian assistance" to Pakistanis residing in the country.

General Bajwa also attended the inaugural session of the second International Conference on C4I Solutions at the King Saud University in Riyadh.

The conference was organised by the Saudi Defence Ministry with the theme "Alliance Against Terrorism: Strategies and Capabilities".

Gen. Bajwa also met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the conference.

There was no official word about this visit or the army chief's meetings.

He also reviewed the scope of the bilateral relationship with the Commander of the Saudi Ground Forces, Lt. Gen. Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz.

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The civilian government of Pakistan briefed the country's army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, on the economic situation in Pakistan.

The meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, came days after the country's top military brass expressed concerns over 'sky-high debts', The Express Tribune quoted officials privy to the meeting.

Abbasi also brief Bajwa on the "real picture" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), The Express Tribune reported.

The army chief expressing concerns on the economy raised eyebrows in the political circles of Pakistan. But the Prime Minister opined that the army chief has every right to do so.

Bajwa had last week said that the army was keenly watching developments in the country's economy, and shared the apprehensions.

Reacting to the General's remark, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) National Assembly Member, Rana Afzal Khan said, the army chief should comment on the economy only at the National Security Committee and not publicly.

The huddle, where the army took stock of the economic situation, came amidst simmering controversy stirred by a recent spat between Interior Minister, Ahsan Iqbal and the chief military spokesperson, Major General Asif Ghafoor.

According to reports, Iqbal had advised Major General Ghafoor to "refrain from commenting on the economy. as it could damage Pakistan's image globally" after the latter had said in a TV interview that "if the economy is not bad, it isn't good either".

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Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan has ordered a probe into the alleged starvation death of a girl in Simdega district of Jharkhand.

An 11-year-old girl allegedly died of starvation on September 28 after her mother was unable to feed her.

Speaking to ANI, Paswan said "I have asked my secretary to look into the matter and send a team. We are expecting a report from the state government by the evening."

Paswan also added that people in Jharkhand are getting ration even without an Aadhar Card.

"We want the Aadhar to be mandatory as it will reduce cases of fraud. However, it is still not compulsory. People with ration cards are still getting ration," Paswan said.

Earlier, Jharkhand Food and Supply Minister Saryu Rai had said, "I have clearly instructed, along with the copy of Supreme Court's order, that those who do not have the Aadhaar card, they will also get rations. Those who do not have the Aadhaar card, they will be given food supplies after identification."

"Went to get rice, but I was told that no ration will be given to me. My daughter died saying 'Bhat-bhat' (rice)," said the girl's mother, Koyli Devi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan and stressed on working for objective of "Secure supply of LNG at Reasonable prices".

Pradhan, who is currently on a visit to Japan, took to his Twitter handle and said the main focus is to work together in this area.

"Signed Memorandum of Cooperation on LNG with Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry of Japan; main focus is to work together in this area (sic)," Pradhan Tweeted.

The union minister also held bilateral meeting with Japanese Energy counterpart Hiroshige Seko and agreed to work together on several areas like LNG and Gas Hydrate.

"Held bilateral meeting with Japanese Energy counterpart Mr Hiroshige Seko; agreed to work together on several areas like LNG,Gas Hydrate (sic)," he added.

Pradhan's visit is important to enhance bilateral engagements in the oil and gas sectors within the overall framework of the India-Japan Energy Dialogue.

The visit is also aimed at enhancing cooperation in establishing a transparent, efficient, truly global and balanced LNG market.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday, while addressing the 6th Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Producer-Consumer Conference in Tokyo, stressed upon developing a transparent, flexible, competitive market for LNG.

Pradhan took to his Twitter handle to inform about the same and said, competitive market for LNG is important for India as the country import 50 per cent of the gas need as LNG.

"Attended 6th LNG Producer-Consumer Conf in Tokyo; happy to see counterparts from partner countries like Qatar, Mozambique, Malaysia, Japan (sic)," Pradhan tweeted.

"Stressed upon developing a transparent, flexible, competitive market for LNG; imp for India as we import 50% of our gas need as LNG," he added.

Pradhan, in the conference, asked the industry to work for removing restrictions like destination clause, pricing indexation of LNG, which will help the Indian gas sector in a big way.

"As we increase the percentage of gas in our energy basket as cleaner fuel we need better terms and prices for our LNG import contracts," he tweeted, adding, "Asked industry to work for removing restrictions like destination clause,pricing indexation of LNG; it will help our gas sector in a big way."

Pradhan also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan and stressed on working for objective of "Secure supply of LNG at Reasonable prices".

Pradhan, who is currently on a visit to Japan, took to his Twitter handle and said the main focus is to work together in this area.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Raghubar Das on Tuesday said strict actions will be taken against those found guilty, over the death of 11-year-old girl who allegedly died of starvation in Jharkhand's Simdega District recently.

"The Deputy Commissioner will send report in 24 hours. Will take stern action against those found guilty," Das said in a tweet.

Expressing sympathy towards the family, Das further said, "Distressed by the death of the child. Have asked Deputy Commissioner to immediately meet the victim family and help them."

"All the officers must assure that such unfortunate incidents do not take place in my Jharkhand," he added.

The girl died on September 28 after her mother was unable to feed her. The family was struck off from government welfare rolls for not linking their ration card with the Aadhaar card.

Due to the increasing number of fraud cases, the Centre, for security reasons, has asked every individual to link their Aadhaar card with the ration card, LPG, PAN card or any other.

The state of Jharkhand is regarded as being among the poorest in India. It is being alleged that millions of people in the state have been struck off the ration card rolls because they are not Aadhaar linked.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Katiyar on Wednesday claimed that Mughal mausoleum, Taj Mahal, is a Hindu temple and that its named should be changed.

Kaityar said that Taj Mahal was known as Tejo Mahal and had a shivling, which was later removed from the monument.

"Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple. There are many symbols of Hindu gods and goddesses in Taj Mahal. It was known as 'Tejo Mahal' and water used to drip from its ceiling on the Shivling but that was removed from there," Katiyar told ANI.

He added that all these monuments are made by Indian workers so there is no question of demolishing them.

"The Mughals have also demolished many temples. Wherever they see any opportunity they demolish our temples. Our 'Tejo Mahal' temple should be maintained. If we study Taj Mahal's history there is evidence of its being a temple. If this was only a grave then why so many rooms are built here? Its name should be changed to 'Tejo Mahal'," he asserted.

Katiyar further said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should go inside Taj Mahal and should see the Hindu signs inside it.

"There is no politics here. When a debate takes place then we should tell the truth to people. This will not gain anything but at least our people should know the reality of Mughals. The British did not demolish our structures but the Mughals did," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a clear snub to his BJP MLA Sangeet Som for stirring the Taj Mahal controversy, stating that "it does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers".

Som had courted controversy on Sunday, stating that the iconic Taj Mahal was built by traitors and hence, cannot be included in the Indian history.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan on Wednesday said he fears Taj Mahal would meet the same fate as Babri Masjid, while retorting to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Katiyar's statement describing Taj Mahal as a "Hindu temple".

"If Babri Masjid can be destroyed, then any building in the country can be pulled down. In such a situation, it will be no surprise if Taj Mahal is also destroyed some day. If Babri Masjid was demolished in the name of Ram Mandir, then these people can do anything," Azam Khan told ANI.

He further said if Babri Masjid was destroyed as people believed there was a temple, then no place of worship in the country was safe.

"During the temple-mosque issue at that time, there was a high court and the Supreme Court stay, but still the mosque was destroyed. I firmly believe that the Taj Mahal is set to meet that same fate. But because there is so much international attention on the issue, the monument is still standing, " Khan said, referring to the 1992 destruction of the 16th century mosque built on Mughal emperor Babur's orders.

Katiyar courted controversy on Wednesday when he claimed that the Mughal mausoleum, Taj Mahal, was a Hindu temple and that its name should be changed. He said that the Taj Mahal was known as Tejo Mahal and had a 'Shivlinga', which was later removed from the monument.

Katiyar's statement comes a day after, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a clear snub to BJP MLA Sangeet Som for stirring the Taj Mahal controversy, stating that "it does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was built by blood and sweat of the Indian labourers".

Taj Mahal sits on stolen property: Subramanian Swamy

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday said he has access to documents that suggest the property where Taj Mahal was built was stolen by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan from kings of Jaipur.

"There is evidence on record that Shah Jahan forced the Raja-Maharajas of Jaipur to sell this land on which Taj Mahal presently is standing, and he gave them a compensation of forty villages, which is nothing compared to the value of the property," Swamy told ANI.

Swamy added he will release the copies of the evidence to the media soon.

"The documents also suggest that there was a temple on the property. But it is still not clear whether Taj Mahal was built after the demolition of a temple," asserted Swamy.

He further said that the BJP has no intention of demolishing Taj Mahal, but only want three temples out of thousands demolished under the Muslim rule.

"We have decided that of all the temples demolished, during the Islamic period, we want only three, which are Ayodhya's Ram, Krishna's Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi. These three, once they are restored, we won't be concerned about the remaining forty thousand," said Swamy.

The iconic monument is caught in a storm since BJP MLA Sangeet Som said it was built by traitors and could not be included in the Indian history.

Following Som's statement another BJP leader Vinay Katiyar courted controversy on Wednesday when he claimed that the Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple and that its name should be changed.
Students for Free Tibet (SFT), a Tibetan NGO for Tibetans' rights staged protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dharamsala's McLeod Ganj.

The Tibetan activists gathered in the main square of McLeod Ganj and staged protest against alleged Xi's oppressive rule in Tibet.

The activists even held street theatre and was holding placard with slogans like - 'Free Tibet with from Xi bloody rule', 'Tibetan wants freedom', 'What lies in Xi's shadow.? Torture and death in Chinese prison' and others.

"We are here to protest Xi leadership that has been going on from last five years. We want to highlight the different atrocities that Xi's and his regime has implemented across Tibet and across occupied region in China. We hope that the protest will bring more international support and attention to what is going on," Sonam Tso, the organisations director told ANI.

The activists accused the Xi's government of restricting the travel of Tibetans internally in the state and increasing surveillance of digital communication.

Another SFT activist said the five years of Xi's government have been five desperate years in Tibet and added that the situation in Tibet, China and other territories occupied by People's Republic of China has gone from bad to worse since 2012.

Meanwhile, Tibetan Youth Congress activists also staged protest outside Chinese Embassy in Delhi.

They were raising slogans like raise 'we want freedom' and 'free Tibet'.

The Delhi Police later detained the Tibetan Youth Congress activists.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A top official of former President Barack Obama has said that President Donald Trump has used Obama's plan to kick the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) out of Raqqa.

The U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared on Tuesday that Raqqa, the last of ISIS's major strongholds, had been taken back from the terror group.

Former Obama State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told host Martha MacCallum on "The Story" on Tuesday night that the plan to retake Raqqa was put in place during the Obama administration.

"I think it took the whole by surprise how quickly they were able to take territory in Iraq and Syria back when they first really rose to prominence. After our administration got a better sense of what was going on, we did put in place a plan that we see being carried out now. The plan to retake Raqqa was put in place during the Obama administration," The Hill quoted Harf, as saying.

She further said that Trump made some "tweaks around the edges", but the military had the plan in place for a long time.

Trump has said that that the ISIS is 'giving up' because he is President.

"I totally changed rules of engagement. I totally changed our military. I totally changed the attitudes of the military and they have done a fantastic job," The Independent quoted Trump as saying on The Chris Plante Show.

Meanwhile, a top former official of President George W. Bush has said that Trump listened to his generals and that proved a difference.

Appearing on "The Story" on Tuesday night, Karl Rove, a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, didn't agree with Harf's point of view and said that Trump's decision to listen to his generals played a big role in ISIS's Raqqa fall.

"President Trump did two things. First of all, he made clear that we are going to take action, and we saw that, unlike what President Obama said, that's a red line that they dropped gas on their own people," The Hill quoted Rove as saying.

He was further quoted as saying that "when the Syrians dropped gas on their own people under this president he immediately took action, and then he listened to the military and unleashed them on the mission they could do, which is setting up a force of Syrians to work with American trainers and American assistance to do what we saw today".

Rove, however, was of the opinion that the battle against ISIS is going to continue as just like Al Qaeda, ISIS will continue to haunt for years to come.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Donald Trump will start his five-nation tour from November 3 to call on the international community to pressurise North Korea over its nuclear programme.

During a five-nation Asia tour plus a stop in Hawaii from Nov. 3 to 14, Trump will "call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea", said The White House in a statement.

North Korea has a military nuclear weapons programme and also has a significant amount of chemical and biological weapons. Since 2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The country has come under sanctions after conducting a number of nuclear tests, beginning in 2006.

Trump, in his address at the U.N. General Assembly last month, said North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un is "a rocket man, who is on a suicide mission".

He further said, "It is time for North Korea to realise that de-nuclearisation is its only acceptable future."

Trump asserted that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire with immense loss of human life.

"No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals armed with nuclear weapons and missiles. The United States had has great strength and patience, but it is forced to defend itself or its allies we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," Trump said.

Trump will visit Japan from Nov. 5 for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a meeting with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyodo News reports.

The Abe-Trump talks and Trump's meeting with the kin of abduction victims -- including the parents of Megumi Yokota who was abducted when she was 13 -- are expected to take place on Nov. 6, Kyodo News quoted Japanese officials as saying.

According to the White House, Trump will also meet with U.S. forces stationed in Japan and members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

In the bilateral summit, Abe and Trump are expected to affirm close coordination in addressing North Korea's nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korea's involvement in many more disappearances. While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Pyongyang maintains that eight -- including Yokota -- have died and the other four never entered the country.

After visiting Japan, Trump will travel to South Korea for talks with President Moon Jae In on Nov. 7. Trump will also speak at the National Assembly, at which he will celebrate the "enduring alliance and friendship" between Washington and Seoul.

During a visit to Beijing from Nov. 8, the U.S. leader will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a series of commercial and cultural events.

On Nov. 10, Trump will travel to Danang, Vietnam, for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and deliver a speech at an APEC business summit.

"In the speech, the president will present the United States' vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and underscore the important role the region plays in advancing America's economic prosperity," the White House said.

After meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on Nov. 11, Trump will visit Manila the following day for summit meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to the White House, Trump will attend a U.S.-ASEAN summit and bilateral talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Nov. 13 before heading back home, according to the White House.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is all set to celebrate Diwali in Ayodhya, the land of Lord Rama.

Adityanath will visit Ayodhya on October 18 and attend the grand Diwali celebrations at Saryu Ghat.

Speaking on the preparations for the same to ANI, Manoj Kumar Mishra, DC Faizabad, said, "Security has been beefed up in all parts of the city, especially the sensitive areas. Our intelligence sources are also alert. Keeping in mind that this is Diwali time, it will also be ensured that there is no problem to the general public."

The plan is to make Ayodhya synonymous with Diwali; just as Barsana is known for its Holi, he added.

Yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister told ANI that his government is organising a special event on Diwali in Ayodhya and it will be a world-class event.

The objective of organising this event is to promote Ayodhya as a tourist hotspot.

Adityanath will also perform the grand "aarti" of River Saryu, followed by the lighting of lamps.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday attacked the Congress over the alleged link between party President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

Training guns at Vadra, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader RP Singh said Gandhi's son-in-law should break his silence over the issue so that truth can come out.

"The tickets for overseas travel were not only arranged (by Bhandari), but his house in London was also refurbished. He (Robert Vadra) has to tell under whom was he enjoying these services," Singh said.

Earlier, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also questioned Congress' silence over the issue, saying party president and her son; Rahul's silence will be construed as acceptance of charges.

"Why Rahul Gandhi has remained silence. No tweets on the flats getting refurbished, no tweet on his brother-in-law getting money. Is the Congress leadership by remaining silence suggesting that yes they looked it but took it the other way? Can somebody from Congress cannot come and give this platitude but tell us how this happened," the minister had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The White House on Tuesday termed as "dangerously flawed" a federal court decision to block President Donald Trump's latest travel ban.

A federal court in Hawaii on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order on Trump's third travel ban, a day before it was set to take effect.

"Today's dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the President's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States," the White House said in a statement.

The statement further added that the proposed travel ban was issued after an extensive worldwide security review.

"The Department of Justice will vigorously defend the President's lawful action. The proclamation restricting travel was issued after an extensive worldwide security review by the Secretary of Homeland Security, and following consultation by the President with members of the Cabinet, including the Secretaries of Homeland Security, State, and Defense and the Attorney General," the statement said.

The White House asserted that the travel restrictions are vital to ensure safety of the country.

"The entry restrictions in the proclamation apply to countries based on their inability or unwillingness to share critical information necessary to safely vet applications, as well as a threat assessment related to terrorism, instability, and other grave national security concerns. These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation," the statement further said.

The White House also exuded confidence that "the Judiciary will ultimately uphold the President's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people".

The latest court's order on travel ban is in the series of legal setbacks for the president's immigration agenda.

After courts rejected his earlier attempts to impose sweeping restrictions on refugees and travelers from majority-Muslims countries, Trump in September unveiled a new executive order indefinitely banning travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, and North Korea.

Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, commonly known as the travel ban, was an executive order issued by Trump.

Immediately, there were numerous protests and legal challenges, with some calling it a "Muslim ban" due to the fact that six of the affected countries had a Muslim majority.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Axis Bank's net profit rose 35.5% to Rs 432.38 crore on 0.9% increase in total income to Rs 13820.62 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 27402.32 crore as on 30 September 2017 as against Rs 22030.87 crore as on 30 June 2017 and Rs 16378.65 crore as on 30 September 2016. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 5.9% as on 30 September 2017 as against 5.03% as on 30 June 2017 and 4.17% as on 30 September 2016. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 3.12% as on 30 September 2017 as against 2.3% as on 30 June 2017 and 2.02% as on 30 September 2016.

The bank's provisions and contingencies fell 13.3% to Rs 3140.41 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016.

On a consolidated basis, IT major Wipro's net profit rose 5.13% to Rs 2189.60 crore on 1.48% decline in net sales to Rs 13423.40 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q1 June 2017. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017. The results are as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Wipro said that it expects revenues from its IT services business to be in the range of $2.014 billion to $2.054 billion in Q3 December 2017.

Wipro's chief executive officer and member of the board, Abidali Z. Neemuchwala said that the company surpassed the milestone of $2 billion in quarterly revenues for IT services on the back of rigorous execution of its strategy. The company's unique digital capabilities powered growth in top clients and positions it well to drive its clients' digital transformation.

Wipro's chief financial officer, Jatin Dalal, said that productivity gains generated by the company's HOLMES automation suite and operational efficiencies overcame the incremental impact of wage hikes and expanded IT services margin to 17.3%.

Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) said it has been declared as the successful bidder under tariff-based competitive bidding to establish 'Eastern Region Strengthening Scheme (ERSS-XXI)' on build, own operate and maintain (BOOM) basis. The letter of intent (Lol) has been received on 17 October 2017. The transmission system traverses in the state of Bihar and includes establishment of three new 400 kilovolt (kV) substations and associated 400 kV transmission lines. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

UltraTech Cement is scheduled to announce September 2017 quarter earnings today, 18 October 2017.

Shares of MAS Financial Services will debut on the stock exchanges today, 18 October 2017. The company had issued shares at Rs 459 per share. The IPO was subscribed 128 times.

Blue Dart Express' net profit fell 3.29% to Rs 41.39 crore on 5.73% increase in total income to Rs 708.64 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

Bajaj Holdings & Investment's net profit jumped 268.96% to Rs 732.16 crore on 148.83% increase in total income to Rs 782.80 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

CRISIL's net profit fell 0.77% to Rs 69.42 crore on 2.98% increase in total income to Rs 413.68 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

Shares of Claris Lifesciences will be in focus. The Reserve Bank of India has today notified that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Foreign Portfolios Investors (FPIs) investment limit under Portfolio Investment Scheme in Claris Lifesciences has increased from 24% to 49% of its paid up capital.

Further, it is notified that the NRI investment limit under Portfolio Investment Scheme in the company has increased from 10% to 24% of its paid up capital. Further, owing to the increase in the investment limit, it is notified that the aggregate shareholding by FIIs/FPIs in Claris Lifesciences has gone below the prescribed FIIs/FPIs investment limit for the company. Hence, the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company by FIIs/FPIs are withdrawn with immediate effect.

The board of Sutlej Textiles and Industries has approved investment of up to $5 million in an incorporated wholly owned subsidiary in the USA. The board also approved acquisition of the design, sale and distribution business of American Silk Mills, LLC along with its logo, archives, design, customer contracts and some specific assets. The acquisition shall be made through step down subsidiary of the WOS in the USA. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017.

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Shares of MAS Financial Services were trading at Rs 664.45 at 13:15 IST on BSE, a premium of 44.76% over the issue price of Rs 459 on its debut on the stock exchanges today, 18 October 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 33.19 points or 0.1% at 32,575.97.

Shares of MAS Financial Services listed at Rs 660 on BSE, a premium of 43.79% over the issue price. The stock had hit a high of Rs 680.95 and a low of Rs 625 so far during the day. On the BSE, 24.05 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.

MAS Financial Services' initial public offer (IPO) received bids for 91.47 core shares, data on NSE showed. The IPO was subscribed 128.39 times. The price band for the IPO was Rs 456-459 per share. The issue had opened on 6 October 2017 and closed on 10 October 2017.

Category wise, the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 148.33 times. The non institutional investors (NIIs) category was subscribed 378.53 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 15.97 times.

MAS Financial Services' IPO committee of the company at a meeting held on 5 October 2017, finalized allocation of 29.61 lakh shares to 15 anchor investors at the upper end of the IPO price band at Rs 459 per share, aggregating to Rs 135.91 crore.

On consolidated basis, MAS Financial Services reported net profit of Rs 23.70 crore on income from operations of Rs 104.02 crore in Q1 June 2017.

MAS Financial Services is a Gujarat-headquartered non-banking finance company (NBFC) providing loans to middle- and low-income borrowers as well as micro, small and medium enterprises.

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Wipro gained 1.31% to Rs 293.30 at 10:15 IST on BSE after consolidated net profit rose 5.13% to Rs 2189.60 crore on 1.48% decline in net sales to Rs 13423.40 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q1 June 2017.

The result was announced after trading hours yesterday, 17 October 2017. The results are as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 101.37 points, or 0.31% to 32,507.79.

On the BSE, 94,154 shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 2.99 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 298.65 and a low of Rs 287 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 303.55 on 11 September 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 205 on 9 November 2016.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 October 2017, gaining 1.31% compared with 1.04% gains in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 8.18% as against Sensex's 1.67% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one year, gaining 22.8% as against Sensex's 18.45% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 973.34 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Wipro said that it expects revenues from its IT services business to be in the range of $2.014 billion to $2.054 billion in Q3 December 2017.

Wipro's chief executive officer and member of the board, Abidali Z. Neemuchwala said that the company surpassed the milestone of $2 billion in quarterly revenues for IT services on the back of rigorous execution of its strategy. The company's unique digital capabilities powered growth in top clients and positions it well to drive its clients' digital transformation.

Wipro's chief financial officer, Jatin Dalal, said that productivity gains generated by the company's HOLMES automation suite and operational efficiencies overcame the incremental impact of wage hikes and expanded IT services margin to 17.3%.

Wipro is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better.

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One person was killed and four others injured when a Greenpeace aircraft crashed in Brazil's Amazon region, a spokesman for the environmental group said.

"We can confirm that one of the five people who were aboard the plane died and that the other four suffered injuries, though not serious," Efe news quoted the spokesman as saying.

The Cessna Caravan 208 Amphibian model aircraft on Tuesday flipped over while attempting to land on the Rio Negro river in the northern state of Amazonas.

Four of the people aboard managed to climb out, but the fifth drowned.

The four survivors were rescued by the crew of the vessel Comandante Natal, which was roughly one kilometer (0.6 miles) away when the plane went down.

The ship's crew also righted the aircraft to prevent it from sinking.

Greenpeace said in a statement that the organisation was focused on aiding victims and their families and collaborating with authorities in the investigation of the crash.

The Brazilian Air Force said that it sent a team of investigators to the site to determine the cause of the accident.

--IANS

amit

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 145-kilo woman in the US' Florida punished her nine-year-old cousin by sitting on her, causing the child to go into a fatal cardiac arrest, authorities said.

Veronica Posey, 64, is facing a murder charge, the authorities told The Washington Post.

Posey told investigators that her cousin, Dericka Lindsay, had been misbehaving, so she decided to sit on top of the child as punishment.

Minutes later, Lindsay said she could not breathe. She was unconscious by the time Posey stood up, according to an arrest report from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

Lindsay, who was just a little over three-feet tall and weighed 33-kilo, the report said was less that one-fourth of Posey's weight.

The incident occurred last week in a home in Pensacola in Florida.

Lindsay's mother, Grace Smith, 69, told investigators that she was having trouble disciplining her daughter. So she called Posey, her niece, to help discipline the child.

It was unclear from the arrest report how long Posey sat on the child.

--IANS

in/gb

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The West Bengal government on Wednesday said as many as 31 people have died of dengue in the state while more than 14,500 have tested positive this year.

"As per the report till 4 pm, Wednesday, 14,693 people have been affected by dengue in West Bengal. The number of recorded deaths is 31 so far," Director of Health Services B.R. Satpathy told IANS.

The officer, however, claimed the state government was taking all necessary steps to curb the spread of dengue and conducting mass awareness campaign about the nature and impact of the disease.

"We have taken up mass awareness campaigns in various dengue-prone districts. Also, fever camps are being organised where people having fever can go for free check-ups to determine if they are infected," he said.

The spread of dengue in the state has been a cause for concern, with the opposition parties accusing the state government of efforts to camouflage the outbreak as unknown fever. They have also alleged the state government was pressurising the health clinics and laboratories to suppress reports of dengue infection.

Earlier this month, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a high-level meeting with the officials concerned from various departments, including Health, Municipal Affairs, Panchayat and others in the state secretariat Nabanna, to take stock of the situation.

Banerjee accused the central government offices of neither allowing the municipal corporation to clean up their premises nor cleaning them up themselves.

She also accused some private laboratories of misguiding patients and creating panic among them.

--IANS

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The Afghan police arrested five officers in connection with the recent Taliban attack on a police centre in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, an official told EFE on Wednesday.

In the attack Tuesday, 53 people were killed and 158 others were injured.

"Four members of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and one member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), who were on duty in first main entrance of the Police Headquarters during yesterday's attack have been arrested and are under investigation," Abdullah Hasrat, the spokesperson for Paktia province governor, told EFE.

According to Hasrat, the detainees allowed the entry of an armed vehicle loaded with explosives and a police car carrying insurgents, without offering any resistance.

The five officers held are being investigated over suspected ties with the insurgents and negligence, and the question arises how the attackers managed to pass through the first gate and enter the premises without coming across resistance, according to Hasrat.

The attack had began around 9.30 am at the police barrack in Gardez, the capital of Paktia, where Afghan security forces have their main headquarters for the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Logar.

This was one of the three attacks that took place on Tuesday in different parts of eastern Afghanistan, leaving behind a total toll of 74 dead and 168 wounded.

The Afghan government has been losing ground to the Taliban since the end of the NATO military mission in January 2015, and it currently controls only 57 per cent of the country, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) of the US Congress.

--IANS

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Army chief General Bipin Rawat arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday to review the security situation in the Kashmir valley, an official said.

The Army chief was received by Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. D. Anbu, and Chinar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. J.S. Sandhu.

Gen Rawat addressed all officers in Badami Bagh Cantonment and complimented them for providing excellent military leadership in the most challenging circumstances, an official statement said.

He also commended all ranks for their relentless pursuit towards achieving the objective of bringing in peace and normalcy to the Valley.

The chief was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the latest operations and updated on the overall security scenario along the Line of Control as well as in the hinterland.

--IANS

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Chants of "Jai Shri Ram" echoed on the banks of the Saryu river as actors portraying the roles of Lord Rama and Sita arrived here on a chopper decked up to resemble the mythological Pushpak Viman - in a recreation of Lord Rama's return from 14 years of exile to Ayodhya - as part of a grand 'Deepotsav' celebration, attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and senior ministers were also in attendance for the event in the flower-bedecked and gaily lighted temple town on Wednesday evening.

Tonnes of flower petals were showered as the actors portraying the characters from the Ramayana arrived at the venue of the Ram Lila.

As part of the Deepotsav, a record 1.73 lakh diyas or earthern lamps will be lighted on the banks of the Saryu.

The event is being hosted by the Tourism Department of the Uttar Pradesh government.

The state government placed full-page advertisements in newspapers and the entire government machinery has been pressed into service to make the event a grand success.

The Chief Minister has said the efforts by his government to "recreate the treta yug Diwali" was aimed to promote Ayodhya as a tourist draw, but opposition parties have alleged the BJP is trying to drum up support for its communal .

"This is all being done with an eye on the Gujarat elections and the BJP leaders are trying to deflect the attention from its failure in UP," a senior BSP leader said.

Talking to IANS, a Samajwadi Party leader said the past governments have been promoting Ayodhya as a tourist destination and the Adityanath government's mega event was "merely to whitewash its failures".

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has trashed the opposition charges as baseless.

Senior Congress leader Alok Sharma said the event was being held with an eye on the Gujarat elections. "I hope the BJP also finds equal focus for the innocent infants who died in Gorakhpur due to shortage of oxygen," he said.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the Deepotsav, that will commence after dusk.

--IANS

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Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates played out a hard-fought 29-29 draw in a Vivo Pro Kabaddi (PKL) contest here on Wednesday.

Monu Goyat scored 11 points for Patna, whereas Rohit Kumar scored nine points for Bengaluru. It was an evenly contested affair with neither team refusing to give an inch.

Patna would be disappointed as Pardeep Narwal's quiet second-half performance was one of the reasons why they couldn't emerge victorious.

Bengaluru ended their PKL campaign with 57 points from 22 matches and finished fourth in Zone B.

Patna, who have already qualified for the super playoffs, have 71 points after 22 league matches and finished second in Zone B.

--IANS

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The US President said on Wednesday that a congresswoman had lied about his conversation with the widow of an American soldier killed in an ambush early this month in the northern African nation of Niger.

Donald Trump took to Twitter to slam Republican Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from Florida, who said the head of state had told US Army Sgt. La David Johnson's widow that her husband "knew what he signed up for... but when it happens it hurts anyway."

"Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Trump tweeted.

Wilson, meanwhile, told CNN Wednesday that she also had her own evidence.

"I have proof, too. This man is a sick man," Wilson said in response to Trump's tweet, adding that Johnson's widow was in tears after the phone call and that the president did not even know the soldier's name.

The body of the army sergeant, one of four US servicemen who died in an October 4 ambush in Niger, was received with honors at Miami International Airport at a ceremony attended by authorities, the soldier's widow and other family members.

Wilson said she was with Johnson's widow when she received the phone call from Trump and heard a portion of the conversation.

This latest controversy comes just days after Trump sparked outrage by saying his predecessors had not made phone calls to the families of soldiers killed in combat.

"The traditional way, if you look at President (Barack) Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls, a lot of them didn't make calls," Trump said in a press conference Monday at the White House when asked why he had not yet spoken publicly about the soldiers killed in Niger.

When he was pressed by a journalist who said Obama had made calls to fallen soldiers, Trump backtracked but not fully.

"President Obama, I think, probably did sometimes, and maybe sometimes he didn't, I don't know, that's what I was told ... And some presidents didn't do anything," Trump said.

Amid a wave of criticism over his remarks, Trump suggested that his chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, did not receive a phone call from Obama after one of his sons was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.

"I don't know. I mean, you could ask General Kelly. Did he get a call from Obama? You could ask other people. I don't know what Obama's policy was. I write letters and I also call," Trump said in a radio interview Tuesday with Fox News.

--IANS

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Actress Deepika Padukone on Wednesday urged Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani to take action against the attackers who ruined artist Karan Ks rangoli depicting a poster of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis "Padmavati" here.

"Absolutely heartbreaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork! Disgusting and appalling to say the least," Deepika tweeted, along with photographs showcasing the before and after of the "attack".

"Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? Allow them to take law into their own hands and attack our freedom and right to individual expression time and again," questioned the actress, who essays the title role in the historical drama.

Deepika then tagged Irani and wrote: "This has to stop now and action must be taken! Smriti Irani."

On October 15, Karan tagged Deepika on the micro-blogging site and wrote: "A crowd of 100 people cried Jai Shri Ram and rubbed out my 48 hours intense work!"

The artist also shared two photographs on social media. In one image, he can be seen making a rangoli inspired by the poster of the film, while the other shows the artwork completely vandalised by attackers.

"Padmavati" also features Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.

In the film, Deepika plays the role of Rajput queen Padmavati, while Shahid will be seen as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer will essay the role of Alauddin Khilji.

During its production, the film witnessed many ups and downs.

Earlier this year, activists of Shri Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali and vandalised the movie's Jaipur set over alleged distortions in the film's script.

They were forced to move to Maharashtra to continue shooting. Still, an outdoor set of the historic period drama in Kolhapur was burnt down after two dozen unidentified people torched it.

The Shri Rajput Karni Sena has maintained it will oppose screening of the film if the facts are "distorted".

"Padmavati", presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions, is set for a December 1 release.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced Rs 25,000 each for families whose shacks were charred in a fire here a day ago.

Around 80 shacks were gutted in a fire in the Batla House area on Tuesday afternoon.

Kejriwal visited the area on Wednesday and promised the compensation for reconstruction of their homes.

He also said that arrangements would be made for school-going children and new documents would be made for people who lost their official documents in the blaze.

--IANS

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Washington, Oct 18 (IANS/AKI) Libyan activist Emadeddin Muntasser has urged the US to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by the powerful military strongman Khalifa Haftar and handed US officials 300 pages of evidence to back up the claim, the media reported.

Muntasser said he met US officials in Washington on October 10 and submitted a formal complaint and request for investigation regarding alleged war and financial crimes committed in Libya by Haftar - a US citizen - and his three sons, the Libya Observer reported.

"The complaint encompasses three volumes of more than 300 pages and lists the specific legal statutes which were violated, legal analysis, biographies of the alleged perpetrators and catalogues an overwhelming inventory of evidence of these war crimes," Muntasser said.

Haftar and his three sons Khaled, Saddam and Al-Saddiq have violated US laws including the Neutrality Act, enlistment in the foreign service as officers and laws prohibiting war crimes, genocide and torture, Muntasser said.

In August, Muntasser filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court accusing Haftar of orchestrating war crimes.

--IANS/AKI

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Four civilians were injured on Wednesday during ceasefire violations by the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

The injured included three labourers and a woman in the Mankote area, a police officer said. They were shifted to a hospital.

The Pakistani Army resorted to unprovoked shelling and indiscriminate firing in Poonch and Rajouri districts from 7.30 a.m., the officer said.

Using mortars, automatics and small arms, they were targeting Indian positions at 18 villages in Mankote and Balakote areas of Poonch and Manjakote in Rajouri.

Some cattle were also killed. Two private vehicles and an electric transformer were also damaged in the shelling from across the LoC.

"Indian positions are strongly and effectively retaliating. The exchange across the LoC was still on at all these three places till the last reports came in," the police officer said.

--IANS

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The Centre has issued advertisements inviting bids for six properties belonging to absconder mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar in south Mumbai and Aurangabad, to be auctioned publicly on e-auction on November 14.

The properties owned by Dawood and his family, which were acquired by the government after the March 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, have been put up for auction at least thrice in the past.

However, none of them could be auctioned off due to fear of reprisals from the fugitive don, who is now living in Pakistan, as per the latest revelations by his sibling Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar, who was arrested last month by Thane police in extortion cases.

The properties include: Damarwala Building Room nos. 18-20, 25, 26, 28, and 34-40 tenanted properties on Pakmodia Street and Yakub Street, for a reserve price of Rs 1,55,76,000.

The next is the two-storied Shabnam Guest House on Yakub Street with a reserve price of Rs 1,21,43,000.

The other major property is Hotel Raunaq Afroz on Pakmodia with a reserve price of Rs 1,18,63,000, which was once earlier bid for Rs 4.28 crore but the sale could not be completed.

Two other properties are flat No. 602 in Pearl Harbour Society in Mazagaon, reserve price of Rs 92,69,000, and a tenancy Room No. 2 in Dadriwala Chawl on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, reserve price of Rs 65,90,000.

Another is a factory plot in Paithan MIDC in Aurangabad with a reserve price of only Rs 102,000.

The earnest money deposits for the premises on the auction block range from a minimum of Rs 26,000 (Aurangabad property) to Rs 62,30,400 for the Damarwala Building.

The auction of all the properties on 'as is where is' basis is scheduled for November 14, 10 a.m. at the Indian Merchant Chamber at Churchgate.

--IANS

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As a 9-year-old girl died at Patna AIIMS while her poor father completed the formalities for her treatment and an official posted at the counter refused to help him, the opposition RJD on Wednesday demanded a high-level probe into the matter.

Raushan Kumari, suffering from high fever for six days, died near the Outdoor Patient Department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here on Tuesday.

Her father Rambalak and his wife, residents of Kajra village in Lakhisarai district, brought her to AIIMS, following which he was directed by the staff to get a 'parcha' (registration card) made at the OPD counter.

As Rambalak, a daily wager, stood in the queue at the counter, his wife told him the girl's condition had deteriorated. As Rambalak pleaded with people standing in a long queue to allow him to get the formalities completed out of turn, no one paid heed. He even pleaded with the clerk deployed at the counter, but was asked to come in queue.

"By the time Rambalak left the counter after getting the registration done, his daughter had died," a staff of a private agency contracted for cleaning operations at the hospital said on condition of anonymity.

To add to his agony, the distraught man was allegedly not even provided an ambulance by AIIMS officials to ferry the body to his village. With little money on his person, he carried his daughter's body on his shoulder for nearly four km to an auto-rickshaw stand at Phulwari Sharif here.

AIIMS Director Dr Prabhat Kumar Singh said he had no information that a critical patient had died due to lack of treatment.

"As far as a 'parcha' is concerned, doctors treat critical patients without it and later their registration is done. But I will inquire into this case if it has happened," he said.

Interestingly, Patna AIIMS does not have an Emergency Ward.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad flayed the Nitish Kumar government for its "apathy towards the poorest of the poor" which, he claimed, led to the girl's death, and demanded a high-level probe.

"Everything has collapsed in Bihar, including law and order, education, and health. The latest incident of the girl's death at Patna AIIMS vindicates our stand. There is no facility for the poor for treatment -- they have been left to die, as happened in this case."

He also took a dig at Union Minister of State for Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey, who last week reportedly suggested that patients from Bihar should be treated at Patna's AIIMS and not in AIIMS at Delhi.

Choubey's alleged remark about Biharis "crowding" AIIMS at Delhi even for minor ailments had drawn criticism from opposition parties.

Lalu Prasad said: "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi have no time for genuine health issues. Both are busy showing their faces in the media, more or less on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

"Girls are dying for want of 'bhat'(rice) in Jharkhand and lack of treatment in Bihar," the RJD chief remarked while referring to the death of 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari in Simdega district in neighbouring Jharkhand due to starvation.

--IANS

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday challenging the non-bailable arrest warrant issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan against him in a contempt of court case.

Khan's counsel Babar Awan in the petition argued that the ECP had no authority to issue non-bailable arrest warrant against the PTI chief. "The warrant issued by the commission on October 12 was therefore unconstitutional," stated the petition.

Awan said the arrest warrant against his client should "be set aside and proceedings initiated (by the ECP) against the petitioner" may be declared "void and unlawful".

The contempt application against Khan was filed on January 23 by PTI's dissident member Akbar S. Babar who had turned against him in 2011 over alleged internal corruption and illegal funding of the party, Dawn online reported.

The ECP's verdict was announced a day after a three-member larger bench of the IHC directed the commission to proceed on the contempt application according to the law.

Khan and Awan are embroiled in a legal battle at the ECP and the IHC for the last three years, the report said.

The October 12 order was issued by a five-member bench of the ECP after the PTI leader ignored the polls supervisory body's August 24 show-cause notice relating to a foreign funding case.

Khan earlier ignored half a dozen ECP summons to appear in person.

According to him, it was not within the commission's jurisdiction to conduct contempt proceedings against a member of Parliament.

--IANS

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Growing up in a society that stigmatises menstruation, two women social entrepreneurs in this border village of Jammu and are battling the taboos attached to what is a routine biological process. They are not only creating awareness but also manufacturing and selling sanitary napkins to help poorer women who cannot afford branded products.

Mir Musharraf, 18, and Mubeena Khan, 25, who grew up in an orphanage here, began their entrepreneurial journey two years ago, knowing well the arduous task they had chosen for themselves.

"We have experienced what women in Kashmir, particularly in the border and rural areas, go through during their periods. It's not only about the stigma, it is also about hygiene during periods," Mir told IANS.

Khan added: "It was never going to be easy. We knew that. Talking about menstruating is not easy even with women in . But we wanted to defeat the stigma."

Mir, who originally hails from Keran village, some 100 km north of state capital Srinagar, lost her father, a farmer, to blood cancer when she was still young. Keran, the last village of the eponymous border sector on the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and between India and Pakistan, has often faced the brunt of military skirmishes between the armies of the two countries.

Mir's family had to relocate to Kupwara in the early 1990s after frequent heavy cross-border firing ripped the village apart. That was when militancy in the Kashmir Valley was at its peak and Pakistan was actively pushing armed insurgents into the Indian side under cover of border firing.

After her husband's death, Mir's mother had no other means of income to sustain the family. She got her daughter admitted to Basaira-a-Tabasum, an orphanage in Kupwara town run by Borderless World Foundation, a Pune-based non-governmental organisation that helps with the socio-economic development of people in border areas.

At the orphanage, Mir became friends with a "like-minded" Khan, who had also lost her father when she was just two-and-a-half.

The girls grew up in the orphanage that not only sheltered and fed them but also equipped them with entrepreneurial skills to be the agents of socio-economic changes in Kupwara -- an area where an estimated 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Remembering their days in the orphanage, both Mir and Khan recalled how they used to talk for hours daily, planning what they wanted to do in their lives.

"I always wanted to do something for women, particularly those living in border areas. But I had not imagined even in my dreams that I would be talking about menstruation so openly, leave aside producing sanitary napkins," Mir said.

"Actually, Mubeena came up with the idea and you know why," she asked matter-of-factly.

Khan had always felt perplexed about the treatment women got during their menstrual cycles. They are not allowed inside kitchens, they are not allowed to pray, they become untouchables during their periods.

"The most difficult battle in the war against such evils was with ourselves. We, as women, too believe in the traditions and it is very, very difficult to break the norm. And believe me, many girls drop out of schools because of this," Khan, whose village, Helmatpora, also lies on the LoC, told IANS.

And equally important was making women aware about hygiene and other health issues associated with periods. Hundreds of studies have conclusively revealed that the practice of using cloth during periods is associated with very high risk of cervical cancers.

"When we get our first period, our mothers generally hand us a bunch of rags with strict instructions that we should not talk about it openly and stay away from the rest of the family," she said.

"Imagine when we set out to talk about this openly. I remember how people, in fact girls, used to whisper about our 'shamelessness'. But nothing would stop us."

The two girls have conducted hundreds of awareness camps in schools, colleges and community centres talking about the issue.

The next step was their own self-empowerment and the empowerment of as many women as possible in their extended neighbourhood.

Eventually, they spoke with the Borderless World Foundation and shared the idea of setting up a cost-effective sanitary napkin manufacturing unit in Kupwara.

They began researching on the Internet, reading about their proposed business -- before travelling to NIRMA Industries training centre in Solapur, Maharashtra, where they were incubated for three months and taught how to handle machines, grinders and other nitty gritty of the business by experts.

The real challenge was to raise the money needed for investment and also working capital. Iqra Javed, project officer with the Borderless World Foundation in Srinagar, said the foundation itself invested nearly Rs 12 lakh (Rs 1.2 million) to set up and run the unit.

Apart from this, the foundation helped them win Rs 300,000 as investment at a 2016 start-up competition by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Chinar Internationals, a Srinagar-based NGO helping start-ups.

And finally came the time to make a "Happy Choice" -- the name they gave to their business unit. Machines and raw material were brought and the unit was set up at the Borderless World Foundation-run women development and social-entrepreneurship centre, Rah-e-Niswan, in a shanty structure in Solkute, 6 kms from Kupwara town.

The plan was to start production at the Solkute centre and establish a supply chain to distribute the product to other villages of the district.

"It was a 24-hour job. Right from the production purchases to the product, and then marketing, was all done by the two of us," Mir said. "It was a challenge worth taking, though it took a heavy toll on us."

The production rate was 250 packs of six pieces each a day. Each pack was sold at Rs 26 -- against an average market price of Rs 35. A profit margin of Rs 16 was still significant.

Their lives got better and they started contributing to their family incomes and came the basic essentials like kitchenware, flooring and clothes for their mothers and siblings.

But the sales dipped after a while. The product and its packaging did not match market standards. "Happy Choice" did not have flaps that fold over the sides to help prevent the fluid from leaking. The packaging in an ordinary polythene cover with a sticker attached was also below standard.

To improve, they needed a packaging machine and a machine that would make and attach wings to the pads. But it would mean another investment of about Rs 900,000. Starved of funds, the two had to temporarily close their unit and have set out on an investment hunt.

"So far nobody has come forward. But we will keep striving till we get it. And we are sure -- it is about 'when' not 'if'," Mir said.

But the awareness campaign is on. "We will keep talking about menstruation till everybody talks about it without attaching a taboo," Khan intervened. "The battle is on. We have not lost it. We have paused it."

(This feature is part of a special series that seeks to bring unique stories of ordinary people, groups and communities from across a diverse, plural and inclusive India and has been made possible by a collaboration between IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at sarwar.k@ians.in)

--IANS

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Given the transformation in the global LNG market into a situation of oversupply, India on Wednesday called for flexible terms for gas purchases, including the provision of a pricing review, "take or pay" terms and abolition of destination restriction clause in contracts.

Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged global LNG markets to join hands to design flexible terms at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference here being held over October 17-18, according to a statement from the Indian Petroleum Ministry.

"Pradhan urged the global LNG markets, in which producers and consumers of LNG have equal stakes, to join hands to design flexible terms such as pricing review, flexible take or pay, abolition of destination restriction clause in the LNG contracts," the statement said.

"These reforms are essential for developing a transparent, efficient, truly global and balanced LNG market," the Minister said in his keynote address at the conference.

Last month, India renegotiated the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) it imports from the Gorgon project in Australia that will result in savings of more than Rs 10,000 crore.

The Gorgon project operators' consortium led by American energy majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil have agreed to charge 13.9 per cent of the prevailing UK Brent oil price at the port of delivery, rather than 14.5 per cent at the port of loading as was agreed earlier.

Last year, India favourably re-negotiated its LNG agreement with Qatar to bring down the cost of importing natural gas to less than $5 per unit from $12.

According to the statement, Pradhan also met with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko and discussed increasing cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector between the two nations.

The ministers signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on jointly developing a liquid, flexible and global LNG Market.

"The MoC provides a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of the destination restriction clause and also explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and supply," it said.

"They also explored joint cooperation in the areas of LNG sourcing, swapping and optimization of LNG sources and commercial exploitation of methane hydrates," the statement added.

Both India and Japan are among the top four LNG importers and have agreed to swap supply contracts in order to save on transporting the fuel from overseas.

"The MoC will promote the bilateral relationship between India and Japan in the energy sector and will contribute to the diversification of gas supplies for India," the ministry said prior to Pradhan's departure for the island nation.

According to the statement, Pradhan invited Seko to attend the 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial meeting to be held in New Delhi during April next year.

--IANS

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George Saunders victory marks the second year in a row that the Man Booker Prize has gone to an American author after it it began permitting authors from English-speaking countries other than the Commonwealth in 2014.

Paul Beatty's "The Sellout," a dark satire about race and the legacy of slavery and segregation in America, became the first American novel to bag the prestigious award in 2016. The award, launched in 1969, was only open to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth nations.

The prize-winning novels by both Saunders and Beatty are nestled in deep American themes and look at painful chapters from the history of the United States. This year, three of the six finalists were American, which had prompted another round of criticism that emerging British and Commonwealth writers were being overlooked.

On behalf of the judges, Lola Baroness Young, the chair of the judging committee, dismissed the raging social media argument that Americans have colonised the prize.

"We don't look at the nationality of the writer," she said. "We're solely concerned with the book, with what that book is telling us."

The expansion of the prize parameters has drawn criticism in several literary circles. After Beatty's victory last year, a group of writers, including the widely read and admired Julian Barnes and A.S. Byatt, denounced the decision to let Americans compete. They warned that the prestigious award would lose its "British character" with the incursion of American writers.

--IANS

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There has been a sharp decline among Indians seeking in two top destinations -- the United Kingdom by 42 per cent and US by 38 per cent - attributed mainly to the political situations there, a new survey by top global portal Indeed has revealed.

Similarly, there has been a fall in the number of Indians wanting to work even in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 21 per cent, based on searches on Indeed, as per the survey results for 2016-2017 released here on Wednesday.

The report said that the prospects of Brexit could be a deterrent for Indian job-seekers in the UK, as other countries like Germany and Ireland have witnessed a 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively increase during the same period.

Indeed India Managing Director Sashi Kumar said as one of the world's largest hubs for IT talent, India has historically seen a steady outflow of IT professionals to countries like USA, UK and Australia.

"The new data shows an apparent reversal of that trend. The steadily growing Indian economy coupled with political uncertainties abroad has persuaded highly skilled Indian talents to stay back and find here, which in turn has fostered a thriving 'start-ups' scene," said Kumar

In fact, he said the research shows an overall five per cent decline in Indians looking to move abroad for job opportunities, while there has been a whopping 25 per cent increase in people from UK seeking jobs in India, and a 170 per cent increase in job-seekers from Asia-Pacific region to India.

He attributed the growing popularity of India as an 'employment destination' to initiatives like 'Make In India' and ease of doing business, and the latest figures indicate a trend of people working in UK and Asia-Pacific regions willing to return to India.

Despite the declining figures, the USA still remains the top choice with 49 per cent of people searching for job opportunities there, followed by UAE (16 per cent), Canada (nine), UK (five), Singapore (four), Australia (three), Qatar (two), Bahrain and South Africa (one percent each).

In 1960, there were around 12,000 Indian immigrants to the USA, which increased to 2.4 million by 2015, making Indians the second largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans.

There are around 1.50 million Indians living in the UK, making them the largest single ethnic minority group, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total ethnic minority population in that country.
Actor John Abraham says he is going to celebrate a "cracker-free" Diwali, and will ensure he sticks to his skin and body care regime.

The actor, brand ambassador of Garnier Men, talked about his perfect Diwali:

* Not so sweet Diwali: I do love looking at sweets, but from a distance. I never indulge in them. I am very particular about my fitness regime and keep sweets at bay, while enjoying the occasion with friends and family to the fullest.

* Going cracker-free: Bursting crackers during Diwali is bad not just for the environment, but also your own health. The smoke, noise and pollution does so much harm to our surroundings, to animals and to our body. While some may believe that crackers are the only way to celebrate Diwali, there is so much more one can do.

* Taking care of skin: Irrespective of the occasion or festival, taking care of your skin is a must. Diwali will come and go, but the residue of all the pollution, the effects of all the partying stay on, unless cleansed correctly. So, I make sure not to wander away from my regular routine of cleansing my face with the facewash that consists of Matcha green tea in it as it gives my skin a pleasant, clean and 100 per cent oil-free feel while respecting its natural moisture.

* Go traditional: I love how men and women today are equally excited about dressing up for the festive season. From picture-perfect traditional clothes, matching accessories, groomed beards and impeccable skincare, both men and women are going the extra mile to look glamorous for the occasion.

* Me time: Diwali brings happiness, togetherness and crazy celebrations along with an excessive dose of food. It feels like the whole country lights up in the warm glow of Diwali lights, dispersing positivity all over. This makes it very special for me - the positive vibes all over, and the time that I get to spend with my family is truly precious and the best gift I could ask for.

--IANS

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North Korean leader has reduced his public inspections by 25 per cent this year compared to 2016 while increasing his visits to military facilities.

Between January 1 and October 17, made 75 public inspections by visiting different parts of the country, an activity that was turned into a tradition by the regime's previous leaders -- his father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim il-Sung -- and extensively covered by the state media, Efe reported citing data published by the South Korean government on Wednesday.

The inspection is about 25 per cent less than last year when Kim made 99 inspections during the same period, according to data published by the South Korean Ministry of Unification.

Visits to military facilities constituted 49 per cent of the total inspection while 22.7 per cent was related to the economy, the lowest figure since Kim came to power following his father's death in 2011.

In July and August -- the months during which the regime made several ballistic missile test launches -- the North Korean leader did not visit farms, factories or other facilities related to economic activity.

In July, Pyongyang launched its first two intercontinental ballistic missiles, while in August it fired a medium-range projectile that flew over Japanese territory after threatening to launch an attack on the island of Guam which houses major US military base.

The North Korean regime has vowed to accelerate the development of its nuclear and missile programme this year, which coupled with Washington's harsh rhetoric after the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, increasing tension in the region to unprecedented levels since the end of the Korean War (1950-53).
Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao has urged Mumbai residents to contribute to share happiness and help brighten the Diwali festivities for the needy.

Rajkummar, who has been promoting his movie "Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana" nowadays, said in a statement: "I believe that the festival of Diwali is about sharing happiness with everyone in the community, especially with the less fortunate."

He has lent support to Radio City's crowd funding campaign 'Diwali Ek Rupaye Wali', in association with the NGO, Ketto. Inspired by real life human stories, the FM station has pledged to support causes ranging from women empowerment, community development, health to helping the physically challenged.

"'Diwali Ek Rupaye Waali' is an amazing initiative to make Diwali happy and prosperous for the underprivileged. I personally support the cause and urge everyone to contribute a minimum of 1 rupee, like I did, because your 1 rupee can make a difference to light up faces and dreams of Mumbaikars. Wish you a happy and a prosperous Diwali."

The fund raising campaign will address the requirements of the people who are striving for the welfare of the needy.

The campaign strives on fulfilling the dreams of 5 people Gauri, Shahbaz Khan, Tabrez Khwaja, Rajan Nair and Ravi Kumar, where one wants to build shelter for children in Kamathipura, one wants to conduct workshops for little ones in Dharavi, one wants to provide free ambulance service to one wanting to buy a DSLR to teach photography to children in the hospital.

Kartik Kalla, Executive Vice President and National Head, Programming, Marketing and AudaCITY, Radio City 91.1 FM said: "Radio has the impact and the potential to reach out to the masses and we want to leverage this to promote the true essence of Diwali."

Through another campaign, 'Radio City Ke Patake', they "want to educate people to look beyond crackers this festive season and inculcate the culture of a safe and pollution-free Diwali".

--IANS

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Morocco and Sudan have condemned the terrorist attack that targeted Somali capital Mogadishu and claimed hundreds of lives.

In a message to President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Tuesday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco voiced support to Somalia after this "appalling criminal act that runs counter all human values and Islam teachings", Xinhua reported.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry also condemned the terrorist bombing in Mogadishu.

"Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation of the terrorist bombing which took place at the heart of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday evening," said the ministry in a statement.

Describing the bombing as "a crime contradicting all humanitarian values and principles", the Foreign Ministry expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Somalia.

It also stressed Sudan's full solidarity with the government of Somalia in facing the criminal acts, renewing its call for the international community to intensify its effort and cooperation in the face of all forms of terrorist and criminal activities.

At least 276 people were killed and over 300 others injured in the bombing on Saturday in a shopping area of Mogadishu.

--IANS

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Myanmar security forces are using crimes against humanity in a targeted, systematic and widespread campaign of violence to drive Rohingyas out of Rakhine state, Amnesty International said in a new report on Wednesday.

More than 580,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 25 after the Myanmar Army launched a military offensive following attacks on multiple government posts by Rohingya rebels.

Myanmar's government said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the UN and the international community called the response "disproportionate".

In its report, Amnesty cited testimony from more 120 Rohingya men and women who fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, the Guardian reported.

"In this orchestrated campaign, Myanmar's security forces have brutally meted out revenge on the entire Rohingya population of Rakhine state, in an apparent attempt to permanently drive them out of the country," said Amnesty International Crisis Response Director Tirana Hassan.

"These atrocities continue to fuel the region's worst refugee crisis in decades."

"Exposing these heinous crimes is the first step on the long road to justice. Those responsible must be held to account," she added, specifically calling for Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief, senior general Min Aung Hlaing, to take immediate action to stop his troops from committing atrocities.

Thirty medical professionals, aid workers, journalists and Bangladeshi officials were also interviewed for the research, titled "My World Is Finished", and Amnesty also referred to satellite imagery as well as on-the-ground video footage.

Myanmar blocked media and major UN aid agencies from operating freely in Rakhine and satellite images from Human Rights Watch showed that at least 288 villages were partially or totally destroyed by fire in Rakhine.

Amnesty said eyewitnesses of the worst violence "consistently implicated specific units, including the Myanmar Army's Western Command, the 33rd Light Infantry Division, and the Border Guard Police" and that troops were sometimes joined by local vigilantes.

The body said it documented murder, deportation and forcible displacement, torture, rape and other sexual violence, persecution and other inhumane acts such as denying food and other life-saving provisions, which are all considered crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

Following the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacks on August 25, Myanmar security forces surrounded Rohingya villages in Rakhine and opened fire, killing or seriously injuring hundreds of people, Amnesty said.

This was repeated in "in dozens of villages across Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung townships".

Amnesty said it had documented the killings of a dozen people in Chein Kar Li, Koe Tan Kauk and Chut Pyin villages in Rathedaung Township, in Inn Din, Min Gyi and in Maungdaw Township. The death toll was highest in Chut Pyin and Min Gyi where the organisation estimates scores were killed.

--IANS

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There may be some camps of northeastern militants in Bangladesh but the Border Security Force (BSF) has no specific information about them, an official has said.

"Some camps of northeastern militants might be in Bangladesh but we have no specific information about the camps or hideouts there," BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General S.R. Ojha told the media here on Tuesday evening.

He said: "The Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) is cooperating a lot. Sometimes, BSF and BGB troopers jointly conduct patrolling along the borders to check crimes, infiltration and illegal movements besides cross-border smuggling."

Ojha said of the 856-km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura, around 21 km were unfenced and work is on to fence them.

"To further tighten the vigil along the border, floodlighting would be done around 145 km border areas in Tripura," he added.

He said in view of the largescale Myanmarese Rohingya influx into Bangladesh, security along the India-Bangladesh borders had been further tightened to prevent any such infiltration into the northeastern region.

"We have further alerted our troopers posted along the borders with Bangladesh. BSF personnel intensified patrolling along the borders to prevent any influx, especially of the Rohingyas," Ojha said.

According to the intelligence officials of Tripura Police, at least 15 camps or hideouts of Tripura militants still exist in Bangladesh. These camps are mostly of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT).

A few years back, the BSF and intelligence agencies had said around 100 camps or hideouts of northeastern militants operated in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet areas of Bangladesh.

India shares a 4,096-km border with Bangladesh in West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km).

Large parts of these borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar are riverine, mountainous and unfenced, enabling illegal immigrants, intruders and smugglers to cross over without much of a problem.

--IANS

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Former President expected to be chosen as Prime Minister on two occasions -- first in 2004 when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power, and later in 2012 ahead of the Presidential election, he writes in his latest book "Coalition Years: 1996-2012".

Mukherjee, a veteran Congress leader, also says that after Sonia Gandhi named as her choice for Prime Minister, he was actually reluctant to join the government as a cabinet minister under Singh, who had been his junior when he was Finance Minister under Indira Gandhi.

However, he rubbishes the perception that was an "accidental Prime Minister".

"A strong nationalist, a man of courage and conviction, was certainly not an 'accidental Prime Minister'. I am convinced that the future will judge Manmohan Singh in a different light as (former Prime Minister) P.V. (Narasimha Rao) is assessed today," Mukherjee says.

After Sonia Gandhi declined the leaders' proposal to become Prime Minister on May 18, 2004, "there was intense speculation in the party and the media about her choice", Mukherjee writes.

"Within the Congress party, the consensus was that the incumbent must be a political leader with experience in party affairs and administration... The prevalent expectation was that I would be the next choice for Prime Minister after Sonia Gandhi declined," the Congress stalwart writes.

He says that this expectation was possibly based of the fact that "I had extensive experience in government while Singh's vast experience was as a civil servant with five years as a reformist Finance Minister".

Finally, Sonia Gandhi named Manmohan Singh as her choice and he accepted this.

"Some media commentators reported that I would not join the government because I could not work under Manmohan Singh, who had been my junior when I was the Finance Minister. The fact was that I was reluctant to join the government, and informed Sonia Gandhi accordingly," Mukherjee says.

Speaking at the release of the book recently, Manmohan Singh said Mukherjee had every reason to feel that he was better qualified than him for the Prime Minister's post.

He also said that contrary to what people may say or write, the two had no serious differences or friction on any matter during the era.

Mukherjee elaborates that once he joined the government at Sonia Gandhi's insistence, he enjoyed good rapport with Manmohan Singh who "seemed to depend" on him.

"She (Sonia Gandhi) insisted that I should join the government since I would be vital to its functioning and also be of support to Dr Singh. As it turned out, Dr Singh would talk to me on all important issues and seemed to depend on me. We shared a good working relationship," Mukherjee says.

The second occasion when Mukherjee expected he would be asked to head the government came just ahead of his nomination as the presidential candidate.

After a meeting with Sonia Gandhi on June 2, 2012, when the Congress President discussed with him probable presidential candidates -- including him -- Mukherjee "returned with a vague impression that she (Sonia Gandhi) might wish to consider Manmohan Singh as the presidential nominee".

"I thought that if she selected Singh for the presidential office, she may choose me as the Prime Minister. I had heard that she had given this formulation a serious thought while on a holiday in the hills," he writes.
Senior diplomats from South Korea, Japan and the US met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss and take a coordinated stance towards the threats posed by North Korea's weapons tests.

After the trilateral meeting concludes, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with his counterparts, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama and US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

Sullivan said in a statement after arriving in Seoul on Wednesday that the three-way talks would focus on joint "diplomatic efforts" to address the challenges posed by North Korea, Efe news reported citing Yonhap news agency.

Sullivan also said on Tuesday in Tokyo, where he already met Sugiyama, that Washington "does not rule out" the possibility of a direct dialogue with Pyongyang, despite the ongoing tension between the two countries.

The repeated weapon tests by North Korea's military have escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula and worsened the verbal war between Washington and Pyongyang over the last year.

However, despite the harsh tone used by US President Donald Trump in his statements to North Korea, Washington has insisted in recent days that it will continue to prioritise diplomatic dialogue over a military option.

Apart from the ongoing trilateral meeting, the South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister would also schedule bilateral meetings with his Japanese and US counterparts.

The two-way meeting between Lim and Sullivan will focus on the preparations for Trump's visit to South Korea between November 7 and 8, which is the first official visit of a US President to the Asian country in 25 years.

--IANS

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A senior Pakistani Taliban leader Omar Khalid Khorasani is presumed dead in recent air strikes on the Afghan side of the border, local media and the militant sources said late on Wednesday.

However, Khorasani's Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (TTP JuA), has not commented on the reports.

Ahrar is blamed for many deadliest terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years that killed many people.

Khorasani, whose real name was Abdul Wali, had parted ways with the main Taliban faction in 2014 over serious differences with the leadership.

Pakistan Army said on Tuesday that military operations were conducted in Afghanistan's eastern Khost and Paktiya provinces over the past few days by the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) and Afghan Forces, opposite to Pakistan Kurram Agency with reports of "heavy losses to terrorists".

The army did not identify about those killed in the operations but said "coordination between the forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan has enhanced" after the army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's visit to Afghanistan on October 1.

TV channels quoted security sources as saying that Khorasani was also killed in the operations on the Afghan side of the border.

Pakistan officials have not offered any comments.

--IANS

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A day after New Delhi said it desired better relations with Islamabad, seven civilians were injured on Wednesday in intense shelling by the Pakistan Army on civilian areas along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Police said the Pakistanis targeted civilian areas, including 18 villages near the Line of Control (LoC) in Mankote and Balakote areas in Poonch district and Manjakote area in Rajouri district.

"Three labourers and a woman were injured in Mankote," a police officer said. "Three more labourers were injured in Pakistani shelling in Balakote. All the injured persons were shifted to hospital for treatment."

The Pakistan Army resorted to "unprovoked shelling and indiscriminate firing" in Poonch and Rajouri districts from 7.30 a.m., the officer said. They used mortars, automatics and small arms.

Some cattle were killed. Three private vehicles and an electric transformer were damaged in the shelling, Indian officials said.

Indian forces "strongly and effectively" retaliated, leading to fighting that continued till noon, the police said.

Wednesday's border shelling came a day after Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said New Delhi wanted cordial and peaceful relations with Islamabad.

He said India had taken many initiatives to ensure that both Islamabad and New Delhi co-exist in an atmosphere of peace and mutual trust. "We expect reciprocity to our repeated overtures of friendship and goodwill to Pakistan," he said at Hussainiwala in Punjab.

--IANS

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At least seven people were killed and seven others injured in a collision between a Toyota Innova vehicle and a truck in Punjab's Mansa district on Wednesday, police said.

The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Mansa where two seriously injured were referred to the medical college hospital in Patiala.

The accident took place near Bhikhi town, around 185 km from here. Those killed included three men, two women and two children.

Police said there were 14 people in the Innova vehicle against its carrying capacity of seven.

The vehicle got badly damaged in the accident and people had a tough time taking out the injured as well as the bodies out of the multi-utility vehicle.

The victims, who belonged to Kansal village in Mohali (adjoining Chandigarh), were reportedly on their way to Gogamedi, a village in Hanumangarh district of neighbouring Rajasthan.

--IANS

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Seven policemen were killed and 22 injured in an explosion in Quetta in Pakistan on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta-Sibbi Road, Dawn reported.

Security sources claimed that a roadside bomb exploded just as a police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel was passing the area.

Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig confirmed the seven deaths.

"The war against is not over. Balochistan is in the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said.

He added: "These cowardly attacks will not hinder our security forces in executing their duties."

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked bureaucrats to break out of the "silo mentality", which he said is a "big bottleneck" in the functioning of the Union government, an official release from the PMO said on Wednesday.

During interactions with around 380 Directors and Deputy Secretaries working in various departments and ministries in the central government in four groups over the last fortnight, Modi asked them to work "with full dedication" towards realising the dream of 'New India' by 2022.

Modi emphasised that it was important to break the "silo mentality" for effective functioning of the government.

"He said that silos are a big bottleneck in the functioning of the Union government. He urged the officers to adopt innovative ways to break silos, which will result in the speeding up of various processes of governance," the release said.

During the interactions - the last of which happened on Tuesday, subjects such as governance, corruption, health, education, skill development, agriculture, transport, national integration, water resources, Swachh Bharat, tourism and Government e-Marketplace came up for discussion.

"The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to work with full dedication towards creation of New India by 2022. He said officers at the level of Directors and Deputy Secretaries must create teams to achieve better results," it said.

A silo mentality is defined as a phenomenon where one department is reluctant to share information with other departments of the same organisation, and also do not welcome suggestions as to how they might improve.

--IANS

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Representatives of the US, Mexico and Canada announced here that negotiations on revising the 1994 NAFTA will continue into next year in the face of "significant conceptual gaps among the parties".

US President Donald Trump initially set a goal of completing the talks this year, but the just-completed fourth round of discussions exposed substantial differences among the three governments on key issues, Efe news reported.

"New proposals have created challenges and ministers discussed the significant conceptual gaps among the parties. Ministers have called upon all negotiators to explore creative ways to bridge these gaps. To that end, the parties plan on having a longer inter-sessional period before the next negotiating round to assess all proposals," US Trade Representative Robert Lightizer told reporters on Tuesday while reading from a joint statement.

The fifth round, to be held in Mexico City, has been postponed until November 17-21.

Lightizer was joined by the leaders of the other two delegations, Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trump, a critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has repeatedly threatened to scrap the accord altogether if Canada and Mexico do not agree to the changes he wants.

Even before the fourth round began last week, prospects for success seemed to be fading as Washington demanded controversial amendments, such as the addition to NAFTA of a "sunset clause" that would require the treaty to be reaffirmed by all three signatories every five years in order to remain in effect.

Lightizer complained on Tuesday about the unwillingness of his counterparts to accede to US proposals.

"NAFTA has resulted in a huge trade deficit for the United States and has cost us tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs. The agreement has become very lopsided and needs to be rebalanced. We of course have a $500 billion trade deficit. So for us, trade deficits do matter. And we intend to reduce them," he said.

"Frankly, I am surprised and disappointed by the resistance to change from our negotiating partners."

Freeland accused the US of taking a "winner-takes-all" approach to the negotiations and described the latest demands as "troubling".

--IANS

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Tamil Nadu woke up to the sounds of crackers and the visual treat of diyas on Diwali - the festival of lights - early on Wednesday morning.

People had special sesame oil bath and wore new clothes. Relatives and friends asked one another "Ganga Sthanam Aachha? (Is bathing with the water of holy river Ganga over?)"

People across the state exchanged sweets, savouries and the special Diwali Leghium -- herbal jam -- with friends, neighbours and relatives, and celebrated the day with fervour.

In many houses phones started ringing early with close relatives living in far off places wishing people here "Happy Diwali".

"The day started with bursting of crackers with my kids. After the traditional oil bath we went to the nearby temple to offer prayers," J.Murali, a resident of Chennai, told IANS.

While children started their day bursting crackers the adults conducted pujas in their homes and temples.

--IANS

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There are no Muslim or Christian terrorists because terrorists are no more religious once they embrace terror, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday.

"People cease to be Muslim, Christian or any group the moment they became terrorists," the Dalai Lama said at a public reception here on the second day of a three-day visit to Manipur.

The Tibetan leader also said that he does not like the "America first" slogan of US President Donald Trump.

A strong votary of non-violence, the Nobel Prize winner said violence does not solve any problem.

"India, which has a tradition of 1,000 years of non-violence, could ensure world peace by reviving the ancient knowledge."

According to him, almost all the problems people face today were "our own creation".

He underlined the need to control emotions. Anger weakens people's immune system and as such was bad for health, he warned.

"Out of seven billion people on earth, six billion are children of god while one billion are non-believers."

Problems around the world can be solved through dialogue, said the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 and who is hated by the Chinese Communist regime.

India with her ancient knowledge and education could ensure world peace, he said. "China has also potentialities except for the Communist ideology."

The spiritual leader said that the widening gap between the rich and poor was morally wrong. "This gap is visible in India and Manipur also."

In his speech, the Dalai Lama recalled how he came to India as a refugee 58 years ago. India is also home to some 100,000 Tibetans.

--IANS

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Dubai, Oct 18 (IANS/WAM) The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has warned its citizens against travel to Madagascar after the reported outbreak of pneumonic plague in the African country.

The Ministry has taken all necessary preventive measures to instil awareness in this regard, said Fatma Al Attar, an official at the Health Ministry, affirming that there were no pneumonic plague cases in the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry and health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will issue circulars to all medical officers about the plague including methods of diagnosis, prevention and isolation of patients, if any, as well as follow-up measures and care for the infected, she said.

Madagascar's health authorities were checking all those departing from the country's ports to ensure they were not carrying the diseases and all suspected cases were prevented from leaving and given all necessary medications, Attar said.

"There are not direct flights between the UAE and Madagascar, except for indirect trips run by local and international carriers via Kenya and Ethiopia," the official said.

"The Ministry calls upon all those wishing to travel to Madagascar to report to the travel clinics affiliated to the Ministry and get updated on all developments related to the disease in Madagascar and other world countries concerned in order to get the right vaccines and necessary medical instructions," Attar said.

--IANS/WAM

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Paris, Oct 18 (IANS/AKI) The head of the UN cultural organisation Unesco has condemned the killing of prominent investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was blown up in her car in Malta.

"I condemn the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia," said Irinia Bokova. "I welcome the pledge by the Prime Minister of Malta to bring to justice this crime against a person and against the rights of freedom of expression and freedom of information, which are essential to democracies everywhere."

Galizia, 53, died when a bomb exploded in her car as she left her home in the remote village of Bidnija in northern Malta.

She published an influential blog top accusing politicians of corruption. She also wrote for The Sunday Times of Malta and The Malta Independent.

After her murder, her son Matthew said Malta was a "mafia state".

--IANS/AKI

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Ahead of his India visit, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups, and warned that countries that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation diminished.

Tillerson, who said that he would be visiting New Delhi next week for the first time in his official capacity, also said that US President Donald Trump's administration was "determined to dramatically deepen" ties with India.

"In the past decade, our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded significantly," Tillerson said while delivering an address on 'Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century' at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top US think-tank.

Speaking about peace and stability in South Asia and especially in Afghanistan, Tillerson said that apart from India, Pakistan too was an important partner of the US in this.

"We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders and threaten their own people and the broader region.

"In doing so, Pakistan furthers peace and stability for itself and its neighbours and improves its own international standing," he said.

He said that the US and India were cross-screening known and suspected terrorists and later this year Washington and New Delhi would convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations.

"In July, I signed a designation that Hizbul Mujahideen is a foreign terrorist organisation because the United States and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

"States that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation standing diminished." he stated, adding that it was the obligation, not choice, of every civilised nation to combat terrorism.

On the growing India-US ties, Tillerson said that President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were committed more than any of the leaders before them "to building an ambitious partnership that benfits not only our two great democracies but for other sovereign nations working for greater peace and stability".

"The Trump administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the United States and India to further this partnership," he said.

The Secretary of State said that there were over 600 American companies operating and US investment in India has jumped by 500 per cent in the last two years. He also pointed out that last year bilateral trade attained a record of roughly $115 billion.

He said that 1.2 million Americans visited India last year while 166,000 Indian students were studying in the US.

"Nearly four million Indian Americans call the United States home and are contributing as doctors, engineers and innovators and probably serving their country in uniform," Tillerson said.

He also lashed out at China and said that the dragon, while rising alongside India, "has done so less responsibly at times undermining the international rules based order".

"Even as countries like India operate under a framework to protect other nations' sovereignty, China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge international law and norms that the United States and India stand for."

Tillerson also said that the US needed to collaborate with India to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region so that it did not become "a region of disorder, conflict and predatory economics".

He said that the US-India-Japan trilateral maritime exercises would work to strengthen the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region.

His remarks comes as US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Trump has "taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists".

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said at a talk at the US-India Friendship Council.

The US is looking at India to help Washington more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

--IANS

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The Andhra governments flip-flop on extensive cultivation of unapproved genetically-modified (GM) herbicide-tolerant (HT) cotton seems to be symptomatic of the complacency which has infected even regulatory bodies and research institutions.

In February, the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), (Nagpur) had found six of nine cottonseed hybrids testing positive for herbicide tolerance. It did not bother to inform the state government until this month, and that too, only when Maharashtra's Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Bijay Kumar, sought to know whether such a report in fact existed.

Kumar had sought information after he was alerted by media reports about extensive cultivation of HT cotton in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka.

CICR told the principal secretary that it had not by itself collected the samples, but a person claiming to be a farmer from Nagpur had brought the seeds to the institute for testing.

The institute said it was for state governments to do the testing at its laboratories, but Kumar says the state's laboratories do not have the capacity to test for herbicide tolerance, although they are equipped to test for the insect-resistance Bt gene, which is an approved trait.

It is unlikely that the state's agriculture department and seed inspectors did not know that HT cotton was being illegally grown.

India has tough laws and regulations for approval of GM crops -- they are required to meet strict bio-safety standards to obviate risk to humans, animals and the environment -- but attitudes like that of CICR and the state agriculture departments allow a free play to rogue actors.

Even the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) turned a blind eye to the issue. It says it came to know only recently that unapproved HT cotton was being grown. Monsanto, which owns the HT trait found in CICR's samples, says it has been bringing the practice to the notice of GEAC since 2008 and most recently in August.

The Andhra government's actions are quite curious. On October 5 this year, it set up a committee of three persons to study the "efficacy" of the unapproved HT trait, instead of investigating the practice, and punishing the violators. The committee was to give its report in 15 days.

On October 13, Reuters reported that the notification setting up the committee had been withdrawn. On October 17, the state set up another three-person committee, comprising another set of members, to investigate the cultivation of the unapproved hybrids, and lodge criminal cases against violators under the environment protection law.

The notification says the October 5 committee was set up after "careful consideration." It says the state had received a representation from farmers to allow seed companies with the right credentials to produce HT cottonseed, so they were assured of quality. In the representation, the farmers said the unapproved hybrids had been planted in half of the state's cotton-growing villages and they covered 15 percent of its cotton area.

In neighbouring Telangana, T Keshavulu, Director, Telangana State Seed Certification Agency said, "I am hearing it is being grown here and there and in the entire country." But another official in the agriculture department, who did not wish to be named, said HT cotton was being sold by Gujarati traders in 500 gram and 1 kg white cloth bags and there was a rise in sale of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide to which the unapproved hybrids are tolerant.

The state's laboratory which monitors transgenic crops had even found a brand of cottonseed called Kamadhenu testing positive for the herbicide-tolerance trait.

Kumar said he has asked CICR to put the state's investigators in touch with the Nagpur farmer who had given it samples of HT cottonseed so he could lead them to the suppliers. He has also ordered the investigators to take samples of cotton leaf and bolls. He has promised tough action.

Telangana's agriculture department official said a scheduled meeting with seed companies to discuss cottonseed production plans, which is usually held in November has been advanced to October. The production plots of the seed companies will be tested, he said.

But the paste is out of the tube and there is no way to put it back. States will not be able to crack down on farmers. And the pirates will find ways to meet demand.

The government's attitude to intellectual property rights (IPR) has been hostile to trait developers. Monsanto's associate company, Mahyco, withdrew the application for approval of HT cotton in August last year, fearing difficulty in enforcing its rights if the patented trait were approved.

During a recent meeting with seed companies, GEAC Chairperson Amita Prasad asked Raju Barwale of Mahyco why the company had withdrawn its application. He said the business was not viable. In May 2015, the central government had not only brought Bt cottonseed under price control nationally, it had also cut trait fees by 74 percent.

(Vivian Fernandes is editor of www.smartindianagriculture.in. He may be reached at vivianfernandesonly@gmail.com)

--IANS

Vivian/hs/bg

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The CBI on Wednesday said it will look into the facts and circumstances mentioned in an interview of Michael Hershman, the first secret Bofors investigator of the Fairfax Group deployed by the Indian government.

"The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to Bofors aired on a certain TV Channel containing interview of Michael Hershman. Facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per the due process by the CBI," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said in a statement.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) move comes a day after Republic TV's interview with Hershman, wherein he made several revelation regarding Bofors and named some powerful politicians in India linked with the deal signed between the then Rajiv Gandhi-led government and Swedish company Bofors in 1986.

The deal for 410 howitzers was completed in March 1986.

The alleged corruption in the Bofors guns deal had created a scandal in 1989, leading to the fall of Rajiv Gandhi government. Kickbacks were alleged, but no evidence was found.

In 1986, the then Finance Minister V.P. Singh ordered an investigation. To do so, Singh got in touch with private investigation group Fairfax.

Hershman, who first found the Bofors papers, was the secret investigator of the Fairfax Group, deployed by the Indian government.

Now, a six-member Public Accounts Committee's sub-committee on defence, headed by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, is looking into non-compliance of certain aspects of the Comptroller and Audictor General's report of 1986 on the deal.

--IANS

rak/tsb/vm

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The Allahabad High Court has set aside the conviction of the Talwars in the tragic twin murder of teenager Aarushi Talwar and domestic help Hemraj in Noida. The High Court ruled that the evidence was not adequate to secure conviction of the parents. The trial itself could have well qualified for mistrial in other jurisdictions going by the media coverage fed by the investigators and prosecutors, but that is now par for the course with any trial in India.
Amit Lakhanpal, founder and CEO of Money Trade Coin, held a press conference in Mumbai to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform. Digital wallet Money Trade calls itself a propagator of cryptocurrency and provider of a platform to buy different digitial coins, including bitcoin and Ethereum. World over digital currencies are gaining momentum as investors want to diversify from hard assets such as gold. However, those present at the conference were confused whether Lakhanpal was promoting gold over digital currencies. He turned up in style sporting Bappi Lahiri-esque gold ornaments around his neck and arms.
The Congress Working Committee is scheduled to announce its election schedule on October 24.



It is almost certain that Vice-President Rahul Gandhi would soon head the party. The All-India Congress Committee is likely to elect him the party chief in the first week of November.



On Wednesday, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party released their respective lists of candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. The voting is on November 9.



The highlight of the BJPs list was the confirmation that Anil Sharma, son of former telecom minister Sukh Ram, would contest on a BJP ticket from the Mandi Assembly constituency. Sharma and his father had switched from the Congress to the BJP last week. Sharma was the rural development minister in the Virbhadra Singh government.



The BJP has announced candidates for all 68 seats, while the Congress announced candidate for 59.



Union Health Minister J P Naddas name was missing on the BJP list. There was speculation that Nadda might head to Himachal Pradesh as chief minister if his party win the elections. Two-time former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will contest from Sajanpur, instead of his sitting seat of Hamirpur.



As for the Congress, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will contest from the Arki constituency. Interestingly, Rajya Sabha member Viplove Thakur will also be contesting Assembly polls. Her Rajya Sabha term ends in 2020.



The Congress is also busy tying up a grand alliance in Gujarat. Party leaders are in talks with Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, Patidar leader Hardik Patel and OBC leader Alpesh Thakur. The alliance could be announced when the Congress vice-president visits the state in November.



On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi attended a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar briefed committee members on India-China relations and the Doklam stand-off. Rahul Gandhi asked questions on media reports that claimed that China has again started constructing a road in the Doklam area.
After the BJP asked the Congress to explain alleged links of party President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, the Congress on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi can get "any investigation" done in the matter.

The Congress also said the BJP's allegations against Robert Vadra were a "politically motivated" effort by the ruling party to divert public attention from the serious allegations against its party President Amit Shah's son Jay Shah.

"They are trying to throttle media freedom. They are actually scared and that's why they are not allowing any investigation to happen," Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told IANS.

"Modiji has been in power for 41 months. They (BJP) have governments in Haryana and Rajasthan, and can conduct any investigation into allegations against Vadra to come to a conclusion through a free and fair process of law of any wrongdoing," said Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala at a news conference here.

"What prevents them from initiating an inquiry against Vadra if they have proof of any wrongdoing," Surjewala questioned.

Robert Vadra put out a philosophical message on Facebook, saying: "I am capable, I am strong. If I believe in myself, I can turn my dreams into a plan, and my plan into my reality."

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman questioned in Delhi the "silence" of the Congress leadership on the Vadra issue.

She was referring to media reports about reported links between Vadra and arms dealer Bhandari, who has fled to the UK.

TimesNow news channel had claimed to have accessed emails to establish that Vadra and Bhandari were in touch with each other.

TimesNow and Republic TV news channels were barred from covering Surjewala's news conference here on Tuesday.

"Journalism should mirror the truth and not become mirror of the BJP," Surjewala commented.

The Congress Spokesman said the party (Congress) demands Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah's resignation in view of the alleged discrepancies in Shah's son Jay Shah's business, Temple Enterprise Private Limited.

"Until 2013-14, total borrowings of his company was mere Rs 1.3 crore. In what circumstances did the borrowings increase 400 times to Rs 53.5 crore within a year of the formation of the BJP-led government?" Surjewala asked.

The Congress said it will be taking this issue up and take it to the streets of the country. We are already doing a nationwide campaign to expose the corruption of Amit Shah's son.

On the other hand, the BJP had rubbished the allegations and said Shah's business was "perfectly legitimate and legal".
The police have seized over 100 kilograms of ganja from two places in Mizoram and arrested five persons in this connection, the police said.

The ganja, worth Rs 2.53 lakh, was reportedly smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar, the police said.

While 40 kilograms of ganja was seized from a house in Aizawl yesterday, the police got a tip-off that over 60 kilograms of the contraband was being transported to Saitual in Aizawl district, 100 km from here.

A message was sent to Saitual police station to intercept the vehicle, following which the seizure was made.

Three persons were arrested from Aizawl and two others from Saitual in connection with the seizure of 101.8 kilograms of ganja.

The arrested persons were booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

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Twenty-three people have been arrested on charges of rioting in two incidents when animal right activists visited sites where cows were either allegedly slaughtered or cow meat was sold, police said today.

Bengaluru police commissioner T Sunil Kumar told reporters that 10 people were arrested for rioting,attacking a police party and destroying a police vehicle at Chikka Bettahalli near Yelahanka New Town yesterday.

The incident occurred when the police personnel accompanied a court commissioners and members of a cow protection NGO -- Gau Gyan Foundation -- to check illegal abattoirs in the area, he said.

ABangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus was damaged in the incident.

"Three cows and a calf were rescued from there and 10 people arrested for rioting and slaughtering cows under cow protection laws," said Kumar.

Narrating the sequence of events in the second incident which occurred on October 14, he said that Nandini, an animal rights activist and her two woman assistants, had lodged a complaint about cows being slaughtered at Talaghattapura near here.

Kumar said Nandini too accompanied the police to the spot though she was asked not to go there.

He said police arrested three people for allegedly slaughtering cows under the cow protection law and rescued some cattle.

At the site, Nandini's carhad allegedly dashed against an autorickshaw and a garage, which irked residents.

This led to a riotous situation, the official said, adding Nandini suffered some "minor injuries".

Ten people were arrested on charges of rioting in this case.

However, Nandini in a statement to the media yesterday alleged that a mob attacked her and she sustained injuries to her head besides a fracture to her hand.

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The anti-narcotics division of the Meghalaya police today arrested a suspected drug peddler and seized over 400 gm of heroin, worth nearly Rs 35 lakh, from their vehicle at Mawblei in East Kashi Hills district.

The car, on its way to Shillong from Manipur, was stopped by a home guard as it was driving on the wrong side of the road, police said.

Two people immediately fled the scene while the third was nabbed by the police, district SP Davis Marak said.

"The incident took place around 7 am when an SUV with a Manipur registration number plate was stopped by a home guard near a petrol pump at Mawblei for violating traffic rules," he said.

The arrested person has been identified as Seikholen Hoakhit from Manipur, he said.

According to an official of the anti-narcotics division, the suspected smugglers had sourced the contraband from Moreh along the India-Myanmar border.

"We are conducting a search to nab the other two accused in the case," Marak added.

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At least six persons, including six policemen, were killed today when Pakistani militants targeted police van in the restive Baluchistan's capital Quetta, police said.

Security sources said a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta-Sibbi Road.

Baluchistan's Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said six policemen had been killed in the terror attack in which the truck carrying policemen was the target.

"A forensic team is reaching from Lahore and will determine whether it was a suicide bomb attack or whether explosives were detonated close to the vehicle," Bugti said.

He said while seven people, including a civilian, were killed on the spot, 24 others had been moved to the Civil Hospital in Quetta for treatment.

"The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," the home minister added.

Security forces have reached the location and cordoned off the area, and a security sweep is underway, he said.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Senior police official, Razzak Cheema said a car with explosives was apparently rammed from behind into the truck.

"It appears that 80 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack," Cheema said.

In a separate incident, Police Inspector Abdul Salam was shot dead on Quetta's Qambrani Road, in what security sources claim was a targeted killing.

Balochistan has experienced incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. In recent months, the province has faced a number of security challenges, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.

Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta on August 13.

Earlier in June, 14 people - including seven policemen - lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quetta's Gulistan Road area.

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Seven people were killed and several others injured today when an overspeeding passenger bus crashed into a van in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, police said.

According to police officials, the driver of the passenger bus apparently lost control and crashed into the van coming from the opposite direction.

"The accident took place near the Lucky Shah Saddar area near Sehwan town," an official said.

Thousands of devotees visit Sehwan every year to pay homage at the shrine of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalander on the outskirts of the town.

However, the nature of the accident and exact number of passengers in both vehicles is yet to be confirmed.

Due to the poor condition of the Indus highway, connecting Sehwan with the nearest Jamshoro town, accidents occur frequently on this highway.

Rescue officials said around 20 injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.

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A bomb targeted a police truck in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta today killing at least seven policemen and injuring 22 others, police said.

According to initial reports, security sources claimed a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta- Sibbi Road, Dawn reported.

However, the nature of the blast has yet to be ascertained.

Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig confirmed seven casualties and said that injured had been brought to the medical facility where emergency has been imposed, the report said.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti while condemning the attack confirmed the deaths in the attack. While 22 others were injured and are being treated at the hospital in Quetta.

"The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," the home minister said.

"These cowardly attacks will not hinder our security forces in executing their duties," he added.

Security forces have reached the location and cordoned off the area, and a security sweep is underway, it said.

Balochistan has experienced incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. In recent months, the province has faced a number of security challenges, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.

Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta on August 13.

Earlier in June, 14 people - including seven policemen - lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quetta's Gulistan Road area.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eight civilians, including a two- year-old girl, were injured today when Pakistani troops shelled civilian hamlets and forward posts along the Line of Control in the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district," a defence spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote, Manjakote areas, a police official said.

While five people, including 3 labourers, were injured in Poonch, three other civilians, including the 2-year-old girl, were injured in Manajakote in the Rajouri district, officials said.

The injured have been hospitalised, they said.

Three vehicles and electrical equipment were also damagedin the Pakistani shelling, the reports said.

Last week, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing in the Bhimber Gali sector along the LoC, deliberately targeting villages of Basauni and Sandot in the Balakote area resulting in injuries to two children and two teenagers.

On October 13, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire in the Krishnagati sector along LoC.

A day before that, an army jawan and a porter were killed and six others injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and resorted to shelling on the forward areas along the LoC in the Poonch district.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Noted film actor Prakash Raj today joined the protest being staged by theatre personality Prasanna against the imposition of GST on handmade products.

Prasanna is on indefinite hunger strike for the last five days demanding total waiver of GST on handmade products, saying it would cause the collapse of the rural economy.

Raj, who spoke to a private channel from the stage said "it is unfair to impose GST on the products prepared by a tribe, which lives in forest. He pays GST equal to a multinational company. You are not only economically burdening them but also disturbing the social fabric", he said.

"You are breaking them morally and rendering them jobless. This is by a government which said 'Make in India' and promised creatingjobs," said Raj expressing solidarity with Prasanna's demand.

"When you see people are suffering because of GST, then it is time to change," said Raj.

Raj has been vocal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ever since the murder of noted journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was his family friend.

He had flayed Modi for his silence on this issue.

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More than 2,000 additional state police personnel, most from specialised forces, have been deployed in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, a top West Bengal police official said today.

The officer's comments came in the backdrop of the union home ministry's statement that paramilitary forces cannot substitute state police and should be deployed only in emergencies.

The police officer told PTI on the condition of anonymity that 2,500 state police personnel were already posted in the districts which witnessed a three-and-half-month long shutdown over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state.

An additional 2000-strong force has also been deployed there over the past few months, he said.

"The state police is being fully utilised for duties in the area. Apart from this the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed in the two districts are being fully utilised," he said.

The union home ministry's communication to the state said, "CAPFs can't substitute the state police force as their deployment is related to emergency crisis in states for maintaining law and order."



The ministry's missive came after the West Bengal government moved the Calcutta High Court and got a stay against the central government's move to withdraw 700 CAPF personnel from Darjeeling.

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Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said that the AIADMK high command would decide about the candidate for the R K Nagar assembly bypolls.

Talking to reporters here, he said "our party high command will decide on who will contest in R K Nagar."



The by-election to R K Nagar constituency was necessitated following the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016.

He said he was confident that the two leaves symbol would be allotted by the Election Commission to the ruling party.

Panneerselvam said the government was taking serious steps to control the dengue in the state. "We are even conducting research to produce medicine for controlling dengue and eradicate it completely", he said.

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The Andhra Pradesh government is hopeful that the 'TU-142 aircraft museum' will become a major tourist attraction in the port city of Visakhapatnam.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu last evening unveiled a plaque to mark the assembling works related to TU-142, the decommissioned naval aircraft that is being converted into a museum on the beach road here.

The TU-142, nicknamed the Bear, was a naval maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft that served the nation for 29 years before it was decommissioned in May this year.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command H C S Bisht, who took part in the programme, said the TU-142, with four engines and eight propellers, was the "most formidable" in the world.

On the occasion, the chief minister said President Ram Nath Kovind would formally inaugurate the aircraft museum in December this year.

Designed by the Soviet Union, the aircraft had an accident-free record and served in various operations, including the Kargil war.

The TU-142 aircraft museum is coming up right across the road where the INS Kursura submarine museum now stands on the Vizag Beach Road.

"The TU-142 is being converted into a museum at a cost of Rs five crore and it will be yet another major tourist attraction in Vizag," state tourism secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena said.

AP's deputy chief minister (Home) N China Rajappa, tourism minister Bhuma Akhila Priya, HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and several other elected representatives attended the event.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today visited the native village of his confidante-turned-rebel Jitan Ram Manjhi in Gaya district and said he has "always had affection and respect" for the former CM who has since quit the Janata Dal (United) and formed his own outfit.

Sharing dais with Manjhi, whom Kumar had annointed as the Chief Minister after his own resignation in the wake of the JD(U)'s debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister said "I am extremely glad to visit Mahkar, the village of Manjhi, upon his invitation".

"I have always had affection and respect for Manjhi. He has requested better road connectivity for his village and I would like to ensure him that work is taking place in that direction at a brisk pace", the CM was quoted as saying in an official release.

Kumar was speaking after dedicating to the public a number of development projects in the area, including a newly constructed Industrial Training Institute (ITI).

Manjhi, who was earlier seen as a trusted lieutenant of Kumar, had revolted when he was asked by the JD(U) leadership to resign from the Chief Minister's post within less than a year of assuming office.

Amid mounting pressure, Manjhi resigned but also formed a new political outfit - the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) -- which fought the 2015 assembly polls as an ally of the BJP-led NDA.

Kumar, who replaced Manjhi upon the latter's resignation, faced the polls as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and the Congress, which went on to sweep the assembly elections.

However, earlier this year, Kumar returned to the NDA fold after he resigned following differences with the RJD over corruption cases against his then Deputy, Tejashwi Yadav and his father Lalu prasad.

At today's function, Kumar also spoke about the need for ensuring inclusive growth, taking a cue from the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and eradication of social evils like dowry, child marriage and consumption of alcohol.

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At least four people were shot dead in clashes between protesters and security forces in Togo's two largest cities after soldiers and police launched teargas to prevent the latest anti-government protest.

Opposition parties had refused to cancel plans for demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday, despite a government ban on weekday protests on security grounds.

The government said three people were shot dead in second city Sokode while one was killed and several wounded by gunfire in capital Lome.

"Security forces aren't the only ones in possession of weapons so it's difficult to say who fired," security minister Colonel Yark Damehame told reporters.

Around 60 people were detained.

This week's planned protests are the latest against President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005 and whose family has ruled the West African nation since 1968.

Earlier Wednesday, streets in Lome were blocked and most shops were shut in the commercial area of Deckon, according to AFP reporters in the city.

"We've decided to stick it out," said one bare-chested protester who had wrapped his T-shirt around his head. "We're not afraid of teargas. The fight must continue."



In Be, an opposition stronghold in the southeast of Lome, the security services fired teargas to try to prevent crowds from joining the planned march to the National Assembly.

Groups of youths blocked main roads around the district with makeshift barricades of stones, burning tyres, tree trunks or burned-out cars.

"The army has locked down everywhere and there are small groups that the opposition is calling 'militiamen' with sticks who are warning people not to go to the march," said Amnesty International's country director, Aime Adi.

Eric Dupuy, spokesman for the main opposition National Alliance for Change (ANC) party, said assembly points for the march had been "taken over by the security forces".

But he added: "We are going to march whatever the cost and intimidation."



In Sokode, the stronghold of the opposition Panafrican National Party (PNP), one local resident described the situation as "very tense".

"Soldiers have been going into houses since three o'clock this morning (0200 GMT), beating young people so they don't go to protest today," he said on condition of anonymity.

"We have shut ourselves away in our homes... Young people are fleeing into the bush in fear of a crackdown."



The ANC representative in Sokode, Ouro Akpo Tchagnaou said: "Uniformed men are conducting punitive expeditions in houses. They're hitting everything that moves.

"This morning, a local chief was beaten up by soldiers as he left the mosque. In retaliation, locals set fire to the vehicle belonging to the head of the armed response team."



On Tuesday, two teenagers and two soldiers were killed during clashes in Sokode that followed the arrest of a local imam who is close to the PNP.

The violence has spread to several other cities in the north as well as Lome.

Since the first protests on August 18, eight people have been killed, including a 10-year-old child, three teenagers and two soldiers, while there have been about 100 injured.

Amnesty International said at least 28 people out of more than 100 arrested have been convicted in connection with the protests.

Togo's opposition has repeatedly called for a limit of two, five-year terms for the president and the resignation of Gnassingbe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It's the prize of a lifetime -- a USD 5 billion investment creating 50,000 well-paid jobs that everyone wants, but only one US city will get.

From East to West, from North to South, metropolises across the United States are locked in a frenzied bidding war desperate to woo Amazon into favoring them as the site of the e-commerce giant's second headquarters.

From USD 7 billion in tax breaks in Newark, New Jersey -- 50 years ago aflame by deadly race riots -- to a giant cactus shipped inter-state, bids range from the colossally ambitious to the silly before tomorrow's deadline for submissions.

The e-commerce giant announced last month that it planned to invest more than USD 5 billion in opening Amazon HQ2, a second company headquarters in North America that would create up to 50,000 jobs, and tens of thousands of spin-off jobs.

"We expect HQ2 to be a full equal to our Seattle headquarters," promised Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, America's second richest billionaire worth USD 85.8 billion.

The Seattle-based company's unusual announcement unleashed nationwide competitive juices as some of America's most glittering cities -- New York and Chicago vie with lesser-known backwaters looking to exit oblivion.

"Let any state go and try to beat that package," announced a typically bombastic New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on behalf of Newark's bid.

Christie, a Republican ally of US President Donald Trump, reached across the increasingly bitter US partisan divide to join forces with Democratic Senator Cory Booker and champion Newark's chances.

New Jersey dangled the prospect of USD 5 billion in tax incentives over 10 years, USD 1 billion in property tax abatement and wage tax waivers that would allow Amazon employees to keep around USD 1 billion of their hard earned money over 20 years.

As part of New York's metropolitan area, Newark fulfills Amazon's preference for places with more than one million people, a business-friendly environment and urban or suburban locations able to attract and retain strong technical talent.

But that wishlist hasn't stopped lesser contenders resorting to gimmicks in a bid to win attention and perhaps circumvent the stipulations from Amazon.

Atlanta suburb Stonecrest, Georgia has offered to surrender 345 acres to create a new city called -- wait for it -- Amazon.

"They have an eternal brand if they create and live in Amazon," Mayor Jason Lary told Fox Business. "Their own zipcode."



Birmingham, Alabama erected giant replicas of Amazon's distinctive grey shipping boxes downtown, a business group in Tucson, Arizona, uprooted a 21-foot (6.5-meter) cactus and shipped it to Amazon's Seattle head office.

"Unfortunately, we can't accept gifts (even really cool ones)," tweeted the retailer in response, saying they had donated it to the Desert Museum.

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The ruling CPI-M in Kerala today hit out at the BJP over the"political violence" in the state and said the saffron party's chief, Amit Shah, should respond to the death of Left party workers in "attacks" by RSS and BJP activists.

Countering Shah's remark that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should take responsibility for the "killings of RSS and BJP workers",CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the BJP president and the RSS should respond to the "killings" of his party's workers.

He was speaking to reporters here.

Terming the 'Jana Raksha Yatra' of the BJP that concluded yesterday a "failure",he claimed that political violence in the state had gone up after 1970 and alleged that the RSS had a major role in it.

"A total of 214 CPI-M workers were killed by the RSS during the period," the CPI-M leader said, adding that there was an attempt to tarnish the image of the chief minister.

Balakrishnan described Shah as a "forest tiger" trying to project himself as a "ponman" (a little bird), by preaching the message of peace.

Taking a dig at Shah, he said, "The BJP president who came as a lion at Payyanoorin Kannur in the beginning of the Yatra, returned yesterday as a rat."



Accepting Shah's challenge to debate on development issues, the CPI-M leader said Kerala was in the forefront in social and other sectors compared to any of the states ruled by BJP in the country.

Flaying the BJP leaders for their statements that Kerala was a land of "love jihad" and "jihadi terror", he said the "false campaign" of the saffron party was not against CPI-M, but a challenge to the people of the state.

To counter BJP's "false" propaganda, the party-led LDF would organise 'Jana Jagran Yatra' in all the 140 assembly constituencies from October 21, Balakrishnan announced.

However, the CPI-M leader dismissed the possibility of joining hands with Congress to take on the BJP and RSS, and said the Left would land in trouble if it ties up with the former.

"Today's Congress leader is tomorrow's BJP leader," Balakrishnan said, wondering how the party can move along with them (Congress).

The CPI-M wants a movement of democratic and secular forces to face challenges of the Sangh Parivar in the country.

The BJP chief had flagged-off the 15-day-long yatra at Payyannur in Kannur on October 3, to highlight the 'Left's atrocities' under the CPI(M)-led LDF rule.

The padayatra had criss-crossed 11 districts in the state with four chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, senior party leaders and Union ministers taking part in the high-pitched campaign against the ruling LDF.

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Amid a tussle with the West Bengal government over the deployment of forces in Darjeeling, the Union Home Ministry has told state governments that paramilitary forces cannot substitute state police and should be deployed only in emergencies.

In a communication to all states, the ministry also asked all state governments to set up a committee for examining requirements of central armed police forces (CAPF) by keeping in view the internal security, intelligence inputs and availability of central forces in nearby locations.

It said the central government has formulated standard operating procedures (SOPs) for deployment of CAPFs and according to it, the central forces would be able to meet more pressing commitments like guarding borders, fighting insurgency, anti-national operations and in related situations which need immediate mobilisation of forces.

"CAPFs can't substitute the state police force as their deployment is related to emergency crisis in states for maintaining law and order," the communication said.

The home ministry's missive came after the West Bengal government moved the Calcutta High Court and got a stay against the central government's move to withdraw 700 CAPF personnel from Darjeeling, where an agitation demanding a separate state is on.

West Bengal Chief Minister even spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and is said to have protested the central government's move to withdraw the CAPFs from Darjeeling.

The ministry, in the communication, said the state governments often make requests to the Centre for deployment of CAPFs even for occasions where state should normally be in a position to take all security measures from their own resources by dispatching police and state armed police.

"State governments are reluctant to de-induct CAPFs and keep requesting for extension which should not ordinarily be made unless there are adequate security reasons for their extension.

"Deployment of CAPF companies has a cost associated with it and the state governments are required to pay the charges as laid down in the government policy. Incidentally, there are significant outstanding amount against the states and Union territories," it said.

Asking the state governments to follow the SOPs, the ministry said each state should constitute a state-level committee under the chairmanship of Additional Director General of Police (law and order), where representatives of Intelligence Bureau and CAPFs at the level of DIG may be co- opted.

"These committees may examine and scrutinise the requirements of CAPFs by keeping in view the internal security, previous scale of deployment, optimal utilisation of state resources, intelligence inputs and availability of CAPFs in nearby locations," it said.

The recommendation of the committee must be specific and indicate the quantum of CAPFs deployment and duration along with the jurisdictions.

Requests for extension of deployment and increase in the quantum must also be examined by the committee on similar lines.

"Government has sanctioned many India Reserve Battalions in the states and these are not being used optimally by the state governments.

"The purpose of the IRBs scheme is to make the state self sufficient in dealing with the law and order and internal security situation by avoiding being dependent on CAPFs," the home ministry communication said.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping today vowed to defeat Taiwan's bid for independence but offered to extend the 'one-country, two systems' model of Hong Kong and Macao to the self-ruled island to achieve "peaceful reunification" with the mainland.

Beijing claims the breakaway province of Taiwan to be part of the mainland that must be reunified with it, even by the use of force.

"We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," Xi said addressing the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) here.

To resolve the Taiwan question, "we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country two systems", Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC, said in his address advocating the Hong Kong and Macao model of integration with China.

"Recognise the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides (Taiwan and China) both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony was reunited with China in 1997 under the 'one country, two systems formula'. Macao, a former Portuguese colony was reunified with China in 1999 under the same principles.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region have been granted some degree of autonomy to decide on issues other than national defence.

Under the principle, each of the two regions could continue to have its own political system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including external relations with foreign countries.

After improvement in relations between China and Taiwan in the last few years, tensions surfaced again as the current Taiwanese President, Tsai Ing-wen had scaled down ties with Beijing to maintain Taiwanese independent identity.

In his address to the CPC Congress, Xi said "we ... are ready to share development opportunities on the mainland with our Taiwan compatriots first."



China will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots, he said.

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.

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Soyabean, groundnut, moong bean and urad dal (black gram) worth over Rs 120 crore has been procured at minimum support price in Rajasthan.

Registrar and principal secretary, cooperatives department, Abhay Kumar said that procurement worth over Rs 120 crore has been done in the state.

Kumar said that an online registration system has been introduced for the procurement of paddy crops and oil seeds for which farmers have shown interest.

While reviewing the procurement of commodities at the Rajasthan State Cooperative Marketing Federation ltd (RAJFED) office here, Kumar informed that procurement at MSP has been done from 14,444 farmers.

He said that 1,03,385 farmers have registered online for selling their crops on MSP and more than 52,000 farmers have been allotted dates for the procurement.

For the convenience of farmers, 92 centers have been set up for the procurement of Moong beans, 36 centers for urad, 23 centers for soyabean and 40 centers for groundnut.

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A contest has been launched for designing a common logo and tagline for Geographical Indications to increase awareness about intellectual property rights, the commerce and industry ministry said today.

A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.

Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin. Darjeeling Tea, Tirupathi Laddu, Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange and Kashmir Pashmina are among the registered GIs in India.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the ministry, "aims to launch a certifying GI mark/logo that can be used to identify all registered GIs irrespective of the categories, and a suitable tagline/slogan for promotion of GIs," the ministry said in a statement.

The move would also help increasing awareness about the benefits of a GI tag.

The contest was launched by the Cell for IPR Promotions & Management (CIPAM) MyGov.in website.

CIPAM, which works under the aegis of the DIPP, has also started "Gift a GI" campaign to help in branding and promotion of registered GI products.

The ministry said this contest is an opportunity for creators who aspire to see their creation recognised on a national platform.

The last date for receiving entries is November 17. The winning entry will receive a cash award of Rs 50,000 each, for logo design and slogan, it added.

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today said he dreamt of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as its members.

The spiritual leader, who arrived here yesterday on his maiden visit to Manipur, asserted that India would make steady progress if people overcame their differences with humanism.

Speaking to journalists at the City Convention Centre in the state capital here, the Dalai Lama reminded them of their responsibilities.

"Media persons have a huge responsibility of educating people, bringing in a sense of oneness, handling corruption and criminal activities," he said.

The revered leader also said that he hoped to see an Asian Union, comprising India, Japan and China, some day.

"I am an admirer of European Union, African Union and Malaysia Union. I dream of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as members," he said.

Asked about the conflicts and insurgency in the northeast, the Dalai Lama said problems existed all over the world and people should address their concerns patiently.

Citing the hostile relationship which had consumed the European countries, prior to the Second World War, he remarked that all countries had suffered devastating consequences in the conflict and then looked forward towards a common development, ultimately leading to the birth of the European Union.

The spiritual leader also recalled his interaction with India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the Tibet uprising in 1959 and said the leader had insisted that he talked to the Chinese government to resolve conflicts.

He said Tibet was no longer seeking separation or independence from China.

Later in the day, during a civic reception programme, Assembly Speaker Y Khemchand, who had invited the Dalai Lama to Manipur, said the message of religious harmony and peace should be imbibed into human conscience to resolve conflicts in multi-ethnic states.

The spiritual leader also said that the world was changing as people were moving at a rapid pace for materialistic gains, thereby forgetting the inherent values of life.

Security personnel had been carrying out strict verification and frisking processes, and combing operations in view of the Dalai Lama's visit.

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Police in Richardson, Texas, are using drones in the search of missing 3-year-old Indian girl who mysteriously disappeared 11 days ago after her foster father left her in an alley at 3 am for not drinking her milk.

Sherin Mathews vanished on October 7 after her adoptive father Wesley Mathews told police he left her outside their home at 3 am as punishment for not drinking her milk.

Despite it being more than ten days since the toddler went missing investigators are cautiously optimistic.

"We're always hopeful that we can find her alive, but time is our enemy. So, we're trying to progress as quickly as we possibly can in this case," Sergent Kevin Perlich said.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Officer and Mansfield Police Department were seen helping Richardson Police Department with the search for Sherin Mathews in an undisclosed location.

The police concentrated their efforts in a field near Richland College, which is less than 3 kms from Sherin's Richardson home, where she went missing.

Police said they conducted multiple searches in "areas of interest" they had developed during the course of the investigation, including fields, creeks and wooded areas. Cadaver dogs were later seen arriving at the scene to help with the search.

Authorities told local media that earlier in the day they found "objects of interest," but did not specify what those objects were or how they are related to the case.

Drones are being used to help law enforcement officers in the search for Sherin.

"Detectives will evaluate the results of today's efforts while the investigation continues," Richardson police said on Facebook.

They added that they will continue to perform "specific searches" like this as tips come in. They searched the same area Friday but want to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Furthermore, police say the family's SUV disappeared for an hour the morning Sherin disappeared. Investigators are asking any neighbours with surveillance video of the vehicle to come forward.

Meanwhile, a priest placed a sign outside the Mathews' family home calling on Sherin's parents to "tell the truth."



"We the community are never going to stop until we find Sherin," said Thomas Ambalevelil.

Mathews' parents both remain "uncooperative," according to police.

Child Protective Services took custody of their other biological daughter, age 4, shortly after their father Wesley Mathews was arrested.

Wesley has since been arrested, and bonded out, on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to wear an ankle monitor as the investigation continues.

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Women in the city will be able to travel for free in the buses of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on the occasion of Bhai Dooj on October 21.

According to the DTC, free ride will be provided in both AC and non-AC low floor buses in the Delhi-NCR region from 8 am to 10 pm on Saturday.

The corporation provides free ride to women passengers on Bhai Dooj every year. It has also made sufficient arrangements to manage the rush of passengers on the day.

"Keeping in view the heavy rush of commuters on Bhai Dooj, adequate number of traffic supervisory staff will be deployed to help the commuters," an official of the DTC said.

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The police today arrested an absconding "dummy" contractor, who was carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head, involved in Rs 41.40 crore liquor contract scam, a police officer said today.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Madhya Pradesh Police has been investing into this scam.

SIT Chief and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sampat Upadhyay today told reporters that on a tip off, the accused Balram Mali (44) was arrested from Tilakhera village of Mandsaur district.

Mali had reached home to celebrate Diwali, he said.

Earlier, he was hiding in the border areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Upadhyay said that Mali was an employee of liquor contractor Ansh Trivedi, who is the main accused of this scam. Mali was getting a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 from Trivedi's company - ATM Group.

He said that Mali is facing charges that he secured a liquor contract in year 2015-16 on behalf of Trivedi at Pigdambar area of Indore district.

In fact, Trivedi had done all the formalities and made the payment of installments for this contract. Police and Excise Department are conducting inquiry into 16 such contracts of Indore district including the one secured by Mali, said the official.

Upadhyay said that during last two years, the accused contractors deposited amounts lesser than what they were supposed to pay. They forged the challans and informed the Excise Department that they have deposited the actual contract amount. This fraud resulted in the loss of Rs 41.40-crore to the government exchequer.

So far, police have registered criminal cases against these 16 liquor contractors and their four associates.

Of these, four contractors and three of their colleagues have been arrested. The search for the remaining accused is still on.

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The EU today demanded Israel reconsider plans for nearly 1,300 settler homes in the West Bank, saying they were illegal under international law and undermined the prospects for peace.

Israeli authorities yesterday advanced plans for 1,292 new homes, with approval from a committee overseeing settlement construction in the West Bank, according to the Peace Now watchdog.

The move came after Israeli government officials pledged a major boost in settlement home approvals this year, with US President Donald Trump much less critical of such plans than his predecessor Barack Obama.

But the EU condemned the step, restating its position that settlement activity was "illegal under international law" and damaged "the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace".

"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks," an EU statement said.

The bloc voiced particular concern about proposals to build settler homes in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002 and about the start of preparatory groundwork in the east Jerusalem area of Givat Hamatos.

Construction in Givat Hamatos would "severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the EU said, adding that it would continue work with international and regional partners to try to restart dialogue.

Trump is seeking to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which collapsed in 2014 following the failure of an earlier US-led initiative.

Settlement building in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, is seen as a major obstacle to peace as the homes are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

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The Feast of St Francis Xavier, which is one of the most important event for the followers of Christianity, would be held on December 4 as against the annual date of December 3.

The feast is celebrated at Old Goa, nine kms from here, where the body of the saint who died in the year 1552 and whose relics are still preserved in the Church.

"Since the festival of St Francis Xavier comes in the advent season, which is a time of expectant waiting and preparations for the celebrations of Christmas, the feasts of Saints are not celebrated on Sundays," Fr Alfred Vaz, priest who was convenor for deccenial exposition of relics of St Francis Xavier in the year 2012, told reporters.

He said that December 3 falls on a Sunday and that is the day which is dedicated only to the services of Lord Jesus in the Advent period.

"We have an option to observe the feast either a day in advance or a day later if it comes on Sunday. That is why it is decided that the feast would be held on December 4," Vaz said.

The feast which is one of the most important religious event in the coastal state is attended by thousands of people from across India and also from the neighbouring like Sri Lanka, US and UK.

The body of the saint is placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket at Basilica of Bom Jesus located at Old Goa.

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today raised questions on recent media reports of Chinese action in the Dokalam area at a parliamentary panel meeting which was briefed by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was briefed on the topic Sino-India relations with a focus on the Dokalam situation.

Gandhi, who is also a member of the panel, had the maximum number of queries on the issue and raised questions about media reports that claimed China had again started constructing a road in the Dokalam area, a member present at the meeting said on the condition of anonymity.

Jaishankar replied that the government had no information on China building roads outside its territory.

The committee's members also appreciated the resolution of the Dokalam standoff through diplomatic channels.

The 73-day face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Dokalam started on June 16 after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army.

Gandhi wanted to know what the government was doing to ensure that such a face-off did not occur again, the member said.

The Congress leader also raised questions about reports of Chinese incursions in Ladakh.

When contacted, Tharoor declined to share the details of the meeting but said, "It was an intense and interesting meeting".

During the 90-minute long meet, foreign ministry officials also briefed the members about the Rohingya issue.

Only six of the 30 members of the panel were present at the meeting. Of them, only one MP, Richard Hay, was from the BJP.

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American Caitlan Coleman was rushed to a hospital only days after being freed with her family from five years captivity at the hands of Taliban-linked kidnappers, local media reported.

Canadian broadcaster CTV, citing her husband Jonathan Boyle, reported late yesterday that Coleman had been "rushed to hospital" on Monday.

No details of her illness were provided, but Boyle told CTV that "he and their three children are by her bedside."



Boyle could not be reached for comment. Hospital officials would not confirm that Coleman had been admitted, citing privacy laws.

Coleman, Boyle and their three children - all born in captivity - were freed by Pakistani troops a week ago.

The couple was kidnapped by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in a remote area of Afghanistan in 2012.

On their arrival in Toronto Friday, Boyle said their captors had murdered their infant daughter and raped Coleman in 2014.

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On the eve of Diwali, a Gandhi museum has been inaugurated on a small piece of land once owned by Mahatma Gandhi in the coastal city of Durban.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh inaugurated the museum yesterday, which will reflect the life and universal influence of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi owned the land in 1897 and used to hold public meetings there when the Natal Indian Congress planned its fight against laws discriminating against Indians in South Africa.

When Gandhi left Durban in 1914, he transferred the ownership of the premises to the Natal Indian Congress, which had planned to erect a new building in 1964.

But the plans were scuppered by the apartheid-era laws prohibiting this, resulting in the site being used as a car park by the 1980's before the MGMT initiated the museum plans.

Many original artefacts, some retained unrestored, such as a spinning wheel, are on display at the museum.

Singh, who was in Durban to attend the 8th IBSA Trilateral Ministerial Commission and the 17th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, also inaugurated two other projects in the city that were sponsored by India following pledges after a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July last year.

The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial, first conceived eight years ago, in what was once the heart of Durban's Indian community, has been established after a grant of over R 1.25 million was provided by the Government of India to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Trust (MGMT).

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government also contributed about a million rand for the project.

An exhibition titled 'Gandhi in Durban' has been set up at the newly-constructed venue by the Durban Local History Museum in consultation with the MGMT, reflecting the life and universal influence of Mahatma Gandhi.

Singh also inaugurated kitchen and dining facilities at Ramakrishna Abalindi Home in Inanda, adjacent to the Phoenix Settlement started by Mahatma Gandhi during his tenure in the city.

Modi had announced during his visit a grant of R1 million for the organisation, which provides support to indigent aged people, terminally ill, AIDS/HIV patients and also runs a crche for poor children, an orphanage and a skills development centre for youth.

At the Phoenix Settlement, which also received a grant of R1m from India, Singh inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Information Technology.

The facility at the venue where Gandhi started and ran his newspaper 'Indian Opinion' is now equipped with latest computers and other IT equipment, dedicated to providing quality IT education to South African youth.

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Tea producer Goodricke Group Limited has acquired the tea division of Godfrey Phillips Limited for a realisation of Rs 20 crore with a view to scale up its packet tea business.

A company spokesman said the deal would give Goodricke rights on the trademarks, titles and brands associated with the tea business of Godfrey Philips.

Godfrey Philips is one the leading tobacco manufacturers in India.

The MD and CEO of Goodricke Group, A N Singh, said the newly acquired brands, such as Tea City, SC Gold, Symphony, Samovar, SC Premium, Super Cup, Rangoli and Utsav, would help Goodricke deliver on its plan of promoting tea culture across India through its packaged tea division.

"With the acquisition of these brands, the size of the packet tea business will increase from 25% to 33% and is expected to bring in revenue of Rs 100 crore," Singh told PTI



Goodricke is presently managing a business of nine million kilograms of packet tea through the FMCG route. It hopes to sustain 14 million kilograms after acquiring the Godfrey Phillips brands, its distributions and operation rights in the markets of J&K, Punjab, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, the spokesman added.

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Tamil Nadu Health Minister Vijayabaskar today said the government serious action to control dengue and eradicate it.

Talking to reporters here after visiting the government hospial here he said the government was is confident that dengue would be brought under control in another 15 days.

The minister also warned people about spreading wrong information about "Nilavembu Kashayam"(herbal concoction) to cure dengue".

It had been scientifically proved that Nilavembu Kashayam played a major role in increasing the platelets, he said.

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Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the Weinstein Company board of directors, as his company tries to distance itself from the disgraced mogul.

Weinstein was fired as co-chairman on October 8, but he continues to own 22 per cent of the company's stock, and until today continued to hold a seat on the board, reported Variety.

The remnants of the Weinstein Company board, including the other co-founder, Bob Weinstein, convened on Tuesday at the Manhattan offices of Debevoise and Plimpton, a law firm hired by the studio to investigate allegations made against Weinstein.

In a statement, the three member board confirmed that Weinstein had stepped down and said it had "... ratified its decision to terminate" his employment.

The company now risks falling into a protracted legal battle with Weinstein, who alleges his firing was illegal.

Since the allegations against Weinstein first became public, most Weinstein Company board members have resigned, leaving only Tarak Ben Ammar, Lance Maerov and Bob Weinstein.
A Taiwanese couple have been indicted over the abuse and deaths of three of their children whose bodies they then buried in hidden locations, in a crime that has shocked the island.

The father, identified by his family name Lee, admitted to beating two sons -- aged seven-years-old and 10 months -- before they died, prosecutors said in a statement today.

He was charged with causing injury leading to death while the children's mother was indicted for abandonment leading to death, both punishable by life imprisonment.

The cause of death of their six-month-old daughter was undetermined.

Lee, 37, denied abusing the baby, prosecutors said.

He and his partner surnamed Chen, 33, escaped murder charges as Lee claimed he "had no idea" his children would die, said Huang Yi-hua, a spokeswoman for the Yunlin prosecutor's office.

"Lee said he just wanted to teach the children a lesson when they were crying and screaming," she added.

But the case sparked an emotional public response, with some calling for the death penalty, which can be handed down for serious crimes in Taiwan.

Local media described the couple as "cold-blooded, horrifying parents".

The children died between 2008 and 2013, when the couple were on the run for theft and fraud charges.

They buried their seven-year-old son near a river in central Yunlin county where Lee is from, said prosecutors.

Lee's father has been indicted for helping to dispose of the body.

The remains of the six-month-old girl were buried in the backyard of Lee's father's home.

The 10-month old was buried in northern Taoyuan.

When authorities finally caught up with the fugitive couple last year and arrested them for theft and fraud, they tried to locate the older son and became suspicious when they could not.

The couple said he had been adopted, but their eldest daughter told police her brother had been beaten to death.

Now aged 12, she is currently in foster care with two younger siblings.

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Actor Tabu says she will not say no to a film with Ajay Devgn as that is the equation she shares with the superstar.

The two actors have worked together in films like "Takshak", "Haqeeqat", "Vijaypath", "Drishyam" and "Golmaal Again".

"Ajay and I are childhood friends. It is always an added benefit to be working with him. I will not say no to a film with Ajay," Tabu told PTI.

"If he ever offers me anything as a director or producer, I will definitely do it. We are teaming up again for a film with Luv Ranjan (producer) and Ajay and everyone thinks I am the right choice for the film," she says.

The film, produced by "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" fame Luv Ranjan, is a romantic-comedy with a fresh and quirky take on urban relationships. It is expected to release late next year.

Meanwhile, Tabu has stepped into the "Golmaal" franchise for the first time and she credits the film's leading men for making the series successful.

"The boys and all those who have been regularly associated with "Golmaal" franchise have made it a brand. It is a very big franchise, it is a non-efforted franchise for me, as it has been already established," she says.

"For me it is not so much of a responsibility. The most attractive thing for me was to be a visitor in their house (referring to the sets) and have fun," the actor says.

The "Golmaal" series, helmed by Rohit Shetty, had Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor in all the four parts, while Shreyas Talpade joined the team in the second installment and Kunal Khemu in the third one.

"I wanted to experience the vibe of working with so many actors for a film after a long time. It was a nice place for me to explore...that I am not doing a comedy film. I have the most credible part in the film, I don"t have the comic part, but it is an important role. Also, the subject of "Golmaal Again" is also "hatke" this time, it has an element of magic and intrigue," Tabu says.

The film is set for October 20 release.

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India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has "taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harboring terrorists."



"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the ground work that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harbouring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump Administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said.

The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.

"Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people," she said.

For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

"It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why," she asked.

"Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.

The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.

"There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India," she said.

"It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she added.
India can help America in keeping an eye on Pakistan and ensure that it is held accountable for giving safe havens to terrorists, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Haley said that one of the pillars of President Donald Trump's recently announced strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals, she said.

"Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India," the Indian-origin diplomat said in her address at an event organised by the US India Friendship Council.

President Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists, she said.

"Pakistan has been a partner to the United States at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help it more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said, adding that it would important for making sure that they are held accountable.

"We can't continue to see them harbouring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump administration, she said, is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership.

"The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger," she said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"Because India is a democracy that threatens no one. The United States and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them," Haley said.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year.

"I would love to go back to India. It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she said.

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India and Japan have signed a memorandum of cooperation on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP), the government said today.

The pact will pave the way for sending Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years, it said.

As per Japan's data for end-2016, about 2,30,000 technical intern trainees from multiple countries are on training in Japan.

The cooperation was concluded yesterday by Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Katsunobu Kato yesterday in Tokyo.

The memorandum on TITP is "expected to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation between India and Japan in the field of skill development", it added.

India is the third country with which Japan has signed this cooperation.

Ambassador of India to Japan Sujan R Chinoy stated that there is scope for India to enhance its participation in Japan's technical intern training programme.

The programme provides a platform through which complementary strengths of India and Japan could be leveraged for mutual benefit.

"The technical interns trained in Japan under the TITP would be an asset for the Skill India initiative upon their return to India," it said.

During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016, India and Japan had concluded a memorandum of cooperation on skill development under the Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme'.

This programme aims to train 30,000 persons over next 10 years with Japanese style manufacturing skills and practices.

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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today dismissed US President Donald Trump's aggressive criticism as the "rants and whoppers" of a "brute".

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute US president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran, published on his Telegram channel.

It was his first response to Trump's bellicose speech last Friday in which he called for tougher sanctions to curb Iran's "destabilising activities" in the Middle East.

"They are angry as today the Islamic republic of Iran has disrupted their plans in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq," Khamenei said.

"Everyone be assured that this time, too, America will be slapped and defeated by the nation of Iran.

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Union minister Smriti Irani today sought to put the Congress in the dock on the Bofors issue, citing claims of a private investigator involved in its probe, and asked it to come clean on the involvement of its leaders in the alleged scam.

Targeting the opposition party, she told reporters that its leaders, including its chief Sonia Gandhi, have been shown to be too eager to grab undue benefits whether it is a matter of an air ticket upgrade or a scam like the Bofors deal.

Quoting from private detective Michael Hershman's interviews to some media houses, she said he was asked by then Finance Minister V P Singh to look into the Bofors deal but was later offered bribe and then given death threat when he stumbled on the evidence of bribe.

The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shifted Singh to the defence ministry while Hershman was also asked to implicate Singh, she said.

Quoting him, she said the owner of a Pakistani-run Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which had been allegedly involved in money laundering and other financial crimes, or his representative met Rajiv Gandhi with a large suitcase.

Following this, the bank, which was shut after a CBI raid in connection with the Bofors deal, was allowed to open and its detained officials were released, she said.

"Who were offering bribe? Why did a Congress leader (Rajiv Gandhi) choose to silence his own minister (Singh)?



"For too long the Congress has kept conveniently quiet. It is time that it answers as to what was the role of Congress leaders then and now," she asked, adding that many of them are still around.

The Congress has had a tendency to either bribe or give death threats to people looking into dubious deals involving its leaders, she alleged.

Hershman's interviews have brought to life the "sordid saga" of Bofors.

Irani parried queries asked by the Congress at a press conference in which it questioned then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's, now prime minister, 100 trips in private chartered flights.

She said the Congress was trying to prove its leaders involved in the Bofors case and Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law involved in controversial land deals, innocent. Its leader have not responded to Hershman's claims or fresh charges against Vadra, she said.

To a question, the information and broadcasting minister said the Congress should have filed a defamation suit against Hershman if it believed he was wrong as she noted that Jay Shah, the son of BJP chief Amit Shah, had filed a Rs 100-crore suit against a portal over a story on his business.

In the press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra cited the BJP's victory in 1,311 seats against 312 of the Congress in Maharashtra local body polls to claim that people have rejected the opposition's narrative against the Modi government.

"For the BJP, the party is family and for the Congress, the family is party," he said, in a dig at the Gandhi family.

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Israeli forces raided Palestinian media offices across the occupied West Bank overnight in what a military spokeswoman today called a "large-scale operation" against incitement.

The raids on eight companies came hours after the Israeli government declared that it would not deal with an emerging Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas unless the Islamist group made radical changes.

Israeli officials said the raids targeted companies that provide services to Hamas television stations. Notices were posted saying the companies were to be closed for six months.

"Israeli army forces last night raided eight Palestinian production and media companies that provide services to Al- Aqsa and Al-Quds TV channels," the head of an Israeli defence ministry unit known as COGAT, Yoav Mordechai, wrote on Facebook, referring to Hamas channels.

"These two channels broadcast constant incitement against the state of Israel. It is no secret that these two channels inspired, several times, terrorists to go out and commit terrorist attacks against innocents."



Israeli officials provided no specific examples of the alleged incitement. At least one of the companies targeted provides various services to a range of local and international media.

The Palestinian Authority said it condemned the raids "in the strongest terms".

"Occupation forces committed a blatant aggression and gross violation of all international laws when they stormed Palestinian cities and raided media offices," PA government spokesman Yusef al-Mahmoud said in a statement.

He said the measures were a "clear challenge to the international efforts, especially the American efforts, to seek an opportunity for compromise and lay the foundations for peace and security with the agreement of all sides."



US President Donald Trump has been seeking ways to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

A Palestinian journalists' union official in the southern West Bank city of Hebron said that the offices of three companies providing production services to Hamas television channels were closed and equipment and documents seized.

They were named as Palmedia, Ramsat and Transmedia, a satellite broadcasting facility where two members of staff were arrested, the union official said.

An official with Palmedia told AFP that three of its five offices in the West Bank were closed, including its headquarters in Ramallah as well as in Hebron and Nablus.

Some 50 people were out of work due to the Palmedia closures, he said. The company provides services to a range of local and international media.

A military spokeswoman told AFP that security forces "searched a number of media and production offices suspected of broadcasting inciting content, encouraging, celebrating and promoting violence and terrorism against Israelis.

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Japan said today it was "truly regrettable" that the US military had restarted flights of a helicopter that burst into flames last week, saying it wanted further reassurances over safety.

The US resumed operations with its CH-53 helicopters today, after grounding them for a week following the blaze in an empty field on the western Japanese island of Okinawa.

At the time the US military said the blaze occurred after the aircraft had landed in the field and no crew were injured.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was "truly regrettable" that the flights had resumed "without enough explanations".

Deputy government spokesman Kotaro Nogami said US officials had briefed their Japanese counterparts but Tokyo was not satisfied and would "continue asking for further explanations from the US side".

Onodera had previously called for the helicopters to be idled until their safety can be guaranteed and dispatched experts to Okinawa to ensure a thorough investigation.

Representatives of the US military in Okinawa could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday.

More than half the approximately 47,000 American troops in Japan under a decades-long security alliance are stationed on Okinawa, the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation of the island.

Islanders have complained for decades about noise and accidents.

In December, five crewmembers aboard a US Marine MV-22 Osprey were injured after what the Pentagon described as a "mishap" resulting in the plane landing in shallow water off Okinawa.

Okinawa residents have protested against the deployment of Ospreys in Japan after a series of accidents in other countries involving the hybrid aircraft.

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues, including the recent spurt in violent incidents in the Kashmir Valley, an official said.

During the 30-minute meeting, the chief minister briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps taken to maintain peace in the state.

Singh assured Mehbooba of all central assistance to her government in maintaining peace in the state, a home ministry official said.

The spurt of violence in Jammu and Kashmir include attacks on security personnel, killing of a PDP worker and the subsequent attack on his house and throat slitting of a teacher.

Alleged incidents of braid chopping have also triggered panic in some parts of the state. Today, four persons were injured when security forces fired on a mob in Pahalgam area following an alleged braid chopping incident.

The constitution of a study group to examine the problems being faced by the people living near the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was also believed to have been discussed during the meeting, the official said.

The group was set up by the home ministry recently.

The home minister had recently said five to six terrorists are killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir everyday.

The chief minister also met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal yesterday.

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Actor Kamal Haasan, about whom speculation is rife that he may take the political plunge soon, has apologised for "hastily" supporting demonetisation, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accept his "mistake".

Haasan said he was "duty-bound to openly apologise for his haste" in lauding the note ban, announced by the prime minister on November 8 last year.

Writing for his "Ennul Mayyam Konda Puyal", (which roughly translates as 'storm inside me'), a column in Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, which hit the stands today, the actor said, "If the prime minister admitted the mistake...without being obstinate, another salaam (salute) from me is waiting for him."



He, however, did not make it clear what aspects he wanted Modi to admit as the "mistake" -- the demonetisation decision per se or the implementation part of it.

Prime Minister Modi had in a surprise decision announced scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, invalidating nearly 86 per cent of currency in circulation.

"Correcting the mistake...and importantly admitting it is the hallmark of great leaders. Mr. Gandhi (Mahatma) was able to do it. It is possible even today, let us wait and see," he said.

Haasan said he never hesitated in tendering an apology if he made a mistake.

After Modi announced demonetisation, Haasan said, "I expressed my view on Twitter, saying this has to be lauded transcending party lines".

In his article today, the actor said he had then felt that besides extending full support to the decision, since it is one of the ways to eradicate black money, people should also bear minor inconveniences caused by it.

The actor said he faced strong criticism from many of his friends, some of whom had "economic education", for supporting the noteban.

He also writes that days after his tweet, he felt demonetisation was a good idea but implemented in a faulty manner. Criticism from some economic experts had gained momentum by then.

"I thought that some schemes, though brought with good intention, will fail in implementation," he writes.

"My suspicion gets stronger when weak answers come from the government to loud voices like the idea (of demonetisation) itself was a deceit," he adds.

The actor, who has been unrelenting in his attack on the AIADMK government, had so far not openly targeted the central government or the BJP.
The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."



Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support India's permanent membership.

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Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar mutt has said that though there were Lingayat and Veerashaiva traditions in the Lingayat community, they were same branches of Hindu religion.

"Though there are two traditions (Lingayat and Veerashaiva) in Lingayat community, they are not separate. They both are same branches of Hindu religion," he told reporters at Udupi yesterday.

Swamiji said the traditions of Lingayat and Veerashaiva are just like 'Dwaita' and 'Advaita' schools of philosophy.

"Though the two schools of thought (Dwaita and Advaita) had fundamental differences, they were taken as branches of the same Vedic religion. Likewise, Lingayat and Veerashaiva are two traditions, but are not separate from Hindu religion," he said.

Lingayats, followers of 12th century philosopher-poet Basaveshwara, are a politically and numerically strong group in the state.

The Pejawar seer said his personal opinion was that the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community could gain more strength if the two traditions were accepted as branches of the same religion.

The Swami also said he was not interfering in the internal matter of the community, but felt that they should take an appropriate decision on the issue.

People belonging to both the traditions were worshipping Lord Shiva as their supreme deity and they could not be different from the Hindu religion, he said.

He also did not take the argument of the Lingayats for being a separate entity as they did not accept the caste system in Hinduism.

Various other traditions among Hindus including Vaishnavism and Shaivism did not accept caste but were part of the religion, he said.

Followers of Sree Ramakrishna Ashram and Arya Samaj also did not accept caste.

He urged all those belonging to Lingayat and Veerashaiva traditions not to separate themselves from Hinduism to protect the Hindu religion and culture.

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A man allegedly shot dead his wife at Phase 10 area here today following an altercation between them over settling abroad, the police said.

Following the incident, the shocked man called up the police and confessed to his crime, after which he was arrested, they said.

The couple was travelling in a car when following a heated exchange, Nirankar Singh Sarao (60) fired at least six shots at his wife Kulwant Kaur (62) from point blank range, killing her on the spot, they said.

Sarao, a hotelier, was undergoing heart and psychiatric treatment at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, for which he along with his wife, had left his hotel in Phase 10 area, where they were staying, around 9.30 am, they said.

They had left for the hospital in the hotel manager's car. A neighbour said the couple looked fine when they met him before leaving the hotel.

Sarao told the police that his wife and in-laws were insisting him to sell off his property here and settle in England, where his in-laws were living, they said.

Today, on their way to PGIMER, Sarao's wife again started insisting the same. When he had made it clear to her that he would not do that, she asked him to stop the car as she wants to get down, the police said.

In a fit of rage, he shot his wife dead, they said.

A case of murder has been registered against Sarao at Phase 11 police station. The licensed revolver used in the crime and the vehicle has been seized. The body has been sent for post-mortem, the police said.

The couple has two children, both settled in the UK, they said.

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A 20-year-old man, who had set himself ablaze at the India Gate, died in the early hours of today at a hospital here, the police said.

The man, identified as Heera Lal, a resident of Tahirpur leprosy clinic in west Delhi, died at 3.10 am. He had suffered 80 per cent burn injuries, a senior police officer said.

Following the incident, yesterday, Lal was admitted to the RML Hospital for treatment.

In a suicide note, he had alleged that he was tired of the frequent fights with his neighbours and was ending his life, the police said.

The note was found near the place where he had poured petrol on himself, they said, adding that his family members and neighbours have been questioned.

It was found that Lal and his neighbours had a fight over the construction of a wall, but it was not a major one, the police said.

He was a student at a government school here and had three siblings. His parents are suffering from leprosy.

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today greeted people of the state on the occasion of Diwali.

The chief minister hoped the festival of lights, as Diwali is popularly known, would bring everlasting happiness and peace to the people of the state, an official spokesman said.

She said the state is proud that its residents celebrate the festivals of every religion and community with equal joy and enthusiasm.

Mehbooba prayed for prosperity and well being of the people on the occasion, the spokesman said.

Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and other ministers in the government also extended Diwali greetings to the people.

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Rio Tinto and two former top executives were charged with fraud by US authorities today, accused of inflating the value of the company's Mozambique coal assets and failing to disclose mounting losses.

The world's second biggest miner vowed to "vigorously" defend the allegations, while announcing it had separately settled a case with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority about the timing of writing down the same projects.

Under that arrangement, Rio was fined 27.35 million pounds (US$36 million) for breaching disclosure and transparency rules by failing to carry out an impairment review in a timely manner.

The US complaint was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Manhattan court, Rio said, with the miner, former chief executive Tom Albanese and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott facing claims they failed to follow accounting standards and company policies.

The Anglo-Australian giant bought its Mozambique assets for US$3.7 billion in 2011 and sold them for just US$50 million three years later, forced to write off $US3.0 billion from its value.

Albanese ultimately lost his job over the issue.

The SEC contends the company failed to accurately value the acquisition and hid or delayed disclosure of the mounting losses.

"As alleged in our complaint, Rio Tinto's top executives allegedly breached their disclosure obligations and corporate duties by hiding from their board, auditor, and investors the crucial fact that a multi-billion dollar transaction was a failure," said the SEC's co-director of its Enforcement Division Stephanie Avakian.

Fellow co-director Steven Peikin added in a statement: "Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch.

"They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth."



Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto Limited, Albanese, and Elliott are charged with violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of US federal securities laws.

The regulator is seeking injunctions, a return of "allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest", and civil penalties. It also wants Albanese and Elliott banned from serving as public company officers or directors.

According to the SEC's complaint, Rio acquired the Mozambique projects shortly after disclosing huge losses at its previous large-scale acquisition, Alcan.

Both took place under Albanese's leadership.

It claims the African asset failed as it was based on the incorrect assumption that Rio could inexpensively mine, transport, and sell large quantities of high-quality coal, chiefly using barges for shipping.

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North Korea issued an unusually short congratulatory message to China's Communist Party today as President Xi Jinping opened its five-year congress amid strained ties between the two traditional allies.

China is North Korea's longtime ally and economic benefactor, saving the country from defeat during the 1950-53 Korean War.

But the relationship has soured in recent months over Pyongyang's growing weapons ambitions, which have seen Beijing agree to toughened United Nations sanctions.

In a three-paragraph message carried by the official KCNA agency, the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) "warmly congratulated the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China and sent warm greetings to all the party members and other Chinese people".

"The Chinese people have made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism... and we are greatly pleased over this," it added.

But the statement made no mention of the historic ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, in contrast to the one issued for the last Chinese Communist congress in 2012, when outgoing leader Hu Jintao was praised by name.

It referred to "the fraternal Chinese people" and, using the acronym for the North's official name, said the Workers Party would "protect the traditional DPRK-China friendship provided and cultivated by the elder generation of the two parties and countries and invariably develop it generation after generation".

China's foreign ministry expressed thanks for the many congratulatory messages about the party congress it said had been received from foreign political parties and organisations, including North Korea.

"This has shown the great attention" paid to the event, spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

The relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang was forged in the blood of the Korean War, when Mao Zedong sent millions of "volunteers" to fight US-led United Nations forces to a standstill.

Mao described the allies as close as "lips and teeth", and China has long been accused of failing to enforce sanctions even after voting for them at the UN.

While Beijing's official goal is to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table to curb its nuclear ambitions, it has grown increasingly frustrated by its belligerent neighbour.

After a flurry of missile launches by the North and its sixth nuclear test last month, China backed new UN sanctions that included bans on imports of coal, iron ore and seafood from the North, as well as limits on exports of oil products to it.

But analysts say there still appears to be scope for the fractured relationship to improve.

"The fact that North Korea sent a congratulatory message signals that the relationship is not at its lowest point," said Kim Han-Kwon, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

China will not easily abandon North Korea, Kim said, which serves as a buffer state against the United States.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari in Nagpur and thanked him for having agreed to release funds for expeditious completion of the Polavaram irrigation project.

Naidu met Gadkari at the latter's residence in Nagpur last night.

"The chief minister thanked the Union minister for having agreed to release required funds for expeditious completion of Polavaram irrigation project," a brief official communique said about the visit.

Naidu also requested Gadkari to take "more strong measures" to complete the project by 2019, it added.

After the meeting, Naidu left for a ten-day trip to three countries.

The multi-purpose irrigation project, which has been accorded national project status by the Centre, is coming across the Godavari river.

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President Xi Jinping today said China will emerge as a modern and prosperous nation by 2020 and suggested that other developing countries could adopt the same growth model to transform the lives of their people.

Unveiling his two-stage plan to make China a "great modern socialist country" by mid-21st century, Xi, General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), said the world's second largest economy has entered a "new era" where it should "take centre stage in the world".

Speaking in the Great Hall of the People at the start of the week-long 19th CPC Party Congress, Xi told over 2,000 delegates that thanks to decades of "tireless struggle" China stood "tall and firm in the east".

Now the time has come for China to transform itself into "a mighty force" that could lead the world on political, economic, military and environmental issues, 64-year-old Xi, set to get another five-year-term as party boss, said.

"This is a new historic juncture in China's development," he said in his over three-hour address outlining the party's priorities for the next five years.

Over the past five years, China's GDP rose from 54 trillion yuan (USD 8.2 trillion) to 80 trillion yuan, contributing more than 30 per cent of global economic growth. More than 60 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, he said.

"The Chinese nation has stood up, grown rich, and become strong and it now embraces the brilliant prospects of rejuvenation.. It will be an era that sees China moving closer to centre-stage and making greater contributions to mankind," Xi said.

It also shows other developing countries the way to modernisation, and offers wisdom through the Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind, he said.

But China is still and will long remain in the primary stage of socialism. Its international status as the world's largest developing country has not changed, Xi said.

This is the first time that the CPC has set forth a post-2020 strategic plan to make China a "great" country. The Party is expected to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, the state-run Xinhua agency reported.

According to the new plan, the CPC will realise socialist modernisation in the first stage from 2020 to 2035, before developing China into a "great modern socialist country" that is "prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful" after another 15 years.

"This means the CPC now aims to basically achieve socialist modernisation of the country around 15 years ahead of its previous schedule set by the Party's three strategic goals, which were laid out after the adoption of the reform and opening up policy in late 1970s," the report said.

The two-stage development plan is the CPC's "strategic vision for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era," Xi said.

According to Xi, some of goals that will have been met by 2035 include China becoming a world leader in innovation, the country emerging as a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence and achieving common prosperity for everyone under which the Chinese people enjoy happier, safer and healthier lives.

"The Chinese nation will become a proud and active member of the community of nations," said Xi.

The two-stage plan is an important component of the "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," a long-term guide to action that the Party must adhere to and develop, he said.

The Thought builds on and further enriches Marxism- Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development. It represents the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, Xi said.

The five-yearly CPC congress is China's most significant political meeting.

This is a meeting of great importance taking place during the decisive stage in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and at a critical moment as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, Xi said.

The Congress will deliberate and adopt an amendment to the CPC Constitution. It will also elect the Party's 19th Central Committee and Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Established in 1921, the CPC founded the People's Republic of China in 1949 and began reform and opening up in 1978.

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Raising questions of freedom of expression, Deepika Padukone today said she was heartbroken by the attack on a rangoli inspired by her upcoming film "Padmavati" and drew Union minister Smriti Irani's attention to the incident.

The rangoli in a Surat mall was vandalised earlier this week. It had taken rangoli artist Karan 48 hours to make it.

"A crowd of 100 people cried JAY SRI RAM AND rubbed out my 48hrs' intense work! Shocked," Karan had tweeted after the incident.

Deepika, 31, appealed to the Union information and broadcasting minister to look into the matter.

"Absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork! Disgusting and appalling to say the least!" she posted along with a photograph of the rangoli.

The actor, who plays the titular role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, said such attacks muzzled the freedom of expression.

"Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? (Till when we will) Allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!?



"This has to stop now and action must be taken @smritiirani," she said on Twitter.

This is not the first time that Bhansali's film on the fabled Rajput princess has found itself in trouble.

Earlier this year, Bhansali was attacked by the members of Rajput community group, Karni Sena, during the shooting of the film in Rajasthan.

Last month, members of the Karni Sena burnt posters of the film after the first look of the main characters -- Padmavati (Deepika), Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and Allaudin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) -- was released.

They also threatened to oppose the screening of the movie in theatres if the facts were distorted.

"Padmavati" is slated to release on December 1.

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Pakistani troops on Wednesday violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control and shelled civilian hamlets and forward posts in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a strong retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district," the spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote, Manjakote areas, a police officer said.

Last week, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing in the Bhimber Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC), deliberately targeting villages of Basauni and Sandot in the Balakote area resulting in injuries to two children and two teenagers.

On October 13, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire in the Krishnagati sector along LoC.

A day before that, an army jawan and a porter were killed and six others injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and resorted to shelling at the forward areas along the LoC in the Poonch district.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
A prominent Pakistani cleric, who fled from a court in Multan following rejection of his bail plea today, was arrested in connection with the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.

Mufti Abdul Qavi today appeared before the sessions court in Multan in Punjab province, some 350-km from Lahore, to seek extension to his bail in the Qandeel murder case.

The court, however, did not grant him extension and ordered his arrest.

Mufti Qavi managed to flee the court but later in the day was arrested on the highway from Multan to Jhang.

"We alerted the highway police after Mufti Qavi managed to flee from the court premises with the help of lawyers. At a picket on Jhang Road he was arrested and brought to the Multan police," Investigating Officer Noor Akbar told reporters.

"We will interrogate him for his alleged role in the murder of Qandeel before submitting a report to the court."



Qavi is accused of inciting Qandeel's brothers to kill her after she allegedly "humiliated" him by posting some objectionable pictures with the cleric on social media platforms.

Qandeel, 26, was found strangled to death in her house in Multan's Karimabad area, some 350-km from Lahore, on July 16, 2016. Her younger brother, Waseem, confessed to police that he had killed Qandeel for disgracing family's honour.

Waseem said he drugged Qandeel before strangling her. "She brought dishonour to the Baloch name due to her risque videos and statements posted on social media," he had said.

Qavi was embroiled in the controversy after Qandeel took selfies with him in a meeting in a hotel and made them viral on social media.

Qavi said Qandeel was killed because she committed a sin by humiliating a religious person.

Qandeel, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, had received threats from the supporters of Mufti Qavi.

Prior to her death, Qandeel spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security. No help was provided by the ministry.

A case has been pending in the Multan sessions court. Waseem and two others have been chargesheeted in the case.

Killing of women relatives in the name of honour is a menace still prevalent in many parts of Pakistan. More than 1,000 women are killed every year by their relatives on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.

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US Vice President Mike Pence today thanked Pakistan for the safe recovery of American citizen Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children from the Taliban captivity.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi received a telephone call from Vice President Pence this evening, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office here.

Speaking on behalf of the US Government, Vice President Pence thanked Abbasi and praised the professionalism of the Pakistan Army and the intelligence agencies for the swift response and safe recovery of Coleman and her family.

Coleman and her husband Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip. Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. All of her three children were born in captivity.

The Pakistan Army recovered them from terrorist custody through an operation based on actionable intelligence from US authorities.

"Vice President Pence reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and said that the US would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region," the statement said.

Reaffirming Pakistan's resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil, Abbasi assured Pence that Pakistan would respond to any actionable intelligence shared by the US.

The two leaders agreed to maintain high-level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Vice President Pence also accepted an invitation of the prime minister to visit Pakistan in the near future.

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Seeking to deflect opposition criticism, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said today that no should be seen behind his government's efforts to develop this temple town which gave the idea of 'Ram Rajya' - where there is no poverty or discrimination.

Speaking at the glittering 'Deepotsav' organised on the bank of river Sarayu on Diwali eve here, Adityanath hit out at critics claiming that there were some who opposed and questioned his actions regardless of what he did.

"Ayodhya gave the concept of Ram Rajya - where there is no poverty, pain, grief or discrimination," Adityanath said adding that the real meaning of Ram Rajya is a home for everyone and electricity and LPG cylinders for every household.

"There are some who are used to opposing everything we do. If I come to Ayodhya they raise questions and if I don't they say I am afraid of coming here. Now they are saying that the Ayodhya programme is to divert the attention of people. I am here with my work, including loan waivers, wheat purchase etc, done in the past six months," he said.

Attacking opposition parties, the UP chief minister said his government did not discriminate on the basis of caste or religion unlike what happened earlier.

"We don't discriminate on the basis of caste, creed and religion. In the previous 'Ravan Raj', there was discrimination on basis of family, caste and other factors," he said.

The chief minister said he found it below dignity to even to react to "insulting and dirty" allegations levelled by the opposition.

Beginning his speech with 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogans, he said Ayodhya has much to humanity.

"It gave the concept of Ram Rajya, where there is no poverty, pain and grief. Where there is no discrimination. The objective of the programme is to present the real picture to the entire world," he said. Adityanath also compared the Narendra Modi government's work for the masses at the Centre with Ram Rajya.

The chief minister wondered as to why there were negative discussions on Ayodhya.

"We are making an attempt to take it from negativity to positivity. I am happy all Ayodhya residents cooperated in this endeavour. Ayodhya remained neglected, faced attacks continuously, but it will not remain so. We have launched Rs 133 crore schemes here," he said.

Adityanath said this was first of the four phases planned for Ayodhya.

"There will be beautification of Ayodhya and its ghats. This effort will continue in other historic places. Be it Kashi, Mathura, Namisharayna (Sitapur), Mirzapur, Tulsipur (Balrampur), Saharanpur, we will develop historical places. The state should become a world tourism hub and it is a beginning from Ayodhya," he said.

The chief minister said he wanted to restore the ancient glory of Ayodhya. Referring to the 1.71 of earthen lamps being lit on the bank of river Sarayu, Adityanath said the figure matched the population under the Ayodhya Nagar Nigam.

Officials said that the 1.71 lakh earthen lamps being lit at an event could enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his speech, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that "those opposed to Lord Ram cannot stop us from developing Ayodhya".

Adityanath said that a 'Ramayan mela' will be associated with this programme next year onwards.

UP Governor Ram Naik lauded the efforts of the Adityanath government in developing Ayodhya and thanked him for this assurance that all the work would be completed in two years, before his (Naik's) tenure ends.

Prominent among others present included seers, Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons and BJP state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.

After the main event, the stage was set for a grand laser show and 'aarti' (worship) of river Saryu.

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The winners of the second round of bidding under the regional air connectivity scheme are likely to be announced by mid-December, a government official said today.

The scheme, also known as Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), seeks to connect unserved and under-served airports as well as make flying affordable for the masses.

A senior civil aviation ministry official said winners of the second round are likely to be announced by mid-December.

In the second round, which started on August 24, the initial bidding process is scheduled to be completed on November 2. Subsequently, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) routes on which operators want to fly would be clear.

As part of the multi-phased bidding process, the counter bids are to be invited from November 5 till November 27. Once that process is over, the ministry would take a final call and the winners in the second round are expected to be announced by December 15, the official said.

According to the official, since most of the major airlines, including IndiGo and SpiceJet, have expressed interest in RCS, they might have applied in the second round of bidding.

As many as 128 routes connecting 70 airports were on offer in the first round of the RCS.

Against the backdrop of slot constraints at Delhi airport, the operators would have to start RCS flights from Hindon airbase in case they plan operations from the national capital.

The official said stakeholders have been informed about Hindon airbase being available for flights in the second round of the RCS bidding.

Delhi airport operator DIAL has accepted the ministry's proposal on temporary use of Indian Air Force's Hindon airbase for RCS flights.

The ministry had mooted the idea because of slot constraints at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.

For starting commercial flight operations within 150 kilometres of an existing airport, permission is required from the operator of the latter aerodrome.

With regard to use of Hindon airbase for RCS operations, DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) and AAI (Airports Authority of India), among others, would soon be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the official added.

Increasing the viability gap funding for helicopter operations and allowing smaller planes are among the changes announced to the RCS.

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A section of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) sanitation workers, who had called a strike on October 16, have agreed to postpone the stir for 20 days, the civic body on Wednesday said.

North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal said a committee would be constituted soon to look into their issues.

A section of sanitation workers are currently on an indefinite strike since October 11, demanding payment of salaries, clearance of arrears and cashless medical card for them.

On October 16, an umbrella union of sanitation workers had claimed that section of workers from both the NDMC and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) had joined their stir from that day.

A meeting of a few unions was held on Wednesday with the civic authorities, the NDMC said in a statement.

"Our efforts have brought results and today all the unions which attended the meeting have agreed to postpone strike by 20 days that was called from October 16," she said.

Lot of efforts were made to discuss the issue in detail with Delhi government, she said.

"But it brought no result, as they did not pay attention to the gravity of problem keeping aside the citizens interest and cleanliness of the city, especially on the occasion of festivals like Diwali," the mayor alleged.
A school teacher was found dead today with his throat slit in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.

Aijaz Ahmad Lone was found dead in Wathoo village of Shopian, a police official said.

The police suspects that he has been killed by militants.

"We are investigating the case," the offcial said.

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Scotland Yard today warned the Indian community in London to stand guard against a possible spike in gold thefts during the festive period of Diwali.

The Metropolitan Police said gold and jewellery worth more than 50 million pounds was stolen from communities across London in the 2016-2017 financial year.

It warned Londoners to guard against gangs of thieves targeting gold and jewellery particularly during the Diwali celebrations starting tomorrow.

"The festival period tends to see a spike in this type of crime largely due to more gold and jewellery being worn as communities travel across London to different venues whether temples or to other people's homes," the Met Police said.

According to the latest figures, last year there were 3,463 offences where gold or jewellery was stolen from Asian families across London, which is 306 cases fewer than the previous year.

This is a direct result of Operation Nugget, launched by the Met to tackle gold thieves through a series of different initiatives, police said.

The Met says its intelligence continues to show organised criminal networks are increasingly involved in "lucrative family gold theft", which affects many communities, including those from the Asian, Jewish and Maltese communities across various locations in the British capital.

Thieves use a range of burglary tactics and are known to rip up floorboards, remove bath panels and safes in their hunt for gold stored at homes, which is then sold through second- hand outlets.

"Gold will continue to be highly desired by criminals due to the speed and anonymity with which it can be exchanged for large sums of cash. These pieces of gold and jewellery are not just valuable possessions, they are also of great sentimental worth, and if stolen, would have a huge impact on owners," said Detective Superintendent Jane Corrigan, the Met's lead for Operation Nugget.

"Our proactive measures to tackle these crimes has seen reductions in offences, however there is more to be done. As part of this work, we urge Londoners to take action to safeguard their gold and jewellery by following our simple crime prevention advice," she added.

Her team has issued some basic guidance on measures people can take to prevent against becoming a victim of gold theft, including taking a photograph of their valuables to help officers prove who the jewels belong to if a burglar is stopped and installing CCTV cameras and burglar alarms.

It also asks people to avoid keeping jewellery in bedrooms and bathrooms as those are often the first place a burglar will look and covering up any jewels being worn while travelling in public.

The Met Police is calling on families to start marking of gold and jewellery using traceable liquid and building community contacts via the Family Gold Network.

The force also released a case study on Malkait Lidder, an Indian-origin victim of such a theft, whose house was robbed of gold and silver last month.

"We were devastated to see how violently the internal door had been broken down. Then, when I went upstairs and saw that everything had been turned upside down I was shocked. We felt that our privacy had been invaded as they had gone through all our cupboards and clothes and shoes," Lidder recalls.

In the course of the burglary on September 8, gold jewellery valued at around 30,000 pounds was stolen, along with 2,000 pounds cash and 2,000 pounds worth of silver cutlery.

Scotland Yard has now released a picture of the stolen items and is appealing for information.

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A second US judge ordered a freeze on President Donald Trump's newest travel ban order today, saying it was essentially targeted at Muslims in violation of the US Constitution.

Maryland federal judge Theodore Chuang said the ban of travelers from six majority-Muslim countries and North Korea, and on many officials from Venezuela, essentially had not changed from the first two versions, which were shot down in lower courts as discriminating against a single religion.

He pointed out, as in earlier rulings, that Trump had repeatedly promised a ban on Muslims coming into the country during last year's presidential election.

Chuang was the second judge this week to order a block on the open-ended ban, issued in a White House executive order in September and which was to come in effect today.

Yesterday, Hawaii federal district judge Derrick Watson also objected to the ban, saying it illegally discriminated against the entire populations of six countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - and would not, as it claimed, add to US national security.

Trump has battled with the courts since the first version of the ban, and in June finally gained Supreme Court approval to implement an amended second version for 90 days, which ended last month.

Yesterday the White House said it would fight the newest ban by Watson, pointing to yet another likely fight in the Supreme Court.

"We are therefore confident that the judiciary will ultimately uphold the president's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people," the White House said.

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Taking suo-moto cognisance of alleged torture and stripping of a prisoner at Kot Balwal jail here, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) today issued a notice to top police and jail officials seeking a detailed report on the incident.

Member SHRC, Jang Bahadur Singh Jamwal, issued the notice to the Director General of Police (DGP), Director General Prisons, Superintendent and medical officer of central jail following a media report titled "Kot Balwal jail turns 'Abu Gharib prison'".

The report carried by an English daily claimed that the jail authorities subjected under-trials to physical torture besides stripping.

"Prima-facie, I am satisfied that this act of the jail authorities is a glaring violation of human rights and is required to be dealt with heavy hands," Jamwal said.

"Before proceeding in this case and visiting the jail personally, it would be most appropriate that the DGP, DG Prisons and Superintendent of Central jail, Kot Bhalwal Jammu, are afforded an opportunity to submit a detailed report," the SHRC member said.

"Notice also be sent to medical officer of the jail to report whether he or she has examined and provided medical aid to the victim inmates of the jail," he directed while calling for the detailed report within 30 days.

The commission also lamented the fact that the authorities were unaware of the embargo laid down by various judicial pronouncements.

"Unfortunately, despite the embargo laid down by various judicial pronouncements, the authorities ignore them as they are unaware of it. They have to protect the honour and dignity of all inmates of the jail," it said.

"It has been held by various pronouncements of the Supreme Court and high courts of the country that the inmates have same rights guaranteed under the constitution of India," the human rights body added.

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Leading sugar refiner has sacked 900 workers at its two mills in Brazil as part of an exercise to optimise manpower.

The company informed this to the stock exchanges while clarifying media reports in this regard.

BSE and NSE had sought clarification from the company on the report.

In its reply, said its two subsidiaries - Renuka do Brasil and Renuka Vale do Ivai - keep optimising their manpower in the normal course of the business.

"...the aforesaid relieving of the employees is a part of that process," the filing said.

Mumbai-based Renuka Sugars had in 2010 forayed into Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, by investing Rs 1,765.10 crore to acquire stakes in Renuka do Brasil and Renuka Vale do Ivai.

However, the company is facing financial crunch due to low realisation from sugar as well as ethanol. It also tried to partly divest its business in Brazil.

Shares of the company fell 1.45 per cent to settle at Rs 14.24 a piece on BSE on Wednesday.
TexMex Cuisine India, which has the master franchisee for American casual dining restaurant chain Chili's Grill and Bar for the west and south, is planning to invest about Rs 150 crore to expand to 50 outlets in 3-5 years.

"Currently, we have 13 operational outlets and another one will open in next one month. We have 10-12 more outlets in pipeline, and are hoping to open around 50 restaurants in 3-5 years," TexMex Cuisine India Executive Director and CEO Ashish Saxena told PTI here.

He said the company will invest Rs 120-150 crore for this expansion.

"We are planning to fund this expansion through a mix of debt and equity," he added.

The company has invested Rs 60 crore till date for setting up 14 outlets through a mix of debt and equity, he added.

Saxena said the Chili's American Grill and Bar is mainly targeting the young dynamic crowd, who are already exposed to the American and Mexican cuisine or are game to try new food category.

"We are looking at expansion in the existing cities as well as are exploring new geographies, including Goa, Vijaywada, Ahmedabad, Cochin among others," he added.

In 2009, TVS Shriram Growth Fund (TSGF) Private Equity fund invested in the company.

TSGF funded the bulk of the expansion and gradually acquired a majority stake in the business.

Chili's American Grill and Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain present in over 1,600 restaurants in 33 countries, including in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Egypt, Kuwait, Russia, UAE, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea amongst several others.

There are 23 Chili's Grill and Bar outlets across the country.

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Three children drowned in a pond in this south Bihar district during immersion of an idol today, officials said.

The incident took place at Rasalpur village where siblings Suraj Kumar and Jyoti Kumari and their cousin Ankit aged between 10 and 13 years slipped and fell into deep waters while immersing the idol, Kako Block Development Officer, Navkunj Kumar said.

No adult family member was accompanying the children.

Kumar, who along with Circle Officer Vishnudayal Rai paid a visit to the village, said "the grieving family members will be given proper compensation. Bodies of all the deceased have been sent for post-mortem".

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The UK is contending with an "intense" terrorist threat from Islamist extremists with as many as 20 attacks foiled in the past four years, Security Service MI5 chief Andrew Parker has said.

In a rare public speech here yesterday, the Director- General of the British Security Service (MI5) revealed that his team is running 500 live operations involving 3,000 individuals linked with extremist activity and that the tempo of counter-terrorism operations was the highest he had seen in his 34-year career at the agency.

"In 2017, with all that has happened and much that has not, it is clear that we are contending with an intense UKterrorist threat from Islamist extremists,"said Parker.

"Twenty attacks in the UK have been foiled over the past four years. Many more will have been prevented by the early interventions we and the police make. There have been a record number of terrorism-related arrests: 379 in the year to June," he said.

The intelligence chief said there has been a "dramatic upshift" in terrorist activity this year, which resulted in the London and Manchester attacks which killed a total of 36 people.

He said MI5 staff had been "deeply affected" by the attacks at a personal and professional level.

"They are constantly making tough professional judgments based on fragments of intelligence; pinpricks of light against a dark and shifting canvas," he said.

Parker admitted that the likelihood was that when an attacked happened, it would be carried out by someone "that we know or have known" otherwise it would mean they had been looking "in completely the wrong place".

He revealed that more than 800 individuals had left the UK for Syria and Iraq.

Some had then returned, often many years ago, and had been subject to risk assessment and at least 130 had been killed in conflict fighting for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror network.

The MI5 chief called on technology companies to work with the government on preventing their social media platforms from being used by extremists for communications that cannot be monitored.

He also stressed that international cooperation remained vital and revealed there was a joint operational centre for counter-terrorism based in the Netherlands, where security service officers from a range of countries worked together and shared data.

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Hitting back at the BJP over the issue of political violence in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that some Union ministers and chief ministers who joined its padayatra had tried to vitiate the harmony in the state with their 'provocative statements'.

Reacting sharply to BJP leaders' remarks that the Left party was responsible for the political violence in Kerala and that the state has become a land of 'jihadi terror', he said their 'lies' and 'false propaganda' was also a violation of the federal principles of the country.

"It was unfortunate that some Union Ministers & CMs from other states forgot federal principles & tried to vitiate the harmony in Kerala', Vijayan tweeted, a day after the conclusion of BJP's 'Jan Raksha Yatra' in the state that culminated in a rally by party president Amit Shah.

"Lies & false propaganda by 16 Union ministers, 4 CMs, one deputy CM, 25 MPs /MLAs & BJP national leaders imported for Yatra. Local media ignores, National media realised the facts; Social media taunts."



"End result :- NO RAKSHA for BJP/RSS's hatred agenda in Kerala," Vijayan tweeted.

The chief minister said BJP's 'miserable' performance in the recent Vengara bypoll was an 'eye opener' for all its leaders.

"But India witnessed the truth & reality of double standards maintained by BJP & RSS. Their instigational tactics totally failed in Kerala," he added.

Vijayan also said that Kerala was ready to take on Shah's challenge to debate on development matters.

He also wanted Shah to compare the developments of Kerala with any state ruled by the saffron party.

Countering Shah's remark that the chief minister should take responsibility for "killings of RSS and BJP workers," CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan earlier said the BJP president and RSS should respond to the "killings" of CPI(M) workers.

Balakrishnan described the Yatra as a failure and alleged that political violence in the state had gone up after 1970 and that RSS had a major role in it.

"A total of 214 CPI(M) workers were killed by the RSS during the period," the CPI(M) leader claimed.

Balakrishnan described Shah as a "forest tiger" trying to project himself as a "ponman" (a little bird), by preaching the message of peace.

Referring to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's remark that 'Kerala is ruled by rogues', Balakrishnan said Parrikar was considered to be an educated person.

But with this statement 'it is clear now how a sub- standard CM he is', the CPI-M leader added.

Accepting Shah's challenge to debate on development issues, the CPI(M) leader said Kerala was in the forefront in social and other sectors compared to any BJP-ruled state.

Flaying the BJP leaders for their statements that Kerala was a land of "love jihad" and "jihadi terror," he said the "false campaign" of the saffron party was not against CPI(M), but a challenge to the people of the state.

To counter BJP's "false" propaganda, the party-led LDF would organise 'Jana Jagran Yatra' in all the 140 assembly constituencies from October 21, he added.

However, the CPI(M) leader dismissed the possibility of joining hands with the Congress to take on BJP-RSS and said the Left would land in trouble if it ties up with the former.

"Today's Congress leader is tomorrow's BJP leader," he said and wondered how the party can move along with them (Congress).

He said the CPI(M) wanted a movement of democratic and secular forces to face the challenge of Sangh Parivar in the country.

Amit Shah had flagged-off the 15-day-long yatra at Payyannur in Kannur on October 3, to highlight the 'Left's atrocities' under the CPI(M)-led LDF rule.

The padayatra had criss-crossed 11 districts in the state with four Chief Ministers, including Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, senior party leaders and Union ministers taking part in the high-pitched campaign against the ruling LDF.

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An early morning raid the authorities call it a check in JNUs hostel rooms has riled its students, with many maintaining that attempts are being made to malign the universitys scholars, especially its women.

Students alleged that a group of security personnel led by a lecturer entered the rooms of women and men students.

Many girls found in boys rooms, a newspaper headline screamed.

The students claimed 20-25 security guards led by JNU academic Buddha Singh entered the rooms, including those in the womens hostels, on October 5.

The wardens of various hostels came for raids after 5 am. JNU being a residential campus has always maintained its character and built an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. But this raid was just the opposite. The wardens didn't even knock, said former JNUSU general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty.

Chakraborty also alleged that the raiding team entered the womens rooms when many students were sleeping. Cupboards were opened and spot fines imposed on students found to be breaking hostel rules.

Neither Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar nor Registrar Pramod Kumar commented on the issue when contacted by PTI. Singh confirmed that the checks had taken place, but refused to elaborate further.

The students believed the outcry in a section of the media that followed was part of an exercise that started last year.

Efforts are on to incite hatred against JNU," JNUSU general secretary Duggirala Srikrishna said, pointing out that last year there were stories about 3,000 used condoms being found in JNU every day.

"The RSS-BJP regime... has tried to malign JNU through fake stories of condoms, calling women students prostitutes as part of a #ShutDownJNU campaign," he said.

According to the JNU hostel manual, only men can stay in the men's hostels and women in the women's wings. They are required to return to their respective hostels by 11 pm.

While the manual prohibits men from entering women's hostels, it only says that women are not allowed into the dining hall of the men's hostels.

Wardens from time to time check the ids of room occupants to see if there are unauthorised guests.

A students' group called the Collective condemned the raid. "While the issue of building more hostels on campus remains unresolved, students are being harassed and hostel rooms raided instead," it said on a social media site.

Residents of Periyar hostel passed a resolution demanding an explanation from the authorities on how the media was informed about the raid, while the hostel's elected representatives were kept in the dark.

The recent raid has earned the ire of the RSS-affiliated ABVP too. The students' group condemned the administration for the "highhandedness and moral policing" in the name of hostel checks and the subsequent media reports which it felt "covered the entire incident in a misogynistic and ludicrous manner".

JNU Teachers' Association president Ayesha Kidwai said the attacks were "nothing short of social terrorism".

Students said they were being targeted by a section of right-wing forces. Last year, when JNU was caught in a prolonged student protest, Haryana BJP leader Jawahar Yadav in a tweet drew a comparison between its students and sex workers.

"For the girls who are protesting in JNU, I only have one thing to say that prostitutes who sell their body are better than them because they at least don't sell their country," he tweeted.

Days after that, BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja said 3,000 used condoms were found every day in JNU, and "girls and boys dance naked" at cultural shows.

In April last year, some JNU teachers came up with a dossier alleging sex rackets on the campus.

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US author George Saunders became only the second American writer to win Britain's renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo".

Judges for the prestigious English-language literary award praised as "utterly original" the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators.

"The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent, and deeply moving narrative," said Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, in announcing the prize at a ceremony in London.

Saunders, 58, described the award as a "great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life."



In a brief, politically-tinged acceptance speech, he made several thinly-veiled references to the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump.

"We live in a strange time," he told the audience. "In the US now we're hearing a lot about the need to protect culture. Well, this tonight is culture."



This year's Man Booker Prize shortlist pitted three US and three British writers against one another.

The award, launched in 1969, was only open to writers from Commonwealth states until it began permitting authors from other English-speaking countries in 2014.

Last year Paul Beatty became the first American to win the award for his novel "The Sellout".

Saunders was the British bookmakers' favourite ahead of the announcement yesterday.

In a lengthy and varied writing career, he has penned award-winning short story collections, essays, illustrated fables and a bestselling children's book, as well as many pieces of journalism.

In 2006, he was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, while in 2009 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today said the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and such a move will improve Islamabad's international standing as well as stability in the region.

He also said that states that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish, in an apparent dig at Pakistan.

"We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region," he said while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top US think-tank.

"It is the obligation, not choice, of every civilised nation to combat the scourge of terrorism. The United States and India are leading that regional effort together," he said.

By taking decisive actions against terrorists, Tillerson said, Pakistan furthers stability and peace for itself and its neighbours, and improves its own international standing.

President Donald Trump in August unveiled his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in which he had hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists.

America's relationships in the region stand on their own merits, Tillerson told the audience.

In his major India policy speech, Tillerson said India-US cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism has strengthened in recent years.

"In the past decade, our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded significantly. Thousands of Indian security personnel have trained with American counterparts to enhance capacity," he said.

The US and India are cross-screening known and suspected terrorists, and later this year, the two countries will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations, he said.

"We are coordinating our counter-terrorism efforts more than ever before," the secretary of state said.

In July, Tillerson said, he signed the designation of Hizbul Mujahidin as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because the US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

Tillerson said India can serve as a clear example of a diverse, dynamic, and pluralistic country to others a flourishing democracy in the age of global terrorism.

The sub-continent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, and India's diverse population includes more than 170 million Muslims the third-largest Muslim population in the world, he said.

"Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society," said the top American diplomat.

He said India is a partner of the US in Afghanistan.

"As we implement President Trumps new South Asia strategy, we will turn to our partners to ensure greater stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. India is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and we welcome its assistance efforts," he said.

President Trump had vowed to boost strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan. Trump had also sought an enhanced role for India to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last week warned that the Trump administration's desire to inject New Delhi in the war-torn country would be "detrimental" as he rejected any role for India in Afghanistan.

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The US Navy Seals were ready to mount an operation inside Pakistan, similar to the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden, if it failed to act decisively on a US tip off to rescue a Canadian-American family abducted by the Haqqani network in 2012, according to a media report.

The whereabouts of the hostages were located by a CIA drone in a remote valley in northwest Pakistan last month. The grainy images - captured by the drone - of a young woman and children in a militant camp were a "breakthrough", The New York Times reported, citing senior American officials.

Caitlan Coleman, an American citizen, and her husband Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip.

Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. All the three children were born in captivity.

"Military planners mobilised members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6, an elite group of commandos, to mount a rescue," the paper said, quoting the officials.

The commandos of SEAL Team 6, tapped to rescue the family, started rehearsing. The raid was to take place not far from where the CIA had originally spotted the family, according to one military official.

But the risky operation planned on Pakistani soil was called off because some in the US government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were Coleman, Boyle and their children, according to the officials.

Others voiced worries about the difficult terrain and the moon it was too bright for a nighttime airborne raid.

Days later, the CIA watched in alarm as militants drove the family out of the camp and across Pakistans lawless tribal lands.

On October 11, as they headed toward Kohat, a city farther inside Pakistan, American intelligence officials realised they could not let the opportunity to save the family slip by the United States had to act.

American officials formed a plan to press the Pakistan government. President Donald Trump was briefed, and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both backed the idea that should the Pakistani government decline to try to rescue the family, the Navy SEALs would go in.

US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale delivered an urgent message to the Pakistani government - "Resolve this, or the US will", the paper quoted one of the officials as saying.

"The implication was clear. If the Pakistanis did not act decisively, the US would set aside its unease and launch a raid deep inside the country to free the family," it said.

"It would be another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, conducted by the same elite Navy SEAL commandos well into Pakistan without its governments knowledge. And a failure to act would underscore American officials belief that the Pakistani government gives safe haven to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network," it added.

"The push worked. American officials said the Pakistanis acted quickly, intercepting the vehicle with Coleman and her family," the paper said.

Pakistani officials later said they acted within hours.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said they recovered 5 Western hostages including 1 Canadian, his US National wife and their three children from terrorist custody through an operation based on actionable intelligence from US authorities.

Trump administration officials cast the rescue as a win for Pakistan without publicly acknowledging that officials there had to be pressured into conducting the operation.

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Ahead of his maiden visit to India, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today supported New Delhi's stand on One Belt One Road initiative, saying China's financing of infrastructure projects results in enormous level of debt and underscored the need for an alternative financing model.

Tillerson, in a major India-policy speech, highlighted the need for collaborating with India on offering alternative model of financing infrastructure projects and economic development to that of China whom he described as "predatory economics".

He lashed out at the Chinese model of funding infrastructure projects and developmental activities, saying it does not create jobs and results in enormous level of debt.

"We will not be able to compete with the kind of terms that China offers. But, the countries would have to decide what they are willing to pay to secure their sovereignty and the future control of their economies," Tillerson said, after the speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a top American think-tank.

Tillerson said everyone was aware of the huge needs in terms of emerging economies and fledgling democracies of infrastructure investment.

It is important that those emerging democracies and economies have alternative means they need of both in the infrastructure and the wellbeing of the economies, he said.

"We have watched activities and actions in the region, in particular China and the financing mechanism that it brings to many of these countries (that) result in sadly with enormous level of debt," he said.

Tillerson is scheduled to visit India next week.

Reports coming out of neighbouring Pakistan suggests that China has been bringing its own workers and not hiring locally to execute several infrastructure projects that China is funding under the more than USD 50 billion ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

India is opposed to the project as it passes through Pak-occupied Kashmir. India was the only country which had decided against attending the Belt Road Summit in Beijing early this year.

Tillerson said too often foreign workers were brought in to execute infrastructure projects.

These infrastructure projects are financed in a way that "makes it very difficult for them to obtain future financing and often has very shuttle triggers in the financing that results in financing default and conversion of debt into equity", he said.

"So this is not the (type of financing) structure that supports the future growth of these countries. We think it is important that we begin to develop some means of countering that with alternative financing measures, financing structures," he said.

"We are starting a quite conversation in a multilateral way, how we create alternative financing mechanism," he said.

Tillerson said there was a need to tell these countries that need infrastructure financing that they really have to think about their long-term future of their country and their economies to develop.

While it is on a direct competitive basis, Tillerson acknowledged that it was hard to compete with someone who is offering financial terms which is a few points on the lending side.

"But we have to help them put them in perspective in their longer-term ability to control their economy, control the future of their country, control the development of their economy in a rules based system," he said.

"That's what we are promoting you retain your sovereignty, you retain your rules based society, we will come up with other options for you," Tillerson said.

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The US will provide the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier, the Trump administration has informed India.

This gesture ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to India is another indication of the strategic alliance US wants to foster with India, informed sources said.

A formal date for Tillerson's visit has not been announced yet.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government during the Obama administration for the Electromagnetic Launch System (EMLAS) built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy.

The Indian Navy plans to integrate the US-made EMALS catapults into its future supercarriers.

Due to its flexible architecture, EMALS can launch a wide variety of aircraft weights and can be used on a variety of platforms with differing catapult configurations.

The Trump administration sent a response to India on Monday about its decision to release this technology.

Aerospace expert Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive, US and International Strategic Development, of General Atomics had told PTI earlier that General Atomics is planning to open an office in Delhi to support the Indian government's military requirements.

Last month, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis visited India and decided to step up military-to military cooperation.

The latest move comess after an endorsement by the Trump administration of the designation of India as a major defence partner by the previous Obama administration last year.

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The US has decided to release the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System for the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier, according to the Trump administration.

The decision comes ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to India. A formal date of the visit has not been announced yet.

The Trump administration has informed India of its decision.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government during the Obama administration for the Electromagnetic Launch System (EMLAS) built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy.

Due to its flexible architecture, EMALS can launch a wide variety of aircraft weights and can be used on a variety of platforms with differing catapult configurations.

The Trump administration sent a response to India on Monday about its decision to release this technology.

Aerospace expert Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive, US and International Strategic Development, of General Atomics had told PTI earlier that General Atomics is planning to open an office in Delhi to support the Indian government's military requirements.

The Indian Navy plans to integrate the US-made EMALS catapults into its future supercarriers.

This gesture ahead of the Tillerson's visit is another indication of the strategic alliance US wants to foster with India, informed sources said.

Last month, the Defence Secretary Jim Mattis visited India.

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Assamese filmmaker Rima Das' 'Village Rockstars' dominated the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival, bagging three awards here tonight.

The movie chronicles the story of a girl, Dhunu, who has grown up in deprivation. She learns to fend for herself in the hostile surroundings while nurturing her dream to own a guitar someday.

The film was screened in the 'India Gold' section of the festival here and bagged the top prize, the Golden Gateway award.

'Village Rockstars' also took home two other honours -- Oxfam Best Film for Gender Equality award and Young Critics Choice award.

Receiving the top honour, an emotional Das said the people thought she had gone "mad" while making the film but will now have a "very happy Dilwali".

"I will be grateful to MAMI and jury for the award. Specially to my children. They believed in me for four years, never questioned me. Most of the people thought I was mad, spoiling the children. But my family believed in me. I struggled for eight years, looking for an acting job in Mumbai. My family's support was with me and produced two of my films. I am a happy woman today," she said.

The Silvery Gateway award in the India Gold section went to 'Machines' by Rahul Jain. The Grand Jury prize was taken by Manoj Bajpayee starrer 'In The Shadows' directed by Dipesh Jain.

The special mention went to 'Up Down and Sideways' and 'S Durga', respectively.

The International competition top prize, the Golden Gateway award, went to 'Summer 1993' by Carla Simon.

"I was not expecting this. I am very happy. It's my first tome in India. Thank you to the festival, the jury. I am super happy," Simon said.

The Silver Gateway Award went to 'Quest' by Jonathan Olshefski, while the Grand Jury went to 'The Wound' by John Trengove.

'Scary Mother' and 'I am not a Witch' bagged the special mention.

The Audience choice award went to 'On Body and Soul'.

The Dimensions Mumbai Golden Gateway award went to 'Vacancy' by Anurag Worlikar, while the silver gateway award went to 'The Wolf of Chawl Street'. The Special jury mention went to 'Bambaiwale'.

Naseeruddin Shah starrer 'The Hungry', directed by Bornila Chatterjee, bagged The Oxfam special jury mention.

"Voices of the talking stars' by Madhuja Mukherjee bagged the Excellence in writing on cinema, English, while the Hindi category went to 'Lata: Sur Gatha', penned by Yatindra Mishra.

In the 'Half Ticket' section, the Golden Gateway feature film award went to 'The Day My Father Became A Bush' while the Silver Gateway award was bagged by 'Cloudboy'.

The 19th edition of the festival showcased over 220 films from 49 countries in 51 languages. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's 'Mukkabaaz' opened the festival while Hansal Mehta's 'Omerta' was the closing film.

The award ceremony was attended by celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Kabir Khan, Anurag Kashyap, Rajkumar Hirani, Hansal Mehta, Kiran Rao, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rajkummar Rao, Sudhir Mishra, Kriti Kharbanda, Tanishtha Chatterjee among others.

The evening was hosted by Sayani Gupta and Radhika Apte.

Festival Director, Anupama Chopra announced that the next edition of the MAMI will be from October 25 to November 1, 2018.

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A Bengali fantasy film themed on Durga Puja during the tumultuous time of partition of Bengal is due to be released early next month.

The film 'Curzoner Kalom' (Curzon's Pen) is a fictional account of Lord Curzon, the then viceroy of India, leaving behind his gold pen after inaugurating a Durga Puja at an affluent household of North Kolkata in 1905 and the events unfolding thereafter, director Souvik Mitra said during the trailer launch of the film.

"In the year 1905, Lord Curzon came to inaugurate a Durga Puja in Mitra Bari of north Calcutta and gifted a golden pen to the family. It was the pen Lord Curzon had used to sign the papers of partition. The pen was lost in the midst of a chaos that prevailed when local people started agitating outside the house," he told PTI.

Newcomer Poulami Das enacted the role of Pupu - the present generation member of Mitra household - who fished out the missing pen with the help of her childhood friend Tatu, enacted by young, popular actor Saheb Bhattacharya.

"Pupu decodes the last few words spoken by Panchubrata, the veteran Mitra household member who was present during Lord Curzon's visit to the household," the director said, adding the film was a fantasy-thriller.

"We tried to combine two important features that intrigued Bengalis across ages - the pain of partition, when people speaking the same dialect were suddenly separated by a wall, and Bengali's sentimental attachment to Durga Puja," Souvik said.

An Englishman in the city enacted the role of Lord Curzon in the film which also cast several well-known faces of the Tollygunge film industry.

'Curzoner Kalom' belongs to the adventure genre and had resonance with Ray's 'Sonar Kella' and Bengali science fiction 'Patalghar' by Abhijit Chowdhury, the director said.

The music of the film, to be released on November 3, was composed by Debojyoti Mishra.

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Overnight rain and calmer winds have helped firefighters tame a spate of deadly wildfires that broke out over the weekend, devouring homes and killing 41 people in Portugal and another four in northern Spain.

Portugal's civil protection agency said Tuesday that the 15 biggest fires, which had raged through the centre and the north of the country, had been brought under control, but that the death toll had risen.

"We've gone from 37 dead to 41," civil protection agency spokeswoman Patricia Gaspar told AFP.

As the country began three days of mourning for the victims, the agency said 71 people had been injured in the fires, 16 of them seriously. And one person was still missing.

Among the dead was a one-month-old baby.

"Most of the victims were killed in their cars, but we also found them inside their houses," said Jose Carlos Alexandrino, mayor of Oliveira do Hospital near Coimbra, speaking to broadcaster RTP.

"The whole city looked like a ball of fire, surrounded by flames on all sides."



Portugal's conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called on the socialist government to "bear all the consequences of this tragedy".

"These more than a hundred deaths will never leave my mind, it's a terrible weight on my conscience," he said.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Monday reaffirmed his pledge to prevent new tragedies by carrying out "fundamental reforms" in forest management and firefighting.

Across the border in Galicia, Spain's westernmost province which flanks northern Portugal, the number of dead rose to four from fires which also broke out on Sunday and were stoked by warm winds as Hurricane Ophelia passed the Iberian Peninsula.

But by Tuesday, officials said they had lowered the alert level after early-morning rain and calmer winds halted the progression of the flames.

It is the second time in four months that Portugal has been hit by deadly wildfires after huge blazes in June killed 64 people, the worst fires in the country's history.

"We went through absolute hell, it was horrible. There was fire everywhere," a resident of the central town of Penacova told RTP television.

Further north, villagers from the Vouzela area spoke of how fast the fire spread.

"Everything happened in 45 minutes, the fire came to the foot of the village and spread at an incredible rate," resident Jose Morais told AFP.

"I had never seen anything like that before. It felt like the end of the world. Everyone fled".

Despite the rain, the civil protection agency said that around 3,000 firefighters remained deployed to tackle any resumption of the blaze, but that there had been no major active fires burning since dawn.

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A student in West Bengal's Murshidabad district has received a message on WhatsApp from a member of a "terrorist organisation" seeking help in killing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a senior state CID officer said today.

The 19-year-old polytechnic student was offered a sum of USD 1,00,000 as reward for his assistance in killing Banerjee, he said.

"The messenger had identified himself as somebody from a terrorist organisation searching for an associate in India," the officer said.

The West Bengal CID, which has initiated an investigation into the matter, has traced the phone number used by the person to communicate with the youth in Murshidabad's Behrampore town to Florida in the US.

The student received the message from the person, who identified himself as 'Latin', at around 1 PM yesterday, the officer said.

The messenger had asked the student "not to worry about his safety", and to act fast or they "will choose another guy" for the job, he said.

"He (the messenger) was again online at around 3.30 PM hen he told the student he was planning to visit India. When the student told him he loved his country and did not want to see it destroyed, the messenger replied that the organisation did not want to destroy India but just kill one person," the officer said.

The probe agency said it was investigating whether somebody was playing a prank and also trying to get in touch with authorities in Florida for more information.

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(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories' profit and sales topped analysts' estimates on robust sales of medical devices and generic drugs, leading it to raise the high-end of its adjusted earnings forecast for the year.

Abbott had a string of medical device approvals in the quarter that will spur future growth at its largest unit, which saw sales rise 6.5 percent to $2.60 billion. The company also benefited from the recent St. Jude Medical acquisition.

"Strength in medical devices pulled this quarter ... recent product approvals puts Abbott in a good position," Raj Denhoy from Jefferies told .

Sales at the diversified healthcare company's established generics unit, which surged 16 percent, also helped the quarter.

Abbott forecast full-year adjusted 2017 profit from continuing operations of $2.48-$2.50 per share. It had earlier expected earnings per share of $2.43-$2.53.

The company's shares were trading marginally up at $55.45 before the bell on Wednesday.

Several devices received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals in the quarter, including Abbott's FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system and two of its heart devices - HeartMate 3 and Ellipse.

Excluding items, profit was 66 cents per share. Net sales rose to $6.83 billion from $5.30 billion.

Analysts on average expected earnings of 65 cents per share, on revenue of $6.72 billion, according to Thomson I/B/E/S.

Net earnings rose to $603 million, or 34 cents per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from a loss of $329 million, or 22 cents per share, a year earlier, when it recorded a charge.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)

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By Akankshita Mukhopadhyay and Manas Mishra

- Abbott Laboratories' quarterly results beat estimates and the company raised the top end of its full-year earnings forecast range on Wednesday, as a string of recent deals and medical device approvals help spur growth in its largest unit.

The company has acquired several rivals this year, including St. Jude Medical and Alere, to bolster its medical devices business, and favorable tax laws in India are boosting its generics business.

The company's shares rose 2.8 percent to $56.60 to a record in morning trading.

Strength in medical devices pulled this quarter, while recent product approvals puts Abbott in a good position, Jefferies analyst Raj Denhoy told .

Sales in the medical devices business rose 6.5 percent to $2.60 billion, accounting for more than a third of total sales.

The generics unit, which sells drugs in emerging markets, brought in sales of $1.17 billion, up 16 percent.

Sales in India, a key market for the company, were helped as the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax prompted inventory restocking.

Abbott said it now expects full-year adjusted 2017 profit from continuing operations of $2.48-$2.50 per share, compared with its previous range of $2.43-$2.53.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Yoor said he expects the recently closed Alere deal to contribute around $475 million to reported sales this year.

Sales in Abbott's nutrition unit, which had been under pressure due to challenges in China, rose marginally. "We've seen a stabilizing of China; it hasn't been as choppy as it was in the last 2 years," Chief Executive Miles White said.

Abbott and other makers of infant formula have struggled to boost sales in China after the country made it mandatory last year for manufacturers to re-register baby formulas with the government.

During the quarter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved several of Abbott's devices, including the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system and heart devices HeartMate 3 and Ellipse.

"Overall, we'd expect investors to view these results positively - not just for ABT, but again for the broader med-tech group," Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy said.

Net sales of $6.83 billion beat the average analyst estimate of $6.72 billion, according to Thomson I/B/E/S. Excluding items, profit was 66 cents per share, beating estimates by a penny.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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In a deal announced last month, Allergan transferred the Restasis patents to New York state's Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, claiming the group's status as a sovereign nation meant the patents could not be reviewed by the U.S. patent office.

Allergan said the move was justified because the same patents were already being reviewed in federal court, but critics said it was a cynical attempt to prolong the company's monopoly on Restasis.

The federal judge, William Bryson, expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the tribal transfer, calling it a ploy by Allergan to "rent" the tribe's sovereign immunity.

He did not rule directly on whether the transfer was legal, however, because that question was not squarely before him. But his decision on Monday rendered Allergan's move largely meaningless, since he invalidated the Restasis patents himself instead of waiting for the patent office to rule.

Allergan said it was disappointed by Bryson's decision to invalidate the patents and vowed to appeal.

Legal experts said the rebuke from a prominent judge will make other patent owners reluctant to copy Allergan's manoeuvre.

"This should flash some serious yellow lights, if not red lights, in front of parties considering a deal like this," said Michael Carrier, a professor of patent law at Rutgers Law School.

PR BACKLASH

The dispute over the Restasis patents dates back to 2015 when generic drug companies led by Mylan NV asked a federal judge sitting in Texas to invalidate Allergan's Restasis patents in hopes of launching their own generic versions of the medicine.

The generic drugmakers also asked the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), an administrative court run by the patent office, to revoke the patents. Companies often ask both a federal judge and PTAB to cancel patents.

Allergan said in September that it had transferred its Restasis patents to the tribe, which agreed to license the patents back to Allergan in exchange for ongoing payments.

The company said the PTAB proceeding should be terminated because the tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the tribe. Allergan said it wanted to avoid defending the patent in both federal court and before PTAB.

But after Bryson's ruling, other patent owners will be less likely to transfer such patents to tribes to shield them from review, said Rachel Sachs, a professor of patent law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Bryson said "sovereign immunity should not be treated as a monetisable commodity that can be purchased by private entities as part of a scheme to evade their legal responsibilities."

Sachs said Bryson is a well-regarded judge and that his reasoning could be cited by other courts, including PTAB judges.

She noted the ruling comes after weeks of criticism on Capitol Hill, where politicians have slammed Allergan's move as a sham, with one U.S. senator introducing a bill to ban attempts to take advantage of tribal sovereignty.

In a research note on Monday, analysts at Credit Suisse said Allergan suffered a "public relations backlash" from the deal without helping its bottom line.

Allergan said in a statement on Tuesday that its deal with the tribe has helped raised awareness about the need to reform the PTAB process, which the company said does not provide due process to patent owners.

Some legal experts said it is too early to declare Allergan's patent gambit a failure.

Jacob Sherkow, a professor of patent law at New York Law School, said PTAB may still rule in favur of Allergan on its sovereign immunity defence.

If that happens, Allergan's deal with the tribe could be copied by other patent owners, said Joshua Landau, a patent lawyer with the trade group Computer & Communications Industry Association.

Bryson's decision "will make patent owners question the arrangement, but I don't know if the ruling will prevent it entirely," Landau said.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- Global miner BHP Billiton reported a 4 percent drop in quarterly iron ore output following a fire at its Mount Whaleback mine in Australia in June, but said it still expects to hit its annual production target.

Production was 64 million tonnes in the fiscal 2018 first quarter versus 67 million tonnes a year ago, the company said.

The figures take into account iron ore produced for the company and its joint venture partners at its mines. BHP's share for the quarter was 55.6 million tonnes.

UBS had forecast a figure of about 63.6 million tonnes.

BHP on June 1 temporarily halted operations at its Whaleback mine, the largest of seven operated by the company in Australia, due to a fire.

The miner maintained fiscal 2018 guidance of 275-280 million tonnes of iron ore.

Uncertainty over China's demand for imported ore as its steel industry undergoes structural change and speculative trading in contracts has led to a roller-coaster ride for prices this year, trading widely between $53 and $95 a tonne.

Iron ore currently sells for around $63 a tonne.

Petroleum production for the quarter slipped by 8 percent to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent in what was BHP's weakest quarterly petroleum output since 2011.

BHP's board is under pressure from activist shareholders led by New York-based Elliott Management to divest U.S. shale holdings and narrow its focus to hard-rock mining.

BHP said divestment of a small portion of the onshore Hawkville acreage was completed in the September 2017 quarter, with "work underway" to exit the remaining acreage.

Elliott was not immediately available to comment.

BHP's quarterly copper output rose 14 percent to 404,000 tonnes, with fiscal 2018 guidance maintained at 1.655-1.790 million tonnes.

(Reporting By Shashwat Pradhan in Bengaluru; Editing by James Regan and Jonathan Oatis)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The deal announced on Monday gives Airbus a majority stake in Bombardier's troubled CSeries jetliner programme, securing the plane's future and giving the Canadian firm a possible way out of a damaging trade dispute with Boeing, in which the U.S. Commerce Department has threatened to impose a 300 percent import duties.

Boeing said that the announced deal has no effect on the pending U.S. Department of Commerce proceedings. "Any duties finally levied against the C-Series... will have to be paid on any imported C-Series airplane or part, or it will not be permitted into the country," Michael Luttig, Boeing's general counsel, said in a statement.

Investors cheered the winners of the deal that is set to shake up the $125 billion (94.83 billion pounds) a year market for large jets. Bombardier shares jumped 15.7 percent on Tuesday, while shares in Toulouse, France-based Airbus rose 4.8 percent.

The transaction would give Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in an entity recently carved out of Bombardier to produce and market the CSeries, four years after it first flew with a goal to enter the large jets market.

But in a move emblematic of the huge risks of aerospace competition, Bombardier will get just one dollar for the majority stake in exchange for Airbus's purchasing and marketing power to support an aircraft that has won fans for its fuel efficiency but had not secured a new order in 18 months for the 110-130 seat plane due to doubts over its future.

Bombardier's strategy of performing final assembly in Alabama might allow the CSeries to avoid duties because the trade case targets partially and fully-assembled aircraft, said U.S. international trade lawyer William Perry.

Bombardier and Airbus could argue they are importing parts, like the wing from Northern Ireland, to be assembled in the United States.

"That may be the loophole Bombardier is hoping to use," he said by phone.

'ONE DOLLAR DEAL'

In reality, the terms of the deal mean Bombardier could pay Airbus to take over by agreeing to underwrite $700 million of risks related to cost overruns in coming years.

"It's an unexpected move by Airbus but indicates they see good market potential for the CSeries. Neither they nor Boeing currently offer an aircraft in the regional jet market," said aerospace consultant John Strickland of JLS Consulting.

The deal is similar to one that Airbus walked away from in 2015 when it decided the investment in a plane that had not yet entered service was too risky - with one major difference: that some of the jets will be produced in the United States.

That could change the power balance in Bombardier's costly trade dispute with Boeing, though it is not the main reason why the two former rivals have come together, executives said.

"Assembly in the U.S. can resolve the (tariff) issue because it then becomes a domestic product," Bombardier's chief executive, Alain Bellemare, told reporters at Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders hailed the tie-up as "a win for Canada ... a win for the UK," referring to Bombardier's wing-making factory in Northern Ireland whose future had been threatened by the distant trade war.

He said it would also create new U.S. jobs.

The deal appeared to catch Boeing off guard. Locked in a separate 13-year trade dispute with Airbus, Boeing on Monday called it a "questionable deal" between two of its subsidized competitors.

CANADIAN APPROVAL

Bellemare said he hoped the deal would be approved within six to 12 months. Canadian Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who must officially decide whether to green-light the deal, said it looked like "Bombardier's new proposed partnership ... would help position the CSeries for success".

Bombardier said the partnership should more than double the value of the CSeries program.

While it will lose control of a project developed at a cost of $6 billion, the deal gives the CSeries improved economies of scale and a better sales network.

For Airbus, the deal strengthens the bottom end of its narrowbody portfolio after poor sales of its own A319 model and expands its global footprint, potentially opening up further deals in other sectors in Canada.

Tony Webber, a former chief economist at Qantas, said the CSeries could complement Airbus's existing single-aisle models.

Bellemare said the deal was expected to close in the second half of 2018.

"We're doing this deal here not because of this Boeing petition. We are doing this deal because it is the right strategic move for Bombardier," he said, referring to Boeing's complaint that the Canadian firm received illegal subsidies and dumped CSeries planes at "absurdly low" prices.

NO JOB LOSSES

Bombardier said the deal would not result in job losses and would keep the head office in Montreal. Unions said the deal could benefit workers.

The Boeing-Bombardier dispute has snowballed into a bigger multilateral trade dispute, with British Prime Minister Theresa May asking U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to save British jobs.

Bombardier is the largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland and May's Conservatives rely on the support of the small Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) party for their majority in parliament.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said Britain would work closely with the planemakers, while the DUP said the agreement was "incredibly significant news" for Belfast.

Talks for the deal between Airbus and Bombardier first started over dinner at the end of August.

Enders said the deal was different from an earlier round of talks in 2015, when he abruptly ordered an end to negotiations. He said the CSeries' had since been certified, entered service and was performing well.

Some analysts said the deal could drive Boeing closer together with Brazil's Embraer , with which it already cooperates.

Bombardier is in the middle of a five-year turnaround plan after considering bankruptcy because of a cash-crunch as it developed multiple planes simultaneously, including the CSeries.

($1 = 1.2529 Canadian dollars)

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Alana Wise in Atlanta; David Ljunggren in Arlington, Virginia; Michael Holden in London; and Richard Lough and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Writing by Denny Thomas, Guy Faulconbridge and Richard Lough; Editing by Mark Potter and Lisa Shumaker)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Corrects to 'quality', not 'quantity', in 5th paragraph)

By Jonathan Barrett and Brendan Pierson

SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday charged mining company Rio Tinto Plc and two of its former top executives with fraud, saying they inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealed critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also said on Tuesday it had reached a settlement with Rio Tinto under which the company would pay a fine of 27 million ($35.6 million) to settle claims that it breached accounting rules in connection with the Mozambique assets.

The Mozambican coal business, which relied on barging the product down the Zambezi River to port, was acquired for $3.7 billion in 2011 from Riversdale Mining and sold a few years later for $50 million.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, the SEC said Rio Tinto, former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Albanese, and former Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record the assets.

The SEC said that soon after the deal was completed, Rio Tinto learned that the acquisition would yield less coal, and of a lower quality, than expected. The global miner could only transport and sell a fraction of the coal it had originally assumed, the SEC said.

By making misleading public statements, Rio Tinto and the executives were able to raise $5.5 billion from U.S. investors, the SEC said. They continued to solicit the investments even after executives of the Mozambique subsidiary told Albanese and Elliott that the unit was likely worth negative $680 million, according to the SEC.

"There is no truth in any of these charges," Albanese said in a statement.

Christina Mills, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said Elliott would vigorously contest the charges.

Rio Tinto said it would defend itself vigorously against the SEC's allegations. The company said the U.K. FCA had "made no findings of fraud, or of any systemic or widespread failure by Rio Tinto".

HOW IT UNFOLDED

The SEC allegations are contained in court documents that also request a jury trial. The SEC said the rapid and dramatic decline in value of the coal business was concealed, in part because Rio Tinto had already disclosed huge losses in connection with its 2007 acquisition of Alcan.

"The Mozambique acquisition was expected to restore the market's confidence in Albanese's deal-making acumen, but on-the-ground realities in Mozambique quickly undermined that narrative," the SEC said.

The SEC said the company knew its barging assumptions were unrealistic and railway capacity severely limited by the end of 2011, just months after securing the Riversdale assets.

"Defendants concealed the nature and extent of these adverse developments from Rio Tinto's Board of Directors, Audit Committee, independent auditors, and the market," the SEC said.

The SEC said that if it had been disclosed, the developments would have triggered an impairment analysis. An impairment analysis would measure the difference in the expected cash flow from an asset and the value the company has booked the asset at.

By May 2012, Albanese and Elliott were informed of the negative $680 million valuation, although the company carried the assets on its books at more than $3 billion while also promoting its prospects to the market.

The SEC said the fraud continued until January 2013, when another executive discovered accounting irregularities. Albanese subsequently resigned and the value of the Mozambique assets were lowered by more than $3 billion.

The SEC is seeking to have Albanese and Elliott barred from acting as officers or directors of any public company.

The SEC also disclosed that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was looking into Rio's accounting of the Mozambique assets.

(1 = $1.3185)

(Additional reporting by James Regan and Jane Wardell in SYDNEY, Eric Walsh in WASHINGTON and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE.; Editing by David Gregorio and Christian Schmollinger)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Iran is ready to do business with US oil and gas companies, oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday, according to SHANA, the news site of the Iranian oil ministry.

"American companies can come to Iran and benefit so Mr Trump won't be upset," Zanganeh said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump, according to SHANA.

"They've (the United States) put up obstacles for American companies to come to Iran," he said.

"We don't have any restrictions for working or negotiating with American companies with the intention of developing the oil and gas resources of Iran. If they want, we are ready to negotiate with them tomorrow."

Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement last Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.

Trump announced the major shift in US policy in a speech in which he detailed a more aggressive approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

His Iran strategy angered Tehran and put Washington at odds with other signatories of the accord - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union - some of which have benefited economically from renewed trade with Iran.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday, steadying after earlier gains and losses, as expectations of high U.S. production and exports offset concerns that fighting between Iraqi and Kurdish forces could threaten the country's crude output.

Brent crude futures gained 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to settle at $57.88 per barrel, while U.S. crude gained 1 cent to settle at $51.88. Both contracts traded up nearly 1 percent and down over 1 percent during the day.

The Baghdad government recaptured territory across northern Iraq from Kurds on Tuesday, widening a campaign that has shifted the balance of power in the country.

The fighting in one of Iraq's main oil-producing areas helped to restore a risk premium on oil prices, though officials said that oilfields in the region were operating normally.

"The security premium built into prices from the (Iraqi-Kurdish) situation is in the process of vanishing," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

"Everyone is looking to see if the high level of (U.S.) crude oil exports will pull down inventories again," Kilduff said.

Analysts forecast U.S. crude inventories declined by about 4.2 million barrels in the week to Oct. 13. [ENERGYAPI][ENERGYUSA]

The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry trade group, will release U.S. weekly petroleum inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), ahead of the government's report on Wednesday.

"Market participants will closely watch the rising oil-production profile in the United States and persistently high exports from the country - factors that will continue to limit gains in oil prices," said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy's Global Gas Analytics in London.

Tension between the United States and Iran is also rising, increasing the global risk premium for oil.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday refused to certify Iran's compliance over a nuclear deal, leaving Congress 60 days to decide on further action against Tehran.

During the previous round of sanctions against Iran, about 1 million bpd of oil was cut from global markets.

"Oil and geopolitics are very much interlinked," Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told . "Oil security remains a critical issue."

With supply cuts led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) tightening the market, analysts have been raising their oil price forecasts.

Birol said the rate of compliance by OPEC and its partners in their targeted cutting of about 1.8 million barrels per day between January this year and March 2018 was about 86 percent.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it was raising its oil price forecasts.

"We see Brent averaging $54 this quarter and $52.50 per barrel in 1H18, compared with our previous forecasts of $50 and $49.50 per barrel respectively," it said.

(Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Louise Heavens)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amazon, Facebook and other US tech companies are expanding operations south of the border as Mexico works to capitalise on the Trump administrations anti-immigration stance.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched the country's first gold options trading on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the capital to coincide with the auspicious goldbuying festival of Dhanteras. The Finance Minister said this is one of the steps towards formalising gold trade in the country. "This marks a very important evolution in trading of yellow metal itself. It hedges all risks by giving the traders the option of futures, Jaitley said after unvieling the options trade. Indians are great buyers of gold. This new product will be extremely successful, he said.

Emphasising that the government is taking efforts to formalise gold trade, Jaitley said, `I am sure the more it formalises, better it is for consumers, jewellers and those trading in this. That's in consonance with the business environment for future that we see for us.'' This is the first product for options trading that the regulator Sebi has allowed after 14 years of commencement of commodity exchanges in the country, he added. According to MCX, gold options contracts are available for trading from today and investors can trade in one kg gold. The contracts will expire in November and January 2018.

"The introduction of options gives a strong impetus towards systematic development and transformation of commodity derivatives market in India," MCX chairman Saurabh Chandra said in the statement. Options give buyers the right to buy or sell an underlying asset at a specified price at the expiry and the risk is limited only to the premium paid to the seller of the option, the exchange said. India is the world's secondbiggest buyer of gold, typically importing around 800 tonnes a year.

The yellow metal is used as an avenue of investment, for wedding gifts and to make religious donations. Asked about measures taken to promote the new product, MCX Managing Director and CEO Mrugank Paranjape said: Fundamentally, it is an extremely low-cost product. However as an introductory measure, we are not charging any transaction fee on this product till December. From the exchange perspective, that will be a good enough time to develop the market, he said.

On plans to launch more commodities under options category, he said, as per the Sebi rule, options trade is allowed in a commodity which has certain volumes in futures trade. We have 7-8 commodities like cotton, CPO, crude, silver, zinc and copper which qualify. The exchange has not applied for new commodities, he added. After 3-6 months, we will decide after looking at the success of the gold options, he added. Terming it as a major reform, MCX Chairman Saurabh Chandra said: Options would complement the existing array of commodity futures contracts and help in enriching the informational efficiency of the markets price discovery process. It gives market participants great flexibility to manage risk and achieve their trading objectives.

There has been a very conscious effort by the government and Sebi to develop and integrate commodity markets in a phased manner, he said. To further strengthen the market, he said that a committee has been set up in NITI Aayog to integrate spot and derivative markets. Another committee set up by the finance ministry is looking at way to transform India's gold market. MCX is the leading commodity bourse in the country with a market share of over 90 per cent. It has a large presence in gold, base metals, and energy.
Alibaba-backed digital wallet company Paytm on Wednesday said gold transactions worth Rs 120 crore have been made within six months of launch of sales of the yellow metal on its platform. The number of buyers crossed one million mark on the Dhanteras day, Paytm said.

The e-wallet company witnessed 12 per cent surge in gold sales on Dhanteras, which was celebrated on Tuesday across the country. Dhanteras is considered an auspicious day to buy gold, silver and other metals, according to Hindu calendar.

"More than 60 per cent of Paytm Gold sales were from smaller cities and towns, with southern and eastern states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal registering the maximum demand," Paytm said in a statement.

A landmark of over a million customers transacted the yellow metal worth Rs 120 crore on its platform within six months of launch, it noted.

A majority of the customers purchased gold worth up to INR 500, while more than 70 per cent customers were millennials - pointing at an increasing trend of consumers choosing Paytm Gold as the preferred method for long-term savings, it said.

"Gold gives us an extraordinary opportunity to create a wealth solution that is trusted and used by consumers across every nook and corner of the country," Paytm senior vice president Nitin Misra said.

Paytm partnered with India s only internationally accredited refinery MMTC-PAMP to launch Paytm Gold on its platform. This will allow customers to buy 24 carat 999.9 pure gold online and store it in the MMTC-PAMP s most secure, 100 per cent insured lockers at no additional charge.

Customers can also request this gold to be delivered at their homes in the form of minted coins or sell it back online to MMTC-PAMP at transparent market-linked prices.

While gold saw some buying on auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, it fell by Rs 140 per 10 gm mainly due to profit-booking in the national capital on Tuesday. The weak trend overseas due to dollar strengthening against major currencies further eroded the appeal of the metal as a safe haven and also contributed to the fall in the prices. In Mumbai, the prices fell by Rs 50 for 10 gram of 22-carat gold, and by Rs 55 to Rs 31,854 per 10 gram of 24-carat gold. In Ahmedabad, spot gold was trading at Rs. 29,708 per 10 grams with a loss of 0.54 per cent at the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX).

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday launched gold options trading on MCX. "This marks a very important evolution in trading of yellow metal itself. It hedges all risks by giving them (traders) the option of futures," Jaitley said right after launching the options trade on the auspicious day of Dhanteras.

"I am sure more it formalises, better it is for consumers, jewelers and those trading in this. That's in consonance with the business environment for future that we see for us," Jaitley added.

with PTI inputs
Giving a Diwali bonanza to over 12 lakh state employees, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday announced to implement the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission. The state government employees will get the revised salary from the month of October. Rajasthan Chief Minister Raje in a statement said that she had promised to implement the pay commission's recommendation in the 2017-18 budget and was happy to implement it from October. She further said that a panel had been authorised to examine cases of salary discrepancies, allowances and arrears. "The state government considers its employees the backbone of governance and was sensitive towards their welfare," the statement said.

Rajasthan is the latest entrant in the league of states that have announced to implement the recommendations made by 7th Pay Commission. States such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Goa have already announced their decisions.

Earlier this month, the Tamil Nadu state Cabinet consented to implement the recommendations of Pay Commission. After the implementation of the decision, salaries for state government employees and teachers will reportedly increase by 20 per cent. This move will benefit more than 10 lakh government employees and pensioners in the state. However, the revised salary will be effective from October 1, 2017, which would mean losing arrears for 21 months which the state government employees were expecting. While accepting the recommendations by the 7th Pay Commission, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet under Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami did not agree to enact the changes from a retrospective date. The government employees in Tamil Nadu were expecting that the pay panel recommendations will be put into effect from January 1, 2016.

Tamil Nadu state government employees' expectations were somewhat justifiable as many state governments and even the central government had approved the pay commission's recommendation from the back date. Recently, the Union cabinet cleared revised pay scales for about 7.58 lakh teachers and academic staff of higher educational institutions following the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission. In a press statement, the central government said that the approved pay scales would be applicable from January 2016.
Eating out at may become cheaper once again as government is reportedly planning to slash Goods and Services Tax on air-conditioned restaurants in November. The Finance Ministry is favouring a decline in GST charged on AC restaurants, according to a report by ET Now, on the back of consumer complaints about rising restaurants bills since GST rollout in July earlier this year.

According to the report, the group of ministers (GoM), led by Assam Finance Minister Himanata Biswas, took up the issue of GST on AC restaurants in its first meeting. The rest of the group consists of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Chhattisgarh Minister of Commercial Taxes Amar Agrawal.

The GoM was formed by the all-powerful GST Council in its last meeting on October 6 with the mandate to revisit the GST rates for various categories of restaurants with a view of rationalising or reducing the said rates. The ministerial panel looking into GST on AC restaurants and ways to make composition scheme more appealing is expected to submit its report early in November.

The recommendations of the panel will be taken up for discussion in the 22nd meeting of the GST Council, scheduled to be held on November 9. That is when a decision on the changing the tax slab for AC restaurants is expected to be taken.

As of now the AC restaurants pay 18 per cent GST, whereas non-AC restaurants pay 12 per cent GST. The GoM is supposed to ascertain whether the restaurants are passing on the benefits of cost reduction under GST to their customers or not, and if they are not, should be denied input tax credit claims.

There is no word on any reduction in GST rates for non-AC restaurants, though.

Another task assigned to the ministerial panel is to find way to make the composition scheme more attractive. To this end, the GoM would assess whether turnover of exempted goods can be excluded from the total turnover threshold for levying tax under the composition scheme. In its last meeting, the GST Council had agreed upon increasing the threshold for opting for composition scheme from Rs 75 crore to Rs 1 crore to bring more taxpayers under the fold of the scheme.

Those opting for the composition scheme have to fill quarterly GST returns, instead of three monthly returns, and pay their GST on a single rate. The taxpayer is, however, not eligible for claiming input tax credit. Meant to bring small and medium taxpayers in the tax net by simplifying the tax filing procedure, the composition scheme has received lukewarm response by far.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to building an "ambitious" partnership that benefits not just their countries but also other nations working towards peace and stability, America's top diplomat said today.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a Washington audience that Modi's visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new era of strategic relationship.

"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are committed more than any of our leaders before them to building an ambitious partnership that benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability," said Tillerson in a major India policy speech before CSIS, a top US think-tank.

Tillerson is scheduled to visit India next week.

"My visit could not come at a more promising time for the US-India partnership. As you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of relations between our two countries," he said.

Tillerson said his relationship with India goes back to 1998, when he began working on issues related to India's energy security and has made many trips to Delhi.

"It was a privilege to do business with Indian counterparts then, and it has been my great honour this year to work with Indian leaders as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning to Delhi next week, for the first time in my official capacity," Tillerson said.

Referring to the fact that earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, Tillerson said it was a tangible illustration of India and the US expanding their energy cooperation.

The Trump Administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to work together, he asserted.

Noting that more than 600 American companies operate in India, Tillerson said the US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone.

The bilateral trade hit a record of roughly USD 115 billion last year, a number US plans to increase, he said.

"Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion," he said.

The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both economies, he said.

Earlier today, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that India can help America in keeping an eye on Pakistan and ensure that it is held accountable for giving safe havens to terrorists. She also stated that for India to become a permanent member of the Security Council, global superpowers will have to agree to reform the structure of the UN body.

Haley emphasised that one of the pillars of President Donald Trump's recently announced strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia is the development of Americas strategic partnership with India.
India can help America in keeping an eye on Pakistan and ensure that it is held accountable for giving safe havens to terrorists, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said. She also stated that for India to become a permanent member of the Security Council, global superpowers will have to agree to reform the structure of the UN body.

She said that one of the pillars of President Donald Trump's recently announced strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia is the development of Americas strategic partnership with India.

"Americas overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," Haley said.

"Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India," the Indian-origin diplomat said in her address at an event organised by the US India Friendship Council. President Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists, she said.

"Pakistan has been a partner to the United States at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help it more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan. "We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said, adding that it would important for making sure that they are held accountable.

"We cant continue to see them harbouring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump administration, she said, is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership.

"The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger," she said. Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"Because India is a democracy that threatens no one. The United States and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them," Haley said.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year. "I would love to go back to India. Its amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she said.

Moreover, Haley emphasised that the key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto". She went on to identify Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"This reform of the UN Security Council is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support India's permanent membership.
Stock markets ended on a flat note today, just below their record highs, but finished Samvat 2073 with robust gains of over 16 per cent, adding over Rs 25 lakh crore to investors' wealth.

The benchmark Sensex has gained 4,642.84 points, or 16.61 per cent, in the Hindu Samvat year 2073, while the broader NSE Nifty surged 1,572.85 points, or 18.20 per cent during this period.

In today's session, the 50-share Nifty fell by 23.60 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 10,210.85 after moving between 10,175.75 and 10,236.45.

The Sensex resumed lower at 32,518.56 and fell further to a low of 32,462.85 before ending at 32,584.35, down 24.81 points or 0.08 per cent.

Investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the long Diwali weekend, while a weak rupee too affected sentiment, brokers said.

The BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session tomorrow between 1830 hrs and 1930 hrs on the occasion of Diwali.

The bourses will remain closed on Friday for 'Diwali Balipratipada'.

"NPA divergences have continued to be a strong theme in banks' results, putting the banking stocks under pressure, but market remains expectant of more GST related positivity in the coming days," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Axis Bank emerged as the worst performer among Sensex components, tumbling 9.52 per cent following a spike in bad loans in the September quarter.

The private sector lender yesterday reported a nearly 36 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 432 crore in the second quarter ended September, but reported a rise in bad loans.

Other laggards included ICICI Bank, Cipla, SBI, Lupin, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Tata Steel, falling by up to 3.96 per cent.

Reliance Industries topped the gainers list by surging 4.52 per cent, while Wipro rose 1.92 per cent after the company yesterday reported a 5.8 per cent rise in net profit for three months to September.

Among the sectoral indices, telecom fell 1.86 per cent, followed by bankex 1.79 per cent, healthcare 0.80 per cent, teck 0.67 per cent, consumer durables 0.57 per cent, metal 0.51 per cent, auto 0.41 per cent and IT 0.35 per cent.

The broader markets depicted a mixed trend, with the small-cap index falling 0.02 per cent, while the mid-cap rose 0.01 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 484.92 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 809.03 crore.

Overseas, European shares edged higher as investors monitored the latest batch of earnings and economic data releases.

Most Asian stocks edged lower as investors in the region looked to China's Communist Party Congress for signs on future policy direction of the world's second-largest economy.
Micromax Informatics has partnered with BSNL to launch Bharat-1, a feature phone with 4G LTE capability. This will be a direct competition for Reliance Jio's JioPhone. The state-owned telecom operator also claims to trump the JioPhone with a running cost that's even lower than the heavily subsidized JioPhone.

Despite a price of Rs 2,220 against JioPhone's "effective price" of Rs 0, Bharat-1 users will end up spending much lesser than JioPhone users in terms of total expenditure on recharges. Bharat-1 users will get free access to unlimited internet, calls and texts at a nominal price of Rs 97.



On the contrary, JioPhone users will have to recharge their devices with a recharge of Rs 153 for unlimited data, free voice calls, messages and access to Jio apps.

The new Micromax Bharat-1 can be used with any network provider, even a Reliance Jio SIM. This gives the device a huge advantage against the JioPhone as it can only be used with Reliance Jio.

The Micromax Bharat-1 device will be available at a price of Rs 2,220 but this will give complete ownership to the buyer contrary to JioPhone's claim over the device. In order to make the effective price Rs 0, Jio had to layer the deal with a long list of terms and conditions.

According to these terms and conditions, users will have to hand over the device if they fail to recharge the device with a minimum of Rs 1,500 per year which amounts to Rs 4,500 in three years. After the completion of these three years the JioPhone user will be eligible for a complete refund of Rs 1,500.

In terms of specifications, Micromax Bharat-1 comes equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 205 which is paired with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. JioPhone also has identical specifications with a 1.2GHz processor paired with 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. The device also features a MicroSD card slot that will be capable of reading cards of up to 128GB.

Both devices come with a 2 Megapixel primary camera. Bharat-1 features a VGA selfie camera and the JioPhone features a 0.3Megapixel front camera. Both devices also share an identical QVGA screen with a size of 2.4 inches. Both Reliance JioPhone and Bharat-1 are powered by 2000mAh batteries.

Despite a lower running cost, Bharat-1 phone, which is bundled with BSNL's voice and data pack, will not be able to achieve 4G LTE speeds. However, the state-owned company plans to launch their 4G services as early as January next year.
The movie, to be released next week in Douala deals with everyday family issues.

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Film lovers in Cameroon will soon enjoy another new movie made in Cameroon by their own sister, film producer and actress, Syndy Emade. Directed by home boy Achille Brice, the film A Man For The Weekend, is a romantic comedy that bares everyday family issues, putting a comic spin to events while accentuating the overriding message that it is ok to be yourself and patient.



Shot on locations in Limbe in the South West Region and Douala, in the Littoral Region, the movie tells the story of Candace Ayuk, (Candy) a young business executive. Driven by her career, she has no time for the pleasures of life, much to the chagrin of her mother who wants to see her settle down. This drives a wedge between the two as Candy finds herself avoiding her mothers calls for obvious reasons. Fate however plays a prank on her as she finds herself trapped by a promise to her mother, and must pay her a visit over the weekend with her boyfriend, a character obviously non-existent in her life. This starts the quest for a man for the weekend, coming to an end when she agrees on a business deal with Bryan Mbah, an intern with her firm, who unknown to her, is a secret admirer.



This is how, Candy and Bryan head off for a weekend at her mothers home were they are joined by her senior sister Christelle who is her mothers favourite, the yardstick by which Candy is always measured, and her husband Richard. The weekend brings afresh old age rivalries between siblings. As such, family secrets are revealed, and Bryan gets a better picture of why Candy is the way she is, deepening his admiration for her. The weekend however takes another turn when Candys entourage discovers the real identity of her man for the weekend. Tempers flare, the family splits in discord with each person going their way, attempting to resume their lives as they were before. Candy, hitherto career-minded, finds her thoughts drifting towards Bryan. The movie, which targets youths and family will be officially presented to the public come Sunday, October 28, in Douala and November 5, 2017 at Yaounde, Hiton Hotel.

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Technological innovations such as blockchain have the potential to change the financial architecture in MEASA, particularly in banking New business models are being developed to reach the missing middle of retail investors and medium-sized businesses Governments and regulators have a crucial mandate to drive financial innovation.

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With a combined population of over 3bn, deepening mobile connectivity, and growing prominence as a trade and investment hub, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will be a source of both demand and supply for more and better financial services. In a new report, The Next Frontier: The future of finance in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, sponsored by Dubai International Financial Centre, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) explores the forces shaping the future of financial services, focusing on market, technology and policy enablers.



A growing young population across MEASA is increasing demand for digitally delivered financial services. This untapped potential presents an attractive opportunity for companies providing financial servicesboth traditional and non-traditional players. As trade and investment increase in the region, there will also be a growing market for wholesale banking and capital markets.



For companies that move quickly, this is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to bank on the future of a diverse region. Some firms are at the vanguard of financial innovation, using smarter business models and the latest technologies. The rise of challenger providersoften from different industries, such as telecommunications and e-commerceis bringing even more varied financial services offerings to a far larger community of individuals and businesses.



The future of finance in MEASA will not be determined solely by technology. The rise in equity crowdfunding platforms and lower-cost portfolio investment products is unleashing new capital for entrepreneurs and businesses, and is giving middle and lower-middle-income citizens the ability to become investors. Growth in the provision of credit, increasing interest in private equity and a rise in venture capital are also helping to drive growth in the middle market.



Melanie Noronha, editor of the report, said: Governments and regulators have a vital role to play. They can prime the market by using better services and technologies themselves, or they can set it back by using outdated systems and approaches. They must balance innovation with prudence, protecting consumers and stability while encouraging promising new ideas to help increase the efficiency of the financial system.

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| BY Ricki Green |

Qantas has unveiled its latest marketing campaign via The Monkeys, celebrating its people and their efforts to bring the world closer using the newest addition to the national carriers fleet, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The campaign is part of an ongoing series, profiling the stories of real Qantas people who are involved in the preparation and delivery of Qantas Dreamliner; a pilot, an engineer, and cabin crew.

Qantas chief customer officer Olivia Wirth said the campaign celebrates the dawn of a new era led by the Dreamliner and the dedication of its people.

Says Wirth: Customers have more options than ever when it comes to travel, but its our peoples dedication and passion for what they do, combined with our desire to innovate, that makes travellers want to fly Qantas.

This aircraft opens up new routes around the globe which were previously unreachable, such as our nonstop Perth to London service. While the Dreamliner will bring the world closer, were keeping safety, service, and a refined sense of comfort at the forefront of everything we do.

It was important to feature real Qantas people as they offer an authentic passion and excitement for the arrival of the 787 Dreamliner. The look on their faces when they see the Dreamliner for the first time says it all.

The campaign profiles a pilot whose curiosity for flying began while his mother worked at the airline in the 1970s; an engineers early passion for mechanics and aviation started on a farm; and a flight attendant who immigrated to Australia at a young age and is passionate about making people feel comfortable and at home.

Says Ben Sampson, creative director, The Monkeys: Being able to show the human side of something as technologically advanced as the new Qantas Dreamliner was a nice creative opportunity, and suited the Qantas brand perfectly.

They have such spirited people and that was clear when we discovered the stories from three of their staff, and experienced their excitement at being part of the Dreamliner program.

The campaign will be launched on Sunday 22 October and feature on TV, outdoor, digital and social media channels. Filming took place in regional Queensland, Melbourne, Sydney and the Boeing facility in Seattle, Washington.

Qantas first Dreamliner will arrive in Sydney on 20 October and will operate on selected domestic flights before beginning services between Melbourne and Los Angeles from 15 December. Perth to London direct flights take off in March next year.

Creative agency: The Monkeys

Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer: Justin Drape

Creative Director: Ben Sampson

Copywriters: Chelsea Parks & Hugh Gurney

Head of Planning: Michael Hogg

Strategic Planner: Henry Bilston

Managing Partner: Matt Michael

Group Content Director: Humphrey Taylor

Senior Content Director: Samantha Heckendorf

Senior Content Manager: Demi Nielson

Head of Production: Thea Carone

Senior Integrated Producer: Sally Lankshear

Senior Digital producer: Kit Peebles

Digital Art Director: Eva Godney

Production Company: Collider

Director: Rob Stanton-Cook

Executive Producer: Rachael Ford-Davies

Producer: Annie Schutt

DOP: Kieran Fowler

Editor: James Ashbolt, ARC EDIT

Grade & Online: White Chocolate

Music & Audio Post: Song Zu

Photographer: Paul Blackmore, Red Door Productions

Retouching: Cream Studios

Media Agency: OMD

Business Director: Dorothee Gomez

Account Director: Caroline Fiechter

Account Manager: Christian Bendelack
| BY Lynchy |

Leo Burnett Sri Lanka was recently named the Agency of the Year at this years Effie Awards Programme in Sri Lanka.

Leo Burnett Sri Lanka secured the coveted Agency of the Year effectiveness in creative communications, which is revered as a top industry accolade. The award was received by Ranil de Silva and the agency team, in the presence of a distinguished gathering of guests and professionals from across the local marketing communications industry.

The Effie Awards Programme is renowned by advertisers and agencies alike, as one of the most eminent and prestigious awards shows in the local and global industry. The Effies recognizes any and all forms of marketing communications, that contribute to a brands success. Launched by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) in 2008 in collaboration with the Global Effies, the Effie Awards has become a highlight in the marketing communications industry to celebrate creative excellence which is effective and delivers tangible results for a brand.

This year, five of the agencys campaigns which stood out creatively and were successful delivering tangible results were shortlisted by the jury comprising a cross section of industries and was chaired by Imal Fonseka, Group CEO of Fairway Holdings. The campaigns shortlisted were UNICEFs communication titled Uniting the Country to end Child Abuse, White Cane Day Innovation for the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society. The corporate campaign for Commercial Bank titled Bank for Your Success, the national activation conducted for Womens day by Velvet titled Liyaka Mahima and the internationally recognized initiative to manage the garbage issue at Siripada which was termed Merit Bin.

Uniting the Country to end Child Abuse was awarded as a finalist in the Non-Profit category, for the manner in which it rallied the Sri Lankan public to come together to end child abuse across the country. The White Cane Day innovation on TV was awarded as a finalist in three categories  Media Idea, Non-Profit and Small Budget, for being a poignant reminder to the public to register as eye donors. This campaign helped the society to emerge as the Most Effective Brand of the Year at the Effies. The Bank for Your Success campaign helped strengthen the corporate image of the bank and was selected as a finalist in two categories; Finance and Corporate Reputation. The Velvet Liyaka Mahima campaign was named a finalist in the new Seasonal Marketing category. The Merit Bin was created on behalf of the Ratnapura Provincial Council to find a sustainable and effective solution to address the issue of garbage at Sri Pada. The campaign was submitted in the Non-Profit category at the awards show and was awarded a Bronze Effie.

Ranil de Silva  Managing Director, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka said, This recognition is a very gratifying reward as it reinforces our creative standing as the countrys leading agency with the honour of being results driven. It also proves a very strong belief of ours that outstanding creative work delivers invaluable results to its brands. My team and I are honoured to have been named the Agency of the Year at this years Effie Awards Programme. This award truly belongs to our Chief Strategy Officer Murtaza Tajbhoy and his Brand Panning team who have tirelessly worked to ensure the efficacy of our communications. At Leo Burnett, our work is rooted in our HumanKind philosophy, a belief that creativity has the power to change human behaviour and to inspire positive action. I would like to thank the jury for bestowing this prestigious accolade, which is an invaluable addition to our awards portfolio.
The trek, which started at Hall, has so far taken him along the old railway tracks behind Hume, heading south towards Tuggeranong, and he is now into the territory's more remote wilderness.
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.
I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army:

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P

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1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army
A bizarre and crazy fight broke out at the Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Indiana last weekend following an accident on the track.



While crashes are a part of racing, the driver who was hit was upset and decided to get revenge on the driver that hit him. As you can see in the video, the driver accelerates towards the other car and turns around. After a few seconds, he floors it and essentially parks his car on the hood of the other vehicle.

At this point, 42-year-old Shawn Cullen exits his car and starts punching 40-year-old Jeffrey Swinford as track officials watch on. A police officer eventually arrives and uses a taser on Cullen who falls to the ground. Hes eventually handcuffed and led off the track by police.

Swinford met a similar fate as he was also handcuffed and taken into custody.

According to Fox 59, Anderson Police Major Joel Sandefur confirmed the crash and fight were not staged. As a result, Cullen was ticketed for disorderly conduct while Swinford was charged with criminal recklessness. The latter charge means Swinford recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally performed an act that creates a substantial risk of bodily injury.

Video
Mini has admitted that it is pondering the idea of extending its range of models next decade.



When the all-electric Mini EV arrives in 2019, the British carmaker will have five superhero models in its family. However, Mini design chief Oliver Heilmer says the company may be prompted to expand this range due to the demands of young buyers.

The first Mini was built out of a need. I would like to understand what the needs in the next five to six years will be. We want to look at customers who are 13, 14, 15 years old now. What is their aesthetic approach? Its obviously influenced by smartphones. But if we understand it right, we can bring this into the future, Heilmer said to Autocar.

Whichever way the firm adds to its pre-existing range, the design chief said iconic Mini design features, including the floating roof, will continue to be used.

In the meantime, Mini continues to work on its all-electric model and has also started to design the next-generation hatch, expected to arrive in 2021.

PHOTO GALLERY
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday it was important for Turkey to remain part of the NATO security alliance and continue its orientation toward Europe, despite current tensions between the two countries.

October 18, 2017, 10:54 Greece PM: It is important for Turkey to remain part of NATO

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 18, ARTSAKHPRESS: We continue to support the Turkish course toward Europe, Tsipras said at a White House news conference after a meeting with US President Donald Trump. We respect it as a regional power and we believe that it must stay oriented toward the European perspective.
Photo: Contributed - Model Mayhem

An aspiring model and a private pilot, both from Canada, have been arrested on federal drug charges in Southern California after authorities say they arrived from Las Vegas in a private jet carrying drugs worth roughly $2 million.

Krista Marieann Boseley, 30, of Vancouver, British Columbia, and her travelling companion, Gilles Lapointe, 61, were arrested Oct. 9 at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, according to federal court documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Authorities were alerted that a plane previously believed to be involved in drug trafficking was about to touch down at the airport, the documents said. They observed Boseley and Lapointe getting out of the plane and approached and asked to search their bags as they rented a car.

The two consented to the search, the documents say, and with the help of a drug-sniffing dog authorities found 50,000 Ecstasy pills and about 90 pounds (40 kilograms) of raw MDMA in their luggage.

MDMA is a powder used in Ecstasy and the club drug known as "Molly."

The two also had a combined $20,000 in cash, which they said was from winnings at a Las Vegas casino.

Calls and emails to Lapointe's attorney, Matthew Lombard, were not returned Saturday.

Boseley's attorney, Victor Sherman, declined to comment.

Boseley is a former real estate agent and aspiring model who had an online modeling profile until this week, when it was taken down, according to The Vancouver Sun.

Boseley and Lapointe are due in court on Oct. 27.
Photo: Contributed Bats need help to survive, say B.C. experts.

While creatures of the night are usually avoided, experts say the ones living in the Okanagan need some help.

The conservation of bats in B.C. has always been important, since over half the species in this province are considered at risk, said Paula Rodriguez de la Vega, coordinator for the Okanagan Community Bat Program. However, with the discovery of White-nose Syndrome in Washington State, bat conservation is more important than ever.

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has decimated bat populations since it was first detected in North America in 2006, spreading to 31 states and five provinces.

Luckily, WNS is not yet in B.C. but we are preparing for its arrival by raising awareness about bats; working with landowners who have bats in buildings, enhancing bat habitat and monitoring populations.

Fittingly, with Halloween on the way, Bat Week takes place Oct. 24-31.

In the South Okanagan, the Okanagan Community Bat Program is delivering Go Batty' school programs in partnership with the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance Ecostudies Program.

In Penticton, bat biologist Tanya Luszcz, will be delivering a lunch hour bat program on Nov. 3 at the Penticton Public Library.

In Vernon, Allan Brooks Nature Centre is hosting a bat booth for their Nature Nocturnal event on October 28th.

Rodriguez de la Vega said preserving wildlife trees and wetlands and reducing pesticide use can encourage healthy bat populations.

As well, some bat species have adapted to using human-made structures, such as bat-houses.

Bat-houses are particularly important for maternity colonies where groups of female bats roost together to have their pup during the summer. A well-designed bat-house installed in a good location can provide a home for hundreds of bats.

For more information on WNS or building a bat house, go online. You can report WNS sightings at www.bcbats.ca or 1-855-922-2287.
Photo: Contributed

Kamloops RCMP have received 12 reports of theft from vehicles in the last two days  including three in which firearms were stolen.

Two of the vehicles had windows smashed, and the other was left unlocked when the hunting gear was taken.

Police realize it is hunting season, and often hunters get home late from a day in the woods, but it is extremely important that they always take their firearms into their residences and secure them properly, said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie.

Rifles and shotguns that have been stolen can be used in the commission of an offence and/or could result in someone being injured, Shelkie added.

Along with the weapons, thousands of dollars in hunting gear was also taken including knives, ammunition and binoculars.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge say their third child will be due in April.

The royal couple had already revealed that they were having a child, but didn't previously say which month the child is due. The brief statement released Tuesday by their Kensington Palace office offered no further details.

The former Kate Middleton had announced she was pregnant after missing a royal engagement in September. As with her other two pregnancies, she is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, or acute morning sickness.

She has since appeared in other events, including one Monday in which she danced with a person dressed as the beloved British children's book character, Paddington Bear.

William and Kate, both 35, already have two children: Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2.
Photo: Jackson Stoski A huge boulder landed on a car, closing Highway 1 for some time.

UPDATE: 4:15 p.m.

A woman witnessed a large boulder land on a car, just 200 metres in front of her on Highway 1.

She ran up there but by the time she got up there a paramedic was on scene so they told her to go back because they were worried more were going to come down, said a friend of the witness.

Highway 1 has now reopened.

ORIGINAL: 3:51

A rockslide south of Revelstoke has caused traffic to halt on Highway 1 after a boulder landed on top of a car.

A Castanet reader said she witnessed the "huge" rock land on the car.

I believe the person was OK," he said.

The rockslide occured just past Three Valley Gap.

Drive BC said traffic is closed in both directions 19 kilometres west of Revelstoke.

An assessment is currently in progress and another update is expected at 4:15 p.m.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Two bear cubs that escaped from a South Dakota wildlife park didn't get far, due in part to their curiosity.

The Rapid City Journal reports that a man spotted the cubs lollygagging in his neighbour's yard about a block away from the Bear Country USA park on Sunday evening.

Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Kylie Kintigh says that when she arrived at the scene, the bears seemed more interested in following her around than making a getaway. They checked out her squad car and one even tried climbing on the hood.

Park workers eventually arrived and gently sedated the cubs for their return to the park. It's unclear how or when they escaped.

Kintigh says "It definitely was the best call I have had  and that might stand true to the end of my career."
Photo: Contributed Police are looking for a suspect after a female student was groped by a man near Clayton Heights Secondary.

Police are looking for a suspect after a female student was groped by a man near Clayton Heights Secondary School in Surrey.

RCMP said the sexual assault occurred in the Cloverdale area Tuesday morning.

Cpl. Scotty Schumann said a female student was on her way to school just before 8 a.m. when she was allegedly grabbed from behind and groped on the 18800 block of 69th Avenue, near the school.

The 15-year-old victim reported that she managed to free herself from the suspect and run back home. The suspect male fled on foot, said Schumann. The victim was not injured.

The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, in his thirties or forties, wearing a dark hoody and grey and blue washed-out jeans.

Officers are looking into whether the incident is related to a similar one last week.

"The Surrey school district has sent a letter home to notify parents of this incident, said Schumann.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.
Photo: Google Street View Location of police standoff in Revelstoke.

UPDATE: 5:50 a.m.

A vehicle being sought in relation to a weekend homicide in southwest Calgary was located Tuesday in Revelstoke.

Calgary police had earlier released a photo of a suspect, 32-year-old Mohammadali Darabi of Calgary, and said he was believed to be driving a silver-coloured 2006 Toyota Corolla with an Alberta licence plate.

A vehicle matching that description was found and surrounded by RCMP officers, who tried to establish communications with the driver for more than five hours.

Officers said there was no response, and when they eventually approached the vehicle, a man was discovered dead inside.

RCMP are investigating and working with the BC Coroners Service to confirm the mans identity and a cause of death.

 The Canadian Press

UPDATE 7:19 p.m.

The stand off in Revelstoke is over and emergency crews are reportedly leaving the scene.

Police in Revelstoke have surrounded a man in a car who is believed to be the suspect in a murder in Calgary on Sunday.

The standoff began early Tuesday afternoon outside Grizzly Auto Repair on Victoria Road in Revelstoke.

A silver Toyota Corolla with Alberta plates has been pulled over and armed police have the car surrounded.

On Monday, Calgary Police Service reached out to the public in hopes of finding 32-year-old Mohammadali Darabi, a Calgary resident wanted in connection with the murder of his roommate.

Police believed Darabi was driving a silver 2006 Toyota Corolla with the Alberta licence plate BKW 1855, the same type of vehicle currently surrounded by police in Revelstoke.

Send your news, photos and videos to [email protected]
Photo: The Canadian Press

A lawyer says his client has been awarded the largest amount ever by a Canadian court for punitive damages linked to a motor vehicle accident.

Veronica Howell was hit by a pickup while she was jaywalking across a Vancouver street in January 2014. She suffered a brain injury and other injuries that the B.C. Supreme Court says "changed her life dramatically."

Howell, who was 22 at the time of the accident, was awarded $100,000 for punitive damages in addition to more than $2 million for general damages and loss of income.

Howell's lawyer, John Rice, said the punitive award is the largest he could find involving a vehicle accident.

"I couldn't find a single case in the hit-and-run context," he said in an interview Tuesday. "There had been drunk-driving contexts and others, and punitive damages awards in the tens of thousands of dollars. I think I saw one for $35,000, but this is drastically higher than any one in the past."

The court found the pickup driver, who was suspended from driving, was on the wrong side of the road when he passed stopped traffic and struck Howell.

The court ruling said Leon Machi drove off afterwards and failed to co-operate with Vancouver police and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia during the investigation. Machi claimed he was not the driver and someone named Michael had been using his truck.

Justice Heather MacNaughton ruled the evidence Machi provided under oath was not credible.

"Mr. Machi's actions are worthy of denunciation and retribution," she wrote in her decision, dated Oct. 12.
South Korea is considering imposing its own sanctions on North Korea, the Souths vice foreign minister said on Wednesday, but no decision had been made yet, Reuters reported.

October 18, 2017, 17:41 South Korea considers sanctions against North Korea

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 18, ARTSAKHPRESS: Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam made the remarks at a news conference in Seoul with Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama.
Photo: Google Street View

UPDATE: Wednesday 6:38 a.m.

Three people are dead after a possible ammonia leak at an arena in Fernie on Tuesday night that also forced an evacuation of homes, businesses and a retirement home in the immediate area.

WorkSafeBC said based on preliminary information, three workers were exposed to a gas leak shortly before noon.

The city said details about the victims would be released once they are identified and their next of kin are notified.

The city, which has declared a seven-day local state of emergency, said residents in the evacuation area have been provided overnight accommodations. There was no immediate word on how many people had to leave the area.

Fire chief Ted Ruiter said the situation was "somewhat under control" although emergency crews were still waiting to safely enter the Fernie Memorial Arena late Tuesday where the deaths occurred.

"We're still concerned about some ammonia leaking into the environment," he said.

Officials have not said if others were inside the facility at the time of the leak. Ruiter said there were no injuries in addition to the deaths.

He said WorkSafeBC had been contacted about the incident and the RCMP was leading the investigation at the site.

"Anytime you're dealing with fatalities it's always tough," he said of the event's impact on his crews. "We're a small city and everybody knows each other. It's very hard to deal with, for sure."

The city said in a news release it is working with CIMCO Refrigeration and trying to get additional specialized resources to deal with the hazardous situation.

Ruiter said B.C.'s Ministry of Environment is also sending staff to assist with monitoring and to determine what the next steps will be.

Ammonia is commonly used in mechanical refrigeration systems, including those found in ice rinks. Ammonia is used in liquid form in these systems but becomes a gas once it is released into the air.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says ammonia is a colourless gas that is very toxic if inhaled and can cause death.

Symptoms of ammonia poisoning may include coughing, shortness of breath, difficult breathing and tightness in the chest. The centre also says symptoms may develop hours after exposure and are made worse by physical effort.

 The Canadian Press

ORIGINAL: Tuesday 7 p.m.

Three people are confirmed dead after an ammonia leak at Fernie Memorial Arena.

In a post on the city website, Fernie city officials said three people have died and emergency crews are still unable to safely enter the arena.

CIMCO Refrigeration is on scene assisting city crews, and the city is working to acquire additional specialized resources to deal with the hazardous situation.

All homes between 9th Street and 13th Street and Highway 3 and 6th Ave remain on evacuation order, as well as Red Apple, 7-Eleven and Trinity Lodge.

Residents who live in the evacuated area are asked to report to Emergency Social Services at the Senior Citizens Drop-In Centre, 562 3rd Ave.
Photo: CTV

A Vancouver Island pot shop has agreed to move after running afoul of a martial arts club.

For the past five years, Skillz Canada has offered martial arts programs for kids as young as three and as old as teens.

However, six months ago the martial arts centre was filled with the aroma of marijuana after a dispensary, Canna Corner, set up shop next door.

Venting was not enough to get rid of the aroma and Skillz owner Rebecca Stephens said she lost about $20,000 in business since the pot shop opened.

Stephens says she isn't necessarily against dispensaries  there are three other storefronts nearby but all are operating a safe distance away from the gym  but when Canna Corner opened up, her businesses started to dwindle.

"We had families just leave. Lots. Dozens and dozens of kids, which ends up to be thousands and thousands of dollars," she said.

The City of Nanaimo says it has received complaints about the pot shop but so far it hasn't taken action due to looming legalization in the country.

A man who would only identify himself as a co-owner of the dispensary said the shop is already closed and will be relocating soon  a move the martial arts studio sees as a major victory.

- with files from CTV Vancouver Island
Photo: Facebook

The biggest fundraiser for the grad class of 2018 in Lumby has been moved to Thursday.

The annual drive thru breakfast at Super A Parking lot was moved down a day due to the power outage caused by Tuesday's wind storm.

The Lumby grads and parents will be serving breakfast starting at 5:30 a.m.
Photo: The Canadian Press B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen leaves Government House on Tuesday.

British Columbia's Green party says it will introduce a private member's bill this week that backs ride sharing, despite long-standing roadblocks from the Opposition Liberals and NDP government.

Transportation spokesman Adam Olsen said Tuesday the arrival of ride sharing to B.C. has been stalled by both the Liberals and NDP.

He said the Green party's bill comes to the legislature for the third time Thursday as the Liberals and NDP blame each other for failing to deliver on election promises to implement ride sharing.

"Ride-hailing to me is an example of a government unwilling to embrace innovation on both sides of the house," said Olsen. "We saw an Opposition that didn't do it while they were in government. We saw our new government kicking this issue down the road, and I think it's important we have a real conversation about an issue that is now five years old."

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena indicated Monday that ride sharing is at least a year away, despite an NDP promise to bring in services like Uber and Lyft by the end of 2017. The government has hired a consultant to provide advice, with legislation not expected until next fall.

Olsen said ride sharing's slow route indicates the unwillingness of the NDP and Liberals to grasp new ideas.

"There's a taxi industry. There's a ride sharing industry. There are companies in this province looking to start the B.C. version of this. We need to be preparing B.C. for the future. That means dealing with the recent past, and we're not doing any of it."

The Liberals and New Democrats exchanged barbs in the legislature Tuesday during question period about the failures to bring ride sharing forward. Both parties promised during last spring's election campaign to have ride sharing up and running by the end of this year.
Photo: Twitter

Canadian researchers have developed a predictive model for detecting lung cancer in early stages, when the disease has a greater potential to be curable.

The Pan Can Model, developed by a team of health researchers across the country, uses a wider range of factors that contributes to lung cancer compared with current screening practices. The new study found the model resulted in more people being diagnosed with the disease at early stages.

Dr. Stephen Lam, the Vancouver-based co-principal investigator on the study, said although smoking rates have dropped significantly, past smokers are still at risk of developing lung cancer and survival rates for the disease are poor.

"The overall survival of lung cancer patients is less than 18 per cent," said Lam, who is also chair of the Provincial Lung Tumour Group at the BC Cancer Agency. "If we find cancer early, the survival is over 70, 80 per cent range so that is why this is a dramatic change in how we find and treat cancer."

The study looked at more than 2,500 current and former smokers between the ages of 50 and 75 in eight cities across Canada who were determined to have a minimum two per cent risk of developing lung cancer within six years.

Participants were tested with a low-dose CT scan at the onset of the study, and then at the one- and four-year mark.

Lam said the radiation exposure from the low-dose CT scan is small enough not to cause any harm and is extremely effective in catching lesions even one millimetre in size that X-rays and other testing could miss.

The screenings resulted in 6.5 per cent of participants being diagnosed with lung cancer  a higher rate than the four per cent of cases caught through the U.S. model.

Seventy-seven per cent of the Canadians diagnosed were also caught in very early stages, compared with 57 per cent of cases in the U.S. trial.

Ottawa resident Debi Lascelle, 60, was among those diagnosed and said the study saved her life.

Lascelle was a smoker for 27 years before quitting at the age of 41. Her parents were also smokers and her father died of lung cancer months after the disease was discovered at Stage 4.

After the first CT screening in 2011, doctors noticed a small lesion in her lung that a biopsy would confirm was cancer. Lascelle said she had surgery soon after, which removed 15 per cent of her lung capacity, but no further chemotherapy or radiation was needed.
Photo: Thinkstock.com

The looming deadline for legalized marijuana has local governments in B.C. crafting wish lists for provincial legislation, from where pot should be grown to how it should be sold.

Ottawa has said regulations must be in place by July 1 and the B.C. government announced last month that it wants public input on shaping the rules.

While some municipal politicians worry the timeline for regulations is too short, Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang thinks legalization can't come soon enough.

Vancouver brought in a bylaw for medical marijuana dispensaries in April 2016, becoming the first municipality in Canada to regulate the outlets.

Data from the city shows 41 permits for medical marijuana-related businesses have been issued since the bylaw came into effect and Jang said he hasn't heard a single complaint about those businesses.

But illegal shops continue to operate, too. The city is asking the court to shut down 53 businesses that are operating without permits and bylaw officers continue to hand out tickets to another 65 shops classified as "subject to enforcement."

The province needs to create rules that will help strengthen and enforce the bylaw, but overall it's been a success, Jang said.

"It means that good operators who sell pot in a responsible way can continue to work and do business in the city of Vancouver and those who don't gotta go."

He wants recreational pot to be sold at independent stores under provincial regulations and said Vancouver's bylaw could be used as a model across the province.

But Jang said it's also important for municipalities to tailor the rules to fit their specific needs because each jurisdiction will have its own concerns.

"No matter what we do, it's going to be a work in progress," he said. "It's when the laws become static and don't match what we need to do, conditions on the street, if you like, that this thing will not work very well."

For Delta Mayor Lois Jackson, the concern is where marijuana will be grown.

Her suburban Vancouver community boasts some of the country's best agricultural land. She said her staff have reported receiving between five and 10 calls per day from people who are interested in using that land to grow marijuana.

But the mayor doesn't want to see the valuable soil all used to grow pot in the name of profit.

"I do not want Delta to be the pot-growing capital of Canada," she said. "I mean, we've got 22,000 acres of pretty great land that grows things all year round. And if it's going to be allowed on all those acres, well, I don't know if that's the direction we should be going."
Photo: Randy Millis

New research has confirmed what firefighters have long suspected  exposure to flames and smoke leaves them with elevated levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies.

In what may be the first before-and-after study of the occupation, a University of Ottawa researcher has found battling blazes leaves firefighters with significantly higher levels of chemicals that can cause both cancer and genetic damage.

"We looked at what was there before and then after the fire," said Jules Blais, author of a paper in Environmental Science and Technology. "This is really something that hasn't been done."

Blais worked with a group of firefighters in Ottawa, taking urine samples and skin wipes at the start of their shifts and after they'd been out on a call.

Both samples after a fire showed high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons  so-called PAHs  that are created by burning plastic and are known to cause damage and genetic mutations within cells. Such chemicals are commonly produced in all kinds of fires.

Blais found PAH levels were typically three to five times higher after a fire. For some firefighters, the increase was 60 times.

The results were compared with those of colleagues who hadn't left the office as well as with overall Canadian averages.

As well, firefighters are regularly re-exposed to the same chemicals.

Tests taken from lung fluid samples didn't show chemical markers for contaminants. However, the skin and urine samples matched up, suggesting the toxins are being absorbed through the skin.

"This is research that can lead to very short-term gains," said Blais. "If we can learn to reduce these exposures, we can have a very immediate impact on health. Take a shower, is part of it."
Photo: CTV/Rob Schaufele

UPDATE: 1:05 p.m.

Highway 3 has reopened, DriveBC reports.

UPDATE: 12:45 p.m.

Highway 3 will remain closed near the Alberta border into the afternoon, after a tentative opening time had been scheduled for 1:30 p.m by Drive B.C.

The next update is expected at 2:30 p.m.

UPDATE: 12:10 p.m.

DriveBC reports a tentative opening of Highway 3 at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.

ORIGINAL: 9:50 a.m.

Highway 3 is closed near the Alberta border due to wildfire.

DriveBC reports the route is closed in both directions, from the junction with Highway 43 at Sparwood, B.C., to the border, a distance of about 20 kilometres.

The fire is burning near Coleman, Alta.

There is currently no estimated time of reopening.
Photo: CTV

Residents in the Crowsnest Pass are still without power after a wind-whipped fire that forced about 150 people living in the town of Coleman from their homes.

The blaze in the Alberta mountain community was one of several driven by strong winds that threatened towns and forced evacuations in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan on Tuesday.

The mayor of the Crowsnest Pass says things have calmed down somewhat after a frantic day.

"The wind has died down. We've got helicopters bucketing the area. There's still no power," Mayor Blair Painter said Wednesday.

"We were able to divert the fire so it hasn't affected those areas. I'm hoping we're able to get those people back just as soon as possible."

Painter said the blaze was probably caused by downed power lines as a result of strong winds. He said the fire jumped Highway 3 and started about one kilometre west of the evacuated area.

Power lines that reportedly landed on the highway itself will have to be dealt with before traffic is eventually allowed through, he said.

However, no one was injured and a welcome centre was set up in the nearby town of Pincher Creek where more than 80 residents registered.

Painter said it was a wild scene when the fire started.

"We had 130 kilometre-an-hour gusts. Probably about 100 kilometres an hour steady and then gusts up to 130. Guys were even having a hard time standing up so, yeah, it was pretty scary."

Painter said there may be some damage to structures, but it doesn't appear any dwellings were lost.

"It's good to see the helicopters have been up since first light this morning so that's a good sign. I'm looking out my window and I'm not seeing much for smoke, so that's another good thing. Hopefully we've got control on it."
Photo: CTV

UPDATE: 7:38 p.m.

Emergency crews gained access to part of an arena in Fernie, B.C., on Wednesday more than 24 hours after three workers died following an ammonia leak while emergency maintenance was being done on refrigeration equipment.

Fire Chief Ted Ruiter said the west side of the building was determined to be safe. The city said earlier fire and emergency services were working with a specialized hazardous material team to contain the leak inside the building.

The three men who died were not identified in order to respect the wishes of their families. The city said two of the men were municipal employees while the company that employed the third man said he worked out of their Calgary branch.

A state of emergency remained in effect and fire Chief Ted Ruiter said plans were being made for people who would have to stay out of their homes for another night.

- with files from The Canadian Press.

UPDATE: 3:50 p.m.

RCMP investigators have yet to enter the arena in Fernie where three people died from a suspected ammonia leak on Tuesday.

The police say they are working with City of Fernie, its fire department, WorkSafe BC, the BC Coroners Service and ministry officials in preparation for the entry into Fernie Memorial Arena. A hazardous materials team from Calgary is also involved.

"RCMP investigators will commence a scene examination and investigation into Tuesdays fatal workplace incident once it is deemed safe to enter the scene," said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, RCMP spokesperson, in a press release.

"Fernie RCMP investigators and RCMP forensic ident examiners will initiate the scene examination and investigation in order to make the determination of whether the matter is criminal in nature."

For information and updates regarding the status of the evacuation for affected residents or persons who may need assistance as a result of the tragedy, please consult with the City of Fernie and information phone line at 1-855-346-2188.

ORIGINAL: 11:48 a.m.

Three people who died after a suspected ammonia leak were doing maintenance work on ice-making equipment at an arena in Fernie, says the city's mayor.

Mayor Mary Giuliano said Wednesday the city is not identifying those who died in order to respect the wishes of their families, but described two of them as local residents and the third as an out-of-town contractor.

A state of emergency remained in effect following the leak, which was first reported at the Fernie Memorial Arena on Tuesday.

"Fernie is a tight-knit community, and I know we'll pull together to support one another as we have in the past," Giuliano told a news conference. "Sadly, we lost three people yesterday, two of whom were part of the City of Fernie family."

About 60 people living near the arena have been asked to leave the area as a precautionary measure.

On Facebook, the city said Tuesday the arena was closed for "emergency maintenance" before it confirmed later in the day that there had been three fatalities.

Fire Chief Ted Ruiter said crews responded shortly before 1 p.m. on Tuesday to reports of an ammonia leak at the arena and arrived to find someone performing CPR on a person.

Crews then entered the facility and found two other victims, he said. After performing an "interior search," Ruiter said they had to leave the building for safety reasons.

As of Wednesday morning, officials were working on a plan to safely enter the building, he said.

The mayor, fire chief and an RCMP sergeant would not answer questions at the news conference, citing a request from police.

WorkSafeBC, the B.C. Environment Ministry, the Interior Health Authority and a hazardous materials team from Calgary were on scene Wednesday.

Sgt. Trevor Tribes said RCMP still had to conduct a scene investigation and interviews before it can be determined whether anything criminal contributed to the incident.

Giuliano said the accident has devastated her East Kootenay community.

"We are a small town and everybody knows everyone and there is a lot of wondering who it is that we might know, so it is affecting everybody," she said.

 The Canadian Press
Floundering in panic at the sight of brilliance and Laws pleasant and boyish smile, I catastrophised; eventually managing a delayed, goofy grin.

I hadnt even thought that I might transit into the same confined space and breathe the same air as writing royalty, in this case the author and journalist Benjamin Law (The Family Law and Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East).

Despite being well ahead of the suggested 45 minutes arrival time, the weight of the day and our Papua New Guinean women writers presentation had me flustered.

BRISBANE  Walking into the State Library Queensland early one morning in September this year, I made a beeline for the elevator that would take me to the Green Room of the Brisbane Writers Festival.

Laws own presentation at the festival occurred just after the publication of his controversial Quarterly Essay, Moral Panic 101: Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal.

Well-researched and balanced, its 20,000 definitively argue that schools should be an environment where students learning is promoted and individual differences acknowledged, respected and supported.

Benjamin Law

Moral Panic 101 is mandatory reading for people who wish to better understand the arguments countering the push against making available Safe Schools a national program to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LBGTIQ) students, as well as their straight peers and the teachers who need to address homophobia within the school setting.

The first Safe School initiative was introduced in Victoria in 2010 following consistent findings that LGBTIQ Australians have the highest rates of suicidality of any demographic in the country. The program recognised that all school communities have a responsibility  to ensure that teaching is inclusive and relevant to the lived experiences of all students, including students who may be same-sex attracted, gender diverse or intersex.

Despite seeking a collaborative approach to providing this support mechanism for students, Safe Schools was to have to endure a tumultuous social and political furore as it became part of Australias culture wars.

There was eventually parliamentary debate, followed by a review and an announcement by the federal education minister that funding for Safe Schools would not be renewed, although Western Australia, South Australia, the ACT and Victoria committed to continuing its delivery in some form.

LGBITQ.

An acronym for words I am not convinced I fully understand. I am no expert on gender or sexuality, nor do I for a minute pretend to put myself in the shoes of LGBITQ people.

However, as a person pre-occupied with fairness, justice and equal opportunity for all people, I adamantly support the rights of my LGBITQ sisters and brothers in Australia and in Papua New Guinea.

It is inevitable that, in my taking this public stance to advocate the rights of LGBITQ people, some will reduce me to the role of a Papua New Guinean woman speaking out of turn: an affront to the heterosexual, Christian majority.

But before the near-embarrassing claim of we are a God-fearing country is wheeled out yet again, it is worth considering why listening to anothers point of view may benefit when in disagreement.

Recently, American journalist Bret Stephens delivered the keynote lecture at the Lowy Institute Media Awards, later published in the New York Times as The Dying Art of Disagreement.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/dying-art-of-disagreement.html

Stephens focused on the role of journalism and perspectives of disagreement as presented by the media and the audiences responsibility, which he summarised as shut up, listen up, pause and reconsider and only then speak.

Free men and women do not need to be protected from discomfiting ideas and unpopular arguments Stephens said, urged people to allow for the possibility of persuasion by what the other person may say.

For those (like me) whom find themselves often disagreeing with the majority, Stephens was most encouraging when he said that to say I disagree is an act that defines our individuality, enlarges our perspectives, re-energises our progress. At the same time, it reminds me of the importance of acknowledging the thoughts and opinions of others and its role in broadening my own understanding of the societies I transit between.

That said, in light of the prevailing anti-LGBITQ speech vocalised by Papua New Guineans, to say I disagree is important.

Equal opportunities should be afforded to and enjoyed by all. To denounce another individuals sexual orientation and us it as the basis for exclusion demands reflection by every person of who they are, the question Benjamin Law posed in closing his Quarterly Essay: What is it to live in the world seen exclusively through the lens of those around you, and not as you see yourself? Is that a life worth living?

Now is an opportune time for Papua New Guineans to examine closely how Australia resolves its own fraught debate (through a postal survey of all things) about the rights of a minority group in its society which wants to equalise its right to marriage.

Our observations should be twofold: how PNGs conversation with Australia may be affected, if at all, by the outcome relative to the PNG governments lack of progress in the same area; and whether the PNG diaspora in Australia will influence a more considered conversation in PNG about LGBITQ rights.

When I reflect on these matters, I keep coming back to one word. Acceptance.

As a child of the PNG diaspora, my late primary school years in Australia resembled those of Benjamin Law; although in my case I was singled out because of the colour of my skin, the texture of my hair and my accent, but subjected to a similarly atrocious derogatory name-calling.

At that time, racial attacks commonly targeted student who didnt embody the features of the schools predominant Caucasian demographic.

It was hurtful. Sometimes stomach-weakening. But mostly students, teachers and parents were intolerant of and clamped down hard on the perpetrators. Also on my side was Australias push towards multiculturalism, cross-cultural awareness and the introduction of public symbolism like Harmony Day during that time.

And  looking back on it from this distance - being a part of a minority early in life can teach valuable lessons about empathy, compassion and tolerance.

After reading Laws essay, I couldnt help but wonder how the Safe Schools debate would resound with Papua New Guineans. In this context, I believe Moral Panic 101 is a crucial text for Papua New Guineans with children in the Australian education system.

Understanding how young people may feel, think and make decisions when immersed back in PNG society is crucial, especially if it can be said that PNGs current attitude towards people of LGBITQ orientation is seen as hateful, cruel and unjust.

Growing up in a conservative, Lutheran home, I had little (if any) exposure to homosexuality. It wasnt discussed and I dont recall my family having any friends or acquaintance who would fit the description LGBITQ.

At the same time, neither was there condemnation or derogatory references. It made for a transition from childhood into young adulthood with a decent amount of tolerance intact.

It was at high school in Australia that I was introduced to language and imagery depicting homosexuality, with a small handful of students quietly identifying as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. I felt uncomfortable but not angered.

Sure it conflicted with my weekly Sunday teachings and what I understood of PNG culture but, within the school setting, there seemed a general willingness to overlook it as simply experimentation.

Thats not to say there was acceptance of LGB students. Rather they were considered as not causing harm to the majority. Besides, inter-school fighting driven by racism was at the forefront of schoolyard issues.

However, since this time this mood has darkened in the present generation of school students. As Law recounts in the opening of his essay, Tyrone Unsworth at just 13 years old ended his short life by suicide, after repeated attacks from fellow students because of his sexuality.

When reading social media comments by Papua New Guineans about LGBITQ, my overwhelming reaction is sadness. The speedy references to the Bible, various understandings of morality, PNG being a Christian country and personal condemnation to some form of hell depict hypocrisy, cruelty and inhumanity.

The iron refusal of those Papua New Guineans who continue their frenetic anti-LGBTIQ-speak despite the thoughtful objections of their fellow countrymen illustrates a failure to cultivate the personal habits of useful disagreement that Bret Stephens urges for us all in debate.

But let me return to the fact highlighted by Law that LGBTIQ Australian have the highest rates of suicidality of any demographic in the country. What about Papua New Guinea?

What statistics do we have about the prevalence of suicide in our country? We know about the endemic violence, there is overwhelming physical evidence, but what of the invisible impacts of suicidal ideation, self-harm and suicide attempts? How often are LGBITQ Papua New Guineans engaging in acts of suicidality and what is being done to prevent this?

Heres the thing. Some Papua New Guineans seem fine with encouraging our children to not accept LGBTIQ so as to not be corrupted or converted from heterosexuality, as if that were possible. Yet I wonder if these same people are as vigilant in shielding young people from witnessing (or partaking in) horrendous acts of violence against others, especially girls and women.

Safe, supportive and inclusive. Three words that are repeated and emphasised throughout Benjamin Laws Safe Schools essay.

The Safe Schools Coalition says its the experience of homophobia that is harmful. That this experience can lead to self-destruction, self-harm, suicide is what we should all, as a society, be in fear of.

Safe Schools matters to me as I have young children growing up in a time where the Australian education system has available the option of providing students a program that promotes a safe school environment that includes teacher-led student support for gender diversity and addressing schoolyard homophobia.

It matters to me as an adult in constant transit between two societies.

Australian society is willing to bring to the forefront of national conversation the rights of a minority group. But Papua New Guinean society rejects this same minority group receiving recognition and acceptance within our communities.

Only time will tell how Papua New Guinean young people who are exposed to both societies and paradigms will address the current climate around LQGBTIQ rights in PNG. With the aid of supportive and inclusive adults, like those of my own primary school days, we may just may get there faster.

Benjamin Law writes of the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda playing host to an annual event for students with same-sex partners. Here, in the safety of like-peers and adult advocates, deflated self-confidence, bullying and depression are overshadowed by love, affection and a genuine sense of connection amongst 17 year olds.

If we permit ourselves to focus on the human experience and the emotions that come with it, individual differences of gender and sexual orientation should not be a barrier.

Being made to feel safe everywhere is for everyone.

Acceptance is for everyone.

Love is for everyone.

Human rights is for everyone.

No freedom until were equal. Damn right, I support it (Same Love, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis).
Photo: Contributed

A member of the Prince George RCMP will not be facing criminal charges in relation to an arrest in July 2015.

The BC Prosecution Service announced Wednesday no charges have been approved in the July 11 arrest in which the suspect suffered a fracture of his left leg.

The incident was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office, which subsequently submitted a report to crown counsel for review by the BCPS.

The BCPS has concluded the available evidence does not meet the charge assessment standard. The BCPS would not be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officer committed a criminal offence or used excessive force in the administration or enforcement of the law and no charges were approved.

The name of the officer being investigated was not released.
Photo: File photo

Police have identified Vancouver resident Marline Mars, 34, as the homicide victim found dead in an apartment last week.

VPD Const. Jason Doucette said detectives continue to process evidence, they are asking anyone with information about this incident to come forward.

Police were called to an apartment in the area of Jervis and Harwood streets just before 4 p.m. on Friday.

Officers found a deceased woman inside the residence, along with other uninjured people who are considered witnesses, said Doucette

Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 604-717-2500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Photo: Contributed A firefighter has died in the wildfires in Alberta.

A volunteer firefighter was killed and two men trying to beat back flames on their property were injured in wind-whipped wildfires that scorched parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan and forced the evacuation of several communities.

Officials with Cypress County in southeastern Alberta confirmed the death of James Hargrave, 34, who was with the Walsh fire station. He was helping to fight a fierce grass fire Tuesday that had been driven into Saskatchewan by winds gusting to 100 km/h.

"He was an awesome fellow. He was very nice, kind and very considerate of the community and the people around him," said Walsh resident Chris Sauer.

"He ran a big ranch north of Walsh with his wife and four young children. He was just an all-around nice person."

Walsh had a listed population of 60 in the 2016 census. Sauer said everyone knows everybody.

"It's terrible. It will devastate the community for a while here. He'll surely be missed."

Rick Friesen from Vauxhall, Alta., knew Hargrave when the two served together as delegates with the Alberta Beef Producers.

"He was a great young guy. He was friendly, hard-working and a good family man. It's a shame what happened to him and I feel for his family."

RCMP said Cypress County firefighters were assisting Saskatchewan crews when there was a crash around midnight involving a water truck and a pickup truck south of Burstall, Sask.

Police said Hargrave was alone in the water truck and died at the scene. The driver of the pickup truck was not badly hurt.

It wasn't known if fire or smoke in the area were factors in the accident.

"This tragic loss of life speaks to the danger that this emergency posed and also to the heroism of the volunteers who sacrifice in service of their neighbours," Cpl. Curtis Peters said in a release.
Melissa DeRosa remembers the first time she experienced what she describes as "overt sexism."

Nearly a decade ago, she was listening to a conference call when her boss at the time informed others on the line that she would be handling press for a project. A man who was on the call responded, "She can take the lead right up to my hotel room."

The man, whose name wasn't disclosed, is now a national leader in progressive politics, DeRosa said. She was 25 at the time.

"This kind of behavior has been normalized for decades, with the anomaly being those who call it out," she said.

DeRosa, who as secretary to the governor is Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide, shared the story and reflected on her career during the keynote address Wednesday at Berkeley College's "Women in Media: The Courage to Own Your Story" panel discussion.

Since she was in her teens, DeRosa has been active in Democratic and progressive causes. She got her start as an intern for the political director of the AFL-CIO while in high school. When she was 19, she interned for Hillary Clinton's political action committee.

After earning bachelor's and master's degrees at Cornell University, she became state director of Organizing for America, President Barack Obama's political arm.

Her career then shifted to New York state government. She served as deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman before being hired as Cuomo's communications director.

She was elevated to chief of staff and in April, became the first woman in New York state history to serve as secretary to the governor.

Even as she establishes herself as one of New York's most powerful people, she has faced sexism.

When the New York Times wrote about Schneiderman promoting her to acting chief of staff in 2013, one of the two sentences the publication used to summarize her career was that she is the daughter of Giorgio DeRosa, a top Albany lobbyist.

That was repeated when she was elevated to secretary to the governor. She was referred to as the daughter of Giorgio DeRosa and the wife of Matthew Wing, a former press aide to Cuomo who now works for Uber.

"Never mind the fact that when I did work with my husband, I was his boss," DeRosa said.

DeRosa's remarks followed the recent revelations about movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of sexually assaulting and harassing several women. That controversy led to more stories from women about their experiences dealing with men in power and how they were sexually assaulted or harassed.

On social media, the #MeToo hashtag has featured stories from countless women who were groped, harassed or raped. The conduct isn't limited to physical abuse. Inappropriate comments about women, such as catcalling, are also a problem.

DeRosa hopes the Weinstein scandal leads to a "societal course correction."

"We must acknowledge and address that this behavior is not limited to one man, or one profession, or one political party," she said. "That's why it's so important that women speak up and speak out.

"The power of influence and media that is being projected through the #MeToo campaign on Twitter is exposing how widespread this phenomenon is, and makes clear that it won't be swept under the rug anymore. Because it will only be when women's voices are truly equal to those of men that it will end. And if you look at what is happening in Washington, we have a lot to speak out against."
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U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is urging congressional Republican leaders to extend a program that provides health insurance to millions of children.

The Children's Health Insurance Program, which was created 20 years ago, expired Sept. 30. The program provided health insurance coverage for nearly 9 million children in 2016, including about 350,000 in New York.

In the past, there has been bipartisan support for extending the program. But when the deadline approached last month, congressional Republicans were focused on an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and tax reform legislation.

A bill to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program wasn't voted on by the House or Senate.

"It's shameful that Congress let this program's funding expire and added an enormous amount of unnecessary stress to families across the country," Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

There is no indication of when Congress may consider legislation to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage for children whose families aren't eligible for Medicaid but don't earn enough to pay for private insurance.

The program was established during the Clinton administration. Since its inception, the rate of uninsured children has decreased from 14 to 5 percent, according to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

While states could continue to fund the program, most of the funding is provided by the federal government. Gillibrand said New York has enough funds to keep the program operational until March. Other states, however, will run out of money earlier.

"These children are some of the most vulnerable among us and without CHIP they would be stuck without any health insurance at no fault of their own," she said.

The Children's Health Insurance Program is one of three federal programs that expired at the end of September. Congress also needs to reauthorize a program that supports community health centers and the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which provides resources for child care, prenatal care and other services.

Like CHIP, there is bipartisan for renewing the other programs. In the House, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik has been a proponent of extending federal funding for community health centers.

Gillibrand is hopeful that congressional Republican leaders will advance legislation to reauthorize these programs.

"I'm not giving up in this fight and I urge all New Yorkers to raise their voices with me," she said. "We must protect our most vulnerable children."
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Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has created a campaign committee to run for governor in 2018, according to state election records.

Molinaro for New York was registered with the state Board of Elections Wednesday. It's the latest indication that the Republican will enter the 2018 race.

Molinaro has been exploring a gubernatorial bid for months. He has traveled around the state and met with Republican officials. His statewide tour included a stop in Seneca County over the summer.

He would be the first Republican to enter the gubernatorial contest. Others have expressed interest in the race, including corporate restructuring expert Harry Wilson, state Sen. John DeFrancisco and Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb.

Kolb, R-Canandaigua, and Molinaro told The Citizen Monday that they are discussing the possibility of a joint ticket to challenge Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 election.

Both said they would make a decision on the 2018 race within the next month.

While Molinaro hasn't made a formal announcement, the creation of a campaign committee is an indication that he will seek the GOP nomination to challenge Cuomo, who's seeking a third term, in 2018.

Republicans are looking to snap a lengthy losing streak in statewide elections. The last GOP candidate to win a statewide race was Gov. George Pataki when he was re-elected in 2002.

GOP leaders are hopeful that they can defeat Cuomo next year. They cite the New York City subway system's woes and the corruption case against Joe Percoco, the governor's former top aide. The state's economy, particularly in upstate, is also an issue.

But Republicans will have their own challenges. Democrats hold a significant enrollment advantage in New York, especially downstate. To mount a serious campaign against Cuomo, the GOP nominee will need to raise millions of dollars.

As of July, Cuomo had more than $25.6 million in the bank.

Cuomo's poll numbers have been shaky in recent months, but a Siena College poll released in early October found a majority of voters would support him for re-election in 2018.
AUBURN  The Auburn Fire Department celebrated a major achievement Wednesday morning as it became one of seven departments in New York state to earn the highest ranking insurance classification.

Several city and state officials attended the department's announcement at the firehouse on Market Street, where members of the Insurance Services Office explained what the new classification means for the community.

According to ISO Community Hazard Mitigation Manager Hugh "Skip" Gibson, Auburn has been rated a "Class 1 city," an upgrade from its previous Class 2 qualification. In short, he said, that means the department will receive the best insurance protection while providing some of the best fire protection to the community.

Gibson said there are only six other cities statewide that are ranked Class 1; there are only 270 Class 1 cities in the nation.

"You are in an elite group across the country, so it is a great accomplishment for everyone," he said. "You have a wonderful city protected by some of the best fire service."

Nationwide, Gibson said the majority of cities fall under classes 4, 5, 6 and 9. There are a total of 10 classes  or Public Protection Classification (PPC)  with ISO.

Every four years, each city is graded in four areas: emergency communication, fire department, water supply and community risk reduction. Cities can earn a total of 105.5 points; anything above a 90 is considered Class 1.

This year, Auburn scored a 90.23.

"That means we have a very good fire department ... and we provide the best fire protection possible to our community," Auburn Fire Chief Joseph Morabito said. "It also means (businesses') insurance rates will get better after Jan. 1. ... And the more businesses we can attract to the city the better."

Auburn Mayor Michael Quill recalled the department's efforts to improve its ISO score in the 1990s; Quill joined the department in 1973 and became its fire chief in 1995.

"At that point, we were a Class 3 city at risk of dropping to Class 4," he said, noting that a large part of the lower classification was due to a lack of documentation. "Everyone here has done a great job. ... We're very proud of you. But don't let your guard down. We have to keep going."
Cayuga County Legislator Tim Lattimore received an endorsement from county union workers and their regional political committee in his campaign for reelection.

The Civil Service Employees Association Central Region 5 Political Action Committee announced the endorsement in a letter to Lattimore dated Oct. 16. The action committee is made up of 20 counties throughout central New York, and votes on the endorsement following a recommendation from a local group of county workers.

"This endorsement acknowledges your interests in the issues affecting workers, and your commitment to addressing the needs of all hard-working men and women," the letter read.

Incumbent Lattimore is being challenged by Democrat Bob Nodzo for the District 13 seat covering parts of the city of Auburn.
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Chemical weapons and other toxic agents including pesticides pose a serious health threat worldwide, whether they are deliberately released or emitted by accident from industrial chemical operations during processing, shipping, or storage.

Jin Montclare, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is participating in a U.S. government program to thwart these agents by improving upon compounds known to neutralize them. Montclare was awarded a grant by the U.S. government's CounterACT (Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats) program under the National Institutes of Health, which supports research to prevent and treat exposure.

The $349,040 grant furthers Montclare's work on phosphotriesterase (PTE), a compound that can deactivate the neurotoxic agent organophosphorus, the active compound in a number of pesticides and a rogue's gallery of chemical warfare agents like VX, the most toxic nerve agent ever created, which is considered a weapon of mass destruction. As was demonstrated in the assassination this year of Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of North Korea's leader, a fraction of a drop of VX absorbed through the skin is fatal.

V-series agents like VX, VR, VM, and Sarin -- used in the Iran-Iraq War during the 1980s, in attacks in Japanese cities by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in the 1990s, and by the Syrian government on its citizens in 2013 -- work by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine and other neurotransmitters.

When this enzyme is blocked, toxic accumulation of acetylcholine in the synapses between neurons and muscle cells follows, resulting in hyper-stimulation of neural pathways, which in turn causes ataxia (loss of muscle control), coma, convulsions and death. Even with expedient treatment, which involves administering a cocktail of atropine, oximes and benzodiazepines, mortality rates are as high as 40 percent.

While PTE, a hydrolyzing agent, is effective across a range of compounds including organophosphorus, its activity varies considerably from agent to agent and it possesses a short half-life. Montclare's research is aimed at creating variants of PTE that are stable, robust and effective in neutralizing a plethora of toxic chemical agents.

"Our rationale is that once we identify fluorinated PTE variants active for V-agents, they can be tested in vivo for therapeutic efficacy," said Montclare. "This approach alone or in combination with existing cocktails will improve the efficacy and decrease mortality rates."

Montclare's work, in collaboration with Dr. Tamara Otto at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, takes a two-pronged approach to modifying PTE: The researchers incorporated a protein/fluorine complex into PTE that confers stability and longer half-life; and, with Richard Bonneau, Director of the NYU Center for Data Science , they are using computational biology software suite Rosetta, which includes algorithms for modeling and analysis of protein structures, to re-engineer PTE's active receptor site to "recognize" and bind more easily with a variety of V-agents.

Bonneau explains, "This work really represents an ideal application of computational protein design. We are really excited to work to make new design codes that mesh well with the bioengineering side of his project."

Montclare said the team will use experimental results to investigate a second generation set of fluorinated-PTE variants.

"This feedback-based approach will allow us to refine Rosetta to improve specific activity for the V-agents, making fluorinated-PTE variants even more effective based on insights from activity and stability data."
The use of carbon dioxide and other waste gases as a new source of raw materials is increasingly a topic of interest at the European level. A new consortium of 14 partners from seven countries, led by materials manufacturer Covestro, is now planning to investigate how flue gas from the steel industry can be used to produce plastics in a particularly efficient and sustainable way. This will save crude oil, the raw material used in conventional methods. The cross-sector project called Carbon4PUR receives funding from the European Union.



Together, we are on the path to a crucial innovation: waste gas mixtures from the steel industry can provide carbon for a chemical processes and ultimately be used to produce insulation materials and coatings, explained Dr. Markus Steilemann, the Covestro Board Member responsible for Innovation, Marketing and Sales. This helps us to broaden our resource base and to reduce the climate footprint for the entire value chain. At the same time, we are joining our forces by partnering with industrial and academic partners throughout Europe.

Cooperation across borders

The new project introduces an unprecedented cooperation extending from the waste gas source to the plastics manufacturer. The European Union is supporting Carbon4PUR under the auspices of SPIRE, the European Public-Private Partnership, dedicated to innovation in resource and energy efficiency enabled by the process industries. About eight million euros are provided for the time of three years. The industrial partners will leverage this contribution by further investments.



Specifically, the project aims to use mixtures of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which are generated during steel production, to produce polyols  key components of polyurethane-based insulating materials and coatings that are otherwise obtained from crude oil.

Significantly smaller carbon footprint
Five Minutes With Damien Geter Audio Article Vocalist, composer and Richmond Symphony artist in residence Damien Geters musical roots sprouted when he was a boy in the Matoaca District of Chesterfield County, where he was raised and...
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- At the Global Automobile Safety Conference, held in Shanghai on October 17, 12 brands under 9 Chinese automakers signed a safety commitment. In accordance with the commitment, these brands will make Electronic Stability Control (ESC) a standard feature for all new models.

Those 12 brands are BAIC Senova, Changan Motors, Great Walls Haval and WEY, Dongfeng Fengshen, Geely and LYNK&CO, GAC Trumpchi, SAIC Roewe and MG, FAW Hongqi and FAW Besturn.

ESC, also called VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) or ESP (Electronic Stability Program) by different companies, is a kind of active safety configurations and has a high cost. ESC can help the vehicle to avoid accidents and thus save people and vehicles by braking individual wheel or cut the engines power.

ESC plays a crucial role in reducing traffic accidents caused by driver fatigue or green driving skills. All vehicles sold in EU and America are required to equip ESC, but China hasnt got such laws. In order to save cost and gain more profits, certain automakers havent made ESC standard for vehicles while those equipped with ESC become the so-called high-equipped ones.

12 marques taking the initiative to make ESC standard has a profound meaning. On one hand, this move will force foreign auto brands to make this feature standard for new models, so Chinese customers can enjoy the same safety standard as western ones. On the other hand, those marques move can better the image of self-owned brands and increase their market shares.
In this May 13, 2015 file photo, Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, left, and Mazda Motor Corp. President Masamichi Kogai pose for photographers prior to a press conference in Tokyo. Illinois is out of the running for a manufacturing plant the Japanese automakers want to build in the U.S., officials said Wednesday. (Shizuo Kambayashi / AP)

Illinois is no longer a contender for a manufacturing plant Toyota and Mazda want to build in the U.S., losing out on as many as 4,000 jobs the Japanese automakers expect to create.

Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, confirmed Wednesday that Illinois is no longer in the running.

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"We are certainly very disappointed that Toyota is not coming to Illinois, but we also understand the challenges that plague Illinois," he said. "We are not a business-friendly state."

Stability and predictability are lacking, Denzler said. He pointed to the $15 billion backlog of bills the state built up during its budget crisis, unfunded pensions and a recent income tax increase as examples. Illinois has some redeeming qualities, he said, but not enough.

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"We have a central location, a good workforce, good colleges and universities, but at the end of the day, we're not competitive when it comes to taxes and regulations," Denzler said.

It is unclear why Toyota and Mazda bumped Illinois off the list of possible locations or which states remain options.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. announced in August that they established a joint venture, with plans to invest $1.6 billion in a U.S. plant. The firms plan to split the cost.

Spokesmen from both companies declined to comment on the Illinois decision, noting that the site-selection process is ongoing and they expect to make a decision in early 2018.

"We are focused on selecting the optimum location based on the joint venture's criteria and do not wish to fuel speculation," Mazda spokesman Eric Booth said in an email. "For this reason, we won't answer any questions about the site-selection process, including which states and cities are or aren't in the running."

Last month, Gov. Bruce Rauner traveled to Japan and China on an international trade mission aimed partially at attracting foreign companies to the state. Economic development officials from DeKalb and Rochelle, which were said to be in the running for the Toyota-Mazda plant, were part of his delegation.

Rochelle, just off of Interstate 88 about 80 miles west of Chicago, had been preparing to take part in a bid like this for 15 years, said Jason Anderson, the city's economic development director, who was a part of Rauner's delegation. It had the land, it had the infrastructure, and it was ready, he said.

"I am disappointed, but I think what this did is solidify in my mind we're doing everything right," Anderson said. "When we went through the process.  We were able to check every box, so we feel pretty good about that."

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The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity also took something away from the rejection, spokeswoman Jacquelyn Reineke said in an email.

"While Illinois did not make the final cut, this experience gave the state valuable feedback that will help us better leverage our innumerable assets and strengthen our working relationships with economic development partners across the state," she said. "We will continue to adapt and make our sites even more viable for new projects that continue to roll in."

The news, originally reported by Crain's Chicago Business, comes just as Chicago is vying for Amazon's second headquarters, called HQ2. The Chicago area's bid was submitted Monday, and the winning North American city could end up with 50,000 high-paying jobs.

Illinois recently lost another Asian firm's plant to a neighboring state. Wooed by a $3 billion incentive package, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group, a major Apple supplier, has announced that it plans to bring 3,000 to 13,000 jobs to a new plant in Mount Pleasant in southeastern Wisconsin.

amarotti@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @AllyMarotti
A 43-year-old financial analyst pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud and faces up to 18 months in federal prison for an insider trading scheme that netted him about $143,000.

Jason Napodano, a former managing director at Chicago-based Zacks Small Cap Research, admitted to using confidential information he obtained while preparing equity research reports about companies to purchase and sell stock in those companies.

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Napodano limited his profits from each illegal trade by taking small positions and closing the positions shortly after his reports and articles were published, according to court records.

On Sept. 26, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Napodano and former investment bankers Bilal Basrai and Bryce Stirton of the Chicago-based brokerage firm LBMZ Securities for allegedly violating the Securities Exchange Act.

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Napodano's fraud scheme began in October 2012 and continued through May 2015, according to court records. He agreed to settle the charges by paying the full amount of his insider trading profits, prejudgment interest of about $17,620 and a penalty of about $143,865, bringing his total financial obligations to more than $305,000. He was permanently barred from trading penny stocks. Napodano will be sentenced Feb. 8.

Basrai, 43, of Naperville, also settled and paid about $39,668 in illegal profits from the purchase and sale of stock in three companies, prejudgment interest of about $4,617 and a penalty of about $39,668, bringing his total obligation to nearly $84,000.

In 2014, Basrai allegedly learned confidential information about a secondary stock offering, an in-licensing agreement and the release date of a research report and used it to make profitable trades of three companies' stock, according to court records.

Basrai pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud on Oct. 6 and faces up to a year in federal prison. He will be sentenced Jan 31.

Stirton settled the charges without admitting or denying the allegations by paying the full amount of his insider trading profits totaling about $2,218, a prejudgment interest of about $257 and a penalty of about $2,218, bringing his total financial obligation to more than $4,600.

Basrai and Stirton also agreed to be barred from trading penny stocks and from working in the securities industry, though Stirton may reapply in five years.

Napodano, of Waxhaw, N.C., pleaded guilty in Judge Robert M. Dow's courtroom. He said he works as a self-employed consultant to pharmaceutical companies and writes a blog.

"Mr. Napodano has accepted full responsibility for his actions. He is looking forward to resolving this matter and moving on with his life," said Christina Egan, Napodano's attorney.

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nmoreno@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @nereidamorenos
Tribune Media's WGN-TV and other stations would become part of Maryland-based Sinclair Broadcast Group if shareholders and regulators approve a proposed acquisition. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

The proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media to form the largest TV station group in the U.S. has generated pushback from broadcasters, lawmakers, media watchdogs and viewers alike.

On Thursday, Tribune Media shareholders will have a chance to weigh in.

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The Chicago-based media company is holding a special meeting of shareholders at a Los Angeles hotel Thursday morning to vote on the proposed merger. A thumbs up from Tribune shareholders is a prerequisite for the deal, which ultimately requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice.

The merger still has significant hurdles to overcome, including the potential required divestiture of stations in up to 10 markets to get under FCC ownership limits and the integration of two distinct corporate cultures that may presage the exit of top Chicago-based Tribune executives.

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Sinclair agreed to buy Chicago-based Tribune Media in May for $3.9 billion, plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in debt, swallowing up a major station group that includes WGN-TV in Chicago, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and WPIX-TV in New York and moving its conservative brand into the top three markets in the U.S.

The proposed merger has generated static from liberal groups, media advocates and even comedian John Oliver, who told his viewers that Sinclair's right-leaning editorial views would unduly influence local news at Tribune Media's 42 TV stations.

Conservative broadcasters such as Christopher Ruddy's Newsmax Media also have filed their objections to the deal with the FCC over concerns about media concentration. The combined Sinclair-Tribune entity would have more than 200 stations, reaching 72 percent of U.S. TV households.

In an Oct. 5 response to an FCC request for more information, Sinclair identified 10 overlapping markets where station sales could take place to get under the ownership cap. Sinclair said it had retained Moelis & Co. to explore potential station sales.

Following Sinclair's recent filing, the FCC on Wednesday stopped the clock on its review of the proposed merger for 15 days to allow for more public input.

While the Chicago market is ostensibly safe from any required divestitures, change is clearly coming to the longtime home of Tribune Media, the former owner of the Chicago Tribune.

The company is beginning to vacate its headquarters at historic Tribune Tower on North Michigan Avenue, which it sold last year for redevelopment. Tribune Broadcasting executives are moving later this year to 303 E. Wacker Drive, while the bulk of the corporate office is moving next week to an office at 515 N. State St., a company spokesman said.

Some of the top Tribune Media executives may not have long in their new digs. In its FCC filing earlier this month, Sinclair said it expected to realize "corporate overhead synergies" through a variety of means, including "the elimination of duplicative higher level corporate positions immediately after the transaction closes."

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Sinclair did not respond to a request for comment on which executive positions would be eliminated, and Tribune Media declined to comment. But in a July filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sinclair listed top Tribune executives who would be due payouts if they are terminated post-merger.

Tribune CFO Chandler Bigelow would receive $9.2 million; Larry Wert, president of broadcast media, would get nearly $7.8 million; and Eddie Lazarus, who serves as general counsel and chief strategy officer, would get nearly $9.7 million in a post-merger termination payout, according to the SEC filing.

Former CEO Peter Liguori, who left Tribune Media in March, is in line to get nearly $1.7 million, while interim CEO Peter Kern's termination payout is about $208,000.

Sinclair said in the filing it "does not plan to make any immediate changes" with respect to station-level staffing at Tribune Media's TV stations. But the company plans a "thorough review" of station operations, according to a letter sent earlier this month to Tribune Media employees by Chris Ripley, president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Any employee adversely affected by the review will be "treated with dignity and respect," Ripley said.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

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We asked passersby in the Loop two key questions on gentrification. What they had to say might surprise you. (Nneka McGuire and Darcel Rockett / Chicago Tribune)

Homeownership can come with a hefty supply of emotions, paperwork and financial planning. And as one grows more attached to a residence over the years, feelings often deepen as house becomes home and memories start to accumulate.

So when terms like gentrification, poverty and low-income housing are bandied about in your neighborhood, you may be somewhat wary. But not so fast. Common misperceptions surround these topics. Myths abound. Here are three such falsehoods  and the truths behind them  according to experts.

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Myth 1: Gentrification has as much to do with morals as with economics.

What's the definition of gentrification?

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Depends who you ask.

According to Jason Patch, co-author of the book "Gentrifier" and associate professor at Roger Williams University, it is the reinvestment into a devalued neighborhood to create a new residential and commercial infrastructure for middle- and high-income residents.

But on a recent Saturday afternoon in the Loop, several passersby had different definitions. When prompted to define the term, people offered a variety of responses  and even more opinions flowed when individuals were asked if they considered themselves gentrifiers. All responses carried mixed connotations  some expressed indifference, while others expressed frustration coupled with ambiguity.

"The assignment of the term 'gentrifier' becomes sticky only when we assign moral weight to the term. And many do so," writes John Joe Schlichtman, an associate professor in the sociology department at DePaul University, in "Gentrifier." Schlichtman is a co-author of the book, alongside Patch and Marc Lamont Hill. "Our interpretation of others' gentrification is inevitably and inextricably tied in some way to our understanding of our own housing choices."

According to Schlichtman, gentrification need not depend on the misplaced motives of housing consumers. To be a gentrifier is to be a middle-class housing consumer investing in a disinvested area in a period during which a critical mass of others are doing the same. This investment exerts pressure on the neighborhood  in the form of rising rents, or perhaps a shift in the nature of local policing, a change in the rhythms of the neighborhood, and so on.

"Yes, there could be gentrifiers with bad motives out there, but you don't have to have bad motives to be a gentrifier," Schlichtman said in an interview. "We need to take the depth of ethical and moral disgust out of the name gentrifier so that we can get people together and say this is something that we are a part of, but it's also something that is bigger than us. ... So how do we move forward?"

The ripe environment for gentrification today, Schlichtman said, was created by a history of "de-" words: demarcation, devaluation, deterioration, demolition, defunding and destabilization, among others. (Demarcation refers to the discriminatory practice of redlining, when banks refused to offer home loans in certain communities based on residents' race or ethnicity.)

"All those 'de-s' cut the path of injustice that gentrification fills, so no matter how good your heart is, if you enter into that context  you are a gentrifier," he said. "You are a part of that critical mass that is exerting economic, perhaps social, perhaps cultural pressure on that neighborhood."

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Moving away from moral arguments, he said  and instead understanding "the various strands of 'de-s' in a particular context that makes a home so cheap"  is an important step on the path to just housing policies.

Myth 2: There is more poverty in cities than in suburbs.

The Census Bureau released new poverty statistics for the nation last month, which revealed that high poverty rates aren't just associated with metropolitan areas. According to Scott Allard, a professor at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington, poverty's geography has increasingly moved to the suburbs  as evidenced in his book, " Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty."

"The number of poor persons in suburban Chicago eclipsed the number in the City of Chicago in the last decade, and there are no signs of this trend reversing anytime soon," Allard wrote. "Seven of every ten suburban municipalities outside Chicago saw the number of poor residents at least double from 1990 to 2014. More than 40 percent of Chicago suburbs saw their poverty population more than triple during that time. By 2014 there were nearly 17 million poor people living in the suburbs of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, compared to just under 13 million in the cities."

Allard's data show that suburbs have seen increases in single-parent households, decreases in the number of college graduates and higher unemployment rates. As a result, suburban demand for assistance programs has increased but social service providers don't have sufficient resources to meet the need.

How did we miss the shift in the suburbs?

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"I think we're not aware of these trends in part because suburbs were created to be exclusive places ... and therefore no suburb really wants to think they have a poverty problem, partly because it may require them to do something about it  but it also may affect their ability to maintain property values or to attract new homeowners," Allard said.

What's interesting, he noted, is that "poverty is as segregated in suburbs as it is in cities."

How can poverty become a thing of the past both in metropolises and outside their boundaries? Strengthen safety nets, Allard said, such as food assistance and the earned income tax credit, which aids low- to moderate-income working citizens. These supports help people provide for their families with the hope that as they work, they'll be able to advance in the labor market.

"There are things we know that can make a difference, we just need to scale them and expand them," he said. "It's a long game, but I think there's a lot that can be accomplished in the near term to not only combat or fight the pernicious stereotypes on poverty and race and place but also come up with solutions that bring people together."

Myth 3: Having low-income housing in your community reduces property values.

Just as the context of gentrification keeps changing and the boundaries of poverty keep shifting, so does our understanding of low-income housing's impact on its neighbors. Anthony DeFusco, assistant professor of finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said the effects of new, affordable housing developments on local home prices is a bit nuanced.

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A 2016 Stanford Graduate School of Business analysis reviewed low-income housing developments nationwide that were funded through the low-income housing tax credit program. The impact of that housing on surrounding property values varied based on neighborhoods' economic state and number of minority residents.

"What the study finds is that the effects of putting one of these in a neighborhood depends on the pre-existing conditions in that neighborhood," DeFusco said.

So, he said, if low-incoming housing was placed in a low-income neighborhood, it would actually raise home prices in that neighborhood by about 6.5 percent over a 10-year period  a sort of neighborhood revitalization effect, which is what the tax credit program is intended to do.

However, if you put a low-income housing development in an already high-income neighborhood, the effect on prices heavily depends on whether the neighborhood has a large or small minority population. In a high-income neighborhood with a small minority population  sort of a poster child for NIMBYism, a "not in my backyard" attitude, DeFusco said  you do see declines in prices, not enormous declines, but about a 2.5 percent drop over a 10-year period.

"You don't see changes in crime rates or things like that, but you do see changes in the composition of who lives there," he said. "Building (low-income housing) in high-income neighborhoods with high-minority shares does not seem to have much of an effect."

A better approach to affordable housing, DeFusco said, lies in production.

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"Instead of building housing and targeting it" to people with income below a certain level, "if you just built more housing, and housing was more plentiful overall, prices in general would be lower and would be more affordable for everybody."

[ Related: Prequalification versus loan commitment and other real estate myths  ]

[ Opinion: Opposition to affordable housing in Tinley Park rooted in unfounded fears, experts say  ]

[ Research debunks notion that debt-laden grads won't be buying homes  ]







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When puzzling out who is responsible for property damage in a condo unit  association or owner  things can get messy. Typically, though, when damage stems from the common elements, it should be covered by the condo association's master insurance policy. (Gary Waters / Getty Images)

Q: I have been renting out my condo for a year and a half now. Recently, sewage backed up into the finished basement  it turns out a tree root blocking the main line was the culprit. I had a plumber come take care of the blockage as well as a cleanup crew to take care of the damage, but now the basement has to be restored. New sheetrock has to be put up, carpet and floors must be replaced and the bathroom has to be redone.

The condo association has pretty much been giving me the runaround. The property manager I first spoke to told me the issue had to go through my condo insurance. He has since left the property management company, and I've contacted them again but have gotten nowhere. I contacted my insurance company and they said the basic policy I have doesn't cover that type of damage; they noted that it's the association's responsibility since the cause was outside the unit. Who is correct, the management company or the insurance agency? I cannot afford to invest that much money into a place I am not even living in and won't get a return on. I do not want to pursue legal counsel  and end up taking yet another loss  if I am not in the right.

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A: Without knowing all of the facts, I cannot give you a definitive response. However, since the damage was caused outside of your unit (that is, in the common elements) in most cases this would be covered by the condo association's master insurance policy.

My position on dealing with such issues is very simple: First, stop the damage. If there is a leak  or in your case, a sewage backup  correct the problem immediately. Notify the insurance carrier that a problem occurred. Then  and only then  determine whether the issue is the association's responsibility under the master policy or the individual's responsibility.

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I think your association did not take the proper steps; you may need to retain a local real estate attorney to assist you. However, before taking that step, I would immediately contact the condo board president, explain the situation and demand that the board file a claim with the master insurance company.

My only concern: Typically insurance companies require prompt notice of a problem. Often, if the claim is not filed within 30 or 60 days (depending on the terms of the insurance policy) the claim will be denied. Why? Because the insurance company wants to immediately inspect the problem, and if too much time elapses, it will be harder to assess the entire situation.

Q: My dad just prepared and signed a will, leaving me his house on his death. Is that valid?

A: You have described what is known as a "holographic" will, that is, a will written and signed entirely in the handwriting of the testator (the person making the will). Some states allow such wills and others do not.

I suggest you immediately consult a lawyer in your state. You may also find the answer by searching online.

But more important, if your dad is able, he really should get a lawyer to review his estate and give him advice. I know you don't want his efforts on your behalf to fail because he missed a legal technicality.

Benny Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland. He does not provide specific legal or financial advice to any reader. Readers may email him, but he cannot guarantee a personal response.

mailbag@kmklawyers.com

[ Related: Have a condo? Pay attention to percentage ownership  ]

[ What type of insurance does a condo owner need?  ]

[ Eyeing a rural property that needs a survey? Write a contingency into contract  ]







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Simona and Andrea Malas from Italy brought Sformato di Patate alla Contadina, a simple, traditional Italian dish that is like a potato and onion souffle. (Judy Buchenot / Naperville Sun)

Naperville couple Steve and Lisa Allerton say they love to travel.

One of Steve Allerton's hobbies is languages. He speaks French as a second language but has mastered basic phrases such as "How are you?" and "thank you" in 28 other languages.

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"Seven of those languages are from India," he said. "Many of the people I talk to have never heard an American speaking to them in their native language."

The couple recently were able to satisfy their "taste" for travel by hosting a dinner in their home for people they have met from other countries. Each person was asked to bring a dish that would be common in their homeland.

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Not only did Steve and Lisa get to try cuisine from around the world, so did the guests. The question for the evening  "What is that?"  was always answered with an explanation that went far beyond the ingredients list.

For example, Magnus Bjorkman, of Wilmette, originally from Sweden, arrived carrying a large pan filled with three precisely arranged rows of meat, onions and potatoes.

"This dish is based on a very traditional dish in Sweden that is actually a way to use up leftovers," Magnus explained. "It was always considered Swedish comfort food. Then a hotel in Stockholm, the Rydberg, elevated it into something more."

So instead of using chopped-up leftover meat, the dish, known as Biff Rydberg, is made with tender beef tenderloin, seasoned potatoes and caramelized onions. Each serving of the dish includes a scoop of beef, potatoes and onion. A fluffy mustard mousse that includes the richness of heavy cream and the tangy bite of horseradish tops the meal.

The final touch is an uncooked egg yolk, which Magnus had meticulously prepared. He cracked several eggs, strained out the white and replaced the yolk into half of the shell for each guest to take when trying the dish. "The egg yolk is poured on top, and the heat of the food cooks the egg yolk," Magnus said. "Most people mix it all together to eat it."

Naperville residents Peter Keleher and Lamia Chaladyaem, who met in Thailand, brought Yum Woon Sen. The dish featured shrimp, garlic, onion and glass noodles artfully arranged in little cups fashioned from vegetables. Lamia explained that this popular dish "is like a salad and is eaten first."

Another dish was Dahi Batata Puri, brought by Pooja and Pankaj Shandilya, Naperville residents from India. The tray holding the dish was covered with a layer of marigold petals. Pooja filled hollow globe-shaped puffs with a potato, bean and pomegranate mixture. Each tiny puff was perched on top of a thin shot glass filled with "a dressing made from yogurt and avocado and spices," Pooja said. The dressing was poured over the puff.

The Sformato Patate alla Contadina brought by Chicago couple Simona Taioli and Andrea Mulas, from Italy, is considered "a farm dish." "It has been made for 500 years as a simple food for farmers," Andrea said. The potato, onion and egg formed into a disk shape had been cooked to a delicate golden color. "This is a dish cooked only by people," she said. "You cannot buy it in a store. It is a simple food, like 99 percent of the food in Italy."

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The couple also brought a bottle of Alysei chocolate liqueur made from a secret recipe handed down through the generations of Simona's family. The bottle had a tag that told the story: On a cold winter night in the year 1001, a Benedictine monk created the drink to "warm the people's hearts and souls," Simona said.

Rifqa and Elias Dacloush, who came to the Naperville from Israel and Jordan, bought Mujadarah. "It is a very popular vegan main dish," Rifqa said. "It has lentils, rice, onion and spices and is served with yogurt, green onions and olives on the side."

Many of the dishes came with condiments to add to the meal. Viral and Jolly Parikh, who are originally from the Gujarat State in India but now live in Naperville, brought Ragda Vegetarian Patties. "This is a potato patty," said Jolly, pointing to a tidy tray of mashed potatoes formed into patties and fried until crispy.

"This warm curry goes on top," she continued, opening a pot of what looked like a stew made from vegetables. "Then you can put on these," she said, gesturing to containers filled with chopped onions, tomatoes, crispy noodles and other colorful extras. The final touch to the dish were the sauces. "The sweet one is made with dates and the tangy one is with cilantro."

Patrick and Lisa Nelson, a couple from Ohio, drove in to be part of the party, bringing authentic Cuban dishes featuring plantains. Lisa Nelson's parents are from Cuba.

Scott and Stella Danielson, a Naperville couple, brought dishes from Stella's homeland of China. The United States was represented with Chicken Arugula Meatballs. This dish of Southern comfort food was brought by Lori Walsh Edwards, Lisa Allerton's sister from Evanston. Lori's in-laws are related to the well-known Southern cookbook author Sara Foster, who showed her how to make the meatballs.

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"The food was wonderful, but so were all of the stories behind it," Lisa Allerton said after the evening was over. "It was more than sharing a meal. We were sharing our cultures."

Judy Buchenot is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.

Sformato di Patate alla Contadina from Andrea Mulas

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

1 large onion

2 teaspoons salt

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2 cups extra virgin olive oil

10 eggs

Peel potatoes and onion and thinly slice. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle salt over oil.

Mix together sliced onion and potatoes and add to oil. Cook and occasionally stir until mixture is crisp and tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to transfer onion potato mixture to a large bowl.

Break eggs into a separate bowl and whisk together until blended. Add eggs to potato onion mixture and stir until blended. Season with additional salt to taste. Return the egg, potato and onion mixture to the non-stick frying pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Invert the mixture onto a large plate so the browned bottom side is facing up. Slide off the plate back into the nonstick pan. Cook over medium heat for another four minutes or until the mixture is cooked through and bottom is golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

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Dahi Batat Puri from Pooja Shandilya

 cup plain yogurt

 medium ripe avocado, peeled

1 teaspoon grated ginger

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

 cup water

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salt to taste

 cup small boiled potato, chopped

 cup boiled whole green moong beans

1 tablespoon tamarind chutney

 cup pomegranate, deseeded

 tablespoon chaat masala

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18 Golgappa Puri

 cup thin sev

Place yogurt, avocado, ginger, cilantro, water and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Divide mixture into six tall, thin shot glasses and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together potato, beans, chutney, pomegranate and chaat masala. When ready to serve, fill each puri with the potato mixture. Garnish with sev (an Indian crunchy noodle). Place a puri on top of each shot glass.

When ready to eat, pour yogurt avocado dressing into the puff and enjoy. Makes six servings.

Ingredients can be mixed the day before and refrigerated. Fill puri right before serving. All of the ingredients, including pre-made puri, can be found in an Indian grocery store or in the international food section of most grocery stores.

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Lisa's Culinary Cue

Anyone hosting an international potluck should be sure to allow time for each person to describe the dish, the ingredients and the origin before digging in. The flavors of the food and the cultures combine for a meal unlike any other.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)-Baidu announced a strategic partnership with Kong Long on Oct. 17. Based on Baidu Apollo's autonomous driving platform, the two parties will jointly develop mass-produced autonomous bus, which will be mass produced in small scale and pilot operation in July, 2018. It's a rare cooperative case which has concrete products after Baidu releasing Apollo's autonomous platform. Lu Qi, Baidu's President and COO who is responsible for promoting Apollo platform, also attended the signing ceremony.

In terms of the appearance, the to-be-released autonomous bus looks similar to the low-speed autonomous bus deployed by Uisee at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. It features complete self-driving ability in some specific situations, aiming to provide solutions to the last kilometer problem. If the autonomous bus can be widely used in campus and industry park, it will be more time-saving than riding sharing bicycles.

What's worth mentioning, Baidu will not only provide Apollo platform's self-driving solutions, but also will take part in the design for exterior and interior, self-driving system and on-board human-computer interaction. Hence, Baidu's hardware will be also expected to be adopted on the autonomous bus. It is likely that the new bus will come fitted with Baidu's DuerOS voice interaction system.

It's not the first time for Baidu to cooperate with King Long. Last month, Baidu had showcased its self-driving technology in King Long midibus, and also opened up its highly precision maps of self-driving cloud service, and simulation testing, feeling and planning ability in software etc. at Apollo 1.5 technology press conference.

Apollo platform is releasing more abilities, and expanding more partnership. But in fact, the partnership bears little fruits. Commercial vehicle is believed to be more suitable for applying self-driving technology. On one hand, the cooperation between Baidu and King Long in developing autonomous bus perfectly proves Baidu's strength in self-driving technology. On the other hand, it is a commercialized exploration for the operation of man-carrying autonomous vehicles. Once the cooperation succeed, it will set a good example in Baidu Apollo's eco-system, attracting more and closer partnership for Baidu.
The main bar in the newly renovated Goose Island Brewhouse is almost the exact same size, but feels both smaller (without the grandness of those columns) and larger (there is so much more space). (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

It's only a bar, of course.

But the transformation of worn and cozy Goose Island brewpub into sleek and tidy Goose Island Brewhouse is a lesson in letting go of the past.

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The old pub, launched in 1988, was revolutionary when it opened. It taught a generation or two not just to love beer, but to understand beer, and to know that it was often best when fresh, made in the next room, by someone who might be sitting at the bar with you. The quality of the beer stayed remarkably consistent during the next 29 years, but time left everything else behind. The Goose Island brewpub became a dark and cluttered relic from another era.

Which of course, was the problem.

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Enter Goose Island Brewhouse, which re-opens in the coming days at 1800 N. Clybourn Ave., after a 10-month renovation. To anyone who spent time at the old Goose Island, the new Goose Island will at first be a mind-bending trip: familiar at the edges, yet wholly different. It's like leaving on a business trip and coming home to a spouse who had plastic surgery while you were gone. Familiar at the edges, yet wholly different.

The Goose Island Brewhouse is the alternate universe where old Goose Island has been sucked up and absorbed into the sleek modernity of Big Beer.

Which, of course, is exactly what happened.

If you know the backstory  Anheuser-Busch InBev bought Goose Island in 2011 as the opening salvo of an incursion into an American craft beer landscape it couldn't penetrate by itself  the pieces add up. Ah! That's why Goose Island looks so good. So tidy. So modern.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has owned Goose Island for six-plus years, but the relationship suddenly seems like it has been just a hazy concept all this time. Sure, the beers have changed here and there and shown up with greater frequency and ever-farther from home. But the renovation gives us the clearest understanding yet of what it means to be in Anheuser-Busch InBev's impossibly wealthy hands.

And you know what? It looks good.

The main bar room, once a jumble of darkness  dark wood, dark tile floor, dark corners  has been opened and lightened. Gone is the elaborate wood bar anchoring the room, and its thick columns and upper tier finished with ornate moldings. Brewery founder John Hall had that bar installed in 1988 with the intention of creating intimacy at a time that American beer drinking was about Budweiser commercials; in its place is a sleek light gray concrete bar top, finished with bright white subway tile below. (The same tile is also prominent at Goose Island's Fulton Street taproom, launched in 2015 under Anheuser-Busch InBev ownership.)

The ratty red tile floor has been ripped out, replaced by handsome polished concrete. Brick walls have been hammered through and taken out, allowing natural light to flood in. The old cellar and loft that made room for additional seating are now walled off and stuffed with brewing equipment. In a nod to the contemporary audience  fewer families, more Tinder dates and softball teams  booths have mostly been ripped out. In their place are trim dark wood tables and chairs.

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The main bar is almost the exact same size, but feels both smaller (without the grandness of those columns) and larger (there is so much more space). It has 28 taps pouring beer from three sources: an Anheuser-Busch brewery in upstate New York, where Goose Island's IPA, Four Star Pils and 312 Urban Wheat Ale, among others, are made; Goose Island's Fulton Street production brewery three miles away; and the gleaming new 15-barrel brewing system in the next room. The pub brewer remains Jon Naghski, who has brewed for Goose Island on Clybourn Avenue since 2012.

Things have changed more radically in the kitchen, which was also treated to entirely new equipment. Now under the direction of Marcus Rasmussen, most recently chef de cuisine at Perennial Virant (which closed last winter), the menu is a mix of new and old dishes described by a manager as "elevated pub fare"  and priced like it too. Holdovers include the pepper-crusted Stilton burger ($16) and fish and chips ($21); new additions include dry-aged hanger steak ($18) and steelhead trout ($24).

The highlight of the revamped space might be what is now called the Vintage Ale Bar. It was previously "The Long Room to the Right When You Enter That Always Felt Like an Auxiliary Appendage." It was never quite the place you wanted to be if there was room at the main bar.

But in new hands, it's been given a new purpose: the dimmer, TV-free homage to Goose Island's reserve beers, such as wood-aged fruited sours and the legendary Bourbon County Stout (which the pub aims to have on tap year-round). The room is built of darker, more intimate materials. That includes a wood bar top, leather stools and oak barrel staves on the walls, another essential piece of what has become "the Goose Island look." It's the exact kind of place you'd want to drink Bourbon County Stout on a frigid winter afternoon. All that's missing is a fireplace.

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(Memo to Anheuser-Busch InBev: You're worth more than $200 billion. Couldn't you have sprung for a fireplace?)

Speaking of Anheuser-Busch InBev, squint and you can see its presence looming over the revamped pub. As the world's largest beer company has bought nine more American craft breweries since Goose Island, on-premise locations have become a pronounced piece of the strategy. 10 Barrel, a Bend, Ore., brewery acquired in 2014, has opened spots in Denver and San Diego; Golden Road, a Los Angeles brewery acquired in 2015, has properties in planning in Oakland and Sacramento; and Goose Island, which has opened several international locations, plans a pub in old-school beer mecca Philadelphia.

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In that sense, what has happened on Clybourn Avenue during the last 10 months is less about Goose Island renovating, and more about Anheuser-Busch InBev's grand plan: sleek, modern, comfortable, hip taprooms that serve as powerful marketing vehicles.

They've pulled it off. The new Goose Island looks good.

But before you walk in, nurse those memories one last time of what used to be there. Imperfect as it may have been in recent years, it was living history. And then, let that history go. In the form of a gray concrete bar and shiny white tile, the new era is here to stay.

jbnoel@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @hopnotes






The family business is usually handed off from parents to children.

With a new generation of spirits-makers, however, it's sometimes grandparents (or even great-great-great-grandparents) who start a business that grandchildren pick up as their own, sometimes a century later. Chicago's nearly 10-year-old Koval, whose founders, Sonat and Robert Biernecker were inspired by his grandfather, is an example. Here are three other modern distilleries taking up where grandparents left off.

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Nelsons Green Brier Distillery

About a decade ago, Bill Nelson and sons Andy and Charlie drove from Nashville to Greenbrier, Tenn., to visit a favorite butcher shop. While there, the butcher pointed out that the abandoned building across the street was, in the 1800s, one of the country's largest distilleries. Turns out that the old place was once owned by Charles Nelson, the boys' great-great-great-grandfather; it fell into decline during Prohibition.

At a local museum, Andy and Charlie were shown two original bottles from that abandoned family distillery; at that moment, they both realized, "This is our destiny." According to Andy, "The amazing story of our Nelson's family distilling business is the source of our passion."

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Today, Greenbrier Distillery produces several expressions. The flagship, Belle Meade Bourbon, has a high rye content and is cask-aged for up to 8 years. The rye gives the bourbon slight spice and the aging some caramel and vanilla notes; it's a very mellow sip.

Belle Meade Bourbon is available across the country at places like Binny's, and it's being poured for cocktails at Chicago spots, including The Violet Hour, Longman & Eagle and Au Cheval.

Omas Cherry-Infused Vodka

When World War II began, Hedwig Hintz was a girl living in rural Germany; she fled Russian troops and made her way to the United States, where she met her husband, another German refugee. They made a home in Detroit and every summer vacationed near Traverse City, Mich., where they enjoyed picking cherries, some of which went to make cherry-infused vodka, a family favorite.

Hintz is the grandmother  "oma"  of Kyle Miller, who is reviving the family recipe with Oma's Spirits, made with vodka distilled in Illinois and Montmorency cherries grown in Michigan. Miller says each bottle contains the essence of more than 100 of these gorgeous, red, sour cherries.

"When you taste Oma's for the first time," says Miller, "you're overwhelmed by the rich, tart, Montmorency-infused flavor. Even at 80 proof, there's very little alcohol burn, which makes for an easy shot or an enjoyable cocktail."

Miller says he wanted to "share my grandma's story and legacy. Coming to this country with no material possessions and not knowing any English, her perseverance and no-excuses attitude deserves to be recognized and admired."

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Oma's Spirits is available at 150 Michigan and 50 Chicago locations, and it's served at Maria's Packaged Goods, Smith & Wollensky and Fountainhead.

Limestone Branch Distillery, which makes Yellowstone bourbons, was started by relatives of Jim Beam. (Limestone Branch)

Limestone Branch Distillery

In Kentucky and around the world, Beam is a name just about everyone recognizes, mostly because of Jim Beam and his world-famous Kentucky bourbon. Slowly, however, people are coming to recognize the names of Steve and Paul Beam, whose grandfather's cousin was Jim Beam and who are working to revive part of the Beam family biz.

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"Our family had been in the bourbon industry since it began," Steve said. "Our heritage makes our passion come alive in the bourbon. We're bringing our family's original Yellowstone recipe back to Limestone Branch Distillery, using some of the original yeast our great-grandfather used around 1895. Everything we do is a nod to our family lineage and heritage."

In October 2017, Beam's Limestone Branch Distillery introduced Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Bourbon, which Steve describes as "earthy, with a nose of toasted oak, caramel and butterscotch, giving way to leather and summer fruit."

As with many small distilleries, production is limited: Only about 8,000 bottles of Yellowstone will be produced this year. If you want to try some, your best bet might be to visit the distillery in Lebanon, Ky., just as bourbon-loving folks did in the 19th century.

David Hammond is a freelance writer.

This article has been updated to clarify the description of the Beam family relationships.

[ Guide to Chicago's distilleries  ]

[ This nonalcoholic punch is the perfect thing to drink at a work lunch  ]

[ 30 days of Chicago's best cocktails, bars, bar gadgets and more  ]






New Zealand is a country that knows isolation as few others do. Australia is about 1,000 miles away, and thats one of its close neighbors. Adding to New Zealands extreme isolation is its extreme southern- and eastern-ness; it is home to some of the most-southern vineyards on earth, and because of its proximity to the International Date Line, the most-eastern vineyards too. Wine grows in New Zealand pretty much from tip to tip, on two landmasses that fit within the latitudes of about 35 to 47 degrees south, roughly halfway between the equator and the South Pole.

But the Kiwi wine curiosities do not stop there.
The Kurt Vile-Courtney Barnett collaboration  which has produced a fine album, "Lotta Sea Lice" (Matador), and now a national tour was meant to be, long before the two indie-rock guitarists and songwriters really got to know each other.

Vile got it rolling. He seems like a chill kind of guy, with his easy, elongated way with a syllable and his long tangle of hair. But when it comes to music, he can be pretty single-minded.

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"I'm obsessive when I get an idea in my head," he says. "A couple years ago, I came up with this riff, this little idea, and it was this song that I wanted to do with Courtney. I have collaborated with people before  Jennifer Herrema and I did a cover of (the Rolling Stones') 'Before They Make Me Run,' and I was coming to her city, asked her if she was into it and we put out a 7-inch. When my album came out in 2015 ('B'lieve I'm Goin' down...'), I was listening to Courtney over and over, and I had this idea for a song and singing it with her."

Little did he know that Barnett, with whom he had brief interactions when tour dates coincided, was already a longtime fan of his as well.

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"I remember I hadn't heard anything I loved for a long, long time, and Kurt's music jumped out," Barnett says. "He put out this beautiful meandering album in 2011 ('Smoke Ring for my Halo'), and I enjoyed the phrasing in his voice and his guitar. It had the perfect combo of everything, the lyrics, the way he sings  nothing sounds pretentious. He had these weird long songs  maybe a little bit too long  but you know how people try to do stuff to please other people? I didn't hear any of that on that album, and I liked it even more because of that."

Vile says that it was Barnett's voice that grabbed him first. "That song 'Outta the Woodwork,' (from 2014 'The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas') it was relatable but sort of floating in the sea, pretty but deadpan, in the way somebody like Lou Reed or David Byrne might sing  a human, relatable voice. I was really into that with her EP and her next record (the 2015 album 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit') was just next level stuff."

Vile and Barnett had hoped to record enough worthwhile songs to release an EP, but the project became something much more than that after a brief session in January 2016 and then a longer get-together in January 2017 in Barnett's studio in Melbourne, while the Philadelphia-based guitarist was on tour. Their initial session was a bit tentative, both acknowledge, but it produced two songs so off-the-cuff they almost sound like eavesdropping on a couple of friends hanging out on a summer night  electric campfire music. The song Vile wrote with Barnett's voice in mind, "Over Everything," was up first, and then Barnett's "Let it Go," for which she'd had the chords "for ages" but couldn't finish until Vile entered the picture.

"The lyrics kind of dance around some conversation we had before that first session," she says. " 'What time do you usually wake up?' so I knew when to book the studio when he came to town. The rest of the story just became apparent around it."

The two tracked everything live in the studio, in part for expediency  Vile only had a couple of days to record  but mostly because the vibe felt right.

"I've been chasing that for a while," Vile says. "It's amazing how people freak out when you talk about recording that way. But for my next record with (his band) the Violators, we are doing it like that. If it's messy and live, it sounds like a living organism. I love polished pop music, but stuff like Neil Young's Crazy Horse vibe or Waylon Jennings, that stuff is raw and real."

The second recording session was more fleshed out, with Barnett's musical friends helping out  Jim White and Mick Turner of the Dirty Three, drummer Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Mick Harvey of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds. The album's core remained the Vile-Barnett interplay of voices and guitars, a weave of rhythm and lead not unlike Television or the first incarnation of the Stones with Keith Richards and Brian Jones.

"The weave, yeah, that's totally what it was," Vile says. "The hardest part was trying to relearn what we did intuitively the first time because it was so natural."

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"There wasn't a lot of instruction, we just fell into these songs," Barnett says with a laugh. "At most it was like, 'I have these chords, D and D minor, do you like it?'"

After the second session, Vile flew home armed with a CD-R of what the duo had recorded and listened to it all for the first time. "The older songs especially I was paranoid about," he says. "When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done. But hearing everything compiled that Courtney and I did over those two Australian summers, I was stoked."

Barnett was more confident  she set aside working on her second album to focus on her collaboration with Vile. "I had been listening to the first two songs for a year, and we were sort of stumbling around, but it had something," she says. "After Kurt came back the second time and we got the seventh song, I realized we had an album. Each song is pretty weird and you wonder do they belong together? But something ties them all in. There's something cool about it."

Greg Kot co-hosts "Sound Opinions" at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 and 11 p.m. Saturday on WBEZ-FM 91.5.

greg@gregkot.com

Twitter @gregkot

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When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Rockefeller Chapel at University of Chicago, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.

Tickets: $41; www.emptybottle.com;

When: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 27

Where: Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St.

Tickets: $39-$56, www.thaliahallchicago.com

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When: 9 p.m. Oct. 28

Where: Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.

Tickets: $41; www.emptybottle.com

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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)
Cutting-edge cancer research was the fundraising focus of the second annual Hippocratic Cancer Research Foundation (HCRF) Gala, themed The Wings to Cure, on Oct. 14. Chaired by founder Eleni Bousis, the event attracted more than 600 guests to the Hilton Chicago to support innovative research at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

The black-tie event began in the Normandie Lounge, where VIP guests enjoyed live music by Sharing Notes, a nonprofit that provides volunteer musicians for Chicago hospitals. Performance artists, dressed as angels, posed for photos with delighted partygoers.

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During a program in the International Ballroom, WGN-TV anchor and medical reporter Dina Bair served as emcee and introduced Bousis, who spoke about her inspiration for creating the foundation. Her friend Jay Michael, a real estate developer, passed away at age 34 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. "In his short life, he touched so many people around the globe," Bousis said. She acknowledged dignitaries in the audience, including the minister of defense for Greece, Panos Kammenos, Metropolitan Bishop Nikitas Loulias, Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner.

Dr. Leonidas Platanias, director of Lurie Cancer Center, spoke about his first patient encounter with a young mother of two who passed away from leukemia and how it affected him. He lauded HCRF for its determination to "support research at the center to create important opportunities to translate scientific discoveries into novel therapies, advanced technologies and promising clinical trials."

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Co-chairs Zoe Borys and Dr. Christina Mantis' lives both have been touched by cancer. Borys emotionally described hearing, on her son's 12th birthday, that a dear friend's 8-year-old child was losing her battle with the disease. Mantis, mother of three, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. She said, "We don't really know the joy of life until we experience sorrow.  Cancer will not unmake me."

Before a live auction and paddle raise, a touching video about Bair's family portrayed how they've coped with their mother's health issues. Son Cameron, a freshman at Indiana University, said, "Sad as it is to think about, you should live every day with your loved ones like it's the last day you're going to see them."

Bair concluded by saying, "The people here at Northwestern Medicine, led with such vision by Dr. Platanias, are thinking outside the box, not taking no for an answer, facing setbacks but still forging ahead. They have the fire in their bellies, the desire in their hearts and the brains in their heads. What they need is money in their hands to reach their goal."

The event raised over $600,000 to fund innovative medical research at Lurie Cancer Center. According to center statistics, nearly half of all men and one-third of women in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers.

More coverage: Find more photos and events at www.chicagotribune.com/candidcandace. Visit Candid Candace's website at www.candidcandace.com, or follow her on Twitter @CandidCandace.

[ Chicago celebs dance with Giordano stars to fund outreach programs  ]

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Donald Trump sent people scrambling to their online dictionaries after including the word "covfefe" in a tweet. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Remember when Dan Quayle couldn't spell potato and it was a whole thing for, like, two decades?

"It was a defining moment of the worst kind imaginable,'' Quayle wrote in his 1994 autobiography, "Standing Firm."

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Ah, simpler times.

Now our president literally invents words (covfefe!), sending tens of thousands of people scrambling to their online dictionaries and leaving lexicographers scratching their heads over what to do about it all.

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On Wednesday, Dictionary.com released a list of its most frequent "unmatched queries," meaning words that people search for and come up blank. Because they're not actual words.

"Covfefe" tops the list, having been looked up "tens of thousands" of times, Dictionary.com editors say, since President Donald Trump tweeted: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe," shortly after midnight May 31.

Other top unmatched queries include "antifa," a shortened version of anti-fascist, "cuck," a slur usually aimed at liberals, "smize," supermodel Tyra Banks' portmanteau of smile + eyes, and "turnt," a variation on "turned" that means really excited.

"Covfefe is not a misspelling," lexicographer Jane Solomon told me. "People came to Dictionary.com and typed in exactly what they saw on Twitter, for any number of reasons you might do when someone prominent uses a word that confounds you."

Solomon said Dictionary.com lexicographers and editors pore over data all year to search for language trends and shifts, to determine their annual word of the year and to decide what words to add to the dictionary permanently.

"One of the things, as lexicographers, we're thinking about very carefully is whether this is a word people will continue to look up," Solomon said. "We don't add everything that surges in our unmatched queries list, but we work to define the words if there's continued interest."

Several of the top unmatched queries will be added to dictionary.com, but Solomon wasn't saying which ones. The jury is still out on covfefe, but if U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley's COVFEFE Act becomes law, she said, chances are good that they'll work to define and include the finger garble.

(Quigley, a Democrat from Illinois, introduced a bill that makes covfefe an acronym  Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement  and calls for a president's social media communications to be documented and stored under the Presidential Records Act.)

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Solomon couldn't remember another time in modern history when a typo led to the invention of a new word, but she noted that typos are a relatively new phenomenon in the history of language.

Standardized spelling, in fact, is a relatively new phenomenon, she said.

"The printing press had to happen before spelling standardization was even a concern," Solomon said. "People talk about Jane Austen being a terrible speller or an inconsistent speller, but standard spelling was still a relatively new concept."

Consider how English has evolved since Shakespeare was writing it.

And we've only very recently been exposed to politicians' direct, unedited communication. Quayle's goof happened on a chalkboard, but even that was a relatively rare glimpse at a leader writing in real time.

Twitter has changed all that.

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"We're in a really interesting time to be watching that evolution as it happens," Solomon said.

Particularly when people head to the internet to look up words, allowing the searches to be tracked and analyzed.

"People encounter different words through politics, through pop culture, through movies, through music, through reading," Solomon said. "And then they want to know what a word means. Or maybe they already know what it means, and they want to check if their intuition was right.

"I'm pretty sure," she added, "people who looked up covfefe knew they were not going to find anything."

In fact, when you type covfefe into Dictionary.com, it asks, "Did you mean convive?" Then it suggests several other words you may have meant, including "coevolve," "cavefish" and "goof-off."

Defining moments, indeed.

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hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates says the constant national focus on Chicagos crime problem started under President Barack Obama as a way to diminish the first black chief executive. (Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun)

Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates didn't get to be the most discussed public intellectual in America by pussyfooting around when it comes to race.

So he was characteristically direct this week during a trip to Chicago, telling Chicago Inc. that President Donald Trump and conservatives "use Chicago as a tool  'Chicago' has become code for 'black people.' "

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Raised in Baltimore in the 1980s, Coates won the National Book Award for his 2015 memoir "Between the World and Me" and has become a darling of the left for his trenchant criticism of the central role of white supremacy in U.S. history. He said the constant national focus on Chicago's crime problem started under President Barack Obama as a way to diminish the first black chief executive.

"They use 'Chicago' to shame people," he said. "I'm from Baltimore and I grew up in the height of the crack era," he said. "I'm not trying to make light of any of the violence in Chicago at all that you see on the West Side or the South Side, but this sense that Chicago is somehow alien or outside of America is just absurd, it's ridiculous.

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"I love Baltimore, but I go back and they are still struggling with the same problems they were in 1985."

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Coates spoke Monday at the Chicago Humanities Festival and was scheduled to speak at an event in Lincoln Park and at Evanston Township High School this week  evidence of the high demand he is in. In addition to serving as a national correspondent at The Atlantic, he also writes Marvel's "Black Panther" comic and is about to start work on a movie script about a school exam cheating scandal, starring Michael B. Jordan and adapted from a New Yorker article.

Still, Coates rejected the idea that Trump's election had benefited him personally by creating an audience more receptive to his message.

"I would rather he had not won," Coates said. "And I would have been saying the same thing if Hillary had won."

"There's always going to be people who don't like what you're doing, but you can't have everybody love you.  If you are fortunate enough to get any type of large readership, there will be people who don't like what you do, and that's fine."

The White House couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews






Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Two Sisters (On the Terrace)" is seen at the Art Institute of Chicago on Oct. 18, 2017. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

There are two versions of French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Two Sisters (On The Terrace)."

One has hung in the Art Institute of Chicago since 1933.

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The other is in President Donald Trump's New York apartment.

But one of them is a fake  and the Art Institute says it isn't the one in Chicago.

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Trump, apparently, disagrees.

Trump biographer Tim O'Brien  who was raised in Chicago and knew the painting well  told Vanity Fair's "Inside the Hive" podcast that he first challenged Trump over the authenticity of Trump's "Renoir" years ago on the real estate mogul's private jet, where it once hung.

Even after O'Brien pointed out that the real Renoir hangs in Chicago, Trump continued to insist his was real, telling him, "You know, that's an original Renoir," O'Brien said.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

And after Trump sold the jet, the "Renoir" apparently made its way to Trump Tower in New York, where it was visible in the background during an interview he gave "60 Minutes" after his 2016 election victory.

An official with the Art Institute of Chicago says the museum was gifted Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Two Sisters (On The Terrace)" in 1933. (Pierre-Auguste Renoir)

"I'm sure he's still telling people who come into the apartment, 'It's an original, it's an original,'" O'Brien said on the podcast.

"He believes his own lies in a way that lasts for decades," O'Brien added. "He'll tell the same stories time and time again, regardless of whether or not facts are right in front of his face."

Art Institute spokeswoman Amanda Hicks said the institute is "satisfied that our version is real." The Renoir was gifted to the Art Institute in 1933 by Annie Swan Coburn, who purchased it for $100,000 from the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who purchased it from the artist in 1881, Hicks said.

The White House did not respond to questions about the provenance of Trump's "Renoir."

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kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews






A student works a problem in the pages of a test prep book during an 18-hour practice class at Neuqua Valley High School on July 21, 2015. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Illinois is taking the unusual step of using scores on a single college entrance exam to judge whether students and high schools are meeting the state's standards for math, reading and writing.

The state will use scores from the spring SAT administered to all public school juniors and set benchmarks to measure how students are performing, as required by federal law.

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But controversy is already brewing because the state's minimum score to meet standards is higher than the SAT's college readiness scores. In some cases, a student could be considered ready for college classes yet fall short of Illinois' standards for what students should know.

"This discrepancy is going to be very difficult for us to explain to our parents, teachers and especially our students. How can a student be simultaneously college ready and not have made the cut?" said Kevin O'Mara, a former high school superintendent who is now the executive director of the High School District Organization of Illinois.

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On Wednesday, the Illinois State Board of Education unanimously set a minimum SAT proficiency score of 540 in the math portion and in the reading and writing section. Students who score 540 or higher would be considered proficient, or essentially passing, each section of the SAT.

But the SAT generally says students who score 480 in reading and writing and 530 in math are considered prepared for key college classes.

Using test scores to determine whether kids are proficient isn't new  it's been done with the former ISAT and current PARCC grade school tests and the old Prairie State exam for high school juniors. For many years, the Prairie State included the ACT, a college entrance exam, and scores from the ACT were melded in with Prairie State results.

The ACT alone was not used for determining whether students were proficient by Illinois standards.

But the SAT will be used in that manner, taking on a broad new role in gauging the performance of schools, which requires setting levels of performance by students and cutoff scores for determining proficiency and passing rates for schools.

Using the 540 score, some 60 to 64 percent of juniors who took the first-time statewide SAT at school last spring did not pass, according to a preliminary ISBE analysis.

Scores range from 200 to 800 on each of the two sections of the SAT.

But educators are now wondering how to deal with the difference between the state's proficiency score and the SAT's college-ready scores.

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"I would want to take a look at that to help me understand it," said Superintendent Mary Ticknor, of the southwest suburban Lemont High School District 210.

Her district has already presented SAT test results to school board members, showing that 81 percent of juniors were considered college-ready in reading and writing, and 64 percent were considered ready in math. Overall, the school's average was 1133 on the SAT  a combination of the math and reading scores. That compares with the statewide average of 1018 for juniors who took the exam at school in the spring, according to the district's presentation.

Mariann Lemke is executive director of research and program analysis at Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205. She said roughly 65 to 70 percent of juniors would be considered meeting or exceeding standards on the SAT if the 540 score were used.

But a district presentation on test results showed a better picture using the college-ready scores, with 68 to 85 percent of juniors taking the 2017 SAT considered college ready.

ISBE assessment and accountability director A. Rae Clementz told members of the board that some exams can be used for multiple purposes and the same scores can have different meanings. ISBE plans to provide information to educators and the public about how the SAT scores will be used.

Clementz said that numerous data points go into judging schools overall  not just test scores.

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"The quality of a school should not be measured by a single test on a single day," she said.

ISBE has not yet released the 2017 SAT results to the public, in part because it needed to set the proficiency scores.

In addition, the state has been under pressure from the U.S. Department of Education to set standards and test for proficiency in high schools using a uniform test. The state was cited by the USDE for using different versions of the PARCC, short for Partnership for Assessment in Readiness for College and Careers, for high school students in 2015 and 2016. The state risked losing federal funds unless it resolved those issues.

The proficiency levels proposed by ISBE also include what is considered "exceeds" standards, which would require a score of at least 640 in reading and writing, and at least 670 for math. That means a student has a "thorough understanding" of the knowledge and skills outlined in Illinois' standards for what students should know.

The "meets standards" requires an "adequate" understanding of the standards.

There would be two other, lower performance levels: "Approaching standards," a 430 in reading and writing and 450 in math, meaning a student has an "incomplete" understanding of Illinois standards. The lowest category is "partially meets standards," meaning a student has a "minimal" understanding of the standards.

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The SAT will be given to juniors this coming spring, but after that, the state is pursuing a new contract covering July 2018 to June 2024 that would include a college entrance exam as well as high school assessments in ninth and 10th grade, according to ISBE records.

Whether the rival ACT will bid to get back into Illinois is not clear.

ACT spokesman Ed Colby said: "We are aware of this (potential contract), but we have not yet seen an RFSP (Request for Sealed Proposals). When it has been posted, we will evaluate it and then make a determination on how to proceed."

drado@chicagotribune.com

RELATED

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A shell casing at the scene of a shooting in Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

A man who died one day after he was shot Monday night on the West Side has been identified.

Terrence Lipsey, 19, was critically injured in a shooting around 8:50 p.m. in the 200 block of North Mason Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood, police said.

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He was shot in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition and died the next day at 4:37 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Lipsey lived just a block from where he was shot in the 300 block of North Mason.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Its reported that Shenlongs second factory, known as PSA Group Global Sample Factory, will accomplish its transfer procedure recently. Dongfeng Honda may be the factorys new owner.

But details show that whether the transfer will be fulfilled by renting or buying still waits to be confirmed. But one insider revealed that Shenlongs first factory will undergo a large upgrade, which will introduce the production line for models previously produced by its second factory. Therefore, chances are that Dongfeng Honda will buy the factory directly.

Shenlongs second factory has an annual capacity exceeding 150,000 units, mainly producing middle-and-high-end models including C5, C6 and 508. In the meantime, it is also the global model factory for PSA Group. But latest data shows that Shenlong factory only sells 248,000 units till October 8th, still lagging far behind its annual sales target of 700,000 units. In sharp contrast, Dongfeng Honda has a total sales volume of 517,000 units in the previous three quarters with a year-on-year growth of 27.3%.

In fact, as early as the beginning of this year, Shenlong transferred nearly 1,000 employees to support Dongfeng Hondas production for one-year period. Dongfeng Honda also speeds its negotiation progress with the construction stagnation of the third factory.

Dongfeng Hondas third factory started construction in Wuhan on December 8th last year, and is expected to be put into production in the first half of 2019 with an initial annual capacity of 120,000 units and a total investment of RMB 3b.
A rendering shows a design for the proposed Discovery Partners Institute, center, an innovation center led by the University of Illinois. Related Midwest has agreed to donate land from its 62-acre parcel along the Chicago River. (The Related Companies)

Gov. Bruce Rauner and the University of Illinois are pursuing a sprawling innovation center in the South Loop with two other research universities, but the project's backers have yet to forge a political consensus and a lack of detail about how it would be funded has created uncertainty about the project.

Rauner is backing the University of Illinois-led Discovery Partners Institute, a public-private facility for conducting specialized research in an array of fields, including computing and big data, food and agriculture, and health and wellness.

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The center, which is to be announced officially on Thursday morning, is intended to bring together academic faculty, students and companies to collaborate on research and to parlay that work into new products and companies, U. of I. President Timothy Killeen said.

It would also give the state's flagship public university, the Urbana-Champaign campus, a prominent footprint in Chicago  a long-held goal  and bring it closer to the city's most prestigious private institutions. Northwestern University and the University of Chicago have committed to become partners in the new center, school representatives confirmed.

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"What if we formed more collaboration with those universities and created a dense network of students, faculty and research; and encouraged them to form businesses, connect them to the university, and give them the rights and ability to take their research and their technology and commercialize them, and develop products?" Rauner said in an interview last week. "We thought that would be a major magnet to keeping and growing the Illinois economy."

Killeen said the university wants to recruit 90 new faculty members and up to 1,800 students to the center, whose total cost has not been finalized but potentially would attract hundreds of millions in investment. No opening date has been set, but a location has emerged in the South Loop on highly coveted land to be donated by the development company Related Midwest.

"It's an attempt to really take advantage of the assets that the state and the city have to accelerate economic development and to provide opportunities for our students to stay in the state and for innovations to flow into our economy," Killeen said.

But even as the governor and universities press ahead, many details of the project remain unclear  including whether state and city dollars would be used to get the institution up and running.

Already, the proposed project has become the subject of political battles.

Rauner said project leaders have secured numerous commitments for private funding, though the governor would not identify those donors or reveal how much they planned to contribute. The governor also identified a source of public funding for the project  the sale of the Thompson Center in the Loop, but that deal faces many hurdles.

Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, talks about development plans for a 62-acre parcel south of Roosevelt Road. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)

Last week, Rauner said he planned to use proceeds from the sale of the Thompson Center to help finance the institute. Rauner has said unloading the 1.2 million-square-foot building would fetch $300 million, though the state would have to pay around $60 million off the top to buy out the leases of the current tenants.

Rauner also said that though he was seeking some public funding for the initial stages of the work, over time he expected the institute to be primarily funded through private dollars.

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Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said Tuesday that legislative leaders were in talks about the institute but denied there had been any such accord, "in part because there was sort of a lack of detail about exactly how the state funds might be utilized." Brown also said the Thompson Center profits are incorporated into this year's state budget, comprising a large chunk of new revenues.

"The money has been accounted for in the current state budget, and there is no agreement, verbal or otherwise, to support state funding for this institute," Brown said.

That pool of money isn't exactly earmarked for the state budget either. The bill allowing the sale of the Thompson Center has been hung up in political wrangling and has yet to be sent to the governor's desk.

Representatives for Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady and House GOP Leader Jim Durkin both said the lawmakers supported the concept but were awaiting more details from the governor's office. They did not say whether they supported devoting profits from the Thompson Center to the project. The office of Senate President John Cullerton, a Democrat, did not respond to a request for comment.

Rauner's office later appeared to soften on its intent to use the Thompson Center money. This week, his office provided a statement saying that the governor hoped Thursday's announcement would help spur private fundraising and that the governor "is hoping to persuade state and local officials to contribute public funds to the program as well."

"Right now, how much would be needed is still undetermined," the statement read, omitting any reference to the Thompson Center.

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Any agreement about the Thompson Center would represent an extraordinary truce over an issue that has put Rauner, Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel at odds. They have traded jabs for months, accusing one another of being the main blockade to the sale.

Partially at issue are city zoning codes that restrict the amount of square footage that can be built on the property. Rauner's office projected the land could hold 4 million square feet of development and argues that the option for a developer to use all of that space is crucial to getting a top price. Current zoning laws only allow for only 1 million square feet.

Rauner also said in the interview that Emanuel's office had agreed to "help us" with the zoning dispute and would seek City Council approval to use $100 million in cash for the institute. A mayoral spokesman said Wednesday that Emanuel fully supports the project but did not directly address Rauner's comments about zoning regulations or accessing city dollars.

"The mayor has been working with the governor on this project for months, and we know the governor's commitment is raising private funds to pay for it," Emanuel spokesman Grant Klinzman said in a statement. "Given the governor's background in the private sector, we are fully confident in his ability to do just that."

The public unveiling of the project comes on the heels of a bruising summer for the governor in which the Democratic-led legislature overturned his veto to end a two-year budget impasse and as he prepares to seek re-election in 2018.

It also comes as the Chicago area formally makes its pitch to land the second Amazon headquarters, a highly sought development that holds the potential of bringing thousands of jobs to the area. Rauner said that the innovation center was not specifically related to the Amazon wooing, but said the institute's offerings are exactly the type of thing that entices companies to set up shop.

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Rauner said the research institute could create thousands of career opportunities in the state over the next five to 10 years and position Chicago to be a magnet for international business.

"Every company, they want access to tech talent, they want access to great transportation," Rauner said. "You look at what Amazon is looking for, that's what corporate America is looking for. This campus, with the amenities we have in mind for it, is exactly what corporate America wants."

The early descriptions of the institute and its big-picture goals strike a familiar tone.

In January 2013, U. of I. officials first revealed plans for UI Labs, a technology research hub in Chicago. That was conceptualized as a collaboration among the university, governmental agencies and the private sector to "retain talent, support company formation and community sustainability, and enhance competitiveness through innovation and creativity," according to a presentation made to the university's board of trustees. At the time, officials envisioned something like the famous Bell Labs in New Jersey.

Like the Discovery Partners Institute, UI Labs  the initials stand for "university" and "industry"  had backing from leaders including Emanuel and Rauner, the latter of whom provided seed money as a venture capitalist to a group that helped bring the project to fruition. University leaders said at the time that the facility would help bring U. of I.'s prowess in engineering and computer science to Chicago, and create a scientific powerhouse that would attract businesses to the city.

Despite a year of work trying to raise capital, UI Labs struggled to get moving until it landed a $70 million research grant in early 2014 from the Department of Defense to launch the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute on the site. Steve Koch, Chicago's deputy mayor then, said at the time the project may have taken another two years to fulfill were it not for the federal dollars.

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UI Labs opened on Goose Island in 2015. In addition to the manufacturing institute, leaders also have launched City Digital, which develops technology focused on urbanization issues.

But what UI Labs became was more limited than what Rauner had in mind.

He said he wanted to see Illinois' top universities work together to create a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation in Chicago, akin to how Northern California and East Coast universities have helped form educational and economic engines in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Boston. Rauner said part of the reason he wanted to run for governor was to help advance this vision from Springfield.

Related Midwest President Curt Bailey confirmed his company has offered to donate part of the 62-acre parcel along the Chicago River just south of Roosevelt Road the company purchased in 2016, the largest undeveloped site in the downtown area. Exactly how much land that will entail will not become clear until designs are finalized, but Bailey said his company will offer as much as is needed to house the institute and surrounding amenities.

Having a major university institute on site, Bailey said, would allow him to create a bustling development with the corporate and academic tenants during the day, and residential and retail activity at night.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

"Whether it's someone who's going to be teaching at this institution or studying there, they'd want to be in an environment of energy and learning and opportunity," Bailey said.

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Among other goals, state and university leaders say they hope the institute would help stem the tide of Illinoisans leaving to launch successful businesses elsewhere by providing seed money to get off the ground, enticing existing companies to operate in Illinois and creating a steady stream of potential employees to recruit.

"U. of I. alums have driven some of the biggest technological advances in our country," Deputy Gov. Leslie Munger said. "U. of I. grows people that create these things and where do they go? They go to California. Keeping those people here so that we have the Oracles and the Siebel Systems, I think, is just a great economic opportunity for the state."

A similar project recently came to fruition in New York.

Last month, Cornell University opened its technology campus in New York City  hundreds of miles from its main campus in Ithaca, N.Y.  in partnership with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Cornell Tech grew out of a $100 million contest launched by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg to build a research institute. Cornell Tech separately raised more than $750 million for the project, including a $100 million donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

drhodes@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @rhodes_dawn






William Clifford III is serving a 35-year prison sentence for the 2011 murder of his father. (DuPage County sheriff's office)

An Illinois court Wednesday rejected an appeal from a former Westmont man found guilty in DuPage County for the stabbing death of his father.

A panel from the Second District Appellate Court in Elgin affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of William Clifford III, who is serving a 35-year sentence for the 2011 murder of his father, William Clifford Jr., 63, of Aurora.

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Clifford, 38, had filed an appeal, citing alleged problems with palm print evidence used at trial that tied him to the knife used to stab his father to death. He also argued that the judge who sentenced him failed to take into account Clifford's history of mental illness at sentencing.

But the appeals court rejected both of Clifford's assertions.

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At his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Clifford was living at an extended stay hotel in Westmont in May 2011 when he stabbed his father to death. When police arrived at the hotel, Clifford was gone, but he was taken into custody several hours later when he returned to his residence.

Authorities say the victim had gone to have lunch with his son, but an argument broke out and the younger man stabbed his father to death with a steak knife.

A state expert witness testified at trial that a palm print taken from the murder weapon was a match for Clifford. In the appeal, Clifford said prosecutors failed to provide sufficient information to admit the expert's opinion into evidence, but the appellate rejected that assertion.

The appeals panel also rejected Clifford's contention that DuPage County Judge Robert Kleeman failed to consider Clifford's mental illness as a mitigating factoir at sentencing. Kleeman noted Clifford's history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at several points during the sentencing hearing, the appeals panel said.

State's Attorney Robert Berlin on Wednesday lauded the appellate court's ruling. Clifford's appeal, Berlin said, demonstrated his lack of remorse over killing his father.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.

RELATED

[ Man sentenced to 35 years for stabbing father to death  ]






MILWAUKEE  Authorities say a crane operator was killed at a metal business in Milwaukee when he was crushed by a 5,000-pound piece of metal.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identifies the victim as 42-year-old Kelvis Price of Milwaukee. Price was lifting the large steel plate with a magnetic crane that he operated by remote control at Russel Metals on Monday afternoon when one of the magnets failed.

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Price was found lying on his back with the plate on top of him from the waist down. He was pronounced dead at a hospital Tuesday night.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the company and the United Steelworkers union are working to determine the cause of the accident.
Chicago police released this surveillance photo of a man suspected of robbing and beating a 70-year-old man on the Red Line on Aug. 7, 2017. (CTA)

Chicago police say a 70-year-old man was robbed and beaten at a CTA Red Line station in August, but only recently was able to talk again and tell detectives what happened.

Police found the man at the Sheridan station, unresponsive and unable to talk, after the attack around 2:30 a.m. Aug. 7, according to a community alert issued by police.

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He was taken to a hospital but was only able to speak on Oct. 12, nearly two months later, and told police what happened.

He described his attacker as a black man, 19 to 25, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9, and 130 to 160 pounds. He was wearing a green Nike T-shirt, long blue jean shorts and gray running shoes, police said.

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Video of the attack, which police believe occurred on the train at the Granville station, was not immediately made available.

Anyone with information can contact Area North detectives at 312-744-8263.
Chicago police are warning people in two West and South side police districts about two men who have robbed at least two people this week.

The men robbed people about 9:15 a.m. Sunday in the 2600 block of South Halsted Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood, in the Deering Police District on the South Side, and about 9 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of West Fulton Market in the in the West Town neighborhood in the Near West Police District, according to a police community alert.

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In the Halsted Street robbery, a 47-year-old woman was pushed to the ground and had her purse and cellphone taken, police said. In the Fulton Market robbery, a 33-year-old woman was pushed to the ground by the robbers, who took her cellphone and bag, police said.

Both robbers were described as black men. One was described as 18 to 25 years old, with black hair, 5-foot-11 to 6-foot-1 and 160 to 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red, hooded sweatshirt and black pants. The second was described as being 18 to 20 years old and was last seen wearing a pink, hooded sweatshirt.

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Anyone with information about the robbers is asked to call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8382.
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

The Democratic candidates for governor are together again to debate bright and early Wednesday morning, just 12 hours after their Tuesday night forum at Aurora University ended.

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The upshot Tuesday night: State Sen. Daniel Biss and businessman Chris Kennedy piled on Speaker Michael Madigan, while billionaire entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker declined to say whether the speaker needs to go.

This time, they'll be in Mount Prospect for a breakfast forum hosted by the Daily Herald and ABC-Ch. 7. The station says it will carry the event live online, so people interested in watching which candidates best handle the quick turnaround of high-profile appearances can watch at abc7chicago.com or on the station's Facebook page. The event starts at 7:30 a.m., with the candidates to start talking at 8 a.m.

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The two forums are a chance for people to hear candidates answer questions and talk about issues away from the controlled messages of their advertisements and social media posts.

Pritzker in the third quarter of the year spent nearly $6.9 million on TV ads, $1.2 million for consulting and more than $620,000 on campaign payroll.

Kennedy, an heir of the iconic Massachusetts political family, spent nearly $665,000 and began October with $1.3 million in his campaign fund. And Biss spent just more than a half-million dollars in the quarter and had $2.7 million to start October.

The March 20 primary still is more than five months away, so it's unclear how much staying power their early messages and performances will have.

It was at the Mount Prospect forum four years ago that Republican candidate Bruce Rauner summed up the forum as "beat up Brucey all morning." Now-RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard called him "out of touch" and now-Senate Republican leader Bill Brady poked at candidate Rauner's inexperience in government.

Rauner, of course, went on to win anyway.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will present his budget proposal at 10 a.m. He's making the newspaper editorial board rounds afterward.

*Gov. Bruce Rauner will attend an evening manufacturing awards ceremony in Chicago.

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*Parents of special education students will hold a news conference at City Hall at 10 a.m. to call for Emanuel to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool over the district's handling of special education money.

From the notebook

*Emanuel's fundraising chugs along: By his prolific fundraising standards, Mayor Emanuel is just starting to crank up his campaign cash machine. Still, with no opponent yet in sight for the 2019 municipal election, the mayor now has nearly $1.8 million in his campaign fund as he eyes a likely run for a third term.

Emanuel's latest quarterly campaign finance report shows he raised $393,650 over the last three months while spending $172,039. The mayor had $1,798,920 in the bank as of Sept. 30.

Earlier this year, the Tribune noted how none of the $42 million Emanuel has raised toward his mayoral runs has come from his superagent brother Ari Emanuel, who has donated to other Democratic politicians. The mayor's brother still hasn't contributed to his campaign, but Emanuel's latest quarterly report does tally seven contributions totaling $14,600 from agents at Ari Emanuel's firm, William Morris Endeavor.

Since the mayor started raising money in 2010 for his first run for mayor, records show employees of his brother's Hollywood firm have contributed $177,950 to his campaign. Last month, the Tribune reported how nearly 70 percent of the high dollar contributions Emanuel has raised toward a third term came from donors who received City Hall benefits. (Bill Ruthhart)

*Kids aren't "bargaining chips:" So says Chicago Mayor Emanuel, who in a letter to top leaders in Congress called on lawmakers to strike a deal to pay for the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

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It expired Sept. 30. CHIP helps about 100,000 kids in Illinois, including more than 32,000 in Chicago, the letter said.

"Our nation's children are not bargaining chips in Congress's ongoing failure to address healthcare issues," the mayor said in his letter sent last week.

In 2014, the uninsured rate for U.S. children was a record low 4 percent, down from 14 percent when CHIP was enacted in 1997, wrote Emanuel, who while in Bill Clinton's administration worked with Congress to launch the program. Later, he worked for its expansion in 2009 while chief of staff to Barack Obama. (Katherine Skiba)

*Return to Puerto Rico: Democratic U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Chicago plans a second trip for Wednesday to the island devastated by Hurricane Maria.

He said he'll deliver supplies purchased by Chicagoans and is coordinating his effort with Mayor Emanuel and the city's Puerto Rican community.

"It has been four weeks, and some people still don't have reliable access to water, medicine or food," he said on the eve of the trip, "and I want to see why and what Congress can do."

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Gutierrez, who returns Saturday, plans to have some Chicago journalists in tow.

The House is not in session this week. He last visited the island from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. with more than $50,000 in supplies, an aide said. (Katherine Skiba)

What we're writing

*Emanuel budget: 15 cents more per Uber, Lyft ride; $1.10 increase in monthly phone fees.

*Rauner borrows $1.5 billion toward paying down Illinois' unpaid bill pile.

*Democratic governor debate: Biss, Kennedy pile on Michael Madigan as root of all evil in state government, Pritzker won't say if speaker's been around too long.

*Rauner's 2016 tax return: $91 million in state taxable income, down from $188 million.

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*CTU President Karen Lewis suffers stroke, says from hospital: "I'm OK."



*Major Rauner donor Ken Griffin is again Illinois' richest person, Forbes says.

*Chicago cop pleads the Fifth at trial involving mysterious shooting at his home.

*Teen crash deaths in Illinois drop by half since '07, graduated licenses credited.

*City fires two aviation officers involved in dragging man off United flight.

*In Palatine school strike, judge orders some employees back to work.

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What we're reading

*Baseball-loving brothers, now in 90s, were indispensable to Cubs, Dodgers for decades.

*Todd Ricketts on shortlist to be next Heritage Foundation leader.

*Forum 55, the Loop's newest food hall, soft opens Tuesday.

Follow the money

*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.

Beyond Chicago

*Two senators announce deal on health subsidies.

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*Third Trump travel ban blocked.

*Prosecutor who dropped Weinstein case reconsiders campaign donations.

*How Alyssa Milano started "Me, Too" on Twitter.
Gov. Bruce Rauner had more than $91 million in state taxable income in 2016, a drop from $188 million he and wife Diana reported in 2015. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

Gov. Bruce Rauner had more than $91 million in state taxable income in 2016, a significant drop from the $188 million he and wife Diana reported for 2015, according to tax returns the governor's office released Tuesday.

The Rauners paid $19.5 million in federal income taxes and $3.2 million in state income taxes for a total tax rate of 25 percent.

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As he has done ever since he declared his candidacy in 2013, Rauner released only the Form 1040 and withheld the schedules and other attachments that could provide more details about his financial investments and earnings as well as tax breaks he might have taken advantage of.

Releasing tax returns is not required of candidates for office or elected officials. Two wealthy contenders for the Democratic nomination to challenge Rauner next year, J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy, have not released theirs despite a challenge to do so from opponent Evanston state Sen. Daniel Biss.

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In December 2016, Rauner put $50 million into his campaign fund ahead of a 2018 re-election bid.

Rauner ran a private equity firm before he was elected in 2014. When he took office, Rauner tried to allay concerns about potential conflicts of interest by establishing what he referred to as a "blind trust" for his wealth. The arrangement gives management authority over much of his wealth to a New York investment adviser.

The Rauners' income has varied over the years. In 2013, the couple reported earning $60 million, and their returns for 2014 showed an adjusted gross income of $57.5 million.

The governor's office said the Rauner Family Foundation made charitable contributions totaling more than $6.6 million in 2016, but did not provide copies of the organization's tax returns.

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimgeiger

[ Rauner borrows $1.5 billion toward paying down Illinois' unpaid bill pile  ]

[ Democratic governor hopefuls to debate tonight; Pritzker spent the most this summer  ]






The Democratic candidates hoping to take on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner next year gathered on a debate stage Wednesday for the second time in 12 hours, when most of them agreed they would support legalizing marijuana in Illinois.

State Sen. Daniel Biss and entrepreneur and philanthropist J.B. Pritzker cast the issue as a matter of keeping people out of the criminal justice system, saying minorities are often subjected to harsher punishment for pot-related crimes.

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"There are reasons to legalize marijuana and I favor legalization, but the reasons are less to do with revenue than they are with safety and criminal justice reform," Pritzker said.

When minorities get busted for possessing marijuana, Biss said, "they get the book thrown at them."

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"It's not just that they wind up with harsh consequences for a few weeks or months, there is a record that follows them for the rest of their life," the Evanston lawmaker said.

Businessman Chris Kennedy said he was "for full decriminalization," but he also called for a study of the drug's effects. He said research institutions like the University of Illinois should offer recommendations regarding its safety.

Madison County regional schools Superintendent Bob Daiber said he would be willing to approve a law legalizing the drug "but I want a referendum that says the people passed it." Daiber joked that he was worried about lobbyists going to Springfield with pot-laced gummy bears to convince lawmakers to approve a legalization measure. Businessman Alex Paterakis argued that the drug had already been studied plenty and that "if it was so bad for people we wouldn't even have medical marijuana." Paterakis suggested that as an agriculture state, Illinois could benefit from joining the pot market.

"This would be a great opportunity for our farmers to produce a new product, new cash crop."

Just one candidate was opposed to the idea. Activist Tio Hardiman, who is on his second attempt at the Democratic nomination for governor, said he was supportive of reducing criminal penalties for people who are caught with small amounts of the drug. But he said he wasn't sure he would "fully support" legalization because he wouldn't want to be seen as endorsing use of the drug.

"Think about the children," Hardiman said. "You do not want your kids driving their cars high on marijuana, impaired."

Appearing at a forum in Mount Prospect, each candidate said he would support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and shifting away from the current flat income tax system in favor of one that charges different rates for people at different income levels.

The candidates all agreed that the state isn't doing an adequate job of funding schools and that property taxes are too high. They also were united in their rejection of Rauner's proposals for addressing those problems.

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kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimgeiger






Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday revealed his seventh budget, and for the sixth time, he is raising taxes and fees, moves he said are needed to keep stabilizing the city's finances and foster economic growth.

Even as the mayor declared "Chicago is on firmer financial footing than we have been in many years," he wasn't ready to say Chicagoans are off the hook from more fee and tax increases in the near future. Asked twice after his budget address if taxpayers soon would be out of the woods on more tax increases, Emanuel did not directly answer.

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Instead, he launched into a defense of his various hikes, noting that much of the money had gone toward shoring up woefully underfunded government employee pensions or modernizing the city's aging water system and roads.

"I'm not just willy-nilly about it. ... Nobody is for taxes, but do you spend right, do you invest right, do you get a return on that investment that's worthy of a fee?" Emanuel told the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board when asked about his philosophy on taxes. "I don't look to just raise taxes. I look at what do we need to do, what helps us grow the economy, what improves quality of life and then measure pain versus pleasure."

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This year's pain: Emanuel wants to raise the city's 911 phone tax for the second time in four years to balance the budget, raise taxes on ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft to pay for CTA upgrades and increase the amusement tax for concerts at larger venues while eliminating them at smaller theaters.

In addition, Chicago property owners next year will be hit with a previously approved water and sewer tax increase and a $63 million city property tax increase, the fourth and final consecutive annual hike in that levy approved in 2015 to dramatically increase pension contributions. That doesn't include a separate Chicago Public Schools property tax increase of $224.5 million.

Since Emanuel took office in 2011, he also has passed a series of massive property tax increases, a doubling of water and sewer fees, an additional new water and sewer tax and increases in garbage fees, cable taxes, city vehicle sticker fees and parking garage taxes.

To be sure, much of Emanuel's tax increases have gone toward digging the city out of the financial morass left behind by former Mayor Richard M. Daley, with the money going toward propping up the city's underfunded employee pension systems and cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the city's annual budget shortfalls while refraining from raiding city cash reserves, eliminating risky borrowing practices and not selling off city assets to make ends meet.

"I want to thank all of Chicago's taxpayers for doing their part to solve Chicago's financial problems and usher in a better day," Emanuel said during his speech Wednesday, before trying to show them they have gotten some bang for their bucks. "In fact, we are already seeing results, whether measured by new jobs, new companies, new industries or new graduates."

Even so, the city's own projections still show that between 2021 and 2023, contributions to the city's four pension funds will spike by more than $400 million, with no plan in place on how to cover those costs. Asked how he'd confront that challenge, Emanuel did not offer specifics.

The lengthy budget speech was mostly a recitation of the progress he says Chicago has made in the last year, from taking on President Donald Trump on immigration to winning more money for Chicago Public Schools out of Springfield.

"Chicago has not let those headwinds shift us off course," Emanuel said. "We charted a better course."

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But the purpose of Wednesday's council meeting was for Emanuel to introduce his 2018 budget blueprint. The $8.6 billion plan would spend about $289 million more than this year. The 911 tax would go up $1.10 a month, while fees would rise 15 cents on Uber and Lyft rides.

In addition, the previously approved CPS and city property tax increases are expected to cost the owner of a $250,000 home an additional $230 per year. That blow, however, will be softened for many by a newly increased homeowners exemption Emanuel won from state lawmakers in August that city officials estimate would lower the bill on a $250,000 home by about $148 next year.

While Emanuel has cut the city's deficit each year since taking office, the budget gap he had to close increased this year with his plans to hire 1,000 new police officers over the next two years and have the city pay for CPS building security costs.

Besides the tax increases, Emanuel hopes to save $94 million on debt payments, thanks to new bond restructuring approved by state lawmakers this year. Emanuel also announced he would declare a $166.9 million surplus in the city's special taxing districts, and will dedicate $66 million of that toward the $80 million CPS security costs.

"Now is not the time to take our eye off the ball or become complacent," Emanuel told the City Council in his speech. "We must continue to build on the foundation of progress that we made together."

Some aldermen, however, grumbled about Emanuel's push for the City Council to allocate money to CPS and the CTA  so-called sister agencies of which aldermen "are reminded on a weekly basis that we have no jurisdictional authority over," as downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly put it.

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"If the mayor wasn't suggesting that we go and give this large amount of money to CPS and CTA, I think we could be celebrating a budget that actually for the first time in decades is structurally sound and in the black," said Reilly, 42nd. "If we were flush with money and had billions of dollars in reserves, I'd be happy to discuss giving a helping hand to CPS and CTA, but we're barely out of the woods."

Latino Caucus Chairman Ald. Gilbert Villegas said he was considering proposing an ordinance to give the City Council oversight of CTA and CPS if they receive money from the city.

"We are answerable to the residents. I want oversight," said Villegas, 36th. "I want to see if they even need the money, whether they can make cuts instead."

Reilly called the move a "dangerous precedent," but Emanuel noted that in 2006 the City Council increased the city's real estate transfer tax for the CTA.

"This is for modernization of the CTA and for public school safety and very specific to that effort," Emanuel said. "Ald. Reilly knows full well these are investments that have to be made and done right, and there's precedent in every one of them."

Some aldermen also criticized the 911 phone tax increase for being regressive because it hits people regardless of their ability to pay. "That's the hardworking folks that have been getting hit over and over by these budgets, and we need to start looking at different ways to start funding that infrastructure," said Ald. John Arena, 45th.

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The phone tax increase would add $30 million to the city's coffers, and city officials have said $11 million of it would go toward a required modernization of the 911 system, allowing it to receive text messages and photos that can be relayed to emergency responders, among other upgrades.

Emanuel defended the phone tax increase for that reason, noting it would be used "to pay for a mandated modernization of 911 that all of us in our worst moments are dependent upon when it comes to public safety. And it hasn't been modernized in decades."

The mayor spent a significant portion of his speech addressing public safety, as the city has been mired in a nearly two-year spike in street violence.

"We all agree the level of violence in some of our neighborhoods is totally unacceptable. Whether it is in your neighborhood or not, it affects Chicago, so it affects all of us," Emanuel said. "We simply cannot rest until every parent, in every neighborhood, is able to let their children go to the park, or play on the sidewalk, or sit on the front porch free from the fear of gunshots."

The mayor pointed to his plan to hire nearly 1,000 new officers and his deployment of new technology and training to help prevent shootings before they occur. At one point, he noted that the Englewood police district had not had a shooting in 10 days, a line that drew tepid applause.

Budget officials this week placed the added cost of continuing to increase the ranks of police officers next year at $65 million.

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The spending plan also includes $24 million more for police reform efforts. That involves promoting 100 new field training officers and creating an Office of Reform Management with 26 civilian employees who would try to ensure officers are complying with new policies.

The new money also will allow the city to enhance "officer well-being to help support officers' ability to be successful at their jobs," according to the city's proposed budget overview. And the community policing program would get 30 more community relations coordinators, organizers and advocates.

Even so, spending on police overtime continues to increase. The city budgeted for $78 million this year, but by the end of July it already had topped $95 million. Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, in a recent report alleging overtime abuse, said police overtime spending is projected to reach $169 million by year's end. Next year's proposed budget includes $98 million for overtime.

Another theme Emanuel embraced was moving on from Chicago's days of budget trickery. Daley, the mayor's predecessor, has been an occasional target in Emanuel speeches, though not by name. That continued Wednesday.

"The days of fiscal smoke and mirrors are behind us. The days of selling off assets to balance the budget and pay Chicago's bills are behind us," said Emanuel, a reference to Daley's unpopular selling of the city's parking meters for an upfront cash infusion nearly a decade ago. "The days of raiding the rainy day fund to keep the city afloat are behind us."

bruthhart@chicagotribune.com

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hdardick@chicagotribune.com

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

[ Read: Mayor Emanuel's 2018 budget address  ]

[ With pop tax repealed, Preckwinkle says up to commissioners to fix budget  ]

[ Metro wins and 'Hamilton' loses in mayor's proposed amusement tax  ]
SMITHS FALLS, Ontario  Caitlan Coleman, an American rescued along with her family from five years of captivity in Afghanistan last week, had to be rushed to a hospital this week, her husband said.

Joshua Boyle told The Associated Press in an email that his wife was admitted Monday. His email did not specify why she was taken to the hospital.

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"My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now," Boyle wrote.

Boyle, his American wife and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. The children were born in captivity.

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Boyle said after landing at Toronto's airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.

In prior email exchange with AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child but later told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that it was a forced abortion. The Taliban said in a statement it was a miscarriage.

On Monday, Boyle told the AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, "Hey, let's make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family."

"We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands," Boyle told AP. "We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking."

Boyle said their three children are now 4, 2 and "somewhere around 6 months."

"Honestly we've always planned to have a family of 5, 10, 12 children ... We're Irish, haha," he wrote in an email.

The parents of Coleman have said they are elated she is free, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan.

"Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable," Caitlan's father, Jim Coleman said, told ABC News.

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Ex hostage explains why he and his American wife had kids in captivity in Afghanistan

Analysis: What were Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle really doing in Afghanistan?

Family freed from Taliban group reaches Canada, says kidnappers killed infant
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino maintenance engineer Stephen Schuck, left, and security guard Jesus Campos appear on the set of "Ellen." (Michael Rozman / Warner Bros. )

The mystery is over: Las Vegas security guard Jesus Campos has been found.

On the set of "Ellen."

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On Wednesday, Ellen DeGeneres' television talk show is expected to broadcast the much-anticipated first interview with the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino security guard, who was the first shooting victim in the Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas.

DeGeneres tweeted a photo of Campos holding a cane on the set Tuesday alongside maintenance engineer Stephen Schuck, who was also shot at by the gunman on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

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Tomorrow, the first people to encounter the Las Vegas shooter are here  security guard Jesus Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck. pic.twitter.com/dDmjzN6xBx  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 18, 2017

The news ended five days of speculation over the whereabouts of the security guard, who was shot as he passed outside gunman Stephen Paddock's hotel room and who holds important information on who knew what and when as the shooting rampage got underway.

Reporters had been looking for Campos to help explain what happened in the moments before Paddock began firing at the crowd assembled for a country music festival opposite the hotel  and how long it took for police to respond.

Shifting timelines given by police and near-total silence from Mandalay Bay's owners have left Campos as one of the only potential sources of first-hand information on how the shooting rampage unfolded and how the hotel responded.

In a recording of his appearance on "Ellen" obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Campos, who said he was "doing better each day, slowly but surely," confirmed he had called in when he was shot  before the full rampage began. But he gave few other details that would answer nagging questions about the response of hotel security and Las Vegas police.

Appearing in a gray suit and with a cane, Campos said he got an alert for an open door on the 32nd floor. He went up a stairwell from the 31st to the 32nd floor, but the stairwell door was blocked  apparently by the gunman  so he had to take another route to get to the floor.

When he got onto the 32nd floor and reached the stairwell door  which was inside a small room with two doors that separates the stairwell from the hallway, immediately adjacent to Paddock's suite  Campos found a "metal bracket" blocking the door to the stairwell.

He said he called security dispatch to transfer his call to the building's engineers, who sent an engineer to examine the door.

"At that time I heard what I assumed was drilling sounds," Campos said. (Officials have said that Paddock appeared to be drilling into a wall inside his room for unknown reasons.) As Campos walked down the hall, away from Paddock's suite, the outer door of the access room, which was unblocked, closed loudly behind him.

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"I believe that's what caught the shooter's attention," Campos said. "As I was walking down, I heard rapid fire, and at first I took cover." The gunman was shooting through the door of his hotel suite. "I don't know how he was shooting."

Campos felt a "burning sensation" and went to lift his pant leg up and, seeing blood, realized he'd been shot.

"That's when I called it in on my radio that shots had been fired," Campos said. "I was going to say that I was hit, but I got on my cellphone just to clear that radio traffic for  they can coordinate the rest of the call."

Engineer Schuck, responding to Campos' earlier call about a blocked door, arrived on a service elevator from a higher floor, and he spotted Campos at the end of a hallway. It was quiet as Schuck walked toward Paddock's end of the hallway. Then he saw Campos and heard gunshots.

"At the time I didn't know it was shooting; I thought it was a jackhammer," Schuck said.

Campos said "take cover, take cover," Schuck said. "Within milliseconds, if he didn't say that, I would have got hit.... They were passing behind my head, and I could feel pressure."

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One female guest came out of her room, and Campos told her to take cover in her room.

Campos thanked the first responders and the community for their work during their "darkest hour."

DeGeneres hinted that Campos would not be giving any more interviews after appearing on her show, but that the appearance was unpaid.

"You're talking about it now and you're not going to talk about it again," DeGeneres said, adding, "We of course wanted to give you money, and you both were very, very specific. You said you don't want money, you don't want money at all, so you're not getting any money."

Speculation about Campos' whereabouts had begun after he mysteriously left a Las Vegas hotel room Thursday where he was preparing for televised interviews on the Sean Hannity show on Fox, as well as news shows on CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC. No interviews took place.

David Hickey, president of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America union that represents the security guards at Mandalay Bay, told The Times that he was attending a meeting with MGM representatives in one room of the suite as Campos waited with a security guard  hired by MGM  and another union member in the living room.

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When the meeting ended about 2 p.m., Hickey said Campos no longer was in the room.

"When I got in touch with the other union member, I was told Campos was taken to the Quick Care" health clinic, Hickey said.

Hickey didn't hear from the guard afterward and announced to a scrum of reporters that night that Campos had canceled interviews. Campos didn't contact his union in the days after he walked away.

The company that owns the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino issued a statement Tuesday that implied it was in touch with Campos as questions mounted over the Las Vegas casino's response to the mass shooting.

"Jesus Campos wants to tell his story at a time and place of his choosing," Debra DeShong, a spokeswoman for MGM Resorts International, said in a statement after the Los Angeles Times requested an interview with him. "He's asked that everyone respect his request for privacy. We could not be more proud of Jesus."

Las Vegas police initially stated that Paddock shot Campos through the door of his hotel suite on the 32nd floor midway through his attack on the concert, essentially crediting Campos with turning Paddock's attention away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival across the street.

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But police later said that Campos was shot six minutes before the attack began, and then officials changed their story again, stating that Campos was shot moments before Paddock began his attack on the concert.

Police and casino officials have said that Campos promptly reported the gunman to hotel security and that police officers and armed security responded immediately to the 32nd floor, where Paddock had a suite.

But the first officers to get to the floor arrived 12 minutes after Paddock had launched his assault on the crowd  and two minutes after he had stopped shooting  raising questions about how quickly the hotel had informed officers on the scene about Campos' report.

Times staff writers Jaweed Kaleem, Melissa Etehad and Ruben Vives contributed to this report.

matt.pearce@latimes.com | @mattdpearce
WASHINGTON  The Heritage Foundation has narrowed its search for a new president down to a shortlist of finalists, a group that includes Todd Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, and Marc Short, a senior Trump White House official, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

In addition to Ricketts and Short, Heritage's board of trustees has also expressed interest in Lisa Nelson, the chief executive of the American Legislative Exchange Council, and David Trulio, a vice president at Lockheed Martin, the people said on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

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The conservative think tank's trustees, however, remain torn over their decision. Kay Coles James - a Heritage board member who served as the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under former president George W. Bush and is close to Heritage founder Edwin Feulner - has been mentioned by several associates as someone who could serve in a temporary capacity if the board cannot settle on a candidate.

The organization's clout in Washington was underscored by President Donald Trump's appearance Tuesday night at a gathering of its President's Club meeting at a Washington hotel.

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Heritage's board includes many wealthy right-wing figures, including Steve Forbes, Rebekah Mercer and Thomas Saunders.

The top job at the influential conservative outpost has been open since May, when Jim DeMint, the Republican firebrand and former South Carolina senator, was pushed out, though Fuelner has been serving as the interim president. The search process is still in flux, and it is not clear if the top candidates under consideration have officially been contacted by the Heritage board - or would even accept the position.

For Ricketts - a longtime Republican activists whose father Joe is the founder of TD Ameritrade and brother is Pete Ricketts, the current Nebraska governor - the posting would offer both him and his family an even greater foothold in helping shape the direction of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.

Trump selected Ricketts to serve as deputy commerce secretary, but in April he withdrew his nomination from consideration, citing an inability to untangle his financial holdings to the satisfaction of the Office of Government Ethics.

Ricketts' father helped finance Future45, a super PAC that spent lavishly for Trump in the final weeks of the campaign, giving the group at least $1 million through the end of September, FEC filings show. Joe Ricketts and his wife, Marlene, also contributed nearly $344,000 to support Trump's campaign and the Republican Party. The Ricketts' financial support for Trump was a dramatic reversal from the primaries, when Joe and Marlene Ricketts gave more than $5.5 million to Our Principles PAC, a super PAC that ran a slew of hard-hitting ads against Trump.

Short, the director of legislative affairs at the White House, comes with strong conservative credentials, previously leading Freedom Partners, the political operation for billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, and before that working for Vice President Mike Pence when was a rising star on the right during his days in the U.S. House.

It is unclear if Short has expressed interest in the job, and he has not met with the Heritage board. But if selected - and if he were to accept - he would represent yet another high-profile departure from Trump's administration, which has already faced a steady stream of turnover and shake-ups.

Nelson, Ricketts, Short, and Trulio did not respond to requests for comment, and a spokeswoman for Heritage also declined to weigh in on the specific finalists.

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"The Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees continues to search for a new president who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to continuing Heritage's legacy of rigorous research and fighting for the conservative principles at our core," said Sarah Mills, director of media relations for Heritage, in an email statement. "The board has identified and is continuing to interview a handful of well-qualified finalists for the position. When we have something to announce, we'll announce it." The talks have at times stalled this summer and fall as Heritage trustees debate the future of think tank. That ongoing deliberations has led several people close to the process to say Fuelner may end up asking James to take over as interim president. James is not well-known in conservative circles nationally, but is respected within Heritage and by its donors. Cole did not respond to requests for comment.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a Trump ally, was another person considered in earlier talks inside Heritage, though Meadows made clear to several people close to the think tank that he preferred to remain in Congress, a person familiar with the discussions said.

J.D. Vance, the best-selling author of "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir about his upbringing in Appalachia, was also floated early on in the process as a possible high-profile, younger recruit. He has met in recent months with Stephen Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist who has since returned to his post running Breitbart News, and Bannon has privately expressed a desire to install an ally at the conservative institution.

The Washington Post's Matea Gold contributed to this report.
Barbara Scott Huszagh taught English as a Second Language to students at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn for three decades.

"She was someone we should all emulate," said Marilyn Gebhardt, a retired adjunct ESL instructor at the college. "She was so open and accepting and nonjudgmental, and was concerned about people and different situations."

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Huszagh, 87, died of complications from lung cancer Sept. 7 at the Sunrise Naperville North assisted living community in Naperville, said her son Richard. She had been a Wheaton resident since 1963.

Born Barbara Scott in Evanston, Huszagh was the daughter of longtime University of Chicago history professor Arthur Pearson Scott and his wife, Katherine Otis Scott. Huszagh grew up in Hyde Park and graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School. After spending a year living with her parents in Beijing, she earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.

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After college, Huszagh married and had a son before divorcing. She then spent two years living with her sister and her brother-in-law in Japan, where she taught English to Japanese students.

After returning to the Chicago area, Huszagh remarried and had three more children. After her children were grown, Huszagh earned a master's degree in social work from the now-defunct George Williams College.

Huszagh worked for a time at a nursing home and then for Sunny Ridge, an adoption agency that at that time was based in Wheaton. In the mid-1980s, she started teaching ESL at the College of DuPage.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 86 Dick Orkin, an award-winning radio advertising creator for close to a half-century who was perhaps best known for his syndicated Chickenman spoof, which aired on Chicago stations, died on Dec. 24 in California. He was 84. Read more. (Handout)

"Her father had a saying that there was so little justice in the world and what little justice there was was poorly distributed," Huszagh's son said. "She sought to increase the amount of justice in the world and have it distributed better, and the people who took her classes at COD were so grateful to be part of the American cultural experience, to get that proficiency in language so they didn't feel embarrassed or shut out or ashamed or excluded. She was just born to do it  she was good at it, she was methodical, she understood the rules and she knew how to convey them in a personal way."

Carol Garcia, a former program administrator for adult ESL at the college, remembered asking Huszagh to work with a family literacy project in which Huszagh would teach English to parents and preschool-aged children.

"She had an affinity for working with young children and being able to relate to the parents and infusing that whole learning environment with really affirming support for the parents to help the parents become their child's first teacher of English," Garcia said. "And just in general, Barb was passionate about helping her learners. That was always in the forefront of her mind."

Garcia recalled Huszagh's willingness to open up her home to victims of domestic violence. For about six months, Huszagh allowed her home to be a haven for a woman named Christina and her son who had been living in a domestic violence situation.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 100 Actress/singer Rose Marie is gleeful as director Carl Reiner, right, and Honorary Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant, present her with 2,184th star on the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame Oct. 3, 2001, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Marie died Dec. 28, 2017, at age 94. Read more. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

"Christina still talks about how that period was a respite for her son to be away from that kind of an environment. It made such a difference in Christina's life and her son that they had the opportunity to live with Barb," Garcia said. "Barb was just an outstanding human being."

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After retiring from the College of DuPage about four years ago, Huszagh taught for two years for the World Relief nonprofit organization. She stopped working in her mid-80s while dealing with cancer.

Huszagh was a volunteer through her church, First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, where she served as an elder. She also founded and ran the Wheaton Youth Center for several years and volunteered for the Wheaton Drama Club, the YMCA and a literacy outreach program at the DuPage County Jail.

"She had a joy in her heart that she shared and that was very important to her," her son said.

During retirement, Huszagh enjoyed singing, playing music, reading  particularly mystery novels  and spending time at her vacation home in Whitehall, Mich.

Huszagh's first marriage to Andrew McClurg ended in divorce. She and her second husband, Lee Huszagh, divorced in 1976. In addition to her son, Huszagh is survived by another son, Andrew McClurg; two daughters, Virginia Huszagh and Catherine Scott-Sills; four grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.

Services were held.

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Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Some Americans agree with President Donald Trumps stated policies on most issues. Some disagree. But its hard to see how anyone could deny one of the most obvious facts of his presidency: He is simply bad at almost every part of the job, including the ones that require nothing more than a little human empathy.

His claim that past presidents didn't call the families of soldiers killed in action was an example of his incurable incompetence. He didn't have a good answer when asked why for 12 days he said nothing about a firefight in Niger that left four soldiers dead. So he dodged the question by claiming, irrelevantly, that he had written letters to the families  while saying, inaccurately, that past presidents had rarely bothered to offer condolences.

When Trump made a phone call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson Tuesday, he managed to botch it. "He knew what was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway," he said, according to Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who was with Myeshia Johnson and heard the president on speaker. Wilson said she wanted to "curse him out" for the gross insensitivity of his remark.

Trump didn't mean to come off as a clueless oaf, but he can't help himself. His conduct in disaster areas betrays an inability to understand or feel the pain of other people. In Houston, he marveled, in his usual self-serving manner, "What a turnout!" He told survivors, "As tough as this was, it's been a wonderful thing. I think even for the country to watch and for the world to watch. It's been beautiful. Have a good time, everybody."

In Puerto Rico, he suggested that the island's plight was mild compared to "a real catastrophe like Katrina" and playfully tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd. He also quipped that the disaster had put his budget "a little out of whack."

Watching him blunder about, you get the idea Trump has never had to deal with problems that couldn't be solved by borrowing money, spending money or boasting and blustering. His gilded life fed his egomania but gave him no insight into the strains and struggles that most people face each day  much less the devastation of losing a loved one in a military battle or a natural disaster.

In situations like these, Trump's graceless behavior is embarrassing. But it's perfectly in character.

Steve Chapman, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/chapman.

schapman@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @SteveChapman13
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, meet before the start of a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 18, 2017, the morning after they reached a deal to resume federal payments to health insurers that President Donald Trump had halted. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

For seven years, congressional Republicans and Democrats battling over Obamacare have agreed on only one thing: They couldn't agree on anything.

As more Americans dropped or skipped coverage because of soaring premiums, lawmakers of the two parties couldn't  wouldn't  agree on how to fix the 2010 law.

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As insurers narrowed networks of doctors and hospitals or abandoned states entirely, Congress flailed.

Then last Thursday President Donald Trump vowed to yank billions in subsidies to insurers that help cover medical costs for millions of working-class households.

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And lawmakers  here's a shock  did something about it. Five days after Trump's declaration  a blink of an eye in Congress-time  Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington announced that they've reached a tentative deal to stabilize Obamacare for two more years.

Under the deal, those subsidies Trump planned to cut would be restored. That would help many lower-income Americans who earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid. That's a win for Democrats, whose congressional leaders had called Trump's move a "spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage leveled at working families and the middle class in every corner of America."

The other major prong of the deal would help younger, healthier people who say they don't want, or can't afford, the comprehensive and expensive insurance that Obamacare mandates. More Americans would be able to buy low-cost catastrophic coverage. Score a win for Republicans.

Now, cue the usual naysayers  Republicans and Democrats on the wings of the parties who brook no compromise.

The Republican hard-line conservatives complain that this deal isn't the complete repeal-and-replacement that they promised voters. They won't be satisfied until Obamacare is rubble.

Their Democratic counterparts on the far left grumble that catastrophic coverage isn't enough for most Americans and will leave some dangerously undercovered in event of a health crisis. They won't be satisfied until a single-payer system  national health care for all, controlled and funded by the federal government (that's you, taxpayers!)  rules the land.

But we like the outlines of the Alexander-Murray deal: It helps two huge groups of Americans.

We've argued against pulling the subsidies and undermining already shaky markets before Congress passes a better replacement for dwindling Obamacare. Remember, a federal district judge ruled last year that these subsidies are illegal because Congress never appropriated money for them. The Obama administration gave itself permission to fund them. Congress now can settle the issue by funding the subsidies, as this proposal would.

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We've also urged lawmakers to give insurers flexibility to offer more choices to customers, not just the rigid gold-silver-bronze plans of Obamacare. That's a direct pitch to the younger, healthier people who think they don't need or can't afford coverage  and who have refused to obtain it. Guess what? They do need coverage for the costly emergencies they can't anticipate. And insurers should be able to provide the low-cost alternatives Obamacare has largely forbidden.

Americans can start choosing health plans from government exchanges on Nov. 1. From the get-go, Obamacare enrollment has never met lofty government forecasts. Now the forecast is gloomier because of rising premiums and cutbacks in advertising and outreach, the Congressional Budget Office says. The average monthly enrollment on the Obamacare exchanges is expected to be about 11 million Americans in 2018. That is down about 7 million from the agency's 2016 forecast for 2018, a CBO spokesman tells us.

As these millions of Americans walk away from its rigidity, Obamacare desperately needs infusions of flexibility and competition. The Alexander-Murray proposal would buy time for that to happen. We hope the two senators can persuade enough colleagues to climb down from their rigid all-or-nothing perches. Millions of people need affordable coverage now.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Harvey Weinstein arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2015. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revoked Weinstein's membership in the wake of recent reports that revealed sexual harassment and rape allegations against him. (Vince Bucci/Invision/AP)

Self-reflection isn't generally a man's strongest trait.

I don't know if it's the way we're socialized or if it's something lurking in our DNA. But when connected to something negative, few men default to the perfectly reasonable question: Could I be part of this problem?

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As the sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have poured forth, millions of women have boldly stepped forward and shared their stories of harassment, rape and assault at the hands of men in various levels of power. On Twitter, the #MeToo hashtag tells story after story after story of dehumanizing actions by men.

Former Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney said in a statement Wednesday that she was molested by a USA Gymnastics team doctor already accused of sexual assault by more than 100 other women and girls.

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Maureen Ryan, a former Tribune colleague who's now a television critic for Variety, published a powerful piece Wednesday explaining how she was sexually assaulted by a TV executive in 2015.

She wrote: "Men, listen up: You may not want to believe that your friend, your colleague, your collaborator is capable of this. Listen to me, LISTEN: The face he shows you may not be his only face."

Many men have responded to these stories, often with shock or words of support. There's a hashtag response coming from men on Twitter: #IHearYou.

The #MeToo idea showed the tremendous power of social media to do good and to highlight, forcefully, the scope of a serious problem.

But as a man, I worry about the #IHearYou response. It's too easy. It's just words fired off in a rush, and if you've paid any attention to the hideous tales of male behavior, from Weinstein to other Hollywood power brokers right on down to low-level managers at small companies, you'll know that words aren't enough.

Men need to do more than fire off a tweet with a hashtag. Men need to do something internal, something that won't produce a public show of support, something far more difficult than rote words of encouragement.

We need to look inside our own heads and ask uncomfortable questions. And the first question should be: Are you really that surprised to hear that sexual harassment is this widespread? Have you met us?

This isn't a new phenomenon, it's just one that we too often look past or write off with idiotic lines like, "Oh, that guy's just being a jerk" or "It's just guy humor." The president of the United States managed to play off his own recorded description of an act of sexual assault by calling it "locker room talk."

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Many men are reading the Weinstein news or the associated explosion of public stories about sexual harassment and sexual assault and retreating to their mental safe spaces, pretending they're oblivious to such goings-on or, worse yet, questioning the integrity of millions of women.

If you want to get macho for a moment, if you want to talk about having guts and courage and all those supposedly manly traits, let me suggest this: It takes courage to step back and make sure you aren't part of this problem.

It takes guts to have the humility to rethink how you've responded to "guys being guys" in the workplace, whether you've let things slide or looked past the actions of another man and attributed that decision to some kind of mystical bro-code.

Calling out other men who so much as dance along the fringes of harassment with snide comments or veiled sexism takes courage  real courage, not the sad, impotent bravado of men who think demeaning women makes them powerful.

Things didn't get this bad overnight. They've been bad for a long, long time, and we as men haven't done anywhere near enough to police our own gender and make this kind of behavior wholly unacceptable.

I know many men reading this will recoil to a defensive posture. I know the excuses that will pop into their heads.

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Knock it off. Every one of us needs to take a deep look at how we treat and have treated women, and how we react to the ways other men treat women.

We have to acknowledge that the things we've read under the #MeToo hashtag have happened in part because we have allowed them to happen. Because too many of us have remained silent as well.

Our responsibility goes far beyond an #IHearYou tweet.

We, as men, need to hear the stories of women who've been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by men. But we also need to examine our own thoughts and behaviors and make sure we haven't, in ways small or large, done something to allow those stories to unfold.

And if we have, we need to do everything we can to make it stop.

Now.

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rhuppke@chicagotribune.com
At the age of 95, I continue to be an informal advocate for persons with disabilities, and the Oct. 8 Tribune story about Krabbe disease touched me deeply  both because of the babies and for their parents. The title "Doomed by delay" summarizes the sadness of this story.

The follow-up Tribune editorial of Oct. 15, which emphasized Kenan Spencer Witczak suffering the consequences of delay, added more to my concerns about Illinois agencies many times being "a day late and a dollar short."

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My own family experience was not life-threatening, but was instead a quality-of-life delay. My son Kevin, at birth in 1960, was identified as a person with Down syndrome.

Like Kenan's parents, my husband and I were stirred into action  not just for Kevin, but for all persons with cognitive disabilities.

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Segregation was the issue, particularly in the school system. In spite of our best efforts from the time of his birth, Kevin was 17 years old before he attended our own neighborhood school.

Even Public Law 94-142, or Education for All Handicapped Children Act, enacted in 1975, did not move our Illinois educational system into action. The reluctance perhaps was more our local districts rather than Springfield, but two more years of due process activity passed before Kevin entered Glenbard East High School in Lombard  his first entry into the regular school population.

I do not mean to compare this as equal to the heartbreak of Krabbe, but I do make a comparison of the state of Illinois being slow to implement change.

Blessings to Kenan's family and others sharing this diagnosis.

 Marjorie Sullivan Lee, Glen Ellyn
Outraged by a Chicago Tribune report, state Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, is asking officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health to explain at a legislative hearing next week why they never implemented a 2007 law that mandated screening Illinois babies for a deadly genetic condition.

Flowers, chair of the Illinois House Health Care Availability and Access Committee, was a co-sponsor of the law that added Krabbe disease to the state's newborn screening program a decade ago.

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She said she was upset to read that the Public Health department never began testing babies for this degenerative neurological disease, which can be treated only if caught within the first weeks of life.

"I was angry that so many parents had to suffer," Flowers said in an interview. "I need to know what is it about that law that we passed that the agency doesn't think they have to implement it."

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"We expected it to happen," Flowers said, "but the department never came back and told us that they never implemented it."

The 2007 law initially set a goal for testing to begin by November 2010. But attempts to carry out the screening have dragged on. In the Tribune's "Doomed by Delay" special report, a Public Health spokeswoman acknowledged that the state is now on "Plan D."

Flowers said she has asked Public Health Director Nirav Shah to appear before the hearing, which she said will be held in Springfield on Oct. 25.

When Krabbe disease is identified through the screening that babies undergo before leaving the hospital, doctors can intervene with a transplant of stem cells derived from donated umbilical cord blood.

Such transplants can extend life and reduce suffering, but only if they are performed before symptoms appear. That need for rapid intervention is why lawmakers added Krabbe to the state's newborn screening program, which uses a few drops of blood from a baby's heel to test for dozens of rare diseases at a Public Health lab.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Natasha Spencer cares for her son, Kenan, 6, in their home in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood earlier this year. Kenan suffers from Krabbe disease, a rare genetic condition. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The Tribune found at least five Illinois babies were born with Krabbe after the screening was supposed to be in place. None was able to receive a transplant because their conditions weren't caught at birth. Three of them have died.

Among those still living with Krabbe is Kenan Spencer Witczak, a South Shore boy born in February 2011. His mother, Natasha Spencer, warned Public Health Director Shah in a September 2015 letter that she and other parents were robbed of the chance to save their children from this devastating disease because of his department's failure to implement the law. She gave the Public Health director a detailed account of the daily suffering Kenan endures and implored Shah to take action so that no other babies would have to suffer her son's fate.

Two Illinois babies were born with Krabbe after Spencer warned Shah about his staff's complacency.

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Babies with Krabbe appear healthy at birth but quickly deteriorate when their nerves lose the ability to communicate with one another. They become paralyzed, blind, deaf and ultimately struggle to breathe. Without a transplant, most die before age 2.

pcallahan@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SheInvestigates
PHOENIX -- The state's top transportation official says there's no need to rename the "Jefferson Davis Highway'' in Arizona because as far as his agency is concerned it no longer exists.

John Halikowski acknowledges that the Arizona Highway Commission voted in 1961 to designate US 80 going through Arizona as the Jefferson Davis National Highway. Davis was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America.

And Halikowski said Arizona was just one of 15 states to adopt the name.

But in a letter to Ryan Ehrfurth, a staffer for the Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names, Halikowski pointed out that there is no longer a US 80 in Arizona. Various stretches of the roads it covered now carry different numbers, including US 60 and State Route 80.

And when US 80 disappeared, Halikowski said, so did the designation.

But the letter will not end the debate that has erupted in Arizona and elsewhere about the presence of monuments and markers for the Confederacy.

One of those markers proclaims that the Jefferson Davis Highway now sits in the right of way along US 60 near Apache Junction. Originally located along US 70 at Duncan, near the New Mexico border, the rock and granite monument was moved to its current location in the 1960s with state approval.

More to the point, it remains there with at least tacit state permission.

In fact, Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Tait said Tuesday that it's going to remain, at least for the time being.

"The engineers have determined at this point that that monument at Peralta Road is not an immediate safety hazard,'' he said.

Anyway, Tait said ADOT wants to talk to whoever owns the monument before making any decision.

But here's the thing: He conceded that the state actually has no idea who that is.

"We certainly would appreciate that the organization that claims ownership would contact us,'' Tait said. "Our understanding is it's changed hands a few times over the last couple of years.''

ADOT's claim that it needs more time drew derision from Rep. Reginald Bolding, D-Laveen, who has been pushing for years to rid the state of all monuments and memorials honoring the Confederacy. He said it took the agency two years years just to come to the conclusion that the highway is a legal non-entity.

"Now we're running into another game,'' he said, saying it could take ADOT another two years to search out the owner.

Halikowski's letter follows a meeting last month of the state Board on Geographic and Historic Names. It has authority over certain designations, including mountains, rivers -- and even roads.

Board members were presented with several petitions to remove the designation. A board staffer said he actually was able to find a reference to "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway'' on some officials ADOT maps, though they dated from 1992.

One wanted to rename the road for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. while another suggested honoring former Gov. Rose Mofford. But those stalled amid questions to ADOT of whether the highway designation still exists.

Dennis Preisler, chairman of the names board, said the panel could still pursue putting those names on at least a stretch of the US 60, even though there is now no need to first strip away the Jefferson Davis name. But he said that has complications of its own, including dealing with the fact that some stretches of the road already have other designations, including the Superstition Highway.

What that means, Preisler said, is there will be no immediate decisions made when the board meets again next month.

That still leaves the question of the monument.

Bolding noted that the solution is simple.

"Now that we know that highway no longer exists, it's ADOT's responsibility to move the monument,'' he said.
Chicago enjoys a good beer, so let us help you keep up with the craft beer events happening around the city as we track the craft beer events coming to town.

Bell's Tap Takeover at Tuman's Tap & Grill

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2159 W. Chicago Ave., 773-782-1400

4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, no cover, beers $5-$9

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Michigan's Bell's Brewery will tap into several seasonal brewsplus a couple year-round favoritesOct. 19 at Tuman's Tap. The headliner is its 2015 whiskey barrel-aged Neptune imperial stout, a rare, one-off selection from the brewery's Planets Series. Filling out the list are seasonal items like the Hell Hath No Fury Belgian-inspired dark ale, Best brown ale and Special Double Cream stout, as well as year-round staples Two Hearted ale and Kalamazoo stout.

Surly Tap Takeover at Mac's Wood Grilled

1801 W. Division St., 773-782-4400

4 p.m. Oct. 26, no cover, beers $4.50-$9

Try a trio of special brews from Minnesota's Surly Brewing Company on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Mac's Wood Grilled. The brewery will tap into its 2016 Darkness, a Russian imperial stout, and its 2017 Pentagram, a Brett dark ale, as well as Wet, a wet-hopped, West Coast-style IPA that the brewery hasn't made in two years. Two of Surly's year-round favorites, the Xtra-Citra pale ale and Hell, a German-style Munich Helles lager, will also be on draft.

Beat the Brewer at WhirlyBall

1825 W. Webster Ave., 773-486-7777

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7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Oct. 26, no cover, beers $6-$10

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WhirlyBall hosts its "Beat the Brewer" series every month, a night of beer tasting and free WhirlyBall in the spirit of good brew and good competition. This month, the renowned Dogfish Head Brewery will supply the suds, including its 60 MIN IPA, Namaste witbier, American IPA Flesh and Blood, Olde School Barleywine and oak-aged Vanilla World Wide stout. Festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. with a meeting session, then guests will compete against the visiting brewers in free games of WhirlyBall beginning at 8 p.m.

CAN'd Aid Benefit at Easy Bar

1944 W. Division St., 773-227-4644

8:30-11:30 p.m. Oct. 26, no cover, beers $6.50-$8

Oskar Blues Brewery will swing through Easy Bar next week for a fundraising event to benefit its charity, CAN'd Aid, and raise money for flood recovery, but the main attraction is the spectrum of brews from the Colorado brewery. The lineup includes Death by Coconut, Ten Fidy imperial stout, Mama's Little Yella Pils and Dale's pale ale cans, with a dollar from each sale being donated.

@lucheezy | adlukach@redeyechicago.com

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Sequels are tricky. They're rarely better than the original, and this happens with restaurants as well. Publican Anker in Wicker Park is fine, but it's not quite as refined or grand as The Publican.

One of my favorite restaurants of the last few years was Honey's in the West Loop, a place I gave a rare 4 stars. Recently two of the key partners of Honey's, chef Charles Welch and creative director Andrew Miller, broke off and formed their own group, called Out to Lunch Hospitality. Their first project was Good Fortune, a four month pop-up in Logan Square's old Sink Swim space.

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However, the duo has since closed the doors of its pop-up space (last service was Oct. 14) because they will be opening a permanent restaurant location in early 2018.

"We were fortunate enough to be offered the Sink Swim space for a temporary pop-up, and we were able to test out some great ideas and dishes while on the hunt for a more permanent spot," Miller said in a press release. "After experimenting with the culinary and cocktail programs, we're so pleased to bring an expanded and more complete version of Good Fortune to Chicago even sooner than we expected."

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I stopped into the Good Fortune pop-up before it closed to see if it would soar like Honey's or flounder like "The Matrix Reloaded."

The drinks: I lusted after the frozen negroni advertised on the sidewalk menu board outside. But my server said it wasn't ready because the machine had just been turned on. Oddly, this has been a trend. Recently, Mi Tocaya promised rose slushies infused with farm strawberries, but I never got a shot at trying them because they too turned on the machine too late. I can't complain too much as Campari slurpees are a luxury few will ever have, except maybe the diners who came two hours after me.

I settled for a Holy Toledo ($12) featuring, gin, grapefruit tonic and mint. It was a first rate aperitif brimming with citrus and bitterness that channeled summer on a Spanish plaza cafe. The white wines by the glass selection was full of eminently quaffable whites, including a mineral-rich 2015 Malat Gruner Veltliner ($11). When I tried to see if the frozen negronis were ready about an hour later (they were not), the server smartly salved my disappointment with an upsell on the 2015 Emmerich Knoll Riesling ($16), something you rarely see offered by the glass. Its taste of pear matched Welch's Mediterreanean-skewing food.

The food: One of the things I love about Welch as a chef is that he cooks with a level of refinement that's usually only found at expensive pre-fixe restaurants. Hiramasa ($12), tiny scrims of yellowtail glisten with bright ponzu sauce alongside Mick Klug farms grapes and apple cubes that burst like fruity fireworks. The plate looks like a selection of precious jewels and wakes up the palate for the rest of the meal to come.

Octopus ($13) is braised until it has the texture of silky duck confit and none of the rubber most people associate with octopi. It's tossed with grassy shishito peppers and baby leeks. Oysters ($3) and their shells become cornucopias overflowing with ripe August peach cubes and tangy horseradish. The raw bar game at Good Fortune is tight.

There is maybe too much stone fruit on the menu. A panzanella ($10) featured hard fruit and is forgettable. Stone fruit also plays a disappointing centerpiece at dessert, but we'll get to that later.

Welch reinvents Oysters Rockefeller ($15), subbing in creamy manchego for traditional parm and salty melt-in-your-mouth serrano ham for bacon. This paired with the Holy Toledo cocktail could fuel a pretty good standalone tapas bar.

Scallops ($25) are stained with rusty-colored achiote paste and tossed with habanero, sour orange and charred corn. It's an inspired scallops version of a taco al pastor without the taco shell.

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There is a house-made tagliatelle ($16) larded with funky sea urchin and fat curls of shrimp. It's good, but the noodles don't have the super comforting chew or even the creamy sauces that Welch's pasta at Honey's did.

Seared chicken ($26) has a crispy skin and its interior flesh is so soft I swore it must have been braised in vat of fat (it wasn't). Unfortunately, it was under-salted. The chicken was nested in a porridge of wheat berries, pistachios and pumpkin seeds, which also needed salt. The condimenta tomato, pepper and onion piperadeate like a killer winter goulash and was so good I ate it by itself.

Dessert: There was only one dessert, a peach crumble ($8) dolloped with whipped cream and sumac. I liked the lemony punch of the sumac, but the cream was not sweetened. It tasted flat, and slices of peaches were, as in the panzanella, hard. If you're gonna offer one dessert, it better bring people to their knees.

Service and intangibles: In addition to the recommendation of the Knoll wine I discussed earlier, there were some fine service touches. At the end of our meal, a server came by proffering a gratis jug of txakolina. If you've never had txakolina, it's like Sprite, Squirt and riesling had a baby, one of my favorite white wines. This was not any jug, but a porron, which is a pitcher with a tiny spout on the bottom that you lift over your face and shoot the wine directly in to your mouth. It's a Spanish thing and kind of like the wine drinker's equivalent of doing a keg stand. We passed it around the table.

Our bill also came with these nifty toy fortune teller devices, packets containing cellophane fish. You take the fish out of the packet and put it in your hand. Depending on what the paper fish does, whether its body or head or tail curls up, you can interpret your mood or personality based on a key on the front of the packet. Mine said I was fickle, which I guess is fitting for a critic.

Bottom line: I'm glad that they're focusing on a full spot, because I think that Welch and Miller are really talented and that rushing in to a pop-up didn't give them the time they needed to fully conceive the vision they're capable of. The flashes I saw in the pop-up, like the brilliant octopus and scallops or service touches like the recommendation of the Knoll wine and the after dinner offer of the porron should be realized in a full launch.

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[ Check out more of Michael Nagrant's restaurant reviews here.  ]

Michael Nagrant is a RedEye freelancer. Reporters visit restaurants unannounced and meals are paid for by RedEye.
Police are investigating reports that occupants of two cars involved in a fatal Orchard Road crash exchanged gunfire before colliding with a semi, killing two men from the Aurora area, Aurora police said Tuesday.

Detectives also continued to investigate whether another shooting Monday, in unincorporated Kane County, was connected to the fatal car crash that closed the road near Interstate 88 for hours.

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"As far as motivation or retaliation to any prior incidents we still need to sort out the exact details from yesterday's events before we can get a firm grasp of any specific motivation," Kane County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Patrick Gengler said Tuesday.

One of the men who died was a suspect accused of stabbing another man the night of a fight and fatal shooting at a downtown Aurora restaurant in 2016, court records show. Police at the time said the shooting and stabbing were gang-related.

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Aurora police have received several reports of the drivers of the two cars chasing each other and of shots fired, according to a statement released via Facebook Tuesday afternoon. No one has been charged in connection with that shooting, which damaged a home in the 1200 block of Morton Avenue and another in the 800 block of Old Indian Trail, police said.

A white Jaguar and a red GMC Envoy were northbound on Orchard Road, apparently traveling at high speeds, when both cars struck the trailer of a semi-tractor turning south onto Orchard Road after getting off eastbound I-88, according to the sheriff's office.

The GMC driver, identified as Christopher Shaw, 23, of North Aurora, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The front seat passenger, Devonte Bouchee, 24, of Aurora, died in the afternoon after he was flown to a Chicago-area hospital.

The back seat passenger, also airlifted, had injuries that were apparently life-threatening, officials said. Three others were taken to hospitals, Kane County sheriff's officials said.

Bouchee was charged with felony aggravated battery in the January 2016 stabbing of a Batavia man at La Quinta in Aurora after police said two groups of people began arguing and fighting outside as they were leaving a party at the restaurant. An Aurora man, Marcus Holland, was shot more than once and died at the scene. Charging documents state Bouchee is accused of confronting the Batavia man as he was trying to go back into the restaurant. According to the charges, Bouchee asked the man a gang-related question and stabbed him in the back.

Since then, Bouchee also has been charged with offenses including drug possession.

Previously, he had been sentenced to three years in state prison for having a firearm while his FOID card was revoked, court records show. He has also done jail time for convictions including theft and aggravated battery, and been ticketed for disorderly conduct in Naperville.

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Shaw's prior convictions include criminal trespass to residence, driving under the influence of drugs and illegal drug possession.

The colors of the cars that crashed matched the colors of the cars involved in an Aurora shooting, Gengler said. Working together, detectives from the county sheriff's department and Aurora Police Department haven't ruled out that the incidents "are the result of gang violence," according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

Deputies responded at 11:47 a.m. to the crash on Orchard Road at the intersection of the overpass for I-88, according to a news release from Gengler.

The Jaguar driver, a 38-year-old Aurora man; and semitractor driver, 27-year-old from Burbank, were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries, Gengler said.

The sheriff's office and Aurora police are investigating two separate reports involving vehicles chasing each other and exchanging shots in the Aurora area before the crash Monday.

Nothing was apparently hit in the first shooting, which was reported at 11:04 a.m. The second shooting, at 11:45 a.m., resulted in gunfire damage to two homes, according to Aurora police.

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hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
For the second year in a row, the Aurora Police Department will use a federal grant program to buy Segways for patrol officers.

The Aurora City Council recently approved a police plan to use most of the $34,311 the city will receive from the annual Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to buy the Segways for officers patrolling downtown Aurora.

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The three-wheeled version of the personal transportation devices are made especially for police, complete with lights and sirens.

Last year, the city bought two Segways with the Byrne grant money for patrolling along the riverfront, particularly at RiverEdge Park on North Broadway.

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A police spokesman told aldermen the Segways have worked well, which is why the city wants to get more.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant is a federal Justice Department grant given particularly for law enforcement equipment. It is named in memory of a young police officer who was killed in the line of duty.

Aurora shares the grant with Elgin and Kane County, and because of its size, Aurora gets the biggest chunk. The Elgin Police Department will get $13,297 and the Kane County sheriff's department will get $20,403.

The Segways will cost about $26,000, and officials want to put the rest of the money - about $8,000 - toward a narcotics analyzer that allows police officers to street test any substance on the scene of a police stop.

The analyzer would cost about $27,000, and Aurora would cover the difference with drug forfeiture funds.

The Byrne grants come from the U.S. Justice Department, and most years, local officials talk about it possibly being the last year their jurisdictions will get the grants.

In this past year, the grants have gotten more and more tied up in the immigration discussion. In the summer, the Justice Department introduced more guidelines for getting the grant tied to local jurisdictions exchanging more information about the undocumented.

This past week, the Justice Department sent a letter to cities, like Chicago, with welcoming ordinances, often called sanctuary city ordinances, threatening the grant altogether.

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Aurora does not have such an ordinance, although the city is looking at a model version right now. But the city has issued administrative guidelines that are similar to a welcoming ordinance.

Alex Alexandrou, Aurora chief management officer, said he was "not aware" of any such letter coming to Aurora, or coming to the mayor's office.

slord@tribpub.com
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin was recently inducted into the Robert Morris University Alumni Hall of Fame.

Irvin accepted the award last weekend during an awards ceremony held at the university's Arlington Heights campus.

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"The purpose of the Alumni Hall of Fame Award is to recognize the university's alumni who had made exemplary contributions to both their communities and to Robert Morris University," said University President Mablene Kruger. "Mayor Irvin has attained excellence within professional achievement and military service and has demonstrated commitment to service through volunteer efforts."

Irvin earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Robert Morris before going to the Northern Illinois University School of Law. He later taught at both universities.

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"I am completely humbled by this august honor," Mayor Irvin said. "As I've shared many times publicly, it was at Robert Morris where I really learned to believe in my academic abilities and, ultimately, in my dreams of becoming successful."

Robert Morris University has nine campuses throughout Illinois, including Aurora.

Last month, Irvin was named the Northern Illinois University School of Law's 2017 Alumnus of the Year. In 2009, he was inducted into the East Aurora High School Hall of Fame.
Hiding behind the username "davidbanks1014," a 39-year-old Aurora man is accused of enticing at least four underage girls to send sexually explicit images of themselves through a popular video-sharing app, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Barnett, 39, of Aurora, was arrested at his home Monday morning on federal charges of producing and transporting child pornography. When the FBI led a search on his home, law enforcement seized electronic devices and several firearms. He is set for a 3 p.m. detention hearing Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in Chicago. His license to carry a concealed handgun in Texas expired Oct. 4, according to court records.

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Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said Barnett was not known to the Aurora Police Department.

The person using the davidbanks1014 identity reached the girls through the Musical.ly app.

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Described in court documents as a federal employee hired in February and working out of Des Plaines, Barnett allegedly created the davidbanks1014 account while living at a corporate housing facility in Oklahoma City during his new-employee training.

When one girl wouldn't give him what he wanted, the complaint alleges, he sent her a photo of a semi-automatic handgun, a concealed-carry holster and a magazine full of ammunition.

He told her it was his and described other guns he supposedly owned. He could and would shoot her, he wrote, threatening "ill wait till school starts and see what house you come out of," according to authorities.

Joel R. Levin, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and John P. Sellack, acting special agent in charge of the FBI in Chicago, announced the charges in a news release, crediting FBI offices in New Orleans and Buffalo and sheriff's offices in Florida and Louisiana with their roles in the investigation.

Attorney Beth Westman Jantz, who is representing Barnett through the Federal Defender Program, said she can't comment on pending cases.

Barnett would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison if convicted on the charge of producing child pornography. A conviction on the count of transporting child porn would mean a mandatory minimum of five years but as many as 20 years' imprisonment, according to the news release.

FBI Special Agent Kimberly Castro wrote in an affidavit that Barnett, posing as an adolescent, used the davidbanks1014 account to induce multiple girls to make and send photos or videos of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In at least one case, davidbanks1014 sent photos back to a girl, threatening to post them more publicly on the app if she didn't come through with something more revealing.

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In May, the sheriff's office in Jacksonville, Fla., took a report at an elementary school, where at least three girls had received sexually explicit messages over the Musical.ly app from davidbanks1014, who claimed to be 13 years old and know where the girls lived.

Some of the girls' parents' told authorities the user threatened to "kidnap, rape and kill" the girls if they told anyone what he said, according to the complaint.

In June, the parent of the 9-year-old girl reported her experience to the Ouichita Parish sheriff's office in Louisiana. In July, an investigator served a search warrant on Musical.ly for records.

On Friday, the federal agent applied for a warrant to search the Aurora residence, and Valdez issued it. When authorities arrived Monday, Barnett was there.

This is not the first report of someone trying to solicit child porn using the app.

In August, an unknown Musical.ly user who used the name "Jessy" and claimed to be 9 years old reportedly asked a 7-year-old girl to take and send photos without a T-shirt on, Batavia police said.

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The app has a private messaging function, direct.ly, which, under privacy settings, users can limit to contact from friends. Accounts also can be set to private. A separate app, Live.ly, features live streaming.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
East Aurora School District 131 board members are delaying a decision in their discussion about district leadership for next year, board members said.

Before making a decision about the type of leadership they'd like for the district or selecting a superintendent search firm, board members have chosen to work with the Illinois Association of School Boards to set board goals, said member Kim Hatchett, who is leading efforts to select district leadership. They are expected to meet with the association within 30 days, she said.

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"I believe, and a couple of other board members agreed, that we really need to know as a board what we're looking for in a superintendent," she said. "That will help the search move quicker and will show any candidate that there is alignment on the board."

The discussion comes as the district is led by two interim superintendents. Mark McDonald began working in the district in July 2016, and Steve Megazzini, the former director of human resources, was promoted to an assistant superintendent and took on interim superintendent duties in mid-September. Megazzini replaced a previous interim superintendent who had worked with McDonald since July 2016.

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Board members have heard presentations from three superintendent search firms, and were expected to discuss them at a meeting Monday. They did not make a decision about a firm, and are still weighing three leadership options for next year: continue with two interim superintendents, have one interim superintendent, or start a search for a permanent superintendent, Hatchett said.

The board has not talked in detail about what would happen if there is no permanent superintendent in place for next school year, she said.

Hatchett said a new superintendent would be looking for direction from board members, so the board must have goals.

Members did not begin working earlier with the Illinois Association of School Boards to set goals because they were focused on other areas, she said, citing a failed application from an organization to open a charter school within the district boundaries and getting regular, everyday student busing up and running for the first time in the district's known history.

"I think with all of the various things that were going on, there were so many priorities," Hatchett said. "We got stopped with the charter school, we got stopped with the whole busing."

Board member John Laesch, referencing how information is shared from administrators to the school board, called for new board leadership and "an ethical superintendent." He called the move to bring in the Illinois Association of School Boards a "stall strategy."

Laesch said the 30-day time frame would put the district behind the curve in finding good leadership, but it was better than nothing.

"If we put it off a month, we're delaying and we're hampering our ability to find a qualified superintendent," he said.

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He has concerns about the temporary nature of the interim superintendents, he said. He questioned what was the board's plan if no permanent superintendent is found.

"In carrying out goals, we need somebody there full time for a minimum of three years to effectively implement change," he said.

School board President Annette Johnson said the board had not ruled out any superintendent search firms, but needed to better define its goals first.

"If you don't give the search firm truly truly defined goals and things like that, what you're looking for, if you don't lead the discussion with them, they're not going to know us so they're not going to be as helpful," she said.

The board's goal was still to have a superintendent for the 2018-19 school year, but it might be later into the year rather than July 1, 2018, she said.

"Yes, we are basically still going to look (for a superintendent), but we are taking our time," she said.

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Hatchett said the board initially planned to make a recommendation about the three district leadership options in November, and she expected to be able to speak clearer about the remainder of this year at the board's first November meeting.

"I think that, even under the leadership of interim superintendents, we have made great progress," Hatchett said. "And we have more stability in the district than when I first came on, so if we have to go down that path another year, I don't think it's going to hurt us."

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Twitter @srfreish
Jurisdictional questions are delaying the filing of homicide charges in the case of the missing Glendale kindergarten teacher whose body was found in Mayer Friday.

The body of Cathryn Gorospe was found on private property near Nugget Mine Road by Flagstaff Police and Yavapai County Sheriffs Deputies.

The Yavapai County Medical Examiner has declared the death a homicide, according to Flagstaff Police Spokesman Sgt. Cory Runge.

The primary suspect in Gorospes death, Charlie Malzahn, 27, gave police details and directions on Gorospes location, police said. He was arrested Oct. 9 while driving Gorospes blood-stained Rav4.

Gorospe was last seen alive on October 6, when she bailed Malzahn out of Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff for an auto theft he allegedly committed on August 20.

Law enforcement officials believe the location of Gorospes body is not the same as the location of her murder, which is creating jurisdictional issues for police. Police believe Gorospe was killed in either Yavapai or Coconino counties.

She was reported missing in Flagstaff but we found a body in Yavapai County, Runge said. Dumping a body is a crime but it does not supersede homicide. We are trying to locate the area where the murder occurred and that will determine jurisdiction on this case.

Coconino County Attorney Bill Ring expressed the same jurisdictional concerns as the police in his written statement.

The criminal matter remains under investigation and covers several law enforcement jurisdictions. Flagstaff Police Departments contribution represents outstanding police work, Ring wrote. The suspect is in custody in Maricopa County and is facing charges that occurred later in this regrettable sequence of events. When the investigation into incidents in Coconino County is completed our Office will evaluate the case for charging. All matters occurring here and elsewhere will be taken into consideration.

Runge said that police are confident that the body found is Gorospes because Malzahn led law enforcement officers to the body and the deceased person matched the physical description of the missing teacher. The body was found with the same clothes as Gorospe was wearing on the night of her disappearance on October 6.

Police are waiting on DNA testing to confirm the identity of the victim beyond a doubt, Runge said. No information on the likely cause of death or the murder weapon has been released.

Malzahn is currently in the custody of Phoenix Police on assault charges unrelated to Gorospes death.

Malzahn stole his sisters car at gunpoint in Tempe on Aug. 20, leaving his sister and her children stranded on Interstate 10. He was arrested in Williams later that night and was in jail until Oct. 6, when Gorospe bailed him out.

Several residents in Williams stated that Gorospe and Malzahn spent time together over the summer and described their relationship as friendly. She worked as a tour guide at the Grand Canyon Railway, he as a waiter in a local restaurant after completing a 4.5-year prison term in June.

Malzahns stepfather is the Williams chief of police, who has said he has had little contact with his stepson in the past decade. He has delegated all police matters regarding his stepson, who has an extensive criminal record, to other officers in the department.

Ring expressed his condolences to Gorospes family.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Ms. Gorospe. Their strength during this time of loss is an example for us all.

Police have identified the location where the body of a Glendale kindergarten teacher was found Friday as Mayer, a small town midway between Dewey and Cordes Junction on state Highway 69.

The body of Cathryn Gorospe was found on private property near Nugget Mine Road by Flagstaff Police and Yavapai County Sheriffs Deputies.

The Yavapai County Medical Examiner has declared the death a homicide, according to Flagstaff Police Spokesman Sgt. Cory Runge.

Gorospe was last seen alive on October 6, when she bailed Malzahn out of Coconino County Jail for an auto theft he allegedly committed on August 20. Malzahn stole his sisters car at gunpoint in Tempe, leaving his sister and her children stranded on Interstate 10. He was arrested in Williams later that night.

The primary suspect in Gorospes death, Charlie Malzahn, 27, gave police details and directions on Gorospes location, police said. He was arrested Oct. 9 while driving Gorospes blood-stained Rav4.

Runge said that police are confident that the body found is Gorospes because Malzahn led law enforcement officers to the body and the deceased person matched the physical description of the missing teacher. The body was found with the same clothes as Gorospe was wearing on the night of her disappearance on October 6.

Police are waiting on DNA testing to confirm the identity of the victim beyond a doubt, Runge said. No information on the likely cause of death or the murder weapon has been released.

Malzahn is currently in the custody of Phoenix Police on assault charges unrelated to Gorospes death. Runge said that although Malzahn has not been charged with a crime regarding Gorospe, police are working closely with the Coconino County Sheriffs Office regarding potential charges.

However, law enforcement officials believe the location of Gorospes body is not the same as the location of her murder, which is creating jurisdictional issues for police. Police believe Gorospe was killed in either Yavapai or Coconino counties.

She was reported missing in Flagstaff but we found a body in Yavapai County, Runge said. Dumping a body is a crime but it does not supersede homicide. We are trying to locate the area where the murder occurred and that will determine jurisdiction on this case.

Coconino County Attorney Bill Ring expressed the same jurisdictional concerns as the police in his written statement.

The criminal matter remains under investigation and covers several law enforcement jurisdictions. Flagstaff Police Departments contribution represents outstanding police work, Ring wrote. The suspect is in custody in Maricopa County and is facing charges that occurred later in this regrettable sequence of events. When the investigation into incidents in Coconino County is completed our Office will evaluate the case for charging. All matters occurring here and elsewhere will be taken into consideration.

Ring also expressed his condolences to Gorospes family.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Ms. Gorospe. Their strength during this time of loss is an example for us all.

Runge did not elaborate on Gorospe and Malzahns relationship, which he had previously described as romantic, stating that he did not think it was relevant to their homicide investigation.

Several residents in Williams stated that Gorospe and Malzahn spent time together over the summer and described their relationship as friendly. She worked as a tour guide at the Grand Canyon Railway, he as a waiter in a local restaurant after completing a 4.5-year prison term in June.

Malzahns stepfather is the Williams chief of police, who has said he has had little contact with his stepson in the past decade. He has delegated all police matters regarding his stepson, who has an extensive criminal record, to other officers in the department.
Country Club Hills School District 160 has cut ties with its superintendent, who had been on paid administrative leave since the beginning of the school year.

The board approved a separation agreement with Sandra Thomas at its meeting Tuesday night, passing the item without discussion.

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Thomas, who had led the district since 2014, was placed on leave Aug. 15  the night before school was set to begin  and replaced by an interim superintendent who is under contract through the end of the school year.

The board has declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding Thomas' abrupt removal from her post, citing "personnel matters."

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Letters in Thomas' personnel file obtained through a public records request refer to an investigation, but do not specify the nature of the probe. Prior to her recent issues, Thomas had been disciplined only for her failure to complete state mandated education modules in April 2016, records show.

Thomas, who made $173,350 last year, authored a letter to parents the week she was placed on leave 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 spokeswoman Divya Little said.

IDPH sent the district a letter on Aug. 15, the day Thomas was placed on leave, stating that a health department representative had "observed that asbestos containing floor tile materials had been improperly removed" inside three classrooms, records show.

"The work procedures utilized during the removal of asbestos containing floor tile materials left the classroom portions of the facility contaminated with asbestos fibers," the letter states.

As a result, IDPH placed an emergency stop work order on the classroom areas at Southwood from Aug. 14-17, until it was determined the issue had been abated.

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.

The district's director of business operations Kenya Austin said that asbestos abatement was not the primary reason the first week of classes were canceled and denied that any improper removal of asbestos had occurred.

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She blamed the delay of the school year on complications with several different construction projects and said the off-site death of an environmental consultant had led to the asbestos-related confusion.

Austin claimed the classrooms at Southwood 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.

After learning of the contractor's death, she said she immediately called in another company to perform an air quality assessment, which came back free of asbestos and allowed the district to re-open the affected classrooms within 24 hours.

The IDPH has said it 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.

District 160 school board president Tamara Young declined comment on the asbestos issue following Tuesday's meeting, but said she concurred with Austin's version of events.

Neither she nor interim superintendent Griff Powell would discuss the terms of the district's separation agreement with Thomas.

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According to the terms of Thomas' employment contract, the district can unilaterally terminate her contract for any reason as long as it provides her 60 days notice. This week marked the 60-day mark since Thomas was placed on leave.

In such an instance, the district is responsible for paying Thomas' salary in full through the end of her contract, which expires June 30, 2018.

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Powell, who is being paid $1,000 per day for overseeing the district's three schools until a permanent replacement can be found, led the board in a discussion of the upcoming superintendent search at Tuesday's meeting.

"The most important decision the school board ever, ever makes is the selection of the superintendent," he said. "You talk a lot about climate and culture here, you're going to make a decision that'll set, hopefully, a positive climate and culture for years to come."

Powell recommended the school board employ the Illinois Association of School Boards to conduct the superintendent search rather than bringing on a more costly private search firm or conducting the search itself.

With the board's consent, Powell said he work to set up a time later this month or early next month when school board members could meet with an IASB representative to discuss the search process.

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Aside from Southwood, the other schools in the district are Sykuta Elementary and Meadowview Intermediate.

zkoeske@tribpub.com

Twitter @ZakKoeske
A Chicago woman has been charged with Medicaid fraud and identity theft for allegedly defrauding the state of nearly $1 million, according to the Illinois attorney general's office.

Santila Terry, 45, allegedly billed the state for children's speech therapy services that she never provided, the office said Tuesday.

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In an indictment handed up Friday, it is alleged that Terry billed Medicaid through her Southwest Side business, Special Therapy Care Chartered, using a former employee's personal information and Medicaid provider identification number.

The business was located in the 11700 block of South Western Avenue, but phone numbers listed for the business have been disconnected.

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Terry improperly billed the state more than $909,000 for therapy she falsely claimed the employee provided to children, according to the attorney general. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 27.

The billing scheme began in September 2011, when the employee left the company, and continued into November 2014, according to the indictment.

The case was investigated by the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau.

In a news release announcing the charges, Capt. Brian Levy, the bureau's commander, described the billing scheme as "a complex criminal enterprise."
The Justice Department said Tuesday it had filed a civil lawsuit against the husband-and-wife owners of a Matteson health care company alleging they falsely billed Medicare for millions of dollars in unnecessary or nonexistent health care services.

The complaint alleges that Gateway Health Systems Inc. and its owners, Ajibola Ayeni and Joy Turner-Ayeni, both of Flossmoor, violated the federal False Claims Act by seeking and receiving Medicare payments for home health services supposedly provided to homebound individuals who were not actually in need of such services, the Justice Department said in a news release.

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The lawsuit also alleges that another Matteson company owned by Ajibola Ayeni, Docs at the Door, falsely certified non-homebound individuals for medically unnecessary home health services and also fraudulently "upcoded" physician home visits to boost Medicare reimbursements.

The upcoding meant the visiting doctors were providing more in-depth and time-consuming services at patients' homes, according to the complaint.

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The government alleges that, in conducting a time and distance analysis of Medicare billing generated, a visiting doctor would have needed all 24 hours in a day, or more, to provide the amount of services claimed on some days.

The Justice Department said it was intervening in a lawsuit that was filed under seal in 2013 by a private citizen.

In early August, the government announced an indictment containing several counts of alleged health care fraud against Ajibola Ayeni and Docs at the Door. He has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the government alleges the Ayenis created false documentation to conceal the fact they were billing for services not rendered as well as for services not medically necessary because patients were in fact able to leave their homes for doctor visits.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

One patient, according to the complaint, said she did not want to receive health care at home and the visiting physician was told to try to convince the woman to accept care at home, which she refused. Still, Gateway and Docs at the Door, "for years" continued to submit false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary services for her, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges the couple's scheme netted them millions of dollars in federal health care funds to which they were not entitled. The lawsuit doesn't say how specify a dollar amount.

A message left with Gateway seeking comment was not immediately returned.

The government also contends the couple attempted to conceal certain assets from the government, including two properties in Frankfort and their home in Flossmoor, after learning of the investigation into their health care businesses.

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The lawsuit states the pair "either intentionally transferred the properties to avoid paying a judgment to the United States for their fraud, or at a minimum, knew that they had incurred debts that they would not be able to pay." The complaint seeks to void the transfer of the properties to trusts on the basis of fraud.

mnolan@tribpub.com

Twitter @mnolan_J
A Tinley Park man has been charged with aggravated robbery in connection with the Aug. 14 holdup of a sandwich shop in the village, police said in a news release Tuesday.

Mark Sherman, 35, of the 6600 block of West 175th Street, allegedly made off with $150 from Subway in the 17200 block of South Oak Park Avenue after implying he had a gun, according to police.

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He was arrested and charged Monday following an investigation by Tinley Park police, according to Chief Steve Neubauer.

During a court hearing in Bridgeview on Tuesday, bail for Sherman was set at $150,000 and the case continued to Nov. 13.
The Affordable Care Act and health care, President Donald Trump's proposed tax plan, and the ongoing investigation into possible Russian interference in the U.S. election were among topics district residents asked U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th District) as he held at Town Hall meeting Monday night at Elgin Community College.

Nearly 70 people attended the visit with Krishnamoorthi, who was elected last November to the seat formerly held by Sen. Tammy Duckworth. It was his first town hall meeting in Elgin since his election.

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The event was well-received by the audience, who often broke into applause following the representative's answers to questions.

He spoke about his new job and the ongoing challenges faced by lawmakers.

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When he was sworn in on Jan. 3, his 8-year-old son wanted to know "what bad words will you be saying today?" Krishnamoorthi laughed.

There have been times in the 10 months since then where he's thought of a few bad words, Krishnamoorthi said.

"I am concerned about the direction of our country at a time we could use more stability, predictability and to come together. We are confronted with more instability and unfortunately are being pulled apart," he said.

His first question from the audience  a three-parter  covered the ACA, the proposed tax plan and a request to do away with Daylight Savings Time.

Krishnamoorthi passed on the Daylight Savings Time question  "I have no answer on that"  but addressed some of the other concerns.

Whatever ultimately happens with the ACA, the U.S. government needs to observe the first principle of health care  "do no harm," the congressman said.

The bills put forth in the current congress haven't done that, he said, adding that so far the bills have been "an attempt to repeal a system that was covering tens of millions," of citizens.

But to improve the current law, there needs to be either more teeth in the system to encourage individuals to purchase insurance, or plans that, while robust, are more affordable for young people who can't or don't have access to their parent's insurance.

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Later in the the event, one constituent suggested ACA should tie into student loan debt, and allow some sort of trade off to young people who have both student loans and must purchase insurance.

That is an idea Krishnamoorthi said he wouldn't mind borrowing.

He also suggested a public option in the insurance exchanges, allowing purchasers to pay into and benefit from government-ran health insurance, and a plan which would allow adults age 50 to 64 to buy into Medicare before they hit retirement age.

Krishnamoorthi noted that as Trump's proposed tax plan stood, he could not support it, particularly if it did away with the state and local tax deductions.

"I will not stand for any tax increase for middle class or working Americans, there is no way I will support that," he said.

Eliminating the state and local tax deduction "would be a huge tax increase for everybody in this room," and could cost Kane County families $5,000 in additional federal taxes each year, he said.

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One resident directly asked Krishnamoorthi to support impeachment against Trump.

He serves on the oversight committee for those investigating allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. "We will hold the administration accountable for what happened in the campaign," Krishnamoorthi said, adding that "our democracy is under attack from the Russians."

What he has learned through the committee is that "Gen. Michael Flynn is one weird dude," and there are other characters in the Trump administration, Krishnamoorthi said.

There are lawmakers on the "other side of the aisle who have come to the same conclusion but that impeachment, or invocation of the 25th Amendment will not happen without Republican support, Krishnamoorthi said.

As the investigation continues they will "let the facts lead to what they may," he said. If that is allowed to happen, "the end results will be much stronger, if you know what I mean."

The last questions of the night came from 15-year-old Nick Martino. The student told Krishnamoorthi he had been reading about corruption in Washington, D.C., and Wall Street, and wanted to know what he and others can do to stop that.

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Much of the corruption comes because of the money involved in politics, the representative said. Bringing in more public funding of elections while forcing broadcasters to charge less for advertising may be one way to reduce the financial incentives, Krishnamoorthi said, but he also advocated overturning Citizen's United, the Supreme Court case which allowed corporate money in elections.

That would need either a constitutional amendment or a new Supreme Court to overturn, he added.

Janelle Walker is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Evanston police said they have received dozens of calls about alleged sexual abuse by a former Evanston Township High School teacher since a Facebook post Oct. 12, 2017. (Pioneer Press)

Evanston police said they have fielded dozens of calls regarding a retired Evanston Township High School teacher since the allegations emerged Oct. 12 on social media that he molested boys at the school decades ago.

"Nobody has officially filed allegations" against the former teacher, said Evanston police Commander Joseph Dugan. "The approximately 30 calls were more of background type info or I heard/recall this."

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Further, Dugan said detectives have reached out to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office for help in investigating the allegations.

"I don't think it's going to be over anytime quick," Dugan said.

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The police investigation began Oct. 11 after ETHS officials reported postings by a former student on Facebook stating that the now-retired teacher had molested him.

Jeff Lieber, 48, said he posted those comments on a social media site, and said the former teacher sexually abused him while he was a student at the high school in the 1980s.

Lieber said he wrote the post in a closed Facebook group page after hearing the allegations of sexual harassment in recent days against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Weinstein has been accused of the sexual harassment and sexual assault of numerous women, over a period of decades. He has admitted to some misconduct but has said through representatives that all encounters were consensual.

"The Weinstein thing made me aware that group silence can empower sexual predators," Lieber said.

Other former ETHS students also posted on Facebook that they shared similar experiences.

The Evanston Review does not normally name the victims of alleged sexual crimes, but Lieber, who is now a television writer in Los Angeles, said he made a public declaration to help anyone else who may also have similar experiences.

"My only great regret is I didn't stop and say, 'Wait, I'm leaving this guy in place,'" and did not go to authorities in the 1980s, Lieber said.

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ETHS officials issued a statement Oct. 12 saying they were aware of the allegations and that the former teacher was barred from from the school premises, including an event that took place Sunday at the school.

School officials said the retired teacher had purchased a ticket to the event.

"ETHS issued a no-trespass order to this individual on October 12, 2017, to prohibit their presence on campus and at any school-related or school-sponsored activities and events," Supt. Eric Witherspoon said in the statement.

ETHS officials did not immediately comment on the latest report of more allegations, except to say a statement would be issued soon with updated information.

Officials with the state's attorney's office declined to comment on the case Tuesday and would not confirm or deny that they are working with Evanston police on an investigation.

State's attorney officials referred all questions about the statute of limitations for prosecuting child sex crimes to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault in Springfield.

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Staff there said that an individual who says they were sexually abused as a child before August 2017 have up to 20 years after their 18th birthday to report it and seek prosecution.

A law went into effect Aug. 11 that eliminated the statute of limitations  going forward  on felony criminal sexual assault and sexual abuse crimes against individuals who are under the age of 18 when the alleged crime occurs, according to the text of the law. The law does not apply retroactively.

But Polly Poskin, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said that even if the statute of limitations has passed an individual should still should report their experiences to police, who are required to document the allegations.

"The Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault encourages victims who want to file a report to call the police even if the case is very old," Poskin said via email. "Often, victims just want to make sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to another child, or they want to make sure the offender is convicted of sexual assault in a later case."

The accused retired teacher did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the additional allegations. When first asked about the accusations on Oct. 12, the teacher said "that just seems silly."

The Evanston Review is not naming the retired teacher because he has not been charged with a crime.

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"I have to deny it," the teacher said. "I'm not a sexual predator for goodness sake. I'm a grandfather."

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
A former longtime Chicago-area teacher avoided jail time but was sentenced to two years of sexual offender probation Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to having images of child pornography on his cellphone while substitute teaching at Evanston Township High School last year.

Ronald Hornish, 61, of Chicago, pleaded guilty at the Cook County courthouse in Skokie to felony possession of graphic information. According to a plea agreement, Hornish "had pornographic materials including a digital photograph of a person under 18  posed in a suggestive manner with the focus on the child's clothed genitals," according to a plea agreement.

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Hornish was charged in August 2016 with five counts of felony possession of child pornography after an Evanston student found an unattended cellphone at the school and, while looking through it to discern who it belonged to, found what appeared to be sexually explicit images depicting children, authorities said.

School officials learned the phone belonged to Hornish, a substitute teacher on his first day on the job at the school, and alerted police, authorities said.

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During a subsequent investigation, prosecutors said, authorities found on a computer in Hornish's home "hundreds of images depicting acts of sexual abuse and exposure" that appeared to involve subjects younger than 18. Some of the children depicted appeared to be younger than 10, authorities said.

At Hornish's arraignment last year, his attorney said that before his client began substitute teaching at various districts in the region, Hornish had a long career as a Chicago-area educator.

After Hornish's arrest, a spokeswoman for Community High School District 99 confirmed that Hornish was a music teacher at Downers Grove South High School from 2000 until November 2011, when he was laid off as part of a reduction in force resulting from declining enrollment.

The District 99 spokeswoman also said school officials received no reports of inappropriate contact with students involving Hornish. Prosecutors at the time also said that none of the images found in Hornish's possession appeared to depict any of his students.

A LinkedIn page appearing to belong to Hornish also indicated he previously taught at Morton West High School in Berwyn and more recently worked as a self-employed musician and private instructor.

Hornish could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison. Along with receiving probation, he was ordered to pay fees and fines of $1,204. In sentencing Hornish, Judge Paul Pavlus said he took into account that Hornish did not have a criminal record and that he was receiving treatment for alcohol abuse.

Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.

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[ Judge reduces bond for ex-teacher accused of child porn possession  ]






Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., center, addressed students at the Muslim Community Center Academy school in Morton Grove Oct. 12, 2017 after they wrote him a letter expressing concerns. (Muslim Community Center Academy)

When students at a Morton Grove Islamic school wrote letters recently to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., he responded in person, visiting the school to talk face-to-face with the youngsters about the concerns they expressed.

Durbin visited the Muslim Community Center Academy Oct. 12 and talked to some of the elementary school's students about their letter, which was specifically about the crisis facing Muslims in Rohingya, Myanmar but also about violence against those in the U.S. who practice the faith, according to a school news release announcing the senator's visit.

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In the letter, the students said they were grateful that Durbin seemed to show compassion for those who have been targets of such violence, according to the release.

Durbin talked with the students about violence in Myanmar and other political and cultural issues Muslims in America currently face, school officials said.

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"Senator Durbin's visit to MCC Academy showed our students the power of their voice as American Muslims," said MCC Academy Principal Habeeb Quadri. "The fact that a United States senator cared to visit them and hear their concerns on issues they care about was a perfect lesson in American democracy at its best."

Quadri and Morton Grove mayor Dan DiMaria were with the students when Durbin visited.

Kyra Senese is a freelancer.
The newly-formed Morton Grove-Niles Water Commission recently took major steps forward in the process of getting both municipalities ready to transfer their source for receiving water from Chicago to Evanston.

The Morton Grove Village Board approved purchasing a one-acre site at 7900 Nagle Ave. to accommodate building a pumping station and water facility that officials say is necessary for the water transfer.

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The Niles Village Board approved a similar measure, officials said.

The resolution adopted by both municipalities lists the purchase price of the property at $795,000 to be shared evenly between Morton Grove and Niles.

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"Staff has determined that a site currently for sale located at 7900 Nagle, Morton Grove, meets the commission's needs," Morton Grove Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski said. "As part of the cost sharing agreement between Niles and Morton Grove, each municipality will pay 50 percent of the costs to acquire the property."

Czerwinski said the municipalities will be reimbursed through bond proceeds or water revenue.

The Morton Grove and Niles Village Boards earlier this year approved creating the joint water commission since both municipalities are changing long-standing practices of getting their source of water from Chicago to Evanston.

"This is the next step in our process to change our water supply from the city of Chicago to the city of Evanston and also to enhance the cooperation that we have with the village of Niles," Czerwinski said when the commission was formed.

One function of the joint commission, Czerwinski said, is to apply for state and federal grants and low-interest loans for infrastructure work to enable delivery of Evanston's Lake Michigan water.

Czerwinski said the two villages through the commission have also been able to study and analyze finances for the project and negotiate engineering and construction contracts  the purchase of the property on Nagle Avenue being one of them.

Another recent contract approved by both boards calls for a professional service agreement with HNTB Corporation to conduct an independent review of the design engineering services for the infrastructure project that will enable water to come from Evanston.

The contract is listed as $75,000 to be split evenly between both municipalities, officials said.

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When the Morton Grove Village Board voted Sept. 25, Czerwinski said any recommended purchase by the commission of more than $45,000 must be approved by both village boards under the intergovernmental agreement.

Evanston officials have said becoming the water supplier for Morton Grove and Niles could begin happening as soon as late 2018.

Morton Grove and Niles officials have estimated they will pay about $90 million for a new water transmission main at McCormick Boulevard and Emerson Street in Evanston and other infrastructure upgrades. But they also said that their villages could save as much as $100 million over the life of the 40-year contract.

The deal calls for increasing the number of suburban customers using Evanston water from 400,000 now to about 450,000, according to Evanston figures. Morton Grove and Niles users are expected to make up about 13 percent of those using Evanston-supplied water, city officials said.

The change is expected to generate an additional $735,000 in revenue for Evanston next year, rising to $1.2 million in 2022, according to city reports.

misaacs@pioneerlocal.com

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The latest small-format Target store quietly opened this week in downtown Oak Park, days ahead of its Oct. 22 grand opening.

The 22,000-square-foot store is located at the new Emerson development, 1129 Lake St., and includes several features familiar to Target customers, and features that may be new to some shoppers.

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"You'll notice we'll carry most essentials that a normal Target would carry, but with less assortment," store manager Ivan Bahena said. "Our Starbucks [near the Lake Street entrance] is not your typical, full-size Starbucks, but for the most part it will have most of the drinks, but not as many breakfast sandwiches. Our pharmacy is also run by CVS. What I've been hearing from the community is we've been welcomed with open arms and there's a lot of excitement for this store in downtown Oak Park."

Customers check out at Oak Parks new small-format Target, 1129 Lake St. during its first week in business Oct. 18. The new store sits at the base of the new Emerson development in downtown Oak Park. ( Steve Schering/Pioneer Press )

The new store carries fresh groceries, a full liquor department, a health and beauty section, select men's, women's and kid's apparel, select toys and sporting goods, a home department and a small electronics section.

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According to Bahena, Target customers can park for up to one hour for free, with a Target purchase, inside a new parking garage accessible from Westgate Street between Harlem Avenue and Marion Street.

Oak Park resident Sue Kehias, one of the store's first customers, heard the store was open on social media and wanted to check it out.

"It is pretty tiny, but it's going to be great having everything here in one spot," Kehias said. "I didn't see a lot of kids clothes I'd normally grab, but it has groceries and a pharmacy. I'm texting my book club members about the store right now."

Shopper Nora Powers, of Oak Park, had to return an item to a Target store, and decided to do so at her new hometown location.

"They have a lot more stuff than I thought they would have," Powers said. "I'm impressed. I thought they could have done two floors, or have more clothes and shoes than they have, but I think it's great. I like that they have order pickup [for online purchases]."

According to Target officials, the Oak Park location is the company's eighth small-format store in the Chicago area. In addition to this week's opening in Oak Park, the company opened new small-format stores in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood and in Skokie.

In addition to customers, some local business owners said they are excited for the new store, including Downtown Oak Park Board President Cindy Summers, who owns Sugar Fixe Patisserie, 119 N. Marion St.

"I'm hoping people will be willing to go downtown because of Target and realize it's not that hard to come downtown and will check out the rest of the district," Summers said. "The construction [of the Emerson development] has been challenging, but that's to be expected. I'm excited, though, especially with the new parking garage at the Emerson. We already are seeing new people from the [21-story Vantage development] and can't wait to see new people from the Emerson as well."

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Rachel Weaver, co-owner of The Book Table, 1045 Lake St., however, expressed some concerns at the new business and soon-to-be completed development.

"I don't think it's an ideal location for a Target," Weaver said. "I worry about people staying out of downtown because of the traffic. I also worry a little about the smaller business because Target has a little of everything. In my opinion, it may detract from local businesses."

Oak Park's new Target store is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @steveschering
An Illinois man has been charged with numerous counts of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal and animal cruelty after investigators found 37 dogs, most of whom appeared "sickly and horrendously thin" in a St. John building, court records said.

A warrant has been issued for Larry E. Brodanex, 36, of Chicago Heights, who was charged in Lake Superior Court with seven counts of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, all of which are Level 6 felonies, and 11 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to an animal. The charges were filed after authorities received reports of the animals' condition and visited the building where Brodanex rents space, documents said.

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Brodanex has since filed a lawsuit, which was moved to federal court, against the town for violating his constitutional protections from unreasonable search and seizure, according to court documents.

Brodanex said police, during two separate search warrants, which he characterized as "illegal," police seized dogs, business documents, a laptop, a camera and bottles of dog medicine, according to court filings.

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The business, the Trauma Training Experience, received its business license from the town on Sept. 15, according to documents, and Brodanex was the sole owner of the dog breeding and training business.

"None of my dogs are used for dog fighting. In fact, I am extremely against dog fighting and have made my views public via social media," Brodanex said in an affidavit filed in federal court. "All the dogs taken from my business were happy and healthy."

The owner of the building at 9620 Industrial Drive in St. John met St. John police and the animal control officer on Sept. 12 at the building. Dogs were standing in urine and feces and many appeared horribly thin, had sores and were filthy, the probable cause affidavit states.

Jennifer Strasser, an Indiana State Board of Animal Health field veterinarian, examined 36 of the dogs and concluded that nearly every dog in Brodanex's care needed some form of veterinary care when she assessed them, documents said. Sixteen of the dogs were below normal body condition and some dogs hadn't received adequate veterinary care for an extended period of time, records said.

During the Sept. 12 visit, Jan Kalinowski, the St. John animal control officer, noted there were five young puppy-age dogs sitting in very small crates with feces and urine. "Two of the puppies were emaciated, excessively dehydrated, had horrible stomach bloat, were covered with feces and urine, and had pads and paws that were red, irritated and deformed from standing and being housed for long periods of time in cages with no bottoms," court records said.

Among the dogs, "Goliath," an adult light red ale cane corso, was described in court documents as between very thin and emaciated, had hearing wounds around his nose, broken teeth, hair loss on all four legs, tail and other areas and other wounds which would require additional veterinary treatment. The dog was described as having no palpable body fat and the dog's ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones were visible, records said.

Craig Lyons contributed.

Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The Gary Common Council on Tuesday approved its roughly $55 million municipal budget for the 2018 calendar year, with most portions of the budget remaining identical or similar to the spending levels that were used by Gary for 2017.

"It's pretty much the same as last year," said council President Ronald Brewer. "There's no pot of money hidden away somewhere for us to spend extravagantly."

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Under Indiana law, municipalities must provide their budgets for the upcoming year for a state review by the beginning of November.

The council voted to approve eight different ordinances that, when combined, comprise the spending for Gary government for 2018.

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Four of the ordinances were approved by 8-0 votes, with Councilwoman Rebecca Wyatt, D-1st, absent.

Four other ordinances received approval votes of 7-1, with two councilwomen  Linda Barnes Caldwell, D-5th, and LaVetta Sparks-Wade, D-6th, each choosing to vote against two ordinances to express their displeasure with portions of city government.

Caldwell voted against the two ordinances that detailed the funding for the Gary Redevelopment Commission, an entity that she has in the past expressed concerns about. On Tuesday, all she would say about her vote was, "It's my decision."

Sparks-Wade voted against the two ordinances that provide for salaries and operating expenses for the Gary/Chicago International Airport. In the past, Sparks-Wade has objected to airport executive director Dan Vicari doing double duty within the city by also serving as director of the Gary Sanitary District.

"We were told last year that this situation would change and that he wouldn't be running both agencies, but nothing has changed," Sparks-Wade said. "So I'm voting against it to show my opposition."

The Common Council went through Tuesday's proceedings with little to no public discussion  although a public hearing held earlier this month gave people in attendance ample opportunity to express their objections to all portions of the budget.

Some last-minute changes, however, were made by the Common Council.

It seems the ordinance providing for the city's general fund, along with parks and police pensions, along with an ordinance outlining the Redevelopment Commission's daily expenses, both had to be altered at the last minute before a final vote of approval could be taken.

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Gary Controller Celita Green said that both ordinances had flawed figures in that decimal points were misplaced. "The numbers were right, once the decimal points were moved back to where they belonged," she said.

Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Skokie mayor George Van Dusen said the city of Evanston is taking oppressive action in its lawsuit against Skokie over water rates filed in September. (Brian O'Mahoney / Pioneer Press )

In the wake of a lawsuit Evanston filed against Skokie over new water rates, Evanston stopped providing water quality testing and pump maintenance service to Skokie as of Oct. 1, Skokie officials said Tuesday.

Skokie Health Director Dr. Catherine Counard complained in a statement released Tuesday that the village received only 72 hours notice from Evanston about the termination of the services, which she called a "vital public health protection."

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Skokie officials said water in the village remains safe through efforts of the Skokie Health and Public Works departments. Replacement inspection and maintenance services are in place to assure safe water delivery, they said.

Skokie Village Manager John Lockerby also assured Skokie water customers that water service will continue uninterrupted and that water will continue to "adhere to the highest water quality standards," according to the statement.

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Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said Evanston took appropriate action. At the end of September, he said, no agreement was in place and Skokie was showing "no sense of urgency" to renew the expired one.

"We did not have a valid contract," he said. "They chose not to extend the contract we had."

The city filed a lawsuit against Skokie Sept. 26 in Cook County Circuit Court after months of negotiations over new water rates.

Skokie has been buying its water from Evanston for 73 years, according to the lawsuit, but the two municipalities have not been able to reach agreement over a new contract. The most receent agreement expired Dec. 31, 2016, the lawsuit states.

At issue is that Evanston wants Skokie to pay $2.06 per 1,000 gallons of the Lake Michigan water it treats and supplies to Skokie, according to the lawsuit.

But Skokie wants to pay "somewhere in the vicinity of 70 cents per 1,000 gallons" which Evanton states in the lawsuit is "far below a fair and reasonable rate."

Evanston turned to the courts to help resolve the dispute.

"Evanston and Skokie are unable to mutually agree on a reasonable rate to pay Evanston for water," the lawsuit reads. "Unfortunately, Evanston has no choice but to seek a declaratory judgment establishing that the equitable and reasonable rate chargeable to Skokie is $2.06 per $1,000 gallons of water supplied."

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But the two municipalities see the rate Evanston is seeking differently.

According to Evanston officials, the $2.06 rate would mean Skokie would still have a lower rate than most nearby towns.

Bobkiewicz said Skokie's rate has been "artificially low" for a long time and the new rate is well within market standards.

"Skokie needs to share in the cost and they seem reluctant to do so at a fair market rate," he said.

Skokie officials say that Evanston's proposed rate is 91 percent higher than the current rate and 164 percent higher than the water rate that Evanston is charging the villages of Morton Grove and Niles.

Evanston officials maintain Morton Grove and Niles have different and less expensive infrastructure needs and so the comparison isn't valid.

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Skokie mayor George Van Dusen said the requested hike is "a distorted application" of a method for setting water rates and accused Evanston of taking "a deceitful approach" to Skokie's effort to negotiate a fair price for water.

"The village of Skokie is examining all options for responding to Evanston's actions, which are clearly a result of its recently acknowledged budget distress with a $6 million deficit," he said.

He added that the village would "vigorously defend Skokie taxpayers against Evanston's actions and will look at alternate sources that can provide water to our community."

Skokie Village Attorney Michael Lorge called it "shocking" Evanston would take "reckless and hostile actions, which strain the relationship between our communities."

Van Dusen said Evanston is trying to balance that city's budget on the backs of Skokie residents.

"There are consequences when neighbors take unilateral and oppressive actions designed to penalize neighbors that have historically cooperated with and supported their community," he said.

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But Bobkiewicz said the mayor's "strong words" are not commensurate with the facts.

"The facts speak for themselves," he said. "If you look at the numbers of other neighboring towns and what other towns pay for water, this is a fair agreement."

misaacs@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @SKReview_Mike
Sean Robinson of La Grange is an 18-year-old senior at Lyons Township High School who is interested in television and film production and furniture design. He traveled to southern Illinois to film the eclipse for LTTV, the school's television station.

Q: What do you like about Lyons Township High School?

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A: All the opportunities given to us at such a young age.

Q: What extracurricular activities are you involved in at LT?

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A: LTTV and automotive. I like working on cars.

Q: What was it like to travel to southern Illinois to film the solar eclipse for LTTV?

A: It was great. It was worth going all the way down there.

Q: How long did it take you to get back?

A: We left at 3:30 p.m. and got back at 9:30 a.m. the next day.

Q: What do you want to do as a career?

A: I don't know. There are so many things I am interested in. I want to go to college for film and TV and furniture design. I can see myself doing either as a profession.

Q: Do you have siblings?

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A: I have two brothers.

Q: What's your favorite movie?

A: 'Wayne's World'

Q: What's your favorite TV show?

A: I don't watch that much TV.

Q: What is your dream vacation?

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A: To go to Alaska. To do some fishing or something.

Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.

amannion@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @triblocalam
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By Srinivas Raman

China recently abolished an archaic FDI law from 1995 regulating the establishment of representative offices (ROs) of foreign firms doing business in China.

The reform is part of a larger initiative to cut red tape in China and attract greater foreign direct investment (FDI) amid concerns from the foreign business community over the countrys business environment.

The repeal of the law streamlines the setup process for foreign investors establishing ROs in China, and marks another effort by the government to reform administrative processes.

Corporate Establishment Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

What does the reform entail and how does it impact foreign firms?

ROs often play a pivotal role for foreign firms entering China, allowing them to establish a low-cost presence to formulate pre-entry market strategies. Investors typically use ROs to test market conditions before committing a heavier investment, as they are mainly engaged in conducting research and strategizing the foreign companys future investments in China.

Since ROs are easier to form and involve lower expenses compared to other investment vehicles, it is common to see firms operating through an RO before setting up a full-fledged wholly foreign-owned entity (WFOE).

A set of federal rules enacted in 1995 governing the examination, approval, and administration of ROs of foreign firms in China was recently repealed. These rules entailed several cumbersome compliance requirements for foreign firms, such as necessitating them to apply for official approval and obtain multiple registrations within stringent timeframes. These rules frequently drew criticism from international business circles due to their rigorous application.

By abolishing these rules, the Chinese government has simplified the process for setting up an RO by lowering compliance costs and reducing procedural delays. According to the Ministry of Commerce, this move will deepen reforms in streamlining administration, delegating power, and optimizing services.

Why does China need to bolster its FDI landscape?

In recent years, China has experienced a fall in FDI and inbound M&A as foreign firms are growing increasingly wary of entering the Chinese market. Among the causes for this stagnation is the complexity of the Chinas legal, regulatory, and tax framework, which acts as a deterrent for foreign companies. Due in part to these barriers, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks China 59th out of 62 countries evaluated for openness to FDI.

These shortcomings are accentuated at the time when other emerging markets in Asia, like India and Vietnam, are liberalizing their economies and incentivizing FDI by introducing significant legal and regulatory reforms. Further, burdensome compliance requirements, the inadequacy of legal safeguards, rising costs, and competition from domestic Chinese firms have catalyzed many foreign firms to shift their focus from China to other emerging markets in Asia.

RELATED: Why is Chinas Tax System so Complex?

How does this reform fit in with the larger FDI Policy?

The repeal of the 1995 rules is a small but significant part of the larger FDI reform policy enacted by the Chinese government throughout 2017. Other key reforms undertaken this year include amendments to the Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment and the updated Free Trade Zone Negative List. China has also implemented some ancillary measures that complement the FDI reforms and encourage foreign firms to do business in China.

These measures include an enhanced and simplified IP regime; corporate tax cuts and certain tax exemptions; simplified procedures for corporate establishment; and reforms aimed to attract foreign talent to China.

What can foreign investors expect from the recent reforms?

One fundamental aspect common to all the recent reforms is the digitization and simplification of compliance procedures, which will reduce overhead costs and procedural time lags. However, despite the introduction of these beneficial reforms, foreign firms remain apprehensive about investing in China. This is because there are still several restrictions and underlying regulatory issues that need to be streamlined alongside the FDI reforms.

For instance, although the 1995 rules have been repealed, foreign firms establishing ROs are still required to comply with a separate set of rules enacted in 2013. While the 2013 rules may be less cumbersome than the 1995 ones, they still impose significant compliances and restrictions.

Per the 2013 rules, foreign firms are required to make detailed disclosures in their annual reports and undertake a document intensive registration process. ROs are also prohibited from engaging in profit making activities, face heavy restrictions in hiring staff, and are only permitted to engage in a very narrow range of activities.

Moreover, a closer look at the industry-specific liberalization measures reveals that many of the recently liberalized sectors are already dominated by large domestic companies, which may pose stiff competition for foreign firms and act as an effective deterrent.

Although the repeal of the 1995 RO law will not fundamentally shift Chinas FDI landscape, it represents another small step in streamlining Chinas business environment.



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.

Chinas Investment Landscape: Identifying New Opportunities

Chinas foreign investment landscape has experienced pivotal changes this year. In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we examine how foreign investors can capitalize on Chinas latest FDI reforms. First, we outline new industry liberalizations in both Chinas FTZs and the country at large. We then consider when an FTZ makes sense as an investment location, and what businesses should consider when entering one. Finally, we give an overview of Chinas latest pro-business reforms that streamline a wide range of administrative and regulatory measures.

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U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday that no major trading partner of the United States, including China, manipulated their currencies.

In its Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies, the Treasury Department concluded that no major trading partner of the United States met the standard of currency manipulation in the first half of 2017.

However, it put China, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland on its "monitoring list," which means their foreign exchange policies bear close monitoring.

The Treasury Department said it places "significant importance" on China adhering to its G20 commitments to refraining from engaging in competitive devaluation and not to target China's exchange rate for competitive purposes.

The Treasury Department also said China's efforts to prevent a sudden depreciation of its currency had helped the United States and global economy.

China's recent intervention in foreign exchange markets and tightened capital controls "have likely prevented a disorderly currency depreciation" that would have negative consequences for the United States, China, and the global economy, the report said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this year that China had not been manipulating its currency for months, a sharp reversal from his campaign rhetoric.

The International Monetary Fund also said in August that Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) remains broadly in line with fundamentals.
Leaders of Algeria's ruling and opposition parties both are showing keen interest in the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), given its major role in China's development as an economic power.

Mekki Zoulikha, a member of the central committee of the ruling National Liberation Front, said China was a pivotal country and the CPC had contributed to the development of China's domestic and foreign policies, transforming the country into an economic giant.

She noted that the 19th CPC National Congress, which opened Wednesday in Beijing, will analyze current international and domestic situations and set guidelines and policies in line with the trend of the times.

Noamane Laouar, a leader of the Movement of Society for Peace, Algeria's main opposition, said his party has been closely following all CPC national congresses.

"China's development stands at a new historical starting point, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new phase of development," he commented.

The CPC national congress, held every five years, elects the party's leadership and draws a blueprint for national development for the next five years and beyond.
 Flash

Following a four-month-long offensive by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Islamic State (IS) collapsed under the pressure and lost its de facto capital in Syria's northern province of Raqqa.

The SDF troops, an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians led by the Kurdish YPG and supported by the U.S.-led coalition, have fully captured Raqqa on Tuesday, after eliminating the terror-labeled militants in the heartland of their rule in Syria.

"The military operations in Raqqa have ended and now the city is being mopped up in search of sleeper cells if existed," Talal Silo, the spokesman of the SDF, told Xinhua by phone.

The city is also being combed in search of mines, as the situation in Raqqa has been completely controlled by the SDF.

"Soon we will have an official statement about the liberation of Raqqa," he said.

"Sure the city of Raqqa has been liberated, and the military operations have ended, but we are mopping up the city," he stressed.

The victory marks the first major defeat to IS in Syria, as Raqqa is the de facto capital of the terror-designated group.

In the last week, a deal was struck between the SDF and IS with the mediation of local tribes in Raqqa for their surrender.

Around 3,500 civilians evacuated the city over the past week, in addition to 275 local IS militants, while another 300 foreign ones remained in the city to meet a black fate.

Kurdish activists said the surrendered IS militants were taken to prison in the city of Tabqa in the countryside of Raqqa, while other activists, mainly pro-Syrian government, said the U.S.-led coalition and the SDF allowed them to be transferred to the countryside of Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria where the Syrian army is advancing in the battle against IS in that oil-rich area near Iraq.

For the foreign IS fighters, the U.S.-backed coalition didn't accept their departure, as Paris opposed to their transfer as one of them was the mastermind behind the terror attack in Paris.

The foreigners are the ones who were standing till the end before the SDF retook all of their positions, including the city's local stadium, which was the last IS position in Raqqa.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday that as many as 3,250 people, including 1,130 civilians, have been killed during the four-month-long battles in Raqqa.

It added that children and women were among the killed civilians, as the rest of the death toll is for IS militants and SDF fighters.

IS declared Raqqa as its de facto capital in 2014, after announcing their self-styled caliphate in Syria.

Finally, the end of IS has become around the corner, as the Syrian army forces and its allies are clawing back areas fallen to the terror-designated group in Deir al-Zour.

The Syrian army succeeded over the past two days to completely besiege IS in areas they control in the city of Deir al-Zour and started attacking those areas.

This came after the army captured the city of Mayadeen, which was deemed as the IS capital in Deir al-Zour.

With the IS positions now crumbling in Deir al-Zour, the terror-designated organization is left with a major stronghold in the city of Bukamal on the border with IS-controlled areas in Iraq.

The Bukamal battle is expected to be the last against IS in Syria.

Hmaidi Abdullah, a Syrian political expert, told Xinhua the battle in Bukmal could take some time due to its proximity to IS-held areas in neighboring Iraq.

Meanwhile, Anas Joudeh, the head of the Nation Building Movement, told Xinhua that the end of IS is something positive, noting, however, that the most important thing is how to eliminate the ideology of IS.

"If we defeat IS and we didn't fight its ideology, it could re-appear in Syria," he said, adding that "a political solution and reconciliation are the solutions to prevent IS from re-appearing in another shape."

For its side, the Syrian government has commented on the liberation of Raqqa by the SDF, as it has expressed dismay and rejection to the U.S.-led coalition, accusing it of massacring the people in Raqqa during the operation.
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Illegal immigrants arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libyan coast guards in Tripoli, Libya, on Oct. 17, 2017. Libyan coast guards on Tuesday rescued 147 illegal immigrants off the coast of the western city Garabulli. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)

Libyan coast guards on Tuesday rescued 147 illegal immigrants off the coast of the western city Garabulli.

"Coast Guards vessel rescued 147 illegal immigrants of different African nationalities off the coast of Garabulli," the Coast Guards said.

"The rescued illegal immigrants were taken to Tripoli naval base. Medical assistance was provided by the International Medical Corps. After that, they were handed over to the Anti-illegal Immigration Department and transferred to Tajura reception center," the Coast Guards added.

The Anti-illegal Immigration Department on Tuesday said that 40 Bangladeshi migrants were repatriated from Libya as part of the humanitarian repatriation program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Libyan authorities.

IOM on Monday said that more than 8,000 illegal immigrants have been repatriated voluntarily from Libya this year so far.

Insecurity and chaos in Libya that followed the 2011 uprising led to massive flows of migrants through the Mediterranean towards European shores. Those who are rescued at sea by Libyan navy are detained in reception centers with poor living conditions.
China Aviation Daily | Oct. 18, 2017

Emirates Skywards, the award-winning frequent flyer programme of Emirates Airline, today announces its partnership with Mileslife, the innovative airline miles-earning App, to provide both Mileslife & Emirates Skywards members with a growing network of Skywards Miles accumulation options.

With this tie-up in place, Mileslife app users who are Emirates Skywards members can now earn Skywards Miles through dining, hotel, spas and other recreational activities with both local and travel merchants in China, Singapore and beyond. Effective today, for every CNY spent, members will earn up to 1 Skywards Mile and an exclusive additional bonus based on their Emirates Skywards tier.

Emirates Skywards Silver members will earn 25% bonus Miles on every purchase, Gold members will earn 50% bonus Miles and Platinum members will earn 75% bonus Miles. To celebrate the partnership, for a limited time members can instantly earn 200 Skywards Miles when they link their Emirates Skywards account to Mileslife, as well as earn triple Skywards Miles on all purchases via Mileslife till 30 November 2017.

Skywards Miles can be earned from numerous handpicked merchants via Mileslife, ranging from mid-to-high end restaurants, recreational activities, premium spas, wellness centers, exclusive boutique hotels, luxury resorts and even train travel. Some of the current partner merchants of Mileslife include hotels and spas such as Rosewood Beijing, Four Seasons Beijing, Fairmont Peace Shanghai and F&B outlets such as King's Joy, TRB, Da Ivo, Alan Wong's Shanghai as well as a number of recreational facilities, including Life Infinity, Mr & Mrs Fitness in China.

Having partnered with Emirates Skywards program, Mileslife's extensive frequent flyer network is now providing its service across Asia, Europe, America and the Middle East.

Emirates flies from five destinations in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Yinchuan. With 38 weekly flights originating from China, Emirates enables convenient connections through its hub in Dubai to extensive destinations worldwide.

"As a global airline, serving 154 destinations in 84 countries from our hub in Dubai, we are always looking for more ways to reward and provide greater value to our Emirate Skywards members," said Dr. Nejib Ben Khedher, Senior Vice President of Emirates Skywards. "With this newly established partnership with Mileslife, we are offering more ways for our members in both China and Singapore to earn Skywards Miles across lifestyle brands. In addition, our premium tier members will receive exclusive bonus Miles benefits based on their Emirates Skywards membership status."

Troy Liu, Founder and CEO of Mileslife elaborated: "We are committed to making miles collection programs more versatile, not just in the skies, but also on the ground. Digitally savvy visitors flying to China and Singapore, and locals, will be able to wine and dine at their favourite restaurants and indulge in spa experiences with minimal fuss when it comes to miles collection."

As the first direct airline miles and points earning platform, Mileslife is pioneering a new way that enables members to collect airline miles and points through their dining, travel spending, spas and other recreational activities. It endeavours to cultivate and elevate the entire airline loyalty program industry as well as strengthening the connection between airlines, customers, merchants, and banks. Launched in China on November 2015, and subsequently in Singapore earlier this year, Mileslife has partnered with a number of leading loyalty programs in Singapore and China.

Contributed by Emirates
Thriving domestic economy will boost global partners, ambassador says

China's continued economic growth and its efforts to ramp up international relations will bring "even bigger benefits" to the United States economy and its people, according to Beijing's top envoy to Washington.

Workers man an assembly line at a BYD car manufacturing facility in Lancaster, California, in March. [Photo/Xinhua]

Speaking ahead of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the US, said he believes the meeting promises to bring about win-win scenarios for China and for its global partners.

Citing figures and sources from the US-China Business Council and JPMorgan Chase, Cui said in an article posted online by CNN on Monday that China has made headway in its reform, while a booming Chinese economy has proved a boon to the US.

The congress, scheduled to open on Wednesday, is expected to unveil a new leadership and set a blueprint for national development for the next five years and beyond.

"We expect the Party congress will illustrate that China's unrelenting efforts in reform and opening-up has added further momentum not only to its own development, but also to that of the world economy," Cui wrote.

"By strongly emphasizing our outward-looking vision, this year's congress promises to continue to bring about win-win scenarios for China and for our partners across the world, particularly the US."

Cui said, as previously shown, the twice-in-a-decade congress can be the beginning of tremendous determination and development.

For example, when the 18th CPC National Congress concluded five years ago, an ambitious plan was introduced by the current leadership to build a new, open economic system. Since then, he said, the country has turned those ideas into structural reform, economic growth and tangible institutions.

"China's supply-side reform is actually kicking in," the ambassador wrote, citing Jing Ulrich, managing director and vice-chairwoman in the Asia-Pacific for JPMorgan Chase.

According to a Sept 14 CNBC report, Ulrich said at the Milken Institute's Asia Summit in Singapore that the Chinese leadership has been containing capacity growth and closing a lot of factories in the steel and aluminum sectors. "So now, reform actually has come to fruition," she said.

Cui said China has increased its contributions to international economic governance, especially since the 2012 congress. The country has done this through strong endorsements of globalization and free trade in the international arena, and through groundbreaking endeavors like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to address Asia's infrastructure needs, and the Belt and Road Initiative to increase connectivity throughout Eurasia, he said.

2.6 million US jobs

Citing figures from the US-China Business Council, a private nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of roughly 200 US companies that do business with China, Cui said 2.6 million US jobs are supported by the China-US bilateral trade relationship.

The ambassador also quoted a report by Oxford Economics for the council in January that said US exports to China are expected to reach more than $520 billion by 2030, as China is expected to continue to be one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

However, Cui cautioned that the mutual opportunities afforded by a globally engaged China are not always on the mind of the US, citing the recent investigation initiated by the US into intellectual property.

He said the probe "showed the overemphasized trade imbalance between the two countries, the misunderstandings about China's debt, and the treatment of foreign investment based on each other's appeals are all major concerns for the bilateral relationship".

"Through dialogue, our two countries can address these concerns, which in turn will benefit the global economy," he added.
A worker inspects an air conditioner at the production line of Haier Group in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese home appliance giant Haier Group will have 10 interconnected factories in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific markets by the middle of next year, said a top executive.

The move is part of the group's long-term commitment to transform from a traditional manufacturer into a nimble and intelligent producer in the internet age.

Haier's interconnected factory focuses on developing a flexible mass customization process by using intelligent technologies, "with core competency of user-orientation and fulfillment of user lifetime value", said Chen Lucheng, vice-president of Haier.

"The strategy targeting foreign markets aims to further meet the demand of local users, since sales in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific account for a larger proportion of the group sales."

Asked whether the plan would meet with an obstacle from the US administration, Chen said the viable way is to transform and upgrade its GE Appliances factory. The business was acquired from US-based General Electric for $5.6 billion in early 2016.

"We are not going to build new plants there  So that is feasible," Chen said.

Haier's plan to promote its interconnected factories overseas may vary, depending on what it has done in the destination country.

For example, in the Asia Pacific region, where most of the factories were built by Haier, the company is going to launch the overhaul directly, according to Chen.

So far, 15 out of its 54 overseas factories were self-built, and the rest were either merged or acquired, the group said. "By 2019, 20 interconnected plants would be launched overseas."

For the past several years, Haier has been putting efforts to speed up product development by applying intelligent manufacturing solutions while optimizing the production process based on the analysis of massive and diversified user demand.

Intelligent manufacturing does not mean replacing workers with machines. It is more than setting up automatic equipment and building unmanned factories, said Zhang Ruimin, chairman of Haier.

It means working out a management model that could integrate users' varied needs, he said.

Qingdao Haier Co Ltd, the group's listed unit, reported 4.4 billion yuan ($673 million) of net profit in the first half of 2017, with a year-on-year growth of 33.5 percent.

Jin Xing, an analyst at CITIC Securities Co Ltd, said Haier is likely to report significant earnings growth in the third quarter this year. Its overall net profit in 2017 is expected to increase more than 30 percent year-on-year.
China's outbound direct investment from non-financial sectors dropped 41.9 percent year-on-year to $78.03 billion between January and September, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday.

The drop in the country's ODI during this period narrowed 3.9 percentage points from the first half of this year, indicating that China kept deploying more investment in manufacturing and modern service-related businesses in global markets.

Investment in leasing and commercial services, manufacturing, and retail and information-related businesses took 32 percent, 17.3 percent, 12.2 percent and 10.5 percent of the country's total ODI, respectively, during the nine-month period, said the ministry.

Companies from China invested in 5,159 companies in 154 countries and regions from January to September and signed $168.2 billion in new contracts for overseas projects, a rise of 13.8 percent year-on-year.

The ministry said China would continue to tighten its review of the authenticity of overseas investment and its compliance with regulations, and guide more investment into the real economy and reduce investment in sectors in which Chinese companies are not proficient at managing.

Meanwhile, outbound investment in 57 economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative stood at $9.6 billion, accounting for 12.3 percent of total ODI, up 4 percentage points year-on-year.

China's ODI in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Russia jumped 82.9 percent, 68.8 percent, 68.2 percent and 34.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, during the first three quarters of this year.

Commerce Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said late last month the government would encourage ODI activities that can assist the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and resolve overcapacity issues in global markets.

"The infrastructure development involved in the initiative will require a high degree of coordination between and among states, the private sector and civil society, as well as vast investments of capital and material resources," said Zhang Yansheng, deputy director of the expert committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

"Therefore it is necessary for governments and companies engaged in the initiative to have a clear understanding of the key factors in driving success."

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in China rose 1.6 percent year-on-year between January and September to 618.57 billion yuan ($93.47 billion), the Ministry of Commerce announced last Friday.
Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm. [Photo provided to China Daily] Editor's Note: The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China starts today. In the runup to the meeting, China Daily interviewed business leaders from major multinational companies for their views on economic developments here and the country's global leadership role.

Steve Mollenkopf is the CEO of Qualcomm Inc, a multinational semiconductor and telecoms group based in the United States.

What three words would you use to describe China today?

Innovative. Collaborative. Green.

There is a growing global consensus that innovation-based development is an imperative for sustainable economic growth across the world. And the Chinese government has reiterated that innovation is the primary driving force for development.

The country is working hard to integrate itself into the global innovation network, while optimizing the allocation of resources in a collaborative way. Qualcomm has supported Chinese smart device manufacturers in their global goal and we are delighted to see them gaining overseas success.

The government has also attached great importance to ecological protection in recent years. During my visits to China, I have been impressed by the considerable efforts toward improving the environment.

What is the biggest challenge China faces and how can the country overcome it?

All nations and economies, including China, face the challenge of sustaining innovation. For example, entrepreneurs risk huge investments in research and development, while innovation will be hindered if a return is not guaranteed.

An incentive mechanism is needed to allow inventors to make bold investments and unlock creativity. A good policy structure and framework, including the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), would protect and incentivize innovators and entrepreneurs.

The government has stepped up its efforts in IPR protection in the past five years, and innovators are now more assured that their inventions, if successful in the market, will be protected and rewarded.

Could China's experiences be used to solve global problems?

In certain parts of the world, the "digital gap" has affected people's economic, political and social life. It has become a pressing problem in the information era.

It is admirable that President Xi Jinping has made poverty alleviation a top political priority for the Communist Party of China and the government at all levels.

We support efforts to encourage operators and enterprises to bridge the digital gap through improved telecom infrastructure.

In fact, our corporate social responsibility program, Wireless Reach, has helped bridge that gap.

As a Fortune 500 company, what sectors do you think offer the most opportunities for development?

Wireless technology has played a crucial part in industry as a whole. Next generation, or 5G, will be widely adopted by nearly all sectors, and will redefine work procedures and rewrite the rules of economic success.

According to an independent research report, entitled the 5G Economy and commissioned by Qualcomm, this technology will help produce $12.3 trillion of global economic output by 2035. In China, the 5G value chain will help produce $984 billion in output and create 9.5 million jobs.

Another promising sector is the internet of connected vehicles. This is expected to increase productivity and sales value, as well as improving user experience and environmental quality.

It will also reduce traffic problems and fatality rates. Our recent acquisition of NXP (Semiconductors NV, a global manufacturer based in the Netherlands) is part of our strategy to expand into this sector.

What factors will boost China's growth this year and in 2018, and what are the challenges facing the economy?

Chinese enterprises are involved in areas such as 5G technology, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, big data, integrated circuits, robotics, and virtual and augmented reality.

During the next few years, these areas will serve as engines for innovation and trigger economic growth. I am pleased to see that Qualcomm is working closely with Chinese companies in these fields.

What opportunities will the Belt and Road Initiative throw up for China and the rest of the world?

Information interconnectivity is not only the basis but also a priority of the Belt and Road Initiative. This is fueling the "going global" strategy among Chinese telecom companies.

In 2016, we established the Shenzhen Innovation Center to support the overseas development of domestic manufacturers. With the combination of their efforts and support from Qualcomm's technologies, Chinese companies have made outstanding progress in overseas expansion.

Our footprint is in various locations across the country, including the server chipset joint venture in Guizhou (province) and the internet of things joint venture in Chongqing. We also have a testing facility in Shanghai, the innovation center in Shenzhen, as well as our branch in Xi'an (Shaanxi province). This has laid the foundation for our support for the Belt and Road Initiative.

What are the most innovative trends and products in China?

There are so many such as high-speed rail, mobile payments, bike-sharing and online shopping. These have played a significant role in changing the way people live and work in China. Not surprisingly, the last three are powered by wireless connectivity technology.

For Qualcomm, we have teamed up with China Mobile (Communications Corp) and Mobike (also known as Beijing Mobike Technology Co) to support bike-sharing with our leading internet of things and mobile security technologies.

We have also collaborated with Chinese enterprises, such as Xiaomi (Corp), to enable "high-speed railway mode" for smartphones, which guarantees a stable signal and internet access for travelers.

China is known as a manufacturing giant, but what will be the country's "calling card" in the future?

In the long run, China will transform from a "manufacturing power" to an "innovation powerhouse". Next generation networking, artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data and smart devices will be the driving forces behind this change.

By upgrading the country's industry, China's economy will be fueled by more intelligent and high-end manufacturing. In fact, we are working extremely close with our Chinese partners to foster innovation in those areas.
Northern port city plans further steps to speed up economic transformation

Tianjin, a northern port city, is ramping up efforts to attract more high-end homegrown and foreign-funded companies, particularly those in the service sector, a top official said on Tuesday.

The Chinese city said it would help further speed up regional economic integration with Beijing and the neighboring Hebei province. A coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area has been one of China's strategic priorities.

Zheng Weiming, director of the Tianjin Binhai Central Business District Area management committee, said the Tianjin Binhai New Area would be targeting companies that are focused on innovation and would "optimize investment policies and strengthen the necessary infrastructure."

A new high-speed railway line linking Tianjin with Beijing is expected to built in the next five years, according to Zheng.

"There is a growing trend that companies which were incubated in Beijing are choosing to grow up in Tianjin," Zheng said, citing Linkdoc, an online platform collecting healthcare data, as an example.

Since 2015, at least 1,043 Beijing-based companies, with a total registered capital of over 150 billion yuan ($22.67 billion) have started operations in the Tianjin Binhai area. During the first six months of the year, more than 200 high-quality firms from Beijing have set up offices in the city.

"We also want foreign companies to invest here, especially those in the service industry," he said. About 300 Fortune 500 firms currently have units in Tianjin.

Initiated in 2013, the coordinated plan aims to boost synergic development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which was once blamed for China's widening income disparities.

According to a report in March, the region was listed as one of three major projects to promote China's economy We also want foreign companies to invest here, especially those in the services industry."

Zheng Weiming, director of the Tianjin Binhai Central Business District Area committee over the next century, together with the Yangtze River Delta Economic Region, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

A 10 billion yuan government-backed fund was set up in late September to address unbalanced development, tackle pollution and forge a new growth path.

Miao Yuzhuang, deputy director of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Administrative Committee, said green energy is one of the sectors that can improve environment quality. "We are promoting alternative energy technologies while increasing energy utilization and efficiency."

Wu Hequan, deputy head of a committee of expert consultants on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordination, said if the increased efforts will lead to tangible results, the region may outdo the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas in overall economic strength by 2030.

Xinhua contributed to the story.
The Maersk Installer, a subsea support vessel, is delivered to Maersk Supply Service at a shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. [Photo/China Daily by Zhang Xiaomin]

COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co, which is building four of the world's leading subsea support vessels for Maersk Supply Service, delivered the first of those four, the Maersk Installer, in Dalian on Monday.

This is the first time a Chinese shipyard has built a ship for the Maersk offshore project.

The delivery is expected to offer the Chinese shipyard, a subsidiary of China COSCO Shipping Corp, more international recognition in gaining international orders and further competing with their South Korean rivals in the high-value-added offshore engineering sector, and the shipbuilding industry as a whole.

This ship is by far the largest, most expensive and sophisticated vessel Maersk Supply Service has ever ordered or taken delivery of in its 50-year history, said Peter Jacobsen, chief technical officer of Maersk Supply Service.

The vessel is 137 meters long and 27 meters wide and offers 1,850 square meters of cargo deck. It can carry out module replacement and inspection to facilities at 3,000 meters below the surface as well as subsea construction work, offshore lifting, and maritime fire rescue work.

According to the 2016 annual report of A.P. MollerMaersk, all four vessels will be delivered in 2017 and 2018.

But the market demand for subsea support vessels remains low due to the low price of oil, and the general market outlook for the industry is expected to remain subdued in the long term, according to the annual report of the shipbuilder.

According to the report, MSS divested 10 vessels during 2016 and was planning to reduce its fleet by an additional 11 vessels within 15 months. In such circumstances, many ship owners delayed their delivery date. It was not easy for Maersk Supply Service to take delivery as originally scheduled.

Maersk Supply Service is a core partner of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. Bilateral relations between the two have developed over the years. In 2015, a newly built 3,600 TEU container vessel opened a new chapter in ship repair, new building and offshore business for both COSCO and Maersk, said Liang Yanfeng, general manager of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.

Guo Ping, a professor with Dalian Maritime University, said Monday's successful delivery has great significance in raising the brand and reputation of China's offshore manufacturing industry and developing further in the international ultra-deep-sea offshore market.
Editor's Note: The Communist Party of China will hold its 19th National Congress from Wednesday. In the runup to the meeting, China Daily asked two prominent experts for their views on developments in China and the country's global leadership.

Margit Molnar, head of the China Desk of the economics department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

What's your biggest expectation for the 19th CPC National Congress?

Margit Molnar, head of the China Desk of the economics department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An important issue is how to ensure stable and inclusive growth in the coming years. To unleash additional growth engines, the current momentum of reforms should continue. These broadly include reforms that boost productivity, such as improving the utilization of innovation outputs or reducing the burden on doing business, and reforms that improve inclusiveness, for example, reforms ensuring equal access to a certain quality of public services nationwide.

What economic indicators have increased your confidence about the Chinese economy?

H1 performance was beyond expectations. After such a strong first half, it would be hard to have a weak 2017, given the carry-over effects. In the first half of the year, we saw strong industrial production growth (which was particularly strong in some new and high-tech sectors, such as robotics) as well as the recovery of enterprise profits and, on the demand side, strong growth of infrastructure investment. Also, external sector recovery contributed to the strong growth performance.

What are the big challenges ahead for China's economy?

Most people have ruled out the possibility of a hard landing in China, but it is important to ensure that some sources of vulnerability do not derail the growth process. Corporate leverage is still high, though it has moderated somewhat judging from recent data. Another issue is local debt. Implicit and contingent sub-national government debt has continued to accumulate through increasingly innovative ways and has necessitated a new set of regulations. Without the removal of implicit guarantees, however, it is difficult to stop debt accumulation.

What valuable experiences can China offer other regions and countries to boost their own development?

In a short period China has become the top innovator in the world. It has overtaken the United States in terms of the number of patents filed recently, and it is well ahead of other countries in terms of mobile apps and the shared economy. An important lesson to learn from China is how to channel funds for purposes that are deemed important for long-term growth, such as innovation-oriented research and how to create an environment for certain innovations to thrive. I would also add that utilization or commercialization of innovation is equally important, and that the environment for innovation needs to be properly covered by regulations to ensure a level playing field.

How would you summarize the most impressive achievements of the OECD and Chinese authorities?

Having been able to follow this cooperation for nearly 20 years, I would say agreeing on producing economic surveys with government support across the board was a milestone in our relations. We also produced a report on intergovernmental fiscal relations, which also received support from across the government. Then, we have received a large number of people seconded from various Chinese government agencies, while China has joined a number of our committees.
Chinese business leaders look to acquire strong foreign brands, management skills

China's top business leaders hope the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will put forward more policies to encourage overseas investment to meet demand from both Chinese and foreign companies.

Hua Guikan, assistant president of Sanpower Group, a Nanjing-based private company with total assets of 120 billion yuan ($17.8 billion), said Chinese companies' demand to invest overseas has surged along with their rapid development over the past five years.

"Policies of the past five years, such as supply-side reforms and the emphasis on consumption, benefit our group greatly," Hua said. "Our intent is to make and sell good products and acquire foreign companies to introduce their advanced management experience."

Yuan Yafei, the billionaire chairman and founder of the group, said acquisitions will help introduce quality brands, advanced management systems and business models to China, while taking China's products to the world.

"Sanpower doesn't simply acquire real estate or mineral resources," Yuan said. "Instead, we buy advanced brands, management systems and business models. We believe that China has a bright future, and our acquisitions help to build such a future."

Dai Keqin, general manager of Sanpower's legal affairs management center, said Chinese companies that have maintained stable, quality growth, have been invited to invest in foreign countries. For example, Sanpower Group has been invited to invest in Switzerland by the country's consulate general in Shanghai.

"In the past, when we talked about attracting investment, we generally meant attracting foreign companies to invest in China," he said. "Nowadays when we talk about it, we often mean foreign countries trying to attract us to invest there."

"One day when a foreign enterprise was giving us an outline of its country's investment environment and policies, I suddenly realized that it's not just our enterprise that is developing rapidly but also China's overall economy and importance," Dai said.

Founded in 1993, Sanpower is ranked 21st on China's 500 Strongest Private Companies List and 124th in the list of China's 500 Strongest Companies by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

With five pillar business unitshealthcare, information services, commerce, financial services and real estatethe company's total annual sales have hit 130 billion yuan.

As the deputy Party chief of the group, Dai said private companies have become increasingly important in the country's economy and overseas investment since 2012 and the 18th CPC National Congress.

Dai said the group has increased its overseas investment since 2014, when it acquired House of Fraser, a British retailer. In July this year, it completed the acquisition of Dendreon, a Seattle-based maker of the prostate cancer vaccine Provenge, from Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc for $819.9 million.

Sanpower also has important acquisitions in Israel and the United States, and about 40,000 overseas workers. In the past two years, it spent about $4.2 billion on domestic and outbound acquisitions.

Dai said he hopes the 19th CPC National Congress will help solve the fundraising hurdles that many private companies are facing, and give their development a boost.

Hua added: "The central government should also put forward more detailed policies to encourage companies' overseas investment. Governments at different levels should use their official platforms to support Chinese companies' overseas investment, encourage economic and trade exchanges and boost communications between Chinese and foreign governments and companies."

Guo Jun contributed to this story.
BEIJING - On-demand mobility company Didi has attracted more than 21 million people to drive for it, the company said Tuesday.

Nearly 4 million of the drivers were workers laid-off from traditional industries, such as iron and steel, amid China's capacity-cutting efforts, the company said, citing a recent survey examining the growth of its driver community.

A total 1.8 million were former soldiers looking for re-employment, and 2 million drivers were women, the company said in the press release.

The platform helps generate 170 yuan ($25.7) of per capita income for about 2.6 million drivers every day, mostly with diverse professional backgrounds, working on a part-time basis, it said.

Didi President Jean Liu last month in New York said that 25 million rides took place every day via the app.

After acquiring Uber's China operation last year, Didi dominates the country's car hailing business.
BEIJING - China's civil aviation industry witnessed an average growth of 11.2 percent in flight hours over the past five years, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed Tuesday.

Annual flying time has soared to 10.5 million hours, up from 6.19 million hours, over the past five years, with total number of civil planes increasing to 3,177 from 1,922, said Tang Weibin, an official with the CAAC.

By the end of 2016, the transport volume of passengers and goods by civil flights has surged to 1.53 times and 1.23 times, respectively, that of 2012, according to Ji Yuan, another CAAC official.

Regular air routes in China reached 3,794 by the end of last year, 54.4 percent higher than 2012.

From August 2010 to the end of last month, China's civil aviation industry's total safe flying time has accumulated to over 54 million hours, with no casualty registered, the best air traffic safety records by far.

China has had the world's second largest civil aviation industry in terms of air transport scale for 12 consecutive years, after the United States, said Ji.
GUANGZHOU - A cutting-edge domestic steam generator Tuesday departed for the first demonstration nuclear power project using Hualong One technology, a domestically developed third-generation reactor design.

The Hualong One ZH-65 steam generator has a life span of 60 years with lower outlet humidity and a higher power-weight ratio than previous technology.

"The generator has demonstrated China's latest nuclear power equipment manufacturing technology," said Zeng Xianmao, chairman and general manager with the Dongfang Electric (Guangzhou) Heavy Machinery, producer of the generator.

The generator was developed by a team led by Zhang Fuyuan, chief designer at the Nuclear Power Institute of China.

It was designed for the No 5 unit of Fuqing Nuclear Plant in Fujian province, a project of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

The government has approved the Fuqing project to build six nuclear power units. The No 5 and 6 units will be a pilot project also featuring Hualong One.

In May, a hemispherical dome, weighing 340 tons and measuring 46.8 meters in diameter, was installed by crane on the No 5 unit, marking the start of the assembly stage.

The installation of the dome ranked first in projects on progress in nuclear science and technology, according to the annual conference of the Chinese Nuclear Society on Monday.

Hualong One was jointly designed by China's two nuclear power giants, China General Nuclear Power Group and CNNC, and passed inspection by a national panel in August 2014.

China has 37 operational nuclear reactors and is building a further 19.

China is aiming to have 88 million kW of nuclear power capacity in operation or under construction by 2020. The current level is just under 57 million kW.

On Sept 1, China's legislature passed a nuclear safety law, reflecting the country's careful safety outlook and commitment to its international obligations.

There are now four projects using Hualong One design under construction, including two reactors in Karachi, Pakistan. A contract was also signed in May for the construction of the Hualong One design in Argentina.

The country has promoted the Hualong One at home and abroad.
NEW YORK - China has made great achievements over the past five years under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said a renowned China specialist in the United States.

In an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 19th CPC National Congress, David Shambaugh said he expects the CPC to roll out even better policies that will benefit both China and the world.

Noteworthy achievements

Shambaugh, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted that prominent achievements are seen in such areas as international governance, anti-corruption, military organizational reforms, technological innovation and economic growth.

The widely published author, whose books "China Goes Global" (2013) and "China's Future" (2016) were selected by The Economist magazine among the best books of the year, spoke highly of China's current role in international governance.

"Concerning global governance, the world has never been so complicated and filled with difficulties and challenges. The vast majority of these are transnational in nature, and hence require the cooperation of all national governments as well as private sector actors," he said.

Describing China as one of the three major countries in the world today along with the United States and Russia, he said that China "has a particularly important leadership role to play in global governance."

He noted that while China was previously criticized by other countries for being a "free rider" in global governance, he and other foreign observers now recognize that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, China has really stepped up to play a much "enhanced" and "responsible" role in global governance over the past five years.

"Xi Jinping deserves personal credit for this, as he has demonstrated a personal interest in the issue of global governance," said Shambaugh, who particularly cited Xi's "well-received" speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

"As a result, the world has seen China significantly increase its contributions in the areas of climate change, global health, international peacekeeping, anti-piracy, anti-corruption, international law enforcement, disaster relief, global economic governance, development aid, energy security, maritime security, and reshaping multilateral institutions," he said.

"China's dramatically increased role in global governance is very positive and one of the most noteworthy aspects of Xi Jinping's foreign policy," said Shambaugh, who has acted as an advisor to the US government and several private foundations and corporations.

"Overall, China's foreign policy also must be judged a substantial success, in terms of bilateral relations with most nations in the world as well as China's increased contributions to global governance," he added.

"No other global power can claim to have essentially positive relations with so many countries as China," he said.

As for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Shambaugh said that it is "a welcome initiative" and "has great potential for many countries and global development."

"Most of the countries along the Belt and Road have significant development need -- electricity and power, transport infrastructure, IT connectivity, etc -- which China can contribute greatly to fulfilling," he said.

Expectations and hopes

On the upcoming CPC National Congress, the China specialist said it deserves much attention worldwide mainly because of two reasons: personnel and policy.

The CPC national congress, usually held every five years, elects the party's leadership and draws a blueprint for national development for the next five years and beyond.

"Foreign China specialists always pay a great deal of attention -- perhaps too much -- to the composition of the top leadership," he said.

Aside from personnel changes, party congresses are important also because they "both recap the policy directions of the past five years as well as set the overall direction for the next five years," he said.

The noted China watcher said that "General Secretary Xi Jinping's report to the congress is of exceptional importance."

"Normally, these documents are very comprehensive, covering numerous separate sections. There are usually few surprises and much continuity with previously known policies, but they are still very important statements of policy priorities," he noted.

As China is now a major country in the world, with an economy that drives global growth and an international status of growing importance and influence, of course the congress has significant meaning outside China, he said.

He added that many other countries should pay close attention, as they will be impacted -- directly and indirectly -- by the outcomes of the congress over the next five years.

During the interview, Shambaugh suggested that China enhance implementation of the structural reforms set at the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee held in November 2013, noting that those reforms "are vital not only to China's long-term economic growth and sustainable development, but also to global economic growth and stability."

"It is hoped that the party congress will breathe new life and momentum into these reforms," he said.

Shambaugh said that he believes China's social stability, political reform and sustainable ecological development are not only vitally important to China, but also to all nations in Asia around China as well as the world at large.

Many other nations and international organizations have worked constructively with China towards these goals over the past four decades, and they continue to stand ready to do so in the future, he said.

"If China is governed well, this is good for the world," he concluded.
BEIJING - What can a two-dimensional barcode, or QR code, be used for in China? The answers are varied, from mobile payment to unlocking shared bikes or adding friends on messaging apps. But apart from making everyday life more convenient, there is one unexpected and creative use -- helping the country's battle to alleviate poverty.

In Shiban village, southwest China's Guizhou province, every impoverished family was given a code, including Chen Dingming's family.

While traditional means of gathering information about those living under the poverty line can be difficult and inhibit the adoption of targeted relief measures, the new technology provides an easier solution. With one scan, the status of the Chen family is shown: a meager annual income of 2,600 yuan ($400), 50 square meters of living space and one child with cerebral palsy.

The QR code also stores information about each household's farm produce, which can be shared on the internet and reach buyers all over the country.

Thanks to the system, the value of the region's specialty products sold online currently amounts to 200,000 yuan, not a large sum of money but a good start for residents who have struggled under the poverty line for years.

Rural areas that used to be isolated due to poor transportation infrastructure are now forging ever closer ties with markets in other parts of the country, taking advantage of the booming e-commerce sector.

On the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) website, a digital map of China shows impoverished rural areas and provides links to online stores backed by local governments. From Tibetan dried beef to pickled cabbage from northeast China's Heilongjiang province, a variety of agricultural products from 221 impoverished counties are now available.

Fifteen e-commerce businesses, including Taobao and JD.com, are offering services for these rural stores, with marketing support and lower or no fees.

The MOC plans for the program to cover all national-level impoverished counties suitable for developing e-commerce by 2019.

The official program is not the only way for poor regions to take part in e-commerce. Internet firms are scrambling to increase their presence in the countryside, pouring money into improving logistics, building service centers and training farmers.

Jin Jianhang, president of Alibaba, said more than 800 national-level impoverished counties sold goods worth nearly 30 billion yuan via Alibaba last year, with 40 counties each reporting sales over 100 million yuan.

In the bigger picture, online retail sales in all impoverished regions jumped 55 percent to 71.6 billion yuan in the first eight months of the year, the MOC data showed. The growth outpaced the average of all rural areas by 17 percentage points.

The fruitful combination of e-commerce and poverty relief was largely attributed to government efforts to bolster rural infrastructure and create favorable conditions. A document released by the central authorities in November 2016 included measures to improve roads, broadband services, power supply and logistics, as well as support for farmers to set up online stores.

The MOC said a total of 12.5 billion yuan has been allocated for 756 counties, mainly in less-prosperous central and western regions, to develop the e-commerce sector since 2014.

E-commerce has lifted China's poverty relief efforts to a new phase, said Qu Jiang of Zhejiang University's rural development institute. "An environment will be created for impoverished rural areas to achieve sustainable development, with less reliance on external aid and stronger internal impetus."

Poverty reduction has continued to be a priority for the Chinese government in recent years and remarkable progress has been made.

Some 6.39 million people annually have been lifted out of poverty over the last 15 years of the 20th century. An ambitious goal has been set to eradicate poverty by 2020, which means roughly 10 million rural people must be lifted out of poverty each year.

As the poverty alleviation efforts are in full swing, e-commerce is expected to play an even greater role.

At a meeting last month, Vice-Premier Wang Yang said the government should make e-commerce more targeted and effective in reducing poverty to benefit more people, promising stronger policy support and a more favorable business environment.
GENEVA - The World Economic Forum (WEF) launched on Tuesday a platform for top think thanks in the world to share expert analysis of global and regional security issues with leaders from the public and private sectors.

The WEF said the Global Platform for Geostrategic Collaboration to bring together leading policy research institutions, or think tanks, to engage the global public on geostrategic challenges in a multipolar world.

It will feature research and analysis from the Atlantic Council, International Crisis Group, RAND Corporation, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

These organizations will work with think-tank partners from China, India, Japan, South Korea and Russia who will join later this year.

Lee Howell, head of global programming for the WEF said: "perceptions about geopolitics are often fragmented, biased or uninformed as a result of divisive social media and partisan fake news."

"This new platform aims to educate leaders from all walks of life about strategic, global and regional security issues," he said.

The platform aims to fill the urgent need for leaders and experts to understand the world through the eyes of their counterparts in other regions and find better ways to strengthen cooperation. The WEF said experts will share their research on areas such as international security.

It will include nuclear security, geo-economics, global governance, risks and resilience and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
ZHENGZHOU - More than 70 representatives from seven countries met Tuesday to discuss details of a joint work team to deepen cooperation on China-Europe cargo train services.

Railway authorities from China, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland and Russia are attending the first meeting of the joint work team in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province.

The team was established in April, when the seven parties signed an agreement to push for railway line interconnectivity, services, and customs clearance efficiency.

During the three-day meeting, representatives will discuss topics such as establishing the work rule for the joint work team, a plan for the next year, time and place for the team's next meeting and procedures for new member enrollment, according to China Railway Corporation.

The China-Europe freight train service was launched in 2011 and has grown rapidly. It has become an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

To date, more than 5,000 cargo trains have traveled on 57 lines. Initially seen as an efficient way to deliver Chinese goods to the marketplace, more than 50 percent of the trains have now returned from Europe fully loaded.
A reader picks books at a sharing bookstore in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, July 18, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

China is embracing an era of sharing economy. After shared bikes, sharing books are the next trend.

The book-sharing program at Sanxiaokou Xinhua Bookstore in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, has been running for more than three months since its launch on July 16.

Customers are encouraged to borrow up to two books, from all books available in this store, for free via an app, pay 99 yuan online as the deposit and return the books within 10 days.

A survey of 601 app users conducted by the company in late July found that more than 90 percent of the readers said they may want to keep some of the borrowed books permanently, but they don't want to visit the store again to complete the purchase, Zhu Fei, a manager responsible for the book-sharing program at Anhui Xinhua Media, a State-owned company that runs the Sanxiaokou bookstore, told China Daily in September.

So, when another nine stores joined the book-sharing program in August, the ability to purchase the borrowed books was made available on the app.

Zhao Shiping, a manager of the Sanxiaokou store, said that the daily customer flow in the first week of the book-sharing program was about 7,000 while the figure for the same period last year was 5,000 to 6,000, Jianghuai Daily reported in July.

"Book-sharing will reduce barriers for book purchasing and increase customer flow, which will increase the business value of the bookstore, its brand value and increase its value as a partner for companies outside the book sales sector," according to an executive of Anhui Xinhua Media, who was unidentified by Jianghuai Daily.

In addition to bookstores, banks have also joined the trend of book-sharing.

Two branches of China Everbright Bank, the Wanliu branch in Haidian district and the Wangjing West branch in Chaoyang district, introduced book loan service at the end of this July.

The service is free for seven days and 0.1 yuan is charged after that and 0.5 yuan after 21 days. Readers can return borrowed books to any branch of the bank.

This book-sharing project, a cooperation between Everbright Bank and an app called Youshugongdu, which translates as "let's read books together", will be expanded to other outlets to turn each outlet into a small community library with 1,000 to 2,000 books.

Hu Xinyi contributed to this story.
LUANDA - China remained the top destination of Angolan goods and services in the second quarter of 2017, accounting for 52.6 percent of Angolan exports, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said here Tuesday.

That other major destinations for Angola's exports was India (8.8 percent), followed by Canada (5.9 percent).

In the same period, vis-a-vis Angola's imports, China was in second place with 15.7 percent, after Portugal (17.3 percent), followed by the United States (8.0 percent) and South Africa (5.9 percent).

Within Africa, Angola's exports mostly went to South Africa (62.2 percent), followed by Togo (21.1 percent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (6.3 percent).

The INE said Angola's exports increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year, while imports fell by 3.4 percent.

Angola's balance of trade was 817.706 billion kwanzas ($4.92 billion), resulting from the behavior of oil prices. Oil is Angola's main export product.
China recently gave the green light to a new financing product that is based on rental income from apartments in major cities.

The new product is modeled on the lines of quasi-Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) which are allowed to use securitization techniques to monetize assets and access funding. It would also signal yet another step by China to further develop its real estate market.

China Young Professional Apartments, a Beijing-based condominium manager backed by Chinese venture fund SAIF Partners, got the necessary approval from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to offer 270 million yuan ($40.77 million) of asset-backed securities to retail investors.

Analysts said that the slew of policies supporting the development of the country's residential leasing market would encourage more financing innovations in the sector. The market is also likely to see more asset-backed securitization and commercial mortgage-backed securitization in the future, they said.

Developing the country's housing rental market has been one of the long-term strategies envisaged by policy makers for sustainable and steady growth of the real estate market in China.

Meanwhile China's central authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to ensure housing market stability and secure supplies of housing through multiple channels to meet residents' demands.

"We must not forget that housing is for living and not for speculation", said President Xi Jinping, also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, in a report delivered to the 19th CPC National Congress in Beijing on Wednesday.

"More supplies of quality rental products in the market will provide residents in China with more options for housing, and are good for the stability and development of the residential real estate market in the long run", said a research note from Cushman &Wakefield China research, a real estate services provider.

According to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, authorities have been studying policies and regulations for REITs, an important component for financing long-term rental projects that rely on the strong capability for cash flows and yields from stable rental incomes.

"REITs, when introduced in the China market, will help institutions which lease properties to distribute rental income to investors in terms," said a research note from Southwest Securities.

The REITs, with strong liquidity, would also enable investors to buy and sell their holdings quickly, the note said.

China's residential leasing market has been expanding fast. According to a research note from LPlus Research Institute, a real estate information services provider, the total market size is expected to grow from 1.1 trillion yuan in 2016 to 4.6 trillion yuan in 2030.

Across China, more than 15 cities have launched policies encouraging supplies of rental projects to meet residents' housing demands. These measures include allocating more land supplies for development of the leasing market and encouraging more market players to participate in the operation and development of leasing properties.

Other cities such as Hangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan have been busy setting up an online leasing market information portal to give tenants and property operators easy access to transparent information, such as credit records of tenants, operators and agents.
Nationwide 53,500 new energy vehicles (NEVs) were sold in August, jumping 122.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Passenger Car Association. So far this year, 249,600 such cars have been sold, up 93.2 percent year-on-year.

Among domestic manufacturers, BAIC EC series led in sales in the first eight months of this year, delivering 28,733 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the association said.

China is one of the first countries to develop new energy vehicles to cut emissions and build a competitive car industry.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, earlier told an automobile forum that China had started research on a timetable to phase out manufacturing and sales of fossil-fuel powered cars.

Let's take a look at the top 10 best-selling NEV models in China from Jan to Aug.

No 10 Changan BENNI EV (11,120)
DUBAI - Dubai developer Meraas Holding and two major Chinese companies on Tuesday launched "Tech Town," a giant project aiming to boost cooperation on developing digital and artificial intelligence technologies.

The giant project was launched on day two of the ongoing Dubai Investment Week by Meraas with China's Alibaba Group and China Financing and Investment Property Corporation (CFIPC).

The "Tech Town" project, which plans to house over 3,000 high-tech companies, will be built near Dubai's free port Jebel Ali, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Speaking at the China-UAE Science and Technology Cooperation and Innovation Forum at the Dubai Investment Week, David Zheng, president of CFIPC, said the project will "work as an incubator for firms" from China, the Middle East and the rest of world to produce innovative solutions around digital transformation, robotics and mobility.

Chen Xinghai, president of Innovation Business Cluster at CFIPC, noted that "Tech Town" will be located adjacent to Jebel Ali Port, the world's largest man-made commercial port which is also near Dubai's new Al Maktoum International Airport.

"Phase one of the project will be completed by 2020, and "Tech Town" will eventually cover 2 million square meters with a total investment of $600 million," Chen said.

"Tech Town aims to serve more than 1 billion users and host over 3,000 high-tech enterprises," he added.

Ammar Al-Malik, executive director of Dubai Internet City, said Dubai aims to expand its position as the leading incubator for high-tech firms, and "Tech Town" will contribute to this objective.

This is why UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid launched on Monday the Artificial Intelligence strategy, which aims to lift the UAE to world's leading countries in AI in line with the government's Centennial 2071 masterplan, he said.

Clinton O'Leary, chief commercial officer of Yvolv, an IT cloud joint venture created by Meraas and Alibaba, said "Tech Town" is the logical result of the close cooperation between Dubai and China in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past years.

Huawei, a leading Chinese ICT firm, deployed in 2010 together with UAE telecom giant Etisalat the first pre-commercial Long-term Evolution (LTE) network in the Gulf Arab state.

In November 2016, Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing division of Alibaba Group, launched with Meraas a data center which is the first full-fledged public cloud company in the Middle East.

Since 2014, China has been Dubai's biggest foreign trade partner, as over 4,000 Chinese businesses and more than 300,000 Chinese nationals reside in the UAE.

In the first quarter 2017, China remained the biggest non-oil trade partner of Dubai with a trade volume of $12 billion.
The collective study of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, a Party tradition, has gained new momentum in the past five years.

Observers said they have seen the Party's aspiration to improve itself through frequent studies and new factors in class, as well as to understand the focus of the Communist Party of China by analyzing its codethemes of the massive studies.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Political Bureau has held 43 collective studies, once per month on average, focusing on various subjects.

Among them, 13 studies focused on political construction, nine on the economy, seven on military, defense and diplomatic affairs, five on Party building, four on social construction, three on cultural construction and two on ecological civilization.

"The studies covered almost every part of China's modernization efforts. From the distribution of the themes, we can tell the focus of the Party's job and thoughts," said Xu Yaotong, a professor of political science studies at the Chinese Academy of Governance.

The mechanism of the Political Bureau collective study was initiated in December 2002 and has been fully developed since the 18th CPC National Congress.

Li Ran, a professor of the School of Marxism of Fudan University in Shanghai, noted that the CPC is a learning Party. "Apparently, themes of studies are important issues in governance and the fields in which Party cadres, especially high-ranking ones, should improve their capabilities."

An analysis carried by the overseas edition of People's Daily in May said that since the 18th CPC National Congress there have been three collective studies on the rule of law and another three on Marxismtwo of the most popular themes.

"It is not difficult to tell that... rule of law and Marxism have important roles in governance," the analysis said.

Gao Fei, assistant president of China Foreign Affairs University, noted that there were two studies on global governance. One was held in September 2016 and themed on the G20 Summit and transformation of the global governance system, while the other was in October 2015 and themed on the global governance structure and system. The lectures were by Gao and Qin Yaqing, president of the university.

"That two collective studies on global governance were held within one year reflects the long-term view of the leadership. Against the background of anti-globalization, all countries are facing severe domestic and international challenges," Gao said.

"The CPC Central Committee seized the keyword of 'governance' to domestically deepen reform and improve governance, while externally actively attending to global governance and leading transformation of the international system," he said. "Before the arrival of the storm, China was fully prepared."

This year, there have been six studies, themed on supply-side structural reform; accurate poverty alleviation; national financing security; green development and life; military reform; and modern Marxism thoughts.

"The last study is very important. I view it as theoretical and thought preparation for the 19th CPC National Congress," said Xu, from the Chinese Academy of Governance.

Aside from new topics, another change in studies since 2012 was that many high-ranking officials became lecturers, including ministers, governors and high-level officials.

For example, at the study themed on protecting national financing security on April 25, lecturers included three ministerial-level officials, including the heads of the People's Bank of China, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission sent a vice-chairman as lecturer.

"In the past, most lecturers of Political Bureau collective studies were professors and experts. But such studies are not theoretical, and they should also cover experience earned in practice. That would make the studies more enlightening," said Xu Yaotong.

Xu said the CPC's mechanism for improving its political wisdom and capabilities through collective learning is unique among other countries of the world. "It is a creative measure."

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, once said the Party has made today's achievements through learning, and it will certainly move toward the future through learning.

The CPC has stressed learning since its early years.

From 1938 to 1942, the CPC Central Committee, which was based in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, at that time, launched a massive cadre education movement.

Scholars believe the move greatly improved capabilities of the Party, contributed to the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the War of Liberation (1946-49) and consolidated its governance capabilities.

Yang Yongchun, deputy head of the China Against Corruption Law Association, said the Political Bureau collective study mechanism is "an important part in China's governance mechanism".

The Political Bureau members not only update their knowledge but can also reach new consensus on some issues, Yang said.
Party to ramp up supervision of lowand high-placed officials to stamp out graft

The Communist Party of China will fight corruption with greater determination as comprehensively and strictly as possible, the 19th CPC National Congress spokesman said on Tuesday.

Several serious and significant corruption cases have unfolded in recent years, including those of Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, Sun Zhengcai and Ling Jihua, who have been punished in accordance with the Party's disciplines and national laws, spokesman Tuo Zhen said at a news conference ahead of the congress scheduled to open on Wednesday morning.

All the former officials noted had been members of the CPC Central Committee before they were accused. "This means anyone in the Party who violates disciplines and laws will be punished, no matter how high his or her position is," Tuo said.

Reporters pack a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday regarding the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The congress was to get underway on Wednesday morning. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Party has increased its self-supervision, conducting 12 rounds of inspections on 277 Party organizations, all within one term of the Central Committee for the first time, he added.

Through fighting corrupt officials, the Party also has strengthened its internal structure, he said, adding that the Party formulated and revised 90 internal regulations over the past few years.

Tuo said selection of Party officials is and will be made strictly, "and we'll increase efforts to supervise the selection, making sure the selected officials are clean and highly qualified."

He also said that China is preparing to roll out the pilot program for building a unified supervision system to fight corruption on a nationwide basis.

The centralized, unified, authoritative and efficient national supervision system aims to oversee all government employees with public power, he said.

The disciplinary commission and supervision commission will work under the same roof and share resources and personnel, he added.

Such a program has been piloted since November 2016 in Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces and Beijing, which have set up the three levels of supervision commissions: provincial, city and county levels. The pilot program has achieved solid results, Tuo said.

Contact the writers at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn
Residents of the village in which China's president spent nearly seven years recall a young man determined to improve their lives, as Huo Yan and Li Yang report from Yan'an, Shaanxi.

Tourists visit a cave dwelling in Liangjiahe, Yan'an, Shaanxi province, in May. A number of educated youths from Beijing, including Xi Jinping, worked and lived in Liangjiahe from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s.Guo Junfeng / China News Service

Liangjiahe village, a community of 120 homes scattered along a dry riverbed on the Loess Plateau in Yan'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, looks no different from the other valley hamlets in the region, except for the visitors lined up waiting to board electric minibuses to visit its cave dwellings and crofts.

From 1969 to 1975, President Xi Jinping lived and worked in the village as an educated youth during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) when he was ages 16 to 23.

It was in this village that Xi, who heads the Communist Party of China, joined the world's largest political party, which has more than 89 million members.

In 1974, he was elected Party chief of the village committee - the start of his public career - and he was still a resident when he was recommended as a suitable candidate to become a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Last year, Liangjiahe received 900,000 visitors, and the number is expected to hit 1.3 million this year. That's about 3,600 people a day on average. Unlike conventional tourists, some of the visitors are sent in groups by their employers, while others are clad in Red Army uniforms and armed with notebooks and pens, jotting down the things that interest them.

The village is small, and the usual tourist itinerary follows a settled order along a meandering mountain path: the village museum, a farm, a blacksmith's shop, a biogas digester, a well, a grinder powered by a diesel generator, a grocery store and the cave dwellings.

Apart from the museum and the cave dwellings, the other items are regarded as the heritage left by Xi in the 1970s, and most still function well today.

Xi, who learned about biogas technology in Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan province during a government-led campaign, built the biogas digester with other educated youths and the villagers. He also led local farmers in laying five strips of farmland in the riverbed, as the river, which was once wide, narrowed to a channel, albeit still sufficient to irrigate the land.

Dangerous work

The small stream was the only source of water in Liangjiahe. But the water was sandy. To solve the problem, Xi led the villagers in digging a well. Many seniors remember how he was the first person to jump into the hole, and how he worked the longest shifts in the numbing mixture of ice, water and mud. It was a dangerous job because the well could collapse at any time during the excavation process.

Before the grocery store opened, it took hours for Liangjiahe's farmers to travel to the shop in Wen'anyi, a nearby town, to buy necessities. Xi suggested that the village committee should buy daily goods from the shop in Wen'anyi and sell them to the villagers in Liangjiahe at the price at which they had been purchased, saving them a lot of time.

Xi also exchanged a motorcycle he had been given by the county government as a reward for his performance for the diesel generator and grinder to help the villagers.

Liang Yuqian, 62, a blacksmith who made farm implements during Xi's time, still runs the same workshop, which opened in 1974 after Xi invited him to move from his home village nearby to work in Liangjiahe.

"At first I just wanted to move from village to village. But Xi persuaded me to stay. He talked about his plan cordially with me, saying my plan would bring more personal profit, but that working in one place would mean I served more people," he recalled.

When Xi revisited Liangjiahe in February 2015, he recognized Liang immediately and greeted him with the words "Are you still doing the job?"

Liang Yuming, 75, who Xi replaced as village committee Party chief in 1974, said the heritage items represent just a small part of Xi's contribution to Liangjiahe because he also did many other things, such as teaching the villagers to read and write, along with history and geography. He also soothed relations between families.

Liang Yuming said Xi was the youngest of the six educated youths from Beijing who were assigned to Liangjiahe - Xi was age 16 when Liang Yuming met him for the first time in January 1969 - and he was the one who most loved reading books.

He recalled Xi's two suitcases were the heaviest because they were filled with books.

"When the farmers, who were used to hard outdoor labor, helped to carry the young men's luggage they said Xi's suitcases were too heavy and it was a wonder that a 16-year-old could carry them all the way from Beijing on the three-day journey to the remote valley," he said.

Lei Pingsheng, who was Xi's roommate and is now a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said Xi's passion for knowledge was impressive. "When we woke up late at night, we often found him still reading carefully in the dim light of an oil lamp surrounded by darkness and quiet."

Xi likes reading about history, politics, economics, philosophy and literature, and comparing notes with people who share the same interests, according to Lei.

"The educated youths shared their books. For most of us, learning seemed to be a part of life, undisturbed by the political movement swirling in our faraway hometown of Beijing," he added.

What made Xi different from the other bookworm educated youths was that he was always ready to put what he had learned into practice to serve the people.

"Since his youth, it has been Xi's unswerving belief to undertake practical work for the people," said Tao Haisu, an educated youth from Beijing who was in the same county as Xi and often communicated with him about history and literature.

One time, Xi encouraged a difficult villager, who was often fiercely criticized for being a thief, to sing his favorite folk song to the villagers who were preparing to criticize him at a meeting. The man sang well and with great emotion, moving many of his potential critics. From then on, he was a changed man and was accepted by his neighbors.

"Although Xi is five years younger than me, he reads more books and is knowledgeable in more fields than me," Tao said. "He is honest and trustworthy."

Many people believe that the hard life he led in Liangjiahe played an important role in preparing Xi's resolve to serve the people.

Uncertain future

Wang Yansheng, another educated youth from Beijing who was also Xi's roommate at Liangjiahe, said: "Xi is honest in admitting he was unsure about the future when he first arrived at Liangjiahe. Everybody has a process of development. No man is great when he is born."

Wang vividly recalls the "four difficulties", as Xi noted, that affected every newcomer to Liangjiahe: fleas, shortage of food, hard work and uncertain thoughts.

Lei said they were shocked by the poverty of the region when they first arrived in Yan'an, which was known as "a holy land of revolution", as the Party's main organs had stayed and developed there for eight years.

"Some people slapped the roof of the truck's cab and asked the driver if he was lost," Lei said.

After Spring Festival in January or February, the village was almost empty, because most of the farmers left to live as beggars and try to alleviate the lack of food during spring, according to Zhang Weipang, 70, a villager and good friend of Xi's at the time.

"The hand-to-mouth life of the farmers prompted Xi's sympathy and motivated him to strive for a better life for the people," Zhang said.

The tourist boom in the village thanks to Xi's "heritage" has brought great convenience to the local people.

Xi never complained about the harsh conditions at Liangjiahe. He chose to put up with them and made up his mind to change them, according to the villagers.

"Xi's tolerance of hardship was beyond my expectation. He just took things as they came. When he worked on the farm, he was like a professional farmer," said Liu Jinlian, a 67-year-old villager.

For the first two months after their arrival, Xi and the five other educated youths lived in a cave dwelling in Liu's home. Xi visited the family during his 2015 visit, and inquired in detail about every family member and their living conditions.

Lei said an important reason for Xi's love of, and gratitude to, the people at an early age was his family education. Xi told him that the farmers were the fathers and mothers of the Red Army, and were it not for their selfless sacrifice China's revolution would not have succeeded.

According to Lei, Xi became more experienced, patient and confident after he visited his father Xi Zhongxun, a former vice-premier who was wrongly investigated, between 1970 and 1972.

After that, Xi decided to live and work as a "common farmer", regarding himself as a part of the "yellow earth", Lei said.

Xi met a beggar who said he used to be one of Xi's father's guards. After the beggar related the names of Xi's family members and a few other details, Xi not only gave him all the money he had that day, but also gave his coat to the old man, Lei said.

During his 2015 visit to the village, Xi's biggest concern was still the people's livelihoods, according to local resident Zhang Weipang.

"He asked me whether I often ate meat and what I planted. As before, his questions were always down-to-earth and concerned the specifics of people's lives," he said.

'Spiritual home'

The villagers in Liangjiahe have written to Xi four times since 2007 to tell him about the latest developments. Xi replied to their letters every time, expressing his nostalgia - he calls Liangjiahe his "spiritual home" - and sending his best wishes for the village's development.

According to Gong Baoxiong, village committee chief, the village set up a tourism company in 2015, creating enough jobs for the farmers to work at home. Since 2007, the village has had a new road, internet, running water, electricity and most modern facilities. The main sources of income are tourism, root crops, apples, vinegar and pickled vegetables.

Gong, in his late 30s, said: "President Xi said he 'secured the first button of his life well' at Liangjiahe. That provides motivation for all young civil servants to integrate serving the people with their careers and also their lives."

"He asked me which family I came from," said Gong, as he recalled his chat with Xi during the visit two years ago. "When I said my father's name, President Xi smiled and said 'I know him. He is an honest man.'"

Contact the writers at liyang@chinadaily.com.cn
China is training astronauts for the upcoming space station mission around 2020, a veteran astronaut said on Wednesday.

Major General Jing Haipeng, delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, meets the press before the opening of the Congress in Beijing October 18, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

"I am training with colleagues in preparation for the space station mission," Major General Jing Haipeng, 51, a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, told reporters before the opening of the Congress.

Their training includes underwater routines, he said, to prepare astronauts for the zero gravity environment in space.

Jing has been an astronaut on three Chinese space missions: Shenzhou-7, Shenzhou-9, and Shenzhou-11. This is his first time being a Party delegate to the CPC National Congress.

"People often ask me whether I will fly one more time," he said. "I am really eager to go to space one more time, and bring glory to the Party and the country."

China sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, on the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003.

China is planning to assemble and operate a permanent manned space station with construction of the station planned for completion by around 2020.

It will enter into service around 2022, with an initial designed life of at least 10 years.

China also aims to land a probe on Mars by 2020.
Xi Jinping delivers a report to the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 18, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened Wednesday as socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a "new era."

On behalf of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, Xi Jinping delivered a report titled "Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era."

Here are the highlights of the report:

New era with new thought

- Socialism with Chinese characteristics enters new era

It will be an era of securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and of moving on to all-out efforts to build a great modern socialist country, Xi said.

It will also be an era that sees China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind, he said.

- CPC rolls out Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

The CPC has given shape to the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, a long-term guide to action that the Party must adhere to and develop.

The thought "builds on and further enriches Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development," Xi said. "It represents the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context."

Xi defined components of the thought, calling it a "guide to action" that must be adhered to and steadily developed on a long-term basis for all Party members and all Chinese people in their efforts to achieve national rejuvenation.

Related: CPC should have its say in realm of ideology

- Principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved in new era

"What we now face is the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life," Xi said.

The evolution of the principal contradiction represents a "historic shift that affects the whole landscape and that creates many new demands for the work of the Party and the country," he said.

Previously the principal contradiction was described as one between "the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and backward social production."
BEIJING  Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on all countries to work together for a clean and beautiful world and tackle climate change through cooperation.

Delivering a report to the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi said, "To make new and greater contributions for mankind is our Party's abiding mission."

Xi called on the people of all countries to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.

"No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation," Xi said.

The challenges he mentioned include global economic growth that lacks energy, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, hotspot issues in some regions, as well as unconventional security threats such as terrorism, cyber-insecurity, major infectious diseases, and climate change.

For climate change in particular, Xi proposes that all countries in the world be good friends to the environment, cooperate to tackle climate change, and protect the planet for the sake of human survival.

The report describes China as having been taking "a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change" and "an important participant, contributor, and torchbearer in the global endeavor for ecological civilization" over the past five years.
BEIJING  Xi Jinping said Wednesday the Communist Party of China has the resolve, confidence and ability to defeat separatist attempts for "Taiwan independence" in any form.

The CPC stands firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow the historical tragedy of national division to repeat itself, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress.

"We will never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," he said.

"Recognize the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

The 1992 Consensus embodies the one-China principle and defines the fundamental nature of cross-Straits relations.

"We ... are ready to share development opportunities on the mainland with our Taiwan compatriots first," he said.

"We will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots," he said.

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.
BEIJING - Xi Jinping said Wednesday the policy of "one country, two systems" has proved to be the best institutional guarantee for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao after their return.

The policy is the best solution to the questions of Hong Kong and Macao, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th national congress of the Communist Party of China.

The governments and chief executives of both regions will be supported to advance democracy with well-ordered steps, maintain law and order, and fulfill the constitutional responsibility of safeguarding China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, he said.

"We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country," he said, adding that priority will be given to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao; and regional cooperation in the pan-Pearl River Delta.

Policies will be improved to make it more convenient for the people from Hong Kong and Macao to pursue career development on the mainland, he said.

Xi stressed that patriots should play "the principal role" as the Hong Kong people govern Hong Kong and the Macao people govern Macao.
BEIJING  Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion "no matter what stage of development it reaches."

China will never pursue development at the expense of others' interests and China's development does not pose a threat to any other country, he said.

Xi made the remarks at the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

He said China pursues a defensive national defense policy and remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace. But China will never give up its legitimate rights and interests.

"No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests," he said.

Xi said China has actively developed global partnerships and expanded the convergence of interests with other countries.

"We endeavor to uphold international fairness and justice, and oppose acts that impose one's will on others or interfere in the internal affairs of others as well as the practice of the strong bullying the weak," he said.
The Communist Party of China will never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China, President Xi Jinping vowed on Wednesday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China, made the vow while addressing the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress.

"We have the resolve, confidence and ability to defeat separatist attempts for 'Taiwan independence' in any form," he said.

The CPC stands firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow the historical tragedy of national division to repeat itself, he said.

"Recognize the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address, through discussion, the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

The 1992 Consensus embodies the one-China principle and defines the fundamental nature of cross-Straits relations.

"We respect Taiwan's social system and Taiwan compatriots' life style and we are willingly to share development with Taiwan compatriots," he said.

"We will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots."

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.
China is leading the world in certain areas of deep-sea exploration, said a veteran submersible operator on Wednesday.

"China's deep sea submersible technology has changed from being a follower to world leader in certain areas," Tang Jialing, 33, told reporters on the sidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

China will continue to improve the efficiency and dive time for Jiaolong, China's first deep-sea manned submersible and contribute more to deep-sea scientific research, exploration and services, he said.

Tang, a delegate to the 19th CPC National Congress, was one of the first Chinese submersible operators. He has participated in all of Jiaolong's 1,000 to 7,000 meter dive trials. He also set the world diving record with Jiaolong in June 2012, reaching 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific.

"Some areas of the deep sea are extremely barren, but some areas are extremely rich with life," he said. "There are so many amazing things to uncover and explore."

In 2002, China began its first deep-sea manned submersible project. In 2010, the Jiaolong, named after a mythical sea dragon, went into service.

China completed the first deep-sea test of its new manned submersible, Shenhai Yongshi, (Deep-Sea Warrior), in early October. It reached a depth of 4,500 meters in the South China Sea.

While much of Jiaolong's equipment was imported, around 90 percent of the equipment for Shenhai Yongshi and all its core components were domestically made, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

China is also aiming to reach a depth of 10,000 meters someday with domestically-made submersibles.
President Xi Jinping has great ability to deliver effective leadership, according to the special adviser to a London-based think tank.

"His delivery style is very confident, and he speaks very effectively with conviction. You actually find yourself listening to what he has to say," said Nigel Inkster, special adviser to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

In terms of personality, Inkster said he thinks Xi "comes across as an extrovert, a big, confident, outgoing kind of person, very much a leader in terms of his personal demeanor".

He conceded that he has very little insight into the day-to-day mechanics of how Xi works, but has seen Xi exercise effective strategic leadership.

One such example is the 2015 agreement with the US on combating industrial cyber espionage, an agreement which Inkster said to a large degree has been adhered to.

Inkster also is a former director of operations and intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service.
Xi Jinping delivers a report to the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 18, 2017. [Photo by Xu Jingxing/chinadaily.com.cn]



Xi Jinping delivered a report at the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Wednesday, which has drawn great attention and expectations from across the world. The following are some of the comments on Xi's report.

Fredrik Erixon, director of the Brussels-based European Center for International Political Economy (ECIPE)

President Xi's speech was notable and will go down in Chinese history as an important one. He lays out an idea of China which reflects its past economic achievements and the political reform around it. With collapsing confidence about the West and declining authority of Western leadership, President Xi sees an opportunity for China to help fashion the world.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, president of the Germany-based Schiller Institute

It is extremely noteworthy, that President Xi put such a central emphasis on the commitment of the CPC to provide for a"better, happier life", "mei hao sheng huo" for the Chinese people. That Chinese leadership putting the concept upfront is a shining example for the whole world.

Economist Jim O'Neill, who created the "BRIC" acronym

President Xi's speech highlighted important issues for international observers to understand better; China continues to see growing its economy and the wealth of its 1.3 billion inhabitants as significant. If the economy grows above $12 trillion it will be three times bigger than that of Japan. To put this in context, in 2001 I forecast that China's economy might equal Japan's in size by 2015.

China's rising consumer demand remains the single most important development in the world economy. This, and two other things President Xi highlighted -- China's peaceful nature and the absence of foreign expansionist ambition -- suggests to me, that China will continue on its path to greater global importance.

Stephen Perry, chairman of The 48 Group Club

President Xi Jinping is moving China to a new economic and foreign policy. He knows what he is talking about and his steps allow for unexpected errors to be managed. The world is transforming and acceptance of different systems with shared good goals can enable the West to find growth again.

Rebecca Nadin, head of the Risk and Resilience program at the Overseas Development Institute

It is encouraging to see that President Xi's speech points to regulation of the "environmental regulation system". This demonstrates that the Party recognizes China's already significant pollution of water and soil resources, soil erosion, land degradation, and ecosystem and habitat loss.

In recent years, China has been investing scientific, financial and human resources to tackle environmental problems and demonstrating strong global leadership on climate change.

The decision to establish regulatory agencies to manage State-owned natural resource assets and monitor natural ecosystems will ensure that China's ongoing rapid urbanization and industrial development do not accelerate rates of ecological degradation.

This will ensure improved standards of living for all people; assets, infrastructure and economic sectors are also less vulnerable to suffering harm from climate impacts.

Christopher Bovis, professor of international business law, University of Hull, UK

President Xi's speech provides direction for China's policies. The emphasis he placed on China's domestic policies are positive, and in line with previous directions. Emphasis on the need to move up the value chain, from heavy industries to financial and technology sectors are what China needs. It is also encouraging to see President Xi's comments on China's commitment to further open up, which is a crucial part of China's internationalization process. President Xi's emphasis on environmental protection is also very significant, as China has taken a leadership and is now a global driver on environmental protection issues.

Rana Mitter, director of the University of Oxford China Center

The most significant part of President Xi's speech is the firm pledge to make China a major actor in the world. At a time of major flux in world order, it will be increasingly important for China to play a stabilizing, responsible role when it comes to questions of trade, security and international order. As China takes a greater role in the world, it will also have to shoulder many of the responsibilities of a great power, encouraging freer markets and a more transparent international environment. It will also have to tackle issues such as climate change and provide leadership there. The world will be watching from now on.

President Xi has made major commitments to economic reform in China. On a variety of issues, such as taxation policy, opening of markets and convertibility of the RMB, the world is keen to see solid and steady movement from China at a time when the global economy is still unstable.

Alfred Schipke , Chief Representative, IMF China, member of the International Committee of the International Monetary Institute, Renmin University of China

China's focus on structural reforms, addressing overcapacity and deleveraging, and allowing the market to play a decisive role, are very welcome. This will not only reduce vulnerabilities but also improve the allocation of resources.

Herbert Poenisch, member of the International Committee of the International Monetary Institute, Renmin University of China, former senior economist of the Bank for International Settlements

Remembering President Xi Jinping's leadership in Davos, with a stable and prosperous China committed to globalization, a clean environment, and world peace we are heartened to read in President Xi's address today of China's continuing commitment to its opening-up policy, starting with the Belt and Road Initiative.

Mathias Lund Larsen, Director of International Cooperation and Research Fellow, the International Institute of Green Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics

From an environmental and green finance perspective it is encouraging to see "green" being incorporated into both the concept of development and Chinas long term-planning, based on the push toward realizing an ecological civilization. It is a particularly strong market signal that President Xi highlighted during his speech today that there is no dilemma between green development and economic growth, and that rather they are mutually supportive. Internationally, as President Xi stresses Chinas commitment to fighting global climate change, we are enthusiastically expecting Chinas commitments to increase further in the future.

Mark Greeven, Associate Professor at the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department of Zhejiang University's School of Management

In the last decades China has been building the foundations to become a modern and prosperous society. However, as suggested by President Xi Jinping in the 19th Party Congress, the rise of China depends on continued efforts in reducing income inequality and job creation. In my opinion it is good news that President Xi also addressed the importance of a world class talent development system to support China's future. As an educator I look forward to continuous efforts in reforming and improving education for all in China.
Spokesman for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China Tuo Zhen (center) answers questions from journalists at a news conference at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

China will stick to the policy of opening-up and further expand market access to foreign investors, the spokesman of the Communist Party of China's 19th National Congress said on Tuesday.

Spokesman Tuo Zhen said at a news conference for the congress that opening-up is a basic national policy and China's attitude of "opening to the world" is clear.

Citing the pledge of CPC Central Committee General Secretary and Chinese President Xi Jinping to be consistent in the country's policy of protecting the legal interests of foreign investors in China, Tuo said that there will be renewed efforts to attract foreign investors in the future as opening-up and reform continues.

"The goal is to see a win-win result and common development," he said.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, released documents in January and August to introduce measures to attract more foreign capital.

China is strengthening efforts in creating a fair and favorable business environment for all parties and in better protecting companies' "legitimate rights and interests", he said.

Noting that the Made in China 2025 strategy, a blueprint for upgrading the country's manufacturing sector, treats domestic and foreign companies equally, Tuo said that a basic rule of the strategy is to ensure market-based principles - a response to concerns the strategy appears partial to Chinese companies.

Instead, concerns need to be directed at restrictions imposed by developed countries on their exports to China, the spokesman said.

In responding to doubts about the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Tuo said that the purpose of China's international cooperation in production capacity is not transferring backward capacity, but leveraging the comparative strength of all countries, serving the development needs of countries, and building a more balanced and inclusive global industrial chain.

"Backward and surplus capacity has no market. Only high-quality capacity can win the competition," he said.

Between 2013 and 2016, Chinese companies invested about $560 billion overseas, paid over $100 billion in various kinds of taxes to host countries, and created millions of jobs for local communities.

"The investment by Chinese companies has helped the destination countries transform their resources and labor advantages into strength for development," he said, adding that investment by Chinese companies is welcomed by host countries.

The spokesman said China has made major and historic achievements in political system reform, which have provided an important guarantee for deepening reform in other fields and created better conditions for economic and social development.

China will not copy and replicate the models of other countries in political system reform, the spokesman said.

When asked about credit issues, Tuo said deleveraging is not in conflict with stabilizing economic growth.

"In the long run, deleveraging will help remove hidden risks that will affect steady and healthy economic development and strengthen medium - and long-term economic resilience," he said.

Jiang Xueqing contributed to this story. Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
In September 2016, Professor Wei Shaojun received a notice to make a presentation at a collective study about five weeks later of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau on Oct 9. The topic was implementing the strategy of building an internet power.

"Among collective studies of the Political Bureau since the 18th CPC National Congress, only a small part focused on natural sciences. And the study that I attended was the only one on information and internet technology. So the Central Committee paid a lot of attention to it," Wei, vice-president of Tsinghua University's School of Information Science and Technology, told China Daily before the start of the 19th CPC National Congress.

Though the theme was set, there were almost no limitations on the content. Wei said he was given only a few general requirements and the content should be correct and not mislead. The figures should be genuine and accurate.

"Based on the requirements, we could tell that the Political Bureau held quite high expectations for the study. They wanted to learn the facts."

Wei and a team of 12 people worked for five weeks to prepare. "As the content involved data and information from quite a wide range, we were short of hands. Aside from teachers from Tsinghua, we also utilized various resources including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the National Bureau of Statistics. It was an arduous process, and every word was measured."

They also prepared for questions that might be raised. The team prepared for over 30 possible questions.

On Oct 9, all Political Bureau members able to attend came. The presentations went smoothly. A colleague who recorded the time told Wei he talked for 57 minutes, while he had been allocated an hour. The fervor of the question and answer session went beyond his imagination. The Q&A, originally set for 15 minutes, took more than half an hour.

"Four Political Bureau members asked 11 questions. Not just the member in charge of related affairs. Some members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau also raised questions, which were of high quality. Frankly speaking, as a professional, I had to think a little bit before replying."

At the end, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a speech. He stressed that China should "strive for building an internet power".

"The leadership took the opportunity to deliver some important thoughts to the outside world and to scientific and technological circles," Wei said. He noticed that Xi mentioned "accelerating the plan of domestic, independent and controllable alternatives" and "building up a nationally integrated big data center", which responded to Wei's suggestions made in the presentations.

"It was the first time the leadership mentioned the two points. The message that we wanted to convey was accepted by the general secretary. The domestic substitution plan is ongoing, while the integrated big data center, which will take quite some time to build up, is being planned."

At the end of the session, some Political Bureau members told Wei that the presentations had gone well.

Wei said his presentations covered "all the latest developments in the field, both at home and abroad, in technology and trends. They kept up with all these things and uncovered problems. It was not easy because part of the content was very complex."

"I had the feeling that they possessed a vast store of knowledge, and followed the latest developments closely. For instance, one Political Bureau member asked my view on quantum communication and how long it would take to actually apply it. The question came with the background that last year we launched a quantum science experimental satellite. It was a topic at the frontiers of physics. People who do not do quantum research are not likely to know much about it.

"The 11 questions they raised had many facets. Some of the issues they raised were not only of concern to them, but also troubled us."

He said the session was a precious opportunity for the leadership to have an in-depth talk with frontline scientists.

"At times I have been able to meet the leaders on certain occasions, but there has been no time for such clear and detailed reports and discussion."

lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn
Laboratory staff test the water quality at a monitoring center of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Tianjin. [Photo/Xinhua]

Private companies have been put in charge of collecting and analyzing water samples for quality in a bid to prevent interference from local authorities, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Monday.

According to a plan from the ministry's China National Environmental Monitoring Center, starting this month third-party agencies will collect samples from rivers, lakes and reservoirs before delivering them to independent labs for random analysis.

The data on water quality will be directly uploaded to the center, which will then release the results to the public, the ministry said.

Previously, provincial and city environmental protection bureaus were responsible for the whole process.

"The independent processes will guarantee that the monitoring data on surface water quality is accurate and authentic," the ministry added.

The first independent national collection began on Oct 9 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month.

The national-level monitoring system separates China's waterways, lakes and reservoirs into 1,853 sections. According to the ministry, as of 5 pm on Monday, samples from 1,631 sections had been collected.

"The water quality monitoring is closely related with local government performance. Without accurate data, it's hard to give an accurate assessment," Zhang Bo, head of water quality management at the ministry, said in March at a media briefing on water pollution.

He called for independent monitoring with unified standards to supervise the governments and prompt them to perform better in water pollution control.

China has been fighting water pollution since 2015 due to severe pollution in some areas.

For example, among the 161 monitored sections of the Haihe River, mainly running through northern China, 41 percent were found with severely polluted water that could not be used for any purpose, an increase of 3.1 percent from 2015, data from the ministry showed.

Since January, the 1,436 major air quality monitoring stations nationwide have been separated from local environmental bureaus and managed by China National Environmental Monitoring Center.

In addition, the ministry set up its first national engineering laboratory on Friday to promote scientific research into lake water pollution controls, vice-minister Huang Runqiu said.


Academic research papers from China garner the second most worldwide citations, after those from the United States but ahead of those from the United Kingdom, according to a new study.

The analysis was conducted by Amsterdam-based information and analytics company Elsevier and commissioned by the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Citations are the way in which scholars give credit to other researchers and acknowledge their ideas. They indicate how seriously research is taken by other scientists.

Elsevier assessed the performance of the UK's research base between 2010 and 2014 and compared it with seven other countries: China, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

The analysis found that in 2014, research papers originating in China accounted for 18.1 percent of all citations, a sharp increase from the 11 percent it had in 2010.

In comparison, the UK's share in 2014 was 10.7 percent, which was slightly down from the 11 percent they garnered in 2010. The US saw its share slip from 39.4 percent in 2010 to 35 percent in 2014.

In 2014, China accounted for 19.6 percent of the world's most heavily cited articles, while the UK produced 15.2 percent.

The report said: "The global research landscape in recent years has become increasingly complex and fluid, and it can only become more so as emerging research nations grow their research bases."

Authors said the UK and other research-intensive nations are seeing their global shares in key research indicators eroded by emerging countries, "especially by China".

"As China and other rising research nations succeed in their desire to emulate and even surpass the research performance of countries like the US and the UK, their shares will naturally become larger while the erstwhile powerhouses see theirs shrink," the report said.

angus@mail.chinadailyuk.com
BEIJING - Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for continued and greater efforts to ensure that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has its say in the realm of ideology.

We must uphold Marxism, firm up and further build the ideal of Communism and a shared ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and nurture and practice core socialist values, Xi said at the opening of the 19th CPC National Congress.

He said cultural confidence represents a fundamental and profound force that sustains the development of a country and a nation.

"We should cherish our cultural roots, draw on other cultures, and be forward-thinking. We should do more to foster a Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength to provide a source of cultural and moral guidance for our people," Xi said.
BEIJING - Xi Jinping said Wednesday the Communist Party of China will launch a campaign to instruct its 89 million members to use the Party's new theories to fortify their thinking.

The campaign, on the theme of "staying true to our founding mission," covers all Party members, especially officials at and above the county and director level, Xi said while delivering a report at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress.

Over the past years, the CPC have launched activities to command and act on the Party's mass line, and initiated a campaign for the observance of the "Three Stricts and Three Earnests."

The Party has also required all its members to have a solid understanding of the Party Constitution, Party regulations, and related major policy addresses and to meet Party standards, Xi said.
General Secretary Xi Jinping prepares to address the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which began on Wednesday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi delivered a report on behalf of the CPC's 18th Central Committee. XU JINGXING / CHINA DAILY

At 19th Party Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping unveils breakthrough theory to guide China's future

General Secretary Xi Jinping pledged on Wednesday to usher in a new era in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Speaking at the opening session of the Communist Party of China's 19th National Congress, Xi laid out his vision for an increasingly prosperous China as the country embarks on a journey to build a "great modern socialist country".

"This is a new historic juncture in China's development," said Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee. It will be an era that sees China moving closer to center stage and making greater contributions to mankind, he added.

During the session, Xi unveiled "Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era", which analysts said is the most important improvement on the original theory raised over three decades ago.

The congress, whose opening on Wednesday was attended by 2,338 Party delegates and specially invited delegates, is the country's most important political meeting in five years. The delegates will deliberate on and adopt an amendment to the Party's Constitution, and they will also elect the Party's 19th Central Committee and Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

In the report, Xi outlined a two-step approach to build China into a great modern socialist country after the completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.

China will make sure that socialist modernization is basically realized from 2020 to 2035. From 2035 to the mid-21st century, China will develop into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, Xi said.

By then, China will have become a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence. Common prosperity for everyone will be basically achieved, Xi said.

Xi pointed out that the two-step approach is an important part of the new Thought, a long-term guide to action the Party must adhere to and develop.

In his report, Xi listed a 14-point basic policy that underpins the endeavors to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

The principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved to be the one between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life, Xi said.

The needs to be met in order for the people to live a better life are increasingly broad, Xi said, and that not only have the people's material and cultural needs grown, their demands are increasing for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security and a better environment.

It is the first time that the definition of the principal contradiction set 36 years ago has been changed. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee held in 1981 said that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society was the one between "the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the people and the backwardness of social production."
BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent condolences to his Somali counterpart, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, over the deadly truck bombing in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

In a message of condolences, Xi said he was shocked to learn the bombing that had caused heavy casualties.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people as well as in his own name, Xi mourned the dead, extended heartfelt sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families and wished the injured a quick recovery.

At least 276 people were killed and more than 300 others injured in the bombing that happened on Saturday in a shopping area of Mogadishu, making it the deadliest single attack in Somalia's history.
Photos taken on Oct 16, 2017 show children, dressed in Taoist clothes, learn aspects of traditional Chinese culture, including tai chi, calligraphy and how to play the guzheng musical instrument, on Sanqing Mountain in Shangrao city, East China's Jiangxi province. The eldest child involved in the session is six years old. Sanqing means the "Three Pure Ones" in Chinese and it's a renowned Taoist sacred mountain as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [Photo/China News Service]
Renowned Chinese comedian Yan Shunkai [Photo/CGTN]

Renowned Chinese comedian, actor and film director Yan Shunkai died on Monday at the age of 80.

The household name was famous for his role in "The True Story of Ah Q", the first film he ever starred in and which brought him many accolades, including "The Gold Stick Prize" at the Second International Festival of Comedy Films in Switzerland in 1982.

He was the only Chinese to have ever won this award.

Yan also performed at China's first Spring Festival Gala Evening in 1983, making later appearances in 1988 in a self-directed comedy "A Tan Biography" and then in 1993 in a sketch titled "Zhangsan the person".

Yan had been suffering from cerebral and myocardial infarctions and had been in hospital for at least seven years. He reportedly could no longer walk and was having trouble talking.

The actor who put a smile on Chinese people's faces thanks to his comedy skits was born in Shanghai in 1937. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1963, and joined the Shanghai Farce Troupe.

In 1981, he starred in "The True Story of Ah Q", which was based on an episodic novella by Lu Xun, one of the pioneers of modern Chinese literature.

Yan received the Best Actor award at the 6th Hundred Flowers Awards, the Chinese equivalent of the Golden Globes, in 1983.

Yan "did not pursue cheap laughs, laughs induced from crass and unsophisticated scenes and dialogues. He could make people laugh in tears and also gave people a special aesthetic enjoyment and presented a unique style of arts," Shen Weimin, general secretary of Shanghai Farce Troupe, said following the news of Yan's death.

"He was a great example to the young generation of artists, and his passing is a great loss to the whole theater industry."
[Photo provided to China Daily]

More than 100 lithographs are on show at an ongoing exhibition at the Tianjin Dongjiang Free Trade Port Zone.

Titled Tron, it features artists from China and many other countries, including the United States, Egypt, Italy and Australia. It is being held through Oct 30.

Nearly half of the artworks were created in Tianjin, where the artists have participated in a residence program since Aug 31.

The program is operated by the YAC Youth Community, an art institution based in the northern city, with the focus this year being on lithography.
Hong Kong Post issued special stamps honoring the qipao dress on Oct 17, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hong Kong Post issued special stamps honoring classic qipao fashion on Tuesday.

Qipao in Mandarin, or cheongsam in Cantonese, refers to the timeless straight dress, usually of silk or cotton, with a stand-up collar and a slit on one side of the skirt. The typical Chinese-style dress, which is a symbol of oriental charm, has been popular since the 1920s.

Six stamps featuring qipao were included in the new stamp set. Apart from modern versions of dress, the stamp designers were inspired by documentation about the clothes, including old posters and films. The stamps demonstrate the evolution of fashion in China and traditional Chinese culture.
Australian Nicholas James Vujicic gives motivational speeches and shares ideas on social media to inspire worldwide audiences. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Australian Nicholas James Vujicic was born with a rare disorder that left him without any arms or legs.

But Vujicic, 35, has not let his condition stop him from living a full life. The motivational speaker has been traveling across the world to inspire people with his story of not losing hope, caring for others and achieving what they set out to do.

Vujicic's experience is also touching more Chinese lives. For the past decade, he has given speeches in seven cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Vujicic even maintains an account on Chinese micro-blogging website Sina Weibo to stay engaged with his fans and offer his inspiring ideas through video clips.

"Through this way, I can see what Chinese people, especially those who are still quite young, are facing now, and their thoughts," says Vujicic.

He has posted more than 50 videos since May, based on topics raised by his fans, including methods of coping with stress during high school exams. The latest efforts have helped add to the millions of views that his posts attract worldwide.

"It's great to interact with people," says Vujicic. "That's one of the good things about technology. You can make a difference from a distance but really make it feel close."

In September, he spoke in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Shenyang and Chengdu.

"This is my 11th trip to China," he says. "Some Chinese audiences are reserved while others can get quite excited. One thing that I love about Chinese audiences is that everyone listens."

When he was in Shanghai speaking to 25,000 people in a stadium earlier this year, everyone was full of energy the whole time he spoke, he says.
Xi Jinping presides over the preparatory meeting for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 17, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

As delegates of the Communist Party of China meet to examine what the country has been through and accomplished over the past five years, they will also deliberate on the future and what needs to be done.

As the communique issued on Saturday after the conclusion of the seventh, and last, plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee indicates, the 19th National Congress is essentially about ascertaining what has been tried and tested over the past five years and how to carry that forward.

And as reflected in many recent surveys gauging Chinese citizens' feelings about the future, what the 2,500-character text conveys is first and foremost confidence the Party's leaders are charting the right course for the country.

In the words of the communique, the past five years have been extraordinary years in which the nation has made historic achievements in reform and opening-up, and undergone fundamental changes with many deep-rooted problems and issues that were too difficult to be resolved before now being addressed. Not least corruption, where the unprecedentedly resolute anti-graft campaign has made remarkable headway.

As a result, China stands at a new historical starting point, which is of great and far-reaching significance for the country's development cause and the realization of its two centenary goals.

There are those outside the country that might try to suggest otherwise. China is no stranger to doom-mongering. But from predictions that it will experience an economic hard landing to claims that it faces total collapse, people in this country have heard it all before, and more than once.

Heard it and each time dismissed it, knowing it is such prophecies that have struggled to gain traction and eventually collapsed. For, each time China has faced storms that threaten to blow it off course, its leaders have demonstrated their acumen by steering the country safely through each tempest.

Today, China's economy continues to drive global growth, prompting the International Monetary Fund to raise its expectations, four times already this year. More important, people's lives have improved, not least the lives of many of the country's poorest residents, as 14 million people have been lifted out of poverty each year since 2012.

And as CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping has observed, this nation has never been so close to center stage when it comes to global affairs.

Beyond what IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde cited the other day as the reason the entire world will be watching what unfolds at the congressthe country's role as an economic powerhouse for the global economypeople around the world will also be hoping to gain some insight into how this country intends to wield its growing influence in the coming years.

If fact, the world already knows the country's intentions since Xi has reiterated on many occasions it seeks to forge a community of shared destiny for all humans, and he has made clear the nation's territorial integrity is its bottom line.

No matter whether suspicious outsiders can or are willing to appreciate its vision of a global community living in harmony, the country has garnered the endorsement of many in the international community for its championing of shared and inclusive development and its providing of beneficial public goods such as the Belt and Road Initiative and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which in turn have encouraged increased confidence in its approach to global governance.

And throughout Chinese society, there is a broadening consensus that the country, as well as the world, needs strong, efficient leadership. That is what Xi and his colleagues have presented, and what they have received praise for, not only at home but also elsewhere.

By carrying out the great project of Party building and advancing the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi and his colleagues have instilled the belief that they can meet the challenges of the times and so realize the Chinese people's dream of the rejuvenation of the nation.

As the communique noted, the past five years have been an extraordinary period in which the Party's efforts to unite and lead the country have produced comprehensive and groundbreaking achievements. This momentum will be sustained over the coming years with the advancing of the Party's new governance concepts, thoughts and strategies.
Aerial photo taken on Sept 22, 2017 shows the scenery of the Saihanba forest in North China's Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua] Strong leadership vital to Party and China

THE COMMUNIST Party of China's strong leadership has helped China make significant progress over the past five years, says an article published in People's Daily. Excerpts:

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Party leadership has laid solid foundations for China's further comprehensive development. With scientific strategies and outstanding competence, the Party, led by General Secretary Xi Jinping, remains committed to improving people's livelihoods and further developing the country and the Party itself.

The core role of Xi in the leadership, which was made clear at the Sixth Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee, has helped promote China's long-term stability and prosperity.

The reforms have deepened, and only a strong leadership can guarantee their success.

The power of a new development philosophy

NEW IDEAS, new strategy and new thinking have furthered China's development, and they will guide the country toward a new era of quality development, says an article on xinhuanet.com. Excerpts:

The five concepts of developmentinnovation, coordination, green, openness and shared development initiated at the Fifth Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committeehave propelled China to develop in a sustainable manner. They also are China's road map to build a moderately well-off society in an all-round way, and address many challenges during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period.

Thanks to the guidance of the development philosophy of the Party with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core, China has made significant achievements. For example, it has deepened supply-side reform, proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, started the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and expedited the development of the high-speed railway network. Progress has also been made in social security, public services and poverty alleviation.

All this has made Chinese people more confident about the country's development.

Reforms are totally people-oriented

CHINA'S REFORMS have been people-oriented over the past five years and yielded great results in many aspects, says an article in Economic Daily. Excerpts:

After a profound analysis of social development in the past, the Party is committed to ensuring the new round of reforms benefit the people. Because the Party with General Secretary Xi Jinping at the core has deepened the reforms in order to improve people's well-being, the reforms have enjoyed overwhelming public support since they were first implemented.

Rule of law leads to a better society

CHINA HAS made remarkable progress over the past five years in advancing the rule of law. As a result, improved governance has been playing a vital role in building a peaceful nation, says an article in Legal Daily. Excerpts:

President Xi Jinping has said that the rule of law must contribute to social governance.

The rule of law, with well-defined responsibilities, transparent procedures and foresight, is therefore the best governance approach. Many local governments have made efforts to keep power in the cage of law.

Besides, the rule of law has helped address disputes. For example, addressing complaints and appeals had long been a problem because of the lack of specific laws and regulations. But now, different administrative and legal bodies treat complaints and appeals according to specific laws and regulations.

Also, owing to the Belt and Road Initiative, complicated international disputes have increased. The court of Pudong free trade zone in Shanghai has mediated in 602 such cases involving about 548 million yuan ($83.3 million).

To crack down on cyber crimes, which account for one-third of the total number of criminal cases in China, a well-coordinated mechanism that involves 23 government departments has been put in place to target telecom fraud cases.

Ideological leadership is of great importance

THE PARTY WILL continue to attach great importance to ideological work, which has helped China make historic achievements, says an article in qstheory.cn. Excerpts:

Since its 18th National Congress in 2012, the CPC with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core has attached more importance to ideological work. The Party has reinforced ideology with updated theories and fought against negative thoughts. This has helped strengthen the leadership and made China confident of its development model.

The changes over the past five years owing to the more active and positive ideological work have made the Party realize that ideological instruction is integral to the security of the State and the Party. In this regard, the "color revolutions" showed the dangers that weak ideological work could cause to national security.

Since the Chinese society is becoming increasingly pluralistic, the Party will continue to attach utmost importance to ideological work in order to reinforce people's confidence in the Party and the nation.

Eco-friendly strategy for ecological civilization

THE PARTY HAS included the ecological civilization theory into its development strategy, which promotes more eco-friendly development means, says an article on Guangming Daily's website. Excerpts:

Ecological civilization, an important part of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, was added to the all-round economic, political, cultural, diplomatic and environmental development plan after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, attaches great importance to ecological civilization. Given China's realities, Xi has said, ecological and economic developments both are of great significance because ecological development helps economic development in the long run.

Ecological development should be based on an efficient institution, including a survey of the environmental capacity and the development of different resources, because nature needs time and space to recover. For example, green development calls for following the rules of nature in order to make economic development sustainable, and resources need to be recycled to reduce the environmental harm caused by economic consumption.

Building an integrated military-civilian sector

THE INNOVATIVE, coordinated development of the military-civilian sector is vital to the modernization of the People's Liberation Army, which will increasingly rely on improved high-technology hardware and software reform, says an article in PLA Daily. Excerpts:

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has called for structural and institutional reforms to promote the technological integration of the military and civilian sectors.

The integration will gradually lead to win-win cooperation, yielding increased productivity, competitiveness and combat capabilities.

Currently, the integration of the military and civilian sectors faces problems such as overlapping functions, duplication of management and inactive market.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party has elevated the military-civilian integration project to a national strategy, and established the Central Commission of Integrated Military and Civilian Development to make the strategy successful.

Since the key to military-civilian integration lies in innovation, institutional reform that can deal with the challenges of the project is necessary.

Major-country diplomacy good for world

CHINA'S PRACTICE of "major-country diplomacy" has helped create a stable environment for its peaceful rise, says an article on cnr.cn. Excerpts:

Based on the profound understanding of China's conditions, President Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, propounded the theory of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the theory has grown into an instructive system of diplomacy, which is aimed at building a peaceful environment for China's development.

The theory includes respect for the world order, responsibilities for global development and protection of national interests. It pursues peaceful development and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, by building a community of shared destiny for humankind.

Moreover, China has played the role of a responsible country in many international issues and promoted infrastructure construction in, and economic development of developing countries, through projects and institutions such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Strict governance important for Party

THE PARTY HAS made tremendous achievements in self-governance over the past five years. Therefore, while pushing forward the endeavor, it should also make necessary adjustments as the campaign has reached a new stage, says an article in Study Times. Excerpts:

The Party has implemented an eight-point frugality code to regulate its members' behavior in a bid to fight formalism, outdated bureaucrat practices, hedonism and extravagance.

And the anti-corruption campaign, which has entrapped both "tigers and flies" (high-and lower-ranking corrupt officials), has strengthened the Party's leadership.

By following the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Party has gained valuable experience. But despite people appreciating the Party's achievements over the past five years, the CPC should continue to improve self-governance.


The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which begins on October 18, will set the leadership and establish the policies for the next five years, at least. While Party national congresses are always seminal events in the political life of the country, there is reason to expect that this congress will have even greater and longer-reaching impact.

The context of the 19th CPC National Congress is the grand vision for China presented by CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is now the "core" of "the CPC Central Committee and of the whole Party". It is an epic narrative of what China has remarkably achieved, what China has yet to do, and what China envisages as necessary to become a great nation.

Xi's grand vision is famously expressed as "the Chinese Dream", described as "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation", which has personal and national implications. It is specified by two overarching goals: the two centenary goals of establishing a moderately prosperous society by 2020the 100th anniversary of the CPC is 2021and establishing China as a "fully modernized, socialist nation" by the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2049.

The first goal, which includes the total elimination of extreme poverty in the country, will likely be achieved within the five-year term of the 19th CPC National Congress. It is the second goal that is of special interest at this time, because in drawing the roadmap and formulating the policies to achieve China's mid-century goal, this Congress may set the agenda for the next 30-plus years.

The CPC national congresses are the highest authority of CPC governance and decision-making. The CPC constitutional provision of holding congresses every five years was reaffirmed by Deng Xiaoping in the early days of reform (in part to establish order and collective responsibility after a period of chaos and political vicissitudes), and since 1982, Party congresses have been held scrupulously on schedule.

The congresses establish the senior leadership of the Party and hence the nation by electing the CPC Central Committee, which in turn elects all top Party positions, and also the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection; review and assess the achievements and challenges over the five years since the previous Party Congress; set the vision, goals and objectives, agenda and priorities for the subsequent five years; revise the Party constitution (to keep up with the times); and project an image of unified purpose and direction to engender national confidence and commitment.

The review and assessment of the previous five years and setting the agenda and priorities for the subsequent five years are formally presented in the Report, delivered by the general secretary representing the outgoing Central Committee and thus reflecting the consensus view of the Party leadership. Ratified by the congress (after minor modifications), it becomes the guiding document that drives policy for the incoming Central Committee.

On the day following a congress, the first plenum of the new 19th Central Committee is convened to elect the Party's new senior leadership, including the Political Bureau, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau (to which, in essence, everything in China reports), and the general secretary of the Central Committee. Also approved are the Central Military Commission (which oversees the People's Liberation Army), the Secretariat (which runs Party daily operations), and the head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The planning for the national Party Congress follows similar patterns. Beginning more than a year in advance, it involves both formal and informal processes. The formal process includes the election or appointment of about 2,300 delegates (2,280 delegates at the 19th National Congress) from among the Party's over 89 million members, at all levels and in all sectors, and the preparation of the Report via an elaborate system of extensive research in targeted areas (involving thousands of experts), solicitation of broad input, drafts (or sections) circulated to numerous Party experts and officials for comments, and iterative intense reviews by higher bodies and senior leaders. In addition, smaller groups are assigned the more sensitive tasks of amending the Party constitution and recommending candidates for the new Central Committee and senior leadership positions.

Final decisions for this year's congress, as well as final edits of the Report, were made at the Seventh Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee, held on Oct 11 to 14, days prior to the opening ceremony of the 19th CPC National Congress.

To understand the position and role of CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi at the 19th Party National Congress, we should appreciate what it means for Xi to be the core. It was in October 2016, at the Sixth Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee, that Xi was designated the "core" of the CPC Central Committee and of the entire Party. The appellation was an unambiguous assertion that China requires strong leadership to maintain stability and ensure development given China's unprecedented, complex challenges: domestically, slower growth, industrial overcapacity, endemic pollution, unbalanced development, income disparity, social injustice, social service demands; and internationally, regional conflicts, sluggish economies, volatile markets, trade protectionism, ethnic clashes, terrorism, geopolitical rivalries, and territorial disputes.

Moreover, because China must deepen reform to achieve the goal of being a moderately prosperous society, the resistance of entrenched interest groups must be overcome. In fact, the necessity of having a leadership core to maintain stability and expedite reform was a primary factor relating to Xi's elevation to be the core.

In addition, not only does Xi have the responsibility for China's transformation; he is also accountable for it. He has shown courage in combating rampant practice of graft, bribery and illicit patronage. Xi's relentless anti-corruption campaign is altering how officials in government and managers in industry work, and even how they think. And let no one assume that Xi's battle against corruption has been risk-free.

Xi as the core does not change the Party's cardinal principle of "democratic centralism". The Party says it is encouraging the democratic solicitation of input and feedback from Party members, lower-ranked officials, and the general public; and strengthening centralism through Xi's core leadership.

In a complex world, given the diverse interests and forces in Chinese society, the Party asserts that the Chinese Dream cannot be realized without unity. Strong leadership is required to build and maintain unity for China to continue its development.

When Xi received the core appellation, he was already general secretary of the Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and president of the countrythe three highest leadership positions in Chinaso how does being the "core" augment his perceived stature or actual power?

The 2016 Party plenum communique confirmed that "the collective leadership system  must always be adhered to". Nonetheless, there must have been shifts in terms of both the setting of the agenda and making final decisionsor else making Xi the core would have little meaning.

When foreigners dismiss the political aphorisms of China's leaders as simplistic sloganeering, they miss an opportunity to enrich their understanding. Chinese officials certainly hold Xi's frameworks in high esteem.

Xi's thought for the Party, the inner-Party directives, include the "eight regulations" (against waste and perks); "four self-confidences" (in the country's development path, theories, systems, culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics); opposing the "four evil winds" (formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism, decadence); the "four greats" (struggles, projects, enterprises, dreams).

The combined intent is to make Party members, especially Party and government officials, more dedicated, committed, competent and loyal, with exemplary moral standards of probity and rectitude. It is no small order.

The Party's unremitting anti-corruption campaign, unprecedented under Xi, has won strong public support and will certainly continue. But some foreign analysts mistakenly see Xi's anti-corruption campaign as largely a tool of political power, thus reflecting a superficial and one-dimensional understanding of China. Befitting the size and complexity of the country, for almost every decision of importance, China's leaders have multiple motivations.

For the anti-corruption campaign, these motivations include respect for the rule of law and judicial impartiality; effective functioning of the Party devoid of personal interests; public trust in the Party; efficient economic resource allocations (corruption distorts markets); expediting reform (by breaking up "interest groups" that resist reform); maintaining national unity (by removing officials with non-standard political ambitions); elevating morality of Chinese society; restoring ethical standards of Chinese civilization; and facilitating China's emergence as a world-business center and global role model.

Xi's thought for the countryhis new ideas, new strategies, new initiatives set forth over the past five yearscan be encapsulated as the overall vision of the "Five in One" construction (economic, political, cultural, social, ecological); governance of the country via his "Four Comprehensives" (a moderately prosperous society; deepening reform, strengthening the rule of law, strictly governing the Party); and renewed economic development via the Five Major Development Concepts (innovation, coordination, green, open, sharing), plus "supply-side structural reform".

Xi's thought for national rejuvenation includes a grand vision for global governance, consisting of eight big diplomatic concepts: a global community of shared destiny and future; win-win cooperation; economic globalization; fairer global governance; a new kind of major power relationship; expanding cooperation while managing differences; multilateralism; and people-to-people exchanges. Moreover, Xi's Belt and Road Initiativefacilitating economic development in developing countries, especially by building much-needed infrastructureis China's "project of the century".

China recognizes it has international responsibilities and seeks to uphold a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security strategy. China's own requirement is to protect the country's three sacrosanct "core interests"its political system, economic development, and national sovereignty (territorial integrity).

China appreciates that to be a major country, with its political influence reflecting its economic strength, and also to protect its own core interests, its diplomacy must be pro-active. China does not claim that its "China model" can be adopted by other countries, but the world should understand Xi's principles of governance as optimally suited for China's domestic conditions.

Party congresses have similar styles and to casual observers, they can all seem much the same. But they do have differences, which are usually subtle and often meaningful.

For the 19th National Congress, some of the things to look out for are:

Are political frameworks and policies stated in their expected forms? If so, confidence in political and economic stability is reinforced.

How is General Secretary Xi Jinping's status as "core" further stressed, as expected?

Who are the members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and what are their portfolios?

Assuming the Party Constitution is amended to include Xi's new ideas, new strategies, new initiatives, will they be given an overarching label?

What is the composition of the new Central Committee?

In listing the essential economic, political, cultural, social and ecological policies, are there shifts of emphasis that, however nuanced, suggest changing priorities?

For deepening reform, surely stressed, what targets are specified? For example, what will be stated explicitly about State-owned enterprise reform?

Environmental protection is a high priority, but what specific regulations and enhanced enforcements distinguish the fight against pollution under Xi from those of previous congresses?

Many social areas will be highlightedfor example, education, healthcare, rural land reform, migrant worker residenciesbut do any stand out?

As already affirmed, the anti-corruption campaign will continue, but will its intensity or direction change in any manner, will it be institutionalized? How will the forthcoming National Supervisory Commission work?

What is the relative prominence of military reform and modernization?

What is the relative prominence of international affairs, given the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative and China's intense, pro-active diplomacy?

Forecasting the 19th CPC National Congress is not all guesswork and triangulating rumors. Following tradition, Xi offered to Party leaders a preview of his Report. Speaking on July 26, he outlined China's achievements since the previous national congress: new concepts of development, deepened reform, enhanced rule of law, strengthened environmental protection, and a more capable military.

China, Xi said, has, after suffering century-long hardships and tribulations, taken three historic leaps, from standing-up to becoming better-off to becoming stronger. Xi called for a comprehensive, strategic and forward-looking action program, highlighting the success and vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the increasing strength of the Party, and China's expanding circle of friends in the international community. In China, he stressed, political legitimacy is founded on competence and accomplishment.

Significantly, Xi asserted that China's development stands at a new historic starting point and that socialism with Chinese characteristics is entering a new development stage. The CPC cannot rest on its laurels, he stressed. The country faces daunting challenges. He warned the Party against self-satisfaction and blind optimism.

Xi's comments resonated with his core values and bear witness to his consistency. In 2006, then Zhejiang Party Secretary Xi told me that China should be proud of its successes, but its "achievements should not engender complacency", adding "we need to assess ourselves objectively".

Preparing for the upcoming congress, Xi recognizes that the people's desire for a happier life is stronger than ever. They want better education, higher incomes, stable jobs, reliable social insurance, higher quality healthcare, more comfortable living conditions, a more beautiful environment and a richer cultural life.

And there has been an inflection point in China's international perspective, reflecting the nation's consequential global engagement. The China model, Xi said, successful at home, also broadens the way for developing countries to modernize, thus providing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for problems facing mankind.

The influence of the 19th CPC National Congress and the impact of Xi Jinping's thought seem for decades to come.

The author is a public intellectual, international corporate strategist, and China expert/commentator. He is co-creator (with Adam Zhu) and host of CGTN's Closer to China with R.L. Kuhn.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily and China Daily website.

Mirza Nasir Baig has a meal with his classmates. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. This is what China offered me the moment my feet touched its ground. As someone who loves food, I couldn't help but worry about eating food foreign to my tongue. I love my country's foods and I have a bias when it comes to dishes. I have always been fond of my mom's homemade dishes and consider them the best in the world. Being far away from home for the first time, finding good food was my priority.

Obviously, the beginning of every journey is rough. My experience at Chinese restaurants left a lot to be desired. I had yet to explore Nanjing, and I would often eat at cafeterias around my university. My first date with Chinese food was not a good experience. I thought it did not suit my taste. But something unexpected happened which sprouted my interest in Chinese foods. From avoiding it, I started loving it. Chinese food is unique and delicious in its own way.

One day, my Chinese labmates took me to a Chinese restaurant near our university. It was a treat from our senior, and it was indeed a celebration of food, somewhat of a dinner gathering. As we went inside the restaurant, I saw big, round tables with a number of chairs around. It looked like a place for occasions or family gatherings of some sort. My labmates then called the waiter for our orders. Since I was new, I just let them choose the dishes for me. One by one, dishes were served.

One dish after another until the table was full. It was my first time to witness such a meal, with more than 10 dishes on the table. It was not a buffet sort of thing, but certainly it was perfect for eating in groups. As I am a slow eater, I was quite hesitant to try all the dishes. Also, knowing from my past experience of Chinese food, I thought that I should only pick what I could eat. Eventually, one of my labmates sitting next to me convinced me to give each of the dishes a try. Without too much ado, I tasted them one by one, little by little. It was like my whole concept of Chinese food changed after that. There was no single dish that I did not like. Each dish appealed to my palate, and I forgot to slow down.

There is a Chinese proverb which goes like Duo chi shucai, shao chi rou which means "Eat more vegetables, and less meat." This is one thing that I learned from my entire search for good food. Chinese dishes are cooked delicately and intricately with leafy vegetables and spices. This is the secret to their variety. Chinese people greatly enjoy eating in groups as it is the best way of relieving the stress from their everyday work routine. That experience with my labmates opened my heart to more Chinese cuisine adventures. As I visited city after city, I was caught awestruck by the diversity of food in China, from street food to local and fancy restaurants, to even foreign restaurants with a trace of Chinese cookery.

In general, the style of Chinese food is really creative, and resourceful. It seems to me that not every bit of the ingredient is wasted. They all blend in harmony and result in good taste. I guess it is a Confucian basic that the taste of any dish depends on proper mixing of all ingredients and condiments as impeccably manifested in 'chao fan', a Chinese-style fried rice, a simple dish turned into one of the best known foods in and out of universities. You won't leave China without eating it.

One cannot deny that food is one main source of our happiness and it is indeed our thirst for survival. China won my heart when it got through my stomach.

The author is a student in Nanjing University of Science and Technology.
The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily and China Daily website.

Xi Jinping delivers a report to the 19th CPC National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 18, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has entered a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, that's an outstanding judgment which differs from previous Party congresses when General Secretary of Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping delivered a report at the opening ceremony of the 19th CPC Congress on Wednesday.

The Six Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee in 1981 described people's increasing material and cultural demands on the one hand and backward productive force on the other as the main contradiction at the initial stage of socialism.

Though China is still at the initial stage of socialism, Chinese people no longer struggle just to meet basic needs. The main contradiction has changed into people's growing needs for a better life with unbalanced and insufficient development, General Secretary Xi said in the report.

The Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era embodies the new ideas, new thinking, and new strategies of the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core in the new era of development.

Since the 18th CPC Congress in 2012, the Party led by Xi has been committed to realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. And the "two centenary goals" of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020, one year before the Party's 100th anniversary in 2021, and developing China into a "fully modernized, socialist nation" by the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2049, mean the Party has already taken upon itself a great historical responsibility.

To accomplish the goals, the Party has to depend on the strategic layout of the "Four Comprehensives"  comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively advance the rule of law and comprehensively and strictly govern the Party, and carry out the "Five Development Concepts" of innovation, coordination, green, openness and shared development.

Therefore, the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era reflects the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core, which comprises new ideas, new strategies and new thinking. The thought has become a systematic theory about realizing socialist modernization and national rejuvenation in the new stage and will be the guideline for the Party and nation to achieve its goals.

After the 18th CPC Congress, China entered a new stage of historic transformation and breakthrough, and the Party's goal expanded from building an overall "moderately well-off society" to achieving the "two centenary goals", which will pave the way for the rejuvenation of the nation. Thanks to the historic transformation, China, the world's second largest economy, is shifting from investment- and export-driven to innovation-driven growth.

Stressing fairness and justice, Chinese society wants the wealth gap to be narrowed and more people to share the fruits of social development. And to meet those needs, the government has been improving governance, and deepening people-oriented reform.

Building a moderately well-off society offers strategic basis for China's modernization and national rejuvenation. Comprehensively deepening reform offers strong impetus. The rule of law offers legal guarantee of good, modern governance. And comprehensively strengthening Party governance ensures a steady, strong Party leadership.

But as an emerging major country, China will influence the world order and may face opposition from established powers despite playing a vital role in improving global governance. China is approaching the global center stage as it transforms from a major country to a major power. And Xi's diplomatic philosophy has made clear how China will deal with other countries in order to create a peaceful environment, which is crucial for realizing the dream of national rejuvenation.

China loves peace and takes a defensive policy, but China needs a strong army to defend itself facing complicated challenges. That's why the dream of a strong army is part of the Chinese Dream, which the modernization of the army and national defense play a vital role.

Moreover, the Chinese Dream is also the dream of rejuvenation for all Chinese people including the people in the mainland, as well as compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. And the insistence on the "one country, two systems" and the "1992 Consensus" will be a guarantee for the dream of all Chinese people.

Therefore, the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has clear goals, and the means to meet the "two centenary goals" and the goal of national rejuvenation. As for the means, the strategic layout of the "Four Comprehensives" reflects the profound thinking and top-level design of the Party's central leadership toward socialist modernization and national rejuvenation.

And the complementary strategic basis, strong impetus, legal guarantee, and strong Party leadership constitute a complete, effective system for achieving China's modernization and national rejuvenation. And the "Five Development Concepts" will be important for building a strong country in an all-round way.

Therefore, the thought is people-oriented, highlighted by the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, and conforms to socialism with Chinese characteristics. The report reflects the governance philosophy of the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core, which raise the questions of "what kind of modernization and national rejuvenation China should have", and explores ways to achieve the goals of modernization and national rejuvenation.

The author is a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
Photo taken on Sept. 15, 2017 shows the bird's-eye view of Mannashan Village in Bulangshan Town of Menghai County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. A total of 524 people of the Bulang ethnic group live at the village and most of them have built new houses with the help of government under a policy of poverty alleviation. [Photo/Xinhua]

In his report delivered at the opening ceremony of the 19th National Congress of Communist Party of China on Wednesday, General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized China's achievements over the past five years. And one of the biggest achievements is more than 60 million people have been lifted out of poverty.

Although facing severe challenges such as slower economic growth since 2012 due to economic transition, China has implemented policies and measures to reduce the number of poor people in the country, which have yielded remarkable results. Poverty alleviation is vital to achieve the goal of building a moderately well-off society in an all-round way.

Infrastructure construction has remarkably improved transportation, safe drinking water and power supply, and communications in impoverished rural areas. The housing of millions of poor households have been rebuilt. Basic public services, such as education and medical care, provided for impoverished rural residents, as well as industrial development and employment in poverty-stricken areas have also improved.

The Chinese leadership with Xi Jinping as the core has exhibited wisdom and courage in pushing forward the great cause of poverty alleviation with precision strategy.

China stepped into the economic new normal five years ago, which signaled the shift in its reliance from imports, exports and investments to domestic consumption, innovation and reform for economic growth. As a result, its growth rate has slowed a bit.

China's average annual GDP per capita growth from 2012 to last year was 6.1 percent, 3 percentage points lower than the average from 2008 to 2011. This economic slowdown has reduced the pull effect of economic growth on poverty alleviation. The slowing of the employment growth rate and the adjustment to the employment structure have also had negative influence on poverty alleviation work.

China's non-agricultural employment growth rate, especially that of migrant workers, has been declining since 2012. Last year, the number of migrant workers working outside their hometown for more than six months grew only 0.3 percent, and the proportion of migrant workers in the construction and manufacturing industries (the most migrant worker-intensive industries) declined 2.5 percentage and 0.9 percentage points compared with 2013.

Besides, the declining prices of primary agricultural products in recent years have made it difficult for impoverished rural households, which depend heavily on the production of primary agricultural goods, to increase their incomes. And since 2012 the growth rate of China's national fiscal revenue declined from 12.8 percent in 2012 to 4.5 percent in 2016, the lowest since 1987, making poverty alleviation work more difficult.

Facing the heavy burden and severe challenge of economic transition, the government has adopted a precision poverty alleviation strategy and taken a series of effective measures to lift the remaining impoverished population of China out of poverty by 2020. The strategy is aimed at using the limited poverty alleviation resources with precision to get the desired effect. Which means China has established a comprehensive organizational and institutional system of precision poverty alleviation.

The Party committees and governments at all levels have been given the responsibility of eradicating poverty in their areas. And a series of policies to increase the incomes of impoverished rural households, and a poverty alleviation assessment system including auditing, inspection and third-party evaluation has been put in place.

The government, on its part, has not only allocated more special poverty alleviation funds, but is also increasing poverty alleviation resources through integrating other special agricultural and rural development related funds at county level.

Recent years have also seen China promoting supply-side structural reform to improve efficiency and quality, which has boosted poverty alleviation works.

Poverty alleviation is vital to good governance. And the implementation of the precision poverty alleviation strategy will help China win the battle against poverty and build a moderately well-off society in an all-round way.

The author is the director of Center for Poverty Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Editor's Note: The Communist Party of China will hold its 19th National Congress from Wednesday. In the runup to the meeting, China Daily asked two prominent experts for their views on developments in China and the country's global leadership.

Ben Bingham, China director for the Asian Development Bank

The ADB has assisted China to sustainably reduce poverty and better manage vulnerability through a robust and nationally integrated social policy, to mitigate the drivers of inequality. This involves a two-pronged approach to reduce local poverty and better protect global public goods, and to secure and smooth China's economic restructuring and transition toward a modern social services sector.

How do you rate China's economic growth and business opportunities in the past five years? What is the biggest challenge it faces, and how can it overcome it?

Over the past five years, the government has managed to maintain sufficiently high GDP growth and ensured economic, financial and social stability. It has also made progress in implementing reforms in most of the roughly 60 areas of reform outlined by the Party in November 2013.

With growth on a more solid footing at this juncture, the policy focus has shifted more to addressing risks to financial stability. Once implemented, the decisions made at the National Financial Work Conference will further mitigate financial risks by providing an institutional framework for sector regulators to work together to head off incidents and contain their fallout.

Another challenge is to find the right balance between government intervention and letting markets play a decisive role. Substantial progress has been made over the past two years; for instance, with reducing excess industrial capacity and the housing overhang, and government intervention played a critical role here. However, it is also broadly accepted that well-regulated and competitive markets are critical for increasing economic efficiency and productivity. This is exactly what China needs to achieve a high-income economy in the coming years.

What valuable experiences can China offer other regions and countries to boost their own development?

From its opening-up in 1978 to 2016, China achieved a consistent annual growth rate of almost 10 percent. This growth rate is phenomenal, and has led to the country becoming one of the top economies in the world.

In addition, the fruits of this rapid growth were broadly shared. Living standards rose tremendously, and there have been many achievements in eradicating poverty. During these years of rapid economic growth, China has managed to lift more than 800 million out of poverty. By its own thresholds, poverty in urban areas has largely been eradicated, and the country is on track to eliminate rural poverty by 2020 as planned. In 2016, only 43.3 million rural poor remained (compared with 122.4 million in 2011).

One reason for its success is that it has devoted a large portion of its GDP to infrastructure investment compared with other developing countries in Asia. China has shown how an economy can achieve rapid growth by drawing on market systems and open trade and investment relations with partner countries. The government's five-year plans, with their clear vision, have played an important role, and have helped attract private sector investment in infrastructure.

Can you tell us a bit about the progress that has been achieved in projects co-financed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the ADB?

The ADB signed a memorandum of understanding with the AIIB (on May 2, 2016) to strengthen cooperation, including through jointly financing projects. We hope to broaden our partnership in the spirit of collaboration, rather than competition. The ADB has already co-financed four projects with the AIIB.
[Photo/Xinhua]

Malta expects more Chinese tourists to visit the island, not only for sightseeing but also for experiencing the local life, Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) CEO Paul Bugeja told Xinhua in an interview.

"We are committed to transform our tourism industry from the traditional 'holiday services' to the 'experiential travel' which combines the civic life and community activities together," said Bugeja.

"We are managing open important channels of communication to introduce Maltese culture to the Chinese tourists," he added.

MTA believes that many Chinese are not just interested in sightseeing, but care about exposure to the "live in the local" experience, which includes food, photography, weddings, civic life and so on.

Bugeja thinks that the Mediterranean lifestyle and Malta's complex history, among other cultural aspects, are great attractions for Asian tourists.

The modern Chinese tourists are on a voyage of learning and discovery, and Malta can offer English teaching, culinary delights and traditional industries to them, according to Bugeja.

In order to attract more visitors to Malta, MTA has been making grand strides in expanding the Chinese tourist market. They are in cooperation with Caissa Travel Agency and the Bank of China, and are working towards establishing new agreements with other Chinese tour operators.

MTA has also established official accounts on Weibo and Wechat, as well as providing a Chinese destination brochure and a Chinese language version of the "Visit Malta" website.

As more Chinese enter the country, museums, attractions, restaurants and hotels will begin providing Chinese translations.

From last month, Chinese visitors can reclaim VAT on purchases in Malta and receive VAT refund via Alipay directly converted into RMB.

"In the long run, Chinese tourists not only bring economy growth to Malta's tourism, but also stimulated the development of other supporting industries," Bugeja told Xinhua.

Malta welcomed 6,000 Chinese tourists in 2016, and MTA is confident that number will grow this year. It aims to reach 10,000 Chinese tourists by the end of 2018.
Wu Haitao seeks long-term progress on sustainability, prosperity and peace

Ambassador Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations

China's senior envoy appealed to the international community on Monday to help African countries enhance their economic and social development.

Wu Haitao, deputy permanent representative to the UN, spoke at the high-level inaugural event of Africa Week 2017 at the United Nations in New York.

The weeklong event is themed: Supporting an Integrated, Prosperous, People-centered, Peaceful Africa: Towards the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Wu called for nations to make efforts to strengthen Africa's independent development capacity "to promote the development of Africa's agricultural modernization, industrialization, infrastructure construction of energy, transport" under Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda.

Wu said the international community should improve the external development environment of Africa.

"The international community should accelerate the development of Africa by promoting the peaceful development of Africa and achieving the prosperity and stability of the world," Wu said.

He said that through the principle of shared growth through discussion and collaboration, "developing countries such as Africa profoundly participate in the global economy and sharing of development dividends".

Developed countries should honor their commitments of providing assistance to Africa in finance, technology and capacity building; developing countries should strengthen South-South cooperation, Wu said.

The international community should respect the sovereignty of African countries and help Africa achieve a comprehensive peace. Nations should provide adequate, stable and sustainable funds to help African countries improve capacity for independent peaceful operations and promote the construction of collective security mechanisms in Africa.

Wu said China and Africa are good friends and partners. China is supporting the Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda by promoting cooperation between China and Africa in areas such as industrialization, agriculture modernization, infrastructure, environmental protection, and peace and security.

Agenda 2063 is a strategic framework for the socioeconomic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years. It builds on, and seeks to accelerate the implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and sustainable development.

At the Johannesburg Summit and the sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg in 2015, President Xi Jinping and African leaders jointly drafted a blueprint for the development of China-Africa friendly cooperation.

"China is willing to make joint efforts with Africa to promote bilateral cooperation and make new achievements, to make greater contributions to the cause of global peace and development," he said.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com
Members of Armed Forces of the Philippines patrol in Marawi, the Philippines, on Oct 17, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

MANILA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared victory over Islamic State (IS)-linked extremists that took over the southern city of Marawi in May, ending nearly five months of fierce fighting that have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence that marks the beginning of rehabilitation," Duterte said in a speech to the troops and officials in Marawi.

Duterte arrived in Marawi to congratulate the Philippine security forces for wresting the city from IS-linked extremists.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Restituto Padilla said on Tuesday that there are still about 30 "armed elements or strugglers" in Marawi.

Among the remaining six to eight foreign terrorists is Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, the alleged financier of the terrorist group with links to IS jihadist group in the Middle East, he said.

Padilla added that there are still about 60 to 80 extremist-occupied buildings that need to be cleared.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said Marawi has been declared liberated.

"The small number of the remaining enemy can now be considered a law enforcement matter and does not constitute serious threat to hinder the succeeding phases of national government programs," Ano said.

"What remains now is mopping up operations against Maute-ISIS stragglers in a small area. We can now begin the next phase which is damage assessment which is part of rehabilitation and reconstruction," Ano said.

Hours after the May 23 terrorists' attack, Duterte declared martial law for 60 days on the entire island of Mindanao. In July, Philippine legislators voted overwhelmingly to extend martial law until the end of the year to deal with Islamist insurgents.

On Sept 21, Duterte said that he would lift the martial law once the Marawi conflict is over and cleared of militants.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a radio interview that they are currently conducting assessment whether to lift or continue imposing martial in the Mindanao region.

Ano said on Tuesday that martial law should continue in the region, saying there are still extremist groups operating in the southern Philippines.

"But if everything is already okay, we will recommend to (Duterte) for the lifting of martial law," Ano told a radio interview.

Aside from the Maute group, the Philippines also battles with other IS-linked groups like the Abu Sayyaf militants in the island provinces of Sulu and Basilan and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguinao, a province in central Mindanao.

The military said the Abu Sayyaf group has up to 400 fighters while the BIFF has up to 300.

Col. Romeo Brawner, one of the military commanders on the ground, told reporters in Marawi that the declaration of liberation of the city "is a strategic statement to tell the world that the war with IS is over."

Brawner, however, said clearing up operations will continue to rid the areas with improvised explosive devices, booby traps, and other unexploded ordnance laid out by the retreating militants.

After the mopping up operation is completed, the rehabilitation will start to eventually pave the way for the return of the displaced city residents, he said.

Duterte's declaration came a day after the killings of Isnilon Hapilon, the alleged leader of IS in Southeast Asia, and Omarkhayam Maute.

At dawn on Monday government troops killed the two top IS leaders who led the jihadist extremists that took over the city on May 23. The two along with Maute's brother, Abdullah, with the help of Indonesian and Malaysian extremists, took mover the city since.

The fighting dragged on for nearly five months and has killed more than 1,000 people, including more than 847 extremists and 163 soldiers and policemen.

Ano said on Monday the deaths of Hapilon and the last of the remaining Maute brothers signaled the end of the IS-linked extremist groups particularly in the southern Philippines.

"We have nipped the budding terrorism (in the country), and stamped out the leaders of the Daesh-inspired terrorist group. We will not allow terrorism to reign in Marawi city or elsewhere in the country," Ano said, adding that killings of the two "means their center of gravity has crumbled."

The AFP called on Tuesday for a heightened security and increased vigilance in the wake of the killings of top pro-IS leaders.

Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the commander of the AFP's Eastern Mindanao Command, directed all military units to raise their alert level and "prevent possible reprisal from the so-called "Maute-ISIS sympathetic groups after the deaths of Hapilon and Maute."

"We ask everyone to be vigilant and to report to the authorities any suspicious activities in their respective communities," said Guerrero.

The 148-day conflict has also displaced the city's more than 200,000 residents and about 300,000 more outside Marawi city, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.

The military said at least 47 civilians have been killed by the terrorists. The health department said in July that 40 civilians died of sickness in government-run evacuation centers in nearby provinces. Thousands of evacuees are still housed in the centers.

The militants have also taken hostage several residents and used them as shield or forced them to fight the troops, the military claimed.

Months of airstrikes and heavy fighting have severely damaged many of the city's infrastructure, including buildings and houses.

Television footage and images revealed the huge destruction in Marawi. Large swaths of the city, especially in the central business district, are a pock-marked moonscape of heavily damaged buildings, shops and houses.

Once the city is cleared of homemade bombs and unexploded ordnance, Duterte said the rebuilding and rehabilitation will start to pave the way for the return of thousands of displaced residents.

It will take billions of pesos to rebuild the ruined city, according to Defense Secretary Lorenzana, adding that the extent of destruction is far greater than expected.
Silicon Valley, California - SanKoBot, based in Shanghai and Shenzhen with R&D divisions in ShenZhen, Singapore, Silicon Valley and Israel, has released its groundbreaking robotics vision system embedded in the Smart Cleaning Robot at the Hong Kong Consumer Electronics Trade Fair.

SanKoBot is now the first technology company in the world which could deliver a Visual Simultaneous Location and Mapping 'VSLAM' system in large scale production for the household robotics market. This system can allow home robotics providers around the world to upgrade their robotic products into intelligent capability based on SanKoBot's VSLAM system.

"SanKoBot's products are a radical step forward for the home robotics industry in the same way that visual sensing technology is revolutionizing the auto industry," says Robert Li, Founder and CEO of SanKoBot. "But home robotics applications are just a starting point for SanKoBot," says Robert Li. "In the next phase of development, we plan to launch upgraded vision system products to break the mold of the Home AI industry. Our company is ambitious to develop innovative and ground breaking products."

The technology inside the SanKoBot VSLAM system achieves remarkable performance and delivers exceptional user experience with fast calculation speed, exceptional accuracy and robust running. As the key parameter data demonstrates, it is able to sense its location with an accuracy 1 cm, running 20 fps with vision alone and running 100 fps with the fusion of other sensors. After it creates a map, the robot can quickly localize itself even when it is lifted up and placed in a random spot within 1 second. Moreover, SanKoBot is the first company to provide this technology to home robotics providers at a low cost to enable a wide adaption across the market.

Unlike other feature-based VSLAM techniques, SanKoBot's VSLAM solution can handle the wide range of indoor environments, including those with low textures, low or very strong light, as well as fast changing light conditions. "SanKoBot is the first technology company in the market to achieve commercial large scale production of this technology and launch it into the market, which is really good news for us", the customer Yan Shengfeng says, "after various tests, this vision product can be very robust, even working perfectly in the difficult conditions of the 3G Hall of Hong Kong Consumer Electronics Trade Fair."

With a variety of sensors, SanKoBot's robotics vison system integrates multiple data streams to build its intelligence about its surroundings in a highly robust fashion. Based on the state-of-the-art computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies, the robot continuously creates 3D visual landmarks, recognizes key objects, entrances, exits and boundaries of each room, and creates a complete 3D map of an indoor environment as it navigates through a room.

As SanKoBot Angel investors: Leo Wang (founder of PreAngel Fund) and Jiaxi Lin (founder of Guojin Capital) put it succinctly: "SanKoBot is creating innovative solutions by bringing together VSLAM technology at large scale production for the market. In addition, their work to create the next-generation consumer robotics Personal Assistant will be a major breakthrough for comprehensively managing in home data and technology."

Aviad Maizels, Founder and President of PrimeSense, the leader in Natural Interaction and 3D sensing, which was bought by Apple Inc. in 2013, now suit on the advisory board of SanKoBot together with David (Dadi) Perlmutter, former Intel CPO.

SanKoBot provides vision system for Home AI to build family moving AI Sensor hub.

SanKoBot brings future technology into the home, creating a Robotic Personal Assistant (RPA) that stays together with people and pets in the home. The RPA assists with all aspects of the Smart Home, interacting intuitively with humans and the physical world around it. SanKoBot's products integrate artificial intelligence, software and hardware to provide a complete Smart Home solution targeted to the China, US and global markets. SanKoBot's industry leading technology is differentiated from industry incumbents and upstarts through leveraging its R&D divisions in innovation hotspots across the world: China's innovation hubs, Silicon Valley, Israel's Silicon Wadi and Singapore.
WASHINGTON - It is "misleading" to interpret the China-US relationship "through the lens of the power shifting theory," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Tuesday.

In an opinion piece published on the USA Today's website, Cui noted that thanks to the UN charter that enables a world order relying on norms and rules rather than wars and conflicts, and the "unprecedented globalization" that connects the world, the conflict between the world's two largest economies has now become "not inevitable."

"The zero-sum mentality is outdated ... To build trust and mutual benefit in a globalized world we need more - not less - engagement, especially when globalization faces challenges," said Cui. "No one can opt out."

"China's future is inextricably tied to the health and well-being of the world, and the US is an invaluable component," he said. "The historical mission of our two countries is not the transfer of global dominance from one to the other, a misperception, which if allowed to persist, can lead to confrontation."

He added that China believes the two countries should commit to fostering a new type of major-country relationship rooted in mutual respect and cooperation, rather than confrontation and conflict.

"Our track record demonstrates that we are, indeed, better together," he said. "Cooperation is the only path, and problems should be solved through extensive collaboration."

Cui wrote the article on the eve of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which will review the country's efforts over the past five years and blueprint its domestic and international agenda for the next five years and beyond.

Cui said the gathering will "open up new prospects for, and add new impetus to, the exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world, including the United States."

Trump is expected to visit China next month as part of his five-stop tour in Asia that will also take him to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The White House said Monday that Trump, during his stay in Beijing, is expected to attend a series of bilateral, commercial and cultural events, including meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Xi met the US leader in April at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in the State of Florida, where they exchanged views on issues of bilateral and global concern.
China continues its crackdown on Christians. In the most recent report of persecution, a Chinese house church pastor, her daughter, and her grandson were arrested for expressing and sharing their faith in public.

According to ChristianityToday.com, Xu Shizhen, along with her daughter and grandson, was singing and dancing in worship and preaching about her faith in a public park in Xianning, Hubei province.

A month after expressing and sharing her faith in the park, Xu, her daughter Xu Yuqing, and her three-year-old grandson Xu Shouwang were arrested. Their exact whereabouts following the arrest are unknown.

Xu had previously had a run-in with authorities when her house church was seized by officials and placed under the supervision of Chinas state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement church.

Chinas government under President Xi Jinping recently added new religious regulations which restrict religious expression to an even greater extent.

The new religion regulations are sweeping in scope and, if fully enforced, could mean major changes for Chinas unregistered church, not only in its worship and meeting practices, but also engagement in areas such as Christian education, media, and interaction with the global church, wrote ChinaSource president Brent Fulton.

Join us in praying for Xu, her daughter, and young grandson.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/eggeeggjiew

Publication date: October 18, 2017
home World Indian authorities arrest Christian teen over allegations of making anti-Hindu comments on Facebook

A Christian teenager in northern India was arrested and jailed for 12 days after he was accused of posting anti-Hindu comments on Facebook.

Sandeep Kumar, 18, was arrested on Aug. 23 after members of the Hindu group Rudra Sena in his home area of Kasganj District filed a complaint with the police over anti-Hindu comments that appeared on a Facebook account in his name.

Kasganj District police charged Kumar, who was christened Karan Anthony, with "promoting enmity between classes," which is punishable with three years' imprisonment and/or a fine, and "publishing or transmitting obscene material," which is also punishable by three years' imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 rupees (US$7,725).

Kumar, a student of agricultural sciences at the University of Allahabad, denied the allegations and insisted that he had not used Facebook in months.

"I did not make any posts on Facebook. It was my good friend who falsely framed me by joining hands with Rudra Sena activists," Kumar told Morning Star News.

He said that he had deactivated his Facebook account after his friend and other classmates started sending abusive comments whenever he posted something about Jesus.

His father noted that the chief complainant, Sathin Gaur, was a former classmate and friend of Kumar.

The 18-year-old student said that his Hindu friends had been targeting him long before his arrest because they know that his father is a pastor.

"Before this Facebook row, they got me into trouble twice. They beat me severely, alleging, 'You are Christian, you are from low caste,'" he recounted.

While in police custody, Kumar discovered a fake Facebook account that had been used to post abusive anti-Hindu comments in his name.

He told the authorities that the Facebook account was not his and insisted that he was not aware of it because he was focusing on his studies and he had been spending most of his time with his Christian friends.

Kumar, who is currently out on bail, said that he did not receive anything to eat on the first two days of his detainment.

"I knelt down and prayed a day after I was presented before the court," the student recounted. "When I was in jail, every day I was spending time in prayer; the other prisoners did not understand what was going on, they asked me many questions like, 'What is this you are doing, why are you knelt, what are you murmuring?' It was an opportunity the Lord had given me to share the gospel with them," he continued.

The student recalled that the other inmates were happy to hear about Christ, and he even invited him to attend services in his church. Despite his ordeal, he said that he has forgiven his accusers and that he prays for them every day.

Attorney Suresh Sahu, who represented Kumar before the district's Criminal Magistrate Court, said that the authorities are continuing to investigate the case.

Kumar further noted that local media have published false reports that his father and other members of his family are guilty of forcible conversion.

Although India's national constitution guarantees freedom of religion, anti-conversion laws are currently in effect in six states, namely Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.

India has been ranked 15th on Open Doors' 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution.
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An aspiring entrepreneur who's about to debut a new dining spot in Montrose is learning that community is what helps build a business, even before it's open.

University of Houston student Oh Peou and his business partners are slated to debut Spicy Dog, an Asian-inspired gourmet hot dog food truck, in Montrose early next year. Peou teamed up with fellow UH student Bop Huynh and eventually, University of Texas student Kevin Liu joined in, lending his business acumen and financial investment. He's a McCombs School of Business student who plans to help run the business end of the venture, specifically risk management. Even their general manager, Kevin Nguyen, is a UH pupil hoping to bring his education into play at Spicy Dog.

NEW TEX-MEX COMING TO THE HEIGHTS: State of Grace's Ford Fry to debut Tex-Mex place Superica in the Heights

Since March, they've enjoyed the support of their friends, families and even Houston's restaurant industry leaders, who have all rallied around the team by offering their advice, training, taste-test feedback and even financial backing.

More Information Spicy Dog Anticipated opening: January, 2018 Where: Midtown and Montrose. At 3224 Yoakum Blvd. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. What: Specialty, Asian-inspired gourmet hot dogs, specialty fries and a bulgogi burger. See More Collapse

Peou, a Pearland resident, explained that the as a full-time student with $1,000 in his bank account, he couldn't have gotten this vision off the ground with the support of his partners and their connections.

"We're fortunate to have affiliations with several successful Houston restaurants, whether it's because we've personally worked for them in the past or we're simply good friends," he said, before mentioning a list of local establishments and chefs who've helped guide he and his team.

NOW SERVING: Restaurants that just opened in your Houston neighborhood, October 2017

Among establishments and chefs who've helped the students launch this venture, Peou mentions the owners of Oh My Gogi, as well as chefs Jason Liao of Pokeology and Tai Nguyen of Seaside Poke. Tony Phan, the general manager of the Mike Tran group, which owns Mein, Thai Night Market, Tiger Den and Aka, was also a consulting resource for the team. "Quite an exhaustive list, I know, but we wouldn't be where we are today without their help. With this pool of knowledge and guidance, weas young entrepreneurswill be capable of building the next hottest concept in Houston."

Peou himself is majoring in human resources and said he plans to put his education to work by establishing a unique hospitality-work culture at Spicy Dog.

"Not only do we want to be known for serving the best hot dogs in Texas, we also want to be known for building a very healthy and satisfying work environment for our employees," he said. "We want to reform the food industry's notorious treatment for its workers. We're looking to provide highly competitive wages, non-competitive scholarships, weekly gas allowance, biannual bonuses, as well as comfortable and stylish uniforms."

Beyond that, he said they want to impart the same lessons they've learned since Spicy Dog's conception.

COMING SOON: Houston's most anticipated bar & restaurant openings, fall/winter 2017

"We're going to pass down to our employees what was passed onto us: the valuable knowledge and personal mentoring from some of the city's influential restaurants in hopes that working with Spicy Dog is not just a job for moneythat it could be a stepping stone for the individual to branch out and become successful in his/her own right," he explained.

On the menu at Spicy Dog

The UH business student said he was inspired to pursue this concept when he sampled chain food-stand restaurant Japadog in Santa Monica. When he learned about the business' multi-city model focused on just one dish, he thought it made sense to introduce something similar to Houston, albeit tailored to Houstonian palates.

Originally, Spicy Dog was going to debut as a food stand that catered on-site at various Houston businesses. After speaking to local industry experts and cold-calling hospitals, among other types of commercial locations, they learned it made more sense to start a food truck that could park on public property and still serve the Houston workforce.

"Our trailer has recently been completed as of last week, and we expect to formally open in the heart of Montrose no later than January," Peou explained. He's already worked out an agreement with a nearby business that will allow him to operate the food truck at 3224 Yoakum Blvd., where Kung Fu Tea once stood.

He said the menu has been extensively taste-tested by experts and laypeople alike, who've offered their crtiques.

"We currently use 100-percent beef dogs across our menu. Some of the items to look forward to are our vegetarian LSDog, an umami-rich portabella mushroom dog with cheese; specialty fries marinated in Japanese BBQ, topped with cheese and our signature spicy truffle aioli," he described. "The k-poutine (will be topped with) Korean BBQ and an amazing gravy and cheese curds." Among the non-hot-dog options will be a mac-and-cheese hamburger, their version of a bulgogi burger.

When it launches sometime in January, Spicy Dog will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Peou explained they will begin by targeting the lunch- and dinner-time crowds and plan to eventually expand their hours of operation to serve the late-night crowds that typically frequent the Montrose-Westheimer intersection.

They are also setting up to start a weekly pop-up at Midtown's Irish Cowboy.

No doubt, it will open with family, friends and industry colleagues as customers. "Spicy Dog is just a humble food trailer started by a trio UT and UH students wanting to create something truly special for the city," he said.

Darla Guillen is a digital reporter. You can follow her on twitter at @darlaguillen.
The piece: "15th, 17th and Pennsylvania"

The artist: Margaret Griffith

Where: In "Lines Drawn" at DiverseWorks, through Nov. 18

Why: The politically and socially minded works of the show "Lines Drawn" all involved serious research and craftsmanship. Each is eloquently provocative, but Margaret Griffith's hanging sculpture delivers the biggest surprise. An unassuming visitor might simply think, "how pretty," until she reads the wall label.

Griffith has for some time been re-creating wrought-iron gates from her Los Angeles neighborhood in meticulously hand-cut paper, seeing herself as a kind of urban scavenger and seeing gates as divisive objects that represent a false sense of security in a fragile world. This one, however is a doozy, drooping from the ceiling like a frilly, monumental curtain.

A life-size replica of the east and west gates of the White House in Washington, D.C., painted gold, "15th, 17th and Pennsylvania" suggests the decadence and ruin of an institution in crisis. Sad. The veneer of glamour gives way to gravity in each sagging, ornamental curlicue. The piece runs up the middle of the gallery like a limp shower curtain, dividing DiverseWorks' largest space.

From the entry, Griffith's sculpture beckons through Pedro Lasch's "Flag Fusions 20, 21, 28 and 46" - a portion of a work from the 2015 Venice Biennale, with a companion video, that combines the flags of four countries into one.

All of "Lines Drawn" deserves close inspection. DiverseWorks is staging a series of performances, discussions and creative workshops throughout the run of the show in collaboration with individual artists as well as the Printing Museum, Zine Fest Houston and Houston Cinema Arts Festival.
Need a plan for the weekend? Here's your guide. The Preview surveyed the scene and offered these suggestions for the Must List, our weekly guide of things you need to be aware of.
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A lot of superstar chefs make their way to Houston for special dinners and foodie events. And why shouldn't they? Houston is both a philanthropic powerhouse and culinary destination.

But rarely do food and philanthropy merge with such passion and high-profile connection as with this year's Southern Smoke, a barbecue and live-fire blowout from 4-8 p.m. Sunday in the blocks surrounding 1018 Westheimer. A fundraiser organized by Underbelly's Chris Shepherd, Southern Smoke is notable for the boldface names that make it one of the country's most exciting barbecue events.

Southern Smoke already presented a formidable lineup of luminaries including Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin; Rodney Scott of Scott's Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, S.C.; Ashley Christensen, owner of Poole's Diner (and other concepts) in Raleigh, N.C.; John Besh of New Orleans restaurants including August, Luke and Willa Jean (as well as the upcoming Eunice in Houston); and Mike Lata and Jason Stanhope of FIG Restaurant in Charleston, S.C.

Then, last week came the news that Southern Smoke was adding five-time James Beard Award winner David Chang and Matthew Rudofker, director of culinary operations for Momofuku, Chang's famous chain with branches in New York, Washington, Sydney, Toronto and Las Vegas. Shepherd said Chang's participation happened very naturally: "Right after the hurricane we talked and he said, 'Let me know what I can do.' I said he was welcome to come cook at Southern Smoke. He said, 'Let me work it out.' "

More Information Southern Smoke When: 4-8 p.m. Sunday Where: 1018 Westheimer Tickets: $200; southernsmoke.org See More Collapse

The Momofuku addition also increased the footprint of the festival, which is held on the "campus" of Underbelly, the Hay Merchant, Blacksmith and that now will include parcels off California between Commonwealth and Waughcrest. This year's expanded event will welcome up to 1,500 people; last year a sold-out crowd of 1,200 attended.

For foodies, the festival represents an opportunity to eat from the hands of the biggest names in the food world.

Chang will be doing Korean-style short ribs using 44 Farms beef. Franklin, whose barbecue mecca suffered a fire during Hurricane Harvey, will be serving his signature brisket.

Scott's got the whole hog covered. Christensen will turn out roasted oysters. Lata and Stanhope may be doing whole fish tacos.

And Besh might be dipping into some smoked lamb neck.

And there's so much more: The HOUBBQ Collective (James Beard Award-winning Justin Yu, Coltivare's Ryan Pera, the Pass & Provisions team of Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan, as well as cooks from Underbelly and One Fifth) will have their own area. Look for paella and fried chicken cooked over live fire from the collective.

And other Houston chef bigshots also are participating: James Beard Award-winner Hugo Ortega, SaltAir's Brandi Key, Lyle Bento of Southern Goods, Kata Robata's Manabu Horiuchi, Cane Rosso's Jonathan Jones, Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ and Richard Knight of the late Hunky Dory.

And the hooch will be flowing - Knob Creek is hosting VIP lounges and tasting tents - as well as wine and beer. Live music too, from Bayou City Brass Band and Folk Family Revival.

Now in its third year, Southern Smoke originally was designed as a fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It raised $464,000 in the first two years. The organizers shifted gears after Hurricane Harvey's catastrophic flooding. So this year's event has partnered with Legacy Community Health to provide emergency financial assistance for employees of the culinary and beverage community affected by the hurricane.

"For a dishwasher to lose his car, that's hard. For a busser to have his house flooded out, that's traumatic," Shepherd said. "And for servers and waitstaff who lost money after the storm when nobody was going out to eat, that hits home really hard."

Still, Southern Smoke is about having a good time. And there's every reason to expect that this year's blowout will be bigger and better. The barbecue bash's larger footprint means there's even more space to party, and enjoy another bite or a bit of booze.

"It's going to be a great time," Shepherd said. "One of the things we do well is throw parties. We're good at that."
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Authorities are searching for a suspect responsible for an aggravated robbery at a bank in September, according to a news release from Houston Crime Stoppers.

The man robbed a bank inside an unidentified grocery store shortly before 10 a.m. on Sept. 5 in the 11700 block of West Bellfort Avenue.
Police are searching for possible victims of a man who volunteered with a local Boy Scout troop and now faces accusations of child sexual abuse.

Ulf Gerrit Lueders, 41, was charged in August with continuous sexual abuse of a child and online solicitation of a minor, according to court records.

Lueders volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America's Sam Houston Area Council from 2010 until the day after his arrest in mid-August, according to an email from council spokesman Shane Burks.

Lueders, a Spring resident, worked with Troop 111, Ship 846 and Crew 762, which are in north Houston, according to a news release from the Houston Police Department.

More Information ` See More Collapse

His attorney, David Cunningham of Houston, said Lueders will vigorously contest the criminal charges.

"Mr. Lueders adamantly denies any improper touching of ... children," Cunningham wrote, in an e-mail. "He did not touch any boy scouts or take advantage of his position in scouting. We invite the police to inquire with the Scouts."

The attorney added that some of the accusations stemmed from a contentious divorce proceeding.

"He denies the solicitation charge and looks forward to his day in court," Cunningham wrote.

Police acknowledged they have no indication that Lueders abused any of the scouts with whom he volunteered. However, authorities said because Lueders had access to children through the organization, they needed to alert families.

"Right now, we don't have any reason to believe that anything's happened, but we are deeply concerned," said Luis Menendez-Sierra, investigator in HPD's special victims division. "Usually with the nature of these crimes, it doesn't stop with one victim."

Lueders is accused of sexually abusing one child beginning in June 2010 and another child beginning in January 2014. Both were younger than 14 at the times of the alleged abuse. HPD officials would not confirm if either of the children were involved with the Boy Scouts.

Lueders is also accused of contacting someone who he believed to be under the age of 17 online with the intent of having sex with that person.

Menendez-Sierra said since August investigators have contacted 87 families whose children would have interacted with Lueders through his volunteer work with the Boy Scouts.

The department waited several months to publicize the charges due to a disruption in the investigation caused by Hurricane Harvey and the goal of reaching as many families as possible before alerting the media, Menendez-Sierra said.

Investigators are still determining the scope of Lueders' involvement with the scouts.

At a press conference Wednesday, Menendez-Sierra described Lueders as being "heavily involved" with the organization.

Lueders - a German national - likely had ties to international branches of the organization, Menendez-Sierra said. So far, investigators have confirmed that Lueders traveled abroad with scouts to Guatemala. Initial investigations show the scouts Lueders went abroad with likely were not members of Houston-area troops, HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said.

HPD is working with the Department of Homeland Security for more information about Lueders' international travel, Menendez-Sierra said

Investigators believe Lueders interacted with more children than those in the families they have already contacted. They also believe there may be more victims. On Wednesday, police asked for anyone whose children may have interacted with Lueders to speak with their kids.

Lueders was arrested Aug. 16. The Boy Scouts removed him from all volunteer roles on Aug. 17, according to Burks' email.

The organization immediately provided HPD five years worth of Lueders' volunteer records, Menendez-Sierra added.

The Boy Scouts issued the following statement from Tom Varnell, Scout Executive/CEO of the Sam Houston Area Council:

"The behavior included in these allegations is abhorrent and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. We were shocked to learn of these allegations and took immediate action to remove this individual and prohibit him from any future participation in our programs. We are working closely with law enforcement on this matter and encourage any victims to contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of our youth members. We seek to prevent child abuse through comprehensive policies and procedures to serve as barriers to abuse. These include a thorough screening process for adult leaders and staff, criminal background checks, requiring two or more adult leaders be present with youth at all times during Scouting activities, and the prompt mandatory reporting of any allegation or suspicion of abuse.

"The BSA offers assistance with counseling to any Scout, former Scout, or the family member of any Scout who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting. The BSA has a dedicated 24/7 Scouts First Hotline at 1-844-726-8871 and email contact address (scouts1st@scouting.org) for these sensitive matters and to report any suspicions of inappropriate behavior."

The statement directed further questions to law enforcement, citing the ongoing investigation.

Lueders does not have a criminal record in Harris County, according to court records.

Lueders has been out on bail since Aug. 24.

Anyone with information about additional victims or whose children may have had contact with Leuders can contact the HPD special victims division at 713-830-3254 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
A child was reportedly shot Tuesday evening in southwest Houston, according to the Houston Police Department.

The child was shot around 6 p.m. in the arm and leg in the 8300 block of Boone Road, police said.
Craig Moseley

The University of Houstons Board of Regents next month may evaluate the feasibility of a campus medical school, a long-discussed prospect that university officials say could expand primary care in southeast Houston neighborhoods.

Regents hope to discuss the results of a feasibility study requested by state lawmakers at their meeting next month, UH President and Chancellor Renu Khator said at an annual fall address on Wednesday.
A group of Oklahoma college students has used their time in the spotlight to benefit those in need.

Sigma Tau Gamma, a fraternity at the University of Central Oklahoma, recently posted a video of a dance routine they performed at a school event.
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Editor's note: This story first ran on May 25, 1986.

Cellular telephones - those new status symbols with the funny antennas - are catching on like wildfire in Houston.

According to industry estimates, Houston is one of the fastest-growing markets for cellular telephones, and it is estimated that there are close to 20,000 users already plugged in to the devices in the Houston market. Growth is averaging more than 1,000 per month.

In setting up guidelines for the development of the cellular industry, the Federal Communications Commission authorized two "carriers" for each geographical market. Until recently, GTE Mobilnet Inc., a subsidiary of GTE of Stamford, Conn., was the only company operating in Houston using its own cellular system. But all that is changing.

Houston Cellular Telephone Co. (which until now purchased time from GTE for resale to the public) has started up its own system.

Richard Wirth, chief executive officer of Houston Cellular, said his company's system of 28 cells have been switched on - the largest system ever to be turned on at one time in the United States.

Consequently, competition between GTE Mobilnet and Houston Cellular is heating up - at least from a marketing standpoint.

"It's a real foot race now," explained Wirth, a former vice president of Warner Amex's QUBE cable system here.

Another factor helping to stimulate cellular telephone usage in Houston is price. Suppliers say that cellular telephone costs have dropped dramatically within the past two years, and some models are available for as little as $500, not including installation, antenna or other extras.

Both Houston Cellular and GTE Mobilnet are partnerships of several companies. Houston Cellular, formed in 1984, is made up of Mobile Communication Corp. of America, headquartered in Jackson, Miss.; LIN Broadcasting Co. of New York and Cellular Systems of Houston. GTE Mobilnet comprises Southwestern Bell, Centel Cellular Corp., Lufkin-Conroe Telecommunications Inc., Fort Bend Telephone Co. and SLT Communications Inc.

Richard Sharman, vice president of marketing for GTE Mobilnet, said one of their main marketing advantages is the fact that they were the first to begin operation here. The company is projecting it will have 17,000 customers by the end of this year, Sharman said.

By comparison, Houston Cellular currently claims to have 5,500 customers.

Sharman admitted that GTE Mobilnet had difficulty with its system in the beginning, such as "dropped" calls. However, he said those problems have since been eliminated as capacity has been increased.

"We've gone through our growing pains," Sharman said. "We had more subscribers sign up in the beginning than we expected, and we had to rush to catch up with capacity to meet the demand."

Sharman expects Houston to have a total of 45,000 cellular telephone owners by 1990.

A lot will happen in the next few years to make cellular desirable," Sharman explained. "For one thing, price is coming down.

Also, we expect portable cellular telephones (that can be taken out of vehicles) will begin to grow, representing the lion's share of the market in the future."

The average "drive away" cost for a person wanting to own a cellular telephone ranges from $1,200 to $1,500. On top of this, however, is a monthly "access fee" and charges for actual usage time.

In Houston, there currently is pricing parity between Houston Cellular and GTE Mobilnet. Both companies charge $35 as a basically monthly charge.

Once a cellular telephone is installed, customers can expect to pay an average monthly bill of about $125 to $150, not including long distance charges. Standard usage charge is 39 cents per minute (peak), 20 cents (off peak) and 5 cents (night).

Currently, completely portable, battery-operated cellular telephones range in price from $2,000 to over $4,000.

Another option available to Houston customers is to rent or lease the cellular equipment. Recently, costs have been advertised as low as $37.95 per month.

Management of both Houston Cellular and GTE Mobilnet explained that the business is very capital intensive and not for the fly-by-night operator. For instance, Houston Cellular already has invested $20 million on its system here. GTE Mobilnet estimated its expenditure will reach $42 million by year-end.

According to Wirth, cellular customers want the widest geographical coverage possible. Houston Cellular's system of 28 cells covers 6,752 square miles extending south of Lake Jackson, east to the Jefferson County line, north to the Walker County and west to the San Bernard River. GTE Mobilnet's system of 30 cells currently covers a similar area, but additional cells to be constructed later this year will enlarge their coverage area to 8,000 square miles (including Galveston and Beaumont) by the end of this year.

Analysts who follow the cellular telephone industry say there are about 350,000 users nationally. Herschel Shosteck, a telecommunications analyst in Silver Spring, Md., said about 250,000 units are expected to be sold this year.

"Houston will be one of the large gainers," Shosteck said.

"The city is currently in a depression, but it still is a wealthy city."

Shosteck said the cellular telephone market is hot in Houston because of traffic congestion and the absence of public transportation.

"For this reason, Los Angeles and Houston are in stark contrast to New York, for instance," Shosteck said. "The size of the Houston business base also contributes to a very favorable market."

Shosteck agreed that cellular telephony is not a "get rich quick" business.

"We think it will be very profitable by the mid-1990s. It takes a long time to build-up a customer base, install hardware and software and stabilize maintenance costs. We're already seeing a consolidation in the business, and I anticipate it to continue.

"This is a very capital intensive business and not for the quick buick artist. People have to be committed to long-term service. If you have deep pockets, then it can be profitable, but it's only for people who have a real commitment to the telephone industry."

Shosteck predicted still lower costs by 1989-90 as new, more efficient digital technologies are introduced by the cellular companies into their systems.

"What I foresee is a steady growth that will be very profitable for those businessmen who are astute about it and in for the long haul," Shosteck concluded.
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Blue Bell Creameries played off its small-town roots while becoming the nation's top selling ice cream brand  until the outbreak of a deadly bacteria traced to its products forced a nationwide recall and temporary shutdown of its factories.

Since then, the company has gradually returned to normal, addressing its sanitation problems, reopening the observation deck to visitors at its flagship Brenham factory, and launching new flavors, including Sweet 'n Salty Crunch, a vanilla ice cream with chocolate-coated pretzels, almonds and chocolate chunks in July.

But Blue Bell appears unlikely to put the episode behind it anytime soon. Two shareholders have filed suit against the company, alleging that mismanagement by executives and the board of directors led to a Listeria outbreak that two years ago caused three people to die and several others to become seriously ill.

The lawsuit claims the product contamination damaged the company's finances and brand and cost shareholders money. It's unclear how much it cost Blue Bell, how large a stake the shareholders own, and how much value they lost because the company is privately held and not required to report financial information.

In the lawsuits, any reference to the company's finances and the ramifications for revenues and profits were redacted, with whole pages blacked out.

Some analysts, however, estimate that the company's sales plunged by hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the Listeria contamination. Euromonitor, an international market research firm, estimated that the ice cream maker's sales fell by about half to $445 million in 2016, a year after the outbreak.

Blue Bell declined to comment. The company has not yet filed responses to the allegations.

The lawsuits allege that Blue Bell and its officers breached their fiduciary duties by letting sanitation problems fester. Federal food regulators found that equipment-cleaning procedures were inadequate and allowed condensation to drip from ceilings and contaminate food and food surfaces.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a private laboratory found that the sanitation failures were widespread, affecting operations at all three of Blue Bell's plants, which are in Brenham, the company's largest and oldest, and in Oklahoma and Alabama. One of the machines known as "Gram"  that made ice cream bars and sandwiches was so contaminated with Listeria that Blue Bell announced it would permanently stop using the machine.

One of the shareholders, Mary Giddings Wenske, alleged in her lawsuit that Blue Bell, its executives and board members "willfully disregarded" their obligation to run Blue Bell's plants to sound industry standards, noting that prior to the 2015 recalls, "unsanitary practices and conditions were rampant" within the company's facilities. She also alleges that the company's testing and monitoring procedures were "woefully deficient."

Wenske is the owner of a Blue Bell limited partnership share, according to the lawsuit she filed earlier this month. She is also trustee of a trust that owns an unspecified number of shares.

Jack L. Marchand II owns 29 shares of Blue Bell stock and alleged in the lawsuit that Blue Bell along with key members of the company's leadership team breached their fiduciary duty by failing to maintain necessary standards to make and distribute the company's ice cream products in a sanitary and safe manner. Marchand filed his case in August.

Blue Bell has been run by the Kruse family for nearly a century. The 10-member board consists of four family members, three longtime employees and three close friends and associates, according to Marchand's lawsuit. It's unclear what the relationship of Wenske and Marchand is to the company or the family, since those details were redacted from the public copy of the lawsuit.

Lawyers for Wenske and Marchand would not discuss their clients or their cases. Both Wenske and Marchand are seeking unspecified damages.

Trey Branham, a Dallas lawyer specializing in shareholder rights, said the purpose of shareholder lawsuits is often to force a company to reform its practices as much as compensate the plaintiffs for avoidable losses. Marchand, for example, is asking the court to direct Blue Bell to nominate independent directors without family, employment or other ties to the company.

Shareholder suits rarely get to juries, Branham said. They are typically settled out of court, sometimes leading to substantial changes at the company.

"A lot of times, the fight is about whether it's good for the company or not," Branham said.

Blue Bell took extensive measures to clean up its plants before it resumed ice cream production, starting with its Alabama plant in July 2015, three months after the company temporarily halted production. It reopened its plant in Oklahoma in September 2015 and finally

Brenham in November 2015.

Blue Bell also received a cash infusion from Fort Worth investor Sid Bass, who offered to lend it up to $125 million in exchange for a one-third stake.

Since the Listeria outbreak, Blue Bell has slipped to the fourth best-selling brand, behind Breyers, Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs, according to the data analysis firm Statista.

Blue Bell asked the FDA last year for permission to discontinue expensive precautions adopted after the Listeria outbreak and return to more standard food safety procedures. The FDA would not say whether Blue Bell's request was granted. It has not yet responded to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Houston Chronicle.

RELATED: Inside Blue Bell: Grime and discontent
Exxon Mobil has purchased an oil terminal in the Delaware Basin, the latest move in the oil major's push into one of the world's most prolific oil fields.

The Irving, Texas oil company bought the terminal, its first in the region, from Houston midstream firm Genesis Energy for an undisclosed amount, it said Wednesday.
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"We're a money talks kind of town, and money is talking now," said Christopher Knapp, Houston Parks Board's 2017 luncheon chair.

It's true. By event's end, more than $425,000 had been raised towards the non-profit's mission to provide accessible greenspace for Houston-area residents.

Approximately 350 park advocates gathered in a white-tented Hermann Square  which Mayor Sylvester Turner later dubbed the "front porch at City Hall"  for the occasion.

Before introducing the mayor, board chairman Tom Bacon asked the organization's staff members to stand. "When we started this thing there were only four staffers. Now there are 30, and they work harder than any people you've met in your life."

As attendees including Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Councilwoman Amanda Edwards, Nancy Kinder, Michael Skelly and Anne Whitlock, David Mincberg, and Beth White dug into A Fare Extraordinaire's al fresco feast, Turner switched to Houstonians' favorite topic: weather.

"What a gorgeous, typical Houston day," he quipped of Tuesday's clear skies and low humidity.

His remarks inevitably veered to Hurricane Harvey. "(We) taught those around the country that Houston is strong and we're optimistic. That will probably be our lasting legacy.

"And people think that the freeways unite us, but frankly it's the people. In due time, our city should have the best park system in the country  we need to be first in green space, that's the goal."

Keynote speaker Charles Renfro, a partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro architecture firm, had a few ideas on how to get there.

For starters, the Baytown native and Rice University alum is against demolishing the Astrodome.

Sustainable cities require that we re-purpose existing structures, he says.

"What I've witnessed from New York is that the parks of Houston have become its new calling card," Renfro acknowledged. "Grass is the new concrete."

He referenced destination parks like Discovery Green as the future of the Bayou City. His tongue-in-cheek presentation also awarded high praise to the late Dominique de Menil and the now-shuttered Six Flags Astroworld and the Shamrock Hotel. Renfro's criticism of Houston's flat terrain, love of air-conditioning, and sprawling highways, however, elicited a scowl or two from the #HoustonStrong crowd.

"(But) it's still my home," Renfro maintained throughout his speech.

And that's one sentiment that nearly all of the "Connecting Communities" luncheon-goers could rally behind.
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Death row inmate Anthony Allen Shore has come forward and told Montgomery County District Attorney's Office that fellow death row inmate Larry Ray Swearingen attempted to persuade him to take responsibility for the murder of Melissa Trotter - the crime for which Swearingen is scheduled to be executed on Nov. 16, 2017.

Shore was scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. However, District Attorney Brett Ligon asked Gov. Greg Abbott for a 30-day stay for Shore to review evidence found in Shore's cell.

Late Wednesday, a Harris County district court judge, at the request of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, granted Shore a 90-day stay, according to Ligon.

Trotter was last seen leaving the Montgomery College campus (now Lone Star College-Montgomery) along Texas 242 in South Montgomery County on Dec. 8, 1998. Her body was found by hunters in the Sam Houston National Forest Jan. 2, 1999, north of Lake Conroe.

"Larry Ray Swearingen has tried this scheme before while waiting for his original trial," District Attorney Brett Ligon told The Courier exclusively. "As the appellate courts have stressed, there is a mountain of evidence supporting the conviction and execution of Mr. Swearingen. I am not surprised in the least that he would have attempted this scheme to avoid his overdue date with justice."

HALT REQUESTED: Prosecutors have asked the governor to stay tonight's execution

According to a release from Ligon, Shore told chief investigator Chris Smith and assistant chief investigator John Stephenson that he conspired with Swearingen to take responsibility for Melissa Trotter's murder, but had a change of heart shortly before his execution date and decided to come forward with the truth and expose Swearingen's scheme.

"Shore identified a map found in Shore's death row cell as one of the items Swearingen gave Shore in an effort to enable him to make a convincing admission of Trotter's murder," the release stated.

Dubbed the Tourniquet Killer, Shore was convicted of capital murder in 2004 after he confessed to brutally slaying four young women in the Houston area.

In the interview conducted at the Polunsky unit on Oct. 17 Shore said he initially refused Swearingen's request that he take responsibility for Trotter's murder, but eventually became friends with Swearingen and agreed to try to exonerate Swearingen of the crime as a favor to Swearingen, according to the DA's office. He said that Swearingen gave him a hand-drawn map of the location where Swearingen had left physical evidence of the murder of Melissa Trotter.

According to Ligon, Shore's revelation came shortly after he asked Gov. Greg Abbott to grant Shore a single 30 day reprieve, in order to allow him to complete an investigation of the materials found in Shore's cell on death row at the Polunsky Unit July 21.

That request remains pending at this time.

SISTER SPEAKS OUT: She says the notorious Tourniquet Killer "should be killed"

Harris County District Attorney's Office conducted an inventory of the contents of Shore's cell in July, in anticipation of a potential claim regarding Shore's mental health.

"They discovered a folder containing approximately ten items pertaining to the murder of Melissa Trotter, including copies of court exhibits and scene photographs; a hand-drawn page of a calendar for the month of December, 1998, with handwritten notations regarding weather conditions; and a hand-drawn map which appears to depict the location where Melissa Trotter's body was found," the DA release stated. "The handwriting on the map is dissimilar to Shore's distinctive handwriting, but bears similarities to Swearingen's hand-writing."

The Harris County District Attorney's Office informed the Montgomery County District Attorney of the discovery of the material in Shore's cell on September 1 after the District Court for the Ninth Judicial District issued an order setting an execution date for Swearingen.

Ligon launched the investigation that led to an interview with a woman who had visited Shore at the Polunsky Unit. She said that Shore told her that he expected to take responsibility for Melissa Trotter's murder shortly before Shore's execution. She also said that Shore was aware of the location of physical evidence pertaining to Trotter's murder, according to the DA's office.

Ligon said he would not provide any further details.
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Harmony Science Academy in Katy is a familiar constant for fourth-grader Kailei McGowan, 9, who with her family was forced to evacuate her Richmond apartment because of flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.

From refuge with second-floor neighbors to a five-day stay at the Marshall High School shelter, to staying with friends and other temporary lodging, family members as of Oct. 7 are now Katy residents living in an apartment off the Grand Parkway.

McGowan has been attending the academy for two years, but she's belonged to the Mission Bend Girl Scout Troop 150061 for four years.

"Kailei is outgoing, smart and very helpful," said troop leader Ashley Kanatzar-Fuller.

That helpfulness was evident at Marshall High School.

"When she arrived at the shelter she and her family would be staying in, she did what any Girl Scout would do. She put on her vest and started serving others," said Mona Tolbert, Girl Scouts Of San Jacinto Council communications director.

"For more than a 100 years, Girl Scouts have been some of the first to respond to their community in times of disaster. Kailei is no exception," added Tolbert.

"When in the shelter, she was first scared but then wore her vest (after 24 hours) and started to help," explained Nancy Liedtke, Katy campus outreach coordinator for Harmony Science Academy.

"Her mom, Ashlei (Gill) said "everything is her favorite so she was worried about her things and other people but once she was able to help, she started to smile again and it made her feel better," continued Liedtke.

"Mom asked, 'Don't you want to rest and relax?,'" said Kailei talking about her stay at Marshall. Her reply: "No, I want to help. I want to do so many things."

She gave out canned food, water, clothes and cleaning supplies to other survivors.

"The next day I helped again until it was time to go," said Kailei.

She has good memories of others who helped them.

"If someone else gets in a hurricane, I'm going to help them because all the people helped us," she said.

That help started after opening their first-floor apartment door, they found water as high as her toddler brother, Giovanni. They spent the night with an upstairs neighbor until rescuers with boats could come hours later. "I was scared. I had not been in this kind of boat before," said Kailei, who as a Girl Scout has gone canoeing. "Cars were underwater. It was really scary to see cars drowned." From the boat they traveled by National Guard truck.

They have since revisited their former apartment in Richmond. They found the walls cut away and repairs had yet to start. "It's been a mess," said Kailei. "It's been horrible."

Harmony Science Academy has had several families displaced, said Liedtke, and the school established a Harmony Harvey Relief fund to help.

The school also has tried to steer children away from the details and trauma related to Hurricane Harvey, said Charmaine Diallo, who is Kailei's home room teacher and math and science teacher.

Diallo said the school has offered to help students with uniforms if they lost them in the floods. During September, all students were offered free breakfasts and lunches, she said.

"We've taken donations. The school has done a lot to help the students," said Diallo. While school was closed, she was among teachers who did home visits to check on students to make sure everything was OK, said Diallo, adding that some don't want to say that they need help.

"I'm really proud of our students. A lot of students were affected, displaced. They're doing really well even though they were affected emotionally. They are still pulling through it pretty good," said Diallo.

Kailei's mom, Ashlei Gill, sees Hurricane Harvey as a life-changing experience.

She thinks people are more open now and friendly.

"Thank you to all the people who helped us," said Gill. "It would have been a lot harder without them. We lost everything but it could have been harder or worse because we weren't alone."

Harmony Public Schools also were negatively impacted by the hurricane. The Harmony Science Academy Braeswood, 5435 S. Braeswood Blvd., flooded.
The LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch shopping and dining complex has been sold and now is being managed by a company in Tennessee. Vista Companies president Woody Mann, Jr., who developed the 34 acres along the Grand Parkway at Cinco Ranch along with Denver-based equity partner Amstar, said in a email statement he could only confirm that LaCenterra has been sold.

All other information about the deal, including the cost, is subject to a confidentiality agreement, Mann wrote.

News of the sale came after the company in June announced breaking ground on the final construction phase at LaCenterra, including a new 37,000 square foot Alamo Drafthouse cinema, a six story parking garage and an additional 7,500 square feet of retail space. It is expected to open sometime in Sprint 2018, boosting LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch to 410,000 square feet - including 125,000 square feet of office space.

In March, Mann told the Houston Chronicle being in an affluent area that's part of a master planned community was among the reasons for choosing the site for LaCenterra.

"When you're in a master-planned community, you basically have de facto zoning. It keeps someone from coming in and competing with you on an adjacent property," Mann said.

Even with an abundance of vacant commercial buildings in the Houston area, Mann said

While there may be a glut of empty commercials building in the greater Houston area, Mann said more than 90 percent of the office space and about 90 percent of the retail space in LaCenterra is occupied.

The Fort Bend County Appraisal District identified the owner only as LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch LLC.

The shopping center's website said retail leasing duties is being done by Memphis-based Poag Shopping Centers.

The company, which owns or manages several retail shopping centers in the United States, could not be reached for comment.

Vista Companies still owns of manages at least three other commercial properties in the Katy area. Mann said the company is continuing to develop University Commons, a 150,000-square-foot retail project in Sugar Land at U.S. 59 and University Boulevard.
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On Oct. 4, Katy Area Retired Educators (KARE) held their first meeting, after Hurricane Harvey, at Midway Barbeque with Aaron Alejandro as their guest speaker. Alejandro is the executive director of the Texas FFA Foundation who shared with the retirees "You may be Retired, but your Voice is Not." Midway Barbeque has agreed to host KARE meetings until the Merrell Center is restored. KARE's next meeting will be held on Nov. 1 at Midway Barbeque. For more information about the Katy Area Retired Educators go to www.localunits.org/KARE.
Joe Zimmerman, mayor of Sugar Land, has announced his bid for re-election.

Zimmerman, who was elected the 10th mayor of Sugar Land in 2016, is looking forward to continuing to represent the residents of Sugar Land and serve his community for another term.

As mayor, Zimmerman has seen the city experience growth in both business and residential, including the much-anticipated grand opening of the Smart Financial Centre, the annexation of Greatwood and New Territory later this year and through the historical rainfall of Hurricane Harvey.

Zimmerman is a champion of education and has been instrumental in creating an alliance, during his term as mayor, between the Fort Bend County ISD board as well as other school districts.

He is the director of development for Cobb Fendley & Associates, Inc., a private civil engineering consulting firm. He business background includes having served in senior management positions in a number of different industries including consulting engineering, water and wastewater operations, land acquisition/land development/homebuilding as well as an international assignment in Libya.

Before becoming mayor, Joe held many city positions including four years as the at-large, position 2, city councilman and was a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for eight years, serving six years as chairman. He currently serves on the Economic Development Committee, Inter-Governmental Relations Committee, Sugar Land Development Corporation Board, 4b Board, TIRZ 4 Board and as the COSL representative to the Houston-Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council.

He and his wife of 41 years, Nancy, have made Sugar Land their home since 1990 and are active members of Second Baptist Church. Their daughter, Allison, her husband Chris Wallace, granddaughter Emmy, and grandson Campbell live in Houston.

Friends and supporters will be hosting a re-election campaign kickoff reception on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Insperity Club at Constellation Field. Contributions to the Zimmerman campaign can be made at joezimmermanformayor.com.
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A new eatery has opened in Richmond and the Central Fort Bend Chamber was there to celebrate the grand opening

Unwine'd Wine and Cheese Lounge opened in downtown Richmond with a ribbon cutting ceremony, Wednesday, Oct. 11. Unwine'd is located at 310 Morton Street Rear in Richmond.

The event had an enormous turn out of elected officials, neighbors from Del Webb Sweetgrass and local businesses.

Owners Rosanne Wechter and Kevin Lawton explained where the idea for Unwine'd came from.

"We were traveling abroad and stopped at this Irish Pub where we met the locals, had the best wine and snacked on the finest cheese and charcuterie," Wechter said. "I told Kevin that Richmond needs a place just like this where friends can gather in a relaxed environment, enjoying fine wines, artisan cheeses and cured meats."

Wechter and Lawton thanked everyone for coming and expressed their excitement with working with the chamber. They urged everyone to invite their friends and neighbors to stop by and meet them.

For more information and times of operation go to www.oneunwined.com or call 281-302-9677.

The Central Fort Bend Chamber is a 106-year-old non-profit membership organization dedicated to creating a strong local economy where businesses can prosper. The Central Fort Bend Chamber advocates for more than 1,000 local businesses led by a volunteer board of directors who are dedicated to sustaining Fort Bend County's quality of life, and keeping our community and economy vibrant.

For more information on the Chamber or its programs, call 281-342-5464 or visit www.CFBCA.org.
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"It's Cool to Care," Hope For Three's signature awareness campaign, strives to educate young people about other young people with unique abilities  autism.

The program empowers student leadership to initiate friendships with all and encourages patience, tolerance and empathy with an emphasis on anti-bullying.
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More than $5 million in funds related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been set aside for five projects in Galveston Bay, including restoration of 150 acres of marshlands, rehabilitation of oyster reefs and protection of bird habitats.

The money comes from a 2016 settlement with BP, which leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in April 2010 and poured an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The company is required to pay the trustees for Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment up to $8.8 billion over 15 years to make up for the natural resource damage along the Gulf Coast.

The funding is among $45.8 million for 13 restoration projects along the Texas coastline released Wednesday by the Texas Trustee Implementation Group. Texas is set to receive another $185 million in coming years.

Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation, said much of the money allocated to Texas will be used to improve the Gulf ecosystem, since Texas did not sustain as much physical damage from the spill as Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

More Information Deepwater Horizon restoration projects

The Texas Trustee Implementation Group released a plan to fund $45.8 million for 13 restoration projects along the Texas coastline as part of the 2016 settlement with BP over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Five of Texas' projects are in Galveston Bay.

Pierce Marsh Wetland Restoration: placement of dredge material and planting to restore up to 150 acres of marshland. Estimated cost: $3.1 million.

Follets Island Habitat Acquisition: 300 acres of wetland and coastal habitats on Follets Island between Drum Bay and San Luis Pass will be acquired and conserved. Estimated cost: $2.04 million.

Bird Island Cove Habitat Restoration Engineering: A study of issues related to habitat degradation and ways to protect and restore it. Estimated cost: $206,000.

Oyster Restoration Engineering: A study of the best ways to rehabilitating oyster reefs buried in sediment. Estimated cost: $309,000.

Essex Bayou Habitat Restoration Engineering: An effort to understand why there is such high salt concentration in Essex Bayou and the Slop Bowl Marsh system and how to create a more stable system. Estimated cost: $372,000. See More Collapse

"In Texas, we had 60 miles of lightly oiled beach so we didn't have a lot of direct impact on the shoreline," Stokes said. "Even though Texas is hundreds of miles away from Louisiana, it's all part of a coordinated effort to do restoration of the Gulf."

The most expensive Galveston Bay project in the first phase of funding is restoration of the Pierce Marsh Wetland, which will receive about $3.1 million to rebuild the 150 acres of marshes near Highland Bayou back to original levels. Funds will also be spent to bolster the oyster population in the bay and to study ways to protect and restore habitats on Bird Island Cove.

Another $2.04 million will be spent to obtain 300 acres of coastal habitats and wetlands on Follets Island between Drum Bay and San Luis Pass to conserve dunes, the coastal strand prairie, and the marsh habitat. Nearly $400,000 will be spent to study the high salt concentration in Essex Bayou and the so-called Slop Bowl Marsh.

"Anything that brings funding into Galveston Bay for restoration is good for the region," Stokes said.

'Ecological benefits'

Although Galveston Bay will be home to the most restoration projects in the first phase, it will not receive the most money. About $15.9 million will be funneled into the restoration of McFaddin Beach and Dune in the Sabine Lake area at the Louisiana border. This will require sand placement on 17 miles of the northeastern Texas shoreline.

"This project will provide important ecological benefits by restoring lost beach and dune habitat and by helping to slow or stop marsh and land loss in McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge interior marshes," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.

The Sabine Lake sites are closer to the actual oil spill, but Julie Hagen, social media specialist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Coastal Fisheries Division, said the project is not directly related to the spill.

Instead, it sets out to protect a freshwater marsh in the area, giving migrant bird species that may have been directly impacted by the spill more places to come in Texas, she said.

Other areas in Texas receiving funding for restoration projects are Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda County and the Lower Laguna Madre near South Padre island.

Rebuilding habitats

Galveston Bay's oyster population will also get a boost. Although the local oyster beds were not directly impacted by the oil spill, Louisiana's suffered damage. Molstering the oyster population in Galveston Bay will help mitigate the damages in Louisiana, since the two oyster markets are intertwined.

Stokes said he's pleased one of the projects announced Wednesday is to allocate $309,000 to study the rehabilitation of oyster reefs buried in sediment. This becomes even more important in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which decimated the oyster population by flushing gallons of freshwater into the bay and upsetting the appropriate salt concentration.

Last month, industry leaders told the Chronicle that they feared no more than 10 percent of oysters survived.

The Pierce Marsh project will help rebuild the marshes, Stokes said. At one time, cows could graze in that area, but now the water on the land is at least a foot deep, he said.

The funding will help build the land back up by filling it with dredge material and plants, restoring about 150 acres of marsh, according to the NOAA website.

This is important because these areas typically are home to juvenile fish, as well as water birds such as pelicans and egrets. They also act as a speed bump during large storms. Wetlands can't stop the storms from coming on land, Stokes said, but they can slow them down.

The Bird Island Cove Habitat Restoration project will spend $206,000 to study the degradation of habitats in about 170 acres of marshes, sand flats and protected shallow water, and develop strategies for protecting and restoring the areas.

BP did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Hagen said the company has no say in the projects chosen.

Officials still are deciding when the projects will begin, Hagen said.

She added that interested parties have been working on this plan for several years. In summer 2016, the group first solicited project ideas from government agencies, other stakeholders and the public. They received more than 800 ideas and published a draft plan in May 2017 and opened it up to public comment before releasing the final restoration plan Wednesday.

Future plans for the funding have not yet been discussed, Hagen said.

Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Ector County Sheriff's Office

A Texas woman who has been convicted in federal court for filming herself while sexually assaulting a two-month-old child is on trial again.

The Odessa American reports Amber Lynn Haugen is on trial for indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault in Ector County. Haugen pleaded not guilty in the state trial.
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Nearly two months after Hurricane Harvey dumped trillions of gallons of water on the greater Houston area, experts are still determining how to improve drainage in northwest Harris County

"A lot of it has to do with infrastructure," said Matt Festa, a law professor with the South Texas College of Law Houston who specializes in land use and property. "Where do you put the water?"

After the floodwaters receded, the county had about 16,000 structures that were reportedly damaged, said Matthew Zeve, director of operations of the Harris County Flood Control District. The entire county

"For the first time since we've been keeping records, the entire Harris County basically experienced greater than a 500-year flood. It's unbelievable," he said.

As part of his work with Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Festa said he's studied the lack of zoning in Houston and Harris County. While Houston has been criticized for its sprawl, which has been blamed in exasperating the response to Harvey, he said it was more of a regional problem.

"I don't think zoning would've stopped what's going on here," he said.

Festa said zoning also causes sprawl as it separates land by its uses, such as residential neighborhoods from commercial businesses and public use. In the greater Houston area, building regulations, which dictate a building's height and room for parking, tend to be contributing factors.

After Harvey, officials will have to decide if they want to add regulations to land use, even though it's unclear that it would've been able to prevent the damage of more than 20 trillion gallons of floodwaters.

Officials may decide to increase the review needed for submitted site plans or raise drainage and retention standards. Prohibiting construction in some areas so that privately owned buildings don't end up costing the public in resources can be another way that could possibly help prevent damage.

"This is going to be a fight between the public good and private rights," Festa said.

Jim Robertson, chair of the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition, said that during Hurricane Harvey, some of the detention ponds in parks around Precinct 4 helped divert or absorb some of the floodwaters. The water that diverted south contributed to filling up Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.

The Cypress Creek Watershed in northwest Harris County along Texas-249 and the Northwest Freeway is the largest in the county.

"Any rain that falls in that geographic area is either soaked into the ground, runs down Cypress Creek or evaporates," Robertson said.

During Harvey, the watershed received about 30 inches of rain, which eventually flowed south into Katy, he said. A potential third reservoir may be able to help absorb some of the rain to help retain some of the water, Robertson said.

The coalition functions as a coordinating and advocacy entity that doesn't purchase land or build structures, although it is developing a master plan for a pond, existing parks and trails around Precinct 4.

Depending on how city and county officials decide to go forward to prevent or lessen the flood damages, the public would need to weigh in on decisions that could impact them.

"Land use is a big part of planning," Festa said. "Maybe it's not hard, but maybe some changes could mitigate and be made smaller. Those are all things worth thinking about."
In early 2016, while researching some of the most popular U.S. secession groups online, I stumbled across one of the Russian-controlled Facebook accounts that were then pulling in Americans by the thousands.

At the time, I was writing on Russia's relationship with American secessionists from Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. These were people who had hitched flights to Moscow to swap tactics, to offer advice and to find support. They had found succor in the shadow of the Kremlin.

That was how I eventually found my way to the "Heart of Texas" Facebook page (and its @itstimetoecede Twitter feed as well). Heart of Texas soon grew into the most popular Texas secession page on Facebook - one that, at one point in 2016, boasted more followers than the official Texas Democrat and Republican Facebook pages combined. By the time Facebook took the page down recently, it had a quarter of a million followers.

READ ALSO: White House condemns Somalia bombing

The page started slowly - just a few posts per week. Unlike other secession sites I'd come across, this one never carried any contact information, never identified any of individuals behind the curtain. Even as it grew, there was nothing to locate it in Texas - or anywhere else, for that matter. It was hard to escape the suspicion that there might be Russian involvement here as well.

There were other oddities about the site. Its organizers had a strangely one-dimensional idea of its subject. They seemed to think, for example, that Texans drank Dr. Pepper at all hours: while driving their giant trucks, while flying their Confederate battle flags, while griping about Yankees and liberals and vegetarians.

But Heart of Texas, sadly, was no joke. At one point the page's organizers even managed to stir up its followers into staging an armed, anti-Islamic protest in Houston. As gradually became clear, this was part of a broader strategy. The sponsors of the page were keen to exacerbate America's own internal divisions. At certain moments they lent support to Black Lives Matter, while in others they would play to the latent (or obvious) racism of Donald Trump's base.

READ ALSO: Google uncovers Russian-bought ads on YouTube, Gmail

By the summer of 2016, other themes began to emerge. Posts began to follow a perceptibly hard-right course, stressing Texas's status as a "Christian state," or touting the Second Amendment as a "symbol of freedom . . . so we would forever be free from any tyranny." Some of the page's contributors talked about the need to "keep Texas Texan," whatever that meant. There was also a generous dollop of conspiracy theory. There were posts about the allegedly unnatural death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the supposed federal invasion orders behind the Jade Helm military exercise. Fake Founding Father quotes mingled with anti-Muslim screeds and paeans to Sam Houston. And the number of followers steadily crept into the hundreds of thousands.

Though the site's authors understood their audience well, there was something off about their writing. The page's "About" section proclaimed that "Texas's the land protected by Lord [sic]." Grammatical and spelling glitches were everywhere: "In Love With Texas Shape," "State Fair of Texas - Has You Already Visited?," "Always Be Ready for a Texas Size," "No Hypoclintos in the God Blessed Texas." (Or take this caption for a photo of country music star George Strait: "Life is not breaths you take, but the moments that take your breth [sic] away.") Yet the typos never seemed to raise any suspicions in readers' minds.

Even the page's calls for an early November protest across the state - part pro-secession, part anti-Clinton - were garbled. One post declared that "we are free citizens of Texas and we've had enough of this cheap show on the screen." The site called on those who showed up to "make photos."

READ ALSO: Trump campaign racks up legal fees as Russia probes grow

Heart of Texas chugged on after the election, bringing in tens of thousands of new followers in 2017 who were unbothered by its mangled English, its rank nativism and its calls to break up the United States.

And then, in August, it was gone. Just like that, the most popular Texas secession page on Facebook was revealed to be a Russian front, operated by the notorious Internet Research Agency, with Facebook removing all of the posts from public view. (It's worth noting that another Instagram account started posting Heart of Texas material as soon as the original Facebook page was taken down.)

Despite its claims of transparency, Facebook has effectively prevented the public from examining these posts and these pages. So far Heart of Texas remains the only example of a Russian account that I and other researchers managed to study in detail before Facebook pulled the rug out from underneath it.

We know that the Russians behind these sites played all of their readers, and especially those who showed up at its protests in places like Twin Falls and Fort Myers and Houston, for fools. Considering that the number of their combined followers ranged into the millions - with some estimates placing total views potentially in the billions - they're probably right.

The creators of Heart of Texas not only targeted the sociopolitical tensions within the United Staes. They also exploited our gullibility, which turned out to be far greater than I could have ever imagined. And by assisting them in this massive lie, Facebook has enabled one of the greatest frauds in recent American history.

---

Michel is a journalist based in New York.
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The Houston bar scene is full of personalities  bar stars, if you will. Each week in Preview we'll feature one of these mixologists to let you know more about them aside from how good they are at making you feel good.

Know a bartender who deserves the spotlight? Email joey.guerra@chron.com.

Length of time working at current place?

John Dilan Find him behind the bar at: Leon's Lounge, 1006 McGowen Hours: 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Mondays, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Tuesdays-Sundays See More Collapse

Two years with Leon's. Nine years with the same company, The Davenport Group.

Lamest pickup line you've heard at the bar?

A "bro" with a judgmental grin jumps in a conversation between two ladies: "You're fit? Do you even squat?" He didn't understand why he got slapped. He just wanted to break the ice.

Most famous person you've ever served a drink to?

Shock G of Digital Underground. One of the most humble souls I have met.

Becoming friends with customers: yes or no?

Yes - 15 percent of the time.

Most common customer complaint?

Drink isn't strong enough.

Song you've gotten sick of at work?

"That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars.

What's the sloppiest, drunkest thing you've ever seen on the job?

After this girl collected floor balloons that were scattered from a birthday party, it was brought to my attention that she was making bird calls from the ladies bathroom. I knocked on what I thought was a locked door. It opened just enough for us to make eye contact while she's sitting on the toilet tank. Her response to my speechless reaction was "Hiiieee!" with a big wave. I got her a cab when she came out.

How do you keep from getting drunk at work?

Pacing and plenty of water in between.

What's the most outrageous request you've ever gotten?

Red wine and Red Bull - together.

Who's the better tipper, guys or girls?

Ladies - 100 percent.

Where do you like to go have a drink when you're not at work?

Community Bar at 2703 Smith. It's a chill, laid-back bar with a nice patio and good eats. Drink their Mule and eat the Choripan - or four.

What's your specialty drink, and how do you make it?

El Madrid

Three parts Bulleit Rye Whiskey

One part Licor 43

Stir and strain into martini glass with a Luxardo cherry and finish with two dashes of Angostura bitters

What's something your customers may not know about you?

I don't really like people. I have my smiling, game face on at work. But just come in and ask me about the time I punched an emu at my childhood home in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
A 35-year-old Houston man has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations in East Texas, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Jeffrey Clive Arnold pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the violations before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin. In August 2015, law enforcement officers began investigating the suspected trafficking of methamphetamine through southeast Texas, the news release said.
It may seem counterintuitive, but one Rice University academic says prescription heroin could be a solution to the ongoing opioid epidemic.

And Katharine Neill Harris is not a lone voice in the wilderness on this. The researcher with Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy is quick to point out that some European countries already have heroin-assisted treatment programs - or HATs - in place.

Currently, that would be illegal under U.S. law - though legal roadblocks have not always stopped so-called harm reduction efforts from taking root. Needle exchanges in NYC grew as underground programs in the 1990s and, over the summer, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reported the existence of an underground safe injection site somewhere in the U.S. at an undisclosed location.

Safe injection sites - or SIFs - are a similar, but also illegal, harm-reduction approach to opioid addiction. Although both heroin-assisted treatment programs and SIFs offer space to use drugs under professional supervision, SIFs do not provide the drugs themselves.

But in a traditionally tough-on-crime state like Texas, the idea of government-assisted illicit drug use may seem extremely unlikely - and a bit beyond the pale.

But Neill Harris explained in an interview why she thinks it shouldn't be.

Houston Chronicle: So, first of all, tell me a little bit about what people might think is a crazy idea - what is heroin assisted treatment?

Katharine Neill Harris: Heroin-assisted treatment provides pharmaceutical grade heroin - so, unadulterated heroin - to people who show signs of severe opioid dependence. The idea is that providing that to them will provide some stability in their lives because it takes away the need for them to go out and find heroin. They don't need to commit crimes to get it because it is supplied for them and it also lowers their risk of overdose - it doesn't have things like fentanyl in it.

Another benefit of this program is that it puts people in contact with health services that they wouldn't otherwise come into contact with. And again this isn't for just anyone with opioid use disorder, this is for people who have long-standing issues with heroin use and have not responded to other types of treatment.

HC: So what are the logistics of how this works? They show up at a clinic once a day like for methadone?

KNH: They have more than once a day that they have to show up, just because of the nature of the drug and how long it stays in somebody's system. It can either be via injection or taken orally and then after they take it they're required to stay at the clinic to make sure there's not an adverse reaction.

HC: So where are there already clinics like this?

KNH: Switzerland has them, but also Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom all have these programs as well.

HC: How long have they been around  and has it been long enough to tell if they're working?

KNH: The Swiss program has been running since 1994, so we do have good data from that as to how well it's working. The Swiss program shows a lot of positive outcomes in terms of reduction in crimes committed, reduction in the spread of hepatitis and HIV, and also in the reduction of new users.

HC: That seems unexpected - why do you think there's a reduction in new users?

KNH: What's hypothesized is that that the HAT programs have medicalized heroin use. One of the things is heroin has this stigma attached to it, but if you feel you don't belong or fit in or are looking for a way to rebel heroin is kind of a counterculture kind of thing, and in that way it can be alluring to some people but this program made heroin use a medical condition.

When you look at it like that, it's no longer a mechanism for joining this kind of counterculture or rebelling against society. There's not good data on that exactly but that's one of the prevailing thoughts as to why there's a reduction in new users.

m.msherman

HC: But currently there are medications out there to treat opioid addiction - why would this be a better alternative to things like methadone and buprenorphine?

KNH: Methadone and buprenorphine are very good drugs for a lot of people and they should definitely be looked at first for most people. But for some people, they have adverse physical reactions. For others, they simply prefer the high that they get from heroin and that point is kind of important because some people might still continue to use heroin illicitly while they're in this kind of program.

For those people, if being in a methadone or buprenorphine program doesn't stop their use of illicit heroin but a HAT program does, then that is a greater protection for them against overdose.

HC: I can't imagine this ever being okay here - what has the public response been like in places where this is an option?

KNH: It's been mixed. When Switzerland first rolled out their program there was some resistance. Same thing in Germany.

But the war on drugs was something that wasn't really experienced in other countries so politically on this issue we have become a much different place than Germany or Belgium or the UK.

HC: Is there any reason to believe public opinion in Texas would support this? Is that a thing we'll ever see here?

KNH: Texas, as a state, it is very unlikely - especially with the leadership we have right now, there's zero chance. At the state level these kinds of programs are very difficult, there's not a lot of opportunity for change.

All of that said, I think that right now in this city and this county the leadership is really aligned for opportunities to adopt more progressive harm reduction types of approaches to drug use - of course not HAT. For HAT to work, that would have to get waivers from the state and federal government.

HC: But is this even necessary here? We hear a lot about the opioid epidemic elsewhere but do we really have a heroin problem in Houston?

KNH: What the numbers show is that we don't have as much of a problem as elsewhere in the country. I think that those numbers are fairly correct, we probably do have less of a problem than West Virginia or Kentucky but I do still think there is a problem in Harris County and Texas of under-counting these deaths. I think we're suffering from a lack of reliable data and that's frustrating.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia - Declassified files have revealed new details of U.S. government knowledge and support of an Indonesian army extermination campaign that killed several hundred thousand civilians during anti-communist hysteria in the mid-1960s.

The thousands of files from the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta covering 1963-66 were made public Tuesday after a declassification review that began under the Obama administration.

The files fill out the picture of a devastating reign of terror by the Indonesian army and Muslim groups that has been sketched by historians and in a U.S. State Department volume that was declassified in 2001 despite a last-minute CIA effort to block its distribution.

U.S. had early knowledge

In 1965, Indonesia had the world's third-largest communist party, and the country's president, the charismatic Sukarno, was vociferously socialist and anti-American.

U.S. officials despaired of Indonesia's apparently unstoppable drift into the communist fold and were ecstatic when conservative generals imposed martial law in Jakartaand set out to annihilate the country's Communist Party on the pretext that it had tried to overthrow the government. Within months, the army would prevail, shifting Indonesia's political orientation to the U.S. and opening its huge market to American companies.

The newly released files underline the U.S. Embassy's and State Department's early, detailed and ongoing knowledge of the killings.

The documents also show that U.S. officials had credible information that contradicted the Indonesian army's lurid story that the kidnapping and killing of seven generals in an abortive coup by junior officers on Sept. 30, 1965, which paved the way for the bloodbath, was ordered by the Indonesian Communist Party and Beijing.

The documents specifically mention mass killings ordered by Suharto, a general who within months would seize total power and rule Indonesia for more than three decades, and the pivotal role in carrying out the massacres by groups that today remain Indonesia's biggest mainstream Muslim organizations.

A Dec. 21, 1965, cable from the embassy's first secretary, Mary Vance Trent, to the State Department referred to events as a "fantastic switch which has occurred over 10 short weeks." It also included an estimate that 100,000 people had been slaughtered.

In Bali alone, some 10,000 people had been killed by mid-December, including the parents and distant relatives of the island's pro-communist governor, and the slaughter was continuing, the cable said. Two months later, another embassy cable cited estimates that the killings in Bali had swelled to 80,000.

A cable that was part of the 2001 State Department volume showed that by April 1966, the embassy was staggered by the scale of the murders and acknowledged, "We frankly do not know whether the real figure is closer to 100,000 or 1,000,000."

Anti-communist rehtoric

The release of the documents coincides with an upsurge in anti-communist rhetoric in Indonesia, where communism remains a frequently invoked boogeyman for conservatives.

Discussion of the 1965-66 period that departs from the Suharto era's partly fictional account of a heroic national uprising against communism is still discouraged. A landmark symposium last year that brought together aging survivors of the bloodbath and government ministers sparked a furious backlash.

"The mass killings of 1965-66 are among the world's worst crimes against humanity, and our country's darkest secret," said Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer. "The 1965-66 survivors are all very old now, and I'm afraid that they will not see justice before they die. Hopefully with these cables coming to light, the truth can emerge and perpetrators can be held accountable."
AUSTIN -- The fight over the state's embattled voter ID laws should be over, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a new court document filed late Tuesday.

Paxton, as expected, filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals calling for the judges to end a challenge to the state's new voter ID law for good. In his 101-page document, the Republican argued that because the state has already added new exceptions to the law to allow people who have a reasonable-impediment to getting an ID to still vote, the case should be officially concluded.

"This case should be over," Paxton's brief states.

In August, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a permanent injuction against the state's newest voter ID law, calling it a "poll tax" on minority voters. In September, a federal appeals court blocked that ruling from going into full effect in order to hear the merits for and against the state's appeal.

The U.S. Appeals Court for the 5th Circuit has scheduled a hearing on the state's voter ID law for the first week of December in New Orleans.

Since 2011 when the Texas Legislature first passed new laws requiring voter to present an ID to vote, the law has been under challenge from critics who have argued that it hurts people without IDs, particularly minority voters. Supporters of the ID laws say they are needed to help protect against voter fraud.

The Legislature revamped the law to address some of the legal challenges, creating an exception for people to still vote if they sign a document attesting that they had a "reasonable impediment" to obtaining a picture ID in order to vote. To use that exception, people have to sign a sworn statement attesting to having a reasonable impediment to getting an ID.

But Gonzales Ramos ruled that forcing people to sign an affidavit under penalties of perjury could have a chilling effect on a voter. The supposed fix to the voter ID law, she ruled, merely traded one obstacle for another.

While the court battle continues, the courts have already ruled that in November the state's voter ID requirements can be in effect, but still allow people to vote who can show the reasonable impediment - essentially the same as the revamped voter ID law, which does not go into effect until 2018.

In his brief, Paxton argues Texas has already made changes to the law and the courts have essentially already allowed it as a compromise solution for upcoming elections. That essentially makes the previous challenge to the original voter ID law moot, he argued.
Photo by Bob Daemmrich, The Texas Tribune

AUSTIN  Attorney General Ken Paxton and seven other states' attorneys generals are pushing a federal district court to deny an undocumented 17-year-old's request for an abortion, arguing the U.S. Constitution does not give her the right to the procedure.

In an amicus brief field with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Tuesday, Paxton and seven other Republican attorneys general argued allowing the undocumented immigrant with no ties to the country to abort her pregnancy here would "create a right to abortion for anyone on Earth who entered the United States illegally, no matter how briefly."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions could not dodge the internet's ire Wednesday during his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sessions declined to discuss any conversations he had with President Donald Trump, "citing executive privilege, a tack he has taken before that angered Democrats because Mr. Trump has not invoked the privilege," the New York Times reported.
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Researchers may have found the perfect spot for NASA to build a base on the moon.

According to a release from Purdue University, a large, open lava tube discovered on the moon could shield astronauts from hazardous conditions.

"Lava tubes are naturally occurring channels formed when a lava flow develops a hard crust, which thickens and forms a roof above the still-flowing lava stream. Once the lava stops flowing, the tunnel sometimes drains, forming a hollow void," the release reads.

HURRICANES FROM SPACE: NASA snaps all three Atlantic hurricanes in one picture

Astronauts have only been able to stay on the moon for three days maximum, due to the lack of atmosphere. Space suits can't protect people from extreme temperature variations, radiation and meteorite impacts note researchers.

The lava tubes are in the Marius Hills, the largest volcanic dome field on the moon, according to NASA. The lava tube opening pictured has been dubbed the Marius Hills Skylight. Even if a base isn't built in the lava tube, scientists believe studying it would be beneficial.

"It's important to know where and how big lunar tubes are if we're ever going to construct a lunar base," Junichi Haruyama, a senior researcher at Japan's JAXA, told Purdue University. "Not knowing these things is also important for basic science. We might get new types of rock samples, heat-flow data and lunar-quake observation data."

BACK TO THE MOON?: Houston NASA chief says agency is 'very well set up' to go to the moon

JAXA discovered the lava tubes by analyzing radar data from the SELENE spacecraft. However, the spacecraft wasn't designed to detect lava tubes so it wasn't able to get more accurate readings of the area in which it was discovered.

Researchers at Purdue used gravity data with the JAXA radar data, theorizing the lava tube is several kilometers in length and at least one kilometer in height. One model shows the lava tube being big enough to house the entire city of Philadelphia.

The area could become a major site of focus in the near future, as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration said it'll push for more moon exploration at an Oct. 5 meeting of the National Space Council.

Scroll through the slideshow above to see strange things that have been captured in NASA photos.
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AKRON, Ohio - The city of Akron and Summit County have released Phase I of an initiative to integrate immigrants, or "New Americans," into the broader community.

The Akron/Summit County Strategic Welcome plan, 16 months in the making, was created by the city and county in conjunction with local immigrant-services agencies Asian Services in Action, Global Ties Akron and the International Institute of Akron.

In 2015, the city and county both passed resolutions proclaiming Summit County a "welcoming community," which means government, business and nonprofits all work to create inclusive policies and practices that make refugees and immigrants feel welcome here, and to help them prosper.

The motivation, in part, was to help drive the local economy and Akron's boost population. According to the plan, Akron's foreign-born population holds $137 million in annual spending power and contributes $17 million in state and local taxes each year. And, from 2007-2013, Akron's total population fell by 1 percent. Without a 30.8 percent increase in foreign-born, Akron's population decline would have doubled.

North Hill has long been known as Akron's immigrant neighborhood, and today it continues to be home to immigrants and refugees alike, and hosts many immigrant-owned businesses.

In 2016, Akron/Summit County was one of 20 communities chosen to receive a grant to create a welcoming plan through a $12,500 New American Economy's Gateways for Growth Challenge. The city, county, Akron Community Foundation and the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation together contributed $12,500 in matching funds.

Through the grant, which included tailored research on the economic contributions of immigrants in Akron and Summit County, and support from both New American Economy and Welcoming America, a welcoming plan was created. The plan focuses on four goals:

Enhance the network of public and private partners that serve and empower New Americans to facilitate their integration into the Akron community.

Adopt initiatives and policies in public and private institutions that are delivered in a way that allows for equitable participation and is respectful of the religion, culture, race, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, age and sexual orientation of members of both immigrant and receiving communities.

Empower and guide New Americans through identified ethnic community leaders, to understand and navigate public and private service systems.

Increase cultural and linguistic accessibility to all community and government services.

"Our foreign-born population has proven to be an economic driver for our region," said Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in a news release. "Whether it is through in increase in small business ownership, adding to the workforce, or increasing home-ownership rates, Summit County has seen the benefits of being a Welcoming community."

The plan also is important in being able to promote the community as welcoming, said Mayor Dan Horrigan.

"Being welcoming goes beyond a simple willingness to do so -- it takes a concentrated and coordinated effort to advance community communication, education and access to services for both new and longtime Americans," he stated in the release. "This plan is the first step in organizing partners and government agencies to factor inclusion and welcoming into their daily work."

Although they have other options, many immigrants choose to settle in Akron and Summit County, said Elaine Woloshyn, executive director of the International Institute.

"We are a small, big town where entire families can thrive socially and economically in a neighborly environment," she said in the release.

Phase II, which will move forward in November, will replicate across five other sectors the existing Refugee Health Task Force hosted by the Summit County Department of Public Health. Over 2018, each sector will create a list of objectives and tasks and a work plan to implement moving forward as it relates to the vision, goals and strategies outlined in the Akron/Summit County Strategic Welcome plan available here.

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AKRON, Ohio -- The new Shady Hollow Lodge is taking shape in the woods of Akron's Sand Run Metro Park, but the new lodge will look completely different than the building that went up in flames last year.

The previous facility - a small, cabin-style structure built in 1988 - was lost to an accidental fire in 2016. With help from the Summit Metro Parks Foundation, Summit Metro Parks is building the new facility with larger windows, vaulted ceilings, air conditioning, a patio and more.

Designed by Peninsula Architects, the firm designing the Cuyahoga Valley National Park's new Central Visitor Center, the updated lodge at 1750 Sand Run Pkwy., is on track to be completed by year's end.

Park naturalists will use the space for public programs. The lodge also will be available to host events such as reunions and bridal showers in early 2018.

The district is currently taking reservations for the lodge in February and beyond. The rate for Summit County residents is $120 weekdays, and $165 on weekends and holidays. Out-of-county residents pay $170 for on weekdays, and $200 on weekends and holidays. Summit County residents pay less because the park district is funded by a county real estate tax.

At just under 1,000 acres, Sand Run Metro Park is the park district's most-visited park, with about 2 million annual visits. Sand Run's other reservable facility is Mingo Lodge, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

To learn more about the Summit Metro Parks Foundation, contact Jen Harvey, fund development manager/grant writer.

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BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - The city will conduct another survey of the 102-acre site that holds the former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

The $14,350 survey will allow Brecksville to obtain title insurance for the land, which the city plans to redevelop into a multiple-use district that might include stores, restaurants, apartments, hotels, hospitals, manufacturing plants, warehouses, offices and laboratories.

"It (the survey) is an expensive undertaking which necessitates that it be done only when the (land) deal is imminent," Sergio DiGeronimo, the city's assistant law director, told Mayor Jerry Hruby in a Tuesday afternoon memo.

City Council, on Tuesday night, approved going forward with the survey. City Engineer Gerald Wise said his firm, Donald Bohning & Associates in Valley View, will perform the work as soon as possible.

Last month, the federal government announced that it had approved transferring the title of the VA property to the city.

However, on Tuesday, Hruby said the title had not yet transferred. Law Director David Matty said the city has completed the "first draft" of a deed but needs more information from the VA before moving forward.

DiGeronimo, in his memo to Hruby, said land surveys have already been performed on the VA property. However, to obtain title insurance, the city needs an "ALTA/NSPS survey," which upholds standards set by the American Land Title Association and National Society of Professional Surveyors.

BHC Rhodes - a civil engineering, surveying and utilities firm in Kansas City, Kansas - says on its website that while a variety of land surveys are available, an ALTA/NSPS survey comes with a national standard that all parties - including landowners, attorneys, developers, engineers, lenders and title companies - recognize.

"ALTA/NSPS surveys are a great way to coordinate due diligence efforts when acquiring commercial real estate," BHC Rhodes says. "It is a base component of the due-diligence process that identifies unknowns or issues that may devalue, restrict the use of property or halt the transaction of development."

In the past, Hruby has said the city is working with a developer on the VA project but he would not name the firm. Nothing had changed Tuesday.

"We are not under a MOU (memorandum of understanding) or contract with a developer," Hruby said. "Once there is, we will announce it."

"No developer requested the survey," DiGeronimo said. "It is merely a title insurance issue at this point."

In November, Brecksville residents, at City Hall's request, voted overwhelmingly to rezone the hospital property into an "overlay district." The site remained an office-laboratory zone but the city can allow housing and other types of businesses on a case-by-case basis.
BROOKLYN, Ohio -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who robbed a woman at gunpoint, stole her car and ditched it in an alley.

He should be considered armed and dangerous.

The robbery happened about 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Huntington Bank ATM on Ridge Road near Memphis Avenue, according to a news release from Brooklyn police.

The 19-year-old woman was using the ATM when a man with a black gun approached her car. He forced her into the passenger seat while he climbed into the driver's seat, police said.

He threatened to shoot her if she did not give him her cellphone and money, the release says.

He demanded that she get out of the car. He drove off.

The robber ditched the car in an alley on Fulton Parkway near West 48th Street in Cleveland, the release says. Police located the car using its OnStar which offers stolen car assistance. Police processed the car for evidence.

Anyone with information is asked to call Brooklyn police at 216-749-1234.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County plans to impose fines of up to $150 to landlords who do not register their rental properties.

The move is expected to generate $3 million next year for the cash-strapped county, officials said. The amount will decline in future years because owners only need to register their properties one time.

Here's what you need to know.

What is the rental registration requirement?

A law passed in 2006 by state legislators requires "registration of residential real property with the County Auditor by its owner." The rule applies to counties with a population of more than 200,000.

The counties that must comply are Butler, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery, Stark, Summit and Trumbull.

Is there a fee to register?

No.

Some cities, including Cleveland, impose fees for registering rental properties.

How are owners notified of the requirement?

Counties are required to include the information in tax bills that residential rental property needs to be registered.

What is the penalty for not registering?

Counties can impose a fine from $50 to $150.

The notice on property tax bills says "Failure to file the information or to update incorrect information in a timely manner may result in the assessment of a penalty of up to $150 following each tax bill for which the information is not filed."

Cuyahoga County also includes that information on its Residential Rental Property Disclosure Form.

How is the fine imposed?

The fine is added to the next property tax bill. The money collected from the penalty can be placed in the county's general revenue fund.

How much will the fine be in Cuyahoga County?

Fiscal Officer Dennis Kennedy will provide that information to County Council on Monday, officials said.

Do other counties impose fines if a rental property is not registered?

Butler, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Mahoning, Montgomery and Trumbull counties do not impose a fine.

Stark County doesn't have a fine, but plans to impose one.

Summit County imposes a $50 fine per year.

Hamilton County's fine is $150 every six months.

Franklin County fines $50 a year. Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo said in a news release that the office sends out notices in March to the owners of property that are not registered and not receiving the owner occupied tax credit. In November 2015, he wrote that 35,472 property owners received the notice.

The registration information allows the auditor's office to maintain a database of contact information for landlords throughout the county. "We look at this as a way to root out absentee landlords" Mingo said. "Their delinquency erodes tax revenues, property values in the surrounding areas and helps to lower the standard of living for everyone in the county.

During the past four years, the Franklin County Auditor's Office has mailed out 111,187 rental registration notices, he said. About 58 percent of those (64,081) returned the application and were not fined. The remaining 47,106 were fined $50 each for a total of $2.35 million.

How many rental properties are in Cuyahoga County?

There were 213,180 renter-occupied housing units in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Community Survey. That included single family homes and multi-unit buildings.

How will Cuyahoga County notify property owners of the new fine?

Maggie Keenan, director of the Cuyahoga County's Office of Budget and Management, explained the proposal to County Council during budget hearings this week.

She said the county's Fiscal Office intends to send out notification to homeowners that the registry requirement will be enforced. The $3 million assumes a 20 percent noncompliance rate. The $500,000 annual revenue estimate beginning in 2019 assumes a decrease in the rate of noncompliance.
A woman who participated in the beating death and dismemberment of her boyfriend was sentenced to 40 years at the Montana Women's Prison on Wednesday.

Judge Michael Moses sentenced Carri Elizabeth Standsoverbull, 41, to 60 years in prison with 20 suspended in the death of Jeffrey Hewitt. She will also be required to pay a $5,000 fine and roughly $5,500 in restitution. Standsoverbull will be eligible for parole after 10 years.

The sentence was what Deputy County Attorney Ed Zink had recommended. Defense attorney Roberta Drew had recommended 50 years with 20 suspended. Sixty years was the maximum allowed by state law for the four charges: negligent homicide, aggravated assault by accountability and two counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

In early 2015, Hewitt was beaten, likely by several people, and left in Standsoverbull's apartment with severe injuries, court documents state. Documents named at least four others who may have been involved in the beatings. Law enforcement officers and representatives from Child Protective Services visited Standsoverbulls apartment while Hewitt was still alive, investigators say, but Standsoverbull did not allow them to intervene and take Hewitt to a hospital.

After Hewitt died, the victim was put in the back of an SUV and taken to a secluded drainage. Using a chainsaw and ax, Standsoverbull and others took apart Hewitt's body and then tried to burn the body parts, charges state.

During an hour-long sentencing hearing Wednesday morning, the mother, sister and teenage daughter of the victim spoke, characterizing him as a hard-working family man who was dedicated to his kids and quick to help others in need.

Hewitts daughter said she learned of her fathers death when FBI agents came to her home in California looking for him. They wouldnt say why initially, but later returned and told her he had died.

Everything around me that involved fathers and parents, it just made it worse, Hewitts daughter said, adding that shed had trouble being around other people, including her own family, and would never get to have her father walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.

Hewitts mother said she was unable to give her son a normal funeral and would never get to hear from him again on her birthday, or Mothers Day. She misses him, her only son and first-born child, and struggled after learning how much he had suffered before dying.

I really dont understand how someone could do this to him, she said. There were so many other things that could have been done than to choose this manner of death for him.

Hewitts mother and daughter said they wished well for Standsoverbulls family and would pray for them.

Zink, the prosecutor, said officials would likely never learn exactly what happened leading up to Hewitts death, but that Standsoverbull initiated the violence.

The acts described in the police reports that we read are a level of cruelty and depravity that is rarely seen, Zink said, fighting back tears. And this morning I think in response we see dignity from surviving family and a strength that will serve them well going forward.

Drew, the defense attorney, said that previously, Standsoverbull had been a faithful mother and family woman, and had enjoyed helping others through her work at the YWCA and the Mental Health Center. But Standsoverbull had suffered long-term, serious abuse by her ex-husband  a different man from Hewitt  and after divorcing him, as so often happens, had delved into substance abuse.

I grieve for the family (member) who asked the question why, because I simply cannot provide that answer, she said. And nor can Carri.

Standsoverbull's criminal history is minimal, with mostly alcohol-related misdemeanors.

Moses, the judge, said Standsoverbull's chemical dependency got her where she is today and needed to be addressed. He added that he was glad Standsoverbull had "rediscovered prayer."

"Don't ever lose it again," he said.

In a tearful statement to the court, Standsoverbull apologized to Hewitts family and said she, too, wanted justice for him.

Words cant explain how sorry I am for everything that happened, she said.

Standsoverbull said she never intended for Hewitt to die the way he did.

I thought I was protecting myself and my kids, she said.

Patrick Saint Standsoverbull III, Carris brother, has also been charged in the case, recently pleading guilty to two felony counts of evidence tampering and one count of misdemeanor assault. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
A lawsuit over power outages at one of Billings' refineries could go into mediation ahead of its trial date.

Energy giant ExxonMobil sued NorthWestern Energy, which supplies power to the refinery, in January 2016. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Billings but has been moved to Great Falls.

The city of Billings and General Electric Energy Management are also defendants in the lawsuit.

The case was scheduled for a February trial. But on Oct. 6, all parties filed a joint motion requesting a mediation session with U.S. Magistrate John Johnston in Great Falls.

Johnston has yet to issue an order on the motion.

ExxonMobil claimed outages in 2014 and 2016 cost the company millions of dollars. The company claimed NorthWestern was at fault for the outages. ExxonMobil has no backup source of power for the refinery.

NorthWestern denied the allegations and then filed third-party complaints, casting blame at the city of Billings and General Electric Energy Management.

NorthWestern operates two substations that serve the refinery, as well as the Billings wastewater treatment plant. The city runs sections of underground feeder lines where an electrical fault originated in one of the outages, according to court documents.

A GE technician was testing electrical equipment as a subcontractor with the city and was allegedly involved in the second outage, court documents say.

The city of Billings has denied it caused the power outages.

While Magistrate Johnston could accept mediation within a week, scheduling of the hearing will take more time.
For Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito, the Nov. 7 general election is crunch time.

Voters decide whether to approve a tax increase in the public safety levy to provide more money to fund his offices operations.

The additional revenue, Twito said, will help his office sustain what we have.

Without an increase, Twito worries that his office wont be able to provide the services it does now while the workload continues to soar.

Every aspect of my office is increasing, Twito said.

What has not increased is the public safety levy. The levy is the same as it was 17 years ago, when voters approved it in 2000 to dedicate funding for the county attorneys operations.

Since then, Yellowstone County has grown into an urban community and regional hub for many services, including the judicial and criminal justice system, Twito said.

To fill an increasing gap between the offices revenue and expenses, the countys general fund reserves have been subsidizing the county attorneys basic operations at unsustainable amounts.

Even with the subsidy, county officials said, the county attorney's fund reserves will continue to decline and are projected to be drained of money by 2023.

County Finance Director Kevan Bryan urged county commissioners during the 2018 budget process to consider a mill levy increase to help address the significant funding shortages confronting the county attorney.

The commissioners agreed to put the issue to voters when they approved a resolution for the Nov. 7 election.

Ballots for the all-mail election will be sent to voters on Wednesday.

Twito has been taking his case to the community by speaking to organizations like senior citizens, service clubs and Big Sky Economic Development.

Reasons for the funding increase

Here is a look at the proposal and reasons for increasing demands on county attorney services:

The public safety levy: The proposal is for an eight-mill increase, from four mills to about 12 mills, to raise an additional $2.75 million annually. The current four-mill levy raises about $1.45 million.

If approved, the levy increase would be perpetual. The annual cost of the increase on a home valued at $100,000 would be $10.80, while the cost of the increase on a home valued at $200,000 would be $21.60.

County Attorney office staffing: The county has added 10 full-time positions in the past 10 years, with six of those positions approved in the past six months. The new jobs include two attorneys, three legal assistants and a victim witness coordinator.

Bryan said the office would have added two more staff in the 2018 budget if there had been money and space available. The office has 48 staff, including the six new positions, funded by the county attorneys budget.

County Attorneys budget: When the public safety levy was passed in 2000, it raised about $660,000 a year. The tax revenue from the levy has increased over the years mainly from new construction and growth. Back then, the office had about 32 employees and a budget of about $2 million. The 2018 budget is more than $5 million.

Population growth: When the public safety levy passed in 2000, Yellowstone Countys population was 127,641. By 2016, the population had increased by 30,796 residents to 158,437 people, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

New judges: The 2017 Legislature approved two additional district court judges for the 13th Judicial District, which is Yellowstone County, to help ease the caseload of the districts six judges. About 20 percent of the approximately 55,000 cases filed annually in district court are in the 13th District, which is the busiest in the state.

Additional judges mean more county attorney staffing in court for hearings and more time to prepare the calendars, which for law and motion can run anywhere from two to 15 pages. Ive got to put people in courtrooms, Twito said.

Caseload: Cases filed in District Court have nearly doubled from 2010 to 2015, going from 677 cases to 1,237 cases. And last year, there were 1,324 cases filed, the county attorneys office said.

Meth use in the community, Twito said, is a major reason for increased demands on his office. Of the 1,324 felony cases filed last year, 426 cases, or about 32 percent, involved meth, he said.

Abuse and neglect cases: Child abuse and neglect cases have skyrocketed, largely because of meth use by parents, Twito said. There were 626 new and reopened child abuse and neglect cases filed in 2016, up from 143 cases in 2010, according to information from the Montana Office of Court Administrator.

Abuse and neglect cases is a court process to remove abused and neglected children from homes. Every case is horrible, Twito said, and involves serious abuse or neglect that typically includes exposure to drugs.

Involuntary commitments: The county attorney files petitions for court rulings to have people who have mental illnesses committed for treatment. The people are either an imminent danger to themselves or to others or are unable to care for themselves. The number of involuntary commitments has increased from 52 commitments filed in 2011 to 182 commitments in 2016.

Twito said the county has three to four commitment hearings a week that involve one of his civil deputies, a judge and other officials going to Billings Clinics psychiatric services unit for a hearing.

Witness fees: The 2017 Legislature cut state reimbursements for witness fees, making it the countys responsibility. Twito said the cut was significant and placed more burden on the county to pay to bring in witnesses for trials. For the 2018 budget, commissioners increased witness and jury fees to $75,000  up $57,000 from $18,000  in 2017.

Marsys Law: In 2016, Montana voters approved a constitutional initiative expanding victims rights. Known as Marsys Law, the initiative increased notifications and expanded the definition of victim to include people on the faultless side of minor traffic offenses, Twito said.

The voters wanted it. I get it, he said. Implementing the law will add more work to ensure compliance with notification requirements, he said.
ZR2 MIDNIGHT AND DUSK EDITIONS EXPAND CHOICES IN 2018 CHEVROLET COLORADO LINEUP

 As the brand celebrates 100 years of building trucks, Chevrolet is expanding its midsize truck lineup with Colorado ZR2 Midnight Edition and Dusk Edition models.

They were shown ahead of their public debut at the SEMA Show, from Oct. 31-Nov 3, in Las Vegas, where they will be part of Chevrolet's display of concept and production vehicles.

The 2018 Colorado ZR2 Midnight Edition features an all-black exterior finish, black Chevy bowtie emblems and 17-inch five-spoke black accessory wheels, including the spare. The ZR2 Midnight also features a black sport bar with off-road LED lighting and ZR2 logos on the sport-bar sail panels.

The ZR2 Dusk Edition offers the same content as the ZR2 Midnight, but can be purchased in all other ZR2 exterior finishes, with black accents throughout.

'The Colorado ZR2 Midnight and Dusk Edition models offer customers even more personalization choices from the only company with three distinct trucks: midsize, full-size and full-size heavy-duty,' said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Truck Strategy, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. 'Chevrolet offers more choices because the truck market is too diverse for a 'one size fits most' strategy.'

The Colorado ZR2 is effectively a segment of one, equally at home rock crawling, desert running or as a daily driver. It sits 2 inches higher than Colorado and features a 3.5-inch-wider track.

Performance features include an off-road suspension with cast-iron control arms and segment-exclusive Multimatic DSSVTM dampers. They are the first off-road shocks to feature position-sensitive spool valve technology, making the truck equally adept on and off the road.

Other standard ZR2 features include segment-exclusive front electronic locking differential, electronic locking rear differential, hill descent control, an aluminum skidplate that protects the radiator and oil pan, off-road rocker protection, Autotrac transfer case, transfer case shield, four-wheel disc brakes, modified rear axle with a 3.42 ratio and special off-rode mode setting.

The ZR2 is distinguished visually from the Colorado with an aggressive hood and grille combo and modified front and rear bumpers designed for better off-road clearance.

The ZR2 is available with a standard 3.6L V-6 match with a class-exclusive eight-speed automatic transmission or an available 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel offering best-in-class 369 lb-ft of torque.

The Colorado ZR2 also boasts impressive connectivity and safety technology: 4G LTE Wi-Fi, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, StabiliTrak Electronic Stability Control and available Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning. And as with all Chevrolet trucks, the Colorado ZR2 is built with durability in mind, including a fully boxed frame, roll-formed high-strength steel bed and Duralife brake rotors.

For this year's SEMA Show, the ZR2 Midnight Edition crew cab will be shown with the 3.6L V-6 and feature Chevrolet Accessories and Chevrolet Performance parts available for all ZR2 models, including a bed-mounted spare tire carrier, Performance Air Intake, Performance Exhaust and all-weather floor liners with ZR2 logos.

The ZR2 Dusk Edition show vehicle is finished in Summit White and equipped with the available 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel, as well as a diesel-exclusive Performance Cold Air Intake.

The Colorado ZR2 Midnight and Dusk Edition models join approximately 20 additional Chevrolet models this week from Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at the SEMA Show. Follow the action at ChevySEMA.com, #CHEVYSEMA, @ChevroletPerformance on Instagram and Chevrolet Performance on Facebook.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Source - Chevrolet
SPOKANE, Wash.  Opponents have raised about $151,000 to defeat a Spokane ballot measure that would fine railroad operators for certain coal and crude oil rail shipments through the city's downtown core.

Voters are deciding in November whether to approve Proposition 2, which would make rail shipments of uncovered coal or untreated crude oil a civil infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $261 per rail car.

The largest donors against the measure are Utah-based Lighthouse Resources, which owns several coal mines in Wyoming and Montana, as well as BNSF Railway and Union Pacific railroad.

The citizens group supporting the initiative has raised about $6,000, mostly from individual contributions.

If approved, the measure is certain to face a steep uphill legal fight since the federal government regulates railroad operations and safety.

Opponents warn of costly, legal challenges. Supporters insist the measure won't conflict with federal laws.
CORNWALL, Ontario  For years, Chuck Charlebois had a vision for what Cornwalls waterfront could be, with that vision coming close to fruition, Charlebois is being honoured for his dedication.

Part of the Cornwall recreational path that runs along the waterfront and past the Cornwall Cotton Mills will be renamed the Chuck Charlebois Recreational Path and will be marked by an archway at either end.

The announcement was made at the Stomping Grounds Bistro in the Cotton Mills on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Many of Chucks family and friends packed into the bistro to hear the announcement and say some kind words to their friend.

Chuck was known to fight for his community especially in the East End and Le Village, said Todd Lihou, Centretown Coordinator for Heart of the City.

The Mayor and current members of Cornwall City Council expressed their gratitude for Chucks efforts to help develop the community.

I can think of no person more worthy than you, said Mayor Leslie OShaughnessy. You are certainly a real champion for the City of Cornwall. On behalf of the City of Cornwall I thank you.

Former Cornwall Mayor Bob Kilger was also present at Wednesdays announcement and had kind words to say to the former councillor in both English and in Chucks native French.

I also want to thank his wife Suzanne, said Kilger in French. She is always at his side. Thank you for sharing Churck with us for so long.

Chuck himself had a few words of thanks to the gathered crowd and explained the history of how the Cotton Mills became what it is today.

To know where youre going, you must know where youve been, said Chuck, quoting Anthony Robbins.

He said that in 1987, without a plan drawn up to show his vision to stakeholders, he managed to raise $50, 000 for the future waterfront project.

Ultimately, Chuck said that the recognition he was receiving would not have been possible without the support he received from the community. He thanked many people who had helped him throughout the years, many of whom were present in the Stomping Grounds for the announcement.

I accept this honour youve bestowed on me today, but I accept it on all of your behalf, he said. Thats why it worked, thank you very much.
ST. ANDREWS, Ontario  On Sunday, October 15, 2017, Father Bernard (Bernie) Cameron died at the Cornwall Community Hospital. He had not been well during the last two years.

Fr. Bernie, as he was affectionately known, was born in St. Andrews West on April 15, 1933. He was one of 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, born to Alexander and Helen (MacDonell) Cameron. He attended St. Andrews Private High School and later, Scarboros Nazareth House in St. Marys, Ontario. He attended le Grand Seminaire de Saint Sulpice in Montreal where he obtained his Bachelor in Theology.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall at St. Andrews Parish on May 30, 1958 by Bishop Rosario Brodeur. His first assignment was Curate at St. Columbans Parish where he remained for three years before being given charge of his first parish in 1961, St. Catherine of Sienna in Greenfield.

During his more than 59 years of priesthood, he served in many of the Dioceses English language parishes including St. Marys in Williamstown, Blessed Sacrament in Cornwall, St. Columbans in Cornwall, Our Lady of Grace in Ingleside, St. Pius X in Long Sault, St. Alexanders in Lochiel, St. Catherine of Sienna in Greenfield, St. Anthonys in Apple Hill and St. Michaels in Monkland. In addition, he served 10 years as rector of the Cathedral of St. Finnans in Alexandria.

In 2001, his long held dream of pastoring in his home parish was finally realized when he was named to St. Andrews. He remained as pastor until his retirment in October 2013. Following his retirement, Fr. Cameron regularly replaced his fellow priests when they had to be absent from their parish. He very much enjoyed this phase of his priesthood until his health forced a permanent retirement.

During his nearly six decades as a priest, Fr. Cameron contributed to diocesan life by taking on a number of pastoral services, including professor of religious instruction at CCVS and General Vanier, Spiritual Advisor to the Diocesan Council of the Catholic Womens League and Diocesan Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. He also held positions of responsibility among his brother priests as Dean on several occasions and Co-Chairman of the Diocesan Synod.

Fr. Cameron will be remembered for his life of service and dedication in our Diocese. He will also be remembered for his great devotion to the Virgin Mary and in particular Our Lady of Medjugorje, having led more than a dozen pilgrimages to Medjugorje. Fr. Cameron was a great story teller and historian who utilized these gifts during his homilies. He cared for the people he served and he will be missed.

The Solemn Translation from Wilson Funeral Home to St. Andrews Parish will take place on Wednesday, October 18th where he will lay in state from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. There will be no visitation at the funeral home. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Prendergast on Thursday, October 19th at 2:00 pm. Internment to follow at St. Andrews Parish Cemetery, St. Andrews West.
WASHINGTON  In this week's crisis over Kirkuk, Iraqi Kurds are experiencing a painful version of Newton's Third Law: In Middle East politics, as in physics, every action creates an equal and opposite reaction.

The initial action was Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani's decision to push ahead last month with a controversial independence referendum, despite strong warnings from the United States, Turkey, Iran and the central government in Baghdad that the Sept. 25 vote would backfire.

The counterreaction came Monday, as Iraqi troops, backed by Shiite militias, took control of a key military base and oil fields in the region around Kirkuk, an area controlled by the Kurdish peshmerga militias but claimed by Baghdad. For the United States, it was a dilemma of watching one friend make a damaging mistake, and another friend retaliate.

Some members of Barzani's regional government in Irbil described the Iraqi move as a military assault, but a statement by U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq, reported "coordinated movements, not attacks." A Centcom official said the Iraqi advance had been arranged in discussions with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. (The PUK, based in Sulaymaniyah, is a historical rival of Barzani's dominant Irbil-based group, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP.)

Barzani's allies have argued that Iran is secretly orchestrating the Kirkuk confrontation. But a U.S. official closely involved in policy described that allegation as "misinformation." While Tehran and its Iraqi allies may have encouraged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to move on Kirkuk, U.S. officials said that it was Abadi's decision  and that he would have faced heavy Iraqi opposition if he hadn't responded strongly to the referendum and its breakaway bid.

A measure of the breadth of Iraqi criticism of the Kurdish independence move was a statement issued two weeks ago by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a moderate cleric who tries to resist Iran's meddling. He rejected the referendum as "an attempt to divide Iraq and take its northern part by setting up an independent state." Ever the balancer, he also urged Baghdad "to consider the Kurds' constitutional rights."

Having cautioned Barzani against the referendum, U.S. officials were peeved when he went ahead anyway. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sept. 29 criticized the "unilateral" vote and said its results "lack legitimacy." Prior to the balloting, Tillerson had proposed an alternative "road map" for discussions to resolve tensions between Baghdad and Irbil, but this last-minute appeal was rejected, U.S. officials say.

The Kurdish miscalculation has had unfortunate consequences. But sometimes in the Middle East, mistakes open the way for new discussions, and U.S. officials hope this will be the case with the Kirkuk crisis. U.S. officials were working Monday to establish joint security measures to reduce tensions near the Kirkuk oil fields, so that production can continue, and to share information on the ground and counter inflammatory reports that could escalate the conflict. Officials hope these initial military and intelligence contacts will be a prelude to a broader political discussion involving Barzani and Abadi.

Iran may not be pulling all the strings in Iraq, but it has a decisive presence there and will benefit from the confrontation between Abadi and the Kurds. That's the unfortunate irony of the Kirkuk clash: In a week when the Trump administration was trying to launch a new campaign to counter Iran's regional behavior, U.S. officials must struggle to extinguish a sudden flare-up between the United States' two key partners in Iraq  one that's all the more frustrating because policymakers in Washington saw it coming.
Voters in Billings Ward 4 have the choice of two articulate, intelligent and capable candidates on the Nov. 7 ballot. Both George Blackard and Penny Ronning have invested heavily in community service, both have demonstrated leadership to better our community. But their backgrounds and perspectives are very different.

Blackard, who grew up in Kansas and served in the U.S. Navy before attending college, moved to Billings in 1995 has been active in local veterans service groups. Service to others and to the community is important to him, he told editorial board.

One thing Billings shouldnt do is be quick to lose its identity, said Blackard, who is known to often shovel his neighbors sidewalks on snowy days. Its still a small town.

A Billings native, Ronning grew up in her parents restaurant, the Happy Diner, where she got to know a broad cross-section of the community. After working away from Billings for many years in Christian ministries, including prisons, she earned a degree in film and an MBA from Montana State University in Bozeman, became a professional photographer and owned an art gallery in Livingston. She returned home to care for her mother.

Ronning is concerned about the rising numbers of children in foster care and children who are homeless in Billings. These problems cant be ignored at the city level, she said.

Ronning organized the nonprofit Human Trafficking Task Force in Billings. The Billings Police Department has limited resources, so she found a way to provide officers training in identifying and assisting human trafficking victims, including children. The officers were trained at no cost to the city.

If we are for safety, we need to apply it to kids, Ronning said. The city is more than just roads and buildings. Ronning said the police department needs more money to keep Billings safe.

She also wants to see Billings be more successful in competition with other cities. City government needs to be more aggressive at bringing in new business, she said.

She praised Police Chief Rich St. John for the departments volunteer program and its citizens academy and wants to see more police interaction with citizens.

I know were not immune to hate groups. We need to go to schools and talk to kids, she said.

Blackards interest in city government increased when a plan for higher water rates was announced earlier this year. Hes glad the City Council rejected that increase, but said the city still wastes water in its parks and on streets.

We have a crime problem and a drug problem, Blackard said, and the BPD has 50-60 officers fewer than most cities our size.

Blackard is doubtful that voters will pay more for BPD. He suggested that the city get all the civic organizations together and get them to help. Nobodys going to pass a mill levy for more officers just because we need them.

At a forum last month at the Alberta Bair Theater, Blackard was the only candidate among the 10 attending who said he is against letting Billings vote on a local option sales tax and wouldnt support using downtown tax increment financing for One Big Sky Center to be built downtown.

Ronning said she supports both the local option concept and the potential use of TIF for One Big Sky Center.

Diverse groups make the best decisions, Ronning said. We agree. If it was possible, wed like to see both Ronning and Blackard on the City Council. But the voters of Ward 4 can elect only one. We encourage them to send Ronning to the council. She has a perspective that is energetic, positive and creatively different than most of the present council.

With Ward 4 neighborhoods growing fast, Ronning will be a voice for the change that her constituents need to keep their families safe and to reach out to make their community stronger citywide.
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It's not limited to the stupid ages, either. Child-endangering horseshit is evergreen.

During the 19th century, many guides for new mothers were published containing a lot of, to put it politely, fucking batshit crazy guesswork. Do you want a healthy baby? Better align their sleeping position due north so that they're in sync with "great electrical currents ... coursing in one direction around the globe." That way, according to 1878's The Physical Life Of Woman, those currents can synergize with your baby's central nervous system and supercharge them to the max.

And you don't want your babies to become ugly, right? Searchlights On Health: The Science Of Eugenics had an easy answer: Don't think about uggos. A pregnant woman should banish all thoughts of the ugly "or those marked by any deformity or disease." How do you not think of something just mentioned in what you're reading? Good question. Also, if you're a pregnant woman and you're reading this, good luck with your hideous child.

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Meanwhile, in the best-selling The Mother And Her Child, two doctors recommend you "handle the baby as little as possible." If it (and they are definitely an "it" here) cries, you should let it happen. After all, crying is "absolutely essential to the development of good strong lungs." You want your kids to have good strong lungs, don't you? Well, let 'em weep ... But not so much that they start to choke and burst the blood vessels in their face, in which case you should spank them for having the dishonor to nearly die in the midst of a life lesson.

And to make sure they don't go soft after they've screamed themselves strong, you should also never, ever hug a child, and only kiss them once a day (maximum) before bedtime. Remember, parents, an emotionally dead child is an obedient child, so greet them in the morning with a firm and hearty handshake to let them know you respect and care for them in the same way you would an out-of-town business associate you haven't seen in four years.
Channel programs News

Accenture Interactive Acquires 370-Person Digital Agency To Boost E-Commerce Experience Capabilities

Alec Shirkey

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Accenture Interactive has entered exclusive talks to purchase French e-commerce specialist Altima, the company announced Tuesday, in what will be the division's 17th acquisition in the past five years.

The Interactive branch of Dublin, Ireland-based Accenture, No. 2 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, believes Altima will enhance its mobile and in-store commerce experience expertise both in France and other regions of interest, including the United States, Canada, China and Germany.

Anatoly Roytman, head of Accenture Interactive Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America and global digital commerce lead for Accenture, said Altima's blend of technical, creative and business acumen made the Roubaix, France-based agency an enticing acquisition target.

Specifically, he pointed to an industry-wide shift within the e-commerce space toward customized client experiences as one of the deal's driving factors.

[Related: Accenture Buys Digital Marketing Agency For Technical, Creative Skill Set]

"It's been happening for the last couple years. Now it's accelerating," Roytman told CRN. "Our clients realize that in order to sell something, it's not enough to just create a checkout or a payment system. You need to think about the entire experience. You need to think about how to present the products."

Some products require more presentation and convincing, he added, which necessitates the need for compelling content published in conjunction with the commerce experience.

Altima, which maintains a team of 370 employees, will be integrated into the Accenture Interactive global commerce practice and report to the head of Accenture Interactive France. The plan is to expand the agency's foothold in France while also bringing its experience-led capabilities to other markets in Europe, North America and China.

Commerce and content are areas of high demand in China, according to the company, making the deal especially valuable to Accenture Interactive's services capabilities in the region. Altima also has an expanded presence in Canada after it recently merged that team with Montreal-based digital marketing agency Konversion.

Common customers exist between the two companies, but Roytman said the ability to expand the Accenture Interactive array of digital commerce services through Altima's "unique" creative and analytical skills outweigh any overlap.

"It's not enough to buy a technology platform. It's not enough to integrate it with a legacy system," Roytman said. "You need to think broader, and you also need to do it quicker. This is why we believe we are different, and Altima is consistent with this view  Their one-stop-shop philosophy is what we find attractive. People like that who can be creative and analytical, they're hard to find."

Financial terms of the deal, which will be subject to closing conditions, were not made available.

Altima's online, mobile and on-premises commerce brand work has netted the agency awards such as the 2016 Trophees E-Commerce (user experience design category) and a 2016 W3 design and user experience award.

"We are excited to join forces with the world's largest digital network," Altima CEO Arnaud Monnier said in a statement. "The global scale of Accenture Interactive would provide a unique opportunity for us to bring our work for clients to a new level, and offer new career opportunities to our people."

Accenture Interactive has been active on the acquisition front in recent years, purchasing design and innovation firm MATTER, creative marketing agency Wire Stone, digital optimization company Clearhead and e-commerce solutions specialist Media Hive, which focused on Salesforce Commerce Cloud deployment in the U.S.

Wire Stone  like Altima  exhibited an alluring combination of creative and technical prowess that caught Accenture Interactive's eye, North American marketing practice lead Jeannine Falcone told CRN in August.
Channel programs News

CSRA To Buy Application Development Firm For $235M To Strengthen Intelligence Capabilities

Michael Novinson

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CSRA plans to purchase a 350-person company focused on the practical application of software and systems engineering technologies to boost its presence in the intelligence community.

The Falls Church, Va.-based company, No. 14 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, said its $235 million acquisition of Annapolis Junction, Md.-based Praxis Engineering Technologies will help intelligence agency customers meet mission-critical needs by fusing together engineering best practices, domain expertise, cutting-edge commercial technologies, and proven agile management approaches.

"With customers increasingly ready to adopt next-generation technologies, CSRA will be better able to help customers leverage more efficient infrastructures as they rationalize and modernize their mission applications," Larry Prior, CSRA's CEO, said in a statement.

[Related: CSRA CEO: $498M Defense Contract Makes Company An Industry Leader In Cloud And Military IT]

The deal is expected to close during CSRA's third quarter, which ends Dec. 29. CSRA declined to make an executive available for interview.

The acquisition will provide CSRA will industry-leading talent under the direction of President Bill Dunahoo and Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development Jerry Schepers, according to Leigh Palmer, CSRA's executive vice president for intelligence.

Praxis Engineering was founded in 2002 has enjoyed growth of more than 350 percent since its inception. The company has more than 50 active contracts, and satellite offices in Aberdeen, Md., Linthicum Heights, Md. and Chantilly, Va., according to Praxis's website. Praxis signed a lease last year to expand its footprint in Chantilly by 7,704 square feet to aid an expansion of its federal security business.

The company has extensive experience using the IBM Rational Software Platform to help government agencies automate, integrate and govern best practices for software development and delivery, according to the company's website. The company is an IBM Tier 1 Service Provider and holds more than 50 IBM Rational technical certifications, according to the website.

Praxis has also developed industry-leading wireless, discovery, intercept, and reconstruction products in-house to meet a wide variety of business needs, according to the website. As far as services are concerned, the company said it provides agile program management, enterprise app development, technology enablement, real-time embedded systems, IT infrastructure support, and technical training.

This is CSRA's second-ever acquisition since being formed in November 2015 from the combination SRA International and CSC's U.S. Government Services Practice. CSRA in July closed on its purchase of NES Associates, a network engineering firm focused on the military and other federal agencies.

In the most recent quarter, which ended June 30, CSRA's defense and intelligence revenue tumbled to $525 million, down 8 percent from $568 million the year prior due to declines in the Army Logistics Modernization Program and the U.S. Strategic Command Information Technology Capabilities Contract.

CSRA was also recently awarded a $498 million, eight-year contract to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with robust and resilient private cloud infrastructure for highly-protected workloads. The deal will enable the Defense Department to consolidate its computing infrastructure by moving to an "as-a-service model," which is expected to lower the department's total cost of ownership.
Cloud News

IBM Joins Docker's Legacy App Modernization Program

Joseph Tsidulko

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Docker added IBM Wednesday to a roster of heavyweight partners participating in an innovative program driving enterprise adoption of containers for upgrading legacy applications.

Big Blue's services division will join Docker's Modernize Traditional Applications (MTA) program, introduced at DockerCon in April, to deliver proof-of-concept implementations using Docker Enterprise Edition for application management and IBM's hybrid cloud infrastructure. Customers can also infuse artificial intelligence through IBM's Watson platform to their newly containerized applications, Docker COO Scott Johnston told CRN.

The two companies, whose collaboration has run deep in recent years, also made public at the DockerCon Europe conference in Copenhagen, Denmark a joint offering: Docker Enterprise Edition on IBM Cloud.

[Related: Docker Delivers Kubernetes On Its Enterprise Platform]

Current MTA partners, including the Microsoft and Accenture alliance Avanade, Cisco, and HPE, are already engaging potential customers through the MTA program, as are a handful of regional implementation partners.

Big Blue is "bringing to the table their own services arm, and IBM cloud as target infrastructure, and IBM Watson as a new service to augment the applications capabilities," Johnston said.

The MTA program was born out of a realization that early Docker adoption was mostly coming from developers of greenfield apps  cloud-native software built from scratch using microservices architectures. But most of the enterprise spend was still pouring into updating legacy applications.

Docker saw an opportunity, Johnston said, in delivering value to those teams by cutting infrastructure costs and improving their agility, portability and security. By using Docker's platform, those enterprises could modernize applications without having to retrain staff, or "blow up source code," he said.

MTA starts with a 30-day engagement. The consultant is typically on site the first five days, working with the customer to modernize a single application.

The process involves containerizing, scanning, digitally signing apps and then putting them under the management of Docker Enterprise Edition on modern infrastructure, he said.

"We've never failed at successfully modernizing these applications in that five-day time frame," Johnston said. And most modernized apps reduce the total cost of ownership by 50 percent, which often prompts organizations to go secure additional funding to support projects for new applications.

"We're seeing customers update and release software up to twice as fast before. Sometimes its 12-year-old software, and we're not touching source code," Johnston said.

MTA gives "revolutionary results with an evolutionary approach," he said, helping organizations incrementally adopt new technology over time.

Now that the program has existed for six months, some high-profile customers have seen first-hand the benefits of container-centric IT.

Among them were MetLife, which modernized a Java application in a single day, then moved on to several other apps across a portfolio of 600 Java applications. The insurer reduced its virtual machine count by 60 percent, core count by 70 percent, and saw an almost 70 percent reduction in its infrastructure costs.

Finnish Railways modernized five technology stacks and achieved overall cost reductions of 50 percent.

Docker has enabled regional systems integrators to deliver MTA, and its VARs to sell an MTA SKU, Johnston said.

Bradley Brodkin, CEO of HighVail, the only Canadian member of Docker's MTA program, told CRN it's the exclusivity of the opportunity that drove his companyone that seeks out technologies in their early-adopter phaseto get involved in the program.

HighVail has seen some of Canada's largest telecoms, insurance companies, and even government agencies express interest in containerizing their applications, and the program is a vehicle to get that process rolling.

"You find an app, roll it over, show them how easy it is to do that, and train the customer to take over," Brodkin said.

The Docker program also spurred another, more unexpected, relationship for HighVail, he said.

"Microsoft is supporting them as part of this journey," he said, and "that opens up a tremendous opportunity for us. We never had a strong relationship with Microsoft, but that's now changing. We see that as a natural progression."

Former .NET users are looking at transformational plans, and "because of the relationship between Docker and Microsoft," they see containerization of legacy apps as a natural path, Brodkin told CRN.
Internet of things News

Arrow Exec: IoT Partnership With Intel Can Make Data The New Gold For Solution Providers

Alec Shirkey

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Arrow Electronics wants to help solution providers make sense of a complex, rapidly evolving Internet of Things landscape through its strategic partnership with Intel.

Wayne Dragon, IoT technical marketing manager at the Centennial, Colo.-based distributor, said Arrow is squarely focused on aggregating vertically driven Intel offerings that can reach the market quickly and create actionable insight that customers can monetize.

"How am I going to get connected in retail, environment, medical, agriculture, transportation?" Dragon asked during the IoTConnex virtual conference, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company. "This is what it comes down to: Our customers are looking for comprehensive solutions enabling businesses to deploy, manage, monitor, analyze and monetize these securely connected devices through an entire life cycle globally."

[Related: Arrow Snags $350M In Channel Business From Competitors, Lands Dell Enterprise Portfolio]

Implementing an IoT practice presents a number of challenges for solution providers, such as managing the various device protocols collected at the edge and then funneled through gateways and into data platforms. These smart devices might send information over Wi-Fi, cellular networks, BLE or LoRa.

Arrow Connect, a cloud-based data ingestion platform, can help partners clear that hurdle by interpreting those disparate data sources, Dragon said. The distributor also offers end-of-life asset disposition that can sanitize smart devices of any data they have collected.

Arrow is an associate member of the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, which gives the distributor access to collaboration opportunities with fellow Alliance members.

"We have that expertise across our customer base," Dragon said. "They might be OEMs or enterprises developing things at the edge that are getting connected. They may be enterprise-level solutions. We have integrated software vendors. We also work closely with many systems integrators and VARs to provide solutions for our customers and their customers to be able to take to market."

Arrow's IoT solutions delivery includes building management systems that can consolidate data collected from various sources such as HVAC, climate monitoring, temperature control and lighting systems.

The distributor also supplies a portable power system, built in collaboration with Dell and V5 Systems, that can power hardware in outdoor environments via solar panels. Dragon said the power system allows for a number of use cases, including security given its ability to power cameras and acoustic gun-shot detection on-site.

"Portable power at the edge to a gateway without the need to dig or trench," Dragon said. "If you can avoid digging, trenching, permitting and all those things that delay, and have a solution that's re-deployable, that gives you a lot of strength."

Arrow also supports a retail offering that helps businesses manage a system of sensors over radio frequency identification  powered over Ethernet  that relay inventory management data back to a central hub.

Dragon noted that Arrow deployed the building management solution at its own Phoenix data center, using smart devices to track how each of the distributor's business units consumed power, how much each required and how much each should be built. That allowed the company to make data-driven decisions that improved its energy efficiency.

"There's so many solutions that are coming," Dragon said. "You're going to see more and more solutions in the market."
Storage News

IBM Reports Storage Revenue Growth In Q3

Joseph F. Kovar

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IBM on Tuesday reported its storage business grew 4 percent year-over-year in contrast to the overall decline in storage sales by the traditional top vendors.

IBM's overall hardware in its third fiscal quarter of 2017, which ended September 30, grew 14 percent year-over-year to $1.3 billion, driven by growth in the company's storage and z Systems mainframes.

That included a 4 percent rise in storage revenue and a 62 percent year-over-year rise in z Systems mainframe sales, thanks to the product line's latest version which focuses on high-performance with encrypted data. The gains were partially offset by an 8 percent drop in Power-based server sales.

[Related: IBM's New z14 Almost Halted Big Blue's Revenue Slump]

IBM no longer offers general-purpose x86-based servers since it sold that business to Lenovo in 2014.

The storage business has seen slower growth recently, with second-quarter calendar year 2017 worldwide storage revenue up 2.9 percent, year-over-year, to $10.8 billion, according to IDC.

The growth in the business has shifted away from the traditional leaders in the business, with NetApp the only traditional vendor to see a significant increase in storage sales. The original design manufacturer, or ODM, part of the market grew by 73.5 percent year-over-year.

NetApp had sales of $695 million, up 16.7 percent over last year. That made NetApp the only branded storage vendor among the top five companies to see growth, according to IDC. IBM had $556 million in storage sales during the quarter, which was down year-over-year by 0.4 percent, which was still much better than the other top-five storage vendors, IDC said.

IBM, however, said on Tuesday that its third fiscal 2017 storage sales represented the third consecutive quarter of storage growth.

Champion Solutions Group, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based solution provider and IBM channel partner, has of late been enjoying strong IBM storage sales growth, said Mike Piltoff, senior vice president for strategic marketing for the partner. IBM has an excellent storage portfolio, particularly with its all-flash storage technology, Piltoff told CRN.

"IBM has a lot of nice flash storage," Piltoff said. "And that business is going mainstream."

IBM's storage business is growing despite IBM's not having an x86-based server business, Piltoff said.

About 75 percent of Champion's storage business goes attached to x86-based servers, while only 25 percent was attached to IBM Power-based servers, he said.

"We've been good at focusing on storage and data management regardless of whose logo is on the servers," he said. "And everything is going VMware anyway, so the server brand is not so important."

Another big advantage IBM has in its storage business, Piltoff said, is Eric Herzog, the company's chief marketing officer and vice president of worldwide storage channels.

"IBM has good leadership in Eric Herzog," he said. "It seems he has been changing the pace, the dissemination of information, the pricing, and the bundles. Eric is big on not selling storage, but on selling solutions. With Eric, it's not about the speeds and feeds. It's, 'Let's sell solutions.'"
How Are Solution Providers Getting Ahead Of The IoT Game?

Three solution providers are sharing their experiences about how they successfully began to deploy Internet of Things projects.

Dimension Data, a Johannesburg, South Africa-based company, has been deploying IoT solutions globally  from connecting bikes to share rider information on the Tour De France to a Connected Conservation project in Africa enabling landowners to prevent rhino poaching.

Ocean Township, N.J.-based Encon Mechanical, meanwhile, has been focusing its IoT efforts in the smart building space, looking to connect facilities so that facility managers and tenants can use that information for productivity and efficiency.

And finally, CB Technologies, an Orange, Calif.-based solution provider, has been transforming its business to keep up with the services-driven sales cycle behind IoT and helping customers gain visibility into and manage their connected devices.

Lawrence Van Deusen of Dimension Data, David Indursky of Encon Mechanical, and Kelly Ireland of CB Technologies talked about the IoT opportunity at IoT Connex Wednesday, a virtual conference hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company.
BRIDGEPORT  The Saint Margaret Shrine, a peaceful outdoor retreat for the Roman Catholic faithful, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary during its Sunday Mass on Oct. 29.

The Mass, which will begin at 11 a.m., will be celebrated by Most Rev. Frank J. Caggiano, bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. This will be followed by a dinner at Oronoque Country Club in Stratford at 1 p.m. There is an Italian Mass at 9:30 a.m.

Opened in 1942, St. Margarets Shrine has individual shrines for St. Margaret, St. Padre Pio, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadelupe, Saint Sebastian and Our Lady of LaVang. Mass and sacraments take place in two small chapels: Saint Anthony Chapel and the All Saints Chapel. Its on Park Avenue, a little north of the Capitol Avenue intersection.

Some of the shrines are more recent; one recalls the children who died in the Sandy Hook massacre. Saint Margarets Shrine was built as a place to pray for peace and to remember the young men who were dying in World War II.

There are about 15 Roman Catholic saints named Margaret and the one that the shrine is named after is Saint Margaret of Antioch according to the Rev. Giandomenico Flora, pastor of the chapels there. Also known as Margaret the Virgin, she is a saint in both the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. She is the patron saint of childbirth.

According to legend, St. Margaret of Antioch lived in the second century. She was said to have been the object of the advances of Olibrius, a Roman prefect, and when she refused him, she was imprisoned and cruelly tortured. At one point she was swallowed by Satan who appeared in her cell in the form of a dragon. She managed to escape the dragon by irritating its throat with her crucifix; shes usually depicted in paintings with a dragon at her feet.

She was then beheaded by the Romans. Her spirit is said to have spoken to Joan of Arc.

jburgeson@ctpost.com
BRIDGEPORT  A Plainfield man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a drug charge imposed as part of an ongoing statewide effort that targets narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users, federal authorities said.

George Kinney, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of heroin and fentanyl, federal authorities with the office of Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly said in a release.
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WESTPORT  A traffic stop led to an hour-long manhunt Saturday morning after the driver of a car dropped a handgun as he fled from officers, police said.

Later on Oct. 14, police identified the suspect as Dahonta J. Robert-Hilliard, 27, of Bridgeport.

He was charged with carrying a firearm without a permit, weapons in a motor vehicle, third-degree burglary, interfering with an officer, criminal possession of a firearm, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, misuse of plates, improper display of marker plate and operating a motor vehicle under suspension, police said.

An officer pulled over a suspicious vehicle on Bridge Street about 11 a.m. on Oct. 14. When the officer asked the driver to exit his vehicle, the man fled on foot. Police said the man tossed away a firearm as he ran.

After securing the firearm, Westport police established a perimeter around the area, cordoning off Compo Road South from Bridge Street to Ivanhoe Road and alerting nearby residents to remain indoors due to a possibly-armed suspect roaming the area.

Additional units from the Norwalk Police Department and K-9 units from Fairfield were brought to the scene to help police track down the suspect.

Around noon, police located the man hiding in a shed at the rear of a Keyser Road residence.

While apprehending the subject, police said that the suspect sustained wounds from the K-9 unit. He was transported to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries, police said.

Robert-Hilliard was initially held on a $250,000 bond, but that bond was doubled at his arraignment on Oct. 16 when police discovered the origin of the firearm.

After a thorough investigation, police found that Robert-Hilliard had taken the firearm during a residential burglary in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2016. Police said that in addition to the bond, there is a federal detainer for Robert-Hilliard. Additional charges are expected to be brought against him, police said.

Robert-Hilliard is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 15. Police said he remains in custody at this time.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2570; Twitter: @Tomlinson_PE

Staff reporter Tara ONeill contributed reporting.
Dear Doctor: I'm familiar with hepatitis C's connection to death, but hepatitis A? I had no idea that could be lethal, and now I'm reading about a number of deaths in San Diego. I thought anyone could get hepatitis A.

Dear Reader: You're right, anyone can get hepatitis A. That's what makes the current outbreak alarming, but only if you don't know how, or are unable, to protect yourself. First, some background: Hepatitis A occurs in about 1.4 million people worldwide each year; in the United States, only about 1,200 to 2,500 people are infected per year, primarily in sporadic outbreaks.

The virus is released in the stool of infected people, and from there it can move to their hands. It's resistant to detergents, high temperature and solvents. Frequent handwashing can reduce the risk of transmission, but some of the virus can linger. A significant factor in hepatitis A transmission is that a person can transfer the virus to others even before he or she shows symptoms. In areas of poor sanitation, hepatitis A can easily be transferred among the population. This is why the disease is so prevalent in developing countries. Hepatitis A also can be transferred via contaminated foods, like shellfish, that have come in contact with the virus.

San Diego's hepatitis A outbreak is blamed on poor sanitary conditions, with related contamination of food sources. This has led to more than 400 cases since November 2016; 16 have been fatal. Many of these cases have occurred in the homeless population, which lacks proper sanitation facilities, leading the city to clean many of the streets with bleach and to provide portable handwashing stations in areas frequented by the homeless.

Once ingested, the hepatitis A virus moves into the bloodstream and then into the liver. There, it replicates in the liver, causing the immune system to attack the infected cells. This, in turn, leads to massive liver inflammation. Shortly after infection, patients experience nausea, fever, fatigue, poor appetite and stomach pain. A few days later, 40 to 70 percent of patients will have a yellowish discoloration of the skin and severe itching. For the majority, this is as bad as it gets, and symptoms improve after two weeks. In fact, 85 percent of patients will have full recovery within two to three months, and nearly 100 percent have full recovery at six months.

In contrast, hepatitis C and sometimes hepatitis B cause a chronic low-grade infection that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. For people who already have chronic hepatitis C or B, hepatitis A can more readily lead to liver failure and death. Also, people over the age of 50 have greater difficulty recovering from hepatitis A, leading to dehydration, other infections and death.

In short, good public sanitation, handwashing and vaccination for hepatitis A can prevent infection. Children now routinely get vaccinated for hepatitis A, which has decreased the incidence of hepatitis A not only in children, but also in the general population. People with chronic hepatitis B or C should also be vaccinated against hepatitis A to reduce their risk of death should they become infected, as should homosexual men and IV drug users.

So, while hepatitis A is rare in the United States, incidents such as the one in San Diego highlight the need to be vigilant against the disease.
Chris McGinnis

A passenger on a Los Angeles to Newark United flight is suing United Airlines, claiming that a heavily intoxicated passenger urinated on his leg while sitting next to him, according to Fox News.

The passenger, Daniel Card, was on United flight 1871, traveling back to New Jersey from LAX. According to Fox, as the five-hour flight prepared for take off to EWR, Card alleges that the inebriated passenger next to him on row 24 "took out his penis and aimed it at Card and proceeded to urinate all over Card's leg while he was confined to his seat due to an imminent departure of the flight." Apparently, the passenger then passed out in his seat.
A drain tile system intended to bring flood relief to homeowners' basements in the Hay Creek Pines subdivision, located 6 miles northeast of Bismarck, has downstream landowners protesting the diversion of possibly contaminated groundwater to their property.

Alton Nitschke, and his wife, Arlene, who are concerned about the quality and quantity of water that will be discharged onto their land, are appealing a permit that the Burleigh County Water Resource District granted to itself for a drainage project meant to remove excessive groundwater from the subdivision.

The Nitschkes, who own about 40 acres of land and have lived south of Hay Creek Pines for 24 years, say the groundwater has been polluted by coliform and other contaminants. The presence of coliform bacteria is an indicator of water contamination by feces and sewage, according to the National Ground Water Association.

Youre going to ruin our land, but nobody cares," Arlene Nitschke said, in tears, at last weeks BCWRD meeting.

We know there are some toxic bacteria in this water. You can tell just by looking at it  it doesnt look right. At this point, I dont think its something that should be put above ground," said Alton Nitschke, who expressed concern his land will turn to alkali due to the contaminated groundwater.

Alkali soils have high levels of salt, injuring plants by disrupting the uptake of water into the roots and interfering with the uptake of competitive nutrients, according to the North Dakota State University Extension Service. Also, high levels of sodium restrict the soil's capacity to hold water. Ultimately, the soil turns white.

"We have some of the best soil in Burleigh County, Im told, and this would destroy that," Alton Nitschke said.

The BCWRD tested water samples from four wells and one sump pump, but the Nitschkes allege the tests did not include all essential attributes. The five basic items to be tested, per the United States Department of Agriculture, are nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, E. coli and coliform. The latter two of which were not tested by the county.

The sampling was done by Braun Intertec in conjunction with Houston Engineering, with testing done by Pace Analytical Laboratories in Billings, Mont.

One of the tested wells had a sulfate reading of 5,680. A safe level for consumption by livestock is from 500 to 1,000, according to the NDSU Extension Service.

The Nitschkes no longer own livestock, but say they're concerned that groundwater that could kill sheep, cows and horses will be discharged onto their land. For irrigation and outside watering purposes, the couple uses water from a well. They pay for rural water for personal consumption.

"Based on the projected quantity of discharges, the sulfate levels are not a concern," said Michael Gunsch, project manager of Houston Engineering. "There are flows on Hay Creek in other locations, without such projects, that have elevated sulfate levels. Sulfates are naturally occurring in the soils."

In addition, three of the five samples registered at a total dissolved solids level of 9,000 or more. A level of 3,000 is considered "satisfactory" for most livestock, according to the NDSU Extension Service.

Using one of the same test wells, the Nitschkes tested for coliform and E. coli in the groundwater, sending their sample to Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories Inc. Results show coliform was present, though E. coli was not found.

"As for coliform and E. coli, they exist naturally within the creek," Gunsch said.

The Nitschkes allege that the BCWRD refused to test murky groundwater collected from one of the test wells.

They did not test anything that was going to be bad rapport for them, Arlene Nitschke said.

Another concern for the Nitschkes is the quantity of water that will be "dumped" on their property.

"Its going to be ponding in two locations on our land, year round," Alton Nitschke said. "We have a huge number of trees we are concerned about if this causes water tables to rise near our house."

The Hay Creek Pines Groundwater Removal Project is intended to lower groundwater levels in the subdivision by providing an avenue for the water to more readily leave.

The project's aim is to improve the stability of the road bed in and around Hay Creek Pines, reduce sump pump operations in homes, protect structures and reduce the drowning of trees.

"When the subdivision was being developed, the developer told homeowners, 'Don't put in a basement,'" Arlene Nitschke said. "They did anyway, and now they're out there watering their lawns and wondering why there's water in their basements."

As far as the project status is concerned, BCWRD is proceeding to acquire the necessary easements at this time. The project was approved May 2, with 97 percent of the Hay Creek Pines voters favoring it. An assessment district has been established and $555,100 worth of specials will be spread out evenly among the 35 landowners.

We have looked long and hard at what the Century Code says about drain tile permitting  what we can and cant do. We are very limited, said BCWRD Board Chairman Greg Larson. They made it very clear that, if there is someone downstream who is being harmed by this project, their only recourse is the courts and thats the way the Century Code is written.

Our hands are tied, he said. Im very sorry this has happened the way it has.

The Nitschkes said they are unsure, at this point, whether or not they will take legal action.
Four North Dakota tribes will each receive $70,000 in funding to curb opioid abuse, state officials announced Wednesday.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services received community grant applications from Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.

These tribes will receive funding to increase access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, increase access to medication-assisted treatment, peer support and other recovery services. The grant will run from Nov. 1 to April 15.

All states were awarded a $2 million federal grant in April to support localized approaches to opioid addiction treatment, recovery and prevention. In August, DHS awarded grants to Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot and Valley City.

Gov. Doug Burgum also announced Wednesday additional measures in place to combat the opioid epidemic in the state. He signed an executive order on Sept. 26, which outlines several state agency initiatives:

 North Dakota Highway Patrol is requiring training for all new law enforcement officers on how to administer naloxone.

 The North Dakota Department of Health is developing video training to medical professionals on how to administer naloxone.

 DHS is providing naloxone and training to licensed addiction counselors, as well as Highway Patrol.

 DHS is awarding $200,000 to the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to put a program in place to increase access to naloxone and medication-assisted treatment for inmates with an opioid use disorders.

"Opioid addiction and overdoses are having a devastating impact on North Dakota families, businesses and communities, and we need to utilize every tool available across state government to reverse this deeply disturbing trend, Burgum said in a news release. "These agency actions are a significant step toward finding solutions across the full continuum of care: prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery."

For more information on resources available to address opioid abuse and overdose, visit www. behavioralhealth.dhs.nd.gov/addiction/opioid. To learn more about the state's response to the opioid epidemic and resources, visit www.recoveryreinvented.com.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday faced tough questions from his former colleagues on the Senate judiciary committee -- forcing him to once again repeatedly deny any improper contacts with the Russian government during the presidential campaign.

"My concern is you were part of the Russian facade and went along with it," Vermont Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy said after a second round of tense questioning as the hearing stretched into the afternoon. "I'm sorry, I've known you for years, and I'm sorry you would do that. "

Sessions denied the allegation and expressed dismay that his former committee chairman would make it.

"It did hurt me to hear you say I'm part of a facade, I'm not part of a facade," Sessions said.

During the lengthy hearing that touched on topics including Russian election meddling, immigration and criminal justice reform, Sessions also debated executive privilege with committee Democrats.

Sessions refused to discuss his "confidential conversations with the President," rejecting Democrats' questions about his interactions with President Donald Trump despite their pre-hearing warnings they expected him to answer, saying they were misunderstanding executive privilege.

"I can neither assert executive privilege neither can I disclose today the contents of my confidential conversations with the President," Sessions said. "It is well established that the President is entitled to have private, confidential conversations with his Cabinet officials ... such communications are the core of executive privilege."

Chairman Chuck Grassley backed up Sessions after several rounds of such questions, saying former Attorney General Eric Holder had made similar claims during the Obama administration.

Over the hours of his testimony, Sessions defended his integrity amid sharp questioning from Democrats -- in particular Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota -- who grilled Sessions over previous comments he made during his confirmation process where he said he had not had been in contact with anyone connected to the Russian government during the presidential campaign, a topic of keen interest amid the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the US election.

It was later revealed that Sessions met with then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak on multiple occasions.

"I've committed myself to a high level of public service, to reach the highest level of standards and decency in my public service," Sessions told Franken. "You have now gone through this long talk that I believe is totally unfair to me."

Sessions' comments on executive privilege were a disappointment to the panel's Democrats, who had written him an earlier letter that they expected him to testify about conversations he had with the President about the firing about former FBI Director James Comey.

Sessions told the committee: "I cannot waive that privilege myself or otherwise compromise his ability to assert it."

Sessions also grew visibly uncomfortable when Leahy asked him about his interactions with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Leahy pressed Sessions on whether he had been interviewed by Mueller, not allowing Sessions to demur to ask the special counsel about it first.

"The answer's no," Sessions finally said.

In an awkward follow-up exchange later with Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat pressed Sessions on whether he or his office had been asked for an interview, with Sessions smiling wanly as he avoided giving a firm answer.

"I don't think so," Sessions said, adding he was "not aware of it."

Incredulous, Blumenthal asked Sessions if he was sure. Sessions said he would follow up "within hours."

"I don't know," Sessions said. "You seem to know, I don't want to come in here and be trapped. .. I will check and let you know."

Later in the questioning, Sessions added: "My staff handed me a note that I have not been asked for an interview at this point. ... Maybe you better check your source."

Wednesday's hearing is the Judiciary committee's first turn to ask questions of Sessions since his confirmation hearing, a sore subject for committee Democrats who have pushed for a chance to question the attorney general on a range of issues, including the Russia investigation and the extent of his prior contacts with Russian officials that led to his recusal from the investigation.

Executive privilege and pardon power

Democrats had warned Sessions they would ask him about conversations he's had with President Donald Trump, a topic Sessions dodged when testifying in June before the intelligence committee citing concerns about executive privilege.

The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein reiterated that message in her opening statements at the hearing, which covered voting rights, civil rights, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the Comey's firing.

"It's important, I believe to understand what role you had in this process, including conversations you had with the President and others in the White House," Feinstein said, saying Democrats already alerted Sessions they "expected answers or the assertion of a valid claim of executive privilege by the President."

The topic was also the subject of a tense exchange with Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who read aloud from policies and rules about executive privilege and pressed Sessions on whether he was stretching the limits of what the White House is entitled to.

"This period of abeyance has turned into a non-assertion assertion of executive privilege," Whitehouse said.

"The executive branch is a co-equal branch and you would not want someone demanding to know who you talked to in your office, your counsel, your chief of staff. Neither would we want to be prowling willy-nilly through the Supreme Court and what their clerks knew or were told," Sessions said. "This is not a little matter, is all I'm saying to you. And if this isn't legitimate and you make the specific cases, we'll review it, but it shouldn't be done casually, I got to say."

The presidential pardon power also came up in relation to the Russia investigation. Sessions was asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, about whether the President could pre-emptively pardon a person under investigation.

"Well the pardon power is quite broad," Sessions said, saying he'd prefer to answer in writing. "I have not studied it. I don't know whether that would be appropriate or not, frankly."

He later told Blumenthal: "My understanding is a pardon can be issued before a conviction's occurred."

Russia comes up again

Sessions' meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign came up quickly during the hearing, and was the subject of multiple testy exchanges with his former colleagues on the committee.

Leahy asked Sessions about his response to a question on his confirmation questionnaire. Leahy referred to the questionnaire, which asked if Sessions had been in contact with anyone connected to the Russian government.

"You answered emphatically, no," Leahy said, noting that after Sessions' confirmation it was revealed by the press that Sessions had met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on multiple occasions. "You answered no, you concealed your own contact with Russian officials at a time when such contacts were of great interest to the committee."

Leahy said that as a senator, Sessions "wouldn't tolerate being misled" and asked him if he could "understand" the impression of Democrats that his answer was "false testimony."

"I believe my answer was correct," Sessions said, pulling out the questionnaire and reading from the lead-up to the question, which referenced interference in the 2016 campaign.

"I took that to mean, not any casual conversation, but did I participate with the Russians about the 2016 election," Sessions said. "Every one of your previous questions talked about improper involvement and I felt the answer was no."

Leahy and Sessions went back and forth for several minutes, with Leahy noting that both men were lawyers and know the difference between "no" and "I don't recall." He asked Sessions anew whether he had discussed with Russian officials emails, interference in the election, sanctions and the Magnitsky Act, and Trump's policies with Russian officials.

Sessions and Leahy went through each, with Sessions giving answers from "I don't recall having done any such thing" to a flat "no."

Heated exchange with Franken

Franken picked up on the exchange, and pressed Sessions on his answers to the Democrat's own questions during the confirmation hearing. In a back and forth that included repeated asides about time remaining and pleas to the chairman for fairness, Sessions took umbrage at Franken's implication that he had acted improperly.

Franken read extensively from Sessions' public statements, saying repeatedly "the goalposts have been moved."

"Not being able to recall what you discussed with him is very different than saying, 'I have not had communications with the Russians,'" Franken said. "The ambassador from Russia is Russian. And how your responses morphed from, 'I did not have communications with the Russians' to 'I did not discuss substantive, I did not discuss the political campaign' and then finally going to, 'I did not discuss interference in the election.'That, to me, is moving the goal posts every time. ... By the end, we're going to a 75-yard field goal."

"Let me just say, without hesitation, that I conducted no improper discussions with Russians at any time regarding a campaign or any other item facing this country," Sessions tried to begin his answer, before an aside about time.

"Mr. Chairman, I don't have to sit here and listen --" Sessions said.

"You're the one who's testifying," Franken shot back.

"Without having a chance to respond, give me a break," Sessions said.

Sessions also read at length from the transcript of his confirmation hearing and Franken's original question, which referred to a CNN report about the Trump dossier that he said at the time he did not expect Sessions would have yet seen.

"I'm disappointed," Sessions said. "I think it was a good faith response to a dramatic event at the time. And I don't think it's fair for you to suggest otherwise."

When it became Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse's turn to ask questions, he cut the tension with humor and apologized for a distraction during the previous exchange.

"I dumped a Dr. Pepper on Sen. Cruz, so that was what was distracting us on this side of the dais," Sasse cracked.

Going into a break from the hearing, Grassley referenced private information that he and Feinstein were given by then-Director Comey that he wished the committee could be briefed on, saying he believes it would have helped assuage Franken's concerns. He said they had asked the FBI to give the full committee a briefing on it but were denied.

"The FBI did not do that and now we have conflicts I think could have been avoided if the FBI would have been more transparent," Grassley said.

Travel ban

The oversight hearing comes after a tumultuous summer for Sessions, during which he was publicly derided by the President over his recusal from the Russian meddling investigation, served as the face of the administration's decision to rescind DACA and as his department suffered setbacks in the courts in trying to implement key pieces of the President's agenda, a fresh one coming Tuesday when a federal court blocked the third travel ban from going into effect and a second judge followed suit in part on Wednesday.

Sessions defended the travel ban in his opening statements on Wednesday, saying it was an "important step" for national security.

"It is a lawful and necessary order that we are proud to defend," Sessions said. "We're confident that we will prevail as time goes by in the Supreme Court."

This story has been updated with additional developments and will continue to update.

CNN's Kara Scannell, Jessica Schneider and David Shortell contributed to this report
President Donald Trump, though often acting as a champion of the military, has at times politicized the sacrifice of those who paid a terrible price in the nation's wars in a way that few of his predecessors would have countenanced.

He clearly reveres America's fighting men and women. He often boasts about their prowess, has surrounded himself with hard charging generals and has vowed to reinvent veterans' health care. But he's also been happy to use the military for his own political ends when it suits him.

The latest episode -- in which Trump falsely claimed Barack Obama didn't call the families of dead soldiers -- is revealing because it shows how Trump lashes out whenever he believes his conduct or character is under attack. It's another case of him citing information that is either incorrect of unverified when he is on the defensive, a trait that often leads him into deeper political trouble.

And it was yet more evidence of his craving to be seen as more admirable and respected than his predecessors.

Yet both Presidents George W. Bush and Obama spent extended time with wounded soldiers and relatives of those killed, often without publicizing their visits. Obama made calls and wrote letters to families of the fallen, former senior administration officials said. Bush also wrote letters expressing condolences.

After initially attacking Obama's record on paying homage to the fallen at a news conference on Monday, Trump tried to walk it back, admitting in a later answer that he did not actually know what Obama had done.

"I don't know what Bush did. I don't know what Obama did ... I believe his policy was somewhat different than my policy," Trump said on Monday. "I can tell you, my policy is I have called every one of them."

At the time he spoke, Trump had not yet sent out letters of condolence nor called relatives of four US soldiers killed in an ISIS ambush in Niger on October 4. The letters went out Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, and by late Tuesday, Trump had spoken to all four families.

Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat, said late Tuesday that Trump told the widow of a US serviceman killed in the ambush in Niger that "he knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens it hurts."

Wilson said she listened to part of the call on speakerphone while riding with the serviceman's widow in a car.

"The President's conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private," a White House official told CNN when asked to confirm the remark.

'Toughest' duty

Putting aside the fact that many more soldiers died on the watches of Bush and Obama, with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars raging at a much higher intensity than they have done so far in Trump's presidency, his comments showed a willingness to politicize an issue that both his predecessors considered sacred.

Trump isn't really helping himself, since by raising the actions of those who came before him he distracted attention from his own attempt to express the overbearing responsibility every president feels when confronted with the cost of sending troops to war. He confessed Monday that his "toughest" duty is calling relatives of the fallen.

Trump positioned himself as a spokesman for veterans throughout his campaign, praising their service, pledging to overhaul the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs and even holding a fundraiser for veterans when he decided to skip a Republican primary debate.

Early in his presidential tenure, he also won plaudits for his tasteful remembrance of Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, a Navy SEAL killed in a controversial Yemen raid, during his address to a joint session of Congress. Carryn, Owens' widow, garnered 2 minutes and 11 seconds of thunderous, sustained applause when Trump acknowledged her.

But the President dug himself in deeper on Tuesday in a Fox News Radio interview, dragging up the death in Afghanistan of the son of his chief of staff John Kelly, apparently as a tool to deflect political blame.

"I don't know, you could ask Gen. Kelly, did he get a call from Obama? I don't know what Obama's policy was," Trump said.

Kelly, a four-star general when his son was killed in 2010, has rarely referred to his loss in public. Since he declined interview requests, it is not known how he feels about his boss raising his personal agony in the heat of a political fight.

But the comments baffled John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I don't know what to think about that. I think that our first objective has to be to honor the service and sacrifice of these young people who have given their lives," the Arizona senator told CNN.

Not the first time

It's not the first time Trump has trampled sensitivities about war dead to make a political point. During the election campaign, Trump refused to take the high road when the parents of a fallen Muslim soldier, Captain Humayun Khan, criticized him from the stage of the Democratic National Convention. Even before that, the President had trashed taboos, saying at the start of his campaign that McCain, who was tortured in Vietnam, was not a war hero because he was captured.

Captain Khan's parents, Khizr and Ghazala, issued a statement Tuesday accusing Trump of a "lack of empathy" and of "selfish and divisive" conduct that undermined the dignity of the presidency.

The President's assault on Obama's conduct on Monday dismayed some former senior military officers.

"POTUS 43 & 44 and first ladies cared deeply, worked tirelessly for the serving, the fallen, and their families. Not politics. Sacred Trust," Martin Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote on Twitter.

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, now a CNN military analyst, said Trump's conduct was not a "good look" for a commander in chief.

"I would put it in the shameful category," Hertling said, adding that many of his peers, both retired and still on active duty felt the same way.

Another CNN military analyst, retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, said the controversy was a distraction from the key issue of the Niger ambush, saying Trump "owes it to these families to not only contact him but to tell them what happened."

Pattern of controversy

Trump's defenders will argue that critics are once again seizing on a chance to attack him. The President's political career meanwhile has repeatedly shown that remarks that Washington reporters and political elites view as offensive or often not perceived that way by his supporters.

But it's also true that the President has shown a consistent pattern of controversial or off key remarks about the military.

This is the case even though he insists that his main motivation in condemning athletes who take a knee during the National Anthem are dishonoring the sacrifice of America's fallen service personnel.

In August 2016, a veteran presented the then-Republican nominee his Purple Heart medal. Trump said that he had always wanted one and said getting in this way was "much easier" than serving in combat.

Trump was eligible for the draft during the Vietnam War and never enlisted. He obtained multiple student deferments and ultimately received a deferment for a bone spur to avoid being called up.

In a 1998 interview with radio shock jock Howard Stern, both men compared the danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases to serving in Vietnam.

"It's very, very dangerous out there," Trump said.

"Yes it is, it's your Vietnam," Stern added.

"It's Vietnam," Trump said.

On the campaign trail, Trump did not shy away from using the military as a prop for attacks on his rivals.

In August, 2016, Trump said US generals had been "reduced to rubble" by the leadership of Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

And in November 2015, Trump declared "I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me."

Such comments, and his continued propensity for drawing the military into his political spats are only fueling complaints by Trump's rivals that he has not fully understood the grave responsibilities of serving as commander in chief.

CNN's Kristin Wilson contributed to this story
They are the hidden victims of the wildfires sweeping Northern California: dogs, cats, horses and other pets whose owners were unable to take them with them as they fled the devastating fires on a moment's notice.

'You see the photographs and the images on TV but until you're actually on the ground you cannot imagine. Whole neighborhoods are gone. People had to evacuate so quickly that many pets got left behind,' explains John Skeel, Director of Sonoma County Animal Services.

John's shelter is working around the clock to feed and give medical care to injured pets. They're heading back into burning areas closed off to residents, who are desperate to help their beloved dogs and cats.

'I've been literally [getting] hundreds of calls every day since this started. People have been dropping off their keys to their houses, to their apartments, and what we do is what we call welfare checks,' he says. 'We visit the houses, the apartments, we leave the food, we leave the water.'

He's doing it all while sleeping on a cot in the shelter. His house was also lost in the fires and he's not alone. 'One of my own staff lost their house as well, but they came in the very next day. It's just been really unbelievable.'

They've reunited 50 animals with their families and he anticipates they will have more reunions soon. He credits the community in Northern California for dropping off 'huge supplies' of pet food so they can keep going. 'It's been incredibly gratifying, this is a very, very giving community,' he said. 'As quickly as we're getting it in, we're actually getting it out and distributing it to the areas that need it most.'

For those interested in helping, contact theanimalshelter.org.
If Geordie Shore had a love child with Sister Act, you'd get Channel 5's compelling new series Bad Habits, Holy Orders.

Following a trend of Channel 5 shows that continue to draw fascinated audiences by the bucket-load, the network has stretched boundaries further by sending a squad of millennial females to a nunnery to 'find themselves'.

And the results of this social experiment are surprising. Pleasantly so, in fact.

From Selfies to Selfless: Five party girls find themselves in a Convent in Channel 5s new series

While viewers tuning in may presume they'll be watching five gobby girls disrespecting a bunch of Sister Superiors, that's not actually the case.

Our heroines come in the form of Paige, Tyla, Gabbi, Sarah Chelsea and Rebecca, who totter up to the convent that will be their home for the next month dressed to the nines, hemlines and heels high.

Each one has been told they're off to enjoy some spirituality in an undisclosed location and are picturing a yoga retreat in The Maldives, opting for chunky suitcases bulging with thongs, glitter and disco-wear.

Making an entrance: Our heroines come in the form of Paige [pictured], Tyla, Gabbi, Sarah Chelsea and Rebecca, who totter up to the convent that will be their home for the next month dressed to the nines, hemlines and heels high

Open arms: Onlookers might grit their teeth and prepare to cringe as the Mother Superior Sister Thomas More opens the door to each fake-bake-loving, vodka-necking lass. Yet she - and the other nuns - are raring to go

When faced with a statuesque stone Jesus, arms warmly outstretched, in the forecourt of the East Anglia-based nunnery, each girl is hit with the stark realisation that they won't be changing into their Harem pants anytime soon.

Inside, a bevvy of self-professed 'Brides of Christ' who count 'toothpaste and shoe polish' as some of their only everyday essentials, await them.

Onlookers might grit their teeth and prepare to cringe as the Mother Superior Sister Thomas More opens the door to each fake-bake-loving, vodka-necking lass. Yet she and the other nuns are raring to go.

This is the first time the Daughters of Divine Charity have opened their doors to a TV crew and the nuns were all too willing to get stuck in.

There are hugs and kisses on arrival and by the time the young ladies have arrived and got over the shock, everyone settles in rather nicely.

This could be something to do with the fact that this is the first time the Daughters of Divine Charity have opened their doors to a TV crew. Presumably then, the nuns were all too willing to get stuck in.

Granted unprecedented access, Bad Habits, Holy Orders took nearly a year of negotiations with the Catholic Churchs National Office for Vocation before it was given the go-ahead.

Channel 5 was granted sign off from the headquarters of the Daughters of Divine Charity, making this series all the more groundbreaking.

Breaking new ground: Granted unprecedented access, Bad Habits, Holy orders took nearly a year of negotiations with the Catholic Churchs National Office for Vocation to get off the ground

The girls are mildly horrified to have their phones confiscated and when shown their one-bathroom-fits-all living quarters.

But touchingly, they are willing to live the life of a resident of the Daughters of Divine Charity convent in Swaffham, and before long are rummaging through their crammed suitcases to extract the most conservative black and white items they can find.

Geordie Rebecca is the first to declare she's "given up already", yet a camaraderie seems to spawn - not just between the off-the-rails girls, but also between them and the nuns.

Despite Rebecca, a self-confessed bed wetter, and Tyla, who spends 40k-a-year-on-clothes, being totally out of their comfort zones, they accept the 1 per cent wine they are offered by the nuns on Valentine's Day [to fill the void a vow of celibacy has left] and happily turn up on time to morning prayer at 7AM.

Shock to the system: The girls are mildly horrified to have their phones confiscated and when shown their one-bathroom-fits-all living quarters

Making an effort: The girls are willing to live the life of a resident of the Sisters of Divine Charity convent in Swaffham and before long are rummaging through their crammed suitcases to extract the most conservative black and white items they can find

There are a few slip-ups in the form of a venomous argument that erupts on the turrets of a church as well as the girls' night off at the pub, where they promise not to 'get mortal' yet immediately fall spectacularly off the wagon.

But when the fivesome are packed off to volunteer with the homeless and the elderly, they actually embrace it.

Soon enough the likes of Gabbi and Rebecca are lamenting the damage their wild-child-ways have had on their relationships with their brothers and fathers and find themselves learning important life lessons.

Soon enough the likes of Gabbi and Rebecca are lamenting the damage their wild-child-ways have had on their relationships with their brothers and fathers and find themselves learning important life lessons.

As it happens, only 17 per cent of millennials would describe themselves as moral and the series purpose is to explore the selfie-obsessed generation in an environment where they must swap hedonism for humility.

By inviting the girls to question their priorities and ask what really matters in life, this Channel 5 series provides depth and warmth and really is a humbling exercise.
The past few seasons have seen Zara conquer social media, with cult pieces from the store even inspiring their own dedicated Instagram accounts set up by loyal shoppers.

And it seems that the high street giant has done it again, as fashion fans scramble to get their hands on a pair of biker boots from the store's latest line.

The 89.99 biker boots feature studded detailing on the heel, laces, and distinctive, pearl-embellished straps that soften their tough effect.

Zara has sent shoppers into a frenzy with a pair of 89.99 biker boots that have proved a hit among fashion bloggers

And ever since hitting the shop floor the boots have been cropping up all over Instagram, with wearers captioning their posts with the hashtag #ZaraBoots.

With Zara being a global brand the shoes are being stocked in several stores abroad as well as in the UK, and they've popped up on Instagram posts from shoppers in Poland, Holland and France.

Despite their huge popularity the boots are still available to buy online on the Zara website.

The boots feature studded detailing on the heel, laces, and straps with pearly detailing

Since going on sale the fashionable footwear has been cropping up all over Instagram with wearers captioning their posts with the hashtag #ZaraBoots

This is not the first time that Zara has conquered Instagram, with a particular jacket from the Spanish brand receiving cult status.

Indeed Zara's patterned coat, released last year, became so popular it spawned its own Instagram account with thousands of devoted followers.

The 69.99 number worn by women young and old took on something of a cult status and made a return in 2017.

With Zara being a global brand the shoes are being stocked in several stores abroad as well as in the UK with Instagram posts coming from shoppers in Poland, Holland and France

Despite the enormous popularity the boots are still in sock in every size on Zara's UK site

Wearers have found various ways to accessorise the must have boots proving popular among fashion bloggers

The Instagram page That Coat comes with the description: '#thatcoat @zara You know you've seen it please send your pics.'

It was set up by London sisters Emily Bray and Alice Frances, who first noticed the humble high street piece at the Chelsea Flower Show.

They then started spotting it everywhere, calling it an 'epidemic' with members of the so-called #CoatSquad submitting their pictures almost daily.

The page features women wearing it at bus stops, while doing their shopping or grabbing a drink at a bar - using the hashtag #thatcoat.
An Instagram star has revealed the truth behind editing apps used on the social media site - describing it as 'genuinely horrifying'.

Becca Gillen, from Dublin, shared side-by-side photographs of herself - one which she'd edited and one which she hadn't.

The personal trainer, who posts under @beccagillen, explained how she'd doctored the picture on the right to make herself taller and slimmer, as well as making her eyes bigger and getting rid of her 'eye bags, spots, [and] cellulite'.

She added that she could have 'easily gotten away' with the edited picture if she hadn't posted the original - and said she 'can't imagine how younger people feel comparing themselves each day to people on social media.'

Becca Gillen, from Dublin, shared one picture on Instagram that she'd edited (right) and one that she hadn't edited (left)

In a post entitled 'The Pressure of Social Media, Society and "fitting in"', Becca explained: 'The left photo is me, no filter or edits. I never edit any of my photos apart from brightening the photo and usually use the Valencia filter. I never make any adjustments to my actual body.

'On the right, after using the app this morning I have made myself taller, slimmer, curvier, bigger eyes, slimmer neck and face, widened my shoulders, gotten rid of eye bags, spots, cellulite and made myself that waist I've always been looking for. .'

She added: 'Some of the tools on this app are honestly disturbing. There is a double eyelid remover and you can change your race.

'I only made minor adjustments here but if I didn't put up the original photo, I could've easily gotten away with the right photo being the real me if I wanted to.'

The personal trainer explained how she'd digitally altered one of the pictures to make herself look taller and slimmer, while getting rid of her 'eye bags' and 'cellulite'

Explaining her decision to share the post, Becca told FEMAIL: 'I feel the pressure of social media on young people in particular can have serious effects on body image and self confidence.

'I wanted to show how photos can be edited so that they can see that perhaps a lot of the accounts they are following can give a warped view of what's real.

'I always promote positive body image, and I wanted to show that there are a lot of edited photos on the internet that they may be looking to achieve - that 'perfect' face or body - when really it's just an edited photo.'

Other Instagram users were quick to praise Becca for her honest post, which has been liked more than 1,500 times.

One wrote: 'Great Post, these apps are destroying reality and I really feel for kids and teens growing up, we live in such a fake world.

Becca has previously shared pictures of herself showing how different angles can dramatically change how your body looks

'Keep fighting to keep it real. You look so fit, fierce, lean and strong!!! Girl Power'.

Another commented: '[T]hat is insane never even knew you could do this! Fair play highlighting this to the young ones.'

And one Instagram user added: 'Transparency is so important!'

Becca has previously highlighted how different angles can dramatically change how your body looks in photographs.

Sharing two different snaps of her bottom side-by-side, she wrote: 'I can make myself look like I DO or I DON'T have an a**

'Don't be fooled by the perfect a**es spreaded (sic) all over Instagram, some are real, some are fake, some are photoshopped, some are just working an angle like this.'
Attending a high-pressure college such as Massachusetts Institute for Technology is not without its difficult days - but thanks to one helpful student, her fellow attendees now have somewhere to hide away when they feel like things have become a bit too tough to bear.

The MIT student, known only as Nisha D., created a brilliant guide to the best spots on campus for a quick crying session, offering her peers her plethora of places where they can shed a few tears when times are tough and they are in need of an emotional release.

'There are some mornings when its difficult to force yourself out of bed, and there are some nights when you probably just want to cry, which is fine,' she writes, noting that this time of year - midterm season - is particularly tricky.

'Crying is healthy from time to time and nobody will judge you for it,' she continues. 'So if you ever find yourself in need of a cry but dont know a good place for it, Ive got you covered.'

Hit the books! Massachusetts Institute of Technology is known as one of the most prestigious universities in the nation, but with such a high bar set, the pressure often gets to its students

Birds eye view! The campus may be small, but when tearful, it can feel impossible to get away. One cheeky student Nisha D. created a blog post of the best places to cry in peace on campus

Map it out! Another alumnus had a similar idea and created this map of spots to cry on campus

Nisha went on to share that when midterms and backwards sleep schedules become too much, she tends to suffer what she calls 'This is fine syndrome', a case where she tells herself everything is swell when in reality the pressures of college life become overwhelming.

In such cases she reveals she looks for a good place to cry, and she's found just that in some strategically hidden yet public places.

With the help of the data from former student Casie Chen, who graduated last year, she pooled the responses of 176 students' crying experiences to create a list of the most popular locations for students to relieve their heavy hearts and tear ducts.

And it turns out she wasn't the only one to have the idea; working alongside her peer Casie, Nisha was able to compile a survey with nearly 200 responses, all of which she used while compiling her map, proving that crying (and in these spots) is more popular than one would think.

The most popular place on campus to cry was the Margaret Cheney Room, a space in MIT's women's center. The room, meant to provide a safe place against gender-based oppression, is like a place where female students cuddle on the couch after a miserable midterm or to bond over the stresses of class.

All about the ladies! The most popular room in Nisha's research proved to be the Margaret Cheney room, a safe place for tears located in the campus women's center

Yikes! A popular place for tears proved to be MIT's medical building (above), likely the location of plenty of medical and emotional emergencies, as well as some sloppy nights

Sobs on! Another prime tearful location included the Ray and Maria Stata Center, which includes a giant amphitheater where students reveal they like to cry alone

The second hot spot is the MIT Medical building, no doubt a place for tears after medical emergencies, crazy nights of too much alcohol, and emotional break downs.

A following popular tearful destination is Building 66, the chemical engineering, where labs, exams, and engineering problem sets can become overwhelming for students pursuing their science careers.

One rather unexpected location is the Ray and Maria Stata Center, a whimsical shaped academic building filled with classrooms. But students confess they like to cry in the sprawling amphitheater, perhaps because it's easy to be swallowed in the grand room.

Nadia reveals that she's yet to have a good bawl in her young university career, but when that time rolls around - and it surely will - she's set to cry from the comfort of her dorm.

'I personally havent had a good cry yet, but when I do, it will probably be in one of the lounges on my floor at East Campus. The East Campus music room where you can probably find me crying/angrily singing,' she revealed.

'If youd like to cry with me, feel free - Ill bring tissues,' added.

Don't crack under pressure! The chemical engineering building's hallway (above) in Building 66 is daunting, but a familiar place for tearful students studying the difficult field

Let the music move you! Nisha revealed that she plans to cry right here in her East Campus student Music Room lounge where she can angrily sing and cry in a comfortable space

Nadia left a link to Casie's research, which reveals some hilarious crying campus experiences.

One question from the Casie's poll asks: 'What other public/semi-public places on campus have you cried in?'

'Crying in classes (eyy); in the Stata center; in various hallways but particularly outside of 26-100; on a Saferide; on balconies inside E15; in two West Campus dorm lobbies; in the chapel,' one open and detailed student listed.

'None. I promised myself I wouldn't ever cry and I won't,' a stony pupil shared.

'In front of my professor,' one hilariously confessed.

'At office hours (in my defense my cat died, RIP Fig 2001 - 2015),' another detailed.

While some students have found their secret hiding spots, the blog, posted on the MIT admission page will undoubtedly serve as a guide for incoming freshmen for years to come.
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Wedding photos are meant invoke memories of one of the most important days of a couple's lives, but some photographers are better than others when it comes to capturing unforgettable moments.

Fearless Photographers, a website featuring the best and most moving wedding photography from across the globe, pays tribute to the stunning wedding images that have the power to make the viewer laugh, cry, or do both at the same time.

The site's Fearless Awards are dedicated to showcasing a curated selection of the best wedding photos in the world, and so far this year's collection features everything from a tearful bride in a cemetery to a little boy dropping his trousers to pee in a bush.

Grieving bride: The Fearless Awards honor the best wedding photography from across the globe. One of the award-winning photos from 2017 is this image by Fabio Mirulla of Italy

Look of disbelief: Joshua D'Hondt of Antwerp, Belgium, captured the moment a boy dropped his pants to pee in a bush while his presumed father walked away with his head in his hands

Every two months, the site unveils its latest 'Collections', and according to the site, only about one out of 100 submitted images are chosen by its editors and curators to be a part of the Fearless Awards.

The chosen photographers have their names listed underneath their photos along with a link to their profile page on the site, which also allows visitors to look up the award-winning photographers in their area.

One of the most heart-wrenching photos that was showcased this year, sees a bride crying in front of a gravestone while her new husband gently puts his hand on her arm to comforter.

The snapshot, which sees the grieving bride with her hand covering her mouth, was taken in central Italy by Fabio Mirulla.

Emotional: David Clumpner of Montana photographed the tears streaming down one bride's face as she watched her mother have a wig placed on her head while battling breast cancer

Flasher: Pasquale Minniti, a photographer from southern Italy, snapped a bride laughing hysterically while her presumed groom went skinny dipping in the ocean

Going for the garter: Andrei Branea of Romania captured this darling image of a little girl crawling under a bride's dress

David Clumpner, a photographer from Missoula, Montana, captured the tears streaming down one bride's face while her crying mother had a wig placed on her shaved head.

The Fearless Award-winning photos was also shared on Bored Panda, and one woman came forward to say that she is the mother featured in the emotional photo.

'Thanks for all the heartfelt comments. I am the woman in the picture,' she wrote. 'It was a rough year to be diagnosed with breast cancer and undergo chemotherapy right before my beautiful daughter's wedding.

'When I was getting ready with the girls in the wedding and they were all there watching me it was just very emotional,' she added. 'I am doing great now and living every day to the fullest and I am thankful for each one.'

Stunning: In the black and white photo taken by Sabina Mladin of Romania, a bride in her wedding gown is seen through the reflection in an older woman's glasses

Trouble: Joshua D'Hondt of Antwerp, Belgium, photographed the priceless expression on a little boy's face while getting scolded by his finger-wagging mother

Breathtaking: Eugene Michel from Spokane, Washington, snapped a stunning photo of a couple lying on a bridge while the choppy ocean water swirls below them

Mauricio Gomez of Uruguay snapped an uplifting photo of a handsome groom visiting and older relative, presumably his grandmother, who couldn't make it to his wedding.

The emotional image sees him holding the woman's hand while she lies in bed, and they are both smiling at each other.

Meanwhile, in another artsy shot, a bride in her wedding gown is seen through the reflection in an older woman's glasses.

In the black and white photo taken by Sabina Mladin of Romania, the woman looks like she is about to shed a tear or two while gazine at the young bride.

All smiles: Mauricio Gomez of Uruguay snapped an uplifting photo of a handsome groom visiting and older relative, presumably his grandmother

Oopsy daisy" Dimitri Voronov of Norte de Espana perfectly captured the shocked expressions right before a three-layer wedding cake was about to fall to the floor

They learn so fast: Natan Sans, from Islas Baleares, Spain, photographed an adorable toddler putting the wedding garter on her leg while the bride got dressed

Crowd surfing: A bride watches as a man, presumably her groom, leaps into the outstretched hands of their wedding guests in this image taken by William Lambelete of southern France

For every image that tugs on your heart strings, there is one that will put a smile on your face, from a man lighting his cigarette by leaning into a fire performer's prop to a toddler trying to put on a lace garter.

Pasquale Minniti, a photographer from southern Italy, snapped a bride laughing hysterically while her presumed groom went skinny dipping in the ocean.

Not only did he go skinny dipping, but the snapshot sees him flashing his bare derriere while doing a handstand in the water.

In another unforgettable shot, Joshua D'Hondt of Antwerp, Belgium, photographed the priceless expression on a little boy's face while getting scolded by his finger-wagging mother.

Look of love: Netherlands-based photographer Gabriel Scharis perfectly captured the emotion on this grandfather's face

Now that's a party trick: Thailand-based photographer Julian Abram shot this photo of a man lighting his cigarette by leaning into a fire performer's prop

Surprise: A black and white photo of a woman getting a face bull of foam while opening a drink was taken by Ciprian Biclineru, a photographer based in Frankfurt, Germany

Too cute: Leticia Muiz of Sudeste do Brasil snapped this heartwarming image of a little girl trying on the bride's sky-high heels

That same photographer also captured the hilarious moment a little boy dropped his pants to pee in a bush while standing next to another little girl.

A man, presumably their father, is pictured walking away with his head in his hands in disbelief.

The site also honors the photographers who go above and beyond the call of duty to capture the most breathtaking shots possible.

Eugene Michel from Spokane, Washington, snapped a stunning photo of a couple lying on a bridge while the choppy ocean water swirls below them.

The incredible shot was taken from up above, and it is unclear how Michel went about getting it.
As women move into the twilight years their sexual appetite can be hampered by the emotional and physical perils of old age.

And while most men may keep their libido well into retirement, the female gender must navigate a maze of discomfort, confusion and scary medical issues.

Painful intercourse and bladder problems do take a toll on the sex drive of older women, but the real solution can be a question of mind over matter, Australian sex and relationship therapist Cyndi Darnell told FEMAIL.

'If our motivations for having sex aren't clear and we rely on something as flimsy as "horniness", then there is a real possibility that will never come,' Cyndi said.

After menopause is the worst period of a woman's life for losing interest in sexual intercourse, the findings revealed (Stock image)

'Women need to communicate and know that they don't have to default to penis and vagina sex. If there's not enough touching, arousal, stimulation, lubricant, then it just won't work.'

After menopause is the worst period of a woman's life for losing interest in sexual intercourse, a survey which interviewed 1500 under the age of 55 found.

Intimate medical symptoms during or after sex were the main biological culprits behind many women's weakening libido - with 'bladder leaks, urgency, or too frequent urination' noted by seven percent and 26 percent stating their sexual inactivity was 'due to vulvovaginal dryness, irritation, or pain'.

And a worrying 24 percent blamed dyspareunia - which is painful intercourse triggered by medical or psychological reasons - as the cause of their sexual disinterest.

'If our motivations for having sex aren't clear and we rely on something as flimsy as "horniness", then there is a real possibility that will never come,' sex and relationship therapist Cyndi Darnell (pictured) said

Nearly half of the women surveyed admitted to having zero sexual activity in the six months leading up to the study (Stock image)

WHAT IS DYSPAREUNIA? Dyspareunia is the term used to describe pain before, during or after vaginal intercourse. There are many causes of dyspareunia including physical ones like not enough lubrication, a skin infection, illness or surgery. Psychological causes like partner issues, stress and anxiety can contribute also and make it even worse. Source: JeanHailes.org.au Advertisement

However Cyndi says more often than not the problem is not physical, but an emotional response to sex.

'Psychological barriers such as a history of trauma, pain, knowing that it might lead to arguments or feelings of shame can ruin a woman's libido,' she explained.

'And partner sex is so much more diverse and complicated than simply satisfying horny feelings. To think of it this way is very old-fashioned and out-of-date.'

The sex therapist also says the mature women she deals with are nothing like the 'sexless old hags' which society paints them as.

'They aren't running around like 20-something year olds but the notion of the sexless hag is not how women experience themselves,' Cyndi added.

'Fertility has never been the main motivation for sex. Procreation is just a byproduct, and for most the impetus to have sex is to feel good and to connect.'

The medicinal study also revealed 45 per cent of participants said they experienced severe physical pain during sex - a problem which can be contributed to vaginal dryness.

While most men may keep their libido well into retirement the female gender must navigate a maze of discomfort, confusion and scary medical issues (Stock image)

Another 20 percent of the women confessed to fearing vulvovaginal atrophy symptoms during sex, which is the thinning, drying and inflammation of the vaginal walls due to the female body having less estrogen.

Nearly half of the women surveyed admitted to having zero sexual activity in the six months leading up to the study.

Surprisingly, most women reported they did not have a 'disinterest' in sex with their partners and actively want to keep the passion burning, however simply avoid it out of fear they would feel pain.

But problems behind extinguished sexual flames between many older couples aren't exclusive to the female sex.

In addition to self-reported issues with sexual intercourse, a staggering 55 per cent of women revealed their own partner's 'lack of interest or physical inability' was negatively impacting their sex drive.

'For men, being able to perform sexually ties into their masculinity,' Cyndi said.

'And because we live in a culture which values this so much, female pleasure is then historically forgotten about.'
She might only be 12-years-old, but Katya Perova is taking Instagram by storm.

The young Queensland model has almost 50,000 followers - posing in all kinds of different clothing, which her mum Iuliia Perova doesn't have to pay a penny for.

'Katya gets sent thousands of free clothes' Iuliia told Daily Mail Australia. 'I have a professional camera and we do photoshoots in them at the weekends.

Katya Perova, 12, has almost 50,000 Instagram followers and doesn't have to pay for clothes

Katya, pictured wearing a Vogue flat cap, models thousands of new clothes for her Instagram

Her mum Iuliia takes 500 pictures of Katya at the weekend, then chooses the best to upload

'We take around 500 pictures in lots of different outfits then I'll chose the best ones to upload'.

The Perova family moved to Queensland from Moscow two years ago, in search of a more-relaxed and enjoyable life on Australia's east coast.

But on arrival, Iuliia said her daughter had very low confidence: 'Katya was a very shy person. She really struggled because her level of English wasn't very good.

'I told her everyday: "you're so pretty, you should be a model". But she wouldn't believe me'.

Eventually Katya's friends encouraged her to try modelling and after a while she decided to give it a go.

'Everyone kept saying that she was built for modelling, so I took a couple of professional photographs of her. Everything is on social media now, so we created an Instagram account. We just kept getting so many nice comments.'

Her mum encouraged her to pose after 'everyone kept saying that she was built for modelling'

Katya, 12 (pictured) began to express herself in pictures and build up her own self confidence

Iuliia said her 12-year-old daughter gets around 200 new Instagram followers a day

'Katya began expressing herself in her pictures. In front of a camera she immediately started to open up. It's really built her self-confidence - she's forgot how to be shy!'.

Iuliia said her 12-year-old daughter gets around 200 new followers a day, and while it's hard to keep track of them, she doesn't worry about her daughter's presence online.

'99 percent of the comments she receives are positive. 1 percent are what I consider inappropriate. Comments like: "You have an amazing body" - that shouldn't be said to a child.

Katya, 12 (pictured) got comfortable in front of the camera and 'forgot how to be shy'

Iuliia says 99 percent of her daughters comments are positive, with 1 percent 'inappropriate'

Her mum says that through Instagram she's introducing Katya to the world of modelling

'I immediately block these people. But in the whole history, there's been a maximum of 10 people'.

Iuliia said that Katya is happy to pose for photographs on her terms, while she is not being paid: 'If people pay money they make demands.

'I'm sure one day she will be in demand, but she can only do that when she is ready mentally'.

Does Instagram come before her studies?

'School and after-school classes come first, Instagram is just a hobby.

'One day she will get to travel to other countries and walk up and down catwalks - she's already done catwalks - but it takes a lot of work. It's exhausting, so we're going to wait to earn money from that.

'We are building her as a person, not as a model. I take pictures of her now to try and help her learn, understand and experience modelling, but she's very clever and will find her way in life.'

Katya, 12 (pictured) receives thousands of likes on her Instagram pictures

Iuliila: 'We are building her as a person, not as a model' and Katya can make her own way in life
Women at risk of depression while pregnant, or after giving birth, could benefit from increasing their intake of probiotics during pregnancy, according to a recent New Zealand study.

In Australia, figures show that depression can affect up to one in ten women while they are pregnant, and almost one in seven are affected during the first year after birth.

Researchers from the University of Auckland and the University of Otago surveyed a sample group of 423 women who were between 14 and 16 weeks pregnant.

Taking a probiotic tablet once a day during pregnancy and in the first six-months after birth halved a mother's risk of clinically significant anxiety, the research found.

In Australia, depression can affect up to one in 10 women while they are pregnant, and almost one in seven are affected during the first year after birth (stock picture)

Of this group, 212 women were given probiotics and 211 were given a placebo.

Those in the programme were given capsules daily from the time of enrollment through to six months after they'd given birth, if they were breastfeeding.

Probiotics are live 'friendly bacteria' that when consumed in adequate amounts provide health benefits to most.

They are typically found in fermented foods including cultured yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso soup, kimchi and kombucha tea.

Probiotics can be found fermented foods including some varieties of cultured yoghurt (stock picture)

According to the study's lead author, Dr Rebecca Slykerman, findings from the research were positive and could potentially offer mothers a simple way to manage their mental health.

'Woman are unable to access psychological therapy or are reluctant to take antidepressant medication in pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

'Furthermore it takes several weeks for the therapeutic effect of antidepressants to appear and there is a 15-30 per cent discontinuation rate.

'Safe and effective therapies to prevent and treat postnatal depression,' Dr Slykerman said.

Findings from the research were positive and could potentially offer mothers a simple way to manage their mental health (stock picture)

While the outcome of this trial could point to an alternative to traditional medications, Dr Slykerman cautions 'the results must be replicated before recommending probiotics to all pregnant women.'

The bacteria found in probiotic products come from two groups, Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium.

This study, funded by the Health Research Council and Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited, looked at the health benefits of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001.

The bacteria found in probiotic products come from two groups, Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium (stock picture)

Fonterra Programme Manager Nutrition Dr James Dekker said the Co-operative is encouraged by the results.

'It is pleasing to see more evidence of the health benefits of Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, one of Fonterra's two probiotics. As we know not all probiotics are created equal and there needs to be sound evidence for the benefits for each probiotic strain.'

Women considering taking probiotic supplements during pregnancy should always consult with their doctor.
A little paint goes a long way. The saying is true for a Bismarck retirement community using aromatic paints and canvas to provide a better quality of life for its residents living with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Touchmark's new therapeutic program, "Fragrance in Frames" combines essential oils with paints, providing natural health and mood benefits to individuals living with certain forms of dementia. The residents are the artists.

"The results have been truly amazing," said Amy Miller, life enrichment director at Touchmark. "Agitation and behaviors have decreased, attention spans have increased and social engagement has expanded."

Since the program began in January, Touchmark has also noticed a decrease in residents' needs for psychotropic medications, a decrease in exit-searching among dementia patients and a more relaxed work environment for caregivers and staff.

"And we have all of these great paintings, which is a bonus," Miller said.

Harvey Melstad, an 89-year-old veteran who loves animals and music, is one of the many residents who has benefited from the program. He's been a resident of Touchmark since May 2015.

Harvey would always be busy," Miller said. "We found that painting helps settle him down and focus for a long time.

Residents meet one-on-one with Whitney Ruscheinsky, life enrichment memory care coordinator at Touchmark.

At the start of every painting session, Ruscheinsky has the resident fill out an assessment form, which includes a signature line. The form is also filled out at the conclusion of the session.

With Melstad, in particular, the signature almost always varies. After painting, he usually adds his credentials from years spent working as a bridge engineer.

When he signs his name again, clarity happens, Miller said. If you can get a person with dementia to experience a moment of claritythats a wonderful thing.

Next, an essential oil is chosen, based on the residents mood. Lavender promotes peace and calmness, while citrus and peppermint offer a pick-me-up on a bad day.

During Melstads Tuesday session, the scent peace and calming was used in the paint, with a few drops of lavender added to the brush cleaning water.

To ensure the essential oil evokes a pleasant response, Ruscheinsky asks each resident to sniff the scent prior to putting brush to canvas.

Residents are free to draw whatever they choose. However, looking at a photo will sometimes help spur their imagination.

Its not always going to be an awesome, awesome painting," Ruscheinsky said. They have their days, just like we do.

Melstad has a tendency to paint water-themed works of art, such as a ship lost at sea, the sun setting over a body of water, bridges and sailboats. He often times reminisces about staying at his familys Lake Tschida cabin.

You can feel the warmth and see it in the water, Melstad said during a recent painting session.

Typically, it takes Melstad an hour or two to complete a masterpiece.

Harvey could paint for hours, all day long. Hed do it every single day, Miller said. If its enjoyable for him, that means were doing our job.

Ruscheinsky looks for clues that a resident is tired or needs a break. If theres still work to do on the painting, the resident can pick up where they left off at a future session. Or, they can leave it as an unfinished work of art.

When working with dementia residents, Touchmark staff members find that one-on-one painting sessions work best, to avoid overstimulation. Currently, 20 residents participate in the program.

The first of its kind, Fragrance in Frames was the brainchild of Wendy Schrag, vice president of clinical services at Touchmark, and Miller.

Miller's love of painting and Schrag's love of therapeutic grade essential oils were combined into one, creating the award-winning program.

Residents who never found joy in painting love Fragrance in Frames.

Family members are really impressed, Miller said. Theyll say, I didnt know my mom could do that and Youll never get my dad to paint. When we do, theyre blown away.

Touchmark uses essential oils in other ways, as well. Oil diffusers can be found throughout the "neighborhood," promoting peace and calmness for all residents. Theyre also used to help ward off sickness, improve residents moods and increase appetites. Touchmark obtains permission from families, as well as doctors, to utilize the oils.

The International Council on Active Aging recently recognized Touchmark for their Fragrance in Frames program, naming them the recipient of the 2017 Innovators Achievement Award.

"We don't do things to win awards," Miller said. "We do things to help our residents. The award is just a bonus."

Im happy were making an impact on Alzheimer's and dementia patients, helping them get through their day a little bit easier, Ruscheinsky said. It helps you feel accomplished.

The long-term goal is to open Fragrance in Frames up to the public, giving caretakers and family members the opportunity to bring loved ones with dementia to Touchmark for private sessions, Miller said.

Next week, Touchmark is hosting an art gallery in their main entrance, leading up to the "Purple Tie Event" on Oct. 26. They will also be offering free Fragrance in Frames sessions to the public, for dementia patients.

Residents' paintings will also be on display at the Purple Tie Event. Light appetizers will be served and a silent auction of the paintings will take place, with proceeds to benefit the local Alzheimer's Association chapter.

"It will be a night of fun, celebrating what the residents have done," Miller said.

Touchmark piloted the program in its Bismarck location, 1000 W. Century Ave., but Fragrance in Frames is being implemented in the retirement community's 11 - soon to be 13 - other locations nationwide, with an additional facility in Canada.

For more information, to schedule a private session or to register for the Purple Tie Event, call 701-323-7000.
When shopping at the supermarket, the last thing you would expect to find is something sharp in your produce.

This is exactly what happened to Sydney mother, Edyta Lynch, after she bought a bag of cashew nuts from Coles supermarket that contained a plastic shaving.

'I was lucky that my two-year-old didn't eat it,' Ms Lynch told 7 News Online.

A Sydney mother, Edyta Lynch, found a plastic shaving in a bag of cashew nuts that she bought from Coles

Ms Lynch was eating the package when she claims she found the shaved plastic in the 400 gram bag of home brand nuts.

To prove her finding she took a photo of the bag of cashews with the plastic coil both inside her bag and a close-up shot on her hand.

Her main concern when she found the plastic was that her young son would come across it and eat it.

Ms Lynch was eating the package when she claims she found the shaved plastic in the 400 gram bag of home brand nuts

Ms Lynch said that she bought the bag of nuts from a New South Wales Coles store

Luckily Ms Lynch was the one that came across the plastic and not her son.

The bag seemed to be fresh as the packet that Ms Lynch purchased had a use by date of March 7, 2018.

Ms Lynch said she has reached out to Coles to let them know about the shaving.

'I've contact Coles via email, online product enquiries. I'm not sure what else to do about it,' she said (stock image)

'I've contact Coles via email, online product enquiries. I'm not sure what else to do about it,' she said.

Daily Mail has contacted Coles for comment.
A thrifty Brisbane mum has saved a whopping $300,000 AUD by only ever shopping in second hand stores - and buying absolutely nothing new except underwear.

Instead of stepping out in expensive brand-new threads, stylish Hannah Klose, 36, spends her hard-earned cash on lavish holidays around the world with her husband Dan, 36, and daughter Josie, two.

'I've saved more than $280,000 in my lifetime just from thrifting. I'll never pay more than $5 for an item of clothing,' she said.

Hannah Klose, 36, (pictured) has saved a whopping $300,000 AUD by only ever shopping in second hand stores

'I would say 99 per cent of my family's wardrobes are thrifted  the only thing I'll buy new is underwear.'

The 36-year-old fashionista's wardrobe is jam-packed with stylish designer clothes and charming vintage garments that she's sourced from thrift stores in every corner of the globe.

And amazingly, while the trendy radio journalist's outfits look good enough for the runway they are all second hand and she never spends more than $5 AUD on a single garment.

The 36-year-old fashionista's wardrobe is jam-packed with stylish designer clothes and charming vintage garments that she's sourced from thrift stores

With all the money she's saved, Hannah has been able to spend her cash on luxurious holidays around the world, pay off her mortgage and give money to different charities.

'I always say to people 'would you rather spend your money on brand-new clothes or be able to travel the globe and have new life experiences?'

'I know I'd much rather have a better lifestyle and be able to travel and own a house rather than wasting money on expensive outfits.'

In the past few years, the trendsetter has visited France, Italy and the UK, as well as travelling across the US including three trips to New York  where she admits the op shops were 'very disappointing'.

'I've saved more than $280,000 in my lifetime just from thrifting. I'll never pay more than $5 for an item of clothing,' she said

OP SHOPPING TIPS Look at everything, on every rack including kids, men's and plus-size. Have a vision of the look you want before you go shopping. Travel for a bargain. Regional and rural areas are usually cheaper and less used. DIY. Don't be afraid of a little stain or loose thread. See potential in clothes. Find pieces you can wear a few times and with different outfits to get the most out of your money. Wear something you can change out of quickly so you can try on lots of clothes in one go. Cash is king. Make sure you have plenty of spare change. Advertisement

Hannah has also relaxed on the beaches of Thailand and Bali thanks to her thrifty ways, as well as traveling around Australia and New Zealand.

This op-shopping obsession was instigated by her 'mad thrifty' parents, who she revealed would often go rummaging at the tip for pre-loved treasures and now the thought of going into a shopping centre gives her heart palpitations.

'My parents were always finding something at the dump to bring home,' she continued.

'It smelled so bad and was really embarrassing. I always thought 'oh god, I hope no one sees me'.

'Our dining table cost $1 from the tip but they restored it beautifully and they still have it to this day.'

Now the fashionable mum-of-one has even imparted her knowledge to her adorable two-year-old Josie

Now the fashionable mum-of-one has even imparted her knowledge to her adorable two-year-old Josie  who loves op-shopping just as much as her mum and jumps at the chance to score a bargain.

'I've been taking Josie op-shopping since she was born and she's become quite the little thrifter.

'She is always looking for second hand baby dolls and fluffy tutus  she has a huge collection.

'We'll go thrifting together all day and I'll tell her it's time to go home for lunch and she will plead with me 'mum, can we go to just one more op-shop?''

With all the money she's saved, Hannah has been able to spend her cash on luxurious holidays around the world

But she admits her engineer husband Dan doesn't quite relish the experience as much as the girls.

'Dan's a very patient man but he has to set me a time limit if we go op-shopping together.

'He hates shopping but the beauty about op-shops is there is lots of old couches and chairs lying around so he always has somewhere to hang out while he waits for me,' she said.

'Going into an op-shop actually gets my heart rate up and I start having palpitations. It's the best cardio I've ever had'

Hannah explained that the reason she loves op-shopping so much is because of the thrill of the chase and she thinks it's like a 'treasure hunt'.

'There are some amazing pieces just waiting to be discovered. I've found designer denim jackets for $2 and I have a beautiful embossed Gucci handbag that was $6.

'Going into an op-shop actually gets my heart rate up and I start having palpitations. It's the best cardio I've ever had.'

Hannah explained that the reason she loves op-shopping so much is because of the thrill of the chase and thinks it's like a 'treasure hunt'

Clothes are not the only thing that Hannah sniffs out while op-shopping, admitting that nearly everything in her Brisbane home is sourced from different thrift stores.

She said: 'I've furnished our home with all sorts of op-shop treasures.

'I have a collection of vintage lamps, gold framed mirrors and Persian rugs.

'Even simple things like our can opener, slow cooker and coffee mugs we bought second-hand.'
A woman has spoken of her disgust at the quality of material used for PUMA leggings - after a fellow gym-goer pointed out her bottoms were completely see-through.

Kimberley Williams, from London, was left humiliated after being told by a friend as she was stretching that her new leggings were not opaque as she'd assumed.

The 27-year-old nanny was mortified as it dawned on her why her leggings had attracted so many second glances on the way to her work out.

Kimberley told all about her experience in a tongue-in-cheek post on PUMA's official Facebook page, in which she described how she'd been 'checked out' on her way to the gym, only to realise her 'whole a*** was showing'.

Kimberly Williams was left red faced after her friend pointed out that her Puma leggings were completely see-through

Kimberley is yet to receive a response from the brand.

'Well firstly I was pretty annoyed that I brought a new pair of gym tights that were completely see through,' said Kimberley, who is a former personal trainer.

'I have not worn them since they are pretty much just sitting in my drawer. I am unable to return them also as they were a sale item. I have brought lots of gym clothing as I used to work in a gym as a personal trainer.

'You would only expect this in cheap made leggings but wouldn't have expected it from PUMA considering they are a sportswear company. Who would honestly want to buy them knowing you can see everything. No normal person would.'

Kimberley wrote a post on Puma's official Facebook page about the incident and even posted a photo as evidence to ask if they 'booty test' their products but the company never responded.

The nanny shared a post Puma's official Facebook page about the incident and even posted a photo as evidence to ask if they 'booty test' their products

The post read: 'It was a cold London morning and I had taken myself shopping to buy some new gym leggings. As I sorted through the racks of leggings upon leggings the simple yet stylish black puma leggings caught my eye.

'I decided to do it and purchased myself a nice pair of puma gym tights!! Saturday morning I sprung out of bed in utter excitement to show off these new black puma leggings. As I waltzed down to my gym with not a care in the world I could feel all eyes on me. People were clearing checking out the new leggings I had purchased and I digged it.

'Ready for my tabata class I was feeling super energized and super stylish in my new puma leggings. As I bent down to stretch out my legs my friend gasped in utter shock... 'Kim I can see you're a**e'.

'I stopped walked to the mirror and much to my disgust as I bent over in my new gym tights my whole a**e was showing, through my simple yet stylish puma gym leggings. 'How could this happen to me' I thought to myself. Were puma out to humiliate me!!

'I ask you puma do you booty test your items before they hit the stores? How do I know if I can trust your products again from not giving my whole gym a view of my ever so peachy a**e?? (SIC)'

Kimberley was left trying to shield her bottom from the rest of the gym class with help from her friend.

She admits to later laughing off the situation but still feels there is an issue with the leggings being extremely revealing for no reason.

Kimberley added: 'Luckily I have a sense of humour so I laughed it off and made my friend go behind me in our gym class so at least she had a view of my bum as opposed to the whole gym class. When got home and decided to post about it on Puma.

'I think Puma should possibly look into how they quality test their materials before putting the products out to be sold.'

A spokesperson for Puma said: 'Puma offers leggings of different materials in its product ranges, catering to a wide variety of consumer preferences.

'In case, a customer is unhappy or dissatisfied with the quality of a PUMA product purchased, we have a return policy in place that guarantees that the product will be replaced or refunded.'
Lady Victoria Hervey has accused one of Harvey Weinstein's alleged victims of lying in a shocking online post.

The 41-year-old British socialite claimed the alleged victim falsely accused the disgraced Hollywood mogul of rape because she was 'desperate for attention'.

In the 391-word tirade, Lady Victoria, who lives in Los Angeles also compared Weinstein to Hitler, saying he 'ruled like the "Fuhrer".

She also wrote that 'others' who had spoken out against Weinstein claimed the producer had ruined their careers because it 'makes it easier to deal with'.

Online tirade: Lady Victoria Hervey, pictured in Los Angeles in January, claimed the alleged victim falsely accused Harvey Weinstein of rape because she was 'desperate for attention'

Speaking out: Socialite Lady Victoria said the disgraced Hollywood producer, pictured in New York last month, 'ruled like the 'Fuhrer' in the 391-tirade posted today

There is nothing to suggest Lady Victoria has met or spoken to the alleged victim she refers to in the post.

The shocking rant starts with the model saying it had been 'hard' for her 'not to voice her opinion' on the 'recent controversies in Hollywood'.

She suggested that she had been aware of rumours surrounding Weinstein, writing: 'As a brit living in LA and attending many a HW [Harvey Weinstein] party during award season I've seen it all.'

Describing Weinstein's tyrannical behaviour, the socialite continued: 'HW ruled like the "Fuhrer" marching down corridors at the Du Cap [Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc] whilst assistants shuddered behind him clutching their mobile phones. It was expected.'

She then turned on the more than 50 women who have spoken out against Weinstein, launching a targeted attack on one accuser in particular.

Speaking out: Actress Rose McGowan is among the more than 50 women who have accused Harvey Weinstein, pictured in 2007. McGowan is not the accuser named by Lady Victoria

The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of the first to speak out against the producer, claiming in an interview with the New Yorker that she was raped by Weinstein in a hotel room while promoting a film.

She also revealed how she later wrote and directed a film scene based on the 'nightmare'. The accuser's story mirrors the testimonies of the scores of women who have spoken out again Weinstein.

Lady Victoria wrote on the woman: 'Which leaves me at this question. Was it rape. I don't think so because it carried on. For me, she sounds desperate for attention [sic].'

She continued: 'For the others you can believe he ruined your careers because that will just make it easier to deal with.'

MailOnline has approached representatives for Lady Victoria and the alleged victim involved for comment.
As someone who supported calls to 'ban the burka', Katie Freeman didn't have much sympathy for the Muslim community in her hometown of Manchester.

But when she was given a taste of life as a Muslim in Britain as part of an experiment for a groundbreaking TV documentary, her outlook changed dramatically.

Katie, 42, who wore traditional Islamic dress as she went about her daily activities, was left 'sickened' after being subjected to racist abuse from regulars outside her local pub.

Katie, who immersed herself in the local Pakistani Muslim community for My Week as a Muslim in filming that overlapped with the Manchester terror attack in May this year, was asked by punters if she planned to 'blow them up'.

The cameras followed her as she initially struggled to integrate with the community - including during an uncomfortable stint as a chaperone on a 'date' between two young Muslims looking to marry.

By the end of the documentary she becomes friends with her Muslim hosts and says white and Muslim Brits need to put on a 'united front' in the face of adversity and terrorism.

Katie Freeman, 42, from Winsford, Cheshire, dressed up like a Muslim to experience what their life is like and found herself being abused outside her local pub

The documentary has already caused controversy as it emerged that Katie would be wearing a fake nose and teeth, as well as having her skin darkened

My Week as a Muslim saw Katie move in with Saima Alvi, 49, and her family to live life by Islamic customs and experience the prejudices they face in a culture of Islamophobia.

Saima helped her to dress in a hijab and modest clothing to look like a devout Muslim woman.

In one shocking incident the cameras followed Katie as she walks home past her local pub only for locals to begin shouting anti-Muslim abuse at her, asking if she was going to blow them up.

An outraged Katie is left visibly shaken by the incident, saying: 'That's what they have to put up with all the time don't they? What harm am I doing walking down there?

She stayed with Saima Alvi, 49, (pictured third from left) and her family to live as a Muslim

'Absolutely no harm.

'And what did they about blowing things up and stuff like that? F***ing idiots. It just sickens me the stuff they've shouted to me but it's only a few days isn't it? I can take this off and go back to being Katie and they probably wouldn't even make a comment would they?

'For Saima if she came here and her family came here they'd have that abuse all the time wouldn't they? It would be relentless.'

At the beginning of the documentary Katie admitted her prejudices about Muslims, confessing that she had left a shop because her daughter was left 'frightened' when a woman wearing a burka entered.

She said: 'Banning the headdresses and burkas I think it would make a lot of people feel a lot happier, a lot safer. I wouldn't want to sit next to them because I'd automatically assume they're going to blow something up.'

Katie Freeman, 42, from Winsford, Cheshire, dressed up like a Muslim to experience what their life is like

Katie took part in the experiment in a bid to learn how it feels to be a Muslim in modern Britain, in an age of terrorist attacks and rising instances of anti-Muslim hate crimes.

The programme has already drawn criticism online after it emerged that Katie would be given a makeover to look Pakistani; a process that involved darkening her skin and wearing a false nose and teeth.

Her changed appearance made life difficult for Katie, who began experiencing abuse while out and about, particularly in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people.

The documentary shows Katie and Saima watching the news about the attack unfold on TV together, as Katie found herself wanting to pull out of the experiment for her own safety for fear of being attacked.

Katie and Saima watched the news of the Manchester attack unfolding on the news together, with both condemning it

While Katie was furious about the abuse she faced during the experiment, it still took her a while to understand Muslim traditions.

She felt uncomfortable when Saima's family prayed, saying she associates 'Allahu Akbar' with suicide bombers.

Katie visited a Muslim marriage bureau where young single Muslims will go to find a date.

She was tasked with chaperoning a date between two young people and awkwardly sat and watched as they got to know each other.

Before the programme Katie had wanted to ban the burka and said she left a shop when Muslim women entered

It was obvious that Katie didn't understand the custom, saying afterwards: 'What the hell was that all about? It doesn't feel natural like it's been put together. I just don't understand why they feel the need to do that.

'They're both young attractive people, what's wrong with the good old fashioned way? Meet somebody out, I like the look of you, can we have a chat, give us your number.'

The documentary ended with Katie telling her mother about the experiment and revealed herself in her Muslim disguise.

Her mother began crying and said she was 'frightened' of her own daughter, saying: 'I just don't like it Kate. I just look at you and, it's horrible, but i couldn't live in a family like that.'

Saima told Katie that Islamic extremists are interpreting the Quran in the wrong way

Katie said 'Allahu Akbar' reminded her of suicide bombers and felt uncomfortable

But Kate had begun to see Muslims in a different light, and said she feels both the White and Muslim communities need to unite.

She said: 'You can't blame the whole of the Muslims for one person's mindless act of terror can you? Just because they choose to live their life differently to me doesn't mean they're any less welcome to be here.

'We have to be strong and put on a united front.

My Week As A Muslim is on Channel 4 on Monday October 23 at 9pm.
She rubbed shoulders with the creme de la creme of the literary world at the Man Booker Prize reception last night.

And the Duchess of Cornwall met with some of the brightest brains in the country as she visited Worcester College at Oxford University on Wednesday.

Camilla, 70, looked elegant in a fitted black jacket and skirt, which she accessorised with a statement pearl choker.

She finished off her chic ensemble with black pumps, and a pair of pearl earrings to match her necklace.

The Duchess of Cornwall looked elegant in a fitted jacket and pearls as she met guests at a reception at Worcester College, Oxford University

Camilla visited Worcester College with Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak, Malaysia, as they opened a new centre named after Malaysia's deputy head of state.

She looked in good spirits as she met with guests during a reception to celebrate the opening of the centre.

The Duchess has had a busy schedule this week, attending the prestigious Women of the Year Lunch and the launch of the RA250 Friends Membership scheme at the Royal Academy of Arts.

On Tuesday, she attended the Man Booker Prize awards, just hours after mingling with stars of the big screen at a reception at Clarence House.

She looked to be in good spirits as she mingled with guests during a reception at the college

Camilla was at the university to open the new Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre, named after Malaysia's deputy head of state

Camilla, who is a passionate advocate for literacy gave a speech at the event, saying: 'Without literacy there is no literature. Without young writers we are devoid of the writers of tomorrow.'

The Duchess was seen happily chatting to authors including Baroness Lola Young and US writer George Saunders, who won the coveted prize.

She opted for a glamorous evening ensemble for the event, teaming a gold patterned dress with a luxe velvet jacket.

Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak (centre) was also at Worcester College for the grand opening
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden proved she knows how to make an entrance as she dazzled in an electric blue dress in Stockholm.

The heir to the throne, 40, looked resplendent in the vibrant pleated number as she joined Sweden's parliamentary speaker, Urban Ahlin, at a seminar in the Scandinavian city on Wednesday.

Ahlin invited Victoria to a seminar and reception to help Finland celebrate 100 years as an independent state.

The mother-of-two paired her eye-catching frock with a matching clutch bag and courts, adding a pop of colour with some statement earrings.

Princess Victoria dazzles in an electric blue dress in Stockholm on Wednesday

Letting her natural beauty shine through, Victoria kept her makeup to a minimum and scraped her hair back into a simple bun.

The glamorous royal has had a busy start to the week already, stepping out on Tuesday night with her parents King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at the 70th birthday celebrations of H&M founder Stefan Perssons.

Earlier this year, Nordic heads of state visited Finland to celebrate the country's independence in its centenary.

Finland was part of Sweden for 700 years before it was annexed into the Russian Empire in 1809; its Parliament declared independence from Russia in 1917.

True blue: The heir to the throne, 40, looked resplendent in the vibrant pleated number

Urban Ahlin (second right) invited Victoria to a seminar and reception to help Finland celebrate 100 years as an independent state

Important occasion: Earlier this year, Nordic heads of state visited Finland to celebrate the country's independence in its centenary year

Letting her natural beauty shine through, Victoria kept her makeup to a minimum and scraped her hair back into a simple bun

The mother-of-two paired her eye-catching frock with a matching clutch bag and courts, adding a pop of colour with some statement earrings

History: Finland was part of Sweden for 700 years before it was annexed into the Russian Empire in 1809; its Parliament declared independence from Russia in 1917

The actual date of the 100th independence day falls on 6th December 2017, the anniversary of when Finland declared independence from Russia.

Victoria, who is first in line to the Swedish throne, married her former gym trainer, now Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland, in 2010.

They are parents to Princess Estelle, five, and Prince Oscar, 19 months.
Ivanka Trump put a twist on classic black and white when she stepped out of her Washington D.C. home in a white blouse with a black ribbon laced up the back.

The 35-year-old first daughter recently opened up about her 'punk phase' in her mothers new book, Raising Trump, but on Wednesday she looked nothing but ladylike in her white top and black lace skirt.

Ivanka carried a coffee cup in her left hand, and while she usually flashes a bright smile to the cameras waiting outside her door, she looked straight ahead as she made her way toward the SUV parked in front of her upscale Kalorama home.

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Classic black and white: Ivanka Trump was seen leaving her Washington, D.C. home on Wednesday morning

Looking sharp: The 35-year-old donned a black lace skirt and a white mock-neck blouse

Elegant addition: Ivanka topped off her look with a pair of pearl hoop earrings

The mother-of-three was photographed walking out of the side gate, which is covered in fake cobwebs in celebration of Halloween.

Ivanka topped off her outfit with black kitten heels featuring bows and a large black handbag. Her long blonde hair was blown out and pulled half up to show off her pearl hoop earrings.

When she hopped into the Secret Service vehicle, Ivanka revealed the black ribbon detailing laced up and tied into a bow on the back of her top.

Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, 36, was also seen leaving their home on Wednesday morning, but unlike his wife, he gave the cameras a large grin as he made his way to work.

'Tis the season: Ivanka left out of her home's side gate, which is covered in fake cobwebs for Halloween

Focused: The first daughter looked straight ahead as she headed to the SUV parked outside of her home and hopped in the backseat

Unique touch: Ivanka's white blouse featured a black ribbon laced up the back

Sticking with the classics, Jared donned a navy blue suit, black tie, and black shoes, as he made his way to the white SUV parked outside of their home.

Earlier in the week, it was revealed that Ivanka wrote about going through a 'punk phase' in her mother Ivana's new memoir, which has left many Twitter users mocking her for her claims.

'During my punk phase in the nineties, I was really into Nirvana,' she wrote in a chapter of Raising Trump. 'My wardrobe consisted of ripped corduroy jeans and flannel shirts.'

President Trump's eldest daughter also shared an anecdote according to which she once dyed her hair blue after school, which wasn't to the taste of her mother.

Different schedules: Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, 36, was also seen leaving their home on Wednesday morning

Happy as can be: Unlike his wife, Jared flashed a bright smile as he stepped outside

Work week: Jared was seen stepping into a white SUV that was parked outside of their home

'She took one look at me and immediately went out to the nearest drugstore to buy a $10 box of Nice'n Easy,' Ivanka added. 'That night, she forced me to dye my hair back to blond.'

Ivanka claimed that the shade her mother picked was three tones lighter than her natural blonde, and said she 'never looked back' after trying out that new hue.

However, some have pointed out that it is unlikely that store-bought dye would make someone's hair three shades lighter, especially after the hair was colored blue.

The first daughter further illustrated her 'punk phase' by talking about her passion for Nirvana and the band's frontman Kurt Cobain, saying the musician's suicide in 1994 left her shocked and 'distraught' when she was 12 years old.

A different time: Ivanka Trump (pictured as a model in 1999) revealed in her mother Ivana's new book, Raising Trump, that she had a 'punk' phase and dyed her hair blue in the 1990s

Neutral: While Ivanka sported some edgy during her time as a model, photos of her as a teenager show that she preferred a classic look. She is pictured aged 13 with Ivana

Going blue: The first daughter did don blue hair on the red carpet of the Met Ball 2013 (pictured), for which she got strands of dark blue added to her blonde locks

Memories: Ivanka illustrated her 'punk phase' by talking about her passion for Nirvana and Kurt Cobain in her mother's book

'Mom had no idea who Kurt Cobain was, and she sympathized only so much,' Ivanka wrote. 'After twenty-four hours of my crying inconsolably in my room, alone  major melodrama  Mom had to pull me out of there to go down to dinner.'

Some Twitter users pointed out that what Ivanka appears to be referring to is the grunge movement, which started in the mid-1980s and peaked in the 1990s, and not punk, which emerged in the 1970s.

Although she looked somber while heading to work on Wednesday, Ivanka enjoyed a fun-filled weekend of birthday celebrations in honor of her son Joseph turning four on Saturday.

The mother-of-three shared a glimpse into the family fun on her Instagram account the following day, starting with a picture of herself and the birthday boy enjoying a traditional plate of 'birthday noodles'  something she does with each of her three children.

TWITTER USERS MAKE LIGHT OF IVANKA TRUMP'S 'PUNK PHASE' Creative: One Twitter user shared a montage of what Ivanka would have looked like with her hair arranged in green spikes Uncanny: Someone else pointed out that her reference to corduroy jeans and flannel shirts is reminiscent of a famous photo of her brother Donald Jr Chic: One person summarized Ivanka's account with this parodic sentence, referencing the upscale, private athletic club located in New York City Hypothesis: Someone else chalked up Ivanka's love of the punk movement to her 'accidentally walking into a Hot Topic once' Good one: A Twitter user was inspired to create this pun, based on the title of the song I Wanna Be Sedated by punk rock band The Ramones Childhood snap: One person shared this photo of Ivanka posing next to her father in 1998 in Aspen, Colorado, joking that she was 'punk as f**k' Advertisement

Mimicking the iconic spaghetti-eating scene from the hit 1995 Disney cartoon Lady and the Tramp, the mother-son duo posed for an adorable birthday snap together, sitting in front of a fun party set-up in the background while sharing a noodle.

'Birthday traditions are the best!' Ivanka captioned the sweet snap. 'Happy 4th birthday Joseph! I love you with all my heart.'

She added the hashtags #belatedbirthday and #noodles4life.

The businesswoman's caption made reference to a Chinese belief that long noodles represent a long life; Long Life Noodles  or Yi Mein  are traditionally eaten at all Chinese celebrations, including birthdays and at the New Year.

Birthday traditions: Ivanka Trump celebrated her son Joseph turning four over the weekend by sharing a plate of spaghetti with him, something she does with her children every year

Adventurer: Ivanka also shared a sweet snap of her son climbing a tree and captioned it: 'Looking forward to another year of adventures with this little monkey! #BirthdayWeekendFun'

Ivanka and her children  all of whom have studied Mandarin from a young age  have been putting their own spin on the Chinese tradition for many years now, with each of the three siblings sharing a spaghetti dinner with their mother on their birthdays.

The tradition also involves President Trump's daughter snapping a picture in the Lady and the Tramp pose with each child as a memento of their special day.

It was quite the Disney-themed weekend for the family, who appear to have marked the middle Trump-Kushner sibling's special day with a Cars-themed party.

In the image of Joseph and Ivanka, the duo are seen posing in front of a bunch of Cars-themed balloons, while the table in front of them is covered with napkins baring characters from another cartoon favorite, Paw Patrol.
Is yellow really that mellow? Not when you're wearing it like Blake Lively, Nicole Richie and Gigi Hadid.

All three ladies made major fashion statements recently by stepping out in head-to-toe yellow ensembles. Treating the bright the shade like a neutral, they fearlessly donned monochromatic looks and successfully avoided any worst dressed lists.

With a few clever styling tricks, you, too, can wear all-over yellow and not look like a banana. Read on to learn how.

All eyes on her: Gigi was a vision leaving the Whitby Hotel in New York City this week. She wore a sequin and beaded fringe Prabal Gurung dress with a side cutout

Gigi was a vision leaving the Whitby Hotel in New York City this week. She wore a sequin and beaded fringe Prabal Gurung dress with a side cutout.

The 22-year-old accessorized her look with gold satin Christian Louboutin pumps, a Prada purse and Lorraine Schwartz earrings.

Gigi pulled off this tonal look by playing off the texture of the gown with the texture of her shoes and handbag.

Tip: Textures of one color add depth and dimension to an outfit

Adding interest: Gigi pulls off a monochromatic look with such a bold shade by choosing a gown with texture

Left: Ruffle Plunge Playsuit by Topshop, $180; topshop.com. Right: Rufus asymmetric silk-blend satin dress by Paper London, $485; net-a-porter.com

Left: Suede Biker Jacket, $149; hm.com. Right: Three-Quarter Length Coat by Zara, $119; zara.com

You can't help but smile: Blake Lively arrived at ABC's 'Good Morning America' in Times Square this week looking like a ray of sunshine

Blake Lively arrived at ABC's 'Good Morning America' in Times Square this week looking like a ray of sunshine.

The mother-of-two donned a Brandon Maxwell bell sleeve belted top and wide leg pants, both in canary yellow.

She accessorized the look with Lorraine Schwartz geometric statement earrings, an assortment of rings by Ofira and a moody manicure of Dior Vernis Gel in Junon, followed by a sheer, taupe-grey shade from RMK.

Tip: Incorporating edgy add-ons (through jewelry or makeup) are a great contrast to yellow's cheerful vibe

Adding edge: She accessorized the look with Lorraine Schwartz geometric statement earrings, an assortment of rings by Ofira and a moody manicure of Dior Vernis Gel in Junon, followed by a sheer, taupe-grey shade from RMK

Left: Coiled Snake Post Earring by Alexis Bittar, $145; alexisbittar.com. Right: Artisan Cocktail Ring by Banana Republic, now $26.97; bananarepublic.com

Silver and gold-plated, Swarovski crystal and faux pearl two-finger ring by Alexander McQueen, $395; net-a-porter.com

Left: Nail Liquor in Grey Jay by Pretty Vulgar, $20; sephora.com. Right: Nail Colour in Khol by Christian Louboutin, $50; sephora.com

Power prints: Stepping out in midtown Manhattan last month, Nicole Richie lived up to her style icon status in an eclectic golden ensemble. The 'Good News' actress wore a For Love and Lemons knit sweater and a silk skirt by Lavish Alice, completing the look with black Manolo Blahnik pumps and a leopard print House of Harlow jacket

Stepping out in midtown Manhattan last month, Nicole Richie lived up to her style icon status in an eclectic golden ensemble.

The 'Good News' actress wore a For Love and Lemons knit sweater and a silk skirt by Lavish Alice.

To break up the solid blocks of color and finish the look, she slipped into black Manolo Blahnik pumps and rested a leopard print House of Harlow jacket on her shoulders.

Tip: Prints and complementary colors break up a monochromatic look and add visual interest

Faux Fur Coat by H&M, $79.99; hm.com
After a brief examination, the middle-aged male gynaecologist sat Paula Brunt down and delivered his diagnosis.

Then 39, Paula had been suffering from chronic pain in her abdomen for 18 months, as well as heavy bleeding and an exhaustion that sometimes overwhelmed her.

Later, she would discover that these symptoms were being caused by a cancerous tumour on one of her ovaries.

But at this appointment, there was no sense of alarm or urgency.

There is a history of cancer in my family, so I told him this, but he didnt carry out any tests, says Paula, now 48. He said it was most probably the menopause and there was nothing he could do. He was very matter of fact. It seemed as if he was telling me I had a cold.

A few months later, Paulas condition worsened and she went back, only to be told the same again. I was so unwell, I knew something wasnt right, she recalls. It was impacting on all areas of my life. Eventually, it was her GP  a woman  who made an emergency appointment for a scan.

Women shared their experiences of what they believe is sexism in healthcare. Julia Buckley (pictured), 36, wasn't diagnosed for her chronic pain until the age of 31 despite suffering since her teens

She was fabulous, says Paula, adding: I could tell by the female sonographers face that something wasnt right. I was a slim size 8 and looked nine months pregnant.

Once her tumour was spotted, Paula underwent major surgery to have it removed, followed by a hysterectomy.

Her recovery from this has been slow and, seven years on, shes still in pain.

Of course, doctors are not infallible. Its possible that Paula was simply unlucky. But what concerns her is that she believes diagnosis took so long because she is a woman. If I had been listened to, if my condition wasnt just put down to womens problems, then I believe my cancer wouldve been picked up sooner and I wouldnt have had to have a hysterectomy, which made me really ill, she says. Ive still not recovered from it.

While Paula complained to the hospital, she says she never received a proper explanation nor the apology she feels she was owed.

And she is not alone in claiming the severity of her symptoms were overlooked because of her sex.

Indeed, there is a growing number who are convinced theres a deep-rooted sexism endemic among doctors and consultants, which means womens symptoms are less likely to be taken seriously, with lives being put at risk in some cases.

Certainly, theres a mounting body of evidence that womens complaints are more likely to be taken less seriously.

Wendy Wheat (pictured), 46, saw numerous doctors across five years before being diagnosed with liver disease

One U.S. study in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine showed that when women and men present the same severity of abdominal pain in A&E, men wait an average of 49 minutes before being treated, while the average for women is 65 minutes.

The studys authors  both male and female concluded that despite having similar pain scores, women are less likely to receive analgesic treatment than men, particularly opiates, and wait longer for their medications. They found gender bias could be a factor and recommended standardised protocols to help solve the problem.

Clinical studies have also found that doctors are more likely to think womens pain is caused by emotional issues, rather than physical ones, even despite tests that show the pain is real.

Another study, Women With Pain, found that women with chronic pain conditions are more likely to be wrongly diagnosed as having mental health problems than men. British research also shows that women are 50 times more likely to be wrongly diagnosed after a heart attack.

British research shows that women are 50 times more likely to be wrongly diagnosed after a heart attack

Meanwhile, a review in The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics noted a study which found that male patients undergoing a coronary artery bypass received strong painkillers more often than female patients.

Women were more likely to be given sedatives, suggesting that female patients were more often perceived as anxious, rather than in pain, according to the reviews female authors.

Of course, some male patients will come away feeling that they have not received the best treatment or been listened to by their doctors.

But many women are left with the sense that their problems have been dismissed purely because of gender bias.

Writer Julia Buckley, 36, has spent most of her adult life trying to find out what was causing her chronic pain.

She suffers from a rare genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects the bodys connective tissues and causes pain, tiredness and dizziness. While her symptoms started in her teens, she wasnt diagnosed until she was 31.

She has now written a book, Heal Me: In Search Of A Cure, exploring why it took so long to get a diagnosis, which she is convinced is down to inherent sexism in the healthcare system.

Doctors are far more likely to blame female pain on psychological causes, she says. I have been seeing doctors since my teenage years with various pain-related problems.

Even after I was diagnosed with a genetic condition that is known for causing chronic pain, I saw an endocrinologist who told me: Theres nothing wrong with you, if you only stopped worrying youd be absolutely fine.

Since ancient Greek times, women have been diagnosed as hysterical  it is still going on and it makes me furious.

Of course, not all doctors are the same. But, often, if a woman cries in front of their GP, theyll think shes not coping, but if a man cries, they think: This must be serious.

Wendy (pictured) lost her hair after receiving treatment for the wrong diagnosis

Part of the problem is down to the training doctors get. Sexism is a societal issue, but doctors need to be made aware of it. Other companies make their employees aware of implicit biases, such as sexism, and male and female doctors should get that training. They need to be able to hear what their patients are telling them.

He made me feel like I was going crazy. But I felt suicidal and wanted someone to listen to me. I think if I were a man, I wouldve been taken more seriously. -Wendy Wheat

And yet, there are many examples where this simply doesnt happen, with tragic consequences in some cases.

At an inquest last year into the death of 23-year-old Charlotte Foster, her mother Cecilia told the hearing that Charlottes GP did not seem to listen to her.

Charlotte went into cardiac arrest and died after suffering deep vein thrombosis caused by the contraceptive pill. Yet three weeks before her death, her GP had told her all she needed was a spa day.

Charlotte, a business studies graduate from Newport, Shropshire, had displayed classic symptoms of pulmonary embolism  pain in her chest, back pain and difficulty taking a deep breath.

But her mother told the inquest Charlottes GP Sunil Simon told her her problem was mechanical and that she should go for a massage or a spa day.

Charlotte was very angry after the consultation. She was upset that no follow-up investigations had been arranged.

The coroner referred her GP to the General Medical Council, which issued Dr Simon with a formal warning. The GMC said he failed to consider a link between Charlottes symptoms and the contraceptive medication.

Helen Greenwood (pictured), 43, almost died following GP advice after a heart attack

Wendy Wheat, 46, an administrator is another who is convinced theres an insidious sexism running through the medical profession that almost cost her her life.

The mother-of-two, from Nottingham, saw countless doctors and consultants, both male and female, over five years, until she was finally diagnosed with liver disease in 2012. Before this, she was told she was suffering from various conditions, including thyroid problems and chronic fatigue.

I never fully recovered from a serious bout of flu in 2004. I was exhausted all the time, she says. My male doctor told me it was my thyroid and gave me some medication, but it got worse. I used to be really sociable, but all I wanted to do was curl up in bed.

In 2009, Wendy went to see a male hormone specialist who told her she had chronic fatigue.

But as time went on, she started to suffer from extreme itchiness of the feet  a known indicator of some liver diseases  which became so bad that she made her feet bleed in her desperate attempts to stop the itching.

I wanted to rip my feet off, she says. Driving was impossible. I was sent to a dermatologist, who said it was trench foot and then keratoma [a benign skin tumour that mainly affects horses].

Wendy was given more medication, but within weeks of taking it, she had lost all of her long, curly, dark hair.

Obviously, as a woman in my 30s, this was devastating.

It was not until 2012 that Wendy saw a female GP, who performed a liver function test. She was then sent to a consultant who diagnosed primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), a serious, long-term liver disease affecting the bile ducts.

I remember going to see my usual male GP when I lost my hair and he told me I just had to live with it.

He made me feel like I was going crazy. But I felt suicidal and wanted someone to listen to me. I think if I were a man, I wouldve been taken more seriously. I feel like I was being treated as a silly woman, who was being vain for worrying about her hair.

When I was diagnosed with PBC, I felt relieved that I finally had an answer. After a few months of treatment, my hair grew back, the itchiness went and my fatigue was a lot better.

Helen (pictured with her son William) was told she was lucky to be alive after she ignored her GP and called 999

Wendy adds: As PBC mainly affects women, its not on the radar  its dismissed as a womens disease.

It is perhaps an indication of the current mindset in the medical profession that Robert Mitchell-Thain, an education officer for the PBC Foundation, commented that women should be more assertive when they see their doctors.

Sometimes, women do not always express themselves, meaning they are diagnosed too late because theyre not empowered enough to advocate for themselves, he says.

But surely the onus should not be on the patient, but the doctor?

And its not just that doctors are more likely to dismiss or downgrade a womans symptoms  there are also certain conditions that are classified as either male or female, meaning they are routinely misdiagnosed.

If a woman cries in front of their GP theyll think shes not coping, but if a man cries they think: This must be serious

Research from the British Heart Foundation carried out at the University of Leeds found that women are 50 times more likely than men to be wrongly diagnosed after a heart attack.

This is despite the fact that 28,000 women in the UK die following a heart attack each year  making it the second biggest killer of women after dementia.

Helen Greenwood believes that if shed been a middle-aged man, her treatment would have been very different. She experienced severe pains in her chest and arms while out with her nine-year-old daughter, Isabelle.

Helen, 43, a full-time mum from Berkshire, didnt realise she was having a major heart attack, but when the pain abated, she was concerned enough to arrange an emergency appointment with her GP.

Helen says: He asked if it felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest. I said I didnt think so. This answer was enough for him to say it was nothing to do with my heart. He didnt take my blood pressure or anything.

kayleigh South (pictured), 27, says she is lucky to be alive after hospitals failed to diagnose that she had pulmonary embolisms

I was a relatively young woman, and young women dont have heart attacks. I felt sidelined and ignored, but he was the expert, so I trusted him. I didnt want to make a fuss.

Twelve hours later, Helens condition had worsened, with pains now in her jaw and neck, too. This time, she dialled 999.

She was taken to hospital, where an angiogram showed a severe blockage in her heart  she was rushed into surgery to have a life-saving stent fitted, followed by three more a few days later.

She says: I remember the cardiologist scanning my heart exclaiming: Wow! I did not expect to see that. You are one very lucky lady to be here now. Im so glad I didnt listen to my GP. It was a very close call for me.

But she adds: If Id been a middle-aged man, maybe then they wouldve realised I was in the middle of a heart attack. I felt ignored.

And mother-of-two Kayleigh South, 27, says she is lucky to be alive after she claims two GPs and two hospitals failed to diagnose that she was suffering from pulmonary embolisms.

The bank worker, who lives in Somerset with 38-year-old husband Matt, sought medical help after suffering from agonising chest pain for ten days in May 2015. But her symptoms  the breathlessness and feeling of a heavy weight crushing her chest werent picked up until it was almost too late.

She recalls: I had never felt pain like it. I just wanted to die. It hurt to take a breath so badly that you didnt want to.

I first saw a woman GP, who was excellent. She sent me to A&E with a letter  but, despite scans, nothing was picked up and I was told it could be chest wall pain.

Things got worse, so I went back to A&E and then to see another out-of-hours doctor over the next few days.

It was this encounter that has left a lasting impression on Kayleigh.

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The pain was so severe that I was crying. I couldnt cope. But this doctor was very dismissive, she says.

Matt was in the room with me and the doctor spoke to him, like I wasnt there. He told him that the pain was all in my head. I felt so upset.

It was horrible. Why wasnt he speaking to me? Maybe it was because I was crying and I was quite emotional. But I knew it wasnt in my head. It was real and I was in a hell of a lot of pain.

Luckily, Kayleigh went back to A&E herself, where, this time, an X-ray of her chest picked up the near-fatal blood clots making their way to her heart. She was given anticoagulants just in the nick of time.

So, why might medics  and not just men, but some women, too  be biased when it comes to female patients?

Although its true that there are now more female GPs than male (around 52 per cent of GPs are women), its been well recorded that medicine has evolved largely through the study of the male body  and following the teachings of male experts.

Stephanie Dickson (pictured), 24, saw her GP eleven times before her untimely death

Even the animals that are used in laboratories for medical testing are predominantly male.

Yet men and womens bodies are profoundly different, leaving women on the back foot when it comes to diagnosis.

Women are twice as likely as men to be told they have anxiety and stress  with doctors sometimes overlooking serious illnesses as a result.

Tragically, this is what happened to 24-year-old Stephanie Dickson, who died before doctors discovered she was suffering from a brain tumour instead of the stress and depression they had diagnosed.

Over nine months, Stephanie, from Edinburgh, saw her GP 11 times, called doctors out four times and visited her local hospitals A&E department twice, as she suffered with debilitating headaches, neck ache and dizziness.

Women are twice as likely as men to be told they have anxiety and stress  with doctors sometimes overlooking serious illnesses as a result

But instead of being sent for a scan or blood tests, which could have saved her, the young office worker was given antidepressants.

It was her mother, childminder Debbie, 53, who found her daughter dead within hours of doctors sending her home for the last time in April 2013.

The fatal accident inquiry (Scotlands equivalent of an inquest) heard in January this year that had Stephanie been given the correct treatment, up until the day she died she would have had a 98 per cent chance of survival.

Debbie says: Steph was blonde, blue-eyed and very girly, and I do think that had something to do with doctors not having taken her seriously.

When we heard that she could have been saved, it was devastating.

I want her death to be investigated further to see if chances to save her were missed because she was a woman. I dont want this to happen to anyone else.

DO YOU think your symptoms were not taken seriously because of your sex? Write to femailreaders@dailymail.co.uk
FORT RICE  Herds of sleek black cattle graze in the lush green fields and pastures around Ken and Bonnie Millers ranch. The yard is tidy, everything in its place.

But for everything a visitor can see, the Millers are most proud of what they have done to care for what isnt seen.

Taking care of the herd below the ground is the most important thing, Ken explains.

The herd below the ground to which Ken refers is the vast microscopic life in the soil. A handful of soil, he says, contains more living things than there are on the face of the Earth.

Once you think of the soil as being alive, it changes the way you think about it, Bonnie says.

The Millers have spent years focusing on improving the biology of the soil, fixing fragile ground and transforming their herd into one that works with the environment on their south-central North Dakota land.

For their efforts, the Millers have been named the recipients of this years North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award, which honors North Dakota landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.

The Millers also were finalists for the inaugural 2016 award, which went to Black Leg Ranch. Brandon Schafer, 319 watershed coordinator for Morton County Soil Conservation District, says the district nominated the Millers because of how they embrace concepts of giving back to the land and the people on it.

Everything that the Millers do takes into account the whole of their operation, Schafer says. This is everything from the wildlife, plants, water, livestock, family, neighbors and quality of life to name a few. Ken and Bonnie also are selfless in sharing how they accomplish this with people from across the county, country and world through the numerous events that Ken has hosted and been asked to be a part of.

The other finalists for this years award were Jeremy and Sarah Wilson of Jamestown and Gene and Christine Goven of Turtle Lake.

Bonnie calls the award humbling.

You have to celebrate your accomplishments and give appreciation to the people who helped us get where we are, she says.

Decades of progress

The Millers display a photo of their farmstead from sometime in the mid 1940s. The black-and-white print highlights the openness of the prairie beneath the bluffs that split the ranch into higher ground and lower ground. Back then, there was no shelter, nothing to protect the land from the harsh prairie winds.

Ken and his brother convinced their father to let them plant a shelterbelt when they were in high school. Though their father was dubious about the ventures chances, the trees survived and thrived, and after high school Ken planted another shelter belt. Now those and more trees provide ample shelter throughout the yard, which used to be important when the Millers calved out in February and March.

But the trees were just the first of many changes to come.

Conservation long had been a goal of the Millers. The ranch, about half an hour south of Mandan, overlooks the Missouri River. Ken always worried about the effects of soil erosion from the water and the rain.

In the mid 1980s, Ken attended the Savory Institute, an organization started by conservationist Allan Savory that focuses on the importance of soil health. There, Ken learned about holistic management and was introduced to some of the techniques and ideas that continue to inform the management of his ranch.

The Millers credit staff from the Morton County Soil Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service for assistance and support over the years. Ken also learned through his former career with Burleigh County Soil Conservation District, where he could observe experiments at the Menoken Farm on good ground, then try them out on his own marginal ground.

Now, the Millers plant with no tillage, use cover crops to add diversity to cropping rotations, move cattle every few days on small paddocks that once were large pastures and experiment with other ways to improve their sustainability and soil health.

One of the things Allan Savory questioned way back in the 1980s was why the Millers were calving in the midst of frigid, snowy North Dakota winters. Deer and other animals arent giving birth until spring has sprung, so why fight nature?

Ken pondered it for years before changing his calving pattern. Since 2006, his cows have calved in June, out on pasture and past time for worrying about frozen ears and tails. No longer does he have to check cows in freezing temperatures, and input costs are reduced as the cattle have time after winter to regain body condition before calving. The cattle are all-natural and grass-fed, which cuts down on trips through the chute, and, the Millers feel, produces a healthier product.

It really makes ranching easy, Ken says.

The herd has changed to better fit the conditions and to become more efficient. The Millers started with a mainly Black Angus herd, then over the years transitioned to Hereford and Simmental, getting bigger and bigger animals. Theyve moved back to Angus  finding breeders that raise cattle that have a smaller frame even than the average Angus. Instead of maintaining the body weight of a 1,400 pound animal, the cows now top out around 1,100 or 1,150 pounds.

Impressive results

Its the first week in October, and Miller and his son-in-law Jesse Karabensh are planning how to use an irrigated cover crop field, with portions that reach nearly 9-feet tall. The field had been in wheat this spring and was baled due to poor quality in early July. Then it was planted to an eclectic mix of seeds: a couple of types of millet, sudan grass, turnips, radishes, several varieties of clover, kale, cowpeas, soybeans, sunflowers, italian ryegrass, hairy vetch, lentils and oats among them.

Karabensh has swathed around the field and will swath paths in a wagon-wheel pattern where fencing can be set up to move the cows through the field sometime in November. About half the forage will be consumed by the cattle, with the herd stomping through small paddocks every day or so. The rest will be left as cover for the ground and vegetation for wildlife.

The cover crops, Miller explains, help heal the land as well as provide an economical source of feed. Every hay field that comes out of production goes into cover crops for at least two years; the diversity of the mixture helps regenerate the soil. Cattle, which are stocked at a high density in the paddocks, help the process, with their manure and the stomping of their hooves.

Since they started changing their practices, the Millers have seen improvements on their land. Ravines have filled in. Run-off has been nearly eliminated. Grass grows in places that once were sparse. Ken credits soil-friendly techniques with helping the ranch make it through this summers drought in relatively good shape.

In the past this would have been a disaster, he says.

As much as the land has improved, the Millers want to keep finding ways to make it better.

Youve got to keep learning, Ken says.

And, just as importantly, theyll keep telling their story. Ken welcomes people who are interested in learning from his successes and his failures to visit the ranch.

Weve got to get this message across, he says. Weve got to tell our story of how were improving the land.
Talk about rocking the gravy boat . . . Multi-Michelin-star chef Tom Kerridge has admitted that good old Bisto is a staple ingredient in his home.

Theres brown sauce, red sauce and chicken Bisto at my house, he told the Cheltenham Literature Festival earlier this month. We all have really busy lives, and we all have store cupboard essentials.

Gravy is one of the most hotly debated aspects of a roast: should you labour over a hot stove to make it, or is dumping some gravy granules in hot water enough?

To work out whether its worth doing gravy the traditional way, we put shop-bought chicken varieties head-to-head against the very best chefs recipes.

To test them, Alice Smellie enlisted Jack Welshman, sous chef at the award-winning Talbot Inn in Mells, Somerset. My passion is gravy, says Jack. It should be smooth and not too thick. You can mask a bland piece of meat with a good gravy, but if you get the gravy wrong, you can ruin a meal.

So, what did mum-of-three Alice and chef Jack make of our great gravy test?

Alice Smellie from FEMAIL and sous chef Jack Welshman from the award-winning Talbot Inn tried a selection of famous chef's gravies against similar cheaper ones (file image)

DELICIOUSLY MEATY: TOM KERRIDGE VS BISTO

Tom Kerridges recipe

ALICE SAYS: The gravy recipe from Tom Kerridges Easy Roast Chicken uses only chicken stock, butter and plain flour. The chicken itself is roasted with carrot, celery, onion, lemon and herbs and cooked at a low heat for three hours, releasing more juices.

I strain the vegetables and cooking juices into a pan, pour in 275ml stock and bring it to the boil. I add 30g butter to the roasting tin, then 1 tbsp flour to make a paste. I pour the roasting juices back into the tray, cook for five minutes, and strain.

The resulting gravy is a delicious balance between the meat juice and vegetables.

JACKS VERDICT: Im a big fan of Kerridge  he is a genius chef  and the texture of this gravy is satin-smooth. Its not as meaty as some, but the focus on vegetables adds a distinctive flavour. 8/10

Bisto Gravy Granules For Chicken, 1.25 for 170g, Tesco

ALICE SAYS: I used to think making gravy from granules was cheating. But if a Michelin chef says its OK, Im very happy to save time.

This tub of granules looks like pale instant coffee and smells richly of meat. I put four heaped teaspoons into a measuring jug, add boiling water and stir. The result is rich and velvety. I dont think Ill bother with the real thing on Sunday.

JACKS VERDICT: Im very impressed. This is the closest-tasting to homemade from the shop-bought versions we tried. Its meaty and has a great texture. Tom is right to keep it in his kitchen. 9/10

WINNER: BISTO

Bisto Gravy Granules For Chicken scored higher than Tom Kerridges Easy Roast Chicken recipe

SPLASH OF WINE: MARY BERRY VS MORRISONS

Mary Berrys recipe

ALICE SAYS: I love Mary  she is not a woman to make life harder than necessary, and even favours ready-made pastry. This is borne out by the gravy from her Sunday Roast Chicken recipe, which only uses flour, chicken stock, a splash of red wine and redcurrant jelly.

I roast a chicken with lemon, onion and thyme, then spoon off all but 1 tbsp of the fat on the surface.

I add 2 tsp plain flour to the juices, bring it to the boil, then pour in the wine and the jelly. The result is a sweet, herby gravy with a redcurrant flavour.

JACKS VERDICT: This fruity gravy is not so full of chicken flavour, but will offset the meat well. Its clearly homemade: its less gelatinous with a shimmer of excess fat on top. 7/10

Morrisons Chicken Gravy scored lower than Mary Berry's recipe because of its unappealing appearance

Morrisons Chicken Gravy, 1 for 300g

ALICE SAYS: A smooth, pale gravy in a plastic pouch. The main ingredients are water, white wine  and chicken skin, which sounds disgusting. It takes just three minutes to microwave, which is a plus, but looks unappealing.

JACKS VERDICT: Surprisingly thick, chickeny and not salty, but the taste rapidly disappears. It has a zing  perhaps down to the 6 per cent wine. 6/10

WINNER: MARY BERRY

FULL OF VEG: JAMIE OLIVER VS SAINSBURY'S

Jamie Oliver Consistently Good Gravy

ALICE SAYS: Roasted veg and organic stock provide the flavour. As per Jamies recipe, I add flour to the chicken juices (with most of the fat removed), then mash to a pulp some carrots and celery, which I have made as an accompaniment. I throw in a glass of port and boil for a few minutes.

Next, I pour in a litre of stock, simmer for ten minutes and sieve. Its not quick, and is labour-intensive, but I love the vegetable taste with meaty undertones.

JACKS VERDICT: This has far less flavour and is thinner than the rest. I find the vegetable taste off-putting. But chefs are always looking for new ways of cooking and Oliver is brilliant. 7/10

Sainsburys Taste The Difference Chicken Gravy, 3.15 for 450g

Sainsburys Taste The Difference Chicken Gravy scored higher than Jamie Oliver Consistently Good Gravy because of it's homemade taste

ALICE SAYS: A tub of thin gravy, with an impressive ingredients list including stock, vegetables, white wine, lemon juice, thyme and bay leaves  and its low in fat. Ready in minutes in the microwave, I adore the intense taste.

JACKS VERDICT: Of all the supermarket ready-made gravies, I like this best. It has a rich, consistency, as well as tasting chickeny and homemade. 8/10

WINNER: SAINSBURYS

CHRISTMAS GRAVY: PRUE LEITH VS WAITROSE

Prue Leiths recipe

ALICE SAYS: The only chicken gravy recipe I can find from Prue Leith requires bacon and sausages to be added to the dish while the chicken is cooking, as well as an onion, apple and herb stuffing and chicken and veal stock. I use beef stock instead of veal.

The method is similar to the others  bringing the chicken juices and stock to the boil  but there is extra flavour from the stuffing, sausages and bacon. Its really rich and meaty-tasting.

JACKS VERDICT: I love the consistency. Its the most similar to our restaurants  very meaty, a result of the beef stock, and I relish the flavours imparted by the mixture of meats. This is my favourite. 10/10

Waitrose Chicken Gravy, 2.69 for 500g

Waitrose Chicken Gravy scored lower than Prue Leith's recipe because of its mild flavour

ALICE SAYS: This contains roast chicken, white wine, chicken stock, vegetables and herbs. Ive used it before at Christmas (hiding the packaging and trying to pass it off as my own!). Its pleasant, herby and meaty.

JACKS VERDICT: This is bland. The flavour is very mild. You can taste the thyme, but it needs something to bring it all together. Adequate but not exciting. 6/10

WINNER: PRUE LEITH

A YEASTY SECRET: MRS BEETON VS KNORR POTS

Mrs Beetons recipe

ALICE SAYS: The grandmother of modern cooking, Mrs Beetons Book Of Household Management, published in 1861, is used by my own lovely grandmother.

It is an excellent modern practice to use the water in which green vegetables have been cooked, says Mrs Beeton. The only other addition that is permissible is a good meat or yeast extract. I duly use broccoli water, then add Marmite (yeast extract). Its odd-tasting, but I do like it.

JACKS VERDICT: This is very different. As Im not a fan of Marmite, its not for me. 5/10

Knorr Chicken Gravy Pot, 1.80 for a four-pack, Waitrose

Knorr Chicken Gravy Pot scored higher than Mrs Beetons recipe because of its smooth texture

ALICE SAYS: Little plastic pots of concentrated gravy, containing chicken stock, starch, chicken fat, yeast extract and rosemary, to which you simply add boiling water for instant meat sauce.

It smells a bit like cat food, but once I add it to 280ml of water in a pan, whisk and boil it up, the gravy is divinely meaty.

JACKS VERDICT: Not too thick and a good, smooth texture. I like the balance of flavours and it wont overpower the meat. 7/10

WINNER: KNORR

PLAIN AND SIMPLE: DELIA VS TESCO

Delia Smiths Perfect Gravy

ALICE SAYS: Delia recommends using hot stock (vegetable water) or Marigold Bouillon, which is a sort of instant stock. I decide on carrot and broccoli water.

Its a wordy recipe, but I follow it to the letter, mixing up the juices from the chicken, adding flour and hot stock, whisking and simmering. The result is on the bland side, but tasty nonetheless.

JACKS VERDICT: There is a slightly overwhelming taste of roasted chicken, but its pleasant. The texture is a little too thick and it needs more salt. 8/10

Tesco Finest Chicken Gravy, 1.50 for 350ml

Tesco Finest Chicken Gravy scored lower than Delia Smiths Perfect Gravy because of it's colour and taste

ALICE SAYS: A pallid-looking, beige gravy, but one made with free-range corn-fed chicken, sage and Sauvignon Blanc. Tastes as though it came straight from the microwave. Im not a fan.

JACKS VERDICT: This is more like chicken soup than gravy. Theres an artificial taste and an inappropriate creaminess, as well as a lingering, cloying aftertaste. 5/10

WINNER: DELIA
The MeToo movement that has been widely credited by Alyssa Milano was actually started by an activist more than 10 years ago, as a way to support young women of color who had been victims of abuse.

Tarana Burke, a native of Harlem in New York City, has emerged as the creator of the campaign. The activist, now 44, was a youth worker when a young girl named Heaven told her she was being abused by her mother's boyfriend.

Burke couldn't bring herself to listen to the girl's story in full, so she redirected Heaven to another female counselor. But for years afterwards, Burke always remembered that she wished she could have told that girl 'me too'.

Credit where it is due: The MeToo movement that has been widely attributed to Alyssa Milano was actually started by activist Tarana Burke (pictured) more than 10 years ago

Those two words have become a hashtag that was widely publicized by Milano earlier this week in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. More than 30 women have accused the Hollywood mogul of sexual harassment and, in some cases, rape.

Movement: Tarana, a native of Harlem, has emerged as the creator of the now-viral campaign

Milano thus asked women on social media to share the hashtag MeToo if they had been sexually harassed or assaulted, as a way to bring visibility to how many people have been subjected to that kind of abuse. Thousands of women have used it to share their personal stories.

Since then, Milano's name and the MeToo movement have become closely associated, even though Burke was the one who started the initiative a decade ago. Milano appeared unaware of the campaign's first incarnation when she first asked women to participate.

On her website, Burke has described Heaven as a 'sweet-faced little girl' who remained close to her throughout the youth camp Burke was working for.

The activist, however, noticed the girl had a 'hyperactive and often anger-filled behavior'. 'She had a deep sadness and a yearning for confession that I read immediately and wanted no part of,' Burke adds in her account.

Support: The activist, now 44, started the movement when a young girl told her she was being abused by her mother's boyfriend; it was recently revived by actress Alyssa Milano (right)

But Heaven did confide in Burke, telling her about 'all sorts of monstrous things' her mother's boyfriend was inflicting on her, Burke recalls.

'I was horrified by her words, the emotions welling inside of me ran the gamut, and I listened until I literally could not take it anymore which turned out to be less than five minutes,' Burke adds. 'Then, right in the middle of her sharing her pain with me, I cut her off and immediately directed her to another female counselor who could "help her better." '

Heaven's words made a lasting impact on Burke, who says she will 'never forget' the look on the girl's face.

'I will never forget the look because I think about her all of the time,' Burke adds. 'The shock of being rejected, the pain of opening a wound only to have it abruptly forced closed againit was all on her face.'

But that day, the activist says, she couldn't find the 'courage' to tell Heaven how much she emphasized with her story.

Attention: The actress has since acknowledged Burke's campaign, and tweeted on Tuesday that its origin story is 'equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring'

Message: Burke thanked the actress for her message and added: 'This is my life's work and I'm glad it's being amplified in this way. It's more than a moment - it's a movement!!'

'I watched her walk away from me as she tried to recapture her secrets and tuck them back into their hiding place,' she adds. 'I watched her put her mask back on and go back into the world like she was all alone and I couldn't even bring myself to whisper me too.'

Since then, Burke has created Just Be Inc, a program to support girls between nine and 16 years old and help them become community leaderswhich also includes the MeToo campaign for survivors of sexual abuse, assault and exploitation.

'It wasnt built to be a viral campaign or a hashtag that is here today and forgotten tomorrow,' the activist told Ebony in a statement. 'It was a catchphrase to be used from survivor to survivor to let folks know that they were not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible.'

Milano has since acknowledged Burke's movement, and tweeted on Tuesday: 'I was just made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring.'

Burke thanked the actress for her message and added: 'This is my life's work and I'm glad it's being amplified in this way. It's more than a moment - it's a movement!!'
Millie Mackintosh during the 95 treatment, which is said to reduce wrinkles

From expensive lotions to Botox to bizarre facials, theres no end to the treatments celebrities try in a bid to fight off signs of ageing.

But for the latest beauty trend, stars are turning not to a new invention but something thats been around for more than 2,000 years: acupuncture.

The ancient practice, a staple of Chinese medicine, has been credited for treating everything from chronic pain to fertility problems.

Now A-listers are trying the procedure on their face, which is said to reduce fine lines and puffiness.

Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston have tried out cosmetic facial acupuncture in the US, while Millie Mackintosh has given it a go in the UK.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 28, swears by the painful-sounding procedure, in which up to 40 needles are inserted into the face, ears and neck and left for around 45 minutes.

She claims regular 95 treatments have improved her appearance as well as helping her beat headaches.

Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston (left to right) have tried out cosmetic facial acupuncture in the US

Miss Mackintosh, a descendant of the Quality Street chocolate makers, said that after having acupuncture for back pain, she tried it on her face, adding: Its been amazing. It has stopped me getting headaches.

The appearance of my skin was smoother afterwards as well; it really does work on fine lines. It also drains fluid where they place the needles by encouraging the lymph to drain ... to flush out puffiness in the face.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 28, swears by the painful-sounding procedure, in which up to 40 needles are inserted into the face, ears and neck and left for around 45 minutes

Its actually not that painful, and can be quite relaxing at times. Having said that, when they put the needles into your ears you do feel a few tiny pricks.

Miss Mackintosh, who visits London-based acupuncturist Maire Weaver, is a fan of clean-eating and exercise, and views acupuncture as a holistic alternative to Botox and fillers. Acupuncture involves fine needles being inserted into specific spots, called vortex points.

This is said to release energy and endorphins, while the minor trauma to the skin is claimed to improve blood flow and stimulate cell re-growth.

While regular acupuncture has been around for longer, it apparently started being used on the face for anti-ageing purposes in the Chinese Song Dynasty, beginning in 960AD, when the emperors concubines and the empress would receive it.
Every season, another fashion brand comes out with a new piece of denim that pushes the limits of what can really be called jeans.

But one Japanese designer may have finally taken it to far.

Showing a Spring/Summer 2018 collection at Amazon Fashion Week in Tokyo this week, the brand Thibaut debuted a pair of denim pants that hardly even pants at all, with everything but the seams cut away and leaving just a thong-like foundation underneath.

When you want to wear jeans but also be naked: A Japanese brand called Thibaut showed what are being called 'thong jeans' at its Tokyo fashion show this week

Was this poor model mauled backstage? Nope! All the fabric was purposefully cut away leaving just seams and a whole lot of exposed flesh

The 'edgy' look is not available to buy, though it may hit stores next year. Now, it's simply making waves on the internet as a concept that no one asked for.

The woman who modeled the jeans was also wearing what appeared to be an old pair of sneakers and a nude bodysuit.

On top, she wore the 'jeans', which had been 'distressed' beyond recognition. The designer seems to have taken a pair of scissors to the denim cutting out all the fabric in front and back.

And it's not just the legs that are missing: the fabric over the pelvis and covering the butt is also gone, leaving behind just fraying seams that look like a flimsy cage outline.

'Yes, thong jeans now exist and if you'll excuse me, I'm off to start my official Make Jeans Whole Again campaign,' quipped a writer for HarpersBazaar.com.

While the new item is definitely worthy of raised eyebrows, it's far from the first piece of questionable denim to hit the market. It's not even the only pair of jeans to look like it has a built-in thong.

Pushin' the tush trend! ASOS sells a pair of 'open back' plumber butt jeans with a cut-out right over the bum

Derriere-flaunting denim: The high-waisted mom jeans retail for $60 and made waves when they appeared online earlier this year

The butt of every fashion joke: In April, French brand Vetements launched these zipper butt crack jeans in collaboration with Levi's

Earlier this year, ASOS debuted a pair of booty-baring jeans with a strange cut-out just above the butt.

The jeans come up waist-high, but across the lower back  right up to the butt crack  is a half moon-shaped cut-out, accented by a think panel of fabric. The style seems meant to evoke the 'whale tale' look of having a thong peak out from the top of jeans.

Called the 'ASOS High Waisted Straight Leg Jeans with Open Back in Ashes Washed Black with Belt,' the jeans are still available and cost $60.

In April, social media went wild over a pair of jeans with a zipper along the butt crack. The revealing bottoms were part of a collaboration between Levi's and the French company Vetements.

The denim pair also featured zippers going down the back of each leg.

In the clear: Topshop earned ridicule for these clear plastic 'jeans'

We see London, we see France: The model wearing them on the site had to wear shorts underneath, and many critics commented on how sticky and sweaty they'd be

Knees playin' peek-a-boo: Those jeans seemed to be a spin-off of these, which had come out earlier

When you're really proud of your joints: Also by Topshop, these jeans had clear panels over the knees

Topshop has also made waves for several odd pairs of jeans  on of which was actually made entirely out of plastic.

The 'MOTO Clear Plastic Straight-Leg Jeans' sold for $100 and, while they took on the shake and style of jeans, were totally clear plastic. The model wearing them had them layered over shorts.

The all-clear jeans seemed to be simply pushing the envelope further after the brand put out another pair of jeans with clear panels over the knees earlier.

Those sold for $95 and were labeled 'ridiculous' by social media users.

'We want to disrupt. We want to do something that will get people talking,' Topshop's head of design Mo Riach told Elle shortly after. 'It's a positive thing. Debate and discussion is a positive thing, and we have our customers coming to our site as a result of that.'
The stubborn layer of extra skin which develops underneath the jawline often includes some of the trickiest fat cells to shift.

Double chins can be the Kryptonite which destroys self confidence, and most people are forced to go under the knife to get rid of it.

But a new treatment which promises to dissolve chin fat permanently without surgery is making waves across Australia.

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A new injectable treatment promises to rid double chins forever in only two to four sessions

The non-surgical procedure is becoming more popular with droves of women heading to one Adelaide clinic

Instead of forking out for expensive liposuction, a growing number of Australian women are opting for an injectable solution known as Belkyra to banish those pesky chin fat cells, according to Today Tonight.

Up to 20 injections are administered via a fine needle into the fat cells on the chin, with each procedure taking only 20 minutes.

And ever since the introduction of the injectable chin lift earlier this year, women have arrived in droves to finally eliminate their 'turkey necks' once and for all - including former House Rules contestant Carole Bramston.

'I think it's important to look as good as you can for as long as you can,' Carole told Today Tonight.

It's not the first time the 54-year-old has enhanced her complexion, after admitting to splurging on a $7300 face lift which she says makes her look 10 years younger.

Ever since the introduction of the injectable chin lift earlier this year, women have arrived in droves to finally eliminate their 'turkey necks' once and for all

Even former House Rules contestant Carole Bramston (pictured) has had the injectable procedure for her 'turkey neck'

Every procedure costs an eye-watering $1250 and patients are encouraged to return two to four times for permanent results.

It may seem like a superficial reason to spend thousands on, but cosmetic physician Dr Sarah Boxley says more than half of adults are self-conscious of their double chins.

'A double chin may seem trivial, but a recent study revealed that 67 per cent of adults loathe the fat beneath their chin,' Dr Boxley told Body + Soul.

'It is a hereditary condition that sees sub-mental fat exists below the chin. The face appears to blend into the neck that obliterates the jawline and any definition.'

However injecting the synthetic treatment into the neck area does come with its fair share of risks.

Every procedure costs an eye-watering $1250 and patients are encourages to return two to four times for permanent results

Nerve damage is a potential side effect of the injectable chin lift, as well as the possibility of temporarily developing what is known as an 'asymmetrical smile'.

Injectable solutions to fix 'problem areas' which previously required lengthy surgery is now a booming industry.

Patients wanting rhinoplasty can also avoid going under the knife by choosing to be injected with synthetic collagen or polyacrylamide to simply 'reshape' their noses.

The procedure can also be done in under an hour and leading the charge is Bondi surgeon Dr William Mooney who says he fixes 'tiny nose irregularities' everyday with the injections.
A Melbourne fast food restaurant has debuted a multi-layered masterpiece of a burger that may possibly be their most most extravagant yet.

The appropriately named 'Big Dipper' is a burger that's built on a whopping 450 gram smoked beef patty that's been hollowed out and stuffed with pulled pork.

But wait there's more. The patty is then wrapped with bacon and topped with cheese before it's slow cooked.

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The Big Dipper is a multi-layered masterpiece of a burger that may possibly be the most most extravagant ever created

More bacon is added as well as liquid cheese and barbeque sauce. But the piece de resistance is the top part of the bun is hollowed out and filled with more liquid cheese, and of course, a fair serving of chips.

The creation is the handiwork of B3 BBQ  a Brunswick-based burger bar which has built its reputation on creating crazy gourmet burgers.

Owner Chris Foley told Daily Mail Australia his team create the specials each month as part of a 'hidden menu that's shared with their social media followers.

He explained those who see the burgers online can ask for it in store, it's not on the menu as a regular fixture.

While not cheap, the Big Dipper will set burger lovers back $24.90, it's guaranteed to deliver on the flavour front.

Naturally social media has gone wild for the whopper, with the video alone clocking up almost most 200,000 views.

Plenty have left comments too, ranging from 'A heart attack in a meal right there' to another writing 'this looks like heaven'.

Specials at BB3 BBQ include Build Your Burger Mondays. While you can let your imagination run free for $16.90 the catch is you have to eat it all or pay for extras.

Addressing nutritional concerns potential punters might have, Chris offers the over-the-top treat 'is what it is'.

'We're not trying to pretend to be anything, we're just trying of offer people tasty food in a comfortable environment, he said.

'It's wholesome food that's approachable.'

The barbeque rib dog featuring a hot dog bun filled with macaroni cheese, pickled onions and slow cooked beef on the bone

Other specials at BB3 BBQ include Build Your Burger Mondays. While you can let your imagination run free for $16.90 the catch is you have to eat it all or pay for extras.

Previous 'hidden menu offerings at B3 BBQ have included a barbeque rib dog featuring a hot dog bun filled with macaroni cheese, pickled onions and slow cooked beef on the bone.

Fans have been equally wowed, although many seem far less concerned as to the rib dog's artery clogging capabilities.




Obesity causes asthma symptoms in children to worsen, a new study has found.

Researchers who worked on the report published in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology studied the records of nearly 40,000 Japanese children who have asthma.

They found that those who were obese had to be hospitalized more often because of their asthma, and they also had to spend longer periods of time in the hospital.

The analysis serves as a warning that obese people have higher chances of dying from an array of fatal conditions.

A new study has found that obesity worsens asthma symptoms for children (file photo)

HOW EDUCATION CAN LEAD TO LOWER CHILDHOOD OBESITY RATES A 2013 report studied the impact of educating low-income children on how to make healthy food choices. It found that children exposed to food education programs ate a quarter- to a third-cup more vegetables and fruits at home. They were also more likely to choose low-fat or fat-free milk. It explained environmental hurdles keeping economically disadvantaged people from fresh food, such as safety concerns, high prices, food availability and store upkeep. People who struggle with obesity are more likely to endure the following conditions: Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Gallbladder disease

Sleep apnea

Breathing problems

Mental illness

Hypertension

Type 2 diabetes

Osteoarthritis

Liver disease Advertisement

For the study researchers looked at the records of 38,679 children in Japan who had asthma. Of those, 3,177 were underweight, 28,904 had a normal weight, 3,334 were overweight and 3,264 were obese. All participants were aged three to eight.

All of the patients had been hospitalized because of their asthma, and the researchers looked at how frequently all of the participants were readmitted within 30 days of their discharge.

The researchers also looked at the duration of each participant's original hospital stay, whether or not they required intensive care and the cost of their medical care while hospitalized.

They found that obese children who were hospitalized because of their asthma had to stay in the hospital for longer periods of time. They also had a significantly higher chance of having to return to the hospital within 30 days.

The study explained: 'These findings demonstrated that obesity was a risk factor for repeated admissions caused by asthma in children, indicating the importance for the prevention of pediatric obesity.'

The study's authors emphasized that their work should warn doctors to pay particular attention to asthmatic children who are obese.

They said: 'These results suggest that obese children require more attention and greater treatment to control their asthma after discharge from hospital.'

Researchers did not determine a link between obesity and an asthmatic child's need for intensive care or their hospitalization costs.

A CDC report published last week revealed that obesity plagues about one-fifth of American children, adding to a growing body of evidence that highlights the obesity crisis in the US.

Experts are cautioning that if the crisis is not controlled the generation of children reflected in the recent report will experience a wide array of weight-related health problems as they age.
Just one hospital in England has hit its targets for cancer, operations and accident and emergency over the past year, it was claimed today.

Growing demand is leaving the NHS struggling to serve patients, with Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust in Bedfordshire the only service to have achieved its goals.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland have not hit any of their three targets for 18 months, while Scotland has only had success with its A&E goal in the last year.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland have not hit any of their three targets for 18 months, while Scotland has only had success with its A&E goal in the last year (file picture)

Hospital staff told the BBC, which conducted the research, of their concerns over shortages of doctors and nurses, a lack of money and insufficient room in A&E.

It was also revealed that one in nine patients now wait longer than four hours to be seen in A&E  and the chances of this have more than doubled in four years.

The last time Wales achieved a target was 2010, while England  which hit its key targets 86 per cent of the time in 2012-13 - missed every monthly target last year.

Professor Srinivasan Madhusudan, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's head of cancer, suggested there were insufficient staff to cope with patient demand.

He told the BBC: 'When I get to work I want to treat my patients as soon as I can. So do my colleagues. There are only so many patients that you can treat.

'We have a team of 22 fantastic oncologists who are working very hard to do the best they can under what is quite a stressful situation.'

But Professor Keith Willett, the director for acute care in NHS England, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This winter we will be extending the access to GPs, so that by the end of the winter, 50 per cent of the whole population will have access to extended hours in general practice.

'The 111 service is moving to a situation when patients call 111, they will be able to speak to a clinician. That has gone up in the last year from 20 per cent to 26 per cent.'

He added: 'It's all about the pressure on beds. We have 100,000 beds in the NHS, of which about 40 per cent are for the treatment of planned conditions, like cancer. So whatever we do across the system releases it.'

A Department of Health spokesman told MailOnline: 'We know the NHS faces pressure over winter which is why it started preparing earlier than ever and has robust plans in place, supported by an extra 100million for A&Es.

'Health systems worldwide face similar pressures but thanks to the hard work of staff, more than 60 per cent of hospital services in England are rated good or outstanding, and hospitals across the country treat hundreds of thousands more people within four hours in A&E departments and perform 1.5million more operations and other treatments within 18 weeks than they did five years ago, despite the increasing demands of an ageing population.'

And a Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'There have been significant increases in the numbers of people needing treatment in the NHS in Wales.

Growing demand is leaving the NHS struggling to serve patients, with Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust in Bedfordshire the only service to have achieved its goals

'The vast majority of patients continue to be treated within access and treatment targets and patient surveys consistently show high levels of satisfaction with our NHS.

'We have also seen a 30 per cent improvement in Referral to Treatment Targets for those waiting over 36 weeks compared to August 2015.

'Despite this, we recognise in some cases people are waiting too long for care and treatment. This is why we continue to invest more than ever before in health and social care, to help meet the ever increasing demand being placed on both services.'

An NHS Engand spokesman told MailOnline: 'Hospitals and GPs are preparing intensively for this winter, and would remind people of the importance of having a flu vaccination.

'There are 21 million people eligible this year, but last year eight million people missed out and that is something we can all definitely change.'

To check how your area is performing, click here to use the BBC's tool
Giving up a bus or train seat to the elderly could harm their health, a medical expert has warned.

Standing up is good for the elderly and we should not be encouraging them to be less active.

Relatives should also urge their loves ones to take stairs rather than lifts or escalators and walk to the shops with their bags.

They should also resist getting a stair lift installed unless really needed.

Oxford professor Sir Muir Gray, who is clinical adviser to Public Health England, said pensioners must 'play their part' in keeping active to avoid becoming a burden to the NHS.

He called on them to 'understand their role' by staying physically fit and urged them to walk for at least 10 minutes a day.

An expert has called on pensioners to 'understand their role' in avoiding being a burden to the health and social care system by staying physically fit (stock photo)

HOW MUCH EXERCISE OVER 65S SHOULD DO Adults aged 65 or older who are generally fit and have no health conditions that limit their mobility should try to be active daily and should do: At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or walking every week, and

Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) Or: 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week, and

Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) Or: A mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week. For example, two 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of brisk walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and

Strength exercises on two or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

'We need to be encouraging activity as we age  not telling people to put their feet up,' he told The Sun.

'Don't get a stair lift for your ageing parents, put in a second banister. And think twice before giving up your seat on the bus or train to an older person. Standing up is great exercise for them.'

Retirement is not a time to rest

The NHS is set to be overwhelmed by a surge in elderly disabled people over the next decade, experts have warned.

The number of over-65s in England and Wales requiring care will grow by 25 per cent by 2025, according to a study published earlier this year in the Lancet Public Health journal.

Studies have estimated that just 2 per cent of older adults meet weekly exercise requirements.

Lead author Scarlett O'Mally, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Eastbourne District General Hospital, said old age should not be seen as the time to 'take it easy'.

'We need to challenge the idea that old people should rest,' she told The Telegraph. 'People need to keep active however old they are.

'They need to increase activity. Every adult should do a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week and twice weekly strength and balance training.'

She suggested older patients while in hospital should do squats next to their beds and walk the corridors to improve their recovery time.
Women affected by controversial vaginal mesh implants deserve an apology and are unnecessary victims of a 'cavalier practise', a senior Tory MP has said.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, health committee chairman, said the Government 'cannot allow' the scandal-hit procedure to continue to be offered to women for problems after childbirth.

Her scathing attack, made at a debate in parliament today which was secured by outraged campaigners, revolved around a lack of clinical trials into the implants.

It adds to the mounting pressure for a suspension into the usage of mesh, made of the same material as some drinks bottles, until a public inquiry takes place.

Dr Wollaston, who represents Totnes in Devon, told MPs: 'There must be adequate consultation with women about the risks so they can weigh those risks up.

'Fundamentally at the heart of this is, there's an absence of data, and I'm afraid there's been cavalier practise.

'We cannot allow this to continue in the future and I think the women who have been affected deserve an apology.

'They deserve recognition of the extent of this and the delays in which this has been recognised and has been taken forward.'

Dr Sarah Wollaston, health committee chairman, said the Government 'cannot allow' the scandal-hit procedure to continue to be offered to women for problems after childbirth

The implants, which can shrink, twist, curl and cut through internal tissue, have ruined the lives of thousands of women, by scuppering their sex lives, leaving them depressed and on the brink of suicide.

More than 800 women are suing after complaining of crippling pain in a scandal that has been compared to thalidomide.

Leading mesh manufacturer Johnson & Johnson were forced to pay out $57 million to a sufferer last month after a jury found the company to be negligent and its product defective.

Dr Wollaston welcomed the findings of the Mesh Oversight Report  the Government's three-year investigation into the usage of vaginal mesh.

But she warned that there have been 'very clear failings' that have been 'allowed to continue for so long'. The report rejected calls for a widespread ban on the implants.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MESH Different types of mesh implants include: Mini-sling: This implant is embedded with a metallic inserter. It sits close to the mid-section of a woman's urethra. The use of an inserter is thought to lower the risk of cutting during the procedure.

This implant is embedded with a metallic inserter. It sits close to the mid-section of a woman's urethra. The use of an inserter is thought to lower the risk of cutting during the procedure. TVT sling : Such a sling is held in place by the patient's body. It is inserted with a plastic tape by cutting the vagina and making two incisions in the abdomen. The mesh sits beneath the urethra.

: Such a sling is held in place by the patient's body. It is inserted with a plastic tape by cutting the vagina and making two incisions in the abdomen. The mesh sits beneath the urethra. TVTO sling : Inserted through the groin and sits under the urethra. This sling was intended to prevent bladder perforation.

: Inserted through the groin and sits under the urethra. This sling was intended to prevent bladder perforation. TOT sling : Involves forming a 'hammock' of fibrous tissue in the urethra. Surgeons often claim this form of implant gives them the most control during implantation. Advertisement

Dr Wollaston, whose concerns were echoed across the political divide, added: 'At the heart of that it has been the inadequacy of clinical trials, recording and consent.'

The debate was called by Emma Hardy, MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle. Labour has also offered its firm backing for a public inquiry into the controversial implants.

Ms Hardy, opening the debate, said the Government must commit to a 'full retrospective and mandatory audit of all interventions using mesh followed by a full public inquiry'.

There is then a need to 'suspend prolapse and incontinence mesh operations' while the thorough audit is carried out, she added.

Ms Hardy said: 'By committing to taking these actions the Government will not be able to undo the suffering and pain that these people have endured but it will go a long way to making sure that nothing like this will happen again.'

Shadow health minister Sharon Hodgson said the mesh implants were made from the same material as some drinks bottles.

Replying for the Government, health minister Jackie Doyle-Price acknowledged many MPs wanted to see an immediate ban on mesh products.

But she said the issue 'is not with the product'. Instead, she believes clinical practice is the reason behind the complication rates of the surgery.

Her scathing attack, made at a debate in parliament today secured by outraged campaigners, adds to the mounting pressure for a full public inquiry into the usage of mesh

Ms Doyle-Price added: 'From my perspective the issue is not with the product, it's about clinical practice, that's what's going wrong and I think that's where we need to be much clearer.'

WHO ELSE IS CALLING FOR AN INQUIRY? Paul Masterton, Tory MP for East Renfrewshire, highlighted how his party in Scotland - along with Labour - had 'stood firmly behind' women whose lives have been 'devastated' by mesh. He said: 'I'd urge my party south of the border to be alive to this issue and to act now while it has the opportunity to do so. 'Please suspend this procedure - if you're not convinced enough evidence is there, suspend it while you gather it together. 'Mesh is rapidly becoming one of the great global health scandals and I'd implore all of us in this place to do what we can to protect women from this potentially devastating procedure.' He also said it would 'ensure our nation becomes an example to others in how to achieve justice for all those who have been broken by mesh'. Labour's Mark Tami, who represents Alyn and Deeside, spoke about a constituent's suffering, stating, 'this is a national scandal and it needs to be treated in that way'. DUP MP Jim Shannon, of Strangford in Wales, was also among those who backed calls for an inquiry. Advertisement

She said women need to be treated properly by their clinicians and are given proper advice and assessment of the risks of undergoing the vaginal mesh procedure.

They should also be given the opportunity to report their complications where they go wrong and the ability to complain and challenge, Ms Doyle-Price urged.

Ms Hardy branded the Government's response 'simply not good enough at all', adding she was 'extremely disappointed'.

What do the figures say?

Vaginal mesh has been considered a high-risk device for nearly a decade in the US, with bodies accepting up to 40 per cent of women may experience injury.

Some studies, published in an array of scientific journals, have shown that pain, erosion and perforation from the surgery can strike up to 75 per cent of women.

The alarming evidence prompted officials in three US states to suspend the practice and saw them call for an urgent review into its safety.

Scottish health officials asked for the procedure to be suspended in Scotland in 2014 pending a similar safety review, but hundreds of women are still believed to be having the surgery.

English health officials have yet to acknowledge the risks of the brittle implants. Currently, the NHS and MHRA state only 1 to 3 per cent will experience complications such as pain.

Following tireless pursuits of the truth by campaigners who have raised concerns over the devices' safety, the official watchdog has been forced to re-asses its position.

'THE DAY BEFORE MESH SURGERY I RAN 5K, NOW I WET MYSELF' A mother-of-five who had a vaginal mesh implant fitted for mild stress incontinence now has to rush to the toilet and has even wet herself on several occasions as a result of the procedure. Julie Gilsennan, 41, from Liverpool, had an implant fitted on February 1 as she would experience leaking if she coughed, sneezed or lifted something heavy, which was impractical given her job as a paramedic. Although she can now sneeze without leaking, Ms Gilsennan has been left with an overactive bladder that makes her desperate for the toilet within 20 minutes of drinking. Previously highly active, Ms Gilsennan even ran 5km the day before having the implant fitted, yet she now struggles to move as she suffers unbearable pain Previously highly active, Ms Gilsennan even ran 5km the day before having the implant fitted, yet she now struggles to move as she suffers unbearable pain. The agony has even forced her to quit her highly-challenging career as a paramedic in order to work from home alone. Ms Gilsennan was told she would need up to six weeks off work after having the mesh fitted, however, she has been unable to return to work as a paramedic and instead works from home processing complaints to the ambulance service. She said: 'I loved my job, I did it for 12 years. I miss being out on the road with colleagues and talking to people. Now I'm trapped inside my house. 'I'm in immense pain permanently. It's like a cheese wire, glass pain in my groin. 'I also have constant pain across my hips as if I have arthritis. I can't return to work as a paramedic.' Advertisement

Officials expect the updated guidance on treating urinary incontinence with vaginal mesh to be released in February 2019.

Vaginal mesh: The facts

The mesh, introduced 20 years ago, was promoted as a quick, cheap alternative to complex surgery for incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. It was dubbed the 'gold-standard' treatment.

Because it did not require specialist training to implant, outraged women have since begged for tougher regulations to conduct such surgery.

More than 10,000 women a year have the procedure. But only 4,800 have suffered lacerations and nerve damage from the mesh breaking into tiny fragments.

After previously denying their implants were causing women's discomfort, mesh manufacturer Johnson & Johnson paid out $57 million to sufferer Ella Ebaugh, 51, from Philadelphia, last month.

More lawsuits remain as thousands say they too are experiencing problems with the device. Group legal action is underway in Australia.
As cities and states across the country apply to be the site of Amazons new headquarters, the Red River Valley already appears to be out of the running.

Lisa Gulland-Nelson, vice president of marketing and public relations for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp., said they filled out an initial questionnaire but werent able to submit a full proposal because they didnt meet enough of the criteria.

We threw our hat in the ring, she said Tuesday. It puts us on their radar a little bit.

EDC officials knew their odds were long, given that the company was looking for an area with at least 1 million people. North Dakotas total population was almost 758,000 last year, according to Census estimates, and state officials didnt plan to apply because of the requirement.

Amazon expects to invest more than $5 billion in its second headquarters to be a full equal to the current Seattle campus and create as many as 50,000 jobs.

Bids to be the site of the HQ2 project are due Thursday. Minnesota was preparing to beat the deadline by one day, the Pioneer Press reported this week.
Desperate health chiefs are trying to coax thousands of foreign GPs to work in the UK by telling them how beautiful the British countryside is.

In a frantic drive to plug the growing shortage of doctors, officials have released a guide to encourage those trained abroad to make the 'overwhelming' move.

The booklet, issued by the Royal College of GPs, highlights the beauty of the Lake District, Brecon Beacons in Wales and Scottish Highlands in a similar vein to the Grand Canyon.

It comes as the strain on general practice hits breaking point as angry doctors threaten to shut their waiting lists to new patients to cope with the surge in demand.

Desperate patients now routinely have to wait three weeks to see their doctor, while surgeries are struggling to recruit as GPs leave in droves.

The crisis has occurred because many GPs are leaving to work in the private sector or retiring in their 50s.

The new guide to address the situation, issued in partnership with the NHS, reads: 'A move to the UK presents you with a wide variety of locations to choose from.

Desperate health chiefs are trying to coax thousands of foreign GPs to work in the UK by telling them how beautiful the British countryside is (pictured: the Lake District)

In a frantic drive to plug the growing shortage of doctors, officials have released the guide to encourage those trained abroad to make the 'overwhelming' move (pictured: Glen Strathfarrar in the Scottish Highlands)

'From large, vibrant urban centres with access to world-class culture and heritage, cuisine and sports, to rural and coastal locations where you can appreciate daily the vast natural beauty of the UK.

'Countryside doesn't get much better than the Scottish Highlands, Brecon Beacons, Lake District or Mourne Mountains.'

The shortage of doctors

The staffing crisis is driving up waiting times by 15 per cent a year, and expected to hit three weeks for a non-emergency appointment by 2022.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced last week he will today offer trainee GPs a 20,000 golden hello to get them to work in understaffed practices.

It followed a long line of similar measures to plug the ever-growing gap, since the Government two years ago pledged to hire 5,000 new GPs by 2020.

But recent figures show they are quitting at a rate of 400 a month, with many opting to work abroad, leaving to work in the private sector or retiring in their 50s.

Plans to plug the gap

An army of physician associates, dubbed 'doctors on the cheap' because they don't have medical degrees, are also being trained to prop up the cash-strapped NHS.

There are also plans for a Government clinical negligence indemnity for GPs so they do not have to pay spiraling fees to private insurance firms.

The booklet, issued by the Royal College of GPs, paints the Lake District, Brecon Beacons (pictured) and Scottish Highlands in a similar vein to the Grand Canyon

The new guide, issued in partnership with the NHS, reads: 'A move to the UK presents you with a wide variety of locations to choose from (pictured: Mourne Mountains)

The new guide was already being developed before NHS England announced plans to recruit 3,000 overseas doctors to join the GP workforce earlier this year.

The 'invaluable' booklet, called 'A Guide for Overseas Doctors: Living and working the UK for GPs and their families', offers practical support to doctors.

The booklet, also backed by the BMA and GMC, provides advice for doctors seeking a move aimed at making their transition easier, by detailing the process of applying.

A 'GOLDEN HELLO' FOR TRAINEE DOCTORS Jeremy Hunt will today offer trainee GPs a 20,000 golden hello in a desperate bid to get them to work in understaffed practices. The Health Secretary is to announce a one-off payment for junior doctors who move to rural and coastal areas. The bonuses  on top of starting salaries of up to 45,000  are part of an attempt to stem the growing GP crisis. Mr Hunt will tell the Royal College of GPs conference in Liverpool that the workforce is under considerable pressure. The 20,000 payments  given to those who do their three-year training in priority areas  are almost as much as a nurses 22,000 starting salary. GPs who become practice partners can expect to earn an average of 106,000 a year. But amid growing workloads, two in five experienced family doctors say they plan to leave the NHS within five years. Advertisement

'An invaluable resource'

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the RCGP, said: 'Workload in general practice has increased 16 per cent over the last seven years.

'But investment in our service has declined over the last decade, and our workforce has not risen at pace with demand.

'We already have a huge number of GPs working in NHS general practice from overseas, and were incredibly grateful for their work.

'But we're still desperately short of GPs  and it is crucial that we tackle this, including through recruiting more GPs.

'This guide will help to support this important work, and I hope it will be an invaluable resource for doctors looking to live and work in the UK.'

'Huge decisions'

Professor Terence Stephenson, chair of the GMC, said: 'The many overseas doctors who work as GPs in the UK make a hugely valuable contribution.

'Moving to a new country to work - and in many cases relocating their family as well  is a huge decision.

'This informative guide helps doctors and their families learn more about life in the UK, and provides them a wealth of support to help them make the move as smooth as possible.

'More broadly we are doing all we can as a regulator to minimise barriers to recruitment and support good doctors who wish to practise in the UK.'
Kylie Jenner's cleft palate charity of choice has come under fire for mailing letters comparing cleft-affected children to Halloween monsters.

Smile Train sent a letter to families asking for donations, which said: 'What if every day felt like Halloween?' next to a picture of a child with a cleft lip, adding: 'You have the power to end their nightmare!'

Parents across the US are slamming the organization for suggesting that children born with the disfigurements look like Halloween horrors.

One mother in Texas whose son was born with a cleft lip and palate said that her family has already donated $10,000 to Smile Train but that they will no longer support the charity after receiving the letter.

Smile Train sent this letter to families comparing children with cleft palates to Halloween costumes. A mother shared a photo of the letter, exclaiming: 'my daughter is not a monster'

Kylie Jenner is pictured here in Peru in May 2016 with Mia, a child that Smile Train funded corrective surgery for

Kristen Carr, pictured here with her cleft-affected son, wrote on Facebook that parents such as herself love their kids' smiles regardless of their disfigurement

Kristen Carr, from Texas, has a three-year-old son who was born with a cleft lip and palate, and she wrote on Facebook that her family has been generous to Smile Train.

In addition to the thousands of dollars they have donated, Carr said she has asked her friends to support the charity each year.

She wrote: 'Every Christmas, we have asked our friends and relatives (and their respective employers) to make donations to SmileTrain in lieu of presents, and they have been extraordinarily generous.'

But Carr said the Halloween letter she received from Smile Train was enough to convince her to stop donating to them.

Carr said in her Facebook post that Smile Train's letters were unforgivable

Jess O'Connell (left) has a two-year-old daughter, Olivia (right), who was born cleft-affected. O'Connell wrote on Facebook that the letters from Smile Train were 'heartbreaking and infuriating'

HOW ARE CLEFT PALATES FIXED? 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. A mother's illnesses or infections while pregnant can also 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

Her post said: 'This is a representation of your sentiments toward cleft-affected children, and you will not receive another donated penny from us.'

She also said parents of children with the condition have unconditional love for their children regardless of their disfigurements. Carr added that she hoped her post alerted these mothers to the insensitivity of Smile Train.

'I am not going to waste my time explaining that every single parent of a cleft-affected child falls head over heels in love with their child's original "wide smile",' she wrote.

'Instead, I'll just share this post with a group of over 9000 moms of cleft-affected kids, and they can tell you their stories for themselves.'

Jess O'Connell, a mother in Colorado whose daughter was born cleft-affected, took to Facebook saying that she too would refuse to support the charity now.

'This is heartbreaking and infuriating. As someone who once supported Smile Train, I am formally revoking my support and I encourage you to as well. My daughter is not a monster. Her cleft is not a nightmare,' she wrote.

Carr said she will no longer financially support Smile Train

O'Connell wrote in a subsequent comment: 'I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea.'

She told DailyMail.com: 'I was disappointed and angry that a charity I trusted would portray cleft-affected people that way, that they would perpetuate the stigma the cleft community fights so hard to break just for financial gain.'

O'Connell used to donate money to Smile Train, but she will contribute her funds to other charities now, she said.

'The mailer slashed that. Ill donate to other charities that are more sensitive to the community they serve.'

Carr said in her Facebook post: 'To be clear, this isn't the kind of "mistake" that an apology can fix. It's not a spelling error. Many, many people in your organization saw and approved this mailing before it was sent.'

Smile Train's CEO Susannah Schaefer issued a statement in response to the letters, which said: 'We are truly sorry that the mailing was offensive and hurtful, and we understand the reaction it caused.'

The statement continued: 'It was never our intent to adversely depict the very children that we are dedicated to helping. Our intent was solely to help children with cleft lip and/or palate live healthy and happy lives.'

About 2,650 children in the US are born with cleft palates each year, and about 4,440 children are born with a cleft lip, according to the CDC.

Smile Train raises funds for the 170,000 children born with cleft palates in developing countries annually who cannot afford corrective surgeries. Operations to treat cleft palates typically cost about $5,000 at the least.
Opioid overdose deaths in Colorado fell by more than six percent after stores started legally selling recreational marijuana, a new study shows.

Prior to the last two years, Colorado was on a 14-year upswing in opioid overdose deaths.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center study is the first to show an association between legal recreational marijuana and lower numbers of opioid overdoses.

This most recent study is one of several over the past few years showing a correlation between lower numbers of opioid deaths and marijuana's legal status.

As the US as a whole struggles to make any traction against the opioid epidemic, some point the growing body of research like this study linking legal marijuana use with fewer opioid overdoses, while others argue that substituting dope for dope wont do.

Scroll down for video

Weed was legalized for recreational use in Colorado in 2012, but it wasn't until 2014 that stores were actually able to start selling it there. Since 2014, opioid-related deaths in Colorado are down 6.5 percent, the first time in 14 years that the trend has been 'reversed' there

Colorado passed Amendment 64 in November 2012, at the same time that Washington state passed similar legislature. The two share the honor of being the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

Now, a total of 29 states have laws permitting the use of marijuana, and seven in total allow their citizens to use it recreationally.

Since 2012, the opioid epidemic has only risen at a steeper pitch. There was a slight decline between 2011 and 2012, followed by a nine percent increase in 2013. In 2014, the rate of opioid deaths doubled, claiming the lives of 15,559 people.

Opioid deaths in Colorado climbed over the past 14 years, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment published by Westword, a Denver magazine.

In 2016, the state finally saw the epidemic slowing. The estimated number of opioid overdose deaths fell by about six percent, the only reversal in the upward trend, according to the researchers.

States highlighted red saw statistically significant increases in opioid deaths in 2015 over 2014, according to data from the CDC. Notably, Colorado did not see an increase, but Washington state and Maine, where weed can also be sold for recreational use, both did

Marijuana is now legal in 29 states. In seven states, shown in lighter teal, it is legal for recreational use. A new study shows a link between legal recreational use of marijuana in Colorado and lower rates of opioid overdose deaths there for the first time

The researchers looked at opioid overdose data beginning in 2014, the first year that Colorado stores were able to legally sell recreational marijuana after it was legalized two years before.

The 6.5 percent drop in Colorado opioid deaths in the last two years comes as the US epidemic continues to become only more severe.

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Preventions (CDC) most recent data, published in August, more than 64,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016, a 21 percent increase over 2015.

Previous research has highlighted the correlation between lower numbers of opioid deaths in states where marijuana is legal to use medically. A widely cited study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014 found that states where weed was legal had about a quarter as many opioid overdose deaths as other states.

There has never been a report of an overdose death related to cannabis alone, but it remains federally classified as a schedule I drug, meaning that in the governments eyes, it has no viable medical uses.

Study co-author Dr Melvin Livingston calls the studys findings an apparent public health benefit, but also cautions that it doesnt contemplate other effects of legalizing weeds. Expanded legalized cannabis use may also be associated with significant harms, he told Daily Mail Online in an email.

A University of California, Berkeley and Kent State University study published in June found that the vast majority  93 percent - of patients preferred cannabis over opioids for treating pain.

Legal weed has also been a business boon for Colorado, and in May, the state government signed a bill into law that will allocate a portion of the states tax income from weed to opioid addiction treatment centers in counties where they are most needed.

Although Nevada began legally selling recreational marijuana around the same time that Colorado did, there isnt sufficient data yet from it or other states to analyse whether or not Colorados positive outcomes are part of a larger trend.

However, states with the strictest marijuana laws, like Arizona, are not faring well in their fights against the opioid epidemic.

In Arizona, for example, possession of any amount of marijuana is a felony. In 2016, the state hit its record number of opioid deaths, rising 16 percent over the previous years numbers.

In Florida, possession of an ounce or less of weed can get you up to five years in prison. The CDCs data shows that the crisis is still getting worse in Florida. The state saw 22 percent more deaths from opioid overdoses in Florida in 2015 than in 2014.
They are viewed by many as a harmless accessory to complement Halloween costumes.

But spooky contact lenses, sold illegally on market stalls and in joke shops, could leave party-goers at risk of going blind, experts warn.

Novelty lenses, available for around 7 ($9), can trigger ulcers, agonising corneal tears and sight-threatening infections.

The joint warning, issued by Moorfields Eye Hospital and the General Optical Council, follows a string of horrifying cases in recent years during Halloween.

Tia Goode, from Merthyr, Wales, was left in unbearable pain after ripping off her cornea as she was trying to remove a pair of cat-eye contact lenses in 2015.

And Carrie-Anne Balloch, 21, from Leeds, was left in agony after wearing a pair of cat's eyes contacts at a party last year the year before.

Tia Goode, from Merthyr, Wales, was left in unbearable pain after ripping off her cornea as she was trying to remove a pair of cat-eye contact lenses in 2015

Contact lenses should only be handed out with a prescription in the UK - but fancy colourful ones aren't available for young revelers.

Instead, they go elsewhere for the cosmetic colour changes. But in doing so, they are risking irreversible damage to their vision.

Unauthorised outlets skip vital safety checks and don't issue advice on how to use them, meaning they aren't informed about the dangers of poor eye hygiene.

The joint warning, issued by Moorfields Eye Hospital and the General Optical Council, follows a string of horrifying cases in recent years during Halloween.

Tia Goode, from Merthyr, Wales, was left in unbearable pain after ripping off her cornea as she was trying to remove a pair of cat-eye contact lenses in 2015.

And Carrie-Anne Balloch, 21, from Leeds, was left in agony after wearing a pair of cat's eyes contacts at a party last year the year before.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU WANT TO WEAR THEM Advice for anyone planning to wear cosmetic contact lenses this Halloween is: Make sure a registered optician checks the lenses fit safely

Always thoroughly wash and dry your hands before touching your eye

Dont sleep in your contact lenses

Never let other people try on your contact lenses

Never let lenses come into contact with water, such as in the shower, bath, hot tub, sauna or swimming pool Advertisement

Mr Badrul Hussain, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said revellers should be aware of the dangers of spooky lenses.

He said: 'Each year we treat patients, including children under 16, who have developed eye conditions after wearing cosmetic contact lenses.

'There can be an increase in these problems in the period around Halloween.

'Some of the cases we see, like patients sharing lenses with friends, wearing the same pair year after year well past the expiry date, and storing them in tap water, have devastating effects.'

Corneal dangers

The cornea, the clear window at the front of the eye, is delicate and can easily be scratched by inexperienced contact lens wearers.

Carrie-Anne Balloch, 21, from Leeds, was left in agony after wearing a pair of cat's eyes contacts at a party last year the year before

This can expose the eye to organisms that can cause nasty infections, which in extreme cases can result in the permanent loss of vision, Mr Hussain added.

He warned: 'Most of the patients havent been shown how to look after their cosmetic lenses or their eyes properly.

DON'T SWIM WEARING CONTACT LENSES... Don't swim while wearing contact lenses if you don't want to contract a flesh-eating eye bug that could potentially leave you blind. Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a parasite found in water across the world, can easily be picked up by lenses, researchers warn. Left to burrow, the amoeba can penetrate through the eyeball, causing total vision loss within just a matter of weeks. An analysis of all incidents recorded in the last 18 years showed that 86 per cent of patients had gone swimming with their lenses in. Australian researchers identified 34 cases over the time frame, the study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology states. As well as the risk of swimming, which is a known risk factor, the scientists also highlighted rinsing lenses with tap water as a cause. The acanthamoeba parasite, which feeds on bacteria, can be present in all forms of water - such as swimming pools, hot tubs, and even showers. Advertisement

'Not knowing the basics of using contact lenses safely can put you at higher risk of developing painful eye injuries, infections and in the worst cases, risk of permanent sight loss.'

Vicky McDermott, chief executive of the General Optical Council, said: 'When worn safely, the risks associated with cosmetic contact lenses are low.

'However, when lenses are sold illegally, wearers are denied important safety checks and advice, putting them at risk of serious damage to their eyes.

'Party-goers can better protect their sight by buying their lenses from a qualified professional.'

What the laws state

It is not currently against the law for retailers to sell cosmetic lenses online in the UK.

It is, however, illegal for non-prescription lenses to be sold or supplied in Britain without the supervision of a registered optometrist, suitably qualified dispensing optician or medical practitioner.

However, novelty lenses are easily available at market stalls and small shops all over the UK.

Echoed sentiments

The British Contact Lens Association echoed the concerns ahead of Halloween revelers flocking to fancy dress shops for the lenses.

President Keith Tempany said: 'Wearing fancy lenses might make you look cool for one night on Halloween, but losing your sight could be a lifelong horror story.

'Cosmetic coloured lenses are a medical device and should be prescribed by an eye care professional.

'These lenses should only be purchased from  and fitted by  a registered practitioner.

'By sharing coloured contact lenses young people are playing Russian roulette with their eye health and putting their sight at risk.'
Women should lie on their side while giving birth rather than adopting an upright position, say experts.

Expectant mothers are often told to stay active in labour or adopt upright positions to prevent slowing down delivery, ease pain and reduce the chance of needing intervention such as forceps.

But a new study has found that women are actually more likely to have a natural birth without any intervention if they lay on their side.

The length of labour was also slightly shorter when women were lying down and they were no more likely to need a suction device or forceps delivery, Cesarean section or to suffer tearing.

At present, UK guidelines say women having an epidural should stay upright in the second stage of labour to reduce the chance they will need ventouse or forceps.

But the new study, the largest to date on the issue, questions this.

New research challenges current guidelines that say women having an epidural should stay upright (stock photo)

Professor Peter Brocklehurst, from the University of Birmingham, who worked on the study, said to cause distress to the baby and should not be recommended.

said: 'We are now designing the next trial to look at position in labour among women without epidural.

'If you look at the evidence saying upright is best, then yes, it should be questioned.'

However, he warned women not to lay flat on their backs in labour, as this is known to cause distress to the baby.

HAVING AN EPIDURAL DOES NOT SLOW DOWN LABOUR Women who have an epidural when giving birth do not slow down their labour, despite NHS warnings. The pain relief injection has been said to make the second stage of labour last around an hour longer. Women are told this delay can raise their risk of excessive bleeding, infection and their baby being delivered with forceps. However a new study of 400 first-time mothers has found those given an epidural spend no longer in labour, and the existing advice could be out of date. Around a third of British women choose an epidural when they give birth, particularly if it is a long or painful labour. The NHS Choices website warns couples that epidurals can prolong the second stage of labour, and many doctors cut women off from the local anaesthetic at this point. But Dr Philp Hess, a senior author of the latest research, from Harvard Medical School, said: We found that exchanging the epidural anaesthetic with a saline placebo made no difference in the duration of the second stage of labour. Advertisement

Key findings

The randomised controlled trial, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), looked at 3,093 women having a low-dose epidural. who gave birth in 41 UK hospitals between October 2010 and January 2014.

Women were randomly allocated an upright or lying down position (lying on the left or right side) during the later stages of labour.

The study found there were fewer spontaneous vaginal births in women in the upright group (35.2 per cent), compared with women in the lying down group (41.1 per cent).

Professor Brocklehurst said researchers could only speculate on the reasons why lying down increased the chance of a spontaneous vaginal birth.

'However, the evidence we have found from this large trial group provides an easy and cost-free intervention in our labour wards,' he said.

'Pregnant women, in consultation with their healthcare providers, can now make informed choices about their position in the second stage of labour.'

He said that given the clear benefit of the lying down position, 'perhaps all women who have an epidural should be offered the choice of adopting a lying down position in the second stage until we know otherwise'.

The team plan to replicate the clinical trial in women not having an epidural. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research.
People who cry might have a reputation of appearing weak or too emotional.

This causes some to choke down their emotions instead to appear stronger and in control.

But experts insist that there are some unexpected health benefits for people who cry often, including lower stress levels, a decrease of toxins in the body, and greater emotional awareness.

Researchers have found that crying is a positive release of emotions and stress for someone. It allows the body to rid itself from toxic stress hormones (file photo)

1. Crying allows a positive release

Crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system in the body to signal to the glands in the eyes to release tears.

After the crying session is over, the body is able to slow down its breathing and heart rate to a more controlled pace.

This entire experience sends a positive release throughout the body and gives off the feeling of relief for the person.

One study from the University of South Florida studied how people felt after crying.

The researchers found that almost everyone in the study felt better after a crying session.

'The overwhelming majority of our participants reported mood improvement after crying,'' the researchers said.

Out of everyone who was studied, more than 88 percent said they felt better after they cried.

The researchers also found that personality also played a role into who was more likely to enjoy their crying session.

2. Toxic hormones are flushed from the body

Human tears contain the stress hormone adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).

People who have higher levels of ACTH in their body are at risk of developing diseases such as Addison's disease.

This disease can cause extreme fatigue, low blood sugar levels and depression.

Crying flushes ACTH from the body, which can then make the person feel calmer.

Tears also contain the hormone prolactin.

This hormone is found in both genders during moments of sexual gratification and interpersonal connections.

When someone cries, this hormone is released in the body to help give off the soothing and calming feeling that people feel afterwards.

3. The body's emotional awareness is heightened

Animals cry in order to clear their tear ducts from any debris.

But Humans are have a different reason for tear ducts. They are the only living organism on the planet who cries because of how they are feeling.

A good cry is the body's cue that it is feeling the emotion and therefore it makes it more self-aware.

By allowing the body to tap into emotions of sadness, it can also become more aware of other feelings such as happiness, relief and gratitude.

4. Stress is alleviated

It can be stressful to attempt to contain your emotions when you don't feel fine.

But allowing yourself to cry can release tension that has built up in the body.

Experimental psychologist Alex Goetz, who founded leading health risk management company General Health Inc, said: 'Emotional tears, shed in moments of intense feeling, carry stress hormones and are a way of getting rid of them.

'Even if crying embarrasses you, it signals that you've reached a level of stress that's detrimental to your health.'

Experts have found that the majority of people who cry immediately feel more relaxed after they are done.

5. It makes others more comfortable with their emotions

Being open with your emotions towards others can help improve relationships and allow for them to also show how they are feeling.

Certain businesses in Japan and the UK have capitalized on having areas where people can openly express their sadness.

'Crying clubs' are spaces where people can go and connect with their emotions without feeling shame.

This idea first originated in Japan and then traveled to England in 2007 when Loss, the first British 'crying club', was opened.

These places play sad music or movies to help people tap into their own emotions.

People who attend these places find they grow more comfortable witnessing other people cry.
Firefighters have more than five times as many cancer causing chemicals in their bodies after tackling a blaze, warns new research.

The toxic chemicals more than quadruple the potential for DNA damage that triggers cancer, according to the study.

And the chemicals get in through their skin - rather than inhalation - meaning firefighters may need to get a decontaminating wash down as soon as they return from a job.

Scientists examined exposure by collecting urine, skin and clothing samples from Ottawa Fire Service personnel in Canada during hundreds of on-shift emergencies over two years.

They found the community heroes are at ever greater risk of developing tumours than previously feared.

Researchers at the University of Ottawa found five times the amount of cancer-causing chemicals on the skin of firefighters - higher than previously thought. The harrowing data was published today, as California's firefighters battle grueling wildfires (pictured)

Lead researcher Jennifer Keir, a MSc student in the Chemical and Environmental Toxicology programme at Ottawa University, said: 'We found firefighters have between three and more than five times the amount of PAH metabolites in their urine after a fire compared to before.

'We also measured mutagenic potency which gives us an indication of the possibility to produce genetic mutations. We found this increased an average fourfold.'

The burning of wood, plastics, furniture, electronics and other building materials releases a large group of highly carcinogenic chemicals called PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) into the air.

Concern about firefighters' cancer risk grew after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks because of their exposure to asbestos and jet fuel.

Since then the hazardous occupation has been linked with multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and tumours of the prostate, testicles, brain, bowel and skin.

Based on a study of 30,000 firefighters in three cities, the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported in 2013 firefighters had higher rates of several kinds of cancer - particularly respiratory, digestive and urinary malignancies.

The risk of lung cancer increased with every fire they fought.

Plastics, foams and coatings in particular create a potentially deadly soup of carcinogens when they burn.

Fire experts say synthetic materials - including TVs and furniture - create hundreds of times more smoke than organic ones.

Flame retardants alone double the amount of smoke and increase toxic gasses 10-fold.

In the study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers at Ottawa University followed 27 male firefighters before and after they responded to emergencies in 2015 and 2016.

On average post-fire levels of PAH metabolites in urine were 2.9 to 5.3 times higher than those before they went out. Mutagenic potency soared 4.3-fold.

The team, led by Dr Jules Blais, used 18 Ottawa Fire Service office workers as a control.

They found a significant link between PAH metabolites - including naphthalene, pyrene, phenanthrene and fluorene - in urine and the levels on the firefighters' skin.

They said this suggests they are exposed to these harmful chemicals mainly through contact with their skin - rather than breathing them in.

Ms Keir said: 'It's important to know how firefighters are absorbing PAHs because we know some are inducing DNA mutations which have been linked to cancer.

'There's a relationship between firefighters' urinary PAH metabolite levels and the levels of PAHs on their skin - which leads us to suspect that dermal contact may be an important route of exposure.'

The researchers conclude skin decontamination immediately after fighting a fire could be one way to help reduce firefighters' exposure to these potentially cancer-causing compounds.

Captain David Matschke, of Ottawa Fire Service, said: 'We know about the obvious dangers we face on the job, but this new research gives us definitive proof of the chemicals we are exposed to and the rates of occupational exposure.

'I've been a firefighter for 32 years and I've witnessed many of my peers and friends get job-related illnesses.

'This research into the toxic chemicals in smoke will help, improve our procedures and our equipment meaning reduced job-related illness and longer, healthier lives.'

Six months ago 200 London firefighters tackled the tragic blaze at Grenfell Tower North Kensington, which claimed the lives of more than 80 people.

Public Health England has said levels of PAHs and other toxic chemicals were low.
India's controversial Aadhaar (identity) card is back under the spotlight after an 11-year-old girl died of hunger when her family's ration card was cancelled.

The death of the child has sparked debate about the dangers of linking welfare to identity cards.

Activists say Santoshi Kumari died last month after her family was denied subsidised grain because their biometric identity card, known as Aadhaar, was not linked to their ration card in government records.

An Indian visitor gives a finger impression to withdraw money from his bank account with his Aadhaar card

An operator helps an elderly woman scan her fingerprints as she enrolls for Aadhar, India's unique identification project in Kolkata, India

An Indian man gets his retina scanned as he enrolls for Aadhar, India's unique identification project in Kolkata, India

'The girl's family told us they had not eaten for six days when Santoshi died,' Dheeraj Kumar with advocacy group Right to Food Campaign told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

'They had complained to the local officials about the faulty card several times, but no one had helped.'

State officials in the northern Indian state of Jharkhand said the girl died of malaria, not starvation, and the chief minister has ordered an investigation.

What is Aadhaar? In short, a free national ID number and card to be used for anything from claiming welfare to booking flights. Aadhaar takes the form of a 12 digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric (retina and finger-print) and demographic data. Aadhaar will be the world's largest biometric ID system, with over 1.171 billion enrolled members as of 15 Aug 2017. Currently over 99% of Indians aged 18 and above had been enrolled in Aadhaar. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer described Aadhar as 'the most sophisticated ID programme in world'. The Aadhar number will serve as a proof of identity and address anywhere in India. The objective of the project is to collect biometric (photograph, iris-scan, fingerprints) and demographic data of residents (residence address information), store them in a centralised database, and issue a 12-digit unique identity number called Aadhaar to each resident. The Aadhaar number can be used to get welfare, open a bank account, apply for passport, book travel tickets and many other places where there is a need to establish identity. This cataloging of India's population has gathered much criticism. Advertisement

'While there could be doubts over the cause of death, we have to ensure that no ration card is deleted because of non-availability of Aadhaar,' state welfare minister Saryu Roy told reporters. 'If someone has done this, then it is wrong.'

More than 1.1 billion Indian residents have an Aadhaar card, which uses fingerprints and irin scans to identify them.

The database was set up to streamline welfare payments. But the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been keen to mandate the use of Aadhaar for everything from filing income taxes to the registration of mobile phones.

Activists say large numbers of the poor have been denied welfare benefits because of errors in the system.

The government made Aadhaar mandatory for welfare, pension and employment schemes this year, despite a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that it cannot be a requirement for welfare programmes.

'These are poor, illiterate people with no knowledge of technology. They are suffering because someone did not (link) the card properly,' said Kumar.

'States are under pressure to show they have linked all ration cards and other benefits to Aadhaar.

But the system is riddled with errors, and there is no follow up, leaving poor people in the lurch.'

Kumar said more than 1 million ration cards had been cancelled in Jharkhand, one of India's poorest states, after a directive in April saying they must be linked to Aadhaar cards.

Last year, funding cuts in welfare schemes contributed to the starvation deaths of about 600 children in the western state of Maharashtra, activists said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has made his country's position clear on the desperate situation of the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar.

Tillerson said on Wednesday that the United States held Myanmar's military leadership directly responsible for its harsh crackdown on the Rohingya minority.

Tillerson, however, stopped short of saying whether the United States would take any action against Myanmar's military leaders over an offensive that has driven more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the country.

Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic minority members walk through rice fields after crossing over to the Bangladesh side of the border

Washington has worked hard to establish close ties with Myanmar's civilian-led government led by Nobel laureate and former dissident Aung San Suu Kyi in the face of competition from strategic rival China.

'The world can't just stand idly by and be witness to the atrocities that are being reported in the area,' Tillerson told Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

'We really hold the military leadership accountable for what's happening,' said Tillerson, who said the United States was 'extraordinarily concerned' by the situation.

Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar in large numbers since late August when Rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response, with the fleeing people accusing security forces of arson, killings and rape.

Tillerson said Washington understood Myanmar had a militancy problem, but the military had to be disciplined and restrained in the way it dealt with this and to allow access to the region 'so that we can get a full accounting of the circumstances.'

'Someone, if these reports are true, is going to be held to account for that,' Tillerson said. 'And its up to the military leadership of Burma to decide, 'What direction do they want to play in the future of Burma?''

A Rohingya refugee boy desperate for aid cries as he climbs on a truck distributing aid for a local NGO near the Balukali refugee camp

Rohingya refugees carry their belongings as they walk after crossing the border on the Bangladesh side of the Naf River

Tillerson said Washington saw Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, as 'an important emerging democracy,' but the Rohingya crisis was a test for the power-sharing government.

He said the United States would remain engaged, including ultimately at the United Nations 'with the direction this takes.'

The European Union and the United States have been considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar's military leadership.

Punitive measures aimed specifically at top generals are among a range of options that have been discussed, but they are wary of action that could hurt the wider economy or destabilize already tense ties between Suu Kyi and the army.

Tillerson also said he would visit New Delhi next week as the Trump administration sought to dramatically deepen cooperation with India in response to China's challenges to 'international law and norms' in Asia.

Tillerson said the administration had began a 'quiet conversation' with some emerging East Asian democracies about creating alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has promised India a new century of 'strategic partnership' while accusing its rival China of undermining international order.

Setting the stage for an upbeat visit next week to Delhi, Washington's top diplomat drew an explicit comparison between China and the world's 'two greatest democracies.'

Washington and India have been building stronger ties for some time, but Tillerson made one of the clearest cases yet for the 'shared values' underpinning the relationship.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has warm words for 'strategic partner' India but warns that Washington will oppose China's 'provocative actions' in the Asia Pacific region

An Indian national flag is flown next to the Chinese national emblem during a welcome ceremony for visiting Indian officials outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

As such, the speech also amounted to a warning to great power rival China that Washington will build regional alliances to counter its ever-growing power.

'The United States and India are increasingly global partners with growing strategic convergence,' he said.

'Indians and Americans don't just share an affinity for democracy. We share a vision of the future,' he said, projecting the relationship into the next 100 years.

Promising greater prosperity and security in a 'free and open Indo-Pacific,' Tillerson did push India to open up its borders to more regional and US trade.

But his harshest words were for China, the Asian economic behemoth and the nearest rival to India's huge population and the United States' still world-leading economy.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping

'China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order,' Tillerson chided.

'China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the United States and India both stand for,' he said.

Last month, the chief of India's army warned that China had been 'testing our limits' in a recent border stand-off and warned that Delhi's forces must be ready for conflict.

India and China went to war in 1962 over the state of Arunachal Pradesh and China has maintained better ties with Delhi's foe Pakistan.

Tillerson did not directly address August's stand-off on the Doklam plateau in the Himalayas, which is claimed by both China and Bhutan, an ally of India.

- 'Greatest democracies' -

But he vowed that that Washington 'won't shrink from China's challenges to the rules-based order, or where China subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries.'

And he approvingly cited US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' declaration 'that the world's two greatest democracies should have the two greatest militaries.'

Tillerson noted the Indian navy is now flying the American P-8 surveillance aircraft alongside its US comrades, and promised help developing a carrier-born strike force.

Tillerson was speaking to guests of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He is due in New Delhi next week for talks with Indian leaders.
The North Dakota Supreme Court will review for the second time whether the Northeast Central District Court erred in procedural rulings in a 2014 Grand Forks murder case.

Delvin Lamont Shaw, who was convicted of the June 2014 murder of Jose Luis Lopez for the second time in February, is appealing on the grounds the court failed to establish the unavailability of key witness Dametrian Marcel Welch, who testified at the first trial but refused to speak when put on the stand in February. The appeal also contends the court did not properly comply with mandated analysis when making an order suppressing evidence based on prior bad acts.

Shaw was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2015, but the Supreme Court overturned the ruling and required a retrial on the grounds Judge Jon Jensen allowed prosecutors to use evidence from a burglary preceding the shooting within the same apartment building. Grand Forks Police developed the theory that Shaw took part in a burglary four days before the murder in an apartment above Lopez's and that he broke into the wrong unit when he later returned after receiving a threat related to the burglary.

Jensen, who also presided in Shaws February trial, has since been appointed to the state Supreme Court and will recuse himself from the appeal hearing Oct. 30, according Supreme Court Clerk Penny Miller.

Shaw, via his attorney Benjamin Pulkrabek, argues Jensen moved too fast in declaring Welch unavailable to testify in the 2017 trial. Welch told Jensen at the time he didnt want to testify because he was done wrong by prosecutors he struck a deal with in the 2015 trial.

Welch was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2015 after pleading guilty to burglary, a Class B felony, and facilitation of a murder, a Class C felony, for his role in the break-in that led to Lopezs death.

The appeal argues Jensen should have held a contempt of court hearing for Welch to determine if he was unavailable to testify and encouraged prosecutors to motivate Welch by either removing time from his sentence or add further charges for not cooperating.

Jensen allowed prosecutors to play recordings of Welchs 2015 testimony in the 2017 trial.

Welch filed a motion calling for his sentence to be reduced in June, court records show, but was denied.

The appeal also argues Jensen did not apply all required reasoning to his order denying a motion to suppress evidence related to the burglary at an upstairs apartment before the murder.

Shaw contends Jensen did not include a balancing test on whether the value of evidence of prior actions outweighed the danger that such evidence would prejudice the jury against him.

Should the high court side with Shaw, the case would have to be tried for a third time in Northeast Central District Court.
The coronation is imminent. In a fixed internal Congress 'election', Rahul Gandhi will soon be chosen unopposed as the next Congress president

The coronation is imminent. In a fixed internal Congress 'election', Rahul Gandhi will soon be chosen unopposed as the next Congress president.

That will make him the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since 1947 to head the Congress.

If this is not cringeworthy enough in making a mockery of democracy, Congress leaders show no sign of embarrassment. As pioneers of dynastic politics they are actually proud that other families have followed in their footsteps: the Pawars, Thackerays, Abdullahs, Karunanidhis, Yadavs, Patnaiks, and even several NDA allies like the Naidus, Paswans and Muftis.

Dynasts

Congress leaders smugly point to the scattered political dynasts in the BJP itself, ranging from Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje to ministers in the Narendra Modi cabinet whose fathers were ministers or MPs.

While the scale and numbers of BJP dynasts are much smaller, the principle applies equally to them: dynastic politics is bad in principle and damaging in practice.

The world's most advanced countries have long rejected political dynasty. There are no Churchill, de Gaulle, Thatcher or Kennedy dynasties.

Two of the most reviled politicians in the United States today, President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, are deeply unpopular at least partly because they are either products of dynasty (Clinton) or brazenly promote assorted members of their family (Trump).

Apologists for dynastic politics argue that India's dynasts are democratically elected and therefore legitimate, unlike dynasts in dictatorships or feudal sheikhdoms.

This argument is disingenuous. India has a longstanding culture of feudalism. Deep-rooted poverty gives family-backed politicians an electoral advantage.

Rahul will be the fifth member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since 1947 to head the Congress

Sonia Gandhi 'chose' prime ministers while Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh looked meekly and obediently on (PM Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi)

Indian dynasts use this advantage to ruthless effect, severely limiting the democratic choice available to voters. Culture and poverty collide to create a fertile breeding ground for feudalism.

Other South Asian countries with similar cultural histories like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal also suffer large economic inequalities  a common feature in dynasty-led countries.

In India even supposedly rational political leaders bow deferentially before dynasty.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India, with his grandchildren

In former President Pranab Mukherjee's new book, The Coalition Years: 1996 to 2012, launched last week, he writes, bereft of a trace of embarrassment: 'I returned with a vague impression that she (Sonia Gandhi) might wish to consider Manmohan Singh as the UPA presidential nominee.

'I thought that if she selected Singh for the presidential office, she may choose me as the prime minister. I had heard a rumour that she had given this formulation serious thought while on a holiday in the Kaushambi Hills.'

Note Mukherjee's plaintive, hopeful words: 'She may choose me as the prime minister.'

Sonia Gandhi, who had never held a constitutional office before appointing herself Congress party president in 1998 by railroading Sitaram Kesri, 'chose' prime ministers while Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh looked meekly and obediently on.

It is this sycophantic party Rahul Gandhi will inherit in the coming days.

The idea is to give Rahul a year to establish his authority over the old guard (many of whom will deservedly be sidelined) and put together a cohesive campaign for the raft of state elections scheduled for 2018 before the Lok Sabha poll in April-May 2019.

Campaign

Apart from an unscheduled visit to a ladies bathroom, Rahul's campaign swing across Gujarat last week was largely gaffefree.

Despite the Patidar factor and distress among farmers, the BJP is likely to win the Gujarat assembly election, though it will need hard, no-holds-barred campaigning by Modi himself.

Rahul's minders know this and are trying to cut the BJP's victory margin to just over 100 seats in the 182-seat assembly in order to change the mood in the four big states that really matter: Karnataka (which goes to the polls in April 2018) and Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (December 2018).

Indian prime minister Mrs Indira Gandhi with her two sons Rajiv and Sanjay, in the garden of their Delhi home

If Rahul can keep the BJP's victory margin in Gujarat below the 2012 figure of 115, the Congress has a good chance of springing a surprise in, especially, Rajasthan where anti-incumbency against Vasundhara Raje is building.

Statement

Rahul must also get credit for a statement he made in Gujarat which has been little noticed.

Countering BJP president Amit Shah's 'Congress-mukt Bharat' war cry, Rahul said he doesn't want a 'BJPmukt Bharat' because India needs strong representation for people who support the BJP.

He is of course right. The last thing India needs is one-party rule. We have had enough of the Congress' unbroken 30-year rule from 1947 to 1977 (and overall for 55 of India's 70 independent years) to not want any other party, the BJP included, to create a similar political monopoly in future.

PM Rajiv Gandhi, (centre), wife Sonia (right) and daughter Priyanka (left) commemorating anniversary of his mother Indira's assassination in 1984

In a democracy the only thing worse than dynasty is monopoly. Can the Congress provide the BJP the two-party contest Indian democracy needs? Not until it changes its dynastic DNA.

Rahul may have perfectly good intentions. But if he really cares for his party and his country, he must democratise the Congress and de-link his family from it. That may alarm party loyalists who regard the Gandhis as the glue that holds the party together and ensures their own political longevity.

But parties are resilient. The Congress will recover from a Gandhi-mukt future. With real internal reform, it could pose a challenge to the BJP in 2024.

Despite losing ground in urban India, Modi has enough momentum to carry the NDA to victory in 2019.

But 2024 will be an entirely different matter. It will be the most open election in a generation.
When Stuart and Carol Corkett received a 525 bill from British Gas they immediately knew something was wrong.

The reading for their gas meter was wildly off, and it didn't take long to work out what had happened: British Gas had used the meter for their neighbour's house, which is 6ft away.

Yet what seemed like a simple misunderstanding turned into a nine-month ordeal, with the retired couple forced to fend off debt collectors.

Initially the Corketts, from Taunton in Somerset, received a stream of letters from British Gas demanding urgent payment. They wrote to the energy company twice and made numerous phone calls to explain about the meter confusion.

Unwelcome: Figures show that gripes about debt collection practices at big firms and government bodies have more than doubled over the past year, rising from 830 to 2,006

But the demands continued, and soon they started to get letters and phone calls from Moorcroft Debt Recovery, a debt collection agency.

Each time Stuart, 65, rang British Gas to call off the agents, he got a different customer services representative and had to explain the whole saga again.

Nothing seemed to work and the stress got so much that he had to see his doctor.

'I kept appealing to British Gas, but they weren't listening,' Stuart says. 'It felt like I was at a dead end and the next thing I knew they'd put debt collectors on to us.

'I don't understand how companies can be allowed to do this, as a lot of elderly people would be so intimidated they would probably pay up.'

The Corketts' ordeal at the hands of one of Britain's biggest companies is far from an isolated incident. Money Mail readers report similar bullying tactics from a range of energy and telecoms firms, as well as government bodies such as councils, HM Revenue & Customs and BBC licence fee collectors.

Customers are routinely chased for debts they do not owe, often due to a billing blunder or a case of mistaken identity.

Innocent: Retired couple Stuart and Carol Corkett had to fight off debt collectors after a meter reader read the meter for their neighbour's house by mistake

Then, with no warning, they start getting terrifying letters and calls from debt collectors who threaten court action.

It can prove almost impossible to get the debt collectors called off. Victims say they have suffered sleepless nights and been afraid to open their doors in case bailiffs turn up.

Figures from complaints service Resolver show that gripes about debt collection practices at big firms and government bodies have more than doubled over the past year, rising from 830 to 2,006.

Complaints about the tactics used by debt collection agencies and bailiffs themselves soared 77 per cent from 864 to 1,529.

'I WAS TREATED LIKE A CRIMINAL'

Linda and Brian Dowse have faced a battle with Ovo Energy since June, when they downsized to a one-bed flat in sheltered housing.

Linda, 75, a retired carer, and Brian, 73, a former painter and decorator, asked Ovo to take final meter readings and transfer their account to their new home.

Two weeks after the move, a letter from Ovo arrived saying the couple were 18.97 in credit.

Just a fortnight later, they received a letter from a debt collection agency, LCS, demanding 233.61.

Linda called Ovo and was told to ignore the letter as it was an error. But two further demands from LCS arrived in August.

'I was appalled  my rule is I never lend money and I never borrow it,' Linda says. 'I've never even owned a credit card. It's been murder trying to clear this up.'

One firm that is mentioned regularly in Money Mail's inbox is Extra Energy.

We exposed the company earlier this year for using debt collectors to chase customers for money they didn't owe. It is under investigation by the energy regulator Ofgem. A spokesman for Extra Energy says it has apologised to 'the small number' of customers affected and also compensated them.

Narendra and Sarla Shah, 77 and 57, from Crawley, were chased by First Utility's debt collectors for 170 in September  nearly a year and a half after they had closed their account.

The couple thought they had paid all outstanding charges and say they were given no warning before the debt was passed to MIL Collections. Narendra, a retired electrical engineer, says: 'It was very intimidating. I felt like I was being treated like a criminal.'

First Utility says it emailed the Shahs about the debt in June 2016, but has apologised for not contacting them again before passing it to MIL. It has waived part of the bill as a goodwill gesture.

British Gas apologised to the Corketts and says it has called off the debt collectors and sent a goodwill payment of 250.

A spokeswoman says: 'Mr Corkett alerted us to a meter number mix-up on his account after we sent him his final bill. We reviewed this and then sent him a corrected bill confirming that he had nothing to pay.'

Ovo says it is sorry the Dowses were incorrectly billed and has cleared the debt.

HARASSED OVER PHONE SWITCH

Energy suppliers aren't the only firms to have been guilty of harassing customers. Jennifer and Bernard Algar, 69 and 72, from March in Cambridgeshire, were left without an internet connection for a month after they switched to TalkTalk. The couple say they asked TalkTalk time and again to fix the line.

After endless excuses and delays, they told the firm they'd had enough and were switching to Sky. But that just prompted TalkTalk to send letters and emails demanding 353 for cancelling the contract early. The Algars refused to pay.

Jennifer and Bernard Algar, 69 and 72, from March in Cambridgeshire, were left without an internet connection for a month after they switched to TalkTalk

Then, out of the blue, their case was passed to Debt & Revenue Services  a debt collector  which sent more demands. Jennifer, a retired teaching assistant, says: 'It's disgusting, threatening behaviour to blame us after all TalkTalk's own failings.

'When we get a bill we always pay it the next day, but why should we pay for a service we haven't received? Now we are being treated like delinquents.'

Terry and Barbara Bowen, 74 and 71, from Cardiff, were chased for 243 when they moved house and were told they couldn't take their Virgin Media internet, TV and phone line with them.

They moved to nearby Porth in March to be closer to family after the death of their son Darran last year from multiple sclerosis. Virgin said it couldn't supply their new address, so they had to break their contract early. They were threatened with debt collectors if they didn't pay.

Terry, a retired Royal Mint supervisor, felt he had no option but to relent. 'I told Virgin about the reasons we were having to move and they said they were sorry but it was all in the contract.'

Ofcom is investigating the exit penalties Virgin imposes when it can't supply a customer's new address.

Virgin says it will give the Bowens a refund as it can review charges in 'unforeseeable and unfortunate circumstances'. A Virgin Media spokeswoman says: 'We urge all of our customers to consider the length of contracts before entering into them. We advise our customers that the details of early disconnection fees are on our website.'

TalkTalk apologises for the Algars' experience and has cleared the debt.

BITTEN OVER 204 DENTIST BILL

Another reader, a 69-year-old former pharmacy dispenser from Cambridgeshire, was chased for debts by the NHS.

The pensioner received a 'letter before action' demanding payment of 204 from NHS Dental Services after mistakenly believing she was still entitled to free check-ups.

The bill included a late payment charge of 146, and she was threatened with debt collectors if she didn't pay.

One reader received a 'letter before action' from NHS Dental Services after mistakenly believing she was still entitled to free check-ups

The pensioner says the receptionist had handed her a pre-filled form to sign, saying she qualified for free treatment. She didn't realise she didn't because her husband had gone back to work and their joint income had increased.

'It was an honest mistake and I would have been happy to settle the original 58 charge for the appointment, but I wasn't given the chance,' she says. The NHS says she can appeal using its website.

The Mail has also revealed that customers are being hauled to court over unpaid BBC licence fees  only to have their cases thrown out because they were vulnerable or unwell. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has also been caught setting debt collectors on unsuspecting taxpayers.

James Walker, founder of Resolver, says: 'Collection agencies work by piling on the pressure to intimidate you into coughing up the cash. Many people are afraid to make complaints in case it makes things worse, but they should fight back.'

HOW YOU CAN FIGHT BACK

If you're chased for money you don't owe, the last thing you should do is ignore it.

The sooner you act the better. Contact the company immediately and let it know why you are disputing the bill.

Keep copies of letters and emails you send, and keep a log of phone calls you make, including who you spoke to and what was discussed.

Provide evidence to support your case  such as meter readings or details of your attempts to resolve the matter.

If the company doesn't put the situation right within eight weeks, ask for a 'deadlock letter'. Then you can take your complaint to the relevant ombudsman.

For energy firms, this is the Energy Ombudsman (ombudsman-services.org; 0330 440 1624).

For telecoms companies, use either Ombudsman Services: Communications (ombudsman-services.org; 0330 440 1614) or the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (cedr.com/cisas; 020 7520 3827). Your supplier must tell you which to use.

If your complaint is about a credit card firm or another lender, go to the Financial Ombudsman Service (financial-ombudsman.org.uk; 0300 123 9 123).

If a bill is passed to a debt collector, contact the agency to say you are challenging the demand.

Under an industry code of conduct, debt collectors must halt any action against you until they have gone back to the company concerned and investigated.

The Credit Services Association, which administers the code, requires members to offer 30 days 'breathing space' if customers say they are seeking debt advice. It also says that agencies must only contact you at 'reasonable times and intervals'.

If you believe a debt collector has treated you unfairly, after eight weeks you can complain to the relevant ombudsman for the company it is representing.

New guidelines that came in at the start of this month set out the steps a company or its debt collectors must follow before taking you to court. Firms must set out a full breakdown of charges and other details of the original contract in a Letter of Claim.

You will have 30 days from the date on the top of the letter to return a reply form before the company can start court proceedings.Once you return the form, you and the business then have a further 30 days to discuss the debt. During that time you should attempt to resolve the matter amicably.

If you request more information about the debt and proceedings in the reply form, the business must wait another 30 days after supplying the answers before dragging you to court.

If a company fails to follow the new rules  called Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims  a court may reduce the amount you have to pay. A judge could also put the proceedings on hold until the company complies.

The rules do not apply to HMRC. If you disagree with a bill or penalty from HMRC, contact the tax office mentioned in your letter straight away, as you may be able to delay payment while you are appealing the decision. You can also call the tax tribunal helpline on 0300 123 1024.

Peter Wallwork, chief executive of the Credit Services Association, which represents debt collectors, says complaints are falling.

'If you receive a letter from one of our members, and particularly if you think it is a mistake, contact the agency straight away and they will help you resolve it.'

l.milner@dailymail.co.uk
Oil firm Shell is opening its first electric car charging points in the UK to keep pace with the global shift away from fossil fuels.

Today, the Anglo-Dutch company will unveil Recharge points at its petrol stations in London, Surrey and Derby.

A further seven will open in London and Reading by the end of the year.

Charge towards electric vehicles: Shell has installed its first three Recharge electric charge points in the UK - a world-first for the oil and gas company

Shell is trying to adapt to the growing electrification of vehicles which is expected to hit demand for oil.

Last week it also bought New Motion, one of Europes largest electric vehicle charging providers, and it also recently opened a new hydrogen refuelling station in London.

Charging points will be able to charge 80 per cent of a vehicles battery in about 30 minutes.

The company will charge customers 25p per kilowatt hour until the end of next June as an introductory offer.

The pay-as-you-go chargers won't be subscription based, like most rival public charge points across the UK.

Jane Lindsay-Green, Shell UK future fuels manager, said: 'Shell Recharge provides Electric Vehicle drivers with a convenient way to charge their cars on-the-go.

'Were pleased to offer rapid electric charging on the forecourt, allowing us to broaden the range of fuel choices we deliver.

She added: Shell Recharge will soon be available at ten sites in the UK and will offer EV drivers in these areas a reliable, convenient and subscription-free charging service where they can charge their vehicle and take a break from their journey.'

Drivers will not need a subscription to use the Shell Recharge points

Shell is opening charging points in Holloway, London (pictured); Whyteleafe, Surrey; and Derby

Shell Holloway (London), Shell Whyteleafe (Surrey) and Shell Derby are the first three sites launched today (Wednesday).

The new electric charge points in the UK are a world first for Shell, following the opening of its first hydrogen refuelling station at Shell Cobham earlier this year.

According to charge-point website zap-map.com, there are currently 4,885 locations with public chargers in the UK today. Of the 13,962 chargers at these destinations just 2,520 are rapid chargers similar to the Shell Recharge systems.

The fuel provider also said it will look to ramp-up installations of charge points in the capital as part of a collaboration with Transport for London, which will introduce the T-Charge on Monday 23 October to bill drivers of old petrol and diesel cars driving in Central London.

The Shell Recharge points can provide 80% battery charge to to an electric vehicle in half an hour and won't require a subscription to use

There will be a total of 10 locations in the UK with the new electric-car chargers by the end of the year

It, along with the Ultra Low Emissions Zones due to be enforced from April 2019 are part of mayor Sadiq Khan's plans to for all vehicles used in the capital to be zero emissions by 2050.

Shirley Rodrigues, the deputy mayor of environment and energy said: 'It is great news that Shell is introducing electric vehicle charging services on its forecourts as thousands more Londoners switch to cleaner cars.

'With sales of diesel cars declining, it's vital to have charging points for electric vehicles in service stations, car parks and on our streets.

'As the Mayor moves towards making London's transport system zero-emission by 2050, TfL are working with boroughs to increase charging infrastructure across our city. The expansion we require will continue to demand strong collaboration with industry, private landowners and greater investment from Government.'
Advertisement

How could we build a settlement on Mars? It's one of the most fascinating topics for mankind.

An Italian architect has recently released a dramatic concept which sees humans setting up a colony on the red planet in 2117.

According to the idea, proposed as an artistic installation, humans would live in multiple transparent spheres and each of them would contain several self-sustaining buildings covered by shrubs and floral plants.

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An Italian architect firm has revealed concept images for a human settlement on the red planet. The colony, called 'New Shanghai', would contain different self-sustaining communities covered by shrubs and floral plants to produce oxygen

According to the idea, humans would live in multiple transparent spheres and each of them would contain several nature-abundant towers. The bold concept is a part of an ongoing art exhibition that started in Shanghai this week

Stefano Boeri, who created the concept together with the Tongji University in China, suggested the living spheres be transported to Mars by an interplanetary space station. The architect has visioned the colony to be set up in 100 years' time

THE NEW 'FOREST CITY' IN GUANGXI The Liuzhou Forest City, in southern China, is due to occupy 432 acres, which is roughly half of the size of the Central Park in New York. It would contain residential areas, commercial and recreational spaces, two schools and a hospital. Scheduled to complete in 2020, the community would be blanketed by 40,000 trees and almost one million plants of over 100 species. According to Stefano Boeri Architetti, the greenery could absorb around 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide 1,961 cars would emit for a year. The city would be home to 30,000 people. Advertisement

The bold idea, known as 'New Shanghai', is a part of an art exhibition that started in Shanghai this week.

The design was created by Stefano Boeri, the founder of Milan-based Stefano Boeri Architetti, along with the Tongji University's Future City Lab.

Mr Boeri believed that if humans didn't look after the environment, cities such as Shanghai would be flooded in 100 years' time due to global warming.

Thus, he wanted to propose an idea of a human colony on Mars to inspire the public's imagination into the future.

In Mr Boeri's artistic concept, the living spheres would be transported from earth to Mars by an interplanetary space station.

The spheres would contain highly ecological high-rise buildings and together they would form a 'Forest City' on Mars.

'Forest City' is a futuristic urban planning idea proposed by Stefano Boeri Architetti. It is a highly ecological community covered by plants, which would absorb pollutants and carbon dioxide while generating oxygen.

Stefano Boeri Architetti has designed similar nature-abundant towers in Italy, Belgium and China.

One 'Forest City' is currently being built in Guangxi, southern China. It would be home to 30,000 people and is expected to complete in 2020.

The 'New Shanghai' design is on display at the SUSAS 2017 exhibition, which opened on October 15 in Minsheng Port, Shanghai, and will run for three months.

The proposed Mars settlement is inspired by 'Forest City' (pictured), a futuristic urban planning idea proposed by Mr Boeri and is currently being built in Guangxi, southern China. The 'Forest City' is half of the size of the Central Park in New York

Homes, offices, hotels, hospitals and schools would be entirely covered by a wide range of shrubs and floral plants in the ecological community. The 'Forest City' would be home to 30,000 people once it's completed in 2020

This isn't the first time that a futuristic settlement on Mars has been suggested.

In February, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced plans to set up the first mini city on Mars.

The UAE said it would build the city by 2117, as part of its 100-year national programme to better understand the red planet.

The Mars 2117 Project would explore how people can get to Mars and how to create food and energy on the red planet, according to Gulf News.

In February, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced plans to set up Mars' first mini city. The UAE said it will build the city by 2117, as part of its 100-year national programme to better understand the red planet

A virtual presentation was made at the same time as the announcement.

'The landing of people on other planets has been a longtime dream for humans.

'Our aim is that the UAE will spearhead international efforts to make this dream a reality,' said Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid.
The last person to see a college student who disappeared nearly seven years ago has been charged with her murder despite her body never being found.

Tyler 'Ty' Thomas, a 19-year-old freshman at Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, went missing on December 3, 2010, after leaving a party.

The last known person to see her alive was fellow student Joshua Keadle who was charged Tuesday with her murder. It is unclear exactly what led to the filing of criminal charges.

According to court records, Keadle, then 29, initially denied having been with Thomas, on the night of her disappearance and asked a roommate to lie and say he was with him.

Four days after Thomas went missing, Keadle told investigators that he had picked up Thomas and driven her to a remote boat launch near Peru.

Keadle asked for a sex act in exchange for driving Thomas to Omaha, but afterward he changed his mind and Thomas got angry.

He said she threw her cellphone at him and threatened to tell police he had raped her.

Keadle said he eventually left Thomas at the boat launch and drove back to campus.

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Joshua Keadle, 36, (left) has been charged with the murder of Tyler 'Ty' Thomas (right), a 19-year-old college student who went missing in 2010

Thomas went missing on December 3, 2010, after leaving a party in Peru, Nebraska. Keadle was the last known person to see the Peru State College student. He told investigators they had sex in his car that night

Search teams looked throughout the woods surrounding the boat launch where Keadle said the two had sex before she got angry and he left her there, but her body was never found

Keadle is shown above in a 2010 interview as part of one of the search parties

During the following days, search parties combed the woods around the boat launch for her body. Keadle participated in the searches and even did an interview with the local news station KMTV.

During a search of the boat launch, a deputy said he saw tire tracks matching Keadle's SUV, and what appeared to be drag marks leading to the river bank.

Earlier that year, an 18-year-old student told authorities that he took her to the same boat launch and threatened to push her in the Missouri River if she didn't have sex with him.

Keadle was charged with several felonies in that case, but the charges were eventually dropped.

Weeks before Thomas' disappearance, Keadle was accused of sexually harassing two female students in a co-ed dorm.

Peru State's director of campus security recommended to administrators that Keadle be expelled, according to court documents, but other officials declined to do so.

In 2012, Keadle was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in Fremont in 2008, while he was a student at Midland College. He would be up for parole in that case in the next year.

Keadle is currently in prison serving 15 to 20 years for sexually assaulting another college student in 2008

Weeks before Thomas' disappearance, Keadle was accused of sexually harassing two female students in a co-ed dorm and Peru State's director of campus security recommended to that he be expelled, according to court documents, but other officials declined to do so

Thomas's body hasn't been found, but the state issued a death certificate for her in 2013.

A jury found him liable in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Thomas' family and ordered him to pay $2.6billion.

It's unlikely Thomas' family will ever collect on the award, because Keadle doesn't have the assets to pay it.

A court dismissed the college from the lawsuit, which accused the school of failing to protect Thomas from harm, and the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld that ruling earlier this year.

Thomas' mother LaTanya was almost speechless on Tuesday when first asked by a reporter for her reaction to criminal charges being filed. 'It's been a long time. A long, long process,' the mother said. 'We're going to remain hopeful that justice will be served for Tyler'

A jury found Keadle liable in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Thomas' family in 2016 and ordered him to pay $2.6billion. It's unlikely Thomas' family will ever collect on the award, because Keadle doesn't have the assets to pay it

Last year the attorney for the Thomas family, Vince Powers, pictured above, said he met with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, who pledged to look into the case

Last year the attorney for the Thomas family, Vince Powers, said he met with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson. Peterson pledged to look into the case, according to Powers.

Thomas' mother told the Omaha World Herald that her daughter loved to dance, liked to laugh and dreamed of eventually teaching young children.

'She always talked about doing art with children, or working with children with disabilities,' LaTanya Thomas said.

The World Herald reported that she was almost speechless on Tuesday when first asked by a reporter for her reaction to criminal charges being filed.

'It's been a long time. A long, long process,' the mother said. 'We're going to remain hopeful that justice will be served for Tyler.'
A white man was indicted Tuesday on a hate crime charge for allegedly stabbing a black college student to death 'because of his race,' a Maryland prosecutor said.

Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks announced the grand jury indictment against Sean Urbanski at a news conference in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Richard Collins III was stabbed to death on May 20 at the University of Maryland, days before he was set to graduate from Bowie State University.

He had just been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

'We are completely comfortable with the indictment in this case and look forward to taking the case to trial in January,' Alsobrooks said, adding that prosecutors took the time they felt was necessary to investigate all the evidence.

Video from WJZ

Sean Urbanski, 22, left, allegedly stabbed Richard Collins III, 23, to death on the University of Maryland campus in May, just days before he was due to graduate from Bowie State

Urbanski was indicted on a hate crime charge for allegedly stabbing Collins to death 'because of his race'

Authorities analyzed 'lots and lots of digital evidence,' including evidence from Urbanski's phone and computer data, Alsobrooks said.

'There was lots of digital evidence that we could look at to get a sense for the motive in this case,' Alsobrooks said, though she declined to elaborate.

'Again, we can't discuss in detail without compromising our case what the evidence is in the case, but again the evidence led us to the conclusion that Lt. Collins was murdered because of his race,' Alsobrooks added, when reporters asked for further details.

Hassan Murphy, an attorney representing the Collins family, commended the decision to bring the hate crime charge.

Collins, 23, was visiting friends at the College Park campus of the University of Maryland when the stabbing happened.

Urbanksi (above) fled the scene, but police stopped him shortly after the stabbing and the victims' friends identified him as the attacker. His trial will start in January

Collins was commissioned to join the Army through the school's ROTC program

Authorities quickly focused on the possibility that the slaying was a hate crime, because Urbanski became a member of a racist Facebook group several months before the stabbing.

University of Maryland Police Chief said at the time he asked the FBI to assist in the investigation after learning Urbanski belonged to a Facebook group called 'Alt-Reich: Nation,' where members post disparaging material about African-Americans and others.

Officials said Collins was with two friends near a campus bus stop about 3 a.m. when they heard Urbanski screaming and watched him approach them.

Urbanski said 'Step left, step left if you know what's best for you,' according to the charging documents. Collins said 'no' before Urbanski stabbed him once in the chest, the documents said.

Collins came from a lineage of service members dating back four generations. He studied business at Bowie State and was due to graduate last May

University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell (above) called the 'Alt Reich: Nation' Facebook page that Urbanksi joined 'despicable'

What is the Alt-Reich? It's believed Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, belonged to a Facebook group called 'Alt-Reich: Nation,' where members posted disparaging material about African Americans and others. While the Facebook group has since been deleted, University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell said the group was filled with 'despicable' content. 'When I looked at the information that's contained on that website, suffice it to say that it's despicable, it shows extreme bias against women, Latinos, members of the Jewish faith and especially African Americans,' Mitchell said. It has been widely acknowledged that the Alt-Reich group was a derivation of the alt-right movement, a loosely-knit coalition of white supremacists, white nationalist and neo-Nazis. It has been defined as group of people with far-right ideologies who reject mainstream conservatism in favor of white nationalism and white supremacist values. Advertisement

The killing roiled both campuses, which are near each other in suburban Washington. Bowie State is a historically black school.

The case increased racial tensions at the flagship campus of Maryland's university system, and the university announced new initiatives to improve how it investigates hate-based incidents.

'The Collins family remains in our thoughts, following their tragic loss last May,' the University of Maryland said in a statement.

'This is especially true today as the prosecution of this senseless crime moves through the criminal justice system.'

Urbanski, 22, has been held on a murder charge since the stabbing.

The former University of Maryland student faces up to life without parole, plus 20 years for the charge of a hate crime resulting in death, Alsobrooks said.

William Brennan, Urbanski's attorney, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The US Senate Intelligence Committee has requested documents and testimony from the son of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser after he declined to be interviewed by the committee as part of its Russia probe.

Michael Flynn Jr, the son of Michael Flynn, has allegedly not responded to the panel, which is investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Flynn Jr worked closely with his father, a former US Army general who was fired by Trump just 24 days after he started his White House job in February after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials.

Michael Flynn Jr (right), the son of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, has been asked to provide documents and testimony as part of the panel's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election

Flynn Jr worked closely with his father, Michael Flynn (pictured, February 2017), a former US Army general who was fired by Trump just 24 days after he started his White House job in February after he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian officials

The son (left) managed his father's (right) schedule and accompanied him on trips while working at Flynn Intel Group consultancy, including one to Moscow in 2015 for an event where the elder Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin

The son managed his father's schedule and accompanied him on trips while working at Flynn Intel Group consultancy, including one to Moscow in 2015 for an event where the elder Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Flynn Jr also worked during the presidential transition until he was forced out of the Trump transition team when he promoted the 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory on Twitter.

Russia has repeatedly denied the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the presidential campaign to help Republican Trump by hacking Democratic Party emails and spreading propaganda online.

Barry Coburn, a lawyer for the younger Flynn, 34, declined to comment on the Senate committee's request, which was reported earlier by NBC News.

The panel could issue a subpoena to the Flynn Jr, although he could invoke his Fifth Amendment constitutional protection against self-incrimination and not comply.

NBC News also reported last month that the younger Flynn is a subject of the criminal and counterintelligence investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The elder Flynn, 58 (pictured, January 2017), has also been asked by the panel to provide information and to testify. A source close to Flynn said that he had turned over documents to intelligence committees in both the Senate and US House of Representatives

The panel could issue a subpoena to the younger Flynn, 34 (pictured), although he could invoke his Fifth Amendment constitutional protection against self-incrimination and not comply

The elder Flynn, 58, has also been asked by the panel to provide information and to testify. A source close to Flynn said that he had turned over documents to intelligence committees in both the Senate and US House of Representatives.

The source familiar with the congressional investigation said that the Senate committee is not satisfied and wants to obtain more evidence from him.

The committee is also investigating whether there was any collusion between then-candidate Trump and Moscow officials. Trump has denied any collusion by his associates, calling it 'fake news'.
Sumner Redstone's ex-girlfriend has filed a lawsuit against the media mogul's estranged daughter in what seems like a never ending battle over his estate.

Manuela Herzer, 53, is now suing Shari Redstone, 63, under the RICO Act, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, claiming she spied on her and 'methodically hatched a criminal scheme' to take over the billionaire's life in a bid to gain control of CBS and Viacom.

Redstone, 94, served as the executive chairman of both media companies until 2016, when he resigned due to his health.

In court papers filed on Monday and obtained by DailyMail.com, Herzer accuses Shari and her two adult sons of 'aiding and abetting' with the ailing media magnate's nurses to eavesdrop on her private conversations, steal documents from her computer, and manipulate security cameras to spy on her and Redstone.

Sumner Redstone's ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer (pictured) has accused the billionaire's daughter of spying on her in a bid to drive her out of his life

Herzer, 53, claims Shari, 63, 'methodically hatched a criminal scheme' to take over the billionaire's life in a bid to gain control of CBS and Viacom. Shari, who has had an estranged relationship with her father, currently serves as the vice-chairwoman of CBS and Viacom

'To accomplish her scheme, she knew that she needed to forcibly separate Sumner Redstone from those whom he cared about, loved, and trusted, including especially plaintiff Manuela Herzer,' the complaint read.

'Shari and her adult children formed this illicit enterprise to destroy all of the historical relationships that Sumner Redstone had built up over the course of his career, in direct contravention of his documented wishes.'

Herzer claims Shari and her children paid monetary bribes to Redstone's caretakers, nurses Jeremy Jagiello, Joseph Octaviano, Igor Franco, and Faleolo Toia, and even his personal secretary at Viacom, to encourage them to make the false statements to Sumner.

Herzer had been the appointed co-agent in Redstone's Advance Health Care Directive with Power of Attorney, making her a 'target' for Shari.

Shari, who currently serves as vice-chairwoman of CBS and Viacom, has had a strained relationship with her father, and was snubbed from becoming his successor after the company's board of directors named Philippe Dauman as the new chairman.

Herzer has claimed that Shari has been trying to drive her out of Redstone's life, despite the fact that billionaire allegedly did not want his daughter involved in his affairs.

Sydney Holland (top left) and Manuela Herzer had served as Redstone's live-in companions, but were accused of elder abuse in 2016

Court papers show an email excerpt that Shari allegedly sent to her son reading: 'why would I ever give [Sumner] his dying wish of peace when he never gave me any peace during my whole life.'

Another excerpt showed Shari allegedly telling her children: 'I have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely nothing that I can do. . . . We would not win a lawsuit to get rid of S[yndey Holland] and M[anuela Herzer]. And that would not necessarily be the right thing to do. . . . [U]ltimately your grandfather made the decisions that he made. I just called . . . and all he kept saying was leave Sydney and Manuella [sic] alone. he said it 100 times'

Herzer's suit comes a year after the 94-year-old sued her and his other companion, Sydney Holland for $150million, accusing them of elder abuse.

That lawsuit alleged that both women convinced Redstone to sell his vested stocks in 2014 and then had him deposit $45million into each of their bank accounts.

She is now calling that allegation a 'flat out lie.'

The lawsuit claims Shari Redstone and her son Tyler Korff (left) bribed Redstone's nurses (pictured right, nurse Jeremy Jagiello) and his personal secretary to encourage them to make the false statements about Herzer to Sumner

Herzer, who is 41 years Redstone's junior, had been living in his mansion after he reportedly invited her and her children to move in 2014, but was kicked out of the home a year and a half later.

At the time, Herzer claimed Redstone was not capable of acting in his 'own rational self-interest.'

In fact, she claims Shari took advantage of Redstone's health, by putting her scheme 'into motion' after illness affected his ability to speak.

'By using the information and knowledge that they had unlawfully obtained, beginning in September 2014 and through 2015, as Sumner's physical health began to decline, Shari Redstone and her family co-conspirators incentivized and directed the nurses to defame and discredit Herzer by presenting Sumner on a daily basis, with a litany of lies and falsehoods about her and her actions.

'Their goal was to brainwash and cause him in his weakened mental state to believe (falsely) that Herzer had lied to him,' court papers state.

After Herzer was evicted from Redstone's home, Shari became his healthcare directive and power of attorney, and removed Manuela from his estate plan and the Board of the Sumner Redstone Charitable Foundation, according to the suit.

Herzer is now asking for $100 million in damages as well as 'treble damages as provided for under RICO.'




A California farmer claims to have witnessed the latest Bigfoot sighting after spotting five of the creatures running near his ranch.

The farmer, identified only as Keith, claims to have spotted the Bigfoot near Avocado Lake in Fresno County.

He recounted the story to Jeffrey Gonzalez who runs the talk show Paranormal Central.

'I'm going up the road and all of a sudden these five bodies, whatever, run past the front of my headlights on my truck,' Keith said.

Jeffrey Gonzalez, who runs the talk show Paranormal Central, said a farmer told him he saw five Bigfoot running on his orchard near Avocado Lake in California. Gonzalez said there had been two other sightings (one of which is pictured above) in the same area

He said he believes it was the legendary Bigfoot.

Gonzalez told Fox News that one of the Bigfoot spotted by the farmer was supposedly carrying a pig.

'One of them, which was extremely tall, had a pig over its shoulder. The five scattered and the one with the pig was running so fast it didn't see an irrigation pipe and it tripped, with the pig flying over,' Gonzalez claims.

Gonzalez, a self-described paranormal expert, said there have been two other Bigfoot sightings in the same area in the last five years.

The farmer, identified only as Keith, (above) claims to have spotted the Bigfoot near Avocado Lake in Fresno County. He said he saw five bodies running in front of his truck's headlights

Gonzalez said the farmer told of how one of the Bigfoot apparently tripped over an irrigation pipe as it was running away

He has a photo of one of the sightings that claims to show a Bigfoot running through an orchard.

Gonzalez also says he has what he describes as a footprint mold belonging to a Bigfoot from the orchard.

Gonzalez claims a woman told him that her two sons saw a Bigfoot in their orchard. A few years later a man called him to say he saw five Bigfoot in the same orchard across from his house.

'What are the odds of three people, three different families, who don't know each other, within a radius of 2 to 3 miles, come and tell me what they witness, and it matches up,' Gonzalez said.

'I believe there are a lot more people out there who have seen things and are keeping it inside themselves. They don't want to go out and tell people, they don't want to be ridiculed. They don't want to be made fun of.'

Gonzalez has a photo of one of the sightings from around that area that claims to show a Bigfoot
Wild weather is set to wreak havoc on Victoria as the risk of thunderstorm asthma increases.

Those at risk of suffering from thunderstorm asthma are being told to keep an eye on warnings this week as stormy weather is predicted.

The VicEmergency forecast tool is predicting thunderstorm asthma conditions right across the state, including Melbourne.

Hope Carnevali, a lifelong sufferer of asthma, was one of thousands of people across Melbourne triggered by the rare storm last year

Omar Moujalled, 18, who had just finished his year 12 exams, was the second victim of last year's freak 'asthma thunderstorm'

Those at risk of suffering from thunderstorm asthma are being told to keep an eye on warnings this week as stormy weather is predicted for Melbourne

Thunderstorm asthma warnings are in place from Mallee in the north-west, across to East Gippsland in the east,

A minor warning is in place for both central and northern Melbourne.

The prediction comes after nine people died in Victoria from a freak weather event late last year.

A further 8500 people had to be treated in hospital due to thunderstorm asthma.

An intense storm system triggered acute asthma attacks in people.

At the time hospitals declared a 'major disaster' after receiving more than 1900 triple-0 calls and almost depleting their Ventolin supplies.

Father-of-two Clarence Leo (right) died in November during last year's thunderstorms in Victoria

Ann Peiris (left) and her husband Ranjith, 57, died during last year's thunderstorms

Apollo Papadopoulos is believed to have died of an asthma attack during the thunderstorms in Victoria last year

The Australian Medical Association described the spike in respiratory illnesses during last year's storm as 'unprecedented'.

In addition to widespread sickness, the wild weather also left a trail of destruction across Victoria with some residents reporting tornado-like conditions.

The tragedy caused the Victorian government to set up an early warning system in September in order to prevent further deaths.

The Australian Medical Association described the spike in respiratory illnesses during last year's storm as 'unprecedented'

A thunderstorm asthma weather event occurs when there are high pollen levels, strong winds, high temperatures and rainfall.

The warning system uses a traffic light system to advise people of risk levels.
Since my five-day visit to North Korea recently, Ive encountered pushback from critics who ask, Why go?

First, they argue: You needlessly put yourself at risk and give Kim Jong Un a bargaining chip if he grabs you.

Second, they say: By going to North Korea, you simply become a mouthpiece for a country that you admit is the most totalitarian country in the history of the world.

Frankly, these are legitimate arguments. So lets seize the moment for an honest discussion  and, in the process, let me offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of reporting there.

Getting a visa to North Korea is always tough, and my latest attempt involved long and delicate negotiations with North Korean diplomats  and with my wife.

Four of us from The New York Times obtained visas and then quickly received U.S. State Department approval, along with special U.S. passports valid for travel to North Korea.

From the moment we arrived, we were escorted by two Foreign Ministry handlers, and we were housed at a guarded Foreign Ministry compound.

Our hosts were always courteous, but there was a whiff of menace that didnt exist on my previous trips to North Korea, not least because three Americans are currently being detained there. And just in August, North Korea sentenced two South Korean journalists and their publishers to death in absentia for their writing.

North Korea is the most rigidly controlled country in the world, with no open dissent, no religion and no civil society, and there is zero chance that anyone will express dissatisfaction with the government.

Still, the conversations were illuminating. Ordinary North Koreans were unfamiliar with the name of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died days after being returned to the United States in a vegetative state after his detention in Pyongyang for stealing a poster. But they knew all about President Donald Trumps threats to destroy their country. Thats because the government wants them to know about Trumps threats, because they bolster Kims nationalist narrative that he protects Korea from imperialist U.S. aggressors.

Being on the ground in a country lets you see things and absorb their power: the speaker on the walls of homes to feed propaganda; the pins that every adult wears with portraits of members of the Kim family; the daily power outages, but also signs that the economy is growing despite international sanctions; the Confucian emphasis on dignity that makes officials particularly resent Trumps personal attacks on Kim; the hardening of attitudes since my last visit, in 2005; and the bizarre confidence that North Korea can not only survive a nuclear war with the U.S. but also emerge as victor.

A visit humanizes North Koreans, who outside the country sometimes come across as robots. In person, you are reminded that they laugh, flirt, worry, love and yearn to impress.

I left North Korea fearing that we are far too complacent about the risk of a cataclysmic war that could kill millions. And thats why reporting from within North Korea is crucial: There simply is no substitute for being in a place. Its a lesson we should have learned from the run-up to the Iraq War, when the reporting was too often from the Washington echo chamber rather than the field.

But I have a sinking feeling in my gut, just as I had on the eve of the Iraq War, that our president may be careening blindly toward war. In that case, the job of journalists is to go out and report, however imperfectly, and try to ring alarm bells in the night.
The private equity firm throwing The Weinstein Company a financial lifeline as it reels from the sex scandal surrounding its co-founder has a sordid past of its own, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Colony Capital, run by Los Angeles billionaire and Trump confidante Thomas Barrack Jr, is set to provide an immediate capital infusion into Harvey Weinsteins old company and is in talks to buy a significant portion of its assets, the companies said in a statement.

But while the firm - which has about $20 billion in assets under management  is happy to help the beleaguered movie studio following Weinsteins dismissal amid allegations he sexually harassed, assaulted or raped dozens of women over the past three decades, it seems Colony Capital is no stranger to sex scandals itself.

Richard Nanula allegedly hired adult film actress Samantha Saint, right, and other porn stars for jobs at his gated Malibu estate. Nanula resigned after it emerged he allegedly enjoyed posing as a porn star called Mr Rich

Nanula, a Harvard MBA who was an executive at Disney and more recently Miramax, allegedly hired porn-star Penny Pax to perform with him

Back in July, 2013 a partner in the firm resigned after it emerged he allegedly enjoyed posing as a porn star called Mr Rich and videotaping himself having sex with adult film actresses.

According to an LA Times story his penchant for porn along with a sexual harassment charge, led Nanula to leave his executive post at Colony and the Miramax film company, where he was chairman.

The sensational story was followed up with explicit photos of Nanula in a sex tape leaked to gossip website Thedirty.com.

Adult film actress Samantha Saint claimed she was booked for a job at a gated Malibu estate by Nanula, who co-starred and filmed the movie and before long other porn stars came forward to claim the same.

Saint claimed she was paid $1,200 cash to star in the video and was told it would appear on fellow actress Trinity St. Clair's website.

She added, according to The New York Post that the cash was in a Colony Capital envelope, the parent company of Miramax.

Two more porn actresses also went public claiming they were paid to perform with Nanula in adult movies.

Nanula, a Harvard MBA who was also an executive at Disney and held a top position at biotech juggernaut Amgen, allegedly hired adult film actresses Sarah Shevon and Penny Pax to perform with or for him.

Shevon said her agent arranged the $300 sex scene, in which the actress was dressed in a schoolgirl-style skirt and white blouse knotted at her midriff, in April 2012.

She said when the porn pictures allegedly showing Nanula emerged, she recognized the man as 'Mr Rich', according to the Los Angeles Times.

Shevon claimed the job she was booked for was what is known in the industry as a 'private' - an encounter between a porn star and a paying customer - and that it was filmed so it would not be seen as a criminal act of prostitution.

Saint, left, claims she was paid $1,200 cash to star in the video and was told it would appear on fellow actress Trinity St. Clair's website while Sarah Shevon, right, said she was paid $300 for the scenes

She told the Los Angeles Times she never saw the finished video and did not know whether it was posted on the website it was allegedly for.

'I don't like how there are these guys who have a lot of money and power and they feel like they can just take advantage of girls or get whatever they want out of them by throwing money at them,' she said.

Shevon said her co-star was a well dressed man who filmed the scene as well as taking part in it. She added it was clear he was not a porn pro.

She added that fellow actress Trinity St Clair had asked her to perform a private in a Malibu home two years ago, where she would be expected to perform oral sex, for $1,500.

To make matters worse it also emerged that divorced father-of-three Nanula was accused by his ex-wife Tracey in 2005 divorce papers of spending thousands on prostitutes and was treated for sex addiction.

Colony Capital, is happy to help the beleaguered movie studio following Harvey Weinsteins dismissal amid allegations he sexually harassed, assaulted or raped dozens of women

Neither Nanula, 57, nor his representatives have publicly denied he was the man in the pictures that appeared online.

At the time billionaire founder of Colony Thomas Barrack Jr, declined to discuss Nanula's resignation.

'This is a personal matter for Richard and unrelated to Miramax,' he said.

'Richard did an excellent job at managing his business duties.'

Earlier, the New York Post reported a sexual harassment suit against Colony may be an additional reason for Nanula's exit.

The suit centered on a paralegal at the firm named Stephanie Shaw, who claims Nanula groped her buttocks in an 'unwelcome, extreme, and offensive' way back in early 2012 and filed suit in a Los Angeles court.

Shaw, who was fired after less than a year with the company, also alleged wrongful termination, among other wrongdoings.
The grandmother has been charged with attempted murder and will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning

A four-month-old baby allegedly slashed in the face by his grandmother is no longer in a critical condition.

The baby boy was underwent surgery on Tuesday and his condition was serious but stable on Wednesday morning, a hospital spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Multiple reports said he may be 'scarred for life' after the incident at a home in Brisbane's north-west on Tuesday morning.

Neighbours said the baby and his mother were visiting the boy's grandmother, who lives alone in the quiet and leafy suburb of The Gap.

The child's mother, from Sydney, woke to the sound of her child screaming after 6am, police said.

She discovered her severely injured son in a 'distressed state' and the grandmother, and a knife, nearby.

Police were pictured inspecting a stainless steel meat cleaver outside the home on Tuesday

Police and paramedics who rushed to the horrific scene were left 'distressed', said police Inspector Daniel Bragg

'(The mother's) clearly distraught over what's occurred. She's provided police with all the assistance she could,' said Inspector Daniel Bragg.

The boy was rushed to hospital and with wounds to his face, cheek and neck, Seven News reported.

The baby needed blood transfusions to keep him alive in the ambulance.

Inspector Bragg said both paramedics and police who rushed to the scene were 'visibly distressed by what they were dealing with'.

Forensics police pored over the property at The Gap on Tuesday after the alleged attack

A shocked neighbour said: 'The baby and the daughter arrived about two days ago, they're from down south... (The grandmother)'s very quiet and keeps to herself'

Forensics police pored over the house and photographed a stainless steel meat cleaver in the driveway.

The retired teacher, 64, was charged with attempted murder late on Tuesday.

A shocked neighbour, who woke to the sound of sirens, said: 'The baby and the daughter arrived about two days ago, they're from down south.

'She (the grandmother) lives at the house. It's just her. She's very quiet and keeps to herself.

'We all get together at Christmas time and have a big street party but she, the grandmother, never wants to come.'

The grandmother faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning but had her matter adjourned so she could undergo a medical assessment.

She did not apply for bail.
Students from an Adelaide school have ordered t-shirts with pictures of a bong and goon bag on them to wear to Schoolies celebrations.

Students from Unley High School have had the shirts made to read 'Unley Army... the drunkest and the highest.'

The crude tops feature a picture of a 'shoey', a bottle and hose pipe bong and a goon sack incorporated onto a shield.

The crude tops feature a picture of a 'shoey', a bottle and hose pipe bong and a goon sack incorporated onto a shield

Students from Unley High School have had the shirts made to read 'Unley Army... the drunkest and the highest'

A student from the school, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Advertiser about 60 of the shirts had been made and were selling for $30 each.

One Unley mother was shocked when her daughter brought one of the shirts home.

'This is supposed to be one of the best public high schools in the state and it is being linked to a t-shirt advocating to get as drunk and stoned as possible? It is absolutely appalling,' she said.

Melissa Trewella from Print Locker Custom T-shirts in Victoria did not confirm the order, but said Schoolies requests often came from Adelaide.

'They all have that kind of thing on them, every single one of them. They are always about getting blind,' she said.

In a statement to The Advertiser Unley High School principal Brenda Harris said: 'This is totally unacceptable and senior leaders will work with Year 12s to help students understand why this is a poor decision that reflects badly on themselves, and on the school.'

Thousands of Year 12 students will celebrate the end of school at Victor Harbor, in South Australia, in November.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Unley High School for comment.
A 17-year-old disabled boy who died in hospital after hitting a staff member at a swimming pool near Newcastle reportedly died of self-inflicted head injuries.

It's understood the 'stocky' teenager, who was with his carer at the time, was pinned to the ground by up to eight grown men after he threw a punch at a lifeguard.

One witness, a mother named Robyn, told Daily Mail Australia the 'distressed' boy was growling and hissing on the ground before shouting: 'You're hurting me'.

'They put him down on the ground with quite a bit of force. He was still trying to lift his head up, he kept shaking his head and hitting it on the ground,' she said.

Scroll down for video

A 17-year-old disabled boy has died in hospital after hitting a staff member at Lambton Swimming Pool (pictured), near Newcastle, on Tuesday afternoon

It's understood the 'stocky' teenager, who was with a carer at the time, was pinned to the ground by up to eight grown men after he threw a punch at a lifeguard

Paramedics arrived at the busy public pool in Lambton just after 5pm on Tuesday and treated the boy, who had gone into cardiac arrest, at the scene.

He was rushed to John Hunter Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

According to Robyn, who was watching on in horror from the stands as her daughter continued her swimming lesson, the entire incident lasted more than half an hour.

She said the disabled boy started throwing cones and signs into the pool after getting into an argument with a boy in the water.

When a male lifeguard, aged in his late 20s, ran across to intervene - things 'started to get out of hand'.

'The boy went into the disabled toilet and started banging at the door... then he came out and punched a glass window, cracking it all,' Robyn said.

'Then he threw punches at the lifeguard.'

Paramedics desperately tried to revive the boy at Lambton Pool after he suffered cardiac arrest

At that point up to eight parents who were watching the incident unfold jumped on top of the boy and brought him roughly to the concrete floor.

'There were seven or eight big men, they grabbed him and got him down on the ground with quite a bit of force,' Robyn said.

By the time emergency services arrived, the boy was reportedly 'hyperventilating' and continuing to 'kick at' the men restraining him.

'The ambulance crew turned up, I saw the needle and they sedated him,' Robyn said.

'The next thing we saw him go still. Thats when they started resuscitating, and got everyone out of the pool and into the back.'

The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and close to 100 traumatised kids were taken out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy.

'They were working on that poor boy for 15 to 20 minutes trying to resuscitate him,' Robyn said.

The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and roughly 40 to 50 traumatised kids were whisked out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy

The boy was rushed to hospital (pictured) where he was pronounced dead a short time after

Newcastle Council, which owns the pool but leases it out to private company Lane 4 Aquatics, released a statement on Wednesday.

'Late yesterday afternoon a 17-year-old boy and his carer were visiting Lambton Pool. The boy began causing harm to himself and the surrounding property.'

'His carer, with this assistance of passers-by, restrained the boy to prevent him doing further harm to himself.

'During the incident the boy had a medical episode and subsequently required CPR.

'Emergency services attended the scene however he was unable to be resuscitated.

'We express our deepest sympathies to the family.'

More than one employee was injured during the assault and had to be treated by paramedics at the scene, according to reports.

A Lane 4 Aquatics Centre employee told Daily Mail Australia the staff members were 'all okay' but refused to make any further comment.

NSW Police has launched a critical investigation into the circumstances around the death of the teenager.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Lambton Swimming Pool said they would re-open the pool at 9am on Wednesday after the 'small disruption'.

'Lambton Pool will reopen today (18th October) at 9:00am,' the statement read.

'We appreciate the patience and understanding for the small disruption.'

In an updated post, the pool described the incident as a 'tragedy'.

'Our condolences go out to the families involved. We appreciate there is a lot of speculation however it is important to remember it was a tragic day for all involved.'
The families of six missing fishermen are clinging to hope they will be found alive nearly two days after their trawler capsized in treacherous conditions off the Queensland coast.

All six men were believed to be below deck on Monday night when their vessel rolled off the town of Seventeen Seventy.

The sole survivor so far, crew member Ruben McDornan, spent hours in the water before he was saved by a passing yacht.

The desperate search continues for six others - including Eli Tonks, Adam Bidner, Adam Hoffman and skipper Ben Leahy - who remain missing.

Appalling weather is hampering rescue efforts, as the families of the men pray for a miracle.

'My son and his co-workers... I have no words, we are just waiting,' Mr Tonks' mother Jenny posted on Facebook.

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Six fishermen (including crewman Eli Tonks, pictured with his fiance) remain missing after their trawler capsized in treacherous conditions off the Queensland coast

Ben Leahy (pictured) is believed to have been in the engine room at the time the boat sank, and police believe he may have been electrocuted

Mr Bidner's sister Jodie wrote: 'I need every one's hope and will to help my brother Adam who is currently one of the missing men off his Trawler.

'Adam is strong, stubborn and fit and I'm hanging on to the fact that if anyone is a fighter it's Adam Bidner.'

She later added: 'Hang in there bro... we will find you.'

Mr Bidner's mother Kay struggled to compose herself as she told The Courier Mail: 'Right now, we're just together as a family and we're praying.'

Adam Hoffman (pictured with Pauline Hanson) was confirmed as one of the missing men on Wednesday morning

Mr Bidner's (pictured) sister Jodie wrote: 'I need every one's hope and will to help my brother Adam who is currently one of the missing men off his Trawler'

Eli Tonks (pictured) is believed to have been below deck as the trawler sank on Monday night

Mr Hoffman's sister Heidi Sargeant asked her friends and family to keep her brother in their prayers.

'Please pray for my brother who is lost at sea off the Gladstone coast somewhere after his trawler capsized last night,' she wrote online.

'Come on Adam, the whole family is waiting for you to give us a call and tell us we are worrying about nothing!'

One of the people aiding the helicopter search is RACQ LifeFlight chief operations officer Brian Guthrie, who went to school with missing skipper Mr Leahy.

He said Mr Leahy was a very experienced seaman and diver, and that had given him some hope the men might still be alive.

'He's always been in boats around the water, diving and things like that,' Mr Guthrie told ABC radio on Wednesday.

'He's very experienced in the water and I expect his crew would be exactly the same. If anyone's going to give it their best shot, for the best outcome, these guys would be it.'

Mr Guthrie said six helicopters and one plane were spearheading Wednesday's search, supported by vessels on the water.

The sole survivor so far, crew member Ruben McDornan, spent hours in the water, clinging on to the trawler's hull before he was saved by a passing yacht

Mr McDoran (pictured) was above deck when the boat capsized about 7.30pm on Monday night, and held on to the hull of the boat until it sunk about midnight

The area being searched is larger than it was on Tuesday, allowing for the impacts of sea drift and tides.

Search and Rescue coordinator Jeff Barnett said on Wednesday afternoon time was running out to find the six men alive.

'The best case scenario is we find six people in a life raft. That's what we're aiming for at the moment. But it's not looking real promising,' he said.

Eight hours of searching on Tuesday yielded some debris but it was not yet known if it came from the missing boat, he said.

Wetsuits, thongs and a bucket were among the belongings found in the ocean on Tuesday, The Australian reported.

Mr McDornan, the only confirmed survivor, reportedly heard his friends screaming and kicking at the walls of the boat as he clung to the vessel.

Police said the search will be suspended at nightfall on Wednesday and resume on Thursday morning.

Two of the missing men are yet to be identified.

The men were believed to be trapped inside Dianne, (pictured) a fishing trawler which has sunk off the coast of Queensland

All six men (including Adam Hoffman, pictured) were believed to be below deck on Monday night when their vessel rolled off the town of Seventeen Seventy
Greenpeace has slammed NSW for being the only state not to promise banning single-use plastic shopping bags.

On Tuesday, Victoria committed to joining South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Northern Territory and ACT, in implementing a state-wide ban next year.

But while plastic bags will be a thing of the past for Victoria - there's been no word of promise from NSW.

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NSW has been slammed by Greenpeace for not promising to ban single-use plastic bags

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has previously said the state didn't need a ban, because the big supermarkets chains were phasing them out anyway.

But according to Greenpeace Australia, no government ban still means 1.1 billion single-use bags, that are not distributed by supermarkets, will continue to be discarded in NSW every year.

Greenpeace's Simon Black said in a statement: 'The premier's inaction is disgraceful.'

'Letting supermarkets lead the state on environmental issues would be weak.'

Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) has previously said NSW didn't need a plastic bag ban

'That's billions of bags that Berejiklian is letting end up in our waterways and landfill.'

NSW Opposition leader Luke Foley also called for Ms Berejiklian to act: 'Not a single leader in the country agrees with her about plastic bags - and neither does the community,' he said in a statement.

Meanwhile Victoria's government has promised to ban the common single-use plastic bags that are used in every shop across its state, including small takeaway stores.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told The Project the state would ban the bags 'as quickly as we can'.

Plastic bags will soon be a thing of the past after a state wide ban will be enforced in Victoria

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told The Project the state will ban bags 'as quickly as we can'

The move comes after supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths announced their plans to ban their shopping bags in July.

At the time, Woolworths said they hand out more than 3.2 billion lightweight plastic bags a year.

The bag ban means customers will have to bring their own reusable bags or buy them in store.

However, the bag ban won't affect small plastic bags used to carry meat, fruit or vegetables according to News Corp.

Heavier plastic bags also won't be banned.

'It's obvious you can't construct a collection system that captures all of the single-use plastic bags,' Boomerang Alliance director Jeff Angel told Fairfax Media.

The move comes after supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths announced their plans to ban their shopping bags in July

'We have a serious litter problem which should not be tolerated.

'You go to a landfill and there are bags blowing all over the place.'

While no date has been set for the ban, it is believed the new eco-friendly policy will be phased in across the state after discussions with community and business groups.

Experts believe if the entire country enforced the bag ban, plastic bag use would reduce by six billion a year.
Soldiers could be deployed to police the borders if Britain left the EU without a deal, it was revealed yesterday.

Bringing in members of the Armed Forces to provide additional capacity at ports and airports could not be ruled out, said the Home Office top civil servant.

Philip Rutnam raised the prospect of uniformed military personnel being used to check travellers and goods arriving in the UK.

Meanwhile, a Cabinet split appeared to emerge over whether Britain could walk away from the EU without agreeing a deal.

Bringing in members of the Armed Forces to provide additional capacity at ports and airports could not be ruled out, said the Home Office top civil servant

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the prospect of Brexit happening without any agreement being reached  at least covering security  was unthinkable.

But Brexit Secretary David Davis insisted the no deal option would remain open in on-going negotiations.

In the most significant revelation, MPs on the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee were told the Army could be sent in to provide extra boots on the ground at the borders.

In the past, the military have been deployed to help prevent shortfalls  most notably at the London Olympics in 2012 when private firm G4S failed to train enough staff to provide security.

Mr Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Home Office, said: I think it would be unwise to rule anything out. It seems to me clear that any use of the military would be an absolute last resort.

Our strong preference is to deal with the security thats needed at the border through Border Force and that is the basis on which our planning is proceeding.

In a further step, officials are set to start recruiting 300 extra Border Force personnel  expected to be in place by September 2017.

It came a week after a former head of the Home Offices Immigration Enforcement raised doubts over the ability to meet challenges of leaving the EU unless extra staff were employed.

Earlier, Ms Rudd appeared to undermine the Governments position that no deal is better than a bad deal.

Amber Rudd appeared to undermine the Governments position that no deal is better than a bad deal

She insisted there would be an agreement with the remaining 27 EU members on the vital issue of security cooperation at a time of heightened terror threat.

The high-profile Remain campaigner said: I think it is unthinkable there would be no deal. It is so much in their interests as well as ours - in their communities, families, tourists interests to have something in place.

We will make sure there is something between them and us to maintain our security.

An hour before, Mr Davis had told the House of Commons that it was necessary to keep the option of no deal open.

He said the UK was straining every sinew to get an agreement with the EU, but it was necessary to prepare for all outcomes.

After five rounds of Brexit negotiations, the EU has described the talks as in deadlock and there has been an increased debate about the possibility of the UK leaving without a deal in place.

Ms Rudd also told MPs that the registration of 3million EU nationals in Britain will begin by the end of next year with the default position of the Home Office to accept applications for settled status.

She disclosed that a total of 1,200 caseworkers will be brought in by April, with the Government aiming to have the registration system up and running by the end of next year.

She insisted it would be an easy access online process for those who opt to apply that way and would not involve 80 pages plus, as is the case with existing permanent residence applications.
Simon Cowell yesterday backed the Mail's 'fantastic' Quids for Kids campaign

Simon Cowell yesterday backed the Mail's 'fantastic' Quids for Kids campaign to help make dreams come true for youngsters bravely fighting life threatening conditions.

The music mogul is the latest celebrity to back the scheme to donate old pound coins to Make-A-Wish Foundation UK which organises magical experiences for seriously ill children.

X Factor head judge Cowell said: 'The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a really fantastic charity, who have been making dreams come true for more than 30 years.

'So, please, have a hunt around the house for all those old pound coins to help Make A Wish via the Quids for Kids campaign.

'Giving a little will mean a lot.'

Broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell, TV presenter Carol Smillie and Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, have also rolled in to support the campaign since we launched at the weekend.

Round 1 coins ceased to be legal tender this week and can be exchanged for new 12-sided coins at banks and Post Offices.

But we are appealing to readers to instead give them to Make-A-Wish, an amazing charity supports youngsters enduring gruelling treatment, endless medical appointments and spending long periods in hospital away from family and friends.

With your help, these children can get quality time away from the daily difficulties of living with a serious condition and make glorious memories they can treasure, whatever their future holds.

More than 20,000 children and young people in the UK have a life-threatening condition.

Make-A-Wish Foundation began in the UK in 1986 and has granted more than 11,000 wishes, which provide these children with hope, joy, and resilience to fight their illnesses.

Thanks to Make-A-Wish UK, children have starred in their own films, swum with dolphins and met their heroes.

The Mail has partnered with Nationwide Building Society, which will take old 1 coins for the charity until December 20.

Just hand them to the cashier at any Nationwide branch, stating that you wish to give them to the Mail's Quids For Kids Make-A-Wish Foundation UK appeal.

You can also make extra donations there; and if you don't have any old pound coins, you can donate online, by text message, or by cheque.

About 450million old 1 coins are still in circulation, according to the Treasury.
Victims of the contaminated blood scandal last night warned Theresa May they will have 'no faith' in a public inquiry

Victims of the contaminated blood scandal last night warned Theresa May they will have 'no faith' in a public inquiry as long as the Department of Health is involved.

Families and survivors expressed concerns because of the central role of the department in the tragedy that killed 2,400 people.

They accused health officials - who are working to determine the inquiry's format - of ignoring warnings and using victims for unauthorised trials.

Theresa May earlier this year announced the inquiry into the 'appalling tragedy' that killed thousands infected with hepatitis and HIV after being given a contaminated clotting agent in the 1970s and 1980s.

But in a letter to the Prime Minister, the Haemophilia Society last night said its members believe that the Department is clearly conflicted in its role in drafting the terms of reference for the inquiry.

Liz Carroll, chief executive of The Haemophilia Society, said: 'Our members have one last chance to get closure and justice for what happened.

'This is why it is so important the inquiry has a comprehensive terms of reference that will uncover what occurred and make recommendations on what should have been done differently.

'As we have seen with the inquiry into historic child sex abuse, without comprehensive and effective terms of reference an inquiry will ineptly blunder from issue to issue and not deliver the justice those affected by the scandal seek.

'Equally, we have seen in both the Grenfell inquiry and in the Scottish Penrose inquiry how a chair that does not appropriately engage with the affected community and does not carry their confidence wastes the time of those affected and forces them to unnecessarily relive the pain of what occurred.

The Department of Health has previously said it is 'absolutely committed to a thorough and transparent inquiry'

'The affected community will have no faith in an inquiry with terms of reference and a chair decided by the Department of Health.'

In July, it was announced there would be an inquiry into the scandal that killed 2,400 people infected with hepatitis and HIV in the 1970s and 1980s after being given contaminated stocks of the clotting agent Factor VIII, used to treat patients with haemophilia.

Minutes of papers disclosed by the Daily Mail suggest patients were given the deadly blood for at least five years after health officials became aware of the danger.

The Department of Health has previously said it is 'absolutely committed to a thorough and transparent inquiry'.
The former principal of one of Australia's most exclusive schools is suing the institution over emails she says have made her unemployable since she quit her $650,000-a-year job.

Debra Kelliher resigned as principal of Kambala at Rose Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs on April 10 amid accusations by staff of her 'tyrannical rule', 'bullying' and 'unethical behaviour'.

Ms Kelliher, who ran the day and boarding school for girls for three and a half years, is now suing the school and two teachers for defamation, according to ABC News.

Debra Kelliher, former principal of Kambala private school for girls, is suing the institution

Kambala (pictured) is located at Rose Bay with spectacular views down Sydney Harbour

Annual tuition fees at Kambala in Sydney's Rose Bay, range from $19,000 to $34,300

Kambala school for girls in Sydney's Rose Bay is one of Australia's most exclusive institutions

The 60-year-old claims head music teacher Mark Grandison and head social science teacher June Peake sent defamatory emails to parents, staff and former staff after her resignation.

Mr Grandison wrote in an April 11 email sent to 13 staff, one parent and one former staff member that in his opinion, Ms Kelliher had imposed 'three years of tyrannical rule'.

He further said Ms Keller had been 'a leader who is now demonstrably recognised as unethical, interpersonally incapable, unprofessional, and lacking the substantive competence to lead a school through a period of change.'

The email was sent in response to a public statement by the president of Kambala School Council, Sally Herman, that Ms Kelliher had done a 'wonderful job'.

Hours after Mr Grandison's email Ms Peake sent him and another teacher an email referring to the 'campaign to remove DK'. That email was forwarded to all 200 Kambala staff.

Ms Peake wrote that teachers had been concerned at Ms Kelliher's 'unprofessional and bullying behaviour towards staff and the development of a culture of fear.'

President of Kambala School Council Sally Herman (pictured) praised Debra Kelliher's work

Kambala (pictured) is an exclusive independent Anglican day and boarding school for girls

Debra Kelliher was principal of Kambala (pictured) at Rose Bay for three-and-a-half years

Ms Kelliher alleges the emails helped make her unemployable after leaving her $650,000-a-year role, meaning she could not even get an interview for a principal's job. She claims losses of up to $2 million.

Kambala, where annual tuition fees range from $19,000 to $34,300, denies all claims against it and the teachers.

The school says the emails were not capable of being defamatory, and if they were Ms Kelliher's reputation was already damaged because she had lost the confidence of parents and staff.

Kambala says Ms Kelliher had a reputation among staff and parents for 'unethical, unprofessional conduct' and creating a 'culture of fear'.

In a statement to ABC News, Ms Kelliher said the allegedly defamatory emails 'are completely at odds with the evidence that exists regarding the school's academic record and my performance as principal of Kambala.'

Kambala (pictured) is defending a defamation case brought by former principal Debra Kelliher

Kambala School Council's Sally Herman (pictured) said Ms Kelliher had done a 'wonderful job'

Kambala (pictured) is defending a defamation action by former principal Debra Kelliher

Ms Kelliher says Kambala was $12 million in debt when she took over as principal in January 2014, according to a statement of claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court.

The school had run at an operating loss of $1.5 million the previous year, she states.

Ms Kelliher claims in the court documents that the former principal Margaret White, who ran the school from 2000 to 2013, presided over 'very serious financial irregularities'.

When Ms Kelliher took over, she discovered the schools former business manager Ian MacColluch had defrauded the school of $400,000. Mr MacColluch admitted to the allegations and was sentenced to community service.

Ms Kelliher further alleges that from 2010 to 2013 Ms White charged $650,000 in expenses to the school including $200,000 on personal items including shoes, jewellery and hair appointments.

She also says teachers enjoyed privileges such as international travel to conferences 'of little benefit to the school' as well as 'extravagant morning teas' and Cabcharge vouchers.

Former Kambala principal Margaret White (pictured) ran the school from 2000 to 2013

Kambala school for girls at Rose Bay (pictured) has had just 12 principals since opening in 1887

Despite the financial difficulties she inherited, Ms Kelliher claims she managed to repay $9 million in debt and run a surplus of $5.3 million in 2016.

Ms Kelliher says she also improved the school's culture and performance. Enrollments reached a record high of 1067.

'Levels of anxiety and depression and suicidal ideation among students' had also been addressed, she says in her statement of claim.

Ms Kelliher says while Kambala is an independent Anglican school there was 'little real Christian practice' and 'open mocking of religion by staff members'.

Music teacher Mr Grandison's email about Ms Kelliher was motivated by his dislike for her and to encourage negative publicity, she says.

Ms Kelliher states she refused Mr Grandison's request to buy the school a $300,000 Steinway piano.

In her statement of claim, Ms Kelliher says Mr Grandison's and Ms Peake's emails contained several defamatory imputations.

Debra Kelliher says she refused a request to buy a $300,000 Steinway piano (stock image)

Kambala is defending a defamation action taken by former school principal Debra Kelliher

Kambala indenpendent Anglican school for girls has some of the best facilities in Australia

Among the imputations were that Ms Kelliher was so incompetent that student academic results did not improve during her tenure and academic results were likely to worsen because many staff left the school.

Ms Kelliher has sought damages, costs and an injunction permanently restraining the defendants.

Kambala's failure to issue a correction or apology meant the school had virtually adopted and endorsed the emails' contents, Ms Kelliher alleges.

The school denies the content of the emails was capable of being defamatory of Ms Kelliher, or that the emails contained the alleged imputations.

If the emails were found to be defamatory, the school would mount a defence of contextual truth, stating the imputations did not further harm Ms Kelliher's reputation.

'Ms Kelliher  had so seriously lost the confidence of teachers, staff and parents, that she was forced to resign,' the school says in its defence.

On March 27, 19 heads of departments and year coordinators signed a letter of no confidence in Ms Kelliher and the letter was endorsed by more than 80 staff.

The case goes before Justice Lucy McCallum on Friday.
A white British woman was peppered with racist abuse when she went undercover as a Muslim for a Channel 4 documentary - but the show has sparked a race row over 'brownfacing'.

Katie Freeman threw on a hijab and was given a bigger nose, fake teeth and darker skin for My Week As A Muslim, which followed her around Manchester in the week after the terrorist attack in the city.

The show had been planned before Salman Abedi killed 23 people by detonating a rucksack outside an Ariana Grande concert, but producers made the decision to carry on regardless.

White British woman Katie Freeman, 44, went undercover as a Muslim for a Channel 4 documentary

But when the trailer was posted onto YouTube through the broadcaster's official channel on Tuesday, many questioned the way she was transformed, seemingly to conform to stereotypes.

One commenter said: 'What the f*** is this?? Channel4 have totally missed the mark here.

'Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to put prosthetics on somebody to make them a caricature of people of a different race (as if being white and muslim are exclusive anyway???) On primetime TV in 2017??? Madness!!!'

Another added: 'Did they... brownface her?????'

And the founder of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal, was also furious about the programme.

'This is trying to drive ratings by racial stereotyping. Channel 4 needs to apologise,' he told the Daily Star.

'If you are trying to bridge divides, what message does it send to Muslim communities that people think of you in a certain way?

Ms Freeman was given a bigger nose, fake teeth and darker skin for My Week As A Muslim

Ms Freeman (third from the right) has remained friends with those she met through doing the programme

'That certain crude facial characteristics are what defines you as Asian?'

Ms Freeman, 44, said her experience on the show changed her outlook on Islam entirely.

When she first started she said that she would try to avoid sitting next to a Muslim because 'you see them and think "they're going to blow something up".'

But as she strolls through the city, she was shocked at the racist comments that were routinely shouted at her, and how it made her feel.

As she walked past her local pub, one person shouted 'f****** Muslims, in this town?', while another ranted about 'them [Muslims] round here'.

The abuse was so great that Ms Freeman even considered pulling out of the show at one stage.

She said: It makes me ashamed to live here. I was raging and fuming inside. But I also felt vulnerable. What harm was I doing?

As she strolls through the city, she was shocked at the racist comments that were routinely shouted at her

Ms Freeman, 44, said her experience on the show with her host Saima Alvi (left) changed her outlook on Islam entirely

However, she was eventually considered to stay by her host, 49-year-old Saima Alvi, who told her she faces such abuse every day.

Ms Alvi said: 'Its very humiliating that I am pigeon-holed, or put in the same box as a terrorist.

'[But] we did click straight away. Our friendship has gone beyond this.

'What I have learnt is that there are genuinely nice people who are unfortunately misled about Islam.'

The show's executive producer, Fozia Khan, said: 'The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than just observe it as an outsider.'
Martha Stewart has revealed that she was sexually harassed while working as a model when she was 16 years old.

The now 76-year-old told People that she had been asked to wear a bikini to a 'go-see' audition with an advertising agency for a modelling job.

Stewart, who was still in high school at the time, said she was harassed by the advertising company executive as soon as she walked into the room.

Martha Stewart has revealed that she was sexually harassed by an advertising company executive while working as a model when she was 16 years old

Stewart, pictured above in an undated modelling photo, was told to wear a bikini to one audition back when she was 16 years old

'I was asked to wear a bikini under my clothes. I thought, 'Oh, maybe we're doing a beach commercial or something,' Stewart said of the ordeal.

'So I go into the room and there's a table with all men sitting around it and it's an advertisement agency, I can't remember which one it was.

'They said, 'Now you can take your clothes off,' and I said, 'Oh, is this where are we doing the commercial? Are we wearing bikinis in the commercial.' They said, 'No, but as long as you're here we might as well see what you look like.'

'I thought that was harassment of the first order.'

A quick-thinking Stewart said she handled the situation by simply walking out of the room.

Stewart, pictured left modelling in Glamour in 1961 and right in an undated photo, said she was harassed by the unnamed advertising company executive as soon as she walked into the room

Stewart, who is currently hosting a hit cooking show with Snoop Dogg, is one of the many high profile women speaking out about harassment in show business in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal

'I said, 'I'm sorry, gentleman. This is not what I'm here for.' And I left,' she said.

She said she believed the core values she learned from her family gave her strength to react that way.

'I think women just have to understand that you can say no,' she said. 'You can walk out of a room. It might hurt your career so you'll find something better somewhere else.'

Stewart, who is currently hosting a hit cooking show with Snoop Dogg, is one of the many high profile women speaking out about harassment in show business in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Rose McGowan, Asia Argento and Gwyneth Paltrow are among those to have claimed abuse or harassment at the hands of the Hollywood producer.
China Airlines is returning to the UK after a five-year hiatus as it launches the only direct flight from Britain to Taiwan.

The flagship carrier for the Republic of China is hoping to boost tourism, while hoping to exploit efforts by ministers to forge closer business links between the UK and the small island nation.

Flights will start on December 1 between London Gatwick and Taipeis Taoyuan International airport.

Flights will start on December 1 between London Gatwick and Taipeis Taoyuan International airport. Pictured: Taipei, Taiwan

The service will operate four times a week from Gatwicks South Terminal, with a flight time of just over 13 hours aboard China Airlines Airbus A350-900.

The aircraft will carry 306 passengers.

The UK has been trying to boost business links with Taiwan, with trade minister Greg Hands visiting the island last September - shortly after the Brexit vote.

It is the UKs sixth largest trading partner in Asia Pacific. UK-Taiwan trade reached 5.8billion in 2014, the second highest ever on record.

Taiwan is a democracy and is not part of the People's Republic of China.

It has a thriving economy, and has a huge technology and computer industry.

China Airlines previously operated a route between London Heathrow and Taipei from 2010 to 2012.

China Airlines previously operated a route between London Heathrow and Taipei from 2010 to 2012

But it scrapped the service as it was hit by the economic downturn across Europe and the high costs of running less fuel efficient Airbus A350 planes.

Since then it has operated a service to Amsterdam with an onward connection to London via a codeshare arrangement with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Roger Han, senior vice president Europe at China Airlines said: Were incredibly excited to be returning to the UK this year, making travel between the UK and Taiwan that much more simple and accessible.

By offering the only non-stop service between these two countries, we hope to welcome travellers who may not have considered Taiwan as their first outbound destination previously.

Furthermore, our route network offers a wonderful array of destinations throughout Asia or onward to Australia for British travellers to enjoy.
A fire has ripped through a commercial factory overnight, reducing the inside of the building to total destruction.

The inferno sparked in Strathfield South late on Tuesday evening, with more than 50 firefighters on hand attempting to quell the massive flames.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after declaring it a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding its ignition.

A fire has ripped through a commercial factory overnight, reducing the inside of the building to total destruction

The inferno sparked in Strathfield South late on Tuesday evening, with more than 50 firefighters on hand attempting to quell the massive flames

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after declaring it a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding its ignition

Emergency services attended the blaze at around 11:15pm last night to find flames licking the factory on Cosgrove Road.

More than 50 firefighters needed longer than two hours to get the fire under control.

The situation was particularly tense because of the close proximity of surrounding buildings and businesses.

Among the buildings in the industrial complex are food stores and a kitchen fittings company.

Emergency services attended the blaze at around 11:15pm last night to find flames licking the factory on Cosgrove Road

The road was closed off overnight while crews worked to extinguish the inferno but has since been re-opened

The road was closed off overnight while crews worked to extinguish the inferno but has since been re-opened.

Police attended the area and have set up a crime scene, treating the fire as suspicious.

Officers stood watch over the destroyed factory overnight and are continuing their investigations today.

'The cause of the fire is unknown. As inquiries continue, police are appealing for witnesses to contact police via Crime Stoppers,' NSW Police said in a statement.
A newspaper executive and fan of exploring tragically fell several stories to his death while he was trespassing at a luxury hotel in Chicago on Monday.

Eric Paul Janssen, who was a vice president for the Sandusky Newspaper Group in Memphis, plummeted to the street while taking photos at the trendy London House Hotel.

The 44-year-old man, who was a fan of urban exploring, was taking photographs without permission when he fell from a 20th floor parapet wall and struck a sixth-floor rooftop below around 3.30pm,CBS Chicago reported.

Janssen, who was visiting for an architectural tour that promised 'behind-the-scenes access' to hundreds of buildings, was taking photos on the ledge of the hotel, which is located on 85 E. Wacker Drive near Michigan Avenue, according to his family and friends.

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Eric Paul Janssen, a Memphis newspaper executive, tragically fell several stories to his death in an apparent accident Monday afternoon in downtown Chicago

Janssen was reportedly trespassing at the trendy London House Hotel (above) in Chicago during the time of the incident

The 44-year-old man was taking photographs without permission when he fell from a 20th floor parapet wall (scene above)

He struck a sixth-floor rooftop below around 3.30pm (scene above) at the luxury hotel

A friend who was with Janssen at the time of the accident said he was not staying at the hotel, but had just been at the top floor lounge when he stepped away briefly to take some photos, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The medical examiner said Janssen suffered numerous injuries and ruled his death an accident.

His sister, Cynthia Vukmer, told the Tribune: 'He died doing what he loved. He did that, I do believe he did that.'

She said the father of three was dedicated to his family and friends along with his job.

'He was very passionate about life and his friends and family,' Vukmer said.

'He was passionate about photography ... He was just a wonderful, wonderful guy.

'He was very, very, very deeply loved by his family and by so many. He was my hero.'

A friend said that Janssen was taking photos on the ledge of the hotel, which is located on 85 E. Wacker Drive near Michigan Avenue (scene above). He was not staying at the hotel at the time of the accident

His sister, Cynthia Vukmer, told the Tribune: 'He died doing what he loved. He did that, I do believe he did that.' She said the father of three was dedicated to his family and friends along with his job

Vukmer, who called her brother a 'gentle giant', said that they had their final conversation last week when he apologized for not purchasing her a birthday present.

She shared that he did buy her son the Battleship board game, which they played together as children while growing up in suburban Memphis.

Janssen graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Memphis after being inspired by his mother who is a writer.

His sister said that he had been living in the South Main Historic District in Memphis, but traveled a lot for work.

One of his former classmates at the University of Memphis, Aimee Edmondson, told the Tribune that Janssen's motto in life was 'live a great story'.

Janssen worked as a vice president for the Sandusky Newspaper Group in Memphis. Janssen graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Memphis

'He often photographed from rooftops and had a particular interest in the beauty that comes with urban decay,' Edmondson said.

Edmondson added that following Janssen on social media, 'you will understand what he was doing on the roof  taking beautiful photos, no doubt.'

For his last Instagram post shared Monday, Janssen shared a striking photo inside of Barr Funeral Home.

He captioned it, 'Birth. School. Work. Death.'

Janssen also wrote: 'Chicago has been an amazing experience. Made some new friends. Reconnected with some old friends. Had a really wonderful time exploring this great city.'
With each passing day, it becomes abundantly clear the bull-headed intransigence of the EU negotiators is a deliberate policy to try to sabotage Brexit.

There is a determination by politicians in Brussels, Paris and even Berlin to make the process of Britains departure from the EU so difficult, disruptive and expensive that the British people might think again and demand the opportunity to reverse last years referendum decision.

Of course, it is no surprise Brussels panjandrums such as Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier arrogantly think they can browbeat 17 million Britons to decide that Brexit might not be such a good idea after all.

With each passing day, it becomes abundantly clear the bull-headed intransigence of the EU negotiators is a deliberate policy to try to sabotage Brexit. Pictured: The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria, from Mexico, speaks during an OECD press conference at the Treasury in London

For they and their unelected predecessors based in the European Commissions Brussels HQ, where they are served by 33,000 taxpayer-funded bureaucrats, have a successful record in reversing the will of European citizens.

On several occasions, they have persuaded member states to overturn referendums because the results interfered with grand plans to create a European superstate.

For example, the Danish people voted in 1992 against ratifying the Maastricht Treaty, which set out terms for greater European integration. This was the wrong decision in Brussels eyes, and so a second vote had to be held after a shabby compromise deal in order to get the right result.

Ruthless

The Irish were the next fall guys. In 2008, they rejected the Lisbon Treaty (which created the framework for todays EU), but were successfully persuaded to think again.

Even the French were bludgeoned into line after they initially rejected the case for a European-wide constitution in a referendum in 2005.

Days later, the Dutch also rebuffed the plan in their own referendum. In panic, Brussels forced France to renegotiate and then adopt the proposal without another vote.

There is a determination by politicians in Brussels, Paris and even Berlin to make the process of Britains departure from the EU so difficult, disruptive and expensive that the British people might think again. Pictured: Angel Gurria

EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker speaking to the European Council

Many furious French voters believed their wishes, which they had made clear in the 2005 vote, had been ignored.

In sum, Brussels won the day by using bullying tactics based on the belief that the people of Europe have no right to obstruct politicians dream for a European superstate.

Such ruthless tactics are the Commissions main weapon.

Indeed, the way it treats dissension was recently evident in Brussels response to Spanish police ripping out ballot boxes and beating up pensioners as they tried to stop Catalans exercising their right to vote in an independence referendum.

The European Commission said proportionate use of force was necessary to uphold the rule of law.

So far, the pressure being applied on Britain to make Brexit as difficult as possible has been less extreme, but I fear now that Brussels is cranking up the intimidation.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say we are witnessing a new Project Fear. Instead of the shameless propaganda exercise designed by then Chancellor George Osborne during the EU referendum campaign, in which Remainers prophesied Armageddon if we withdrew, this is now being orchestrated in Brussels.

Yesterday, the head of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) used grotesquely inflammatory language to describe Brexit.

Angel Gurria, the Mexican Secretary-General of the notionally independent think-tank, likened the impact to the Blitz  the savage bombing by the German Luftwaffe between September 1940 and May 1941, which destroyed one-third of London and killed 32,000 British citizens.

The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria, from Mexico, speaks during an OECD press conference at the Treasury on October 17

Michel Barnier: European Union Chief Negotiator in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain

Realising the offensiveness of his remarks, Gurria added: . . . except fortunately not the Blitz. What an outrageous view from the head of an organisation whose mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Clearly, such scaremongering is spread by EU cheerleaders who think they can grind down the British people and force a second referendum.

Indeed, Juncker and his cronies are cynically trying to exploit what they see as Theresa Mays weak and divided government.

However, even though they must know it in their heart  and Juncker conceded as much last week when he heaped praise on Britain for its role in World War II  these hectoring Eurocrats appear to have forgotten the sheer fortitude of the British people.

Spirit

Faced with annihilation by the Nazis and inspired by Winston Churchill, the British people refused to be intimidated and fought back to win a war of attrition.

That spirit remains.

Indeed, Juncker, who said on Friday the UK would have to pay for talks to advance, has a fight on his hands.

That fight has become even tougher in view of the fact that Mrs Mays hopes of Angela Merkel showing more sympathy to Britain have been dashed. The German leader insists: In is in and out is out. Meanwhile, leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries ignore the fact that they will suffer as a result of Britain leaving and that it is in their own interests to ease our departure.

The truth is, the EU needs our money. That is why Juncker & Co are demanding a Brexit divorce bill of 50 billion euros. The EU needs our soldiers and our spies, too.

Above all, it needs to learn from our economy, which is the greatest job creation machine across the EU. Our unemployment rate is just 4.3 per cent  half the 9.5 per cent in France. Although economic expansion has slowed in 2017, over the past few years the UK has been the fastest-growing advanced economy.

Chancellor George Osborne was among the Remainers who prophesied Armageddon

No wonder those Brussels pygmies are convinced their strongest weapon in their battle to stop Britain leaving their cosy club is by asking for a scandalously punitive sum as the price.

Most reasonably, Mrs May  fully aware of hostility here towards the New Project Fear and the fact the extra money is designed to cover future pension liabilities of Brussels bureaucrats  does not want to go much beyond paying a 20 billion Brexit divorce bill.

For their part, the EUs Brexit negotiators are convinced they have their British counterparts in a stranglehold because Mrs May is committed to fiscal responsibility and wants to eliminate the budget deficit by 2025. An inflated divorce bill would break those intentions to smithereens.

Defiance

Thus Brussels is counting on the Government failing to achieve an acceptable Brexit deal and then having to present this bad deal to Parliament. Brussels would hope that, faced with an unsatisfactory deal, MPs would reject it  therefore sabotaging Brexit.

The next move in this cynical gameplan would be for a humbled UK Government to go back to the British people with a second referendum  which would vote Remain.

And so, just as happened with the Danes, French, Irish and Dutch, the unelected Brussels machine would have destroyed the democratic wishes of millions of people.

This is why, rather than be blackmailed into submission  in the words of Brussels OECD lickspittles  Britains negotiating team needs to show the kind of defiance as exemplified in the Blitz.

If ever there was a time for the country to reignite that spirit and come together behind the Government and this countrys precious democratic institutions, it is now.
An airman who disappeared more than four decades ago was taken into custody after it was discovered he had been living a double life.

Jeffrey Michels, 64, mysteriously went missing while on active duty from the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on July 6, 1977.

A missing persons report was originally issued for Michels, alongside a photograph showing his face at the time.

He has since been found by an investigative group for missing veterans using the alias Jeffrey Lantz and residing in Seminole County, Florida with a wife and children.

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Jeffrey Michels, 64, (shown left in photograph from the 1970's) was arrested on charges of desertion Thursday and is pictured in his mugshot (right)

Michel's was finally found after he mysteriously went missing while on active duty in the Air Force on July 6, 1977

'Michels wasn't missing; he was living at a home in the Terra Bella neighborhood,' authorities confirmed

Police were made aware of the incident thanks to individuals operating the Facebook page 'Veteran Doe'

According to a report by WFTV, investigators said Michels utilized the last name Lantz on several legal and business documents shortly after his abrupt disappearance.

'Records showed he used the name in 1998 to obtain a business license from the state of Florida for his construction business called Atlantic Development Corporation,' the police report read.

The property appraisers website also showed he purchased the home in Sanford under the false identity.

Police were made aware of the incident thanks to individuals operating the Facebook page 'Veteran Doe', who shared an image of the missing Air Force veteran.

'Michels wasn't missing; he was living at a home in the Terra Bella neighborhood,' authorities confirmed, following further investigation on the matter.

He was arrested Thursday and is currently in custody of the United States Air Force

Michels utilized the last name Lantz on several legal and business documents shortly after his disappearance

He used the name in to obtain a business license from the state of Florida for his construction business called Atlantic Development Corporation

Michels was arrested Thursday and is currently in custody of the United States Air Force.

He initially faced charges of desertion, which, according to military.findlaw.com, carries a punishment of 'confinement of five years' while 'desertion during a time of war (carries the possibility) of the death penalty.'

However, the statute of limitations for desertion expired, meaning Michels will stand trial in a military court, according to authorities.

Lt. John P. Longmire told the news station Michels was 'brought back onto active duty at his previous rank of E-3' and given a 'discharge under 'Other Than Honorable' conditions.'

The Air Force veteran was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, before he moved on to his unpromising career in the military.

The identity of his wife and children have not been released; however, a photo showing the family's Florida home was captured in a video clip from WFTV.
Simon Waterman was living with his wife Leah and their children Kimi and Bryce in the Philippines in September 2015 when the stroke left him wheelchair-bound and unable to speak

A stroke victim who needs 24-hour support has been told to become the sole carer for his two children after border officials ordered his Filipino wife out of Britain.

Simon Waterman was living with his wife Leah and their children Kimi, ten, and Bryce, seven, in the Philippines in September 2015 when the stroke left him wheelchair-bound and unable to speak.

They moved back to Abergavenny in South Wales for him to be nearer his family, but now the Home Office has rejected Leah's visa.

Government officials insisted there were no exceptional circumstances to overrule the decision.

Mr Waterman, a former soldier for the British Army, needs someone to look after him 24/7 just to keep him alive.

He cannot speak, write or understand what is being said to him, but the Home Office have still ordered him to become the provider and carer for his seven and 10-year-old children.

Leah has been told to head back to Asia to apply for a visa, a move she has branded a nightmare.

'My children's lives have already been ripped apart by their father's stroke and by moving country,' she told The Guardian. 'They're already struggling to cope.'

She said Kimi and Bryce are completely dependent on her and Mr Waterman's physiotherapist Joanna Keen insisted her patient was not medically fit to look after himself, let alone his children.

A stroke victim who needs 24-hour support has been told to become the sole carer for his two children after border officials ordered his Filipino wife out of Britain

Mr Waterman, a former soldier for the British Army, needs someone to look after him 24/7 just to keep him alive

The stroke has a massive impact on his physical state and rendered the right side of his body paralysed.

Not only that, the left side of his body was also weakened meaning if he fell over, he would be unable to get himself back up off the floor.

But the biggest damage was on his brain.

He now has severe aphasia, which means he cannot speak, write or call for help in an emergency.

An appeal has been lodged, pushing their legal costs to 4,000, and it could take almost a year to be heard, by which time Leah could have already been forced to leave the country

Mr Waterman cannot process simple commands given to him, meaning being responsible for somebody else would put himself and those under his watch at risk.

The Home Office ignored the fears of the family and was adamant that Leah returning to the Philippines would not 'result in unjustifiably harsh conditions' for her nor Mr Waterman.

'We have taken into account the best interests of any relevant child as a primary consideration,' the ruling went on to say, adding: 'The option is available to you to return to the Philippines and apply for the correct entry clearance,' the letter continues. During this time, your children can remain in the UK under the care of their father.'

The Watermans' family lawyer Christopher Dias told The Guardian the case was 'absolutely crazy but, sadly, not entirely a surprise'.

He said: 'What I don't know is whether the Home Office is overworked and so are not paying proper attention to applications or whether they're deliberately letting the judges make hard decisions rather than themselves.'

An appeal has been lodged, pushing their legal costs to 4,000, and it could take almost a year to be heard, by which time Leah could have already been forced to leave the country.
Evgeny Prigozhin, a Russian Oligarch and shadowy businessman known as 'Putin's chef' has long been rumored to be behind a company called the Internet Research Agency (IRA)

Vladmir Putin's personal 'chef' has been unmasked as the money behind the Russian troll factory that used social media to spread fake news during the US presidential campaign, according to officials briefed on the investigation.

Evgeny Prigozhin, a Russian Oligarch and shadowy businessman known as 'Putin's chef' has long been rumored to be behind a company called the Internet Research Agency (IRA).

According to court documents obtained by CNN, the IRA is a secretive technology firm that spread false information and sowed social divisions in the west. The IRA has been at the center of the US investigations into Russian Collusion for months.

Prigozhin, who ran the Russian President's favorite restaurant in St Petersburg and won billions in state catering contracts, is thought to be the IRA's financial backer.

His involvement and alleged financial backing sheds further light on the alleged Russian meddling in the American election - providing a clear link between the Kremlin and the misinformation efforts.

Vladmir Putin's personal 'chef' has been unmasked as the money behind the Russian troll factory that used social media to spread fake news during the US presidential campaign, according to officials briefed on the investigation. Prigozhin is pictured on the left, presenting Putin's dinner to him

Prigozhin (left), who ran the Russian President's favorite restaurant in St Petersburg and won billions in state catering contracts, is thought to be the IRA's financial backer. His involvement and alleged financial backing sheds further light on the alleged Russian meddling in the American election - providing a clear link between the Kremlin and the misinformation efforts

A former employee who spoke to the independent Russian TV network RAIN, said the company was like any normal company in which employees would show up every day for shift work.

But, when they got to their computer they would turn off their VPN so that it wasn't clear where they were working from.

The documents reviewed by CNN show that the organization had a monthly budget of about $1million in 2013, and that that money was split between its different departments. The departments included Russian-language operations and English social media use.

And in one of the company's departments, called the Department of Provocations, employees had a goal to 'influence opinions,' according to the employee.

At work, these Russian 'trolls' would pose as Americans and make payments to actual activists in the United States to help fund protest movements on socially divisive issues. Pictured above Russian President Vladmir Putin meets with former President Obama in 2015

WHO IS EVGENY PRIGOZHIN? Evgeny Prigozhin is a Russian oligarch known as President Vladmir Putin's 'personal chef'. And now, the shadowy businessman has been linked to the troll factories that spread fake news and discord on social media in the run up to the US Presidential election. The Oligarch started his career as a hot dog seller before being sent to jail in the 1980's for fraud and robbery. He spent nine years there, according to CNN, and moved to St Petersburg when he was released. When he was released he went straight into the catering business - renovating the St Petersburg boat and opening New Island in 2001. The restaurant is one of six upscale restaurants he owns in the city. His rise to unfathomable riches and status was born the day Putin, a year into his first term as president, popped into his eatery. Putin loved his food and quickly turned to him to cater his birthday parties and dinners with visiting leaders. In 2002, in fact, he served President George W Bush truffles and caviar during a summit in St Petersburg. He later won multiple lucrative catering contracts for schools and the Russian armed forces. Since his involvement with Putin he has grown his commercial empire, acquiring two different businesses in St Petersburg. One of those businesses, Concord Management and Consulting, has been linked to the Internet Research Act (IRA), which spread fake news stories and posted about controversial topics during the 2016 US presidential election. Advertisement

'There was a strategy document,' the individual said.

'It was necessary to know all the main problems of the united states of america. tax problems, the problem of gays, sexual minorities, weapons.'

The IRA also made many employees watch the Netflix series House of Cards to help them improve their English.

Another document obtained by CNN outlines a 2013 concord Management and Consultant Contract. Concord Management is Prigozhin's main business based in St Petersburg.

The contract that was unearthed was for 20millon Rubles - or $650,000 - worth of construction work at the IRA. It was signed by the IRA's director general.

The same records also show that a Concord Consulting employee later joined the IRA.

At work, these Russian 'trolls' would pose as Americans and make payments to actual activists in the United States to help fund protest movements on socially divisive issues.

The RBC published a major investigation on Tuesday that looked into the work of the IRA since 2015.

The paper identified 118 accounts of groups, mostly on Facebook, but also on Twitter and Instagram. Those groups would post stories and advertisements that incited racial animosity and supported a variety of groups, from Black Lives Matter and immigration activists to Texas independence and gun rights.

The employees also contacted about 100 real activists in the US to help them organize protests and events, often paying for them.

For example, the IRA spent $80,000 to hire Americans to stage rallies in 40 different US cities. The activists did not know at the time that they were being supported by a Russian disinformation organization.

One of those events was an anti-Muslim rally in Twin Falls, Idaho.

None of the groups or events directly benefited or supported Trump, but they did provide an environment in which pro-Trump rhetoric was popular and well-received.
Train 'passengers' were attacked by two masked 'terrorists' during a NSW police training exercise overnight.

The simulation held at Sydney's Central Station was aimed at educating authorities on how to respond to a terror attack or armed offender in public spaces.

More than 160 police, firefighters, paramedics and transport officers participated in the scenario, which was recorded on video.

In the footage, two 'terrorists' with head scarves stormed into the train station before 'stabbing' and 'shooting' people with fake guns and knives as they moved across platforms.

Sydney train 'passengers' were attacked by two masked 'terrorists' with head scarves during a New South Wales police training exercise overnight (pictured)

The exercise held at Central Station was aimed at educating authorities on how to respond to a terror attack or armed offender in public spaces (pictured)

In the footage, two 'terrorists' with head scarves stormed into the train station before 'stabbing' and 'shooting' (pictured) people with fake guns and knives as they moved across platforms

'Passengers' can be seen lying on the floor with bandages covered in fake blood.

'These types of exercises not only give police and partner agencies the critical training required in these types of situations, but also enhances the tactical skills in order to protect the community in environments where contain-and-negotiate tactics aren't appropriate,' Assistant Commissioner Murdoch, commander of the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command, said on Wednesday.

'Recent incidents such as the attack on London Bridge and the Borough Market, and the attacks at the Bataclan theatre in Paris, have shown us that armed terrorists, can strike anywhere at any time.

'As first responders, we have to be able to deal with situations with strength and surety.'

A 'terrorist' is pictured attacking 'passengers' with weapons during the simulation (pictured)

More than 160 police (pictured), firefighters, paramedics and transport officers participated in the scenario, which was recorded

'As first responders, we have to be able to deal with situations with strength and surety,' police said

Police officers can be seen holding fake orange guns during training

While many applauded their efforts, numerous people took to social media to criticise the training exercise (pictured)

While many applauded their efforts, numerous people took to social media to criticise the training exercise.

'This video just shows how much more training in needed,' one man wrote on Facebook.

'This is embarrassing. So Cringeworthy. Take this down before the rest of the world wakes up and sees it. We'll be the laughing stock of the world,' another complained online.

'Seriously, these guys? Look like they're going to a kid's party,' one woman said.

'So you put a link for your tactics and strategic planning towards terrorism so they can counter-act it? Nice,' a man said sarcastically.
A six-week-old baby is fighting for his life after suffering a 'castastrophic brain injury' while in the care of his father.

The toddler, named Nathaniel, was airlifted to hospital in Perth after a Triple Zero call earlier this month.

When he arrived, doctors found the newborn had no brain activity and they feared he would not survive.

'The word we kept hearing over and over was catastrophic, catastrophic brain injury,' Nathaniel's great-aunt Cheyenne Taylor told Seven.

A six-week-old baby is fighting for his life after suffering a 'castastrophic brain injury' while in the care of his father

The toddler, named Nathaniel, was airlifted to hospital in Perth after a Triple Zero call from his 24-year-old father (pictured) earlier this month

Nathaniel was flown to Princess Margaret Hospital after his 24-year-old father called emergency services saying he was unresponsive. His mother, 20, was not present at the time.

The six-week-old suffered the injuries between October 7 and October 9 at the family's home in Narrogin.

His aunt says he has bleeding on his brain, and despite his ventilator being switched off on Saturday, Nathaniel is still surviving.

He has started breathing on his own, has regained consciousness and is feeding through a tube. The extent of his brain damage will not be known until he recovers further.

'The word we kept hearing over and over was catastrophic, catastrophic brain injury,' Nathaniel's great-aunt Cheyenne Taylor (pictured) told Seven

Nathaniel has started breathing on his own, has regained consciousness and is feeding through a tube. His father and mother (pictured right) have been questioned by police

Police have questioned both his parents over the incident.

They have confiscated their phones and the two are not allowed to contact each other while investigations take place. No one has been charged.

The family say they are looking for answers but are are 'focusing on getting that little boy through every hour.'
Phone messages sent by murdered Melbourne mother Karen Ristevski just days before her disappearance have been revealed for the first time.

The WhatsApp messages reportedly sent between Mrs Ristevski and an acquaintance show her in a pleasant mood.

She even affectionately refers to her husband Borce - a suspect in her murder - as 'Bozza'.

The messages, supplied to news.com.au, were sent shortly before Mrs Ristevski - 47 at the time - disappeared from her Melbourne home on June 29 last year.

The family insider said Mrs Ristevski's daughter Sarah (pictured left with her mother) stopped co-operating with the police investigation into the murder as she felt pressured

The text messages were sent while the Ristevskis were on a family holiday in May 2016, weeks before her sudden disappearance.

A photograph was sent of Borce Ristevski with a sunburnt nose, and Mrs Ristevski said the pair were enjoying their time together.

The final correspondence between Mrs Ristevski and the friend is a message sent on June 30, begging her to get in touch after she disappeared.

'Hi Karen if you get this please come back everyone's worried about you,' the text reads.

The 47-year-old's dead body was found in bushes at Macedon Regional Park about eight months later

The family friend said claims she was having an affair with her ice-addicted stepson Anthony Rickard were untrue, and the Ristevskis' marriage was 'great'.

'They were obviously in love. It was the picture-perfect family, even my own parents admired their family.'

Insiders close to the Ristevskis have previously said: 'Their relationship has always been great'.

Speaking to news.com.au, the family friend also claimed Mrs Ristevski's daughter Sarah stopped co-operating with the police investigation into her mother's death as she felt pressured into turning against her father Borce.

According to the family friend, police questioning was similar to 'abuse'.

'I think they just got sick of it because what first was questioning turned into abuse.'

The family friend said police pressured Sarah to turn on her father, believing he was guilty

At the time of the disappearance, Mr Ristevski - who was the last person to see his wife alive - told police the pair had an argument about money before she left

Victoria Police has declined to comment.

At the time of her disappearance, Mr Ristevski - who was the last person to see his wife alive - told police the pair had an argument about money before she left.

She was last seen at her million-dollar home in Avondale Heights on June 29, 2016.

The 47-year-old's dead body was found in bushes at Macedon Regional Park about eight months later.

Mr Ristevski has since shut down the family business, with Daily Mail Australia revealing he closed the final Bella Bleu boutique store earlier this year.

It's understood he has worked as a meat processor and lollypop man to make ends meet.

Detectives have named him as a suspect in Mrs Ristevski's disappearance, but he has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation.
Ivanka Trump has claimed she had a 'punk phase' in the 1990s and was a huge fan of the grunge rock band Nirvana.

In her mother's new memoir, 'Raising Trump', the First Daughter, 35, wrote that she wore flannel shirts, cried for 24 hours when Kurt Cobain died and even dyed her heir blue.

'My wardrobe consisted of ripped corduroy jeans and flannel shirts,' Ivanka wrote in a chapter of Ivana Trump's book, which was released on October 10.

Ivanka Trump, 35 (pictured, left and right, in 1997), has claimed she had a 'punk phase' in the 1990s and was a huge fan of the grunge rock band Nirvana. She recalled that her wardrobe 'consisted of ripped corduroy jeans and flannel shirts' and that she once dyed her hair blue

The First Daughter made the claims in her mother's new memoir Raising Trump, which was released on October 10

'One day after school, I dyed my hair blue. Mom wasn't a fan of this decision. She took one look at me and immediately went out to the nearest drugstore to buy a $10 box of Nice' n Easy. That night she forced me to dye my hair back to blond.'

She continued: 'The color she picked out was actually three shades lighter than my natural color...and I have never looked back!'

Ivanka also said she cried for 24 hours after learning Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain had committed suicide in April 1994. At the time, she was 12 years old.

'It was a shock and I was distraught,' she wrote.

'Mom had no idea who Kurt Cobain was, and she sympathized only so much.

'After twenty-four hours of my crying inconsolably in my room, alone - major melodrama - Mom had to pull me out of there to go down to dinner.'

Ivanka also said she cried for 24 hours after learning Nirvana's frontman Kurt Cobain (pictured) had committed suicide in April 1994. At the time, she was 12 years old

DailyMail.com revealed on Tuesday that Ivanka (pictured, right, with President Trump in August 2017) settled a lawsuit after a California company claimed she ripped off trademarked designs for her coat collection

DailyMail.com revealed on Tuesday that Ivanka settled a lawsuit after a California company claimed she ripped off trademarked designs for her coat collection.

The details of the settlement were not disclosed.

But high end shoe designer Aquazzura, which sued Ivanka over its trademarked $785 fringe sandals in 2016, will see the First Daughter in court in March, 2018.

Unicolors Inc, a California-based 'textile converter' of imported and domestic fabrics, is sued Trump's brand - Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, Gill Leather Fashions - a manufacturer of Trump's clothing line, and TJX - the umbrella retailer that owns TJ Maxx, which sold the coat in question.

In documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Unicolors claimed it owns the rights to the 'unique two-dimensional graphic design' and that the company provided samples to clients with the understanding that if purchased, the design would be reproduced as is.
The Gold Star mother of an Army Special Forces sergeant killed in Niger is backing up a Democratic congresswoman's version of a condolence phone call between family members and Donald Trump, saying the president 'disrespected' them.

Rep. Frederica Wilson had told reporters Trump dismissively said to Sgt. La David Johnson's widow Myeshia that he 'knew what he signed up for' by enlisting, adding that 'when it happens it hurts anyway.'

'Yes the statement is true,' Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

'I was in the car and I heard the full conversation. Not only did he disrespect my son,' she said, but Trump also disrespected the dead soldier's father and his widow.

Jones-Johnson, who was listening on speakerphone, also told The Washington Post that 'President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband.'

Asked if Rep. Wilson's recollection of the call was accurate, she replied: 'Yes.'

But Trump spent some of Wednesday disputing the account that Jones-Johnson confirmed.

Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that Wilson 'totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof).'

When asked what evidence the White House had to back up Trump's dissent, press secretary Sarah Sanders said there were no recordings of the call 'but there were several people in the room from the administration who were on the call, including Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly.'

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The late Army Sgt. La David Johnson is pictured with his mother Cowanda Jones-Johnson, who is backing up Rep. Frederica Wilson's account of a condolence call in which Donald Trump told her the slain solider 'knew what he signed up for'

President Trump phoned Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday afternoon to give his condolences over the death of her husband Sgt. La David Johnson

Trump denied making the insensitive remark, tweeting on Wednesday that the congresswoman 'totally fabricated' it

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson heard Trump's call on speakerphone and made the rounds on television to claim Trump 'has a brain disorder, and he needs to be checked out. ... We should be praising his family, not insulting them'

Trump called Wilson a liar, telling reporters at the White House: 'I didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. She knows it'

Asked what the 'proof' was that he tweeted about, Trump dared Wilson to repeat her claim: 'Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that there aren't any recordings of the call, but several administration officials were in the room and heard what Trump said

'The president's call, as accounted by multiple people in the room, believe that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic, and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country,' Sanders said, 'and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero in their family, and I don't know how you could take that any other way.'

She blasted the media for the 'disgrace' of turning Trump's condolences into a scandal, and hammered Wilson for how 'she's politicized this issue.'

Cowanda Jones-Johnson told a reporter that 'President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband

'This is about a president who loves this country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform, and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family,' an annoyed Sanders added.

'And I think to try to create something from that, that the congresswoman is doing, is frankly appalling and disgusting.'

Appearing on 'The View,' Wilson dared Trump to provide evidence, declaring that 'President Trump is a liar ... If he was taping the conversation, bring it on!'

At the White House, Trump insisted to reporters that Wilson was no longer repeating her claim  not knowing that she was doing so that very hour on 'The View.'

'I didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. She knows it, and she now is not saying it,' Trump claimed, with his arms crossed.

'I did not say what she said, and I'd like her to make the statement again because I did not say what she said.'

Asked what the 'proof' was that he tweeted about, he said: 'Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out. Okay. Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.'

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a question Wednesday about what Trump's evidence consists of, and the president hasn't produced any.

Calling in to 'The View,' Wilson said Trump is 'a liar' and challenged him to produce a recording of his phone call with Johnson

Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third baby in January, later sobbed as she leaned over her husband's coffin

Wilson spoke to CNN early on Wednesday morning, citing several people in the car who were aware of Trump's remarks and saying: 'This gentleman has a brain disorder, and he needs to be checked out. ... We should be praising his family, not insulting them.'

'I have no reason to lie about the President of the United States,' she insisted, citing 'her aunt, her uncle, my press person, the driver [and] the master sergeant' as witnesses who heard Trump speak.

Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, was among the four US troops who were killed in Niger nearly two weeks ago during an ambush

She said Trump 'should be asking for an apology, and asking, giving her some empathy and love, and wrapping his arms around this family ... instead of calling me a liar and claiming everyone else in the car is a liar.'

'We're grieving! This is a grieving community!' Wilson exclaimed. 'It is disgraceful for him to even tweet about this.'

La David Johnson's sister-in-law Antionette Manuel told DailyMail.com the U.S. military had instructed her family not to speak with the media.

'I'm sorry, I have to talk to my sister. We can't talk about it yet. None of the family can,' Manuel, 28, said outside her family's home in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Wilson had said she was sitting beside the grieving widow Myeshia when she took the call, while they were on their way to Miami International Airport where Johnson's remains were arriving on a commercial flight.

On MSNBC, she said that the call 'was horrible. It was insensitive. It was absolutely crazy. Unnecessary. I was livid!'

And the widow, she recalled, 'was in tears. And she said, "He didn't even remember his name!"'

'Yes, he said it,' Wilson had told WPLG on Tuesday evening.

'It's so insensitive. He should have not have said that. He shouldn't have said it.'

Also travelling in the car to the airport on Tuesday was Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who said she was shocked by what she heard.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN The president told reporters late Wednesday morning at the White House: 'I didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. She knows it, and she now is not saying it. I did not say what she said, and I'd like her to make the statement again because I did not say what she said. 'I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who is  sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said. And most people aren't too surprised to hear that. Then, asked what the 'proof' was that he tweeted about, Trump said: 'Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out. Okay. Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.' Advertisement

Rep. Frederica Wilson slammed Trump for his 'insensitive' comments regarding the death of Sgt. Johnson

WHO IS REP. FREDERICA WILSON? Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, a reliably liberal Democrat, has been a member of Congress since 2011. Wilson, 74, was among more than 60 Democrats who skipped President Trump's inauguration in January. At the time she said her god-daughter's wedding conflicted with the event. The perennially cowboy-hatted lawmaker has earned a reputation for missing other events as well  notably, votes on the House floor. The Broward New Times reported in 2011 that no member of Florida's congressional delegation missed more votes that year than she did. Wilson skipped 117 out of 948 votes that year. Her tenure in Congress has led her to weigh in on issues of race and social justice, including in 2013 when she authored a congressional resolution 'honoring the life of Trayvon Martin' and calling the case one of 'racial profiling.' And she told a town hall meeting in 2011 that conservative Republicans were responsible for the high rate of African-American unemployment. 'Let us all remember who the real enemy is ... the real enemy is the Tea Party ... the Tea Party holds the Congress hostage,' she said. Wilson is among the Florida congressional delegation's wealthiest members, reporting more than $1.5 million in assets on her government financial disclosure form. Advertisement

'What the family wants to hear is words of encouragement, words of how he fought for his country, what his sacrifice meant for this country ... not, "You know what you signed up for",' she said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' program.

Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she heard Trump's words, and that 'President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband.'

Asked if Wilson's recollection of the call was accurate, she replied: 'Yes.'

Heartbreaking footage later showed Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third baby in January, sobbing as she leaned over her husband's flag-draped coffin.

The couple's six-year-old daughter stood by the coffin with her mother, while their two-year-old son waited in the arms of a relative standing nearby.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton reacted on Twitter to news of Trump's phone call saying: 'Mrs Johnson, I cannot begin to imagine your loss. Your family & all who mourn Sgt. Johnson are in my prayers & those of countless Americans.'

During a White House press conference on Monday, Trump indicated that he had held off on calling out of respect for the grieving families

Sergeant Bryan C. Black, 35, Sergeant Jeremiah W Johnson, 39, and Sergeant Dustin M Wright, 29, were the other three killed in Niger

Trump on Tuesday called the families of the four US troops who were killed in Niger nearly two weeks ago.

It came a day after he said he would call them at the 'appropriate time' when questioned about his public silence.

'President Trump spoke to all four of the families of those who were killed in action in Niger,' White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement late Tuesday.

'He offered condolences on behalf of a grateful nation and assured them their family's extraordinary sacrifice to the country will never be forgotten.'

Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright and Sgt. La David Johnson were all killed when militants thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State group ambushed them while they were patrolling in unarmored trucks with Niger troops.

Trump is said to have told Mrs Johnson that her 25-year-old husband 'knew what he signed up for... but when it happens it hurts anyway'

During a White House press conference on Monday, Trump indicated that he had held off on calling out of respect for the grieving families  then unloaded on former presidents with an inaccurate claim that his predecessors didn't call families of the fallen.

Scholarship set up for soldier's children The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project  led by Rep. Frederica Wilson - has set up a scholarship for the children of Sgt. La David T. Johnson. A GoFundMe page set up said the money would go towards Johnson's three children's college funds and has already raised more than $390,000 in a day. He leaves behind a six-year-old daughter, a two-year-old son and an unborn child who is due in January. Advertisement

'So the traditional way if you look at president Obama and other presidents  most of them didn't' make calls,' Trump said.

'A lot of them didn't make calls. I like to call when it's appropriate, when I think I'm able to do it. They have made the ultimate sacrifice, so generally I would say that I like to call.'

When asked during the press conference to back up his claims about Obama, Trump appeared to try and backpedal.

'I don't know if he did. I was told that he didn't often. A lot of presidents don't, they write letters. I do a combination of both. Sometimes it's a very difficult thing to do but I do a combination of both,' he said.

Sgt Johnson is survived by his pregnant wife and their six-year-old daughter and two-year-old son

'President Obama I think probably did sometimes and maybe sometimes he didn't. I don't know that's what I was told,' Trump added.

Trump was heavily criticized for the comments by both Gold Star families and ex-staffers of former presidents.

Alyssa Mastromonaco, who served as a deputy chief of staff under Obama, was among those to immediately lash out at Trump.

'That's a f***ing lie,' she tweeted. 'To say President Obama (or past presidents) didn't call the family members of soldiers KIA - he's a deranged animal.'

Ben Rhodes, Obama's foreign policy advisor, said: 'This is an outrageous and disrespectful lie even by Trump standards.

A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help support the children of Sgt Johnson.

It has already raised more than $390,000 in one day.
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel got hitched last weekend in Vienna, Austria to his longtime boyfriend.

The billionaire venture capitalist tied the knot with Matt Danzeisen, Axios reported.

The couple's wedding was reportedly a surprise to guests who thought they were celebrating Thiel's 50th birthday.

Danzeisen works as a portfolio manager at Thiel Capital, but not much is known about his position at the company.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel (left) got hitched last weekend in Vienna, Austria to his longtime boyfriend Matt Danzeisen (right)

The couple's wedding was reportedly a surprise to guests who thought they were celebrating Thiel's 50th birthday

Thiel has not commented publicly about the wedding or Danzeisen.

Back in May Danzeisen spoke about the state of financial technology at a conference in Japan.

'What might explain some of the slowdown is that winners are emerging as certain business models are becoming more clearly dominant,' Danzeisen said at the time. 'So, it is cyclical, but we'll still see innovation.'

Thiel was a major supporter Donald Trump prior to the 2016 presidential election.

Danzeisen (above) works as a portfolio manager at Thiel Capital, but not much is known about his position at the company

But Danzeisen was 'much more moderate' in his support for Trump, Buzzfeed reported.

Since Trump took over the White House in January, Thiel has kept a quite and low profile.

He reportedly recently invested in a startup called 3T Biosciences with early Facebook investor Sean Parker.

The startup aims to build technology to fight cancer cells.
A man trapped 15 metres underground in a construction site pit for two hours has been rushed to hospital.

Emergency crews worked to free the man in his 30s after construction material collapsed on him at a building site.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the man has serious leg injuries and possible head injuries from the incident on Gerrale Street, Cronulla, in Sydney's south.

A man trapped 15 metres underground in a construction site pit for two hours has been rushed to hospital (pictured is the extraction in process)

The accident happened at 11.45am on Wednesday. Police also attended the scene (pictured)

Emergency crews worked to free the man in his 30s after construction material collapsed on him at a building site (pictured)

The man was 'confined 15 metres down a pit unable to move his legs and with a possible head injury,' the spokesman said in a statement.

'A difficult vertical extrication process is underway.'

The accident happened at 11.45am on Wednesday. Police also attended the scene.

The construction site where a construction worker fell into a 15 metre pit in Gerrale Street in Cronulla

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the man has serious leg injuries and possible head injuries from the incident on Gerrale Street, Cronulla, in Sydney's south (pictured)

'The patient is alert and being constantly assessed, the extraction is expected to take place within the next hour,' NSW Ambulance Inspector Rob Murray said in a statement at 1pm.

SafeWork NSW has been notified about the incident and an inspector has responded to the site.
A mother has allegedly been bashed by her son before he stole her car in a shocking road rage incident.

The 27-year-old allegedly rammed the woman's car off the road on Wednesday morning in Wollongong in front of frightened witnesses, Nine reported.

Police have identified James Uhr as a person of interest and say he may have used a stolen vehicle in the incident before taking off in another.

The 57-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with facial injuries, with witnesses claiming they saw the man bash her

The 57-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with facial injuries, with witnesses claiming they saw the man bash her

Police have identified James Uhr (pictured) as a person of interest and say he may have used a stolen vehicle in the incident before taking off in another

The 57-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with facial injuries, with witnesses claiming they saw the man bash her.

She is in a serious but stable condition at Wollongong Hospital.

The incident occurred at around 8am in Balgownie when a reported stolen Ford ute allegedly smashed into the woman's Toyota hatchback.

The incident occurred at around 8am in Balgownie when a reported stolen Ford ute allegedly smashed into the woman's Toyota hatchback

The road has been closed off as the two damaged vehicles are removed

After he allegedly punched her several times, the man took off in a preschool teacher's 2003 Hyundai Elantra, license plate AKB38X, which police are urging people for assistance in finding.

Several witnesses watched the alleged road rage attack and they are assisting police with their investigation.

The road has been closed off as the two damaged vehicles are removed.

Officers are urging anyone who sees Mr Uhr not to approach him but immediately call Triple Zero.
Jeffrey Katzenberg has been forced to defend himself after being accused of making a crude comment about '80s darling Molly Ringwald in the 1990s.

On Tuesday Ringwald penned an essay in the New Yorker, reflecting on her own experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood, following in the footsteps of many fellow actresses who have detailed assault at the hands of fallen-mogul Harvey Weinstein.

The 49-year-old spoke about how she experienced harassment as early as 13 years old, when a fifty-year-old crew member said he would teach her to dance, 'and then proceeded to push against me with an erection.'

A year later, she said, a married director stuck his tongue down her throat while on set.

And when she was in her twenties, she details how she was 'blindsided' when she was asked to let a lead actor put a dog collar around her neck.

Molly Ringwald penned an essay in the New Yorker Tuesday, reflecting on her experiences with sexual harassment in Hollywood, following the recent Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations. She is pictured left in the

In response to being quoted as making a crude remark to the actress in 1995, Jeffrey Katzenberg ardently denied ever making the comment before apologizing to the actress. He is pictured with Harvey Weinstein, who he referred to as a 'monster' over the sexual assault allegations

After that happened she moved to Paris to get away from the acting scene in the United States and put her career 'on the back burner.'

When the magazine Movieline decided to feature Ringwald on their cover in 1995, 'the head of a major studio - and, incidentally, someone who claims himself to be horrified by the Harvey allegations' was quoted saying: 'I wouldn't know [Molly Ringwald] if she sat on my face.'

That studio head was later alleged to be Jeffrey Katzenberg by a number of outlets, linking to the magazine issue.

In response to it, Molly wrote: 'Maybe he was misquoted. If he ever sent a note of apology, it must have gotten lost in the mail.'

On Tuesday night Katzenberg responded to the allegation in a statement to The Hollywood reporter - saying that he is horrified someone would attribute that quote to him.

The 49-year-old spoke about how she experienced harassment as early as 13 years old, when a fifty-year-old crew member said he would teach her to dance, 'and then proceeded to push against me with an erection.' Ringwald is pictured in May 2017

'That Molly Ringwald had to read those words attributed to me and believe I said them is horrifying, mortifying and embarrassing to me,' the 66-year-old said.

'Anyone who knows me now or back then knows I do not use language like that as a matter of course, or tolerate it.

'Ms Ringwald, 22 years too late, I am deeply, deeply sorry.'

Ringwald, who is currently portraying Archie Andrews' mom in the CW television show Riverdale, said in the op-ed: 'I could go on about other instances in which I have felt demeaned or exploited, but I fear it would get repetitive. Then again, that's part of the point.'

She also spoke about working with Weinstein at the start of his career in 1990 on the movie Strike It Rich.

At the time she was 20, and said that although she was warned about him from some other actresses, she didn't have any overwhelmingly negative experiences with him herself.

She did, though, later sue him for being denied her gross percentage of the film- and never worked with the Weinstein brothers again.

Katzenberg, who is the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and former CEO of DreamWorks Animation - previously told the Hollywood Reporter he was 'paralyzed' when Weinstein asked he and a group of other executives to publicly vouch for him ahead of being fired from The Weinstein Company.

He also repudiated his former colleague at a Wall Street Journal Conference in Laguna Beach, calling him a 'monster' for his alleged crimes against women.

'Make no mistake about it: he is a monster,' Katzenberg said on Monday night.

But, he pressed on that Weinstein couldn't have acted alone, calling the group of people who protected the disgraced mogul 'a pack of wolves.'
A former Australian television host who claims Patrick Swayze sexually assaulted her said she was attacked by another powerful Hollywood figure.

Former Today show reporter Michele Mahone shared another case of alleged abuse suffered at the hands of a movie producer.

She told Studio 10 she was unable to name the man as she fears revealing it would affect her career.

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Former Today show reporter Michele Mahone shared another case of alleged abuse suffered at the hands of a movie producer

Her revelations come as disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein faces allegations of widespread sexual assaults throughout his career

Mahone had previously opened up about being sexually assaulted by Patrick Swayze

'Something that I've never said publicly is my only child is disabled, and he lives in a hospital,' Mahone said.

'Most likely he will for the balance of his life. And I need to work, because his care is very expensive.'

She said she was worried if she named the producer she would stop receiving offers of work.

'I will not name this person because I would like my phone to ring.'

The confession was hard for her to make as she is a private person, Mahone said.

'Basically, he tried to put his hand up my shirt, and I slapped him. I've never hit anybody and I knew I was in a lot of trouble.'

She said she had to physically fight to escape from the attacker's house.

While recounting her horrific experience Mahone broke down in tears.

Mahone had previously opened up about allegedly being sexually assaulted by Patrick Swayze.

Her revelations come as disgraced Hollywood producer Weinstein faces allegations of widespread sexual assaults throughout his career.
A Queensland woman drew motivation from the U.S. television series American Horror Story for the callous murder of her Adelaide grandfather, a court has been told.

Brittney Dwyer drove to Adelaide with her friend Bernadette Burns in August last year with the intention of robbing her grandfather, Robert Whitwell, of his life savings, $114,000 in cash he kept stashed at his house.

But the pair ended up with Dwyer stabbing the 81-year-old to death, prompting claims from the prosecution that murder was 'always one of the options'.

Brittney Jade Dwyer (right) has confessed to murdering her 81-year-old grandfather (left)

Court documents released previously also revealed the 20-year-old did the dishes as Mr Whitwell lay dying.

In sentencing submissions in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, defence counsel Craig Caldicott said Dwyer seemed, to a certain extent, to have been motivated by American Horror Story, a TV series featuring murders and other gruesome crimes with some plots based loosely on real events.

He said that aspect of the killing was very troubling, but told the court that some of Dwyer's history included gross exaggerations, including her claimed high level of drug and alcohol consumption.

Justice Kevin Nicholson said it appeared Dwyer had a good upbringing but for some reason went 'crazy' after she turned 18, going from 'zero to premeditated murder'.

efence counsel Craig Caldicott said Dwyer (pictured) seemed, to a certain extent, to have been motivated by American Horror Story

Robert Whitwell's (pictured) body was found in his Craigmore home on August 8, 2016

'That suggests a very worrying person,' he said.

Mr Caldicott said Dwyer expected to spend a very long time in jail but asked the judge to impose the shortest possible non-parole period considering her guilty plea.

Counsel for Burns, Anthony Allen, urged Justice Nicholson to impose a term for her well below the mandatory 20-year minimum.

Mr Allen said Burns was not even in the house at the time of the killing and did not have any 'murderous intent'.

She had pleaded guilty to the seldom-used charge of felony murder, referring to a killing that occurs during the commission of another offence, in this case, the theft at Mr Whitwell's home.

Mr Allen said Burns met Dwyer on Facebook and told the court that because she was born in New Zealand and was not an Australian citizen faced deportation once released from jail.

She had pleaded guilty to the seldom-used charge of felony murder, referring to a killing that occurs during the commission of another offence, in this case, the theft at Mr Whitwell's home (pictured)

In victim impact statements read to the court on Wednesday, Mr Whitwell's daughter Tonya said that since the killing she had felt like she was 'drowning in life'.

'The images I have of what my father went through in his last minutes of life consume me with sadness,' she said.

Mr Whitwell's brother Geoffrey said the killing was tragic and senseless.

He said it was a 'callous and horrific act' and he singled out Burns as a 'cruel, evil and dangerous person with no regard for human life'.

Justice Nicholson will sentence Dwyer and Burns in November.
A Royal Commission has found the headmaster of an exclusive private school misled his school council over the handling of sexual assault allegations.

The school council had expressed full confidence in its headmaster Milton Cujes and staff over the way they dealt with allegations of boarders being sexually abused with wooden sex toys - one nicknamed 'the Anaconda' - in 2000.

Commissioners found the school council was misled by Mr Cujes, who is retiring at the end of this year after 21 years as headmaster of Trinity Grammar, in Sydney's inner west.

The allegations came to light in August 2000 after a student, CLB, alleged some boarders tried to rape him, and that other boys had been sexually assaulted using wooden sex toys on multiple occasions before that incident.

A Royal Commission into child sexual abuse has found the headmaster of an exclusive private school misled his school council over the handling of an alleged sexual assault (pictured is Trinity headmaster Milton Cujes)

The King's School in Parramatta was found to have a bullying culture which it did not address effectively, and police advice to report a criminal act was not followed.

A student at King's was bullied and called a 'c*m rag' and 'c*m dumpster' after another boy allegedly ejaculated on his sleeping bag during a school camp.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse's report followed a public hearing held in Sydney last year.

Both schools - which each cost about $60,000 for tuition and boarding for senior students - were found to have responded inadequately.

At Trinity Grammar in August 2000 a Year 9 student, CLB, was found 'on the floor, crying, his face covered in black boot polish and his trousers down'.

The report found senior master Peter Green and boarding house master Robert Scott knew of allegations boys had previously used wooden sex toys to assault other students on multiple occasions.

The King's School in Parramatta was found to have a bullying culture which it did not address effectively, and police advice to report a criminal act was not followed (pictured is King's headmaster Timothy Hawkes)

A Year 10 student, CLA, reported being pinned down and sexually assaulted with the sex toy - made during a wood tech class - on numerous occasions, also in 2000.

CLB stated other boarders had tried to 'rape' him, and was counselled by then senior school psychologist, Katherine Lumsdaine.

In February 2001, around the time two boys pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting CLA, the school council backed staff's handling of the boarding house allegations.

The commission found Mr Cujes did not disclose that he, the boarding master and senior master were aware of CLB's August allegations, thereby misleading the council about the adequacy of their response.

Mr Cujes and Trinity had argued against such a finding.

Ms Lumsdaine began her own investigation after becoming concerned senior staff would not look into the incidents.

Commissioners found the school council was misled by Mr Cujes, who is retiring at the end of this year after 21 years as headmaster of Trinity Grammar, in Sydney's inner west (pictured is senior master Peter Green)

She then heard multiple accounts of students being sexually assaulted with the wooden sex toy.

The commission said if senior school psychologist Katherine Lumsdaine had not carried out her own inquiries, there would have been no investigation into sexual assaults occurring in the boarding house in 2000.

Trinity did not seek out other students who may have been abused, and support was not given to the affected students.

A Year 10 boy at prestigious King's, CLC, reported waking in his tent during a school camp to find a fellow student had ejaculated on his sleeping bag.

He was subsequently bullied by other students who called him a 'c*m rag' and a 'c*m dumpster'.

Students renamed King's wi-fi network 'CLC is a c*m rag', and Year 12 boys made a Year 9 boy stand up in front of students and teachers and say 'CLC is a c*m rag'.

At Trinity Grammar (pictured, stock image) in August 2000 a Year 9 student, CLB, was found 'on the floor, crying, his face covered in black boot polish and his trousers down'

The report found deputy headmaster Dr Andrew Parry investigated and confirmed CLC's allegations.

Dr Parry contacted the police and was advised via email a criminal act had taken place and it should be reported to police, but no report was made.

The Commissioners found a bullying culture existed at King's, the school was ineffective at preventing the bullying of CLC, and did not adequately address his parents' concerns.

During the inquiry King's long-time headmaster Dr Timothy Hawkes, who retired in June this year, accepted it was a 'catastrophic failure' by the school.

CLC then left King's for St Ignatius' College, Riverview, in 2014 where he reported having a 'very different' experience.

The two boys responsible for the Trinity incident pleaded guilty to indecent assault of the Year 10 boy and were given non-custodial sentences.
This shocking video shows the moment a perverted primary school teacher was confronted at his home by vigilante paedophile hunters.

The Lady Godiva Hunters tracked Timothy Lloyd down to his house in Coventry, West Midlands, and challenged him with their evidence - before police were called to take him away in handcuffs.

The whole incident, which took place on Sunday night, was caught on camera and led to Lloyd, a teacher at Our Lady of the Assumption School, also in Tile Hill, appeared in court yesterday.

Primary school teacher Timothy Lloyd, pictured, was targeted last weekend by paedophile hunters. The 32-year-old father-of-two sent a picture of his penis to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl but in fact was a member of the Lady Godiva Hunters who alerted police

As Lloyd was led away, one of the group shouted to him while brandishing a picture: 'That is your w****, mate. You see that, that's what you sent to a 13-year-old.'

The 32-year-old father-of-two pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child under the age of 16.

He had spoken online with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl called Crystal - but was in fact a member of the Lady Godiva Hunters posing as a teenager.

Lloyd had used the false name Mark Franklin during the explicit conversations.

In the video, a member of Lady Godiva Hunters can be heard saying: 'You know that time in prison when you're thinking about how you're not very well in all this?

'You try and explain to your family and speak to them and see how you feel. You're a disgusting individual.

'I've already phoned the police - they're actually on their way. Do you want to come out and speak to us please?

'We've got all the evidence. We don't want to do this to your neighbours.'

The video then shows Lloyd being led from his front door to a waiting police car.

Meanwhile, members of the vigilante group attempt to show Lloyd the pictures they received from him, while saying: 'A primary school teacher sending a picture of that to a 13-year-old - are you happy with yourself?

'You even sent your wife to the door. You're a coward. You're a disgrace. You're an absolute animal.'

Lloyd was a teacher at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Tile Hill, Coventry, pictured

During his conversations with Crystal, Lloyd also sent her two 'intimate photos' of himself and asked her to return the favour.

At a hearing at Coventry Magistrates' Court yesterday, prosecutor Baldev Atwal said it was made 'abundantly clear' to Lloyd that the 'girl' he was speaking to was only 13 years old.

He was eventually tracked to his home in Tile Hill through the mobile phone he had used to send the messages and photos.

Lloyd will be sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on November 17 and, under his bail conditions, cannot return to his family home in Coventry and will now be living with his parents in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
A disabled teenager who died after an incident at a local swimming pool had been in a major car crash years earlier that led to his ongoing medical problems.

Pono Wariua Aperahama, 17, died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon following a horror incident at his local swimming pool at Lambton, near Newcastle, in NSW.

The 'stocky' teenager, who was at the pool with his carer, was reportedly tackled to the ground by eight men after an incident in which he threw a punch at a lifeguard.

Witnesses claim that while pinned down Pono repeatedly thrashed his head into the ground. By the time paramedics arrived he had serious self-inflicted head injuries.

Speaking out on Wednesday, his shattered mother Terina Abraham said her son had battled health issues since being hit by a car while riding his bike in 2014, The Daily Telegraph reports.

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Pono Wariua Aperahama (pictured), 17, died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon following a horror incident at his local swimming pool at Lambton, near Newcastle, in NSW

The 'stocky' teenager, who was at the pool with his carer, was reportedly tackled to the ground by eight men after an incident in which he threw a punch at a lifeguard. He died in hospital

Witnesses claim that while pinned down Pono repeatedly thrashed his head into the ground

Ms Abraham, who lives in New Zealand, said she was currently planning to fly across to Australia to say goodbye to her son.

'That is the plan to come over to Sydney. We are not decided yet as to where my son will be laid in his final resting place,' she said.

'Health issues were caused by his accident. He was perfectly healthy otherwise.

'My heart has been pulled out of my body and thrown into pieces on the ground... I am speechless.'

In a heartwarming tribute to her son, Ms Abraham posted a photo of her holding his hand.

It comes after a witness, named Robyn, told Daily Mail Australia the 'distressed' boy was growling and hissing on the ground before shouting: 'You're hurting me'.

'They put him down on the ground with quite a bit of force. He was still trying to lift his head up, he kept shaking his head and hitting it on the ground,' she said.

His shattered mother Terina Abraham said her son had battled health issues since being hit by a car while riding his bike in 2014

The 17-year-old disabled boy died in hospital after hitting a staff member at Lambton Swimming Pool (pictured), near Newcastle, on Tuesday afternoon

Paramedics arrived at the pool in Lambton after 5pm Tuesday but Pono had gone into cardiac arrest at the scene (pictured)

Paramedics arrived at the busy public pool in Lambton just after 5pm on Tuesday and treated the boy, who had gone into cardiac arrest, at the scene.

He was rushed to John Hunter Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

According to Robyn, who was watching on in horror from the stands as her daughter continued her swimming lesson, the entire incident lasted more than half an hour.

She said the disabled boy started throwing cones and signs into the pool after getting into an argument with a boy in the water.

When a male lifeguard, aged in his late 20s, ran across to intervene - things 'started to get out of hand'.

'The boy went into the disabled toilet and started banging at the door... then he came out and punched a glass window, cracking it all,' Robyn said.

'Then he threw punches at the lifeguard.'

Paramedics desperately tried to revive the boy at Lambton Pool after he suffered cardiac arrest

At that point up to eight parents who were watching the incident unfold jumped on top of the boy and brought him roughly to the concrete floor.

'There were seven or eight big men, they grabbed him and got him down on the ground with quite a bit of force,' Robyn said.

By the time emergency services arrived, the boy was reportedly 'hyperventilating' and continuing to 'kick at' the men restraining him.

'The ambulance crew turned up, I saw the needle and they sedated him,' Robyn said.

'The next thing we saw him go still. Thats when they started resuscitating, and got everyone out of the pool and into the back.'

The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and close to 100 traumatised kids were taken out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy.

'They were working on that poor boy for 15 to 20 minutes trying to resuscitate him,' Robyn said.

The swimming centre was placed in lockdown and roughly 40 to 50 traumatised kids were whisked out of the pool as paramedics desperately tried to resuscitate the boy

The boy was rushed to hospital (pictured) where he was pronounced dead a short time after

Newcastle Council, which owns the pool but leases it out to private company Lane 4 Aquatics, released a statement on Wednesday.

'Late yesterday afternoon a 17-year-old boy and his carer were visiting Lambton Pool. The boy began causing harm to himself and the surrounding property.'

'His carer, with this assistance of passers-by, restrained the boy to prevent him doing further harm to himself.

'During the incident the boy had a medical episode and subsequently required CPR.

'Emergency services attended the scene however he was unable to be resuscitated.

'We express our deepest sympathies to the family.'

More than one employee was injured during the assault and had to be treated by paramedics at the scene, according to reports.

A Lane 4 Aquatics Centre employee told Daily Mail Australia the staff members were 'all okay' but refused to make any further comment.

NSW Police has launched a critical investigation into the circumstances around the death of the teenager.

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Lambton Swimming Pool said they would re-open the pool at 9am on Wednesday after the 'small disruption'.

'Lambton Pool will reopen today (18th October) at 9:00am,' the statement read.

'We appreciate the patience and understanding for the small disruption.'

In an updated post, the pool described the incident as a 'tragedy'.

'Our condolences go out to the families involved. We appreciate there is a lot of speculation however it is important to remember it was a tragic day for all involved.'
Salon boss: Farrah Naz is the landlord of a filthy flat above a shop which was crammed with 28 Romanian migrants in north London

The landlord of a filthy flat which was crammed with 28 Romanian migrants is a wealthy beauty salon owner, MailOnline can reveal.

Farrah Naz, 43, has a lifestyle which is in stark contrast to the 'slum conditions' endured by tenants who were packed into her rental property.

She and her husband Mohammad Chaudhry, 49, live in a five bedroom house worth 630,000 with a three-year-old black Range Rover on the driveway in Ilford, East London.

Mrs Naz runs her business Farrah's Hair and Beauty offering a range of treatments for women from a salon around a mile from her home.

But MailOnline can reveal that she also holds the lease of a flat where 28 people including a two-month-old baby were found in desperate conditions.

Mrs Naz and her husband insisted that the four bedroom apartment above a hairdressing salon in Edgware, north London, was being sub-let without their knowledge and they had no idea so many people were living there.

Fly tipping: Council inspectors who raided the four bedroom property owned by Mrs Naz and her husband Mohammad Chaudhry found rubbish piled up outside the property

Crammed: People were found to be living in overcrowded, squalid conditions at the property which was found to have no working smoke detector

Cramped: The flat above a beauty salon in Edgware, north London, is where 28 people including a two-month-old baby were found in desperate conditions

Rubbish: The yard outside which was overgrown with stinging nettles was still littered with old mattresses, a bed, an old washing machine, a large gas bottle and other debris

The flat was raided by police and Harrow Council officials after neighbours complained that it was overcrowded and rubbish was building up outside it.

The council's environmental health officers found a family-of-five including the two-month-old baby 'squashed in a small room'. They were officially paying rent of 1,080 per month. But the early morning raid found another 23 people, all Romanian, crammed into 'numerous beds and bunk beds' in every room and sharing one bathroom.

The spokeswoman, who confirmed that the landlord had now applied to register it as a House of Multiple Occupation, said: 'The family sharing the small room appeared to be taking money from other occupants the amount was not disclosed.'

She added that the occupiers were living in 'dreadful' and 'appalling conditions' with 'damp and dirt everywhere'. The property had no working smoke alarms and had a 'fly-tipped and rat infested backyard', she added.

Owner: Mrs Naz, 43, who owns the flat, has a lifestyle which is in stark contrast to the 'slum conditions' endured by tenants who were packed into her rental property

Businesswoman: Mrs Naz and her husband Mohammad Chaudhry, 49, live in a five bedroom house worth 630,000 with a smart black Range Rover on the drive in Ilford, East London

Beauty salon: Mrs Naz runs her business Farrah's Hair and Beauty (pictured) offering a range of treatments for women from a salon around a mile from her home. Her husband has told the council that he had been renting it out to the family-of-five who then sub-let it behind his back

All the occupants including the official tenants who appeared to have broken their tenancy agreement by sub-letting it were now being evicted, added the spokeswoman.

A Romanian woman who was at the flat claimed she could not speak English and was unable to answer questions.

The yard outside, which was overgrown with stinging nettles was still littered with around four old mattresses, the wreckage of a bed, an old washing machine, a large gas bottle and other debris. Piles of rubbish were also spilling out of bags next to over-flowing wheelie bins in the lane behind the property.

Harrow Council's cabinet member for environment Graham Henson, said: 'Can you imagine being crammed into a house with more than twenty people? What a horrible way to live. And how the landlord did not know about this is shocking. It's unsafe, unsanitary and exploits people who really want a decent place to live.

'As it's the landlord's responsibility to check on their property, we will be forcing him to make repairs, deal with the overcrowding and get it licenced or face a big fine.

'Our licensing scheme is there to ensure incidents like this don't happen. We'll continue to carry out raids and seek to prosecute anyone found flouting the rules and operating illegally.'

Speaking from her salon in Ilford, Mrs Naz said that she and her husband only found out about the overcrowding in the flat after the council raid.

Probe: The council spokeswoman confirmed that the family who were the official tenants were paying 1,080 month in rent and charges to the landlord's agents

Eviction: The tenants who appear to have broken their tenancy agreement by sub-letting it are now being evicted by the landlords Mrs Naz and her husband

Health hazard: Piles of rubbish were also spilling out of bags next to over-flowing wheelie bins in the lane behind the property

'It was a shock. I did not know anything about it. I thought it was being rented out normally,' she said.

Mrs Naz and her husband are joint directors and owners of her company Farrah's Hair and Beauty, Companies House records show. Accounts for the business which was incorporated in 2011 should have been filed by September 30 and are currently overdue. The most recently filed accounts said that the firm had net assets of 171,776 in December 2015.

A website for her salon boas that it is a 'stylish, accommodating venue for superior yet affordable treatments and unsurpassable customer service.'

The property website Zoopla estimates that her family home, which she bought for 400,000 in 2007 is worth around 630,000.

Mrs Naz's husband who works in construction said they had been renting out the flat for about 15 years to different tenants without any previous problems.

Mr Choudhry, who has an Audi-driving son, said they had started rented it out to a family of four with a newborn baby on August 15 and assumed they were the only people living there.

He added: 'We rented it out through an estate agent. We saw the documents for the four people and there was also a baby. There was a proper financial agreement. I live a long way away and I did try and go there once, but I could not get access, I thought nobody was at home.

The flat was raided by police and Harrow Council officials after neighbours complained that it was overcrowded and rubbish was building up outside it

A spokeswoman for the council said the property also did not have any working smoke detector alarms and had a 'fly-tipped and rat infested backyard'

The Harrow Council spokewoman added that the occupiers were living in 'dreadful' and 'appalling conditions' with 'damp and dirt everywhere'

The flat owner Mrs Naz said from her salon in Ilford that she and her husband only found out about the overcrowding in the flat (pictured) after the council raid

'The first I knew about anything being wrong was when the council sad they had raided the property as they had some complaints about it. I was shocked and gobsmacked. We did not know it was going on. Sometimes you can be tricked. It is not our fault.

'Apparently when the police and the council went round, they all said that they were just friends and living there for free. We were renting it to a family of five and they were sub-letting illegally. We are now having to apply for an order to get possession of the property.

'We cannot just simply go there and chuck them out. I think it is wrong for this councillor to suggest that we should have known about it.'

The sub-let flat is just 400 yards from a house in Queensbury where 35 Eastern Europeans were found living in squalor in a Brent Council raid last month.
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Though animal rights activists might protest, staged fights between ferocious dogs and deadly wild boars continue to draw delighted spectators in rural Indonesia.

Gathered around a bamboo-walled arena, villagers in this remote part of Java are eager to watch the blood-curdling contests, known locally as 'adu bagong' - boar fighting.

Participants say the fights were a way to preserve a tradition of hunting in the area.

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Pig versus Pooch: If a boar survives a battle, once healed it will be returned to the arena to fight another day. If not, it will be butchered and sold for meat. Participants say the fights test the agility and hunting abilities of the dogs. And winning dogs can bring in a prize of up to 1,500. Pictured: A wild boar locked in mortal combat with a dog in the 50 ft by 100 ft muddy arena surrounded by bamboo

Tradition: Though animal rights activists might protest, staged fights between ferocious dogs and deadly wild boars continue to draw delighted spectators in rural Indonesia. Dog owners pay anywhere from 200,000 rupiah to 2 million rupiah (11 to 111) to enter the fights, depending on the size of their dog. Pictured: A spectacular encounter between a dog and boar Cikawao village, Majalaya, which is in West Java

Knockout: A wild boar sends a dog flying backwards in the muddy arena. Dog breeder Agus Badud says the tradition gives people a source of income. 'I take part in this contest to increase the selling price and economic value of my dogs, and it would be useless for me as a breeder if I did not participate in a contest like this,' Badud said in his house, where he keeps 40 dogs

Tense: Gathered around a bamboo-walled arena, villagers in this remote part of Java are eager to watch the blood-curdling contests, known locally as 'adu bagong' - boar fighting

Gore: A dog-handler cleans blood from his dog after it bit a boar in a fight. Not surprisingly, animal rights activists are up in arms against the regular spectacle, which began in the 1960s when wild pig numbers in this area of West Java soared and they were hunted to protect crops

Rub-down: Agus Badud dries one of his dogs at his house in Cibiuk village. 'It is a criminal act against animals,' said Indonesian animal rights activist Marison Guciano. 'The government and NGOs should go to the field to stop this event and educate the people that dog fighting is not right'

Trophy: Hooves of a wild boar hang for dog training at Agus Badud's house. 'It used to be very simple, not like now when the dogs are trained,' said Nur Hadi, head of Hiparu, a group of hunting dog enthusiasts that takes part in the fights

There's also a cash prize of up to $2,000 (1,500) for the winning dog.

Not surprisingly, animal rights activists are up in arms against the regular spectacle, which began in the 1960s when wild pig numbers in this area of West Java soared and they were hunted to protect crops.

'It used to be very simple, not like now when the dogs are trained,' said Nur Hadi, head of Hiparu, a group of hunting dog enthusiasts that takes part in the fights.

'From there it's been handed down and has even become part of tradition and culture,' Hadi added.

He defends the practice against criticism from animal rights groups, who say it should be banned.

'It is a criminal act against animals,' said Indonesian animal rights activist Marison Guciano.

'The government and NGOs should go to the field to stop this event and educate the people that dog fighting is not right.'

Family affair: Dog breeder Agus Badud sits near the cage of his dog with his children and wife. The fights take place in a 50 ft by 100 ft arena surrounded by a bamboo fence to protect spectators, and only end when one of the animals is injured

Gladiators: Villagers look down as two of the animals engage in a vicious fight inside the West Javan arena

Pictured: Dog breeder Agus Badud washes one of his dogs at his house in West Java, Indonesia. Behind him is another of his dogs

Preparing for battle: A dog-handler leans on a cage outside the arena. Animal rights activists say the blood sport should be stopped and the people who enjoy it educated

Fun for all the family: Dog breeder Agus Badud's daughter carries one of the dogs to wash him at their house

Clean: Agus Badud's wife and daughter wash the dogs at their house. Badud says the tradition gives local people a source of income as well as providing entertainment

Caged: The dogs are kept in small holdings before and after their performances. Staged fights between ferocious dogs and deadly wild boars continue to draw delighted spectators in rural Indonesia

The fights take place in a 50 ft by 100 ft arena surrounded by a bamboo fence to protect spectators, and only end when one of the animals is injured.

Participants say the fights test the agility and hunting abilities of the dogs. If a boar survives a battle, once healed it will be returned to the arena to fight another day. If not, it will be butchered and sold for meat.

Dog breeder Agus Badud says the tradition also gives people a source of income.

'I take part in this contest to increase the selling price and economic value of my dogs, and it would be useless for me as a breeder if I did not participate in a contest like this,' Badud said in his house, where he keeps 40 dogs.

Dog owners pay anywhere from 200,000 rupiah to 2 million rupiah (11 to 111) to enter the fights, depending on the size of their dog.
A father found himself stumped after his young son got his head stuck between two metal bars while playing on a construction site in Brazil.

Arthur Gardine, two, got his head stuck between the poles and his father Rodrigo could not figure out how to free him.

Mr Gardine and several other family members from Serra, Espirito Santo, in southeastern Brazil, spent hours trying to prize the bars apart before finally figuring it out.

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Rock and hard place: Arthur Gardine, two, got his head stuck between metal bars while playing in a building under renovation in Serra, Espirito Santo, Brazil

Tough situation: Arthur's father Rodrigo enlisted both uncle and grandfather to try to get the bars to budge so that they could get the boy's head unstuck

The incident was filmed by the child's grandmother, Celia, who watched helplessly as Rodrigo, his uncle and then the boy's grandfather struggled to find a way to free the trapped toddler, using numerous techniques to force the bars apart.

As the baffled adults worked tirelessly to push the infant's head back through the bars, the tot became more and more distressed.

At one stage Mr Gardine even thought of calling the fire service out for help.

But after two hours of pushing, pulling and lifting the child without progress, the solution finally dawned on an embarrassed Mr Gardine.

Instead of forcing his son's head through the bars the most logical approach was to take the toddler back the same way he had entered.

Call in the cavalry: Mr Gardine said that after two hours and no closer to freeing the boy, he even thought of calling the fire service out for help

Reverse ferret! Instead of forcing his son's head through the bars, Mr Gardine realised that the most logical approach was to take the toddler back the same way he had entered

Redfaced: Mr Gardine said he was embarrassed that he had not seen the solution straight away

A laughing Mr Gardine admitted: 'It took me over two hours to figure out that all our efforts were a waste of time. It was just a matter of physics and a simple solution.

'Arthur hadn't entered head first through the bars at all. We had been tackling the problem completely the wrong way.

'All we had to do was take him out the same way he had gone in. And that meant turning Arthur sideways by the shoulders and slipping him through the bars.

'It was so basic I'm ashamed to say it took so long, but relieved my son was unharmed.'

The video, recorded in April this year, recently came to light and has garnered over 200,000 shares on social media with many agreeing that while the footage is hilarious, it should never have taken so long for the child to be freed.
Ayden Devereux enthusiastically encouraged his friends to continue gang raping a drunk teenage girl at a Sydney party as he filmed the 'revolting acts' on a GoPro camera.

'Let's go, who's up?' Devereux says in the footage, which shows a group of men having sex with the 16-year-old at a house party at St Clair in May 2015.

'One by one we'll all get a f***,' he says.

Ayden Devereux enthusiastically encouraged his friends to continue gang raping a drunk teenage girl at a Sydney party as he filmed the 'revolting acts' on a GoPro camera

Devereux, 26, on Wednesday was jailed for seven-and-a-half-years with a non-parole period of five years after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault in company.

'The offending behaviour is disgraceful,' Judge Christopher Hoy said at the Downing Centre District Court.

The victim, a 'shy and awkward' girl with an intellectual disability, was invited to the party after befriending Tristan Carlyle-Watson on Facebook.

She became so drunk she has no memory of what unfolded.

The graphic 17-minute video shows the men lining up to take turns sexually assaulting the girl who at times appears motionless.

Devereux, holding the camera, is heard urging them on.

'This offender spouted words of demeaning vulgarity and crudity,' Judge Hoy said.

A jury in August found his co-offenders - Carlyle-Watson (right), Kurt Stevenson (left) and Andrew Waters (centre) - guilty of aggravated sexual assault in company.

Pictured: Tristan Carlyle-Watson

'His commentary suggests increasing and ongoing enthusiasm.'

Devereux didn't touch or sexually assault the victim but he was present while others did and at no point did he intervene or assist the victim, Judge Hoy said.

He said the 'revolting acts may never have seen the light of day' had police not uncovered the GoPro footage while investigating an unrelated matter six weeks later.

In sentencing Devereux, Judge Hoy took into consideration his good record, relatively young age and genuine remorse.

'These charges I suspect have been the biggest shock of his life,' he said.

'It is so sad that he now faces this predicament not only for him but for those who care for him.'

Devereux will be eligible for parole in October 2020.

A jury in August found his co-offenders - Tristan Carlyle-Watson, Kurt Stevenson and Andrew Waters - guilty of aggravated sexual assault in company.

The trio is due to face a sentence hearing on October 27.
Ben Carpenter has been called a saint and an inspiration but only one title really matters to him - 'dad'.

The 33-year-old single father was previously named Adopter Champion of the Year after he adopted four disabled children since 2010 - and he hasn't ruled out adopting a fifth child.

Mr Carpenter, of Shepley, West Yorkshire, is currently in London as a VIP guest of the charity First4Adoption which has given him invaluable assistance over the years.

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Ben Carpenter, pictured with his four adopted children has been described as a 'super dad'. His children, from left Jack, 10, Ruby, 6, Lily, 5 and Joseph, 2 all have disabilities

Mr Carpenter said everyone in his home is taught the importance of a 'can do' attitude

Mr Carpenter said it took three years to convince authorities he would make a good father

What makes his story even more remarkable is that Mr Carpenter doesn't have a partner to shoulder the burden of looking after children Jack, 10, sisters Ruby, seven, and Lily, five, and Joseph, two, who has Down's syndrome.

Mr Carpenter said: 'People have called me a saint and say what I do is remarkable but I just wanted to be a dad and adopting is my way of becoming a dad.

'I only ever wanted one child when I started on the process of adoption.

'I am a believer in fate - this is what I was meant to do.'

Mr Carpenter's adoption journey began more than 10 years ago when he became one of youngest gay men in the country to adopt a child.

It had taken him around three years to convince the authorities that he was serious about adopting and, more importantly, had the maturity and skills to be a good dad.

All children have made significant progress since being adopted and have surprised social workers and medical professionals alike.

Mr Carpenter said: 'I get called a saint all the time and "how do you do it?"

My mum Rita is a huge support to me and my friend Jeanette is an amazing woman and help to me.

'The charity Adoption UK has also been lovely and deserves praise for the work they do and support they provide.'

He remains single to this day and doesn't see it as an issue.

Mr Carpenter, pictured, is a previous adopter champion of the year as a result of his dedication to his growing family

Mr Carpenter said: 'I have never sought a relationship, it never interested me.

'I like to do my own thing. At the end of the day I like a cup of tea and a slice of cake and to not listen to someone snoring!'

When he's not looking after the children - which is pretty much 24/7 -Mr Carpenter works to educate other prospective adopters and sits on a local adoption panel.

He said: 'I celebrate and promote adoption. It's the most rewarding, satisfying and challenging thing I have done.

'I am not going to sugar-coat it because it's not for the faint-hearted.

You have to be 100% committed. If you are considering adopting, make sure you have childcare experience. If you are not already a parent make sure that it's right for you.

'I have always said that adopting a disabled child isn't right for everyone. You have to be totally honest with yourself.'

His driving motivation is seeing his children learning new skills and growing in confidence.

When he first met Ruby she was hooked up to a feeding machine, couldn't speak and was reliant on a wheelchair.

Mr Carpenter said he is glad to have been able to help his family including daughter Lily

Mr Carpenter said when he first met his daughter Ruby, pictured, she was hooked up to a feeding machine but has made tremendous progress as she grows up

Mr Carpenter said: 'She looked a very sorry little girl.

'She was petrified and shaking and it broke my heart. She is eating and walking now, although she has life-long needs.

'I am quite proud of myself that I have turned her life around. Seeing the changes in her is just outstanding.

'Seeing my children and how they are now is why I get up in the morning.

'In this house we have an "I can do" attitude and we try to teach them as much independence as we can. Disability isn't the be all and end all.'

National Adoption Week runs until October 22.
Brexiteers are urging Theresa May to take a tough line at a crucial summit in Brussels tomorrow after EU chiefs caused fury by branding a 20billion euro divorce bill 'peanuts'.

The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, accused Mrs May of being 'unrealistic' and said Britain should be forced to pump around 60billion euros into the bloc's coffers.

The bitter standoff over money is threatening to derail Brexit negotiations, with the government admitting there is zero chance EU leaders will authorise trade talks at the meeting.

Ministers complained that EU is 'stalling' negotiations in a bid to force Britain into handing over billions of pounds with 'nothing in return'.

And a Downing Street source rejected the idea of making further concessions on cash, saying: 'We have made an open and generous offer.'

The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, accused Theresa May of being 'unrealistic' and said the divorce bill should be around 60billion euros

Senior backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Tajani's attitude 'shows the lax approach of the EU to spending, that they think 20billion euros is a small amount of money'.

'We technically don't owe them anything. I would encourage the PM to say that if we leave without a deal they don't get anything,' he told MailOnline.

'The 20billion euros is for a deal. It is not if we leave without anything.

'The EU needs to know that if they don't do a deal they will have a huge hole in their budgets up until at least 2021.'

But Mr Rees-Mogg said he would 'not recommend' walking away from the talks, insisting it was best to put points 'firmly but politely' and stay engaged.

TOXIC FUMES FORCE VENUE CHANGE FOR EU SUMMIT The EU summit has been switched from the Europa building (pictured today) amid concerns about poisonous fumes from drains at the glitzy venue The venue for the EU summit is being changed at the last moment - after the bloc's Brussels HQ was flooded with toxic fumes. Leaders were meant to gather at the new Europa building, known as the Egg. It only opened in January amid controversy over cost. But less than 24 hours before the start the summit has been switched amid concerns about poisonous fumes from drains at the glitzy venue. Advertisement

Money has emerged as the key issue in the first phase, with the EU refusing to discuss trade until the outline of the financial settlement is agreed.

Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier has sought to up the pressure by repeatedly pointing out that the 'clock is ticking' before the formal Brexit date in March 2019.

Mrs May will head to the Belgian capital tomorrow for a summit where she will seek to push the case for trade talks to begin immediately.

But a major diplomatic offensive, which has seen the PM ring round almost all her counterparts over the past week and dine with European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, has so far failed to secure a breakthrough.

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Tajani took a hard line and quoted former PM Margaret Thatcher saying 'we need our money back'.

'We are realistic. The UK government is not realistic. I think we need to be very clear. We need to put the money on the table. We need our money back, as Mrs Thatcher said 30, 40 years ago,' he said.

'This is important for us. But we want not euro more and not euro less. This is very clear for us. But we need to pay, this is the third point, then it is possible to start for the negotiations for the new deal.'

Challenged that the EU was holding up talks to force money out of the UK, Mr Tajani replied: '20bn is peanuts, it's peanuts 20bn...The problem is 50, 60, this is the real situation.'

Mr Tajani lashed out at infighting on the British side, claiming that the EU was not clear 'what the UK wants to do'.

Theresa May, pictured in the Commons today, is embroiled in a bitter standoff with the EU over the Brexit process

Mrs May dined in Brussels with EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday as she tried to find a way of unblocking the Brexit negotiations

Brexit Secretary David Davis told MPs yesterday that the talks were reaching the 'limits of what can be achieved' without discussing trade

'This is the problem. It is not very clear because there are a lot of problems inside the European Union. We are united.

GERMANS DRAW UP DRAFT TRADE CALL Germany has started work on draft post-Brexit trade rules despite an apparent stalemate in Brussels, it emerged today. A draft paper prepared for the foreign office in Berlin calls for a 'comprehensive free trade accord' with Britain. The four-page memo lays out the most detailed German position seen so far. It proposes a partnership taking in linked foreign and security policy, counter terrorism and criminal justice. The paper says German 'shares the UK's desire to secure a close partnership with the Union'. Advertisement

'I don't know if there is a unity, where is the unity in the United Kingdom? Because there are many different positions.

'We have only one position, only one negotiator,' he said.

'In the Conservative Party, there are different position. This is not good for a good work in the next month.

'We ask, please, we need a Conservative decision on this. Which is the line to take between the three different position.

'For us it's important know.'

Ireland's PM Leo Varadkar has also complained that the EU was still unsure what the UK hoped to achieve in a Brexit deal.

But former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said Brussels was using bullying tactics to pursue its 'agenda'.

'The EU has decided to drag its feet in the negotiations and refuse to discuss anything other than its own agenda,' he wrote on the Brexit Central website.

HOW THE EU HAS PUMPED UP THE BREXIT DIVORCE BILL EU states have been piling on demands as they realise the scale of the hole about to be left in the bloc's finances by the departure of its second biggest contributor. The key elements of the divorce demand from Brussels include: The UK should keep paying into EU coffers until 2021 - after we formally leave - because that is when budgets have been set until.

Farm subsidy payments and EU administration fees for 2019 and 2020.

Britain should fund agreed loans that have already been agreed to poorer EU states.

Paying for relocation of EU agencies to other states after Brexit.

UK to be denied a share of the bloc's assets, such as buildings, which could have brought the sum down.

Other costs include around 10billion euros towards funding generous pensions for thousands of Eurocrats. Advertisement

'That EU agenda is, of course, all about money  as much as they can get out of the UK in return for engaging on post-Brexit trade arrangements.

'All that nonsense about 'sufficient progress' is of course a crude smokescreen to disguise a naked attempt to force us into a major financial commitment with nothing in return. That is why the talks have stalled.'

Urging Mrs May to take a tough stance, Mr Duncan Smith dismissed the idea that failure to strike a trade deal would be 'cataclysmic, a cliff edge and a disaster'.

'The truth is far from that,' he wrote. 'Yes, we want a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)  but not at any price. The alternative to an FTA isnt nothing, its a set of arrangements from within the WTO which will not include a very specific trade deal between the UK and the EU. It does however allow for some flexibility on trade tariffs for a period between us whilst we continue talks, should we choose to do so.'

In a sign of the economic risk caused by the uncertainty in the Brexit process, a senior City figure warned that firms would have no choice but to move jobs to other European Union countries in order to ensure they can keep trading unless progress was made.

London Stock Exchange chief Xavier Rolet said that regulatory systems that will change as a result of Brexit 'cannot be replicated overnight' so businesses will simply make their own arrangements and move to the EU if they are not given sufficient notice.

OECD chief Angel Gurria, pictured yesterday, compared the challenges of Brexit to the Blitz, which saw bombs from Hitler's forces rain down on London during the Second World War

'Businesses cannot risk a cliff-edge being so near before they start accelerating the migration of functions away from the UK to ensure they can participate in the global market,' he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

But Mr Rolet also warned European leaders that protectionist moves to strip London of its role in euro clearing could trigger another global financial meltdown.

Taking back euro trading into the Eurozone would 'increase systemic financial risk' because 'the global monitoring of risk would be impaired and that risk more heavily concentrated'.

He said: 'To those who want to dismantle rather than build on a system of global regulatory standards that protects taxpayers and reduces the cost of capital, we say: do not willingly diminish systemically important global financial market infrastructure just to make a political point.'

THE STICKING POINT IN BREXIT TALKS The first phase of Brexit negotiations appear to be boiling down to money - with the EU seeking to extract the maximum possible from the UK. Michel Barnier made clear last week that there was a 'disturbing' deadlock on the scale of a divorce bill. The EU wants the UK to give a broad commitment to meeting all liabilities - including elements such as pension for Eurocrats - for years after we leave. The PM has refused to go that far, despite floating a 20billion contribution during a transition and offering a limited promise on liabilities. On citizens' rights, Mr Barnier has insisted the UK must accept that EU courts will enforce the rights of EU nationals in Britain after Brexit. Mrs May has said she cannot accept the ECJ being solely responsible, but there have been signs a compromise with joint jurisdiction could be in the offing. Diplomats now believe the main issues have been resolved, and a deal could be struck. But the EU is thought to be holding back to provide cover for its financial demands. Advertisement

Brexit Secretary David Davis told MPs last night that a deal was close on securing the rights of 3.2million EU citizens in the UK and 1.2million Britons living in Europe.

But he said that Brussels was refusing to discuss trade relations in an attempt to secure a bigger divorce payment.

He said: 'The simple truth is that we are in a negotiation and they are using time pressure to see whether they can get more money out of us  that is what is going on, as is obvious to anybody.

'That will take some time, but I am sure we will get there in time to get a decent outcome for everybody.'

Downing Street yesterday confirmed it would not set out the total it was willing to pay until talks with the EU on trade had concluded.

MPs tore into a Paris-based think-tank yesterday for suggesting Brexit should be reversed to save the British economy - branding it the return of 'Project Fear'.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said quitting the EU in a disorderly way could cripple the UK economy.

And it said holding a fresh referendum to stay in the bloc would be 'positive' for UK business.

Speaking at the launch of the bleak report in London, OECD secretary general, Angel Gurria, compared Brexit to the Blitz.

But a string of MPs slammed the assessment saying it was yet another example of Brexit gloom from an organisation hellbent on talking down Britain's economy.

A Government spokesman said: 'We are leaving the EU and there will not be a second referendum.'
A teenager arrested with fake emergency lights on his truck has revealed he was using them for a month in order to 'help people who got into accidents'.

The 16-year-old spoke out on Wednesday to clear up why he was caught speeding down Beach Road in Brighton, Melbourne with fake emergency lights on his truck on Saturday.

'It was all for good intentions. I fitted (the truck) out with blue and red lights and just responded to emergencies that I got through the Emergency Management Victoria app,' he told 7 News.

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Frightening footage shows a truck speeding through traffic with fake emergency lights flashing

'I genuinely wanted to help people.'

The 16-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after footage of his truck racing down a beach-side road in Melbourne was posted to the Dash Cam Owners Australia Facebook page.

The teenager, who could not be named because he was underage, said he responded to 30 or 40 crash scenes in the past month.

When he arrived at the scene, the 16-year-old said he helped people who were injured.

He said he wanted to tell people he was trained in emergency response.

'A lot of people think I was untrained when arriving, but I did do my paramedics course, trained in rescue and medics. I didn't give untrained CPR,' he said.

The teenager modified the truck, adding a siren, horn, spotlight, and flashing lights to the roof

Police said the boy's truck cost an estimated $100,000 with the illegal modifications, including flashing blue and red lights, sirens, a horn and a spotlight.

When asked how he managed to afford the fittings, he said he was the CEO of an online software company.

He said he earned good money from his business and put it all towards the truck.

The teenager faces serious charges including reckless conduct endangering a person, which carries a maximum jail term of five years.

The footage, which was posted to the Dash Cam Owners Facebook page, captured the truck racing down Beach Road in Brighton, Melbourne's south-east, on Saturday

The truck, fitted out with flashing lights, appears to look like a legitimate emergency service vehicle

Police estimated the value of the truck, with modifications to total at least $100,000
A Jackson, Miss., magnet school named for the president of the Confederacy will be renamed for Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States.

Davis International Baccalaureate Elementary , a school named for Jefferson Davis where 98 percent of students are African-American, will be rechristened to honor Obama. The magnet school is among the top-performing elementary and middle schools in Mississippi.

The schools PTA president announced the planned name change, which would take place for the 2018-19 school year, at a school board meeting this week, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported .

With the name change in Jackson, schools named for Barack Obama or former First Lady Michelle Obama are now spread across 12 states; More than 90 percent of the students at those schools are black or Hispanic, according to an Education Week analysis.

The name change comes as leaders of the school district in Mississippis capital city, where more than 95 percent of students are African-American, are reconsidering Confederacy-linked names on three campuses.

Over the summer, unrest in Charlottesville, Va. , and other cities sparked conversations in statehouses and school board meetings nationally, reigniting debate over whether to eliminate school names, symbols, and mascots tied to the Confederacy .

At least 139 public schools nationwide are named after Confederate leaders, mostly in the South; a majority of schools were built after 1951, more than 80 years after the Civil War ended, an Education Week analysis found. Fourteen of the schools are named for Davis; more than half are named for Robert E. Lee, who was the Confederacys top army commander.

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Photo Credit: President Barack Obama talks with middle-school students from Newark, N.J., during an Hour of Code event at the White House in 2014.--Jacquelyn Martin/AP-File
The Los Angeles Police Department will deploy a fleet of drones despite critics' concerns they could eventually be armed and used to wound or kill suspects.

The Police Commission, a civilian oversight panel, gave the green light to the program in a 3-1 vote yesterday - making the department the largest in the country to approve the use of the unmanned aircraft.

The decision means the police force will trial the aircraft as part of a one-year pilot scheme.

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Drones have been approved for the Los Angeles Police Department. Pictured, officers monitor a group of anti-drone protesters who blocked traffic downtown on Tuesday

At a press conference after the vote, Chief Charlie Beck tried to ease concerns by insisting they will not be weaponized or used to spy on people.

He said: 'They're not used for general surveillance. They're not used for the investigation of low-level crime.

'They're used only by special weapons and tactics teams involved in very high impact situations.'

He added: 'Unfortunately we had a SWAT officer Randy Simmons killed in the line of duty while doing an entry into a home - this could have possibly been done by an unmanned aircraft.

The decision means the police force will trial the aircraft as part of a one-year pilot scheme. Above, Mariella Saba screams out as she protests allowing the LAPD to use drones, on Tuesday

'We had a SWAT officer shot earlier last year while checking a perimeter area of a barricaded man with a gun and that could have easily been done by an unmanned aircraft.'

But there have been concerns that the use of drones by police could eventually see them become weaponized.

In March, Connecticut lawmakers were considering a bill that would allow police to use drones fitted with deadly weapons.

The Police Commission, a civilian oversight panel, gave the green light to the program in a 3-1 vote yesterday. This 2014 file photo shows drone protesters

And the drone program in Los Angeles has already provoked outrage from legal experts and privacy rights activists.

'Mission creep is of course the concern,' Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles told the LA Times.

'The history of this department is of starting off with supposedly good intentions about the new toys that it gets only to then get too tempted by what they can do with those toys.'

OTHER CITIES THAT USE DRONES... Arlington, Texas Houston, Texas MiamiDade, Florida Orange County, Florida Herington, Kansas North Little Rock, Arkansas West Salem, Wisconsin Advertisement

And a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said: 'Despite overwhelming public opposition to drones across LA, the Police Commission approved drones for LAPD.

'[Mayor] Eric Garcetti is ultimately responsible for his commission's lack of public responsiveness and we must hold him accountable.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition said on social media: 'After the Police Commission vote. No drones, LA! No means no!'

The decision to authorize drones in Los Angeles has recalled concerns about the use of powerful new technology by police forces.

In July 2016, Dallas police used a 'bomb robot' to kill a man suspected of assassinating five police officers.

It was the first time a robot was deployed in such a manner by US law enforcement.
An autopsy has revealed a woman was stabbed 123 times at her North Carolina home before being left in the foetal position.

Matthew James Phelps, 29, claims he took too much cold medicine before waking up and finding his wife Lauren, also 29, dead on September 1.

Phelps called 911 and told dispatchers he had found his wife's body and believed the medicine made him kill her but he had no recollection of doing it.

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Matthew Phelps, 29 (left), is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges for killing his wife Lauren (right), also 29

Phelps called 911 and told dispatchers he believed the medicine made him kill his wife

Lauren and Matthew had been married for less than a year before her death

In the devastating call, Phelps, an aspiring preacher, is heard saying: 'I think I killed my... There's blood all over me, and there's a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it.

'I took more medicine that I should have. I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good and sometimes I cant sleep at night.'

He starts to sob as he adds: 'I cant believe I did this. Oh God. She didnt deserve this. Why?'

Phelps said he had taken Coricidin Cough and Cold before the incident

When police arrived on the scene, Lauren was still alive but mortally wounded. She was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.

An autopsy report, which was released on Tuesday, showed that Lauren died from multiple stab wounds to her face, neck, torso, arms and jugular vein.

Her husband was taken into custody and is now facing first-degree murder charges in her death.

The News & Observer previously published details about what investigators found in the home after carrying out a search warrant.

They took as evidence a 'white bedspread, a white sheet, and gray white comforter and several pillowcases that were all marred with an unknown red substance' - as well as an empty box of Coricidin Cold & Cough medicine, the same brand that Phelps said he took before the murder.

They also took four computers, receipts, a mortgage statement, a knife set, credit cards, and Lauren's iPhone from the home.

Phelps does not have a criminal record. He is currently being held at Wake County Jail without bail.

He was working for a landscaping company while studying missions and evangelism at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky.
The wife of a man diagnosed with a rare form of cancer has told of her grief after he succumbed to the disease just five weeks after they married.

Paul Brame's world had been turned upside down when doctors revealed he had a cancer in his liver so advanced and aggressive it was inoperable and non-curable.

He and his wife Niah, 26, from Chelmsford, Essex, were told their only hope was palliative chemotherapy which could have halted or slowed the cancer's growth.

Paul Brame, left, married partner Niah, right, after being prompted into action when he was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer

Mrs Brame took to Facebook to post a heartbreaking message that revealed her husband died

However as matters worsened further and the tumour failed to shrink, the couple decided to marry before the illness overcame the 35-year-old shop manager.

They had tried to raise 30,000 to fund pioneering treatment not available on the NHS - and got to 27,000 - but Mr Brame died on Saturday following a rapid deterioration in his health.

His wife revealed the news in a heartbreaking Facebook post, saying: 'It breaks my heart to have to write this a million more times than my first post.

'Deep breath... here goes On Saturday October 14 at 8.20pm, the love of my life took his last breath which ended his pain and suffering.

'Paul's health deteriorated unexpectedly very quickly soon after I set up the fundraising. He developed further spread of the cancer to his bones but also pneumonia and possibly sepsis.

Although he was told it was not curable, the couple, pictured at their wedding, had been trying to raise 30,000 to fund pioneering treatment not available on the NHS

Mrs Brame, left at her wedding, had previously said she 'would not lose her husband (right) to something so nasty and so young'

'My husband fought hard to defeat the odds and right up until the end he was still fighting.

The couple, pictured, had previously been putting off marriage and children so Mrs Brame, 26, could pursue a career as a midwife

'However our families believe that he was fighting so hard to be well for our wedding day that following it, he felt he could relax, having accomplished the greatest day of ours and our families' lives.

'He has left a gigantic hole in both our families' lives and I have a hole in my heart. He was the greatest son, brother, husband and future father there ever was.

'I will be retreating from social media again. I made our lives public for a purpose and to save Paul and although it was amazing and successful, he simply couldn't suffer no more.

'Thank you for everyone's support and love, but sadly this time, cancer won. N & family.'

Mrs Brame has previously spoken about when Mr Brame found himself in excruciating pain on March 18, the day that her world changed forever.

Mrs Brame's friends rallied round her as they sent their condolences on Facebook on Sunday

She had said: 'I was woken by Paul during the early hours with cries of excruciating pain in his right side and shortness of breath.

Behind the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma cancer and metastasis Mr Brame suffered from a disease called cholangiocarcinoma cancer, also known as bile duct cancer, which can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It starts in the lining of the bile ducts - part of the digestive system. Bile is used to by the body to break down fats in food to help with digestion. Symptoms of bile duct cancer include the skin and whites of the eyes turning yellow, urine turning dark yellow, stools looking pale and itchy skin. Mr Brame's cholangiocarcinoma cancer was of unknown primary origin. He also suffered a liver metastasis, after cells broke away from the primary cancer and were carried to the liver in the bloodstream, where they formed a new tumour. Advertisement

'I called an ambulance, he was reviewed with no concerns and told to monitor. Paul being Paul, woke up the following morning still in pain but continued to go to work as he didn't want to let his colleagues down even though he was doubled up in pain.'

Mr Brame, who was a store manager and buyer at Zagger on Bond Street in London, was in such pain he was only able to work for a few hours before coming home.

A trip to the out-of-ours GP led to the initial diagnosis of gall stones in the liver which needed to be removed.

But within 24 hours the couple were given the earth-shattering news that Mr Brame could have liver cancer.

'I was standing beside Paul gripping his hand when the consultant came into the bay, drew the curtains and told us that at aged 35 years old Paul's scans were showing signs of cancer in his liver,' said Mrs Brame.

The couple were told to come back the next day, with both of them praying that there had been a terrible mistake.

But there was no reprieve from the doctors at Broomfield Hospital, who told Mr Brame his cancer, which had not revealed itself with any symptoms until that weekend, was incurable.

The couple raised nearly 30,000 towards immunotherapy during the fundraising campaign

Mr Brame previously worked as a shop manager until he was struck by 'excruciating pains' in his side that turned out to be cancer

As the shell-shocked couple went their local pub, The Duke of Wellington, to try to digest the news, Mr Brame decided to seize the moment to propose.

Mrs Brame said: 'It was overwhelming, heart-wrenching but wonderful at the same time. It's not how I expected it to be but it was nonetheless amazing.'

The couple had put off marriage and children so Mrs Brame could pursue her dream of becoming a midwife but his horrifying diagnosis shocked them into action.

As they began to make plans for their happy day, Mr Brame received another devastating update from his doctors.

Doctors told Mr Brame his cancer, which had not previously revealed itself, was incurable

As the shell-shocked couple went their local pub to try to digest the news, Mr Brame decided to seize the moment to propose

The news was that his full diagnosis was cholangiocarcinoma cancer of unknown primary origin with liver metastases.

This meant that the source of the disease could not be found and had spread to the liver in such a vast amount that it was not only inoperable, it was incurable.

The situation left them wondering how they would ever overcome such a terrible outcome.

Mr Brame, whose cancer is more often seen in people over the age of 65, went in for his first treatment in June where he developed blood clots in both lungs.

His full diagnosis was cholangiocarcinoma cancer of unknown primary with liver metastases

They wed at West Street Vineyard in Coggeshall, surrounded by their family and friends

Shortly after being discharged, he was back again admitted this time with pneumonia and larger clots in his lungs.

A scan at the end of July showed the cancer had not slowed and so another line of treatment was followed.

Having been in hospital for a week, the pair decided it was time to get married promptly, as neither could stand the idea of him not being able to stand at the alter or enjoy the day.

They wed on September 10 at West Street Vineyard in Coggeshall, surrounded by their family and friends.

With all options available on the NHS exhausted, Mrs Brame (pictured) had been looking into other ways of treating her husband's illness

Mrs Brame said: 'It was more than I could have ever hoped it would be because he was so well and he was able to walk and talk and enjoy himself.

Mrs Brame told how she was woken by her husband overnight with cries of excruciating pain in his right side and shortness of breath

'I probably didn't have the normal feelings for a wedding day but still it was incredibly humbling and I'm so grateful we were able to do it.'

With all options available on the NHS exhausted, Mrs Brame had been looking into other ways of treating her husband's illness.

She said last week: 'If we could find the primary source it would give us a better chance at fighting it with the correct stuff, so more genetic tests need to be done that are again not offered by NHS.

'Immunotherapy is one possible new treatment for cancer and is offered through some clinical trials or private. It works by encouraging the immune system to fight rather than chemotherapy helping the body kill itself.'

Mr Brame had completely overhauled his diet, cutting out sugar and dairy, and was taking supplements and herbs.

But he was also fighting a blocked bowel, fatigue, sickness, constant nose bleeds, as well as extreme weight loss.
Australian comedian Jim Jefferies slammed Harvey Weinstein as a 'sexual predator and a total piece of s***' and said he and other men have been 'ignorant' for believing sexual harassment is 'rare'.

Jefferies spoke out about the sexual assault allegations against Weinstein during a segment on his self-titled Comedy Central show Tuesday night and said all of Hollywood can 'do better' when it comes to taking accusations seriously.

'If this latest news has made me realize anything, it's that we as men have been incredibly ignorant about what's happening right underneath our noses,' said Jefferies, known for his caustic comedic style.

Australian comedian Jim Jefferies spoke out about the sexual assault allegations during a segment on his self-titled Comedy Central show, during which he said all of Hollywood can 'do better'

Harvey Weinstein is a sexual predator and a total piece of shit. New #JefferiesShow tonight at 10:30/9:30C on @ComedyCentral. pic.twitter.com/hWv814eIeh  Jim Jefferies Show (@jefferiesshow) October 18, 2017

As he opened up about the allegations nearly two weeks after they came to light, he made the disclaimer that he has 'been known to make the occasional inappropriate or sexist joke'.

He said that if some of the 'richest, most powerful and beloved women in the country, are fearful of speaking out, just imagine how hard it must be for every other woman in the world'.

'I was stupid to think that people like Harvey Weinstein were rare,' he added.

Jefferies openly called Weinstein a 'sexual predator' during his monologue about the film mogul, who just headed to rehab for sex addiction.

'Many of the women who have spoken out about Weinstein say we shouldn't be surprised by his actions, and I agree,' he said. 'What's shocking is how easy it is for a guy like him to get away with this kind of behavior.'

The Australian made several jokes about Weinstein's behavior and Fox News's attempt to blame Hillary Clinton - particularly Sean Hannity, who he called 'the wilted lettuce in a sexual predator club sandwich'.

'It's pretty rich hearing that from you,' he said of Hannity, noting that former president of his network Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly were both accused sexual predators.

He added that President Donald Trump, who spoke to Hannity last week, 'is a sexual predator'.

As he opened up about the allegations nearly two weeks after they came to light, he made the disclaimer that he has 'been known to make the occasional inappropriate or sexist joke'

Jefferies also applauded the women who have come forward with the hashtag '#metoo' to talk about their own sexual assault and harassment experiences.

'Chances are that every woman you know has experienced harassment or worse,' he said to a subdued audience.

'I thought I was a pretty good guy with all the not-raping I've done,' he added, prompting the first laugh from the audience in several minutes. 'But it turns out, that's not enough. It's a start, but it's not enough.

'We need to create a culture where women feel safe coming forward about their experiences. When they do, we need to hear them.'

Around 40 actresses, including stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Mira Sorvino have come forward saying they were sexually harassed, abused or raped by Weinstein over the last several decades.

On Tuesday, Game Of Thrones actress Lena Headey became the latest to detail alleged encounters with the mogul at the Venice Film Festival and in Los Angeles.

In a series of tweets, the English actress said after she told him she was uninterested in anything other than work, the studio boss was left 'furious'.

The avalanche of accusations against the twice-married, 65-year-old father of five include rape, assault and sexual harassment. He insists any sexual encounters were consensual.

For years one of the most powerful moguls in Hollywood, his films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes. But he was expelled last week from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Revelations about Weinstein, first revealed by The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine, have seen a growing number of women share experiences of sexual harassment - both in Hollywood and the wider world.

As the Weinstein harassment allegations reverberate around the world, thousands of women have taken to social media in response to an appeal by actress Alyssa Milano to respond 'me too' if they have been sexually assaulted or harassed.
Investigators have raided McDonald's offices in Seoul, South Korea after allegations that several children fell ill after eating the U.S. chain's.

At least five children have allegedly suffered life-threatening kidney disease as a result of a infection, after being served under-cooked hamburger patties at McDonald's.

The raid on Wednesday saw the Seoul central district prosecutors' office confiscated documents and evidence local news reports said.

Raid: McDonald's offices in South Korea were raided on Wedneday after allegations children had suffered severe kidney damage after being infected by bacteria found in undercooked hamburgers served at their restaurants

Investigators also carried out raids at three other companies, including an ingredient supplier.

A spokeswoman at McDonald's Seoul office confirmed the raid to Reuters, but gave no reason or further details.

In July, a consumer filed a complaint against the U.S. firm, saying her daughter was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome - also known as hamburger disease - following the consumption of a McDonald's hamburger last year.

The parent said that the four-year-old girl had been left with irreversible kidney damage.

At least five South Korean children have allegedly suffered life-threatening kidney disease as a result of a infection, after being served under-cooked hamburger patties at McDonald's

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a rare but severe side effect of an infection with certain strains of E. coli bacteria.

It damages the red blood cells, which can clog up the kidneys and cause life-threatening organ failure.

It is nicknamed 'hamburger disease' because the particular strain of E.coli that causes the infection can be found in under-cooked red meat.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is the most common cause of acute kidney failure in infants and young children.

Complaints were also filed by parents of four more children who became sick after eating McDonald's burgers.

In August, consumers at a McDonald's in the southwestern city of Jeonju reported stomach aches and high fever after eating bulgogi burgers. The chain temporarily halted sales of the burgers, launched in 1997, to determine the cause.

At the time, McDonald's said it was cooperating with an investigation by the South Korean government into the possible food contamination case.

Last year, talks to sell McDonald's South Korean business to domestic firm KG Chemical Corporation collapsed over 'a large difference of opinion'.
The courageous little girl who won praise from Prince Harry and a national award for bravery made an ITN presenter blush by asking is she is single on live TV.

Adorable Erin Cross, aged seven, was awarded with the 2017 WellChild award on Tuesday night for her exceptional bravery during her battle with leukaemia.

And her courage extended to live TV too when she asked ITN newsreader Lucrezia Millarini if she was single on behalf of a 'friend'.

Erin was being interviewed after the WellChild award ceremony, which took place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London last night where she was praised by Prince Harry.

The Prince, who spoke at the ceremony, is a patron of the WellChild Charity.

He spent some time with Erin and the other winners at last night's awards but this was not the first time the little girl and the prince were acquainted.

She told Lucrezia that last night was in fact the fifth time she had met him, and that she had now met the prince 'more times than his girlfriend had'.

At the end of the interview, she decided that she should get to ask a question too.

'I got a question from a friend. Are you single?' she asked with a cheeky grin.

A shocked Lucrezia replied: 'Erin! I'm blushing.'

The presenter later said that meeting Erin was a real pleasure and her story was inspirational.

Adorable Erin Cross, aged seven, was awarded with the 2017 WellChild award last night for her exceptional bravery during her battle with leukaemia

She shocked ITN newsreader Lucrezia Millarini (pictured) if she was single on live TV last night

Erin was being interviewed after the WellChild award ceremony in London last night where she was praised by Prince Harry. But the little girl decided that she should get to ask a question too

'She's been through so much for someone so young and she's done it all with a smile on her face and with an amazingly positive attitude. A lesson to us all,' Lucrezia said.

'I knew Erin had a question for me because she told me before we went on air.

'Needless to say I had no idea it would be this one! She'd already mentioned not letting her dad do embarrassing 'dad dancing' at last night's award ceremony and that she'd met Prince Harry 'more times than his girlfriend'. So I knew she was a bit of a character!

'And yes, I'm not easily embarrassed but this question did make me blush. I didn't get to answer on air - am I single? No, happily married.'

Patron of the charity WellChild, Prince Harry (left) meets Erin Cross, aged 7, the winner of the Inspirational Child Award aged 4-6, with her mother Sarah (right) during a pre-ceremony category winners reception at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017
Xavier Rolet said any attempt to seize back euro trading would lead to unacceptable 'systemic financial risk'

The EU risks triggering another financial meltdown if it punishes the City to make a 'political point' about Brexit, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange warned today.

Xavier Rolet said any attempt to seize back euro trading would lead to unacceptable 'systemic financial risk'.

He also appealed for quick clarity on a post-2019 transition deal, saying there was a risk jobs would start leaving the UK if businesses faced a 'cliff edge'.

The comments follow an intervention by Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday, when he claimed the EU is at greater risk of financial instability after a 'disorderly' Brexit than Britain.

Tensions in the negotiations are rising ahead of a crucial summit, with EU leaders ramping up demands for a massive divorce bill.

The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, has dismissed Theresa May's offer to pay 20billion euros into budgets as 'peanuts' and accused Britain of being 'unrealistic'.

But furious Brexiteers complained that the EU was 'stalling' negotiations in a bid to force Britain into handing over billions of pounds with 'nothing in return'.

In an article for the Telegraph, Mr Rolet took aim at suggestions that Brussels could target London's financial business. He said trying to cut the City out would mean the 'global monitoring of risk would be impaired and that risk more heavily concentrated'.

He said: 'To those who want to dismantle rather than build on a system of global regulatory standards that protects taxpayers and reduces the cost of capital, we say: do not willingly diminish systemically important global financial market infrastructure just to make a political point.'

Mr Rolet also cautioned that regulatory systems 'cannot be replicated overnight' so businesses will simply make their own arrangements and move to the EU if they are not given sufficient notice.

'Businesses cannot risk a cliff-edge being so near before they start accelerating the migration of functions away from the UK to ensure they can participate in the global market,' he said.

The warning from Mr Rolet came after Mr Carney said an 'uncooperative' Brexit would leave theEuropean Union 'short' of the financial services it needs because banks would still be headquartered in London.

Mr Carney told the Treasury select committee the overall economic impact of an angry breakdown in March 2019 would be worse for Britain.

The Governor said no deal was not in the interest of either side and told MPs there were a series of advantages to striking a good Brexit deal.

Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier has sought to up the pressure on the UK by repeatedly pointing out that the 'clock is ticking' before the formal Brexit date in March 2019.

Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney (pictured in Parliament today) claimed today that the EU is at greater risk of financial instability after a no deal Brexit than Britain

Mrs May dined in Brussels with EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Tuesday as she tried to find a way of unblocking the Brexit negotiations

Mrs May will head to the Belgian capital tomorrow for a summit where she will seek to push the case for trade talks to begin immediately.

But a major diplomatic offensive, which has seen the PM ring round almost all her counterparts over the past week and dine with European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, has so far failed to secure a breakthrough.

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Tajani took a hard line and quoted former PM Margaret Thatcher saying 'we need our money back'.

'We are realistic. The UK government is not realistic. I think we need to be very clear. We need to put the money on the table. We need our money back, as Mrs Thatcher said 30, 40 years ago,' he said.

'This is important for us. But we want not euro more and not euro less. This is very clear for us. But we need to pay, this is the third point, then it is possible to start for the negotiations for the new deal.'

Challenged that the EU was holding up talks to force money out of the UK, Mr Tajani replied: '20bn is peanuts, it's peanuts 20bn...The problem is 50, 60, this is the real situation.'

Mr Tajani lashed out at infighting on the British side, claiming that the EU was not clear 'what the UK wants to do'.

The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, accused Theresa May of being 'unrealistic' and said the divorce bill should be around 60billion euros

'This is the problem. It is not very clear because there are a lot of problems inside the European Union. We are united. I don't know if there is a unity, where is the unity in the United Kingdom? Because there are many different positions. We have only one position, only one negotiator,' he said.

'In the Conservative Party, there are different position. This is not good for a good work in the next month. We ask, please, we need a Conservative decision on this. Which is the line to take between the three different position. For us it's important know.'

Ireland's PM Leo Varadkar has also complained that the EU was still unsure what the UK hoped to achieve in a Brexit deal.

But former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said Brussels was using bullying tactics to pursue its 'agenda'.

'The EU has decided to drag its feet in the negotiations and refuse to discuss anything other than its own agenda,' he wrote on the Brexit Central website.

'That EU agenda is, of course, all about money  as much as they can get out of the UK in return for engaging on post-Brexit trade arrangements.

'All that nonsense about 'sufficient progress' is of course a crude smokescreen to disguise a naked attempt to force us into a major financial commitment with nothing in return. That is why the talks have stalled.'
This is the magical moment a dying chimpanzee recognises her old friend and gives him an emotional farewell.

Mama, the 59-year-old former matriarch at Royal Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands, was curled up in a ball and refusing food until the arrival of Professor Jan van Hooff, who she had known since 1972.

The terminally ill chimp, who was fast approaching the end of her life, can be seen reacting with pure joy when she realises who has come to see her.

Mama, the 59-year-old former matriarch at Royal Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands, was curled up in a ball and refusing food until the arrival of Professor Jan van Hooff, who she had known since 1972

At first she did not realise that her old friend had come to see her and remained on the floor as he stroked her

But the terminally ill chimp, who was fast approaching the end of her life, can be seen reacting with pure joy when she realises who has come to see her

Mama screeched with delight and beamed with a smile while greeting the professor

Mama died just a week after giving her old friend a heartfelt farewell

Earlier in the video she can be seen refusing food and water as she lies in a weak state among hay

Screeching with pleasure and smiling in delight, Mama can be seen stretching out her hand and stroking Professor van Hooff's head in greeting.

Initially she had not recognised him and persisted in her unresponsive behaviour.

Earlier in the video she can be seen refusing food and water as she lies in a weak state among hay.

But her bond with Professor van Hooff - who co-founded her chimp colony at the Arnhem zoo - was deep enough to shake her from her gloom.

Her bond with Professor van Hooff - who co-founded her chimp colony at the Arnhem zoo - was deep enough to shake her from her gloom. Pictured: Mama celebrating her 50th birthday in 2007

She first met the professor in 1972 and was the Dutch zoo's chimpanzee matriarch in her prime. Pictured: Mama eating an apple during her 50th birthday celebration

The video was filmed in April 2016.

Mama died just a week after giving her old friend a heartfelt farewell.
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A fascinating collection of photos have resurfaced showing the hardships faced by German-Americans at the brutal height of the First World War.

As Europe was ravaged by fighting, German immigrants in the US suffered harassment, internment, lynchings - and even the humiliation of being tarred and feathered.

Although a little-remembered part of history today, America was wracked by the fear and paranoia that swept from coast to coast during the Great War.

The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 and helped lead the Allies to victory. But before that, many Americans were terrified of the German threat growing on the other side of the world.

This collection of pictures reveals the full extent of war hysteria and open hostility towards all things German that erupted across the nation.

A fascinating collection of photos have resurfaced showing the hardships faced by German-Americans at the brutal height of the First World War. Pictured, German-American farmer John Meints, from Luverne, Minnesota, after being attacked, tarred and feathered by a group of masked men because he was accused of failing to buy war bonds in August 19, 1918

As Europe was ravaged by fighting, German immigrants in the US suffered harassment, internment, lynchings - and even the humiliation of being tarred and feathered. Pictured, the dormitory inside a German-American internment camp at Fort Douglas, Utah

Although a little-remembered part of history today, America was wracked by the fear and paranoia that swept from coast to coast during the Great War. Pictured, a crowd gathers for a German-language book burning at Baraboo High School in Wisconsin in 1918

The United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 and helped lead the Allies to victory. But before that, many Americans were terrified of the German threat growing on the other side of the world. Pictured, interned Germans forced to build the barracks for their own internment camp

Before the war broke out, America had welcomed German immigrants and regarded them highly. German was the second most widely spoken language in the country and there were over 100 million first and second-generation German-Americans living in the United States, with many of them involved in the thousands of German organizations across the country.

The United States embraced them and the German language became an established part of the high school curriculum.

But when the war broke out and Germany became the enemy of the Allies abroad, the American government began calling on its people to reject their German-American neighbors.

President Woodrow Wilson declared that German-Americans were to be treated as 'alien-enemies' and that they should reject their German identity if they were to be accepted in US society.

This collection of pictures reveals the full extent of war hysteria and open hostility towards all things German that erupted across the nation. Pictured, German prisoners put to work gardening and harvesting food in Oglethorpe, Georgia on February 8, 1918

Before the war broke out, America had welcomed German immigrants and regarded them highly. Pictured, German prisoners holding their tools while posing for a photograph in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in 1917

German was the second most widely spoken language in the country and there were over 100 million first and second-generation German-Americans living in the United States. Pictured, the burnt ashes of Baraboo High School's German books. Above the ashes are written the words: 'Here lies the remains of German in B.H.S'

When the war broke out and Germany became the enemy of the Allies abroad, the American government began calling on its people to reject their German-American neighbors. Pictured, German-Americans, shortly after being freed from their internment camps, line up for a train in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 25, 1919

IMPRISONED FOR A POEM... In July 1918, German-speaking immigrant Erich Posselt wrote a poem about a group of aviators bumbling through Germany that landed him in an internment camp for 17 months. The Department of Justice, which found the poem during a search of his home, sent Posselt to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He was finally released in January 1920 and settled in New York. Here is an extract of the offending poem: Six little aviators / Went flying out one day / They wished to go to Coblenz / And never came away. ... Two little aviators / Got cold feet on the run / One lost all the breath he had / Then there was only one. One little aviator / Soon to an end was brought / He grieved so for the other five / He too at last was caught. Source: Smithsonian Advertisement

This change in public opinion was immediate.

Literature began to directly attack German-American churches, schools, societies, and newspapers as agents of Imperial German conspiracy.

Thousands lost their jobs and countless more stopped speaking German. Fourteen states banned schools from teaching the language, declaring that German was 'not a fit language to teach clean and pure American boys and girls.'

The American Defense Society, an off-shoot of the National Security League, encouraged the public burning of German-language books and campaigned to change the names of cities, streets, parks, and schools in America to the names of Belgian and French communities destroyed in the war.

Some Germans even saw their property seized by authorities - in total, the US confiscated half a billion dollars in private property during WWI.

The names of German food were removed from restaurant menus; sauerkraut became 'liberty cabbage', hamburger became 'liberty steak'.

Even German Daschund dogs became known as 'liberty dogs' and German measles became 'liberty measles'.

Harassment of German-Americans became commonplace. Employers would receive telephone calls asking if they still had 'that German spy' on the payroll.

Just having a German name was cause enough for the American Protective League to launch an investigation into a person's private affairs.

A mob in Illinois lynched a man named Robert Prager (left) in April 1918 because they were convinced he was a German spy. Pictured right, a German-American iknitting a scarf at a camp in Fort Douglas, Utah

President Woodrow Wilson declared that German-Americans were to be treated as 'alien-enemies' and that they should reject their German identity if they were to be accepted in US society. Pictured, German-Americans peer out the back of the train in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 25, 1919

Fourteen states banned schools from teaching the language, declaring that German was 'not a fit language to teach clean and pure American boys and girls.' Pictured, the barracks inside the German internment camp in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in 1917

German-owned ships were captured by the American government after the US entered the war. In total, 54 merchant vessels were taken in and 1,800 sailors were sent to internment camps

The American Defense Society, an off-shoot of the National Security League, encouraged the public burning of German-language books and campaigned to change the names of cities, streets, parks, and schools in America to the names of Belgian and French communities destroyed in the war. Pictured, German-Americans inmates built a German-style village for themselves in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in 1917

Some Germans even saw their property seized by authorities - in total, the US confiscated half a billion dollars in private property during WWI. Pictured, a view of the German-American village set up inside of the internment camp at Hot Springs

Harassment of German-Americans became commonplace. Employers would receive telephone calls asking if they still had 'that German spy' on the payroll. Pictured, a small wooden house built by inmates at Hot Springs

Inmates at Hot Springs used recycled tobacco tins to build the church (left). The names of German food were removed from restaurant menus; sauerkraut became 'liberty cabbage', hamburger became 'liberty steak'. Even German Daschund dogs became known as 'liberty dogs'

Worse yet, violence broke out - violence egged on by the government. Persons reading German-language newspapers on public trains were verbally insulted and spat on. A mob in Minnesota, for example, tarred and feathered a German-American man named John Meints in August 1918 on the grounds that he hadn't bought war bonds. And another mob in Illinois lynched a man named Robert Prager in April 1918 because they were convinced he was a German spy.

While some German-Americans were attacked, around 6,000 were sent to internment camps. The government barred all German-Americans from living near military facilities, airports, port towns, or the capitol. And it forced every German-American to get fingerprinted and registered and sent them into camps across the country, locked in like prisoners of war.

Even when the fighting ended in late 1918, many weren't sent free. Some inmates remained incarcerated until 1920.

Just having a German name was cause enough for the American Protective League to launch an investigation into a person's private affairs. Pictured, children are stopped on their way to the park by a sign that reads: 'DANGER!! To Pro-Germans --- Loyal Americans Welcome to Edison Park,' in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917

Worse yet, violence broke out - violence egged on by the government. Persons reading German-language newspapers on public trains were verbally insulted and spat on. Pictured, German-Americans at a train station in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 25, 1919

These men are actually German soldiers. In a strange story, they ended up staying in America by choice, afraid that they would be destroyed by the British Navy if they returned to Europe. They were ultimately sent into internment camps along with the German-Americans in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1916
Labour humiliated Theresa May in the Commons tonight with a symbolic victory over the controversial Universal Credit welfare reform.

Jeremy Corbyn's party passed a motion demanding a pause to the ailing reforms, which are intended to streamline benefits but are mired in delays.

Labour engineered a vote on their plea meaning it was passed 299 to zero - prompting shouts of 'resign' and 'shame on you' from the Opposition benches.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams declared the vote proved Mrs May was 'in office but not in power'.

The Conservatives surrendered hours before the vote took place as whips accepted a near certain defeat had they marched MPs into the No lobby. Tory MPs were instead ordered to abstain.

One Conservative, Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston, defied the instruction to vote with Labour.

The motion has no legal effect and ministers are free to ignore it but Conservative MPs sympathetic to calls for changes to the policy used the debate to warn Mrs May the issue would not go away.

Speaker John Bercow courted controversy by urging a minister to come to the House and explain how the Government would respond to the vote.

He warned: 'This institution is bigger than any one party and is bigger than any Government.'

Labour humiliated Theresa May in the Commons tonight with symbolic victory over the controversial Universal Credit welfare reform. Pictured is Thangam Debbonaire reading out the 299-0 win for Labour

Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams (pictured tonight after the vote) declared the result proved Mrs May was 'in office but not in power'

Theresa May, pictured in the House of Commons today, was humilaited in a Commons defeat over the rollout of Universal Credit by up to 25 of her backbenchers

Chancellor Philip Hammond is under acute pressure to find a way to speed up delivery of benefits, which by design are not paid for at least six weeks after claimants apply - something critics say leaves the poor vulnerable to loan sharks.

In an effort to ease concern ehad of the vote, Mrs May today insisted she was listening to critics and ordered a Department for Work and Pensions help line have call charges scrapped.

Ministers came under fire after it emerged benefit claimants are charged up to 55 pence to phone the helpline - more than a line for tax avoiders.

TORY TO MISS CRUCIAL VOTE AS HE IS REFEREEING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH Douglas Ross has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos A Tory MP is set to miss a vote on Universal Credit because he will be running the line at a Champions League football tie in Barcelona. Douglas Ross, who earns 40,000 a year from football and 75,000 as a politician, has been listed as assistant referee at the Camp Nou stadium for Wednesday night's match against Greek side Olympiacos. The game kicks off at 7.45pm UK time  45 minutes after MPs at Westminster are expected to vote on a Labour motion calling for the controversial rollout of universal credit to be postponed. The World Cup 2018 candidate has previous for missing meetings and votes for football when he was a member of the Scottish Parliament - with one poll on local taxation ending in a tie while he was absent. Advertisement

Mrs May told the Commons: 'I said last week we are listening to a number of proposals that are being made and we have done that.'

Up to 25 Tory backbenchers were said to be considering joining Labour in the division lobbies before the order to abstain came through.

Dr Wollaston tonight lead the rebellion against the Government over Universal Credit unless ministers recognise they need to address a 'fundamental flaw'.

The chairwoman of the Health Committee criticised her party for ordering its MPs to abstain on any vote on a Labour-led motion about the flagship welfare reforms.

She said she wants assurances that the Government will recognise and address the time it takes for new claimants to receive their first payment under UC.

Tory MP Heidi Allen - who had threatened to rebel but abstained in line with whipping orders - suggested introducing fortnightly payments and sending housing payments straight to landlords.

Ms Allen said she was 'disappointed' the Government did not pause the roll-out while some of the issues were resolved as she set out measures to improve Universal Credit.

Ms Allen said she had discussed her proposals with the Prime Minister on Tuesday, but said it was 'too ambitious to expect a response just yet' though said she was 'confident she will consider our proposals'.

Mrs May has a wafer thin working majority of just 12 MPs - meaning that if just seven Tories rebel on the issue in future she could suffer a humiliating defeat.

Mrs May said 'it is right' to scrap the charge but insisted the reform will help families out of poverty by getting more people into work.

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured at PMQs today, called for Theresa May to 'pause' the rollout of Universal Credit and urged Tory backbenchers to join Labour in the division lobbies later today and vote for the pause

Mrs May was quizzed about Universal Credit at PMQs today, but defended the reform insisting the change will help more Brits into work boosting family incomes

The Premier said: 'I want people to know they can ring and get get their advice and do that without being worried about it.

'That's exactly what we are going to do.'

Defending the scheme, she added: 'Why have we introduced Universal Credit - it's a simple system which encourages people to get into the workplace.

'It is working as more people are going into work. and Universal Credit will help those people (by)...getting more people into the workplace.'

She was quizzed about the scheme by Jeremy Corbyn who urged Tory backbenchers to join Labour in the division lobbies and vote to pause the scheme.

He said: 'The fundamental problems of Universal Credit remain.'

He added: 'Will the Prime Minister now pause Universal Credit and fix the problems before pressing ahead with the rollout?'

Tory MPs Heidi Allen (pictured left) and Sarah Wollaston (pictured right) are among the Tory MPs who could rebel against the Government in today's vote on Universal Credit

The PM's comments came shortly after Work and Pensions Secretary David Guake announced the change to the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee.

He said: 'It's important to maintain confidence in the system and in recent days there has been criticism of the telephone charges that exist for Universal Credit.'

WHAT IS UNIVERSAL CREDIT? What is Universal Credit? A radical change to the benefits system which combines six payments  including tax credits, housing benefit and income support  into a single, means-tested payment. How does it work? A claimant's benefits should be adjusted automatically if their wages change. Benefits will gradually 'taper' off if a claimant finds work or earns more. What is the timetable? After teething troubles with the computer systems implementation has been hit by delays. There are currently around 610,000 on UC and this will go up by anther 12 million over the next five years. Why a six-week delay on payments? Controversially the benefit is paid six weeks in arrears - this is because it is based on your previous month's earnings. Critics say this delay pushed people into debt. Advertisement

He added: 'Given the recent attention and concern that this could place a burden on claimants, I have decided that this will change to a freephone number over the next month.

'It has been DWP's longstanding position to operate local line charges for benefit inquiry lines, but having reviewed this matter more widely I will be extending freephone numbers to all DWP phone lines by the end of the year.'

Ministers have insisted the flagship reform - which merges six payments into one and is designed to ensure work always pays - will go ahead as planned

But critics say the new system is in 'disarray' and that delays in payments are pushing vulnerable people into debt.

The Prime Minister scrambled to avoid a rebellion at the eleventh hour by holding talks with likely Tory rebels at Downing Street yesterday afternoon.

Mrs May met with Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston and Johnny Mercer at No10 last night ahead of today's vote.

Labour's Opposition Day Motion calls for the rollout to be paused, and although the vote would not be binding it would pile pressure on ministers to act.

But it is unclear if the Tories will even vote today as the party has not bothered voting on Opposition Day motions since the Jun 8 snap election.

No10 sources said the Government had told its MPs in September not all non-binding opposition votes would be whipped.

The source said Conservative MPs would take part in today's debate but would not be drawn on whether Mrs May would be in the House later to vote.

The source said: 'You will see at 7pm.'

And Mr Mercer, MP for Plymouth Moor View and one of the rumoured rebels, last night indicated he would not vote with Labour.

Opening the debate today, shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams said the scheme has been hit by 'balooning costs' and delays.

While Angela Eagle, Labour MP for Wallasey, said her local foodbank is collecting 15 tonnes of food for the Christmas period as Universal Credit is hit by problems.

A dozen Tory MPs sent a letter to Mr Gauke urging him to pause the overhaul ahead of the Conservative Party conference earlier this month.

But he has insisted the roll-out of UC will continue, with the system tweaked so that claimants are offered advance payments upfront.

He told the Commons the 'best way of helping' claimants is to help them get into work.

Mr Gauke was accused by the Work and Pensions Select Committee chairman Frank Field of overseeing a department that has 'no idea' about the operation of the policy.

Ms Abrahams said: 'The Government has so far not listened to MPs' concerns about the mounting issues with their flagship social security programme. We must stand together to make our voices heard.

'I urge Conservative MPs to vote with their conscience and support our motion to pause the roll-out of Universal Credit.

'The social security system is meant to protect people from debt and arrears, not exacerbate their situation.

'We must pause and fix Universal Credit now, before millions are made worse off.'

Universal Credit combines a number of benefits such as housing benefit and tax credits into a single payment.

From October the pace of its roll-out was set to be ramped up, with 50 job centres moving to the service every month.

Government figures showed 23 per cent of new claimants do not receive their first full payment within six weeks, which has been linked to rent arrears and other debts for claimants.

Mr Gauke was grilled by MPs at a session of the Work and Pensions Select Committee ahead of the Commons vote abut failures in the rollout.

He was quizzed about the number of claimants who have been racking up debts and driven into rent arrears because of the long lag in paying the benefit.

He said it would be possible to reduce the six-week delay in first payments to five weeks by removing a seven-day 'waiting period'.

But he warned this would have 'a cost implication'.

'That's an area where we could make a change, but there are a number of priorities for public money,' he said.

Mr Gauke said he was 'keen' for more claimants to apply for cash advances which are available to cover the waiting period.

And he admitted that one in 25 of claimants still have not received their payments after ten weeks.

Johnny Mercer, Tory MP for Plymouth, is among the Conservative backbenchers who have voiced criticism at the rollout of Universal Credit. But in a tweet sent late last night he indicated he will not rebel and join Labour in the division lobbies - accusing them of encouraging welfare dependency

Mr Field said food banks in his Birkenhead constituency are trying to amass 15 additional tonnes of supplies for the Christmas period to cover the roll-out of UC in the area.

Neil Couling, director of the Universal Credit programme, told the committee his head would be on the block if the rollout fails.

Ahead of the session, Mr Gauke wrote to Mr Field and insisted there had been a 'sustained level of improvement' in the timeliness of payments.

But Mr Field said the Department for Work and Pensions 'has no idea about the operation of its flagship policy'.
A federal district judge has ruled that a school resource officers handcuffing of two Kentucky elementary school children in separate incidents violated the Fourth Amendments prohibition against unreasonable seizure.

The ruling stems from two incidents in 2014 involving the same SRO. The students attended schools in the Covington Independent school district in Kentucky, though neither the district nor school officials were named as defendants in the suit brought on behalf of the handcuffed students.

One incident involved an 8-year-old boy identified in court papers as S.R. The boy had been identified with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome, court papers say, though school officials had not been informed of those diagnoses.

On the day in question, S.R. was disruptive in class and was removed to a school office where he swatted at and tried to kick a teacher. When S.R. continued to kick and try to push open a door, school officials called for SRO Kevin Sumner of the Kenton County Sheriffs Office.

When Sumner arrived from another school, the officer leaned over S.R. to tell him his mother was on her way to pick him up. S.R. then swung his elbow at Sumners face, which the officer blocked with his hand, court papers say. Youre not allowed to swing at me like that, Sumner allegedly said to the boy.

Sumner then handcuffed S.R.'s arms behind his back and above his elbows. S.R., a 3rd grader, weighed 54 pounds and was about 4 feet tall, according to court papers.

On a video introduced into evidence, S.R. said, Oh, God. Ow, that hurts. Sumner told the boy that if he wanted the handcuffs off, he had to behave and ask nicely. S.R. remained handcuffed for about 15 minutes and his mother eventually arrived to take him home.

The second incident was also in the fall of 2014, when a 9-year-old girl identified as L.G. was disruptive in class and was removed to the calm room. There, the student, who has ADHD and had an education plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, continued to kick and scream and try to bite and scratch two school officials.

The school offiicals called for Sumner, who was at another school, informing him they had an out of control student. The SRO arrived and tried to use de-escalation techniques, but the girl spit at him and tried to hit him, court papers say. Sumner then handcuffed L.G. in the same manner as with the other studentabove the elbows. L.G. remained handcuffed until a paramedic arrived at the school.

The two students and their parents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued Sumner and the sheriffs office, claiming that the handcuffing violated the Fourth Amendment.

In an Oct. 11 decision in S.R. v. Kenton County Sheriffs Office , U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman of Covington, Ky., held that Sumners seizure and use of force, under the facts of this case, were unreasonable.

While S.R. kicked a teacher and L.G. tried to and/or did hit a teacher, these are very young children, and their conduct does not call to mind the type of assault which would warrant criminal prosecution, the judge said in applying a test for reasonableness of the seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

The judge said it was unlikely the students, especially S.R., posed an immediate threat to themselves or others, though he acknowledged that L.G. was engaging in more physical action towards her teachers and Sumner.

Bertelsman said that the SROs method of handcuffing the childrenabove the elbows and behind the backwas not supported by police experts on handcuffing who testified in the case.

The method of handcuffing that Sumner employed leads this court to conclude that his actions were unreasonable and constituted excessive force as a matter of law, the judge said.

The judge said two federal appeals courtsthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in San Francisco, in a 2014 decision ; and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, in a 2006 ruling have ruled against the handcuffing of students.

But Kentucky is in the Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which hasnt ruled directly on that issue and whose precedent requires that Sumner be granted qualified immunity from the suit because it was not clearly established that it would be unreasonable for him to handcuff students in the way he did, Bertelsman held.

The judge said immunity for Sumner was a close call, and he made a point of noting that that he his ruling didnt address the more conventional way of handcuffing a person at the wrist.

The judge allowed the suit to go forward against the Kenton County Sheriffs Department, noting that at least 10 and as many as 25 children had been handcuffed in recent years by deputies serving as SROs in the county.

Finally, the judge rejected the plaintiffs disability discrimination claims, holding that no reasonable jury could find that Sumners handcuffing of S.R. and L.J. would not have occurred but for their alleged disabilities, as opposed to their behavior on the days in question.
Derek Mills, 67, was sacked after he was wrongly accused of kissing an elderly patient

A hospital porter 'unfairly' sacked after he was wrongly accused of kissing an elderly patient has been refused his job back.

Royal Navy veteran Derek Mills, 67, said his life was 'ruined' after the false allegations were made in April 2015.

He was dismissed from his job at Eastbourne General Hospital, after a confused elderly patient said he kissed her on the cheek in front of staff and patients.

The father-of-three was then arrested and charged with sexual assault, but at the last minute prosecutors decided to offer no evidence against him and he was acquitted.

Mr Mills has fought a two-year campaign to clear his name, which he said caused 'untold stress' and almost cost him his life, after he suffered a heart attack.

Recently an employment judge ruled his dismissal was 'fundamentally misconceived' and 'unfair' and ordered hospital bosses reinstate him by September 9.

But the Trust has defied the court ruling and is refusing to give him back his 30,000-a-year job.

Mr Mills, who served on HMS Norfolk with Prince Charles in the 1970s, said his life had been 'turned into a nightmare' by the ordeal.

'These false allegations have totally ruined my life, my financial wellbeing and my health.

'From the moment they were made my whole life turned into a nightmare as I tried to prove my innocence', he said.

Mr Mills, pictured as a 17-year-old sailor, served in the Royal Navy from 1965-73, during which he was based in Aden and Singapore

Mr Mills, pictured fifth from left, during an inspection on HMS Forth, while stationed in Singapore during 1970-71

'The impact on me and my family has been enormous but eventually I was cleared by the courts and an employment tribunal judge backed my case and ordered that I be reinstated.

'Despite all this they are refusing to give me back my job. It is like the hospital is saying: ''There's no smoke without fire''. Where is the justice in that?', he added.

Mr Mills, who served in the Royal Navy as an electrical mechanic from 1965-73, wasdue to face a trial but last September.

However, as he prepared for the case, he suffered a massive heart attack.

Father-of-three Mr Mills said the ordeal with Eastbourne General Hospital had 'ruined his life'

Ironically he was rushed to Eastbourne General Hospital - the very hospital he was banned from stepping foot inside.

He underwent lifesaving surgery and is now on a strict drug regimen.

He said: 'My health is shattered and all my confidence has gone.

'I almost lost my life as a result of these false allegations. I have had a shroud of suspicion over me for two years.'

Mr Mills, who has been a hospital porter since 2008, said: 'Thankfully I was able to clear my name in court and then won the employment tribunal but all I want it to be able to go back into the hospital with my head held high.'

Mr Mills said he had not had a 'decent night's sleep since April 2015' due to the ordeal

When he went back to Eastbourne General Hospital following the tribunal victory his own managers prevented him from entering.

He was then told his start date was under review and that he may not be allowed to return to his job at all.

Mr Mills said: 'I was shocked. I have been through a court case and a tribunal to prove my innocence.

'The hospital trust has been ordered to reinstate me yet is disobeying the orders of a judge. Surely that can't be right.'

He said: 'I haven't had a decent night's sleep since April 2015 and it has been a living nightmare.

'Winning the tribunal was great because I thought I'd finally get my job back. That's what I want more than anything.'

'I love that job. I love talking to people and caring for them and I want to work well into my 70s.'

Despite the ruling from Judge Eoin Fowell at the London South Employment Tribunal, Monica Green, East Sussex Health Trust's Director of Human Resources at Eastbourne Hospital said yesterday: 'We have given careful consideration to the judgment of the London South Employment Tribunal and the order to re-instate Mr Mills to his role as porter.

'Given the serious nature of the incident, which we consider to be gross misconduct, we decided not to reinstate him.

'In making that decision we considered the views of safeguarding advisors and the safety of our patients which has to be paramount.

'We accept our decision not to re-instate Mr Mills is disappointing for him but our overriding consideration is the safety of our patients.'
A judge has backtracked on a joint custody order given to a sex offender who impregnated a woman after raping her.

Christopher Mirasolo, from Brown City, Michigan, was granted joint legal custody and parenting time of an eight-year-old boy after a paternity test confirmed he was the father.

But yesterday Sanilac County Judge Gregory Ross ruled the 27-year-old did not have any parental rights towards the boy after his mother's attorney sought protection under the federal Rape Survivor Child Custody Act.

Christopher Mirasolo, from Brown City, Michigan, was granted joint legal custody and parenting time after a positive paternity results confirmed he is the father

The case was initially reported by a local radio show The Steve Gruber Show, and is thought to be the first of its kind in Michigan, if not the United States. The victim, who is not named, claims that the paternity test came after she was surveyed about the yearly child support she receives. Pictured is the Sanilac County Court where he was granted custody

The case began when the 21-year-old mother, who has not been named, sought state assistance for her son.

As a condition of receiving assistance, the state required she cooperate in pursuing paternity verification and financial support from the child's father.

Despite Mirasolo never seeking paternal rights before, judge Ross granted him joint legal custody and ordered him to pay child support last month.

Ross quickly put the order on hold after learning Mirasolo had two previous criminal sexual conduct convictions, including one concerning the boy's mother.

The case was initially reported by a local radio show The Steve Gruber Show, and is thought to be the first of its kind in Michigan, if not the United States.

Speaking to the Detroit News prior to the judge rescinding the order, her attorney Rebecca Kiessling said: 'This is insane.

'Nothing has been right about this since it was originally investigated. He was never properly charged and should be sitting behind bars somewhere, but the system is victimizing my client, who was a child herself when this all happened.'

The victim, who is now 21, claims that Mirasolo raped and threatened to kill her nine years ago.

The now 27-year-old was 18 when the attack allegedly happened in September 2008.

Kiesling said that the victim was with her 13-year-old sister and another friend when they snuck out of their home one night to meet up with a boy and his older friend.

That older friend was Mirasolo, and he asked them if they wanted to go for a ride.

Thinking they would go to a McDonald's or somewhere similar they got in, but Mirasolo allegedly took their phones and threw them out before driving them to Detroit to steal gas and then back to Sanilac County.

Judge Gregory S Ross made the decision to grant Mirasolo custody, and then disclosed the victim's address to him and ordered her to add his name to the child's birth certificate

There he allegedly kept them captive for two days in an empty house before finally releasing the 13-year-old in a park. She said he threatened to kill them if they told anyone what had happened.

A month later the 12-year-old realized she was pregnant and Mirasolo was arrested.

Though the assault could have carried a life sentence or one no less than 25 years, Mirasolo was given a plea for attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to a year in prison.

He didn't serve the full year, though, and was let out after six months to care for his sick mother.

Judge Gregory S Ross made the decision to grant Mirasolo custody, and then disclosed the victim's address to him and ordered her to add his name to the child's birth certificate.

All of that was done without the victim's consent or a hearing, Kiessling claims.

'An assistant prosecutor on this, Eric Scott, told me she granted her consent, which is a lie,' Kiessling told the News.

'She has never been asked to do this and certainly never signed anything.'

The rape victim's family suggested she abort the child or give it up for adoption, but she did neither and said 'she didn't want the baby to be a victim, too'.

'She dropped out of school, went to live with relatives out of state and worked jobs to try and support herself.'

'I think this is all crazy,' the victim told the News on Friday.

'They (police and other officials) never explained anything to me. I was receiving about $260 a month in food stamps for me and my son and health insurance for him. I guess they were trying to see how to get some of the money back.'

Kiessling said that the victim was told she is not allowed to move 100 miles from her current address 'without court consent'.

She was also allegedly told she had to 'come home immediately' or risk being found in contempt of court.

Those matters and others will be addressed at the hearing later this month.

This wasn't Mirasolo's only rape charge.

In March 2010, Mirasolo raped a girl between the ages of 13 and 15 but was only jailed for four years, Kiessling said.
An Air Berlin pilot who performed a low fly-by to mark the airline's final transatlantic flight is being investigated by aviation authorities.

Flight AB7001 from Miami to Dusseldorf landed on Monday morning after the company officially declared long-haul flights to be over.

But the pilot of the Airbus A330 - which was carrying 200 passengers - was allowed by traffic control to do a flyover as it was the last flight operated from the US to Germany.

Flight AB7001 from Miami to Dusseldorf landed on Monday morning after the company officially declared long-haul flights to be over

But the pilot of the Airbus A330 - which was carrying 200 passengers - was allowed by traffic control to do a flyover as it was the last flight operated from the US to Germany

A video shows the plane appearing to attempt to land before regaining speed and altitude and turning quickly to the left

A video shows the plane appearing to attempt to land before regaining speed and altitude and turning quickly to the left.

It then flies dangerously close to the airport terminal as it shows off its wings for one last time.

But according to The Local, the incident is now being looked at by the Federal Aviation Office (LBA).

The airline - which claimed it was aware of the agreement between the pilot and traffic control - said: 'Air Berlin fully supports the LBA in its work,' the company said.

In another video shot by a witness, a woman can be heard saying 'What is it doing?' as the aeroplane suddenly seems to accelerate while just above the runway.

The plane then makes a sharp left turn towards the terminal building, with the people on the outside terrace screaming out in fear.

An airport employee who watched the dramatic scenes unfold thought at first the aeroplane would crash right into the terminal.

She said: 'It was a strange feeling when the A330 came right at us, as we did not know before that it would do a honorary lap.'

But another video, shot from the control tower of Dusseldorf Airport, clearly shows that it was a perfectly orchestrated move and that at no point anyone at the airport was in danger.

The incident is now being looked at by the Federal Aviation Office (LBA)

An airport employee who watched the dramatic scenes unfold thought at first the aeroplane would crash right into the terminal

In the video shot from the control tower of Dusseldorf Airport, however, it can be clearly seen that it was a perfectly orchestrated move and that at no point anyone at the airport was in danger

People in the tower are heard clapping when the aeroplane arrives, as the voice of the captain is heard saying in German that Air Berlin will 'cease it long-distance flights tomorrow'.

He is then heard thanking the traffic controllers for the many years they worked together.

Before the plane's departure in Miami, the airport fire brigade gave a water cannon salute as a last goodbye.

The airline will still continue to operate flights to European destinations for the time being.

Air Berlin was Germany's second biggest airline after Lufthansa and took part in the Oneworld airline alliance spearheaded by British Airways

On August 15, Air Berlin stated it was filing for insolvency, although most flights continued until further notice after the German government provided the airline with a loan.

On 9th October, the airline however announced that it would cease all of its own operations by 28th October.

Air Berlin was Germany's second biggest airline after Lufthansa and took part in the Oneworld airline alliance spearheaded by British Airways.

The total deficit of Air Berlin over 2016 was a staggering 707.5m.
A young university student is recovering in hospital after being bashed by two men as he attempted to cross a road in Brisbane's south Tuesday night.

Josh Powell, 20, was attacked on the corner of Bannockburn Crescent and Roseneath Drive around 9.30pm after getting off the bus from university.

Two men travelling in what was believed to be a grey Mitsubishi Lancer beeped at the Parkinson local, before getting out of their vehicle and attacking him.

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Josh Powell (pictured) sustained multiple head injuries after being set on by two 'thugs' who attacked him after he got off the bus in Parkinson on Tuesday night

Witnesses say one of the offenders punched Mr Powell to the ground before both continued to assault him for 'a period of time'.

The victim was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition and is currently being treated by specialists in the emergency department.

He sustained injuries to his head including a broken nose and widespread bruising.

One of the offenders punched Mr Powell to the ground before both continued to assault him for 'a period of time', according to a witness account

He reportedly told his sister, Bethany Fisher, that the offenders 'laughed' as they got into their car and drove away, Nine News reports.

Posting pictures of her brother's bloodied face on Facebook, Ms Fisher described the attackers as 'cowardly'.

'The pieces of s***t are still out there,' she wrote in the post.

Queensland police are investigating the incident and have appealed to the public for assistance in tracking down the two men.
An adorable two year old who 'never stopped smiling' has died after doctors dismissed his deadly pneumonia for five days.

Asha Abdullah, 22, has been left heartbroken by the death of her only child, Mus'ab - something an inquest found could have been prevented.

She first took him to the doctors on January 22, 2016 and despite being referred to A&E at Northwick Park Hospital, in North West London, they were sent home with no further treatment.

Asha Abdullah, pictured here with her son Mus'ab Hamid, has launched a legal action against an NHS trust after the two-year-old died of a cardiac arrest on January 28

Mus'ab Hamid died in Northwick Park Hospital after being admitted for the fourth time

This happened a further three times before the fourth hospital admission on January 28, the day Mus'ab died from a cardiac arrest.

Mus'ab's symptoms of a cold, cough, fluctuating temperature, abnormal breathing and a reluctance to eat and drink, were dismissed as a harmless virus affecting his nose and throat.

His devastated mum, Asha, with the help of Hudgell Solicitors, has launched a legal case against the care Mus'ab received at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust.

The trust - who launched a Serious Incident Investigation (SRI) into Mus'abs death - has now implemented a number of improvements after failures into his care were identified.

Ms Abdullah said: 'A part of me died with my son, he was my only child, my world'

Doctors initially diagnosed a viral infection when he was suffering from pneumonia

Asha, a care assistant from Neasden, said: 'A part of me died with my son, he was my only child, my world and he died needlessly.

'It wouldn't be right if I didn't do something to highlight what happened and to try and make changes so other families don't have to go through the same loss.

'Mus'ab was such a happy, smiley child, he was intelligent and was rarely ever not smiling.

'So that's how I knew something was wrong on January 22, he wasn't smiling and had a cough and cold.

'We went to the doctors the same day but I was told it wasn't anything serious.

'I pushed as much as I could for a diagnosis but no one was listening to me, doctors thought it was a viral infection.

'I just feel lost without him. It is heart-breaking to know that had things been done differently, he'd probably still be here.

'I knew something was really wrong as the days went by. After five days of battling his unknown illness I was sent home again, he had never been so ill, but I wasn't told what to look out for.

'I wasn't given any advice on what the danger signs were before leaving the hospital.

'Mus'ab wasn't passing water and his breathing wasn't right but by the time he was diagnosed, it was too late, his little body couldn't take anymore and he died in my arms.'

Jodi Newton, a specialist in handling medical negligence cases at Hudgell Solicitors, believes Mus'ab's death has highlighted an issue of potential national concern.

She said: 'The only possible positive outcome to come from the heart-breaking loss of Mus'ab has been his mother's determination to get answers and bring about changes in healthcare which will, without doubt, prevent more children dying.

'Given the coroner saw fit to raise this issue, and the Trust made such changes, I would think this protocol with regards to when children should be referred to specialists should be introduced across all health trusts.'

Asha was first told to monitor her son's health after being diagnosed with a viral infection by doctors in A & E, but having shown no signs of improvement, she returned to her GP three days later.

Ms Abdullah said her son was always smiling until he started feeling ill. She said: 'I knew something was really wrong as the days went by. After five days of battling his unknown illness I was sent home again, he had never been so ill, but I wasn't told what to look out for'

Ms Abdullah is certain that if her son had been properly treated he would still be alive

She added: 'Mus'ab was given Ibuprofen and Paracetamol and I was told to take him back to A&E if he didn't improve.

'As his condition worsened, with Mus'ab struggling with his breathing, having a fluctuating temperature again, still refusing to eat or drink and still having had only one wet nappy, I returned to the A & E department at Northwick Park Hospitall where he had been seen three days earlier.

'However, instead of being admitted to A&E, a nurse referred him to the Urgent Care Centre (UCC) but a doctor there decided he was not seriously ill.

'The following day while at home I call 111 and despite being rushed to hospital, it was too late, Mus'ab had a cardiac arrest and died.'

Dr Sally Johnson, Medical Director for Greenbrook Healthcare and Dr Charles Cayley, Medical Director from London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, said: 'Losing a child is a truly awful experience and we offer our sincere condolences to Mus'ab's family.

'This very sad case was thoroughly investigated as a serious incident in 2016 and the findings have been shared with the family and Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group. A number of improvements were identified and implemented..

'In particular we have worked in partnership with Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group to increase the access to specialist opinion for children presenting to the Urgent Care Centre.

'Since December 2016 any child under the age of five who presents to the Urgent Care Centre, having already accessed healthcare services on two or more occasions over a five day period will always be referred to the Children's Emergency Department.

'We are absolutely committed to ensuring safe and appropriate care for all our patients and we have shared learning from this tragic case with all medical and nursing staff at the Urgent Care Centre and Emergency Department. It is our aim and our wish to ensure that events such as these never happen again.'
Salim Mehajer is allegedly being investigated for fraudulent insurance claims after a series of crashes involving cars registered to him or his companies

NSW police are investigating several fraudulent insurance claims allegedly linked to former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer.

There have been a series of similar collisions allegedly involving cars registered to Mehajer and his companies, all of which have been claimed through NRMA, Seven Network reported.

'The NSW Police force has recently received referrals relating to reported fraudulent comprehensive vehicle insurance claims... Investigations are underway,' police said on Wednesday.

On Monday, after leaving home to travel to one of the four court dates he had scheduled this week, he was involved in a crash which sent him to Westmead Hospital.

Images show the disgraced businessman wearing a neck brace and lying on a stretcher as he was loaded on to an ambulance.

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Mehajer was in a car crash on his way to court on Monday morning, and was taken to hospital with neck and back pain

On Tuesday, he failed to appear at Sydney's Downing Centre Local court over the alleged assault of a taxi driver in April.

Monday's crash, which took place on Delhi Street in Lidcombe, saw him trapped inside his Mercedes for 20 minutes, before he was taken to hospital with neck injuries.

Police attended Monday's crash about 8.45am, and a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia it 'appears a Mitsubishi Outback collided with a Mercedes', and there was an investigation underway.

However, it is not clear if the investigation relates to the crash or the insurance claim which was filed just a day later, as Mehajer laid in a hospital bed.

The former deputy mayor of Auburn was trapped inside his Mercedes (pictured) for 20 minutes and had to be cut out

Pictured: Emergency services were forced to cut Mehajer out of his car following the crash on Monday

Speaking to reporters this week, Mehajer's lawyer, Mahmoud Abbas said Monday's crash was an accident.

When asked about the chances of Mehajer being involved in a car crash in the same week he had four court dates, Mr Abbas reportedly said: 'That's ridiculous if you're insinuating anything'.

A spokeswoman for NSW Police also confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they had 'received referrals relating to reported fraudulent comprehensive vehicle insurance claims'.

An investigation has now been launched by NSW Police, who refused to comment when asked if Monday's crash was linked to the fraud investigation.

Prior to Monday's crash, cars linked to Mehajer and his companies had been involved in two eerily similar accidents.

NSW Police confirmed they had received referrals 'relating to reported fraudulent comprehensive vehicle insurance claims'

A Landcruiser allegedly linked to Mejaher ran into another Landcruiser at an intersection, with the second car allegedly running a red light.

In a second crash, last December, a Mercedes reported to be linked to the businessman was t-boned at an intersection.

An insurance assessment review found the cars were likely stationary when struck, Seven Network reported.

A NRMA Insurance spokeswoman said insurance fraud is taken 'very seriously', and measures are in place to prevent, detect and respond to fraud.

'Fraud and claim exaggeration have recently been at historically high levels and we're pleased to see that the NSW police taskforce has already resulted in many insurance fraud arrests and prosecutions,' the spokeswoman told AAP.

'We are not able to disclose personal information regarding our customers or any investigation activity.'
A single mother has moved her family into a bus because she couldn't keep up with Australia's increasingly unaffordable rental costs.

Fed up with the restrictive rental market, Adelaide mother-of-two Tegan Latham moved herself and two young sons into a converted bus she bought on Gumtree for $28,000.

Since moving her two boys Ollie and Charlie into the bus, she said they had everything they needed and were happier than ever.

'It kind of feels like you're on holiday most of the time,' she told Today Tonight.

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'It kind of feels like you're on holiday most of the time,' Tegan Latham (pictured) said

After investing a further $7000 in renovations to the bus, Ms Latham said the house boasted a full size fridge, washing machine, bedroom and comfortable living room.

Ms Latham moved her new home into a caravan park near her sons' school.

She said the boys were ecstatic because the park was near the beach and had a community pool.

'Ollie just said the other day, "I like the house mum, but I really love the bus",' she said.

'Ollie just said the other day, 'I like the house mum, but I really love the bus',' Ms Latham (pictured inside the bus with her two sons) said

After investing a further $7000 in renovations to the bus, Ms Latham said the house boasted a full size fridge, washing machine, bedroom and comfortable living room

While the caravan park was a great short-term solution, Ms Latham said she planned to find a more independent piece of land

While the caravan park was a great short-term solution, Ms Latham said she planned to find a more independent piece of land.

'My hope is to find some land that I could be paying even less, supplying my own power,' she said.

Ms Latham said the bus served as more than just a new home for the family, it opened up new possibilities.

With the bus, she said she wanted to take her boys on an adventure across Australia.

'My hope is to find some land that I could be paying even less, supplying my own power,' Ms Latham said
Spain will seek to suspend Catalonia's autonomy unless the region's leader abandons his push for independence, the country's deputy prime minister said today.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has until 8am GMT on Thursday to come up with a definitive answer on whether or not his 'suspended' declaration of independence still stands.

If he does not abandon the plans, the Spanish government will invoke its constitutional right to impose direct rule over Catalonia.

Threats: Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, Spain's deputy prime minister, said the government will be forced to trigger 'Article 155' which suspends autonomous rule in Catalonia if they stand by their declatation of independence

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told parliament on Wednesday that if Mr Puigdemont does not provide a satisfactory response by then 'he will provoke the application of article 155 of the constitution.'

Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution is described as an 'exceptional and extreme measure' which allows the government in Madrid to suspend the rule of regional government.

It declares that if an autonomous region breaks Constitutional law, the government 'may adopt the measures necessary to oblige that [region] to forcibly comply', and has never been invoked before.

Triggering it could represent a drastic escalation of Spain's worst political crisis in decades which was sparked when Catalonia held a banned independence referendum on October 1.

Protests: Anti-separatist Catalans shout slogans as they gather at Barcelona's Catalonia Square to protest the region's impending secession

Catalan regional government president Carles Puigdemont declared independence, which he then immediately said he was 'suspending' to allow time for talks with the government

It resulted in a 90 percent 'yes' vote, though turnout was only 43 percent as many supporters of Spanish unity stayed away in a region that is deeply divided on the issue.

Spain considers the referendum to be illegal and unconstitutional, and says its results are invalid.

Despite this, Mr Puigdemont declared independence, which he then immediately said he was 'suspending' to allow time for talks with the government - a prospect Madrid has rejected, leaving the country in limbo.

Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy rejected any possibility of dialogue unless Mr Puigdemont backtracks, returns 'to legality' and takes independence off the table.

'All I ask of Mr Puigdemont is that he acts with good sense,' Rajoy told parliament on Wednesday.

People wave Esteladas (Catalan separatist flag) during a gathering to protest against the imprisonment of leaders of two of the largest Catalan separatist organizations, who were jailed by Spain's High Court on Tuesday

Meanwhile, about 50 Spanish and Catalan MPs held up posters in parliament demanding the release of two pro-Catalonia independence movement leaders, describing them as political prisoners.

Wednesday's protest in Madrid lasted around 15 seconds before the lawmakers heeded warnings that they were out of order and sat down.

The demonstration was over Monday's jailing of Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, leaders of the Catalan grassroots organizations Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural, in a sedition investigation.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Tuesday in Catalonia, demanding their release.
Veteran newsreader Tracey Spicer has vowed to name and shame senior media figures for sexual harassment.

Well-known for speaking out against industry sexism, Ms Spicer discussed harassment she experienced earlier this year in her book, Good Girl Stripped Bare.

Now Ms Spicer wants to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable for their actions.

Veteran newsreader Tracey Spicer (pictured) has vowed to name and shame senior media figures for sexual harassment

Ms Spicer (pictured) wants to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable for their actions

'We're talking about p***y-grabbing stuff in the workplace - and in front of witnesses. It's just ridiculous,' Ms Spicer told The Australian

The freelance journalist encouraged people to share their own sexual harassment stories with her on Twitter as she investigates 'two long-term offenders' in the media industry

'We're talking about p***y-grabbing stuff in the workplace - and in front of witnesses. It's just ridiculous,' Ms Spicer told The Australian.

The accused men are currently still in senior media positions, prompting Ms Spicer to involve police in the allegations.

The freelance journalist encouraged people to share their own sexual harassment stories with her on Twitter as she investigates 'two long-term offenders' in the media industry.

'I've never seen anything like it and I've never had conversations like this that I've had in the past week, and I think it's just the tip of the iceberg,' Ms Spicer told the publication.

'These women have been silenced for so long, but all of a sudden they feel like they have a right to be heard and are finally speaking out.'

One of the men Ms Spicer wrote about in her novel was late John Sorell, former Nine Network news director and Walkley Award-winning journalist.

The accused men are currently still in senior media positions, prompting Ms Spicer to involve police in the allegations

One of the men Ms Spicer wrote about in her novel (pictured) was late John Sorell, former Nine Network news director and Walkley Award-winning journalist

'These women have been silenced for so long, but all of a sudden they feel like they have a right to be heard and are finally speaking out,' she said

Mr Sorell reportedly told Ms Spicer he wanted 'two inches off your hair and two inches off your a***!'.

Earlier this year Ms Spicer claimed 'sickening' sexual assault occurred while she was one of Australia's most recognised television journalists.

The 50-year-old told Woman's Weekly in April one of her bosses put his hand on her right buttock, asking her if she had 'lost a bit of weight'.

'I actually turned around to slap him, but realised it was one of my bosses. So I just lowered my arm. I said, 'Yeah, after my mother died, I didn't feel like eating'.'

The veteran journalist famously sued Network Ten after 14 years for unfair dismissal in 2006 after her contract was terminated when she returned from maternity leave.

The mother-of-two now wants to drag the handful of men accused of sexual assault before the courts in a bid to 'name and shame' them.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Wednesday dismissed US President Donald Trump's "wants and whoppers"

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday dismissed US President Donald Trump's aggressive criticism as "rants and whoppers" while vowing that Tehran would stick to its nuclear commitments.

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute US president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran, published on his Telegram channel.

It was his first response to Trump's bellicose speech last Friday in which he called for tougher sanctions to curb Iran's "destabilising activities" in the Middle East.

"They are angry as today the Islamic republic of Iran has disrupted their plans in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq," Khamenei said.

"Everyone be assured that this time, too, America will be slapped and defeated by the nation of Iran."

Khamenei said the world should not be fooled by Trump's public persona.

"The US president displays stupidity, but this should not cause us to ignore America's mischief," he said.

He said Iran would stick by its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump has threatened to "terminate" unless the US Congress tightens sanctions on the country.

TEHRAN, IRAN - SEPTEMBER 18 : Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei greets the soldiers during Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) meeting in Tehran, Iran on September 18, 2016

Khamenei welcomed Europe's strong support for preserving the nuclear agreement but also urged it not to follow the same line as Washington.

He rejected suggestions, notably from French President Emmanuel Macron, that more negotiations were needed on Iran's ballistic missile programme and regional operations.

Europe "must refrain from entering into our defence issues", Khamenei said.

"To ask the same thing (as the Americans) about why Iran is present in the region -- well, deal with it.

"Or to ask why Iran has missiles -- well, why do you have missiles? Why do you have nuclear weapons? We will not accept the Europeans going along with America's bullying."
Trump's Travel Ban 3.0 Temporarily Blocked by Federal District Judge

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will, undoubtedly, be getting ready to hear the appeal of travel ban 3.0 which was just temporarily blocked by the federal district court in Hawaii. Notably, Judge Derrick Watson, the same judge that blocked travel ban 2.0, issued the order in this case as well.

Unlike the prior bans, the newest iteration of the executive order imposed a permanent ban on immigration and visitors from six Muslim majority nations, as well as North Korea and Venezuela. Interestingly, there are barely any visitors from North Korea, and the restriction on Venezuela only applied to certain government officials from the country. Even more interestingly, Judge Watson only issued an injunction as to the six Muslim majority nations and allowed it to move forward as to North Korea and Venezuela.

TB 3.0 Discriminates Against Nationality

As Judge Watson pointed out, the newest travel ban, set to take effect on October 18, 2017, suffered from many of the same problems as the prior bans. Namely, the bans lack a sufficient basis or factual evidence to support them. The newest ban focuses on Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, and Chad, and just seems to include North Korea and Venezuelan government officials in a veiled, but lackluster attempt to get around prior travel ban rulings.

While the White House and government lawyers insist that the newest ban is based upon factual support, they refused to show that evidence to Judge Watson. Allegedly the evidence is contained in a DHS report. However, who is actually banned from entry as a result of the latest travel ban was tailored based upon the prior orders and is generally limited to those who do not have a "bona fide" connection to the U.S.

Generally, the grant or denial of a preliminary injunction can only be reviewed by an appellate court for an abuse of discretion. In this matter, while the government may have been able to thread the needle prepared for them by SCOTUS, appellate review may not be able to reverse Judge Watson's decision unless the stringent abuse of discretion standard is met.

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Laura Shann, 24, is Britain's shortest servicewoman (pictured here with colleagues Royal Airmen Adam Sure, left, and Jermaine Graham)

Britain's shortest servicewoman has qualified for one of the navy's most dangerous jobs despite being warned her 4ft 11.8in frame would make it impossible.

Laura Shann, 24, from Sleaford in Lincolnshire, swapped her job as a garage receptionist last year to start training in the Royal Navy.

Due to her diminutive frame - she stands just a fifth of an inch above the minimum height of 4ft 11.6in (151.5cm) for military personnel - instructors told her she had little chance of passing the trainee Naval Airman course.

But after 12 months later, Ms Shann is preparing to qualify as a Royal Navy Naval Aircraft Handler.

The role means she will be responsible for the safety of aircraft on the warship.

Ms Shann, now believed to be the shortest servicewoman in the British military, said: 'If you fail, you've just got to come back and do it again. Sometimes due to my height I have had to find different techniques.

Laura Shann, 24, thought to be Britain's shortest servicewoman, has qualified as a Royal Navy Aircraft Handler, despite her 4ft 11.8in frame

'I struggled with ladder drills at first, but because it is such a great team environment, all the lads chipped in to help me until I figured out how to work around it.

'Weight was a bit of an issue too at first - at four stone (25kg), the hose was half my weight and the 'dummy' casualties we carry are 12.5 stone (80kg) whilst we are wearing a 1.5 stone (10kg) canister.

'But I quickly found different ways of carrying, so my size was not an issue.'

Ms Shann (centre) swapped her job as a garage receptionist last year to start training in the Royal Navy

Ms Shann has been training at RNAS Culdrose in Helston, Cornwall.

She added: 'It's been a very high-tempo course. We do everything from fire-fighting and rescuing casualties, to driving tractors and moving aircraft on flight decks.

'You can't see anything in a fire, so you use all your senses. But you don't have time to be scared, you've got to be focused.

'It is a real adrenaline rush. At the end of a day's training, you look back and think about it and you're like, woah, did I really just do that?'

Ms Shann (pictured) said that 'due to her height' she had to find new techniques to complete her demaning training course

Miss Shann's training manager, Chief Petty Officer John Etherington, said he has been impressed by her 'steely grit'.

He said: 'Naval Airman Shann has taken on every challenge set before her, and faced each one with steely grit and a desire to succeed.

'In the face of adversity, she has overcome every obstacle with real strength of character.

'For example, to improve her upper body strength, she took it on herself to speak to the Physical Trainers about strengthening exercises.

'She has had no preferential treatment - she has simply stuck at her training and worked hard. She deserves to be a Naval Airman.'
This is the heartwarming moment a three-year-old girl is pulled out alive from underneath a collapsed building after a gas explosion killed her parents and her unborn sibling.

Video shows rescuers pulling out the frail toddler from the debris, three hours after the building in Ejipura in Bengaluru in southern India, came crashing down due to a gas cylinder blast on Monday morning.

The girl, only known as Sanjana, was the lone survivor of her family as her father Sharavana, 31, and mother Ashwini, 28, who was seven months pregnant, died.

The three-year-old suffered minor burn injuries but is recovering quickly, authorities say.

Rescuers were using heavy machines to remove tonnes of debris and household material when suddenly they heard the plaintive cries of the child.

They swiftly removed concrete slabs with their hands and eventually pulled out a distraught Sanjana.

She was immediately rushed to an ambulance standing near the site and taken to Victoria Hospital where she is said to be out of danger.

Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services Department, H.S. Varadarajan who took the girl to the ambulance said: 'She was in shock and frightened.

Miracle: Rescuers were removing tonnes of debris and household material from the collapsed building in Bengaluru, when they heard the little girl crying

Saved: After some digging, the distraught three-year-old could be pulled out alive and relatively unharmed

'As the rescue men heard her cries, they started digging in that direction and spotted her hand covered in dust. They pulled her out after clearing the debris.

'Her survival was nothing but a miracle, as she lived on the ground floor and the entire building collapsed.'

'In those few seconds that I held her, I couldn't see any deep cuts or other injuries but there were several burn marks on her body. We hope she survives.'

Rescue workers recovered her parents' bodies from under the rubble almost four hours after they rescued Sanjana.

Orphaned: Sanjana's father Sharavana, 31, and mother Ashwini, 28, who was seven months pregnant, died when the house came down in the gas explosion

The child is believed to have survived because of a cupboard in the room that she used to hide under.

'It is only because of the considerable space beneath the cupboard and the wall that she could breathe,' the rescue men said.

Fire officials suspect that a leak from a gas cylinder might have caused a blast around 6.30 a.m. when neighbours heard the explosion and subsequently the building collapsed.

While the state government has adopted Sanjana and will bear all her expenses, a compensation of 5,833 to the family of the deceased has been announced.
James Brokenshire today warned Northern Ireland's squabbling politicians he would be forced to impose a budget within days.

The Northern Ireland Secretary told MPs today he would bring forward emergency legislation as soon as next week to keep the province 'ticking over'.

Mr Brokenshire said the setting of a budget - which he said must be in place by November 6 - did not itself 'denote' direct rule.

But after a new breakdown in talks between the unionist DUP and republican Sinn Fein, he said Northern Ireland was on a 'glide path' to direct rule for the first time in a decade.

Mr Brokenshire said if the impasse was not breached soon 'the landing lights will be on and landing gear coming down' as Westminster control edged closer.

Meanwhile, Theresa May will meet former Bill Clinton at No.10 tomorrow to discuss Northern Ireland, the PM's spokesman said today.

The former US president was key in helping to broker the Good Friday Agreement, and it is expected the pair will discuss how Brexit might affect the peace process.

James Brokenshire (pictured at a select committee hearing today) has warned Northern Ireland's squabbling politicians he would be forced to impose a budget within days

Northern Ireland's devolved assembly has been suspended since January when Sinn Fein collapsed the power sharing executive and forced a snap election.

The DUP and Sinn Fein have failed to strike a new power sharing executive as mandated by the Good Friday Agreement.

Former Mr Clinton intervened on the talks yesterday to try and break the deadlock, triggered by DUP leader Arlene Foster's involvement in a green energy scandal.

He will jet in to London to hold talks with the PM at Downing Street tomorrow as the two leaders try to break the deadlock.

Relations have since broken down completely and the impasse has raised much wider tensions about the future of Northern Ireland and the peace process.

In his evidence today, Mr Brokenshire said: 'If I had given evidence to this committee last week I might have indicated some momentum, more progress.

Former US President Bill Clinton intervened on the talks yesterday to try and break the deadlock, triggered by DUP leader Arlene Foster's involvement in a green energy scandal (Mr Clinton and Mrs Foster are pictured together in Belfast yesterday)

'That progress stalled at the end of last week,' James Brokenshire told a parliamentary committee.

'Unless there is a renewed spirit of compromise then the outlook for imminent resolution is not positive. Time is running out.'

The Northern Ireland Secretary said legislating for a budget from London did not 'denote' direct rule, but repeated 'we're on a glide path to more Westminster intervention' and setting a budget was a significant step toward it.

He warned: 'I am reluctant to move to direct rule because of all of the profound implications that that has for the overall constitutional settlement need to be careful in moving down that route.

'Setting a budget is a significant step along that glide path and in doing that I would argue that the landing gear starts to come down and the lights of the runway start to become very clear in the hinterland ahead and therefore we can't go on much longer from where we are.'

Mr Brokenshire refused to set a firm deadline for the deadlock to be breached.

But he rejected a suggestion from committee chairman Andrew Murrison the stalemate could go on for another year.

He said: 'We can't go on much longer.'
An elephant who spent a day trapped in a flooded river in Thailand has been rescued by animal conservationists.

Video shows the ten-year-old elephant stranded in the swell caused by a storm that hit northern Thailand's Phitsanulok province yesterday.

Elephants can typically sense approaching adverse weather conditions and know when to take shelter. This one, experts said, failed to.

Video shows rescuers at the Thung Saleng Luang National Park pulling the elephant back to shore using rope - the animal unable to move due to the strong current and exhaustion after being stuck in the river for twenty-four hours.

A representative from the Taiwanese Management and Conservation Office, Dusita Chincharoendee, said: 'It has been a big relief to finally rescue the elephant and get it out of the water. Elephants can usually smell humans and that makes them frightened and excited. There were a lot of humans around so that made the rescue harder.'

Villagers were asked to stay away from the water when the rescue operation was happening to try to make the elephant feel more comfortable.

The elephant is now being checked over by vets and park rangers before it will be released back into the wild.

A 10-year-old elephant is rescued from a river in Thailand, pictured, after being stranded for an entire day

Rescuers tried to coax the elephant out of the river but had to use rope in the end, pictured

Elephants are usually able to sense bad weather and no when it is time to seek shelter. This elephant wasn't able to and got stuck in a swell, pictured

Rescuers asked villagers to stand back to make their job easier, pictured, because elephants tend to be scared of humans
A Maltese police officer has been attacked by the son of a murdered journalist after writing on Facebook that 'everyone gets what they deserve' after she was killed.

Daphne Caruana Galizia, who had been called a 'one-woman Wikileaks', was blown up on Monday after her car was rigged with a bomb.

Her son, Matthew Caruana Galizia, described the horror of seeing 'body parts all around me' among the wreckage after arriving at the scene of his 53-year-old mother's death, close to her home in Bidnija.

But he also lashed out at the country's 'mafia state', claimed she was 'assassinated' and highlighted the callous post made by one of the investigating officers in the case.

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Matthew Caruana Galizia has lashed out at a policeman who said 'everyone gets what they deserve' after she was murdered. Pictured: Forensic experts investigate the remnants of Galizia's car

Matthew Caruana Galizia (left), himself a journalist, said his mother, Daphne (right), was assassinated for doing her job in investigating alleged corruption

Joseph Muscat has said murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia (pictured) was his 'biggest adversary' - but vowed to track down and bring her killers to justice

The police sergeant - whose name MailOnline has redacted - wrote: 'Everyone gets what they deserve, cow dung! Feeling happy :)' on Facebook

The police sergeant - whose name MailOnline has redacted - wrote: 'Everyone gets what they deserve, cow dung! Feeling happy :)'.

Matthew also condemned the 'gang of crooks who conspired with politicians in Malta to financially cripple my mother with one vexatious lawsuit after another'.

In his angry post, he added: 'She was also targeted because she was the only person doing so. This is what happens when the institutions of the state are incapacitated: the last person left standing is often a journalist.

In his angry post, he said: 'She was also targeted because she was the only person doing so. This is what happens when the institutions of the state are incapacitated: the last person left standing is often a journalist'

'Which makes her the first person left dead.'

By mentioning the lawsuits she faced, his vitriol extended to London libel lawyers who helped bring cases against her.

She was sued by Nationalist Party opposition leader Adrian Delia after a series of pieces connecting him with a prostitution racket in London.

Economy minister Chris Cardona also claimed defamation when she accused him of visiting a brothel while in Germany. Other politicians have issued rebuttals and explanations of her and her son's allegations.

Matthew went on to condemn his country's institutions in the post, explaining: 'Yes, this is where we are: a mafia state where you can now change your gender on your ID card (thank God for that!) but where you will be blown to pieces for exercising your basic freedoms.

'Only for the people who are supposed to have protected you to instead be celebrating it. How did we get here?'.

Earlier today, meanwhile, the prime minister of Malta said Caruana Galizia was his 'biggest adversary' - but vowed to track down and bring her killers to justice.

Centre-left premier Joseph Muscat attempted to shift the spotlight onto the Nationalist Party, saying it had been the focus of Caruana Galizia's latest investigations.

'It is unthinkable in a country like Malta to die for your job, in Caruana Galizia's case for what she wrote,' he said in an interview with Italian media.

Muscat (pictured) refused to speculate on who might be behind her death, but said that 'the easiest thing for me to do would be to point the finger against the opposition, the leader of which was the subject of Daphne's latest stories'

'She was probably my biggest adversary, she attacked me from when I was leader of the opposition. But that was her job,' he told La Repubblica, adding that he had called in 'the FBI and other European security services' to find her killers.

She had lately used her widely read blog to make a series of detailed allegations of corruption in Muscat's inner circle, some based on the Panama Papers data leak.

Muscat refused to speculate on who might be behind her death, but said that 'the easiest thing for me to do would be to point the finger against the opposition, the leader of which was the subject of Daphne's latest stories'.

In an interview with La Stampa daily, he raised opposition leader Adrian Delia again, saying the blogger had accused him of 'money laundering, prostitution and more'.

Muscat also said she had written on her blog about receiving threats 'from people in the opposition' over the last month, but that he could not verify the claim.

In an interview with La Stampa daily, he raised opposition leader Adrian Delia (pictured) again, saying the blogger had accused him of 'money laundering, prostitution and more'

Her killing has triggered an outpouring of grief on the island - which has a population of just 430,000 people - with thousands turning out to a candlelit vigil in her memory in the fortress capital Valletta

Cauana Galizia's killing has sent shock waves around the world, with the United States the latest country to condemn it

Yesterday Delia called on Muscat to step down, accusing him of personally failing to safeguard the journalists life.

Muscat responded to that charge in an interview with Maltese TV, saying he could not impose police protection on someone who did not want it.

Dutch forensic experts also arrived on the island yesterday to aid the investigation.

Police sources said Semtex explosives were believed to have been used in the car bomb, a demolition compound known to be favoured by terrorists in large-scale attacks.

Cauana Galizia's killing has sent shock waves around the world, with the United States the latest country to condemn it.

'It was a cowardly attack that took the life of a talented and brave reporter who dedicated her career to ... shining light on corruption,' said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

'The Government of Malta and Malta police force have been in contact with the FBI about the investigation and the FBI is providing specific assistance.'

Her killing has triggered an outpouring of grief on the island - which has a population of just 430,000 people - with thousands turning out to a candlelit vigil in her memory in the fortress capital Valletta.

The journalist was the fourth person to die in a Malta car bombing in just over a year but previous attacks were all linked to criminal feuds and did not generate anything like the shock created by Caruana's death.
A website developer has appeared in court accused of manslaughter after his online date died when their speedboat capsized in the River Thames.

Jack Shepherd, 30, and Charlotte Brown, 24, were hurled into the icy water near Wandsworth Bridge on December 8, 2015.

Miss Brown, a business development consultant, from Welling, south-east London, had met Shepherd online and the pair had enjoyed a meal at The Shard on their first date before the speedboat crash.

Jack Shepherd arrives at court today after he was charged with manslaughter over the death of his date following a boat crash in the Thames

Shepherd had bought the boat, named ArrowFlyte, just two months before on the online marketplace Gumtree.

The pair had met on dating site OK Cupid before arranged the first date via Whatsapp. After a meal, they embarked on a boat trip down the Thames before the boat capsized around 11.30pm.

Police were called to reports of someone in distress near the bridge and officers from the Marine Support Unit scoured the area alongside the National Police Air Service and lifeboat crews from the RNLI.

Miss Brown, known to her friends and family as Charli, died in hospital after she and Shepherd were pulled from the water at 11.45pm.

Charlotte Brown died after the speedboat capsized in the Thames in December

Detectives from Wandsworth borough initially investigated the death, but transferred it to Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command due to the complex nature of the case.

Shepherd, was charged, after a 20-month investigation, with manslaughter by gross negligence and appeared in the dock at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court today.

Since his daughter's death, Miss Brown's father Graham Brown, 54, has raised more than 2,300 for the RNLI in her memory.

Her mother, Roz Wickens, 52, a former London Ambulance Service medical technician from Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, previously paid tribute to her daughter who touched 'so many hearts'.

The devastated mother said she could not put it into words what a beautiful woman her daughter was and how everyone loved her.

Shepherd, from Abergavenny, Wales, appeared in court charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

He is yet to enter a plea and was released on unconditional bail before his next appear at the Old Bailey on 15 November.
Adorable footage has emerged which shows a panda grooming himself in a pond while getting ready to meet his best friends.

The young bear, Ping Ping, arrived at a zoo in east China on October 16 after being transferred from a panda reserve.

The two-year-old panda could be seen walking around his enclosure on his first day at the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo before being reunited with his playmates He He and Jiu Jiu.

Ping Ping enjoys his first day at the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo in east China on October 16 (left and right) after being transferred from a panda reserve in south-west China

According to the zoo, staff members flew to China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan, south-west China, to arrange the transferral of Ping Ping last Saturday.

The fluffy panda arrived at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport at 10:24am on October 16 and was taken to the enclosure.

A video clip taken by the zookeepers captures Ping Ping wandering in his new home.

He then walked towards a small pond and started cleansing his fur.

Getting ready: Ping Ping started splashing water and cleaning himself before the meeting

Nice and clean: Ping Ping walked out the pond after a wash and was ready to meet his friends

He He and Jiu Jiu waiting on an elevated platform gazing at their playmate in their enclosure

Ping Ping can be seen splashing water towards his head and brushing around.

The panda's adorable moves have touched web users' hearts.

'It's going to wash its ears off too if it kept washing its hair that hard,' said 'R-ancu'.

'It's so cute, I have to visit the panda,' said 'mengmengJY'.

Ping Ping's best friends, He He and Jiu Jiu, are twin sisters.

They arrived at the Nanjing Hongshan Forest zoo two weeks earlier, were waiting in the corner of the enclosure patiently.

According to his keeper, Ping Ping was about two months older than the twin pandas.

'Ping Ping is a gentleman and has a good temper. He He and Jiu Jiu are a bit naughty and will have fights over some time,' the keeper said.
A male nurse has been accused of bashing a grandmother in the face with a cup of Milo she requested late at night.

Lynette Lee, 70, was left with a black eye and bruising to her hand after the alleged assault at the nursing facility in Adelaide's northern suburbs on September 30.

Ms Lee's daughter Belinda Lee spoke out on Wednesday in the search for justice, after she claimed she was ignored by the nursing home behind the alleged assault.

Ms Lee said the alleged assault happened when her mother 'rang the bell for a Milo'.

Lynette Lee, 70, (pictured) was left with a black eye and bruising to her hand after the alleged assault at the nursing facility in Adelaide's northern suburbs

'(The nurse) ended up knocking the table and glasses of lemonade spilt everywhere, and next thing you know he's hit her with the cup of Milo in the face,' Ms Lee claimed in an interview with Adelaide Now.

'She's put her hand up over her face and he's obviously hit her again because she's got defense wounds on the outside of her hand.'

Ms Lee said her elderly mother did not remember much following the alleged assault.

The devastated daughter said an internal investigation was launched into the matter.

The nurse involved reportedly claimed the elderly patient hit her face on the table while reaching for the cup of Milo.

South Australia Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia they were aware of the incident and an investigation was underway.

Ms Lee said her elderly mother Lynette (pictured) did not remember much following the alleged assault

Lynette Lee (pictured) sustained a black eye and bruising to her finger during the alleged attack

The nurse will reportedly remain suspended until the investigation is finished.

Ms Lee said she also submitted an official complaint with the Australian Health Practitioner Agency.

The worried daughter said she feared for her mother's well-being if the nurse returned to work at the old age home.

'I don't want him back near my mum (even though) she's a tough old girl,' she told the publication.

The Advertiser reported the nursing home could not comment on the issue.

When directed to the head office, there was no answer.
A school named after a 17th century slave trader has removed any reference to him in a commemoration in his honour to make the service more 'inclusive'.

Colston's Girls' School, in Bristol, has ruled there will be no mention of Edward Colston at his commemoration event at Bristol Cathedral.

Instead the service include a 'clear acknowledgement of the damage done by slavery'.

Colston's Girls' School has ruled there will be no mention of Edward Colston at his commemoration event

The decision was sent in a letter to former pupils, 100 of whom normally attend the annual Commemoration Day service.

Colston has been celebrated as one of the city's major philanthropists, setting up schools and almshouses.

But his personal wealth came largely from his key role running the transatlantic slave trade both from London and Bristol.

During his time as deputy governor of the Royal Africa Company, in the late 17th century, his own ships transported around 80,000 slaves from Africa to the Caribbean and America.

Around 20,000 of them, including around 3,000 or more children, died during the journeys.

Bristol itself benefited on a large scale from slavery with 500,000 of the estimated 3million African people transported by the UK, coming from the city's ships

Colston, left, a statue of him in Bristol, and right, a portrait, was deputy of of the Royal Africa Company which transported 80,000 slaves from Africa to the Caribbean and America

The service in Colston's honour takes place in early November every year and has traditionally involved present and former pupils wearing a chrysanthemum, Colston's flower.

Now, for the first time, when the service takes place next month, the girls will no longer be required to wear the flower.

The change was confirmed in a message to the 'Old Girls' organisation of former pupils from the PA to principal John Whitehead.

'Over the last year the leadership and governors at CGS have worked to make the Commemoration service more inclusive and relevant to the students,' she wrote.

The Colston service is held every November in Bristol Cathedral (pictured) with pupils asked to wear a chrysanthemum, Colston's flower

'After consultation with students from all year groups we have decided to remove all reference to Edward Colston from the service and we will no longer be asking the students to wear a chrysanthemum in his memory.

'The focus of the service will be on the values of CGS throughout its existence and a clear acknowledgement of the damage done by slavery in the past and the present.

'We intend to continue to work with the students and the wider community to review and update this event every year,' she added.

It is thought a new informal consultation began in the previous school year earlier in 2017, which saw pupils and staff discussing the future of the school and its use of the name of Colston.

Earlier this year, Bristol's Colston Hall announced it will change its name after pressure from campaigners and artists.

Bristol based group Massive Attack vowed never to play at the venue until it removed reference to Colston.
The security guard who was shot at the beginning of the Las Vegas gunman's rampage has finally spoken out about his brush with death.

Jesus Campos had several interviews scheduled last week, before he cancelled them all and disappeared.

But he resurfaced on Tuesday, when Ellen announced that she would be interviewing him on her show.

Ellen released a preview of the interview Wednesday morning, in which Campos describes the moment that gunman Stephen Paddock started shooting at him through the door of his Mandalay Bay hotel room suite.

Sitting next to maintenance worker Stephen Schuck, who was also shot at by Paddock, Campos says he went up to the 32nd floor to figure out why a fire escape door wasn't opening.

Jesus Campos, the Mandalay Bay security guard who was the Vegas gunman's first victim, recently sat down for an interview with Ellen DeGeneres

The full interview will air Wednesday afternoon. Ellen released a preview clip of the interview Wednesday morning

Campos (center) appeared on the show with maintenance worker Stephen Schuck, who was also shot at

When he reached the 32nd floor he said he heard 'drilling sounds' and assumed they were doing work nearby. It's unclear what those drilling sounds were. The most recent police timeline says that Paddock hadn't started shooting at the festival until after Campos arrived on the floor and was injured.

The stairwell door emptied onto the 32nd floor right outside Paddock's corner suite, and Campos was walking away from the room when he says the gunman started shooting at him.

'I heard rapid fire,' Campos recalled. 'At first I took cover. I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood and that's when I called it in on my radio.'

Police believe Paddock was tipped off to Campos' arrival due to security cameras he rigged in the hallway. They say he fired 200 gunshots through the door at Campos before opening fire at a music festival across the street through a broken window in his room.

Shuck arrived on the floor just as Campos was being shot at, and he credits the security guard with saving his life.

Campos vanished hours before he was scheduled to give a series of TV interviews last week

The security guard was shot and wounded by Stephen Paddock when he went to investigate the gunshots coming from the 32nd floor suite in the Mandalay Bay hotel

Above, some of the weapons found inside Paddock's hotel room after the shooting

'Jesus, he leaned out and he said "take cover, take cover!" and yelled at me and within milliseconds...if he didn't say that I would have got hit,' Schuck said.

When asked how he is coping, Campos said: 'I'm doing better each day. Slowly but surely, just healing physically and mentally.'

He also made sure to thank everyone who helped stop Paddock and who aided the victims that night.

'Everyone came together to help that night even in the darkest hour,' he said.

Campos said that his interview with Ellen will be the first and only time he speaks publicly about what happened.

Ellen says that both Campos and Schuck refused to accept any money from her, so one of the show's sponsors donated $25,000 to the Las Vegas Victim's Fund on their behalf.

The full interview with Campos and Schuck airs Wednesday afternoon on Ellen.

It comes after police spoke out saying Campos was a victim and he was not a missing person after questions were raised about his disappearance.

Campos had interviews with Fox, CBS, CNN, ABC and NBC scheduled for last Thursday, but he was a no show to all of them.

Questions have been raised about his whereabouts but police told Fox News on Tuesday that he was not considered a missing person.

Fox News' Sean Hannity tweeted that Campos cancelled his appearance on his show Thursday night. It has since been revealed that Campos went to a medical clinic instead

Stephen Paddock shot the security guard before opening fire on concert-goers from his 32nd floor suite in the Mandalay Bay hotel

As music fans at the Route 91 Harvest festival fled, Campos alerted police to Paddock's whereabouts

'He is a victim in this and we don't discuss victims,' Las Vegas Police officer Larry Hadfield said.

A spokeswoman for MGM Resorts International, the casino company that owns the Mandalay Bay hotel, said Campos was safe but that he wanted people to respect his privacy.

It comes after a representative for Campos' union said he had prepared last Thursday for TV appearances but went to a health clinic instead.

Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America leader David Hickey said Tuesday he last heard about Jesus Campos' whereabouts from a union member who messaged that he was with Campos at the clinic.

Hickey says the same union member sent messages on Friday saying he was with Campos but not saying where.

His disappearance came just hours after MGM Resorts International disputed the official timeline of the shooting.

They rejected any suggestion that hotel staff delayed calling 911 for six minutes after Paddock opened fire.

The latest chronology raised a series of questions about whether officers were given information quickly enough to possibly have a chance to take out the gunman before he could carry out the bloodshed.

But according to resort officials, it was no more than 40 seconds between the time Campos used his walkie talkie to call for help and Paddock opening fire on the crowd from two windows in his suite.

Earlier in the investigation, police had said that Paddock shot through his door and wounded Campos after the guard distracted him from firing on the crowd out the windows.

ORIGINAL TIMELINE This is the original timeline of events given out by police. 10:05pm: Paddock fires his first shots on the crowd, as seen on CCTV. 10:12pm: First two officers arrive on the 31st floor and announce gunfire is coming from directly above them. 10:14pm: Guard Jesus Campos approaches Paddock's room and is shot, but only injured. 10:15pm: The last shots are fired from the suspect, per bodycam, due to Campos' intervention. 10:17pm: The first two officers arrive on the 32nd floor from the 31st. 10:18pm: Campos tells the cops he was shot and gives them the exact location of the suspect's room. 10:26-10:30pm: With Paddock quiet, eight additional cops arrive and they decide to evacuate the rooms on the floor. 10:55pm: Eight officers arrive in the stairwell next to the suspect's room and find the door tampered with and a camera on a room service cart outside; they decide to hold off. 11:20pm: Paddock's room is breached and police enter the room to find him dead. Advertisement
Dr. George Menez is accused of giving the dog to a member of staff after telling its owner that he had put it down

A vet has been accused of giving an elderly dog to one of his staff after pretending to its owner that it had been put down because they believed they could nurse him back to health.

Dr. George Menez of Howell, New Jersey, is alleged to have told Keri Levy that he euthanized her miniature pinscher Caesar at Briarwood Veterinary Hospital in May.

Levy claims the 15-year-old dog was suffering Cushing's disease, a painful condition which affects elderly dogs, at the time.

She claims that hours after saying goodbye to the animal, Dr. Menez phoned her to tell her Caesar was 'at peace'.

But on Sunday, five months after she took him to the vet, she received an anonymous message from someone saying the dog was still alive and being cared for by one of Menez's employees.

According to police who are now investigating the chain of events, the unnamed female employee did not believe Caesar needed to be euthanized and thought she could nurse him back to health.

Whether or not the dog was as ill as Levy said he was is disputed.

Police say that on Monday, when he was given back to his owner, he was in good spirits and showed no signs of ill health despite Levy's claim that his condition had deteriorated.

Keri Levy took Caesar, her Miniature Pinscher, to the vet in May to be put down. She said he was suffering Cushing's disease

Levy said goodbye to Caesar, 15, and left him in the care of vets. He is seen above before being dropped off

She insisted to DailyMail.com that he had lost '10lbs' since she dropped him off to be euthanized in May and that the second vet she sought was satisfied he needed to be put down.

In May, Menez allowed the employee to take Caesar home with her but never told Levy, police said on Wednesday.

'This employee wanted to do so out of compassion for the dog and a desire to rehabilitate his health, albeit without the owner's consent,' Howell Police Detective Sergeant Christian Antunez told DailyMail.com.

They never reported Caesar to an anti-animal cruelty body and instead kept him at their home, Antunez added.



For five months, Levy says she and her family remained under the impression that Ceasar had been put down until this Sunday when she received an anonymous message that the dog was still alive.

She recontacted the hospital but Menez and the woman who had the dog had already stopped working there. It is not clear whether they were fired or quit or if Levy's case had prompted their departure.

After finding a phone number for him, she claims Menez admitted to giving the dog away, confirmed that he was still alive and gave her the name of the former colleague who had Ceasar.

Levy claims she passed the name along to police who then contacted the woman and told her to reunite the dog with its original owner.

On Monday, Levy says she was reunited with the dog.

She claims his health had deteriorated drastically in the five months since she last saw him and took him to be euthanized at a different hospital.

Levy took her dog Ceasar to the Briarwood Veterinary Hospital in Howell, New Jersey, (above) to be put down in May. She found out on Sunday that he has been alive ever since and was living with a member of staff who no longer works there

Howell Police detectives say the dog was in 'good spirits' and there were no obvious signs of neglect.

Under the supervision of a different vet, Ceasar was finally put down on Monday.

It is not yet clear whether either Menez, the unnamed woman or Levy may face charges.

The Monmouth County SPCA is investigating the incident.

An employee at Briarwood Veterinary Hospital who declined to be named on Wednesday refused to answer questions on the matter when contacted by DailyMail.com.

All they would say was that neither Menez nor the 'other employee who was involved' worked at the hospital any longer. Menez did not respond to questions.
Josh Provost (pictured) is the HSC student behind the monkey behind a typewriter meme which sparked outrage nationwide after the English paper one exam

The high school student behind the most prominent meme of the 2017 HSC says there were no racist connotations behind his viral social media post, and he's been receiving death threats.

Josh Provost, 19, shared an image of a monkey at a typewriter to the open HSC Discussion 2017 Facebook page following the English paper one exam, where students were asked to analyse the poem Mango, written by Ellen van Neerven.

He captioned the picture: 'leaked image of the author of Mango' - a comparison that immediately took on a darker meaning, as Ms van Neerven is an award-winning Indigenous author.

Mr Provost told Hack he had no idea the poet was Indigenous when he shared the meme, and was making comparisons to the infinite monkey theorem.

Mr Provost, 19, shared a picture of a monkey behind a typewriter to the 2017 HSC Discussion Facebook page and labelled it 'leaked image of the author of mango'

He says the meme was not intended to make any racial connotations about the author, Ellen van Neerven

Ellen van Neerven is an award winning Indigenous poet, and the meme sparked outrage online almost immediately, with many high profile social media users labelling it a racial attack

'I went home, typed in 'infinite monkey theorem', grabbed the first photo, put it up and said, LEAKED IMAGE OF THE AUTHOR OF 'MANGO',' he told the radio program.

'I had no clue she was Indigenous and if I did I understand the connotations of monkeys and people of colour - given that knowledge I wouldn't have posted.'

The HSC student said it was nothing more than a 'playful joke' made in a moment of stress, and that Ms van Neerven's name and her poem both showed no clear signs of an Indigenous heritage.

His meme went viral, sparking outrage on social media that made headlines around the country.

Mr Provost, a student at Taree Christian College, says he has received death threats over the phone and messages online telling him he should die

Mr Provost said he had 'no clue' Ms van Neerven was Indigenous when he posted the image

Since posting the picture, Mr Provost, a student at Taree Christian College says he has received death threats over the phone and messages online berating him for his actions and telling him he should die.

His mother also received a message from someone who had seen the meme.

Mr Provost said he apologised if the meme was regarded as 'heavily racist', and again vowed it was not the intended meaning.

Students were asked to 'explain how the poet conveys the delight of discovery' in the poem Mango.

After the exam, several hundred students took to Facebook's HSC Discussion Group to post vile memes relating to the work.

Pictured: The meme which sent the internet into meltdown after the 2017 HSC English paper one exam

Many students reached out to Ms van Neerven on Twitter and Facebook, calling her a host of nasty names (pictured) after the exam

Cruel taunts were directed at the indigenous author via her Twitter account (pictured)

'F*** you and your stupid mango bulls***,' another carefully worded tweet directed at Ms van Neerven continued (pictured)

'In all honesty there wasn't much to analyse because it reads like a four year old wrote it,' one person wrote.

'F*** you and your stupid mango bulls***,' another carefully worded tweet directed at Ms van Neerven continued.

Another replaced the star sign for Cancer as a mango on an astrology chart to infer her poem was a disease.

Ms van Neerven's official Wikipedia page has also been edited to mention the furore.

Close friends of the author stepped in when death threats were allegedly being made towards Ms van Neerven, many of which were saved as 'screenshots'.

Another replaced the star sign for Cancer as a mango on an astrology chart to infer her poem was a disease (pictured)

Close friends of the author stepped in when death threats were allegedly being made towards Ms van Neerven, many of which were saved as 'screenshots'

The incident has now been recorded on Ms van Neerven's official Wikipedia page (pictured)

Evelyn Araluen, a poet and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, said she would track down where the students went to school and show their superiors what they had been writing online.

'It doesn't matter how you wanna spin it the behaviour being directed towards Ellen is enormously disrespectful. She's a person,' Ms Araluen wrote.

Author Omar Sakr also joined the online discussion by tweeting at the NSW Department of Education, calling on them to investigate the serious nature of the memes.

Chief executive of the NSW Education Standards Authority David de Carvalho criticised the students behaviour online.

'I am appalled by the abuse of the author,' Mr de Carvalho told Fairfax Media.

'This is a completely inappropriate response and I hope those involved see fit to apologise to Ms van Neerven.'

So far Ms van Neerven has not responded to any of the social media attacks.

Wild accusations and slurs were hurled at the author on social media following the exam (pictured)

Many came to Ms van Neerven's defence on the HSC Discussion Group (pictured)

A NSW Education Standards Authority spokesman said exam questions had been set by a committee of experienced English teachers.

'The authors are not advised in advance,' he said. 'They don't know because obviously... for the security and confidentiality of the exam.'

The second English exam will be held on Tuesday with a new set of questions and stimulus.
A pair of brides are accused of taking part in sham marriages with two Indian men in a bid to beat UK immigration laws.

Jolanta Gardynik and Karolina Kosche, from Southampton, agreed to marry two students after they were told their visas were being cut short and they would have to return to India.

When officers swooped on the pair, before the ceremonies, Gardynik claimed her marriage to Rajpal Singh, which was due to happen six months after his visa had actually expired, was for love.

However, Kosche admitted to police her reasons for marrying Gurpreet Singh were not genuine, with his student visa due to expire six months after they tied the knot.

Jolanta Gardynik (right) and Karolina Kosche (left), from Southampton, agreed to marry two students after they were told their visas were being cut short and they would have to return to India

Southampton Crown Court heard Rajpal had arrived in Britain in April 2012 as a student, but his visa expiration date was shortened from September 2014 to January the same year.

Prosecutor Tom Wilkins said Gurpreet had come to the country in similar circumstances in 2009, and had his visa extended through to August 2014.

But, the Home Office then reduced it by two months, telling him he must return to India by June 2014.

Mr Wilkins told the court Rajpal went to Southampton Register Office in July 2014, six months after his visa had actually expired, to inform them of his desire to marry Gardynik.

The pair booked their wedding for the next month, but just weeks before they tied the knot immigration officials raided a flat belonging to Justyna Sobieraj - who is accused of masterminding the alleged sham marriage.

Justyna Sobieraj, who is accused of masterminding the alleged sham marriage

In the property, officers found papers in a folder with Mr Singh's personal details in and information about their proposed wedding ceremony.

And just before the pair were married at the Register Office in Southampton, immigration officers swooped to stop the ceremony.

Rajpal was arrested, although was later released and is still wanted three years later, while Gardynik was taken to an address that the two allegedly lived at.

Officers searched the 'very small room' allegedly belonging to the pair, but said they found no trace of Mr Singh.

When Gardynik was arrested in November 2014, after investigations, she was found to be living with a Polish man.

Mr Wilkins told the court it was a similar story for Kosche and Gurpreet, who went to Winchester Register Office to announce their intention to marry.

After being told he would need to return to India by June 2014, Gurpreet and Kosche were married in March the same year and claimed they lived together in Southampton.

Karolina Kosche (left) and Jolanta Gardynik (right) outside Southampton Crown Court

However, the court heard Gurpreet had since been deported to India and Kosche had admitted their marriage was a sham, although she claimed she had been coerced into doing it.

The pair both deny charges of attempting to facilitate the breach of UK immigration law by a non-EU resident.

The trial continues today.
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This is the 275,000 property in Chelsea which is only a stone's throw from the Peter Jones department store, Sloane Square and the King's Road.

But, at 19 square metres, there probably is not enough room inside to host a dinner party for the Sloane Square set, even the most waif-like members.

However, with an SW3 post code, the third floor self-contained one bedroom flat has an ideal location for those with a shopping addiction, although finding room to store new purchases could be problematic.

At 275,000 for a flat in Chelsea, this property seems to be amazing value for money until you walk through the front door

Unlike the Taridis in Doctor Who, the flat seems an awful-lot smaller once inside the 19 square metre self-contained unit

The property is ideally located for shops, and boutiques, but storage of clothing could be a major problem

The flat is on a 99 year lease which was signed on March 25, 1979 with approximately 59 years remaining.

The current ground rent is just 75 while the current tenants are paying 235-a-week - returning 12,220 - promising a 4.45 per cent rental yield for a cash buyer.

According to the listing on Zoopla: 'The property is situated on the north side of Draycott Place, which runs between Kings Road to the south and Sloane Avenue to the west. Chelsea is one of the most prestigious areas within Central London, with Knightsbridge to the north and South Kensington to the west.

The room has been partitioned to create a toilet and a bathroom with a small sofa hidden under the eaves of the house

At 9.34 a square inch, every tiny scrap of space has been used in an effort to maximise the various nooks and crannies

'Local bus routes are readily accessible along Kings Road to the south, where an eclectic mix of boutiques and designer shops, together with a vast array of cafes and bars, can be found. Sloane Square is a 5 minute walk to the east, where London Underground services (Circle and District Lines) are available. The River Thames is a short walk to the south.'

Inside the property, there is a reception room/ kitchen, a bedroom and bathroom.

The current tenants signed a 12month lease on June 23.

The property is going under the hammer on October 26.
Jenson Button has revealed he had to confront a 'very very drunk' Sir Richard Branson during a meal in a high-end restaurant after the Virgin boss flirted with his then-girlfriend.

He claims that an intoxicated Sir Richard put his hands on model Jessica Michibata's face, making her 'uncomfortable' and forcing the F1 champion to tell him to back off.

The incident would have taken place during the Australian Grand Prix in 2009 at the famous Japanese restaurant Nobu.

Revelations: Jenson Button claims that an intoxicated Richard Branson interrupted a dinner in 2009, and flirted with his then-girlfriend Jessica Michibata

In his autobiography Life to the Limit, Mr Button, 37, writes that a 'very, very drunk' Richard Branson came over to their table and sat down uninvited.

He alleges that the Virgin CEO then started flirting with his then-girlfriend, Japanese model Jessica Michibata, by accusing her of staring at him.

'Although Jessica was a model she was quite shy, so this was making her feel uncomfortable,' an extract published in The Telegraph relays.

'Especially when Sir Richard followed up his blatant flirting by putting his hand on her face.'

Mr Button writes that he was in the bathroom when this took place, and said he returned to find Sir Richard with his hands on Ms Michibata's face.

Hitting back: Mr Button says he returned to the dinner table to find Sir Richard with his hands on Ms Michibata's face, and told him to back off

'"Hold on," I said, "that's enough. That's well out of order." But he was so hammered that he simply didn't understand what the problem was.'

Mr Button adds that Sir Richard later apologised to the then-couple, and that he 'gave up drinking for months afterwards.'

Sir Richard addresses the incident himself in his own autobiography Finding My Virginity, admitting that the incident led to him giving up alcohol for six month.

He writes: 'Jenson and his girlfriend were sitting at the next table, enjoying a far quieter evening as he had to race the next morning.

'By contrast, through a mixture of tiredness, jetlag and drink, I soon found myself very, very inebriated. This wasn't like me; I can't remember ever getting that drunk before or since.'

Fun times: Richard Branson is pictured at the time of the event, during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne in 2009

The incident is believed to have taken place at Nobu's Melbourne restaurant (pictured)

He admits to walking over to the couple's table and telling Ms Michabata 'how gorgeous she was'.

'Jenson understandable took offence and I decided to retreat quickly from the table (thankfully, we smoothed it out).'

Mr Button and Ms Michibata, 32, first met in 2008 in a hotel bar in Tokyo and began dating eight months later.

They split for a short time in 2011 before the McLaren reserve driver proposed on Valentine's Day 2014, with a ring worth 250,000.

They tied the knot in a lavish Hawaiian ceremony in December 2014 called time on their relationship just one year later but say they remain on good terms.

Mr Button his now dating former playboy model Brittny Ward, 25, and Ms Michibata is due to give birth to her first child next month.
A female comedy writer has revealed the harassment she faced as the only woman on the writing team of Garry Shandling's show.

Janis Hirsch, 67, was hired in 1986 to work as one of the writers on his comedy hit It's Garry Shandling's Show.

She worked there for three years before she claims she was told to leave, coincidentally on the same day as Larry David was fired in 1989.

On Wednesday, Hirsch told in a Hollywood Reporter article how the job descended from being 'a lot of fun' to male colleagues alienating her and making her cry.

In one disturbing example, she recalled how an unnamed male actor 'put his flaccid penis on her shoulder during a meeting with the rest of the staff and how others laughed at the display'.

Jane Hirsch (left in 2013) was the only female writer on It's Garry Shandling's Show between 1986 and 1989. She was hired by Shandling (right on the show) when it began

Afterwards, she was called in to another meeting by the legendary late producer Brad Grey and claims she was told to quit.

Grey died in May this year at the age of 59 after a brief battle with cancer. He became the head of Paramount Pictures after finding his start in television in the 1980s.

Shandling died last March at the age of 66 after collapsing suddenly in his home. His cause of death was later given as a blood clot.

Hirsch, who has written for My Wife and Kids, Frasier and The Nanny, took his advice and kept quiet about it in the fear that she would never work again if she launched legal action against the production.

Producer Brad Grey (left in February, two months before his death) told Hirsch to quit. Shandling (right last January) died in March 2016

In her article, Hirsch described how the seemingly inclusive team of male writers began leaving her out of meetings and only assigning her scenes in which Molly Cheek, the only female actor on the show at the time, appeared.

'The guys started excluding me from meetings: "Oh, we couldn't find you"...at my desk.

'Then they started excluding me from the table, instead assigning me "the slit scenes" to write.

'Even though these scenes were the ones that featured the only female cast member, it didn't occur to me exactly what slit they were referring to until one day in the ladies room.

'My mantra became, "I won't cry until I get home." It was amended to "I won't cry until I get into the parking lot," which became "I won't cry until I get into the stairwell," which morphed into "F***, I'm crying,"' Hirsch wrote.

Hirsch said that an actor, who she did not name, once put his penis on her shoulder during a meeting in front of colleagues. Shandling (center) is pictured with castmates Molly Cheek (second left), Scott Nemes (bottom left) Paul Willson (second left) Molly Cheek, Michael Tucci (back), Bernadette Birkett (second right) and Barbara Cason (right)

Hirsch said male writers eventually started only giving her scenes to write in which Molly Cheek (above with Shandling), who was at one time the only female character, appeared

It was in Grey's office where the actor put his penis on her shoulder, she alleges.

'I felt a tap on my shoulder, I turned, and there was that actor's flaccid penis draped on it like a pirate's dead parrot.

'Riotous laughter ensued from all but one of us,' she said.

She said she used the story later as an anecdote of the harassment she received but says it was never met with respect or outrage by other male writers.

In her article, Hirsch did not name the men complicit in the alleged harassment.

Shandling created the show along with Alan Zweibel in 1986. Together the pair wrote 15 of the 72 episodes it ever aired.

Seinfeld creator Larry David (right) was also a writer on the show at the time

Hirsch wrote two of the first six it produced.

Her claims echo those of a growing chorus of women in Hollywood who are now speaking out to reveal a culture of misogyny and abuse that they have endured for decades.

It was triggered by the revelations that mogul Harvey Weinstein had been sexually harassing women, including dozens of big-name actresses, for years.

It is not the first time Hirsch has spoken publicly of her departure from It's Garry Shandling's Show.

In 2014, she told Rollins 360 that she believed she lost her job because she did not fit into the male dominated culture.

In the 1990s, Shandling sued Grey claiming the show lost its best writers to new jobs which Grey laid on for them.

The lawsuit was settled out of court with Grey paying Shandling a multi-million dollar sum.


The Irwin family is returning to Animal Planet 11 years after the death of 'The Crocodile Hunter' star and family patriarch Steve Irwin.

The network said Wednesday that Irwin's widow, Terri, and children Bindi,19, and Robert, 19 will reappear on Animal Planet starting next year.

The family has carried on Steve's conservation work in Australia, running a zoo, a wildlife preserve and supporting projects that try to save endangered animals worldwide.

'It seemed like a really good time, since we do so many things together as a family,' said Terri Irwin.

This image released by Animal Planet shows the Irwin family, from left, Robert,14, Terri and Bindi, 14

The Irwin family is returning to television's Animal Planet, 11 years after the death of 'The Crocodile Hunter' star and family patriarch Steve Irwin

It's still not clear what form their Animal Planet work will take.

The family and network are discussing several ideas for television and digital products, said the network's general manager Patrice Andrews.

The Crocodile Hunter aired on Animal Planet from 1996 to 2007.

Steve Irwin's colorful personality, seeming fearlessness in wrestling dangerous animals and his Australian lingo - like the expression 'crikey!' - made him a favorite.

'Steve was very much the face of our channel,' Andrews said. 'People even today in focus groups bring up the impact of The Crocodile Hunter.

Bringing back the Irwins is part of the network's refocusing on animals, Andrews said. In recent years the network adopted the tagline, 'Surprisingly Human.'

Currently, the network's most popular series is 'Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet,' with a new series focusing on animals at the Bronx Zoo also doing well.

The network announced Wednesday that they will work with Animal Planet on television and digital projects that will be seen next year

Steve Irwin died at age 44 in September 2006 when a stingray's barb pierced his heart while filming an underwater scene for a television series

Bindi was eight at the time of his death while Robert was only three years old

Steve Irwin died at age 44 in September 2006 when a stingray's barb pierced his heart while filming an underwater scene for a television series.

After his death, Terri Irwin focused on raising her two young children aged eight and three.

Both of the Irwin children grew up committed to the family business and have dominated television.

Bindi won Dancing With the Stars in 2015 and Robert has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon displaying animals as is dad did when Jay Leno hosted the show.

The family has continued to work on conservation projects in Australia.

Bindi went on to win Dancing with the Stars in 2015

Robert has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to display animals

Robert followed his dad's footsteps when Steve appeared on the show when Jay Leno was the host

'For us, conservation work isn't just what we do. It's who we are. It's really defined us that this is what we've dedicated our lives to,' said Terri.

She added that she's tried to channel some of the competitiveness that she and Steve had as a couple, trying to complete milestones on a 10-year business plan they wrote together shortly before he died.

Now the family is working on projects Steve hadn't even dreamed of, like making accommodations for camping at their zoo, she said.

'Grief is never something you get over,' Terri said, 'It's something that walks beside you every day. And if you can learn how to manage it and honor the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity. That's kind of what we decided to do with Steve.'
A gigantic fatberg of congealed fat, wet wipes and human waste that may have taken more than 60 years to grow below Baltimore has been removed.

The city's Public Works department used a camera, pressure washer and truck-mounted industrial vacuum to clear the mass of curdled grease, wet wipes and other waste.

Workers resorted to the strategy Monday after they'd begun scraping pieces off last month shortly after the gunk was blamed for a sewer overflow in the city.

A gigantic fatberg of congealed fat, wet wipes and human waste that may have taken more than 60 years to grow below Baltimore has been removed

The city's Public Works department used a camera, pressure washer (pictured) and truck-mounted industrial vacuum to clear the mass of curdled grease, wet wipes and other waste

Workers resorted to the strategy Monday after they'd begun scraping pieces off last month shortly after the gunk was blamed for a sewer overflow in the city

The notorious glob was found clogging up to 85 per cent of a century-old 24-inch pipe near Penn Station.

Last month, the overflow discharged about 1.2 million gallons of muck into the Jones Falls waterway.

Officials said it's the culmination of objects caked along a pipe's walls that shouldn't go down drains.

The buildup of the slimy waste inside the pipe was so thick that it slowed sewer water moving through the area.

Pat Boyle with Public Works said: 'We can't treat our toilets like our trash cans.'

Officials said there were 'plastic bags, pens, batteries, pennies and coins' that had been flushed down the drain.

According to city officials, the fatberg removal will cost about $60,000, and the pieces sucked out of the sewer will be taken to a landfill.

September's blockage resulted in the sewer overflows happening underground in the pipe that was created as a pressure-release valve in the event the sewers backed up about 100 years ago.

The notorious glob was found clogging up to 85 per cent of a century-old 24-inch pipe near Penn Station

Last month, the overflow discharged about 1.2 million gallons of muck into the Jones Falls waterway (file image)

The disgusting plug of grease had been growing, far below the surface, in a sewer main between Baltimore Penn Station and the 1700 block of Charles Street, which includes the Charles Theater.

Officials also told folks in the area that the best way to prevent sewage overflow from a fatberg is to make sure they dispose of their waste properly.

Baltimore authorities said some best practices include, putting unused grease in the trash after it solidifies and making sure 'flushable' wipes are placed in the garbage and not flushed down the toilet.

These wipes, many labeled 'flushable' by manufacturers, are plugging up sewer systems across the US and around the world.

The US and the United Kingdom report the most fatbergs, with some of the largest found in the UK.
Human remains found late last month in east Orange County, Florida are of Tia Bonta, a mother who was reported missing last year

Human remains found in Florida have been confirmed to be those of Tia Bonta, a 24-year-old woman who was reported missing in 2016.

The remains were found by two men picking berries last month in Orange County.

Tia's father, Kevin, said told News 6 that authorities called him to say that dental records matched those of his daughter.

Last week, police released photos of jewelry, including a silver ring with 'MOM' and hearts engraved on the band, that was found with the body, in hope that someone would recognize it.

Tia's former boyfriend recognized the rings as ones that he had purchased.

'We knew the outcome probably would be grim, but at least now the mom has some type of closure,' said James Copenhaver, an Orlando-area private investigator.

Rings were found with the remains, and its those rings that prompted a lot of feelings the body was Bonta's

The remains were found on September 29 near Fort Christmas and Lake Pickett roads. Bonta, 24, had been missing since July 31, 2016

Police are still try to work out who may have killed Tia Bonta and why

'As soon as those rings were made public by the sheriff's office ya know social media lit up like a buzz, and literally I had private citizens blowing up my phone, "Hey these rings look like the rings that belong to Tia," said Copenhaver.

'We not only have the rings, but we have potential dental records, but more importantly there is some DNA that may come after the dental records.'

For the family, the finding of Tia's body provides some closure, however it is still painful for her parents Sherry Ellis and Kevin Bonta.

Bonta missed several family members' celebrations, including her own son's first birthday, and was presumed dead in November 2016

'It's something I expected because she would never just leave like that, especially since she has a kid,' dad, Kevin, said.

'I have spent many a night crying and breaking down,' he said to WESH.

'Now, my plea to the public is to actually find out what happened to her. That's the goal. We need to know what happened.'

Tia was last seen on July 31, 2016, at a local Days Inn and was reported missing five days later.

Family members said that Tia had been with James Dellafield at the Days Inn and he dropped her off near her home. Dellefield has been cleared of any wrongdoing in his disappearance.

Bonta missed several family members' birthdays, including her own son's first birthday which led deputies in November 2016 to say that Bonta was presumed dead.
Angela Diaz, 32, a woman who framed her husbands ex-fiancee for stalking and attempted rape, was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday

A woman who framed her husbands ex-fiancee for stalking and attempted rape was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday.

Angela Maria Diaz, 32, concocted a scheme in which she faked cervical cancer, forged a doctors note which said she was pregnant, and then posted rape fantasy ads online which she later claimed was the work of her husbands former fiancee, Michelle Suzanne Hadley.

The ads invited men to Diazs home where they were encouraged to sexually assault her even if she resisted.

Prosecutors said Angela Diaz also called 911 and falsely reported that a man attempted to rape her in her garage, and she appeared with her shirt ripped and her neck red.

At the same time, Diaz told police Hadley had been threatening to have her raped, and had also sent threats that included graphic photos saying she would kill her and her unborn child.

Diaz faked the pregnancy, prosecutors said.

Police arrested Hadley, who spent nearly three months in jail.

Diaz (left), 32, concocted a scheme in which she faked cervical cancer, forged a doctors note which said she was pregnant, and then posted rape fantasy ads online which she later claimed was the work of her husbands former fiancee, Michelle Suzanne Hadley (right)

Diazs husband, Ian Diaz (right), a US Marshal, was romantically linked to Hadley (left) from 2013 to 2015

As the investigation progressed, it became apparent that Hadley was innocent, and that Diaz had fabricated allegations in an attempt to frame her.

The case fell apart as authorities learned all the threats and solicitations had come from Diaz herself.

Diaz pleaded guilty to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges on Tuesday.

Diazs husband, Ian Diaz, a US Marshal, was romantically linked to Hadley from 2013 to 2015.

Hadley was freed last October and had all of the charges against her dropped. In an interview with NBC's Dateline, she wept as she described the ordeal as a 'nightmare'.

Prosecutors said Angela Diaz also called 911 and falsely reported that a man attempted to rape her in her garage, and she appeared with her shirt ripped and her neck red

'There were mornings when I would wake up and think "OK I'm going to wake up a second time, this is just a nightmare". And it wasn't. It was for real.'

She added that being in prison made her feel 'like an animal'.

Hadley and Ian Diaz started dating in 2013 and later became engaged but broke up in August 2015.

They maintained contact to discuss a condo they purchased together during the relationship but the communication ended in late 2015.

Diaz met the man at the start of 2016 on a dating website. They married a month later and she claimed she was pregnant with twins.

At the beginning of June 2016, Diaz reported receiving threatening messages from the woman including text messages and emails.

On June 24, she called police claiming to have been attacked in her garage. She had a ripped shirt and had bruises on her face.

Diaz painted a picture that Hadley was not over their ended relationship and that she was trying to exact revenge for it on her ex's new wife

She later pointed authorities to a Craiglist ad which had been posted under her name and which invited men to take part in a violent rape fantasy with her.

The ad provided details of Diaz's daily routine and told the men to 'to have forcible sexual intercourse with [Diaz], even if she screamed or resisted.'

Diaz painted a picture that Hadley was not over their ended relationship and that she was trying to exact revenge for it on her ex's new wife.

She said Hadley created the listing, posing as her, for revenge. Hadley was arrested that night and had her bond set at $1million.

She spent 88 days behind bars.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Villagers in Mutoko South ward 28 were recently reportedly forced to submit serial numbers of their voter registration slips to the village heads.This was revealed by the Heal Zimbabwe Trust which said Councillor Tapiwa Chiziwe addressed a meeting at Hoyuyu Business centre recently."He told people that they were supposed to submit serial numbers of their registration slips to their village heads," said the trust.The trust said in Mudzi South ward 13 on 10 October 2017, ZANU PF District Chairperson Smart Chizhowa ordered village heads to force-march people to BVR registration centres."Chizhowa also informed the Village heads to compile names of people as they register to vote," said the trust.In Mudzi North on 10 October 2017, David Chimukoko a former Councillor from ZANU PF ordered village heads to force people within their jurisdiction to go and register to vote."Chimukoko also told Village heads that they should compile names of people after registration," said the trust."In Mutoko South ward 21 on 09 October 2017, a ZANU PF member only identified as Mai Rimakamwe took down voter registration slip serial numbers from people who had finished registering to vote at Gumbure Primary School"
President Donald Trump is at war once more with his fired FBI director over documents that confirm that James Comey drafted a statement on the outcome of Hillary Clinton's email case months before she had been interviewed.

Trump said in a Wednesday tweet storm that Comey 'was the best thing that ever happened' to Clinton, who he labeled 'crooked.' He pushed his Department of Justice to take punitive action.

'Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete,' Trump tweeted. 'Many people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didn't do this-obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?'

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter to DailyMail.com.

President Donald Trump is at war once more with his fired FBI director over documents that confirm that James Comey drafted a statement on the outcome of Hillary Clinton 's email case months before she had been interviewed

Trump said in a Wednesday tweet storm that Comey 'was the best thing that ever happened' to Clinton, who he labeled 'crooked.' He pushed his Department of Justice to take punitive action

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders would not address the president's tweets, either.

'The White House hasn't and won't offer a legal opinion on Comey's conduct. But in fact, to the contrary, the White House has actually deferred, as it should, any and all legal questions regarding Director Comey to the Department of Justice,' she said, reading off of a printed statement.

Pushed by DailyMail.com to explain what exactly Trump wants the Department of Justice to do, Huckabee Sanders repeated herself. 'We refer any legal action to the Department of Justice,' she said.

On Monday, the FBI quietly released a set of documents corroborating two Republicans senators' claims that Comey had drawn a conclusion about Clinton's innocence before investigators had interviewed more than a dozen key witnesses, including the former secretary of state.

Comey began a redacted conversation with his team about Clinton in a May 2, 2016 email that the FBI provided. A May 16 email sent by chief of staff James Rybicki in response to the correspondence directs a group of FBI employees to 'send me any comments on this statement so we may roll into a master doc for discussion with the Director at a future date.'

According to Newsweek, the FBI said the emails were 'Drafts of Director Comey's July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server Investigation.'

That was the day Comey said at a press conference that charges should not be brought in the Clinton case, even though the ex-Cabinet secretary had been careless with her communications.

Clinton had been interviewed three days prior to the news conference and two months after Comey solicited feedback on his draft statement.

'As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!' Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

The charge that Comey wanted to exonerate Clinton before the end of the FBI investigation originated with two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

They sent the FBI a letter at the end of August demanding any draft statements Comey may have written.

Their request led Trump to tweet that Comey's actions were evidence of the 'rigged system' he spoke about on the campaign trail.

'Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over...and so much more. A rigged system!' he said on Sept. 1.

The president's press secretary said then that the accusation justified the president's sacking of the former law enforcement official.

The charge that Comey wanted to exonerate Clinton before the end of the FBI investigation originated with two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and a judiciary subcommittee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, wrote the FBI in August to ask why Comey attempted to draft a statement on the outcome of the Clinton case in April or May, even though the Democratic candidate for president had not yet spoken to investigators.

In the letter to Trump's new FBI chief Christopher Wray, the lawmakers said they have copies of transcripts that were procured in the process of a probe into Comey that refer to his desire to draft a statement 'exonerating' Clinton months before her July 2 interview with the FBI.

They asked Wray to turn over all documents to the Judiciary Committee pertaining to the discussion between the former FBI director and his employees.

Grassley and Graham said they learned of the conversations through an Office of Special Counsel (OSC) review of Comey that had been requested by Democrats.

Clinton and other Democrats have blamed Comey's October surprise for the former secretary of state's surprise loss to Trump.

OSC ended its investigation into Comey when Trump fired him this spring - but not before it began conducting interviews with the former FBI chief's underlings.

The investigative agency spoke to Rybicki, Comeys chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of National Security and Cyberlaw, before it terminated its probe. OSC turned over highly redacted copies of its interviews with Rybicki and Anderson to Grassley and Graham at their request, the senators said.

The transcripts revealed Comey's interest in drafting a statement on the outcome of the case before the FBI had spoken to Clinton or what the senators described as 17 key witnesses.

'Conclusion first, fact-gathering secondthats no way to run an investigation. The FBI should be held to a higher standard than that, especially in a matter of such great public interest and controversy,' the senators said in their letter.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told a reporter who asked for Trump's take then, 'if it is accurate as they say it is, it would certainly give cause and reason that Jim Comey was not the right person to lead the FBI.'

Comey ultimately let Clinton off the hook, despite a charge that she mishandled classified information. He reopened her case in late October after previously unrecovered emails were discovered on aide Huma Abedin's estranged husband's computer.

Days later Comey called off the dogs once more, but the damage to Clinton's reputation had already been done. She lost the presidential race to Trump on Nov. 8.

Trump claimed in a Sept. 1 tweet that Comey's actions were evidence of the 'rigged system' he spoke about on the campaign trail
A scorned wife accused of pouring a kettle of boiling water over her Royal Marine husband's lover texted relatives saying 'revenge is sweet', a court heard.

Monika Fourie, 34, of Plymouth, Devon, said she felt like someone was 'stabbing her in the head' after discovering another woman in her marital home.

She walked in on her unfaithful husband Wouter Fourie and found him with his 24-year-old lover Hannah Stokes in their lounge, Plymouth Crown Court was told.

Monika Fourie (left) arrives at Plymouth Crown Court today, where she denied causing grievous bodily harm to her husband's 24-year-old lover Hannah Stokes (right)

Today, Jo Martin, prosecuting, said the defendant sent a message to a family member in Poland which was translated as 'Revenge is sweet.'

Another text sent by Fourie was roughly translated as 'the b**** will pay more.'

Fourie told the court: 'The texts were sent two years ago when I was unwell and had mixed up emotions. People say things they regret. I was not thinking straight.'

Ms Martin said: 'People also do things they regret and out of character.'

She allegedly poured first a mug and then a kettle of boiling water over the head and chest of Miss Stokes during the attack in November 2015, causing terrible burns.

Miss Stokes was treated for second degree partial thickness burns down to her navel and had surgery for a perforated eardrum.

Miss Stokes (right) was allegedly attacked by Fourie, after starting a relationship with her alleged attacker's husband Wouter (left, he arrives at court)

Fourie has admitted causing grievous bodily harm to her love rival but denies it was done with intent.

She fought back tears as she told how she had spent the previous night away from her husband and their young daughter after he had admitted being unfaithful.

She returned the next day on Saturday, October 24, 2015 and was shocked to find a pair of black women's shoes close to the door of their home in Plymouth.

Wouter told the court he had started his relationship with Miss Stokes a month earlier and on the day in question invited her round to watch rugby on the TV.

Fourie told she was 'heartbroken, devastated' at her husband's infidelity.

She said: 'No words can explain what I was felt at that time. I had never felt like this before. I was broken. I missed my child and I wanted to know she was fine.

'I wanted to speak to Wouter as well as I had so many questions. I did not know where my life had gone.

Fourie (pictured) was supported by friends as she arrived at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday

'I had no idea what he had been up to and no idea there was another woman there. I saw a woman's shoes on the floor and I knew my child was upstairs.

'I felt like this pain in my head, like someone was stabbing me repeatedly in my head.

'I knew she was there with my husband in my house and my child was upstairs. It was two years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.'

Fourie said did not remember Miss Stokes's face and described her vision from that moment onwards as 'narrow.'

Mr Fourie told the court she said she was going to make a cup of tea but returned with a mug of boiling water and tipped it over his lover, followed by the kettle.

Mr Fourie, who said he had been twice hit by IEDs in Afghanistans, told how he saw steam coming from her head.

Fourie said she could not remember putting the kettle on or anything of the attack itself.

Fourie (left), 34, is alleged to have seen red and doused Miss Stokes (right) with scalding water from a cup and a kettle, covering her head, neck and chest

She added: 'The next thing I remember is for some reason I was walking in the street outside. I do not know how I got there. The pain I cannot describe.

'I felt like my whole world crashed. A woman was in my house with my husband with my kid upstairs. I cannot give any further information about what happened.'

Fourie said a friend then took her to A&E where she saw her husband leaving after he had taken Miss Stokes to hospital.

She said he told her what she had done but she didn't believe him. She added: 'He said 'Do you know what you have done? You poured boiling water on her.'

'I did not believe it. I am not a violent person. I thought he was lying. I would never do this to anybody.'

Fourie said she then left for her native Poland with her daughter to seek support from her family as she was in a 'mess'.

Fourie was alleged to have left love-rival Miss Stokes (pictured) with 'terrible burns'

She added: 'I struggled to believe it. It was like he was talking about some horror story, not about me.

'My family tried to comfort me, but they could not believe Wouter would do such a thing.

'After everything he told me, I felt horrible about what I had done. The only thing I was afraid of was that someone would separate me from my daughter.'

Two weeks later her husband picked her up from the airport and Fourie said she still had hopes they could get together.

She added that, despite Mr Fourie and Miss Stokes embarking on a relationship, she still had sex with her husband and even thought at one stage she was pregnant.

She said: 'My period was late and we had been trying for a second baby for four or five years after my daughter was born.

'It was late by about a week. He went to Tesco to get me a pregnancy test. I don't even know if I was. I will never know as that was the night I was arrested.'

The court also heard that in a text message to her husband, Fourie said: 'Knowing I might be pregnant and you still seeing another woman. How does that make you feel?'

She also told her husband by text: 'Be a man, stop living a lie while you still can.'

Giving evidence, she told the court: 'I was fighting for my husband. I still wanted him back. I did not know anyone else before him.'

Fourie said she later tried to get in contact with Miss Stokes to talk to her about what happened.

She said on the day of her arrest she called Miss Stokes to ask if she wanted to meet for 'coffee and cake and talk about what was going on.'

She added: 'I wanted to ask her to leave my husband alone. I wanted to ask her nicely to stop seeing my husband.'

But she said she was never able to speak with Miss Stokes directly and was arrested at her house at 10pm on November 27, 2015.

Miss Stokes was treated for second degree partial thickness burns down to her navel and had surgery for a perforated eardrum after the alleged attack, Plymouth Crown Court heard

She added: 'It wasn't me. It was not my usual self. It is not me.'

Referring to attempts by Fourie to meet her victim after the alleged attack, Ms Martin added: 'You had thrown boiling water over that woman before, do you really think she would meet you for coffee and cake?

'You may have acted out of character on 24th October, but you knew what you were doing when you poured the kettle all over her.'

Fourie responded: 'No, no.'

The defendant, now divorced, said her South African-born husband who she met in 2004 had confessed to a string of affairs over the few days before the attack.

He then told her he had been unfaithful with someone else and texted her saying 'We need to talk'.

Fourie said: 'I knew there was more to his story. I texted back to say would I like it, as in the conversation?

'He said 'No'. 'I texted back, do you have someone? He texted back 'yes' and I said 'how long?' He said four months. I did not expect that.'

The court heard that Mr Fourie and Miss Stokes split up last year.

Fourie denies causing grievous bodily harm to Miss Stokes with intent. She has pleaded guilty to the alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm without intent. The trial continues.
A woman in northern Georgia has been arrested after police found her driving drunk with her four-year-old foster son in the car, authorities say.

Stacy Clubb, 45, was arrested by police in Alpharetta, Georgia, upon failing a sobriety test during a traffic stop on October 4.

Police had found Clubb and her young son parked on the side of the road with flat tires as they wrapped up a separate traffic stop.

Stacy Clubb, 45, was arrested by police in Alpharetta, Georgia, upon failing a sobriety test during a traffic stop

Police spokesman Jason Muenzer told WSB-TV that Clubb appeared to be very drunk during the field sobriety test.

Clubb, an assistant vice president of human resources at an insurance firm, told officers that she had picked up her son after attending a work party.

When an officer asked her how much she had to drink, Clubb insisted that she had only consumed one drink.

'I can't believe you're doing this with my son in the car,' Clubb said to the officer.

At one point during the the traffic stop, Club told officers she had to get home to let her dog out, warning that he was going to go to the bathroom in the house.

Clubb, an assistant vice president of human resources at an insurance firm, told officers that she had picked up her son after attending a work party

Well, he's going to have to wait because I need to make sure you are safe to drive,' the officer said.

Clubb was charged with DUI and child endangerment.

Her attorney, George Stein, said that child welfare workers took her son from her following the arrest.

'She believes she was not impaired to drive,' Stein told WSB-TV. 'It's obviously a high-stakes case for her because she's a foster mom and there's huge issues that come along with that and responsibilities as well.'
The little baby boy who was allegedly hacked in the face with a meat cleaver by his grandmother has been described as a 'sleepy and dreamy little man'.

The four-month-old was allegedly slashed across the face and neck while he was in a cot in Brisbane.

Photos and a video emerged online showing the newborn in the arms of his smiling grandmother days after being born, The Courier Mail reported.

The little baby boy (left) who was allegedly attacked by his grandmother (right) with a meat cleaver has been described as a 'sleepy and dreamy little man'

The baby boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in a serious condition in hospital but is now stable after surgery

The baby boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in a serious condition in hospital but is now stable after surgery.

However, reports suggest the infant will be 'scarred for life' after the incident on Tuesday.

The child's mother, from Sydney, woke to her baby screaming at about 6am and found her severely injured son in a 'distressed state' alongside her 64-year-old mother and knife nearby.

The baby was rushed to hospital and needed blood transfusions to keep him alive in the ambulance, Seven News reported.

The grandmother was charged with attempted murder and is in police custody.

The woman's lawyer Glen Cranny said outside court Wednesday the 64-year-old had undergone a mental health assessment.

Police were pictured inspecting a stainless steel meat cleaver outside the home on Tuesday

The boy was rushed to hospital and needed blood transfusions to keep him alive in ambulance

The grandmother, who is also a former school teacher, does not remember the attack, according to Seven News.

A shocked neighbour, who woke to the sound of sirens, said: 'The baby and the daughter arrived about two days ago, they're from down south.

'She (the grandmother) lives at the house. It's just her. She's very quiet and keeps to herself.

'We all get together at Christmas time and have a big street party but she, the grandmother, never wants to come.'

The 64-year-old will appear in court Wednesday and did not apply for bail.

A shocked neighbour said: 'The baby and the daughter arrived about two days ago, they're from down south... (The grandmother)'s very quiet and keeps to herself'
A door that opens outwards may have sealed the fate of six missing fishermen, believed to be on a sunken trawler off the coast of Queensland.

Tight-knit members of the Cairns fishing community told The Australian if the boys hadn't managed to open the door to the boat before the trawler sank, it was almost impossible that they would have made it out.

'The problem with these boats is the door doesn't open in, they open out, ' one person said.

'If you put a car in the water and try to open the door, you can't. You need to smash a window, equalise it and that's the only way you can open the door.'

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Six fishermen (including crewman Eli Tonks, pictured with his fiance) are now believed to be trapped inside their trawler, which sunk into the ocean off the coast of Queensland on Monday night

Fishermen claim the boat is designed so the door to above deck opens outwards. This would effectively seal the exit if the door had not been opened before the boat sank into the rough seas

The Cairns local said the design of the door was 'a problem in these older boats'.

A total of seven men were on the trawler Dianne on Monday night when the boat began to capsize near Middle Island off the coast of Town of 1770, about 7.30pm.

One man, Ruben McDornan, 32, was above deck, and clutched to the hull of the sinking boat until midnight, when the trawler finally sank, covered by waves reaching up to three metres.

He tread water in rough seas through the night, until a passing yacht picked him up about 7am on Tuesday.

Mr McDornan reportedly told his rescuers he had heard kicking and screaming from inside the boat as his friends, believed to be below deck, struggled to escape.

Pictured: Zach Feeney, 28, who was believed to be trapped below deck on the trawler Dianne

Six men; Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Adam Hoffman, 34, skipper Ben Leahy, 45, Zach Feeney, 28, and 34-year-old Chris Sammut, have not been seen since the trawler sank, and hopes of finding them alive are fast fading.

The men are all good friends, and consider each other family, according to an emotional statement from Mr McDornan's wife Sammy.

Mrs McDornan held back tears as she revealed her husband was okay, but the couple were still worried about the men on board.

Search and Rescue coordinator Jeff Barnett said on Wednesday afternoon time was running out to find the young fishermen alive.

Skipper Ben Leahy (pictured) is referred to as an experienced fisherman and diver by friends, but he has not been seen since the trawler began to sink about 7.30pm on Monday night

Eli Tonks, 39, became engaged to be married last year, but is also now missing at sea

All six men (including Adam Hoffman, pictured) were believed to be below deck on Monday night when their vessel rolled off the Town of 1770

He told reporters as light faded on Wednesday, the operation would begin to change from a search and rescue to a search and recovery.

'The best case scenario is we find six people in a life raft. That's what we're aiming for at the moment. But it's not looking real promising,' he said.

As the search enters its third day, the chances of survival are slim, Sergeant Barnett said.

'On advice from our medical team, they tell us towards the end of the afternoon the chances of survival unsupported is negligible,' he said.

For the past two days, ferocious winds and high seas have hampered the desperate search for the six men.

Search and Rescue coordinator Jeff Barnett (pictured) said on Wednesday afternoon time was running out to find the young fishermen alive, and that a recovery operation was already being planned

Chris Sammut,34, was also on board when the trawler sank, and has not yet been found

On Tuesday, six vessels, some of them private citizens wanting to help, were joined by a fixed wing air craft and six helicopters, but search teams were constantly pushed back by the weather.

Police have called in for sonar detectors to help locate the vessel, and specialist divers are believed to be en route from NSW, but as the hours pass, the families of the men are barely holding on.

Many of them have taken to Facebook to alert friends and loved ones of the news, while others are pleading for a miracle.

'The boat flipped during the night while most of them were in their cabins,' Heidi Sargeant, sister of Mr Hoffman, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

'It sounds like it was unexpected as they didn't manage to get a distress call out. We are hopeful they managed to get out of the boat after it flipped to give them half a chance.

Adam Hoffman (pictured with Pauline Hanson) was confirmed as one of the missing men on Wednesday morning

'They were all divers and fit and healthy so if they managed to get out we are hopeful they may still be alive!'

Late on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Bidner's mother Kay posted a picture of her son wearing a Superman shirt.

'Time to use your superpowers Adam,' she captioned the photo.

Mr Bidner's sister Jodie wrote: 'I need every one's hope and will to help my brother Adam who is currently one of the missing men off his Trawler.

'Adam is strong, stubborn and fit and I'm hanging on to the fact that if anyone is a fighter it's Adam Bidner.'

She later added: 'Hang in there bro... we will find you.'

Mr Bidner's mother Kay shared a picture of her son wearing a Superman shirt to social media. 'Time to use your superpower Adam,' she captioned the photo.

Eli Tonks (pictured) is believed to have been below deck as the trawler sank on Monday night

Mr Tonks' mother Jenny posted on Facebook: 'My son and his co-workers... I have no words, we are just waiting.'

One of the people aiding the helicopter search is RACQ LifeFlight chief operations officer Brian Guthrie, who went to school with missing skipper Mr Leahy.

He said Mr Leahy was a very experienced seaman and diver, and that had given him some hope the men might still be alive.

'He's always been in boats around the water, diving and things like that,' Mr Guthrie told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Mr McDoran (pictured) was above deck when the boat capsized about 7.30pm on Monday night, and held on to the hull of the boat until it sunk about midnight. He is so far the only survivor of the tragic event

'He's very experienced in the water and I expect his crew would be exactly the same. If anyone's going to give it their best shot, for the best outcome, these guys would be it.'

Mr Guthrie said six helicopters and one plane were spearheading Wednesday's search, supported by vessels on the water.

The area being searched is larger than it was on Tuesday, allowing for the impacts of sea drift and tides.

Eight hours of searching on Tuesday yielded some debris but it was not yet known if it came from the missing boat, he said.

Wetsuits, thongs and a bucket were among the belongings found in the ocean on Tuesday, The Australian reported.

Police said the search will be suspended at nightfall on Wednesday and resume on Thursday morning.
Heartless: Zoe Warren, who had been Mr Shaw's girlfriend for 'just a few days', confessed to her part in the killing to a new man

A girlfriend has been sentenced to life in prison after she and a male friend tied and brutally tortured her new boyfriend then viciously stabbed him to death leaving him looking 'like the elephant man'.

Mark Shaw was tied up, beaten, bitten, gagged, attacked with weapons and stabbed to death in Grange Villa, County Durham, in December last year.

The 29-year-old suffered more than 80 injuries across his body in the shocking attack at the hands of his girlfriend Zoe Warren, 20, and neighbour Keiran Adey, 19.

His body was found, still bound at the ankles, in a bedroom at his home.

Warren of Chipchase, Washington, Wearside, and Adey, of Queen Street, Grange Villa, both denied murder and have been tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

Jurors found Warren guilty of murder and a charge of intimidation in relation to an angry letter she sent to a new boyfriend after he told police she had confessed to him about the killing.

Adey was found guilty of murder. They have both been sentenced to life behind bars with minimum tariffs of 17 years.

Zoe Warren, 20, had been Mark Shaw's girlfriend for a couple of days when she and his teenage neighbour tied him up and beat him to death, a court heard.

Mr Shaw, whose family described him as a 'peacemaker', was bound, beaten,bitten, gagged, attacked with weapons and stabbed to death in a vicious attack in Grange Villa, County Durham, in December last year.

The 29-year-old father, who died without knowing he was to become a father for the second time, suffered more than 80 separate injuries across his body in the shocking violence.

Devastated: The family of murder victim Mark Shaw, 29, whose body was discovered in Grange Villa, County Durham last December, leading police to launch a murder investigation

Warren,of Chipchase, Washington, Wearside, and Mr Shaw's neighbour Keiran Adey, 19, of Queen Street, Grange Villa, both denied murder during a trial but were found guilty by a jury.

Warren had admitted being at the scene when Mr Shaw, who she described as her 'best friend', was murdered by Adey but claimed she played no part in the violence.

Adey told jurors he had beaten Mr Shaw but claimed it was Warren who 'lost it' and murdered her new man.

Jurors found them both guilty of murder.

Pictured: Mark Shaw, above, who was found dead by Durham police

Warren was also convicted of intimidation over a threatening letter she sent to her next boyfriend after he became a prosecution witness.

Both will receive a life sentence later today.

Prosecutor Nick Dry told the court Mr Shaw had been subjected to unimaginable violence in the attack and added: 'There was evidence that he had been gripped by the jaw and a ligature applied to his neck in a manner that was life threatening.

'He had been punched and or kicked multiple times, bitten three times and struck with a rod shaped weapon up to six times.

'The evidence showed he had been forcibly restrained and possibly injected intravenously against his will.

'In addition, he had been stabbed twice in the back, one of those wounds being deeply penetrating and bringing about death as a result of blood loss.'

Mr Dry told the court Warren had been living at Mr Shaw's house at the time of his death and had previously known him through a common association with the Washington area.

Adey was a neighbour, with whom there had been some previous trouble.

The court heard items used during the course of the killing, including a knife were taken to a wooded area near Mr Shaw's home and buried or burned.

Mr Dry said the killers carried out an initial attack on Mr Shaw before leaving the house and returning to inflict 'further, more serious violence' in the early hours of December 17.

Mr Dry said during one conversation after the killing, Adey told an acquaintance he and Warren had inflicted violence and added: 'We've done what we've done and left him looking like the elephant man'.

Pictured: Warren,of Chipchase, Washington, Wearside, and Mr Shaw's neighbour Keiran Adey (pictured), 19, of Queen Street, Grange Villa, both denied murder during a trial but were found guilty by a jury

It is claimed Warren told another woman the violence flared because Mark had 'spent her last ten pounds on heroin' and he had 'grassed' on Keiran about a broken window.

Grieving members of Mr Shaw's family, including his mum, dad and sisters, packed the public gallery when jurors delivered the guilty verdicts.

His mother Valerie Watson fought back tears as she spoke about her much lovedboy, who she described as 'funny, so kind, generous and loyal.'

She added: 'He had never had a fight in his life, he was a peacemaker.

'He would always make people laugh, especially the kids in the family, they called him a clown and he called himself Merlin Mark because he did magic tricks.

She said: 'He would make friends laugh, make the kids laugh. He was invited to all the parties, he was the life and soul of the parties.

'All his life, I can honestly say, I have never heard him say a bad word about anyone.

'He took the blame so many times in his life for what other people did. That was just him.

'If he had lived he would have forgiven them and would have made sure there was nothing done to them. That was Mark. He didn't want to see anyone hurt.'

Mark's sister Haley Richardson, 35, added: 'There was about 600 people at his funeral.

All his life, I can honestly say, I have never heard him say a bad word about anyone

'The police told use they had spoken to about 250 people after Mark was killed and not one person had a bad word to say about him.

'He has two children but he did not know about the second one. He has got a baby girl he will never know.

'Her mother was only a few weeks pregnant when Mark died and she didn't know herself that she was expecting.'

Mark's other sister Micheala, 39, branded her brother's killers 'evil' and the family, who are from Great Lumley, questioned whether Warren was ever actually Mark's girlfriend at all, saying he would have helped anyone and have them stay at his home for nothing if they needed.

Father Stephen Shaw, 54, who lives in Sunderland, said: 'The only thing keeping me going is hatred.

'When an animal is like that it gets put down. I can't even call them animals because an animal kills to survive, to protect it's young, not like this.'

The family said they have been overwhelmed by the support and tributes received after Mark's death and said it gave them comfort to know he was loved and will be missed by so many.

Micheala added: 'Mark was loved and respected by all who knew him, which was so many.

'The proof being hundreds at his funeral and the support we have had.

'Mark was nothing like the person he has been portrayed to be in court.

'Mark was funny, kind and loved by his family. He was harmless, never violent, did not see bad in anyone.

'Mark was adored and always will be. We will never be able to fill the emptiness in our hearts. This is the cruellest, most tragic, beyond words thing that could have happened.

'We will never understand why.'
A man on trial for drugging, raping and murdering his 14-year-old daughter admitted to the charges on Tuesday, after striking a deal with prosecutors that will save him from the death penalty.

After gaining custody of his daughter Alycia and son in 2005, prosecutors say Mark Mesiti, 49, raped his daughter over several months, using a cocktail of drugs to put her into a sleep while he filmed the repeated molestations.

It's believed that Alycia died after being given one of these lethal cocktails in August 2006, around the time that she was reported missing. At the time, Mesiti said his daughter went on a camping trip with friends and never returned.

Her body was found three years later, buried in the backyard of her father's former Ceres, California rental home.

On Tuesday, Mark Mesiti, 49 (left) admitted to drugging, raping and murdering his 14-year-old daughter Alycia (right) in August 2006

Mesiti is pictured above in court earlier this month. By pleading guilt to all 49 charges against him, he no longer faces the death penalty

After discovering her remains, investigators carried out a search warrant on Mesiti's new apartment in Los Angeles, and found that he was cooking meth there.

The murder trial took so long to get going because Mesiti first had to be tried in Los Angeles on the drug charges before being extradited back to Stanislaus County for the murder trial. There were further delays when Mesiti first tried to represent himself and the original judge removed himself from the case.

The trial finally started six weeks ago, when the jury was seated.

During the more than a month of testimony, the jury was shown about 100 child pornography images found on Mesiti's computer - including 54 showing Alycia and her father.

In addition to the charges related to the abuse and murder of his daughter, Mesiti was also accused of sexually assaulting two other girls - an eight-year-old who lived in his apartment and a teen who he befriended who was 16 and 17 times at the alleged attacks.

The jury was also shown a video of Mesiti setting up a hidden camera in the eight-year-old victim's bedroom.

There was more where that came from too. Ceres police Detective Arthur Hively was expected to show the jury the rest of the about 1,700 child porn images and videos found on Mesiti's computers in the coming days of the trial.

Alycia's body was found buried in the back yard of her father's former rental home in Ceres, California in March 2009

According to Alycia's great-aunt Roberta Fitzpatrick, Mesiti admitted to the charges to spare family members from three more months of disturbing testimony.

'Im just extremely relieved the trial is over,' Fitzpatrick told the Mercury News. 'Its been a very, very long horrible journey, not just for me but for Alycias mom.'

Prosecutors were planning to seek the death penalty for Mesiti, but agreed not to once he admitted to the charges. He now faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced on November 28.

Mesiti's admission brings to an end a particularly long road to justice.

Perhaps worst of all, is that Alycia's murder could have probably been prevented if a Santa Anna County judge hadn't given Mesiti custody of his son and daughter in 2005.

Judge Vincent J. Chiarello awarded Mesiti custody of his kids when their mother Roberta Allen was deemed 'unfit' by a court investigator who found that she battled with depression.

But Mesiti had demons of his own which were known to the judge as well, according to court documents.

TIMELINE OF JUSTICE IN ALYCIA MESITI'S MURDER Late 2005: A Santa Ana County judge awards Mark Mesiti custody of his daughter Alycia and son, despite his lengthy criminal record August 2006: Alycia disappears. Mesiti says she went on a camping trip with friends and her dog and never returned. Shortly after, he was evicted from their rental home in Ceres, California 2009: A detective assigned to Alcyia's disappearance resigns and police officials order a new round of interviews into the case March 25, 2009: Investigators get a warrant to search Mesiti's old rental home and find Alycia's remains buried in the back yard March 28, 2009: Police arrest Mesiti at his apartment in Los Angeles, after discovering he was cooking meth in the home March 2011: Mesiti is found guilty in the drug case and is extradited back to Stanislaus County to face trial for his daughter's murder September 2017: Jury is seated in murder case October 17, 2017: Mesiti pleads guilty to all 49 charges against him November 28, 2017: Mesiti is set to be sentenced on this day Advertisement

In the seven years before he was awarded custody, Mesiti had been convicted of state and federal charges including bank fraud and drunken driving. He had also been charged with domestic violence and was ordered to attend anger-management classes. Records show he failed to comply with court orders to attend drug- and alcohol-treatment programs, which landed him in prison for violating probation.

Nonetheless, he still won custody of the kids.

Prosecutors say Alycia and her brother lived with their father for about nine months before she was murdered.

It's believed that Alycia was killed sometime in August 2006. At the time, her father said she went camping with friends and her dog and never returned.

Shortly after she went missing, Mesiti was evicted from the rental home they shared.

Three years later, a detective assigned to Alycia's case retired police officials ordered a new round of interviews into her disappearance.

Shortly after that, in March 2009, police got a warrant to search Mesiti's old rental property. Cadaver-sniffing dogs helped locate the teen's remains, buried in the backyard. Prosecutors say she died of a drug overdose.

A few days later, police tracked Mesiti down to an apartment in Los Angeles and got a search warrant to look through it. Inside they found a meth lab, and he was arrested on drug charges.

In 2011, he was convicted on the charges and finally transferred back to Stanislaus County to face the murder charges.

Fitzpatrick told the Modesto Bee that she was relieved to hear Mesiti's admission.

'Its over. Its been almost 12 years since she disappeared,' Fitzpatrick said. 'I just want to put it all behind me, except for honoring Alycia.'

Chief Deputy District Attorney Annette Rees also spoke out after the Tuesday hearing.

'I am very grateful by this just result and closure from these events for all three victims in this case,' Rees said. 'I hope this represents the end of a torturous 11-year process for these families.'
An 18-year-old Utah man was ordered this week to stand trial for allegedly helping his friend hang herself and recording the suicide on video.

On Tuesday, 4th District Judge James Brady ruled that there was sufficient probable cause to charge Tyerell Pryzybycien with first-degree murder and desecration of a human body in the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown.

The judge wrote that had it not been for the defendant's actions, which included supplying his suicidal friend with a rope, driving her out to a remote location and tying the noose for her to hang herself, Brown would not have lost her life on May 6, 2017.

Headed to trial: A Utah judge on Tuesday ordered Tyerell Pryzybycien, 18 (pictured left in court in August) to stand trial for the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown (right)

Pryzybycien, seen in court on August 23, faces charges of first-degree murder and desecration of a human body for allegedly helping his friend hang herself

During a preliminary hearing last week, prosecutor Chad Grundander argued that the defendant 'had a fascination with death' and used Brown's 'suicidal ideations for his own purposes.'

Defense attorneys countered by insisting that Brown was responsible for taking her own life and that their client's actions did not meet the requirements for a murder charge.

They also contended that Pryzybycien asked Brown several times if she truly wanted to go through with the suicide, and they pointed to notes where she said she made the decision herself.

Przybycien's role wasn't commendable, but it didn't amount to murder either, his lawyer Gregory Stewart said.

'While we don't have all the video tapes we might like, I think it's clear that ... she was directly involved in the actions that caused her death,' he said, according to the Daily Herald in Provo.

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Brady noted that it will be up to the jury to make the determination during the upcoming trial whether Pryzybycien caused his friend's death, or whether she was solely responsible.

He wrote, however, that it was 'reasonable to infer' that the 18-year-old Spanish Fork man acted with intent to cause Brown's death, and that she would not have died on May 6 if it were not for his actions, which he said were a substantial factor in the suicide, reported Deseret News.

Shortly before the girl's suicide, Pryzybycien allegedly sent messages to a friend, saying he wanted to help Brown kill herself.

'It be awesome...It's like getting away with murder!' he wrote, according to court documents released over the summer.

Przybycien (left) allegedly bought Brown (right) a rope, drove her to a remote canyon and filmed her hanging herself for 10 minutes

Authorities said Pryzybycien researched suicide methods and helped Brown orchestrate her demise, down to choosing the site near Payson Canyon outside of Provo, setting up a wooden pedestal for her to jump from, lashing a rope to a tree and then tying the noose around Brown's neck when she could not do it herself.

During a preliminary hearing held in August, prosecutors played in court a cellphone video they said Pryzybycien filmed right before Brown died and several minutes into her hanging.

A voice could be heard calling out to the 16-year-old victim, 'thumbs up if you're OK.' Ten minutes later, the man says, 'that's when the brain getting any oxygen.'

Afterwards, Przybycien allegedly messaged his friend, saying, Bro It happened. I helped her do it too and I feel so guilty, according to a Washington Post report.

Following his arrest, Przybycien claimed that he, too, was suicidal and that he had wanted to witness someone die to see if he could take his own life as well, according to court records.

Przybycien claimed that he was suicidal and that he had wanted to witness someone die to see if he could take his own life as well

Przybycien is due back in court for his arraignment next Tuesday, at which time he is expected to plead not guilty to the charges agaisnt him. If convicted of murder, he could be looking at 15 years to life in prison.

The case carries echoes of Michelle Carter, a Massachusetts woman who encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself in dozens of text messages when she was a teenager. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

The legal difference between murder and involuntary manslaughter is the defendant's mental state, Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University, told the AP.

Murder is intentional, while manslaughter generally involves more reckless behavior such as drunken driving.

Przybycien 'kind of set the wheels in motion, but there's a problem with causation because she made the ultimate decision to take her own life,' Medwed said.
An Apex ganglord stole $200,000 in jewellery and designer watches before blowing the proceeds on sex workers, cocaine and luxury hotel rooms.

Gang kingpin Mahmoud Taha, 20, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the armed robbery of two jewellery stores just 90 minutes apart on July 7, 2016.

Taha paid three teenage boys to carry out the raids, which they did armed with sledgehammers, the Herald Sun reported.

Gang kingpin Mahmoud Taha, 20, (pictured) pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the armed robbery of two jewellery stores just 90 minutes apart on July 7, 2016

The teens were reportedly arrested after members of the public stepped in and held them down.

The Citizen Victorian Watch Repair in Melbourne's city centre and Farah Jewellery in Coburg, Melbourne's inner-north, were both targeted in the terrifying heists.

Police said Taha phoned a gold buyer on Collins Street in Melbourne's CBD the same day, to ask how much they would pay for the stolen goods.

The jewellery and watches were later sold to that business.

Taha paid three teenage boys to carry out the raids on jewellery stores in Melbourne, which they did armed with sledgehammers

The Apex gang is behind numerous jewellery store heists across Melbourne

The Collins Street gold buyer was raided by the police and its owner was charged following a police investigation into the robberies.

With the proceeds of crime, Taha indulged on cocaine, sex workers, expensive dinners and designer brand clothing, the court heard.

Taha was also behind the wheel of stolen supercars, according to documents tendered to the court.

He drove cars police traced back to aggravated burglaries and carjackings.

CCTV footage shows a group of alleged Apex gang members on a crime spree in Melbourne. In once scene two men are seen carjacking a driver at a petrol station in Cremorne (pictured)

The men are seen shoving the driver out of the way and then jumping into his car (pictured) and driving off

He reportedly paid gang associates up to $5,000 to steal the cars and deliver them to him.

Taha committed the offenses while serving an 18-month community corrections order, which was handed down after he attacked two undercover police officers in July 2015.

Taha's guilt was discovered through phone records, the Herald Sun reported.

The 20-year-old also pleaded guilty on Wednesday to driving the getaway car in the robbery of a courier at gunpoint at Broadmeadows Plaza on May 2, 2016.

The courier carried a backpack with $236,000 inside.

Taha will return to court for a plea hearing in February.

Farah Jewellery in Coburg, Melbourne's inner-north, was targeted in the terrifying heists
A man in Arizona lit his mobile home on fire after trying to kill spiders with a blowtorch, authorities say.

The Tucson Fire Department was sent to the scene on Sunday night to stop the fire from spreading.

When firefighters arrived, an elderly woman had already been carried out of the home by her son and neighbors.

A fire department in Tucson, Arizona, was sent to a mobile home on Sunday night to stop the fire from spreading

It is believed that the fire started when a man was using a propane torch to kill spiders and burn away spider webs under his mobile home

She sustained minor injuries while being rescued from the home, but no other injuries were reported.

It took 23 firefighters 11 minutes to put out the fire, according to KVOA.

While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials said they suspect that it was started by the use of a propane torch.

A male resident had been using a propane torch to kill spiders and burn webs underneath his home before the flames spread throughout the structure.

The Red Cross is helping the mobile homes two residents who were displaced by the fire.

When firefighters arrived, an elderly woman had already been carried out of the home by her son and neighbors. She and another man are being helped by Red Cross while displaced
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Alliance for the People's Agenda (APA) leader Nkosana Moyo who is aspiring to be president come 2018 has said his government will ensure that the armed forces of the country respect the people's freedoms."A just and effective government should respect the rule of law and Constitutional freedoms in Zimbabwe. Our goal is to engage the Police (Ministry of Home Affairs) and the National Army (Zimbabwe Defence Forces), both which should impartially protect and uphold the rights and security of every Zimbabwean citizen with a Zimbabwean ID - not just the ruling party alone nor its affiliates," Moyo said."We need a country where diversity of thought, opinion and expression is respected and thoroughly upheld. This is a necessity and what makes us a progressive democracy as a nation. All other forms of progress and prosperity will follow."
A Massachusetts elementary school has canceled its Halloween events and is celebrating 'black and orange spirit day' instead.

Boyden Elementary School's principal sent a letter to parents this week saying that it had decided to cancel its traditional Halloween parade on October 31 because it was 'not inclusive of all students' and was 'difficult' for many.

Without specifying which students the parade excluded, Principal Brendan Dearborn said the school would instead hold a 'black and orange spirit day'.

Children are allowed to dress in those colors but cannot come to school in costume.

Boyden Elementary School in Massachusetts (above) has canceled its Halloween celebrations on October 31 and is replacing them with a 'black and orange spirit day'

They are however allowed to wear costumes to an after-hours 'Monster Mash Pasta Bash' party on October 20 which students can choose to attend or not.

After the announcement on Wednesday, parents slammed the school after the announcement and said it was 'political correctness run amok'.

'Put a costume on. Parade down the street. Let them have their little time. Why do you have to turn it into something political?' one told CBS Boston.

Halloween is not celebrated by Jehova's Witnesses and some devout Christians who believe it worships the devil.

Boyden Elementary School did not indicate in its announcement whether it had canceled the holiday for those groups specifically or if any parent or child had ever complained about its annual parade.

It follows Mitchell Elementary School which last month announced it was canceling its Halloween celebrations because the parents of children who do not celebrate it were keeping them at home on October 31.

The school said it had decided its traditional Halloween costume parade was 'not inclusive' of all students and was 'difficult' for many (file image)

The decision was slammed by critics who said it was 'political correctness run amok'

In addition to being 'not inclusive', Boyden school staff said the parade was 'out of routine' and was 'very difficult' for some students but would not explain how.

Halloween is not celebrated by Jehova's Witnesses or some devout Christians who believe it is devil's worship (file image)

Neither the Boyden Elementary School Principal nor the Walpole Public Schools Superintendent would answer DailyMail.com's questions on Wednesday morning.

In a press release, the superintendent said only: 'After careful consideration and discussion, we as a staff have decided to provide alternative activities in place of the Halloween parade this year at Boyden.

'During our conversations, we discussed how the costume parade is out of our ordinary routine and can be difficult for many students.

'Instead of the parade, October 31st will be 'Black and Orange' spirit day at Boyden.

'As with all our spirit days, students can choose to participate or not.'
Nearly half the registered voters surveyed for a new Politico/Morning Consult poll said they believe the media fabricate stories about President Trump and his administration.

Pollsters found that 47 percent agree with Trump's constant 'fake news' claim, which he deploys when pointing at negative news coverage, while another 37 percent say journalists do not fabricate their stories about Trump.

There's a big split between how members of the two parties view the media, though one-in-five Democrats still agreed with the fabrication claim.

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President Trump has been complaining about 'fake news' since the campaign. A new survey shows that nearly a majority of Americans believe the media make stories up about the president and his administration

Republicans and Trump voters were far more likely to believe that the media fabricated stories about President Trump than their Democratic and Clinton-voting peers

Meanwhile, 76 percent of Republicans agree that news organizations are making stories up about the Republican president.

Additionally, 80 percent of Trump voters believe that to be true.

A large majority of Hillary Clinton voters do not, with 16 percent saying they believed the fabrication claim and another 71 percent saying not-so-much.

While voter identification and ideology played into how registered voters answered the question, age  which in recent years has been predictive on how people will vote  did not.

Forty-two percent of 18 to 29 year olds believed the media was fabricating stories, followed by 45 percent of 30 to 44 year olds, 39 percent of 45 to 54 year olds, 52 percent of 55 to 64 year olds and 53 percent of those 65 years and older.

More men said they believed Trump's claim, 50 percent, than women, 43 percent.

Education made some difference, with 48 percent of those with a post-graduate education sticking up for the media, and saying journalists did not fabricate stories.

That's compared to 43 percent with a bachelor's degree and 33 percent with no college degree who also said no.

The president has constantly berated the media calling unflattering news reports 'fake news.' Last week he escalated the battle suggesting that NBC should lose its broadcast license, a move that a slim majority of Americans would disapprove of, the poll found

But on the yes side, 42 percent of registered voters with a post-graduate education agreed with Trump, along with 44 percent with a bachelor's degree and 47 percent with no college degree.

Trump has used the shoot-the-messenger tactic nearly every day in office  as well as for months on the campaign trail.

On Tuesday night, he name-dropped a number of news outlets in a tweet complaining about unfair coverage.

'So much Fake News being put in dying magazines and newspapers. Only place worse may be @NBCNews, @CBSNews, @ABC and and @CNN,' Trump wrote.

'Fiction writers!' he said.

On Wednesday morning, Trump's Make America Great Again Committee  the joint fundraising committee between the president's campaign and the Republican National Committee  sent out a note to supporters belaboring the point.

'Ive said it before and I will say it again: the Mainstream Media is out to bring down my Administration,' the note said. 'Its a 24/7 barrage of hit jobs, fake stories, and absolute hatred for everything we stand for as a movement.'

It asks supporters to fill out a 'media accountability survey' while blasting reporters for not caring about the truth or what's right.

'They only care about propping up the liberal Democrats they worship and destroying anyone who wants to put America First,' the email said.

Last week, Trump made his most potent threat, by suggesting that NBC's license be yanked, after the news network produced yet another unflattering story about the president.

NBC reported that Trump said at a Pentagon meeting that he wanted to nuclear weapons cache increased by 'ten-fold.'

This is what prompted his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to refer to the president as a 'moron.'

Tillerson hasn't publicly denied he used such a term, refusing, instead, to answer the question as he suggests it's below the dignity of his office.

'With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!' Trump tweeted.

When pollsters asked registered voters if revoking licenses is something the federal government should be able to do, a slim majority answered no.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said no, while another 28 percent said yes, the federal government should have that power.

More Trump voters and Republicans would like to see the federal government with that power, but not enough to make a majority.

Forty-seven percent of Trump voters said yes, while 46 percent of Republicans agreed.
The US threatened to launch a Bin Laden-style SEAL Team 6 raid in Pakistan to free an American woman and her family held as hostages in the country.

Caitlan Coleman, 31, her Canadian partner Joshua Boyle, 34, and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in neighboring Afghanistan on a backpacking trip.

Their rescue began when a CIA drone caught sight of the mother and her children in a Taliban-linked Haqqani militant camp in northwest Pakistan.

Military planners organized a full Navy SEAL team commando unit to mount a rescue, according to the New York Times, but the mission was called off amid concerns.

The US threatened to launch a Bin Laden-style SEAL Team 6 raid in Pakistan to free an American woman and her family held as hostages in the country. Pictured, Caitlan Coleman with her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and two of their children

The family was rescued in the Kurram Valley which is 165 miles from Kabul, where they were kidnapped

America's top diplomat in Pakistan, Ambassador David Hale, warned his host country that the US was prepared to invade Pakistan just like in 2011 when they killed Bin Laden and within hours the family was located and rescued in Kurram, 165 miles across the border from Kabul where the couple was kidnapped in 2012.

Residents in Kurram said they had seen drones flying above them for days before the rescue.

Pakistani officials say they ambushed the vehicle that was transporting the family and shot out its tires to bring it to a sudden halt.

The US has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harboring and enabling terrorist networks.

America's top diplomat in Pakistan, Ambassador David Hale, warned his host country that the US was prepared to invade Pakistan just like in 2011 when they killed Bin Laden (pictured)

Pakistanis gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden following his death by US Special Forces in a ground operation in Abbottabad in 2011

President Trump and his administration has given repeated warnings to its government that the US will not tolerate its apparent leniency on groups such as the Haqqani network and al-Qaeda.

And it was in Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden hid for years in a secretive compound in Abbottabad as he evaded capture after orchestrating the 9/11 attacks.

Caitlan's husband earlier told The Associated Press in an email that she is still in the hospital in Canada as of late Monday night, but did not specify why she was taken.

'My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now,' Joshua Boyle wrote in the email.

Their children were born in captivity.

Joshua Boyle said after landing at Toronto's airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.

US intelligence officers learned that the family was to be transported to Kurram, a tribal area in Pakistan, in the days before their rescue. Residents there described seeing drones flying above them last week

Coleman, who is pictured on the left, was rushed to the hospital on Monday night, but her husband Joshua Boyle, pictured right, has not said what was wrong. The couple had all of their children while they were in captivity in Afghanistan

Boyle said his eldest son is 'exuberant; honestly freedom seems to have cured half his ills instantly, he's running around examining all the gifts compiled over the years'

In a prior email exchange with AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child but later told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that it was a forced abortion. The Taliban said in a statement it was a miscarriage.

On Monday, Boyle said he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, 'Hey, let's make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.'

'We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands,' Boyle explained.

'We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking.'

Boyle said their three children are now four, two and 'somewhere around six months.'

'Honestly we've always planned to have a family of five, 10, 12 children ... We're Irish, haha,' he wrote in an email.

'Everything in the house is a wonderland to him,' Boyle said of the boy born in captivity

Joshua Boyle is seen playing with his son Najaeshi Jonah in the garden of his parents' home in Smith Falls, Ontario on Saturday. Boyle, his wife and their three kids were freed on Wednesday

The parents of Caitlan Boyle have said they are elated she is free, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan.

'Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable,' Caitlan's father, Jim Coleman said, told ABC News.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Boyle revealed that he thought it was a joke when his captors told him Donald Trump had been elected president of the U.S.

'It didnt enter my mind that he was being serious,' Boyle said.

Boyle has said conditions during the five-year ordeal changed over time as the family was shuffled among at least three prisons. He has described the first as remarkably barbaric, the second as more comfortable and the third as a place of violence in which he and his wife were frequently separated and beaten.

After returning to his parents' home in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Boyle emailed the AP a statement saying they had 'reached the first true 'home' that the children have ever known - after they spent most of Friday asking if each subsequent airport was our new house hopefully.'

He also emailed two photos of his son Najaeshi Jonah Makepeace Boyle and said the boy began 'raiding the first refrigerator of his life.' The picture shows the boy sitting on the floor in a dark corner with food in his hand. The other shows him napping with a blanket covering part of his face and surrounded by stuffed animals.

Boyle said his wife was raped by a guard who was assisted by his superiors. He asked for the Afghan government to bring them to justice (A still image made from a 2013 video released by the Coleman family shows Coleman and Boyle whole in captivity)

Boyle (pictured, left, with Coleman) said he was in Afghanistan to help villagers 'who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help'

Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr (second from left), the sister of Omar Kadhr, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee with suspected ties to al-Qaeda

On a flight from London earlier, Coleman, who is from Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, sat in the business-class cabin wearing a tan head scarf.

She nodded wordlessly as she confirmed her identity to an AP reporter on board. Next to her were her two elder children. In the seat beyond that was Boyle, with their youngest in his lap. Boyle gave a separate, handwritten statement to the AP then, expressing disagreement with U.S. foreign policy and saying, 'God has given me and my family unparalleled resilience and determination.'

Boyle, a former call center worker, said in an earlier statement that he had gone to Afghanistan with his pregnant wife to help villagers 'who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help.'

Boyle was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, the older sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr and the daughter of a senior al-Qaida financier who had contacts with Osama bin Laden.

The Canadian-born Omar Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. troops following a firefight and was taken to the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Officials had discounted any link between that background and Boyle's capture, with one describing it in 2014 as a 'horrible coincidence.'
A fish finger fan wrote a letter of complaint after spotting Captain Birdseye was wearing the uniform of a lieutenant.

Paddy Stevenson, 51, from Wylam in Northumberland, penned a tongue-in-cheek open letter to the frozen food giant after noticing the error on its new advert, celebrating the character's 50th anniversary.

The father-of-one humorously branded the demotion 'appalling' and asked if he had been 'court-martialled' before demanding they reinstate him to his 'proper rank'.

A fish finger fan wrote a letter of complaint after spotting Captain Birdseye was wearing the uniform of a lieutenant in an advert celebrating the character's 50th anniversary (pictured)

The avid war game enthusiast, who claims a fish finger sandwich is one of his favourite foods, even attached a diagram of British military cuff rankings for the company's reference.

Mr Stevenson said: 'I was just watching the advert and I'm a bit of a military buff. I thought ''what's going on?''

'Because I'm into war games, the change in the number of stripes stuck out. I think this oversight is absolutely appalling.

'On their website, the toy has just two stripes but on one of their animated adverts [from a few years ago], he only has one.

'I thought it was a bit strange. It looks like he's been demoted.

'I wanted to ask them if they could reinstate him to his full captaincy or let the public know what he had done to deserve it. Has the Captain been 'court-martialled'?

'Captain Birds Eye has been a role model for many children for more than 50 years. We deserve further information if he's been up to no good.

War games enthusiast Paddy Stevenson (right) wrote an open letter to Birds Eye after noticing the error on the captain's uniform. Left, a Birds Eye advert

'I just went on to the Admiral site and they have the right level of stripes. I think Birds Eye need to be informed of their mistake if they're going to use a military figure as their mascot.

'This advert must have cost at least 100,000 to make - you'd have thought the company would have got it right.

'Their fish finger sandwiches with ketchup are one of my favourite foods. I've loved them for over 40 years.

This advert must have cost at least 100,000 to make - you'd have thought the company would have got it right Paddy Stevenson

'If they have demoted him for no reason, I'll have to buy my fish fingers elsewhere.

'I've been following the Captain since the 70s when I was a child. He has been a beacon and role model for me since then.'

Birds Eye took Mr Stevenson's complaint in good humour and explained that the Captain likes to wear previous uniforms to keep close to his roots.

A spokesperson for Birds Eye said: 'Paddy, it's clear the Captain can't sail anything past you - he does regularly alternate his uniform.

'Why? Well, Captain Birds Eye isn't one to brag about his sailing feats (only his freshly caught fish!).

'Living a life on the seven seas takes the Captain to places far away from home and, to keep himself grounded, he often chooses to wear his humble beginnings on his sleeve, quite literally.

'At the Captain's table there is no ranking. As a modest leader, he opts for a more approachable day-to-day look, wearing his Lieutenant's uniform with pride to reassure his fellow comrades that you don't need stripes to enjoy good fish.'
Russian marines have put on a display of power for Putin as 1,000 troops are put through their paces in the country's latest war game.

The huge exercise involving the Russian infantrymen was staged in the Kamchatka region of far eastern Russia.

During the training, land soldiers based in Kamchatka worked on defending the coast while marines from the Primorsky Krai region, also in far-eastern Russia, conducted offensive operations.

The exercise involved more than 300 items of military machinery including self-propelled artillery systems and self-propelled multiple-launch rocket systems as well as Kamov Ka-27 and Mil Mi-8 helicopters to support the landing forces.

A video of the drills was released by the press service of the Eastern Military District in charge of the Pacific Fleet, which said the operation was a success.

The Eastern Military District is one of the four operational strategic commands of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The Pacific Fleet is part of the Russian Naval Infantry, or Russian marines. It was formed in 1705 and has fought in the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War and the First and Second World Wars.

Russian marines have put on a display of power for Putin as 1,000 troops are put through their paces in the country's latest war game

The huge exercise involving the Russian infantrymen was staged in the Kamchatka region of far eastern Russia

It is based in the city of Vladivostok, in Primorski Krai, the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean.

This comes at a time of heightened hostility between Russia and the US.

'The current level of the ties cannot satisfy us,' Putin said about US-Russia relations earlier this month.

During the training, land soldiers based in Kamchatka worked on defending the coast while marines from the Primorsky Krai region, also in far-eastern Russia, conducted offensive operations

A video of the drills was released by the press service of the Eastern Military District in charge of the Pacific Fleet, which said the operation was a success

The relationship has soured even further in recently following a series of expulsions of diplomats and closures of diplomatic missions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry ordered the US to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755 people, or by two-thirds.

In response, the US suspended issuing non-immigrant visas in Moscow for a week in August and stopped issuing visas at its consulates elsewhere in Russia.

The exercise involved more than 300 items of military machinery including self-propelled artillery systems and self-propelled multiple-launch rocket systems as well as Kamov Ka-27 and Mil Mi-8 helicopters to support the landing forces

This comes at a time of heightened hostility between Russia and the US. 'The current level of the ties cannot satisfy us,' Putin said about US-Russia relations earlier this month

Relations between Russia and the United States cooled following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has left 10,000 people dead.

Reports of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election put a further damper on hopes for better ties that the Kremlin had pinned on Trump's presidency.

In August, the US adopted a new package of stiff financial sanctions against Russia, aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the US election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was left in fits of laughter during an agricultural meeting last week after the Minister of Agriculture suggested exporting pork meat to Indonesia.

During the meeting, which was held on Friday last week, Alexander Tkachov compared Russia's exporting figures to Germany and made the suggestion as a way to increase overseas trade.

Footage shows Mr Tkachov saying: 'They (Germany) send half their pork to export. Look at Germanys numbers: five and a half million tonnes of pork produced a year, of that almost three million is exported to all countries, to China, to Indonesia, to Japan, Korea, and so on.'

Mr Tkachov jokes: 'They will,' before the president says: 'No, they will not,' and starts laughing hysterically while covering his face with his hands

The Russian leader could not stop himself from laughing at the proposal

Mr Putin responds: 'Indonesia is a Muslim country. They do not eat pork there,' while chuckling.

Mr Tkachov jokes: 'They will,' before the president says: 'No, they will not,' and starts laughing hysterically while covering his face with his hands.

The minister later clarified his comments and said he meant South Korea, not Indonesia.

Last month, Russian media RT stated the country's agricultural sector was 'booming' after China and Venezuela planned to increase imports of Russian wheat.

Footage shows Mr Tkachov (left) saying: 'They (Germany) send half their pork to export. Look at Germanys numbers: five and a half million tonnes of pork produced a year'

Mr Putin responds: 'Indonesia is a Muslim country. They do not eat pork there,' while chuckling

Four thousand tonnes of wheat was delivered to China from Russias Novosibirsk region last week and the order was processed by Chinese food giant COFCO.

Ma Lijun, COFCO's general manager for wheat said at the time: 'Together with our suppliers, we plan to discuss how to better meet the demand of Chinese mills.

'We want to know more about the production and the quality of Russian wheat in order to prepare for the expansion of imports.'
Less than a day after Donald Trump threw his weight behind a bipartisan stopgap measure aimed at stabilizing medical insurance markets, he pulled the rug out from under the pair of U.S. senators who unveiled the plan.

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander said Wednesday morning during an Axios event that 'Trump completely engineered the plan that we announced yesterday' by repeatedly phoning him  and asking Democratic Sen. Patty Murray to sign on. 'He wanted a bipartisan bill for the short term.'

But minutes later Trump tweeted what amounted to a statement that he was backing out of supporting what emerged from the legislative sausage-making process.

'I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care,' the president wrote.

Donald Trump s no longer backing a bipartisan short-ternm Obamacare fix, less than a day after he said it was a good idea

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander proposed a short-term Obamacare fix which would have undone Trump's decision from last Thursday to cut off subsidies to insurance companies

FLIP-FLOP: Trump backed the proposal on Tuesday but quickly changed course, tweeting about his lack of support on Wednesday

Trump seemed to agree with the proposal on Tuesday. He suggested that he was willing to let Congress undo a decision he had been boasting about since last Thursday.

The president bragged at the White House that he had ended 'hundreds of millions of dollars a month' in Obamacare-related subsidies to medical insurance companies.

The proposal from Alexander and Murray, which Trump himself apparently arbitrated, would have restored the payments.

By Wednesday morning Trump was backtracking, saying at a meeting at the White House with the Senate Finance Committee that he's not looking to 'enrich the insurance companies.'

'If something can happen, that's fine,' Trump said, 'but I won't do anything to enrich the insurance the insurance companies, cause right now the insurance companies are being enriched by Obamacare like nothing anybody's ever seen before.'

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed during her daily press briefing that Trump was changing his position. She told a reporter asking if Trump was saying today that he cannot support the legislation the way it is written that the interpretation was apt.

'Correct. I think he stated that pretty clearly today,' she said Wednesday.

Huckabee Sanders said Trump wants a bill that addresses premiums, provides greater flexibility, increases competition, and provides funding through block grants to the states.

'We've said all along that we want something that doesn't just bail out the insurance companies, that actually provides relief for all Americans,' she said. 'This bill doesn't address that fact. So we want to make sure that that's taken care of.'

The bill is 'a good step in the right direction' and the president is supportive of a bipartisan plan. 'But it's not a full approach, and we need something to go a little bit further than that,' she said during her daily news conference.

Trump showed his first sign of flip-flopping on Tuesday night, saying at a Heritage Foundation dinner that he commended the bipartisan effort but continues 'to believe that Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.'

Hours earlier he had said that while he favors a long term Obamacare repeal-and-replace solution, the nation would need the Alexander-Murray bill to 'get us over this intermediate hump' and prevent insurance markets from collapsing.

The legislation would only be in effect for only two years, but would restore the payments that Trump ended just days ago. It would also states some added flexibility in which kinds of insurance policies are Obamacare-compliant.

'It is a short term solution so that we don't have this very dangerous little period,' he said Tuesday, 'including a dangerous period for insurance companies'  the same corporate titans that he blasted in the press conference's opening minutes.

NOT MY FAULT: Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that insurance premium spikes were the 'fault of the Democrats'

The Senate deal that Trump turned against on Wednesday would have bridged the gap between Obamacare and a new system of state block-grants

'If you look at insurance companies and take a good strong look at the numbers, you will see since the formation of Obamacare, they are up 400 per cent, 450 per cent, 250 per cent, 300 per cent. They've made a fortune,' Trump said

'Obamacare is everything but dead. The people aren't gonna take it,' he added.

And the Alexander-Murray bill would 'not only save money but give people much better health care with a very, very much smaller premium spike.'

In signaling support, Trump said his administration had been involved in talks as the plan was hammered out. Alexander presented the proposal to colleagues at a Republican conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Even if Trump had formally backed the final product, it would still have had to make it over a series of hurdles in Congress.

It would be subject to a filibuster in a Senate chamber where many Republicans are strongly opposed to Obamacare and have tried and failed repeatedly to repeal it  something Trump also supports.

In the House, a deal that appeared to be saving Obamacare could draw strong conservative opposition, in a chamber where more than 60 Republicans voted against a recent hurricane relief bill.

The insurance industry, a major player in Washington, can be expected to back it.

On Tuesday Trump pronounced the Obamacare system 'virtually dead,' 'a disgrace to our nation' and on its 'last legs.'

'We are solving the problem,' he added.

He had boasted Monday of ending the payments, saying during a cabinet meeting that 'I cut off the gravy train.'

Trump told members of Heritage's president's club Tuesday evening that he would eventually get rid of the 'disaster known as Obamacare' altogether.

Claiming once more that he expected Republican lawmakers to send a repeal and replace bill to his desk on Jan. 20, his first day in office, Trump said it was 'not as easy as we thought.'

'But we're gonna get it done, you watch,' he asserted.
A thug who dragged his girlfriend from a Victoria service station by her hair before keeping her in a caravan and beating her has delivered a bizarre apology.

Christopher Josevski, 24, pleaded guilty to 18 charges on Wednesday, and said he 'would not even have done it', had he known it was kidnapping, reported Seven News.

The bizarre apology, played to the court as part of a police interview, shows Josevski say he is sorry 'from the bottom of his heart'.

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Christopher Josevski pleaded guilty to 18 charges after dragging his girlfriend by the hair out of a service station and taking her to a secluded caravan

The 24-year-old (pictured) said he was sorry 'from the bottom of his heart' and 'would not have even done it' if he had known it was called kidnapping

'I apologise from the bottom of my heart for my actions. From the bottom to the top yeah,' he said.

'Like if I had of knew [sic] that was called kidnapping, I would not have even done it.

'You know, I stuffed up.'

Josevski picked up his girlfriend Rita Illiopolous and drove her to a service station in Derriumt, near Gordon in Victoria.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the woman's head being shoved into a glass door as she desperately tries to get away.

Ms Illiopolous is then pulled by the hair out of the service station and shoved into a Holden Commodore.

In the footage, the woman's screams fill the empty car park.

The woman was taken to a second service station before she was kept at a caravan near Ballarat.

Ms Illiopolous told the court Josevski had threatened to tie her to a tree, where he would have friends come and rape her.

The woman had earlier told Nine News: 'I pretty much thought I was going to die that night.'

Josevski reportedly smirked through the court hearing, and was supported by family members.

It is understood he remains in custody, but will be sentenced at a later date.
A brave Michigan woman stopped a carjacker from driving away with her vehicle by fighting back in a heart-stopping confrontation that was caught on camera.

Haley Lorenzen was pumping gas in Allen Park on October 12 when a carjacker jumped in her Chevy's driver's seat.

Although she had locked the doors, she said they opened because her key fob was in her pocket, in close-enough proximity to the vehicle.

Since she had left the car running, the suspect began to drive away, so she jumped in the passenger seat of the moving car and began doing everything she could to stop him, she told WXYZ.

Haley Lorenzen was pumping gas in Allen Park when a carjacker jumped in the driver's seat

Although she had locked the doors, Lorenzen said they opened because her key fob was in her pocket, in close-enough proximity to the vehicle

'I grabbed his face and I tried to do anything I could, gauge his eyes out... I scratched his face, I smashed his head against the window and I just fought,' she told the local news outlet.

That's when a Good Samaritan, truck driver Quentin Grubb got involved, telling Lorenzen to put the car in park.

When she did, the suspect jumped out of the car and tried making a run for it.

The car was left running, and the suspect began to drive away, so she jumped in the passenger seat of the moving car and began doing everything she could to stop him, she said

Lorenzen put the car in park after good Samaritan Quentin Grubb told her to, and the suspect jumped out of the car when she did. Grubb confronted him but he got away

Lorenzen and Grubb met again on Monday for a WXYZ interview and she expressed her gratitude: 'He gave me the direction that I needed and I guess the clarity'

'He gave me the direction that I needed and I guess the clarity,' Lorenzen said of the Good Samaritan.

Grubb was waiting for the suspect outside the vehicle and tried apprehending him, but after a brief confrontation caught on security camera, he got away.

Fortunately the next day police arrested Earl Joseph Larche and he's now facing charges of carjacking.

'It's my car, I've worked hard to get it and I'm not going to let it go anywhere,'Lorenzen (seen left) said. Grubb is pictured right

Earl Joseph Larche was arrested the day after for the attempted crime. He is seen above in a mugshot

The failed carjacking happened at the BP gas station at 16054 Southfield Road

'It's my car, you know, I've worked hard to get it and I'm not going to let it go anywhere,' Lorenzen told WXYZ about what made her jump in the car and put herself in harm's way.

She reunited with Grubb for a WXYZ interview on Monday, and expressed her gratitude, saying he 'did something for me that nobody else did that day.'

But Grubb thinks Lorenzen should take all the credit for stopping the carjacking.

'She was the hero for fighting for her property,' he said.
The venue for a crucial EU summit is being changed at the last moment - after the bloc's Brussels HQ was flooded with toxic fumes.

Leaders are due to gather in the Belgian capital tomorrow for discussions, including on Brexit negotiations.

The high-level was meant to happen at the new Europa building, known as the Egg. It only opened in January amid controversy over cost.

But less than 24 hours before the start the summit has been switched amid concerns about poisonous fumes from drains at the glitzy venue.

The EU summit has been switched from the Europa building (pictured today) amid concerns about poisonous fumes from drains at the glitzy venue

Theresa May, pictured left at summit at the Europa in June, is trying to unblock Brexit negotiations. The building, known as the Egg, was evacuated today in response to the fumes (pictured right)

National leaders will now hold their talks next door in the old Justus Lipsius building.

The bizarre development came as EU chiefs ramped up Brexit, dismissing Theresa May's offer to pay 20billion euros into Brussels coffers as 'peanuts'.

The president of the European parliament, Antonio Tajani, accused Theresa May of being 'unrealistic' and said the divorce bill should be around 60billion euros.

But furious Brexiteers complained that the EU was 'stalling' negotiations in a bid to force Britain into handing over billions of pounds with 'nothing in return'.

And a Downing Street source said: 'We've made an open and generous offer.'

The EU Council's futuristic new headquarters, dubbed the Space Egg, cost 321million euros.

The glass oval structure is inside a cube of recycled window frames from the blocs 28 member states.

It was commissioned in 2004 to replace the unloved concrete building Eurocrats had been based in, and at the time the project was expected to cost 240million euros.

MALFUNCTIONING 'SPACE EGG' THAT COST 321m The EUs new futuristic headquarters, dubbed the Space Egg, cost 321million euros. The glass oval structure is inside a cube of recycled window frames from the blocs 28 member states. It was commissioned in 2004 to replace the unloved concrete building Eurocrats had been based in, and at the time the project was expected to cost 240million euros. But costs increased over the following decade, although William Shapcott, director general at the Council of the European Union insisted the overrun was nothing very dramatic. But critics have hit out at the staggering cost of the building, with David Cameron dubbing it a gilded cage. Advertisement

But costs increased over the following decade, although William Shapcott, director general at the Council of the European Union insisted the overrun was nothing very dramatic.

But critics have hit out at the staggering cost of the building, with David Cameron dubbing it a gilded cage.

The bitter standoff over money is threatening to derail the talks over the UK's departure from the bloc.

It has emerged as the key issue in the first phase, with the EU refusing to discuss trade until the outline of the financial settlement is agreed.

Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier has sought to up the pressure by repeatedly pointing out that the 'clock is ticking' before the formal Brexit date in March 2019.

Mrs May will seek to push the case for trade talks to begin immediately.

But a major diplomatic offensive, which has seen the PM ring round almost all her counterparts over the past week and dine with European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, has so far failed to secure a breakthrough.

Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Tajani took a hard line and quoted former PM Margaret Thatcher saying 'we need our money back'.

'We are realistic. The UK government is not realistic. I think we need to be very clear. We need to put the money on the table. We need our money back, as Mrs Thatcher said 30, 40 years ago,' he said.

'This is important for us. But we want not euro more and not euro less. This is very clear for us. But we need to pay, this is the third point, then it is possible to start for the negotiations for the new deal.'

Challenged that the EU was holding up talks to force money out of the UK, Mr Tajani replied: '20bn is peanuts, it's peanuts 20bn...The problem is 50, 60, this is the real situation.'

Theresa May, pictured in the Commons today, is embroiled in a bitter standoff with the EU over the Brexit process
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Political commentator Pedzisai Ruhanya has warned citizens that re-electing President Robert Mugabe as a leader of Zanu-PF or of government is the same as electing his wife Grace.Zanu PF has since endorsed Mugabe as its sole presidential candidate for 2018."To all you Zimbabweans especially Zanu PF supporters; re-electing President Mugabe in both party and state means electing Grace Mugabe to the throne DE FACTO."Those who vote for Zanu PF at this stage of President Mugabe's physical and mental mortality should know that they are voting Grace to abuse the legal rational authority of the presidency," he said."To Zanu again, in 2014, it was Joice Mujuru, now its Mnangagwa and I can assure you that next it will be Kasukuwere and Prof Moyo until all potential Grace threats are liquidated. Wake up and stop the rot and tomfoolery."
The gang behind one of the biggest heists in British criminal history was jailed for more than 23 years today.

Loomis security van driver Mohammad Siddique, 32 and guard Ranjeev Singh, 40, and their gang made off with 7million in six minutes by staging a robbery after picking up the money for Credit Suisse at Heathrow Terminal 4 on 14 March.

In an 'inside job' heist which prosecutors said was worthy of a Hollywood movie, Siddique dropped Singh off 'to go to the toilet' before making off to a quiet suburban street where the 26 bags of loot were loaded into another van.

Meanwhile, Singh calmly smoked a cigarette and waited 20 minutes before telling his bosses the van had gone, with the delay meaning the vehicle could not be immobilised.

The man behind the plot was gambling addict Rafaqat Hussein, 41, who kept in contact with Siddique during the heist from the safety of a casino.

Security guards Mohammed Siddique (left) and Ranjeev Singh (right) were the 'inside men' who staged a robbery so the money could be spirited away. It has never been recovered

Hussain was later caught on a police bug boasting he could 'buy a Lambo', telling his brother: 'Mate I did the job. I f***ing robbed seven million.'

Siddique and Singh were handed six-and-a-half years each for their role in the plot, while ringleader Hussain was given ten years and three months, for conspiracy to steal and money laundering.

The armour-plated security van had picked up 26 bags of cash weighing nearly half a tonne from the British Airways cargo depot at Heathrow on behalf of Credit Suisse as it was on its way to the Bank of Ireland.

After making the transfer to another getaway van parked in Feltham, he was dropped off by a motorway, possibly by Hussain, having tied himself up.

Siddique was found hours later in a ditch with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together, sobbing, and pretending he had been robbed.

The money was never been recovered but 900,000 suddenly turned up in a Pakistani bank account of Hussain's wife Razvana Zeib.

The getaway van containing the loot was last seen on CCTV heading into Birmingham.

Zeib later pleaded guilty to money laundering following Hussain's arrest and will be sentenced at a later date.

Hussain Rafaqat boasted he could 'buy a Lambo' after his gang stole 7million from a security van near Heathrow Airport. Nearly a million pounds was transferred into a Pakistan bank account in the name of Hussain's wife, Razavana Zeib (right)

In a 'breath-taking example of greed', Hussain then tried to use the cash from the heist to buy a house from an 88 year-old woman, after having it vandalised in a bid to lower the price.

He was given a further four years concurrent for conspiracy to burgle, with his co-defendant Garry Carrod, 34, receiving three and a half years for carrying out the burglary.

Judge Stephen John told the gang: 'This was an audacious conspiracy to steal cash in transit.

'The sum involved was one of the largest of recent years, 7 million was stolen and none has been recovered.

'This was a sophisticated operation which involved meticulous planning and execution.

A police reconstruction shows just how much space the 7million would have taken up

Addressing the gang members, the judge said: 'You each played for high stakes and must now pay the price. You Siddique and Singh played your parts to perfection. You had been involved in practice runs in the getaway van.

'You Hussain, were deeply involved in the conspiracy to steal. The telephone evidence shows that you were in regular touch with the other conspirators.

After the raid, Hussain arranged for an old criminal acquaintance, Gary Carrod (pictured), to burgle a house which he wanted to buy, with a view to reducing the price

'You were an organiser, trying to keep you involvement at a distance.

'No doubt there were others in the plot as yet unidentified but you were a principal expecting a large slice of the proceeds, and above Siddique and Singh in the hierarchy.'

Judge John described Hussain's subsequent burglary of the 88 year-old lady's home as an act of 'breath taking greed'.

'You were involved with your wife in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds and also to burgle the house of an 88 year-old lady.

'You and your wife intended to use part of the proceeds to buy her home, but in a breath-taking example of further greed, you and she decided that you would arrange to have the house vandalised, the windows broken and the plumbing destroyed to force the vendor to reduce the price.'

Judge John revealed that the woman had planned to sell the home so she could move into a care home.

It transpired she was not properly insured and was refused a pay-out following the burglary.

Police have released this image of the Transit van into which the money was loaded, on the back of a recovery vehicle

Hussain's wife, Razvana Zeib, 34, will be sentenced at a later date after the judge ordered a pre-sentence report after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and commit money laundering.

Siddique and Singh, both of Slough, were convicted of conspiracy to steal.

Carrod, of Taplow, admitted conspiracy to burgle at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 11 September.

Hussain, of Slough, admitted conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Razvana Zeib, of Slough, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Mike Samwell, 35, ran out of his home in his underwear after intruders broke in for his keys at 3am and was then 'crushed to death by his own car'

The widow of a Royal Navy officer wept in court as she told how she held her husband's hand as he lay dying after being run over 'at least twice' by burglars stealing his new Audi S3.

Mike Samwell, 35, ran out of his home in his underwear after intruders broke in for his keys at 3am and was then 'crushed to death by his own car' as he tried to stop them taking his 35,000 motor on April 23, this year.

He was run over 'at least twice' as the burglars fled, according to the prosecution.

Ryan Gibbons, 29, from Chorlton, Greater Manchester, has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter. A second defendant Raymond Davies, 21, from the same area, denies manslaughter and aggravated vehicle taking.

The victim's wife Jessica, 34, wept in court yesterday as she explained how she ran out of their home and told him she loved him as he lay dying in the road outside their home in Chorlton, Greater Manchester.

Mrs Samwell said the pair had been out for lunch, ate a takeaway pizza and drank gin and tonic at home with before watching The Secret Life of Pets in their bedroom where they fell asleep.

She described being woken by the sound of bins being moved outside and then heard a bang.

Her husband ran downstairs, wearing only his underwear with witnesses telling police he shouted: 'No, oi, oi, no, oi, oi' as the burglars made away with his car.

'I was shouting Mike, Mike, Mike, leave,' Mrs Samwell told the police in the interview.

She said: 'When I got to him, he had tyre marks across his chest. There was blood coming out of the back of his head. He was making an awful noise.

"I was ringing the police and trying to talk to the police. I was shouting "Help! Help! Somebody help me!" I was just telling him that I loved him and holding his hand."

Gibbons has pleaded guilty to burgling Mr Samwell's house and also aggravated vehicle taking. With Davies, 21, admitting one charge of burglary.

A third defendant, Stacey Hughes, 28, of Steven Court, Chorlton, denies one charge of assisting an offender.

Gibbons has pleaded guilty to burgling Mr Samwell's house and also aggravated vehicle taking. With Davies, 21, admitting one charge of burglary

Prosecution witness Monique Lewis, told the court she saw Mr Samwell's Audi being driven at about 100mph later in the night.

She was a passenger in a car on Mauldeth Road when she saw the Audi speed across the junction with Wellington Road at 4.44am, the jurors were told.

In her witness statement, which is read to the jury, she said: 'The car didn't stop at all. It was lucky there was no accident. It didn't stop at the junction at all. It was going about 100mph.'

In another account read out in court Lorna Curran, a neighbour of Mr Samwell, said she heard the sound of female screaming.

She looked from her bedroom window and then heard a hysterical woman screaming 'someone help me', the jurors are told.

She then described how she got up, got dressed and then saw three figures crouching over someone in the street outside.

Ms Curran described a woman 'crying hysterically', and saying: "Stay with me Mike."'

The breathing of the injured man was laboured and he was 'moaning as if he was in pain', she said.

She said she saw a second woman on the phone to the ambulance service but took over the call as she appeared to be 'crying and shaking'.

Ms Curran said she saw the injured man moving his head from side to side. She described 'constantly re-assuring the woman' who was saying: "Stay with me Mike. They are on their way."'

The court has also this week heard from the defence. A statement may in May by Nicole Barowiak, the girlfriend was read out in court.

She said she had been involved in a 'on off' relationship with the defendant for the previous eight or nine months who turned up at her home at between 3.30am and 3.40am on April 23.

She said there had been a 'slight knock on the door' and when she answered she thought Mr Davies 'looked pale and was physically shaking'.

She continued: 'I asked him what's wrong and he said f*** off. I asked him again because I was worried. He stormed out of the house and he got in his car.'

She described how she followed and saw him drive away.

A subsequent statement from Miss Barowiak, told how Mr Davies 'looked awful and looked traumatised' when he was released by police.

She added: 'I went to talk to him and ask him what's wrong but he wouldn't speak to me.'

The following day he told her 'I didn't do it', the jurors are told.
Four Britons have been kidnapped in Nigeria's southern Delta state, a police official said on Wednesday.

Police are attempting to rescue the group, who are thought to have been taken on October 13 by a militant group renowned for demanding ransoms.

The four had been providing 'free medical care and religious activities' in the Burutu area of Delta state, said Chief Theo Fakama, from the local Enukorowa community.

David Donovan, a former GP from Cambridge, and his wife, Shirley, both 57, were identified as two of the four people taken from their accommodation last Friday

The four kidnap victims had been providing 'free medical care and religious activities' in the Burutu area of Delta state, said Chief Theo Fakama, from the local Enukorowa community

David Donovan, a former GP from Cambridge, and his wife Shirley, both 57, were identified by The Times as two of the four people taken from their accommodation last Friday.

Together they run a charity called New Foundations, providing medical care to remote villages.

Their two sons Julian and Aiden are understood to also work for the charity, though it is not believed they got caught up in the kidnap.

The two other victims were named as Alana and Tyan, according to The Times.

Police chief Fakama said locals were 'saddened' by the kidnapping as the victims had 'brought succour to residents of the community for the past three years'.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in parts of Nigeria.

A number of foreigners have, in the last few years, been kidnapped in the Niger Delta region, which holds most of the country's crude oil - the country's economic mainstay.

'The abductors have not made any contact but we are doing our investigations to know the motive and have them rescued without jeopardising their lives,' said Aniamaka.

Four Britons have been kidnapped in Nigeria 's southern Delta state, a police official said on Wednesday. Pictured, Nigerian soldier on patrol (file photo)

Their two sons Julian (left) and Aiden (right) are understood to also work for the charity, though it is not believed they got caught up in the kidnap

'Information available to us shows they are missionaries giving free medical services.

'The victims are of British nationality, two of whom are a couple, and have been rendering humanitarian services in the area for a while.

'But unfortunately, they didn't let the authorities know of their presence in the area all this while.

'There is a militant group that has been operating in the area and we believe they are the ones behind the abduction.

There is a militant group that has been operating in the area and we believe they are the ones behind the abduction

'Immediately the militants struck, they whisked the victims to the interior regions of the creek where we believe they are being held for the past five days.'

There was an increase in crime in the southern region last year that coincided with a series of attacks on energy facilities. However, there have been no militant attacks on energy installations so far this year.

On October 14, the Vatican said an Italian priest was kidnapped by gunman just outside Benin City, which is the capital of Edo state and neighbours Delta state to the north.

Delta state commissioner of police Zanna Ibrahim told reporters in the state capital, Asaba, on Tuesday: 'An anti-kidnapping team is already on the trail of the suspects.'

He suggested the abduction could be linked to a recent military operation against violent crime, which has seen an increase in troops in southern Nigeria.

Nigeria also saw the infamous kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in 2014.
A teenage boy has been charged with murder over a stabbing outside Parsons Green Tube station.

The 16-year-old, who also faces a charge of possession of a bladed article over the fatal attack, is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Omid Saidy, 20, was killed outside the London station on Monday, where 30 people were injured in a terror attack last month.

Omid Saidy was stabbed to death after he 'asked a drug dealer to move on', Scotland Yard said

Scotland Yard said he was killed after he confronted a drug dealer and another male who was with him.

Detectives believe Mr Saidy chased the pair and was fatally stabbed when he caught up to them.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, from the Met, previously said: 'A young man has tragically lost his life for simply asking a drug dealer to move on. I urge anyone who can assist our investigation to come forward without delay.'

The victim's 20-year-old friend, who arrived on the scene on a moped, was also stabbed when he came to his aid, police said.

The bike collided with a parked vehicle at the scene, but police said the incident is not a 'moped-enabled crime'.

Police said a postmortem found the victim died from a stab wound to the heart.

Police at Parsons Green Tube station in London after three people were stabbed in the street

Angela Moriarty from CPS London said today: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has considered a file of evidence from the Metropolitan Police relating to the fatal stabbing of a man outside Parsons Green tube station on the evening of Monday, 16 October.

'Following a review of the evidence, the CPS has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge a 16-year-old male with murder.

'He will first appear in Wimbledon Magistrates court on Thursday 19 October.

Another suspects, described as a black male dressed in dark clothing, is said to have fled down Harbled Road in the direction of Fulham Court.

Appealing for witnesses, Mr McHugh added: 'It is imperative that we speak to anyone who was in the area of Parsons Green station between 7pm and 8pm who may have witnessed the murder or the actions of the suspects immediately following the incident.

'In addition, I am keen to identify the black male who fled Parsons Green Lane immediately following the murder and am appealing for footage that members of the public may have recorded as events in the area took place.'
Navy divers in chemical protection suits have discovered ten 70-year-old mustard gas bombs at the bottom of a lake in the UK.

British military were asked to help police after the discovery of canisters containing mustard gas in Roughton Woods, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.

The potentially deadly gas was located by two people digging for bottles at the beginning of the month.

The area was cordoned off from October 1, while the Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Dive Team, Army Bomb Disposal, fire and rescue, ambulance service, Environment Agency and police carried out the eight-day operation.

Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Dive teams recovered 10 6lb mustard gas bombs from the bottom of a lake in Lincolnshire, pictured

The search for the dangerous explosives, pictured, was prompted after diggers found two mustard gas bottles in nearby woods at the start of the month

Sonar technology was also used to comb the lake to look for the dangerous explosives.

The Royal Navy have now confirmed their seven-strong team had to wear chemical suits as they entered the water to begin the three hour search of the lake bed which yielded ten 6lb chemical bombs.

The Royal Navy have now confirmed these have been passed onto Lincolnshire Police for further investigation.

Petty Officer (Diver) 'Chuck' Norris said: 'It was a bit of a mission.

An eight-day operation was carried out by multiple agencies to find the bombs and make the area safe

'With reports of other people suffering from mustard agent poisoning, full bio-hazard precautions were taken - diving in a chemical environment wearing cumbersome personal protection equipment, then undergoing full decontamination at every stage.

'The bombs themselves were British and well over 70 years old - the UK no longer uses chemical or biological weapons.'

The site was once home to RAF Woodhall Spa, a World War Two air base which hosted the Dambusters 617 Bomber Squadron.
A family have made a desperate plea for the return of a missing grandmother who vanished from her home in Scotland and boarded a Megabus to London.

Karen Brown, 47, was last seen by her husband Jock and daughter Chloe on Friday night when she returned from work at Asda in Clydebank.

Mr Brown said he last saw his wife after a brief chat before she went to bed, but by the time he woke up on Saturday she had gone.

He then thought she had started work early, but when he went to pick her up at 8pm he was told she had not turned up or called to say she would not be in.

But detectives have also found CCTV pictures of the grandmother boarding a bus to London from Glasgow early on Saturday morning.

Officers could find no trace of Mrs Brown until a call from London where someone said they recognised her from appeals and spoke to her briefly in Hamleys toy shop.

Karen Brown at Buchanan Bus Station, Glasgow, where she boarded a MegaBus to London

Mrs Brown is white, around 5ft 6in with a medium build, collar-length brown hair and brown eyes

Mrs Brown is white, around 5ft 6in with a medium build, collar-length brown hair and brown eyes.

Police Scotland said she left her handbag, purse and mobile phone at home.

Mr Brown said his wife was a 'bit of a worrier' and had recently become a grandmother for the first time.

Appealing for information at a police press conference, with daughters Jemma and Chloe and granddaughter Millie, he held back tears as he said: 'We know you've had a lot on your mind lately and a lot on your plate and we want to you to come home.

'We all miss and love you and you're needed here.'

Mr Brown held back tears as he appealed for information at a police press conference with his two daughters Jemma and Chloe and granddaughter Millie

Detective Inspector David Quinn said: 'Somebody who has seen our social media appeals who is from Clydebank and is on holiday in London just now recognised a person she believed to be Karen in a toy store.

'She made contact with us very quickly and we were able to secure CCTV images.

'They had a very brief conversation where she asked her if she was Karen and the person replied ''yes'' and went on their way.

'That witness is still in London but will be returning today and will speak to police.'

Police Scotland said Mrs Brown left her handbag, purse and mobile phone at home

She was wearing a pink fleece, light blue jeans and white trainers.

Mr Brown said the family have been to London three or four times and the couple once went to celebrate their anniversary.

'Certainly there's a sentimental value there, certainly Hamleys as well and I wouldn't be surprised if she's there looking for something for Millie,' Mr Brown said.

Asked how he was feeling, he said: 'To be honest, today I'd say very good by comparison.

'The last couple of days we've been trying to fight the negativity but with no understanding of what was going on or where she is, so coming this morning and finding photographs and confirmation that she's in London has been really positive and uplifting.

'It's been tough but today's a lot better. There's an awful long way until we get her back home but it's a damn good start.'

Mrs Brown has never been missing before and police remain concerned.

Officers are appealing for any further sightings or information from passengers who may have travelled on the same bus to London.

Mr Quinn said: 'She's been working a lot and become a grandmother for the first time so there's been a fairly significant change in life recently but there's nothing in Karen's life or background that would give us an idea as to why she has disappeared.'
A one night stand went awry when a New York man took home a lady after a night out- but awoke up to find her gone- along with his watch, camera and camera lens.

The New York Police Department is now looking for any clues as to the sticky fingered seductress' identity after making off with the estimated $2,000 in belongings.

The NYPD tells Dailymail.com the camera alone is valued at $1,000 while the watch and camera's lens are valued around $500 each.

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One night stand gone wrong: NYPD is asking for the public's help identifying this woman who is accused of stealing a man's watch and camera after he brought her back to his place

The Whiskey Trader (left) is where the pair met before they returned to his apartment in the Lower East Side. The unidentified woman (right at the apt) allegedly made off with his stuff

The woman met her 28-year-old paramour and alleged victim at the Whiskey Traders Lounge in Hells Kitchen the night before, on August 4.

The pair continued their date back at the man's apartment in the Lower East Side where he fell asleep around 4:10am.

When he awoke around noon his belongings were gone, as was his date.

The alleged perpetrator is described as about 30 years old, 5-foot-4 with brown eyes and black hair, and was last seen wearing a fitted green dress.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Tiana Neiviller, pictured, was followed home from the grocery store by a man who yelled at her and blocked her in her driveway

A man followed a Southern California woman and her three-year-old home from the grocery story and ranted at her after she took a photo of his car on Tuesday.

Tiana Neiviller told KTLA she was leaving West Hills shopping center when she noticed a vehicle that she recognized from prior complaints in her neighborhood watch group.

The man in the car noticed her take a picture of the car and tapped on her window but she drove away.

She didn't notice him following her until she turned onto her street.

A video taken by Neiviller's home security cameras shows the man pulling into her driveway behind her.

Neiviller at first tried to back out of the driveway to get away from the man because she was worried about her three-year-old who was in the backseat.

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Security footage shows Neiviller pulling into her driveway with the man right behind her

She tried to back out but he blocked her in, making her fear for the safety of her and her child

She pulled into the garage and managed to close the door before the man could block it

The video shows the man blocking her exit with a silver sedan that appears to be a Mercedes as he yells at her that she's 'illuminati' and calls her a 'fat b****.'

'The things he was saying wasn't making sense, he's not right in his head,' Neiviller said. 'I warned him that if he came onto my property I would shoot him.'

Because she was trapped, Neiviller pulled into her garage and shut the door.

The man's car is shown above in the photo Neiviller took that caused the confrontation

The man can be seen honking his horn and accelerating to try to block the door from closing, but was unsuccessful so he eventually left.

'What would he have done to me? Would he have done something to my child had he heard my child in the car? I was scared,' Neiviller said. 'I was shaking, I was scared that he knew where I lived.'

'I want people to be aware, and if we are going to report crime be smarter than how I approached the situation.'

She says the man is in his 30s, roughly 5 feet 5 inches tall and has a buzz cut. Police are investigating the situation.

'Other people have reported this car on our local Crimebusters page and reported erratic driving so I felt I needed to take a picture,' she said.

She was leaving West Hills shopping center, pictured, when she noticed a vehicle that she recognized from prior complaints in her neighborhood watch group. The man in the car noticed her take a photo of the car and tapped on her window as she drove away (stock image)

Neiviller is pictured above in a Facebook photo with her husband. She said she was 'shaking' when the man was in her driveway
The Trump administration is seeking more space for the illegal immigrants it's been arresting as part of president's border crackdown.

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) put out requests for additional jail cells in Chicago, Detroit, St. Paul, Salt Lake City and Texas in recent weeks, USA Today reported.

ICE would prefer to have full use of the facilities but will considered shared space, a notice in the south Texas area said. A USA Today report says the administration needs some 4,000 beds.

The Trump administration is seeking more space for the illegal immigrants it's been arresting as part of president's border crackdown

Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) put out requests for additional jail cells in Chicago, Detroit, St. Paul, Salt Lake City and Texas in recent weeks

Immigrant detainees eat lunch at the Adelanto Detention Facility in Adelanto, California. The facility, the largest and newest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detention center in California, houses an average of 1,100 immigrants in custody pending a decision in their immigration cases or awaiting deportation

The massive expansion in prisoner facilities follows a dramatic increase in ICE arrests since Trump took office.

Trump's immigration force arrested 97,482 people it thought to be in the country illegally between Jan. 22 and Sept. 9. That represents a 43 percent increase in arrests under Barack Obama the year prior, USA Today reported.

ICE more than doubled the number of illegal immigrants it arrested in the that period who did not have a criminal record.

The Trump administration arrested 28,011 illegal immigrants who had no priors, the report said, a 179 percent increase over the same nine-month period in 2016.

At any given time, ICE has 31,000 to 41,000 illegal immigrants in its custody at any time, the report said.

The agency has put in a request to Congress for additional funding. A requested appropriation of $1.2 billion in 2018 on top of what it was already receiving would help ICE expand the number of prisoners it's holding to 48,000.

An estimated 11 million illegal immigrants are residing in the country. Trump vowed to deport them all during his campaign for the White House.

He's directed his administration to focus on violent criminals, although ICE has warned numerous times that any illegal immigrant can be deported at any time for any reason.

It's not known how much the administration is willing to pay for the extra prison space it's requesting, but USA Today reports that the government awarded GEO Group a $457 million contract for a 1,000-bed center near Houston earlier this year.

A new request, posted online on Sept. 27, solicits a 1,000-bed facility for adult male and adult female detainees that is within 50 miles of Interstate 35.

'If utilizing multiple facilities, there may be no less than 200 beds per facility,' the Request for Information says. 'The preference is for facilities to be dedicated for ICE detainees exclusively, but shared facilities may be considered.'

Four of the areas that ICE is looking to expand its bandwidth in - Chicago, Detroit, St. Paul, Salt Lake City - are considered sanctuary cities, Jessica Vaughan,the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, points out. South Texas is the point of entry for illegal immigrants violating the United States' border with Mexico.
A mother suffocated her 14-month-old daughter with a pillow because 'wanted a son' and smiled as she 'confessed' to the child's aunt, a court heard.

Glasgow High Court was told 28-year-old Sadia Ahmed 'cried a lot' when she discovered she was expecting a girl and spoke about having an abortion.

Ahmed denies murdering her daughter Inaya at the family home in the Drumchapel area of the city on April 17, 2016.

The baby's aunt, Shagufta Yasmin said Ahmed 'confessed' to her about killing Inaya - but the 45-year-old later lied to police by claiming she herself had been the perpetrator, in a bid to get her niece's body back.

Sadia Ahmed, 28, is accused of murdering her baby daughter Inaya, pictured, by suffocating her with a pillow. She denies the charge

Inaya was pronounced dead at the Royal Hospital for Children on April 20, 2016.

Mrs Yasmin told prosecutor Paul Kearney: 'When Sadia discovered she was going to have a daughter she wasn't happy. She cried a lot. She used to say she wanted a son, not a daughter.

'She said she wanted an abortion. We said "have faith in God" and he might give her a son next time.

'We said if you wish to have an abortion that's your decision. But we're happy with whatever it is.'

Mrs Yasmin claimed that the day that Inaya died she spoke to Ahmed in her bedroom after they had returned from the hospital.

She said: 'I asked Sadia tell me how you killed Inaya. Initially she said "It is between me and Allah".

The witness then added: 'She didn't tell me how she did it.'

Mrs Yasmin told the court Ahmed said that she had 'put her legs over Inay's to stop her thrashing about and kicking her legs'.

Mr Kearney then asked: 'Do you remember your emotions when she was telling you this,' and she replied: 'I said "Do you not feel any mercy for her" and Sadia smiled.'

She said that she did not tell anyone about the conversation and added: 'I became fearful of her I couldn't believe a mother could do something like this.'

The jury was told that on May 4, 2016, Mrs Yasmin confessed to police that she had killed Inaya, by placing a pillow over her face.

Mr Kearney asked: 'Why did you do this,' and Mrs Yasmin replied: 'I thought they would release Inaya's body. I just wanted justice for Inaya and her body back.'

Mrs Yasmin was then asked: 'Why did you not tell the police it was Sadia that killed Inaya,' and she replied: 'Because at that time I didn't understand what to say or what not to say because I was scared.'

Earlier, consultant anaesthetist Dr Jocelyn Erskine told of how she and a team of medics battled to save Inaya who arrived at the hospital with no heartbeat and no pulse.

Dr Erskine, who gave her evidence via a video link from Melbourne, Australia, said: 'The prognosis was very poor.'

She said she spoke to Ahmed on April 20, 2016, and explained to her that Inaya was doing to die because she had irreversible brain damage.

Mr Kearney said: 'Was she very distressed and tearful at that time,' and Dr Erskine relied: 'She was.'

Inaya's aunt Shagufta Yasmin, right, pictured with the baby's grandmother Noor Ahmed, centre, told the court Ahmed 'cried a lot' after learning she was having a daughter

Mrs Yasmin told the jury that after Inaya's life support system was switched off on April 20, 2016 until the end of May that year Ahmed lived with the family at 47 Bernisdale Drive, Glasgow.

Defence QC Ian Duguid asked Mrs Yasmin: 'If she was a cold, calculating laughing killer why did you allow her to continue to live in the family home after Inaya died and when there was a seven and a half-month-old child there?'

She replied: 'We made a mistake. We shouldn't have done that.'

Mrs Yasmin told the court that she was telling the truth in court, but had lied to the police last year when she told them that Inaya had choked on a piece of bread.

The QC asked: 'Did you ever think Inaya would be harmed,' and Mrs Yasmin said: 'No, nobody could.'

Mr Duguid then said: 'Are you saying that out of the blue one day Inaya's mother takes her upstairs and kills her,' and she replied: 'Yes.'

Mr Duguid then asked Mrs Yasmin why she had given a 'no comment' interview to the police after falsely confessing to murdering Inaya.

He said: 'You would not answer the police questions,' and she replied: 'My lawyer told me to say no comment.'

The trial before judge Lord Matthews continues.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Cyber trolls have blasted MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu over his tweet that no one in that opposition party was more popular and saleable other than MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.Gutu wrote on his Twitter handle that, "Fact is there's no one in the MDC who has got the charisma and popular appeal like the one Morgan Tsvangirai has got. Absolutely no one," said Gutu.Gutu's statement did not go down well with most commentators who opined that he was hero worshipping Tsvangirai and looking down upon other potential officials who might be even better than their current leader.One cyber troll, Darlington Tshuma, @dartsoe1 commented that, "How can you be sure when none within MDC has been given a chance to demonstrate what they got in the same manner Morgan Tsvangirai has."Tshuma's sentiments were echoed by Daison Ngirazi, @ngirazid who said they were many people within that opposition party who were capable of taking over from Tsvangirai.Ngirazi said, "Mukoma respectfully I think this is not a sign of strength, there should be many and they are there if exposed and allowed to come forth."In his reply to Gutu's tweet, Collin Mangenah questioned Gutu if MDC-T was going to be disbanded in the unfortunate event that Tsvangirai passes away."Are you suggesting the MDC-T is dead if Morgan Tsvangirai were to die today? Sad indictment as political organisations should outlive individuals," he tweeted.Tsvangirai has been battling with cancer of the colon for quite some time and has been receiving treatment in South Africa, a development that has ignited succession battles between his two Vice presidents Khupe and Chamisa, with both aiming to succeed Tsvangirai considering his deteriorating health.
Californians will be able to dispose of loved ones' bodies through water cremation as early as 2020, officials said.

Gov Jerry Brown signed the controversial AB 967 bill on Sunday, making it legal to dispose of human remains through the environmentally friendly process of alkaline hydrolysis.

During the process, a body is put into a steel vat with an alkaline solution that accelerates the natural breakdown of the body.

The solution breaks down the body and leaves only bones, which are then crushed down to an ash and returned to the family of the person who died.

California Gov Jerry Brown signed AB 967 on Sunday, making it legal to dispose of human remains through an environmentally friendly process of alkaline hydrolysis, of water cremation. Pictured above, Anthony A. Lombardi, divsion manager for Matthews Cremation, shows the BIOS Cremation machine which uses chemicals for cremation for a lower carbon footprint than traditional cremation

Alkaline hydrolysis uses a metal hydroxide, 572F (300C) heat and huge amounts of pressure to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that look similar to pressure cookers. Pictured above, the BIOS Cremation machine from Matthews Cremation uses chemicals for cremation for a lower carbon footprint than traditional cremation

The process was developed more than two decades ago to get rid of animal carcasses.

Alkaline hydrolysis uses a metal hydroxide, 572F (300C) heat and huge amounts of pressure to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that look similar to pressure cookers.

The process involves submerging the body in a solution of water and potassium hydroxide, which is then pressurised and heated for two-and-a-half to three hours.

This leaves a green-brown tinted liquid containing amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts and soft, porous white bone remains which are easily crushed into ash.

It also eliminates concerns about crematorium emissions, including carbon dioxide, which can be released into the air as part of the process.

California will join 14 other states, including Idaho, Colorado and Florida, in legalizing liquid cremation.

The process is considered to be a new way to 'green-ify' death, as concern grows over the carbon footprint that is left by burials and standard cremations

Matt Baskerville, a funeral director in Illinois who uses alkaline hydrolysis, told SF Gate the process leaves softer ashes than the coarse, dense substance made in a post-flame cremation.

The process is considered to be a new way to 'green-ify' death, as concern grows over the carbon footprint that is left by burials and standard cremations.

The Crematory Association of North America (Dean is a board member) added alkaline hydrolysis in 2010 to its definition of cremation, including it as a variant of the process.

The cremation industry itself has already been undergoing rapid change in recent years; according to CANA statistics, the cremation rate in the United States jumped from 26.2 per cent in 2000 to 48.6 percent in 2015.

Jason Bradshaw, president of the Bradshaw Group of funeral homes in Minnesota, says that, as biocremation makes inroads in the crematory world, 'At the same time, you have a lot of folks that are still getting used to the big change in cremation.'

In Minnesota alone, he points out that the cremation rate has jumped from 15 per cent in 1990 to 61 per cent last year.
The suspected killer of Brenda Sierra (pictured), 15, has turned up dead in Mexico

Investigators say a fugitive gang member suspected in the 2002 kidnapping and slaying of a teenage girl in Southern California has been killed in Mexico.

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials say detectives had been tracking George Barraza and hoped to extradite him to the U.S. for prosecution in the death of 15-year-old Brenda Sierra.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that officials recently learned Barraza died in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Investigators said Sierra was targeted because her brother had testified as a witness in a gang shooting just days before she disappeared in October 2002.

LAPD had been tracking George Barraza (pictured) and were hoping to extradite him from Mexico for his alleged role in Sierra's murder

Prosecutors said that Barraza was suspected in the 2002 kidnapping and slaying of Sierra in Southern California as she walked to school

Barraza was on the U.S. Marshal Service's '15 Most Wanted' list.

Three others suspected in Sierra's slaying were arrested in 2015 and are awaiting trial. All have pleaded not guilty.

A fifth suspect was killed in 2003 in an unrelated homicide.

Barraza was accused of kidnapping and murdering Sierra as she walked to school in Montebello, California, on October 28.

Sierra's family filed a missing person's report the day of her disappearance. She was found less than 24-hours later in the San Bernardino National Forest where her body was dumped in an area called the Valley of Enchantment.

Detectives said that Sierra was first sexually assaulted then beaten to death with a blunt object.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500.
Albert Davis, 31, was charged with murder on Tuesday after he gave a three-year-old boy a gun and told him to chase the victim around the yard of a South Carolina home

A man has been charged with murder after he gave his three-year-old son a gun and told him to chase another man around the yard of a South Carolina home and shoot him.

Witnesses told deputies that 24-year-old Timothy Johnson was fatally shot in the chest on Tuesday afternoon after the child fired a gun outside of a home in Warrenville, Aiken County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Shunn said.

The gun had discharged while the child was running, the sheriff's office said.

Albert Davis, 31, is charged with murder, possession of a stolen handgun, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful conduct toward a child.

Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt told WJBF: 'We are stunned. The bottom line is don't give a kid a gun and tell him to go get somebody.

'This whole thing started by folks hanging out, probably not doing the right thing to start with, and giving a child a gun and telling the child get him. That's not proper.'

Shunn said that deputies are still investigating why Davis gave the child the gun and whether Davis was angry at Johnson.

Neither court nor jail records indicated whether Davis has an attorney.

It is unclear who currently has custody of the child.
One of the Clintons' top Hollywood pals, Designing Women creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, said she warned Democrats about fundraising with predator producer Harvey Weinstein.

In an essay written for the Hollywood Reporter about her own experiences with sexual harassment in the industry, Bloodworth-Thomason said she warned 'at least three-top level Democratic operatives against allowing Harvey Weinstein to host political fundraisers.'

'A warning that evidently (and to the glee of Fox News) fell on deaf ears,' the longtime Clinton friend said.

One of Hillary Clinton's (left) closest Hollywood friends, Designing Women creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, said she had warned three top-level Democrats about fundraising with predator producer Harvey Weinstein (right)

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (pictured) wrote an essay for the Hollywood Reporter and revealed that she had warned a trio of Democrats about Harvey Weinstein's behavior, suggesting they should stop using him as a host for political fundraisers

Washington rolled out the red carpet for super donor Harvey Weinstein (left), including this White House event hosted by Michelle Obama in which he spoke about the industry alongside Whoopi Goldberg (center left), Blake Lively (center right) and Naomie Harris (right)

Democratic donor Harvey Weinstein (left) was a fixture in the D.C. party scene, including attending the annual White House Correspondents Associations dinners. Here he's pictured with actress Reese Witherspoon (right) at an after-party for the dinner in 2012

Harvey Weinstein (left), accused of sexual harassment and assault, liked to co-host bipartisan events in D.C. too, including a screening of Mandela in 2013, which attracted Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (center left), Hillary Clinton (center right) and Colin Powell (right)

Since the sex abuse allegations first came out in the New York Times, and then the New Yorker, Democrats have taken heat for the tens of thousands of dollars they received via Weinstein  through his own donations or through fundraisers and events that he's hosted.

A big question that remains is how much did those in the political world know, as in Hollywood it looks like the industry's biggest open secret.

Both Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama had delayed reactions to the allegations, expressing their horror days after the first reports of abuse came out.

'I was shocked and appalled by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein. The behavior described by women coming forward cannot be tolerated,' Clinton said in a statement.

'Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports about Harvey Weinstein. Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status,' Obama chimed in.

President Obama's daughter Malia had interned for Weinstein, as part of the gap year she took between high school and Harvard last year.

The mega-producer had been a welcome presence in the Washington party scene.

In 2013 alone he co-hosted a bipartisan-themed fete, alongside then-Daily Beast chief Tina Brown, over Obama's inauguration at Georgetown's storied Cafe Milano, the restaurant in town where celebrities hang out.

He came to the White House and spoke as part of a Hollywood career day, sitting alongside the likes of Michelle Obama, actresses Blake Lively and Naomie Harris, and comedian Whoopi Goldberg.

He would be back two weeks later to host a Kennedy Center screening of Mandela at the Kennedy Center, an event that featured Hillary Clinton, but top-tier Republicans: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Secretary of State Colin Powell too.

And, of course, Weinstein attended White House Correspondents' Association dinners, the annual D.C.-based event that attracts the most Hollywood star power.

Outside of Washington, but still within the political world, Weinstein would host a New York-based midterm fundraiser in 2014 for Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic Senate candidate trying to take down Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Coincidentally, it was the race that actress Ashley Judd  a Weinstein accuser  had explored.

The following year, Weinstein would hold a star-studded fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, also in New York and co-hosted by Anna Wintour, according to the Political Party Time blog, which tracks political fundraisers.

He would give the Democratic National Committee a chunk of money, cash that Republicans are now demanding the party give back.

In her essay, Bloodworth-Thomason  called one of Hillary Clinton's top five Hollywood confidants by the Hollywood Reporter in 2014  never said if the Clintons knew.

Instead the writer, who knew the former first couple since their Arkansas days, talked about how Bill Clinton's own sexual misdeed had 'taxed my feminist conscience,' yet he remains a close friend.

'And yes, some may call it hypocritical,' she said, when admitting she gave Bill Clinton a pass, but outed Weinstein to top Democrats.

Bloodworth-Thomason also didn't specify when she spouted her warning.

However, Weinstein last donated to a Democratic candidate in April 2017, according to OpenSecrets.
Greg Pence, one of Mike Pence's older brothers, has filed a tax document indicating he will seek the eastern Indiana congressional seat that the vice president and former governor represented for 12 years.

He formed the Greg Pence for Congress Committee on Monday, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Greg Pence, who once ran the family's now-bankrupt chain of Tobacco Road convenience stores, previously said he had been courted to run for the district, which covers a broad swath of central and southeastern Indiana - including Muncie and Columbus.

As the vice president's brother, he is likely the hands-down favorite to win in the overwhelmingly Republican district. He has a famous name, owns an antiques business in the area and even bears a striking resemblance to his brother, with a close-cropped head of white hair.

Spot the difference: Older brother Greg Pence (left) is running for Mike Pence's old Congressional district in eastern Indiana

In D.C. before: Greg Pence attended the Trump-Pence inauguration with his wife Denise

It's likely he will also be able to tap into the same fundraising network his brother enjoyed in Indiana - if not nationally.

The IRS document for Greg Pence's political organization lists Craig Kunkle as its 'custodian.'

Kunkle is a chief operating officer of a firm called MO strategies, which is led by the vice president's longtime aide and fundraiser Marty Obst, according to records kept by the Indiana Secretary of State's office.

A spokesman for Greg Pence declined to comment Wednesday.

Bob Grand, a major Republican fundraiser and powerbroker in Indiana politics, previously told the AP that Greg Pence would be an ideal candidate.

'He's a community leader, he's been involved in this community, he's obviously got good name ID. I think all those things are positive,' Grand said in June when Greg Pence's name was first floated as a possibility.

Greg Pence lives in Columbus, Indiana. That's the same town the family grew up in after the Pence's father, Edward, relocated from Chicago and later built a gas station empire.

This week Greg Pence told the New Yorker that the vice-president was known as Michael to the family that they all had nicknames, and added: 'Michael's was Bubbles, because he was chubby and funny.'

Greg eventually took over the company, Kiel Brothers Oil Co., from his father. But the business, which operated a chain of convenience stores under the name Tobacco Road, went bankrupt under Greg Pence's watch in 2004.

That wiped out more than $673,000 of Mike Pence's net worth, according to Pence's 2006 tax filings, which he has publicly released.

Jonathan Lamb, another candidate in the congressional district's GOP primary, said Greg Pence's entry into the race runs counter to President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to drain the swamp.

'They are trying to anoint someone because of his last name,' Lamb said. 'That's the epitome of the good old boys' club.'

Lamb, who is a businessman, also questioned the wisdom of sending someone whose company went bankrupt to Congress.

'I think we're all proud to have a Hoosier that's steps away from the president, but that doesn't necessarily make Mike Pence's brother qualified to be a congressman,' Lamb said.

Democrats, meanwhile, were more than happy to tie Greg Pence to his brother, who championed divisive social issues while governor, including a 2015 law that critics said allowed gay people to be discriminated against. The law was later changed, but only after a national backlash and threats of a boycott.

'If you thought one Pence was damaging enough to our state's economy, wait until you see what a second can do,' Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said. 'Voters must hope that he doesn't represent a second helping of that harm.'
A couple has been told to face 130 years in prison each over the sickening abuse of their emaciated nine-month-old twin daughters.

Aislyn Miller, 24, and Kevin Fowler, 25, were convicted of five counts of felony child neglect each on Friday in Owasso, Oklahoma.

The pair were arrested in December last year after doctors at an urgent care called police when they brought the girls in for treatment.

When officers searched their squalid home, there were cat feces smeared on the walls.

Both girls had severe nappy rashes and sores. One had a piece of hair tied around her finger and the other had feces in her ear.

Aislyn Miller, 24, and Kevin Fowler, 25, were told to expect 130 years in jail each after being convicted of child neglect in Oklahoma on Friday

The couple's two older children who were aged two and three at the time were also neglected but the treatment they received was not as severe as the twin baby girls.

Doctors said that as they were examining the pair, a maggot crawled out of one's genitals.

After their arrest, Miller and Fowler told police they both struggled balancing being parents with working long hours at a Macy's Distribution Center.

They also said they had limited health insurance which stopped them from seeking medical help for the girls but they denied the charges against them.

On Friday, a jury convicted them of all 10 counts and recommended that they serve a combined sentence of 260 years.

The couple will return to court on November 13 to be sentenced.

Police said the family's home in Owasso, Oklahoma, was covered in cat feces and maggots

Miller and Fowler's two older children also lived in the home. They were also neglected but not to the same heinous extent as the twin baby girls

Miller's parents Johnny and Cathey are also accused of neglect and failure to report. They are yet to stand trial but deny the charges

Fowler's mother and both of Miller's parents are also accused in the same case.

They all pleaded not guilty after they were arrested in December.

Fowler's mother Rita, 65, also faces charges. Her trial will begin on November 13

Investigators who testified at the couple's trial however said it was the worst case of child abuse they had ever seen.

They compared the girls to 'skeletons'

After the girls were rescued from the home, neighbors revealed that they did not know there had been children living inside.

Rita Fowler, Kevin's 65-year-old mother and Aislyn's parents Johnny and Cathey Miller are also facing charges of child neglect and failure to report.

They all pleaded guilty after their arrests last year.

During a preliminary hearing last year, DHS investigator Kristi Simpson described the babies' as 'shocking and heinous.
The battle for Raqqa between ISIS militants and US-backed Syrian troops has been book-ended by videos of tanks performing doughnuts in the square where the extremist group conducted countless brutal beheadings.

Jihadis in their self-styled caliphate's 'capital' demonstrated their military strength and confidence when they span a tank round in circles after they first took the Syrian city in 2014.

And a new clip has emerged of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rejoicing in yesterday's victory by showing off the same skills as their defeated opponents.

Jubilant: Syrian Democratic Forces (pictured) rejoiced in yesterday's liberation of Raqqa by showing off the same skills as their opponents did in Al-Naim Square when the extremists took the city in 2014

In the recent video, which marks the end of a bloody four-month offensive in the city, the SDF vehicle full of soliders spins around Al-Naim (Paradise) Square after claiming it back from ISIS fighters.

The jubilant victors stirred up a huge dust cloud to mark the square - which had up until recently been used by jihadis to carry out executions - as their own territory once more.

The video was filmed in exactly the same place as that of Islamic State supporters in 2014, who flew the black ISIS flag off the back of their tank as they performed the stunt.

US-backed militias in Syria said yesterday that the stronghold has been liberated and the city is now being searched for land mines and ISIS sleeper cells.

Victorious: In the recent video (above), which marks the end of a bloody four-month offensive in the city, the SDF vehicle full of soliders spins around Al-Naim (Paradise) Square after claiming it back from ISIS fighters

Reclaimed: The jubilant victors stirred up a huge dust cloud to mark the square - which had up until recently been used by jihadis to carry out executions - as their own territory once more

It represents a major defeat for the collapsing extremist group that had proclaimed Raqqa to be the capital of its so-called 'caliphate'. In Syria, it has been forced back into a strip of the Euphrates valley and surrounding desert.

But a spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS in the area could only confirm that about 90 per cent of Raqqa had been retaken, with pockets of militants still hidden in the war-torn city.

SDF fighters launched an operation to retake the last ISIS-held pocket of the city after some 275 militants and their family members surrendered over the weekend.

Deja vu: Jihadis in their self-styled caliphate's 'capital' demonstrated military strength and confidence when they span a tank round (pictured) after they first took the Syrian city in 2014

Copycat: The SDF's video was filmed in the same place as that of Islamic State supporters in 2014, who flew the black ISIS flag off the back of their tank as they performed the stunt
Alana Chasky, 35, is a former teachers aide who was arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old special needs student

A former teachers aide in Florida has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old special needs student, it was reported on Tuesday.

Alana Chasky, 35, was arrested on Monday by authorities in Brevard County, Florida.

She allegedly engaged in numerous sexual encounters with the boy at her home.

She faces charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years old.

She was also charged with distributing obscene material to a minor.

Chasky was employed by Riverdale Country School in Palm Bay.

Police say that the mother of a 14-year-old boy with behavioral problems noticed explicit text messages and images from Chasky on her sons cell phone.

The mother knew Chasky because she was assigned to help her son with his emotional needs, according to News 6.

She allegedly engaged in numerous sexual encounters with the boy at her home. She faces charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years old

Police say that the mother of a 14-year-old boy with behavioral problems noticed explicit text messages and images from Chasky on her sons cell phone

Police say that the mother warned Chasky to stay away from her son back in May because she suspected that their relationship was inappropriate

Police say that the mother warned Chasky to stay away from her son back in May because she suspected that their relationship was inappropriate.

But Chasky is alleged to have ignored the mothers warnings and continued to pick up and drop off the boy between home and school.

She was a student's aide and she met this particular victim on the bus, Palm Bay Police Lt. Mike Bandish told Fox 35 TV.

She rode the bus back and forth... and that's where they met.

Authorities say the mother initially gave the woman permission to have her son visit her because she was assisting with his behavioral problems.

In July, police said they spoke to the boy, who had violated his home detention by walking to Chaskys home.

The boy told police that he had exposed himself to Chasky and that the two had cuddled.

Chasky resigned as a teachers aide at Riverdale Country School on June 30

Earlier this month, the boy admitted to police that he and Chasky had sex multiple times at her home

When confronted by authorities, Chasky denied any wrongdoing. The lack of evidence forced police refrain from pressing charges, though they warned Chasky not to make contact with the boy.

On September 10, the boy was arrested for allegedly taking part in a burglary of Chaskys house. Chasky was out of town at the time of the alleged burglary.

When police investigated, the mother showed authorities the explicit text messages.

Police said the text messages were from a phone number that matched Chaskys.

Earlier this month, the boy admitted to police that he and Chasky had sex multiple times at her home.

The two allegedly had numerous encounters between February and September.

Chasky resigned as a teachers aide at Riverdale Country School on June 30.
Dianne Lake was just 14-years-old when she met Charles Manson in Los Angeles, and now she's breaking her silence for the first time about her life with the murderous 'Manson family' cult.

Lake has penned a book, 'Member of the Family,' out later this month. She spoke to People about meeting Manson for the first time.

'He was extremely intelligent,' Lake, now 64 said. 'He had the incredible ability to pick up on other people's weaknesses and their needs and their desires, and he could fulfill those.'

Dianne Lake (right) has broken nearly 50 years of silence after spending her teenage years in Charles Manson's (left) 'Manson family' cult

Charles Manson being led back into the courtroom to hear the penalty he and this three female followers must pay for the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969

Lake penned this book 'Member of the Family' out October 24 on her time with the madman

In newly released excerpts from her tome Lake says after her parents, who were deep in the 1960's counter-culture, set her 'free' she needed love and a feeling of family. She says that is how she came into the Manson fold.

Actress Sharon Tate was pregnant when she was killed by members of the Manson family

'I needed love and affection, and I needed a family. I needed to feel like I belonged somewhere,' Lake says. 'And he perceived that from the get-go.'

'Charlie was offering me more than sex. He told me I should forget my parents and give up my inhibitions. He made it clear he wanted me to be part of the group; his group. I felt there was no turning back.'

In the years that would follow, Lake became more loyal to Manson, even as he grew more violent leading up to the days that his cult would go on a murderous rampage in 1969.

Lake did not take part in the two-day summer murder spree in which Manson and members of his cult would kill seven people: pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Floger's heir Abigail Folger along with Wojciech Frykowski, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, Steven Parent and Jay Sebring.

It wasn't until after the murders, and even after her being institutionalized at age 17, facing him in a courtroom and testifying against him in LA that she would finally see him for what he was.

The defense attorney for Manson asked her 'Are you still in love with Mr. Manson now?' She responded 'I guess so' as she looked at the man she had a deep relationship with the previous years leading up to this point.

Manson in a mugshot from 2009 (left) and more recently in August of 2017 (right)

Manson family members and murder suspects Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Leslie van Houton (right) shortly after their arrest

That's when Manson blurted out 'You loved everybody. Don't put it all on Mr. Manson.'

The court room had burst into laughter at Manson's outburst.

'I hadn't seen it before, how he could truly work a room. This man didn't mean to be funny... he was deflecting responsibility from himself by humiliating me and dismissing my value as a human being.'

That was the moment she finally saw Manson for who he was.

'A scruffy little man with an enormous ego,' Lake says in the excerpts to People. 'He was a fake, a fraud, a pimp, and a con artist. And now I was truly free of him.'

The women who she considered as friends from the Manson family stood by him during the trial.

'The girls with the Xs on their foreheads? That part always blew me away,' Lake says. 'They continued to hang on, be groupies.'

After the trial concluded and Manson was convicted on first degree murder charges, Lake says she tried to move forward with her life. She is now married, raised three children and earned a master's in education.

She says she broke her 47-year silence with this book to 'correct the story of me,' and to forgive her teenage self. 'I'm not ashamed of her, I love her' Lake told People.

'It's an interesting story, but it's also a cautionary tale,' she says. 'I hope that my story sheds a little light onto this very dark time.'

Leslie Van Houten has been granted parole after appearing before a California board for the 21st time. She is pictured above after the hearing from September

Just this September, another one of Manson's followers was granted parole which is now under review.

The youngest Manson follower to have been involved in the murderous spree, Leslie Van Houghton, spoke to a parole board for the 21st time.

Van Houten, 68, who was 19 when she killed for Manson in 1969, attempted to convince members she has reformed and deserves to be released from prison after spending 47 years behind bars.

California governor Jerry Brown now has a 120-day period to affirm, reverse or take no action on the panel's decision.

Last year, a similar panel granted her parole but was overruled by Brown.

In blocking her release then, Brown said Van Houten had failed to adequately explain to the panel how a model teenager from a privileged Southern California family who had once been a homecoming princess could have turned into a ruthless killer by age 19.

Over two nights in August 1969, Manson's ragtag band of followers killed seven people, including actress Tate.

Van Houten didn't take part in the first night's killings of Tate and four others, but she helped kill grocer Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, on the second night.
The pregnant wife of a terrorist planning a knife attack on the streets of Britain has told a court he was a Bear Grylls fan and she thought he was going to use the weapon to skin rabbits on a romantic holiday.

Ummariyat Mirza, 21, from Alum Rock, Birmingham, has pleaded guilty to buying a 121 hunting knife and a life-size dummy to practise the killing.

Mirza's wife, Madihah Taheer, 21, denies using her debit card to pay for the knife and dummy, knowing that he was planning an attack.

Ummariyat Mirza (left) admitted planning a terror attack. His wife Madihah Taheer (right), 21, denies using her debit card to pay for a knife to be used in the attack

Speaking in her defence, Ms Taheer said that her husband was 'joking' when he promised to launch a knife attack as a wedding present for her.

She said she wanted a honeymoon that was a 'rural cottagey outdoors sort of thing' adding: 'It was very much my passion for a honeymoon, the thing that I wanted to do.'

A plan to go on honeymoon to Wales or Devon had been cancelled and they went on a family holiday with her parents to Morocco instead.

She told Woolwich Crown Court that she then made plans to go on a cottage holiday before the birth of their baby.

'It was my plan to do something before the baby came along,' Mr Taheer said. 'We were still looking and still contemplating and I found some deals online.

Ummariyat Mirza (pictured with a rifle), 21, from Alum Rock, Birmingham, has pleaded guilty to buying a 121 hunting knife and a life-size dummy to practise the killing

The Cold Steel Leatherneck knife, which he bought online in February, was 'something he wanted to add to his collection, a collectors item,' the would-be terrorist's wife said

Stabbed Dummy Images show the 'Century Bob training opponent' used by Ummariyat Mirz

'He wanted to do something more activity based but he realised I was pregnant and wouldn't be able to do that. I wanted a romantic, under-the-stars sort of thing in a rural area, in a cottage.

'The compromise we came to was it would be more outdoors. He talked of setting traps for rabbits and killing them and skinning them and cooking them over the fire.'

The Cold Steel Leatherneck knife, which he bought online in February, was 'something he wanted to add to his collection, a collectors item,' she said.

'Afterwards he said he wanted to go on holiday and used that as an excuse for buying the knife.'

The court was told that Mirza also had a collection of air guns, was an amateur boxer and participated in jujitsu, spending hours in the gym.

'You're interested in the English countryside and he's interested in shooting innocent creatures?' Isabella Forshall QC, defending, asked.

'He was a fan of Ray Mears and Bear Grylls. It's the whole survival bushcraft, shooting birds and rats that he enjoyed,' she said.

But Ms Taheer also admitted that her husband was 'passionate about jihad'.

The court had earlier heard that before they married Taheer wrote one message saying: 'Can we get married already ffs [for f**k's sake] I want u to kill ppl for me, I have a list.'

Mirza replied: 'The day of nikkah [wedding], I'll kill em all. Give me the list, the only thing that stops me is we are not married. I will defo, I'm not joking.'

The pregnant wife of a terrorist planning a knife attack on the streets of Britain has told a court he was a fan of Bear Grylls (pictured)

She responded: 'Lool, u can't have it til u put a ring on it.'

Ms Taheer told the court: 'The way I was speaking at the time was a joke, it was our sense of humour at the time. It was our world, we were engrossed in it at the time.'

Taheer said she had been 'brainwashed' by watching ISIS videos online, telling the court: 'I was brainwashed. Islamic State propaganda videos are what brainwashed me.'

She said she had realised her error but continued to 'humour' Mirza because he was suffering from depression and talking about ISIS was the only thing that lifted him out of it.

'I wanted to get married and I was prepared to indulge him in his fantasies in order to do that,' she told the court.

'I hoped that once we did get married his depression would ease because a lot of his ISIS-related thoughts were linked to his depression and all of these thoughts would subside, but I was indulging him wrongly and I should have put a stop to it.

'I was hoping that he would change for the better and that marriage would be a way of doing so.'

The case continues.
News / National

by Ndou Paul

Ever since the cabinet reshuffle, who has seen Dr Chris Mushohwe? Sources claim he collapsed and had to be taken to a foreign hospital  Nqaba Matshazi (@nqabamatshazi) October 18, 2017

He left for India on a medical emergency a day after reshuffle. He has missed Parliament, 2 Cabinet meetings and Politburo  Mduduzi Mathuthu (@Mathuthu) October 18, 2017

There are social reports that Zimbabwe's former Media, Information and Broadcasting Services minister, Christopher Mushohwe, collapsed after the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Robert Mugabe..Mushohwe, who was replaced by Simon Khaya Moyo, was reassigned to the Department of National Scholarships in the President's Office.People in the know claim that Mushowe left for India on a medical emergency a day after reshuffle and has missed Parliament, two Cabinet meetings and a Politburo meeting.Mugabe announced a shock Cabinet reshuffle where he dropped three ministers and reassigned 10 others as he clipped under-fire Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa's wings by taking away the Justice ministry from his ambit and giving it to Central Intelligence Organisation director-general Happyton Bonyongwe.Those axed from Cabinet include Priscah Mupfumira (Public Service), Tshinga Dube (War Veterans) and Abednico Ncube (Rural Development).Former Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa was another major casualty as he was demoted to the less glamorous Ministry of Cyber Security, Threat Detection and Mitigation. Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who lost the Foreign Affairs portfolio to Walter Mzembi (former Tourism minister); and Christopher Mushohwe (Information), who was reassigned to the Department of National Scholarships in the President's Office.Mumbengegwi was reassigned to the Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion ministry, formerly held by Obert Mpofu, who has now taken over from Chombo as Home Affairs minister.Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo now doubles as government mouthpiece following his reassignment as Media, Information and Broadcasting Services minister.Former Information minister and Zanu PF political commissar Webster Shamu bounced back into the limelight as Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs minister, replacing Faber Chidarikire, who appears to have lost favour with the President's wife First Lady Grace. Chidarikire reportedly misfired when he introduced Mnangagwa's wife Auxilia as acting First Lady at a Zanu PF meeting in Chinhoyi some 24 months ago.Chiratidzo Mabuwa replaces Zhuwao as Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Employment minister with Edgar Mbwembwe as new Tourism minister.
MGM Resorts is facing scrutiny over its latest ad which critics say takes advantage of the Mandalay Bay massacre.

The hotel group released its #VegasStrong ad on Twitter on October 15, 14 days after 58 were killed and 489 were injured in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Gunman Stephen Paddock had been given his room in the hotel, which MGM owns, for free.

The 30-second ad makes no specific reference to Paddock, who killed himself, or to the victims of the tragedy.

It instead shows various views of the Las Vegas Strip and flashes phrases like 'together we rise' and 'together we shine' on the screen.

Scroll down for video

The MGM ad begins with the words 'together we are one' printed over the twinkling lights of the strip in the background

It cuts to a trapeze artist inside one of its entertainment venues in the next frame

The 30-second ad then shows the famous fountains of the Bellagio hotel - one its properties

As soon as it was released on Sunday, critics inundated the hotel group with complaints.

'MGM resorts using the Las Vegas shooting as an Ad... the most disgusting distasteful thing I have ever seen,' said one.

'I saw an ad for MGM properties on TV using the tragedy as a reason to spend money with them. SICK AND DISGUSTING,' another quipped.

'The MGM Resort #VegasStrong ad seems oddly capitalistic in the wake of a horrific tragedy. Maybe ban guns from your hotels and screen bags,' said another.

Other critics asked why the hotel had put out the ad but had still not yet released surveillance footage of Paddock in the hotel in the days leading up to the attack.

The 64-year-old went back and forth from his suite to his car to retrieve more weapons from the vehicle over several days.

By the time he launched his attack, he had 23 weapons stockpiled inside the suite including semi-automatic rifles which he had illegally modified using bump stocks to put them on an automatic firing loop.

An overview of the strip shows the unmistakable Mandalay Bay hotel at the far back of the shot along with the words 'we shine'

The ad finishes with the MGM Resorts logo and then the hashtag Vegas Strong which swept social media after the October 1 shooting

Twitter critics were outraged by the company's apparent attempt to profit from the tragedy

Some questioned why it thought it was appropriate to start advertising again when it still has not released surveillance footage of gunman Stephen Paddock inside the hotel

One woman said it was 'too soon' for such an ad. As of last week, when police gave their last update, 45 victims remained in the hospital

Police have repeatedly praised its staff, giving special mention to security guard Jesus Campos who was shot by Paddock and alerted police to his suite shortly after he opened fire at around 10pm on October 1.

It reinforces our promise that we'll remain strong and united in the face of adversity Lili Tomovich, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts

'So glad you could use this tragedy as an ad.

'Oh, where's the security footage?' one dubious critic said on Twitter after watching its new commercial.

MGM said the ad was not intended to offend viewers or minimize the tragedy and said the response has been 'overwhelmingly positive' despite online criticism.

'We created this spot to reflect the strength and resilience of Las Vegas, of MGM Resorts, of Mandalay Bay and of all of our employees.

'The response to the message has been overwhelmingly positive. It reinforces our promise to the world that well remain strong and united in the face of adversity,' Lili Tomovich, Chief Experience and Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts, told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.

Paddock frequented the hotel and others in Las Vegas and was considered a relative small-time high roller.

Stephen Paddock killed himself inside his suite on the 32nd floor on October 1 after opening fire on the crowds

The two smashed out windows where Paddock positioned his rifles are seen above

The hotel placed this large banner on its exterior on Monday as began returning to normal business

As of last week, there were still 45 victims in the hospital. 58 people were killed and another 489 were injured at the Route 91 Harvest festival (above) when Paddock opened fire

His loyalty to MGM casinos won him a complimentary stay in the suite and he cashed it in to carry out the attack.

Police are still at a loss over what his motive for the massacre was. They have so far been unable to pinpoint anything that may have inspired it.

Stephen Paddock was a frequent visitor of the hotel and was staying there for free when he committed the attack

Inside his room, Paddock left no suicide note or statement explaining his actions.

Hotel staff and police still face questions over why it took them so long to enter Paddock's room after Campos first reported being shot.

The most recent police timeline indicates that he was struck by Paddock at 10.05pm and that the gunman started firing on the crowds at the Route 91 Harvest Festival immediately afterwards.

The first two police officers however did not arrive outside his room for 12 minutes, by which time he had fired his last shots. It then took more than another hour for them to breach the room at 11.20pm.

Police previously claimed that MGM staffers did not call for their help for six minutes after Campos was shot.

The hotel chain refuted the original timeline.

Vegas Strong spread across social media as a hashtag after the shooting.

Police have not confirmed whether the suite where Paddock stayed is still a crime scene.
Jihadists claiming to be 'Islamic State in Central Africa' have called for militants to join them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the extremist group's self-styled 'capital', Raqqa, was reclaimed by US-backed Syrian forces.

A video circulating on pro-ISIS sites purports to be a message from dedicated jihadis, although ISIS has not expanded its official media output to the central African country.

In the footage, a man brandishing a gun and with bullets draped around his neck addresses the camera in Arabic as other men and some children are seen standing behind him.

He says: 'I swear to God that this is Dar al Islam of the Islamic State in Central Africa,' according to a translation by PJ Media.

His two-minute-long statement is punctuated several times by members of the crowd behind him shouting 'Allahu Akbar', or 'Allah is greatest'.

The clip is branded with the ISIS logo as well as the letters MTM - a suggestion of what the Congolese group calls itself.

Although ISIS affiliates have a strong presence in the north African countries of Libya and Egypt, the video is the first suggestion that its influence has spread to the Congo.

The central African country is predominantly Christian with only 1.6 per cent of the population identifying as Muslim in 2010, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Call to arms: A video (above) circulating on extremist sites purports to be a message from dedicated Islamic State fighters in the Congo, although ISIS has not expanded its official media output to the central African country

Passionate: In the footage, a man brandishing a gun and with bullets draped around his neck addresses the camera in Arabic as other men and some children are seen standing behind him

Terrorist organisations whose reach extends closer to the Congo than ISIS' include Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

ISIS' hold over the Middle East is gradually crumbling, with Raqqa in Syria being liberated by US-backed troops yesterday. But the conflict has come at a devastating cost to both Syria and Iraq, with immense suffering for those who endured the militants' brutal reign.

The nine-month battle to liberate Mosul resulted in the death of up to 1,500 Iraqi forces, while at least 1,100 fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces fighters were killed in the battles for Raqqa and Deir el-Zour up until late September, according to the coalition.

In the three years since ISIS began building its 'caliphate,' it has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and indoctrinated countless children with its extremist beliefs.

He says: 'I swear to God that this is Dar al Islam of the Islamic State in Central Africa'
Surveillance cameras caught the shocking moment an armed gang forced a woman and her niece out of their van following a shoot-out in Houston that left one man dead and another injured.

The Houston Police Department said they are investigating the fatal shooting of Sam Johnson, 53, of Houston. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Walter Fields, 22, the second victim, was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening wounds.

Surveillance cameras caught the shocking moment an armed gang forced a woman and her niece out of their van (pictured) after a shoot-out in Houston that left one dead and another injured. At the top of this photo a man is seen standing between trees outside the home

The Houston Police Department said they are investigating the fatal shooting of Sam Johnson, 53, of Houston. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. The video shows the moment four armed suspects, who were driving a blue-colored Mazda, opened fire on Johnson and Fields

Walter Fields, 22, the second victim, was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening wounds. Seconds later, the suspects (pictured running) abandoned the Mazda and ran over to a van nearby

The video shows the moment four armed suspects, who were driving a blue-colored Mazda, opened fire on Johnson and Fields at 6833 London Street around 1.50pm on Monday.

HPD Homicide Division Sergeant A. Turner and Officer J. Nguyen reported that the victims were shot while the suspects were still in the vehicle.

The video shows two men attempting to flee the scene near the home. One man is seen in the video falling to the ground as the other man, believed to be Fields, escapes behind the home.

Seconds later, the suspects abandon the Mazda and run over to a van that had been parked nearby.

After the woman driving the van heard the gunfire, she pulled into a driveway to avoid the spray of bullets.

One suspect fled on foot towards Cullen Boulevard. And the other three suspects took a dark green Kia Sedona at gunpoint that was occupied by a woman and her 11-month-old niece.

After the woman driving the van heard the gunfire, she pulled into a driveway (pictured) to avoid the spray of bullets

One suspect (left), later identified as Mertroy Harris (right) fled on foot towards Cullen Boulevard. And the other three suspects took a dark green Kia Sedona at gunpoint that was occupied by a woman and her 11-month-old niece

The video then shows one suspect with a rifle firing multiple shots across the street back toward the Mazda

The video then shows one suspect with a rifle firing multiple shots across the street back toward the Mazda as the other suspects push the woman and child out of the passenger door and onto the ground.

Neither the woman nor the child was harmed.

Investigators were able to identify one of four suspects as 27-year-old Mertroy Harris who is currently in custody, according to KHOU. Harris was detained after he fled the scene on foot.

Harris has been charged with murder and felony deadly conduct, according to the police. The three other suspects remain at-large.

The other suspects are described only as black males between 18 to 25 years old.

Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

Meanwhile, the other suspects push the woman and child (pictured on the ground) out of the passenger door and onto the ground. Investigators were able to identify one of four suspects as 27-year-old Mertroy Harris who is currently in custody
The White House said there is not a recording of President Trump's disputed call to the widow of a slain Green Beret  but that several people including White House chief of staff John Kelly were in the room when he made it.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders said the call wasn't tape after being asked about Trump's tweet that he had 'proof' that Democratic congresswoman Rep. Frederica Wilson was wrong in her claims about the call.

Sanders, asked if there are recordings: 'No but there were several people in the room from the administration who were on the call, including Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly.'

LISTENING: The White House said chief of staff John Kelly was monitoring the president's condolence call

She said the president was 'respectful' during the condolence call, then went after Wilson and added: 'To try to create something from that, that the congresswoman is doing, is frankly appalling and disgusting.'

Kelly's name had already surfaced in the flap over Trump's statements about the ambush in Niger that killed four servicemen Oct. 4  after he said President Obama 'didn't make calls' and encouraged people to ask Kelly if Obama called him.

Sanders indicated that Kelly would vouch for Trump, after Wilson said several people were also monitoring the president's call, which was put on speakerphone in a limo as Johnson's widow, Myeshia, rode to receive his remains.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that there aren't any recordings of the call, but several administration officials were in the room and heard what Trump said

Wilson said she was sitting beside the grieving widow when Trump said on speakerphone that the slain solider 'knew what he signed up for.'

'Gen. Kelly was present for the call and thought it was completely appropriate. He thought the call was respectful and he thought the president did the best job he could under those circumstances to offer condolences on behalf of the country,' said Sanders.

She stood up to repeated questioning at the White House briefing, including from America Urban Radio's April Ryan, who said she spoke to a Johnson relative, who told her that Trump repeatedly referred to 'your guy' rather than using Johnson's name.

'Just because the president said 'your guy,' I don't [think] that means that he doesn't know his name. As the president stated, the hardest job he has is making calls like that.'

Asked what the 'proof' was that he tweeted about, Trump dared Wilson to repeat her claim: 'Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson heard Trump's call on speakerphone and made the rounds on television to claim Trump 'has a brain disorder, and he needs to be checked out. ... We should be praising his family, not insulting them'

Trump denied making the insensitive remark, tweeting on Wednesday that the congresswoman 'totally fabricated' it

She continued: 'I think it is appalling what the congresswoman has done, and the way she's politicized this issue, and the way that she is trying to make this about something that it isn't. This is about a president who loves this country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform, and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family. And I think to try to create something from that, that the congresswoman is doing, is frankly appalling and disgusting.'

Cowanda Jones-Johnson told a reporter that 'President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband

'The sentiment of the president was very clear. He took the time to make a call to express his condolences, to thank the family for this individual's service. I think it frankly is a disgrace of the media to try to portray an act of kindness like that and that gesture and to try to make it into something that it isn't,' she added.

'The president's call as accounted by multiple people in the room believed that the president was completely respectful, very sympathetic and expressed the condolences of himself and the rest of the country and thanked the family for their service, commended them for having an American hero in their family. I don't know how you can take that any other way,' she said.

Sanders said she wasn't sure whether Trump had informed Kelly in advance Tuesday before he brought up Kelly on a Fox News radio interview.

'Now as far as other representers, I don't know. I mean, you could ask General Kelly. Did he get a call from Obama? You could ask other people. I don't know what Obama's policy was,' the president said Tuesday morning.

'I'm not sure if he knew of that specific comment but they had certainly spoken about it and he's aware and they've spoken several time since then,' Sanders said, in reference to Kelly, whose son, 1st Lieutenant Robert Kelly was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.

'I think that Gen. Kelly is disgusted by the way that this has been politicized and the focus has become on the process and not the fact that American lives were lost. I think he's disgusted and frustrated by that. If he has any anger, it's towards that,' she said.

Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, says Wilson's account of the president's call is 'true.' She is Johnson's his biological aunt but brought him up after his mom's death.

President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband,' she told the Washington Post.
Health authorities in Spain have revealed the man who died from an outbreak of Legionnaires' in a Mallorcan holiday resort was a British tourist.

They also said another 13 of the 19 people now known to have been affected so far in the unresolved outbreak were also holidaymakers from the UK.

The holidaymakers were struck down in Palmanova, which neighbours Magaluf, with eight people all staying at the same unnamed hotel.

Health authorities in Spain have revealed the man who died from an outbreak of Legionnaires' in a Mallorcan disease was a British tourist

Regional health authority boss Maria Ramos said one British tourist, a man aged 61, was still being treated at Son Espases Hospital in the island capital Mallorca, the hospital where a 70-year-old British man died last Wednesday.

The rest of the Brits, aged from 46 to 87 are back in the UK after the end of their holidays.

They are understood to have been given the all-clear or are recovering from their illness, although Mrs Ramos said she was unaware of the evolution of five of the British nationals affected.

Health chiefs in Mallorca are now working on trying to locate the source of the outbreak in the Brit-popular resort of Palmanova next to the brash party resort of Magaluf with the help of a specialist lab in Madrid.

Positive samples were detected at an unnamed hotel in Palmanova where nine of those affected were staying. The hotel has now closed after its water supply was shut down.

But Mrs Ramos said the holidaymakers diagnosed with Legionnaires had been staying at a total of seven hotels in the resort, making it unlikely the hotel with the most number of people affected was the source of the outbreak - or the sole source if it ended up being linked to the killer bug scare.

Since being informed of the first case on October 5, regional health authorities acting in conjunction with local police have reacted by closing beach showers and a water fountain in Palmanova.

As well as water sprinklers they checked to make sure restaurants are not using water mist systems some were employing last month.

The Legionnaires' outbreak was revealed in a press release put out by the Balearic Government's regional health authority.

It said: 'Public health chiefs are investigating several cases of Legionnaires detected in the Palmanova area.

'From October 5 to the present date, we have been notified of 18 cases.

Three British pensioners aged 73, 76 and 78 died from the disease following an outbreak at the four-star AR Diamante Beach hotel in the Costa Blanca resort of Calpe in 2012 (pictured)

'All except three have been notified to us from the affected peoples' countries of origin, as they developed their illness after they had completed their stay on the island.

'The majority of those affected have recovered or are getting better, except a man aged 70 who was suffering several illnesses including diabetes, leukaemia and coronary heart disease and died in hospital on October 11.'

Legionnaires' disease is a serious lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria.

Initial symptoms usually include flu-like symptoms such as headaches, muscle pain and fever, with symptoms of pneumonia once bacteria begin to infect the lungs.

The disease, which isn't contagious and can't be spread directly from person to person, is usually caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water.

It can be particularly serious in people with pre-existing health conditions. Most deaths occur in people who are 70 or older. The period of incubation is 14 days so the numbers of those affected may rise.

Three British pensioners aged 73, 76 and 78 died from the disease following an outbreak at the four-star AR Diamante Beach hotel in the Costa Blanca resort of Calpe in 2012.

They were among more than a dozen pensioners struck down with the killer bug while on a Saga holiday.
When does a sexual advance cross over into harassment? Can a proposition ever be OK if it is in the workplace?

The answer is very simple - harassment happens when the person seeking gratification is in a more powerful position than their victim.

Good sex is about two people who have the same agenda - both parties want to enjoy the experience and help the other person enjoy it too. That is a basic equation in my book.

Beyond the horror stories about Harvey Weinstein we know about are the ones we don't.

Some of the recipients of his attention were no doubt hoping to get work or a career advancement, or had already decided that they could handle his unwelcome groping, forcing the encounter to the back of their minds, because they were ambitious, and we all know that to get on in this world you have to make compromises and do things you are not comfortable with.

Harvey Weinstein (left) is accused of raping and groping multiple women. Meanwhile Jennifer Lawrence (right) was told by another producer to lose weight after standing in a naked line-up

Or they worked at lower levels in the toxic environment of his company, where bullying, temper tantrums and unprofessional demands were regarded as everyday occurrences, made palatable with presents and promotions, sugared by tons of awards that help your CV look so much better when you finally gather the strength to move on.

Believe me, Harvey Weinstein might be the ogre of the moment, but that kind of behavior is replicated every hour of every day in the workplace, on public transport and even in the home.

At the start of my television career, I remember sitting at dinner with a top agent, my husband at the other end of the table, when the guy leant across and offered me a reduction in his commission and plenty of work if I would give him the occasional blow job.

Why didn't I tell my husband? Because somehow, illogically, I felt I had contributed to the situation. Was my skirt too short? Had I been slightly too interested in what this creep was talking about?

He had some great clients and I was really ambitious, but it was an offer I had to pass up.

I just smiled, went home, and signed with another agent, probably not one as successful.

Senior BBC reporter - Rajini Vaidyanathan described how married colleagues sent her explicit messages and texts

I didn't tell a soul for years, because people would have said 'so what, everyone does it'.

Now, the outing of one high profile Hollywood predator has triggered a massive backlash - over seven hundred thousand women all over the world (and there's bound to be a million by the weekend) are tweeting and messaging using the hashtag MeToo to say they've had similar experiences.

They include a senior BBC reporter - Rajini Vaidyanathan, who described how married colleagues sent her explicit messages and texts.

One man, twice her age, and in a more senior position - said to her 'I'm unbelievably sexually attracted to you. I can't stop thinking about you'.

Before we go much further, let's be clear, this is not a man-hating witch-hunt.

Women hit on subordinates too, and what about older men focusing on young boys, seeking sex in return for promotion or financial gain?

It's about exploiting an unequal situation, using power to enslave another person, and there is no excuse.

From Reese Witherspoon (pictured) to Lena Headley, the stories of compliance followed by decades of respectful silence are remarkably similar

These days she commands top billing and huge fees, but even Jennifer Lawrence was willing to put herself through humiliation to achieve her dream. At the Women in Hollywood Awards this week, she revealed that at the start of her career, she stood in an audition line-up of extremely thin women, naked except for bits of tape, ordered to do so by a female producer.

Afterwards, Lawrence was told to lose 15 pounds in two weeks. I assume she stopped eating and got the part.

From Reese Witherspoon to Lena Headley, the stories of compliance followed by decades of respectful silence are remarkably similar. In an age of feminism, women were willing to let other women be abused too, because it's a tough fight to get star billing, every woman for herself.

Now she's won an Academy Award, but back then American Hustle star Lawrence said 'I couldn't have got a producer or a director or a studio fired.

I let myself be treated a certain way because I felt like I had to for my career.there was a fine line between sticking up for myself and being called 'difficult' - as it was, she was described as a 'nightmare'.

Many of the women Harvey Weinstein hit on are very similar in appearance - slender, smaller than the average woman by many inches, with striking good looks.

Big Bang star Mayim Bialik was hit with a huge backlash this week when she wrote she'd never experienced this kind of harassment, maybe because she didn't conform to a stereotype. She said 'I dress modestly, I don't act flirtatiously with men as a policy'.

That's simplistic - in Hollywood (as in many work places) there are stringent rules about appearance - women have to be thin, look young, and be curiously wrinkle-free. There are very few leading ladies who depart from that old-fashioned view of glamour.

I'm not going to criticize them for choosing to sublimate their individuality in pursuit of fame and fortune - good luck, it's a career option. But sexual desire isn't that simple - who would have thought that a woman with a very large rear end (Kim Kardashian) would be followed by millions of adoring fans?

Big Bang star Mayim Bialik (left) was hit with a huge backlash this week when she wrote she'd never experienced harassment. Even geeky - as in Ugly Betty (right) - has to conform to a very narrow definition of plain

When Hollywood does use older women, we have another set of stereotypes- it's glamorous Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren.

Even geeky - as in Ugly Betty - has to conform to a very narrow definition of plain - when in doubt, just add glasses.

Ironically, the star of Ugly Betty, America Ferrara has spoken out, tweeting that she was sexually assaulted as a nine year old child.

I'd like to see the current debate about entrapment, enslaving or whatever you want to call it - move on to another level, one where men and boys feel that they too can have a voice.

MeToo should enable people to name and shame the bosses in other industries (outside Hollywood) who have placed workers in degrading positions, without fear of losing their job.

This can't be a battle of the sexes. It's about giving the underdog a voice.
Four Green Berets who were killed while on patrol on the Niger-Mali border earlier this month, along with four Nigerian soldiers, were allegedly caught by surprise by some four dozen militants linked to ISIS.

US officials have said US Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black; Sgt La David Johnson; Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson were among a dozen Green Berets traveling in unarmored trucks 120 miles north of Niger's capital of Niamey on October 4 when they were ambushed by 40 to 50 militants 'likely' linked to ISIS in Greater Sahara.

An unnamed official told CBS News' veteran national security correspondent David Martin on Wednesday that that patrol was considered low risk, and as a result, the Green Berets and their Nigerian counterparts were not being protected from the air at the time.

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Four Green Berets (top row L to R) US Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black; Sgt La David Johnson; (bottom row L to R) Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson were allegedly caught by surprise and killed by some four dozen militants linked to ISIS.

French . Mirage 2000 fighter jets arrived at the site only 30 minutes into the ambush attack and provided support, but did not fire missiles. French helicopters also evacuated wounded service members from the scene.

The US Africa Command has launched an investigation to determine if the deaths of the soldiers could have been prevented.

Two weeks after the deadly attack, there are still lingering questions about the mission that ended in the deaths of the Green Berets.

According to one version of events, 12 Green Berets were accompanying 40 Nigerian soldiers to a meeting in a village when they were caught by surprise by about 50 suspected ISIS fighters.

A competing narrative suggests that the Green Berets were the ones who hosted the meeting, and that the Nigerian platoon happened to be nearby.

When asked why there was no US reconnaissance drone flying overhead during the patrol, a US Africa Command spokesperson said that had the attack been anticipated during the mission, 'more resources would have been dedicated to it to reduce risk.'

The remains of Staff Sgt Black, 35, Staff Sgt Johnson, 39, and Staff Sgt Wright, 29, were recovered and returned to stateside the following night. The body of Sgt Johnson, who had gone missing during the clash that took place over a vast area, was not returned to the US until October 7.

President Donald Trump had faced criticism for not contacting the families of the soldiers killed in Niger right away.

In this Tuesday, October 17, frame from video, Myeshia Johnson cries over the casket of her husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, who was killed in an ambush in Niger

At a press briefing on Monday, he said he had written them letters and would call soon, while accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of neglecting to call as many grieving families as himself.

His comments sparked outrage from former Obama aides, who said Trump's claims were baseless.

On Wednesday morning, Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida came out saying that when Trump called Sgt Johnson's widow, Myeshia Johnson, who is pregnant with the couple's fourth child, he made her cry by saying of her late husband, 'he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts.'

Wilson said she listened in to part of a group phone call between the president and the grieving family.

War of words: Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Florida Democrat, accused Trump of making Johnson's pregnant widow cry by telling her on a call, 'he knew what he signed up for.' The president denied Wilson's claim

Trump denied making the comments, tweeting Wednesday: 'Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!'

He later told reporters: 'I did not say what she said,' and that 'I had a very nice conversation.'

When asked about what 'proof' he could offer, Trump said: 'Let her make her statement again then you will find out.'

Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, later told the Washington Post that Trump had disrespected her son on the call and confirmed Wilson's account of the phone call.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he is looking into potential 'conflicts of interest' of Hillary Clinton's over a Russian uranium deal that was approved despite an ongoing FBI investigation of the company concerned.

'It turns out during the transaction, the Justice Department had an ongoing criminal investigation for bribery, extortion and money laundering into officials for the Russian company making that purchase,' Grassley said during a Capitol Hill hearing. 'While all of this was going on, the Clinton Foundation reportedly received millions of dollars from interested parties in the transaction.'

The Hill newspaper also reported that a key FBI informant, an American businessman with knowledge of the Russian nuclear industry's efforts to woo the Clintons and the Obama administration, was blocked by President Obama's Justice Department last year from telling Congress what he knew.

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is trying to get to the bottom of an approved Russian uranium deal that he finds suspicious as involved parties had donated to the Clinton Foundation - though the Russian company was under a federal probe

Former President Bill Clinton was given Clinton Foundation dollars and speaking fees by parties associated with the Russian uranium deal - while his wife, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had to approve of it for it to go through

In 2010, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States approved a deal that allowed Russia's Rosatom nuclear company to buy Canadian mining company Uranium One, which controlled about 20 percent of the U.S.'s uranium deposits, which was why the multi-agency committee was involved.

Sitting on that committee were former Attorney General Eric Holder and former Secretary of State Clinton, whose husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, had collected speaking fees and Clinton Foundation donations by parties associated with the deal.

Details about the donations were previously revealed in author Peter Schweizer's 2015 book Clinton Cash, with the New York Times investigating the deal on its own, finding dollars from interested parties had indeed flowed to the Clinton Foundation, as Secretary of State Clinton had to make her determination.

'Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown,' the Times report said.

'But the episode underscores the special ethical challenges presented by the Clinton Foundation, headed by a former president who relied heavily on foreign cash to accumulate $250 million in assets even as his wife helped steer American foreign policy as secretary of state, presiding over decisions with the potential to benefit the foundations donors,' it continued.

But now there's a new layer to the story, as the Hill newspaper reported this week that the FBI had uncovered a Russian bribery plot in 2009 and 2010, before the committee green-lit the deal.

The Justice Department also waited until 2014 to bring any charges.

Grassley wants to find out why.

He told his Senate committee Wednesday, in earshot of witness Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that he had sent 10 letters out last week asking questions about who in the government knew about the FBI probe and when.

'In my letter, I asked the agencies involved in approving the transaction if they were aware of the criminal probe and the intelligence operation examining Russian activity,' Grassley explained.

The Iowa Republican also noted that 'Russians involved in the conspiracy were reportedly coordinating with high level officials, close to Vladimir Putin.

Turning his attention to Sessions, Grassley asked, 'What are you doing to find out how a Russian takeover of American uranium was allowed to occur despite criminal conduct by a Russian company that the Obama administration approved to make the purchase?'

Sessions said he heard Grassley's concerns and promised they would be reviewed.

'It wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on any ongoing investigation,' Sessions also said.

If Sessions' Justice Department did probe the deal it would be a marked difference from how the Obama administration's Justice Department handled it, according to the lawyer representing the FBI's informant, according to the Hill.

Lawyer Victoria Toensing, who worked in the Reagan Justice Department and was the former chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the paper Tuesday she is working with lawmakers to push the Trump Justice Department or the FBI in freeing up her client to speak with members of Congress.

She told the Hill that her client possesses details on how Russian executives facilitated the 2010 Uranium One deal, sending millions of dollars in Russian nuclear funds to an entity that was then supporting the Clinton Foundation.

But last year, during the presidential election, he was not allowed to speak out, having signed a non-disclosure agreement at the behest of the FBI.

'There was corruption going on and it was never brought forward. And in fact, the sale of the uranium went on despite the government knowing about all of this corruption. So he's coming forward,' Toensing told the paper. 'He wants the right thing to be done, but he cannot do it unless he is released from the NDA.'
A new report reveals that Lisa Bloom was made aware of sexual assault and/or harassment allegations being made against Harvey Weinstein last October.

HuffPost claims that lawyer Thomas Ajamie shared details of Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct with Bloom over drinks one night last year, asking the litigator if she was perhaps working with any of the victims.

Bloom said she has never even met Weinstein.

Ajamie was investigating Weinstein on behalf of the AMFAR board at the time and had been unable to get in contact with the movie executive, but that January suddenly got a sit down with the man at the Sundance Film Festival.

Bloom was there as well, around the same time she informed Ajamie she could not speak about allegations involving Weinstein because there was a 'conflict' - she was advising him as an attorney.

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Timeline: Lisa Bloom was alerted about allegations of sexual misconduct being made against Harvey Weinstein in October of last year claims a new report (Bloom and Weinstein above on October 4)

Lights, camera...: Bloom said she did not even know Weinstein at the time, but within six months was his lawyer and had a TV deal (Bloom above at a Weinstein Co party in January)

'I know youre telling people that I rape women,' Weinstein said to Ajame in that meeting.

Weinstein then went on to tell Ajame that he had 'sex with many women in Hollywood' because he was a 'powerful' guy and 'everyone wants an Academy Award.'

That March, Weinstein Company optioned her book about Trayvon Martin, Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story of the Trayvon Martin Injustice and Why We Continue to Repeat It.'

It was announced that Weinstein would be producing a series along with Jay Z based on Bloom's work, which would be combined with a second book.

That book was 'Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin,' which was the subject of a heated bidding war as it is written by Martin's parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin.

Bloom is still trying to salvage her reputation in the wake of emails revealing her plans to undermine the women who came forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment.

'So over the hate. I have won $15 million for victims of sexual harassment, rape and race discrimination this year,' wrote Lisa last week kicking off a lengthy thread of tweets in which she extolled her own accomplishments and blamed the 'left' for launching unfair attacks.

Her Twitter rant came in response to a report that revealed Bloom had told members of the Weinstein Company board that she planned to start sending around photos of Weinstein with his smiling victims.

'To say that other reporting and photos would come out was to state an obvious truth. If I had a nefarious plan, why not execute it?' asked Bloom.

New crowd: he even flew to Sundance to see the premiere of Weinstein's documentary with Jay Z in January (above), before Weinstein Company optioned her book

That statement was made by Bloom despite the fact that she had in fact begun to execute that 'nefarious plan' soon after the New York Times released their expose on Weinstein, providing the New York Post with a photo of the media mogul and a smiling Ashley Judd.

'Accusation that I had a plan to undermine women is completely inconsistent w my entire life's work, which also generates considerable hate,' said Bloom.

'And it is utterly, completely false.'

She then closed out by stating: 'We are too angry with each other as a nation. The most I've seen in my 56 years. I hope I will always remember this experience and be kind.'
A man who brutally bashed his own mother in a sickening road rage attack has been found dead.

James Uhr, 27, rammed the woman's car off the road in front of terrified witnesses in Wollongong, south of Sydney, on Wednesday morning.

Just a few hours later, a home owner in the nearby town of Coalcliff told police they had found a body in their backyard.

James Uhr, who brutally bashed his own mother in a sickening road rage attack, has been found dead.

The 55-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with facial injuries, with witnesses saying they saw the man bash her

The woman (pictured) was in a serious but stable condition at Wollongong Hospital on Wednesday

Uhr's death is not being treated as suspicious.

'A vehicle stolen earlier in the day was located a short distance away and has been seized for forensic examination,' a police spokesperson said.

The 55-year-old woman was rushed to hospital with serious facial injuries and was in a serious but stable condition at Wollongong Hospital on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at around 8am in Balgownie when a stolen Ford ute smashed into the woman's Toyota hatchback.

Police identified James Uhr (pictured) as a person of interest on Wednesday and said he may have used a stolen vehicle in the incident before taking off in another

After he punched her several times, Uhr took off in a preschool teacher's 2003 Hyundai Elantra.

Several witnesses watched the road rage attack and were assisting police with their investigation.

The road was closed off as the two damaged vehicles were removed.

Uhr rammed the woman's car off the road in front of terrified witnesses in Wollongong, south of Sydney, on Wednesday morning
News / National

by Kurauone Chihwayi

EDITOR,The MDC notes with concern President Robert Mugabe's recent Cabinet reshuffle and new appointments.It is clear that far from being appointed or reassigned to address the many problems affecting the country in these difficult times, these appointments were specifically put in place to try and steal the election for Zanu-PF come 2018 by hook or crook.The sinister motives of the so-called reshuffle is evidenced by the appointment of former CIO boss Happyton Bonyongwe into the Justice ministry, which by one stroke has reduced the courts and other vital public institutions into CIO projects.Additionally, the creation of a whole new bogus ministry, the ministry of Cyber Security, Threat detection and Mitigation whose sole purpose is to clamp down on the free flow of information on social media signals a whole new level of desperation by Mugabe.It is clear that social media has sent panic waves in the Zanu-PF camp after the realisation that their discredited State media is no longer the only game in town, and suffering Zimbabweans have found alternative platforms on which to freely express their views and mobilise against Mugabe's misrule.It is clear that very soon we will begin to hear from this bogus ministry of more draconian laws enacted for the specific purpose of intimidating and silencing the masses.The MDC finds the creation of this ministry as absurd, especially as it comes at a time when we are nearing elections and citizens are supposed to feel free to disseminate information and mobilise in the spirit of democracy.What is also sad to note is that the newly-appointed ministers are set to receive new top-of-the-range vehicles and other high maintenance pecks in ministerial privileges which is self-evidently a plot to bring Mugabe's close cronies onto the looting wagon given the uncertainty of the outcome of the 2018 election for the failed ruling party.The MDC therefore calls upon every Zimbabwean to take heed of the call to register to vote ahead of the 2018 elections and remove from power Mugabe and his incompetent lot in Zanu-PF.Kurauone Chihwayi,MDC national spokesperson
Micha Birgitta, 31, had her nose smashed in the brutal attack

A woman beaten up in a savage late-night assault says she is doing the police's job for them by issuing crystal-clear pictures of her alleged attacker.

Micha Birgitta, 31, had her nose smashed in the brutal attack while the thug knocked out her male friend in London's East End.

Police hunting the crazed brute - thought to be high on drugs or drunk - put out blurred and grainy CCTV images of him that 'could have been anybody'.

But now Ms Birgitta has sent dramatic stills from footage shot on her friend's mobile straight to her local paper the Hackney Gazette in an attempt to catch him.

Ms Birgitta had just left trendy Shoreditch nightclub East Bloc with two friends when the biker rode straight into them in City Road and went flying.

The pumped-up yob jumped up and confronted the stunned revellers before punching Ms Birgitta in the face and knocking her friend out cold.

The Hackney Gazette ran an appeal from the Met Police in a bid to nail the thug earlier this month.

Police hunting the crazed brute - thought to be high on drugs or drunk - put out blurred and grainy CCTV images of him that 'could have been anybody'. Right: The images that Ms Birgitta released

But the CCTV photos they released were 'terrible' and the suspect has still not been caught.

Ms Birgitta said she's 'scared of her own shadow' knowing her attacker is still at large and justice has not been done.

And she can't believe that a high-quality video taken on her friend's phone was never released by officers targeting the attacker.

'The CCTV is terrible quality,' insisted Ms Birgitta, who's still struggling to see properly.

'Even his own mum wouldn't recognise him in that video.'

Ms Birgitta, who works for a local tech company, said she's 'desperate' for her assailant to be caught so she can move on with her life.

'Whenever I see someone who looks like him I feel unsafe,' she said.

'I'm afraid of someone running up behind me again.'

Recalling the attack just before 3am on August 13, Ms Birgitta said: 'He was super angry and pushed me away to get to my friend.

One of the photos that Ms Birgitta released

'He was yelling about how it was our fault he fell over. My friend was drunk so he started arguing.'

The man ran off after punching Ms Birgitta and her friend. But he ran back as she rang 999 in a daze to raise the alarm.

'He said: 'Are you okay?' and I said: 'Do I look like I'm okay? I have a huge bump on my head'.

'I said: 'What's your name?' and he said it was Omar. I think he was on drugs or really drunk because him coming back was completely irrational. It made no sense.

'Then he flipped me off and ran off again. I ran after him and was yelling at people to stop him - and then when I went back I saw my friend had been knocked out.

'He's OK now,' said Ms Birgitta, who ended up with two ugly black eyes and cheekbone injuries as well as deep shock.

'He was really lucky. I'm not all right. I still have pain in my nose and it's crooked.

'I have double vision in one eye. The doctors told me to wait four weeks - it's been two months now and it's still there.'

The Metropolitan police said: 'We will always use the best images we have to appeal for those wanted for questioning by police. In our initial appeal on this case, we used the only image we had available.

'On Wednesday, 18 October we were made aware of better and clearer images which we released to media once we spoke with the victims in this case.'

Anyone with information or who can help police should contact Hackney police via 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org
Chris Savino, the creator of Nickelodeon's hit cartoon show Loud House, has been suspended amid sexual harassment allegations.

The 46-year-old has been accused by 12 different women of sexually harassing or blacklisting them over the last decade.

They told Cartoon Brew, which first reported his suspension, that he harassed them with lewd text messages and made their lives a misery if he rejected their advances.

Viacom, Nickelodeon's parent company, would not confirm his suspension on Wednesday.

In a vague statement that was issued in response to queries, the company said it investigated any claims of harassment that have been filed by employees.

Loud House creator Chris Savino has been suspended amid claims he sexually harassed women over a decade

One artist, who declined to be named, recalled how Savino used the guise of work to obtain a female colleague's personal contact information then bombarded her with unwanted text messages in 2013.

'He got her personal contact information under the guise of helping her develop the project off hours.

'He presented himself as a mentor. He then proceeded to send her unwanted text messages that were lewd and sexual in nature on more than one occasion.

'When she turned down his advances, her development project was let go. He is a classic case of a predatory male using his status and power over a female subordinate,' the source said.

The unnamed victim did not speak out because she feared her career would suffer as a result.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, Viacom would not commend on Savino's suspension.

'Viacom is committed to the safety and well-being of our employees, and to fostering a workplace free from harassment.

'As a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific employee matters, but we take all allegations of this nature very seriously, investigate them thoroughly and take any necessary actions as a result,' a spokesman said.

Before creating Loud House in 2016, Savino worked as an animator on The Powerpuff Girls and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

Savino created Loud House for Nickelodeon in 2016 but has worked in the animation industry for years longer

Loud House's mostly female cast (above). None have come forward to accuse Savino of any harassment

Loud House's cast includes 37-year-old Jessica DiCicco (left) and 23-year-old Liliana Mumy who shot to fame as a child in the Cheaper By The Dozen films (right). Neither is implicated in the Savino allegations

He has not given any comment since his suspension was reported.

Loud House's cast consists largely of women including Jessica DiCicco and Catherine Taber. Most are now in their thirties or forties though some are in their early twenties.

None have commented on Savino's suspension.

The Powerpuff Girls was aired by the Cartoon Network between 1998 and 2005. Savino worked alongside its creator Craig McCracken until he left the show after the first four seasons. Savino oversaw the final two.

The Cartoon Network did not respond to questions surrounding Savino's suspension on Wednesday.

It is the latest in a wave of developments gripping the film and TV industry since the avalanche of allegations against Harvey Weinstein emerged earlier this month.

An executive from Amazon's Studios has also resigned over claims he was complicit in sexual harassment at the company.

Roy Price had been placed on administrative leave last week after claims he ignored Rose McGowan when she said she had been raped and sexually harassed a lesbian producer of one of Amazon's shows.

House of cards: Roy Price, the former head of Amazon Studios, resigned on Tuesday amid accusations he sexually harassed staff. Harvey Weinstein (right) has been fired by The Weinstein Company and may face criminal charges over claims he raped and sexually assaulted women over the last 20 years

According to Isa Hackett, Price told her: 'You will love my d***' when they worked together in 2015.

Weinstein has gone AWOL since making a brief and bizarre appearance in Los Angeles last week outside his daughter's home.

More than 50 women claim he sexually harassed or assaulted them during a reign of terror over Hollywood.

They include Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and Asia Argento along with dozens of lesser known film industry experts.

Their on-the-record allegations, which had long been held as an open secret in Hollywood but were not publicly reported, have sent a ripple effect through the film and TV industry.

They have also spawned the hashtag 'Me Too' which women are using on social media to share their own experiences of sexual harassment or abuse.
Students at Cambridge University are being warned that they may have to study books with upsetting content  the plays of William Shakespeare.

Lecturers claim the advice is to protect undergraduates mental health, even though several of the Bards works are known for their depiction of sex and violence.

The trigger warnings on timetables are to allow students to be prepared to deal with potentially offensive or upsetting content in English lectures.

One lecture, titled Violence, bears a warning because its themes of credulity and sympathy include discussion of Shakespeares Titus Andronicus, which contains scenes of rape and cannibalism, and of Blasted, a 1995 play by Sarah Kane which features rape and violence.

Flora Spencer-Longhurst as Lavinia in William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus directed by Lucy Bailey at Shakespeare's Globe London. Some members of the audience apparently fainted during the performance

It is understood the lecture also discusses another Shakespeare play, The Comedy Of Errors, which features slapstick.

The warnings, revealed by BBCs Newsnight, will be seen as another example of university staff pandering to a generation of snowflake students.

Experts have expressed fears that colleges are protecting young adults so much from the worlds realities that they may be unable to cope when they leave.

Supporters of trigger warnings say they help students who may become upset if a text reminds them of a traumatic experience. But critics warned yesterday that they compromise teaching and could lead to lecturers deciding not to teach challenging content.

Cambridge University lecturers claim the advice is to protect undergraduates mental health

One anonymous Cambridge lecturer told the programme: Our duty as educators is to prepare our students for the world, not protect them for three years. And Gill Evans, emeritus professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at Cambridge, told the Telegraph that the move will leave academics very annoyed and was part of a trend to appease hypersensitive young people. Youve got to learn to be a bit resilient, she said.

Dennis Hayes, professor of education at Derby University, said: Once you get a few trigger warnings, lecturers will stop presenting anything controversial. Gradually, there is no critical discussion.

One Cambridge lecturer told Newsnight that trigger warnings had been added to the course timetable without any discussion. Another admitted they self-censor, deciding not to teach a particular text in case it causes offence to some students.

To trigger or not to trigger... The texts given trigger warnings by Cambridge professors include: Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare This tale of revenge and power struggle between an old Roman general and the queen of the Goths ends in a bloodbath. Along the way a woman is raped and mutilated and two men are murdered, made into a pie and eaten. A staging at the Globe in 2014 was so gruesome that several members of the audience fainted. Blasted by Sarah Kane A surreal play set in a hotel as a war rages outside. It centres on a journalist, his younger lover and a soldier. The hotel is struck by a mortar bomb and the characters participate in scenes of suicide, rape and cannibalism. Hippolytus by Euripides An Ancient Greek tragedy about Theseus, king of Athens, his wife Phaedra and his illegitimate son Hippolytus. The plot revolves around a false claim of rape claim against Hippolytus by his stepmother, ultimately causing his death. Phaedras Love by Sarah Kane A modern take on Hippolytus, the play contains the same characters and ends in a gruesome mass killing. It includes scenes featuring sex acts, a rape and suicide. Advertisement

David Crilly, artistic director at The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, said: In Shakespeare, most of the sexual violence is implied rather than overtly stated. If a student of English literature doesnt know that Titus Andronicus contains scenes of violence, they shouldnt be on the course.

Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeares most disturbing plays, featuring 14 deaths, rape, mutilation and cannibalism.

Blasted is so violent that when first staged it made critics feel sick. It features a journalist being raped by a soldier, who then sucks out his eyes and eats them.

The Cambridge English timetable includes a warning for a separate lecture, Inhabiting the body, which discusses the Greek tragedy Hippolytus, by Euripides, set around a false allegation of rape.

The lecture also refers to another of Sarah Kanes plays, Phaedras Love, a black comedy featuring graphic sex, rape and castration.

The university said the English faculty does not have a policy on trigger warnings, adding: It has not been discussed by the English facultys relevant committees, nor has any decision been taken at the English faculty board.

It is understood some lecturers indicate that sensitive material will be covered by informing the faculty staff who prepare notes on lectures for students. The university said this was at the lecturers own discretion and in no way indicative of a faculty-wide policy.

Trigger warnings grew out of a demand by the student unions to create a safe space on campuses where students can study without feeling disturbed. Many believe this has led to censorship, with speakers, newspapers and even fancy dress costumes banned in case they cause offence.

Other universities to issue trigger warnings include Glasgow, where theology students were warned they may see distressing images of the crucifixion of Christ, and Oxford, where law lecturers were reportedly asked advice students they could leave if they found cases involving violence or death too distressing.
Carol Myers (pictured), 41, from Stockport claimed her family were satanists who abused her and that her mother murdered her sister and then set fire to the house to hide the evidence

The family of a nurse who died in mysterious circumstances after claiming she had been impregnated by her father and that her parents ran a satanic cult have been awarded a third inquest in a bid to determine the cause of her death.

Carol Myers, 41, from Stockport claimed her family were satanists who abused her and that her mother murdered her sister and then set fire to the house to hide the evidence.

But a police investigation found the disturbing allegations were unsubstantiated and her family believe they were false memories dreamt up during controversial recovered memory therapy sessions.

After two previous inquests under the watch of Grenfell Tower coroner Fiona Wilcox in 2005 and 2015 both recorded open verdicts, the third is expected within three months.

The nurse, who moved from Chesire to London in the 1980s, was found dead in her flat in the capital back in 2005.

In the years leading to her death, her mental health had deteriorated leading to the wild accusations against her family - something they believed was caused by her therapy.

The Attorney General's office made the announcement today and reacting to the news, Carol's brother Kevin Felstead told MailOnline: 'We found out lunchtime - I was working from home and then I got a call from my brother.

'It's very good and very rare for this to happen.

'It's a tremendous breakthrough to have three inquests and it just highlights the errors made in the previous two.

'It feels like a victory in one way but that's all we want is to get answers as to what happened in Carol's life and death.'

The family believe Carol's therapists caused her to recall the false memories, claiming she had been 'brainwashed'.

The Solicitor General said: 'Having considered the application, I have given consent to the family of Carole Myers to apply to the High Court for a new inquest into her death.

'I am satisfied that it is in the interests of justice for the application for a new inquest to be heard by the High Court.'

The Attorney General's office announced today there would be a third inquest and reacting to the news, Carol's brother Kevin Felstead (pictured) told MailOnline it 'felt like a victory'

Carol - born Carol Felstead - flanked by her parents Joseph and Joan. The nurse claimed they were part of a satanic cult

Her father Joseph, 75, and his family had been seeking to quash the 2015 verdict in the hope of seeking answers about her suspect therapy.

He said: If Carol hadnt had therapy I feel sure she would be alive.'

Joseph, a retired engineer from Stockport, Cheshire, recalled his wife Joan dying of cancer in 2010, aged 69, and the profound impact it had on Carol.

It turned her into a completely different person,' he said.

He remembers Carol as a happy girl, who could do handstands and loved the Bay City Rollers, until her early 20s, when she stopped returning her parents calls.

We were hurt, but accepted she was an adult and wanted to make her own way in life, Joseph said.

Shortly afterwards, Carol moved from Stockport to London to study psychology and pursue a nursing career, and grew further apart from her parents and four brothers.

Joseph said: There were sporadic calls but she never left contact details.'

Kevin and Joseph Felstead, who believe Carol was brainwashed by controversial therapy

In July 2005, police called Carols brother Richard to say she had been found dead in her London flat, surrounded by medication, two weeks earlier.

Her death had been reported by a therapist who had declared herself Carols next of kin.

The therapist had handed over a life-assessment document apparently written by Carol during therapy and claiming Joseph and Joan had run a satanic abuse cult, that Carol had been impregnated by her father, that her mother had murdered Carols sister and set fire to their home.

Joseph was left reeling as the police quickly ascertained that Carols claims were untrue.

I could only assume Carol had been brainwashed, says Joseph. Joan and I were heartbroken.

After four years of pressing for information, the Felsteads were finally given copies of Carols records in 2009 that revealed she had been seeing therapists, most of whom practised regression therapy, for nearly 20 years.

I was livid, says Joseph. It was shameless quackery, but a police investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Ms Myers - born Carol Felstead - was found dead by police next to tablets on her bed in her flat in Wandsworth, south London, on June 29, 2005

During the previous inquest in 2015, Mr Felstead told Westminster Coroner's Court, which was sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, that her family 'fiercely' contest the allegations.

Addressing the court, Mr Felstead said: 'I just want to ask that the court acknowledges that Carol developed false memories.

'She had treatment and memories that were false and demonstrably not true.'

Coroner Fiona Wilcox said she could not rule that Ms Myers suffered from false memories, but acknowledged that the 'extreme allegations that were made of satanic sexual abuse and murder were investigated and found to be absolutely unsubstantiated'.

She added: 'I wish to be clear that the family absolutely protest claims that Carol was abused sexually, and that the allegations of satanic sexual abuse and murder that she made in life were investigated by police and found to be unsubstantiated.'

Ms Myers was found dead by police next to tablets on her bed in her flat in Wandsworth, south London, on June 29 2005.

She had suffered from 'post-traumatic stress-style' flashbacks and had been receiving counselling since 1985, when she contacted the Samaritans, the court heard.

Over the course of the next two decades she made disturbing allegations accusing her family of abuse.

But her family blame her memories on her counselling sessions, claiming that she went to the doctor with a headache and that set in motion a chain of events that led to the extreme allegations.

Mr Felstead said that by not ruling that these memories were false the court left 'a lingering doubt, a lingering suspicion that these things are true, and our position is that they are categorically not'.

'There was a 15-month investigation and it concluded that she was not abused, she was not sexually assaulted. It was a myth,' he said.

'Carol went to the doctor with a persistent headache.

'There was nothing wrong with Carol before she had therapy.

'All of her problems came from her having therapy.'

Kevin Felstead, pictured with his father Joseph, told MailOnline: 'It feels like a victory in one way but that's all we want is to get answers as to what happened in Carol's life and death'

In a statement, Ms Myers' brother David told how she became more distant in the mid-1980s and left home in 1985.

Over the subsequent years she maintained only 'sporadic' contact with her family, he said.

Just weeks before her death in June 2005 she contacted her brother Richard out of the blue and said she was lonely and talked of moving back to Stockport to be near her family, who she promised to visit the following week.

But she never did. Richard wrote his sister a letter on June 29, the same day she was found dead.

Police were called to Ms Myers's home by Fleur Fisher, a therapist who said she called 999 while on a train after not being able to get hold of her for three days.

She told police Ms Myers may have overdosed and she was likely to be in her bedroom.

Asked why she said this, Dr Fisher said she was worried because she could not contact her and 'I knew she had often had to struggle against suicidal feelings'.

She first met Ms Myers in 1985 when the nurse was referred to her for counselling by the Samaritans.

Over the years they became friends and Ms Myers was 'like a member of the extended family', she explained.

She said Ms Myers struggled with her mental health over many years. She took an overdose in 1992, had self-harmed and had 'flashbacks from some kind of earlier experience'.

Ms Fisher told the court: 'She had been particularly disturbed by post-traumatic stress-type flashbacks.

'She emerged from one having cut herself but not remembering actually doing it.

'This was very distressing.'

Ms Myers suffered from a number of health problems including urological issues and doctors believed she had an emotionally unstable personality disorder.
A pair of officials representing the opposition research firm behind a sensationalized but unsubstantiated 'dirty dossier' targeting Donald Trump refused to testify Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee.

Fusion GPS co-founder Peter Fritsch and partner Thomas Catan invoked the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment, which protects Americans against self-incrimination.

Fox News reported that the two men were subpoenaed to appear in a closed-door session but refused to speak at every turn.

The dossier contends that the Russian government amassed compromising information about Trump but had also been engaged in a years-long effort to support and assist him.

Fusion GPS co-founder Peter Fritsch (left) and partner Thomas Catan (right) took the Fifth on Wednesday rather than talk to Congress

Among the unsubstantiated claims in a 'dirty dossier' Fusion GPS spearheaded was the notion that Russian officials have videos of President Donald Trump cavorting with prostitutes

Compiled by British spy Christopher Steele, it circulated among Washington journalists last year until Buzzfeed first published it.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators  who are probing whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election  have spoken with Steele already.

At a White House news conference on Monday, Trump said that though he would like for the Russia investigation to come to an end, he had no plans to fire Mueller.

Fusion GPS lawyer Joshua Levy warned on Monday that his clients would not cooperate with California Rep. Devin Nunes and other Republicans in charge of hearings.

House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Devin Nunes is trying to determine who paid Fusion GPS for the opposition research against Trump

'Based on this Committee's bad faith interactions with the undersigned counsel and its pattern of unprofessional conduct exhibited during different points throughout this investigation, you have left us with no choice but to advise our clients to assert their privileges in the face of these subpoenas,' Levy wrote.

He said in a statement Wednesday that 'no American should have to experience today's indignity. No American should be required to appear before Congress simply to invoke his constitutional privileges.'

A congressional official shot back in a statement to Fox that 'Democrats and Fusion GPS have tried to obstruct every effort to get the facts about the compilation of the Steele dossier and who paid for it, so it's no surprise that Fusion GPS is saying theyll continue to obstruct these efforts.'

Nunes' committee has been trying to determine who paid Fusion GPS for the opposition research that formed the basis of the dossier.

Trump has branded the entire document 'fake news.'

Among its claims are that Russian officials have videos of the president cavorting with prostitutes, filmed during Trump's 2013 visit to a luxury Moscow hotel for the Miss Universe contest

It also contains a highly unusual report, also never substantiated, that the call girls performed a 'golden shower' routine that involved them urinated on a hotel bed as a sign of disgust for then-president Barack Obama.
Victims could be told to dial a new 555 hotline under plans to beat bank fraud.

Modelled on the 999 emergency number, it would alert banks to illegal money transfers and help crack down on scams.

Campaigners cautiously welcomed the idea, which is being developed by ministers, police and financial chiefs.

'When it comes to fraud, time is of the essence,' said Martyn James, a consumer champion. 'Setting up a new hotline for fraud victims where the number is as easy to remember as 999 is a great idea in theory as it will hopefully encourage more people to report scams.

Victims of bank fraud (stock photograph) could be told to dial a new 555 hotline under news plans

'But if the person that answers then has to call someone else who has to call someone else, the worry is that it could actually slow the process of tracking the victim's money.

'Banks have only a tiny window for getting money back so they must be told immediately.'

UK Finance, an industry body, recorded 937,518 cases of fraud in the first half of the year. That works out at more than 5,000 a day and customers lost over 366million between them.

Criminals have masqueraded as police officers, government officials and bank staff to trick customers into handing over their account details. Other gangs use scam text messages or emails to obtain personal information.

Police rarely investigate individual instances of bank fraud, instead compiling details for a City of London force database. Victims are advised not to dial 999 but to contact Action Fraud on a 24-hour number, 0300 123 2040.

The lack of an emergency response can mean those who realise they have been duped are unable to stop money being moved out of their accounts.

It is thought this is the main problem the 555 number would tackle. A faster response would allow banks to freeze money in the clearing system.

However, precise details of how the hotline would work are unclear as the proposal is still in its very early stages.

The idea was mooted at a meeting last month of the Joint Fraud Taskforce, which was set up by Theresa May to combat crimes that she said 'shamed our financial system'.

Minutes of the meeting reveal that Brian Dilley, director of fraud and financial crime prevention at Lloyds Banking Group, said: 'At its simplest the number could be a triaging facility directing victims to the appropriate agency.

'At its most ambitious it could sit in front of enhanced data sharing/analytics which would take in all reporting and provide standardised reporting and a collective intelligence picture across fraud and money laundering leading to improved coordinated activity for victims, law enforcement and industry.'

Members of the committee, including Home Secretary Amber Rudd and police chiefs, agreed to take the idea forward.

James Freedman, fraud ambassador for City of London Police, said: 'The problem is that people may liken the number to 999 and expect an emergency response. In reality fraud can take time to investigate.

Modelled on the 999 emergency number, the hotline would alert banks to illegal money transfers and help crack down on scams

'However, it is vital to encourage more people to report scams, even in instances where they have got their money back or not fallen for them at all, as this is the only way the body of information available to the police will grow.'

Graeme Batsman, of the Data Security Expert consultancy, said an easy to remember number would increase awareness if displayed prominently.

He added: 'If 100 people all report the same dodgy website it would be easier for the authorities to shut it down than if they get a couple of reports from different police forces.'

However Richard Emery, fraud expert at consultancy 4Keys, warned that police resources were the key factor.

'If dialling 555 generated a better response than victims get now then great,' he said.

'But unfortunately I don't think it will make a jot of difference until the police are properly resourced to respond to fraud. It is so difficult to trace these people and so many cases are not investigated.'

Last night Mr Dilley told the Daily Mail that Financial Fraud Action UK, a body which he chairs, was exploring initiatives to help cut fraud, including that of a central phone number.

A UK Finance spokesman said: 'Protecting customers from fraud is a top priority for all banks and the industry is always investigating new ways to improve its response. This is one potential idea that is being explored and is in the early days of development.'
Pedestrians could take legal action against businesses if they trip and injure themselves on a share bicycle dumped in front of the store.

Legal experts have warned of the consequences of oBikes for cafes, restaurants and bars following public backlash at the yellow dockless bicycles being discarded  sometimes in heaps  in parks and on street corners and footpaths.

Victorian general manager for Shine Lawyers, Stuart Le Grand, told The Australian it is 'clear these sorts of bikes are posing a hazard to pedestrians' and that it is only a 'matter of time before someone suffers a serious injury by falling over one of them.'

Pedestrians could take legal action against businesses if they trip and injure themselves on a share bicycle dumped in front of the store (pictured is the holding yard for the world's largest bike-sharing company, Ofo, in Beijing)

Legal experts have warned of the consequences of oBikes for cafes, restaurants and bars following public backlash at the yellow dockless bicycles being discarded (pictured) in parks and on street corners and footpaths

Dozens of oBikes were fished out of Melbourne's Yarra River yet again on Monday

'There are a number of parties upon which the liability is likely to fall: the company that owns the bike, local councils, it may extend to businesses as well.

Despite reassurance from bike-share companies that they have third-party insurance to cover such incidents, Mr Le Grand argued 'there could be a liability for business owners, like cafes, if injury occurs on their premises or the area they have responsibility for.'

The bicycles  which cost users from $1.99 per 30 minutes  aren't just a risk for businesses, David O'Donnell with Addison's Lawyers told The Australian.

Anyone who dumps the bikes in a public place in NSW could face a $2,200 littering fine, Mr O'Donnell said.

Dozens of oBikes were fished out of Melbourne's Yarra River yet again on Monday in the second major clean-up this month.

Sydney's Randwick City Council said on Wednesday it would push for a memorandum of understanding similar to that signed by Melbourne councils and oBike.

In Victoria, the company has agreed to expand its maintenance team that collects its yellow bikes that are damaged or dumped.

Dangerously placed bikes - including those left on roadways - will be moved within two hours while inappropriately placed bikes have to be collected within 48 hours.

About 42 oBikes were pulled from the river in the second major clean-up this month

The bike photo is one of dozens that has been shared on social media since the introduction of the dockless share bikes about four months ago in Melbourne and Sydney

Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey says the bikes are often ridden by visitors downhill to beaches and then they lie 'strewn across our suburbs'

The operator has also agreed to relocate excessive numbers of bikes at a single location within 24 hours and is developing a credit system to encourage riders to act responsibly.

'We want to achieve a balance wherein bikes are readily and easily available to those who wish to use them but we also want to avoid clusters of bikes left at the beach or obstructing footpaths,' Randwick Mayor Lindsay Shurey said in a statement on Wednesday.

The mayor said an MOU would be 'a positive step in the right direction' but, ideally, there'd be a uniform policy across all of Sydney's local government areas.

Randwick council last week said operators - including oBike and rival Reddy Go - would be forced to fund appropriate secure bike parking or face financial penalties.

Now, in a more conciliatory mood, it says it will 'continue discussions to push for designated bike parking locations in popular areas such as beaches, parks and shopping centres'.

In Victoria, the company has agreed to expand its maintenance team that collects its yellow bikes that are damaged or dumped

An oBike membership via its app costs $69, which acts as a deposit and is completely refundable

Waverley Council hasn't made a decision regarding a potential memorandum of understanding, but is reviewing additional enforcement terms such as financial penalties and impoundments.

Woollahra Municipal Council isn't experiencing the same 'inundation' as its neighbours and is instead taking on a 'watch and see' approach, a spokeswoman said.

The City of Sydney says the state government is responsible for dealing with the issue.

An oBike membership via its app costs $69, which acts as a deposit and is completely refundable.

The bikes are tracked by GPS, which can be accessed through the company app, allowing customers to better track their usage.

Despite the popularity of the dockless system in Asian countries, including the implementation of over 100,000 bicycles in Chinese cities, the scheme has not proven successful in Australia.
Germany is seeking a comprehensive free trade accord with the UK after Brexit, a leaked document revealed last night.

Berlin is playing hardball in public, insisting it is not interested in such a deal unless the UK offers written guarantees it will make a divorce payment of up to 90 billion.

But a draft paper by the German foreign ministry suggests Berlin is privately anxious to secure a comprehensive trade deal with one of its largest trading partners.

The four-page document states: We share the UKs desire to secure a close partnership with the EU after its exit that covers economic and trade relations.

A draft paper by the German foreign ministry suggests Berlin (Chancellor Angela Merkel pictured) is privately anxious to secure a comprehensive trade deal with one of its largest trading partners

The foreign ministry said that Germany also wants at a minimum a deal that covers co-operation on defence, security, transport, crime fighting, agriculture and fisheries and digital issues.

The revelation came as Theresa May prepared to travel to Brussels today for crunch talks with EU leaders on the state of the Brexit negotiations;

Government sources last night described the document as encouraging, saying it confirms that Mrs Mays Florence speech has created momentum in the talks.

And a senior EU diplomat said various member states were engaged in similar exercises to sketch out their visions of a free trade deal with the UK. The documents  which are being treated as important markers by countries with close trading links to the UK  will be circulated in Brussels during closed-door talks in coming months. The official said drafting the plans was an important step in shaping a future trade deal.

Senior Tories said the revelations from Berlin showed the wisdom of refusing to offer more cash.

Thus far Britain has offered a divorce payment of 20 billion. Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin said: This does demonstrate that our willingness to walk away without a deal is having an effect.

The revelation came as Theresa May prepared to travel to Brussels today for crunch talks with EU leaders

The advantage lies with us because a country like Germany sells far more to us than we do to them. Maybe they are coming round to that realisation at last.

Fellow Tory John Redwood added: I have always thought Germany would want to do a trade deal with us because it is massively in their interests.

But they also want to squeeze as much money out of us as they can, and we have to stand firm.

During discussions at the summit of the European Council in Brussels tonight, Mrs May will urge EU leaders to move on to trade talks with Britain

Her presentation has been shoehorned into a discussion on foreign relations, which is likely to focus on the threat posed by North Korea and Iran.

Privately, British ministers believe there is little prospect of the EU accepting that divorce talks have made sufficient progress to move on to trade.

Tories John Redwood said he always though this would happen, and Bernard Jenkin said Britain's willingness to walk away was making European countries nervous

But they are increasingly optimistic that trade talks will begin by the end of the year. If that fails, preparations for a no-deal Brexit are likely to intensify on both sides of the Channel.

A Government official last night said the PM was hugely confident of getting a deal in the end. Despite the ongoing stalemate over the Brexit bill, Brussels sources last night said Mrs May has used a flurry of talks with EU leaders to guarantee the UK will pay its share of the blocs debt.

While ministers have refused to reveal how much it is willing to pay, the Prime Minister is understood to have made precise commitments to leaders such as German chancellor Angela Merkel.

The German draft paper will come as a welcome development to ministers after they again delayed the next stage of the EU Withdrawal Bill because of concerns about attempts by diehard Remainers in Parliament to sabotage it.

Labour also confirmed yesterday that Jeremy Corbyn will also travel to Brussels today for talks with EU negotiator Michael Barnier, despite Tory warnings his stance amounted to capitulation, not negotiation.

It came as an EU commissioner launched an astonishing attack on the UK in which he said the Government was trying to bully its way towards a deal. In a departure from the EUs more diplomatic public statements, Irish agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan said the UK was so close to the cliff edge of a hard Brexit that we can see the drop almost in front of us.

Labour also confirmed yesterday that Jeremy Corbyn will also travel to Brussels today for talks with EU negotiator Michael Barnier

What becomes more obvious day to day is that the Brexiteers are hooked on brinkmanship and have been since the beginning, he said. The hardliners cannot get it out of their heads the idea that if they bully their way towards the wire, the unions nerve will crack.

He also claimed Tory party in-fighting could scupper a deal, adding: At a time when all the talent and energy of British politicians should be focussed on delivering a good result in the London-Brussels negotiations the ... reality is the London-London negotiation is still going on.

While his comments will be dismissed by London, British officials privately admit the Governments strategy is to grind the EU down until it eventually caves in

Last night European Council president Donald Tusk echoed calls for Mrs May to put more concrete proposals on the negotiating table. He said there had been promising progress but it was not sufficient  and he did not expect any kind of breakthrough during todays summit.
Brexiteers including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson (pictured) urged Mrs May to abandon the negotiations if there is no progress towards a deal

Theresa May should walk away from Brexit talks tomorrow if EU leaders refuse to discuss trade with Britain, leading Leave campaigners say today.

Brexiteers including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson urged Mrs May to abandon the negotiations if there is no progress towards a deal.

In a letter released today they say the EUs deliberate policy of delaying trade talks is causing a highly damaging level of uncertainty for British business.

As such, the Prime Minister must issue an ultimatum at this weeks meeting of the European Council, which begins today.

If talks do not move on to trade, Mrs May should announce that Britain will move to World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms after March 30, 2019, and begin intense preparations for the no deal Brexit.

The letter, organised by the Leave Means Leave pressure group, is signed by senior figures from politics, business, law and the military.

As well as Lord Lawson, who chaired the official Leave campaign, signatories include former Tory cabinet ministers Peter Lilley, John Redwood and Owen Paterson, Labour MPs Kate Hoey and Graham Stringer, economist Professor Patrick Minford, and JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.

It came as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Mrs May to make preparations for leaving without a deal.

It came as former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Mrs May to make preparations for leaving without a deal

He urged her to order Government departments to make all arrangements for moving to WTO terms.

In an article for the Brexit Central news website, Mr Duncan Smith said the EU was dragging its feet to try and extract as much money as it can out of the UK.

And in a clear swipe at Chancellor Philip Hammond, he said Britains planning for a no deal scenario must include spending money.

The letter to Mrs May, published as she travels to Brussels, says: Following your ...speech in Florence, it has become increasingly clear that the European Commission is deliberately deferring discussions on the UKs future trading relationship with the EU27 post-Brexit.

This is causing a highly damaging level of uncertainty for businesses.

The EU is taking this approach because they do not believe that the UK would be prepared to go to WTO rules for our trading relationship with them.

The letter, organised by the Leave Means Leave pressure group, is signed by senior figures from politics, business, law and the military

If at the European Council this week, the EU continues to refuse to discuss the future framework for a trade relationship, we should formally declare that we are assuming that we will be subject to WTO rules from March 30, 2019.

Such an announcement would provide business with absolute certainty about the future  and if the EU then wanted to return to the negotiating table, that would be a bonus.

The letter adds that the public would welcome such decisive action and ministers would be better focusing their efforts on minimising disruptions from Brexit and seizing the economic opportunities.
Three million EU citizens living in the UK will be able to stay regardless of the outcome of Brexit talks, Theresa May said last night.

In an open letter, the Prime Minister reassured EU citizens already in the country legally that they face no threat of expulsion after Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

Mrs May has been stung by claims she is using the rights of EU citizens as bargaining chips  but last night insisted: Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Ministers are keen to offer reassurance that peoples lives will not be uprooted by the success or failure of the Brexit talks.

Three million EU citizens living in the UK will be able to stay regardless of the outcome of Brexit talks, Theresa May said last night in an open letter

Mrs May said she was putting people first in the negotiations. Privately, ministers believe Brussels is dragging its feet on the issue in a bid to extract a bigger divorce bill out of Britain.

The Prime Minister said: EU citizens who have made their lives in the UK have made a huge contribution to our country. And we want them and their families to stay. I couldnt be clearer EU citizens living lawfully in the UK today will be able to stay.

In a goodwill gesture, she said she was aiming for a deal that would allow the UK to drop the current requirement for EU citizens to show they have comprehensive sickness insurance.

Mrs May also used the letter to stress that the process for EU nationals wanting to register their intention to stay will be made as simple and streamlined as possible.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has already dismissed claims that EU nationals will have to be fingerprinted as part of the process of applying for a new settled status.

Government sources said the cost of the process would be kept as low as possible. EU citizens will be invited to sit on a user group designed to ensure their voices are heard by ministers drawing up the registration system.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has already dismissed claims that EU nationals will have to be fingerprinted as part of the process of applying for a new settled status

Mrs Mays message was posted on her Facebook page and sent to 100,000 EU nationals who have contacted the Home Office about the issue.

Government sources said the exact rights of the three million EU nationals will depend on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

A senior British official said the UK and EU were within touching distance of a deal on the issue, though it is unlikely to be finalised until wider negotiations are concluded in 12 months time. The uncertainty stems from the Governments determination to secure reciprocal rights for the 1.2million Britons living in the EU.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Kutonga Kwaro, the title track of Jah Prayzah's just-released album, has stoked political controversy once again.In the run-up to the launch of the album at the Harare International Conference (HICC) last Friday, some people pushing for Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take over from President Robert Mugabe cheekily renamed the album "Kutonga Kwaro Garwe."Though Jah Prayzah's manager, Keen Mushapaidze, has repeatedly insisted that "Kutonga Kwaro "has no political connotations, the lyrics of the song seem to suggest otherwise.Interestingly, the song talks about the advent of a hero.Part of Kutonga Kwaro goes: "Hero rasvika gamba (the hero has arrived."The song further suggests that the new hero will introduce new rules engagement."Ndaakuchinja mutemo (I am introducing new laws)Zaruraiwo dura (open the granary)...nyangwe huku dzamawundura (even the chicken you have dressed)".The song's call for the granary to be opened, possibly implies that the new hero wants the wealth of the country, figuratively stored in the granary, to benefit many people.Given the way Mnangagwa's bid to power is being vigorously opposed by the pro-Mugabe G40 faction, the last part of the song is very topical."Kundinyenyeredza munzira vanondidedera (you don't want to give a chance because you are afraid of me.) Nyangwe kutondizonda ndakavaorora ini (They hate me because they have failed to suppress me.)"Though the lyrics of "Kutonga Kwaro," appear to be pro- Mnangagwa, the fact that controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo was Jah Prayzah's guest of honour at the album launch held at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Friday night complicates matter. Chivayo, who bought the artiste's CD for $10 000, reportedly bears allegiance to first lady Grace Mugabe and the G40 faction.On Friday night, music star Jah Prayzah showed that he didn't need help from embattled Nigerian music superstar Davido to fill up the HICC.With Davido having pulled out at the eleventh hour due to his legal woes in his homeland emanating from the recent death of his friend Tagbo Umeike, who reportedly succumbed to suffocation, many feared that that the Nigerian star's absence who keep the fans away.How wrong they were! The Uzumba-born artiste attracted arguably his biggest crowd at the HICC to date. After a fairly slow start, fans came out in droves after 10pm and the situation continued right after midnight.Admittedly, the last minute inclusion of music superstar Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi and Zimdancedall star Winky D as well as the lowering of the lowest ticket to $10 from $20 could have played a part in increasing the numbers but no one can deny that most fans on the night came on account of Jah Prayzah.In addition to Jah Prayzah, Tuku, Winky D, Andy Muridzo, ExQ, Mbeu and BaShupi performed at the album launch.
A fiery blasts rocks the south tower of the World Trade Center as the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the building September 11, 2001 in New York

Islamic State fanatics and other terror groups are planning another massive attack on the scale of 9/11, a top US security chief warned today.

Elaine Duke, Donald Trumps acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said jihadists were using crude knife and van attacks to keep their members engaged and their finances flowing as they plot another big explosion similar to the September 2001 atrocities.

Speaking at the US embassy in London, she said intelligence is pointing to extremists plotting to take down planes to inflict mass civilian casualties.

Mrs Duke said ISIS is currently in an interim period focusing on a much bigger endgame.

The security chief, who has served three US presidents, said: The terrorist organisations, be it ISIS or others, want to have the big explosion like they did on 9/11. They want to take down aircraft, the intelligence is clear on that.

However, in the interim they need to keep their finances flowing and they need to keep their visibility high and they need to keep their members engaged, so they are using small plots and they are happy to have small plots.

Islamic State fanatics and other terror groups are planning another massive attack on the scale of 9/11, a top US security chief warned

She added: Creating terror is their goal and so a van attack, a bladed weapon attack, causes terror and continues to disrupt the world  but does not mean theyve given up on a major aviation plot.

Elaine Duke, Donald Trumps acting Secretary of Homeland Security

Yesterday Mrs Duke said the prospect of a terrorist blowing up an airline using a laptop was just one of the threats facing airlines worldwide.

She said the free movement of goods and people means security has to be tightened in individual countries around the world.

She said: The laptop is one of the many aviation threats, we will never be comfortable and we will always be evolving.

What we believe is that because of the movement of goods and people, we have to raise the baseline worldwide, we cant only consider our borders. Mrs Duke went on: We think the level of terrorist threat against the United States too is extremely high.

I think that it is challenging for you because you have the proximities to other countries, the ease of movement from some of the terrorist safe havens is a little easier for you, but we feel the terrorist threat is very high in the United States.

Asked how the US is tackling the threat of another 9/11-style atrocity, she said: We have worked on some strong measures that we cant talk about. We are trying to play the away game and that is working against them in their terrorist safe havens and homes.

We do have some terrorist groups on the move, you just saw the take-over of Raqqa and so if we can keep them declining and moving they have less time to sit and prepare.

They want to take down aircraft Elaine Duke, Donald Trumps acting Secretary of Homeland Security

Mrs Duke warned that the number of home-grown violent extremists, mostly inspired by terrorist organisations, is increasing in the US. She said the ability of IS militants to put terrorist propaganda on the internet will appeal more and more to extremists as they are pushed out of Syria and Iraq.

Mrs Duke said web giants need to do more to detect extremist content online, and one way of doing this could be using the same technology used to identify people in passenger lists.

Terrorists are strong, they are adaptable and the terrorist threat is the highest it has been since pre-9/11. We have got to have every tool thats possible, she added.

A total of 2,996 people were killed during the September 11 attacks, when al-Qaeda suicide attackers hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Earlier in the day she met the British interior minister Amber Rudd to discuss how to force internet giants to do more to tackle terrorism ahead of the G7 summit.

Following the recent wave of attacks in Manchester and London, police chiefs have said the threat facing the UK is a new norm that will not change.

Her chilling remarks came 24 hours after MI5 director general Andrew Parker warned Britain is facing its worst-ever terrorist threat in his first major speech since the UK was hit by a wave of attacks.

The British spy chief said it was taking terrorists just days to hatch plots as violent extremists exploit safe spaces online to evade detection.

It is harder for the UK to protect itself because of its proximity to other countries and the ease of movement from terrorist safe havens, she suggested.
The wife of the sole confirmed survivor of a fishing tragedy which is believed to have claimed the lives of six men has made an emotional plea to find her husband's missing friends.

Hopes of finding the men alive have faded, three days after the vessel capsized off the Queensland town of Seventeen Seventy.

The families of Ben Leahy, 45, Adam Hoffman, 30, Eli Tonks, 39, Adam Bidner, 33, Zach Feeney, 28, and Chris Sammut, 34, were told to expect the worst if they were not found by nightfall on Wednesday.

Ruben McDornan was saved by a passing yacht around 12 hours after the trawler rolled on Monday night.

His wife Sammy revealed her husband was 'very sad and sore, but OK' and said she hadn't given up hope of a miracle.

Sammy McDornan (pictured), the wife of the sole confirmed survivor of a fishing tragedy which is believed to have claimed the lives of six men, has made an emotional plea to find her husband's missing friends

Mr McDoran (pictured) was above deck when the boat capsized about 7.30pm on Monday night, and held on to the hull of the boat until it sunk about midnight. He is so far the only survivor of the tragedy

Pictured: Zach Feeney, 28, who was believed to be trapped below deck on the trawler Dianne

'We're really thankful to the people that rescued Ruben and to all the people out searching for the boys and just for everyone's support,' a tearful Ms McDornan said.

'But unfortunately we don't really have any other information. We're so grateful that he's alive.

'But our thoughts are with the boys missing at the moment because they're all like family. So we just need everybody to keep positive for them.'

Family and loved ones of the crewmates have gathered in Gladstone as the search enters its third day.

Six fishermen (including crewman Eli Tonks, pictured with his fiance) are believed to be trapped inside their trawler, which sunk off the coast of Queensland on Monday night

Skipper Ben Leahy (pictured) is referred to as an experienced fisherman and diver by friends, but he has not been seen since the trawler began to sink about 7.30pm on Monday night

'The family are very upset and shocked about what has happened,' Inspector Darren Somerville said on Wednesday.

Wetsuits, diving equipment and personal items have been found washed ashore as authorities scour the debris for a sign of survival.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed a door that opens outwards may have sealed the fate of the missing fishermen.

Members of the Cairns fishing community said if the men hadn't managed to open the door to the boat before the trawler sank, it would be almost impossible to make it out.

'The problem with these boats is the door doesn't open in, they open out,' one told The Australian.

'If you put a car in the water and try to open the door, you can't. You need to smash a window, equalise it and that's the only way you can open the door.'

Eli Tonks (pictured) became engaged last year. The 39-year-old is now missing at sea

Search and Rescue coordinator Jeff Barnett said on Wednesday afternoon time was running out to find the young fishermen alive.

He said as light faded on Wednesday, the operation would soon transition from a search and rescue to a search and recovery.

'The best case scenario is we find six people in a life raft. That's what we're aiming for at the moment. But it's not looking real promising,' he said.

'On advice from our medical team, they tell us towards the end of the afternoon the chances of survival unsupported is negligible.'

Chris Sammut,34, was also on board when the trawler sank, and has not yet been found

All six men (including Adam Hoffman, pictured) were believed to be below deck on Monday night when their vessel rolled off the Town of 1770

Ferocious winds and high seas have so far hampered the desperate search for the six men.

Police called in sonar detectors to help locate the vessel, and specialist divers are believed to be en route from NSW, but as the hours pass, the families of the men are barely holding on.

Many of them have taken to Facebook to alert friends and loved ones of the news, while others are pleading for a miracle.

'The boat flipped during the night while most of them were in their cabins,' Heidi Sargeant, sister of Mr Hoffman, wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

'It sounds like it was unexpected as they didn't manage to get a distress call out. We are hopeful they managed to get out of the boat after it flipped to give them half a chance.

Adam Hoffman (pictured with Pauline Hanson) was confirmed as one of the missing men on Wednesday morning

Eli Tonks (pictured) is believed to have been below deck as the trawler sank on Monday night

'They were all divers and fit and healthy so if they managed to get out we are hopeful they may still be alive!'

Late on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Bidner's mother Kay posted a picture of her son wearing a Superman shirt.

'Time to use your superpowers Adam,' she captioned the photo.

Mr Bidner's sister Jodie wrote: 'I need every one's hope and will to help my brother Adam who is currently one of the missing men off his Trawler.

'Adam is strong, stubborn and fit and I'm hanging on to the fact that if anyone is a fighter it's Adam Bidner.'

She later added: 'Hang in there bro... we will find you.'

Mr Bidner's mother Kay shared a picture of her son wearing a Superman shirt to social media. 'Time to use your superpower Adam,' she captioned the photo.

Search and Rescue coordinator Jeff Barnett (pictured) said on Wednesday afternoon time was running out to find the young fishermen alive, and that a recovery operation was already being planned

Mr Tonks' mother Jenny posted on Facebook: 'My son and his co-workers... I have no words, we are just waiting.'

One of the people aiding the helicopter search is RACQ LifeFlight chief operations officer Brian Guthrie, who went to school with missing skipper Mr Leahy.

He said Mr Leahy was a very experienced seaman and diver, and that had given him some hope the men might still be alive.

'He's always been in boats around the water, diving and things like that,' Mr Guthrie told ABC radio on Wednesday.

'He's very experienced in the water and I expect his crew would be exactly the same. If anyone's going to give it their best shot, for the best outcome, these guys would be it.'

Mr Bidner's (pictured) sister Jodie wrote: 'I need every one's hope and will to help my brother Adam who is currently one of the missing men off his Trawler'
A man who hopped on his ride-on lawnmower after a boozy Grand Final night to refuel at a service station has been charged with drink-driving.

The 23-year-old was caught on CCTV driving the ride-on mower into a service station in Tasmania just after midnight on October 1, just hours after the AFL Grand Final.

But as he pulled up to a fuel bowser, with a friend following closely behind on foot, a police van appeared alongside him.

A man who hopped on his ride-on lawnmower after a boozy Grand Final night to refuel at a service station has been charged with drink-driving

The 23-year-old was caught on CCTV driving the ride-on mower into a service station in Tasmania just after midnight on October 1

Police allege the Lindisfame man registered a blood-alcohol reading of 0.143 - more than three times the legal limit.

He was charged with exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit and driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.

Tasmania Police uploaded footage of the incident to Facebook, writing: 'Mate, we suggest getting a ride not a ride-on!'

'Organising a designated driver does not mean John Deere.

'Old mate was already on the gas when he decided to ride his lawnmower to his local service station to fill up.'
Ryanair has pleaded with pilots who have deserted the struggling airline to come back.

The budget airline has repeatedly denied that a shortage of pilots has prompted it to cancel around 700,000 flight bookings and more than 20,000 flights over this winter.

It also dismissed claims that disgruntled pilots have been leaving in droves, and said that it has been swamped by applications.

But last night it emerged that the airline is desperately trying to get former pilots to return, stressing that pay and working conditions have improved since they left.

The airline has emailed former Ryanair pilots and is also targeting pilots from other airlines including Jet2 and Norwegian on career networking sites.

Ryanair has denied that a shortage of pilots has prompted it to cancel around 700,000 flight bookings

In an email seen by the Daily Mail, Ryanair's flight operation manager Elaine Griffin says: 'I hope you are keeping well since you left Ryanair.'

She describes the 'significant changes that are taking place at Ryanair'  including a pay rise of around 20 per cent for pilots and first officers, as well as 'significantly increased resources in pilot rostering, crew control, bases management and training'.

She concludes: 'If you are interested in having a conversation about returning to Ryanair, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please let me know if you are open to a conversation on this, or if you have any specific queries, and I will give you a call.'

One Ryanair captain, who has worked at the airline for almost a decade, said: 'This just shows how desperate they are to recruit pilots and stop the exodus. It's not money that people are after, it's a modern, up to date contract.'

The airline is also targeting pilots at rival airlines on career networking website LinkedIn. In one message, the airline's pilot recruiter Darren Kinsella writes: 'With our new improved pay deals, our captains can earn 26 per cent more than Jet2 and 20 per cent more than Norwegian.'

He added: 'We would be delighted to hear from you and would be happy to address any questions you may have.' The overture has angered Jet2, which has contacted all its pilots urging them to resist Ryanair's advances.

In an email Paul Dobson, Jet2's director of flight operations, took a swipe at Ryanair's working conditions.

He said: 'I'm sure many of you will have seen the recent communications from Ryanair trying to entice our pilots to join.

'The life of a Jet2.com pilot and that of a Ryanair pilot is very different.

'We've always recognised that to be based in an area that you wish to live, to have career opportunities to aspire to and achieve, all supported by a lifestyle that is sustainable, is key to attracting and retaining our pilots.'

Earlier this month Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary sent an extraordinary letter to current pilots, begging them to stay and offering them better pay and working conditions than at rival airlines.

In an email Paul Dobson, Jet2's director of flight operations, took a swipe at Ryanair's working conditions

He claimed he hadn't been referring to Ryanair pilots when he said at the company's annual general meeting last month that pilots get 'very well paid for doing what is a very easy job'.

The airline is struggling to rebuild its reputation after its shock announcement last month that it would cancel hundreds of thousands of flights.

It says it was forced to do that because it 'messed up' its holiday rota, resulting in a shortage of pilots as too many took their holiday towards the end of the year.

It has refuted claims by unions that the real reason for the cancellations was a shortage caused by an exodus of pilots to other airlines.

However, one pilot told the Mail last month: 'It is not just normal pilots who are leaving. We are losing training captains  the guys needed to train replacement cadets and captains. They are leaving in droves.'

Last night a Ryanair spokesman said: 'We have sent this letter to a small number of pilots. We have recruited over 860 pilots this year.'
A driver caught on the wrong side of a Rockhamton road reaching speeds of 238kmh has escaped serving time behind bars.

Craig Anthony Collins appeared in the Mackay Magistrates Court on Wednesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to dangerous operation of a vehicle.

He also admitted to failing to stop for police and willfully making unnecessary noise or smoke on December 20, 2015 around 6:50pm

A driver caught clocking 238kmh on the wrong side of the road will not be jailed (stock picture)

The 28-year-old was told his excessive speeding was 'downright dangerous' and his driving history, which includes at least 10 speeding offences, was labeled 'disgraceful' by Magistrate Damien Dwyer, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

Collins had first caught the attention of police when he did a burnout in a Ford Falcon sedan as his car emitted loud engine revs and squealing tyres.

Despite officers turning on their lights and sirens Collins took off and ran a red light before driving on the wrong side of the road.

He was recorded reaching 239kmh in a 70kmh zone which is when police decided to cease the chase.

Collins eventually turned himself in when he realised police were looking for him and after initially denying any involvement, told police he was responsible.

In court Collins did not disagree with the law enforcement officers version of events.

Defence solicitor Cassandra Adorni-Braccesi claimed the long delay for a hearing was caused by the prosecution in Rockhampton and Collins' case was moved to Mackay.

Despite the magistrate calling Collins a 'hoon' he saw no benefit in jailing him (stock picture)

Ms Adorni-Braccesi said her client was a diesel fitter and turner, who had recently married.

She said he had completed a defensive driving course and attempted to claim his recklessness had been 'out of character' however Mr Dwyer said his record spoke for itself.

Despite citing that Collins was a 'hoon' he said there was no benefit to jailing the 28-year-old, who had moved to Mackay from Rockhampton after the event.

The magistrate disqualified Collins' licence for three years and fined him $8000.

A conviction was not recorded for the offence of wilfully making unnecessary noise or smoke.
The times were medieval but there was something surprisingly modern about the way the scandal broke - via a low-life with a salacious story to sell to the highest bidder.

The man's name was Esquin and he came from south-west France, where, for some routine misdemeanour, he had been locked up in prison with a cellmate who kept him entertained with tales of profane goings-on among warrior monks from a secretive order known as the Knights Templar.

Originally, they had been set up to protect Christian pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land.

In a co-ordinated dawn action on Friday, October 13, 1307, the king's men raided every religious house belonging to the unsuspecting Templars from Normandy to Toulouse

The man had been a member of the order and told of indulging in blasphemy, devil-worship and initiation ceremonies that involved intimate kissing and much more besides.

Esquin knew the Templars had opponents in high places who would pay handsomely for such inside information. So, once he was freed, he first approached a contact in the entourage of the King of Aragon, in Spain, offering his story for 3,000 livres (pounds) cash and a further 1,000 every year once it was verified. He was sent packing.

Then he took his tittle-tattle to the court of the King of France, Philip IV. And there he struck gold.

Philip was a money-grabbing monarch who had already filled his royal coffers by shaking down the Jews in his kingdom for their silver and expelling them. Now he had set his avaricious sights on the vast wealth the Templars were known to possess.

He had ordered a secret dossier to be compiled on them and Esquin was exactly the sort of whistleblower his spies had been dying to find.

With his allegations of depravity to work from, they launched a full-on witch-hunt and over the next two years unearthed more moles and compiled more damning and lurid gossip from disgruntled members of the order who had been expelled or otherwise left under a cloud.

Then they pounced on their prey. In a co-ordinated dawn action on Friday, October 13, 1307, the king's men raided every premises and religious house belonging to the unsuspecting Templars from Normandy to Toulouse.

Torture of the Knights Templars, organized by Guillaume de Nogaret under King Philip IV (1285-1314)

They were seized on the pretext, as the royal warrant said, of being 'wolves in sheep's clothing, vilely insulting our religious faith'.

They were denounced as 'a disgrace to humanity, a pernicious example of evil and a universal scandal'. Rounded up en masse, they were charged with the sins of sodomy, heresy and anything else that would cause outrage and disgust and puncture their image of holiness and righteousness. All their possessions were seized.

Yet as broadcaster and medieval history expert Dan Jones reveals in a new book tracing the story of this mysterious sect, the Templars were innocent of the charges Esquin had laid against them.

At the heart of the allegations was nothing more than the so-called 'kiss of peace' that the knights openly admitted giving to initiates, often on the lips.

This was translated into a ceremony of orgiastic depravity in which they stood naked to kiss each other all over, including on the backside. Black magic  'offerings to idols'  was also alleged.

In a remarkably short time, an order of knights which had fought the cause of Christendom for nearly two centuries was ruthlessly crushed out of existence.

This was done not by the Muslims  sworn enemies whom the Knights Templar had slaughtered in their hundreds of thousands  but by the order's fellow Christians, who might have been expected to back them.

By the third decade of the 14th century, the battling Templars were no more.

But who exactly were these persecuted 'holy' knights with distinctive red crosses on their shields? And why have they remained a subject of fascination even into the 21st century, when they have been presented variously as heroes, martyrs, thugs, bullies, victims, criminals, perverts, heretics, depraved subversives, guardians of the Holy Grail and protectors of Christ's secret bloodline?

Jacques DeMolay was the twenty-third and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar

In his book, Dan Jones informs us that the sect  dubbed God's holy warriors  was founded in 1119 with the specific task of protecting European pilgrims who journeyed to the Holy Land in the Middle East to visit Christian shrines.

As a semi-monastic order, they took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Their name came from the temple in Jerusalem, which was their shrine.

They then became the leading arm of the Crusades, those gruesome religious wars in which Christian kings aimed to wrest the homeland of Jesus Christ from Islamic rule. Much of their history is therefore a long succession of battles and massacres in which heads were lopped off by the thousand and blood was spilt in profusion on both sides.

In those days jihad  holy war  was a clash of mutual hate and destruction in which both sides revelled in their task of 'exterminating the perfidious pagans' and little quarter was given. The English crusader King Richard the Lionheart  wearing on his tunic the red cross of the Templars  thought nothing of summarily slaughtering 2,600 Muslim prisoners outside the town of Acre in a fit of pique.

There were terrible sieges that dragged on until the desperate defenders were starved into submission. At the port of Damietta on the Nile estuary, crusaders finally forced their way in after two years to find 'streets strewn with bodies of the dead, wasting away from pestilence and famine'. The smell 'was too much for most people to bear'.

Nevertheless, the victors held their noses and went about God's business, plundering gold, silver, silks and slaves, and grabbing 500 surviving children who were forcibly baptised into Christianity.

But the Muslim forces had their revenge with a particularly vicious weapon called 'Greek fire'  a sticky resin in pots that could be hurled, grenade-style, by catapults. It burst into flame on impact and clung to clothing. The crusaders were terrified of it.

An English knight, fighting on foot after his horse was killed under him, was hit directly with a burning missile which set alight his coat, the flames searing his face and then his whole body, 'as if he had been a cauldron of pitch'.

In all this blood-letting, the Templars proved notably good at their job  disciplined, ruthless, fearless and sworn to die rather than surrender. In one battle against the Muslim leader Saladin, 140 knights, shouting out in unison 'Christ is our life and death is our reward', charged 7,000 Saracens and 'died in a shower of their own gore'.

On another occasion, Templar knights barrelled into the narrow streets of a town in pursuit of a fleeing Muslim army, only to find they had run into a trap and were outnumbered and surrounded. In savage hand-to-hand fighting, one knight's nose was sliced so badly that it hung loose by his mouth.

Blood flowed freely 'like a freshly tapped barrel of wine' as nearly 600 knights died in the savage street-fighting.

Because of deeds such as this the Templars quickly became semi-legendary figures, featuring in popular stories, works of art, ballads and histories.

The Templars quickly became semi-legendary figures, featuring in popular stories, works of art, ballads and histories

Such was the potency of the myth that grew around them that an admirer even cut off the genitals of a Templar killed in battle 'and kept them for begetting children so that, even when dead, the man's member might produce an heir with courage as great as his'.

As a result of their fame and dedication to God's work, charitable funds and bequests of money and property rolled into their coffers. And their wealth snowballed, as they had the special protection of the Pope and were exempted from the rules and taxes that monarchs imposed on everyone else.

Soon, Templars could be found across vast swathes of Europe and beyond  from the battlefields of Palestine, Syria and southern Spain to towns and villages in Italy and especially France, where they managed extensive estates to fund their military adventures.

In England they owned manor houses, sheep farms, watermills, churches, markets, forests and fairs in almost every county.

Such vast riches gave them influence, and they numbered kings and queens, patriarchs and popes among their friends and supporters. England's Henry II used the Templars as a bank, depositing coins, jewels and valuable trinkets with them, while knights were seconded to his court as diplomats.

Their tentacles were everywhere.The order helped finance wars, loaned money, collected taxes, built castles, ran cities, ports and fleets of ships, raised armies, interfered in trade disputes and carried out political assassinations.

Although there were rarely more than 1,000 knights at any one time, they became, in Jones's words, 'as mighty an outfit as existed during the later Middle Ages'.

And that inevitably brought them enemies.

To some of their more pious contemporaries, their constant wars were a corruption of the supposedly peaceful principles of Christianity. Others thought them dangerously unaccountable and self-serving, not to be trusted or admired.

Rumours of their secret vices were also rife.

King Philip IV of France who butchered the Knights Templar

An English chronicler by the name of John of Salisbury recorded his belief that 'when they convene in their lairs late at night, after speaking of virtue by day they shake their hips in nocturnal folly and exertion'.

Such thoughts became more and more commonplace, particularly after the Templars' core activities switched away from crusades in the Holy Land (where Muslim forces were increasingly in the ascendancy, entrenched and not easy to oust) to the exercise of wealth and power at home.

So it was little surprise that someone like Esquin would hear the rumours and sell them on.

When that out-and-out thug Philip IV of France swooped in his dawn raids, God's warriors caved in. Hundreds, many of them middle-aged men long past their warrior days, were placed under lock and key in dungeons.

To make them confess, they were tortured  starved, deprived of sleep, shackled, racked, burnt on the feet and hauled up in the strappado, a device that dislocated the shoulders by lifting the victim up by his wrists tied behind his back.

Most submitted to these horrors, including James of Molay, the order's Grand Master. From teenagers to wizened old men, from the highest-ranking officers to the meanest labourers, Templar brothers lined up before their black-clad interrogators and told their tormentors exactly what they wanted to hear.

They admitted denying Christ and spitting on the cross during 'the foul rigmarole' of their initiation ceremonies.

One senior knight confessed to allowing some in the order to relieve what he called 'the heat of nature' by carnal deeds with other knights.

All the accused seemed to be following the same script in their confessions, and any who deviated were racked until they got their story right.

As an added incentive, they were promised a pardon if they confessed their heresies and returned to the faith of the holy Church; otherwise they would be condemned to death.

No one stepped forward to offer them help or even speak on their behalf, despite their two centuries of heroic deeds.

The Pope tried to rein in the persecution, though he himself was under Philip's thumb. The best he was able to achieve was to acknowledge their confessions and offer them forgiveness and absolution.

In England, the unreliable King Edward II at first derided the accusations against the Templars as absurd but then, for his own political reasons, went along with the condemnations.

More and more 'confessions' were forthcoming.

By then, two-and-a-half years had elapsed since the original arrests and a handful of Templars, believing themselves wrongly accused and mistreated, determined to fight back, led by one Peter of Bologna.

He stood up and bravely told a papal commission that the allegations against them were 'obscene, false and mendacious' and had been proposed by 'liars and corruptors'. So-called confessions corroborating the accusations had been obtained by torture and threats of death.

Aware that his case against the Templars was in danger of collapsing, Philip acted like the tyrant he was.

There were 54 Templars currently on trial before an ecclesiastical court in the city of Sens, not far from Paris. Suddenly, he announced they were to be burnt at the stake without delay.

Despite frantic efforts by Peter of Bologna to launch a legal challenge, the royal will trampled over due process of law.

The Templars of Sens were strapped to wagons and taken to a field where dozens of stakes and pyres had been set up. Every one of them was burnt alive.

Peter of Bologna simply disappeared and was never seen again.

Faced with this brazen show of power and treachery, rank-and-file Templar resistance broke. Philip had won and the Templars were no more. Their property had been impounded, their wealth seized, their reputation shredded. Their members were imprisoned, tortured, killed, ejected from their homes and humiliated.

Those who survived this process either died in prison, were uprooted and sent to new homes, or in a few rare cases redeployed to new military orders.

The once-mighty order simply ceased to exist, its ruin precipitated by Esquin's 'kiss and tell' stories less than a decade earlier.

It was an astonishingly quick fall from extreme power and wealth to zero.

Yet the legend lived on.

The Templars still provide rich material for cranks, conspiracy theorists and fantasists. Their supposed secrets were at the heart of the blockbuster novel and film The Da Vinci Code.

The Norwegian fascist and terrorist Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in 2011, claimed to be part of a revived international Templar cell founded by nine men in London but with a growing worldwide membership of several dozen 'knights' and many more lay followers.

There is, says historian Dan Jones, a thriving industry in 'what-if' history about them, much of it resting on the false supposition that an order so wealthy and powerful could not simply have been rolled up and dissolved.

Alluring alternative histories have been concocted.

Did a small group of knights escape persecution in France with a stash of treasure? If so, did that include the Turin Shroud or the Ark of the Covenant?

Did the Templars set themselves up as a secret organisation elsewhere? Are they perhaps still out there, running the world from the shadows?

The answer to such questions is emphatically 'no'  but there is still no denying the seemingly timeless allure of God's warriors and their treasured place in our imaginations.
Sean Ludwick to spend between three to nine years behind bars Wednesday after he left his friend to die after crashing in the Hamptons

A real-estate developer was sentenced to spend between three to nine years behind bars after he left his friend to die on the side of the road when he drunkenly crashed his car in the Hamptons.

Sean Ludwick was sentenced Wednesday in Suffolk County Supreme Court as part of a plea deal he agreed to in regards to the August 30, 2015 death of real-estate broker Paul Hansen.

He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident without reporting and aggravated driving while intoxicated charges. Prison sentences on those charges will run concurrently to the three to nine year sentence he received on the top charge.

Ludwick, 45, was arrested in January 2016 on suspicion of trying to evade prosecution on charges of vehicular homicide and drunken driving stemming from the fatal crash where he slammed his 2013 Porsche convertible into a utility pole in front of Hansen's swanky Sag Harbor home.

He then dragged the 53-year-old man out of the passenger seat of the car before leaving him to die on the side of the road.

Ludwick was sentenced Wednesday in Suffolk County Supreme Court as part of a plea deal he agreed to in regards to the August 30, 2015 death of real-estate broker Paul Hansen (above)

He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident without reporting and aggravated driving while intoxicated charges. Prison sentences on those charges will run concurrently to the three to nine year sentence he received on the top charge

The married father-of-two then fled the scene but police found him a short time later not far from the crash site.

'If it was a crime to be a coward and a hard human being, you are guilty on all counts and deserve a sentence of life in prison,' Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho told Ludwick in court, the New York Post reported. 'As it is, I am bound by the law.'

The victim's heartbroken widow, Catherine, attended the court session and said for the first time that Ludwick's son stayed over her house the night her husband died in the horrific crash.

'Even your own son was of no concern to you,' she told Ludwick in court.

'He was asleep at my home, staying over with my two boys who watched out for your son even after we had learned what you had done.'

Ludwick was arrested in January 2016 on suspicion of trying to evade prosecution on charges of vehicular homicide and drunken driving stemming from the fatal crash where he slammed his 2013 Porsche convertible into a utility pole in front of Hansen's swanky Sag Harbor home

He then dragged the 53-year-old man (above) out of the passenger seat of the car before leaving him to die on the side of the road. The married father-of-two then fled the scene but police found him a short time later not far from the crash site

She tearfully added: 'You killed and discarded Paul. You fled, lied to passersby and police. You showed no concern for anyone other than yourself.'

The widow said that she is forced to drive by the spot her husband died every day.

'My bedroom window looks out on that spot,' she said.

'You can't run anymore, you can't run a third time. You have to face what you've done and how many lives you've affected with your cowardly, selfish behavior.'

The victim's heartbroken widow, Catherine (above at his funeral), attended the court session and said: 'You killed and discarded Paul. You fled, lied to passersby and police. You showed no concern for anyone other than yourself.'

A judge revoked his $1million bail last year after he was caught trying to flee the country and travel to Venezuela.

Ludwick did apologize during the court session saying that the incident was 'an awful moment.'

'I won't make excuses for myself but alcohol and shock of the events blurred my vision and blurred my mind,' he said.

'I have to take responsibility. I own this problem, this circumstance, I caused it.

'I will live the rest of my life knowing that I am the cause. I offer you my most humble apology. I mean that.'
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China's biggest political event, the Communist Party congress, opened today in Beijing, under tight security.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed more than 2,000 delegates during the speech, which ran nearly three and a half hours.

Xi's wide-ranging speech laid out a confident vision for an increasingly prosperous China and its place in the world.

China's Communist Party opens the 19th National Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People amongst tight security

19th Congress: Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People as the Communist Party

The Communist Party of China opens the 19th National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China

Inside Great Hall: Xi said, China would become a modern socialist 'strong power' with leading influence on world stage

'Through a long period of hard work, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, this is a new historical direction in our country's development,' Xi said, using the term 'new era' 36 times.

The twice-a-decade congress, a week-long, mostly closed-door conclave, will culminate with the selection of a new Politburo Standing Committee that will rule China's 1.4 billion people for the next five years, with Xi expected to consolidate his grasp on power.

Xi addressed more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, including 91-year-old former president Jiang Zemin, under tight security on a rainy, smoggy morning.

19th Congress opened: Representatives of various ethnic minorities attend the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Committee Guo Jinlong (left) and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Guangdong provincial Party committee Hu Chunhua (right)

On the economic front, Xi said China would relax market access for foreign investment, expand access to its services sector and deepen market-oriented reform of its exchange rate and financial system, while at the same time strengthening state firms, he said.

As expected, the speech was heavy on aspiration and short on specific measures, but during Xi's first term, China disappointed many expecting it to usher in more market-oriented reforms.

Xi promised, in what was likely an indirect reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's 'America first' policy, that China would be fully engaged with the world, and reiterated pledges to tackle climate change.

'No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation,' Xi told the delegates, among them Buddhist monks, Olympic medalists, farmers and at least one astronaut.

Former President Hu Jintao, President Xi Jinping, former President Jiang Zemin at China's Congress (from left to right)

No political reforms: Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed more than 2,000 delegates for more than three hours in China

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (left) uses a magnifying glass to look at documents near Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

Xi envisioned China developing into a 'basically' modernised socialist country by 2035, becoming one of the world's most innovative countries with the income gap between urban and rural residents significantly reduced, and its environmental woes fundamentally eliminated.

By 2050, Xi said, China would become a modern socialist 'strong power' with leading influence on the world stage.

But he signalled there would be no political reforms. He said China's political system was the broadest, most genuine, and most effective way to safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, said Xi, who has overseen a sweeping crackdown on civil society, locking up rights lawyers and dissidents.

'We should not just mechanically copy the political systems of other countries,' he said. 'We must unwaveringly uphold and improve party leadership and make the party still stronger.'

Xi praised the party's successes, particularly his high-profile anti-graft campaign, which has seen more than a million officials punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed, and warned the campaign would never end as corruption was the 'gravest threat' the party faces.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin (bottom left) holds up a towel as other attendees clap during a speech by Xi Jinping

'We must remain as firm as a rock in our resolve to build on the overwhelming momentum and secure a sweeping victory,' Xi said.

On self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by Beijing as its own, Xi said China would never allow the island to separate from China, and said China would strive to fully transform its armed forces into a world-class military by the mid-21st century.

He made no mention of neighbouring North Korea, which has angered Beijing with repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions and which sent a congratulatory message ahead of the meeting.

Great Hall of the People: China opens the 19th National Congress - decisions will be formally announced the end of next week

Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up political rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China's rising might on the world stage.

Focus at the congress will be on how Xi plans to put his expanded authority to use.

Key questions include whether Xi ally and top corruption-buster Wang Qishan will stay on past traditional retirement age and to what extent Xi will promote allies to senior positions.

Attendees sing China's national anthem at Beijing's Great Hall of the People (left) China's national flag is hoisted at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 18, 2017, when China's Communist Party will open its twice-a-decade congress (right)

Close attention will also be paid to any moves that would enable Xi to stay on in a leadership capacity after his second term ends in 2022. That could include resurrecting the position of party chairman, a title that would put him on par with the founding father of modern China, Mao Zedong.

Such decisions will be formally announced at the end of the congress next week.

'In all aspects he is on the right track to be our next Chairman Mao,' Su Shengcheng, a delegate from the northwestern province of Qinghai, told Reuters. 'He will lead the party and Central Committee to continue its way to success.'

Chinese President Xi Jinping bows to delegates after his speech during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party

19th Congress opens: Representatives of ethnic minorities arrive on Oct. 18, 2017, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

As with other major set-piece events held in the capital, Beijing has been blanketed with security, with long lines at some suburban subways stations as passengers waited to go through metal detectors and be patted down.

Coverage in state media and across the city has kicked into overdrive, with large red banners plastered around Beijing welcoming the congress, while censors have stepped up already tight monitoring of the internet.

Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat, China's top social media platform with more than 960 million users, released a short statement late on Tuesday saying that, due to 'system maintenance', users will be unable to modify profile pictures, nicknames and tag lines until the end of the month.

The disabled features are sporadically used to show solidarity for popular social and political causes.
As China's president, Xi Jinping, delivered a policy speech to delegates in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China's internet was more interested in the 91-year-old man seated next to him.

Rumoured to have died a few months ago, former Chinese president Jiang Zemin roused social media users Wednesday by taking a prominent place at the ruling Communist Party's leadership Congress.

Proving that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated as the former leader sat next to President Xi Jinping and stood for the national anthem as China's 19th congress opened today.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands with Jiang Zemin at the opening of China's Congress

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin yawns during the 19th National Congress Party in China

WHO IS JIANG ZEMIN? Born in east China, Jiangsu in 1926.

He joined the Communist Party until he was 21, in 1947.

In 1949 he went to Moscow for training at the Stalin Automobile Plant.

He returned and worked at the state-run China No. 1 Automobile Factory.

He was China's leader from 1993 to 2003.

Source: Britannica.com, People's Daily Advertisement

Many Chinese internet users gushed over the elderly 'Frog' - an affectionate nickname inspired by Jiang's wide grin and prominent bespectacled eyes.

'I want to ask about his secret for longevity,' said one posting on China's Twitter-like social network Weibo.

'How many organs must he have had replaced to be standing in the middle of the stage?' asked another, before China's notorious internet censors swooped in to delete most of the postings within a couple of hours.

Guided into his chair by two ushers, Jiang and his oversized glasses stood out in the crowd of dark-suited party leaders.

China's former president Jiang Zemin (left) reads papers with a magnifying glass at Congress

China's Xi Jinping stands by former president Jiang Zemin at the 19th Congress Party in Beijing

He occasionally glanced at his watch or examined Xi's speech text with a large magnifying glass while his comrades sat motionless, and flashed his trademark smile in a conversation with Xi.

The former party leader and Chinese president for a decade from 1993, Jiang is occasionally the subject of rumours about his demise.

Most recently, in May online speculation swirled that Jiang had died of a stroke in Shanghai, the financial centre he formerly governed as mayor and party chief. He subsequently was seen in public.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin checks his watch during Congress opening ceremony

Past presidents are typically on hand for the congress, during which the top leadership and party policies for the next five years are set in stone. Jiang's immediate successor Hu Jintao, 74, was on Xi's right hand.

A former factory engineer, Jiang came to power in the traumatic aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and led China through an era of stunning economic transformation.

Jiang's legacy remains mixed, however, as rapid economic growth led to ills such as rampant environmental degradation and a widening wealth gap, which today's leaders are wrestling with.

Jiang Zemin with attendants as he leaves after the opening ceremony of China's 19th Congress

But with his big smile, grasp of several languages, and sometimes clownish behaviour including making jokes in English, Jiang is fondly remembered by many as a relatively colourful Chinese leader compared to his stiff successors Hu and Xi.

A music lover who played the piano, Jiang was known for bursting into song on foreign trips, including a memorable rendition of Elvis Presley's 'Love Me Tender' during a state visit to the Philippines.

'Holy (expletive)! He is getting younger than ever,' said one Weibo posting.

Long day: Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin naps at the opening session of the Congress

Other than the live television broadcast, Jiang's presence was largely ignored by state-run media.

Official mention of past leaders has become increasingly rare under Xi, who took power in 2012 and moved swiftly to clamp down on dissent as party mouthpieces push a cult of personality around him.
Smart watches sold to allow parents to keep track of their children and contact them in an emergency could be putting youngsters at risk.

Consumer experts have revealed that strangers can access the watches, which parents use to call youngsters, to spy on children.

As a result, the hi-tech devices, which can cost anything from 18 to 100, could be putting children in danger, rather than making them safer.

Smart watches sold to allow parents to keep track of their children and contact them in an emergency could be putting youngsters at risk (stock image)

Now consumer experts in Britain and Europe are calling for a ban on the watches until the security flaws have been fixed.

Alarming security loopholes mean the watches, which include GPS tracking and a mobile phone SIM card, can be accessed remotely.

As a result, strangers can track where a child is and see information on all of their past movements.

On some devices, it is possible to listen in to what a child is doing by sending a hidden text to the watch.

Hackers can intercept and change the geographical location of the watch in what is known as location spoofing.

This means that a child can appear to be in one spot when they are actually somewhere else.

Some have an SOS button that a child pushes to make a call to their parent in an emergency. However, this can be remotely disabled and even programmed to call someone else.

Consumer experts have also found that the storage of data collected on the watches can be insecure. As a result, it is possible to get information on the movements of other watch users via user apps and linked websites.

The problems have been found by consumer experts in Norway and endorsed by experts at Which? in this country.

The managing director of home products and services at Which?, Alex Neill, said: Though these products are marketed at making children safer, parents will be shocked if they actually put them at risk because of shoddy security.

While there is no denying the huge benefits smart gadgets can bring to our daily lives, safety and security should be the absolute priority. If that cant be guaranteed, then the products should not be sold.

Finn Myrstad, (correct) the director of digital policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC), said: Its very serious when products that claim to make children safer instead put them at risk because of poor security and features that do not work properly.

Consumer experts have revealed that strangers can access the watches, which parents use to call youngsters, to spy on children (stock image)

Importers and retailers must know what they stock and sell. These watches have no place on a shops shelf, let alone on a childs wrist.

The NCC commissioned security experts at the firm, Mnemonic, to look at three watches that are also available in some form in the UK - the Gator, Xplora and SeTracker watches.

The Gator is sold by John Lewis and others for 99.95. The Xplora is sold free on the basis that purchasers sign up to a mobile phone contract charging 12.99 a month for 24 months - 311.76.

The SeTracker devices are part of a family of watches under various individual brands that all use the same mobile app interface.

The NCC tested the Viksfjord, which is available in Norway, but a similar watch is sold in the UK, branded as Witmoving and on sale with Amazon at an offer price of 18.66.

Mnemonic found particular problems with the Gator 2. An updated version called the Gator 3 has some security improvements.

The NCC says the failure to install strict security around the watch functions and apps represent a serious breach of privacy laws.

As a result, they have passed on their findings to European data regulators, including the Information Commissioners Office in the UK. These have, in turn, contacted the companies involved.

In the meantime, the NCC has advised parents who have already bought one to stop using it and take it back to the retailer for a refund on the basis of the security faults.

Xplora say they have fixed the security problem identified by the study, but this has not been verified independently.

The products from the two other companies remain available in the UK and the firms have not responded to the NCC about the security warnings.

Colleen Wong, whose company Techsixtyfour distributes the Gator watch in the UK and Europe, said action is being taken to fix the security issues.

She said: I take cyber security very seriously. I have learned that issues will come up along the way and we fix them.

I reported this back to the manufacturer and we are launching a completely new app which will eliminate all the issues that have been found.

On a user level, there are things in place to prevent any other person getting into the watch.
News / National

by Staff reporter

There was drama at the Harare Civil court when a man claimed he beats his wife because she deserves it.Delmar Mabena opened up in court saying that her husband, Lynos Zindova, exercises psychological, physical and emotional abuse on her."Your Worship, it's like I am living in hell with a monster."He is always after my life."He always beats me up for no reason and always insults me regardless of the crowd around us."She went on saying that it is not her fault as people visit their house to fetch water as they are the only ones who drilled a borehole in the neighborhood."He thinks they are my friends whilst they are only neighbours to me.In response Zindova said:"I am opposing what she is saying your worship."She invites half undressed women to the house and it pisses me a lot."I once tried talking to her but she does not listen.Zindova added that he beats up his wife because she deserves it and also that his action is justified."I do have the right to beat her because she is trying to tempt me by bringing undressed women at my house."Ndikazovanyenga oda kuzoti ndatadza iye achindiedza."Yes I chase her away from the house sometimes because her actions will end up tarnishing my reputation."She invites a lot of friends at the house, so if I beat her in front of those silly friends of hers she will tell them to stop visiting my house."I tried talking to her nicely but it seems she wants things the hard way."Magistrate Tatenda Sharon Chipanga granted the protection order in Mabena's favour.
Imagine a future where you are regularly stopped and searched by the police, based simply on bad information fed into a computer.

That is the fear of one authority on the subject, who is concerned that human biases and errors are being programmed into machine learning systems.

Studies have already shown that AI experiments, including predictive policing, demonstrate exaggerated versions of human biases when put into practice.

Experts are worried that this could lead to a 'toxic' future where machines make bad decisions on our behalf, unless something is done now to prevent it.

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Imagine a future where you are regularly stopped and searched by the police, based simply on bad information fed into a computer. That is the fear of one authority on the subject, who is concerned that human biases and errors are being programmed into machine learning

RACIST AI SYSTEMS Research has already demonstrated that AI systems trained using data generated by people can share their flaws. In May 2016, Pro Publica reported that an algorithm widely used by police forces across the US was skewed against African Americans. Predicted rates of re-offending were far more likely to be higher for black suspects compared to those of other backgrounds. Racial disparities in the formula used to work out risk were found to be at fault. This meant the system was more likely to flag black defendants as future criminals and wrongly identified white defendants as lower risk. Reporters obtained scores for more than 7,000 people arrested in Florida in 2013 and 2014 in order to analyse the rate of re-offending over the following two years. Analysis revealed that, of those offenders forecast to commit violent crimes by the risk score, just one in five did so. Advertisement

The claims were made in an in-depth report written for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) by New York University (NYU) research professor Kate Crawford.

Along with colleagues from legal, economic, social science and other backgrounds, she is launching The AI Now institute, to study the complex social implications of this rapidly developing technology.

Artificial intelligence systems rely on neural networks, which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn.

These networks can be trained to recognise patterns in information - including speech, text data, or visual images.

When the information they are taught with is produced by people, it is likely to contain the same errors and flaws that are part and parcel of being human.

The algorithms that make up these neural networks can unintentionally boost these biases, giving them undue importance in their decision making.

Writing in the WSJ, Professor Crawford said: 'These systems learn from social data that reflects human history, with all its biases and prejudices intact.

'Algorithms can unintentionally boost those biases, as many computer scientists have shown.

'Its a minor issue when it comes to targeted Instagram advertising but a far more serious one if AI is deciding who gets a job, what political news you read or who gets out of jail.

'Only by developing a deeper understanding of AI systems as they act in the world can we ensure that this new infrastructure never turns toxic.'

Research has already demonstrated that AI systems trained using such data can be flawed.

In May 2016, Pro Publica reported that an algorithm widely used by police forces across the US was skewed against African Americans.

Predicted rates of re-offending were far more likely to be higher for black suspects compared to those of other backgrounds.

Racial disparities in the formula used to work out risk were found to be at fault.

Research has already demonstrated that AI systems trained using data generated by people can share their flaws. In May 2016, Pro Publica reported that an algorithm widely used by police forces across the US was skewed against African Americans

This meant the system was more likely to flag black defendants as future criminals and wrongly identified white defendants as lower risk.

Reporters obtained scores for more than 7,000 people arrested in Florida in 2013 and 2014 in order to analyse the rate of re-offending over the following two years.

Analysis revealed that, of those offenders forecast to commit violent crimes by the risk score, just one in five did so.

Currently AI is only used routinely in low-level roles, from wastewater management to warehouse stocking.

Some experts believe it is just a matter of time before it is put to work on more complex social systems.
A British sociologist who has studied for a PhD in threesomes has revealed some strange trends in the sexual experiences of young people.

His findings reveal that the rise of bromances and acceptance of homosexuality has led to more threesomes between two men and a female.

Many men reported that these encounters are a way to bond with their closest male friends.

Dr Ryan Scoats, an expert at Birmingham City University, said he decided to study threesomes after a number of his own menage a trios encounters.

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Dr Scoats found there is generally little physical interaction between men during MMF threesomes. Many men reported that these encounters are a way to bond with their closest male friends (stock image)

RESULTS OF THE THREESOME STUDY Dr Ryan Scoats, an expert at Birmingham City University, asked university students about their experiences of threesomes between two men and a woman (MMF). He found there is often little physical interaction between men during MMF threesomes. Many men reported that these encounters are a way to bond with their closest male friends. The sociologist also found that most women are intimidated by the thought of a threesome with two men. These fears are allayed, however, if the two men interact sexually during the encounter. Advertisement

Of the 30 male students that Dr Scoats spoke to, a third had had a threesome by their second year of study, and six had had more than one.

Of the ten men who had a threesome, seven had been in at least one famel-female-male (FFM) threesome, and five had been in at least one male-male-female (MMF) threesome.

Two participants had experienced both.

The sociologist found there is often little physical interaction between men during MMF threesomes.

For example, in Dr Scoats's research paper, an interviewee named Brent says, 'You get to "high five" your mate over her back and that's about it really.'

Instead, the men reported that these encounters are a way to bond with their closest male friends.

Another interviewee, Matthew, said: 'It was quite a funny, a good experience. We both had a bit of banter between us. It was quite fun. It was quite enjoyable'.

Instead, the researchers describe the male-male encounter as 'semi-sexual', meaning that while the men didn't sexually interact with one another, they did engage sexually at the same time with the woman.

The sociologist suggested that the rise of the 'bromance' and decline in homophobia in western societies is helping to make MMF threesomes more acceptable.

'Younger guys engaging in threesomes are shifting along with society toward being less homophobic,' Dr Scoats told MailOnline.

'This is allowing them to have threesomes with other men without it challenging their sexuality.

'The trend ties into bromances, and shows that modern men are more comfortable with their male friends.'

A British sociologist studied for a PhD in threesomes after having several of his own experiences. Dr Ryan Scoats (pictured), an expert at Birmingham City University, said after his encounters he noticed there is little research into the sexual dynamic

In a separate study, the sociologist also spoke to a number of women, finding that many are intimidated by the thought of a threesome with two men.

One interviewee, 25-year-old Nadia, said: 'My only knowledge of men, like two males, one female threesomes is from porn, and it always just seems absolutely brutal.'

But the research found that, for some women, these fears are allayed if the two men interact sexually during the encounter.

One interviewee, 26-year-old Isa, said: If there is no homo, there is no trio. I find it really annoying if they are reluctant to touch each other.'

Dr Scoats told MailOnline: 'Women are generally more reluctant to engage in MMF threesomes than men, maybe because they find it intimidating or objectifying.

'But when it's suggested the males will be interacting sexually, for some women, this can be anxiety-reducing because they appear less like an object.'

'BROMANCES' IN YOUNG MEN Research published earlier this month suggested that many men find bromances  close friendships with other men  more emotionally rewarding than their romantic relationships with women. Experts at Winchester University found that men felt less judged by their close male friends than their girlfriends. They also found it easier to solve conflicts and speak openly about their emotions in their bromances. The team interviewed 30 British male undergraduates for the study, published in the journal Men and Masculinities. Of the men, 28 out of 30 said they would rather discuss important emotional issues with their bromantic partner than their girlfriends. Male friendships used to be considered lacking in many of the qualities seen in close female friendships, particularly emotional and physical intimacy. But this has changed in recent years, the study found, with young men openly pronounce love to their male friends in a way that would be socially prohibited in previous years, partly out of fear of appearing gay. Advertisement

Dr Scoats said that while tolerance of threesomes was on the rise, menage a trios remains a heavily stigmatised sexual activity.

Stereotypical issues borne from threesomes, such as jealousy or ruining relationships, are not seen in the research.

Dr Scoats told MailOnline: 'Threesome sex is just like any other sex, people do it for different reasons and it has different outcomes. Society stigmatises this behaviour.'

Research published earlier this month suggested that many men find bromances  close friendships with other men  more emotionally rewarding than their romantic relationships with women.

Experts at Winchester University found that men felt less judged by their close male friends than their girlfriends.

They also found it easier to solve conflicts and speak openly about their emotions in their bromances.
Online shoppers in the UK could soon be forced to wait for a text before they can buy goods.

The rule is being considered by the government as part of a scheme to tackle online fraud with new technology that could cut the number of crimes by one million.

The Home Office is examining several options to stop card details being stolen by cyber criminals, senior officials said yesterday.

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Online shoppers in the UK could soon be forced to wait for a text before they can buy goods. The new rule is being considered by the government as part of a scheme to tackle online fraud (stock image)

ANTI-FRAUD TECH One idea the Home Office is considering is the widespread launch of credit and debit cards with security numbers that change every hour. The cards would house a revolving, electronic three-digit security code called a Motion Code that works much like a number of app-based IDs. The ever-changing code would pop-up on a small display across the signature strip of the card. Two French banks, as well as institutions in Poland, are already trialling the new technology. Advertisement

Online shoppers may be forced to separately enter an authentication code sent by their bank by text message before they checkout online.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said she is 'excited' by the plans.

Addressing the Home Affairs select committee, she said: 'If we get it right...it could reduce the number of crimes by one million.

'That could be a real win in terms of protecting people.'

Experts claim the added security would cut so-called 'card not present' fraud, where criminals use details stolen or skimmed from ATM machines.

Reports suggest that online fraud and other cyber crimes cost Britain over 10 billion ($13 billion) a year  around 200 ($260) per adult.

Another idea the Home Office is considering is the widespread launch of credit and debit cards with security numbers that change every hour.

The cards would house a revolving, electronic three-digit security code called a Motion Code that works much like a number of app-based IDs.

The ever-changing code would pop-up on a small display across the signature strip of the card.

Philip Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Home Office, told MPs yesterday that the days of chip and pin are over and 'new' technology is needed. Experts claim the added security would stop criminals using details stolen or skimmed from ATM machines (stock image)

Two French banks, as well as institutions in Poland, are already trialling the new technology.

The Home Secretary said the government is working with MasterCard to implement the plans, though they are still in their early stages.

Philip Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Home Office, told MPs yesterday that the days of chip and pin are over and 'new' technology is needed.

Mr Rutnam told MPs: 'We have been working very closely on future development with credit and debit cards to protect people better from 'card not present' fraud.

'Some years ago we worked with the banks to introduce chip and pin, which was very important. We now need a new set of developments.'

Mr Rutman added that a government-backed Joint Action Taskforce will soon announce changes that make it easier for defrauded customers to recover losses from banks.
Google's machine learning artificial intelligence software has learned to replicate itself for the first time.

The firm first revealed its AutoML project in May - an AI designed to help the firm create other AIs.

Now, AutoML has outdone human engineers by building machine-learning software that's more efficient and powerful than the top human-designed systems.

The achievement marks the next big step for the AI industry, in which development is automated as the software becomes too complex for humans to understand.

The breakthrough could one day lead to machines that can learn without human input.

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Google's machine learning artificial intelligence (AI) software has learned to replicate itself for the first time. The breakthrough could one day lead to machines that can learn without human input, a long fascination of science fiction - including films like The Terminator (pictured)

MACHINE LEARNING Artificial intelligence systems rely on neural networks, which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn. These networks can be trained to recognise patterns in information - including speech, text data, or visual images - and are the basis for a large number of the developments in AI over recent years. They use input from the digital world to learn, with practical applications like Google's language translation services, Facebook's facial recognition software and Snapchat's image altering live filters. But the process of inputting this data can be extremely time consuming, and is limited to one type of knowledge. Advertisement

The AutoML AI recently broke a record for using the content of images to categorise them automatically, managing an 82 per cent accuracy.

The system also beat human-made software at a more complex task that is key to the function of autonomous robots and augmented reality: Marking the location of several objects in an image.

While the human-designed system scored 39 per cent in this task, AutoML managed 43 per cent.

Google hopes its research will help boost the number of engineers capable of developing complex AI systems worldwide.

'Today these are handcrafted by machine learning scientists and literally only a few thousands of scientists around the world can do this,' Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at a Google hardware event in San Francisco last week.

'We want to enable hundreds of thousands of developers to be able to do it.'

Google has declined to make anyone available to discuss AutoML.

Artificial intelligence systems rely on neural networks, which try to simulate the way the brain works in order to learn.

Google first revealed AutoML (learning tree pictured) in May - an AI designed to help the firm create other AIs. Now, AutoML has outdone human engineers by building machine-learning software that's more efficient and powerful than the top human-designed systems

These networks can be trained to recognise patterns in information - including speech, text data, or visual images - and are the basis for a large number of the developments in AI over recent years.

They use input from the digital world to learn, with practical applications like Google's language translation services, Facebook's facial recognition software and Snapchat's image altering live filters.

But the process of inputting this data can be extremely time consuming, and is limited to one type of knowledge.

If Google manages to build a system that can efficiently automate the 'learning' process, it would revolutionise the development of complex AI.

At the same event from last week, Pichai said that 'We want to democratise this', meaning the company hopes to make AutoML available outside Google in future.
Dutch courage - the confidence gained from drinking alcohol - could help with more than just flirting with someone at the bar.

A new study has found that a low dose of alcohol can improve bilingual speakers' ability to speak a second language.

While alcohol impedes peoples' ability to remember and pay attention which may impair the ability to speak a second language, it also increases self-confidence and reduces social anxiety - which might be expected to improve language ability when interacting with others.

While alcohol impedes peoples' ability to remember and pay attention which may impair the ability to speak a second language, it also increases self-confidence and reduces social anxiety - which might be expected to improve language ability when interacting with others

HOW THEY DID IT Participants of the study were 50 native German speakers who were studying at a Dutch University (Maastricht) and had recently learned to speak, read and write in Dutch. Each participant was randomly given either a low dose of alcohol, or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Then, each participant spoke with an experimenter in Dutch for a few minutes. The conversation was recorded, and each participants' foreign language skills were then rated by two native Dutch speakers who didn't know if the participant had consumed alcohol or not (observer-ratings). Researchers found that participants who had consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared to people who didn't have the alcoholic beverage. However, the consumption of alcohol had no effect on participants' self-ratings of their Dutch language skills. Advertisement

The aim of the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Liverpool, Maastricht University and King's College London, was to test these competing predictions for the first time.

For the study, the researchers tested the effects of a low dose of alcohol on participants' self-rated and observer-rated ability to hold a conversation in Dutch.

Participants were 50 native German speakers who were studying at a Dutch University (Maastricht) and had recently learned to speak, read and write in Dutch.

Each participant was randomly given either a low dose of alcohol, or a control beverage that contained no alcohol.

The dose of alcohol varied depending on a person's body weight, but it was equivalent to under a pint (460 ml) of 5% beet, for a 70 kilogram male (154 pounds).

Then, each participant spoke with an experimenter in Dutch for a few minutes.

The conversation was recorded, and each participants' foreign language skills were then rated by two native Dutch speakers who didn't know if the participant had consumed alcohol or not (observer-ratings).

Participants also rated their own Dutch language skills during the conversation (self-ratings).

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that participants who had consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared to people who didn't have the alcoholic beverage.

However, the consumption of alcohol had no effect on participants' self-ratings of their Dutch language skills.

'Our study shows that acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who recently learned that language,' says Dr Inge Kersbergen, a co-author of the study and a researcher at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society.

'This provides some support for the lay belief (among bilingual speakers) that a low dose of alcohol can improve their ability to speak a second language.'

Dr Fritz Renner, a co-author of the study, says that it's important to point out that the study participants consumed a low dose of alcohol, and that higher levels of alcohol consumption might not be beneficial when pronouncing words in a foreign language.

Dr Jessica Werthmann who was one of the researchers who conducted the study at Maastricht University, says: 'We need to be cautious about the implications of these results until we know more about what causes the observed results.

'One possible mechanism could be the anxiety-reducing effect of alcohol.

'But more research is needed to test this.'
The firm that send the first inflatable space module to the International Space Station has revealed an even bigger project - a space station orbiting the moon.

Bigelow Aerospace has revealed it is working with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to send an inflatable habitat to low lunar orbit by 2022.

The idea is to provide a 'lunar depot' as well as a place for NASA to train astronauts and launch longer-term exploration programs.

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Bigelow Aerospace is working with United Launch Alliance to send an inflatable habitat to low lunar orbit by 2022 to provide a 'lunar depot' as well as a place for NASA to train astronauts.

'We are excited to work with ULA on this lunar depot project,' said Robert Bigelow, president of Bigelow Aerospace.

'Our lunar depot plan is a strong complement to other plans intended to eventually put people on Mars.

'It will provide NASA and America with an exciting and financially practical success opportunity that can be accomplished in the short term.

'This lunar depot could be deployed easily by 2022 to support the nation's re-energized plans for returning to the Moon.

'This commercial lunar depot would provide anchorage for significant lunar business development in addition to offering NASA and other governments the Moon as a new exciting location to conduct long-term exploration and astronaut training.'

'We are so pleased to be able to continue our relationship with Bigelow Aerospace,' said Tory Bruno, ULA's president and CEO.

The B330 is a standalone commercial space station that can operate in low Earth orbit, cislunar space and beyond. A single B330 is comparable to one third of the current pressurized volume of the entire International Space Station

'The company is doing such tremendous work in the area of habitats for visiting, living and working off our planet and we are thrilled to be the ride that enables that reality.'

The B330 is a standalone commercial space station that can operate in low Earth orbit, cislunar space and beyond.

Inside the station: There are dozens of potential configurations for the station

A single B330 is comparable to one third of the current pressurized volume of the entire International Space Station.

Bigelow Aerospace is developing two B330 commercial space station habitats that will be ready for launch any time after 2020.

Earlier this year a NASA astronaut took the first steps into the International Space Station's new inflatable habitat.

HOW IT WILL GET TO ORBIT The B330 would launch to Low Earth Orbit on a Vulcan 562 rocket, which ULA is currently developing. Once the B330 is in orbit, Bigelow Aerospace will outfit the habitat and demonstrate it is working properly. Once the B330 is fully operational, ULA's industry-unique distributed lift capability would be used to send the B330 to lunar orbit. Distributed lift would also utilize two more Vulcan ACES launches, each carrying 35 tons of cryogenic propellant to low Earth orbit. In LEO, all of the cryogenic propellant would be transferred to one of the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES). The now full ACES would then rendezvous with the B330 and perform multiple maneuvers to deliver the B330 to its final position in Low Lunar Orbit. Advertisement

Jeff Williams, accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, opened the hatch today at 4:47 a.m. for the first glimpse inside of the add-on room, which he remarked was 'pristine' but cold.

Last week, Nasa successfully inflated the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), making it the world's first inflatable space habitat.

A Nasa astronaut has taken the first steps into the International Space Station's new inflatable habitat. Jeff Williams, accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, opened the hatch today at 4:47 a.m. for the first glimpse inside of the add-on room, which he remarked was 'pristine' but cold

Nasa astronaut Jeff Williams floats inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Monday, June 6, 2016. The crew of the International Space Station entered the newly expanded pod Monday to collect air samples. As is customary, they wore goggles and cloth masks in case of floating debris

Until today, no one has ventured inside of the revolutionary module.

Now, Williams and Skripochka have collected the first air samples, and have begun to download data from sensors to reveal the dynamics of the room's expansion.

The astronauts also reported that there was no evidence of condensation inside of the structure.

Over the next few days, the team will deploy additional sensors and equipment, closing the BEAM's hatch after each entry.

Williams is making the move to investigate the potential challenges, as well as the advantages of inflatable habitats for deep space exploration and commercial low-Earth orbit applications.

This first entry marks the start of a two year data collection process.

As part of his investigation, Mr Williams will take an air sample, place caps on the now closed ascent vent valves and install ducting to assist in BEAM's air circulation.

WHAT IS BIGELOW'S BEAM? BEAM (CGI pictured) will be the first inflatable space habitat to ever be attached to the International Space Station (ISS) BEAM is the first inflatable space habitat to ever be attached to the International Space Station (ISS). Designed by Nasa and Bigelow Aerospace, Beam launched on the eighth SpaceX Commercial Resupply Service mission, on 8 April. Made up of aluminum and soft fabric, BEAM is designed to pack down into a relatively compact 1.7 metres long and just under 2.4 metres in diameter when stowed for the flight into space. When it is attached to the station's structure and inflated, it will expand to 3.7 metres long and 3.2 metres in diameter. Although this will be the first of these habitats tested on the ISS, Nasa thinks expandables could be a key technology to help humans on the journey to Mars. Advertisement

Williams is making the move to investigate the potential challenges, as well as the advantages of inflatable habitats for deep space exploration and commercial low-Earth orbit applications. This first entry marks the start of a two year data collection process

Last week, Nasa successfully inflated the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), making it the world's first inflatable space habitat. Until today, no one has ventured inside of the revolutionary module. Now, Willians and Skripochka have collected the first air samples

Additionally, he will retrieve deployment data sensors and manually open the tanks used for pressurization to ensure all of the air has been released.

Over the following two days, Mr Williams will then install sensors that will be used for the project's primary tasks of gathering data on how BEAM performs in the thermal environment of space.

The sensors will detect BEAM's reaction to radiation, micrometeoroids, and orbital debris.

During BEAM's two year test period, the module will typically be closed off to the rest of the space station.

The BEAM launched on April 8 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and was attached to the International Space Station's Tranquility module about a week later. The module was successfully inflated on May 31

However, each year, astronauts on board the ISS will enter the module three to four times, collecting data on temperature, pressure and radiation, as well as assessing the structural conditions.

Once the two year test period is complete, Nasa's current plan is to jettison the BEAM from the ISS where it will burn up as it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere.

On Nasa's website, they explained: 'expandable habitats, like BEAM, are designed to take up less room when being launched but provide greater volume for living and working in space once expanded.'

However, the expansion process has already has proved difficult, with the first attempt unsuccessful due to too much friction.

It is hoped that Mr Williams' first tests will allow scientists to gauge how well the habitat performs and specifically, how well it protects against solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space.
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Google already lets you explore every part of Earth - and now it has expanded elsewhere in the universe.

The search giant has been working with NASA to include data from the Cassini mission, along with data from other missions.

The new addition allows users to explore twelve new worlds, including Saturn, its moons, Pluto and Venus.

Click here to open an interactive version of the map and scroll down for video

The search giant has been working with NASA to include data from the Cassini mission, along with data from other missions. Pictured, the Martian surface - users can zoom in the places and even see the history of the planet.

'Twenty years ago, the spacecraft Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral on a journey to uncover the secrets of Saturn and its many moons,' said Stafford Marquardt of Google, who is leading the project.

'During its mission, Cassini recorded and sent nearly half a million pictures back to Earth, allowing scientists to reconstruct these distant worlds in unprecedented detail.

'Now you can visit these placesalong with many other planets and moonsin Google Maps right from your computer.'

The Google team worked with astronomical artist Bjorn Jonsson, who assembled the planetary maps of Europa, Ganymede, Rhea, and Mimas by working with imagery from NASA and the European Space Agency.

You can't search for locations in space, but you can zoom into the planets and moons and learn more about different locations on their surface.

Zoom in on Mars, for example, and you can click on different regions to learn more about their features and how they got their names.

The 3D images of planets and moons rotate so you can see where on their surface the sun is hitting and what lies on the dark side (left). You can't search for locations in space, but you can zoom into the planets and moons and learn more about different locations on their surface (right, the surface of Mars)

The 3D images of planets and moons rotate so you can see where on their surface the sun is hitting and what lies on the dark side.

Earlier this year Google launches a feature letting users see inside the International Space Station.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield has previously said 'there's a bit of an Alice in Wonderland feel to [The ISS]', because it can be difficult to orientate yourself on the space station.

Now, fans of the International Space Station can take a dizzying virtual tour of all 15 of its modules using Google Street View to experience it for themselves.

The new addition allows users to explore twelve new worlds, including Saturn, its moons, Pluto and Venus. The 3D images of planets and moons rotate so you can see where on their surface the sun is hitting and what lies on the dark side.

To mark the 48th anniversary of the first successful moon landing, the firm has released an astonishing collection of 360-degree images from inside Nasa's orbiting outpost.

And as you walk through the modules of the ISS, youll see find annotations highlighting things like where the astronauts work out to stay physically fit, what kind of food they eat, and where they do scientific experiments.

USE YOUR MOUSE TO NAVIGATE AROUND THE SPACE STATION

HOW WAS ISS STREET VIEW CREATED? Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), spent six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer and helped to capture images to create ISS Street View. Because of the particular constraints of living and working in space, it wasn't possible to collect Street View using Google's usual methods, he said. 'Instead, the Street View team worked with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama to design a gravity-free method of collecting the imagery using DSLR cameras and equipment already on the ISS,' Pesquet said. 'Then I collected still photos in space, that were then sent down to Earth where they were stitched together to create panoramic 360 degree imagery of the ISS.' Advertisement

Highlights from inside the ISS include unparalleled access to the Columbus Research Laboratory, where researchers conduct thousands of experiments in life sciences, materials sciences, fluid physics.

And viewers can also enjoy access to the Cupola Observational Module, a small window designed for the observation of operations outside the ISS such as robotic activities, the approach of vehicles, and extravehicular activity (EVA).

Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), spent six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer and helped to capture images to create ISS Street View.

'In the six months that I spent on the International Space Station, it was difficult to find the words or take a picture that accurately describes the feeling of being in space,' he said in a blog post.

'Working with Google on my latest mission, I captured Street View imagery to show what the ISS looks like from the inside, and share what its like to look down on Earth from outer space.'

Because of the particular constraints of living and working in space, it wasn't possible to collect Street View using Google's usual methods, he said.

'Instead, the Street View team worked with NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama to design a gravity-free method of collecting the imagery using DSLR cameras and equipment already on the ISS,' Pesquet said.

The US Laboratory Module, called Destiny, (pictured) is the primary research laboratory for US payloads, supporting a wide range of experiments and studies contributing to health, safety, and quality of life for people all over the world

This area of the ISS contains space suits also known as Extravehicular Mobility Units. They provide crew members with life support that enables extravehicular activity

The Cupola (named after the raised observation deck on a railroad caboose) is a small module designed for the observation of operations outside the ISS such as robotic activities, the approach of vehicles, and extravehicular activity (EVA)

'Then I collected still photos in space, that were then sent down to Earth where they were stitched together to create panoramic 360 degree imagery of the ISS.'

Another highlight from inside the orbiting hub is a close-up view of the SpaceX Dragon Docking Vehicle.

Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations.

The spacecraft made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the ISS and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments.

Node 3 (pictured) was built in Europe by Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I) under contract of the European Space Agency. Node 3 is attached to the port side of Node 1, and the Cupola is berthed on its nadir (Earth facing) port

The Italian-built Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) is attached to the Earth-facing side of the Unity node. The PMM is a large, reusable pressurized element that was originally used to ferry cargo back and forth to the station

Pictured is a close-up view of the SpaceX Dragon Docking Vehicle. Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations

It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth

He added that users will now have access to the way astronauts have been 'working and living on the ISS' for 16 years.

'The ISS acts as a base for space explorationpossible future missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroidsand gives us a unique perspective on Earth itself,' he said.

Pictured is the Galley Table, which is big enough for six astronauts to eat together. It was designed by high school students working with Nasa scientists

'We can collect data on the Earths oceans, atmosphere, and land surface.

'We can conduct experiments and studies that we wouldnt be able to do from Earth, like monitoring how the human body reacts to microgravity, solving mysteries of the immune system, studying cyclones in order to alert populations and governments when a storm is approaching, or monitoring marine litterthe rapidly increasing amount of waste found in our oceans.'

Users can explore ISS Street View on their desktops from today.

Pictured is the CEVIS, the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization System. It provides aerobic and cardiovascular condition through cycling activities
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If you want to lead a happy life, Boulder, Colorado, it seems, is the place to be  because it's just been named as the happiest city in the U.S.

It tops a list of 25 of America's happiest cities, revealed in new book The Blue Zones of Happiness, by National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner.

Along with National Geographic and Gallup, he developed an index to measure a population's happiness based on 15 metrics including civic engagement, walkability and healthful food options. Boulder tops the list with walkability, access to nature and sense of community being contributing factors to its residents' happiness.

The top 25 happiest cities in America have been revealed by the National Geographic Gallup Special Index

Boulder, pictured, is the happiest city in America, with walkability, access to nature and sense of community being contributing factors to its residents' happiness. It's best explored on two wheels, over more than 300 miles of dedicated bikeways

The metro area of Santa Cruz-Watsonville California came second in the list, followed by Charlottesville, Virginia, Fort Collins, Colorado, and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande in California.

California is clearly a dreamy place to live, as eight of its cities, including the metro areas of San Diego-Carlsbad and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, make the happiness list.

In The Blue Zones of Happiness  and in a companion piece in National Geographic's November issue - Buettner claims to reveal the surprising secrets of the world's happiest places.

The metro area of Santa Cruz-Watsonville California came second in the list. The area boasts beautiful beaches, a family-friendly boardwalk, and one of the state's oldest amusement parks - all overlooking stunning Monterey Bay

He then shows us 'how we can all apply the lessons of true happiness to our own lives'.

Buettner traveled to extraordinarily content and uniquely different happiness 'hot spots' in South America, Asia, Europe, and the United States, to distill how the people in each region live in such a way that aligns with scientifically proven principles for true contentment.

Buettner claims that his book delivers, for the first time ever, a world happiness consensus, which he developed with Gallup, the University of Pennsylvania, the UN, and a 'never before assembled panel of the world's leading happiness experts', to answer two pivotal questions: what can individuals do to make themselves happier? And, how can government act to make their citizens happier?

Along the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville, Virginia - the third happiest city - has ample opportunities for getting outdoors between visits to Monticello and the University of Virginia - both listed as World Heritage sites

The historic storefronts in Fort Collins, Colorado's Old Town, inspired the design of Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. Add in its views of the Rocky Mountains, and it's no wonder Fort Collins ranks among the happiest cities in America

In The Blue Zones of Happiness  and in a companion piece in National Geographic's November issue - Buettner reveals surprising secrets of the world's happiest places and shows us 'how we can all apply the lessons of true happiness to our own lives'

AMERICA'S TOP 25 HAPPIEST CITIES 1. Boulder, CO 2. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 3. Charlottesville, VA 4. Fort Collins, CO 5. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA 6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 7. Provo-Orem, UT 8. Bridgeport-Stamford, CT 9. Barnstable Town, MA 10. Anchorage, AK 11. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 12. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 13. Salinas, CA 14. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 15. Urban Honolulu, HI 16. Ann Arbor, MI 17. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 18. Colorado Springs, CO 19. Manchester-Nashua, NH 20. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 21. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 22. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 23. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 24. Portland-South Portland, ME 25. Austin-Round Rock, TX Source: National Geographic/Gallup/Dan Buettner Advertisement

The findings suggest strategies for boosting life satisfaction both in society and on in the lives of individuals.

The book, he says, takes readers on a much needed journey of discovery, providing a blueprint for a happy life.

Buettner, from Minneapolis, believes that the key to happiness is not changing your belief system, but your environment.

He told MailOnline Travel that he has two favourite spots.

He said: 'My two happiest places are on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis with its leafy shores, bike paths and cool neighbors. On summer nights, I bring down a bucket of beverages and just sit in front of my house and enjoy a steady parade of friends, new and old.

'The other is in Santa Barbara on the Riviera, where I look out over the city, sea and channel islands. I can bike into to Handlebar Cafe in five minutes. At night, I have happy hour and potluck dinners with my cool neighbors.'
Last year they spent months together filming Thor: Ragnarok in Queensland.

And after taking some time off to attend Splendour In The Grass in nearby Byron Bay, Chris Hemsworth revealed Mark Ruffalo helped out some lucky attendees.

The Australian movie star revealed the Hulk actor gave a ride home to some stranded concertgoers, with the punters shocked to discover they had been picked up by the Hollywood A-lister.

'Mark wonderfully picked up a couple of hitchhikers': Chris Hemsworth reveals Thor: Ragnarok co-star Ruffalo helped stranded Splendour In The Grass attendees get home

In a Facebook Live interview posted to the Marvel page, Chris recounted how he, Mark and director Taika Waititi had taken time off filming to go to 2016's Splendour In The Grass.

At the end of the festival thousands of attendees were left stranded, waiting up to three hours for buses to take them home.

However a group who had decided to try their luck walking were fortunate to be given a lift home by Mark.

Time off: Chris recounted how he, Mark and director Taika Waititi had taken time off filming to go to 2016's Splendour In The Grass

What a good guy! The Hulk actor decided to give the concertgoers a ride home because police were questioning then

'Mark wonderfully picked up a couple of hitchhikers on the way home who were stuck on the side of the road,' Chris explained.

The Hulk actor decided to give the concertgoers a ride home because police were questioning then.

'The police were harassing them,' Mark said.

'They were like, ''where are you going?'' and they [the kids] are like, ''we're trying to get home'', and they [the cops] were like where's your car?'

Mark intervened and claimed he was the kids' uncle and would be driving them home.

Stuck: At the end of the festival thousands of attendees were left stranded, waiting up to three hours for buses to take them home

Down Under: Mark is back in Australia this week, attending the Thor: Ragnarok premiere in Sydney on Sunday

But his good deed appeared to backfire somewhat, with a promised 10 minute ride eventuating into a two to three hour drive in the opposite direction from where Mark was staying.

'At one point we were driving and they were like, ''wait a minute, isnt it that guy? Are you in a movie?''' Mark said. 'Were like, halfway to their house.'

Mark is back in Australia this week, attending the Thor: Ragnarok premiere in Sydney on Sunday.

During the movie's launch in Los Angeles last week, Mark accidentally live streamed the first 10 minutes of the film on Instagram.
Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence announced on Monday that she was forced by a female producer to audition in a 'nude lineup' as a young actress.

When Jackie O asked her radio co-host Kyle Sandilands if he found the producer's request 'terrible' during a segment on their Kyle and Jackie O Show on Wednesday, the shock jock said he didn't.

'I don't... like if you're filming a film and the actress has to be nude and it's sex scenes and everything, then you have to see what's going on,' he explained.

'You have to see what's going on': Kyle Sandilands says he doesn't 'find it terrible' Jennifer Lawrence was forced to audition in 'nude lineup' as a young actress... but agrees they could have done it 'with a little bit more privacy'

Jennifer made the allegations at the Elle Women In Hollywood event, claiming: 'One girl before me had already been fired for not losing enough weight fast enough.'

'During this time [auditioning as a young actress] a female producer had me do a nude line-up with about five women who were much, much, thinner than me.'

Co-host Jackie O, who played the audio of the speech to Kyle, asked: 'Don't you find that terrible?'

'Fired': Jennifer made the allegations at the Elle Women In Hollywood event on Monday, claiming: 'One girl before me had already been fired for not losing enough weight fast enough'

'I don't': After co-host Jackie O Henderson appeared surprised, he added: 'If you're filming a film, and the actress has to be nude and it's sex scenes and everything, then you have to see what's going on'

'No. Not really,' he replied, 'There's some unnecessary stuff, but I don't find the nude lineup a problem though.'

'Give me a break,' Jackie clapped-back, surprised by the shock jock's stance.

Kyle clarified, insisting the lineup would have only been helpful if there was going to be sex scenes in the film, and in the end conceded it wasn't the best way to go about it.

'Some unnecessary stuff': 'There's some unnecessary stuff, but I don't find the nude lineup a problem though,' he continued

Kyle admitted: 'They could have done it with a little bit more privacy.'

During the segment, Jackie O also explained that the comments from Jennifer were in light of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal.

Jennifer, who also made claims against male directors asking her to 'star in a porno,' was also joined by Reese Witherspoon at the event, who made similar allegations.
News / Regional

by Stephen Jakes

Mthwakazi Republic Party will be launching its Manifesto on Thursday.Party spokesperson Mbonisi Gumbo said party President Mqondisi Moyo will on Thursday evening hold a press conference at the Royal hotel Press Club."The event would be specifically to launch the much anticipated party's Manifesto. This is the time which our people have been waiting for. The party's campaign blue print is entitled "REST INDLOVU MANIFESTO." The blue print mainly focuses on Restoration, Empowerment, Self-determination and Transformation which is abbreviated as "REST". MRP as it has been previously explained, believes that it is of great importance for the people of Mthwakazi to unite and come together to defend Mthwakazi through voting," he said."As a party we are targeting to win the Council and Parliamentary seats in all Mthwakazi provinces as part of our efforts to free ourselves from Harare as we march towards Mthwakazi Restoration. On the 18th of October 2017 there will be MRP strategic planning meeting which would be held in Bulawayo ahead of the Manifesto's official launch."He said the meeting will be attended by the NEC members, provincial and district executive members as well as the party's prospective Parliamentary and local government candidates."The party believes that Mthwakazi belongs to Mthwakazi people, nothing can be done in Bulawayo without us hence the need to make sure we close out both ZANU and MDCs from Mthwakazi state," he said.
She may have risen to fame in Netflix's jail drama Orange Is The New Black in 2015.

But it seems Ruby Rose prefers her clothes to be, well, black.

The 31-year-old showed off her long slender legs in teeny black shorts as she waited at a valet stand for her car in Hollywood on Tuesday.

Legs eleven: Ruby Rose looked leggy in short shorts and ankle boots as she was spotted at a valet stand on Tuesday

The actress teamed her revealing garment with a black, school-style blazer with white piping that she wore over a white T-shirt.

Black high-heeled bootees completed the 5ft 7ins stunner's edgy ensemble.

Ruby's raven black tresses were styled in a side-parted pixie cut that framed her beautiful face.

Monochrome chic: The Australian actress teamed her revealing garment with a black, school-style blazer with white piping that she wore over a white T-shirt

She was already famous in her native Australia as a model, MTV VJ, fashion designer, TV host and actress before moving to Los Angeles in search of fresh challenges.

And she quickly found fame again, first in SyFy's space drama Dark Matter, which wrapped after three seasons that ran from 2015 to 2017, and in nine episodes of Orange Is The New Black in 2015 and 2016.

Meanwhile, Ruby has had a busy year.

Ruby's raven black tresses were styled in a side-parted pixie cut that framed her beautiful face

She starred with Vin Diesel in xXx: Return Of Xander Cage released on January 20, and with Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 2, out on February 10.

Ruby will next be seen alongside the starry ensemble cast in acapella comedy Pitch Perfect 3, set for release on December 22.

Come 2018, Ruby will join Jason Statham and Rainn Wilson in the action horror film, Meg.
He is so friendly with fans he even helped one ask a girl to high school prom.

But Bryan Cranston has said he is not worried about losing any due to his determination to 'stand up for something' with his forthcoming anti-war movie Last Flag Flying.

The film tells the story of three Vietnam veterans who reunite after one of their sons is killed in combat in Iraq, and has overt political overtones.

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Standing up: Bryan Cranston has said he is not worried about losing fans due to his anti-war movie Last Flag Flying

4991014Speaking in the November issue of Esquire, the 61-year-old said: 'If I lose fans for my political stance, or because people dont like the movie, so be it.

'Id rather be someone who stands up for something.'

And he says the movie, which also stars Steve Carrell and Laurence Fishburne, addresses an important issue on how elected officials use the country's military.

He said: 'The political message of the film is that enlisted men and women are pawns to the government.

'Which in itself is not wrong. Its just that you want to trust your government, and that they make moves for the right reasons.'

A man with a view: The Hillary Clinton campaigner also blasted Donald Trump for having 'no moral foundation'

Coming soon: He plays a Vietnam veteran in the film, which is released in November

Bryan, who went door-to-door canvassing for Hillary Clinton during last year's election, also gave a withering assessment of President Donald Trump, saying: 'Theres no moral foundation to the man.'

The television favourite has literally worked his way up from the bottom, with one of his most famous early roles seeing him star in a commercial where he bloviated on the benefits of hemorrhoid medicine Preparation H's 'oxygen action.'

He finally became a major star due to his role as teacher turned drug dealing criminal boss Walter White in the hit AMC show Breaking bad, which ended its five year run in 2013.

And the thespian said the fact he became famous late in his career, after decades as a bit-part actor, has been beneficial to him.

He said: 'I mean, I was fifty. So I was already formed. Like, the clay was dry.

Exposing himself: Bryan talked at length about his personal life in his Esquire interview

Starting at the bottom: One of Bryan's early career highlights was appearing in a commercial where he espoused the benefits of Preparation H's 'oxygen action'

A noted family man, Bryan has been married to wife Robin Dearden, who he met when they were guest stars in 80s show Airwolf, for 28 years.

And he says he even decided to abort a potential sideline as a stand-up comedian as he did not enjoy the late-night lifestyle.

The father-of-one said: 'Theres an adage: "Nothing good happens after midnight," and I believe it.'

'Its more dangerous, with theft, with drunks, with bad drivers. Im just not interested.'

Big break: But he became a big star due to his turn as teacher turned crime boss Walter White in Breaking Bad

And he believes the darker roles he has played have allowed him to tackle his inner demons, including his devastation over the break-up of his parents marriage after his actor father walked out on them when he was just 11-years-old.

He said: 'In many ways, I think I have used my career as a therapy session of life.

It has been, I think, tremendously beneficial for me to get into roles that are sometimes disturbing, and to be able to purge my darker side into the character and have a cathartic release.

And while he is now 61-years-old, he has no plans to

He said: 'I think Ive got maybe another five or six years of what I call punching it in the face, then maybe twenty years of active involvement. After that, who knows?'

The November issue of Esquire hits newsstands on October 24.

Cover star: The acting star is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Esquire
He hasn't been seen on screen since June last year, when he was sentenced to three years in prison for the murder of his sister Lucy.

But killer Bobby Beale made a shocking return to Eastenders on Tuesday night, as the Max Branning revenge plot began to intensify.

Fans were reeling when Bobby appeared at the end of the episode in a short phone clip on Max's phone, warning her stepmum Jane Beale what Max would do should she not meet his demands.

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Shock: Eastenders fans were left reeling on Tuesday night as killer Bobby Beale made a surprising return to the soap as Jane Beale continues to be threatened by Max Branning

Jane is being forced to leave Walford by Max now she has woken from her coma, as she knows Max's true intentions for returning to Albert Square.

Max had originally succeeded in convincing Jane to leave with husband Ian Beale, until villain James Wilmott-Brown decided he needed Ian to stick around.

Why he needs to soap stalwart is yet to be seen, but Jane will now have to convince her husband to stay put.

Danger: In a video on Max's phone, Bobby warned his stepmother what Max could do to her should she not meet his demands

When Jane refused, Max pulled out his phone to reveal a video in the episode's final moments.

The video showed Jane's stepson Bobby in his prison cell, and he warned Jane what Max would do to her should she refuse to meet his demands.

As the episode came to a close, Jane stared at her stepson in horror with Max staring emotionlessly at her.

What next? Fans will have to wait and see whether Jane convinces her husband Ian to stay in Walford while she leaves the square for good

'Don't worry, he won't get hurt,' he told her - before sinisterly adding: 'As long as you do as you're told.'

Fans were in shock at the twist, taking to Twitter to express their reactions.

One tweeted: 'Max's character has been ruined #EastEnders.'

While another added: 'Max threatening a 10 year old now? What the hell are the writers doing!! #EastEnders.'

Max's revenge plot has been brewing in recent weeks, after the dramatic return of James to the soap after a 25 year absence.

Fans will have to wait and see whether Jane convinces her husband to let her go.

EastEnders continues on Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
He's the veteran current affairs reporter and presenter who has a wealth of experience after beginning his television career more than 35 years ago.

And Michael 'Mike' Munro, 64, was quick to applaud Lisa Wilkinson's sudden exit from Channel Nine's the Today show this week, after claims her demands for the Network to pay her the same wage as co-host Karl Stefanovic were not met.

Frankly speaking to 97.3FM's Bianca, Terry & Bob on Wednesday, Mike said: 'I think she has every right to be standing up for herself.'

'I think she's a better journalist than Karl Stefanovic!' Logie award-winning reporter Michael Munro praises Lisa Wilkinson for leaving Nine... and reveals why he turned down an offer to host the Today show

Leaving Today: It was reported Lisa Wilkinson's sudden exit from Channel Nine's the Today show this week came after demands for the Network to pay her the same wage as co-host Karl Stefanovic (pictured) were not met

He even appeared to criticise her former co-host, adding: '...and I think as a journalist, I'll be honest, I think she's a better journalist than Karl is!'

'Whether she's male or female, I don't care, I think she's a superb person and a wonderful journalist,' he said.

'She deserves everything that she gets and Channel Ten are lucky to have her,' he continued to praise Lisa.

'Channel Ten are lucky to have her!': Mike praised Lisa for being 'a superb person and a wonderful journalist' and said she deserves everything she gets

Mike's glittering career as a high-profile journalist and presenter has seen him work for Nine, Ten and Seven networks, appearing on A Current Affair, Willesee, National Nine News, 60 Minutes, Missing Persons Unit, Ten Eyewitness News Weekend and Sunday Night.

Meanwhile, the radio duo were more interested in whether there was any truth to rumours Mike was once offered Karl's job on the Today show.

'It is absolutely true!' he revealed, but explained he turned down the offer despite continual offers to take up the role.

'It is absolutely true': Mike admitted he was once offered Karl's job on the Today show but turned it down because he didn't want to 'get up early'

'I said I don't want to do the morning show, I don't want to get up early in the morning, I've done it for years,' Mike, who explained.

This October Mike makes his return to Australian TV with Foxtel documentary series Lawless: The Real Bushrangers after an almost two year hiatus from the TV screens.

Lisa made the announcement she quit the Today show via Twitter on Monday night, revealing her decade of service on the program had come to an abrupt end.

Lisa will join the likes of hosts Carrie, Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar on the popular current affairs show in January 2018.

New role! Lisa will join the likes of hosts Carrie, Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar on the popular current affairs show in January 2018
She was recently announced as the new face of Khloe Kardashian's Good American clothing brand.

And Shanina Shaik showed off her enviable frame while shooting a campaign for another brand, Yamamay in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old displayed her slender physique in black lingerie and a silk robe during a sizzling photo shoot for the lingerie brand and she shared a behind-the-scenes snap on Instagram.

Racy in lace! Shanina Shaik showed off her enviable frame while shooting a campaign for lingerie brand Yamamay in Los Angeles on Tuesday

'[Love] being in my @yamamayofficial !! Yesterday on set in LA #beyourself #yamamayofficial,' she captioned.

The Melbourne-native wore little makeup, consisting of mascara and blush to showcase her natural beauty, as she posed on a chair at Milk Studios.

Earlier this month, the exotic model, who is of Lithuanian, Pakistani and Saudi Arabian heritage, was named the new face of reality star Khloe Kardashian's clothing label Good American.

Welcome to the squad! Earlier this month, the exotic model, who is of Lithuanian, Pakistani and Saudi Arabian heritage, was named the new face of reality star Khloe KJardashian's clothing label Good American

Entrepreneur! Khloe is the co-founder of Good American, which caters to women of all sizes

Taking to Instagram to share the exciting news, the former Victoria's Secret model said she was honored to join the 'family which strives to make all women feel beautiful, strong and confident.'

'As a woman who is a true mix of cultures, it has always been important to me to celebrate diversity and inclusivity,' she captioned.

'I am so thrilled and honored to be part of the Good American family, which strives to make all women feel beautiful, strong and confident #goodsquad.'

Wearing a burgundy velvour hoodie, Shanina gazed into the camera lens.

Announcement: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star announced on Twitter that Shanina has officially joined her 'squad'

Part of the family: 'I am so thrilled and honored to be part of the Good American family, which strives to make all women feel beautiful, strong and confident #goodsquad,' Shanina wrote on Instagram

With two tight braids in her hair, the stunner's makeup was left minimal with contoured cheekbones and a sweep of mascara.

Also sharing the exciting news for her 25.1 million followers, Khloe took to Twitter.

'And 3 more beauties in the @goodamerican #GOODSQUAD!! @nadineleopold @bonjourclem @shaninashaik!!,' tweeted the reality star and clothing label co-founder.

Beauty: With two tight braids in her hair, the stunner's makeup was left minimal with contoured cheekbones and a sweep of mascara

Friends of the family? Attending Kim's exclusive invite-only launch party for her beauty line, Shanina was seen posing and taking videos with the star

And it's not the first time Shanina's had a run-in with the famous Kardashian clan.

Attending Kim's exclusive invite-only launch party for her beauty line, Shanina was seen posing and taking videos with the star.

'Congrats to this beauty on the launch of #kkwbeauty,' she captioned.

'These products are incredible and the attention to detail is spot on! Thank you for having me at your opening event xx.'
Chris Packham has described the timing of his documentary, Aspergers And Me (BBC2), as coming between two disasters.

He didnt precisely specify what these were but, from the context, he seemed to be referring to the fate of his beloved poodles, Itchy and Scratchy.

Itchy died earlier this year, a loss so traumatic that Chris wasnt able to refer to it directly  instead, he talked about his feelings of devastating grief during his teens after the death of a pet kestrel.

Scratchy is still trotting through the New Forest at his masters heel as they explore the woods near the remote home where Chris, 56, lives alone. But, in the programmes closing minutes, we learned that the dog, who is 14, has liver disease.

Chris Packham, pictured here with his dogs Itchy and Scratchy, was diagnosed with autism in his 40s

Chris, diagnosed with autism in his 40s, was certain his intense attachment to his pets stemmed from his version of the condition, known as Aspergers syndrome.

He believes it makes it difficult for him to form human relationships, yet it breeds his overwhelming attachments to animals.

But one of the problems with autism is it can be blamed for almost any personality trait. Its so baggy and flexible, theres a danger that the word autistic could become meaningless.

My 21-year-old son, for instance, has autism. Hes at the profound end of the spectrum, something called Kanners syndrome  and hes completely blase about the death of pets. When his much-loved cat Peggy died last year, David accepted her loss without a blink.

Chris Packham found the death of his dog Itchy so difficult to take that he couldn't refer to it directly

He has emotions, very strong ones. But grief doesnt appear to be one of them. That is part of the mystery of autism.

Many documentaries make the mistake of trying to explain autism in general terms. Chris sidestepped that: he simply told us what it was like for him. Words frequently failed him, sometimes because he seemed terrified to be talking about his deeper feelings.

But his insistence that all autistic individuals were autistic in their own way supplied the perfect definition. It also made a nonsense of the idea that it could be cured, either with behavioural therapy or electrodes to the brain.

Chris saw both in America, and they looked terrifying.

He ended with an impassioned plea for inclusion: autism might make him an oddball, he said, but it also enabled him to carve out a career as an ardent naturalist and quirky TV personality.

LOVER BOY OF THE NIGHT Lover boy of the night: Reality star Spencer Matthews was outraged on Hunted (C4) to see online photos of his girlfriend hugging another man  and broke cover. An obvious trap . . . but hes dim enough to fall for it. Advertisement

And as he discovered in Californias Silicon Valley, without brilliant autistic programmers we might not have web tools such as Google, or even the internet itself.

His descriptions of childhood, both the loneliness and the obsession with nature, were engaging. Many small boys collect tadpoles, but Chris felt compelled to try eating his.

Ben Fogle pictured in his documentary series New Lives In The Wild, which Christopher Stevens calls 'shallow by comparison'

He described the flavour so vividly that we could almost taste them. These clear, well- catalogued memories were one more advantage of the Aspergers brain.

The return of Ben Fogles documentary series about people who abandon civilisation to live off-grid, New Lives In The Wild (C5), seemed shallow by comparison.

He spent three days trekking to Wilderness Island off the north-west coast of Australia, to meet Jim, 45, and Kim, 28, in their coastal shack. They live on rainwater and whatever fish they can catch.

Both had survived major accidents before quitting civilisation but, beyond that, Ben seemed uninterested in what made them tick.

He didnt want to know about the gulf in their ages or whether they planned to have a family. It seemed a long way to go, to learn so little.
It's been nearly one month since Holly Madison's ex Hugh Hefner passed away.

The former Playboy Bunny seemed to be in good spirits, however, seen meeting with friends at Hollywood's AOC restaurant on Tuesday.

While out the 37-year-old beauty showed off platinum blonde tresses dip-dyed in a deep purple, adding a rebellious touch to her look with a tough motorcycle jacket.

Purple haze! Former Playboy Playmate and ex of Hugh hefner Holly Madison showed off her new purple locks while getting lunch with friends in West Hollywood on Tuesday

The former pin-up also offered an eyeful of cleavage, displaying her full bust in sheer black adorned with white floral.

The Down The Rabbit Hole author emphasized her slim center with a stylish waist cincher.

Thigh-high boots in grey suede further emphasized Holly's ample sex appeal.

Beauty queen! The nude model piled on the glamour with fluttering eyelashes, well-lined lips and a deep crease in her eyeshadow

It's a cinch! The Down The Rabbit Hole author emphasized her slim center with a stylish waist cincher

Chit-chat: The author shared several words with her lunchmates before fetching her car

The nude model piled on the glamour with fluttering eyelashes, well-lined lips and a deep crease in her eyeshadow.

She shared several words with her lunchmates before fetching her car.

The Girl Next Door looked to be in good spirits, smiling wide as she handed the valet a tip and he passed over her keys.

Hot tip! The Girl Next Door looked to be in good spirits, smiling wide as she handed the valet a tip and he passed over her keys

Thigh's the limit! The Oregon-born beauty amped up her sex appeal with thigh-high grey boots

Holly has kept mum about her former boyfriend in the wake of his death at 91-years-old September 27.

She has yet to comment about his passing through press or social media.

The New York Times bestseller's relationship with Hef began when she moved into the Playboy Mansion in 2001, aged 21, then dating the publishing magnate for seven years.

During that time she became one of the stars of Girls Next Door, a reality show revolving around her and Hef's other two live-in girlfriends, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson.

Top girl: The reality star moved into the Playboy Mansion in 2001, aged 21, and was girlfriend to the publishing magnate for seven years

Holly was considered his 'main girlfriend', and openly stated she wanted to marry him and have children.

However the twice married Hef didn't fancy a third trip down the aisle, and they eventually broke up in 2008. (Despite denying Holly a ring, he married again in 2012)

Things soured between the two when Holly blasted her in ex in her her 2015 memoir, Down The Rabbit Hole.

Stablemates: Pictured here in 2007, Hugh Heffner poses with playmates (from left) Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt

Bitter: Things soured between the two when Holly but her ex on blast in her 2015 memoir Down The Rabbit Hole

The showgirl described her life their as a 'living hell', branding her ex pathetic, predatory, emotionally manipulative, and a disappointing lover.

She even said life in the Mansion became so depressing that she even contemplated suicide.

Hef went on to marry 31-year-old Crystal Harris in 2012, while Holly married the father of her children, businessman Pasquale Rotella.
She's a breakfast and prime time TV mainstay, who's celebrating 25-years in the industry this year.

But it's easy to forget this 52-year-old actually earned her breakthrough in a 1992 AFI Award-winning movie.

Even her most loyal fans may have a hard time picking her identity from the childhood flashback image she shared on Instagram Wednesday.

Guess who? She's a 52-year-old breakfast and prime time TV mainstay, who's celebrating 25-years in the industry this year... but can you pick her identity (L) from this childhood snap

In the image, the woman who Channel Nine eventually hired to succeed Kerri-Anne Kennerley posed alongside her sister, who was chatting away on a rotary phone.

She's pictured several years before she made her big break in Baz Lurhman's Strictly Ballroom, where she played Tina Sparkle, at the age of 27.

Born in Toowoomba, Queensland in August 1965, Sonia Melissa Kruger's acting debut remains her one and only turn on the silver screen.

Big break! She's pictured several years before she made her big break in Baz Lurhman's Strictly Ballroom, where she played Tina Sparkle, at the age of 27

Move to TV: After turns on Dancing With The Stars and Today Tonight, Nine signed her succeed Kerri-Anne Kennerley on Mornings

From there, she earned roles on children's variety show Wonder World on Nine, before joining Seven's Today Tonight, Sunrise and 11am.

Her next big career turn came with her appointment on the short-lived but high-rated show Dancing With The Stars Australia, where she served as host.

When the show folded in 2011, Sonia remained hot property, signing a development deal with the Nine Network, where she was hired to succeed Kerri-Anne Kennerley.

Extra! Born in Toowoomba, Queensland in August 1965, Sonia Melissa Kruger was joined by David Campbell and the show soon dropped Kerri-Anne's title in favour of Today Extra

She was joined by David Campbell on 'Mornings,' before the show eventually dropped Kerri-Anne's title in favour of its current title: Today Extra.

She also currently serves as co-host on singing show The Voice.

In 2015, Sonia became a mother, welcoming daughter Maggie, who had been conceived via IVF.
It's no secret that The Block's Georgia and Elyse Knowles don't like each other.

And on the show on Wednesday, the pair had a very awkward run-in at a furniture store in Melbourne.

After Elyse said hello to her rival, Georgia slammed her to camera, saying: 'I don't like fake c**p!'

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'I don't like fake c**p': The Block's Georgia (pictured) slams rival Elyse Knowles after a VERY awkward run-in

'I think it's funny that you can be one person on camera and when the camera's not there, a totally different person,' Georgia said.

'I don't believe that that interaction with Elyse is genuine.'

'In the final week and final days, I'm trying not to let it bother me and move on,' she said.

Ouch: 'I think it's funny that you can be one person on camera and when the camera's not there, a totally different person,' Georgia said about Elyse (seen)

Rivals: The pair had a very awkward run-in at a furniture store in Melbourne

Georgia added that she thinks she has been 'honest' and 'genuine' on the show, even when talking to Elyse.

Josh and Elyse and Ronnie and Georgia are hoping to win the final week on the show, the front yard landscape week, as they're currently tying on six wins each.

The couples are desperately trying to beat each other, with their feud stemming from the start of the show.

A battle! Josh and Elyse and Ronnie and Georgia are hoping to win the final week on the show, the front yard landscape week, as they're currently tying on six wins each

At one point of the show, Ronnie said he was determined to beat Josh and Elyse.

'For us, it's super important, we want to make sure we get seven wins and they get six wins.'

Josh meanwhile said: 'It's been a challenge between us two all competition, so it would be good to get the win this week and take out seven.'
Sofia Vergara clearly worked up an appetite filming her ABC sitcom Modern Family on Tuesday.

The Colombian actress, 45, was spotted chowing down on popcorn at the set's craft services, popping the tasty treats into her mouth carefully so as not to spoil her bright red lipstick.

She had a page of script tucked under one arm as she ate from a bag of the popped snacks.

Worked up an appetite: Sofia Vergara, 45, was spotted chowing down on popcorn at craft services while filming her ABC sitcom Modern Family on Tuesday

Vergara showed off her slim figure in skinny blue jeans and a shoulderless navy sweater.

Her long brunette hair was loose and sleekly styled.

Her denims were frayed at the bottoms and she added a pair of towering black heels.

The sitcom beauty also indulged in some hot food laid out in warmers as she satiated her hunger.

Natural beauty: Vergara showed off her slim figure in skinny blue jeans and a shoulderless navy sweater. Her long brunette hair was sleekly styled and she added a pair of towering black heels

The Modern Family star was recently named the highest-paid television actress for the sixth year in a row with earnings of $42 million in just 12 months.

And she had looked like a million bucks a few nights ago as she and husband Joe Manganiello attended the Tie The Knot gala in Los Angeles.

Vergara donned a pair of skintight black leather pants and a black velour jacket for the event benefiting the LGBTQ nonprofit founded by her sitcom co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

She added black stilettos and ornate black dangling earrings and carried a black alligator leather clutch.

Stunning! The Colombian actress put on a glamorous show at a charity gala in LAlast week wearing skintight black leather pants and a black velour jacket
Opinion / Columnist

Politics is a contradictory game, deceptive, and has an uncanny tendency to reveal the worst in humanity. The private media and the opposition, particularly the MDC-T, and netizens have been making jokes ridiculing the appointment of Cde Webster Shamu, as the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Mashonaland West.In their prognosis, they ascribed the appointment to his alleged bootlicking of President Robert Mugabe, drawing banter on his alleged "Cremora" joke.The very same critics have been at the forefront of criticising ZANU-PF for constantly and religiously endorsing President Mugabe as the sole Party presidential candidate since 1980. In their warped thinking this is an indicator that no one is capable of replacing the veteran politician in the Party.All this is well and good, after all this is politics. Fast forward to 2017, MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is a man fighting for his life, facing a potent and formidable foe in cancer, itself an irony since he is a man fighting for his political legacy in the opposition against a formidable opponent  ZANU-PF.His suitability to continue in the trenches of opposition politics, worse still, leading a fragmented, and disintegrating party, as well as a shaky coalition going by the moniker MDC Alliance.The most visible sign and symptom being the honest and upfront indictment by that party's Secretary for Local Authorities, Eddie Cross affront, where he called on Tsvangirai to get real and pave the way for his successor. Cross threw the cat among the pigeons, and boy oh boy, are they ruffled.In his justifiable and reasonable opinion, Cross noted that Tsvangirai's family, which is close to the poster boy of opposition politics, was unconvinced that he could muster sufficient energy to campaign ahead of the 2018 presidential election, and worse still, lead the country if he upstages President Mugabe for the first time."Just as we expect a wave of support for our 2018 Chakachia Programme, he [Tsvangirai] is suffering from an aggressive form of colon cancer. He has been struggling with his treatment and the family is concerned that he might not handle the election and subsequently of being President of a country in crisis," wrote Cross.Exhibiting his sycophantic bootlicking skills, which would make the best of them green with envy, Gutu shamelessly tweeted that "fact is there's no one in the MDC who has got the charisma & popular appeal like the one Morgan Tsvangirai has got. Absolutely no one!!"What hogwash coming from an unrestrained hero worshipper, who is failing to see that the man is now a shadow of his former self, on account of his visibly diminished demeanour, thanks to the debilitating effects of a combination of chemotherapy and the corrosive effect of the cancer itself.How Gutu, who prides himself as an astute and well discerning character, suddenly, and without a tinge of shame, nor embarrassment, publicly proclaims that he himself, and everyone else in that party, are useless bridesmaids in the MDC-T, who are incapable of leading, nor surpassing, the leadership qualities of Tsvangirai is plain ridiculous.What is so good about Tsvangirai that makes him irreplaceable? He has presided over countless splits; been the architect of internal fissures in that party; uses violence against internal foes; is dictatorial vetoing collective decisions and imposing his; imposing party candidates; tinkering with the party constitution to extend his leadership; making un-strategic decisions, which have led to donor-fatigue; superintending a party drowning in debt and lack of funding; a reckless womaniser who has fathered children with various women; and most damningly, losing to President Mugabe since 2000.If the foregoing defining traits of Tsvangirai's leadership is the best of the MDC-T, God help that party as it would die after Tsvangirai since it is stacked with mediocrity. Gutu, you have just confirmed to the whole nation of the leadership deficit in your party.I hope Zimbabweans get the message that MDC-T is Tsvangirai, and Tsvangirai is MDC-T, after all that party bears his surname, Tsvangirai  it is his personal pet project, not a people's movement as the likes of Gutu would want the world to believe.Gutu has even promised that Cross would be censured for stating the obvious, that Tsvangirai is no longer fit  Movement for Undemocratic Change indeed!
Johnny Depp has sued his attorney claiming the law firm colluded with his former manager to siphon $40 million of his wealth, claims new report.

The actor is said to believe he was taken for a ride by both his legal rep and his financial managers, according to TMZ.

The 54-year-old's suit claims law firm Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, LLP conspired with his financial managers, The Management Group, to fleece him of millions.

In litigation: Johnny Depp has sued his attorney claiming the law firm colluded with his former manager to siphon $40 million of his wealth, claims new report (seen here in May)

The suit goes on to claim loans were taken out by TMG against the actor's massive residual checks, unbeknownst to him.

When Depp's checks did come in they were used to pay off the loans with an added fee going towards TMG, the suit claims. Depp's lawsuit goes on to assert that his own attorneys at the time were aware of what was going on but never alerted him.

TMZ contacted Bloom and Hergott but did not hear back.

Meanwhile, Depp has been accused of 'throwing his family under the bus' in a multi-million dollar legal dispute against his former management company, The Management Group.

The actor is said to believe he was taken for a ride by both his legal rep and his financial managers (pictured in June)

And TMG have now amended their complaint by responding to the loan aspect of Johnny's suit and named his sister Christi Dembrowski - who serves as her famous brother's personal manager and head of his production company - nephew William Rassel, personal assistant Nathan Holmes, Unison Music and friends James Russo, Sal Jenco, and Bruce Witkin as cross-defendants to the cross-complaint.

In legal documents obtained by Deadline, the management company said: 'In his attempt to avoid paying his debts to TMG, Depp is knowingly throwing his closest family, friends and employees under the bus.'

It was added: 'He is falsely alleging that they took millions of dollars in unauthorized payments from him.

'It is no wonder that Depp delayed for months in revealing their names.'

The company's argument is that if Johnny wants the money back that they loaned out on his behalf, he is suing the wrong people, and under California's equitable indemnity laws, a judge could make his friends and family pay back the money directly to the Pirates of the Caribbean star.

The amendment adds: 'Depp's claims of unauthorized loans to the new Cross-Defendants are not a basis for Depp to obtain a judicial declaration requiring the disgorgement of any business management fees from TMG, or for any of his other baseless claims.

'Depp's closest friends, family, and colleagues who have been added as new Cross-Defendants in this action have only Depp to blame for their involvement in this charade.'

TMG insists the loans were authorized by the Lone Ranger star, or his sister acting on his behalf.

A trial for the case is set to start on August 15, 2018.

The Edward Scissorhands actor accused TMG of mismanaging his affairs by means of 'gross misconduct', 'fraudulent' self- activity, and unauthorized personal loans at the beginning of 2017, and filed a suit for more than $25 million against the group.

In return, the company argued their former client owed them money for unpaid services and released details about his lavish spending and warnings they had given him.
They're voicing characters in a new animated movie titled Amusement Park.

And co-stars Mila Kunis and Ken Jeong took a break from the job as they were spotted out and about in Malibu on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old actress, who is married to Ashton Kutcher, wore a casual ensemble of a logo t-shirt and jeans with sneakers.

Taking a break: Mila Kunis is pictured out in Malibu on Tuesday with Ken Jeong who she stars with in Amusement Park

Hangover star Jeong, 48, also opted for a dark t-shirt and jeans.

Amusement Park is Spanish-American 3D animated adventure due for release in March 2019.

The Dylan Brown-directed film also stars Jennifer Garner, Matthew Broderick and Jeffrey Tambor.

The simple synopsis for the comedy caper reads: 'A story of a girl, some animals, and a magic amusement park.'

Co-stars: The actors voice characters in the upcoming 2019 animated movie Amusement Park

Cute and casual: The 34-year-old star teamed a t-shirt with jeans and sneakers

The theatrical release will be followed by a TV series based on the film that will debut on Nickelodeon in 2019.

Meanwhile, Ashton - who Mila married in 2015 - revealed in a new interview the reason the couple doesn't like to post photos of their two young children.

'We don't share any photos of our kids publicly because we actually feel like being public is a personal choice.' the 39-year-old actor told Arianna Huffington.

The synopsis for the upcoming movie describes it as 'the story of a girl, some animals, and a magic amusement park'

'My wife and I have chosen a career where we're in the public light, but my kids have not,

'So, I think they should have the right to choose that, and I actually don't think that they should have images of them as children that are out there, that somebody could potentially blackmail them with or do whateveryou know. It's their private life; it's not mine to give away.'

Mila and Ashton are parents to three-year-old daughter Wyatt and 11-month-old son Dimitri.
Life looks all good for Deborra-Lee Furness.

The 61-year-old producer, who is married to Hugh Jackman, gave a thumbs up as she left the Women's Filmmaker Luncheon in New York on Tuesday.

Deborra-Lee looked relaxed and radiant in an all-black ensemble as she left the event, which brought the women of Hollywood together amid the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Lady in black! Deborra-Lee Furness flashes a thumbs up in all-black emsemble outside Women's Filmmaker Luncheon in New York

Deborra-Lee looked super chic in her simple outfit of blouse, trousers and oversized coat.

White accents on her brogue shoes and the lapels of her jacket, and a pair of stripy ankle socks, gave her outfit an edge.

She was joined by Olivia Wilde, Elizabeth Olsen and Dakota Fanning at the event, which was fully titled Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Luncheon in New York.

Class: Deborra-Lee looked relaxed and radiant in an all-black ensemble as she left the event, which brought the women of Hollywood together amid the ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal

While she Furness pulled her strawberry blonde locks back into a rough up-do, she showcased her natural beauty through a nude-base makeup.

She added to her look with a black oversized bag, a gold pendant necklace and statement black sunglasses.

Through Her Lens is a three-day workshop which will provide five female filmmakers with project support, master classes and one-on-one mentorship from October 17-19 in New York City.

It will cover a range of topics, including script-to-screen development, story structure, casting, finding collaborators, festival strategy, distribution, and working with music composers, costume designers and producers.

Natural beauty:While she Furness pulled her strawberry blonde locks back into a rough up-do, she showcased her natural beauty through a nude-base makeup

'We created Through Her Lens with Chanel three years ago to support and nurture female artists through mentorship and funding,' said Paula Weinstein, executive vice president of Tribeca Enterprises.

Hollywood is still reeling after an investigative piece by The New York Times and The New Yorker earlier this month uncovered numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein over several decades.

Actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Ashley Judd, Cara Delevigne, Heather Graham and Mira Sorvino have come forward to give their personal accounts of harassment and abuse of power by Weinstein.

Game of Thrones star Lena Headey is the most recent actress on Tuesday to reveal that she had two uncomfortable encounters with the movie mogul.
He's the Australian 'bad boy' model, who was named the best in his field in New York last month.

And Jordan Barrett finally found a party-free opening in his schedule on Tuesday, having an unhealthy smoke break with some friends in downtown Manhattan.

The 20-year-old sported a low-key hoodie and looked in good spirits with his pair of fashionable lady friends, seen chatting as they set-up shop on a park bench.

Smoke break: 'Bad boy' Australian Model Jordan Barrett takes time out of his party planning to have an unhealthy cigarette with some lady friends in New York

Sat in the middle with his legs folded, the Australian flashed his award-winning calves in a pair of cropped white pants.

At one point, a member his entourage decided to stand up and bent down in the direction of Jordan's lap.

He thought it was absolutely hilarious, spotted with his hood pulled over his head, laughing heartily.

Dressed in a all-red jumpsuit, longtime accomplice Alana O'Herlihy joined in on the laughs, but appeared more focused on ashing her cigarette into the bin.

Calve it up! Sat in the middle with his legs folded, the 20-year-old Australian flashed his award-winning calves in a pair of cropped white pants

She gained premium status in his friendship group back in September, where she was seen exposing her assets on a hotel balcony.

Jordan spurred her on from the sidelines, raising one arm in the air in approval, and smoking away with the other.

She accompanied him on another evening excursion on Friday night, with the pair inadvertently dressing up in yin-yang inspired black and white jumpsuits.

Flaunt it! At one point, a member his entourage decided to stand up and flaunt her backside as she bent down in the direction of Jordan's lap

Just in that week alone, the young model made headlines for his antics on several occasions.

Most notably for snaps that showed him passionately locking lips with former Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, 42-years his senior at age 62.

He was also rewarded for his rapid ascent by landing the coveted Male Model of the Year title at the New York Fashion Media awards.
She was recently linked to The Bachelorette's Blake Colman, following reports of a 'date' at Coffs Harbour.

But former Bachelor star Tara Pavlovic has firmly denied romance rumours, telling fans on Wednesday that there is absolutely nothing going on with the hunk.

The 27-year-old took to Instagram to reiterate that she is not romantically involved with Blake, who is currently competing for Sophie Monk's heart on The Bachelorette.

No romance here: Former Bachelor star Tara Pavlovic has firmly denied romance rumours with Bachelorette hunk Blake Colman, telling fans on Wednesday that dating reports are false

'FYI peeps - I AM NOT DATING BLAKE. I was at Coffs alone,' she wrote via Instagram stories.

Earlier this week, Woman's Day sensationally claimed that Blake, 29, may secretly be dating Tara and that the reality stars met up for coffee in Coffs Harbour.

'They tried to go incognito when they met', the magazine quoted a friend as saying.

Not true: 'FYI peeps - I AM NOT DATING BLAKE. I was at Coffs alone,' she wrote via Instagram stories

Setting tongues wagging: Tara is based in Queensland, but took to Instagram last week after snapping a selfie at the Big Banana Fun Park in Coffs Harbour

Tara is based in Queensland, but took to Instagram last week after snapping a selfie at the Big Banana Fun Park in Coffs Harbour.

The bubbly blonde appeared with a stuffed toy sloth, captioning: 'Coffee and selfies with this absolute legend @dereckthesloth. So nice running in to you at Coffs man! Have to have bevvies soon.'

Whilst Blake was nowhere to be seen in Tara's picture, Woman's Day alleges that the toy sloth actually belongs to Blake, as he snapped pictures with it on The Bachelorette.

The secret of the sloth! It's believed Tara was snuggling with Blake's stuffed toy sloth (he is pictured with the toy during filming of The Bachelorette)

Indeed, the West Australian tradie appears cradling the toy sloth in a picture, as he sits side-by-side with fellow competitor Sam Cochrane, who was booted from the show last week.

Meanwhile, Blake is still in the running for romance with Sophie, although a source exclusively told Daily Mail Australia that he ends up placing fourth.

The smooth-talker has been billed as the 'villain' on this season of the show, frequently clashing with rival Jarrod Woodgate, which may trouble stunning Sophie.

Off the market? Has air conditioning mechanic Blake snapped up the beautiful blonde?

It has also been revealed that the personality was spotted on dating app Bumble shortly before his reported coffee catch-up with Tara.

Meanwhile, Tara is healing her own heartbreak after placing third on the most recent season The Bachelor.

The blonde was left heartbroken after being dumped by Matty J.
An 'aggressive' collector of Real Housewives Of Melbourne 'memorabilia' is suspected of stealing a $25,000 dress worn by Gamble Breaux to the 2017 Logies.

The Alin Le'Kal dress worn by Gamble was the only item taken from the designer's Collingwood boutique, located in Melbourne's inner suburbs, when it was broken into on Tuesday night.

'I feel sick because I know how much work went into it, because you can't recoup those losses - something like that can make or break a designer,' Gamble told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.

'I feel sick': RHOM star Gamble Breaux's $25,000 Logies dress is STOLEN ... with the prime suspect an 'aggressive' collector of Housewives 'memorabilia'

The Real Housewives star wore the custom made designer piece to the Logies in April.

The socialite later made headlines when a reporter chipped her tooth while interviewing her on the red carpet.

While stopping short of saying she knew who the person was who took it, Gamble said she suspected the culprit was someone who 'is known to all the housewives'.

Unfortunate interview: She later made headlines when a reporter chipped her tooth while interviewing her on the red carpet

The shop's crown jewel: After being worn by Gamble on the Logies red carpet, the dress had been displayed in prime position in the store's front window since its opening

'I would call them them a stalker now if it is that person - it is someone who is a collector of housewives memorabilia and is quite aggressively into it,' Gamble said.

'And look there is Logies dresses and there is Logies dresses, but that one got a bit of press because a reporter knocked my teeth out when I was in it on the red carpet ... so that might be why it is more collectible than others.'

Designer Alin Le'Kal has been left 'baffled' and angered by the robbery, which occurred just three weeks after the brand moved into its new boutique.

Taken by a superfan? While stopping short of saying she knew who the person was, Gamble said she suspected the culprit was someone who 'is known to all the housewives'

Custom made: Gamble's gown had taken three months of handwork and Alin hoped whoever took the gown realised how valuable it was to him

After being worn by Gamble on the Logies red carpet, the dress had been displayed in prime position in the store's front window since its opening.

'We are just totally baffled, at this stage we have no idea why, it's so random,' Alin said.

Gamble's gown had taken three months of handwork and Alin hoped whoever took the gown realised how valuable it was to him.

'We work hard for garments and to provide a service to clients that it exclusive,' he said.

'For someone to do that it is just reckless and rude, I've never been so offended in my life to be honest.'
Last month, Claudia Schiffer supported director husband Matthew Vaughn at the premiere of his latest film project, Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

But on Tuesday, it was the 47-year-old supermodel's turn to unveil her own project during the launch of Claudia Schiffer for Aquazzura footwear line in New York City.

According to Aquazzura's website, the German born beauty's collection 'features 8 statement-making styles that talk to the contemporary woman.'

Multitalented: Claudia Schiffer, 47, launced her new range of footwear at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City on Tuesday

The Love Actually actress wore a shimmering wraparound mini dress by Ulla Johnson paired with black stockings. She carried a silver box clutch.

On her feet, the Chanel model wore a pair of Vendome booties from her collection. The shoes retail for $1,100.

The former Playboy model wore her trademark wavy blonde tresses untied and flowing.

Lovely, actually: The Love Actually actress wore a shimmering wraparound mini dress by Ulla Johnson paired with black stockings. She carried a silver box clutch

Head honcho: Chief Merchant of Saks Fifth Avenue Tracy Margolies was also in attendance

Schiffer has been married twice. In 1994 she married magician David Copperfield. They were divorced in 1999.

In 2002 the model married Matthew Vaughn, the director of Kick Ass and X-Men: First Class.

Schiffer and Vaughn have three children: son Caspar Matthew, 14, and daughters Clementine Poppy, 12, and Cosima Violet, seven.
David Cross took to social media Tuesday to deny being a racist and bully.

The 53-year-old actor was accused via Twitter by actress Charlyne Yi, 31, of making racists remarks toward her.

Yi tweeted Sunday about meeting Cross about a decade ago.

Twitter defense: David Cross, shown in January 2016 in New York City, took to Twitter on Tuesday to deny being a racist and bully

'I think about the first time I met David Cross ten years ago & he made fun of my pants (that were tattered because I was poor). Dumbfounded I stared at him speechless and he said to me 'what's a matter? You don't speak English?? Ching-chong-ching-chong',' Yi tweeted to her roughly 27,000 followers.

The Steven Universe voice actress followed that up with a tweet reading: 'Then after he saw I was offended he asked me if I was going to fight with him karate in a southern accent. Then a few years later he was re-introduced to me after my comedy show with his girlfriend at the time & he said 'Hi nice to meet you'.'

Yi minutes later tweeted that she knew Cross wasn't joking at the time.

'I will say this: - I can tell the difference between this man making a joke vs condescending me.

Surprise accusation: The Arrested Development star took to Twitter in response to a tweet by actress Charlyne Yi accusing him of making racist remarks when they met 10 years ago

First meeting: Yi, shown in June in Los Angeles, took to Twitter on Sunday and shared her first meeting with Cross claiming the comedian mocked her pants and said 'ching-chong' at her

'This happened 10 years ago and I sure as hell hope he's changed (or at the very least, he's scared enough to not be his racist self).'

Yi added that the incident left her near tears.

'HOWEVER it is very uncool that a 40+ man was being racist towards me, being a young 20 year old woman who was clearly on the verge of tears from his first racist comment,' she posted.

First time: The House actress took to Twitter on Sunday and recounted her first meeting with Cross

Karate challenge: Yi tweeted that after Cross realized she was offended he asked her if she was going to fight him with karate

A Twitter user later asked Cross if he would like to respond to Yi's allegation.

'Very much. I have reached out to her to clear this up. I've reached out to others who were there when we met as well to get verification,' he tweeted.

The Arrested Development star later posted a note 'to any and all' on the matter on Twitter.

Fan favorite: Cross, shown in October 2006 in New York City, said the accusation by Yi took him by surprise and was 'deeply upsetting'

'This accusation from Charlyne took me by surprised (sic) and was deeply upsetting. I would never intentionally hurt someone like that,' Cross tweeted to his roughly 116,000 followers.

'I do not remember doing this when I met her. I do remember meeting her though. She was the then girlfriend of a good friend of mine and we were about to start working on a movie together.

'I am NOT accusing Charlene (sic) of lying and I'm truly sorry if I hurt her, it was never my intention to do that,' he added.

Reached out: The Kung Fu Panda star tweeted that he reached out to Yi to 'clear this up'

Cross said he doesn't recall their meeting the same way Yi does and claimed he reached out to her in an effort to resolve the discrepancy.

'Anyway, I can't believe I have to write this but I am not a racist nor a bully and loathe them in real life. #Rashomon,' Cross wrote at the end of his note.

Rashomon was a reference to the 1950 Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa that offered contradictory viewpoints of the same story.

Truly sorry: Cross in a lengthy note he posted on Twitter said he was 'truly sorry' if he hurt Yi and said he didn't remember their meeting the same way she does along with a '#Rashomon'

Yi in follow-up replies said she didn't want to be introduced by Cross at a later Girlfest event due to the incident.

'Like I said before, it's been a decade and I hope he's changed by now,' she also tweeted about Cross who voices the Master Crane character in the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

Cross can be seen later this year in the historical drama The Post about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers.

Not joking: Yi insisted in a tweet that Cross was not making a joke when they met

The film stars Tom Hanks as late The Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as newspaper publisher Katharine Graham.

The Post is due out on December 22 in limited release followed by a wide release on January 12, 2018.

Cross has been married since October 2012 to actress Amber Tamblyn, 34, and they welcomed daughter Marlow Alice Cross in February.
He's proudly accepted the alias Human Ken Doll in his search for physical perfection.

And Rodrigo Alves looked chuffed as he glided down the street in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old wrapped himself in a pink tailored suit as he gracefully offered his lips to his female cast mates from Plastics Of Hollywood.

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Behold! Rodrigo Alves looked chuffed as he glided down the street in West Hollywood on Tuesday

With a sparkle in his color contact eye, the demure TV personality was joined by the indomitable Marcela Iglesia, the enchantress Pixie Fox, and the understated, yet confident Justin Jedlica.

Adding allure to his ensemble, Rodrigo revealed where true elegance resides in the form-fitting pink hued jacket and matching pants.

The bashful charmer kept his trademark blonde tresses perfectly swept back to allow his youthful face to shine.

Now what? Daring to impress, the blonde bombshell turned heads and singed eyelashes with his white hot attire

Friends like these: With a sparkle in his color contact eye, the demure TV personality was joined by the indomitable Marcela Iglesia, the enchantress Pixie Fox, and the understated, yet confident Justin Jedlica

Throwing caution to the wind, he chose a subdued makeup palette as only a light bronzer and soft berry lip were eminent.

In an effort to qualm the naysayers, the Brazil native showed love knows no boundaries as he planted a peck on both Marcela and Pixie.

Pucker up: In an effort to qualm the naysayers, the Brazil native showed love knows no boundaries as he planted a peck on both Marcela and Pixie

Lip service: The bashful charmer kept his trademark blonde tresses perfectly swept back to allow his youthful face to shine

As the exquisite quartet made their way into Lisa Vanderpump's Pump restaurant, they were joined by the apt named Nikki Exotika.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo has spent over $400,000 in plastic surgery earning him the sobriquet Human Ken Doll and a legion of fans.

He stars on the reality show Plastics of Hollywood which depicts the lives of 12 prominent people - including Marcela, Pixie, and Justin - who have had multiple plastic surgery procedures worth over $3 million dollars.

In charge: Rodrigo let his masculinity take center stage as his toned pectoral muscles protruded from the shiny metallic dress shirt

Angels on earth: Throwing caution to the wind, Rodrigo chose a subdued makeup palette as only a light bronzer and soft berry lip were eminent
She appears to have caught the eye of new Geordie Shore housemate Sam Gowland, with the pair pictured canoodling on several occasions.

And it was clear to see how Chloe Ferry, 22, had turned the newbie's head as she flaunted her sensational figure whilst filming the show on Tuesday.

Joined by co-stars Sophie Kasaei, 27, and Abbie Holborn, 20, the trio oozed glamour as they left Bijoux nightclub in Newcastle.

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Glamourpuss: Chloe Ferry sizzled in a plunging lace bodysuit with tie up detailing that showed off her cleavage as she left Bijoux nightclub in Newcastle on Tuesday for Geordie Shore filming

Showing off her ample assets after having an uplift, the blonde bombshell sizzled in a plunging lace bodysuit with tie up detailing that showed off her cleavage.

She teamed the garment with a figure-hugging pencil skirt that offered that flashed a glimpse of her lean legs that had been elongated with a pair of nude barely there heels.

Chloe finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in loose waves that framed her pretty features and cascaded down her back.

Leggy lady! Also sizzling on the night was Sophie Kasaei, 27, who flaunted her enviably tanned and toned pins in a beige smock layered over a glittering nude shirt

Also sizzling on the night was Sophie, who flaunted her enviably tanned and toned pins in a beige smock layered over a glittering nude shirt.

The brunette bombshell has been showing off her unbelievable weight loss, after unflattering bikini snaps while holidaying in Portugal made her the subject of vile abuse from social media trolls.

Sophie told MailOnline: 'I've been getting negative tweets about my weight for ages now - but nothing as vile as this. I'd almost got used to it and have been able to just blank it out or laugh it off.

Chest a glimpse! Rounding off the trio was Abbie Holborn, 20, who showcased her ample cleavage in a plunging black jumpsuit that she teamed with patent nude heels

'People have told me I'm fat and disgusting and don't deserve to have a hot boyfriend, but when I got this tweet, it made my blood run cold. I was in shock then burst into floods of tears.'

'I am actually terrified that there are people out there who could even think this, let alone write it and send it to me.'

Rounding off the trio was Abbie, who showcased her ample cleavage in a plunging black jumpsuit that she teamed with patent nude heels.
Opinion / Columnist

Bottom cleaners

When people left Zimbabwe for the UK their minds were clouded by the idea of getting rich. Most had believed that they would work for six months and buy a Kombi, then go back home. Nobody had plans to stay forever. The situation was made worse by those who travelled earlier, they gave a very wrong picture of the UK. They made people believe that money grow on trees once you are in the UK.This idea has destroyed any money making initiative for those in Zimbabwe. Most of them do not think beyond England. If one is broke his money is a text message (SMS) away. Some people are now well known at Western Union and Mukuru.com as they troupe to collect funds from the UK. Families adopted extravagant lives financed by the dear(care worker) in the UK.So, on arriving in the UK the mind is preoccupied with making money and dreams of prosperity. Death is never in any one's mind so plans of where one should be buried in the event of death are a fallacy.The last burial place for the diasporan is decided by total strangers and friends we have met in the UK.THE PRESSURE FROM home makes it difficult to bury people in the foreign land. As a result, the first generation migrants are almost always repatriated to Zimbabwe for burial.In the beginning, there was a spirit of unity where every Zimbabwean contributes towards repatriation. The fact that relatives at home cannot do anything, the task is left to those who are abroad regardless of relations to oversee the repatriation.Coupled with the Zimbabwean culture burying a person on Zimbabwean soil becomes mandatory.In the recent years, the death rate of the Zimbabweans in the UK has increased. We now have seven deaths a week which translates to thirty-one a week. This is highly alarming and the increase removes the comradeship and makes it difficult to finance or contribute to the repatriation of the deceased back to Zimbabwe.Our cultural beliefs makes it very hard to opt for a burial in the UK. Now we have more deaths in the UK than we have birthday parties.People say their father's dream was for them to be buried at their birthplace and they would have wanted their relatives to pay their last respects. These words alone plant a serious commitment to bury the deceased home regardless of the financial situation."London was always his home but Zimbabwe was always in his heart," so in the event of death the repatriation is not a negotiating issue.This desire to be buried in the place you were born is strong for many first-generation African migrants in the UK.The demand is so huge among the British Zimbabwean community that, according to embassy officials, at least 95% of first-generation migrants are buried back in Zimbabwe.Repatriation is now a brisk business taking into account the death rate amongst Zimbabweans in the UK. A system is now in place to cover repatriation costs. And the death of someone is money for someone else."There is no assistance in any way except the communal collection. Our embassy is seriously not helpful. It does not provide free repatriation and a free plane ticket for a relative to assist the transportation of the body back to Zimbabwe. There is no logistic help and one wonders why it is open in he first place. But for many Zimbabwean communities in the UK, there is often no official financial support and many families struggle to meet the costs.The repatriation ordeal is very stressful. Despite the deceased having lived in London for at least 30 years, the family back home puts people under pressure to fly the body back home. With all the pressure they put, they do not contribute a single penny.All that they know is to call and say Bring my son's body back home'. There is no way one is going to argue with the head of the family. You just can't."So you have to find ways to raise the funds. Death makes diasporas a begging lot where messages carrying account numbers fly around literally begging for help.In cases like this, many in the diaspora have to keep their loved one's body in a morgue for several months, until they collect enough money for repatriation."This waiting is very stressful for those who have cultures where burial needs to take place quickly, and during the waiting period, hundreds of people will be congregating at the house.Many people get isolated when they lose someone and they are in despair over how to get the money." This experience is fatal.But the emotional stress, financial costs and family pressures are so high when it comes to repatriation, that some in the diaspora wonder whether it is really worth it. Our culture is that one is buried with his forefathers. This culture pitted against money makes the whole issue so stressful and not doable.It is hard to fight against a family's wish, people always give in due to emotional stress. "Our families back home need to understand that our lives are in the UK now. Our children are in the UK and they are the ones who must decide where I am to be buried.While tradition and culture fight, the pockets of the diaspora bleeds to emptiness. Death is certain and now very certain diaspora should take a stand and decide where to lay their loved ones. A convenient place with no hustle and stress.Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk
She's the busty model that's been linked to pop star Justin Bieber.

And Sahara Ray left very little to the imagination in her latest Instagram Story on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old stripped naked in a kitchen and concealed her right nipple with none other than a bagel.

Just your average Tuesday? Justin Bieber's busty 'ex-fling' Sahara Ray, 24, stripped NAKED and hid her nipple behind a bagel, in her latest Instagram Story on Tuesday

Sahara, who is the daughter of surfer Tony Ray, showed off her cheeky side on the social media platform.

The blonde beauty stripped naked while standing in a kitchen with her mother in the background, and sported just a delicate gold necklace.

Sahara placed a bagel over her right breast, and shared with her 1.3 million fans: 'I'm eating breakfast with my mum and my grandma.'

After her mother planted a kiss on her famous daughter's neck, Sahara declared that it's 'bagel time.'

Antics: Sahara, who is the daughter of surfer Tony Ray, placed a bagel over her right breast, and shared with her 1.3 million fans: 'I'm eating breakfast with my mum and my grandma'

Daring to bare: The buxom babe is certainly no stranger when it comes to baring her physical assets

The buxom babe is certainly no stranger when it comes to baring her physical assets.

Numerous snaps shared to Sahara's Instagram account, sees the starlet either stripped naked or posing seductively in scantily-clad ensembles.

And the antics are not just resigned to Sahara, with the social media sensation having straddled male model of the moment Jordan Barrett on a bed.

Stripped bare: Numerous snaps shared to Sahara's Instagram account, sees the starlet either stripped naked or posing seductively in scantily-clad ensembles

Company: And the antics are not just resigned to Sahara, with the social media sensation having straddled male model of the moment Jordan Barrett on a bed

Born in the Australian coastal town of Torquay, Sahara was raised in Santa Cruz, California.

She found herself in the spotlight last year after she was spotted skinny dipping in Hawaii with Justin Bieber - whose impressive manhood was revealed to the world through some racy paparazzi photos.

The Australian's notoriety has increased in recent years thanks to her raunchy Instagram profile.

Headlines: The blonde beauty found herself in the spotlight last year after she was spotted skinny dipping in Hawaii with Justin Bieber - whose impressive manhood was revealed to the world through some racy paparazzi photos
They tied the knot in 2012 and welcomed their twin daughters, Alice Rose and Gracie Jane, in May last year.

And Ronnie Wood, 70, and his wife Sally Humphreys, 39, looked as smitten as ever on Tuesday, as they stepped out for a romantic dinner date at L'Avenue restaurant in Paris.

The Rolling Stones rocker - who recently boasted that he and Sally have sex every day - seemed utterly content as he strolled along hand in hand with the theatre producer.

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Cute couple: Ronnie Wood, 70, and his wife Sally Humphreys, 39, looked as smitten as ever on Tuesday, as they stepped out for dinner at L'Avenue restaurant in Paris

The father-of-six went for a casual vibe in a black jacket and black skinny jeans teamed with a white shirt.

His third wife Sally mirrored his monochrome look with some simple jeans and a fitted waterfall jacket over a silky printed ivory shirt.

Adding height with a pair of chic leather ankle boots, the mother-of-two completed her stylish look with a leather chain-trim bag.

The couple's outing comes after Ronnie divulged about their bedroom antics, revealing he thinks it's essential to have sex every day.

Sweeet: The Rolling Stones rocker - who recently boasted that he and Sally have sex every day - seemed utterly content as he strolled along hand in hand with the theatre producer

Rock 'n' stroll: The father-of-six went for a casual vibe in a black jacket and black skinny jeans teamed with a white shirt

Asked how often he has sex, he told the Guardian: 'Youve got to have that every day.'

The rocker also admitted that he is at the happiest stage of his life right now, revealing: 'Right now is a pretty good time in my life.

'I am existing on three-monthly check-ups, but, yeah, I am very grateful.'

He seemed to be relishing becoming a father again, as he added that spending time wit his twins on holiday is where he would most like to do.

'In the Bahamas with Sally and the twins, Gracie and Alice, who are one year and a few months. They are lovely. They sing all the time.'

Racy: The couple's outing comes after Ronnie divulged about their bedroom antics, revealing he thinks it's essential to have sex every day

Content: The rocker also admitted that he is at the happiest stage of his life right now, revealing: 'Right now is a pretty good time in my life'

Sally has been supporting Ronnie on his Rolling Stones tour around Europe, with the couple pictured stepping out with their twins in Stockholm, Sweden, last month.

The famous rocker kept things casual for the outing, as he stepped out in a typically bright shirt and black jeans, layered beneath a chunky winter coat.

Never without a hint of his rock star style however, Ronnie also added mirrored Aviator shades as he sweetly pushed one of his daughters along in a pram.

Despite an undoubtedly tiring tour schedule, the songwriter beamed from ear to ear as he headed out for the day - proving to be a doting dad to his young twins.

Happy: Sally has been supporting Ronnie on his Rolling Stones tour around Europe, with the couple pictured stepping out with their twins in Stockholm, Sweden, last month

Papa is a Rolling Stone! Despite an undoubtedly tiring tour schedule, the songwriter beamed from ear to ear as he headed out for the day - proving to be a doting dad to his young twins

Ronnie was joined by his glamorous wife Sally, who turned heads in a vibrant trench coat of emerald green.

Leaving her hair in loose, tousled waves and opting to forgo make-up however, the brunette showcased her radiant complexion as she smiled and cooed at one of the twins in her pram, and headed out after her husband.

Ronnie married Sally, the owner of a theatre production company, in 2012, before announcing they had twins on the way in December last year.

Stunning: Ronnie was joined by his glamorous wife Sally, who turned heads in a vibrant trench coat of emerald green

Motherhood suits her: Leaving her hair in loose waves and opting to forgo make-up however, the brunette showcased her radiant complexion as she smiled at one of the twins in her pram

Sally previously discussed the attraction she felt towards Ronnie and how their romance works so well.

She told The Telegraph: 'Hes on my level completely. Hes a very nice and caring person. Oh God, dont use the word "nice", its so boring. Hes very funny, kind and affectionate and welcoming.'

Discussing their age gap, she said: 'Um, well, I know (the age gap's) there. And I wish it wasnt, but it is. I think I had to say: "I cant do this because of the age",

Loved-up: Ronnie married Sally, the owner of a theatre production company, in 2012, before announcing they had twins on the way in December last year (pictured in 2013)

'Or I just had to let it go and take it all on board. At no point, years ago, did I say to myself: "I think Ill go out with someone twice my age", but that is what has happened.'

Ronnie is father to six children. He shares his eldest son musician Jesse Wood, 40 - who is married to Fearne Cotton - with his first wife Krissy, whom he had married in 1971 before the duo later split in 1978.

Ronnie is also father to daughter Leah, 39, and sons Jamie, 43, and Tyrone, 34, from his second marriage to Jo Wood in 1985. The pair's divorce was later finalised in 2009.

'He's on my level completely': Sally previously discussed the attraction she felt towards Ronnie - revealing he is 'affectionate and welcoming' and admitting the age gap does not bother her

He and the rest of the Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards - kicked off their European tour at the start of September in Germany, with no sign of slowing things down for the veteran rockers.

They wowed 82,000 fans at the Stadtpark stadium in Hamburg, with Ronnie receiving what could only be described as a hero's welcome after his cancer battle - having had an operation in May to remove a cancerous lung tumour.

The band hit the stage in the Swedish capital earlier this month, before heading to Netherlands, and are finishing off the tour in France.
They spent the night sipping on cocktails as they celebrated some of the UK's unsung heroes.

And it seemed some of the stars at The Best Heroes 2017 awards might have enjoyed one too many as they were pictured making animated exits from London's St. Ermins Hotel on Tuesday night.

Leading the sprightly departures was former Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan, 39, who flung his arms in the air and pulled a playful facial expression as he and wife Ola drove off in a taxi.

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Had fun? James and Ola Jordan appeared in very sprightly spirits as they departed The Best Heroes 2017 awards in London on Tuesday night

But he wasn't the only celebrity who had fun with photographers outside of the bash, as Gogglebox favourite Sandi Bogle, 52, comically closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue as she made her way home.

Dancer James' exuberant display came just moments before he and Ola, 35, romantically left the event hand-in-hand.

True to form, the stunning blonde pulled out all the stops in a thigh-grazing white mini dress, which also flashed her bra thanks to its semi-sheer fabric.

Cheeky! Gogglebox favourite Sandi Bogle, 52, comically closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue for photographers as she made her way home

Lovebirds: Dancer James' exuberant display came just moments before he and Ola, 35, romantically left the event hand-in-hand

Glam: Also rocking a scanty style was Love Island beauty Gabby Allen, who sizzled in a metallic frock with a chic asymmetric hem

Smitten kittens: The reality star looked the picture of happiness as she locked fingers with beau Marcel Somerville

Also rocking a scanty style was Love Island beauty Gabby Allen, who sizzled in a metallic frock with a chic asymmetric hem as she locked fingers with her sharp suited beau, Marcel Somerville.

Actress and Strictly star Chizzy Akudolu, Loose Women's Lisa Maxwell and mother-son duo Calum and Angie Best were also pictured making high-spirited exits.

The event also saw X Factor hopefuls Talia Dean, Matt Linnen and Kevin Davy White in attendance, with the trio posing together on the red carpet.

Feeling good: Strictly's Chizzy Akudol danced in the street with a male companion

Leggy: X Factor's Talia Dean dared to bare in a tiny velvet mini dress

Stunned: Something appeared to seriously catch Ola's attention as she sauntered along the street with husband James

Charlotte Hawkins, Eamonn Holmes and Anthea Turner also turned for the star-studded awards ceremony.

Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte, 42 - who was joined by dance partner Brendan Cole - appeared in good spirits despite being voted out of BBC's Strictly on Sunday evening.

As well as sipping on cocktails, guests were also treated to a performance by Britain's Got Talent champ and magician Richard Jones.

Gorgeous: Gabby opted for a dewy make-up look and styled her blonde tresses into glamorous curls

Quality time: Calum Best was joined by his mother Angie at the star-studded event

Having a blast: Angie looked to be enjoying her night out with Calum as she flashed a beaming smile

Sprightly: Loose Women's Lisa Maxwell gave a wave as she took a taxi home
With just a handful of eligible contestants in the running to win Sophie Monk's heart, the stakes have never been higher on The Bachelorette this week.

On Wednesday's episode, fans saw Apollo, James, Blake, Stu and Jarrod go to war for a chance at earning a home-visit from the blonde bombshell.

The episode began with the men discussing how shell-shocked they were after Sam's unexpected elimination the night before.

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Game on! With just a handful of eligible contestants in the running to win Sophie Monk's heart, the stakes have never been higher on The Bachelorette this week

'I woke up this morning still in shock from the rose ceremony. I could have said one thing wrong and that would have sent me home,' Blake confessed.

They didn't have time to mull over their feelings however, as Sophie quickly entered the room to announce the day's group date.

Chief matching scientist from eHarmony Johnny Beber hosted the date, which involved a series of tests designed to find out which contestant was the most compatible with Sophie.

Are you the one? Chief matching scientist from eHarmony Johnny Beber hosted the episode's group date, which involved a series of tests designed to find out which contestant was the most compatible with Sophie

Easy as pie! In round one of the challenge, the men were asked to create a pie chart that reflected elements of their personality

'Heading into home towns, it's never been more important to get more time with Sophie. I'm the only one that hasn't had a single date and after last night's rose ceremony, I really need to step up my game,' Blake reflected.

In round one of the challenge, the men were asked to create a pie chart that reflected elements of their personality.

'I don't want to waste any opportunity to show Sophie who I am. I definitely consider myself romantic,' Jarrod said as he feverishly constructed his chart.

Putting his best foot forward: 'I don't want to waste any opportunity to show Sophie who I am. I definitely consider myself romantic,' Jarrod said as he feverishly constructed his chart

Meanwhile, James told the cameras: 'Biggest part of my personality is ambition. For me that represents passion, drive and just wanting to be the best version of yourself.'

When it came time to compare the charts to one created by Sophie, the actress admitted she wasn't used to dating someone with a personality similar to her own.

'Paula Abdul's always said opposites attract and I've lived by that, but Jonathan thinks otherwise,' she mused.

'Paula Abdul's always said opposites attract': When it came time to compare the charts to one created by Sophie, the actress admitted she wasn't used to dating someone with a personality similar to her own.

To James' dismay, he was knocked out of the first round thanks to his seriousness and love of structure.

In the next round, the remaining contestants were challenged to dress a mannequin in the style of what they hope Sophie would wear on a perfect date.

Blake was confident that he would make it through to the next round, telling the cameras: 'I usually have no problem round the female body. My strength is taking clothes off.'

It's fashion dahling! n the next round, the remaining contestants were challenged to dress a mannequin in the style of what they hope Sophie would wear on a perfect date

Meanwhile, Jarrod was busy perfecting his rather bizarre outfit.

'My idea of a perfect date with Sophie is being relaxed. If I'm gonna get to know somebody, I don't wanna be too busy. I just wanna have that time and try and break the ice as normal as possible,' Jarrod said as he piled garment upon garment on his mannequin.

By the end of the challenge, Apollo was eliminated thanks to his lacklustre Byron Bay beach date concept.

Game on! The final round saw Stu, Jarrod and Blake try their luck in a mystery dating game-show

The final round saw Stu, Jarrod and Blake try their luck in a mystery dating game-show.

Sophie chose Stu as the winner and whisked him away on a solo date.

'Going into this chat, I need to step it up a little. It's hard not to let yourself think about home towns, but your mind wanders there, obviously. It's coming down to home town and then the business end, the real pointy end,' Stu told the cameras.

Stu revealed that he wanted to introduce Sophie to his family before admitting that he is desperate to find love for a second time after the breakdown of his marriage.

Winner! Sophie chose Stu as the winner and whisked him away on a solo date

Getting serious: Stu revealed that he wanted to introduce Sophie to his family before admitting that he is desperate to find love for a second time after the breakdown of his marriage

Next in the episode, Blake received an invitation to join Sophie on a solo date.

The pair spent the day getting in touch with nature by feeding and milking goats as well as making cheese by hand.

'Blake's really surprised me on this date. He's really embraced being out of his element,' Sophie smiled as Blake performed the challenge with zest.

Time to shine! Next in the episode, Blake received an invitation to join Sophie on a solo date

She quickly realised that the milking element of the date was somewhat poorly thought-out, however, telling cameras: 'It feels very bizarre. I don't like holding someone's nipple.'

At the end of the date, Sophie sat down with Blake to reflect upon their time together.

When quizzed on whether in fact he was the 'bad boy' he appears to be, Blake assured her: 'I always wanna try and make whoever I'm with, like, feel like they're the only one. I wanna make sure, like, I'm supporting whatever they're doing and then, like, listen.'

That's one way to plan a date! The pair spent the day getting in touch with nature by feeding and milking goats as well as making cheese by hand

'It feels very bizarre': She quickly realised that the milking element of the date was somewhat poorly thought-out

'When I feel like there's a two-way connection with a girl, then I'll go for gold. I know how to make a girl feel special,' Blake told the cameras with a sinister smile.

However, Sophie was convinced by Blake's act and leaned in for a kiss with glee.

During the cocktail party, Jarrod revealed to his fellow contestants that he was angry that Blake had pulled the wool over Sophie's eyes with his nice-guy act.

Puckering up: However, Sophie was convinced by Blake's act and leaned in for a kiss with glee

'Blake having the last single date, yeah, it's hard. If Blake is trying to pull the wool over Sophie's eyes, good luck to him. But Sophie's a smarter girl than that,' he said.

Stu saw how upset Jarrod had become and pulled him aside to deliver a pep talk.

'Don't worry about this kid. There is nothing, nothing about you that you should change,' the father-of-four advised him.

Angry: During the cocktail party, Jarrod revealed to his fellow contestants that he was angry that Blake had pulled the wool over Sophie's eyes with his nice-guy act

The episode concluded with a heart-pounding rose ceremony.

Blake was the first suitor to receive a rose, followed by Stu, Jarrod and Apollo.

James was left in tears after his rejection, telling the cameras: 'I'm gutted. I'm really gutted. It was really tough, to say goodbye to Sophie.'

Advice: Stu saw how upset Jarrod had become and pulled him aside to deliver a pep talk
Meg Matthews has revealed she developed social anxiety from the menopause, and was unable to leave the house for two months.

The 51-year-old appeared on ITV's Lorraine on Wednesday to discuss the big change in women - which made her feel 'very alone', and like she was 'falling apart'.

Despite her difficult transition however, the ex-wife of rocker Noel Gallagher stressed the importance of 'sharing' your experience with others, and revealed she openly discusses her menopause with daughter Anais, 17.

Difficult: Meg Matthews has revealed she developed social anxiety from the menopause, and was unable to leave the house for two months (pictured in 2011)

Meg appeared on the morning chat show to discuss her struggle with adapting to the menopause, and encourage the use of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).

Speaking to host Lorraine Kelly, the blonde stressed the importance of discussing the menopause, as she had felt 'very alone' and confused during the first few months.

She explained that she had woken up wondering 'what was going on' when she first started, as she suddenly felt anxious and uncomfortable in her own skin and surroundings.

Conveying the message: However Meg also stressed the importance of 'sharing' your experience, and revealed she discusses her menopause with daughter Anais, now 17 (above)

Detailing her difficult start two years ago, she explained: 'It wasn't like hot sweats and flushes, I woke up with anxiety.

'I had headaches, migraines and even nausea. My breasts swelled, I ached when I got out of bed, but I was too scared to tell anyone. I just thought, 'Oh my god, I'm falling apart''.

Meg even admitted she felt she could not leave her home for two months, as the menopause had sparked such tension inside her.

Tough: Detailing her difficult start two years ago, she explained: 'It wasn't like hot sweats and flushes, I woke up with anxiety'

Struggling: Meg even admitted she could not leave her home for two months, explaining: 'I had a foggy brain, I didnt know what to wear. I was scared in my house, but didnt want to leave'

She went on: 'I had such social anxiety I couldnt leave the house for two months. I pretended I had glandular fever.

'I had a foggy brain, I didnt know what to wear. I was scared in my house, but didnt want to leave.'

Meg continued that talking to her nearest and dearest about the menopause had helped her stay strong - having openly discussed her difficulties with daughter Anais, 17.

'I talk to Anais about it,' she said. 'When I knew I was going through menopause and had my blood tests I put my business partner, my partner and my daughter in a circle.

Support: Meg continued that talking to her nearest and dearest had helped her stay strong - having openly discussed her difficulties with daughter Anais, now 17 (pictured in 2012)

'I put all the information on the table and I said 'Guys, I'm going through the menopause. I might be neurotic Nancy one day, or depressed Daisy.' I made it all fun, and everyone just laughed and we talked about it.'

She added that it came at a stressful time for her daughter, who she shares with Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher, and felt she could not support her properly.

Meg continued: 'Last year I had Anais doing her GCSEs, my company was doing really well. It was like I should be feeling great, but I just wasn't.'

The mother-of-one went on to reveal she had overcome her struggles with the menopause thanks to HRT - which stopped her from feeling so 'depleted'.

Honest: 'I talk to Anais about it,' she said. 'I said 'Guys, I'm going through the menopause. I might be neurotic Nancy one day, or depressed Daisy.' I made it all fun' (Anais above in 2016)

Getting through it: The mother-of-one went on to reveal she had overcome her struggles with the menopause thanks to HRT - which stopped her from feeling so 'depleted'

Explaining she used the gel to relieve symptoms, she added: 'Before I took HRT I was scared, but you can take it till youre 99.

'I was so depleted of everything in my life - my social life, family, holidays. I went to LA and stayed in my bedroom under the air conditioning the whole time.'

However discussing the positive effects, she went on: 'It 3, 4, 5 months but then all of sudden it was like Wow, this car is not running on empty anymore, I was souped up.

'I just want to say to everyone out there, please go and try HRT. Every woman has their own journey. It's all about talking and sharing.'
She's a doting mother to adorable four-year-old daughter Everly, who she shares with husband Channing Tatum.

And Jenna Dewan had some time to herself as she headed out for a casual day in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The American actress and dancer, 36, looked undeniably trendy as she dressed her honed figure in double denim while adding a pop of colour with a red handbag.

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Blue-tiful! Jenna Dewan, 36, looked undeniably trendy as she dressed her honed figure in double denim as she headed out for a casual day in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Jenna ensured all focus on herself in the stylish ensemble, which consisted of the button down denim top.

The Step Up actress teamed it with a pair of matching straight-leg jeans, which she teamed with towering white ankle boots.

Showing off her flair for fashion, Jenna sported a red quilted Chanel handbag, which was effortlessly draped across her body.

Jean-ius! The actress and dancer ensured all focus on herself in the denim top and matching trousers. She added a splash of colour with a red handbag

Smitten: Jenna has been married to hunky dancer Channing Tatum since 2009

One reason Jenna has such a fabulous physique is her work as a dancer, and she returned to her roots when she grooved with old boss Janet Jackson on stage in Hollywood last week.

She began her career as a backup dancer for the Pleasure Principle star and later worked as a sidekick for the likes of Pink, Missy Elliott, and Christina Aguilera.

Sharing a snap from her big moment at the Hollywood Bowl on Instagram, she said: 'Last night was such an incredible moment.

Doting: The multi-talented star is also a doting mother to adorable four-year-old daughter Everly, who she shares with husband Channing

'Janet asked her "kids" to come back and perform rhythm nation at the Hollywood Bowl.

'I dreamt of dancing with her since I was a kid and literally pinched myself every night of the All for You tour. And here I am pinching myself again last night.

'She created a legacy for her dancers and she personally began my career! It all begins with Jan. Thank you for this my love!!!'
On Tuesday documents surfaced showing that Blac Chyna is suing the entire Kardashian family, accusing them of damaging her brand and sabotaging her reality show with ex-fiancee Rob Kardashian, who she has accused of physical and emotional abuse.

But new reports have now emerged, claiming that Blac Chyna was in fact the aggressor in a fight which allegedly turned physical in April.

A source close to the Kardashian empire told TMZ that the 29-year-old, who shares 11-month-old Dream with Rob, 30, allegedly attacked him in a 'cocaine-fulled rage' after a visit to a strip club.

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Battling it out: New reports have now emerged claiming that Blac Chyna was the aggressor in a fight with Rob Kardashian which allegedly turned physical in April after she went on a 'drunk and drugs binge'

The night in question, which occurred in April, saw Blac Chyna accuse Rob of knocking her to the ground and 'hitting her in a rage'.

However, a source now claims that Chyna had been 'using cocaine and drinking alcohol' throughout the day in the run-up to the night in question, before she allegedly visited a strip club with Rob.

The report claims the duo then took a stripper back to their home, and Blac Chyna continued partying into the night with her, while Rob looked after King Cairo, her son with former flame Tyga, and their daughter Dream.

According to the source Rob confronted Blac Chyna the following day, and she allegedly 'went ballistic before attacking him'- Rob claims he only ever defended himself, but denies striking her.

Back and forth: A source close to the Kardashian empire told TMZ that the 29-year-old, who shares 11-month-old Dream with Rob, also 29, allegedly attacked him in a 'cocaine-fulled rage' after taking a stripper back to their home following a night out

The Kardashian lawyer, Shawn Holley, told the site: 'We have witness statements and other evidence which will demonstrate conclusively that it is Chyna, not Rob, who is the violent and aggressive abuser.'

Chyna's lawyer, Lisa Bloom, did not comment on the allegations against her client, but said: 'There's no excuse for domestic violence.'

MailOnline has contacted Blac Chyna's representative for comment.

This follows reports that the video vixen is suing the Kardashian clan, claiming they have cost her a fortune after they interfered with the shooting of Rob & Chyna to the point E! pulled the plug.

She also alleges the nude photo scandal in July, when Rob went on a social media rampage against her, caused her 'significant damages' and also details the alleged verbal and physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Rob.

Lawsuit: Blac Chyna is accusing the Kardashian family of 'using their power and influence' to damage her brand and put a stop to a second season of her E! reality show Rob & Chyna

The lawsuit which People has obtained states: 'Rob Kardashian is an abuser intent on destroying Angela White, the mother of his baby, who left him in 2016.

'In revenge, the Kardashian-Jenner family became media predators, slut-shaming her on social media and killing her hit television show, which had already begun filming a second season.'

In the legal documents Chyna names Rob, his mother Kris Jenner, as well as sisters Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie.

'Rob Kardashian and his powerful, vindictive family have done enough damage to Ms. Whites career and professional reputation, which she singlehandedly built from scratchwithout the help of a famous last name. This lawsuit seeks to hold them accountable,' the lawsuit states.

Going against an empire: People has seen a lawsuit filed by Blac against ALL of the Kardashians as she claims they torpedoed a second season of her show

The mother-of-two also claims that the 'power and influence' of the famous family got season two of her reality show axed.

She claims that the network and production team, as well as herself and Rob, were all on board and ready to shoot a second season.

But E! sources are refuting the claims, telling TMZ that they have emails to prove that the production team were questioning the future of the show from the beginning.

Sources at the network say that because Chyna and Rob broke up briefly at the start of the first season, a second installment was always up in the air.

Insiders also say there is documentation to prove that there was no plausible way they could shoot the show mainly because Chyna made it impossible by refusing to be in the same room as her then-fiancee.

Adding to that, ratings were also lukewarm, TMZ reports.

Rocky relationship: Chyna is claiming that she suffered damages after ex Rob's slut shaming rampage on social media

On Wednesday People reported that the family knew a lawsuit was coming but did not expect the entire family to be named.

'They knew it was coming. They didnt know that everyone in the family would be named in the suit, but its still not shocking news. This is how they know Chyna  she is dramatic and will do everything to still be attached to the Kardashian name.'

Some of the family members felt a year ago that she was capable of this.

'This is why they warned Rob to get involved with Chyna in the first place. They warned him that she is nonstop drama, and they were right.

'They are sad for Dream that her mom behaves like this. They dont think Rob is perfect in any way, but they think Chyna is beyond bad. They just want the drama to stop. They all love Dream and are very protective of her.'

The lawsuit which People obtained states: 'Rob Kardashian is an abuser intent on destroying Angela White, the mother of his baby, who left him in 2016'

In July Rob went on an Instagram rampage against Chyna, posting naked photos, accusing her of cheating on him multiple times, drug and alcohol abuse as well as accusing her of using him for revenge against her ex Tyga.

In the new lawsuit Chyna accuses Rob of physical abuse in an April incident where he 'grabbed her phone from her hand and violently knocked her to the ground where she landed on her hands and knees,'.

She accuses Rob of losing all control and 'tearing the hinges off of Ms. Whites bedroom door,'

The suit states 'Ms. White then retreated to the bathroom, hid in the bathroom closet, and locked the door.'

After Rob's social media attack Chyna hired celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, accusing the reality star of violating California's revenge porn laws.

In the legal documents Chyna - who also shares son King with ex Tyga - names Rob, his mother Kris Jenner (pictured with Kim) as well as all his sisters

Sabotage? Insiders told TMZ that there are emails to prove that Chyna refused to be in the same room as Rob and so production was impossible

At the former video girl claimed Rob hit her and threatened to kill himself multiple times and she was granted a set of restraining orders against him.

Amid the legal battles, Chyna and Rob came to a custody agreement over their 11-month-old daughter Dream in September.

Last month Rob and Kylie sued Chyna claiming she attempted to choke him with an iPhone cord during an intense fight in December.

The alleged altercation took place at Kylie's home and the siblings are suing Chyna for battery, assault and vandalism.

They claim they 'endured several months of injuries' after Chynas 'deliberate attempt to extort the Kardashian family for her own monetary gains.'

The complaint also claims that Chyna's relationship and decision to have a baby with Rob was 'nothing short of an outright fraud to shake down the Kardashian family.'

They also branded her a stripper that has 'created a reputation as a money-hungry, shameless pseudo-celebrity', in the complaint.
Richard Madeley has been slammed by Good Morning Britain viewers for his 'uncomfortable' questions regarding Harvey Weinstein during an interview with Glee star Kristin Chenoweth on Wednesday's episode of the show.

The disgraced film producer, 65, is facing allegations of sexual harassment, groping and rape by more than 30 women in the movie industry and addressing Weinstein, Madeley directly asked Kristin whether she had been 'assaulted' by the star.

Chenoweth declined to comment, prompting Madeley to probe further and suggest that her refusal to answer him meant she too had fallen victim to Weinstein - much to the outrage of viewers at home.

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'Just leave it': Richard Madeley has been slammed by Good Morning Britain viewers for his 'uncomfortable' questions regarding Harvey Weinstein during an interview with Glee star Kristin Chenoweth on Wednesday

Richard had asked Kristin whether she had ever been 'assaulted' by Weinstein, to which the actress replied: 'I don't want to comment on that at this point.'

The presenter, who had been stepping in to replace an absent Piers Morgan, then claimed: 'That sounds like a yes.'

GMB viewers rushed to Twitter to criticise Madeley for his probing interview manner and deemed it 'unacceptable'.

They penned: 'Shut up Richard and respect her privacy. It's neither a yes nor no.

'She pops in to have a chat about what she is doing ... yet gets probed about harvey Weinstein! Just leave it! she was obvs uncomfortable!

'She said No comment. No is No. Why do you still need reminding?@richardm56.

Awkward: He had outright asked the Glee star if she had ever been 'assaulted' by Weinstein when discussing the disgraced movie mogul

Shamed: Weinstein, 65, is facing allegations of sexual harassment, groping and rape by more than 30 women in the movie industry

'Wanted to reach through the screen and punch Richard MAdeley for trying to get Kristen Chenoweth to divulge about Weinstein. F**king gross.

'When someone says they don't want to make a comment that doesn't mean yes @richardm56. No one owes you their story. Unacceptable.'

One viewer made sure to praise Kristin for the way she handled the questions concerning the Weinstein scandal, tweeting: 'Kristin Chenoweth handling all Harvey Weinstein questions with class and tact #GMB.'

Another, however, praised Madeley for his 'guts', adding: 'No other presenter on British TV right now would have the guts to push Kristin Chenowith the way @richardm56 did. Brilliant.' (sic)

MailOnline have contacted a representative for Good Morning Britain and Richard Madeley.

'No one owes you their story': Viewers were quick to blast Madeley's probing interview manner, deeming his questioning 'unacceptable'

Tense: Richard had asked Kristin whether she had ever been 'assaulted' by Weinstein, to which the actress replied: 'I don't want to comment on that at this point'

Kristin, who had serenaded movie mogul Weinstein at the Tony Awards back in 2015, had addressed the scandal currently surrounding him and insisted she was 'deeply hurt' for all the women involved.

She said: 'I'd like to see them coming out strong and not be victims. I hate it for every woman or man that this has happened to them.

'I don't know somebody that hasn't had situations they have wanted to get out of.'

Her comment had sparked Madeley's probing question, but brushing off his claiming remarks about her refusing to comment, Kristin added that she thinks 'only good' can come out of the accusations surfacing about Weinstein.

Accusing: The presenter, who had been stepping in to replace an absent Piers Morgan, commented on her refusal to answer him, and claimed: 'That sounds like a yes'

'It's neither a yes nor no': Many viewers were taken aback by his shocking response

'I think there can be good that comes from this,' Chenoweth said. 'I think it happens in fashion and music... chaos happens before order.'

Asked why she thinks those in Hollywood have 'stayed quiet' on the matter for so long, Kristin responded: 'Maybe it's a bit of shame and, "Oh, no, no,no."

'I'm trying to stay positive. Let's look at good men who have given us good behaviour and respect towards women. J.J Abrams, respectful. Brian Fuller, respectful.

'I think we'll see more names and more executives and more directors and more actors [coming out].'

'Class': One viewer made sure to praise actress Kristin for the way she handled the controversial questioning by Madeley

'Guts': Another, however, defended Madeley and insisted he had 'guts' to probe the star

More than 30 women have now come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against Hollywood producer Weinstein, the man once described as 'God' of the film industry.

The accusations, including from some of the world's most famous actresses, range from inappropriate massages to rape over a three-decade period.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, Kate Beckinsale, Lea Seydoux, Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and Rosanna Arquette are among the high-profile names to have come forward.

Having her say: Kristin, who had serenaded movie mogul Weinstein at the Tony Awards back in 2015, had addressed the scandal currently surrounding him and insisted she was 'deeply hurt' for all the women involved

'Chaos happens before order': She insisted only 'good' can come from the accusations now surfacing about Weinstein

Honest: Asked why she thinks those in Hollywood have 'stayed quiet' on the matter for so long, Kristin responded: 'Maybe it's a bit of shame and, "Oh, no, no,no" I think we'll see more names coming out'

Weinstein is currently believed to be attending The Meadows, a treatment facility in Arizona, for a focused 45-day inpatient program for sex addiction and behavioral issues.

He was pictured for the first time since the allegations surfaced in Los Angeles entering the offices of his lawyer Patty Glasser, with the embattled star appearing to raise his middle figure. His appearance followed reports his daughter had phoned 911 to report Weinstein as 'suicidal'.

Weinstein was fired by the board of his production company, The Weinstein Company and his wife of 10 years, English fashion designer Georgina Chapman, 41, has announced she is leaving him.

Weinstein said that he 'supports' Georgina's decision and hopes that after he undergoes therapy for sex addiction and behavioral issues, he and his wife can 'rebuild' their relationship.

Speaking out: Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow (L) and Angelina Jolie (R)

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Weinstein said: 'I support her decision, I am in counseling and perhaps, when I am better, we can rebuild.

'We discussed the possibility of a separation and I encouraged her to do what was in her heart. I understand, I love her and I love our children and hopefully, when I am better, I will be in their lives again.'

Chapman cited the alleged 'unforgivable actions' of her husband as a reason for leaving Weinstein.

'My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband,' she told People.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have suspended his membership from the organization, while a DailyMail.com exclusive revealed the FBI had opened an investigation into the producer.

Fall from grace: Weinstein was fired by the board of his production company, The Weinstein Company and his wife of 10 years, English fashion designer Georgina Chapman, 41, has announced she is leaving him

Heartbroken: Chapman cited the alleged 'unforgivable actions' of her husband as a reason for leaving Weinstein, stating: 'My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain'

Meanwhile, stars of the movie industry have shared their thoughts on the disgraced director, with many condemning Weinstein for his actions. Among them, Jennifer Lawrence had said: 'I was deeply disturbed to hear the news about Harvey Weinstein's behavior. This kind of abuse is inexcusable and absolutely upsetting.'

Titanic star Kate Winslet added: 'His behavior is without question disgraceful and appalling and very, very wrong. I had hoped that these kind of stories were just made up rumors, maybe we have all been naive.'

However, Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan has shown her support for Weinstein and suggested he is being unfairly treated.

In a video she shared to Instagram, she took aim at Weinstein's wife Georgina and insisted the star had 'never done anything wrong' to her personally.

Lindsay said: 'Hi, this is Lindsay Lohan. I'm in Dubai, I'm home, and I feel very bad for Harvey Weinstein right now, I don't think it's right what's going on.

'I think Georgina needs to take a stand and be there for her husband. And he's never harmed me or did anything wrong to me. We've done several movies together, and so I think everyone needs to stop. I think it's wrong. So stand up.'

WEINSTEIN'S ACCUSERS Gwyneth Paltrow: The star told the New York Times that Weinstein touched her and suggested having joint massages in the bedroom before she started shooting the 1996 film Emma. She said she told her then boyfriend Brad Pitt about the incident and he confronted the mogul. Angelina Jolie: Jolie told the Times she had to turn down advances from Weinstein in 1998 and chose never to work with him again. She said she warned other women about him. Louisette Geiss: Actress was called to a late night meeting with Weinstein in 2008. He allegedly emerged in a bathrobe and told her he would green light her script if she watched him masterbate. She left the meeting. Judith Godreche: The French actress says Weinstein tried to massage her and pull off her sweater after asking her up to his Cannes suite to see the view in 1996. Dawn Dunning: Aspiring actress says she was called to a meeting about future film projects in 2003. When she arrived Weinstein presented her with three scripts for his next three movies which he would let her star in, only if she had three-way sex with him. She fled the hotel. Tomi-Ann Roberts: Weinstein met her when she was serving tables as a college junior in 1984 and told her to meet him at his home. When she arrived, she says, he was naked in the bath and told her she would give a better audition if she was nude. She says she refused and left. Asia Argento: The Italian actress has accused Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her when she was 21. 'He terrified me, and he was big. It wouldn't stop. It was a nightmare.' She said she went on to have consensual sex with him over the years that followed. She documented the alleged attack in her 2000 film Scarlet Diva. Katherine Kendall: The Swingers actress was told Weinstein had to stop off in his apartment to pick something up after a screening in 1993. He changed into a bathrobe and told her to massage her. When she resisted she said the mogul returned naked and chased her. Lucia Evans: The actress, formerly known as Lucia Stoller, claims Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004. Speaking to the New Yorker, she said that she suffered years of trauma after the incident which occurred in a 'casting meeting' in a Miramax office in Manhattan. He reportedly called her late at night after the incident. Mira Sorvino: The Mighty Aphrodite actress told the New Yorker that Weinstein tried to massage her in a hotel room at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival. He then went to her home in the middle of the night but she called a male friend to protect her, she claimed. She said turning down the mogul adversely affected her career. Rosanna Arquette: The actress also said her career suffered after she rebuffed Weinstein's advances in the early 1990s. At a hotel meeting he tried to put her hand on his erect penis, she claims. Rose McGowan: The actress, who made her breakthrough in 1996 in the Weinstein-produced slasher revival movie Scream, reportedly sued Weinstein after he assaulted her in 1997 at the Sundance Film Festival. She signed a non-disclosure agreement at the close of the suit and has only referred to him obliquely in social media since. On Sunday she referred to being abused by a 'monster' and has previously referred to being raped by a studio head. Ashley Judd: Judd's film roles include the 1997 thriller Kiss the Girls - and says that during the filming of that movie Weinstein repeatedly asked her to watch him shower. She was one of the women who spoke out to The New York Times this week, saying: 'Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it's simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.' Emma De Caunes: French actress Emma de Caunes said that she met Weinstein in 2010, soon after he told her he had a script he was producing based on a book with a strong female character. Weinstein offered to show her the script, and asked her up to his hotel room, where he began to take a shower. He then emerged naked and with an erection, asking her to lay down with him on the bed and telling her that many had done so before. 'I was very petrified,' said de Caunes. 'But I didn't want to show him that I was petrified, because I could feel that the more I was freaking out, the more he was excited.' Lauren O'Connor: A former employee of The Weinstein Company, she told executives there in the fall of 2015 that there was 'a toxic environment for women at this company' after one of her colleagues told her that Weinstein had pressured her into massaging him while he was naked, the NYT said. Ambra Battilana: An Italian actress and model, she told the NYT that in March 2015 Weinstein invited her to his New York office. There, she said, he asked if her breasts were real before grabbing them and putting his hands up her skirt. She reported the alleged incident to police, but they did not press charges. According to the NYT, Weinstein later paid her off. Jessica Barth: Weintein reportedly pressured Barth, an actress, to give him a naked massage in the Peninsula Hotel from 2011 onwards. Laura Madden: An ex-employee, she told the NYT that Weinstein had asked her to give him massages from 1991 onwards, while they were both in London and Dublin. 'It was so manipulative,' she told the NYT. 'You constantly question yourself - am I the one who is the problem?' Weinstein denied knowledge. Emily Nestor: Nestor was a temporary employee of the Weinstein Company for just one day in 2014 when Weinstein approached her and offered to boost her career in exchange for sex, the NYT reported. Zelda Perkins: An assistant of Weinstein's based in London in 1998; then 25, she reportedly confronted Weinstein after she and 'several' others were harassed and later settled out of court. Elizabeth Karlsen: The Oscar-nominated producer of Carol and The Crying Game, among others, told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday that almost 30 years ago, an unnamed young female executive who had worked at Miramax with Weinstein had found him naked in her bedroom one night. The exec was in a house rented by Miramax at the time to cut its overheads. Liza Campbell: A freelance script reader, she told the UK's Sunday Times that Weinstein had summoned her to his hotel room in London before telling her to get in the bath with him. Lauren Sivan: The former Fox news host said that Weinstein trapped her in a closed restaurant and masturbated in front of her to completion in 2007. He took her to a closed restaurant beneath a club she had visited and attempted to kiss her, then when she refused he cornered her and made her watch him touch himself, according to The Huffington Post. Jessica Hynes: The British actress, best known for her roles in the Bridget Jones movies and for co-creating and co-writing the sitcom Spaced, said she was invited to audition for Weinstein when she was 19 - in a bikini. Hynes, formerly known as Jessica Stevenson, said she refused to wear the skimpy item - and lost the job. Romola Garai: British actress Romola Garai said she felt 'violated' following a meeting with Harvey Weinstein in his London hotel room when she was 18 in which he was in a bathrobe. Garai, best known for her role in 'Atonement', said she had already been hired for a part but was told to audition privately with the Hollywood mogul because 'you had to be personally approved by him'. 'Like every other woman in the industry, I've had an 'audition' with Harvey Weinstein,' she told The Guardian. 'So I had to go to his hotel room in the Savoy and he answered the door in his bathrobe. I was only 18. I felt violated by it'. Unnamed assistant: Weinstein allegedly behaved inappropriately toward a woman employed as his assistant in 1990. The case was settled out of court. Another unnamed assistant: In 2015, Weinstein reportedly pressured another assistant into giving him a naked massage in the Peninsula Hotel, where he is also said to have pressured Barth. Unnamed Miramax employee: At one point in the early 1990s, a young woman is alleged to have suddenly left the company after an encounter with Weinstein. She also settled out of court. Unnamed woman: A woman who did not wish to be named because she feared Weinstein's connections told The New York Times that the producer had summoned her to his hotel at an unknown date and raped her. Advertisement
He was tipped as a firm front-runner in the race to winning The Bachelorette's Sophie Monk's heart.

So it came as a shock to everyone when accountant James Trethewie was eliminated before home-town visits on Wednesday night's episode.

After failing to receive a rose James seemed visually distraught, hugging his fellow contestants while hiding his face from view.

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Heartbroken: It came as a shock to everyone when accountant James Trethewie was eliminated before home-town visits on Wednesday night's episode

Moving on: Sophie is set to meet the family of her four remaining contestants on Thursday night's episode

'I'm gutted. I'm really gutted. It was really tough, to say goodbye to Sophie. I kind of felt like we were really building into something and it could have potentially gone somewhere.'

'But Soph obviously wasn't feeling the same,' his voice could be heard as he bid farewell to Sophie.

As he was whisked away from the mansion in a limousine, he reflected: 'I wish Sophie just all the best and happiness and, you know, I really hope that she finds that in the four guys left, and I'm sure she will.'

'I'm gutted. I'm really gutted': After failing to receive a rose James seemed visually distraught, hugging his fellow contestants while hiding his face from view

'In terms of love for me, I've just got to hope that, you know, I meet the girl for me, as it's meant to happen.'

Earlier on Wednesday's episode, fans saw Apollo, James, Blake, Stu and Jarrod go to war for a chance at earning a home-visit from the blonde bombshell.

The episode began with the men discussing how shell-shocked they were after Sam's unexpected elimination the night before.

Game on! With just a handful of eligible contestants in the running to win Sophie Monk's heart, the stakes were higher than ever on The Bachelorette this week

'I woke up this morning still in shock from the rose ceremony. I could have said one thing wrong and that would have sent me home,' Blake confessed.

They didn't have time to mull over their feelings however, as Sophie quickly entered the room to announce the day's group date.

Chief matching scientist from eHarmony Johnny Beber hosted the date, which involved a series of tests designed to find out which contestant was the most compatible with Sophie.

Are you the one? Chief matching scientist from eHarmony Johnny Beber hosted the episode's group date, which involved a series of tests designed to find out which contestant was the most compatible with Sophie

Easy as pie! In round one of the challenge, the men were asked to create a pie chart that reflected elements of their personality

'Heading into home towns, it's never been more important to get more time with Sophie. I'm the only one that hasn't had a single date and after last night's rose ceremony, I really need to step up my game,' Blake reflected.

In round one of the challenge, the men were asked to create a pie chart that reflected elements of their personality.

'I don't want to waste any opportunity to show Sophie who I am. I definitely consider myself romantic,' Jarrod said as he feverishly constructed his chart.

Putting his best foot forward: 'I don't want to waste any opportunity to show Sophie who I am. I definitely consider myself romantic,' Jarrod said as he feverishly constructed his chart

Meanwhile, James told the cameras: 'Biggest part of my personality is ambition. For me that represents passion, drive and just wanting to be the best version of yourself.'

When it came time to compare the charts to one created by Sophie, the actress admitted she wasn't used to dating someone with a personality similar to her own.

'Paula Abdul's always said opposites attract and I've lived by that, but Jonathan thinks otherwise,' she mused.

'Paula Abdul's always said opposites attract': When it came time to compare the charts to one created by Sophie, the actress admitted she wasn't used to dating someone with a personality similar to her own.

To James' dismay, he was knocked out of the first round thanks to his seriousness and love of structure.

In the next round, the remaining contestants were challenged to dress a mannequin in the style of what they hope Sophie would wear on a perfect date.

Blake was confident that he would make it through to the next round, telling the cameras: 'I usually have no problem round the female body. My strength is taking clothes off.'

It's fashion dahling! n the next round, the remaining contestants were challenged to dress a mannequin in the style of what they hope Sophie would wear on a perfect date

Meanwhile, Jarrod was busy perfecting his rather bizarre outfit.

'My idea of a perfect date with Sophie is being relaxed. If I'm gonna get to know somebody, I don't wanna be too busy. I just wanna have that time and try and break the ice as normal as possible,' Jarrod said as he piled garment upon garment on his mannequin.

By the end of the challenge, Apollo was eliminated thanks to his lacklustre Byron Bay beach date concept.

Game on! The final round saw Stu, Jarrod and Blake try their luck in a mystery dating game-show

The final round saw Stu, Jarrod and Blake try their luck in a mystery dating game-show.

Sophie chose Stu as the winner and whisked him away on a solo date.

'Going into this chat, I need to step it up a little. It's hard not to let yourself think about home towns, but your mind wanders there, obviously. It's coming down to home town and then the business end, the real pointy end,' Stu told the cameras.

Stu revealed that he wanted to introduce Sophie to his family before admitting that he is desperate to find love for a second time after the breakdown of his marriage.

Winner! Sophie chose Stu as the winner and whisked him away on a solo date

Getting serious: Stu revealed that he wanted to introduce Sophie to his family before admitting that he is desperate to find love for a second time after the breakdown of his marriage

Next in the episode, Blake received an invitation to join Sophie on a solo date.

The pair spent the day getting in touch with nature by feeding and milking goats as well as making cheese by hand.

'Blake's really surprised me on this date. He's really embraced being out of his element,' Sophie smiled as Blake performed the challenge with zest.

Time to shine! Next in the episode, Blake received an invitation to join Sophie on a solo date

She quickly realised that the milking element of the date was somewhat poorly thought-out, however, telling cameras: 'It feels very bizarre. I don't like holding someone's nipple.'

At the end of the date, Sophie sat down with Blake to reflect upon their time together.

When quizzed on whether in fact he was the 'bad boy' he appears to be, Blake assured her: 'I always wanna try and make whoever I'm with, like, feel like they're the only one. I wanna make sure, like, I'm supporting whatever they're doing and then, like, listen.'

That's one way to plan a date! The pair spent the day getting in touch with nature by feeding and milking goats as well as making cheese by hand

'It feels very bizarre': She quickly realised that the milking element of the date was somewhat poorly thought-out

'When I feel like there's a two-way connection with a girl, then I'll go for gold. I know how to make a girl feel special,' Blake told the cameras with a sinister smile.

However, Sophie was convinced by Blake's act and leaned in for a kiss with glee.

During the cocktail party, Jarrod revealed to his fellow contestants that he was angry that Blake had pulled the wool over Sophie's eyes with his nice-guy act.

Puckering up: However, Sophie was convinced by Blake's act and leaned in for a kiss with glee

'Blake having the last single date, yeah, it's hard. If Blake is trying to pull the wool over Sophie's eyes, good luck to him. But Sophie's a smarter girl than that,' he said.

Stu saw how upset Jarrod had become and pulled him aside to deliver a pep talk.

'Don't worry about this kid. There is nothing, nothing about you that you should change,' the father-of-four advised him.

Angry: During the cocktail party, Jarrod revealed to his fellow contestants that he was angry that Blake had pulled the wool over Sophie's eyes with his nice-guy act
A location shoot on behalf of their eagerly anticipated film appeared to take its toll as Sarah Paulson and Bruce Willis made their way home on Tuesday evening.

Sarah, 42, looked notably weary after completing another days filming on the Philadelphia set of director M. Night Shyamalan thriller Glass  a surprise sequel to two of the auteurs previous films, 2000 hit Unbreakable and the more recent Split, released in 2016.

Opting to go make-up free, Sarah  whose involvement in Shyamalans latest venture was announced in July  greeted onlookers with a warm smile as she made her way towards a waiting car.

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Done and dusted: A location shoot on behalf of eagerly anticipated film appeared to take its toll as Sarah Paulson and Bruce Willis made their way home on Tuesday evening

In keeping with her low key demeanour the star sported a green hooded jacket over a simple black sweater and matching cropped trousers, while chocolate brown ankle boots rounded things off.

Meanwhile Bruce, who reprises his role as seemingly indestructible security guard David Dunn in the new film, looked casual in a navy sweater and matching jacket over loose fitting chinos.

The 62-year old will reunite with Unbreakable co-star Samuel L. Jackson in the forthcoming movie, an ambitiously planned addition to Shyamalan's oeuvre featuring principal characters from two of his best known films.

Shattered: Sarah, 42, looked notably weary after completing another days filming on the Philadelphia set of director M. Night Shyamalan thriller Glass

Low key: Meanwhile Bruce, who reprises his role as seemingly indestructible security guard David Dunn in the new film, looked casual in a navy sweater and matching jacket over loose fitting chinos

Scottish actor James McAvoy is also set to return as troubled Split character Kevin Wendell Crumb, a dissociative identity disorder sufferer with no less than 23 different personalities.

It is not known what role Paulson is bringing to life but it's a change of pace for the star who has been seen most recently on television in American Horror Story anthology series and as Marcia Clark in American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.

However, once Glass wraps, she is set to reunite with her American Horror Story and American Crime Story showrunner Ryan Murphy for Netflix series Ratched.

Welcome back: The 62-year old will reunite with Unbreakable co-star Samuel L. Jackson in the forthcoming movie, an ambitiously planned addition to Shyamalan's oeuvre featuring principal characters from two of his best known films

She will star as a younger version of the cold and heartless Nurse Ratched from the 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

The series will explore how she became the tyrant who ended up terrorizing patients in a mental institution.

Glass is scheduled for release in January 2019.
Opinion / Columnist

MOST Zimbabweans see their dreams of prosperity tumbling down like a sand castle as they are bundled into police cars and eventually taken to prison for being Zimbabwean. In many British prisons, there are more than 10 Zimbabweans doing time for very 'serious' offences which will not otherwise be a crime back home.Some are found on the wrong side of the law for doing what every Zimbabwean would naturally do back home. As a result, there is a rise of Zimbabweans in British jails.One possible explanation for the rise is that there are now more Zimbabweans in the general population. But the percentage rise in Zimbabwean prison inmates has been far greater than the Zimbabwean population increase: Zimbabwean inmates now account for four percent of those behind bars. The media focus on illegal immigrants might lead some to think that the Zimbabwean prisoner population increase is linked to convictions of immigration-related matters.But the figures don't bear that out either. The Ministry of Justice data shows that between October 2012 and January 2015, there were 20 Zimbabweans out of 178 foreign prisoners who had been jailed for none-immigration matters. A Ministry of Justice analysis in 2013 suggested that a number of Zimbabweans had been arrested for white collar crimes.This idea of wanting to know more than you do has landed many in prison. Toga Kawadza, not his real name, was in a shopping mall on a Sunday afternoon. A young girl of six smiled and waved at him. He smiled back and started playing with the child like every other person would do. The mother turned and saw this huge black man smiling to her child. She screamed and in no time, Toga was floored by security officers.The next thing he was in a police station being charged with attempted kidnapping and child abuse. He thought it was a joke, but his world collapsed when he was hauled before the courts and convicted. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register for life. His pleas that he was just being friendly and humane fell on deaf ears. His colour did not help at all and if ever he comes out alive, he will be deported. His crime was sheer innocence. When he tried to be humane, he was arrested.This was followed by one 'Original Tonde' who got lost in Luton. He stopped to ask for directions. Two small boys offered to take him where he was going, so they jumped in his car and showed him the place. As a true Zimbabwean, he gave the children 10 pounds as a thank you. Two days later, he was woken up by dozens of police turning his house upside down. They arrested him for being a paedoph*le. They brought the 10 pounds he gave the two boys as exhibit. In no time, he was facing an all-white jury and was locked up for 15 years.Negative stereotyping is one of the reasons for the disproportionate representation of Zimbabweans at all stages of the criminal justice system.They are more likely to be stopped and searched, more likely to plead not guilty and more likely to be tried. These disparities are often part of a complex mix of educational, employment, health and social inequalities that have characterised many of their lives. It should be noted that policy-makers and politicians haven't 'fully grasped' the impact of 'negative stereotyping' and 'cultural difference'.Most of the Zimbabwean prisoners have said that they are treated differently because of their race, ethnicity or culture. Blacks are stereotyped as drug dealers while all Muslims are treated as terrorists. Could it be that negative stereotypes and institutional discrimination, or sheer innocence as it's referred to, is fuelling the increase of Zimbabweans being arrested? Complacency in Zimbabweans abroad has made the British government utterly clueless about the growing Zimbabwean population.It should be noted that some Zimbabweans are in UK riding on South African, Malawian or Botswana passports. So getting the real figures of Zimbabweans in prisons is a nightmare.The Ministry of Justice says the government is committed to ensuring the criminal justice system is 'fair, inclusive and impartial, and represents and serves the whole community'.In a statement, the department says: "Each prison has a multi-faith chaplaincy team to meet the religious and pastoral needs of all faiths, including Muslims, and we expect every prisoner to engage in purposeful work and rehabilitation to give them the opportunity to turn away from crime for good."But the issue is Zimbabweans face adaptation challenges and are more often blinded by their culture and are prone to offend.Few would disagree with that. In fact, the re-offending rates of Zimbabwean prisoners are already substantially lower than others.But it seems we've only just started understanding the reasons so many are locked up in the first place.'Madzibaba Herbert' was employed as a bus driver in Croydon. He was told by the 'spirit' at masowe that he needs to carry some holy stones and a knife to attack the evil spirits.During his lunch hour, he sat in his bus and prayed. After his prayer, he put his stones on the dashboard and started waving his knife in the air in a gesture of attacking the evil spirits. A workmate called the police.Herbert was arrested when he explained that the spirit gave him the holy stones and the holy knife. The police referred him to a mental health institution.This is technically known as sectioning. The more he tried to explain, the more he was found to be insane. Two years ago, two Zimbabwean nurses, husband and wife, were convicted of child abuse and neglect after they made their child a vegetarian.Following religious lines would not normally be a crime in Zimbabwe unless there is a harm to the child. Dozens of men and women are languishing in prisons for disciplining their children. Sheer innocence has led many Zimbabweans to British prisons.
She confirmed she is still with her boyfriend Luke Crodden earlier this week, gushing that he was her 'best friend'.

And Scarlett Moffatt certainly looked loved-up on Wednesday, as she put on a high-spirited display while arriving at the BBC Radio studios in London.

The Gogglebox star, 27, beamed as she stepped out, looking chic in a purple sweater and stylish skinny blue jeans.

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Loving life: Scarlett Moffatt put on a high-spirited display while arriving at the BBC Radio studios in London

The I'm A Celebrity! star looked chic in her casual outfit, which she completed with a stylish black leather jacket.

Styling her long glossy dark hair in a simple middle-parting, she framed her features with a sweep of mascara and nude lipstick.

Arriving at the studios with a suitcase in tow, the Streetmate presenter appeared to be in great spirits as she beamed for the cameras.

Stylish: The Gogglebox star, 27, beamed as she stepped out, looking chic in a purple sweater and stylish skinny blue jeans

Looking good: The I'm A Celebrity! star looked chic in her casual outfit, which she completed with a stylish black leather jacket

Content: Arriving at the studios with a suitcase in tow, the Streetmate presenter appeared to be in great spirits as she beamed for the cameras

Her outing comes after she confirmed she's still in romantic bliss with Luke Crodden in a gushing new interview, calling her beau her 'best friend.'

The former Gogglebox star, who turns 27 today, raved about her hairdresser other half to OK! Magazine, saying: 'Hes amazing. Were best friends.

Speaking about her blossoming TV career Scarlett said Luke had made sacrifices so the pair could be together, as well as helping her with her anxiety.

She said: 'He moved his whole life down to London to be with me. When I get anxious hes so reassuring.'

Stylish: Later in the day Scarlett slipped into a billowing polka dot blouse and skinny black jeans for an appearance on ITV's This Morning

Brunette beauty: Scarlett looked sensational as she injected a splash of colour with a pair of cobalt tasseled earrings that peeked out beneath her glossy tousled locks

The couple initially split in February but rekindled their romance four months later.

The pair were an item for a year before their initial split, with Luke, 28, supporting Scarlett through her I'm A Celebrity stint last November.

At the time, the I'm A Celebrity winner was said to be 'sad' about the break up, having only moved in together in North London weeks beforehand.

It was reported at the time that the star had been so busy following her return from the jungle, that she and Luke have been struggling to spend time together and now needed to focus on her career.

Loving life: Scarlett seemed in high spirits as she chatted away with Holly and Phil

Chic and cheerful: Scarlett dazzled in her stylish ensemble which included baby blue heels

The TV star had signed up to be a co-presenter alongside Ant & Dec for their show Saturday Night Takeaway and was also set host a reboot of Channel Four dating show Streetmate.

They decided to 'give it another go' according to a source who revealed details this summer, with Scarlett originally 'needing space from Luke during some critical months in her career'.

The source added: 'Now that Scarlett is more settled, she and Luke have been seeing a lot more of each other and have decided to make it official.'

It comes after Scarlett revealed she suffered a terrifying cancer scare aged just 11.

The Gogglebox star explained that medics feared she might have leukemia after she was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis.

Still on: Her outing comes after she confirmed she's still in romantic bliss with Luke Crodden in a gushing new interview, calling her beau her 'best friend'

Supportuve: Speaking about her blossoming TV career Scarlett said Luke had made sacrifices so the pair could be together, as well as helping her with her anxiety. She said: 'He moved his whole life down to London to be with me. When I get anxious hes so reassuring'

She said the effect it had on her parents was 'heartbreaking' - especially her father Mark who had battled a rare skin cancer just four years before.

Scarlett recalled how doctors told her they planned to do some blood tests as on rare occasions, Bell's palsy could be an early manifestation of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

'I had no idea what any of the words meant. It's only now I understand why my parents got so upset,' admitted in an extract from her new book Me Life Story: Sofa So Good! obtained by The Mirror.

Ordeal: It comes after Scarlett revealed she suffered a terrifying cancer scare aged just 11, with doctors fearing she might have leukemia after she was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis

Moffatt said that the doctors' fears hit her dad the hardest, revealing: 'The thought of his little girl having tests for that awful C-word  cancer  was heartbreaking.

'My dad picked up my sock, held it to his eye and started to cry. Even though I was nervous and confused at what was happening, I just wanted to hear my dad laugh, not cry.'

Luckily, their doctor returned to tell the fraught family she didn't have cancer and would be given strong steroids for Bell's palsy.
His other half Cheryl has admitted that they look after their seven-month-old tot Bear without the help of a nanny.

And juggling fatherhood and a rising solo music career, Liam Payne certainly looked exhausted as he stepped out in London on Wednesday.

The former One Direction star, 24, who has gushed over the former Girls Aloud songstress on numerous occasions in the past, couldn't hide his fatigue as he emerged in the British capital in a white hoodie.

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Tired: Juggling fatherhood and a rising solo music career, Liam Payne, 24, certainly looked exhausted as he stepped out in London on Wednesday

Doting parents: His sighting comes after his other half Cheryl, 34, has admitted that they look after their seven-month-old tot Bear without the help of a nanny

Liam opted for a low-key look on Tuesday morning, donning an oversized white hoodie and black skinny jeans, which he teamed with a white trainers.

Propping the hood of his top up on his mane, the Wolverhampton native couldn't contain his tiredness as he emerged from a vehicle.

In recent weeks Liam has been busy working on his solo album in the States and has seen success with his tune, Strip That Down.

The star has had to juggle his fledgling work commitments with being a new dad to Bear, who he welcomed into the world with Cheryl in March.

Casual: The former One Direction star couldn't hide his fatigue as he emerged in the British capital in a white hoodie

Stepping out: Liam opted for a low-key look on Tuesday morning, donning an oversized white hoodie and black skinny jeans, which he teamed with a white trainers

Cheryl finally opened up about her son Bear in a candid Vogue interview, revealing she looks after him without a nanny and cherishes the 'precious' moments alone.

The beauty - who is set to release her first make-up collection Paint By Cheryl with cosmetics giant LOreal - also admitted she worries about how Bear will deal with the strains of 'scary' social media when he's old enough to use it.

Discussing how she unwinds since becoming a mother, she said: 'Nowadays my main way to relax is sleep.

'Since the baby was about seven weeks old hes slept seven hours through and now he can sleep for 12, so Im lucky. But the first time I had a massage, since the baby, I think I went to a dreamland.'

Cheryl, whose boyfriend Liam described her as a 'natural mum', added that she didn't have a second to herself for the first three months after Bear's birth.

Exhausted: Propping the hood of his top up on his mane, the Wolverhampton native couldn't contain his tiredness as he emerged from a vehicle

Multi-tasking: The star has had to juggle his fledgling work commitments with being a new dad to Bear, who he welcomed into the world with Cheryl in March

Doing it by themselves: Cheryl opened up about her son Bear in a candid Vogue interview, revealing she looks after him without a nanny and cherishes the 'precious' moments alone

'Its just me, Liam and the baby rocking around 24/7, so you dont have one second to yourself really, especially not in that first three months,' the Fight For The Love star said.

'Theyre so precious. So when someone said go for an hour, I was like: hallelujah! I think that should be a gift to any new mother.'

Liam previously gushed of Cheryl: 'She had her rest time and she enjoyed it.

'She was so close to Bear at the start and that mother and son bond is just the most amazing thing to behold and watch. I was nothing but learning from her at the start and she was a natural mum.'

Cheryl added that since giving birth, her perspective on life has broadened as she worries about the 'impact' of things on Bear rather than herself.

Busy: Cheryl, whose boyfriend Liam described her as a 'natural mum', added that she didn't have a second to herself for the first three months after Bear's birth

Adapting to motherhood: Cheryl added that since giving birth, her perspective on life has broadened as she worries about the 'impact' of things on Bear rather than herself

'I think Im still adapting in some ways. I just feel differently about everything to be honest - my views on everything have changed,' she said.

'Firstly you see the fear in everything, like sharp edges! Your whole being changes because its not about you anymore.

'If something happens to you it doesnt matter as much but if it happened to your child, the impact would be severe.'

The brunette beauty admitted she harbours fears about how Bear, as the son of famous parents, will cope with social media when he's older.

'I do worry about where social media will be headed by the time hes old enough to have it, you know? Its scary.'

Music to their ears: The Northern beauty also admitted that she's been busy working on some new material - three years following her fourth studio album Only Human (Pictured pregnant in 2016 with boyfriend Liam Payne)

Fears: The former Girls Aloud star also admitted she worries about how Bear will deal with the strains of 'scary' social media when he's old enough to use it

Meanwhile Cheryl recently reunited with X Factor boss Simon Cowell to film the tense Judges' Houses round - two years after she left the show to start a family.

And it looked like she'd never been away, as she quickly fell back into the cheeky banter the pair have become known for, with Simon teasing her for naming her son Bear.

X Factor host Dermot O'Leary remarked on their chemistry, revealing that their friendship worked because she doesn't 'take any nonsense' from the mogul.

'Its always great to see Simon and Cheryl together, because shes always been the kind of judge who doesnt take any nonsense from him,' he told Heat magazine. 'They are friends again and its good to have her back.'

Back together: Meanwhile Cheryl recently reunited with X Factor boss Simon Cowell to film the tense Judges' Houses round - two years after she left the show to start a family

Sassy: X Factor host Dermot O'Leary remarked on their chemistry, revealing that their friendship worked because she doesn't 'take any nonsense' from the mogul

He added that he believes Cheryl will be a be a better judge after taking time out and becoming a mother.

'I think if anything being a mother will make her ability to be judge better, it certainly has for Simon,' the presenter remarked.

Sources previously claimed Simon and Cheryl bonded instantly when they reunited, as they chatted away about parenthood.

'Simon and Cheryl bonded over parenting during a private jet and helicopter flight to the house,' an insider told The Sun. 'Despite the break theyve had from each other, theyre still clearly very close.'
She is never one to shy away from flaunting her incredibly gym-honed frame.

And Wednesday proved to be no exception for Lauren Pope, as she stepped out in sultry pair of black suede thigh-high boots to join a bevy of her co-stars at The Old Regent Ballroom in Essex to film new scenes for TOWIE's current series.

The reality beauty stole a look at her slender pins in her risque ensemble, while her co-star Chloe Meadows gave Lauren a run for her money in the glamour stakes, stepping out in a plunging lace bralet and striped wide-leg trousers.

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Sultry: Lauren Pope stepped out in a pair of black suede thigh-high boots to join a bevy of her co-stars at The Old Regent Ballroom in Essex to film new scenes for TOWIE's current series

Stepping out in her native Essex, Lauren ensured all eyes were on her as she prepared to film a 'Mr & Mrs' style quiz for the ITVBe reality series.

She slipped into a form-fitting black mini dress that sheathed her svelte frame and boasted a thigh-grazing hemline, that flashed a hint of flesh just above the tips of her fancy footwear, along with ruched detailing around its wrap-over skirt.

Lauren chose to leave her blonde tresses down to fall past her shoulders in tousled drawn-out curls, parted in the middle, and sported a flawless make-up look that came complete with contoured cheeks and a bronzed hue around the eyes.

Gorgeous: Chloe Meadows gave Lauren a run for her money in the glamour stakes, stepping out in a plunging lace bralet and striped wide-leg trousers, as she joined her on Wednesday

Stunning: Lauren slipped into a form-fitting black mini dress that sheathed her svelte frame and boasted a thigh-grazing hemline

Statement: The businesswoman and DJ made sure to keep the chill at bay and covered her scanty outfit choice with a pastel pink fur coat she draped over her shoulders

Fashionista: Stepping out in her native Essex, Lauren ensured all eyes were on her as she prepared to film a 'Mr & Mrs' style quiz for the ITVBe reality series

Nothing can rain on her parade! Lauren was left relying on a member of the crew to shield her from the rain

The businesswoman and DJ made sure to keep the chill at bay and covered her scanty outfit choice with a pastel pink fur coat she draped over her shoulders as she made her way to the latest filming location.

Lauren appeared in high spirits on her arrival and was later joined by her co-star beau Jon Clark - who seemed to arrive separately.

Clad in all-black ensemble, the Essex boy appeared slightly downcast as he made his way into the venue - no doubt still reeling from his awkward encounter with Mario Falcone over his new flame Lauren.

New romance: Lauren appeared in high spirits on her arrival and was later joined by her co-star beau Jon Clark - who seemed to arrive separately

Mario, who used to date Lauren, and Jon have clashed over the starlet, with Mario warning Lauren away from the former Love Island star. He was seen telling Lauren she shouldn't 'trust' Jon after it was revealed he had been texting his ex, but she appears to be working through her issues with her beau.

However, tensions appeared to worsen between the boys and fans of The Only Way Is Essex recently saw Jon and Mario come to blows.

Jon accused Mario of 'sniping at his relationship', prompting Mario to hit back: 'My loyalties are with Lauren. So if you do stuff that is muggy and text your ex, I'm going to say to Lauren, "Why do you want to be with him?"'

Jon then claimed Mario had been texting Lauren telling her she looks 'gorgeous', but playing down the messages, Mario said he had told her she looks 'well' and wouldn't hesitate to text Lauren as she is his friend.

Beaut: Chloe Meadows put on a stunning display as she headed out in a stylish outfit that paired together striped black and white flared trousers that sat high on her waist and a lacy bralet

Smitten: She was joined by her boyfriend Taylor Barnett, who has now joined TOWIE since their relationship has gone from strength to strength

Loved-up: Putting on a besotted display, the duo walked hand-in-hand and couldn't resist locking lips as they joined their co-stars

Dapper: Taylor favoured a causal ensemble, pairing a grey hooded sweatshirt with jeans and blue suede boots

The duo continued to clash, however, with Jon claiming Mario has been trying to pin him as an 'aggressive and horrible' person, with no real resolution forming from their heated exchange.

Meanwhile, Chloe Meadows put on a stunning display as she headed out in a stylish outfit that paired together striped black and white flared trousers that sat high on her waist and a lacy bralet.

The plunging crop top drew attention to her ample assets, thanks to its plunging neckline, and left her incredibly toned stomach on display.

She added height to her ensemble with a pair of barely-there heels, hidden by her trousers, and threw a chic tailored white blazer atop her ensemble that perfectly highlighted her bronzed skin underneath.

Stunning: Chloe wore her lightened tresses in soft glamorous curls that cascaded down her back and finished off her filming ensemble with an immaculate make-up look

Newly-single: Pete Wicks also turned out for the cast's Mr & Mrs style quiz despite recently splitting from ex-girlfriend Megan McKenna

Lads: Pete was joined by a cheerful Dan Edgar - who didn't appear to be wallowing too much following his fallout with ex-flame Amber Turner

Smile! Others in attendance included a cheery Jordan Brook (L) and Jack Rigden (R)

Chloe wore her lightened tresses in soft glamorous curls that cascaded down her back and finished off her filming ensemble with an immaculate make-up look.

She was joined by her boyfriend Taylor Barnett, who has now joined TOWIE since their relationship has gone from strength to strength. Putting on a loved-up display, the duo walked hand-in-hand and couldn't resist locking lips as they joined their co-stars.

Taylor favoured a causal ensemble, pairing a grey hooded sweatshirt with jeans and blue suede boots.

New look: Bobby Norris, meanwhile, proudly flaunted the results of his recent nose job

Others in attendance included Jordan Brook and Jack Rigden, as well as Chris Clark, newly single Pete Wicks, Dan Edgar and Bobby Norris. Beaming on his arrival, Bobby flaunted the results of his recent surgery, after jetting off to Turkey to undergo a nose job.

The reality star recently revealed the results of his cosmetic procedure on Instagram, assuring fans that he is 'so happy' with the results.

Posing in a selfie to reveal his new and improved look, Bobby penned: 'So happy with the results from my septorhinoplasty at @elitecosmeticsurgery.. As somebody who has struggled to breath through one side of my nose for so many years, the difference is already unbelievable even though I'm still a bit swollen and bruised.. I can't thank the amazing team enough for everything!! A*.'

'So happy': He recently jetted to turkey to undergo the cosmetic procedure and assured fans he was pleased with the results when unveiling his new nose on Instagram

Chuffed: Bobby penned, 'As somebody who has struggled to breath through one side of my nose for so many years, the difference is already unbelievable even though I'm still a bit swollen and bruised'

James Lock's girlfriend Yazmin Oukhellou, meanwhile, did her best to beat the drizzly weather in Essex, as she hurried into filming while sporting patent stiletto heels.

Seeming to favour a look similar to that of Lauren's, Yazmin stepped out in a form-fitting midi dress that boasted a daring thigh-high split and wrap-over skirt.

As she made her way in the rain, the reality star flashed a look at her bronzed pins while desperately covering her mane with the hood of her quilted jacket - that came complete with a fur-lined hood and sleeves.

Despite the less than ideal weather, Yazmin still seemed in great spirits as she arrived. She too has recently undergone reconstructive surgery on her nose, after growing 'insecure' about it.

So glam! James Lock's girlfriend Yazmin Oukhellou, meanwhile, did her best to beat the drizzly weather in Essex, as she hurried into filming while sporting patent stiletto heels

Stylish: Seeming to favour a look similar to that of Lauren's, Yazmin stepped out in a form-fitting midi dress that boasted a daring thigh-high split and wrap-over skirt

Despite her choice to go under the knife, Yazmin was keen to stress following her cosmetic work that she wasn't encouraging people to have surgery on flaunting her results.

She penned: 'As I have stated before in previous posts I am NOT telling people to run out and have cosmetic surgery due to vanity,' she wrote.

'I am saying that if you want to get surgery, have been thinking about it for a long time and like me I had no other option then people should feel comfortable to and feel they won't be judged (sic).

'This is the reason I have decided to be so open about it and not lie like others have as it's my body and my choice and people need to stop judging others choices, shaming body's and appearances and just get on doing you.'
She's no stranger to putting on a glamorous display, frequently giving her TOWIE co-stars a run for their money.

And Yazmin Oukhellou didn't disappoint as she pulled out the stops while filming scenes at The Old Regent Ballroom in Essex on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old flashed her toned pins as she sizzled in a black off-the-shoulder dress, which boasted a daring thigh-high split.

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TOWIE's Yazmin Oukhellou didn't disappoint in the style stakes as she pulled out the stops while filming scenes at The Old Regent Ballroom in Essex on Wednesday

The frock also drew attention to the fitness enthusiast's trim physique with its cinched detailing around the waist.

Upping the glamour, Yazmin paired the frock with sky-high, black stilettos and wore her signature brunette tresses in a sleek style around her face.

The girlfriend of long-time TOWIE star James Locke was joined by co-star Georgia Kousoulou as they posed for snaps outside the front of the building.

The 23-year-old flashed her toned pins as she sizzled in a black off-the-shoulder dress, which boasted a daring thigh-high split

The girlfriend of long-time TOWIE star James Locke was joined by co-star Georgia Kousoulou as they posed for snaps outside the front of the building

Georgia, 26, also opted for a thigh-baring black dress, though she attempted to banish the British chill by teaming her style with a floral bomber jacket.

Yazmin has seemingly been the picture of confidence since undergoing a nose job earlier this year.

Before making the big reveal in August, the star was pictured leaving a clinic in Turkey with bandages.

Smitten kittens: Other stars who braved the drizzly weather for filming included the show's resident couple Courtney Green and Miles Barnett

Lovebirds: The pair packed on the PDA as they locked lips in the street

The look of love: Courtney gazed into her boyfriend's eyes as they exited the venue hand-in-hand

All the gang: James 'Arg' Argent [L] and Dan Edgar [R] were also among the cast who turned out for Bobby Norris' Mr and Mrs quiz

She later dropped the bombshell on Instagram when she shared the 'amazing' results with her legion of loyal fans.

'So the cat is finally out of the bag,' Yazmin captioned the shot. I can confirm that I had a rhinoplasty... It has only been 2 weeks and I can already see the results are going to be amazing.' (sic)

Other stars who braved the drizzly weather for filming included the show's resident couple Courtney Green and Miles Barnett.

The pair put on a seriously smitten display as they locked lips before making their way into the classy venue hand-in-hand.

Red hot! Chloe Sims put on a sultry display in a PVC skirt and an eye-catching red sweater
She was quick to congratulate Lisa Wilkinson for quitting the Today show over an equal pay dispute on Monday this week.

But behind closed doors, Carrie Bickmore is said to have been annoyed by the news that Lisa would be joining her desk on the Channel 10 news program.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Carrie is 'less than impressed' with Ten's decision to recruit the decorated reporter, who will debut on The Project next year.

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'[She is] p*ssed off at Wilkinson being shipped in to sit alongside her': Rumours have been swirling that Carrie Bickmore was 'p*ssed off' after learning Lisa Wilkinson will earn FOUR TIMES more than her on The Project

'[She is] p*ssed off at Wilkinson being shipped in to sit alongside her,' insiders allegedly told the publication.

The Daily Telegraph noted that the centre of Carrie's frustration is likely to be her comparably meek pay packet of a rumoured $500,000 - an amount almost four times less than Lisa is said to be earning in her role on The Project.

On Monday night, Lisa Wilkinson sensationally revealed she was quitting the Today show and defecting to Channel Ten, taking up a role on The Project in 2018.

The beginnings of a rivalry? The Daily Telegraph noted that the centre of Carrie's frustration is likely to be her comparably meek pay packet of a rumoured $500,000- an amount almost four times less than Lisa is said to be earning in her role on The Project

Shock exit: Network Ten swiftly revealed their latest acquisition only minutes after Lisa (pictured with Karl Stefanovic) announced on Monday night she would be leaving the Today show

The Project's Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore wasted no time in gushing over their soon-to-be co-star live on air the following day, with Carrie praising Lisa as 'smart, funny and down-to-earth'.

Carrie's comments came just hours after she took to Instagram earlier in the day to share a photo of herself cosied up with Waleed and Lisa.

She accompanied with the caption: 'Can't wait to see your beaming face on @theprojecttv soon.'

Praise: The Project's Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore wasted no time in gushing over their soon-to-be co-star live on air the following day, with Carrie praising Lisa as 'smart, funny and down-to-earth'

'All class Lisa @lisa_wilkinson. Congrats on an incredible stint at Today babe. Hope you enjoyed your sleep in,' she said.

The mother-of-two also gushed about her new co-host's positive qualities, using the hashtags 'smart', 'funny' and 'genuine'.

While fans are wondering whether Lisa might 'replace' one of the current hosts, a spokesperson at Channel Ten told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that this is not the case.

'Lisa will join the hosting team of The Project. Her role at Ten will include hosting The Sunday Project,' a statement read.

'She is NOT replacing Carrie, Waleed or Pete. To suggest she is would be total nonsense.

New role! Lisa will join the likes of hosts Carrie, Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar on the popular current affairs show in January 2018
She's a vocal advocate of body confidence, refusing to share retouched images on her page and teaching her followers how angles and lighting can drastically alter appearance.

So it came as no surprise to see Iskra Lawrence promoting self-esteem with a series of inspiring snaps on Tuesday.

Sharing three pictures of herself clad in a skimpy black bikini, the 27-year-old model posed up a storm as she went make-up free in the series of shots.

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Inspirational: She's a vocal advocate of body confidence, so it came as no surprise to see Iskra Lawrence promoting self-esteem with a series of inspiring snaps on Tuesday

Addressing her 3.7 million followers, she wrote: 'Did you know its body confidence Day? Youre all reading this because youre on my page / following my lil space on here filled with squares of images and vids of my life.

'I ALWAYS want to you remember these are curated even though they are unretouched you can see the diff between the first two pics which are more posed and the last which isnt.

'Id also love you to think about who and what youre following online and whether you feel empowered or disempowered and really listen to that because you deserve to surround yourself irl and online with positivity. [sic]'

Natural beauty: Sharing three pictures of herself clad in a skimpy black bikini, the 27-year-old model posed up a storm as she went make-up free in the series of shots

Explaining that everyone is beautiful, she added: 'So have a look who youre following and see if maybe you can follow more marginalised people who arent represented in the media and need their voices heard.

'Right so this is turning into me rambling on. But thats just it, Im not perfect Ive said this for years and also it was the focus of my TED talk that the pursuit of perfection is only detrimental to your mental and physical health.

'How can there be a definition when everyone is different and thats what is beautiful. So on body confidence day I want you to feel empowered by the fact youre #perfectlyYOU and so is your bestie and grandma and fourth cousin twice removed.'

Informative: Addressing her 3.7 million followers, she wrote: 'Did you know its body confidence Day? before discussing what empowerment meant to her

She continued: 'We are all here in these bodies which are our homes so lets start celebrating that and valuing and appreciating them for all their magical capabilities and experiences that they allow us to have in this world.

'Ok ramble over ILYSM for reading this (if u read it all comment emoji lol) #nomakeup #nophotoshop #yesimwearingasmallbikinibutnothatisntconsent'.

Iskra has always been passionate about body confidence, refusing to label herself a plus size model and previously protesting against the lack of diversity during London Fashion Week.
Demi Lovato has admitted she was doing drugs while simultaneously promoting her sobriety several years ago.

The songstress made the confession in her new documentary Simply Complicated, admitting that she was still using substances for a period of time in 2012.

The 25-year-old pop star went to rehab back in 2010 to seek treatment for a dependence on alcohol and drugs, and get therapy for an eating disorder and self-harming.

Confession: Demi Lovato has revealed she was still using drugs in 2012 when she was publicly promoting sobriety. She made the admission in her docuseries Simply Complicated

Of her relapse in 2012, she recalled: 'I wasn't working my program, I wasn't ready to get sober,' she explained, adding, 'I was sneaking [cocaine] on planes, I was sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night  I went on a bender of like, two months where I was using daily.

'There was one night when I used a bunch of coke and I popped a few Xanax bars, and I began to choke a little bit. My heart started racing, and I thought to myself, "Oh my God, I might be overdosing right now,"' the Cool For The Summer singer said.

Her manager Phil McIntyre recalled: 'We were in New York and she clearly was on something, and she was on air promoting this new way of life, and I was like, "Youre so full of it."'

McIntyre ended up reaching out to Demi's sober coach Mike Bayer but it wasn't an easy path.

'I was using while I had a sober companion,' Demi admitted. 'And I went through about 20 different sober companions.'

'I was sneaking [cocaine] on planes, I was sneaking it in bathrooms, sneaking it throughout the night' Demi said of the phase which forced her team to give her an ultimatum

The singer was temporarily placed on psychiatric hold after an incident where she downed half a bottle of pills in Palm Springs.

But she still continued to take drugs, as she recalled: 'I would sneak out and get drugs, I would fake my drug tests with other people's pee'

Eventually, what triggered Demi to stop the substance abuse was the thought of losing the people she cares about.

'The most important thing to Demi is losing people, losing people that she cares about and that love her,' Bayer said.

McIntyre said: 'I worked with everyone on the team  business managers, agents, attorneys, everybody, to say, "If Phil walks, we walk,"

'This was the showdown of all showdowns.' he added.

Demi was so upset at the thought of her team walking out on her, she asked what she could do to convince them to stay, at which point Bayer demanded she relinquish and destroy her cell phone which contained contact info for drug dealers.

She's come a long way: On Wednesday Demi shared a shocking image of how she looked before her recovery from bulimia nervosa alongside a more healthy image from this year

'When I was in a relationship with Wilmer I went three years without purging and when we broke up thats one of the first things I did' Demi recalled of her split with actor Valderrama

'Its embarrassing to look back on the person that I was,' Demi said, adding, 'I think that approach worked for me because  it was the beginning of the process of surrendering.'

On Wednesday the Confident hitmaker posted shocking before and after photos; one where she looks gaunt and underweight while suffering from bulimia nervosa next to a more recent healthier snap.

She labeled the photos 'then' and 'now' and captioned it 'recovery is possible'.

The songstress opens up about her battle with the eating disorder in her new documentary.

She confessed her breakup with Wilmer Valderrama caused her to fall back into her past struggles.

'When I was in a relationship with Wilmer I went three years without purging and when we broke up thats one of the first things I did,' she said to her manager, Phil McIntyre.

'I'm not the poster child for recovery': Demi has admitted it's an ongoing struggle to stay sober

'The less I have to think about food, the easier it is to go about having a normal life and I dont want to let anybody down so when I do have moments when I slip up, I feel very ashamed. What started the relapse was missing Wilmer. And when I feel lonely my heart feels hungry and I end up binging.'

She recalled one of her early childhood memories of binging, saying: 'I would bake cookies for my family and I would eat all of them and nobody would have any to eat. That was my first memory of food being that medicine for me,

'Food is still the biggest challenge in my life and it controls  I dont want to give it the power to say it controls my every thought, but its something that Im constantly thinking about.'

Demi has managed to stay clean ever since her rehab stint in 2010 but she admits her recovery still requires her to be vigilant everyday and she shares the difficulties about her teetotal lifestyle in her new YouTube documentary series.

'I want to be the best role model that I can be for my fans' the 25-year-old star admitted it was hard opening up for her new docuseries where she talks about overcoming her demons

Meanwhile, the singer has admitted it is a constant 'challenge' to stay sober.

In an interview with Billboard.com discussing the YouTube series, she said: 'I think what was difficult about the process was being honest about where I am in my life today. Telling the world that I'm not the poster child for recovery.

'Sometimes it is a struggle, and sometimes I still deal with issues that I have suffered from in the past. It's a challenge to maintain recovery, and I talk about that in the film.

'So, for me, it's like kind of admitting that I'm not ... Obviously I'm not perfect, but admitting that on camera. I want to be the best role model that I can be for my fans, so by admitting that I'm not perfect, it's kind of weird for me.'

In a clip from her docuseries last week, Demi is heard reflecting on her troubled years as she admits: 'I was not easy to work with'

'I went on like a bender for like two months, where I was using daily,' she continued.

Demi was involved in a short physical altercation on a private jet in Peru in 2010 where she apparently punched her dancer Alex Welch.

After the scuffle, the Disney star checked into rehab for 'emotional and physical' issues.

The pop star went to rehab back in 2010 to seek treatment for a dependence on alcohol and drugs, and get therapy for an eating disorder and self-harming. She is pictured the same year

Demi - who also lives with bipolar - has 50.3 million followers on Twitter and 61.5 million people checking out her photos on Instagram and she is proud to be a role model for all her fans.

The Sorry Not Sorry hitmaker thinks what makes her a good role model is that she has had to deal with her own demons and has been honest about the difficulties she has endured in her life.

She said: 'I think that's what makes me a role model for people is that I'm not perfect. It's that I'm honest about where I am, but I think for so long I've been such a strong advocate for the things I believe in, and certain things I still struggle with.

'I think explaining that on-camera was difficult for me, but it's needed. People need to hear that it's not a perfect journey and every day is easy; some days are challenging.'
She was raped at gunpoint when she was 19 years old and working at a Payless shoe store.

And hours after talking about her experience and the #MeToo campaign on Good Morning America, Gabrielle Union stepped out for her Martini & Rossi book tour after party in New York City.

The actress, 44, released her new book We're Going to Need more Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, And True on Tuesday.

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Casual: Gabrielle Union stepped out for her Martini & Rossi book tour after party in New York City on Tuesday

For the event celebrating her book release, the Being Mary Jane star donned a light peach toned sweater dress with a hoodie.

Gabrielle paired the casual look with neutral sneakers and a taupe cross body handbag.

The movie star rocked chunky hoop earrings and shimmery eye makeup for the event, which took place at The Jimmy at the James Hotel in the Big Apple.

Strength: The actress, 44, released her new book We're Going to Need more Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, And True on Tuesday

Having a laugh: For the event celebrating her book release, the Being Mary Jane star donned a light peach toned sweater dress with a hoodie; seen with Nicole Lyn aka DJ Ms Mix

Beaming beauty: Gabrielle paired the casual look with neutral sneakers and a taupe cross body handbag; seen with a guest

Last month, the She's All That actress revealed she's going on a book tour; it kicked off on Monday and will make stops in multiple cities across the US.

Her Real Life Book Club Tour #GabWithGab will stop in NYC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington D.C., LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Coral Gables and more.

Gabrielle first opened up about her horrifying rape in 2014 during her appearance on The View.

Good times: The star appeared to belt out a tune or two during the bash

Giddy: The movie star rocked chunky hoop earrings and shimmery eye makeup for the event, which took place at The Jimmy at the James Hotel in the Big Apple; seen with Jonathan Mannion and DJ Ms Mix

Focused: The brunette beauty spent time with friends at her book tour after party event in NYC

Gabrielle's new book, released Tuesday, talks in detail about her rape, which took place in the summer before her second year at the University Of California Los Angeles.

According to People, the star sued Payless for negligence because the company didn't warn employees that the rapist had robbed another store previously and was ID'ed.

Gabrielle won the suit and the rapist was sent to jail for 33 years in a plea deal, reports the magazine.

The pretty star also dropped by the SiriusXM studios in the Big Apple as part of her promotional series of interviews.

Pretty as a petal: Gabrielle also dropped by the SiriusXM studios in the Big Apple looking lovely in a pair of floral-themed slacks and a white t-shirt with a large red roses over her heart

She looked lovely in a pair of floral-themed slacks and a white t-shirt with a large red roses over her heart.

She wore her long hair tied back into a bun.

Gabrielle completed her look with a pair of rose pink pumps and a dusky colored clutch.

Say cheese: The upbeat actress took a selfie with SiriusXM host Godfrey C. Danchimah, Jr.

All smiles: She seemed to have a great time chatting away on the radio

Earlier, Gabrielle had sat down for an interview on Good Morning America.

The survivor told Robin Roberts 'For 20 years now, I've been trying to tell my story as honestly as possible and basically with the goal of never having to hear 'me too' ever again.

She is referring to the #MeToo campaign that Alyssa Milano started to expose the magnitude of sexual assault.

Gabrielle said her 'arm went numb' after seeing how many people responded and revealed they were victims too.

Adding: 'When I realized literally hundreds of thousands of people, men and women, [were] talking about being part of this unfortunate club...it just rips your heart out.'

Bravery: Hours before the event, Gabrielle sat down for an interview on Good Morning America
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Kim Kardashian can be a shrewd business woman with her KKW Beauty line and upcoming fragrance launch as well as her continued success with Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

But the 36-year-old blonde beauty can also be a cool mommy who lets her hair down as she illustrated on Tuesday when she took her daughter North, aged four, and son Saint, aged one, to a pumpkin patch in Westlake Village, California, which is near her hometown of Calabasas.

The cover girl looked alluring in her skintight black outfit with beige pointy boots. Noticeably absent was her husband Kanye West.

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Top mom: Kim Kardashian looked shapely in a tight black outfit as she took her two children to a pumpkin patch with fun rides in the Westlake Village neighborhood of Southern California

Two good: The 36-year-old reality TV star had with her daughter North, aged four, as well as son Saint, aged one

Kim was seen having a ball with her little ones as they enjoyed the attractions.

The Vogue star was seen riding down a slide with both North and Saint. Good thing the daughter of momager Kris Jenner, 61, took off her four inch heels for the experience.

North was also seen being a bit of a daredevil as she scaled a rope walkway with her hands and feet.

Too much sun: The KKW Beauty guru looked overwhelmed by the sun as California has been gripped by a heatwave

But there was plenty of relief: The patch sold water, soda and Gatorade and there was some shade

Always cover ready: The beauty queen looked made up to perfection even though there were no KUWTK cameras around; the show has been taping for the past several weeks

Festive in the fall: Kim was seen having a ball with her little ones as they enjoyed the attractions

Ready to go: The Vogue star was seen riding down a slide with both North and Saint. Good thing the daughter of momager Kris Jenner, 61, took off her four inch heels for the experience

There she goes! Kim smiled as Saint looked a bit scared while they took their ride on the slide

The photogenic little girl did not look scared at all but rather thrilled by the elevation.

The whole family looked styled by Kanye in their cool casual threads.

Kim wore a print black short-sleeved T-shirt that had Calabasas, California 91302 written on the top corner. And the Selfish author added unforgiving black Lycra leggings.

Hands on mommy: Kim oversaw the experience for the kids; not there was her husband Kanye West

She made her own choices: The sister of Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie took her time to pick out her pumpkins

She wore her blonde locks parted in the middle and stick straight.

The best friend of Jonathan Cheban also wore two gold necklaces designed by her rapper husband known for hits like Stronger and Paranoid.

North wore a Nas concert shirt as well as black leggings with fur slippers. Her hair was pulled up into two Princess Leia style buns with little baby bangs.

Stylish siren: Kim wore a print black short-sleeved T-shirt that had Calabasas written on the top corner. And the Selfish author added unforgiving black Lycra leggings

And little Saint added a white shirt with blue Adidas shorts and white Yeezy sneakers designed by daddy.

After the rides, Kim took her time to pick out the perfect pumpkins for her family and she seemed to like the larger ones. The clan is currently residing in their Bel-Air, California home as their $20 million Hidden Hills mansion near undergoes another round of renovations.

It's been a busy week for Kim.

Lots to do: They were seen outside a Happy Halloween bouncy house as North grabbed onto a ladder

Balancing act: North wore a Nas concert shirt as well in black with leggings. Her hair was pulled up into two Princess Leia style buns with little bangs

The reality TV star was also seen taping a Christmas special for Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

She watched as North skated in an ice rink.

Also there was Kris Jenner, Kendall, Kourtney and Khloe, who is reportedly four months pregnant with Tristan Thompson's baby.

Not there was Kylie Jenner, who is also allegedly pregnant with Travis Scott's child.

Neither Khloe nor Kylie has confirmed they are with child.

But Kim has. On an episode of KUWTK the looker confirmed her surrogate is pregnant with their third child.

On the show she is seen talking to Khloe. 'What happens every time I say, "Guess what?"' Kim is seen asking.

Now North's turn: Next her little girl looked thrilled as mommy rode down with her in her arms

Kim's mini me: North looked to be having the time of her life as she went on the slide several times in a row

This kid never has a bad day! Kim and Kanye's eldest child could not contain her excitement at the patch

Nas is her favorite? It's interesting that North wore a shirt for Nas and not for daddy Kanye; in the past West's friend Jay Z has said he was not a big fan of the artist

'Pregnant, or the persons pregnant,' Khloe said.

'Were having a baby!' Kim then said.

All three kids are reportedly due in early 2018.

Kim talked to Interview last month about being a parent in her big world.

Soon they will welcome a sibling: On an episode of KUWTK the looker confirmed her surrogate is pregnant with their third child. On the show she is seen talking to Khloe. 'What happens every time I say, "Guess what?"' Kim is seen asking. 'Pregnant, or the persons pregnant,' Khloe said. 'Were having a baby!' Kim then said

Time to go home! The kids looked tired as they made their way out of the pumpkin patch with mommy Kim

'We share so much all the time on the show. I obviously get a little bit more protective of my daughter because thats always been such a struggle: Do we have her on the show? Dont we?' she said.

'We have strict rules about the kids. Some seasons theyre not on at all. Some seasons theyre on a little bit, just to show a bit of personality, although there are never storylines about them.

'But then theres social media, on which Ive always been really open.'

The TV producer added: 'When Im out and people call Norths name, thats when its weird for me. She lives such a normal life, believe it or not, at home.'

Keeping Up With The Kardashians airs Sundays on E!
Their romance has shocked many and they've jetted off to Venice to get away from the hoopla.

But Scott Disick, 34, and girlfriend Sofia Richie, 19, were still snapped on a boat in the Italian city, looking as if they've truly settled into their new relationship.

Clearly incredibly close, Scott was even seen extracting something from Sofia's left nostril in order to relieve her sinus issues.

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Snot Disick! Reality star, 34, gets a little too close for comfort with girlfriend Sofia Richie, 19, as he PICKS HER NOSE on a boat in Venice

Stepping out: She wrapped up in a black winter coat, with Scott looking far more casual in a red hoodie, black jacket and jeans

Both wearing shades for the outing, Sofia wore her blonde mane tied back in a bun out of her face, leaving her nose perfectly poised for Scott's fingers.

She wrapped up in a black winter coat, with Scott looking far more casual in a red hoodie, black jacket and jeans.

Their day out in Venice saw the couple strutting along the waterside before boarding the boat, which took them across the canal towards the Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace.

Their excursion took them to a museum, where the pair were sure to upload some shots to Instagram to document day two of their getaway.

Out and about: Their day out in Venice saw the couple strutting along the waterside before boarding the boat, which took them across the canal towards the Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace

Seeing the sights: Their excursion took them to a museum, where the pair were sure to upload some shots to Instagram to document day two of their getaway

New fling: Their controversial romance has raised eyebrows since they went public last month

Cosy: Sofia, 19, was enjoying a romantic getaway with the self confessed 'sex addict' as they packed on the PDA in Venice

Their controversial romance has raised eyebrows since they went public last month.

And clearly swept up by the romantic aura of the city, the pair were all over each other as they shared a passionate kiss before strolling out to see the sights hand in hand the day before.

Sofia ignored her famous father Lionel Richie's advice as she soaked up the sights with her self-confessed 'sex addict' beau on the Euopean getaway.

Sofia had been in Venice for an appearance at Milan's Vittorio Emanuele store to launch the new Adidas Originals Iniki Runner colorway.



A lotta laughs: Sofia seemed tickled by something Scott was saying

Grin and bare it: The blonde bombshell was able to mix business with pleasure as she brought father-of-three Scott along for the trip

Culture vultures: The couple popped into some museums on the day out

Hold me close: The enamored duo gazed into the distance

Kicking back: As they soaked up the culture of the city, the happy couple relaxed on the water

Romance: The couple languished about on their romantic boat ride

Yet she was able to mix business with pleasure as she brought father-of-three Scott along for the trip.

Scott was seen sweetly helping the budding model board the boat, by placing a tender hand on her back, before the pair cosied up for the ride around the canals - indulging in a few more kisses as they soaked up the sights.

Earlier this month TMZ reported that Scott's ex Kourtney Kardashian had 'no problems' with him dating someone else, 'because if he's happy she's happy,' a source claimed.

Row row row your boat: The happy duo were engrossed in each other's company as they chatted on the boat

Naut-y but nice: The duo appeared relaxed in each other's company as they glided down the canal

Don't miss the boat: Sofia and Scott were all over each other as they holidayed in the romantic city

In sync: Scott and Sophia looked utterly comfortable in each other's presence as they strolled

Loving life: The new couple were the picture of style as they walked along the waterfront

Loving life: The pair seemed in good spirits as they enjoyed a sit down by the waters

Playing around: The pair seemed in excellent spirits as they larked around on the outing

That's amore: They proceeded to while away their afternoon on one of the city's famous gondolas - with Scott sweetly helping the young model onto the boat

Cosy: The couple proved to be very close as they cosied up on the boat

According to the site, Kourtney, who shares children Mason, 7, Penelope, 5, and 2-year-old Reign with her long term ex, isn't bothered about his relationship with Sofia 'because she thinks it's genuine and feels good that he's moving on'.

The same can't be said for Sofia's father Lionel, however, with the legendary musician, 68, admitting he was 'in shock' over his youngest child's choice of 'sex addict' boyfriend.

Lionel told US Weekly: 'I'm scared to death, are you kidding me? Have I been in shock?! I'm the dad, come on.'

Moving on: Earlier this month TMZ reported that Scott's ex Kourtney Kardashian had 'no problems' with him dating someone else, 'because if he's happy she's happy,' a source claimed

'Scared to death': The same can't be said for Sofia's father Lionel, however, with the legendary musician, 68, admitting he was 'in shock' over his youngest child's choice of 'sex addict' boyfriend
Opinion / Columnist

As each day passes, the nation is drawing closer and closer to the 2018 harmonised elections. This has seen serious political parties such as ZANU PF putting in place a number of programmes such as the ongoing Presidential Youth Interface rallies and acquiring motor vehicles in preparation for the watershed polls. Not so for the opposition camp, if the goings-on in various parties is anything to go by.The MDC-T, which touts itself as the biggest opposition party in Zimbabwe, is riven by serious conflict over a number of issues. As things stand today, the party's leader, Morgan Tsvangirai and one of his deputies, Thokozani Khupe are not seeing eye to eye over the former's decision to form and spearhead the MDC Alliance, a loose coalition of opposition political parties without consulting and securing the buy-in of his party's senior leadership.The MDC-T national chairman, Lovemore Moyo, and the Party's organising secretary, Abednigo Bhebhe are fighting in Khupe's corner as they do not agree with Tsvangirai. The conflict has not been without drama as the three senior party officials were assaulted on 6 August 2017, in Bulawayo while holding a meeting, following their boycotting of the MDC Alliance launch in Harare the previous day. The alliance standoff is threatening to split the party for the third time in 12 years.Although Tsvangirai is regarded as the face of the MDC-T, his health has been both a cause for concern and an opportunity for some senior party members. He spent a month in South Africa where he was flown in mid-September for the ongoing treatment of the cancer of the colon, which he was diagnosed with last year.Questions are already being raised over his ability to tackle the 2018 election campaign, given his frail health. Last week, the MDC-T Bulawayo South legislator, Eddie Cross torched a storm when he posted on his blog that Tsvangirai was seriously ill and "might not be able to handle the election and subsequently the responsibility of being president of a country". He now faces disciplinary action for telling the world what most people believe but are afraid to speak for fear of backlash.Tsvangirai's declining health has also seen some party members priming and positioning themselves to take over the reins of the party in the post Tsvangirai period. MDC-T co vice president, Nelson Chamisa has been known to be planning to take over the leadership of the party after 2023, when Tsvangirai was expected to have handed over the leadership to another senior party member. The current circumstances in the party seem to have conscientised him to the possibility of bringing his plans forward.On 26 September 2017, Chamisa and Khupe fought over a seat reserved for the opposition leader in Parliament. Khupe found Chamisa sitting on the seat reserved for her and an altercation ensued between the two. The matter was only resolved when Chamisa moved out of the august house and Khupe assume her seat, with the cajoling of co-vice president, Elias Mudzuri after initially refusing to occupy it.Although the incident could easily be dismissed as a freak and once off incident, it is symbolic of the feuding for the leadership position of the opposition party in the wake of Tsvangirai's worsening health. While senior party members such as spokesman, Obert Gutu and secretary general, Douglas Mwonzora strongly dispute that all is in order in the party and that Tsvangirai stands ready to lead the MDC-T 2018 harmonised election campaign effort, it is evident that political vultures in the opposition outfit are already circling above the visibly frail Tsvangirai.Other opposition parties are not faring any better either. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) is also battling for its own life, months before the elections. Like the MDC-T, the party is also divided by the MDC Alliance. In September the party's secretary general, Gorden Moyo announced the expulsion of Biti from the party for dragging the party into the MDC Alliance against the will of the majority of the party's leaders and members. The development saw Biti being replaced by national chairperson, Lucia Matibenga as the leader of the party, while his (Biti's) deputy, Kucaca Phulu was replaced by Sikhumbuzo Ndiweni.Moyo and National People's Party (NPP) deputy president, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo announced that a different coalition, which included the Dumiso Dabengwa-led ZAPU, had been formed. PDP spokesperson, Jacob Mafume dismissed the expulsion of Biti as "a tribal circus" while the party's youth assembly argued that no individual had the authority to fire, bar or suspend other party members.As if the dismissal charade was not enough, the party's former secretary for mobilisation, who is also the Zimbabwe Women in Politics Alliance (ZWPA), Linda Masarira abandoned the PDP in order to contest the Harare Central National Assembly constituency as an independent candidate. She was frustrated by the fact that the constituency, which she had been eyeing for long, would not fall under the PDP under the MDC Alliance's constituency sharing scheme. Retaining her membership of the PDP would cost her the opportunity to contest in the 2018 elections.Apart from this, she seemed disgruntled with the party somehow. This was reflected in the tweet, "Zimbabwe is swimming in deeper murky muddy waters of confusion, economic quagmire, and political discord. People first egos later," which she posted on her Twitter handle, @lilomatic on 29 September 2017. This seemed to be a barb directed at Biti and his executive.At the beginning of the year the MDC-T and the NPP warmed up to each other and even signed a coalition memorandum of understanding at Tsvangirai's Highlands house in Harare on 19 April 2017. At some point the issue in the coalition discourse was no longer about whether or not the NPP would join the coalition but about who between Tsvangirai and the NPP leader, Dr Joice Mujuru would lead the coalition. The coalition of opposition parties, which was hoped to bring the parties together to unseat ZANU PF, has paradoxically turned out to be their bane. The two fell out when Tsvangirai cobbled together the MDC Alliance with other small opposition and launched it on 5 August 2017, when negotiations between the two parties were still in progress.Besides the coalition challenges, Dr Mujuru is also grappling with a number of internal issues which have seen the party failing to gain traction let alone prepare for the 2018 elections. Since the NPP's inaugural elective congress, which was held in August 2017, it has reportedly kicked out several party executives while some have left on their own accord, accusing Mujuru of being dictatorial in her leadership.NPP treasurer-general, Wilbert Mubaiwa seems to be Mujuru's the next target as he was served with a letter on 9 October 2017 inviting him for a disciplinary hearing for allegedly claiming that he had defeated the opposition party's leader and promoting disunity in the party.Other small opposition parties such as ZANU Ndonga and the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF), which have set their sights on the elections, are pinning their hopes on the materialisation of the coalition as they have neither meaningful numbers nor clear and attractive policies to go it alone.
The House Of Cards set has been put on lockdown following a shooting in Maryland.

Producers confirmed to Variety that the incident took place just one mile from where the Netflix political drama - starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright - was being filmed.

A lone gunman killed three people and injured two more in the shooting at a Baltimore-area granite company at around 9am on Wednesday, having shot a sixth victim in Delaware earlier that morning.

Lockdown: The House Of Cards set has been put on lockdown following a shooting in Maryland just one mile from where the the Netflix political drama was being filmed

Police said Radee Labeeb Prince, 38, shot a person on the 2800 block of NE Boulevard in Wilmington, Delaware, before opening fire at Advanced Granite Solutions in Emmorton Business Park, around 20 miles northeast of central Baltimore, WBALTV11 reported.

The status of the Delaware victim had not yet been released. Two of the Maryland victims died on the scene and a third died later

One of the surviving victims was in critical condition and the third in serious condition.

Police warned that Prince then fled the scene in a car and was at large, 'armed and dangerous' and should not be approached.

At large: A lone gunman killed three people and injured two more in the shooting at a Baltimore-area granite company at around 9am on Wednesday

Suspect: Police said Radee Labeeb Prince, 38, shot a person on the 2800 block of NE Boulevard in Wilmington, Delaware, before opening fire at Advanced Granite Solutions

A lockdown was also placed on schools and businesses around the area.

In a joint statement, Netflix and Media Rights Capital confirmed: 'We have been in touch with local authorities and are aware of a shooting situation that happened about a mile away from the House of Cards set. Production on the show has not been impacted.'

House of Cards executive producer Dana Brunetti took to Facebook to reveal he had heard about the shooting while in LA, but was dismayed to find news stations were not covering it.

It's not known who was on set at the time of the shooting.

Uninformed: Executive producer Dana Brunetti (L) took to Facebook to reveal he had heard about the shooting while in Los Angeles (pictured with show star Kevin Spacey in 2014)

'Shooting near House of Cards set,' he posted.

'I turn on the news to see what is happening, and guess what theyre covering? Not the 5 dead and 3 wounded while gunman is still on the loose.

He added: 'CNN asked me to come on air the other day to talk about House of Cards and Russia, and today there is an ongoing active shooter near the House of Cards stage and ZERO coverage.

'Theyre going nonstop of Sessions and Trump! WTF?!'

Filming has just got started on season six of the Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright political drama.
Their romance has been riddled with rumours of strife since he relocated to Australia for a role on hit soap Neighbours.

Yet all appeared to be well in the Thomas-Mecklenburgh camp on Wednesday as Ryan took to Instagram to share a series of posts in a nod to Lucy, which she later reciprocated - illustrating no ill feelings between the loved-up duo.

The 26-year-old former TOWIE star has just launched 'With Self Love', a programme to help tackle anxiety, and in support of the stunner, Down Under-dwelling Ryan shared the slogan for the campaign while gushing about his pride.

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All good! Lucy Mecklenburgh and Ryan Thomas' romance has been riddled with rumours of strife since he relocated to Australia for a role on hit soap Neighbours

Last week, Lucy seemingly hinted at trouble in paradise with her boyfriend Ryan after he confirmed that he is going to be making a move to Australia, after landing a job on the soap Neighbours.

Appearing to take a swipe at him after the news broke, Lucy shared a photograph of a toad on Instagram with the caption: 'I seem to attract frogs', while Ryan appeared to be teasing a reunion as he penned: 'I'll give you one more chance.'

Lucy launched the new campaign in conjunction with her Results With Lucy fitness empire and while she has been storming the campaign trail, a number of stars have thrown their support behind her - most notably Ryan.

Sharing an image of the campaign slogan, he penned: 'This is a confidence course I truly believe in and something I feel I had to share. Well done @lucymeck1 @resultswithcecilia very proud of what you guys are trying to achieve.'

Supportive: Yet all appeared to be well in the Thomas-Mecklenburgh camp on Wednesday as Ryan took to Instagram to share a series of posts in a nod to Lucy, which she later reciprocated - illustrating no ill feelings between the loved-up duo

Grateful: Clearly pleased with his support, the stunning star re-posted his message with a note of gratitude

Grateful: He also posted an image of a delicious looking meal on which he tagged her Instagram handle

Clearly pleased with his support, the stunning star re-posted his message with a note of gratitude, while he also posted an image of a delicious looking meal on which he tagged her Instagram handle.

Away from her cryptic love life, she was living her own tropical dream as she shared a picture from the Juice Hideaway in Marbella earlier in the day.

Posing up a storm at the poolside, the fitness guru drew attention to her ample cleavage in a keyhole bikini, as she showed her actor beau what he could be missing.

Ryan, who? Though staying at a fitness retreat, former The Only Way Is Essex star Lucy looked gym-honed her matching black two-piece

While staying at a fitness retreat, former The Only Way Is Essex star Lucy looked gym-honed her matching black two-piece.

Thanks to her stay in the sun-drenched retreat, the reality star flaunted a gorgeous, glowing tan. The Essex born beauty looked healthy and happy as she shared with her fans that she was feeling 'refreshed and full of energy'.

She captioned the shot: 'Feeling refreshed, full of energy and educated after my raw food retreat! Excited for new ventures.'

Gym bunny: Lucy is channeling her heartache into what she knows best - fitness

MailOnline has previously approached Lucy Mecklenburgh and Ryan Thomas' representatives for comment.

Sparks flew when they met on Bear Grylls' Celebrity Island where they were in the midst of water shortages, extreme hunger and tropical storms.

After developing a strong bond on the survival show, the pair continued their romance on home turf.

Intense work out: The Essex born beauty looked healthy and happy as she shared with her fans that she was feeling 'refreshed and full of energy'

Love is survival: Sparks flew when she met Ryan on Bear Grylls' Celebrity Island where they were in the midst of water shortages, extreme hunger and tropical storms

It had appeared to be going strong, with Lucy even being introduced to Ryan's eight-year-old daughter Scarlet whom he shares with former flame Tina O'Brien.

The actor found success with Coronation Street's Jason Grimshaw for 16 years before leaving the show to seek other opportunities.

Ryan said: 'I grew up watching Neighbours so to get the chance to join the cast is amazing. I was on holiday with my daughter when I got the phone call.'
It was reported that she is set to walk up the aisle in June 2018 with her fiance Hugo Taylor.

Now putting wedding planning on the backburner, Millie Mackintosh stepped out in style on Wednesday night as she attended the launch of The Trafalgar St. James alongside a bevy of beauties including Jess Wright.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 28, stunned in an eye-catching mini dress as she celebrated the opening in the hotel's spectacular new bar The Rooftop.

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Getting chic done: Millie Mackintosh stepped out in style on Wednesday night as she attended the launch of The Trafalgar St. James

Her sixties-inspired thigh-grazer featured colourful floral print throughout while a white crotchet lace panel covered the middle of her chest.

The high-neck look boasted billowing sleeves and highlighted her svelte figure with its A-line skirt silhouette.

Millie's sartorial display showcased her slender pins to perfection while she added inches to her frame with a pair of pointed black pumps.

Keeping to her bohemian theme, she worked her glossy locks into a tousled style which fell down her shoulders into a soft curl.

Style savvy: The former Made In Chelsea star stunned in an eye-catching mini dress as she celebrated the opening in the hotel's spectacular new bar The Rooftop alongside Jess Wright (R)

Work it: Her sixties-inspired thigh-grazer featured colourful floral print throughout while a white crotchet lace panel covered the middle of her chest

Flaunt it: The high-neck look boasted billowing sleeves and highlighted her svelte figure with its A-line skirt silhouette

Warming up: She draped a wool jacket over her shoulders

In the fabric: She held onto her complementing velvet clutch

She kept her accessories to a minimum merely wearing a pair of silver hoops and a sprinkling of rings including her engagement sparkler.

Continuing the style, Jess Wright, 32, slipped into a billowing emerald green jumpsuit which featured a plunging neckline.

Her head-turning attire teased at her ample cleavage while her glossy brunette locks were worked up into chic chignon at the nape of her neck.

The former TOWIE beauty accessorised her look with a gold chain strapped Gucci bag which she draped over her shoulder and complementing emerald earrings.

Dressed to impress: The fashion darling highlighted her lean limbs in the thigh-grazing number

All that glitters: She flashed her impressive engagement ring while leaving the soiree

Golden gal: She accentuated her golden glow in her flirty number

Flawless: Millie showcased her flawless complexion with a dusting of bronzer across her cheekbones

Green with envy: Continuing the style, Jess Wright, 32, slipped into a billowing emerald green jumpsuit which featured a plunging neckline

Seventies vibes: Her head-turning attire teased at her ample cleavage while her glossy brunette locks were worked up into chic chignon at the nape of her neck

Stepping out: She donned a pair of zig zag sandals for the evening

All in the details: The former TOWIE beauty accessorised her look with a gold chain strapped Gucci bag which she draped over her shoulder and complementing emerald earrings

Red hot: Jess teamed her green ensemble with a red manicure and pedicure

Meanwhile, Millie's appearance comes after it was been reported that Rosie Fortescue will act as bridesmaid for her impending nuptials to Hugo Taylor.

According to The Sun Online, the big day - which will be Millie's second marriage - is set to take place in June 2018 in a plush venue nestled in the Surrey countryside.

The reality star-turned-designer will also have BFF Caggie Dunlop and TV presenter Zara Martin by her side as she walks up the aisle.

However an eyebrow has definitely been raised over her choice to have Made in Chelsea star Rosie with her, after she kissed Millie's fiance Hugo in 2012 - which caused them to split.

Suit you! Lottie Moss arrived in style in a baby pink suit

In the pink: She donned a flared trouser suit and a pair of black heels

Golden girl: She arrived alongside MIC star Georgia Toffolo

Hair-raising: Lottie neatly blow dried her golden locks

Sparkling: Georgia sizzled in a green sequin mini dress alongside her pal Valentine Sozbilir

Chest a glimpse: Laura Whitmore sizzled on the carpet in a bust-teasing ensemble

Fashion fiend: The 32-year-old presenter in the black midi dress that hinted at her taut stomach

Pincredible: She showcased her slender pins in the semi-sheer chiffon number

Winter warmer: She later left the launch wearing a knee-length grey wool coat

All in details: Keeping to an all black theme, she accessorised her attire with a heart-embellished silk bag and sprinkling of rings across her manicure mitts

Picture perfect: The MTV host added inches to her svelte frame with a pair of high-heeled Chelsea boots while she worked her golden locks into a tousled curl alongside Nick Grimshaw

Camera ready: Laura posed with pals Dougie Poynter and Sam Rollinson

Accents: She draped a blue and black scarf over her shoulder

Bag it up: She carried an eye-catching leather bag in her manicured hand

Fans of the E4 show will remember the memorable moment fashionista Millie threw a drink in Hugo's face after she found out he had been seeing her BFF in secret during the second series.

Speaking to the publication, a source said about their nuptials: 'Its Millies dream wedding and she cant wait for the big day.

'Shes been planning the day practically since the day Hugo proposed, and everyones really excited for her. Its going to be a beautiful wedding.'

MailOnline had contacted Millie's rep for comment at the time.

Model behavior: Iskra Lawrence poured her curves into a pair of brown PVC jeans for the evening

Fashion forward: The model, 27, teamed her high waisted garment with a white sleeveless top with tie-side detail which teased at her torso

Cheeky: She showcased her perky posterior in her skintight pants

No shade: The fashion star accessorised her look with a pair of cat-eye shades with red lens

Denim days: Newly-single Pete Wicks cut a stylish figure in his charcoal denims

Hell for leather: The TOWIE star teamed his look with a patterned shirt and black leather jacket

Catching up: Pete posed with Proudlock at the glitzy soiree

Beaming: Pete looked in high spirits as he arrived to the party

The couple confirmed their engagement to MailOnline in July a year after rekindling their romance, as speculation surrounded Millie sporting a new rock on her engagement finger in Greece.

The news came 14 months after former Made In Chelsea star Millie's divorce was finalised with Professor Green, 33.

They previously dated back in 2011 when they met on E4 reality show, Made In Chelsea. But the union was not to last and ended rather dramatically when Millie discovered Hugo had cheated on her with her friend, Rosie Fortescue.

At the time, Millie claimed she would always love Hugo, saying in an interview: 'I loved him - those feelings dont disappear  but I just always have to remind myself why were not together.'

Jump to it: Nick Grimshaw donned a grey and yellow wool jumper

Chilled: The radio broadcaster teamed his top with a pair of navy suit pants and a pair of Vans

Mane attraction: The Radio 1 DJ perfectly coiffed his locks off his face

Making a statement: Dougie Poynter attended the event in his signature style

Party people: The bassist (L) posed on the carpet alongside MIC's Oliver Proudlock - who donned a camouflage shirt and vibrant yellow jumper for the occasion

All smiles: The reality star was all smiles as he arrived at the exclusive bash

Perfect pair: The reality star posed with his stunning other half Emma Connolly

Chic: Sadie Frost oozed Parisian chic in an all black ensemble

Spot the difference: She wrapped a skinny leopard print scarf around her neck

Pals: Sadie caught up with pal Nick while he entertained the crowd

'I do think that, for the rest of my life, every time I see him, Ill get that feeling in my stomach. I dont think I could ever not get that butterfly feeling.

Millie and Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, announced their split in February 2016 after just over four years together.

In a statement released at the time, they said: 'It is a mutual decision, we still care deeply about each other and would like it to be known that it is on amicable terms and we wish each other well.

Their two-and-a-half-year marriage was dissolved in just 30 seconds in May 2016.

Walk this way: Model Jodie Kidd donned a silver paisley print bomber

Accessories: She accessorised her look with a number of bracelets around her wrist

Hell for leather: She teamed her look with a pair of pointed patent pumps

She can stomach it: Roxie Nafousi flashed her taut stomach in a pair of high-waisted denims

What a (tummy) tease: Roxie donned a pink cropped jumper

Charming: Model Sam Rollinson dazzled in a black shift dress with embellishment around her shoulders

They were granted a decree nisi at Central London Family Court, with Millie citing 'unreasonable behaviour' as the reason for their split.

In the wake of the engagement news, thoughts seemed to turn to Millie's ex, when it was claimed that the marriage news was being treated as 'sensitive'.

Millie and Stephen started dating in November 2011 after the rapper saw her on the cover of men's magazine FHM. The rapper contacted Millie through her agent and they had their first date at the Groucho Club in Soho.

They went public at the BRIT Awards in February 2012, with Stephen proposing on holiday in Paris just over a year later in 2013.

Colourful: Model Felicity Hayward stunned in her colourful kimono

Stylish: Soprano singer Laura Wright walked the carpet in her black cigarette pants

Party: Felicity (L) and Naomi Isted posed together after the soiree

Style stars: Yasmin Evans (L) and Pips Taylor stepped out for the event in style

The couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Babington House in Frome, Somerset, in September 2013.

Earlier this year, Pro Green lashed out at Millie in his new track Eye On The Door, rapping about their lack of sex life, drug use and hinting that cheating was to blame for their split.

But in spite of his very public bashing of his ex-wife, the musician admitted that splitting from Millie felt like experiencing a death.

He told the i newspaper in July: 'Of course whether youre happy somethings finished or not, it doesnt change the fact that it does still feel like theres been a death.

Red hot: Israeli socialite Hofit Golan donned a red and black colour block mini dress

Slinky: Model Sophie Anderton stunned in an one-shouldered silk dress

Fancy footwork: She paired her look with a denier tight and strappy heel

Relaxed: Irish stage actress Eva O'Connor (L) and director of BBC Three series Overshadowed Hildegard Ryan

'An energy thats always been in your presence is suddenly no longer there and youre an idiot if you think thats not going to affect you.'

The rapper has since moved on with model Fae Williams. Meanwhile, the socialite also admitted her relationship with Hugo is completely different to when they dated during their Made In Chelsea years.

'It was definitely weird dating someone when there was a camera there, but only there for half of what was going on.'

And Millie even hinted that she is eyeing a family with Hugo in the future, adding: 'I'd definitely like two kids, but I'm happy to be the baby-sitter for now.

'I'm a godmother and have three pregnant friends. I'm enjoying seeing them go through it.'

Ready for fun: Model Hannah Hardy and English rapper Mikill Pane attended the star-studded party
He was rumoured to be the 'winner' of this season of The Bachelorette before he even appeared on the show.

And now it seems that Stu Laundy, 44,may have let slip that he does win Sophie Monk's heart.

The millionaire suitor revealed to Who: 'I haven't been this happy in 20 years!'

'It's been close to 20 years since I brought a girl home!' The Bachelorette rumoured winner Stu Laundy gets ready for hometown week as he reveals his heart was 'badly broken' by his divorce

As he prepares for hometown week, when Sophie Monk will meet his nearest and dearest, Stu also confessed that he's only just recovered from his divorce.

'My heart was badly broken by my ex-wife,' he told the magazine.

'I was in a world of pain. I haven't been this happy in 20 years.'

True love? The frontrunner also told the magazine that his feelings for Sophie had grown 'astronomically' and that he feels his and Sophie's lives would fit together perfectly

The frontrunner also told the magazine that his feelings for Sophie had grown 'astronomically' and that he feels his and the blonde bombshell's lives would fit together perfectly.

He's still nervous about taking his girl home to meet his relatives though, as he admitted: 'It's been close to 20 years since I brought a girl home to the family.'

Stu, who divorced wife Rachel in 2013, has previously been linked to Sophie Falkiner, Stephanie Rice and Laura Csortan.

Winner?! It seems that Stu Laundy, 44,may have let slip that he does win Sophie Monk's heart

On Wednesday's episode, the sparks certainly flew between Stu Laundy and Sophie Monk as the pair embarked on a romantic date together.

Before seeing Sophie, 37, Stu admitted that he needed to 'step it up' to ensure he'd make it to the coveted hometown visit episode.

'I'd love you to meet my family,' the charming businessman told a wide-eyed Sophie.

He then told the blonde beauty that he felt more compatibility with her than he did with his ex-wife of 15 years, who is the mother of his four children.

'It's been close to 20 years since I brought a girl home to the family' Stu may be the favourite to win The Bachelorette but he's still nervous about taking Sophie home to meet his relatives

Suave Stu also convinced Sophie that he isn't a 'player.'

'I'm not that guy,' he said. 'I don't know how to convince you I was 15 years, you know? I think that just rules me out of being that guy.'

A swooning Sophie, who was clearly falling under Stu's spell, then asked: 'Do you think you could be happy with me?'

'I am happy with you,' he responded.

He continued: 'I can't believe no-one has snapped you up and treated you properly.'

'I'm certainly not ready for this journey to end. I came here chasing happiness, and I'm ready for it. Really ready for it,' he insisted to a smitten Sophie.

He finished: 'I came here for Soph and I don't want to leave without her.'
He issued a public apology last week after becoming involved in a groping scandal off the back of the Harvey Weinstein sex abuse allegations.

But it seems Ben Affleck's girlfriend Lindsay Shookus is standing by her man, with the pair spotted together for the first time since his revelation as they headed to a rehab center in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The actor, 45, and the Emmy-winning SNL producer, 37, were seen heading inside as Ben continues to battle his lifelong demons with alcoholism.

Stand by your man: Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus were spotted together for the first time since his groping scandal as they headed to a rehab center in Los Angeles on Wednesday

The Batman star stepped out of his luxury chauffeured SUV wearing grey sneakers and black jeans, and a leather bomber jacket.

The father-of-three's red T-shirt advertised the uber-exclusive Baker's Bay Marina in The Bahamas.

Ben, who is being treated for alcohol addiction, was spotted shoving a vape into his pocket as he rocked up.

He added a pair of aviator sunglasses, maintaining his now-more-salt-than-pepper facial fuzz.

Staying together: The actor, 45, and the Emmy-winning SNL producer, 37, were seen heading inside as Ben continues to battle his lifelong demons with alcoholism

Pricey: His red T-shirt advertised the uber-exclusive Baker's Bay Marina in The Bahamas

Cool: The Batman star stepped out of his luxury chauffeured SUV wearing grey sneakers and black jeans, and a leather bomber jacket

Lindsay cut a comber figure in dark jeans and a top, matching her man's leather jacket and aviators look.

Though they entered as a twosome, Ben emerged from what is supposed to be his final day at the Rehab Recovery Center with a third party member: a new dog.

The movie star lead the adorable husky by the collar out to his waiting SUV.

Snap: Lindsay cut a comber figure in dark jeans and a top, matching her man's leather jacket and aviators look

New romance: The SNL producer has been dating the actor since the summer, but has not been seen with him since the groping scandal erupted last week

However, the puppy didn't seen to keen on getting in, forcing Ben to scoop him up in his arms and haul him inside.

A source close to the Oscar-winner revealed Ben first encountered the stray a month ago, and has since adopted him.

Ben's ex-wife Jennifer Garner, 45, looked far cheerier as she stepped out to grab a coffee in New York.

It had been reported recently that she 'is very annoyed' with Ben because of the unwanted attention his groping scandal has brought to their three children, Violet, 11, Seraphina, eight, and Samuel, five.

New friend: Though they entered as a twosome, Ben emerged from what is supposed to be his final day at the Rehab Recovery Center with a third party member: a new dog

This way: The movie star lead the adorable husky by the collar out to his waiting SUV

Er, no thanks: But the puppy didn't seen to keen on getting in to the vehicle, forcing to scoop him up in his arms and haul him inside

Part of the family: A source close to the Oscar-winner revealed Ben first encountered the stray a month ago, and has since adopted him

Last week, the Oscar-winning actor issued a public apology for groping former One Tree Hill star and MTV correspondent Hilarie Burton during an MTV TRL appearance in 2003.

Hilarie made her allegations just hours after Ben took to Twitter to condemn disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for his alleged sexual assault and harassment scandal.

Former Weinstein protegee Ben said he was 'saddened and angry' over the 'sickening' claims.

Cheery: Meanwhile Ben's ex-wife Jennifer Garner, 45, looked far cheerier as she stepped out to grab a coffee in New York

Unhappy: It had been reported recently that she 'is very annoyed' with Ben because of the unwanted attention his groping scandal has brought to their three children

His statement was slammed by a number of people - including Weinstein accuser actress Rose McGowan, who called Ben a liar.

Ben was quick to reply, tweeting: 'I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize.'

Affleck has been frequently visiting the center over the past few weeks as he continues to battle his demons after completing a stint in rehab for alcohol addiction in March.

He wrote on Facebook at the time: 'I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront. I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be.'
It was another terrible week for the boys' team on The Apprentice.

And self-proclaimed 'Tory Boy' Elliot Van Emden bore the brunt of it when he was fired by Lord Sugar at the end of Wednesday evening's episode, making it the third week in a row that the men have lost their task.

But Elliot, 31, thinks the animosity in the women's camp will be their downfall and finally lead to the end of their winning streak.

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'Tensions will start to manifest!' Newly-fired Elliot Van Emden [L] predicts the girls' lucky streak will end soon as animosity between them will reach boiling point

Out: Self-proclaimed 'Tory Boy' Elliot Van Emden bore the brunt of it when he was fired by Lord Sugar at the end of Wednesday evening's episode, making it the third week in a row that the men have lost their task

'Hopefully the girls will finally lose the task next week,' he told MailOnline. 'I think that tensions will start to manifest further soon.'

'Or the boys will actually make the right decisions for once!'

The girls - namely the likes of Elizabeth McKenna and Siobhan Smith - have been seen squabbling vehemently over the past three weeks.

Elliot retains that he could have 'gone all the way' on the show, and that the boys constant losing is thanks to bad decision making on the team's part.

'On week one we made buffalo burgers instead of beef,' he recalled. 'On week two we decorated a hotel room with a stack of suitcases. This week, we aimed our robots at the cver 60s while the girls chose the youth market.

High hopes: Elliot retains that he could have 'gone all the way' on the show, and that the boys constant losing is thanks to bad decision making on the team's part

Catty: The girls - namely the likes of Elizabeth McKenna and Siobhan Smith - have been seen squabbling vehemently over the past three weeks

'Harrison [Jones] chose the wrong things for the robot to do. People are making those snap decisions, yes, but its a group thing overall. I was on the bad team.'

Elliot retains that he was the one during the task - which saw them designing a robot - telling the others to check the spelling on their pitch board and telling them they were running out of time.

'Our pitch was the pits. And if anyone had to go then it should have been Harrison,' Elliot said.

Getting technical: Elliot retains that he was the one during the task - which saw them designing a robot - telling the others to check the spelling on their pitch board and telling them they were running out of time

Pitching out: 'Our pitch was the pits. And if anyone had to go then it should have been Harrison,' Elliot said

The former employee of David Cameron admits he was 'disappointed' to leave in week three, that he 'didn't enter to go out at this point' and that that he would have liked to be project manager.

'Im a good salesman and a natural born leader.' he stated. 'I wouldnt have dithered. I call it as it is.'

And does he think the ex Prime Minister, his old boss, was watching his turn on The Apprentice?

'I'd like to think so. I hope hes a fan of The Apprentice. I worked for him before he was PM, but it was an amazing experience.'

Man VS Machine: The contestants were told to create a walking, talking, robot, pick their target audience, voice the gadget and pitch it to big corporations and small retailers

Elliot found himself in the board room alongside Harrison and Project Manager Michaela Wain [who had been transferred to the boys' team as their numbers were starting to dwindle] fighting for his place in the competition after his team Vitality failed to sell their robot - resulting in a measly profit of just 5,785.60 in comparison to team Graphene's impressive 57,827.55.

The contestants were told to create a walking, talking, robot, pick their target audience, voice the gadget and pitch it to big corporations and small retailers.

However, somewhere along the line, Vitality managed to trip themselves up as they changed the name of their robot from Jeffrii to Siimon after they'd done their recording - meaning their pitch was confusing for top corporation bosses.

They also decided to aim their device at people over 60 but offended Lord Sugar - who is 70 - by suggesting that people over that age would have memory loss and would benefit from the robot reminding them to take their medication at certain times.

The Apprentice continues next week on BBC One at 9PM.
She should be enjoying her time off since abruptly quitting Nine's Today show on Monday.

But Lisa Wilkinson seemed keen to keep incognito on Wednesday while visiting a bottle shop in Sydney.

The 57-year-old was desperate to go unrecognised - hiding behind her white Audi in in pair of huge designer sunglasses - with some joking that she's hiding from the wrath of a 'p**sed off' Carrie Bickmore.

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You better take cover! Lisa Wilkinson hides behind her Audi after quitting Today as it's revealed Carrie Bickmore is p**ssed off that veteran host will earn FOUR TIMES more than her on The Project

Something to hide! Lisa seemed keen to keep incognito on Wednesday while on a trip out

Carrie was quick to congratulate Lisa for quitting the Today show over an equal pay dispute on Monday this week.

But behind closed doors, she is said to have been annoyed by the news that the veteran host will be getting paid almost four times more than her when she joins her on The Project.

Lisa kept her head down and her body down low as she manoeuvred around the car.

The brunette, who was seen wearing a pair of crisp white trousers and a black blouse, was seemingly trying to avoid snappers as she pulled the odd moves out of her car.

Keeping cover from Carrie? The 57-year-old seemed desperate to go unrecognised as she crawled around her Audi

Incognito: Lisa hide beside her car in a pair of huge dark designer sunglasses

Lisa looked to be checking all around her for camera lenses as she scuttled out of the vehicle, which was parked outside a bottle shop in Sydney's Neutral Bay.

The presenter may have been buying herself some bottles of champagne to celebrate her new role at Channel Ten that is said to be worth $2 million.

In comparison, Carrie is rumoured to earn $500,000 - an amount almost four times less than Lisa.

Dodging lenses: Lisa looked to be checking all around her for camera lenses as she scuttled out of the vehicle, which was parked outside a bottle shop in Sydney's Neutral Bay

According to The Daily Telegraph, Carrie is 'less than impressed' with Ten's decision to recruit the decorated reporter, who will debut on The Project next year.

'[She is] p*ssed off at Wilkinson being shipped in to sit alongside her,' insiders allegedly told the publication.

The Daily Telegraph noted that the centre of Carrie's frustration is likely to be her comparably meek pay packet of a rumoured $500,000 - an amount almost four times less than Lisa is said to be earning in her role on The Project.

On Monday night, Lisa sensationally revealed she was quitting the Today show and defecting to Channel Ten, taking up a role on The Project in 2018.

Avoiders anonymous: Lisa kept her head down and her body down low as she manoeuvred around the car

'[She is] p*ssed off at Wilkinson being shipped in to sit alongside her': Rumours have been swirling that Carrie Bickmore was 'p*ssed off' after learning Lisa will earn four times more than her on The Project

Shock exit: Network Ten swiftly revealed their latest acquisition only minutes after Lisa (pictured with Karl Stefanovic) announced on Monday night she would be leaving the Today show

The Project's Waleed Aly and Carrie Bickmore wasted no time in gushing over their soon-to-be co-star live on air the following day, with Carrie praising Lisa as 'smart, funny and down-to-earth'.

Carrie's comments came just hours after she took to Instagram earlier in the day to share a photo of herself cosied up with Waleed and Lisa.

She accompanied with the caption: 'Can't wait to see your beaming face on @theprojecttv soon.'

Praise: The Project's Waleed Aly and Carrie wasted no time in gushing over their soon-to-be co-star live on air

'All class Lisa @lisa_wilkinson. Congrats on an incredible stint at Today babe. Hope you enjoyed your sleep in,' she said.

The mother-of-two also gushed about her new co-host's positive qualities, using the hashtags 'smart', 'funny' and 'genuine'.

While fans had been wondering whether Lisa might 'replace' one of the current hosts, a spokesperson at Channel Ten told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that this is not the case.

'Lisa will join the hosting team of The Project. Her role at Ten will include hosting The Sunday Project,' a statement read.

'She is NOT replacing Carrie, Waleed or Pete. To suggest she is would be total nonsense.

New role! Lisa will join the likes of hosts Carrie, Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar on the popular current affairs show in January 2018
She's the Australian model whose career is going from strength to strength internationally.

And on Wednesday, Shanina Shaik was proving why she's in high demand as she stepped out in New York looking absolutely stunning.

The 26-year-old donned all-black attire for the occasion and a gave a glimpse of what's underneath by opting for a racy sheer turtleneck.



Back to black! On Wednesday, Australian model Shanina Shaik (pictured) stunned as she stepped out in New York in racy sheer turtleneck

The Victoria's Secret model matched the see-through top with a leather jacket and high-waisted, charcoal jeans which were loosely fitted.

Sticking to the colour scheme, Shanina topped off the outfit with a pair of black boots.

Accessorising the ensemble, the stunner opted for stylish sunglasses and had her hands full clutching her phone and a refreshing looking drink.

Going hell for leather! The 26-year-old matched the racy top with a leather jacket and high-waisted jeans

Stunner! Looking gorgeous as ever, Shanina opted for all-black attire and clutched to her phone and a refreshing looking drink

Flawless: The fiancee of DJ Ruckus chose a minimal makeup palette, which accentuated her flawless skin, bold eyebrows and plump pink pout

Looking as gorgeous as ever, Shanina wore her hair down and parted to the side.

The fiancee of DJ Ruckus chose a minimal makeup palette, which accentuated her flawless skin and bold eyebrows.

Shanina also put her plump pink pout on display during the outing.

She's got what it takes! For the casual outing, Shanina still looking stunning

Catching up! Shanina had been joined at breakfast by a mystery male friend who put his arm around the model while they chatted and drank coffee

Shanina had been joined at breakfast by a mystery male friend who cut a casual figure in a light-blue denim jacket over a black hoodie.

It appeared the pair were having an enjoyable time together as the man put his arm around Shanina as they chatted and drank coffee.

Never one to shy away from a photo opp, Shanina - who has just celebrated reaching one million followers on Instagram - could be seen checking her notifications and taking a selfie on her phone.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended that the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic be augmented by an additional 900 soldiers

Warning of a risk of ethnic cleansing, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged the Security Council to beef up the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic with 900 extra troops.

In a report to the council, Guterres said the 12,000-strong MINUSCA mission had reached its limit and was struggling to cope with the worsening violence in the impoverished African country.

"Since late 2016, the security situation progressively deteriorated outside Bangui, with growing sectarian violence and a heightened risk of ethnic cleansing in parts of the country," Guterres said in the report, which was obtained by AFP.

"I therefore recommend an increase of 900 military personnel," including two infantry companies and a battalion to be deployed in the east and center of the country, he said.

The UN chief will pay his first visit to the Central African Republic later this month as the country struggles to overcome the sectarian violence that exploded after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the mainly Muslim Seleka alliance.

France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka alliance but the country remains plagued with violence.

More than 600,00 people have been driven from their homes within the country and an additional 500,000 have crossed borders to become refugees. Half of the population, or 2.4 million Central Africans, are in need of aid.

The Security Council is to decide next month on renewing MINUSCA's mandate as the United States, the biggest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, is pushing for cost-cutting measures.

In his report, Guterres said the extra troops will not realistically allow MINUSCA to protect all civilians, but will give the force greater flexibility to deploy quickly to areas where civilians come under threat.

The 900 troops will allow the force "to shape and influence security situations, rather than react to them," he argued.
Former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese (pictured) and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott have been charged with failing to follow accounting standards and company policies

Rio Tinto and two former top executives were charged with fraud by US authorities on Wednesday, accused of inflating the value of the company's Mozambique coal assets and failing to disclose mounting losses.

The world's second biggest miner vowed to "vigorously" defend the allegations.

The complaint was filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a Manhattan court, Rio said, with the miner, former chief executive Tom Albanese and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott charged with failing to follow accounting standards and company policies.

The Anglo-Australian giant bought its Mozambique assets for US$3.7 billion in 2011 and sold them for just US$50 million three years later, forced to write off $US3.0 billion from the value of its investment.

Albanese ultimately lost his job over the issue.

The SEC alleges the company failed to accurately value the acquisition and hid or delayed disclosure of the mounting losses.

"As alleged in our complaint, Rio Tinto's top executives allegedly breached their disclosure obligations and corporate duties by hiding from their board, auditor, and investors the crucial fact that a multi-billion dollar transaction was a failure," said the SEC's co-director of its Enforcement Division Stephanie Avakian.

Fellow co-director Steven Peikin added in a statement: "Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch. They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth."

Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto Limited, Albanese, and Elliott are charged with violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of the US federal securities laws.

The regulator is seeking injunctions, a return of "allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest", and civil penalties. It also wants to ban Albanese and Elliott from again serving as public company officers or directors.

According to the SEC's complaint, Rio acquired the Mozambique projects shortly after disclosing huge losses at its previous large-scale acquisition, Alcan.

Both took place under Albanese's leadership.

It claims the African project failed as it was based on the incorrect assumption that Rio could inexpensively mine, transport, and sell large quantities of high-quality coal, chiefly using barges for shipping.

The SEC alleges it suffered setbacks almost immediately, as Rio, Albanese, and Elliott learned there was less coal and of lower quality than expected, and Mozambique had rejected its barge application.

After already impairing Alcan, Rio, Albanese, and Elliott knew that publicly disclosing a second failure would call into question their ability to pursue other long-term, low-cost, and highly-profitable mining assets, it added.

Instead, they are accused of concealing the problems, allowing the company to release misleading financial statements days before a series of US debt offerings.

Rio said the case was flawed.

"Rio Tinto believes that the SEC case is unwarranted and that, when all the facts are considered by the court, or if necessary by a jury, the SEC's claims will be rejected," it said in a statement.
11/14/2022

After the first week of the season, Chattanooga Mocs mens basketball graduate transfer Jake Stephens has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday ... more
Eviation Aircraft co-founder and chief executive Omer Bar-Yohay speaks of a future in which people could take Uber to a regional airport, then summon an electric plane with an app to whisk them inexpensively to destinations hundreds of miles away

Eviation Aircraft chief executive Omer Bar-Yohay pictures a day not too far away when summoning a bargain plane ride with a smartphone will be as easy as hailing Uber.

The Israel-based startup working on a self-piloting, electric aircraft was at the WSJD Live conference here Tuesday with a vision of "Uber meeting Tesla in the sky."

Bar-Yohay spoke of a future in which people could take Uber to a regional airport, then use another smartphone application to summon an Eviation electric plane to whisk them inexpensively to destinations hundreds of miles away.

"What would happen if Uber meets Tesla in the sky?" Bar-Yohay asked rhetorically in an interview.

"I think it makes super-commuting not so super anymore; you just go. That is the vision."

Eviation was at the Paris Air Show earlier this year with a small-scale prototype, and is intent on returning with a full-scale electric aircraft capable of carrying passengers in 2019.

- Funding takeoff -

Co-founders were at the Wall Street Journal technology conference to rustle up funding, with a goal of about $20 million.

The startup founded about two years ago has been paying its way out of pocket, with some help from the Israeli government, going through about $10 million to date, according to Bar-Yohay.

The new infusion of cash will be used as fuel in a race to be first to market with an electric airplane, this one designed to carry up to nine passengers and two crew members.

"We have been sprinting full-speed for the past two years," Bar-Yohay said.

"I don't think it is going to be winner takes all, but it will be winner takes a hell of a lot."

In his eyes, the appeal was obvious.

Instead of spending hours in a car traveling hundreds of miles, an electric plane summoned on-demand to a regional airport would get passengers to far-away destinations quickly and inexpensively.

Eviation is out to take advantage of small, typically underutilized regional airports, making them lift-off spots for on-demand flights.

"It needs to cost like a bus ticket," Bar-Yohay said of such a service.

"If you build the plane electric, like a Tesla, the cost of operating becomes ridiculously low."

- 'Never break' -

Electric components for airplanes are a fraction of the cost of comparable parts for engines in traditional aircraft, and are more reliable, according to Bar-Yohay.

"You need to build machines that will never break; electric components are naturally like this," Bar-Yohay said.

Eviation plane batteries are spread out in more than a dozen places, so "no matter what hits you, some part of the aircraft will have the power to keep you going," according to Bar-Yohay.

The expected range of the Eviation plane will be about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers).

The vision is to have the aircraft be self-piloting, so it could be summoned by an app or be available as desired for people who pool resources to buy one.

"The market can become transportation for the masses," Bar-Yohay said.

"We are already getting used to not owning everything."

He notes that while society may be grappling with trusting self-driving cars, self-piloting aircraft have been around for decades.

"We are not here to steal clients from Cessna or other aircraft makers," Bar-Yohay said.

"We are here to steal clients from Ford, GM, Tesla... because we can be cheaper per mile."

He expected the first-generation Eviation aircraft to cost $2.5 million to $3 million.

Bar-Yohay noted there is competition forming already, including rideshare leader Uber researching vertical-takeoff vehicles to fly passengers short distances.

"It's the next blue ocean out there," Bar-Yohay said of the on-demand flight market.

"There is going to be room for everybody."
Rohingya refugee Fazol Ahmed's family fled an earlier wave of violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 1978, when he was still a child

Nearly four decades ago Fazol Ahmed returned to his native Myanmar with his family under a Rohingya repatriation scheme. Now he is back in the teeming camps of Bangladesh with his wife and children, a refugee once again.

Ahmed is among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh since an upsurge in violence in neighbouring Myanmar in August that the UN has said amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Unlike most, he has been here before.

Ahmed's family fled an earlier wave of violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 1978, when he was still a child.

"We couldn't take it any more," he said, recalling the campaign of violence that forced his family of rice farmers from their village in mainly Buddhist Myanmar in 1978.

"They were kidnapping young people. They killed some and demanded ransoms for others," he said, accusing the Myanmar army and the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists who also inhabit the state.

Ahmed, who gave his age as 41 though his white-flecked beard and testimony suggest he is older, said there were far more people in the camps this time round.

Impoverished, overcrowded Bangladesh is now home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, the majority of whom have arrived in less than two months

His story -- recounted to AFP on a bamboo bench in Kutupalong, the largest of the camps -- underscores the intractable nature of the unfolding refugee crisis.

Impoverished, overcrowded Bangladesh is now home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, the majority of whom have arrived in less than two months.

Most live in desperate conditions with limited access to food, clean water or proper sanitation.

Dhaka has made clear it wants them to return to Myanmar and is in talks with the government about taking them back.

But Ahmed's experience demonstrates the difficulty of negotiating a lasting return to a country mired in a cycle of hate, where the Rohingya are reviled as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

- Firing rocket launchers -

Last time around, Ahmed's family spent eight months in Bangladesh before returning under an agreement between the two countries' governments whereby around 200,000 refugees were repatriated.

After two days of interrogation in an internment camp in Myanmar they arrived in their village of Shil Khali in Maungdaw, the district nearest the border with Bangladesh, to find their house damaged and all their crops destroyed.

"We went to the hills and cut down trees to rebuild the house. It took three to six months to return to normal work," he recalls.

Dhaka has made clear it wants the Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar and is in talks with the government about taking them back

Once the returned refugees were finally back on their feet, he said, their Buddhist neighbours returned to extort money from them.

Decades passed and Ahmed married. His wife gave birth to four sons and two daughters.

Then in late August this year, he was preparing for early morning prayers when he heard a series of explosions.

He rushed outside and saw fire in the distance.

"The army was firing rocket launchers at houses and mosques," he said.

Ahmed and his relatives rushed into the jungle before their own village came under attack.

Hoping to return to retrieve at least some of their possessions, he said he hid in the undergrowth and watched as soldiers took women into the houses and slit the throats of young children.

"The soldiers gathered the men on the side of the road and tied their hands behind their backs," he recalled.

The killing lasted three hours before the villagers' bamboo homes were doused in petrol and set alight.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been severely criticised for her failure to curb the military crackdown, has said the country would take back 'verified' refugees

Ahmed watched as his village went up in flames before fleeing into the hills to join his family who had hidden there.

For two days they survived on leaves before finally resolving to cross the Naf river, a natural frontier between the two countries, and go into exile in Bangladesh.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been severely criticised for her failure to curb the military crackdown, has said the country would take back "verified" refugees.

But for Ahmed and others like him, that provides little hope.
Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump's "dangerous and short-sighted" war of words with North Korea

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed President Donald Trump's "dangerous and short-sighted" war of words with North Korea Wednesday, saying his Twitter tirades only benefitted Pyongyang's attention-seeking ruler and hurt Washington's credibility.

Clinton lost last year's presidential election to the insurgent Republican despite having decades of experience in politics.

Tension has been running high for months as the White House's new incumbent and the North's Kim Jong-Un trade threats of war, with Trump dubbing Kim "Rocket Man" and being called a "dotard" in response.

In recent months Pyongyang has carried out multiple launches of missiles potentially capable of reaching the US mainland, and its sixth nuclear test.

But Trump's tit-for-tat with the young, autocratic ruler of the isolated regime only dents Washington's credibility and helps Kim bask in global attention he seeks, the former secretary of state told a forum in Seoul.

"I am worried about some of the recent actions from the new administration that seem to raise tensions. Our allies are now expressing concerns about America's credibility and reliability," she said.

"Picking up fights with Kim Jong-Un just puts a smile on his face. It's like picking fights with NATO and the EU which puts a smile on Putin's face," she added, referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump's escalating verbal threats have sparked concerns of potential conflict on the peninsula, especially after he warned this month that "only one thing will work" on the North, without elaborating further.

Such "cavalierly threats to start a war are dangerous and short-sighted", Clinton said, adding the regime would be "thrilled" to get the "personal attention of the leader of our country".

Without once mentioning Trump by name, she also said she was "very concerned that the new administration is draining the government of the expertise" in diplomacy over the North.

"There are few Asia experts of senior level left at the State Department," she said.

Alienating Washington's allies in Asia, where the clout of the world's number-two economy China has been rising to rival the US, could have "grave consequence", she said: "If we pull back, it leaves a vacuum for others to fill."

- 'Ongoing threat' -

How to curb Kim's weapons ambitions is expected to be a major focus of Trump's trip to Asia next month that includes Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing among its stops.

US deputy secretary of state John Sullivan, who was also in Seoul on Wednesday for talks with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, defended Trump's comments.

"The regime in Pyongyang is unpredictable and not transparent," he told reporters. "We and our allies have to be prepared for any eventuality. For that reason the president... said all options are on the table."

Clinton, the former first lady who served as the US' top diplomat from 2009 to 2013 under president Barack Obama, suffered a shock defeat to Trump in the 2016 election.

She felt "so responsible" for the defeat, she said, but also blamed multiple factors including sexism, misogyny and Russian intervention she recounted in her recent memoir "What Happened".

Moscow, she said, was "trying to destabilise every democracy".

"It's not going to end at 2016 American campaign... it's an ongoing threat," Clinton said, describing the suspected Russian campaign as "so successful... and very effective propaganda".

Trump's presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that his campaign team colluded with Russia during last year's election.

Moscow has faced accusations of state-sponsored cyberattacks on countries including Germany and France to influence election results -- allegations it has steadfastly denied.
Crown is accused of rigging machines to work in its favour while the whistleblowers also said staff were encouraged to use different ID cards for certain transactions to avoid the scrutiny of Australia's money-laundering watchdog

Australian gambling powerhouse Crown is facing a raft of explosive allegations, including slot machine tampering and avoiding money-laundering scrutiny after whistleblower accounts were tabled in parliament Wednesday.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie submitted video evidence in Canberra from three former employees accusing Crown of rigging machines at its flagship Melbourne casino to work in its favour, including modifying buttons that allowed them to illegally auto-play.

The anonymous whistleblowers also claimed staff were encouraged to use different identity cards for transactions of more than Aus$10,000 (US$75,000) to avoid the scrutiny of Australia's money-laundering watchdog.

"If these allegations are true, then Crown would be facilitating money-laundering for any number of nefarious reasons, like tax fraud, drug-running and even terrorism," Wilkie said under parliamentary privilege that grants MPs legal immunity.

Crown Resorts, which is controlled by billionaire James Packer, denied any wrongdoing.

"Crown rejects the allegations made today under parliamentary privilege by Mr Andrew Wilkie MP, as reported in the media, concerning the improper manipulation of poker machines and other illegal or improper conduct at Crown Casino in Melbourne," it said in a statement.

"Crown calls on Mr Wilkie to immediately provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged."

The whistleblower assertions extended to the Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), the state gaming regulator, who the former employees alleged knowingly turned a blind eye to machine tampering.

The VCGLR, who is currently conducting its periodic five-year review of the casino's licence, said it was looking into the allegations.

"We take any claims of this type extremely seriously and they will be thoroughly investigated," a VCGLR spokesperson said in a statement.

Wilkie, a long-time campaigner against illicit practices in the slot machine industry, known as poker machines in Australia, called on the government to open a parliamentary inquiry into the issue.

"I think we can all understandably be concerned that they could indicate systemic issues in the broader poker machine industry right around the country, and in other venues in other states," he told reporters.

Shares in Crown, which operates casinos across Australia and the world, were down 7.4 percent at Aus$10.88 during mid-afternoon trading.

Gambling addiction is a major problem in Australia. Advocates for reform estimate that people lose around Aus$12 billion a year -- with losses spiralling since the first machines were built in 1953.

Last month gambling addict Shonica Guy launched a landmark case in the Federal Court against Crown and machine maker Aristocrat, alleging players are misled or deceived about their chances of winning.

A public inquiry in 2010 showed there were 115,000 "problem gamblers" in Australia whose habit can lead to serious health, family and financial issues. Another 280,000 were categorised as at "moderate risk".
Okinawa residents have complained about the US helicopters flying overhead

Japan said Wednesday it was "truly regrettable" that the US military had restarted flights of a helicopter that burst into flames last week, saying it wanted further reassurances over safety.

The US resumed operations with its CH-53 helicopters on Wednesday, after grounding them for a week following the blaze in an empty field on the western Japanese island of Okinawa.

At the time the US military said the blaze occurred after the aircraft had landed in the field and no crew were injured.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was "truly regrettable" that the flights had resumed "without enough explanations".

Deputy government spokesman Kotaro Nogami said US officials had briefed their Japanese counterparts but Tokyo was not satisfied and would "continue asking for further explanations from the US side".

Onodera had previously called for the helicopters to be idled until their safety can be guaranteed and dispatched experts to Okinawa to ensure a thorough investigation.

Representatives of the US military in Okinawa could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday.

More than half the approximately 47,000 American troops in Japan under a decades-long security alliance are stationed on Okinawa, the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation of the island.

Islanders have complained for decades about noise and accidents.

In December, five crewmembers aboard a US Marine MV-22 Osprey were injured after what the Pentagon described as a "mishap" resulting in the plane landing in shallow water off Okinawa.

Okinawa residents have protested against the deployment of Ospreys in Japan after a series of accidents in other countries involving the hybrid aircraft.
Addressing a twice-a-decade gathering of the Communist Party in Beijing, President Xi Jinping warned that China has 'the resolve, the confidence, and the ability to defeat separatist attempts for Taiwan independence in any form'

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a stern warning to Taiwan Wednesday, saying that Beijing has the will and power to thwart any attempts at independence.

Addressing a twice-a-decade gathering of the Communist Party in Beijing, Xi warned that China has "the resolve, the confidence, and the ability to defeat separatist attempts for Taiwan independence in any form".

"We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," he said.

Taiwan's mainland affairs council called the Communist Party congress' comments "regrettable", saying "China cannot win over the people" through its "one China" policy.

Ties between Taiwan and China have turned increasingly frosty since the election of Tsai Ing-wen as president last year.

Beijing cut off official communication with her government shortly after it took office due to her refusal to publicly accept the "one China" concept.

Tsai also angered Beijing when she called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his US presidential election victory.

Under Taiwan's previous government the two sides had stuck to the "1992 consensus", in which they agree there is only one China without specifying which is its rightful representative.

In his speech, Xi held out an olive branch to the island's leadership, offering to restore communication with Taiwan if its government readopts the understanding.

Then "no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland", he said.

The two sides split after a civil war in 1949, and while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign nation, it has never formally declared independence.

Cross-strait tensions were further exacerbated by a highly unusual call from Tsai to congratulate then US President-elect Donald Trump.

Xi made no mention of independence movements in China's semi-autonomous city Hong Kong.

"We will develop and strengthen the ranks of patriots who love both our country and their regions," he said, adding that "patriots will be playing the principal role" in governing the metropolis, which operates under its own system of laws as part of the "One Country, Two Systems" policy.

Beijing has tightened control over the city's affairs in response to high-profile calls for democracy that have increasingly turned to calls for self-determination or even full independence.
Wheels of justice: The prosecutor and president of Bouar's High Court take their seats

At Bouar appeal court, presiding judge Aime Pascal Delimo twiddles his thumbs, surveys his empty office and then, with a sigh, closes his door to leave early.

Delimo wields jurisdiction over territory in western Central African Republic (CAR) that is the size of Austria. Violent crime here is chronic. But he has no work.

In one of the world's poorest countries, the criminal justice system in Bouar and many other of CAR's provincial towns has quite simply broken down.

"Normally we would be finishing at 3:30 pm, but given the pace of the court, I leave in the early afternoon, around 2:00 pm," Delimo says.

"It's been four years I've been here and no criminal cases have been heard." He tries about 15 cases every year, all civil suits or commercial disputes.

When he leaves to go home, Delimo shuts one of three front doors on the big white building. The others have been closed all day. Two magistrates who had offices there died recently and have not been replaced.

"If republican justice is not available, there's bound to be what we call the justice of weaponry, the victors, the executioners," Delimo remarks impassively.

The CAR plunged into a succession of conflicts and massacres after the overthrow of President Francois Bozize in 2013. Four years on, the judicial system barely functions beyond the capital Bangui.

No criminal cases have been tried in the west since 2010, though violence occurs almost daily. Of late, northwestern towns including Ngaoundaye, Bocaranga, Niem and Bang have all seen clashes, killings and looting.

- Raped and released -

Inmates at Bouar detention centre. The judicial system's lack of funds can lead to a years-long wait for a criminal trial to start

At Bouar prison, one of two jails in western CAR, 18 people charged with criminal offences are being held pending trial.

"I've been here since February 2015. I've done almost three years in prison," says Faustin. The 45-year-old is one of 84 men and women detained in four large cells.

One woman who faced criminal proceedings was freed earlier this year after she was raped by a fellow inmate and became pregnant.

Delimo explains that he needs money to pay for witnesses to come to court, a proper gown, a means of transport and computer equipment. All he has is his personal cellphone. In the adjoining office his assistant works on an old typewriter.

"The failure to hold criminal trials encourages impunity," says Bernard Koutou, the single lawyer in the Bouar administrative district and one of just three in the west of the country.

"To be a lawyer is to be self-employed," says Koutou, who has been taken on by the American Bar Association (ABA). The organisation has a programme called the Rule of Law Initiative aimed at strengthening some of the systemic weaknesses in CAR's judicial sector.

"You need clients and here there are almost none."

Doing porridge in CAR: A man delivers breakfast mash at Bouar detention centre

Few people in the poverty-stricken western CAR can afford to pay for a court case.

For criminal cases, a budget of 10 million CFA francs (15,250 euros / $18,000) has been allocated to Bouar, but it has yet to be released by the authorities.

- 'Cash-flow problem' -

A large banner in the courtroom announces a criminal trial at the end of August, but as promised funds to conduct it never came through, the case was dropped. The banner remains.

"There's a cash-flow problem," said an official at the ministry of justice.

Lack of resources constantly hampers efforts to rebuild the pillars of the state beyond the capital.

"Without the means, we can't go to remote places, and plaintiffs making appeals can't come to Bouar," Delimo says.

The court should have convened to hear a civil case the previous week, the judge says, by way of example.

"But the plaintiffs live in Nola, 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Bouar. They did not come and the case was postponed."

The main victims of conflict that took on ethnic and religious dimensions, civilians are in no position to bring cases to court.

"In many places, there are no gendarmerie, no police officers, nobody to take complaints," Delimo said

Violence and intimidation are major concerns. Armed bands include so-called anti-Balaka militias -- formed in largely Christian communities to protect them from mostly Muslim ex-rebels -- along with ethnic Peul forces.

"Verdicts are influenced by fear of reprisals if a member or an associate of an armed group is put on trial," an observer says.

In Bouar, people impatiently place their hopes in a Special Criminal Court aimed at investigating and trying war crimes committed in CAR since 2003.

The court, combining CAR and foreign judges, was set up in 2015, but is still not operational.

"We just hope that it gets the funds," said Delimo.
A nuclear test site used by North Korea could cave in but it won't be abandoned, according to experts.

Five of Pyongyang's recent tests have been carried out under Mount Mantap at the Punggye-ri military base, which is located in the north west of North Korea.

But now the base is said to be suffering from 'Tired Mountain Syndrome' after three small earthquakes occurred nearby after the blasts.

The last five of Pyongyang's six nuclear tests have all been carried out at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site under Mount Mantap, in the north-west of the country

Now the base is said to be suffering from 'Tired Mountain Syndrome' after three small earthquakes occurred nearby after the blasts

Writing for 38 North, which reports news about North Korea, Frank V. Pabian and Jack Liu said there could be concern about the phenomenon at Mount Mantap.

NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR TESTS October 9, 2006: 0.7-2 kilotons May 25, 2009: 2-5.4 kilotons February 12, 2013: 6-16 kilotons January 6, 2016: 7-10 kilotons September 9, 2016: 15-25 kilotons September 3, 2017: 100 kilotons Advertisement

They wrote: 'As a result of these nuclear test-induced earthquakes, new media reporting has appeared with headlines such as "North Korea's Nucelar Test Site Could Be Unstable"...while these do make for eye-catching headlines, there was little substance in the articles to back them up beyond quoting the speculative fears of "civilian experts".

'Nonetheless, based on the severity of the initial blast, the post-test tremors, and the extent of observable surface disturbances, we have to assume that there must have been substantial damage to the existing tunnel network under Mt. Mantap.'

They added that 'US nuclear test history at the Nevada Test Site provides evidence that such post-test tremors are not unusual,' and that while new tunnels may be built to relieve the tension from the existing test point 'complete abandonment of the test site as a whole remains unlikely.'

Tired Mountain Syndrome is a name for the effect of below-ground nuclear blasts on the surrounding rock, which is extensively fractured and becomes increasingly permeable

Tensions have soared in recent weeks following Pyongyang's nuclear test as US President Trump engages in an escalating war of words with the North's leader Kim Jong-Un

Tired Mountain Syndrome is a name for the effect of below-ground nuclear blasts on the surrounding rock, which is extensively fractured and becomes increasingly permeable.

Tensions have soared in recent weeks following Pyongyang's nuclear test as US President Trump engages in an escalating war of words with the North's leader Kim Jong-Un.

The North's missile and nuclear capabilities have made significant progress under Kim, who told party officials this month that the country's atomic weapons were a 'treasured sword' to protect it from aggression.
Attendants walk in Tiananmen Square as they wait for delegates during the opening ceremony of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing

North Korea issued an unusually short congratulatory message to China's Communist Party Wednesday as President Xi Jinping opened its five-year congress amid strained ties between the two traditional allies.

China is North Korea's longtime ally and economic benefactor, saving the country from defeat during the 1950-53 Korean War.

But the relationship has soured in recent months over Pyongyang's growing weapons ambitions, which have seen Beijing agree to toughened United Nations sanctions.

In a three-paragraph message carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) "warmly congratulated the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China and sent warm greetings to all the party members and other Chinese people".

"The Chinese people have made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism... and we are greatly pleased over this," it added.

But the statement made no mention of the historic ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, in contrast to the one issued for the last Chinese Communist congress in 2012, when outgoing leader Hu Jintao was praised by name.

It referred to "the fraternal Chinese people" and, using the acronym for the North's official name, said the Workers Party would "protect the traditional DPRK-China friendship provided and cultivated by the elder generation of the two parties and countries and invariably develop it generation after generation".

China's foreign ministry expressed thanks for the many congratulatory messages about the party congress it said had been received from foreign political parties and organisations, including North Korea.

"This has shown the great attention" paid to the event, spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

The relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang was forged in the blood of the Korean War, when Mao Zedong sent millions of "volunteers" to fight US-led United Nations forces to a standstill.

Mao described the allies as close as "lips and teeth", and China has long been accused of failing to enforce sanctions even after voting for them at the UN.

While Beijing's official goal is to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table to curb its nuclear ambitions, it has grown increasingly frustrated by its belligerent neighbour.

After a flurry of missile launches by the North and its sixth nuclear test last month, China backed new UN sanctions that included bans on imports of coal, iron ore and seafood from the North, as well as limits on exports of oil products to it.

But analysts say there still appears to be scope for the fractured relationship to improve.

"The fact that North Korea sent a congratulatory message signals that the relationship is not at its lowest point," said Kim Han-Kwon, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

China will not easily abandon North Korea, Kim said, which serves as a buffer state against the United States.

"From the outside China will bolster sanctions against the North, but it will not risk actions that will devastate the leadership in Pyongyang," he said.
Madagascar has suffered plague outbreaks almost every year since 1980

An outbreak of highly contagious plague has claimed 74 lives in Madagascar over the past two months with the capital particularly affected, according to a new official toll published Tuesday.

A total of 805 cases have been reported on the poor Indian Ocean island nation since August, the health ministry said in a statement.

Madagascar has suffered plague outbreaks almost every year since 1980 -- typically between September and April -- and are often sparked by rats fleeing forest fires.

The current outbreak is unusual as it has affected urban areas -- especially the capital Antananarivo -- increasing the risk of transmission, according to the World Health Organisation.

It has sparked panic despite the government appealing for calm.

Passengers at Antananarivo's transport hubs are subject to medical inspections, infected areas have been fumigated to kill fleas, public gatherings are banned, and schools and universities have been shut to combat the outbreak.

WHO has delivered 1.2 million doses of antibiotics vital to fighting the disease while the Red Cross has been urgently training hundreds of volunteers on the island to publicise preventative measures.

Plague bacteria develops in rats and is carried by fleas.

In humans, the pneumonic version is transferred through coughing and can be fatal within 72 hours.

Most of the victims recorded in Madagascar have been infected with the pneumonic form. The bubonic form is less dangerous.
Scenic City Womens Network (SCWN) will be holding the Annual After Hours Event with a Silent Auction just in time for the holidays with a Dessert & Coffee hour. The featured speaker, Selena Einwechter, is an author, entrepreneur and inspirational speaker.

The event will be on Tuesday, Nov. 14, from 6:30  8:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6 p.m. It will be held at the Heritage Landing Clubhouse, 1100 Heritage Landing Drive, Chattanooga, Tn. 37405.

After spending more than 30 years in corporate America, Ms. Einwechter decided to take a leap of faith and pursue her dream: building her own bed and breakfast. In June of 2009, she opened the doors of Bed & Breakfast on Tiffany Hill in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, NC.

Ms. Einwechter loves to tell the story of how her dream became a reality. In fact, she finds that she is spending a great deal of time sharing the process she created with others. It is the story of a well-scrubbed plan and a dedication to seeing it through; it is the story of challenges, setbacks, and disappointments; and it is the story of the importance of her faith.

Now readers can capitalize on her journey by following the detailed plan that she provides in her book, Courage is Abundant in the Abstract.

Tickets are $15. Reservations can be made through the organizations website at www.scwn.org or by calling 423 698-6262, admin@scwn.org by Nov. 13.

Founded in 1994, Scenic City Womens Network is a ministry designed to Encourage, Equip and Energize todays Christian working women to reflect Jesus Christ in their world. The organizations vision is to fulfill Christs mission by encouraging working women with a sense of belonging to God and each other; equipping women to develop spiritual maturity and to become all they are to be in Christ and energizing women to bless others with the love, grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Scenic City Womens Network is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is financially supported by the faithful giving of those who are committed to this ministry. Scenic City Womens Network offers monthly luncheons at the Mountain City Club, weekly Meditations, dedicated prayer ministry, Marketplace Bible Studies, networking opportunities and other special events. The After Hours event is a primary fundraising event for the organization.
Iraqi forces pass an oil production plant as they advance towards the city of Kirkuk on October 16, 2017 in their campaign to retake the disputed oil province from the Kurds

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi called on British energy giant BP on Wednesday to help develop fields in the northern province of Kirkuk recovered from Kurdish forces this week.

Luaybi appealed to the firm, whose origins lie in the development of oil in then British-ruled Iraq nearly a century ago, to "quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oil fields".

The Iraqi oil ministry signed a consultancy contract with BP in 2013 to help the state-owned North Oil Company to develop the Havana and Baba Gurgur fields.

But it was never implemented as Baghdad lost control of the fields to Kurdish forces the following year during the chaos of the Islamic State group's lightning offensive through northern and western Iraq.

BP says on its website that it has "provided technical assistance to the North Oil Company to aid the redevelopment of the Kirkuk field."

It says that the Kirkuk field is estimated to have around nine billion barrels of recoverable oil remaining.

The Baba Gurgur field, which was discovered by the company that later became BP, was the largest in the world when it began production in 1927.

Today it produces around 50,000 barrels of oil per day, while the Havana field pumps between 50,000 and 60,000 bpd, an NOC official told AFP.

Federal troops retook the two fields, and three others that had been held by Kurdish forces, on Tuesday, dealing a body blow to the finances of the autonomous Kurdish region which had derived much of its revenue from their output.
Mandela worked on 'Dare Not Linger' but was unable to finish it before he died in 2013. The book is the eagerly-awaited sequel to 'Long Walk to Freedom,' the globally-acclaimed account of his struggle against apartheid

The sequel to Nelson Mandela's celebrated autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" will be released on Thursday after his unfinished draft was completed by a South African writer, his foundation announced.

Titled "Dare not Linger", the book tells of Mandela's five years as president after the end of apartheid and the first multi-race elections in South Africa in 1994.

"Long Walk to Freedom", published shortly after the election, was a global best-seller, selling more than 14 million copies, and was turned into a film starring Idris Elba.

Mandela wrote 10 chapters of his follow-up memoir by hand on loose paper and in files between 1998 and 2002, when he stopped working on it due to his age and hectic schedule.

Mandla Langa completed the work using fresh interviews and research, as well as Mandela's own notes from when he was president.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation described the project as a "50/50" collaboration between Mandela, who died in 2013 aged 95, and his co-author.

The book's title is taken from the final sentence of Mandela's first autobiography, when he wrote that "with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended".

- 'A hands-on leader' -

Mandela's widow Graca Machel, wrote in a prologue to the new book that he struggled to complete it due to "demands the world placed on him, distractions of many kinds and his advancing years".

"Through the last years of his life he talked about it often -- worried about work started but not finished," she said.

Mandela served one term as president of South Africa before stepping down. He retired from public life in 2004.

Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the book would "fundamentally shift perceptions" about the anti-apartheid hero's time in power.

"What emerges is... a hands-on leader who, in relation to aspects of his government such as the security establishment, was a bit of a micromanager," Harris said.

"He was a politician's politician; he knew how to get the best out of people."

Publisher Pan Macmillan described it as a "vivid and inspirational account of Mandela's presidency, a country in flux and the creation of a new democracy".

The book was launched at Mandela's former personal office in Johannesburg on Tuesday and is released worldwide on Thursday.
Afghan security personnel walk at the site of the suicide attack at a police training centre in Gardez

The death toll from two suicide and gun attacks on Afghan security forces in southeast Afghanistan has risen to 80 with nearly 300 wounded, officials said Wednesday, in the bloodiest day in the country in almost five months.

The deadliest of Tuesday's assaults was on a police compound in the city of Gardez in Paktia province where Taliban militants disguised as police detonated three explosive-packed vehicles -- including a truck and a Humvee -- that cleared the way for 11 gunmen to enter.

At least 60 people, including Paktia police chief Toryalai Abdyani and civilians waiting to collect documents, were killed in the blasts and ensuing battle that lasted around five hours, Gardez deputy director of health Hedayatullah Hamidi told AFP.

Some 236 people were also wounded in the assault, he added.

"The first checkpoint for the compound was blown up by a truck bomb. Two other vehicles then entered the compound -- one detonated near the second checkpoint and the other rammed into the police chief's office that killed the police chief and his bodyguards," said Paktia governor spokesman Abdullah Hasrat.

The militants had been wearing police uniforms and carrying fake police identification, Hasrat said -- a common tactic used by insurgents to gain entry to government and security installations.

Police spokesman Sardar Wali Tabasum said two members of the security forces had been arrested in connection with the attack, suggesting the assailants had insider help.

"We think the Taliban took these vehicles (a Humvee and a police pickup truck) when Jani Khel district fell to them in August," Tabasum told AFP. Jani Khel is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Gardez.

In the second attack in the neighbouring province of Ghazni, some 100 kilometres west of Gardez, the official death toll was lowered to 20, including 15 members of the security forces and five civilians, Ghazni governor spokesman Haref Noori told AFP.

The number of wounded stood at 46.

That assault followed a similar pattern involving insurgents detonating an explosives-laden Humvee near a police headquarters then storming the building, Noori said. Six attackers were killed.

An earlier toll had put the number of dead at 30 with 10 injured.

It was the deadliest day in Afghanistan since May 31 when a truck packed with 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives detonated in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Kabul, killing around 150 and wounding hundreds more, mostly civilians.

Kabul police foiled an even larger truck bomb on Saturday -- 2,700 kilogrammes of explosives stashed under boxes of tomatoes -- that would have caused carnage had it exploded.

Less than two days later authorities seized a car driving towards Kabul that was carrying 300 kilogrammes of explosives.
A delegate wearing a Communist Party badge looks at his smartphone during the opening ceremony of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing's

Chinese tech companies have prevented social media users from changing profile pictures and user names amid heightened security as a key Communist Party conclave opened Wednesday in Beijing.

The move hit users of the ubiquitous Chinese social media platforms WeChat, QQ, Weibo and even Alibaba's payment platform Alipay, though it appeared only to affect those with accounts registered on the mainland.

"WeChat is undertaking system maintenance. From today until the end of the month, users will temporarily be unable to change their profile picture, nickname and tagline," the app, run by internet behemoth Tencent, announced Tuesday.

Chinese authorities have kicked both online and offline security into high gear for the week-long, twice-a-decade party Congress that will reshuffle top leadership positions.

The ban on profile picture updates could be a bid to avoid the kind of defiance seen during Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Revolution in 2014, when Facebook users changed their profile pictures to yellow ribbons symbolising universal suffrage.

Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a slew of foreign media have been blocked for years.

In recent weeks the service of messaging app WhatsApp -- which provides an end-to-end encryption function unlikely to please censors -- was also severely disrupted.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen a clampdown on internet freedoms since he came to power in 2012, tightening censorship in a country where young people are avid users of social media.

In his opening speech to some 2,300 congress delegates gathered in the cavernous Great Hall of the People, Xi said the party should "provide more and better online content and put in place a system for integrated internet management to ensure a clean cyberspace."

Complaints about extreme over-crowding in the Beijing metro, subject to extra security checks during the congress, were scrubbed and photos of commuters crammed like sardines were deleted, according to Free Weibo, a website that archives items from social media that have been removed.

China enacted a controversial new cybersecurity law earlier this year.

Platforms must now verify users' true identity before allowing them to post online, with certain content banned outright, including anything that damages "national honour", "disturbs economic or social order" or is aimed at "overthrowing the socialist system".

Last month, Chinese internet regulators slapped "maximum" fines on Tencent and Baidu, China's Google-equivalent, for allowing the publication of such banned material.

There was not a single critical comment to be found on Weibo about Xi's more than three hour-long speech Wednesday.

"The chairman spoke very well and hopes our country can be thriving and prosperous. He will lead the Chinese people to glory," one user wrote.
Bahrain's interior minister Sheikh Rashed Al-Khalifa accused Iran of harbouring 160 Bahrainis convicted of terrorism

Bahrain's interior minister accused Iran of harbouring 160 Bahrainis convicted of terrorism and stripped of their citizenship, in an interview published Wednesday.

All 160 "fugitives" had been stripped of citizenship in "terrorism cases" targeting Bahraini police and security forces, Sheikh Rashed Al-Khalifa told the Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat.

He accused Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards of having trained the group, who were convicted of attacks that killed 25 security personnel and wounded 3,000 others, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Bahrain, a Shiite-majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty, has seen sporadic violence since the repression in 2011 of a protest movement demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

Authorities have since tightened their grip on dissent, jailing hundreds of protesters and stripping a string of high-profile activists and clerics of citizenship.

Bahrain has drawn harsh criticism for its treatment of demonstrators but maintains it does not discriminate against the country's Shiites.

The kingdom, a key US ally located across the water from Iran, regularly accuses Shiite Iran of meddling in its internal affairs, an allegation Tehran denies.

US President Donald Trump has eased restrictions on arms sales to Bahrain, which on Tuesday announced it had signed a $3.8 billion deal with US company Lockheed Martin to acquire 16 upgraded F-16 fighters.

Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and a British army base is currently under construction.
A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) looks over the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on October 18, 2017

Two days after retaking Raqa from Islamic State group jihadists and dealing their dreams of statehood a fatal blow, US-backed forces combed the ruins of the Syrian city for survivors and bombs.

A lightning final assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday saw jihadist defences collapse faster than expected as the SDF claimed a landmark victory in the three-year fight against IS.

SDF fighters flushed jihadist holdouts from Raqa's main hospital and municipal stadium, wrapping up more than four months of fighting to seize what used to be the inner sanctum of IS's self-proclaimed "caliphate".

On Wednesday, SDF forces fired into the air and danced the traditional Middle Eastern dabke line dance to blaring music amid the otherwise eerie silence of the city.

Inside the stadium, the militia's flag was raised as bulldozers worked to clear the ground of explosives that IS had strewn throughout the city.

Four phases in the control and loss of Syrian and Iraqi territory by the Islamic State (IS) group between January 2015 and October 17, 2017

Many roads were still closed off, and access to the hospital was blocked while fighters worked to clear it.

Teams of SDF fighters were deployed across the rubble-strewn streets to look for unexploded ordnance and booby traps left by the jihadists.

"They are making sure there are no more sleeper cells" in Raqa, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali told AFP.

"Mine-clearing operations and the re-opening of the city are under way," he said, adding that his organisation would only formally announce the liberation of the city once they are completed.

- City unsafe -

"We urge our people... who fled IS rule not to return to the city for their own security until it is rid of terrorist explosives," the Kurdish internal security services said in a statement.

But some SDF fighters are themselves from Raqa.

Under the stadium, SDF member Ahmad al-Hassan returned to an oval hallway lined with makeshift cells where IS locked up civilians accused of breaking its ultra-conservative rules.

"This is where they humiliated us," he said, near the room where he was kept for seven days with 35 other men after he tried to prevent his wife's arrest for briefly showing her face in public.

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) celebrate on the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on October 18, 2017, after retaking the city from Islamic State group

The loss of Raqa left IS ruling over a rump "caliphate" straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border and covering a fraction of the territory it held when it declared its "state" in July 2014.

The US-led coalition supporting anti-IS forces in Iraq and Syria said on Tuesday that the jihadists had lost 87 percent of the territory they held three years ago.

Brett McGurk, the White House's envoy to the multinational coalition, said on social media that IS had lost 6,000 fighters in Raqa.

He described the organisation as "pathetic and a lost cause".

Raqa was one of the most emblematic IS bastions, at the heart of both its military operations and its propaganda.

Several of the most high-profile attacks IS claimed in the West, including the 2015 massacres in Paris, are believed to have been at least partly planned in Raqa, earning the city the nickname of "terror central".

- 'Some surrendered, others died' -

Female members of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate on the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on October 18, 2017, after retaking the city from the Islamic State group

Clara Raqqa, a top SDF commander, smiled and squinted into the sun as she stood at the iconic Al-Naim roundabout where IS carried out some of its most gruesome atrocities.

"Today, after all these years, we are here," she said. "I remember my childhood here, my teenager years... I'm so happy that we've reached the days of freedom."

Jamila Hami, a volunteer with the Kurdish Red Crescent, said rebuilding the city's medical infrastructure would pose major challenges.

"Yes, Raqa is now liberated, but the next phase for us will be even harder than the one that has passed," she said.

"They say that they want to rebuild Raqa. Rebuild what?" said Ismail Khalil, an SDF fighter originally from Raqa.

"Even in 20 years we couldn't rebuild. The city is totally destroyed," he added.

The breakthrough in the operation to retake Raqa came last week when a local deal was struck for the safe exit of several thousand civilians who had been used as human shields by IS, while Syrian jihadists surrendered.

Up to 400 mostly foreign IS fighters had been believed to remain in the city, prepared for a bloody last stand.

Yet events since the Sunday announcement of the operation's final phase gives few clues as to their fate.

"Some surrendered, others died," Talal Sello, another SDF spokesman said, without providing further details.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor relying on a network of sources across Syria, said most of the foreign fighters surrendered and were being held by Western intelligence services.

It was not immediately possible to corroborate his claim.

Colonel Ryan Dillon, the US-led coalition's spokesman, only spoke of four confirmed cases of foreign IS fighters surrendering and stressed that they were in SDF custody.

"We as the coalition do not hold or control any of these detainees," he said, adding the SDF may make separate arrangements with the detained jihadists' countries of origin for some of them to be handed over and prosecuted.
Nelson Mandela worked on "Dare Not Linger", the sequel to his best-selling memoir, but was unable to finish it before he died in 2013

The sequel to Nelson Mandela's celebrated autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" will be published Thursday after his unfinished, hand-written draft was completed by a South African novelist.

Titled "Dare Not Linger", the book tells of Mandela's five years as president after the end of apartheid and the first multi-race elections in South Africa in 1994.

"Long Walk to Freedom", released shortly after the election, was a global phenomenon, selling more than 14 million copies, and was turned into a film starring Idris Elba.

Mandela wrote 10 chapters of his follow-up memoir on loose paper and in files between 1998 and 2002, when he stopped working on it due to his age and hectic schedule.

Mandla Langa completed the book using fresh interviews and research, as well as Mandela's own notes from when he was president.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which hosted the book's launch on Tuesday in Johannesburg, described the project as a "50/50" collaboration between Mandela and Langa.

The book's title is taken from the final sentence of Mandela's first autobiography, when he wrote that "with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended".

- Co-author's 'trepidation' -

Mandela's widow Graca Machel wrote in a prologue to the new book that he had struggled to complete it because of the "demands the world placed on him, distractions of many kinds and his advancing years".

"Through the last years of his life he talked about it often -- worried about work started but not finished," she said.

Mandela served one term as South Africa's president before stepping down in 1999. He retired from public life in 2004 and died in 2013 aged 95.

Co-author Langa, 67, was a fellow activist against white-minority rule who joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, the same year as Mandela.

Best known as a novelist and poet, he said at the book's launch that he took on the task "with a sense of gratitude and humility and, at the same time, trepidation".

"The analogy I use is that a melody can be enriched by introduction of instruments, of other voices -- not to take away the essence of that melody but to celebrate it and enhance it," he said.

With modern South Africa facing political scandals, sharp inequality and racial tension, Langa said he hoped the book would "help us to remember ourselves as South Africans when we held the moral high ground."

- 'Hands-on leader' -

The years covered by the volume include the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into apartheid crimes, Mandela's globe-trotting diplomacy, his divorce from Winnie Mandela in 1996 and marriage to Machel in 1998.

It may also address his deep regret over his failure to tackle the country's AIDS crisis and his much-criticised choice of Thabo Mbeki as his successor as president.

Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the book would "fundamentally shift perceptions" about the anti-apartheid hero's time in power.

"What emerges is... a hands-on leader who, in relation to aspects of his government such as the security establishment, was a bit of a micromanager," Harris said.

"He was a politician's politician; he knew how to get the best out of people."

Publisher Pan Macmillan described it as "a vivid and inspirational account of Mandela's presidency, a country in flux and the creation of a new democracy".

"Long Walk to Freedom" tells of Mandela's rural childhood, his youthful activism, his 1964 trial, his imprisonment on Robben Island before his release from jail in 1990, and his election victory.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said at the time that the book told how "justice, freedom, goodness and love have prevailed spectacularly in South Africa and one man has embodied that struggle."
An Iraqi army vehicle stands at the Bai Hassan oil field west of Kirkuk on October 17, 2017 after Iraqi forces seized major oil fields in the disputed province from Kurdish forces

Iraqi government forces said Wednesday they had retaken almost all the areas disputed between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan region following a sweeping advance into oil-rich Kirkuk province in response to an independence vote.

The retreat of Kurdish forces, almost without a fight, triggered recriminations amongst Kurdish politicians and prompted the regional parliament to postpone elections set for November 1.

On Monday and Tuesday, federal troops and allied militias retook the northern province and its lucrative oil fields, as well as formerly Kurdish-held areas of Nineveh and Diyala provinces.

The largely bloodless operation restored to Baghdad's control swathes of territory held by Kurdish forces since 2003, leaving Kurds stunned just weeks after the nationalist fervour of the referendum they held in defiance of the central government.

It also dealt a severe blow to the autonomous region's finances, which had relied heavily on revenues from exports of Kirkuk oil.

Kurdish forces are now largely confined to their longstanding three-province autonomous region in the north.

They have lost nearly all of the territory they had taken since the US-led invasion of 2003, some of it during the chaos of the Islamic State (IS) group's charge across northern Iraq in 2014.

The band of territory, stretching for over 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the Syrian border in the west to the Iranian frontier in the east, was the subject of a rancourous dispute with Baghdad.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that the September 25 vote in which Kurds overwhelmingly backed independence was now "a thing of the past".

"Central authority must be imposed everywhere in Iraq," he said.

French geographer and Kurdistan specialist Cyril Roussel said that in the space of 48 hours the Kurds had lost virtually all of the 23,000 square kilometres (8,900 square miles) that they had acquired since 2003.

Iraqi government forces celebrate as they retake the Havana oil field in Kirkuk province from Kurdish forces on October 17, 2017

"That's virtually a return to the Green Line -- that is the three provinces of autonomous Kurdistan," he said.

The autonomous region's vice-president Kosrat Rasul called the setback "a new Anfal for Kurdistan", a reference to the widespread deaths and destruction wrought by operations in 1987-1988 by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, spokesman of the government's Joint Operations Command (JOC), hinted that federal forces could yet be deployed to the remaining pockets of disputed territory still in Kurdish hands.

"It's not a military operation but the redeployment of forces to all areas to enforce the law," Rasool told AFP. "Further communiques will follow."

- Oil exports slashed -

The JOC said Wednesday that "security (had) been restored in parts of Kirkuk including the key Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields".

The lost fields accounted for more than 400,000 of the 650,000 barrels per day that the autonomous Kurdish region used to export in defiance of Baghdad.

Their loss deals a huge blow to the region's already dire finances and dreams of economic self-sufficiency.

Kurdish forces now hold just a single oil field in Kirkuk province: the Khurmala field, which produces barely 10,000 barrels per day of low quality heavy crude.

The field had been in Kurdish hands since 2008 and was not a target of this week's operation.

But all five of the fields that the Kurds had taken since 2014, the source of most of the autonomous region's oil exports, are back in federal government hands.

Baghdad was quick to capitalise on its gains.

Oil Minister Jabbar Luaybi appealed to British energy giant BP to "quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oil fields".

Baghdad signed a consultancy contract with BP in 2013 to help develop the Havana and Baba Gurgur fields.

A gas flare burns off excess flammable gases at the Havana oil field retaken by Iraqi government forces on October 17, 2017

But it was never implemented as Baghdad lost control of the fields the following year during the chaos of the IS offensive through northern and western Iraq.

- 'Kurdistan's Jerusalem' -

Ordinary Kurds on Wednesday voiced dismay at the loss of the iconic city of Kirkuk, long a nationalist prize.

"Kirkuk is Kurdistan's Jerusalem," said 48-year-old businessman Hayo Babker.

The advance by government forces had prompted tens of thousands of people to flee, but on Tuesday, as it became clear that the feared bloodshed was not going to materialise, hundreds of families returned.

Kirkuk's police chief Brigadier General Khattab Omar said government forces would "conduct patrols in Kurdish neighbourhoods to prevent people leaving because of rumours that there is going to be violence against them".

The withdrawal of Kurdish peshmerga fighters sparked recriminations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of president Massud Barzani and the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Barzani, who has dominated the autonomous Kurdish region since the US-led invasion, was the driving force behind the ballot, while the PUK supported a UN-backed plan for negotiations with Baghdad.

The region's Independent High Electoral Commission said Wednesday it had "decided to suspend temporarily preparations for the elections set for November 1 because of the current situation".

The commission said it was down to the regional parliament to set a new date for the polls.
Living conditions for Syrians in Idlib's makeshift camps are dire

The Turkish Red Crescent on Wednesday expressed alarm over the "drama" of the humanitarian situation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, saying 800,000 people were living in hundreds of largely makeshift camps.

But with Turkey launching a military operation to implement a so-called de-escalation zone in the province, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent Kerem Kinik expressed hope aid operations could be expanded across the province.

"In Idlib, the humanitarian situation is, unfortunately, one of a large-scale drama," Kinik told reporters in Istanbul.

He emphasised that people displaced by Syria's over six-year civil war had come to Idlib from other cities including Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Damascus.

"In Idlib there are 400 camps and 800,000 people are living in these camps most of which are unfortunately makeshift in nature," he said.

"They cannot produce anything and are dependent on outside help."

He said the population of Idlib -- which has now ballooned to three million with the refugees -- was hit by air raids and fighting between extremist groups.

But the Turkish army last week began an operation aimed at imposing security in Idlib which for the last months has been controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate.

The army is setting up observation posts with the aim of implementing a de-escalation zone co-backed by Russia and agreed at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.

- Humanitarian access -

Kinik said that once the "terror groups" are pushed out of Idlib "we will reach all areas inside" the province.

"We will deliver not just aid but God willing build infrastructure, schools hospitals, new housing," he said.

The Turkish Red Crescent is already carrying out cross-border operations to deliver aid into Idlib in coordination with the United Nations.

It has stocked up seven depots inside Idlib province with tents, food and other supplies to help the refugees and prepare for any new arrivals.

Turkey has throughout the Syrian civil war backed rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad, but is now working increasingly closely with his main ally Russia.

Kinik said that he would at the weekend be meeting with the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Beirut. "We have just one aim, to make sure there is not one place inside Syria that humanitarian aid cannot reach."
Israeli soldiers take aim during clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank village of Tuqua, south-east of Bethlehem on August 5, 2017

A Palestinian ran towards Israeli troops while brandishing a knife in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and soldiers shot and wounded him, the military said.

"An assailant armed with a knife ran towards troops adjacent to the Gush Etzion junction," an army statement said.

"In response to the immediate threat, soldiers fired shots towards the suspect. Subsequently, the suspect was injured and taken to hospital for medical treatment," it said.

A military spokeswoman told AFP that the attacker was a Palestinian and that no soldiers were injured.

Israeli media said the man was moderately to seriously wounded.

The Gush Etzion junction is a busy intersection near a large bloc of Israeli settlements in the southern West Bank and the scene of repeated attacks.

A wave of unrest that erupted in October 2015 has claimed the lives of at least 295 Palestinians or Arab Israelis, 51 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP toll.

The last fatal incident was the October 4 stabbing of Israeli settler Reuven Schmerling, 70, in what the Shin Bet security service said was "a terrorist attack".

Two Palestinians from Qabatiya in the northern West Bank were arrested as suspects.

The violence, however, has largely subsided in recent months.

Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks.

Others were shot dead in protests and clashes, while some were killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.
University of Montevallo students Savannah Willard and Mary-Haynes Furman presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Alabama Archivists at the University of Alabama last Friday. Their presentation, entitled "The Social Life of Production Books" focused on their experience in the COPLAC Digital course as well as their research done for the class. Ms.

Ms. Furman is a senior history major at the University, a part of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and the Honors Program. She graduated from Lakeshore High School in 2015.



"I am very thankful to Carey Heatherly, Dr. Ruth Truss and Dr. Sherry Ford for encouraging the two of us to apply to present at the meeting," said Ms. Furman.






Since August, Togo's opposition has organised regular protests against demanding the departure of embattled President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled this west African nation for five decades

Several cities in Togo were tense on Wednesday following clashes between opposition supporters, soldiers and police as demonstrators prepared to hold another anti-government protest the authorities have branded illegal.

In Lome, streets were blocked and most shops were shut in the commercial area of Deckon, according to AFP reporters in the capital.

In the southeastern neighbourhood of Be, an opposition stronghold, police and soldiers sought to disperse crowds of demonstrators using teargas.

"Lome is deathly quiet," said Aime Adi, head of Amnesty International's Togo brand, speaking to AFP by telephone.

"The army has locked down everywhere and there are small groups that the opposition is calling 'militiamen' with sticks who are warning people not to go to the march."

Togo's opposition, which has organised regular protests since August against the regime of President Faure Gnassingbe, last week said there would be two days of demonstrations on October 18 and 19.

But the government quickly moved to ban the marches to prevent violence.

"The assembly points have been taken over by the security forces," said Eric Dupuy, spokesman for the main opposition National Alliance for Change (ANC).

"We are going to march whatever the cost and intimidation."

- 'We've shut ourselves away' -

A demonstrator holds up a placard reading: "Faure! How many Togolese do you have to kill to quench your thirst for power?" at a "March of Anger" through the capital Lome on October 5

In the northern city of Sokode, the stronghold of the opposition Panafrican National Party (PNP), one local resident described the situation as "very tense".

"For three hours this morning, soldiers have been going into houses, beating young people so they don't go to protest today," he said on condition of anonymity.

"We have shut ourselves away in our homes... Young people are fleeing into the bush in fear of a crackdown."

On Tuesday, two teenagers and two soldiers were killed during clashes in Sokode that followed the arrest of a local imam who is close to the PNP.

The violence has spread to several other cities in the north as well as Lome.

The opposition wants a limit of two, five-year terms for the president and the resignation of Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005.

Before that, his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, ruled the former French colony for 38 years.

A referendum is to be held in the coming months on a government bill to change the constitution but the opposition has complained that the new measures are not retroactive.

That means President Gnassingbe could contest the next election in 2020 and 2025, keeping him in power until 2030.
Sergeant La David Johnson, 25, was among four US soldiers killed early this month in Niger, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence

The grieving mother of a US soldier slain in an ambush in Niger reportedly said Wednesday that President Donald Trump had disrespected her son during a call he made to offer his condolences.

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Sergeant La David Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post.

She said she agreed with an earlier account of the conversation given by a lawmaker who heard part of the call and accused Trump of insensitivity after he told Johnson's pregnant widow that the young soldier "knew what he was signing up for."

Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida, said she listened in to part of a group phone call between the president and the grieving family.

"I didn't hear the whole phone call, but I did hear him say, 'I'm sure he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,'" she told CNN.

Trump denied making the comments, tweeting Wednesday: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

He later told reporters: "I did not say what she said," and that "I had a very nice conversation."

When asked about what "proof" he could offer, Trump said: "Let her make her statement again then you will find out."

Johnson was among four US soldiers killed October 4 in Niger, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence.

The Miami native's body was returned home Tuesday afternoon. He is survived by his wife Myeshia Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third child.

After the phone call, Myeshia "was crying, she broke down. And she said 'he didn't even know his name,'" said Wilson, referring to Trump.

Trump had faced criticism for not contacting the families of the soldiers killed in Niger right away.

At a press briefing on Monday, he said he had written them letters and would call soon, while accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of neglecting to call as many grieving families as himself.

He also suggested on a call to Fox News radio Tuesday that Obama had not made a condolence call to retired Marine general John Kelly, Trump's White House chief of staff, after his son was killed in action in Afghanistan.

The statements sparked outrage from former Obama aides, who said Trump's claims were baseless.
Israel is currently engaged in groundwork to build a new settlement suburb of occupied and annexed east Jerusalem called Givat Hamatos

The EU on Wednesday demanded Israel reconsider plans for nearly 1,300 settler homes in the West Bank, saying they were illegal under international law and undermined the prospects for peace.

Israeli authorities on Tuesday advanced plans for 1,292 new homes, with approval from a committee overseeing settlement construction in the West Bank, according to the Peace Now watchdog.

The move came after Israeli government officials pledged a major boost in settlement home approvals this year, with US President Donald Trump much less critical of such plans than his predecessor Barack Obama.

But the EU condemned the step, restating its position that settlement activity was "illegal under international law" and damaged "the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace".

"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks," an EU statement said.

The bloc voiced particular concern about proposals to build settler homes in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002 and about the start of preparatory groundwork in the east Jerusalem area of Givat Hamatos.

Construction in Givat Hamatos would "severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the EU said, adding that it would continue work with international and regional partners to try to restart dialogue.

Trump is seeking to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which collapsed in 2014 following the failure of an earlier US-led initiative.

Settlement building in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, is seen as a major obstacle to peace as the homes are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
Participants at the #NoMuslimBanEver rally and march in Washington, DC, on October 18, 2017

A second judge ordered a freeze on President Donald Trump's newest travel ban order on Wednesday, saying it was essentially targeted at Muslims in violation of the US Constitution.

Maryland federal judge Theodore Chuang said the ban affecting travelers from six majority-Muslim countries and North Korea, as well as many officials from Venezuela, essentially had not changed from the first two versions, which were shot down in lower courts as discriminating against a single religion.

He pointed out, as in earlier rulings, that Trump had repeatedly promised a ban on Muslims coming into the country during last year's presidential election.

Chuang was the second judge this week to order a block on the open-ended ban, issued in a White House executive order in September and which was to come in effect on Wednesday.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the White House Wednesday, chanting "no Muslim ban," and "no ban, no wall, freedom for all" -- referencing Trump's plans to build a wall on the Mexican border. A march to the Trump International Hotel, a few blocks away, was also planned.

Yemeni Fathi al-Huthaifi, 41, told AFP his wife is stranded in Saudi Arabia as a result of the ban.

"She's waiting for her visa but the travel ban makes it delayed, delayed," explained Huthaifi, who has five children, all with US citizenship.

"When we allow one group to get banned, then we allow other groups to get banned," civil rights activist Linda Sarsour said, adding, "This is part of a standing campaign of this administration, a white supremacist agenda."

Isra Chaker, a refugee camp adviser for Oxfam America, branded the ban "an affront to the American tradition."

"This decision impacts life of real people... no one (chooses) to become a refugee," she said.

The latest version of US President Donald Trump's travel ban is slapped down by two US federal judges, suggesting the measure is heading to the Supreme Court for resolution

On Tuesday, Hawaii federal district judge Derrick Watson also objected to the ban, saying it illegally discriminated against the entire populations of six countries -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- and would not, as it claimed, add to US national security.

Trump has battled with the courts since the first version of the ban, and in June finally gained Supreme Court approval to implement an amended second version for 90 days, which ended last month.

On Tuesday the White House said it would fight the newest ban by Watson, pointing to yet another likely fight in the Supreme Court.
View of Jewish settlement of Ofarim, west of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities have this week approved the construction of more than 2,600 new settlement homes, according to Peace Now

Israeli authorities approved another large set of plans for settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, bringing the total for the week to more than 2,600, settlement watchdog Peace Now said.

Some 1,323 settlement housing units were given a green light on Wednesday, while 2,646 have been advanced this week, it said, as part of a government push to expand West Bank settlement construction.

The plans passed this week, criticised on Wednesday by the European Union, are at various stages in Israel's complex approval process. A planning committee overseeing West Bank settlement construction granted the latest approvals.

Peace Now said the settlement push was "distancing us daily from the possibility of a two-state solution".

"The government is sending a clear message to settlers: Build illegally and anywhere and we will find a solution for you," it said in a statement.

Government officials have pledged a major boost in settlement home approvals this year, with US President Donald Trump so far much less critical of such plans than his predecessor Barack Obama.

Israeli officials say a total of around 12,000 housing units will be given various stages of approval this year, four times the amount in 2016.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and settlement advocates wield heavy influence in his ruling coalition.

- 'Detrimental' -

In a response to the plans for settlement homes advanced on Tuesday, the European Union called on Israel to reconsider.

"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks," an EU statement said.

The bloc voiced particular concern about proposals to build settler homes in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002 and about the start of preparatory groundwork in the east Jerusalem area of Givat Hamatos.

Construction in Givat Hamatos would "severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the EU said, adding that it would continue work with international and regional partners to try to restart dialogue.

Trump has also said he is seeking to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which have been frozen since a US-led initiative collapsed in 2014.

However, his administration has offered no details of its plans and he has yet to commit to a two-state solution to the conflict -- long the focus of international peace efforts.

Settlement building in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem is considered illegal under international law.

It is also seen as a major obstacle to peace as the settlements are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Prominent members of Netanyahu's coalition openly oppose the idea of a Palestinian state and advocate annexing most of the West Bank.

Netanyahu recently said he plans no uprooting of settlements, blaming Palestinian "incitement" and attacks against Israelis, among other issues, for the lack of progress in peace efforts.

About 430,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.6 million Palestinians in the West Bank, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Rojda Felat, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander, waves her group's flag at the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on October 17, 2017

A viral photo shows her celebrating the capture of Raqa, but Rojda Felat is more than a poster girl: she commanded thousands of fighters who clinched a defining victory against jihadists.

Her jet black hair plaited and sometimes covered by a black-and-white keffiyeh, the Kurdish woman cuts an unmistakeable figure on Syria's northern battlefields.

Pictures of her fixing the Syrian Democratic Forces' yellow flag on an infamous traffic circle where the Islamic State group used to carry out public executions were beamed around the world Tuesday.

The Syrian Kurdish rebel group she belongs to, the Marxist-inspired People's Protection Units (YPG), forms the backbone of the SDF, which battled for over four months to capture Raqa.

The YPG prides itself on its promotion of gender equality and includes many women among its commanders.

As a top commander in its female branch -- the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) -- she rose through the ranks and found herself commanding one of the biggest operations ever against IS.

"Comrade Rojda is one of the main YPJ commanders," said YPJ spokeswoman Nesrin Abdullah, a founding member of the all-female unit, who fought alongside Felat in Raqa and elsewhere.

"Her character is shaped by her determination to fight for women's freedom," Abdullah told AFP in a phone interview.

"During this campaign she had a real impact: she raised the victory flag in Daesh's capital," she said, using an Arab acronym for IS.

Felat, who according to fellow SDF officers is 37 years old, assumed overall command of the first phase of the Raqa operation.

Command of later phases was then shared with others, including another YPJ female officer.

The jihadists, who ruled over large parts of Syria and Iraq for more than three years, "carried out the worst atrocities against women, they made them slaves and machines meant to satisfy their every desire," Abdullah said.

One of the worst crimes perpetrated by the ultra-violent jihadist group was the genocide against the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq which saw IS kidnap and enslave thousands of women and girls.

In various interviews Felat, who is from the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria, has spoken of the importance of promoting women in war.

She cites a diverse range of heroes, including early 20th century German philosopher and activist Rosa Luxemburg, but also Napoleon and Kurdish fighter Saladin.

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"Whether as fighters or commanders, the Women's Protection Units always embody a spirit of camaraderie, a group spirit, there is always an awareness of our responsibility," said Jihad Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the SDF's Raqa operation.

"All the commanders, particularly Rojda, embody this."

On Tuesday, Felat grinned broadly, her weapon hanging from her shoulder, as she waved a massive SDF flag at Al-Naim roundabout.

"It's a historical moment and we know it will change many things," she said, in a video posted by the YPG.
Iraqi forces have snatched the disputed city of Kirkuk, here shown on October 17, and its surrounding oil riches

Just over three weeks ago, Iraqi Kurds were dancing in the streets after an overwhelming vote for independence fuelled hope they might finally gain their own country.

But now those dreams have turned to dust as Iraqi forces snatched the disputed city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil riches in a lightning strike back that robbed Kurdistan of a key chunk of its revenues without a fight.

"Those who made us dream of a Kurdish state, have abandoned us," Kirkuk resident Omar Mahmud, 41, told AFP.

In the face of the Iraqi advance, Kurdish forces retreated from Kirkuk, handing the strategic territory to Baghdad with barely a whimper.

Mahmud stayed behind in the multi-ethnic city that had been under the control of the Iraqi Kurds since their peshmerga security forces claimed it in the chaos of the Islamic State group's 2014 rampage across the country.

But as Kurdish forces left, so too did his neighbours in a nearby Kurdish district "because they were too scared", he says.

Now Mahmud is furious with the Kurdish officials and commanders who allowed Kirkuk to fall in such an unexpected capitulation.

"They have to be put on trial and not just kicked out of power," he said.

- Blocked ambitions -

Just over three weeks ago, Iraqi Kurds were dancing in the streets after an overwhelming vote for independence fuelled hope they might finally gain their own country

In Iraqi Kurdistan's regional capital Arbil, flags and posters supporting the September 25 referendum are still hanging on walls around the city, but the party appears long over.

Stationary shop owner Sirwan Najem, 31, felt a sinking sensation all too familiar to generations of Kurds who have fought for, but failed to achieve, their own state.

"Every time, in the history of the Kurds, the neighbouring countries have blocked us from realising our ambition of independence," he said, his eyes glued to a television for news.

This time, however, the pill is even more bitter -- as the crushing "yes" vote in the referendum sparked hope for many that it might finally spell the end of the Kurds' long journey.

Civil servant Kamran Ahmed was one of them. He said the loss of Kirkuk was like an "Iraqi coup d'etat with the support of Iran and Turkey", two neighbours who have long fought against the independence demands of their own Kurdish populations.

"The international community has to step in now to help the Kurdish people, recognise the referendum and work to get a withdrawal" of Iraqi troops from Kirkuk, he said.

But that hope looks like it will not come true.

The United States -- which has long supported the Kurds -- rejected the independence vote and stood by as Kirkuk was retaken.

- 'A catastrophe' -

A crushing "yes" vote in an independence referendum on September 25 sparked hope for many Iraqi Kurds

In Sulaimaniyah, second city of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, residents were shaken and angry after witnessing the arrival of tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians who had fled Kirkuk.

Agricultural engineer Sazan Tawfiq said she was "totally depressed" by what had happened and lashed out at Washington for its refusal to back the Kurds.

"A few days ago they were the allies of the Kurds because they needed them in the fight against the Islamic State group, but now they are turning their back on us."

But the bitter recriminations also targeted the leadership of the autonomous region and its long-time president Massud Barzani, who pushed on with the referendum despite demands not to from all sides.

"Many people have been accusing our leaders for years of hogging political and economic power to profit themselves and their families," said secondary school teacher Karukh Omar.

"They were warned, but now look what this has landed us with -- a catastrophe. The Kurdish leadership as it is today can't do anything for the Kurdish people or their cause."

And as the outlook has rapidly worsened for the Kurds, some veterans of the independence struggle admitted the dream of having their own state had been put on hold -- at least for now.

"For the moment it is delayed, as the situation is not right for it now," said Mahmud Othman, a founding member of Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party.

For the time being the main hope, he said, was that despite the heightened tensions with the central government "everything will develop peacefully".
Peppers are a mainstay for farmers in Niger's Diffa region

Small farmers in southeastern Niger are rejoicing after authorities lifted a two-year ban on the growing of red peppers, imposed in their fight against jihadists.

Boko Haram Islamist rebels from neighbouring Nigeria were suspected of extorting money from the red-pepper trade in the Diffa region to fund their activities, which prompted the government to ban the crop.

"Before the crisis, pepper growing used to bring billions of CFA francs into the region," equivalent to millions of dollars or euros, Bako Mamadou, the mayor of Bosso, told AFP.

"We lifted the ban on growing two weeks ago... The farmers here have heaved a huge sign of relief."

Popularly known as "tatassaye," the Diffa red pepper is dried in the sun and sold as a spice.

It is grown mainly in the valley of the Yobe river, where before the ban it brought in between seven and 10 billion CFA francs annually, providing a livelihood for around 6,000 producers, the Diffa region's chamber of agriculture says on its website.

A source with a humanitarian group said the ban had "probably" been lifted because of its "devastating" impact on the income of small farmers, and because large-scale attacks by Boko Haram in the region were now rare.

Niger, along with Chad and Cameroon, has become a victim of spillover attacks by the hardline Sunni Islamists.

Across the region, the insurgency has led to more than 20,000 deaths while 2.6 million have fled their homes, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes.

More than 300,000 people have taken refuge in the Diffa region, which is already extremely poor. The UN has appealed urgently for more support.

Mamadou said that "even Nigerian refugees" in the region were now being authorised to grow peppers "provided that they file an application for land".

A security source told AFP that "for obvious security reasons," farming in areas that were "too close" to Nigeria's border remained banned.

Boko Haram imposed a "tax" on cross-border commerce in red peppers and also kidnapped traders and held them to ransom, a local official said.

Aid groups say that, in the climate of fear, some farmers had abandoned their fields, terrified they would be either killed by Boko Haram or be taken as accomplices of the militia by the Niger army.
The school attack -- swiftly termed Pakistan's 9/11 -- shocked a country already grimly accustomed to atrocities, and spurred the military to intensify an operation in the tribal areas, where militants had previously operated with impunity

The militant commander accused of masterminding Pakistan's deadliest ever extremist attack, a massacre at a school in Peshawar in 2014, has been killed, the Pakistani Taliban said in an email to media Wednesday.

The message from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the umbrella group which forms the Pakistani Taliban, did not say when or where Khalifa Umar Mansoor had been killed, and there was no immediate comment from the Pakistani military or government.

The Mansour-led faction of the TTP, the Tariq Gidar Group (TGG), had claimed responsibility for the attack on the school in Peshawar, in which more than 150 people were killed, most of them children.

The attack -- swiftly termed Pakistan's 9/11 -- shocked a country already grimly accustomed to atrocities, and spurred the military to intensify an operation in the tribal areas, where militants had previously operated with impunity.

Pakistan has seen a dramatic improvement in security in the years since, though militant groups such as the TTP retain the ability to carry out spectacular attacks across the country.

That included another attack by the TGG, designated a terrorist group by the US, in 2016 on a university in Charsadda in which 21 people were killed.

After both attacks, Mansoor issued videos vowing to target schools across Pakistan, calling them "nurseries" for people who challenge Allah's law.

Grieving parents welcomed the news of Mansour's death.

"The entire world is happy over the killing of the mastermind" behind the Peshawar school assault, Tufail Khan Khattak, whose son was killed in the attack, told AFP.

Some reports had emerged in 2016 of Mansoor's death, but AFP was unable to confirm them with officials or the militants at the time.

Wednesday's statement came two days after drone strikes carried out by the US in the tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan reportedly killed more than two dozen militants.

The militants also announced that "Khalifa Usman Mansoor will replace him in Darra Adam Khel and Peshawar," TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said in a statement.
An Iranian man looks at an illustration during the "Persian Gulf Forever" cartoon exhibition in Tehran on October 18, 2017

Even the fish were laughing at Donald Trump in the cartoon exhibition in Tehran where satirists gave a biting response to the US president, who infuriated Iranians by calling the Gulf "Arabian" rather than "Persian".

If there was one thing ordinary Iranians really hated in Trump's aggressive speech against their country last Friday, it was the reference to the "Arabian Gulf", which went against even the United States' usual name for the waterway.

It took just three days for the Hozeh Honari ("Cultural Centre") in Tehran to put on an exhibition of cartoons ripping into the US president under the title "Persian Gulf Forever".

One cartoon showed a baby Trump with an Arab offering him a lolly and teaching him to repeat the phrase "Arabian Gulf".

Another showed an Arab feeding big gold coins into a mechanical Trump as he delivered his speech -- a reference to the widespread belief in Iran that the US president has been bought by Saudi petrodollars.

"Iranians have a big sense of humour and they have shown it millions of times on social media in their reactions to this speech and the issue of the Persian Gulf," said organiser Massoud Shojai Tabatabai, who heads Iran's House of Cartoonists.

"We decided to quickly put something on. In two days, the artists had submitted their work and we have 55 pieces on display."

The Hozeh Honari, which is supported by the government, is also hosting an exhibition attacking the leaders of Myanmar for what they call the ongoing "genocide" against Rohingya Muslims.

Among the other artworks in the building in downtown Tehran are busts of famous Iranian artists and intellectuals, as well as a sculpture of a person destroying the star of David with an axe.

"Even in American films with Tom Cruise, they talk about the 'Persian Gulf'," said one admiring onlooker at the exhibition on Wednesday, Arghavan Tajalimanesh.

"When Mr Trump dares to call it the Arabian Gulf, it is the responsibility of all Iranians and artists to respond," she added.

Iranians look at illustrations during the "Persian Gulf Forever" cartoon exhibition in Tehran on October 18, 2017

Joined by telephone from her home in Isfahan, one of the cartoonists, Mahnaz Yazdani, didn't say if she was paid for her work.

"I just wanted to show Trump's ignorance... that he's paid by Saudi Arabia to say these things," the 37-year-old told AFP.

She would like the US president to see her drawings, but with Iranians already hit by Trump's travel ban, she said that would spell the end to any holidays in the United States -- "for me, my ancestors or any of my descendants," she added, laughing.
The bomb attack in Mogadishu left at least 276 people dead and 300 injured

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed vowed Wednesday to step up the war against Al-Shabaab, as he addressed thousands at a rally in Mogadishu for the victims of the city's worst-ever bombing.

Protesters wearing red bands around their heads marched through the scene of the truck bombing, a once bustling district, before gathering at a stadium where they chanted: "We are ready to fight".

Residents of the Somali capital, while wearily accustomed to regular bombs and attacks by the Islamist militants, have been outraged by the strike on Saturday which left at least 276 dead and 300 wounded.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Shabaab, a militant group aligned with Al-Qaeda, carries out regular suicide bombings in Mogadishu in its bid to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed government.

The president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, said the attack "shows that we have not done enough to stop Shabaab."

"If we don't respond to this now, the time will surely come when pieces of flesh from all of us are being picked up off the ground. We need to stand up together and fight Al-Shabaab who continue massacring our people," he said.

However it was unclear what Farmajo -- who came into office eight months ago also vowing to eliminate Shabaab -- planned to do to stop the militants from carrying out such attacks.

Similar protests took place in large towns in southern and central Somalia -- a rare display of public outrage against the Shabaab which still controls some rural areas after being pushed out of the capital in 2011.

"This attack seems to have united the people because everyone is angry now and needs to fight violence, there are thousands of young men, women and children out there protesting," said one demonstrator, Abdulahi Mohamed.

"I think the ones who have masterminded this attack will not spare anyone ... we need to stop these guys before they kill all of us," said another protester, Ibrahim Mamud.

The attack has overwhelmed Somalia's fragile health system, and allies from the US, Qatar, Turkey and Kenya have sent planeloads of medical supplies as well as doctors, with all except the US also evacuating some of the wounded.
From the cleaning industry to the corporate world, a common thread is bosses or colleagues who abuse positions of authority to coerce their victims, often safe in the knowledge their behavior can remain hidden

The Weinstein revelations have once again shone a light on Hollywood's seedy underbelly -- but rampant sexual harassment in the workplace is hardly confined to the glamorous world of show business.

From the cleaning industry to the corporate world, a common thread is bosses or colleagues who abuse positions of authority to coerce their victims, often safe in the knowledge their behavior can remain hidden.

Show business is particularly vulnerable because of its highly competitive nature and a traditional reliance on personal relations and networking, says Ann Fromholz, a lawyer who specializes in harassment.

"The standards for entry and promotion aren't strictly on merit, it can be your looks, it may be who you know," she says, adding: "People who are already in the industry often put up with behavior they hate because, at least until now, it was the price of admission."

The Harvey Weinstein scandal illustrates the problem at its most extreme: the disgraced Hollywood producer stands accused by around 40 actresses of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault to rape.

But Fromholz says she has encountered "horror stories" from janitors, farm laborers and restaurant workers too -- sectors that in the US are heavily-filled by undocumented workers who fear not only losing their jobs but being deported.

"There is sort of a black humor joke among the employment lawyers, we say that workplaces with beds are really a terrible idea, so that's talking about hotels and hospitals at the very least," she adds.

Other typical scenarios revolve around powerful men whose misconduct can go unchecked: high-flying lawyers; Silicon Valley investors who can make or break a business; or celebrated TV personalities like Bill O'Reilly, whose long reign at Fox News was recently brought to a close by an avalanche of harassment claims.

A survey of 2,200 women carried out in 2015 by Cosmopolitan magazine found that one in every three had experienced some form of sexual harassment at work, including unwanted physical or verbal advances and demands for sexual favors.

More than three-quarters said they did not lodge a complaint.

- 'Enough' -

The Harvey Weinstein scandal illustrates the problem at its most extreme: the disgraced Hollywood producer stands accused by around 40 actresses of charges ranging from harassment to assault to rape

The corridors of government are no exception, with female aides and even legislators subjected to unwanted innuendo and touching.

More than 140 female politicians and staffers from California were moved this week to sign an open letter that said: "Enough. As women leaders in politics, in a state that postures itself as a leader in justice and equality, you might assume our experience has been different. It has not.

"Each of us has endured, or witnessed or worked with women who have experienced some form of dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces."

Experts in the field emphasize that clear workplace policies are essential in creating a healthy culture, with punishments for those who cross the line.

The exact opposite of what has been reported about Weinstein's contract with the company he co-founded, which, according to TMZ, prevented the firm from sacking him over sexual harassment claims as long as he reimbursed the studio for any lawsuit payouts.

It was tantamount to giving a green light to harassment, says employment lawyer Genie Harrison.

- Workplace romance -

In 1986, the US Supreme Court recognized that sexual harassment was a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Typical legal cases often involve so-called quid pro quo harassment -- the suggestion or demand for sexual favors in return for promotion.

Another frequent complaint is the creation of a hostile work environment through jokes and sexual innuendo, says Harrison.

There is some good news. Over the course of her 23-year career, Fromholz says she has seen positive change, adding: "There certainly is a much larger awareness of what conduct is acceptable or not."

Genuine workplace romance can continue to exist, but "it's a hard thing to know when someone is exploring the possibility of dating someone they work with -- they have to be more careful than towards someone they meet at a dinner party and it might be an awkward conversation," says Fromholz, who emphasizes the power equation is critical.

She adds: "The ultimate question is welcomeness"
Rosneft said it would pay up to $400 million (340 million euros) for 80 percent in the venture as part of the deal with the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq

Russian oil giant Rosneft said Wednesday it had signed production sharing agreements for five oil blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan, a region at loggerheads with Iraq's central government over independence.

In a statement, Rosneft said it would pay up to $400 million (340 million euros) for 80 percent in the venture as part of the deal with the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq, although up to half the sum could be paid in crude oil from the blocks.

A joint exploration programme and pilot production is to start next year. If successful, Rosneft said it would start full-field development of the blocks in 2021.

Recoverable oil reserves at the five blocks are around 670 million barrels, Rosneft said, calling the estimate "conservative".

Rosneft and Iraqi Kurdistan are already cooperating on crude purchases and sales, but the new deal "will allow us to talk about full-fledged entry of the company in one of the most promising regions of the developing global power market", Rosneft said.

Last month, Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted to break off from Baghdad, a decision that led to a standoff with Iraqi troops, and prompted fears for continued oil supplies from the region.
The new UN envoy for the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Horst Koehler (C) visits the Aousserd camp for Sahrawi refugees on the outksirt of Tindouf.

The new UN envoy for disputed Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, met leaders of an Algerian-backed independence movement Wednesday after visiting Morocco in a bid to get stalled peace talks back on track.

Koehler, a former German president tasked by the United Nations in August with mediating the decades-old dispute, sat down with leaders from the pro-independence Polisario Front as he made his first trip to the refugee camps in Algeria where they are based.

The meeting is part of a fresh push by the United Nations to try to resolve one of Africa's longest-running territorial disputes, which saw the Polisario Front wage a bitter 16-year insurgency against Moroccan control.

A UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991 halted the fighting, but Morocco insists the phosphate-rich region is an integral part of its kingdom. An envisioned referendum on independence has never been held.

The Algeria-backed Polisario Front campaigns to be to split the territory from Morocco and demands a vote on self-determination for the desert territory of half a million residents.

The UN opened negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario in 2007, when Rabat proposed autonomy for the former Spanish colony, but there has been little progress since.

In April, the UN said it wanted to resume negotiations after Polisario fighters withdrew from a sensitive area on the border with Mauritania, appearing to offer a chink of hope.

"I came to listen to both sides of the conflict, to see firsthand the conditions in the refugee camps and to better understand the issue and more importantly to form my personal vision," Koehler said in a brief statement before the meeting.

While the new envoy expressed his optimism over future negotiations, he remained sanguine about the task ahead.

"I am not a magician," he said.

His visit to the Tindouf area in southwest Algeria, the location of refugee camps that are home to between 100,000 and 200,000 people, came a day after Koehler met Morocco's King Mohammed VI.

Western Sahara is the only territory on the African continent whose post-colonial status has still not been resolved.

The conflict continues to poison relations between Morocco and Algeria, whose borders have been closed since 1994.

Located on the Atlantic coast, the Western Sahara covers 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 square miles).

Morocco has built six mostly sand barriers along roughly 2,700 kilometres (1,675 miles) to cordon off areas of the territory it controls.

Koehler is set to meet Thursday with peacekeepers from the UN mission overseeing the ceasefire since 1991, before heading to meet Algerian and Mauritanian officials.
Special Envoy of The UN Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura in September 2017 he hoped to convene a new round of Syria talks in Geneva in the coming weeks

The United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura met Wednesday in Moscow with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ahead of a fresh round of talks aimed at ending Syria's six-year war.

The officials gathered to "discuss ways of moving from de-escalation zones towards a more stable political settlement in Syria," de Mistura was quoted as saying by a defence ministry statement.

Russia, a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has played a major role in the war and in diplomatic efforts to create and monitor four safe zones across the battle-scarred country.

Russia agreed during talks in Astana with Iran and Turkey -- who back opposing sides in the conflict -- to create the zones in the northern Idlib province, in central Homs, the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta and in southern Syria.

Violence has drastically decreased in the zones since their establishment this year, but conflict is still raging elsewhere in Syria, including a US-led aerial and ground assault on jihadists groups in the country's northeast.

The UN envoy said last month he hopes to convene a new round of Syria talks in Geneva in the coming weeks.

He has already hosted several previous rounds of negotiations, with the fate of Assad a key sticking point.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (C), Canadian Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland (L), and Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal at the conclusion of the fourth round of NAFTA negotiations

Trade talks deadlocked Tuesday between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Officials extended negotiations into 2018, putting the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement in doubt.

Canadian and Mexican officials have rejected major proposals from Washington.

Here are the main sticking points:

- The sunset clause -

The Trump administration has proposed a NAFTA clause that would allow the treaty to expire after five years, effectively requiring the three governments to reauthorize it.

The proposal has met stiff opposition from Ottawa and Mexico City, as well as from US industry.

As the fourth round of talks concluded in Washington on Tuesday, Mexican Finance Minister Ildefonso Villareal said the proposal was "destructive" because "a new NAFTA must create the certainty necessary for job creation."

The US Chamber of Commerce has described the proposal as "dangerous" and said it was opposed by the "vast majority" of US business and agriculture, as well as key US lawmakers.

- Automotive content -

NAFTA requires that at least 62.5 percent of the components of a vehicle be made in one of the three member countries, in order that customs duties don't apply.

The Trump administration wants that figure increased to 85 percent, with 50 percent of those components made exclusively in the United States. The US also wants steel, aluminum, copper and plastic used in those components to be made part of the calculation, according to US and Canadian media.

The auto industry itself opposes the suggested new requirements for US content.

- Arbitration under Chapter 19 -

This little-used provision of the agreement allows arbitration by private legal experts to resolve disputes over countervailing duties and dumping.

The Trump administration has branded the provision as unfair to US businesses and workers, since a Chapter 19 process can overrule decisions made by US agencies.

But Canada has successfully used Chapter 19 arbitration to rebut US accusations that Canadian exporters sold lumber at below-cost prices.

"An effective, transparent and enforceable dispute settlement mechanism is essential to NAFTA," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday.

"Just as good fences make good neighbors, good dispute settlement systems make good trading partners."

In July, Mexican lawmakers also called on their government to reject any proposal during NAFTA talks to scrap Chapter 19 arbitration.

- Investor-State disputes -

Under NAFTA's Chapter 11, investors may take legal action directly against governments for claims of discriminatory practices.

Known as the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism, such clauses have been attacked for allowing arbitration panels to overrule the findings of local courts and allegedly undermining national sovereignty.

The Trump administration appears opposed to the provisions, again raising the ire of the US Chamber.

"Far from infringing on anyone's sovereignty, it ensures that investors are treated fairly and compensated in the event of expropriation," US Chamber President Tom Donahue said last week.

- Canadian 'supply management' -

Dating to the 1970s, this system protects Canada's farmers and consumers from price swings for dairy and poultry goods but also keeps out foreign competition.

The US has reportedly asked for the system to be phased out within a decade, allowing for US exports of milk and poultry to Canada to begin.

Canada argues that American producers also benefit from state subsidies in the sector.

- Procurement -

Freeland said Washington had proposed limiting its NAFTA partners' access to US government procurement contracts.

"The United States has put forward a proposal that according to our calculations would give Canada and Mexico less access to the US government procurement market than Bahrain currently enjoys," she said.
The roughly 10-foot chain-link fence, which Pakistan announced it had begun building in March, stretches through parts of the rugged tribal districts of North and South Waziristan along the Afghan border

Pakistan's military took the rare step of flying international media to the border with Afghanistan Wednesday to showcase its efforts to harden the porous, militancy-wracked frontier: a chain-link fence shrouded in barbed wire.

The roughly 10-foot tall fence, which Pakistan announced it had begun building in March, stretches through parts of the rugged tribal districts of North and South Waziristan along the Afghan border.

Over recent decades militants from the Afghan Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other militant groups have operated with impunity in the region, crossing the colonial-era frontier at will.

A top Pakistani officer in South Waziristan told foreign media at Angoor Adda's Hamza Fort that the fence was an "epoch shift" in control of the border.

To date only 43 kilometres of the border have been separated by the fence, but the officer said the entire length would be covered by the end of next year.

"There'll not be an inch of international border that shall not remain under observation by December of (20)18," said the officer, who the military requested not be named.

"By the time we are done, God willing, we'll be very sure of one thing, that nobody can cross this place."

Pakistani soldiers at the forts spaced along the frontier scanned the rolling, bush-covered hills on the other side.

Inside the forts, more troops monitored CCTV cameras trained on the fence, illuminated by solar power at night.

Pakistani soldiers at the forts spaced along the frontier scanned the rolling, bush-covered hills on the other side in Afghanistan

The military also took reporters by helicopter to Kitton Orchard Fort near Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan, more than 200 kilometres away.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused one another of offering safe havens in the border region from where militants could launch devastating cross-frontier attacks.

In August, President Donald Trump lambasted Islamabad for harbouring "agents of chaos" on its soil.

Washington has for years accused Pakistan of allowing Afghan Taliban fighters to regroup inside its borders and target NATO and Afghan troops inside Afghanistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly denied the accusations, and claimed the US has ignored the price it has paid in thousands of lives as it grapples with militancy.

Kabul, meanwhile, has denounced the fence, which threatens to upset the daily lives of communities who have traditionally paid little mind to the border.

Afghanistan has refused to recognise the Durand Line, a 2,400-kilometre frontier drawn by the British in 1896, as it splits the Pashtun ethnic group between the nations.

Some villages straddle the frontier, with mosques and houses with one door in Pakistan and another in Afghanistan.

Residents there now face stricter controls and are obliged to use official crossing points, which are subject to delays and frequent closures including one that was lifted last week after a full month.

The media visit to the fence came after a US drone targeted a compound along the border used by Taliban-allied Haqqani fighters late Monday, killing over two dozen militants.

The barrage was initially reported to have struck inside Pakistan but this was later refuted by Islamabad, highlighting the opaque nature of where the border exactly lies.

jg-aq-ds-st/amz
Authorities in northern California say they are still battling 13 major wild fires in a drama that has claimed 42 lives and destroyed around 5,700 homes and businesses

The death toll from California's wildfires rose to 42 on Wednesday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said, as rescuers found another body.

The latest victim was found in Sonoma County, the worst-hit part of California's wine-growing region which has been scorched by multiple infernos raging since October 9 but now largely under control.

Cal Fire said almost 10,000 firefighters were still battling 13 major fires, however, with more than 325 square miles (850 square kilometers) burned across the state.

More than 22,000 people have still not been able to return home, down from 75,000 a few days ago.

"Cooler temperatures and increased humidity overnight have aided firefighters in their efforts," Cal Fire said in a statement.

"Weather conditions this week will continue to help in the containment progress. In fact, light rain in northern California is forecast for Thursday night," it added.

Around 5,700 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the fires, the deadliest in California's history.
Sen. Durbin Says Dems Could Lose To Trump If They Are Too Liberal & 'Overdo It'

By aaroncynic in News on Oct 17, 2017 8:00PM



Illinois Senator Dick Durbin greets supporters at a rally opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act in January. Photo by Aaron Cynic.

Though were not even a year into President Donald Trumps first term and the next presidential election is far over the visible horizon, both Democrats and Republicans have been planning for 2020 as if its right around the corner and we didnt have an entire midterm election cycle in between.

Democrats have been both trying to cope with what many saw as a stunning upset in 2016 and find a path to move the party forward. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, told WLS radio over the weekend that his party could lose to Trump in the next Presidential cycle if they overdo it by leaning too liberal.

We don't give up on our values, but we better be sensitive, too, that there are people with more moderate views, and people who may disagree with some parts of the Democratic platform as they are presented. We've got to be open to that possibility," said Durbin.

The Illinois Senator was referring to comments made by House Rep. Cheri Bustos, who had said that Democrats could lose to Trump in 2020 if they became too liberal.

You can, Durbin told WLSs Bill Cameron. I think you can overdo it. We have to really appeal to that sensible center. Its a thin stripe now. It used to be a lot wider stripe, but its an important and determining factor in most elections.

On Tuesday, Durbin expounded on his comments on the Big John and Ramblin Ray show on WLS:

The diversity of America is embraced by some and hated by others. There are people who say I dont like all those new people...all the new lifestyles...what I hear about all this change. Others believe thats exactly who we are, thats what were going to bethats the future. Youre not going to resolve that fundamental different. But when it comes to the issues criminal justice reform, dealing with foreign policy, there is a moderate and center position and we really should strive to find it.

Our executive branch of government and its allies in the legislative however, seem more concerned with forcing athletes to participate in compulsory displays of nationalism than criminal justice reform, and the Trump administration has actually all but killed the tiny slivers of it put forward by the Obama administration. Trump has frequently stoked rhetorical flames of a potential nuclear war with North Korea over Twitter. For months, Congressional Republicans have sought to dismantle health care for our nations most vulnerable while giving themselves and their rich benefactors big tax breaks.

Its hard to find where exactly the center is on any of these issues, or what hard fought victories for civil rights people should compromise away in the face of an administration thats been open about its desire to roll back rights or worse for most marginalized communities.

Durbin certainly isnt the first Democrat to suggest such a thing in the long year of soul-searching the party has had in the wake of its defeat against Trump. But, one has to wonder if spending more time worrying about a seemingly shrinking center and alleged moderates - who generally end up siding with the President and his hard-right agenda anyway - isnt another strategy for failure.

Trump lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, but that isnt even the largest number showing that the public at large might not be thrilled with his agenda, or even a more moderate version of it. The majority of Americans - some 45 percent of adults - either chose to stay home or were unable to vote in November of 2016.

Picking and choosing which values to compromise on isnt likely to energize their base in 2018 or 2020, and Republicans who might not be on board with Trump 100 percent of the time will still likely hold their noses and cast a ballot for him rather than vote Democrat. Moreover, ignoring growing voter suppression efforts by the right is only going to shrink an already narrow pool of voters.

Democrats need to not only make more of an effort to fight the rights agenda, but put forward their own agenda that appeals to a wider majority of people who have already been suffering and will likely suffer even more under it. If they cant actually move a much larger majority of people to come vote for them, were likely to see a Trump victory in 2020, regardless of a more moderate appeal.


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to the Central African Republic to draw attention to the suffering of its people as well as the toll violence in the country has taken on aid workers and peacekeepers

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is traveling to the Central African Republic next week to draw attention to the world's "forgotten crisis" and its heavy toll on aid workers and UN peacekeepers.

"The Central African Republic is very far from the attention of the international community," Guterres told AFP and Radio France Internationale in an interview on Wednesday.

"The level of suffering of the people but also the trauma suffered by aid workers and peacekeepers are deserving of our solidarity and heightened attention," he said.

Guterres will be in Bangui on Tuesday for United Nations Day, which marks the entry into force of the UN charter, and will also travel to Bangassou in the south, where heavy fighting broke out in May.

"This is a gesture of solidarity with the peacekeepers working in one of the most dangerous environments," he said.

Renewed clashes in the Central African Republic have pitted armed groups who are competing for control of natural resources and areas of influence while claiming to protect communities.

The fighting has involved mostly Christian militias and groups linked to the mainly Muslim Seleka coalition.

Since the beginning of the year, 12 aid workers and 12 peacekeepers have been killed in CAR, which shows "just how much the situation has deteriorated," said Guterres.

While some UN officials have raised alarm over "early warning signs of genocide" in CAR, Guterres said there was "ethnic cleansing" in many parts of the country.

To quell the violence, Guterres singled out religious leaders as having an "absolutely indispensable role" to play by drawing Christian and Muslim communities away from the fighting.

- Beefing up UN mission -

The worsening violence stems from "armed groups who received external support," he said, without elaborating. "Hate speech has surfaced in the statements of many community leaders."

Guterres will also meet with victims of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers as part of his effort to address damaging allegations that have hit the blue helmets in several missions.

MINUSCA faces one of the highest number of rape allegations of all UN missions, prompting Guterres earlier this year to agree to the withdrawal of a contingent from Congo Republic which had faced several accusations.

Now, faced with the upsurge of violence, the UN chief is asking the Security Council to beef up the mission with 900 extra troops, even though the United States is pushing for cost-cutting measures in peacekeeping.

"There is a need to increase the capacity of our troops in Central African Republic to protect civilians," Guterres told reporters.

"I am convinced there will be a positive understanding by all the members of the Security Council including the United States in relation to this."

The council will decide next month whether to approve the additional troops for MINUSCA, which currently has some 12,000 peacekeepers.

The Central African Republic descended into violence after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the Seleka alliance.

France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka and the United Nations launched its peacekeeping mission in 2014, but the country remains plagued by violence.

The conflict has driven more than 600,00 people from their homes internally while an additional 500,000 have crossed borders to become refugees. Half of the population, or 2.4 million Central Africans, are in need of aid.
Radee Prince, 37, was arrested for fatally shooting three people and wounding two at a business park in Maryland and wounding a man in neighbouring Delaware, both on October 18, 2017

Police arrested a man suspected of killing three people and wounding two on Wednesday at a Maryland business park before shooting another person in neighboring Delaware.

Radee Prince, 37, was caught as he fled on foot in Delaware after a manhunt that saw local Maryland schools in lockdown and the nearby set of Netflix drama House of Cards reportedly sealed off.

Police said the latest mass shooting to hit the United States was a "targeted attack".

"At 7:05 pm (2305 GMT), a suspect was taken into police custody after a brief foot chase," Wilmington, Delaware Police Chief Robert Tracy told a televised news conference.

Prince discarded a .380 caliber firearm during the chase -- the same caliber used in the shootings, though ballistics testing still needs to be done to conclusively determine if it is the same weapon, Tracy said.

The police chief had earlier told reporters that Prince was "a dangerous individual. This person shot six people in one day," in attacks that were not random.

Prince was sought "in connection with both a multiple shooting incident early this morning in Edgewood, Maryland and another shooting incident at mid-morning today" in Wilmington, a statement from police said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said three people died in the first incident at a granite business just before 9:00 am (1300 GMT).

He confirmed a handgun was used and two other victims were transported to trauma centers in serious condition.

Gahler said Prince was associated with the company, Advanced Granite Solutions, where the first shooting occurred, near Baltimore.

- Latest mass shooting -

"This does appear to be a targeted attack, limited to that business," he said.

Police were investigating Prince's connection with the firm, where all five victims of the first shooting were employed, Gahler said.

He said other people besides the five victims were on the premises when the shooting took place.

Tracy said the victim in the second shooting identified the gunman.

"They're known to each other and they've had some past history," he told a news conference.

The suspect fled the first attack in a car registered in Delaware, Gahler said.

Variety magazine reported that the set of "House of Cards," which is partly filmed in Maryland, was placed on lockdown while police searched for the shooter.

The executive producer of the series, Dana Brunetti, said on Facebook: "Shooting near House of Cards set."

Several schools in Maryland were also placed on lockdown while the shooter was still at large, officials said.

The incident was the latest mass shooting in a country where such killings have become tragically commonplace.

On October 1, a gunman in a 32nd-floor casino hotel room rained fire down on concert-goers in Las Vegas, killing 58 and wounding more than 500.

It was the deadliest shooting in recent US history.

The Las Vegas shooting sparked efforts to ban "bump stocks," a device that allowed the firing of a semi-automatic rifle close to the rate of a fully automatic weapon.

But broader gun control measures remain staunchly opposed by Republicans, with the backing of the powerful National Rifle Association lobby.
Senate Health Committee chairman Lamar Alexander has struck a deal with Democrats to shore up Obamacare insurance markets, but President Donald Trump appears to be distancing himself from the plan

A bipartisan effort to stabilize Obamacare's individual health insurance markets ran into political headwinds Wednesday when US President Donald Trump warned against the plan if it meant "bailing out" insurance companies.

Senate Republican Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray announced their deal only a day earlier, raising the prospect that Congress might soon pass legislation that would help low-income Americans purchase health insurance, days after Trump ordered a cut to such subsidies.

"I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care," Trump tweeted.

The comment left some Republicans skeptical about the viability of the deal, which would authorize some $7 billion in subsidy payments in both 2017 and 2018 to health insurers that help millions of poorer Americans afford coverage.

In exchange, the deal grants states greater flexibility to regulate coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

But Trump's latest conflicting statement about the package appeared to confound Republicans.

"We got a lot of work to do," said number two Senate Republican John Cornyn.

"Until the president's on board, yes, there are probably changes that need to be made to satisfy the president," he added.

Asked whether her deal with Alexander was still alive, Murray told reporters: "of course it is."

Republican Senator John Kennedy was not so sure.

"I think that probably kills the effort," Kennedy told Fox News, speaking of the Trump tweet.

Senate Health Committee chairman Alexander, who said he believed his bill could pass Congress before the end of the year, insisted the so-called cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs, were not bailouts to insurers.

"We have language in our bill to make sure that those benefits go to consumers, not to insurance companies," Alexander said.

Trump last week signed an executive order scrapping the payments, a move experts warned would cause some insurance rates to spike by up to 30 percent next year.

While Trump says he wants to eventually repeal Obamacare and replace it with state block grants like the plan which collapsed this summer, Alexander warned that "chaos" could ensue if cost-sharing payments stop and premiums skyrocket in the interim.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer blasted Trump for being "totally inconsistent" about supporting and then opposing the deal.

"He keeps zigging and zagging, our only hope is maybe tomorrow he'll be for this again," Schumer said.
US President Donald Trump's administration has "dispelled" doubts over whether it will stand by a hard-won personal data protection accord with Europe struck during Barack Obama's presidency, the EU said

US President Donald Trump's administration has "dispelled" doubts over whether it will stand by a hard-won personal data protection accord with Europe struck during Barack Obama's presidency, the EU said Wednesday.

But Brussels said it still wanted Washington to improve on a deal to protect European personal data transferred to the US by internet giants like Google and Facebook.

Last year's deal replaced a previous arrangement struck down by the bloc's top court, leaving the big companies unsure whether they could transfer data without facing a legal challenge.

However, Trump's "America first" policy, which has prompted him to back out of agreements sealed by Obama, had raised European Union concerns.

"I can say that my second visit dispelled my doubts whether 'America first' does not mean 'America only'," EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said at a press conference in Brussels.

Jourova said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his team, whom she met last month in Washington, "have been very clear about their commitment to the privacy shield."

"And I got the feeling they understood the concerns Europeans have about the transfer of their personal data," she added.

Ross likewise welcomed the reaction of European officials' Wednesday, saying the agreement served all sides well.

- Space for improvement? -

"We look forward to continuing to work together with our colleagues on the European Commission and across all of the EU Member States as we continually strive to ensure that the Privacy Shield program serves all stakeholders well," Ross said in a statement.

But Jourova acknowledged there were "still some differences" between the two sides over the balance to strike between protecting privacy and ensuring security.

The European Commission, the executive of the 28-nation EU, said the deal "continues to ensure an adequate level of protection" for personal data transferred to firms in the US.

Jourova said the US, for example, has implemented ways in which EU individuals and firms can seek and obtain redress for complaints they may have with data transfers.

She added that more than 2,400 companies had already been certified by the US Commerce Department to participate in the scheme.

The commission said relevant US safeguards remained in place over access to personal data by US public authorities for national security reasons.

"But we also found space for improvement," Jourova added.

The commission recommended US authorities do more to monitor whether companies were complying with their obligations under the deal, as well as regularly search participating companies that make false claims.

It called for closer cooperation between relevant US authorities and their EU data protection counterparts.

Jourova urged Washington to name an ombudsman to tackle complaints from EU citizens "as soon as possible," though there was "no concrete deadline".
Rohingya refugee Khalida is seen wading across a canal with her three children near the no man's land area between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Over half a milion Rohingya have fled Myanmar since late August

Myanmar's government has failed to meet its international obligations and protect Rohingya Muslims from the atrocities taking place in Rakhine state, two UN special advisers said Wednesday.

The statement from the UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, and the special adviser on the responsibility to protect, Ivan Simonovic, added the international response to the crisis was a failure.

"Despite warnings issued by us and by many other officials, the government of Myanmar has failed to meet its obligations under international law and primary responsibility to protect the Rohingya population from atrocity crimes," said a joint statement.

"The international community has equally failed its responsibilities in this regard," they added.

Since late August more than 500,000 Rohingya have fled an army campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine state that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing.

The UN Security Council has called on Myanmar to end military operations in Rakhine, grant access to aid workers and allow the safe return of the Rohingya refugees.

The council however has not followed up its appeal with action such as imposing sanctions, a move diplomats said is opposed by China, a supporter of the Myanmar's former junta, and Russia.

"Once again, our failure to stop atrocity crimes makes us complicit. When will we live up to our countless promises of `never again?" the advisers asked.

Myanmar authorities argue the military operations in Rakhine are to root out militants following attacks on police posts in late August.

A recent report by the UN human rights office accused Myanmar of seeking to permanently expel the Rohingya, by planting land mines at the border with Bangladesh where the refugees are sheltering.

UN rights officials spoke to refugees who gave accounts of soldiers surrounding homes and firing indiscriminately as residents ran for their lives, and of uniformed men gang-raping women and girls, some as young as five.

"In some cases, before and during the attacks, megaphones were used to announce: 'You do not belong here -- go to Bangladesh. If you do not leave, we will torch your houses and kill you'," the report said.

The UN's top political affairs official, Jeffrey Feltman, returned on Tuesday from five days of talks in Myanmar that failed to yield a breakthrough.

Feltman is expected to report to the Security Council on his talks.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - As the toll rises above 300 from one of the world's deadliest attacks in years, the al-Shabab extremist group has sent a powerful signal that the international focus on extremism can't afford to overlook the African continent.

Saturday's truck bombing on a crowded Mogadishu street showed that al-Shabab, targeted for years by U.S. airstrikes and tens of thousands of African Union forces, has once again made a deadly comeback.

Pushed from Somalia's capital in recent years, al-Shabab has retreated mostly to rural areas of the country's south, where the fragile central government can't assert its authority and local fiefdoms are in charge.

Ambulances carrying wounded victims passes the scene of Saturday's truck bomb blast, as they head to airport to be airlifted by Turkish air ambulance for treatment in Turkey, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Oct, 16, 2017. The death toll from Saturday's truck bombing in Somalia's capital now exceeds 300, the director of an ambulance service said Monday, as the country reeled from the deadliest single attack. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

From there, Africa's deadliest Islamic extremist group has continued to plan guerrilla-style attacks like Saturday's truck bombing in the capital, Mogadishu.

While demonstrating al-Shabab's resilience in the face of new military offensives by the U.S. and Somalia in recent months, the attack also highlights the shortcomings of U.S. drone strikes in a politically fraught country with a weak military and even weaker police, analysts told The Associated Press.

"Decapitation strikes certainly serve a purpose, but al-Shabab will not be defeated this way. They replenish leadership very quickly," said Matt Bryden, a security consultant on the Horn of Africa who once served as a United Nations expert.

Although al-Shabab has not claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack, the Somali government says there can be no doubt. Bryden agreed, saying that "no other group in Somalia has the capacity to put together a bomb of this size, in this nature."

A new statement by the SITE Intelligence Group said al-Shabab as recently as Monday was posting claims of responsibility for attacks on Somali and African Union forces - but not for Saturday's blast.

Mohamed Sheikh Abdi, a political analyst in Somalia, said he believed al-Shabab is reluctant to take credit for the attack because the high civilian death toll would hand "an expensive propaganda prize for the government ... as a rallying call and boost its public image."

Al-Shabab earlier this year vowed to step up attacks in response to new military efforts by both the Trump administration and Somalia's recently elected Somali-American president, who has vowed to wipe out the extremist group within two years.

It is not yet clear how the U.S. military will respond to Saturday's bombing. A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Rob Manning, said the United States has about 400 troops in Somalia and "we're not going to speculate" about sending more.

The extremist group knows how to make a comeback. It suffered perhaps its worst setback in 2014 after a U.S. airstrike killed its spiritual leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who had helped forge the group's alliance with al-Qaida. Godane was quickly replaced by the more reclusive Ahmad Umar, who remains at large.

In the past year al-Shabab attacks, including against the 22,000-strong multinational African Union force in Somalia, have become more frequent. About half of the 1,228 civilian casualties recorded by the U.N. this year in Somalia have been caused by the extremist group.

Somalia saw a 38 percent rise in civilian deaths from improvised explosives in the first half of this year, the London-based Action on Armed Violence said Monday.

"Time and again throughout its history ... al-Shabab has shown itself to be a remarkably resilient group," said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. "There is no reason to believe that it will not also survive in some fashion the recent setbacks it has suffered in terms of strikes and defections."

Over the years al-Shabab has grown from mounting low-level, symbolic assaults to staging complex attacks at home and abroad. The group is responsible for two major attacks that killed scores in neighboring Kenya, at Garissa University in 2015 and Westgate Mall in 2013. Al-Shabab called them retaliation for Kenya's military involvement in Somalia.

Al-Shabab's attacks have persisted despite the efforts of the international community, which has invested millions of dollars in training the Somali national army. That is due in part to the fragility of Somalia, known as a failed state for decades as it was torn apart by conflict and clan disputes. The central government now struggles to assert control beyond key areas like Mogadishu.

Somalia - a key bridge between Africa and the Middle East and separated by a narrow strait of water from another chaotic nation, Yemen - is historically a complicated country for the United States. The U.S. pulled out of Somalia after the 1993 incident in which two helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu and bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets.

But in April, after the Trump administration expanded military operations in Somalia, the U.S. announced it was sending dozens of regular troops in the largest such deployment to the country in roughly two decades. The U.S. said it was for logistics training of Somalia's army. At the time, the U.S. said about 40 troops were taking part.

Weeks later, a U.S. service member was killed during an operation against al-Shabab.

Bryden, the Somalia expert, said the training efforts of the U.S. and others have become "too centralized in Mogadishu" and too focused on the army, without any serious efforts to boost the capacity of police and regional forces.

The government has fewer than five officers who have been trained in investigating crime scenes caused by improvised explosives, he said.

Saturday's attack appeared to take advantage of the country's latest security turmoil, coming two days after Somalia's defense minister and army chief resigned for unknown reasons.

As the death toll continued to rise, the African Union, set to withdraw its forces and hand over the country's security to the Somali military by the end of 2020, asked the international community for help.

"It is now clear that without adequate and appropriate support to Somalia, many of the security gains made in recent years could be reversed," the continental body said in a statement.

___

Associated Press writers Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Robert Burns in Washington contributed.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT. A Somali woman reacts as she stands by the remains of victims of Saturday's blast, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. The death toll from the most powerful bomb blast witnessed in Somalia's capital rose Sunday to at least 189 with more than 200 injured, making it the deadliest single attack ever in the Horn of Africa nation, police and hospital sources said. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali security forces and others gather and search for bodies near destroyed buildings at the scene of Saturday's blast, in Mogadishu, Somalia Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. The death toll from the huge truck bomb blast in Somalia's capital rose to over 50 Sunday, with more than 60 others injured, as hospitals struggled to cope with the high number of casualties, security and medical sources said. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Critically wounded men wait to be moved into a Turkish air ambulance plane to airlift injured patients for treatment in Turkey, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, Oct,16, 2017. The death toll from Saturday's truck bombing in Somalia's capital now exceeds 300, the director of an ambulance service said Monday, as the country reeled from the deadliest single attack. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a lower court that ordered a New Mexico city to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the lawn outside City Hall.

Civil liberties advocates behind the case called the decision involving the city of Bloomfield a victory for the separation of church and state.

ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson said it sends a "strong message that the government should not be in the business of picking and choosing which sets of religious beliefs enjoy special favor in the community."

The Bloomfield Ten Commandments memorial is pictured, Monday, Feb. 13, 2017 at Bloomfield City Hall in Bloomfoeld,, N.M The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, sided with a lower court, the the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that ordered Bloomfield to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the lawn outside City Hall. (Jon Austria/The Daily Times via AP)

However, David Cortman, a senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom, said the outcome did nothing to resolve confusion in lower courts involving such monuments.

"Americans shouldn't be forced to censor religion's role in history simply to appease someone who is offended by it or who has a political agenda to remove all traces of religion from the public square," said Cortman, whose group represented the city of Bloomfield.

The decision came after attorneys for the city argued that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ignored previous rulings by the Supreme Court that simply being offended by such a monument did not give someone a legal basis to challenge the monument.

In other cases, a Ten Commandments poster in a Kentucky courthouse was found constitutional and a monument on the grounds of a public building in Arkansas was determined to be unconstitutional.

In Bloomfield, a concrete block that displays the Ten Commandments sits alongside other monuments related to the Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address and Bill of Rights.

The city claims it avoided endorsing a particular religion by placing disclaimers on the lawn stating the area was a public forum for citizens and that the privately funded monuments did not necessarily reflect the opinions of the city.

The Ten Commandments monument was erected in 2011 and challenged a year later by the ACLU. Lower courts concluded it violated the Constitution's ban on the government endorsing a religion.

Justice Neil Gorsuch did not take part in the court's action because he was on the federal appeals court in Denver when it considered the matter.

___

Associated Press writer Russell Contreras contributed to this report from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Thousands of women are identifying themselves as victims of sexual harassment or assault following a call to action propelled by actress Alyssa Milano in the wake of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's downfall over of allegations of sexual misconduct spanning decades.

Milano passed along a suggestion from a friend on Sunday that women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted post "me too" to "give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem."

The campaign quickly trended on Twitter and Facebook, with notable names like Lady Gaga, Monica Lewinsky and Rosario Dawson identifying themselves as victims. Others shared personal stories.

FILE - In this May 19, 2013, file photo, Alyssa Milano arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Thousands of women responded to Milano's call on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2017, to tweet "me too" in order to raise awareness of sexual harassment and assault following the recent revelation of decades of allegations of sexual misconduct by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)

"Being raped once made it easier to be raped again. I instinctually shut down. My body remembered, so it protected me. I disappeared. #metoo," actress Evan Rachel Wood wrote as part of a series of tweets on her experience. "Sharing my stories and feeling less alone really helps. So thank you for listening."

Some women weighed in with stories of assaults while in the military, gang rapes and catcalls.

Milano's former co-star on TV's "Charmed," Rose McGowan, tweeted in support of the campaign. McGowan has accused Weinstein of raping her.

Milano called the Weinstein allegations "disturbing" in an essay last week, but added that she had been reluctant to comment publicly because of her friendship with Weinstein's wife, Georgina Chapman.

"I am constantly part of this conversation even if I don't publicly comment on specific scandals," she wrote. "Sexual harassment and assault in the workplace are not just about Harvey Weinstein. We must change things in general. We must do better for women everywhere."

A similar social media campaign is playing out on Instagram among models who are sharing stories of abuse and harassment in the fashion industry.

Model Cameron Russell put out a post four days ago offering help to models and has been deluged with responses. She has shared many on her Instagram feed, blacking out identifying factors but leaving the stories otherwise alone. Some women who reported unwanted touching and worse said hearing from their sister models has brought long-buried recollections to mind.

The effort has launched the hashtag "MyJobShouldNotInclude Abuse."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A key phase of jury selection began Monday in the trial of a Mexican national accused of killing a woman on a busy San Francisco pier in a case that set off a fierce national debate on immigration.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who had been deported five times, has acknowledged shooting 32-year-old Kate Steinle while she walked with her father on the pier crowded with tourists.

Garcia Zarate has said the shooting was accidental and has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Earlier this month, lawyers summoned hundreds of potential jurors to court to fill out questionnaires. Among other things, they were asked if they could sit through a lengthy trial or had moral qualms about the case.

Superior Court spokeswoman Megan Filly said 160 jury candidates reported Monday for further questioning.

Media was not granted access to the courtroom due to limited space, Filly said. Court officials say media will be allowed to rotate into the courtroom at an unspecified date.

Before the shooting, Garcia Zarate, 54, had been released from the San Francisco Jail after the district attorney dropped a minor marijuana charge. Zarate was freed despite a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain him for further deportation proceedings.

The San Francisco sheriff, citing the city's policy of limited cooperation with federal immigration officials, ignored the ICE request.

President Donald Trump referred to Steinle's death while campaigning as a reason to toughen immigration policies in the country.

Trump has since threatened to withhold federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities such as San Francisco, several of which have filed lawsuits to prevent the move.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Personal trainer Bryant Johnson hears it all the time: Four more years.

That's how long fans of his client, 84-year-old Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tell him he has to keep her healthy so that a one-term President Donald Trump doesn't get to name the liberal justice's replacement on the Supreme Court.

Johnson's response: Why just four years? Why not 14?

In this Oct. 13, 2017, photo, Bryant Johnson, personal trainer for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses in Washington, with his new book, "The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong ... and You Can Too!" Besides the 84-year-old Ginsberg, Johnson, who now also trains Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Elena Kagan. Johnson says he hopes the book will help convince people: "You're never too old to do something." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Interest in the workout of the Supreme Court's oldest justice and in the man behind it has only grown since the election of Trump, who - to be clear - says he'll occupy the White House for eight years. And it's resulted in a new workout book written by Johnson, out Wednesday: "The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong ... and You Can Too!"

Johnson said he hopes the book will show people: "You're never too old to do something."

Ginsburg started working out with Johnson in 1999 after being treated for colorectal cancer. As Ginsburg tells the story, her husband told her she looked "like a survivor of a concentration camp" and needed to do something to rebuild her strength.

That's when another judge referred her to Johnson, the records manager at a federal court in Washington who is also an Army reservist and trainer. Their twice-a-week workouts helped Ginsburg regain her strength after her first bout with cancer and again after she was treated for pancreatic cancer in 2009.

"Early on she saw the benefits of exercise," said Johnson, who has also trained two other liberal justices, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Stephen Breyer. Johnson says what he does won't necessarily make anyone live longer but it will improve their quality of life. He calls Ginsburg "awesome" and "remarkable."

Ginsburg has called Johnson a "very important part of my life."

The idea for a book came about this year after Politico Magazine wrote a piece on the workout. Johnson, 53, took reporter Ben Schreckinger through Ginsburg's workout. The result was a piece titled, "I did Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Workout. It Nearly Broke Me."

An editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt wrote Johnson after it ran. Would he help with a book? He ran the idea by Ginsburg and she agreed, even writing the book's foreword. Schreckinger helped Johnson write the text.

The result is an approximately 120-page volume that walks readers through Ginsburg's hour-long workout with illustrations of the justice doing each exercise. Some illustrations show her in one regular workout sweatshirt, which reads "SUPER DIVA!" on the front.

Ginsburg is often asked at appearances about the fact she does the plank and push-ups, and not the modified ones where people put their knees on the ground. But the book makes clear she does a lot more, including chest and shoulder presses, bicep and leg curls, one-legged squats, knee raises and an exercise where she throws Johnson a weighted ball.

Ginsburg typically meets Johnson in the evenings at a gym at the court. The "PBS NewsHour" plays in the background while she works out. Occasionally, Johnson says, a clerk has come down with some important brief, and he'll move things around so Ginsburg can read, either while warming up on the elliptical or doing another exercise where he can hold the paper for her.

Johnson can tell when Ginsburg is tired or going strong. Sometimes he'll employ some "funny counting," to get her to do more repetitions of an exercise. Or, he'll cut her a break if she's fading. The justice, he says, never says "can't." He calls her TAN: Tough As Nails.

Three years ago, during a workout session, Johnson noticed something with Ginsburg was off, and she said she felt nauseous. Johnson got Ginsburg's assistants involved and they convinced her to go by ambulance to a hospital where she ultimately had a stent implanted to clear a blocked artery to her heart. As she was about to be driven away, Johnson said he joked: "Justice, don't think you're going to get out of these push-ups."

What was going on in his head was something else.

"I'm thinking, not on my watch," he said.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
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When Subbulakshmi Velusamy started learning yoga in her home city of Chennai in southern India more than a decade ago, the Indian graduate in physics looked for no greater benefits than enjoying good health naturally.

But today, beyond expectations, the ancient Indian holistic system of well-being has given her a flourishing career, taken her on an adventure abroad, and turned her into a China-India ambassador.

"Back home in India, people are amazed that I live on my own in China," said the 37-year-old, who works as an assistant professor of yoga at the China-India Yoga College at the Yunnan Minzu (Nationalities) University in Kunming, the picturesque southwest Chinese city not far from India.

"'How do you manage,' they ask me, 'especially when the language is so difficult?' I tell them, people speak the language of kindness there. Everyone I have met has been so kind and friendly, going out of the way to help," said Velusamy.

Velusamy recalls one occasion when she asked for directions. The people she approached, unable to communicate through language, walked her to their destination almost 1 km away.

Her China adventure started following an agreement between the Chinese and Indian governments, which led to the opening of the yoga college in 2015. As part of the agreement, two Indian teachers were to be employed at the college to teach the practical as well as philosophical aspects of yoga, and Velusamy was selected by a panel after a grueling interview in New Delhi.

By that time she was no longer just dabbling in yoga, she had obtained a PhD in yoga as a therapy for treating hypothyroidism, especially in women. Hypothyroidism is a condition created by low levels of the thyroid hormone, whose effects could range from a slower heartbeat to fatigue and depression.

"I was learning more about yoga practices, delving into its philosophy and Indian spiritualism, and I wanted to share what I had learned," she said. "So when I was selected for the job in China, it was like a dream coming true. I had this larger society which I could introduce our Indian culture to."

She was amazed at the popularity of yoga in Kunming. "The interest is growing by the day," she said. "There are so many yoga centers and studios in Kunming, with most of them run by Chinese teachers."

Her students at the university are Chinese and she said she is also overwhelmed by their interest. "I don't think I have seen so much interest in India," she said. "And it's not only among youngsters."

On Saturdays, the college hosts a free yoga session open to the public and Velusamy said people in their 50s and 60s flock to it. Besides her classes, Velusamy likes to display other aspects of Indian culture, such as Indian clothes and cuisine.

"In class, I always make it a point to wear salwar-kameez," she said, referring to the traditional baggy trousers worn by Indian women with a long tunic and a scarf. On the day Xinhua spoke with her, she was dressed in an eye-catching yellow tunic.

On special occasions, she brings out her saris, the traditional Indian wear that consists of one long unstitched swath of cloth that could be up to nine yards (27 feet) long and is worn draped skillfully around the body in a variety of ways.

Southern India, from where Velusamy comes, is famous for its silk and cotton, in rich, vibrant colors.

While to many foreigners, Indian food means curry first and foremost. Tamil Nadu, Velusamy's home state, has a distinctly different cuisine, which uses lots of coconut and lentils. She has introduced her friends in Kunming to the dosa, a crispy paper-thin wrap that can come with a spicy potato filling, and is eaten dipped in a tangy soup and a special sauce or chutney.

"My students are especially interested in healthy Indian food that doesn't use oil," she said. "They like the 'khichdi' (a dish that is a complete meal in itself, made by boiling rice with lentils and vegetables). We share recipes and that is another form of cultural exchange."

Velusamy has picked up "survival Chinese" during her 11-month stay in Kunming and what she cannot manage with words is accomplished through body language and, as she emphasizes, "the kindness" of the people around her.

Her China sojourn has also helped project an image of the modern Indian woman as independent, professional and with an identity of her own.

Velusamy lives in Kunming with her six-year-old daughter. Since her husband works in Chennai, the couple meet during their holidays, when he comes to China or she goes home.

Twenty years ago, this would probably have been unimaginable in the average family in southern India, which has very strong traditions. They included keeping the girl child sequestered when she had her monthly periods.

Wives' place was at home. While a woman could accompany her husband if he went abroad on work, it was unthinkable that she would take up a job overseas when it meant separation from the family.

"My family has been very supportive," Velusamy said. "At one point of time I will have to go back to India because of my daughter's education but now, she goes to a Chinese school, my college is happy for me to stay on as long as I want to, and my family stands behind me."

She came to China as an Indian cultural ambassador. When she goes back, Velusamy, with her knowledge of Chinese culture and her interactions with the Chinese, will act as a Chinese envoy as well.

"I will convey to Indians how people treated me in China," she said. "Everyone has been kind and friendly. I haven't had any conflict with a single person."

"Besides the friendship and courtesy that I was shown here, I also found China a very safe place, especially for single women," Velusamy said.

She has been traveling in China on her own and despite not having complete mastery over the Chinese language, has always felt safe and well-looked after.

"This is my experience in China," Velusamy said with a dazzling smile. "Finding kindness and security."
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is rejecting opposition claims that regional elections for governors were shrouded in fraud.

In a three-hour news conference Tuesday, Maduro defended Venezuela's voting system as one of the most secure in the world.

He provided an on-site demonstration of how the nation's voting machines work and remarked that they are the same ones used in Chicago. Then he added: "Obama votes with this same machine."

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Maduro defended the results of Sunday's gubernatorial elections and said that those who report fraud are lying. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

He extended his offer to dialogue with the opposition while also calling one of the five winning opposition candidates a "fascist" and poking fun at the name and looks of another who lost.

Opposition leaders are disputing an official vote count that says the ruling socialist party won most of the 23 governorships elected Sunday.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro holds up a map with the Venezuelan regions highlighted in red where pro-government candidates were victorious, during a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Maduro defended the results of Sunday's gubernatorial elections and said that those who report fraud are lying. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Backdropped by a painting of independence hero Simon Bolivar, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Maduro defended the results of Sunday's gubernatorial elections and said that those who report fraud are lying. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Backdropped by a painting of independence hero Simon Bolivar, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference at the Miraflores presidential palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Maduro defended the results of Sunday's gubernatorial elections and said that those who report fraud are lying. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
The Associated Press spoke Tuesday with family members who have lost loved ones in U.S. military operations and asked them about their interactions, if any, with the president at the time - George W. Bush, Barack Obama or Donald Trump.

Here's a sampling of their stories:

SPEAK NO ILL

This photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, who was killed Saturday, April 8, 2017, in combat in Afghanistan. It was less than 24 hours after Natasha De Alencar had seen her husband's body returned from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base that she got a call from President Donald Trump offering his condolences. She doesn't remember how long they spoke. It was a bit of a blur. (US Army via AP)

Jodie Missildine's 20-year-old stepson, Alex Missildine, was killed Oct. 1 when an IED exploded near his vehicle in Ninawa Province, Iraq.

Missildine joined the Army right after finishing high school in Tyler, Texas, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He had been in Iraq for less than a month when he was killed.

Jodie Missildine said the family had received an outpouring of support from Washington since receiving news of Alex's death. But when asked if Trump had been in contact, she said, "We will not speak ill of a president who adores his troops."

- Emily Schmall, Fort Worth, Texas

___

'TEARS TO MY EYES'

Natalie Healy, of Exeter, New Hampshire, lost her son, Daniel Healy, in 2005. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who died on a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

She received a letter of condolence from Bush. "President Bush didn't call us at the time, which didn't bother me, particularly. I got to meet him a couple of times afterward and he was extremely sensitive, and his sincerity about how I was doing brought me to tears, to tell you the truth.

"I could feel his warmth and concern, and his sincere caring."

The first time, in Manchester, New Hampshire, "he said, 'How are you doing, Mrs. Healy?' I said, 'I'm fine, sir.' And then he put a hand on either side of my shoulders and he said, 'No really, how are you doing?' Well, I wasn't expecting him to be like that, so it brought tears to my eyes, and I do not cry in public. That really touched me."

- Kathy McCormack, Concord, New Hampshire

___

'DUMBFOUNDED'

Ann Baddick's 26-year-old son, Army Sgt. Andrew J. Baddick, of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, drowned on Sept. 29, 2003, while trying to save a fellow soldier whose vehicle plunged into a canal.

She said she received a signed letter of condolence from Bush. She and members of her family also met with him at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

"He couldn't have been any nicer and more sincere."

As for Trump's comments suggesting that presidents before him did not adequately reach out to Gold Star families: "I was just dumbfounded when I heard it last night. I thought, 'My God, you don't know what you're talking about.'"

- Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

___

'MADE ME FEEL GOOD'

It was less than 24 hours after Natasha De Alencar had seen her husband's body returned from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base that she got a call from Trump offering his condolences. She doesn't remember how long they spoke. It was a bit of a blur.

"He asked about my kids. He asked about their school and sports. I felt a tad bit better."

Her husband, Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, 37, a Special Forces soldier, was shot and killed in April in Afghanistan in an operation against Islamic State militants. His death was the first U.S. combat death in Afghanistan in 2017.

"It made me feel good, knowing what my husband had done for his country," that Trump took the time to call, she said. "My husband was awesome. My world sucks without him."

"Any chance I get to speak about that man, I take it." She lives in Okaloosa County, Florida.

- Matthew Barakat, Northern Virginia

___

STILL WAITING

Relatives of Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, a Springfield, Massachusetts, native who was killed in an attack on the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015, received a formal letter from Obama but not a phone call.

Joseph Sullivan, of Hampden, Massachusetts, is the brother of Sgt. Sullivan, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He says his 40-year-old brother helped rescue more than a dozen soldiers when a Kuwait-born gunman unleashed a barrage of fire in an attack that began at a nearby military recruiting center.

Sullivan says the letter he described as "boilerplate" came a few weeks after his brother died. But his parents were "kind of" waiting for a phone call from Obama, and not getting one has bothered them since.

- Crystal Hill, Boston

___

'A BEAUTIFUL WORD'

Army 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee of Bluffton, Georgia, was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29. About 10 days later, Trump called the family, 10 minutes sooner than had been arranged.

"He did what he said he was going to do," Aldene Weston Lee, the soldier's mother, said of Trump. "That held a lot of weight with me."

Lee said her husband, Eddie, did all the talking with Trump as she listened on a speaker phone along with her son, stepson, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

"The first thing he said was how very sad he was for us to have lost Weston and that it made him very sad," Lee said. "He said, 'I have things in front of me that nobody else has access to and, from everything I can see and everything I know, your son was a very, very fine young man.'"

Trump said to her husband: "I bet you that you never had any trouble with him." Eddie, replied: "No, sir, I never did."

The conversation lasted about five or six minutes, Aldene said, and Trump never sounded rushed.

His tone, she said, was more like that of a fellow parent than of her son's commander in chief.

"He said, 'From all accounts your son was a lovely young man,'" Lee said. "He said that a couple of times. And I thought, I hadn't thought about using 'lovely,' as far as my son being a young man. But that's a beautiful word."

- Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

___

NO WORD

Sheila Murphy's son, Army Spc. Etienne J. Murphy, 22, died May 26 after an armored vehicle he was riding in rolled over in Syria. The Army told his family Murphy's death was "non-tactical" - meaning he didn't die in combat - but revealed few other details, citing an open investigation.

The Army Ranger's parents in Snellville, Georgia, in metro Atlanta never heard from Trump by phone or by letter. Neither did Murphy's widow.

"Because it was non-combat, I feel like maybe he thought it was an accident, it doesn't matter," Sheila Murphy said. "But my son was in Syria."

She said the Army casualty assistance officer assigned to her family told her "the White House called him to ask about us. And he told me that we were going to be receiving a letter from the White House."

Nearly five months later, Sheila Murphy said, no letter has arrived.

She said she finally wrote a letter to Trump about six weeks ago, to let him know she and her husband still are grieving, but got no reply.

"It wasn't a mean letter," she said. "I was telling him I know he's a grandfather. I told him I'm trying to be here for my grandkids, but some days I don't want to live."

- Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

___

BUSH TO OBAMA

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, 30, of Raynham, Massachusetts, died in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, when his unit encountered enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He fought with 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York.

One of Monti's men, Pvt. Brian Bradbury of St. Joseph, Missouri, was shot during the encounter. Monti, who enlisted at age 17, twice left cover and ran into the open under intense enemy fire to retrieve the wounded soldier. On Monti's third attempt, he was struck, and died on the field. Three others, including Bradbury, also died during the fight.

Monti's father, Paul Monti, said he received a signed letter of condolence from Bush, though no phone call.

But in 2009, Obama called him to say Jared had been awarded the Medal of Honor. "He was very gracious on the phone and told me that he and the entire nation were proud of my son," Paul Monti said.

"When I met him in Washington he was again very gracious and he and Mrs. Obama were very genuine in their compassion. They made a positive out of a very sad day."

- Mark Pratt, Boston

___

CALL FELL THROUGH

Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, 25, of Jackson Springs, North Carolina, was killed along with another soldier in a suicide attack in Afghanistan in August.

His widow, Brittany Harris, said the White House did offer to set up a call with Trump but "it fell through" and no letter came from the president. She figured Trump was too busy with the approach of Hurricane Harvey and North Korea woes. The family, though, saw Vice President Mike Pence at Dover Air Force Base, where they went to receive Michael's remains, and found Pence's words comforting.

Now 17 weeks pregnant, Brittany Harris said she's had an outpouring of support from the Pentagon and others in government, handwritten notes from Defense Secretary James Mattis and many others. "Everybody treats me like gold, salutes me, takes off their hats for me," she said.

- Jonathan Drew, Raleigh, North Carolina

___

BROTHER IN BUSH'S ARMS

Judy Parker's 22-year-old son, Army Spc. William Evans, of Hallstead, Pennsylvania, was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq in September 2005. He was one of six members of the Pennsylvania National Guard killed in roadside bombings that month.

Parker said Bush came to the Fort Indiantown Gap Army post in northeastern Pennsylvania shortly after her son's death, to meet her family and the families of the other guard members killed that month. He met privately with each one.

"He took my son who was just 21 and held him and let him cry. He said he didn't know what he would do if it was his child."

Judy Parker now lives in Chenango Forks, New York.

- Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

___

NO CALL

Aaron Butler, a 27-year-old guardsman from Monticello, Utah, was killed Aug. 16 at a booby-trapped building in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. His mother, Laura Butler, and family spokesman Bill Boyle say Trump has not called. Many other officials have.

"The family is very careful that they do not want to be pulled into a partisan slugfest," Boyle said. "He would be very upset if his name or his death or his sacrifice was used as a tool to divide the country, and they're fearful that this could happen."

- Michelle Price, Salt Lake City
An American hostage, who was rescued from Pakistan with her family last week, has been pictured in hospital after she was rushed in for an unknown medical emergency.

Caitlan Coleman's husband Joshua Boyle shared a photograph of his wife on Tuesday morning, seven days after their five years of captivity came to an end.

The image shows a conscious Coleman in bed with one of her three young children - who were all born while the couple was held by Taliban-linked militants.

'My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now,' Boyle said in an email to the Associated Press.

In the image Coleman is still wearing a veil while her husband and children have been pictured in Western clothing since their return to Ontario on Saturday.

The couple previously revealed Coleman was raped by a guard during their ordeal and their fourth child - a girl - was killed in a 'forced abortion' by the Haqqani militants.

Scroll down for video

Joshua Boyle's wife, Caitlan Coleman, sits with their son Najaeshi at a hospital on Wednesday in Ontario. Coleman was rushed to the hospital on Monday night

Coleman's's husband, Joshua Boyle, did not specify why she was taken to the hospital. They are pictured in a 2016 proof of life video released by the Haqqani militants

'My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now,' Boyle, pictured right arriving in Canada, said. Caitlan Coleman is pictured left before the kidnapping

But a Taliban spokesman rejected Boyle's claim that his wife was raped and one of their children killed by members of the group.

'From the time the couple were detained until their release, the husband and wife were not separated from one another precisely due to the fact that the Mujahideen did not want to incite any suspicion,' Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement, according to USA Today.

'During a period of detention an incident did take place when the woman became ill,' Mujahid said in the statement late Sunday. 'The area was remote, no doctors were present and due to this severe condition, the woman had a natural miscarriage of a girl.

'No one has either intentionally murdered the child of this couple, and neither has anyone violated or defiled them,' he concluded.

Boyle, who is Canadian, his American wife and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip.

On Monday, Boyle said he and his wife decided to have children even while they were held captive because they always planned to have a big family.

'We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands,' Boyle said.

[We decided] 'Hey, let's make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family.'

'We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking.'

Boyle said their three children are now aged four, two and 'somewhere around six months'.

'Honestly we've always planned to have a family of five, 10, 12 children ... We're Irish, haha,' he added.

In an interview with Global News, Boyle talked about how it feels to finally be free.

'A truly bizarre combination of elation at being free and away from those who brutalized us for so long.'

'[And] depression realizing just how much damage we and our children have suffered in these five years that we hadn't even realized,' he said.

Boyle said his eldest son Najaeshi is 'exuberant; honestly freedom seems to have cured half his ills instantly, he's running around examining all the gifts compiled over the years'

'Everything in the house is a wonderland to him,' Boyle said of the boy born in captivity

Boyle is seen playing with his son Najaeshi Jonah in the garden of his parents' home in Smith Falls, Ontario on Saturday. Boyle, his wife and their three kids were freed on Wednesday

The three children are named Najaeshi Jonah, Dhakwoen Noah and Ma'idah Grace.

The parents of Caitlan Coleman have said they are elated she is free, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan.

'Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable,' Caitlan's father, Jim Coleman said, told ABC News. But Boyle insists that he was only there to help.

The former call center worker, said that he had gone to Afghanistan with his pregnant wife to help villagers 'who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help'.

Boyle has said conditions during the five-year ordeal changed over time as the family was shuffled among at least three prisons.

He has described the first as remarkably barbaric, the second as more comfortable and the third as a place of violence in which he and his wife were frequently separated and beaten.

In an interview with CP24.com, he revealed that the children are slowly coming to terms with their new lives.

'Dhakwoen Noah was still struggling as much as ever with even just being able to look at his grandparents faces without terror', he said in the interview on Sunday.

'But honestly, just this morning he's made a literally overnight improvement in that he has decided he loves his grandmother - after all a hearty breakfast of pancakes was the clincher, it seems - so obviously he's still incredibly troubled and stressed over everything, but it's a major step...she's the first person he's accepted.

He went on to describe how the children are discovering toys and everyday objects for the first time.

'For Najaeshi, it's completely random  he's just explored the idea of a closet and declared he wants to sleep in it tonight and make a giant 'mouse nest' out of the clothes. His quality of life has not just improved, it's gone up a thousandfold,' he said.

'For Dhakwoen, it's the spinning top  he can't get it to spin himself yet but he seems to wish it could spin forever. Needless to say, family members fingers are getting sore but we love him enough to keep spinning it!

'For Ma'idah, it's the discovery that there are other women in the world; she still can't be within a metre of any man except her father but if she sees a woman she starts squirming and trying to get over to her, regardless of who it is  to nestle in the love.'

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Boyle also revealed that he thought it was a joke when his captors told him Donald Trump had been elected president of the US.

'It didn't enter my mind that he was being serious,' Boyle said.

Boyle said his wife was raped by a guard who was assisted by his superiors. He asked for the Afghan government to bring them to justice (A still image made from a 2013 video released by the Coleman family shows Coleman and Boyle while in captivity)

Boyle (pictured, left, with Coleman) said he was in Afghanistan to help villagers 'who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help

Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr (second from left), the sister of Omar Kadhr, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee with suspected ties to al-Qaeda

On Saturday, Boyle was pictured playing with one of his sons in the garden of his parents' home.

The boy appeared happy and healthy, digging in the grass as his father showed off the different plants and later spoke on a cellphone.

Coleman, who is from Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, has yet to speak publicly since the rescue.

In an article published by Medium in 2015, one of Boyle's friends told how he had always been interested in Afghanistan and Islam.

He said he was viewed as a 'trouble maker' by the then Conservative Canadian government and that he enjoyed 'thumbing his nose' at authorities.

The author, who met him in 2002 said he feared he may have 'bitten off more than he could chew' with his bold travels to Afghanistan.

'Joshua has a loose connection to Afghanistan, a deep respect for Islam  he may even have been in the process of converting  and a purely academic interest in terrorism, but none of that even remotely qualifies him to travel safely in Afghanistan.

'It could have been simple naivete, but I, and many others, have always known Joshua as an exceptionally cunning and savvy man.

'Maybe he was overconfident. Maybe he was immature. Maybe this time Joshua just bit off more than he could chew,' he said.

Boyle was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, the older sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr and the daughter of a senior al-Qaida financier who had contacts with Osama bin Laden.

The Canadian-born Omar Khadr was 15 when he was captured by US troops following a firefight and was taken to the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Officials had discounted any link between that background and Boyle's capture, with one describing it in 2014 as a 'horrible coincidence.'
A man who allegedly wore different costumes while robbing about a dozen in banks in Florida over the past three weeks has been caught.

An FBI news release says 22-old old Brandon Venditti was arrested Tuesday after a Naples bank robbery.

The Florida Highway Patrol and FBI agents had spotted a possible getaway vehicle, and the driver refused to pull over.

Pictured: The 'Shaky Bandit' allegedly robbing a Wells Fargo in Palm City on Monday

Police gave chase on the I-75 and the car eventually crashed. Venditti surrendered, and another person in the car was also arrested. No one was injured.

Investigators believe Venditti to be the 'Shaky Bandit,' who earned the name because his hands shook during robberies.

Authorities believe the first robbery was September 27 in Oakland Park. Some of his costumes included a surgeon, a hunter and a construction worker.

Brandon Venditti, 22, allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo on October 4 while dressed as a construction worker

He allegedly robbed two banks Monday afternoon and was captured less than 24 hours later.

There were no injuries in Monday's robberies, and the FBI declined to disclose how much money the serial bank robber has stolen.

During Monday's robberies he wore a baseball hat and a collared long-sleeve shirt, according to the photos released by police.

Venditti was set to make his first federal court appearance Wednesday in Fort Myers. He is facing federal bank robbery charges.

Venditti allegedly robbed a Chase bank on October 3 while dressed as a surgeon
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against The Associated Press by a Russian billionaire with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said in the 21-page ruling that aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, who sued over a March story about his business relationship with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, had "cherry-picked sentences" that he wrongly claimed were defamatory.

She noted that Deripaska "does not dispute any material facts" presented by the news cooperative about his background and his role in advocating for Russian interests internationally.

FILE - In this July 2, 2015, file photo, Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska attends Independence Day celebrations at Spaso House, the residence of the American Ambassador, in Moscow, Russia. A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought against The Associated Press by Russian billionaire Deripaska, who has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

The judge also said Deripaska had failed to show the AP's story was published with actual malice or with reckless disregard for the truth, a legal standard he would have to meet for the case to move forward.

Instead, she said, Deripaska had merely complained that the story omitted what he considered crucial background.

"As the AP points out," Huvelle wrote, "this simply is not enough to make out a plausible case of actual malice."

The judge agreed with the AP's characterization of Deripaska as a "limited-purpose public figure," whose wealth and interactions with the Russian government had made him the legitimate subject of media coverage for more than a decade. Public figures have a higher legal burden to meet in arguing that statements about them are defamatory.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means Deripaska cannot bring it again.

"The Associated Press is pleased with the court's decision. As we have said, we stand by our reporting and will continue to stand by our story," the news organization said in a statement.

The AP asked in July for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying that Deripaska was challenging the article based on his own "strained implications" rather than what it actually said. Huvelle echoed that defense in rejecting as defamatory three separate statements that Deripaska had selected from the story.

"Deripaska has cherry-picked sentences and strung them together to give the AP's article an effect it does not have when read in full," the judge wrote. "But whole context is how courts determine whether there is defamation."

The AP story was based on interviews with people familiar with payments to Manafort and business records, including strategy memoranda and records of international wire transfers for millions of dollars.

The story revealed how Manafort, a decade before joining the Trump campaign, had proposed to Deripaska a confidential business strategy to support pro-Russian political parties and to influence politics, business dealings and news coverage inside the United States, Europe and former Soviet republics to benefit Putin's government.
Kim In Ryong made the claim during a UN General Assembly committee meeting

North Korea's deputy United Nations ambassador has revealed the country is planning to launch many more satellites in the future.

While speaking at a UN General Assembly committee meeting, Kim In Ryong revealed the country's five-year plan to develop outer space, which included launching more satellites.

He said the country 'will continue its peaceful development of space' while strengthening international co-operation and exchanges in that field.

North Korea launched its first pilot communications satellite, Kwangmyongsong-1, in August 1998.

In February 2016, with the successful entry into orbit of Kwangmyongsong-4, Mr Kim said the country 'entered the practical satellite developing stage'.

He added that North Korea successfully tested a new high-thrust motor for the launch vehicle for a geostationary satellite, which 'opened up a broad avenue to the exploration of outer space' in September last year.

He said a successful ground test on March 18 'signified a great leap in the development of space technology and consolidated the scientific and technological foundation to match the world-level satellite delivery capability in the field of outer space development'.

During the event, which was titled the International Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Mr Kim also accused the US of spurning the country's efforts to 'peacefully' develop outer space.

As North Korea is part of several space treaties, its developments have a 'legal basis in all aspects', but Washington is 'going frantic to illegalise our development of outer space', Mr Kim claimed.

He added: 'The US is the country that launched the largest number of satellites and yet it claims that our launch of satellites is a threat to international peace and security.

'This is a preposterous allegation and extreme double standards.'

According to Mr Kim, the country wants to develop satellites which 'can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people's living'. Pictured is leader Kim Jong-Un

The country wants to develop satellites which 'can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people's living'.

The United Nations, the US and other countries view North Korea's space launch development project as a cover for tests of missile technology, as ballistic missiles and rockets in satellite launches share similar bodies, engines and other technology.

North Korea is also openly working on developing nuclear-armed missiles capable of striking the US mainland.

Mr Kim said the treaty on outer space states it is 'a common asset of humankind and all countries can develop outer space without any discrimination'.

He said no article states that satellite launches threaten international peace and security, 'nor is there any article stipulating that one cannot use ballistic rocket technology in launching a satellite'.

He claimed the US relies on 'illegal' UN resolutions, referring to Security Council actions taken in response to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Mr Kim said Pyongyang's right 'to produce and launch artificial satellites will not be changed just because the US denies it'.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A fire that erupted at the largest oil refinery on the West Coast threatened storage tanks while sending huge flames into the sky and black smoke across California neighborhoods before crews quickly smothered it.

Dozens of firefighters responded late Tuesday to the 1,000-acre Chevron El Segundo Refinery just south of Los Angeles, which processes nearly 275,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Nearby residents were urged to close windows and stay inside. Streets were briefly closed, but no evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.

In this Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, photo provided by Jack Zellweger, a fire rages at the Chevron El Segundo Refinery in El Segundo, Calif. A fire that erupted at the West Coast's largest oil refinery threatened storage tanks and sent huge flames into the sky and black smoke across neighborhoods before crews quickly smothered it. Dozens of firefighters responded late Tuesday to the 1,000-acre refinery just south of Los Angeles, which processes nearly 275,000 gallons of crude per day. (Jack Zellweger via AP)

Crews using firefighting foam kept the blaze from spreading to storage tanks. Within a half-hour, few flames were visible.

Chevron officials did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for information on the cause of the blaze and the extent of damage.

Petroleum industry analyst Patrick DeHaan said initial information indicates the fire was unlikely to affect gas prices.

DeHaan, a senior analyst with Gas Buddy, said the El Segundo facility was not running at full capacity at the time of the fire because it had shuttered most operations for semi-annual preventative maintenance.

Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state of California for a major fire in 2012 at a refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The El Segundo refinery supplies 40 percent of the jet fuel used at nearby Los Angeles International Airport and has 20 percent of the market for gasoline in Southern California, according the company's website.

Daily production includes 110,000 barrels of gasoline and 100,000 barrels of jet and diesel fuels. Other products include fuel oils, coke and liquefied petroleum gas.

About 1,100 Chevron employees and 300 contract employees work at the refinery.

The facility dates to 1911 and was the second refinery built in California by Chevron predecessor Standard Oil Co.

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Associated Press writers John Antczak and Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to show that the facility processes 275,000 barrels, not gallons, per day.
NEW YORK (AP) - Lawyers for President Donald Trump are asking a federal judge to toss a civil lawsuit accusing the president of violating the Constitution because his businesses accept money from foreign governments.

In a court hearing in New York on Wednesday, Justice Department lawyers are expected to argue that the ban on foreign money is meant only to address gifts or emoluments - that is, financial rewards - to the president in his official capacity. They have said Trump's business arrangements are a political question, not a legal one, and should be addressed by Congress, not the courts.

The case brings the prospect of penetrating some of the obscurity surrounding Trump's complicated financial empire.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - The Portuguese minister in charge of emergency services resigned Wednesday after 106 people were killed in unprecedented wildfires this year in the Iberian nation.

The European Union's Emergency Management Service, meanwhile, says the area burned by wildfires this year in Portugal is the largest on record for the nation, more than six times the annual average for the last eight years.

Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa tendered her resignation and Prime Minister Antonio Costa accepted it, the government announced.

A volunteers uses a water hose to fight a wild fire raging near houses in the outskirts of Obidos, Portugal, in the early hours of Monday, Oct. 16 2017. Wildfires in Portugal killed at least 27 people, injured dozens more and left an unconfirmed number of missing in the country's second such tragedy in four months, officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

In a resignation letter published on the government website, Urbano de Sousa said she wanted to quit after 64 people were killed in a June wildfire, but Costa asked her to stay. She repeated her request after 42 people died last weekend in another spate of wildfires.

"Although the tragedy (last weekend) was caused by multiple factors, I came to the conclusion that I could not continue for political and personal reasons," she wrote.

The wildfire deaths are by far Portugal's highest annual toll ever and have stunned the country. Silent protests are slated for next weekend in an effort to press the Portuguese government into taking more decisive action against wildfires.

Authorities say arsonists are to blame for starting most wildfires in the country.

Urbano de Sousa had been under severe political pressure to quit. Investigations into the June wildfire deaths, which occurred in one night, found numerous shortcomings in the official response.

Urbano de Sousa wrote that she has prepared policy changes on fighting fires expected to be adopted by the government on Saturday.

The EU's Emergency Management Service, which compiles wildfire data in the 28-nation bloc, says forest blazes have charred almost 520,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) this year in Portugal. That compares with an annual average of just over 83,000 hectares (205,000 acres) between 2008 and 2016.

Italy is second on the list of most-scorched woodlands in the EU this year, with 133,000 hectares (329,000 acres) burned.

FILE - In this March 10, 2016 file photo, Portuguese Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa, center, talks with Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, right, and European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos, left, during a meeting of EU justice and interior ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels. The Portuguese government minister in charge of emergency services has resigned after 106 people were killed in wildfires this year. The government said on its website on Wednesday Oct. 18, 2017, that Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa has tendered her resignation and that Prime Minister Antonio Costa has accepted it. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Burnt cars sit next to a house near Penacova, northern Portugal, Monday, Oct. 16 2017. Wildfires in Portugal killed at least 27 people, injured dozens more and left an unconfirmed number of missing in the country's second such tragedy in four months, officials said Monday. (AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)
BOGOR, Indonesia (AP) - Qatar's emir urged neighboring states to lift an "unfair" 4-month-old trade embargo and said Wednesday that he's ready to open talks to end the diplomatic crisis.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who arrived in Indonesia late Tuesday from a state visit in neighboring Malaysia, said at a joint news conference with Indonesia's president that the standoff is hurting all the countries involved.

"We are all brothers and we have suffered losses due to this crisis," he said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, gestures as he confers with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during a tree planting ceremony at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (Beawiharta/Pool photo via AP)

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar on June 5 due to its alleged support for extremist groups in the region and its close ties with Iran, their regional foe. They also launched an economic embargo that banned Qatar Airways flights from using their airspace, closed off the small country's sole land border with Saudi Arabia and blocked its ships from using their ports.

"Qatar is ready to open a dialogue to produce an agreement that must be obeyed by all parties based on the sovereignty of the state," the emir said.

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo did not mention the dispute in the news conference at the ornate presidential palace in Bogor, outside the capital, Jakarta, but has previously said all sides should exercise restraint.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of agreements in civil aviation, education, youth and sports cooperation, and health care.

The emir's visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation, which has close ties with Qatar and other Arab countries, comes after Saudi Arabia's King Salman and a huge entourage visited Jakarta and Bali in March for nearly a month.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, talks with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as they walk to attend a tree planting ceremony at the presidential palace in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (Beawiharta/Pool photo via AP)
Dyed red by the sunrise of an early autumn day, Beijing is wide awake as tides of commuters head for their workplaces.

Amid the countless blare of automobile horns and scurrying pedestrian silhouettes, a bookstore-themed cafe, several meters away from a boulevard running through Zhongguancun, known as Beijing's Silicon Valley, opens at 9:00 am as usual.

Yao Hongbo, President of Beijing Haizhikechuang Technology Services Co Ltd, the company in charge of Inno Way [Photo courtesy of Inno Way]

The cafe, with chic, simple and cozy decor, lies at the western end of the 200 meter-long Zhongguancun Inno Way (Innovation Avenue) established three years ago as part of China's latest innovation-centered restructuring strategy.

Owned by the Intellectual Property Publishing House, it generally serves as a club for brainstorming sessions on intellectual property affairs that are essential for start-ups to protect their nascent ideas and inventions.

According to Guo Jingyi, a cafe assistant, the club has housed many public events, including, philanthropic symposiums, book launches and press conferences held by social elites. Besides, it periodically webcasts live-streaming seminars held by the State Intellectual Property Office.

"People of far-reaching influence exchange visits to each other's salons. On such occasions, you have opportunities to meet many entrepreneurs," Guo said.

Starting from 2014, Inno Way was revamped from a decades-old plaza that used to accommodate numerous bookstores which closed amid the growing impact of paperless reading and online shopping.

However, with Zhongguancun's unique status as a grand hub for cultural and technological explorations, Inno Way soon attracted numerous incubators, such as, Dark Horse Club, Legend Star, Intel, Software and Orange, in addition to its galvanizing multifunctional coffee shops, such as, 3W, Garage Coffee and Sculpting In Time Coffee College.

In 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the street. While inspecting the development of the innovative zone, he ordered a coffee brewed by 3W, an incubator providing office space, training and job hunting services for start-ups. The type of coffee Li ordered was soon sold out the day after he left.
BERLIN (AP) - A Swiss man is on trial in Frankfurt on espionage charges over allegations he spied on German tax investigators for his homeland.

The dpa news agency reported Wednesday the 54-year-old, identified only as Daniel M. in line with privacy rules, is accused of being paid to obtain information on tax officials in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia between July 2011 and February 2015.

He was arrested in April in Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital.

Authorities say the man was tasked with identifying German tax investigators who obtained a data CD containing confidential Swiss bank client data. The investigators prosecuted numerous Germans for tax evasion.

Switzerland was angered by the move and wanted to identify the German tax investigators who purchased the CD so it could charge them.
ENFIELD, Conn. (AP) - Lego has unveiled a set of figures celebrating the women of NASA.

The 231-piece set features Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space. Also included in the set are figures of astronomer and educator Nancy Grace Roman and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton.

Lego versions of the Space Shuttle Challenger, the Hubble Space telescope can be put together with the set. A miniature version of Hamilton's workspace at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as she was programming software for the moon landing is also featured.

This image provided by LEGO shows their Women of NASA set. The set features Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, and Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space and goes on sale Nov. 1, 2017. (LEGO via AP)

The set is the brainchild of Maia Weinstock, an MIT employee who proposed a women of NASA collection through the Lego Ideas program.

The set retails for $24.99 and goes on sale Nov. 1.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Karen Pence, the vice president's wife, said Wednesday that art therapy, a little-known mental health profession that she has championed for years, is the issue she will highlight during the Trump administration.

She said in a speech in Florida that her goals are to raise awareness about art therapy, help people understand that it's available for everyone and encourage more people, particularly students, to choose it as a career.

Such therapists are trained to help people use all forms of art to cope with life's challenges.

Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, shows her artwork during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Pence is using her platform as the vice president's wife to raise awareness about art therapy, a mental health field she's been passionate about for a decade but says is unknown to many. "I don't think that a lot of people understand the difference between therapeutic art and art therapy," Mrs. Pence, a trained watercolor artist, told The AP in an exclusive interview before she visits Florida on Wednesday to outline her vision for her art therapy initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

"All of us could benefit from art therapy," said Mrs. Pence, who spoke at Florida State University because it has a respected art therapy program.

She has a master's in art education, taught for 25 years, including as an elementary school art teacher, and is a watercolor artist. But Mrs. Pence said she didn't become aware of art therapy until about a decade ago when she visited a program for pediatric cancer patients in Washington. She since has met with numerous art therapists and observed programs in the United States and abroad.

"Art therapy is changing lives," she said.

She told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview before her formal announcement that she didn't "think a lot of people understand the difference between therapeutic art and art therapy." Blabbing to a girlfriend can be therapeutic, she explained, but it is not the same as formal therapy.

As passionate as she is about lifting art therapy's profile, Mrs. Pence is interested in several other issues.

One is helping military families, especially spouses. Her only son, Michael, is in the Marines.

She's also interested in honeybees. Mrs. Pence installed a beehive on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory, home to the vice president's official residence, to help call attention to a decline in managed bee colonies that officials say could negatively affect U.S. agricultural production. When Vice President Mike Pence was Indiana's governor, she had a beehive at that residence for the same reason.

Since returning to Washington in January (the family lived in the area when Mike Pence served in the House), Karen Pence has accompanied the vice president on tours of Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as trips to survey recent hurricane damage in Texas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

She visits art therapy programs wherever she goes. Journalists who travel with Pence often keep an eye out for his wife. She often brings them cookies when he ventures back to the press cabin for small talk.

She's even done some campaigning, urging Virginians to vote next month for Republican Ed Gillespie in what's viewed as a tight gubernatorial race.

From her sunny, second-floor office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex, where she and her staff have coveted views of the Washington Monument, Mrs. Pence proudly displayed several of her watercolors, including of a Capitol dome, the vice president's official residence, a Ball canning jar used as a flower vase, a cardinal bird and a pink peony. The latter two are Indiana state symbols.

She said she turns many of her watercolors into prints and boxed notecards that she gifts to art therapists and others.

Mrs. Pence also started a blog Wednesday to chronicle her visits to art therapy programs.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, shows her artwork during an interview with The Associated Press in her office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Pence is using her platform as the vice president's wife to raise awareness about art therapy, a mental health field she's been passionate about for a decade but says is unknown to many. "I don't think that a lot of people understand the difference between therapeutic art and art therapy," Mrs. Pence, a trained watercolor artist, told The AP in an exclusive interview before she visits Florida on Wednesday to outline her vision for her art therapy initiative. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Saudi budget-carrier flynas on Wednesday launched the first direct flight between the kingdom and Iraq since the Gulf War 27 years ago, marking another move by the kingdom to improve ties with its neighbor in an attempt to blunt rival Iran's vast influence there.

The carrier posted on its Twitter account an image of the crew that took part in the inaugural flight, which took off from Riyadh bound for Baghdad just before noon.

"We worked hard to see that flynas flights to the brotherly nation of Iraq are operational as quickly as possible in order to connect the two brotherly nations economically and socially after a 27-year-long break," flynas CEO Bandar al-Muhanna said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia's national carrier, Saudia, is scheduled to make its inaugural flight to Baghdad on Thursday, Abbas Al-Khafaji, the media director for Iraq's Civil Aviation, told The Associated Press.

The flights are the latest sign of improved relations between the two countries. A number of high-profile Iraqis have visited Saudi Arabia in recent months, including a rare visit in July by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Saudi Arabia also has plans to open a border crossing with Iraq, which has been closed since Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990 with the exception of some Iraqi pilgrims who have entered the kingdom for the hajj.

The Sunni-led kingdom, which had opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, has long been anxious about Iran's footprint in Shiite-majority Iraq and its network of allied militias there. Saudi Arabia has consistently described Iraq as an Arab nation to differentiate it from Shiite but non-Arab Iran.

The kingdom is also looking to Iraq as a potential trading partner and as a major investment opportunity amid reconstruction efforts in cities like Mosul, which were devastated by the war against the Islamic State group.

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Associated Press writer Ahmed Sami contributed to this report from Baghdad.
MIAMI (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's alleged comments to the widow of a slain soldier (all times local):

8:30 a.m.

A Florida congresswoman is standing by her statement that President Donald Trump told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for."

President Donald Trump speaks during anews conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Trump on Tuesday will call the families of four soldiers killed this month in Niger, the White House says, as Trump again casts doubt on whether his predecessor appropriately consoled the families of military personnel who died in war. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump lashed out at Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson on Wednesday, saying in a tweet that her description of his Tuesday phone call with Myeshia Johnson was "fabricated."

But Wilson shot back on CNN that "the president evidently is lying, because what I said is true." Wilson said she and others in the car with Johnson heard Trump on a speakerphone.

Sgt. La David Johnson was among four servicemen killed in the African nation of Niger earlier this month. They died when militants thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State group ambushed them while they were patrolling in unarmored trucks with Nigerien troops.

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7:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump is disputing a report that he told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for."

Trump says on Twitter on Wednesday: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Trump did not specify what proof he had.

Rep. Frederica Wilson said she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson's husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called.

Wilson said she overheard part of Trump's conversation to Johnson, which was on speakerphone.

Sgt. Johnson was among four servicemen killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.

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2:55 a.m.

A Florida congresswoman says President Donald Trump told the widow of a slain soldier that he "knew what he signed up for."

Rep. Frederica Wilson says she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson's husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called. Wilson says she heard part of the conversation on speakerphone.

When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that she answered: "Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow." She added: "That's so insensitive."

Sgt. Johnson was among four servicemen killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.

Wilson says she didn't hear the entire conversation and Myeshia Johnson told her she couldn't remember everything that was said.

The White House didn't immediately comment.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction of new homes fell 4.7 percent in September, the biggest decline in six months, reflecting weakness in both single-family activity and apartment building.

The September result left construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.13 million units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the sharpest decline since a 7.7 percent fall in March.

Homebuilding has been sliding this year, but economists remain optimistic that the low level of unemployment will soon spark a rebound in sales and construction. Even though construction activity has fallen in recent months, home building is 6.1 percent higher than a year ago.

In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017, photo taken with a fisheye lens, a forklift is parked in front of one of the houses under construction in Zelienople, Pa. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, the Commerce Department reports on U.S. home construction in September. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Single-family building contracted 4.6 percent in September, while apartment construction was down 5.1 percent.

Construction activity in August declined a revised 0.2 percent, a slightly smaller drop than initially reported. Damage from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma did not have a major impact on the August figures.

Application for new building permits, a sign of future activity, dropped 4.5 percent in September to an annual rate of 1.22 million units.

Even with the decline in construction and permits, analysts found reasons for optimism. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, noted that permits for single-family construction rose 2.4 percent even though the overall permit number was held back by a 16.1 percent plunge for apartment building.

"We're expecting new home sales to strengthen markedly," he said in a research note, spurred by potential buyers rushing to close deals before mortgage rates move higher.

A survey released Tuesday showed that homebuilders are feeling more optimistic than they have in months about the future. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index rose 4 points to 68 in October, the highest reading since May. Readings above 50 indicate more builders see conditions as good rather than poor.

A shortage of homes for sale combined with rising prices has translated into an affordability challenge for many would-be buyers.

In September, construction was down in all regions of the country except the West, where construction starts rose 15.7 percent. Construction fell the most in the Midwest, a drop of 20.2 percent. Construction was down 9.3 percent in the South and 9.2 percent in the Northeast.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A former Southern California woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for framing her husband's ex-girlfriend, portraying her as a stalker who made death threats and set up a bizarre "rape fantasy" scheme.

Angela Diaz of Phoenix pleaded guilty Tuesday to felonies including kidnapping, false imprisonment and forgery. The Orange County Register reports she was sentenced immediately afterward.

Prosecutors say Diaz ran an ad on Craigslist steering men to her Anaheim, home for consensual "rape fantasy" sex and claimed one man tried to rape her. She also allegedly faked a pregnancy and cancer and claimed the ex-girlfriend threatened to kill her.

The ex, Michelle Hadley of Ontario, California, was arrested and jailed for months before authorities say they discovered Diaz was behind everything. Charges against Hadley were dropped.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - A U.N. war crimes tribunal will deliver its verdicts next month in the long-running trial of former Bosnian Serb military chief Gen. Ratko Mladic.

Mladic was tried on 11 counts including genocide, murder and terror for allegedly overseeing atrocities by Serb forces in Bosnian's 1992-95 war.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia announced Wednesday that it will deliver its judgment in Mladic's trial on Nov. 22.

FILE- In this Friday, June 3, 2011, image former Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic removes his hat in the court room during his initial appearance at the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. A United Nations war crimes tribunal will deliver its verdicts on Nov. 22, 2017, in the long-running trial of former Bosnian Serb military chief Mladic. Mladic was tried on 11 counts including genocide, murder and terror for allegedly overseeing atrocities by Serb forces in Bosnian's 1992-95 war that left 100,000 dead. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool)

Prosecutors last year urged judges to convict Mladic and sentence him to life imprisonment. Defense attorneys called for acquittal on all charges.

Mladic's trial, which started more than five years ago, is the last case still underway at the tribunal, which convicted and sentenced 83 suspects, including Mladic's political master Radovan Karadzic.
DAMASCUS, Virginia (AP) - The Virginia Creeper Trail offers a family-friendly bike ride, adaptable to any skill level, and with scenery to hold anyone's attention.

The trail runs about 34 miles from Whitetop Station in Whitetop, Virginia (about a mile shy of the North Carolina border) into Abingdon, Virginia.

At least a half-dozen outfitters in the area rent bikes and provide shuttles up the mountain road to Whitetop Station for $25 per rider.

The most popular segment by bike is the first 17 miles downhill from Whitetop to Damascus, a pleasant ride with gorgeous, woodsy scenery.

It's busy in autumn as visitors take in the fall colors, so reserve your bike rentals and shuttles ahead of time.

The mountain route was originally home to a rail line but trains stopped running in the 1970s.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A white former Oklahoma police officer on trial for the fourth time in the 2014 killing of his daughter's black boyfriend told jurors Wednesday he had no choice but to shoot the young man.

Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler, 57, was the last witness called in the case. He doesn't deny that he shot Jeremey Lake, but he said he did so because he believed Lake was armed.

Kepler said he saw Lake reaching into his waistband, so he shot him. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.

FILE - In this June 30, 2017 file photo, ex-Tulsa police officer Shannon Kepler, left, arrives with his legal team for afternoon testimony in his third trial in Tulsa, Okla. Jurors in the fourth murder trial for Kepler, a white former Oklahoma police officer, heard a 911 call Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 where his daughter screams to dispatchers that her father had shot her 19-year-old black boyfriend. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

"He's bringing it, I'm bringing it," Kepler told the courtroom. "It was either him or me. I'm not going to stand there and get shot."

Jurors started deliberations Wednesday evening after closing arguments. Prosecutors told jurors that Kepler set out to "hunt" down Lake and picked the time and location of the August 2014 confrontation and suggested the ex-officer was targeting Lake because he didn't want his daughter, Lisa Kepler, seeing the 19-year-old.

"Who are you really looking for?" Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler asked Kepler during closing, referencing the defendant's prior statements that he was searching for his daughter. "You're not looking for Lisa, you're looking for Jeremey."

Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Gray referred to Kepler's claim that he thought Lake was armed as "the phantom gun" defense.

"There is no Santa Claus, there was no gun and Shannon Kepler is guilty of murder," Gray told jurors.

Kepler's defense attorney, Richard O'Carroll, repeatedly accused prosecutors of pursuing a "political" case against his client and also said Kepler had been "unequivocal" during his previous three trials that he saw Lake armed.

"One question they will never ask Mr. Kepler is what happened to (Lake's) gun?" O'Carroll said.

Jurors can find Kepler guilty of first-degree murder, which carries a life in prison sentence with or without the possibility of parole, or guilty of first-degree manslaughter, which sets out a sentence of at least 4 years in prison.

The shooting happened while Lake and Lisa Kepler walked in what the ex-cop has described as a crime-ridden neighborhood. Lisa Kepler had been in and out of a homeless shelter after her father prohibited her from bringing men into his house.

Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday after jurors heard a 911 call in which Lisa Kepler screamed to dispatchers that her father had shot Lake.

Three previous juries deadlocked 11-1, 10-2 and 6-6, forcing the judge to declare mistrials.

Officers across the U.S. involved in fatal shootings of black residents have recently faced similar trials. In the past year - including in Tulsa - juries were unwilling to vote for a conviction or prosecutors were unwilling to charge officers in cases from Baltimore to St. Louis.

In May, a jury acquitted a white Tulsa officer in the killing of an unarmed black man who had his hands up, which roiled the city's black community. The officer has since left the Tulsa force.

In all four of Kepler's trials, each jury had one black member.
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Police in east China's Shandong Province fined a delivery service for transporting an imitation AK-47 rifle, in accordance with the country's counter-terrorism law.

A subsidiary of Deppon Logistics in the provincial capital Jinan was fined 190,000 yuan (28,710 U.S. dollars), local police said Tuesday.

In August, police in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, were alerted that a package containing the imitation gun had been delivered to the city.

The authorities traced the delivery to Jinan and found that the Deppon Logistics subsidiary didn't conduct proper checks before transportation.

Both real and imitation guns are banned in China. Article 20 of China's counter-terrorism law stipulates that delivery service providers shall implement security check rules, check clients' identities, and conduct security checks or visual checks of all goods.
PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

California fire officials have reported significant progress on containing wildfires that have ravaged parts of Northern California.

Fire crews build a containment line as they battle a wildfire Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, near Boulder Creek, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CalFire Deputy Chief Bret Gouvea told a news conference that firefighters were getting "good containment" around the blazes and have "stopped the forward progress and movement of all these fires."

The fires that swept through parts of seven counties starting Oct. 8 were the deadliest and most destructive series of blazes in California history. At least 42 people died, 6,000 homes were lost, and at the height of the blazes about 100,000 people were evacuated.

About 22,000 people remain under evacuation orders.

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11:40 a.m.

Tens of thousands of Californians have been allowed back to their homes, dropping the number of people evacuated by wildfires to 22,000.

Nearly 100,000 people had fled their homes as deadly blazes whipped through Northern California's wine country. The figure has been steadily dropping as authorities clear neighborhoods of safety hazards.

Officials are urging frustrated residents to stay calm and not take out their anger on posted guards if they can't get into neighborhoods. They say they're trying to allow people into their homes as quickly as possible, but in some cases, it may take weeks.

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10:35 a.m.

Light rain forecast in Northern California is expected to help firefighters battling the remains of wildfires that have burned for more than a week in wine country.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Walbrun said about a tenth of an inch of rain is expected Thursday night.

He said it won't be enough to drench fires, but the precipitation combined with moist winds should help.

The fires were fed by dry winds after starting Oct. 8.

The blazes have killed at least 42 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

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10:05 a.m.

A spokesman for the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office says he doesn't expect the death toll to go much higher than 23 in the wine country county devastated by Northern California wildfires.

At least 42 people have died in wildfires that started Oct. 8, most of them in Sonoma County.

Sgt. Spencer Crum said Wednesday that the "number of dead people we're finding has really slowed down" and that many people listed as missing have been located safely.

The death toll in Sonoma County increased from 22 to 23 on Wednesday after searchers found a body in the debris of a burned house in Santa Rosa. The last body was found Saturday.

Half of the 53 missing person reports are for homeless people, and Crum doesn't believe they perished in fires because they did not live in areas hardest hit by fire. He said many missing person reports are made by people who haven't seen the individual in years but thinks that person was last in Sonoma County.

Napa County reported Tuesday that eight people remained on its missing person list.

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7:55 a.m.

A sixth firefighter has sustained minor injuries battling a blaze in California's Santa Cruz mountains south of the wildfires that have been burning for more than a week in wine country.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Angela Bernheisel said Wednesday the firefighter is being treated for second-degree burns to his hands.

Crews have been fighting the wildfire, which sparked Monday night, sending smoke into the coastal beach town of Santa Cruz.

The wildfire has grown from 125 to 270 acres and four structures have been destroyed. About 150 homes are threatened and residents have been evacuated.

The rough mountain landscape has proved a challenge and contributed to firefighter injuries.

A firefighter fell down a steep ravine and fractured his wrist while three others slipped but were otherwise unharmed. An inmate firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.

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7:05 a.m.

The death toll from Northern California's destructive wildfires is at 42 after Sonoma County found the remains of another person.

Misti Harris, a spokeswoman for Sonoma County, says the department is working on identifying the person. Sonoma County now has 23 dead.

About 60 people remain unaccounted for in Sonoma and Napa counties as of Tuesday. Authorities say they are conducting targeted searches for victims and the work is slow-going.

The wind-whipped fires that started Oct. 8 swept through parts of seven counties, becoming the deadliest and most destructive series of blazes in California history.

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6:30 a.m.

Authorities say fire crews made overnight progress battling blazes in Northern California's wine country, helped by moderate weather and lack of wind.

Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, says crews did controlled burns to wipe out fuel needed by wildfires to spread.

Tens of thousands of evacuees are returning to their homes, although more than 30,000 were evacuated as of Tuesday morning. That number is down considerably from Saturday when an estimated 100,000 people had been forced out of their homes.

The wind-whipped fires that started Oct. 8 swept through parts of seven counties, becoming the deadliest and most destructive series of blazes in California history. At least 41 people were killed and 6,000 homes destroyed.

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3:00 a.m.

The many thousands who lost their houses, condos and apartments in wildfires burning in Northern California will have to find a new place to live in one of the toughest housing markets in the nation.

California also has a statewide housing shortage that the governor and legislature have been trying to address. That shortage got even greater with the 6,000 homes and businesses lost in the fires.

Federal emergency administrator Brock Long said Tuesday that the blazes are "a tremendous event for an urban area to have to handle," and recovery will be difficult.

The challenges will pile on to the physical and emotional toll of the fire's victims. At least 41 people were killed in the fires that broke out eight days ago and continue to burn.

Mehdi Latrache tries on shoes at a donation center for victims of the recent wildfires, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, in Santa Rosa, Calif. Latrache and his family lost their Coffey Park home a week ago as a massive wildfire swept through the area. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Debbie Wolfe dumps ashes from a pot she found in the burned ruins of her home Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, in Santa Rosa, Calif. A massive deadly wildfire swept through the area last week destroying thousands of housing and business. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A firefighter builds a containment line as he battles a wildfire Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, near Boulder Creek, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
ANGORE ADDA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's military says new fencing and guard posts along the border with Afghanistan will help prevent militant attacks, but the stepped-up fortifications have angered Kabul, which does not recognize the frontier as an international border.

Maj. Gen. Nauman Zakaria, the Pakistan commander for the South Waziristan tribal region, told reporters during a visit to the border Wednesday that the fencing and surveillance technology would prevent attacks on both sides of the border. Pakistan began construction of the fencing earlier this year.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated longstanding accusations by U.S. officials that Pakistan turns a blind eye to militant groups that launch attacks in Afghanistan from within its territory, allegations denied by Islamabad.

Afghanistan has leveled similar accusations, but has also objected to the building of the border fence.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A Mexican anti-corruption nonprofit says that a member of its staff has been threatened at gunpoint.

Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity says it has filed a criminal complaint over last week's incident. It hasn't identified the staff member.

In a statement Wednesday, the group says the staffer was approached by two men on a motorcycle. One brandished a pistol and demanded the victim's cellphone.

It initially seemed like common theft, but then the attacker pointed the gun at the victim's head and said a crude phrase that roughly translates as, "You better back off." He then tossed away the phone.

The group is among a number of non-governmental organizations and media workers who discovered a sort of sophisticated spying software only sold to governments had targeted their cell phones.
Members of at least four bereaved military families said on Wednesday they have not received a phone call from President Donald Trump despite his claim that 'I think Ive called every family of someone whos died.'

Relatives of five soldiers who died overseas during Trumps presidency said they never received calls from him, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.

Relatives of two also confirmed they did not get letters.

Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks

A bereaved father of a soldier killed in Iraq in August says he has yet to hear from the White House.

Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, was killed in action while serving in Iraq on August 13

Euvince Brooks told The Washington Post that neither Trump or any of his aides have reached out to him since August 13, when his son, Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, died while serving in Iraq.

Brooks said he was upset by Trump's claim that he had spoken to every bereaved family.

He said that he was so angered by Trump's claim on Tuesday that he wanted to open up a Twitter account.

'I said to my daughter, "Can you teach me to tweet, so I can tweet at the president and tell him hes a liar?"' he said.

'You know when you hear people lying, and you want to fight? Thats the way I feel last night. Hes a damn liar.'

Army Spec. Etienne Murphy

The family of Army Spec. Etienne Murphy, 22, told AP that they did not receive a phone call from Trump.

Murphy, an Army Ranger from Loganville, Georgia, was the soldier who died in May in a vehicle rollover incident in northern Syria, the Pentagon said.

Murphy was an infantryman assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which is based out of Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.

Murphy was posthumously awarded the Army Commendation Medal.

The serviceman was fatally wounded when a vehicle rolled over in Al-Hasakah, Syria.

The US has hundreds of troops and advisers in Syria in various roles, assisting local allies in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Army Spec. Etienne Murphy, 22, was the soldier who died in May in a vehicle rollover incident in northern Syria

Soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment, to which Murphy was assigned, and Marine artillery units have been establishing firebases to attack Islamic State targets in and around Raqqa, the headquarters of the terror group's headquarters.

After her son died, Sheila Murphy says she got no call or letter from Trump, even as she waited months for his condolences and wrote him that 'some days I dont want to live.'

'Because it was non-combat, I feel like maybe he thought it was an accident, it doesnt matter,' she said.

'But my son was in Syria.'

She says an army casualty officer told her she would receive a letter from the White House, but none came. So she wrote a letter to the president.

'It wasnt a mean letter,' she said.

'I was telling him I know hes a grandfather. I told him Im trying to be here for my grandkids, but some days I dont want to live.'

Special Forces soldier Aaron Butler

Aaron Butler, a 27-year-old Special Forces soldier, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan this past August

Aaron Butler, a 27-year-old Special Forces soldier, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan this past August.

His brother, Quinn, said that while the family has received a number of letters from senior army officers and other leaders, they have not heard from Trump.

Nonetheless, Quinn Butler said his late brother was very supportive of Trump.

He called Aaron a 'very elite soldier, a soldier who had given everything.'

He also said that would not want his death to be politicized.

'I think that Aaron would be very upset if anything was manipulated to show that he didnt support Trump and that he wasnt appreciative of the things that he did do, because he was,' Quinn said.

Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris

Brittany Harris, the widow of Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, said Wednesday that the White House reached out to arrange a phone call with Trump but it 'fell through'

Brittany Harris, the widow of Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, told PEOPLE on Wednesday that the White House reached out to arrange a phone call with Trump but it 'fell through.'

Harris says she did not receive a letter from the president after that, though the family was comforted by Vice President Mike Pence when they went to meet their loved one's remains at Dover Air Force base.

Harris, 25, was killed along with another US soldier in a suicide attack in Afghanistan this past August.

Brittany is now 17 weeks pregnant. She said shes received support from top Defense Department figures, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who wrote her a handwritten note.

Harris was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to the Military Times.

Harris was from Jackson Springs, North Carolina.

Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter

Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter, 23, was killed in a bombing in Afghanistan this past summer

The other soldier killed in the suicide attack was identified as 23-year-old Army Sgt. Jonathon Hunter.

His widow, Whitney Hunter, told The Fayetteville Observer that shortly after her husband's death, she was told that a telephone call from President Trump would be forthcoming.

She had received condolence letters from members of Congress, govenors, and senators, but not from the president.

Nearly three months later, Hunter says that it would have been nice to have the commander-in-chief recognize her husband's sacrifice.

'Its not that it does mean a great deal,' she said.

'It felt...like the importance wasnt as dire, like he wasnt acknowledged. He is the president. It just kind of bothered me a little bit.'

His widow, Whitney Hunter (seen above clutching the US flag), said she has yet to receive a phone call from President Trump

Hunter, a native of Columbus, Indiana, joined the Army in 2014.

Mark Hunter told AP his son was excited about his first deployment, but that he, as an Army veteran, was apprehensive.

'He had been there 32 days. Im former military, me and his uncle both, so we know the dangers,' Hunter said.

He remembered his son as a devout man who had a positive, cheery disposition.

'If you were down, he would cheer you up and he was God-loving. He was raised in the church,' he said.

Another bereaved father said Trump called him and offered him $25,000 but the president never followed up.

Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, told the Post that he received a call from Trump in June shortly after his son was one of three soldiers killed by an Afghan police officer.

During the 15-minute conversation, the president offered to send a check for $25,000, but so far it has not arrived, according to Baldridge.

Instead, all he received was a condolence letter.

'I opened it up and read it, and I was hoping to see a check in there, to be honest,' the father said.

'I know it was kind of far-fetched thinking. But I was like, "Damn, no check." Just a letter saying "Im sorry."'

The mother of an Army sergeant killed in Niger said Wednesday that Trump, in a call offering condolences, showed 'disrespect' to the soldiers loved ones as they drove to the airport to meet his body.

Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge (above), who was killed in Afghanistan in June, says the president offered him $25,000, but it never came

Trump, engulfed in controversy over the appropriate way for presidents to show compassion for slain soldiers, strongly disputed that account.

Sgt. La David Johnson was one of four American military personnel killed nearly two weeks ago whose families had not heard from Trump until Tuesday.

Rep. Frederica Wilson said that Trump told the widow that Johnson 'knew what he signed up for.'

The Florida Democrat said she was in the car with the widow, Myeshia Johnson, on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body when Trump called.

La David Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the congresswomans account was correct.

'Yes the statement is true,' Jones-Johnson said.

'I was in the car and I heard the full conversation.'

Thats simply not so, Trump said Wednesday.

President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that 'I think Ive called every family of someone whos died'

He declared on Twitter: 'Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!'

And in a White House meeting on tax overhaul, Trump said that he 'didnt say what that congresswoman said, didnt say it at all. She knows it.'

Wilson did not back down from her account, suggesting that Trump 'never wants to take ownership' of a mistake.

'If you are the leader of the free world, if you are president of the United States and you want to convey sympathy to a grieving family, a grieving widow, you choose your words carefully,' Wilson told AP on Wednesday.

'And everyone knows that Donald Trump does not choose his words carefully.'

'She was crying for the whole time,' Wilson said of the new widow.

'And the worst part of it: when he hung up you know what she turned to me and said? She said he didnt even remember his name.'

The late Army Sgt. La David Johnson is pictured with his mother Cowanda Jones-Johnson, who is backing up Rep. Frederica Wilson's account of a condolence call in which Donald Trump told her the slain solider 'knew what he signed up for'

President Trump phoned Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday afternoon to give his condolences over the death of her husband Sgt. La David Johnson

Trump denied making the insensitive remark, tweeting on Wednesday that the congresswoman 'totally fabricated' it

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson heard Trump's call on speakerphone and made the rounds on television to claim Trump 'has a brain disorder, and he needs to be checked out. ... We should be praising his family, not insulting them'

Like presidents before him, Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen but not all.

Whats different is that Trump, alone among them, has picked a political fight over whos done better to honor the war dead and their families.

He placed himself at the top of the list.

Proof is plentiful that Barack Obama and George W. Bush - saddled with far more combat casualties than the roughly two dozen so far under Trump - took painstaking steps to write, call or meet bereaved military families.

Trump called Wilson a liar, telling reporters at the White House: 'I didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. She knows it'

Asked what the 'proof' was that he tweeted about, Trump dared Wilson to repeat her claim: 'Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.

In contrast, Trump called to comfort Eddie and Aldene Lee about 10 days after their Army son was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Iraq in April.

'Lovely young man,' Trump said, according to Aldene. She thought that was a beautiful word to hear about her boy, 'lovely.'

Cowanda Jones-Johnson told a reporter that 'President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband

Trumps delay in publicly discussing the men lost at Niger did not appear to be extraordinary, judging from past examples, but his politicization of the matter is.

He went so far Tuesday as to cite the death of chief of staff John Kellys son in Afghanistan to question whether Obama had properly honored the war dead.

Kelly was a Marine general under Obama when his Marine son Robert died in 2010. 'You could ask General Kelly, did he get a call from Obama?' Trump said on Fox News radio.

A White House official said later that Obama did not call Kelly but not respond to questions whether some other sort of outreach was made.

Kelly, who was absent from a pair of public White House events on Tuesday, was sitting near the president in his tax meeting on Wednesday but did not address reporters.

Democrats and some former government officials were livid, accusing Trump of 'inane cruelty' and a 'sick game.'

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an Iraq veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was attacked, said: 'I just wish that this commander in chief would stop using Gold Star families as pawns in whatever sick game hes trying to play here.'

For their part, Gold Star families, which have lost members in wartime, told AP of acts of intimate kindness from Obama and Bush when those commanders in chief consoled them.

Trump initially claimed that only he among presidents made sure to call families. Obama may have done so on occasion, he said, but 'other presidents did not call.'

He equivocated Tuesday as the record made plain that his characterization was false.

Calling in to 'The View,' Wilson said Trump is 'a liar' and challenged him to produce a recording of his phone call with Johnson

Johnson, who is expecting the couple's third baby in January, later sobbed as she leaned over her husband's coffin

'I dont know,' he said of past calls. But he said his own practice was to call all families of the war dead.

But that hasnt happened.

No White House protocol demands that presidents speak or meet with the families of Americans killed in action - an impossible task in a wars bloodiest stages. But they often do.

Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, was among the four US troops who were killed in Niger nearly two weeks ago during an ambush

Altogether some 6,900 Americans have been killed in overseas wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the overwhelming majority under Bush and Obama.

Despite the much heavier toll on his watch - more than 800 dead each year from 2004 through 2007 - Bush wrote to all bereaved military families and met or spoke with hundreds if not thousands, said his spokesman, Freddy Ford.

Veterans groups said they had no quarrel with how presidents have recognized the fallen or their families.

'I dont think there is any president I know of who hasnt called families,' said Rick Weidman, co-founder and executive director of Vietnam Veterans of America.

'President Obama called often and President Bush called often. They also made regular visits to Walter Reed and Bethesda Medical Center, going in the evenings and on Saturdays.'

Trump feuded with one Gold Star family during last years campaign, assailing the parents of slain Army Capt.

Humayun Khan, who died in Iraq in 2004, after they criticized him from the stage at the Democratic National Convention.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Carlos Nuzman, the head of last year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics, has been charged by Brazilian prosecutors with corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and running a criminal organization.

Brazilian prosecutors announced the formal charges on Wednesday.

The 75-year-old Nuzman was arrested two weeks ago and is being held in prison. Prosecutors also filed corruption charges against Nuzman's right-hand man, Leonardo Gryner.

Brazilian and French authorities say Nuzman helped pay $2 million to Papa Massata Diack to win votes to stage the 2016 Olympics.

In the vote in 2009 to pick the host city, his father, Lamine Diack, was a powerful IOC member from Senegal with sway over the African voting bloc.

Nuzman resigned last week as the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. He has denied any wrongdoing.
BOSTON (AP) - Students at Boston College are staging a walkout from classes to protest recent instances of racism on campus, including two posters that were defaced to say "Black Lives don't Matter."

Video footage shows dozens of students filing into a campus lawn around midday Wednesday and chanting, "Black lives matter."

The group Eradicate Boston College Racism organized the walkout and says the college failed to respond to racist and hateful incidents on campus.

Two signs were found defaced in a residence hall last weekend to say "Black Lives don't Matter." A racist social media post also circulated around campus.

Administrators say the college "condemns all acts of hate."

Organizers of the walkout say the private Roman Catholic school teaches its students "not to be silent in times of injustices" and to fight against oppression.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Wednesday for the U.S. and India to expand strategic ties. He also pointedly criticized China, which he accused of challenging international norms needed for global stability.

Tillerson's remarks on relations between the world's two largest democracies, ahead of his first trip to South Asia as secretary of state, risked endearing Washington to one Asian power while alienating another.

Tillerson said the world needed the U.S. and India to have a strong partnership. He said the two nations share goals of security, free navigation, free trade and fighting terrorism in the Indo-Pacific, and serve as "the eastern and western beacons" for an international rules-based order which is increasingly under strain.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Both India and China had benefited from that order, but Tillerson said India had done so while respecting rules and norms, while China had "at times" undermined them. To make his point, he alluded to China's island building and expansive territorial claims in seas where Beijing has long-running disputes with Southeast Asian neighbors.

"China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the United States and India both stand for," Tillerson said in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

He also accused China of economic activities and financing that saddles developing countries in the region with enormous debt.

China responded with a statement saying it "contributes to and defends the rules-based world order" and seeks to advance international cooperation through the United Nations. It also hopes for a "healthy and sound" China-U.S. relationship.

"We will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion, never pursue development at the expense of others' interests," said the statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Washington.

A senior State Department official told reporters that the speech was intended to map out a strategy for U.S.-India relations for the next century, in which the region's leading democracies - also including Japan and Australia - blunt China's growing influence and challenges to the rules-based order. The official was not authorized to speak by name and requested anonymity.

Tillerson said the U.S. seeks constructive relations with China but "won't shrink" from the challenges it poses when it "subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries, and disadvantages the U.S. and our friends."

U.S.-India relations have generally prospered in the past decade, in part because of their shared concerns about the rise of China - whose leader Xi Jinping told a ruling communist party congress Wednesday that it was time for China "to take center stage in the world and to make a greater contribution to humankind."

While President Donald Trump has looked to deepen cooperation with China on addressing the nuclear threat from North Korea, he's sought a much closer relationship with India, which also shares U.S. worries on Islamic extremism.

"In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the United States is that partner," Tillerson said.

Tillerson said the U.S. wants to improve India's military capabilities, it has offered to sell it unarmed Guardian surveillance drones, aircraft carrier technologies and F-18 and F-16 fighter aircraft, he said.

He said the U.S. and India were leading regional efforts on counterterrorism. He said they were "cross-screening" known and suspected terrorists, and later this year will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations. In July, the U.S. sanctioned Hizbul Mujahideen, a Pakistan-based rebel group that fights against Indian control in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Tillerson called Wednesday for Pakistan "to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders that threaten its own people and the broader region."

Last week, Pakistan, acting on U.S. intelligence, secured the release of a U.S.-Canadian family held by a Taliban-linked group for five years, a rare boost for a relationship snared on Islamabad's links to militants in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and thanking him for Pakistan's help.

Pence called it an "important development in its support for U.S. strategy against terrorism in the region, but highlighted that cooperation against militant groups must be continued and sustained," a White House statement said.

____

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson listens as he is introduced to speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Millions of Americans would lose a prized tax break under President Donald Trump's sweeping revamp of the tax code, but corporations would get to keep it.

The Republican proposal would eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a widely popular break used by some 44 million Americans, especially in high-tax, Democratic-leaning states like New York, New Jersey, California and Illinois. But corporations, which pay billions in local property levies and state income taxes, wouldn't be affected.

Republicans are determined to overhaul the nation's tax system by year's end, offering a plan that lowers the corporate tax rate from 36 percent to 20 percent and reduces the number of tax brackets. Trump and the GOP cast the plan as a boon to the middle class. Meeting at the White House on Wednesday with members of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Trump said, "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, in my opinion."

President Donald Trump, right, sitting next to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., left, speaks during a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee and members of the President's economic team in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The plan is still evolving with lawmakers filling in the blanks, but the proposed repeal of the state and local deduction has divided Republicans.

Ending the deduction would affect individuals and companies unevenly.

If Amazon, now being frantically courted by dozens of cities, decided to locate its new second headquarters in Westchester County north of New York City, an affluent suburban area in one of the highest-tax states, the tech commerce behemoth still would be able to claim state and local taxes as a regular business expense, on par with items like buying machine parts.

But the company's employees living in the area wouldn't be so lucky: They'd take a financial hit from losing the ability to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal income calculations.

Trump and his Republican partners in the nearly $6 trillion tax overhaul plan push back against the idea that it would benefit mainly wealthy people and corporations. And they say the rest of the country shouldn't have to subsidize wealthier states like California and New York whose residents use the state and local tax deduction in large numbers. Defenders of the state-local deduction, including several GOP House members, say repealing it would hurt low- to mid-income taxpayers, subject them to being taxed twice and enable a federal revenue grab on the backs of homeowners who pay property taxes.

The bare-bones tax framework leaves a pack of details to be determined by Congress. Yet the blueprint as written indicates that the deduction of expenses deemed an "ordinary and necessary" cost of doing business would mostly remain, and would continue to include state and local tax payments.

The only business deduction specifically set for elimination is one that allows U.S. manufacturers to deduct costs related to production such as building plants.

Several experts confirmed that reading of the tax framework, including Steven Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Rosenthal, who previously worked as legislative counsel to Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation, said he expects lawmakers to continue to allow the business expense deduction.

As with many aspects of the Republican tax plan, "the money basically goes to corporations and big business. It's unfair," said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

To be sure, small businesses too can deduct state and local taxes as business expenses. But many more billions of dollars are at stake for large corporations, especially those with plants and operations in high-tax states.

Trump and the tax plan's Republican architects eye the roughly $1.3 trillion in lost revenue over 10 years that the state and local tax deduction costs the government. They want to recoup it to help pay for the deep tax cuts, especially for business, proposed in the far-reaching plan.

At its core, the overall plan would double the standard deduction, to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for families; dramatically cut taxes for corporations and potentially for individuals; shrink the number of personal income brackets; and simplify the tax system.

Trump and the Republican leaders promise that the plan would benefit middle-class families by lowering tax rates, creating new jobs and sparking economic growth. But there are too many gaps in the proposal to know how it actually would affect individual taxpayers and families, how it would be paid for and how much it might add to the soaring $20 trillion national debt.

The chief architects of the tax plan in Congress say nothing is written in stone. Spokeswomen for the leaders, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, declined to comment specifically on the divergent treatment for companies on state and local taxes.

They did point to earlier statements by the two Republican leaders indicating that everything in the tax framework is subject to change. Hatch will work with members of his committee to examine all aspects of the plan and decide on possible changes, said spokeswoman Julia Lawless. Brady has signaled willingness to compromise on full repeal of the state and local deduction.

President Donald Trump, right, sitting next to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., center, and White House chief economic director Gary Cohn, left, speaks during a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee and members of the President's economic team in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Donald Trump, center left, meets with members of the Senate Finance Committee and members of the President's economic team in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Latest on the fourth murder trial of a white former Oklahoma police officer charged with killing his daughter's black boyfriend (all times local):

11:45 p.m.

A white former Oklahoma police officer has been convicted of first-degree manslaughter in his fourth trial for the 2014 fatal shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend.

FILE - In this June 30, 2017 file photo, ex-Tulsa police officer Shannon Kepler, left, arrives with his legal team for afternoon testimony in his third trial in Tulsa, Okla. Jurors in the fourth murder trial for Kepler, a white former Oklahoma police officer, heard a 911 call Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 where his daughter screams to dispatchers that her father had shot her 19-year-old black boyfriend. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Jurors reached a verdict for a lesser charge late Wednesday in ex-Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler's first-degree murder trial.

Kepler was off-duty when he shot 19-year-old Jeremey Lake. He told investigators he fired because he thought Lake had a gun, but police found no weapon at the scene or on Lake.

Kepler said he was trying to protect his daughter, Lisa Kepler, because she was living in a crime-ridden neighborhood.

Jurors in Kepler's previous three trials deadlocked 11-1, 10-2 and 6-6, forcing the judge to declare mistrials.

Although they couldn't decide on the murder charge, jurors in the first trial convicted Kepler of recklessly using his firearm.

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6:20 p.m.

Jurors in the fourth trial of a white former Oklahoma police officer accused of killing his daughter's black boyfriend are deliberating a verdict.

The jury left a Tulsa County courtroom at 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, shortly after the former officer, 57-year-old Shannon Kepler, testified in his own defense. Kepler doesn't deny shooting 19-year-old Jeremey Lake, but says he did so because he thought he was armed. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.

In closing arguments, prosecutors said Kepler set out to "hunt" down Lake and picked the time and location of the August 2014 confrontation.

Defense attorney Richard O'Carroll accused prosecutors of pursuing a "political" case against Kepler and says he has been "unequivocal" in three previous trials that he saw Lake armed.

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1 p.m.

A white former Oklahoma police officer on trial for the fourth time in the 2014 killing of his daughter's black boyfriend has told jurors he had no choice but to shoot the young man.

Former Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler was the last witness called in the case. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday afternoon before the case goes to the jury.

Kepler said he saw 19-year-old Jeremey Lake reaching into his waistband for what he believed to be a gun, so Kepler fired. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.

Lisa Kepler had been in and out of a homeless shelter after her father prohibited her from bringing men into his house.

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8:55 a.m.

A white former Oklahoma police officer on trial for a fourth time in the fatal shooting of his daughter's black boyfriend is expected to testify in his defense.

Ex-Tulsa officer Shannon Kepler is expected to testify Wednesday in the 2014 shooting of Jeremey Lake, the 19-year-old boyfriend of Kepler's daughter, Lisa.

Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday after jurors heard a 911 call where Kepler's daughter screams to dispatchers that her father had shot Lake. Lisa Kepler has testified at each of her father's first-degree murder trials.

Shannon Kepler doesn't deny shooting Lake, but has said he did so because he thought he was armed. No weapon was found on or near Lake's body.

Three previous juries deadlocked 11-1, 10-2 and 6-6, forcing the judge to declare mistrials.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Newark is joining Los Angeles, Nashville and Cleveland, Mississippi, as a host of a museum celebrating the Grammy music awards, a tip of the hat to the state's rich musical legacy.

The Grammy Museum Experience officially opens Thursday at Newark's Prudential Center arena. It features a trove of memorabilia from numerous artists, with a focus on new Jersey natives such as Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston. It also has interactive exhibits that let visitors get behind the mic or mixing board to make their own music.

The museum is another jewel in the revitalization of Newark's downtown, stretching back to the opening of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center 20 years ago. The Prudential Center opened in 2007 and is considered among the top concert venues in the country. Together the two have served as catalysts for new retail and residential development.

In this Oct. 10, 2017 photo, a Grammy Award art piece is displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 19. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"We look forward to welcoming musicians, music lovers, students, families, and visitors of all kinds to Newark," Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka said. "The arrival of the Grammy Museum at Newark just further proves what we've been saying all along - we are America's next destination city."

The driving force behind the project is Bob Santelli, founding executive director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which opened in 2008. It didn't hurt that Santelli is a New Jersey native who grew up with members of Springsteen's E Street Band and has written two books with The Boss.

When the decision was made to put exhibits around the country, certain spots were natural choices: Nashville as the center of country music, and Mississippi as the birthplace of the blues, the precursor to rock 'n' roll.

Newark and northern New Jersey, home to the likes of Houston and Sinatra along with Queen Latifah, jazz giant Sarah Vaughan, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and numerous others, made sense as well.

"It had a tremendous musical legacy much like the Mississippi Delta, but it had been overlooked over much of the last half century," Santelli said.

The museum is equal parts traditional and hands-on. Among the exhibits are some of the more famous costumes from past Grammy ceremonies, from Ella Fitzgerald to Michael Jackson, Madonna to Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

A tuxedo worn by Sinatra is there, along with a choir robe worn by Houston when she sang at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, site of her memorial service in 2012. Springsteen's plain white t-shirt and jeans are there as well, in addition to a humorous, hand-written letter to a landlady asking for patience regarding a late rent payment.

Visitors can try their hand at making music with several interactive exhibits. One features a video drumming lesson from Max Weinberg of Springsteen's E Street Band. Another shows how to make a recording with rapper Wyclef Jean.

The museum also will host a variety of programs for students, including one that allows them to meet the artists and another that lets them watch sound checks to see what goes into putting on a concert, Santelli said.

"We're trying to make sure it's not all about the costumes and guitars and interactive," he said. "The physical space is just the tip of the iceberg - the value is in the programs, getting into the schools to bring artists in to talk to the kids."

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This story has been corrected to show that the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles opened in 2008, not in 2006.

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Contact Porter at https://www.twitter.com/DavidPorter_AP

In this Oct. 10, 2017 photo, a replica of the Donatella Versace dress worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammy Awards show is displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 19. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2017 photo, various Grammy Awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 19. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2017 photo, a Grammy award is displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 19. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2017 photo, wardrobe worn by various musicians are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The museum is scheduled to open to the public on Oct. 19. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Academic research papers from China garner the second most worldwide citations, after those from the United States but ahead of those from the United Kingdom, according to a new study.

The analysis was conducted by Amsterdam-based information and analytics company Elsevier and commissioned by the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Citations are the way in which scholars give credit to other researchers and acknowledge their ideas. They indicate how seriously research is taken by other scientists.

Elsevier assessed the performance of the UK's research base between 2010 and 2014 and compared it with seven other countries: China, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

The analysis found that in 2014, research papers originating in China accounted for 18.1 percent of all citations, a sharp increase from the 11 percent it had in 2010.

In comparison, the UK's share in 2014 was 10.7 percent, which was slightly down from the 11 percent they garnered in 2010. The US saw its share slip from 39.4 percent in 2010 to 35 percent in 2014.

In 2014, China accounted for 19.6 percent of the world's most heavily cited articles, while the UK produced 15.2 percent.

The report said: "The global research landscape in recent years has become increasingly complex and fluid, and it can only become more so as emerging research nations grow their research bases."

Authors said the UK and other research-intensive nations are seeing their global shares in key research indicators eroded by emerging countries, "especially by China".

"As China and other rising research nations succeed in their desire to emulate and even surpass the research performance of countries like the US and the UK, their shares will naturally become larger while the erstwhile powerhouses see theirs shrink," the report said.
DETROIT (AP) - Toyota Motor Co. is recalling 347,120 Sienna minivans worldwide because they can shift out of the "park" position and roll away.

The recall involves Siennas from the 2005-2007 and 2009-2010 model years. Most are in the U.S. Toyota also is recalling 24,000 in Canada, 13,000 in Mexico, 100 in Europe and 20 elsewhere.

Toyota says the grease used in the shift lever assembly could transfer to other components, causing them to work improperly. In particular, the shifter can move out of "park" even if the driver isn't pressing the brake pedal. It won't move out of position if the parking brake is activated.

Toyota won't say if it knows of any accidents related to the defect.

The company will notify owners by mid-December. Dealers will repair the vehicles for free.
PARIS (AP) - The lawyer representing the older brother of a French extremist who killed seven people in 2012 told a judge and a jury of magistrates that testimony given by the men's mother Wednesday was unreliable.

The mother, Zoulika Aziri, lied in some of her statements because - forced to choose between justice and her sons - she naturally chose her sons, defense lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti said.

"One can't ask a mother to testify against her son," Dupond-Moretti said.

CORRECTING SPELLING OF LAST NAME TO AZIRI - Zoulika Aziri the mother of the Merah brothers leaves the courthouse in Paris, France, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. The mother of Islamic extremist Mohammed Merah testifies in the trial into the 2012 killings of Jewish schoolchildren and soldiers in southern France.( AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Abdelkader Merah, 35, is on trial for complicity to terror in connection with the three shooting attacks his younger brother, Mohammed Merah, carried out in and near Toulouse. Most of his victims were Jewish schoolchildren and French soldiers.

Mohammed Merah died in a shootout with police. Tempers flared in the courtroom Wednesday when Dupond-Moretti asked opposing attorneys to question Aziri more gently because she was a mother with a dead son.

Jeers and shouts rose from the benches where relatives of the victims were seated. A brother of French paratrooper Imad Ibn Ziaten broke into tears and left the court room, shouting, "You are mean, a bunch of murderers!"

Aziri was questioned for more than two hours as an informant in her older son's trial, not as a witness who had to swear to be truthful. She said she was unaware of 23-year-old Mohammed's plan to target soldiers and Jewish people.

"If I had known, I would have done everything to thwart it," she said.

Meanwhile, two people were arrested and taken into police custody on Wednesday after officers overseeing security at Merah's trial recently noticed "suspicious" activity at the historic Paris courthouse where the proceedings are being held.

A person with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that Paris prosecutors opened an investigation for "criminal conspiracy in order to commit a crime or an offense, and unauthorized intrusion in a classified monument."

The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and requested anonymity.

Le Point magazine first reported Wednesday that one the people arrested works at the courthouse. She allegedly gave her access badge to the second suspect, who used it to break into building, Le Point said.

The second suspect is known to police for petty criminal activities and has links to an extremist cell in Paris, according to the magazine.

If convicted of complicity to terror, Abdelkader Merah faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

CORRECTING SPELLING OF LAST NAME TO AZIRI - Zoulika Aziri the mother of the Merah brothers leaves the courthouse in Paris, France, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. The mother of Islamic extremist Mohammed Merah testifies in the trial into the 2012 killings of Jewish schoolchildren and soldiers in southern France.( AP Photo/Michel Euler)

CORRECTING SPELLING OF LAST NAME TO AZIRI - Zoulika Aziri the mother of the Merah brothers leaves the courthouse in Paris, France, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. The mother of Islamic extremist Mohammed Merah testifies in the trial into the 2012 killings of Jewish schoolchildren and soldiers in southern France. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
NEW YORK (AP) - Twitter is vowing to crack down further on hate speech and sexual harassment, days after CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweetstorm that the company is not doing enough to protect its users.

The company has spent the last two years trying to clamp down on hate and abuse on its generally free-wheeling service.

Dorsey echoed concerns of many users and critics who say Twitter it hasn't done enough to curb the abuse. But others worry that it's muzzling free speech in the process.

FILE - This Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, file photo, shows a Twitter app on an iPhone screen in New York. Twitter vowed to crack down further on hate speech and sexual harassment on its platform, days after CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet-storm that the company was "still" not doing enough to protect its users. In an email shared with The Associated Press Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, Twitter's head of safety policy outlined the new guidelines to the company's Trust and Safety Council, a group of outside organizations that advises Twitter on its policies against abuse. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

In an email Twitter shared with The Associated Press Tuesday, the company's head of safety policy outlined the proposed new guidelines that tighten existing rules and impose some new ones. They aim to close loopholes that allowed people to glorify violence, for example.

The email was sent to the company's Trust and Safety Council, a group of outside organizations that advises Twitter on its policies against abuse.

"It's good that Twitter is thinking these things through and being fairly transparent about what they are doing," said Emma Llanso, director of the free expression project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit that's a member of the Trust and Safety Council. But, she added, it will be very important to have a clear appeals process and ways to review whether the policies are effective.

Twitter sent it to the group for input, and the changes are not yet final. News of the changes was first reported by Wired .

WHAT'S CHANGING?

Some of the changes are aimed at protecting women who unknowingly or unwillingly had nude pictures of themselves distributed online or were subject to unwanted sexual advances. They would also try to shield groups subject to hateful imagery, symbols and threats of violence.

Among the proposed changes, Twitter said it would immediately and permanently suspend any account it identifies as being the original poster of "non-consensual nudity," including so-called "creep shots" of a sexual nature taken surreptitiously. Previously, the company treated the original poster of the content the same as those who re-tweeted it, and it resulted only in a temporary suspension.

It said it would also develop a system allowing bystanders on Twitter to report unwanted exchanges of sexually charged content, whereas in the past it relied on one of the parties involved in the conversation to come forward before taking action. Twitter already allows bystanders to report other violations on behalf of someone else.

The San Francisco-based company also said it would take new action on hate symbols and imagery and "take enforcement action against organizations that use/have historically used violence as a means to advance their cause," though it said more details were to come.

It didn't say what the hate symbols might be and enforcing this could prove difficult. While some hate symbols, like the swastika, are widely recognized, groups have also adopted lesser-known, seemingly innocuous symbols to show hate. Those include "Pepe the Frog," a cartoon frog that has become a symbol for the "alt-right" movement known for racist and misogynist views. The milk emoji has also been used by white supremacists as an online symbol.

Twitter already takes action against direct threats of violence, the company said it would also act against tweets that glorify or condone violence.

IS IT ENOUGH? TOO MUCH?

On Friday, Dorsey foreshadowed the coming policy changes in a series of tweets, saying the company's efforts over the last two years were inadequate.

"Today we saw voices silencing themselves and voices speaking out because we're (asterisk)still(asterisk) not doing enough," Dorsey tweeted.

At the same time, Llanso said, Twitter also must tread carefully not to sweep up legitimate discourse along with hate speech and abuse. Unlike Facebook, Twitter permits anonymity. While this can be used as a tool for abuse and harassment, it also allows for people and groups to speak out when they otherwise couldn't.

"Any kind of policy that is about taking down speech online, will be used for its intended purpose, but also by others who are looking to get things censored online," she said. "People out there looking to silence voices they disagree with are very savvy."

In the end, whether the policies work will have to be tested out in the field, by Twitter's users.

"There will definitely be mistakes," Llanso said.

RUSSIA SCRUTINY

The moves also come amid intense scrutiny from congressional investigators into how Russian agents used Twitter, Facebook and Google to influence last year's U.S. election. Twitter has said it would appear at a public congressional hearing on Nov. 1 after already briefing a Senate committee.

The company has handed over the handles, or profile names, of 201 accounts it believes were linked to Russia. It has also said at least $274,000 in U.S. ads were bought by Russia Today, a Russian-government-linked media outlet, last year.

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AP Technology Writer Ryan Nakashima contributed to this story from Menlo Park, California.
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the lawsuit that contends President Donald Trump has violated the Constitution because his businesses accept money from foreign governments (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

A lawsuit accuses Donald Trump of violating the Constitution because his businesses accept payments from foreign governments, and a judge wants the group behind the case to justify its legal right to sue the president.

President Donald Trump, right, sitting next to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., left, speaks during a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee and members of the President's economic team in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The suit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington alleges that Trump's hotels in Washington and New York attract foreign business - in violation of the Constitution.

The left-leaning public policy group says the payments and what its calls an unfair business advantage run afoul of a part of the Constitution that's supposed to prohibit the payment of foreign money to an American president.

U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels in New York has asked a lawyer for the policy group whether Congress - not the courts - is better suited to address that question.

The Department of Justice has sought to dismiss the case.

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3:40 a.m.

Lawyers for President Donald Trump are asking a federal judge to toss a civil lawsuit accusing the president of violating the Constitution because his businesses accept money from foreign governments.

In a court hearing in New York on Wednesday, Justice Department lawyers are expected to argue that the ban on foreign money is meant only to address gifts or emoluments - that is, financial rewards - to the president in his official capacity. They have said Trump's business arrangements are a political question, not a legal one, and should be addressed by Congress, not the courts.

The case brings the prospect of penetrating some of the obscurity surrounding Trump's complicated financial empire.
SAO PAULO (AP) - Indigenous groups have clashed with congressional police officers at a public hearing in Brazil's capital on agricultural projects on indigenous lands.

The lower house Chamber of Deputies said in a statement the clash broke out Wednesday when some indigenous people were barred from entering the room where the audience was being held because of limited space.

Video footage posted by the G1 news portal showed protesters smashing glass doors and windows with rocks and pieces of wood. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd of about 100 protesters.

The Indigenous Missionary Council, a rights group linked to the Catholic Church, said four members of the indigenous groups were taken into custody,

There were no reports of injuries.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A top Republican political consultant and two former state representatives have been indicted in a corruption scheme in South Carolina's Legislature.

Solicitor David Pascoe announced Wednesday the State Grand Jury had indicted Richard Quinn with criminal conspiracy and failure to register as a lobbyist. Former Reps. Tracy Edge and Jim Harrison face several charges, including criminal conspiracy and misconduct.

Grand jurors also issued new indictments for two lawmakers already charged. Rep. Rick Quinn, the elder Quinn's son, was charged with criminal conspiracy. Sen. John Courson was charged with statutory misconduct in office. Both men already faced other misconduct charges.

Richard Quinn is a longtime political consultant who has advised some of South Carolina's top Republicans. In March, state police agents raided a Columbia office that housed his consulting shop.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - A judge on Wednesday halted the execution of a man known as the Houston area's "Tourniquet Killer" so authorities can investigate an alleged scheme in which the inmate says a fellow death row prisoner asked him to confess to another killing.

Anthony Allen Shore was scheduled to be given a lethal injection Wednesday evening, but the judge withdrew the execution warrant at prosecutors' request just hours before Shore was set to die. His death was rescheduled for Jan. 18.

"If this was my day, God's will be done. He gave me another 90 days," the 55-year-old Shore said in reaction to the execution delay, according to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman.

FILE- In this Oct. 18, 2004, file photo, Anthony Shore appears in court at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston. Shore was scheduled to be given a lethal injection Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, but the judge withdrew the execution warrant at prosecutors' request just hours before Shore was set to die. His death was rescheduled for Jan. 18. The four killings that led to Shore getting the death penalty occurred from 1986 to 1995. (Steve Ueckert/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)

Another convicted killer, Larry Swearingen, allegedly tried to convince Shore to take responsibility for the 1998 killing of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon. Swearingen was convicted of her slaying and put on death row for it. His execution is scheduled for Nov. 16.

Ligon said investigators from his office spoke with Shore on Tuesday and he told them he wouldn't cooperate with Swearingen and instead chose to expose the scheme. Swearingen tried a similar scheme before his trial for Trotter's killing, the prosecutor said.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused an appeal from Swearingen last October. His attorneys have long wanted additional DNA testing of evidence they say could show he didn't kill Trotter.

Trotter was last seen in December 1998 leaving a college in Montgomery County, just north of Houston. Her body was found about a month later farther north in the Sam Houston National Forest. She had been strangled.

Shore became known as the "Tourniquet Killer" because of the way he strangled his victims. Shore, who is white, admitted killing four Hispanic female victims from 1986 to 1995. His confessions came after a tiny particle collected from under the fingernail of 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada, whose body was dumped in a Houston Dairy Queen's drive-thru lane, was matched to his DNA.

Estrada's 1992 killing went unsolved for more than a decade. Shore received eight years' probation and became a registered sex offender in 1998 for sexually assaulting two relatives, but it took five years before authorities made the DNA match tying him to Estrada's death.

"I didn't set out to kill her," Shore, a former tow truck driver and phone company repairman, told police in a taped interview played at his 2004 trial for Estrada's slaying. "That was not my intent. But it got out of hand."

Estrada was walking to work the morning of April 16, 1992, when Shore offered her a ride that she accepted.

Shore blamed "voices in my head that I was going to have her, regardless, to possess her in some way."

Besides Estrada, he confessed to the slayings of 15-year-old Laurie Tremblay, who was found beside a trash bin outside a Houston restaurant in 1986; 9-year-old Diana Rebollar, who was abducted while walking to a neighborhood grocery store in 1994; and 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, who disappeared in 1995 while hitchhiking to her boyfriend's home in Houston.

Shore's lawyers told the jurors who convicted him of capital murder in 2004 that Shore desired the death penalty and wanted it to be known, which they said went against their advice to him.

During the appeals process, lawyers appointed to represent Shore argued he suffered from brain damage early in life that his trial attorneys didn't discover and the brain injury affected his decision about wanting the death penalty. A federal appeals court earlier this year rejected the appeal, and two weeks ago the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his case.

Then on Wednesday as Shore waited to be executed at the Huntsville prison, he received word that his punishment was being delayed.

Ligon, the district attorney in Montgomery County, reached out to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, saying he wanted Shore's execution date moved to allow an investigation into the alleged confession scheme to be completed. Ligon asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a one-time, 30-day reprieve to "prevent" Shore and Swearingen "from perpetrating a fraud upon the criminal justice system."

Ogg then obtained a court order withdrawing the execution warrant for Wednesday and resetting Shore's punishment for Jan. 18, which she said was the soonest legally available date.

"It is always the first responsibility of prosecutors to see that justice is done," Ogg said in a statement. "Shore's execution is inevitable."

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Greg Pence, one of Mike Pence's older brothers, launched a campaign Wednesday for the eastern Indiana congressional seat that the vice president and former governor represented for 12 years.

A campaign announcement video touts Greg Pence as a Republican who believes in "fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life" and "our Second Amendment rights."

"I'm going to fight to help (President) Donald Trump help our district," Greg Pence says in the video. "That's why I'm running for the United States Congress."

In this Jan. 18, 2017 photo, Greg Pence, a brother of Vice President-elect Mike Pence, sits on his flight from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. Greg Pence filed a tax document indicating he will seek the eastern Indiana congressional seat that the vice president and former governor represented for 12 years. (Jenna Watson/The Indianapolis Star via AP)

Pence, who once ran the family's now-bankrupt chain of Tobacco Road convenience stores, previously said he had been courted to run for the overwhelmingly Republican district. It covers a broad swath of central and southeastern Indiana, including Muncie and Columbus.

The district's current congressman, Republican Luke Messer, is running for Senate.

As the vice president's brother, Pence is likely the hands-down favorite to win. He has a famous name, served in the Marines, owns an antiques business in the area and even bears a striking resemblance to his brother, with a close-cropped head of white hair.

It's likely he will also be able to tap into the same fundraising network his brother enjoyed in Indiana - if not nationally.

An IRS document for Greg Pence's political organization lists Craig Kunkle as its "custodian." Kunkle is chief operating officer of a firm called MO Strategies, which is led by the vice president's longtime aide and fundraiser Marty Obst, according to records kept by the Indiana Secretary of State's office.

A spokesman for Greg Pence declined to comment Wednesday.

Bob Grand, a major Republican fundraiser and powerbroker in Indiana politics, told The Associated Press that Greg Pence is an ideal candidate.

"He starts off with good name ID. I think he has a tremendous advantage. But I think he'll also work hard," Grand said. "He can also raise a fair amount of money. A number of people that I'm aware of starting this afternoon have already reached out."

Greg Pence lives in Columbus, Indiana. That's the same town the family grew up in after the Pence's father, Edward, relocated from Chicago and later built a gas station empire.

He eventually took over the company, Kiel Brothers Oil Co., from his father. But the business, which operated a chain of convenience stores under the name Tobacco Road, went bankrupt under Greg Pence's watch in 2004.

That wiped out more than $673,000 of Mike Pence's net worth, according to Pence's 2006 tax filings, which he has publicly released.

Jonathan Lamb, another candidate in the congressional district's GOP primary, said Greg Pence's entry into the race runs counter to President Donald Trump's campaign pledge to drain the swamp.

"They are trying to anoint someone because of his last name," Lamb said. "That's the epitome of the good old boys' club."

Lamb, who is a businessman, also questioned the wisdom of sending someone whose company went bankrupt to Congress.

"I think we're all proud to have a Hoosier that's steps away from the president, but that doesn't necessarily make Mike Pence's brother qualified to be a congressman," Lamb said.

Democrats, meanwhile, were more than happy to tie Greg Pence to his brother, who championed divisive social issues while governor, including a 2015 law that critics said allowed gay people to be discriminated against. The law was later changed, but only after a national backlash and threats of a boycott.

"If you thought one Pence was damaging enough to our state's economy, wait until you see what a second can do," Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said. "Voters must hope that he doesn't represent a second helping of that harm."
BOSTON (AP) - A man who authorities say fell under the influence of the Islamic State group was convicted Wednesday of plotting to behead a conservative American blogger for organizing a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.

Jurors found David Wright guilty of all charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

The 28-year-old from Everett, Massachusetts, faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced in December.

FILE - In this May 7, 2015, file photo, conservative blogger Pamela Geller speaks during an interview at The Associated Press in New York. David Wright was convicted Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, in federal court in Boston, of plotting to behead Geller and kill other Americans on behalf of the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Federal officials called Wright's conviction a victory for America in its fight against terrorism.

"We can all sleep better now knowing that David Wright, a person who wanted to kill in the name of ISIS, will no longer be free to walk the streets of the Commonwealth," said FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Peter Kowenhoven.

Prosecutors said Wright, his uncle and a third man conspired to kill blogger Pamela Geller because they were upset she organized Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas in 2015. During the contest, two other men opened fire outside and wounded a security guard before they were killed in a shootout with law enforcement assigned to guard the event.

Wright's uncle, Ussamah Rahim, told Wright on a recorded phone call later that month that he couldn't wait to attack Geller and decided instead to go after "those boys in blue," referring to police. Wright told his uncle that was "beautiful" and encouraged him to delete all the data from his computer before carrying out his attack.

Hours later, Rahim was shot and killed by authorities after he lunged at them with a knife when they approached him in Boston. The attack on Geller, who has spearheaded scores of events across the nation to decry Islamic extremism, was never carried out. She didn't testify at the trial.

Geller applauded the verdict on her blog and thanked law enforcement for taking down "one of the jihadis before he could commit the heinous act."

Wright cried on the stand when he spoke of his uncle, insisting that he didn't think Rahim was serious about the attack. Wright, who was more than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) and spent much of his time playing video games in 2015, testified that he used Islamic State group propaganda to get attention but that it was just a "fantasy."

"I didn't want my uncle to get hurt. I didn't want law enforcement to get hurt," Wright said. "I lost someone who was very close to me because I was so deluded and self-centered that I couldn't see beyond my own need for attention."

Wright's attorney said they are disappointed in the verdict and heartbroken for Wright and his family.

"But we, along with David, honor the process," Jessica Hedges said in an email. "We are not finished."

Prosecutors said Wright was the leader of the conspiracy and recruited his uncle and others to help him wage war on the U.S. Wright's uncle received directions about the plan to kill Geller from Junaid Hussain, an Islamic State group member and hacker who was later killed in an airstrike in Syria, prosecutors said.

Wright conducted online research for guns, swords and tranquilizers that put people to sleep instantly. He created a Twitter page seeking recruits for their "martyrdom operation cell," collected a trove of horrific Islamic State group documents and videos and created a manifesto warning that America's "days are numbered," prosecutors said.

Wright's uncle bought three large knives - one for each of them - for their attack on Geller, authorities say.

"These were not just words, as the defense argued," William Weinreb, acting U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, told reporters after the verdict. "This wasn't fantasy. It was real."

The third man accused in the plot, Nicholas Rovinski, of Warwick, Rhode Island, testified against Wright after pleading guilty last year to conspiracy charges. Rovinski faces 15 to 22 years in prison.

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Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher. Read more of her work at http://bit.ly/2hIhzDb
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service is illegally jeopardizing a small herd of bighorn sheep with deadly diseases by allowing thousands of domestic sheep to graze in eastern Idaho as part of agricultural research activities, environmental groups have said in a lawsuit.

Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians in the lawsuit filed Tuesday contend the grazing of sheep owned by the University of Idaho via permits issued to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sheep Experiment Station risks transmitting diseases to bighorn sheep.

"It's unjustifiable for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Idaho to expose wild bighorn to deadly pathogens for the sake of a few months of free forage on the national forest," Scott Lake, Idaho director for Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement. "The value of native wildlife far exceeds whatever the state and federal government will get out of taking this chance."

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2008 file photo, Bighorn sheep graze near the Big Pines Recreation Area in the Yakima River Canyon, Wash. Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit contending the U.S. Forest Service is illegally jeopardizing bighorn sheep by allowing University of Idaho domestic sheep on two eastern Idaho grazing allotments as part of agricultural research activities. Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, contend the grazing via permits issued to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sheep Experiment Station risks transmitting diseases to bighorn sheep. (Gordon King/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)

The lawsuit filed by Advocates for the West challenges the Forest Service's authorization of the grazing allotments in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, an area also used by a herd of about 36 South Beaverhead Rocky Mountain bighorns.

Environmentalists say disease has prevented the herd from growing and that allowing the domesticated sheep to graze there increases health risks for bighorns because they could be sickened through contact with the domesticated sheep.

The groups contend the federal agency is violating environmental laws by allowing the grazing this fall and winter before completing an environmental analysis. The groups in the lawsuit noted that courts have previously recognized the high risk of disease transmission from domestic to wild sheep.

The groups are asking the court to prevent any sheep from being released into the area until after the environmental analysis is finished. Currently, domestic sheep can start grazing on Nov. 6.

U.S. Forest Service officials did not return a phone message seeking comment on Wednesday. University of Idaho officials had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, said spokesman Brad Gary.

The domesticated sheep have grazed in the area cited by environmentalists for years. The sheep station operates on about 75 square miles (195 square kilometers) in Idaho. It also grazes sheep on federal public land in Idaho and Montana.

That public land includes the Snakey Canyon and Kelley Canyon grazing allotments on the southern end of the Beaverhead Mountains west of Dubois, Idaho, where 2,200 sheep are permitted to graze.

The sheep station has operated for about a century and in recent years has faced proposed shutdowns due to a declining federal budget. It has been kept open mainly through the efforts of U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who has said the research is critically important to the sheep industry and eastern Idaho's economy.

Environmentalists have filed previous lawsuits over the grazing areas in the region that are in a key east-west wildlife corridor in the Centennial Mountains between Yellowstone National Park and rugged central Idaho lands.

A 392-pound (178-kilogram) male grizzly bear being tracked by researchers disappeared in September 2012 from sheep station property. Its collar was later found hidden under a rock in a creek. The body of the bear was never found.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislators expect to consider proposals next year to make it easier for people wrongfully convicted of major crimes to win compensation from the state following the third recent high-profile release of men exonerated after years in prison.

Lawmakers in both parties said this week that they want to discuss setting a rule for awarding compensation in such cases but acknowledged they don't yet see agreement on the details. The federal government and 32 states have compensation laws, making Kansas one of only 18 without them, according to Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly convicted defendants.

Their renewed interest comes after last week's release in Wyandotte County of Lamonte McIntyre, 41, who spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he always said he didn't commit. A judge was reviewing his 1994 convictions and life sentences when the district attorney's office dropped the charges against him.

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2017, file photo, Lamonte McIntyre, who was imprisoned for 23 years for a 1994 double murder in Kansas that he always said he didn't commit, walks out of a courthouse in Kansas City, Kan., with his mother, Rosie McIntyre, after the district attorney dropped the charges. Kansas legislators expect to consider proposals next year to make it easier for people wrongly convicted of major crimes to win compensation from the state. (Tammy Ljungblad /The Kansas City Star via AP, File)

A Kansas Senate committee had a hearing but didn't act earlier this year on a proposal that was partly a response to a Jefferson County judge's release in December 2015 of Floyd Bledsoe, who spent more than 15 years in prison for the shooting death of his sister-in-law but was later cleared by DNA evidence.

And in June, a Johnson County judge freed Richard Anthony Jones. He spent nearly 17 years in prison for a 1999 robbery until supporters found another man who looked enough like him that the victim and other witnesses said they could no longer be sure who committed the crime.

Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat who pushed for the legislation earlier this year, said compensating wrongly imprisoned people represents "low-hanging fruit" for "correcting manifest injustices."

"It should be a simple matter," Haley said. "We have other states that we can look to for guidelines."

The proposal before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year would have allowed people wrongly convicted of a felony to file state-court lawsuits to collect $80,000 for each year they are imprisoned and $1 million if they were wrongfully sentenced to death for capital murder. If a defendant were wrongly executed, his or her family would be entitled to $5 million in damages.

The committee did not vote on the measure so that the issue could be studied further. Chairman Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican, said he expects to have a report from legislative researchers on other states' laws when lawmakers reconvene in January.

"I think we want to venture into trying to get some fix on that issue," Wilborn said.

McIntyre's attorneys have stopped short of saying whether they'll take further action after winning his release.

People freed from prison following wrongful convictions can file federal civil rights lawsuits, as Bledsoe did last year. But Michelle Feldman, a state policy advocate for the Innocence Project, said such lawsuits are difficult to win because it typically requires egregious misconduct.

In Kansas, a person freed from prison also can seek compensation from the Legislature, which considers dozens of claims against the state each year as part of its budgeting process.

But Feldman sees that process as a potential "popularity contest" meant to handle smaller grievances. And Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, said the results can be inconsistent.

"We need to try to establish a system in the law to try to compensate people who've been wrongly incarcerated," Carmichael said. "The unfortunate thing is we can never fully compensate those people for the loss they have suffered."

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Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump, who has made four visits to hurricane zones in recent weeks, isn't rushing to survey the damage from California's wildfires.

The president has no immediate plans to visit the state to inspect the aftermath of the wind-whipped wildfires, which have swept through parts of Northern California, including the region's famed wine country. The wildfires have killed at least 42 people and destroyed thousands of homes, becoming the deadliest and most destructive series of blazes in California's history.

For Trump, the wildfires are ravaging a state that has long been a Democratic stronghold and gave his presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, a commanding victory in California during last year's election. Trump received about 31 percent of the vote in the state, prompting questions of whether politics have influenced his plans after the president visited Republican-leaning states like Texas and Louisiana and campaign battleground Florida after they dealt with massive hurricanes. He also visited Puerto Rico to view hurricane damage and traveled to Las Vegas after the city's deadly mass shooting.

The Santa Cruz Mountains are covered in smoke from a wildfire Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, near Boulder Creek, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

"I'd like to see him here," said Rick Rogers, 52, who lost his home in Santa Rosa, California, to the fire. "I think it's going to go down as one of the worst disasters in the state's history. It would be nice to have the president here to show some support."

Suzanne Finzell, 62, a self-described "dyed in the wool" Democrat who lost her rented home in the blaze, accused Trump of having "no empathy." But she added: "Even if he came here, what could he possibly do?"

In a sign of the frustration, The San Francisco Chronicle published an editorial on Sunday with the headline: "California burns: Where's the president?" The editorial said Trump's voice had been "conspicuously mute through day after day of crisis."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday a trip by Trump to California was not "planned at this time but it certainly hasn't been ruled out either." She said the Trump administration "has been very engaged throughout this process. We're going to continue to be there."

Trump retweeted a tweet on Wednesday from Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long, who has been touring the region this week. Trump wrote, "Our hearts are with all affected by the wildfires in California. God bless our brave First Responders and @fema team. We support you!"

And during a Cabinet meeting on Monday, the president noted that his administration had issued a disaster declaration in California to respond to "devastating wildfires like we've never seen. And we mourn the terrible loss of life." He pointed to FEMA, first responders and members of the military assisting people in the path of the fires and cited "a lot of progress in the last couple of days. But we're a little subject to winds and what happens with nature, but it's been a, it's a very sad thing to watch."

Administration officials also noted that Vice President Mike Pence met with first responders at the state's Office of Emergency Services headquarters in the Sacramento area last week during a trip to California.

Previous presidents have toured the aftermath of wildfires in the past but the catastrophes have not always led to presidential visits.

Former President Barack Obama visited Colorado Springs, Colo., in June 2012, as he sought re-election, to observe recovery efforts from the state's wildfires. And former President George W. Bush made separate visits to California to tour fire-ravaged parts of Southern California in 2003 and 2007.

Other wildfires, meanwhile, have been addressed by past White House administrations through phone calls and extensive coordination with state and federal officials but haven't always involved a presidential trip.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, has praised the Trump administration for quickly approving his request for federal assistance less than two days after they were sparked. In total, eight California counties are receiving federal relief. "I appreciate the fast response from the President," Brown said in a statement last week.

And some residents say the visit isn't necessary. "He's got more important business," said Rob Ferguson, 75, of Santa Rosa, who lost his home in the fires. His 68-year-old wife, Judy Ferguson added: "We just want him to take care of everything else."

___

Thanawala contributed from Santa Rosa, Calif. Associated Press writer Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this report.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - SeaWorld is cutting 350 positions as the company's parks deal with declining attendance.

Spokeswoman Aimee Jeansonne Becka said Wednesday that the cuts will include a mix of layoffs and not refilling open positions across the company. The cuts will primarily affect its Orlando corporate headquarters, as well as the parks in Orlando and San Diego.

Jeansonne Becka says most of the cuts will affect administrative positions that don't deal directly with the public. She says SeaWorld is still committed to animal rescue and rehabilitation.

Park attendance has suffered since the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" suggested that SeaWorld's treatment of animals may have led to the deaths of trainers. It announced last year that it would no longer breed killer whales and stop using them in shows.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A former staffer for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez gave testimony at his bribery trial Wednesday that differed from the prosecution's version of events.

Karissa Willhite testified she and other staffers were probing Medicare policy issues and not trying to specifically help a wealthy donor on trial for allegedly bribing the Democrat senator from New Jersey.

Prosecutors contend Menendez lobbied on behalf of the donor, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, in exchange for gifts, including free flights on Melgen's private jet and luxury hotel stays in Paris and the Dominican Republic.

Melgen was embroiled in an $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute involving his practice of charging for administering multiple doses from the same vial of medicine. Melgen eventually paid back the entire amount.

On cross-examination, prosecutors presented Willhite with emails to a fellow staffer, including one in which she referred to calling Melgen at home "regarding a Medicare problem we need to help him with."

Willhite also testified Menendez wasn't upset or confrontational during a call with Medicare officials.

Earlier in the trial, one of those officials testified that Menendez became hostile when the official disagreed with him about Medicare policy and that the official understood the call was regarding Melgen's case even though Melgen's name wasn't mentioned.

The trial is in its seventh week. On Monday, the judge declined a request by defense attorneys to dismiss the primary charges against the two men under a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the definition of official bribery.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Attorneys for the Mississippi governor say two levels of federal courts have been correct in blocking a lawsuit that challenges the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag.

Representing Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, assistant state attorneys general filed papers Wednesday with the U.S. Supreme Court. They said Carlos Moore, an African-American attorney from Mississippi who sued the state, has failed to show he suffered harm because of the flag.

Moore is asking the nation's high court to revive his lawsuit over the flag that the state has used since 1894. His lawsuit seeks to have the flag declared an unconstitutional relic of slavery.

FILE- In this Jan. 19, 2016, file photo, Sons of Confederate Veterans and other groups parade on the grounds of the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., in support of keeping the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag. Attorneys for the Mississippi governor say two levels of federal courts have been correct in blocking a lawsuit that challenges the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag. Representing Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, assistant state attorneys general filed papers Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, with the U.S. Supreme Court. They said Carlos Moore, an African-American attorney from Mississippi who sued the state, has failed to show he suffered harm because of the flag. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Mississippi has the last state flag featuring the Confederate symbol - red field topped by a blue tilted cross dotted by 13 white stars. Critics say the symbol is racist. Supporters say it represents history.

Mississippi residents who voted in a 2001 referendum chose to keep the flag. But, the banner and other Confederate symbols have come under increased scrutiny since 2015, when nine black worshippers were shot to death in a church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a white man who had posed for photos with the rebel flag.

Moore filed his lawsuit in February 2016. A federal district judge and an appeals court ruled against him, but his attorneys asked the Supreme Court in June to consider the case during the term that began this month. The court accepts a fraction of cases on appeal.

In their filing Wednesday, attorneys for the governor wrote of Moore: "All in all, Petitioner alleges that he personally and is deeply offended by Mississippi's state flag - and the sincerity of those beliefs is not doubted." But the state attorneys said a lawsuit must show an "allegation of discriminatory treatment," and Moore failed to do that.

During an appearance Wednesday in Jackson, Bryant repeated his position that if the flag design is to be reconsidered, it should be done in another statewide election.

"I just think it's a frivolous lawsuit and I don't think the Supreme Court is going to take it up," Bryant told reporters.

Several cities and towns and all eight of the state's public universities have stopped flying the flag amid concerns that it is offensive in a state where 38 percent of the population is black. Many pulled the flag from display after the South Carolina church massacre.

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Associated Press writer Jeff Amy contributed to this report.

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's former campaign manager has met with the Senate intelligence panel amid its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Corey Lewandowski spoke to staff on the panel Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the meeting. The source declined to be identified because the interview was behind closed doors.

Lewandowski left his post as campaign manager after he was accused of roughing up a reporter. Since then, he has remained close to Trump.

The panel is investigating the Russian meddling and whether there are any links to Trump's campaign. Lewandowski was ousted in June 2016, shortly after several other campaign officials held a meeting with Russians.

The meeting was first reported by CNN.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa's Republican governor on Wednesday called on President Donald Trump and his administration to preserve a federal program mandating that biofuels such as corn-based ethanol be blended into gasoline and diesel following a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency to lower production targets for renewable fuels.

Gov. Kim Reynolds highlighted the issue amid a proposal by the EPA to lower production targets for biofuels in the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard program, known as RFS. She elevated her concerns by speaking at a press conference alongside RFS supporters such as farmers.

Reynolds, a staunch supporter of Trump, said she spoke with the president ahead of her remarks at an agriculture cooperative in Pella, about an hour southeast of Des Moines. She said that she also had a phone conversation with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

"Both of them personally affirmed to me their continued commitment to the renewable fuel standard," she told reporters.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Trump's call during a briefing in Washington but said "no definitive decision was made on RFS."

Reynolds' press secretary, Brenna Smith, said a decision can't be made until a public comment period on the plan ends Thursday.

The EPA oversees the decade-old RFS program, which sets how much corn-based ethanol and other renewable fuels must be blended into gasoline and diesel. The program is dear to politicians in agricultural states such as Iowa, the nation's largest producer of corn.

In addition to supporting farmers, the program is aimed at reducing dependence on foreign oil. Pruitt recently proposed targets for 2017 and 2018 set slightly below current levels, following a push by oil companies to ease the mandates.

Asked about Reynolds' call with Pruitt, an EPA spokesman said by email, "What Administrator Pruitt said in his confirmation hearing still stands: he doesn't want to take any steps to undermine the objectives in the statute of the RFS. We continue to work with RFS stakeholders to ensure EPA is applying the statute in a meaningful way, as Congress intended."

Trump gained early support in Iowa during his presidential campaign in part of emphasizing his support for the RFS program. It's a point U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa pointed out after meeting with Pruitt on Tuesday.

"It's Administrator Pruitt's duty to follow congressional intent and also make good on President Trump's pledge to support biofuels," he said in a statement. "I'll oppose any effort to reduce blending levels or undermine the integrity of the RFS. I'm watching this issue closely and plan to hold the Administration accountable."

On Wednesday, a Senate committee delayed consideration of four of Trump's nominees for key EPA posts. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, also of Iowa, said in a statement she was not prepared to support the nomination of Bill Wehrum, Trump's choice to lead the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. Wehrum, a lawyer in private practice whose clients have included pro-fossil fuel groups, would oversee the RFS program if confirmed.

"Holding the EPA's feet to the fire has put us on a path to receive strong reassurances on biofuel volumes and the EPA's commitment to follow both the letter and the spirit of the RFS," she said in a statement.

Reynolds' press conference comes days after she and the Republican governors of Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota sent a letter to Trump about the RFS. She said Wednesday that a reduction in biofuels production would hurt Iowa's economy. She plans to travel to Washington next week to drive the point home.

"They are feeling the pressure, and that's why we need to keep it up," she said.
President Donald Trump has issued a warning shot after Republican Senator John McCain questioned half-baked, spurious nationalism in Americas foreign policy.

Mr Trump said in a radio interview with WMAL in Washington that people have to be careful because at some point I fight back.

The president said on Tuesday: Im being very, very nice but at some point I fight back and it wont be pretty.

Donald Trump

Mr McCains answer a short time later was simply: I have faced tougher adversaries.

In Philadelphia on Monday night, the six-term Republican senator from Arizona received an award for a lifetime of service and sacrifice to the country.

In addition to recalling his more than two decades of Navy service and his imprisonment in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp, Mr McCain took a moment to go a step further than the nights other speakers, who lamented what many described as a fractured political climate.

To refuse US leadership for half-baked nationalism is as unpatriotic as any dogma consigned to ash heap of history https://t.co/Y07Sxa1b7V pic.twitter.com/Jf1nit7X3n  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 17, 2017

To abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems, he said, is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history.

He continued: We live in a land made of ideals, not blood and soil.

Mr McCain, who is battling brain cancer, told reporters on Tuesday morning that he has had tougher fights, and then smiled.

Mr Trump said in the radio interview that Mr McCain voted against Republican efforts to dismantle Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act.

He said the vote was a shocker.

Mr McCain and Mr Trump have long been at odds.

During the campaign, Mr Trump suggested Mr McCain was not a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam.
Burma security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International has said in a new report.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, when Burma security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages.

Burmas government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.

480K ppl have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar.

Here's the Rohingya refugee crisis explained: pic.twitter.com/V1Jj94yvYa  United Nations (@UN) October 18, 2017

The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Burma, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Burmas Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Burmas army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Burma border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnestys reporting. Mr Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards away were untouched.

It speaks to how organised, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country, Mr Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Burma and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Burma authorities do not act swiftly.

It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar, Amnesty International said.
One of the UKs best known travel brands will disappear on Wednesday following a revamp by its owner.

The Thomson name, which is more than 50 years old, is being ditched as German group Tui brings it under its own logo.

The UK is the last of Tuis markets to see the rebrand, which was announced in 2015.

Thomsons 600 shops have been renovated to display the Tui name and the company has been running a television advertising campaign to inform customers that Thomson is changing to Tui.

Thomson is changing to TUI. Well offer the same great holidays, plus so much more: https://t.co/MOfR6qqt6J pic.twitter.com/sxIxSSsKNX  tuiuk (@TUIUK) September 26, 2017

Tui UK and Ireland managing director Nick Longman said he hopes the move will boost sales as the firm expands its range of holidays from traditional bucket and spade breaks.

In an interview with the Press Association, he said: Thomson is a great heritage brand with rich nostalgia and thats fantastic, weve all had great Thomson holidays over the years, but it can also be a bit limiting.

Holidays are changing, people want different things, not just seven and 14 (night) beach packages.

They want to go for different durations, with different generations of their family, do city breaks, do tours, all those different types of holiday experiences.

I think that it can be harder to change peoples perception of a brand when you try to introduce a wider type of holiday.

Tui is a much more contemporary brand and certainly the research we did said people are much more likely to consider going on those other types of holidays if they go with Tui.

The Thomson brand was established in 1965 by Canadian media baron Roy Thomson.

Thomson founder Roy Thomson (PA)

Mr Longman insisted that the firm would still do the things weve done before, but also appeal to a broader range of customers.

He went on: Its a great thing to be part of a truly global brand as Tuis leading travel business in the world.

It brings us a wealth of expertise, it means that we can utilise the knowledge of all of the representatives we have serving our customers overseas, doing that as one group.

I think we can provide better experiences, better service for our customers.

Tui marked the announcement by unveiling a prototype of an innovative system which matches customers facial and emotional responses to images of destinations and experiences to calculate their perfect trip.

The firm claims the Destination U technology is a world first in travel retail.

It hopes to make the system available for public use in the near future.
Tourism bosses hope to attract more visitors to Scotland through a world-first Instagram travel agency.

Visitors to the temporary shop in Charlotte Street, London, can plan a bespoke trip to Scotland based on their favourite pictures posted by other travellers on the social media site.

Pictures tagged #ScotSpirit are displayed on floor-to-ceiling Instagram walls and visitors to the agency, open from Wednesday until Saturday, can build up an itinerary of places, restaurants and attractions across the country.

Charlie Smith, director of marketing at VisitScotland, said: As a destination we are keen to develop and deliver our powerful national story, giving a respectful nod to the past but portraying a modern, welcoming and dynamic Scotland.

VisitScotland's first ever Instagram Travel Agency in central London (VisitScotland/PA)

Were proud of the fact that VisitScotland has the biggest tourism Instagram account in Europe, with over 370,000 followers.

People love our feed not only for the stunning photographs  often taken by our visitors  but also because they discover the immense and unexpected variety of things they can see and do in Scotland.

Our biggest number of Instagram followers come from London, so by extending that traditional Scottish hospitality and opening the worlds first Instagram Travel Agency in London, we hope to inspire them to come to Scotland to experience it for themselves.
Frankie Dettori has no qualms about Cracksman dropping back in trip for the Qipco Champion Stakes as he looks forward to a stellar book of rides at Ascot on Saturday.

On the back of another memorable season, lit up by the brilliant Enable, Dettori will return to the scene of his Magnificent Seven and will be disappointed if he leaves empty handed.

Journey will bid to defend her title in the Fillies & Mares race, Persuasive takes on the boys in the Queen Elizabeth II and Stradivarius tackles Order Of St George in the Long Distance Cup  but it is Cracksman to whom Dettori is most looking forward.

Frankie Dettori jumps for joy after another win on Cracksman

After plenty of discussion about whether he would run in the Prix de lArc de Triomphe against stablemate Enable, the Frankel colt drops down to 10 furlongs for the first time since he beat Dante winner Permian in April.

I think hell be fine over 10 furlongs, hes getting stronger and if the rain comes it will help him and disadvantage some of the others like Highland Reel and Ulysses. It will make it more of a test of stamina, so Im praying the rain comes, said Dettori.

I rode him this morning and hes in great nick. John (Gosden) has done a brilliant programme for him this year bearing in mind weve got next year to look forward to as well.

Were going there with lots of confidence and hoping for the best.

Stradivarius beats Big Orange in the Goodwood Cup (John Walton/PA)

While Cracksman would be suited by the forecast rain, St Leger third Stradivarius would not.

Going back up in trip will suit, he was third in the Leger and is still in tremendous form, Dettori told Racing UK.

Out of all my rides hes the one who doesnt want rain and I think there is a lot of rain forecast Friday night. If the ground was good Id say he had a good chance, but with the rain coming I really dont know.

Journey was an impressive winner on Champions Day last year

Journey was second at the meeting two years ago before going one better last season and heads there in top form again.

Dettori said: Journey is a wonderful mare and always comes good at this time of year. She wont mind the soft ground.

Bateel beat me well last time, but my filly is only improving, shell have a fantastic chance.

Shes tough and she loves the track, some horses come alive this time of year and shes the perfect example. Ive no idea why, she just thrives in the autumn and is a completely different horse than in the summer.

Persuasive was a Royal Ascot winner last year but faces a stiff task on Saturday

Persuasive appears to face a tough task in the QEII, but with no fillies alternative at this time of year, connections have nothing to lose.

She likes the rain, but its a tough race, obviously, against Ribchester and Churchill, Al Wukair and the rest, said the Italian.

Shes a very honest filly and the rain would help, if she can get in the first three that would be a massive run.

Weve run out of fillies races and now have to take on the boys.
Fears are growing that Big Ben will bong at the wrong time when it will be heard for the first time in nearly three months for Armistice Day.

The world-famous chimes will be heard when the historic bell is reconnected on November 9, ahead of Armistice Day.

But people in the Westminster area are advised not to set their watches by the famous bongs that day, as parliamentary authorities expect 'slight inaccuracies' following its 11-week break.

The chimes of Big Ben will be heard for the first time in almost three months next month

After the resumption of chimes at 9am, Palace of Westminster clockmakers will work through the day adjusting the bells to ensure that they strike at exactly the right time for Armistice Day commemorations at the 11th hour of November 11, followed by Remembrance Sunday events the following day.

The bells will be disconnected after ringing the hour at 1pm on Sunday November 12.

When Big Ben was halted on August 21 for conservation works lasting four years on the Elizabeth Tower, it was made clear it would be restarted for important national events.

Its chimes are then due to resume on December 23 for the Christmas period, falling silent again at 1pm on January 1.

Big Ben to bong again but public warned not to set their watches by it

Conservation work will cease for the holidays, meaning that there is no threat to workers' hearing from the volume of the bongs.

On other occasions when the chimes restart, work will be confined to lower, and quieter, levels of the tower.

Scaffolding around the Elizabeth Tower is expected to reach the belfry by the end of this month, after which only one clock face will be visible at any time, while repair work and maintenance is carried out on dials and hands of the others.
Amateur rider David Maxwell was thrilled to steer Ballotin to a narrow success in the Bobby Renton Handicap Chase.

The 39-year-old has been a regular participant in hunter chases in recent years aboard horses he owns, most notably steering the high-class Mendip Express to third place in the Fox Hunters Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree in 2016.

The Philip Hobbs-trained Ballotin, formerly a smart performer in France, has also been bought to go down the hunter chase route, but could make up into a useful handicapper first judged on his winning British debut in West Yorkshire.

The 13-2 chance was strongly pressed by Monbeg River after the final fence, but dug deep to prevail by a neck.

Ballotin, on British debut just edges out Monbeg River for trainer @PJHobbs1 to win the Bobby Renton Handicap Chase pic.twitter.com/qUOHYmO8xw  Wetherby Racecourse (@WetherbyRaces) October 18, 2017

Its a great thrill to ride against professionals and its massive for me to win a race like this, said Maxwell.

Its the most fun you could have with your clothes on!

Of Ballotin, he added: Hes a very good jumper  he has to be with me on his back! I bought him to go hunter chasing but he cant do that this season because hes won a bit too much prize-money in France.

Hell go down the handicap route and could maybe end up in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham.

Owner/rider David Maxwell returns to the winners enclosure after victory aboard Ballotin in the Bobby Renton Handicap Chase @WetherbyRaces pic.twitter.com/bDDdZYwKH2  Ashley Iveson (@AshIveson) October 18, 2017

John Mackies 5-2 joint-favourite Barton Knoll made it third time lucky over obstacles in the Watch Racing UK In Stunning HD Novices Hurdle, with Adrian Heskin doing the steering, on a day when the track officially opened its new 3.5million grandstand.

Hes over 17 hands and whatever he does over hurdles hell be a better chaser, said Mackie.

The Jedd OKeeffe-trained American Craftsman (16-1) made a successful start to his jumping career in the Globe-Trotting Joe Browns Juvenile Hurdle under Joe Colliver.

OKeeffe said: He isnt the biggest horse so it wont be easy for him to carry a penalty, but he will improve.

Today the new Millennium West grandstand @WetherbyRaces will be officially opened. Certainly looks the part pic.twitter.com/nllE0zB127  Ashley Iveson (@AshIveson) October 18, 2017

Rank outsider Popelys Gull survived a final-fence blunder to cause a 28-1 upset in the Visit The All New racinguk.com Novices Chase in the hands of Kielan Woods.

Winning trainer Pam Sly said: Kielan actually came and schooled him on Sunday. It was thick fog so I couldnt see a thing, but he told me he was very good.

Two Grand National-winning jockeys, Richard Guest and Leighton Aspell, teamed up to land the bet365 Charlie Hall Meeting 3rd & 4th November Handicap Hurdle with 11-2 chance Lough Salt.

Champion jockey Richard Johnson landed the final two races through Jimmy Moffatts Nicolas Chauvin (8-1) and the John Quinn-trained Master Of Irony (17-2).

Worth Richard Johnson going to @WetherbyRaces. Wins the last two races on his only rides



Results https://t.co/7iJOPsdIyZ pic.twitter.com/7K7B56gJxq  Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 18, 2017

Performance of the day

A mud-splattered Richard Guest wins the Grand National in 2001. He has a nice horse on his hands in Lough Salt (Steve Mitchell/EMPICS Sport)

Having run an encouraging race on his first start for Richard Guest when third on the Flat at Ripon last month, Lough Salt skipped clear of his rivals in the three-mile handicap hurdle in the style of a horse very much on the up.

Ride of the day

Popelys Gull (28-1) recovers from a final-fence error to land the spoils at Wetherby



Results https://t.co/7iJOPsdIyZ pic.twitter.com/Y9tGMUohPV  Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 18, 2017

Kielan Woods cut a confident figure for much of the novice chase aboard Popelys Gull, but his mount nearly threw away victory by blundering at the final obstacle. Woods kept his composure, however, and sat tight before galvanising the five-year-year-old to get him back up.

Quote of the day

The new Millennium West stand @WetherbyRaces is officially opened by chairman John Sanderson and BHA chief executive Nick Rust pic.twitter.com/r7CD33Drbd  Ashley Iveson (@AshIveson) October 18, 2017

British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust on opening the tracks new grandstand: I feel very honoured, humbled and privileged to open the stand officially today. My grandfather first brought me racing to this racecourse. I can remember coming here in the early 1980s and watching many Gold Cup winners run in big races.
Theresa May has issued a direct plea to EU leaders to clear the way for a Brexit deal which she can sell to British voters.

After coming under growing pressure from hardline eurosceptics in her own party to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, the Prime Minister told leaders of the remaining 27 states at a Brussels summit that they face a clear and urgent imperative to give new impetus to stalled negotiations if they are to get an outcome which is acceptable to both the British public and their own people.

The EU27 will declare on Friday that insufficient progress has been made in withdrawal negotiations for trade talks to begin as Britain wants, with several leaders making clear they want more clarity about how much the UK is willing to pay in its Brexit divorce bill.

Prime Minister Theresa May

But they are expected to offer Mrs May a glimmer of hope by agreeing to start internal scoping work on their trade stance ahead of a possible green-light for the second phase of negotiations, dealing with trade and the transition to Brexit, at their next gathering on December 14-15.

German chancellor Angela Merkel gave the PM a Brexit boost by indicating there were encouraging signs that the EU might be able to take the work forward and then reach the start of the second phase in December.

Mrs Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron made a very public show of support for the Prime Minister, engaging her in prolonged conversation, characterised by a senior British source as very constructive and friendly, on the way into the European Council summit.

The scenes made a strong contrast with last December, when the PM appeared isolated with no-one to talk to as the leaders gathered round the table.

We hugely value the contributions that EU nationals make to the UK and we want them to stay." - PM Theresa May https://t.co/lVtJTvamc0 pic.twitter.com/W5XHicADLD  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 19, 2017

Addressing her fellow leaders over dinner, Mrs May left no doubt that she needs their help to deliver a deal that is acceptable to British voters.

There is increasingly a sense that we must work together to get to an outcome we can stand behind and defend to our people, she said.

Calling for joint effort and endeavour to inject momentum into the talks process, she told them: The clear and urgent imperative must be that the dynamic you create enables us to move forward together.

A senior UK Government source acknowledged that the summit took place against a difficult political backdrop for the PM.

Failure to secure the go-ahead for trade talks this month has fuelled pressure on Mrs May to begin expensive preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

PM OPEN LETTER As I travel to Brussels today, I know that many people will be looking to us  the leaders of the 28... Posted by Theresa May on Wednesday, October 18, 2017

And a group of hardline Brexiteers including four Tory former cabinet ministers led by ex-chancellor Lord Lawson signed a joint letter urging her to walk away from talks.

Mrs May acknowledged that formal negotiations between Brexit Secretary David Davis and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier had run into difficulties over the summer, and said that the UK was now determined to take a creative and pragmatic approach to moving the process forward.

She said that her keynote speech in Florence last month, in which she committed Britain to meeting financial obligations from its time as an EU member, came after I took stock, listened to what the people in the UK were saying and what my friends and partners in Europe were saying and I made a step forward.

And she said that she believed both sides now agreed negotiations were being conducted in a new spirit.

Mrs Merkels positive comments were echoed by Finnish prime minister Juha Sipila, who said: I hope we can decide the next phase in Decembers meeting, but today we are not in that position.

And Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was also optimistic of enough common ground being reached by the pre-Christmas summit.

But other leaders indicated that they believe the onus is on Mrs May to make further concessions on the divorce bill, which Brussels sources have put at around 60 billion euro (53 billion).

The offer made by Mrs May in Florence is believed to amount to just 20 billion euro (18 billion).

Dutch PM Mark Rutte told the BBC that he phoned Mrs May to say Theresa, please, make clear what you mean with that  If you do that, we might have some more forward-leaning language.

He added: She might get more, if, we would get more on the exit bill.

Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said Mrs May needs to persuade herself to be more realistic.

And European Parliament president Antonio Tajani said: Progress so far has not been satisfactory.

We heard the tone of the speech by Mrs May, but I am still waiting to see the tone of that speech, the more flexible approach, transformed into practical deeds.
By Eliana Raszewski

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina, Oct 13 (Reuters) - One of Argentina's biggest farm groups said Friday that South America's Mercosur should be able to export 400,000 tonnes of beef a year to the European Union under a free-trade deal the two blocs are negotiating - more than five times the EU's offer.

Luis Etchevehere, the head of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA), called the EU's proposal to lower tariffs on 70,000 tonnes of beef per year from Mercosur nations as "absurdly insufficient."

"We aspire to 5 percent of the European beef market, which is about 8 million tonnes. That is, we want...400,000 tonnes," Etchevehere told Reuters on the sidelines of a business event.

The EU and Mercosur - made up of the beef-producing South American nations Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - had been aiming to reach a trade agreement by the end of the year.

But Brazil's chief negotiator said earlier this month that the EU's offer on access to its beef and ethanol markets was far from what Mercosur expected and would make that timeframe difficult.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Iran has signed a flurry of deals with foreign companies since the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in 2016 after it agreed to limits on its disputed nuclear programme.

But U.S.-Iranian tensions are rising again after President Donald Trump[unveiled a more confrontational U.S. policy towards Tehran, including an announcement that he will decertify the 2015 nuclear deal reached under his predecessor Barack Obama.

That would open a 60-day window in which the U.S. Congress could re-impose sanctions, which could undo the agreement.

Trump's announcement could heighten caution among many Western and Asian companies that are planning to, or considering whether to, invest in the Iranian economy.

The Islamic Republic needs foreign investment for repairs and upgrades of oil and gas fields that deteriorated during a decade of isolation, and is also seeking new technology for its oil industry.

Below is a list of deals and memoranda of understanding (MoU) Iran has signed over the past year.

OIL AND GAS

* France's Total became in November 2016 the first oil major to sign a big deal with Tehran since the country was re-admitted to international trade markets, and agreed to help it develop the world's largest gas field, South Pars.

* Shell signed a provisional deal in December to develop Iranian oil and gas fields South Azadegan, Yadavaran and Kish. But Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said Shell had no near-term investment opportunities in Iran.

* Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using a new, less restrictive contract model.

The firms include Shell, Total, Italy's Eni, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries.

However, Irans first tender since the lifting of sanctions for developing its largest oilfield, Azadegan, has been postponed several times for unspecified reasons, and is not expected to take place in 2017.

* Russia's Zarubezhneft signed a MoU for a feasibility study on two joint fields in the west of Iran.

* Norway's Aker Solutions signed an MoU to modernise the Iranian oil industry.

* Austria's OMV signed a MoU in May for projects in the Zagros area of western Iran and the Fars field in the south.

* South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C) signed an MoU to carry out construction of an oil refinery in Bandar Jask on the southern coast of Iran.

* Italy's Saipem signed MoUs to cooperate on pipeline projects, upgrading of refineries and development of the Tous gas field in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

* Norwegian oil and gas company DNO said it was the second western energy company after Total to sign a deal with Iran under which it agreed to study the development of the Changuleh oilfield in western Iran.

* Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer, hopes to reach a decision on developing two new oilfields in Iran.

* BASF's Wintershall oil and gas exploration subsidiary signed a MoU with the National Iranian Oil Company in April 2016. In February this year, it said it was in talks with Iran about a possible investment of its oil and gas division in the country but no decision was on the cards because of uncertainty over the status of economic sanctions.

AVIATION

* Iran has set out plans to renew its ageing fleet and invest in airport infrastructure to meet expectations of sharp growth in its under-served aviation market post-sanctions.

* Flag carrier IranAir has ordered 100 aircraft from Airbus and taken delivery of three.

* Boeing has a deal to sell 80 aircraft to IranAir.

* Airbus and Boeing have received U.S. export licences to cover part of the deals, but bankers say doubts remain over the availability of financing because of fears of further sanctions.

* European turboprop maker ATR, half-owned by Airbus and Leonardo, sold 20 aircraft to IranAir, which has so far taken six to serve regional cities.

* Aseman Airlines has agreed to buy 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets in Irans first new business with the U.S. planemaker since Trump took office.

* Domestic carrier Zagros Airlines signed a MoU in June to buy 20 Airbus A320neo and eight A330neo aircraft.

* Privatised Iran Airtour signed in June a MoU for 45 Airbus A320neos.

RAILWAYS

* China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, signed a 2.2 billion-euro ($2.60 billion) deal in May with Iran's MAPNA for electrification of a high-speed rail line between Tehran and Mashhad.

* Iran's state rail company and its Italian counterpart, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) signed a final agreement worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.37 billion) in July to build a high-speed railway between the cities of Qom and Arak.

* French train maker and manufacturing group Alstom signed a deal in July for a joint venture that will build metro and suburban rail carriages in Iran.

* Germany's Siemens signed a contract in October 2016 to upgrade Iran's railway network. Siemens will also supply components for 50 diesel-electric locomotives to Iran.

AUTOMOTIVE

* French carmakers PSA and Renault have moved swiftly to sign new production deals to upgrade their pre-sanctions partnerships with Iran Khodro and SAIPA.

PSA has signed production deals worth 700 million euros ($768 million), while Renault has announced a new plant investment to increase its production capacity to 350,000 vehicles a year.

The resumption of official sales in Iran helped PSA more than triple its Middle East and Africa deliveries in the first half of the year.

* Volkswagen said in July it would start exporting cars to Iran, returning to the resurgent market after more than 17 years.

* Trump's stance against Iran has deepened the caution of German carmakers with large American exposures. BMW are among those that have put Iranian ambitions on hold.

However, Germanys Mercedes-Benz Trucks signed a contract with Iran Khodro in September, laying the foundation for resuming distribution of its trucks in Iran.

BANKING

* Oberbank signed a deal with Iran in September, enabling it to finance new ventures there and making it one of the first European banks to do so since sanctions were eased.

However, major global banks have so far shied away from handling Iranian-related business, citing the risk of violating ongoing U.S. sanctions. Among them is HSBC, which has said it has no intention of doing any new business involving Iran.

($1 = 0.8459 euros) (Compiled by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Mark Potter)
By Mark Weinraub

CHICAGO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures fell for the second day in a row on Tuesday, pressured by improving weather for harvest in the U.S. Midwest as well as rain forecasts that will boost early crop development in Brazil, traders said.

"We are leaking lower," said Brian Rydlund, a broker at CHS Hedging. "We have got guys (farmers) really getting after the beans, which pressures the market a bit. Brazil been noticeably dry and it looks like that pattern is going to change."

Wheat futures edged higher, finding support from technical buyers near the low hit on Monday, while corn was close to unchanged.

Chicago Board of Trade soybeans for November delivery dropped 6-1/4 cents to settle at $9.84-3/4 a bushel.

"Soybeans are seeing a continued pullback in selling from the $10 a bushel level we reached after the USDA cut its forecast of U.S. crop yields last week," said Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager at INTL FCStone. "The $10 level is important psychologically and I think there needs to be a considerable level of fear in the market about crops to sustain it."

"The fear is not present today. Market focus is now turning to the South American soybean planting season and we are currently seeing some more crop-friendly weather forecasts in Brazil."

CBOT December wheat futures were down 1-3/4 cents at $4.34-3/4 a bushel and CBOT December corn was 1/2 cent lower at $3.50 a bushel.

The outlook for dry weather in the U.S. Midwest added some pressure to the beans as farmers were expected to catch up to their typical harvest schedule in the coming weeks. Wet conditions have prevented some farmers across the region from accessing their fields in the past week.

"This should be a hot week for cutting beans, with nary a drop of rain forecast for the entire belt until we get to Friday afternoon, and then pretty limited amounts for the bulk of the harvest areas until the middle of next week," Charlie Sernatinger, global head of grain futures at ED&F Man Capital, said in a note.

The USDA said in its U.S. crop report on Monday that 28 percent of U.S. corn has been harvested as of Sunday, behind market expectations of 31 percent, and up only 6 percentage points from the previous week.

Harvesting of the U.S. soybean crop was 49 percent complete, matching analysts' expectations. (Additional reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Steve Orlofsky)
BEIRUT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A British-Iranian charity worker serving a jail sentence in Tehran received a letter from ex-prime minister David Cameron that showed she had ties to the British government, a prosecutor said on Tuesday, according to Mizan, the news site of the Iranian judiciary.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity organisation, is serving a five-year jail sentence after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment.

The prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said the letter demonstrated Zaghari-Ratcliffe's importance to the British authorities but he did not say when it was sent or provide any other details about it.

A spokeswoman at the British Foreign Office said she was not immediately able to comment on whether Cameron had written a letter, but confirmed that both he and his successor, Theresa May, had raised the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case with Iranian authorities.

"We will continue to raise all our dual national detainees, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, with the Iranian government at every available opportunity," she added.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested by the elite Revolutionary Guards in April 2016 at a Tehran airport, as she was about to return to Britain with her two-year-old daughter after a family visit.

Her family and the Thomson Reuters Foundation have both denied the charges against her. Thomson Reuters is a charity organisation that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.

Last week her family said Iranian authorities had opened a new case against Zaghari-Ratcliffe, levelling charges that could carry a sentence of 16 additional years in prison.

The new charges include joining and receiving money from organizations working to overthrow the Islamic Republic, and attending a demonstration outside the Iranian Embassy in London, the family said.

The Foreign Office spokeswoman referred Reuters to a statement it issued last week in which it "expressed concern" that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was facing additional charges and said it was seeking more information from the Iranian authorities.

On Tuesday Jafari Dolatabadi also said Zaghari-Ratcliffe was responsible for teaching online journalism for the BBC Persian language service "with the goal of attracting and teaching individuals for propaganda operations against Iran", Mizan reported.

Francesca Unsworth, director of the BBC World Service Group, said earlier this year that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had never worked for the BBC's Persian service. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By James Regan and Brendan Pierson

SYDNEY/NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday charged mining company Rio Tinto Plc and two of its former top executives with fraud, saying they inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealed critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also said on Tuesday it had reached a settlement with Rio Tinto under which the company would pay a fine of 27 million ($35.6 million) to settle claims that it breached accounting rules in connection with the Mozambique assets.

The Mozambican coal business, which relied on barging the product down the Zambezi River to export via a planned port on the coast, was acquired for $3.7 billion in 2011 from Riversdale Mining and sold a few years later for $50 million.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, the SEC said Rio Tinto, former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Albanese, and former Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record the assets.

The SEC said that soon after the deal was completed, Rio Tinto learned that the acquisition would yield less coal, and of a lower quality, than expected. The global miner could only transport and sell a fraction of the coal it had originally assumed, the SEC said.

By making misleading public statements, Rio Tinto and the executives were able to raise $5.5 billion from U.S. investors, the SEC said. They continued to solicit the investments even after executives of the Mozambique subsidiary told Albanese and Elliott that the unit was likely worth negative $680 million, according to the SEC.

"There is no truth in any of these charges," Albanese said in a statement.

Christina Mills, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said Elliott would vigorously contest the charges.

On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell said Elliott had stood down as a non-executive director of the company over the matter.

Rio Tinto said it would defend itself vigorously against the SEC's allegations. The company said the U.K. FCA had "made no findings of fraud, or of any systemic or widespread failure by Rio Tinto".

Although Rio Tintos primary listing is in London, the companys shares are traded by U.S. investors on the New York Stock Exchange and registered with the SEC, giving the U.S. regulator jurisdiction to pursue the case.

The SEC, which said it received assistance from the Australian and UK securities regulators, has greater powers to prosecute fraud with respect to violations of securities law than its overseas counterparts.

The SEC claims U.S. investors were harmed by Rios alleged accounting fraud through public bond offerings, violating federal securities law. About $1.9 billion of that debt remains outstanding with U.S. insurers, pension funds and mutual funds making up the bulk of the bonds' owners.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

The SEC allegations are contained in court documents that also request a jury trial. The SEC said the rapid and dramatic decline in value of the coal business was concealed, in part because Rio Tinto had already disclosed losses in connection with its 2007 acquisition of Alcan.

"The Mozambique acquisition was expected to restore the markets confidence in Albaneses deal-making acumen, but on-the-ground realities in Mozambique quickly undermined that narrative," the SEC said.

In 2011, demand for coking coal, a type used in furnaces for steel making, was high after flooding at Australian coal mines had limited the supply. Riversdale's Zambezi deposit was believed to contain large supplies of the material.

Rio told investors that the Riversdale purchase was the "greatest undeveloped seaborne coking coal region in the world", according to a published presentation.

The SEC said the company knew its barging assumptions were unrealistic and railway capacity severely limited by the end of 2011, just months after securing the Riversdale assets.

"Defendants concealed the nature and extent of these adverse developments from Rio Tintos Board of Directors, Audit Committee, independent auditors, and the market," the SEC said.

NEGATIVE VALUATION

By May 2012, Albanese and Elliott were informed of the negative valuation, although the company carried the assets on its books at more than $3 billion while also promoting it to the market.

Rio then issued a $3 billion bond and an around 1.8 billion euro bond with a 500 million British pound tranche in 2012. Some 95 percent of the sterling bonds went to U.K. investors including fund managers, insurers and pension funds, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The SEC said the fraud continued until January 2013, when another executive discovered accounting irregularities. Albanese subsequently resigned and the value of the Mozambique assets were lowered by more than $3 billion.

Rio said at the time that the development of infrastructure to support coal mining was more challenging than anticipated and lowered the recoverable coal estimates.

The SEC is seeking to have Albanese and Elliott barred from acting as officers or directors of any public company. Albanese joined Indian resources conglomerate Vedanta Resources as chief executive in 2014 but left the firm in August.

The SEC also disclosed that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was looking into Rio's accounting of the Mozambique assets.

(1 = $1.3185) (Additional reporting by Jane Wardell and John Weavers in SYDNEY, Eric Walsh in WASHINGTON and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE. Writing by Jonathan Barrett.; Editing by David Gregorio and Christian Schmollinger)
In a remarkable scenario, United States finds itself in total global isolation with regards to the Iran nuclear deal. For example, China has called on it to continue its commitment to the deal, after Donald Trump gave a speech declaring this was not in America's national interest.

The Chinese foreign ministry described the deal as important in ensuring international nuclear non-proliferation and, in particular, peace in the Middle East. It also called on U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to discuss further implementation of the deal, signed between Iran and six major powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., and coordinated by the EU.

Germany, France and U.K., despite differences over Brexit, are firmly united on the Iran deal, issuing a joint statement defending it. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned that no one state could dismantle an international agreement, that was not of a bilateral nature, and especially one that was working.

In a remarkable show of solidarity, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May together urged the U.S. Congress and the administration to reconsider the decision, keeping in mind the long-term implications.

In a simultaneous statement, Russia's deputy foreign minister described the America move as disturbing. There hasn't been so much unity among the EU powers and Russia since the lead up to the Iraq invasion in 2003.

The biggest criticism, of course, came from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In a live television address, he said, "No president can revoke an international deal," maintaining optimistically that Iran will continue to honor its commitments under the deal until its national interests are satisfied. However, if one day its interests were seen as not being served, Iran would not hesitate for one moment to respond, although Rouhani didn't specify what that response might be.

For the moment, Iran's attitude is to continue with the deal as it is recognized by the other signatories apart from the U.S.

The fundamental idea that Iran is benefitting from the nuclear deal, and/or that any Iranian nuclear program threatens other powers are of course flawed. The deal is under strict regime check by several powers.

And what Trump should be bearing in mind is that it is also a surefire way of ensuring Iran doesn't turn into another North Korea. The fact that Iran can now pursue its energy needs peacefully without having to weaponize its program, is because the fundamental issue was one of deterrence, which was off the table as soon as the U.S. joined in as a signatory.

The Iranian regime is obviously not going to attack any other power, such as Saudi Arabia, protected by the U.S. nuclear umbrella, and supported by nuclear Pakistan, or Israel, itself a nuclear power. Iranians are not irrational. The logic of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons was exactly similar to North Korea. Iran wants to survive and not suffer the fate suffered by either Iraq or Libya.

Naturally, recent events raise questions as to whether the Trump administration has now completely reversed itself from the campaign promises of no intervention abroad, and is activating a full neoconservative foreign policy.

The latest Trump speech will alienate allies, strengthen the anti-Iranian hawks in Washington D.C., and overall jeopardize America's international standing.

Most importantly, however, as the German foreign minister warned, it will drive the EU towards China and Russia. For any American strategist, that must be an ironic prospect. To deal with Iran, arguably a rogue state, U.S. now stands opposed to all the major powers in the world.

In essence, the United States, in regard to the Iran deal, has now become the rogue power.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
ISLAMABAD, Oct 18 (Reuters) - An explosion ripped through a police truck on Wednesday to kill at least six people in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta, police said.

The truck was carrying police recruits, four of whom were killed, along with two passers-by on the city's eastern outskirts, Quetta Police Chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said.

"We can't say whether it is a suicide blast," he added. "Our teams are at the scene and investigating."

Television broadcast images of the burned-out remains of the vehicle. (Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
By Manolo Serapio Jr and Ruby Lian

MANILA/SHANGHAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China's steel mills and traders are embracing more sophisticated ways to sell metal and buy raw materials to protect their bumper profits amid rising price volatility.

Steel mills typically sell their finished products at market prices to traders that later sell them on to end-users such as construction companies, also at market prices.

However, some mills and traders are adopting new arrangements to lock in their profits on expectation that prices may decline as demand could drop as activity in the construction industry, a major steel consumer, slows during the cold, winter months.

Steel prices in the world's top producer surged to their highest in 4-1/2 years this summer and mills are making more than 1,000 yuan ($151) for every tonne of metal they produce, the highest in more than seven years, based on data from brokerage CLSA.

Prices climbed on supply worries as China has shuttered steel mills for not complying with environmental rules. However, prices in September posted their biggest monthly drop in a year because of demand concerns from the expected winter slowdown and as the environmental crackdown will also close steel-consuming industries.

Amid this price uncertainty, mills are now buying raw materials such as iron ore and coking coal and selling their future products to one trader at an agreed price, officials from two Chinese steelmakers said. By fixing those prices, the mills can secure their profit margins.

"Whatever is good for the mill to reduce the risk and protect the profit then they consider it," said one of the officials, from a mill in China's southern Fujian province.

In turn, some traders are signing long-term contracts with customers, like construction companies, who have agreed to take the same tonnage at a fixed price each month, said Alexis He, director of sales for derivatives at CEFC Shanghai Resources Co Ltd.

By hedging those sales on the futures market "they can price in a reasonable safety net and provide a fixed-price contract to downstream construction companies ahead of time," said He.

It is mostly smaller mills that have partaken in these "more creative ways of doing business", said He. "But now, we're seeing bigger mills getting interested because they're hearing about it in the market."

'WE CAN MAKE MONEY'

While some companies are looking to clinch their profits in fear of collapsing prices, others are looking to expand their exposure to the market to benefit from an expected price rise.

These companies are cutting back their hedges on China's futures markets because they predict prices would rise on falling steel supply as Chinese cities close down mills and production lines to meet winter air pollution targets.

The production curbs will last for four months starting on Nov. 15, the typical start of the heating season in China, but cities in the top steelmaking province of Hebei, including Tangshan and Handan, have ordered output cuts as early as this month.

Nearly 46 million tonnes of steel output could be lost if all 28 Chinese cities covered by the restrictions halve production, or nearly 6 percent of China's 2016 output, SDIC Essence Futures analyst Cao Ying has estimated.

The decline in the open interest, or the number of outstanding contracts held by market participants, in the rebar steel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) illustrates the hedging slump.

The open interest for the ShFE rebar contract has dropped to 4.1 million contracts on Oct. 17 from 5.9 million on July 13, data from the bourse shows.

"It is not necessary to do futures which is highly risky when physical prices are good and we can make money," said a futures market trader for a midsize steelmaker in Hebei.

"Bosses at other mills are also thinking like us." ($1 = 6.6104 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr. in Manila and Ruby Lian in Shanghai; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
SOFIA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- Prime Minister Boyko Borissov urged the business to increase salaries to keep Bulgarians in the country. The government plans to raise state salaries by an average of 10 percent next year. (Trud, Sega, Monitor, 24 Chasa)

-- Political leaders failed to agree on measures needed to uproot high-level corruption at a meeting with the president. (Trud, Sega, Monitor, Capital Daily, Duma, 24 Chasa)

-- The sales of new cars have increased by 18 percent in September on an annual basis, data showed. (Trud, Standart, Capital Daily, 24 Chasa)
By Martinne Geller

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Reckitt Benckiser plans to reorganise its business into two distinct units, one for health and the other for hygiene and home products, as it tries to improve its flagging performance.

The maker of Durex condoms, Nurofen tablets and Dettol cleaners announced the restructuring on Wednesday, along with its third-quarter sales figures.

The company, once seen as an industry pacesetter due to its strong revenue and profit growth, is having a very tough year, reporting its weakest quarter ever in July, hurt by a series of issues including a collapse of its South Korean business after a safety scandal, a failed product launch and a cyber attack that hobbled its global operations.

The British company made the decision to restructure after its June acquisition of U.S. baby formula maker Mead Johnson, which will account for roughly half of the larger health unit's sales.

"Here is the perfect opportunity for us to be able to create a proper leader in consumer health with the expertise and the focus that is needed to drive true leadership ... while at the same time unleash the potential of our hygiene/home portfolio by providing focus and accountability," Chief Executive Rakesh Kapoor told Reuters.

Kapoor said the move was not a precursor to an eventual exit of the hygiene and home businesses, even though analysts have speculated that Reckitt could sell its home business to help fund a potential acquisition of Pfizer's consumer health unit, which the U.S. pharmaceutical company has said it is considering selling.

Kapoor said he was still interested in Pfizer's consumer health business, as he has said publicly in the past.

"They have said they will look at many different options under a strategic review. If one of those options is going to be a sale, we are going to look at that. But we should not try and pre-guess, because that is disrepectful," he said.

At present, Reckitt is organised geographically, which Kapoor said has contributed to the home and hygiene brands underperforming their potential.

"When you think about the quality and geographic spread of this portfolio, we should be doing better," he said. "The fact is we have not given the same level of focus and there hasn't been the same level of accountability."

Kapoor will run the health unit, in addition to his role as CEO. Rob de Groot, current head of Europe and North America, will run the health and hygiene business.

The new structure should be in place by the first quarter of 2018, Kapoor said. He declined to quantify the costs involved, though admitted there may be extra costs associated with the two units.

"I do expect that we will have better performance from these two business units in totality versus what it would've been if we did not do it, there is no question," Kapoor said. (Reporting by Martinne Geller. Editing by Adrian Croft and Jane Merriman)
BANGKOK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The only son of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been formally charged with money-laundering, the Department of Special Investigations told Reuters on Wednesday.

Panthongtae Shinawatra is accused of receiving a 10 million baht ($300,000) cheque in 2004 related to an earlier corruption case involving 9.9 billion baht ($296 million) of fraudulent loans extended by the state-owned Krungthai Bank when his father was prime minister.

The deputy spokesman of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Woranan Srilum, said Panthongtae had turned himself in on Tuesday but had been released as no arrest warrant for him has been issued.

Panthongtae could now gather evidence for his case, Woranan said, while the DSI must decide whether to take the case to the criminal court.

Panthongtae was not available for comment. He complained this month of victimisation and called for the dropping of the money-laundering investigation.

His lawyer declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Supporters of the Shinawatras say the legal action is the latest bid by authorities in junta-ruled Thailand to squeeze the Shinawatra family out of politics and blunt its influence.

Beginning in the late 1980s, former policeman Thaksin built a telecommunications conglomerate that made him one of Thailands richest and most powerful men.

After entering politics, he won landslide election victories, beginning in 2001, with the support of the rural and urban poor who saw him as the first political leader to care for them.

But he made powerful enemies, especially in the Bangkok-based establishment, which saw him and his populist ways as a threat.

Ousted in a 2006 coup, and later convicted of corruption, which he denies, Thaksin has overseen from self-exile victory for his party in every election since, most recently in 2011, when his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, became prime minister.

She was ousted in a 2014 coup.

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced Yingluck to five years in jail in absentia for mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme.

Recently, old cases against Thaksin have been revived, including an accusation that he abused power while he was prime minister by ordering the Export-Import Bank of Thailand to give low interest loans to Myanmar in 2006 to further his business interests.

In another case, Thaksin was accused of graft and negligence in connection with the approval of a lottery scheme in 2003.

Authorities are also looking to charge him with royal insult and computer crime for an interview he gave to South Korean media in 2015.

Thaksin, in a message he posted on Twitter this month, denied any thought of ever offending the "royal institution".

Watcharapol Prasanrajkit, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, denied any bid to target the Shinawatras saying the cases just happened to be coming up at this time.

How Thaksin's political machine performs in an election expected in November 2018 will be keenly watched. (Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Suphanida Thakral, and Panu Wongcha-um)
The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Russia's Interior Ministry has proposed punishing both parents and teachers for the participation of schoolchildren in unauthorized actions. This is already happening informally, but it will be difficult to cement the new norm into Russia's legislation, the newspaper writes.

- Russia's Communications Ministry has prepared a draft government order on the technological implementation of the release of a national cryptocurrency, the newspaper writes, citing a statement by Communications Minister Nikolai Nikiforov.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Japanese Fast Retailing Co., which owns the Uniqlo brand of casual wear, is creating a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp. on the basis of its Russian subsidiary. Mitsubishi will receive a 25 percent stake in the joint venture, the daily reports.

RBC

www.rbc.ru

- Russia's Federation Council upper chamber of parliament has compiled a list of foreign media whose activities may be restricted in Russia. It includes CNN, the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as several other foreign media outlets, the newspaper writes, citing a source. This move is in retaliation for what Russian authorities see as official pressure put on Russia's television channel RT and radio Sputnik in the United States. (Reporting by Margarita Popova; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov)
SEOUL, Oct 18 (Reuters) - North Korea congratulated China on its 19th Communist Party Congress on Wednesday amid increasingly frayed relationships between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

The central committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea said that China had made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the correct guidance of the Communist Party.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that many foreign political parties, organisations and dignitaries had sent their congratulations, including the Workers' Party of Korea.

"This all shows that the international community is paying close attention to the 19th Party Congress. We express our thanks for this," Lu told a daily news briefing.

Officials and experts in South Korea had worried that Pyongyang may conduct a weapons test to coincide with the opening of the twice-a-decade congress in Beijing, but there was no sign of that as Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his opening speech.

While the United States and its allies, and many people in China, believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.

China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and which accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade with the isolated country, has said it will strictly enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions banning imports of coal, textiles and seafood, while cutting off oil shipments to the North.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick Macfie)
BOGOR, Indonesia, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Qatar is "open to dialogue" in resolving a dispute that has seen the Gulf state isolated from its Arab neighbours, its emir said during a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival Iran. Doha denies the charges.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said he discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which has the world's largest population of Muslims and has close ties to the Arab world.

"We conveyed...that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win," Thani told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital of Jakarta.

"We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis," he added.

President Widodo did not publicly address the dispute.

The leader of the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas also visited Malaysia - another Muslim-majority nation - and Singapore this week.

Saudi and other Arab nations have made a list of 13 wide-ranging demands of Qatar, including closing down the Al Jazeera television network and curbing ties with Iran.

Kuwait and top United States officials have attempted to mediate between the parties, but there is little sign that the crisis will be resolved soon.

(Reporting by Heru Asprihanto; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
BEIRUT, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Iran's military chief discussed ways to deepen cooperation with the Syrian military during a visit to Damascus on Wednesday, pledging to fight Israel and Sunni insurgents, Syrian state media said.

"We are in Damascus to assert and coordinate and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists," Iranian General Mohammad Baqeri said, referring to Israel and Sunni militants including Islamic State. "We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation." (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)
ALMATY, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's central bank, which launched a support programme for the banking sector last month, has approved an assistance package worth 410 billion tenge ($1.23 billion) for four local banks, the regulator said on Wednesday.

The scope of the programme underscores the depth of asset quality problems in Kazakhstan, where the oil-exporting economy has suffered two heavy blows over the last decade, the 2008 global crisis and the 2014 plunge in energy prices.

The four banks are mid-sized lenders ATF Bank, Eurasian Bank, Tsesna Bank and Bank CenterCredit, the central banks said, adding that the funds to assist the lenders had been approved by the central bank's board in September and October.

The total state support programme for Kazakhstan's banking sector, as announced previously by the central bank, is to amount to around $2 billion.

This year the central bank started conducting stress tests of the banking sector, which consists of 33 banks.

As of mid-2017, bad loans comprised 11 percent of the loan portfolio, central bank data show, but the regulator itself has admitted the real figure was likely higher.

The four banks named in the central bank's statement on Wednesday - which have combined assets of $16.9 billion - have a high level of non-performing loans, and the central bank outlined the urgent steps that need to be taken.

"The above-mentioned banks and their large shareholders have provided plans of actions aimed to increase financial stability, improve the quality of assets and reduce the share of non-performing loans, as well as written obligations to conduct additional capitalisation of the banks," the central bank said.

Under the plan announced in August, the central bank will invest twice the amount provided by participating lenders' shareholders in purchasing banks subordinated bonds.

The banks will then invest the cash they receive in government bonds. Such capital injections will allow them to wrote off bad loans.

The four banks named by the regulator on Wednesday are not the only ones struggling with bad debt. Most Kazakh lenders have suffered heavily over the last decades as whole industries such as property development and agriculture went underwater.

Another medium-sized lender, RBK Bank, this month limited cash withdrawals amid liquidity shortages and Central Bank Governor Daniyar Akishev said on Wednesday the central bank had asked its shareholders to present an action plan.

RBK which has assets of $3.1 billion and another Kazakh lender, Qazaq Banki, this month called off a planned merger. Rating agency Standard and Poor's said on Wednesday its ratings on Qazaq Banki, who assets stand at $1.3 billion, remained on CreditWatch Negative. (Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov and Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Polina Devitt/Jeremy Gaunt)
The Communist Party of China (CPC) opens the 19th National Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has just begun. It is an event that occurs only twice each decade, so the present meeting will set Chinas course for the next five years.

Notwithstanding speculation from some about the possibility of major changes, I favor the arguments of those who predict a focus on stability, harmony, order and steady progress rather than on big policy shifts. In short, the work of the Congress will focus upon and build on the work of prior meetings.

Chinas focus on stability is welcome at a time when much of the world is unsettled due, for example to North Koreas nuclear ambitions, an unpredictable President Donald Trump, Brexit, continuing problems in the Middle East, and a lot more.

Stability is essential if China is to continue its economic and social development in a 21st century Information Age and inter-connected world. This means creating a more diversified economy with a focus on enhanced quality and international competitiveness.

Stability was a major focus of CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping's remarks as he delivered the Report of the 18th CPC Central Committee to the 19th National Congress. This will involve continued domestic growth and development, especially far inland in the western regions.

Other issues involve addressing inequalities within Chinese society, continuing the move towards greater urbanization, diversifying the economy, strengthening the education system, and continued development of key programs related to improving the environment, advancement of Chinas space program and striving to take a leading role in the development of such advanced aspects as nanotechnology, gene technology, computerization, robotics and artificial intelligence.

As stressed by Xi, China must also continue to enhance its capacity for innovation through innovative research, training and application by all sectors of business and industry, both private and State-owned enterprises.

It must build on its impressive gains in infrastructure, e-commerce, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, enhanced supply chains, Internet-of-things, m-commerce and new business models as China's huge and growing middle class seeks to improve its standard of living.

According to Xi, the government must also be a key player in continuing innovation and reform. This includes greater efficiency, enhanced budgetary processes, greater transparency, continued enhancement of contract and other commercial laws and taxation reform.

While progressing on its own chosen path, China should also seek to increase its position in the world to fill the gap left by American withdrawal from global agendas such as climate change and major multi-party trade agreements. It is clear Chinese leaders realize that a country of such large size and significance has no choice but to engage with the world.

A related issue concerns Chinas choices about how best to go about this global engagement. One way is through soft power, playing a cautious, but positive, role in contributing to global order and stability. Building consensus, always being ready to engage in dialogue and contributing to global agendas and supporting international institutions and principles such as the rule of law are other ways to produce sustainable and long-lasting influence.

As the late distinguished and long-serving American senator, J William Fulbright, once noted: "Law is the essential foundation of stability and order both within societies and in international relations." The centrality and rule of law was a theme stressed by Xi Jinping in indicating redoubled efforts to promote awareness of the law among all sectors of Chinese society.

Regionally, China will build upon its leadership role, most notably by meeting its goals in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative. The most challenging problem will be North Korea. Hopefully, sanctions may exert pressure for genuine dialogue among all stakeholders so that a peaceful resolution may be obtained for the issues of this long-troubled part of the world.

China is focused on the future  engagement and dialogue focused on mutual respect and constant innovation. In this regard, China is well poised to play a leading role in such areas as electric cars, solar energy and wind turbines and the development of new e-commerce models that further develop society in ways that benefit all.

In this way, as Xi noted in his opening remarks, China will become a "modern socialist country" as it continues to advance politically, culturally, socially and economically.

As representatives from all parts of the Chinese society come together in the current Congress, may they approach and engage with one another respectfully and constructively to find the best path forward for China.

As Xi persuasively argued in his opening remarks, Chinas dream is inextricably linked with the dreams of other nations. He urged China and the world to move forward together in the pursuit of mutual interests for a more secure, fairer, environmentally sustainable future for all peoples.

Eugene Clark is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/eugeneclark.htm
By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Germany will suspend its mission training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq because of the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government, the German defence minister said on Wednesday.

Germany has been a major partner for the Iraqi Kurds. It has provided 32,000 assault rifle and machine guns, as well as other weapons valued at around 90 million euros since September 2014. About 130 German soldiers are based in Erbil where they are providing training to the Kurdish fighters.

The Kurdish Peshmerga are at the forefront of the campaign against Islamic State and had significantly expanded their influence to bring the oil region under their control.

But responding to a Kurdish vote for independence in a non-binding referendum, Iraqi government forces backed by Iranian-trained paramilitary groups captured the Kurdish-held oil region of Kirkuk on Monday, transforming the country's balance of power.

The German government, which agreed on Wednesday on three-month extension of seven other foreign assignments for its armed forces, suspended the training of the Kurdish fighters as it sought to "always ensure the unity of Iraq".

"We had agreed last Friday with the foreign office to pause the training so no wrong signal would be sent," Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.

The minister said the German mission of equipping and training the Kurds for their fight against Islamic State was necessary and the right thing to do.

"We haven't forgotten how it looked like in 2014 when IS tried to commit genocide against the Yazidis and was around 10 km from Baghdad," she said.

The suspension of the training is temporary and resuming it will depend on daily examination of the situation in Iraq, said the government spokesman on Wednesday.

Germany had warned Iraqi Kurds against holding what it called a "one-sided" referendum and had urged Iraqi and Kurdish officials to avoid any steps that could lead to a further escalation of the situation.

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday called on all conflict parties in northern Iraq to immediately stop military actions and engage in direct talks. "The conflict between the region of Kurdistan-Iraq and the Iraqi government is giving us the greatest cause for concern," he said in a statement.

"There is no reason why anyone should believe that there is a military solution to the tensions in Iraq that have flared up in recent days," Gabriel said. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Axel Bugge and Sergio Goncalves

LISBON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Portugal has taken a swipe at its bigger neighbour Spain, saying it takes no pleasure from the Catalan independence crisis but hopes investment and tourists will be persuaded to cross the border in search of "political stability".

Portugal and Spain have a centuries-old rivalry, dating back to the time when they divided the world between them as colonial adventurers. Now they compete for business.

"There is a point which is worth mentioning, which is our political stability. Unlike others, even next door," Finance Minister Mario Centeno told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday.

He regretted the Spanish turmoil, saying he had "friends both in Catalonia and in Madrid", but continued:

"This is a worry, also for us, but it differentiates Portugal from political turbulence and will surely help to attract more investment, more tourism and more people."

Since 2015, Portugal has had a minority Socialist government, backed by the Communists and Left Bloc in parliament, which has overseen a robust economic expansion, helped by investment and tourism.

This year the country is set to record its highest growth in at least ten years, helped by foreign investment and exports.

Spain has also staged a strong economic recovery, but Catalonia's push for independence has plunged it into its worst political crisis since an attempted military coup in 1981.

Hundreds of companies have moved their headquarters out of the wealthy region, raising fears of a stampede if it breaks away. It has also prompted Spain to downgrade its economic growth forecasts and rattled the euro.

The crisis could worsen on Thursday, the deadline set by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for the Catalan government to renounce independence. If it does not -- and it has shown sign of doing so -- he has said he will take direct central control of the region.

Spain this week cut its 2018 economic growth forecast to 2.3 percent from 2.6 percent

The turmoil in Catalonia, which has an economy about the size of Portugal, has also weighed on Spanish shares and bonds.

"There are negative risks, like to (Spain's) GDP, but I can't hide that there are positive risks; obviously companies look for more stable situations, and if you mention companies you can also say that tourism could create some gains (for Portugal)," Centeno said.

"Obviously these would be collateral effects of processes that we would prefer did not exist," he said, adding that he hoped Spain would resolve the stand-off. (Reporting By Axel Bugge; editing by Giles Elgood)
By Axel Bugge and Sergio Goncalves

LISBON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Portugal hopes to cut its total debt to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2019 from 130 percent last year, Finance Minister Mario Centeno told Reuters, a change that could help boost the country's creditworthiness.

Portugal's total debt is the third-highest in the euro zone, after Greece and Italy, and is seen as one of the economy's biggest weaknesses. The country took a three-year bailout from its euro zone peers in 2011, during the bloc's debt crisis.

In its 2018 draft budget presented on Friday, the Socialist government promised to continue cutting the debt, to 123.5 percent of GDP from 126.2 percent this year. Centeno said the administration would go further in its remaining term.

"If we manage to cut gross debt below 120 percent of GDP at the end of the legislature (in 2019) it would be an excellent indicator," said Centeno. "I think that sustained trajectory is what Portugal should aim for and implement."

Such a reduction could help rating agencies Fitch and Moody's follow Standard & Poor's decision last month to upgrade Portugal's creditworthiness to investment grade, taking it out of "junk" status for the first time in 5-1/2 years.

"We hope Fitch and Moody's will do it (follow S&P)" said Centeno.

The minister said he hoped Portugal could follow the sustained debt reduction achieved by Belgium, which cut its debt to 85 percent of GDP in 2007 from 130 percent in 1985.

GROWTH POTENTIAL JUMPS

Portugal's debt crisis led to huge challenges for its financial sector, which remains lumbered with non-performing loans. But measures to clean up its banks could raise the country's potential growth by 0.5 percentage points, to 2 percent, the minister said.

Portugal finally sold state-rescued Novo Banco on Wednesday and its leading banks have agreed a scheme to reduce NPLs.

Centeno said that with the gains from improvements for its banks and if exports and Europe continue growing, Portugal "could grow 2 percent (per year) during the next five years."

Portugal's exports now represent about 43 percent of GDP, up from 31 percent in 2008.

International observers, including the IMF, have consistently said in recent years that Portugal's potential growth remains low, hobbled by high debts, bad loans and an inflexible labour market. Portugal was one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone after it adopted the single currency.

The country is also grappling with wildfires that have killed more than a hundred people and burned some 350,000 hectares of land this year, and which prompted the interior minister to resign on Wednesday.

While the government sees slightly lower economic growth next year, 2.2 percent after this year's projected 2.6 percent, Centeno said 2018's rate would still be the third-highest since 2000. If growth turns out higher the government would use it to reduce debt faster, he said.

Asked about the risks of a reversal of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank, Centeno said he was not worried as the ECB already holds the limit of Portuguese bonds that it can own under its asset purchase programme.

"Technically this is already priced into our debt as we haven't had the support of the ECB for a year," he said. "As such, this is a point which gives us comfort going forward."

(Reporting by Axel Bugge; Editing by Catherine Evans)
BERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Germany believes a lot has already been achieved in Brexit negotiations and Berlin is upbeat about the prospects of making further progress in the talks, a German government official said on Wednesday.

EU leaders will discuss Brexit at a summit on Thursday and Friday, when they will deliver a verdict on progress made in the talks so far. EU negotiators want "sufficient progress" to justify opening trade negotiations with Britain.

"At the moment, the assessment is it is not 'sufficient'," the German official said, but stressed that not all issues affecting the withdrawal of Britain in March 2019 needed to be fully resolved before discussing the future relationship.

"It is not the case that nothing has happened since the beginning of the negotiations," the official added. "We think a lot has happened. On what is important to us, citizens rights, we've made a lot of progress. We are all in good spirits."

Britain is keen to start discussions about a 2-year transition period after it leaves the EU at the end of March 2019 and a trade relationship afterwards.

But EU leaders have adopted what they call a "phased approach". First the EU and Britain must reach agreement on the terms of their divorce -- a financial settlement, the rights of citizens and on Northern Ireland -- and talk about the transition and the future relationship only afterwards.

"We expect that the government leaders will give a strong signal for us to prepare internally for the second phase - the future relationship," the German official said, adding:

"The big questions for the future between Britain and the European Union are much larger than these current arguments about finances. I think everyone is aware of that, and so I am confident we will come to a solution there."

May said earlier on Wednesday Britain was working to win the best possible deal for when it leaves the EU but that government had to plan for every eventuality, including exiting without a deal. (Reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Michelle Martin and Ralph Boulton)
By Matthew Ponsford

DUBLIN, Oct 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A United Nations special rapporteur on Wednesday blamed neo-liberalism for unleashing violence worldwide, calling "the liberal vision for development" a killer in the community.

Agnes Callamard, U.N. Special Rapporteur on summary executions, said a one-size-fits-all model of economic development exacerbated inequality and was a factor in the rising tide of arbitrary executions and extrajudicial murders.

"The restructuring of economies and the liberal vision for development is trickling down to every community and is a killer, in many ways," Callamard told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview in Dublin.

Yet she said it did not garner the same attention as political populism and brutal military-style policing, which make huge headlines for instigating violence worldwide.

"Privatisation of certain public services and the ownership of land and water, and more generally the transformation of the economy toward the digital and information economy... all of those factors are creating much instability, and much conflict, including over access to resources."

"In turn, those conflicts translate into violence, and in some cases, extra judicial killing," she added.

Proponents of "neo-liberalism" - under which governments take a back seat and let the private sector lead economic and social development - claim it has been responsible for much of the reduction in global poverty in the last 40 years.

But Callamard said a belief that natural resources must be privatised are "killing so many people" and must be challenged.

"We certainly need to start countering the liberal economic discourse because it's killing at this moment, in the way it's being implemented at national level."

TO THE DEATH

Speaking at the Platform on Human Rights Defenders, a conference for activists, Callamard said she was struck by how many people were attacked for protecting their land and water.

Last year was the deadliest on record for such activists, according to watchdog groups.

More than 1,000 people in 25 countries were murdered, harassed, imprisoned or intimidated while fighting for their community's rights, according to Front Line Defenders.

Another group, Global Witness, said nearly four people were murdered each week last year while defending their homes from mining, dams and agricultural projects.

This year is on track to be worse, according to activists.

Global Witness said the rising violence was driven by an intensifying fight for land and natural resources, with some mining, logging, hydro-electric and agricultural companies disregarding the environment and the rights of people.

Callamard was joined on a discussion panel by human rights defenders for Philippines, South Africa and Colombia, who each pointed to resources as a root cause of violent conflicts between local communities and state-backed big business.

MANY SHAPES OF GROWTH

In August, Callamard clashed with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after imploring him to end his war on drugs, which has resulted in more than 3,900 killings by police.

But speaking in Dublin, she said she was equally concerned by violence outside the urban hotspots, where rural Filipinos opposing mining developments have met bloody reprisals.

Callamard called on charities and leaders at the conference to amplify the voices of indigenous people, whose own models of development can be ignored or dismissed as "anti-development".

"We need to understand that economic growth can take many shapes," said Callamard, lauding activists' different path.

Callamard urged support for legal challenges to unrestrained development, giving local communities new powers.

She highlighted recent decisions by courts in New Zealand and India to give rivers the same legal rights as human beings, because they were heavily threatened by human activity.

"These kind of decisions, they are groundbreaking, but they also challenge us in the way we think about nature," she said.

LIMITS OF LIBERALISM

Callamard joins a host of institutions that have called into question the limits of the liberal economic model, which has for 40 years dominated thought on economic development.

Last month, the U.N. trade and development agency UNCTAD said the world must ditch austerity and economic neo-liberalism and undertake a global "New Deal" to rebalance the global economy and achieve prosperity for all.

A paper in May of 2016 by senior economists at the IMF, which for 40 years has driven economic liberalisation of global economies, said some neo-liberal policies have increased inequality and are now jeopardising durable global growth. (Reporting by Matthew Ponsford, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. 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)
MEXICO CITY, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso slipped on Wednesday, continuing its volatile gyrations as talks to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement deteriorate. The Mexican peso has seesawed as investors puzzle over what the contentious talks mean for the nation's future, dipping 0.53 percent on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, the United States, Canada and Mexico wrapped up the latest round of NAFTA renegotiations in Washington, D.C., trading barbs. "We decided to protect part of our profits on our short MXNCLP trade as we think the MXN leg could remain very volatile as the market continues to digest the results of the fourth round of NAFTA negotiations finalized yesterday," Nomura analysts Mario Castro, David Wagner and Benito Berber wrote in a note to investors. The losses came after the peso rose about 1.5 percent on Wednesday on news that trade ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico would extend a deadline to finish talks. The jump marked the currency's biggest one-day gain in about 4-1/2 months. Before its rebound, the peso had shed close to 5 percent this month on concerns that talks to revamp the 23-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could founder. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact, crying foul over the United States' trade deficit with Mexico. NAFTA is a critical pillar of the Mexican economy, which sends nearly 80 percent of its exports to the United States. Meanwhile, Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index was essentially flat, edging up 0.2 percent, as investors remained cautious amid a corruption scandal that has embroiled President Michael Temer and could doom his market-friendly reforms. Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 16:38 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1125.75 0.01 30.55 MSCI LatAm 2945.32 0.48 25.23 Brazil Bovespa 76350.77 0.2 26.77 Mexico IPC 50048.95 -0.18 9.65 Chile IPSA 5499.33 0.29 32.47 Chile IGPA 27562.43 0.29 32.93 Argentina MerVal 26134.06 -1.83 54.48 Colombia IGBC 11020.48 -0.09 8.81 Venezuela IBC 559.96 -0.32 -98.23 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.1717 -0.12 2.44 Mexico peso 18.8745 -0.53 9.90 Chile peso 626.6 -0.88 7.04 Colombia peso 2932.87 0.54 2.34 Peru sol 3.241 0.09 5.34 Argentina peso (interbank) 17.3300 0.03 -8.40 Argentina peso (parallel) 18.01 0.06 -6.61 (Reporting by Julia Love and Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
By Kevin Dougherty

QUEBEC CITY, Quebec, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Quebec will ban face coverings for people giving or receiving provincial government services under a law passed on Wednesday that rights groups have criticized as marginalizing Muslim women in the mainly French-speaking Canadian province.

While the law, which takes effect by July 1, 2018, does not specify which face coverings are prohibited, the debate has largely focused on the niqab worn by some Muslim women, which covers everything but the eyes.

People affected by the law would include public-sector employees such as teachers, police officers, hospital and daycare workers.

Like France, which passed a ban on veils, crosses and other religious symbols in schools in 2004, Quebec has struggled to reconcile its secular identity with a growing Muslim population, many of them North African emigrants.

"We are just saying that for reasons linked to communication, identification and safety, public services should be given and received with an open face," Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard told reporters in the province's National Assembly.

"We are in a free and democratic society. You speak to me, I should see your face, and you should see mine. It's as simple as that," he said.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it was deeply concerned by the law's passage and was looking at its legal options.

"This legislation is an unjustified infringement of religious freedoms," said executive director Ihsaan Gardee.

The law allows for exemptions under certain circumstances, although it did not provide details. Regulations setting out how the new law will be enforced are yet to come.

Asked in the federal parliament whether he would challenge the law, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who represents a Montreal district, said he would continue to ensure all Canadians are protected by the country's charter of rights and freedoms, "while respecting the choices that different legislative assemblies can make."

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have imposed restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places, with Denmark on track to set its own ban.

Right-wing extremist groups and some local French-speaking media in recent years have targeted Quebec's Muslims as part of a broader debate on the accommodation of religious and cultural minorities in the province.

Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. In January, six people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque. A French-Canadian university student has been charged as the sole suspect. (Reporting by Kevin Dougherty; Writing by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indias Apex Industry Association, will hold a Road Show in Colombo on 25th October, in a bid to promote one of its iconic event, Excon 2017, South Asias largest event for Construction Equipment.



The ninth edition of this event, Excon 2017, will be held in December, 2017, at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru, India. The Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) is the Sector Partner for the event and is supported by the Builders Association of India (BAI).



Excon 2017 Road Show in Colombo, which is facilitated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is part of CIIs series of planned events held across the region to promote the Bangalore event. The Lankan Road Show will be held at the Galadari hotel, starting at 6:30p.m. with a presentation followed by cocktails. Entrance will be free. Excon 2017 will have participation from across the world with country pavilions from China, Germany Italy, South Korea, Japan and UK expected to be in display.
Acting Attorney General Dappula De Livera at the conclusion of PCoI proceedings said yesterday he would also have some other questions to ask from the Prime Minister apart from the questions put forward by the Commission.

Responding to the statement made by the PCoI, AAG Dappula De Livera also expressed his observations.

AAG De Livera was of the view that his team of Counsel of the Attorney Generals Department assisted the Commission under Section 23 of the Commission of Inquiry Act and spearheaded the investigation pertaining to the bond inquiry with the concurrence of the Commission, as they always kept the Commission informed about the investigation.

Moving the fact that the Attorney Generals Department had to investigate the matter with limited manpower as there were only three regular CID officers supporting the investigation, AAG De Livera said that the lack of manpower was a significant matter as they had to face numerous difficulties in the investigation process. I must place this on record that I have had the fullest cooperation of the entire team of the Attorney Generals Department and this effort would not have been possible if not for the team.

So we played as a real team, irrespective of the seniority, all the officers fully cooperated in this endeavour, AAG De Livera said.

He said despite all odds that they had to face, the Attorney Generals Department officials

and the team were able to unearth and present cogent evidence. AAG De Livera also said that they did not have the cooperation of all the witnesses whom they had interviewed during the investigation. I think for the team the job is not over, the task is still outstanding and as far as this Commission is concerned our job is still not over. In terms of the evidence that transpired during the proceedings, we have submitted a list of 20 witnesses to the Commission dated October 10, 2017 and out of that 20, only some

of the witnesses have now testified before the Commission. But still having considered

the material we had gathered so far from the interviews with witnesses, these listed witnesses are necessary. The Prime Minister is also listed as a material witness, AAG De Livera said.

AAG De Livera also said that he would also have some other questions to ask from the Prime Minister apart from the questions put forward to the Prime Minister by the Commission.

He said that the investigation and the interviewing of the individuals will continue

in expectation of eliciting new material to the inquiry despite the conclusion of the hearings.

The AAG emphasized the dedication of the officials of the Attorney Generals Department and the officials of the CBSL.

There were officer who spent 16 hours of 24 hours to this inquiry, he said. Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda also concluding the proceedings made a statement thereafter.

ASG Kodagoda said that it was the first time in the history that the Attorney Generals

Department was able to present data extracted from phone devices to a Commission.

He also stated that the order made by the Commission with regard to the extraction of

data would also go down as a good precedent in legal history. ASG Kodagoda said that the extraction was only possible due to the several experts obtained by the CID, who were not attached to the Commission. I must say this. We are continuing this process to unearth some more material, which we hope to present to the Commission if that opportunity will be given by the Commission, ASG Kodagoda said.

He also said If we dont get that opportunity, this would then be a half baked cake. Therefore we would like the President and the General public to receive a fully baked cake in the form of a report. So, please do give us that opportunity of presenting that additional telephone details Several months ago, I said the main corporate entity of Perpetual Treasuries Ltd was a criminal organization. But I was shouted out by some learned counsel when I said it three months ago.

As at today, based on the cogent evidence placed before the Commission it is evident that PTL is a criminal organization, ASG Kodagoda said. (Shehan Chamika Silva)
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia refused on Tuesday to bow to the Spanish government's demand that it renounce a symbolic declaration of independence, setting it on a political collision course with Madrid later this week.



The Spanish government has threatened to put Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the economy, under direct central rule if its government does not abandon independence by Thursday.

But Catalonia's government rejected Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's deadline.



"Giving in forms no part of this government's scenarios," Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said. "On Thursday, we won't give anything different than what we gave on Monday."



Spain's biggest political crisis in decades worsened on Monday night when Madrid's High Court jailed the heads of Catalonia's two main separatist groups pending an investigation for alleged sedition.

The Catalan government accused Madrid of taking "political prisoners" and one of the groups has called for peaceful demonstrations around Catalonia on Tuesday, with the biggest expected to begin in Barcelona in the evening.



Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, in a tweet following the detentions, said: "Sadly, we have political prisoners again." The phrase was an allusion to the military dictatorship under Francisco Franco, when Catalan culture and language were systematically suppressed. It carries an emotional resonance given fascism is still a living memory for many Spaniards.



Justice Minister Rafael Catala hit back saying the jailing of the leaders of the Catalan National Assembly and Omnium was a judicial, not a political, decision.



"We can talk of politicians in prison but not political prisoners," he said. "These are not political prisoners because yesterday's prison ruling was due to a (suspected) crime."



The crisis has deepened divisions at the heart of Spain's young democracy, underlining the complex sense of nationhood in the euro zone's fourth largest economy.
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) reiterated their support for Sri Lankas economic programme during a meeting with Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the WB/IMF Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. on October 14. CEO and Executive Managing Director of JBIC, Tadashi Maeda, will lead a delegation to Colombo later this year for further discussions.
Colombo University Physical Science Department Prof. Chandana Jayaratne confirmed that the bright light and sound which was heard from the Southern Province (SP) this evening was because of an explosion caused by a meteor.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror he said the explosion was known as a 'fireball explosion' and occurs after an astroid enters the earths atmosphere.

The astroid could be a size of 50 centimetres. Every astroid enters the earths photosphere at a speed of 65 kilometers per second. With that speed one side of the astroid gets heated up due to friction and the other side does not, therefore causing an explosion, Prof Jayaratne said.

People who saw the asteroid entering our atmosphere at about 8.30p.m, saw different colour lights. Most of it was green and yellow due to its elements reacting to the heat, he said.

The explosion could have caused damage, but fortunately it broke into small pieces. People should not touch parts of the astroid because those astroid can contain radiation which cause harm to the human body and my contains unknown bacteria, he warned.

The light of the astroid was seen in several parts of the country including the Southern Province.

Military Spokesman and Army Media Director Roshan Seneviratne, said they were yet to detect any incidents caused by the light. The Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force also confirmed that they did not detect any incidents. (Chaturanga Pradeep)
The three girls from Kolonnawa who went missing on Saturday surrendered to the police today.

Two girls aged 19 and 15 surrendered to the Wellampitiya Police early this morning while the third girl (14) surrendered to the Gampaha Police a short while ago.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the 19-year-old girl would be arrested and the two under-aged girls would be referred for a medical check-up.

He said they were investigating as to why they fled their homes. (Darshana Sanjeewa)

Video by RM
At the time of Renaissance, a not-so-tall statue of a brave young underdog warrior, David, standing just over five metres tall and weighing six tonnes, mesmerised the world. This masterpiece was set into stone with a hammer and chisel by Michelangelo.



On September 8, 1504, when Michelangelo unveiled his masterpiece in the city square in Florence, Italy, the crowd looked on in amusement since they had not seen something of this nature before. The takeaway from this anecdote is that sometimes it does not have to be the tallest piece of work to be the grandest.



In Sri Lanka, the Lotus Tower stands at 350 metres against the Colombo skyline; it is the tallest structure in South Asia with a cost of US $ 100 million. According to Professor Patrick Mendis, For defence analysts, this elaborate complex is an electronic surveillance facility funded by the Chinese Export-Import Bank, constructed by the China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC) and Chinese Aerospace LongMarch International Trade (CALMIT), which are subsidiaries of the Peoples Liberation Army of China.



The tower is already an issue of concern for Sri Lankas neighbour, similar to the one raised in the past when Sri Lanka had the Voice of America transmission station.



Highlighting a tall crisis in Sri Lankan society, former Auditor General S.C. Mayadunne stated, From among 45, who exceeded one hundred thousand preferential votes, a considerable amount of individuals elected had a history of being corrupt. If the people favour corruption, whichever the government that comes into power will honour the aspirations of people. Therefore, the public must have a sincere feeling that they wish to defeat corrupt candidates.



In the past two months, the foreign minister of Sri Lanka, former presidents secretary and former chairman of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission have been accused of corruption. The foreign minister resigned and the other two were imprisoned.



Corruption has poisoned many nations with weak government institutions and weak political cultures. As William Shakespeare aptly puts it in Hamlet, It will but skin and film the ulcerous place/Whilst rank corruption, mining all within/Infects unseen.



In present-day Lanka, the former auditor general attempted an explanation in an interview for the Sri Lankan newspaper, Daily Mirror. The Audit Bill will assist this government that came to power with the central theme of fighting corruption and establishing rule of law.



A few weeks ago, a Symposium of Economic Crime was held at the Cambridge University, with 700 senior legal experts, public officials and scholars. The author spoke at the symposium on the importance of strengthening Sri Lankas regulatory body, including the auditor generals office.



Professor Tim Morris of the Oxford University explains, To lead change in society, education and participation are key. Today, education and social consciousness have dramatically reduced the number of smokers when compared to smoking in the previous generations. In the same way, education on fighting economic crime and the involvement of all stakeholders are essential to root out corruption from society.



The fight against corruption was at the heart of the Arab Spring and other large-scale protests in many countries, including Pakistan. The Panama Papers are still to be investigated in Sri Lanka. Due to the amazing work of whistle-blowers and a free media, global citizens are demanding greater transparency and accountability. A culture of impunity need not be the norm  greater social awareness can drive out corruption.



The general population is often uninformed about the extent to which corruption can impact communities. Civic education, activism, an investigative media, technology and social media campaigns can generate interest and engagement in national dialogues on corruption and how it affects the everyday lives of citizens.



When people are better educated on how corruption burdens their societys development and exacerbates inequality, poverty and conflict, they can mobilise to fight it. Education and awareness are tools for change, allowing for vocalisation of grievances and an amplification of public pressure on governments to call for greater accountability.



There is a lot that Sri Lankan policymakers need to do before focusing on beautification projects. Projects particularly to improve the quality of life in urban and rural areas of the country deserve immediate concentration. While corruption is seen as a monster, there are many other issues that need to be addressed such as the high suicide rate in the country. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sri Lanka has the highest suicide mortality rate in South Asia and probably even in the world, with 35.3 suicides per 100,000 of the population.



The Lotus Tower, albeit monumentally, symbolises enlightenment and purity. The lotus flower grows in muddy water and lives to rise above the murk to bloom. It is the ones who set the rules (and hold the luxury permits) who need to emulate the words of Buddha in practicing impermanence in physical structures and political thought.



(The views expresses here are personal and do not reflect those of the Government of Sri Lanka or the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is a visiting lecturer in International Political Economy (IPE) and Director General of INSSSL, the national security think tank of Sri Lanka. This article was initially published by the IPCS, New Delhi for Dateline Colombo - http://www.ipcs.org/article/south-asia/monuments-over-mortality-5380.html)


NSBM Green University Town announced its Career Fair 2017 to be held on 25th and 26th November at NSBM Green University Town in Pitipana, Homagama.



The Career Fair is an opportunity to meet over 1,100 graduates from the School of Business and over 500 graduates from the School of Computing who are graduating from NSBM in December 2017 and are therefore, available for employment. In addition, over 2,000 undergraduates of NSBM who are available for internships will also be attending the Career Fair. In addition, the Career Fair will be open for the fresh graduates and undergraduates of other universities and education institutions.

Companies and employer organizations will be able to meet the above student groups, to inform them about their career opportunities, conduct interviews and recruit fresh graduates and interns at the event.



The first day of the Career Fair (25th November) will have a greater focus on Business Management related opportunities while the second day (26th November) will focus on IT/Computing related opportunities. A series of Career Guidance, Skills Development and Personal Development Sessions and Mini Workshops will also be held on both days.



Over 30 companies have conformed their participation to the Career Fair as of now. This includes companies such as Asia Asset Finance, Astron, BPO Connect, CAMMS, Commercial Leasing, Creative Software, Dankotuwa Porcelain, David Pieris IT, DreamJobs.lk, Ernst and Young, Everjobs.lk, Extrogene Software, Fidenz Technologies, Hatton National Bank, hSenid Business Solutions, IFS World, ISM APAC, Laugfs Holdings, Mas Legato, Moodys Analytics Knowledge Services, Omobio, OrangeHRM Inc, Prima Management Services, Rakiya.lk, Recruitme.lk, Royal Ceramics, SimCentric Technologies, Sky Management Systems, Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever, VS Information Systems and zMessenger who will provide internships and entry level employment opportunities related to Business Management and IT/Computing at the Career Fair.
A one-stop-shop for hospitality consulting in Sri Lanka and the Maldives was launched recently by Palladium Holdings, a locally owned outfit.



Were a one-stop shop for hospitality. Whether theyre hotels, boutique hotels, mixed development projects or restaurants. We provide consultancy for architecture, construction, interior design, operation supplies and equipment, and food, Palladium Holdings Founder and Managing Director Shamrin Mohamed said.



He added that company also sources supplies and equipment from over 150 global partners and plans to use Sri Lanka has a hub for its supply operations in the region.



Mohamed, with 15 years of experience in the construction and hospitality sectors, said that the recent expansion in the Sri Lankan hospitality industry requires consultancy services which could cater to the needs of the largest brands, down to the first-time hotel owners.



He said that Palladium has already provided services for the Anantara and Movenpick global brands which recently entered Sri Lanka, as well as for local brands such as Waters Edge.



We have already signed several letters of intent to provide consultancy services for global brands, Mohamed added.



He noted that big brands such as Jumeirah and Hard Rock are inquiring about owning or managing properties in Sri Lanka.



Palladium Holdings Head of Sales and Legal Officer Abida Tariq said that the company is also a matchmaker for high net worth individuals looking to invest in projects, hospitality brands, and landowners in Sri Lanka. She said that Palladium maintains a land bank.



Mohamed said that Palladium has a close-knit relationship with both the private sector and public service in Sri Lanka, which would allow it to easily navigate projects through the required process from conception to the commercial operation of projects.
The first ever track 1.5 discourse on the Indian governments ambitious initiative Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was conducted in the port city of Goa, India last weekend.



This event was organized by Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS) in association with Ministry of External affairs, Government of India. The think tank partner for this discourse was National Maritime Foundation (NMF) based in New Delhi.



Admiral Dr. Jayanath Colombage representing Sri Lanka and Pathfinder Foundation in this Sagar Discourse 2017 a three-day conference, Norway was the partner country for the event.



The chief guest of the inauguration ceremony was M.J. Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, Government of India. The Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parikkar was the guest of honor. The chief guest for the second day was Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, government of India. Maritime security and trade experts, international maritime law experts, maritime historians, scientists and many other scholars from 22 countries representing governments, navies, coast guards, maritime industry, academic institutes participated in the grand event. Admiral D.K. Dhowan and Admiral Arun Prakash, former chiefs of the Indian Navy and present Admiral Sunil Lanba too shared their wisdom on ocean governance and the need for better coordination in overcoming maritime blindness and the key role being played by India in this endeavors.



Three technical sessions were conducted in the discourse namely; ocean and trade, ocean resource management Governance at sea and together with one special session on science and technological developments in ocean domain. Admiral Dr. Jayanath Colombage representing Sri Lanka and Pathfinder Foundation presented his research findings on the topic, Challenges and Opportunities for Ocean Management.



Admiral Colombage elaborated on ocean resources in the Indian Ocean Region with special focus on opportunities for sustainable exploration of living and non-living resources from the ocean. Admiral highlighted the importance of ocean as a medium for navigation, source of protein, and balancing the land ecosystem. He emphasized on the impact of man-made pollution of the oceans by oil and gas industry, dumping of plastic, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, dumping of toxic waste and radioactive materials and untreated sewage in to the ocean.



Admiral Colombage discussed the negative impact of man-made pollution of the ocean in contributing to extreme weather patterns, destruction of marine ecosystems and depletion of fisheries including migration. He also highlighted the impact of noise pollution and acoustic bleaching by ships and seismic explosions used for ocean explorations and the resulted influence of marine mammals, who depend on sound signals for migration and to finding food.



He further state that as much as 40 percent of world oceans are heavily affected by human activities and impacted on the coastal populations heavily, including losing of coastal habitats. Admiral also state the need to maintain a required level of maritime security and a rule based maritime order in the India Ocean region and the need for collaborated and combined efforts by all stake holders from governments and private sector in achieving the same.



Admiral Colombage concluded his paper by presenting recommendations for management of Indian Ocean carrying forward the United Nations resolution 70/1, goal number 14, life below water in order to utilize the oceans in a sustainable manner. Admiral suggested declaring even limited marine and coastal areas as marine reserves with a view to protect these and allow marine ecosystems to regrow.



Admiral Colombage concluded his paper by recommending Indian Governments SAGAR initiative together with FINS to create a panel of experts to study the aspects regarding ocean governance further and to come up with a set of recommendations in support of Indian Ocean Rim Association(IORA) initiatives in sustainable exploitation of oceans.
Pinnacle Residencies, in partnership with Floreat Homes (Pvt.) Ltd, recently launched the luxury beachfront condo development, 333 Pinnacle, in Negombo.



Exclusive property marketing and sales for this development is carried out by My Property (Pvt.) Ltd, a premier real estate company in Sri Lanka with a global outlook. My Property (Pvt.) Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dwellings Group, Australia.



Beachfront property along the West Coast is seeing the highest rates of return in Sri Lanka, averaging a 10 percent yield or greater. While rentals are predominantly seasonal, these returns reflect long-term rental rates. In addition, areas such as Negombo are more affordable and result in better investments when compared to those on the Southern coast, Pinnacle Residencies (Pvt.) Ltd Managing Director Eranga Welikala, who has many years of experience in the local real estate sector, stated.



Welikala also noted: From a global standpoint, beachfront properties basically never lose value. As our population grows, more and more people are going to want to live near the ocean, boosting the price of new developments so it is better to get in early. In fact, think of it as an investment. You will be able to sell it later for much more than what you paid, probably making several million rupees in the process. And, meanwhile, you will be able to walk on the beach every morning, and enjoy beachfront living that is free of pollutants and high in oxygen, which is envied by many others. One of the main reasons that beachfront homes are in such high-demand across the world.



Beachfront apartments are also easy to rent out as a holiday homes, with people willing to pay a virtual fortune to stay near the beach. Also, with Negombo being very close to Bandaranaike International Airport (Sri Lankas main international airport), there is a huge potential to rent to transit travellers, which we can help with, so these apartments are truly multifaceted in terms of investment opportunities, he added.



Being developed by Pinnacle Residencies and built by Floreat Homes, 333 Pinnacle is well-located overseeing the charming western coast of our island nation. Situated in a most prized neighborhood in Negombo, 333 Pinnacle is even more notable because provides unbeatable and picturesque views of the sun setting in the Indian Ocean. Further, it offers a great price per performance factor as a result of its use of UPVC double glazed windows all around, unobstructed glass balcony railings, 50mm fire rated doors, laminated flooring, high gloss pantry cupboards including refrigerator, dishwasher, four-burner cooker, oven, extractor, microwave oven and a wine cooler, fitted with international standard bath ware and accessories coupled with porcelain tiles. Common areas also feature an 80-foot, resort-style infinity pool, as well as a kiddies pool, jacuzzi, clubhouse and a fully equipped gymnasium.

333 Pinnacle was designed from the clients perspective rather than the industry standard point of view, so it boasts more than twice the usual leisure spaces than most others developments, in addition to two pools, a jacuzzi and a gym, all of which is on the fourth floor, in addition to a lovely landscaped area on the roof, revealed Welikala.



This is as a direct result of the commitment by Pinnacle Residencies and Floreat Homes to work together to create a true beachfront apartment oasis, where one not only easily accesses the ocean but also benefits from panoramic sunset views and serene, environmentally conscious living, all just a few kilometers from the upcoming Colombo megapolis. With Pinnacle Residencies bringing in its many years of local real estate experience, and Floreat Homes playing the role of one-stop-shop by sourcing highly-respected professionals as Professor Chitra Wedikkara, Architect Thilan Koththigoda and Engineer Shiromal Fernando, along with over 40 years of building expertise in areas as diverse as resorts and apartments, 333 Pinnacle has the advantages of not only an ideal location but also adds the highest international standards of luxury apartment construction to

the mix.
What makes Ravindra Randeniya stand out, what makes him, at the end of the day, Ravindra Randeniya, is his contemplative frown. You see that frown creep up everywhere, in almost every picture hes in. It turns him, in varying degrees, into a meticulous detective, a pained lover, a mistrustful husband, even a compulsive trickster or conman or womaniser. The reason why he embodies all these characters, and their qualities, is because hes so versatile; not the way Joe Abeywickrama or Tony Ranasinghe were, but in a less empathetic way. He is the only actor from here that I can think of who can frown in both a commercial and a serious movie and get away with it.

Randeniya is at his best, and his least empathetic, when he conceals his intentions with that frown. He is the great concealer, and is in fact so good at this role that nearly every other role is a variation of it. Not until the end of Duhulu Malak, the first real film he was in after supporting roles in a series of at best preparatory pictures, do we realise he is no more, and no less, than an irresponsible, prodigal playboy.

We think hes such an unlikeable womaniser but hes not. (At the very end he throws his shoe, in frustration, to the sea, and in that act he is both resentful and upbeat about the fact that hes lost his woman.) What conceals those intentions is his sense of debonair grace, which is so debonair that he can hide the vilest intentions of his characters with his charm.

That explains why Maya, Dadayama, Sagara Jalaya, and Anantha Rathriya work so well when hes around: hes so good at talking, at faking, but we believe him along with the (for the most) female protagonists, who in all these movies happened to be Swarna Mallawarachchi. When Rathmali from Dadayama has her illusions about the man who impregnated her twice and left her shattered, she threatens him and writes him a letter; when they meet the next time, he is flippantly ominous about her missive: Who are you to post letters ordering me? Who are you to boss me around?

In the sequences that preceded this encounter, however, he is so charming, so apologetic about what hes done to this woman, that both Rathmali and the audience know that she has every right to be intimidating and threatening towards him: because of his debonair grace hes become a part of her, and all those dreams of hers about him are derived from that quality of his.

"Randeniya is at his best, and his least empathetic, when he conceals his intentions with that frown. "



Because he can be two people at the same time  sometimes for the better (as with Chuda Manikye, Siripala Saha Ranmenika, and to a certain extent, Sagara Jalaya), and often for the worst (Dadayama, Bhava Duka and Bhava Karma, and Roy de Silvas Sudu Piruvata)  people choose to believe in the latter, which more or less indicates that were cynical enough to be swayed by villains. But Randeniya is not only a villain, though in the he was so typecast that he was thought fit to play no one else. In Vijaya Dharma Sris Aradana, which was almost a Dadayama turned the other way around, yielding a happy resolution and ending, he goes after the woman he befriended (Malini Fonseka) to reclaim her. Theres a Ravindra Randeniya that exists beyond all this too.

He was born Boniface Perera in Dalugama, Kelaniya on June 5, 1945 to a successful mudalali family. A self-made businessman, his father initially put his son into St Franciss School, run by the Dalugama Church. Two years later, he was admitted to St Benedicts College, Kotahena. This is where he was initiated into his first love: literature. His tastes at the time  Martin Wickramasinghe with Gorky,

Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov  wildly diverged from those of his classmates, who preferred easier-to-digest pulp fiction from that era and teased him for his own preferences. It was a largely vernacular backdrop which greeted him at St Benedicts, despite the fact that it was, all in all, a missionary school. There was only one period for English, he remembered for me, During all other periods, we talked freely in Sinhala, though we had Tamil and Burgher and even Muslim friends. Race and religion didnt matter. Not to us.



What he read, he remembered, had for some time turned him into a leftist: Everyones a socialist at 20! was how he reflected on it for me. Surprisingly though, none of these encounters got him to act. Apart from a Fifth Standard production of Sigiri Kashyapa, in which he was Kashyapa, he never acted at all. His first real initiation into his profession would therefore come from an outsider:

Dhamma Jagoda, who with Sugathapala de Silva was openly spurning Ediriweera Sarachchandras stylised conception of the theatre. One thing led to another, and soon enough, he was studying at the Lionel Wendt Theatre Workshop, which Jagoda had founded after returning to Sri Lanka from an American tour. He brought Method Acting to this country, in fact. He had been to the Actors Studio, he had met Elia Kazan and Strasberg, and he had seen Marlon Brando.

Jagoda had taken it upon himself to preach Strasbergs gospel in the country, and Randeniya had obviously come under his influence. He had not, however, entered the Workshop to study acting at all, rather screenwriting, directing, stage decor. Somehow or the other, I found myself in an acting class. I had by this time been drawn to the whole idea of becoming a performer, instead of remaining backstage.

That was also a common class: whether or not you had chosen the subject, you had to attend it for at least one or two hours. The course lasted for two years, and Randeniya found himself being dragged into various roles and performances. His first production as such had been Gunasena Galappaththys Muhudu Puththu, controversial for its time owing to its depiction of adultery, but a culmination of sorts to everything he and his colleagues had learnt.



Muhudu Puththu had been a success; among those who thronged that night at the Wendt was the filmmaker and the iconoclast, Manik Sandrasagara, who after congratulating Randeniyas performance insisted on taking him to his first movie, Kalu Diya Dahara (1970). Kalu Diya Dahara was another success; having watched it and been impressed by his portrayal of an estate labourer, another filmmaker came around, congratulated him, and took him aboard his next film.

The director was Lester James Peries, the film, released two years later and lukewarmly received, was Desa Nisa. No two directors could have been more different. Randeniya himself was warm about both: Manika had a way of asserting himself. Dr Peries never asserts himself. In fact you never feel that hes there overseeing you. In Desa Nisa he was a morally ambiguous hermit, able to restore sight or stunt it at his will. It was followed by Duhulu Malak (1976), another hit.

None of these movies really awakened the thespian in him. That would come a year later, in 1977, with Amaranath Jayatilakes Siripala Saha Ranmenika, where he starred for the first time opposite Malini Fonseka and which took him back to a role which would creep up in the years to come: Samson, the Sinhalised version of Stanley Kowalski, from Ves Muhunu, Dhamma Jagodas adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. To become Siripala I had to become bestial, almost inhumane. It was the same story with Samson.

 When we were young we were horrified when Kowalski (Samson, by the way, had first been portrayed by Jagoda himself, in 1963) jeers at Blanche DuBois; when we grew up, we realised that it was his way of asserting the truth, that Blanche was, in fact, a pretender, and that her gentility never rubbed off on an animalistic brute like him. It was that kind of animalistic brute, who never cares for affection and never even once feels sorry for anyone other than those who are closest to him  he doesnt even care for himself  which is embodied in his subsequent, villainous performances.

That they are among the best of their kind indicated, quite clearly, that he had found his signature.

There were of course other characters, other films: as Migara in The God King (1975); as a modern-day Rama in Sita Devi (1978); as the hero in Weera Puran Appu (1979); as the brother-in-law of Swarna Mallawarachchi in Sagara Jalaya (1988); as the troubled protagonist in Anantha Rathriya (1996), as the nouveau rich mudalali Lionel in Wekanda Walawwa (2005). In the first three movies hes a beleaguered hero, and in the latter three hes a beleaguered antihero.

In Weera Puran Appu, which was made as an epic that dwelt on sharply and clearly defined heroes and villains, he was clear, concise, and direct. But as the cousin in Sagara Jalaya, by contrast, he leaves us in the dark.

And what makes this sense of indirectness, obliqueness, is that we are never entirely sure as to whether hes going to stick to his word: hes a talker, a consoler, but also a concealer. With one set of characters hes a different man. (You see this in Dadayama, where to his fiancee, played by Shirani Kaushalya, he is the perfect lover; he is anything but to the woman he impregnates, who demands at the end that he suffer for what hes done to her.) Its a call for condemnation, and his Priyankara Jayanath is so despicable that Regi Siriwardena, in an otherwise laudatory review, called him a solid, if less complex, character portrayal. That was who his villains were, at the end of the day: solid, despicable, hateful, and one-dimensional. What made them all multidimensional and stand out, as I observed before, was that deceptively contemplative frown.
Australias prestigious RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) recently initiated a partnership with SAITM (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine) to make Australian degrees and internships available locally to engineering students at affordable rates.



This strategic partnership comes at a time when the government is striving to position Sri Lanka as an education hub in the Asian region.



Commenting on the venture, RMIT University Vietnam President and General Director Prof. Gael McDonald said: The programmes offered in Vietnam are cost effective, requires less travel time and are equipped with personalized experiences. She also stressed on the unique internship opportunity the students will be getting as they become a part of the programme. RMIT is one of the largest universities in Australia having a strong global presence. For the degrees awarded by RMIT Vietnam, the students are awarded the same degree as what is offered in Australia. Vietnam is a feasible and a cost effective option for students from South Asia.



McDonald further elaborated: The agreement with SAITM looks at a credit transfer facility for the students who have already enrolled in an engineering degree at SAITM. Recognizing what the students have already done, we guarantee an opportunity for these students to either be a part of RMIT Vietnam or Australia. Following the completion of their study, students are provided with internship opportunities at leading firms. Vietnam is an emerging country with a six to seven percent economic growth. Hence, companies are looking to hire qualified professionals. These include well recognized companies and multinationals.



McDonald also added: Students get a 360 degree training in soft skills that gives them an edge in the corporate world. The soft skill training includes developing an individuals personal competencies, leadership, team work, dressing for success, managing conflict, well-being, fine-dining, wine appreciation and more skills that a young professional needs to have a grip of to be relevant in the corporate world.



The University also looks at giving reasonable accommodations for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia and certain syndromes in making learning accessible for all, through specialized materials.



The collaboration has brought in a host of prospects for new students hoping to be enrolled at SAITM as well as for students already enrolled at the University. Students opting for a foundation course in Engineering or Science and Technology could either study at RMIT Vietnam or Australia and students who prefer a foundation programme in Business following their G.C.E O/Ls can opt for the same.

Some of the options available for these students are Bachelor of Digital Marketing, Bachelor of Tourism, Bachelor of Management, Bachelor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and a number of other programmes. Further the collaboration also offers a two plus two proposition where students already enrolled in SAITM Engineering programmes would have the opportunity to study the final two years abroad securing an internship within globally competitive markets. The proposition also gives leverage to students who have already qualified as engineers to follow an engineering internship abroad by being part of the university.



RMIT Training Melbourne Australia Chief Executive Officer Rachel Holthouse stated: Sri Lanka is already being looked at by many giants in the global education industry. The country is recognized to have massive potential to offer quality education to students within the higher education sphere. This collaboration with RMIT and SAITM offers amazing opportunities to students who have an appetite to find themselves in an international degree, with high relevancy. SAITM is a longstanding partner of RMIT. Thus, RMIT also has a very strong presence in Colombo and hence this partnership is opportune to further strengthen the quality of education that SAITM offers to their Engineering and Business students.



Elaborating further on the SAITM Engineering Faculty, SAITM Sri Lanka Engineering Faculty Dean Prof. Sisuru Sendanayake stated: It is among the pioneering not-state engineering faculties in Sri Lanka. It has been home to more than 500 engineering students, approximately 40 percent of whom are already into post graduate studies in world renowned universities or employed in leading Engineering firms. SAITM offers unique learning experiences with its Ministry of Higher Education and University Grants Commission (UGC) approved local Engineering degree programmes along with its strong collaborations with world leading universities such as RMIT - Australia and Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) - Thailand.



The Engineering transfer programmes will commence at SAITM starting from October 2017 and the Foundation Programme will commence from October 2018.
Sees 88% rise in FDI so far this year over last year

Says govt. committed to strengthening brand  Sri Lanka

From left: Sri Lanka Retailers Association Vice President Murali Prakash, Law and Order and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka, events guest of honour Ranjith Page, Sri Lanka Retailers Association President Saddique Hussain and Vice President Sidath Kodikara

Law and Order and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka this week said the government had strengthened the brand  Sri Lanka by establishing freedom, democracy and good governance and is seeing an upswing in the foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the country.



As a result, our international stakeholders have confidence in the country and a level playing field is ensured, the minister said, addressing the annual general meeting of the Sri Lanka Retailers Association, in Colombo, on Tuesday. The minister, in his speech, said this years FDIs have grown by 88 percent over last year.



It is likely that the full-year figure will cross a billion dollars. Targets have been set for FDI and outside the G2G and Hambantota investments. The BOI is targeting US $ 1.6 billion for next year and in excess of US $ 2 billion for 2019, he said.



Tourism is being revamped, a quick win if done right. The Tourism Strategy 2020 is being worked on and as I mentioned, it is going to be a US $ 7 billion target. The new Exchange Management Act has come in; the draconian old act has been abolished. The exporters will own their money and there will be a reduction on the controls on exports.

The Inland Revenue Act has been passed; there was a lot of interaction and we consulted with the private sector. The tax regime has been simplified; there is clarity and there will be consistency, Ratnayake said, explaining the progress made by the current government.



Now the Southern Highway is progressing. Initially we had trouble with funds paying for them but we have now managed to sort those out. We paid the contractors; these projects are being completed.

The Central Highway is on track and we are also considering the Ratnapura highways as well. So, there will be a good road network. The budget has had wide consultations and we will present one of the most progressive budgets in recent times, he added.



We are cognizant of the fact that the foundation or the bedrock of any society is the security of the people and the visitors. In survey after survey it is shown that tourists will select a destination first on the criteria of security and safety. We saw that during the war and now the war is over and we need to establish law and order solidly, Ratnayaka explained.



The minister said the government was dedicated to make Sri Lanka a safe and secure place to visit and live.



There is no place in paradise for drug lords and gangsters. The Police Department and I are working systematically to eradicate this menace from society. We will also focus on white collar and minor crimes, he stressed.
Two separate suicide and gun attacks on government forces in Afghanistan left nearly 50 dead and more than 200 wounded, officials said Tuesday, the latest devastating assault on beleaguered security forces.



The Taliban claimed the most deadly of the two assaults, a coordinated attack on police in the southeast Afghan city of Gardez that left hospital officials calling for blood donations and desperate scenes as relatives queued for news of their loved ones after the hours-long gun battle. A separate ambush blamed on the Taliban in the neighbouring province of Ghazni on Tuesday killed 15 security officials with 12 wounded on a bloody day for government forces. The assaults are a fresh blow as militants step up their offensives across Afghanistan, with security forces already beset by corruption, desertions and suffering shocking casualties over the past year.



The hospital is overwhelmed and we call on people to donate blood, said Shir Mohammad Karimi, deputy health director in Gardez. Doctors and nurses rushed to attend to the wounded women, children and police filling the corridors where some bodies also lay. Outside, university students formed a queue to donate blood, an AFP photographer said.

- AFP, 17 October, 2017
Parliamentarian Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera said today that he would join hands with students of medical faculties and their parents in their struggle against the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) if the government did not act in a flexible manner to resolve the issue within the next two weeks.

The thera warned instead of going for more discussions with the government on the issue he would join anti-SAITM forces in their fight to abolish the campus if the government keeps delaying finding a solution to the problem.

The thera made these remark when representatives of the Medical Faculty Students Parents Association (MFSPA) and students of medical faculties visited him in Colombo yesterday (18).

It has been almost three years since the new government came to power. I dont believe that the matter should dragged on any further. Already students are getting jailed and baton-charged and very soon it could end with one or more fatalities. Students do not deserve this, the thera said.

The Venerable thera said the government should listen to all stakeholders of the SAITM issue including the doctors and if it has an impartial proposal to resolve the issue it should be presented forthwith.

The thera said that he would lend his support to the cause if the government did not change its stance on the issue immediately. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)
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The French police have arrested ten people suspected of belonging to an extreme-right plot on Tuesday who wanted to attack politicians and mosques in France. The detainees, aged 17 to 25, are linked to Logan Alexandre Nisin, a militant ultra detained at the end of June in the south of France and indicted for "Association of Terrorist Malfactors". The operation, revealed by the Agence France Presse and Le Monde among others, is an anomaly in a country where the anti-terrorist policy is a priority for jihadist terrorism. The arrests were carried out in Marseille and in Aix-en-Provence, in southeastern France, and in Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris. Suspects allegedly belonged to the associated circle of Nisin. His arrest and indictment last summer served the investigators to reach their collaborators. "It's what we call a little Nazi, he had long been followed," said a source close to the investigation to the newspaper La Provence, after his arrest. Nisin had belonged to small as the French action Provence, based in Marseille, and the Popular Movement for a new aurora, inspired by the new Greek Aurora. He was arrested after detecting that he administered a Facebook page in which he praised the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. As Le Monde recalls, a rifle and two revolvers were found in his house, as well as a text with threatening words towards Arabs, blacks, immigrants, drug traffickers and jihadists. At that time a precise plan was not detected to carry out the threat. According to the chain France 3, in addition to the threats to immigrants and racial minorities, the new detainees planned attacks against politicians, among which quotes the deputy by Marseille Jean-Luc Melenchon and the spokesman of the government Christophe Staner. The assassination plans were at an embryonic stage, said a source of the research cited in France Presse.
A school in the south of Mexico City has collapsed this Tuesday because of the 7.1 earthquake that has suffered central Mexico and has left dozens of children in the rubble. At least 21 children and four adults have died. There are also at least 30 missing from the collapse of primary Enrique Rebsamen, in the area of Coapa, to where the president of the country, Enrique Pena Nieto, and the head of government of Mexico City, Miguel Angel Mancera, has been displaced. The quake has caused at least 210 deaths in different parts of the country. A multitude of volunteers have moved to the place, in a show more of the solidarity that has flooded the capital this Tuesday. There are also some 500 members of the Army and the Marine Secretariat, as well as 200 Civil protection. Among the rescued, there are 13 children and five unidentified adults. The authorities have requested more than 200 people to withdraw from the area to facilitate rescue efforts. In addition, they have requested that no more volunteers be made for the rescue, but materials to cut iron and concrete. The children have been transferred to the Naval Hospital and to the Angels. Four students of the Tecnologico de Monterrey University, on their campus in Mexico City, have died and another 40 are injured, according to the university. Members of the Navy and other security forces perform rescue efforts in the buildings of the school. More than 200 schools in Mexico City have been affected by the earthquake, 15 of them with severe damage. In the state of PUEBLA are 117 schools that have suffered the consequences of this earthquake. The classes have been suspended from this Wednesday and until further notice in the states of Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla, Guerrero, Tlaxcala and Michoacan.
The British Government has embarked on a diplomatic offensive by land, sea and air to try to unlock the Brexit negotiations in the face of the European leaders ' summit held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday this week. This Monday, Theresa May and his Brexit minister, David Davis, dine in Brussels with Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Commission, and Michel Barnier, EU negotiating chief. This is the second private work dinner held since the beginning of the negotiations. The first, in April, was an epic disaster: a leak to the German press accounted for Juncker's astonishment at the alleged naivety of the prime minister, who made him leave Downing Street "ten times more sceptical" than on arrival. Before traveling to the Belgian capital, May had spoken on the phone on Sunday with German chancellor, Agela Merkel, and on Monday afternoon he called on French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. For his part, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson received Sunday to eight foreign ministers from EU countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and moved their convictions that advancing the Negotiations is also important for the interests of the twenty-seven. A change in the mood of the British negotiating team has been evident since May's speech in Florence a month ago. The conviction is that the prime Minister took political risks in her Florence speech and that it is time for the twenty-seven to move the card. London believes that France and Germany are preventing conversations from advancing to a second phase by requiring a concretion in the economic terms of divorce that British negotiators consider cannot be further defined until the Future agreement.
The Portuguese Judicial police have recovered "practically all the material" stolen in June at the military base of Tancos, as police sources have confirmed to RTP. The war material was found in the town of Sears, 21 kilometres south of Tancos, the military base from which the material disappeared on June 28. The recovered weapons are 44 grenades and rocket launcher; We still need to find the ammunition. More information empty garitas; Soldiers without ammunition Division It is among the military that the robbery occurred in facilities that did not have the minimum surveillance measures, the lack of cameras, surveillance Human Ncia and present the lattice numerous failures. The thieves, who entered with heavy vehicles in the installation, took advantage of the absence of rounds of vigilance. Several military officers responsible for the guards were departed from their charges, albeit later spares in their positions. Given the failures of military security and crimes committed, the investigation was entrusted to the Judicial police, who has found the arsenal. The robbery of the armament provoked the criticisms to the Minister of Defense, Azeredo Lopes, even petitions of resignation, more even when last month declared that there had been no robbery in Tancos, for bewilderment of all.
If any charges are pressed against the Charlottesville police officers who shot and killed J.C. Hawkins Jr. on Oct. 13, it will be the Albemarle County prosecutor trying the case.

Hawkins was killed shortly after officers investigating a reported sexual assault and armed robbery in the 300 block of Riverside Avenue found Hawkins on the Rivanna Trail, leading to a foot pursuit.

Virginia State Police and city authorities reported that officers fired on Hawkins after he pointed a weapon at three officers. City police said Hawkins matched a description provided by the alleged sexual assault and robbery victim. The case is being investigated by the state police, at the request of city authorities.

According to Albemarle County Commonwealths Attorney Robert Tracci, evidence has led authorities to believe that Hawkins died in Albemarle County. Virginia code 19.2-247 states that, in the prosecution of a criminal homicide where its difficult to tell where the alleged crime was committed, the offense must be prosecuted in the jurisdiction where the body was recovered.

If he feels charges are warranted, Tracci said the decision to pursue a case would be made in consultation with state investigators.

The officers involved in the shooting are currently on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol for the city police department. The officers will remain on leave until the investigation is completed.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matt Kelm reviews the calls his department gets.

Every week I go through the calls. Every week, theres meth, meth and meth, he said Tuesday. Then theres the drug-related crimes, like the increasing number of calls of theft from vehicles and other break-ins.

Since September, the department has been raising donations from businesses toward a K-9 unit, a dog that could detect drugs such as methamphetamines. As of Tuesday, the department raised about $40,000, or roughly half of the goal of $84,000 to $92,000.

Now the department is asking the public to chip in to make a K-9 unit for the Chippewa Falls department a reality. Donations can be made at the police station at 210 Island St. and online at: www.chippewafallspd.org/k9-fundraising.html.

Lake Hallie already has a K-9 unit. Chippewa County is training its K-9, and the Bloomer Police Department will also have a unit. The Stanley Police Department is continuing to raise fund for its own dog.

Kelm said Chippewa Falls needs its own dog. Chippewa Falls has the densest population in the county. You want to put the tool where the need is the greatest, he said.

Besides, a court decision said that traffic stops can not be extended, so calling in a dog from a distance, say Bloomer, would not work. Kelm adds the K-9 in Lake Hallie already works at its capacity.

Lake Hallie has experienced a significant increase in drug busts when they introduced their dog, Kelm said.

Kelm said the K-9 in Chippewa Falls would be similar to one in Eau Claire. That patrol dog helps with apprehensions, detecting drugs and with searches and rescues.
In such a volatile political climate, with fracturing parties and the emergence of anarchist factions, this year's local elections are as important as ever. In the interest of encouraging greater civic engagement throughout the state, I am going to venture outside of my voting realm with some of my endorsements this year.

I have previously endorsed my friend Ralph Northam in this publication. I will just add that, despite the partisan nature of his campaign, I fully expect Ralph to govern in a manner that is reflective of all Virginians. And, I will hold him to that after November.

I will also be voting for Democrat Justin Fairfax over Jill Vogel for lieutenant governor. But I do not support Mark Herring for re-election, mostly because of his inaction as the top attorney while my city fell under chaos and lawlessness. So, I will be voting for Republican John Adams for attorney general.

I live in the district aptly represented by Rob Bell in the General Assembly; and though I admire his challenger, Kellen Squire, for stepping up, I am going to vote for Rob.

Charlottesville voters will pick two of six candidates for City Council. Though I am in the county, I am endorsing Democrat Heather Hill and independent Kenneth Jackson.

Finally, in a couple of area non-partisan elections, I encourage people to vote for Mary Gregory McIntyre and Andrew Pullen for Albemarle and Fluvanna school boards, respectively.

These endorsements do not fall along partisan lines, because I put people before partisan politics. I would encourage everyone to do that and to consider that we are all Virginians. And, I encourage everyone to vote.

Lawrence Gaughan, Albemarle County
Even more than 40 years later, picturing Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland in Start the Revolution Without Me sets me laughing. At a royal masquerade ball around the French Revolution, decorously dancing couples, one after another, pass around conspiratorial notes to Kill the Duke, Kill the Duchess, Kill the Queen.

Until finally, the note Kill Everybody.

Its much less funny, but thats what the Republican Party seems bent on doing this fall, committing communal suicide to mark its historic election successes of recent years. And in preparation for the 2018 midterm elections.

As requested, voters since 2010 financed and elected Republicans to majorities in the House and Senate. In a stunning upset, they sent the Republican ticket to occupy the White House. They rejected Democrats in all the special House elections so far this year. Theyve even elected Republicans to run 34 states and both legislative chambers in 26 of them.

Yet Republicans in Washington cant seem to get anything done as a team. Every faction has its own principled plan to fix its own priorities, and when nothing happens amid such disunity, everybody loudly criticizes everybody.

The GOP base is angry at the establishments inaction, especially House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Conservative groups demand McConnell resign. The base suspects a conspiracy against the angry populist they elected to #DTS, Drain the Swamp.

Hence, the unscheduled photo-op of McConnell and Trump professing strong chumminess.

Donald Trump joining the Republican Party was indeed a contrived marriage of inconvenience. According to his morning tweets, the president is angry at McConnell, though they are said to talk civilly by phone. Freed from seeking re-election next year, Sen. Bob Corker is angry at Trump, who gets angry back, though Trump needs Corker to enact tax reform.

Trumps former chief strategist Steve Bannon is angry at everyone who disagrees with him and vows to primary virtually every incumbent Republican senator in next years elections. They were set to be GOP cakewalks with only eight seats up, compared to 25 for Democrats.

Nobody is safe, Bannon warns. We are coming after all of them, and were going to win.

Strangely, these dangerous disagreements have little to do with ideology. Everybody wanted Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, and they got him, thanks to McConnell. Everybody wanted Obamacare repeal. Everybody wants tax reform.

The splits seem more due to attitude and fealty to Trump or to the status quo leadership. Each side silently suspects the other is taking the party over a cliff. When the reality is more like their power struggles are taking everyone over a cliff.

Heres a crazy idea: In last years campaign some people suspected Trumps impolitic behavior, erratic statements and needless fights indicated he was a stalking horse for Hillary Clinton, intentionally or not.

Then, perhaps to his own surprise, Trump won.

But his partys legislators on Capitol Hill seem incapable of, or maybe unwilling to, enact his agenda. Its possible they took to heart Trumps repeated denunciations of both party establishments last year.

Perhaps too they fear losing their hard-won control or getting too close to the unpredictable media magnet in the Oval Office who makes nice one day, then suddenly vows to their face to do deals with Chuck and Nancy, for a couple weeks anyway.

Heres the crazy part: What if Bannons White House departure last summer wasnt really a firing? Youve never heard Bannon or Trump speak ill of the other. What if Bannons goal from outside the White House is to get rid of GOP senators who even passively oppose Trump, majorities be damned?

We are declaring war, Bannon declared recently, on the party establishment that does not back the agenda that Donald Trump ran on. Doesnt sound like a spurned aide. What if that We Bannon speaks of actually includes Trump himself _ from offstage, of course? Thats ridiculous, right?

Bannon  who, dont forget, controls Breitbart.com within his armory  doesnt have to win all those party primaries next year. He just needs to wound targeted establishment GOP candidates politically and financially.

Last month Bannon backed the rogue Republican Roy Moore in Alabamas Senate primary against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, a McConnell ally. Moores a loose cannon too. But he tapped into that same anti-establishment voter sentiment as Trump _ and won.

Perhaps even worse for the GOP establishment, Bannons bid forced McConnells Senate Leadership Fund to waste $10 million vainly supporting Strange. Thats $10 million that wont be available now to support other GOP incumbents or challenge vulnerable Democrats.
Growing up in Minnesota was probably no different than growing up in Wisconsin. Well, not quite. The things that I remember included school, church and dance halls. Every small town around had a dance hall, and weekends were generally devoted to polka music. I never did fully master the polka dance, but whenever a shottische was played, wed grab one of our gals and head for the dance floor. Wed whirl her around until a good sweat was worked up and then gladly head back to our booth and sit out the rest of the evening.

Whoopie John and the Six Fat Dutchmen were talked about often as two of the leading polka bands. Both bands originated in New Ulm, the hotbed of polka music. Other attractive stars included movie greats John Wayne and Betty Grable. Many happy moments were enjoyed seeing them on the Silver Screens at the Paramount, Eastman and Grand theaters. For 50 cents or a quarter, you could get into the movie houses, which also featured a newsreel and a classic cartoon such as Donald Duck or my favorite, the Road Runner. Remember, Beep, beep!

Saturday afternoons were reserved almost exclusively for the gun battles of the Old West with cowboys such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, the Cisco Kid, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Tom Mix and others. Not only did we as kids enjoy the movies, but once we left the theaters, we were ready to hitch on our toy gun belts and imitate our heroes.

Dad and Mom ran a neighborhood grocery store. The store was open seven days a week and served the needs of our neighbors living within a four or five block area. Our customers were comprised of railroad and quarry workers and assemblers from the Char Gale manufacturing plant.

Grocery shopping was much simpler back then. The customers would hand a slip to either Mom or Dad with the items needed. My parents would pick out the items needed, bag them and either collect the money or write in a book the amount of the purchase to be paid once pay day arrived.

It was a simple system of trust. What I admire most about these neighborhood grocers  including my folks  there were three other such grocery stores within walking distance. Just imagine, each store made a decent living for their families.

So I was Minnesota bred. I still retain some of the border battles that often spiced the conversations between Minnesotans and Wisconsinites. A high school classmate reminded me of such humor, declaring that Minnesota was settled by a lost tribe of Norwegians seeking refuge from the searing heat of Wisconsins winters. Or, at 50 below, all motion stops in Minnesota, hell freezes over and Minnesotas public schools open two hours late. Or for a further jibe: Minnesota got its name from the Sioux word meaning they eat fish soaked in lye.

Be careful what you wish for. Two good old boys, one from Minnesota and the other from Wisconsin, died and ended up at Heavens gate. St. Peter met them and told them their rooms were not ready yet. He then sent them back to earth and told them they could be whatever they wanted to be. The Wisconsin guy said hed like to be an eagle and fly over the beautiful country side. Poof! And he was gone. The Minnesota guy said hed like to be a cool stud. Poof! And he was gone. When the rooms were finished, St. Peter sent an angel to fetch the two guys. The Wisconsin guy was found flying over the Grand Canyon. The Minnesota guy was found on a snow tire in Alaska.

A belief list:

I believe that just because two people argue, it doesnt mean they dont love each other. And just because they dont argue, doesnt mean they do love each other.

I believe that we dont have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when youre down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something different.

I believe that its taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
Retirement fund body EPFO has launched a facility for its subscribers to link their Aadhaar with their UAN online.

Mumbai: Retirement fund body EPFO has launched a facility for its subscribers to link their Aadhaar with their UAN online.

Introducing the new facility on Diwali eve, EPFO said it will provide "better and speedy EPFO services" to members. "On the eve of Deepawali (Diwali), Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is pleased to introduce a new facility for its esteemed members having Universal Account Number (UAN) and other relevant details to link their respective UAN with Aadhaar online," EPFO said, as reported by NDTV.

EPFO members can avail online EPFO services with Aadhaar or UID after linking of UAN with Aadhaar.

Here is how you can avail EPFO's new facility to link Aadhaar-UAN online:

1. Log on to the website - epfindia.gov.in.

2. Select the "e-KYC Portal" option under the Online Services section on the EPFO website to initiate the linking.

3. In the Online Services section, click on the Link UAN Aadhaar link.

4. Provide your EPFO UAN to proceed. This will generate an OTP, that will be sent to his/her mobile linked with UAN.

"After OTP verification, the member will have to provide his/her Aadhaar Number. Another OTP will be sent to his/her mobile/email linked with Aadhaar. After OTP verification, if UAN details are matched with Aadhaar details, then UAN will be linked with Aadhaar," EPFO noted.
India and Japan have signed a memorandum of cooperation on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) on Wednesday. Photo: PIB| Twitter

New Delhi: India and Japan have signed a memorandum of cooperation on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP), the government said on Wednesday.

The pact will pave the way for sending Indian technical interns to Japan for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years, it said.

As per Japan's data for end-2016, about 2,30,000 technical intern trainees from multiple countries are on training in Japan.

The cooperation was concluded on Tuesday by Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Katsunobu Kato yesterday in Tokyo.

The memorandum on TITP is "expected to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation between India and Japan in the field of skill development", it added.

India is the third country with which Japan has signed this cooperation.

Ambassador of India to Japan Sujan R Chinoy stated that there is scope for India to enhance its participation in Japan's technical intern training programme.

The programme provides a platform through which complementary strengths of India and Japan could be leveraged for mutual benefit.

"The technical interns trained in Japan under the TITP would be an asset for the Skill India initiative upon their return to India," it said.

During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in November 2016, India and Japan had concluded a memorandum of cooperation on skill development under the Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme'.

This programme aims to train 30,000 persons over next 10 years with Japanese style manufacturing skills and practices.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has released a sum of Rs 4,000 crore under the first phase of the over Rs 34,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Wednesday.

Disbursal, in the first phase, will cover more than 8 lakh farmers, Fadnavis said as he listed initiatives taken by his government towards increasing investment in the agriculture sector.

"Today we have released Rs 4,000 crore of which Rs 3,200 crore will be for writing off the loans of 4.62 lakh farmers. The remaining Rs 800 crore will be in the form of incentive for 3.78 lakh farmers who are paying their loans on time," he said.

The release of funds under the scheme, announced in June, will be a continuous process, the chief minister said, adding that by November 15, 75-80 per cent of the disbursement will be completed.

"Farmers have been going through a lot of trouble and year after year we have seen that the agricultural growth rate has been in negative. "The first decision that we took after coming to power (in 2014) was that we did not keep our work limited to relief and rehabilitation, because that was our job anyway," Fadnavis said at an event organised for disbursement of the loan waiver amount into accounts of farmers.

Fadnavis said that from Rs 21,000 crore in 2011-12, investment in the agriculture sector had increased by almost three times to Rs 63,000 crore now. He said the BJP-led government's flagship schemes such as the 'Jal Yukt Shivar' (a water conservation programme) have made a big contribution in ensuring a growth rate of up to 12 per cent in the key sector.

"In actual terms, the agriculture sector is seeing production worth Rs 40,000 crore," Fadnavis said.

The chief minister reiterated that loan waiver was not the only solution to farmers' distress and maintained that continuous investments in the sector for the next 5 years will ensure sustainable development.

"Our job has been to get farmers, who had gone out of the institutional credit system, back into the system so that they do not get stuck in the trap of money lenders and that they are able to take more loans from financial institutions, repay them and also earn money," he said.

Fadnavis admitted that he was initially nervous about the financial burden the scheme would put on the state exchequer.

"When banks said Rs 34,000 crore would be needed to waive loans, I was nervous because I did not know how the government would bear this burden. "I spoke to Finance Minister Sudhir bhau (Mungantiwar) and he told me to go ahead with the announcement and that his department would somehow manage the herculean task, which he actually did," Fadnavis said.

Responding to the Opposition's criticism of the online system of filling forms for availing the scheme, he said had that not been done, banks would have mismanaged funds.

"They would have disbursed money in their own way and only banks and those who own banks would have benefited. Farmers know what was done was for their own good."

Fadnavis said only government employees, who also earn income from agriculture, legislators and those who pay income tax are exempted from the scheme.

"Today, we have uploaded a list of 8.4 lakh beneficiaries online and it would be sent to banks. From a single bank account, money will be transferred to banks and they will be asked to deposit the money in farmers' accounts as per the list. The process will be regularised from Monday after the end of the holiday season," he said.

"Some incomplete forms have been sent back to farmers. Once they complete them, we will consider them for the loan waiver if they are eligible. This scheme will not stop until every eligible farmer benefits from it," Fadnavis said.
Mumbai: Benchmark Nifty retreated from record highs to end at 10,210.85 on Wednesday on the last session of Samvat year 2073. The BSE benchmark Sensex too fell by about 25 points to close at 32,584.35.

The 50-share Nifty fell by 23.60 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 10,210.85 after moving between 10,175.75 and 10,236.45.

The Sensex resumed lower at 32,518.56 and fell further to a low of 32,462.85 before ending at 32,584.35, down 24.81 points or 0.08 per cent. The Sensex had shed 24.48 points in yesterday's trade.

The BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session tomorrow between 1830 hrs and 1930 hrs on the occasion of Diwali.
Mumbai: Bollywood dancing diva Madhuri Dixit is all set to make her debut in a Marathi film.

The 50-year-old actor, whose career in Hindi films spans over three decades, is set to feature in a slice-of-life Marathi movie that revolves around the self-realisation journey of a woman, with a dash of humour attached to its narrative style.

Talking about the project, Madhuri said, "It is a story of every household yet it has a silver lining. It not only gives you hope and inspiration, but also encourages you to live life in the true sense.

"The most fascinating factor for me to choose it is that it is going to carve a niche in everyone's heart."

The yet-to-be-titled film will be directed by Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar, who has co-written the script along with Devashree Shivadekar.

On what took her a long time to take up a Marathi project, the 'Dedh Ishqiya' actor said it was the right script for her.

"Marathi cinema is evolving so beautifully and seeing such incredible stories being told makes me beam with pride. I have received a number of scripts over the years since doing a Marathi film was always something I was open to.

"But the scripts didn't excite me as this one did. When I read this script, it stood out and with the amazing team behind it, I knew that this is what I wanted to be a part of," she said.

The film is co-produced by Subhedar and Aarti Subhedar of Blue Mustang Creations, along with Vivek Rangachari and Arun Rangachari of Dar Motion Pictures.

The movie is in pre-production stage and will go on floors by the year-end.
Mumbai: Raising questions of freedom of expression, Deepika Padukone today said she was heartbroken by the attack on a rangoli inspired by her upcoming film Padmavati and drew Union minister Smriti Irani's attention to the incident.

The rangoli in a Surat mall was vandalised earlier this week. It had taken rangoli artist Karan 48 hours to make it.

"A crowd of 100 people cried JAY SRI RAM AND rubbed out my 48hrs' intense work! Shocked," Karan had tweeted after the incident.

Deepika, 31, appealed to the Union information and broadcasting minister to look into the matter.

"Absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork! Disgusting and appalling to say the least!" she posted along with a photograph of the rangoli.

The actor, who plays the titular role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus, said such attacks muzzled the freedom of expression.

"Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? (Till when we will) Allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!?

"This has to stop now and action must be taken @smritiirani," she said on Twitter.

This is not the first time that Bhansali's film on the fabled Rajput princess has found itself in trouble.

Earlier this year, Bhansali was attacked by the members of Rajput community group, Karni Sena, during the shooting of the film in Rajasthan.

Last month, members of the Karni Sena burnt posters of the film after the first look of the main characters -- Padmavati (Deepika), Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and Allaudin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) -- was released.

They also threatened to oppose the screening of the movie in theatres if the facts were distorted.

Padmavati is slated to release on December 1.
If rumours from Salman Khans camp are to be believed, its not visa woes, but the actors final goodbye behind Iulia Vantur leaving India. Salman and his rumoured girlfriend seem to have drifted apart ever since Katrina Kaif sauntered back into the actors life.

According to a friend of Salman, the rift with the Romanian model and actress had been building up for a while. Salman has been showing more than a passing interest in Katrinas career and life, ever since she broke up with Ranbir Kapoor. During the shooting of Tiger Zinda Hai, Salman and Katrina got really close again. We dont know how close, but close enough to rattle Iulia, who wanted to fly out to Abu Dhabi where Salman was shooting. But she was not allowed to the friend trails off.

We now hear that Iulia has left India as her visa has expired. On previous occasions, Salman would immediately get her visa renewed. But this time the lady left the country with no visa to assure her return to India. Is this the end of Iulias romance with Salman?
After creating a name for herself with films like U Turn and Vikram Veda in the Kannada and Tamil industries, Shraddha is gearing up for her Telugu debut directed by Ravikanth Perepu and produced by Rana Daggubati. Its a modern day love story about a guy (played by Siddhu Jonnalagadda) who cant decide on who he loves the most  his ex girlfriends or the current ones. The quirky plotline, which I believe is fresh to the Telugu audience, drove me to sign the project, says the actress.

About her role, she says, I play Sathya, a Bharatanatyam dancer. Shes a practical girl who knows when to draw the line. Her life takes a new turn when she falls in love with a guy. Interestingly, not many know that the actress stayed in Hyderabad for six years. I stayed in Trimulgherry in my teen years as my dad was in the Army, and I attended Army Public School and Kendriya Vidyalaya. So I know the language (Telugu) a bit. I have fond memories of the city and its a great place to party, she shares, adding, My crew on the sets said that I speak Telugu like a localite, and my director even asked me to dub for my lines.

Shraddha feels that working in multiple industries gives her visibility. Although you have to start from scratch and learning a new language is a bit difficult, the best part is that you get great visibility as an actress, apart from the constant learning. Also, you get to experience the culture and understand people better, says the actress who has also signed another Telugu film, directed by Vishwanath Arigela, opposite Aadi.
After Nivetha Thomas was okayed for actor Sharwanands next with director Sudheer Varma, actress Shalini Pandey might just be a part of the cast too. It was earlier reported that the film would have two female leads, and it seems that the makers have approached Shalini for the role.

She has been approached for the role. However, nothing is concrete yet as Shalini prefers to listen to a script before saying yes. She is in Chennai shooting for the Tamil remake of 100% Love, and will be in Hyderabad soon. Talks will be taken further then, shares a source. The makers were apparently looking for actresses who would be able to perform and thats how both Nivetha and Shalini fit the bill. It is to be seen if the latter okays the film or not.
Anupama Parameshwaran is Telugu cinemas new favourite! All of her three Tollywood films A.. Aa.., Premam and Satamanam Bhavathi have gone on to become big box-office successes. And now, among many other Telugu films that she has bagged, Vunnadi Okate Zindagi is ready to hit theatres on October 27.

The actress says, I play Mahalakshmi, a proper Telugu girl. The film is about love and friendship.

Although Anupama has played the female lead in most of her films, it has always been alongside another actress. Does this create an environment of insecurity for her? I always believe the story is the hero and everyone is playing an important character. So I only think about how much impact my role creates on the audience. People still talk about my role Nagavalli in A.. Aa.

Notably, even in two of her upcoming films, she will be seen sharing screen space with other actresses. I dont give importance to the word heroine; I feel that I am playing a character and only focus on my role, she says. Anupama is also quick to add that she always maintains good relationships with the other actress. I generally dont socialise and have limited friends. But I have a good relationship with all my co-stars, she shares.

In a short span of two years, Anupama has become well-versed with Telugu and has even lent her voice for all her roles. She says, The Telugu audience has accepted me quickly and I like the language. Now it is like my second home and the love and respect theyve given me is unimaginable. Another admirable thing about the actress is that she has given her own voice for all of her films in all languages. For all my films, the directors have asked me to give my voice for the roles. It was not easy and I have to work very hard. But it gives me immense satisfaction at the end of the day. I learnt a lot through this process as an actor too, she explains.

Revealing that acting happened to her just by chance, Anupama shares, I made my debut with the Malayalam film Premam. Its a miracle and before that film, I had never thought about acting as no one from our family had a film background. I am a normal middle-class girl and I never dreamt that I would become this big. It happened just by chance and it is a blessing. Only few people get such a chance and I feel that since this opportunity has been given to me, I have to utilise it well.

No wonder then that the actress enjoys working and keeping busy with multiple projects. After a hectic schedule abroad for my upcoming film and promotions for another film, I've just got back home. The actress adds that she knows actresses like Nivetha Thomas, Sai Pallavi and Keerthy Suresh, who are quite good at what they do. When they are giving fantastic performances, it motivates me and the others to do different kind of roles and perform well, says Anupama, adding, When I like others films, I send them messages. I, too, get a lot of messages for my films from others.
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Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, presents US author George Saunders with the award for the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, at the Guildhall in central London on October 17. (Photo: AP)

London: American author George Saunders has won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for fiction with Lincoln in the Bardo, a polyphonic symphony of a novel about restless souls adrift in the afterlife.

The book is based on a real visit President Abraham Lincoln made in 1862 to the body of his 11-year-old son Willie in a Washington cemetery. It is narrated by a chorus of characters who are all dead, but unwilling or unable to let go of life.

It is the second year in a row an American has won the 50,000 pound ($66,000) prize, which was opened to US authors in 2014.

By turns witty, bawdy, poetic and unsettling, Lincoln in the Bardo juxtaposes the real events of the US Civil War  through passages from historians both real and fictional  with a chorus of otherworldly characters male and female, young and old. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is the transition state between death and rebirth.

Baroness Lola Young, who chaired the Booker judging panel, said the novel stood out because of its innovation, its very different styling, the way in which it paradoxically brought to life these almost-dead souls.

Saunders was awarded the prize Tuesday by Prince Charles wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a ceremony at Londons medieval Guildhall.

Lincoln in the Bardo is the first novel by the 58-year-old Saunders, an acclaimed short story writer who won the Folio Prize in 2014 for his darkly funny story collection Tenth of December.

A former oil-industry engineer who teaches creative writing at Syracuse University in New York state, Saunders is probably best known outside literary circles for a commencement speech he gave in 2013 with the key message Try to be kinder. It went viral on the Internet, became an animated cartoon and was published as a book.

He had been bookies favorite to win the Man Booker, which usually brings the winning novelist a huge boost in sales and profile.

Saunders beat five other finalists: New Yorker Paul Austers quadruple coming-of-age story 4321; U.S. writer Emily Fridlunds story of a Midwest teenager, History of Wolves; Scottish author Ali Smiths Brexit-themed Autumn; British-Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamids migration story Exit West; and Elmet, debut British novelist Fiona Mozleys novel about a fiercely independent family under threat.

Saunders is the second American in a row to win the prize, founded in 1969 and until 2013 limited to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The 2016 winner was Paul Beattys The Sellout.

The move to admit all English-language writers spurred fears among some British writers and publishers that Americans would come to dominate a prize whose previous winners include Salman Rushdie, Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel.

Young said the judges dont look at the nationality of the writer. I can say that hand on heart  its not an issue for us. The sole concern is the book.

Prize organizers said 30 percent of the 144 books submitted by publishers for consideration this year were American, a figure slightly down from last year.

Young said the five jurors met for almost five hours Tuesday to choose the winner, finally agreeing unanimously on Saunders.

Im not going to pretend it was easy, she said.

We didnt have any major meltdowns at all. But we did have quite fierce debates.
Washington: It's a common stereotype that women talk more than men, with some studies even suggesting that women say three times as much as men. However, a new study shows a different perspective.

The research conducted by a team from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge revealed there is an exception to this rule, which could be indicative of the wider problem of gender inequality in the professional STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field. The scientists conducted the research through question-asking behaviour at the 2015 International Congress for Conservation Biology. They had a clear code of conduct for its 2000 attendees, which promoted equality and prohibited any form of discrimination.

The study was observed for 31 sessions across the four day conference, counting how many questions were asked and monitoring whether men or women were asking them. The findings showed that 80% of men asked more questions than female attendees. However, the same pattern was also found in younger researchers, suggesting that it is not simply due to senior researchers, a large proportion of whom are men, asking all of the questions.

The researchers noted that the recognised and ongoing issues of gender inequality in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and the wider world may be affecting female scientists' confidence and willingness to speak publically.

Another interpretation may be that women are more assured in their expertise and do not feel the need to ask as many questions. However, asking questions at conferences is a visible activity that may increase the profile of the questioners. Therefore, regardless of the reason for the gender differences, the fact they exist may be another factor in favour of men in the competitive academic arena.

The study includes a reputational model that evaluates the factors that affect professional standing within the scientific community. While these include tangibles such as the number of articles published, and your academic position, they also include social reputation, which is more linked to appearance and public profile, and therefore potentially more prone to discrimination and stereotyping.

Dr Amy Hinsley, the paper's lead-author said, "Previous research has shown that men are more likely to be invited to speak at conferences, which is likely to lead to them having a higher social reputation than their female peers." "If women feel that they are low status, and have suffered discrimination and bias throughout their career then they may be less likely to participate in public discussions, which will in turn affect their scientific reputation. This negative feedback loop can affect women and men, but the evidence in this study suggests that women are affected more.' Hinsley added.

The researchers feel strongly that the study should be used as an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and inspire discussion about why it is happening.

The research was published in PLOS ONE.
Celebrated on the 15th day of the Hindu month of Karthik, Diwali is not just the festival of lights. While many communities celebrate the festival to commemorate the return of Lord Rama from his 14 years of exile, there are various other stories and rituals associated with it. Being a five-day-long celebration, various Gods and Goddesses are worshipped on different days of Diwali.

The festival starts with Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi, where the God of Ayurveda, Dhanvantari is worshipped, and is an important day for various communities. All five days are of prime importance to the Gujarati community, says socialite Bina Mehta, adding, We start the festival on the first day, Dhanteras, and do puja in our shops and offices. Also, the day next to Diwali is celebrated as the Gujarati New Year and hence the celebrations are much more than that of Diwali. We visit family and friends and host get-togethers. We also make some special dishes such as ghughra, chorafali and mathia. Talking about how Diwali is different for the Jain community, Bina says, Diwali has a very special significance in Jainism as it marks the anniversary of the nirvana of Mahavira, the last Jain tirthankara. Some people fast on this day.

It is also popularly believed that Goddess Lakshmi came out of the ocean during the churning of the milky sea (samudra manthan) during this time. The Telugu community celebrates the festival by worshipping the Goddess. As a Telugu, we celebrate the festival of lights in honour of Goddess Lakshmi. We take part in Lakshmi puja and prepare traditional Telugu delicacies such as pulihora, laddus and other sweets and offer it to the Goddess. We also decorate our houses with beautiful flowers and a lot of diyas to welcome her home. The entire family dresses up in traditional wear and its a time to bond, says model Apoorva Rao.

Many also believe that according to the Mahabharat, the festival marks the return of the Pandavas to their homeland after 13 years of exile. The Sikhs celebrate this day to mark the day of freedom or the day when their Guru Hargobind got free from jail. The Marwari community also celebrates Diwali with much grandeur and pomp. For us, its a three-day festivity starting with Dhanteras, Naraka Chaturdas and then Diwali. On the day of Diwali, we do puja of Ganpati and Lakshmi at our home in the evening and offer homemade sweets, says Archna Malani from Deepshikha Mahila Club.

Apoorva Rao

For the Bengali community, the celebration is about worshipping Goddess Kali. Shedding light on the celebrations, Rahul Basu, member of the Bengali group in Hyderabad, says, The story of Kali puja or Shyama puja is connected with the legend of Lord Shiva roaming the earth with the corpse of Goddess Sati. Earlier, people also used to sacrifice goats during this festival, however now, the ritual is only followed in certain temples. Interestingly, although Diwali is largely an Indian festival, it is widely celebrated in other countries such as Singapore, Fiji, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Mauritius.
The couple's four-year-old son, who was awake at the time of the incident while his other two siblings were asleep, informed police that his father had strangulated his mother. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: A 29-year-old man was arrested in Delhi after he allegedly killed his wife in front of their four-year-old son, who he assumed to be sleeping, the police said, on Tuesday.

The accused strangulated his wife as he suspected her of infidelity, they said.

On Sunday, the body of a woman was found at her home in Amberhai village in southwest Delhi's Dwarka. The woman lived with her husband and three children.

Neighbours informed the police that a quarrel had taken place between the couple on Saturday.

They also told the police that they had seen the accused leaving the home on Sunday.

The couple's four-year-old son, who was awake at the time of the incident while his other two siblings were asleep, informed police that his father had strangulated his mother, the police said. The couple had married in 2010.

Six teams were constituted to nab the accused, said Shibesh Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest). One of the teams was sent to his native village in Bihar while three other teams were sent to the New Delhi, Old Delhi and Anand Vihar railway stations, he said.

The accused was subsequently arrested on Monday from Amberhai village here.

He revealed that he suspected his wife of being in an extra-marital relationship, said the DCP.

He told the police that he had shifted to Delhi from his village because of his suspicion but after shifting here, he again got suspicious of her.

The couple had an altercation and he killed his wife, the police said.
KOZHIKODE: The missing case of a mother and seven-year-old daughter almost four months ago, took a twist, when the mother as well as her lover turned out to be abusive towards the child. The police recorded the statement of the minor girl, after the mother, girl and the man, hailing from Karunagappilly, Kollam, were found from Velankanni three days ago. According to the police, the couple met on social media and had deleted all the account details, prior to leaving the house on June 21.

The woman was known to have been cheated out for money, as in the case of many others the man, Ajith (31), had exploited. Nearly 25 sovereigns of gold and lakhs of rupees were handed over to him by the woman. The missing of the duo from Kunduparamba near here, had raised doubts including forced conversion, which the police had then rejected. Since the couple had deleted all information from their social media accounts, it was difficult for the police to locate them.

The phone number, the woman had scribbled in her diary is known to have given links leading to the accused. "The child, after being brought back to Kozhikode, said she was sexually exploited by the man, with the consent of the mother. POCSO case was registered on the basis of her statement. She was sent to the custody of her father," said V.M. Abdul Wahab, special branch ACP.
The city police on Tuesday arrested a former police constable Annabatula Satya Srinivasa Rao, 39, for his involvement in chain-snatching and property offences in Vizag city.

Visakhapatnam: The city police on Tuesday arrested a former police constable Annabatula Satya Srinivasa Rao, 39, for his involvement in chain-snatching and property offences in Vizag city. The cops recovered 442 gms of gold and 812 gms of silver ornaments from the police-turned-offender. Srinivasa Rao, a BA graduate, joined the police department as a civil constable in 1998 and worked in East Godavari district.

According to police, Srinivasa Rao and his friend Prasad were involved in rice-pulling business (selling some coins to gullible people citing that coins have magical powers) but they suffered losses. The police constable took to crime in 2015 snatching gold chains from women and stealing valuables from houses in East Godavari.

Rao was involved in several property offences in East Godavari district. Later, he came to Vizag city and committed snatching and burglaries at Pendurthi and others areas. The Pendurthi police nabbed him and recovered the booty from him.
In his new book, 'The Coalition Years: 1996 to 2012' former President Pranab Mukherjee (L) said, 'I maintained that the party should not forsake that identity for the sake of forming a government; there was no harm in sitting in the opposition should that happen. I remain consistent with that view even today.' (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: At a time when the Congress is trying to cobble together a coalition against the BJP, former president Pranab Mukherjee argued against sewing up alliances just for the sake of forming a government, insisting such attempts would only dilute the identity of the Congress party.

In his new book, 'The Coalition Years: 1996 to 2012', Mukherjee has said he disfavoured the Congress' 2003 decision to forge alliances to defeat the BJP in the 2004 general elections. He said his view remains unchanged even today.

Mukherjee, who had a long innings in the Congress before becoming the president, advocated the go-alone strategy, saying that is the only way the Congress can keep its identity intact.

Referring to the Congress's decision at Shimla conclave in 2003 to enter into a coalition with secular parties to defeat the BJP, Mukherjee said, "The issue of being open to forming a coalition was certainly a change of tack from the Panchmarhi conclave where we had agreed that coalitions will be considered where absolutely necessary."

"At Shimla, inputs of all delegates were sought and heard. Most of them, including Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, seemed convinced that the Panchmarhi strategy had to change. I was the lone voice stating a contrarian view as I believed that sharing a platform or power with other parties would undermine our identity," Mukherjee says in a chapter titled 2004.

Mukherjee's latest book is the third in a series of political memoirs penned by him after "The Indira Years" and "The Turbulent Years".

The book was released in New Delhi on Friday at a high-profile event attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the major constituents of UPA I and II.

Explaining his anti-coalition stand, Mukherjee, who was the longest serving member of the Congress Working Committee, said he thought the party should not forsake its identity for the sake of forming a government.

"I maintained that the party should not forsake that identity for the sake of forming a government; there was no harm in sitting in the opposition should that happen. I remain consistent with that view even today," Mukherjee says.

On the concluding day of the Panchmarhi conclave held between September 4 and 6, 1998, the Congress had for the first time acknowledged the importance of coalition politics after having ruled India independently for many years.

Sonia Gandhi said at the end of the conference, "The fact that we are going through a coalitional phase in national politics reflects in many ways the decline of the Congress. This is a passing phase and we will come back again with full force and on our own steam. But in the interim, coalitions may well be needed."

At the book release function, Mukherjee reaffirmed his reservations about coalition politics from the dais as he introduced his new memoir.

"I always believed Congress is a coalition which brings together various ideas, personalities and groups of interests. To provide leadership to a coalition is difficult as the Congress has to then manage one coalition within and one outside," Mukherjee said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday ordered a fresh probe into the death of the 11-year-old Simdega girl after local activists alleged that she died of starvation. (Photo: File)

Ranchi/Simdega: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday ordered a fresh probe into the death of the 11-year-old Simdega girl after local activists alleged that she died of starvation.

The chief minister has directed the Simdega deputy commissioner to submit the report by Wednesday.

The activists alleged that the girl died a fortnight ago after going without food for several days. They said her family's ration card was cancelled for not being linked to the Aadhaar number.

Her mother Koeli Devi also said that the family had been starving for days.

"We were denied ration by local public distribution shop as our card was not linked to Aadhaar number," she said.

Simdega deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri had informed Das that a three-member team, comprising civil surgeon and district supply officer, was constituted on October 6 to examine the case following reports of her death was carried by local media.

The team then had found out that the girl died of malaria, Bhajantri said.

Das, however, asked the deputy commissioner on Tuesday to supervise and carry out another probe into the case.

Meanwhile, according to an official release, the chief minister on Tuesday announced Rs 50,000 as assistance to the girl's family.
Mukherjee said in his new book 'The Coalition Years' that Mamata had built her career fearlessly and aggressively and was the 'outcome of her own struggle'. (Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: Former President Pranab Mukherjee has described Mamata Banerjee as a "born rebel" and recalled how she once stormed out of a meeting, leaving him feeling "humiliated and insulted".

Noting that there was an aura about her which was "difficult to explain but impossible to ignore", Mukherjee said in his new book 'The Coalition Years' that she had built her career fearlessly and aggressively and was the "outcome of her own struggle".

"Mamata Banerjee is a born rebel," he wrote, adding that nothing illustrated this trait better than an episode in the West Bengal Congress organisational election in 1992, in which she was defeated.

He recollected how she suddenly changed her mind and demanded open elections in the party unit.

The former president recalled that after media reports said the top leaders of the West Bengal Congress, including Banerjee, wanted a consensus election to avoid an open contest that could bring out "ugly factionalism" in the party, then prime minister and Congress chief P V Narasimha Rao asked him to mediate and find a solution.

"One day, during the winter of that year, I requested Mamata Banerjee for a meeting to discuss some of the observations she had made about the process (of organisational elections). During the discussion, Mamata suddenly flared up and accused me along with other leaders of a conspiracy against her. She now demanded organisational election, and said she had always stood for elections so that grass-roots level workers could have their say in organisational matters," he said in the book.

Banerjee went on to accuse him and others of "distributing organisational positions" among themselves, "thereby thwarting the electoral process", he wrote.

Mukherjee said he was "flabbergasted by her reaction and wild allegations" and told her that a compromise formula was being devised at the request of the leaders, including her. But she claimed she was totally opposed to his approach and wanted open elections, he said.

"Having said that she left the meeting in a huff. I was stunned and felt humiliated and insulted," he said.

The former president said she lost by a very narrow margin to Somen Mitra in the election for the post of the WBPCC president held through a secret ballot.

"I was present when that result was announced. An angry Mamata came up to me and asked, 'Are you happy? Has your desire to defeat me been fulfilled?' I told her that she was totally mistaken," Mukherjee recalled.

He told her he had played no role in the organisational election since she last met him. The former Congress leader in the book also said that the evolution of Mamata Banerjee as a political leader of substance was an important episode in contemporary politics of West Bengal.

"She has built her own career - fearlessly and aggressively - and what she is today is the outcome of her own struggle, labour and hard work. She has an aura about her which is difficult to explain but impossible to ignore," he said.

He also said Banerjee emerged as a force to reckon with after the Kolkata plenary in 1997 as has had a spectacular political career.

Mukherjee described her victory in the 1984 Lok Sabha when she defeated CPI(M)'s Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur, a constituency that was considered a citadel of the Marxist party.

"This was a splendid victory and she appeared to be truly a giant killer. Throughout her subsequent political life, she has always faced tough challenges bravely and tried to convert them into opportunities," he said.
Chennai: At a time when the Centre is talking about Smart City and digital solutions, about 4,000 families have been denied of drainage facility within Chennai city limits for the past four years.

Close to 1,000 flats and individual houses in Nolambur and Mogappair (Ward 91, Ambattur) are spending heavily for drainage. Six years ago, work relating to pumping stations was started in the locality, but the project was abandoned due to poor engineering, said Swaminathan Subramaniam, secretary, Jamba United Welfare Association.

We are forced to run from pillar to post by the callous metro water authorities and there is no proper response about our applications seeking drainage connection, said H. Sriram, a resident of Mogappair West.

There are six residential welfare associations awaiting the facility and we are worried about sewer overflow that becomes common during monsoon, he said.

According to municipal administration department sources, the contractors are now avoiding city corporation and Metrowater projects due to non payment of bills.

With the monsoon being active, the temporary repair works of roads and drainage may get delayed further. The corporation has pending payments running into more than Rs 200 crores for private contractors and this affects the repair and construction of new projects, sources said. Efforts to contact the senior officials of Chennai Metrowater proved futile.
Chennai: The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Chennai (South) directed a private engineering college to refund Rs 1.65 lakh to a girl student, who discontinued the MCA course three days after admission in 2015.

In the petition, G.K.V. Sankar Narayanan of Nemili near Vellore submitted that his daughter was admitted in MCA course under the lateral entry in SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai. He paid Rs 36,000 towards tuition fees and Rs 1.54 lakh for facilities including transport, books, identity card and digital library fees on August 3, 2015.

She joined the college hostel on August 10, 2015 and left the institution in three days. She vacated the hostel after she developed home-sickness. Immediately, he approached the institution to return her certificates. After returning the certificates, the staff also assured him that the fees would be refunded. As they failed to respond, he sent notice to the institution on November 7, 2015, seeking a refund of Rs 1.90 lakh paid by him.

In the petition he sought direction to the principal and President, SSN Trust, Mylapore to pay a compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh for causing them mental agony.

In its reply, the college management stated that the educational institution was not providing any kind of service. And, education was not a commodity.

Therefore, only when institution refuses to impart education to the student it would be termed as deficiency of service. The girl student left the course for her personal reasons and hence the institution had not committed any deficiency in service. The petition is liable to be dismissed, the management said.

The bench comprising President B. Ramalingam, members K. Amala and

T. Paul Rajasekaran directed the management to refund Rs 1.65 lakh to the petitioner.
Hyderabad: A city-based passenger travelling aboard a Jet Airways flight had a bitter experience when he found an insect in the food that he was served.

Krishna Mohan Nyayapati, who was travelling from Hyderabad to Mumbai by Jet Airways Flight 9W 7081/S2 4460 on Monday, ordered a meal and was horrified to find an insect in his biryani.

It is with great anguish and pain that I bring to your notice the horrible standards of hygiene that the staff of Jet Airways maintain while serving passengers. During the course of my lunch, I was shocked to find a dead fly in the biryani served to me. I am not sure how an airline which boasts of international standards can be so careless and maintain such unhygienic conditions while serving passengers food, Mr Nyayapati said.

He said that he had lodged a complaint with in-flight attendant Rylan John. I was surprised that there was no formal format or book for the filing of a complaint. The attendant just noted down my complaint on a piece of paper. Upon reaching Mumbai, I immediately sent Jet Airways a formal complaint by email. So far I have not received any reply apart from an acknowledgement from them, he said.

The staff of Jet Airways in Hyderabad refused to comment on the issue.
This unprovoked firing has been continuously witnessed from the Pakistani side across the border. (Representational Image)

Jammu: Eight civilians, including a two-year-old girl, were injured on Wednesday when Pakistani troops shelled civilian hamlets and forward posts along the Line of Control in the Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district," a defence spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote, Manjakote areas, a police official said.

While five people, including 3 labourers, were injured in Poonch, three other civilians, including the 2-year-old girl, were injured in Manajakote in the Rajouri district, officials said.

The injured have been hospitalised, they said.

Three vehicles and electrical equipment were also damagedin the Pakistani shelling, the reports said.

Last week, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing in the Bhimber Gali sector along the LoC, deliberately targeting villages of Basauni and Sandot in the Balakote area resulting in injuries to two children and two teenagers.

On October 13, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire in the Krishnagati sector along LoC.

A day before that, an army jawan and a porter were killed and six others injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and resorted to shelling on the forward areas along the LoC in the Poonch district.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
The police suspects that he has been killed by militants. (Representational Image)

Srinagar: A school teacher was found dead on Wednesday with his throat slit in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.

Aijaz Ahmad Lone was found dead in Wathoo village of Shopian, a police official said.

According to a report in NDTV, three terrorists were recently killed in a security operation inside the teacher's house.

The police suspects that he has been killed by militants.

"We are investigating the case," the offcial said.
The police with Army has launched a search operation in the area for the assailants. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: A Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police was shot dead by suspected militants outside his house in Tral area of southern Pulwama district on Wednesday.

The police said the gunmen fired at SPO Haleem Gujjar from point blank range in Gutroo village of Tral at 5:45 pm, he died on the spot.

The police with Army has launched a search operation in the area for the assailants. No militant outfit has, so far, claimed responsibility for the killing of the SPO.

On October 1, a J&K police head-constable Ashiq Hussain was shot dead by two gunmen at a marriage ceremony in Pulwamas Padgampora village. The victim, working as munshi at Pulwamas Awantipora police station, was on leave to attend the marriage of a close relative when targeted.

A week before it, a Border Security Force (BSF) official Muhammad Ramzan Parray was killed and four of his family members were injured in a militant attack in Hajin area of northern Bandipore district.

Parray, an official of the BSFs 73rd Battalion, was posted in Singhpora area of neighbouring Baramulla district and had come home on holiday a few days ago when the militants attacked him with a knife before shooting him dead. His father Ghulam Ahmad Parray, brothers Muhammad Afzal and Javaid Ahmed and paternal aunt Habla Begum were injured in the attack.

On June 15, a J&K policeman Shabir Ahmed Dar was shot dead from point blank range by assailants in Bogund village of southern Kulgam district.

On May 9, Ummer Fayaz Parray, a 22-year-old officer with Armys 2 Rajputana Rifles was also on leave when abducted by two masked gunmen from the wedding of his (maternal) cousin in Batpora village of Kulgam district. Next morning, his bullet-riddled corpse was found in Harmain area of neighbouring Shopian district.

In March and April, 2017, the Valley had witnessed a series of militant attacks at policemen and their families following which the police department had issued an advisory asking its field personnel to avoid visiting their homes for the next few months.

It had while referring to the unfortunate incidents wherein militants and anti-national and anti-social elements have caused damage to the life and property of police personnel, asked them to exercise extreme caution while visiting their homes.

They should preferably avoid visiting their homes for the next few months as their personal security is of paramount importance," the advisory had said. It also asked all the heads of various formations to brief their officers and men regarding the threat so the life and property of police personnel were secured.
Ram Mohan may be on the right track as going by a recent study a whopping 80 per cent of engineering graduates are unemployable in the country today.

Nearly 1,00,000 engineers graduate from colleges in Karnataka each year. Nearly 60% of these are unemployed after campus placements. The IT industry has earned Karnataka the distinction of being the countrys highest job creator, making the state of the education sector even more dismal. Students tend to fixate on software or core engineering jobs, despite the fact that less than five percent have the required skills. The technical education sector, marked by the absence of proper aptitude assessment, soft skill training and outdated curricula, needs a total revamp if it is to be part of the solution, reports Ralph Alex Arakal.

Like every other aspiring engineer, Ram Mohan too joined a college of his choice and graduated with dreams of a career that would be both fulfilling and well paying. But three years down the line, armed with a B.Tech in biotechnology he still remains jobless, his dream unfulfilled and his mind filled with questions such as Why me? What do I lack?

Having given the matter some thought, he now strongly believes that the lack of an updated syllabus and resourceful faculty are to be blame for the plight of unemployed graduates like him. It is only when the interview board asked me questions based on industry trends that I realised I was taught nothing along those lines. When your immediate seniors and super seniors end up being your teachers what outside the basic textbook information can you expect? he asks pertinently.

Ram Mohan may be on the right track as going by a recent study a whopping 80 per cent of engineering graduates are unemployable in the country today. Done by Aspiring Minds, a private group engaged in employability assesment, the survey covered 1,50,000 engineering students from 650 colleges across multiple states. It found that only 17.91 per cent of engineers were employable for the software services sector and even lesser - 3.67 per cent - for software products. The number was higher - 40.57 per cent - for Business Process Outsourcing.

Based on its findings it has concluded its time to identify the sectors where employability is poor among engineering students and make the required changes to ensure they are absor bed into the industry rather than left on the shelf for years.

This is crucial for India to continue its growth story and achieve the PM's vision of India becoming the human resource provider for the whole world, it stresses. Mr Pramod R, an engineering recruiter, more or less confirms these findings for Karnataka. Although the number of graduates applying for jobs through us has been on the rise over the years, hardly 40 per cent from Karnataka gets placed as they lack the basic skills to work according to the companies demands, he reveals, adding that even candidates with a an 8.5 or 9 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) on their certificates find it difficult to identify and adjust to the industrys needs.

A graduate in automobile engineering, Aniruddh Narayan Lal, who has been unemployed for a year, says the situation is worse for students from the core mecha nical and civil disciplines. Colleges are mostly interested in inviting IT companies for placements leaving out students like me to prepare for competitive exams like GATE to land a job. The placement cells should tie up with companies across all sectors to ensure placements in other fields too, he suggests.

Conceding that the education system is deteriorating principal of the University Visvesvaraya College of Engi neering, Dr K.R. Venugopal believes the difference in the modes of examinations followed is the prime cause. While private universities and autonomous colleges conduct exams in a manner that ensure students get good grades, its not the same for those in university affiliated colleges. Using different yardsticks to scale the students knowledge and skills contributes to ruining the education system, he regrets.

But it may not all be due to a lack of synchronicity of the education system with the demands of the industry. Mr Pramod sees automation that has led to huge layoffs in the IT sector as another major reason for the decline in job offers that is leaving more engineering graduates doing menial jobs that make no demand of the skills they have been trained in.

A common qualifying exam to determine skill

Principal of the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Dr K.R. Venugopal , believes that conducting a qualifying outgoing examination could be the answer to the present glut of unemployed engineering graduates in the country.

A common qualifying examination, which ensures that only skilled students graduate should be made mandatory across engineering disciplines to ensure employability. An examination like GATE can also contribute to talented graduates being identified, making it easy for recruiters as well as students during placements, he reasons, contending that this may also push students to work hard at developing aptitude and skills to prepare for the industry outside.

The choice of college is important too in his view. Parents should do basic research on what facilities are provided at an institute before paying huge sums for admitting their children into them, Dr Venugopal strongly advises.

Software engineer, Pradeep Anand , believes the problem lies with campus placements as well. For instance, a biotech engineering graduate usually finds it difficult to make it through campus placements as these companies very rarely recruit fresh graduates. And while leading private colleges bring in mostly IT-based companies for placements and also make sure that a fair share of their students get selected, majorly through HR negiotations, some graduates later find it difficult to adjust to their needs and end up either quitting or getting fired, he notes.

Educationists and students also blame parents for forcing their wards to pursue a stream that they have no interest in and which they later find difficult to find jobs in. When my parents forced me to join a famous autonomous engineering institute, all I could do was mug up the portions and reproduce them during the exams, recounts a student sadly.

Clearly he cannot be expected to have the skills required to satisfy companies recruiting in an increasingly competitive market.

Guest Column: Identify skills, to provide integrated training

With employability of engineering students constantly talked about for some time now, we need to first look at the parameters used for such research. Most such studies fail to consider the number of our engineers opting for higher studies. In my view such data needs to be checked first before passing a judgement on the education system.

Having said that, I believe that skill-based training for students should be thought of seriously right from the beginning of the undergraduate course to ensure their employability. Students with common interests should be grouped and trained to bring them upto contemporary industry standards right from the first semester. A four-year training course, which helps students develop and sharpen their communication and management skills along with their respective domain skills, would certainly make more of them capable of finding jobs as soon as they graduate. Universities and colleges should come forward to identify areas of interest to their students and also their skills, and then provide them intensive training in these spheres in their formative years to help them become more employable.

Also, rather than depending totally on placements, our students should be encouraged to become job providers. The idea of entrepreneurship needs to be encouraged as much as possible across disciplines of study by providing students greater insights from the live industry. In addition, more autonomous colleges should be permitted as their quality of education is likely to be higher owing to the fact that they need to stay updated with industry standards in terms of syllabi and training.

K. Balaveera reddy

Former Vice Chancellor - VTU
Chennai: Rubbishing the reports in a section of the media that Nilavembu kashayam causes infertility, state health minister Dr Vijayabaskar on Tuesday insisted that the herbal decoction has been tested scientifically and proved effective against several types of fevers, including Dengue and Chickungunya.

People should not believe in baseless rumours that Nilavembu kashayam will cause side effects. This herbal medicine has been tested well and used widely in many countries, the minister said, responding to reports in a section of the media that the use of this medicine could lead to infertility.

Elaborating on the good caused by the herbal medicine in the treatment of fevers, the minister said it had been approved for public use by Jayalalithaa during her tenure as Chief Minister when Chickungunya broke out.

We will continue to make elaborate arrangements to distribute Nilavembu kudineer to the public. Also, the government hospitals have been instructed to ensure proper hydration of all fever patients by keeping ready Nilavembu kudineer, ORS, kanji (gruel). Special medical teams have been dispatched to the vulnerable districts such as Salem, Dharmapuri and Tiruvannamalai, the minister said.

He reiterated that dengue would be brought under control within a fortnight. Turning to criticism on poor coordination between the various government departments in dealing with the dengue crisis, he said henceforth, the revenue department too would be roped in working along with the health department and the local bodies.

A senior health department official said it was unfortunate that some quarters chose to press the panic button on the use of Nilavembu kudineer at a time when the government had found it extremely useful in treating dengue, particularly improving the platelet count and immunity of the patient.

Instead of listening to such baseless reports, people should introspect on their ignoring the repeated warnings from us to keep their house surroundings clean and dry, he said.

Should we wake up to the dengue danger only when someone in our own household is hit by it, only when the ambulance comes with the siren blaring? Why can't we take simple and basic precautions? This is really sad, the official told Deccan Chronicle.

Studies reveal that Nilavembu helps treat dengue cases

Scientific studies have revealed that administration of Nilavembu  botanical name Andrographis paniculata  and its chemical constituent Andrographolide helped in treating dengue.

A 2015 paper on 'platelet augmentation activity of Andrographis Paniculata extract and Andrographolide against cyclophosphamide induced thrombocytopenia in rats, published the pharmacy & pharmacology international journal MedCrave, said the study scientifically claimed for the first time that the A. paniculata and Andrographolide is safe and effectively increased platelet count in thrombocytopenic (low platelet count) rats and justifies the claim of its traditional use.

Hence Andrographolide is a potential candidate for further research leading to the development of an herbal therapeutic agent for thrombocytopenia (drop in platelet count due to dengue fever, said the paper, adding: The whole study is observed in view of the recent epidemics in some states in India, where in the dengue virus infection induces, dengue shock syndrome, which is an acute condition and lethal.

When Nilavembu (also known as the king of bitter plants as its leaves are said to be the most bitter among all plants) was first recommended by the Siddha specialists during the outbreak of chikungunya, some senior allopathic practitioners reportedly raised serious doubts over its efficacy being just a herbal concoction without any R&D backing and documented human trails.

However, the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa brushed aside the objections and gave the go-ahead for the government hospitals and PHCs to dispense Nilavembu kudineer on a mass scale to battle chikungunya. It appears that such objections are popping up once again now, unmindful of the negative impact the panic generated could cause on the wide campaign for using the herbal decoction against dengue, said a senior heath official. Not just the doctors in India and Tamil Nadu, many abroad have also been using Nilavembu regularly to tackle complicated fevers, such as dengue. We have been effectively using Nilavembu for long in the treatment of not just dengue and chikungunya but also diabetes and heart ailments. While the results are quite good, there havent been any significant side-effects, said Ramanathan Sivagurunathan, a noted Siddha doctor and acupuncturist based in Colombo.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the dedication of the first ever All India Institute of Ayurveda to the nation, on the occasion of 2nd Ayurveda Day, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Days after Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Sangeet Som said the Taj Mahal was a blot on Indian culture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an apparent reference to the incident, said on Tuesday that no country can move ahead without (taking) pride in its heritage.

The Prime Ministers comments are being seen as a direct snub to Som.

Nations cannot develop if they dont take pride in their history and heritage. If they do, they are sure to lose their identity over a period of time, said Modi at an event to inaugurate the first All India Institute of Ayurveda.

Read: Taj Mahal built by traitors, can't be part of Indian history, says BJP MLA

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, too, got into a damage control mode and said, It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Matas sons. It is famous the world over for its architecture... its a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government, he said.

Azam jumps into Taj row

Announcing that he would visit Agra next week to review tourism schemes, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Taj Mahal was a historical monument regardless of the emperor who had built it.

It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Matas sons, the chief minister said in Gorakhpur.

It is famous all over the world over for its architecture...its a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government, he said.

The Chief Minister said on that Soms views on the Taj Mahal were personal, and the state government did not endorse them.

Read: Yogi Adityanath govt removes Taj Mahal from UP's tourism booklet

Later, however, his office issued a statement listing various schemes the state government had initiated in Agra, particularly at the Taj Mahal.

The chief ministers visit to Agra next week is now seen as a damage control exercise on the Taj Mahal.

In a related development, senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan also joined the controversy over Sangeet Soms remarks on the Taj Mahal, and said that Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan should also be demolished as they were symbols of slavery.

Read: Demolish Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar along with Taj Mahal, says Azam Khan

Why single out the Taj Mahal? Why not Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutab Minar, Red Fort? They are all symbols of slavery, Khan said.

Khan said if these monuments were symbols of traitors, they should be demolished. Zaahir hai, traitors jinhe kehte hain RSS ke log, agar ye traitors ki nishaniyan hain toh demolish kar dena chahiye, he said.
Hyderabad: Dr R Venugopal, Deputy Chief Controller of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) on Tuesday urged general public for celebrating a safely Diwali.

He said 40 per cent of the people who injured by firecrackers last year were under the age of 15. The most common injuries were to the head, face, ears or eyes.

Dr Venugopal, and DG, fire services, Rajiv Rathan suggested a few safety tips.

Do not drink liquor and light fireworks

Do not buy loose fireworks or packs

Never light fireworks indoors

Protect pets when fireworks are likely to be set off

Wear gloves when holding sparklers. Do not wear nylon clothing, open neck shirts, T shirts or shorts

Read the labels before igniting fireworks

Keep a bucket of water and water hose handy

Never throw point or shoot fireworks towards people, pets, buildings or vehicles

Keep fireworks in a closed box and use them one at a time

Never hold a baby in your arms while lighting fireworks
Chennai: Language controversy has erupted again in Tamil Nadu with DMK working president M. K. Stalin accusing the Centre and Tamil Nadu government of trying to push the alien Hindi into Dravida Nadu and swearing his party would oppose it tooth and nail.

BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Sounderarajan has hit back telling Stalin not to play language politics detrimental to the TN youths employment prospects and the overall development in the state.

Lashing out at the Centre for attempting to impose Hindi and Sanskrit in the state, he blamed Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for downplaying the situation. Central government is pushing policies like NEET examination and Navodhaya schools as part of their grand plan towards digesting the state rights over education through incremental encroachment, thereby promote centralisation of the education, he said. He claimed that funds allocated for celebrating Sanskrit Week and promoting Hindi are way larger than what is being allocated for promotion of Tamil language and culture.

He alleged that the state government which is supposed to play the role of protecting the states culture had turned into corrupt fort guards, allowing the enemy free passage after acquiring a bribe. He stated the implementation of 3 language policy would pose serious danger to the mother tongue. It is ironic to know that a party with Perarignar Annas name has chosen to adopt a slavish attitude in the war against Hindi imposition and has indeed chosen to play the role of the corrupt fort guards who ensure free passage to the enemies, he said.

Reacting to his statement, BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathy said, BJPs policy is three-language formula in schools. This will enable the people from other states living in Tamil Nadu to have the advantage of studying Tamil. In 2011, during the UPA rule, in all Kedriya Vidyalayas, Tamil was removed and German was replaced. In 2014, we re-instated Tamil in all Kendriya Vidyala schools.

The DMK did not have the moral right to criticise the BJP. It does not want others to learn Hindi but want their members to learn Hindi to capture power in Delhi. DMK denied opportunity for Tamils to learn other regional languages in Tamil Nadu. They cannot stop the three-language formula being implemented in Tamil Nadu, he added.
Bengaluru: Calling Chief Minister Siddaramaiah a bigger liar than former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily when speaking about Bengalurus affairs, state JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday charged the present government with following the precedent of the BJP in looting the BBMP.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr Kumaraswamy came down hard on the remark of Bengaluru Development Minister, K J George that he could not hold an umbrella for the city when it was raining.

Already 15 to 16 people have lost their lives in the rain. Where is this government taking the city to? I am ready for a public debate with Mr Siddaramiah on how his government is running Bengaluru,'' he added

Mr Kumaraswamy also charged the government with paying 22 per cent above the tender rates to de-silt the citys storm water drains.

The government paid Rs 800 crore as advance to contractors and later took back the money and sent it to Uttar Pradesh for the elections. Worse, some of the blacklisted contractors from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh were awarded the contract, he claimed

Maintaining there were discrepancies in executing the TenderSURE project as well, he said, In phase one, eight roads were estimated to be built at a cost of `56 crore. But this was enhanced to Rs 61.6 crore and finally reached `86 crore. There was 70 per cent escalation in cost for 7 km of road and now these roads are experiencing waterlogging. Referring to the garbage crisis, he said although Mr Siddaramaiah had promised to clear it in one year, there were piles of it across the city.

CM was once ready to join BJP

State JD(S) chief H.D. Kumaraswamy claimed on Tuesday that CM Siddaramaiah was once ready to join the BJP as he was afraid he would lose the top job to senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and stayed back only after the latter was given a Parliament ticket and packed off to the Centre.

At one point of time Siddaramaiah was desperate and felt that he would not be made the next CM. So he met senior BJP leader L K Advani along with P Kodandaramaiah and Mukudappa. People like H Vishwanath stopped him. Later, Kharge was given a Parliament ticket and sent to Delhi. Only then, after he was given opposition leader status, did Siddaramaiah decide to stay back, he said.

The Janata Dal (Secular) leader said, Now, Mr Siddaramaiah talks as if he is a champion of the minorities. But when he wanted power, he was ready to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Chennai: DMK working president M. K. Stalin has requested M. Venkaiah Naidu to introspect whether it was right on his part as Vice President to speak politics while telling his audience at a Raj Bhavan function on Monday that an elected government should go back to the people only once in five years.

Urging Mr Venkaiah to remain non-partisan and not use the Raj Bhavan for political propaganda in future, Mr. Stalin said he was shocked by Vice Presidents comments that the state government should fulfil late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaas promises and that if a government proves its majority in the Assembly once, then it should face the people only after five years.

I will not ask how he can speak about this after accepting the post of Vice President... Just hope hell introspect over his speech, the DMK working president said. He also exuded the hope that the Vice President would not use Raj Bhavan for political comments anymore.

Releasing the book: Those Eventful Days, written by former acting Governor of Tamil Nadu Ch. Vidyasagar Rao at the Raj Bhavan here, the Vice President had said on Monday that Tamil Nadu is in need of a stable government.

Mr Stalin said Naidus speech raised a series of questions in the public mind. While I would like to thank the Vice President for the love and respect he has for Tamil Nadu, I expect him to stay true to his words that he is non-partisan and thereby not use the Raj Bhavan for political propaganda in coming times, Mr. Stalin said in a statement here.

The DMK leader said it was disconcerting to hear Mr Venkaiah, a former BJP leader and Union Minister, say that it was Tamil Nadu governments responsibility to fulfil promises made by Amma (late CM J. Jayalalithaa) and that once a government is formed with majority, it has to go back to the people only after five years and one cannot expect the Governor to disregard the Indian Constitution.

The Vice President should re-evaluate his words and reflect on the tone and connotation of words he spoke at the event, Stalin said.
Americas President Donald Trump announced his new Afghan policy on August 21, after an in-depth review. He changed three elements in his predecessor Barack Obamas doctrine. One was a limited surge of 3,000 additional troops, taking the total to around 11,000. He also took timelines off the table, which common sense and military leaders had anyway demanded as withdrawal dates allow the Taliban to, in sporting terms, run out the clock and avoid negotiations. Finally, Mr Trump loosened the rules of engagement, thus liberating field commanders from constraints on the manner and place of deployment.

What caused the real regional churn was his threatening message for Pakistan, seeking more action against terrorists and their sanctuaries while inviting India to increase its development footprint in Afghanistan. This caused sinking morale and ire in Pakistan. In New Delhi, it seemed as if Diwali had come early, and ruling party spokespersons preened on television, using harsh and condemnatory language about Pakistan. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj took the same line as she turned her UN General Assembly address into a Pakistan-bashing session. The global Indian vision had been subsumed in a vitriolic Pakistan policy.

Pakistan adopted its time-tested methods of mixing ire with self-pity, bemoaning its sacrifices in combating terrorism. The onus for bringing the Taliban to heel was gradually shifted to Afghans or others, claiming it had diminishing influence on the group. Links to the deadly Haqqani Network were denied, but by a magic trick Pakistan got released from the same group the Canadian-US Boyle family abducted since 2012. Mr Trumps subsequent adulatory tweet saying he looked forward to working with Pakistan caused some discomfort in Delhi. Even Rahul Gandhi hit his target sarcastically, asking whether it was not time for PM Narendra Modi to go hug Mr Trump once again.

In the process, the US objective has been largely lost. Senator John McCain, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, asked appropriately that he would freeze confirmation of new defence appointees until he gets a more detailed strategy for war in Afghanistan. Some contours of the new US approach are visible already, though many ambiguities remain.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) met in Muscat, Oman, on October 16. When a senior US official was asked by me why only China was in that group out of the regional powers, besides the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the answer was that it was one of many groupings to enable finding a regional consensus on stabilising Afghanistan. That is easier said than done as President Trumps refusal to certify that Iran was abiding by the Joint Compre-hensive Programme of Action (JCPOA)  the nuclear deal  and dubbing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organisation is likely to drive Iran to oppose the US Afghan policy. It is conjectured both Iran and Russia have been lately offering the Taliban aid and sanctuaries. Thus US-Iran dissonance will breed Iranian non-cooperation or even hostility as the US moves to stabilise Afghanistan. Pakistan is partially right that other regional players are guardians of some elements of the Taliban, thus diminishing Pakistani influence.

The Saudi Arabia-led pillorying of Qatar, which is being opposed by Iran and Turkey, will play out in Afghanistan. The only formal Taliban office overseas is in Doha, Qatar. It is now difficult to travel to Doha from many aviation hubs in the Gulf, making contact with Taliban leaders more difficult. Apparently Saudi Arabia and UAE have opened their own channels to the Taliban leadership to remain in play. Thus the Iran-led Shia alliance rubbing against the Sunni allia-nce led by Saudi Arabia in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen will get reflected in their roles in Afghanistan. Hopefully a shared concern is the resurfacing of ISIS (Daesh) fighters, ejected from their strongholds in Syria and Iraq, in Afghanistan and even Pakistan. They are without a state sponsor as yet and threaten all regional powers. Hope-fully no one will start using them in the Great Game in the region. Can all regional powers sink their differences to counter them?

India-Pakistan relations remain bogged in mutual recrimination. The Narendra Modi-Ajit Doval doctrine of no dialogue till support to terror ends is unrealistic. At best, Pakistan should be held accountable for attacks traceable to its state agencies. Other-wise the veto on India-Pakistan relations passes into the hands of any single jihadi who is willing to die. Unfortuna-tely, popularly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been decapitated by judicial writ. Pakistan is already in electoral mode with parliamentary elections due next year. Mr Modi faces a crucial Gujarat Assembly election soon, and may even be forced to call early Lok Sabha elections if the economy does not rebound or a bad monsoon is anticipated. Thus, bilateral ties in the foreseeable future will be run by hawks on both sides. Afghanistan can be the greatest confidence-builder between the two nations, or the theatre of extreme offshore rivalry.

The Trump administration will soon realise that no AfPak policy will work unless all regional powers honestly cooperate. The US Presidents next visit abroad is to China, Japan and Republic of Korea, with its focus likely to be on containing North Korea with its nuclear wea-pons. Mr Trump needs to rebalance his app-roach to South and West Asia if his Afghan policy has to work. Otherwise, ironically, the creator of radical Islamist forces to counter the Soviets in Afghanistan will find the roles reversed, with the Russians using the Taliban to undermine the US in Afghanistan. The Indians may act likewise if they see Pakistan gaining control over the new US Afghan doctrine. The moral is that while tweets can entertain or provoke, they cannot really resolve geostrategic riddles.
In Pakistan, anti-India terrorists and their gurus will find the safest haven imaginable, and this is the case with Hafiz Saeed, founder of Jamat-ud-Dawa, from which Lashkar-e-Tayyaba flows as its strike arm. Here is the man who is the spiritual guru of the 26/11 Mumbai attackers. In 2014, he was designated an international terrorist by the United States. Ordinarily, this should mean that such a person should be locked away, his assets frozen, his outfit sealed. But none of this has happened to the JuD chief, who appears to be venerated in Pakistan for being an anti-India preacher.

For the all-powerful Pakistan Army, which runs the anti-India jihad, the JuD leader appears to have attained totemic status. No authority in the country, legal or otherwise, dares touch him  except to make the right noises, sometimes, before the international community. In January this year, he was taken into a posh setting and placed under detention, which is to end this month. Pakistans Punjab government has been clever. It has dropped the anti-terrorism charge against the terrorist mastermind under which he was being held, and has sought his continued detention on grounds of breach of public order  which is a very different ballgame.

While the US continues to engage with Pakistan with the old warmth minus a few notches, New Delhi should seek to do business with Washington on how best it should deal with the terrorist question in Pakistan so that India-US ties continue to remain on an even keel.
Workers are expected to begin mining operations at the US nuclear waste dump in New Mexico for the first time in three years. (Photo credit: AP)

Workers are expected to begin mining operations at the US nuclear waste dump in New Mexico for the first time in three years following a radiation release that contaminated part of the underground repository, the Energy Department said on Tuesday.

The work to carve out more disposal space from the ancient salt formation where the repository is located will begin later this fall and should be completed by 2020, the department said in a statement. Workers will remove more than 112,000 tons (101,605 metric tons) of salt, making way for seven disposal rooms. Each will have space for more than 10,000 drums containing up to 55 gallons (208 litres) of waste.

The repository, named the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, began accepting shipments of radioactive waste from defence sites and national laboratories earlier this year after being closed for nearly three years. Its working to catch up with the nations multibillion-dollar program for cleaning up tons of waste left behind by decades of bomb-making and nuclear research. The waste includes radioactive tools, gloves, clothing and other debris.

The pace of shipments is increasing slowly, but federal auditors recently raised concerns that the repository could run out of space. The US Government Accountability Office also found that the Energy Department has no plans for securing regulatory approvals and expanding the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant before it reaches capacity in less than a decade. Mining for the new disposal area first began in 2013 but was halted after the radiation release in February 2014.

A chemical reaction inside a barrel of waste that was inappropriately packed at Los Alamos National Laboratory before being shipped to the southern New Mexico repository was blamed for the radiation release.

Twenty-two workers at the repository were exposed, and monitors at the surface recorded low levels of radiological contamination. Officials maintained that nearby communities were not at risk. The incident resulted in a $74 million settlement with the state of New Mexico for numerous permit violations at both the lab and the repository. Investigators said the misstep could have been avoided if existing policies and procedures had been followed. The settlement, signed in early 2016, was at the time the largest ever negotiated between a state and the Energy Department.

Since then, some areas of the repository have remained off-limits, making it impossible for crews to do maintenance to prevent its ever-shifting salt ceilings and walls from collapsing. In one area, monitors last month picked up on increased movement, indicating some instability. A rockfall last November forced a brief evacuation of workers but there were no injuries or contamination.

As the mining work resumes, officials said crews will install rock bolts to provide stability inside the new disposal vault. A machine called a continuous miner removes the salt. Its loaded into a large truck and then a hoist that carries the material nearly a half-mile (0.8KM) to the surface.

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Technological advancement has driven most services to route the digital way in order to engage and access a wider base of consumers across various geographies.

Cyber-attacks have had a history of targeting information and computer networks inhabiting the cyberspace and hampering an individuals ability to access the same. It has resulted in many dramatic cyber-attacks over time and has exposed sensitive information capable of damaging critical infrastructure and computer systems of leading brands and organizations in the confines of the cyberspace.

Digitisation has not only revolutionised business models but also resulted in crime probing slowly into the cyber world that relatively has proven to have more hazardous impacts that man could have anticipated up until a few years back. Technological advancement has driven most services to route the digital way in order to engage and access a wider base of consumers across various geographies. Real world problems now can be addressed from data churned in the cloud to provide real-time solutions.

Governments support and drive for a Digital India has seen support from more business going online. In a growing economy, when a cyber crime has become more frequent in nature, targeting computer systems with vulnerabilities lacking the appropriate security software is a reality we are faced with; and from what worlds recent browser history suggests, this has been irrespective of any particular industry. We reached out to Tenable Network Securitys Country Manager (India & SAARC), Manoj Taskar and he had a lot to say in this regard.

Its not just finance

Contrary to what it may seem to be the current news around you in India and the world right now, its not safe to assume that these attacks are restricted to the financial services and banking sector.

Though there is no dispute that a considerable amount of organizations suffering a security breach hail from these very sectors, reports and incidents mapped over time have shown that an equal amount of peril has been caused to the healthcare and the automotive industries among others as well. A myriad of different industries are being subject to such attacks each and every day, and every case is unique revealing different possibilities of cybercrime that are pretty shocking and dangerous.

Healthcare

According to various studies, it has emerged that approximately 75 per cent of major healthcare providers in the United States have experienced or faced malware attacks and infections that are capable of destroying a considerable amount of data or money. The very recent WannaCry ransomware attack is a stark example that exhibited how a significant number of major hospitals in the UK were affected and several lives were put at risk just by making their information that was on the cloud, inaccessible to the hospital staff. Any such information or sensitive data that has been stored in the cloud could be tampered with or shared and sold if the hackers can make their way to it.

As the hackers are getting more ingenious in their efforts with every passing day, an increasing number of individuals and industries are falling prey to them and becoming vulnerable to these attacks. By creating this fear they are driving consumers, governments and organisations to pay heavy ransoms preferably in bitcoins to decrypt critical information that they have been able to hack and source.

Private and Public Sector

Truth be told, Ransomware has eclipsed the other forms of cyber crimes in 2017. The growing sophistication within the cybercrime communities is enabling cybercrime services, where the profit margin is the biggest driver. As such, public, retail or private institutions are being indiscriminately targeted. India suffered probably very little of the Wannacry onslaught, as it was more spread across 150 countries, swamping machines with ransomware threats with at least over 48,000 attacks in India according to a Quickheal report.

Be it Petya or the recent Equifax data breach, what most astounding has been the expanse of the attack has been more spread out than the effect, still substantial and consistently growing. For example, according to a to a recent study, the number of German companies targeted by cyber-attacks in the past three years has tripled compared with the three years to 2015, with the figure is growing steadily.

Patching Cyber Vulnerabilities

Impacts of cyber-attacks can vary and incidents have shown how it can also turn out to be rather costly and disruptive affair. The energy sector, for example, has seen experts pointing out a trend of small and focused attacks on energy and utility companies costing them a loss of close to 13 million dollars worth of business every year and damage to substantial infrastructure. The time calls for a proactive standing ground against organized cyber crimes who find it easier to target vulnerable attacks be it for intelligence, ransom or radical data manipulation.

There has been a lot of talk about scripting laws on data protection and privacy as an aftermath to Supreme Court elevating right to privacy to a fundamental right. Security vulnerabilities and lack of modernized infrastructure can loom concerns over the protection of sensitive financial and private data. Take the Equifax data breach for example, that pilfered data including social security and credit card numbers of more than 143 million US citizens, leaving them exposed.

Proactive push towards new age security solutions

Institutions and organisations across the globe are steadily working towards creating safety mechanisms that could ascertain the security of their valuable data and infrastructure. Undoubtedly the threat of cybercrime has been starkly high on the global banking and financial services industry, however, it has been nothing short of a myth that these attacks could not creep into or affect different industries. The proof of the same is vividly visible through the tectonic increase in the number of such cases over the past few years. Understanding the nature of the attack and being digitally mindful is the need of the hour.

Companies in India, thus, need to be proactive to ensure foster efficiency and efficacy in cyber security management. The vision of becoming digital economy can be fulfilled when security is a high priority on the management agenda, building clearly defined security roadmaps to have a more structured implementation, top-down right from the C-suite executives. More importantly, adoption of intelligent and adaptive, a new age security solution is the key for government efforts to be successful.

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Because SafeSearch is constantly crawling the web for new sites, the list of explicit sites blocked by Wi-Fis family controls will automatically be updated in real time.

Being a parent in todays connected world can be tough. You want to give your kids the ability to learn and explore the digital universe, but worry they might stumble upon inappropriate content along the way.

Fortunately, Google has a solution to everything and with Site Blocking added to Google Wi-Fi's family controls, parents can let their children browse without worrying about exposure to explicit content. Site Blocking allows you to block access to more than 8 million non-kid-friendly websites on any device in your home  all with a few taps in the Google Wi-Fi app.

Site Blocking uses the best of Googles SafeSearch technology to protect your family. If you have been aware, SafeSearch was created in 2009 to help filter explicit content from Google Search results, which has worked wonders for users. Google now uses SafeSearchs expertise to bring enhanced privacy controls to Google Wi-Fi. Because SafeSearch is constantly crawling the web for new sites, the list of explicit sites blocked by Wi-Fis family controls will automatically be updated in real time.

Site Blocking joins an existing set of Family Wi-Fi controls and will be available over the next few days to all Google Wi-Fi users around the world.

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. The cases texture is inspired from super cars and lines that express speed and power.

The iPhone X is touted as the most expensive iPhone launched so far. The smartphone stole the spotlight with its ultra-thin bezel display and FaceID. But what if you get to know that iPhone X case costs more than the actual phone?

There are users who want even more luxury, and for whom cost is not a factor. A Singapore based luxury brand, GRAY has introduced the Advent Aurora, the most expensive iPhone X case in the world and it cost much more than the actual phone itself.

Crafted from a solid block of aerospace grade titanium, the Case retails for $1,295. It is also available in Stealth, Gold and Rose Gold editions. The cases texture is inspired by supercars and lines that express speed and power. Is it worth spending $1,295 its hard to say?

Titanium is the one of the strongest metal which is widely known for its properties  strength, hardness, toughness, lightness and durability. Now strength and toughness are where Titanium excels. Titanium has very high strength, five times that of ordinary steels. A 24-carat gold version, meanwhile, can be picked up for a paltry $1,145.

Gray says the case starts as a solid block of Titanium that gets machined down into a case. Then, it's treated to give it a rainbow glow. Finally, the cases are individually numbered, like prints of art.

A case for the comparatively cheaper but similarly capable iPhone 8 is also offered $545. It is not known whether these cases support wireless charging  a feature that the new iPhones are proud to flaunt.

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The phone sets itself apart with promises to bake in Googles powerful AI technology for quick and easy access to useful.

Whats most fascinating about Googles new Pixel 2 phone is whats to come. The phone sets itself apart with promises to bake in Googles powerful artificial-intelligence technology for quick and easy access to useful, even essential information. But much of the neat stuff will come later. The phone coming out Thursday is more of a teaser.

To be sure, the Pixel 2 is a solid phone. Its not as elegantly designed as an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy phone. But it delivers a strong tie-in to Googles services, including those intended to fetch what you need automatically.

VISUAL SEARCH ENGINE

The Pixel 2 comes with Google Lens, a way of searching Google just by pointing your camera at a landmark, object or storefront. This can give you quick access to reviews and store hours. It might help identify that mysterious building you walk by every day. Google Lens will also pull out web addresses and phone numbers from signs so you can browse or call with just at a tap.

The feature correctly identified paintings of obscure figures in American history at a museum in New York, and it knew which Starbucks I was standing in front of, out of several in the neighbourhood. But its not foolproof: The iconic United Nations building came across as a generic tower.

I found Google Lens slightly more reliable than a similar Samsung feature, Bixby Vision. Bixby tended to miss on identifying businesses; a Chinatown bakery serving pork buns was thought to be a CrossFit gym  quite the opposite. On the other hand, Bixby identified a plaque dedicated to a Titanic victim, while Google just said, Hmm.

Its a good start, but both still have work to do. And for now, Google Lens requires you to take a photo first. Seamless, instant analysis is coming soon. All youll have to do is squeeze the bottom of the phone for the Google Assistant to pop up. Last years Pixel phone will also get Google Lens, though without the squeezing capability. Eventually, other Android phones and iPhones should get it, too, but Google isnt saying when.

BETTER CAMERA

Last years Pixel had a great camera, but it fell short in some shots because software processing made colours look too strong and clean at times. With the Pixel 2, colours look good without looking fake.

The Pixel 2 also introduces a portrait mode, which blurs out backgrounds to focus attention on the subjects. Apples iPhone 7 Plus and 8 Plus and Samsungs Galaxy Note 8 manage this effect via a second camera lens to sense depth. Google does it all with software, so the regular-size model gets the capability as well, not just the larger XL.

Google says the feature works best with people and small objects. I got it to work for flowers and selfies (yes, it works with the front camera, too, something limited elsewhere to Apples upcoming iPhone X). But I couldnt blur out tourists ambling behind statues; Apple and Samsung phones managed that with the depth lens. Not to mention that second lens offers a 2x zoom without a reduction in quality.

MORE SMARTS

When locked, the phone continually listens for songs and automatically identifies the name and artist. There have been times songs ended before I could pull up SoundHound to do this. Google says all this is done on the phone itself, so its not sending your music tastes to its servers. Google says the battery drain should be minimal.

Next month, $159 wireless headphones called Pixel Buds will offer real-time audio translation, so two people can communicate using different languages while hearing instant translations in a native tongue. A separate Google Translate app offers this now, but having the feature built into Pixel should make it easier to use.

And speaking of translations, Im hoping Google Lens will one day translate signs instantly when travelling. A camera feature in the Translate app isnt as automatic as Lens tends to be. Google says more capabilities are coming to Lens, but it didnt provide details.

PATIENCE, PLEASE

The fact that the Pixel is unfinished shouldnt deter would-be buyers. This is common these days, as more power comes through software updates rather than hardware. Samsungs Galaxy S8 phones shipped this spring without its much-touted Bixby assistant ready.

What you get in the $650 Pixel 2 is a great workhorse. For elegance, you need the $700 iPhone 8 or the $750 Galaxy S8. The larger Pixel 2 XL starts at $850, more than the iPhone 8 Plus and the S8 Plus. Apple and Samsung include headphones; Google doesnt. But the Pixel 2 comes with a USB-C adapter so you can plug in ordinary headphones; like the latest iPhones, the Pixel 2 has eliminated the standard headphone jack.

Verizon is again the only US carrier to offer the latest Pixel, although you can buy models that will work with other carriers  and Googles own Project Fi service  at Googles online store. The phone is also coming to the UK, Canada, India, Australia, Germany, Italy and Spain.

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Indians make up for a little more than one percent of American population but they are increasingly falling prey to hate crimes. (Representational image | Photo: AFP)

New York: Even as Hindu nationalists piqued with joy in the moments after Donald Trump came to power; and as the Oval Office lit up on Wednesday from Trumps Diwali celebrations, Indians in America by and large continue to live in fear.

Trumps America First policy has had more repercussions than imagined, as the outrage against immigrants spins speedily out of control. Hate crimes are on a steady rise as the wave of racist violence consumes migrants indiscriminately.

In February 2017, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla became the victim of 51-year-old Adam Purintons spite. The Kansas man opened fire at a bar in Olathe, killing Kuchibhotla and injuring his colleague, 32-year-old Alok Madasani. Both men were Indian immigrants, who worked in GPS-maker Garmins aviation department.

According to reports, Purinton allegedly had mistaken the victims to be Middle Eastern men.

Soon after, in March 2017 two more Indians fell prey to racially-motivated crimes, as reported by Hindustan Times (HT).

On March 2, 2017, a 64-year-old Florida resident was arrested for trying to set a convenience store on fire because he believed its owners, who are of Indian descent, were Muslims.

Two days later, on March 4, Deep Rai, a 39-year-old Sikh, was shot outside his home in Kent, Washington, by a masked gunman, who allegedly shouted at him to "go back to his own country.

Though violence and hateful rhetoric has escalated since Trumps inauguration, many Indians  in America and abroad  have made the mistake of interpreting his calls to clamp down on Muslim migrants as support for the Hindu-majority country.

For many Indians, the primary concern was a possible restriction on work visas while they remained blissfully ignorant of the threat their skin posed, Quartz reported.

However, almost ten months into the Trump presidency, Indians might be changing their minds, as many fear for their lives.

The fear rising among Indian immigrants is imminent.

I have become acutely aware of my skin colour in the last few months, after the rise of alleged hate crimes against Indians and Indians mistaken for Arabs, Sushovan Sircar told HT.

Sircar, who is a student of cyber security policy at Georgetown University in Washington DC, added, The last two months have seen three violent attacks against people of Indian origin in Kansas city, Kent and South Carolina, which resulted in two deaths. I didnt want to stand out any more than I already do, and my family back home has been worried too. So I shaved off my beard, and the absurdity of this fear is saddening.

Read: 'Get out of my country': Man shoots dead Hyderabad engineer in US bar

Another Indian living in US, Shourjya Deb, 27, a student of public policy and administration at Rutgers University in New Jersey said: In the university space, the way of life is such that people are kind of afraid of being called out as racists or fascists. But even here, when I ask Republicans if they want me to leave the country, they are embarrassed and dont know how to handle the question.

Indians make up for a little more than one percent of American population with about 3.2 million people of Indian descent living there, a Pew Research Centre report found.

A survey by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) has indicated that 40 per cent of US colleges have seen a decline in applications from international students this year. The largest drop reported was from India and China, which together made up 47 per cent of the international students in the country in 2016.

Whereas, according to a report in the New York Times, the number of applications for H-1B visas also fell to 199,000, a nearly 20 percent decline, according to data kept by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The lure of the American dream seems to be waning, its shine dampened each day, under Trump Administration, as white supremacists misread and learn to make America Hate Again.
Sherin Mathews vanished on October 7 after her adoptive father Wesley Mathews told police he left her outside their home at 3 am as punishment for not drinking her milk. (Photo: AFP)

Houston: Police in Richardson, Texas, are using drones in the search of missing 3-year-old Indian girl who mysteriously disappeared 11 days ago after her foster

father left her in an alley at 3 am for not drinking her milk.

Sherin Mathews vanished on October 7 after her adoptive father Wesley Mathews told police he left her outside their home at 3 am as punishment for not drinking her milk.

Despite it being more than ten days since the toddler went missing investigators are cautiously optimistic.

"We're always hopeful that we can find her alive, but time is our enemy. So, we're trying to progress as quickly as we possibly can in this case," Sergent Kevin Perlich said.

Read: Police clueless on 3 years old Indian girl's disappearance in US

The Johnson County Sheriff's Officer and Mansfield Police Department were seen helping Richardson Police Department with the search for Sherin Mathews in an undisclosed location.

The police concentrated their efforts in a field near Richland College, which is less than 3 kms from Sherin's Richardson home, where she went missing.

Police said they conducted multiple searches in "areas of interest" they had developed during the course of the investigation, including fields, creeks and wooded areas.

Cadaver dogs were later seen arriving at the scene to help with the search.

Authorities told local media that earlier in the day they found "objects of interest," but did not specify what those objects were or how they are related to the case.

Drones are being used to help law enforcement officers in the search for Sherin.

"Detectives will evaluate the results of today's efforts while the investigation continues," Richardson police said on Facebook.

They added that they will continue to perform "specific searches" like this as tips come in. They searched the same area Friday but want to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Furthermore, police say the family's SUV disappeared for an hour the morning Sherin disappeared. Investigators are asking any neighbours with surveillance video of the vehicle to come forward.

Meanwhile, a priest placed a sign outside the Mathews' family home calling on Sherin's parents to "tell the truth."

"We the community are never going to stop until we find Sherin," said Thomas Ambalevelil.

Mathews' parents both remain "uncooperative," according to police.

Child Protective Services took custody of their other biological daughter, age 4, shortly after their father Wesley Mathews was arrested.

Wesley has since been arrested, and bonded out, on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to wear an ankle monitor as the investigation continues.
Veronica Green Posey, 64, was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child.(Photo: Escambia county jail)

Veronica Green Posey, 64, was arrested and charged with homicide and cruelty toward a child, The Pensacola News Journal reported. The Escambia County Sheriffs Office report identified Posey as the girls cousin.

Paramedics and deputies responded to the familys Pensacola home following a 911 call Saturday. Posey told deputies she sat on Dericka Lindsay as discipline for being out of control.

During the punishment, Dericka told Posey and two other adult relatives, who are identified in the report as the girls parents, that she couldnt breathe. When Posey got up, Dericka wasnt breathing. Authorities said Posey called 911 and started CPR on the child.

The arrest report said Grace Joan Smith, 69, and James Edmund Smith, are charged with child neglect.

Grace Smith called Posey, who is her niece, to her house to help with disciplining the girl, according to the report. She told investigators that Posey hit the girl with a ruler and metal pipe before the child ran to an armchair.

James Smith told investigators that Posey sat on the girl for about 10 minutes before she complained she couldnt breathe. She stayed on the chair for an additional two minutes before getting up, he said.

Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, issued a statement that called the childs death appalling. He said the agency will work with the sheriffs office to hold those responsible for her death accountable.

As the family has a prior interaction with the child welfare system, a thorough quality assurance review will be conducted to review all prior interactions this family has had with the child welfare system, the statement said.

Posey was released Monday on $125,000 bail. The Smiths remained in jail, with Grace Smiths bond set at $75,000 and James Smiths bond at $50,000. Escambia County jail records didnt list an attorney for Posey or the Smiths.
Trump said he greatly valued his very strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: Donald Trump | Facebook)

Washington: President Donald Trump has hailed the extraordinary contributions of Indian-Americans to science, medicine, business and education in the country as he celebrated his first Diwali at the White House.

Trump was joined by senior Indian-American members of his administration including Nikki Haley, his Ambassador to the United Nations and Seema Verma Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah, his Principal Deputy Press Secretary also joined Diwali celebrations.

"As we do (celebrate Diwali) so, we especially remember the People of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the world's largest democracy," Trump said in a Facebook post along with a video of his Diwali celebrations inside the Oval Office.

Trump said he greatly valued his "very strong relationship" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.

The president's daughter Ivanka also joined him in celebrations, according to a picture released by the White House.

In his remarks, Trump said Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to the country and to the world.

"You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve bravely in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land," he said.

"Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in The Peoples House. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American family," Trump added.

Diwali, he said, is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion.

"A time of peace and prosperity for the New Year, it is a tradition that is held dear by more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide and more than 2 million Hindus in the United States.

It is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains in America, India and around the world," he said.

The tradition of Diwali celebration at the White House was first started by President George Bush.

During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, former president Barack Obama lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Room of the White House.

In his last year in office in 2016, Obama for the first time observed the festival of lights in the Oval Office.
US President Donald Trump on Monday suggested he would beat former rival Hillary Clinton in a 2020 rematch. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday suggested he would beat former rival Hillary Clinton in a 2020 rematch, encouraging the Democrat to try her luck against him in the next presidential campaign.

"I hope Hillary runs," he said during a press conference. "Hillary, please run again! Go ahead."

The Republican leader also suggested that Clinton's words of support to protesting professional athletes -- who in recent weeks have drawn the president's ire by kneeling during the national anthem before sporting events, a statement against racial injustice -- was one example of why she lost the 2016 race.

"Honestly, it's that thinking and that is the reason she lost the election," Trump said, after dubbing Clinton's position on the issue "wrong."

Kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner" is "disrespecting our flag" Trump repeated concerning the issue he has reignited in recent weeks, after saying players who refused to stand for the traditional pre-game anthem should be fired.

Democrat Clinton has already ruled out the possibility of another White House bid.
Trump asserted that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire world with immense loss of human life. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: United States President Donald Trump will start his five-nation tour from November 3 to call on the international community to pressurise North Korea over its nuclear programme.

During a five-nation Asia tour plus a stop in Hawaii from November 3 to 14, Trump will "call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea", said The White House in a statement.

North Korea has a military nuclear weapons programme and also has a significant amount of chemical and biological weapons. Since 2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The country has come under sanctions after conducting a number of nuclear tests, beginning in 2006.

Trump, in his address at the UN General Assembly last month, said North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un is "a rocket man, who is on a suicide mission".

He further said, "It is time for North Korea to realise that de-nuclearisation is its only acceptable future."

Trump asserted that North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire world with immense loss of human life.

"No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals armed with nuclear weapons and missiles. The United States had has great strength and patience, but it is forced to defend itself or its allies we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," Trump said.

Trump will visit Japan from November 5 for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a meeting with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyodo News reports.

The Abe-Trump talks and Trump's meeting with the kin of abduction victims -- including the parents of Megumi Yokota who was abducted when she was 13 -- are expected to take place on November 6, Kyodo News quoted Japanese officials as saying.

Read: Japan PM, Trump agree to hike pressure on N Korea: Shinzo Abe

According to the White House, Trump will also meet with US forces stationed in Japan and members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

In the bilateral summit, Abe and Trump are expected to affirm close coordination in addressing North Korea's nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korea's involvement in many more disappearances. While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Pyongyang maintains that eight -- including Yokota -- have died and the other four never entered the country.

After visiting Japan, Trump will travel to South Korea for talks with President Moon Jae In on November 7. Trump will also speak at the National Assembly, at which he will celebrate the "enduring alliance and friendship" between Washington and Seoul.

During a visit to Beijing from November 8, the US leader will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a series of commercial and cultural events.

On November 10, Trump will travel to Danang, Vietnam, for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and deliver a speech at an APEC business summit.

"In the speech, the president will present the United States' vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and underscore the important role the region plays in advancing America's economic prosperity," the White House said.

After meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on November 11, Trump will visit Manila the following day for summit meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to the White House, Trump will attend a US-ASEAN summit and bilateral talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on November 13 before heading back home, according to the White House.
In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence. (Photo: AP)

Bangkok: Myanmar security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International said in a new report Wednesday that calls for an arms embargo on the country and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Myanmar security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages. Myanmar's government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.

The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

Read: Rohingya refugees flee violence, hunger in Myanmar to Bangladesh

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers' uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Myanmar's Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Myanmar's army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnesty's reporting. Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

Read: Myanmar army chief says Rohingya refugees exodus 'exaggerated'

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards (meters) away were untouched.

"It speaks to how organized, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country," Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the U.N. Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Myanmar authorities do not act swiftly.

"It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar," Amnesty said.

Witnesses and a drone video shot Monday by the U.N. refugee agency show that Rohingya are continuing to flee persecution in Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh.

The video showed thousands upon thousands of Rohingya trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees stretches for a few kilometers (miles).

The new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend, witnesses said. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands of newcomers near one border crossing Tuesday. Several said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

Nearly 60 percent of the refugees are children. The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, warned Tuesday that without immediate additional funding, it will not be able to continue providing life-saving aid and protection to Rohingya children. UNICEF said it has received just 7 percent of the $76 million it needs.

On Aug. 25, a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security posts on Aug. 25, causing dozens of casualties, according to Myanmar authorities. The brutal attacks against Rohingya that followed have been described by the U.N. as "textbook ethnic cleansing."

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has denied citizenship for the Rohingya since 1982 and excludes them from the 135 ethnic groups officially recognized, which effectively renders them stateless. They have long faced discrimination and persecution with many Buddhists in Myanmar calling them "Bengalis" and saying they migrated illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in the country for generations.
Baghdad: US-backed forces in northern Syria say they have captured Raqqa, once the seat of power for the Islamic State group, on Tuesday after a gruelling four-month battle that left the city in ruins.

Brig. Gen. Talal Sillo told said that there are no longer clashes in the city, which had served as the extremist groups headquarters and self-proclaimed capital of their so-called caliphate for more than three years.

A formal declaration will be made from the city soon, after the clearing operations end. Raqqa is still full of land mines, Sillo added, but fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces are now in control of the former capital of terrorism.

Here are five things to know about Raqqa, and what comes next in the war on IS:

Capital of the caliphate

Raqqa, on the banks of the Euphrates River and with a population of about of 200,000, was the first city to fall into the hands of Islamic State militants.

Free Syrian Army rebels and al-Qaida fighters seized the city in 2013, bringing with them Sunni jihadis from the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, known then mostly as ISIS. The jihadis, in turn, expelled al-Qaida and the moderate opposition fighters from the city in January 2014 and set about transforming Raqqa into the de facto political capital of their soon-to-be declared caliphate.

(Photo: AP)

IS razed Raqqas main Shiite mosque and converted churches into Islamic centers. Christians and other minorities were persecuted; most fled the city and the rest were compelled to pay a special tax. But those who could stay lived in relative security, as the bulk of the fighting over Syria was waged in the countrys western cities.

Terror-planning hub

Self-proclaimed IS caliph and the head of the militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, called on doctors and engineers to travel to Raqqa to help build his caliphate and realize the dream of global jihad. Foreign fighters flocked to the city from around the world.

Schools were closed, and children were sent to mosques for indoctrination into jihad and camps for military training. Foreign journalists and aid workers were held in the citys prisons and beheaded in videos that brought the IS militants the global attention they craved.

Planning for some of the major attacks in Europe in recent years, including the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, and the 2016 suicide attacks on the Brussels airport and subway, which killed 32, was traced back to Raqqa.

Victory at a devastating cost

In June 2016, a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces launched operations to capture the city. Backed by US air strikes and artillery fire, it took the SDF four months of street fighting to recapture Raqqa.

As the battle dragged on, the US-led coalition intensified its bombardment. According to Airwars, a group that monitors the human cost of the US and Russian air campaigns in Syria and Iraq, the coalition dropped more shells and bombs on Raqqa in August 2017 than it did on all of Afghanistan in the same month.

In September, the New York-based monitoring group Physicians for Human Rights said that there was only one hospital left operating in the city, which was treating wounds with just salt and water. Rescuers had stopped digging for survivors of the air strikes for fear of being struck themselves.

Airwars and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say more than 1,000 civilians were killed just by coalition air strikes since SDF forces first entered the city in June.

The Pentagon says some 1,100 SDF fighters have been killed and nearly 4,000 wounded in the twin offensives on Raqqa and the nearby city of Deir el-Zour.

Today, Raqqa lies in ruins. Whole neighbourhoods have been turned to rubble, and most of the population has been displaced to overcrowded camps and towns.

Lingering tensions

Now that the Kurdish-led SDF has Raqqa, the question is what to do with it. The group has appointed a civilian administration of locals to rebuild the city, but bigger questions loom.

The SDF is a multi-ethnic force, but its Kurdish leadership harbours ambitions of autonomous rule over a Kurdish region in Syria that now includes the Arab-majority Raqqa. The ruling Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, no doubt with an eye on the Kurdish independence referendum held in Iraq on Sept. 25, understands it may never have a better opportunity to attain self-rule.

Syrian Arabs by-and-large prefer a unified country, and Kurdish domination over Raqqa threatens to engender resentment. At a summer graduation for the citys reconstructed police corps, The Associated Press spoke to SDF-trained cadets who struggled to make sentences in Arabic.

A backlash among Raqqas Sunni Arab population against the Kurds is a real concern.

(Photo: AP)

Whats next: chasing is in east Syria

The war on IS has already shifted to Syrias eastern Deir el-Zour province, which holds much of the countrys oil and gas resources, plus a valuable crossing with Iraq. The jihadis still hold about 130 kilometers (81 miles) of the Euphrates River Valley inside Syria, including several key strongholds.

Unlike in Raqqa, there are two parties chasing IS in Deir el-Zour. Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian government forces are gaining ground on the southeast banks of the river, while the US-backed SDF are advancing on the northwest.

The stakes are high and the two sides have exchanged accusations of firing on one another. The United States does not want Iran to secure a corridor across Iraq and Syria all the way to the Mediterranean.

IS is fighting a losing battle, and its days in northern and eastern Syria are numbered, though it will likely survive for some time as an insurgent group. The question now is who will pick up the pieces of its terrible rule.
'The prospects are bright, but the challenges are also severe,' said Xi Jinping (Photo: File)

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping told the Communist Party on Wednesday to "resolutely oppose" any actions that undermine its leadership, as he opened a twice-a-decade congress expected to enhance his already formidable powers.

Xi told some 2,300 delegates at the Great Hall of the People that the country was entering a "new era" as the party pursues "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

"The prospects are bright, but the challenges are also severe," said Xi, who is expected to get a second five-year term as general secretary during the congress.

In his speech, Xi extolled China's rising clout abroad and its fight against poverty and inequality at home, as well as his campaign against corruption within the party.

"Every one of us in the party must do more to uphold party leadership and the Chinese socialist system and resolutely oppose all statements and actions that undermine, distort or negate them," Xi said.

"We must do more to protect our people's interest and firmly oppose all moves that damage their interest or put distance between the party and the people," Xi added.

Xi, who is considered the most Chinese powerful leader in a generation, has led a campaign against corruption that has taken down some 1.3 million officials in the past five years.

He said the anti-graft campaign has been "unswervingly fighting against 'tigers', 'beating flies', 'hunting foxes'" -- terms used for lower and higher ranking officials.
The owner of the two-storey building in east-central Bengaluru that collapsed early on Monday morning, killing seven people, was served an eviction notice by the BBMP as recently as on September 25.



S Gunesh, who was arrested on Tuesday for criminal negligence, had received the eviction notice on September 25. The property, at 9th Cross, Gundappa Gowda Layout, Ejipura, is in the name of Ganeshs deceased father, Somesh. The former got it as his share of the ancestral property.



We have been inspecting ward number 148 (Ejipura) every day. Your (Someshs) property was built around 20-25 years ago and since it has been raining continuously, there is a possibility that the building may collapse. There is also a possibility of damage to adjacent homes. In order to avert the damage, its better to shift to another place and protect the residents. If you fail to do so, and if there is any damage, you will be held accountable and the BBMP will not be responsible, said the notice in Kannada.



After Someshs death, the properties were divided among his children. This building went to Gunesh, but the title has not yet been transferred to him. The BBMP issued the eviction notice on the basis of existing documents which are in his fathers name, an official said.



Gunesh himself received the notice and even signed an acknowledgement. He, however, failed to take steps to vacate the place. The tragedy happened because of his negligence, the official said and added that he would be prosecuted.



Neighbours leave



People living in neighbouring homes are shifting to new places as a precaution. Due to the collapse of the building, there are cracks in our house. My husband was petrified hearing the loud noise. We are moving to another place since as we are scared to death, Nandini, a neighbour, said.



Yogananda and his wife Pushpa who live right next to the building were so terrified that they spent the night near a bakery.



Jayamma, another resident, wants to vacate her house but says the landlord was not returning the security deposit. If officials help us get our money back, we will look for another place, she said.



Mary lived in the ill-fated building until about four months ago. I could see that the building would crumble anytime. The owner didnt do anything even after being informed of the danger, she said.



Meanwhile, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) inspected the place on Tuesday since there is speculation that the building collapsed after a gas cylinder exploded.



An IOC official told journalists: At first sight, the building seems to have crumbled following a cylinder blast. But we can arrive at a conclusion only after closely examining the evidence collected so far.


EAM @SushmaSwaraj flagged the issue of H1B visa as a strong concern and sought bipartisan Congressional support for the same. pic.twitter.com/g2ZZSyJGX7

 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) October 17, 2017



Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, posted on Twitter. The US House of Representatives has before it four Bills seeking overhaul of the H1B visa programme. Two more Bills are pending before the US Senate.



The Bills introduced by individual Representatives and Senators are nowhere close to being passed by the Congress.



The nine-member bipartisan delegation of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology is currently on a tour of India and is led by its chairman, Lamar Smith.



The delegation earlier visited Bengaluru and had a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.



Indias concerns



US President Donald Trumps America First rhetoric and his vows to protect jobs for the Americans fuelled speculation that some of the policies of his administration could hit Indias Information Technology industry hard.



The US Citizenship and Immigration Services on March 31 issued a guidance policy memorandum on H1B computer related positions by which, a petitioner seeking to sponsor a beneficiary for a computer programmer position must provide other evidence to establish the position as a specialty occupation. This made it harder for companies to use the H1B visa programme to bring foreign computer programmers into the US.



Trump on April 18 issued an Executive Order titled Buy American and Hire American, giving directives to various Departments that the executive branch must rigorously enforce and administer the laws governing foreign workers entry into the US in order to create higher wages and employment rates for the workers in America. The Executive Order also asked the US officials to suggest reforms to help ensure that H1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.

With the American Congress considering six Bills seeking to restrict use of H1B visas by Indian professionals, New Delhi has urged the US lawmakers to resist the move.External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday conveyed to a delegation of US lawmakers the strong concerns of New Delhi about the moves to pass legislations seeking changes in the H1B visa regime to restrict skilled professionals from India and abroad from staying and working in America.During a meeting with the delegation from the US House of Representatives here, the minister said India looked forward to getting bipartisan support in American Congress to resist such moves.
Rajasthan's additional director general of police (law and order) N R K Reddy has sought an inquiry against the policemen who refused to give guard of honour to Union Home minister Rajnath Singh.



The policemen were among the 250 police constables from various districts who went on a mass leave on Monday.



Superintendents of police (SP) in the respective districts have been asked to take action against the constables who refused to give guard of honour to Singh.



Singh was on a brief visit to Jodhpur to inaugurate a regional training centre for the Intelligence Bureau (IB).



The constabulary went on leave following rumours that a government order would reduce their pay scales.



"Some of the policemen who were supposed to give guard of honour to the Union minister were part of the mass leave. They refused to come on duty though their leaves were not sanctioned. However, we replaced them with other policemen," Jodhpur Police Commissioner Ashok Rathore confirmed to DH.



Stating it as a matter of indiscipline, Rathod said uniform action will be taken against them.



A letter was issued on Monday evening to inspector generals and district superintendents of police.



The letter directs the SPs to speak to the protesting police personnel and call them back on duty.



The constabulary has been staging protests across the state for a fortnight over an alleged salary cut since a WhatsApp message, which said their pay will be reduced from Rs 24,000 to Rs 19,000 per month, began to circulate.



Their protest was previously limited only to boycotting the mess facility and wearing black ribbons during duty hours.


India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has "taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.



Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.



"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.



Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added. In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harboring terrorists."



"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.



The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance. India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.



"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said. "So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.



"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the ground work that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harboring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.



The Trump Administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said. The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.



"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.



"Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people," she said. For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.



"It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why," she asked. "Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.



The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said. Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.



"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.



Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.



"There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India," she said.



"It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she added.
The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.



"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.



US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."



Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council. "Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.



Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.



"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said. For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.



India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.



Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.



India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.



Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support India's permanent membership.


New Delhi has been upset over Beijing's stand opposing India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and its persistent policy of shielding terrorists based in the territory under control of China's all-weather friend Pakistan from United Nations' sanctions. New Delhi has also been crying foul over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is proposed to pass through parts of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan and will thus infringes on sovereignty of India.

China has not shared with India any data on Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers this year, even as the five-month period stipulated by the bilateral pacts for doing so has ended last Sunday.New Delhi and Beijing have bilateral arrangements requiring China of sharing hydrological data on cross-border rivers between May 15 and October 15 every year. But sources in New Delhi told the DH on Tuesday that no data had been received from Chinese Government during the past five months.Beijing's reluctance to share river data with New Delhi now added yet another irritant to the bilateral relation, which was already been strained and reached at its lowest ebb during the recent 72-day long face-off between Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army at Doklam Plateau along the disputed China-Bhutan border.The hydrological data received from China helps India to prepare for the rise in water level of Brahmaputra and Sutlej during the monsoon season and assess the possibility of a flood or flood-like situation and its extent.The overflowing Brahmaputra caused four waves of flood that wreaked havoc in Assam, killing over 160 people and displacing a large number of people in 29 districts of the State. Over 10000 acres of agricultural land in Punjab was also inundated by waters of Sutlej.New Delhi and Beijing first inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2002 for sharing of hydrological data on Yaluzangbu or Brahmaputra. The MoU provided for Beijing sharing with New Delhi hydrological information  water level, discharge and rainfall  recorded at three stations  Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia  in upper reaches of Yaluzangbu or Brahmaputra in Tibet Autonomous Region of China from June 1 to October 15 every year. The data New Delhi received from Beijing was utilized by the Central Water Commission (CWC) for flood forecasts.The MoU was renewed in 2008 and 2013. A separate MoU on Strengthening Cooperation on Trans-Border Rivers was inked on October 23, 2013. This MoU provided for China to share data with India from May 15 (instead of June 15 as agreed upon earlier) till October 15 every year, beginning with 2014.New Delhi also has similar arrangement with Beijing since 2005 to receive hydrological data recorded at Tsada Station on the upper reaches of Langqen Zangbo or Sutlej river in Tibet Autonomous Region of China.At the height of the recent stand-off at Doklam Plateau near India-China-Bhutan tri-junction boundary point, New Delhi on August 18 made public that Beijing had not shared with it hydrological data this year although it had been expecting receive information on water level, discharge and rainfall on both Brahmaputra and Sutlej from May 15.Geng Shuang, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chinese Government, on September 12 told journalists in Beijing that its river data collection stations in Tibet Autonomous Region had been damaged by flood and required renovation and upgrading.Since the stations were not in a position to collect data on Yaluzangbu and Langqen Zangbo (Brahmaputra and Sutlej in upper reaches), Beijing could not share data with New Delhi, said Shaung, according to the transcript available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chinese Government.Beijing's excuse however could not convince New Delhi, as Bangladesh confirmed that it had received hydrological data on Yaluzangbu or Brahmaputra from China.Yaluzangbu or Yarlung Tsangpo, a 1700 kilometer long river, originates at Jima Yangzong glacier near Mount Kailash in Tibet Autonomous Region of China and flows into Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as Siang and Dihang, and then into Assam as Brahmaputra. It later flows into Bangladesh. Sutlej also originates from Lake Rakshashtal in Tibet and flows through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana before flowing into Pakistan.Sources told the DH that New Delhi had been expecting that China would start sharing with India data on both the rivers after the face-off at Doklam Plateau had resolved on August 28 with withdrawal of troops by both sides.Beijing, however, did not share any information with New Delhi even after the disengagement in Doklam Plateau and the period stipulated for doing so ended on October 15 last.India-China relations worsened even before the face-off at Doklam Plateau. Beijing was irked by New Delhis opposition to Belt-and-Road initiative of China and its decision to allow Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh earlier this year. Indias growing strategic synergy with US and Japan in Indo-Pacific raised hackles in China.
Actor Kamal Haasan, about whom speculation is rife that he may take the political plunge soon, has apologised for "hastily" supporting demonetisation, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should accept his "mistake".



Haasan said he was "duty-bound to openly apologise for his haste" in lauding the noteban, announced by the prime minister on November 8 last year.



Writing for his "Ennul Mayyam Konda Puyal", (which roughly translates as 'storm inside me'), a column in Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, which hit the stands today, the actor said, "If the prime minister admitted the mistake...without being obstinate, another salaam (salute) from me is waiting for him."



He, however, did not make it clear what aspects he wanted Modi to admit as the "mistake" -- the demonetisation decision per se or the implementation part of it.



Prime Minister Modi had in a surprise decision announced scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, invalidating nearly 86 per cent of currency in circulation.



"Correcting the mistake...and importantly admitting it is the hallmark of great leaders. Mr. Gandhi (Mahatma) was able to do it. It is possible even today, let us wait and see," he said.



Haasan said he never hesitated in tendering an apology if he made a mistake.



After Modi announced demonetisation, Haasan said, "I expressed my view on Twitter, saying this has to be lauded transcending party lines".



In his article today, the actor said he had then felt that besides extending full support to the decision, since it is one of the ways to eradicate black money, people should also bear minor inconveniences caused by it.



The actor said he faced strong criticism from many of his friends, some of whom had "economic education", for supporting the noteban.



He also writes that days after his tweet, he felt demonetisation was a good idea but implemented in a faulty manner. Criticism from some economic experts had gained momentum by then.



"I thought that some schemes, though brought with good intention, will fail in implementation," he writes.



"My suspicion gets stronger when weak answers come from the government to loud voices like the idea (of demonetisation) itself was a deceit," he adds.



The actor, who has been unrelenting in his attack on the AIADMK government, had so far not openly targeted the central government or the BJP.


Former President Pranab Mukherjee has described Mamata Banerjee as a "born rebel" and recalled how she once stormed out of a meeting, leaving him feeling "humiliated and insulted".



Noting that there was an aura about her which was "difficult to explain but impossible to ignore", Mukherjee said in his new book 'The Coalition Years' that she had built her career fearlessly and aggressively and was the "outcome of her own struggle".



"Mamata Banerjee is a born rebel," he wrote, adding that nothing illustrated this trait better than an episode in the West Bengal Congress organisational election in 1992, in which she was defeated.



He recollected how she suddenly demanded an open contest in the party unit after advocating elections by consensus.



The former president recalled that after media reports said the top leaders of the West Bengal Congress, including Banerjee, wanted a consensus election to avoid an open contest that could bring out "ugly factionalism" in the party, then prime minister and Congress chief P V Narasimha Rao asked him to mediate and find a solution.



"One day, during the winter of that year, I requested Mamata Banerjee for a meeting to discuss some of the observations she had made about the process (of organisational elections).



"During the discussion, Mamata suddenly flared up and accused me along with other leaders of a conspiracy against her. She now demanded organisational election, and said she had always stood for elections so that grass-roots level workers could have their say in organisational matters," he said in the book, the third volume in his series of political memoirs.



Banerjee went on to accuse him and others of "distributing organisational positions" among themselves, "thereby thwarting the electoral process", he wrote.



Mukherjee said he was "flabbergasted by her reaction and wild allegations" and told her that a compromise formula was being devised at her request and that of other leaders.



But she claimed she was totally opposed to his approach and wanted open elections, he said.



"Having said that she left the meeting in a huff. I was stunned and felt humiliated and insulted," he wrote.



The former president said she lost by a very narrow margin to Somen Mitra in the election for the post of the WBPCC president held through a secret ballot.



"I was present when that result was announced. An angry Mamata came up to me and asked, 'Are you happy? Has your desire to defeat me been fulfilled?' I told her that she was totally mistaken," Mukherjee recalled.



He told her he had played no role in the organisational election since she had last met him.



The former Congress leader also said the evolution of Mamata Banerjee as a political leader of substance was an important episode in the contemporary politics of West Bengal.



"She has built her own career - fearlessly and aggressively - and what she is today is the outcome of her own struggle, labour and hard work. She has an aura about her which is difficult to explain but impossible to ignore," he said.



He also said Banerjee emerged as a force to reckon with after the Kolkata plenary in 1997 as has had a spectacular political career.



Mukherjee described as "splendid" her victory in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls, when she defeated CPI(M)'s Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur, a constituency that was considered a citadel of the Marxist party.



"This was a splendid victory and she appeared to be truly a giant killer. Throughout her subsequent political life, she has always faced tough challenges bravely and tried to convert them into opportunities," he said.
Ever since the #MeToo hashtag campaign went viral, the internet has exploded with the gruesome sexual harassment experiences of men and women. And now, Kolkata Police has joined the #metoo social media campaign by urging people to not just be strong but to also be very, very angry about the sexual physical abuses they constantly face in almost every sphere of life.



The police department has shared a post on Facebook, saying they were perturbed by the number of women who shared their stories of sexual abuse. The post soon went viral and people came forward and thanked the Kolkata Police for positively approaching the ongoing #MeToo hashtag campaign.



Read the facebook post here:

#metoo



Yesterday and today, we found Facebook and Twitter full of the metoo hashtag, which exposes the shocking number of women who have been subject to sexual harassment.



We at Kolkata Police have been perturbed by the number of women who have shared #metoo. And we would also like to reiterate our pledge and commitment by saying that we hear every single one of you.



We are here to take your complaints every time you want to report a case of sexual harassment. So walk into our police stations whenever you want to report sexual harassment, and our officers are there to hear your experiences with patience and kindness and take your complaints. We urge you to be strong, we want you to be very, very angry about the leering, jeering, threats, verbal and physical abuses, we are asking you to be not afraid and to report to the police every time.



We also feel it important to talk to boys about the need to stop sexual harassment, and for this, we have recently launched a project, Dear Boys, in schools. We have visited ten schools of Kolkata, and the second part of Dear Boys will start mid-November.
Giving a new twist to the controversy surrounding the Taj Mahal, senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar today said it was Lord Shiva's temple called 'Tejo Mahal' which was converted into a mausoleum by Shahjahan.



He, however, added that he does not want the monument as famous as this, which is among the wonders of the world, to be demolished.



He also has no objection to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visiting the Taj Mahal to review tourism schemes.



"It was Tejo Mahal, Lord Shiva's temple, where Shahjahan buried his wife and turned it into a mausoleum," said, Katiyar who had been in the forefront of the Ram temple movement of Ayodhya.



"It was constructed by Hindu kings, the rooms and carvings there prove that it was a Hindu monument... it has also been termed as one by historian PN Oak," he said about the Taj.



He said like a Shiva temple, water drips from the ceiling in the Taj Mahal, which is not a case in any mausoleum anywhere and is like that only on a Shivlinga. "It was a famous monument and was grabbed by Shahjahan," Katiyar said. "It was our temple but was made a mausoleum as they had more power. But it is a grand monument and national heritage... people come to see it and so it should be kept safe and secure," he said.



Katiyar, who is also an accused in the Babri case, said no political meaning should be derived from today's grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya by the Adityanath government.



"The aim is to develop Ayodhya...the effort is to recreate the scene of Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya from exile," Katiyar said, adding there is no politics behind the function as seen by the opposition. On the issue of Ram temple construction, Katiyar hoped that the court verdict will come in a year's time as the hearing is being conducted on a day-to-day basis.



"I hope some way will be found to construct Ram temple or else we can construct it on the lines of Somnath temple...We will look at the alternatives as options like dialogue or (constructing) on the lines of Somnath temple are open...but we want the temple," he said.



The stone carving work for the first storey is over and that of the second storey is on, he said, adding, "As soon as we get the land, we can start construction."
Amid a tussle with the West Bengal government over the deployment of forces in Darjeeling, the Union Home Ministry has told state governments that paramilitary forces cannot substitute state police and should be deployed only in emergencies.



In a communication to all states, the ministry also asked all state governments to set up a committee for examining requirements of central armed police forces (CAPF) by keeping in view the internal security, intelligence inputs and availability of central forces in nearby locations.



It said the central government has formulated standard operating procedures (SOPs) for deployment of CAPFs and according to it, the central forces would be able to meet more pressing commitments like guarding borders, fighting an insurgency, anti-national operations and in related situations which need immediate mobilisation of forces.



"CAPFs can't substitute the state police force as their deployment is related to the emergency crisis in states for maintaining law and order," the communication said.



The home ministry's missive came after the West Bengal government moved the Calcutta High Court and got a stay against the central government's move to withdraw 700 CAPF personnel from Darjeeling, where an agitation demanding a separate state is on.



West Bengal Chief Minister even spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and is said to have protested the central government's move to withdraw the CAPFs from Darjeeling.



The ministry, in the communication, said the state governments often make requests to the Centre for deployment of CAPFs even for occasions where the state should normally be in a position to take all security measures from their own resources by dispatching police and state armed police.



"State governments are reluctant to de-induct CAPFs and keep requesting for an extension which should not ordinarily be made unless there are adequate security reasons for their extension.



"Deployment of CAPF companies has a cost associated with it and the state governments are required to pay the charges as laid down in the government policy. Incidentally, there are significant outstanding amount against the states and Union territories," it said.



Asking the state governments to follow the SOPs, the ministry said each state should constitute a state-level committee under the chairmanship of Additional Director General of Police (law and order), where representatives of Intelligence Bureau and CAPFs at the level of DIG may be co-opted.



"These committees may examine and scrutinise the requirements of CAPFs by keeping in view the internal security, the previous scale of deployment, optimal utilisation of state resources, intelligence inputs and availability of CAPFs in nearby locations," it said.



The recommendation of the committee must be specific and indicate the quantum of CAPFs deployment and duration along with the jurisdictions.



Requests for extension of deployment and increase in the quantum must also be examined by the committee on similar lines.



"Government has sanctioned many India Reserve Battalions in the states and these are not being used optimally by the state governments.



"The purpose of the IRBs scheme is to make the state self-sufficient in dealing with the law and order and internal security situation by avoiding being dependent on CAPFs," the home ministry communication said.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat today reviewed the security situation in Kashmir valley.



General Rawat was received by Lt Gen D Anbu, Northern Army Commander, and Lt Gen J S Sandhu, Chinar Corps Commander, a defence spokesman said.



"The Army chief addressed all officers in Badami Bagh Cantt. and complimented them for providing excellent military leadership in the most challenging circumstances," he said.



The Army chief also commended all ranks for their relentless pursuit towards achieving the objective of bringing in peace and normalcy to the valley, the spokesman said.



"The Army chief was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the latest operations and updated on the overall security scenario along the Line of Control as well as in the hinterland," he added.
Union minister Smriti Irani today sought to put the Congress in the dock on the Bofors issue, citing claims of a private investigator involved in its probe, and asked it to come clean on the involvement of its leaders in the alleged scam.



Targeting the opposition party, she told reporters that its leaders, including its chief Sonia Gandhi, have been shown to be too eager to grab undue benefits whether it is a matter of an air ticket upgrade or a scam like the Bofors deal.



Quoting from private detective Michael Hershman's interviews to some media houses, she said he was asked by then Finance Minister V P Singh to look into the Bofors deal but was later offered bribe and then given death threat when he stumbled on the evidence of bribe.



The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shifted Singh to the defence ministry while Hershman was also asked to implicate Singh, she said.



Quoting him, she said the owner of a Pakistani-run Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which had been allegedly involved in money laundering and other financial crimes, or his representative met Rajiv Gandhi with a large suitcase.



Following this, the bank, which was shut after a CBI raid in connection with the Bofors deal, was allowed to open and its detained officials were released, she said.



"Who were offering bribe? Why did a Congress leader (Rajiv Gandhi) choose to silence his own minister (Singh)?



"For too long the Congress has kept conveniently quiet. It is time that it answers as to what was the role of Congress leaders then and now," she asked, adding that many of them are still around.



The Congress has had a tendency to either bribe or give death threats to people looking into dubious deals involving its leaders, she alleged.



Hershman's interviews have brought to life the "sordid saga" of Bofors.



Irani parried queries asked by the Congress at a press conference in which it questioned then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's, now prime minister, 100 trips in private chartered flights.



She said the Congress was trying to prove its leaders involved in the Bofors case and Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law involved in controversial land deals, innocent. Its leader have not responded to Hershman's claims or fresh charges against Vadra, she said.



To a question, the information and broadcasting minister said the Congress should have filed a defamation suit against Hershman if it believed he was wrong as she noted that Jay Shah, the son of BJP chief Amit Shah, had filed a Rs 100-crore suit against a news portal over a story on his business.



In the press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra cited the BJP's victory in 1,311 seats against 312 of the Congress in Maharashtra local body polls to claim that people have rejected the opposition's narrative against the Modi government.



"For the BJP, the party is family and for the Congress, the family is party," he said, in a dig at the Gandhi family.
By Sean Breslin

17 October 2017

(weather.com)  President Donald Trump addressed Puerto Ricos recovery from Hurricane Maria during a Monday press conference, saying the military is being asked to perform tasks that other groups should be able to do instead.

They have to distribute the food to the people of the island, Trump told reporters. So, what weve done is, we now actually have military distributing food  something that really they shouldnt have to be doing.According to CNBC.com, Trump also described the recovery as very tough, adding that the island was in very poor shape before the hurricanes ever hit. Trump was referring to the $70 billion of debt the U.S. commonwealth had before the storm.As of Tuesday morning, less than 20 percent of the island had power almost a month after the storm made landfall, according to a website that tracks the progress of the recovery. Nearly 35 percent of the island remains without drinking water, and there have been reports in recent days that U.S. citizens are so desperate that theyve been drinking polluted water just to stay alive.Puerto Rican leaders on both sides of the political aisle have said theyre less than pleased with the response from the U.S. mainland.This is not the time to be talking about withdrawing the help, Jenniffer Gonzalez, Puerto Ricos non-voting representative in Congress and a lifelong Republican, told Politico. This is not the time to talk about how much its costing the U.S., because we are American citizens.In some parts of the island  including areas where Trump visited earlier this month  additional rainfall hasnt just hindered the cleanup, it has reversed progress. According to CNN.com, mudslides and flooding occurred Monday in the town of Guaynabo, located just a few miles from San Juan.In that town, some residents, like Efrain Diaz, told CNN.com they havent seen a single FEMA staffer or any emergency supplies since Maria ravaged the island. [more]
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Slate and copper roofs will have to be replaced with the same materials under historic preservation rules.



By DAVID SHARP

Associated Press

KITTERY, Maine  The nation's four public shipyards from Maine to Hawaii are each more than a century old and showing their age. The Government Accountability Office said in a report that all of them need substantial improvements to keep up on the repair and overhaul ships.

At Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the structures are so old that few of those improvements can move forward without taking into account historic preservation.





. . .
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ANCHORAGE (AP)  An Anchorage building contractor will no longer contest a $280,000 fine assessed for workplace violations that led to the death of a worker.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Tuesday that Mark Welty, who does business as North Country Services, agreed to the fine in the death of 24-year-old Nicholson Tinker.





. . .
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CATHLAMET, Wahkiakum Count (AP)  Researchers are exploring the viability of using previously banned fish traps as a more sustainable way to catch salmon on the Columbia River.

The Seattle Times reports that Washington state voters approved a ballot measure in 1934 to ban the traps that once led to overfishing. Researchers with the Wild Fish Conservancy now say using traps could be a more selective fishing approach as it allows fishermen keep hatchery salmon while releasing protected wild salmon.





. . .
Rio Tinto's former CEO faces fraud charges in African coal mine deal

Rio Tinto Group's disastrous $3.7 billion coal deal in Mozambique continues to keep the world's second-biggest miner in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons even as it struggles with another African misadventure.

US authorities filed fraud charges against London-based Rio, its former chief executive officer Tom Albanese and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott, claiming they inflated the value of the coal assets acquired in 2011. The unit was sold for $50 million in 2014 after $2.9 billion impairments in 2013 and $470 million a year later.

Rio raised $5.5 billion from US debt investors, of which $3 billion came after May 2012, when executives had told Albanese and Elliott that the Mozambique unit was likely worth negative $680 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed in federal court in New York.

''Rio Tinto intends to vigorously defend itself against these allegations,'' the company said in an e-mailed statement on the SEC charges. Albanese, Rio's CEO between 2007 and 2013, said in a separate statement that ''there is no truth in any of these charges.'' The allegations were also refuted by Elliott, who retired in 2013 in a statement issued on his behalf.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan, Rio Tinto, its former CEO Thomas Albanese, and its former CFO Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record its assets.

Also, as the project began to suffer one setback after another which led to the rapid decline of the value of the coal assets, they sought to hide or delay disclosure of the nature and extent of the adverse developments from Rio Tinto's board of directors, audit committee, independent auditors, and investors.

''Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch. They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth,'' said Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC's Enforcement Division.

Based on the complaint's allegations, Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto Limited, Albanese, and Elliott are charged with violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest, and civil penalties from all the defendants, and seeks to bar Albanese and Elliott from serving as public company officers or directors.

Tom Albanese is the chief executive officer of Vedanta Resources. He was asked to resign from Rio Tinto on 17 January 2013 and was replaced by Sam Walsh.
The United States sees a key role for India in ending Pakistani support for terror as President Donald Trump has ''taken a tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists'', US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said. At an event organised by the US-India Friendship Council, Haley on Tuesday noted that Trump has recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, and one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India. ''America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia is to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power, economic diplomatic and military, to pursue these goals,'' she said. ''Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India,'' she added. ''Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India,'' she said. The US is looking at India to help the US more in Afghanistan, particularly in economic and development assistance. India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan, Haley said. ''We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and a partner that we have in the region,'' she said. ''So having them help not only with infrastructure and the aid that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (they can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan,'' Haley said. ''That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the groundwork that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harbouring terrorists. We have to see something change. ''India is going to be witnessing that. India is going to help us with that,'' Haley said in response to a question. The Trump administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said. The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work, education, family and achievement, she said. ''President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values,'' Haley said. ''Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect the voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world and you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people,'' she said. For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. But India is a responsible nuclear power. ''It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why? Because India is a democracy that threatens no one,'' she said. ''The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them,'' Haley said. ''We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapons, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran,'' she said. Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year. ''There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India,'' she said. ''It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, and for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India,'' she added.








A retired surgeon has gone on trial accused of indecently assaulting six teenage boys at a hospital and at his private clinic in Co Louth.

Dr Michael Shine is alleged to have committed the offences at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and at a clinic in Drogheda on dates between 1964 and 1991.

The 85-year-old from Wellington Road in Dublin 4 has denied all the charges.

Opening the case before a jury this afternoon, prosecuting counsel Bernard Condon said the offences involved teenage boys who were being treated by Dr Shine at the time.

The alleged offences involved groping or massaging the young men's genitals while they were being treated for conditions or injuries to other parts of their bodies, such as cuts to a knee, a broken ankle, an injury to a finger and an injured toe.

One was being treated for a cyst on his chest, while another was treated for a hernia and undescended testicle.

The first witness said he attended the hospital for treatment for a cyst on his chest when he was 13 years old.

He said he was taken into a cubicle and his mother left but he could not remember if she was told to leave or did so of her own volition.

He said Dr Shine examined him and moved his hand down his stomach and then massaged his testicles.

He said the doctor twice said "it all works together". He said the examination was over very quickly and "as far as I was concerned it was just an ordinary examination".

He will be cross-examined by counsel for the defence tomorrow.

At the outset of the trial this morning, the eight charges were put to Dr Shine in court and he replied: "I absolutely deny that allegation."

A jury of four men and eight women has been sworn in for the trial.

Mr Shine is accused of committing the indecent assaults on five males at the hospital on unknown dates between 1964 and 1965, 1970 and 1972, 1975 and 1976 and, finally, on a unknown date between 1988 and 1991.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting a sixth male on two occasions in a clinic in Drogheda on a date in 1973 and 1974 and on a date in 1975.
Louth hoteliers have welcomed the recent announcement by Minister of State for Tourism, Brendan Griffin TD of a 1million grants scheme to enhance visitor attractions located within Irelands Ancient East.



The fund is earmarked for projects that will enhance the physical storytelling and interpretation at sites including audio guides, video, interpretive panels and interactive technology.

Martin Daly, chair of the Irish Hotels Federations (IHF) Louth branch encouraged all visitor attractions within the region to apply for funding, saying that it could provide a welcome boost to tourism in the county.



This is an opportunity to transform the experience that visitors can enjoy and really bring to life the great stories and heritage that we have to offer in Louth in an unforgettable way.

He added: Tourism in the county is already benefiting from the creation of Irelands Ancient East, thanks to the popularity of such attractions as King John's Castle, Carlingford, Monasterboice High Cross and Round Tower and St Laurences Gate.



"Irelands Ancient East, however, covers a large area offering visitors from at home and abroad a wide choice of sites to visit. This scheme can help provide even more great reasons for tourists to visit us and help to contribute to our local economy. Tourism currently supports 2,600 jobs in Louth and contributes some 56m to the local economy annually. Anything that can help to grow tourism further is very welcome and will benefit us all.
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Online retail marketplace MyDeal.com.au has partnered with small business lender Prospa to offer its listed retailers loans to accelerate their growth.

Retailers who list their products through the MyDeal marketplace can now apply for a business loan of up to $250,000 directly through their supplier management system and, in the case of loans under $50,000, funding is guaranteed in under 24 hours.

Founded by CEO Sean Senvirtne in 2011, MyDeal was operated as a bootstrapped ecommerce startup until April, this year, when its secured a $5 million in funding from Gandel Invest to capitalise on a growth rate of 480% over a period of three years. According to the Melbourne-based entrepreneur, the MyDeal marketplace now boasts two million customers and more than 1000 retailers, with 40,000 consumer products available across 900 categories.

Senvirtne spoke to Dynamic Business about the value the MyDeal Marketplace Loans will generate for both his business and listed retailers.

DB: What prompted your decision to diversify into fintech with a loan offering?

Senvirtne: MyDeal is a rapidly evolving company that is always improving and introducing new processes to support its ecosystem of retailers and customers. Our mission, since day one, has been to help SMEs succeed online and if there are any opportunities in the market to promote the growth of our retailers we will leverage them.

Our decision to offer SME retailers loans was prompted by knowledge, built up over six years in operation, of common cash flow barriers to their growth, including issues around inventory control acquisition. Were helping listed retailers to address the risk of inventory selling out when demand spikes so they can seek to maximise sales during peak sales periods. Due to the fact that Prospa are a direct SME lender and offer flexibility in their processes, there was great alignment between our business and theirs.

DB: What criteria do listed retailers need to meet to qualify for a loan?

Senvirtne: They need to have been trading as a business for at least six months and be generating a minimum of $10,000 in revenue per month. On average, our retailers generate $250,000 additional revenue through the MyDeal Marketplace per month. Melbourne-based retailer Klika has grown 600% through the platform in the last 12 months alone.

DB: What are the terms of the MyDeal Marketplace Loans?

Senvirtne: Loan terms are between 3 and 24 months, with the choice of daily, weekly or monthly repayments. Unlike traditional bank loans, our pricing is based on a factor rate (multiple of the loan amount), which ranges from 1.08 to 1.36.

DB: Are the loans available to listed retailers purely for the acquisition of stock?

Senvirtne: The loans can be used for anything business-related, whether thats securing a new product for distribution, infrastructure and warehouse expansion, covering ATO debt or bridging receivables gaps

DB: Was the launch of this offering timed to coincide with the Christmas period?

Senvirtne: For MyDeal, the Christmas period is one of our peak sales periods. As a data-driven business, we list in-demand and popular products, which tend to sell out very quickly with our sales events. Although site visitors continue to show interest in products that are out of stock, many retailers are unable to acquire more stock and leverage demand rapidly due to cash flow issues. Through the provision of the loans, we hope to leverage the demand for our retailer and maximise the potential sales in the peak sales periods. Based on our experiences, we do believe loans will increase for the purpose of inventory acquisition and increased operational costs (such as staff), to handle the growth in sales.

DB: What value will the loans generate for MyDeal? Will it future-proof the company?

Senvirtne: Removing barriers to the growth of our sellers and maximising their sales potential will lead to overall growth for the platform. Simply put, our sellers success is our success. Plus, were diversifying our offering for the sellers, introducing additional support to enhance their experience with us. In this way, our partnership with Prospa could introduce more retailers to  or inform them of  our marketplace.

See also: MyDeal no longer bootstrapped following $5m capital raise but will continue to be very lean and Staying lean, adapting quickly: Sean Senvirtne on the rapid growth of his online marketplace.
Comments made by the incoming chair of Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) indicating financial institutions have forgotten whose money they are investing should prompt Federal Government to rethink its super fund governance reforms, argues the Industry Super Australia (ISA).

This week, Financial Services Minister Kelly ODwyer recommended that James Shipton, a former Goldman Sachs banker, commence a five-year term as ASIC Chair on 1 February 2018. He will take over from Greg Medcraft whose term ends on 12 November. Peter Kell, the current Deputy Cahir, will serve as Acting Chair in the interim period.

The challenges ahead for Australias financial system, and its regulators, are significant, Shipton told a press conference. I intend to ensure that ASIC will be a strong, proactive, efficient, innovative and strategic regulator that will utilise its many regulatory tools, including gatekeeping, supervising and enforcement.

In order to do this, I will draw upon my years of experience in overseas markets  as a lawyer, as a market participant, as a regulator and now as an academic specialising in financial systems and regulation  to continue to bring best international practice to ASIC.

Financial markets are, ultimately, built on trust. Trust in the integrity of the market and trust in market participants. I see ASIC as a guardian of that trust and as an institution that is there to constantly remind market participants that finance only exists to serve the broader community and the economy.

Shipton subsequently told News Corp that financial institutions need to be reminded they are just stewards and guardians of other peoples money. This prompted ISA to urge the Government to abandon proposed super fund governance changes.

Public trust in the finance sector is at an all-time low  and this extends to superannuation where bank-owned funds appear to be using compulsory retirement savings to drive parent company profits at the expense of member returns, said ISA public affairs director Matt Linden.

It is extraordinary the Governments solution to the disconnect between boards and investors identified by Mr Shipton is to abolish the representative trustee model from the superannuation law and mandate quotas of independent directors  typically drawn from the ranks of the finance industry.

The reasons for the superior culture and returns of not-for-profit funds lies in the representative trustee model. In the not-for-profit governance model, the trustees have a direct link to those who contribute much of super money  employers  and those who own it  employees. This direct link to workers and employers is absent in retail funds and much of the financial services industry.

Rather than abolish the representative trustee model from the law, the government should withdraw its flawed governance bill. If anything it should introduce laws that require all superannuation funds to appoint representative trustees who know exactly whose money the institution is stewarding.

Linden noted that Minister ODwyer had vowed, in November 2016, to take super funds to the same standard as other financial services organisations like banks and life insurance companies (Super industry laughs at ODwyer, Australian Financial Review, 23 Nov 2016.)

He added, Not-for-profit funds which have avoided scandal, on average outperformed bank-owned retail funds for two decades, and invested in Australian nation-building infrastructure projects, are calling on the parliament to reject the Trustee Governance Bill, re-introduced in September.
A 7-Eleven Franchisee in Brisbane is facing court for allegedly dismissing a worker by removing him from the roster after he refused his employers request to repay an amount he had been paid.

Balaji Australia Pty Ltd and current director and shareholder Madhav Ponnada will also face the Federal Circuit Court on allegations that false and misleading records were created during the employment of two employees and were later provided to Fair Work Inspectors during the course of their investigation.

It is alleged that the worker, an Indian national, was first employed in February 2015 as a casual and then engaged as a part-time employee between December 2015 and July 2016. During this time he accrued annual leave entitlements equivalent to $731.06.

It is alleged that in July 2016 the worker was then transferred to a casual employment relationship and was paid $731.06 in accrued annual leave and leave loading from the preceding period in which he was engaged on a part-time basis.

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that Ponnada, on behalf of the company, then made multiple requests for the worker to return the $731.06 that had been paid.

It is further alleged that the day after the worker refused to repay this money, Ponnada instructed a store manager to remove the employee from a rostered shift and advised the store manager that the employee no longer worked at the store.

The matter, which is listed for a directions hearing on 30 October 2017, is the tenth filed by the Fair Work Ombudsman involving a 7-Eleven franchisee, with more than $1 million in penalties ordered in cases to date.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said requiring workers to repay portions of their wages is an insidious practice.

We are concerned that so called cash-back schemes are being utilised to disguise the underpayment of some of the most vulnerable workers in our community, Ms James said.

This is the type of behaviour that warrants serious enforcement action, such as litigation through the Courts.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is asking the Federal Circuit Court to impose penalties against Ponnada and his company for several alleged contraventions of workplace laws as well as seeking compensation for the worker who was allegedly dismissed.

Workers cannot be deprived of work for exercising their rights, regardless of whether they are engaged on a casual, part-time or full-time basis, James said.

In December, the Fair Work Ombudsman and 7-Eleven signed a Proactive Compliance Deed. The deed requires 7-Eleven to overhaul its systems and implement fully biometric time recording to prevent the falsification of records. The alleged record-keeping contraventions in this litigation occurred prior to the signing of this deed.
The Congressman from Flint, Mich., urges citizens to be heard; warns of human consequences if Congress doesnt stop Trumps sabotage.

Its not just speculation: Donald Trump has bragged that hes trying to kill the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And its death by a million cuts.

Hes slashed funding to educate consumers about the open enrollment period for 2018  which he cut to half the number of days of any other enrollment period  leaving Americans confused about how and when to sign up for coverage. Last week, he issued two executive orders, one that would allow insurers to sell policies that dont offer the same consumer protections and benefits as ACA-compliant policies, so they can cover next to nothing, especially if the policyholder gets sick or injured. The second E.O. immediately stopped payments due to insurers to help them make out-of-pocket costs more affordable for lower-income Americans, which experts predict will raise costs for consumers along with the countrys deficit. (Its important to note that the subsidies that help lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs for eligible consumers remain in place.)

On October 17, Senators Lamar Alexander (R) and Patty Murray (D) announced that theyd reached a bipartisan deal that would restore the payments to insurers, help protect consumers from unscrupulous insurance practices and higher costs, restore consumer education funding and stabilize the insurance marketplace that has been thrown into chaos by the Trump Administration.

Surprising no one with his inconsistency, Trump first voiced support for the bipartisan plan then quickly denounced it.

Its clear that Trump wants only one thing, in healthcare and every other action hes taken as President: to undo the legacy of Barack Obama and score a personal victory.

He wants to put points on the board, said Congressman Dan Kildee when I spoke with him just after the Alexander-Murray deal was announced. He wants to be able to say he did something  he doesnt even know what it is. He doesnt understand the policy questions. He doesnt read. He doesnt know what hes talking about.

Rep. Kildee admits that a statement like that is predictable coming from a Democrat, which he is. But hes not alone in the halls of Congress, he said.

Republicans are saying it, too, and a few of them are saying it publicly. But many of them are saying it behind closed doors: Donald Trump does not know what hes talking about.

Rep. Kildee finds it frustrating that some Republicans are taking advantage of that to further their own interests, especially when peoples access to healthcare is at stake. In fact, thats the biggest source of frustration Kildee feels about both Trumps ACA sabotage and the Republicans who support it, he told me.

I understand the negotiation process very well. But what ought to be out of bounds is using access to healthcare for people who really need it as a tool in that negotiation. Its not like were negotiating against Donald Trump or negotiating with him. Its putting people who need healthcare in a position where they dont have it in order to achieve his political and policy goals. Thats immoral. Somebody who needs insulin wont get it in order for Donald Trump to claim a victory. Thats the most cynical use of public authority Ive seen in the four decades Ive been involved in the public sphere.

Rep. Kildee has always urged a bipartisan solution to improving the ACA, which he admits isnt perfect. But he has concerns about whether the current Congress has the collective will to pass any legislation that would counter efforts to sabotage the ACA. I asked him if he thought Congress could pass legislation to stabilize the marketplace before open enrollment begins on November 1.

We could do it if Congress really wanted to, he told me. But I worry about some Republicans who are willing to see the market blow up, who are willing to allow it to happen because thats what they want to have happen.

He added that many Americans dont understand how the ACA has made healthcare more affordable, nor should they have to. But that means they wont recognize that some elected officials will be taking away their current benefits, he said.

Some Republicans are willing to allow people to lose something without understanding why theyre losing it. It might affect the health of people and families, and the trajectory of their lives. There will be human consequences, and anyone who sits on their hands and lets this sabotage happen will have to take responsibility.

Rep. Kildee recognizes that many people are confused and scared about what will happen to their health insurance costs and coverage if Congress doesnt stop the sabotage. Although Trump has issued executive orders, Congress does have the power to override him.

Rep. Kildee urges everyone to make their voices heard once again, by contacting their Congressional representatives and senators.

The pressure needs to be turned up  its made a difference every time, he said. The fact that Republicans were stopped in their effort to repeal the ACA was directly attributable to citizens being heard. Their voices stopped bad bills from becoming law.

In the meantime, Rep. Kildee hopes Americans see Trumps ACA sabotage for what it is.

This is literally about whether or not the government will sabotage the existing law of the land in a way that will take insurance away from people who would have had it under the ACA. And its not just theoretical  people who are sick, or need medications to stay healthy or alive, will no longer have what they think they have. That takes this from an argument over policy to a real moral question. Thats something that needs to be more part of the public conversation.

IMPORTANT: Open enrollment for 2018 runs from November 1 to December 15, 2017 at Healthcare.gov, no matter what happens between now and then. Dont miss your chance to get covered! Watch this space for tips on enrollment, coming soon.

[Image courtesy of Congressman Kildees office.]
Young Alumni Look to Inspire Current ECSU Students

The legacy that Elizabeth City State University graduates leave behind after graduation is the success they pave as they move out into the world. And nothing speaks to that fact better than when young alumni return to share their stories with current students.

That was the case during Homecoming Week when four inaugural members of the 40 Under 40 Society spoke to current students on Thursday, Oct. 12. Darrien Jerman, Emanuel Basnight Jr., Alicia Stokely, and Enoch Bond shared their stories from their days as students, and their successes as graduates of ECSU.

Inside the Ridley Center, these alumni were asked questions by moderator Tarsma Lassiter. Each panelist shared not only their love of ECSU and the importance of their experience as Vikings, but also the wisdom of their experience as successful professionals.

Jerman, who graduated in 2008, is a fifth generation ECSU graduate. He said he had been encouraged by a teacher, a 1980 ECSU graduate, to visit campus. Once he got to know the family-oriented environment, he knew he was home.

Now working as a deputy Title IX manager and director of fraternity and sorority life for North Carolina Central University, Jerman cites his involvement in many campus activities, including the Student Government Association, as having a strong impact on the skills he needs to navigate the professional world.

Basnight, who graduated in 2002, is an Elizabeth City native now working as an advertising executive in Chicago. After graduating from ECSU, he earned a masters degree from East Carolina University. He says ECSU provided him not only a good place to focus on his undergraduate work, but also attractive, low tuition.

I knew that I wanted to go to graduate school and I knew that I didnt want to be saddled with debt, he said.

Basnight says he had a defining moment when he was chosen for a fellowship with a national advertising firm. He recalled that he had gone up against, and beat out, graduates of high-profile schools such as Harvard and Yale for the fellowship. His experience at ECSU, he said, prepared him for that moment, and the moments which led up to that success.

Stokely is a 2014 graduate of ECSU. She currently works as coordinator of student life at College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City. She began her student career as a pharmacy science major, and was having success there. But she wasnt sure it was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Her experience at ECSU, the faculty and the staff support, and the nurturing campus environment gave her the guidance she needed to make decisions that have led to her current career path.

For Bond, a 2004 graduate, the focus faculty and staff put on the students was also an important factor in his success as a student. Currently working as the associate director development and alumni relations at the School of Law at North Carolina Central University, Bond reflected back on his time on campus as one that would provide him with the type of support which encouraged him to succeed.

ECSU, he said, is a family.

They (faculty and staff) treated me like I was their son, said Bond.

The close-knit experience continued after he graduated from ECSU. When Bond, an Edenton native, moved to Durham after graduation, ECSU alumni took him out to dinner, made him feel welcome, and only asked that he continue to do the same for other recent graduates.

Bond continues to give back to his alma mater, as do Basnight, Jerman, and Stokely.

The true spirit of the Viking, Stokely said, is giving back to your community.
(Photo: LWF /Stephane Gallay)Katrine Ringhus, advocacy officer for the Lutheran World Federation country program in Colombia.

A group of human rights defenders from Colombia that presented evidence to the UN Human Rights Council has voiced deep concern over increasing violence against environmental and civil society leaders.

The leaders are defending the rights of Afro-Colombian communities, indigenous populations and peasants they said when the spoke in Geneva during the Sept. 18 to Oct. 10 session of the HRC.

"People are being criminalized - especially environmental activists - for participating in social protests," said Katrine Ringhus, advocacy officer for the Lutheran World Federation country program in Colombia.

Ringhus spoke at a Sept. 21 presentation by the group on "The Nexus between Human Rights and Peace building in Colombia."

The Lutheran World Federation supports the Colombian Platform for Human Rights, Democracy and Development, which has called for government action in stopping the attacks.

The platform calls for guarantees to people's economic, social and cultural rights in the post-conflict era in the South American country.

The platform members spoke at a side event hosted by the LWF at Geneva's Ecumenical Center.

They spoke following a review of the human rights situation of Colombia at the 62nd session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) of the UNHRC.

PROTESTS AROUND INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Ringhus said there has been an increase in social protests about international investment projects  agri-industrial, oil and mining. The use of violence by riot police during protests has also grown, she noted.

Ana Maria Rodriguez, representing the Colombian Commission of Jurists, and a member of the platform, which compiled the alternative civil society (or shadow) report to the UN committee said, "Social conflicts, environmental conflicts, are taking place, and those who lead protests and resistance against these projects, are being attacked."

Rodriguez said the shadow report counts 39 leaders and defenders of land and the environment who were killed last year in Colombia, adding, "this is really worrying." The report which took two years to produce draws on contributions by 120 civil society groups.

Ringhus described LWF's support to the work of the platform, as part of the contribution to the fulfillment of economic, social and cultural rights in post-conflict Colombia, and to the implementation of the October 2016 peace accords ending the war that began in 1964.

Social justice, human dignity and guarantees for the respect of human rights, are at the forefront of outreach efforts by the LWF and other faith-based groups in Colombia as the country struggles to recover from more than 50 years of conflict.

According to UN and local sources, the fighting pitting armed groups against state forces left over 600,000 people dead, 15,000 missing and more than 7.4 million displaced from their homes.

MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR LASTING PEACE

Rodriguez argued that while "stopping violence, dropping guns, is the main issue everyone wants to address," the platform, considers this as only the first step.

"If you want to build a lasting peace, it is important for Colombia to engage in many structural changes, including, guaranteeing a minimum of economic, social, and cultural rights," she said.

The Colombian jurist elaborated the idea behind the shadow report "is to show, we are still far away from achieving a minimum standard" of guaranteeing those rights. "We have 15 million people living in poverty, and we are still, the second most inequitable country in Latin America, after Haiti," she added.

Gabriel Urbano, deputy director of the Corporacion de Dessarrollo Solidario de Montes de Maria, a local organization working to protect land rights, said disputes over land and territory for many years have displaced many people and denied them their economic rights.

He cited the community in which he lives, saying despite an abundance of water and food production, 90 percent of the population does not have access to clean water and the palm oil industry was destroying food crops.

IMPORTANT TOOL FOR PUBLIC POLICY

Ringhus described a national action plan on business and human rights in the country as "an extremely important tool of public policy" but added it lacked consultation with civil society.

"It's a plan, as they say, that does not put the rights of the communities first. It does not recognize the power difference in a negotiation without the presence of the State between a multinational company and a small community. The focus is on capacity building with the private companies, not mainly with the local communities."

The message the group has been promoting at the UN Committee and internally in Colombia is that the discourse on human rights and protection "permits us to build the peace we want, and dream of," added Liliana Vargas, the platform's executive secretary.

In Colombia, the LWF country program collaborates with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia.
Zero tolerance reflects zero intelligence when it comes to student discipline. Despite more than a decade of research showing that zero-tolerance policies are not effective for handling misbehavior, too many educators still embrace stringent suspensions and expulsions in response to students who break school rules.

The absurdity of zero tolerance is compounded when educators invite law enforcementalso commonly known as school resource officers (SROs)to roam hallways under the guise of protecting students from harm. Instead, they often use their policing powers to wrongly criminalize minor disruptive behaviors. Whats even more disturbing is that such policies disproportionately affect students of color.

In fact, a study released last month by researchers at the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the National Black Womens Justice Institute takes a more in-depth look at the interactions between girls of color and SROs. According to the studys analysis of 2013-14 data from the U.S. Department of Education, black girls are nearly three times more likely to be referred to law enforcement than white girls, and almost four times more likely to be arrested.

After interviewing SROs and girls of color, the researchers found that despite the evidence of disproportionate discipline, there is little training provided to SROs to help them understand how to relate to girls of color. Educators often place SROs in a disciplinary role rather than involving them when the need arises around delinquent conduct. SROs lack the cultural competence, trauma-informed skills, gender-responsive approaches, and knowledge of community-based resources needed to help improve school climate for girls of color.

Through my work as a judge for a juvenile court in Clayton County, Ga., I have seen that this inappropriate use of law enforcement in schools does not improve safety, but actually compromises students futures. My countys school system began using SROs in 1995, and our referrals to the court increased 1,200 percent by 2003. By collecting data on school arrests, we discovered that our African-American studentsmale and femalewere 12 times more likely to be arrested than our white students.

In addition, our school districts graduation rate dropped and juvenile crime rates spiked. Research suggests that arresting students for minor offenses significantly increases the likelihood that they will drop out of school. School is one of the strongest buffers against delinquency, and when kids are pushed out, they do not always spend their time wisely.

I am worried that it is only a matter of time before a school superintendent will have to explain why a school resource officer was at the juvenile court booking a student for a school fight or disorderly conduct at the moment an active shooter entered a school building.

I have seen that this inappropriate use of law enforcement in schools does not improve safety, but actually compromises students' futures."

So how do we solve this problem?

As an early proponent for alternatives to harsh discipline policies, I know this work is complicated, and I dont pretend to have all of the answers. But the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the National Black Womens Justice Institute studys recommendations should be of note to every school and SRO who work with students of color.

First, school systems and law enforcement must outline the proper roles and responsibilities of SROs using more formal terms, such as school-justice partnership agreements. My districts school and law-enforcement systems more than a decade ago created one of the first partnerships using an accountability model that established disciplinary guidelines for SROs. The model uses a memorandum of understanding and a conflict avoidance algorithm to reduce referrals to the court and introduce restorative practices.

This guides educators and SROs in developing operating procedures that merit their intervention. The guidance prohibits SROs from becoming disciplinarians, and instead encourages them to take action only for serious crimes involving weapons.

What Researchers Have to Say Want to learn more about how school discipline policies affect girls of color? Researchers Rebecca Epstein of the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and Monique W. Morris of the National Black Womens Justice Institute undertook a two-year project to interview girls of color and school resource officers about their interactions. Their findings, released in a report last month, underscore a need for schools to improve discipline policies and training for SROs, putting girls experiences at the center of this work. See their full list of policy recommendations and school-based solutions.

Second, SROs must understand the adolescent brain. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down life sentences without parole and the death penalty for juveniles (in Miller v. Alabama and Roper v. Simmons, respectively), the court cited research in both rulings to show that the part of the brain that translates emotion into logic is not fully developed until age 25. Despite teenagers intellectual and creative activity, they are prone to risk-taking behaviors and poor judgment.

When adults respond by overreacting with harsh punishments, they end up aggravating the circumstanceswhich can result in a student repeating the same offense. To avoid this result, educators and SROs should employ positive alternatives that address the behaviors cause instead of punishing the symptom.

For example, in my home state of Georgia, some schools use the research-based Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework. The schools that use this model have experienced a significant reduction in disciplinary referrals and out-of-school suspensions and increases in graduation rates by as much as 14 percent in some counties. After more than a decade, our students of color are as likely to be referred to court as white students on the same offense. Overall, school referrals to the court have declined by 91 percent since 2003.

Third, the study recommends trauma-informed approaches to discipline. In my county, we created a nonprofit to provide chronically disruptive students with trauma-informed supports. When students suffer from trauma, their disruptive behavior becomes their language. Treatments for disruptive behaviors should attack the underlying causes of that behavior.

It is not enough for schools to take steps to improve the role of SROs. Local policymakers who are close to the juvenile-justice system, including judges, must step up to the plate if we are ever to create fairer law systems for all students.
Raising Kings: A Three-Part Audio Series From Education Week/NPR (Episode 1)

Introducing Washington, D.C.s newest high school: the roughly $60 million Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, the capital citys first all-male traditional public school.

The school is designed specifically to meet the needs of its young black male students  who are called kings. And for many of the young men, their needs are profound.

Two reporters, Education Weeks Kavitha Cardoza and NPRs Cory Turner, spent hundreds of hours with teachers, students, and parents from the school for a three-part audio series on Ron Browns first year.

In this episode, well meet Dr. Benjamin Williams, the principal, who personally recruited each of the 100 young men who enrolled as freshmen.

Well also meet two of the men at the center of what makes Ron Brown so unusual: Dr. Charles Curtis and Dawaine Cosey, members of the schools CARE team.

In the first few months of the academic year, the educators at Ron Brown work with an almost single-minded focus on establishing a school culture and ethos that few of the kings, and in many cases even teachers, have ever experienced.

They spend hours every week in restorative justice circles, putting offenders and their wronged parties together to talk through whats happened and find ways to set things right. And the students resist. And some parents and school faculty push back too.

For Principal Williams and the CARE team especially, its an effort to convince many skeptics that this approach to educating young men of color is worth fighting for.

Listen to Episode One

This episode originally aired Oct. 18, 2017 on NPRs Code Switch . Its introduced by Code Switchs Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby.

More episodes: Episode Two | Episode Three






Norway's Sept. seafood exports down 18% in volume, 8% in value

Norway's seafood exports in September dropped 18% to 189,000 tonnes from a year before, with value also decreasing 8%, or NOK 681 million, to NOK8 billion (US$1.1 billion), according to the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC).

In the nine months through September, Norway exported 1.8 million tonnes of seafood with a value of NOK69 billion ($8.7 billion). This is a volume increase of 3% and a value increase of 6%, or NOK3.7 billion, from the same period last year.

NSC Director Asbjrn W. Rrtveit.said that for seafood exports to reach NOK100 billion in 2017, the value added for the last three months of the year must be NOK4.75 billion, which "is unlikely".

Salmon exports

September exports of salmon, Norway's top seafood product, reached 97,300 tonnes, down 2% from the same month last year. Export value amounted to NOK5.8 billion ($731.07 million), which is at the same level as September last year.

From January to September, exports of salmon reached 711,000 tonnes, the same level as last year. Value hit NOK48 billion, an increase of 10%, or NOK 4.2 billion, from the same period last year.

The average price of whole, fresh salmon in September was NOK55.47 ($7) per kilogramme, or NOK 1.12/kg higher than the same month last year.

During the nine-month period, Poland and France bought the most salmon from Norway.

Trout, shellfish, crab exports

Norway exported 3,800 tonnes of trout in September, down 41% from last year. Value amounted to NOK257 million ($32.4 million), down 30%, or NOK113 million.

From January to September, Norway exported 26,000 tonnes of trout with a value of NOK2 billion ($252.05 million). This is a volume decline of 53%, while the value fell by 33%, or NOK 988 million, compared with the same period last year.

In September Norway exported 1,500 tonnes of shellfish worth NOK 158 million ($19.9 million). This is a volume decline of 56% and an 8% decline in value.

In January-September, Norway exported 38,000 tonnes of shellfish with an export value of NOK1.3 billion ($163.82 million). This is a volume decline of 5% and a value decline of 11%.

During the same nine-month period, Norway exported 1,400 tonnes of red king crab worth NOK385 million ($48.52 million). This is a volume decline of 17%, while export value fell by 5%, or NOK21 million.
COLUMBUS  A group of state senators toured Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday afternoon to get a clear picture of how reading lessons are taught in local classrooms.

Patty Pansing Brooks and Lou Ann Linehan, who were joined at Emerson Elementary by Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus, made the stop as part of their visits to schools across the state for legislative resolution 222, which calls for an interim study examining dyslexia and reading literacy in Nebraska.

Emerson is a very good example of great teachers and great instruction, said Amy Romshek, executive director of curriculum and instruction for Columbus Public Schools.

Each school visit by Pansing Brooks and Linehan, of Lincoln and Elkhorn, respectively, includes classroom observation with student and staff interaction.

Romshek gave a presentation on the districts reading program for the senators, staff and others following visits to two classrooms.

The senators attended what CPS refers to as a 120-minute tier-one block of reading for all first-graders then sat in on a tier-two classroom of first-graders who have been identified as needing more instruction. That second class, called WIN (What I Need), is another 40 minutes.

Those tiers are for kindergarten through second grade. Third- through sixth-graders have 100 tier-one classes.

Romshek said Emerson traditionally has had strong student reading scores on standardized tests, but they were down a tick last spring after the state instituted new reading standards and testing assessments.

The school should see an upswing in reading scores next spring as teachers and students adjust to those changes, Romshek said.

In 2016, the Nebraska Legislature adopted LB645, which defined dyslexia as a specific learning disability in state law.

Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty learning to read or interpret words, letters and other symbols, but do not affect general intelligence.

The purpose of the interim study is to look at dyslexia and reading literacy with a goal of developing strategies for teacher training, student assessment, student intervention and demonstrable student outcomes.

Early reading literacy has been linked with academic achievement, higher graduation rates, less contact with the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems and greater productivity in adult life.

"We see reading as one of the most important things we teach," Romshek said. "Strong reading skills also help students do well in their coursework as they move through school."

Pansing Brooks and Linehan toured Lexington, Gothenburg, Grand Island and Hastings elementary schools and Doniphan-Trumbull earlier in the week. School visits in Omaha and Lincoln are also planned.




Washington (CNN)A North Korean official reaffirmed Pyongyang's commitment to developing a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching "all the way to the East coast of the mainland US," on Monday, telling CNN that the rogue nation is currently not interested in diplomacy with the US until it achieves that goal.



North Korea is not ruling out diplomacy, but "before we can engage in diplomacy with the Trump administration, we want to send a clear message that the DPRK has a reliable defensive and offensive capability to counter any aggression from the United States," the official said.




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The Mayors, the Heads of the County Authorities and the Regional Director of the Ruhr Region  representing 5.1 million Europeans  will discuss the future of cohesion policy with representatives of EU institutions.




OFT warns fridges pose fire risk



Those who own a CAPLE fridge made between 2007 and 2008 will need to check the serial number to see if it's one of the affected models.

The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading is warning some models of fridge pose a fire risk.

CAPLE brand refrigerators manufactured between 2007 and 2008 have been found to have a component fault which results in overheating.

Those with the affected models need to contact the manufacturer to arrange a visit from an engineer to fix the problem.

The OFT is urging those who have such a fridge to stop using it until it has been checked.
Tynwald approves Manx Utilities debt write-off

Tynwald has agreed to write off 95m worth of loans to Manx Utilities.

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan received support for the move at this month's sitting, having told members the write-off would improve the board's long-term finances.

Without being in debt to the Government, Manx Utilities will be able to move to the same investment grade rating as UK suppliers.

Cancelling the the debt will cost the Manx Government around 6.5m annually, but Mr Cannan hopes the authority's savings will be passed on the their customers.
Working round the clock in shifts of 8 hours, the ESRF users have diligently collected every bit of useful data that could help them to solve a problem or to better understand materials or living matter. They have a new record with 30,000 publications being reached in September 2017.

The users of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility have published 30,000 publications in peer-reviewed journals since the facility first opened its doors in 1994. The publications included many breakthroughs that were achieved with ESRF data, such as the discovery of the structure of the ribosome that led to a Nobel prize shared by two of our users. These 30,000 publications reflect the scientific vibrancy of our user community. Since 1994, ESRF users from all over the world, from different cultures and disciplines, have worked together to push back the frontiers of science, unlocking the secrets of materials and living matter. All the inventive research carried out at the ESRF propagates to society and boosts the scientific cultures, the economies and the competitiveness of the ESRF member states and beyond.

Such progress has been made possible through a continuous and dynamic research and development programme that focuses on constantly improving the instrumentation and technology of the X-ray source and beamlines, and has placed the ESRF as one of the leaders in the field of synchrotron and accelerator physics and technology. At a moment when the ESRF is preparing the future with a new storage ring, the ESRF-EBS, the 30,000 publications is symbolic of the dynamism and impact of the facility.

Founded in 1988, the ESRF began operations in 1994 and has since exceeded all initial objectives. The number of publications has increased linearly with the number of beamlines available to users. During the last decade, with the number of beamlines stabilising around 42, ESRF users have produced around 1800 publications per year. These publications arise from roughly 1600 experimental sessions per year, each session representing one or more 8-hour shift at a beamline.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals per year 1994 to 09/2017.

High-impact publications

Over the last decade, around 16% of the 1800 publications per year have been published in high-impact-factor journals such as Nature, Science and Cell.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals with Impact Factor > 7, 2008 to 09/2017.

Two examples of the latest publications in high-impact journals have been selected to demonstrate the variety of disciplines, the collaborative nature and, for the second in particular, the multi-cultural aspect of research at a synchrotron facility. Although from different fields, both are linked to sustainability, one of the pillars of research at the ESRF.

The first, published in Science, could open doors to alternative fuel sources, using algae to make hydrocarbons. The authors are scientists from four French institutes, with lead author Frederic Besson from the Biosciences and Biotechnologies Institute of Aix-Marseille (BIAM). In their publication, Besson and colleagues describe an algal enzyme that produces hydrocarbons from fatty acids using sunlight. The authors have identified the enzyme in algae, and then proved its mode of action in an assay for the conversion of fatty acids, which proceeded only when illuminated. They obtained the 3D structure of the enzyme following data collection at beamline MASSIF-1 (ID30A-1). The structure consisted of the enzyme with a cofactor (FAD) and the fatty acid palmitate. From the structure, the authors were able to infer a mechanism for the light driven catalysis.

The second, published in Angewandte Chemie, comes from an international team of scientists from the UK, Norway, France and Italy. Lead authors are David Wragg from the University of Oslo, Norway, and Serena Margadonna, from Swansea University, UK. Their research bridges the domains of chemistry and materials science. They studied components inside an operating sodium battery using beamline ID15A while the battery was charging and discharging. This time-resolved study combined chemical analysis and tomographic imaging and provided an insight into both the chemical and structural changes in the battery during charging cycles. Their results have revealed the mechanism of a promising anode material. These studies should help to improve the capacity and stability of batteries during many cycles of charge and discharge.

References

An algal photoenzyme converts fatty acids to hydrocarbons, D. Sorigue, B. Legeret, S. Cuine, S. Blangy, S. Moulin, E. Billon, P. Richaud, S. Brugiere, Y. Coute, D. Nurizzo, P. Muller, K. Brettel, D. Pignol, P. Arnoux, Y. Li-Beisson, G. Peltier, F. Beisson, Science 357, 903-907 (2017); doi: 10.1126/science.aan6349.

Chemical structures of specific sodium ion battery components determined by operando pair distribution function and X-ray diffraction computed tomography, J. Sottmann, M. Di Michiel, H. Fjellvag, L. Malavasi, S. Margadonna, P. Vajeeston, G.B.M. Vaughan, and D.S. Wragg, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56, 11385-11389 (2017); doi: 10.1002/anie.201704271.

Text by Gary Admans
A team from the University of Bristol (UK) has spent this weekend on XMAS beamline, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary, trying to unveil how nanoparticles interact with model membranes. This research is interesting not only from a health perspective but also in the development of new materials, such as nanocomposites.

Friday night. The average age of the people inside the control hutch of the XMAS beamline or BM28 cant be more than 30. The night is young and so are the researchers that are attentively observing the computer screens. They all seem to be thrilled about being at the ESRF, as they crack jokes while acquiring data. Leading them is Wuge Briscoe, lecturer at the University of Bristol (UK), who explains proudly that his staff is funded both by industry and by international government grants from places as far as Thailand or Mexico. The scope of this fundamental research can benefit a lot of different disciplines, and the fact that we have students funded by very different companies shows that there is a lot of interest, explains Briscoe.

Part of the team on Friday morning.

Population is enduring an increasing exposure of nanomaterials in recent years and scientists dont have a clear idea of what happens to nanoparticles when they get inside our bodies. Membranes are the final defense of our body before the nanoparticles enter the cells. Briscoe and his team have developed model membrane systems to track the detailed structural change of membranes in the presence of nanoparticles. For this, they use X-ray reflectivity on BM28: It is a very rigorous technique that offers insight into the structual change. Ultimately we want to find out how nanoparticles interact with organised soft matter in general, says Briscoe. A challenging aspect of the experiment is that the structual change is dynamic, so that we have to adjust our measurements as the data is collected, based on careful observations and sometimes physical intuitions, without mentioning plentiful of debates, he adds.

So are the sleepless nights worth it? It has been a very fruitful experiment, and we have observed pronounced changes in lipid bilayer structures at the solid-liquid interface in the presence of dendritic polymer nanoparticles. Apart from that, we have even managed to go out for a fondue one night!

Two moments on the beamline at night... working hard overnight takes its tolls! (on top of very good scientists, the team from the University of Bristol are also very good actors...).

Text and photos by Montserrat Capellas Espuny
#CohesionAlliance

Cohesion policy  the EU's main investment and solidarity tool - has reduced disparities, spread innovation and brought sustainable growth. It must continue to be a pillar of the EU in the future and not be undermined by the financial impact of Brexit or the need to fund new tasks. This message was delivered by EU, national local and civil society leaders who gathered in Brussels to launch the #CohesionAlliance during the opening of the European Week of Regions and Cities .

Press releases:

#CohesionAlliance: Europe-wide coalition demands a strong and more effective EU regional policy after 2020

#CohesionAlliance: MEPs join local leaders' fight for a strong cohesion policy post 2020

Building the Cohesion Alliance

"State of the European Union: the View of Regions and Cities"

In the context of the ongoing political debate on the future of Europe, President Lambertz's Address ( video , speech ) aimed to take stock of the current achievements of EU's cities and regions and look ahead to the main challenges for the coming years. President Lambertz touched upon a series of key EU issues for local and regional authorities, ranging from regaining citizens' trust and the future of cohesion policy, to migration, Brexit and Europe's social model.

Lambertz insisted that, " Just as the European level influences the local and regional levels, local and regional levels should now be able to exert their full influence at European level ". To further make the voices of cities and regions heard, he announced that the CoR would hold a "European Union Summit of Regions and Cities" in the first quarter of 2019 to " send clear, specific messages to the heads of state or government and to the leaders of the Union ".

Press release:

#SOTREG: President Lambertz delivers first annual "State of the European Union: the View of Regions and Cities" address

COP 23

Less than a month ahead UN climate talks in COP23, Commissioner Canete addressed the assembly saying that Europe will pursue its global leadership on climate and reiterated the vital role cities and regions play in combating global warming. Members adopted Marco Dus (IT/PES) opinion on climate finance . During the COP23, cities and regions will look for enhanced cooperation with US and Canadian cities and defend Andrew's Cooper (UK/EA) concept of Locally Determined Contributions to be established in addition to Nationally Determined Contributions to help bridge the emissions gap.

Press release:

#COP23: Climate change: EU regions and cities look to cooperate across borders to deliver the Paris Agreement

Local targets agreed to tackle climate change

Disaster risk reduction

A call by Karl-Heinz Lambertz for the European Union to invest heavily to reduce the risks posed by earthquakes and extreme weather conditions was echoed by the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Robert Glasser, and the EU's Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu. The special representative and the EU Commissioner were speaking on 12 October at a conference co-organised by the CoR and the UN to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction (13 October). Helping cities to become more resilient and adapt to climate change was a major theme at the European Week of Regions and Cities and in the CoR's plenary . The UN and the CoR are working together to encourage regional and local governments to adopt risk-reduction strategies.

Press release: Natural disasters: EU must invest locally today, to save lives tomorrow

Broadband Platform

"High-speed broadband connectivity is a cornerstone of the EU's Digital Single Market and a prerequisite for competiveness at global level" , stated CoR President at the inaugural meeting of the Broadband Platform in the presence of the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel. The new platform, which has been set up jointly by the CoR and the European Commission, aims to help high-speed broadband reach all European regions, including rural and sparsely populated areas where there is not enough market-driven development. Participants, who include 12 CoR members, will meet twice a year to discuss various topics related to broadband deployment: policy and governance, technology choices, financial sources, regulatory framework.

Press release:

Broadband Platform: Cities and regions join forces with the Commission to narrow the digital divide

Other topics:

Further material:
In May this year, the first Balkans and Black Sea Cooperation Forum took place in Greece with the aim to strengthen cooperation throughout the region. One of the topics discussed was the role of China and its Belt and Road initiative (OBOR) to build a modern-day Silk Road. It is in the Balkans where the contemporary equivalents of the Silk Road on land and the Silk Road by sea meet and connect to Europe. A land route via the region would provide Beijing with a transport corridor to the continent that avoids areas that are militarily controlled either by the United States or Russia. It is in Chinas strategic interest to decrease its dependence on something that could be easily disrupted by these two powers.

Beijing engages with the Balkan countries mostly bilaterally. There exists a platform for cooperation between China and the regions 16 countries that strongly focuses on the OBOR. A similar platform also exists between the Black Sea region and China. The key focus areas for Chinese businesses and the Chinese government in the Balkans and the Black Sea region are port management in Greece, infrastructure construction in the Western Balkans and Turkey, the energy sector in Romania and Greece as well as agricultural production in Ukraine. In addition, Chinese companies are also active in the region in banking, manufacturing and communication.

The two key countries are Serbia and Greece and both of them have been visited by President Xi Jinping in recent years. Serbia and Greece constitute a springboard for China to expand into the region but the progress is slow. For example, the privatization of the key project  the port of Piraeus  met with substantial delays and the construction of a new railway track between Belgrade and Budapest is also being delayed. The latter was caused by the concerns of the European Commission as to whether the deal between Hungary and China is in line with EU government procurement rules.

The new Silk Road will undoubtedly boost Chinas influence in the region, which could further complicate the already unstable relationship between the West and Russia. In the long-term perspective, US-China geopolitical competition could destabilize the Balkans, although Beijing is trying to avoid this outcome. In fact, Chinas growing influence increasingly provides new opportunities for the US, the EU and Russia to work together towards regional stability. Some believe that the strategy used to stabilize Central Asia could pay off in the Balkans as well.

When it comes to the EU, Brussels needs to clearly state that it is in favor of regional development including cooperation with China. If the OBOR can help the region to develop sustainably, the EU should be active and seek to maximize this contribution within its strategic interests. There is, however, a danger that countries in Southeast Europe and around the Black Sea, will feel neglected within the geopolitical and economic framework between the EU and China. If these sentiments are not adequately addressed, this region will be susceptible to destabilizing forces such as great power competition and conflict in the Middle East.

The Balkans, the Black Sea Region and China  Opinion by Frans-Paul van der Putten  Clingendael / Netherlands Institute of International Relations.

(The Opinion can be downloaded here)
The European Commission supports a Cyprus settlement that is being negotiated under the United Nations auspices. Brussels has also called on Ankara to stop creating more friction that could jeopardize the relations between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. After the latest round of negotiations that took place in Crans Montana in July did not bring any breakthrough, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu stirred the emotions by bringing up the term quasi-annexation of the islands northern territory that has been occupied by Turkey since 1974.

Mr. Ertugruloglu described how the North of Cyprus could look like as follows: An autonomous republic where Turkey may be responsible for defense and foreign affairs but other affairs are within the rule of the republic, just as in the France-Monaco model or UK-Gibraltar model. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag then commented that Turkey and Turkish Cyprus will decide on a political solution together while the Greek leadership dismissed them as unacceptable. Athens thinks that such a settlement would undermine the actions of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to resolve the Cyprus issue.

The EU Commission on its part didnt specifically address the idea of this settlement but reiterated that it remained supportive of the process under auspices of the United Nations, adding that we stand ready to provide whatever assistance both parties and the UN would find most useful when the time is right to resume talks. The northern third of the Mediterranean island was occupied by Turkey in 1974 since when it has been under the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, guarded by the Turkish military forces. Currently only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. According to the European Court of Human Rights, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus should be considered as a puppet state under Turkish effective control.
The European Union has approved the disbursement of a 100 million loan to Jordan under its Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) program. The disbursement marks the launch of the second MFA for Jordan with a total worth of 200 million following up on the financial assistance provided in 2013 and 2015. The disbursement of the second half of the designated package is to take place in 2018 depending on the progress with Jordans commitments.

Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, commented that todays decision to disburse 100 million to Jordan under a new MFA program demonstrates the EUs continued support for the country in these challenging times. I look forward to continuing our work with the Jordanian authorities on their reform program and in securing a stable, stronger economy for Jordan to the benefit of its entire population.

The aim of the MFA for Jordan is to boost the countrys foreign exchange reserve position and help it meet its balance of payments and budgetary needs. The program will also support reforms in public finance management, social safety net systems, education, professional training, trade and labor market policies. The package is also part of a broader effort to help Jordan mitigate the economic and social impact of refugee flows and other consequences of the regional conflicts.

Jordan has taken more than 630,000 refugees since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, whereby the Jordanian authorities estimate that the total count currently sits at around 1.4 million. The country has also been stepping up its scrutiny of incoming refugees due to the fears that many of the people waiting on the Syrian-Jordan border could be connected to foreign fighter groups.
DARMSTADT, Germany, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Not intended for US/UK based media

Merck to Present New Data on MS Portfolio: Rebif, Mavenclad, and Evobrutinib at ECTRIMS 2017

- Important safety and immune cell analyses further characterize the selective immune reconstitution approach of Mavenclad - Continued innovation with Rebif includes analysis of NEDA and use of MAGNIMS criteria in predicting clinical outcomes out to 15 years - Pre-clinical data for investigational evobrutinib highlight potential role in patients with relapsing MS - A total of 40 abstracts will be presented by lead investigators

Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that data for approved and investigational multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments, MAVENCLAD(R)(Cladribine Tablets) and Rebif(R) (interferon beta-1a) and evobrutinib will be presented at MSParis 2017, 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting, 25-28 October 2017 in Paris, France. Efficacy data will be presented from the CLARITY, CLARITY Extension and ORACLE-MS trials which highlight that MAVENCLAD(R) delivers and sustains 4 years of disease control with a maximum of 20 days of oral treatment in the first 2 years. Additional safety analysis assessing malignancy and infection risk will be presented along with data for MAVENCLAD(R) which further detail how the treatment is thought to selectively target the adaptive immune system.

Data presentations for Rebif(R) will focus on long-term disease activity assessed by the MAGNIMS (Magnetic Resonance Imaging in MS) score. Real-world evidence presentations will evaluate relapse rates in patients newly initiating on Rebif(R), and an assessment of treatment adherence rates for patients treated with Rebif(R) compared with dimethyl fumarate.

Furthermore, key preclinical data will be presented for Merck's investigational evobrutinib (M2951), a Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, which is thought to be important in the development and functioning of various immune cells including B lymphocytes, specifically in patients with MS.

"The breadth of data being presented at this year's congress underpin Merck's commitment to deepening the understanding of how our portfolio of products, whether approved or investigational, target MS, and reinforce our dedication to provide differentiated treatment options to physicians and people living with MS," said Luciano Rossetti, Head of Global R&D for the biopharma business of Merck.

In addition to data presentations, two Merck-sponsored symposia will take place during the meeting:

- Balancing benefits and risks of DMDs in MS, Thursday, October 26, 18:00-19:00, Hall A - Potential solutions to treatment burden in MS, Friday, October 27, 08:00-09:00, Hall A

On Wednesday, October 25, from 9:30-11:30am CEST, Merck will be hosting a press event briefing with members of the leadership team and lead investigators. A link to view this event will be available for media offsite, please contact ectrimspressevent@merckgroup.com for further information. Additionally, at 19:30pm CEST, Merck will be hosting a session highlighting data from a report which will be published during MSParis 17 entitled, Addressing the Socio-economic impact of Multiple Sclerosis on Women in Europe.

On Thursday, October 26, Merck will also be hosting the annual Grant for Multiple Sclerosis Innovation (GMSI) Award Event at the Palais des Congres, Havane Theatre. The award, first launched at ECTRIMS in 2012, supports the advancement of science and medical research in the field of MS, and provides a grant of up to EUR1,000,000 per year to one or more selected research projects.

On Friday, October 27, MS in the 21st Century (Merck sponsored initiative involving a joint Steering Group of international healthcare professionals and MS patient advocates) will host their first educational workshop titled 'Two monologues do not make a dialogue - Overcoming communications barriers between healthcare professionals and patient', to encourage better communication between healthcare professionals and people with MS. As part of this workshop, two new communication tools will also be launched: 'my/MS Priorities' and 'my/MS Commitments', both of which are designed to be used jointly with people with MS and their healthcare team to improve the quality and efficiency of clinical consultations and disease management.

For up-to-date information and activities during ECTRIMS 2017, follow Merck on Twitter (@MerckHealthcare [https://twitter.com/MerckHealthcare ] or #AddressMS) or visit booth 08.

The following MAVENCLAD(R) and Rebif(R) global abstracts have been accepted for presentation at MSParis 2017, 7th Joint ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS Meeting:

(CONTINUA)
It has taken President Trump over a year to explain why he wants to renegotiate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran (JCPOA) which he has repeatedly qualified since the beginning of his candidacy as the worst deal ever negotiated. Now his explanations are unpersuasive.

His announcement came on October 13 on the eve of the latest deadline for certification by the US Administration to Congress of whether or not the Plan of Action remains in the national security interest of the United States and Iran is abiding by it. In his statement, President Trump affirmed that from now on he cannot and will not make this certification. He will leave it to Congress to decide whether to re- introduce the sanctions connected with Tehrans nuclear activities which had been withdraw by the US as a part of the Plan of Action agreement.

Certification of Iranian compliance should not be the task of the either the US Administration or the US Congress. Thats the job of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which regularly monitors all Irans nuclear activities through an enhanced inspection regime. So far IAEA Director General Amano has regularly certified Irans compliance. Even President Trumps closest collaborators have been unable to find any significant loophole. The President was obliged to resort to the weakest argument: an alleged violation of the spirit of the agreement.

In addition to the presidential statement, the White House issued a text sketching a new US strategy towards Iran. But the reasons that this document gives to justify President Trumps decision are unrelated to the JCPOA and to the Iranian nuclear issue.

It is true that outstanding problems such as human rights, the death penalty, Irans missile programmes, the role of proxy militias and Irans regional responsibilities still exist and are legitimate concerns for US national security. But they continue to be addressed both bilaterally with Tehran and within the framework of the competent international fora. President Trump is mistaken if he believes that pressure on the Iran nuclear deal or its dismantlement will materially assist. Such action is more likely to increase hostile Iranian behaviour.

No one claims that the present set up in Iran corresponds to the Iran of our dreams. But it is poor strategy to question the legitimacy of Iranian institutions and refer to Irans supreme leader Khamenei in derogatory terms. Iran is a country with a long history and a deep culture. Only an inexperienced leader would fall into the trap of publicly interfering in the domestic affairs of another state and repeating the major mistake of President Trumps Republican predecessor in labeling Iran a rogue state. Such an approach stubbornly ignores the fact that a moderate leadership now governs Iran: President Rouhani is not Ahmedinejad. Iranian moderates risk being swept away should the nuclear agreement collapse.

With hardliners at the helm, there would be no legal way to counter a resumption of Irans previous nuclear programme. The tone of the Presidents speech reflects an ignorance of present day conditions. The absence of an American Embassy in Tehran for many decades surely contributes to this disconnect from reality.

So where does the JCPOA now stand? It lives to fight another day, albeit undermined. With the de-certification of the deal, the battle over the JCPOA now moves to the Republican-led US Congress who, under the US special provisions related to the JCPOA, now have 60 days to act by simple majority (but who can in principle at any time, like Trump, act against the agreement under normal congressional rules).

Domestic electoral calculations rather strategic concerns will predominate. But the relative weakness of the Trump Administrations case may give some Republican Senators pause. So may the obvious differences between President Trump and his national security team. Defence Secretary Mattis on 3 October told US Senators that he believed it was in US national security interests to remain in the JCPOA at the present time.

There will be increased scope for lobbying of US opinion by international parliamentarians, civil society, and think tanks. The same goes for industrial and financial establishments which benefit from Irans opening to international markets, including the US company Boeing which has agreed an at least $8 billion aircraft sale.

Perhaps most crucial and sensitive for potential swing Republican Senators will be the reactions of the JCPOAs other signatories and US regional allies. In the region, only Israel and Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia and Israel have joined the US in this crusade. Crucially, Iranian reaction, while hostile, has so far been relatively restrained and unprovocative. And all the JCPOAs other signatories  among them the United States closest Western Allies  have responded negatively to President Trumps approach.

The President and his Secretary of State say they consulted some of their European partners before the announcement. Judging from the reactions, the US arguments were unconvincing. Russia and China have been consistently opposed. The leaders of the UK, France and Germany expressed concern at the possible implications of Trumps announcement. The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, who has always staunchly defended the JCPOA said This deal is not a bilateral agreement.The international community, and the European Union with it, has clearly indicated that the deal is, and will, continue to be in place.

It is the US not Iran that is now internationally isolated. US leverage over Iran has correspondingly diminished. This will not be lost on more internationally-minded US Senators. They will be right to sense that US-Europe relations are at a watershed moment. Mogherini has managed to construct a solid European consensus which will not only want to counter any decision by the US Congress to re-impose sanctions or set new nuclear conditions but which could become the basis on which to strengthen the European Unions posture on nuclear issues more generally.

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security challenges of our time.
CVL Srinivas, WPP India Country Manager and CEO, South Asia, GroupM, has significantly contributed to the media industry in India, shaping it with his foresight and leadership. He will be conferred with the exchange4media Influencer of the Year Award at the exchange4media Conclave on October 27 in Mumbai.



Srinivas has been a guiding force in the media industry. He was part of the startup team that came together to form Fulcrum - the dedicated media planning and buying team for Hindustan Unilever Limited in 1995. His efforts to set up Fulcrum, now, Mindshare Fulcrum has been one of his biggest contributions to the advertising fraternity. The media industry model that we see today is built on his keen foresight and vision.



Calling his contributions huge would be an understatement. I think in every aspect of the business, whether it is setting up new standards for measurement, getting all the stakeholders together, or setting new benchmarks in terms of media procurement, and relationship with media companies, he has set up a new trend almost everywhere, said Pradeep Dwivedi, CEO Sakal Media Group. I think that Srinivas receiving the exchange4media Influencer of the Year award is a very well-deserved and truly creditable honour for him, he added.



Calling it a well-deserved award for Srinivas, Ronita Mitra, Founder and Chief Strategist, Brand Eagle Consulting said, "Srini, apart from his strong strategic thinking, is clearly a visionary. You can see the manifestation of that in a lot of new initiatives that all agencies in the GroupM fold have undertaken during his tenure as a leader. GroupM has been among the front runners in adoption of digital, content, analytics -- aspects of marketing which are relevant for the future. This has made the GroupM agencies strong business partners for the brands they manage."



Under his leadership, GroupM has witnessed a healthy growth and has consolidated its position as the leading media agency in the country. GroupM witnessed a growth of 35 per cent from 2014 to get a billing of $4558 million in 2015 according to a study by Paris-based Research Company Evaluating Media Agencies (RECMA). The companys market share has grown from 39.5 per cent to 45 per cent under Srinivas' leadership. Lauding his leadership qualities, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President & Publisher, Chitralekha Group said, You must judge a leader by the organisation he or she leads. And there can't be a more successful media behemoth than GroupM in India and South Asia. And the man who has quietly led them to this position of domination is Srini.



Peers of Srinivas from the media industry only have words of praise for this media maven who has now been given the additional position of WPP India Country Manager. Mitrajit added that it's only natural that Srinivas now gets to lead WPP as Country Manager. All the best to him. Dwivedi said, His elevation to the role of WPPs Country Manager is testimony to his contributions and leadership.



During his career spanning over 20 years, Srinivas has worked with other leading media agencies in India like Starcom Mediavest and Madison World managing clients such as Coca Cola, Cadburys, Vodafone, Samsung, Nokia, and Perfetti to name a few.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
Hi All,



Just wanted to have quick understanding on the Partner job requirement.



I have done my assessment and if I get the Invite without claiming Partner Points



1) If my partner would want to apply for a Job in Australia once landed, does she have to do ACS assessment?

2) Will companies ask for actual experience for her or the ACS evaluated experience?



Thanks in Advance
You are in a difficult position. Even if at the point of application you have 6 payslips and you are still in work, the fact your job will disappear soon after means you are obliged to inform Home Office about the material change in circumstance. And even if you manage to get another job soon after, under Cat A any job lasting less than 6 months won't count, so you can only apply under Cat B, and you are unlikely to have earned 18,600 since July. If your partner is applying in UK, switching from another visa, you may just be lucky with premium service centre application, but if application is made abroad, it will take a lot longer, and before the visa is issued you will have lost your job.
If we didn't take the train to Glasgow is there parking at the centre? Of course have no idea how long we will be waiting, so can't keep going in/out to feed a meter. Would like to know what others did. We will need to drive up to Glasgow (90 mins) and it will be rush hour traffic so we're thinking perhaps best to take the train if it goes to Govan. Would like to hear what others did.



Thanks





Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Hello everybody.



60 Days for employment management approval at ADNOC...



Is it normal time frame or something wrong ?



Any idea ?


With talk of the UK leaving the European Union without a Brexit deal it has emerged that such a scenario could make existing cross-border insurance, pension and other financial services contracts illegal.British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Committee that a no deal situation could create legal uncertainties for financial services and productsIn the letter to the chairman of the committee, Nicky Morgan, Hammond plays down the likelihood of this happening, saying that the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, the UKs financial watchdog, and the PRA are working with insurers and pension firms to make sure there are comprehensive plans in place for the full range of possible outcomes.Hammond also told the Treasury select committee that the time value of a transitional agreement will decline rapidly in 2018, as companies will start to make preparations for a hard Brexit if nothing is agreed. Prime Minister Theresa May has also hinted that a no deal Brexit could happen and the country should be prepared for it.Bluntly, we also have to consider the possibility of a bad tempered breakdown in negotiations where we have non-cooperation, and, worst case scenario, even a situation where people are not necessarily acting in their own economic self-interest. So we need to prepare for a wide range of scenarios, Hammond told the committee.Christopher Woolard, executive director for strategy and competition at the FCA believes that transitional arrangements should be discussed as soon as possible to avoid a cliff edge scenario and to allow financial services firms to plan ahead. FCA boss Andrew Bailey has previously warned that the City could face major upheaval unless a transitional agreement is in place before the end of the year.One of the FCA's concerns is whether consumers would have access to European financial compensation schemes after the UK leaves the EU. However, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told the select committee that the EU is at greater risk of financial instability after a no deal Brexit than Britain.He explained that an 'uncooperative' Brexit would leave the EU short of the financial services it needs because banks would still be headquartered in London. But he added that no deal was not in the interest of either side and told MPs there were a series of advantages to striking a good Brexit deal.Paul Stanfield, chief executive of the Federation of European Financial Advisers (Feifa), said he believed it is unlikely that suitable arrangements will not be made to prevent cross border insurance and pensions falling into a legal limbo.It would be in no ones interests to let that happen, not least those UK and European citizens who would be negatively affected, and those handling the negotiations will be well aware of that. I would expect the politicians on both sides will do everything in their power to come to a sensible agreement on this point, he added.
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A tank explosion at an oil field site in La Salle County on Tuesday injured two workers, who were flown to San Antonio for treatment.

The tanks exploded around 10:40 a.m. at a Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. production facility south of Dilley, said La Salle County acting Fire Chief Daniel Mendez.

Two workers were in stable condition, and Mendez characterized sending them to San Antonio Military Medical Center as precautionary.

Emergency workers created a quarter-mile evacuation zone around the facility, but Mendez said that because it happened in such a rural area, other buildings and facilities werent affected. Workers had already left the site and only needed to be moved farther outside of that quarter-mile zone, he said.

The states oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission of Texas, said Tuesday afternoon that it had an inspector at the site, and that the operator had reported to the commission that a tank exploded at its Seal-Lehman Central Production facility.

The production facility was shut in and the fluids were contained in the secondary firewall, according to the agency.

Our inspector will determine if the facility is in compliance with (Railroad Commission) rules, spokeswoman Ramona Nye said.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Carrizo Oil & Gas operates on about 104,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale, mostly in La Salle County, though it also holds acreage in Atascosa, Frio, and McMullen counties

The company could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

jhiller@express-news.net | Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller
Outfitted in bright white hard hats and gripping a dozen shovels with elaborate orange bows, civic and University of Texas leaders stood poised atop a mound of dirt in the Medical Center area, the future site of a $70 million facility.

Count to three, and all you do  now, dont throw it all up in the air, instructed UT Health San Antonio President William Henrich.

Among the dignitaries flipping soil for the new location of the 16-year-old Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies were Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, Sen. Jose Menendez and Councilman Manny Pelaez.

UT Regent James Rad Weaver, the CEO of McCombs Partners, joined Nicolas Musi, the institutes new director, Ann Barshop, one of its namesakes and a longtime donor to the university, and UT System Chancellor William McRaven in giving remarks.

The institute now resides at UT Healths 186-acre Texas Research Park Campus on the far West Side. University officials said the new location across from the Greehey Academic and Research Campus will centralize operations and permit more collaboration between the institute and San Antonios medical community.

Bringing Barshop to the medical center puts us front and center with the patients, and allows us to interact with the community much more directly, said Dr. Ronald Rodriguez, interim dean of UT Healths School of Medicine.

The building, at 107,768 square feet and three stories tall, will have an open-air bridge that crosses Floyd Curl Drive to connect to UT Healths South Texas Research Facility. Construction is expected to take two years.

Musi said 10 more faculty will be hired for the new building, likely bringing along teams of five or six each, in addition to the approximately 200 faculty investigators currently at work throughout the university.

Straus said the study of aging is especially important  and Im not just saying that because Im closing in on 60  because Texas is home to more than 3.2 million people over 65.

The new location is expected to help move research knowledge developed at the institute into physicians clinical practices, described by Henrich as from the bench to the bedside and known in science communities as translational research.

As we get older, those processes that start to fail are the same processes that give rise to cancer and heart disease and dementia, and a variety of other diagnoses, Rodriguez said. Understanding how these things work give us insights to all the kinds of diseases we face as a nation.

Ann Barshop and her late husband Sam Barshop, who was a UT System regent, have given about $8 million over the years to what is now UT Health San Antonio, formerly the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, including major donations to establish the Barshop Institute in 2001 out of earlier research efforts.

When McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, spoke to the crowd of faculty and administrators, he compared them all to plank owners  the first to operate a ship when it goes on active duty.

This facility, that were setting in motion, launching today, has a veritable galaxy of plank owners, McRaven said. We all have a role to play to make sure we make the most of the opportunity that this building represents.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
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Credit Human moved a step closer toward locking down its new headquarters at the Pearl on Tuesday with the approval of a 10-year incentive package from Bexar County officials that includes a property tax abatement that was lower than recommended by county staff.

Though Credit Human has had its headquarters in San Antonio since it was founded in 1935, the not-for-profit credit union told city and county officials it was considering moving its offices  currently at 6061 W. Interstate 10  outside the Alamo City.

Bexar Countys economic development department recommended a 90 percent tax abatement on Tuesday, but Commissioner Paul Elizondo pushed the rate down to 75 percent. The court approved the incentive package unanimously, minus Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who was not present.

One of the big elements (the Pearl) was missing was a large company willing to locate there and to provide  more jobs, County Judge Nelson Wolff said. He noted Credit Humans move also would provide new tax revenue.

Commissioner Kevin Wolff tacked on an amendment to the measure Tuesday, requesting that the economic development department come back to court before the end of the year to recommend ways for the county to change its incentives rules.

My angst on this particular case is not so much about percentage x and y, Wolff said. It's about how we manage our whole process of incentives. ... From time to time, you have to update those rules, because things change.

The move still hinges on the City Councils approval on Thursday of a package containing a tax abatement and rebate of up to $5.9 million.

Upon city approval, Credit Human, formerly known as San Antonio Federal Credit Union, would move 439 local workers to the new location, according to Jordana Decamps Mathews, Bexar County director of economic development.

The company also will create 50 new full-time positions, at an average annual salary of $61,024.

Credit Human plans to buy the site from Silver Ventures, the development firm that refurbished the Pearl and owns the $112.5 million, 10-story office tower at 1803 Broadway. The financial institution also will build a six-story, 120,000-square-foot office building next to the tower.

The countys economic development department calculated that Credit Humans package is worth $2.48 million in tax abatements over 10 years, compared to $2.97 million in incentives the company would have received from the 90 percent rate.

Opponents of the incentive package say the county should focus its efforts outside the already developed Pearl area. Others were unsure whether Credit Human actually would move outside the city, making the incentives unnecessary.

Weve heard a lot from the other side, Elizondo said. People are waiting on the West Side, on the South Side, for that kind of investment for the business community.

Decamps said the county offered the incentives package to avoid the risk of losing one of its biggest companies.

Locations Credit Human said it was considering included New Braunfels, Schertz and Houston, as well as cities in Washington, North Carolina, Vermont and Colorado.

Kevin Wolff called the criticism legitimate questions. He said he ultimately supported the package because he believes in the principle that the county will create more jobs by expanding what already exists, rather than attracting something new. The 50 new jobs sweetened the deal, he said.

Theres no better way to increase new jobs than by growing the companies you already have, Wolff said.

Bill Shown, managing director of Silver Ventures, noted that Pearls ad valorems tax bill, once $144,000 when the property was acquired in 2003, stands at $6.4 million today. His firm has received just $133,000 in assistance from the county and $650,000 in assistance from the city.

In other county business, the commissioners also passed a resolution Tuesday backing Mayor Ron Nirenbergs panel that will study ways of expanding local air travel. The commissioners underscored the importance of forming a committee free of county and city staff, as Nirenberg plans to do.

Kevin Wolff said other methods of transit, primarily rail, would follow an improved air travel system, as many major airports are connected to nearby metro areas by rail. Nirenberg has made public rail transportation a priority during his first term.

The commissioners also cut two part-time justice of the peace positions, a long-expected move stemming from the justices steady decline in workload.

The commissioners voted to eliminate the positions in Precincts 3 and 4, keeping in place the part-time position in Precinct 1 held by Democrat Ciro D. Rodriguez, brother of Commissioner Sergio Chico Rodriguez. The court already had withdrawn funding for the part-time justice spot in Precinct 2 last year.

This story has been updated to include the estimate value of Credit Humans tax incentives.

jscherer@express-news.net
Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News

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WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, already the target of national Democratic attacks, is raising money aggressively for next years election.

Meanwhile, another San Antonio GOP congressman, Lamar Smith, is taking a more leisurely approach despite the potential of a well-financed opponent.

In a newly filed financial disclosure at the Federal Election Commission, Hurd reported just over $400,000 in quarterly receipts, thanks in part to support from Google, Facebook and tech industry leaders. Hurd had $1.4 million in the bank on Oct. 1.

But political newcomer Jay Hulings of San Antonio announced himself as a candidate who might compete with Hurd financially.

In his initial FEC, Hulings reported $200,000 receipts in a months time, outdistancing other Democratic congressional hopefuls in the district Hurd holds.

Were happy with it. It was a lot of hard work, Hulings said.

Smith, who has represented a North Side district for three decades, raised just shy of $200,000, less than Democratic tech entrepreneur and Iraq War veteran Joseph Kopser of Austin for the second straight quarter

Im not sure if another sitting committee chair has ever been out-raised two consecutive quarters, Kopser spokesman Ian Rivera remarked. Smith, a climate change skeptic, chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

The new reports cover fundraising from July 1 through Sept. 30, a period that can offer indications about which challengers will be able to finance credible advertising budgets in the run-up to the March primary in Texas.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, was among incumbents with a decided cash advantage, reporting $192,000 in the bank.

Castro drew a surprise GOP opponent this week. Former U.S. Rep. Francisco, Quico Canseco, defeated by Hurd three years ago in a primary contest, formally declared his intention to challenge Castro in the heavily Democratic district.

Meanwhile, veteran U.S. Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-San Antonio, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, posted imposing bank balances that may discourage challengers. Doggett reported $3.8 million on hand, while Cuellar had $2.3 million.

Hurds district, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, long has been one of the nations most notable swing districts, and Hillary Clinton won it last year by 3.4 percent.

However, two straight victories by Hurd over Democrat Pete Gallego of Alpine, who declined to run again, has begun to change the view from outside. Last week, the authoritative Cook Political Report ranked the district as lean Republican rather than toss-up.

Nonetheless, national Democrats are aiming at Hurd early. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running radio and digital ads in the district, along with national cable television spots, attempting to tie Hurd to GOP failures on health care.

Hurds leadership on cybersecurity and technology issues is yielding campaign wherewithal at a time Facebook and other major tech companies are getting scrutiny by the House Intelligence Committee related to Russian meddling in last years election. Hurd sits on that committee.

Google ($5,000), Amazon ($2,500) Facebook ($1,500) were among more than two-dozen technology companies that contributed about $50,000 to Hurds campaign in the quarter.

Justin Hollis, Hurds campaign manager, asserted that Hurd works hard, gets results and this is something the folks in the 23d Congressional District of Texas have not had in in a long time.

Hulings, 42, an assistant U.S. attorney until making the race, was boosted in his fundraising by ACTBlue, a Democratic-aligned online fundraising organization that has become a force in national politics. ACTBlue collected more than $150,000 of Hulings $200,000 receipts, according to the FEC report.

Others competing in the districts Democratic primary and their receipts: Gina Ortiz Jones ($104,000), Judith Ann Canales ($10,000) and Rick Trevino ($1,800).

Were feeling good about this race, said Lauren Coffee, Joness campaign manager. Gina is very representative of this district and thats what people are looking for.

Smiths Bexar County-based district, which stretches north from San Antonio and includes portions of Austin, has a strong Republican flavor due to GOP-run redistricting. Smith reported $937,000 in the bank.

Kopser and five other Democrats are competing to challenge the veteran Smith, among them Chris Perri ($28,000 in receipts), Derrick Crowe ($25,000) and Elliot McFadden ($16,000). All are from Austin.

Kopser, a former Army Ranger, took in nearly one-fourth of his $200,000 from a joint fundraising entity set up to assist 12 military veterans, all Democrats, running for Congress.

Crowe, a former congressional staffer who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the recent presidential contest, contended theres more to a campaign than cash receipts.

Its not about how much money is coming in. Winning these races is about effective voter contacts, he said.

blambrecht@express-news.net
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KERRVILLE  Their grandson Dayvid Pakkos disappearance Monday on the West Coast was naturally worrisome, but nothing could prepare Randy and Whitney Henckel for the subsequent news that his body had been found in a trash bin and their son Andrew was accused of killing him.

Theres no words for it, a grief-stricken Randy Henckel said Wednesday. I cycle every minute between being broken down for Dayvid and broken down because my very mild, sweet, very happy son is lying on a bunk in jail right now.

Andrew Henckel, 19, was charged with murder Wednesday in Washington state after telling investigators that he drowned his nephew  whom he was babysitting  in the bathtub in the Lynnwood apartment of his sister and her boyfriend, authorities say.

However, Randy Henckel is convinced that his son, who has autism spectrum disorder, was manipulated into making incriminating statements and that someone else killed Dayvid.

Please help me. I did not do this, he quoted Andrew as telling his court-appointed attorney at their first meeting Wednesday morning.

Andrew Henckel, a 2016 graduate of Tivy High School in Kerrville, traveled to Washington state Oct. 9 to spread his wings after spending most of his life living with his parents here in the Hill Country.

It was meant to be a positive and enriching family experience, explained Randy Henckel, 55, noting Andrew had moved back home in May after two semesters at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The family soothed Andrews fears about his first airplane flight by accompanying him to the gate in San Antonio, making arrangements with the carrier for an escort when he changed planes in Dallas, and having his sister meet him upon landing in Seattle.

Randy Henckel declined to identify Dayvids mother by name, saying, My daughter is just falling apart right now and I dont want (media) people hunting her down.

He said Andrew and Dayvid, who also had autism, had hit it off and gotten along well.

But Randy Henckel said Andrew had never babysat anyone before and shouldnt have been tasked with such responsibility by his daughters live-in partner, whom he identified only as Joe.

In an emergency situation, such as Dayvid choking, I dont know that Andrew would know how to handle it, said Randy Henckel, noting his daughter was not aware of Joes decision to leave Dayvid in Andrews care Monday afternoon.

Dayvids mother wasnt initially alarmed by his absence because he had a history of sneaking off, said Randy Henckel, who quoted her as telling him, Dayvids done one of his escape artist things again.

Andrews demeanor during the same phone call Monday evening contributes to Randy Henckels certainty that Andrew was not involved in the slaying.

I was concerned that he was feeling responsible since he was watching Dayvid. I could tell there was concern, but he seemed fine to me, said Randy Henckel. There were zero red flags. It was just like he was talking to me at home. He was answering my questions calmly and normally.

He said Andrew told him he had fallen asleep while Dayvid was playing with Legos at the apartment Monday afternoon.

The next thing he knew, Joe was waking him up and asking where Dayvid was. Andrew woke up and was like, Oh boy, he said. They started looking for him together and then they called the sheriff and they called my daughter.

Hundreds of volunteers participated in the search for Dayvid, a first-grader whod stayed home from school due to illness Monday. His body was discovered about 2 a.m. Tuesday in a trash bin at the Bristol Square Apartments, where the family lived.

Obviously, this is an incredibly tragic ending, Shari Ireton of the Snohomish County Sheriffs Department told media assembled there Tuesday. We dont believe there is anybody else involved in this crime.

A news release issued by Ireton on Tuesday didnt name Andrew Henckel as the suspect since he had yet to be charged.

The release stated that the suspect told investigators that while caring for the victim between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, he admitted to filling a bathtub with water with the intention of drowning and killing D.P. (name redacted), admitted to calling D.P. to the bathroom, picking him up and placing him face down in the water, and holding D.P.s head underneath the water while D.P. struggled for approximately 30 seconds before becoming still.

It says the suspect also said he left D.P. face down in the water for approximately 6 minutes. He did not provide life-saving measures on D.P., changed his clothing, wrapped D.P.s body in a blanket and placed him in a cardboard box, which he used to dispose D.P.s body in the nearest garbage dumpster.

Randy Henckel said Andrew, the youngest of his four children, has a condition that makes it difficult to verbalize his thoughts, and he could easily be confused by a stressful situation like being interrogated by detectives.

Under any kind of duress, he just shuts down, said Randy Henckel, an employee of the Hill Country Telephone Cooperative who reported Andrew has whats called sensory integration disorder.

All of his senses  hearing and sight and vision and touch  are somewhat scrambled when they get to the brain, so he could never tolerate loud noises when he was small, like a vacuum, he said. It was very serious. It was life-affecting.

However, after being enrolled in occupational therapy through middle school, Andrew was mainstreamed into a standard curriculum at Tivy High School, where he played baritone in the marching band and completed all four years without being absent once.

Hes very likable because hes a subdued person. Hes low key. Hes not aggressive in any way, Randy Henckel said. Hes always smiling and he just goes through life and deals with things he encounters in a positive attitude. No tantrums.

He said his other daughter, Caitlyn Henckel, traveled to Washington after Andrews arrest to hire a private attorney for him and find out when he can have visitors at the jail where hes being held under $1 million bond.

Although Caitlyn Henckel had yet to see Andrew as of Wednesday, she did speak to his court-appointed lawyer, who conveyed to her his protestations of innocence, Randy Henckel said.

Marty Lenard, a former band director at Tivy, is among those shocked by the murder allegations against his former student, of whom he recalled only positive experiences.

He was never any trouble, he said Wednesday. The biggest thing that I want to say is he was a good kid. Thats whats going to be hard for people to process.

zeke@express-news.net
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The Amistad Dam on the Rio Grande upstream from Del Rio is potentially unsafe largely because of sinkholes that have existed since the dam was built in the 1960s, a recent safety inspection notes.

The dam received the worst rating during inspections of six dams on the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border, and a seventh on the Colorado River in California. The dams are owned and operated by the binational International Boundary and Water Commission.

Six of the seven dams have urgent or high priority problems, but none poses an immediate hazard to the public, according to a summary of the inspections released Tuesday by the IBWC.

All the dams can operate under normal as well as flood conditions. There is no current danger or threat to the public, IBWC spokeswoman Lori Kuczmanski said, noting that none is classified as unsafe.

A week after refusing to provide any information about the dams, citing security and agency confidentiality, the IBWC issued a fact sheet Tuesday detailing their problems. Six were deemed as potentially or conditionally unsafe, but none was categorized at the highest level of risk: Urgent and Compelling.

The report summarizes five-year safety inspections done between November and July by technical advisers based on dam safety standards used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Built for flood control, water conservation and to generate power, the 250-foot-high Amistad Dam impounds a reservoir shared by the U.S. and Mexico covering about 100 square miles. The IBWC said its main problem is naturally occurring sinkholes, existing since the dam was constructed in the 1960s.

The summary on Amistad, which can impound up to 5 million acre-feet of water, also notes the risk in terms of potential loss of life and economic damages that is associated with large dams.

Other than two gates not working and requiring replacement of various parts, Amistad was deemed capable of operating under normal as well as flood conditions.

The IBWC is a binational agency that deals with treaty and water issues, including boundary demarcation, water quality, flood control on the border and national ownership of waters.

The other five dams identified as high priority or conditionally unsafe were Falcon Dam near Zapata, Retamal Dam near Donna, American Dam and International Dam, both near El Paso, and Morelos Dam on the Colorado River in California. Anzalduas Dam near Mission was in slightly better shape, deemed marginally safe.

Problems mentioned with the various dams include seepage, cracked spillways, bank instability, general deterioration, and inoperable equipment, including gates.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, whose office contacted the IBWC last week after publication of a San Antonio Express-News article about the dams, issued a statement about the situation.

Any allegations of unsafe infrastructure should be taken seriously, the statement began.

The U.S. and Mexican partners of IBWC are currently working on a plan to significantly reduce Lake Amistads foundation seepage, which is responsible for its DSAC 2 rating, and have committed to developing a remedy plan by Dec. 31, 2017. I will continue to monitor the situation to make sure the communities in South Texas remain out of harms way, Hurd wrote.

The problems with the dams came to light recently with publication of the State Departments 2018 Congressional Budget Justification report. It noted urgent and high priority deficiencies at five dams, but also said that again this year, there is no extra money allotted to the IBWC to repair the dams.

With regard to Amistad, the report noted that a design for a sinkhole remediation plan should be finished this year.

It also stated, however, The initiation of the construction phase  continues to be deferred until future years. The cost of these improvements is expected to be quite significant.

jmaccormack@express-news.net
I havent seen anything like it anywhere whereby the steering mechanism runs up through the middle of the machine to steer the front and back axles, Mr Bowyer said.
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Christy Turlington has claimed "harassment and mistreatment" is rife in the fashion industry.

Christy Turlington

The 48-year-old supermodel - who embarked on a career at the helm of the business in the 1990s - believes the fashion industry is "surrounded by predators", and though she has been "fortunate" enough never to have "personally experienced anything traumatic" she knows she is in the minority of people who have suffered.

Speaking to WWD about the downfalls of the industry in the wake of sexual harassments allegations made against Harvey Weinstein, the catwalk icon said: "I can say that harassment and mistreatment have always been widely known and tolerated in the industry. The industry is surrounded by predators who thrive on the constant rejection and loneliness so many of us have experienced at some point in our careers. I feel fortunate that I did not personally experience anything traumatic, but also know that is not the norm."

Although Christy has insisted she was not a victim of any issues during her career, she has admitted there were times she was gobsmacked by the "creepy playboy type" of people she was put under the care of.

She continued: "There were many times I could not believe who I was left under the care of on early trips to Milan, Paris or London. I would get off of a flight and find some creepy playboy type there to meet me.

"In hindsight, I fear I may have played the 'honeypot' that has been described in the stories about these predators who make other women feel protected. Unknowingly, but still an accomplice of sorts. I might have been the assurance that made other young women feel safer. If I'd known how these men thought and behaved, I might have done more to stay clear of them."

Christy - who has 13-year-old daughter Grace and 11-year-old son Finn with her husband Edward Burns - thinks the "best way" for models to be safe in the industry is to stay in school and to avoid going on set until they are older.

She advised: "The best way to protect young models is to keep them in school and off sets until they are adults. But that's only part of the problem. We need to teach our girls, and young boys, how to protect themselves and defend themselves against predators in every area of their lives. Sexual harassment can happen anywhere and at any time. In the playground, in school, on the bus, in crowded public spaces. Accepting this and preparing for it will help more of us know how to handle it when it does happen."
Cory Michael Smith is set to join Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic 'First Man'.

Cory Michael Smith

The 30-year-old actor - who is best known for playing The Riddler in 'Gotham' - is going to be cast as astronaut Roger Chaffee in 'La La Land' filmmaker Chazelle's space picture , Deadline reports.

Chaffee was one of the astronauts on board the Apollo program and served as capsule communicator for the Gemini 3 and Gemini 4 missions.

In 1967, Chaffee died in a fire along with astronauts Virgil Gus Grissom and Edward H. White II during the pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission.

Not much is known about the forthcoming film as of yet but Hollywood hunk Ryan Gosling is set to play Neil Armstrong in the movie, which follows the glory and turmoil of him landing on the moon.

Pablo Schreiber also joins 'The Crown' star Claire Foy, who has signed up to play the Armstrong's wife Janet.

The motion picture will be based in the years from 1961 to 1969, the year Armstrong landed on the moon, and will look at the astronaut, his family and NASA's efforts to get the man up on the orbiting rock.

'First Man' is an adaptation of James R. Hansen's book, which was based on 50 hours of taped conversations with Armstrong, who grew to hate the fame he got after taking the "giant leap for mankind".

Janet was married to Neil for 38 years before they split in 1994. They had two sons together and a daughter who sadly died from pneumonia after suffering from a brain tumour. Neil died in 2012 when he was 82.

'First Man' is slated to be released by Universal in October next year.
Michael Palin doesn't think he is a "satirist".

Michael Palin

The 74-year-old comedian shot to fame as a part of Monty Python - also comprised of John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and the late Graham Chapman - but even though they were known for their comedy sketches which lampooned religion and politics, Palin has never considered his previous work to be satirical.

Instead, Palin thinks the troupe were keen on mocking people in power which is exactly what his latest film 'The Death of Stalin' also does.

Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the UK premiere on his latest movie at the Bluebird venue in London on Tuesday night (17.10.17), Palin said: "I'm not really a satirist myself but I do see the absurdity of people in power. We did a number of those things with Python - people in authority being gently prodded and made to look as ridiculous, as we all are sometimes, so there was a sort of feeling of similarity doing this say doing the 'Life of Brian' - with a lot of people sitting around deciding what to call their revolutionary party.

"A lot of this film is about bureaucracy, it's about people giving themselves names and labels, which is quite funny I think. And it's a good escape route, comedy. I really think it is. These are difficult times, very difficult times but I think there has always been times like this."

'The Death of Stalin' is the latest movie by Armando Iannucci and focuses on the former Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin living out his final days and the chaos in the communist nation which erupts following his death.

Palin - who stars alongside the likes of Jason Isaacs, Jeffry Tambor and Steve Buscemi - admitted he loves mocking politicians and thinks their personalities would be the same if they were in the playground.

He said: "I'm also excelled at the fact that politicians and the way they are and you think what would they have been like in the playground?

"I think the relationships would have all been the same then, there would be the bully, the tough guy and the comedian. I always say none of us have grown up."
Prince Harry will visit Lancashire for a day of engagements on October 23.

Prince Harry

The 33-year-old royal will travel up to the county in north west England next week to carry out a number of visits so that he can "explore" projects in the area that will go hand-in-hand with the work he does with veterans, conservation and sport.

Kensington Palace announced the news on its official Twitter account, writing: "Prince Harry will visit Lancashire for a day of engagements on 23 October.

"The visit will allow HRH to explore projects in areas that are priorities for his work: veterans, conservation and sport for social change

"HRH will first visit @VeteransUK_MOD in Norcross to mark the 25th anniversary of the Veterans UK Helpline Service

"HRH will then travel to St Michael's on Wyre, in follow up to his visit to the flood affected village in February 2016

"HRH will also visit @myplace2gr0w, a project which aims to empower young people by encouraging them to take action in environmental activity

"Finally HRH will visit @STFSDC and @LancsBombers, two organisations using power of sport as a means for social development and inclusion. (sic)"

As well as carrying out his duties, the flame-haired prince is said to be busy planning his proposal to his girlfriend Meghan Markle as the couple are planning to announce that they're taking their relationship to the next level following less than year of dating.

Despite the interest surrounding their relationship, Meghan, 36, claimed earlier this year that she hasn't been changed by the experience of dating a royal.

Speaking in September, the actress explained: "We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news, and I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people's perception.

"Nothing about me changed. I'm still the same person that I am, and I've never defined myself by my relationship."
The Bangladesh high court has stayed the implementation of the Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety 2018 agreement between European fashion brands and trade unions in the countrys readymade garment industry as its tenure was extended without the approval of the government. A court bench froze the new agreement until May 15 2018.The order came in response to a writ petition filed by Bangladesh National Garments Workers Employees League president Lima Ferdous, according to reports in Bangladesh media.

The Bangladesh high court has stayed the implementation of the Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety 2018 agreement between European fashion brands and trade unions in the country's readymade garment industry as its tenure was extended without the approval of the government. A court bench froze the new agreement until May 15 2018.#

Asking the government why the decision to extend the agreement without permission from the government, owners and workers should not be declared illegal, the bench offered the Bangladesh Accord Foundation, the labour ministry and the chief inspector at the department of inspection for factories and establishments four weeks to respond to the ruling.The second Accord, signed on June 21 this year, is scheduled to go into effect in May 2018 for three years after the first one signed in May 2013 expires. Bangladesh's garment factory owners have objected to the new agreement. The government is supporting the owners.The agreement has so far been signed by Kmart Australia, Target Australia, Primark, H&M, Inditex, C&A, Otto, KiK, Aldi South, Aldi North, Lidl, Tchibo, LC Waikiki and Helly Hansen. Another eight brands have committed to signing it.Global unions IndustriALL and UNI recently called on fashion brands to sign the second Accord for saying extension of the Accord is the only credible way to prevent life-threatening hazards in garment factories in Bangladesh. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) are clashing over Brexit talks as is evident from media reports from both sides. After British finance minister Philip Hammond termed Brussels as the enemy, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said any gratitude for British military defence of Europe did not exempt it from paying its dues.EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the recent week-long tough talks between both sides had reached a deadlock. On the other hand, senior British ministers are losing faith in the EUs willingness to strike a deal and the British Government fears the talks will break down unless the EU gives ground at a key summit starting in Brussels on October 19, according to a report in a top British daily.

The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) are clashing over Brexit talks as is evident from media reports from both sides. After British finance minister Philip Hammond termed Brussels as the 'enemy', European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said any gratitude for British military defence of Europe did not exempt it from paying its dues.#

Hammond later said he regretted his choice of words and denied that the talks were deadlocked. The UK is set to cut its membership with the EU in March 2019.Various reasons have stalled the talks, but the biggest reason reportedly is an inadequate financial offer from the UK, particularly over the so-called divorce bill. Addressing students at Luxembourg University recently, Juncker pointed toward the British Governments failure to commit to honouring its financial obligations to the bloc on leaving it.British Prime Minister Theresa May and Juncker said after dining together in Brussels recently that the stalled talks should accelerate over the months to come.According to one interpretation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the UK would not be required to pay anything in the absence of a withdrawal agreement, because the treaty says nothing about any such payments. But no deal on money would imply no deal on other issues, such as rights of EU citizens. Moreover, quitting without an agreement would inflict significant reputational damage to the UK.The British House of Lords acknowledges competing interpretations on what the UK should pay, but concludes there would be no enforceable obligation to make the UK pay any financial contribution, as the TEU does not say anything on monetary payments. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Despite slight oscillations, cotton quotes dropped in the Brazilian market in the first fortnight of October, as sellers were either more active in the spot market or retracted, the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) said in its fortnightly report. New trades were hampered as most buyers bid lower quotes than offer prices.

Between September 29 and October 13, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index dropped 1.8 per cent, closing at 2.3718 BRL ($0.7527) per pound on October 13.

Some textile companies were focused on closing new trades for delivery in late 2017 and early 2018. As for the exportation contracts, only a few were closed, mainly for the next three months, the CEPEA report said.

In September 2017, Brazils cotton exports amounted to 132,700 tons, up 95.2 per cent compared to the previous month, according to data from The Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX). Cumulative exports in the first nine months of 2017 totalled 371,000 tons, which is 30 per cent lower than the quantity exported in the same period of 2016.

Meanwhile, the first survey conducted by National Company for Food Supply (Conab) regarding 2017-18 crop, released on October 10, estimates that area under cotton is likely to increase anywhere between 5.5 per cent to 15.4 per cent. As a result, production is projected to increase somewhere between 1.61 million tons and 1.75 million tons, i.e. between 5.1 per cent and 14.9 per cent increase over 2016-17 crop. The average yield is, however, likely to see a slight drop of 0.4 per cent from the previous season to 1,622 kg per hectare.

In Mato Grosso, the main cotton producing province in Brazil, cotton area is forecast to increase by 10 per cent in 2017-18 compared to the previous season, according to Conab. Likewise, in Bahia, the second largest cotton producing state in Brazil, the sown area may total from 245 to 271 hectares, 21.8 per cent to 34.6 per cent up compared to 2016-17 season. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The textile associations in Gujarat are satisfied as the recent meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council had resolved most of their issues, minister of state for road transport and highways, shipping, chemical and fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya claimed. However, power loom weavers and textile traders expressed their unhappiness over the decisions.All 12 demands from three segments of the textile sector were accepted by the council, Mandaviya said addressing media persons in Surat recently.

The textile associations in Gujarat are satisfied as the recent meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council had resolved most of their issues, minister of state for road transport and highways, shipping, chemical and fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya claimed. However, power loom weavers and textile traders expressed their unhappiness over the decisions.#

The Federation of Surat Textile Traders' Association (FOSTTA) and the Federation of Gujarat Weavers' Association (FOGWA) have, however, jointly decided not to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali. Many textile markets in Surat will not be illuminated as a mark of protest against the central government, according to a report in a leading Indian newspaper.The GST Council reduced the GST on yarn from 18 to 12 per cent, which will result in less accumulation of input tax credit (ITC) by weavers. Cent per cent credit is now available on duty payment on input stock, Mandaviya said.From unfinished fabrics to finished fabrics saris and dress material, textile pass through at least 15 stages and at 5 per cent GST is charged at each stage. Traders demand for a single GST at the final stage has not been accepted, according to FOSTTA president Manoj Agarwal. Also, the composite scheme of Rs 1 crore and the quarterly return for those having turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore is not of any use to the traders, he added. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Marabu, a leading global manufacturer of liquid coatings and screen, digital, and pad inks, will display a wide range of industrial applications for screen, pad and digital printing at the forthcoming Exhibition for Industrial Print Technology InPrint 2017. The exhibition is going to be held in Munich, Germany from November 14-16, 2017.

In hall A6 stand 527, Marabu will showcase Cold-Peel, digital transfer printing for textiles. The Texa Jet DX-DTE digital printing ink based on pigmented resin boasts all the major advantages of transfer technology. The image is printed using the CMYK process onto a specially coated film, without the need for complex prepress work. Screen printing is only required for the white blocking layer or, if needed, the application of adhesive.

The final patches are produced by means of a heat press. The patches are extremely thin, ensuring that the final result has a soft handle, and safeguards the comfort of the t-shirt. When deployed on the Mutho Value Jet 628, cost-effective and efficient small and mid-size production runs are possible. Further strengths are wash resistance, and the ability to generate high-resolution images in bright colours, Marabu said.

Marabu, a leading global manufacturer of liquid coatings and screen, digital, and pad inks, will display a wide range of industrial applications for screen, pad and digital printing at the forthcoming Exhibition for Industrial Print Technology 'InPrint 2017'. The exhibition is going to be held in Munich, Germany from November 14-16, 2017.#

With headquarters near Stuttgart, Germany, Marabus track record of innovation stretches back to 1859, featuring many industry-first solutions for both industrial applications and graphic design. With its 14 subsidiaries and exclusive distribution partners, Marabu offers high-quality products and customer-specific services in more than 80 countries.

At the third InPrint in Germany, visitors can discover practical solutions which entail industrial printing techniques, printing on different materials and finishing processes. Around 130 leading companies from 17 countries are expected to present the latest printing machinery and systems, components and special parts, print head technology, drying & curing equipment as well as printing inks, primers and liquid coatings. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
FIJI PARTNERS WITH THE LEONARDO DICAPRIO FOUNDATION TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTION FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES





Inspired by Fiji's Presidency of COP23, the Fijian Government, with the support of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF), will bring renewable energy to eligible rural communities across the country.Together with Sunergise (Fiji) Limited, the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network (FLMMA) and the Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA), the new Fiji Rural Electrification Fund will bring solar power to communities with no electricity or that rely on pollution-emitting diesel generators.LDF will provide a grant as seed funding to electrify the villages of Vio and Nacula, the first two communities taking part in the pilot phase of the program. LDF will then help mobilise funding for additional communities. Once a sufficient number of communities are operational, the revenues from the electricity sales will be used to finance further communities, creating a self-funding system that will expand the program throughout rural Fiji.Terry Tamminen, C.E.O. of LDF said, Island nations are on the front lines of climate change, and with Fiji's leadership we can demonstrate how practical renewable energy solutions can improve lives and increase resiliency at the same time.The Fijian Prime Minister and President of COP23, Frank Bainimarama, said, This program is a shining example of the Grand Coalition we are mobilising to address the challenge of climate change by working with leaders across the world and from all walks of life - governments at all levels, the private sector, foundations and civil society. As incoming COP23 President, I am pleased to see this partnership coming together for the good of the Fijian people and as a model that can work in other countries around the globe.The Fijian Attorney-General and Minister responsible for climate change, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said that this program was an example of Fijis determination to partner with the private sector to deliver essential services to the Fijian people and help them prepare for the growing impacts of climate change.This innovative financing program will provide clean energy to communities at the same or a lower price than diesel generators, which rely on a supply chain that is easily disrupted by extreme weather events. We are keen to continue our work alongside the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and urge this fund be established on the basis of sustainability, so we can attract more private sector investments, foundation contributions and benefits for ordinary Fijians he said.The communities served by this program will receive round-the-clock electricity services from solar and battery hybrid systems for the same or less money than they currently spend on fossil fuels to run diesel generators for only three to four hours a day.Sunergise Co-Founder and Managing Director, Ajay Raniga, expressed delight in being a development partner for this initiative. We are very excited and honoured to work with the Fijian Government, FEA, LDF and FLMMA to provide the commercial and technical skills to make their rural electrification project successful and provide sustainable solutions to communities across Fiji.RokoSau Josefa Cinavilakeba, Board Trustee and Vanua Representative of FLMMA, noted the community resiliency benefits of the program. A vibrant, empowered and resilient community is critical in adapting to the future. We are honoured to be part of this exciting collaboration in helping brighten the future of these communities.Gardiner Whiteside, the Deputy Chairman of FEA, said FEA is proudly committed to providing electricity services to Fijian communities while improving the environment. This is a timely initiative given FEAs key corporate strategic goal to become a 100 per cent renewable energy provider to all Fijians. FEA is the largest renewable energy generator in Fiji and we thank our partners in this project for their leadership in achieving our shared vision.The first two communities are expected to come online in the third quarter of 2018.-ENDS-
HON PM BAINIMARAMA AT THE WOMENS LEADERSHIP IN CLIMATE DIPLOMACY BREAKFAST





His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Fiji,

Honourable Ministers,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.



We all know that women and girls are both critically vulnerable to some of the worst effects of climate change and vital to an effective response. So it is my great pleasure as incoming COP23 President to welcome you to the Gender Diplomacy Breakfast this morning.



And to assure you that throughout the term of Fijis presidency, gender issues will get the priority they deserve.



As the world experiences the extreme weather events, rising seas and changes to agriculture caused by climate change, women often have the least resources to cope. And this can add an extra burden to the poverty and lack of opportunity that billions of women around the world already face.



But Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, women are also powerful agents for change. Vast numbers are already stewards of natural resources and guardians of traditional knowledge. But as global conditions deteriorate, we know that women can lead the way in protecting food supplies and water resources. And in doing so, can protect their communities.



We also know that when women are well represented in decision-making processes, their ability to share skills and knowledge strengthens our collective effort to face the challenge of climate change.



We go into COP23 committing ourselves to the principles of justice and equality in which women and girls are afforded the same opportunities as men and boys. We can all be proud that the adoption of the First Gender Action Plan will take place at COP23. This will help ensure that the benefits of climate action are shared equitably. And we need to integrate these principles and practices throughout the work of the institutions that govern our collective response to climate change.



A great deal deserves to be highlighted not only here at the Pre-COP but when we get to Bonn. But I just want to say something about Fijis response to the gender issue that I think will resonate with many of you wherever in the world you call home.

Our COP delegation consists of close to 50 per cent women and we would obviously encourage other delegations to aspire to increase the proportion of women on theirs.



Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, you have all seen our Chief Negotiator in action. And Im sure youll agree that Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan is a great representative for Fiji. We have entrusted her to a role of great importance to this process and to the world. And she is also a great role model for women and girls, not only in Fiji but everywhere.



The same applies to our MC this morning, my Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, the Honourable Mereseini Vuniwaqa, who speaks passionately about some of the challenges our own women face and how they are contributing to our collective quest to find answers.



Over the past decade, we have made a lot more progress in ensuring that women assume leadership positions. Fiji currently leads the Pacific in female representation in Parliament. Dr. Jiko Luveni is the first woman to ever serve as Speaker of our Parliament. And alongside our Secretary-General to Parliament and Secretary to the Cabinet, it is the first time in Fijian history that all three of those positions are simultaneously held by women. In my Government, four women oversee significant ministerial portfolios, and we are proud of that representation. But I also acknowledge that it is far from good enough and that we need to do much better.



Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, a cornerstone of my Governments program is to empower Fijian women in all parts of the country and from every walk of life.



We have taken a long, hard look at the issues facing women in Fijian society. And we are investing more Government dollars than ever before in initiatives specifically designed to uplift Fijian women and level the playing field for them across the Fijian economy.



Last year, we raised the budget for the Ministry of Women, Children, and Poverty Alleviation, with increases to programmes that focus solely on supporting the women of Fiji. These include a Womens Plan of Action and the setting up of a 24- hour help line for women and children in partnership with the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre.



Again this year, we supported a National Womens Expo to encourage more Fijian women to showcase their skills commercially in a whole variety of fields.



And many women are also benefitting from our Small to Medium Business Grants Scheme, in which we are encouraging Fijians to either start new businesses or develop existing ones as part of our wider aim to encourage an enterprise culture in Fiji.



As the Fijian economy enjoys an unprecedented period of growth  eight years and counting - we are translating that growth directly into policies that uplift every Fijian  particularly our women and girls. Thanks to the free education, subsidised bus fares and free textbooks that my Government has introduced for the first time, more girls are enrolled in school in Fiji today than ever before. And this empowerment is transforming the prospects of many girls by not only freeing them from the poverty trap but opening up a world of opportunity.



When education tuition wasnt free, and parents had to choose which child they could afford to educate, it was frequently our girls who had to stay home. That heartbreak is now a thing of the past. Assisted by Government, parents no longer have to bear the financial burden of sending their children to school. So that now  finally - every child in Fiji can carry themselves as far as their interests, abilities and hard work can take them. And when they take the next step into higher education, weve vastly expanded our scholarship programmes to help fund that ambition.



It is by far my Governments proudest achievement. And successive studies have shown that when women are educated, they are not only better placed to raise living standards for themselves and their families, they are much more likely to embrace effective family planning. And because that reduces the population burden on the environment, it is in the top ten most effective ways of combatting climate change.



So Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, improving the status of women is a core imperative in tackling the effects of climate change. That is what we are doing in Fiji. And that is what we must do around the world.



We have a great deal to look forward to at COP in terms of advancing the gender issue. The Presidency  together with Switzerland  is organising a dinner for female leaders on November 13, the eve of Gender Day. And on Gender Day itself, there will be a High Level Breakfast supported by the Mary Robinson Foundation. Now that is a woman I admire - someone who is making a real difference and whom we had the pleasure to host in Fiji a couple of years back.



Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to address you this morning. And lets make COP23 a time for gender action as part of our wider campaign for climate action. Because in both cases, we have no time to waste.



Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.
L'Express de Madagascar has a somewhat more plausible update than BNGRC's (see post just below): Antananarivo - Drop of plague patients treated. The edited Google translation of an October 18 report, and then a comment:

Plague treatment centers are getting their breath back. The number of patients admitted and treated at hospitals has declined over the last few days.

"Around eighty people a day were registered at the yard last week. Between yesterday and this morning, there were only twenty of them, and eight of them, suspicious cases, were retained for treatment," explains Professor Luc Rakotovao, deputy director of the Befelatanana hospital yesterday. In this hospital, there are only about fifty patients suspected of plague being treated. Last week, the capacity was considerably exceeded with its seventy patients.

The attending physicians at the hospital for the prevention of plague in Ambohimiandra (Chapa) have also seen this decline in patients.

"We have only identified four new cases this day. Yesterday they were two and the previous days, three. We have been able to accommodate up to ten cases a day, before," they explain. At the Soavinandriana hospital center (Cenhsoa), its nine beds were all occupied yesterday. A hospital official acknowledged, however, a slight decrease in the large influx of patients.

Twenty-two new cases were reported and 146 patients treated at Antananarivo treatment centers yesterday, according to a concordant source.

Conceal

This epidemic is beginning to be controlled, hence the explanation of the decline in hospitalized patients. This would be the result of several activities, namely awareness raising or active case-finding. Surveillance, response and investigation teams are mobilized at the neighborhood level to identify and monitor the health status of all victims' contacts.

In addition, a synergy of action between a few ministries and technical and financial partners has made it possible to train village leaders, Scouts and volunteers to raise awareness among opinion leaders and association leaders in the fight against plague.

Vigilance should not yet be reduced. On the contrary, it should be strengthened. This decrease in the number of patients treated may conceal unsupported cases who remain in their homes. In Toamasina, for example, no new cases were reported in a few days. Yesterday, however, eight new cases were admitted to the hospital. The installation of a cordon sanitaire to monitor more closely the cases, is crucial.

Two deaths in the city

Two suspected plague deaths, one in Ampefiloha-Ambodirano and the other in a children's hospital, were buried at the Anjanahary mass grave yesterday. Once again, the municipal hygiene office in the urban commune of Antananarivo, in charge of the burial of the plague victims, found it difficult to have the body of the deceased at Ampefiloha-Ambodirano. Her family refuses to admit that she succumbed from the plague. She'd been sick for some time. Hospitalized in a hospital in Antananarivo, she returned home for fear of contracting the plague bacteria.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, in August, until 16 October, seventy-four deaths and eight hundred cases of plague have been recorded, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Public Health.

Since October 16, the official tally has been 805 cases and 74 deaths. Now we have 22 new cases, plus two deaths, but the same tally still holds.

I have no idea why the tally is becoming garbled, but long ago I learned that in any outbreak, you don't need to worry until you start losing count.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Swiss investor Marc Faber, in his latest newsletter, has made a racially charged statement that America is great because it's ruled by white people. He wrote that 'the U.S. would look like Zimbabwe' if it had been settled by black people instead of whites In his popular newsletter 'The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report', dated October 3, he wrote, 'And thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under white majority.' However, in an interview with MarketWatch, Faber doubled down on his racial comments and said 'I am not saying it would be better. I am just saying that progress would not have been the same.' 'Europeans brought science to America. They brought technical skills..I am not sure the Africans would have done that,' Faber explained. If 'stating some historical facts makes me a racist, then I suppose that I am a racist,' Faber added and stood by his earlier statements. 'If you have to live in a society where you cannot express your views and your views are immediately condemned without further analysis and analysis of the context in which [they're written]-if you can't live with that, then it is a sad state of where freedom of the press and freedom of expression have come,' Faber said on his right to free speech. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Sprott Inc. asked Faber to resign from its board. CNBC and Fox Business Network said Tuesday that they will no longer ask him to be on their shows. 'The recent comments by Dr. Faber are deeply disappointing and are completely contradictory with the views of Sprott and its employees,' Sprott CEO Peter Grosskopf said in a statement. 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.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 17, 2017 / From the beginning of the world, humans have been obsessed with both the passage of time and the desire for speed. When the luxury watch industry intertwines these two fascinations to create unique engineering feats, collectors are rewarded with timeless pieces of luxurious wearable art. Steven Rostovsky, the owner of Rostovsky Watches, buys and sells high-end collectible and exotic wrist watches, including those influenced by auto racing.

When discussing a recent article in WatchTime, America's number one watch magazine, Steven Rostovsky agrees that watches and race cars have been connected for as long as automobiles have been in existence. For instance, both the Rolex Daytona and TAG Heuer Carrera are over a half-century old. However, this alliance is not just part of history. Today, there are more than a dozen collectible pieces coupling fast cars and heirloom-grade watches.

In 2015, Swiss watchmaker Greubel Forsey collaborated with Rolls-Royce on a project that marries high-end horology and automobiles. The idea behind 'Spirit of Time' was to pair individual Greubel Forsey timepieces with specific Rolls-Royce Phantom models. The vehicles have been reworked inside and out to compliment and reflect features of each watch model. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase, for example, was paired with the Inclined Tourbillon GMT and besides other customized features, offered a rear storage console designed to hold two watches in a hand-built case.

Another favorite of Rostovsky is the recently announced 10-year partnership between watchmaker Richard Mille and McLaren, resulting in the world's lightest split-seconds tourbillon chronograph. The Richard Mille RM 50-03 McLaren F1 weights less than 40 grams and its super light mechanism is encased in an improved form of Carbon TPT (called Graph TPT), a first in the watch industry but soon to be introduced into McLaren Grand Prix race cars. The timepiece will be produced in limited edition of 75 pieces, priced at US $980,000. Each watch is accompanied by a 1:5 scale model of the McLaren-Honda racing car driven in 2017 by Double-World Champion Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne.

Although timeless watches have been created in the likeness of luxury automobiles, the connections between wristwatches and cars go further than design considerations. For instance, Road and Track created a list of pairings for those who own fast automobiles and want watches that reflect the same substance and significance. According to Road and Track, owners of the classic Porsche 911 should consider the legendary Rolex Submariner, while owners of the German-made BMW M3 would be wise to pair the car with a German-made Sinn 240. Whether adding to your luxury collection with a car-inspired watch or wearing a watch that espouses your values, Steven Rostovsky hopes to cultivate a passion for mechanical watches through nostalgia, innovation, value, and education.

When not traveling the world in search of exclusive, luxury watches for his extensive collection, Steven Rostovsky resides in Beverly Hills, CA with his wife Janine and their three children: Jason, Taryn, and Alexa. In addition to sharing a passion for watches, the whole family are united in their dedication to philanthropy and social betterment. The Rostovskys have gained a reputable standing in the community through their generous support for multiple Jewish and secular groups, and they tirelessly promote social awareness and charitable activities.

Steven Rostovsky - Rostovsky Watches in Beverly Hills, CA: http://stevenrostovskynews.com

Steven Rostovsky - Shares Strategies for Finding Collectible Watches: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/steven- rostovsky -shares-strategies-finding-175000342.html

Steven Rostovsky - Discusses Options for Acquiring Pre-owned (or previously enjoyed) Timepieces: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/steven- rostovsky -discusses-options-acquiring-031300561.html

Contact Information:

StevenRostovskyNews.com

contact@stevenrostovskynews.com

http://stevenrostovskynews.com

SOURCE: Steven Rostovsky
HANGZHOU, China, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 25th CEEMAN Annual Conference was co-organized and hosted by The School of Management, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China recently. More than 150 participants from over 30 countries joined the event, including deans and directors from business schools and universities, representatives of international management development associations, business leaders and entrepreneurs, political leaders and change makers, and international publishers.

The Conference's theme was "Rethinking Entrepreneurship: Challenges for Management Education in Rising Economics". Company visits and meetings with entrepreneurs about the innovation and entrepreneurship, poster sessions, keynote addresses and panel sessions about latest trends and insights, key issues, opportunities and challenges in the area of entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability were held in the conference.This was done to seehow business/management education can better support these processes to foster more effective entrepreneurship development around the world.

The meeting was held in China for the first time, and was an important step to facilitate cooperation following the Belt and Road initiative. The conference gave a chance to rethink the challenges for management education in rising economics facingglobalization and dramatic economic development. Companies from East and European countries will have a deep understanding aboutentrepreneurship and innovation of Chinese enterprises, as well as inclusive finance and sharing economy.

The first keynote was about the evolution of management education, with key issues that the institutions are facing and how business schools need to evolve in the future. Other keynotes from business were followed, which were presented by representatives from Alibaba and multinational companies from the Belt and Road area. Initiatives encouraging and enabling the SMEs to grow global, as well as perspectives on entrepreneurship were shared.

Panel sessions were focused on the issue of Entrepreneurship Development. One of them was around China's issues and opportunities with deans and rectors from Chinese and international business schools participating in it and sharing their viewpoints. Another oneviews theentrepreneur's side with entrepreneurs and deans attendingfrom different continents.

The CEEMAN Annual Conference officially came to an end withCEEMAN Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony, where certificates were delivered to new CEEMAN members, schools that have acquired the IQA Accreditation, and to the winners of the23rdCEEMAN Case Writing Competition, organized in cooperation with Emerald Group Publishing and2017 CEEMAN Champion Awardsrecipients.


MELBOURNE (dpa-AFX) - Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton plc (BHP.AX, BLT.L, BBL, BHP) reported that its total iron ore production for the first quarter ended September 30, 2017 was 55.6 million tonnes, down 3 percent from 57.6 million tonnes in the year-ago quarter. BHP Billiton noted that improved mine productivity and record volumes at Jimblebar were offset by the impact of planned maintenance and lower opening stockpile levels, following the fire at the Mt Whaleback screening plant in June 2017. However, the company added that all its production and unit cost guidance for the 2018 financial year remains unchanged. BHP Billiton affirmed its outlook for fiscal 2018 iron ore production between 239 and 243 Mt, or between 275 and 280 Mt on a 100 per cent basis. Metallurgical coal production for the September quarter remained flat with the year-ago period at 10.6 Mt. The company's guidance for the 2018 financial year remained unchanged at between 44 and 46 Mt. Energy coal production for the three months ended September 30 fell 2 percent from the year-ago period to 6.7 kt. The company said its production outlook for the 2018 financial year remains unchanged at approximately 29 to 30 Mt. Total copper production for the quarter rose 14 percent from last year to 404.1 kt. The company's production guidance for the 2018 financial year remained unchanged at between 1,655 and 1,790 kt. Total petroleum production for the quarter decreased 8 per cent from the year-ago quarter to 50.3 Mmboe. However, the company maintained its production outlook for the 2018 financial year at between 180 and 190 MMboe. 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.


JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - The following are some of the biotech stocks that made their way onto the Day's Gainers & Losers' list of October 17, 2017.



GAINERS



1. Voyager Therapeutics Inc. (VYGR)



Gained 11.50% to close Tuesday's (Oct.17) trading at $22.89.



News: The Company presented encouraging new data related to its novel AAV gene therapy capsids in a preclinical model of Friedreich's ataxia.



The Company's novel AAV gene therapy capsids demonstrate widespread gene transfer to the brain and spinal cord of non-human primates after a single intravenous administration. One month after dosing, substantial levels of frataxin-HA were expressed in the Central Nervous System.



Friedreich's ataxia is a severe, inherited neurological disease caused by mutations in the frataxin gene leading to decreased expression of frataxin (FXN), which results in severe sensory impairment, progressive loss of the ability to walk, generalized weakness, loss of sensation, as well as severe and potentially fatal cardiomyopathy.



2. Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RIGL)



Gained 9.30% to close Tuesday's trading at $4.23.



News: No news



Recent event:



On October 10, 2017, the Company announced the closing of its public offering of 20.81 million shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $3.35 each. The gross proceeds to Rigel from this offering were $69.73 million.



Near-term catalyst:



The Company's New Drug Application for Tavalisse in treating patients with chronic or persistent immune thrombocytopenia is under FDA review - with a decision date set for April 17, 2018.



3. XOMA Corp. (XOMA)



Gained 6.99% to close Tuesday's trading at $23.58.



News: No news



Pipeline:



The Company's lead candidates include XOMA 358, under phase II testing in patients with Hypoglycemia after gastric bypass surgery, and XOMA 213, which recently demonstrated positive results in a phase II proof-of-concept study in physiological hyperprolactinemia.



Recent event:



-- On October 4, 2017, XOMA entered into new non-exclusive license agreements with three different companies, Tizona Therapeutics, Inc., Torch Biosciences, Inc., and LakePharma for use of its proprietary phage display libraries for antibody discovery. XOMA's phage display libraries are tools to generate human recombinant antibodies with exquisite specificity and high affinity.



Under these agreements, XOMA is eligible to receive development and regulatory milestone payments plus single-digit royalties on net sales of products. Additionally, the agreement with LakePharma, a U.S.-based biologics services company, enables it to develop its own antibodies using XOMA's library, as well as offer the Company's library to its broad customer base. XOMA is eligible to receive milestone and royalty payments for products developed by LakePharma and as part of its client programs.



4. Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (FOMX)



Gained 6.36% to close Tuesday's trading at $6.69.



News: No news



Near-term catalysts:



-- Top-line results from third phase III Acne clinical trial for Minocycline Foam FMX101 expected by mid-2018. -- Top-line results from blinded phase of Phase 3 program of topical Minocycline Foam 1.5%, FMX103 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne anticipated by mid-2018.



5. Aptevo Therapeutics Inc. (APVO)



Gained 5.70% to close Tuesday's trading at $2.41.



News: The Company's pre-clinical drug candidate APVO210 demonstrated targeted Cytokine delivery for application in various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The Company looks forward to advancing APVO210 towards clinical development.



Pipeline:



The Company has two clinical drug candidates - MOR209/ES414 monotherapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, under phase I trial, and Otlertuzumab for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, under phase II study.



The Company also has 4 marketed drugs.



6. Agile Therapeutics Inc. (AGRX)



Gained 5.56% to close Tuesday's trading at $5.13.



News: The Company presented additional results from its phase III trial of investigational low-dose combination hormonal contraceptive patch, Twirla, dubbed SECURE, at the 2017 North American Forum on Family Planning.



Near-term catalyst:



-- Agile's New Drug Application for Twirla is under FDA review - with a decision date set for December 26, 2017. Twirla was turned down by the FDA in 2013.



LOSERS



1. Immune Design Corp. (IMDZ)



Lost 18.81% to close Tuesday's trading at $8.20.



News: The Company plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 trial to support a Biologics License Application for CMB305, a novel cancer vaccine, in patients with synovial sarcoma in mid-2018.



The study will enroll 248 patients aged twelve and older, and they will be randomized 1:1 to receive either CMB305 monotherapy or placebo. The trial will have progression free survival (PFS) followed by overall survival (OS) as co-primary endpoints. Depending on the rate of events, final PFS analysis may occur as early as 24 months from the first patient dosed.



2. Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp. (ITEK)



Lost 14.29% to close Tuesday's trading at $2.22.



News: No news



Recent event:



On October 12, 2017, the Company filed a preliminary proxy statement for its previously announced proposed merger with Rocket Pharmaceuticals, a US-based gene therapy company.



The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.



3. Ardelyx Inc. (ARDX)



Lost 14.06% to close Tuesday's trading at $5.50. This is the second straight day of loss for the stock.



Recent event:



-- On October 11, 2017, the Company reported positive results from T3MPO-2, its second Phase 3 study of Tenapanor for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). The Company expects to submit a New drug Application for Tenapanor for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in the second half of 2018.



4. MannKind Corp. (MNKD)



Lost 12.36% to close Tuesday's trading at $4.75.



News: No news



Recent event:



-- On October 11, 2017, the Company announced a registered direct offering of an aggregate of 10.16 million shares of common stock at an offering price of $6.00 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $61 million. The offering was expected to close on or about October 13, 2017. -- On October 2, 2017, the FDA approved an update to the Afrezza label, regarding its rapid onset of activity and duration of effect.



5. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Inc. (DCPH)



Lost 10.71% to close Tuesday's trading at $21.43.



News: No news



Recent event:



-- On October 3, 2017, the Company closed its initial public offering of 7.5 million shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $17.00 each.



Pipeline:



The Company's lead candidate is DCC-2618, currently in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial. DCC-2618 is in clinical development for the treatment of KIT and/or PDGFR?-driven cancers, including gastrointestinal stromal tumors, glioblastoma multiforme and systemic mastocytosis.



6. Fulgent Genetics Inc. (FLGT)



Lost 9.31% to close Tuesday's trading at $3.80.



News: No news



Upcoming event:



The Company is slated to report financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2017 in the first week of November.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/17/17 -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704) (TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, released its comprehensive whitepaper "Digital Souks: A Glimpse into the Middle Eastern and North African Underground" at GITEX 2017, detailing criminal activities within the underground of this region. Prices for malware and hacking tools are generally a bit more expensive than in other regions. For example, a keylogger in the North American underground runs for US$1-4, but here it can be up to US$19. However, the willingness for members to share content for a mutual cause helps balance out the price differences.

The Middle Eastern and North African underground is where culture, ideology, and cybercrime meet. Trend Micro has seen that regional marketplaces closely reflect the societies in which they operate. In this region, this facilitates itself in the "spirit of sharing" mindset, held by those that operate here, with a feeling of brotherhood and religious alliance that transcends the illicit transactions that occur.

"Still a propagating market, the region is not at par in terms of scale and scope when compared to other regions, but the products and services available remain common and sophisticated," said Ihab Moawad, Vice President, Trend Micro, Mediterranean, Middle East & Africa. "We now have a heightened awareness of the region, which then allows us to gather and analyze threat intelligence so that we can better help the region strengthen its cyber defenses. Trend Micro will continue to monitor regional marketplaces so we can proactively empower our ecosystem, and offer greater clarity to law enforcement agencies, here in the region, and globally."

"Also, the prevalence of giving services and malware away for free is interesting. Other underground marketplaces provide support to members, but the extent and willingness in this region is unique," added Moawad.

The ideology of hacking, as a service is unique to MENA's underground due to the ideology that drives its trade. In other marketplaces, like in North America or Russia, their purveyors mostly focus on selling their wares and forum participants don't band together to plan cyberattacks.

Hacktivism, DDoS attacks and website defacements are a staple in this region. These tactics are often carried out by members who present ideological distrust toward Western countries, as well as local governments. Major primary product categories are, malware: 27 percent, fake documents 27 percent, stolen data 20 percent, crimeware 13 percent, weapons 10 percent, and narcotics 3 percent.

Crimeware sold includes a variety of cryptors, malware and hacking tools. Worm US$1-12, keylogger free-US$19, known ransomware US$30-50, malware builder Free-US$500, citadel (FUD) US$150, ninja RAT (FUD) US$100, and Havij 1.8 (Cracked) for free.

Hosting providers in the region make significant profit by selling regionalized hosting spaces, which allows for local language and time settings in addition to faster connection speeds. A single IP connection and 50 GB of hard disk space, for instance, are sold for US$50. Smaller plans exist, and start as low as US$3. To some extent, the price is at par with other underground marketplaces, such as that of China.

Similar to the Russian underground, cashout services also abound here. These are platforms from which physical items, usually stolen, are converted into cash. These services are paid in bankcards, Bitcoins (BTC) or via direct cash transactions.

A unique aspect of cash out services here is how they are used to bypass security mechanisms and legal requirements in the region, such as those in place for the purchase of cell phones, and disposable SIM cards. In the MENA underground, DDoS services can be purchased by hacktivists and threat actors to further their ideology.

Private and public organizations are often targeted, however the service is not as prevalent as is widely believed, and its rarity commands a steep price. The average is US$45 per hour, with three-hour packages at US$275, and involves tools such as Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) or Lizard Stresser.

Malware as a Service (MaaS) typically includes a purveyor, a malware developer selling a single binary or a combination of a binary and builder marketed as fully undetectable (FUD). Average prices are US$20 for a binary, and US$30-110 for a binary with C&C infrastructure. A binary-builder package costs around US$150-400.

Stolen identities are sold in forums across the region. The Arabic forum hack-int in Egypt sells stolen identities for US$18. The demand for personally identifiable documents is influenced by geopolitical tensions--their buyers wanting to flee active war zones, for instance, leveraging them to migrate to other countries as refugees. On the other hand, cybercriminals can also purchase fake documents to perpetrate insurance fraud or prove resident status. A daunting real-world implication is a dangerous person buying these fake documents, and slipping through to other countries as refugees.

Furthermore, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a mainstay for cybercriminal activity and can be purchased due to the anonymity they provide. VPNs offered here are purportedly secure, don't store logs, and have multiple hop points. Cybercriminals will typically use these servers as either part of a botnet, or a jump-off platform for further attacks.

For this research, Trend Micro delineated the MENA underground as marketplaces, websites, and forums hosted within the regions. Arabic is the prevalent language, although some sites are in Turkish, Farsi, English, and occasionally French. While criminals sell commodities to and from the Middle East and North Africa, they are also operating globally.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cyber security solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 5,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables users to enjoy their digital lives safely. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Claudius Lam

Trend Micro

+ 852 2866 4362 (Office)

+ 852 9022 0876 (Mobile)

Email Contact




SYDNEY, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

mCommerce to make up a third of the online shopping market by 2021

Australians are set to increase their use of alternative payments over that of credit cards in the next five years, according to new data from leading payment company Worldpay.

Credit cards are currently the dominant eCommerce payment method in Australia, accounting for 37% of all eCommerce in 2017. This figure is set to drop to 12.6% by 2021, with bank transfers replacing credit cards as the most popular payment method. Although accounting for less than a fifth of all online payments today, bank transfers are projected to jump by 23% over the next five years, to make up 43% of the market.

Debit cards are also in decline, set to fall from 9% to just 6.5% of the market, while cash on delivery will also drop slightly - from 7% to 5.6%. Meanwhile the use of e-Wallets, already a very popular payment method in Australia, is set increase by 4% over the same timeframe, making up 28% of online payments.

The findings come from Worldpay's annual Global Payments Report, which analysed eCommerce spending patterns across 36 different markets on five continents. The research forecasts that the Asia-Pacific eCommerce market will grow by an average of 12% annually and is set to be worth US$2,100bn by 2021[1]. Projected to grow by 11% over this period, Australia's eCommerce market is slower than average for the region, but the country's mCommerce is set to soar by an impressive 31% by 2021, faster than many of its neighbours.

Commenting on the report, Phil Pomford, General Manager for Asia Pacific at Worldpay said: "Australia is a unique market within Asia-Pacific: it has a highly-connected, affluent and growing population, combined with very high level of international sales. Cross-border trade accounted for nearly 20% of Australian eCommerce in 2016 and a massive 86% of consumers said that they have completed a cross-border purchase.

"As Australians start to use more alternative payments such as e-Wallets and bank transfers in addition to plastic, merchants and other retailers must ensure that they can continue to support Australian consumers' preferred ways to pay," continued Pomford. "They should also take into account the very strong growth in mCommerce, and continue to invest in providing great mobile shopping experience by integrating popular payment methods into their mCommerce platforms."

Worldpay has compiled the following recommendations for merchants looking to cash in on the continued strong growth of mCommerce and eCommerce in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region:

One-click ordering: Consumers are more likely to shop more often with companies that save their payment details for one-click ordering. Merchants should provide one-click ordering to make online checkout as seamless as possible - especially via mobile apps. Offer choice: The decline in credit and debit cards means it will be more important than ever to offer popular alternative methods including e-Wallets like PayPal and Visa Checkout. Cross-border trade: Merchants should ensure that they have local acquiring capabilities wherever they have a legal entity; offer a wide range of currencies at checkout; and consider local language customer support in their customers' time zone to deliver a great customer experience.

About the 2017 Global Payments Report

This report was compiled using a mixture of primary and secondary data sources. Primary refers to our own surveys and commissioned research; whereas secondary refers to authoritative third-party vendor data, and other publicly available data. The report also draws upon Worldpay's decades of experience in providing global eCommerce solutions. The eCommerce projected growth figures contained in this report were sourced from GlobalData's E-Commerce Analytics database and relate to the eCommerce industry as a whole, not Worldpay's business. GlobalData collected this data using consumer surveys, B2B surveys and desk research. Any indicative predictions based on the data we have used should be treated as such.

About Worldpay

Worldpay is a leading payments company with global reach. We provide an extensive range of technology-led payment products and services to around 400,000 customers, enabling their businesses to grow and prosper. We manage the increasing complexity of the payments landscape for our customers, allowing them to accept the widest range of payment types around the world. Using our network and technology, we are able to process payments from geographies covering 99% of global GDP, across 146 countries and 126 currencies. We help our customers to accept more than 300 different payment types. For more information, visithttp://www.worldpay.com/global/about/regional-expertise/asia-pacific

The information is provided on an "AS IS" basis for information purposes only and Worldpay makes no warranties of any kind including in relation to the content or suitability.

Worldpay (UK) Limited (Company No. 07316500 / FCA No. 530923), Worldpay Limited (Company No. 03424752 / FCA No. 504504), Worldpay AP Limited (Company No. 5593466 / FCA No. 502597). Registered Office: The Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, London EC4N 8AF and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Service Regulations 2009 for the provision of payment services. Worldpay (UK) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for consumer credit activities.

[1] GlobalData: refers to Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam

For more information, please contact:

Global eCom

Emily Lahey, PR Director

Email: emily.lahey@worldpay.com

Telephone: +44(0)203-664-5663



Golin

Nitesh Khetani

Email: worldpayecommteam@golin.com

Telephone: +44(0)207-067-0128
ATHENS, GREECE -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) announced today that it has signed a Fleet Management Program (FMP) maintenance contract with IndiGo for PW127M engines that will power the airline's new fleet of ATR72-600 aircraft serving regional routes in India. The contract, signed in August, will be in place for 10 years from the date of each engine's entry into service and can be extended thereafter. P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

"This FMP will provide IndiGo with hands-on support as the engines progressively enter into service on the airline's new ATR72-600 fleet," says Frederic Lefebvre, Vice President, Regional Airlines, P&WC. "IndiGo also chose to equip each of its new aircraft with our FAST (Flight, Acquisition, Storage and Transmission) prognostics solution - including the newly certified propeller vibration trend monitoring capability. FAST is helping regional airlines around the world maximize aircraft availability, achieve compliance with their maintenance requirements and optimize their maintenance scheduling."

Tailored specifically to IndiGo, the FMP plan will provide customized support to meet the company's technical and commercial needs. P&WC's FMP plan is a flexible, high-value engine management solution that helps lock in lower operating costs and simplifies fleet operations management. It also serves as a financial planning tool that supports efficient cash flow management while allowing airlines to focus on their core business of passenger and cargo transportation.

"IndiGo is a key operator for P&WC in India and the Asia Pacific market in general," says Lefebvre. "This FMP agreement allows us to take a larger profile in India's growing aviation industry. We are committed to making the debut of our PW127M engine with IndiGo's fleet a seamless process, giving them the outstanding maintenance solutions for which our P&WC FMP team is known."

P&WC will be at ERA, booth B33/34. Interested operators are invited to drop by the booth to speak with a marketing or customer service representative.

100,000 Reasons to Go Beyond

P&WC reached a significant milestone in April 2017, when it produced its 100,000th engine, a testament to the company's longevity and leadership in the global aerospace market. P&WC will celebrate this achievement throughout the year, recognizing all families of products as well as dedicated employees and loyal customers who, together, have marked the many accomplishments of its journey.

About Pratt & Whitney Canada

Founded in 1928, and a global leader in aerospace, P&WC is shaping the future of aviation with dependable, high-technology engines. Based in Longueuil, Quebec (Canada), P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. Based in Farmington, Connecticut, United Technologies Corp. provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production, support, performance and realization of anticipated benefits of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Note to Editors

Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/pwcanada) and Facebook at www.facebook.com/PrattWhitneyCanada) for our latest news and updates.

Contacts:

Kathy Roberge

Pratt & Whitney Canada

+1-450-647-7733 office

+1-514-827-5625 mobile

Kathy.roberge@pwc.ca

www.pwc.ca



Jennifer Barron

Pratt & Whitney Canada

+1-450-677-9411 x75009

Jennifer.Barron@pwc.ca

www.pwc.ca




Solid growth in sales, up 10.7% at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation 1,674 million in sales Up 10.8% as reported



In microbiology, growth accelerated to nearly 8%

Contribution from all regions to the Group's strong sales dynamic, particularly the Asia-Pacific region, with sales in China and India up almost 15%

Alexandre Merieux, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Third-quarter growth for bioMerieux once again reflected the strong sales dynamic we have enjoyed for several quarters. Robust growth for the microbiology lines and sustained growth for the molecular biology lines pushed sales up by more than 10% for the first nine months of the year, placing us firmly on track to achieving our annual targets."

Regulatory News:

bioMerieux (Paris:BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, today released its business review for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

SALES

Consolidated sales came in at 1,674 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, up 10.8% as reported on the 1,512 million posted for the same period in 2016. The positive currency effects seen in the first six months of the year were almost entirely offset by the negative currency effects reported in the third quarter as the euro strengthened against a number of currencies, notably the U.S. dollar. At constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation, organic growth came to 10.7% year-on-year.

Analysis of sales In millions Sales Nine months ended September 30, 2016 1,512 Currency effect(1) +1 +0.1% Organic growth (at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation) +162 +10.7% Sales Nine months ended September 30, 2017 1,674 +10.8% (1) Currency effects are established by converting actual numbers at the average rates of year y-1. In

practice, those rates are either average rates communicated by the ECB, or hedged rates if hedging

instruments have been set up.

Third-quarter 2017 sales for bioMerieux rose 9.6% on third-quarter 2016, lifted by another period of fast-paced growth for the BIOFIRE FILMARRAY line, both in the United States and in the rest of the world. Sales were also underpinned by solid growth for microbiology lines VITEK and BACT/ALERT, especially in China and the United States, as well as by the rapid development of industrial applications across all regions worldwide.

Sales for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017 may be summarized by region as follows:

Sales by Region In millions Q3

2017 Q3

2016 change

as reported % change

at constant

exchange

rates and

scope of

consolidation 9

months

ended

Sep. 30,

2017 9

months

ended

Sep. 30,

2016 change

as reported % change

at constant

exchange

rates and

scope of

consolidation Europe(1) 206.8 201.6 +2.5% +3.4% 638.9 618.8 +3.2% +3.9% Americas 229.6 216.0 +6.3% +12.3% 743.6 634.1 +17.3% +16.5% North America 191.4 179.1 +6.9% +13.1% 630.1 534.5 +17.9% +17.6% Latin America 38.2 36.9 +3.6% +8.3% 113.5 99.6 +14.0% +10.9% Asia-Pacific 102.0 90.9 +12.2% +17.8% 286.8 253.2 +13.2% +13.7% Total sales from the regions 538.4 508.5 +5.9% +9.7% 1,669.3 1,506.2 +10.8% +10.8% Applied Maths 0.5 1.1 2.8 2.5 R&D-related revenue 1.1 1.2 2.3 3.0 Total consolidated sales 540.0 510.8 +5.7% +9.6% 1,674.4 1,511.7 +10.8% +10.7% (1) Including the Middle East and Africa.

Operations in the Americas (44% of the YTD consolidated total) continued to deliver a robust performance in the third quarter of 2017, with sales rising 12.3% year-on-year on an organic basis to 230 million. Reported sales for the quarter climbed by around 6% as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro, and increased 16.5% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 744 million. In North America (38% of the YTD consolidated total), despite a potentially difficult business environment for laboratories following cuts in certain healthcare reimbursements, sales made firm progress, driven by the rapid development of BIOFIRE FILMARRAY and by the installation of VITEK MS mass spectrometry systems for the rapid identification of disease-causing bacteria. Sales for immunoassay reagents also continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace than in the two previous periods as competition for the VIDAS BRAHMS PCT assay intensified. Lastly, sales to industrial customers were buoyant, resulting in double-digit growth. BioFire Defense sales were impacted by the deferral of certain research contracts. In Latin America , all subsidiaries contributed to growth for the region, boosted by the market roll-out of the BIOFIRE FILMARRAY line. Growth in Brazil was highly satisfactory, notably thanks to billing for a major public call for tenders in immunoassays.

(44% of the YTD consolidated total) continued to deliver a robust performance in the third quarter of 2017, with sales rising 12.3% year-on-year on an organic basis to 230 million. Reported sales for the quarter climbed by around 6% as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro, and increased 16.5% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 744 million.

Sales in the Europe Middle East Africa region (38% of the YTD consolidated total) came to 207 million for the third quarter, up 3.4% year-on-year, and to 639 million for the first nine months, up 3.9% year-on-year. In Western Europe (32% of the YTD consolidated total), sales benefited in full from the extensive range and strong fit of bioMerieux's portfolio of solutions: subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany focused on developing their business with industrial customers, with growth in France, Italy and Switzerland underpinned by clinical applications, particularly the deployment of the offering for microbiology laboratory automation systems and molecular biology sales. Third-quarter 2017 sales increased by close to 8% year-on-year in the Eastern Europe Middle East Africa region, where strong performances in Turkey, South Africa and Middle East countries more than offset the slowdown seen in Africa as a whole.

region (38% of the YTD consolidated total) came to 207 million for the third quarter, up 3.4% year-on-year, and to 639 million for the first nine months, up 3.9% year-on-year.

In the Asia-Pacific region (17% of the YTD consolidated total), sales came to 102 million in the third quarter of 2017, up by nearly 18% on the same period in 2016, and increased 13.7% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 287 million. The performance in China was outstanding in the third quarter, fueled by solid growth for reagents and instruments alike. All clinical and industrial lines contributed to the strong sales dynamic. Southeast Asia repeated the strong sales performance seen in the second quarter, with growth nearing 40% for the third quarter. In India , the implementation of the new Goods Services Tax bill resulted in slightly weaker growth in the third quarter, essentially triggering a lag in sales for certain instruments.

region (17% of the YTD consolidated total), sales came to 102 million in the third quarter of 2017, up by nearly 18% on the same period in 2016, and increased 13.7% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 287 million.

Year-on-year trends in third-quarter and YTD nine-month 2017 sales may be summarized by application as follows:

Sales by Application In millions Q3

2017 Q3

2016 change

as reported % change

at constant

exchange

rates and

scope of

consolidation 9

months

ended

Sep. 30,

2017 9

months

ended

Sep. 30,

2016 change

as reported % change

at constant

exchange

rates and

scope of

consolidation Clinical Applications 434.1 405.6 +7.0% +11.0% 1,351.4 1,203.7 +12.3% +12.2% Microbiology 236.2 222.6 +6.1% +9.7% 700.3 649.3 +7.8% +7.7% Immunoassays(1) 105.9 108.4 -2.3% +0.9% 338.5 327.5 +3.4% +3.5% Molecular Biology(2) 90.5 73.5 +23.1% +29.4% 308.5 223.0 +38.3% +37.8% Other lines 1.5 1.1 +42.7% +28.9% 4.2 3.9 +7.9% +18.3% Industrial Applications 100.1 93.6 +7.0% +10.6% 302.5 275.2 +9.9% +10.3% BioFire Defense 4.1 9.3 -56.0% -52.8% 15.4 27.3 -43.8% -44.0% Applied Maths 0.5 1.1 2.8 2.5 R&D-related revenue 1.1 1.2 2.3 3.0 Total consolidated sales 540.0 510.8 +5.7% +9.6% 1,674.4 1,511.7 +10.8% +10.7% (1) Including VIDAS: up 0.1% at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation in the third quarter and up 3.9% over nine

months. (2) Including FILMARRAY: 74 million in the third quarter and 257 million for the nine months ended September 30.

Sales of clinical applications , which account for approximately 80% of the consolidated total, rose by 11.0% year-on-year to 434 million in the third quarter, and increased 12.2% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 1,351 million. Microbiology sales in third-quarter 2017 increased by almost 10%, accelerating on the back of the remarkable performance of the VITEK line for automated identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing, reflecting both demand for reagents and sales of new instruments. The BACT/ALERT blood culture line and the WASP and WASPLab microbiology laboratory automation systems also actively contributed to microbiology sales during the quarter. In immunoassays , VIDAS sales were stable year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017. While performance remained robust in the Asia-Pacific region, notably in China, business was nonetheless penalized by a decline in sales in other regions, and more specifically by the drop in instrument sales and a slowdown in growth for reagent sales in North America. All told, sales grew by around 4% over the first nine months of 2017. The development of bioMerieux's molecular biology lines remained very robust, driven by demand for BIOFIRE FILMARRAY menu panels, particularly the Gastrointestinal and Meningitis/Encephalitis panels. The deployment of the solution outside of the United States continued apace. Sales in the rest of the world accounted for 13% of total sales for the BIOFIRE FILMARRAY line, and close to one-third of new systems installations were carried out outside of the United States over the quarter.

, which account for approximately 80% of the consolidated total, rose by 11.0% year-on-year to 434 million in the third quarter, and increased 12.2% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to stand at 1,351 million.

Sales of industrial applications , which represent around 18% of consolidated sales, increased 10.6% year-on-year to 100 million in third-quarter 2017, and by more than 10.3% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to represent 302.5 million. The strong growth seen in the third quarter was boosted by an acceleration in pharmaceutical industry sales, notably for culture media, the CHEMUNEX cytometry line and the BACT/ALERT blood culture line. Growth in sales for the food industry was also sustained, reflecting the rapid development of VIDAS and VITEK

, which represent around 18% of consolidated sales, increased 10.6% year-on-year to 100 million in third-quarter 2017, and by more than 10.3% year-on-year over the nine months ended September 30 to represent 302.5 million. The strong growth seen in the third quarter was boosted by an acceleration in pharmaceutical industry sales, notably for culture media, the CHEMUNEX cytometry line and the BACT/ALERT blood culture line. Growth in sales for the food industry was also sustained, reflecting the rapid development of VIDAS and VITEK Sales of reagents and services increased 8.6% in the third quarter of 2017 and accounted for approximately 90% of the consolidated total. Instrument sales increased sharply by around 19%.

OTHER INFORMATION

Net debt

Net debt amounted to 180 million at September 30, 2017 versus 275 million at December 31, 2016.

THIRD-QUARTER OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

Successful closeout of FDA warning letter related to Durham, NC facility

During the quarter, bioMerieux received the closeout letter from the U.S. Food Drug Administration related to the 2012 warning letter of its Durham, North Carolina facility dedicated to the manufacturing of the BACT/ALERT blood culture bottles.

bioMerieux is dedicated to advancing public health and continues to invest in its Durham facility to increase and enhance the manufacturing capabilities and capacities. Recently, this manufacturing site has been expanded to add a new production line in response to the growing demand for our BACT/ALERT blood culture products due to the global rise of blood borne infections, including sepsis and antibiotic-resistant infections.

Since the beginning of 2017, several manufacturing sites (Marcy L'Etoile, La Balme, Firenze, Lombard, Verniolle, Grenoble) have been inspected by multiple regulatory agencies, including the US FDA, Chinese FDA and Brazil's ANVISA, with only one non-conformity identified across all site inspections.

bioMerieux and LUMED sign a partnership agreement to help hospitals manage the use of antibiotics and prevent antibiotic-resistant infections

bioMerieux, a world leader in microbiology, and Lumed, a leading edge software firm specialized in healthcare, have signed a partnership for the distribution of the APSS (Antimicrobial Prescription Surveillance System) and DATA software suites designed by Lumed. Drawing on data imported from each patient's electronic health record, the APSS is a computerized clinical decision-support system designed to assist antimicrobial stewardship teams to monitor clinical information, as soon as information becomes available, and verify that the ongoing treatment remains appropriate In a recently published study1, the implementation of the APSS software in the Sherbrooke University Hospital in Canada has demonstrated a sustained reduction of 20% of antimicrobial use.

The agreement gives bioMerieux the rights to market the software in Canada, the United States and Europe, and thereby enrich its line-up of solutions dedicated to antimicrobial resistance, which is a major global healthcare threat.

Launch of new tests to assess antibiotic susceptibility: ETEST Ceftolozane/Tazobactam and ETEST Ceftazidime/Avibactam

bioMerieux has recently launched two new test strips to determine, using Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (or MIC) values, the susceptibility of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDRO) to antibiotics. ETEST Ceftolozane/Tazobactam and ETEST Ceftazidime/Avibactam strips are used to assess the susceptibility of Gram-negative aerobic bacteria such as Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa to new antibiotics indicated in the treatment of infections in adult patients for whom there are limited therapeutic options. MDROs are a serious and growing healthcare threat. In this context, MIC is a key piece of information for selecting appropriate antibiotic therapy and optimizing dosage, particularly for patients with a critical health condition.

_______________

1 Antimicrob Chemother doi:10.1093/jac/dkw468

INVESTOR CALENDAR

Fourth-quarter 2017 sales: January 23, 2018, before start of trading

The above forward-looking statements are based, entirely or partially, on assessments or judgments that may change or be modified, due to uncertainties and risks related to the Company's economic, financial, regulatory and competitive environment, notably those described in the 2016 Registration Document. Accordingly, the Company cannot give any assurance nor make any representation as to whether the objectives will be met. The Company does not undertake to update or otherwise revise any forecasts or objectives presented herein, except in compliance with the disclosure obligations applicable to companies whose shares are listed on a stock exchange.

ABOUT BIOMERIEUX

Pioneering Diagnostics

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for more than 50 years, bioMerieux is present in more than 150 countries through 42 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2016, revenues reached 2,103 million, with over 90% of international sales.

bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are mainly used for diagnosing infectious diseases. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

bioMerieux is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market Symbol: BIM ISIN Code: FR0013280286 Reuters: BIOX.PA/Bloomberg: BIM.FP

Corporate website: www.biomerieux.com. Investor website: www.biomerieux-finance.com.

APPENDIX: QUARTERLY SALES DATA

Sales by Region in millions

First quarter Second quarter Third quarter YTD 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 Europe(1) 216.9 206.9 215.2 210.3 206.8 201.6 638.9 618.8 Americas 267.5 212.8 246.5 205.3 229.6 216.0 743.6 634.1 North America 230.9 182.9 207.7 172.5 191.4 179.1 630.1 534.5 Latin America 36.6 29.9 38.8 32.9 38.2 36.9 113.5 99.6 Asia-Pacific 81.6 67.4 103.2 95.0 102.0 90.9 286.8 253.2 Total sales from the regions 566.0 487.1 564.9 510.6 538.4 508.5 1,669.3 1,506.2 Applied Maths 1.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.5 1.1 2.8 2.5 R&D-related revenue 0.4 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.3 3.0 Total consolidated sales 568.0 488.5 566.4 512.3 540.0 510.8 1,674.4 1,511.7 (1) Including the Middle East and Africa.

Change in Sales by Region

First quarter Second quarter Third quarter YTD As reported Like-for-like As reported Like-for-like As reported Like-for-like As reported Like-for-like Europe(1) +4.9% +5.4% +2.3% +2.8% +2.5% +3.4% +3.2% +3.9% Americas +25.8% +20.6% +20.1% +17.0% +6.3% +12.3% +17.3% +16.5% North America +26.3% +21.9% +20.4% +17.7% +6.9% +13.1% +17.9% +17.6% Latin America +22.4% +12.1% +18.0% +13.3% +3.6% +8.3% +14.0% +10.9% Asia-Pacific +21.0% +17.5% +8.7% +7.1% +12.2% +17.8% +13.2% +13.7% Total sales from the regions +16.2% +13.7% +10.7% +9.3% +5.9% +9.7% +10.8% +10.8% Applied Maths R&D-related revenue Total consolidated sales +16.3% +13.7% +10.5% +9.1% +5.7% +9.6% +10.8% +10.7% (1) Including the Middle East and Africa.

Sales by Application in millions

First quarter Second quarter Third quarter YTD 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 2017 2016 Clinical Applications 460.7 405.3 456.6 405.3 434.1 405.6 1,351.4 1,203.7 Microbiology 229.2 219.9 234.8 219.9 236.2 222.6 700.3 649.3 Immunoassays 111.7 115.1 120.8 115.1 105.9 108.4 338.5 327.5 Molecular biology(1) 118.6 69.3 99.4 69.3 90.5 73.5 308.5 223.0 Other lines 1.2 1.1 1.5 1.1 1.5 1.1 4.2 3.9 Industrial Applications 100.2 95.5 102.2 95.5 100.1 93.6 302.5 275.2 BioFire Defense 5.1 9.8 6.2 9.8 4.1 9.3 15.4 27.3 Applied Maths 1.6 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.5 1.1 2.8 2.5 R&D-related revenue 0.4 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.3 3.0 Total consolidated sales 568.0 512.3 566.4 512.3 540.0 510.8 1,674.4 1,511.7 (1) Including FILMARRAY sales.

Change in Sales by Application

First quarter Second quarter Third quarter YTD As reported Like-for-like(2) As reported Like-for-like(2) As reported Like-for-like(2) As reported Like-for-like Clinical Applications +17.3% +14.7% +12.7% +11.2% +7.0% +11.0% +12.3% +12.2% Microbiology +10.8% +8.1% +6.8% +5.5% +6.1% +9.7% +7.8% +7.7% Immunoassays +7.4% +5.9% +5.0% +4.0% -2.3% +0.9% +3.4% +3.5% Molecular biology(1) +47.8% +43.4% +43.5% +40.3% +23.1% +29.4% +38.3% +37.8% Other lines -30.7% -2.4% +33.0% +37.5% +42.7% +28.9% +7.9% +18.3% Industrial Applications +16.7% +14.5% +7.1% +6.4% +7.0% +10.4% +9.9% +10.3% BioFire Defense -38.3% -40.4% -36.8% -38.6% -56.0% -52.8% -43.8% -44.0% Applied Maths R&D-related revenue Total consolidated sales +16.3% +13.7% +10.5% +9.1% +5.7% +9.6% +10.8% +10.7% (1) Including FILMARRAY sales. (2) At constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation.

NB: Unless otherwise stated, growth is expressed year-on-year at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation (like-for-like).

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017006858/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

bioMerieux

Sylvain Morgeau, 33 4 78 87 22 37

investor.relations@biomerieux.com

or

Media Relations

bioMerieux

Aurore Sergeant, 33 4 78 87 20 53

media@biomerieux.com

or

Image Sept

Laurence Heilbronn, 33 1 53 70 74 64

lheilbronn@image7.fr

or

Claire Doligez, 33 1 53 70 74 48

cdoligez@image7.fr
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

DIRECTORATE CHANGE

Royal Dutch Shell plc (the "Company") announces that Guy Elliott has stood down as a Non-executive Director of the Company with immediate effect.

Commenting on the announcement, Royal Dutch Shell plc chair, Charles Holliday said: "We fully respect and appreciate Guy's decision which is related to his involvement in legal proceedings regarding his former employment at Rio Tinto. We will miss his insightful counsel and leadership and would like to thank him for his seven years of valuable contribution to the Shell Board. We sincerely hope he satisfactorily resolves those proceedings and, that in that event, he would like to be considered for rejoining the Board."

October 18, 2017

Linda M. Szymanski

Company Secretary

Royal Dutch Shell plc

Section 430 (2B) Companies Act 2006 Statement

In accordance with Section 430 (2B) of the Companies Act 2006, the Company confirms that Guy Elliott will receive his annual base fee as a Non-executive Director of the Company of 135,000 per annum, and additional fees in respect of his membership of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and the Nomination and Succession Committee of 17,250 per annum and 12,000 per annum respectively, on a pro-rata basis up to and including his date of resignation. No other remuneration payment or payment for loss of office will be made.

ENQUIRIES

Shell Media Relations

International, UK, European Press: +44 20 7934 5550

Shell Investor Relations

Europe: + 31 70 377 4540

United States: +1 832 337 2034

LEI number of Royal Dutch Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70

Classification: Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State.
In 2018, the financial results of the Company will be disclosed on the following dates: 26th January 2018 Q4 results for 2017 and preliminary, unaudited results for 2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23rd March 2018 Audited results for 2017 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27th April 2018 Q1 results for 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27th July 2018 Q2 results for 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26th October 2018 Q3 results for 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Annual General Meeting is planned to take place on the 31st of May 2018. Riina Kai AS Tallinna Vesi CFO Phone: (+372) 62 62 262 riina.kai@tvesi.ee

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, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity companySectra(STO: SECT B) signs digital pathology contract with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs (RCPAQAP). Sectra's digital pathology solution will be used in training and quality assurance programs for pathology laboratories. It will provide pathologists and scientists with a fast digital pathology solution, available at any time regardless of the participant's location.

"The Sectra solution will enable us to deliver digital slides and a consistent user experience in difficult image programs, such as cytopathology. This due to its ability to provide a seamless microscope-like experience even on heavily z-stacked virtual slides, mobile devices and lower bandwidth connections," says Derek Holzhauser, Chief Information Officer at RCPAQAP.

The solution will be used for the external quality assurance (EQA) programs that RCPA offers in Australia and in more than 60 other countries. Pathologists and scientists will have access to Sectra's solution through the program portal where they will receive cases and associated questions for assessment. The solution's zero-footprint viewer and smart streaming functionality enable access to the digital pathology images without large installations, at any time and in remote areas.

Sectra's digital pathology solution

Sectra provides a complete solution for primary diagnostics in pathology. Sectra's high-end review workstation provides pathologists with the right environment and tools to perform their work in a digital system and to reduce the pain-points associated with time-consuming and labor-intensive manual workflow. Sectra's digital pathology solution also allows seamless sharing of digital slides and patient data in multi-hospital environments, enhancing the workflows around consultations, frozen sections and second opinions.

The solution is part of Sectra's enterprise imaging solution that also supports radiology, cardiology, mammography, orthopaedics and other medical imaging. Since it is built on the same technical platform, Sectra's solution enables efficient integrated diagnostic workflows, supporting improved collaboration between radiology and pathology, two key players in efficient cancer care.

For further information, please contact::

Dr. Torbjorn Kronander,

CEO and President

Sectra AB, 46(0)705-23-52-27

Marie Ekstrom Tragardh,

Executive Vice President Sectra AB and President Sectra Imaging IT Solutions,

46(0)708-23-56-10

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/sectra/r/sectra-s-digital-pathology-solution-selected-for-external-quality-assurance-program,c2368875

The following files are available for download:
HANGZHOU, China, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a saying in Britain -- walking through Oxford is like entering history.

This city lying on the Thames valley is famous all over the world for the University of Oxford, which was established in Middle Ages.

As the oldest university of English-speaking countries, the University of Oxford has produced 27 British Prime Ministers, 60 Nobel Price winners and dozens of royal members and political leaders around the world in the past 800 years; there are many famous alumni of the world, such as: the Former President of America - Clinton, the British Physicist -- Stephen Hawking, the British Poet - Wilde and the Former Prime Minister - Cameron etc.

Standing here, it seems that we do not breathe air, but the floating cultural oxygen. This ancient city is always full of youthful vigor because of those young scholars.

On October 20 of the local time, the young scholar- Wei Jie,the chief executive of JC Group,will bring the boom of Chinese civilization in the University of Oxford with the mission and responsibility of five-thousand-year Chinese civilization.

This is the 7th station of Wei Jie's personal global speaking of "World, I". After the lecture in Stanford University and Harvard University, his speaking is always beyond the expectation of universities students; and the ending of the lecture in University of Oxford means his successful speaking close in the Europe and America.

Tracing back to the Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties, people all over the world were proud to learn Chinese, and were proud of expressing and speaking Chinese. However, with the development of industrial revolution, English has become the common language in the world.

In the sight of Wei Jie, the reason of English becoming the world language is the responsibility undertaken. Regardless of the economic policies and objectives, it assisted many countries in becoming countries with colorful material life in those industrial revolutions.

He said that China could have such chance. In the gene of Chinese culture, there was a kind of feeling that "the gentleman takes the World as his duty". But unfortunately, during the development process of thousand years, Chinese people forgot the historical responsibility and mission that should have been undertaken because of their full attention in their own development.

Nowadays, the Chinese nation regains the independence in the world, and the Chinese civilization is the carrier of the mission of the era. We should do something to face this Renaissance.

Many ethnic Chinese with the same attention on Chinese civilization transmission and human development are touched by the global college tour of "World, I" of the pioneer Wei Jie.

His footprint has been spread across five of the world's top universities, five countries and regions as well as six cities. He will go to Taiwan University and Peking University in the near future.

This is an unprecedented journey of thought enlightenment, which will generate inestimable energy.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/585751/JCGROUP_Jie_Wei_Speech.jpg

Photo -http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/585752/JCGROUP_Jie_Wei_Speech.jpg
Signavio is continuing to expand globally, both in terms of customer base and staff. The company recently partnered with large companies in France and the U.K. to optimize their business processes and decisions. These new customers include:

Brandt a leading French group in the area of household equipment and appliances. They design and manufacture products for four iconic brands present in millions of homes around the world: De Dietrich, Brandt, Sauter, and Vedette.

Liberty Global the largest international cable company active in 30 countries, including 12 in Europe. Their 45,000 employees serve over 25 million customers worldwide.

SFIL a public development bank that aims to guarantee stability in local public sector financing in France. Since 2015, SFIL has refinanced major export credit agreements.

As part of an ongoing effort to more closely support these new customers and others, Signavio offices in London, Paris, and Melbourne opened earlier this year.

Signavio is also onboarding experienced staff with regional expertise.

"We are pleased to welcome Ian Pollard as Senior Vice President of Sales for EMEA. Ian brings over 25 years of experience in sales to his new role as the leader of our Sales and Accounts teams." Mark Holenstein, COO Signavio.

Previously, Ian Pollard was GM EMEA for CloudCraze a cloud-based eCommerce solution. Prior to that he served as the Vice President Sales, EMEA at Box a secure file sharing and content management service for businesses and Veeva a CRM solution provider to the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences industry.

Signavio is committed to helping our customers successfully transform their business and we believe that serving them on a local level will help accomplish that. If you're interested in trying our products, you can get a free 30-day trial at: www.signavio.com/try.

About Signavio

Signavio offers web-based solutions for the modeling, analysis and optimization of business processes and decisions. Through its SaaS-Software, Signavio combines the advantages of a professional BPM and BDM solution with those of cloud collaboration.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005058/en/

Contacts:

Signavio

Katharina Beuck

marketing@signavio.com
The ZeroFOX Platform Now Protects UK Organizations, Executives/VIPs and Employees from Social and Digital Threats

ZeroFOX, the innovator of social media security digital risk monitoring, is proud to announce its inclusion in the UK Digital Marketplace as an official G-Cloud 9 Digital Framework Supplier. G-Cloud 9 is the latest version of the framework agreement from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), which supports the Government's policy to centrally manage the procurement of common goods and services through an integrated commercial function.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005288/en/

The G-Cloud framework enables the UK public sector including central and local government, health, education, devolved administrations, emergency services, defense and not-for-profit organizations to subscribe to ZeroFOX to protect their organizations, executives/VIPs and employees from the dynamic security, brand and physical risks across social, mobile, web and collaboration platforms.

ZeroFOX continues to expand internationally, having created a UK entity in 2017, ZeroFOX UK Ltd., that reinforces its commitment to supporting the UK public sector in its drive to be more digitally secure.

Brent Davidson, ZeroFOX VP of International Sales: "Social media is now recognized as the fastest-growing risk surface to organizations and the best source of real-time situational awareness. It's only a matter of time until all organizations are required to monitor social media risk as they do with all other business platforms. Recognized as the leader in social media and digital risk management, ZeroFOX is uniquely-positioned to give UK public sector organizations the visibility and control they need to monitor and protect their social media presence and gain invaluable situational awareness.

About ZeroFOX Solutions:

ZeroFOX Social Enterprise Protection

Find and eliminate complex, targeted security threats and business risks across all social media digital platforms.

ZeroFOX Social Brand Protection

Protect your organization from revenue-damaging threats to your brand, hard-earned social presence and engaged customers.

ZeroFOX Social Executive VIP Protection

Protect your executives and VIPs by identifying cyber and physical risks and gaining real-world situational awareness.

ZeroFOX Social Employee Protection

Empower employees to safeguard their accounts, receive security trainings and harden security posture across the workforce.

ZeroFOX Social Web Domain Protection

Protect your web and social experiences by finding and eliminating domain squatting and typo phishing.

About ZeroFOX

ZeroFOX, protects modern organizations and their employees from the dynamic risks of social media and digital channels. Using global data collection and artificial intelligence-based analysis, ZeroFOX protects organizations from targeted phishing attacks, credential compromise, data exfiltration, brand hijacking, executive and location threats and more.

Recognized as a Leader in Digital Risk Monitoring by Forrester, the patented ZeroFOX SaaS platform processes and protects millions of posts, messages and accounts daily across the social and digital landscape, spanning LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack, Twitter, HipChat, Instagram, Pastebin, Tumblr, YouTube, mobile app stores, the deep dark web, domains and more.

About the Crown Commercial Service

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) works with both departments and organizations across the whole of the public sector to ensure maximum value is extracted from every commercial relationship and improve the quality of service delivery. The CCS goal is to become the "go-to" place for expert commercial and procurement services.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005288/en/

Contacts:

ZeroFOX

Sara Ayoub, 410-387-4257

sayoub@zerofox.com

or

PAN Communications

Hilary Katulak, 617-502-4347

ZeroFOX@pancomm.com
YOKNEAM, Israel, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Presenters will feature results of recent successful studies using the innovative technology and its unique operative technique.

Lumenis Ltd., the world's largest energy-based medical device company for surgical, aesthetic and ophthalmic applications, announced today that it will share new clinical data on its CO 2 laser-based FiberLase' for minimally-invasive treatment of endometriosis at the European Society for Gynecological Endoscopy (ESGE) 26th Annual Congress, October 18- 21 at the Sueno Hotel Belek & Convention Center in Antalya, Turkey.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/541530/Lumenis_Logo.jpg )



Endometriosis is a disease that affects roughly 10% of the world's female population. While the etiology of the disease is still unclear, treatment options exist and vary between symptomatic ease, hormonal supplements and hysterectomy when fertility is no longer of concern. Approximately 85% of endometriosis patients are diagnosed with ovarian endometriosis; these cases require delicate and precise treatment options to preserve fertility.

Lumenis has collaborated with leading surgeons worldwide to develop an advanced surgical CO 2 FiberLase' laser procedure, which has been demonstrated to remove endometriosis lesions very delicately and precisely without harming the ovarian reserve. Recent studies[1]-[6] show the treatment results in fast recovery time, less inflammation and pain, low risk of infection and low rate of side effects such as surgery-related adhesions. Patients experience immediate improvement in their quality of life, higher rates of fertility preservation and lower disease recurrence rates compared to RF technology.

At the ESGE Annual Congress, Lumenis will highlight its innovations in treating endometriosis, including the advanced surgical CO 2 lasers, UltraPulseDUO and AcuPulse' DUO. These laser systems utilize both Free Beam laser delivery and the flexible FiberLase' fiber, designed to operate precisely around delicate pelvic anatomy with minimal thermal damage while keeping healthy tissue intact, significantly improving symptoms and quality of life while helping to preserve and protect fertility.

Lumenis will host an industry symposium and share the results of the recent study on the efficacy of the AcuPulse' DUO for removal of endometrial tissue around the ovaries while preserving ovarian antral follicle count and anti-MuIllerian hormone, both necessary for fertility. Authors Prof. Massimo Candiani and Dr. Jessica Ottolina, and their colleagues will present results of the study titled, "Positive Effects on Ovarian Reserve When Using CO 2 Laser Vaporization Versus Cystectomy for the Treatment of Ovarian Endometrioma: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial."

The study's author, Prof. Massimo Candiani, Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, said, "I consider the CO 2 laser a valuable tool in the treatment of pelvic and ovarian endometriosis, where I can easily use it for excision and vaporization. When using the CO 2 laser, I can achieve precision and safety and, most importantly, preservation of the ovarian functionality."

"At Lumenis, we take great pride in our company's commitment and continuous innovation in women's health technology," said Lumenis CEO Tzipi Ozer-Armon. "We are very excited to share the clinical and technological advances with our partners and colleagues at the ESGE Annual Congress."

During the ESGE Annual Congress, attendees can visit Lumenis at booth #20 to gain hands-on experience with the Lumenis CO 2 laser solutions and attend the company's range of engaging symposia and presentations:

Scientific session: "Positive Effects on Ovarian Reserve When Using CO 2 Laser Vaporization Versus Cystectomy for the Treatment of Ovarian Endometrioma: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial," Prof. Massimo Candiani and Dr. Jessica Ottolina . Session type: "best selected abstracts 2" 19 October, 08:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. , 2 Hall Orkide 2

Laser Vaporization Versus Cystectomy for the Treatment of Ovarian Endometrioma: A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial," Prof. and Dr. . Session type: "best selected abstracts 2" 19 October, , 2 Hall Orkide 2 Symposium: "Benefits of CO 2 Laser in the Treatment of Endometriosis," Panel members:Prof. Michelle Nisolle, Prof. Massimo Candiani , Dr. Yucel Karaman, Prof. Okolo, Dr. Mariona Rius , Dr. Jessica Ottolina and Dr. Lotfi , who will present two procedures using CO 2 FiberLase fiber. The colleagues will have a panel discussion on the benefits of the treatment protocol. 19 October, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. , 2 Hall Orkide 2

Laser in the Treatment of Endometriosis," Panel members:Prof. Michelle Nisolle, Prof. , Dr. Yucel Karaman, Prof. Okolo, Dr. , Dr. and Dr. Lotfi , who will present two procedures using CO FiberLase fiber. The colleagues will have a panel discussion on the benefits of the treatment protocol. 19 October, , 2 Hall Orkide 2 Scientific session: "Spontaneous Pregnancy Rates Following a Laparoscopic CO 2 Laser Surgery for Endometriosis," Dr. Yucel Karaman. Session type: "Free Communication l Laparoscopic Surgery", 20 October, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. , 4 Hall Kardelen 2. Free Communication l Laparoscopic SurgeryLumenis Advisory Board Meeting: "Consensus on The Gold Standard of Treatment for Endometriosis"

Lumenis will also introduce attendees to http://www.gynhealth.com, a website created by the company to educate endometriosis patients and their families on the disease and its surgical treatment options.

About Lumenis

http://www.lumenis.com

Lumenis is the world's largest energy-based medical device company for surgical, aesthetic and ophthalmic applications in the area of minimally invasive clinical solutions. Regarded as a world-renowned expert in developing and commercializing innovative energy-based technologies, including Laser, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and Radio-Frequency (RF). For nearly 50 years, Lumenis' ground-breaking products have redefined medical treatments and have set numerous technological and clinical gold-standards. Lumenis has successfully created solutions for previously untreatable conditions, as well as designed advanced technologies that have revolutionized existing treatment methods.

References:

Adelman MR, Tsai LJ , Tangchitnob EP, Kahn BS, 2013.J Obstet Gynaecol,33(3): 225-31 Wang Z, Chocat N, 2010. Curr Pharm Biotechno, 11(4):384-97. Bailey AP, Lancerotto L, Gridley C, Orgill DP, Nguyen H, Pescarini E, Lago G, Gargiulo AR, 2014. J Minim Invasive Gynecol, 21(6):1103-9 Schipper E, Nezhat C, 2012. Int J Womens Health ;4:383- 93 Tsolakidis D, Pados G, Vavilis D, Athanatos D, Tsalikis T, Giannakou A, Tarlatzis BC, 2010. Fertil Steril, 94(1):71-7 Meuleman C, D'Hoore A, Van Cleynenbreugel B, Beks N, D'Hooghe T, 2009. Reprod Biomed Online ;18(2):282-9

MEDIA CONTACT

Kara Stephens, Pascale Communications

Kara@pascalecommunications.com

407.765.1185


SAN FRANCISCO, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The globallinseed oil market is expected to be valued at USD 939 million by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Linseed oil is naturally derived from dried flax seeds by the process of pressing and solvent extraction. Increasing investments in plant facilities for the production of flaxseeds are projected to propel the market over the foreseeable period.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO )

Linseed oil is largely used for manufacturing products such as paints, putty, wood finish, nutritional supplement, food processing, flooring, and linoleum. It is used as a drying oil in wood varnish finishing pigment binder in oil paints due to its fast drying, bonding, and film forming properties.

Linseed is rich in nutrition and fiber content along with vitamins and essential fatty acids, which increase its demand in the market in nutritional supplements industry. Increasing suppliers of flax are expected to drive the market over the coming years. Growing awareness regarding the use of flax oil for weight reduction, healthy hair, and dandruff removal is projected to propel the market growth.

The rising number of R&D activities and mergers & acquisitions carried out by companies, such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company, Cargill, Incorporated, and Henry Lamotte Oils GmbH, to enhance the product portfolio is projected to propel the market over the next eight years. Growing crop harvest, yield, and production of oil from flaxseed crop in the U.S. are projected to spur the North American regional segment.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Linseed Oil Market Analysis By Application (Paints & Varnishes, Flooring, Processed Food, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, CSA, MEA), And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/linseed-oil-market

Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest:

The global demand was valued at USD 720 million in 2016 and the market is expected to record a CAGR of 3.0% over the forecast period

in 2016 and the market is expected to record a CAGR of 3.0% over the forecast period Increasing awareness regarding the medical benefits offered by this oil as cancer & cellulite fighter and heart health booster is expected to propel the market growth

Paints & varnishes emerged as the largest application segment and generated a revenue of USD 211.09 million in 2016

in 2016 The growing number of manufacturers and suppliers of flaxseeds for the production of linseed oil is anticipated to spur market growth over the forecast period

Regulation directives have been provided by Occupational, Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in the U.S. for the industrial hygienists on extracting oil from flaxseeds

Asia Pacific was the significant regional segment in 2016 and is anticipated to hold a considerable share in the market, reporting an estimated CAGR of around 3.4% in terms of revenue over the forecast period

was the significant regional segment in 2016 and is anticipated to hold a considerable share in the market, reporting an estimated CAGR of around 3.4% in terms of revenue over the forecast period Increasing demand from paints and food processing end-use industries is projected to drive the Asia Pacific regional market

regional market Growing demand from the U.S. and Canada for the product as a varnish for wooden products is projected to boost the industry

for the product as a varnish for wooden products is projected to boost the industry In September 2013 , Cargill rebuilt and expanded its oilseed processing plant in West Fargo, which processes sunflower and canola seeds into edible oil for food processing business, flaxseed for linseed oil for industrial use, and protein meal for animal feed

, Cargill rebuilt and expanded its oilseed processing plant in West Fargo, which processes sunflower and canola seeds into edible oil for food processing business, flaxseed for linseed oil for industrial use, and protein meal for animal feed Players operating in the market include Gustav Heess GmbH; Henry Lamotte Oils GmbH; Krishi Oils Limited; Cargill, Inc.; Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company; Natrol, LLC.; and Natural Factors, Inc.

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Inorganic Base Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/inorganic-base-market



Biopesticides Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/biopesticides-industry



Gibberellins Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/gibberellins-market



Fertilizer Mixtures Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/fertilizer-mixtures-market

Grand View Research has segmented the global linseed oil market on the basis of application and region.

Application Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Paints & varnishes Flooring Processed food Cosmetics Pharmaceuticals Others

Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Tons; Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany Belgium Italy Asia Pacific China India Central & South America Middle East & Africa Ethiopia



Read Our Blog By Grand View Research: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/bulk-chemicals

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
SHANGHAI, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Collaboration with Wenpoo3D meets increasing demand for 3D printers from Ultimaker in Mainland China

Leading 3D printer manufacturer Ultimaker today announces a strategic partnership with Wenpoo3D, 3D-printing expert in Mainland China. This collaboration will help Ultimaker meet the increasing demand for its highly qualitative and easy to use professional desktop 3D printers in Mainland China.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/561891/Ultimaker_Logo.jpg )



With over 80,000 3D printers sold worldwide and more than one million users of its slicing software Ultimaker Cura, Ultimaker has experienced rapid growth since it was founded in 2011. Alongside the offices in the Netherlands and the USA, Ultimaker has built a global distribution network selling its products in more than 100 countries. Ultimaker has proven to be an excellent choice for professionals within product design, engineering, research, manufacturing and education. Ultimaker recently announced that software would be at the heart of its strategy by releasing regular software upgrades that continuously enhance the existing hardware over time. This makes Ultimaker a future-ready solution that continues to deliver better results for users and businesses.

Wenpoo3D has proven itself to be an expert in the field of 3D printing with 6 offices spread within Mainland China. Their existing portfolio of industrial 3D printers has now been extended with the high-end segment of industry grade desktop 3D printers of Ultimaker. This opens up many opportunities for Wenpoo3D to serve professionals that desire high qualitative and easy to use professional 3D printing for a lower price, but with similar industrial standards.

Jos Burger, CEO at Ultimaker: "We are very delighted having Wenpoo3D on our side in supporting our sales in Mainland China. Wenpoo3D puts their customer first, which exactly matches our Ultimaker-DNA as well. Their dedicated and enthusiastic staff is fully trained and Ultimaker certified and ready to support customers during their entire customer journey."

Leon, 3D print expert at Wenpoo3D: "Being part of the Ultimaker team makes me very proud. We are impressed by the journey and growth that Ultimaker has experienced in such a short time. Unless the rapid development, the company always ensures it places the user central in its strategy. At Wenpoo3D we also put the customer first, we will therefore do our utmost best to provide new and existing Ultimaker users with all the support, software and materials they need to maximize the use of their desktop 3D printers."

Meet Wenpoo3D and Ultimaker

Wenpoo3D and Ultimaker are present at the 2nd SAMA International forum and 3D printing conference in Shanghai. Paul Heiden, Senior VP of Product Management of Ultimaker will give an in-depth session on: Maximizing product efficiency with 3D printed tools, jigs and fixtures, on the 21st October at 11:10-11:30 Shanghai time.

About Ultimaker

Ultimaker has been in operation since 2011, and over the years has grown to become a market-leader; creating powerful, professional and accessible desktop 3D printers. With offices in the Netherlands, New York, and Boston, plus production facilities in Europe and the US, Ultimaker's team of over 300 employees continually strives to offer the highest-quality 3D printers, software, and materials on the market.

About Wenpoo3D

Wenpoo3D has been in operation since 2017. Formed by several young men with great enthusiasm, Wenpoo3D believes in the future of 3D printing in Mainland China. We believe in quality and local service, all needed to put the customer first. With Ultimaker we can share the best 3D print solution with our customers and help Ultimaker with their future development, for which we see infinite possibilities.

Ultimaker and Wenpoo3D invite interested journalists for an in-depth get to know each other and Q&A session during the 2nd SAMA International forum and 3D printing conference in Shanghai on October 21st from 13:30 - 14:30. Ultimaker 3D printers and sample prints will be exhibitioned. Sign up by sending an e-mail to: b.bolanos@ultimaker.com
QINGDAO, China, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Blockchain technology has been a hot topic among techies formany years. Now, more and more business leaders in China too are joining the discussion, with blockchain company VeChain at the forefront.

At the 2017 "VeChain Cup" national sailing competition last week, the Qingdao Alumni Liaison Office of School of Management Fudan University organized a blockchain panel, featuring Dr. Jie Liu, a famous professor at Fudan University, and Sunny Lu, CEO of VeChain.

Over 200 alumni from top business schools all over China attended, eager to understand how blockchain applications are and will change the world. Attendees represented Chinese entrepreneurs across multiple industries.

Attendees not only heard from blockchain experts, but also tried out live demos from VeChain, whose innovations can trace the entire lifecycle of products from origin to destination through blockchain technology.

"If we apply old ways of thinking to the present, there's no way we can enter the future for real," Dr. Liu told audience members, explaining how blockchain technology will completely change business, from banking to corporate structures and organizations. Its revolutionary nature is its ability to solve the fundamental question of trust, he said, dissolving the need for middleman.

On stage, VeChain's Lu showed users' cases with the applications of VeChain technology, which have served clients in the luxury retailing, wine, and automobile industry, including French automobile company Renault and D.I.G, a Chinese wine importer.

"Blockchain is actually a kind of infrastructure technology. Most of the time it's 'invisible' and has to work with other technologies to build solutions for enterprises and users. In the case we have done for luxury retailing, we used NFC chipsets embedded in the products to map them to VeChain's blockchain while connecting to the enterprise's ERP in order to secure critical product data in the supply chain," Lu said. End users can simply use a smartphone application to "read" a product and check authenticated information and traceability.

"Moreover, this kind of trusted product data can be used to build a transparent supply chain for more than just luxury industries," he added.

Most of the event attendees had heard of the term "blockchain", but many were gaining a clear understanding of blockchain and seeing corporate use cases for the first time. They were excited about its potential.

"There's an especially pressing need for this kind of technology in China's traditional manufacturing industry," commented one attendee, a major consultancy in the domestic automobile and tobacco industries.

But it's still early days for the blockchain industry, cautioned Professor Liu. "At the moment, there aren't any standards for large-scale blockchain applications. It still needs time to develop," he said.

"Relying on our own blockchain technology, VeChain hopes to build a blockchain-based cloud platform to help more developers build more commercial blockchain applications and make blockchain development more convenient - thus accelerating the launch of more apps," said Lu.

Contact VeChain

twitter: vechainofficial

Email: info@vechain.com
By Richard Talcott

As their name implies, planetary scientists spend much of their time studying the biggest bodies in the Suns family: the planets and their large moons. But on Tuesday at the 49th annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences in Provo, Utah, researchers turned some of their attention to the smaller bodies in our solar system.

Vishnu Reddy of the University of Arizona reported on his teams observations of Earths quasi-satellite, 2016 HO 3 . Although the object orbits the Sun, it also makes a yearly loop around Earth on a path that ranges from about 38 to 100 times the Moons distance. Reddys team studied 2016 HO 3 with the twin 8.4-meter mirrors of the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona. The scientists found that it rotates once every 28 minutes, is no more than about 330 feet (100 meters) in diameter, and appears to be a normal asteroid, not some wayward piece of space junk. This is the sixth quasi-satellite discovered around Earth but appears to be the most stable, capable of surviving in this orbit for a few centuries.

Alan Harris of MoreData! in California has been looking at larger objects in the near-Earth population: those capable of inflicting significant harm on our planet. To estimate how many of these so-called potentially hazardous asteroids (those larger than 0.6 mile [1 kilometer] in diameter) exist, he needed to take into account how many have been found with the available technology in the sky areas observed. He concludes that about 921 such asteroids exist, of which 884 have been discovered so far. This means current surveys are 96 percent complete, and astronomers need to find only 30 to 40 more.

Juliette Becker of the University of Michigan set her sights farther afield. She and her colleagues used computer simulations to show that the hypothesized Planet Nine would help stabilize trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in orbits more than 250 times the size of Earths circuit around the Sun (an astronomical unit, or AU). Such objects are subject to gravitational encounters that could fling them toward the Sun or eject them from the solar system entirely. The simulations show that a Planet Nine could stabilize TNOs through what the team calls resonance hopping, in which a TNO jumps between stable orbits. The process could keep such objects bound to the Sun for the age of the solar system. As Becker says, the simulation results are consistent with a Planet Nine, but not evidence for it.

The team also found a new TNO in a highly elongated, steeply inclined orbit at an average distance of 450 AU. The discovery came through observations made during the Dark Energy Survey, which uses a 4-meter telescope in Chile to conduct a deep, wide-field survey of the sky. The new object, as yet unnamed, should help narrow the sky area astronomers are searching to try to spot Planet Nine.
Company's Enterprise-Class Password Management Solution, Zoho Vault, Provides Seamless Login for Cloud Apps

Zoho today announced SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) support for cloud applications in Zoho Vault, its online password manager for teams. With enterprises rushing to adopt cloud applications, this new feature provides users with a seamless login experience.

"A team password vault is a good starting point for companies, but it only solves part of the problem. Password-based authentication, automated with tools, isn't standard-based and it still runs the risk of disclosing passwords," said Rajesh Ganesan, director of product management at Zoho. "By adopting SAML-based single sign-on, Zoho Vault provides a proven and standard-based method to effectively manage and track all application access. The password is not required or disclosed anywhere, allowing IT some elusive peace of mind."

Zoho Vault leverages the most secure and widely used industry-standard protocol, SAML 2.0, for this purpose and will act as the identity provider in this process. By simply logging into Zoho Vault, users can access a variety of other applications directly. IT managers will have complete control over user access, tracking, and accountability.

Highlights of SAML-based SSO in Zoho Vault

SAML-based single sign-on is a session and user authentication service that validates the exchange of authentication and authorization data between an identity provider and a service provider. The service will automatically authenticate users for the applications they have been provided access with and track user access activities in real-time.

Zoho already provides single sign-on service across its entire suite, i.e., users can log in to all Zoho services with a single set of credentials. With SAML-based SSO, Zoho Vault will now provide highly secure, federated access to all other enterprise cloud applications directly from its interface. Other Zoho Vault highlights include:

Unified login experience: Users can log in to Zoho Vault once and gain access to websites and enterprise cloud applications without additional logins.

Out-of-the-box integration with popular cloud apps: Zoho Vault offers out-of-the-box SSO support for popular cloud applications, including Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, Zendesk, Lucidchart, PagerDuty and Box. New app integrations are being added every week.

Custom support for SAML-based apps: Zoho Vault can be configured to integrate with any SAML-based service provider. Users follow a few simple steps to enable SSO access for apps that aren't supported out of the box.

Centralized admin control: IT admins can easily manage user access activities and grant or revoke SSO access to SaaS applications.

Zoho Vault is designed for users in large IT organizations that deal with a vast number of websites, cloud applications, and devices in their day-to-day activities. IT managers often find it cumbersome to monitor access and manage a growing number of passwords for the company's social media profiles, servers, testing environments, and other shared user accounts.

Zoho Vault serves as a centralized vault for enterprise passwords. It helps control access to shared accounts, with multiple levels of permission-based roles that can be assigned to employees based on their job titles and responsibilities. IT teams can track user access activity in those shared accounts in real time with comprehensive audit trials and reports.

Pricing and availability

The SAML-SSO support for cloud apps is available now in the Zoho Vault Enterprise Edition, which starts at $7 per user/month. Zoho Vault is also available in three other editions: The Personal Edition is free and supports one user. The Standard Edition starts at $1 per user/month, and the Professional Edition costs $4 per user/month. For more information on Zoho Vault pricing, please visit https://www.zoho.com/vault/pricing.html.

Additional Zoho Resources

Zoho Vault Website: www.zoho.com/vault

Zoho News Releases: http://blogs.zoho.com

Zoho Videos: www.youtube.com/zoho

Zoho on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/zoho

Zoho on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/zoho

About Zoho

Zoho is the operating system for business-a single platform with all the applications needed to run a business entirely from the cloud. Businesses can acquire and manage customers using Zoho's marketing, sales and customer support applications like Campaigns, CRM and Desk; empower employees to create, store and distribute content on the cloud with Zoho's productivity and collaboration applications like Office, Mail and Docs. Businesses can run their own operations on Zoho's finance and HR applications like Books, People, and Recruit.

More than 30 million users around the world, across hundreds of thousands of companies, rely on Zoho every day to run their businesses-including Zoho itself. Each business can choose to run the entire Zoho suite or just a single application. Zoho applications are available directly through zoho.com, or through an ecosystem of hundreds of worldwide Zoho partners.

Zoho is a division of Zoho Corp., a privately held and consistently profitable company with more than 5,000 employees. Zoho is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with international headquarters in Chennai, India, and offices in Austin, Texas; London, U.K.; Yokohama, Japan; and Beijing, China. For more information, please visit https://www.zoho.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005428/en/

Contacts:

Zoho Corp.

Mason Herring, 512-583- 3913

pr@zohocorp.com
MILANO, Italy, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a leading global company in diagnostic imaging, today announced the acquisition of SurgVision, a high-tech start-up focused on developing a real-time Fluorescence Image Guided Surgery platform combining targeted imaging agent and a device for efficient tumors visualization during oncology surgical procedures.

As surgery remains the primary curative option for most solid cancers, a predominant challenge for surgeons during these procedures has been the limitations of visual inspection and digital palpation to distinguish tumors from healthy tissue. Fluorescence Image Guided Surgery represents an innovative intra-operative optical technique aimed at assisting surgeons in distinguishing tumors from surrounding tissue, using a combined infrared camera and contrast agent approach. In this context, SurgVision's innovative targeting solution is expected to provide significant improvements versus competing modalities and products, due to the extremely advanced features of its optical camera and the very sensitive targeting performance of its new imaging agent.

"With the acquisition of SurgVision, one of the most advanced companies in a very promising field, we intend to address a relevant, unmet medical need for oncology patients who have to undergo tumor removal surgery," said Fulvio Renoldi Bracco, Chief Executive Officer at Bracco Imaging. "SurgVision platform expands our imaging solutions for healthcare professionals in oncology and reinforces our long-lasting commitment to patient care," he concluded.

"The investment in Surgvision provides Bracco Imaging with key competencies and technologies strategically adjacent to our core business," said Micol Fornaroli, Chief Strategy Officer at Bracco Imaging "and, at the same time, will accelerate the development of the projects currently in scope of our Research and Development efforts."

"The acquisition of SurgVision by Bracco is a vote of confidence for the field of fluorescence image- guided surgery and for the achievements so far by the SurgVision team," said Ton van den Hoven, Chief Executive Officer at SurgVision. "The expertise and commitment from Bracco will allow SurgVision to continue developing a solution that delivers on the potential of important clinical benefits for patients."

About Bracco Imaging

Bracco Imaging S.p.A., part of the Bracco Group, is one of the world's leading companies in the diagnostic imaging business. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Bracco Imaging develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic imaging agents and solutions that meet medical needs.

Bracco Imaging offers a product and solution portfolio for all key diagnostic imaging modalities: X- ray Imaging (including Computed Tomography-CT, Interventional Radiology, and Cardiac Catheterization), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), Nuclear Medicine through radioactive tracers. The diagnostic imaging offer is completed by several medical devices and advanced administration systems for contrast imaging products in the fields of radiology.

The Company operates in more than 100 markets worldwide, either directly or indirectly, through subsidiaries, joint ventures, licenses and distribution partnership agreements. With an on-going research covering all key modalities, Bracco Imaging has a strong presence in key geographies: North America, Europe and Japan operating through the Joint Venture Bracco-Eisai Co. Ltd. The Company also operates in Brazil, South Korea, and China through the Joint Venture Bracco Sine Pharmaceutical Corp. Ltd.

Operational investments have been made in order to achieve top quality and compliances with a sustainable eco-friendly production. Manufacturing activities are located in Italy, Switzerland, Japan, China, and Germany.

Bracco Imaging is an innovative Research and Development (R&D) player with an efficient process oriented approach and a track record of innovation in the diagnostic imaging industry. R&D activities are managed in the three Research Centres located in Italy, Switzerland, and USA.

To learn more about Bracco Imaging, visit www.braccoimaging.com.

About SurgVision

SurgVision is a high-tech innovative start-up company specialized in developing Fluorescence Image Guided Surgery platform solutions using high-definition cameras and tracers.

SurgVision was founded in August 2013, as a spin-off of the Technical University of Munich and funded by De Friesland Participatiefonds and BioGeneration Ventures.

SurgVision is headquartered in 't Harde, The Netherlands. To learn more about SurgVision, visit www.surgvision.com.

Press contacts:

Roberto Cattaneo

Bracco Imaging Media Relations

mediarelations.imaging@bracco.com

+39-02-21771

Ton van den Hoven

SurgVision BV

info@surgvision.com

+31857600425

Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/585225/Bracco_Imaging_SpA_Logo.jpg

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bracco-imaging-acquires-surgvision-expanding-into-the-innovative-field-of-fluorescence-imaging-guided-surgery-300538304.html
Espoo, Finland, 2017-10-18 12:45 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRV GROUP PLC INVESTOR NEWS 18 OCTOBER 2017, AT 13.45



Invitation to a press conference: SRV Group Plc's interim report for January-September 2017



SRV Group Plc will publish its Q3 2017 interim report on Thursday, 26 October 2017, at 8.30 a.m. Helsinki time. The interim report will be available after publication on the company's website http://www.srv.fi/en/investors



SRV's management will present the result to the media and analysts at a joint press conference, which will be held on Thursday, 26 October at 11.00 a.m at the Living Lab test environment, Suvilahti, address Kaasutehtaankatu 1, 00540 Helsinki.



President & CEO Juha Pekka Ojala, CFO Ilkka Pitkanen and SVP, Housing and Regional Offices Antero Nuutinen will be present at the event. The latest developments in the housing business will also be discussed at the event.



A live webcast of the press conference can be viewed on the company's website http://www.srv.fi/en/investors. The presentation material will be published in both Finnish and English on the company's website after the press conference.



At the end of the event, you are invited to explore the Living Lab, a test environment presenting the new REDI project in Kalasatama, Helsinki, as well as the housing to be constructed at REDI.



Arrival instructions



Living Lab is located on the 3rd floor of Building 6, address Kaasutehtaankatu 1, 00540 Helsinki. The entrance is opposite the door of Restaurant Lampo. By car, the easiest route to Suvilahti is by the road Sornaisten Rantatie. Parking spaces can be found in front of Restaurant Lampo and Living Lab. Living Lab is located close to Kalasatama metro station.



Please register for the press conference by Tuesday, 24 October, by email to viestinta@srv.fi



For further information, please contact:



Paivi Kauhanen, Senior Vice President, Communications, tel. +358 50 598 9560, paivi.kauhanen@srv.fi



Tiina Niemi, Communications Manager, tel. +358 40 502 7549, tiina.niemi@srv.fi



www.srv.fi



You can also find us in the social media:



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NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 --



WHO:

Howie Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Crowded, the rapidly growing online sourcing and engagement platform for tech jobs

WHAT:

Will present "How Chatbots Can Create Life-like Recruiting Conversations" at the Fall MoNage Conference.

WHEN:

Tuesday, October 24 - Thursday, October 26, 2017

Schwartz is scheduled to speak on Thursday, October 26 at 10:35 a.m. EDT.

WHERE:

Boston Public Library

700 Boylston Street

Boston, Mass.

DETAILS:

Chatbots have been a hot topic this year -- and recent research indicates that by 2020 the average person will have more conversations with chatbots than their spouse. Bots are infiltrating everyday life from how people order tacos to how they find their soulmate. This is true of recruiting too, with companies adopting bots to help enhance messaging and communication between team members, especially as it relates to the status of candidates. While collaborative enhancements are helpful, this approach doesn't facilitate candidate progression through the process or promote candidate engagement.

During the Fall 2017 MoNage Conference, Howie Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of Crowded, will share how to take chatbots to the next level of interactivity and effectiveness. Schwartz will explain how artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing can enable more life-like conversations, delivering spontaneous responses to a candidate no matter what they ask or how they ask it. Attendees will also learn how chatbots can streamline the administrative tasks associated with sourcing, evaluating and screening talent and take away best practices for leveraging chatbots to improve hiring decisions.

For event details and registration, visit https://www.monage.io.

About Crowded

Based in New York City, Crowded maximizes the value of candidate data by enabling employers to leverage their existing talent pool buried in their candidate database/ATS. By using machine learning and proprietary AI algorithms, the best candidates are updated, contacted via the Crowded chatbot, matched, and ranked for each open job requisition. Crowded Refresh saves employers thousands of dollars and substantial time and effort per hire, and provides valuable employer branding as dormant candidate relationships are re-ignited.

Crowded was founded by three successful serial entrepreneurs: Howie Schwartz, Mark Roth and Joe Rubin. The company is backed by Tokalon Ventures, Elevate Innovation Partners, ARC Angel Fund, Gambit Ventures, Early-Stage.NYC, and multiple Angel Investors. For more information, visit www.crowded.com.
New study reveals how combating "learned helplessness" can lead to empowered passengers who enjoy more, spend more

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Guestlogix, the global provider of airline commerce technology and a pioneer in onboard retailing and ancillary revenue generation, has published an academic report identifying the psychological concept of "learned helplessness" which inhibits airline passengers from enjoying their experience and negatively impacts airline revenues. The report provides actionable insights on how airlines can solve this problem to their benefit.

The report is entitled "The Empowered Passenger: Break the Cycle of Learned Helplessness to Drive Customer Satisfaction and Higher Revenues." The author of the report, Dr. Gary Edwards, PhD, has helped executive leaders of the world's best-known brands take a Decision Sciences approach to solving complex business challenges.

"Passengers respond positively or negatively, profitably or less profitably, depending on their choices," said Dr. Gary Edwards. "We wanted to dive deep into passenger psychology and connect it back to bottom-line decision making in the airline industry."

Among the report's main findings:

Since airline deregulation, airlines have cut back on service quality to meet the demand for lower fares, and passengers have agreed to the tradeoff.

Even as airline passengers become increasingly frustrated - and vocal - about the quality of service, they have no choice but to accept the situation, which leads to a "learned helplessness."

Learned helplessness has a direct impact on airline business as air travel becomes a joyless affair and passengers interpret ancillary selling as "nickel and diming."

One study found that after just one negative experience, customers were 20% more likely to switch brands and 25% more likely to complain about the company. By contrast, after just one memorable experience, 19% of delighted customers said they purchased more products/services.

While carriers are under pressure to offer ever lower ticket prices, they need to recognize the substantial upside of pursuing higher customer satisfaction at each touch point, as well as satisfaction with the overall journey, typically measured in the form of Net Promoter Scores (NPS).

Empowering passengers to specify what they want, how, and when, benefits both passengers and airlines. Mobile devices can empower passengers while giving airlines access to vast amounts of real-time data, which they can use to meet and anticipate passenger needs, leading to more revenue generation opportunities.

The report notes that ancillary revenue has grown from 10% to 33% of overall airline revenue, which means that airline business models are changing and airlines can no longer afford to accept the cycle of "learned helplessness" that inhibits ancillary selling.

"The empowered passenger has tremendous revenue potential," said Robin Hopper, SVP Product & Marketing, Guestlogix. "Our new report provides deep insights and actionable advice for airlines to empower their passengers, build more loyal customer relationships and increase ancillary revenues at the same time. Now is the time to fulfill the original promise of airline deregulation, so that better consumer choices are realized and airlines thrive as businesses."

The report is available and free to download here at the Guestlogix website. For more information about the report, or to interview Dr. Gary Edwards or Robin Hopper about the its topics and findings, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com.

Guestlogix, Powering a New Era in Airline Commerce

Built on the rails of the best on-the-ground e-commerce technologies that include passenger analytics and product mix optimization, data-driven sales and marketing tools and comprehensive payment functionality, the Guestlogix airline commerce platform enables airlines to increase ancillary revenue through an integrated, data-driven and customer-centric approach to onboard retail. Combining passenger-level data with an intelligent, "big data" analysis layer and integrations with airlines' operational systems including loyalty, ERP, booking and departure control, the SaaS-based platform enables airlines to create a stress-free travel experience for their passengers. Guestlogix solutions are designed to be deployed and configured with speed, ease and minimal IT integration, to be intuitive and enjoyable to use, and to deliver results. For airlines, that means significant increases in ancillary revenues and customer loyalty. For passengers, that means having control, comfort and choice. Headquartered in Toronto with teams in Dallas, London and Hong Kong, Guestlogix serves more than 2M passengers per day, counts 30+ airlines as customers serving 144 countries, and holds 90 payment certifications. Visit www.guestlogix.com to learn more.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Horwell, ThinkInk

+1.305.749.5342 x 232

vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com

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Former EMC, Oracle and HP exec appointed to a newly created role to lead business in the hyper-growth markets within Asia Pacific and Japan region

Veeam Software, the Availability for the Always-On Enterprise innovator, today announced the appointment of Shaun McLagan to lead the combined Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region as the Senior Vice President, APJ. Veeam has created this new role after several years of strong growth to bring the APJ region together under one leader. McLagan will report directly to Peter McKay, Co-CEO and President for Veeam.

Q2 results saw total revenue bookings grow by 18 percent year-over-year in the APJ region and the cloud business reported an increase of 17 percent in Veeam Cloud and Service Providers (VCSP) transactions over the last financial year via more than 1,600 VCSPs. Within the region, Veeam customers grew to 15,300 and partners increased to 5,300, further demonstrating the importance of this region and its contribution to Veeam's overall growth.

McLagan is an industry veteran with more than 20 years' experience across sales, pre-sales and consulting roles; a global leader who has held positions with leading IT companies including EMC, Oracle and HP in Singapore, Australia and Canada. Most recently, McLagan served as Vice President of Asia Pacific and Japan for Data Protection Solutions at Dell EMC. Prior to that, he led RSA in Australia and New Zealand as General Manager.

"This is a pivotal time for Veeam, especially in the APJ region, as advances in virtualization and cloud computing are allowing organizations to accelerate digital transformation. Veeam Availability solutions for virtual, physical and cloud environments keep digital businesses "Always-On" and ensure data is always available, protected and managed," said McLagan. "The APJ region has very different dynamics as to where its growth is coming from and it's a great opportunity for me to join a company that's going through change in a tremendous market and to take the business to the next level. I will be looking to ensure that all the teams across APJ from our ProPartners to our alliance partners understand the vision of what we're going to become and for us all to get there."

McLagan will leverage his experience building relationships with business decision makers, augmenting the company's foothold in the enterprise as it continues to post double-digit revenue growth.

"Asia Pacific and Japan forms a critical region for Veeam as we are on track to be a $1.5 billion company by 2020," said Peter McKay, Co-CEO and President at Veeam. "Veeam enjoys rich relationships and synergies with partners, alliances, and customers across the region as they travel down the path toward digital transformation. Shaun brings extensive industry experience and expertise to the Veeam team and will be a strong leader to drive continued growth across APJ."

Supporting Quotes

"Cisco is thrilled to be collaborating with Veeam as part of our Solutions Plus Program. Together, our partners will be able to deliver pre-validated designs to address multi-cloud data driven environments simply. Shaun's appointment comes at an exciting time for Cisco as we intend to foster greater collaboration between our teams. This will deliver seamless availability around HyperFlex and UCS solutions to drive our customers' digital transformation efforts." Vicki Batka, Vice President, Partner Organization, Asia Pacific and Japan, Cisco.

"Congratulations to Veeam for appointing a strong leader in APJ. Shaun is a consummate professional with the right expertise to lead the company's continued growth in the region. Pure has a great partnership with Veeam with our joint data protection solutions, and I look forward to taking it to the next level with Shaun and his team." Michael Alp, Regional Vice President, Pure Storage Asia Pacific and Japan.

"I've known Shaun for several years and I see this as a strategic appointment decision by Veeam. He brings with him a rich heritage of experience from EMC and RSA; where he took the company through a four-year winning streak during his time in the ANZ region. Westcon has enjoyed a solid relationship with Veeam across all teams and we have built strong joint go-to-market offerings. We currently hold the lion's share of the market in New Zealand and look forward to growing it further with Shaun and his ANZ team." Dave Rosenberg, Managing Director, NZ, Westcon Group

"As companies continue with digital transformation programs keeping systems online and protecting data is a growing business differentiator. With more services moving to the cloud, IT and business leaders are pressed to backup data and ensure it is secure. Telsyte's research indicates storage and data protection is a top five consideration for developing a hybrid capability among CIOs." Foad Fadaghi, Managing Director, Telsyte.

About Veeam Software

Veeam recognizes the new challenges companies across the globe face in enabling the Always-On Enterprise, a business that must operate 24.7.365. To address this, Veeam has pioneered a new market of Availability for the Always-On Enterprise by helping organizations meet recovery time and point objectives(RTPO) of less than 15 minutes for all applications and data, through a fundamentally new kind of solution that delivers high-speed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified recoverability, leveraged data and complete visibility. Veeam Availability Suite, which includes Veeam Backup Replication, leverages virtualization, storage, and cloud technologies that enable the modern data center to help organizations save time, mitigate risks, and dramatically reduce capital and operational costs, while always supporting the current and future business goals of Veeam customers.

Founded in 2006, Veeam has 49,000+ ProPartners and 255,000+ customers with the highest customer satisfaction scores in the industry. Headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, Veeam has offices in more than 30 countries. To learn more, visit https://www.veeam.com or follow Veeam on Twitter @veeam.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005107/en/

Contacts:

Veeam Software Public Relations Manager, Corporate Americas

Heidi Monroe Kroft, 614-339-8200 x8309
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - SUPERVALU INC. (SVU) announced the company currently expects its fiscal 2018 net earnings from continuing operations to be in the range of $31 million to $50 million. Adjusted EBITDA, including the contribution from Unified Grocers, is expected to be in the range of $475 million to $495 million. Previously, the company projected its: net earnings from continuing operations in a range of $51 million to $70 million; and adjusted EBITDA, including the contribution from Unified Grocers, in the range of $475 million to $495 million. Second-quarter adjusted fiscal 2018 net earnings from continuing operations were $18 million, or $0.46 per share compared to net earnings from continuing operations of $9 million, or $0.21 per share, prior year. Second quarter net sales were $3.80 billion compared to $2.81 billion last year, an increase of 35 percent. Total net sales within the Wholesale segment increased 58 percent. Retail net sales were $1.02 billion, compared to $1.03 billion last year, a decrease of 1.1 percent. The retail net sales decrease reflected identical store sales of negative 3.5 percent and closed stores, partially offset by sales from acquired and new stores. Separately, SUPERVALU and Associated Grocers of Florida Inc. announced a definitive merger agreement for SUPERVALU to acquire Associated Grocers in a transaction valued at approximately $180 million. Associated Grocers is a retailer-owned cooperative that distributes full lines of grocery and general merchandise to independent retailers, primarily in South Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Asia. During Associated Grocers' last fiscal year, its revenues were approximately $650 million. 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.
Hamburg (ots) -



- After 40 days, Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat were allowed to leave Dhaka yesterday - Worldwide support for their release



The two Burmese photographers who had been held in Bangladesh since September 7th were finally allowed to leave the country on October 17th. Although the case against them has not yet been officially dropped, in country sources confirm that this will happen in the next few days.



The pair were detained on September 7th in Cox's Bazar and released on bail on September 22th. Since then they had been stuck in Dhaka without official permission to leave the country.



London based Panos Pictures and German GEO magazine thank the government of Bangladesh for its generous gesture in allowing Messrs Oo and Lat to leave the country today. They also wish to thank their international network of supporters, including many human rights organisations and freedom of expression advocates, who took up the photographers' cause. Adrian Evans, Director of Panos Pictures, and Christoph Kucklick, Editor-in-chief of GEO Magazine, responded to the event stating that, "it is wonderful to see how quickly a powerful global community comes together to help journalists in need and defend the principles of freedom of the press."



"It was hard work to get Minzayar Oo and Hkun Lat released," adds Christoph Kucklick. "The admirable effort of many partners in Bangladesh, both inside and outside of the government, made this positive outcome possible. I want to thank all friends in Dhaka for their dedication and their selfless support."



OTS: Gruner+Jahr, GEO newsroom: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/7861 newsroom via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_7861.rss2



Pressekontakt: Adrian Evans, adrian@panos.co.uk Christine Haller, PR/Communication GEO, haller.christine@guj.de

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
MANCHESTER, England, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

EDM, a leading global provider of training simulators to the civil aviation and defence sectors, announced today that it has invested 1m in a suite of new CNC machines to support its strong growth.

Purchased over the past 12 months to help meet the demands of EDM's rapidly growing order book, the four new CNC machines enable the company to design and manufacture any component required for its range of market-leading training simulators for the civil aviation and defence markets. The new machines have already significantly improved manufacturing times and reduced reliance on third party component suppliers. The new CNC machines comprise:

Mazak VTC-800

Mazak VTC-760

Mazak VCN-530C

Mazak Variaxis i-500

The new state-of-the-art CNC machines are supported by the company's existing CNC machining capability and suite of manual milling and turning machines. The investment in this new equipment has enabled the current manual machinist team to be upskilled whilst also creating a number of new roles.

"These are exciting times for our new generation machining centre," said Steve Grundy, EDM's Head of Production. "Our advancements in tool holding and improved cutter technology coupled with our new machine capability is allowing us to push the boundaries. On a daily basis our workforce is gaining smarter and leaner methods of machining which is driving even greater efficiency gains."

"This significant investment in our machining capability further demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with the very best training simulators on the market," said Tony Bermingham, Managing Director of EDM. "As our business grows rapidly we will continue to invest in the best equipment available to support our market-leading position."

For more information about EDM visit: www.edm.ltd.uk

About EDM

EDM is a leading global provider of training simulators to the civil aviation, defence, rail and other industries. Combining the highest engineering standards with leading-edge technologies, EDM provides airlines with Door Trainers, Cabin Service Trainers, Cabin Emergency Evacuation Trainers and Full Size Mockups and defence organisations with Procedure Trainers, Maintenance Trainers, Ejection Seats, Simulators and Full Size Replicas. Serving organisations worldwide from its UK headquarters, EDM is committed to delivering exceptional quality and value to its clients to help them enhance safety and operational efficiency.
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ST PETERSBURG, Russia, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global parliamentary community has condemned today the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority in the Northern Rakhine state of Myanmar. MPs have called upon the Government of Myanmar to end immediately the violence and forced displacement of the Rohingya and the blatant violations of their human rights.

In a resolution on the emergency item on it agenda, adopted today at the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), MPs expressed grave concern over the unprecedented exodus of one million Rohingya to Bangladesh and the humanitarian and potential security consequences for that country and the region. The Rohingya began fleeing when an insurgent attack led to a massive military response.

"This resolution urges the global parliamentary community to take concrete steps to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya from Rakhine state, and to end further human rights violations," explained Saber Chowdhury, the IPU President. "We cannot remain on the sidelines as one million people flee violence and persecution. This crisis is a major threat to regional peace and security."

The resolution strongly recommends the creation of temporary safe zones inside Myanmar under UN supervision to protect all civilians irrespective of religion and ethnicity. MPs have also urged the Parliament of Myanmar to make every effort to stop the violence and to put an end to this tragic situation.

"The resolution on the emergency item at this year's Assembly was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the world's parliamentarians, reflecting the concern of the entire global community over the situation. I believe that this signal will be heard by the authorities and by parliamentarians in Myanmar, and that it will enable them to take effective steps to normalise the situation and avoid a large-scale humanitarian disaster," explained the Assembly President, Valentina Matvienko.

IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong explained, "The situation of the Rohingya is unacceptable. It is vital that parliamentarians from around the world stand together to condemn this atrocity."

Other issues proposed as an emergency item were the political crisis in Venezuela and the threat to peace and international security posed by the nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Djibouti, which proposed a resolution on the role of parliaments in maintaining international security and peace, withdrew it as a gesture of solidarity to reach consensus on one item.

As the Assembly may only adopt one emergency item, the selection process consists of a vote in the plenary. Requests must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes cast in order to be accepted. Of these, the one that receives the largest number of positive votes will be accepted. For the IPU 137th Assembly, two proposals - the DPRK's nuclear testing and the Rohingya crisis - received a two-thirds majority. The proposal on the Rohinyga crisis received the most votes in the plenary, and was selected as the emergency item.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- Duo Security, one of the fastest growing information security and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in the world, today announced it has raised $70 million in additional financing led by Meritech Capital Partners and Lead Edge Capital. The Series D round also included new investors, Geodesic Capital and Index Ventures, as well as existing investors Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures. A new strategic partner, Workday, also participated in the round. Duo now ranks among the world's most valuable private SaaS companies with total funding of $119 million, and a company post-money valuation of $1.17 billion.

Alongside this financial milestone, Duo is also pleased to announce it has exceeded 10,000 customers and protects more than 300 million logins worldwide every month. Additionally, Duo welcomes Lorrie Norrington, Operating Partner for Lead Edge Capital, former eBay President and former Board Member for McAfee, to the Board of Directors and Rob Ward, Co-founder of Meritech, as Board observer.

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches by making security easy and effective. Anchored by its flagship two-factor authentication (2FA) app, Duo's "Trusted Access" product suite verifies the identity of users and the health of their devices before granting them access to data and applications -- helping prevent breaches and account takeover.

"Cybersecurity has become the biggest geopolitical problem of our time. We are at a point where every organization in every industry is challenged with the overwhelming cost and complexity of securing a modern workforce," said Dug Song, Chief Executive Officer, Duo Security. "Duo pioneered cloud-delivered security by making user access easy, effective, and trustworthy. With this investment, we will continue to innovate solutions to the world's most fundamental security problems, expand our global reach, and accelerate our leadership position in the industry."

"In a world with innumerable security products that are difficult to implement, use and maintain, Duo stands alone as a vendor beloved by its customers and end users," said Rob Ward, Managing Director at Meritech Capital Partners. "As a result, Duo has established itself as the leader in cloud-based trusted access and we are delighted to support their rapid growth."

Rapidly Expanding User Base and Building World Class Team

Duo's momentum is underlined by more than doubling its annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the past four years. The company also:

Protects more than 10,000 diverse organizations worldwide, including Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Paramount Pictures, Random House, Yelp, Zillow and more.

More than doubled employee headcount in 2016, today with over 500 team members globally.

Secures more than 300 million logins worldwide every month.

"Duo represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the security market today. Through its product excellence, market leadership and outstanding team, Duo has demonstrated best in class financial and operating performance," commented Lorrie Norrington, Operating Partner for Lead Edge Capital. "Lead Edge is thrilled to continue to support Duo through the next phase of its growth and I am delighted to join the Board of Directors."

Product Innovation and Strategic Partnerships

Microsoft Integration: Alongside this largest round of funding to date, Microsoft recently announced integration of Duo's 2FA product into their Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) platform.

Duo Beyond Expansion - A Trusted Access Vision: Duo also continues to drive innovation in security with Duo Beyond, the first major commercial implementation of Google's BeyondCorp framework that drastically improves and simplifies the security management of how people and their devices access critical corporate applications. Duo gives administrators visibility into all end user devices including personal Macs, PCs and mobile devices - all without agents. Some recent product enhancements include:

Duo now extends secure single sign-on (SSO) capabilities for all its paid product editions.

With Trusted Endpoints, Duo customers can now establish policies to allow only trusted laptops, desktops and mobile devices to access critical work applications such as Workday, Salesforce, source code repository or an engineering VPN -- all without installing any agents.

Duo has expanded its Trusted Access vision to healthcare, offering Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) compliant remote identity (ID) proofing and strong authentication. This helps hospitals fight against prescription drug fraud and comply with regulations easily.

For more information, please visit duo.com

About Duo Security

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches through its easy and effective cloud-based Trusted Access product suite. The company verifies the identity of users, and the health of their devices, before granting them access to applications. Duo's balance of security and usability has led them to be an enduring and trusted partner to thousands of customers world-wide, including Dresser-Rand, Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Random House, Etsy, Yelp, Zillow, Paramount Pictures, and more.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company maintains offices in Austin, Texas; San Mateo, California; and London, and is backed by Benchmark, Geodesic Capital, Google Ventures, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Radar Partners, Redpoint Ventures, True Ventures, and Workday. Visit duo.com to find out more.

Media Contact

Meredith Corley & Jordan Fylonenko

Duo Security

Email Contact




ANN ARBOR, MI -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- On the heels of a $70 million Series D funding round at $1.17 billion valuation, Duo Security today also announced enhancements to its flagship Duo Mobile app and new innovations which help harden user and mobile device security as attackers poke holes in the traditional, perimeter-based security model:

An Alternative to Mobile Device Management (MDM) Products: Organizations without the ability to identify and manage personal mobile devices are at risk of breach due to non-compliant and potentially unsecured devices accessing critical data. Traditionally, this problem has been solved with a mobile device management (MDM) solution, which many organizations neither have the time or resources to implement.



Now, without the need for a potentially costly MDM solution, the Duo Mobile app and its Trusted Endpoints feature allows IT admins to easily determine which devices accessing company applications are corporate-trusted devices. Duo Mobile can also enforce basic security requirements such as passcode, biometrics and encryption if the user intends to use the device for work purposes.



"No longer is top level security only available to organizations with the means and resources, or users who are the most privileged in terms of access," said Ash Devata, Duo Vice President of Product. "Organizations now have an alternative to a full-fledged MDM solution in which they can use Duo to easily keep end user mobile devices up-to-date, encrypted and secure. Our new product enhancements are helping make security easier and more effective for all."





Now, without the need for a potentially costly MDM solution, the Duo Mobile app and its Trusted Endpoints feature allows IT admins to easily determine which devices accessing company applications are corporate-trusted devices. Duo Mobile can also enforce basic security requirements such as passcode, biometrics and encryption if the user intends to use the device for work purposes. "No longer is top level security only available to organizations with the means and resources, or users who are the most privileged in terms of access," said Ash Devata, Duo Vice President of Product. "Organizations now have an alternative to a full-fledged MDM solution in which they can use Duo to easily keep end user mobile devices up-to-date, encrypted and secure. Our new product enhancements are helping make security easier and more effective for all." Secure Single-Sign On (SSO) for All Customers: Secure SSO is now standard for all paying Duo customers at no additional cost, allowing end-users easy and secure access to cloud applications from a central login screen. Combined with Duo's flagship two-factor authentication (2FA) capabilities, Duo's SSO allows customers to add frictionless layers of security without requiring additional usernames and passwords.





Security Checkup and Account Restore for iOS and Android Phones: The Duo Mobile app now helps iOS and Android users keep their phone updated and maintain the security hygiene necessary to have authorized access to corporate applications. The company also introduced Duo Restore, enabling iOS and Android users to back up their Duo-protected accounts and easily transfer them to a new device.





U.S. Healthcare ID Proofing: Duo expands its United States healthcare sector offering with the launch of online identity proofing for physicians using electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS). This helps hospitals meet EPCS compliance requirements and fight against prescription drug fraud easily.





Highlights of these latest innovations for Duo customers include:

Duo Secure SSO Made Standard at No Additional Cost

Duo's secure SSO can check a user's identity and the security posture of a personal or corporate owned device before allowing access into applications. In addition, administrators can set specific security policies for each application ensuring risky devices are not allowed to access critical applications until they are updated.

"Integrating Duo into our security offering has helped our customers stay secure in an IT environment that is shifting to more cloud applications and increased BYOD usage," said Mike Paul, Chief Technology Officer at Innovative Computing Systems. "The combination of Duo's 2FA mobile app and their SSO dashboard allows security and flexibility to work hand-in-hand, providing another essential layer of security without burdening end users with a cumbersome multi-step process. Security is now seen as simply part of the end user's daily workflow, rather than a deterrent to productivity."

Duo's SSO can integrate with major cloud applications such as Office 365, Google, Salesforce, Workday, Box, Dropbox and many more.

Duo Healthcare ID Proofing: Physicians Easily Verify ID for E-Prescriptions

Further expanding its Trusted Access vision in the U.S. healthcare sector, Duo now enables individual practitioners, such as doctors, nurse anesthetists and other licensed professionals who do not work on hospital premises to verify their identity online prior to EPCS enrollment and subsequently use two-factor authentication to approve each e-prescription, in accordance with federal law. This new capability reduces a previously onerous and manual process from weeks to minutes, all while helping healthcare organizations meet federal EPCS compliance requirements.

According to a recent Surescripts study, 45 million e-prescriptions for controlled substances were delivered in 2016, a 256 percent increase from the year prior. EPCS has been shown to increase patient adherence to medications, reduce error and fraud in prescriptions and improve patient health outcomes. Unfortunately, despite the patient and provider benefits, deploying electronic prescriptions can be both time-consuming and costly for healthcare organizations.

"Manual ID proofing can cause doctors to waste hours traveling to hospital headquarters, time better spent helping patients," said Jon Oberheide, Duo Security Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. "Still yet, hospitals may not have appropriate staff and resources to help validate identities on a large scale either. This cumbersome process deters many hospitals and physicians from using e-prescriptions due to increased time and costs."

Duo's ease of deployment and use is why more than 100,000 physicians currently use the product to approve e-prescriptions. At half the cost of similar products, Duo has no hardware deployment, complex software configurations or manual setup, allowing 75 percent of organizations who use Duo to get up and running in less than a day.

For more information, please visit duo.com

About Duo Security

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches through its easy and effective cloud-based Trusted Access product suite. The company verifies the identity of users, and the health of their devices, before granting them access to applications. Duo's intentional balance of security and usability has led them to be a trusted partner to thousands of customers world-wide, including Dresser-Rand, Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Random House, Etsy, Yelp, Zillow, Paramount Pictures, and more.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company maintains offices in Austin, Texas; San Mateo, California; and London, and is backed by Benchmark, Google Ventures, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Radar Partners, Redpoint Ventures, True Venture, and Workday. Visit duo.com to find out more.

Media Contact

Meredith Corley & Jordan Fylonenko

Duo Security

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BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new market research report by BIS Research, titled "Global Artificial Intelligence Market in Healthcare Sector - Analysis and Forecast (2017-2025)", the artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector is estimated to reach $28 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 45.1% from 2017 to 2025. The increasing need for driving huge amount of complex data, which can be achieved with the use of artificial intelligence, is one of the major reasons for the growth of the artificial intelligence market in the healthcare sector.

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Browse 81 market data Tables and 79 Figures spread through 190 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Global Artificial Intelligence Market in Healthcare Sector"

The rapid pace at which the scientific innovations are taking place, the expansion of artificial intelligence into various healthcare verticals and the fact that the efficiency of systems can be improved using artificial intelligence are some of the factors that are currently driving the market. The use of artificial intelligence in the medical and healthcare sector has revolutionized the industry with artificial intelligence being used in several practices such as diagnostics, personalized medicine, the development of drugs, and continuous monitoring and care of the patients.

Numerous companies have invested in the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare. IBM's Watson is being used for oncology and cancer treatment in the hospitals. IBM is also working with CVS Health for chronic disease treatment using the artificial intelligence. The company has also collaborated with Johnson & Johnson to find connections for the development of drugs. Whereas, Microsoft has collaborated with Oregon Health & Science University to provide cancer drug treatment options for the patients. Microsoft is working on several other healthcare projects including the image analysis of tumor progression and the development of programmable cells.

BIS Research Report: https://bisresearch.com/industry-report/global-artificial-intelligence-market-2025.html

Google's DeepMind is providing healthcare solutions to the patients via a mobile app. Additionally, Google is also developing computer vision algorithms to detect the cancerous tissue in collaboration with the UK National Health Services. Another Fortune 500 company, Intel, recently invested in a start-up called Lumiata which helps in identifying at-risk patients and developing solutions for them using artificial intelligence. General Electric's subsidiary, GE Healthcare, provides a wide range of services including medical imaging, medical diagnostics and patient monitoring system using artificial intelligence. GE Healthcare collaborated with Partners HealthCare to integrate artificial intelligence throughout every part of the patient experience. This ten year partnership aims at providing artificial intelligence tools for population health, pathology and genomics. GE Healthcare also collaborated with Harvard hospitals to detect abnormalities in scans using artificial intelligence that would benefit the radiologists.

According to Rishabh Sinha, an analyst at BIS Research, "Artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector has maximum usage in the personal health & nursing assistant application. The adoption of personal health and nursing assistants has witnessed a robust growth, over the recent years. Presently, the people are more focused on utilizing their precious time doing something productive rather than wasting it in the hospitals waiting for their turn. The personal health and nursing assistants support the patients by analyzing their historical medical reports and present conditions."

The artificial intelligence market in the healthcare sector has been categorized into numerous key applications such as real-time monitoring, precision medicine, personal health & nursing assistants, drug development & discovery, robot-assisted surgery, administrative workflow assistance, clinical trials, diagnostic & clinical decision support, and 'others'. Others include connected machines, fraud detection, dosage error reduction, etc. Babylon is the perfect example of a personal health and nursing assistant application. Babylon is an application for Android and iOS users, which is based on common medical knowledge and personal medical history. The app checks the symptoms reported by the user against a database of diseases with the help of speech recognition. Surgical robots support the doctors by performing several types of complex procedures with more control, flexibility, and precision in comparison to the traditional technologies. It is an advancement of assistive, rehabilitation and surgical solutions, which can be used during hospital automation, physical complications and surgical procedures.

Geographically, North America dominated the global artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector, in 2016, in terms of value. The North American industry was an early adopter of the artificial intelligence technologies which has now made it a hub for the companies providing artificial intelligence solutions for the healthcare market. The region also offers potential growth opportunities to companies because of the increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies across various verticals of the healthcare industry.

Asia Pacific has been the fastest growing region in terms of developments and innovations due to the presence of the leading companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Siemens and GE Healthcare, among others. Japan has always been one of the leading regions when it comes to the technological developments because of its refined communications infrastructure. Japan has been emerging as a technological hub for research and development, which is attributed to the presence of numerous universities and industries providing healthcare services, in the nation.

This market report includes a thorough analysis of the market trends and size, along with market estimation based on key geographical regions. Inculcating detailed financial analysis of the key players in the market, the report provides individual SWOT analysis of each company. Some of the key players analyzed in the report are iCarbonX.com, GE Healthcare, Medtronic PLC, Enlitic Inc., Alphabet Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Next IT Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., International Business Machines Corporation, Intel Corporation, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Flatiron Health Inc., and Welltok Inc. The key strategies being adopted by the market players in order to attain their respective market shares in this emerging domain are product launches, joint ventures, collaborations, partnerships, and contracts.

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This report is a meticulous compilation of research on more than 50 players in the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the healthcare sector and draws upon insights from in-depth interviews with key opinion leaders, market participants, and vendors.

The report addresses the following questions about the artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector:

What was the size, in terms of value ($million), of artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector in 2016?

What will be the growth rate of the artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector during the forecast period, 2017-2025?

What are the major market drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector?

What is the market share of the leading applications of the global artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector in 2016 and 2025?

How will each application of the global artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector grow during the forecast period and what will be the revenue generated by each of the segments by the end of 2025?

What are the influencing factors that may affect the market share of the key players?

How will the industry evolve during the forecast period between 2016 and 2025?

What are the key developmental strategies implemented by the key players to stand out in this market?

Who are the key players for the artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector?

Which geographical location will dominate the artificial intelligence market in healthcare sector?

About BIS Research:

BIS Research (Business Intelligence and Strategy Research) is a global B2B market intelligence and advisory firm which focuses on those emerging trends in technology which are likely to disrupt the dynamics of the market.

With over 150 market research reports published annually, BIS Research focuses on high technology verticals such as 3D printing, advanced materials & chemicals, aerospace and defense, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductors, robotics & UAV and other emerging technologies.

Our in-depth market intelligence reports focus on the market estimations, technology analysis, emerging high-growth applications, deeply segmented granular country-level market data and other important market parameters useful in the strategic decision making for the senior management.

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KENILWORTH (NJ) (dpa-AFX) - Merck (MRK) announced the presentation of updated overall survival findings, a secondary endpoint, from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-024 trial evaluating KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, as a first-line monotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express high levels of PD-L1 (tumor proportion score [TPS] of 50 percent or more). The study included patients with squamous and nonsquamous NSCLC with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. Findings - which are based on more than two years of follow-up - will be presented in an oral presentation at the 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan (Abstract OA 17.06). With an additional six months of available data, results continue to show a reduction in the risk of death by 37 percent for KEYTRUDA compared to chemotherapy based on more than two years of median follow-up (HR, 0.63 [95% CI, 0.47-0.86]; nominal p=0.002). Additionally, KEYTRUDA increased OS by more than one year, more than double the OS for chemotherapy (30.0 months [95% CI, 18.3-not reached]; 14.2 months [95% CI, 9.8-19.0], respectively). 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.
Alves Serves on the Committee as Part of his Ongoing Commitment to Give Back to the Community

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2017 / Marcelo Castro Alves, founder of Focus Investment Advisor, is pleased to announce that he is celebrating his one-year anniversary serving on a Florida Bar grievance committee. As Alves noted, during the last year he has definitely learned a lot about legal ethics and the rules that apply to lawyers.





As he explained, the Florida Bar relies on grievance committees to determine whether there's reason to think a lawyer violated state rules of professional conduct.

"I'm interested in helping the community," Alves said, adding that he wants to help with these kinds of cases because he feels there are maybe a few lawyers in Miami who could be more interested in making money than acting ethically - something he has experience with.

"I believe, in the past, I was the victim of an unethical lawyer practice, and malicious prosecution, but I did not file yet any Florida Bar complaint."

Lawyers in the U.S. may sometimes try to manipulate the law to their advantage, Alves said, and once precedence is built, they could create avenues to continue doing the same thing.

"In the U.S., there is the mentality that suing someone with no merit is acceptable and okay to do," Alves noted.

The "American rule" states that each party is responsible for paying their own legal fees regardless of the outcome, Alves said. This is unique among English common-law systems. In most legal systems, the loser of the case pays the fees, which makes people much more circumspect about bringing a case.

"But in the U.S., a defendant is responsible for their own legal fees even if their defense is successful, so it's often cheaper to pay someone to go away than to litigate, even if you have a solid defense," Alves said.

Alves said his main goal in serving on the grievance committee is to glean as much as he can and to ensure attorneys aren't abusing their position and taking advantage of clients. It's an unpaid position, but the reward is seeing the high standards set by the Florida Bar enforced.

"I don't give a point of view as a lawyer, but I try to question the ethical rules and practices to give my opinion," Alves said.

About Marcelo Castro Alves:

Marcelo Castro Alves founded Focus Investment Advisor in 2011. Prior to that, Marcelo was an independent advisor for three years with another group in Miami. Before that Marcelo Castro Alves was at a Private Bank sector of major banks in Miami and in Europe in the Global Private Client Division, primarily managing investment portfolios for high net worth individuals. For more information, please visit http://www.focusinvest.net/.

Focus Investment Advisor

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Contact:

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mcastro@focusinvest.net

305-961-1108

SOURCE: Marcelo Castro Alves
NEW YORK, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Nature's impact on healthcare can't be overstated in light of the nation's recent spate of natural disasters that have battered Texas, Louisiana, Florida and California. Residents in these states face incredible challenges when it comes to finding proper medical care, but it's not just during times of natural disaster that people need access to quality healthcare. It is also an everyday problem for millions of Americans living in rural regions designated as "medically underserved." Telemedicine offers solutions that can make a significant difference to location-based healthcare challenges by offering access to services regardless of an individual's location. Several companies offering telemedicine solutions are Medical Innovation Holdings, Inc. (OTC: MIHI) (MIHI Profile), Teladoc, Inc. (NYSE: TDOC), Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI), Anthem, Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) and UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH).



In its 2017 Leadership survey, The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) reported an increasing demand for telehealthcare services, with 98 percent of telemedicine executives stating that organizations offering telemedicine have a competitive advantage over those that do not (http://nnw.fm/29NLg ). The report, based on 171 respondents in executive leadership positions representing telehealth service providers, healthcare practices, and hospital systems, offers an overwhelmingly optimistic view for the future of the telehealth industry. This positive attitude is based not on wishful thinking, but on the undeniable fact that patient-centered healthcare and electronic health record (EHR) interoperability is becoming a critical piece of the nation's health information network.



In its "State of Telemedicine Report Reassessed for 2018 ," healthcare brand strategy consulting and marketing communications firm Brandigo also reports that telemedicine is one of the fastest growing sectors in the overall healthcare market. The industry is on track to grow from $25.5 billion in 2015 to $57.92 billion by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 18 percent over the next five years (http://nnw.fm/G7mxa). Educating patients on how to use this valuable resource will make a sizeable difference in how fast and how far the industry grows.



Colorado-based Medical Innovation Holdings (OTC: MIHI) is quickly becoming a vital part of this expanding virtual healthcare industry. MIHI owns and operates strategically aligned healthcare service companies focused on the delivery of clinical virtual medicine, also known as telehealth and telemedicine. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, MIHI provides personalized high-tech, high-touch telemedicine encounters pairing its virtual health specialty doctors with primary care physicians. This synergy of forces includes the use of nextgen virtual health technologies that connect a patient with a multi-disciplinary specialty clinical healthcare practice (http://nnw.fm/c1Gyd).



MIHI also provides ancillary products and services that improve health, provide product choices, and increase engagement and revenue. These services include lab, nutraceuticals, prescriptive medicine, and remote diagnostic support. The company's recent launch of Telemedicos USA, a Spanish-language healthcare platform positioned to address the 58 million Hispanics living in the United States, is addressing another immediate, glaring healthcare need (http://nnw.fm/Aap7E), and demonstrates the company's ability to recognize a market opportunity and execute a plan to meet industry demand.



"This was a natural evolution for us. We purposefully positioned MIHI for this market because we understand the nuances of providing services to such an ethnically diverse group that make up the Hispanic community," MIHI CEO Jake Sanchez stated in the news release. "We have a Mexican-American CEO, two of our three board members are Hispanic (Mexican American and Colombian), and some of our largest shareholders are Panamanian, Puerto Rican and Cuban. We know the Hispanic community, and the community knows us."



Telemedicos USA will use primary care, on-demand telemedicine services to provide unparalleled access to healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, alternative medicines and patient portals to create a cloud-based electronic medical record that effectively "travels with the patient."



MIHI's vastly different approach stands out from a growing field of telemedicine providers by delivering virtual telemedicine with a unique, customized software and hardware platform. Through its MSO, 3PointCare, MIHI's telemedicine approach is unlike other providers who rely on a monthly subscription with patients required to pay an encounter fee every time an on-demand physician is utilized. Under that approach, the continuum of care is broken, insurance may not be accepted, symptom-based diagnoses are the only reference, and there is no certainty the patient is being cared for by a licensed practitioner, changing the relationship from an actual medical practice to a contract service delivering virtual care.



Under MIHI's visionary approach and through its 3PointCare, doctors are deployed through an established medical practice without requiring a subscription fee. The company works with anyone covered by insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, in a partnership with the patient's primary care physician. Deductibles can be captured, which allows patients to take advantage of medical tax deductions, since MIHI utilizes an integrated software application that enables the processing of insurance claims so that doctors are paid for their services.



The company's TeleLifeMd, a multi-disciplinary specialty healthcare practice with strong experience in telemedicine, primarily delivers patient medical care, while 3PointCare has a unique and exclusive relationship with the service. It is a well-rounded, reliable method of providing all levels of service needed by a medical practice seeking telemedicine options. From providing telemedicine hardware and software products and support, to processing claims, paying all invoices and payroll incurred by TeleLifeMd, as well as any other service required to operate the practice, the continuum of care remains unbroken providing a critical connection between patients, medical providers, and healthcare specialists.



Another telehealth company opening its virtual doors to patients is Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC). The company's network of more than 3,100 members delivers on-demand healthcare to millions of patients via mobile devices, the Internet, video and phone. Teladoc members recently announced free consultations to victims of Hurricane Harvey, whether they were members of the service or not. The company said in a press release it would provide non-emergency medical care to those people displaced from their regular doctors and routines (http://nnw.fm/272lJ).



The idea that large healthcare organizations can offer real-time help through telemedicine is taking shape in other ways. Cigna (NYSE: CI), one of the nation's largest managed-care organizations with a little over 14 million medical members, recently reached out to victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, offering online support services for anyone affected by the tragedy in any way (https://www.cigna.com). Cigna typically provides health insurance services to individuals mainly through the group or employer market. Cigna is a leader in the commercial self-funded fee market and participates in other insurance and retirement businesses.



Prior to the approach of Hurricane Irma in September, Anthem (NYSE: ANTM) announced that it would also offer free online medical and psychological visits to anyone impacted by the natural disaster (http://nnw.fm/jikF8). With approximately 40 million members, Anthem is one of the largest managed-care organizations in the United States. The company provides health insurance services to more than 74 million people through its affiliated companies.



UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) provides health insurance services to about 46 million medical members. The company provides health insurance services to its members through products for every major insurance market and delivers back-office services to providers through its Optum segment. UnitedHealth Foundation supports telemedicine services through a variety of methods, including offering grants to community initiatives developing new healthcare technologies (http://nnw.fm/3yW13).



Telemedicine continues to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the overall healthcare market, with most employers either in the planning stage of offering the service or already providing it to employees. This type of healthcare delivers new options to patients via a virtual encounter with qualified medical professionals. Telemedicine allows patients to have a continuous conversation with their primary care physicians, keeping patients more satisfied, while enabling physicians to gain a greater share of healthcare revenue. Online consultations with specialty care physicians are another important benefit of the rise in telemedicine, as are what some may call "curbside" consults for patients living in extremely rural parts of the country, according to an article in Forbes (http://nnw.fm/j7fSN).



Reducing the cost of healthcare while simultaneously increasing the quality of care and improving access to health services for millions of people will take a unique, forward-thinking vision made possible by companies that are strategically forging ahead as telemedicine pioneers. Natural disasters aren't the only time when telemedicine is destined to shine. It is in the everyday, individual approach to helping people live better, healthier lives by connecting them with medical providers who want to take a more comprehensive, continuous role in patient care.



For more information on Medical Innovation Holdings, please visit: Medical Innovation Holdings (MIHI)



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DETROIT, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Stratview Research announces the launch of a new market research report on Global Aircraft Seals Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, and Military Aircraft), by Application Type (Engine, Airframe, Interior, Flight Control Surfaces, Landing Gear and Wheels & Brakes, and Others), by Motion Type (Static and Dynamic), by Function Type (Aerodynamic surface Seals, Air and Fluid Handling, Fire Seals, Conductive Seals, Insulative Seals, and Others), by Material Type (Polymers, Metals, and Composites), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022.

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This 275-pages market report, from Stratview Research, studies the aircraft seals market over the period 2011 to 2022. The research report provides detailed insights on the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

Seals Market in the Global AircraftIndustry: Highlights

As per Stratview Research, the global aircraft seals market offers healthy growth opportunity of 5.3% CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022 and reach an estimated $1,067 million in 2022. The author of the report stated that increasing production rates of key aircraft programs, such as B737, B787, A320, and A350XWB; increasing demand for lightweight aircraft seals; increased demand for enhanced fuel efficiency of aircraft; and rising global aircraft fleet size are the major growth drivers of the global aircraft seals market.

The research's findings suggest that commercial aircraft is expected to remain the growth engine of the global aircraft seals market during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Increasing commercial aircraft deliveries to support rising passenger traffic, introduction of fuel-efficient next-generation aircraft, and rising commercial aircraft fleet size across regions are the key factors propelling the demand for seals in the segment.

Based on application type, engine system is expected to remain the most dominant application in the aircraft seals market during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Seals are used in a wide array of engine applications including engine and pylon seals, thrust reverser seals, bleed air seals, fire seals, air inlet screens, vane grommets elastomeric gaskets, and shaft seals.

Register Here and Ask for a Free Sample on the Report

Polymer-based seal is expected to remain the largest segment of the global aircraft seals market during the forecast period, whereas composite-based seal is expected to witness the highest growth during the same period. There has been an incessant replacement of metal seals with composite seals, owing to their excellent strength-to-weight ratio at a relatively low weight.

As per the study, North America is expected to remain the largest aircraft seals market during the forecast period, whereas Asia-Pacific is expected to experience the highest growth during the same period. The higher growth of aircraft seals in Asia-Pacific is mainly attributable to the increasing aircraft fleet to support rising passenger traffic; opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus for B737, A320, and A330 aircraft programs; increasing procurement of military aircraft, owing to rising defense budget; and upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (C919 and MRJ).

The global market for aircraft seals is found to be moderately consolidated, as per the research study. The key aircraft seal manufacturers globally are Hutchinson SA, Trelleborg AB, Meggitt Plc, Esterline Technologies Corporation, and Freudenberg Group. Development of optimized aircraft seals, regional expansion, and mergers & acquisitions are the key strategies adopted by themajor players to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors

This report studies the seals market in the global aerospace industry and has segmented the market in six ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. The following are the six ways in which the market is segmented:

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Aircraft Type

Commercial Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Helicopter (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Military Aircraft (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

General Aviation(Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Application Type

Engine ( Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Airframe (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Interior (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Flight Control Surfaces (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Landing Gear, Wheels & Brakes (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Hydraulic and Actuation(Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Motion Type

Dynamic ( Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Static(Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Function Type

Aerodynamic Surface Seals ( Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Air and Fluid Handling (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Fire Seals (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Conductive Seals (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Insulative Seals (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Others(Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Material Type

Polymers ( Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Metals (Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Composites(Regional Analysis: NA, Europe , APAC, and RoW)

Global Aircraft Seals Market, By Region

North America (Country Analysis: The USA , Canada , and Mexico )

Europe (Country Analysis: Germany , France , The UK, Russia , and Rest of Europe )

Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China , Japan , India and Rest of Asia-Pacific )

Rest of the World(Country Analysis: Latin America , The Middle East , and Others)

Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the global aerospace & defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Aerospace & Defense Industry

Some of our other premium market reports in the aerospace & defense industry:

Global Aerospace & Defense Ducting Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, Military Aircraft, and Others), by Duct Type (Rigid, Semi-Rigid, and Flexible), by Application Type (Airframe, Engine, and Others), by Pressure Type (Low Pressure and High Pressure), by Material Type (Nickel & Alloys, Titanium & Alloys, Stainless Steel & Alloys, Composites, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022

Global Aerospace & Defense Fluid Conveyance Systems Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, Military Aircraft, and Others), by Application Type (Fuel, Air, and Hydraulic), by Product Type (Hoses, Low-Pressure Ducts, and High-Pressure Ducts), by Materials Type (Nickel & Alloys, Titanium & Alloys, Stainless Steel & Alloys, Composites, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022

About Stratview Research

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OAK BROOK (dpa-AFX) - McDonald's offers smartphone lockers so as to help customers spend quality time during family meals. The 'Phone off. Fun On' campaign, introduced recently in a Singapore branch, aims to encourage diners to take a break from the virtual world to have real conversations over meals. The fast food chain has installed the first 100 transparent mobile lockers in the McDonald's Marine Cove outlet. A recent survey of around 300 parents conducted by McDonald's in Singapore found that 98% parents use their mobile device whenever they're with family. A majority of them admitted using smartphones during meals. Most parents also admitted that their kids use their phone during family time. With the move, McDonald's hopes to get both parents and children off their devices and spend quality time as a family. Linda Ming, director of McDonald's Singapore's brand communications and customer care, reportedly said, 'As a popular restaurant destination for families, we have observed that the use of mobile devices during meal times may sometimes get in the way of family bonding.' 'This 'Phone Off, Fun On' initiative is part of our efforts to advocate family togetherness and encourage families to spend quality time together,' she added. The campaign primarily targets families, yet the service is free for anyone to use. McDonald's said it was collecting feedback at the Marine Cove branch before any plans to expand the service to other outlets. 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.
JohnMonarch.com Features Information, Videos, Testimonials and More about Monarch and his Work

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2017 / John Monarch, a successful entrepreneur and CEO of Direct Outbound, is pleased to announce the launch of his new website, JohnMonarch.com.

To check out the new site and learn more about Monarch and his work, please visit https://www.johnmonarch.com/.

As a company spokesperson noted, in addition to being CEO of Direct Outbound, which is one of the fastest growing fulfillment companies in the logistics industry, Monarch is also a noted blockchain expert, advisor, consultant, writer and speaker. His new user-friendly website not only features information about Monarch and his work, it also includes videos, recent press appearances, testimonials and events where he will appear.

"John Monarch builds, advises, and consults for businesses," the spokesperson noted, adding that Monarch, who is a graduate of Clemson University in Physics and Computer Science, is also proud to lead one of the most successful fulfillment companies in the United States.

Monarch, who resides in Greenville, South Carolina, is also an avid dog lover; his two amazing dogs, Hana and Baron, even have their own page on Instagram.

Even though Monarch launched his website quite recently, it is already getting a lot of positive attention from people who want to learn more about him. For example, Monarch's video "Making the Jump from Affiliate to Advertiser," has been exceptionally popular with visitors to the site.

"Bridging the gap and moving from being an affiliate to advertiser isn't easy, and can take a lot of resources. In John's video, people can learn the pitfalls to avoid and tips to make the transition profitable and painless," the spokesperson noted.

Monarch's "Press" section has also created quite a buzz with visitors to his new site; for example, he was quoted in an NBC News story that discussed tips on mailing packages for the holidays. As he noted in the article, thanks to his work at his warehousing and fulfillment company, he knows that using cardboard boxes to mail gifts is the best option.

"Boxes scan faster and easier than padded mailer envelopes, and are less likely to have a delay due to a wrinkled or damaged shipping label," Monarch told NBC News.

About John Monarch:

John Monarch is the CEO of Direct Outbound, as well as a noted entrepreneur, consultant, and blockchain expert. Learn more about John by visiting https://www.johnmonarch.com/.

Contact:

Gwen Sparks

admin@rocketfactor.com

(949) 555-2861

SOURCE: John Monarch
New rock samples including 10.35 ppm and 6.73 ppm gold

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2017 / Endurance Gold Corporation (TSX.V: EDG, "Endurance") is pleased to report encouraging results from a rock and soil sampling program (the "Program") completed in August on the South Fork Target. The South Fork Target is located on the Trout Property which was acquired earlier this year to expand and enhance the exploration potential of the Company's Elephant Property. The Elephant Mountain Project, which includes the Elephant, Trout and Wolverine Properties, can be easily accessed by the all-weather Elliott Highway located 76 miles (123 kilometres ("km")) northwest of Fairbanks within the Rampart-Eureka-Manley Hot Springs placer gold mining districts near Eureka, Alaska.

The South Fork Target is located approximately two km northeast of the Trout Target which results were announced on October 12, 2017. As reported on August 28, 2017, initial assay results from 2017 sampling on South Fork returned gold values up to 6.60 parts per million ("ppm") and 1.94% lead. Follow-up rock samples reported in this release were collected in August and returned gold values including 10.35 ppm, 6.73 ppm, 5.15 ppm, 4.10 ppm, and 3.53 ppm, confirming the gold potential associated with one or more structural linear features. The three highest gold-in-rock samples collected in August also returned 0.48% lead, 1.280% lead, and 1.205% lead respectively. Elevated arsenic is also associated with the higher gold values in rock. Mineralization is related to oxidized sulphides associated with quartz veining, vein stockwork, and quartz healed breccia hosted in hornfels altered clastic sediments. Hand trenching was also completed in August. The most significant area of the trench exposed the quartz-breccia over about 9 metre ("m") in estimated true width associated with quartz breccia and quartz vein stockwork with slickensides and oxidized sulphides. Chip sampling averaged 0.547 ppm gold over 9.14 m including 0.846 ppm gold over 4.57 m. With the trench assay and other rock samples the quartz-breccia mineralization has now been confirmed in rocks over an east-west trend distance of 250 m.

"We are pleased that the South Fork anomaly has advanced to become a sixth drill target at Elephant," commented Robert Boyd, President and CEO of Endurance. "The frequency of identification of higher grade gold-in-rock samples over a trend area of at least 250 m is encouraging and warrants additional trenching to expose these structures, soil sampling to better define the strike extent of the mineralized structures, and initial drill testing."

Results from 76 soil samples received to date cover about a 500 x 250 m area. While the South Fork anomaly has significantly higher grade gold-in-rocks than the Trout Target, the soil signature at South Fork is much more subtle for gold and other elements than the Trout Target. Soil sampling has defined an east-west trending 350 m x 25 m (+20 parts per billion ("ppb")) gold-in-soil anomaly directly associated with 10.35 ppm and 6.6 ppm gold-in-rock samples. Approximately 90 m to the north, a sub-parallel 200 m x 25 m (+20 ppb) gold-in-soil anomaly has also been defined associated with a gold-in-rock quartz-breccia sample of 6.73 ppm gold. These two east-west trends are also defined by anomalous arsenic (+50 ppm) and lead-in-soil (+50 ppm).

Plan maps showing the location of the Trout soil sample grid and rock samples with analytical results to date are available at www.endurancegold.com.

The Elephant Mountain Project which hosts at least six km-scale gold targets associated with a Cretaceous aged intrusive complex and hornfels alteration that extends over a strike length of about 12 km. Five of these gold targets are associated with greater than +100 ppb gold-in-soil and multiple +1 grams per tonne gold in rock samples. A map showing the location of the three properties and targets is also available at www.endurancegold.com.

Next Steps - With the identification of this South Fork Target and the Trout Target reported on October 12, 2017, the Company has now identified six drill targets supported by chargeability anomalies and gold-in-soil at the Elephant Mountain Project. Further soil sampling to increase sampling density and expand the trend potential is also warranted. Minor soil and rock sample results are still pending on the Wolverine Target and will be reported once available. The Company has deferred the implementation of a drill program until the spring.

About Endurance

Endurance Gold Corporation is a company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of highly prospective North American mineral properties with the potential to develop world-class deposits. The company also owns a significant shareholding in Inventus Mining Inc.(IVS-TSXV) which controls the entire Pardo paleoplacer (Witwatersrand-type) gold district near Sudbury, Ontario and shares in GFG Resources Inc. (GFG-TSXV) which controls the entire Rattlesnake Hills gold district in Wyoming, USA.

ENDURANCE GOLD CORPORATION

Robert T. Boyd

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Endurance Gold Corporation

(604) 682-2707, info@endurancegold.com

www.endurancegold.com

Robert T. Boyd, P.Geo. is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and supervised the compilation of the information forming the basis for this release. The grab samples from the 2017 sampling program were analyzed at ALS Minerals using Au-ST43, Au-ICP21, ME-MS41, Au-GRA21(+10 ppm), and Pb-OG46(+10,000 ppm). The soil samples from the 2017 sampling program were also analyzed at ALS Minerals using Au-ST43, Au-AROR43 (>100 ppb), and ME-MS41. Both Endurance and ALS Minerals inserted standards with each shipment analyzed. Bedrock grab samples mentioned in this release are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades within the bedrock when drilled.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.

SOURCE: Endurance Gold Corporation
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- Dividend Select 15 Corp. (The "Company") declares its monthly distribution of $0.07250 per Equity share. The distribution is payable November 10, 2017 to shareholders on record as of October 31, 2017.

Under the distribution policy announced in September 2014, the monthly dividend payable on the Equity shares is determined by applying a 10.00% annualized rate on the volume weighted average market price (VWAP) of the Equity shares over the last 3 trading days of the preceding month. As a result, Equity shareholders of record on October 31, 2017 will receive a dividend of $0.07250 per share based on the VWAP of $8.70 payable on November 10, 2017. The yield will remain stable at 10.00% (based on the VWAP) under this distribution policy.

Since inception, Equity shareholders have received a total of $5.46 per share inclusive of this distribution.

The Company invests in a portfolio of 15 Canadian companies selected from the following 20 company universe which are among the highest Canadian dividend yielding stocks.

Bank of Montreal Great West Lifeco inc. TELUS Corporation BCE Inc. Husky Energy Inc. The Bank of Nova Scotia CIBC National Bank of Canada The Toronto-Dominion Bank CI Financial Corp. Power Corporation of Canada Thomson Reuters Corporation Enbridge Inc. Royal Bank of Canada TMX Group Inc. EnCana Coproration Loblaw Companies Limited TransAlta Corporation Sun Life Financial Inc. TransCanada Corporation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distribution Details Equity Share (DS) $0.07250 Ex-Dividend Date: October 30, 2017 Record Date: October 31, 2017 Payable Date: November 10, 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts:

Investor Relations:

1-877-478-2372 or Local: 416-304-4443

info@quadravest.com

www.dividendselect15.com




Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment, today announced that Worldstream Media Inc., an internet-based cable company located in White Plains, NY, has selected Ingenico ePayments to support local payment systems, enabling customers worldwide to seamlessly order the company's TV streaming services using their preferred payment methods and currency.

Worldstream Media offers digital streaming of TV content for Balkan region programming through Balkaniyum TV. The company is able to stream over 100 TV channels specific to the Balkan region, directly to various countries in Europe on any platform. By working with Ingenico ePayments, Worldstream Media can provide its customers with instantaneous TV content via a seamless and easy-to-use payment experience, without the burden of currency conversation at checkout.

"We are continuing to grow at a rapid pace, so we needed a payments partner that could provide us with the flexibility to add more markets and currencies as we expand," said Imran Tahir, CEO at Worldstream Media, Inc. "Ingenico ePayments has the local payment expertise to meet our current and future needs and to help increase our presence globally."

Ingenico ePayments' full-service payment services provides local payment systems across various regions, allowing the company to process multiple currencies through one platform. The streamlined interface not only eases the management of payments for Worldstream Media, but also delivers a seamless payment experience for its customers.

"With our full suite of products, currency support and multi-acquirer support worldwide, we were able to meet Worldstream Media's needs at the start of our partnership," said, Joseph Leija, General Manager of North America at Ingenico ePayments. "They understand the importance of providing a smooth checkout experience for their customers, and because of that, we are proud to partner with them and support their continued growth worldwide."

About Ingenico Group

Ingenico Group (Euronext: FR0000125346 - ING) is the global leader in seamless payment, providing smart, trusted and secure solutions to empower commerce across all channels, in-store, online and mobile. With the world's largest payment acceptance network, we deliver secure payment solutions with a local, national and international scope. We are the trusted world-class partner for financial institutions and retailers, from small merchants to several of the world's best known global brands. Our solutions enable merchants to simplify payment and deliver their brand promise.

www.ingenico.com twitter.com/ingenico

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005754/en/

Contacts:

Ingenico ePayments PR

Brandon Manzano, +415-316-5038

Marketing Manager, North America

Brandon.Manzano@epay.ingenico.com
Innovative and disruptive cybersecurity technologies from all over the world vied to earn the prestigious title

SINET, an organization focused on advancing cybersecurity innovation through public-private collaboration, announced today the winners of its annual SINET 16 innovation competition. The winning companies were selected from a pool of over 130 applicants from nine different countries, including Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, and represent a range of solution providers that provide cutting-edge technologies to address cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. The selected companies will share their work with buyers, builders, investors and researchers during the SINET Showcase on Nov. 8-9, 2017, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

This year's applicant pool of early stage and emerging technology companies with revenues under $15 million was the most competitive since SINET began the initiative nine years ago. Entries were evaluated in a two-stage process by the SINET Showcase Steering Committee, which is comprised of 100 cybersecurity professionals, including chief security information officers from leading organizations worldwide, experts in government intelligence and defense agencies, and distinguished venture capital firms.

New to the 2017 SINET Showcase, SixThirty CYBER, a business development venture fund, will award one of the 16 Innovators with a capital investment of up to $100,000. The recipient will be determined by mutual agreement and will be predicated on the final selection of the SINET steering committee top 16 winners.

The 2017 SINET 16 Innovators are:

Centripetal Networks Centripetal Networks specializes in Active Network Defense. The company capitalizes on the fact that over 90% of cyber breaches come from sources known beforehand. This knowledge is used in-line, to prevent breaches.

Fireglass Fireglass allows users to click with confidence by eliminating malware and phishing from web and email without an endpoint agent. Organizations protected by Fireglass maximize user productivity while solving the operational overhead of web gateways through Fireglass' True Isolation technology.

Haystax Technologies - Haystax Technology is a leading security analytics platform provider. The company's mission is to deploy advanced security analytics and risk management software applications that enable decision-makers, analysts and security teams to quickly understand and act on virtually any type of threat in real time.

Infosec Global - Infosec Global provides technology innovation, thought leadership and expertise in cryptography and data protection. The company delivers products and services that secure data while helping governments and enterprises achieve trust through compliance to cryptographic regulations, worldwide.

iProov iProov provides secure online authentication for users across all platforms, protected by unique, effective anti-spoofing technology. One Time Biometrics created with iProov's patented Flashmark Technology offer sustainable protection against forged replicas, replay attacks and compromised devices.

Menlo Security Menlo Security believes it should be safe to "click" without fear of risk or compromise. Making the Internet safe required a new approach that contains and eliminates all malware, every time, and delivers a completely native user experience.

PatternEx PatternEx is in the business of accelerating the detection of cyber attacks and facilitating responses to those attacks. Customers train our AI software to mimic their human analysts, which allows them to scale their security operations to address a larger attack surface- without increasing costs.

Phantom - Phantom is the 1st community-powered security automation orchestration platform. It integrates existing products as a layer of "connective tissue". Work smart, respond fast, and strengthen defenses with Phantom achieving in seconds what takes hours with the army of products enterprises use daily.

Prevoty Prevoty is dedicated to securing enterprises and the users they serve by automating defense and intelligence in all applications and services.

ProtectWise - ProtectWise is disrupting the security industry with its enterprise security platform that captures high fidelity network traffic, creates a lasting memory for the network, and delivers real time and retrospective alerting and analysis in a rich, innovative visualizer.

ThreatQuotient ThreatQuotient provides a threat intelligence platform that empowers security teams to apply critical context, controls, and prioritization to massive amounts of threat data, both external and internal. The result is greater focus, reduction of false positives and accelerated detection and response.

Twistlock Twistlock, founded in 2015, is the industry's first enterprise security suite for container security and provides enterprises with vulnerability management, CI integration, runtime defense, real-time threat intelligence and more.

vArmour - vArmour is a data center and cloud security company delivering intelligent policy-driven micro-segmentation. vArmour helps organizations protect critical applications and workloads with application visualization, policy intelligence, application segmentation and cyber deception.

Verodin Verodin is defining the emerging concept of Instrumented Security. The Verodin Security Instrumentation Platform (SIP) removes assumptions and uncertainty by proving security. Verodin dynamically assesses the cumulative effectiveness of a company's entire security portfolio and measurably matures defenses.

Versive Versive is an AI company at the core, dedicated to making machine learning simpler to apply to the toughest enterprise challenges, starting with cybersecurity. The Versive Security Engine helps companies detect the stealthiest threats and protect their brand and the bottom line.

Virtru Virtru is a trusted provider of business privacy and data protection to 6,500 organizations around the world who require the ability to protect their most sensitive information and to selectively and securely share it with partners, customers and consumers.

"Congratulations to this year's SINET 16 Innovators," said Robert D. Rodriguez, Chairman of SINET. "Of all the programs SINET hosts, the Showcase is my favorite because it provides an opportunity for the entrepreneur to have a voice in front of 350 attendees, many who are investors, buyers of cyber solutions and policy makers. SINET believes that one of the best ways to advance innovation is to increase awareness that technology exists to better society and this is exactly what the SINET 16 process enables."

ABOUT SINET SHOWCASE

SINET Showcase provides a platform for the business of Cybersecurity to take place. We connect innovative early stage and emerging growth Cybersecurity solution providers with system integrator, private industry and Federal Government markets including civilian, military and intelligence communities. Our goal is to highlight global entrepreneurs by increasing their product awareness to a select audience of venture capitalists, investment bankers as well as industry and Government buyers. The program is supported by the Department of Homeland Security, Science Technology Directorate.

ABOUT SINET

SINET is a "Super-Connector" that accelerates Cybersecurity innovation into the global marketplace by providing trusted platforms for the business of Cyber to take place between; investors, entrepreneurs, large corporations and industry and government buyers. SINET events, sponsorship and membership opportunities have delivered unsurpassed value within the ecosystem of the entrepreneur; academia, science, private industry, investment banking, system integration, policy, innovators, venture capital and the Federal Government to include the civilian, military and intelligence agencies. Our forums take place in Silicon Valley, Vail, New York, Sydney, London, Scottsdale and Washington DC. www.security-innovation.org

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005799/en/

Contacts:

LaunchTech Communications

Wayne Schepens, 410-533-9708

wayne@golaunchtech.com
Piraeus Bank announces that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Serbian banking and leasing operations to Direktna Banka A.D., a local Serbian banking group that has been strongly growing its presence in the market, for a total cash consideration between 58mn up to 61mn, depending on the financial performance of the divested assets until completion of the transaction, through a combination of direct sale price and simultaneous reduction of capital in Piraeus Bank Beograd AD.

The transaction is conditional upon the usual corporate and regulatory approvals, including those of the National Bank of Serbia and the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund. The transaction represents another step towards the implementation of Piraeus Bank's Restructuring Plan commitments, as those were agreed with the Directorate General of Competition of the European Commission.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, following the receipt of all necessary approvals and is neutral to Piraeus' CET-1 ratio.

Mr Christos Megalou, Chief Executive Officer of Piraeus Bank, said with regards to the transaction: "In accordance with our Restructuring Plan commitments to reduce our international presence, we are announcing the sale of our Serbian operations to Direktna Banka after a highly competitive sale process. We believe that Piraeus Bank AD Beograd customers and employees will benefit from being part of an enlarged banking group and we look forward to the timely completion of the transaction".

BNP Paribas acted as financial adviser to Piraeus Bank on the transaction, whilst Clifford Chance and Andric Law Office acted as legal counsel.

About Piraeus Bank

Headquartered in Athens, Greece, with approximately 17.1 thousands employees in 8 countries, Piraeus Bank Group offers a full range of financial products and services to approximately 5.7 mn customers. Total assets of the Group amounted to 73.9 bn, net loans to 46.4 bn and customer deposits to 40.9 bn on June, 2017.

Founded in 1916, Piraeus Bank operated as a private credit institution for many decades, while it went through a state ownership for the period 1975-1991 until it was privatized in December 1991. Since then, it has rapidly grown in size and activities, representing today the leading Bank in Greece with 30% market share in terms of loans and 29% of deposits.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005855/en/

Contacts:

Piraeus Bank

George Papaioannou

Head of Press Office

gpapai@piraeusbank.gr

+30 210 3288830
LONDON, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Offering an Easy, Secure and Private Way to Pay

Cornercard UK, the United Kingdom's leading business to business prepaid card specialists, today brings its customers Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure way to pay that is fast and convenient.

Contactless acceptance in the UK is at an all-time high, as is demand from consumers for a payment solution that is both fast, convenient and secure. Integrating Apple Pay means that Cornercard UK expands upon its pre-existing contactless functionality, by allowing their customers to use their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch device to purchase goods and services securely with just the touch of a finger.

Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When using a Cornercard UK prepaid card with Apple Pay, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, or on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device. Each transaction is authorised with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

"We are excited about the launch of Apple Pay, offering our customers an easy and secure payment solution that facilitates everyday life. Being able to use the card they already have, Apple Pay offers fantastic added value," says Chris Adams, CEO of Cornercard UK.

Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all the rewards and benefits offered by prepaid cards. In participating stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch.

Online shopping in apps and on websites accepting Apple Pay is as simple as the touch of a finger with Touch ID, so there's no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. When paying for goods and services on the go in apps or Safari, Apple Pay works with iPhone 6 and later, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later. You can also use Apple Pay inSafari on any Mac introduced in or after 2012 running macOS Sierra, and confirm the payment with iPhone 6 or later or Apple Watch, or with Touch ID on the new MacBook Pro.

For more information on Apple Pay, visit https://www.apple.com/uk/apple-pay

For more information on Cornercard UK, visit https://www.cornercard.co.uk

About Cornercard UK

Cornercard UK Ltd. - established in 2013 and based in London, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corner Bank.

Founded in Lugano in 1952, Corner Bank Group is an independent Swiss private bank group operating on the national market as a full-service bank. A universal bank with more than1,200 employees, 4 branchesin Switzerland, an affiliate in Nassau (Bahamas) andCHF 6.5 billions assets in 2015. Active across the whole range of traditional banking services, Corner Bank Group specializes in the Private Banking sector, as well as in the areas of lending, Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club payment cards (Cornercard) and online trading (CornerTrader).

Press and Media Contact

Christopher Adams - CEO

chris.adams@cornercard.co.uk

+44(203)626-0083
Quad Technologies, a leader in cell and gene therapy bioprocessing reagents, announced today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a new U.S. Patent, No. 9,790,467, titled "Methods and Compositions for activation or expansion of T lymphocytes". According to Quad Technologies CEO Sean Kevlahan, the patent relates to a scalable T-lymphocyte culture reagent that helps streamline CAR-T by eliminating the need for magnetic beads and the downstream "debeading" unit operation.

"Developing novel, innovative processes and reagents for cell and gene therapy is what we do," Kevlahan said. "This patent strengthens Quad's position in CAR-T to enable a critical unit of operation for T-cell activation and expansion without magnetic particles. This expansion of QuickGel highlights our dedication to improve bioprocessing technology and provide tools for non-magnetic workflows in today's evolving marketplace."

Traditional T-cell activation relies on magnetic particles, and the imperfect process of removing those particles downstream results in cellular product loss, additional qualification steps and increased operator time. Quad Technologies improves this process by employing a biocompatible dissolvable polymer technology called QuickGel, which activates and expands T-cells without the need for magnetic de-beading. Quad Technologies has the ability to customize co-stimulatory ligands to help drive T-cell phenotype and transduction efficiency, as well as decreasing culture times.

According to the company, the patent comes just as there is a growing need in the industry for non-magnetic workflows.

About Quad Technologies:

Woburn, Massachusetts-based Quad Technologies is a privately held company that develops bioprocessing reagents for cell-based therapeutics. Since the company's founding in 2013 it has been hailed as a technical innovator and has operated on a process-centric basis. Our belief is that the end-user process is the product, and so we design our reagents to eliminate steps and create quality cells, producing better, more efficient therapeutic products. For more information, visit www.quadtechnologies.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005488/en/

Contacts:

Quad Technologies

Chad Decker, +1.484.280.2759

Cdecker@quadtechnologies.com
SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that six SAP Hybris solutions will power a new global platform built by IDP Education (IDP), helping students around the world connect to universities, services, and each other. This announcement was made at SAP Hybris Live: Global Summit, being held October 17-19 in Barcelona, Spain.

Speaking at the event, Neil Pearson, chief digital marketing officer at IDP, said the six solutions provide IDP with the technology foundations to achieve its bold ambition.

"Our vision is to build the world's leading platform and connected community to guide international students along their journey to achieve their lifelong learning and career aspirations," said Pearson. "By implementing the SAP Hybris solutions for customer engagement and commerce, we are able to support international students earlier in their decision-making process and stay by their side each step of the way through study to employment. This new technology will make things much easier for our ambitious and globally mobile students to connect and engage with IDP, be it through Facebook, WeChat, live chat, or face-to-face interaction with our 650 education counsellors around the world."

IDP, which has more than 100 offices in 34 countries, is replacing its existing systems with the SAP Hybris cloud solutions for commerce, marketing, sales and service, SAP Hybris communities, and the SAP Hybris citizen engagement accelerator. The global platform rollout follows on from IDP's acquisition of The Hotcourses Group, a leading student engagement and marketing company.

"With the insights we gain from Hotcourses' 69 million annual web visitors, combined with the analytics enabled through the SAP Hybris solutions, we are on the right path to realizing our vision of building the world's most definitive database of international students," Pearson added.

"In today's digital and services-driven world, markets will be won by those who can transform," said Carsten Thoma, co-founder and president, SAP Hybris.* "Education is no exception. Disruptive processes and technology are required to win, and IDP is taking the needed steps to remain a global leader in its field and make its customers the priority. IDP will serve as a best-practice case for how an organization can transform its business model to win in the digital economy."

For more information on SAP Hybris solutions, visit the SAP Hybris News Center or follow on Twitter at @saphybris. For more information on SAP, visit SAP News Center or follow on Twitter at @sapnews.

*SAP Hybris is a brand name launched in January 2016 to represent the SAP solutions for customer engagement and commerce as well as the offerings, employees, and business of acquired company hybris AG, which continues to be our legal entity until integration with SAP is complete.

About SAP Hybris Solutions

SAP Hybris solutions provide omnichannel customer engagement and commerce software that allows organizations to build up a contextual understanding of their customers in real time, deliver a more impactful, relevant customer experience, and sell more goods, services and digital content across every touch point, channel and device. Through customer data management, context-driven marketing tools and unified commerce processes, SAP Hybris solutions have helped some of the world's leading organizations to attract, retain and grow a profitable customer base. SAP Hybris software for customer engagement and commerce provides organizations with the foundation, framework and business tools to create a holistic customer view across channels, simplify customer engagement and solve complex business problems. For more information, visit www.hybris.com.

About SAP

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LONDON, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The 35 million Aerospace Integration Research Centre (AIRC), which is set to change the way the world thinks about flight, has been officially opened today at Cranfield University.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/585868/Cranfield_University_Aerospace.jpg )



Funded by Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Cranfield University, following an award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Centre will be a flagship facility for boosting aerospace research capabilities in the UK, cementing the University's reputation as the leading aerospace research institution in Europe.

Researchers from both the University and business partners, including Airbus and Rolls-Royce, will work under one roof. The Centre will be researching ways of integrating advanced technologies to reduce the time from academic innovation to industrial application.

To enable this, the AIRC is equipped with the latest cutting-edge aerospace research technology including air traffic management (ATM) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) laboratories; flight simulators; a virtual wind tunnel; a FANUC robot in the intelligent automation centre; and a 1500 sq m open space work area, currently housing a full-size wing from an Airbus plane.

Professor Sir Peter Gregson, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Cranfield University, said: "Facilities such as the AIRC mean Cranfield is at the forefront of changing the way the world thinks about flight. Greater integration between research and world-renowned businesses provides us with the opportunity to tackle some of aerospace's grand challenges by providing the technologies, facilities and skills that are needed to succeed."

Trevor Higgs, Head of Landing Gear and UK Senior Site Representative, Airbus, said: "We at Airbus see the AIRC as a key part of the growing research ecosystem the aerospace industry has in the UK, and will help us foster closer relationships with research partners and to accelerate and deliver on our research strategy for the Wing of Tomorrow, to make sure our products remain the best in world."

Henner Wapenhans, Director of Technology Strategy, Rolls-Royce, added: "We are delighted to be a lead partner with Airbus in the Aerospace Integration Research Centre, which will also strengthen the existing strategic partnership between Rolls-Royce and Cranfield University.

"This new Centre will help develop the next generation of highly skilled engineers and will play an important role in developing the innovative technologies needed to enhance performance, improve efficiency and reduce emissions of future aircraft."

David Sweeney, Executive Chair (Designate), HEFCE, said: "The AIRC is an excellent example of the government's industrial strategy in action, linking research to industry needs which is what the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund supports. The high-class facilities and the world-leading research at Cranfield University will contribute directly to the growth of the aerospace industry and the wider UK economy."

Cranfield is the only university in Europe that brings together major aerospace research facilities such as the AIRC, an operational airport and runway on one connected site.

About Cranfield University

Cranfield is an exclusively postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management. https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 22, 2017) - Alto Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: ATV) has decided, after careful consideration, not to proceed indefinitely with an exploration program at Oxford Lake in Manitoba. This decision was made in light of recent changes in position of the Bunibonibee Cree Nation toward the proposed exploration, and related challenges the company faced in obtaining clear and timely information regarding the Government of Manitoba's position on Aboriginal consultation and permitting matters. Alto has in past had a constructive relationship with the Bunibonibee Cree Nation and had planned to use a number of its members and companies for a range of services including line cutting, ground geophysics, ice road maintenance, camp person, cook and fuel from the community.

Alto remains open to working with the Bunibonibee Cree Nation to resolve the issues outstanding to continue to advance the Oxford Lake Project in the future. For the foreseeable future, Alto will refocus its exploration efforts to the Miner Lake and Mud Lake Projects in northwestern Ontario and the Destiny Project in Quebec.

About Alto Ventures Ltd

Alto Ventures Ltd. is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of highly prospective Canadian gold properties. The Company is active in the Abitibi greenstone belt in Quebec on the Destiny gold property and is exploring in the Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt in Ontario. In Manitoba, the Company is focused on the gold and base metals potential of the highly prospective but relatively under-explored Oxford Lake property. For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.altoventures.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Richard J. Mazur, P. Geo.,

CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact:

Mike Koziol,

President and Director

ALTO VENTURES LTD.

Unit 7 - 1351C Kelly Lake Rd

Sudbury, ON., P3E 5P5

Tel: 705-522-6372

Email: koziol@altoventures.com
The biannual Fall Arcadia Valley Mountain Music Festival returns this weekend for three days of free bluegrass, country and gospel music held on the grounds of the historic Iron County Courthouse in Ironton.

Starting Friday evening and continuing through Sunday afternoon, the Arcadia Valley Chamber of Commerce-sponsored festival also features a number of artisans, crafters and food vendors. It's described by event planners as "an old fashioned 'homegrown' celebration rarely found these days."

The fall edition of the festival is held the same weekend as the annual Arcadia Valley Missouri Fall Festival Parade which, at 91 years, is the longest running parade in the state of Missouri. The floats are built by parents and students in a competition that starts early in the school year and focuses on fundraisers to earn money for the floats and a talent competition held immediately before the crowning of the fall festival queen on Saturday night.

Featured musicians performing this weekend include:

 The Missouri Rounders are a group of long-time friends, each accomplished musicians who have performed with a number of different bands over the years. Individually and collectively, they have performed with respected artists such as John Hartford, Vassar Clemens, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bluegrass Alliance, Benny Martin, and Vince Gill, to name a few.

 George Portz & Friends of Bluegrass was founded in 1978 and blends its fiery bluegrass roots with traditional Irish and Louisiana Cajun music. The band performs dozens of shows a year throughout southwest Illinois and eastern Missouri. A typical set contains bluegrass, traditional country, bayou/Cajun, and gospel music that entertains audiences of all ages. In addition, the band will be hosting a fiddle and banjo contest Saturday morning.

 Dead End Road is a Bluegrass group hailing from Bunker, Missouri. They are an award-winning energetic group with a phenomenal sound. Audiences love the performance this band brings to the stage. The combination of instruments and harmonies creates an amazing sound that is signature to the group.

 Mound City Slickers is one of St. Louis finest and best loved string bands. It's made up of veterans of other St. Louis groups.

 The Whitewater Bluegrass Band of Missouri is made up of musicians who used to  or still do  live within a few stone throws of the Whitewater River. They came together because they love playing music and now stay together because they're friends.

 Back Roads Bluegrass is a local band recently formed by Frank Ray, owner of Cedar Hill Bluegrass. Frank wanted to put a local band together to perform at local festivals and churches when Cedar Hill was not performing. His main focus is on playing bluegrass gospel.

Also appearing at this weekend's festival will be the Ozark Spirit Cloggers and the Arcadia Valley Pickers.

This year's festival sponsors include Ozarks Federal, Parkland HealthMart Pharmacy, Clark's Pharmacy, The Baptist Home, Missouri Arts Council, the Law Office of Brian Parker, The Mountain Echo, Amtrak, Bearcats and Great Southern Bank.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2017) - International Samuel Exploration Corp. (TSXV: ISS) (FSE: RCF1) (OTC: ISSFF) ("International Samuel" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the Williams Gold Property ("Williams Property") which is 5,159 hectares in size and is located 40 km north of the Toodoggone mining camp, British Columbia.

The prolific Kemess District, located 70 km south of Williams, includes the Kemess South Mine where Northgate Minerals produced 3 million ounces of gold and 784 million pounds of copper over a 12-year period to 2010 and where the current owner, AuRico Metals recently secured a BC Environmental Assessment Certificate for its Kemess Underground Project and also announced a 628 m intercept grading 0.53 g/t Au and 0.41% Cu at its Kemess East Project.

The Williams gold property hosts two large exploration targets, the T-Bill Prospect which is prospective for mesothermal style gold mineralization, and the GIC Porphyry Prospect which is prospective for porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum style mineralization. The T-Bill Prospect contains widespread alteration along with a large 1,200 x 2,300 metre gold in soil anomaly defined by gold greater than 100 ppb. The zone contains gold-rich quartz veins locally with visible gold. Historical drilling within a small portion of the anomaly (300 m x300 m) intercepted 11 separate 2 metre intervals containing more than 12 g/t gold. The best historical drill intersections include 2 metres @ 24.8 g/tonne gold and 2 metres @ 35.0 g/tonne gold. The mineralized veins occur as multiple subparallel vein swarms and could have bulk minable potential in addition to the high-grade underground vein targets.

The GIC porphyry prospect is north of the T-Bill prospect and occurs as a 500 x 1,400 metre copper and gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly that partially overlaps a 600 x 1,800 metre zone of high chargeability and moderate to high resistivity. Several Au-bearing rock samples have been taken from within the copper-gold soil geochemical anomaly on the northern edge of the IP anomaly; five samples contained 1280 to 4740 ppb gold, with 84 to 1045 ppm copper. A chip sample from one of the rare outcrops on the southern flank of the IP anomaly returned 2200 ppm copper and 220 ppb gold across 3.73 metres.

The T-Bill Prospect is underlain by Devonian to-Permian metavolcanic rocks which have been altered to carbonate-muscovite-quartz schist associated with gold mineralization. This alteration is confined to the core of a north-easterly-trending structural dome and is controlled both by foliation and by steep cross-cutting structures. Gold-rich quartz-arsenopyrite veins, locally with visible gold, are broadly co-spatial with the carbonate-muscovite alteration.

Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, International Samuel will be required to issue four million common shares to the Vendor. In the event of a NI43-101 complaint measured 500,000 ounces of gold resources a bonus payment of one million shares will be made to the Vendor. If the compliant resources increase to 1,000,000 ounces of gold an additional bonus of seven hundred and fifty thousand shares will be issued to the Vendor. The Vendor will maintain a 0.50% net smelter royalty (as well as a 0.75% net smelter royalty held by the Vendor parent company). In addition, the Property contains an underlying 1.25% net smelter return royalty payable to prospector Loren Warren, including an advance royalty payment of five thousand dollars per year. International Samuel will retain the right to buy back 30% of this underlying royalty for $500,000 or 60% for $1,000,000. This transaction is subject to TSXV approval.

Conrad Swanson, Chairman, of International Samuel Exploration Corp, stated, "The T-Bill Prospect represents an excellent potential to deliver a high-grade gold vein and/or possible bulk tonnage system. The GIC Prospect is similar age to the Golden Triangle magmatism with untested Cu-in soils at the edge of an IP anomaly."

Technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Derrick Strickland, P. Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

The Company has not verified the historical exploration results reported for the former operators of the Williams Gold/Porphyry Property

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Conrad Swanson"

Conrad Swanson

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

International Samuel Exploration Corp.

Telephone: 604-317-3090

Email: conradkswanson@gmail.com

Company website: www.internationalsamuelexploration.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 information

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance as described in the above news release. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2017) - OSPREY GOLD DEVELOPMENT LTD. (TSXV: OS) the ("Company" or "Osprey") announces that it has completed surface work at the Lower Seal Harbour gold project ("Lower Seal Harbour") located near Goldboro, Nova Scotia. Osprey's initial program included geologic mapping, rock sampling, and mobile metal ion ("MMI") soil geochemistry, as well as compilation and analysis of historic data with the goal of generating targets for future exploration and drill programs. 121 samples from the recently completed surface program have been submitted for assay and will be reported on as soon as results are received and interpreted.

MMI, or mobile metal ion geochemistry, is designed to measure metal ions that travel upward from in situ mineralization through overlying unconsolidated surface materials such as soil, till, and sand. Using careful soil sampling strategies, sophisticated chemistry, and ultra-sensitive instrumentation, these ions can be measured. After interpretation, MMI data can indicate anomalous areas concealed by cover. Osprey believes MMI will help trace known gold bearing units hidden by varied cover at Lower Seal Harbour which has generally poor outcrop exposure.

This exploration work at Lower Seal Harbour is in addition to exploration and drilling at the Goldenville project completed in September (see Osprey news release dated Sept 21st, 2017)

Cooper Quinn commented that, "I'm pleased to have taken our first steps to advance the Lower Seal Harbour project. Historic drill and underground sampling results at Lower Seal Harbour and more recent drill results from adjacent properties, both indicate excellent potential for broad zones of higher grade mineralization consistent with the historic mining grades, as well as the potential for mineralization to be disseminated within the host slates and argillites. Lower Seal Harbour is one of several high priority projects Osprey is advancing to a drill ready stage."

Gold was discovered around the Lower Seal Harbour area in 1860, and several mines were in operation on the property intermittently until 1941. Within the district, gold with associated arsenopyrite and minor galena, pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite are hosted by quartz veins in grey slate within grey micaceous metawacke of the Goldenville Formation. These rocks occupy the north limb of the Isaacs Harbour anticline, and most past production came from quartz veined ore shoots contained within a larger sheared and brecciated stockwork vein structure. Production came mostly from 15 separate ore shoots contained within the persistent 50 metre wide "mine structure".

The Company is currently awaiting assays from its 3,044 metre diamond drill program completed last month at its Goldenville Gold project ("Goldenville"). Drilling was completed with the aim of expanding the existing Goldenville resource along strike, to test for zones of thicker argillites, and test zones for disseminated mineralization. Three holes were also completed at the Mitchell Lake zone, approximately 3.5 kilometres west of the main Goldenville resource within the Goldenville claim block. Osprey is using a traditional 50 gram charge fire assay analysis, followed by a 1.0 kilogram metallic screen for all values testing over 0.5 grams per tonne, as this has been shown to capture additional mineralization and be more reproducible, as seen at other deposits with similar mineralization in the Meguma Terrane. This sample protocol does take extra time due to multiple assays required, but Osprey anticipates receipt of assay data for the first few holes soon.

About Goldenville and Osprey

Osprey is focused on exploring five historically producing gold properties in Nova Scotia, Canada. Osprey has the option to earn 100% (subject to certain royalties) in all five properties, including the Goldenville Gold Project, Nova Scotia's largest historic gold producer. Goldenville hosts a current NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 2,800,000 tonnes at 3.20 g/t gold for 288,000 ounces of gold (2,800,000 tonnes at 4.96 g/t gold for 447,000 ounces of gold uncapped) near the town of Sherbrooke, NS. All five properties in Osprey's current portfolio have a history of high-grade gold production. A copy of the Company's technical report titled "Technical Report on the Goldenville Property, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Canada" prepared by by David G. Thomas, M.Sc., P. Geo. and Neil Pettigrew, M.Sc., P. Geo. is available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com.

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Perry MacKinnon, P.Geo, a 'Qualified Person' under NI 43-101. Additional information regarding Osprey and the Goldenville property is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and at www.ospreygold.com.

For further information please contact:

ON BEHALF OF OSPREY GOLD DEVELOPMENT LTD.,

"Cooper Quinn"

Cooper Quinn, President and Director

For further information please contact Osprey at (236) 521-0944 or cooper@ospreygold.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.

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Osprey within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Osprey provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to exploration findings, results and recommendations, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Osprey's public filings under Osprey's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Osprey has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Osprey disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 --ADVANTIS CORPORATION (OTC PINK: ADVT) finalized the deal with a private cannabis grower in Oregon to supply Amster-Can canning and branding services. Advantis is shipping the original canning equipment to Oregon to fulfill orders at full production capacity. As Advantis grows its client base, it has decided to accept Bitcoin as payment from clients that prefer this mode of payment.

Advantis CEO, Darren Cherry, says he is proud of his team that has finally established the company's presence in Oregon. "Members of our Board, investors, and our management team have been looking at opportunities in Oregon since cannabis had been legalized for recreational use," Cherry explained. "Our due diligence has paid off, and we secured the best possible partnership that we could hope for." The details of the agreement with the private Oregon cultivator include providing on-site staff and equipment to fulfill a 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art horticulture facility, that will produce enough product to match the machine's canning capacity. "This agreement will double our Amster-Can revenue, almost overnight," Cherry stated. "And our new partner has agreed to provide the full product line that Advantis represents through its legal dispensary pipeline." To manufacture the products, Advantis coordinates with its subsidiary in Oregon, Advantis Cannabis, LLC, to comply with all state and local laws and regulations. "This is the largest step we've taken toward our national expansion, and our brand name products will soon become a nationally known quality, trusted product. We are very close to finalizing a similar agreement in Las Vegas, so this is an exciting time to be a part of Advantis," Cherry concluded.

The company recently put its larger canning machine into operation in Southern California, which has freed up the original machine to be sent to different locations to fulfill orders. "I have confidence that we will be able to duplicate our model for success as we further scale our business," Cherry elaborated. "We are bringing several new clients on-board and are quickly approaching full production capacity here in So Cal. Our outstanding relationship with N2pack, which is key to fueling our mutual expansion, enables our unlimited growth potential; (as) they provide us additional equipment alongside our expansion." Cherry explained that expanding to different states has become less of a geographic challenge because the company has developed strong personal relationships as they have been establishing themselves. "We're working with people we trust," Cherry said. "This allows us to limit the assignment of additional resources. We are able to put one of our trusted canning experts in place to run the equipment, while we further our marketing reach. In essence, while we do the canning, our new partners help with the production of Advantis proprietary products." Cherry says he expects 2018 to be an exciting year of more rapid expansion.

"While we continue to expand our national reach, our client base is currently growing at the fastest pace ever. Accepting Bitcoin is one of the reasons," Cherry says. "Since the federal government is slow to respond to banking needs of those in the cannabis industry, some have turned to Bitcoin to store their earnings. We will now be able to accommodate these businesses by accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, just like Amazon, Apple, and Expedia do." Cherry related that some of the larger cultivators prefer to use Bitcoin to avoid the security issues of transporting large amounts of cash, and they have not felt comfortable with keeping money in a bank until federal laws banking keep up with the speed of changing cannabis state laws. "This is huge. We had previously turned away some clients, but now that we have done sufficient legal and financial research into making Bitcoin payments work, it opens the door to additional business." Cherry finished his comments by saying to "stay tuned," as there is another exciting announcement "around the corner."

Links to Advantis websites can be found at advantiscorp.com, rosin6.com, elixicure.com, and amstercan.com

About Advantis Corporation

Advantis Corporation (ADVT) focuses on the development of innovative products that supply the medical, research, and pharmaceutical industries. The company additionally establishes partnerships with businesses that develop and sell proprietary pain management, and consumer products and services.

Advantis

Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements made by ADVANTIS CORPORATION. All such statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although management 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. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these statements. The following risk factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward- looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, changes in the law or regulations, demand for products of the Company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward looking statements. Forwardlooking statements are typically identified by the words: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, and similar expressions or which by their nature refer to future events. The Company is not entitled to rely on the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 because it is not registered under either Act.

For further information, contact:

Media Relations Contact Name: Woo Kim, Director

Organization: Advantis Corporation

Phone: 949-354-3585

Address: 1048 Irvine Ave. #900 Newport Beach, CA 92660

E-mail: info@advantiscorp.com




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2017) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSXV: SSV) ("Southern Silver") reported today that Phase II drilling on the Stockpond gold target has commenced on its 100% owned Oro project. The program will consist of 8-10 reverse-circulation (RC) drill holes totaling approximately 1,200m, which will test lateral offsets of gold mineralization identified in 2016 drilling. In addition, results of a +300-line kilometer airborne Z-TEM survey over the entire Oro property have been received and evaluated, resulting in additional claims being staked to cover new targets that now have been sampled for further evaluation.

The drilling program is a follow-up to Phase I drilling at the Stockpond target in 2016, which consisted of nine RC drill holes totaling 1,223m and targeted a previously defined 500m x 500m gold-in-soil anomaly with a small outcrop and trenched bedrock exposures of strongly silicified and oxidized, gold-bearing sedimentary rocks. Drilling intersected thick horizons (10's of metres) of strongly silicified and hematite-rich sediments in eight of the holes, with the higher gold grades being spatially associated with zones of strong silicification. Gold values in drill holes increased from anomalous levels near the small outcrop to much thicker and stronger gold values eastward beneath relatively thin gravel cover. The strongest values were obtained in the easternmost hole, SP16-004, which intersected a 41.2m interval of 0.42g/t Au (includes a 9.1m interval of 0.75g/t Au, see NR-22-16). Phase II holes will offset this encouraging drill intercept and will also test a large gravel-covered area farther east, where the Company's recent Z-TEM geophysical survey indicates alteration extends eastward beneath the gravel.

The Z-TEM geophysical survey was conducted over the entire property as part of the Company's broader evaluation of this large, well-zoned mineralized system. The central region of the Oro property has alteration typically found above major porphyry copper deposits. Surrounding this core area of copper potential are previously mined, small carbonate-replacement deposits (CRDs) that were rich in silver, zinc, and lead. Gold mineralization, such as at the Stockpond target and in newly identified areas, lies farther outboard from the intrusive center to the east and north of the CRDs.

The geophysical survey confirmed drill targets in the central region associated with the main alteration zone and identified several other target areas spatially associated with CRD mineralization to the south of the main Oro anomaly and along an altered and mineralized structural zone located to the northeast of the main anomaly.

About Oro

The Oro property consists of patented land, State leases and BLM located mineral claims which cover and surround a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry center. Classic porphyry system zonation is indicated by gold and copper mineralization associated with Laramide-age intrusions, flanked by lead-zinc-silver skarn and carbonate-replacement mineralization. The Stockpond target may be a sediment-hosted gold occurrence distal to the larger porphyry system, located three kilometres to the southwest, or a separate mineralizing system related to later intrusions.

Cerro Las Minitas Update

The 2017 drilling on the Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango Mexico totaled approximately 13,600m in 18 drill holes and successfully identified and extended the new Skarn Front zone of mineralization beneath the Blind and El Sol deposits. Data compilation and modelling continues on the new mineralized zone that will be incorporated into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate due in the coming weeks. Surface work continues on the newly acquired Biznagas, Los Lenchos and Creston Del Oro claims, which are targeting precious-metal-enriched, volcanic-hosted, epithermal vein systems similar and on trend to the Avino Ag-Au mine and the adjacent San Sebastian Mine.

Exploration on the Cerro Las Minitas property has been funded by Electrum Global Holdings L.P. ("Electrum"), which has financed a broad range of exploration activities and has earned a 60% interest in the project through a US$5.0M earn-in on the property, with Southern Silver acting as operator. Subsequent to earn-in, property exploration will be conducted as a joint venture with each party contributing its proportionate share of exploration budgets.

The Cerro Las Minitas project contains an estimated Inferred Resource as of March 21, 2016 of 17.5Mozs silver and 237Mlbs of lead and 626Mlbs zinc (77.3Mozs AgEq) and an estimated Indicated Resource of 10.8Mozs silver, 189Mlbs lead and 207Mlbs zinc (36.5Mozs AgEq).(1)

A total of 107 drill holes for 49,600m have now been completed on the Cerro Las Minitas project with exploration expenditures of approximately US$10.8 million.

About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is a precious metal exploration and development company with a focus on the discovery of world-class mineral deposits in north-central Mexico and the southern USA. Our specific emphasis is the Cerro Las Minitas silver-lead-zinc project located in the heart of Mexico's Faja de Plata, which hosts multiple world-class mineral deposits such as Penasquito, San Martin, Naica and Pitarrilla. We have assembled a team of highly experienced technical, operational and transactional professionals to support our exploration efforts in developing, along with our partner, Electrum Global Holdings LP, the Cerro Las Minitas project into a premier, high-grade, silver-lead-zinc mine.

The Company engages in the acquisition, exploration and development either directly or through joint-venture relationships in mineral properties in major jurisdictions. Our property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project located in southern New Mexico, USA. The Oro property consists of patented land, State leases and BLM located mineral claims which cover a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry center and distal sediment-hosted, oxide-gold target.

The 2016 Cerro Las Minitas Resource Estimate was prepared following CIM definitions for classification of Mineral Resources. Resources are constrained using mainly geological constraints and approximate 10g/t AgEq grade shells. The block models are comprised of an array of blocks measuring 10m x 2m x 10m, with grades for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn and AgEq values interpolated using ID2 weighting. The models identified at a 150g/t AgEq cut-off, an indicated resource of 3,724,000 tonnes averaging 90g/t Ag, 0.05g/t Au, 2.3% Pb, 2.5% Zn and 0.09% Cu and a cumulative inferred resource of 6,611,000 tonnes averaging 82g/t Ag, 0.17g/t Au, 1.6% Pb, 4.3% Zn and 0.2% Cu. Mineral Resource cut-offs are estimated using an average long-term price of $15/oz silver, $1,100/oz gold, $2.75/lb Cu, $0.90/lb lead and $0.90/lb zinc and metal recoveries of 82% silver, 86% lead and 80% zinc. AgEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the metals. All prices are stated in $USD. Mineral Resources are conceptual in nature and as such do not have demonstrated economic viability.



The current Resource Estimate was prepared by Garth Kirkham, P.Geo. of Kirkham Geosciences Ltd. who is the Independent Qualified Person responsible for presentation and review of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

Robert Macdonald, MSc., P.Geo, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and responsible for the supervision of the exploration on the Cerro Las Minitas Project and for the preparation of the technical information in this disclosure.

Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr. (AIPG CPG-11513, Wyoming PG-2576) is the Qualified Person responsible for reviewing and preparing the technical data presented in this release for the Oro project and has approved its disclosure.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Lawrence Page"

Lawrence Page, Q.C.

President & Director, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

For further information, please visit Southern Silver's website at southernsilverexploration.com or contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email at ir@mnxltd.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2017) - WeeCig International Corporation (OTC Pink: WCIG) announces that the company has signed an agreement to acquire 100% ownership of WeeMed America Management Ltd. (WeeMed), a Nevada based Operations and Management Company.

WeeMed is in the business of organizing and supervising the inputs and outputs of the medical marijuana business in an efficient manner. The company also supervises the procurement of goods and services from external sources managing relations with those involved in processes and improving the client's sustainability with regard to its use of resources. In addition, WeeMed implements cost effective methods for the logistics of supplying and delivering goods.

WeeMed currently has Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with several companies that have medical marijuana delivery licenses in Nevada and California to assist in the operations and management of their businesses. More information on the terms and conditions of these relationships will be disclosed as they are finalized.

"WeeCig is very excited to be involved in the Medical Marijuana industry and the future growth potential of the business", states President, Keir MacPherson.

About Wee-Cig

Wee-Cig International Corporation is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded vaporization products. Wee-Cig products can be found listed in the Company's website www.weecig.net which gets updated periodically.

For further information contact: 1-888-488-6882

/s/ Keir MacPherson

Keir MacPherson, President

***

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained herein which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain delays in testing and evaluation of products and other risks detailed from time to time in Wee-Cig's filings with the OTC Markets.
New state-of-the-art submarine cable system, AURORA, will deliver up to 15 Terabit-per-second capacity to support the growing demands for Big Data and Internet of Things in the region.

NEW YORK and PARIS, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --FP Telecommunications (FPT) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Nokia, have signed a turn-key agreement for the deployment of AURORA Submarine Cable System. Supporting the increasing bandwidth demands for broadband applications in North, Central and South America countries, AURORA will be based on ASN's advanced submarine system technology supporting the regional social and economic development. The overall project investment will be of US 310 million.

Delivering up to 15 Terabit-per-second of capacity AURORA will strengthen the existing network infrastructure in the region which has a limited ability to increase capacity or the capability to manage growing demands associated with a larger user base, bandwidth growth, 4G/5G networks, low latency applications, Video on Demand, Internet of Things and Big Data. The AURORA submarine cable system will provide superior connectivity from Sarasota, in West Florida, to Manta, in Ecuador, via Panama.

"We are honored to partner with Alcatel Submarine Networks to build the AURORA cable, which will put us in a leadership position in Central America and on the Pacific Coast of South America. AURORA represents the first of many projects we are planning in order to position FPT as one of the top 10 subsea cable system companies. We are well aware of how communications infrastructures are important for the regions andcontributing to its development is one of our company's key values, following United Nations' goals", said Mr. Luiz Fuschini, Chairman and President of FPT.

Philippe Piron, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks said: "The AURORA submarine cable system confirms the need for high-capacity infrastructures which are able to cope with business and end-user requirements for data center connections, cloud computing and content sharing applications. We are pleased to cooperate with FP Telecommunications on the AURORA submarine cable system and to contribute to further help foster the opportunities offered by new innovative technologies for a connected world."

The solution to be deployed by Alcatel Submarine Networks will include the 1620 SOFTNODE, which incorporates multiple transmission formats to maximize delivered capacity at the lowest cost per bit. The system is also designed to enable extension to Chile and to connect to the United States without intermediate regeneration also leveraging ROADM branching units, which are part of ASN's product portfolio also including Wavelength Selective Switch technology (WSS). As part of the contract, ASN will also be in charge of project management, system design, marine operations and system commissioning.

ABOUT FP TELECOMMUNICATIONS:

FP Telecommunications (FPT), a leading network construction management company with extensive experience, capable of delivering advanced "tailor-made" subsea cable and networking solutions. FPT has direct presence in more than 15 countries and extensive network partnerships covering any location in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Delivering a full suite of network infrastructure services including infrastructure analysis, design, construction management, O&M, and financial advocacy through investor engagement.

ABOUT ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS:

Alcatel Submarine Networks, leads the industry in terms of capacity and installed base with more than 590,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide. From traditional telecom to new oil and gas applications, ASN provides every part of a global undersea transmission network, all tailored to the customer's needs. An extensive service portfolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation and commissioning and marine operations and maintenance performed by its fleet of cable ships.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fp-telecommunications-and-alcatel-submarine-networks-to-strengthen-connectivity-in-north-central-and-south-america-300538479.html
MOSCOW, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Russia and China discussed cooperation plans on wooden housing. Representatives of the Chinese government agencies showed their interest in Russian experience in wooden housing, as well as the materials produced in our country.

"Wooden housing is a subject of interest to both Russia and China. We are united in our desire to provide our citizens with houses made with quality and sustainable materials. Our Chinese counterparts offered us to discuss cooperation in the sphere of urban and rural construction. This can become an incentive to improving the quality of life in the regions of our country as well as on the territory of our neighbors. I am sure we have many similar challenges, and we will be able to solve them far more effectively if we work together. This cooperation can also provide more confident growth to the Far East timber industry," says Viktor Evtukhov, State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Russian Federation.

China is one of Russia's key markets in terms of timber industry products' export potential realization. At the moment, the Russian-Chinese Program of Cooperation on forest resources development and usage is being carried out. Within its framework, launching are several collaborative large-scale projects on creating timber industry parks in Tomsk oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

At the Beijing exhibition Russian delegation presented technological solutions in the sphere of wooden housing, and development of the country's wood processing industry. Nine Russian companies were represented at the Russian Timber Industry collaborative booth, including STOD LLC, SVEZA-les, DOK Kalevala, AO Turanles, and others. The companies demonstrated various construction materials, such as sawn timber, glulam, board products, etc.

Participation in CIEHI 2017 was aimed at Russian wood construction materials global market promotion.

China International Exposition of Housing Industry & Products and Equipments of Building Industrialization 2017 presented 400 exhibitors from 6 countries with total area of 50 000 m2, and total of 50 000 visitors.

The exhibitors took part in the meetings on housing, energy efficient construction technologies, integrated systems of the future within the framework of the event. Among the discussed themes were such topical issues as energy saving and smart construction technologies, smart green buildings, low-storey low energy houses projects, and others.

Federal press-center programlesprom.ru

Contacts:

info@programlesprom.ru

+7 (915) 283-15-99

+7 (926) 142-03-36

+7 (925) 887-87-41
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2017) - Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. (TSXV: BLOC) (FSE: BWSP) (OTC Pink: BLKCF) ("GBT" or the "Company") officially announces that it has sponsored Monage Money Summit, a conference focused on the token economy, ICOs (initial coin offerings), and the future of money as it undergoes rapid change with evolving crypto technologies. Global Blockchain is an investment company that enables investors to access a basket of crypto holdings, balanced between blue chip cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin and Ethereum), smaller cap cryptocurrencies, and new crypto/blockchain technologies that are deemed to have significant upward potential. As a broad-scope participant in the blockchain ecosystem, Global Blockchain eagerly embraces the opportunity to sponsor this groundbreaking industry conference.

The Monage Money Summit is founded by technology luminary Jeff Pulver (also an advisor to Global Blockchain). It is set to be the premier event for investors to learn about upcoming and promising token sales, as well as blockchain startups that stand to be key players in the token economy.

"As an entrepreneur who first started in the VoIP industry, I've known Jeff Pulver for more than a decade and witnessed how he helped coalesce the VoIP startup industry through the Vonage series of conferences, which evolved into being the premier platform for matching VoIP startups with investors," says Shidan Gouran, president of Global Blockchain. "I believe Monage will grow to having the same effect in the blockchain sphere. Our decision to sponsor Monage Money Summit is one that enables exploration, and provides an ongoing forum for pioneering startups looking to disrupt the media industry by using blockchain technologies. It is part of our mission to facilitate growth in the world of crypto technologies, and we believe that this conference is the perfect setting to get great things started."

"Quite simply, blockchains and cryptocurrency tokens are a quantum leap in the evolution of marketplaces, even transforming various forms of social media and communications networks which were once unmonetizable," says Jeff Pulver. "With new business models driven by token economics, combined with AI, these technologies will be the driving force for a continuing Internet revolution. Companies such as Global Blockchain are defining this future. We are thrilled to have them join us as part of our combined commitment to growing the blockchain ecosystem."

At this time, Global Blockchain will be evaluating several notable tokens at the Monage Money Summit. These tokens include Steem, Kin, Streetwire, The Many Chain, Databay, MetroSage, Celsius, Madhive, Storm, and Polymath.

For more information, please contact info@globalblockchain.io

About Global Blockchain Technologies Corp.

Global Blockchain Technologies Corp. is an investment company providing investors access to a basket of holdings within the blockchain space, managed by a team of industry pioneers and early adopters of all major cryptocurrencies. GBT is focused on streamlining the current arduous, lengthy and complicated process that interested investors need to undergo in order to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space with a view to becoming the first vertically integrated originator and manager of top tier blockchains and digital currencies. GBT is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and its common shares trade under the ticker symbol "BLOC". Other information relating to GBT is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com as well as on the Company's website at www.globalblockchain.io

On behalf of:

GLOBAL BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Shidan Gouran

President

Phone: 604-687-2038

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the impact of the appointments on the Company, the Company's projected asset allocations; business strategy and investment criteria; the timing for implementation of financial auditing and corporate governance standards applicable to cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings ("ICO's"); the rate of cryptocurrency adoption and the resultant effect on the growth of the global cryptocurrency market capitalization. The Company has no assets and its business plan is purely conceptual in nature and there is no assurance that it will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to: statements and expectations regarding the ability of the Company to (i) successfully engage senior management with appropriate industry experience and expertise, (ii) gain access to and acquire a basket of cryptocurrency assets and pre-ICO and ICO financings on favourable terms or at all, (iii) successfully create its own tokens and ICO's, and (iv) execute on future M&A opportunities in the cryptocurrency space; receipt of required regulatory approvals; the availability of necessary financing; permitting and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: risks related to changes in cryptocurrency prices; the estimation of personnel and operating costs; general global markets and economic conditions; risks associated with uninsurable risks; risks associated with currency fluctuations; competition faced in securing experienced personnel with appropriate industry experience and expertise; risks associated with changes in the financial auditing and corporate governance standards applicable to cryptocurrencies and ICO's; risks related to potential conflicts of interest; the reliance on key personnel; financing, capitalization and liquidity risks including the risk that the financing necessary to fund continued development of the Company's business plan may not be available on satisfactory terms, or at all; the risk of potential dilution through the issuance of additional common shares of the Company; the risk of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information set out in this presentation, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Metsa Group Press release 18 October 2017



Metsa Group celebrated the inauguration of its next-generation bioproduct mill in Aanekoski, Finland, on 18 October 2017. The mill was inaugurated by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto. With a cost of EUR 1.2 billion, the mill is the largest investment in the history of the Finnish forest industry. It will produce pulp and a wide selection of other bioproducts. The decision to implement the mill project was based on the increasing global demand for these products.



In his inauguration speech, President Sauli Niinisto noted that Finland's well-being is largely based on the export industry.



"The forest industry continues to be a key export sector and a major employer in Finland. Its economic importance is emphasised by the fact that raw materials and services needed in production are mainly sourced from Finland. Metsa Group's Aanekoski bioproduct mill is an example of the forest industry of the new era. Its positive impacts on the Finnish economy are substantial," Sauli Niinisto says.



President and CEO of Metsa Group Kari Jordan emphasised in his address that economic growth in Finland requires investments.



The forest industry is doing well and has resumed its position as Finland's most important export industry.



"All in all, Metsa Group is investing around EUR 2 billion between 2015 and 2017. Of this, around 85 per cent is investments in Finland. The bioproduct mill has nationwide effects. It will increase Finland's annual exports by EUR 0.5 billion, in addition to creating around 1,500 new jobs throughout the direct value chain and having an effect on wood supply across the country. As Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence, Metsa Group is honoured to be participating in building a stronger economy for the country," Jordan said.



The construction of the bioproduct mill began in April 2015, and the mill started up in mid-August 2017 - exactly on schedule and on budget. The mill's production has increased as planned, in line with the start-up curve.



The bioproduct mill has shown that large-scale projects can be implemented in Finland competitively and in line with high quality standards. The project was made possible by careful planning and highly committed employees, as well as open, constructive cooperation between the project parties.



Pulp production at Aanekoski is increasing to 1.3 million tonnes from roughly 0.5 million tonnes. The bioproduct mill is a significant project in terms of Metsa Group's competitiveness. It is expected to achieve its nominal capacity in mid-2018, which will make Metsa Group the world's largest producer of softwood market pulp.



With this new bioproduct mill, Aanekoski's industrial ecosystem will develop and grow further, as the mill serves as a platform for the manufacture of new bioproducts. In the first phase, new bioproducts will include product gas, sulphuric acid, biogas and biofuel pellets. Key bioproduct development projects include lignin products, textile fibres and biocomposites.



The bioproduct mill will accelerate the use of renewable energy in Finland, increasing its share of total energy consumption by around 2 percentage points. In terms of energy efficiency, the mill is a leading facility globally. Its bioelectricity self-sufficiency rate is 240 per cent, and it uses no fossil fuels.



Link to photos: https://databank.metsagroup.com/c/5671



METSA GROUP



For further information, please contact: Juha Laine, Senior Vice President, Communications, Metsa Group, tel. +358 10 465 4541



Metsa Group



www.metsagroup.com



Metsa Group is a forerunner in sustainable bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsa Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and cooking papers.



Metsa Group's sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion in 2016, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsaliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsa Group and is owned by approximately 104,000 Finnish forest owners.



Follow Metsa Group:



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MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- Dynacor Gold Mines Inc. (TSX: DNG)(OTC: DNGDF) (Dynacor or the Corporation) announces the appointment of Pierre Lepine as its new Chairman of the Board.

Pierre Lepine joined the Board of Directors in 2014 and has served as a member of Dynacor's Audit Committee from the start. He has worked in the private sector since 1989 and has a very extensive and successful international career in the financial world in particular in mergers and acquisitions. The company's directors and its senior management is greatly looking forward to working with Pierre Lepine and specifically developing new strategies for growth.

Mr. Lepine is President and co-founder of Groupe ABP, one of Canada's leaders in the event industry. He also actively engages with a number of Canadian companies as an advisor in financing, mergers and acquisitions. From 2006 to 2008, he was Manager Private Placement at la Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec. As the Vice-President Corporate Development at GL&V Inc. (1998-2005) he coordinated and led several international multi-million dollar mergers and acquisitions and was very proactive in investor relations. M. Lepine started his career at Price Waterhouse where he spent 7 years from 1989 to 1996 before joining an investment bank in Montreal.

Pierre Lepine is the Chair of the Audit Committee and a board member of TomaGold Corporation, the Chairman of the Board of the College St-Jean-Vianney and a member of several executive committees of Canadian not-for-profit organisations. He is a CPA, CA, and a member of l'ordre des comptables professionnels agrees du Quebec.

Mr. Jean Depatie has resigned as Chairman of the Board of Directors and as a Director of Dynacor Gold Mines. Jean Martineau, the President and CEO, and the Board of Directors wish to thank Jean Depatie for his significant contributions to the guidance of the Company in 2016 and 2017. His steady hand drawing from more than 45 years of national and international experience has been invaluable both for the Board and for the development of the Company during his tenure. We wish him the best in his future activities and trust that they will be very successful.

ABOUT DYNACOR GOLD MINES INC.

Dynacor Gold Mines Inc. is a gold production corporation headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The corporation is engaged in production through its government approved ore processing operations. At present, Dynacor produces and explores in Peru where its management team has decades of experience and expertise. In 2016, Dynacor produced 73,476 ounces of gold, a 9% increase as compared with 2015 (67,603 ounces in 2015). Dynacor trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (DNG) and the OTC in the United States under the symbol (DNGDF).

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements in the foregoing may constitute forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Dynacor, or industry results, to be materially different from any future result, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current expectations regarding future events and operating performance as of the date of this news release.

Dynacor Gold Mines Inc. (TSX: DNG)

Website: http://www.dynacor.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/DynacorGold

Facebook: facebook.com/DynacorGoldMines

For more information, please contact: Dynacor Gold Mines Inc.

Shares outstanding: 38,782,411

Contacts:

Jean Martineau

President and CEO

Dynacor Gold Mines Inc.

514-393-9000 ext. 228



Dale Nejmeldeen

Director, Investor Relations

Dynacor Gold Mines Inc.

604.492.0099

M: 604.562.1348

nejmeldeen@dynacor.com




The Valles Mines Lost History Museum in Valles Mines will be holding their 20th Annual Ghost Roundup fundraiser two weekends in a row on Oct. 21 and Oct. 28 to raise money to fund the museum.

The Lost History Museum Superintendent and Founder Steve Frazier said they are located at 14116 Valles Mines School Rd. and the area is rich with history.

Frazier decided to create The Lost History Museum 20 years ago and he said he doesnt regret it one bit. The museum was being housed in the old Francis Valle home up until this past year when they moved the museum into the Old General Store.

The museum was once housed in a building that was built in 1749 when Francis Valle and his bride, Marie, were given the cabin as a wedding present. One of their sons, John Baptiste Valle, operated a lead mine from there, which is commonly believed where The Valle Mining Company was formed. The historic home was added onto to at some point creating additional space for the growing family over the years.

Frazier said this year they will have a haunted house in the historic home that people can enjoy for $5 per person.

Each year we try to do something different during the event and change it up, said Frazier. We have an open house at the museum and we will have food and refreshments. There will be a bonfire, weather permitting, of course, and hayrides to the old haunted train tunnel.

Frazier said Tunnel Bill was a German fellow by the name of William Heinrich and he lived back by the tunnel in a little cabin with his wife and two children, one of which was adopted. His job, since he was a little bit disabled, was to keep kids and people away from the mines, out of the tunnel and away from the explosives for safety.

Supposedly many years after Tunnel Bill died he still guarded the land back there he was charged with watching, Frazier said. At night his light can be seen and whenever anyone would go toward the glow of his lantern, it would disappear.

Its been told that anyone who passes through the tunnel at night could hear him walking behind them and if they walked too slow they would feel his hand on their shoulder. It was guaranteed they would speed up and run.

An old cemetery is also on the property where slaves were buried and Frazier said they will have walking tours of the cemetery.

Its been told that restless spirits may still wander the land looking for their homes, but no one has proven if there is any truth to that, said Frazier. Other strange and unexplainable events have occurred over the years. In the Lost History Museum, some say distorted faces have been seen in the upstairs window and pictures have been found upside down or have fallen off the walls.

Frazier added there will be walking tours of the old buildings and that is more for the younger kids.

We will have a food vendor, cupcakes, psychic readings by a real psychic and a 50/50 raffle  the winner will be drawn on Oct. 28 after the second event, Frazier said. There will be a paranormal team on the premises and spooky stories around the bonfire.

The hayrides will begin at 2 p.m. and the cost is $5 per person. Cost for the haunted house is also $5. All children must be accompanied by an adult and they are not responsible for accidents or losses.

For more information on the event call 573-631-6875 or 573-944-9128 or 314-265-9818. All activities are weather permitting.
WATERLOO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/18/17 -- Building on the company's leadership in security, BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB)(TSX: BB) announced today it is first to support Purebred across all key platforms used by the Department of Defense (DoD) such as native iOS, Android, Android Enterprise, Samsung Knox, Windows 10 and BlackBerry 10. Purebred is the secure, scalable method of distributing software certificates for DoD PKI subscribers' use on mobile devices.

"No matter the platform, our automatic delivery of derived credentials will make it faster for agencies to improve their security posture and provide the mobility employees need in today's connected world," said Carl Wiese, president of global sales, BlackBerry. "From military-grade encryption to Purebred support, BlackBerry provides the U.S. government with the most comprehensive, holistic approach to connecting and securing their people, devices, process and systems."

Derived credentials allow users to quickly access secure websites, digitally sign and decrypt emails, as well as access or authenticate to network resources - without the need to carry or present a Common Access Card (CAC) or Personal Identification Verification (PIV) card to verify their identity. With tens of millions of cards in circulation in both government and enterprise use, BlackBerry's support for derived credentials will allow IT to provide a secure authentication mechanism while providing users with the power to quickly identify themselves with a significantly reduced impact on productive workflows.

For more information about BlackBerry visit www.blackberry.com.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry is a cybersecurity software and services company dedicated to securing the Enterprise of Things. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company was founded in 1984 and operates in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The Company trades under the ticker symbol "BB" on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.BlackBerry.com.

BlackBerry and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of BlackBerry Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.

Contacts:

Media Contact:

BlackBerry Media Relations

(519) 597-7273

mediarelations@BlackBerry.com



Investor Contact:

BlackBerry Investor Relations

(519) 888-7465

investor_relations@BlackBerry.com




DUBLIN, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Aviation Life Rafts Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global aviation life rafts market to grow at a CAGR of 4.76% during the period 2017-2021.

Global Aviation Life Rafts 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.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Implementation of coated fabric for life rafts. The polyurethane-coated fabric (PCF) was introduced in the general aviation life raft market in the US in 1995. Zodiac Aero Evacuation Systems (Air Cruise Company) has been one of the pioneers in offering PCF fabric-based survival kits in the marine industry, as well as opted the same for some of their aviation life rafts models. This material displays several advantages over the traditional neoprene rubber that are widely used in life rafts. As claimed by Zodiac Aero Evacuation Systems, the use of PCM over conventional rubber can extend the service life of life rafts, with a potential of saving consumers' money. PCF also features other advantages like enhanced abrasion and puncture resistance attributes that ensure added protection in case of emergencies.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Implementation of stringent regulatory standards on safety equipment. Regulations and directions on standardization of aviation products will continue to command the airline business environment in future. The airline industry is now strengthening its brand value through its reinforced safety measures. These regulations are set by aviation regulatory bodies, such as FAA and EASA, and pertain to emission control techniques, improved safety measures during takeoff and landing, use of high-quality products, and provision of survival equipment on board.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Removal of life rafts from aircraft flying within 400 nautical miles from coast. FAA can waive certain regulations only when an operator can assure that it is maintaining the highest levels of safety.

Key Market trends

Implementation of coated fabric for life rafts

Use of auto-inflatable life rafts

Use of RFID-based life vests in aircraft

Key vendors

EAM WORLDWIDE

Revere Survival

Survival Products

WINSLOW LIFERAFT COMPANY

Zodiac Aerospace

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Executive Summary Scope Of The Report Research Methodology Introduction Market Landscape Market Segmentation By Seating Capacity Geographical Segmentation Decision Framework Drivers And Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Appendix

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Advancing clinical development for SENS-111 and SENS-401 drug candidates

Cash position of 9.2 million, as of June 30, 2017

Regulatory News:

Sensorion (FR0012596468 ALSEN PEA-PME eligible) (Paris:ALSEN), a biotech company pioneering novel treatments of inner ear diseases, today announces its results for the first half of the year ending June 30, 2017, as well as its recent developments.

"Progress in the first half of 2017 was characterized by the acceleration of our clinical development programs for both SENS-111 and SENS-401," said Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion. "We initiated the phase 2 clinical testing of SENS-111 to treat acute unilateral vestibulopathy. We are on schedule and look forward to reporting top line data towards the end of 2018."

"Additionally, we completed phase 1 studies of SENS-401 and began preparations for our phase 2 trials. In August we were delighted to receive a second Orphan Drug Designation for SENS-401 from the US FDA, for the prevention, in children, of hearing loss induced by chemotherapy using platin salts," Ms Ouzren added. "We are working with US and EU regulatory authorities to initiate two phase 2 clinical trials in 2018: the first to treat sudden deafness; the second to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in a pediatric population."

Financial results for the first half of 2017

The Company's accounts for the first six months, until June 30, 2017, drawn up under IFRS, have been the subject of a limited review by statutory auditors and were approved by the Board on October 17, 2017.

They are characterized by a slight increase in operating costs associated with increased clinical development activity, resulting in cash use consistent with the Company's development objectives. The Company's financial structure is adequately sized to finance the development of its clinical programs.

The simplified income statement at June 30, 2017 is as follows:

In Euros IFRS 30.06.2017 30.06.2016 Operating income 1 092 946 1 123 646 Research Development expenses 3 941 363 4 167 797 General and Administrative expenses 1 571 117 1 250 884 Total operating expenses 5 512 480 5 418 681 Operating profit loss -4 419 534 -4 295 035 Financial profit loss -130 495 1 764 Net profit loss -4 550 029 -4 293 271

At June 30, 2017, Sensorion's operating income, essentially consisting of a Research Tax Credit (1,0 million), totaled 1,1 million, a slight decrease (-2,7%) compared with June 30, 2016.

Operating expenses increased from 5,4 million at June 30, 2016 to approximately 5.5 million at June 30, 2017, the result of sustained clinical development of the Company's drug candidates and non-recurring expenses related to the departure of the former CEO and the recruitment of Nawal Ouzren as CEO.

General and Administrative expenses have hence increased from 1.3 million at June 30, 2016 to approximately 1.6 million at June 30, 2017.

The operating loss at June 30, 2017 was -4.4 million, compared with -4.3 million at June 30, 2016.

After financial profit (0.1 million), net loss amounts to 4.5 million at June 30, 2017, compared with a net loss of 4,3 million at June 30, 2016.

The Company had a staff of 20, as of June 30, 2017.

Balance Sheet Highlights

At June 30, 2017, Sensorion had cash and cash equivalents of 9.2 million, versus 8.5 million at December 31, 2016. Cash used by operating and investment activities was 4.9 million.

Cash generated by financing activities was 5.6 million thanks to

The exercise, on June 30 th , 2017, of the third tranche of convertible notes with warrants amounting 5 million as part of the investment protocol signed on November 19, 2015 with Yorkville Global Advisors Ltd. An amendment to this protocol was signed with the subscriber and the latter renounced the benefit of the warrants attached to the convertible notes for this tranche, as well as for an optional tranche to be subscribed before December 19, 2017. In accordance with this flexible financing agreement, Sensorion still has the ability to strengthen shareholders' equity, depending on its requirements, by up to approximately 9 million in the coming 13 months.

, 2017, of the third tranche of convertible notes with warrants amounting 5 million as part of the investment protocol signed on November 19, 2015 with Yorkville Global Advisors Ltd. An amendment to this protocol was signed with the subscriber and the latter renounced the benefit of the warrants attached to the convertible notes for this tranche, as well as for an optional tranche to be subscribed before December 19, 2017. In accordance with this flexible financing agreement, Sensorion still has the ability to strengthen shareholders' equity, depending on its requirements, by up to approximately 9 million in the coming 13 months. The inception of a specific "innovation loan" from Bpifrance and the Occitanie Region amounting 0.9 million.

Key developments during the first half 2017

SENS-111 drug candidate

Following receipt of an Investigational New Drug (IND) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2016, allowing the Company to initiate clinical trials in the U.S., Sensorion received a separate additional authorization from the European authorities to initiate a phase 2 clinical trial in Europe. The Company started this clinical trial during the first half of 2017, opened clinical centers to recruit patients, as planned, and expects to treat 207 patients diagnosed with AUV and report top-line data towards the end of 2018.

SENS-401 drug candidate

During the first half of 2017, the Company successfully completed a phase 1 clinical trial establishing the safety of SENS-401, its second drug candidate.

Separately SENS-401 demonstrated in preclinical testing to have a preventive effect against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Sensorion subsequently received Orphan Drug Designation for SENS-401 by the FDA in this indication in a pediatric population and confirmed its objective to develop SENS-401 in this indication, in addition to sudden deafness.

Subject to regulatory authorizations, Sensorion plans to initiate phase 2 clinical trials with SENS-401, to treat sudden deafness and prevention of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in a pediatric population in the first and second half of 2018, respectively.

Technological platform

The Company is continuing development and use of its specialized screening platform in all inner ear pathologies. The results obtained so far with the technology platform have been highly translatable in humans.

Scientific communication

During the first half of this year, Sensorion presented significant preclinical results in various scientific congresses. Several key studies were presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO), held on February 11-15, 2017, in Baltimore, MD.

Preclinical data for SENS-401, recently published in the Journal of Otology Neurotology, formed the basis for the FDA granting Orphan Drug Designation for prevention of platin salt-nduced ototoxicity in a pediatric population.

French Tech Pass certification

In recognition of Sensorion's innovation and internationalization potential, the Company renewed its French Tech Pass certification giving it preferential access to the services provided by Bpifrance, Business France, DGE (Direction Generale des Entreprises, or Directorate-General for Enterprise), Coface and Inpi, and to the French Tech Pass regional partners and French Tech community networks.

Strategy and outlook

Sensorion will actively pursue development of its clinical stage drug candidates, as well as research work using its screening technology platform.

Upcoming events

First International Inner Ear Congress, November 1-3, 2017 (Marrakech)

BIO Europe conference, November 6-8, 2017 (Berlin)

Neuroscience (SFN), November 10-16, 2017 (Washington, D.C.)

Actionaria trade fair, November 23-24, 2017 (Paris)

British Pharmacological Society, December 11-13, 2017 (London)

About Sensorion

Sensorion is a biotech company pioneering novel treatments of inner ear diseases such as severe vertigo, tinnitus or hearing loss. Two products are currently in the clinical development stage: SENS-111, in phase 2 in acute unilateral vestibulopathy (vestibular neuritis), and SENS-401, which has completed a phase 1 trial. The company was founded by Inserm (the French Institute of Health and Medical Research) and is utilizing its pharmaceutical R&D experience and comprehensive technology platform to develop first-in-class easy-to-administer, notably orally active, drugs for treating and preventing hearing loss and the symptoms of bouts of vertigo and tinnitus.

Based in Montpellier, Southern France, Sensorion has received financial support from Bpifrance, through the InnoBio fund, and Inserm Transfert Initiative.

Sensorion has been listed on the Euronext Growth Paris exchange since April 2015.

www.sensorion-pharma.com

Libelle: SENSORION

Code ISIN: FR0012596468

MnemoniqueALSEN

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the Document de reference registration document filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF- French Financial Market Authority) on July 28, 2016 under nR.16-069 and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.

This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005966/en/

Contacts:

Sensorion

Nawal Ouzren, Tel: 04 67 20 77 30

Directeur general

contact@sensorion-pharma.com

or

Investor Relation International

LifeSci Advisors LLC

Chris Maggos, Tel.: +41 79 367 6254

Directeur general, Europe

chris@lifesciadvisors.com

or

Relations Presse

Alize RP

Caroline Carmagnol Wendy Rigal

sensorion@alizerp.com
Regulatory News:

Subject to the prior approval of the Shareholders' General Meeting to be convened on November 27, 2017, Carmilla (Paris:CARM) will pay on November 30, 2017 a 2017 interim dividend equal to 0.75 euro per share, by way of an exceptional distribution from the "Additional paid-in capital" account.

This distribution is the first brick of the Carmila 2017 dividend policy announced earlier this year.

The detachment of the coupon would be effective on November 28, 2017 0:00 am.

Next events and publications:

October 24, 2017 (after market close): Financial information at September 30, 2017

November 27, 2017 (8h15): Shareholders' General Meeting

November 27, 2017 (after market close): Detachment of the coupon

November 30, 2017: 2017 interim dividend payment

About Carmila

Carmila was founded by Carrefour and large institutional investors in order to develop the value of shopping centers anchored by Carrefour stores in France, Spain and Italy. Its portfolio after the merger with Cardety effective as of June 12, 2017, consists of 205 shopping centers in France, Spain and Italy, mostly leaders in their catchment areas, and was valued at Euro 5.6 bn as at June 30" 2017. Inspired by a genuine retail culture, Carmila's teams include all of the expertise dedicated to retail attractiveness: leasing, digital marketing, specialty leasing, shopping centre management and portfolio management.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006199/en/

Contacts:

Carmila

Investors and analysts contact:

Marie-Flore Bachelier, +33 6 20 91 67 79

marie_flore_bachelier@carmila.com

or

Press contacts:

Morgan Lavielle, +33 6 20 91 63 29

morgan_lavielle@carmila.com
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2017 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against SCANA Corporation ("SCANA" or the "Company") (NYSE: SCG) for possible violations of federal securities laws between January 19, 2016 and September 22, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period, should contact the firm prior to the November 27, 2017 motion deadline.

To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here.

You can also call Brian Lundin, Esq., of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or you can e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com.

No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, SCANA made false and/or misleading statements, and/or failed to disclose, adverse information regarding the construction of its project to build nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina, assuring investors that costs spending was prudent and substantial progress was being made, even when cost overruns and other delays began to materialize.

On July 31, 2017, the Company announced that it would abandon construction of the nuclear project because of cost overruns and delays. On August 4, 2017, the South Carolina Attorney General announced the opening of an investigation into the Company's abandonment of the nuclear project. On the same day, South Carolina state senators called for a special legislative session to investigate SCANA. On September 22, 2017, the South Carolina Attorney General publicly requested that the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division launch a criminal investigation into the project. When this information reached the public, shares of SCANA dropped in value materially, which caused investors harm according to the Complaint.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, Esq., a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethics rules.

Contact:

Lundin Law PC

Brian Lundin, Esq.

Telephone: 888-713-1033

Facsimile: 888-713-1125

brian@lundinlawpc.com

http://lundinlawpc.com/

SOURCE: Lundin Law PC
Technavio analysts forecast the global intruder detection devices marketto grow at a CAGR of over 10% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005725/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global intruder detection devices market from 2017-2021. (Photo: Business Wire)

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global intruder detection devicesmarketfor 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated through the sales of different types of intruder detector devices.

The market growth is driven by the increased demand for intruder detection devices in government and commercial offices to manage the database of government securities. The market size is calculated by considering the revenues of key vendors in the market. Intruder detection devices are widely adopted in various application segments such as the retail stores, restaurants, healthcare, office spaces, manufacturing units, and detention centers.

This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing

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Technavio analysts highlight the following three factors that are contributing to the growth of the global intruder detection devices market:

Increasing threat of terrorism in aviation industry

Increasing demand for banking and financial services

Increasing adoption in smart homes

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Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Increasing threat of terrorism in aviation industry

The airport is one of the busiest places that is difficult for employees to monitor effectively. Security managers use different strategies and technologies to handle the crowd in airports. Intruder detector plays a major role in improving the security system in the aviation industry. It helps manage the crowd and prevent chaos in public places such as airports.

Jujhar Singh, a lead sensors research analyst at Technavio, says, "Intruder detection devices are used in the aviation industry to ensure that only authorized users enter restricted areas. Portable control systems are used to validate the staff in remote locations, where cabling infrastructure may not exist. If an unauthorized person enters a restricted area, the detection system automatically changes the individual's access level and increases security."

Increasing demand for banking and financial services

Physical security has become necessary for banking and financial institutions to combat pilferage by theft-related activities. Intrusion and fire detection systems inspect all the inner and outer network activities and identify the pattern to indicate data breach attempts in the system. Fire detection system also combines the various devices which work seamlessly to counsel end-users from any threat of fire.

"Honeywell International's security solutions provide access control and intruder detection system to protect against theft and violence. The company delivers complete security solutions that include access control, video surveillance, intrusion alarm, and fire protection systems as well as intelligent video analytics," adds Jujhar

Increasing adoption in smart homes

The adoption in smart homes is increasing due to the focus on the security features such as digital security and secured homes. Due to advances in technology, applications of intruder detection devices are increasing in the commercial markets as well as in the residential applications such as Smart home, which use surveillance, automotive products, testing, gas and fire detection, and other commercial vision applications.

With the increase in the number of internet users over the years and rise in IoT and mobile devices to control the basic home functions, the intruder detectors are increasingly used to secure the smart homes. Intruder detection is also increasingly being used in the home automation for centralized control of securing doors and windows, HVAC, lighting, electrical appliances, and controlling various consumer electronic devices such as televisions, fans, air conditioners, DVD players, ovens, and others.

Top vendors:

ASSA ABLOY

Bosch Sicherheitssysteme

Honeywell International

Maximum Security

Schneider Electric

Siemens

Tyco

United Technologies

Browse Related Reports:

Global Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing Market 2017-2021

Global Proximity Sensor Market 2017-2021

Global CMOS Image Sensor Market 2017-2021

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005725/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

www.technavio.com
A large panel of key opinion leaders presented the competitiveness of molecular combing in the fields of DNA replication and gene editing

The Company reiterated the presentation of research conducted with, and published by, Editas Medicine on the use of molecular combing to assess DNA integrity after CRISPR/Cas9 editing

Regulatory News:

Genomic Vision (Paris:GV) (Euronext: FR0011799907 GV), a company specialized in the development of diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancers and genetic diseases, today reports of its second R&D Day which took place on October 16 in Paris and was attended by clients, investors, analysts and journalists. This second edition was aimed at presenting a global overview of the life science research (LSR) activities of the Company.

In his introduction speech, Aaron Bensimon, Co-founder and CEO of Genomic Vision, highlighted the interest for molecular combing in the markets of DNA replication and gene editing. "Our entry on the LSR market, which began in mid-2016 through targeting both DNA replication and gene editing, was an addition to our historical activity in the IVD. Today, we are very proud of the results already obtained for example with the technological collaboration with AstraZeneca in the research for new oncology treatments. More widely, our technology seems particularly successful and appreciated by the scientific community to study DNA damages and repairs in the field of cancer. This is both true in the field of DNA replication as well as in gene editing."

Prof. Antonella Russo of the University of Padova (Italy) and Prof. Alex Bishop of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio presented their use of molecular combing in the field of DNA replication and the importance of its analysis: "Combing constitutes a very promising tool for the development of new personalized therapies as this technology offers useful data from the study of a single DNA molecule. This characteristic allows us to better identify and understand the origin of DNA replication, its multiplication and its speed of replication", summarized Prof. Russo and Prof. Bishop.

Subsequently, Lucia Cinque, Head of Product Innovation at Genomic Vision and Naranayan Gopalan, VP Disruptive Biologics at Voisin Consulting Life Sciences, have presented the key role played by combing in gene editing. Lucia Cinque presented the research conducted jointly with Editas Medicine. "Our research, initiated a year ago, has been presented last July during the 3rd CSHL Conference in New York. The analysis using combing technology, which enables high sensitivity and no bias, showed to be key in the profiling of genetic modifications induced by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. By associating molecular combing with the reference technologies in this field, such as the NGS, it has been possible to detect rare events and reach levels of characterization close to 100%", declared Lucia Cinque.

Naranayan Gopalan explained the specific and strict regulatory context which will be compulsory for gene editing tools in human therapy: "The necessity of a quality control tool is indisputable to respond to the regulatory challenges. This tool should allow to assess all the effects in a precise, reliable, complete and reproducible manner. The simple clinical examination of the treatment's benefits will probably not be sufficient for the Health Authorities; they should probably enforce a follow-up in the long term of the possible effects on DNA."

This second edition of the R&D day ended with a round table including all speakers as well as Mr. Anderson Wang, Senior scientist at AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK).

The conference video will be available on the Genomic Vision website soon.

ABOUT GENOMIC VISION

GENOMIC VISION is a company specialized in the development of diagnostic solutions for the early detection of cancers and serious genetic diseases and tools for life sciences research. Through the DNA Molecular Combing, a strong proprietary technology allowing to identify genetic abnormalities, GENOMIC VISION stimulates the R&D productivity of the pharmaceutical companies, the leaders of the diagnostic industry and the research labs.

The Company develops a robust portfolio of diagnostic tests (breast, ovarian and colorectal cancers, myopathies) and analysis tools (DNA replication, biomarkers discovery, gene editing quality control). Based near Paris, in Bagneux, the Company has approximately 60 employees. GENOMIC VISION is a public listed company listed in compartment C of Euronext's regulated market in Paris (Euronext: GV ISIN: FR0011799907). For further information, please visit www.genomicvision.com

Member of CAC Mid Small and CAC All-Tradable indexes

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT

This press release contains implicitly or explicitly certain forward-looking statements concerning Genomic Vision and its business.

Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Genomic Vision considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the "Risk Factors" section in its Document de Reference filed with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) on March 28, 2017, under number R.17-009, available on the web site of Genomic Vision (www.genomicvision.com) and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Genomic Vision operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Genomic Vision or not currently considered material by Genomic Vision. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Genomic Vision to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.

This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute and should not be construed as an offer or an invitation to sell or subscribe, or the solicitation of any order or invitation to purchase or subscribe for Genomic Vision shares in any country. The distribution of this press release in certain countries may be a breach of applicable laws. The persons in possession of this press release must inquire about any local restrictions and comply with these restrictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006371/en/

Contacts:

Genomic Vision

Aaron Bensimon

Co-founder, Chairman CEO

Tel.: +33 1 49 08 07 50

investisseurs@genomicvision.com

or

Ulysse Communication

Press Relations

Bruno Arabian

Tel.: +33 1 81 70 96 30

barabian@ulysse-communication.com

or

NewCap

Investor Relations

Dusan Oresansky Emmanuel Huynh

Tel.: +33 1 44 71 94 92

gv@newcap.eu
Regulatory News:

International Flavors Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) (Euronext Paris:IFF), a leading innovator of sensory experiences that move the world, launched their Re-Imagine programs to accelerate innovation and increase agility to capture unmet opportunities in the changing food and beverage market. Based on a combination of future trends analysis, consumer insights, and a modernized cross-category development process, the programs guide the Company's research and development efforts to ensure an innovation pipeline that addresses evolving consumer needs and desires.

"The Re-Imagine programs area tangible expression of our commitment to advance taste for our customers and consumers," said IFF Chairman and CEO Andreas Fibig. "It is another way in which we show how we are dedicated to being our customers' partner of choice as we progress on our business strategy, imbue sustainable thinking throughout the creation process, and continue to strengthen our industry-leading innovation platforms."

"The programs were developed to outpace rapidly changing dynamics and anticipate market shifts that were unimaginable just a few years ago," said Matthias Haeni, IFF Group President, Flavors. "Our customers aren't looking for just a better strawberry. They are looking for answers to questions beyond traditional flavor, requiring a hands-on, artisanal approach to making their iconic tastes come to life. We are essentially rethinking the traditional end-use approach of our industry to design technologies with the versatility to deliver differentiation across multiple categories and applications. This demonstrates IFF's commitment to making bigger and bolder bets on where the market is heading."

The programs focus on six key areas, including culinary, citrus, delivery systems, naturals, modulation and protein and were selected based on market potential, customer input, expert industry collaboration and versatility across end-use categories. They consider a rapidly changing world from the expectations of sophisticated consumers too busy to cook for themselves; to the realities of a warming climate and its impact on key crops and ingredients; to an increased awareness of our role in the health of the planet.

Mr. Haeni continued, "Our expansive innovation platform required an innovative approach to taste creation. To address this, our bespoke IFF Taste Design is a combination of artisanal, handcrafted techniques and proprietary technologies that drive consumer preference and market differentiation. We believe that both our Re-Imagine programs and our IFF Taste Design approach will provide our customers with winning tastes and further establish us as their essential partner." More information on the Re-Imagine programs can be found on the Company's website.

Meet IFF

International Flavors Fragrances Inc. (NYSE:IFF) (Euronext Paris: IFF) is a leading innovator of sensorial experiences that move the world. At the heart of our company, we are fueled by a sense of discovery, constantly asking "what if?". That passion for exploration drives us to co-create unique products that consumers taste, smell, or feel in fine fragrances and beauty, detergents and household goods, as well as beloved foods and beverages. Our 7,400 team members globally take advantage of leading consumer insights, research and development, creative expertise, and customer intimacy to develop differentiated offerings for consumer products. Learn more at www.iff.com, Twitter , Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006496/en/

Contacts:

International Flavors Fragrances Inc.

Michael DeVeau, 212-708-7164

VP, Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations Communications

Michael.DeVeau@iff.com
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2017 / Minfocus Exploration Corp. (TSX-V: MFX) ("Minfocus" or the "Company") announces that field work is continuing at its two zinc properties in British Columbia. At the Coral Zinc Project, the airborne LiDAR survey was completed and at the Peregrine Zinc Project, a further field program is planned before the end of October.

Peregrine Zinc Project - Further Field Program Planned for October

The Peregrine Zinc property in southeastern British Columbia was the focus of prospecting and a soil geochemical survey by Minfocus in July 2017. During that work program the Minfocus' exploration team relocated a historic showing and collected several grab samples from the zinc mineralized exposures in the blasted area with results as shown below:





They also located an historic, partially buried, adit surrounded by very rusty dolostone. A sample of the sludge accumulated at the entrance to the adit yielded almost 1% zinc (9,420 ppm Zn) and 0.2% lead (1,970 ppm Pb). A water sample collected from the adit also yielded a very high zinc value of 323 micrograms per litre. The team also soil sampled an area of 1,000 x 700 metres along the strike of the potential host carbonate mineralization and identified a strong soil anomaly along 650 metres of the favorable horizon. The highest zinc soil geochemical values were over 3,000 parts per million ("ppm") and were supported by a coincident lead anomaly. This anomaly is open to the west, towards the old adit.

Minfocus will undertake further fieldwork later this month, including further soil sampling and prospecting of the area identified from the open-ended soil anomaly.

Coral Zinc Project - LiDAR Airborne Survey

The Company has been advised by the contractor that it has completed the 16 km2 LiDAR airborne survey over the portions of the Coral Zinc property where a large geochemical anomaly is located. The data is being processed by the contractor to provide images and a report on the survey. The LiDAR survey is expected to assist in identifying surface expressions of collapsed or karst structures in the areas with thick tree cover. These topographic collapse features may reflect the location of enriched zinc and lead mineralization associated with Mississippi Valley Type ("MVT") zinc mineralization.

Historic core drilling and trenching on the property has intersected mineralized breccias containing values of up to 7.8% zinc and up to 3.8% lead and a very large (600m x 300m) historic zinc soil geochemical anomaly exists with up to 6680 ppm zinc (15-50 times background zinc levels) adjacent to outcropping zinc mineralized brecciated dolostone. The mineralization at CORAL has similarities to MVT deposits such as the Pine Point Mine in NWT, Canada.

Analyses were all undertaken by Activation Laboratories Ltd. For more information on the Peregrine or Coral Zinc properties, the reader should visit the Company website at www.minfocus.com.

Private Placement Closed

The Company has closed and received TSX-V Final Acceptance for the private placement announced on June 1st, 2017 for a total of 3,100,000 units and proceeds of $77,500. This amount comprised subscriptions for $37,500 from a total of 1,500,000 non-flow-through units ("NFT Units"), each comprising a share and a share purchase warrant exercisable for 3 years at $0.05/share and subscriptions for $40,000 from 1,600,000 flow-through units ("FT Units") each comprising a share and a share purchase warrant exercisable for 2 years at $0.05/share. All securities issued under the private placement are subject to a hold period for 4 months plus a day which expires on October 31, 2017.

An Insider, Gerald Harper, who is a current Control Person, subscribed for 1,000,000 FT Units representing $25,000 of the proceeds. A finder's fee of $3,800 was paid on a portion of the subscriptions and 32,000 finder's warrants were issued at an exercise price of $0.025 per share, which are exercisable until expiry on June 30, 2019.

About Minfocus Exploration Corp.

Minfocus Exploration Corp. is a Canadian company currently advancing a portfolio of base metal projects including zinc and nickel projects in British Columbia and a Platinum Group Element ("PGE") rich nickel project in N.W. Ontario. Minfocus has a successful management group with a record of multiple discoveries of deposits worldwide, including gold and uranium deposits in Mongolia and PGE-rich resources in Ontario, including the discovery of the first Platinum-rich Pt-Pd-Cu-Ni deposit in the Midcontinent Rift, the Current Lake deposit (+700,000 oz. Pt-Eq).

For further information, please contact:

Gerald Harper

President & Chief Executive Officer

Phone: (416) 232-0025

The Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content contained in this release is Dr. Gerald Harper, P.Geo.(Ont), a director of Minfocus.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of the Company's business and operations as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs, and intentions. Forward-looking statements are often identifiable by the use of words such as "may," "will," "might," "would," "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "scheduled," "forecasts" and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those currently anticipated by such statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, fluctuating commodity prices, delays in commencing the Company's proposed drilling program, exploration costs varying significantly from estimates, the availability of financing, and other risks identified in the Company's documents filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only of the date on which it is made, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE: Minfocus Exploration Corp.
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - October 18, 2017) - Primero Mining Corp. ("Primero" or the "Company") (TSX: P) announced today that it plans to release its third quarter 2017 operating and financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. A conference call will also be held on the same day at 10:00 am ET to discuss third quarter operating and financial results.

Participants may join the call by dialing North America toll free 1-800-806-5484 or 416-406-0743 for calls outside Canada and the U.S., and entering the participant passcode 2270288.

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at www.primeromining.com under the News and Events section or by clicking here: http://www.gowebcasting.com/8985.

A recorded playback of the third quarter 2017 results call will be available until March 31, 2018 by dialing 1-800-408-3053 or 905-694-9451 and entering the call back passcode 7425939.

About Primero

Primero Mining Corp. is a Canadian-based precious metals producer that owns 100% of the San Dimas gold-silver mine and the Cerro del Gallo gold-silver-copper development project in Mexico.

Primero's website is www.primeromining.com.

For further information, please contact:

Evan Young

Director, Investor Relations

Tel: (416) 814-2694

eyoung@primeromining.com


        

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The Farmington R-7 Board of Education met in regular session on Tuesday evening to recognize a student, a community leader and to discuss the districts student achievement reports.

During the meeting, the board heard from the principals at Jefferson Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Washington-Franklin Elementary, Farmington Middle School and Farmington High School about each individual schools Student Achievement Report.

Overall, when you look at each report, we did a fantastic job across the board as far as student achievement, said Superintendent Matt Ruble. You look at each report and you want to congratulate the staff and the administrators. The scores are important to the district, but it also shows the hard work and dedication our staff, and our parents. They are always willing to support our kids and give them the help they need.

Although there are several areas the district is pleased with, individually, the principals in the district are equally as proud of some of the information the report highlights.

At the high school level, Dr. Nathan Hostetler, the schools principal, told the board he was very pleased with the schools 94 percent graduation rate and the 95 percent career placement rate of his students.

In the area that fell below standard, particularly math and science, the district would like to figure out a way to boost those scores.

When you look at reports like these, there is always some area you wished you moved up in, Ruble said. We just need to remain focus and keep looking forward and look into the areas we need to improve.

According to Ruble and most of the principals, the district will be focusing on math and science.

In other business, the board recognized SukYi Scott for being named the American Legion Missouri "JROTC Cadet of the Year."

Although the "Cadet of the Year" award is prestigious in its own right, what is even more special about Scotts award is this is the first time any cadet from Farmington High School won such an award.

SukYi is our first cadet to ever win this award, said Senior Master Sgt. Earnest Heflin, Aerospace Science instructor and AFJROTC adviser. In fact, this may be the first time we have had a cadet from St. Francois County, and I am looking at even Army units around us, like Fredericktown and Poplar Bluff, (who are eligible to) win this award.

The board also recognized Pat King as the high schools Heartland Hero award. According to Hostetler, during the nomination meeting, there really wasnt a better choice than King.

During his presentation, Hostetler spoke of how King helped revive the School Key Club in 2010 after years of the school not having one. He also added how King was instrumental in getting the White-Out Game and the Pink-Out Game last year.

In addition he spoke of how King not only talks to students about leadership, he demonstrates in his own personal life. For example, it is not uncommon to see King stand alongside kids distributing food to those in need at the Methodist church.

As he accepted the award, King told the board he did not act alone in any of his endeavors. The newest Heartland Hero told the board it was the Key Club's staff and students who actually do all the work.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Nov. 21 at the district's administration building at 1022 Ste. Genevieve Ave. The meeting is open to the public.
Bolt Mobility, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based maker of electric scooters, raised over 3m on equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs.

The campaign attracted over 2,000 investors from the UK and the Netherlands. While the majority of the campaigns investors were UK based, investors from the Netherlands invested more per person on average.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate production to bring its AppScooter to market in 2018.

Founded in 2014 by Marijn Flipse and Bart Jacobsz Rosier, Bolt Mobility is developing AppScooter, an internet-enabled electric scooter, which customers can fully customize with options including: color, motor and battery size, alloys, rims and other extras, including a windscreen.

AppScooter offers the potential to store six battery modules, meaning the scooter can travel as far as 245 miles (400km) on a single charge, is capable of going from 0 to over 25 miles per hour (45km/h) in 3.3 seconds, has a seven inch touchscreen with a 4G internet connection, powered by Vodafone.

FinSMEs

18/10/2017
Galvanize, a Denver, CO-based learning community for technology that offers education skilling programs in key technical disciplines and entrepreneur-focused workspaces, raised $7m in funding.

Backers included existing investors ABS Capital Partners and University Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its consumer and enterprise focused-technology education and training programs.

Led by Lawrence Mandes, President and Co-Founder, Galvanize provides software development, data science and machine learning programs to directly address the increasing skills needs for developing tech talent in the global economy. Its proprietary, tech-enabled learn platform provides a blended-learning environment (in-person and online) that combines scalable program delivery with dynamic assessments for mastery tracking of technical competencies.

In the past year, the company has worked with Fortune 500 companies, including McKesson, Amazon, IBM and Allstate, on technology workforce development and training programs.

FinSMEs

18/10/2017
Mumbai: Kerala-based Muthoot Microfin, a subsidiary of the gold loan player Muthoot Fincorp, is planning an IPO in 2019.

The company said the IPO will to support expansion of our microfinance business we are preparing ourselves for an IPO. As of today we are the fourth largest MFI.

As part of the IPO, the MFI is also planning to divest some equity to a PE player and plans to raise USD50 million, the company said, adding last December it had raised $20 million from the Chicago-based PE firm Creation Investment.

So far in FY18, the MFI has already raised Rs1,058 crore of funding, which includes Rs 75 crore of listed NCDs, Rs 398 crore of term loans from banks, and Rs 585 crore of direct assignment of priority sector portfolio with various banks
The economy isnt in great shape, and the governments economic management team is coming under fire and asked for solutions. In this exclusive interview NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar talks about the state of the economy, the way forward and how NITI will drive change. Excerpts:

Economic data over the past week appears to confirm your view that the slowdown was cyclical and has bottomed out. But if the earlier gloomy numbers were supposed to be transitory, why are you so sure these positive numbers will also not be transitory?

One reason is that the external environment is turning positive. There is a synchronised recovery, seemingly, in the United States, Europe and Japan. Thats always been beneficial for us  were that boat that gets lifted by the tide. Thats also being reflected in our export numbers. Exports had tanked badly, but for 14-15 months have increased. Anaemically, but nonetheless, and last month the growth was 25 percent.

Third, there are some sectors like logistics, which are emerging out of the GST pain. There is a post-GST effervescence in some sectors like the trucking industry. This is getting reflected in a very leading indicator  sale of heavy commercial vehicles rising, rentals moving up. Rentals dont firm up until transport activity picks up. Similarly, I believe freight numbers are improving. Those are some of the signs that tell me that this recovery is for real.

Yet recovery needs to be nurtured and made more pervasive. This is best done by taking care of sectors, especially those that are suffering from GST and demonetisation. Real estate is a prime example. So do something about it. And two, give a push to your labour intensive sectors  exports, tourism apart from construction.

In the debate over a stimulus, you have always  and rightly  held that the focus should be on revenue deficit. But over 70 percent of revenue expenditure is committed, where is the scope for reduction?

There are two sides of revenue deficit  receipts and expenditure. On both sides there is significant scope for improvement.

One of the best ways is, which is already beginning to happen, to transfer subsidies through DBT [direct benefit transfer], plugging all kinds of leakages. Im told nearly Rs 2 lakh crore of funds are now done through DBT. Thats a huge number. You can do more and more of it.

Chandigarh has done away with public distribution system for food, money is deposited in housewifes bank account. Why cant this be scaled up? The BJP states should be encouraged to do so; there is no harm to any beneficiary.

Two, in NITI Aayog we are now monitoring very closely how the money gets spent. That again can help. If the size of the government doesnt increase, then the revenue deficit will go down. There is one area where expenditure will increase  some very critical parts of the government are undermanned; they need to be better manned  police, teachers, doctors. That one can take care of.

Then there is a huge increase in the tax base, both direct and indirect. Fifty-six lakh new direct tax payers added is no mean achievement. And then GST. It is riling a lot of people but it is a fact that several sectors which were outside the tax net will come in now.

And the last bit  if you do manage to raise enough resources through disinvestment etc could you think of retiring higher cost debt and replacing it with lower cost debt? Why isnt there a debt management office in the government yet?

So, use disinvestment proceeds to bring down the interest burden?

Or do debt management. Borrow new, retire old. Thats the way to do it. There is a treasury management function in the government which, at the moment, I am afraid, is not being done. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for some reason wont let it go. There was a budget announcement that [a public debt management agency] will be set up in the finance ministry. That should be done.

Demonetisation and GST have hit the informal sector hard. While formalisation is desirable, can this be done in a less painful way?

Of course. GST has created a big churn, impacted people who for generations have never been in the tax net. So, in this situation, your tax department has to come out as a vyapari mitra rather than as a vyapari catcher. There is a handholding operation that is required, to assure them that, look, there is no issue at all in terms of retrospective action, and the government is committed to it.

What is the big fear out there? It is not that I will be paying tax tomorrow. It is that God, if I get this then what will happen to my past actions? So that assurance just must be given with as much credibility as possible. And perhaps the credibility may start by your now closing all the retrospective tax suits that youve got, rather than keep them hanging as you have done. Why should we not do that?

So the broader level issue is about the behaviour of the tax department vis-a-vis the client, both direct and indirect. And this has been an issue that has been there for a very long time. Why shouldnt a government which is business-friendly make this change?

Demonetisation has drained the swamp in terms of existing stock of black money. But is enough being done to stop generation of fresh stock? There is still a lot of bureaucracy people have to deal with . . . .

I dont agree with that. All the big ticket items have gone. In terms of value, in share of the swamp this was the big one. The other issue is that of rent-seeking at the lower level. There too the government has taken a very large number of steps which have made the government more transparent.

Some areas are left. But one cannot say, by any stretch of imagination, one, that the situation is as it was, or, two that the situation is not improving but getting back to the old bad ways. No it cannot. There are structural measures that have been taken which are, in some sense, putting a ratchet under the rent-seeking economy. So you are moving, you are undoubtedly moving, towards a cleaner, more transparent and more efficient form of government.

India is at this inflection point. When we succeed, we will get a growth which is completely different in quality. Yes, that fizz would have gone  that extra 1 or 2 percent of GDP from the black economy - but we didnt need that, we dont need that because that creates a whole immoral system of values which nobody likes.

Three years on, there is lack of clarity on what NITI is  is it a Planning Commission without teeth? Could you spell out what role NITI will play in economic management?

I dont think there is confusion.

I have said NITI is going to be an action tank. What I mean by that is you suggest measures to address the often well-known pain points in getting the economy moving or new pain points that you identify. Therefore you focus on the how, rather than the what. Having done that, you follow up and monitor the progress made there. And in that monitoring you also create, hopefully, inter-state competition which will help everybody move along.

One of the things NITI is doing is to develop very comprehensive indices, like a composite water index, health sector index, education index. You rank states on that. As a result NITI becomes an instrument for getting competitive federalism that will yield the democratic dividend. That is a very major part of it.

As a think tank, it is the institution in the government which is like a funnel with its mouth open towards all the domain experts and then it filters and crystallises their inputs. The last four weeks have been spent on this by all my verticals. It was an outreach to identify all the pain points etc. And then I had seven NITI Aayog level meetings with scientists and think tanks, farmers, labourers, CEOs of manufacturing companies.

So you dont feel constrained by the lack of power over allocations that the Planning Commission used to have?

Not at all. In fact, weve been liberated from that. Because, unfortunately, the Planning Commission had become so focussed on just that one thing. It had become a durbar that doled out funds.

But where we could be the real change-driving agent  weve got a new department called Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), which replaces the project appraisal office [the project appraisal division of the erstwhile Planning Commission] and the independent evaluation office [set up by the previous government which was disbanded]. We are trying to develop dashboards for all centrally sponsored schemes and central sector schemes, which are based only on an outcome performance monitoring framework. They are focused on critical variables to be analysed on the basis of real-time data. If we have project monitoring units in every district - to begin with, in 150 backward districts - and get our information directly from there, this can be a complete game-changer.

And thats what NITI is all about. It is totally different and far superior to anything we have had in the past 70 years.

Employment is a big pain point. What kind of strategy will NITI be advocating?

I personally think you should replace capital-related subsidies with employment-related subsidies. For example in textiles, there is a package  the government has said it will pay the provident fund and employees state insurance share of employees to all units employing more than 300. Why not extend it to all exporting sectors? Why not expand the scope of the Apprentices Act?

Agriculture is another area that needs a lot of attention. Youve been talking about a Mother Dairy model and doing some pilot projects. . .

Basically to de-risk the farmer by aggregating the land in a pool, which can now be possible because of the model land leasing act that the NITI has produced and which some states have adopted. So the farmer is confident that he will not be alienated from the land and can be an equity holder like a private company and can also be employed there.

The issue in agriculture is size of landholding that makes all technological progress out of the question. So you crack that through this, which is what Mother Dairy did. Once you do this, then you get an agent who is running this - farmers producers organisations (FPOs) could be doing this. If you do that, suddenly you open up agriculture to all possible technological advances.

These are the pilot projects?

I am trying to start them. Hopefully within the next six months 10 will be off the ground.

States have not been too responsive on the agricultural marketing reforms. Will they come on board on this?

I think there has not been enough push from below for the states to adopt that but when this model comes along, there will be a major push. Basically the farmers in the states are not organised enough to do this, not aware enough. Once they begin asking, then states will also agree.
Don't get us wrong, we're all for free speech but whenever self-proclaimed film critic Kamaal Rashid Khan speaks out, we squirm in our seats.

(In)Famous for his 'reviews' and social media misconduct, the Deshdrohi director, actor and producer took to Twitter to bash Aamir Khan's upcoming Diwali release Secret Superstar.

According to ibtimes.com, KRK 'reviewed' the film on Twitter, accusing Aamir of furthering the idea of mothers loving their children more than the fathers. In his tweets, he has reportedly revealed the climax of the coming-of-age film, too.

Brace yourself for a wave of idiocy is coming your way.

Climax of #SecretSuperstar is this that Father goes to Dubai to stay alone while Mother Daughter stay in India n Daughter becomes super star  KRK (@kamaalrkhan) October 17, 2017

If you @aamir_khan want to prove, that me n billions of good fathers like me dont love their children, then put ur film in ur ass n enjoy.  KRK (@kamaalrkhan) October 17, 2017

Mr @aamir_khan if u r not a good father or ur father was not a good father whom u never respected then dont say dat we dont love children.  KRK (@kamaalrkhan) October 17, 2017

Why does he think Aamir Khan sat down one day in his Bandra apartment and decided to fund a feature film, just to irk Kamaal Rashid Khan? Does he think Secret Superstar is his biopic? WAIT, does he think HE is the Secret Superstar? No..? Well, you can't rule that out...you know, given KRK's narcissistic tendencies.

Although he could've said the same thing in a single tweet, being the loudmouth he is, he sent out multiple. Even if we keep his Twitter records aside, which by the way are a repository of daily sexism, racism, and classism, and try to decode his argument, we're only left with cold cynicism about him.

Bonus: A video of KRK's acting/direction/production/everything genius:
In a brazen attack, a group of 100 people destroyed artist Karan Ks rangoli depicting Sanjay Leela Bhansalis next film, Padmavati in Surat.

Shouting slogans of Jai Shree Ram, the group took out their outrage upon a beautiful and intricate work that has taken 48 hours to be created, destroying it in a matter of minutes. The work was inspired by the images of the poster of the film.

The film has been under constant attack from right wing groups, triggered by rumours of a love scene between Rani Padmini and Sultan Allaudin Khilji. Shri Rajput Karni Sena physically assaulted the director during the shooting in Rajasthan. Subsequently, the elaborate set of the film was set ablaze by unidentified miscreants in Kolhapur.

The latest incident in Surat has prompted the distraught artist Karan to post the distressing images of his work before and after the act of vandalism on Twitter with the caption, #padmavati Rangoli controversy! A crowd of 100 people cried JAY SRI RAM [and] rubbed out my 48 [hours of] intense work! @deepikapadukone @FilmPadmavati.

#padmavati Rangoli controversy!

Acrowd of 100people cried JAY SRI RAM n rubbed out my 48 hrs' intense work! @deepikapadukone@FilmPadmavati pic.twitter.com/dKazu52UsE  KARAN K. (@KARANK19522136) October 15, 2017

Deepika Padukone reacted to this news, by tweeting to Smriti Irani about the incident.

absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!disgusting and appalling to say the least! pic.twitter.com/Ot2Aki0MiA  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

Who are these people?Who is responsible for their actions?For how long are we going to let this go on? pic.twitter.com/2WFN0jcdua  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!? pic.twitter.com/jlR5p3seds  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

this has to stop NOW & action must be taken! @smritiirani pic.twitter.com/o5RGhDTHPJ  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) October 18, 2017

Starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, the film is co-produced by Viacom 18 Pictures and Bhansali Productions. It is slated to release on 1 December.

(Also read  Padmavati: Sanjay Leela Bhansali says 'Deepika Padukone's character inspired by Vyjayanthimala in Amrapali)
(Editor's note: For the next week, we will be publishing a fly-on-the-wall account of all that happens in Mumbai through the 19th Jio MAMI Film Festival. This daily diary will scope film and events to watch out for, as well as anecdotes and conversations through the festival.)

After a week of braving crowds and the construction work outside PVR Icon, I have decided on watching films at the most peaceful venue in this film festival. Right next to Chandan Cinema in Juhu, PVR Premiere has to be the quietest and the most tucked away theatre this side of the suburbs.

My choice of film was no less special  Julian Rosefeldt's Manifesto. The film is a rare one, if at all one can call it a film. It resembles an art and video installation more, and the narrative moves smoothly whilst following all the patterns of anti-narrative. But at the end of it, Manifesto leaves you with a stunning experience, making it a unique ride into the world of political and artistic manifestos, except it is nothing you would imagine.

The opening of the film announces its radically bold typeface, which screams the names of the movements and auteurs till it reaches and stays at the title of the film. The next visual is an aerial survey of a landscape of debris which signals the context  a rethinking of art forms as we know them. The lines end, and the scene changes completely, almost stunning you with its stark shift into a never-ending hall without a ceiling or boundaries where computers and the rise and fall of stock symbol signs rule. By now you know you are in for a ride. The film is a radical re-imagining of the film form too.

It has Cate Blanchett in 13 roles, or rather 13 characters, and each look and tone is as distinct as the next. One cannot picture any other actor except Blanchett, with her practiced theatre voice and style, carrying off this solo enterprise. The film originated as an art installation where 13 channels play out 13 scenarios, complete with the reading of the manifesto by Blanchett. For example, Dadaism is read in a funereal setting, and the words and the actions jeopardise any easy interpretations. The pop art manifesto is read by Blanchett in the form of a meal time prayer. This time, she is a housewife and her middle class family is about to sit down for a meal. There is an ironic sequence of a newspaper and a weather reporter performing the manifesto of Conceptual art; this section, with its rain machine and make-believe aspects, has a self-reflexive humour to it as well. The last piece is about film manifestos. Blanchett is a teacher in a primary school who writes Nothing is Original and talks of the rules of dogma, while the young kids continue with their class.

The end credits give an entire list of sequences and the manifestos that were featured, its design grand and its enterprise impressive for a viewer who is not looking for a plot-based experience. A fair number of people attended the screening, and the post-film conversation I struck up was interesting as well. Chirag Thakkar, an editor with Oxford Press was visiting his family from Delhi and seemed delighted with the film. So was Yashowardhan Mishra, whose short was playing at the festival. For an art installation/film like this, it was fascinating to see everyone guessing the right manifesto against the sequence where it was read out. The film ended in the evening, when the lights of Diwali were colouring the city in yellow, shimmering spots. The film festival was coming to an end just as Diwali was shining brightly at the doorstep.
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan has finally responded to all the backlash that was targeted at her after pictures of her smoking with Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor went viral. After maintaining silence during the entire controversy, Khan has now finally spoken up.

In a recent interview with somethinghaute.com, the Pakistani star talks about how the entire episode, in retrospect, had left her emotionally shattered. Khan explains, "I'd be lying if I said that I decided right off the bat that I wouldnt respond to this controversy. And Im a very strong woman but when all of this happened, I was completely shattered and broken. I would think about posting a statement every day. Then I would stop myself because I just wouldnt know what to say."

She adds, "I am a role model but Im not the perfect role model. I am human, I make mistakes. And I was really happy to see that there were so many people who stood up for me. It goes to show that the narrative in Pakistan is changing, and if nothing else, Im happy to have been part of that narrative."

During the trailer launch of her upcoming film Verna last month, Khan was asked about her reactions to the entire episode. Speaking about it, she said, "It is my personal life and it is very normal for a boy and girl to hang out. Nowadays, (the) media is not only present at events but everywhere. So, I have learnt from it (the incident)," reports Hindustan Times.

Mahira was also asked to react on how her smoking in the public attracted a lot of trolling. While she doesn't feature in films that show her smoking, her pictures did not go well with the haters online. Responding to that, she said, "I am a very careful person otherwise. People ask me that I do not do this in films, I say I do not want to. Why should I do anything to show the world?" adds the Hindustan Times report.
A day before Diwali, the much awaited Vijay-starrer Mersal has released, and it's sure to please the audiences trooping into theatres over the festival holiday. We'll say this right off  Mersal has all the essential ingredients to make not just hardcore Vijay audiences happy, but also the family crowd.

This is due in large part to how director Atlee and co-writer Vijendra Prasad have woven the story and packaging of Mersal around Vijays larger-than-life image. The star plays a triple role in his latest cinematic outing, and is part of pretty much every scene in the 2 hour 50 minute film. The actresses  Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen  are mostly just present as props, and to feature in the song sequences with Vijay, and also Sathyaraj (who plays a police officer) and comedian Vadivelu. SJ Suryah is the caricaturish loud villain  right down to the leering smile  similar to the roles played by MN Nambiar in yesteryear MGR films.

Mersal's story is old as the hills. There are three Vijays: Thalapathy, a village chieftain; Dr Maaran (a doctor); and Vettri, a magician. class magician. Thalapathy is conned by a cunning, business-minded Dr Daniel (SJ Suryah), who works at the hospital the former has set up along with the villagers. Thalapathy and his wife (Nithya Menen) are brutally murdered and his two children are separated. They grow up to be Maaran, a renowned doctor who treats his patients pro bono and hopes to weed out the corruption in medicine, and Vettri, a magician fond of taking risks, bent on avenging his parents' deaths. Along the way, the brothers meet and take on their common enemy.

The basic premise of two brothers unaware of each other's identities and then taking on their parents' killers wasa staple of several films in the '70s and '80s. Here, director Atlee seems to be influenced by Kamal Haasans Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989) and a host of other films, including Vijaykanths AR Murgadoss-directed Ramanaa (2002). But what makes Mersal a watchable entertainer is his rich packaging and showcasing of Vijays hero avatar in a triple role. Atlees earlier film with Vijay  Theri  worked due to the heavy dose of drama and emotion, laced with action, that it offered viewers. Once again, there is an emotional chord in the flashback scenes involving the parents (Thalapathy and his wife). And the depiction of how hospitals in rural areas flourish in the business of converting what should be normal deliveries into Caesarean operations resonates, to say the least.

Among the three actresses, it is Nithya Menen who makes an impression with her competent performance. The camera of debutant GK Vishnu infuses every frame with a certain richness. AR Rahmans music is hummable, as is the background score. 'Aalaporaan Tamizhan' with its folk-influenced sound is the pick of the lot. However, the song placement seems jarring. With a runtime just 10 minutes shy of three full hours, Mersal is too long a film. The first half especially can seem stretched. Incidentally, most of the scenes involving animals and birds that the Animal Welfare Board had objected to, have been removed.

Vijay holds the film together and is riveting in each of the three roles, especially as Thalapathy. He is as at east doing comedy as he is in the action sequences. Mersal does have subtle political messaging, in keeping with its superstar's ambitions. For instance, Tamil language and culture is glorified (the dialogue, "Tamil is the mother of all languages" is a case in point). In another scene, at Paris airport, he attributes being strip searched/questioned by immigration authorities to his dark skin and the veshti he sports. Another scene has him telling people who take freebies from the government to ask for medical care and medicines instead of colour television sets and mixer-grinders!

On the whole Mersal is an entertainer, which keeps you engrossed. Like the concept of full meals, it has something in it for viewers with varied tastes.
The 19th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is finally here, and with it comes an unending list of critically acclaimed Indian and international films to watch. Some of these are submissions for the Oscars, while others are hitherto untold, hyperlocal stories. Firstpost will review the most promising of these films.

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The year is 1967. The setting: a packed open-air auditorium filled with a sea of people sitting on metal chairs for as far as the eye can see. The Monterey sky is a dull grey. All eyes are directed towards the stage, the audience seems unable to believe what they're witnessing. On the dais sit two kurta-clad men and a woman wearing a sari. They sit comfortably cross-legged, with a sitar, tabla and tanpura each. The man with the sitar is calm, yet the music he produces induces jaw-dropping moments. He exchanges a knowing glance now and again with the man on the tabla. An invisible energy binds the audience as the man on the sitar shakes his head to push back the black curls shrouding his eyes. He plays the sitar in a genteel yet ferocious manner, his fingers strumming with unimaginable speed, matched with confidence by the tabla and tanpura accompanying him, so much that at one point his hands become a blur, skin peeling around his fingernails, or so it seems.

The performance reaches a crescendo and climaxes. In one swift motion, the audience gets on its feet, the thunder of acclaim reverberating through the open space as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Alla Rakha and Kamala Chakravarty stand, soaking up the applause at a rock concert in California at the wild Monterey International Pop Music Festival.

Its been 50 years since, and one can revisit and relive these moments only because DA Pennebaker was there to capture these instances and other iconic artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, and bands like The Who, Animals and others in one of the first and most famous concert films  Monterey Pop.

The rock n roll music festival was the first of its kind and took place at the peak of the counter-culture hippie movement over a period of three days. Colourful headbands, ankle-length dresses, open shoes were de riguer. The documentary was released again this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the festival following a special restoration which saw heavy sound editing and colour correction.

Pennebaker and his team of six cameramen spread throughout the three-day extravaganza with an aim to bring the musicians and their music closer to the people. Monterey Pop is a string of iconic performances  occasionally interspersed with shots of people sleeping on the ground before getting up and moving to the next venue.

The film salutes both the artist and audience that was there to witness the event. Most of the performances have extreme close-ups of the artists face, their body, their feet, thier hands strumming the guitar or holding the microphone. Pennebaker ensured we noticed the contours of Janis Joplin or Otis Reddings face. The way Joplins body shook and her leg jerked of its own accord when she sang her breakout performance 'Ball and Chain', showed she was possessed with a streak of brilliance. The way Otis Redding opened his mouth and sustained the notes while crooning 'Ive Been Loving You Too Long' and his eyes glistened all the way through reflected his pain and passion. In one of the shots, we can see Reddings back against the spotlight, giving the impression of a god-like moment flashing on screen.

And, of course, there is the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Noise becomes music or perhaps, better put, Hendrix made music out of noise. His rendition of 'Wild Thing' was quite synonymous with his actions where he appeared to make love with the guitar before taking it off, laying it on the ground and setting it on fire; a sacrificial ritual for the gods. Monterey Pop captured the audience's shock perfectly. Interestingly, it was this moment that cost Pennebaker the broadcast deal with ABC, who told him to keep the money and get out.

There are many things one can do with a guitar, apart from playing music, as Monterey Pop documented. Just as Hendrix showed it could be burnt, Pete Townshend from The Who proved one could smash it to pieces as well, and throw it towards the audience, as a souvenir perhaps.

It is scenes like these which show how differently each artist  from Ravi Shankar, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend to Janis Joplin  perceived music. It was more an experience than just a product.

Speaking to Biography, Pennebaker said: When you go to a concert, you sit in a seat hundred yards away but you really want to be one foot away from the artist, and thats what we tried to do.

Monterey Pop also included the people who went to the festival as well. It could be someone tapping their feet, drumming their fingers, swaying their heads in response to the music, or being completely awe-struck. Or just people being happy, or stoned, or passed out on the ground. This was the pre-Woodstock generation.

They were there at the right place, at the right time. And Monterey Pop was the result.

Monterey Pop is currently playing at the Jio MAMI film festival
A donation was recently made to help restore part of the St. Peter's Episcopal Church on Main Street in Bonne Terre.

Bonne Terre City Administrator Jim Eaton said someone has contributed the amount of money necessary to repair the exterior of the building and install water reserve, a sealant spray that will be sprayed on the exterior of the building to prevent moisture from getting inside. The historic building is owned and maintained by the city with the assistance of the historical society.

Its enough money that it is a nice contribution, said Eaton. There hasnt been any maintenance in years and arrangements have been made with Eddings Masonry to replace some of the blocks. I have a list of everything of they are going to do.

Eaton said Dwayne Franklin is a young man who moved back to the Bonne Terre area from California and this is a wonderful thing he is doing.

I am hoping others will see he made a donation and would want to help restore the church, too, said Eaton. Franklin is doing this in honor of someone. He has fond memories of a librarian who worked at the Bonne Terre Library for a number of years and this was her church. He is doing these things in respect for her.

Franklin said he grew up here and had been gone for many years, but now spends his summers here and winters in Honolulu.

Mrs. Lucie Jakobe, who was a member of the church, was very important, said Franklin. She befriended me many years ago when I was a young guy and I just wanted to give a little money to the city. I also have a couple other ideas in fact, to give them a little extra money.

Franklin just hopes his generosity encourages more people to help the city because the city taxes dont do much.

I just didnt think much was happening and I know the city doesnt have money, said Franklin. I give a lot of money to charities and I just think the city needs a little help and thought this would get the church up.

Franklin said after that he wants to see what else he can do for the city. He added he was a lucky kid and his parents made their money there from a shoe business and hotel business.

I believe in giving back when things come to you, said Franklin. I have a brother who lives here so I come back for the summers and will go back in November. Bonne Terre is nice, it has its own charm.

Franklin said he probably wouldnt have made the donation if it wasnt for Eaton, because he respects him so much.

He knew my father and I think he has done a wonderful job with the city, said Franklin. He has put so much interest in it. He told me what they needed and I gave them a check and told him if they needed more to let me know.

Bonne Terre Historical Society President Julie Hahn said they are thrilled to be able to work on the outside of the church.

Some of the plaster was getting damp because it needs to be cleaned and sealed, said Hahn. We are thrilled to be able to start restoration on the church. This is a large step for us and its one of the largest donations we have received so far.

Hahn said recently they had the bathroom redone and with the outside being repaired, they will just need to maintain what they have now.

This is a big step. We will have to get the plaster fixed inside the church still and we hope to get better-made historically-correct windows, said Hahn. That will be our next step. Those windows were replaced in the 1960s, so they are overdue.

Hahn said in addition to the donation they received, they have also been selling the Bonne Terre History books to raise funds to pay for the monthly upkeep of the building.

The book sales are going great and we sold out of our first order, said Hahn. We placed a second order of the books and they can still be purchased at city hall.

Hahn said they have several weddings planned in the little church as well as a church service for a 50-year class reunion for the old Bonne Terre High School in October.

We are participating in the Bonne Terre Cookie Trail on Nov. 10-11 and the church will be open if people just want to stop by and see inside of it, said Hahn.

Within the last few years, the city of Bonne Terre jumped through several hoops to gain ownership of the small church to help preserve a piece of the city's history.
Beirut: Over several nights in September, some 10,000 men, women and children fled areas under Islamic State control, hurrying through fields in northern Syria and risking fire from government troops to reach a province held by an Al-Qaeda-linked group.

For an untold number of battle-hardened jihadis fleeing with the civilians, the escape to Idlib province marked a homecoming of sorts, an opportunity to continue waging war alongside an extremist group that shares much of the Islamic State's ideology  and has benefited from its prolonged downfall.

While the US-led coalition and Russian-backed Syrian troops have been focused on driving Islamic State from the country's east, an Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee has consolidated its control over Idlib, and may be looking to return to Osama bin Laden's strategy of attacking the West.

Syrian activists with contacts in the area say members of the Levant Liberation Committee vouched for fleeing IS fighters they had known before the two groups split four years ago and allowed them to join, while others were sent to jail. The activists spoke on condition of anonymity because they still visit the area and fear reprisals from the jihadis.

Islamic State has lost nearly all the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq, including the northern Iraqi city of Mosul  the largest it ever held  and the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which once served as its de facto capital. Tens of thousands of its fighters have been killed on the battlefield, but an untold number have escaped. As it gradually disintegrates, theological splits have also emerged within the organisation, including the rise of a faction that blames its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, for the setbacks.

"Al-Qaeda will welcome ISIS members with open arms, those are battled-hardened with potent field experience," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor at the London School of Economics and the author of "ISIS: A History."

The two groups both sprang from Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which emerged in the years after the 2003 US-led invasion, but split over ideology and leadership in 2013 and battled each other across northern Syria. Earlier this month, Islamic State attacked the Levant Liberation Committee again, in what was seen as a revenge attack after the defections.

While Islamic State went on to carve out a proto-state in large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate in 2014, the Al-Qaeda militants allied themselves with other Syrian insurgent groups and cultivated grass-roots support by providing aid and other services to civilians. They remained focused on the war against Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, although they've also crushed several small US-backed rebel factions.

But despite formally severing ties with Al-Qaeda last year and repeatedly changing its name, the group is still widely seen as a loyal affiliate of the global network that carried out the 11 September attacks. Brett McGurk, the top US envoy for the coalition battling the Islamic State, has said Idlib is the largest Al-Qaeda haven since bin Laden's days in Afghanistan.

Two Iraqi intelligence officials told AP in Baghdad that bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, sent an envoy to Syria to convince Islamic State fighters to defect and join his group. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters, said this might have been the reason behind an audiotape released by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on 28 September, in which he ordered his fighters not to "retreat, run away, negotiate or surrender."

While Al-Qaeda may yet regain the mantle of worldwide jihad, it could also come under increasing threat in its bastion in northwestern Syria, as the forces arrayed against Islamic State shift their focus to a new potentially worldwide threat.

"The honeymoon period for Al-Qaeda, in which the so-called Islamic State absorbed most of the counterterrorism focus while Al-Qaeda's affiliates grew stronger, is coming to an end," according to an analysis by the Soufan Group security consultancy.

"It now appears Zawahiri is seeking to consolidate the terror network and return the group to its heyday as the vanguard of a global movement," it added. That could place the militants in the crosshairs of the international coalition.

Turkey launched a limited military operation in Idlib last week aimed at imposing a "de-escalation zone," one of several set up across Syria under an agreement between Turkey, Iran and Russia. The Turkish troops have yet to confront Al-Qaeda, but that could change if it comes to be seen as a regional or international threat.

Meanwhile, Assad's forces, fresh from victories against Islamic State in eastern Syria, may switch their focus to Idlib, the largest remaining insurgent bastion in the country. Russia, which has been waging an air campaign in support of Assad since 2015, struck an Al-Qaeda gathering in Idlib earlier in October, and claimed to have killed several militant commanders.

The US-led coalition has targeted Al-Qaeda militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what US officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A US airstrike killed Al-Qaeda's second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria earlier in 2017.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinay Katiyar claimed on Wednesday that Taj Mahal used to be a temple of Lord Shiva before it was captured by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, according to media reports.

In an interview with CNN-News18, when asked about Yogi Adityanath's scheduled visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra, Katiyar refused to call the monument by its name and said, "It is Tejo Mahal. Taj Mahal used to be a temple of Shankar. Shah Jahan then buried his wife there." He added: "Hindu kings had built the Tejo Mahal. It was so famous that Shah Jahan later captured it."

Katiyar's comments come at a time when the Taj Mahal is mired in controversy surrounding its history.

On Monday, BJP MLA Sangeet Som courted controversy when he declared that the Taj Mahal was a "blot on Indian culture", adding that the monument was built by "traitors".

He said, "Many people were disappointed that the Taj Mahal was removed from Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? The creator of Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history".

A day later on Tuesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that he does not agree with Som, and that the Taj Mahal and Red Fort are both part of India's heritage. He also said that we should work to protect the monument because it was built by "blood and sweat of Indian labourers".

Responding to Opposition's rebuttal on the issue, he said that no one should focus on them.
New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday said it would look into the "facts and circumstances" of the Bofors scam mentioned by private detective Michael Hershman, who alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.

Hershman, who is the president of the US-based private detective firm Fairfax, claimed in television interviews recently that Rajiv Gandhi was "furious" when he had found a Swiss bank account "Mont Blanc".

Hershman, who was in New Delhi last week to address a conference of private detectives, also alleged that the bribe money of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in the Swiss account.

"The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to the Bofors aired on certain TV channels containing an interview of Michael Hershman," CBI information officer and spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said in a statement.

"Facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per due process by the CBI," he said.

Hershman was quoted as telling television channels that Rajiv Gandhi got very upset when "our work was uncovered". He then established a Supreme Court commission to look into the circumstances surrounding then finance minister VP Singh's hiring of Fairfax.

In his interviews, Hershman has expressed his willingness to testify and help Indian agencies on the Rs 64 crore Bofors gun payoff scandal but the effort has to be a credible one.
The Mohalla Clinic project in Delhi faces another hurdle with parents objecting to the Delhi governments decision to set them up in government schools and parks. The All India Parents Association has submitted a letter to the Lieutenant Governor urging him to restrain the proposed dispensaries in schools and parks.

The objection comes at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is fighting tooth and nail to get the files related to Mohalla Clinics passed from the LG office.

Only a fortnight ago, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had a spat with the Lieutenant Governors office, where the former accused it of holding back files on Mohalla Clinics.

The construction of Mohalla Clinics is a flagship programme of the AAP government in Delhi. In June 2015, the Delhi chief minister had announced the decision to open 1,000 Mohalla Clinics in various neighbourhoods of the national capital, while aiming to inaugurate the first Mohalla Clinic in Punjabi Bagh Colony by December.

The Health and Family Welfare Department in Delhi has set up 150 Mohalla Clinics till now.

Sources in the Health and Family Welfare Department say that many of the Mohalla Clinics are planned within the premises of government schools and parks, due to lack of space.

While speaking on the objections raised by the organisation, Ashok Agarwal, President, All India Parents Association (AIPA) told Firstpost, "The compilation of Mohalla Clinics report of the Delhi government contains names of schools and public parks where these dispensaries are planned. Such a plan would violate childrens right to education and right to play.

He also said that the Delhi High Court has been passing orders to prohibit using schools and parks for purposes other than the intended ones.

In 2002, the Delhi High Court ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to relocate a dispensary from a school in Bawana in Delhi. Prior to the 2002 order, the Delhi High Court had passed two orders prohibiting MCD from using the school premises for purposes other than education.

"In 1998, the Delhi High Court ordered the MCD to vacate a school in Naveen Shahadra which was being used by some of its employees. A similar order was issued in 2001 to the MCD when its taxation branch was occupying a school in Delhi," said Ashok Agarwal.

Significantly, setting up of a dispensary in school premises is not only seen as an infringement upon the rights of a child in the school but also as a health hazard.

In the 2002 judgment, the Delhi High Court also stated that used syringes and other medical wastes generated in the dispensary shall be disinfected and disposed of in a condition that shall not affect the health of the students, in particular, and citizens in general, and will not be thrown anywhere in the school premises.

"There had been complaints from parents that the dispensary set up in the school was throwing hazardous waste in the school campus," said Agarwal.

Similar orders have been passed in favour of protecting parks for children to play.

"The judiciary has viewed childrens right to play as a right, says Agarwal

Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on 20 November 1989 was ratified by India on 12 December 1992 recognising the right of the children to relax and play and to join in a wide range of activities.

The Supreme Court observed in one of its orders that the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights is mandated to intervene wherever there is a failure to implement policies, decisions, guidelines or instructions as per the perspective of child rights as enshrined in the Constitution or in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The AIPA complains that Rajakiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya premises has already been used to set up Mohalla Clinic and demands the closure of the dispensary.

Anil Bajpayee, an AAP MLA in Delhi and a vocal supporter of Mohalla Clinics, told Firstpost that the government will look into the complaints and seek resolution. None is above the people in Delhi, he said.
New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday replied to Arvind Kejriwal's letter on the theft of his WagonR car, saying the chief minister was expected to cooperate with policemen in their efforts to ensure parking of vehicles in designated places.

The iconic blue WagonR associated with Kejriwal was stolen from outside the Delhi Secretariat on 12 October and was found abandoned in Ghaziabad two days later.

On 13 October, Kejriwal had written to the Lieutenant Governor, saying the theft of his car pointed towards the rapidly "deteriorating" law and order situation in the national capital.

In his letter to Kejriwal, Baijal wrote, "Hope that the CM would not only cooperate with Delhi Police in its efforts to motivate and encourage residents of Delhi to park their vehicles in authorised parking sites and install security equipments, but also boost the morale of its policemen by appreciating their commendable efforts that led to the recovery of his stolen car within two days."

"The Delhi Police Commissioner submitted a status report apprising about several teams constituted in search of the car. Intense scanning of CCTVs, checks in parking places were carried out and all the picket staff were put on alert," Baijal said, emphasising that all these efforts led to recovery of the car within two days.

Baijal said he regularly reviewed law and order situation of Delhi and various decisions were taken in meetings with the police commissioner and other senior officers.

The WagonR car was registered in the name of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was now being used by the party's media coordinator Vandana. It was earlier used by Kejriwal.

The vehicle was "donated" to Kejriwal by Kundan Sharma, a software engineer, in January 2013. However, when Kejriwal parted ways with his then party colleagues Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, Sharma demanded that the vehicle be returned.

Even after Kejriwal became the chief minister in December 2013, he refused to use an official car and preferred his old WagonR.
On the eve of Diwali, Delhi is leaving no stone unturned to ensure air quality level doesn't deteriorate like it did last year, when it worsened to alarming levels. The national capital is better prepared this year, putting in place several measures to curb air pollution. From closing pollutant power plants, to surprise checks and drills, the government is prepared to tackle the problem head-on.

Speaking to Livemint, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) chairperson Bhure Lal said, "Difficult situations demand tough responses and solutions, and Delhi-NCR is faced with a really difficult situation each winter when air pollution levels spiral out of control. EPCA and other agencies of the government are prepared to take tough decisions which will help clear the air."

EPCA is the nodal authority for tackling pollution in the national capital.

With an air quality index (AQI) of 306 on Wednesday, the city's air quality was recorded as "very poor" by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the possibility of it turning "severe" is looming large.

Graded Response Action Plan

The most effective measure in place is the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which involves several stringent action against burning of waste, industrial pollution and transport sector emissions.

The Supreme Court-monitored plan, which was notified by the Union Environment Ministry in January, will be implemented in winter for the first time.

GRAP defines measures to be taken based on air quality on the basis of PM 2.5 and PM 10 particulate matter in the atmosphere, Hindustan Times reported.

State pollution boards have been directed to form teams which will flag violations. In case of a sudden spike in pollution level, the team will rush to the spot, analyse the reason and take appropriate action.

Measures under the GRAP's "very poor" and "severe" categories came into effect from 17 October, and they will remain in force till 15 March.

Installation of monitoring stations

Delhi and neighboring states will install temporary units to monitor air and noise levels in the city. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) will set up 20 additional monitoring stations to boost air quality surveillance, Hindustan Times reported.

Of the 20, three stations  at Karni Singh Shooting Range, Dhyan Chand Stadium and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium  were launched on 5 October, while the remaining came about on 15 October, The Times of India reported.

The new stations will cover areas like Mundka, Narela, Bawana and Dwarka, urban villages in Masoodpur and Dayalpur, plus industrial centres like Najafgarh and Okhla, the report added. With this, the number of monitoring stations will rise to 40  the highest number for any Indian city, The Hindu quoted Anumita Roychowdhury, an executive director and head of the air pollution and clean transportation programmes of the Centre for Science and Environment said, as saying.

Along with Delhi, Haryana will get 19 more air pollution checking stations, including three in Gurgoan, Hindustan Times reported.

In addition to this, the Badarpur power plant, termed the country's most polluting power plant, has been ordered shut for the entire winter season. It will resume operations only in March. This apart, in case pollution reaches emergency levels, the EPCA also plans to shut two other thermal power plants in the region, at Dadri and Jhajjar.

Return of odd-even?

Despite these efforts, if pollution level refuse to go down, the authorities may revive the contentious "odd-even" plan, whereby cars with number plates ending in odd and even numbers will be asked to stay off roads on alternate days. "Measures such as the 'odd-even' car rationing policy  under which private vehicles are allowed on roads based on the last digits of license plates  or closure of schools will be taken only as a last resort under the emergency segment of the action plan," member Sunita Narain said.

The plan was first implemented in 2016 for 15 days, to ease the traffic situation and pollution. However, its effect has remained negligible; while toxic parties' levels came down by 8 to 10 percent in some pockets, the rest of the capital recorded a drop of only 2 to 3 percent, The Hindu reported.

Government agencies will also conduct surprise checks on vehicles in the city, The Telegraph reported.

And if pollution levels still don't go down, get ready to pay more parking charges. According to Sunita Narain, parking fees may have to be hiked in Delhi, despite the fact that a parking policy is still being worked out. If air pollution aggravates further and touches alarming proportions, "cars will have to be off the roads", Financial Express quoted Narain as saying.

Civic authorities began sending alerts about rising pollution levels through newspapers, TV and radio from Tuesday onwards.

Alongside this, the DPCC will set up a control room where people can lodge complains through WhatsApp or the SAMEER app of the CPCB. An email address will also be created, Times of India reported.

Furthermore, diesel generators have also been banned. Narain, with EPCA chairman Bhure Lal, announced the decision following a review meeting, Business Standard reported. "The generator sets will be banned only in Delhi, conditional to air quality index reaching to very poor or severe," Narain said.

However, there is some positive news coming in as well: SAFAR, a central government agency, has predicted that Delhi's air quality is likely to be relatively better than last year, when level of pollutants had reached perilous proportions. According to the forecast, air quality index (AQI) will remain 'very poor' if bursting of firecrackers is down even by 50 per cent compared to last year, but it will turn 'severe' if the same volume of crackers are set off. However, since moisture in Delhi's air is increasing and morning temperature dipping, it may lead to an increase in the atmospheric holding capacity of the emissions coming from firecrackers, SAFAR said.

With inputs from agencies
Jammu: The National Conference (NC) on Wednesday greeted the people of Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Diwali, saying the festival should be celebrated with harmony, enthusiasm and brotherhood.

NC president Farooq Abdullah and working president Omar Abdullah, in separate messages, on the Diwali eve, prayed for the peace and tranquillity in the state.

In his message, Farooq Abdullah wished prosperity to the state and happiness to its people, and highlighted the spirit of celebrating festivals in an atmosphere of amity and brotherhood.

Omar Abdullah stressed on the need for strengthening harmony and brotherhood in the glorious traditions of the state's pluralistic ethos.

"May this Diwali bring peace, prosperity and happiness in the life of people of state," he said.

NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said Diwali was one of the most captivating festivals and it celebrated the victory of light over darkness and good over evil.
The Yogi Adityanath government has been mired in controversy ever since BJP MLA Sangeet Som remarked that the Taj Mahal is a blot on Indian culture. The chief minister has since been in damage control mode and has distanced himself from the comment. He said that the monument is important, specifically in terms of tourism.

He has also been pushing to develop Ayodhya as a site of religious tourism. While declaring that a grand Diwali event is being organised in Ayodhya, he said that he wants to recreate it to match its past.

Ayodhya 'a matter of pride'

While talking to CNN-News18, Adityanath said that Ayodhya has always had a religious importance and everyone should be proud of its rich heritage. "My visit to Ayodhya is part of our effort to develop these religious places so that we meet international standards in terms of providing facilities to tourists," he added.

He is the first chief minister in 15 years to visit the city.

Talking about the elaborate Diwali celebrations planned for him in Ayodhya, the chief minister said that an attempt will also be made to refresh memories of Lord Rama returning to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile.

VHP welcomed Adityanath's stand on Ayodhya and said that 66 percent of the construction work for Ram Mandir has been completed, reported CNN-News18.

"Ramayan is 10,000 years old and Ayodhya is an integral part of it. It was a developed city even back then and people continue to come here from all over. To connect with its illustrious past is a matter of pride for us," he told Zee News.

World-class Diwali

The chief minister said that he will spend Diwali with his supporters and work is already underway to deck up the ghats. While talking to ANI, Adityanath said that the Uttar Pradesh government is organising a special event on Diwali and it will be a world-class event. He will welcome the Ram Shobha Yatra of the ongoing Ram Leela in Ram Katha Park.

'Wah' Taj

After Som declared that the Taj Mahal was a "blot on India culture", Adityanath distanced himself from the remark saying that it does not matter who built it and for what reason. "It was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers." Adityanath, who is scheduled to go to Agra on 25 October, said that his visit was pre-planned and has nothing to do with Som's comments.

He said it is part of the government's efforts to develop religious tourism circuit that would include other major centres like Vrindavan, Varasani, Mathura. The Taj Mahal has been mired in controversies and he wants to stop that because it is the most important tourist places, he added.

#EXCLUSIVE | @TajMahal has been mired in controversies and we will ensure this stops: @myogiadityanath on Taj politics #YogiToNetwork18  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 18, 2017

The Indian Express quoted him as saying, "its (Taj Mahal) conservation, promotion for development of tourism, and providing protection and facilities for tourists who visit the monument is the Uttar Pradesh governments responsibility we will fulfil our duty."

He further said that the Taj Mahal is very important, specifically in terms of tourism. "it is our priority to provide facilities and safety to tourists there (Agra)," he said.

While speaking to India Today, Adityanath said that he does not agree with Som's remarks as Taj Mahal and Red Fort are both parts of India's heritage. "Government has planned tourism projects worth Rs 370 crore under which schemes are meant for Taj Mahal and the surrounding areas," he added.

Soon after Adityanath's statement, BJP MP Vinay Katiyar told CNN-News18 that Taj Mahal is a Shiva temple which was destroyed by Shah Jahan.

Earlier, Som had said "Many people were disappointed that the Taj Mahal was removed from Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? The creator of Taj Mahal (Shahjahan) imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history."
The 19th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival is finally here, and with it comes an unending list of critically acclaimed Indian and international films to watch. Some of these are submissions for the Oscars, while others are hitherto untold, hyperlocal stories. Firstpost will review the most promising of these films.

How many films have you watched where a heist goes wrong? If youre a hard-boiled film buff, it must be at least a dozen. And yet youve probably never seen a film like Good Time.

Directed by Ben and Josh Safdie, Good Time is a kinetic, darkly thrilling film that goes so deep into the underbelly of New York so fast its hard to keep track of the goings-on. Its a consistently tense narrative, filled with lush visuals and an atmosphere dense enough to feel choked by. Its the exceptional film that works as a solid crime drama, an entertaining thriller with a race against time, and as a character piece, anchored by an excellent performance from Robert Pattinson.

Pattinson plays Connie, who plans a heist with his mentally challenged brother Nick (Benny Safdie). The heist naturally goes awfully haywire, and Nick is arrested and sent to a hospital. Connie realises that the only way to get his brother back is by breaking him out of the hospital crawling with cops. Things dont get any easier as Connies night poses more and more challenges, with both the cops and gangsters in his wake.

The Safdies have earlier made films like the Casey Neistat-produced Daddy Longlegs and Heaven Knows What, both of which captured a side of New York youve seldom seen in cinema, and they continue to do so in Good Time. This is not the glittering paradise movies have made NY out to be; this is an ugly metropolis filled with despicable people lit by grotesque lighting. The look and feel of the film feels like Taxi Driver and Nicolas Winding Refns Pusher trilogy had an orgy. The closest comparison that the film garners is with the 2011 French movie Sleepless Night, which was also set during one night in a drug-fueled haze, featuring cops, dirty cops and robbers.

The film offers little to no space for you to breathe, as Connie hurtles from one dangerous setting to another, becoming less human and more feral as he grows increasingly desperate to fix things. The underground lingo, the electronic score by Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never and the cinematography by Sean Price Williams keep the tempo increasingly all the way to the dizzying finale. And even though there are so many twists and turn,s the screenplay never loses sight of soulful fraternity between the two brothers and the web of intrigue surrounding the situations they find themselves in.

Pattinson continues to surprise. After the terrible Twilight movies hes worked with interesting filmmakers like David Cronenberg, David Michod, Anton Corbijn, James Gray and now the Safdies  meaning hes serious about doing risky movies instead of cash grabby schlock. His turn in Good Time is fascinating because for the first time, we see him totally disappearing into his character. Hes no longer the plasticky British hunk; hes a rat in the NY streets that is even loathsome at times. In fact with all that Connie does in the film, this is the most vampiric character Pattinson has ever played, and I hope he continues playing twisted scumbags in interesting low-key films like this one.
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues, including the recent spurt in violent incidents in the Valley, an official said.

During the 30-minute meeting, the chief minister briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps taken to maintain peace in the state.

Singh assured Mehbooba of all central assistance to her government in maintaining peace in the state, a home ministry official said. The spurt of violence in Jammu and Kashmir include attacks on security personnel, killing of a PDP worker and the subsequent attack on his house and throat slitting of a teacher.

Alleged incidents of braid chopping have also triggered panic in some parts of the state. Today, four persons were injured when security forces fired on a mob in Pahalgam area following an alleged braid chopping incident.

The constitution of a study group to examine the problems being faced by the people living near the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was also believed to have been discussed during the meeting, the official said.

The group was set up by the home ministry recently. The home minister had recently said five to six terrorists are killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir everyday.

The chief minister also met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday.
The St. Francois County Commission accepted the recommendation of County Auditor Louie Seiberlich to accept the bid of an Arnold, Missouri, CPA firm to perform the annual county audit in January when it met in regular session Tuesday morning on the third floor of the courthouse annex.

For many years, the county audit has been performed by Maloney, Wright & Robbins, but the Farmington CPA firm came in third out of a total of four firms that submitted bids for this year's job. Before announcing his final pick, Seiberlich offered up a strong clue that the county was going to be audited by a different firm this time.

"Commissioners, I first of all want to thank Maloney, Wright & Robbins for their professionalism and service in the past years for what they've done for our individual audits," he said. "I also want to thank Amber Menjoulet, the county audit manager, for her due diligence in putting together the bid proposal. If you take the opportunity to read it you'll find that she did an awful lot of work. It was clear and concise so that the accounting companies clearly understood what our expectations of them would be with timelines, etc."

According to Seiberlich, his department requested proposals from local firms, as well as from those across the state.

"We also visited with different first-class county auditors getting their recommendations and their input on who they were using," he said. "From that we received four bids of which I have them on the table  four proposals and four individual bids. I can tell you that we went from Cape Girardeau to Arnold, to Springfield, as well as locally with the final four."

The bids ranged from a high of $35,000 submitted by KPM CPAs & Advisors of Springfield to a low bid of $20,800 turned in by Daniel Jones & Associates of Arnold. Buessink, Hey, Roe & Stroder, L.L.C. of Cape Girardeau came in with the second lowest bid of $27,000 and Maloney, Wright & Robbins bid totaled $28,000.

"There was like a $14,000 spread between Springfield, Missouri, and Arnold, Missouri," he said. "Putting all that together then  reviewing the numbers, etc.  what we also did was we narrowed it down to Buessink, Hey, Roe & Stroder, L.L.C. of Cape Girardeau and Daniel Jones & Associates.

We asked them to come in for personal interviews and over the course of a couple of hours with each of them, we gleaned a lot of information about how they work and what their timeline is. I might mention that the timeline is very important for us as well as for [county workers] because we like to get started as quickly as possible at the beginning of the new year, rather than wait until the deadline of June 30.

Some of the situations that you have with accountants is, not only do they do independent audits, but they also do individual tax returns. So, when were trying to get our audit done, theyre also doing Marks tax return and Kevins tax return. Theyre just trying to fit us all in there. That presents a little challenge for us when all of a sudden they call up and say, We need x-amount of paperwork.

After taking all of these things under consideration, Seiberlich informed the commissioners his department recommended going with Daniel Jones & Associates at a bid of $20,800. A motion was made and, upon the auditors recommendation, the commissioners voted unanimously to go with the Arnold CPA firm.

Next, County Treasurer Kerry Glore reported that the 2017 year-to-date sales tax collection report of $8,265,193.86 showed a gain of $82,349.18 over sales taxes collected by the same time last year  a gain of 1.01 percent.

Youre probably wondering why its not more at this point, she said. Our sales tax collections compared to this time last year in October are down. I called the state to find out why and they tell me that they are still transitioning to this new tax collection methodology. Theyre a little bit behind on getting all of this entered and theyre trying to do this across the state of Missouri, so sales taxes are down a little bit everywhere it seems when I talk to other county treasurers.

Now, how much should it be? I dont know. I dont know what the increase might have been had they not been going through this transition, but Im still hoping its going to go up. I dont know how long its going to take them to get caught up.

Commissioner Gay Wilkinson asked, So, this could possibly be better next month?

Glore replied, Im hoping. Im hoping. I cant guarantee.

County Clerk Mark Hedrick noted that it had been reported that state revenue was up 7 percent from last year.

Auditor Seiberlich said, And were up six of the 10 reporting months for sales tax.

The commission accepted Glores report with the hope that the state will be able to update their figures in the next couple of months.

Commissioner Patrick Mullins requested a special meeting be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 9  a Thursday  for the making of an unspecified special announcement.

Al Sullivan with the multi-county and the St. Francois County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) will also be present, he said. Wed just like to make a special announcement. All three counties  Iron, Madison and Ste. Gen  will also be meeting that day. What wed like to do is to have all four surrounding four counties come together in a commission meeting to make this announcement together.

The board unanimously approved the request.

Mullins also noted that he had received complaints about the need to stripe some county roads.

We really dont have the equipment, so Id like to give [the Road & Bridge Department] a pat on the back, he said. Theyre looking, theyve talked to Jefferson County and theyre still going to explore the options. The equipment that we have  the sprayer that we have  is designed to walk behind for the striping of parking lots.

We need something a little bit more professional. This is going to have to be a budgeted item because this is not going to be cheap, but I have been received a number of calls from the residents in Terre Du Lac and Commissioner Wilkinson has some roads in his district.

In other action, the commissioners voted to table a request made last week by County Collector Pam Williams regarding the promotion of several employees in her office. This was based on an announcement made by County Clerk Hedrick that he planned to hold a meeting at the end of the week with all county elected officials to try to work out a standard set of guidelines for all county employee promotions and pay raises.

The commissioners next meet in regular session at 10 p.m. Oct. 24 on the third floor of the courthouse annex.
A Special Police Officer was shot dead on Wednesday by militants in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, according to media reports.

J&K: Police Officer shot dead by terrorists at his residence in Pulwama district's Tral. pic.twitter.com/8n8UUaypKW  ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

Haleem Gujjar, 38, was fired upon by militants at his residence in Gutroo village of Tral around 5:45 pm in Aripal tehsil, 36 kilometers from Srinagar, according to a police official. Gujjar died on the spot, the police official added.

However, India Today reported that Gujjar suffered critical injuries and was shifted to nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

Government forces launched a hunt to nab the assailants, according to the India Today report.

This is the second incident in less than six months where a police officer has been shot dead by militants.

On 15 June, policeman Shabir Ahmad Dar succumbed to his injuries after he was shot by suspected militants in Kulgam in south Kashmir.

He received multiple bullet injuries when the militants opened fire outside his residence in Bogund, a police official said.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI on Wednesday said the family of the 11-year old Jharkhand girl who allegedly died of starvation had Aadhaar and stringent action should be taken against those who denied her government benefits.

Activists have alleged that the 11-year-old girl in Simdega district died of starvation as her family's ration card was cancelled as it was not linked to Aadhaar.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey termed the incident as "unfortunate".

He asserted that this was not a case of denial of benefits because of Aadhaar, as the family had the 12-digit identifier since 2013.

The Section 7 of Aadhaar Act stipulates that the benefit shall be given on the basis of Aadhaar card or authentication, he added.

"The Jharkhand government has ordered a probe in the matter to find out the facts behind the unfortunate incident. I expect that person responsible for denial of benefits  inspite of Aadhaar card  will be held accountable and necessary action will be taken against such people by the state, so that it acts as a deterrent for future," Pandey told PTI.

He further said that the Aadhaar Act was "absolutely clear" that no one would be denied benefits for lack of Aadhaar.

"...Section 7 specifies that till Aadhaar number is prescribed, the benefits should be given through alternate means of identification," he said.

Stating that the guilty should be held accountable and punished, Pandey said that all field agencies should also be extremely sensitive in ensuring that the benefits, subsidies or programmes flow to the grassroots.

"...the field agencies should be sensitive to the needs of the people and ensure they do not do anything that result in denial of benefits," he added.
New Delhi: For the first time in JNU, its teachers' association on Tuesday called for a 'public inquiry' against Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar for allegedly violating various conventions of the university.

The teachers' body, exercising its powers under the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) Constitution, set a three-day deadline for the vice chancellor to submit his defence and state if he would appear for hearings in person or through a representative.

"In exercise of powers in JNUTA Constitution, the association proposes to hold a public inquiry against the VC for various violations. He is also given time till October 20 to submit a written statement in his defence," JNUTA President Ayesha Kidwai said in a release.

Kidwai said the hearings will take place at 5 pm from 23-27 October.

"If the VC fails to acknoweledge or fails to appear, the hearings will be held ex-parte," the statement said.

JNUTA listed a list of charges against the Vice Chancellor (VC) and asked him to specifically deny or admit each charge.

Some of the allegations included undermining the integrity of faculty selection process, violation of reservation policy, harassing teachers, denying their legitimate dues, undermining sexual harassment watchdog GSCASH and callous attitude in missing student Najeeb's case.

Legal experts and eminent citizens were expected to chair the hearings and issue a judgement.

The Vice Chancellor did not respond when contacted for a reaction on the the JNUTA statement.
Actor Kamal Haasan has apologised to people for earlier supporting the withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from circulation.

In an article in Tamil magazine Vikatan, Haasan said that he had earlier supported the Narendra Modi government's move "in a hurry".

"Many of my comrades and some people who understand economics called me and criticised me for my views. Later I consoled myself saying that while the plan was good, there may have been some problems with implementation," Haasan wrote in Tamil in the article, a translation of which was also available in The News Minute.

If the PM accepts his mistake without being adamant, then one more salaam is waiting for him from me," Haasan further wrote.

The actor had earlier supported demonetisation, saying that the "move has to be celebrated across political party lines."

Salute Mr. Modi. This move has to be celebrated across political party lines. Most importantly by earnest tax payers.  Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) November 9, 2016

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday had lowered India's growth projection to 6.7 percent in 2017, 0.5 percentage points less than its previous two forecasts and slower than China's 6.8 percent, attributing it to demonetisation and introduction of the GST.

It had also lowered India's growth for 2018 to 7.4 percent, 0.3 percentage points less than its previous two projections in July and April.

With inputs from PTI
Srinagar: Last year on 11 May, 22-year-old Irfan Abdullah Ganie went missing from his house. Only a day later, he posted his photo on social networking sites holding a gun in his hand. He had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant outfit. Ganie was doing masters in history with Indra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) before he joined militancy.

A boy from a well off family, he had been fascinated by the idea of fighting against Indian rule and was killed on 9 October, some 25 kilometre from his house. Police said that three HM militants were killed at Kellar in Shopian on that Monday afternoon. Along with Ganie, two other militants who were identified as Zahid Ahmad Mir and Asif Ahmad Paul were also killed.

Ganie joined few months before the killing of HM militant commander, Burhan Muzaffar Wani, in July. After the protests over Wani's death, the recruitments in last two years have been highest since 2010. In the last 10 months, more than 90 local youths have joined militancy which is the highest in the last seven years. The numbers declined considerably between 2011 to 2015 and picked up in the last two years. In 2010 some 54 youths joined militancy, in 2011 the number was 23, in 2012 it declined to 21, in 2013 it was 16, in 2014 it was 53, in 2015 the number remained 66 and in 2016 it climbed to 88.

The steady increase in the number of local youths joining militancy is attributed by senior police officials to the protests that were witnessed after the killing of Wani. The public support for the militants has notched up considerably and due to the mass support for militancy, even the educated youth are joining militant ranks.

Slain HM militant Irfan's brother, Imran Abdullah Ganie, said that his brother joined militancy even as his family was well off. They own an orchard spread over 30 kanals of land from which apples worth Rs 8 to 10 lakh are produced every year. Also, they have a paddy land of 10 kanals. "My brother was not short of money. We had purchased a car and a bike for him. But he was only fascinated by the idea of dying as a martyr," said Imran, who works as a police constable in the armed wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police.

A top police official said that the increasing number of youth joining militancy was a serious trend.

"Till date in 2017, 90 boys have joined militancy. Out of them, 30 have been killed and 60 others are active. The trend is almost similar to that of last year. Most of the local boys are joining HM which is followed by Lashkar-e-Taiba," he said.

Like Irfan, another young militant, Nasir Ahmed Wani, had been active for only eight months before he was killed earlier this year in the month of Ramzan. Nasir went missing from his house in Shopian and had given no inkling to his old father that he was joining militancy. His father, Mohammed Ahsan Wani said that Nasir was pursuing a bachelors degree in arts at Government Degree College, Pulwama before he took the plunge into militancy.

"We had no idea that he was joining militancy. He was my only hope," said Ahsan, who is blind in one eye. Ahsan was walking out of a mosque when he was hit by a ball as children were playing in the street, that left him blinded, and was helped out by his son to walk up to the mosque or see a doctor. He has undergone four surgeries but has not regained any vision. But two years after Ahsan was blinded and is left with no vision in his left eye, he said he feels like he has "lost the hope to live".

"My two daughters are already married and one of my sons is a driver who remains mostly out of his house. I have another son who is already married and Nasir was the one on whom I would depend a lot," he said. "Probably I have done lots of sins that I lost vision in my eye and a son as well," Ahsan said.

According to security officials, though they have been trying to contact the families of the militants to persuade them to surrender, the move has not achieved any major success.

"Not many militants have surrendered," said a senior security official. Police officials said that another militant from Shopian, Showkat Ahmad Kumar, who died in a scuffle with a former panch in the area had been active since 25 October 2016. After the killing of the militant local people torched the house of former panch.

The areas of South Kashmir including Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian and Kulgam  which had turned peaceful  have now seen a significant surge in the number of active militants. Superintendent of Police, Shopian, AS Dinkar, said that the last year's agitation was used by militants to "strengthen their ideological network".

He said that after the 2016 agitation the number of militants has now quadrupled in the area from eight.

"We have launched many anti-militancy offensives and have killed some five local militants in the last 10 days. Though civilian killings in last year's agitation were less in Shopian, however, as it is a hilly district militants managed to get the upper hand. They had an opportunity to go for more recruitments. However, because of back to back successful operations in Shopian, the militants are on the run and are desperate to show their presence," said Dinkar.
Humhuna, Kashmir: The mob travelled more than 10 kilometres from Trenz to its destination, a double-storied house in Chack-Humhuna village of south Kashmir, on Tuesday. They came on motorcycles, in private cars, and trucks normally laden with apples in this harvest season.

Having gathered at the foot of a plateau few meters from the house of Mohammad Ramzan Sheikh, a former Sarpanch and PDP worker who was killed by militants on Monday evening, they started raising anti-India and pro-freedom slogans.

A trickle of mourners had gathered inside Sheikh's home. Lunch was being served to the bereaved family, arrangements for which were made by Sheikhs cousin, a practice common among Muslims when someone in close relation passes away.

As they closed in on the residence by approaching it from two sides, the mob, comprising mostly of young boys, started throwing stones. The family members rushed out and begged for their lives! Within minutes, the atmosphere charged up with angry protesters calling for revenge.

"Burn it down," screamed one teenage protester.

"They killed our brother. They should be taught a lesson," shouted another.

With every passing minute, the crowd got thicker. Then some of them entered a nearby orchard, brought out stacks of hay, lit them up and threw them inside the house. Within seconds, the structure was up in flames!

The family of Sheikh, who lived on the edge of an orchard along with three other neighbours in this nondescript village, some 65 kilometres south of Srinagar, had scripted history on Monday evening by killing a militant, Showkat Ahmad Kumar alias Falahi. This was the first time in the 27 years of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir that a Kashmiri citizen had killed a Kashmiri militant.

According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, Falahi had entered Sheikh's house and asked for a separate room to talk with him. He demanded the keys to his car and asked him to come out of the house. Sheikh offered the keys, but refused to come out, a police officer told Firstpost near the charred remains of Sheikhs house on Tuesday afternoon.

"The family members raised a hue and cry. His mother hugged him refusing to let her son be taken away. His brother was in the mosque offering prayers, Ghulam Mohammad Parry, brother-in-law of Sheikh, told Firstpost.

"One of the family members, probably his 14-year old son, brought an axe and hit the militant Falahi on his forehead. He died in few minutes," the police officer added.

Locals, however, disputed the police version. A neighbour who didnt want to be identified said that a commotion had started suddenly outside Sheikhs residence and it was there that Falahi was killed. The exact cause of his death remains unknown.

According to the police, two militants were waiting for Falahi outside Sheikhs house. Falahi reportedly managed to come out and shouted towards his colleagues. "One of them entered the house and fired at Sheikh. He also recovered the weapon and a pouch Falahi had left behind," the officer said.

Sheikh was among the founding workers of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, founded by late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. During the initial days of Mehbooba Mufti's struggle to build the base of the party, literally from scratch, Sheikh accompanied party president and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister on many life-threatening tours to connect the party with the people.

"When no one was ready to join mainstream politics, he took the risk," Nisar Ahmad, a PDP activist said. "Very few people were ready to be identified with the mainstream political party back then, still Sheikh helped he PDP in Wachi to gain the ground.

Ten kilometres east of Chack-Humhuna, which is part of the Wachi constituency, a narrow unpaved lane leads to the house of Abdul Ahad Kumar, the father of slain militant, Showkat Ahmad Kumar, in Trenz village.

Kumar, 65, a retired private school teacher described Falahi as an obedient and religious man who was among scores of youth who joined insurgency after the killing of former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last year.

He said that he saw only two marks on the body of his son: one on his forehead and another on his skull when the dead body was brought in his home on Monday evening.

He had received religious education from a seminary in Uttar Pradesh. After returning, he kept to himself but always told us to follow the teachings of Islam. Then last year, he suddenly joined militany, Kumar told Firstpost. A makeshift tent has been erected in an orchard where mourners had gathered to pay condolences.

This is not the first time that an activist of a mainstream political party has been killed in Kashmir. In fact, hundreds of political workers have laid down their lives for bringing democracy to the grassroots level in the conflict-torn Valley.

"I have never heard of a militant getting killed in such a fashion. This sadly also shows how one Kashmiri is being pitted against another in such a brazen manner by those who want to see Kashmir perpetually in flames, a lawyer, who had come to pay condolences to Kumar's family, said.

Since armed insurgency erupted in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of political workers have been killed, a majority of them being from National Conference. In fact, if there is any community which is most vulnerable to militant attacks in the far and wide corner of the Valley, it is these thousands of workers belonging to different political parties.

This vulnerability of political workers in the restive south Kashmir has also been playing on the mind of the police in Shopian district, who had recently advised Sheikh to avoid going to his village.

A Few days ago I had asked him (Sheikh) not to go home, a police officer told Firstpost, as the people watched fire tenders dousing the flames at Sheikh's house.

A steel trunk, few half-burnt clothes, and some charred utensils are all that remains of Sheikhs house. For the moment, no one seems to have any idea where the Sheikhs four children, wife, and mother have fled. But according to senior police officers, they have refused security cover offered by the police. It is not clear if they will come back to their home at all.
Chennai: The Madras High Court has declined to entertain a plea by a former AIADMK minister for a direction to police to permit him to stage a protest on 23 October in front of the Vellore Collectorate seeking CBI probe into the death of former chief minister Jayalalithaa.

Justice MS Ramesh in a recent order said the state government had already set up an inquiry commission to probe the death.

The judge also pointed out that government had appointed retired high court judge Justice A Arumugasamy to head the inquiry panel and declined to entertain the plea by former minister Pandurangan, who claimed that he was a supporter of the 'Deepa' faction in the party.

Alleging that there were several doubts with regard to the death of Jayalalithaa, the petitioner submitted that he would like to stage a protest on behalf of his party before the Vellore Collectorate on 23 October.

He had given a representation to police earlier in this regard but permission was declined citing the grievance day meeting at the Collectorate that day.

The petitioner sought a direction to police to permit him to stage the protest in front of the Collectorate that day.

Jayalalithaa died on 5 December last year after 75 days of treatment at the corporate Apollo Hospitals in Chennai.
Mumbai: Strict adherence to laid out norms for disbursal of relief to beneficiary accounts under loan waiver scheme in Maharashtra has resulted in the state exchequer saving to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore.

In June this year, it was announced by the State Level Bankers Committee that Rs 34,022 crore was sanctioned to be deposited in 89 lakh beneficiary accounts but the number dropped sharply to 77.29 lakh accounts owing to stringent screening methods removing the scope of ghost accounts, multiple beneficiaries from the same family apart from making Aadhaar-linked bank account mandatory. This process resulted in the coming down of the total bill to Rs 24,000 crore.

The state learnt from its mistakes in 2009 when during the Congress-NCP government no trail of Rs 287 crore of taxpayers money could be found during a similar exercise. It is largely believed that the money was deposited in numerous ghost accounts for lack of proper background checks. Over 24,600 farmers had applied for loan waiver from the country's commercial capital Mumbai this time around.

"Despite repeated requests, the data in this regard has not been shared with the state government. It would be fair to say that seven years later we still do not know who the money went to in Mumbai during the last loan waiver scheme. But this time due to the transparent way and Aaadhaar-linked bank details the ghost account holders have not approached us. A total 2.41 lakh applications are still pending due to non-availability of Aadhaar," state Cooperation Minister Subhash Deshmukh told Firstpost.

There is a possibility that the existing 77.29 lakh beneficiary accounts will come down upon further screening. This figure now covers 56.59 lakh families. In the first leg of screening itself, the state government rejected around 12 lakh applications for various reasons.

"Today we released Rs 4,000 crore in the first phase of which Rs 3,200 crore will be for writing off the loans of 4.62 lakh farmers. The remaining Rs 800 crore will be in the form of incentive for 3.78 lakh farmers who are paying their loans on time regularly. Ten lakh farmers will benefit in the first phase and 80 percent of them will get the amount credited to their accounts by 15 November," said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday at Sahyadri Guest House, Mumbai.

Due to the rigorous steps taken before the disbursal process begins, five public sector banks which were to collectively spend Rs 31,19,685 crore on the loan scheme earlier will now finally expend Rs 22,09,394, thus saving Rs 9,10,291.

Farmers loan accounts reported by the banks Bank 21 Jun 2017 7 Oct 2017 Difference State Bank of India 1370013 1062370 307643 Bank of Maharashtra 648122 389000 259122 Central Bank of India 341975 295062 46913 Bank of India 397979 262942 135037 Maharashtra Rural Bank 361596 200020 161576 Total 3119685 2209394 910291

The online application form which had 56 columns to be filled in to avail financial benefits under the scheme also came under tremendous opposition scrutiny who termed it as cumbersome and harassment to farmers. However, Fadnavis summarily rejected the accusation by his political opponents.

"Had that not been done, banks would have mismanaged funds. Also, God knows like the earlier government the ghost farmers' accounts who have got the money credited depriving the real beneficiaries. Farmers know what was done was for their own good. I know there were some problems while filling up the online form but it is only for the sake of real loan waived farmers," the chief minister said.

Fadnavis said that only government employees, who also earn income from agriculture, legislators, former representatives from Zilla Parishad, Council, Corporations and those who pay income tax are exempted from the scheme.

Cooperation department additional chief secretary GS Sandhu, Information and Technology department principal secretary VK Gautam and Information and Technology director M Sankaranarayanan worked relentlessly for almost 100 days to ensure that all the norms are followed to the tee resulting in huge savings for the exchequer this time.
By Shruti Sunderraman

Every time there's a case of sexual assault, news channels have their Arnab Goswami moments and family dinners turn into courtroom dramas with lots of finger wagging and the-government-should-haves. It's the favourite dinner table topic - how women could have avoided rape/harassment. Women seethe while men mansplain and continue to chomp down their dinner with noisy punctuations about how they're right. Battle won. Sexism over. Women safe.

Any suggestion to simply listen to what women have to say (that the danger is not always out there in the dark streets) is met with either or all of four emotions from men - confusion ('eh, what is a listen?'), anger ('no, YOU listen!'), amusement ('look at these women trying to be articulate and all') or defence ('but I am not like that'). But a willingness to cultivate empathy is not a dish served at the discussion table.

Surprisingly, that's not what happened yesterday on social media. In the wake of Harvey Weinstein's cases of harassment, actor Alyssa Milano (former co-star of Rose McGowan who has alleged that Weinstein has raped her) urged women on Twitter to tweet saying #MeToo if they've also been sexually harassed or assaulted at some point in their lives. Women poured in with their stories of being harassed in heartbreaking numbers. So much so, that #MeToo started trending worldwide in no time.

If you were on social media yesterday I'd be surprised if your Twitter and Facebook timelines were not flooded with #MeToo and brutal stories from women of all ages about what they've faced. Also accompanying it was the bitter threads of conversation asking, do we really need to say this, haven't we all been assaulted and so on. That's right, the exhausting litany of violence against women was sadly predictable. Also sadly predictable were some men who tried to dismiss the crushing weight of the stories by saying 'stop villianising men', 'why are women making this about themselves' and 'you're so judgemental about men'. All of this is usually enough for me to buy a one way ticket to a remote hut in Iceland.

But two things surprised me yesterday.

The first thing was that a surprising number of women owned up to having participated in a culture of harassment. They expressed remorse at their attitude and vowed to do better, as a response to women posting with #MeToo.

The first emotion I felt here was shock. Shock that all the weapons I had gathered to fight the usual onslaught of excuses and accusations were unnecessary. It was unnerving to not give explanations for why I was tweeting about my harassment. It was numbing to not be attacked for taking a stand. It's like when you go to a strange, new city and expect to be robbed, but are instead welcomed home with kindness.

The thing that really surprised me was what felt like an outpouring of men actually listening. No sympathy, no defence, no #NotAllMen, no tell me again what harassment really is aka let's make it all about me. Several men tweeted to #MeToo with the hashtag #IHearYou to signify that they're here to listen to women's grievances with harassment. Several men tweeted #IHearYou with messages of apologies for the collective male attitude towards women and with a simple assurance that they weren't there to offer women advice (about time!), but are here to simply listen.

Dickens has a line somewhere in Oliver Twist about Oliver jumping out of his skin because someone touched him gently, because kindness was so unfamiliar to him, o grim Victorian reality. Likewise, I too was unnerved enough by just this much good behaviour from men online. Then, to my total shock, some men took to social media to express how they've wrongfully behaved with women in the past. If women used #MeToo to come out with stories of being harassed, a few men used the hashtag to recount of stories of when they've been the harassers. They offered no excuse - simply owned up to their behaviour and apologised for it.

One Twitter user, Shariq Rafeek, owned up to having harassed women in the past. From popping women's bra straps in college to not taking a girl's 'No' for an answer, Rafeek detailed how he'd participated in harassing women, even though he had not believed that it was harassment.

I wanted to write a full piece on this but meanwhile here's a thread on how I've been horrible to women in the past. #MeToo #SoDoneChilling  Shariq Rafeek (@_riqsha) October 16, 2017

A Facebook user named Gavin Noel Methalaka posted a status saying that he had consciously molested a woman in the past and that he did so without knowing or caring about the consequences of his actions. Many women commented on his post saying they're grateful that he owned up to his actions and did not provide excuses for it. They ended up thanking him for raising the bar of how men should respond to being a part of a culture of harassment. Another Twitter user, Shibesh Mehrotra said that he'd been fired for misconduct with a woman in his past. He owned up to his actions to relay that men also participate in a culture of harassment because they know they'll get away with the consequences.

Yep. And got fired for it. https://t.co/yQb79JocRx  Shibesh (@lordoftheshibs) October 16, 2017

The barrage of posts by men didn't stop at this. From owning up to gaslighting women for speaking up against harassment and having inappropriately made advances on the domestic worker in their homes, men came out in large numbers to describe how they participated in harassing women and contributed to a culture of silence surrounding harassment.

Been guilty of gaslighting a friend. I make no excuses for my behaviour. and i am ashamed of it.   lmaoist  (@BucketheadCase) October 16, 2017

Bro culture takes many forms. And guys for the most part dont even realise it (a thread)  Garbage Koala (@february_31st) October 16, 2017

#metoo

For enabling and taking part in some truly sexist and shitty things because our hearts were in the right place. No harm na?  Abhijeet Barve (@Naam_Hai_Bulla) October 16, 2017

#metoo For enabling and taking part in some truly sexist and shitty things because our hearts were in the right place. No harm na?  Abhijeet Barve (@Naam_Hai_Bulla) October 16, 2017

All too often the conversations about sexual harassment online continues to maintain the brocode. Men either talk about women's safety in terms of logistics or pretend it doesn't happen with People Like Us. You know, the "this does not happen in our homes" and the "only uneducated people rape women" excuses we hear rampantly flying out of the mouths of men in our living rooms and on our online sofas? I can't remember the last time I heard so many men accept that they have knowingly or unknowingly participated in rape culture or have contributed with their words or silence to a culture of harassment. I can't remember when I last heard a man acknowledge that even something as offhand (which it shouldn't be) as 'rating' a woman - 'she's a 10' or 'I'd give her a 6 at max' in a parking lot or a pub contributes to a circle of harassment, as pointed by a Facebook user, Dhruv Deshpande.

Men's participation in #MeToo highlighted the need for men to own up to their privilege and their willingness to accept the consequences of using it to establish power over women. And I was glad to see that several men who did it were making themselves vulnerable and not doing it for brownie points - like Weinstein (grossly) participating in the Women's March earlier this year.

Yesterday's online deluge took the onus of safety away from women for once and put it in the hands of those responsible for screwing with it. For a few hours it was great to see men not just accepting their participation in sexual harassment but also owning up to the consequences of their actions and expressing their remorse.

Men's acknowledgement about their harassing actions in the past cannot change the status quo overnight. But it brings in a much-needed breath of fresh air in a suffocating environment. More importantly, it makes room for action that's not stemmed in blame or in Hallmark greeting cards of empathy. It does not empower women - it simply acknowledges that men have held on to their own power for too long and that some of them are sorry for it.

Along with a few hearts, I felt like I heard a crack in the great wall of rape culture yesterday. Did you?

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online women's magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
Microsoft Corps secret internal database for tracking bugs in its own software was broken into by a highly sophisticated hacking group more than four years ago, according to five former employees, in only the second known breach of such a corporate database.

The company did not disclose the extent of the attack to the public or its customers after its discovery in 2013, but the five former employees described it to Reuters in separate interviews. Microsoft declined to discuss the incident.

The database contained descriptions of critical and unfixed vulnerabilities in some of the most widely used software in the world, including the Windows operating system. Spies for governments around the globe and other hackers covet such information because it shows them how to create tools for electronic break-ins.

The Microsoft flaws were fixed likely within months of the hack, according to the former employees. Yet speaking out for the first time, these former employees, as well as U.S. officials informed of the breach by Reuters, said it alarmed them because the hackers could have used the data at the time to mount attacks elsewhere, spreading their reach into government and corporate networks.

Bad guys with inside access to that information would literally have a skeleton key for hundreds of millions of computers around the world, said Eric Rosenbach, who was U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber at the time.

Companies of all stripes now are ramping up efforts to find and fix bugs in their software amid a wave of damaging hacking attacks. Many firms, including Microsoft, pay security researchers and hackers bounties for information about flaws  increasing the flow of bug data and rendering efforts to secure the material more urgent than ever.

In an email responding to questions from Reuters, Microsoft said: Our security teams actively monitor cyber threats to help us prioritize and take appropriate action to keep customers protected.

Sometime after learning of the attack, Microsoft went back and looked at breaches of other organizations around then, the five ex-employees said. It found no evidence that the stolen information had been used in those breaches.

Two current employees said the company stands by that assessment. Three of the former employees assert the study had too little data to be conclusive.

Microsoft tightened up security after the breach, the former employees said, walling the database off from the corporate network and requiring two authentications for access.

The dangers posed by information on such software vulnerabilities became a matter of broad public debate this year, after a National Security Agency stockpile of hacking tools was stolen, published and then used in the destructive WannaCry attacks against U.K. hospitals and other facilities.

After WannaCry, Microsoft President Brad Smith compared the NSAs loss to the the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen, and cited the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities.

Only one breach of a big database from a software company has been disclosed. In 2015, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation  which develops the Firefox web browser  said an attacker had gotten access to a database that included 10 severe and unpatched flaws. One of those flaws was then leveraged in an attack on Firefox users, Mozilla disclosed at the time.

In contrast to Microsofts approach, Mozilla provided extensive details of the breach and urged its customers to take action.

Mozilla Chief Business and Legal Officer Denelle Dixon said the foundation told the public about what it knew in 2015 not only inform and help protect our users, but also to help ourselves and other companies learn, and finally because openness and transparency are core to our mission.

The Microsoft matter should remind companies to treat accurate bug reports as the keys to the kingdom, said Mark Weatherford, who was deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security when Microsoft learned of the breach.

Like the Pentagons Rosenbach, Weatherford said he had not known of the Microsoft attack. Weatherford noted that most companies have strict security procedures around intellectual property and other sensitive corporate information. Your bug repository should be equally important, he said.

Alarm Spreads After Internal Probe

Microsoft discovered the database breach in early 2013 after a highly skilled hacking group broke into computers at a number of major tech companies, including Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc.

The group, variously called Morpho, Butterfly and Wild Neutron by security researchers elsewhere, exploited a flaw in the Java programming language to penetrate employees Apple Macintosh computers and then move to company networks.

The group remains active as one of the most proficient and mysterious hacking groups known to be in operation, according to security researchers. Experts cant agree about whether it is backed by a national government, let alone which one.

More than a week after stories about the breaches first appeared in 2013, Microsoft published a brief statement that portrayed its own break-in as limited and made no reference to the bug database.

As reported by Facebook and Apple, Microsoft can confirm that we also recently experienced a similar security intrusion, the company said on 22 February, 2013.

We found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organizations. We have no evidence of customer data being affected, and our investigation is ongoing.

Inside the company, alarm spread as officials realized the database for tracking patches had been compromised, according to the five former security employees. They said the database was poorly protected, with access possible via little more than a password.

Concerns that hackers were using stolen bugs to conduct new attacks prompted Microsoft to compare the timing of those breaches with when the flaws had entered the database and when they were patched, according to the five former employees.

These people said the study concluded that even though the bugs in the database were used in ensuing hacking attacks, the perpetrators could have gotten the information elsewhere.

That finding helped justify Microsofts decision not to disclose the breach, the former employees said, and in many cases patches already had been released to its customers.

Three of the five former employees Reuters spoke with said the study could not rule out stolen bugs having been used in follow-on attacks.

They absolutely discovered that bugs had been taken, said one. Whether or not those bugs were in use, I dont think they did a very thorough job of discovering.

Thats partly because Microsoft relied on automated reports from software crashes to tell when attacks started showing up. The problem with this approach, some security experts say, is that most sophisticated attacks do not cause crashes, and the most targeted machines  such as those with sensitive government information  are the least likely to allow automated reporting.
Patna As a nine-year-old girl died at Patna AIIMS while her poor father completed the formalities for her treatment and an official posted at the counter refused to help him, the Opposition RJD on Wednesday demanded a high-level probe into the matter.

Raushan Kumari, suffering from high fever for six days, died near the Outdoor Patient Department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna on Tuesday.

Man carried daughter's body in #Patna in the absence of any ambulance claims family, says #AIIMS doctors didn't attend to the ailing girl. pic.twitter.com/HUCMjLNExm  ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

Her father Rambalak and his wife, residents of Kajra village in Lakhisarai district, brought her to AIIMS, following which he was directed by the staff to get a parcha (registration card) made at the OPD counter.

As Rambalak, a daily wager, stood in the queue at the counter, his wife told him the girl's condition had deteriorated. As Rambalak pleaded with people standing in a long queue to allow him to get the formalities completed out of turn, no one paid heed. He even pleaded with the clerk deployed at the counter but was asked to come in queue.

"By the time Rambalak left the counter after getting the registration done, his daughter had died," a staff of a private agency contracted for cleaning operations at the hospital said on condition of anonymity.

To add to his agony, the distraught man was allegedly not even provided with an ambulance by AIIMS officials to ferry the body to his village. With little money on his person, he carried his daughter's body on his shoulder for nearly four km to an auto-rickshaw stand at Phulwari Sharif here.

AIIMS director Dr Prabhat Kumar Singh said he had no information that a critical patient had died due to lack of treatment.

"As far as a parcha is concerned, doctors treat critical patients without it and later their registration is done. But I will inquire into this case if it has happened," he said.

Interestingly, Patna AIIMS does not have an Emergency Ward.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav flayed the Nitish Kumar government for its "apathy towards the poorest of the poor" which, he claimed, led to the girl's death, and demanded a high-level probe.

"Everything has collapsed in Bihar, including law and order, education, and health. The latest incident of the girl's death at Patna AIIMS vindicates our stand. There is no facility for the poor for treatment  they have been left to die, as happened in this case."

He also took a dig at Union Minister of State for Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey, who last week reportedly suggested that patients from Bihar should be treated at Patna's AIIMS and not in AIIMS at Delhi.

Choubey's alleged remark about Biharis "crowding" AIIMS at Delhi even for minor ailments had drawn criticism from Opposition parties.

Lalu Prasad said: "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi have no time for genuine health issues. Both are busy showing their faces in the media, more or less on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

"Girls are dying for want of bhat(rice) in Jharkhand and lack of treatment in Bihar," the RJD chief remarked while referring to the death of 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari in Simdega district in neighbouring Jharkhand due to starvation.
Jammu: Pakistani troops on Wednesday violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control and shelled civilian hamlets and forward posts in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a strong retaliation from the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district," the spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote, Manjakote areas, a police officer said.

Last week, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing in the Bhimber Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC), deliberately targeting villages of Basauni and Sandot in the Balakote area resulting in injuries to two children and two teenagers.

On 13 October, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire in the Krishnagati sector along LoC.

A day before that, an Army jawan and a porter were killed and six others injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and resorted to shelling at the forward areas along the LoC in the Poonch district.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
The trouble with research results is that by the time they are published they are so outdated, they might as well be pointless.

The Pew Research survey conducted across several nationsand India in particular regarding the performance of the Narendra Modi governmentis a perfect case in point.

The survey reflects the Modi government's standing in April/May 2017.

The numbers show an overwhelming trust in the Modi regime: 85 percent of Indians trust their government.

That number, which was at 81 percent last year, peaked at 87 percent in 2015 (in the same Pew survey).

The popularity of the government seems consistent and defies the law of diminishing returns.

If one can get beyond the fact it has been six months since the respondents were contacted and the fact that that only a select few were chosen from a nation of 1.2 billion, it would be fair to say that the Modi magic endures.

The other concern with such exercises is that one does not know the antecedents or cultural, political, linguistic, financial, educational and social positions of those who took part in this telephone survey. India is such a vast and diverse nation that any limited polling short of going to the hustings would reflect the priorities of that region and could produce completely different results in different places.

Again, in the tumultuous Indian political environment, the dynamics change so swiftly that six months is almost a tenure and puts the results out of sync. As such, the data is that much less relevant.

And it cuts both ways: An unfriendly poll, based on a limited framework of lies, damned lies and statistics could have easily have led to a lower percentage, which would have been equally arbitrary and unfair.

So much importance is attached to these report cards. One wonders why.

Whether the government receives an A+ or a C- in various categories doesn't really matter as the numbers do not reflect the national mood today.

Since the poll was conducted, the Modi chariot has chugged along without any real challenger.

But the question is: Is Modi still held in the same esteem and unquestioning awe that he was at the start of 2017.

Now, that's something worthy of debate.

As the leader, all too often one pays the price for others' acts of commission and omission.

The disenchantment, if any, is at the ground level and is fed largely by unemployment, the financial confusion and uncertainty over exactly how much wholesome goodness there is in demonetisation, the hastily-imposed Goods and Services Tax and a general feeling of what the hell that is beginning to permeate the national fabric.

Perhaps, this too shall pass. After all, sunlight filters in through strong leadership, stronger rhetoricfriends, Indians and countrymen, lend me your earsand the oft-reiterated promise of a better tomorrow.

But there is one major difference between then and now (time periods which can be referred to as pre-GST and post-GST).

Financially, the common man is hurting.

He isn't impressed by the sleight of hand as the miraculous remedy which will cure his poverty does not materialise.

And that's not all.

India has become more divided when it comes to issues of caste, community and religion, not less.

Which is hurting the commonweal.

Be it the merciless thrashing of the lower castes, attacks on those who eat beef, the intolerance towards having a 'good time', the bans on alcohol, a certain way of dressing, the 'us vs them' mentality propagated at breakneck speed by social media platforms is percolating to the man on the street and making the nation bleed.

While these incidents may be spotty and isolated for now, going forward, the trend is dangerous.

More and more, individuals are taking non-issues and making outrageous remarks with the intent to inflame passions.

Perhaps there was the same sort of splintering in all those years of Congress rule, but in today's world these 'divisions' are louder, more in your face and thus come off as far more hostile.

As a result, they are capable of doing far greater damage, which requires that all of us be more circumspect.

Maybe media houses ought to interview a thousand plus respondents today and put the same questions to them.

The answers might be intriguing.

Modi might still be ahead of the class with 90 percent marks (and in need of tuition in one or two subjects).

But at least such a survey will be something we can sink our teeth into and give us something to work with, rather than looking back.
Ludhiana: The Ludhiana Police on Wednesday claimed to have recovered the motorcycle used by the two masked assailants of an RSS leader who was shot dead in Kailash Nagar locality in Ludhiana on Tuesday.

The motorcycle was abandoned by the killers, about 12 km from the spot of the crime, on the GT Road near Ladhowal in the outskirts of the city. The details of the two-wheeler was being verified, the police said.

The motorcycle bore registration number PB10CU-7223, police commissioner RN Dhoke said, adding, "This has made easier for us to trace the killers. This clue of route used by assailants will definitely help us in the investigations."

The police have started getting footage from CCTV cameras installed on this route, the official said.

"The assailants had used the flyover while passing through Slemtabri chowk after killing the RSS leader. That is why they escaped CCTV cameras installed under the bridge on the GT Road there under the 'Safe City Project'", Dhoke said.

The two unidentified assailants shot dead senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosain (60) in the Kailash Nagar locality when he was returning home after attending a morning drill (RSS shakha).

Gosain died on the spot, the police said.

Senior BJP leader and former minister Manoranjan Kalia, who was in the city on Wednesday, said, "The incident is a total collapse of law-and-order machinery in the state. The situation has gone from bad to worse. Miscreants are executing murders in broad daylight without any fear of the police."

Local MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira visited the residence of the deceased RSS leader and expressed condolence to his family.

Khaira condemned the killing of Gosain and the police's "failure" to nab the assailants.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was in Punjab on Tuesday, had raised the issue of the killing with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and told him to get the matter thoroughly investigated speedily, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma had said.
On 11 October, scores of child rights and women's rights advocates rejoiced the decision of the Supreme Court criminalising sex with a minor wife and thereby clearing up the confusion on the conflict between the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. While it was certainly imperative that child brides be protected from sexual assault by their husbands, it is even more important to prevent them from being married off in the first place.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) enacted in 2006, prohibits marriage with a female below the age of 18 years, and with a male below the age of 21 years. The act also criminalises an adult male marrying a girl child, as well persons who permit, promote or solemnise such marriages.

However, where a child marriage has already been conducted, the act does not invalidate them but only provides the child with an option of nullifying the marriage any time after the marriage but within two years of attaining majority. The ambiguous PCMA provisions, at best, reflect the bitter political compromise carefully arrived at without upsetting any group, while at the same time giving the illusion of protecting child rights.

In direct contradiction to the PCMA, the Sharia law governing Muslim marriages permits women to marry upon attaining puberty or after the age of 15 years. While the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, does not permit girls below the age of 18 to solemnise a marriage, it does not invalidate it either. Under the safeguard of these permissive personal laws, a vast number of children are made to enter into marriages which will not only deprive them of their basic rights but also expose them to sexual assault, domestic violence, and early and risky pregnancies.

Adding to this backdrop, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) enacted in the year 2012 prohibits any form of sexual contact with a minor in absolute terms. The act does not permit any exceptions and does not recognise a child including where the child has consented to the act or even where the child is married. In the 11 October decision, the division bench of the Supreme Court reaffirmed this position holding that children who are married cannot be deprived of their right to be protected from sexual abuse.

The National Family Health Survey conducted for the year 2015-2016 reports that nearly 27 percent of all women aged 20-24 were married while they were minors. Although the percentage has greatly reduced from the year 2005-2006 where it stood at 46 percent, the figures still point out that nearly one in every four women is being married off before she turns 18. Worse still, 7.9 percent of women aged between 15 to 19 years were already mothers at the time of the survey.

The corresponding data on incidences of offences recorded under the PCMA Act depict that despite the high number of child marriages in the country, only a small fraction result in criminal prosecutions. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data indicate that only 795 violations under the PCMA were reported for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 combined. These figures draw the unmistakable conclusion that a vast number of children in the country are living under a normalised environment of deprivation of their most basic rights.

This conflict has come before the judiciary in several instances, with different high courts being petitioned to decide upon the validity of these marriages, the custody of the child bride, and right of parents to solemnise the marriage of their minor daughter. The high number of child marriages, compounded with the existence of the conflicting laws have resulted in the high courts rendering different decisions in similar fact scenarios.

The Madras High Court in 2015 examined a matter in which a child marriage prohibition Officer filed a criminal complaint against persons who had arranged a marriage with a minor Muslim girl. In accordance with the PCMA, the district court passed a restraining order against the offenders, who in turn petitioned the high court seeking permission to conduct the marriage as it was permissible under the Sharia law. The Madras High Court struck down the request stating that the court cannot and would not pass an order by virtue of which little girls become child brides".

In a contrasting case, the Delhi High Court in 2012 examined several matters concerning the validity of marriages solemnised with minor girls who had eloped on their own accord. Some of these girls were not just minor but even under 15 years of age. During the course of the proceedings, several of the child brides were forced to live in state institutions as they refused to go back to their parents stating that they would be forced to marry someone else.

The court upheld the validity of the marriages although it grimly observed that personal laws permitting child marriages have defeated the very purpose of the PCMA and gave a legal shield to parents and guardians perpetrating these marriages. However, the court decided that although these marriages were not invalid, the husband was not entitled to the custody of minor child. In particular, the court held that the husband cannot be permitted to consummate the marriage with a minor as it would greatly hinder their choice to invalidate the marriage at a later time.

Another bench of the Delhi High Court took a different stand holding a child marriage valid and returned custody of the minor child to her husband.

Disparate holdings on child marriage are also seen in other parts of the country with high courts giving varying opinions. In general, where child marriages have already taken place, the courts have been reluctant in holding them invalid due to the absence of strong legal provisions. However, where the courts have been petitioned to permit a child marriage yet to occur, the courts have denied citing the provisions of the PCMA despite permissive personal laws.

However, they have stood sharply divided on the issue of children staying in the custody of the husband. Despite the varying judicial pronouncements, the Supreme Court is yet to make a ruling clarifying the validity of these marriages and its impact on the rights of the child.

The recent Supreme Court decision criminalising sex with minor wife will certainly go a long way in dis-incentivising child marriages from taking place. However, by setting the magic number at 18, the effect of the decision in courts will precariously hinge on proving the age of the child to be below 18 years. Studies conducted by Centre for Child (CCL) and the Law in the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) on the working of special courts on the POCSO Act in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi and Assam reveals that with the poor state of documentation, and absence of records, age determination is already one of the biggest hurdles in effectively prosecuting child sexual abuse cases.

In order to rectify the conflict, the state of Karnataka took an unprecedented step by introducing a state amendment to the PCMA Act rendering all child marriages invalid. While this is a commendable step towards protecting children from being forced into early marriages, it invariably harms children at the other end of the spectrum  those who enter willingly into child marriages.

While the exact rate of teenage elopement is unknown, current data on POCSO cases reveal that a large number of children engage in consensual sexual relationships. The studies conducted by CCL and NLSIU reveal that at least 20 percent of decided cases in Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, and Karnataka filed under the POCSO Act are 'romantic' cases with parents of a minor girl filing complaints against husband or boyfriend. In such cases, as per the present law, the husband can face an imprisonment for a period of 10 years or more. Invalidating the marriage and criminalising the husband hardly seems a just solution in these cases.

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution to the problem. While permitting child marriages violates child rights, invalidating marriages and criminalising adolescent sex does the exact same thing. Black and white laws do not reflect the complexity of the issues and the law requires to innovate new remedies keeping in mind the ground realities. Given the unavoidable interplay between child marriage and child sexual abuse, it becomes critical that the conflicts between the laws that endanger the life, health and the wellbeing of children are soon resolved.

Shruthi Ramakrishnan is an advocate and independent legal researcher. She may be contacted at shruthiramakrishnan0@gmail.com
Bengaluru: A team of court commissioners, lawyers, police and members of NGO Gau Gyan Foundation, which had gone to check illegal abattoirs at Yelahanka New Town in Bengaluru, was attacked by a mob on Tuesday.

The team members were "heckled, chased, attacked and the windowpanes of police vehicles smashed" by the mob after it detected an illegal abattoir at Dodda Bettahalli, according to Kavitha Jain, a member of the NGO working for the protection of cows and its progenies.

"The abattoir was running inside SS Garage. There were 15 cows and its progenies such as bulls, ox and calves in four canters. Apart from that, there was an open space where some animals were tied. When we asked people there to open, they refused. In no time, a mob of around 250 people surrounded us," Jain said.

"They started attacking us and abusing us...Somehow, we managed to escape in the police vehicles, whose glasses were also smashed by the mob," Jain said.

A complaint was lodged at Yelahanka police station, she said.

Police confirmed the attack had taken place and said they were investigating the case.

No arrests had been made so far, they said.

A meeting was held with local leaders of a minority community to find an amicable solution, police said.

Jain told PTI that she and Joshine Antony are the petitioners in a case pertaining to stopping illegal slaughter houses in the city.

"The court had asked us to show at least five such illegal abattoirs in the city to pass an order. It also appointed two court commissioners to oversee the operations," said Jain.

On 14 October, the team located three illegal abattoirs at JJ Nagar, Chandra Layout and Shikari Palya.
Editor's note: Uttar Pradesh had been in the grips of a healthcare crisis long before Gorakhpur and Farrukhabad put the spotlight on the state's ailing public health system. The state's infant mortality rate is comparable to that of strife-torn African nations. There is one doctor for every 19,000 people; according to WHO, there should be one for every 1,000. This is the third of a four-part series that explores the state's policy paralysis and places it against the larger backdrop of a systematic public health failure.

"I was shocked to see my baby die half an hour after the doctors told us that he was going to be fine and that there was nothing to worry about," said Vyas Gupta, a resident of Deoria district, who lost his four-month-old child to the Gorakhpur tragedy in Uttar Pradesh in August.

Gupta is not alone as state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital proved to be a death trap for 300 children that month. The hospital has seen 1,256 child deaths until August this year. And not so far behind, in Farrukhabad's Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, 49 children died in September alone.

Dr Abhay Shukla, a public health policy expert and a programme coordinator at Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives (SATHI), said although local factors did play a role in the Gorakhpur tragedy, it was not just limited to that. Since the survey shows that most people in Uttar Pradesh die of something as common as diarrhoeal diseases, the quality of public health facilities in the state warrants serious attention.

The decade-on-decade population growth of India's most populous state is 20.2 percent, which is higher than the country's 17.7 percent. But its health infrastructure has failed to cope with the growing population.

In 2015-16, Uttar Pradesh spent 3.98 percent of its budget on healthcare, which is Rs 12,104 crore of an overall expenditure of Rs 3.04 lakh crore. The next year, the state spent 4.6 percent of its budget on healthcare and for 2017-18, the estimated expenditure is 4.46 percent. Dr Shukla said the money allocated for health policies serves as "oxygen", which is hardly made available to Uttar Pradesh.

He said, "The proposed budget for 2016-17 demanded Rs 30.4 crore for healthcare, of which only Rs 10.19 crore were approved by the Centre. In 2017-18, the demand was cut to Rs 20.01 crore but the Centre managed to further slash it to Rs 5.78 crore  barely 29 percent of the proposed amount."

A report published by data journalism portal IndiaSpend earlier this year highlighted how Uttar Pradesh's per capita expenditure on health, at a mere Rs 452, is 70 percent of India's national average. "The state, which has more than 16 percent of the country's population, gets only nine percent of India's public health spending. We need more per capita spending in the health sector to support the crippled public health policies," Dr Shukla added.

Misallocation of resources

When it comes to the state of its public health institutions, Uttar Pradesh disappoints again. The healthcare infrastructure has cracks right from the bottom  from sub-centres to district government hospitals. Uttar Pradesh has 20,521 sub-centres and not one of them meets Indian Public Health Standards. Almost 32.5 percent of the sub-centres don't get regular water supply, 35.9 percent face trouble when it comes to electric supply and 30.2 percent are without all-weather motorable approach road.

Almost 91 percent of Public Healthcare Centres (PHCs) do not have a female doctor, 60 percent do not have a functional operation theatre and 56.6 percent are devoid of a labour room. Many centres don't even have a regular supply of common drugs. This points at gross misallocation of resources and wastage of public funds. "If the PHCs function properly, people won't have to run to district hospitals. This means the infrastructure at the hospitals won't have to deal with more patients than it can handle," added Dr Shukla.

The 2016 Rural Health Statistics' list of lack of staff in Community Healthcare Centres is unending  specialists are short by 84 percent, lab technicians by 77 percent and radiographers by 89 percent. Uttar Pradesh faces the most severe shortage of medical staff among other states in the country. Gupta said that when he cried for help at the BRD Medical College, there weren't enough doctors to attend to all the patients. "Only nurses and other hospital staff members attended to my baby," said Gupta.

Dr Kailash Dulani, the only paediatrician at the 100-bed Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Fatehgarh of Farrukhabad district, said he is forced to double as an obstetrician-gynaecologist (OB-GYN) and help deliver about 16 children a day at the hospital. "I see patients, go on rounds and also sit in the out-patient department (OPD) but other than that I can be called to the hospital anytime because there is no other child specialist," he said.

To deal with this acute shortage, the Yogi Adityanath-led government has extended the retirement age of doctors in state-run hospitals from 60 years to 62 years. The move is likely to benefit more than 11,000 doctors. Siddarth Nath Singh, health minister, Uttar Pradesh, told the Legislative Council that there was a shortage of about 7,000 doctors in the state.

Director, epidemic and vectorborne diseases, Uttar Pradesh, Dr Badri Vishal, said one of the ways to address the doctor shortage issue is to train Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani and Siddha Healing) doctors so that they will also be able to write allopathic medicines. He said they should be posted at the CHCs at the block level. "After the Gorakhpur incident, the government has formed various committees to address the healthcare issues. It (Gorakhpur incident) was mismanagement as there was no one to monitor the work," he said.

Failure of steps to ensure no failure

Under the National Health Mission, a provision for Rogi Kalyan Samiti or Patient Welfare Committee (PWC) in PHCs was included. The aim of the PWCs is to ensure that the centres meet the country's healthcare standards. But how many of them exist?

In UP, 86.8 percent of PHCs don't have PWCs. The state has a surplus of CHCs but less than half of them have a functioning X-ray machine and more than half of them don't have a functioning stabilisation unit for newborns.

From low health budget, misallocation of that budget to the failure of policies meant to resolve the grave issue and to the perennial problem of shortage of staff, the state is mired in problems that have left its healthcare system in tatters.

Read Part 1: Chronic shortage of doctors, overdose of apathy have left govt hospitals comatose

Read Part 2: With only 78,000 doctors for 21 crore people, state has turned playground for quacks

The author is a Pune based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
Ahead of Diwali, New Delhi and the National Capital Region started the implementation of a Graded Response Action Plan which will include strict measures to curb air pollution. Mandated by the Supreme Court, the plan involves stringent measures against burning of waste, industrial pollution and transport sector emissions.

This plan follows the ban on firecrackers in Delhi NCR put in place by the Supreme Court. The news was met with a mixed reaction with certain sections of the society rejoicing at the apex court order, while traders and businessman were busy counting their losses.

While most people are vaguely aware of the health problems firecrackers can cause, it would be useful to look at the exact effects firecrackers can have on the human body.

Firecrackers are essentially made up of four components: Oxidisers, fuel, colouring agents and binder, according to a report filed before the Supreme Court by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the "Known Health Impacts From Bursting Firecrackers Caused Due To Their Chemical Composition".

The oxidiser is usually a perchlorate salt. It serves the function of releasing the oxygen required for the explosion. Dr David E Chavez, a chemist in the High Explosives Science and Technology division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory told Newsweek that the perchlorate is a toxic compound. When the firework is set off, most of the perchlorate present becomes harmless compound. However, the remants enter the soil and water, and when ingested by humans, it gets absorbed in the thyroid gland and interferes with the thyroid hormone. This eventually leads to problems in metabolism and mental development.

The fuel in the firecracker is generally charcoal which sustains the fire. Burning this results in the release of a large amount of air pollutants, particularly sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter into the atmosphere. These get lodged in people's lungs, and there's an immediate danger for those with asthma or chemical sensitivities.

Then, there are the colouring agents.

According to the CPCB report, these are the chemical compounds which give firecrackers their colours. Aluminium compounds produce brilliant whites, barium nitrate produces greens, and the addition of copper results in blue light. Each of these come with their health effects.

Aluminium causes contract dermatitis and bio-accumulation. It also causes bronchoconstriction in susceptible individuals. Copper compounds can cause cancer. Antimony sulphide produces toxic smoke and is a carcinogen. Barium nitrate can cause an irritated respiratory tract in addition to a possible radioactive fallout. Barium chromate was also found to be toxic to living cells and genes in the human lung cells.

The CPCB report also lists out other compounds released by firecrackers which cause health problems. Lead dioxide/nitrates/chlorides are poisonous. Mercury can cause bioaccumulation. Potassium nitrate is a carcinogenic which causes toxic dust. Ozone is a highly reactive gas and has been noted to result in small changes in airway resistance and repeated exposure to it is associated with increased asthma-related symptoms. Strontium compounds are toxic and can replace calcium in the body. Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide are highly toxic if inhaled.

Apart from the CPCB report, studies across the world have found links between fireworks and variation in air quality, according to The Indian Express. In the 2014 study, Potential impact of fireworks on respiratory health, in Lung India, a peer-reviewed journal, Caroline Gouder and Stephen Montefort wrote, "There is increasing recognition of the detrimental effect of urban air pollution on human health both in the long and short term. Adults exposed to high levels of ambient air pollution have shown increased prevalence of chronic cough, phlegm, and breathlessness and are therefore at an increased risk of developing respiratory symptoms... and lung cancers."

Another study titled Recreational atmospheric pollution episodes: Inhalable metalliferous particles from firework displays, as summarised by The Indian Express, found that children were susceptible in particular, since their defences against particulate matter and other gaseous air pollutants were weaker. Also, children engaged in greater physical activity, increasing the intake of polluted air into their lungs.

The central government might well solve all of these problems however, as it has asked scientists to develop zero-pollution firecrackers which do not cause health hazards to children. Union environment minister Harsh Vardhan made this announcement while flagging off the 'Run for Clean Air' campaign in New Delhi as a part of the 'Clean Air Campaign'. He also said that the ill-effects of pollution cause maximum problems to children.

With inputs from PTI
Whether or not the Supreme Court's order banning the sale of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR) will have the desired effect remains to be seen, considering the air in Delhi is said to be of extremely poor quality throughout the year. As per statistics available on the Help Delhi Breathe NGO's website, the World Health Organisation has set a "safe limit" of 25 micrograms of particulate matter (PM) per cubic meter of air. Delhi's air met that safe standard for just seven days in the last two years, meaning residents of the national capital inhaled hazardous air for about 99 percent of the year.

However, the air pollution levels see a sudden and almost toxic spike on and around Diwali. As reported by Hindustan Times last year, the air in Delhi on the morning after Diwali was "difficult to breathe" and many complained of "zero visibility". The air quality index, which is classified as "severe" if it's between 400 and 500, indicated levels of 492 and 500 in parts of the national capital. To put this in perspective, the report said, China declares a "red alert" if air quality plunges to this level. If the levels continue for three consecutive days, China facilitates measures such as shutting down schools and offices, closing down industries and power plants, and road rationing of vehicles. Delhi did none of the above.

To analyse the threat posed by bursting firecrackers on Diwali, the Chest Research Foundation of India and students from the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences of the University of Pune measured particulate matter emitted by each firecracker from the distance they are usually lit; for example, the sparklers at a foot from the user.

The snake tablet produced the highest levels of PM 2.5, followed by the ladi, pulpul, fuljhadi, chakri and anar. Although the snake tablet burned only for nine seconds, it produced the highest peak PM (particulate matter)  2.5 level of 64,500 g/m3, which is 2,560 times above WHO standards  while the ladi produced peak PM 2.5 levels of 38,540 g/m3, 1,541 times over WHO standards.

As reported by Quint, India has set a 24-hour mean standard of 60 g/m (micrograms per cubic metre) for PM 2.5, while the WHO has a lower standard of 25 g/m. PM 2.5 are particles 30 times finer than human hair; they accumulate in human organs and blood stream, increasing the risk of sickness and death.

Children with weak immune and respiratory responses are especially vulnerable because of this. "Children in particular burn the fuljhadi, the pulpul and the snake tablet barely a foot or two away from them, and in doing so, (they) inhale a large number of smoke particles that reach deep into their lungs," Sneha Limaye, senior scientist at the Chest Research Foundation of India, was quoted as saying in the report.

Chemical composition of firecrackers

The problem, however, is that while studies can measure the pollution caused by a particular firecracker, there is no way of judging the composition of these products. Since many firecrackers are manufactured in small-scale cottage industries and sold informally, there aren't guidelines to monitor their production, nor are they compelled to mention the composition on the packaging.

The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) is a central government body that is in charge of defining standards the firecrackers are meant to adhere to.

As per a report in The Times of India, the only known guidelines ever drawn regarding the issue were in 2008 when the Supreme Court told PESO to notify regulations on permitted chemicals for crackers. But there were over 40 notified types of firecrackers, while the guidelines were issued for only four of these. Furthermore, the guidelines said each individual cracker product must contain nitrates not exceeding 57 percent, aluminium powder of upto 24 percent, and sulphur content not exceeding 20 percent.

On ingredients like cobalt, copper, magnesium, which are routinely used in the manufacture of firecrackers, the regulations are silent.

A Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) official was quoted in the report as saying they regularly send crackers to PESO for testing, and products that do not adhere to standards are banned. But the PESO alone can determine what these "standards" are.

At the very least, the PESO has made it mandatory for manufacturers in Sivakasi, the firecracker manufacturing capital of India, located in Tamil Nadu, to follow the standards it has set. However, the presence of small-scale factories and the large number of crackers they produce means that a majority of the products available may not be following the guidelines.

K Mariappan, secretary of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association, was quoted as saying by The Times of India report: "In Sivakasi, we don't uses chlorides or per-chlorides. We use nitrates and its salts for effects," he said.

With inputs from agencies
Visiting Ayodhya on Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath pitched 'Ram Rajya' and vowed to transform the city.

Beginning his speech with 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' at the 'Deepotsav' event on Wednesday, Adityanath said, "The Centre has sanctioned Rs 133 crore for Ayodhya. We are taking efforts so that Uttar Pradesh becomes the tourism hub for India and the world."

He praised the city for its ancient glory. "Ayodhya is the land of humanity. Maanavta ka path duniya ko Ayodhya ne padhya hai Ram Rajya ke maadhyam se. (Ayodhya has taught the lesson on humanity to the world, through the medium of 'Ram Rajya')," Adityanath said.

Adityanath said 'Ram Rajya' meant "where there is no poverty, pain, grief or discrimination; no poor without a home; no home without electricity or LPG."

The Uttar Pradesh government planned to light 1.71 lakh diyas (earthen-lamps) along the Saryu river on Wednesday evening, and enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

"We're all here so that Ayodhya could get back its identity, and respect. I am grateful to all the saints and ministers and supporters present here. Remember, Ayodhya ki jitni abaadi hai, utne deep jalenge (The number of diyas to be lit today is equal the population of Ayodhya)," said Adityanath.

Attacking critics and the Opposition for criticising the Uttar Pradesh government, Adityanath said, "There are people in this country who will oppose every good initiative. If I come to Ayodhya, they'll question that. If I don't come to Ayodhya, they'll say I'm scared of coming here. Now they are saying that the Ayodhya programme is to divert the attention of people. I am here with my work, including loan waivers, wheat purchase done in the past six months"

The chief minister said he wondered why there were negative discussions on Ayodhya.

"We are making an attempt to take it from negativity to positivity. I am happy all Ayodhya residents cooperated in this endeavour. Ayodhya remained neglected, faced attacks continuously, but it will not remain so," he said. Adityanath said this was first of the four phases planned for Ayodhya.

"There will be beautification of Ayodhya and its ghats. This effort will continue in other historic places. Be it Kashi, Mathura, Namisharayna (Sitapur), Mirzapur, Tulsipur (Balrampur), Saharanpur, we will develop historical places. The state should become a world tourism hub and it is a beginning from Ayodhya," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister revealed the state's plans for the progress of Ayodhya. "We are ready to electrify Ayodhya 24x7. This is Ram Rajya, where there is no discrimination. It was Ravan Rajya previously, which would discriminate on the basis of caste or background," said Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

He added: "Diwali gives us the opportunity to take an oath for the betterment."

Chants of "Jai Shri Ram" echoed on the banks of the Saryu river as actors portraying the roles of Lord Rama and Sita arrived on a chopper decked up to resemble the mythological Pushpak Vimanin a recreation of Lord Rama's return from 14 years of exile to Ayodhyaas part of a grand 'Deepotsav' celebration, attended by Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik and senior ministers were also in attendance in the flower-bedecked and gaily lighted temple town on Wednesday evening.

Diyas are being illuminated on the Ghats of river Saryu in #Ayodhya to celebrate #Deepotsav. pic.twitter.com/y6ogRNvOFu  UP Tourism (@uptourismgov) October 18, 2017

Tonnes of flower petals were showered as the actors portraying the characters from the Ramayana arrived at the venue of the Ramlila. Adityanath said a 'Ramayan mela' will be associated with this programme from 2018.

Speaking before Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "Those opposed to Lord Ram cannot stop us from developing Ayodhya".

In his speech, Union tourism minister KJ Alphons said, "I am happy because this is where Lord Rama blessed this land with his feet. We (Centre) have sanctioned Rs 133 crores for Ayodhya. We will sanction more funds, there is no problem at all. We are also giving plenty of money to Varanasi. There is a project for Rs 430 crore, and that also will be sanctioned."

"We want to make Ayodhyathe holiest placethe best place in India," he added. This was Alphons' first visit to the city.

Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik lauded the efforts of the Uttar Pradesh government in developing Ayodhya and thanked him for the assurance that all the work would be completed in two years, before his tenure ends.

"In my opinion, this is an historic day. There is Uttar Pradesh government and there is Centre. There is Ganga and there is Yamuna. When these two met, this event could take place," said Naik.

He added: "From the heaven above, Lord Rama must be looking down and wondering what has happened of his Ayodhya. But Sita must've told him today 'Look, so many people have gathered for Ayodhya. Lakhs have come here for Deepotsav. When you had come to this place, were there these many diyas lit up?'"

Other prominent leaders present at the Deepotsav were Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma, and BJP state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.

After the main event, the stage was set for a grand laser show and 'aarti' (worship) of river Saryu.

With inputs from agencies
DEAR HARRIETTE: Now that the gun issue is top of mind, I have begun to question the people I know who may have guns and the lives of my children. I never thought to ask parents if they own guns before I allow my children to visit their homes. Now I think it's a question to ask, especially if I am planning to allow my children to go for a sleepover.

How do you recommend I bring this up? I know it's a political hot button. I want to protect my children. Honestly, I'm not sure if I want my children to spend the night at someone's home if they have guns. How do I address this? -- Children and Guns, Philadelphia

DEAR CHILDREN AND GUNS: First, figure out what your stance is regarding your children going to sleepovers with families who have guns. You have to be clear on your view so that when you talk to parents you know where you intend to draw the line.

If guns and ammunition are properly stored, they should be childproof, which means the guns are stored in bags with the ammunition kept separate, out of reach of children.

How to ask? Just do it. You can frame the question by saying you have begun to think about the issue of weapons in the home due to the many incidents of late with children inadvertently getting their hands on guns and hurting or killing innocent people. State whether you have guns and, if so, how you store them, and then ask if these parents have guns in the home. Be upfront about your concerns for your child's safety. If the people you're speaking with have guns, find out how they are stored. Make your decision based on those facts.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My co-worker complains about her weight nonstop. She talks about all the things she does to lose, from cutting carbs to going to the gym, to drinking water and more. I have listened to her pledges about losing weight for years now, all the while having her judge me with disparaging comments because I am overweight.

Now that I have lost 20 pounds, she hasn't changed her tune. She continues to use me as a punching bag. I don't appreciate it. In her view, I think I'm better than other people now because I have lost weight. I can't win. What can I do to get her off my back without inciting more negativity? -- Punching Bag, Salt Lake City

DEAR PUNCHING BAG: Your co-worker is a bully. You can choose to ignore her and continue on your path to wellness or you can call her out on her behavior. For the latter, stop her when she begins to talk about you. Tell her she would be better off using her energy to take care of herself.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work in corporate America at a job I have had for about 7 years. I do well there and am up for a promotion soon, but a woman who works on my floor could be standing in the way of that. She is basically my peer. For the past few months, she has been making a play for me. Whenever we are alone, she does little things like standing too close to me, sitting close by and hiking up her skirt, even touching me as she walks by. I have absolutely no interest in this woman. I also happen to have a serious girlfriend. I don't want any mess. I don't want this woman's subtle actions to turn into anything more. Should I tell my boss? I don't know how to handle it. -- The Dotted Line, Cincinnati

DEAR THE DOTTED LINE: You should speak to your boss about your concerns from the perspective of asking for advice. What you are experiencing happens rampantly to women in the workplace, and most businesses have some measures in place to help prevent overt sexist behavior. Ask your boss what he recommends you do to discourage this woman from continuing her advances.

You should also tell your human resources director about what has been happening so you are on the record as noting this discomfort. Be clear with your boss and with human resources that you enjoy your job and appreciate the opportunities you have had. Point out that you do not ever want to do anything that would jeopardize your integrity or that of the company.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
18:23 (ist)

Ayodhya hosts grand 'Deepotsav'

Chants of "Jai Shri Ram" echoed on the banks of the Saryu river as actors portraying the roles of Lord Rama and Sita arrived on a chopper decked up to resemble the mythological Pushpak Viman - in a recreation of Lord Rama's return from 14 years of exile to Ayodhya - as part of a grand 'Deepotsav' celebration, attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik and senior ministers were also in attendance for the event in the flower-bedecked and gaily lighted temple town on Wednesday evening.

Tonnes of flower petals were showered as the actors portraying the characters from the Ramayana arrived at the venue of the Ram Lila. As part of the Deepotsav, a record 1.73 lakh diyas or earthern lamps will be lighted on the banks of the Saryu.

The event is being hosted by the tourism department of the Uttar Pradesh government.

IANS
India has a rich tradition of amalgamation of various cultures and religions. For centuries, people from different religious beliefs have lived together while actively participating in each other's festive and religious activities.

But colonial policies after 1857 and the subsequent political rhetoric divided Indian society on religious lines. Costumes, food, language, festivals etc were all labelled as belonging to one religious group or the other.

The works of Nazeer Akbarabadi (1740-1830), an Urdu poet who lived at a time when the Mughal empire was witnessing a steep downfall and the British were taking over the country, can be used as an example to shed light on the rich composite culture of India during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The old social fabric was very much intact. Seemab Akbarabadi (1882-1951) has noted that in the times of Nazeer, Hindus and Muslims differed only in their methods of offering prayers, while people had one common culture. Festivals were deemed "cultural" rather than "religious", and hence Hindus and Muslims celebrated festivals together.

Nazeer has written several poems on what could be termed "Hindu festivals" in today's parlance. He has written more than a dozen poems on Holi, Diwali, Raksha Bandhan etc. In fact, he has written only three poems on "Muslim" festivals  one each on Id-ul-fitr, Id-ul-Azha and Shab-e-barat. One reason might be that Diwali and Holi are festivals that bring out more vibrant socio-cultural themes, while religious prayers and not human festivities are more central to Id or Shab-e-barat, where more than human festivities religious prayers are central. Whatever be the reason, it points towards the times when festivals were more cultural than religious.

Diwali, being one of the most celebrated festivals in north India, gets a special mention in his writings. He has, at least, two whole compositions dedicated to this festival, while many more couplets are distributed over a range of poems.

har ik makan men jala phir diya divali ka

har ik taraf ko ujala hua divali ka

sabhi ke dil men saman bha gaya divali ka

kisi ke dil ko maza khush laga divali ka

ajab bahar ka hai din bana divali ka

His poem Saman Diwali Ka is a magnificent example of him praising the joys of this festival. It's a beautiful description of the way people celebrated Diwali in the 18th Century. He describes the festival as the day when each house is illuminated with lamps, and each heart is full of joy and ecstasy, while surroundings bloom.

khilaune khilon batashon ka garm hai bazar

har ik dukan men charaghon ki ho rahi hai bahar

Describing the scene of the market, he writes that the business of toys, khil (a kind of eatable made of roasted rice) and sweets are at their peak. Lamps are being traded with fervour.

miTha.iyon ki dukanen laga ke halva.i

pukarte hain ki ''la laa! divali hai a.i''

batashe le koi barfi kisi ne tulva.i

khilaune valon ki in se ziyada bin aa.i

"Sweet shop owners call people to buy sweets, saying it's Diwali, and people respond by purchasing a variety of sweets. Toy shops are also selling their wares": Nazeer has painted a picture of Diwali where everybody is happily buying sweets and toys.

makan lep ke Thaliya jo kori rakhava.i

jala charagh ko kauDi vo jald jhanka.i

"Homes are painted, utensils are cleaned, and lamps are lit": This is Nazeer's description of Diwali. He even celebrates gambling as an important part of this festival.

kisi ne ghar ki haveli giro rakha haari

jo kuchh thi jins mayassar bana bana haari

kisi ne chiiz kisi kisi ki chura chhupa haari

kisi ne gaThri paDosan ki apni la haari

ye haar jiit ka charcha paDa divali ka

"Someone has lost his own house, while someone of the neighbour. Diwali is all about winning and losing the gamble."

jahan men ye jo divali ki sair hoti hai

to zar se hoti hai aur zar baghair hoti hai

jo haare un pe kharabi ki fair hoti hai

aur un men aan ke jin jin ki khair hoti hai

to aaDe aata hai un ke diya divali ka

He further writes that the enjoyment of Diwali is owed to the money but without it also one can celebrate. "The one who loses the gamble is doomed and one who wins is happy but still lamp of Diwali keeps the joy of the festival intact for the losers too," he wrote.

ye baten sach hain na jhuuT un ko janiyo yaro!

nasihaten hain unhen dil se maniyo yaro!

jahan ko jaao ye qissa bakhaniyo yaro!

jo jvari ho na bura us ka maniyo yaaro

'nazir' aap bhi hai jvariya divali ka

He ends the poem saying one should not think ill of the gamblers on this day. "It's the day of festivities and the poet himself gambles on this day. For him, one should be advised against ills of gambling but festivities should not stop and Diwali is all about sweets, toys, lights and gambling," he wrote.

Nazeer also celebrated Diwali in another poem.

dosto kya kya divali men nashat-o-aish hai

sab muhayya hai jo is hangam ke shayan hai shai

He writes that if provided with objects needed to celebrate, Diwali can bring out maximum ecstasy and joy. In this poem, he again talks about the market scenery, gambling, sweets, etc.. He equates the mood of this festival to that of spring, concluding the poem with the following couplet:

hai dasahre men bhi yuun gar farhat-o-zinat 'nazir'

par divali bhi ajab pakiza-tar tyauhar hai

"While Dussehra is also full of pleasure and grace, Diwali is still an amazingly purer festival"

Nazeer did not look at festivals through religious eyes but from humane ones. Wherever he saw joy and festivity, he would participate and celebrate. Such is the soul of our composite culture, the real India of Indians, not of Hindus or Muslims.

The author is an independent socio-political commentator and historian
New Delhi: The Congress hit back at the BJP on Wednesday over allegations of Robert Vadra's links with a fugitive arms dealer, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making 100 tours within India and abroad on private chartered planes as Gujarat chief minister and asking who paid for them.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi also accused the BJP of "witch-hunt and vendetta" against party chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law.

Singhvi, with Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia by his side, released a purported list of Modi's visits abroad and within the country from 2003 to 2007 when he was the chief minister and asked who funded those.

The two leaders claimed neither the government nor the BJP paid to private players owning the chartered planes used by Modi.

The details of Modi's visits were made available in response to an RTI query, they said, adding Rs 16.56 crore was spent on those trips, including Rs 3 crore on visits abroad.

The Congress' allegations against Modi came in response to yesterday's attack by the BJP on Vadra and the Congress leadership following a report on TV channel Times Now which claimed fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari paid for plane tickets of Sonia's son-in-law.

Based on the media report, the BJP on Tuesday fielded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who mounted a fierce assault on the Congress leadership over alleged "links" that Vadra had with Bhandari. The report had claimed Bhandari booked tickets for Vadra's overseas visit in 2012.

"We are raising a question on who spent this Rs 16.5 crore. We want to know why a private party spends for a person in a constitutional position. What is the motive?" Singhvi said.

Charging the BJP with indulging in "vendetta politics", Singhvi asked Modi or the BJP to come out with answers to their questions for the "sake of propriety".

"These trips are clearly trips by a constitutional functionary, position holder. They are provided for by private persons...and we do not have an account. We must have accountability first.

"We are talking of constitutional propriety as somebody was trying to teach us lessons on constitutional propriety yesterday. It is worse than the pot calling the kettle black," he said.

Singhvi also accused the Centra and the BJP-ruled Haryana and Rajasthan governments of engaging in a "witch hunt" against Vadra.

"In the last 41 months, the central government and the governments of Haryana and Rajasthan have been indulging in a witch hunt against Vadra. For the last 41 months, they have kept the pot boiling but have not found any proof," Singhvi said.

"No conclusion, but it is lovely to keep the pot boiling, either when the elections are round the corner or when a beta bachao andolan is in full speed, to divert, to digress, to confuse and to confound," Singhvi said, in an obvious reference to a report by a news portal that the turnover of a company of BJP chief Amit Shah's son Jay rose sharply after the party came to power at the Centre.

He termed as "baseless" the charges levelled against Vadra by Sitharaman based on the media report, which Vadra's lawyer has already denied.

Singhvi accused some in media of "selective" reporting and asked them to introspect.
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday demanded to know who paid for over 100 trips Narendra Modi made by chartered planes across India and abroad when he was the Gujarat chief minister between 2003 and 2007.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the estimated cost of these air travels was around Rs 16.56 crore.

"The nation wants to know, we want to know, as to who paid for these chartered plane travels by Modi. No information has been furnished till date in response to a RTI query made in 2007," Singhvi said.

Defending Robert Vadra in a case of alleged favour he took from arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, Singhvi said the mails selectively leaked by the government prove nothing against the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi whereas details of Modi's travels have been officially sought through the RTI.

Singhvi disclosed, based on RTI revelations, that Modi travelled to Switzerland ( 1 July 2007), South Korea (16 June 2007), Japan (15 April 2007) and China (1 November 2006) along with some well-known industrialists and business tycoons.

Waving a picture of Bhandari with civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Singhvi alleged that he was close to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

The Congress leader also demanded to know how Bhandari was allowed to flee abroad in December 2016 even though his passport had reportedly been impounded by the government in June that year.

"Who helped Bhandari fly out of the country much like Vijay Mallya? It was not our government in 2016."

The BJP had on Tuesday asked the Congress to explain the alleged links between Robert Vadra and arms dealer Bhandari.
Hyderabad: A pre-poll alliance between the Left parties and the Congress may not be possible as they are "main opponents" in some states but it is essential to forging a common platform to fight the BJP, says CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy.

In some states, there can be "some sort of 'no-contest understanding'," Reddy said.

"What we (CPI) feel is, a pre-poll alliance may not be possible at the national level because in Kerala, Tripura we (Congress and Left parties) are main opponents," he told PTI.

"There are (however) certain (other) possibilities. State-wide (alliance in some states)...it's possible. Even where the Left parties are very weak, the Congress also may not be interested in that (alliance)," Reddy said.

A joint platform "even before the elections" of all secular, democratic and Left forces to fight against the BJP was essential, he said.

Once there is such an understanding, some agitations and struggles can be carried on jointly, Reddy said.

"In some states, wherever it's possible, there can be some sort of 'no-contest understanding'," the Left leader added.

The BJP's recent Janaraksha Yatra, against alleged "red terror" under the Left rule in Kerala, would have no impact on the people of the southern state, he said.

The BJP's vote-share, Reddy added, came down in the recent by-election to the Vengara Assembly seat in Kerala.

According to Reddy, the CPI is in favour of bringing petroleum products under the ambit of GST and has been demanding so from the beginning.
On 17 October, 2017, a stay order from the Calcutta High Court on the withdrawal of central paramilitary forces from the troubled Darjeeling Hills temporarily averted a constitutional crisis precipitated by the Union governments actions.

The long-troubled Darjeeling Hills recently saw a split in the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) with the now apparently dominant faction led by Binay Tamang taking over the responsibilities of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a semi-autonomous unit within the Government of West Bengal.

The recent months have seen strong civic unrest, which have often turned violent. This caused the death of several Gorkhaland agitators, both unarmed and armed. Concomitantly, attacks have been carried out on Government of West Bengal offices, police stations and installations as well as the office of the Trinamool Congress.

Most recently, Sub-Inspector Amitabha Malik of the West Bengal Police was killed in a shootout with body guards of the absconding GJM faction leader Bimal Gurung who, till recently, was the main face of the Gorkhaland movement.

Bimal Gurung is wanted by the West Bengal Police. He faces charges under the draconian UAPA. Gurung has occasionally been reported to be hiding in Sikkim, where the Gorkhaland cause has a natural resonance with the majority Nepali ethnic population of Sikkim. The West Bengal and Sikkim Police have attempted to arrest him twice. Trinamool leadership has alleged that Sikkim Police aided Gurung's escape.

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, backing the Gorkhaland movement. His letter said, We all are aware that Sikkim and Darjeeling share a very close bond with similarities of language, culture, tradition, caste and food habits. As immediate neighbours, we Sikkimese, wish them well forever. We have always been there for the people of Darjeeling Hills in times of need and we reiterate that they have our all-out support for the demand of separate state of Gorkhaland.

Trinamool general secretary and the Education Minister of West Bengal Partha Chatterjee wrote back to Rajnath Singh, asking the Centre to tell Sikkim to not meddle in West Bengals internal affairs. It is true that this sort of meddling has no constitutional mandate.

Malik's killing has created a groundswell of anger in West Bengal, riding on the widespread Bengali sentiment of resisting division of the state. The narrative across the spectrum of Bengali media is in support of the sentiment. This helps the Trinamool as it has successfully positioned itself as the party representing Bengali interests on the Gorkhaland question.

The West Bengal branch of the BJP finds itself isolated from the Bengali political sphere on this issue. The fact that the 2014 BJP manifesto expressed support for the Gorkhaland demand and the fact that the BJP won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat twice in 2009 and 2014 supported by Gurung is something from which the West Bengal branch of BJP cannot dissociate itself. BJPs state chief Dilip Ghoshs statements in support of Gurung hasnt helped either. In fact, it has only further alienated it from the Bengali political mainstream.

At this critical juncture, when the situation in the Darjeeling Hills remains tense and troubled, the order from the Union Home Ministry to withdraw 10 of the 15 companies of paramilitary forces from Darjeeling was extraordinary. It was indeed a political move with an aim to pressurise the West Bengal government.

This move, which could destabilise the law and order situation in Darjeeling, is part of a longer tussle on the question of army and central paramilitary forces deployed in West Bengal in recent times. Earlier this year, the army was suddenly deployed in various locations across West Bengal. The army, among other things, checked cars without the permission of the state government. This was patently illegal.

When the trouble in Darjeeling broke out a few months ago, the Centre refused to send an additional four paramilitary companies. It was forced to do so after Calcutta High Court order. Now, the Centre attempted to withdraw two-third of the companies even as the situation remained volatile: A violation of the earlier court order.

Its reason? Upcoming Assembly elections in some states. The faulty logic stands exposed when one looks at the number of paramilitary companies deployed in various states where no polls are due but from where they have not been withdrawn for the same reason  Jharkhand (144), Chhattisgarh (252), Delhi (40), Odisha (84), Jammu and Kashmir (702), Bihar (48). The Calcutta High Court saw through this and trashed the Central governments dubious argument.

But this use of these paramilitary forces by the Union government as a political tool against an elected state government should be of grave concern. It also politicises the paramilitary forces, which is a very dangerous thing to do.

After the 17 October judgment, the Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Force went on the record and said that the Union Home Ministry sent paramilitary forces to the Hills only to maintain law and order. He also added that the force is unable to do anything else. What does the inspector general mean?

In any case where the CRPF is deployed, its job is to go by its briefing in coordination with the state government. Does the inspector general issue such public clarifications on routine operation rules in every case of its deployment? If not, why did he do so in this case? The people of Bengal are not fools. They pay for the CRPF through taxes paid by the state to the Centre.

The military and paramilitary should not issue any statement that is political in its significance. If the forces are not neutral and make political statements with insinuations that help the Centres agenda against West Bengal government, it is an assault on the democratic rights of all the people of West Bengal. The Constitution has given the right to bear firearms to the CRPF for certain functions. Being a political tool of the Centre is not one of them. No one should play with fire.

All this is also part of the political churning in Bengal ever since the rise of the Trinamool Congress. Pranab Mukherjee, an important political player during the significant period of full integration and political subservience of the rural South Bengal Congress class to the unipolar Congress India system of the Congress years, said in a his recent book that the rise of Mamatas party is a significant event in the political life of Bengal.

Indeed, it is the first Bengali headquartered party to hold power in Bengal since 1947. Given his views on the linguistic question in the 1980s, I think he knows exactly why. Beyond the Delhi media narratives of minority appeasement and syndicate goondaism, something else is at play here.

Remember what Mamatas political support base partially represented when she broke from Congress in 1997. This also represents the withdrawal from the Congress of remaining section of the rural South Bengal Congress class, which joined Congress India system fully only after the political period of CR Dass death and Subhas Chandra Boses disappearance in 1945. That may not have been Mamatas intent but that is the result. From 1945 to now, much has changed. Much has not.

It is pretty bad news that the courts had to adjudicate twice in the states favour on the question of central forces, which is a very rare event for various reasons. It shows the degree of the illegality and unconstitutionality of the violation. This is not wartime. Law and order is solely the business of the state government. The state issues orders as per it needs. The Centre needs to supply the state. It exists to provide security-related services to the people of state represented via their government.

The Centre cannot use that power as a tool with which to threaten the state. It cooked up a dubious reason. The courts struck that down only because it was challenged. Think of all the states' rights violations that go on in the Union because the state government is either subservient, dependent or blackmailed or which has an administration hijacked by the bureaucracy. At any given point of time, that works out to a significant number of state governments in the Union.

State governments are executors of state rights. Those rights belong to the people of the state. When the states' rights are encroached upon without any push back, it means that the rights of the people are being eroded. Which only adds to the huge and expanding attack by the Centre on states' rights through undemocratic means ever since the start of the Union, with only very short periods of non-expansion: The Janata Party regime, the National Front regime and the United Front regime.

A contraction of the power of an entity which represents the particular democratic political expression of a particular state, that is, a contraction of state rights, is a contraction in the overall rights of the people of that state.

All constitutions have certain tacit contractual elements between stakeholders. It also has an unwritten part: The political and social reality of the parties to the Constitution and their self-identities. The Constitution is also a treaty between the various linguistic peoples who were in political control of certain zones of this subcontinent and were commonly colonised by the British. That is whom the British ruled. How could they have ceded power to anyone else? The British never ruled a Centre.

It ruled through the Centre, a fundamentally colonial entity at its core. It ruled the states. That represents a ceding away of power from the people. The powers that British took away were to be reversed. That was the promise of 1947 and the tacit political understanding for the various big groups, now called states: The constitutional euphemism of an ethno-linguistic homeland of a certain dominant group. That is just reality.

All citizens of the Union should take note of what just occurred. This concerns all of them. This is not an ordinary moment in the political life of the Bengali people and the people of West Bengal. The Union or the Centre has broken a very fundamental part of the contract called the Constitution and this amounts to an insult to the powers that the Bengalis and the people of West Bengal have ceded to the Centre.

They agreed that Centre should be given the power to defend them. That is a contract that should never have been tested. The Centre tested that compact. It has committed a grievous crime. This should also be something that all the other non-AFSPA states should watch. This kind of behavior by the Centre does not augur well for the non-Hindutva states.

These kinds of things typically dont end well: One way or the other. The Centre must make amends for what it has done and declare that it has wronged the people of Bengal. The federal structure, part of the basic structure of the Constitution, is not some central law. It is a compact between the various peoples of the Union, including what Delhi may like to call sub-nationalities.

The Centre crossed a red line which violates the federal structure in a way that becomes non-negotiable. So is peace. The Centre shouldnt make this mistake again.

The state government represents the fundamental aspects of the democratic political will of the people. Violating that means violating the democratic character of the Union. Whenever that happens, it's bad news for everyone. Unilaterally withdrawing an army from a state is basically a way to threaten an entity which has given up certain powers to the Centre and the Centre pooling the resources from those given-up powers to create an apparatus which can among other things, withdraw that ceded power call-back guarantee. That is robbing the rights of a people that they have given up in trust and circumstance and in many cases, a plain threat.

Withdrawal of army unilaterally is also a way to demonstrate the defenselessness of a state given that a state doesnt have the constitutional means to raise forces with firepower as CRPF. It is basically a political demonstration of the raw power of the Union-ruling class and its dependents.

It is a very bad threat: The kind designed to disturb the peace. That path should be avoided.

Peace is the most important thing.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is attempting a comeback in Himachal Pradesh, released its first list of candidates for the Assembly election to be held on 9 November. The party held several meetings, twice with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thrice with BJP president Amit Shah, to come up with a list of candidates for the 68-member House.

.@BJP4India releases list of candidates for upcoming Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/N0LbRz5cR5  BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) October 18, 2017

Pramod Sharma will contest from Shimla Rural and Ratan Singh Pal to contest from Arki. The list includes several former ministers, including Rajeev Bindal from Nahan and Narinder Bragta from Jubbal-kotkhai. Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal appears in the list as the candidate from Sujanpur. Hindustan Times had earlier reported that there was a close contest between Dhumal and Union health minister JP Nadda.

Dhumal, according to the report, is a member of the Legislative Assembly and can be seen as a natural claimant to the chief minister's post. However, the party has not named its chief minister candidate yet.

According to The Indian Express, the first draft list was prepared on 15 October but was held back after the prime minister asked at least six women to be included in the list. "Few names, not heard by many, have been put forward at the last stage and were told to be considered by making amendments in the list earlier cleared by the state election body during its meeting in Chandigarh," the report quoted a party source as saying.

Here's the full list of BJP candidates for Himachal Pradesh election:
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to take over the mantle of the party from his mother Sonia Gandhi after Diwali, if reports are to believed. The elevation could happen as early as on 30 October, media reports said. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will likely be holding a meeting on 24 October where the decks will probably be cleared for Rahul's elevation.

#EXCLUSIVE -- Rahul Gandhi's Elevation Soon: Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting likely on October 24, AICC session on November 4 pic.twitter.com/c6veb704E8  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 18, 2017

The Gandhi scion's imminent promotion, which has been a topic of discussion for years, was strengthened on 14 October when Sonia herself hinted that she may soon make way for her son to take forward the family legacy and head India's grand old party. "You have been asking this for so many years and it's now happening," Sonia said, smiling, pointing at Rahul, according to NDTV.

#BREAKING -- Rahul Gandhi will become Congress President: Sonia Gandhi pic.twitter.com/SZyE5Sao9y  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 13, 2017

The Congress is currently in the process of a major structural rejig with its organisational elections just around the corner. The Election Commission has set a December deadline for the Congress to conclude the exercise. The All India Congress Committee, however, plans to complete the process by the end of this month.

The likely elevation will be weeks before the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the Congress faces a tough challenge from the BJP.

On Monday, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) unanimously passed a resolution that Rahul be made the party's national president. On 12 October, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) has unanimously passed a resolution that Rahul be made the partys national president.

Several other state units of the Congress, including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Delhi among others have also passed similar resolutions seeking the elevation of Rahul.

According to PTI, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar moved the resolution at a meeting of party functionaries including city and district unit presidents. The resolution was passed unanimously, party spokesperson Amarnath Agarwal was quoted as saying.

Congress leader Salman Khurshid was asked if Rahul Gandhi was the best choice to lead an alliance to take on the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and he said when the Congress vice-president takes over as its chief, he will represent a party which would be the largest contributing part to an alliance, NDTV reported.

With inputs from PTI
Lucknow: The Taj Mahal, which has been in the crosshairs of controversy, has finally found a place of pride in the 2018 calendar brought out by the Uttar Pradesh government.

The 17th-century architectural marvel is included in the month of July in the calendar brought out by the state information department.

Also finding a place in the calendar is the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. The Gorakhnath Mutt is represented by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Apart from carrying images of important heritage and tourist spots of the state, the calender mentions the popular BJP slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas - UP government ka satat prayas'. The pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister also feature in the calender prominently.

The world famous monument has recently been in the crosshairs of controversy with BJP MLA Sangeet Som questioning the monument's place in India's heritage, stressing that history would be re-written to erase Mughal emperors from it.

Som's comments came soon after the Yogi Adityanath government reportedly omitted the Taj Mahal from an official tourism booklet.

"Many people are pained to see that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of places (tourist destinations). What type of history?" Som recently posed in a statement.

The BJP had distanced itself from the comment saying it was Som's personal view and the party had nothing to do with it.

Following media reports, the state government had issued a press release stating, "Tourism projects worth Rs 370 crore are proposed, under which schemes worth Rs 156 crore for development of parks and various facilities are meant for the Taj Mahal and its surrounding areas in Agra."

The chief minister was also prompt in clearing the air by stating, "It is immaterial as to who and how Taj Mahal was built...it was made by the saputs (sons) of Bharat Mata through their khoon and pasina...it is famous the world over for its architecture...is a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government."

He also said that he will visit the historical monument and the Taj city of Agra on 26 October to review the tourism schemes there.

Prayagraj Triveni Sangam (Allahabad), Ram ki Paudi (Ayodhya), Barsane ki Holi (Mathura), Gurudwara Nanakmattha Saheb (Pilibhit), Devgarh Jain temple (Lalitpur), Sarnath Stupa (Varanasi), Rani Jhansi ka Kila (Jhansi), Sri Krishna Janmsthan temple (Mathura), Vindhyachal trikon darshan (Mirzapur) and Kanshi Vishwanath temple (Varanasi) also find a place in the calendar.
Agartala: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah will campaign for the party, which aspires to capture power in Tripura in the Assembly elections scheduled for February 2018.

Tripura BJP vice-president, Subal Bhowmick said Shah will arriving here by 15 December and Modi will visit the state after declaration of the poll schedule.

The PM will campaign for BJP in two phases but the schedule has not been finalised yet, he said.

The decision to go for extensive campaign was taken in the state core committee meeting attended by the party's national general secretary, Ram Madhav, central observer Sunil Deodhar and state party president Biplab Deb on Monday.

BJP will start its poll campaign in the state from 1 November with rallies and pada yatras in the constituency and state levels, he said.

Bhowmick said in the 2013 assembly election in the state around 49,000 fake names of voters were included in the final electoral rolls and BJP has conveyed its concern over it to the chief electoral officer Sriram Tarunikanta. "We are careful this time to ensure error-free electoral rolls."
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In Uttar Pradesh, this diwali will be a celebration of not just Lord Ram returning from his exile, but also the BJP returning to power in the state after a 'vanvaas' of 15 years. The state officials have grand plans ahead of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to Ayodhya on Wednesday.

The district administration has cancelled the fireworks scheduled on the Diwali eve and stepped up security in the city. Faizabad District Magistrate Anil Kumar told PTI that the firework programme has been cancelled due to security reasons. Adityanath is scheduled to visit the city on Wednesday when a grand firework was scheduled on the banks of Saryu River. Media reported that the government wishes to set a Guinness Record of lighting at least 2 lakh diyas this Diwali.

Preparations for registering the historic event are in full swing and orders have been placed for the diyas. Adityanath will welcome the Ram Shobha Yatra of the ongoing Ram Leela in Ram Katha Park. Reports also said that Adityanath is expected to announce developmental projects worth Rs 133 crore and will announce free electricity connection to a total of 108 poor families.

According to News18, most of the diyas that will be used for the mega event are being manufactured at Kumhartola of Harsinghpur. As a part of the plan, a diya will be placed on every square metre. An event company from Gujarat has been specially roped in by the authorities to ensure smooth flow of the event. In addition, some preparations have been made to divert the flow of the wind for five minutes, in order to make the world record. The trial run of the event will be held on Tuesday at the banks of the Saryu River.

Ever since he became the chief minister, Adityanath has paid special attention to Ayodhya. Apart from dedicating several government projects to the city, he has also raised the political tempers by visiting the disputed site of Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi.

The Adityanath government, as reported earlier, plans to install a statue of Lord Rama on banks of the River Saryu. The statue will be installed only after clearance from the National Green Tribunal, Principal Secretary Tourism Awanish Awasthi said. Adityanath has visited Ayodhya at least twice after assuming office and launched several projects worth crores of rupees for the city.

Prominent building and ghats will also be illuminated to attract tourists. The objective of the entire programme will be to promote Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, as a tourist destination, PTI reported.

A heritage walk, a yatra reminiscing return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya, and launch of several schemes by chief minister and other dignitaries will be part of the programme, the officer said. A grand "aarti" of River Saryu will also be performed by the chief minister and the governor and later a laser show will be held on the banks of the river. During the programme, Ramlila will be staged by artists from Indonesia and Thailand.

The Union tourism ministry has sanctioned Rs 133.70 crores for making Ayodhya a tourism hub. The money sanctioned will be utilised in renovating ghats, including Guptar Ghat, where Lord Rama had taken 'Samadhi', installing CCTV cameras, making police booths, construction of guest houses for tourists and auditorium at Digamgar Akhara. Good facilities should be provided to tourists, the governor said.

"On Diwali, a grand programme will be held in Ayodhya in which sadhu-saints will also participate. I will also invite the governor for this," Adityanath has said recently in Gorakhpur. The budget presented by the Yogi government, which came to power in March, had special mention of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura, earmarking Rs 1,240 crore for the Ramayan, Buddhist and Krishna circuits in these cities.

The budget presented by the Yogi government, which came to power in March, had special mention of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura, earmarking Rs 1,240 crore for the Ramayan, Buddhist and Krishna circuits in these cities.

Faizabad SSP Subhash Singh Baghel is keeping himself busy round the clock arranging security system in town. "The Ayodhya city divided in three security zones, we are keeping the security of the red security zone where the disputed site of Ram Janambhoomi falls on the top priority in our security arrangements," he told PTI.

The security forces have been put on high alert, he added. About 20,000 security personals have been deployed at all the vital places, guarding the city round the clock. Special arrangements have been made to provide fullproof security to the procession of Lord Rama including at the halipad for the chopper ('Pushpak Viman') that will ferry Ram to Ayodhya.

About 2,000 intelligence persons and police commandos in the same number armed with automatic weapons and electronic devices have been deployed all over Ayodhya.

SSP Baghel said, "The Babri site is already under the guard of para military forces, we have also deployed rapid action force along with provincial armed constabulary in the second yellow security zone and civil police and home guards in third greed security zone."

Along with guarding the land, the Faizabad police have also tried to cover the river Saryu under the security cordon. PAC divers and sharpshooters armed with night vision devices and long range riffles have been deployed in the river on combat boats to ensure security during the programmes to be held on the banks of river Saryu. Baghel said all the security systems are activated, and the personals are on guard round the clock.

Meanwhile, the administration conducted a full dress reharseal today of the procession of the home-coming of Lord Rama from exile.

In order to make the event a success, students from RML Awadh University Faizabad have been roped in as volunteers, reports said. According to the University administration, around 2,000 students will be working from a day before to a day after the event as volunteers and will help in making the event a success.

Earlier in May, the Uttar Pradesh government had re-started popular Ram Leela in Ayodhya at the Ayodhya Research Centre, after a hiatus of 17 months. The practice of holding Ram Leela in Ayodhya was started by the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in May 2004 but was stopped during Akhilesh Yadavs regime after the culture department refused to grant aid for the same.

The Yogi government has re-started the shows after sanctioning a handsome budget for the Ram Leela. Adityanath has visited Ayodhya at least twice after assuming office and launched several projects worth crores of rupees for the city.
tech2 News Staff

Software maker Adobe has announced a number of updates to its Lightroom CC Family of Products at the ongoing Adobe MAX conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The company announced an All-New Lightroom CC which has been redesigned to take leverage of the power of the cloud. This will deeply integrate with the existing cloud-based ecosystem of apps for Android and iOS powered devices and the web version of Lightroom. The company has rebranded the desktop-centric product as Lightroom Classic CC.

To make it clear, the company has made a second application aimed at users who want a cloud-based Lightroom. This will come with a different interface when compared to the Lightroom Classic CC. This means that there are now two different Lightroom apps for the desktop. Thankfully, Adobe has changed the icons for the new Lightroom CC to ensure that the users dont have any problem in visually spotting the differences in the app.

The new Lightroom CC will come with all the machine-learning goodness like Adobe Sensei which will allow users to search through their library of photos and the search will automatically identify the visual elements in the images to serve images with the particular elements that users have searched for. Example, Sensei will show you the images of Sea or images with forest with the help of machine learning. You wont even have to set the tags, descriptions or captions of the images for Adobe Sensei to identify the content of the images.

The main focus of this new Lightroom is to ensure that you can resume the editing from wherever and whatever device that you have at any given moment. It works with Lightroom for iOS, Android and Web while syncing the changes across the ecosystem so that you can edit the images that you took anywhere you like. The company has also introduced Lightroom for Apple TV where you can share your Lightroom photos with people. The latest update adds dark mode that was introduced in the latest tvOS along with video playback in albums and improved scrolling through large image collections.

One thing to note here is that the new Lightroom CC does not come with tone curve and split tone panels, camera profiles, soft-proofing, snapshots, keywords, extended metadata support, photo merge, smart collections, survey, compare or reference view, batch processing, third-party plugins, colour or luminance range masking and print, book, slideshow or map creations at this time. The company pointed out that this is the first version of the new software and it will focus on improving the software in future updates. The interesting change that this new version comes with is the fact that users can access their images in full resolution across the devices without compromising on the quality.

The company made it clear that it has no intention of leaving behind the desktop-centric Lightroom Classic CC. The company pointed out that it will continue to develop Classic CC along with Lightroom CC. To reaffirm its commitment, the company released a new update for Lightroom Classic CC with improvements in the program launch time, preview generation, import selection with a brand new Embedded and Sidecar preview option, and switching between the Develop and Library module. The update includes improvement in navigating your library in the Develop module and more responsive brushing. Adobe claims that it has tested the new update internally and are betting that users will notice the improvements.

Adobe clarified that Lightroom 6 will be the last standalone version of the software with no Lightroom 7 in works. The company will no longer update the camera support or provide any additional bug fixes after the end of 2017. The company will release Lightroom 6.13 with support for Nikon 850 on 26 October 2017. The company has also announced small updated for its Android and iOS apps to bring it in line with the new Lightroom CC.
IANS

In yet another interstellar feat, scientists at the LIGO detectors and the world over detected the first "ripples in space" or gravitational waves produced by the merger of two ancient remnants of stars known as neutron stars. The neutron stars merged in a galaxy called NGC 4993, located about 130 million light years from Earth in the constellation Hydra. Seven new papers describe the first-ever detection of light from a gravitational wave source.

The event, caused by two neutron stars colliding and merging together, was dubbed "GW170817" because it sent ripples through space-time that reached Earth on 17 August. Around the world, hundreds of excited astronomers mobilised quickly and were able to observe the event using numerous telescopes, providing a wealth of new data. Previous detections of gravitational waves have all involved the merger of two black holes, a feat that won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics earlier in October.

However, black hole mergers are not expected to produce any electromagnetic radiation (light), meaning they cannot be detected by conventional telescopes. In contrast, binary neutron star (NS-NS) mergers have long been expected to produce an energetic explosion and a plume of radioactive material, generating light, but have never previously been detected. These mergers provide important clues as to how matter behaves under these extreme conditions.

The papers published online in Science describe how light from the NS-NS merger was precisely located, subsequent observations at X-ray, ultraviolet (UV), optical, infrared (IR) and radio wavelengths, and theoretical analysis of the event. "This is a milestone in the growing effort by scientists worldwide to unlock the mysteries of the universe and of earth," said Professor Ehud Nakar of Tel Aviv University's Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy.

A neutron star forms when a star much bigger and brighter than the sun exhausts its thermonuclear fuel supply and explodes into a violent supernova. The explosion of neutron stars, which are made almost entirely of neutrons, was detected by multiple telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays and visible light to radio waves. The merger is the first cosmological event observed in both gravitational waves--ripples in the fabric of space-time--and the entire spectrum of light, from gamma rays to radio waves.

Gravitational waves from the event arrived first at the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors, located in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. Because of the orientation of the neutron star pair, the newly operational Virgo detector, located near Pisa, Italy, observed a weaker signal. Less than two seconds later, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a short burst of gamma rays.

A rapid analysis of these signals enabled the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and the Virgo Collaboration to locate the signal in a region covering less than 0.1 per cent of the total sky area as viewed from Earth. Fermi independently identified a larger area consistent with that identified by LIGO and Virgo. Astronomers around the globe then directed more than 70 space- and ground-based telescopes toward the event for follow-up observations.

"This is the most intensely observed astronomical event in history," said Peter Shawhan, a professor of physics at University of Maryland (UMD) and an LSC principal investigator. "For the binary black hole mergers LIGO has already observed, the signals were much shorter--just a fraction of a second," said Alessandra Buonanno, a UMD College Park Professor of Physics and LSC principal investigator.

"We were able to track the evolution of GW170817 over time in a way we could not achieve for two black holes. As we continue to examine the signal, this wealth of data will likely allow us to pursue new and more stringent gravitational tests, which could put Einstein's theory of general relativity in question." Theorists have predicted that when neutron stars collide, they should give off gravitational waves and gamma rays, along with powerful jets that emit light across the electromagnetic spectrum.

The new observations confirm that at least some short gamma-ray bursts are generated by the merging of neutron stars--something that was only theorized before. But while one mystery appears to be solved, new mysteries have emerged. The observed short gamma-ray burst was one of the closest to Earth seen so far, yet it was surprisingly weak for its distance. Scientists are beginning to propose models for why this might be the case.

"While the results from this event are beyond my wildest dreams, the most exciting part is that this is really just the beginning," said Brad Cenko, principal investigator of the Swift Gamma-ray Burst Mission at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.
Reuters

Taiwans economics ministry said it is deeply concerned about the antitrust agency imposing a $775 million fine on Qualcomm Inc, in a rare public display of disagreement between authorities.

Taiwans Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined Qualcomm last week, saying the U.S. chipmaker had abused its monopolistic position by opting against licensing some modem-related technologies to other industry players.

Qualcomm said it disagreed and would take the matter to court once the agency releases a final report in coming weeks. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees industrial policy, said it respected the agencys position but was concerned about any impact on foreign investment.

With regards to the investigation and judgment process... our ministry is deeply concerned, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website late on 18 October.

Considering economic stability and prosperity, as well as that the economics ministry is the government authority overseeing industry, the ministry would like to see better coordination between industrial development and fair trading.

The ministry said the agency did not appear to take into account Qualcomms contribution to the overall local technology industry or impact on future business opportunities, describing the U.S. firm as an indispensable partner.

The FTC did not have an immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek Inc supported the FTCs action in a statement on Oct. 12, reiterating views of some industry players that it would lead to a fairer business environment for technological innovation.

The action is the latest challenge to Qualcomms business model, which involves selling chips and licensing patents related to installation and use.

In December, South Korean regulators fined Qualcomm $854 million for violating competition law. That followed a $975 million fine from Chinese regulators in 2015.
Reuters

A year-old pact underpinning billions of dollars of transatlantic data transfers won a green light from the European Union on Wednesday after a first review to ensure Washington protects Europeans data stored on US servers.

The EU-US Privacy Shield was agreed last year after everyday cross-border data transfers were plunged into limbo when the EUs top court struck down a previous data transfer pact in 2015 because it allowed US spies excessive access to peoples data.

The European Commission last month conducted its first annual review of the framework as it seeks to ensure the United States lives up to its promises to better protect Europeans data when they are transferred across the Atlantic - failing which it could suspend the Privacy Shield.

The EU executive said it was satisfied that the framework continues to ensure adequate protection for Europeans personal data although it asked Washington to improve the way it works, including by strengthening the privacy protections contained in a controversial portion of the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The conclusion will come as a relief to the more than 2,400 companies signed up to the scheme, including Alphabet Incs Google, Facebook and Microsoft, especially since the Privacy Shield is already being challenged in court by privacy activists.

The Commission said the US Department of Commerce should be more pro-active in monitoring companies compliance with the privacy obligations in the framework.

Transatlantic data transfers are essential for our economy, but the fundamental right to data protection must be ensured also when personal data leaves the EU. Our first review shows that the Privacy Shield works well, but there is some room for improving its implementation, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said.

Companies wanting to transfer Europeans personal data outside the bloc have to comply with tough EU data protection rules which forbid them from transferring personal data to countries deemed to have inadequate privacy protections unless they have special legal contracts in place.

The Privacy Shield allows firms to move data across the Atlantic without relying on such contracts, known as model clauses, which are more cumbersome and expensive.

The Commission urged the United States to appoint a permanent Privacy Shield Ombudsperson - a new office that was created to deal with complaints from EU citizens about US spying, but which is currently only filled on an acting basis.

It also urged Washington to fill empty posts on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

In addition, the Commission said it would welcome privacy protections for foreigners contained in a Presidential Policy Directive issued by former US President Barack Obama being enshrined in FISA.

Section 702 of FISA - that allows the US National Security Agency (NSA) to collect and analyze emails and other digital communications of foreigners living overseas - will expire at the end of the year unless it is re-authorized by the US Congress.
Aditya Madanapalle

Google Maps has added the rocky planets, moons of the ice giants, the "dwarf planet" Pluto and the International Space Station. To access the menu for the other planets, users just have to zoom out from the Earth and select the satellite view. The maps were created by putting together multiple photographs, and the level of detail is not the same as maps of the Earth. There are also visible streaks on many of the maps and the search field disappears when you zoom out from the Earth, so there is no way to look for a particular location. However, clicking on any map entry reveals additional details about the feature, including the type, size and origin of the name.

Mercury has a pretty clean map with minimum imaging artifacts. Users can see the shadows in the craters towards the North Pole of the innermost rocky planet, which scientists believe contain deposits of ice, despite its proximity to the Sun. The images forming the surface of Mercury are most likely to have been captured by Messenger, the only spacecraft to have orbited Mercury, which crashed into the surface of the planet on May 2015.

The view starts with the night side of the planet, and as you zoom in, the shadows shift and the celestial body is revealed in the daylight. There is no way to actually look at the planet in the night side, which is a shame considering the interesting cloud patterns in the night side of Venus. The details on the surface get clearer as you zoom in. ISRO and NASA are both planning missions to Venus, and NASA is even considering using a clockwork rover to handle the extreme environment. There is no need to wait for these missions, as Google lets you go there right now.

In July this year, Google rolled out a Street View of the International Space Station that allowed users to explore the interiors and check out the various modules. Users are plonked into the breathtaking view from the Cupola, an observation deck built by the European Space Agency. Users can get a sense of the cramped interiors and understand what moving with six degrees of freedom feels like in the low gravity environment of the space station.

Next up is perhaps the most exciting planet on the list, but the surface is full of streaks. A number of orbiters and probes have studied the Red Planet, with the most recent ones being NASA's Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Maven. ESA's Mars Express and ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission are also currently in orbit around the planet. Users can check out the locations of the breathtaking images captured by the Mars Orbiters, trace the journey of Curiosity across the Martian surface, or check out the locations catalogued by ISRO's Mars Atlas.

Next up is Ceres, a dwarf planet which is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The images used in the map are probably sourced from the observations of NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which is the only orbiter to have visited the dwarf planet. Users can hunt for the bright spots in craters, or mysterious triangular mountains that some suspected to be pyramids built by aliens. The infamous bright spots can be found in the large and easy to spot Occator crater, including sharp shadows along the rim where the walls rise almost two kilometers vertically.

Next up are the Jovian and Saturnian moons, although the gas giants themselves have not been added. Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, New Horizons and Juno have observed Jupiter and its surroundings, while Saturn and its moons were observed in depth by the Cassini mission. Google has indicated that thousands of images captured by Cassini over fourteen years were stitched together to create the maps of the Saturnian moons. The moons of Jupiter available in Google Maps are Io, Europa and Ganymede. The Saturnian moons available are Mimas, Enceladus, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus.

The map of Io is most likely to be created from images gathered by the Galileo and Voyager missions. Some regions of the global map are less distinct than others. The tortured surface can be explored along with the many volcanoes, which confirmed that Io was a geologically active moon. Although the moon is slightly elongated, Io appears to be mapped on a perfect sphere. Fans of Norse mythology can find a number of features named after the Aesir, including Loki and Thor.

Europa is another exciting addition to the list, and a potential candidate for future deep space missions because of the easy availability of water. One of the biggest announcements by NASA last year was the Hubble Space Telescope imaging what appeared to be plumes of water erupting from Europa, confirming the existence of a global subsurface ocean. Europa is one of the icy worlds that are candidates for harbouring extraterrestrial life, and NASA is contemplating sending autonomous underwater drones to study the world. Unfortunately, some parts of the Europan surface are very blurred. Users can check out some of the named Linea on Europa, cracks in the ice that appear as dark striations, and are the most noticeable features on the surface.

Ganymede is another Jovian moon with a global subsurface ocean, and as such is an object of interest when it comes to the search for alien life on oceans other than the Earth. In fact, Ganymede is believed to have a saltwater ocean, similar to the oceans on Earth. Callisto, another moon of Jupiter with a subsurface ocean, has unfortunately not made it to Google Maps. Ganymede is among the brightest moons in the solar system, and Google Maps reflects this aspect. The moon is clearly divided into darker and lighter regions, with the darker areas being older than the lighter ones. One of the most noticeable features is the massive Tashmetum ray crater named after an Akkadian goddess.

Mimas is a Saturnian moon and Google Maps has a rather low resolution version for this world. Mimas has a pockmarked surface due to the many, many craters. Many features on the moon are named after characters from Arthurian legends. Arthur, Merlin, Uther, Gawain, Galahad, Balin, Bedivere and Modred are all Mimantean craters, while Avalon is a Chasma. The largest crater on Mimas, and the largest crater relative to the parent body in the solar system, the Herschel crater can be clearly seen. Mimas is called the "Death Star Moon" because the Herschel crater makes it appear similar to the planet-destroying weapon from Star Wars.

Enceladus is another prime candidate for harbouring life, especially considering that almost all the ingredients necessary to support life as we know it on Earth are also available on Enceladus. Jets of water erupt from one of the most prominent features near the south pole of Enceladus, known as the tiger stripes. The tiger stripes are furrows with individual names, such as Damscus, Cairo and Alexandria. The features on Enceladus are named after characters and places in middle eastern and Arabic folk tales from the Arabian Nights. One of the interesting things to check out is the stark difference between the north and south poles of Enceladus. Cassini has found evidence that an ancient asteroid impact may have shifted the poles of the icy world, before which the north and south poles were similar to each other.

The craters on Dione are mostly named after people and places from Greco-Roman mythology. One of the things to check out are the twin craters of Romulus and Remus, named after the legendary founders of Rome. The Latium Chasma is a prominent 360 kilometer long depression named after the promised land of the Trojans. The Chasmatas on Dione are named after people and places from Virgil's Aenid. The surface is pockmarked by many craters, and there is a marked difference between opposite portions of the moon. While one side is dark, the other side is light. Scientists believe that Dione has a subsurface ocean as well, and Cassini has detected traces of Oxygen in the upper atmosphere of the moon.

Rhea is a moon of Saturn with surface features similar to Dione. One side of the moon is dark and another side is light. Rhea is one of my favorite moons to explore on Google Maps, because the names of the features do not exactly follow a theme, and is named after obscure and eclectic people and places from many mythologies around the world. The surface features on Rhea are named after Eskimo, Incan, Peurto Rican, Persian, Native American, Polynesian, Korean, Ghanian, Siberian, Ukrainian, Bolivian, Yukatian and Japanese mythologies... among others. Some places are inspired by Hindu mythology as well, including the Singbonga crater named after a creator god worshiped in Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa.

Fans of the Tolkein Legendarium will find a number of features on Titan named after characters from the books, including Arwen, Legolas, Gandalf and Bilbo. The Misty Mountains, Mount Doom and Erebor can also be found on Titan, apart from Middle Earth. In all, there are twenty features on Titan named after people or places from the works of Tolkein. Titan played an important role in catapulting Cassini towards its final rendezvous with Saturn, in a maneuver known as the goodbye kiss. Cassini found the building blocks of life on Titan, and researchers believe that the vast methane seas on Titan may harbour an exotic form of life. The methane seas can be seen in Google Maps.

Iapetus is known as the Yin-Yang moon because of the distinct colouring where half the planet appears white while the other half appears black. This dichotomy can be clearly seen in 3D with Google Maps. One of the prominent features to spot is the 504-kilometer wide Engelier crater. Most of the names of the features on Iapetus are named after people and places from the epic French poem The Song of Roland. NASA made Cassini execute a close flyby of the moon in 1997, which led to the creation of a global surface map. In September 2017, after Cassini had become a shooting star in the skies of Saturn, NASA released the final image of Iapetus captured by Cassini.

The last "dwarf planet" on the list is Pluto. The images used for the map are likely to be captured by NASA's New Horizons mission, and about a bottom third of the dwarf planet is left blank. Readers can explore the mysterious bladed terrain on Pluto, which appears to be related to the geological history and complex climate, which just goes to show that Pluto is as much a planet as any other. In fact, planetary scientists working with the New Horizons are leading the charge to classify Pluto as a planet again. Most of the surface features of the planet are named after pioneers, including geographers, adventurers, astronomers, researchers, poets and spacecraft. The Balrog Macula, a dark region named after a fire spirit from the Lord of the Rings series, can be found on Pluto. Unfortunately, Google Maps does not include Pluto's Moon Charon, which features the even more notorious Mordor Macula.

Google thanked the creator of some of the maps in a blog post, "Special thanks goes to astronomical artist Bjorn Jonsson, who assembled the planetary maps of Europa, Ganymede, Rhea, and Mimas by working with imagery from NASA and the European Space Agency."
Anirudh Regidi

Its been a little over two years since Microsoft shifted tracks and went for an iterative update process for Windows rather than focus on a major release every few years. For all intents and purposes, Windows 10 is the last major release of Windows for the foreseeable future.

The initial launch was rocky, and there are still several kinks to be ironed out  the most notable being the ads in Windows 10. Overall, Microsoft has done a good job with supporting the OS with incremental feature updates. Compared side-by-side, the Windows 10 of today is very different from the Windows 10 at launch.

Its still not a perfect system, however, and one of the defining features of this incrementally updated Windows 10 is the inconsistency with the design language. The introduction of the Fluent Design System, a follow up to Metro, in the recently released Fall Creators Update has once again resulted in a messed-up aesthetic.

Design inconsistencies aside, the Creators update brings in some fantastic new features and updates.

Preparing for a 3D future

The biggest new feature of the new OS is support for the Remix Store and support for OS-wide, native, 3D object manipulation. Basically, you can edit simple 3D objects in Paint, download 3D models from the Remix Store and insert them into documents and presentations, add 3D objects to photos, etc. You get the idea.

All the above works better with the Surface Pen and Surface Dial.

Things get even more interesting when you get the Mixed Reality Viewer, an AR viewer for your Windows device. Why? The Mixed Reality Viewer lets you take your 3D creations and place them in the real world via any Windows-powered device with a camera.

Mixed Reality headsets

Mixed Reality (MR) headsets are now natively supported in Windows 10. Unlike dedicated VR headsets like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, Mixed Reality headsets dont require a complex setup, fancy hardware or deep pockets. According to Microsoft, these headsets will happily run on integrated graphics. That said, not all integrated graphics are supported and many Skylake systems (6th generation Intel) are not supported.

The minimum system requirements are an Intel Core i5 7200U CPU with Intel HD Graphics 620, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and of course, the Windows 10 Creators update. Bluetooth 4.0 support is needed for MR controllers. You can check your PCs compatibility via this link.

Headsets are available at the Microsoft Store and prices start at $399. Bear in mind that given the recent price drop, the Oculus Rift with Touch controllers is also available for $399.

New design language, now with transparencies

The Fluent Design System follows up on the design changes we first saw in Windows Phone 7 and later experienced as Metro in Windows 8.

The flat design remains, but now you get translucency effects and new transition animations. Developers also get a more comprehensive toolkit to work with.

As with the introduction of the original Metro UI, however, Fluent doesnt pervade the OS. The implementation is scattered and haphazard. Youll find it in the Groove and Calculator apps, for example, but not in the Settings window.

From the screenshots weve seen, the design, where implemented, gives Windows a fresh look, but we just wish that Microsoft took the trouble to implement it everywhere rather than at random.

On the Edge of awesome

Edge, unlike Internet Explorer, is a fast, modern, powerful and relatively secure browser that deserves more attention than it gets. Microsofts unsolicited attempts to force the browser on its users notwithstanding, its actually a great browser now. However, its simply not as useful as Google Chrome or even Safari, for that matter. Microsoft isnt going to tempt users over to their side unless this is sorted out.

Fixing that issue, at least partially, are the new features that have arrived for Edge. Edge now lets you pin your favourite pages to the taskbar. You can already pin pages to the Start menu, so its not an incredibly useful new feature, but its an improvement, and were happy about that.

More importantly, you can finally share a web page from your phone directly to your PC. Its still not as simple a process as it is via hand-off and Safari or on Google Chrome, but its a big step towards making the browser more useful.

Several other updates include the ability to edit the URLs of your favourites (Yes, this wasnt there earlier), a better full-screen browsing mode, enhanced security features (especially for Enterprise users) and the option to have Cortana read pages aloud to you. You can also fill PDF forms using Edges in-built PDF viewer. eBooks and PDFs can now be annotated within the browser as well.

Cortana jumps ship, in a good way

If youre using Cortana on Android and your PC, the Creators Update will let you receive notifications and respond to messages and calls on your PC, just like you could for so many years on iOS and macOS. Cortana can also control more aspects of your PC with voice commands now.

Pinned people

As far as Im concerned, the People Hub is among the least useful features in Windows 10. I use apps to contact people and on a PC, why wouldnt I just open Outlook, Mail, Skype or even my browser to do that?

The new People Hub makes itself more useful by now allowing users to pin contacts to the taskbar. These shortcuts can be used to contact them directly via Skype. Better yet, you can drag and drop content onto these pinned contacts to share something with them directly.

OneDrive placeholders

Unlike iCloud, which is useful and just sort of exists in the background, Microsoft went to a lot of trouble to bring it front and centre in the Windows experience. Its integrated into Photos and Office applications and sits semi-permanently in your File Explorer window.

For something so prominently placed, its implementation did turn out to be a bit daft. The original OneDrive app had an incredibly useful OneDrive placeholder feature that simply placed an icon in your OneDrive where a file or folder should be. This was useful when dealing with data that wasnt stored locally on your PC. For example, my photos folder on OneDrive is over 600 GB in size. I dont want to download that on every PC I own, but at the same time, I still want to quickly access it to add files to that folder or browse a certain set of images.

First, Microsoft messed up this original implementation by not fully supporting third-party apps and developers, then it removed this feature. Now, if I want to add images to an existing OneDrive folder thats not locally mapped, I have no option but to do this in a web browser.

Thankfully, placeholders make a comeback with the Creators Update, and hopefully, so do more APIs for developers.

Faster Emoji access 

Emojis are now easier to access with a regular keyboard. A dedicated shortcut key now enables quick access. The included touch keyboard also has a swipe gesture for accessing these emojis.

Input improvements

Pen input has apparently been improved and some features have been added. The clicker on your Pen can be used to move through slides and a Wheres my Pen? feature helps you find lost pens. Eye tracking support for input and a screen reader that can even describe images have been added to improve accessibility. Of course, voice dictation is still an option.

DPI scaling

Teased in April this year and finally making an appearance in the Creators Update, Microsoft is supposed to have improved DPI scaling on high-resolution displays. This has been my pet peeve with Windows 10 and is the only reason I dont recommend Windows laptops with high-resolution screens to anyone. Windows simply cant scale either its UI or apps appropriately on high-resolution displays.

With this update, Microsoft fixes some of these issues by giving developers better control over DPI scaling.

Task Manager updates

The new task manager can now give you GPU usage information in the performance tab. With this update, youll have a better understanding of the apps that use your GPU. On mobile devices, where battery life comes at a premium, this feature can be very useful.

And there you have it, the more prominent changes that you can expect in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

The improvements and changes certainly seem haphazard on the surface (Was that a pun?), but added together, its clear that theres a lot thats new in Windows 10.

If youre looking to upgrade to the Fall Creators Update, head here.
IANS

At least 40 scientists from 13 Indian institutions, including IIT-Bombay played an important role in the exciting 17 August observation of gravitational waves from a pair of colliding neutron stars, detected for the first by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Europe's Virgo, officials said in Mumbai. The Indian scientists were part of the team of 1,200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide, plus 280 physicists and engineers from 20 research groups of Europe, which contributed, among other things, to LIGO-Virgo discovery paper, said Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) in a statement late on Monday night.

The Indian scientists contributed to the fundamental algorithms which are crucial to search for inpiralling binaries in noisy date from multiple detectors, in computing waveforms for these signals by solving Einstein's equations, separating astrophysical signals from numerous instruments and environmental artefacts, interpreting the joint gravitational-wave and Gamma-ray observations, tests of Einstein's theory and many other aspets of the data analysis.

From IIT-B, two faculty members of the Department of Physics - Archana Pai and V Gayathri -- are members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration with complementary expertise. Archana Pai has expertise on gravitational wave multi-detector algorithms and probing astrophysical parameters in the joint detection scenario. The group interpreted joint-gravitational wave and gamma-ray observations along with K. G. Arun, (CMI, Chennai) and a PhD student M. Saleem (IISER Trivandrum) within the collaboration.A

Varun Bhalerao, whose expertise is in the search and study of counterparts to gravitational wave sources, was involved in the EM follow-up efforts: the X-ray searches with AstroSat, along with student Arvind B, a search for optical sources with the Himalayan Chandra Telescope and a radio search with GMRT. The LIGO has Indian scientists drawn from CMI Chennai, ICTS-TIFR Bangalore, IISER-Kolkata, IISER-Trivandrum, IIT-B, IIT-Gandhinagar, IIT- Hyderabad, IIT-Madras, IPR-Gandhinagar, IUCAA-Pune, RRCAT-Indore, TIFR-Mumbai and UAIR-Gandhinagar.

Besides, astronomers from IISER-Pune, IIT-B, IUCAA-Pune, TIFR-Mumbai, PRL-Ahmedabad, IIT-Hyderabad, IIA-Bangalore, NCRA-TIFR Pune, ARIES-Nainital and IIST-Trivandrum also took part in the electromagnetic follow-up of this event using a variety of telescopes. Several Indian telescopes like the AstroSat, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope and Himalayan Chandra Telescope scanned the skies for electromagnetic flashes and the sensitive CZTI instruments on AstroSat helped narrow down the location of the gamma-ray flashes.

Similarly, HCT obtained optical images at locations of neutrinos detected by other telescopes at the same time as the burst and showed that they were unrelated to the gravitational-wave trigger, while GMRT played a crucial role in understanding jet physics and refining models of radio emissions from the remnant formed by the merging neutron stars. The development is significant considering it happens to be the strongest gravitational-wave signal detected so far, owing to its relatively close location of about 130 million light-years from Earth.

It was also confirmed by a large number of telescopes around the world which studied various forms of radiation from the merger. "This is a new milestone in the success saga of advanced gravitational wave detectors, which have announced the discoveries of four black hole mergers to date. The first such detection in 2015 led to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics this year," said the IIT-B statement.

Neutron stars are the smallest, densest stars known to exist and are formed when massive stars explode in supernovas. Typical neutron stars are heavier than the sun, but have a diameter of just about 20 kilometers: objects so dense that a teaspoon of neutron star material weighs more than Mount Everest.
tech2 News Staff

ZTE today added a new unique smartphone to its lineup, the Axon M, which is a foldable smartphone with an interesting display mechanism. The Axon M comes with two display units which are joined using a hinge.

While the ZTE Axon M is not a smartphone that looks to have arrived from the future, it doesn't feature bendable displays and the like, it does feature a secondary screen that can be unfolded to expand the viewing area into th at of a 6.75-inch display in an unusual, not-quite-a-square aspect ratio. However, according to a report by GSMArena, the bezels on the Axon M does not really manage to fool the user into thinking that the display is a single unit and not two separate ones.

Both LCD display units come in at a size of 5.2-inches with an HD 1080p resolution. The dual-displays allow being configured in four different ways, based on preference. The Dual mode enables the two units to function as two separate display units allowing two applications to be run alongside each other. The Extended mode combines the two displays into one, extending content across both screens. Mirror mode allows the same content to run on both displays while a 'Traditional mode' turns one display off, making the Axon M feel like a normal smartphone.

Sadly, the phone is powered by last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC and 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB of onboard storage. The phone also comes only with one camera, a single 20 MP unit. Given the design of the phone, you simply flip the displays to use that camera as a front or a rear camera. Powering all of this is a 3,180 mAh battery unit.

The ZTE Axon M also get dual speakers, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and runs on Android 7.1.2 Nougat. The smartphone has been priced at $725 in the US and will be sold exclusively by AT&T. It is expected to make its way to Japan, China and Europe soon.
Beijing: Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to defeat Taiwan's bid for independence but offered to extend the 'one-country, two systems' model of Hong Kong and Macao to the self-ruled island to achieve "peaceful reunification" with the mainland.

Beijing claims the breakaway province of Taiwan to be part of the mainland that must be reunified with it, even by the use of force. "We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," Xi said addressing the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

To resolve the Taiwan question, "we must uphold the principles of peaceful reunification and one country two systems", Xi, also General Secretary of the CPC, said in his address advocating the Hong Kong and Macao model of integration with China.

"Recognise the historical fact of the 1992 Consensus and that the two sides (Taiwan and China) both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony was reunited with China in 1997 under the 'one country, two systems formula'. Macao, a former Portuguese colony was reunified with China in 1999 under the same principles. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region have been granted some degree of autonomy to decide on issues other than national defence.

Under the principle, each of the two regions could continue to have its own political system, legal, economic and financial affairs, including external relations with foreign countries. After improvement in relations between China and Taiwan in the last few years, tensions surfaced again as the current Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen had scaled down ties with Beijing to maintain Taiwanese independent identity.

In his address to the CPC Congress, Xi said "we ... are ready to share development opportunities on the mainland with our Taiwan compatriots first." China will ensure that over time, people from Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as local people when they pursue their studies, start businesses, seek jobs, or live on the mainland, thus improving the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots,

he said.

People from both sides are encouraged to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds between them, he said.
Washington: US president Donald Trump celebrated Diwali in Oval Office of the White House along with senior Indian-American members of his administration, including Nikki Haley, Seema Verma and community leaders.

Cabinet ranking Haley is US Ambassador to the UN and Seema Verma is administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah, his principle deputy press secretary, were among those who also attended the event from his administration.

Daughter Ivanka Trump also joined the president in the Diwali celebrations.

in 2016, Ivanka, who is now a presidential advisor, had visited Hindu temples in Virginia and Florida as part of Diwali.

Trump, then as the Republican presidential nominee, had addressed the Indian-American community from a public meeting in New Jersey wherein he lit the traditional diya.

The tradition of Diwali celebration was first started by former president George Bush.

During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House complex.

Bush, however, never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, Bush's successor Barack Obama, lit the ceremonial diya in the East Rook of the White House. Thereafter he made it a point to celebrate the festival of lights every year.
Bogor: Qatar is "open to dialogue" in resolving a dispute that has seen the Gulf state isolated from its Arab neighbours, its emir said during a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on 5 June, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival Iran. Doha denies the charges.

Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said he discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which has the worlds largest population of Muslims and has close ties to the Arab world.

"We conveyed...that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win," Thani told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital of Jakarta.

"We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis," he added.

President Widodo did not publicly address the dispute.

The leader of the worlds biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas also visited Malaysia  another Muslim-majority nation  and Singapore this week.

Saudi and other Arab nations have made a list of 13 wide-ranging demands of Qatar, including closing down the Al Jazeera television network and curbing ties with Iran.

Kuwait and top United States officials have attempted to mediate between the parties, but there is little sign that the crisis will be resolved soon.
United States-backed forces took full control of Raqqa from the Islamic State group on Tuesday, defeating the last jihadist holdouts in the de facto Syrian capital of their now-shattered "caliphate".

The victory caps a battle of more than four months, hammering another nail in the coffin of the jihadist group's experiment in statehood, which has collapsed in the face of offensives in Syria and Iraq.

Inside Raqqa, overjoyed fighters from the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces celebrated and raised their yellow flag in the city's Al-Naim traffic circle, which became known as "Hell Roundabout" after jihadists used it for gruesome public executions.

Raqqa had become a byword for atrocities carried out by the jihadists and it was from the city that Islamic State organised devastating overseas attacks like the Paris massacres in 2015 or August's attacks in Barcelona.

"Hell Roundabout is now Al-Naim Roundabout again," the fighters in Raqqa cheered, surrounded by crushed buildings and charred cars damaged in the fierce battle for the city.

Rojda Felat, the SDF's commander for its Raqqa operation, flashed a wide grin as she waved a huge yellow flag emblazoned with the militia's name, her rifle hanging from her shoulder.

"God willing, joy will return to the whole city," said fighter Sevger Himo, his eyes gleaming.

The defeat of Islamic State in Raqqa was a victory "the whole world was waiting for," said Omar Alloush, a member of the Raqqa Civil Council formed to run the city after its liberation.

Raqqa has been devastated by fighting and emptied of civilians, with the last few thousand departing under a deal implemented over the weekend.

For Umm Abdullah, a Raqqa native who fled the city three years ago, news of its capture was overwhelming.

"I can't describe my happiness," the 44-year-old told AFP in the town of Kobane, 100 kilometres (70 miles) north of Raqqa.

Celebratory gunfire could be heard across Kobane late into the evening.

'Thank God, thank God'

"When my sister told me it had been freed, she started to cry, and then I started to cry. Thank God, thank God."

SDF forces broke into Raqqa in June after months of fighting to surround the city. On Tuesday they flushed the last few hundred IS fighters from their remaining positions in the main hospital and the municipal stadium.

"Everything is finished in Raqqa, our forces have taken full control of Raqqa," the alliance's spokesman Talal Sello told AFP.

He said the SDF was combing the city for any remaining jihadists who had not surrendered or been killed.

"The military operations in Raqqa have finished, but there are clearing operations now underway to uncover any sleeper cells there might be and remove mines," he said.

The announcement came just days after the SDF launched the final phase of its operation to retake the city.

There had been fears that the force, backed by the US-led coalition battling Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, could get bogged down in a protracted battle for the last 10 percent of the city.

But on Tuesday they captured the hospital and stadium in quick succession, effectively ending Islamic State's more than three-year presence in the city.

Sello said an official statement announcing "the liberation of the city" would be made soon.

The US-led coalition backing the operation made no statement on the city's capture, but announced that Islamic State had lost 87 percent of the territory it seized in 2014 and hundreds of its fighters had surrendered.

"In the last few days, about 350 fighters surrendered to the SDF in Raqqa, with several confirmed foreign fighters taken into custody after SDF screening," Baghdad-based coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told reporters in a video call.

"ISIS is losing in every way," he added in a tweet, using an alternative acronym for the group. "We've devastated their networks and eliminated leaders at all levels."

The breakthrough in the Raqqa operation, which was launched on June 6, came after a deal was struck allowing the evacuation in recent days of civilians who had been held as human shields.

Islamic State confined to 'dwarf territory'

The battle for the city was fierce, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor saying Tuesday at least 3,250 people had been killed, including 1,130 civilians, with hundreds more still missing.

Raqqa's capture leaves Islamic State in control of little more than a "dwarf territory" in neighbouring Deir Ezzor province, said Nicholas Heras, a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security think tank.

"Islamic State will be mainly boxed into a strip of territory running along the Middle Euphrates River Valley in the province of Deir Ezzor," he told AFP.

"This will be the centre of gravity for Islamic State in Syria."

As well as the SDF campaign, the jihadists are facing a separate Russian-backed Syrian regime campaign that has retaken swathes of territory in the province, further rolling back a "caliphate" that three years ago was roughly the size of Britain.

The Britain-based Observatory said regime forces had brought the entire area between Deir Ezzor city and Mayadeen, which was retaken on Saturday, under their control following a major military offensive.

"These are not desert areas, they are villages along the Euphrates that were Islamic State strongholds," the monitor said.

"The Islamic State group is collapsing under pressure from the regime in Deir Ezzor province," it said.

Islamic State also controls territory in neighbouring regions on the Iraqi side of the border, where the jihadists are facing another US-backed offensive by Iraqi pro-government forces.
Washington: The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK, US and France, and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council. "Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council. "It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council. India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

In September, foreign ministers of G4 countries  India, Brazil, Germany and Japan  met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support India's permanent membership.
Valletta: Malta's prime minister Joseph Muscat described murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia as "his biggest adversary" but vowed to track down and bring her killers to justice.

The centre-Left premier, who was accused by the blogger's son on Tuesday of being complicit in his mother's death, attempted to shift the spotlight onto the main opposition Nationalist Party, saying it had been the focus of Caruana Galizia's latest investigations.

"It is unthinkable in a country like Malta to die for your job, in Caruana Galizia's case for what she wrote," Muscat said in an interview with Italy's La Repubblica daily. "She was probably my biggest adversary, she attacked me from when I was leader of the Opposition. But that was her job," he said, adding that he had called in "the FBI and other European security services" to find her killers.

Caruana Galizia, who had been called a "one-woman Wikileaks", was killed in a car bomb on Monday. She had lately used her widely-read blog to make a series of detailed allegations of corruption in Muscat's inner circle, some based on the Panama Papers data leak.

Muscat refused to speculate on who might be behind her death, but said that "the easiest thing for me to do would be to point the finger against the Opposition, the leader of which was the subject of Daphne's latest stories". In an interview with La Stampa daily, he raised Opposition leader Adrian Delia again, saying the blogger had accused him of "money laundering, prostitution and more".

Muscat also said she had written on her blog about receiving threats "from people in the opposition" over the last month, but that he could not verify the claim. On Tuesday Delia called on Muscat to step down, accusing him of personally failing to safeguard the blogger's life. Muscat responded to that charge in an interview with Maltese TV, saying he could not impose police protection on someone who did not want it.

Dutch forensic experts arrived on the island on Tuesday to aid the investigation. Police sources said Semtex explosives were believed to have been used in the car bomb, a demolition compound known to be favoured by terrorists in large-scale attacks.

Cauana Galizia's killing has sent shock waves around the world with the United States the latest country to condemn it. "It was a cowardly attack that took the life of a talented and brave reporter who dedicated her career to ...

shining light on corruption," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

"The Government of Malta and Malta police force have been in contact with the FBI about the investigation and the FBI is providing specific assistance."
Islamabad: An powerful explosion ripped through a police truck on Wednesday to kill at least six security forces in Pakistans southwestern city of Quetta, police said.

The truck was carrying police recruits, four of whom were killed, along with two passers-by on the citys eastern outskirts, Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said.

"We cant say whether it is a suicide blast," he added. "Our teams are at the scene and investigating."

Television broadcast images of the burned-out remains of the vehicle.
Soon after an American-Canadian family was released from the clutches of the Haqqani terror network, the United States expressed hope that it would change the cooperative relationship between Washington and Islamabad. Vice-president Mike Pence also praised Pakistan for its help and said that Islamabad took an important step to answer the president's call to do more in the fight against terrorism.

However, things would have turned out extremely different had Pakistan not responded to the US' call. The relations between the two nations would have touched a new low and Islamabad would have proved true President Donald Trump's allegations that it provides safe havens to terrorist organisations.

A New York Times article delves into the situation before the US approached Pakistan for help in securing the release of the captive family. A CIA drone picked up an image in northwest Pakistan of an American woman who was abducted five years ago while backpacking in Afghanistan with her Canadian husband.

According to the report, members of Navy's SEAL Team 6 were mobilised to rescue the family. The commandos started rehearsing but the operation was called off because some in the US government were not certain that the people captured in the CIA image were the same ones, who had been kidnapped.

US Ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, delivered an urgent US message to the Pakistani government  Resolve this, or the United States will. This reminds one of the NAVY SEAL operation that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011 without the knowledge of the Pakistani government.

Pakistani officials told The New York Times that they acted within hours and with the help of American intelligence, they were able to locate the vehicle in which the Haqqanis were transporting the family and thus rescue them.

Had Pakistan not responded on time, the US was ready to launch an operation similar to the one in 2011. This would have been a huge embarrassment for Islamabad and consolidated the US belief that Pakistan harbours terrorists.

American citizen Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip. Their three children were born while the pair was in captivity.

The family left for Canada aboard Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-785, a security official said.

After arriving in Canada, Boyle condemned the Haqqani network's "stupidity and evil of authorizing the murder of my infant daughter" in "retaliation for my repeated refusal to accept an offer that the miscreant of the Haqqani network had made to me, and the stupidity and evil of the subsequent rape of my wife".

With inputs from agencies
Washington: US senators have announced they had reached a bipartisan deal to continue a programme that helps low-income Americans purchase health insurance, days after President Donald Trump cut such subsidies.

Since taking office in January, Trump has sought to end the health reforms that took effect under former president Barack Obama allowing millions of uninsured people to get medical insurance.

Repealing the Affordable Care Act  commonly known as Obamacare  was one of Trump's most strident campaign promises. He described Obamacare as a "total disaster" but his Republican Party has failed in efforts to repeal the reforms.

Trump has, however, cut some government budgetary support for Obamacare, and last week announced the administration would halt payments to insurers that are designed to help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage.

He called those payments "a subsidy to the insurance companies" but said the White House would work with Congress for an interim solution before coming up with a longer-term plan.

On Tuesday, he signaled he would support the bipartisan agreement as "a short-term deal."

Reached by Republican Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray, it would fund for two years the federal reimbursements to insurance companies that are vital to sustain the Affordable Care Act.

The senators "have just announced they have an agreement," Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

Trump had backed legislation that would dismantle much of Obamacare in favor of a program that provides block grants to states to allow them greater flexibility in how to manage insurance coverage and costs.

Some Republicans balked at supporting the bill and it never received a vote.

Trump has stressed that he believes Congress will eventually pass some form of block grant legislation next year. In the meantime, Tuesday's agreement will "get us over this intermediate hump," he said.

Alexander, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, said Republicans were rallying around the deal because they wanted to avoid "chaos" in the insurance markets.

"The president likes this idea. So there is an emerging, encouraging consensus, and we'll see how far it goes," he told reporters.

Democrats had blasted the order Trump made last week as a cruel and intentional "sabotage" of Obamacare. But the opposition party's top senator expressed support for the agreement reached Tuesday.

"We've achieved stability if this agreement becomes law," said Senator Chuck Schumer, who described it as "a very good step forward."
Washington: A US federal judge on Tuesday barred the White House from implementing yet another version of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order on immigration, hours before it was due to go into full effect.

The decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii  which the White House signaled it would appeal  marks the latest blow to Trump's long-running efforts to restrict entry of travelers from targeted countries into the United States.

Watson said the third rendition of the travel ban  covering people from six mainly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and some officials from Venezuela  could not be justified under law.

In his decision, Watson wrote the ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specific countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.'"

The ruling means the Trump administration could again ask the Supreme Court to decide whether his immigration orders are legal.

Legal saga

The newest order was announced in September to replace an expiring 90-day temporary ban on travelers from the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The September decree removed Sudan from the list, but added Chad and North Korea for full bans and Venezuela for a ban limited to certain classes of officials.

The White House justified the measure as needed to protect US national security  but critics said it appeared virtually the same as the original order of 27 January.

Courts shot that version down saying it targeted Muslims, violating the US constitutional protections for religious freedom.

A second version was only slightly adjusted and was quickly tied up in similar legal wrangling.

In June, the Supreme Court accepted to review the case but let the 90-day ban go mostly into effect in the meantime.

When the ban expired, the court said there was nothing to rule on.

Trump went forward with a new version with no expiry date, tacking on North Korea and Venezuela to the list of targeted countries and implying the updated measure did not simply target Muslim countries.

But Watson  who also issued freezes on the first two attempts  said the order does not improve US security, since individuals who pose risks can already be denied entry under existing law.

The order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a manner antithetical to US laws "and the founding principles of this nation," he wrote.

Watson placed a freeze on the ban on travelers from the six countries, but allowed it to be implemented on North Korea  which sent only a handful of people to the United States last year  and Venezuela, where US sanctions have also already made travel to the United States difficult for many officials.

'Dangerously flawed'

The White House quickly rejected his argument, calling it "dangerously flawed" and promising to fight the action.

"The entry restrictions in the proclamation apply to countries based on their inability or unwillingness to share critical information necessary to safely vet applications, as well as a threat assessment related to terrorism, instability and other grave national security concerns," it said.

"We are therefore confident that the judiciary will ultimately uphold the president's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people."

One of the most controversial changes in the latest version of the White House order was the addition of Chad, whose forces are working with US troops in the battle against Boko Haram extremists.

But the administration appeared to be preparing to back away from this widely-criticised position.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert announced that in recent weeks the Chad government had shown a "clear willingness to work closely with us on these issues."

She did not give any timeline, but said the US "is committed to working with Chad to address the deficiencies, toward the goal of improving vetting capabilities and lifting visa restrictions."
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Watch out, pedestrians: Self-driving cars are headed to the streets of New York City.

GM's Cruise Automation team is in the process of applying to be the first to test fully autonomous vehicles in the state, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. The tests are expected to begin in a geofenced area of Manhattan in early 2018.

The Silicon Valley-based firm, which GM acquired in March 2016 for $1 billion, has also been testing its autonomous driving tech on roads in San Francisco, Arizona, and Michigan. During its upcoming tests in Manhattan, there will be an engineer in the driver's seat to "monitor and evaluate performance," and a second person in the passenger seat.

In a statement, Cruise Automation's CEO Kyle Vogt said the NYC trials will "accelerate the timeline to deploying self-driving cars at scale."

"New York City is one of the most densely populated places in the world and provides new opportunities to expose our software to unusual situations, which means we can improve our software at a much faster rate," Vogt said.

News of the upcoming tests comes after Audi in June performed New York's first autonomous vehicle demo.

Cruise's upcoming trials will represent first time Level 4 autonomous vehicles are tested in the state, Cuomo said. The SAE International standard defines automated driving based on six levels of capability, ranging from zero (no automation) to 5 (full automation). Level 4 (high automation) means the vehicle can handle all driving tasks in most situations, with possible exceptions during inclement weather or unusual driving environments, where a driver would be required to take over.

"New York is the ultimate proving ground for autonomous vehicle technology," Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said in a statement. "We have a streetscape that is unrivaled in its scale and complexity, and so it's fitting that General Motors and Cruise Automation are finally bringing this technology here for testing and development."

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
A hedge fund owner's bid to hold the government responsible for an FBI raid that he says ruined his business was lost Tuesday when a federal appeals court rejected his lawsuit.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said David Ganek cannot hold federal agents and prosecutors liable for the November 2010 raid that preceded the closure three months later of his Greenwich, Connecticut-based business, Level Global Investors, which had over $4 billion in assets under management.

The appeals court said the possibility Ganek unwittingly traded on inside information cannot defeat probable cause to search his office.

Ganek in a 2015 lawsuit had sought unspecified damages for the loss of his business, which was valued at $400 million, and for lost income and lost business reputation. He said agents made misrepresentations before raiding his New York offices.

The defendants asked the court to toss the lawsuit, saying they were protected by immunity. A lower-court judge had allowed the lawsuit to proceed, noting that the raids of Ganek's hedge fund and others "sent shockwaves through Wall Street" and led to the indictment of investment bankers and traders.

In its ruling, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel said there was at least a fair probability to think that his office was a place where evidence of an insider trading scheme would be found.

"In any event, this is not a case in which there was no evidence of Ganek's involvement in insider trading," the appeals court said of Ganek, who was not charged.

In a statement, Ganek said the appeals ruling does not preclude the Justice Department from bringing disciplinary charges against those defendants who still work in government.

"This is a dangerous day for private citizens and a great day for ambitious, attention-seeking prosecutors who are now being rewarded with total immunity even when they lie and leak," he said.
A Rhode Island city council will support legislation that calls for the city and the state to commit $38 million toward a new stadium for a Boston Red Sox minor league team.

At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Pawtucket City Council approved a resolution encouraging the General Assembly to allow the city to bond up to $15 million for the cost of the proposed Pawtucket Red Sox stadium.

The council voted 6-2, with one council member abstaining. The resolution isn't needed to pass the legislation.

The PawSox says the team's longtime home, McCoy Stadium, is out of date and wants to replace it.

Critics have said the deal should not rely on taxpayer money. Supporters worry the team will leave Pawtucket.
A doctor from the state of Georgia was stopped from honoring a slain Army soldier whose casket was aboard a Delta flight heading towards Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Dr. Pamela Gaudry says a Delta Airlines flight attendant prevented her from singing the national anthem to honor 29-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright.

[The flight attendant] knelt down in front of me because I was in the exit seat and there was a lot of room and she said, You cant do what you are doing, and I just looked at her and she said, Its against our company policy.' I was in shock and she said it again, Gaudry said on FOX Business Risk and Reward.

Gaudry said she was encouraged to honor Sgt. Wright after receiving positive responses by other passengers as she walked through the cabin asking them if it was ok to honor the special forces solider killed in the Oct. 4 Niger attack.

I just thought wouldnt it be great when he stood up if we sang to him, when he was going off the plane, she said.

Delta Airlines said in a statement that it takes great pride in Deltas longstanding support of the military."

Our employees worldwide take great pride in Deltas longstanding support of the military. The respectful ceremony of the Delta Honor Guard is one symbol of Deltas pledge to the men and women of the armed forces, said Delta spokesman Brian Kruse.

Gaudry said a company representative reached out to her in a phone call apologizing several times later that night after she arrived at her home.

And 100 times he said, This is not our policy, this is not our policy and he said, you know we honor these boys and I said to him, it was a beautiful honor but she told me I couldnt sing, she said.
The young Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film finally has a title: "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

Director Ron Howard announced the title Tuesday in a Twitter video celebrating production wrap on the anthology film starring Alden Ehrenreich as the grumpy space smuggler originated by Harrison Ford.

The film also stars Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newtown and focuses on Han and Chewbacca before they joined the rebellion.

The film has had some well-known production turmoil. Deep into the shoot directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller abruptly left the project and were replaced by Howard.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is set for a May 25, 2018, release.
Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) recently celebrated its 125th year of doing business as a meat processor and food products specialist. That streak is a testament to its strong market position and the balanced portfolio of brands, including Spam, Applegate, and Skippy, that management has assembled and supported over the years. Hormel's 51 consecutive years of annual dividend hikes shows just one way in which shareholders have benefited from those strengths.

While that record isn't in jeopardy of ending any time soon, it's still worth looking at Hormel Foods' dividend. After all, the company is on pace for a rare earnings decline this year due to soaring commodity meat prices.

Operating and dividend history

Hormel hasn't enjoyed much revenue growth over the past few years. In fact, sales are up just 16% since 2012 for a compound annual growth rate of below 4%.

Yet its earnings have risen sharply thanks to the company's cost cuts and its strategic shift toward value-added, branded food products and away from commodity turkey and pork products. Earnings per share jumped by 30% last year to pass 9% of sales. That represents a dramatic improvement over the 6% profitability Hormel saw in fiscal 2012.

The dividend has run slightly ahead of that hefty earnings growth, rising by 17% last year and by 26% the year before. The payout has grown at a 15% compound annual rate over the past decade, which includes several weak profit years around the 2008-2009 recession.

Its annual yield is just above 2% today, which is about what an investor could achieve by owning an index fund that tracks the broader market. Hormel's yield puts it ahead of meat specialist Tyson Foods but below branded food giants like Smucker's and Campbell Soup.

Where the dividend goes from here

Hormel's latest results imply modest dividend gains ahead. Sales are up by just 2% over the past nine months, and spiking costs on pork and beef products led management to lower their profit outlook for 2017 in late August. The company now sees earnings coming in at between $1.54 per share and $1.58 per share, compared to the prior range of between $1.65 per share and $1.71 per share. "In the face of a challenging year," CEO Jim Snee said in a press release, "we are focused on our strategic initiatives and are committed to maintaining a long-term perspective."

Those initiatives include price cuts, investments in product innovation, and an aggressive pace of acquisitions that saw Hormel recently add the Fontanini and Ceratti specialty meat brands to its portfolio.

Meanwhile, there's very little risk of a cut or pause in this dividend. The company's $0.68 per share dividend commitment would still amount to less than half of earnings even if Hormel only manages to hit the low end of its annual profit guidance. The payout is also well covered by cash flow. Hormel generated over $500 million of operating cash in the past nine months, or about double the dividend payment over that time.

Thus, while the company's earnings are set to decline this year for the first time since 2008, the worst that income investors are likely to see is a smaller dividend boost next year. The magnitude of annual raises from there will depend on how well the company anticipates and responds to rapidly shifting consumer tastes for packaged foods.

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Demitrios Kalogeropoulos 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.
Talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled over tough American demands, dashing hopes that a deal can be reached this year.

A fourth round of negotiations between the U.S., Mexico and Canada ended in mutual exasperation Tuesday. Talks will continue next month in Mexico City and will spill over into next year.

The negotiators had originally hoped to reach an agreement this year  before Mexico's presidential election and U.S. midterms turn up the political pressure in 2018.

President Donald Trump, who called NAFTA a job-killing "disaster" on the campaign trail, has threatened to withdraw from the 23-year-old pact if he can't get what he wants.

Canada and Mexico are balking at America's demand that a revamped deal do something to reduce America's trade deficits.

"We have seen no indication that our partners are willing to make any changes that will result in a rebalancing and a reduction in these huge trade deficits," U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer said.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland countered that America's "unconventional" proposals would "turn back the clock" and warned against a "winner-take-all mindset."

NAFTA ripped down most trade barriers between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trade surged within the NAFTA bloc, benefiting American farmers who export corn and other products.

But many U.S. manufacturers moved production south of the border to take advantage of Mexico's low labor costs, then shipped goods back to the United States. The influx of imports swelled America's trade deficit with Mexico, which came to $62 billion last year. (The United States logged an $8 billion trade surplus with Canada in 2016).

To cut the trade deficit with Mexico, the United States is demanding that more auto production be made in America before qualifying for NAFTA benefits.

But companies have built complicated supply chains that straddle NAFTA borders, taking advantage of each country's strengths  such as cheap labor in Mexico and skilled workers and proximity to customers in the United States and Canada. Changing the rules, they say, would disrupt their operations.

"These proposed rules would increase the cost of manufacturing and raise prices for consumers," said Ann Wilson, senior vice president for government affairs at the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents auto suppliers.

"It would just make North America less competitive, and it would impose an indirect barrier to trade," said trade lawyer Miguel Noyola, a principal at Baker & McKenzie LLP.

Lighthizer is also targeting a NAFTA provision that now allows companies to appeal to private tribunals when they object to decisions by the government of the country where they're investing  perhaps a costly environmental regulation.

Those tribunals mean companies don't have to worry as much about the political risks  and account for the potential cost  when they invest in less-developed countries. Effectively, Lighthizer argues, they put "a thumb on the scale" in Mexico's favor. The U.S. wants to limit companies' ability to appeal government decisions under NAFTA.

The U.S. is also proposing that the new NAFTA expire unless the countries agreed every few years to extend it. Critics say the so-called sunset clause would create too much uncertainty for businesses.

"Who would want to make an investment if they don't know what is going to happen in five years?" says former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico James Jones, now chairman of Monarch Global Strategies.
Spike television network is investigating sexual harassment allegations against Bob Weinstein, the brother of disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, after a female showrunner of a Weinstein Company series accused him of inappropriate behavior.

Amanda Segel, a former executive producer of the sci-fi series "The Mist," claims Bob Weinstein made repeated overtures to her that included invitations to dinner, to his home and to a hotel room, according to a story published Tuesday by Variety.

"We take all allegations of this nature very seriously, and are investigating," Spike said in a statement.

She says the propositions began in June 2016 and were put to a stop a few months later only after Segel's lawyer gave Weinstein Co. executives an ultimatum that Segel would leave the show if Weinstein persisted.

An arrangement reportedly was struck that restricted Weinstein's contact with Segel while she was doing her job. ("The Mist" was recently cancelled after a 10-episode first season.)

Bert Fields, an attorney for Weinstein, strongly refuted the allegations.

"Variety's story is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Miss Segel," Fields said. "Even if you believed anything that she said, it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching, or even a request for such touching."

"I've known Bob Weinstein for many years," Fields added, "and he's the last guy that would be involved in any form of sexual harassment."

Segel's attorney, David Fox, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In a separate Wall Street Journal report, Jeffrey Katzenberg, a former Walt Disney executive who worked at the company when it owned the Weinstein-founded studio Miramax, also condemned Bob Weinsteins behavior. The article, which cited multiple former business associates who have worked with Weinstein, alleged that he was a volatile executive who regularly engaged in inappropriate behavior.

Bob Weinstein was genuinely abusive to people in my company, Katzenberg told the Journal. The one person who revealed himself in a way that was unacceptable to me was, in fact, Bob.

Weinstein responded to the story in a statement. At times I have a temper, but I would not describe it as volatile, and Im definitely not a bully, he told the Journal.

Segel's accusations came to light just two weeks after an explosive story by The New York Times reported on older brother Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual harassment and assault of women spanning several decades. That story was followed by another expose in The New Yorker.

Since those stories surfaced, more than three dozen women have spoken up with additional accusations. Harvey Weinstein was fired from the company he co-founded with Bob, and on Tuesday resigned from its board. He lost his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The very future of The Weinstein Co. is currently in doubt.

In the meantime, Bob Weinstein has publicly condemned his brother while professing he was unaware that Harvey had engaged in any non-consensual relations with women.

"I'm mortified and disgusted by my brother's actions. And I am sick for the victims," he said in an interview by The Hollywood reporter published Saturday.

Until now, no such accusations had been made against Bob Weinstein.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Having a good relationship with your colleagues can make for a much more pleasant working environment. You may even go so far as to call those colleagues your friends. But regardless of the level of trust you've established, there are certain pieces of information you should never share with the people you work with. Here are a few in particular to keep to yourself.

1. Your salary

Discussing compensation at work might seem like a good way to see if you're being paid fairly, but in reality, it's a move that can backfire. First of all, your company might actually have a policy that prohibits employees from discussing salary information (or at least frown heavily upon it). Violate that rule, and your good standing at work could get compromised.

Additionally, talking salary at work might cause resentment if it turns out you're being paid better than your colleagues. If others grow bitter, it could wreck your relationships and create a situation where people are less willing to help you out because they feel you're being given special treatment. And of course, things could work the opposite way, too -- you might come to resent your co-workers if it turns out they're earning more. If you want to know whether you're being compensated adequately, a smarter bet is to use sites like Glassdoor, which provide salary data by industry and geographic location.

2. That you're looking for a new job

These days, it's common for employees to jump ship, and moving to another company could be the best way to snag a raise or promotion. But until you're staring at an offer letter, you're best off keeping the fact that you're searching under wraps, at least as far as your co-workers are concerned. You never know when an otherwise earnest or trustworthy colleague might accidentally blab, and if it gets out that you're looking, and your manager doesn't react well to that news, you could find yourself demoted or even out of a job.

3. Gossip about other co-workers

When you come upon juicy information about your colleagues and their personal lives, it can be all too tempting to share those details with an interested associate. But don't do it. If the subject of that gossip finds out you're overstepping your bounds, it could damage your relationship and make working together extremely unpleasant. Worse yet, that person might report you to HR. Furthermore, the last thing you want is to be known as the office gossip, so if you really feel the need to dish out details on somebody else's life, find an outside friend to talk to.

4. Your personal financial situation

Perhaps you're struggling to cover your bills. Or maybe you come from a wealthy family or have a spouse who does very well. No matter your circumstances, sharing personal money matters is something that can turn an otherwise strong relationship into an awkward one.

Consider the former scenario. If you let on that you're not doing well financially, you might get judged as irresponsible. Or you might make others feel uncomfortable to the point where it affects your daily interactions. Then there's the flipside. If you let on that you're well off, and your manager finds out, he or she might use that as an excuse not to give you a raise. Similarly, if your company can only offer a handful of salary boosts in a given year, you might get passed over by virtue of your strong financial standing, when the decision should actually be based on merit alone.

5. That you sometimes play hooky

Many of us have limited vacation days, so if your company gives sick time its own separate or limitless tally, you may be tempted to feign illness to snag some extra time off. And if you're smart about doing so, you can probably get away with it fairly easily. But if you make the mistake of letting your co-workers in on your secret, it could come back to haunt you.

First of all, you never know who might share your tactics with your manager or HR, and if that happens, you risk a series of consequences, the least of which is not getting paid for the days you pretended to be sick. Second, if you call out sick during a busy period of work when you're not actually ill, your colleagues might come to feel abandoned or put off when they're forced to absorb your share of the workload. You're better off squeezing out some extra leisure time on the sly, and keeping it to yourself.

It's one thing to be friendly with your co-workers, but there's also such a thing as being too open. Steer clear of these dangerous topics, and your relationship with your colleagues will be stronger for it.

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In this Industry Focus segment, we look at Constellation Brands' (NYSE: STZ) fiscal second quarter 2018 earnings, reviewing significant items from the quarter, including the balance of its wine, spirits, and beer categories. To learn more about this fast-growing beverage company, already up nearly 40% year to date, just click below.

A full transcript follows the video.

10 stocks we like better than Constellation BrandsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

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This video was recorded on Oct. 10, 2017.

Vincent Shen: We have Constellation Brands. That's ticker STZ. The company reported its fiscal second quarter results on Oct. 5. Shares popped about 4% to 5% following the release. Looking out further, Constellation is actually up over 21% in the past year and almost 500% in the past five years, easily beating out the broad S&P 500 and also its alcoholic beverage peers. Asit, can you give us a rundown of the latest quarter and some of the big takeaways that jumped out to you that are really driving such impressive numbers for the company?

Asit Sharma: In this latest quarter, you mentioned the company grew revenue 3%. That's not a lot of revenue growth. However, part of that was, the company sold its Canadian wine business last year, which was a slow growth part of its revenue stream. So it let go of some revenue, but its beer business managed to grow 13%. So that made up for a lot of that difference. The company, as of its latest quarter, is about two-third committed to beer revenue and one-third wine and spirits. And what we saw in this most recent quarter was not just very good growth on the beer side, which we'll talk about in just a moment but also growth in the wine and spirits business, even though it let go of the Canadian wine business. Depletions were up 5%.

Now for listeners, I want to read to you a definition of what depletion is. You might hear us talk about this term sometimes on Industry Focus. Hats off to Rich Smith. If you were to google "beer depletion", Rich Smith, who's a colleague of ours, longtime Fool writer, wrote an article several years ago, it must have been five years ago, and his article comes up as one of the first search results, because he's given such a great definition. It "refers to the rate at which beer, already shipped from a producer like Boston Beer to a distributor leaves the distributor's warehouse en route to end users, i.e. drinkers." So here, we're talking about wine. The Constellation Brands wine business saw depletions of 5% depletion growth. That simply means that distributors are sending more wine to their own retail outlets at that rate of growth of 5%. So we always try to track two things: how much is the company actually selling, and how much are the distributors selling? And depletions gives you that number. So, positive sign there. I like that very much because the beer business is really driving Constellation forward. So if the wine and spirits business is also growing, it takes some of the pressure off that concentration. Vince, to flip it back to you, let's talk a little bit about what beer has meant to Constellation Brands over the last five years or so.

Shen: It's the most significant part of the business. When I checked, I think it was about 60% of their top line. Keep in mind that Constellation very proudly says that they lead the high end of the U.S. beer market. This is powered significantly by their imported Mexican brand portfolio. That includes big names like Corona, Modelo, Pacifico, Corona being the biggest imported brand, while Modelo is the fastest-growing. The company said in the last quarter that its beer portfolio alone drove 60% of the growth in the premium U.S. beer market.

On top of that, they're also expanding into some craft and specialty beers, as we've seen a lot of the big brewing companies have done. They've done that through acquisitions, much like their competitors. Their craft beer portfolio now includes also Ballast Point Brewing, which they acquired two years ago for $1 billion, and Funky Buddha, which is the latest recent addition. This is also an interesting case of, while that imported portfolio is very large and doing very well, very strong, craft was also kind of the shooting star for a long time for the beer industry. But several of the megabrewers are probably coming to regret the price tags that they ended up paying in that race to acquire all these craft breweries. Constellation itself took a $90 million impairment charge during the quarter on Ballast Point, and I would say that brand is probably no longer the focus it once was for the company, especially when you consider that the Mexican imports like Modelo and Corona are driving so much growth and winning shelf space with retailers. And they're taking that space not only from the big domestic brands but also from some craft names as well.

In terms of specific plans they have for this recent Funky Buddha acquisition, I thought it was interesting to note during the latest earnings call, management does speak to how they're going to try to take a more "professional approach" to growing the brand. So they're going to stick to certain key tenets, like focusing on a handful of key product offerings rather than expanding with a bunch of products and seeing what resonates with customers. They're also going to try to consolidate the distribution network and not expand geographically, because Funky Buddha is best known in Florida, before awareness of the brand itself has actually spread enough to sustain their expansion efforts.

Asit Sharma has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Vincent Shen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Boston Beer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A fire that erupted at the largest oil refinery on the West Coast threatened storage tanks while sending huge flames into the sky and black smoke across California neighborhoods before crews quickly smothered it.

Dozens of firefighters responded late Tuesday to the 1,000-acre Chevron El Segundo Refinery just south of Los Angeles, which processes nearly 275,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Nearby residents were urged to close windows and stay inside. Streets were briefly closed, but no evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.

Crews using firefighting foam kept the blaze from spreading to storage tanks. Within a half-hour, few flames were visible.

The fire did not burn near any of the facility's main processing units and was confined to a distribution manifold along the facility's southwestern perimeter, Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said in a statement. The cause was under investigation, he said.

"At this point, Chevron does not expect this incident to have an impact on its ability to supply petroleum products to its customers in the region," the statement said.

Petroleum industry analyst Patrick DeHaan said initial information indicates the fire was unlikely to affect gas prices.

DeHaan, a senior analyst with GasBuddy, said the El Segundo facility was not running at full capacity at the time of the fire because it had shuttered most operations for semi-annual preventative maintenance.

Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state of California for a major fire in 2012 at a refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The El Segundo refinery supplies 40 percent of the jet fuel used at nearby Los Angeles International Airport and has 20 percent of the market for gasoline in Southern California, according the company's website.

Daily production includes 110,000 barrels of gasoline and 100,000 barrels of jet and diesel fuels. Other products include fuel oils, coke and liquefied petroleum gas.

About 1,100 Chevron employees and 300 contract employees work at the refinery.

The facility dates to 1911 and was the second refinery built in California by Chevron predecessor Standard Oil Co.

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Associated Press writers John Antczak and Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.

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Follow Christopher Weber at https://twitter.com/WeberCM .

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This story has been corrected to show that the facility processes 275,000 barrels, not gallons, per day.
The news that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) CFO Jeff Bornstein will leave at the end of the year caught the market by surprise. But how much should investors really worry about the news? After all, Bornstein is an industry veteran with 28 years of service to GE, so his departure could be a completely natural move.

However, I happen to think his departure could be something deserving close attention from investors. Here's why.

Goodbye, Immelt and Bornstein

While the Bornstein announcement could be couched in terms of a natural succession, it's worth noting that when John Flannery was moved up to CEO, Bornstein was also promoted to vice chairman. Indeed, he was supposed to work closely with Flannery to run GE after Jeff Immelt's departure in August. It seems clear that things haven't worked out as originally expected.

While we don't know exactly what's changed, Bornstein's departure highlights a number of ongoing issues with GE's management regarding recent history with guidance and the challenges ahead to fully restore credibility with investors.

What's gone wrong with GE's guidance

GE's management has been over-promising and under-delivering, and you only have to look at the nearly 27% decline in the company's stock price this year to see the impact. GE hasn't formally abandoned its EPS targets for this year and the next, but the commentary around those targets has grown increasingly negative. Moreover, there are signs of deteriorating quality of earnings. Consider:

GE significantly missed its own expectations for cash flow generation by $1 billion in the first quarter.

On the second-quarter earnings call, Bornstein guided investors toward the bottom end of the full-year earnings and cash flow guidance ranges.

Immelt's long-held target of $2 in operating EPS in 2018 is significantly above the analyst consensus of $1.63.

GE's cash flow problem

The first bullet point deserves closer inspection because GE's problems this year haven't been about just failing to meet earnings expectations--in fact earnings and guidance have remained in the ranges set at the start of the year.

However, the relationship between earnings and cash flow at GE is one that analysts are watching very closely. Simply put, in 2018 GE will be implementing an accounting standard update, namely ASU 2014-09, which relates to revenue recognition from contracts. While, it might not impact revenue over time it could impact the timing of GE's revenue and earnings recognition. This can be a concern because it's possible that GE's recent revenue and earnings might need to be restated--not good news for investors who just focus on revenue and earnings when valuing stocks.

Moreover, when GE reported a cash flow shortfall of $1 billion in the first quarter--with $300 million of it from contract assets--it highlighted the fact that GE has been booking revenue and earnings which haven't been dropping through into cash flow as yet.

Where Immelt and Bornstein went wrong

To be fair, some of the problems aren't entirely GE management's fault. For example, there is little GE can do about the ongoing overcapacity in the power market -- something that key rival Siemens has been very vocal about. In fact, GE's move to consolidate the market by buying Alstom's energy assets is a positive step. Moreover, GE's H-turbine has been a big success even as it faces increasing competition from Siemens.

While GE deserves credit for dealing in a difficult power market, management just hasn't done a good job with guidance. In fact, it increasingly looks as if Immelt and Bornstein have been too optimistic in their earnings assumptions. That's of concern because all investors have to do is look at how other industrial companies, such as Honeywell International and Caterpillar, have been conservative in their guidance.

Will GE reset expectations?

In this context, it's not hard to see that Flannery's first significant act could be to formally lower guidance and reset investor expectations. If this is going to happen, then Bornstein's departure could signal a determination to make a clean sweep and restore credibility for the new earnings targets.

In doing so, Flannery could create a positive catalyst for the stock price, because GE does have some underlying growth prospects -- not least being the opportunity to generate earnings growth through structural and product cost cuts. Moreover, Flannery could divest the healthcare business.

Where next for GE?

Investors have been prepared for some operational changes at GE, and it looks likely that they're going to get them. Cautious investors will obviously want to wait until November see what the results of Flannery's portfolio review are going to be, and Bornstein's exit is probably a signal of some significant changes to come.

All told, if you're thinking about making a long-term investment in the company, it probably makes sense to wait until the review is over and you know exactly what Flannery has planned.

10 stocks we like better than General ElectricWhen 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 General Electric wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017

Lee Samaha 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.
Delta (NYSE:DAL) will follow through with its plans to purchase 75 Bombardier C Series jets, though it doesnt expect to pay a 300% tariff to the U.S. government, the company confirmed to FOX Business on Wednesday.

Canadas Bombardier, which struck a deal this week with European plane manufacturer Airbus on its C Series program, will build some of its jets at Airbus Mobile, Ala. production facility. If the planes are manufactured in the United States, the two companies believe the 300% tariff will not apply, a spokesperson for Delta confirmed.

The 300% tariffs were levied in response to a complaint by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing (NYSE:BA) that Bombardier was selling planes in the U.S. market at unfairly low prices. A final decision on the tariffs will be made by the U.S. International Trade Commission early next year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Boeing maintained that even if the C Series jets were manufactured in the United States, they would still be subject to the tariff.

However, Deltas CEO Edward Bastian has made it clear that he does not intend to pay the hefty fees.

During the companys most recent earnings call, on Oct. 11, Bastian said that even if the company had to postpone receiving the aircraft, it would not pay the tariffs.

We will not pay those tariffs, and that is very clear, he said. We intend to make the aircraft. I can't tell you how it's going to eventually work out. There may be a delay in us taking the aircraft as we work through the issues with Bombardier, who's being a great partner in this  We're not going to be forced to pay tariffs or do anything with the deal, so there should not be any concerns on our investors' minds in that regard.

Delta confirmed that even if it had to wait extra years for production to be set up and executed at Airbus Alabama facility, it would be willing to do so in order to avoid the tariffs. Airbus manufactures its A319, A320 and A321 aircraft at that plant  its first U.S.-based production facility  which opened in 2015.
The Latest on federal prosecution of fake Indian-art sales (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

A second defendant has pleaded guilty in federal court to the sale of fake Native American jewelry that was manufactured in the Philippines.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque confirmed Wednesday that art gallery owner Nael Ali has pleaded guilty to misrepresenting Indian-produced goods in violation of the Indian Arts and Craft Act.

Ali was accused of selling fake Indian art at two galleries in the Old Town neighborhood of Albuquerque. He acknowledged attributing jewelry to specific Navajo and Zuni Pueblo craftsman when it was actually made in the Philippines.

Two criminal convictions have been made in a sweeping international investigation into bogus Indian art sales at several galleries across the United States.

Ongoing investigations spearheaded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have laid bare the breadth and sophistication of distribution networks for fake Indian-style art and crafts.

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2:20 p.m.

A defendant has pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor criminal charge in the sale of fake Native American jewelry that was manufactured in the Philippines.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque confirmed Wednesday that art supplier Mohammad Manasra pleaded guilty to misrepresenting fake Indian-produced goods in violation of the Indian Arts and Craft Act.

The guilty plea represents the first conviction in a sweeping international investigation into bogus Indian art sales at galleries stretching from Albuquerque to California and Virginia.

In October 2015, federal agents raided Indian art galleries in Albuquerque, Gallup, and Calistoga, California, to seize counterfeits and evidence.

Manasra has signed an agreement to forfeit 5,268 pieces of jewelry. A sentencing hearing is still months away. An attorney for Manasra declined Wednesday to discuss the case.
The Latest on the Spain-Catalonia political crisis (all times local):

2 p.m.

A top Catalan official is ruling out the possibility of holding a new election as a way out of the region's political impasse with Spain.

Raul Romeva told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday that Catalonia's Oct. 1 secession referendum gave the region's separatist government a mandate to declare independence from Spain. He says "elections from our perspective are not an option."

New media have speculated the Spanish government might be willing to hold off applying a constitution rule that allows it to seize some or all control of Catalonia's semi-autonomous powers if the Catalan government were to call a new election.

Spain has given Catalan President Carles Puigdemont until Thursday morning to clarify if he has declared independence for the northeastern region or not. Otherwise, Spain says it will begin seizing control.

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11:50 a.m.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called on party colleagues of Catalonia's pro-independence president to convince him to back down on the region's push for independence from Spain.

Spain has given Catalan president Carles Puigdemont until Thursday morning to clarify if he has declared the region's independence or not. Otherwise, the government may take the unprecedented step of seizing some or total control of the semi-autonomous region, moving the conflict with the region to another level.

Speaking in parliament Wednesday, Rajoy called on Puigdemont to act sensibly and keep in mind the interests of all Spaniards and Catalans.

Addressing Puigdemont's fellow party lawmakers, Rajoy said they should make an effort to convince the Catalan leader "not to make any more problems" as that would "oblige the government to make decisions that would be better never to make."

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10:20 a.m.

About 50 Spanish and Catalan party lawmakers have held up posters in Spain's parliament demanding the release of two pro-Catalonia independence movement leaders, describing them as political prisoners.

Wednesday's protest in Madrid lasted around 15 seconds before the lawmakers heeded warnings that they were out of order and sat down.

The demonstration was over Monday's jailing of Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, leaders of the Catalan grassroots organizations Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural, in a sedition investigation. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Tuesday in Catalonia, demanding their release.

Spain has given the pro-independence regional president of Catalonia until Thursday morning to clarify if he has declared independence or not. Otherwise, the government may seize control of the semi-autonomous region, moving the conflict with the region to another level.
The Latest on President Donald Trump and health care legislation (all times local):

10 p.m.

A bipartisan group of governors is urging congressional leaders to support a plan to calm health insurance markets after President Donald Trump blocked federal subsidies to insurers.

The letter, signed by 10 governors, says, "Stabilizing insurance markets is one of the primary areas where Congress can take action to ensure that consumers have affordable health care options."

The agreement by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., calls for a two-year extension of the subsidies. The governors write that Congress should extend the subsidies at least through 2019.

The letter released Wednesday night is signed by the governors of Ohio, Colorado, Montana, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Virginia, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Vermont.

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9 p.m.

The authors of a bipartisan plan to calm health insurance markets say they'll push the proposal forward, even as President Donald Trump's stance has changed from supportive to disdainful to distant.

The agreement by Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray would offer a two-year extension of federal subsidies to insurers, which Trump has blocked.

A spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan says Ryan "does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare."

The compromise has won endorsements from Democrats and some Republicans. It includes steps won by Republicans to make it easier for insurers to avoid some coverage requirements.

But Trump has lambasted the subsidies as insurance company bailouts. Several Republicans say the Alexander-Murray agreement probably needs Trump's backing to survive.

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3:55 p.m.

Nineteen state attorneys general are asking a federal judge in California to force the Trump administration to make health care subsidy payments that the president abruptly cut off last week.

The monthly payments were scheduled to go out Friday. The states filed a request Wednesday for an emergency court order requiring that they be paid on schedule.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is leading the effort. He says President Donald Trump is trying to sabotage the Obama health care law.

Trump announced last week that his administration will cut off payments to insurance companies that allow for lower consumer costs under the Affordable Care Act. A bipartisan effort in Congress to restore the payments has run into opposition.

___

12:01 p.m.

State attorneys general say they'll immediately seek a court order to force the administration to keep paying health insurance subsidies that President Donald Trump has ordered stopped.

The office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he and 18 counterparts will seek a temporary restraining order against the administration Wednesday in federal court in California. The administration would have 24 hours to respond to the demand from the state attorneys general, allowing for a speedy decision by the court.

The so-called "cost sharing subsidies" reimburse health insurers for reducing copays and deductibles for consumers with modest incomes. They're under a legal cloud because of a suit previously filed by Republican foes of the Obama health care law.

A bipartisan effort in Congress to restore the payments has run into opposition.

__

11:50 a.m.

A leading sponsor of a bipartisan Senate deal to steady health insurance markets says President Donald Trump has told him he may want to change the agreement before he supports it.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander says Trump called him Wednesday morning to discuss the accord with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. It would continue federal payments to insurers that Trump has blocked and make it easier for insurers to skirt some coverage requirements under President Barack Obama's health care law.

Alexander says in an interview that Trump told him he will review the deal and may want to add something to it and include it in a larger piece of legislation. He provided no detail.

Asked if Trump backs his proposal, Alexander says, "You'll have to ask him."

__

10 a.m.

President Donald Trump is criticizing a bipartisan Senate deal to curb the growth of insurance premiums.

Trump says on Twitter Wednesday that he "can never support bailing out" insurance companies that have "made a fortune" under so-called Obamacare.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, announced Tuesday they had reached a deal to resume federal payments to health insurers that Trump had halted. Trump spoke favorably of the deal Tuesday but then later in the day reversed course.

Trump said on Twitter Wednesday that he is "supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care."

__

9:06 a.m.

Sen. Lamar Alexander says President Donald Trump called him Wednesday morning "to be encouraging" of bipartisan efforts to come up with a plan to stabilize health insurance premiums after Trump stopped them.

Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, announced Tuesday they had reached a deal to resume federal payments to health insurers that Trump had halted. Insurers had warned that unless the money was quickly restored, premiums would go up and prompt some carriers to abandon unprofitable markets.

Trump had spoken favorably of the deal Tuesday but then later in the day reversed course.

Alexander said Wednesday that Trump "wanted to be encouraging" in the Wednesday phone call and is still reviewing the bipartisan deal. Alexander said "I think he wants to reserve his options."

Alexander predicts his deal will pass "in one form or another" by years end.

__

3:52 a.m.

A bipartisan Senate deal to curb the growth of health insurance premiums is reeling after President Donald Trump reversed course and opposed the agreement and top congressional Republicans and conservatives gave it a frosty reception.

Sens. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, announced their accord Tuesday after weeks of negotiations and five days after Trump said he was halting federal subsidies to insurers.

Under the lawmakers' agreement, the payments would continue for two years while states were given more leeway to let insurers sidestep some coverage requirements imposed by President Barack Obama's health care law.
The Latest on Republican efforts to overhaul the tax code (all times EDT):

Brown notes that most of the Democratic members of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee who were invited to the meeting are up for re-election next year in states Trump won in 2016. Brown is among them.

Brown says Trump told senators, "I couldn't imagine being a Democrat and running in 2018 having voted against" the GOP tax legislation.

That's according to Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who attended a White House meeting on the issue Wednesday.

President Donald Trump has issued a thinly warning threat to Democrats who might oppose the Republican tax plan.

Trump and Republican leaders in Congress are casting the tax plan as a boon to the middle class. Democrats say it would mostly benefit wealthy individuals and big corporations.

___

4:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump tells senators that "maybe someday you'll see my taxes."

The president made the evidently facetious comment in a White House meeting about tax legislation Wednesday with Republicans and Democrats on the Finance Committee.

It was a reference to Trump's refusal to release his tax returns, as past presidents and presidential candidates have done.

The comment was confirmed by a Senate aide briefed on the exchange, who demanded anonymity to disclose details of a private meeting.

 Congressional Correspondent Erica Werner

___

3:50 p.m.

Millions of Americans would lose a prized tax break under President Donald Trump's sweeping revamp of the tax code, but corporations would get to keep it.

The Republican proposal would eliminate the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a widely popular break used by some 44 million Americans, especially in high-tax, Democratic-leaning states like New York, New Jersey, California and Illinois. But corporations, which pay billions in local property levies and state income taxes, wouldn't be affected.

Republicans are determined to overhaul the nation's tax system by year's end, offering a plan that lowers the corporate tax rate from 36 percent to 20 percent and reduces the number of tax brackets. Trump and the GOP cast the plan as a boon to the middle class.
A controversial plan to build a mine on top of a copper and gold deposit outside of Bristol Bay, Alaska was rejected outright by the Obama administrations Environmental Protection Agency, despite refusing to allow the company, Pebble Partnership, to submit an initial environmental impact statement.

But in May, under the Trump administration, new EPA administrator Scott Pruitt met with the CEO of the company, Tom Collier, to strike a deal: It would begin to roll back restrictions on large-scale mining in Alaska, which is located near a major salmon fishery.

Environmentalists, and a CNN report released in mid-October, criticized the EPA for allowing that de-regulation to begin, implying that it could destroy Bristol Bay -- a criticism that Collier said is markedly untrue.

The misinformation thats been put out there on this project is outrageous, and its been done for a specific intent, Collier told FOX Business Stuart Varney on Varney & Co. Its how the environmental community raises their funds. They raise money around my project, and then they spend it on all kinds of things.

The Pebble Partnership spent years fighting the Obama administration for its refusal to allow a private company to file an application for a permit to build a project under an obscure section of the Clean Water Act. Collier said the company spent nearly $750 million preparing to get the proper permits -- spending that he said was without merit until Trumps election in November.

Now, what happens next with the mine, which he said is actually located nearly 100 miles away from Bristol Bay, could depend: The company plans to file for its permit application in December for a project much smaller than the environmental community originally anticipated.

Collier has maintained that the mine could bring in additional jobs, investment and economic activity to Alaska, according to the companys website.

Our position still remains, he said. All we want to do is file our permit. And if we can show that we can build this mine without damaging that fishery, we get a permit and then well build.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has hired the Jacksonville, Florida-based company to deliver two electricity-producing turbines. The APR turbine rentals, built by General Electric (NYSE:GE), will produce up to 60 megawatts of electricity to power 300,000 homes.

Campion said assessing the impact of Hurricane Maria on the transmission lines that power San Juan delayed the shipment of the turbines.

Part of the problem is San Juans power, a lot of that comes from the south and thats transmission lines coming over the mountains, and those transmissions were pretty much wiped out, he said.

APR Energy is working very closely with the Army Corps of Engineers, General Electric, local utility companies and government officials to turn the lights back on in Puerto Rico.

We wont solve the full problem, but we will solve part of the problem and then we will bring more machines on and solve more of the problems, Campion said.
SeaWorld is cutting 350 positions as the company's parks deal with declining attendance.

Spokeswoman Aimee Jeansonne Becka said Wednesday that the cuts will include a mix of layoffs and not refilling open positions across the company. The cuts will primarily affect its Orlando corporate headquarters, as well as the parks in Orlando and San Diego.

Jeansonne Becka says most of the cuts will affect administrative positions that don't deal directly with the public. She says SeaWorld is still committed to animal rescue and rehabilitation.

Park attendance has suffered since the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" suggested that SeaWorld's treatment of animals may have led to the deaths of trainers. It announced last year that it would no longer breed killer whales and stop using them in shows.
Two U.S. senators on Tuesday reached a bipartisan agreement to shore up Obamacare for two years by reviving federal subsidies for health insurers that President Donald Trump planned to scrap, and the president indicated his support for the plan.

The deal worked out by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray would meet some Democratic objectives, including reviving the subsidies for Obamacare and restoring $106 million in funding for a federal program that helps people enroll in insurance plans.

In exchange, Republicans would get more flexibility for states to offer a wider variety of health insurance plans while maintaining the requirement that sick and healthy people be charged the same rates for coverage.

The Trump administration said last week it would stop paying billions of dollars to insurers to help lower-income Americans pay medical expenses, part of the Republican president's effort to dismantle Obamacare, former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.

The subsidies to private insurers cost the government an estimated $7 billion this year and were forecast at $10 billion for 2018. Trump's move to scuttle them had raised concerns about chaos in insurance markets.

Trump hoped to make good on his campaign promise to dismantle the law when he took office in January, with Republicans, who pledged for seven years to scrap it, controlling Congress. But he has been frustrated with their failure to pass legislation to repeal and replace it.

Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, extended health insurance coverage to 20 million Americans. Republicans say it is ineffective and a massive government intrusion in a key sector of the economy.

The Alexander-Murray plan could keep Obamacare in place at least until the 2020 presidential campaign starts heating up.

"This takes care of the next two years. After that, we can have a full-fledged debate on where we go long-term on healthcare," Alexander said of the deal.

It is unclear whether the agreement can make it through Congress.

Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said it had "broad support" among senators in his party, but it was harder to gauge possible support among Republicans.

Moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins, who helped sink earlier Obamacare repeal legislation, voiced backing for the new plan, but conservative Republicans may be less welcoming.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, threw his weight behind the effort. In an interview with Reuters, Sanders said Alexander was a well-respected figure known for bipartisanship and that the Tennessee senators reputation would help propel the legislation through the Senate.

The willingness of Sanders, a liberal champion, to offer his support of a deal with Republicans that could allow states to change some Obamacare requirements provided a boost to the Alexander-Murray effort. "We are going to overturn what Trump is trying to do, Sanders said.

Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the plan to a vote on the Senate floor and urged the House of Representatives to take it up then as quickly as possible so Trump can sign it.

TRUMP STILL SEEKS LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Trump, during comments at the White House, suggested he could get behind the Alexander-Murray plan as a short-term solution.

In remarks later at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Trump commended the work by Alexander and Murray, but said: "I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies."

Trump said earlier he wanted lawmakers, once they completed a major tax reform effort, to again take up broader legislation that failed in the Senate last month that would divvy up federal healthcare money as block grants to states.

Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Alexander is its chairman.

She said the two were able to find common ground on the steps aimed at stabilizing the insurance markets created under Obamacare and to "help protect families from premium spikes as a result of the sabotage we have seen from this administration."

According to a document seen by Reuters, the plan would make it easier for states to get waivers approved that would allow them to offer cheaper healthcare plans, including catastrophic health plans, which cover a limited set of benefits and are currently only available to those under 30.

Shares of U.S. hospital operators, including Tenet Healthcare Corp and HCA Healthcare Inc, moved higher after news of the deal. Tenet shares closed 5.3 percent higher, while HCA rose 2.2 percent. Shares of some U.S. health insurers also extended their gains on the day, with Anthem Inc finishing up 1.9 percent and Centene Corp gaining 3.2 percent.

Analyst Brian Tanquilut of global investment banking firm Jefferies, who focuses on hospital companies, said that if the deal is passed in Congress, it should stabilize the Obamacare insurance exchanges and improve their viability.

"Hospitals will avoid a potential spike in bad debt and charity care next year," Tanquilut said. "This is obviously a good step. It's bipartisan and guaranteed for two years."

(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Writing by Will Dunham and Jeff Mason; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
A controversial deal approved by Barack Obamas administration in 2010 that allowed Russia to purchase a quarter of American uranium reserves, a key resource for developing nuclear weapons, reportedly came at the same time as an FBI discovery of a Russian bribery plot.

Despite its discovery of that plot, which was designed to grow Vladimir Putins atomic power through kickbacks, extortion and money laundering, the Department of Justice spent nearly four years investigating the matter, according to The Hill, which first reported the story.

It is remarkable not that the Obama administration didnt indict anybody, but that the Trump administration is sitting on this material as well. Its the same Justice Department, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano told FOX Business David Asman on After the Closing Bell.

The news comes at a time when Russia, and its actions in the United States, are highly suspect after allegations that it intervened in the 2016 presidential election to support President Donald Trumps candidacy. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is now conducting an investigation into any potential links between Trump and Russia during the campaign.

However, documents and an eyewitness account indicate that Russian nuclear officials also routed millions of dollars to Bill Clintons charitable foundation -- at the same time Hillary Clinton was serving as the secretary of state -- in hopes of currying favor with the former president.

Napolitano criticized the FBI and the Justice Department for allowing the Obama administration to move forward with its Moscow nuclear deal at the time.

This is the same FBI and Justice Department that gave HIllary Clinton a pass on the email scandal, where the evidence to obtain and indict a conviction, where the evidence of guilt was overwhelming, he said. This is the same Obama administration that desperately did not want Donald Trump to succeed Barack Obama in the White House. So as reprehensible as this behavior is, it ought not be surprising.
At a time when the United States is worried about North Korea developing a nuclear weapons program, The Coming Collapse of China author Gordon Chang tells FOX Business China is equipping the country with weapons.

[Chinese President] Xi Jinping has been kind of fueling North Korea, transferring very important weapons and equipment and technology to the North Koreans, especially their ballistic missile program They are weaponizing the North, he told Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria.

In July, North Korea test fired intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time over Japan, sparking fears that the ICBMs could reach the U.S. According to Chang, the missiles were transported by Chinese mobile launchers. This makes North Korea a real threat because their missiles can now hide, he said.

Also, the missiles North Korea tested in August of last year and February and May of this year looked to be variants of Chinas JL-1 submarine launch missile, Chang said and added that this is something the Trump administration needs to discuss with China.

Nevertheless, in Changs opinion, President Trump has taken the necessary steps so far in dealing with China and North Korea. He pointed out how imposing sanctions is the right approach.

[President Trumps] September 21 executive order where he basically says to the world, you do business with North Korea or you do business with us, but not both at the same time  that was directed toward China as everybody knows  that was really good policy and its really a monumental step forward, especially if the president enforces it, Chang said.
U.S. Army veteran Oh Suk Kwon, who owned a gas station in Maryland, was forced to close his small business after the IRS seized $59,000 from him and refused to give it back. Edward Griffin, Kwons attorney, discussed the details of the issue on the FOX Business Networks Varney & Co.

The IRS seized this money under the structuring laws. What they accused him of is structuring his deposits. As a gas station owner he received a lot of cash, all of it was properly accounted for, it was honestly earned, but what they said was you deposited it in less than $10,000 amounts to avoid bank reporting laws and thats a federal felony offense, he told Stuart Varney.

According to Griffin, the IRS still refuses to give Kwon his money back.

The IRS seized the money, they froze itand, you know, as part of his plea agreement that happened back in 2011  thats how long this case has been going on  they got to keep that money.

Although Griffin said he and his client are continuing to appeal the case with the IRS, the only person that could intercede and really make a difference would be President Trump.

One thing that could really help Mr. Kwon would be a presidential pardon. These are federal crimes andthe only person who could do something about it would be the president.
President Donald Trump is striking deals for U.S. companies at the same time as he is working to improve foreign relations.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. was working with the southeastern European country to help strengthen its economy and security systems.

We are helping, as you know, with a massive renovation of their air force and also of airplanes generally going to Greece, Trump said during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. They're looking at buying additional planes from Boeing. And we are helping  we're very much involved with Greece and with helping Greece get back on its feet.

On Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told FOX Business Greece has in fact expressed interest in Boeings defense and commercial products.

According to the official website of the Hellenic Air Force, it currently uses no Boeing (NYSE:BA) aircraft in its defense systems.

Also on Tuesday, during the same meeting with the Greek PM, Trump spoke about a potential sale to upgrade the countrys fleet of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) F-16 fighter aircraft. That deal, boasting an estimated value of $2.4 billion, was approved by the U.S. State Department on Monday and Trump said it would create "thousands of American jobs."

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Greece is seeking to upgrade its F-16s to the Block V configuration and Lockheed would be the principal contractor on the deal.

"We appreciate the trust the Hellenic Air Force has placed in the F-16 and we remain fully committed to supporting the U.S. government and the government of Greece in ongoing government-to-government discussions regarding this proposed F-16V upgrade program," a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Greece has struggled to upgrade its defense systems since suffering a severe economic crash in 2009.
A St. Louis-area teen is asking for help in finding a stolen pickup that he inherited from his late father.

Cole Welker of Pevely, Mo., says he spent most of his life riding around in the 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 before his dad taught him to drive the big six-speed manual diesel. The two often took it on hunting and fishing trips until the father, Steve, tragically died of a heart attack in March at age 42.

Cole told Fox 2 News hed been driving the blue pickup ever since, and often just went to sit in it and think about his dad. That was until this past weekend when he brought it to an auto body shop to get an estimate on some repairs it needed.

The pickup was parked on the lot of Ziegler Automotive in Imperial, Mo., on Friday, but was gone by the time the garage opened up on Monday morning.

Cole said he fell apart when he heard the news, and cant really describe how he felt, but that theres been awesome support from the community in the search.

Another local auto shop owner told Fox 2 that theres been a rash of pickup thefts in the area recently.

Garage owner Terry Ziegler has contributed to a $3,500 reward thats being offered by the Welkers for the return of the truck, which has more sentimental than monetary value to his family.

Tips on its whereabouts can be reported to the Jefferson County Sheriffs office.
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Unofficial videos of NASCARs tire tests on Charlotte Motor Speedways new roval have been posted to Twitter.

Twitter user Christian Espinoza posted the clips, which were shot from high up in CMSs grandstands on Tuesday.

Tires used at the Watkins Glen road course event are being evaluated, but Goodyear thinks more grip could be needed for some of Charlotte's tight infield turns.

According to Racer.com, the series is also using the tests to see if any tweaks are needed for the tracks layout, which turns the 1.5-mile quad-oval into a 2.4-mile-long, 18-turn circuit.

In an effort to mix things up, the track will be used during the 2018 playoffs on Sept. 30, marking the first time drivers will have to turn right during a post-season race.
Those with a serious thirst for power no longer need to turn to aftermarket shops since theres a growing trend where dealers are actually offering new vehicles pre-fitted with top-shelf mods, sometimes with warranties intact.

Ohios Lebanon Ford kicked off the trend with its Roush-tuned Mustangs and then Georgia dealer Pioneer Ford tried its hand with its own F-150 Lightning. Now Wyatt Johnson Ford of Nashville has revealed the most ambitious yet: a Shelby-tuned F-150 with 750 horsepower.

The truck is called the F-150 Outlaw WJ750, and its exclusive to Wyatt Johnson. You can order it in the choice of four colors: Race Red, Shadow Black, Oxford White and Lightning Blue.

As mentioned, the upgrades are handled by Shelby American and match the specifications of Shelbys own 2017 F-150 Super Snake street-oriented truck.

Under the custom vented hood is a 5.0-liter V-8 with a supercharger attached. Both the supercharger housing and intake manifold have been powder coated the same blue used by the Ford Racing team. Other features of the powertrain include a billet throttle body, high-performance fuel injectors and a Borla exhaust system.

So the vehicle handles better, the suspension has been lowered. The vehicle also rides on 22-inch wheels shod with 305/40-size Nitto performance tires.

Wyatt Johnson is offering the F-150 Outlaw WJ750 with a 3-year/36,000-mile limited warranty. Should you want one for your garage you'll need $74,995.
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain slammed James Corden in a slew of tweets Sunday after the late night host's controversial jokes about disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.

The "Parts Unknown" host called Corden a "pandering tool" and an "ahole" following remarks Corden made at the amfAR charity gala in Los Angeles Friday night.

Corden joked: Its been weird this week watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water. Ask any of the women who watched him take a bath, its weird."

"Its a beautiful night here in LA. So beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked me tonight up to his hotel to give him a massage," Corden joked.

WEINSTEIN SCANDAL PUTS SEVERAL MOVIES ON HOLD

Bourdain sounded off on Twitter, writing: James Corden reveals snickering Hollywood in all its grotesquerie. It's not about masturbation, a--hole. It's about rape."

James Corden gonna have trouble booking 'talent' at a methadone clinic after this, he added.

Bourdain tweeted: Mr. Corden is free to tell whatever jokes he likes. As he should be. I'm free to suggest he's a porcine, pandering tool."

Bourdain concluded: Thing about (James Corden): when he was sweatily dribbling out rape jokes, NOONE stood up and said, ' f--- you, Pop'n'Fresh!'"

The celebrity chef has been a vocal opponent of Weinstein following reports by The New York Times and The New Yorker which detailed the Hollywood producer's alleged sexual misconduct.

Bourdain's girlfriend, Asia Argento, who is one of Weinsteins accusers, also chided Corden on Sunday on Twitter, saying, shame on this pig.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN HELPED PAY BILL CLINTONS LEGAL BILLS DURING MONICA ERA, WASHINGTON POST ARCHIVE REVEALS

Rose McGowan, another Weinstein accuser, criticized Cordens comments on Twitter, calling him a piglet. The BBC reported Tom Hanks, Fergie and Kate Hudson, who were in attendance at the event, groaned following Cordens jokes.

Corden has since apologized for his jokes.

To be clear, sexual assault is no laughing matter. I was not trying to make light of Harveys inexcusable behavior but to shame him, the abuser, not his victims. I am truly sorry for anyone offended, that was never my intention, Corden tweeted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Barbara Walters is the latest star to find herself sucked into the death spiral of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

An old video of Walters shutting down actor Corey Feldman when he spoke out about sex abuse in Hollywood on "The View" is recirculating with calls for Walter to apologize.

Feldman, who has spoken publicly about the abuse he suffered along with fellow 80s star Corey Haim, appeared on The View in 2013 and did not shy away from speaking out about the powerful person in Hollywood that harmed him. Walters challenged his claim in the sit-down that is now making the rounds as allegations of abuse mount against Weinstein.

This isn't the first time Walters has been taken to task for her interviewing style. The ABC star has often been criticized for indulging the powerful in Hollywood.

She made headlines in 2014 for defending Woody Allen amid resurfaced molestation allegations.

The new criticism also comes one month after reports surfaced that the former "20/20" host is "forgetful, fearful of falling, and isolated."

Her rep, Cindi Berger, told Fox News at the time that the reports were false, adding, "I see Barbara every 2-3 weeks and shes fine. Im actually seeing her next week for tea."

Walters isn't the only network bigwig taking heat. NBC News president Noah Oppenheim has been slammed for killing Ronan Farrow's investigation into the scandalized producer. Oppenheim, whos denied any ties to Weinstein, is now facing allegations that he sat at the same table as Weinstein at a glamorous New York gala in April.
The Church of Scientology is bolstering its attack against the A&E program Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath and has sent emails to advertisers urging they ban the show.



The group, Scientologists Against Discrimination (STAND), reportedly sent different versions of a letter to companies that advertise on the program, claiming the show promotes hatred, religious bigotry and slander against a religion that helps communities all over the world, The Wall Street Journal reported.

STAND posted on its website the letters it sent to companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Fiat Chrysler and Geico.

The Emmy Award-winning show, hosted by former King of Queens actress Leah Remini, 46, a former member of the Church of Scientology, is in its second season. Remini, a vocal opponent of the Church of Scientology, was a member of the religion for about 30 years before leaving in 2013.

KEVIN CAN WAITS LEAH REMINI PRAISES SHOWS EX-STAR ERINN HAYES

The show follows Remini speaking with former members of the religion and what they experienced when they were followers. The program "gives a voice to the victims of the Church of Scientology despite public attempts to discredit it," according to the show's website.

The Wall Street Journal reported a few advertisers have withdrawn from the program due to the public controversy" surrounding the show but not necessarily because of the letters.

Geico was one of the companies to pull its advertisement from the series but not from the network.

That rotation ended previously and Geico ads are not appearing in time slots for that program, a Geico spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. The company did not state why it pulled advertising from Reminis show.

JADA PINKETT SMITH DENIES LEAH REMINIS SCIENTOLOGY CLAIM

A Church of Scientology spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal, Advertisers are being written to educate them and expose the lies that A&E irresponsibly airs from a hateful (Leah) Remini and her unvettedalbeit compensatedsubjects.

Scientologists, like members of any religion or group being discriminated against, have every right to communicate their disgust at lies being spread about their religion, she said. The show has triggered an explosion in hate crimes, threats and even violence directed at Scientologists, the spokeswoman wrote.

A&E defended the show and noted its recent Emmy win.

We are enormously proud of the quality and importance of the series, which was affirmed by the shows recent Emmy win, and we intend to continue to share these brave stories with viewers, an A&E spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.
Harvey Weinstein may face criminal charges.

The Los Angeles City Attorney urged any of the women who say they were sexually assaulted by the disgraced movie mogul to come forward.

"The Weinstein allegations have placed a bright spotlight on sexual harassment and sexual abuse, especially in the workplace," LA City Attorney Mike Feuer said in a statement on Tuesday. "As brave victims come forward, others have been encouraged to do the same. And our nation must now confront these significant issues in a profound way."

Feuer said it takes "tremendous courage for women and men" to share their stories of sexual harassment or abuse and said it is a major issue not only in Hollywood, but across all industries.

He said he is taking the allegations "very seriously" and "where the facts support conviction, we will prosecute."

He added, "Please come forward so that your cases  and justice  can be pursued."

The NYPD launched a criminal investigation into Weinstein last week after a woman accused the producer of sexual assault in 2004.

A spokesperson for Weinstein said, "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein."

The news of the criminal investigations come amid Weinstein's resignation from The Weinstein Company on Tuesday.
A Tennessee State University student has been accused of trying to contaminate her roommates drinking water with toilet water.

BURGER KING GOES AFTER BULLYING IN STRANGE NEW AD

College coed Tierni Williams has been taken into custody after allegedly being captured on video pouring water from the toilet into her roommates water bottle using a Styrofoam cup.

According to the police document, Williams got the liquid from the toilet and poured it into the victims water bottles, which were on her side of the room, NBC4i reports.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

An arrest warrant indicates that the victim began experiencing weight loss and stomach issues following Williams tampering with the water bottles. The victim allegedly learned that her drinking water had been compromised through social media.

Williams is being charged with adulteration of food or liquid and causing bodily harm.
An unsatisfied customer in Melbourne, Fla., was arrested last week for assaulting a 7-Eleven employee with hot nacho cheese.

According to the Palm Bay Daily, Stephanie L. Hicks entered the 7-Eleven at around 1:50 a.m. on Thursday morning, looking to buy a sandwich and a cup of the aforementioned liquid cheese.

VID SHOWS CRACKER BARREL EMPLOYEE GETTING RUN OVER BY ANGRY DRIVER

The clerk, however, had reportedly asked Hicks to refrain from opening the hot cheese dispenser  a request Hicks didnt appreciate, as she later told cops she wasnt a fan of the clerks attitude.

Hicks then tried to pay for her food, but the clerk refused to ring her up. In retaliation, Hicks threw both the sandwich and the hot cheese across the counter, covering the clerks hands and feet in the gooey orange condiment.

Hicks, 31, then waited outside the front door of the 7-Eleven for police to arrive, but not before angrily reminding the clerk that the customer is always right!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Hicks was later arrested for battery when police arrived and pulled footage of the incident from the stores security cameras.
A couple of fishermen in Missouri were reminded of the fragility of wildlife after stumbling upon two drowned bucks entangled in Table Rock Lake on Oct. 15.

Mansfield High School senior Jacob Gray and College of Ozarks student Andrew Roy were out on the water that Sunday with boat captain Kendall Keith for a bass tournament when they spotted two sets of deer antlers rising out of the water, roughly 10 feet from the shoreline, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

FIRST-EVER 'DEER WEEK' TO CELEBRATE 'HERITAGE AND HISTORY' OF HUNTING

It was really weird. I've never seen anything like that in real life, Gray told the paper of stumbling upon the strange sight.

Through the annual fall rut, bucks often battle over the right to mate by locking horns, Field & Stream notes. Sadly, this skirmish seems to have ended fatally in Table Rock Lake, as their massive antlers became so tightly entangled that they could not separate.

THE TRAGIC STORY OF HOW A FATHER VANISHED INTO THE OREGON WOODS

"It's unfortunate for them. Those were two nice deer doing something every buck will do, Gray said. Upon further inspection, both animals appeared fresh with no other evident injuries.

Deciding that the deer shouldn't go to waste, the News-Leader said that Roy received a "disposition slip" from the Missouri Department of Conservation to keep the two bucks. With help from his father, Roy intends to preserve the animals with a European mount, in the curious position that they found them.

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I'm hoping we can keep the antlers locked together like that. It's definitely not something you see every day, he added.
A women's suit company has launched a racy new ad campaign featuring women in sleek, tailored suits alongside men in, well, nothing.

Dutch suit label Suistudio has taken their slogan Not Dressing Men to a whole new level by including buff, butt-naked men in the promo shots for their latest fashion line.

The photos show women dressed in well-fitted suits and clearly in a position of power, while the naked men are featured in the background and are almost used as a type of prop.

One of the pictures shows a woman sitting on a lounge, dressed in a beige suit, while she rests her feet on the naked man stretched out beneath her.

Another features a woman in a sleek black suit, lounging on a couch with her hand on a mans bare butt.

The photos are all set in what looks like a luxury high-rise apartment, with the woman always front and center and the man in the background or half out of the frame with his face concealed.

The studio is using the campaign as a statement to highlight the sexist way women are commonly portrayed in advertisements, particularly when selling products aimed at men.

Vice president of Suistudio USA Kristina Barricelli said the pictures bring focus to the normalized way women are often sexualized and used as objects in advertisements  the men arent portrayed in any way that women havent been before.

There is nothing wrong with sex, the naked human body, and the inclusion of that in a campaign. Sex is a big part of fashion, she told online newsite Upworthy.

The problem is that in recent history, we havent seen a naked man objectified in the background. How strange! Why not?

The ad campaign has gained a lot of attention online and there has been backlash from people calling the ad out for objectification, claiming it is a step backwards in the fight for gender equality.

Im sure if the roles were reversed and this was published there would be a backlash from females saying that they are being [sexualized], objectified, abused and so on. But somehow it is OK to do the same things to males. Hypocrites, one Instagram user commented.

Sexism is sexism, no matter if a woman dominates a man or vice versa.

And revenge is not a way to overcome injustice, another user said.

While some are calling out the ad for being sexist, others are saying it is empowering and praising the company for shedding light on gender inequality.

One user commented: This ad campaign is genius. How many times have we seen a womans legs only or her bottom as a prop in mens ad campaigns? All is fair in love and fashion.

Excellent cultural commentary! Love the irony, another said.

This article originally appeared on News.com.au
A new Google Maps feature aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle has been removed from the app after sparking backlash.

The tech company recently tested a feature that showed users how many calories they would burn walking from point A to point B, along with a note that equated those calories to mini cupcakes. For example, as Buzzfeed pointed out in one example, a four and a half mile walk would burn around 406 calories: thats almost 4 mini cupcakes, the app reads, alongside a pink cupcake graphic.

FITNESS TRAINER RESPONDS TO FAT-SHAMING AFTER USA TODAY SEGMENT

The feature also included additional info about how those numbers were calculated. The average person burns 90 Calories by walking 1 mile. To help put that into perspective, weve estimated how many desserts your walk would burn. One mini cupcake is around 110 Calories.

Google began testing this feature with some iPhone users about a week ago, but not everyone was happy with it. While some welcomed it as motivation to walk rather than take a car or public transit, others accused it of being potentially harmful to those with an eating disorder, pointing out that an obsession with calorie-counting can be a warning sign. There was also no opt-out option available, forcing anyone who used the app to see the built-in feature.

"This is reinforcing behaviors that were trying to stop when we're treating a patient for an eating disorder," Michelle Lupkin, Ph.D., clinical director of the Eating Disorders Program at Montefiore Medical Center, tells SELF. And, according to Jennifer J. Thomas, Ph.D., codirector of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, using exercise as a way to compensate for calories consumed is a hallmark of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, SELF reports.

In addition to the potentially harmful side effects of the feature, as the Washington Post points out, Googles measurements of both calories burned and calories per cupcake were questionable. People burn calories at differing rates depending on a number of factors, such as weight and speed at which theyre walking, as Harvard Medical School notes. Plus, for example, a mini cupcake sold at Wegmans grocery store contains 97.5 calories, while Canadas Prairie Girl Bakery sells a variety with 200 calories each.



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Google confirmed to TechCrunch Tuesday they would be removing the feature based on strong user feedback.

If you or a loved one are suffering with an eating disorder and in need of support, resources or treatment options, contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at (800) 931-2237.
A Swedish author wants you to think about your impending death while cleaning to prevent becoming a pack-rat.

Margareta Magnussons forthcoming book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, is the latest in self-help guides to live a less cluttered life, but Magnussons centers around the Swedish concept of decluttering before you die, or dostadning, derived from the Swedish words for death and cleaning.

The cleaning guide emphasizes not being a burden to anyone  especially your spouse or your children  after you pass on. The way to do that is by ridding your home of any excess trinkets or knick-knacks.

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In her book, Magnusson writes: "I often ask myself, 'Will anyone I know be happier if I save this?'"

If the answer is no, toss it, Magnusson says  what may be a treasure to you can easily become a burden to others. Rather than leaving behind things for family members to fight over or pay someone else to haul away, Magnusson urges readers to leave behind as little as possible.

The Stockholm-based artist has personal experience in the matter, having outlived her parents and in-laws. When her husband passed, she says it took her almost a year to sort out their house.

Magnusson, who is in her 80s, suggests that the death cleaning process should start at 65, but anytime is a good time to start. The periodic cleaning should then be kept up until you, well, die.

Karin Olofsdotter, 51, the Swedish ambassador to the United States, told the Washington Post that her mother and father, both in their 80s, are working on their home.

My parents and their friends are death cleaning, and we all kind of joke about it, Olofsdotter says. Its almost like a biological thing to do. Olofsdotter says part of Swedish culture is living independently and never being a burden to anyone.

Magnusson suggests approaching the death cleaning rationally and not to start with photographs or emotional items because you will definitely get stuck down memory lane and may never get around to cleaning anything else. A wardrobe or bookshelf is a better place to begin.

Also, when getting your affairs in order Magnusson says to get rid of anything potentially harmful to people you leave behind.

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"If you think the secret will cause your loved ones harm or unhappiness," Magnusson writes, "then make sure to destroy them."

Also, she writes to keep one box for yourself to fill with items special only to you, and write on it that it should be tossed after your death.

Though the subject matter seems heavy, Magnusson insists the book is not sad or depressing.

"No, no, I said. It is not sad at all. Neither the cleaning nor the writing of the book.
In the wake of the avalanche of information about Harvey Weinstein, and other perverted predators in Hollywood, the reaction from some quarters has been angry resignation that well, all powerful men behave this way. Not the rape part necessarily, and sure, not every man defiles nearby plants as Weinstein is accused of doing, but certainly all men are capable of sexual harassment and the ones with any power are likely to act on it. In short, as people in the Twitterverse routinely put it, men are trash.

The phrase not all men has become an Internet meme that feminists use to mock men who defend themselves against these kinds of mass accusations. Plainly, not all men are rapists or sexual harassers or predators like Weinstein--but when men try to say so they get shut down with an oh yeah, not all men eyeroll.

After Weinstein, though, the line the left is pushing is yes, all men. Shaun Lau, host of the No, Totally! podcast tweeted that and added To masculine domination, non-consensuality is a feature, not a bug. Power requires neither permission nor forgiveness. Writer Paraic O'Donnell tweeted Yes, all men. In some degree, in some capacity, at some remove. Yes. Now, shut the f*** up, and try to make the world just, safe and kind.

These are both men who believe that all men behave this way, presumably including themselves.

Heres an easy way to tell that this yes, all men is deflection: When the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape was released last year, few argued that all men do this. Feminists didnt go on TV to say that Trump was part of a wider culture that abuses women in this way.

Whats strange about this reaction is that there is plenty of specific blame to go around. From Weinstein himself, to his board, to actors like Ben Affleck who allegedly knew it was happening but took no action. But why then extend this blame by saying this is something that all men, or even just all powerful men, do?

For instance, USA Today ran a column headlined Changing a culture of sexual violence starts with men, while Variety magazine went with Men must step up to change the Hollywood culture that enabled Harvey Weinstein. But if all men behave like this, why would any step up to make the needed changes? Youre a potential rapist, prove us wrong seems like a strange tack for women to take if theyre looking for men to be their allies.

Then theres the viral video of actress Emma Thompson, talking about the Weinstein case. She shrugs that the news didnt surprise her at all, that what happened is endemic to the system and that its actually a crisis in masculinity. The Guardian also ran a column on how the fall of Harvey Weinstein should be a moment to challenge extreme masculinity. This eagerness to spread blame beyond the perpetrator, to all men, to all of society, lets these awful men off the hook. Its not them, its the culture of extreme masculinity!

Thats the real problem with casting this wide net to include all men in this atrocious behavior. It ends up giving a pass to the predators. After all, the first excuse Weinstein trotted out when the story broke was I came of age in the 60-s and 70-s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. He was trying to plead that its bigger than him, almost not really his fault. But why would women, or their alleged allies, parrot that line?

Heres an easy way to tell that this yes, all men is deflection: When the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape was released last year, few argued that all men do this. Feminists didnt go on TV to say that Trump was part of a wider culture that abuses women in this way. No, they accurately said that this behavior is not something all men do. Trump called it locker room talk  as if all men talk like that-- but plenty of men and women were quick to correct him that there was nothing normal about his words.

We cant hold all men accountable for something that only some men do. Even the pressure to speak up when they see harassment shouldnt be just on them. This cone of silence extends beyond men. Jane Fonda, for one, admitted that she had known about Weinstein, but never said anything. Fonda, co-founder of the the Women's Media Center said she feels ashamed that she didnt say anything. She should. And so should every man and woman whose silence enabled him.

Over the weekend the heart-breaking trending topic #metoo showed just how many women have been sexually harassed and assaulted. The seriousness of this problem is exactly why we shouldnt blanket accuse all men. Saying not all men is not only accurate but also a good way to keep the focus on the men who do hurt women. Maligning half the population as exploiters of women mixes in the bad guys with the good ones--and its the Weinsteins of the world who benefit.
Damning new evidence appears to show that Hillary Clinton used her office as Secretary of State to confer benefits to Russia in exchange for millions of dollars in donations to her foundation and cash to her husband.

But theres more. It seems it was all covered up for years by the same three people who are now involved in the investigation of President Donald Trump over so-called Russian collusion.

The incriminating evidence was uncovered by The Hill (John Solomon and Alison Spann) and Circa News (Sara Carter). Their dogged reporting reveals that the FBI gathered a multitude of documents, secret recordings, intercepted emails, financial records, and eyewitnesses accounts showing that Russian nuclear officials directed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation and hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bill Clinton during the very time that Hillary Clinton presided over a governing body which unanimously approved the sale of one-fifth of Americas uranium supply to Russia.

The corrupt scheme is said to have been financed by the Russians through bribes, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering. The FBI and the Department of Justice reportedly had the evidence in their possession before the uranium sale, but kept the matter secret and never notified Congress which would surely have stopped the transfer of uranium to Russia.

Indeed, the entire sordid affair remained hidden for seven long years. Until now.

Clinton Corruption and Racketeering?

It is a crime to use a public office to confer a benefit to a foreign government in exchange for money. It is often referred to as pay-to-play, but it can be prosecuted under a variety of anti-corruption laws passed by Congress, including the federal bribery statute (18 USC 201-b), the federal gratuity statute (18 USC 201-c), the mail fraud statute (18 USC 1341), the wire fraud statute (18 USC 1343), the program bribery statute (18 USC 666), and the Travel Act (18 USC 1952).

If the evidence is as compelling as reported, a second special prosecutor should be appointed to determine whether Hillary Clinton and others should be indicted for crimes of corruption.

The FBI evidence, if true, would seem to show that one or more of these illegal pay-to-play laws were broken. The government would have to prove that Hillary and Bill got paid, while the Russians got to play. And prosecutors are required to show a quid pro quo or nexus between the payments and the benefit provided. But it appears that the FBI already possesses all the evidence it needs to make a compelling case.

If Hillary leveraged her public office as Secretary of State for personal enrichment, but also used her charity as a receptacle or conduit for money obtained illegally, that would also constitute racketeering, as I first argued in a column almost a year ago.

Racketeering is the use of a business for a corrupt and illegal enterprise. The Mafia and other organized crime syndicates are often prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO (18 USC 1961-1968). Frequently, they devise a dual purpose company one which operates lawfully from the front door, but unlawfully out the back door.

There is little doubt the Clinton Foundation operated as a charity. But if the FBI documents demonstrate that there was a secondary, hidden purpose devoted to self-dealing and personal enrichment, then prosecution could be pursued against Clinton for racketeering.

According to the Associated Press, more than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she served as secretary of state donated money to her foundation. If Clinton was peddling access, was she also peddling influence? Again, the reported FBI documents seem to answer that question.

But why has there been no prosecution of Clinton? Why did the FBI and the Department of Justice during the Obama administration keep the evidence secret? Was it concealed to prevent a scandal that would poison Barack Obamas presidency? Was Hillary Clinton being protected in her quest to succeed him?

The answer may lie with the people who were in charge of the investigation and who knew of its explosive impact. Who are they?

Holder, Mueller, Comey & Rosenstein

Eric Holder was the Attorney General when the FBI began uncovering the Russian corruption scheme in 2009. Since the FBI reports to him, he surely knew what the bureau had uncovered.

Whats more, Holder was a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States which approved the uranium sale to the Russians in 2010. Since the vote was unanimous, it appears Holder knowingly and deliberately countenanced a deal that was based on illegal activities and which gave Moscow control of more than 20 percent of Americas uranium assets.

It gets worse. Robert Mueller was the FBI Director during the time of the Russian uranium probe, and so was his successor James Comey who took over in 2013 as the FBI was still developing the case. Rod Rosenstein, then-U.S. Attorney, was supervising the case. There is no indication that any of these men ever told Congress of all the incriminating evidence they had discovered and the connection to Clinton. The entire matter was kept secret from the American public.

It may be no coincidence that Mueller (now special counsel) and Rosenstein (now Deputy Attorney General) are the two top people currently investigating whether the Trump campaign conspired with the Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller reports to Rosenstein, while Comey is a key witness in the case.

It is not unreasonable to conclude that Mueller, Rosenstein and Comey may have covered up potential crimes involving Clinton and Russia, but are now determined to find some evidence that Trump colluded with Russia.

If this is true, Mueller and Rosenstein should immediately recuse themselves from the case. How can Americans have confidence in the outcome of the Trump-Russia matter if the integrity and impartiality of the lead investigators has been compromised by their suspected cover-up of the Clinton-Russia case?

And, if the evidence is as compelling as reported, a second special prosecutor should be appointed to determine whether Hillary Clinton and others should be indicted for crimes of corruption.
Students at Grand County High School in Utah were supposed to attend poetry slam workshops on tolerance and acceptance. Instead, students were subjected to political rhetoric, LGBT propaganda and something called identity mapping.

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Parents told the Todd Starnes Show that one of the workshop leaders announced to the children, Im queer and Im Trumps worst enemy.

An untold number of students were directed by workshop leaders to separate themselves intro groups based on their sexual identity and their religious preference.

Parents told the Todd Starnes Show they are livid over the September event.

Im sending my daughter to school to get an education, not to learn about the LGBTQ community, one parent said.

Superintendent J.T. Stroder told the Todd Starnes Show the presentations were made to the entire student body during English class by poets connected to Moab Pride, a local LGBT organization.

There were some inappropriate examples used in those presentations  asking students to identify certain things about themselves that is protected by law, the superintendent admitted.

He sent a letter to parents detailing his concerns about what happened at the high school.

I would not expect an exercise in which individual students are asked to reveal their sexual orientation and gender identity to be part of the English curriculum, he wrote. In this case, there was no parent notification that topics relating to sexuality would be discussed outside the approved health curriculum, which was not acceptable.

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Parents want to know why the Moab Pride group was allowed inside the high school and why teachers did not intervene when the group began to solicit personal information from the children.

I really dont have an explanation, the superintendent said. It caught the school off guard.

One parent, who asked not to be identified, told me students were divided up by religion, sexual preference and political views.

Their intention was to plant seeds in the high school. They were trying to indoctrinate the kids. When you have people saying Im a queer and its okay. Im a lesbian and its okay  I mean  thats indoctrination, the parent told me.

As for the workshop where kids were forced to engage in identity mapping?

I dont know what that means, the superintendent said.

Regardless, the school district said the presenters will not be invited back to the school.

Every child that walks into that school has to feel safe no matter what their religious views are or their sexual preference, a parent said. Instead of it being anti-bullying, the workshops directly pointed them out.

The folks in Grand County, Utah just learned a very important lesson about the sex and gender revolutionaries. They preach tolerance and acceptance, but the revolutionaries dont practice what they preach.

Todd is the author of the best-selling The Deplorables Guide to Making America Great Again. Click here to get your autographed copy.
The U.S. Senate is sometimes referred to the most deliberative body in the world. And maybe that's justified: it is smart to deliberate over the consequences of serious legislation before passing it.

Although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell turned deliberation into an art form, he may have met his match earlier this week when he was called to the White House for a little chat about getting things done. Just last week, while the House of Representatives, the federal government, and every state and local government were busy working, McConnells Senate found it necessary to stretch Columbus Day into Columbus Week. But thats not to say the rest of his weeks are much more strenuous. Everybody likes a three-day weekend.

Not Senator McConnell: He likes four, or even sometimes five-day weekends. In his normal work week, he shows up around 6:00 p.m. on Monday, convenes the Senate for a quick one hour session and then adjourns for dinner and is back to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then adjourns sometime shortly after noon on Thursday to dash to the airport and home for another long weekend. Work on Saturdays to get caught up? Never.

After his talk with President Trump, Mr. McConnell announced that the Senate may have to work on Fridays and even an occasional weekend to get through the work they were hired to do.

Its not as if they have nothing to do. A new president nominates candidates to fill the Executive Branch departments and agencies and under the Constitutions Advise and Consent clause the Senate confirms them. In most cases the nominees go through the process without much controversy and go on their way to do the nations business. Not this time.

But he may be changing his ways. After his talk with President Trump, Mr. McConnell announced that the Senate may have to work on Fridays and even an occasional weekend to get through the work they were hired to do.

President Trump has sent 455 nominees to the Senate for confirmation. But McConnells Senate has confirmed only 182, leaving a staggering 273 nominees twisting in the wind, and 273 empty chairs waiting to be filled. By this time in Barack Obamas administration, 358 of his nominees  nearly twice as many as Trumps -- had been approved and were at their desks.

It would be easy to say that Chuck Schumer, the Democrat Minority Leader, is the culprit. To be sure, the Democrats have slowed up some, and even stopped a few others. But since Republicans did away with the filibuster, Democrats can slow the process down, but dont have many tools to stop nominations any more. Instead, it is Republicans who find it inconvenient to stay in Washington. Not having people in place to run those executive branch agencies and departments is even more inconvenient for the taxpayers.

The Department of Justice, for example, has well over 200 positions to be filled, including 94 U.S. Attorneys and 95 U.S. Marshalls  officials instrumental in arresting and prosecuting criminals  as well as heads of another 30 divisions and bureaus. Although the president has nominated candidates of 70 of those positions, only eight have been confirmed, leaving the rest in limbo. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Justice Department, has held hearings and reported most of those nominees to the full Senate. The delay is on Mitch McConnells Senate floor, where virtually all of the remaining nominees await confirmation. Although work goes on at the offices and bureaus, coherent and coordinated policy direction is lacking, making implantation of administration policy priorities difficult or non-existent.

Or ask people from Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico who are desperately waiting for the federal government to help them rebuild their lives after three devastating hurricanes. Much of that help comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, where nominees for three of the most important positions, including the General Counsel, are waiting action by the Senate.

At the Department of Defense, seven nominees have made it through the committee process and awaiting confirmation on the Senate floor. One of them, Owen West, who was easily approved by the Armed Services Committee in July, would be in charge of special operations and counter-terrorism but instead sits idly by waiting for the Senate to act.

Mitch McConnell is a complete creature of Washington, and is described by insiders as a swamp-creatures swamp creature, loyal to his K Street constituents and dedicated to changing as little as possible. If he were an effective leader, successful in pushing through legislation (hello ObamaCare Repeal) his lackadaisical attitude concerning nominations might be acceptable. And if he can push the Republican tax reform package through the Senate -- now just beginning to see the light of day  he might be redeemed.

Lets hope his trip to the White House woodshed was successful.
Now that President Trump has decertified the Iranian nuclear deal and asked Congress to decide if the U.S. should snap back economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic, he is faced with a critical decision on what future U.S. policy toward Iran should be.

Following an administration review of U.S. policy toward Iran now underway, the president should make a commitment to show greater support for the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom against the brutal and oppressive extremist regime that governs their nation.

The outlines of what future U.S. policy to Iran might look like point to positive and long overdue changes. The presidents speech before the United Nations General Assembly last month was one of several preliminary signs that the U.S. will be more assertive with the Iran, even to the point of promoting domestically driven regime change.

Trumps U.N. speech pointedly described the Iranian regime as an enemy of its own people and a major contributor to regional instability. Responding to the speech, the head of the pro-democracy coalition known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran  Maryam Rajavi  characterized Trump as the first American president to ever underscore the need for regime change in Iran by the Iranian people.

Regardless of the specific steps that the Trump administration takes in the weeks and months ahead, there should be little doubt of the need for dramatic change. President Trump has already spearheaded a notable shift away from the conciliatory policies that led to the Iran nuclear deal and that effectively swept other issues, including ballistic missile development and human rights abuses, under the rug.

In a series of remarks delivered before his decertification of the Iran deal, President Trump said the Tehran regime is at odds with the aspirations of its own people  a position diametrically opposed to the Obama administrations abandonment of the popular opposition to the regime, particularly since June 2009.

President Trump has said the Tehran regime is at odds with the aspirations of its own people  a position diametrically opposed to the Obama administrations abandonment of the popular opposition to the regime, particularly since June 2009.

Furthermore, President Trump blasted the Iranian regimes central power network, the Revolutionary Guards, and marked it for potential terrorist designation.

But there is still a long way to go, in part because the task before the current president isnt just to compensate for the mistakes of his predecessor, but to compensate for the mistakes made by all of his predecessors since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Perhaps the centerpiece in decades of flawed U.S. policy toward Iran is an overarching inattention to the Iranian people. President Trumps U.N. speech already put more emphasis on these forgotten figures than any previous American president. He said, for instance, that the day will come when the people will face a choice: Will they continue down the path of poverty, bloodshed and terror, or will the Iranian people return to the nation's proud roots as a center of civilization, culture and wealth, where their people can be happy and prosperous once again?

The Trump administration has previously pointed to the desirability of regime change, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson even telling a congressional committee in June that American policy should include support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government.

But neither Tillerson nor any other White House official has gone as far as outlining the means by which this might be done.

There are some things that we should expect if the Trump administration is serious about following up on its preliminary statements regarding peaceful transition and the future choices that the Iranian people will face. The U.S. government must be prepared to make more concrete gestures of support for the entire citizenry of that country and, by extension, the opposition movement.

Toward that end, perhaps the most imperative such gesture is American leadership in the push for an international inquiry into past Iranian government crimes against the nations pro-democracy movement.

In the summer of 1988, approximately 30,000 Iranian political prisoners were executed, in response to a fatwa from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. Human rights organizations have recognized the incident as a crime against humanity, but it has been largely ignored in Western media and certainly within Western policy circles.

The world has also ignored the Iranian government killings of protesters and opposition figures in Iranian Kurdistan, the Ahwaz province and in Iranian Balushistan. Add to it the brutal repression of the Green Revolution and the several assassination plots against Iranians in exile as well as the killing and torturing of demonstrators during the June 2009 protests in Tehran and other cities

President Trump has already proven himself willing to break the silence on the topic of regime change in Iran. It is not much of a stretch to ask him to also break the silence on some of the most blatant human rights violations in modern history. There is no more essential means of showing solidarity with the Iranian people than to join their call for justice on this issue, while also pushing for recognition of such crimes as representing the nature of the Iranian regime.

There is considerable reason for optimism about the Trump administrations intentions, but until the veil is lifted on its policy review of our relationship with Iran, it remains important for concerned citizens and policy advocates throughout the world to keep up the pressure on the U.S. and its allies to make the necessary broad and dramatic changes.
The FBI reportedly found 2,800 government documents on disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner's personal laptop computer that were related to his estranged wife's work as Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff during her tenure as secretary of state.

The conservative group Judicial Watch reported Tuesday that the State Department received the documents from the FBI after Judicial Watch sued the department when it failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The documents were sent to Weiner's computer by Huma Abedin, a revelation that came to light in the closing days of last year's presidential campaign.

"This is a disturbing development. Our experience with Abedins emails suggest these Weiner laptop documents will include classified and other sensitive materials," Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. "When will the Justice Department do a serious investigation of Hillary Clintons and Huma Abedins obvious violations of law?"

Judicial Watch initially sued the State Department in May 2015, after it failed to respond to a request to produce all official emails sent or received by Abedin using a non-government address.

In a court filing, the State Department said it expected to review and produce the entire cache of 2,800 documents by the end of this year. However, the government filing also suggests that some of the material is "duplicative" of other records that have already been made public.

Last month, Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to sending sexually explicit texts across state lines to a 15-year-old girl. Similar indiscretions, first as a congressman and then as a candidate for New York City mayor, had scuppered Weiner's political career.

Abedin filed for divorce from Weiner earlier this year.
Following the FBIs release of documents confirming that former FBI Director James Comey began drafting a letter on the Hillary Clinton email investigation months before completing several interviews, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. said Comey needs to testify before Congress again.

Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Bret Baier on Special Report Tuesday night that for a number of reasons Comey should return to Capitol Hill and the committees needed to further examine the FBI memos before he did.

Whenever somebody decides to charge someone, there are lots of layers of scrutiny. When you decide not to charge someone, there arent that many layers of scrutiny but there ought to be at least a couple, Gowdy said. The media should do it but also Congress should look at this decision not to charge and whether or not it was made before you interviewed two dozen witnesses, including the target of the investigation, yeah we need to talk to him again.

COMEY INSISTED NO SPECIAL RULES IN FBI CLINTON PROBE  WHILE DRAFTING EXONERATION STATEMENT

According to Gowdy, the timeline of events and some of Comeys decisions along the way did not appear to add up. He was referring to Comeys statement during his June congressional testimony in which he said the tarmac meeting between former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton encouraged him to announce his findings in the email investigation.

His ostensible reason for taking that decision away from the Department of Justice was that meeting on the tarmac but yet a month and a half earlier he is memorializing a decision hes already made so the chronology does not add up, Gowdy said. His answers have been all over the map.

Gowdy also told the Fox News anchor that he not only wants to talk to Comey, but also plans to speak to his former colleagues.

When asked whether Loretta Lynch, who is expected to be on Capitol Hill Friday concerning the Russia investigation, would be asked about Comeys email draft, Gowdy said she would not.

COMEY DRAFTED LETTER ON CLINTON EMAIL INVESTIGATION BEFORE COMPLETING INTERVIEWS, FBI CONFIRMS

But he said there were lots of reasons to talk to her as well, in that she could corroborate or contradict Comeys recollection about their conversation regarding his decision to make the announcement.

Baiers interview also touched on Gowdys investigation into Samantha Power, the former ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama administration, and her offices request to unmask at least 260 individuals heard on surveillance recordings.

Gowdy said during questioning, Power testified that she had not personally made all of the requests, despite them being filed under her name. He said the committee had to find out whether someone else in the intelligence community was actually behind those requests.
Former Rep. Anthony Weiner rose to fame with an impassioned speech in Congress in 2010, only to be taken down by a scandal that involved "sexting" multiple women for years.

The former New York Democratic congressman reported to prison in November 2017 after he was sentenced to 21 months in prison two months before on federal charges of sending sexually explicit messages to a teenage girl.

As he serves his time, Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin proceeded with their divorce, opting on Wednesday to withdraw their case so they can settle it out of court.

Weiner, who openly wept as the judge read his sentencing in September, was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

A 15-year-old girl in North Carolina told the Daily Mail in 2016 that she and Weiner exchanged explicit messages for months. She claimed that he asked her to film herself undressing at one point.

Prior to sentencing, Weiner agreed to not appeal any sentence between 21 and 27 months in prison. He had faced up to 10 years in prison for the charge of transferring obscene material to a minor.

From his start as a politician and marrying political staffer Huma Abedin, to the first reports of his "sexting" scandal, here's a look at Weiner's time in the spotlight.

July 2010

Weiner and Abedin, who met in 2001, got married in New York. Former President Bill Clinton officiated the ceremony.

That same month, Weiner, who was a Democratic representative at the time, gave a moving speech on the House floor after a bill to provide aid to 9/11 emergency responders failed. Weiner gained notoriety and soon started becoming a known name in the political world.

May 2011

The first photo of the scandal: a picture of Weiner in his boxer brief with a bulging crotch was posted on his Twitter account with about 40,000 followers. Weiner first claimed his Twitter was hacked.

Abedin was secretly pregnant with their son at the time.

June 2011

Weiner held a tearful news conference on June 6, fessing up to the tweet.

"To be clear, the picture was of me, and I sent it," Weiner said.

Weiner announced he would be taking a leave of absence from Congress on June 11. A spokeswoman said Weiner was taking the time to "seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person."

Five days later, he officially resigned from Congress. He held a news conference in Brooklyn, New York and apologized for his actions and the embarrassment he may have caused.

December 2011

Abedin gives birth to their son, Jordan Zain Weiner.

May 2013

After being out of the public eye for nearly two years, Weiner announced he was running for mayor of New York City. In the video announcement, Weiner, Abedin and their son appear to be a happy family, putting the scandal behind them.

"Look, Ive made some big mistakes and I know Ive let a lot of people down," Weiner said in the video.

"I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it for my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you," he added.

"We love this city," Abedin said. "And no one will work harder to make it better than Anthony."

July 2013

A website published screenshots of alleged conversations that contained explicit photos between Weiner and another woman.

Weiner, with Abedin by his side, held a news conference on July 23 where he admitted to the sexting. Despite the revelation, Abedin stood by her husband's side.

"What I want to say is I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as I have said from the beginning, we are moving forward," Abedin said.

September 2013

Weiner lost the mayoral primary, landing in fifth place. Bill de Blasio went on to win the Democratic nomination and the election.

May 2016

The documentary "Weiner" opened in theaters. The film documents Weiner's rollercoaster career in politics and highlighted the scandal. Abedin, at the time, was one of Hillary Clinton's top campaign aides for the 2016 presidential election.

August 2016

The New York Post published a story about more explicit texts the disgraced politician sent starting in 2015. One of the photos showed Weiner, in his boxer briefs, in bed with his toddler son by his side.

The next day, Abedin announced the couple was separating.

"After a long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband," Abedin said in a statement.

September 2016

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police department announced they were opening an investigation into Weiner after a 15-year-old girl told the Daily Mail the former politician sent her lewd messages starting in January 2016. The exchange continued for months.

October 2016

The FBI said it was reopening its investigation into the private email server of then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The FBI discovered the emails while looking into Weiner's laptop during the investigation into the sexting case.

May 2017

Weiner appeared in federal court in Manhattan on May 19 and pleaded guilty to a charge of transmitting sexual material to a minor.

"I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse," Weiner tearfully said during his apology in court.

The judge told him he would have to register as a sex offender. Weiner agreed to not appeal any sentence between 21 and 27 months in prison.

On the same day, Abedin reportedly filed for divorce, nine months after announcing their separation.

September 2017

Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison after his lawyers argued he should be spared from prison in a Manhattan federal court. He openly wept in court as the judge said he was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and required to forfeit his iPhone. His lawyers referenced letters that attest to his character, including one by Abedin.

With Anthony, I have repeatedly found myself in circumstances I never imagined. I am devastated by Anthonys actions, and I understand he must face their consequences, she said.

His lawyers referenced Anthonys operatic self-destruction, describing his crime as the final act  born of deep sickness. But they also blamed the girl who Weiner conversed with, saying that she had a goal to affect last years presidential election as Abedin worked for Clinton.

Weiners lawyers also argued that he never purposefully sought out teenagers on the internet and didnt engage in predatory behaviors.

He responded to the victims request for sexually explicit messages not because she was a teenager but in spite of it, the lawyers said.

The couple also asked a judge for privacy in their separate divorce proceedings. While their lawyers met with state Supreme Court Justice Michael L. Katz, Weiner and Abedin chatted casually, according to the Associated Press.

October 2017

A conservative watchdog group said the FBI found about 2,800 government documents pertaining to Abedins work with Clinton on Weiners personal laptop. Those documents were reportedly sent to the computer by Abedin.

"This is a disturbing development. Our experience with Abedins emails suggest these Weiner laptop documents will include classified and other sensitive materials," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

November 2017

Weiner reported to prison to begin his 21-month sentence. He is being held at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts. The facility in Ayer, about 40 miles west of Boston, has an inmate population of more than 1,000 at the medical center and over 100 more at an adjacent minimum security satellite camp.

It's the same prison that once housed Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

January 2018

Abedin and Weiner submitted paperwork to withdraw their divorce case, the New York Post reported, citing sources. The judge announced in court that the case was "discontinued."

The couple reportedly wanted to finalize their divorce out of court in the interest of keeping their 6-year-old son out of the spotlight, according to the New York Daily News. Huma was expected appear in court on Wednesday for a compliance conference.

Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Two top officials at the political research firm behind a salacious dossier alleging various Russian connections to President Trump's campaign invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Fusion GPS co-founder Peter Fritsch and top lieutenant Thomas Catan were subpoenaed to appear before the committee in a closed-door session on Wednesday but asserted their right not to testify, a source close to the matter told Fox News.

Fritsch and Catan took the Fifth on every question posed by committee members. Another co-founder, Glenn Simpson, is under subpoena for a later date.

The move was expected.

No American should experience the indignity that occurred today, Fusion lawyer Joshua Levy said. No American should be compelled to appear before a congressional committee just to invoke constitutional privileges.

A source close to the matter told Fox News that Democratic staffers in the hearing were aggressive and ran interference to protect Fusion GPS, often interrupting questions by Republican members on the committee.

On Monday, Levy said in a letter to the panel that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was acting in bad faith.

Based on this Committees bad faith interactions with the undersigned counsel and its pattern of unprofessional conduct exhibited during different points throughout this investigation, you have left us with no choice but to advise our clients to assert their privileges in the face of these subpoenas, he wrote, in a 17-page list of reasons why the company would not comply.

Levy noted that Simpson spoke recently to another congressional committee, but asked that the company be excused from testimony before Nunes panel as sought by the subpoenas.

A congressional official familiar with the matter fired back, saying in a statement to Fox News:

"Democrats and Fusion GPS have tried to obstruct every effort to get the facts about the compilation of the Steele dossier and who paid for it, so its no surprise that Fusion GPS is saying theyll continue to obstruct these efforts. Fusion GPS is clearly paving the way to plead the fifth, and Congress is trying to find out if they're trying to hide something."

In a statement, Levy accused Nunes of using his office to learn about who funded opposition research on Donald Trump than whether the Russian government interfered with our election. Americans of all political stripes should find his actions chilling."

Nunes stepped back from the Russia investigation after criticism he was too close to the White House, but is still chairman of the panel and signs its subpoenas.

The dossier in question claims that the Russian government had collected compromising information on Trump for several years. The document was circulated among journalists in 2016 and provided to the FBI.

Over the summer, Simpson spoke privately for about 10 hours to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Last week, a person familiar with the House subpoenas said they were originally requested by Texas Rep. Mike Conaway, the Republican who has led the Russia probe since Nunes stepped aside in April.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former President Barack Obamas ambassador to the United Nations has testified that others made so-called unmasking requests in her name, House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said Tuesday.

Her testimony is they may be under my name, but I did not make those requests, Gowdy said of former Ambassador Samantha Power during an interview with Fox News Bret Baier on "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Power is among the Obama administration figures who made requests to identify Americans whose names surfaced in foreign intelligence reporting, known as unmasking.

Last month, Fox News reported that Power was unmasking at such a rapid pace in the final months of the Obama administration that she averaged more than one request for every working day in 2016  and even sought information in the days leading up to President Trumps inauguration.

SAMANTHA POWER SOUGHT TO UNMASK AMERICANS ON ALMOST DAILY BASIS

"I think if she were on your show, she would say those requests to unmask may have been attributed to her, but they greatly exceed by an exponential factor the requests she actually made, Gowdy said. So, that's her testimony, and she was pretty emphatic in it.

The South Carolina Republican added, So, we've got to get to the bottom of that. If there is someone else making requests on behalf of a principal in the intelligence community, we need to know that because we're getting ready to reauthorize a program that's really important to the country, but also has a masking component to it."

Power visited Capitol Hill on Friday for a closed-door interview with House investigators looking into the unmasking of Trump associates under the Obama administration.

The questioning involved House Intelligence Committee investigators.

Fox News Bret Baier and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
A top Senate Republican is probing potential conflicts of interest for Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration regarding the 2010 approval of a controversial uranium deal with a Russian company, amid new details about donations from interested parties and an FBI corruption probe involving employees of the same Russian firm.

This committee has an obligation to get to the bottom of this issue, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Wednesday, at the start of a hearing with Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Hill reported a day earlier that the FBI had evidence as early as 2009 that Russian operatives used bribes, kickbacks and other dirty tactics to expand Moscows atomic energy footprint in the U.S. -- but the Obama administration approved the uranium deal benefiting Moscow anyway.

Grassley on Wednesday released a series of letters he fired off last week to 10 federal agencies, addressing those issues in detail and raising the question of whether the committee that approved the transaction was aware of the FBI probe. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) included then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

REPORT: RUSSIANS USED BRIBES, SOUGHT TO PAD CLINTON CHARITY AMID OBAMA-ERA PUSH TO EXPAND US NUCLEAR FOOTPRINT

Asked about the concerns at Wednesdays hearing, Sessions told Grassley the Justice Department will take appropriate actions.

I hear your concerns and they will be reviewed, Sessions said, without responding directly to a question from Grassley on whether the Justice Department has also probed whether the Russians "compromised" the Obama administration to "smooth the way" for the deal.

It wouldnt be appropriate for me to comment on any ongoing investigation, Sessions said.

The deal in question, which was previously reported, involved the 2010 approval of a partial sale of Canadian mining company Uranium One to Russias Rosatom nuclear company. The U.S. was involved because the sale gave the Russians control of part of the uranium supply in the U.S.

Grassley wrote in his letters that hes not convinced by previous assurances that there were no unresolved national security concerns. Grassley, in his hearing remarks and letters, raised two key issues.

It had been previously reported that figures tied to the transaction gave donations to Bill Clinton and his family foundation, but Grassley wrote that he has learned additional details about a $500,000 fee the former president got from a Russian investment bank for a June 2010 speech. He wrote that the banks senior officers include former Russian intelligence personnel, and sources had described the company as an extension of the Russian government.

Notably, in the same month as the Clinton speech, Uranium One and Rosatom notified CFIUS of the Russian governments intent to acquire twenty percent of the United States uranium assets. The next month, in July 2010, Renaissance Bank reportedly assigned Uranium One a buy rating, a move that would principally benefit its Russian investors, Grassley wrote. The donations raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest for Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration.

Further, Grassley raised concerns about the FBI probe into corruption and extortion involving employees of a Rosatom subsidiary dating back to 2009  before the 2010 approval.

As noted in The Hill, the feds did eventually go after Vadim Mikerin, a Russian nuclear industry official, in connection with the investigation. He was later sentenced, in 2015, to 48 months in prison in connection with money laundering allegations.

But Grassley wants to know whether the committee that approved the transaction was aware of the ongoing criminal probe at the time.

The fact that Rosatom subsidiaries in the United States were under criminal investigation as a result of a U.S. intelligence operation apparently around the time CFIUS approved the Uranium One/Rosatom transaction raises questions about whether that information factored into CFIUS decision to approve the transaction, Grassley wrote.

He said given that the deal resulted in a Russian government takeover of a chunk of U.S. uranium mining capacity, very serious questions remain about the basis for the finding that this transaction did not threaten to impair U.S. national security.

When details of the Uranium One deal first emerged in 2015, Clintons campaign downplayed the allegations.

"No one has produced a shred of evidence that Hillary Clinton ever took action as Secretary of State in order to support the interests of donors to the Clinton Foundation," a spokesman said at the time. "To suggest the State Department, under then-Secretary Clinton, exerted undue influence in the U.S. government's review of the sale of Uranium One is utterly baseless.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Tom Marino, the congressman tapped by President Trump as his drug czar, withdrew yesterday in the wake of a troubling report by the Washington Post and "60 Minutes."

Thats an easy narrative for the media: Trump picked someone whose record shows he tried to undermine the mission he would be undertaking. As the HuffPost banner headline put it: "TRUMP DRUG CZAR PICK SUNK BY BIG PHARMA BOMBSHELL."

This was good, solid journalism by the newspaper and the newsmagazine show, and it got immediate results.

But if you read through the Post piece, there is more to the storya more complicated narrative than a controversial nominee getting bounced.

Last year, as the opioid crisis was spinning out of control, "Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nations streets."

Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican, was one of a handful of lawmakers behind a bill the drug industry wanted.

"For years, some drug distributors were fined for repeatedly ignoring warnings from the DEA to shut down suspicious sales of hundreds of millions of pills, while they racked up billions of dollars in sales."

The measure would make it "virtually impossible for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotic shipments from the companies, according to internal agency and Justice Department documents and an independent assessment by the DEAs chief administrative law judge."

And heres the nexus between money and policy: Drug industry PACs "contributed at least $1.5 million to the 23 lawmakers who sponsored or co-sponsored four versions of the bill, including nearly $100,000 to Marino."

So Marino has bowed out. But the eye-popping nature of this story doesnt end there.

Congress passed this bill by unanimous consent, meaning it was deemed so non-controversial that a recorded vote wasnt needed.

"The White House was equally unaware of the bills import when President Barack Obama signed it into law, according to interviews with former senior administration officials."

The White House drug czar at the time said that neither DEA nor Justice objected to the measure. (Marino declined repeated requests from the paper for comment.)

So this was a systems failure. The drug industry, spreading its money around, had pushed for this change for years, and the Hill and the Obama White House let it sail through without a fight.

Now the revelation is enough to knock Marino out of a White House job. Less than 24 hours after a reporter asked Trump about it at a news conference, the congressman bowed out.

But will the House and Senate now undo what they did? And will the media have enough of an attention span to stay on the case?
President Trump said on Tuesday that ObamaCare is a disgrace to our nation and we are solving the problem of ObamaCare.

When asked later at the White House about the 2010 health care law, the president declared, Its virtually dead.

Then Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington, announced a bipartisan pact to salvage ObamaCare.

I have had encouraging discussions with President Trump, who called me on two different occasions encouraging me to work with Senator Murray to come to a bipartisan agreement, Alexander said. Im grateful to him for that encouragement and Im grateful to her.

Huh?

The president announced a few days ago he was singlehandedly terminating cost-sharing reductions in ObamaCare. The so-called CSRs are subsidies that former President Barack Obama put into his signature law to ease the cost of expensive health care premiums.

Trump decided to torpedo the assistance in an effort to kill ObamaCare. Yet the presidents gambit may very well preserve the touchstone law Republicans have long fought to extinguish.

Congressional Republicans are deadlocked when it comes to a legislative contrivance to repeal and replace ObamaCare. An effort to maintain the CSRs could only strengthen the laws staying power.

Still, the Alexander-Murray package, which would fund the subsidies for two years, creates dilemmas for both sides, which could be its undoing.

For Republicans, the compromise represents a tacit endorsement of ObamaCare. The cost-sharing subsidy is essential to safeguard the current system with minimal disruption.

Moreover, for fiscal conservatives, the problem with the Alexander-Murray plan is that is has no subsidy offset, which is essentially an equal cut in federal funding to another program or an equal increase in revenue, usually through a tax increase.

The crux of the senators deal artificially props up the nations health care markets with government aid. That flies in the face of traditional conservative, free-market principles. Its possible some GOPers will balk at the arrangement because of these very concepts.

The accord also creates a quandary for Democrats.

Long ago, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, of California, signaled theyd be happy to work with Republicans and Trump on health care if they abandoned the repeal-and-replace mantra.

Alexander-Murray certainly isnt repeal and replace. But Trump suggested over the weekend the GOP could make another run at repeal and replace next year. Such a gambit would come via the second incarnation of the health care bill authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

We know they are going to continue to try to repeal and replace, Schumer conceded. Will they try it again? Yes.

So, Republicans havent forgone the repeal-and-replace quest. This begs the question why Democrats are willing to play on Alexander-Murray?

By the way, who blinked?

Did Republicans blink?

Schumer argues that Trumps decision to yank the CSRs broke Republicans, prompting Alexander-Murray.

After the president did what he did, the negotiations got better for us, Schumer bragged.

Or did Democrats blink? Didnt a lack of CSRs compel Democrats to the table, alarmed that no aid could prompt an ObamaCare death spiral?

Im pleased the Democrats have finally responded to my call for them to take responsibility for their ObamaCare disaster and work with Republicans to provide much-needed relief to the American people, Trump boasted Tuesday night.

Who blinked? Its a matter of perspective.

Its unclear when the House and Senate could move on Alexander-Murray or what form it will take. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, demurred when asked if hed commit to putting the compromise on the floor.

Its a hot news item, just announced today. Id recommend you talk to both of them, he said.

Speed is of the essence as lawmakers dont want to hesitate and inadvertently spark health care marketplace shocks without the CSRs in place -- especially as insurance firms try to establish rates for next year.

This agreement avoids chaos, Alexander said. I dont know a Democrat or a Republican who benefits from chaos.

It is not a done deal that this arrangement reached by senators Alexander and Murray will ever make it into law, warned a skeptical Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

The Houses view on the bill is unclear. The chambers GOP brass was noticeably mum on the issue.

The whole issue with the CSRs (called Section 1402 subsidies) started several years ago when the Republican-led House went to court over the payments on constitutional grounds.

Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution states that no Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by law.

Congress may have approved ObamacCare. But lawmakers never okayed an appropriation for the CSRs. Obama simply ordered up the funding without congressional involvement. Federal District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled last year that the payments were unconstitutional sans congressional action.

The Alexander-Murray plan would provide congressionally blessed funding for the cost-sharing payments. Fox News is told the funding would likely be a direct appropriation.

In other words, an entitlement like Medicare and Medicaid. Congress calls this mandatory spending. The money would not need renewal each fiscal year. The funds would simply stream out the door.

I want to undersell this proposal rather than oversell it, Alexander said when discussing the plan on the Senate floor.

That may not be a bad approach for Republicans. For years, Republicans preached repeal and replace. Trump hoped to kill ObamaCare by stripping the CSRs. That move could backfire on the president and actually prompt bipartisan lawmakers to save ObamaCare.

Capitol Attitude is a weekly column written by members of the Fox News Capitol Hill team. Their articles take you inside the halls of Congress, and cover the spectrum of policy issues being introduced, debated and voted on there.
Sen. Bob Menendez will not face a new bribery and corruption trial after all, federal prosecutors said last month.

The Department of Justice had announced earlier this year that it intended to retry the New Jersey Democrat after a federal judge declared a mistrial in the case in November, but ultimately walked away from the pursuit.

Menendez was accused of accepting a plethora of donations and gifts from a wealthy friend in exchange for political influence. Both Menendez and the doctor, Salomon Melgen, maintained their innocence.

From the very beginning, I never wavered in my innocence and my belief that justice would prevail. I am grateful that the Department of Justice has taken the time to reevaluate its case and come to the appropriate conclusion, Menendez said on social media following the announcement.

Menendez is up for re-election this year. He was selected to replace former Gov. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., in the Senate in 2005. He rejoined the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee as its ranking member on Feb. 6, after stepping down from the post when he was indicted in 2015.

Read on for a look at what Menendez was accused of and what happened in the trial.

What was Menendez accused of?

Menendez, 64, accepted an abundance of campaign donations, gifts and vacations from Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist, prosecutors alleged when Menendez faced trial in 2017. In return, prosecutors claimed, he used his position to lobby on behalf of Melgens business interests.

Melgen allegedly directed more than $750,000 in campaign contributions to entities that supported Menendez, according to the indictment, which prosecutors said were inducements to get Menendez to use his influence on Melgen's behalf. Prosecutors have also accused Menendez of trying to hide the gifts.

Melgen paid for Menendez and his girlfriend to stay for three nights at a Parisian hotel where rooms typically cost about $1,500 per night and allowed the senator the use of his private jet, according to prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors said that Menendez sold his office for a lifestyle that he couldnt afford.

The indictment also alleged that Menendez pressured State Department officials to give visas to three young women described as Melgen's girlfriends.

What was the senators defense?

Both Menendez and Melgen pleaded not guilty  and Menendez has vehemently denied the accusations against him.

Throughout the original trial, defense attorneys sought to prove that Menendez and Melgen have been friends since before the former became a senator, and the trips were nothing more than friends traveling together.

Is there anything else to know about Salomon Melgen?

Melgen, 63, was convicted of 67 counts of health care fraud in April 2017 in what the Palm Beach Post called one of the biggest Medicare fraud cases in the U.S.

Melgen was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Feb. 22 for Medicare fraud, as he persuaded patients to undergo treatments they did not necessarily need.

Aside from Menendez, Melgen has given significant amounts of money to a variety of Democratic lawmakers, according to public records.

How did the trial end?

After the jury again informed the judge they could not reach a decision, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls declared a mistrial, saying he found no alternative.

The mistrial was declared on Nov. 16.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday blasted Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson's criticism of the presidents call to a fallen soldier's widow as "appalling and disgusting," even as the congresswoman stood by her account.

I think it's appalling what the congresswoman has done and the way she's politicized this issue and the way that she's trying to make this about something that it isn't, Sanders said during the White House press briefing.

The dispute has steadily escalated -- puncuated by claims and counter-claims via Twitter, briefings and interviews -- ever since Wilson, D-Fla., claimed Tuesday that President Trump told the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson during a phone call that "he knew what he signed up for."

Johnson was among four service members killed earlier this month during an ambush in Niger. Wilson called Trump's remarks in the phone call insensitive.

Johnsons aunt, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, later backed up the congresswomans account, telling The Associated Press that Trump showed disrespect.

TRUMP SAYS DEM REP 'FABRICATED' ACCOUNT OF CALL TO SOLDIER'S WIDOW

But Sanders defended the president's tone.

This was a president who loves our country very much, who has the greatest level of respect for men and women in the uniform and wanted to call and offer condolences to the family. And I think to try to create something from that that the congresswoman is doing is frankly appalling and disgusting, she told reporters.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump hit back at Wilson, saying the congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

Wilson, after doing the same on Twitter, released a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying she stands by her comments.

I stand firmly by my original account of his conversation with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, the congresswoman said. Moreover, this account has been confirmed by family members who also witnessed Mr. Trumps incredible lack of compassion and sensitivity.

She earlier told CNN she and other Johnson family members heard the call because it was on speakerphone.

Asked about the proof the president claimed to have, Sanders said there are no recordings of the phone call, but there were several people in the room from the administration that were on the call including the chief of staff, General John Kelly.

She also took aim at the media over its coverage of the story.

The sentiment of the president was very clear, she said. He took ... time to make a call to express his condolences to thank the family for this individuals service. And I think it frankly is a disgrace of the media to try to portray an act of kindness like that and that gesture and to try to make it into something that it isn't.

During the briefing, Sanders also discussed health care, saying the president does not support the recent Alexander-Murray agreement. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., reached an accord for a two-year continuation of federal subsidies to insurers that Trump has halted, coupled with an easing of some coverage requirements under former President Barack Obama's health care law.

This president certainly supports Republicans and Democrats coming to work together, she said. But it's not a full approach. We need something to go further to get on board.

Fox News Joseph Weber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions publicly and repeatedly clashed with Democratic Sen. Al Franken on Wednesday after being pressed over the accuracy of past testimony regarding his communications with the Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In one of several testy exchanges Sessions had with Democratic senators during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Franken, D-Minn., grilled the attorney general and suggested his explanations have changed.

The goal post has been moved. First it was I did not have communications with Russians  which was not true. Then it was I never met with Russians to discuss any political campaign  which may or may not be true. Now it is I did not discuss interference in the campaign which further narrows your initial blanket denial about meeting with the Russians, Franken said.

A visibly frustrated Sessions responded that, Without hesitation, I conducted no improper discussions with Russians at any time regarding a campaign or any other item facing this country.

Franken attempted to begin a second round of questioning before Sessions could respond in full to the first, but Sessions fired back.

Mr. Chairman, I do not have to sit in here and listen to his charges without having a chance to respond. Give me a break, Sessions said, noting that Frankens lead in to his questioning was very, very troubling, and that he needed more time to respond.

Frankens initial line of questioning referred to a report that was published around the time of Sessions testimony this summer, to which Sessions said Wednesday he responded on the spot. The report alleged that U.S. intelligence agencies had intercepted Russian communications that shed light on substantive discussions on policy matters important to Moscow. Sessions, at the time, said he did not have any private meetings and he did not recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel.

Franken suggested that the Justice Department did not comment on that report.

But after Sessions testimony Wednesday, the Justice Department told Fox News that Frankens claim that they declined to comment on the veracity of a July 21, 2017 Washington Post story that claimed Sessions met with the Russian ambassador at the Mayflower Hotel and discussed the Trump campaign was not accurate.

Sessions continued to say Wednesday that his initial response was refined directly to the suggestion of a continuous exchange of information between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government.

Which did not happen, at least not to my knowledge, and not with me, and thats why I responded the way I did, Sessions said. And Im disappointed, yesyou can say what you want to about the accuracy of it, but I think it was a good faith response to a dramatic event at the time and I dont think its fair for you to suggest otherwise.

But Franken pressed oneven sparring, briefly, with committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, over the amount of time Sessions had to respond in relation to the time he was given for questioning.

Sessions slammed Franken for having 10 minutes of improperly framing the situation and his responses.

I have committed myself to a high level of public service to reach the highest level of ethics and decency in my service, Sessions said. You have now gone through this long talk that I believe is totally unfair to me.

Sessions also had testy exchanges with other Democratic senators, including Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., over Chicago violence and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., over whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested an interview with him.

A DOJ official later responded, "Not true," to the latter claim.

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday defended President Trumps decision to fire FBI Director James Comey but declined to answer questions about his talks with the president on the matter.

You cannot underestimate the error made by Comey in the handling of the Clinton case, Sessions testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein each submitted letters in May to Trump recommending Comeys firing.

While Sessions in his letter called for a fresh start, Rosenstein in large part argued Comey usurped then-Attorney General Loretta Lynchs authority by announcing findings on his own in the Hillary Clinton email case.

Sessions said Wednesday that investigators should never announce such a decision ahead of the Justice Department.

However, Sessions declined to discuss the conversations with Trump about the firing. Lawmakers want to know more about the backstory, in part because Trump has publicly suggested he was prepared to fire Comey regardless of what Sessions or Rosenstein said.

Such communications are within the core of executive privilege, Sessions said.

Sessions, the countrys top law enforcement officer, faced a battery of sharp questions Wednesday during his testimony before the GOP-controlled Senate committee, including on whether he colluded with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.

No, Sessions said emphatically to Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy in response to that question.

Sessions also said he has not been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his Justice Department investigation into possible Russian collusion by Trump associates.

Sessions, an early and ardent Trump campaign supporter, runs the Justice Department. But he recused himself from the investigation to end accusations of conflict of interest.

The move, which resulted in Mueller being appointed to lead the probe, infuriated Trump.

Mueller has already met with former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. And federal agents this summer raided the house of former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, apparently looking for documents related to the Russian case.

On a question about possible Russia collusion, Sessions, as he did during his Senate confirmation hearings, said he never worked with Russian officials to influence the outcome of the White House race. He also again acknowledged having spoken with a Russian ambassador at the Republican National Convention in summer 2016 but argued hes met numerous foreign ambassadors in recent years.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, began the hearing with a list concerns and questions for Sessions -- including ones on the nationwide increases in violent crime and opioid use.

Violent crime is rising, Sessions told the committee: The homicide rate increased 20 percent in two years.  We are setting about to do something about it.

Sessions, who as senator was a judiciary committee member, called the opioid problem the deadliest drug epidemic this country has ever seen.

He said his department will start looking at stricter accountability on the manufacturing and distribution of opioid drugs.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions sparred with Sen. Dick Durbin Wednesday over Chicagos murder rate -- and the prospect of federal funding potentially being cut amid the citys resistance to the Trump administrations immigration policies.

Sessions testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on a slew of issues, including law enforcement and immigration policy. Well before the hearing, Sessions has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration agents.

Durbin, D-Ill., pressed Sessions over his desire to cut burn grant funds, which he suggested would hamper community policing and undermine work to cut the murder rate in Chicago.

Youre not helping us solve the murder problem in the city of Chicago by taking away these federal funds, Durbin said, noting that 3,000 people have been injured by guns, and over 500 have been killed in the past year in Chicago. The superintendent said your pursuit of undocumented immigrants has little or nothing to do with gun violence in Chicago.

Sessions responded that the murder rate is a cloud over the city, and agreed that community policing was absolutely essential to the Chicago Police Department, but pushed back on Durbins claim that the murder rate has nothing to do with illegal immigrants.

I think politicians cannot say if you remove a violent criminal from America, if he is arrested and put in a Chicago jail, that once theyre out, they shouldnt be turned over to federal ICE officers so they can be removed from the countrythey were here illegally to begin with, much less committed a crime, Sessions said.

He added: How does that make the city of Chicago safer when you dont remove criminals who are illegally in this country?

Durbin fired back, slamming Sessions on his opening statement and his alleged double-edged praise of law enforcement.

You cant give an opening statement throwing a bouquet to local police and then ignore what the superintendent of police in Chicago tells you has nothing to do with gun violence, Durbin said. You want to cut off federal funds to that city and come here and criticize the murder rate and have it both ways.

Sessions countered that he had increased the number of ATF agents by 12, noting that was a large number and more than any other city.

The United States government cannot take over law enforcement for the city of Chicago, Sessions said. Were not doing it for New York, not doing it for a lot of other places.

Durbin interrupted, Nor can the city of Chicago take over immigration.

Sessions closed the back and forth, promising the Justice Department would continue to work with Chicago.

I do not want to not have grants go to Chicago, but we need their support, Sessions said. When somebody is arrested in the jail thats due to be deported, we just simply ask that they call us so we can come by and pick them up if they need to be removed.

Sessions added: Thats not happening and weve got to work through it in some way.
President Trump declared on Twitter Wednesday that James Comey "totally protected Hillary Clinton," after the FBI confirmed the former bureau boss drafted a statement on the private email case two months before it was over.

In a series of tweets, Trump also swiped at the Justice Department, seeming to suggest they review what he called an apparent "fix."

Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete, Trump tweeted. Many people not interviewed, including Hillary Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didnt do this obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?

He followed up: "As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!"

GOWDY WANTS COMEY TO TESTIFY AGAIN

The flurry of tweets was in reference to the FBI releasing documents this week that prove Comey began drafting a statement regarding the Clinton email investigation months before he interviewed her and other key witnesses. The document release was titled Drafts of Director Comeys July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server Investigation Part 01 of 01.

The release bolstered critics' claims that Comey was drafting an "exoneration statement" well before ending the case and recommending against criminal charges.

The contents of the newly released emails, however, were largely unclear as the majority of the document was redacted. The records, that are now public, show the email titled Midyear ExamUNCLASSIFIED was sent by Comey on May 2, 2016 to FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, General Counsel James Baker and James Rybicki, chief of staff and senior counselor.

Trump's Wednesday challenge to the Justice Department regarding the matter was a throwback to his summer criticism of the nation's top law enforcement official, Attorney General Jeff Sessions. While Trump had been at odds with one of his earliest supporters over the decision to recuse in the Russia probe, Trump in recent weeks has dialed down that criticism.

The existence of the Comey documents was first brought to light by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., after they reviewed transcripts with top Comey aides who alluded to the emails existence.

The Judiciary Committee penned a letter on Aug. 30 to newly appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray noting their findings, saying that it appears that in April or early May of 2016, Mr. Comey had already decided he would issue a statement exonerating Secretary Clinton. That was long before FBI agents finished their work.

The outcome of an investigation should not be prejudged while FBI agents are still hard at work trying to gather the facts, the letter stated.

The existence of these documents raised questions over Comeys June 2017 Senate testimony regarding his decision to go public with findings in the Clinton email investigation. Comey noted former Attorney General Loretta Lynchs involvement in the probe, including her controversial meeting with former President Bill Clinton days before his wife was interviewed.

JUDICIAL WATCH SAYS FBI HAS FOUND CLINTON-LYNCH TARMAC MEETING DOCUMENTS

Last week, the FBI said it uncovered 30 pages of documents related to that controversial 2016 tarmac meeting.
President Trump on Wednesday rejected a Democratic congresswomans claim that he told the widow of a U.S. soldier recently killed in Niger that "he knew what he signed up for."

Trump tweeted that Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

The soldier, Army Sgt. La David Johnson, was among four service members who died earlier this month in northwestern Africa during an ambush.

Wilson told a local news outlet that Trump, during the five-minute phone call to the soldiers widow, Myeshia Johnson, said her husband "knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway." She called the remarks insensitive.

Wilson stood by her account Wednesday on Twitter. And on CNN, Wilson said she and other Johnson family members heard what Trump said because the call was put on a speakerphone.

"I have proof, too," she countered.

Further, Johnsons aunt, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, backed up the congresswomans account, telling The Associated Press that Trump showed disrespect.

But Trump, later Wednesday morning, again denied making such a remark and essentially dared Wilson to repeat the claim.

"Didn't say what the congresswoman said I said," the president told reporters. "And she knows it, and she is now not saying it. ... I'd like her to make the statement again."

On Tuesday, a top White House adviser told Local 10 News that the president's conversations "with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private."

Trump had called Johnsons widow to offer condolences. Myeshia Johnson, who is expecting her and her deceased husbands third baby in January, also has a 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.

Sgt. Johnson died during a Green Berets mission in Niger. Islamic militants ambushed the soldiers Oct. 4 with machine guns and grenades.

Trump was initially criticized for lack of focus on the deadly attack, although the Department of Defense reportedly launched an investigation into the ambush, the New York Daily News reported.

The three other slain service members were: Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the latest version of President Trump's controversial travel ban that affects residents of some majority-Muslim countries.

The ban applies to people from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also placed limits on people from North Korea and Venezuela.

Since the president signed an executive order in January 2017 establishing a ban on travel of people from Muslim-majority nations, it has been a point of contention and challenged in court. Heres a look at the bans journey through the legal system.

June 26  Supreme Court upholds ban

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court issued its first substantive ruling on a Trump administration policy on June 26, upholding the travel ban. The court said the president has substantial power to regulate immigration.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by his four conservative colleagues.

The sole prerequisite set forth in [federal law] is that the President find that the entry of the covered aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The President has undoubtedly fulfilled that requirement here, Roberts wrote.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who dissented, said "a reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was motivated by anti-Muslim animus."

April 25  Supreme Court hears oral arguments

In the last case the justices will hear until October, oral arguments on the travel ban will be delivered before the Supreme Court on April 25. This is the first time the justices are considering whether it violates immigration law or the Constitution.

People waited for a seat inside the courtroom for days ahead of the hearing.

A decision is expected by June.

April 10  Chad removed from travel ban

The Trump administration removed Chad from the travel ban because the African country had improved its identity-management and information sharing practices enough, press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

It had been included on the list because of an office supply glitch that prevented it from supplying homeland security officials with recent samples of its passports. It was also unable to adequately share public safety and terror-related information with U.S. officials who screen foreigners seeking to enter the country, officials said.

March 30  More than a dozen states back lawsuit against ban

Washington, D.C. and 16 states backed Hawaiis lawsuit against the travel ban with an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court.

President Trumps discriminatory ban both hurts the families caught up in the chaos of his draconian policies, and undermines our states residents, institutions, businesses and economies, New York Attorney Gen. Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

Jan. 19  Supreme Court announces it will rule on the travel ban

The Supreme Court announced on Jan. 19 that it will rule on Trump's controversial travel ban. The justices plan to hear arguments in April and issue a final ruling by late June.

Dec. 4  Supreme Court OKs full enforcement of Trump travel ban

Handing the White House a huge judicial victory, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trumps travel ban affecting residents of six majority-Muslim countries.

Lower courts had said people from those countries with a "bona fide" relationship with someone in the United States could not be prevented from entry.

Grandparents and cousins were among the relatives courts said could not be excluded.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have left the lower court orders in place.

Oct. 17  Federal judge temporarily blocks travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted a request from Hawaii to temporarily block a version of Trump's travel ban, which was supposed to take effect at midnight ET on Oct. 18.

Hawaii argued that the revised ban  which included citizens from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, and some Venezuelan government officials and their families  was a continuation of Trump's "promise to exclude Muslims from the United States."

"Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States," the White House said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will vigorously defend the Presidents lawful action."

Oct. 10  Supreme Court dismisses one case

The Supreme Court didnt take action on a case that originated in Hawaii pertaining to Trumps travel ban and a ban on refugees.

However, it did dismiss another case that originated in Maryland. That case involved a ban that has since expired and been replaced with a new one by the administration.

Oct. 5  Justice Department asks Supreme Court to drop travel ban case

The Department of Justice asked the nations highest court to dismiss the case challenging the administrations travel ban. The administration argued the case should be dismissed because it was regarding a previous travel ban that is now moot.

Sept. 24  Trump signs new travel ban

As Trumps original ban was set to expire, the president unveiled new restrictions on travel to the U.S. from certain countries citizens.

The revised ban included citizens from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also included some government officials from Venezuela.

Sept. 12  Supreme Court lifts restrictions

The Supreme Court blocked a lower courts decision that would have allowed refugees to enter the country under certain conditions, blocking a ruling that said a resettlement agency counts as a bona fide relationship.

Sept. 7  Appeals court limits travel ban

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that would allow for more refugees to enter the country despite the ban. The federal court ruled that refugees working with a resettlement agency would be considered to have established an approved bona fide relationship with a contact in the U.S.

WHO DOES TRUMPS TRAVEL BAN BLOCK FROM ENTERING THE US?

It also expanded the scope of a bona fide relationship to include other family members, such as grandparents and other relatives.

July 19  Supreme Court allows for strict enforcement of refugee ban

The Supreme Court, temporarily, allowed for the administrations travel ban to keep a strict enforcement on its ban of refugees. It did, however, leave in place the court order that made it easier for travelers from the six Muslim-majority countries to enter the U.S. and allowed a previous expansion of bona fide relationships to stay.

July 13  Federal judge expands scope of travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, in Hawaii, ruled that a bona fide relationship certain travelers need before entering the U.S. could be expanded to include grandparents and other relatives.

The Justice Department filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court for clarification.

June 29  Travel ban goes into effect

After the Supreme Courts ruling, the Trump administration issued guidance on who would be allowed into the country and who would be barred.

June 26  Supreme Court allows for travel ban to continue

The Supreme Court announced it would allow Trump to forge ahead with a limited version of his travel ban. Trump hailed the decision as a victory for national security.

HAWAII GETS CHANCE TO MAKE CASE FOR FIGHTING 3RD TRAVEL BAN

The court said it would hear arguments in October, but until then, the ban on travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen could be enforced if the visitors lacked a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.

May 25  Travel ban blocked by federal court

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia blocked the travel ban from being implemented. It had begun to hear the case earlier in May.

We remain unconvinced [the ban] has more to do with national security than it does with effectuating the Presidents promised Muslim ban," the court said at the time.

March 30  Trump administration appeals ruling

The Department of Justice filed an appeal with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge the ruling against the travel ban.

March 29  Federal judge continues to block travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson granted a request to continue to halt the travel ban.

March 16  Another federal judge temporarily blocks the order

Sitting in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang temporarily halted the executive order. The injunction was not as comprehensive as the one issued earlier in Hawaii, but it did contend that the ban was discriminatory toward Muslims.

The order did not change the previous injunction in Hawaii, but rather just reinforced it.

March 15  Federal judge blocks travel ban

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson prevented the travel ban from being implemented just before it was set to take effect. Watson granted the state of Hawaiis request for a temporary restraining order.

Trump called the decision an unprecedented judicial overreach.

March 8  Hawaii sues to block the travel ban

The state of Hawaii sued in an attempt to halt the Trump administrations travel ban from going into effect. Lawyers said the new executive order is resulting in the establishment of religion in the State of Hawaii contrary to its state Constitution.

Lawyers also argued that the ban would damage Hawaiis economy, educational institutions and tourism industry; and it is subjecting a portion of the states citizens to second-class treatment and discrimination, while denying all Hawaii residents the benefits of an inclusive and pluralistic society.

March 6  Trump unveils new travel ban

Trump signed a new executive order which barred travel from six predominantly Muslim countries for 90 days  removing Iraq from the new ban.

The new order also exempted permanent residents and current visa holders from the travel ban. Syrian refugees were still included in the new order but only for 120 instead of indefinitely.

Feb. 15  Trumps travel ban gets a defender

Texas Attorney Ken Paxton split with other states and defended the travel ban as he filed documents with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking to reconsider a decision blocking the ban.

Paxton argued that the order is a legal exercise of presidential authority.

Feb. 13  Federal judge grants injunction against ban

A federal judge in Virginia granted an injunction to prevent the administration from implementing the ban.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the ban was unconstitutional as it had a religious bias.

Feb. 9  Travel ban is again blocked

The travel bans suspension was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a unanimous decision.

MUSLIM ADVOCATES, LEGAL ORG FILES SUITS OVER TRAVEL BAN

Those judges were Michelle Friedland, appointed by former President Barack Obama; Richard Clifton, appointed by former President George W. Bush; and William Canby, appointed by former President Jimmy Carter.

The court began to hear arguments from the Justice Department and lawyers from the states of Washington and Maryland  in opposition to the ban  on Feb. 7.

Feb. 6  Justice Department asks federal court to intervene

The Justice Department filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking it to intervene and reverse a previous judges decision to halt the travel ban.

Sixteen attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit against the travel ban. Those included: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Feb. 3  Judge declines to extend injunction against travel ban

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton did not extend a temporary injunction against the administrations travel ban.

But U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle did issue a temporary block of the ban on the same day.

The state has met its burden in demonstrating immediate and irreparable injury, Robart said as he ruled in favor of lawyers from the states of Washington and Minnesota.

Feb. 1  Administration tweaks travel ban

The Trump administration tweaked its travel ban to exempt legal permanent residents of the U.S.

AFGHAN GIRLS ROBOTICS TEAM ARRIVES IN US JUST IN TIME

They no longer need a waiver because if they are a legal permanent resident, they wont need it anymore, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer said of green card holders.

Jan. 30  Senate Republicans save travel ban from Democrats

Senate Republicans squashed an effort by Democrats to overturn the executive order. When Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. sought a vote on legislation to reverse the ban, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., objected.

Trump also fired acting Attorney Gen. Sally Yates on this day when she refused to defend the travel ban.

Jan. 29  Temporary stay issued on travel ban

A Boston federal court temporarily put Trumps travel ban on hold for one week.

The ruling stipulated that previously approved refugees, valid visa holders and lawful permanent residents or travelers from the seven countries included in Trumps order could not be detained or removed from the U.S. because of the executive order.

Jan. 28  Federal judge issues emergency injunction against ban

A federal judge in New York issued an emergency order blocking, in part, the executive order. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnellys ruling temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting people who arrived with a valid visa or who had already completed a refugee application.

As dozens of people were detained after their planes landed in the U.S., massive protests erupted at airports nationwide.

Jan. 27  Trump signs executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority nations

Trump signed an executive order which immediately barred entry into the U.S. for the citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The order, dubbed Protection the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, also halted the U.S. refugee program for 120 days, but indefinitely barred all Syrian refugees from entering the country.

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty, Bill Mears and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democrat Ralph Northam won Virginias gubernatorial race Tuesday  and President Trump immediately started to criticize the Republican candidate.

Ed Gillespie, the Republican politico, failed to embrace the president, Trump tweeted Tuesday evening while in Asia. Until the results came in, Trump often took to Twitter to encourage Virginians to vote for Gillespie and accused Northam of "fighting for the violent MS-13" gang.

However, while Gillespie entwined much of Trumps policies, he didnt utilize the president while campaigning. Trump lost the swing state to opponent Hillary Clinton by about 5 points during the 2016 election.

Northam received 54 percent of the vote to Gillespies 45 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. The lieutenant governor led Gillespie by about 5 percentage points in a Fox News poll ahead of the election.

Heres a look at the candidates.

Ralph Northam, Democrat

Ralph Northam, the lieutenant governor of Virginia, is a physician and Army veteran. On his campaign website, he said he is most proud of his career fighting for children  as a pediatric neurologist and volunteer medical director for a pediatric hospice care facility.

While current Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is barred by state law from running for re-election, Northam, 58, is expected to govern the commonwealth much as McAuliffe did. He ran on greater gun control and abortion rights. He also promised to be a brick wall against the discrimination of the Trump administration.

Northam lives in Norfolk, Va., with his wife. They have two children.

Ed Gillespie, Republican

This wasnt Ed Gillespies first rodeo when it came to Virginia politics. The 56-year-old ran against incumbent Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in 2014 and nearly defeated him.

Gillespie is a former chair of the National Republican Committee and served as a counselor to former President George W. Bush for nearly two years. Gillespie touted his leadership within conservative circles on his campaign website, highlighting his time as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and work as a communications aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

Gillespie and his wife have three children and live in Fairfax County, Va. He graduated from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Endorsements and ads

While Trump endorsed Gillespie in a tweet in October, the establishment gubernatorial candidate didn't totally embrace the president on the campaign trail. And he almost lost to an ardent Trump defender in the primary race.

But as the race came to a close, Gillespie reinvented himself and adopted more of Trumps racially-tinged policies.

Still, Trump offered his support and encouraged his more than 40 million Twitter followers to Vote Ed Gillespie!

Trump also accused Northam of fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs [and] sanctuary cities.

Northam responded on Twitter with a link to his campaign donations website. He called the president a narcissistic maniac multiple times during the primary.

"Ralph Northam will allow crime to be rampant in Virginia. Hes weak on crime, weak on our GREAT VETS, Anti-Second Amendment and has been horrible on Virginia economy," Trump tweeted on the morning of the election.

Advertisements from both sides had been criticized ahead of Election Day.

Northams campaign came under fire for a Democratic mailer that showed Gillespie and Trump along with a photo of the angry white nationalists carrying torches who descended on Charlottesville, Va., in August. The mailer encourages voters to stand up to hate.

Northam stood by the mailer and slammed Gillespie for not denouncing Trump for not calling these white supremacists out for who they are.

Because the message is that we live in a very diverse society. That means that we need to be inclusive, Northam said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Another highly criticized ad  this one from the nonprofit Latino Victory Fund  showed frightened minority children being chased by a truck with a Gillespie for governor sticker, a Gadsden flag vanity license plate and Confederate flag.

Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the American Dream? a narrator asks in the one-minute spot.

Chris Leavitt, Gillespies campaign manager, slammed the advertisement as an all-out attack on the people of Virginia and blamed Northam and his allies for what he called a desperate smear campaign.

Northams supporters have reached a new low with a disgusting, vile television ad seeking to instill fear in our children with that same imagery, Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News.

Northam's campaign has defended the ad. Campaign spokeswoman Ofirah Yheskel said in a statement that, "It's not shocking that communities of color are scared of what his Trump-like policy positions mean for them."

The ad was deleted after the New York City terrorist attack in October.

Gillespie, too, was criticized for ads in support of his campaign. He released several spots that attempted to tie Northam to the MS-13 gang.

One ad in particular showed a sinister hooded figure holding a baseball bat as the words Kill, Rape, Control  MS-13s motto  flash on the screen. The ad accuses Northam of being weak on combating the gang.

The Northam campaign called Gillespies ads beyond the pale.

Bush hosted a fundraiser for Gillespie in Virginia in October. And Vice President Mike Pence joined him at a weekend rally.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton headlined a fundraiser for Northam in New York. And former Vice President Joe Biden backed Northam during a roundtable event.

Former President Barack Obama and Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J., also campaigned for Northam.

Fox News Nicole Darrah and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
With the opioid crises growing across the United States, the fight over what to do about it has landed in a Seattle courtroom. The King County (WA) Health Department and County Board of Supervisors voted in January of this year to open the countrys first so-called safe injection sites.

The sites would allow drug addicts to shoot up in the presence of county health workers.

Supporters say its about saving lives.

It will stop them from dying, said Dan Malone who runs Seattles Downtown Emergency Service Center. Thats the main purpose.

The controversial plan prompted a citizens initiative aimed at blocking all public funds for the sites. Backers of the I-27 initiative collected over 70,000 valid signatures, more than enough to qualify for the ballot.

SUPERVISED INJECTION SITE FOR ADDICTS COULD SAVE SAN FRANCISCO MONEY, LIVES

But a group named Protect Public Health sued to kill the measure. In its lawsuit the safe injection site supporters wrote: voters are in no position to weigh the scientific evidence or understand the impact of vetoing part of a multi-prong response to a local public health crises.

On Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Veronica Alicea-Galvan, who was appointed by current Democratic Governor Jay Inslee, agreed with I-27 opponents, ruling it interferes with the duties and obligations of the (Health) Board and County Council.

Joshua Freed, a Bothell City Council member, sponsored I-27. Hes angry at the judges ruling and the efforts of many politicians, including the Seattle City Council, who are working to silence the public.

When our elected representatives dont listen to the citizens anymore, we still have the initiative process to make sure our voices are heard, said Freed. Its not interference  it should welcome input.

Freed also says citizens have long been voting on matters of public health. According to Ballotpedia, in 34 states which have the initiative process, healthcare-related issues have been voted on by the public 344 times. The issues include medical marijuana, vaccinations and abortion.

Michael Ninburg, executive director of the Hepatitis Education Project, supports safe injection sites. His organization joined Protect Public Health in the fight against I-27.

This is different from other kinds of policy, Ninburg said. Public health officials need to be able to respond quickly and effectively in the case of a public health crisis.

The King County Health Department reports 132 drug overdose deaths in 2016. More than 50,000 people died from opioid overdose in the United States.

Still, there are very different views on how best to respond to the crises.

I-27 leaders vow to appeal this weeks court ruling and they still hope to have a county-wide vote of the people in February.

In the meantime, King County can move ahead with plans to open two safe-injection sites by early 2018. Seattle will receive one facility, with the other earmarked for a surrounding city.

But that could be a major challenge. Seven city councils have voted to bar a safe injection site, including the top five cities for opioid deaths outside of Seattle.
The White House came out strongly Wednesday against a Washington Post article claiming that President Trump failed to send a promised check for $25,000 to the father of a soldier killed overseas.

The report, which followed a number of controversies the president has encountered with Gold Star families, was labeled disgusting by the White House and a tool to advance the medias biased agenda.

In a call to Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Sgt. Dillon Baldridge, The Post reported that Trump offered the money and added that he would order his staff to establish a fundraiser online for the family. The call, Baldridge said, came weeks after his 22-year-old son was killed in what was thought to have been an insider attack by an Afghan police officer.

Two other soldiers were killed in the June 10 incident.

After allegedly telling Trump that only his ex-wife would benefit from the Pentagons $100,000 death gratuity, the president offered to help on his own.

He said, Im going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000, and I was just floored, Baldridge told The Post. I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, No other president has ever done something like this, but he said, Im going to do it.

According to Baldridge, neither the money  nor the online fundraiser  ever materialized. He did, however, say he received a condolence letter.

But the check was sent out, according to the White House, although it wasnt immediately clear when.

The check has been sent, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told Fox News. It's disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognized as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the President, and using it to advance the media's biased agenda.

The report from The Post followed conflicting narratives surrounding a call Trump made to the fallen widow of a soldier killed in Niger earlier this month.

During a conversation with the widow of Army Sgt. La David Johnson Trump said that Johnson "knew what he signed up for," Democratic Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson alleged. Wilson was with the family as they traveled to to Miami International Airport to meet the fallen soldiers body.

Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, later backed the congresswomans account, telling The Associated Press that Trump showed disrespect.

On Twitter, the president labeled the congresswoman's recollection a total fabrication.

Fox News' Serafin Gomez contributed to this report.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., sparked President Donald Trumps public feud with a Gold Star family after she accused him of making an insensitive remark to the soldiers widow.

Wilson said Trump told Army Sgt. La David Johnsons pregnant widow that he knew what he signed up forbut when it happens, it hurts anyway. Johnson was killed earlier this month during an attack in Africa.

But Wilson has often voted against legislation that would help veterans and their families, according to a vote-tracking website.

What is the feud between Wilson and Trump?

Army Sgt. La David Johnson and three other service members died in an Oct. 4 attack in Niger. Islamic militants ambushed the soldiers.

Wilson said she was riding with Myeshia Johnson, the soldier's widow, as they went to Miami International Airport to meet his body when Trump called. The president said Johnson knew what he signed up for  but when it happens, it hurts anyway, Wilson said.

The congresswoman called the remark so insensitive during an interview with WPLG-TV.

The fallen soldiers mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Associated Press Wednesday that the congresswomans account was correct.

Trump denied Wilsons claims in a tweet Wednesday.

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad! he tweeted.

FAMILIES OF FALLEN HAVE MIXED EXPERIENCES WITH TRUMP, IF ANY

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called Wilsons criticism appalling and disgusting and accused her of politicizing the issue. She said the call wasnt recorded but other White House officials, including chief of staff General John Kelly, were present during the call.

But Wilson hasnt backed away from her claim and later said that Myeshia Johnson told her Trump didnt even remember his name.

"I was stunned when I came to work, when I saw what a member of Congress was doing, listened in on a phone call from the president," Kelly said Wednesday.

"It stuns me that a member of Congress would have listened in on that conversationI thought at least that was sacred," he said.

A spokeswoman says Wilson had no comment on Kelly's remarks about her Thursday.

What has Wilsons voting record on veterans issues been?

VoteSmart.org, a site that tracks voting records, shows that Wilson hasnt supported several measures that would have helped veterans and their families  including financially.

Specifically, she opposed a measure that would have given the families of four soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan in 2013 death and burial benefits.

TRUMP SAYS DEM REP 'FABRICATED' ACCOUNT OF CALL TO SOLDIER'S WIDOW, HAS 'PROOF'

She has also opposed measures to reform the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs.

And Wilson has voted against measures multiple times that would ensure veterans and their families would still receive benefits despite government shutdowns.

What else do we know about Wilsons political career?

A former elementary school principal, Wilson was elected to Congress in 2010. She previously served in the Florida State Senate from 2002-2010 and the State House of Representatives from 1998-2002.

Her House of Representatives website lists several issues of concern, including education, gun violence, health care, immigration and jobs.

When it comes to Social Security, Wilson says that she "will vote against any measure to privatize the program, cut benefits, or increase the eligibility age."

This year, Wilson voted against the Republican health care bill.

In February 2015, she sponsored a bill that was introduced on what would have been Trayvon Martin's 20th birthday. The bill called for the House to press "any State legislature to reject or repeal Stand Your Ground legislation."

What about her personal life?

Her husband, Paul Wilson, died in 1988 after their three children were born, according to a Miami Herald profile.

In addition to her three children, Wilson also has five grandchildren, her House bio says.

Shes also spoken several times about her attire, specifically her penchant for wearing unique hats.

"It all started with my grandmother, whose name was Frederica also. She wore hats and gloves. I just wanted to be like her, so I started wearing hats. I just like to dress up, I guess, and I got that from her," Wilson told Roll Call in 2012.

Ive never counted, but I've been wearing them almost 30 years, Wilson told Politifact in 2010. "It's almost like a fetish. ... I have hundreds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
One of the Bay Areas most iconic houses fell victim to the California wildfires late last week.

The home, located at 1700 Twin Sisters Road in Fairfield, Calif., was informally known as Solano Countys Glass House thanks to its many floor-to-ceiling windows which also overlooked Napa County.

The property listing at Realtor.com also reveals that the home featured 12,662-square-feet of living space, as well as three bedrooms, five baths, and a pool made of reinforced concrete that spanned both the interior and exterior.

THE OBAMAS POTENTIAL NYC BUILDING WAS SITE OF TWO SUICIDES

Much of the home, however, has been reduced to ashes and debris in the wake of the Atlas Fires that have already claimed 5,700 structures, according to SF Gate.

As seen in footage shared by Bay Area reporter Jodi Hernandez, firefighters worked to save the Glass House of Solano County before the fires could reach it, but now it barely resembles the structure it once was.

SF Gate further reports that the house itself was first built in 2003 by John Roscoe, a tobacco packaging entrepreneur who spent around $17 million to build the house and purchase the surrounding property. He later became involved in a lawsuit with R.J. Reynolds, who accused him of selling gray market cigarettes, and was convicted of fraud in 2011.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE PLAYBOY MANSION?

Property records on Realtor.com indicate that the house was last sold in 2012 for 3,494,000.

Metro.co.uk reports that the homes current owners, Cathy and Jesse Marion, live in Texas, and use the Solano property as a vacation home.
Two original unpublished photographs of Titanic departing on her ill-fated maiden voyage are up for auction.

The detailed images show the doomed liner leaving Southampton Harbor in the U.K. on April 10, 1912 with tugs and other vessels clearly in view. The photos, which measure 4 inches x 5 inches, are both captioned by hand.

These photographs represent previously unknown and unique images of Titanic as she left Southampton, Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told Fox News, via email. They are close and clear enough to count the portholes and to see the shadow cast by the stern in the water.

DID THIS ICEBERG SINK THE TITANIC?

Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 p.m. ship's time on April 14, 1912 and sank just over two hours later with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Aldridge explained that the photos were sent from Southampton to Francis Le Boulanger, a wealthy ship owner, ship broker and coal exporter, who lived in South Wales. It is quite possible he may have been involved in the provision of coal to the ship, Aldridge said. Since the recipient of the photos was important in the ship industry, the photos may have been taken by one of his associates.

The lot also includes the original mailing envelope postmarked from Southampton on April 26 1912, personal papers of the Le Boulanger family, as well as a photo of Mr Le Boulanger. Another photo shows Le Boulangers wife in a group of three well-dressed women.

TITANIC TREASURES SOLD AT UK AUCTION

The lot, which will be auctioned Saturday, has a pre-sale estimate of $10,534 to $15,801.

An extremely rare sea-stained letter recovered from the body of a Titanic victim will also be auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son on Saturday. The letter was written on embossed Titanic stationery by First Class passenger Alexander Oskar Holverson to his mother on April 13, 1912.

TRAGIC TITANIC LETTER SURFACES: VICTIMS SEA-STAINED NOTE UP FOR AUCTION

Holverson was among the victims of the disaster. The letter, which he clearly planned to mail on the Titanics arrival in New York, was apparently found in a pocket book when Holversons body was recovered from the Atlantic. It was eventually returned to his family with his other effects.

The lot has a pre-sale estimate of $79,031 to $105,375.

A number of artifacts from the doomed ship were auctioned in the U.K. last year, with the sextant used by the captain of rescue ship Carpathia selling for just under $97,000. Three photos and a handwritten note detailing the grisly discovery of Titanics last lifeboat were sold for $6,800.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Pro-life? Theres an app for that, but you might not know by looking at your iPhone.

Tech behemoth Apple has suddenly dropped a pro-life prayer application from its App Store after left-wing bloggers complained about it being listed on the stores directory.

Pro-life organization Human Coalition says its app, which is still on the Google Play Store where it boasts a near five-star rating, was removed from the App Store by the brass at Apple after they were criticized by pro-choice activists and liberal-leaning media. Officials for the Human Coalition said Apple then made matters worse by lying about why the site was taken down.

In July, on the heels of pro-abortion media pushback, Apple notified us that they had removed the Human Coalition app from the App Store, citing violations of certain functionality requirements, Human Coalition officials said in a statement provided to LifeNews.com. However, Human Coalition spoke with Apple and demonstrated that not only were the cited requirements met, but that the Human Coalition app exceeded minimum requirements and functioned better than similar apps from other developers.

The organization said the move was just the latest attempt by abortion advocates and the media to silence the pro-life movement.

There is a growing trend in the U.S. to attempt to deter or silence Americans who oppose the fatal discrimination against preborn children, Brian Fisher, Co-Founder and President of Human Coalition, told Fox News. This move by Apple is not surprising, though it is a deep disappointment. Human Coalition remains committed to providing compassionate, loving care to women and their children even in the face of these challenges.

Officials for Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The app, which shares the same name as the organization that developed it, contains a feature called Prayer Feed where users can access in real-time a map of the U.S. that shows where other users of the app are praying. Users can open up the Prayer Feed where they receive notifications they can swipe to confirm that they are praying for some who is considering getting an abortion.

Harnessing the power of prayer and technology, this Prayer App brings together praying people from across the country in real-time for one purpose: to pray for abortion-determined families as they walk through their decision process, reads a description of the app on its Google Play Store page. Users can also access their social media feeds to see which of their friends may be currently praying.

It was this past summer when the app first came under scrutiny from liberal bloggers and other writers.

With the help of an app developed by the anti-abortion Human Coalition, it was easy! I saved real-live babies from the clutches of money-grubbing abortion providers with just a couple dozen swipes of my right thumb, as if I were paging through Tinder or wiping a little schmutz off the screen of my phone, reads a June post from Slate blog XXfactor entitled, Bizarre App Lets Users Swipe Right to Pray for Real Women Considering Abortion.

Amelia Tait wrote in an article at the U.K.s The New Statesman last July, Are digital anti-abortion prayers sanctioned by the church? Do they reach God? Though these questions may seem faintly ridiculous, their answers seem more important than ever. When it comes to the tech behind these anti-abortion apps however, that is where people  religious or not  might do well to lose a little faith.

News of Apples seeming censorship of a pro-life organization came on the heels of Twitter having to reverse the ban of a pro-life campaign ad after a wave of backlash.

Earlier this month, the social media giant had suspended the purchased ad of U.S. Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, telling the Tennessee Republican's campaign officials that a reference to baby parts was inflammatory and would likely bring a strong negative reaction.

In the ad, Blackburn was seen announcing her candidacy and declaring, I am 100 percent pro-life. I fought Planned Parenthood, and we stopped the sale of baby parts.

But the only negative reaction Twitter received was backlash over what was perceived as censorship on its part. Some 24 hours later, Twitter reversed its decision.
A sexbot named Samantha broke down at a tech conference in Linz, Austria, last month. According to news reports, the bot was manhandled too much and had to be repaired.

The sexbot costs $4,000. One of Samanthas creators, Arran Lee Squire, insisted that the bot is not a doll, but an advanced AI machine -- one that will moan on cue.

Experts argue that sexbots  robots designed to sexually interact with people  will become more common, much more lifelike and more advanced in the coming years. The popularity of modern sex dolls is creating an increasingly competitive market, according to the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, in a report released earlier this year. With rapid developments in technology, the companies are hoping to corner a larger slice of the market by creating moving robotic sex dolls powered by speech recognition and chatbot conversations.

Sex dolls are evolving to become sexbots as a burgeoning business. Someday, for example, a sexbot could be part of an elaborate virtual reality fantasy. There are already signs that VR is catching on in the adult film industry, so sexbots could be a next step.

GET SET FOR SEX ROBOT REVOLUTION, SURVEY SAYS

However, the Foundation for Responsible Robotics highlights the challenges that sexbots pose to society. Would intimacy with robots, for example, lead to social isolation? The report also examines whether the robots could be used as part of therapy for people experiencing social anxiety about sex.

According to a recent survey conducted by YouGov Omnibus, half of American adults  49 percent, to be exact  believe having sex with robots will become common in the next 50 years.

Critics, however, warn that sexbots could worsen societys ills. On one side there are those who believe that expressing disordered or criminal sexual desires with a sex robot would satiate them to the point where they would not have the desire to harm fellow humans, explained the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, in its report. On the other side, many others believe that this would be an indulgence that could encourage and reinforce illicit sexual practices.

It may be that allowing people to live out their darkest fantasies with sex robots could have a pernicious effect on society and societal norms and create more danger for the vulnerable, the report added.

HACKERS COULD TRAIN SEX ROBOTS TO KILL, CYBER SECURITY EXPERT WARNS

Henderson Cooper, a former Los Angeles police officer and former member of the CIA, says its foolish to think of sexbots as anything other than an adult toy.

The suggestion that sexbots will reduce sex crimes simply cannot be supported by facts, says Cooper. No one knows where it could lead. Because someone selects a robot for their sexual fantasies and seeming satisfaction does not necessarily mean that it will address and offset their more dangerous or criminal sexual fantasies and urges.

In an opinion piece in the New York Times earlier this year, Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, described the notion that sexbots could reduce rape as deeply flawed. It suggests that male violence against women is innate and inevitable, and can be only mitigated, not prevented, she wrote. This is not only insulting to a vast majority of men, but it also entirely shifts responsibility for dealing with these crimes onto their victims  women, and society at large  while creating impunity for perpetrators.

Rape is not an act of sexual passion. It is a violent crime, she added. We should no more be encouraging rapists to find a supposedly safe outlet for it than we should facilitate murderers by giving them realistic, blood-spurting dummies to stab.

REALDOLL BUILDS ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT SEX ROBOTS WITH PROGRAMMABLE PERSONALITIES

Cooper says that sexbots should be viewed within the broader context of society. The idea that a sexbot would change the potential criminal impact of sex addiction and exploitation, and the many other forms of sex criminalization, is just not a reasonable and justifiable idea, he told Fox News. We need to seek answers to the issues that already exist, with solutions that reduce exploitation, crime and violence in the world of sex.
Leave it to human ingenuity to solve almost anything.

Lauren Mesaros, a California nurse, needed to flee from the Tubbs Fire going on in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties in Northern California. Mesaros also needed to get her three horses, including her pony Stardust, away from the flames as well.

The problem? The trailer only held two of the three horses.

BIRD PHOTOBOMBS THE SPACE STATION AND SUN IN AWESOME PHOTO

Mesaros' solution? Put Stardust in the car.

He actually walked right into the car like a dog would, Mesaros said in an interview with SF Gate.

Mesaros said she put Stardust into the back of her 2001 Honda Accord, aided by her friend Carol Spears, whom Mesaros described as a horse whisperer.

Mesaros' sister-in-law posted the picture to Facebook, which has subsequently gone viral. The photo has been shared more than 17,000 times and has the caption: "When your sister in law Lauren has to evacuate her pony from Santa Rosa but no transport is available - you do what you have to do."

The horses have been taken to nearby Wind Horse Ranch in Sebastopol to wait out the blaze and while Mesaros' property has largely been spared from significant damage, her car isn't so lucky.

My car will never smell the same again, she said.
The Chicago Department of Aviation has fired two security officers involved in an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a United Airlines flight after refusing to give up his seat, the city's Office of Inspector General said in a report released Tuesday.

One of the fired officers, a sergeant, was also invovled in an attempt to cover up some details of the April incident that happened at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, according to the report.

UNITED DOCTOR SUFFERED CONCUSSION WHILE BEING DRAGGED FROM FLIGHT, LAWYER SAYS

Four officers were involved in the confrontation with passenger David Dao, who was aboard a flight to Louisville, Kentucky. The Aviation Department suspended the two other officers  one for five days and the other for two. The officer who received the five-day suspension resigned.

The Office of Inspector General said in the report that as a result of the office's findings and recommendations, the Aviation Department fired an officer who "improperly escalated the incident.

The first officer violated the Aviation Departments policy and escalated a non-threatening situation into a physically violent one by forcefully removing a passenger from the aircraft, a report by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson said.

A sergeant involved in removing facts from a report was also fired. The inspector general report does not identify the officers.

The report says the investigation by the Office of Inspector General found three security officers and a sergeant used excessive force and "made misleading statements and deliberately removed material facts from their reports" on the April 9 incident.

"The use of excessive force caused the passenger to hit his face on an armrest, resulting in a concussion, a broken nose, and the loss of two teeth," the report said.

UNITED PASSENGER DRAGGED OFF FLIGHT SETTLES WITH AIRLINE FOR UNDISCLOSED AMOUNT

Dao, a physician who was 69 at the time of the incident, reached an undisclosed settlement with United less than three weeks after the incident.

The incident aboard United Express Flight 3411 was videotaped by other passengers and widely shared online. It became an international embarrassment for the airline and the Aviation Department.

A report released by the Aviation Department in April in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press identified the officer who pulled Dao out of his seat as James Long. It's not clear if Long lost his job or was suspended, because the inspector general report doesn't name the officers.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Dao's attorney, Thomas Demetrio, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that they were not expecting the dismissal of the security officer who is not a sergeant, but said it may resonate with others.

"In firing him, perhaps it will send a clear message to police and airline personnel all over the world that unnecessary violence is not the way to handle passenger matters," Demetrio said.

The Aviation Department has confirmed that a review of its policies and procedures is underway and will be finished by the first quarter of 2018.

Demetrio said it surprises him that the Aviation Department's review of its policies and procedures isn't complete.

"That should have been done the next day," the lawyer said. "It seemed to me the policies and procedures would have been tweaked the next day."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From a lawyer who claims United Airlines gave her seat away to a Democratic congresswoman, to a singer allegedly barred from an airline lounge over her footwear, airline controversies are neither few nor far between.

The rising prominence of social media, and a near-monopoly of the airline industry, are contributing to the growing news of airline customers being unduly inconvenienced as they travel, attorney Arthur Alan Wolk, who specializes in aviation law, told Fox News.

These incidents are happening more because airlines feel that theyre empowered to abuse their passengers more and feel that there are no consequences, Wolk said.

Wolk says that chances of the airline industry improving for customers is bleak, even nil.

Read on for a look at some recent airline controversies.

Canine companion

A dog in a TSA-compliant pet carrier died after a flight attendant forced its owner to store the animal and its carrier in an overhead bin for the duration of the four-hour March 12 United flight from Houston to New York City.

First reported by travel blogger The Points Guy, United has since claimed full responsibility for the tragic accident.

According to passenger Maggie Gremminger, she and others heard the black French bulldog barking initially during the four-hour flight, and were horrified to learn the animal had passed away later in the trip, she told People.

A stranger offered to hold her newborn while she sat on the floor, there in the airplane aisle. She was holding her dog and rocking back and forth. Her daughter was also crying, Gremminger told the publication of the scene following the discovery.

Gremminger told People once the dog was found dead, the flight attendant became "frazzled" and insisted she did not know there was a live animal in the carrier.

I want to help this woman and her daughter. They lost their dog because of an @united flight attendant. My heart is broken, Gremminger wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of the family who allegedly lost their dog.

A pet traveling in cabin must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel, United's pet policy says. The kennel must fit completely under the seat in front of the customer and remain there at all times.

United Airlines spokesperson Maggie Schmerin returned Fox News request for comment with the following statement: This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin. We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them, she said.

Schmerin added, We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again."

Family matters

A woman upset about sitting next to an 8-month-old boy and his mother was booted from a Delta-operated flight on Feb. 6, the Daily Mail reports.

Mother Marissa Rundell Rundell shared a 45-second video clip of the incident to Facebook on Feb. 6. In it, a woman identified by Spectrum News as Susan Peirez  a program director at the New York State Council of the Arts  can be heard telling a flight attendant that she works for the governor before complaining about being seated next to a crying baby. Peirez then threatened to have the flight attendant fired when she learned she couldnt be moved to a new seat.

Rundell also told the Daily Mail that Peirez told her to shut the f--- up and shove it just prior to the start of the footage, after Rundell asked Peirez to watch her language around the baby.

Peirez could also be seen attempting to apologize to the flight attendant, but was ultimately booted after the staff member accused Peirez of having just "screamed at [Rundell] and her baby."

Ronni Reich, a director of public information for the New York State Council of the Arts, later confirmed to Spectrum News that Peirez had been placed on leave.

State employees are and must be held to the highest standard both professionally and personally, said Reich. We were notified of this situation and have commenced an investigation.

Rundell, however, has said she did not post her video to Facebook with the intention of getting Peirez suspended from her position.

"I don't [often] post really anything," Rundell told Inc. "This was a one-time thing and it happened  I totally was caught off guard with everyone who has been watching it. I didn't even realize that many people could see what I was posting."

Political privilege?

United passenger Jean-Marie Simon says the airline gave her first-class seat on a December 2018 flight to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat. United, Simon claims, threatened to yank her from the flight after she complained and took a photo of the politician, the Houston Chronicle reports.

A gate attendant at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston told Simon during boarding that her ticket wasnt in the system, the newspaper reported. Told her seat was taken, Simon was reportedly put in Economy Plus and received a $500 voucher.

We were concerned by this issue and took immediate steps to fully understand what happened. After thoroughly examining our electronic records, we found that upon receiving a notification that Flight 788 was delayed due to weather, the customer appears to have canceled her flight from Houston to Washington, D.C., within the United mobile app, United told Fox News in a statement. As part of the normal preboarding process, gate agents began clearing standby and upgrade customers, including the first customer on the waitlist for an upgrade.

Simon disputed Uniteds claim that she canceled her ticket.

Since this was not any fault of mine, the way the individual continued to act appeared to be, upon reflection, because I was an African-American woman, seemingly an easy target along with the African-American flight attendant who was very, very nice, Jackson-Lee said in a staatement. This saddens me, especially at this time of year given all of the things we have to work on to help people. But in the spirit of this season and out of the sincerity of my heart, if it is perceived that I had anything to do with this, I am kind enough to simply say sorry.

Simon told the Houston Chronicle that the congresswomans remarks were accusing her of racism.

I had no idea who was in my seat when I complained at the gate that my seat had been given to someone else; there is no way you can see who is in a seat from inside the terminal, Simon told the newspaper.

Footwear fail

English singer Joanne Catherall, a vocalist for The Human League, made international headlines after she said that she was denied entry to a business-class Qantas lounge in Melbourne, Australia.

Denied access @Qantas business class lounge in @MelairMelbourne Airport apparently Ugg (Australia) Boots are deemed sleepwear by the lady working there although no problem in any of the other lounges so far, she tweeted. Helpfully she suggested I go to one of the shops & purchase some shoes.

Hi Joanne, we endeavour to remain consistent and uphold our Lounge's dress guidelines to all our guests, the airline tweeted, including a link to its domestic-lounge dress guidelines, which considers Uggs sleepwear.

Why would an @UGG boot I wear outdoors in all weathers be classed as sleepwear in @Qantas lounge but nowhere else that I have ever been on this earth ? Catherall asked.

Hi Joanne, we don't accept them in our lounges as you can see on the dress-guidelines, another airline tweet said.

Strange I had no problem in either the Perth or Adelaide @Qantas lounges wearing my Uggs even though they are apparently on the no go list in those 2 airports as well, Catherall tweeted.

The airline's reply here? Understood Joanne, bear in mind each lounge is subject to the discretion of the team. We'll pass your feedback on so we can improve our services.

We completely understand that no one likes being declined at the door but we've always had smart casual dress standards for our lounges, which are similar for those in place for most clubs and restaurants, a Qantas spokesperson told The Independent. "Over the past couple of years, we have had clear feedback from lounge members that they wanted these existing guidelines to be applied more rigorously."

Lewd comments

Randi Zuckerberg, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister, claimed that a fellow passenger on her Alaska Airlines flight to Mexico made "lewd sexual remarks" toward her.

Zuckerberg claims that the staff on the flight stood by and let it happen, with one flight attendant reportedly telling her, Dont take it personally, this guy just doesnt have a filter.

Shortly after her flight, on Nov. 29, Zuckerberg penned a letter to Alaska Airlines detailing the incident.

He started talking to me about touching himself, kept asking me if I fantasized about the female business colleague I was traveling with, rated and commented on the womens bodies boarding the aircraft as they walked by us, and many more equally horrifying and offensive comments, she said in the letter, as seen in her Twitter post.

Alaska Airlines began an investigation into the incident, the airline said in a tweet.

The passenger who allegedly made the comments was temporarily suspended from the airline, Zuckerberg wrote in a later tweet.

Mother's concern

Harvard Law student Briana Williams claims she and her daughter were booted from an American Airlines flight over the summer after she requested the 4-year-old's stroller while the plane was delayed, the New York Daily News reported.

Williams, 24, told the newspaper their Aug. 21. New York City-bound flight was delayed for several hours. The plane reportedly went back to the gate and passengers were told to get off.

Williams asked the airline staff for the stroller, which had been checked, while she was exiting, the paper recounted. The staff declined.

I told a crew member that I was not going to be leaving the aircraft without my stroller, Williams said. She later spoke to the "very disgruntled and aggressive" pilot, and says he contacted police to boot her from the flight.

Williams and her daughter were put on a flight in the morning, the report said.

The pilot put me in a potentially dangerous situation with law enforcement as a young, black woman, saying that I was a threat, Williams, who intends to pursue legal action, told the paper. "This type of rhetoric paralyzes the African-American community, and I want to ensure that policies are put in place that regulate the pilots discretionary abilities.

She says she turned down American's offer of 25,000 miles.

The airline told Fox News putting her on a different flight was in "the best interest of everyone involved," and said it offered her the miles. The carrier also said it "does not tolerate discrimination of any kind."

MOM CLAIMS AMERICAN AIRLINES REMOVED HER FROM FLIGHT OVER STROLLER

Patriotic display

In October, a Georgia woman said she was prohibited from singing the national anthem with fellow passengers aboard a Delta flight which was also carrying one of the four U.S. troops killed that same month during an attack in Niger.

Pamela Dee Gaudry, who is married to a Vietnam War veteran, enlisted the support of other passengers and planned to sing the anthem to honor the fallen soldier and his family. But in a now-viral Facebook video, Gaudry said she was prevented from singing by the chief flight attendant, who informed her the song was against Deltas policies.

She also said in her video that she was humiliated by what she saw as her lack of courage for following orders and not singing.

Since her video, Gaudry said she has been offered an apology from Delta, and the airline also confirmed that the national anthem is not against its policies.

Seat change without explanation

In a series of tweets, right-wing commentator Ann Coulter slammed Delta for giving away her seat to another woman on a flight from New York to West Palm Beach, Florida, on July 15, 2017.

Coulter later told Fox News that as she was boarding, a ticket agent snatched the ticket" and informed her that her seat had changed due to an emergency.

DELTA PAYS WOMAN $4,000 TO GIVE UP HER SEAT

She said that she sat in the original seat anyway until she was told to move by a stewardess who was not able to give an explanation for the seat change.

[The other passenger] was not an elderly person, was not a sickly person, a very tall person, Coulter said.

Party of five

A family of five said they were unfairly kicked off a JetBlue flight on July 2, 2017, after a confrontation with an airline employee.

Tamir and Mandy Raanan said they were traveling from Fort Lauderdale to New York with their three young daughters  one of whom kicked the back of another passengers seat.

Mandy said she apologized to the other passenger, but the family were still asked to leave the plane.

JetBlue said in a statement that the incident was not as innocent as described. After a verbal altercation that included physical threats and profanities against a nearby customer, the aircraft door was reopened and our airports team politely asked the customers to step off to discuss the situation, JetBlue said.

The airline thanked its employees for their professional handling of the situation and said it would investigate whether the customers behavior warrants restrictions on JetBlue travel in the future.

Quite the erreur

Lucie Bahetoukilae, who only speaks French, handed her ticket to an airline employee and boarded a plane in Newark, New Jersey, thinking the next stop would be Paris. When she got to her seat and found another woman in it, a flight attendant sat her in an empty seat.

Nearly 3,000 miles later, Bahetoukilae touched down in San Francisco.

In what United Airlines deemed a horrible failure in May, Bahetoukilae boarded the wrong plane after her flights gate switched at the last minute. She said the announcement wasnt made in French, and she didnt receive an email notifying her of the gate change.

CHELSEA HANDLER TO BOYCOTT DELTA OVER MISTAKEN PRICE HIKE

Once in San Francisco, Bahetoukilae had to wait 11 hours before United was able to get her on a flight to France.

Diane Miantsoko, the womans niece, told WABC-TV that she was worried about Uniteds security protocol.

"She could have been a terrorist and killed people on that flight and they didn't know they didn't catch it."  Diane Miantsoko

"With everything going on in this country, people have to be more careful," Miantsoko said. "They didn't pay attention. My aunt could have been anyone. She could have been a terrorist and killed people on that flight and they didn't know they didn't catch it."

United apologized for the mistake in a statement and said it is working with our team in Newark to prevent this from happening again.

Whose seat is it, anyway?

Delta apologized after a California couple and their two children were booted from an overbooked plane when the parents refused to give up an extra seat they had purchased.

Brian Schear said he, his wife and two children boarded a flight from Maui, Hawaii, to Los Angeles on April 23, 2017, and were asked to give up an additional seat they had purchased for their older son -- he had ended up taking a different flight. Since the son wasnt present, Schear said the family planned to use his seat for one of the younger children.

AIRLINE COMPLAINTS DOWN LAST YEAR DESPITE MORE CASES OF BUMPING

But the flight was overbooked, and Schear was asked to give up the seat. When the family refused, they were made to leave the plane. The family booked new tickets home on another airline.

We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and weve reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation, the airline said.

Id rather go to jail

Dr. David Dao was seated on a United fight in Chicago bound for Louisville, Kentucky, on April 9, 2017, when he was asked to give up his seat on an overbooked flight to make room for crew members.

Dao refused, explaining that he was a doctor who needed to be at work early the next morning.

Im not going, Dao repeatedly said. Id rather go to jail.

Disturbing cellphone footage showing Dao being dragged off the plane, seemingly unconscious, by security officials went viral. During the altercation, Dao suffered a concussion, lost two of his teeth and broke his nose, his attorney said.

Dao and United reached an amicable settlement later in April.

We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do, United said in a statement at the time of the settlement.

Fox News' Janine Puhak, Alexandra Deabler, Michael Bartiromo, Kaitlyn Schallhorn and Madeline Farber contributed to this report.
Just days after Womens March co-founder Tamika Mallory accused an American Airlines pilot of discrimination, another young African American woman is coming forward with her own tale of an aggressive pilot.

Harvard Law student Briana Williams, 24, tells the New York Daily News shes still furious about being booted from an American Airlines flight on Aug. 21, after she had requested her daughters stroller back during a delay. And, like Mallory, Williams says it was her pilot who ultimately made the call.

According to Williams, she and her 4-month old daughter were flying to New York City on Flight 1678 out of Atlanta, but due to weather, the aircraft returned to the gate and passengers were told to deplane. On the way out, however, Williams says she asked the staff if they would retrieve a stroller she checked at the gate, but they denied her request. But Williams wasnt about to take no for an answer.

WOMEN'S MARCH CO-FOUNDER ACCUSES AA PILOT OF 'WHITE MALE AGGRESSION'

I told a crew member that I was not going to be leaving the aircraft without my stroller, Williams said.

At that point, Williams says her pilot became involved. He was very disgruntled and angry, she told the Daily News.

The pilot eventually called police to escort Williams from the plane, and she spent the rest of the night at the airport with her 4-month-old. Her fellow passengers were allowed to board a later flight, but American booked Williams on a different flight leaving in the morning.

Now, Williams says shes considering a lawsuit against the carrier, alleging that the unregulated discretion of American Airlines pilots is leading to a discriminatory policy.

The pilot put me in a potentially dangerous situation with law enforcement as a young, black woman, saying that I was a threat, Williams told the Daily News, "This type of rhetoric paralyzes the African-American community, and I want to ensure that policies are put in place that regulate the pilots discretionary abilities.

Williams also added that shes only now coming forward with this story after reading about Tamika Mallorys incident aboard an American Airlines flight on Sunday.

AMERICAN AIRLINES AGENT SAYS CURLING 'ISN'T A SPORT,' PASSENGER CLAIMS

American, meanwhile, does not deny they booked Williams on a separate flight, but would not elaborate, merely saying it was in the best interest of everyone involved. They did, however, offer compensation in the form of 25,000 AAdvantage miles, which Williams says she declined.

American spoke directly with Ms. Williams, and as a gesture of goodwill, provided her 25,000 AAdvantage miles, which can be redeemed for a future roundtrip flight on American Airlines, the airline confirmed in a statement to Fox News.

American does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, the airlines statement continued. From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity is a way of life at American. Every day, our team members work to make American a place where people of all generations, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religious affiliations and backgrounds feel welcome and valued.

All of our team members  which includes our gate agents, pilots and flight attendants  are proud to serve customers of all backgrounds and we are committed to providing a positive, safe travel experience for everyone who flies with us.

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Williams grievance with American Airlines comes only days after Womens March co-founder and NYC-based activist Tamika Mallory claimed she was the target of white male aggression after accusing an American Airlines pilot of disrespect, discrimination and intimidation.
Flying can be uncomfortable as it is, but try sharing an already crowded plane with over 100 cockroaches.

Passengers on board two flights bound for the southern Chinese city of Kunming had to do just that, according to South China Morning Post.

INTOXICATED UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGER PEED ON SEATMATE MID-FLIGHT, LAWSUIT CLAIMS

The original report from China News Service doesnt reveal the country of origin, date of the flights or the airlines, but it does show a photo of several officials on board a plane at Kunming Changshui International Airport. Chinese characters are visible on the headrest covers.

At least one domestic flight was involved, the Morning Post reports.

Airport officials said pest control experts were called in to fumigate the planes, including the cabin, catering area, toilets and cargo hold.

The unwanted travelers were identified as Blatella germanica, or German cockroaches, which are typically one-half to five-eighths of an inch long and tan to light brown in color, according to the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.



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This isnt the first time there have been reports of unwanted insects on a plane. A woman flying on British Airways to London recently claimed she and her family were bitten by bed bugs crawling around their seats. A spokesperson for the airline told The Sun that BA operates more than 280,000 flights every year and reports of bed bugs on board are extremely rare.
An Airman who disappeared from an Air Force Base in North Dakota 40 years ago is in custody of the U.S. Air Force after he was discovered last week living in Florida.

Jeffrey Michels, 64, was arrested Thursday on charges of desertion after he failed to report for duty at North Dakotas Minot Air Force Base on July 6, 1977, WFTV reported.

WHAT KIND OF SENTENCING COULD BERGDAHL FACE?

Michels, originally from East Liverpool, Ohio, was found living a double life in Sanford, Fla.  under the name Jeffrey Lantz, according to a police report.

The man reportedly used the fake name to obtain a business license in Florida in 1998. Online records show the name Jeffrey Lantz had a certified general contractor license for construction business Atlantic Development Corporation.

A photo of Michels was posted on July 9 to the Facebook group Veteran Doe  a website dedicated to bringing attention to the many missing veteran/active duty cases and unidentified person cases where there is a possible military connection. The post was deleted after Michels was discovered.

Its unclear if the Air Force opened an investigation into Michels' disappearance due to the Facebook post.

AIR FORCE AIRMEN ACCUSED OF VANDALIZING HISTORIC SC CHURCH WITH SATANIC GRAFFITI

Michels, according to WFTV, is in the custody of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Because there is no statute of limitations for deserting a military post, Michels will stand trial in military court.

Reports of Michels arrest come one day after Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion charges after he left his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Bergdahl was subsequently held captive by the Taliban until May 2014.
The ex-husband of a retired U.S. Army captain who is presumed dead has been arrested on suspicion of her murder.

Dalen Larry Ware, 39, was taken into custody at his home in Phoenix, Ariz., on Friday. His ex-wife, 37-year-old Julia Jacobson, was reported missing last month.

Jacobson was last seen on Sept. 2. Days later her SUV was found near her San Diego, Calif., home with the keys in the ignition.

Police in Ontario, Calif., said forensic evidence in Jacobsons abandoned SUV led detectives to believe she was killed.

AIRMAN WHO WENT MISSING IN 1977 FOUND LIVING DOUBLE LIFE IN FLORIDA

Investigators did not disclose a possible motive, and no remains have been found. Ontario police have continued to search for the bodies of Jacobson and Boogie, her pet Wheaten Terrier, according to The San Diego Union Tribune.

It is our hope we will find Julia and Boogie soon, but we need help and tips from the public because we do not know where she is, Ontario Detective Melissa Ramirez reportedly said Tuesday.

Ware will be transferred to California to face a murder charge.

Jacobson, a veteran of the Army, served two tours in Iraq and worked for a 7-Eleven corporate office, the Tribune reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Authorities say a man who wore different costumes while robbing about a dozen in banks in Florida over the past three weeks has been caught.

An FBI news release says 22-old old Brandon Venditti was arrested Tuesday after a Naples bank robbery.

The release says the Florida Highway Patrol and FBI agents had spotted a possible getaway vehicle, and the driver refused to pull over. The car eventually crashed and Venditti surrendered. Another person in the car was also arrested.

Investigators believe Venditti to be the "Shaky Bandit," who earned the name because his hands shook during robberies. Authorities believe the first robbery was Sept. 27 in Oakland Park. Some of his costumes included a surgeon, a hunter and a construction worker.

Venditti was set to make his first federal court appearance Wednesday in Fort Myers.
The decision by Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., to withdraw as President Trumps drug czar nominee followed exposure of one of his signature bills that, when enacted, severely handicapped drug enforcement efforts in three critical ways.

Those handicaps contributed significantly to the nations current epidemic of opioid addiction.

The measure, called the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, passed with little debate or dissent in the spring of 2016, even as Congress and then-President Barack Obama declared opioid addiction a national crisis.

Just months before the now-notorious bill became law, Obama unveiled a federal initiative to combat the opioid crisis, saying: This crisis is taking lives, its destroying families, its shattering communities all across the country. And thats the thing about substance abuse  it doesnt discriminate.

Marino, a former county and federal prosecutor, in 2014 introduced the bill, which some federal and local officials saw as a gift to big drug distributors like Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen. Many DEA officials vehemently fought the bill, according to a CBS News-Washington Post investigation. Major pharmaceutical companies campaigned for it.

Marino, who ironically represents a district that was especially hard hit by opioid overdoses, at one point argued in a House Judiciary Committee hearing that the DEA was wrong to go after drug companies as it they were illicit narcotics cartels.

The mindset  its extremely dangerous to legitimate business, Marino said.

On Tuesday evening, Marino issued a statement saying he withdrew because he did not want to be a distraction in the fight against the national opioid epidemic. He said the characterization of his actions regarding drug companies, and the controversial 2016 law, were distortions.

Im proud of my work on the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016, which passed with unanimous consent in the House and Senate, unopposed by the DEA and was signed into law by President Obama, Marino said in the statement. This landmark legislation will help to facilitate a balanced solution for ensuring those who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do so, while also empowering the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to enforce the law and prevent the sale and abuse of prescription drugs.

The bill  cosponsored by more than a dozen Republicans -- took aim at some of the DEAs most potent tools in going after opioid distributors shoveling vast quantities of opioid pills to sleazy pain clinics.

The final version of the bill was in large part shaped by a former DEA lawyer, D. Linden Barber, who at the time was an advocate on behalf of the drug industry. The measure rendered it virtually impossible for the government to freeze suspicious drug shipments from major pharmaceutical companies; allowed drug companies to delay or avoid enforcement action by submitting a corrective plan if the DEA finds it has acted with misconduct; and raised the bar for suspending a drug companys license if the agency believes there is an imminent danger to the public.

At the time, the most often cited statistic reflecting the crisis was that more than 37,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2013, and 16,000 of them were traced to prescription painkillers.

In a Los Angeles Times interview on the bill last year, Barber said: The fact that someone did something wrong, realized it was wrong, took action to correct it  that doesnt give the agency the right to come in four to six months later and seek a suspension.

The Post-CBS report said that political action committees representing the industry gave more than $1.5 million to the 23 members of Congress -- Republicans and Democrats -- who sponsored or co-sponsored various versions of the bill. Marino received about $100,000, the reports said.

In addition, the industry spent $106 million in efforts to lobby Congress.

The industry also recruited people who worked for the DEA and knew how to navigate the agency, the Post said. After the agency stepped up its crackdown on the industry, drug companies and law firms working for them hired at least 46 DEA officials.

DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge John J. Mulrooney II wrote in an article for a law review that the Post obtained a draft At a time when, by all account, opioid abuse, addiction and deaths were increasing markedly, and the new law imposed a dramatic diminution of the agencys authority.

Mulrooney said the law made it impossible to shut down a drug company that was violating federal rules regarding opioids.

On Monday, a day after the Post published its story and CBS's "60 Minutes" aired its part, Marino sent out a statement saying he had asked the Trump administration to withdraw his name for the drug czar nomination, citing an illness in his family.

On Tuesday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, introduced legislation seeking to repeal Marino's bill.
A man in Virginia was arrested Tuesday after a child on a school field trip was reportedly found with a loaded gun in their pocket.

Police said the gun was owned by a friend of the childs mother, who had left it at their home the night before.

Stanley Bernard Banks Jr., 30, was subsequently arrested by police for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and allowing a juvenile to access a firearm, the police statement said.

MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT INJURED DURING MOCK ISIS BEHEADING GAME

According to a statement from the Colonial Heights Police Department, the elementary school student was on a bus going to a field trip Tuesday morning when a school official noticed the weapon in the pocket of the child's pants.

The gun was loaded but didnt have a bullet in the chamber, CBS 6 reported.

The student was brought back to school and the weapon was taken, according to the statement

Banks was reportedly released on a secured bond and is expected back in court on Oct. 27.
A North Dakota man living in Georgia was arrested after police got a hold of his diary  which apparently described several instances when he molested children as young as 6 months old, according to reports out Monday.

Timothy Sprenger, 31, was arrested Sept. 22 after a detective with the Paulding County Sheriffs Office in Georgia met with someone in June who presented what appeared to be a diary created by suspect Timothy Sprenger, MDJ Online reported.

The diary had been ripped up and taped back together, according to the report. It allegedly contained a number of sexual encounters Sprenger had with children, ranging from 6 months to 2 years old.

After further examination of the document, it appeared that these incidents occurred several years ago in North Dakota, Sgt. Ashley Henson told the news outlet.

Investigators found two of the children  now both 12 years old  in North Dakota, WXIA reported.

Sprenger confessed to his crimes, as well as other acts that were not documented in his diary, MDJ Online added. It did not say exactly what those other acts were.

Sprenger was extradited back to North Dakota, where hes been arraigned and is currently being held on $1,000,000 bond in Ward County.
Three sisters in South Carolina were arrested after they reportedly assaulted a 12-year-old girl, who police believe had a fight with the sisters younger family member.

The Columbia Police Department charged Shaquana Bacote, 29, Shontavia Bacote, 21, and Zaquiera Bacote, 17, with first degree assault and first degree burglary each, WACH Fox 57 reported.

Shaquana was also charged with malicious injury to property and Shontavia was charged with strong arm robbery.

COLORADO TEEN KILLED YOUNG SIBLINGS TO BE ALONE, POLICE SAY

On Oct. 1, the sisters allegedly barged into the 12-year-olds house uninvited and repeatedly slapped or punched her in the face.

The middle sister, Shontavia, also reportedly stole the girls cell phone before the group left.

Police believe that one of the sisters younger relatives had a previous argument with the 12-year-old, which led to the attack, WACH Fox 57 reported.

The victim reportedly did not incur any life-threatening injuries.
A man with a lengthy criminal past who showed up for work at a countertop company on Wednesday and shot five of his co-workers has been arrested, authorities said. Three of them were killed and two critically wounded.

Less than two hours later, Radee Labeeb Prince drove to a used car lot about 55 miles (90 kilometers) away in Wilmington, Delaware, and opened fire on a man with whom he had "beefs" in the past, wounding him, police said.

The shooting rampage set off a manhunt along the Interstate 95 Northeast corridor. Police cruisers were stationed in medians, and overhead highway signs displayed a description of Prince's sport utility vehicle and its Delaware license plate. The FBI assisted state and local authorities in the manhunt.

Prince was "apprehended a short time ago in Delaware by ATF and allied law enforcement agencies," the Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland tweeted Wednesday night.

Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said Prince was arrested in Glasgow, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, after a tip led authorities to his vehicle. Prince was spotted nearby and discarded a handgun when he saw police had recognized him. He ran about 75 feet (22 meters) before being captured. No one was hurt in the apprehension.

Authorities said it wasn't clear why Prince opened fire with a handgun on his colleagues.

The sheriff's office said Wednesday night on its Facebook page that the people who died were Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53, of Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland, and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland.

Prince is a felon with 42 arrests in Delaware. Court records showed he had been fired from a Maryland job earlier this year after allegedly punching a co-worker and threatening other employees. He also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, was habitually late paying his rent, was repeatedly cited for traffic violations and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol counseling in recent years.

The rampage began Wednesday about 9 a.m. at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Deputies arrived in four minutes but Prince had already fled.

Kevin Doyle of Thornhill Properties said he was getting tools from his truck when he heard screaming and saw three men running from the office park. The men told him someone was shooting and he asked if they had called 911. They said no, even though, Doyle said, they had phones in their hands.

"I think they were just so scared, they didn't (call 911). They had a look of terror," he said.

The victims and the suspect worked for Advanced Granite Solutions, which designs and installs countertops, the company owner told The Associated Press. Prince has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told AP in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

The second shooting took place at the 28th Street Auto Sales and Service shop in Wilmington, Delaware. The police chief wouldn't elaborate the history the victim and Prince had, other than to say: "This individual knew the people he wanted to shoot."

The victim was shot in the vicinity of his head and once in the body but was expected to survive.

Police followed Prince briefly, but they lost him and haven't seen or heard from him since, the chief said. On Wednesday night, police in Delaware said Prince's car had been found unoccupied, a spokeswoman said.

Prince was fired from JPS Marble and Granite earlier this year and scared his previous employer so badly that he tried to get a restraining order in February.

At one point, Prince's former boss Philip Siason said: "He came to see me, cursed and yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me."

A Harford County District Court judge denied the order, saying the case didn't meet the required burden of proof.

Investigators were treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and didn't see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Since November 2014, Prince has rented a three-bedroom town house in Elkton  about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the office complex  with his girlfriend, according to a Maryland property manager.

Prince often paid his rent late, but was always polite and cooperative, said Heather Todd of Homes for Rent. The company filed eight petitions for nonpayment against the couple, but they always ended up paying and the company never had to schedule an eviction.

Prince faced several gun charges in March 2015 in Cecil County, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a handgun in vehicle. However, the charges were dropped about three months later. It's not clear why.

Wilmington, Delaware, police said Prince had 15 felony convictions there. In King County, Washington, in 2014, he was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license, according to Komonews.com.

Court records also showed that he was required to undergo drug and alcoholism counseling at the time.

Prince racked up four traffic citations in King County in 2012 and 2013, mostly for speeding.

____

Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Matthew Barakat in McLean, Virginia, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
A Battlefield Cross marker is now back standing tall at an Ohio cemetery after a "regrettable misinterpretation of policy guidance" from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The marker, made up of a helmet, rife, and pair of boots was removed from Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery last week after a complaint that it included the depiction of a realistic-looking gun, FOX 8 reported.

"This is a symbol of great honor, respect," Vietnam Veteran Bill Overton told Fox 8. "When they removed it from the cemetery they were disrespecting the veterans here."

The administrator of the cemetery said the initial removal order came from "guidance" from Veterans Affairs in Washington regarding "three-dimensional" depictions of guns, which applies to all cemeteries operated by the agency.

On Tuesday, a representative from the National Cemetery Administration told FOX 8 the marker was put back in place after the guidelines were misinterpreted.

"The monument at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery was removed due to a regrettable misinterpretation of policy guidance regarding the acceptance of new monuments that depict weaponry. It has since been returned to its original location," National Cemetery Administration Public Affairs Officer Jessica Schiefer said. "VA will continue to honor Veterans and their families with final resting places in national shrines and with lasting tributes that commemorate their service and sacrifice to our Nation."

Overton said he was "so happy" to see the marker back.

"Most of the veterans at the VFW have seen it in battlefields, on ships on aircraft carriers, wherever we lost men, its a symbol of respect and thanks," he said. "It means a lot to veterans."
Hundreds of students at Boston College have walked out of their classes to protest recent instances of racism on campus, including two posters that were defaced to say "Black Lives don't Matter."

Video footage shows the students filing onto a campus lawn around midday Wednesday and chanting, "Black lives matter."

The group Eradicate Boston College Racism organized the walkout and says the college failed to respond to racist and hateful incidents on campus.

Two signs were found defaced in a residence hall last weekend to say "Black Lives don't Matter." A racist social media post also circulated around campus.

Administrators say the college "condemns all acts of hate."

Organizers say the private Roman Catholic school teaches its students "not to be silent in times of injustices" and to fight against oppression.
U.S. and European drug companies indirectly yet knowingly funded Iran-backed Iraqi militias that carried out attacks against U.S. troops, veterans of the Iraq War alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit alleges that five drug companies won contracts with the Iraqi government during the 2003 peak of the war with knowledge that free drugs and medical devices would end up in the hands of a Shiite militia.

That militia would then sell the drugs and devices to the black market to fund its operations against the U.S., the New York Times reported.

Named in the lawsuit are U.S. firms General Electric, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and European drugmakers AstraZeneca and Roche Holding A.G.

The companies won contracts with the Iraqi Ministry of Health that at the time was controlled by the leader of the Mahdi Army, a group known for attacking U.S. troops and working closely with Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group, the Times reported.

The group was known as the Pill Army, according to the Financial Times, as some of the fighters were known to have been paid in drugs rather than cash.

The budget for Iraqs health ministry skyrocketed from $16 million in 2003 to more than $1 billion in 2004 following the influx of aid from the U.S.

To win the lucrative deals with the ministry, the companies allegedly paid bribes in the form of free goods  amounting to as much as 20 percent of the contract value, according to the suit, USA Today reported.

The Iran-backed militia then allegedly sold the free drugs and medical devices to the black market  providing an important source of income to carry out attacks against U.S. troops, the lawsuit alleges.

Between 2004 and 2013, the companies allegedly also created a slush fund that was created to pay for after-sales support but in reality went to the pockets of officials at the ministry, providing another source of income to the militia, according to the Financial Times.

The suit cites contracts between the Iraqi government and the companies, leaked reports, press accounts and testimony of informants as evidence of wrongdoing.

The legal challenge is waged by attorneys from a firm led by Ryan Sparacino and the litigation firm of Kellogg Hansen. The suit was filed by a group of military veterans and their family members according to a law that allows U.S. citizens injured by terrorism to seek damages. More than 100 plaintiffs are included in the lawsuit.

While Americans worked to rebuild Iraq, many were attacked by a terrorist group that we allege has been funded in part by the defendants corrupt sales practices, Josh Branson, a Kellogg Hansen partner, told the Times.
A federal employee living in Illinois was arrested Monday after he allegedly tried to entice young girls to send him illicit pictures and threatened them with rape and violence -- all through an app.

Richard Barnett, 39, allegedly posed as a 13-year-old boy on the video-sharing app Musical.ly and tried to get at least four underage girls to send him nude pictures of themselves, The Beacon-News reported.

Barnett has worked for the Federal Aviation Administration in the Des Plaines office since February, according to FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. Barnett's employment is currently under review following his arrest.

FLORIDA POLICE ARREST 277, INCLUDING COPS AND DOCTORS, IN SEX STING

Local police had been investigating related reports in multiple states since May after some girls came forward about the messages theyd received, The Beacon-News reported. Some parents also claimed the messenger threatened to kidnap, rape and kill the girls if they told anyone about their conversations.

In one of the exchanges, Barnett reportedly sent a girl a picture of a gun he owned after she wouldnt send him the photo he wanted. He then allegedly threatened to shoot her, saying: ill wait till school starts and see what house you come out of.

He later reportedly sent her another message saying, I can hurt you and then dump you where no one will find you. I carry a gun every day, WGN reported.

2 MEN GET 100-PLUS YEAR SENTENCES FOR VIOLENT HOME ROBBERIES

Barnett operated under the username davidbanks1014, which he created while living in Oklahoma City in a corporate housing facility during job training, The Beacon-News reported.

After obtaining records from Musical.ly, the FBI obtained a search warrant for Barnetts home in Aurora and seized several electronic devices and firearms before arresting him, the report said.

Barnett faces federal charges of producing and transporting child pornography and could face up to 30 years in jail if convicted, The Beacon-News reported.
Florida police arrested 277 people -- including doctors, cops and pharmacists -- during a weeklong undercover sex sting operation.

Operation No Tricks, No Treats began Oct. 10 and ran until Oct. 15, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriffs Office.

During the operation, undercover detectives and investigators from several law enforcement agencies posted false advertisements on websites, social media sites and phone apps posing as prostitutes or to solicit sex workers."

AIRMAN WHO WENT MISSING IN 1977 FOUND LIVING DOUBLE LIFE IN FLORIDA

Investigators reported 209 of those arrested were accused of soliciting undercover detectives. The Orlando Sentinel reported 51 others had displayed themselves as prostitutes on the internet. The office stated 17 others were arrested for other offenses.

Thats the most we have ever arrested in the history of the sheriffs office, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

One of the men arrested, Judd said, was a sergeant at his office. Sgt. Luis Diaz, who had been on the force for 17 years, resigned after the sting, FOX13 reported.

We are absolutely embarrassed, Judd said. We hold our own accountable. He messed up and no longer works for the Sherriffs Office.

Judd identified some of the other suspects arrested as a cancer surgeon, teacher, pediatrician, Air Force veteran, retired deputy sheriff, retired police officer, active colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and several pharmacists. They range in age from 16 to 74 years old.

FLORIDA MAN KILLS MOMS FRIEND FOR PURSUING HIS IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND

The suspects face 334 charges, including human-trafficking and soliciting another for prostitution.

The office stated 215 people traveled to Polk County from other areas in Florida or were visiting the state from Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

"We are committed to fighting human trafficking, by arresting those who engage in prostitution and trying to identify human trafficking victims," Judd said. "It's no secret. You need to stay out of Polk County if you're going to commit crime."
A Massachusetts man is facing life in prison after he was convicted Wednesday of plotting to behead blogger Pamela Geller and other Americans on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group over a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest she organized in 2015.

Jurors found David Wright, 28, guilty of all charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

"I said a lot of fantastical things about what I intended, where I wanted to go and where I wanted to travel, and it was never real," Wright said last week when he took the stand in Boston's federal courthouse. "It was fantasy."

Wright conducted online research for guns, swords and tranquilizers that put people to sleep instantly. He created a Twitter page seeking recruits for their "martyrdom operation cell," collected a trove of horrific Islamic State group documents and videos and created a manifesto warning that America's "days are numbered," prosecutors said. Wright's uncle bought three large knives  one for each of them  for their attack on Geller, authorities say.

FLASHBACK VIDEO: PAMELA GELLER, IMAM DEBATE THREATS TO FREE SPEECH

Wright "was committed to ISIS, and knew exactly what he was doing," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Siegmann told jurors, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

Prosecutors said Wright, his uncle and a third man conspired to kill Geller because they were upset she organized the cartoon contest in Texas in 2015. During the contest, two other men opened fire outside and wounded a security guard before they were killed in a shootout with law enforcement assigned to guard the event.

Wright's uncle, Ussamah Rahim, told Wright on a recorded phone call later that month that he couldn't wait to attack Geller and decided instead to go after "those boys in blue," referring to police. Wright told his uncle that was "beautiful" and encouraged him to delete all the data from his computer before carrying out his attack.

Hours later, Rahim was shot and killed by authorities after he lunged at them with a knife when they approached him in Boston. The attack on Geller, who has spearheaded several events across the U.S. to decry Islamic extremism, was never carried out.

Wright cried on the stand when he spoke of his uncle, insisting that he didn't think Rahim was serious about the attack. Wright, who weighed more than 500 pounds in 2015, testified that he used ISIS propaganda to get attention but was just playing a role and never wanted to commit violence.

FLASHBACK VIDEO: GELLER SAYS IT'S NOT ABOUT ME, IT'S ABOUT SHARIA

"I didn't want my uncle to get hurt. I didn't want law enforcement to get hurt," Wright said. "I lost someone who was very close to me because I was so deluded and self-centered that I couldn't see beyond my own need for attention."

Prosecutors said Wright was the leader of the conspiracy and recruited his uncle and others to help him wage war on the U.S. Wright's uncle received directions about the plan to kill Geller from Junaid Hussain, an ISIS terrorist and hacker who was later killed in an airstrike in Syria, prosecutors said.

The third man accused in the plot, Nicholas Rovinski, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy charges and faces 15 to 22 years in prison. Rovinski, of Warwick, Rhode Island, testified against Wright, telling jurors that Wright said Geller "deserved to be beheaded" because she insulted Muhammad.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Mandalay Bay security guard who briefly disappeared from the public eye broke his silence on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" Wednesday, describing how he was wounded by the perpetrator of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Jesus Campos told DeGeneres in a pre-recorded interview that he had been called to the 32nd floor of the hotel on the night of Oct. 1 to investigate an open door alarm. He said he tried to access the floor from a stairwell next to gunman Stephen Paddock's hotel room, but was blocked by a bolted emergency exit door.

"There was a metal bracket holding the door in place," said Campos, who described it as "just out of the ordinary. It's not normal."

Campos said he reached the floor through another stairwell and inspected the metal bracket from the other side. As he walked back into the hallway from a room that leads to the stairwell, the door made a loud noise as it closed behind him.

"I believed thats what caught the shooters attention, Campos said. "As I was walking down, I heard rapid fire. At first I took cover. I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. That's when I called it in on my radio that shots had been fired."

"I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood."  Jesus Campos

Mandalay Bay engineer Stephen Schuck, who went to the 32nd floor to look at the door Campos had called about, told DeGeneres that he initially thought he was hearing jackhammers when the gunfire began.

"As an engineer, I thought, 'we are not working up here late at night. We wouldnt be doing that,'" said Schuck, who added that the wounded Campos yelled at him to take cover as bullets whizzed past his head.

"Within milliseconds, if he didn't say that, I would have got hit," the engineer said.



Campos added that a woman poked her head out of her room to see what was going on, but he told her to go back inside.

Campos had canceled several scheduled TV interviews last week and his appearance Wednesday did nothing to quell rampant speculation and rumors surrounding the horrific attack.

DeGeneres praised Campos for saving the life of Schuck and the unidentified woman, and noted that her interview would be the only time the guard would discuss the shooting publicly.

Nearly three weeks since Paddock killed 58 people and wounded more than 500 others, the FBI and Las Vegas Police have yet to reveal a motive for the shooting and questions remain about the timeline of events -- which have become muddled after police and the owners of Mandalay Bay gave conflicting statements.

Campos drew intense attention when police hailed him as a hero just after the shooting, saying he unwittingly stopped the massacre by arriving in the hallway.

The police timeline changed dramatically a week later, when authorities said Campos reported being wounded at 9:59 p.m.  six minutes before people in the concert crowd reported shots.

The timeline of the massacre changed again last Friday, when Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Campos had been dispatched to the 32nd floor at 9:59 p.m. and was wounded in the hallway less than a minute before the massacre started at 10:05 p.m.

Schuck's account in the DeGeneres interview seemed to support that chronology.

He told Campos in the interview that the guard saved Schuck's life, and DeGeneres credited Campos with also warning a woman who started to come out of her room to get back inside.

"Shortly after that is when Stephen (Schuck) was approaching, and I told him to stay back and get cover, and that's when more rounds were dispersed," Campos said.

His interview came after the last-minute cancellation of a scheduled live interview with Fox host Sean Hannity last Thursday, said David Hickey, president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America.

Campos then dropped from public view, said Hickey, who had been involved in booking the appearance.



"We're more than pleased that he's resurfaced and appears to be in good health," Hickey said. "If he comes back as a security officer at Mandalay Bay, we'll see him again. If not, we wish him the best."



The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Latest on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he can't say whether someone's citizenship is a reliable indicator of whether that person may be a terrorist.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, asked Sessions about that, noting that citizenship is at the core of the Trump administration's efforts to impose a travel ban.

The ban, which has been stalled by the courts, seeks to block the travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven countries, as well as some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

Yet Sessions did not directly answer Leahy's question.

Earlier Wednesday, Sessions said the travel ban is an important tool for fighting terrorism and that the Justice Department will continue to defend it.

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12:50 p.m.

Democratic Sen. Al Franken is accusing Attorney General Jeff Sessions of "moving the goalposts" in denying his interactions with the Russian ambassador.

In a testy exchange, Franken confronted Sessions about his testimony in January, in which he said he had no communications with Russians. Sessions later had to recuse himself from the Justice Department's investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia after it was revealed he had conversations with the ambassador. Franken says his explanations of those interactions continue to change.

But Sessions, visibly frustrated and voice rising, called Franken's line of questioning unfair. He says he answered the question as a surrogate of the Trump campaign. Sessions says he may have discussed Trump's campaign positions with the ambassador but insists he did not have a continuing exchange of information with him.

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11:45 a.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions won't say whether he spoke with state officials who had threatened to sue the Trump administration if it did not end a program protecting young immigrants who were brought into the country as children and now living in the U.S. illegally.

During a Senate hearing Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked Sessions whether he discussed the threatened lawsuit with the Texas attorney general before President Donald Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Sessions says such conversations would be "work product" that should not be revealed. It was yet another line of questioning Sessions refused to answer. Lawmakers are asking about his role in ending the Obama-era program that protected hundreds of thousands of young people.

He also won't discuss his private conversations with Trump, citing longstanding Justice Department tradition.

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11:40 a.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he has not been questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators.

Mueller has been investigating potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Sessions recused himself from the investigation in March, before Mueller was appointed, but he is seen as a possible witness because of his involvement in the May firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, asked Sessions if he had been interviewed. Sessions at first told Leahy that he would have to ask Mueller that question, but then later answered the question by saying no.

The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has spoken to Mueller's team.

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11:10 a.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he urged the firing of former FBI Director James Comey because of Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Sessions says he gave President Donald Trump his opinion on Comey at Trump's request. But, under questioning by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sessions refused to say whether he also discussed with Trump Comey's involvement in the Russia investigation.

Sessions, speaking Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he won't disclose his private conversations with Trump, citing longstanding Justice Department policy against the practice.

Sessions wouldn't say when he first discussed Comey's conduct with Trump. But Sessions said the errors of Comey's handling of the Clinton email case can't be overstated. He said Comey usurped prosecutors when he announced Clinton would not face criminal charges.

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10:50 a.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told senators he won't discuss "confidential" conversations he had with President Donald Trump.

Sessions told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during an opening statement of his oversight hearing Wednesday that the president is entitled to have private conversations with Cabinet secretaries.

Members of the committee have told Sessions that they intend to press him on his conversations with Trump, particularly about the firing in May of FBI Director James Comey.

At a separate hearing in June, Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he would not disclose his communications with Trump.

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10:25 a.m.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is defending the Trump administration's travel ban as an important tool in fighting terrorism.

Speaking Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he defended the legality of an executive order that seeks to block the travel to the U.S. of citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

In his opening statement, Sessions says "the order is lawful, necessary, and we are proud to defend it."

He says he is confident that the Justice Department will prevail in its effort to defend and enforce the ban.

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3:45 a.m.

Democratic senators plan to press Attorney General Jeff Sessions about his private communications with the president when he appears to answer questions before a Senate committee.

Sessions will testify to the Judiciary Committee Wednesday for the first time since his January confirmation. He'll face questions about his swift reversals of Obama-era protections for transgender people and criminal justice policies. But lawmakers are also expected to ask about the investigation into Trump campaign connections to Russia. Sessions recused himself from that probe, a decision that still frustrates President Donald Trump.

Democratic senators want Sessions to detail his conversations with Trump or announce that Trump is invoking executive privilege to shield them. At a different committee hearing in June, Sessions refused to discuss his talks with Trump, pointing to longstanding Justice tradition.
The Latest on the scheduled execution of a Texas inmate who confessed to four killings (all times local):

3:55 p.m.

A judge has for now halted the scheduled execution of a man known as the Houston area's "Tourniquet Killer."

Anthony Allen Shore was to be put to death Wednesday evening for the killings of four female victims, but the judge withdrew the execution warrant just hours before Shore was set to die. The judge was responding to a request from prosecutors who want to further investigate an alleged scheme in which Shore says another death row inmate asked him to confess to his crime.

Shore's execution is now set for Jan. 18.

Montgomery County District Attorney Bret Ligon has said that investigators from his office spoke with Shore on Tuesday and he told them inmate Larry Swearingen asked him to take the blame for the 1998 killing of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter.

Swearingen was convicted of her slaying and is scheduled to be executed for it on Nov. 16.

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1:45 p.m.

A suburban Houston prosecutor says Anthony Allen Shore has disclosed that a fellow prisoner on Texas' death row tried to get him to take responsibility for his crime.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon tells The Courier newspaper of Montgomery County that convicted killer Larry Swearingen asked Shore to take the blame for the December 1998 abduction and killing of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter.

Swearingen was convicted of her slaying and is set to die Nov. 16.

Shore, who confessed to four slayings and was known as the "Tourniquet Killer," is scheduled to be executed Wednesday evening.

Ligon says investigators from his office spoke with Shore on Tuesday and he told them he decided to expose the scheme and not cooperate with Swearingen.

The prosecutor says Swearingen tried a similar scheme before his trial for Trotter's killing.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused an appeal from Swearingen last October. His attorneys have long wanted additional DNA testing of evidence they say could show he didn't kill Trotter.

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12:05 a.m.

A man who became known as Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" because of his signature murder technique on four female victims is set for execution in Texas.

Anthony Allen Shore confessed to the four slayings after a tiny particle collected from under the fingernail of a 21-year-old murder victim was matched to his DNA.

His lethal injection Wednesday evening would be the seventh this year in Texas and the 21st nationally. That's one more than the total number carried out in the U.S. in 2016.

The 1992 slaying of Maria del Carmen Estrada, whose body was dumped in the drive-thru lane of a Houston Dairy Queen, went unsolved for more than a decade. He confessed to killing her and three others, including a 9-year-old and two teenagers. All his victims were Hispanic.
The city of Lexington this week used private funds to remove two Confederate statues that had stood downtown for more than 130 years, and private donations will also pay for the monuments' upkeep in the cemetery where they're set to reside.

A Tuesday opinion by Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear allowed the city to begin removing the statues of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and John Breckinridge, a former U.S. Vice President and the last Confederate Secretary of War.

A small, "peaceful" crowd gathered to cheer on the removal of the statues, officials said, though others protested as the monuments were plucked from their bases by large cranes.

Previously, city officials had said the board of the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission had to approve the statues removal. However, Beshears opinion stated the commission doesn't have jurisdiction over them.

In a letter to the Lexington Cemetery obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray told the board of the cemetery private donors have started an endowment to pay for the upkeep and security of the Confederate statues if the cemetery will take them.

The Lexington council voted unanimously to move the statues in August and the board of the cemetery tentatively agreed to take them last month. Both Morgan and Breckinridge are buried at the cemetery.

"This site was a place where slaves were auctioned. It's not the place to glorify and honor men who fought to preserve slavery."  Lexington Mayor Jim Gray

Two businessesPrometheus Bronze Foundry and Duncan Machinery Moverssaid in September they would move the statues for free.

In addition, the Kentucky nonprofit Blue Grass Community Foundation is raising funds to establish an endowment to fund the lifetime maintenance and security of the statues and other issues that may arise, according to Gray's letter.

A city spokesperson told the Lexington Herald-Leader the nonprofit has received pledges of a little more than $100,000.

That endowment could also be used to clean two existing Confederate-era statues on the cemeterys grounds, the letter to the board said.

Gray had called for the removal of the statues on Aug. 12, as deadly clashes unfolded in Charlottesville, Va.

After that violence, dozens of people asked the Lexington council to remove the statues.

Gray was criticized for proposing the removal of the statues. Critics, including Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, questioned if Gray, and the city, was sanitizing history.

"We are absolutely not sanitizing and we are not destroying," Gray told Fox News. "We're putting these statues in the proper context out of the center of the city where they're being glorified today. This site was a place where slaves were auctioned. It's not the place to glorify and honor men who fought to preserve slavery."

Fox News' Matt Finn contributed to this report.
A man accused of killing a Florida priest in Georgia pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges including murder after reaching a deal with prosecutors to spare him the death penalty.

Steven Murray, 30, was charged in the April 2016 shooting death of the Rev. Rene Robert, a priest with the Diocese of St. Augustine in northeast Florida who had been trying to help him.

Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Natalie Paine said by phone that Murray pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for a murder charge. He also received two separate five-year sentences, to be served consecutively, for two gun charges.

Sparing Murray from execution is the outcome that Robert likely would have wanted if he could have had a say.

Murray met Robert through a girlfriend, Ashley Shreve. The couple did drugs together, and Robert often gave them money, against their families' wishes.

The 71-year-old priest devoted his life to helping the poor, often scraping leftovers from plates into baggies to give to the homeless, his colleagues have said. He also had great compassion for addicts, sometimes going so far as to lend them his car while he walked home alone through dangerous neighborhoods.

Because he devoted his life to helping society's most troubled, he was also aware that he could become a victim of violence. More than two decades before his death, he signed a "Declaration of Life," calling for his killer to be spared the death penalty in the event of his murder.

Paine said Murray definitely deserved the death penalty based on the crimes he had committed. But the document Robert had signed was one of the things her team considered  along with the facts of the case and information received from the families  when deciding to offer Murray a plea deal.

"Steven Murray getting the death penalty would have been insult to injury based upon what Father Rene would have wanted," Paine said. "There's no great outcome to this, but in light of all the circumstances and all the things that we weighed in arriving at this decision, this was the right thing to happen."

Reached by phone after the hearing, Adam Levin, an attorney for Murray, declined to comment.

Murray called The Associated Press from prison last week to talk about the plea deal, and said, "It's a lot of time, but I deserve it. Father Rene was a good man."
The man believed to have killed three people in a "targeted attack" near a Maryland business and also suspected in a later shooting in Delaware was apprehended by police in Delaware Wednesday evening after a manhunt that stretched on for hours.

The suspect was identified by Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler as 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince.

Authorities arrested the suspect at 7:05 p.m. near Glasgow High School in Newark, Del. after receiving two tips from the public indicating the whereabouts of the suspect and his car in the area.

The suspect initially fled on foot after he saw authorities searching for him and threw his weapon as he ran. He was apprehended shortly after by three agents of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Bureau, police said.

"A suspect was taken into police custody after a brief foot chase from these three agents from the ATF," Police Chief Robert J. Tracy said during a news conference. "During the foot chase, our suspect did discard a .380 firearm, which has also been recovered."

Police said Prince was apprehended without incident and without any other people hurt, including any officers involved in the manhunt.

"I'm very glad it came to that conclusion on a very, very sad day." Tracy said.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office said the shooting took place at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, located about 20 miles northeast of Baltimore. Shots rang out around 8:58 a.m., according to Gahler.

"We have lost three lives so far this morning in Harford County," Gahler said at a news conference, adding it was not a random shooting but a "targeted attack."

All five of the victims are believed to have been employees of Advance Granite Solutions, according to Gahler. Prince is believed to have used a single hand gun in the shooting, he added.

There's an individual out there on the loose who committed one of the most heinous acts we've ever seen in our county, certainly we consider him armed and dangerous, Gahler told reporters.

Police later linked Prince to a second shooting in Wilmington, Del., located about 55 miles away. The Delaware shooting took place on the 2800 block of Northeast Boulevard in Wilmington, FOX 29 reported.

The Wilmington Police Department said Prince "is known to have family in the Wilmington area."

Gahler said Prince worked at Advanced Granite Solutions, a home improvement company, for about four months and was scheduled to be at work Wednesday. The owner of the company, Barak Caba, told The Associated Press he was a machine operator, but was shaken and would not provide additional details.

A former co-worker of Prince's told The Baltimore Sun that the suspect was also fired from a different job earlier this year after he allegedly attacked a separate employee.

After Prince was fired, the man said Prince came back to the business several times and once went to see him directly and cursed and yelled at him. The co-worker later filed a restraining order against Prince with the Harford County District Court.

In the application for the order, the man wrote: "I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me."

The man said Prince did not get physical with him, but wrote: "I do not want to wait until he will."

A Harford County District Court judge denied the order.

Federal law enforcement officials told Fox News the FBI is assisting local law enforcement partners, and that the shooting "looks like" workplace violence and not a terrorism incident.

Two victims from the shooting were taken to Shock Trauma hospital in Baltimore and are listed in critical condition, the facility said on Twitter.

Steve Chetelat, who works at KC flooring near the scene of the shooting, told FOX45 he heard "a lot of people yelling, and screaming" in some sort of argument before police arrived at the scene.

The business park is just south of the Interstate 95 interchange with Route 24.

The sheriff said Prince had a criminal record, but he didn't know the extent of it. According to online court records, Prince lived in Elkton -- about 35 miles from the shooting scene -- as recently as last month.

Fox News Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Exclusive: Even Pokemon Go used by extensive Russian-linked meddling effort





Russian efforts to meddle in American politics did not end at Facebook and Twitter. A CNN investigation of a Russian-linked account shows its tentacles extended to YouTube, Tumblr and even Pokemon Go.



One Russian-linked campaign posing as part of the Black Lives Matter movement used Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr and Pokemon Go and even contacted some reporters in an effort to exploit racial tensions and sow discord among Americans, CNN has learned.

The campaign, titled "Don't Shoot Us," offers new insights into how Russian agents created a broad online ecosystem where divisive political messages were reinforced across multiple platforms, amplifying a campaign that appears to have been run from one source -- the shadowy, Kremlin-linked troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency.



A source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that the Don't Shoot Us Facebook page was one of the 470 accounts taken down after the company determined they were linked to the IRA. CNN has separately established the links between the Facebook page and the other Don't Shoot Us accounts.

The Don't Shoot Us campaign -- the title of which may have referenced the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" slogan that became popular in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown -- used these platforms to highlight incidents of alleged police brutality, with what may have been the dual goal of galvanizing African Americans to protest and encouraging other Americans to view black activism as a rising threat.
A community advocate from Michigan has been ordered not to attend open casket funerals as part of a plea deal reached in a theft case.

The Flint Journal reports that 76-year-old Art Wenzlaff was sentenced Monday in Genesee Circuit Court to one day in jail and five years' probation.

Wenzlaff was accused of taking a Detroit Pistons hat, a watch and two bowling rings from a casket during a funeral service in Mundy Township.

THIEVES STEAL U-HAUL WITH CASKET INSIDE, POLICE SAY

He pleaded no contest in August while facing charges of larceny in a building and disrupting a funeral or memorial service.

As part of his sentence, he also was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine to the Humane Society as requested by the victims.

Wenzlaff is the former administrator for the International Academy of Flint.
A woman drowned her infant son and his 5-year-old half-brother in a bathtub hours after she called police and told them she was worried about being deported, a Delaware police chief said Tuesday.

Kula Pelima, a native of Liberia who has lived in the U.S. for two decades, called 911 about 3:45 a.m. Monday, fearing that her visa had lapsed, Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said at a news conference.

"She was concerned about her immigration status," Tracy said. "She's a Liberian immigrant that came to the country in 1997, and she was worried about what could happen to her because her boyfriend ... [the father of both boys] was picked up also by the feds on some immigration issues on Oct. 6."

Its not clear why Pelima was worried. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said she is a permanent resident with no criminal convictions.

An officer visited her home early Monday and told her local authorities were not going to arrest her, the police chief said. The officer even gave Pelima an immigration hotline number to call, and observed the older boy doing well during the visit.

According to court papers obtained by FOX 29, Pelima told police she dropped the 4-month-old in the tub turned on the water and left him on his back as the tub filled early Tuesday.

Police said she then physically assaulted the 5-year old, dragged him to the bathroom and put his head under water until he stopped moving.

"She was pretty matter of fact about admission that the two children were dead. Our officers discovered them in the back bathtub," Wilmington Police Department Chief Robert Tracy said, according to FOX 29.

Tracy said the crime was shocking even to hardened officers.

Pelima, 30, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and was being held on $2 million bond. Its not clear if she has a lawyer yet.

There was a strong odor of gas in her apartment, but it was not clear if the gas stove had been turned on intentionally, the chief said. The building was evacuated but no one was hurt by the fumes.

Pelimas boyfriend, the father of both boys, is a native of Nigeria. He was taken into custody by immigration authorities in Pennsylvania on Sept. 14. The couple lived together in Wilmington, and she helped care for both children, the police chief said.

Victor Epelle, 38, was in the United States legally, but he had violated the terms of his status, ICE said. It wasnt immediately clear what he had done.

He was released from custody Monday on humanitarian grounds after being notified of the deaths of his sons.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
A gravestone maker in North Carolina has agreed to replace the marker of a 5-year-old boy who died of cancer after it removed the stone in a payment dispute.

"In hindsight, it was a big mistake to have the cemetery remove it, we see it now," the Rev. J.C. Shoaf, who runs Southeastern Monument company, told Charotte's WBTV-TV in a statement Tuesday.

"But we do offer the family our condolence, and forgiveness. ... We hope they forgive us."

Shoaf said the company would reinstall the gravestone of Jake Leatherman at Woodlawn Cemetery in Hickory, N.C., and mark the familys bill as paid in full.

The apology came a day after WBTV reported the monument companys decision to remove the gravestone following a dispute over costs the family owed from requesting modifications to the marker.

Shoaf said he placed the stone despite not being paid out of compassion for the familys loss.

But after visiting their sons gravesite Oct. 9, parents Crystal and Wayne Leatherman saw the marker was missing.

He repossessed it, like it was a car, Crystal Leatherman told WBTV.

"If you buy something, you've got to pay for it. No matter what it is, said Shoaf, 73, who has been a minister for 50 years. Still, he acknowledged that he regretted how the situation was handled.

I hated to do it. Im not heartless and I have had a child die, so I know how it feels. But what was I to do? said Shoaf, adding that he needed to pay his employees. I thought having (the marker) would give me some leverage. In hindsight, I should have just written it up as a bad debt.

The family argued that they were never made aware of the extra costs, and would have paid what they owed.

"This is not something you argue over, Crystal Leatherman said.
The New York University College Republicans cancelled an appearance by speaker James Merse -- a liberal-turned-conservative who is openly gay -- due to his ties to a known extremist group, the club says.

Merse, an opinion writer and avowed Trump Republican, was set to speak at the NYU College Republicans club meeting this Thursday -- until he received a message Monday night letting him know the group decided to cancel based on his affiliation with ACT for America, a conservative organization focused on national security and founded by Brigitte Gabriel. The NYU Republicans expressed other concerns, too, The Daily Caller reported.

The leadership decided it would be best not to associate with an organization that is widely regarded to be an anti-Islamic hate group, an NYU College Republican spokesperson told Fox News. Our club leadership did our own research on ACT for America and came to its decision using multiple sources, including the [Southern Poverty Law Center], Anti-Defamation League, multiple news articles from numerous sources and comments made by the groups leadership.

While the club cited multiple sources, the SPLC has a history of labeling groups they disagree with as hate groups and the SPLC hate map list has been debunked by several conservative groups.

It doesnt make sense to me, Merse told Fox News. Its just another instance of College Republicans not standing up for free speech and not standing up for each other.

Merse reached out to colleges and universities in his surrounding area of Northern New Jersey offering to speak pro-bono, and the NYU College Republicans initially took him up on his offer, before reversing course.

Hey James, unfortunately as we have a lot of press on our a--right now, along with the administration (due to recent white nationalist events held on campus) and upon review of one of your group memberships (ACT for America) we thought it would be safer to not go through with this speaker event, the college republicans wrote in a message to Merse.

Merse says he is not a white nationalist and is firmly opposed to the alt-right and white supremacists.

Merse called the NYU group's move irresponsible, and he said he believes they're catering to a leftist agenda.

He said hes very proud to be a part of ACT for America.

I stand against Islamic sharia and thats why I joined, Merse told Fox News.

Merse's experience as the son of a 9/11 clean up worker, who saw his father come home smelling like burnt hair and dusty chalk, shaped his politics and propelled him to speak out.

That day had a really big impact on me as a 9 year old, and it really shifted my thinking, he said. These Islamic terrorists really hate us.

The college republicans notified the university Monday night after the decision to cancel had been made. At no point did the university weigh in on the event with Merse.

The free exchange of ideas is a bedrock principle at NYU, and if students or faculty members invite a speaker to campus, that speaker will be permitted to speak, other than in the rare instances in which there is a threat to public safety, NYU spokesman John Beckman wrote in statement to Fox News. It is worth noting that last year, campus groups invited Charles Murray, Gavin McInnes, and Lucian Wintrich, and all of them spoke at NYU.

ACT for America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An off-duty New York City police officer was arrested Tuesday after allegedly exposing himself to two young girls who were on their way to a Bible study class in the Bronx, police said.

Officer Adam Fridson, 43, was seen on surveillance video stepping out of a Subaru as he approached the sisters, ages 7 and 12, around 4:10 p.m. Oct. 4, the New York Daily News reported police as saying.

According to Assistant District Attorney Allison Riesel, Fridson got out of his car unzipped his fly, took out his penis and approached the two young girls.

Fridson is then seen returning to his car and driving away.

The girls continued to the church and reported the incident to their mother, who called 911.

After police released the surveillance video, an unidentified officer recognized Fridson as the man in the footage, police said.

Fridson faced similar accusations in 2011 when he allegedly exposed himself to a 9-year-old girl at a Costco store in Westchester County, police said. The mother did not want to pursue charges.

Fridson is being charged with public lewdness and acting in a manner injurious to a child.
This is the story of how an office supply glitch became a major irritant between the United States and one of its close security partners.

When President Donald Trump added the African nation of Chad last month to his most recent installment of travel restrictions, everyone from the Pentagon to Chad's leaders to the French government was perplexed. The U.S. has praised Chad's cooperation on counterterrorism, especially its campaign against a vicious Boko Haram insurgency spilling over from Nigeria.

As it turns out, a seemingly pedestrian issue was largely to blame: Chad had run out of passport paper.

Chad and every other country had been given 50 days to prove it was meeting a "baseline" of security conditions the Trump administration says is needed for the U.S. to properly screen potential visitors. One condition was that countries provide a recent sample of its passports so that the Homeland Security Department could analyze how secure they really are.

Lacking the special passport paper, Chad's government couldn't comply, but offered to provide a pre-existing sample of the same type of passport, several U.S. officials said. It wasn't enough to persuade Homeland Security to make an exception to requirements the agency has been applying strictly and literally to countries across the globe, said the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss disagreements within the administration.

Still, the U.S. told Chad it could be removed once the issues were addressed, with national security adviser H.R. McMaster saying at the time that Chad could come off the list "maybe in a couple of months." McMaster spoke to Chadian leader Idriss Deby last week about getting the visa restrictions removed, the State Department said, but the country remains on the list.

At least that was the case until Tuesday, hours before the new restrictions were to take effect, when a federal judge in Hawaii blocked Trump's order, saying it had the same legal problems that foiled the first two iterations of his "travel ban." The move puts the restrictions temporarily on hold, but Trump's administration has pledged to appeal.

The Homeland Security Department confirmed that the U.S. "lacks a recent sample from Chad" of its passports, but said there were other problems, too.

"The restrictions placed on Chad dealt with more than just the receipt of a passport exemplar. Chad does not adequately share public safety and terrorism-related information," said Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan. He said the U.S. was working closely with Chad on the issue and was "eager to see Chad develop more secure travel documents and make other enhancements."

It was unclear why Chad ran into the office supply problem, although regional upheaval and the persistent terror threat have disrupted trade in the impoverished country in recent years. For a recent period of about six months, Chad stopped issuing passports, although it appears that situation has since been resolved.

The passport paper issue helps to illustrate the infighting within Trump's administration that led up to the revised travel order, which also placed restrictions on Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Venezuela.

Homeland Security, working with the White House, pushed Chad onto the list without significant input from the State Department or the Defense Department, said a congressional official briefed on the process who wasn't authorized to discuss it publicly and requested anonymity.

Other officials said once the other national security agencies learned of the plan to add Chad, they objected vehemently, but were overruled.

___

Jill Colvin in Washington and Dany Padire in N'Djamena, Chad, contributed to this report.
At least a dozen Clackamas County Sheriff's deputies are under an internal investigation over an alleged nude photo shoot last month inside an Oregon courthouse.

The incident took place on Sept. 23, when more than a dozen deputies, at least one sergeant and a captain within the civil division went to the Clackamas County Courthouse, where they took nude and partially nude photos to make a calendar for a retiring deputy, FOX 12 Oregon reported.

Officials launched their investigation last week, after receiving an anonymous letter describing the incident.

One sheriff's captain who has been with the department for 24 years has already been placed on paid leave.

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts called the allegations "extremely troubling" in a statement to FOX 12.

I take this complaint very seriously and can assure the public that we will investigate this quickly and thoroughly," he said. "If we find that employees have violated any law or policy they will be held accountable. Behavior like this, if true, is not acceptable and extremely troubling.

There are surveillance cameras throughout the courthouse, but officials told FOX 12 they could not comment on what they may have captured until the internal investigation is wrapped up.

Residents of Clackamas County, located just outside Portland, think some action needs to take place.

"Senior officers doing something like that in a city establishment, that was not a good idea," William Mateace told FOX 12. "And I hate to see people taken to task who've been in the force for so long. I'm not saying jobs need to be had, but some sort of discipline needs to be sent down."
U.S. military officials were reportedly ready to launch a commando raid deep inside Pakistan to free an American and her family if the Pakistanis did not act against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network that kidnapped the family in 2012.

The New York Times, citing unnamed senior U.S. officials, reported that Navy SEAL Team 6 was mobilized to conduct a rescue days earlier but the operation was called off. The CIA reportedly watched the movement of the family from the camp.

Ambassador David Hale reportedly told the Pakistani government: Resolve the issue or the U.S. will step in. Officials in Pakistan reportedly acted within hours.

The Times reported that if Pakistan failed to act, it would bolster the belief that the country provides a safe haven for the militant network.

Armed with information from U.S. intelligence, Pakistani soldiers staged a dramatic but successful rescue operation last week to free American Caitlan Coleman, 31, and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle, 34, and their three young children after five years in Haqqani network captivity.

Coleman was pregnant at the time of their abduction and had three more children while she was a hostage. Boyle said after landing in Toronto that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed one infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.

Boyle has said conditions during the five-year ordeal changed over time as the family was shuffled among at least three prisons. He has described the first as remarkably barbaric, the second as more comfortable and the third as a place of violence in which he and his wife were frequently separated and beaten.

The CIA did not respond to the Times' request for comment.

Because of information obtained from drone footage, it is believed that the U.S. had long known of their location, as did Pakistans military arm ISI, and it was always a matter of someone pulling the trigger to go over and get them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
A former teachers aide at a Florida school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student, police said.

Alana Chasky, 35, who worked at the private Riverdale Country Day School in Palm Bay, was charged with lewd and lascivious battery and distributing obscene material to a minor.

"She was a student's aide and she met this particular victim on the bus," Palm Bay Police Lt. Mike Bandis told FOX35 Orlando. "She rode the bus back and forth...and that's where they met."

Detectives began investigating Chasky last month after the male students mother found sexual text messages and images on his cellphone sent back and forth with the teacher, police said. The boys mother, however, said she suspected an inappropriate relationship as early as May.

The victims mother said her son was spending time with Chasky outside of school since February because Chasky was supposed to be helping him with his behavior problems.

But in May, the boy's mother said she told Chasky to stay away from her son because she thought the relationship was inappropriate. Despite this warning, Chasky continued to pick up the boy and drop him off, police said.

At some point, the relationship between Chasky and the teenager turned sexual, officials said.

The teenager violated a home detention order in place by walking in front of Chaskys residence in July, authorities said, and, at the time, he told police he had exposed himself to Chasky and the two had cuddled.

Chasky denied being involved with the boy and there was not enough evidence to corroborate a relationship, police said. Chasky was again warned to cease contact with the boy.

Last month, the teenager was arrested in connection with a burglary at Chaskys home. It was during the ensuing investigation the boys mother showed police the text messages.

The boy eventually admitted to police that he and Chasky began a relationship in February and has sex multiple times at her Palm Bay home, authorities said. The teen said the relationship ended at the beginning of September.

Chasky resigned from her position as a teacher in June, Riverdale Country School CEO Michele Maust told News 6.

"We are cooperating with the authorities in their investigation of this alleged event and will continue to do so until its completion, Maust said. She voluntarily resigned during the summer. Riverdale Country School remains committed to its mission of meeting the individual educational, therapeutic and behavioral needs of the children and adolescents it serves.

Chasky remains detained in lieu of $65,000 bail.
Eleven girls died.

Some alone, others in pairs.

Decades have passed without answers  their murders are in cold case files in police departments in Galveston, Brazoria and Harris counties in Texas

Enter Edward Howard Bell, a convicted killer serving a 70-year prison term for a murder of a Marine who tried to stop him when he exposed himself to a group of young girls. Bell, who is up for parole this fall, claims to have killed the girls  who were killed in the 1970s in different areas of Texas -- referring to them in an interview with the Houston Chronicle in 2011 as the 11 that went to heaven.

Now, an A&E series will re-examine the case. The series will include interviews with Chronicle reporter Lisa Olsen, who broke the story, as well as the police detective, Fred Paige, now retired, who worked on the case.

In a description of the series, A&E says: Olsen and Paige must try to piece together evidence that demonstrates a definitive link between the convicted killer and girlsbefore he has the possibility to walk free.

Bell has been inconsistent over the years, denying the written confession when interviewed by law enforcement officials and then saying that he would provide details if he were to get immunity from prosecution, according to the Chronicle.

"The bottom line is Ed Bell has said these things (before). Is it fodder? I don't know. I've never been able to prove anything he has said," said then-Capt. Chris Kincheloe of the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office to the Chronicle.

Bell eluded police for about 20 years after he was released on bail following the murder of the Marine, Larry Dickens. He was arrested at a yacht club in Panama in 1992.

Bell reportedly said in his confession that he killed several of the victims in pairs. His letter was not shared with a grand jury.

Former prosecutor Kurt Sistrunk told the Chronicle, "I didn't believe we had sufficient evidence that we could proceed to grand jury with, and without getting into specifics, that's the decision that had to be made, no matter the temptations to proceed otherwise ... It wasn't for a lack of effort."

Since the Chronicle story about Bells confession, relatives of the victims have expressed confusion, and some doubt.

"It makes it hard that we don't know if this Bell guy is a nut or if he's telling the truth," said Dotti Walker, the aunt of one victims, Sharon Shaw. "As bad and as mean as he is, he could be telling the truth because of his conscience ... Not knowing is heartbreaking."

Paige believes Bell is guilty.

Bell had a history of arrests for exposing himself to young girls. Several times, he stayed at psychiatric institutions, at times trying to lure young female patients he met at them.

He said that he had committed crimes after being brainwashed to be violent by his father, among others.

The series is scheduled to air on A&E beginning Thursday at 8 p.m., with back-to-back hour-long episodes. The next four parts are planned for 9 p.m. on subsequent Thursdays, starting Oct. 26.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Wednesday for the U.S. and India to expand strategic ties. He also pointedly criticized China, which he accused of challenging international norms needed for global stability.

Tillerson's remarks on relations between the world's two largest democracies, ahead of his first trip to South Asia as secretary of state, risked endearing Washington to one Asian power while alienating another.

Tillerson said the world needed the U.S. and India to have a strong partnership. He said the two nations share goals of security, free navigation, free trade and fighting terrorism in the Indo-Pacific, and serve as "the eastern and western beacons" for an international rules-based order which is increasingly under strain.

Both India and China had benefited from that order, but Tillerson said India had done so while respecting rules and norms, while China had "at times" undermined them. To make his point, he alluded to China's island building and expansive territorial claims in seas where Beijing has long-running disputes with Southeast Asian neighbors.

"China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the United States and India both stand for," Tillerson said in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

He also accused China of economic activities and financing that saddles developing countries in the region with enormous debt.

China responded with a statement saying it "contributes to and defends the rules-based world order" and seeks to advance international cooperation through the United Nations. It also hopes for a "healthy and sound" China-U.S. relationship.

"We will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion, never pursue development at the expense of others' interests," said the statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Washington.

A senior State Department official told reporters that the speech was intended to map out a strategy for U.S.-India relations for the next century, in which the region's leading democracies  also including Japan and Australia  blunt China's growing influence and challenges to the rules-based order. The official was not authorized to speak by name and requested anonymity.

Tillerson said the U.S. seeks constructive relations with China but "won't shrink" from the challenges it poses when it "subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries, and disadvantages the U.S. and our friends."

U.S.-India relations have generally prospered in the past decade, in part because of their shared concerns about the rise of China  whose leader Xi Jinping told a ruling communist party congress Wednesday that it was time for China "to take center stage in the world and to make a greater contribution to humankind."

While President Donald Trump has looked to deepen cooperation with China on addressing the nuclear threat from North Korea, he's sought a much closer relationship with India, which also shares U.S. worries on Islamic extremism.

"In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the United States is that partner," Tillerson said.

Tillerson said the U.S. wants to improve India's military capabilities, it has offered to sell it unarmed Guardian surveillance drones, aircraft carrier technologies and F-18 and F-16 fighter aircraft, he said.

He said the U.S. and India were leading regional efforts on counterterrorism. He said they were "cross-screening" known and suspected terrorists, and later this year will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations. In July, the U.S. sanctioned Hizbul Mujahideen, a Pakistan-based rebel group that fights against Indian control in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Tillerson called Wednesday for Pakistan "to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders that threaten its own people and the broader region."

Last week, Pakistan, acting on U.S. intelligence, secured the release of a U.S.-Canadian family held by a Taliban-linked group for five years, a rare boost for a relationship snared on Islamabad's links to militants in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and thanking him for Pakistan's help.

Pence called it an "important development in its support for U.S. strategy against terrorism in the region, but highlighted that cooperation against militant groups must be continued and sustained," a White House statement said.

____

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
A convicted sex offender whose signature killing method prompted him to be dubbed Houston's "Tourniquet Killer" had his execution halted on Wednesday just hours before he was set to receive a lethal injection.

A judge withdrew the execution warrant of Anthony Allen Shore in response to a request from prosecutors who want to further investigate an alleged scheme in which Shore says another death row inmate asked him to confess to his crime.

Shore's execution is now set for Jan. 18.

Shore, 55, would have been the seventh Texas inmate to be executed this year. When he was arrested in 2003, he confessed to killing a 21-year-old woman by twisting a cord from a window blind around her neck and dumping her in the drive-thru lane of a Dairy Queen in 1991.

Maria del Carmen Estrada's murder went unsolved for more than a decade until a tiny particle collected from beneath her fingernail matched the DNA of Shore.

When police arrested Shore, who was on probation for his 1998 conviction for sexually assaulting two relatives, he also confessed to killing three others, including a 9-year-old girl and two teenage girls. All were Hispanic, and three had been sexually assaulted.

"There were voices in my head that I was going to have her, regardless, to possess her in some way," Shore, a former tow truck driver, phone company repairman and part-time musician, told detectives about Estrada. The then-21-year-old Estrada was walking to work about 6:30 a.m. on April 16, 1992, when he offered her a ride she accepted.

It wasn't until five years after Shore's DNA went into a state database following his 1998 sexual assault conviction that the match to Estrada's murderer was made.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has described Shore as a "true serial killer" who terrorized Hispanic women and girls in the Houston area for years.

Besides Estrada, Shore confessed to the killings of Laurie Tremblay, 15, found beside a trash bin outside a Houston restaurant in 1986; Diana Rebollar, 9, kidnapped while walking to a neighborhood grocery store in 1994; and Dana Sanchez, 16, who disappeared in 1995 while hitchhiking to her boyfriend's home in Houston.

Montgomery County District Attorney Bret Ligon said that investigators from his office spoke with Shore on Tuesday and he told them inmate Larry Swearingen asked him to take the blame for the 1998 killing of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter.

Swearingen was convicted of her slaying and is scheduled to be executed for it on Nov. 16.

"I would describe Anthony's demeanor as that of any condemned man, that even though his life is severely altered by being in prison, especially on death row, he would rather have that than death," Knox Nunnally, one of Shore's attorneys, said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump reportedly told the pregnant widow of a U.S. soldier who died last week in Niger that he "knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway."

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., told a local news outlet that Trump made the remark during a five-minute phone call to Myeshia Johnson, widow of U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson.

Johnson was among four service members who died last week in northwestern Africa during an ambush.

Wilson said the president told the widow that the slain soldier knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens, it hurts anyway.

"Yes, he said it," Wilson told Local 10 News. "It's so insensitive. He should have not have said that. He shouldn't have said it."

A top White House adviser told the station that the president's conversations "with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private."

Trump called Johnsons widow to offer condolences. Myeshia, who is expecting their third baby in January, is also left to take care of their 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter following the death of her husband.

Sgt. Johnson died during a Green Berets mission in Niger. Islamic militants ambushed the soldiers Oct. 4 with machine guns and grenades.

Trump was criticized for lack of focus on the deadly attack, although the Department of Defense reportedly launched an investigation into the ambush, the New York Daily News reported.

The president said last week that he planned to call the families of the fallen soldiers to express sympathy. "I will, at some point, during the period of time, call the parents and the families, because I have done that, traditionally," he told reporters.

The three other slain service members were: Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to adopt the Trump administration's comprehensive approach to Iran and address all aspects of its "destructive conduct"  not just the 2015 nuclear deal.

She told the council that Iran "has repeatedly thumbed its nose" at council resolutions aimed at addressing Iranian support for terrorism and regional conflicts and has illegally supplied weapons to Yemen and Hezbollah militants in Syria and Lebanon.

"Worse, the regime continues to play this council," Haley said. "Iran hides behind its assertion of technical compliance with the nuclear deal while it brazenly violates the other limits of its behavior, and we have allowed them to get away with it."

"This must stop," she said at the council's monthly meeting on the Mideast and the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Haley cited a long list of Iranian violations, including threatening freedom of navigation in the Gulf, cyberattacks, imprisonment of journalists and other foreigners, and abuses of its people by persecuting some religions and imprisoning gays and lesbians.

She called Iran's "most threatening act its repeated ballistic missile launches including the launch this summer of an ICBM enabling missile."

"This should be a clarion call to everyone in the United Nations," Haley said. "When a rogue regime starts down the path of ballistic missiles, it tells us that we will soon have another North Korea on our hands."

Haley said the Security Council has the opportunity to change its policy toward Iran.

"I sincerely hope it will take this chance to defend not only the resolutions but peace, security and human rights in Iran," she said.

"Judging Iran by the narrow confines of the nuclear deal misses the true nature of the threat," Haley stressed. "Iran must be judged in totality of its aggressive, destabilizing and unlawful behavior. To do otherwise would be foolish."

The Security Council has endorsed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal which caps its nuclear program for about 10 years, and the agreement has the support of U.S. allies and the four other veto-wielding council members  Britain, France, Russia and China.

But getting the Security Council to take action against Iran for violations of council resolutions banning the transfer of conventional weapons, and more broadly for what the U.S. considers its support for terrorists and human rights violations is unlikely. It would require support from Russia, which like Hezbollah is supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad and has good relations with Iran.

Of the major powers, Britain was the only one to support the U.S. call for broader action against Iran.

Deputy British Ambassador Jonathan Allen said his country shares concern about Iran's ballistic missile program and regional activities and stands ready "to take further appropriate measures to address these issues in close cooperation with the U.S. and all relevant partners."

"We also look to Iran to engage in constructive dialogue to stop destabilizing actions and work toward negotiated solutions," he said.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia took aim at Haley and Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, for focusing entirely on attacking Iran and the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, and ignoring the Palestinian issue, which "gives us cause for concern."

In a message clearly aimed at the United States, he said Russia is ready to address the nuclear deal and "we have questions for other delegations about how they implement the JCPOA." Iran has complained that the U.S. is not meeting its part of the agreement.

Nebenzia said the JCPOA has contributed to normalizing "the situation around Iran and provides additional impetus to the efforts to stabilize the situation in the region"  and attempts to dismantle the agreement "lead to negative reaction throughout the Middle East and beyond."

He strongly disagreed with Haley who told the council that "nearly every threat to peace and security in the Middle East is connected to Iran's outlaw behavior."

Nebenzia countered that threats in the Middle East "should not obscure the priority for us to resolve the Palestinian issue because it is fundamental if we want to normalize the situation in the region long-term."

Iran's deputy U.N. ambassador, Gholamali Khoshroo, echoed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said earlier Wednesday he wouldn't respond to "nonsensical comments" by President Donald Trump. He said that "we are not going to waste our time on answering the rants of the brute nature" by Haley.

Khoshroo said Iran's offers to end conflicts in the region "fell on deaf ears" but he stressed that "no country has done more than Iran" to fight against the Islamic State extremist group and prevent it from forming "an anti-Islamic caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad." And he said Trump recognized this during his campaign.

But "the hostile policies" of the U.S. and its regional allies, especially Israel, "that have turned the region into a tinderbox require the Islamic Republic of Iran not to be complacent about the country's defense needs," he said.

"If we had hegemonic ambitions," Khoshroo said, "the nuclear deal would never have been reached."
A $24 million bait and switch college education scam -- targeting U.S. military veterans -- could send two women to prison.

Court documents released Tuesday in Newark, N.J., described a scheme in which thousands of veterans using their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill tuition benefits thought they had signed up for courses at Caldwell University, a small Catholic college in New Jersey.

But instead, the veterans were enrolled in low-cost correspondence courses marketed by a Pennsylvania company  courses that were not covered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

Authorities in New Jersey said two women have pleaded guilty to one count each of wired fraud in connection with the scam: Lisa DiBisceglie, 56, of Lavallette, N.J., a former associate dean at Caldwell University; and Helen Sechrist, 61, of Sandy Level, Va., a former employee of Ed4Mill, the Pennsylvania company.

The pair defrauded the government of $24 million between 2009 and 2013, federal prosecutors said. They could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced Jan. 24, 2018.

The women have also been ordered to repay the $24 million, although authorities were uncertain how much money would ultimately be recovered. It was unclear Tuesday whether the women had benefitted personally from the scam.

DiBisceglie and Sechrist were part of an elaborate bait-and-switch scheme that stole millions of dollars in Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition assistance," acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said in a statement. "Instead of receiving a quality education under the Caldwell brand, the veterans that were recruited by Ed4Mil were enrolled in unapproved online courses without their knowledge, all while members of the conspiracy profited from their hard-earned benefits.

Scams like this steal money from hardworking taxpayers and legitimate students -- and in this case, our veterans -- and that is completely unacceptable," said Debbi Mayer, assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General's Northeastern Regional Office, which helped investigate the case.

Also indicted was David Alvey, 50, of Harrisburg, Pa., the founder and president of Ed4Mil. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His case is still pending.

Caldwell University officials said in a statement that they ended their relationship with Ed4Mil in 2013 and only learned of the "bait-and-switch" scheme after DiBisceglie quit her assistant dean position to work for Ed4Mil.

Neither Caldwell University nor its current administration or staff is accused of wrongdoing, and only learned of the conduct after the former employee left the school to work for Ed4Mil, the university said in a statement. Caldwell University has and will continue to cooperate with the government until this investigation is concluded.

The government was charged between $4,500 and $26,000 per course, instead of the $600 to $1,000 per course the correspondence company charged for the same classes, prosecutors said.

The $24 million in tuition benefits collected through the GI Bill was allegedly paid to Caldwell University, which then turned over between 85 percent and 90 percent of the money to Ed4Mil, according to court documents.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to give military veterans money for tuition, housing and other education costs. The money is paid directly to colleges for eligible courses.
The American woman who was held captive by a Taliban-affiliated group in Afghanistan and rescued last week by Pakistani troops was rushed to the hospital on Monday for an unspecified reason, her Canadian husband said.

Joshua Boyle told the Associated Press in an email Tuesday that his wife, Caitlan Coleman, "has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now."

Coleman, 32, was seven months pregnant when she and her husband, Josh Boyle, were abducted in Afghanistan in 2012 by the Haqqani network. The couple and their three children -- all of whom were born in captivity -- were freed Thursday in a "negotiated release," an official told Fox News.

WHO IS CAITLAN COLEMAN?

Joshua Boyle said after landing at Toronto's airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held.

In prior email exchange with AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child but later told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that it was a forced abortion. The Taliban said in a statement it was a miscarriage.

On Monday, Boyle told the AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, "Hey, let's make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family."

"We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands," Boyle told AP. "We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking."

Boyle said their three children are now 4, 2 and "somewhere around 6 months."

"Honestly we've always planned to have a family of 5, 10, 12 children ... We're Irish, haha," he wrote in an email.

The parents of Caitlan Coleman have said they are elated she is free, but also angry at their son-in law for taking their daughter to Afghanistan.

"Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable," Caitlan's father, Jim Coleman said, told ABC News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
President Donald Trump followed up his Iran speech announcing that he would not be certifying the Iran nuclear deal by also making clear his administration stood in solidarity with ordinary Iranians. Just two days later, thousands of Iranians marched against the regime over charges of corruption. Some experts say the protesters were newly emboldened by Trumps speech.

Speaking exclusively to Fox News before the protests, Maryam Rajavi, the head of that countrys most visibly active opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that Trumps new policy toward Iran gives ordinary Iranians hope.

The Iranian people welcome a new approach by the U.S. government, recognizing the suffering of the Iranian people under the regime, ending years of misguided policy and siding with the Iranian people in their desire for regime change and the establishment of freedom and democracy, she said in a recorded statement from her exiled headquarters near Paris.

Rajavi is seen by some Iran watchers as one someone the White House should be engaging with on Irans future.

Heshmat Alavi, an Iranian political and rights activist said that Rajavi enjoys vast support in Iran.

Mrs. Rajavi is the voice of a very restive society, described as a powder keg by many, seen so vividly in the growing protests by the younger generation, women and most recently by thousands of investors across the country who have trusted their life savings into government institutions, only to be robbed of all their assets, he said.

Alavi said dissent against the clerical regime is growing especially given recent allegations that the regime took investors for their lifesavings.

TRUMP DECERTIFIES IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

Sunday afternoon Tehran witnessed a demonstration by thousands of people chanting, We dont want a government of sheikhs, expressing their dissent with the ruling regime in its entirety, he said.

Walid Phares, a Fox News national security and foreign policy expert, said that while the Obama administration abandoned Iranian protesters in 2009, preferring to engage with the regime, President Trump has a different goal.

This narrative is rekindling hopes among young Iranians that the new administrator is changing the tone. Interestingly President Trump spoke of the Iranian people and how it is oppressed by the regime just few days ago. With satellite TV and social media, millions of Iranians captured the new messaging. Did that influence the several demonstrations that took place over the past weekend in Tehran and other locations  highly possible. Iran civil society is moving again and they know there is a different White House, Phares said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a veteran Middle East analyst close to the White House told Fox News that the Trump administration wants the Iranian people to know they are targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) and not the people.

They know Iran is a rich and ancient civilization and that the Iranian people were the first victims of the regime. Theyre not going to make excuses for the IRGC regime like the Obama team did. That was a huge part of President Trumps speeches at the U.N. and last week.

Trump also designated the IRGC for its terrorist activities in last weeks speech on Iran.

In her comments to Fox News, Rajavi called for regime change and for governments to recognize her group as a more enlightened replacement to the regime.

It is imperative that the National Council of Resistance of Iran be recognized as the democratic alternative to the terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran. Such recognition would rectify decades of a misguided U.S. policy regarding the Iranian people, she continued.

Dissent has grown significantly among the Iranian people, especially among women and young people. Regime change by the Iranian people and resistance is within reach, she told Fox News.

So far it is believed that the Trump administration has not reached out to any of the Iranian opposition groups. Most of that outreach ended with the Obama administration because of its intense focus on Obamas quest to make a deal with the Iranian regime.
Ukrainian police say five people are dead after a vehicle plowed into a crowd on a sidewalk in the city of Kharkiv.

A statement from the Interior Ministry on Facebook said six others were injured in the Wednesday night crash in Ukraine's second-largest city.

The ministry statement says the driver has been detained and is being investigated for traffic safety violations. That suggests Ukrainian officials did not suspect the vehicle targeted the pedestrians as part of an extremist plot.

Vans, cars and trucks have been used as weapons for terror attacks in London, Berlin, Nice, France and other European cities.
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Over several nights in September, some 10,000 men, women and children fled areas under Islamic State control, hurrying through fields in northern Syria and risking fire from government troops to reach a province held by an al-Qaida-linked group.

For an untold number of battle-hardened jihadis fleeing with the civilians, the escape to Idlib province marked a homecoming of sorts, an opportunity to continue waging war alongside an extremist group that shares much of the Islamic State's ideology  and has benefited from its prolonged downfall.

While the U.S.-led coalition and Russian-backed Syrian troops have been focused on driving IS from the country's east, an al-Qaida-linked insurgent coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee has consolidated its control over Idlib, and may be looking to return to Osama bin Laden's strategy of attacking the West.

Syrian activists with contacts in the area say members of the Levant Liberation Committee vouched for fleeing IS fighters they had known before the two groups split four years ago and allowed them to join, while others were sent to jail. The activists spoke on condition of anonymity because they still visit the area and fear reprisals from the jihadis.

IS has lost nearly all the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq, including the northern Iraqi city of Mosul  the largest it ever held  and the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which once served as its de facto capital. Tens of thousands of its fighters have been killed on the battlefield, but an untold number have escaped. As it gradually disintegrates, theological splits have also emerged within the organization, including the rise of a faction that blames its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, for the setbacks.

"Al-Qaida will welcome ISIS members with open arms, those are battled-hardened with potent field experience," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor at the London School of Economics and the author of "ISIS: A History."

The two groups both sprang from al-Qaida in Iraq, which emerged in the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but split over ideology and leadership in 2013 and battled each other across northern Syria. Earlier this month, IS attacked the Levant Liberation Committee again, in what was seen as a revenge attack after the defections.

While IS went on to carve out a proto-state in large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate in 2014, the al-Qaida militants allied themselves with other Syrian insurgent groups and cultivated grass-roots support by providing aid and other services to civilians. They remained focused on the war against Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, although they've also crushed several small U.S.-backed rebel factions.

But despite formally severing ties with al-Qaida last year and repeatedly changing its name, the group is still widely seen as a loyal affiliate of the global network that carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Brett McGurk, the top U.S. envoy for the coalition battling the Islamic State group, has said Idlib is the largest al-Qaida haven since bin Laden's days in Afghanistan.

Two Iraqi intelligence officials told The Associated Press in Baghdad that bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, sent an envoy to Syria to convince IS fighters to defect and join his group. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said this might have been the reason behind an audiotape released by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Sept. 28, in which he ordered his fighters not to "retreat, run away, negotiate or surrender."

While al-Qaida may yet regain the mantle of worldwide jihad, it could also come under increasing threat in its bastion in northwestern Syria, as the forces arrayed against IS shift their focus to a new potentially worldwide threat.

"The honeymoon period for al-Qaida, in which the so-called Islamic State absorbed most of the counterterrorism focus while al-Qaida's affiliates grew stronger, is coming to an end," according to an analysis by the Soufan Group security consultancy.

"It now appears Zawahiri is seeking to consolidate the terror network and return the group to its heyday as the vanguard of a global movement," it added. That could place the militants in the crosshairs of the international coalition.

Turkey launched a limited military operation in Idlib last week aimed at imposing a "de-escalation zone," one of several set up across Syria under an agreement between Turkey, Iran and Russia. The Turkish troops have yet to confront al-Qaida, but that could change if it comes to be seen as a regional or international threat.

Meanwhile, Assad's forces, fresh from victories against IS in eastern Syria, may switch their focus to Idlib, the largest remaining insurgent bastion in the country. Russia, which has been waging an air campaign in support of Assad since 2015, struck an al-Qaida gathering in Idlib earlier this month, and claimed to have killed several militant commanders.

The U.S.-led coalition has targeted al-Qaida militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what U.S. officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A U.S. airstrike killed al-Qaida's second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria earlier this year.

____

Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad.
A mother in England is under fire for reportedly requesting cash instead of presents for her 9-year-old sons birthday.

Paramita Sarkar of Stockport, a town in Greater Manchester, England, recently launched a crowdfunding page on JustGiving so that she and her husband could buy son Adi something that would be treasured.

There is no party without presents but afterwards we are left with boxes of Lego every year which stop getting played with, Sarkar told The Sun. They get piled up in boxes and we run out of space to store all the board games  sometimes duplicate ones.

Instead of gifts, she wants guests to contribute, not donate, about $20 to buy a gift that her soon-to-be 10-year-old son would appreciate.

I can then buy something that my boy would actually appreciate and treasure over a long period of time, Sarkar said. This is simply to reduce the clutter and buy something really useful.

Adis parents said they already plan to travel to Disney World in Florida as part of their gift to him.

Sarkar said friends have been welcoming to the idea, but she is apprehensive of circulating it at her sons school as I dont want to feel judged.

Im hoping theyll be positive when they see it and take it up, she added.

The JustGiving page, which raised about $120 since it was started last week, has been slammed online, some calling Sarkar and her husband a disgrace as parents.

Can't believe people have actually donated to this, another person wrote. I have two kids birthdays both in January straight after Christmas and guess what i pay for all their presents myself ...think this is cheeky!
American Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their three children were all released last week in Pakistan, after spending five years held by the militant Haqqani network, which has ties to the Taliban.

President Trump said in a statement last week that the U.S. and Pakistani governments worked together and "secured the release of the Boyle-Coleman family from captivity in Pakistan."

"Today they are free," Trump said of the family, calling it "a positive moment for our country's relationship with Pakistan."

Boyle told the AP in an email that Coleman was admitted to a Canadian hospital on Monday and remained there through Wednesday. He did not specify why she was taken to the hospital.

"My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now," Boyle wrote.

What do we know about Caitlan Coleman and her family?

The 32-year-old is a native of York County, Pa., Philly.com reported.

Coleman and her husband were abducted in 2012 while traveling in Afghanistan. Coleman was pregnant at the time, and their children were born in captivity.

Boyle told the AP that their children are now 4, 2 and "somewhere around 6 months."

After landing at Toronto's airport, Boyle said that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed their infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held. In an email exchange with the AP, Boyle did not respond to a question about the fourth child. The Taliban said in a statement on Sunday that it was a miscarriage.

Boyle, a former call center worker, said in an earlier statement that he had gone to Afghanistan with Coleman to help villagers "who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where no NGO, no aid worker and no government has ever successfully been able to bring the necessary help."

He was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, the older sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr and the daughter of a senior Al Qaeda financier who had contacts with Usama bin Laden.

Coleman and Boyle were most recently seen in video from December 2016.

Please dont become the next Jimmy Carter, Coleman said to then-President Barack Obama in the clip while reading a statement. Just give the offenders something so they and you can save face so we can leave the region permanently.

"My children have seen their mother defiled," Coleman said in the clip.

AMERICAN CAITLAN COLEMAN, FAMILY FREED FROM AFGHANISTANT CAPTORS

What has the reaction to the family's release been?

"It's a great day. They've been held a long time," FBI Director Christopher Wray said, according to NBC.

"I applaud the innumerable lines of effort from across the U.S. Government," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.

Tillerson said he is "particularly proud of" U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale, along with "his Mission Islamabad team for their engagement with Pakistan. These efforts reflect the best of what America can accomplish."

Canada's foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, said in a statement that her government is greatly relieved to learn that after five years of being held hostage, the family has been released and is safe.

She said that Canada has been engaged with the governments of the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan. She thanked those countries for helping with the release.

"Joshua, Caitlan, their children and the Boyle and Coleman families have endured a horrible ordeal over the past five years. We stand ready to support them as they begin their healing journey," she said.

The operation took place as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President Trump in Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
China's President Xi Jinping promised Wednesday to build "a great modern socialist country" with "Chinese characteristics," as he opened the ruling Communist Party's twice-a-decade national congress.

Xi was expected to tighten his hold on power and win a second five-year term as party leader at the 19th Party Congress, held in Beijing. His address outlined his political and economic vision for that term.

Right now both China and the world are in the midst of profound and complex changes, Xi told the congress, Bloomberg reported. China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development. The prospects are bright, but the challenges are severe.

Xi touted the success of socialism in the world's No. 2 economy.

"We will unite the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and lead them to a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the drive to secure the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era," Xi said, according to China Daily.

On global politics, the president celebrated China's increasing international prestige and influence. Chinas international standing has risen as never before, Xi said, the Financial Times reported.

Chinas soft power and the international influence of Chinese culture have been greatly enhanced, he said, adding that, This is an era that will see China move closer to the center of the world and make more contributions to humankind.

Xi, at age 64, is already among China's most powerful leaders since Mao Zedong, who ruled from 1949 until his death in 1976 at age 82. Xis political theory and philosophy will likely to be included in the constitution  a move further cementing the leaders power and cult in the Chinese politics. Such honors are normally given to leaders much later in their political life.

The amendment of the constitution would indicate not only that Xis grip on power will extend beyond his second term as party leader, but whether his reign will face any domestic opposition.

Many experts have speculated whether any rival will emerge during the gathering. The presidency is limited to two five-year terms, but the party leader is under no such restrictions.

Xi could potentially step down from the presidency in five years while remaining party leader -- as well as kingmaker and ultimate decision maker.

That would surprise me, Andrew Nathan, a China expert at Columbia University in New York, told the Telegraph. Because it would indicate Xi does not intend to serve a third term, which today everyone believes he does intend to do.

"Xi has been extremely successful in purging political rivals," seconded Feng Chongyi, an expert on Chinese politics at Sydney's University of Technology. "There will be only one faction left after the 19th congress."

To ensure a smooth gathering without any controversy from the growing number of Chinese dissidents, additional security measures have been put in place for the congress. In addition, access to foreign websites, social media sties and messaging applications has been further restricted, while dissidents were put under further scrutiny.

In Beijing, sales of knives, fireworks and chemicals have been suspended. In the region of Xinjiang, police ordered that owners of knives longer than 4 inches have them marked with a special code for identification.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
When Grace Jo walks along the leafy paths of Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, she is indistinguishable from any other American college student.

But the 26-year-old's astounding journey took her from the gulags of North Korea's brutal dictatorship - and the very edge of starving to death - to a new, unimaginable life in the United States.

"America is the greatest country in the world," Grace told Fox News in advance of a New York City forum being held by the George W. Bush Institute called "The Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In the World."

The Thursday event focuses on freedom, free markets and security and will also feature, along with former President George W. Bush, panels attended by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Madeline Albright, and current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

In Grace, they will encounter a young woman of strong resolve who is bluntly clear about what she hopes will be the fate of Kim Jong Un's regime.

"The North Korean regime should not exist in this world any more, any longer. The U.S. government military force, or any independent force should stop the North Korean regime, because the regime is killing the innocent people in the country. Child, babies and moms are dying without any hope."

She says from firsthand experience that tough talk is the only thing that the Kim Jong Un regime understands.

"I believe North Korean regime will not listen if we speak nicely. So I think it is time to take action to the North Korean government, because if we don't have any action and only speak words and try to give something to them, like give a candy to a little crying kid, it can solve for the moment but it will not solve for the long run," she adds.

She does not think a military strike, with its predictions of a possible catastrophic loss of life in South Korea and the region, is feasible. "I don't want to drop a bomb," she says. Grace hopes the U.S. and its allies can conduct covert actions that will lead to the toppling of the regime. She does not think sanctions have or will work to deter Pyongyang's nuclear programs and military aggression, saying "they are very smart people, that's why they can keep their regime that long."

Grace is a recipient of the North Korean Freedom Scholarship program run by the President George W. Bush Institute. The former president and the institute established a $25,000 fund to help the first eight North Korean escapees to "pursue higher education and build productive, prosperous lives as new Americans." Their studies range from theology and medicine, to engineering.

Grace hopes to eventually attend law school. Her American dream is coming true, in contrast to the never ending nightmare she endured in North Korea.

She says she and her family escaped three times to China, only to be caught and sent back. Her two younger brothers died of starvation and her father died from being tortured while in police custody for sneaking a bag of rice back from China. She says starvation was rampant while she was growing up, and that the family was occasionally given a bag of potatoes by the government.

She recalled her family living for ten days without any food, surviving only on water. That's when her mother found six baby mice in a field and her grandmother made soup out of them in order to feed the family.

"We almost gave up our life, but it is kind of a miracle, a miracle happened to my family to survive."

She says that as a child, she was taught to always bow before the portrait of then- North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and later his successor, his son Kim Jong Il. They are the grandfather and father of current dictator Kim Jong Un.

"During New Year's time, New Year's day, the government will give us little kids a gift bag, which is cookies and candies bag and we would hold the bag in front of us and bowed to the portrait for three times, so that was the lecture I got from my grandmother. I had to bow to the leader's portrait and I have to thank to him whenever or whatever food I can eat."

Grace says after one escape, she was captured and sent to a North Korean intelligence center prison.

"I saw the North Korean agents torturing adults there and yelling them, it was kind of a scary place. It was dark and had no lights, small room with many people at the night so many insects walking on the wall and a dark hole with a fence around, so it was really scary."

Grace eventually arrived in the United States in 2008 with her mother and sister, as refugees under the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. She became a U.S. citizen in 2013 and is thankful that the Bush Institute is making the North Korean issue a major cause.

"It is an issue that is very close to President Bush's heart," says Lindsay Lloyd, the Deputy Director of the Bush Institute's Human Freedom Initiative. "When he was in office he met with several North Korean dissidents. He was the first president to do that. They don't typically make a lot of noise about it, but they regularly meet with escapees, refugees, and activists."

The Bush Institute started focusing on the North Korean issue in 2014, and seeks ways to help the North Korean community in the United States, which is very small. Lloyd says that there are about 250 refugees and 300 to 400 other North Koreans who have settled here. Many need assistance to not only acclimate to a new culture, but to assimilate into American life.

"One of the things that came across very clearly was the importance of education. All of them recognize the benefits of education. We worked with the Korean American community to raise the money and launched the scholarship program in January."

The second round of the North Korean Freedom Scholarship program will be announced next year.

While Grace is grateful for her path, she does not want those left behind to be forgotten, and the issue of human rights to be lost amid the focus on Kim Jong Un's nuclear threat.

"All those people are dying there. They are suffering in North Korea. Please think about the children who are dying there without any hope."

She says despite all of the international efforts to strangle Kim's regime, the situation in North Korea is "getting worse, but it never gets better.

Beside her studies, Grace has organized a non-profit aimed at helping rescue North Koreans and resettle them in a safe country. The effort, NKinUSA or North Koreans Refugees in the United States, is hoping to raise $10,000 to fund two rescues.

Fox News producers Ben Evansky and Jennifer Bowman contributed to this report.
Today, the Islamic State controls just three percent of Iraq after controlling one-third of the country two years ago, but American officials say an old nemesis in the region continues to stoke tensions inside the country, creating another immediate challenge once ISIS is defeated.

After the fall of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and the evacuation of Kurdish fighters, the U.S. military must figure out how to keep Iraq from breaking apart while also preventing Iran from turning its neighbor into a proxy state.

"Nearly every threat to peace and security in the Middle East is connected to Iran's outlaw behavior," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Wednesday.

The Shia-led government in Baghdad welcomed Iran's help when ISIS swept through Iraqi cities three years ago. Now Iran is flexing its muscle in Iraq, putting the U.S. in the middle of a potential three-way civil war involving Shias, Sunnis and Kurds.

"Now the Iranians are going to start demanding that we leave Iraq, that we leave Syria and the whole region becomes essentially a vassal state of theirs just like Lebanon has become," said James Jeffrey, U.S. ambassador to Iraq from 2010-2012.

The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East issued a similar warning in Washington today.

"Iran has expressed its desire to build a large influence both literally in developing the Tehran-Beirut axis, and figuratively by increasing military and political influence in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other places around the region," said Army Gen. Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command.

U.S. military commanders on the ground have to be more diplomatic to avoid antagonizing Baghdad, whose permission they need to stay in Iraq.

In a briefing to Pentagon reporters from Baghdad, Army Col. Ryan Dillon said he saw no evidence Iran played a role in pushing Kurdish fighters out of Kirkuk on Monday, even though photos and videos emerged on social media of a Shiite Iraqi commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis -- who maintains close ties to Iran and has been sanctioned by the Treasury Department since 2009 -- taking part in the flag-raising ceremony after Iraqi forces moved in.

Photos taken in Kirkuk also showed the shadowy Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, leader of Tehran's proxy forces in the Middle East. Soleimani is also sanctioned by the U.S. government, in part due to his involvement in the attempted assassination of then-Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir outside a popular Washington, D.C. restaurant in 2011.

At the U.N. Wednesday, Haley acknowledged it was not the first time as she encouraged the Security Council to enforce existing resolutions designed to halt Iran's support for proxies.



"[U.N. Security Council] Resolution 2231 ... bans travel outside of Iran for senior Iranian officials, including Maj. General Sulemani, and yet the Secretary General's report lists multiple press photos of the general travelling to Syria and Iraq. You can even find photos on social media of him visiting Russia. This is an open and direct violation of [resolution] 2231, and yet where is the outrage of this council?"

The Pentagon steered clear of blaming Tehran earlier this week as Iraq took back the city and adjacent oil fields, which the Kurds had relied on as a key revenue source since 2014.

Despite reports that dozens of Kurdish troops were killed when the Iraqi military stormed Kirkuk Monday, the U.S. military says it is aware of only one minor skirmish, which was based on a "misunderstanding."

"What we have seen is a peaceful handover of areas around Kirkuk," said Dillon, a U.S. military spokesman for the international coalition to defeat ISIS. "It was a coordinated effort between Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish security forces that were there and they handed over the keys."

The State Department also refused to acknowledge the possibility that any role in the Kirkuk offensive was played by Iran.

"As we watch the situation unfold in Iraq, we continue to call for calm, to call for calm on the part of the Kurds, on the part of the government in Baghdad as well. We have made no bones about that," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert Tuesday.

Nauert said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was making calls to leaders in the region to defuse the crisis.

Kurdish forces had held Kirkuk since 2014, after the ISIS fight began. The Iraqi government decided to take the city back after the Kurds held a referendum on independence last month.

Iran's deputy U.N. Ambassador, Gholamali Khoshroo, rejected any suggestion that Tehran is playing a nefarious role, blaming what he called, "the hostile policies of the United States and its regional allies, especially the Zionist regime, that have turned the region into a tinderbox."

A year ago Monday, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters teamed up with Iraqi forces to kick ISIS out of Mosul, Iraqs second largest city. Now those two U.S. allies have turned on each other, and many U.S. officials blame Iran.
In the span of nine months, ISIS has gone back to being the "JV team."

The Islamic State, a day after being ousted from its defacto capital of Raqqa, is losing its foothold in the two nations where it established its bloody roots and grew from former President Barack Obama's infamous "JV team" into an unrelenting exporter of global terror.

Once the owner -- or captor -- of a swath of land in Syria and Iraq, the militant group has lost control of its two key cities -- and at least half of the original territory it once brazenly roamed.

Now, ISIS is reportedly regrouping and recruiting in other chaos-torn nations as its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, resurfaces in cryptic audio messages, urging soldiers of Islam and caliphate supporters to remain focused on their victory.

ISIS was dealt a massive blow Tuesday when most of Raqqa was liberated from the militant fighters' hold by U.S.-backed Syrian troops. A U.S. military spokesperson told Fox News the city, once considered the capital of the terrorists' so-called caliphate, has been 90 percent recaptured, with fighting remaining only in a few select pockets where hardline militants have holed up.

Its unclear how -- or if -- Baghdadi plans to maintain or recapture ISIS' lost territory in Syria and Iraq. The leaders establishment of a caliphate after seizing control of Mosul in 2014 signaled the group plan to branch into other countries. ISIS is reportedly operational in 18 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya, the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center said in an August 2016 report. It also has aspiring branches in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.

More fighters are expected to flow to Libya after the recent losses in Syria and Iraq. One U.S. official affiliated with the GNA, who requested anonymity, told Fox News in July the political and security vacuum that existed in Libya after longtime leader Muammar Qaddafis death in 2011 allowed ISIS to take root.

ISIS still poses a threat not just to Libya, the U.S official added. But to its neighbors, Europe and the United States.

Libya has been marred by conflict after 2011. The country also has Africas largest reserves. Its oil fields and reserves are located south of Sirte.

ISIS still poses a threat not just to Libya...But to its neighbors, Europe and the United States.  U.S. official

Joseph Fallon, Islamic Extremism expert and U.K. Defense Forum research associate, also told Fox News ISIS has retreated south of Sirte to regroup and that its global threat cannot be underestimated.

But the group's first success was in the taking of Raqqa.

The terror group seized the city on the banks of Euphrates River from Syrian rebels in January 2014. It was the first Syrian city to fall under the groups control and helped to establish its power as ISIS began a reign of terror that included beheading, shooting, burning and drowning its opponents and hatching plots to export its brand of terror globally.

By June 2014, Iraqs second-largest city, Mosul, also fell under ISIS control. The militants pushed Iraqi forces out and captured Tikrit, former Iraqi Dictator Saddam Husseins hometown, shortly after.

But after more than three years, ISIS lost control of the Iraqi city in July when a massive operation undertaken by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces squeezed the terrorists out. The city was declared "liberated" from ISIS' grip, but the destruction, after three years of brutal and bloody control, had a more lasting effect.

ISIS days in Iraq and Syria appear numbered. At its peak, ISIS held territory in which 10 million people lived. On Tuesday, its presence in Iraq was down to a sliver of land along the Euphrates river valley bordering Syria, the BBC reported through information released by the HIS Conflict Monitor.

The group still holds about 81 miles of the Euphrates River Valley inside eastern central Syria. The war on ISIS has already shifted to the Deir el-Zour province that holds much of Syrias oil and gas resources  which has been a key component of ISIS success in maintaining power and funding its barbaric reign.

Despite losing significant territory, Baghdadi reportedly surfaced to address supporters in a 46-minute audio recording in September. Its unclear when the message was recorded, but that it purported to be from Baghdadi seemed to quash rumors the ISIS leader had been killed.

For the majority of the speech, Baghdadi attempted to appeal to ISIS supporters worldwide, according to an analysis Fox News obtained from MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor. The global message may have been a nod to ISIS' dwindling territory in Syria and Iraq.

"Oh soldiers of Islam and caliphate supporters everywhere, intensify the successive attacks, and include the unbelievers' media headquarters and the ideological war centers among [your] targets," a voice believed to be Baghdadi said.

Fox News Hollie McKay and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Italy's foreign minister says an Italian priest kidnapped last week in Nigeria has been freed and is in good shape.

The Rev. Maurizio Pallu was released late Tuesday, five days after being kidnapped in Benin City. Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano told Italian Radio Capital on Wednesday that the priest was returning to the Nigerian capital of Abuja, where he has been working for the last three years.

In an interview on Vatican radio, Pallu said he was kidnapped with two Nigerians and all three were released together.

There were no immediate details on the identity of the captors or the circumstances of the release.

Pallu says he has been kidnapped twice in the last year but hoped to continue working in Nigeria "because you defeat the demons by staying here."
A Swiss man is on trial in Frankfurt on espionage charges over allegations he spied on German tax investigators for his homeland.

The dpa news agency reported Wednesday the 54-year-old, identified only as Daniel M. in line with privacy rules, is accused of being paid to obtain information on tax officials in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia between July 2011 and February 2015.

He was arrested in April in Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital.

Authorities say the man was tasked with identifying German tax investigators who obtained a data CD containing confidential Swiss bank client data. The investigators prosecuted numerous Germans for tax evasion.

Switzerland was angered by the move and wanted to identify the German tax investigators who purchased the CD so it could charge them.
Senior officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the growing threat of North Koreas nuclear missile program.

But while the allies reaffirmed their commitment to find a diplomatic solution  they warned they would keep all options on the table."

The diplomats, who previously gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday, discussed a number of issues, including President Donald Trump's planned visit to East Asia in November. But the North Korean issue dominated the conversation on Wednesday.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, participating in the talks, said at a news conference that the U.S. continued to view diplomacy, including international pressure and sanctions, as the main means to tackle the North Korean threat.

He did, however, affirm that the Trump administration was keeping all options on the table as the "regime in Pyongyang is unpredictable and non-transparent.

"Our objective is, throughout that campaign of pressure, to bring North Korea to the negotiating table without preconditions so that we can achieve our objective of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," he said.

"Diplomacy is our primary objective and primary means to addressing the threat posed by North Korea. But we need to be prepared to respond to any eventuality given the unpredictable nature of the regime in Pyongyang.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam said that all three parties agreed that the situation with North Korea should be managed stably.

The Seoul meeting took take place following threatening comments made by North Korean Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong, who warned Monday that a nuclear war may break out any moment.

The entire U.S. mainland is within our firing range and if the U.S. dares to invade our sacred territory even an inch it will not escape our severe punishment in any part of the globe, the North Korean U.N. envoys statement said, Fox News reported.

Kim also said that As long as one does not take part in the U.S. military actions against the DPRK (North Korea), we have no intention to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any other country, according to the North Korean ambassadors prepared remarks to the U.N. committee.

Tensions between North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns regime and the U.S. and its allies have escalated following numerous North Korea weapons tests and threatening public statements. The regime has continued its nuclear missile program in defiance to the U.S. and the U.N.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
One of Britain's top security chiefs had a dire warning about the country's rising terror threat.

In a rare public speech, Andrew Parker, the director general of MI5  the equivalent of the FBI  described the threat as multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly and operating at a scale and pacenot seen before.

He said the threat level is the worst hes seen in his 34-year career.

His speech follows a string of attacks in the UK and elsewhere this year. Some 36 people have been killed and dozens injured in attacks in London and Manchester the past year.

UK TERROR THREAT LEVELS: WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

Add to that strikes across Europe, including Barcelona and beyond, both of the Lone Wolf-style or more orchestrated, and he describes a global challenge.

There is more terrorist activity coming at us more quickly, Parker said, and it can be harder to detect.

There are, in fact, ongoing UK government probes into how well authorities handled the latest wave of attacks. According to the intelligence chief, they are already heading off more, including seven potentially deadly attacks thwarted this year and some 379 people have been arrested. There are some 500 investigations being conducted, its claimed, looking at 3,000 suspected terrorists.

British authorities say a big reason behind the terror uptick is the rise in recent years of the so-called Islamic State. And even as ISIS falls in the Mideast, the threat remains from foreign fighters coming home.

LONDON ATTACK MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR SUSPECT LINKED TO BLAST AT PARSONS GREEN STATION

As well as those we are looking at today,  Parker said, risk can also come from returnees from Syria and Iraq.

Just as significant, according to authorities here, the digital battlefield. The internet, including social media and instant messaging, provide yet more weapons for the modern jihadists.

According to MI5, this global threat demands cooperation between national security agencies.

The relationship between authorities in the UK and the US has had its ups and downs this year, but it remains close  and crucial.
Among the myriad problems the FDA listed after inspecting Nashoba Brook Bakerys manufacturing facility: Love in the granola.

Deep in a Sept. 22 warning letter by Food and Drug Administration to the Concord, Massachusetts, manufacturer is this admonishment:

Your Nashoba Granola label lists ingredient Love. Ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of food must be listed by their common or usual name [21 CFR 101.4(a)(1). Love is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient.

Nashoba Chief Executive Officer John Gates told Bloomberg that particular part of the FDAs letter just felt so George Orwell.

I really like that we list love in the granola, Gates told Bloomberg on Tuesday.

People ask us what makes it so good. Its kind of nice that this artisan bakery can say theres love in it and it puts a smile on peoples face. Situations like that where the government is telling you you cant list love as an ingredient, because it might be deceptive, just feels so silly.

Miami Herald
A man who was ordered to serve 15 years in prison by a Spotsylvania County judge who learned that he was selling drugs while working as a police informant got another three years Wednesday following a drug conviction in Stafford County.

Stephen Don Carter, 44, of Stafford pleaded guilty in Stafford Circuit Court to possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, second or subsequent offense. As part of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison with seven years suspended.

According to prosecutor Jennifer Lindsey, the Stafford charge stemmed from a March 28 incident during which Carter was under surveillance by narcotics detectives when he sold heroin to a man. During a subsequent traffic stop, police found more than 10 grams of heroin along with other drug-related items in Carters vehicle.

Lindsey said Carter admitted hed been bringing between 5 to 15 grams of heroin a day into the area. He was using some and selling most for about $200 a gram.

Evidence presented at his Spotsylvania case last month showed that Carter distributed large amounts of methamphetamines in the Fredericksburg area between 2011 and 2015. He obtained the high-quality meth during frequent visits to Las Vegas. He either mailed the drugs to himself or had a contact in Las Vegas do so.

After being turned in by an anonymous informant in June 2015, Carter had his home raided by police. Drugs and money were recovered. Following his arrest, Carter offered to work with police and set up transactions that resulted in several arrests.

One of those set up by Carter involved Floyd Michael Dodson, who went to high school with Carter in Stafford and who helped supply meth to Carter while Dodson was living in Las Vegas.

Dodson is serving two years for his role in the operation, while Spotsylvania Judge Ricardo Rigual gave Carter 15 years in the case there last month.

Carters attorney, Vince Ventura, said he was bothered that Carter got so much more time than the people he set up for police.

Carter was convicted of distributing PCP in Stafford in 1996, court records show.
A New York man who helped the former owner of a Spotsylvania County gas station smuggle millions of dollars of untaxed cigarettes from Virginia to New York was ordered Tuesday to serve 18 months in federal prison.

Ki Hin Lee, 31, of Flushing, N.Y., received the sentence in U.S. District Court in Richmond. He pleaded in June to conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.

According to court records, from January 2015 to November 2016, Lee and another man routinely traveled from New York to Virginia to pick up large quantities of cigarettes from a gas station and at storage units in Fredericksburg and Springfield.

They made the pickups from Bernard Ekelemu, 60, who owned a Gulf station at 5318 Jefferson Davis Highway and who had opened business memberships at several wholesale clubs.

Court records show that Ekelemu used those memberships to buy more than $7.1 million of cigarettes over several years without paying any state sales tax. Ekelemu is serving a two-year prison sentence for his role in the scheme.

Investigators determined that Lee smuggled at least 276,000 packs of cigarettes to New York for illegal resale, resulting in a tax loss of more then $1.6 million. He would then deliver the cigarettes to the Staten Island home of an unnamed co-conspirator.

As part of his conviction in May, Ekelemu was ordered to forfeit at least $1.4 million worth of proceeds. Authorities have seized $105,300 from the Gulf station and $67,625 from a Springfield location.
A federal contractor could build a 110,000-square-foot family health center that would serve as many as 1,000 active-duty and retired patients and their families per day on Stafford Hospitals east campus.

The contractor, CRAssociates Inc., signed a long-term lease with Medicorp Properties, an affiliate of Mary Washington Healthcare, to lease the 20-acre east campus in June, according to documents submitted to Stafford County late last month.

The Department of Defense has not yet awarded the contract for the project, but could by the end of the year. CRA would then have one year to develop, build, equip, furnish and begin operating the outpatient primary care facility, according to a letter to the countys Department of Planning and Zoning.

CRA will also need land use and site plan approval from the county. The Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing with the countys Planning Commission Dec. 19. The board voted to advertise the hearing at Tuesday afternoons board meeting.

If it opens, the medical center will serve 28,000 beneficiaries annually, a number that is projected to grow to 34,000 within five years. It will employ some 250 full-time medical professionals and medical support personnel.

The single-story building will look much like Stafford Hospital and will be surrounded by a perimeter fence. Patients will have to enter through a gated guard booth; theyll park in a planned lot made up of 540 spaces.

Plans call for an X-ray suite and a womens health suite with four obstetriciangynecologist providers as well as mammography, orthopedic, dermatology and optometry services. Patients can also take advantage of physical and occupational therapy, including a planned in-ground pool for wounded service members.

Other plans include a behavioral health staff made up of 15 doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and support staff, with 17 to 31 counseling sessions per day.

The center would also employ 19 full-time uniformed officers and include a sophisticated security system.

It would operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. As an outpatient center, there would be no overnight stays.

CRA is a federal contractor founded by a Korean and Vietnam War veteran, according to documents submitted to the county. From the 1990s until 2011, CRA operated a 52,000-square-foot facility in Woodbridge and a 30,000-square-foot facility in Fairfax. CRA is one of the largest providers of health care services to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

CRA chose the Stafford Hospital campus in large part for its location: 55,000 eligible patients live nearby. Two-thirds of future patients live within the county.

Medicorp Properties owns the entire 65-acre Stafford Hospital campus. The east campus was reserved for expansion when it was developed, according to the letter to the county.

If the Woodbridge medical center is any indication, a Stafford facility could be a boon to the local economy. Immediate surrounding areas reported a 27 percent increase in retail traffic, with each patient spending an average of $31 per visit within a 5-mile radius.

More than 90 percent of patients would have appointments, which should cut down on large concentrations of traffic.

The Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a public hearing on the project in its consent agenda, which means there was no discussion at Tuesday afternoons meeting.

If the plan is approved and CRA wins the defense contract to build the center, it would lease the land and the facility from Mary Washington Healthcare for at least 30 years.

Because CRA would have just a year to open after a contract award, it is seeking site plan approval in advance.
WALKING into the museum... in the author and illustrators hometown of Springfield, Mass., is like walking into one of his beloved childrens books.

Thats how the Associated Press described the June 2017 opening of the Dr. Seuss museum. Leagrey Dimond, one of his stepdaughters, said, And to know that hes going to be here permanently, safe, protected, that people who want to know more are going to make this trip here to see him, its perfect.

Of course, Dr. Seuss is not safe and protected. He is the latest icon under fire from the politically correct hordes that wake up every day trying to be offended.

A librarian at an elementary school in Cambridge, Mass., was a foot soldier in this army when she rejected a gift of Dr. Seuss books from First Lady Melania Trump. She was roundly attacked by many as an ungrateful scold.

However, she opened a line of attack on Seuss that has been continued by higher-ranking members of the mobs threatening many historic figures.

Mike Curato, Mo Willems and Lisa Yee, major authors of childrens books, declined an invitation to the museums inaugural childrens Literature Festival because of a mural featuring illustrations from the authors first childrens book, And to think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

The library caved and pulled the mural. The authors claimed that the mural features a jarring racial stereotype of a Chinese man, who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat, and slanted slit eyes.

In a poll at www.masslive.com, over 87 percent of people did not see the mural as offensive. I think this is really about the fact that Seuss used his great talents as a cartoonist to help defeat the Nazis and Japanese during World War II.

He propagandized against both enemies using tough language and stereotypes. I have seen many of these and I look at them in the context of the times and the savagery of the enemy. I see Seuss as a patriot for his work.

I recommend the documentary series on Netflix titled Five Came Back. Its the story of five major Hollywood directors who put their careers on pause and went to the front lines to make films and public service announcements to inspire and rouse the American public to fight during World War II.

Seuss and these directors represent a time when artists were supportive of traditional American values.

This whole attack on Seuss is centered on his depiction of Chinese and Japanese people.

Why is there no movement to sanction President Franklin Delano Roosevelts executive order to imprison Japanese-Americans in internment camps? This action actually saw Japanese-Americans as a group as disloyal and took away their liberty.

Is there any movement to take away the prominent Roosevelt monument in Washington? Do prominent Democrats still not lionize him?

One of the best ways to evaluate this whole controversy is to look at the people attacking Seuss.

One of his leading critics is Katie Ishizuka, who is the director of The Conscious Kid Library. This outfit brands itself as the arbiter of books that are more diverse and appropriate for young readers. She claims Seuss fans are trying to sweep under the rug the very negative aspects of Seuss.

The bottom line of all this is that if the beloved Dr. Seuss can be dinged significantly, who is safe from the diversity police?

These people will never run out of targets. They are driven by a need to cleanse and, in some cases, destroy.

The best method to fight them is mockery. They deserve nothing better.

Dom Giordano is a radio host and a Philadelphia Daily News columnist.
Herring only one benefiting from DACA lawsuit

The Free LanceStar has had a series of outstanding editorials recently. They covered tax cuts, the need for pipelines and, sometime back, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program being ruled outside the powers of the president [DACAs fate rests with Congress, as it should, Sept. 9, 2017].

Its that last one thats of real interest. Per an AP story in the FLS, the attorneys general of several states, including Virginia Attorney Mark Herring, have filed suit against President Trumps executive order on DACA.

Now lets look at this carefully: The Supreme Court ruled that the executive order on DACA by the previous president was outside his powers and not legal. The current president issued an executive order establishing an end to the program. Now various attorneys general are suing to try to continue an illegal act?

Not being an attorney, I guess Im missing some legal abstraction thats at stake here. On the other hand, any attorney will tell you that legal action takes time and time is money.

So who benefits? Its an election year, and one suspects that the abstract legal point is energizing the base and getting re-elected.

Now the real question: Whos paying the legal fees? The election campaigns? The political parties?

Id rather bet its the taxpayers. How do we get a refund?

I dont believe that any politico who expects the taxpayers to pay for their re-election effort deserves their office. Mr. Herring certainly isnt putting us first.

William Moore

Ladysmith
After a lengthy evaluation, Benton County has selected a national corrections planning and design firm to do an in-depth analysis of the local criminal justice system.

The county commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday to negotiate a contract and scope of work with CGL, one of two finalists for the project.

Miami-based CGL, a subsidiary of Hunt Cos., scored slightly higher than the David Bennett Group of Salt Lake City in an evaluation by a nine-person selection committee made up of county officials and law enforcement representatives. A third candidate, DLR Group, didnt make the initial cut.

Plans for the assessment were launched after the November 2015 election, when voters turned down a $25 million bond measure to build a new jail and work-release center. County leaders have argued for years that the 40-bed jail in downtown Corvallis is inadequate and needs to be replaced, and there are growing concerns about the safety and capacity of the historic county courthouse. But voters have repeatedly rejected efforts to fund a new jail, defeating three bond measures since 2000.

A big part of the project needs to be a plan for involving the public in the process, members of the selection committee told the commissioners on Tuesday.

As we look forward, we realize there needs to be really strong community engagement that is really authentic, Corvallis Police Chief Jon Sassaman said.

County Health Department Director Mitch Anderson stressed the need to look at a full range of programs to reduce recidivism rates, including mental health services and alternatives to incarceration.

I think what weve heard very clearly from the whole community is that what they want is that whole continuum, he said.

And Circuit Court Judge David Connell said hes looking forward to hearing the communitys ideas on what the justice system needs to function more effectively.

I think we know where were going, but we dont know where were going to end up, and to me thats very exciting, Connell said.

Obviously the public engagement piece is going to be the key to this because unless its accepted by the public and its their plan, its not going to work.

Commissioner Xan Augerot, who represented the board on the selection committee, said CGL will be expected to produce a vision statement for what the local criminal justice system should look like and a master plan for getting to that point. (County officials previously have said the plan should include an analysis of facilities that would address the condition and capacity of the jail and courthouse.)

The firm also will be asked to create a system for aggregating and tracking outcomes, costs and other data from all segments of the justice system, including the jail, courts, mental health programs, the Juvenile Department and the Parole and Probation Office.

County Administrator Joe Kerby said both finalists made strong proposals, but CGL appeared to be the better fit.

At the end of the day, overall I think the entire group felt we could work with CGL and that CGL could get the job done.

Kerby will have the task of negotiating a scope of work and contract with CGL. The cost of the project has not yet been determined because it will be part of those negotiations, but Kerby said after the meeting that the proposals submitted by the three consulting candidates ranged from about $145,000 to $200,000.

A major factor in determining cost will be the scope of the contract, which may or may not include the public engagement element, Kerby said. At this point it appears likely that the county will handle that part of the project itself, he added.

Kerby said he hopes to complete the negotiations with CGL in 30 to 45 days and will then present a contract to the Board of Commissioners for a vote. The project is expected to begin in early 2018 and take about a year to complete.

A spokesperson for CGL did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but the companys website lists a wide range of services related to the criminal justice and corrections industries, including facility planning, architectural design, program management, facility management and maintenance, development and finance, security planning and inmate health care planning.

CGL operates in 22 countries and all 50 states, has worked with more than 900 cities and counties, and maintains more than 14.6 million square feet of facilities, according to the company.
Get all of this week's H.S. football coverage in one place and be ready for this week's action... Schedule, last week's results and story links, Fans' Choice Poll, stat leaders & standings, Player of the Week, link to this week's game previews and more...
SWEET HOME  Some interesting items have been sold at the annual Boys and Girls Club auction over the years: picnic tables large enough to hold Paul Bunyan, refrigerators decorated in sports-team colors, and truckloads of firewood logs.

But this years auction, scheduled for Saturday, features a 1,000 pound, 16-foot-tall wooden statue depicting loggers using a misery whip two-man saw to cut down a tree.

The project has taken several months to complete and was the brainchild of Robin Miller and Mike Melcher, who then recruited chainsaw artist Jessee Strack of Whidbey Island, Washington, to make it all possible.

It all started when I was cleaning up some ugly trees on my place, Miller said. I saw this schoolmarm (a tree that branches out) and took it down.

The tree had three tops on it, but when turned upside down, they created legs to balance the statue perfectly.

Miller said once the tree was on the ground, the idea of turning it into a statue popped up. He and Melcher have worked together on several projects, so he shared the idea with him.

I watched the chainsaw carver at Sportsmans Holiday and talked to him after the show but he didnt seem interested in something like this, Miller said. We went down to Reedsport and watched 40 carvers. Jessee did a great job and when we talked to him, he seemed very interested.

Strack has been creating chainsaw art for the last 18 years and started off crafting small wooden bear heads.

The log was taken to Melchers logging company shop in Sweet Home as a design was worked out.

Strack crafted two 5-foot wooden loggers at his home shop and brought them to Sweet Home recently for a final fitting on the log.

It was pretty tricky to get everything lined up just right to make it look as real as possible, he said. It a big project and has been a real challenge, but Ive done big projects before.

Miller crafted wooden spring boards  long, wooden planks for loggers to stand on while sawing  and placed them into slots in the log. The wooden loggers hold a real metal saw.

There are so many angles and dynamics involved, Strack said. We had to think about the placement of the springboards, the angle of the loggers hands and getting the saw level.

Strack studied photos of old-time loggers and said it took about a month to create the pair.

Getting the hands and feet right was the hardest part, he said.

The hard work might come as the auction nears. The statue will have to be carefully taken apart, moved to the Boys and Girls Club on 18th Avenue, and reassembled for the auction. The process will then be repeated at its new home.

We hope it brings a lot of money, Miller said. Its for a good cause.

According to Kris Latimer, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Santiam, 27 percent of children in east Linn County live in poverty.

Some 220 children in Sweet Home participate in club programs and services daily with 1,100 total enrolled.

The two clubs served more than 85,000 free meals last year.
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POLICE REPORTS Its my birthday and I need a haircut

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The races for two US House seats in Oregon remain unresolved heading into the weekend, with tens of thousands of ballots left to be counted in the vote-by-mail state. Oregon's 5th Congressional District and 6th Congressional District hung in the balance Friday. A new law in Oregon allows votes to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, meaning that some ballots have just arrived at election offices and many county offices were closed Friday for Veteran's Day. Clackamas County, key in both contests, says it has as many as 65,000 late-arriving ballots left to count.
A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now?
Susan Hayes is a descendant of one of the Benton County residents who raised money for the construction of Benton Hall in the 1880s.

To me, its an inspiring story, said Hayes, a Corvallis resident. If the citizens had not raised the money, [Oregon State University] would not be in Corvallis today and Corvallis would be a very different town.

Hayes spoke following a community workshop Tuesday evening at the university about whether the campus building should be renamed. Benton Hall is one of four structures being evaluated for possible renaming because their namesakes may have held racist views. The structure was named after Benton County, which got its name from Thomas Hart Benton, a United States senator from Missouri.

About 50 people, comprising students, faculty, staff members and community residents, discussed in small groups the life and viewpoints of Benton, as well the legacy of the community members who raised funds for the creation of the building.

Benton County was created in 1847. Its namesake had advocated removing Native Americans from their lands so white Americans could expand westward, according to a report from historians. Benton was also a slave-owner by inheritance but opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, the report states.

In 1885, after the Methodist Church relinquished control over the state agricultural college in Corvallis, the Oregon state legislature passed an act requiring the citizens of Benton County to pay for the construction of a college building, according to the report.

The residents of Benton County (at the time there were only 1,400 households) conducted a yearslong drive to raise $25,000 to construct the building, which was called the Administration Building for the first decades of its life, the report states.

In 1947, President August Strand proposed a new name for the building that would recognize the citizens of Benton County who were integral in its creation, according to the report.

To me, the building is named for the citizens of Benton County, Hayes said. Its not named for Thomas H. Benton.

I dont want the actions of the citizens to be forgotten because it was such a significant event in the history of the university and the town, she added.

Hayes said she has not decided whether the building should be renamed.

During the workshop, sophomore psychology student Jessica Molina said the citizens raised the money for educational purposes. Molina speculated those citizens would favor the intellectual evolution that has scorned Bentons racist beliefs.

They may have the same idea as us, but theyre not here to state that, Molina said.

Carrie Czarnecki, a human development and family sciences sophomore, said she sees a lot of hypocrisy within the university. Czarnecki said the school claims core values such as diversity and integrity, but then it has buildings on its campus named after people such as Benton.

Were not following these core values, she said. In a way, I feel betrayed.

Czarnecki noted the university plans to, if a building is renamed, create a permanent plaque or small exhibit for the structure explaining its original name and reason for renaming.

I dont think we should completely erase what happened, she said.

To read the historical report on Thomas Hart Benton and Benton Hall, visit http://bit.ly/2z7mqFH.

To submit online feedback about the renaming of campus buildings that will be considered by university officials, go to http://leadership.oregonstate.edu/webform/submit-feedback.

Feedback from each of the community meetings on the buildings namesakes, as well as historical reports and other evidence assembled by a university work group studying the building names issue, will be submitted to OSU President Ed Ray for consideration. Ray is expected to announce a decision on whether to rename any or all of the buildings on Nov. 27.
Go-around at Dusseldorf airport : Authorities investigating Air Berlin pilot maneuver

Dusseldorf An Air Berlin flight from the U.S. to Dusseldorf Airport was scheduled to land for the last time on Monday when an attention-getting maneuver by the pilot was captured on video and went viral. Aviation authorities are investigating.

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Air Berlins flight operations will cease on October 28 this year following insolvency proceedings and a consequent sell-off. On Monday morning, Flight AB7001 from Miami was scheduled to land at Dusseldorf Airport at 8 am when it performed a spectacular maneuver. It was the last long distance flight from the U.S. to Germany for Air Berlin. Federal aviation authorities in Germany are now investigating.

Shortly before landing, the Airbus A330 turned rather sharply to the left and flew closely over the visitors terrace and Terminal C. After the aircraft gained some altitude and made a complete loop known as a go-around, it landed eight minutes later on a runway at Dusseldorf Airport.

Video goes viral

An airport employee filmed the maneuver and told rp-online.de: It was a strange feeling as the A330 came towards us. She had known that the last long-distance flight of Air Berlin from the U.S. was scheduled to land at 8 am in Dusseldorf. With some of her co-workers, she watched the landing from a window at a gate in Terminal B.

The aircraft performed the go-around quickly and it became evident that it was not an emergency but rather the crew bidding farewell on this last Air Berlin flight from the U.S. to Dusseldorf. A spokesperson from the airlines, however, would not confirm this information for rp-online.de. Some media reports say the pilot was celebrated by members of the airlines for having made the maneuver. In Miami, the flight also departed with some fanfare; the fire department sprayed a big fountain of water over the aircraft to say good-bye.

Aviation authorities investigate

German federal aviation authorities (LBA) are now investigating the incident, according to a spokesperson from the airlines. Air Berlin will fully cooperate with the LBA as it carries out its investigation. Federal aviation authorities could not be reached for comment. The Air Berlin spokesperson said it was a go-around maneuver at an altitude designated by flight traffic controllers. The reason for the maneuver was yet to be determined.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
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HAVAS GROUP EXPANDS INTO ALGERIA WITH THE ACQUISITION OF GANFOOD AND HVS

Havas Group today announced it has acquired a 49% stake in two Algerian-based agencies: GANFOOD, a creative and consultancy agency and HVS, a media agency.

GANFOOD was created in 2003 by young Algerians with a passion for graphic design and creation in general. Starting as a graphic design agency, Ganfood has since become a 360 global communications agency. Its customer portfolio includes prestigious international and local brands such as Heineken, Peugeot, Sanofi, Lafarge, Societe Generale, Toudja, etc.

HVS was founded in 2009 and has since become a major player in the Algerian media industry. The agency specializes in media consultancy and buying, using innovative tools for the local market to measure ROI and to make astute decisions for investment. HVS' customer portfolio also includes prestigious international and local brands including Lactalis, Emirates, Hygienix, LG, Mango, IFRI, JDE, etc.

GANFOOD will become Havas Creative Alger and HVS will become Havas Media Alger. Cherif Medjaoui (Managing Partner of GANFOOD) will be Managing Director in charge of Creation at Havas Creative Alger and Isma Tifous (Managing Partner of HVS) will be Managing Director of Havas Media Alger. Both agencies, presided by Pascal Allard who is also CEO Havas North Africa, will form the Havas Village Alger, which will rank in the Top 5 on the Algerian market.

Yannick Bollore, CEO Havas Group declared: Integrating GANFOOD and HVS into the Havas Village Alger is a milestone in the development of Havas Group in Africa. The alliance between a leading global communications group of French origins and two Algerian agencies such as GANFOOD and HVS will make for a successful and creative combination. To the new teams, welcome to Havas! 

Pascal Allard, CEO Havas North Africa and President of the Havas Village Alger: These acquisitions are the outcome of a long process jointly led with our Algerian partners and they reflect our "To better together" philosophy at Havas. This is also about people who are passionate about our professions and eager to bring a new momentum to the Algerian market in view of the fantastic opportunities that the beautiful country of Algeria offers.

Our initial ambition was for GANFOOD to become a successful creative studio. However, the opportunities to be seized on the Algerian market made us realize that we could transform our passion into something much bigger. Joining the Havas Group opens up a whole new world to us! It is up to us to drive this union towards innovative strategies, brilliant creation with flawless execution! added Cherif Medjaoui, Managing Partner in charge of Creation.

Isma Tifous, Managing Partner at Havas Media Alger said: I believe that change is necessary to accomplish great things and that flexibility is key to drive and operate change. The acquisition of HVS by Havas is an excellent opportunity, a new journey that guarantees important development. My team and I are eager to seize such major change with passion, dedication and excitement to build great successes together!

About Havas Group

Havas is one of the world's largest global communications groups. Founded in 1835 in Paris, the Group employs 20,000 people in over 100 countries. Havas Group is committed to being the world's best company at creating meaningful connections between people and brands through creativity, media and innovation. Based on a client-centric model across media and creative, the Havas Group is the most integrated company in its sector. We operate with three business units (creative, media and healthcare & wellness) within our Havas Villages all over the world where teams share the same premises ensuring agility and a seamless experience for clients.

#ToBetterTogether

Further information about Havas Group is available on the company's website: www.havasgroup.com

About Ganfood

Ganfood is a creative and advertising agency based in Algeria and founded in 2003 by a team of young Algerians passionate about Creation, Graphic design and Design. Activating at first in the fields of graphic arts, our know-how and our experience have constantly developed and we permanently explore new ways of doing things. Our agency chose the name Ganfood (hedgehog in Arab) for the friendly and familiar behavior of this little animal! Starting as a graphic design agency, Ganfood has become a 360 global communications agency.

About HVS Communication

A media agency based in Algeria, HVS was founded in 2009. The agency specializes in media consultancy and media buying, using innovative tools for the local market to measure ROI and to make calculated decisions in media investment. From a start-up in the media industry, HVS has since become a key player in Algeria.

Contacts:

Lorella Gessa

Chief Communications Officer, Havas Group

+33 (0)1 58 47 90 36

lorella.gessa@havas.com

@Lorella_Gessa

Delphine Maillet

Director of Investor Relations, Havas Group

+33 (0)1 58 47 92 42

delphine.maillet@havas.com

29-30 quai de Dion Bouton 92817 Puteaux Cedex, France

Tel +33 (0) 1 58 47 80 00 Fax +33 (0) 1 58 47 99 99

SA au capital de 169 222 321,20 - 335 480 265 RCS Nanterre - APE 7311Z

www.havasgroup.com

www.havasgroup.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/HavasGroup/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HavasGroup

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Havas

Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e375c894-d594-4307-bfc4-94768ccff364
A national bond-rating agency says Virginia could return to a stable outlook for state budget revenues if it builds its reserves and stops tapping its rainy day fund in sunny weather.

S&P Global said this month that it will maintain the negative outlook it adopted six months ago on Virginias financial status but suggested the state can change the agencys mind with the right budget behavior.

If the commonwealth were to end the (budget) biennium with stronger-than-projected reserves and demonstrate sustainable, structural balance, we could revise the outlook back to stable, the agency said in a new report on Oct. 2.

For the administration of Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the General Assemblys budget committees, that means doing more to build a new cash reserve in the two-year budget the governor will introduce in December and the legislature will act upon in its upcoming 60-day session.

They are looking at what we do with the cash reserve, Secretary of Finance Richard D. Ric Brown told the House Appropriations Committee on Monday during an update on state revenues and a visit last month by all three national bond-rating agencies.

Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, already has laid down a marker for legislators with legislation he has promised to introduce in January that would commit the state to building a reserve of at least $380 million, or 2 percent of the $19 billion general fund budget.

Were intending to do those things, Jones said in an interview in response to the latest S&P letter.

The letter, coming weeks after a two-day visit by S&P, Fitch and Moodys bond-rating analysts, reaffirmed Virginias ratings of AAA for general obligation bonds, AA+ for school financing bonds, and AA for moral obligation debt.

However, S&P credit analyst Carol H. Spain repeated the warnings the agency issued in April about Virginias over-reliance on the revenue stabilization, or rainy day, fund in two of the past three years despite the national recovery from recession.

The state made a constitutionally required payment of $605 million to the fund in the fiscal year that ended June 30, but the budget for this fiscal year will rely again on a withdrawal of $272.5 million from the fund.

The negative outlook reflects the commonwealths recent trend of structural imbalance and projected lower reserve balances, Spain wrote. The planned use of the revenue stabilization fund is out of step with the current economic cycle and a reversal of its past practices of building reserves during periods of economic growth.

In our opinion, lower reserves could weaken its ability to respond to economic and financial downturns and be an indication of weaker credit quality, she added. Managements ability to adjust to changes in the commonwealths economy, whether through revisions to forecasts or sustainable budget adjustments, will be critical to maintenance of the rating.

McAuliffe and assembly budget leaders agreed this year to establish a new cash reserve fund with at least $35 million expected to be collected through a new tax amnesty program the state launched recently. The budget predicts as much as $90 million in additional revenues from the amnesty collection of past due taxes, while requiring any excess funds to be deposited in the new reserve.

In August, the governor proposed, as Jones and other assembly leaders had urged, to put an estimated $121.5 million in excess revenues from the last fiscal year into the new fund, which will boost its balance above $155 million without the additional money expected from the amnesty.

The target of $380 million is based in part on the constitutional prohibition on withdrawing money from the rainy day fund unless revenues fall short of projections by more than 2 percent. The new reserve would give the state a backup fund in case revenues fall short by less than that threshold, said Robert P. Vaughn, staff director of the appropriations committee.

Virginias revenue outlook continues to improve in this fiscal year, after ending the last one with an additional $136.5 million. The states general fund revenues grew by 5.5 percent in September compared with the same month a year ago, even though there was one less payroll deposit day this year.

Consequently, the states total revenues grew 4.1 percent in the first three months of the fiscal year, which puts collections ahead of the annual forecast of 2.7 percent growth assumed in the budget adopted earlier this year.

However, Brown cautioned legislators about impending budget pressures  such as the scheduled withdrawal from the rainy day fund and spending updates for K-12 education and Medicaid that are likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars in the next two years.

He also cited uncertainty over tax reforms proposed by President Donald Trump and potential threats to federal spending that is crucial to Virginias economy as the Republican president and Congress face a deadline in early December for adopting a federal budget or facing automatic spending cuts through sequestration.

Sequestration is still the law of the land, he said.

Del. Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico, who will retire in January, said the Democratic McAuliffe administration should not assume that proposed tax cuts would hurt Virginias economy.

The risk of tax reform is a positive risk, not a negative risk, Massie said.

However, Jones reminded him that boom times can turn bust, as they did at the turn of the millennium, and are not sustainable.

For the bond-rating agencies, Brown said the biggest questions raised during their September visit involved state over-reliance on the rainy day fund and the potential effects of a then-pending proposal by Republicans in the U.S. Senate that would have capped federal funding to states for Medicaid.

That bill would have ended Medicaid as we know it, he said.

Jones and other Republican leaders in the assembly had voiced similar concerns over previous attempts by congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and convert Medicaid into a per-capita block grant program they feared would shift huge costs to the states.

The Affordable Care Act survived, although state officials are braced for the potential loss of federal funding for the childrens health insurance program that would end health coverage for 66,000 children and 1,100 pregnant women by the end of January. The state expects to notify program participants of terminated coverage by Dec. 1 unless Congress acts to reauthorize funding.

Virginia Medicaid Director Cindi B. Jones also briefed the committee on different options to pay for expanding coverage of services for people with serious mental illnesses, but she also reminded legislators that the state is losing $2 billion a year in federal funding by refusing to expand Medicaid under the health care law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Jones estimated that Virginia would save $138 million in the next two years by expanding Medicaid, which would allow federal funding to supplant state general fund revenues for community mental health services, as well as hospital care for uninsured people and state prison inmates.

Politics aside, when youre looking for money, that is still one big option, she said.

Members of the committee responded with silence.
Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Endurance Gold Corp. (EDG  TSX.V, Endurance) is pleased to report encouraging results from a rock and soil sampling program (the Program) completed in August on the South Fork Target. The South Fork Target is located on the Trout Property which was acquired earlier this year to expand and enhance the exploration potential of the Companys Elephant Property. The Elephant Mountain Project, which includes the Elephant, Trout and Wolverine Properties, can be easily accessed by the all-weather Elliott Highway located 76 miles (123 kilometres (km)) northwest of Fairbanks within the Rampart-Eureka-Manley Hot Springs placer gold mining districts near Eureka, Alaska.

The South Fork Target is located approximately two km northeast of the Trout Target which results were announced on October 12, 2017. As reported on August 28, 2017, initial assay results from 2017 sampling on South Fork returned gold values up to 6.60 parts per million (ppm) and 1.94% lead. Follow-up rock samples reported in this release were collected in August and returned gold values including 10.35 ppm, 6.73 ppm, 5.15 ppm, 4.10 ppm, and 3.53 ppm, confirming the gold potential associated with one or more structural linear features. The three highest gold-in-rock samples collected in August also returned 0.48% lead, 1.280% lead, and 1.205% lead respectively. Elevated arsenic is also associated with the higher gold values in rock. Mineralization is related to oxidized sulphides associated with quartz veining, vein stockwork, and quartz healed breccia hosted in hornfels altered clastic sediments. Hand trenching was also completed in August. The most significant area of the trench exposed the quartz-breccia over about 9 metre (m) in estimated true width associated with quartz breccia and quartz vein stockwork with slickensides and oxidized sulphides. Chip sampling averaged 0.547 ppm gold over 9.14 m including 0.846 ppm gold over 4.57 m. With the trench assay and other rock samples the quartz-breccia mineralization has now been confirmed in rocks over an east-west trend distance of 250 m.

"We are pleased that the South Fork anomaly has advanced to become a sixth drill target at Elephant commented Robert Boyd, President and CEO of Endurance. "The frequency of identification of higher grade gold-in-rock samples over a trend area of at least 250 m is encouraging and warrants additional trenching to expose these structures, soil sampling to better define the strike extent of the mineralized structures, and initial drill testing.

Results from 76 soil samples received to date cover about a 500 x 250 m area. While the South Fork anomaly has significantly higher grade gold-in-rocks than the Trout Target, the soil signature at South Fork is much more subtle for gold and other elements than the Trout Target. Soil sampling has defined an east-west trending 350 m x 25 m (+20 parts per billion (ppb)) gold-in-soil anomaly directly associated with 10.35 ppm and 6.6 ppm gold-in-rock samples. Approximately 90 m to the north, a sub-parallel 200 m x 25 m (+20 ppb) gold-in-soil anomaly has also been defined associated with a gold-in-rock quartz-breccia sample of 6.73 ppm gold. These two east-west trends are also defined by anomalous arsenic (+50 ppm) and lead-in-soil (+50 ppm).

Plan maps showing the location of the Trout soil sample grid and rock samples with analytical results to date are available at www.endurancegold.com.

The Elephant Mountain Project which hosts at least six km-scale gold targets associated with a Cretaceous aged intrusive complex and hornfels alteration that extends over a strike length of about 12 km. Five of these gold targets are associated with greater than +100 ppb gold-in-soil and multiple +1 grams per tonne gold in rock samples. A map showing the location of the three properties and targets is also available at www.endurancegold.com.

Next Steps  With the identification of this South Fork Target and the Trout Target reported on October 12, 2017, the Company has now identified six drill targets supported by chargeability anomalies and gold-in-soil at the Elephant Mountain Project. Further soil sampling to increase sampling density and expand the trend potential is also warranted. Minor soil and rock sample results are still pending on the Wolverine Target and will be reported once available. The Company has deferred the implementation of a drill program until the spring.

About Endurance

Endurance Gold Corp. is a company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of highly prospective North American mineral properties with the potential to develop world-class deposits. The company also owns a significant shareholding in Inventus Mining Inc.(IVS-TSXV) which controls the entire Pardo paleoplacer (Witwatersrand-type) gold district near Sudbury, Ontario and shares in GFG Resources Inc. (GFG-TSXV) which controls the entire Rattlesnake Hills gold district in Wyoming, USA.

ENDURANCE GOLD CORPORATION

Robert T. Boyd

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Endurance Gold Corporation

(604) 682-2707, info@endurancegold.com

www.endurancegold.com

Robert T. Boyd, P.Geo. is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and supervised the compilation of the information forming the basis for this release. The grab samples from the 2017 sampling program were analyzed at ALS Minerals using Au-ST43, Au-ICP21, ME-MS41, Au-GRA21(+10 ppm), and Pb-OG46(+10,000 ppm). The soil samples from the 2017 sampling program were also analyzed at ALS Minerals using Au-ST43, Au-AROR43 (>100 ppb), and ME-MS41. Both Endurance and ALS Minerals inserted standards with each shipment analyzed. Bedrock grab samples mentioned in this release are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades within the bedrock when drilled.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/EnduranceGold10182017.pdfSource: Endurance Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:EDG, OTC Bulletin Board:ENDGF)

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Sudbury, Ontario (FSCwire) - Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX.V: FL) (the Company) is proposing a non-brokered private placement offering of up to 1,250,000 common shares (Common Shares) of the Company.

The Common Shares are to be issued under a unit offering of 1,250,000 units (Units) at a subscription price of $.40 per Unit. Each Unit shall consist of one (1) Common Share of the Company and one (1) share purchase warrant (the Warrant). Each full Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share of Frontier at an exercise price of $.64 for an eighteen (18) month period from closing (the Offering). Completion of the private placement is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

All of the Shares and Warrants issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a 4-month hold period. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance exploration of Frontiers 100% owned and optioned PAK Lithium Project located in northwestern Ontario.

Frontier Lithium reserves the opportunity to grant to eligible persons a finders fee of a maximum 6% of the gross proceeds of the Offering and finder options of a maximum of 6% of the total number of Units sold under the Offering. Each finder option will be exercisable at an exercise price of $0.64 into one common share for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance.

About Frontier Lithium Inc.

Frontiers goal is to become a low-cost, fully integrated lithium and tantalum producer through development of the PAK lithium deposit in Ontario, Canada. Frontier maintains a tight share structure with management ownership exceeding 30% of the Company. CAD $6 million of exploration work has been conducted from 2013 to 2017 on the deposit which boasts its lithium in a rare, high-purity, low-iron spodumene. The initial target market is the glass-ceramic industry which consumes roughly one-third of global lithium supply and is currently faced with monopolistic conditions, coupled with major lithium producers increasingly directing output toward supporting battery manufacture.

Ceramic/glass customers prefer to source technical-grade (low-iron) spodumene concentrate in excess of 7% lithium oxide (Li 2 O), if available, to avoid lower grade petalite concentrates, or paying much higher prices for battery grade lithium compounds. The Company's October 2017 Metallurgical Study returned favourable results by producing lithium concentrate with a grade of 7.13% lithium oxide (Li 2 O) with a corresponding Li 2 O recovery of 79.4% which satisfies the preference from technical-grade consumers.

The PAK lithium deposit remains open in all directions and Company Management is working towards developing a viable operation. The Company is currently conducting a pre-feasibility study to assess the economic viability and technical feasibility of producing lithium concentrates. Frontiers goal is to first establish a viable technical grade spodumene concentrate operation. A possible second stage of investment and longer term prospect is to further process some of PAKs output to produce the higher purity lithium compounds required for lithium battery technologies used in the electrification of transportation and electric grid storage applications.

About the PAK Lithium Project

The PAK Lithium Project lies close to the boundary between two geological sub-provinces of the western Superior geologic province in northwestern Ontario and hosts a rare metals pegmatite deposit. The deposit is an LCT (lithium- cesium- tantalum) type pegmatite. These types of pegmatites have been the principal source of hard rock lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium ores mined in the world but there are comparatively few commercially-viable deposits.

Frontier is actively exploring its 100% owned project which contains the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite. The PAK deposit has a current Measured and Indicated Resource of 7.89 million tonnes of 1.73% Li2O equivalent (eq.) or 1.58% Li2O and 104 ppm Ta2O5 and an Inferred Resource of 295,600 tonnes of 1.35% Li2O eq. or 1.20% Li2O and 103 ppm Ta2O5 which has a technical/ceramic grade spodumene with low inherent iron (below 0.1% Fe2O3). The deposit has adjacent zones that are enriched in tantalum and rubidium.

The deposit now has a known 500m strike length with an estimated true width varying from 10m to 125m with a sub-vertical orientation. The resource remains open to depth and along strike to the northwest and southeast.

Company Contact Information

Trevor R. Walker

President & CEO

2736 Belisle Drive Val Caron, ON. P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.897.7622

F. +001 705.897.7618

Media Requests

Joseph Mansourian

Manager, Investor Relations

2736 Belisle Drive Val Caron, ON. P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.618.0070

F. +001 705.897.7618

Additional information regarding Frontier Lithium is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile and on its website at www.frontierlithium.com, including various pictures of ongoing work at the project.

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.

-End-

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/FrontierLithium10182017.pdfSource: Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX Venture:FL)

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Every other month, Tanya Nelson travels 32 miles from the heart of Appalachias coal country for an appointment with the nearest psychiatrist for therapy and to renew prescriptions. But the commute, which should take less than an hour through the winding mountain roads of southern West Virginia, consumes her entire day.Nelson, 29, needs treatment for bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. But she does not drive, so she must use a van service to keep her appointments. It makes numerous stops along the highway, picking up other travelers, and usually doesnt return to her home in New Richmond, W.Va., until days end.Ill call and tell them Im ready [after my appointment ends], but they tell me theyre waiting for someone else, Nelson said as she described a typical trip.Nelson is among many area residents who do not drive. Patricia Hagerman, 63, of nearby War, W.Va., has relied on her sister for the past 11 years to drive her about an hour each way to the nearest psychiatrist  in Princeton, W.Va. She makes the trip once every two months for depression and anxiety treatment.I dont want to go, Hagerman said, But I do go. [Seeing the psychiatrist is] worth the trip.Getting mental health services here is fraught with challenges. But the need is great.There are no psychiatrists in Wyoming County. A handful of small, general medical practices and a few behavioral health specialists handle services for the 21,763 residents. Patients issues  ranging from depression, anxiety, addiction and other mental health concerns  are aggravated by the local economic downturn.Dr. Joanna Bailey, who practices family medicine here and treats patients covered by Medicaid, said the lack of mental health care access puts her patients at a disadvantage.As a family doctor, Im doing way more psychiatry than I am comfortable with, Bailey said. She sends patients like Nelson, who need more specialized help, to the closest psychiatrist in Beckley, W.Va. In addition to the transportation hurdle, it can take a month or more to get an appointment.Bailey practices in both Wyoming and McDowell counties  Appalachian areas once fueled by a booming coal industry. Today, much of the local economy relies on tourists coming to use the areas ATV trails. Infrastructure has been neglected. Shops have been boarded up and abandoned. Medicaid enrollment is roughly 35 percent in Wyoming County and 48 percent in McDowell County, according to the advocacy group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care.She said about 30 percent of her caseload is treatment for mental health issues.As someone who was born and raised in Wyoming County and has witnessed the economic slide, Bailey understands many of the issues her patients face.The coal industry, which was once king in this region, has been declining for years. So, weve lost a lot of people, and thats depressing, Bailey said. We havent had growth, and a lot of people are unemployed right now. Thats traumatic to families on every level.When parents with mental health disorders go untreated, a vicious cycle is set in motion, she said. Those children grow up with the same mental health issues because theyve watched the same unhealthy relationships their whole life, Bailey said. Its just a cycle of abuse and trauma.Joy Butcher-Winfree works alongside Bailey as the sole clinical psychologist within their practice. She usually handles about nine behavioral health cases each day.I only have so much time and only so much energy, Butcher-Winfree said. Its very overwhelming most all the time.  If someone is in a crisis, they need more than that 15-, 30- or 45-minute slot.One resource for patients is the Southern Highlands Community Mental Health Center, which also accepts Medicaid patients. The Wyoming County location serves about 400 people, according to clinic administrator Rebecca Marsh. It offers therapy sessions and counseling, among other services, such as group support meetings and community engagement programs. Yet Marsh said she has trouble hiring employees.Its difficult for folks from surrounding areas to drive to this area to provide the services that are needed, Marsh said.Study after study shows health markers in Appalachia lagging. In August, an analysis in the journal Health Affairs found a widening gap comparing health indicators such as infant mortality and life expectancy in Appalachia with the rest of the country.Also in August, research released by the Appalachian Regional Commission highlighted the areas high mortality rates in seven of the nations leading causes of death  including suicide. It also showed the region has fewer health care professionals compared with the rest of the country, specifically mental health care providers.The lack of sufficient mental health care access contributes to other health issues, such as chronic pain, substance abuse, nicotine-related diseases and more, Bailey said.She said some cases make her nervous about whether she has the background to provide sufficient care. One of those is depression in adolescents. She said she prescribed one patient the antidepressant Prozac but fears that a bad reaction to the drug led the teen to attempt suicide.Since that episode, it makes me more nervous, Bailey said. But you know, at this point, Im a month out of being able to get people in [to see a psychiatrist], unless Im sending somebody to the hospital.The lack of mental health care professionals, specifically psychiatrists, is also an effect of Appalachias suffering economy, Butcher-Winfree said.Most of the patients whom Bailey and Butcher-Winfree treat are insured by Medicare or Medicaid. The poverty level in Wyoming and McDowell counties is about 23 percent and 35 percent, respectively, according to 2015 figures from the Census Bureau.The practice is a federally qualified health care center. It offers a sliding fee scale based on the patients ability to pay for those who live at or below the federal poverty level and receives federal subsidies for providing care to an underserved area. That funding is pivotal in helping to keep the practice financially viable, Butcher-Winfree said.For a private practice, it would be absolutely impossible to make a living and reimburse student debt, she said.She added that the rural location deters doctors as well. Butcher-Winfree drives an hour and a half each day from her home in Mercer County to the clinic.One resource Bailey said will soon help is the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program through West Virginia University. Specialists at the college are available for rural health care providers to consult on cases.Bailey participates in the ECHO programs on hepatitis C and chronic pain. Soon she will be in a psychiatry program as well.She said she presents patients cases to the hub participants, who in turn make suggestions for her.We can implement the care they would be receiving at a specialty center, Bailey said. That has helped drastically. But its still not quite enough yet.
The city of Lexington, Ky., carried out a surprise removal of two controversial Confederate statues from the lawn of the former Fayette County courthouse early Tuesday evening.At about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, police arrived on Main Street and blocked off the area around the statue of John C. Breckinridge, closing one lane of traffic as workers arrived with crane equipment.Within an hour, dozens of spectators had gathered to watch workers lift the statues and then wrap them in tarp. The crowd occasionally erupted in cheers while many filmed the event and posted it to social media.The crowd occasionally erupted in cheers.A Tuesday opinion by Attorney General Andy Beshear opened the door for the city to begin the removal of the statues.The city had previously said that the board of the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission had to approve the removal of the statues. But Beshear's opinion said the commission does not have jurisdiction.The city issued a release Tuesday night saying that "Attorney General Andy Beshear has issued an opinion that the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission does not have jurisdiction over the statues.""We discovered the city council did not authorize the mayor to give up local authority to the state Military Heritage Commission in 2003," Mayor Jim Gray said in a statement. "That action wasn't lawful, and it is void. The Attorney General confirmed our finding this morning. That means our local authority remains intact; this is a local decision, as it should be. This council has unanimously supported moving the statues to the Lexington Cemetery. The cemetery trustees have voiced their conditional approval. That's what we intend to do."Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city, said they tried to contact the commission Tuesday but did not get a response. The city sent the commission the attorney general's opinion. It's not clear if the commission will challenge the city's decision to take down the statues. No one from the commission could be reached late Tuesday.The statues of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and Breckinridge, a former U.S. Vice President and the last Confederate Secretary of War, have stood in downtown Lexington for more than 130 years.The statues were moved to a private storage facility until the city finalizes details of an agreement with the Lexington Cemetery, city officials said.DeBraun Thomas, one of the organizers of Take Back Cheapside, which has pushed for the removal of the statues, was one of the spectators."There were plenty of people that said that we were crazy and that nobody was going to listen to us," Thomas said as he broadcast live on Facebook as the Breckinridge statue was taken down. "This is what happens when the power of the people stand together. Take this moment right now, Lexington, and enjoy it."Lexington Vice Mayor Steve Kay also watched as the statues came down."We've been working on this for quite a while," Kay said. "So many things had to fall into place. So many people had to agree to everything. And to have it actually happen right now is terrific."The city said Mayor Teresa Isaac signed an application in 2003 asking that the statues be designated as Kentucky Military Heritage sites, but the Lexington council never voted on the request. Isaac signed the application at the request of a private citizen. Isaac has not commented on why she signed the petition.Beshear ruled Tuesday that Isaac wasn't authorized to do that without the council's approval.But the city kept the attorney general's opinion a secret until Tuesday night.Neither the request for the attorney general's opinion by the city or the contents of that decision was discussed by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council during an open meeting Tuesday. The council was told of Beshear's opinion Tuesday during a closed-door session. The council is allowed to discuss a limited number of issues behind closed doors.Straub said they believed city officials could brief the council on the attorney general's opinion because it could involve potential litigation, one of the reasons an elected body can discuss something in secret.Jon Fleischaker, a lawyer who specializes in open meetings, said discussing an attorney general's opinion might meet the threshold for that exemption."You have to have actual or threatened litigation," Fleischaker said. "It can not be hypothetical."The Lexington council voted unanimously in August to move the statues, and the board of the Lexington Cemetery tentatively agreed to take them last month.Both Breckinridge and Morgan are buried at the cemetery, and private donors are providing an endowment to pay for the upkeep and security of the statues there.The city said Tuesday that the removal and planned relocation of the statues is being paid for primarily with private funds and through donations.Gray called for the removal of the statues on Aug. 12, as conflict flared between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., that left three people dead and others injured. After that violence, dozens of people came before the Lexington council to plead that the statues be removed.Some white nationalists said in August that they planned to come to protest the removal of the statues.
The Arizona Department of Corrections paid nearly $27,000 to import from overseas an illegal drug for executions by lethal injection, but federal officials stopped the shipment at the airport.According to heavily redacted documents obtained by, the Corrections Department contracted to purchase 1,000 vials of the anesthetic sodium thiopental. And although the seller's name and information are blacked out on the documents, an offer to sell the drug to Arizona is virtually identical to an unredacted offer sent to corrections officials in Nebraska from a pharmaceutical supplier in India.The Nebraska shipment was also stopped by agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.In June,sent a request to DOC under the Arizona Public Records Law seeking information about attempts to purchase thiopental. The request was ignored.was able to obtain the redacted documents because they were part of the legal "discovery" process in a federal lawsuit seeking transparency about executions from the Corrections Department.is party to the lawsuit.Thiopental is the same drug that Arizona and other states were importing from England after the drug became unavailable in the U.S. In 2010,exposed how DOC was working with local U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FDA officials to bypass drug importation laws.Thiopental is an older anesthetic that predates the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938. As such, it has never been approved by the FDA for importation. It was used as the first of three drugs in lethal-injection procedures nationwide.Afterreported on the imports in 2010, the British government and other European countries shut down exports of the drug. The U.S. District Court and U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled that the imports were illegal, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated supplies of the drug from state corrections departments.
The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday approved a yearlong test of drones by the LAPD, allowing the police department to become the largest in the nation to try using the controversial devices.The 3-1 vote was met by jeers from dozens of people who crowded the Police Commission's meeting room, many of whom repeatedly urged the civilian oversight panel to reject the proposal."Shame on you!" some shouted. "Shame on you!"That frustration spilled outside the Los Angeles Police Department's downtown headquarters as protesters settled in the middle of First and Main streets, chanting and holding signs as they denounced the decision. Officers ultimately led four people away in handcuffs.Drones have been hailed by law enforcement across the country as a valuable technology that could help find missing hikers or monitor armed suspects without jeopardizing the safety of officers. But efforts to deploy the unmanned aircraft have frequently drawn fierce criticism from privacy advocates and police critics, for whom the devices stir Orwellian visions of unwarranted surveillance or fears of weaponized drones patrolling the skies.Advocates say the drones could help protect officers and others by using nonhuman eyes to collect crucial information during high-risk situations. Skeptics worry that use of the devices will steadily expand and include inappropriate _ or illegal _ surveillance. The LAPD's harshest critics wanted the drone program scrapped before it even takes off.LAPD brass have promised careful restrictions on their drones _ or a "small Unmanned Aerial System," in police speak. The Police Commission approved a set of rules limiting their use to a handful of tactical situations, searches or natural disasters. Each drone flight will be approved by a high-ranking officer on a case-by-case basis. Another rule is listed in bold: LAPD drones won't be outfitted with any weapons, lethal or nonlethal.But many residents have said they're still wary.Dozens of people spoke out against LAPD drones during four community meetings held in late August. When the LAPD solicited written feedback, only 97 of the 1,675 emails it received had encouraged the department to move forward with the program, according to an assistant chief.Some groups had amplified their opposition in the days leading up to the Police Commission's vote. The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition _ which protested the LAPD's first look at drones in 2014 and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's use of them now _ sent commissioners a letter Monday demanding that they vote down the drones."The people of Los Angeles have spoken," the letter read. "Now the responsibility to uphold the peoples' trust lies with you, the civilian Board of Police Commissioners."The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said it too opposes the use of drones by the LAPD, writing in its own letter to the commission that the proposed program "poses serious risks to the privacy and civil rights of Los Angeles residents."Melanie Ochoa, a staff attorney at the ACLU, said concern over "mission creep" _ the idea that police will steadily, quietly expand use of the devices _ is one of the most significant concerns. Although the LAPD's proposed policy outlines circumstances when drones could be flown, she said, "there's nothing that stops this list from being expanded.""Beyond just what's in the policy today, it's also a question of what's in the policy tomorrow," she said.LAPD brass have acknowledged the controversy surrounding the devices and have tried to ease residents' fears at public forums and in a podcast released by the department last week. In that podcast, Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala said the LAPD tried to tailor the proposed rules to address specific concerns _ "to help alleviate some of the anxiety.""But that's why this is a pilot program," she continued. "Because we want people to take a look at how we are using this technology and be able to weigh in."The debate over whether the LAPD should use drones began in 2014, when the department received two Draganflyer X6 drones from police in Seattle _ drones the Washington agency unloaded after heavy criticism from the public.The outcry continued in L.A., and the drones were grounded before they were ever flown. The devices were ultimately locked away and destroyed this year _ just before the LAPD went public with its current proposal.This time, department officials have tried to assuage some of the concern by promising public oversight throughout the pilot program. Under the new rules, any request to fly a drone _ whether its use is approved or not _ will be documented and reviewed by high-ranking officers and two police commissioners. The full five-person Police Commission will also receive quarterly reports that will be made public.At the end of the yearlong pilot program, the panel would review use of the drones and determine whether to continue the program.
On Wednesday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey returned to Brisbane from official travel to Gladstone.

In the evening, at the Brisbane Club, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey attended the Brisbane Club Governors Dinner where His Excellency addressed guests.
Description

GIS - 18 October, 2017: A Conference on Marine Spatial Planning will be held in Mauritius in November 2017. The theme of the Conference is Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14).

The main objectives of the Conference are to explore strategies for the elaboration of a Marine Spatial Plan in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine reserves for sustainable development and to promote sharing of experiences and good practices in Marine Spatial Planning among Indian Ocean Rim Association Member States.

It also aims to promote collaborative research and development for ocean observatory and data management in the Indian Ocean.

Furthermore, it seeks to promote sustainable ocean economy development in Small Island Developing States through regional initiatives and make recommendations towards the implementation of Marine Spatial Planning good practices.

Some 21 Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association will participate in the Conference.

Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org Website:http://gis.govmu.org
Description

GIS - 18 October, 2018: The Republic of Mauritius and the Federated States of Micronesia have formally established diplomatic relations through the signature of a Joint Communique, on 10 October 2017, by the Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Jagdish D. Koonjul,, and the Permanent Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia to the UN, Ambassador Mrs. Jane J. Chigiyal, respectively. The Republic of Mauritius and the Federated States of Micronesia have formally established diplomatic relations through the signature of a Joint Communique, on 10 October 2017, by the Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Jagdish D. Koonjul,, and the Permanent Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia to the UN, Ambassador Mrs. Jane J. Chigiyal, respectively.

As both countries are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Ambassador Koonjul mentioned that they have a common destiny and face common vulnerabilities and challenges such as the severe impact of climate change. He added that SIDS like Mauritius and the Federated States of Micronesia have to stick together and speak with one voice, especially on ocean issues, climate change and marine issues to ensure their survival. He also called for movements of Ministers and business people to share experiences and learn from each other.

For Ambassador Chigiyal, the formalisation of diplomatic relations between Mauritius and the Federated States of Micronesia opens up several possibility of cooperation. According to her, both countries may be SIDS but are "Big Ocean States". She added that the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation is a milestone for SIDS and has inspired several other countries. She also expressed her interest in learning from Mauritius about the services sector such as tourism.

Mauritius is the 81st country with which the Federated States of Micronesia have established formal diplomatic relations.
Description

GIS  18 October 2017: Government is committed to uplift people from their dire conditions and improve their quality of life as well as promote an equitable and inclusive society, emphasised the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, yesterday in Bel Air Riviere Riche.

The Prime Minister was attending a ceremony during which keys were handed over to four beneficiaries under the National Empowerment Foundations (NEF) Fully Concrete House Scheme (FCHS). The event was organised to mark International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2017 celebrated annually on 17 October. The Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong, and other eminent personalities were also present.

In his address, Prime Minister Jugnauth underlined that poverty is a complex and multi-dimensional problem. With the provision of housing units, Government aims to convey a sense of security and freedom to vulnerable groups. The construction of a maximum number of housing units is high on Governments agenda so as to provide decent living conditions for people at the lower rung of the social ladder. This, in turn will contribute to the development of the country as well as the welfare of the citizens, he added.

He highlighted that a series of measures have been implemented to enhance the quality of life of people living in underprivileged conditions. These measures include: the renovation of 1224 NHDC houses as from July 2016 to the tune of Rs 134 million; the extension of the size of new social housing units; 10% of the total number of housing units in all new projects reserved for beneficiaries of the NEF. By the end of 2019 more than 11 000 housing units will be constructed, he added.

Prime Minister Jugnauth appealed to the population to take a pledge to combat poverty. The concerted efforts, sacrifices, discipline and hard work of the citizens will only promote a harmonious and equitable Mauritius, he underlined.

For his part, the Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong, pointed out that several incentives are being provided to improve the lifestyle of vulnerable people. The purpose is to bridge the gap between poor and rich as well as alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable groups, he stated.

The housing units and FCHS

Government is making provision for two types of units namely 40 m2 and 50 m2 depending on the plot of land. This type of housing unit equipped with, amongst others, plumbing and electrical installation, septic tanks and water connection, is being financed to the tune of Rs 900 000. Beneficiaries will have to pay only 25% of the cost depending on their age. The duration of the monthly payment will lapse between 20 and 25 years depending upon the repayment capacity of the beneficiary. The construction of a first batch of 117 social housing units under the FCHS started three months ago and the completion of these units is expected by May 2018.

The objective of the FCHS is to provide decent housing to eligible vulnerable families with the possibility of extension. Many eligible beneficiaries of the NEF live in housing units which are in bad conditions and deemed to be unfit. Based on an application for a housing unit and criteria set for the scheme, beneficiaries have been selected to benefit from NEFs housing scheme. The beneficiary should be eligible under the Social Register of Mauritius, and be the owner of the plot of land; or should be a lessee of a State Land from the Ministry of Housing and Lands.
For all of its best intentions, civic technology has long struggled with an inclusion problem. Data dashboards, web-based tools and mobile apps are typically built by relatively homogenous teams of developers for audiences that tend to share similar, relatively affluent demographic characteristics.The acute growth of inequality in many of America's largest cities makes this problem even more pressing. As the urbanist Richard Florida put it in a blog post a few months ago, the "clustering of talent, business, and economic capability in large, dense, knowledge-based places ... carves deep divisions into our cities and society." According to Florida's research, growing inequality in cities is positively correlated with the urban agglomeration of high-tech jobs. Indeed, attracting and retaining the technologists needed to produce civic tech often comes hand-in-hand with the urban conditions, such as soaring rents and gentrification, that define the inequitable city.Yet civic tech can play an important part in understanding inequality, formulating policy responses and delivering the necessary calls to action. Digital workers help address the economic divides of our cities when they create tools that better diagnose structural inequalities and amplify the voices of the underserved. And in the long run, we need to bring underrepresented groups themselves into the field of civic tech so that they can have an equal hand in designing solutions.In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti has worked with his staff and his Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded innovation team to begin unpacking the service imbalances that have long divided his city and many like it. Together, they are mapping residents' access to good schools, jobs, safe streets and other basic necessities critical to enabling upward mobility. Additionally, they are measuring the geographic distribution of wealth, income and economic activity to understand how the city's initiatives impact the livelihoods of residents.With the understanding that analysis without action is meaningless, Garcetti and his team are using these maps to set goals and hold themselves accountable for meeting them. One such effort is addressing the problem of litter- and junk-strewn neighborhoods. The city built a Clean Streets Index , a map that depicts each city street coded on a scale of 1 to 3: clean, somewhat clean and not clean. Assessment crews manually input street-cleanliness scores into a mobile application that geocodes the presence of litter. Citizens are encouraged to help out by scheduling bulky-item pickup, reporting illegal dumping and volunteering for community cleanups.Garcetti then declared that by 2018 there would be no city grid with a grade of 3. The Bureau of Sanitation responded by strategically deploying Clean Streets clean-up crews, and within its first year of use the app has driven down the number of unclean grids by more than 80 percent.Once a city has identified a problem and conceived of a solution, the third -- and most often overlooked -- step is to make the data, visualizations and methodologies accessible to audiences from all backgrounds. In a recent Civic Analytics Network webinar , Lilian Coral, who just stepped down as Los Angles' acclaimed chief data officer, noted that by describing to city residents how the city was doing its data collection and evaluation she was able to engender trust in her team's process and commitment to improve the streets for all.Still, cities face challenges in their efforts to enable residents in struggling neighborhoods to utilize the tools of civic tech. One approach is to work with intermediary organizations that facilitate diverse feedback and training initiatives, as is the case with Chicago's Civic User Testing Group, a foundation-supported civic organization that compensates individuals from around the city for focus-grouping civic tech products.Another approach is to extend outreach directly. For example, with the support of the hip-hop artist will.i.am's i.am.angel Foundation and the GIS vendor Esri, Los Angeles' Roosevelt High School now teaches students how to use Esri's ArcGIS system to learn more about their communities. High-schoolers mapping brownfields and park spaces are not only learning about their city but also how to do their own research in the future. This direct form of recruitment will help ensure that the civic tech teams of tomorrow are much more diverse and inclusive than today's.Through targeted outreach, we tap a recruitment pool that may help solve three problems in the long term: the shortage of data competence within government, the lack of diversity that encumbers civic technology, and the economic inequality that's taking place in the neighborhoods we're all eager to help. Civic tech not only has a tremendous opportunity to promote equality but also a pressing need to do so if we are to produce our best work.
To address the digital divide between the technological haves and have nots, the Parker Street neighborhood would be included in the pilot network.

To show its residential viability, the pilot would include the 10-acre property on the northeast edge of the downtown district that may become a 306-unit, multifamily neighborhood.

The starter service could also include the "East Main Street" community redevelopment area, a segment of the city that has received significant focus and investment by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

(TNS) -- LAKELAND  The city is denying its residents world-class data connectivity, affordable rates and a non-tax source of government revenue by neglecting to pursue the creation of a city-owned and operated, ultra-high-speed internet service provider, Commissioner Justin Troller said Friday.He said it can start with a pilot program focused on meeting three types of goals for what could ultimately be a citywide fiber optics internet service:Troller urged his colleagues on the commission to delay their earlier decision to forgo the public option in favor of a so-called "public-private partnership." The idea there is to leverage Lakeland's existing 330 miles of fiber optics to attract a partner willing to improve internet-service options in Lakeland.Instead, the city should get an estimate for the cost of building a pilot program serving the areas he specified."We, Lakeland, are unique, we have a rich tradition of being leaders and being on the forefront of stuff," Troller said to critics of the estimated cost. "This is just another thing."In the past three years, support for making a public service has dwindled from a cautious six-member majority to a single voice trying to keep the flame alive.Those concerns still dominate.The price of building the service, estimated at more than $200 million, and competition remain the stumbling blocks, Commissioner Don Selvage said."While we can all see the advantage of a public utility," he said, "there is the cost, and we are charged primarily with protecting the taxpayers' investments in this."Also, "I'm not convinced we can go head-to-head with the private corporations providing private broadband."A representative from Charter Communications, the company that owns the Spectrum internet service, attended the meeting.Troller's pitch Friday, though ostensibly related to a recent broadband conference he, Selvage and Assistant City Manager Shawn Sherrouse attended, was also aimed at the city's soon-to-be elected leaders.At least three commissioners will be stepping down from the board at the end of the year, and perhaps four  a majority. Seven of the 15 candidates for City Commission attended the special broadband workshop.In January, Troller will be the longest-serving commissioner still on the board, but institutional interests will continue to cast doubt on the feasibility of the project.Earlier this week, Steve Scruggs, president of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, published a blog making a case against building a public broadband service.Scruggs concluded the piece saying his group, a private business-advocacy and business-recruitment organization, did not see any economic-development benefit to building the service.Rather, based on the group's research and "our own experience over the past 30-plus years, companies continue to focus on real estate, incentives and talent when making relocation and expansion decisions," Scruggs wrote.Troller responded Friday."We continue to talk about attracting high-skill, high-wage jobs," he said. "However some think giving away taxpayer money is the only way to achieve it."
(TNS) -- San Diego will expand and upgrade its tipster app so residents can report more types of nuisances and get detailed feedback on how reported problems were resolved.Among the new problems the Get it Done! app will handle are illegal car washing, broken trash cans, missed pick-ups by city trash trucks and sanitation hazards such as linked to the spread of the local hepatitis A outbreak.The app will also start taking reports of broken water meter covers and violations of city codes, which could eventually include quality-of-life issues like excessive noise. There will also be the ability to report suspicious activity potentially related to terrorism.Residents will also be able to make appointments for things like getting a passport or disposing of hazardous waste.And they will get more detailed descriptions of how and when city officials resolved some types of complaints the app already allows residents to report, such as dead animals and illegal dumping of trash or large items."You want to know it got cleaned up when somebody dumped a mattress or a TV," said Almis Udrys, who has spearheaded implementation of the app as director of the citys Performance and Analytics Department.Since being launched as a pilot project in May 2016, the app has mostly been used to report potholes, graffiti and abandoned vehicles.Other nuisances frequently reported through the app include broken street lights, malfunctioning stoplights, damaged sidewalks, fallen trees, damaged curbs and street signs in need of repair.More than 28,000 people have downloaded the app and the city has received more than 160,000 nuisance reports.The average was about 6,000 per month until potholes blamed on last winters rains more than doubled that to 14,000 in January. Reports dropped after that to about 12,000 per month and have remained steadily there since.Udrys said he thinks potholes prompted people to seek the app out and many have stuck with it since.City officials say the app has helped accelerate resolution of nuisance problems and made city employees more efficient because it allows tipsters to precisely locate a nuisance.The upgrade and expansion is needed because the app doesnt allow reporting of some key nuisances, and because software limitations force the city to send only a closed message to people who report some types of problems.The upgraded app will allow a detailed response of how and when the problem was resolved and possibly a picture of the location since the city completed the work.In cases where the problem wasnt resolved for a particular reason or will be resolved at some time in the future, users of the app will get a message explaining that."Sometimes you are not able to just fix everything, said Udrys. It could be a sidewalk project where you know there's a larger scale project in a few months and we're going to do it then."Such responses wont be provided to people who report problems the city must refer to other agencies, such as the port district or San Diego Gas & Electric.Udrys said the city hopes to someday create a system all local agencies could use together.The upgrade will cost the city $2 million for software upgrades and double the cost of annual software licensing from $200,000 to $400,000. Annual maintenance costs are expected to remain at about $200,000, officials said.The City Council this week unanimously approved a new contract that will cover the upgrades."I think this is something that will only help our city improve and help our citizens better engage with City Hall to get things done," Councilman Mark Kersey said.On hepatitis, Councilman Chris Ward said business owners are using the app to report places where there might be some excrement or other need for attention," but said its crucial to directly allow reporting of sanitation hazards.Tipsters can technically report anything in the app already, but the expansion and upgrade will funnel those requests immediately to the appropriate city department."I think we have a little ways to go to unleash the total power of this," Ward said.Residents can report the same problems handled by the app on the citys website
(TNS) - As more people returned to their homes in Northern California on Tuesday and officials continued the search for dozens of missing people, fire crews gained additional ground on the deadly blazes that have scorched more than 210,000 acres and killed at least 41.The four largest fires were all more than 50 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.The 52,894-acre Nuns fire, which gave firefighters the most trouble over the weekend, was 68 percent contained.Crews made progress against the two parts of the fire closest to the cities of Sonoma and Santa Rosa, officials told firefighters at a morning briefing at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Some parts of the area remained evacuated.Today and the next few days, theres a lot less smoke in the air and a lot less media attention here, but the jobs not done, said Steve Crawford, operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.He said he is also feeling better about the fire that ignited Saturday near the Oakmont neighborhood on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa. That blaze grew throughout the day Monday to 1,029 acres, and was 27 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.My comfort levels coming up really good on that section, Crawford said Tuesday morning.The hills above Oakmont are dense with dead leaves, pine needles and grasses that provide plenty of fuel for the fire, Cal Fire officials wrote in their daily briefing. With only moderate wind, the fire will continue to burn with high intensity and put off heavy smoke, they said.Officials told firefighters to be meticulous about extinguishing dead trees and smoldering piles of grasses and leaves near the Oakmont fire because higher winds expected later Tuesday could deposit embers in unburned areas, igniting new fires.Mop-ups going to be the key. As we get to the point where the perimeters controlled, all the stuff inside needs to be controlled, 100 percent, said Don Watt, a Cal Fire fire behavior analyst.Most of Sonoma Countys mandatory evacuations were lifted by Monday, though areas of Glen Ellen and Kenwood are still under evacuation orders.Firefighters Monday night encountered light winds that helped their efforts, though temperatures were higher and humidity was lower than they had hoped for, said Sonoma County Sheriffs Deputy Brandon Jones.Firefighters are hoping that winds dont kick back up Tuesday like theyre forecast to, Jones said.Were hoping for low winds, Jones said. Weve had three nice days. We want to keep it going.The biggest danger to firefighters over the next few days is fatigue, which has set in after eight long, smoky days of firefighting, officials told crews in Sonoma on Tuesday morning.You guys have been in warp drive, said Bret Gouvea, the Cal Fire incident commander. Now the adrenaline is coming off. Youre feeling the fatigue. Youre getting tired. Lets finish this thing strong, without any major accidents.Officials urged firefighters to extinguish smaller fires in burned-out areas as they work, to avoid concerning or endangering residents.Firefighters also shared a moment of silence for a worker on contract with Cal Fire who was killed yesterday when his truck rolled over in Napa.Many Santa Rosa residents are beginning to rebuild their lives after the Tubbs fire scorched 36,432 acres, leveling much of the city and destroying about 5 percent of its residences. The fire was 82 percent contained Tuesday morning.More than 1,500 people have used the local assistance center that the county and Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with more than 30 other agencies, set up in Santa Rosa to help residents get vital documents they may have lost in the fires, including drivers licenses, Jones said.More than a week after it was evacuated because of the Tubbs fire, the Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital reopened.The Kaiser Santa Rosa hospital, which was also evacuated, has not reopened yet, though medical offices on the campus reopened Monday.Sutter had to be cleaned and inspected by state officials, according to hospital officials. The hospital evacuated 77 patients last week as flames approached the facility. Firefighters used the hospitals underground water tanks to battle the wildfires.In Napa County, the Atlas fire is nearing full containment, and residents who have been out of their home for more than a week are starting to return, Cal Fire officials said at a morning briefing Tuesday. The fire has burned 51,064 acres and was 77 percent contained Tuesday morning.Tremendous work is being done, and last night was no exception, Battalion Chief Chris Waters told firefighters at the base camp at the Napa Valley Expo. As far as the Atlas fire, its all mop-up and patrol.The blaze, which raced through Atlas Peak on Oct. 8, has killed at least six people, destroyed 388 homes and damaged 55 others.Despite the progress, nearly 1,000 homes still are considered to be under threat, and not all mandatory evacuations have been lifted, officials said. Atlas Peak and other secluded areas that were hard hit by the fire remain closed to residents.But it seems only a matter of time.The weather is improving, with humidity returning, winds weakening and temperatures cooling, Tom Wright of the National Weather Service told crews. Still, officials told firefighters to be vigilant of southwest winds that could push flames northeast into unburned areas.More than 3,400 firefighters are at the scene, but some are expected to be reassigned to other incidents Tuesday, officials said.The Redwood fire in Mendocino County, which burned 35,800 acres and was responsible for eight deaths, was 60 percent contained Tuesday morning. The nearby Sulphur fire was 2,207 acres and 92 percent contained.All Redwood fire evacuation orders have been lifted, though some areas of Potter Valley are still under evacuation warnings. Officials warned that residents returning to the fire area should exercise extreme caution, keeping clear of downed trees and power lines as well as fire and utility crews in the area.Officials are still trying to determine the causes of more than 17 fires that have ravaged the region.In Santa Rosa, a homeless man was arrested on suspicion of arson Sunday after he was seen walking away from an area where a fire had recently been lit, officials said.Officials say they dont know whether the arson arrest is related to the wildfires raging in Sonoma County, which began a week before the mans arrest. Cal Fires investigation into the cause may take weeks or months.Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, 29, was arrested on suspicion of felony arson and booked at the Sonoma County Jail.Three Sonoma County probation officers patrolling Maxwell Farms Regional Park just before 3 p.m. Sunday noticed a plume of smoke rising from an area near the Sonoma Creek, Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Misti Harris said.Gonzalez walked away from the fire as the officers approached, Harris said.Nobody else was in the area, Harris said.Deputies with the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department followed Gonzalez to a nearby McDonalds. Gonzalez had previous contacts with law enforcement, she said.Gonzalez told police he started the fire because he was cold, Harris said. Officers found a lighter in his pocket.Gonzalez is being held on bail of $110,000, according to Sonoma County booking records $10,000 for the felony arson charge, and $100,000 for a bench warrant issued in Ventura County.2017 Los Angeles TimesVisit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) -- The idea of being spied on at work  by employers cameras and microchips embedded in your body  seems, at first, a dystopian fancy.But the reality is surveillance is already happening, and to find it, look no further than your own computer.Email and message scanning, once the primary realm of industries required by law to record and track interactions between workers and customers, has become increasingly commonplace among companies with or without any legal obligation to keep logs of those conversations.Tracking tools meant to tell employers where workers go, who they talk to and how much time they spend at their desks are already on the market.Software designed to capture images of workers computers and whats on the screen has begun to proliferate among businesses that rely on a remote workforce.The more popular these tools become, experts in the field say, the greater the need to have a conversation: about regulation, privacy and the interests of workers and their employers.The case law on employee tracking is really from the 1980s, which is crazy considering how far the technology has come, said Ben Waber, chief executive of Humanyze , a startup that sells smart badges to companies interested in tracking and learning more about their employees behavior. Collecting (employee behavior) data is not difficult. Understanding it is very difficult. And as more and more players get in this space, eventually someone is going to do something wrong, and well have reactive regulation, rather than the kind meant to prevent that bad behavior in the first place.Waber is staunchly for increased government regulation, an unusual position for someone in the industry that would be regulated.But hes not alone. Several leaders in the workplace analytics business have advocated for greater rules governing privacy and how worker data is kept and used.With more legal oversight, Waber argues, employees may be able to maintain control over their data, ensure their privacy and avoid a future wherein employers are able to measure and control their every move, keystroke and interaction.Imagine if we had something like a HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) for work. People would know what their rights are, companies could make sure theyre being compliant, Waber said. This is a really critical issue for our industry; companies like mine, big and small, we need to be demanding real, comprehensive regulation in the next five to 10 years  strong employee protection, a required opt-in system, data aggregation rather than individual monitoring, that sort of thing. And if we dont, something bad is going to happen, and then well see reactive regulation, which is never good.Humanyze, which has offices in Boston and Palo Alto, outfits workers with smart badges that track how employees spend their time, who they interact with and how long they spend doing what Waber calls heads-down work by pinging other badges and the employees own computer. It doesnt track movement, typing speed or other metrics that Waber said are ripe for abuse.The program, which is opt-in only, also doesnt provide employers with worker-specific data. That means that while employers can see a general snapshot of their workforce  how much time, on average, their employees spend at their desk, which departments work the most together and so on  Humanyzes software does not allow companies to zero in on any individual.Employees can see their own data on a digital dashboard, but that information is kept private and stored using a number, rather than a name or specific identifier. Those who do not want to participate  an average of 6 to 7 percent at any given company, according to Waber  are given fake badges that look like all the others, but do nothing to track that particular employees behavior.Waber doesnt see his pro-regulation stance as being in opposition to his company. In fact, he said, he thinks his company can only survive in a world in which the kind of surveillance employers are allowed to conduct is limited.Its also why he rolls his eyes at the kind of surveillance that typically grabs headlines like microchip implants and wearable tracking devices.Wisconsin tech company Three Square Market implanted a small radio-frequency identification, or RFID, chip  about the size of a grain of rice  into the hands of willing employees. Under the skin, between their thumb and index finger, the chip is primarily used to make mundane tasks more convenient , the company said: swiping into the building, logging into computers or paying for food at the cafeteria.But experts have cautioned that once the chip is implanted, other data can also be collected, like the duration of employees bathroom breaks.Implanting chips, frankly, its a PR stunt, Waber said. Theres no valid reason to do anything like that from a data perspective. More tailor-made wearables that are looking at typing speed or how much time employees are walking around and where theyre going, beyond privacy issues, theres some very serious methodical flaws when youre looking at behavior through that sort of lens.At companies where emails, messages and other forms of electronic communication are recorded and stored, knowing who said what to whom is the whole point. Upwork , a Mountain View startup that pairs businesses with remote contractors, allows employers to view screenshots and activity summaries of their freelancers computer screens, providing a virtual log of what theyre doing and when in what the company calls a Work Diary . The program acts as a visual record of how hired freelancers spend their time, and presents the screenshots as a grid of work-in-progress snapshots in hourly rows, each representing a 10-minute billing segment.Actiance, headquartered in Redwood City, provides tools that allow businesses to track employee communication  via email, phone, text messages and more.Though its business customers tend to come from industries like banking and health care, where this kind of tracking is mandated for regulatory purposes and to protect against things like insider trading, Actiance senior director of information governance Robert Cruz said the company has seen a sharp rise in companies not bound by law looking for ways to track their workers and record their communications.Theres a recognition of OK, Im letting people use these internal networks, and theres potential that high-value information or information that could be used to harm my company could get out through any one of these communication networks, Cruz said. Companies are more and more concerned about the loss of sensitive data, departing employees taking data with them, whats leaving the system, and so on.Software like the kind Actiance provides scans communication for keywords or phrases and stores all messaging data for a set amount of time.One of the phrases that might trigger a company to take a deeper look?Lets take this conversation offline.
Transmitting infection

file-20171010-17684-14iwtt8.png A 3-D scanning rig in our lab. Jeremy Straub, CC BY-ND

Imprecision as protection

Screening for prevention

Youve probably been told its dangerous to open unexpected attachment files in your email  just like you shouldnt open suspicious packages in your mailbox. But have you been warned against scanning unknown QR codes or just taking a picture with your phone? New research suggests that cyberattackers could exploit cameras and sensors in phones and other devices.As someone who researches 3-D modeling , including assessing 3-D printed objects to be sure they meet quality standards, Im aware of being vulnerable to methods of storing malicious computer code in the physical world. Our groups work is in the laboratory, and has not yet encountered malware hidden in 3-D printing instructions or encoded in the structure of an item being scanned. But were preparing for that possibility.At the moment, its not very likely for us: An attacker would need very specialized knowledge about our systems functions to succeed in attacking it. But the day is coming when intrusions can happen through normal communications with or sensing performed by a computer or smartphone. Product designers and users alike need to be aware of the risks.In order for a device to become infected or compromised, the nefarious party has to figure out some way to get the computer to store or process the malware. The human at the keyboard has been a common target. An attacker might send an email telling the user that he or she has won the lottery or is going to be in trouble for not responding to a work supervisor. In other cases, a virus is designed to be unwittingly triggered by routine software activities.Researchers at the University of Washington tested another possibility recently, embedding a computer virus in DNA . The good news is that most computers cant catch an electronic virus from bad software  called malware  embedded in a biological one. The DNA infection was a test of the concept of attacking a computer equipped to read digital data stored in DNA Similarly, when our team scans a 3-D printed object, we are both storing and processing the data from the imagery that we collect. If an attacker analyzed how we do this, they could  perhaps  identify a step in our process that would be vulnerable to a compromised or corrupted piece of data. Then, they would have to design an object for us to scan that would cause us to receive these data.Closer to home, when you scan a QR code , your computer or phone processes the data in the code and takes some action  perhaps sending an email or going to a specified URL. An attacker could find a bug in a code-reader app that allows certain precisely formatted text to be executed instead of just scanned and processed. Or there could be something designed to harm your phone waiting at the target website.The good news is that most sensors have less precision than DNA sequencers. For instance, two mobile phone cameras pointed at the same subject will collect somewhat different information, based on lighting, camera position and how closely its zoomed in. Even small variations could render encoded malware inoperable, because the sensed data would not always be accurate enough to translate into working software. So its unlikely that a persons phone would be hacked just by taking a photo of something.But some systems, like QR code readers, include methods for correcting anomalies in sensed data. And when the sensing environment is highly controlled, like with our recent work to assess 3-D printing , it is easier for an attacker to affect the sensor readings more predictably.What is perhaps most problematic is the ability for sensing to provide a gateway into systems that are otherwise secure and difficult to attack. For example, to prevent the infection of our 3-D printing quality sensing system by a conventional attack, we proposed placing it on another computer, one disconnected from the internet and other sources of potential cyberattacks. But the system still must scan the 3-D printed object. A maliciously designed object could be a way to attack this otherwise disconnected system.Many software developers dont yet think about the potential for hackers to manipulate sensed data. But in 2011, Iranian government hackers were able to capture a U.S. spy drone in just this way. Programmers and computer administrators must ensure that sensed data are screened before processing, and handled securely, to prevent unexpected hijacking.In addition to developing secure software, another type of system can help: An intrusion detection system can look for common attacks, unusual behavior or even when things that are expected to happen dont. Theyre not perfect, of course, at times failing to detect attacks and at others misidentifing legitimate activities as attacks Computer devices that both sense and modify the environment are becoming more common  in manufacturing robots, drones and self-driving cars, among many other examples. As that happens, the potential for attacks to include both physical and electronic elements grows significantly. Attackers may find it very attractive to embed malicious software in the physical world, just waiting for unsuspecting people to scan it with a smartphone or a more specialized device. Hidden in plain sight, the malicious software becomes a sort of sleeper agent that can avoid detection until it reaches its target  perhaps deep inside a secure government building, bank or hospital.
Mick Schumacher will stay for another season in European F3 next year.

The son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher finished his first campaign in the top junior category just twelfth, even behind Adrian Newey's son Harrison.

Mick, 18, admits: "I'm trying to improve in all areas."

In contrast, the even younger Lando Norris won the 2017 title and is now tipped to take over from Jenson Button as McLaren-Renault's official reserve driver.

As for Schumacher, the German told SID news agency: "When I am ready, the next step will happen. But first I have to prove myself."

So he said he is "very likely" to remain in F3 next year with the Prema team, because "Anything else would not make sense in the current situation".

As for the comparison with high F3 achievers like Norris, Schumacher said: "I focus on myself and do not look at the other drivers.

"Everyone has their own development that you cannot compare. I am taking one step after another and trying to prepare myself as well as possible for the future."

But he confirmed: "Yes, my goal remains formula one.

"What has happened this year has happened and I am very happy with it."

(GMM)
McLaren could be mere hours away from announcing that Fernando Alonso is staying with the British team in 2018.

Asked if a deal is "close" after weeks and months of speculation, team executive Zak Brown said this week: "We've been close for some time.

"We wanted to get the Asian races out of the way and our new power unit partner in place which is now done. I expect we'll have a positive conclusion to our plans with Fernando soon," he said.

On Tuesday, the FIA announced that Alonso will appear in the official Thursday press conference in Austin, and Brown hinted that the Spaniard may have some news to share.

"He's in the FIA press conference on Thursday," Brown said. "We have to get a deal done before anything is announced."

It is not believed McLaren and Alonso are in dispute over what is expected to be a huge EUR 40 million deal for Alonso.

Rather, the sticking points could be contract duration, and whether Alonso will be free to race in other categories, as he did at the Indy 500 this year.

Brown confirmed that a new Alonso deal would include provisions for him to race elsewhere, decided "on a case by case basis".

But he said Le Mans might not be on the cards for 2018, because the current regulations would not accommodate McLaren's own GT3 or GT4 cars.

"Le Mans is something we're looking at," said Brown. "As a manufacturer we're participating in meetings.

"Le Mans is of interest but whatever rules they land on need to be a good platform."

(GMM)
California Governor Brown has signed Assembly Bills 1328 and 1197, authored by Assemblymember Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara). AB 1328 gives California water agencies access to information on potentially hazardous chemicals used in oil and gas operations. AB 1197 will ensure their spill management teams are adequately trained and prepared in the event of an oil spill.

For decades, legislators in California have been working to obtain information on the chemicals present in wastewater from oil and gas production. Oil and gas companies are currently required to report the chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing, but do not have to report chemicals used for other oil and gas operations. These other operations account for the majority of all oil and gas production in California.

AB 1328 authorizes a regional water quality control board (RWQCB) or the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), while conducting an investigation of wastewater discharge produced from an oil or gas field, to require a person or entity to provide information for all chemicals in the discharged wastewater.

AB 1197 will establish a program within The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) to measure spill response capabilities and performance criteria for Spill Management Teams, which a potential responsible party may hire to manage an oil spill. While oil spill prevention and response has improved over the years, oil spills continue to occur in California and across the country, including the 2015 Refugio beach spill and 2016 Crimson pipeline spill in Ventura County.

OSPR has documented through numerous drills that some Spill Management Teams fail to adequately perform, endangering response employees and surrounding environment and communities.

Both bills will become law on 1 January 2018.
These energy efficiency measures are now intended to be implemented on another 95 systems of the same type installed at various sites throughout Europe and Asia.

At the BWM Groups engine plant in Steyr (Austria), in a reference project accompanied by the Technical University of Vienna, Ecoclean Monschau (formerly Durr Ecoclean) has significantly raised the energy efficiency of a flexible EcoCFlex Classic robot cell that had been in service for several years. The systems electric power and water consumption were each cut by around 30 percent.

The first EcoCFlex unit for cleaning and deburring engine components went into service at the BMW Group in 2005. Eleven years later, when the company was celebrating the 100th anniversary of its foundation, BMW ordered the 100th cleaning machine of this type as part of a major order. Representing the third generation of Ecocleans flexible robotized cells, this anniversary specimen was launched in production at the Steyr engine plant in early May 2017 along with two other EcoCFlex 3L systems. These cleaning machines are adapted to BMWs latest specifications for technical cleanliness, replacing the transfer systems previously employed on a production line for spark ignition engines.

The EcoCFlex 3 combines modern and proven cleaning processessuch as injection flood washing, spray cleaning or high pressure applicationswith the flexibility of SCARA-Manipulator (Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm). The entire control of the machine and the manipulator is carried out via a CNC control. Footprint and energy consumption were again significantly reduced compared to the earlier generations of that machine.

However, 30 first-generation units of this flexible cleaning machine are still in use at Steyr. Although their cleaning performance is still fine, in terms of energy efficiencya parameter closely monitored by the BMW Groupthe first-generation systems are no longer up to todays standards. Water consumption in particular was too high. BMW Steyr therefore contacted the equipment manufacturer, inquiring if and how the machines could be energetically optimized.

Ecoclean has developed a potential analysis especially for this type of task. In their investigation, the service staff will focus on factors such as the water consumption, cleaning agent input, electricity demand, and the consumption of compressed air

Flow measurements revealed that large quantities of vapor were extracted from the cleaning cell, causing the machines elevated water consumption. Furthermore, the analysis identified a major electricity saving potential in operation of the feed pumps.

One measure taken to reduce the water consumption involved changes on the air control dampers. Moreover, the flow velocities inside the system were adapted via a modified fan control regime, resulting in substantially less vapor being discharged. In the case of the booster pump, a variable- frequency drive unit now provides demand-based controland hence, energy savings.

With just these relatively minor improvement measures, the systems overall electric power consumption was cut by around 30 percent. Savings of the same magnitude were achieved at the level of the water consumption, and are additionally reflected in a reduced need for cleaning chemicals.

The measures were initially carried out on a system installed in the Steyr/Austria-based engine plant. For an objective evaluation of results, the Technical University of Vienna accompanied the reference project with extensive pre- and post-optimization measurements.

Durr sold its interest in the Durr Ecoclean Group to Chinese engineering and machinery company Shenyang Blue Silver Group (SBS Group) in 2016. With annual sales of around 200 million, the Durr Ecoclean Group was the global market leader in cleaning and surface processing systems for industrial parts.
Mitsubishi Electric named its autonomous driving technologies Diamond Safety. Mitsubishi Electrics self-sensing driving technology combines various peripheral-sensing technologies, including a forward-monitoring millimeter-wave radar with wide viewing angle, a forward-monitoring camera and a backward side-monitoring millimeter-wave radar. Its infrastructural driving technology uses high-accuracy 3D mapping in combination with a centimeter-level augmentation service (CLAS) broadcast from the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). ( earlier post )

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has been conducting expressway-based field testing of its xAUTO vehicle and related autonomous-driving technologies for self-sensing and network-based driving since May 2016. The xAUTO will be exhibited during 45 th Tokyo Motor Show 2017 later this month.





Field tests of the xAUTO and its autonomous driving technologies were carried out on two Japanese expresswaysthe Sanyo Expressway (Kobe junction to Ako interchange) and the Douo Expressway (Shibetsu Kenbuchi interchange to Fukagawa interchange)for more than 300 hours. The tests confirmed that Mitsubishi Electric's autonomous driving technologies operate practically under various road conditions, including bad visibility during dense fog and snow.

In the worlds first field test of CLAS-based autonomous driving on expressway, which took place on 19 September, Mitsubishi confirmed that this technology has advanced to the practical level. In tunnels and other locations where CLAS reception is difficult, autonomous driving was achieved with high-definition location technology to determine the vehicles exact position in real time combined with various sensors that monitored the vehicles motion, and a forward-monitoring camera.

To enable positioning augmentation when CLAS is not available, Mitsubishi Electric plans to build a worldwide wireless network for centimeter-level positioning compatible with CLAS. Mitsubishi Electric is collaborating in this field with Sapcorda, a German joint-venture formed by Mitsubishi Electric and other companies.

Mitsubishi Electric is also collaborating with Dynamic-Map Platform and Here Technologies to develop high-accuracy 3D mapping for an envisioned global system. Verification tests are planned in Europe and North America.

Mitsubishi Electric will continue developing its original self-sensing driving technology using millimeter-wave radar and forward-monitoring cameras, focusing on collision avoidance at crosswalks on public roads and safe, convenient autonomous driving on highways and expressways. Efforts will also target vision-based forward-monitoring camera technology in collaboration with Mobileye.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Monday the latest in a series of fines against Wells Fargo & Co. units.

This time, the agency ordered $3.4 million in customer restitution related to investment advice provided from July 2010 to May 2012 by Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network LLC.

The agency said Wells Fargo neither admitted nor denied the charges in the settlement.

Regulators said the Wells Fargo units provided unsuitable recommendations of volatility-linked exchange-traded products and related supervisory failures.

It determined some Wells Fargo representatives recommended the products without fully understanding their risks and features, in particular mistakenly believing that the products could be used as a long-term hedge on their customers equity positions in the event of a market downturn.

In fact, the agency said, volatility-linked ETPs typically are considered short-term trading products that degrade significantly over time and should not be used as part of a long-term buy-and-hold investment strategy.

The agency issued a regulatory notice to financial institutions that reminds them of their sales practice obligations relating to these products.

The agency said it took into consideration that Wells Fargo took remedial action to correct its supervisory deficiencies in May 2012, prior to detection by FINRA and around the time that the firm was fined for similar violations relating to sales of leveraged and inverse ETPs. The bank assisted the agency in its investigation.

FINRA seeks restitution when customers have been harmed by a member firms misconduct, Susan Schroeder, executive vice president of the agencys enforcement department, said in a statement. We also credit firms that proactively detect and correct issues prior to detection by FINRA, as Wells Fargo did in this matter.

Wells Fargo confirmed the settlement in a statement.

We are committed to helping our clients achieve their investment goals through advice that is regularly reviewed and aligned to their objectives and risk tolerances, according to the statement.

In cooperating fully with FINRA, we have made significant policy and supervision changes, including the discontinuation of the ETPs in focus.

On Dec. 22, five Wells Fargo financial-services units were fined a combined $5.5 million by FINRA for significant deficiencies relating to the preservation of broker-dealer and customer records in a format that prevents alteration.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Prime Services LLC were jointly fined $4 million. Wells Fargo Advisors LLC, Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network and First Clearing LLC were jointly fined $1.5 million.

In 2013, FINRA ordered Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo to pay fines and restitution to settle charges that investor clients were pushed into investments that were inconsistent with their risk preferences. The Wells Fargo Advisors unit was fined $1.25 million and ordered to reimburse $2 million in losses to 239 customers.

In May 2012, FINRA imposed more than $2.7 million in fines and penalties on Wells Fargo Advisors for investment-related violations stemming from January 2008 to June 2009. Some of the violations were related to Wachovia Securities, which Wells Fargo took over at the end of 2008.

Wells Fargo was fined $2.1 million and ordered to pay $641,489 in restitution.

Also affected at that time were Citigroup ($2 million fine and $146,431 in restitution), Morgan Stanley ($1.75 million fine and $604,584 in restitution), and UBS ($1.5 million fine and $431,488 in restitution).

Wachovia, now Wells Fargo, sold risky nontraditional exchange-traded funds to customers who did not want that type of investment strategy, FINRA said.
The dimensions of John Coltrane, Jazz Genius, are widely known.

Born in Hamlet, N.C., he first learned to play the saxophone while growing up in High Point, then came to embrace jazz in Philadelphia.

But not as well known: Coltrane the dad, who once walked miles from a performance through a snowstorm to his home in Philadelphias Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, his pocket full of the money needed to buy his daughter a new pair of shoes.

Thats the man you meet in the Denzel Washington-narrated Chasing Trane, a new documentary from filmmaker John Scheinfeld (who has also directed documentaries about artists as diverse as John Lennon and Bing Crosby). His film explores Coltranes upbringing in the church, his religious and spiritual upbringing that sustained him and informed his music, and his important years in Philadelphia, where he developed his unique tone, raised a family, and famously kicked drug addiction with little more than determination and prayer.

I would say that Philadelphia was crucial to Coltranes development as an artist. It was in Philadelphia that he came into contact with a very unique community of musicians from whom he learned and shared, and was inspired, said Scheinfeld, who visited Philadelphia to film. And a number of those musicians are in our film  Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Reggie Workman  all of whom are either from Philly or spent considerable time there.

This was in the late 1940s and throughout the 50s, he said, when Philadelphia had a vibrant and vital jazz community, where Coltrane was welcomed, and where he could work on his craft among other talented and innovative musicians.

We make the point in the film that he was not a musician who came out of the womb with greatness already evident. It was a journey for him and process of evolution, said the director. And it was because of the people he met in Philadelphia that Coltrane was able to find the path to becoming the iconic artist that we know.

Scheinfeld said that while living in the city, Coltrane spent a life-changing night in 1945 at the Academy of Music, where he and Golson saw Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

They were both blown away, Scheinfeld said. And what they saw inspired them and gave them confidence to pursue music as a profession.

Later, folks in the Philadelphia jazz scene recommended Coltrane to Gillespie, who hired him to play sax, and who gave Coltrane a second chance after he lost his job because of struggles with addiction.

Coltrane, his career on the line, returned to Philadelphia, to his home on North 33rd Street (his principal address from 1952 to 1964), where he managed to kick drug addiction on his own. He remained sober for the rest of his life (he died in 1967), though his marriage to first wife, Naima, ended some years later, and Coltrane started a new family in Long Island, N.Y.

Scheinfeld interviewed Coltranes stepdaughter from his first marriage, Antonia Andrews, who gave him valuable insight about their lives here.

She thinks of him as her father; she had never given an interview about him before. It took me four months to persuade her to talk, he said. Its Antonia who tells of the young Coltrane, on a cold winter night, bringing home money for her new shoes.

She didnt want to tell me that story, not because it was so private, but because she didnt think anyone would be interested in such a small thing. But those are the wonderful insights that really help paint a picture of a man.

And that was the goal in Chasing Trane, he said. Not a music-theory class, but a narrative that would bring the man alive as a human being.

That includes Coltranes decision  when it became clear that he needed to choose between heroin and jazz  to quit, in a room at 1511 N. 33rd St., now the site of the Coltrane House, a National Historic Landmark.

We wanted to shoot in the actual space. We shot the exterior, he said, but we also shot in the real space in the real room where he went cold turkey.

Scheinfeld, who has written and directed a dozen music-themed films, said there was something special, almost mythic, about Coltranes finding a way to surmount the challenge that has claimed the lives of so many musicians.

Heres a guy who faced that challenge early on, but who didnt go down the rabbit hole, Scheinfeld said. In Coltrane, not only do we have a guy who handled life, but who drew so much inspiration from it and offered so much of that inspiration to us through his music.
I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.

More on who I am is here.

Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com
Activities

In response to the recent hurricanes, Pinpoint, a Virginia Beach-based information technology staffing company with operations in the Triad, and its Puerto Rico subsidiary Metro IT Resources, have reached out to each staff member in Puerto Rico by providing significant special cash bonuses to help them work through this hardship.

I wish we could do more, Andy Downing, Pinpoints president said. Our staff are like brothers and sisters and deserve all the compassion possible. Please keep Puerto Rico in your prayers and find ways to provide ongoing support.

***

More than 1,500 Gilbarco employees joined forces Oct. 2 to give back to their communities.

Gilbarco offered all employees a full work day to volunteer as part of a team or with the community organizations of their choice. Gilbarcos Greensboro location joined more than 175 other Fortive company locations around the world in this Day of Caring initiative.

In Greensboro, Gilbarco Veeder-Root employees worked on about 15 projects to feed the hungry, boost educational opportunities, support veterans, assist hospices and fight homelessness.

Throughout the day, Gilbarco employees contributed an estimated 12,000 hours to cleaning up parks and recreational areas, visiting schools and assisted living centers, making care packages for veterans and hurricane relief, and packing toiletry and snack kits for people in need.

Participating organizations included Volunteer Center of Greensboro, the Salvation Army, Newcomers School, Guilford Education Alliance, Back Pack Beginnings, city of Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department and The Last Dons.

***

The SunTrust Foundation recently gave its annual Lighting the Way Award to the Housing Consultants Group, whose executive director is Sofia Crisp.

The award, which includes a $25,000 grant, is given to select nonprofit organizations each year that specifically focus on one or more of the foundations four strategic financial well-being areas: financial education, financial counseling, career readiness and workforce development, and small business and entrepreneurship.

This year the Lighting the Way Awards were given to 30 nonprofit organizations across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, totaling $800,000 in grants.

***

The Fresh Markets 1-3-5 Food Drive raised more than $436,000 across its 176 stores. The drive focused on stocking pantries for people in need by engaging customers to buy branded food items through cash donations of $1, $3 and $5 throughout July.

The specialty grocer will donate 337 pallets of staple food supplies, such as The Fresh Markets pancake mixes, oatmeal, pastas, tomato sauces, chicken stock, canned beans, tuna and more, delivered directly to each stores food bank partner during October.

In all, the 22 Fresh Market stores in North Carolina exceeded expectations, raising more than $53,500 for charities in the state.

The Greensboro store at 1560 Highwoods Blvd. alone raised $5,593,which translates to four pallets of staple-food supplies, which will be delivered to Final Call Outreach Ministries on Friday.

***

The Greensboro Science Centers fourth annual Tuxedo Trot: Run for the Penguins on May 20 raised $11,000 for African penguin conservation. .

More than 300 penguin enthusiasts came to the center to participate in the 5K, and about 50 young runners joined the Kids Fun Run around the centers zoo.

Together with the title sponsor  Greensboro Pediatricians  and more than a dozen additional sponsors, the event raised a total of $10,920.88.

The centers conservation committee used additional money from its Conservation Fund to round out the donation to $11,000.

The money was sent to the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds.

The 2018 Tuxedo Trot will take place on May 19.
GREENSBORO  Jurors may never know about a surprise witness who threatened to derail a defendants plea and possibly force a mistrial in a capital murder case.

On Tuesday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Robert Enochs told Judge Michael Duncan in Guilford County Superior Court that he was withdrawing a motion to add Brandon Jamison as a last-minute addition to his witness list in the trial of 29-year-old Garry Gupton.

Jamison called Enochs Monday morning and told him that he was housed with Gupton in the mental health facility of the Guilford County jail. Enochs said Monday in court that Jamison said Gupton told him he killed 46-year-old Stephen White by hitting him repeatedly with a phone before setting him on fire as a means to ensure no one found out that Gupton went home with a gay man.

Gupton is on trial this week in connection with Whites death on Nov. 15, 2014. He is accused of attacking White on Nov. 9 that year and setting him on fire inside the Battleground Inn at 1517 Westover Terrace.

Gupton and White had met the night before at the Chemistry Nightclub, a gay bar and lounge. Attorneys told jurors that Gupton and White agreed to go back to the hotel to have oral sex, but something happened that led to the attack on White.

Gupton and his attorneys have not denied the allegations; Gupton pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Video captured by surveillance and officers body-worn cameras showed an upset Gupton outside the hotel screaming about ISIS, Al-Qaeda, C-4 and bombs.

If Gupton is convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Jamison coming forward put a new twist on the evidence being offered by the state. On Monday, Enochs asked to add Jamison to his witness list, but doing so could have forced a mistrial because both Jamison and Gupton were represented by the public defenders office.

Enochs left court Monday telling Duncan that he planned to meet with Jamison in person before deciding for sure to add him as a witness.

On Tuesday, Enochs withdrew that motion but did not give a reason to Duncan and said he couldnt comment to the News & Record until the end of the trial.

At Tuesdays sessions jurors saw graphic photos and heard testimony about Whites injuries from the attack.

Greensboro firefighters testified days earlier that they found White with burning furniture and other items on top of him inside Room 417 of the Battleground Inn.

After paramedics took White to Moses Cone Hospital, he was transferred to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centers burn unit.

Jeff Carter, the units former assistant director, told jurors Whites burns were unlike anything doctors had seen outside of an electrical burn.

The only other time weve seen anything that looks like close to that is electrical injuries, and those are over 1,000 degrees, Carter testified. No one sits there long enough to cook like that.

Carter told jurors 54 percent of Whites body was burned. Most of those burns went through all the skin layers, some through tendons and muscles, and some so deeply that Whites bones were visible.

White had little chance to survive such injuries, but Carter said doctors fought for him.

We felt he was a relatively young man, and we wanted to give him a chance, he testified.

Carter described Whites pain as severe, his risk for pneumonia high and the risk for infection even higher.

On Nov. 11, 2014, eight surgeons gathered and began removing dead tissue from Whites body. They decided to amputate both of his arms to reduce the risk of infection.

We hate to amputate a limb, Carter told jurors. Its something we cant give you back.

Carter testified that he has treated thousands of burn victims but has only done amputations on five people. Four of those came from an electrical burn and one was an unrelated injury.

Surgeons used an electric knife to cut to the lowest and safest layer of skin to remove the burns. Carter said at times that wasnt enough.

Its a very blunt and gruesome way to do surgery that we dont usually do it unless we are down to our last option, he testified.

Doctors used skin from cadavers and pigs to try and patch Whites body until they could perform a second surgery.

His body was so badly burned the new skin would not stick.

Despite their efforts, Whites injuries became infected, which led to organ failure and death.
WENTWORTH  The Rockingham County commissioners are asking state legislators to take a hard look at granting their governing body control of future publication of required governmental notices and to allow for the publishing of legal notices for a fee.

During Mondays regular meeting, the Board of Commissioners approved a resolution requesting the North Carolina General Assembly to allow the publication of legal notices on the county-maintained website.

The resolution reads as a response to technological advances and cites the 2016 FCC Broadband Progress Report, which says 95 percent of Rockingham County residents have broadband coverage, as a reason for the change.

It also takes aim at the less than 4,000 subscription rate for local publication RockinghamNow, as well as the 5,900 total subscribed to Greensboro News & Records Rockingham section.

This comes after the approval of Senate Bill 181, which allows Guilford Countys governing boards to adopt an ordinance to allow the electronic publication of all notices that are required to be published or advertised in print elsewhere.

The General Assembly approved the public notices bill, which only affects Guilford County publications, on Oct. 5.

Rockingham County Reps. Bert Jones of Reidsville and Kyle Hall of King voted for the electronic notice bill, which passed by just one vote in the House. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) broke a tie.

The Senate voted 30-16 in favor of the measure, including President Pro Tem Phil Berger Sr. (R-Eden).

That local bill was created by state Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford) after a similar bill passed last summer by the General Assembly was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper. The Legislature did not vote to override that veto. Wades local bill was reduced to only affect Guilford County.

Berger is the father of Rockingham commissioners Vice Chairman Kevin Berger, who requested the resolution Monday for legislation to look further into Rockingham County joining Guilford in the pilot program that will allow local governments to publish required notices electronically and to charge a fee to publish legal notices on the county-maintained website.

We currently spend over $28,000, at least last fiscal year, on legal notices, and its something that I think we need to ask the legislature to include us in allowing us to publish legal notices on our website, Berger said.

The resolution and discussion, which was amended as an inclusion to the agenda, passed unanimously.

Once they go into short session, hopefully we can get our representatives to include us in publishing legal notices on our website and help us save a good deal of money, Kevin Berger said.

Chairman Mark Richardson added for public consumption that there is a lot of support for similar bills statewide. I for one endorse Mr. Bergers action in creating this resolution.
A French company will continue to handle the city's bus services, Greensboro City Council decided Tuesday.

What happened: The council gave a $64 million multi-year contract to run the citys buses to Transdev, a French company and the longtime manager of the citys bus services.

Vote: 9-0

Background: In May, the Greensboro Transit Authority tore up a three-year, $55 million contract it signed a few month early and started the bidding process all over again.

City staff members determined that a Transdev consultant, Melvin Skip Alston, violated the no contact rule by talking to GTA board members during the bidding process. GTA board members said starting from scratch is the only way to preserve the boards integrity, but they stopped short of saying Alston did anything wrong. The board gave Transdev an interim contract of up to six months while it restarted the bidding process.

What they said: This process was not easy. This process didnt happen overnight.  Richard Bryson, chairman of the Greensboro Transit Authority board

Whats next? Transdevs contract runs from January 2018 to June 2021, and includes two one-year options.
GREENSBORO  Elmo, the furry red character from Sesame Street, and Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, helped Guilford Child Development celebrate its 50th birthday Wednesday during a luncheon at the Koury Convention Center.

With a staff of about 340 people, Guilford Child Development is one of Guilford Countys largest nonprofit organizations. It serves about 1,250 toddlers and infants in its federally funded Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which help low-income children under 5 get ready for school. Thats one of six programs it runs  all aimed at helping children and their families.

The people in this room get it, Cooper said in his keynote speech to a crowd of nearly 600 people. You know what it takes to start early in the life of children, many of whom are born into circumstances that are difficult.

Jeanette Betancourt, the senior vice president for U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop, brought Elmo with her to accept an award on behalf of Sesame Street, the educational childrens TV show that began in 1969. It was one of five Early Childhood Champions honors given out by Guilford Child Development at the event.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, recently announced that it has adopted Guilford County as one of three communities nationwide for ongoing partnerships between local agencies and organizations and Sesame Street in Communities. That means Sesame Workshop is giving training on how to use its free online educational resources, including activities and videos with Sesame Street characters. Those resources touch on everything from teaching children letters and numbers to helping them deal with such traumas as domestic violence or natural disasters.

For example, in the Count, Breathe, Relax video the shows Count von Count teaches Cookie Monster to breathe to calm himself down  useful for a character apt to lose his cool over baked goods.

Betancourt said Sesame Workshop brings a research-based approach, plus the comforting familiarity of the Sesame Street characters for families and children. The workshop was attracted to Guilford County based on the strength of existing cooperation among groups and agencies to support children as they grow.

Sesame Workshop began its training Wednesday, holding one session at the Greensboro Public Library for the librarys staff member, as well as training sessions at the Family Justice Center and Guilford Child Development. Betancourt said each training session is tailored to meet the needs of the provider. Other local partners include Ready for School Ready for Life, Healthy Relationships Initiative and UNC-TV.

Sesame Workshop says it hopes to expand to at least 35 more communities across the country in the next five years.

Guilford Child Developments other honorees were:

PNC Bank, for its $350 million Grow Up Great initiative, which includes grants to nonprofit groups working on school readiness.

Nancy H. Brown, the immediate past chair of the N.C. Partnership for Children.

Valerie Jarvis McMillan, a professor at N.C. A&T with a legacy of training early childhood educators.

Brad Wilson, the retiring CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and former chairman of the N.C. Child Advocacy Institute.
EDGEWOOD, Md.  The suspect in the shooting of six people in Maryland and Delaware, including three who died, is in custody.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office in Maryland tweeted Wednesday night that 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince was "apprehended a short time ago in Delaware by ATF and allied law enforcement agencies."

Police say Prince shot five co-workers early Wednesday in Edgewood, Maryland, then drove to Wilmington, Delaware, and shot a man he knew at an auto sales and service business. Three of Prince's co-workers at Advanced Granite Solutions died, and two are in critical condition.

A gunman opened fire at a Maryland office park on Wednesday morning, killing three co-workers and wounding two others, authorities and the business owner said.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said Prince shot his victims with a handgun about 9 a.m. and fled the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Baltimore. He said deputies were on the scene within four minutes of the report of a shooting. The sheriff did not release a motive.

The victims and the suspect worked for Advanced Granite Solutions, the owner of the company that designs and installs countertops told The Associated Press. Prince has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told AP in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

The wounded were in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Center's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, speaking during a break from a meeting of a state board, said the survivors had gunshot wounds to the head.

The FBI is assisting local authorities. Investigators were treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and didn't see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Nearby schools and businesses were locked down as a precaution.

The business park is just south of the Interstate 95 interchange with Maryland 24.

Yellow crime scene tape cordoned off Advanced Granite Solutions on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators, deputies and federal agents fanned out across the business park to investigate.

Across the road, several employees, some wearing lime green T-shirts with the Advanced Granite Solutions logo, embraced each other as they waited for news of their colleagues. The sheriff said the department had set up a receiving area for family members in a nearby hotel ballroom.

The sheriff said Prince had a criminal record, but he didn't know the extent of it. According to online court records, Prince lived in Elkton  about 35 miles from the shooting scene  as recently as last month.

The sheriff said authorities checked an Elkton home after the shooting, but Prince was not there.

Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Matthew Barakat in McLean, Virginia, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
The deadly attack at a state prison last week exposed the extremely dangerous conditions inside the walls. Two employees were killed and 10 others were injured in a violent escape attempt at Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City.

Inmates working in a Correction Enterprises specialty sewing plant set a fire, then assaulted staff members with hammers and scissors. Veronica Darden, who managed the plant, and Officer Justin Smith were killed.

Correctional Officers Wendy Shannon and George Midgett and maintenance worker Geoffrey Howe were hospitalized with serious injuries.

The escape attempt failed, thanks to heroic work by these and other officers.

The incident was the worst prison violence in many years in North Carolina  but the second murderous assault in just six months. Officer Meggan Callahan was beaten to death by an inmate at Bertie Correctional Institution in April. She was trying to put out a fire when an inmate  serving a life sentence for murder  overpowered her in an apparent ambush and struck her multiple times with the fire extinguisher.

These cases illustrate what correctional officers face. They are exposed to convicted criminals, unarmed and sometimes lacking adequate support. Dangers can be no less than what police officers encounter on the street.

In the Pasquotank facility, inmates working in the sewing shop had access to tools that could be turned into deadly weapons. They inflicted grievous harm on prison employees.

In response, the Department of Public Safety put the prison on lockdown and began an assessment to determine what new policies, procedures or safety measures should be implemented. On the order of Gov. Roy Cooper, it also suspended Correction Enterprises operations at all state prisons while it reviews safety practices.

When, or if, those operations resume, the state will increase the number of correctional officers who provide security for Correction Enterprises.

It also will review emergency procedures at all prisons.

Finally, it quickly launched a search at Pasquotank by a Prison Emergency Response Team to uncover evidence as well as unrelated contraband that may be in the facility.

These steps are all too late. Certainly, procedures and policies require regular re-examination. But prisoners took advantage of existing security breaches to launch last weeks uprising.

Callahans murder in April exposed the chronic under-staffing at her facility  and at others. Inmates are emboldened when they arent adequately supervised.

It may be a byproduct of under-staffing that women are on the front line in all-male prisons housing some of the most dangerous criminals. Two of this years three murder victims were women. Another Pasquotank officer who was seriously injured is female. Women deserve opportunities to hold any prison job, but if more men were recruited to work beside them, would female officers be as exposed to attack?

State prison guards arent classified as law-enforcement officers. They should be. They are enforcing the laws that put inmates behind bars. So they deserve the status, pay and benefits of law-enforcement officers. They need adequate training and equipment. They must be deployed in sufficient numbers to keep prisons safe  for each other and for inmates.

Everyone wants criminals kept off the streets. So everyone should care that criminals are properly supervised after theyre convicted and sentenced.

You have professionals who work in these facilities who are willing to give their lives to make it safe for the public, Annie Harvey, deputy director of state prisons, said at a news conference last week. And thats what these employees did.

Many prison guards are heroic and selfless, but they should not be expected to give their lives. The state owes them better.
Jeff Flake is a conservative. In fact, his career-long record in the House and Senate isn't just conservative; it'sconservative. He comes across as a likable enough guy for a politician; but he votes wrong on every important issue. There are Arizona Democrats-- and especially independents-- who admire him for bring one of the only Republicans with the intestinal fortitude to take on Trump and call him out on his bullshit-- he even wrote a book savaging Trump-- but just look at that voting record. No one who cares about healthcare or women's equality or economic justice or anything that makes someone a progressive can vote for the guy, no matter how anti-Trump he's being. And is being anti-Trump enough so that a great many Arizona Republicans have written him off. He's going to probably lose his primary, especially if its a head-to-head match-up with a Trumpist crackpot like Kelli Ward, who is announcing her official campaign today (with Bannon and Ingraham in tow). The co-founder of a revenge porn website, IsAnybodyDown , GOP lunatic Craig Brittain, doesn't count, but he's running too.

The latest polling in Arizona (last week) shows Ward beating him 58-42%-- and that's Flakes'snumber in over a year! He's been endorsed by cronies who owe him-- like Marco Rubio, Joni Ernst, Mitt Romney and George W. Bush-- but Ward is a Mercer/Bannon candidate who's been endorsed by Senor Trumpanzee and the whole neo-fascist menagerie: Gorka, Hannity, Ingraham, Levin. Are Arizonans ready for Palin's bus chugging around their state? Flake is so cooked!

Yesterday the NY Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg described Flake as "the most endangered Senate Republican, with an approval rating in one recent poll of just 18 percent among Arizonans" and who has been savaged by Trump "as 'toxic' and 'a flake.'" He's being pressured from the right and the only good news he's had in months is that an always dependably clueless Chuck Schumer has handpicked a Democratic opponent, the most right-wing Democrat in the House, Kyrsten Sinema, who is not just ultra-conservative but also horrifyingly corrupt and completely inauthentic-- exactly what voters don't want. It's conceivable that even Kelli Ward could beat Sinema!

[Flake's] fate is an object lesson for other Republicans who might consider voicing dire thoughts about the presidents fitness: Cross Mr. Trump, and your political career could well be over.





Mr. Flake, who is known more for his decency than his independent streak, said he had no regrets.





In an interview here, he ticked off some of his earliest criticisms of the president-- from the days when Mr. Trump peddled the false theory that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya, to the time Mr. Trump referred to Mexican immigrants as rapists, to his call for a complete ban on travel to the United States by Muslims-- before looking up and stopping himself.





In which of those instances, the senator asked, should I not have spoken out? At what point should you not stand up and say, This is not right; this is not conservative; this is not where Republicans ought to be?





Mr. Flake said he had known from the start that taking on Mr. Trump might do him political harm. Even before he declared the presidents brand of populism a corruption of conservative values, he anticipated a tough primary challenge, given his policy differences with Mr. Trump on issues like immigration, trade and Cuba.





The truth is, if my only goal were to be elected, re-elected to mark time in the Senate, there are much easier paths, he said.





Mr. Flake is not the Senates only vulnerable Republican; Senator Dean Heller of Nevada is also facing a tough re-election race. And Republicans will now have to field a candidate to succeed Mr. Corker, who announced late last month that he was not running next year.





Last weekend, Mr. Corker said his concerns about Mr. Trump were shared by nearly every Senate Republican, even if few have spoken out. Mr. Flake, by contrast, has put pen to paper with his criticism; his new book, Conscience of a Conservative, published in August, is a blistering indictment of the Republican Party and of a president who, despite record-low overall approval ratings, has retained the support of about 80 percent of his party.





Mr. Flakes main primary challenger at the moment, Kelli Ward, made clear in an interview that she intended to paint Mr. Flake as an obstructionist to the America First agenda that Donald Trump touted on the campaign trail, and that the American people want to see enacted.





Andy Surabian, senior adviser to the Great America Alliance, a Trump-aligned group whose political action committee has been supportive of Ms. Ward, said Mr. Flakes troubles were entirely self-inflicted.





If Flake wants to know why hes vulnerable, all he needs to do is look in the mirror, said Mr. Surabian, who had a stint in the White House as deputy to Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trumps former chief strategist. He added: No one told him to go out and be the face of the anti-Trump resistance in the Republican Party. No one told him to go out and write a book that was basically an anti-Trump screed. The reason the race is in play is because of Jeff Flakes actions.





Mr. Flake said he felt compelled to write the book because Republicans had lost their way with the rise of Mr. Trump. His assessment of the president is biting.





We pretended the emperor wasnt naked, Mr. Flake wrote. Even worse: We checked our critical faculties at the door and pretended that the emperor was making sense.





While Mr. Corker had likened the White House to an adult day care center and said Mr. Trump was treating his office like a reality show, Mr. Flake said in the interview that he might not have used those words. But he clearly agrees with his Tennessee colleague.





A conservative is conservative in demeanor and comportment-- not just policy, he said. And the way you conduct foreign policy as a conservative is that you are steady and measured and predictable. And thats not what we have now.





Such comments have not gone over well at home, said Mayor Jim Lane of Scottsdale. The mayor, who calls himself a conservative Republican, said he was not currently backing Mr. Flake, whom he views as exacerbating divisions within the party and undermining the presidents agenda.





Its difficult, particularly when theres a lot of people who feel very, very strongly about the presidents agenda and partys agenda, Mr. Lane said, adding, Any time we sense that is not a priority, for any of our delegation, that becomes a bit of a problem.





Mr. Flake favors immigration and free trade-- stances that put him at philosophical odds not only with the president, but also with many Arizonans. In 2013, he was part of the bipartisan Gang of Eight group of senators who put forth an immigration overhaul that would have offered immigrants in the country illegally a path to citizenship. It passed the Senate with 68 votes but died in the House. He also worked closely with Mr. Obama to open relations with Cuba.





...[D]espite Mr. Flakes criticisms of Mr. Trump, he almost always votes with the president. (An analysis by FiveThirtyEight, the political blog, found that Mr. Flake had voted with Mr. Trump 91.5 percent of the time.)





He wrote a book about the conscience of a libertarian, yet hes voted along the lines of the things he has criticized, Dr. Riley said. So my only conclusion is he doesnt have a conscience.





...In his early years in Congress, he developed a reputation as a budget hawk who challenged party leaders to get rid of so-called earmarks, in which federal money is steered to lawmakers pet projects. But in the Senate, which he joined in 2013, Mr. Flake has not carved out much of a reputation, other than for being a nice guy.





Hes going to have to define who he is, what his record is and what hes accomplished, said David Winston, a Republican strategist in Washington. This is really going to be a vote about him and his incumbency.





As to who he is, Mr. Flake puts it this way: Im a conservative in, I think, the traditional sense of the word: a Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan conservative that believes in limited government, economic freedom, free trade, pro-immigration. Thats the kind of conservative I am, and thats my record.





But is that the kind of conservative who is welcome in the Republican Party in the Trump era? Mr. Flake smiled wanly.





That, the senator said, is the question.
GREENWICH  Is the price of a new building for New Lebanon School too much for the town to swallow without state reimbursement? The Representative Town Meeting is scheduled to take up the question on Monday.

Parents have pushed hard for the new school, citing the overcrowded conditions at the current building. And the Board of Education has pushed the magnet program at New Lebanon as a way to attract students from outside the neighborhood and fix the racial balance problem there, which cant happen with the current lack of space.

Town finance officials have budgeted to pay the projects projected $37 million cost, but have made the release of that money contingent on substantial reimbursement from the state.

Reimbursement to Greenwich is part of a school-funding package in a bond bill before the General Assembly. But that has been tied up in Hartfords ongoing budget battles, and the governor has said he will block New Lebanon funding if he can.

On Monday night, the RTM will consider a sense of the meeting resolution calling on the Board of Estimate and Taxation to release the full funding for the school construction whether or not the state money comes through.

Construction bids cannot be approved without funding finalized, causing the projects price to rise.

BET Chairman Michael Mason said Wednesday the finance board is likely to follow the RTMs lead.

If the RTM votes that the money should be released, I suspect the BET will go along with that, Mason said. If the RTM votes to postpone the item, I suspect the BET will respect that. If the RTM votes it down and says it wants the project to be scrapped and redesigned without the state money, then I expect there will a lot of conversations, mainly with the Board of Education.

To date, finance officials have agreed to put about $14 million toward the new New Lebanon School project, saying the rest must come from the state.

The school is eligible for the state reimbursement because the project is part of the towns plan to diversify the school population at New Lebanon, as mandated by state law.

The BETs Budget Committee met on the issue on Tuesday. Committee Chairman James Lash said the sense was to see what the RTM decides on Monday.

Lash, who has expressed his support for moving forward with the school construction, said he believes the town has the money to pay for the school if the decision is made to proceed without the state funding.

Were getting down to the last days of this, Lash said.

Budget Committee member Jeff Ramer said he was keeping an open mind and wanted to hear all sides at the RTM meeting.

I presently favor the project, and probably on its present ed specs, even if we had to do it with no assurance of the diversity grant, or do it with less state funding, or even no state funding, Ramer said. Nevertheless, I would have significant difficulty voting to release the current condition now if the RTM were to fail to support the sense of the meeting resolution either by rejecting it or by postponing it. In that event, I would favor renewal of the conversations with the RTM to see where we have consensus.

Ramer added that if the RTM approves the resolution he would be inclined to vote for the full funding.

Budget Committee member Leslie Tarkington said she supported the new school but her vote in favor of it was predicated on the reimbursement to the town, which she added she is still optimistic will be given as promised.

I am also waiting to see what actions the RTM at its Monday evening meeting may take, Tarkington said.

Opponents of the project have questioned the size of the school and the cost of the project, and expressed doubt that a magnet program would ever work in addressing racial balance. Magnet programs at Western Greenwich schools historically have failed to attract significant numbers of students.

But project supports have pushed hard for the BET to release the money and are expected to turn out in force for Mondays RTM meeting.

Members of the New Lebanon School PTA Executive Board as well as the executive boards of the PTA Council and the other elementary and middle school PTAs are urging the BET and RTM to support the resolution.

In a letter the PTAs contend the threat of the states reimbursement being withdrawn is minimal. State Rep. Michael Bocchino, R-150th, whose district includes New Lebanon School, did not go that far but said the push to get the money has not abated.

Although we acknowledge that there are no certainties in Hartford, the New Lebanon School project was included in our previously approved bipartisan budget that passed both the House and Senate and we will make every effort to ensure that it is a part of any budget moving forward, Bocchino said on Wednesday.

Last month, the Board of Education voted to ask the BET to release all funding for the project without waiting for the state.

We will have decisions to make if we dont get the state reimbursement but we do have options, Mason said.

Mason said those options include using money from the capital non-recurring fund, which has been set aside for expenses like soil remediation, or using uncommitted money in the towns fund balance.

The projects building committee is facing a ticking clock. The 28 construction bids for the new school work are set to expire on Tuesday, the day after the RTM meeting. The committee has requested contractor Gilbane Co. to extend the bids a month into November and the company has accepted.

Mason said he remains optimistic that the state reimbursement.

I do believe the town will get the money, Mason said. I hope the town doesnt have to take further action to get the money after abiding by all the states regulations to get it.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
ORANGE  Theres a new career on the menu for the towns recently retired assistant police chief.

Anthony Cuozzo Sr. has taken what seems like a giant leap from being assistant police chief to becoming the new chief operating officer of Chips Family Restaurants. But the jobs are more similar than people might think, said Cuozzo, who had never before worked in the restaurant business.

The dynamics of policing and (the) task at hand are different, but  the restaurant business is 85 percent customer service and 15 percent food, while the police department was 100 percent community service, Cuozzo said. I dont know the secret recipe for the pancakes, and I dont need to know that.

Chips CEO George Chatzopoulos, who owns the restaurant chain along with his sister, Konstantina Bajko, said he tapped Cuozzo for the job because hes a people person.

He brings a lot to the table, Chatzopoulos said. He has a good personality, he connects with people and hes likeable.

In his new COO position, Cuozzo will build aspects of the corporate office located in Orange and work on development of management staff at all six Chips locations in Orange, Fairfield, Trumbull, Southbury, Southington and Wethersfield.

He also will oversee aspects of The Simple Greek restaurant in West Hartford, also owned by Chatzopoulos.

Chatzopoulos will have more time to oversee planning and development for his restaurants, including new Chips locations.

Cuozzo has an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, and a masters degree in leadership from Albertus Magnus College, the latter of which was designed to be applied in the business world, he said. He has applied it to police management and said hes excited about applying it in business.

Cuozzo, who retired Sept. 8 at 50 years old, began his police career as a patrol officer 27 years ago, moving through the ranks as a DARE officer, sergeant, lieutenant and assistant chief five years ago. He also attended the FBI Academy in 2005 and teaches leadership at Albertus Magnus.

Ive been lucky to have a diverse police career, he said. My most favorite part of it was dealing with people at work and in the community.

Cuozzo grew up in Orange and was encouraged by his mother, Carole, to go into public service because he had that kind of personality at a young age.

Later, he was inspired by the late Orange police Officer Robert Stankye, whom he had contact with in school, to fulfill the calling, as he puts it, through police work. His father, Arnold Cuozzo Sr., who practiced service to others through acts of kindness as a pharmacist in West Haven, taught his son to lead by example and  treat everyone the way youd want to be treated, Cuozzo said.

Cuozzo said as a police officer he dealt with the best and worst in people.

He remembered as a patrolman helping a drug addict who had been arrested for shoplifting get through her drug withdrawal symptoms and felt good when she returned sober months later to tell him, Believe it or not, keeping me here made me see I had to kick the habit.

He loved responding to the happy call that a woman had given birth in the commuter parking lot in a car after not making it to the hospital, and felt comfort in being able to sensitively deliver news of tragedy to the loved ones of victims. He also found fulfillment as an accident investigator.

Orange Police Chief Robert J. Gagne agrees Cuozzos superb people skills will serve him well in the new job.

The energy and positive enthusiasm that he brought to his duties every day was exemplary, Gagne said. Orange is a safer community as a result of all of his efforts. His experience will be greatly missed, but the entire Department wishes him well in all of his future endeavors.

Cuozzo said he was happy at the police department, but when the COO opportunity came up he went for it because he knew that in a second career, I wanted to do something that was a surprise every day.

Cuozzo and Chatzopoulos became friendly years ago through police department activities, and got closer when Cuozzos daughter began working at Chips as a server.

Chatzopoulos brought up the COO idea at a barbecue and Cuozzo said, If youre serious call me next week. He got the call.

Cuozzo said hell bring perspective as a consumer rather than a restaurateur and among his goals are to hire the right people, provide training opportunities, hold people accountable.

Cuozzo said he sees his role as a manager, leader, motivator, developer. Hell also refine and review policy and create a procedural manual.

In organizational leadership the most important tool is communication, he said, and that includes listening to what employees have to say. Hell ask them to set goals  just as he has always done.

The restaurants, Cuozzo said, will retain that family-run flavor that has made them so popular.

We dont want anyone to go to Chips and get a corporate feel, Cuozzo said.

Hes only worked in the restaurant business for about a month, but Cuozzo is already throwing around restaurant jargon such as back of house, front of house. He will eventually get into the kitchen to see the magic.

Its amazing to me you can place an order and 8 minutes later a meal comes out.  The sheer pace of it, Cuozzo said. Im really excited.

Chatzopoulos said he asks Cuozzo every day whether hes still excited and the answer is always, yes.

I think Anthonys going to do an excellent job, Chatzopoulos said.
The hotel is located near the Thuan Phuoc bridge where people can easily go to Da Nang International Airport, the city center, My Khe Beach and Hoi An Ancient Town.



The hotel was put into service for delegates attending the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit in Da Nang in the early November.

The projects construction was completed within 15 months and the hotel was built by a 5 stars standard.

Even the bathroom equipment is also gilded.





Nguyen Huu Duong, General Director of Hoa Binh Company, announced that in next year, any customers who buy a set of dishes or vases in 24K gold with the price from US$1,000 to US$1,500 will have a free-5 night-stay at this hotel and a packed tour to Da Nang, Hue and Hoi An.

More photos about facilities of this modern hotel to enjoy...












Hes a machine. Photo: thinkfoodgroup/Youtube

Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen team have passed along word that their tireless Puerto Rico recovery efforts have crossed an impressive new milestone. Sometime yesterday, they served their 1 millionth meal to the storm-ravaged islands residents. Volunteers  including some of Puerto Ricos most prominent chefs  are now cranking out more than 120,000 meals each day to needy people in every one of the islands 78 municipalities. To accomplish this impressive feat, they leveraged the help of 500 volunteers, took over the largest kitchen in Puerto Ricos biggest stadium, set up another 14 satellite kitchens, and mobilized a fleet of food trucks. (Just for quick comparison: FEMA, the governmental agency specializing in relief from disasters like Hurricane Maria, said last week in a press release that its distributing about 200,000 meals per day right now.)

As expected, Andres marked the occasion with a new video:

Three weeks of struggling to eat seems like a long time. (Unless youre President Trump  he said Monday that the military, which he dispatched belatedly, shouldnt have to be giving Puerto Ricans food and water anymore.) But millions are still without power or basic cooking supplies. CNN ran a new story today about relief efforts in Aguas Buenas, one of the islands municipalities. Despite being just 30 minutes outside of San Juan, officials are still finding people who have been living in moldy, dilapidated homes for nearly a month, waiting on help. Volunteers in that small area alone say theyve checked some 8,000 residences so far, but still have about 1,500 to go.
ELKO  The Western Folklife Center and host Matt Downs of Elko band Muddy Boots and the Porch Pounders will present a workshop Oct. 28 on how to build and play a cigar-box guitar. That evening, Downs and his band will perform a concert at the Western Folklife Center. Workshop participants get a 50 percent discount on the price of the concert.

In the four-hour workshop, Matt will provide participants with the supplies, tools and know-how to construct a guitar made of cigar boxes, and will teach a one-hour guitar lesson. The workshop will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at the Western Folklife Center, 501 Railroad St. The workshop cost is $75, which includes all the materials needed to make the guitar, as well as the guitar lesson and discounted admission to the evening concert. Kids 12 and under are $65 and must be accompanied by an adult.

Participants enjoy assembling their own guitar and working with the artist himself. The lesson and workshop offer something for both beginning and more advanced players, as Matt teaches both how to work a slide and use open tune playing.

To register, contact Katie Aiken, Western Folklife Center Programs Manager, at 738-7508 x223 or kaiken@westernfolklife.org.

From 7-9 p.m. that evening, Muddy Boots and the Porch Pounders will play roots, blues and Americana music while showcasing the cigar-box guitars made that day. The concert will take place in the G3 Bar Theater at the Western Folklife Center.

Band members are Matt Downs, Nolan McRae, Brian Diehl, Mitch Potter, Kerry Walker, Joel Utter and Trevor Lloyd. Admission is $10 at the door and $5 with a workshop registration and for kids 12 and under.

Tickets can be purchased from the Western Folklife Center Gift Shop or by calling 738-7508. The bar opens at 6 p.m. People who come early can visit the exhibits in the Wiegand Gallery.




Haiti - Politics : President Moise Commemorates the 211 Years of the Death of Dessalines





Tuesday, President Jovenel Moise accompanied by his wife Martine, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant and members of the Government participated in Marchand Dessalines, to the commemoration of the 211 years of the death of Emperor Jacques I, Founder of the Fatherland.



After a floral offering at the foot of the Monument of Emperor Dessalines at the Pont Rouge he attended to the Church of Saint Ignatius of Marchand Dessalines, at the Te Deum of commemoration, which took place under the sign of national consciousness and of the unity of all Haitians. In the presence of, among others, the Vice-President of the National Assembly, the Honorable Cholzer Chancy, the President of the Court of Cassation, Me Jules Cantave, members of the Government, parliamentarians and many citizens, the Head of State saluted the memory of this hero of independence who marked the history of Haiti, the Haitians and the slave nations.



After the Te Deum, the Head of State went to the Place d'Armes of Marchand Dessalines, where he addressed an imposing crowd, inviting it to thank Emperor Jacques 1st for the Haitian nation which he founded and for allowing the peoples of the world to enjoy freedom today.



"Li pa mouri. Li pa ka mouri. Le yon Neg leve kanpe, li di : moun pa machandiz, libete se byen tout moun, tout pep, tout ras, bal ka mete li ate, men bal pa ka tiye'l," launched the Head of State who is convinced that Jean Jacques Dessalines is among us, inside each and every one, and that thanks to him we can today unite freely and we can look in the eyes all the peoples of the earth and speak to them as equal.



President Moses deplored the division in the country, which weakens citizens' impulses and paralyzes economic and social development. He believes that this situation is abnormal and that it is imperative to rehabilitate the institutions in order to drive out corruption, injustice, insecurity and strengthening Haiti's education, economy and development. Because , according to him, "Dessalines has already fought the victorious battle of universal history against colonization and slavery."



"The time has come for the break. We must all, each and every one of us, as far as we are concerned, get out of Haiti's historical constraints and turn the page of periodic turbulence and chronic instability," insisted the Head of State who took the opportunity to recall some key elements of the action plan of his quinquennium...



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politics : Jovenel Moise distributes 48 tractors to 12 cooperatives





Tuesday, President Jovenel Moise, accompanied by Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant, proceeded to the delivery of tractors to 12 Presidents of agricultural cooperatives in the Artibonite Valley.



In the presence of Carmel Andre Belliard Minister of Agriculture, Serge Chery, Director General of the National Council of Cooperatives (CNC), 12 Presidents of cooperatives registered with the CNC, received their certificates before entering in possession of the keys of tractors as well as of agricultural equipment.



The Head of State handed over the keys of about 48 tractors (4 tractors per cooperative) and promised 6 more in the coming months to the Presidents of agricultural cooperatives in the Artibonite Valley (about 18,000 planters).



On behalf of the beneficiaries, one of the Co-operative Presidents welcomed this initiative and asked the Head of State not to abandon his fight for agriculture, notably through the Caravan of Change and recommended to the other Presidents of Cooperatives to collaborate without measure and without delay in the efforts of President Jovenel Moise.



At the end of the ceremony, Jacques Thomas conducted a visit of the agricultural facilities, during which the Head of State took the opportunity to discuss with the beneficiaries various projects for their development in the Valley.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Economy : Increase in the Haitian ICAE index in the third quarter of 2017





The Global Economic Activity Indicator Index (ICAE - Haiti) for the 3rd quarter (April to June) is estimated at 151.0 compared to 145.0 for the same period in 2016, an increase of 4.2% year on year. In cumulative terms, from October to June 2017, the ICAE increased by 2.1%. which is the result of the upward trend in the three main sectors of the economy.



Let's recall that the Economic Activity Indicator (ICAE-Haiti) is a statistical tool, launched in September 2016 by the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Information (IHSI), which makes it possible to monitor in the very near future the evolution of real sector of the economy. It is an overall indicator that provides short-term information on major trends in gross domestic product (GDP). This type of indicator is widely used in Latin America, but unlike other countries where this indicator is calculated monthly, in the case of Haiti, taking into account the time available for basic sectoral data, the ICAE is calculated quarterly.



Download full details by sector : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Icae_3etrim16-17.pdf



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politics : 7 Historical Sentences of Dessalines





Tuesday in Quito, capital of Ecuador, as every year Ecuadorian officials laid a wreath of flowers at the foot of the bust of Emperor Jacques 1st to pay tribute to the one who transplanted the Haitian revolution in America. They honor Dessalines who destroyed the system of slavery established in the New World since 1492 and express their respect for those who imposed human rights in the Caribbean and in America.



In Ecuador it is time to remember the 7 famous phrases of Jean Jacques Dessalines :



1 - "Let us swear to fight to the last breath for the independence of our country";

2 - "I want to keep with me only brave men. Let those who want to become French slaves come out of the fort. Let those, on the contrary, who wish to die as free men, rank themselves around me";

3 - "I make you all detonates if the French penetrate into this fort ".

4 - "After what I have done in the South, if the citizens do not rise up, it is because they are not men";

5 - "The blacks whose fathers are in Africa, will they have nothing ?";

6 - "We dared to be free, dare to be free by ourselves and for ourselves";

7. "What do I care for the judgment of posterity, provided I save my country ?"



SL/ HaitiLibre


















ELKO  Rockport, Texas, felt the wrath of Hurricane Harvey when the Category 4 storm made landfall on Aug. 26. After the 130 mph winds subsided, water flooded the coastal town of 10,000 people and seeped into homes and businesses, leaving more damage for residents to clean up.

But the people of Rockport have not had to do it alone. Volunteers from Samaritans Purse, a nondenominational Christian organization, went to devastated areas in Texas and began a two-year task to repair and restore homes.

Callan Payton of Wells was a member of one of the Disaster Response teams sent to Texas that assisted homeowners in five towns affected by Harvey, including Rockport.

Payton learned about Samaritans Purse from his pastor at Victory Community Church, and after researching the organization, he signed up and bought a plane ticket to Houston.

For 12 days, Payton was part of a team in Rockport, tearing out drywall and flooring ruined by the floodwaters.

Contractors were generally charging $9,000 for the two-day job, Payton said, adding that most residents did not have flood damage insurance to cover the cost.

A property analytics company, CoreLogic, estimated that 70 percent of homeowners in the region hit by Harvey were uninsured.

It was hot, sticky, dirty work, said Payton, describing himself as part cowboy and part mountain man. He estimated that he worked in six houses, stripping out the drywall and spraying mold and bacteria killer on wood frames.

Payton said Samaritans Purse tried to focus on the homeowners without insurance and people in need, which was just about everyone. A chaplain visited the homes and offered to pray with the owners and give them a Bible signed by the team members.

Everybody down the street was in need, Payton said. He met one man who had been scammed out of $10,000 by people offering to help him clear out his house.

A Russian couple who immigrated to the United States years ago lost their belongings, and the wife was very emotional when she talked about her situation, Payton said.

The loss of family possessions was most devastating to residents, Payton said, remembering one woman who kept him from throwing away her grandmothers handmade quilt that was soggy and tossed on the front lawn.

I hung it on a fence to dry, Payton said. There were a lot of memories to dry.

Some people Payton met had tales of survival. One couple described to Payton how their car was surrounded by rapidly rising floodwaters when they remembered the canoe they bought before the flood. They escaped, and the fire department used their canoe to rescue others.

Another thing Payton could not forget was how well the team functioned. During the week, there were 12 members, on the weekends more people joined the project.

The team had a mind to do something for nothing in the name of Jesus, said Payton. It was phenomenal the way everybody just got together and did their job.

He met a retired Secret Service agent, a pharmacist, a physicians assistant, airline stewardess and veterans. Some came from as far as New Jersey and Washington state to join the project.

It was amazing teamwork for people who just had a 30-45-minute orientation, he said. It clicked like machinery.

Payton said the trip to Rockport made a lasting impression on him. So much so, he is returning to Texas to volunteer for the rebuilding stage in November.

He said he also wants to go to California when Samaritans begins aiding homeowners in Sonoma County in the devastating fire that has burned more than 2,800 homes. Payton hopes people from Elko sign up with Samaritans Purse so they can go together.

For Payton, traveling to disaster areas and volunteering his time is a tangible way to demonstrate the love of God instead of talking about it, he said.

A retiree for three years, Payton and his wife, Pam, live on a ranch outside of Wells, tending to mules, horses and cattle. After reading a book, Kingdom Agenda, by Tony Evans, Payton said he felt he had to take my faith outside the walls of my church.

Two years ago, I did some re-evaluation and I saw that I needed to redirect a lot of my energies to more important things, Payton said.

One quote in the book that stood out to Payton said: Your life is like a dollar bill. You can spend it anywhere and any way you want, but you can only spend it once.

If thats true, Payton said. I have about 15 cents left in my pocket.
Published on 2017/10/17 | Source

The 2018 S/S Hera Seoul Fashion Week was held in DDP, Seoul on the 17th.

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Popular "Mad Dog" and "Save Me" actor Woo Do-hwan was seen at the SCB Collection.

The 2018 S/S Hera Seoul Fashion Week presents thirty-five designer brands hosted by eight companies and over a hundred designer consulting and programs.
Published on 2017/10/17 | Source

Actor Jo Duk-je is leaving "Rude Miss Young-ae Season 16" because he was sentenced to probation in court for a charge of sexual harassment.

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Jo Duk-je appeared in seasons 14 and 15 as a mean owner. He was supposed to appear in season 16, but the actor was accused of harassing an actress with whom he filmed a movie. At first, netizens speculated who the reports were about. Later, he confirmed his identity in an interview.

According to the actress, Jo Duk-je ripped her underwear and put his hands down her pants while filming a movie in 2015. She reported him to the police and in the first trial, the actor was sentenced to five years, but the court trial ended in acquittal.

However, the verdict was overturned and Jo Duk-je was sentenced to one year in prison, two years on probation, and forty hours of sexual abuse treatment.

"Rude Miss Young-ae Season 16" begins later this year.
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Flint Wines to balance 2016 shortages with older Burgundy vintage

By Jo Gilbert

Burgundy specialists in the UK are having to re-think their en primeur formats this year after 2016s weather woes meant that allocation in certain appellations are tiny.

The knock on effect of last years spring frost and hailstorms are now pushing through to the UK as some producers are down to just 1 barrel (300 bottles) for the entire 2016 vintage.

Having to get creative is London-based importer Flint Wines where management have taken the decision to show a previous vintage alongside 2016 at their official January tasting.

Co-founder Jason Haynes said a run of smaller vintages and also more demand means that allocation has gone down anyway over the past few years, from 12 cases, down to six and three.

But with the extra strain meaning samples are a no-no, the decision was taken to re-look at an as yet undecided vintage.

Co-founder Jason Haynes, who is Bourgogne bound over the next few weeks for final tastings, is keen not to ignore the 2016 vintage altogether.

But while not all areas were equally affected, such as Cote de Nuits where volumes have been resilient, there is still some cause for concern.

Chassange-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin, which are two big restaurant wines, have been hit badly, Haynes told Harpers.

Obviously, we have more back stock of red as the white vintages sell quicker. A lot of it is down to building relationships. We have around 55 producers that we use. We will have to be nice to them and cobble together enough from growers, but its going to be a problem.

Photo: Flint Wines' Jason Haynes





Flints strategy also now has to take into account Stannary St Wine Co.  the companys retail arm, which has been selling online and to private clients for the last three years or so.

En primeur forms a large part of that service, and Stannary is treated like a merchant, getting its own allocation (anywhere between 25-50%) of Flints en primeur stock.

The decision to show a previous vintage alongside 2016 in January also spawned an idea to show 100 ready to drink wines ranging from Burgundy, to the US and Italy to the press and private clients yesterday (October 18).

The tasting, which was geared towards Stannarys customer-base, presented a selection of now mature wines including Mercurey 1er Cru Clos du Roy 2014 from Domaine Charton and Volnay 2012 by Chantereves.

Speaking to Haynes, it seems that Flint has managed to ride the wave of currency fluctuations, duty rises and general uncertainty over the past year or so, thanks largely to Londons buoyant restaurant trade.

The economic landscape is also shifting in Burgundy where price rises for land are cliff-steep.

According to Haynes, plots in Puligny will now set viticulturists back 1.5m per hectare.

As a result, estates are using negociants and producing more negociant wines.

However, as demand for negociant-grown grapes rises, so does the price, resulting in a weird situation where negociant grapes become more expensive than domaine grapes.

For now, Haynes and co await mid December when they will get confirmation of final allocations and prices.

The futures system pioneered by Bordeaux after the Second World War has extended to Burgundy and the Rhone over the past 15 years or so and many other areas where producers release vintages while still in cask.

Haynes had this to say about the difference in perception: There is a myth that Bordeaux ages brilliantly and Burgundy doesnt. Burgundy ages very well, but Burgundy Pinot Noir is more preciousness than Bordeaux, so you want to give it as much times possible for it to mature.








ELKO  A Womens Health Night Out at the Northeastern Nevada Hospital Oct. 11 sought to educate and allay any apprehensions that women might have about the breast cancer screening and diagnosis process.

The event, hosted by the hospital as the nation recognizes October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, featured a reception, presentation by Reno Diagnostic Centers doctor Ronald Swanger, and a tour of the NNRH radiology department and equipment from a breast cancer survivor turned mammographer.

My goal is to alleviate anxiety if you ever encounter one of these situations, said Swanger, who provides services at NNRH.

About 40 women and some men listened to Swangers presentation, which covered screening guidelines, imaging techniques, diagnostic terms and the biopsy process.

He started by emphasizing the importance of annual mammograms for women age 40 and older, explaining that standard is recommended by most industry experts.

Swangers lecture included a description of the biopsy process. Although it requires the use of large needles, the doctor said most of his patients leave saying the experience was not as scary as they thought it would be. Part of that, Swanger said, is because he takes the time to sit down and describe the process in detail much like he had for the group at Womens Health Night Out.

He will not stand when he comes and talks to you, said Bruce Jonas, department director of diagnostic imaging at NNRH and Elko Diagnostic Imaging.

To further inform the attendees with the hope of assuaging apprehensions, hospital staff took groups of about 10 at a time on tours of the radiology department. Guests saw up close the mammography, ultrasound and bone densitometry machines and learned that the hospital staffs combined mammography experience totals more than 96 years.

Contributing more than eight years to the roster is Lori Wooden, a licensed mammographer and breast cancer survivor who took a group on an early tour of the radiology department.

I started doing this because I am so passionate about it, said Wooden, whose cancer has been in remission for 13 years. I am very passionate about mammograms. I push mammograms a lot on friends and family and people I dont know.

Her personal experience helps Wooden relate to patients who might have doubts or questions.

I feel like I want people to know theyre not alone, Wooden said. I like to put people at ease. Its scary.

Starting with knowledge is one way to begin dissolving fear, and that is why the hospital began hosting nights out, said Jennifer Koopman, director of physician relations and industry. The breast cancer awareness event was the second in the series of events designed to help educate people about health.

We do a lot of nights out that are not always about our health, Koopman said. Lets learn about our health before it becomes a diagnosis.
Nine States Sue Feds for Records on Immigration Crackdown

by Zach Huffman, Court House News, October 17, 2017

BOSTON (CN)  Attorneys general for nine states and the District of Columbia demanded Tuesday that Homeland Security respond to requests for records about the detention and deportation of immigrants in each of the states.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal immigration agencies under its umbrella in Massachusetts federal court.

She was joined by the attorneys general of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia.

The federal government has significantly increased its immigration enforcement activities, including, for example, a nearly 40 percent increase in arrests within the first four months of 2017, the complaint states. It is critical for plaintiff states to understand the nature of federal immigration enforcement activities and the effects of these activities on the residents and law enforcement agencies of the respective states.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement that immigrants in the Empire State and across the country are living in fear because of the Trump administrations draconian policies.

The federal governments total lack of transparency forces immigrant New Yorkers into the shadows and undermines state and local efforts to keep our communities safe, Schneiderman said.

In June, the 10 attorneys general filed FIOA requests for details on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients, arrests and detentions of individuals at sensitive locations such as schools and jobsites, and detainer requests.

The FOIA requests were sent to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which are also named as defendants in Tuesdays lawsuit.

Those requests went unanswered, the attorneys general claim.

The complaint says the states are requesting records to which they have a legal right.

Defendants have violated FOIA by failing to respond to plaintiff states request within the statutorily prescribed time limit, failing to disclose the requested documents, and unlawfully withholding the requested information, the 27-page lawsuit states.

In their initial request, the attorneys general say they referenced local and national media reports of the deportation of people approved for DACA, those meeting with federal immigration officials to discuss their status, and even U.S. citizens.

They seek a court order compelling Homeland Security and ICE to search for and promptly disclose all records responsive to their request.

A spokesperson for ICE did not respond Tuesday to an emailed request for comment on Tuesdays lawsuit.

Last month, ICE touted the arrest of 498 allegedly undocumented immigrants as part of Operation Safe City.

The multi-state operation saw arrests in Maryland, Illinois, Colorado, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. Self-proclaimed sanctuary cities were specifically targeted.

Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and creating a magnet for illegal immigration, ICE Acting Director Tom Homan said at the time. As a result, ICE is forced to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests in these communities.

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loyers should communicate their workers roles as a job landscape instead of a mere job description, an expert for an HR think tank suggests, to address recruitment and retention challenges in the tourism and hospitality industries.Tourism and hospitality employ a combined 1.4 million workers and tourism alone is worth $40 billion to the Australian economy, so it is too important to get this right, said Dr Lindsay McMillan, lead researcher for Reventure.Aside from the skills shortage that has been responsible for a combined vacancy of 38,000, the two industries are also plagued by low employee satisfaction and high turnover.A job landscape is a list of end goals that are intertwined with the goals of other employees, McMillan said.Something that the sector is not doing well is demonstrating that employees have purpose and are valued. As a result, employees feel expendable and find another job as soon as they feel unhappy.To arrest this, employers must demonstrate how a role prepares an employee for the future, whether they want a career in the industry or want to gain transferable skills.Reventure, a not-for-profit organisation, recently launched A Future That Works  a national workplace renewal campaign after it found that 49% of Australians were likely to look for a new job in the next year.This campaign is aimed at highlighting effective and practical solutions so that workplaces can more actively engage with modern challenges.
rong>Denise Broady,, talks to HRD about the importance of core brand values and how HR can put them to work.Your employees are already some of your best brand advocates. When they love your brand, and theyre passionate about where they work, then you know theyll be out there amplifying that message to the market. This is why defining strong, clear brand values is so important.When I first came on board, WorkForce Software was a 16-year-old company without defined core values. Now, two years later, we have three core values that drive everything we do as a brand: put customers first, make it happen, and celebrate our success.From uncovering your values, to communicating them out to your employees, this is an area where HR can add value and rally the team.The challenge is moving your core values from a pamphlet or piece of paper to the point where your employees are embracing them in their day-to-day actions. To enable that shift, you have to get them involved.At WorkForce Software, we came up with the concept as a management team, and then we asked 25 team members from various areas of the business to weigh in. This process helped us arrive at the final three. And when we launched them at a company meeting, we created an internal campaign to get everyone excited.This included a short video with employee testimonials about what our core values mean to them, as well as a booklet with graphics that tell the story. Documenting our values in this way was about more than creating collateral; it also helped to increase buy-in across the business. To this day, its common for our employees to reference our core brand values when theyre speaking about projects theyve contributed to.Whether theyre pointing out what they did to make it happen, or sharing how they put our customers first, theyre proud to speak about their contributions using this new brand vernacular. But it doesnt happen overnight.You have to live it and push adoption from grassroots efforts. For us, the 25 initial folks that were involved really became evangelists for our core brand values, combined with our leadership team setting the example from the top down. Thats really the only way a core value rollout can work.We have regional offices on three continents, and a large part of our workforce is remote  working from home offices or dedicated co-working spaces. What we found is that the exercise of defining and communicating our core brand values served to bring these folks closer to the business.Its an opportunity to reinforce who we are, collectively, and what were doing together for our customers. As with all aspects of managing distributed and remote teams, its an intentional effort. Especially with a core value like celebrate our success.You dont want to leave people out when youre demonstrating a work-hard-play-hard philosophy. So were intentional about including our entire workforce, even if that means were sending the remote folks a voucher for ice cream so they can participate locally in a company-wide celebration.To learn more, listen to Denise Broady speak about Redefining Core Brand Values on the podcast Renegade Thinkers Unite
(Reuters) London-based currency manager Adrian Lee & Partners said on Tuesday the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation had awarded it a mandate to manage $2 billion of international foreign exchange exposure. The Alaska Fund, which manages roughly $62 billion in assets, posted a return of 2.05 percent as of Aug. 31, outperforming a target return 1.04 percent for the same period, according to its website.

To read this article:
The pulp and paper supplier points that any discussion revolving exclusively around the wage increases agreed upon in collective bargaining negotiations fails to provide a complete picture of wage development, as the employees of its paper and pulp mills in Finland are also entitled to performance-based incentives equivalent to 5.3 per cent of earnings.

UPM has published details of its performance-based incentive system amid a labour dispute between the Finnish Paper Workers Union and Finnish Forest Industries.

Last year, the employees were paid an average of 2,800 euros in performance-based incentives, according to UPM.

Related posts: Sipila breaks promise not to interfere in collective bargaining talks (12 October, 2017)

Riitta Savonlahti, the director of human resources at UPM, reminds that the performance-based incentives are available to all occupational groups throughout the organisation. Local wage arrangements, she adds, also reward employees for developing their occupational skills.

Therefore, talking only about how many per cent wages rise under the collective agreement does not provide a complete picture of how the earnings are developing. This should be taken into consideration also in the public debate. People should not talk only about the base wage but also about total earnings, she says in a press release.

UPM also reminds that all of its employees have been entitled to performance-based incentives for ten years.

The Finnish Paper Workers Union recently accused the Finnish Forest Industries of being unwilling to negotiate over the terms and conditions of employment in the paper industry.

Petri Vanhala, the chairperson of the trade union, told STT that the employers organisation has not contacted him after proposing that the current collective agreement for paper workers be extended by a year and voicing its willingness to consider revising the agreement in a way that improves productivity.

It has said its objective is to agree on a collective agreement that is comparable to other industries.

Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) commented on the negotiations last week by estimating that it would be unreasonable to demand that employees waive wage hikes for another year.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
BILLINGS, Mont.  Clayvin Herrera was found guilty by a Wyoming jury in Sheridan Circuit Court in April 2016 of illegally killing an elk out of season in the Bighorn National Forest in January 2014. He was fined and ordered to pay costs of $8,080, received a suspended jail sentence and had his hunting privileges suspended for three years.

Herreras attorney, Kyle Gray of Billings, had argued that her clients hunting rights were guaranteed by the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which allowed the Crow Tribe to hunt on unoccupied federal lands. The court refused to hear that argument, saying the issue had already been settled in a previous case.

Since then, Herreras attorneys have pushed the case up the ladder of appeals, most recently rejected by the Wyoming Supreme Court on June 16. On Oct. 5, Herreras legal team petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

The odds are not in Herreras favor. The high court hears only about 1 percent of the cases submitted for review, according to professor Robert J. Miller, an Indian law expert at the Sandra Day OConner School of Law at Arizona State University. He also said there is no particular timeline for when the court might decide.

It could take months to say yes or no, he said.

The central theme of Herreras argument is that a more recent high court decision concerning tribal treaty rights and state rights  the 1999 Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band (of Chippewa Indians)  has created a conflict in the courts.

The (Wyoming courts) decision  ignores this (U.S. Supreme) Courts precedents, badly misconstrues the Tribes 1868 Treaty, and creates a clear split with federal and state courts, all while imperiling the ability of Tribe members to provide for their families as they  and other Native Americans, pursuant to similar treaties  have done for over a century, Herreras attorneys argued in their writ to the U.S. Supreme Court. Only this Court can correct this injustice, resolve the unsettled case law, and reaffirm the federal treaty-based rights that the Tribe and other Native Americans have long enjoyed.

Miller said the 1999 Mille Lacs ruling by the high court kind of shocked everyone in the Indian law world, sort of revising the much-earlier 1896 case known as Ward v. Race Horse.

Ward v. Race Horse is an interesting case in Wyoming for a couple of reasons. The case arose after a shootout between Bannock Indians from Idaho and whites living in the Jackson Hole area. The Bannocks were on their way to visit Shoshone relatives on Wyomings Wind River Reservation when they stopped to shoot some elk to eat, according to an article by Lori Van Pelt on the WyoHistory.org website. That prompted the shootout in which one Bannock was killed, another was injured and a child went missing.

Weeks later, Wyoming enacted a new law regulating hunting in the state, aimed at restricting Indian rights granted in their treaties. Wyoming and federal Indian officials challenged the law and won, but the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Arguing for the state was Willis Van Deventer, the same attorney who represented the vigilante group of well-to-do ranchers and hired gunmen who invaded Johnson County in 1892. None of the vigilantes were convicted. Yet that group was bent on killing several individuals on a list who the ranchers claimed were responsible for rampant cattle rustling. When Johnson County locals rallied, a shootout started and eventually the U.S. Army intervened.

Van Pelt writes that Van Deventers interest in taking the Ward v. Race Horse case was political. He indicated in a letter to Sen. (Francis) Warren that his interest in the case was political because he hoped a positive outcome would help the administration of Gov. W.A. Richards and the efforts of Republicans throughout the state in that election year of 1896, she wrote.

Van Deventer went on to win the case before the high court in a 7-1 decision.
The House Committee on Natural Resources this past week approved a bill sponsored by Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop to rein in the powers granted by the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allow a president to unilaterally create huge national monuments.

The bill advanced on a party line vote of 27-13, with Democrats in opposition.

The bill, H.R. 3990, the National Monument Creation and Protection Act, amends the Antiquities Act to limit the size of future monuments and specifically grants the sitting president the power to reduce the size of existing monuments  a power Democrats have argued President Trump does not have under current law.

During his administration President Obama created 26 national monuments totaling more than 500 million acres  including the 700,000-acre Basin and Range National Monument on the border of Lincoln and Nye counties and the 300,000-acre Gold Butte National Monument in Clark County.

President Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review recent monument designations and Zinke sent a memo to the president recommending the reduction in size of six of those, including Gold Butte. The president has not yet acted on those recommendations.

Bishops bill would allow the president to unilaterally reduce the size of any monument by 85,000 acres  and by more with the consent of affected counties and states.

The bill would allow a president in the future to create a new monument unilaterally, but only up to 640 acres. Anything larger than that, up to 10,000 acres, would require an environmental review. Anything between 10,000 and 85,000 acres, the apparent size cap on new monuments, would require approval of counties and state officials, as well as the governor.

Congress never intended to give one individual the power to unilaterally dictate the manner in which all Americans may enjoy enormous swaths of our nations public lands, Bishop was quoted as saying. Designations are no longer made for scientific reasons or archaeological value but for political purposes. Unfortunately, overreach in recent administrations has brought us to this point and it is Congress duty to clarify the law and end the abuse.

Like the Natural Resources Committee, Nevadas congressional delegation is divided along party lines when it comes to national monuments. The four Democrats have all objected bitterly and volubly to reducing the size of Nevadas monuments.

But its two Republican delegates in January introduced legislation that would prevent future designations of monuments in Nevada without the consent of Congress  the Nevada Land Sovereignty Act of 2017 (H.R. 243, S. 22).

The legislation introduced by Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei is terse and to the point. It basically piggybacks onto current law that reads: No extension or establishment of national monuments in Wyoming may be undertaken except by express authorization of Congress. Their bill would amend this by simply adding the phrase or Nevada after the word Wyoming.

In response to Bishops bill passing the committee, a Heller press aide sent out a comment, Unilateral federal land grabs in a state like Nevada where the federal government already owns 85 percent of our land should not be permitted. Public input and local support remain critical to the decision-making process of federal land designations, and that is why Ive introduced legislation that prevents last years land grab under the Obama administration from occurring without input from Congress and local officials. Ill continue working with my colleagues to see that it is signed into law.

Congressman Amodei said in January before Trumps inauguration, I continue to be amazed by the fact that some people hug unilateral, non-transparent monument designations, while at the same time, protesting vehemently over the introduction and public discussion of congressional lands bills proposals. In contrast to the last eight years of this administrations one-sided approach on major land management decisions in Nevada, our bill simply ensures local stakeholders have a seat at the table going forward.

Bishops proposal also declares that existing water and land rights are to preserved despite a monument designation.
Did you happen to catch CNNs latest smear?

Anderson Coopers show recently featured a two-part exclusive that claims Donald Trumps EPA director had conspired with the CEO of a mining company to withdraw environmental restrictions so the company could dig the largest open pit mine in the world in an extremely sensitive watershed in wild Alaska.

The report was enough to horrify any caring person. CNN showed beautiful pictures of colorful salmon swimming in Bristol Bay, and the reporter intoned dramatically, EPA staffers were shocked to receive this email obtained exclusively by CNN which says we have been directed by the administrator to withdraw restrictions ... (P)rotection of that pristine area was being removed.

No! A pristine area and gorgeous salmon were about to be obliterated by a mine!

I would have believed it, except I happened to report on that mine a couple years ago.

I knew that the real scandal was not EPA director Scott Pruitts decision to withdraw the restrictions; it was what President Obamas EPA did to the companys mining proposal in the first place.

Zealots at the EPA had conspired with rich environmental activists to kill the mine before its environmental impact statement could even be submitted. This was unprecedented.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform later concluded: EPA employees had inappropriate contact with outside groups and failed to conduct an impartial, fact-based review.

Now, appropriately, Pruitt undid that censorship of science.

But CNN, implying devious secrecy said, according to multiple sources, he made that decision without a briefing from any of EPAs scientists.

Shocking!

But Pruitt didnt require opinions from scientists. He didnt approve the mine. He didnt make a science decision. He simply followed the law and allowed a company to submit a proposal.

Also, despite CNNs repeated depictions of salmon on Bristol Bay, it turns out that the proposed mine would not even be on the Bay. It would not even be 10 miles away, or 20 miles away, or even 50 miles. The proposed mine would be about 100 miles away.

Did CNN mention that? No. Never. We asked CNN why. And why not point out that the mining company is just being allowed to start the EPAs long and arduous environmental review? They didnt get back to us.

Of course, explaining that wouldnt fit CNNs theme: Evil Trump appointee ravages environment.

Their reporter did at least speak with the mines CEO, Tom Collier, who tried to explain.

Its not a science  its a process decision.

But the reporter, Drew Griffin, wouldnt budge. He called Collier a guy who wants to mine gold in an area that many scientists believe will destroy one of the most pristine sockeye salmon sporting grounds in the whole world.

By the way, Collier isnt an evil Republican-businessman-nature-destroyer. Hes a Democrat who once ran environment policy for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. CNN never mentioned that either.

Instead the reporter implied evil collusion: This looks like the head of a gold mine went to a new administrator and got him to reverse what an entire department had worked on for years.

Here at least the report was accurate. Obamas environmental department did try to kill that mine for years. They colluded with groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of Americas wealthiest environment groups.

The NRDC is mostly made up of anti-progress lawyers who want no mines built anywhere. Dont believe me? I asked NRDC spokesman Bob Deans:

STOSSEL: There are some mines where NRDC says, great, go ahead?

DEANS: Its not up to us.

STOSSEL: Are there any?

DEANS: Its not up to us to green light mines ...

STOSSEL: Are there any you dont complain about?

DEANS: Yeah, sure.

So I asked him for some names. He and the NRDC still havent provided any.

If these zealots and their sycophants in the media get their way, America will become a place with no mining, no pipelines, no oil drilling, no new ... anything.

The acronym used to make fun of anti-development attitudes used to be NIMBY  Not In My Back Yard. Now its BANANA: Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.
POUND, Va. -- A search warrant executed by authorities at a residence in Pound last Tuesday turned up black tar heroin, crystal meth, various hallucinogenic drugs and several illegal firearms.

The operation was the result of a lengthy criminal investigation into the residence, located in the 10000 block of Right Fork Road, according to the Pound Police Department.

Officers also found LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, dozens of prescription pills and various drug paraphernalia.

A woman who officers identified as a suspect in the case was found with more than a dozen prescription pills on her.

A safe was discovered in a bedroom that contained more than $700 in cash inside a suspects billfold.

The search was conducted with the Virginia State Police Tactical/SWAT Team and the Drug Task Force.

The Pound Police Department asks anyone with information on illegal drug activities to contact Chief Tony Baker at 276-298-7020.
Ucoms mobile customers will benefit from the best internet roaming rate of 8 AMD/MB when travelling to Georgia, Egypt or the UAE

Ameriabank Launches Google Pay and Google Wallet Support for Card Users in Armenia

Karen Vardanyan donated 112 million drams for the medical equipment for National Center for Infectious Diseases.

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

Google Ad

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

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
A long-awaited overhaul of veterans health care is being unveiled to the world. At the helm throughout the two years of developing this road map has been David Shulkin.

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is finally on the cusp of rolling out its master plan to ensure every veteran has access to timely, quality care, the VA secretary reportedly is interviewing for another job. As The Wall Street Journal revealed Friday, the White House brought Shulkin in last week to discuss having him take over the Department of Health and Human Services, a post left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Tom Price. (VA did not confirm or deny the Journals reporting.)

There is a lot of unfinished business in VA, requiring knowledgeable leadership. The White House cannot sacrifice that even if direction is needed elsewhere in the battle over the Affordable Care Act.

Shulkin was drafted from the private sector in 2015 to tackle VAs access crisis as it was being blamed for killing veterans stuck on secret wait lists, forced to line up for months before being seen. He was appointed undersecretary of VAs Veterans Health Administration by President Barack Obama and promoted 18 months later to VA secretary after President Trump was elected. With veterans organizations enthusiastic support, the Senate confirmed Shulkin 100-0 in February.

During an otherwise chaotic time in Washington, the transition of power has been smooth at VA. Shulkin was already intimately aware of the challenges he faced coming in, having worked closely with his predecessor Bob McDonald. That experience mattered in understanding the VA as well as the relationships with Congress and the veteran communities and organizations within it.

Shulkin elevated his top aides to seamlessly backfill. While other agencies struggled through drastic change, VA benefited from continuity. The result is perhaps the most productive first year among any of President Trumps Cabinet-level positions.

Now the prospect of VA losing its chief at this critical time is alarming. But significantly compounding the concern is that two of Shulkins top lieutenants just quit. Both were driving creation of the new CARE plan, which stands for Coordinated Access and Rewarding Experiences, a multibillion-dollar strategy to ensure access for veterans who live far from VA facilities or near VA medical centers that are over capacity or underperforming.

Poonam Allaigh and Baligh Yehia each abruptly resigned within the past few weeks. Alleigh was VAs acting undersecretary for health since Shulkin was promoted, and Yehia ran VAs network of community medical providers. Both joined the organization in 2015, commissioned to fix a broken system.

CARE is the product of more than two years of collaboration by VA, veterans service organizations and other stakeholders. Much of the plan, expected to be released this month, contains a lot of vagueness, outlining policies but leaving the creation and implementation of regulations up to the VA secretary - someone, it is hoped, intimately involved in its creation. We cannot leave formation of these regulations to a person who was not integral in establishing overall strategy.

VA has three major pillars: health care, veterans benefits and cemeteries. Each is vital to the government keeping its promise to veterans and their families, so each is supposed to be led by an undersecretary confirmed by Congress. But President Donald Trump has yet to nominate anyone for VHA or the Veterans Benefits Administration. If the administration does not move wisely, it will create a dangerous leadership void in an agency that the president often says is among his most important.

There is no doubt the top post at Health and Human Services is vital to every American, given the raging debate over the future of health-care insurance, certainly including veterans. There is little doubt Shulkin is qualified. But the timing is dangerous to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the millions of veterans who depend on it.

As a veteran, I would never leave my compatriots behind. I hope Shulkin feels the same way.
Unseasonable warmth and a stuffy building didnt demoralize a group of about 500 people at Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespies rally Saturday, headlined by Vice President Mike Pence.

Unfortunately, that number was far below the 1,200 expected to attend, and speakers addresses exhibited less of the substance we hoped the vice presidents participation would beckon.

Saturday evenings rally greeted early attendees with stifled air and a country cover band in one of the Washington County Fairgrounds buildings, ameliorated by a few large fans and a number of local politicians (Del. Todd Pillion, R-Abingdon, for example) chatting with anyone they met. Even Sen. Jill Vogel, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, walked the space with her 5-year-old daughter, Olivia, and thanked attendees enthusiastically, expressed by the rasp in her voice and the energy in her movement.

But as the bill of 14 speakers went underway, the sounds of cheers, claps and chants from the group of supporters displayed a more-than-willing agreement to statements seemingly void of crucial detail.

The content of those interludes and other speeches is very telling. Vogels speech, for example, felt somewhat superficial, and her statements had much less to do with her plans for us and more to do with the pro-Trump sentiment Southwest Virginia epitomizes. She made note of the great day we live in with Trump and Pence in our leadership and used a majority of her time to deride Justin Fairfax, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, to qualify her candidacy.

Pences banal address likewise did enough to tap into local values  his promotion of the Second Amendment was flooded with whistles and claps  but lacked real clout to persuade. Aside from aligning Gillespies proposed across-the-board tax cuts and Trumps simplification of the tax code as an example of Gillespies potential, Pences declarations did little to soothe concerns many locals still have. Consider his statement, Under Trump, the war on coal is over. Pence offered no evidence for this and moved on to another celebratory point. We and our readers still await more information on how that conclusion can be made.

Of course, we realize the definition of that grouping: A rally  a pep rally  is intended to entice enthusiasm and drum up support. Its an inappropriate forum for detailed conversation or Q&A about agendas and policies. But asking those proclamations  I am the best candidate for the job  to contain more  I am the best candidate for the job because   isnt out of the question, both in an abbreviated form and in that setting.

Briefly contemplating attorney general candidate John Adams speech does enough to exemplify this: Adams talked about his commonality with the average Virginian (not a career politician) who simply said, enough is enough with regard to the current administration. He used an anecdotal foundation to bridge a connection and justify his worth with attendees rather than occupy his talking time to push a GOP sweep or pat the party on the back.

Lets be clear: This isnt a criticism of the policies of the GOP officials or candidates who spoke at the rally. The political affiliation isnt a factor in this writing. Rather, its a nonpartisan reflection of our expectations: Expecting more from those candidates purported to be, as Griffith said of Vogel, one of us, and expecting more than just validation of what we already believe, positions the community as a tough crowd whose adoration must be incessantly earned, not swayed. If we make it a point to travel out of our way to show support for political candidates, we should expect what they say to have more meaning beyond just a certain rah-rah choice of words or phrases.

Even when candidates preach to their base, more reason should permeate those rally speeches, especially when a local rally garners national and presidential attention like Saturdays. And even when other localities might entertain those speeches, we can be the community that demands more  and we should, given our circumstances. After all, those candidates represent not just themselves and not just their party but all of us in attendance. And with the vice presidents presence, even those not in attendance were spoken for.

We shouldnt be thrilled when someone only reinforces our beliefs with conviction and without evidence. Lets ensure we cheer for substance, not sound bites.
Ucoms mobile customers will benefit from the best internet roaming rate of 8 AMD/MB when travelling to Georgia, Egypt or the UAE

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Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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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".

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The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

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NEWTON  A woman was pronounced dead at the scene of a car crash that left one SUV overturned and one truck against a utility pole, according to a Newton Police Department press release.

NPD officers responded to the accident Sunday evening at the intersection of Northwest Boulevard on U.S. Highway 321 and West Seventh Street, according to the release.

The initial investigation indicates the truck was struck by the SUV; a witness who stated he was traveling behind the SUV said their direction did have a green traffic signal at the time of the accident, according to the release.

Joanne Lisa Cigna, 44, of Florida, was pronounced deceased by emergency personnel at the scene, according to the release.

Cigna was a passenger in the truck driven by Ashley Marie Taylor, 32, of Newton.

Taylor was transported from the scene via Catawba County Emergency Medical Services to Catawba Valley Medical Center; Taylor was then airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and is listed in stable condition, according to the release.

The driver of the SUV, Debra Miller Huss, 62, of Newton, was transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Two granddaughters of Huss were treated at the scene of the accident, according to the release.
HICKORY  The Hickory Sunrise Rotary Club will host a Halloween dance from 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at Moretz Mills, 74 Eighth St., SE, in Hickory. The event is the latest in a series of popular holiday-themed fundraising dances sponsored by Tarheel Wealth Management.

The doors for the dance open at 7 p.m., with DJ Eric Bowman playing from 7-8 p.m., followed by The Band of Oz from 8-11 p.m. Costumes are welcome and there will be a contest for the best and most uniquely dressed.

A full meal, dancing, a cash bar, and shag lessons will be included with the price of admission, which is $30 per person. Proceeds from the event will be used to fund scholarships to Catawba Valley Community College for economically challenged students who otherwise would not be able to attend classes.

A member of Rotary International District 7670, the Hickory Sunrise Rotary Club was chartered on Nov. 7, 2000. The club meets at 7 a.m. Wednesdays in the Fireside Room at Lenoir-Rhyne University. For more details, call Bob Steiger at 828-303-0057 or visit hickorysunriserotary.org.
HICKORY  Hair loss is an expected part of any cancer diagnosis, but the Catawba County Wig Bank was created to help patients find a way to reclaim some of what theyve lost during their treatment.

For a woman to lose her hair or lose a breast its very emotional and a lot of times when they come here, theyre down. They feel like theyre never going to look normal again, Wig Bank volunteer Peggy Messick said. Its amazing how with a limited selection of wigs, we can usually find something that will help them.

The Catawba County Wig Bank is a cancer service center that provides new and gently used wigs, head coverings as well as breast prostheses and mastectomy bras to cancer patients for free. The Wig Bank also promotes support groups and special programs for cancer patients and survivors.

Messick suggests staying positive but realistic about what cancer treatment will put a person through.

If they wait until their hair really starts coming out, a lot of the time theres some denial there, they feel uncomfortable going to a place where therell be a lot of people, Messick said. This is a quieter place and our stuff is free.

The Wig Bank averages 120 visits a year and is managed by the Catawba County Breast Cancer Coalition. Funding comes from two major fundraisers. One is done by the Members Credit Union and the other is from the Maiden Cheerleaders at the Maiden Recreation Center. All the work is done by volunteers.

The Wig Bank gets many of its wigs through the American Cancer Society magazines.

Messick stresses the Wig Bank is ready to help anyone fighting any form of cancer.

Even though close to 50 percent of our clients are breast cancer patients, the other 50 percent cover many other types of cancer, and we want women to know that, Messick said.

The volunteers at the Wig Bank have only one objective and its to help every person who walks through the door no matter what county they live in or where theyre getting treatment.

Unfortunately, hair loss is a big reminder that youre sick, Messick said. Sometimes the chemotherapy will remind you but sometimes youll have good days that you could almost forget about it until you look in the mirror and realize you have no hair.

Glenda Verbos is both a cancer survivor and one of the volunteers at the Wig Bank since 2009.

Sometimes youll have a day when you think, nothings going right and then somebody will come in and you understand what theyre going through and you help them and theyre so appreciative and thats what makes a difference for me, Verbos said. It just makes my day, knowing Ive done something to make theirs better.

Sharon Sipe has been a volunteer for three years and shares the same passion to make a difference with the other volunteers.

I felt like if I had the time when I retired, I was going to do something like this, Sipe said. You cant describe how it feels when someone comes in here and theyre having the worst day of their life and you can help them feel special.

Verbos admits every now and then someone will come in who they cant please.

Theyre looking for their hair and its just not going to happen, but ninety percent of the time, people leave happy, Verbos said.

She talked about one client who came in recently and had no idea what she was supposed to do or how to handle losing her hair.

She had not started losing her hair but she wanted to look before she did, Verbos said. Some people wait until the very last minute when their hair is done coming out and then nothing pleases them basically.

Messick said being proactive is sometimes the best approach to take, visiting the Wig Bank while you still have hair to make sure you can find the color match you want.

When your hair starts to fall out, its traumatic because it falls out, we call it with a vengeance, Messick said. When it starts coming out, its almost in handfuls. Youll have hair everywhere.

The volunteers suggest a visit to the Wig Bank a good time to even think about a different color of hair and to try and make it fun moment, picking out a wig or head covering, a moment where you take back some control of your life.

The Catawba County Wig Bank is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. and is located at 437 Main Ave. SW, in Hickory. Appointments are not required, but are appreciated.

Individuals, businesses, foundations, and groups throughout the community donate most items offered by the Wig Bank.

For more information, call Brenda Putnam at 828-322-3390 or search Facebook for the Catawba Wig Bank page.
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The Madhya Pradesh governments decision to appoint justice (retired) Naresh Kumar Gupta as Lokayukta, six years junior to Uplokayukta justice UC Maheshwari, has created a controversy, with social activists and opposition criticising the move.

It has also resulted in two Congress leaders  Ajay Singh, leader of the opposition, and legal expert Vivek Tankha  airing divergent views. Usually, the Lokayukta is senior to Uplokayukta. The post had been lying vacant for over a year after the previous Lokayukta justice (retired) PP Naolekar retired on June 30, 2016. The post is of great importance as Madhya Pradesh is the only state besides Karnataka where Lokayukta has police powers to raid and arrest. It acts as the ombudsman to check corruption against public servants, which includes politicians.

Justice Gupta, scheduled to take oath of office on Wednesday, has served as legal adviser to the state government and was appointed as high court judge in 2010. He retired on June 30, 2017.

Raising objection over the appointment, Tankha told HT, There is the question of judicial tradition, which has been broken. Seniority and dignity go together. By making such an appointment, it appears the state government is doing a favour, which reduces the confidence of people towards the institution. Earlier, judges of Supreme Court or chief justices were appointed as Lokayukta, but now you are appointing a judge who is junior even to the Uplokayukta. What extraordinatry quality does he have? I am asking this as a member of the legal fraternity and civil society.

Defending his role on giving consent to justice Guptas appointment, Ajay Singh said that the chief justice wrote to the chief minister on October 3, suggesting the justice Guptas name. The chief minister wrote to me on October 6 and I gave my consent. I do not have the gradation list of judges. It is up to the chief justice and chief minister to look into it, Singh said. He added he would write to CM that he is not happy with the controversy.

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Supreme Court may have put a ban on firecrackers in the national capital this year but most animal lovers have long hated this one part of Diwali celebrations. Bollywood star Alia Bhatt began a social media campaign titled Pooch over patakha through which she intends to make Diwali safer for animals. The campaign has found resonance with her fans and animal lovers.

Sharing a video on Instagram, she wrote, This Diwali, I choose #PoochOverPataka. Do you? It shows cats and dogs being scared of sound created by crackers. In the video, she made an appeal to avoid firecrackers. Pooch, or patakha? Diwali is almost here and it is a beautiful festival of lights, not noise. And maybe you are fine with it but animals cant bear it. So, this Diwali I am choosing pooch over patakha and I want you guys to do the same. All you have to do is send us a selfie with your little pooch and show us that you are willing to let go of the unnecessary noise pollution by ditching the patakha, she says in the video.

This Diwali, I choose #PoochOverPataka. Do you?  A post shared by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Oct 15, 2017 at 11:12pm PDT

Kriti Sanon, too, joined Alia in her quest for the pets. Totally gonna ditch the Pataka this Diwali for my lil Pooch- Disco!! love the initiative @aliaabhatt !! I am choosing #poochoverpataka , what about you guys?! Have a cracker-free & safe Diwali, she wrote and posted a few pictures with her pooch on Instagram.

Checkout the response to Alias request:

#POOCHOVERPATAKA Let's make this diwali a happy one for them too, say no to crackers #saynotocrackers # #respectthem #loveanimals A post shared by Gauri Prajapat (@gauri_prajapat) on Oct 17, 2017 at 5:18am PDT

#poochoverpataka Candy baby is just too scared of the crackers. To everyone out there, please try to keep it a noise-free diwali for these little babies.  Happy Diwali!  A post shared by Tanisa Mookerjee (@tanisamookerjee) on Oct 16, 2017 at 11:41pm PDT

A Festival of Lights, a festival of giving and love. Say no to the noise. #poochoverpataka #notothenoise #notocrackers A post shared by Sharan  (@the_blue_frenchhorn) on Oct 17, 2017 at 2:22am PDT

This diwali i choose to #poochoverpataka Happy and safe diwali #coexist #aliabhatt #happydiwali A post shared by Payal (@_payal30_) on Oct 17, 2017 at 12:16am PDT

To all the poochies out there who are much important than the Patakas!  #thisdiwali #onlylightnonoise #animallove #dogsofinstagram #poochoverpataka #coexistbyaliabhatt A post shared by Rashi Binani (@rashibinani23) on Oct 17, 2017 at 9:24pm PDT

Watching him hiding under the table or in the closet when crackers are busted! That time i feel so bad about how humans are being so selfish or doing this just for fun! #poochoverpataka Dont burst crackers!  Happy Diwali to everyone ! Have a safe and pollution free Diwali  A post shared by Mahima Thakkar (@mahimathakkar) on Oct 17, 2017 at 9:13pm PDT

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Bollywood star Salman Khan has the perfect Diwali gift for his fans. The actor shared the first poster of his much-anticipated film opposite Katrina Kaif, Tiger Zinda Hai on Wednesday morning. The film is a sequel to Salman-Katrina-starrer Ekk Tha Tiger which was directed by Kabir Khan in 2012.

Diwali Gift.... pasand aaya? Ab Christmas pe milna... #tigerzindahai, he tweeted along with the poster.

Salman reprises his role as an Indian special agent who falls in love with an ISI agent (played by Katrina Kaif) in the original. The two vanish overnight, leaving the agencies in both the countries scratching their heads.

Director Ali Abbas Zafar was supported by action coordinator Tom Struthers of Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises fame.

Zafar described the experience of shooting the film as gruelling, challenging and a whole lot of fun. Weve shot across pristine, relatively unseen locations in Austria, Morocco and shot on a huge lot in Abu Dhabi along with other spots. Right from the infrastructure, to the support that the local military has given us, shooting here was smooth and a great collaborative experience. Tiger and Zoyas second outing is going to be larger than life, and the shoot lives up to that, he said.

Tiger Zinda Hai is set to hit the screens on December 22.

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Actor Vicky Kaushal has come on board for an upcoming play titled 36 Ghante, a unique show in which he will come to know about the director and play only 12 hours prior to the performance.

The play titled 36 Ghante has 10 writers write a play which will then be picked at random by 10 directors, each getting 12 hours to make and put together a production. It will be staged in Mumbai by the end of this month.

Vicky is currently working on Meghna Gulzars Raazi and will soon begin shooting for Uri. (IANS)

Vicky said in a statement: This play is called Chattis Ghante. I felt conceptually, this play is very exciting because it will happen only this one time only, this one night, and it is not going to be repeated ever. The concept is that before the show, the actors are going to come to know of the co-actors, script, director only 12 hours before the show. So, whatever they have to do, is in those 12 hours that they have to prepare the play. That, for me, was very exciting to take part in.

The initiative is by Rage Productions, and is also a fund raiser for theatre where all the collections received from the tickets will be given to the people working backstage.

We dont know who they are, but they are also pillars in theatre apart from the actors, directors and writers. The people who get the set ready, make-up artists, costume people, dress dada and everyone... The collection is going to be distributed to these people, he added.

On the film front, Vicky has multiple projects to look forward to. He has already shot for a few major movies including Rajkumar Hiranis biopic on Sanjay Dutt.

Vicky will be seen opposite Alia Bhatt in Raazi, he has a pivotal role in the much-awaited Dutt biopic and he will be essaying his romantic hero side in Love Per Square Foot.

He will also soon commence the shoot of his lead role in a film based on the real life story of the Indian Armys surgical strike in Uri.

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Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee is overwhelmed with his first international film, In the Shadows, getting appreciation from Bollywood as well audiences across the globe.

Expressing his delight, the 48-year-old actor said, It is a very overwhelming feeling when our industry and audiences around the globe are loving our work. The film is extremely special to all of us and we have worked extremely hard for it. It feels great that these kind of festivals gives films like our film In the Shadows as it gives much needed encouragement. We had an amazing response in the MAMI and Busan and are looking forward to the same in the upcoming festivals where the film is going to be screened, he added.

The thriller film is a psychological drama about a man who is trapped within the city walls and in his own mind and attempts to break free to find a human connection.

Directed by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Dipesh Jain, the film has been competing in some of the significant worldwide film festivals. Recently, it had two simultaneous first screenings at the Busan Film Festival and Jio MAMI.

The Naam Shabana star and films director, who were a part of the Busan Film Festival screening, were amazed with the extremely positive response from the international crowd. It is known that the screening went housefull and the entire crowd was emotional after the film was over. Incidentally, the reaction at MAMI film festival was also similar.

The screening was also attended by a list of talented celebrities like Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, Sudhir Mishra, Newton director Amit Masurkar, Makrand Despande and many more who appreciated the films team.

In The Shadows will be screened in Chicago Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival (Middle East Premiere- Official announcement soon), International Film Festival of Kerala and in-competition for Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), among others.

The film also stars Ranvir Shorey, Neeraj Kabi and Shahana Goswami.

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DEHRADUN: The health department is planning to take action against two dozen public schools of the district which are resisting the upcoming mass vaccination drive against viral diseases like measles and rubella that affect children.

The Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign is scheduled to be held in Uttarakhand from October 30 to November 30. Over 32 lakh children will be immunised against the diseases through a single-shot vaccine under the mass drive.

According to officials, around 24 public schools in the district including some in Dehradun, Mussoorie and Rishikesh have refused to cooperate for conducting the vaccination drive on their institution premises. Efforts are being made to bring such schools on board, but action will be taken against them if they still do not agree to cooperate, said officials.

We have arranged a meeting with principals and managements of (unwilling) schools after Diwali to make them understand the importance of the campaign. But if they still dont agree, we will have to take action as this campaign can succeed only if all children are duly covered, said Archana Srivastava, director general (medical health and family welfare.

The campaign will be run across all schools of the hill state starting October 30, wherein children between 9 months and 15 years of age will be administered the MR vaccine.

The state government is taking the drive very seriously...if the schools do not relent, we will send notices to them via the education department and will take appropriate action against them, said Navin Baluni, health advisor of CM Trivendra Singh Rawat (who holds the health portfolio).

Schools, on the other hand, put the onus on the resistance of parents for opposing the drive. If parents dont give their consent (for vaccinating their wards), how can we allow the drive to proceed? At the end of the day, we cannot go against the guardians, said the vice principal of a leading public school of Dehradun, adding that his school will put forth this point in the meeting with health department officials.

Earlier, the campaign was scheduled to have taken place in September, but was postponed in view of the other public health drives.

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A 21-year-old woman from Bihar came to New Delhi to sell one of her kidneys so that she could pay her boyfriend, who demanded the money before marrying her, an official of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said on Wednesday.

She approached a government hospital in the national capital where doctors called the Women Helpline Number 181 and informed the police as they suspected her to be involved with a racket dealing in illegal kidney trade.

A team from the womens panel reached the hospital first and heard her ordeal.

She told the team that she got divorced a long time back and has been living with her parents in Bihar. There she befriended a neighbour, Bhupender Singh, the panels media advocacy officer, said.

Her parents were against their marriage so she left their home and went to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in the hope that the man, who worked in the district, would marry her.

During her counselling, she informed that the man agreed to marry her provided she gave him Rs 1.8 lakh. Without thinking twice she left for Delhi and approached the doctors in a government hospital for selling her kidney, he said.

The DCW members asked her to file a complaint with the police against the man but she refused.

Finally, we asked the Delhi Police to coordinate with Bihar Police and find her parents number. They took her back to Bihar yesterday (Tuesday), said the DCW official.

The commission has forwarded the details of her case to the Bihar Women Commission with a request to assist her in taking criminal action against the man.
On Diwali night, 14 Delhi Pollution Control Committee stations will keep a hawk-eyed vigil on pollution across the city.

The stations include the four old monitoring stations at Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, RK Puram and Mandir Marg. The new ones, which will be online by Diwali, are PGDAV College, Shrinivaspuri, Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Asola, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, ITI Jahangirpuri, DITE Wazirpur, DITE Okhla, Mother Dairy, Patparganj, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and Satyawati College in Ashok Vihar, a senior Delhi Pollution Control Committee official said.

The number of stations will be 19 by October 20 and will further be increased to 24 by the end of this month.

According to the official, the new stations have been installed in different areas  residential, industrial, hospitals, schools, colleges and stadiums  in order to give a true representative character of air pollution.

As per international guidelines, the correct way to know one index for a citys air quality is to consider different micro-environments For a typical metro city, commercial; urban complex; sub-urban; residential; industrial; road side; traffic junction are the micro-environments that should be covered in the monitoring network, a World Meteorological Organisation report says, regarding the need for monitoring different types of areas.

Air pollution data in the National Capital, before this, was monitored from 17 stations  four run by the DPCC, eight by the Met department and the remaining five by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

The real time pollution figures of PM2.5 and PM10 from these stations will be available on the DPCC website on Thursday. The Central Pollution Control Board will take this data and calculate the overall air quality index (AQI) of all the locations, which will then be displayed on its website.

In the National Capital Region, too, three stations will be monitoring pollution at Gurgaon, Faridabad and Rohtak. Apart from this, 13 more stations will come up by December-end in Haryana.

In Uttar Pradesh, two stations are already functioning in Noida and Ghaziabad. Another 10 will come up by November-end. In Rajasthan, two stations have come up in Alwar and Bharatpur.

A forecast released by the Union ministry of earth sciences on Monday stated that the air quality in Delhi this year will be directly proportional to firecrackers burst and vehicular emissions within city limits. The report said prevalent weather conditions will not allow polluted air from neighbouring states to reach Delhi until at least October 21. Emissions triggered within city limits will not disperse easily either.

The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) on Tuesday implemented a series of measures, such as imposing a ban on diesel generator sets and temporarily shutting down the Badarpur thermal power plant, to curb pollution levels in the national capital region during the winter.

The Supreme Court-mandated panel has warned that further steps, including effecting a fourfold hike in parking fees and shutting down polluting industries, will be implemented if the air quality degrades from very poor to severe in the coming days.

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An early morning raid in JNUs hostel rooms has riled its students, with many maintaining that attempts are being made to malign the universitys scholars, especially its women.

Students claimed 20-25 security guards led by JNU academic Buddha Singh entered the rooms, including those in the womens hostels, on October 5.

The wardens of various hostels came for raids after 5 am. JNU being a residential campus has always maintained its character and built an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. But this raid was just the opposite. The wardens didnt even knock, said former JNUSU general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty.

Chakraborty also alleged that the raiding team entered the womens rooms when many of them students were asleep. Cupboards were opened and spot fines imposed on those found to be breaking hostel rules.

Neither vice chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar nor registrar Pramod Kumar commented on the issue when contacted by PTI. Singh confirmed that the checks had taken place, but refused to elaborate further.

The students believed the outcry in a section of the media  Many girls found in boys rooms, wrote one newspaper  that followed was part of an exercise that started last year.

Efforts are on to incite hatred against JNU, JNUSU general secretary Duggirala Srikrishna said, pointing out that last year there were stories about 3,000 used condoms being found in JNU every day.

The RSS-BJP regime... has tried to malign JNU through fake stories of condoms, calling women students prostitutes as part of a #ShutDownJNU campaign, he said.

According to the JNU hostel manual, only men can stay in the mens hostels and women in the womens wings. They are required to return to their respective hostels by 11 pm.

While the manual prohibits men from entering womens hostels, it only says that women are not allowed into the dining hall of the mens hostels.

Wardens from time to time check the IDs of room occupants to see if there are unauthorised guests.

A students group called the Collective condemned the raid. While the issue of building more hostels on campus remains unresolved, students are being harassed and hostel rooms raided instead, it said on a social media site.

Residents of Periyar hostel passed a resolution demanding an explanation from the authorities on how the media was informed about the raid, while the hostels elected representatives were kept in the dark.

The recent raid has earned the ire of the RSS-affiliated ABVP too. The students group condemned the administration for the highhandedness and moral policing in the name of hostel checks and the subsequent media reports which it felt covered the entire incident in a misogynistic and ludicrous manner.

JNU Teachers Association president Ayesha Kidwai said the attacks were nothing short of social terrorism.

Students said they were being targeted by a section of right-wing forces. Last year, when JNU was caught in a prolonged student protest, Haryana BJP leader Jawahar Yadav in a tweet drew a comparison between its students and sex workers.

For the girls who are protesting in JNU, I only have one thing to say that prostitutes who sell their body are better than them because they at least dont sell their country, he tweeted.

Days after that, BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja said 3,000 used condoms were found every day in JNU, and girls and boys dance naked at cultural shows.

In April last year, some JNU teachers came up with a dossier alleging sex rackets on the campus.
Changes in examination pattern for class 9 and above, shortage of teachers and average results of the recently held exams has prompted the Delhi government to cancel leaves of all its teachers.

The move, along with many other measures, is aimed at ensuring classes happen without any hindrance till the final exams next year. Teachers who teach Class 9, 10, 11, and 12 will not be granted any leaves till February 28 except in extreme circumstances, the directorate of education said in a recently issued circular.

The circular issued to all schools said that the current academic year is a very challenging one for the directorate. Officials from the directorate of education said the move has been prompted by changes in the examination pattern.

 Children in Class 9 will face entire years syllabus for the first time. The students of Class 10 will also face entire years syllabus in board-based exams, and not school-based exams as in previous years. For 12 graders, there will be only one scheme of exam and there will be no provision of grace/moderation, the circular said.

The 28-point circular issued by DOE director Saumya Gupta said that the results of Summative Assessment-I (SA-I) for all classes is not encouraging.

This, combined with the fact that there is a shortage of teaching staff in PGT and TFT together puts a very onerous responsibility on the directorate to ensure that children in this batch are properly prepared to study, learn, and face the exams with flying colours, it said.

To ensure students come to school regularly and are not late for classes, the circular has asked school principals to ensure that students who come late to school regularly be gently reprimanded and their parents called to school.

Attendance is to be taken thrice in a day and teachers have to come five minutes before school. Even I have to inspect one class for at least 15 minutes every day. These measures are being taken to ensure students are well prepared for the exams in March, said another principal of a government school.

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday lashed out at former chief minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly trying to protect Delhi chief secretary, MM Kutty, for his alleged role in the multi-crore co-operative bank scam.

Kutty was principal secretary to CM Dikshit in 2012.

The AAP alleged that the scam took place during the rule of the three-time CM.

The AAPs accusation come after Dikshit said that Delhi had some of the most efficient bureaucrats, in response to her successor Arvind Kejriwals remark that 90% of the IAS officers do not work In Delhi.

Dikshit was Delhi CM from 1998 to 2013.

The cooperative bank scam took place during the tenure of former CM Sheila Dikshit in 2012. The current chief secretary in the Delhi government, who was principal secretary to then CM Dikshit is avoiding answering questions from a committee of the Delhi Assembly, and escaping accountability. The officers of Delhi government are protecting her from investigation, which has prompted her to heap praises on those officers, said AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.

Delhi Assemblys questions and reference committee had directed Kutty to action against his subordinates allegedly involved in the scam.

Kutty has failed to respond to the committee, he said.

The alleged multi-crore scam involves anomalies in appointments, promotions and loan disbursement in the Delhi Nagrik Sehkari Bank. It was being investigated by the question and reference committee.

The committee had summoned Kutty to appear before it on October 16 but Kutty got a stay from the Delhi High Court.

The July 2012 complaint by the bank said 40 employees had been recruited through unfair means and 62 had been given illegal promotions.

The Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) has conducted many inquiries but the decision has not been announced yet. Those recruited drew salaries for five years before they were removed, said Bharadwaj. Another allegation about giving away loans based on fake income tax returns in was raised in the Assembly on January 18, 2017 by Model Town MLA, Akhilesh Pati Tripathi

I was not given a convincing reply and the matter was referred by the Speaker to the questions and reference committee, Tripathi said.

Dikshit did not respond to phone calls.

AAP is raising this issue to blackmail the bureaucrats, said Ajay Maken, president, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.
A rift seems to be appearing among east and north Delhi municipal sanitation workers unions , who are on strike for over a week with a range of demands.

After a second meeting with the north and east Delhi municipal corporations on Wednesday, two unions decided to postpone their strike for 20 days while a third one, which claimed to be the largest in east Delhi, said they will continue with the agitation.

Officials said that while parts of east Delhi will remain littered with uncleared garbage, the rest of the city can expect relief.

Sanjeev Java, president of Swatantra Majdoor Sanyukt Morcha (with members in all three corporations) was among the unions that signed the agreement to postpone the strike with north corporation. We discussed the issues in detail during our meeting with commissioners and standing committee chairmen. They have assured to fulfil our demand regarding issuing of arrears .

 The corporations have also decided to provide health insurance to employees from this year.We are also working upon the demand to regularise sanitation workers from January 1 onwards, said Preety Agarwal, mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

A senior east corporation official said the decision has come as a relief for the area . Though one union will continue with their strike, it will affect only 5-10 % of services. The rest will come join work from tomorrow, said an official.

We will also form a committee, with representatives from all three corporations and sanitation unions to jointly work on issues related to sanitation workers and resolve them in time bound manner, said Tilak Raj Kataria, standing committee chairman, north corporation.

Sanjay Gehlot, president of MCD Swachhta Karamchari Union, however, said Wednesdays meeting was useless. What was the point of calling the meeting when the officials had nothing concrete to share? They have no money to pay arrear and their repeated demands from Delhi Government has failed to bear results, he said.
Delhis lieutenant governor Anil Baijal reminded chief minister Arvind Kejriwal that his car was not parked at an authorised spot and did not have security devices, responding to a letter that criticised the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation after the Aam Aadmi Party leaders iconic blue hatchback was stolen last week.

Kejriwals blue WagonR was stolen from outside the Delhi secretariat and found abandoned two days later in Ghaziabad, bringing into focus the problem of auto thefts in the national capital where 312 vehicles are stolen every day on an average.

Responding to Kejriwals letter on the issue, Baijal said the Delhi Police in its report found that the chief ministers car was parked about 100 meters from the authorised parking and no security gear or equipments were installed.

The L-G said that he hopes the CM would cooperate with Delhi Police in efforts to motivate, encourage and generate awareness among Delhis citizens to park their vehicles in authorised sites and install security devices.

The CM should also boost the morale of its policemen by appreciating their commendable efforts that led to the recovery of his stolen car within two days, he said, according to a statement released by his office.

It was unclear what the L-G was referring to when he spoke of Delhi Police recovering the vehicle since the car was found abandoned in Ghaziabad and was spotted by the local police, which comes under the Uttar Pradesh administration.

The two authorities who share important responsibilities for the city between them have a fraught relationship that is often marked by turf battles and blame games, though confrontations are significantly lower since Baijjal took over as L-G this year.

The L-G reports to the Union government, which is controlled by AAPs rival Bharatiya Janata Party.

In his letter to the L-G on October 13, Kejriwal had said, What can the common men expect in a state where the chief ministers car goes missing? Police and law and order come directly under you. Please make the system robust. We are ready to cooperate.

Taking a jibe at the Delhi Police, the chief minister had said that upon receiving his letter, the police will try to paint a rosy picture of law and order in the city by sharing favourable statistics.

Baijal replied to this by saying that he regularly reviews the law and order situation of Delhi with the Commissioner of Police and senior officers. In these meetings, several decisions and steps have been taken in to make the law and order machinery of Delhi more effective and public-oriented, he said.

Further, Delhi Police is taking prompt and effective action in cases of motor vehicle thefts and due to their sincere efforts; Delhi Police has arrested 3,252 auto lifters till 30th September, 2017, a statement from the L-Gs Office read.

On Kejriwals car theft, the L-G also explained that after receiving information about the theft, he immediately asked the police commissioner to take prompt action.

Commissioner of Police, Delhi has submitted a status report to the L-G, wherein he has apprised that several teams were constituted immediately to search the car. CCTVs of the place of incident and border areas were scanned intensively, the statement said.

Intensive checking of parking places were carried out and all the Picket Staff was put on alert and at last due to these integrated efforts, Delhi Police recovered the stolen Wagon R car within two days.

The blue WagonR became synonymous with the Delhi chief minister when he launched his ambitious campaign in 2013 as a first-time politician. The car, which earned the moniker AAP mobile, was as emblematic of the Aam Aadmi Party chief as his woollen muffler that he always wore during the hectic campaigning in the winter weeks. At one point in 2014, the chief minister slept in the vehicle overnight during a protest.

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Last week, the Maharashtra government registered a police complaint against three pesticide companies and Krishi Seva Kendras (agro-input centres) for selling pesticides not recommended for the region after 32 farmers from Vidarbha died of poisoning. The agriculture department, which is responsible for educating farmers about pesticides, found highly toxic and expensive ones were being sold to unsuspecting farmers by the firms to earn profits. While the deaths indicate failure of the department itself, the genesis of the crisis dates back to the time of the Green Revolution in the 1960s when the need was felt to sharply increase crop productivity to ensure food security. This problem --- increase in the use of pesticides --- is not an India-specific problem: Since 1950, population has doubled, yet the area of arable land used to feed these people has increased by only 10%. There are huge pressures to provide food, at low cost, on land that is becoming more and more degraded as nutrients are stripped from the soil. Naturally, farmers started to rely on external inputs  fertilisers and pesticides for short-term solution for large-scale commercially intensive agricultural systems, says a report by Greenpeace.

PESTICIDES IN OUR ENVIRONMENT

This over-reliance has led to several problems: Many of these chemicals have become extremely pervasive in our environment as a result of their widespread repeated use and, in some cases, their environmental persistence. The report adds that some take an extremely long time to degrade, such that even those banned decades ago, including DDT and its secondary products, are routinely found in the environment today. Whats important to understand here is that it is not just farmers and pesticide applicators are at risk from pesticide use: When women are exposed to pesticides during pregnancy, some of these chemicals pass directly to the child in the womb. During development, the foetus is particularly vulnerable to the toxic impacts of pesticides. Young children, in general, are more susceptible than adults due to their increased exposure rates, in that toddlers and crawling babies are more likely to touch surfaces in the home and put their hands in their mouths. Medical management of pesticide poisoning is difficult because there is little evidence with which to determine the best strategies for treatment and there is often an intermittent supply of antidotes, say experts.

WE MUST DETOX OUR FARMLANDS

The only sure-shot approach to reduce exposure to toxic pesticides is through a move towards a more long-term and sustainable approach to producing food. This will require legally-binding agreements to immediately phase-out all pesticides that are toxic to non-target organisms implemented at both national and international level. It will not be easy to achieve this but its worth giving a strong push --- a similar one that is happening in the case of air pollution --- for a healthier tomorrow.
In West Asia, the end of one war paves the way for the next. Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the self-styled Islamic State (IS), has fallen to a coalition of rebels, the Syrian Democratic Forces that is backed by the United States. Mopping up operations can be expected to continue for a few more weeks, but the politics of the region is already shifting to the power struggle between the loose coalition of forces that brought down the IS.

The most obvious evidence of this coming round of manoeuvring and eventually even fighting is the Iraqi armys capture of Mosul from the Kurdish forces who had, in turn, taken it from the IS. While the Kurds are unlikely to be able to stand up to the Iraqi forces, Baghdad and the Kurdish region will now have to define their relationship either through words or through bullets.

However, it is in Syria where the rewriting of the post-Islamic State phase is most likely to devolve into violence. There are a number of fault lines. One is that Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq are closing ranks to ensure an independent Kurdish state does not appear. But the Sunni Arab states are more sympathetic, as is Israel and the United States. And Turkey is disliked by its other three partners.

The other is the divide between the US and Israel on one side and Iran and Syria on the other. As Iranian-supported forces move across Syria, they have been quietly warned by Israel about not getting too close.

Russia has emerged as the balancing power in the Levant region with relatively good relations with almost all the players in the region. With the US influence in the region having been reduced by its ever-changing positions, Russia may be the kingmaker in the Syrian region if it plays its cards right.

On the Iraqi side, it is evident that Iran has emerged as dominant though it must be careful as a reunited Iraq, even if Shia ruled, will not take long in reasserting itself.

Overall, the IS collapse and the return of a strong Iraq are positives for India whose main regional interests revolve around the Persian Gulf. But Shia dominance in Syria and western Iraq, which are Sunni populated, runs the risk of Sunni alienation and eventually another surge of militancy.

What is really hoped for is a degree of statesmanship and benevolence from the victors of the present round of fighting  otherwise the cycle of West Asian violence will begin again in a few years.
In the congested bylanes of Jaipurs Haji Colony stands a government primary school with 121 students on its rolls. Classes 1 to 5 run in a single enclosure that looks more like a marketplace than a classroom. The establishment has no toilet or drinking water facility.

Though this establishment was merged with another senior secondary school in the vicinity in 2014, it continues to function in the same cramped space. The reason? The students are too young, and cannot possibly travel two kilometres every day to attend classes.

We initially started taking classes at the new place, but not a single child turned up for over a week, says Savitri Kumawat, one of the two teachers at the school. A similar merger of two higher secondary schools was executed at Bas Badanpura in Jaipur, but it gave rise to a different kind of problem. We ended up with 85 students in Class 1, says principal Paramjeet Kaur. We tried to resolve the issue in a couple of ways, including dividing the class in two sections and teaching them separately in the same space, but nothing seemed to work, Kaur added. Now, they have reverted to the single-class arrangement. To address the student-population problem, one faculty member does the teaching, while another strolls around the place providing individual guidance.

Hits and misses

The BJP government in Rajasthan has initiated many education reforms, such as school mergers, staff rationalisation and creation of Adarsh schools, since 2014. It also reintroduced examinations in Classes 3, 5 and 8 after parents claimed that the ban on examinations till Class 8 was affecting students studies. Parent-teacher meetings were organised at government academic establishments, and philanthropists were actively roped in to develop school infrastructure.

Some of the efforts were slammed. The school syllabus was extensively revised, but detractors dubbed it as an attempt to saffronise education. While social science textbooks eulogised VD Savarkar for his role in the Independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were pushed to the sidelines.

Critics say the reforms are exclusionary towards certain school students. Supporters claim these measures are sorely needed, and have the potential to overhaul the system.

Government schools in Rajasthan are plagued by poor quality of education, low enrolments, high drop out rate, few teachers and schools in remote areas, lack of infrastructure, and staff absenteeism.

Teacher transfers had become a political industry, with teachers bribing the authorities to bag postings in choice locations.

According to the 2011 Census, Rajasthans literacy rate is 66.11% as compared to the national average of 74.04%. Male literacy stands at 79.19%, and female literacy at a mere 52.12%.

School education minister Vasudev Devnani says staff rationalisation has improved the availability of teachers in rural areas, and transfers are being conducted on the basis of counselling. However, a transfer policy promised by the government is yet to be put in place.

Under the merger policy, the state government shut schools with low enrolment and shifted their students to nearby establishments for better utilisation of resources (including teachers). Primary schools with a student count of less than 15 and upper primary schools with fewer than 30 were targeted.

Around 17,000 of over 80,000 government schools in the state were merged as part of the first phase.

Devnani says better management in these schools has led to a 17% increase in enrolment across all classes, and the pass percentage has risen from 66% to 78% in Class 10 and 81% to 84% in Class 12. However, ground problems persist. Many schools still suffer from lack of adequate staff and infrastructure.

Data with the secondary education department in Bikaner shows there is an overall shortage of 13,932 teachers at Adarsh schools across the state (despite their claim to being model institutions). Besides this, school mergers have forced children to drop out. Multiple factors  including caste and communal issues, distance of the merged school, and change in timings  are responsible for this, says Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti member Komal Srivastava. For instance, it becomes difficult for Dalit children to attend school when educational institutions in their neighbourhood are merged with those in upper-caste localities. Many female students from conservative families also drop out when girls schools are merged with co-ed ones.

How Adarsh are these schools?

The Rajasthan government announced that it would develop one educational institution in each of the 9,895 gram panchayats across the state as an Adarsh school in a phased manner. These schools would have adequate teachers and all necessary infrastructural facilities, and double as mentor schools and resource centres for other institutions in the locality. Last year, the government had developed 2,680 institutions as Adarsh schools in the first phase. Another 3,097 have been developed in 2017.

However, regardless of their flattering title, many of these schools are anything but model institutions.

For instance, 11 of the 16 teaching posts at the Adarsh senior secondary school in Gangasara lie vacant. Five teachers handle 12 classes with a combined student strength of 287. Classes are often held under trees for lack of classrooms.

Another Adarsh senior secondary school at the Madoni gram panchayat in Bharatpur district has neither benches nor drinking water facilities.

The privatisation dilemma

The governments plan to launch schools in public-private partnership (PPP) mode has drawn accusations of unnecessary commercialisation.

Providing education and health care is the states responsibility, Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot told HT. Why do we need PPP when the government claims enrolment and quality of education has already improved?

Devnani, however, said only 300 schools located in small towns and villages will be developed on the PPP model with an aim to improve the quality of education. We wont be giving any Adarsh schools or district-level schools to private players, he clarified.

Ram Krishan Agarwal of the All Rajasthan School Teachers Union claimed the PPP model would deny educational opportunities to children from Dalit and minority communities. Whats more, the government will be giving away property worth crores to private agencies, he said. Instead, it should focus on teaching quality and learning outcomes. The question of proper implementation still remains.
You do not want to show up at a Diwali party in your trusty denim and find everyone dressed to the nines or experimenting with asymmetrical kurtas or killing it in bandhgalas. To make sure you sartorially rise to the occasion and attend Diwali soirees looking suave, take inspiration from one of the most stylish guys we know: Actor Shahid Kapoor.

The 36-year-old Rangoon hunk is the perfect example of what a 21st century man should look like on festive occasions. Diwali is on Thursday, so stop wasting time faffing about with your clothes, and get inspired by Shahids functional-yet-timeless ensembles, from suit kurta with pants to printed kurta with black churidar.

Take a look at Shahids best all-black outfits with a desi twist to look sharp for all of the festivities. All photos courtesy Shahid Kapoors Instagram.

Shahid Kapoor won the Best Actor (Critics) Award at the Filmfare Awards in January, 2017, which he attended wearing Shantanu Nikhil separates.

Shahid in a pair of custom-made neo-Indian kurta-pyjama set by The Maroon Suit that, which is every minimalists dream.

Shahid looked smashing in a custom, Khanijo Bandhgala Sherwani and trousers with hand-embroidered dragonflies in January, 2017.

In June, 2017, Shahid wore a crisp black achkan from Tisa Studio. His black achkan was teamed with a contrasting white churidar. He stepped into a pair of glossy black formal shoes and accessorised it further with a black pocket square and a black watch.

Shahid working a royal and regal vibe in another all-black ensemble.

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The Haryana urban development authority (Huda) said Punjab and Haryana high court will pronounce the final verdict on the issue concerning the NPR oustees after Diwali. The hearing on a plea filed by the evictees is complete and all eyes are now on the court.

The court will pronounce its judgment on October 23. It is hoped that the court judgment will pave the way for the resolution of the prickly issue that has been holding up construction of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), also known as Dwarka Expressway, which is touted as Gurgaons lifeline.

The oustees, over time, have filed cases at multiple courts against the Huda, voicing displeasure over the compensation package in the event of acquisition of their lands for various road projects across the city.

The NPR, now under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is one of the major infrastructure projects of Gurgaon that has been mired in litigations for the last five years. A portion of road less than 2km is incomplete, as the oustees moved court against the Huda.

Yashpal Yadav, administrator Huda, said,The authority has submitted its response to the special bench of the court hearing the matter. Now, the hearing s complete and the court has reserved its judgment. The bench will sit on October 23 and we expect a final decision in this case. It is hoped that a solution of the oustees issue will mark a breakthrough in litigation battles that are holding up NPR and other key road projects in the city.

Earlier, on September 18, the high court had merged all cases of oustees whose lands were acquired by the Huda in Gurgaon for development of roads and sectors over the last five six years.

Read I Gurgaon: Jinxed Dwarka Expressway project hits fresh hurdle

According to a top Huda official, more than 1,000 oustees had moved high court seeking judicial intervention on various grounds.

Besides NPR, other road projects such as Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and the Central Peripheral Road (CPR) projects all stuck in litigation delaying their completion.

According to Huda, oustees are liable for compensation only if they are bonafide land purchasers. This means that only the owners having the original land deed papers, as opposed to general or special power of attorney, will be considered for compensation. However, most of the oustees who moved courts are SPA and GPA holders.

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The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) will acquire land for the Connecting Peripheral Road (CPR) in sectors 81-90, officials said.

Huda will soon send land acquisition notices to farmers and landowners under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, for the land falling in the revised alignment of the CPR.

The CPR project hit a roadblock about two months ago when Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) refused to shift electricity lines and poles falling in the alignment of the CPR between the last point of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) near Sector 88 and NH, near Kherki Daula toll plaza. CPR is the last leg of the NPR, which is popularly known as the Dwarka Expressway.

Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator, said, After HVPN refused to remove poles and lines, we revised the alignment of CPR and now, we need to acquire land that we will handover to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for construction of CPR. Nearly 10 acres are required for the CPR. Huda has written to Haryana government in this regard and soon, notices will be published in dailies and land will be acquired.

CPR is considered the future lifeline of the city in terms of intracity connectivity between East and West Gurgaon as well as intercity connectivity among Delhi, Jaipur, Faridabad, Rewari and Pataudi.

Read I Transfer land for CPR construction in Gurgaon: Nhai to Huda

Meanwhile, the HVPN has agreed to shift two poles of its high-tension line located across the NH and where a cloverleaf is proposed to connect CPR and Southern Peripheral Road (SPR).

The Huda administrator said, HVPN has agreed to remove the two poles and clear the hurdle in the way of the proposed cloverleaf. This is of great help and we hope that in a month, Huda will be in a position to acquire land.

NHAIs detailed project report of 28km Dwarka Expressway, including CPR and cloverleaf, is ready and construction is expected to start soon after Huda hands over land and HVPN shifts its high-tension lines.

Udeep Singhal, project director, NHAI, Dwarka Expressway, said, Unless we get land where there is no hurdle or stuck in litigation, work cannot be started.

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India is on track to population stabilisation but is still lagging behind in preventing child marriage and protecting mothers from birth-related complications and deaths.

Indias maternal mortality rate (MMR)  mothers dying per 1,00,000 live births  of 174 is below the global average of 216, but it is a far cry from the MMR of 12 in the more developed countries, shows State of World Population 2017 released by United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) on Tuesday.

Twenty-seven percent of Indias children get married by age 18 as compared to 28% the world over. Among its neighbours, Bangladesh is worst off, with 59% of the married couples being under-age, followed by Nepal (37%).

The report, which analyses changes in global demographics  birth, migration, aging, death etc  notes Indias total fertility rate (TFR)  number of children a woman has in her life  is lower than the world average of 2.5.

Updated data from Indias ministry of health puts Indias TFR at 2.2. The latest data shows TFR has come down to 2.2 but we need to bring it down to 2.1, which is essential for population stabilisation, said a senior health ministry official.

The average TFR in Indias neighbourhood of the Asia and the Pacific regions is 2.1, while its 1.7 in more developed countries.

We are focusing on select districts with TFR of more than three by introducing programmes specifically designed for the purpose, said the official.

The report also revealed that gaps in wealth have grown wide within most countries; with many hundreds of millions living on less than Rs 78 a day.

The combined wealth of the worlds 2,473 billionaires exceeds $7.7 trillion, which equalled the combined gross domestic product of four-fifths of the worlds countries in 2015.

The unmet demand for family planning in developing countries, for example, was also found to be greatest among women in the poorest 20% of households.

Among adolescents, those in the poorest 20% of households in developing countries have about three times as many births as adolescents in the richest 20%.

Meeting the contraception demand is a foundational element, not just of reproductive health, but of social and economic equality. In developing countries, the poorest 20% of women are more likely to give birth without assistance. In rural areas of least developed countries, 48% of births happened with skilled attendants as compared to 99% in the villages of more developed countries.

India ranks 18th in the world with 81% of its births taking place through skilled personnel, which is better than 77% globally. Adolescent birth rate per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 years between 2006 and 2017 is 28. The rate around the world is 44 per 1,000 girls in the same age group.

Contraceptive coverage is another area that needs government focus, as contraceptive prevalence rate percentage of women who are currently using, or whose sexual partner is currently using, at least one method of contraception  in India remains 56% among women aged 15-49 years. Those opting for modern contraceptive methods is even less at 50 %.

We have introduced two new contraceptives this year in a bid to increase the basket of choice, said the health ministry official.

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An Urdu version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, composed 80 years ago and awarded a gold medal by Banaras Hindu University, is building bonds of goodwill in western Rajasthans Bikaner district.

On Sunday a cultural society in Bikaner held a poetry reading session of the Urdu Ramayana that was written in 1935.

The Mehfil e Adab Society and Paryatan Lekhan Sangh jointly organised the programme.

The Ramayana was composed by poet Maulana Badshah Hussain Khan Rana Lakhnavi in 1935.

The story goes that Rana, a poet , came to Bikaner state from Jaipur state in 1914 at the invitation of then ruler maharaja Ganga Singh.

He was employed as the head maulvi at Doongar college from 1919-1942.

At the time many Urdu lovers came to learn the language or learn shayiri from him. One of his students was the then jail superintendent, a Kashmiri panditji.

In 1935, BHU organised a national competition in writing on the Ramayana as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Tulsidas ,author of the Ramayana.

The jailer, whose name is not known, urged Rana to compose the Ramayana in Urdu.

Rana said he could only write if inspired by the subject and pressed to hear the Ramayana.

He was so inspired by the story that he composed the epic in poetry form, said Zia ur Hasan Qadri, secretary of the society and an Urdu lecturer in a government school.

Qadri said Rana felt the epic had inspiring characters and a powerful message that should reach wider audiences.

Ranas student sent the Ramayana to BHU and it was awarded the gold medal , said Qadri.

When Ganga Singh learnt about this he organised a felicitation ceremony where Tej Bahadur Sapru presented the gold medal to Rana.

Haji Maqsood Ahmed who chaired the poetry reading session said the organisation has been holding the Ramayana recitation for the last five years.

We are proud the Ramayana was written in Bikaner. The Urdu Ramayana is a symbol of our syncretic culture, said Ahmed, a former mayor of Bikaner.

The society holds similar programmes on other festivals such as Eid Muharram and Holi.

Its more than a literary exercise. It helps spread goodwill and build bonds between communities, said Qadri.

AK Gehlot, former vice chancellor of the veterinary university in Bikaner said the Ramayana is written in simple language and can be read in 30 minutes. if someone wants to know the story of the Ramayana concisely then they can read this poem.

Qadri said the book was also part of the Urdu syllabus in Bikaner state before independence. It was also part of Rajasthan Boards class 12 course till 10 years back.

We need such efforts in these fraught times to remind people of our shared culture and heritage, said Dr Mohammed Farooq Chauhan, who came especially to hear the recitation.

Rana passed away in 1946 in Chandra near Lucknow. But his composition which is still being read and appreciated has made him immortal.

The Ramayana is ascribed to sage Valmiki. There are several regional versions of the epic besides Jain, Buddhist and Sikh adaptations. There are also versions of the epic in South East Asian languages.

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The BJP on Wednesday attacked the Congress, citing recent interviews of a US-based private detective, Michael Hershman, in which he accused the then Rajiv Gandhi government of sabotaging his investigation into Bofors scam.

Addressing a press conference, Union minister Smriti Irani asked the Congress to come clean on the revelations.

Quoting Hershmans interviews, she said that he had been asked by then finance minister VP Singh to probe the Bofors scam, but was later offered bribe and given death threats when he stumbled on the evidence of bribe. The then finance minister was shifted to the defence ministry, she said.

Meanwhile, the CBI said it would look into the facts and circumstances of the Bofors scam mentioned by Hershman.

The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to the Bofors aired on TV channels containing interview of Hershman. Facts and circumstances as mentioned will be looked into by the CBI, said CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal .

Hershman, who is the president of the US-based private detective firm Fairfax, who was here last week to address a conference of private detectives, also alleged that the bribe money of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in a Swiss account. Irani said the interviews have brought to life the sordid saga of Bofors.

For too long the Congress has kept conveniently quiet. It is time that it answers as to what was the role of its leaders then and now, she asked.

Irani quoted Hershman to say that owner of a Pakistani-run Bank of Credit and Commerce International that was allegedly involved in money laundering and other crimes met ex-PM.

Reacting to the allegations, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: BJP is clutching at straws to save Shah Zada. Beta Bachao Abhiyan wont succeed by flogging dead horses of Bofors by discredited ministers.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that it would look into the facts and circumstances of the Bofors scam mentioned by private detective Michael Hershman, who alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.

Hershman, who is the president of the US-based private detective firm Fairfax, claimed in television interviews recently that Rajiv Gandhi was furious when he had found a Swiss bank account Mont Blanc.

Hershman, who was in New Delhi last week to address a conference of private detectives, also alleged that the bribe money of the Bofors gun scandal had been parked in the Swiss account.

The agency has learnt of the matter pertaining to the Bofors aired on certain TV channels containing interview of Michael Hershman, CBI information officer and spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said in a statement.

Facts and circumstances as mentioned in the interview will be looked into as per due process by the CBI, he said.

Hershman was quoted as telling television channels that Rajiv Gandhi got very upset when our work was uncovered. He then established a Supreme Court commission to look into the circumstances surrounding then finance minister VP Singhs hiring of Fairfax.

In his interviews, Hershman has expressed his willingness to testify and help Indian agencies on the Rs 64 crore Bofors gun pay-off scandal but the effort has to be a credible one.
Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday said a central team will be sent to Jharkhand to investigate the death of 11-year-old Simdega girl Santoshi Kumari allegedly due to starvation.

The state government has also been asked to submit a detailed report, he said.

If poor people die of hunger, it is a matter of concern. We will be sending a central team probe the matter, Paswan told PTI.

Read more: 11-year-old starving Simdega girl died of malaria, says deputy commissioner

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has ordered a fresh probe in the matter and also announced Rs 50,000 as assistance to the girls family.

The local activists had alleged that the girl died a fortnight ago after going without food for several days.

They said her familys ration card was cancelled for not being linked to the Aadhaar number.
The Dalai Lama on Wednesday pitched for a European Union-style unity to end violence in the world.

Tibetan spiritual leader said people should think more broadly and work towards common interest so that the whole world could be a cohesive entity akin to the EU.

Addressing a press conference minutes before a civic reception function in Manipurs capital Imphal, the Nobel peace prize winner said: I always feel that this (EU) spirit must bring in Africa to develop an African Union, then Latin American Union, then gradually Asian Union that means some kind of a union with India, China, Japan etc. Ultimately the whole world should be some kind of Union. Thats my dream.

Even though there were differences in the past, he said, after the Second World War, the people realised that common interest is more important than the different national interest.

He said this realisation ultimately led to the creation of the EU.

Responding to a question on problems of North East, he appealed to people of the region to think more broadly, but at the same time emphasised that the constitutional provisions should be implemented thoroughly.

You can criticise if the central governments policies are not suitable, he added.

Dwelling on the importance of conserving the environment and biodiversity of Tibet from where the major rivers of the Asian countries originates, the visiting Buddhist monk stressed on the need to take up special care of the Tibetan environment not only for its 6 million people but also for over a billion human lives.

Dalai Lama is here on a three-day visit to attend a public convention on the invitation of state assembly speaker Yumnam Khemchand.

This is his second visit to northeast since April this year. His last visit to Arunachal Pradesh sparked strong reaction from China, which claims a part of the northeastern state as southern Tibet.

During his stay in Imphal, Dalai Lama is likely to meet Manipur governor Dr Najma Heptulla and chief minister N Biren Singh separately.

He is scheduled to meet the state leaders at Raj Bhavan prior to his departure for Dharmashala via New Delhi on October 19.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in and around the state capital in view of the Tibetan leaders maiden visit to Manipur.
The body of a 14-year-old Dalit girl who appeared to have been raped and then killed was found in a village here, police said on Wednesday.

Empty pouches of alcohol were found near the body of the Class 8 student, who went missing Tuesday evening from her home in Ahmadnagar village under the Roja police station, prompting her family to launch a search.

In the night, the body of the girl was found in a naked condition. Her throat was slit, said superintendent of police (city) Dinesh Tripathi.

It is possible that the girl was first raped and then murdered, police station in-charge Istkhar Ahmed said.

The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. A hunt has been launched to nab the culprits, police said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojna (ABISY), an offshoot of the RSS, which pushes for rewriting history from a national perspective, says politicians should refrain from making disparaging remarks about the Taj Mahal, a monument built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan.

The UNESCO-protected monument, which draws approximately eight million tourists a year, has been in the midst of a controversy after BJP legislator from Uttar Pradesh, Sangeet Som, shocked many with his comments that the monument was built by someone who wanted to wipe out Hindus.

History is not written by politicians. It is the work of historians and archaeologists to conduct research and this work should be left to them. Politicians should not comment on the history of the Taj Mahal, which is the outcome of hard labour put in by Indians, Balamukund Pandey, ABISY secretary, told HT.

The RSS functionary, who recently pitched for including Indian heroes such as Hemchandra, the last Hindu king, in the pantheon of Indian rulers, asserted that the Taj Mahal cannot be discounted as a Mughal construction alone. It is a work of art, a big draw for tourists. Who made it is not important, what is important is that it is a popular destination in India, Pandey said.

The RSS offshoot, which has persistently sought the rewriting of history textbooks prescribed in schools and colleges to correct the distortions made by the British, has distanced itself from the comments made by Som.

However, it does obliquely refer to the demand raised by several BJP and RSS sympathisers to open the basement of the Taj Mahal to search for evidence that the monument has a Hindu origin.

Hindu groups have periodically filed petitions to declare the Taj a Hindu temple.

History is not the final truth. There is scope for researching more but there are scientific ways of doing so. Much progress has been made in the way archaeological and historical research can be conducted, agencies such as the Archaeological Survey of India, UNESCO, can use scientific and specialised X-rays to find out more about the monument, said Pandey.

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Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday met Union home minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues, including the recent spurt in violent incidents in the Kashmir Valley, an official said.

During the 30-minute meeting, the chief minister briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps taken to maintain peace in the state.

Singh assured Mehbooba of all central assistance to her government in maintaining peace in the state, a home ministry official said.

The spurt of violence in Jammu and Kashmir include attacks on security personnel, killing of a PDP worker and the subsequent attack on his house and throat slitting of a teacher.

Alleged incidents of braid chopping have also triggered panic in some parts of the state. Today, four persons were injured when security forces fired on a mob in Pahalgam area following an alleged braid chopping incident.

The constitution of a study group to examine the problems being faced by the people living near the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was also believed to have been discussed during the meeting, the official said.

The group was set up by the home ministry recently.

The home minister had recently said five to six terrorists are killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir everyday.

The chief minister also met railway minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday.
At least eight civilian, including a two-year-old baby, sustained injuries and three cars were damaged as Pakistan army opened heavy fire and shot mortars on Indian posts and forward villages along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

A police officer at Poonch Police control room identified the injured child as Insha of Manjakote in Rajouri districts. Another injured civilian has been identified as Mohammed Ayyaz Ahmed, son of Mohammed Saddam Khan of Darati village. He has been shifted to a primary health center at Dhargloon.

Identities of other injured though could not be ascertained, police said among the wounded are three labourers.

The labourers, it said, were working at Sandote Basooni when they suffered minor injuries in Pakistan shelling in Bhimber Gali (BG) sector that runs along Poonch and Rajouri districts of the restive state.

The police officer informed that Pakistani troops opened fire around 7am.

The gun duel between the two sides is still on, he added.

Defence spokesman Col NN Joshi confirming the incident, said Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The ceasefire violation comes just a day after Indias Border Security Force (BSF) repatriated a Pakistani youth, Raja Ali of Sialkot, as a goodwill gesture.

The 22-year-old youth, who was mentally ill, had crossed the international border and had entered Suchetgarh on Tuesday morning when BSF jawans nabbed him.

Many Indian security personnel and civilians have lost their lives as there has been a considerable spike in incidents of unprovoked firing by Pakistan army this year.

According to media reports number of ceasefire violations already crossed 500 marks this year.

Meanwhile, Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat will visit Jammu for standard presentation to an armoured regiment in Jammu on October 21.

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Apologising for supporting demonetisation, actor Kamal Hassan said he will again salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he also accepts that the note ban was a mistake.

In an article in the Tamil magazine Anandavikatan, the actor said accepting and correcting mistakes is a marker for great leaders which Mahatma Gandhi was able to do.

Hassan said Modi should not be stubborn in arguing that the rabbit he had caught has three legs.

On his initial support for the demonetisation of 1,000 and 500 rupee notes, Hassan said he had welcomed the move and tweeted that it should be supported regardless of party affiliation.

I thought people should bear with minor irritants in the goal to eradicate black money, he wrote.

The actor said his friends and those who know economics had called him and criticised his support for demonetisation.

Hassan said he later thought that demonetisation was good but the manner in which it was implemented was wrong.

He said now there were voices saying demonetisation was a deception and the weak response from the government raises serious doubts about the scheme.
A school teacher was found dead with his throat slit in south Kashmirs Shopian district on Wednesday, a week after three militants were killed in a gunbattle with security forces at his house, police said.

Officials said the body of Aijaz Ahmad of Wathoo village was found in an open field a few kilometres from his house.

According to the police, a hand-written note was found with his belongings that said he was killed to avenge the death of the three militants in Gattipora.

We cannot say who wrote it. We are investigating all angles, Shopians superintendent of police Shriram Dinkar Ambarkar said.

The three militants affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with police and security forces in Gattipora area of Shopian district on October 10.

The letter that was written in Urdu also warned people working with the army or police with dire consequences.

We have names of all those working with security forces and this is the last warning for them, the letter said.

Locals said Ahmad reportedly featured in a video, which was posted by a newspaper on its website, as being helped out of the encounter site by jawans. Security forces normally evacuate civilians trapped in encounter sites during gunfights.

However, there is no official confirmation about the teacher featuring in the video.

A mob set ablaze the house of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader on Tuesday, who was allegedly killed by militants on Monday night at Humhuna in Shopian district.

Sources suggested that the people were blaming the family for the death of the militant, Shaukat Kumar, from Shopian.

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Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is capturing social media traction, evident from the high volume of retweets that the Twitter latecomer is getting for his punchy posts of late.

According to a Hindustan Times analysis of nearly three years of tweets by three powerful rivals, people retweeted Gandhi in recent weeks more than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the first and second most-followed Indian politicians on the micro-blogging site.

The 47-year-old Gandhis upswing points to a shift in his online communication strategy.

We became more timely in terms of reactions, speaking on issues that were hot topics at the moment, and getting more of our members online, said Divya Spandana, the Congresss social media head since this July.

Reports say Gandhi gained more than one million followers between July and September. Recent tweets underscore the renewed social media vigour of a leader once ridiculed and reviled with negative tweets, jokes, memes and videos.

Modi ji quick; looks like President Trump needs another hug, posted his Twitter handle, @OfficeOfRG, on October 15. It was retweeted more than 19,700 times.

The tweet carried a screenshot of US President Donald Trumps post about mending relations with Pakistan, a country he criticised after Modi met and hugged him this summer in Washington.

An analysis of tweets since 2015 till the first fortnight of this October shows how the Twitter battlefield has transformed over the past three years.

The first quarter of 2015 belonged to Kejriwal, riding on his Aam Aadmi Partys victory in the Delhi assembly elections. He got 1,665 retweets on an average for every tweet he posted, compared to 1,342 for Modi.

In May 2015, Gandhi posted his first tweet and in the next 12 months, Modi raced ahead of Kejriwal. By next summer, the Congress leader upped his game but the Prime Minister was still way ahead.

Gandhi surpassed his rivals this September, averaging 2,784 retweets as against 2,506 for Modi and 1,722 for Kejriwal.

His average retweets spiked to 3,812 till mid-October, approaching Modis two best months since 2015. The Prime Minister averaged 4,074 retweets last November, the month he announced scrapping the 500- and 1,000-rupee notes in a shock demonetisation drive, and 4,055 this July when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar rejoined the BJP-led NDA.

Congress social media head Spandana attributed the success to Gandhis tweeting style and efforts of the partys grassroots workers, who got trained at workshops in the past months.

According to Joyojeet Pal, a professor at the University of Michigans School of Information, the Congress leaders clever and witty phrases, combined with an increased use of Hindi, have made his tweets more retweetable.

A higher retweet rate is often associated with the followers desire to consciously spread a politicians message, he said.

The BJP played down Gandhis Twitter rise. The partys IT cell head, Amit Malviya, said the Congress leaders performance should be compared with that of Union minister Smriti Irani and not the Prime Minister, whose account has a dignified presence.

The Aam Aadmi Party doubted if the retweets were real.

Ankit Lal, who leads the AAPs social media team, alleged tweets of Modi and Gandhi were retweeted through fake profiles and automated bots. The Congress dismissed the allegation.

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The Congress demanded to know who paid for over 100 trips Narendra Modi made by chartered planes across India and abroad when he was the Gujarat chief minister between 2003 and 2007.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said the estimated cost of these air travels was around Rs 16.56 crore.

The nation wants to know, we want to know, as to who paid for these chartered plane travels by Modi. No information has been furnished till date in response to a RTI query made in 2007, Singhvi said.

Defending Robert Vadra in a case of alleged favour he took from arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, Singhvi said the mails selectively leaked by the government prove nothing against the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whereas details of Modis travels have been officially sought through the RTI.

Singhvi disclosed, based on RTI revelations, that Modi travelled to Switzerland (July 1, 2007), South Korea (June 16, 2007), Japan (April 15, 2007) and China (November 1, 2006) along with some well-known industrialists and business tycoons.

Waving a picture of Bhandari with civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Singhvi alleged that he was close to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

The Congress leader also demanded to know how Bhandari was allowed to flee abroad in December 2016 even though his passport had reportedly been impounded by the government in June that year.

Who helped Bhandari fly out of the country much like Vijay Mallya? It was not our government in 2016.

The BJP asked the Congress on Tuesday to explain the alleged links between Robert Vadra and arms dealer Bhandari.
The controversy centering Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee, who is facing rape charges brought by a Bengaluru-based software professional, got a new twist with the woman alleging that he was being protected by Mukul Roy, a former Trinamool Congress heavyweight who was also a Rajya Sabha MP till last week.

The 38-year old MP, who was expelled from CPI(M) for anti-party and anti-communist role in mid-September, has been summoned twice by Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Bengal for questioning. But he is yet to appear for interrogation.

Read: Bengal CID summons Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee for questioning

Banerjee, too, filed a police complaint alleging extortion by the woman, who originally hails from the north Bengal town of Balurghat.

A few days ago I got a phone call from someone who introduced herself as Dr Archana Majumdar. She told me that I should not continue the muckraking with Ritabrata Baneerjee and, instead, settle the issue. I declined, Banerjees former girlfriend told the media.

Subsequently I found out that Dr Archana Majumdar was an associate of Mukul Roy. It is clear that Ritabrata Banerjee is enjoying the protection of Roy.

Read: Mukul Roys son to stay in Trinamool; says Mamata Banerjee is supreme leader

Roy told a section of the media that Archana Majumdar was a relative of his. But I dont know who the woman (Ritabratas former girlfriend). Neither do I have any connection Ritabrata, he said.

Incidentally, photos and videos of intimate moments of Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee and his former girlfriend have gone viral on social media.

Recently, there were speculations that Banerjee was keeping in touch with Roy, who also severed his links with Trinamool Congress and was trying to join BJP.

In her complaint filed on October 10, Banerjees former girlfriend alleged that the MP threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed their intimate adventures in public. She also alleged that the MP even promised her money to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs if she kept the affairs under cover.

Before lodging the police complaint, she tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to her allegations on Twitter. Her main allegation was the MP promised marriage and got intimate with her but subsequently turned his back on her.

Banerjee, 38, is sniffing a conspiracy to damage his political career.

Incidentally, the CPI(M) state committee in West Bengal received 19 complaints pertaining to sexual exploitation against Ritabrata. A three member probe committee was formed to investigate the allegations against him that included sexual exploitation, lavish lifestyle unbecoming of a communist MP and leaking party secrets outside.

In a counter allegation, the 38 year old MP accused the top leadership of CPI(M) acting in a biased manner against him.
The tourism industry of Agra has welcomed chief minister Yogi Adityanaths decision to visit Agra on October 26. Trade pundits feel that he can create the much required positive sentiment for tourism while setting aside the controversies damaging this sector.

The chief minister is to visit Agra to review tourism related schemes for Taj Mahal, said district magistrate Gaurav Dayal.

Yogi had visited the city of Taj on May 7 after taking charge as chief minister. He spent the entire day assessing the status of various schemes and had even walked about a kilometre on rough terrain of the river basin to see Yamuna and expressed concern over the paucity of water in the river.

The chief minister came up with some bold decisions to rid Agra and Mathura tourism of tout menace.

It is a much needed visit and the timing is perfect because the sentiment is low in tourism sector due to controversial statements about Taj Mahal affecting tourism here, stated Rajeev Saxena, secretary, Tourism Guild of Agra. He highlighted that a days visit by a foreign tourist provides employment to 10 to 12 people (including drivers, hoteliers, guides etc.)

Most of the monuments in northern India are of Mughal origin and it is senseless to go into negative details of the nations heritage. Focus should be on the need for airport and tourism promotion in Agra, added Saxena.

Rajeev Tiwari, president of Travel Federation of Agra, said such controversies (Taj row) could not be linked to Taj, a monument of love.

Life of 4 to 4.5 lakh people of Agra is dependent on Taj Mahal and this fact should outweigh the questions related to the origin of Taj Mahal. Agra tourism needs positive sentiments after witnessing a fall in the past three years, urged Tiwari.

Read more| Taj Mahal was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers: CM Adityanath

Politics should be kept away from tourism  an industry in itself. Taj not only finds mention in history books of India but is also mentioned in foreign nations. Thus the question about its history holds no ground. What Agra needs is better infrastructure, water in Yamuna and international airport and not controversies, as seen in recent past, stated Tiwari.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had declared that he would visit Agra on October 26 and assured to assess schemes for Taj Mahal besides development of river front and corridor between Agra Fort and Taj Mahal.
All lanes of Ayodhya are decked up for grand Diwali celebrations to be held here today on the eve of the festival of lights. Governor Ram Naik, chief minister Adityanath and other dignitaries will be present during the celebrations.

The faithful believe Diwali marks Lord Rams return to Ayodhya after a 14-year exile.

The festive mood was palpable in the temple town on Tuesday with hundreds of temples illuminated with decorative lights. This will be the first time that a chief minister will be in Ayodhya on the occasion.

To make the celebrations perfect, a rehearsal of the Divya Deepotsav was organised at the Naya Ghat on banks of the River Saryu on Tuesday evening. Divya Deepotsav is the official name given to the Wednesdays celebrations.

The state tourism department in association with the Avadh University (Faizabad) and the district administration are aiming to set a new world record by lighting over 171,000 earthen oil lamps on the stairs of the Saryu ghats at Ram ki Paidi on the Diwali eve.

Hundreds of people assembled at the ghat to witness the trial run.

The grand scale on which the Wednesdays celebration has been planned make some here feel that the town has returned to the Treta Yug, the era to which Ram belonged.

This year Ayodhya will be returning to Treta Yug on Chhoti Diwali, a day before actually Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya, said Ram Awadh, 71, a local, as he stood on the banks of the Saryu to witness the rehearsal at Naya Ghat. Divya Deepotsav is the official name given to the Wednesdays celebrations.

All this has been possible only because of CM Yogi Adityanath. I have never seen Diwali celebrations planned on such a grand scale in Ayodhya, said Ram Awadh.

A round of Ayodhya on Tuesday made it appear the Yogi government wants to make the event as majestic as possible and decorate it the way Bharat, Lord Rams brother, did when his sibling returned to Ayodhya.

Through the Diwali celebrations, Yogi Adityanath wants to bring back Lord Ram and Ayodhya into the epicentre of Uttar Pradesh politics, said a senior BJP leader of the town, refusing to be named.

The mood was also upbeat near Hanuman Garhi, the historic temple of Lord Hanuman.

Harish Kumar, a tea-stall vendor near Hanuman Garhi, said: This Diwali in Ayodhya will be a never before event. Only the real sequence of events when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile could have matched the present celebrations.

Ved Prakash Gupta, BJP MLA from Ayodhya, said: All is set for the grandest Diwali in Ayodhya. Who knows Lord Ram may actually come down in Ayodhya from heaven tomorrow (Chhoti Diwali) to witness the celebrations! Gupta is the man in charge of the Diwali celebrations here.

The highlight of the celebrations will be a half-an-hour laser show portraying Rams journey from Ayodhya to Lanka.

Adityanath will welcome the Ram Shobha Yatraat Ram Katha park.The day will begin with a heritage walk at 7am in which people from all walks of life will participate.

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Grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya began at 7am with a heritage walk starting from Kanchan Bhavan.

Hundreds of people lined up on both sides of the road to witness the event. People from all walks of life turned up to be a part of the Heritage Walk- a first of its kind in Ayodhya that would be lit up by a record 1.71 lakh earthen lamps, an effort for which the UPs tourism department would be claiming a spot in the Guinness World Record.

Principal Secretary (Tourism), UP government, Awanish Awasthi, divisional commissioner, Faizabad, and BJP MLA from Ayodhya, Ved Prakash Gupta among others were present at the event along with Professor Manoj Dixit, the V-C of Awadh University, Faizabad.

After traversing through several parts of the city, around a kilometre walk ended at the Nageshwar Nath temple. It took around an hour for the event to complete.

Throughout the route locals welcomed Heritage Walk.

Chief minister Yogi Adiyanath is expected to reach Ram Katha Park, Ayodhya, at around 3.40pm from where he welcome Ram Sobha Yatra- a first in Ayodhya around Diwali. The yatra will have tableaus depicting various highlights of the treta yug the period to which lord Ram belonged.

The grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya will also have a helicopter moment.

The Ram Leela artistes enacting the roles of Ram, his brother Lakshman and wife Sita will reach Ram Katha Park by chopper, replicating the trios return to Ayodhya by Pushpak Viman. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will welcome them and carry out Raj Tilak (symbolic coronation) of Lord Ram at the special helipad constructed at Ram Katha Park at around 4pm.

How can grandest Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya be complete without the use of modern day Pushpak Viman (helicopter) that Lord Ram used to reach Ayodhya after victory over Ravan, said Ved Prakash Gupta, BJP MLA from Ayodhya.

Governor Ram Naik will also be present on the occasion along with other ministers of the Yogi cabinet.

After the Raj Tilak, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and governor Ram Naik will perform aarti.

The coronation ceremony of lord Ram will be followed by Saryu aarti at Ram Ki Paidi by CM Yogi Adityanath.

The day will also be testimony to Divya Deepotsav, lightning of 1.71 lakh earthen diyas at Ram Ki Paidi- an event that will mark Guinness record.

Thousands of volunteers from all across Ayodhya and Faizabad have been mobilized to make Divya Deepotsav successful.

A laser show at Ram Ki Paidi portraying birth of Lord Ram, his journey from Ayodhya, killing of Ravan and return to his kingdom will be displayed at the bank of river Saryu.

The grand finale of Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya will be through Ram Leelas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Artistes from Gorakhpur will perform indigenous Ram Leela.

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The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) has offered to pay Rs 30 to the passenger who had sought around Rs 5 lakh as compensation from it after he missed his flight due to technical snag during the inaugural run of the rail.

The Metro train had remained stranded at Mawaiyya crossing for close to two hours on September 6, the day it was inaugurated.

Gaurav Tripathi, a passenger, who missed his flight to Delhi, has sought a compensation of Rs 4.90 lakh for mental tension and loss of professional reputation besides the price of tickets which were rendered useless.

Replying to his notice within the specified period of a month, the LMRC has admitted that due to the technical glitch the train remained stranded near Mawaiyya. But Metro by-laws say that they can return the passenger fare that too after all the details sought by LMRC was submitted by Gaurav, said an official.

In his petition submitted to the district consumer forum, Gaurav has accused the LMRC of showing apathy towards the situation which he faced.

The hearing of the case is scheduled on December 5.

I work for a multinational company and was scheduled to take a flight to attend an important meeting in Delhi. My flight was at 8.30am and I purchased the ticket at 6am and boarded the train which halted near Mawaiyya for over 45 minutes. I was able to come out of the train from an emergency exit gate. After that I hired a chartered auto but I missed my flight. My commitment towards my client was not fulfilled because of the metro snag. This affected my professional reputation and they are offering me Rs 30. Is this some joke? said Gaurav.

Senior consumer lawyer Sarvesh Sharma said the court was not bounded by the by-laws of the company.

The LMRC is a service provider and it cannot escape its responsibilities by sighting its by-laws. There have been number of cases in which railways and airlines have been forced to pay the compensation, he said.

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The excise department may soon open police stations in all districts of Uttar Pradesh to curb illegal liquor trade and hooch manufacturing that often leads to deaths besides revenue loss.

The decision was taken after observing the excise policy of other states where excise police stations have been successful in crushing illegal liquor trade.

The excise department had formed teams to study the excise policy of Karnataka, Haryana, Telangana, Rajasthan, MP and other states. The teams visited these states and gave suggestions to the department, which included the proposal of opening excise police stations.

Taking the suggestion seriously, the excise department is planning to implement it after amendment in the excise policy in the new financial year. It is expected that in the first phase, excise police stations will be opened in 10 districts of the state including Allahabad, Lucknow and Varanasi.

An excise inspector and four constables each will be appointed at these police stations. They will work in co-ordination with local district police. They will be responsible to keep an eye on illegal liquor traders, hooch manufacturers and carrying out regular raids to nab them.

Excise commissioner Dhiraj Sahu said all possible steps will be taken to check illegal liquor trade and increase the revenue. A suggestion of opening police stations has been received. Proposal will be presented before the cabinet for discussions before taking final decision in this regard, Sahu added.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said Uttar Pradesh will emerge as a tourism hub. A detailed plan for promoting tourism in the state had been prepared with the Centres cooperation, he added.

The chief minister was speaking in Kushinagar where he laid the foundation stones for projects worth Rs 23 crore.

This Diwali, we are gifting the Boudh (Buddhist), Ram and Krishna circuits to the people. Tourism will open the gateway to employment in the state and well not allow corruption and riots in UP, he said.

We will work for the development of all to realise the sabka sath sabka vikas dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.

He described Kushinagar as the land where Buddha attained Nirvana.

I am deeply attached to this historical place which is popular among Buddhists from across the world. We respect Boudh (Buddhists) and everyone wants to come here. Tathagat (Lord Buddha) took his last breath here, he said.

Buddhist monks led by Bhadant Gyaneshwar welcomed the chief minister in Kushinagar.

Earlier in the day, Adityanath laid the foundation stone of a Rs 40.66 crore pumping station at Tarkulani regulator of the Malani dam on the Rapti river in Gorakhpur district.

The pumping station will have a capacity of 300 cusec water. It will help solve the problem of water logging in 47 villages near the Rapti.

People were demanding a pumping station since 1954. I started putting in efforts for it from 2009 onwards. Within six months of my becoming CM, I approved it. Forty-seven villages with a (total) population of 50,000 may be saved by construction of the pump house. Farmers can cultivate both Rabi and Kharif crops.

He directed irrigation department officials to prepare a plan by December 15 to deal effectively with flood to minimise losses to life and property.

Officials negligent in ensuring the safety of people during floods will not be forgiven, he said.

This year, the cleaning of canals will be monitored by drone cameras.

He also laid the foundation stone of a four-lane road from Nausad to Baghagada and a bridge between Jungle Ayodhaya Prasad and Baijnathpur at Kolua ghat.

It was the second day of this chief ministers four-day visit to Gorakhpur. Adityanath began the day feeding cows and holding Janta Darbar at Gorakhnath temple.
Sometimes a hotel can make or break your trip. I was invited to San Sebastian to attend Gastronomika, an international foodie seminar where India was the focus country this year. The organisers very kindly agreed to put up the Indian journalists who were invited at the conference hotel. All of us (Sourish Bhattacharya, Pushpesh Pant, Rashmi Uday Singh and myself) happily accepted.

But something seemed off to me. So I did a little digging and discovered that while the town of San Sebastian had one lovely historical hotel, we were to stay at a much less exciting establishment. I thanked the organisers for their generosity, but dont worry about me, I said. Ill find my own hotel, will pay for it myself and stay separately from the others.

Turned out to be the best decision I made.

Except that it wasnt easy to pull off. The Maria Cristina is to San Sebastian what the Taj is to Mumbai: a wonderful grand hotel with a glorious history. Sadly, Gastronomika coincided with an international radiology conference which had taken over two thirds of the hotels rooms. The radiologists only returned to their own countries and their X-ray machines at the very end of Gastronomika.

Virs terrace at the Maria Cristina.

But with lots of pushing I was lucky enough to find a room for the entire duration of Gastronomika and for the extra day I intended to stay. (No, it wasnt cheap. But what the hell? You only go to San Sebastian once. Well, may be not just once, Im not so sure any longer)

When I checked in I discovered that the hotel was a two-minute walk from the conference complex where Gastronomika was being held; that my room had a terrace that overlooked the sea; and that the Maria Cristina is now probably better run than it ever has been. The hotel is owned by the town of San Sebastian (the municipality) and was managed by Starwood as part of its Luxury Collection. Starwood has now been taken over by Marriott, which also owns Ritz Carlton and a Ritz Carlton veteran, Ned Capeleris, has been despatched to run it to Ritz Carlton levels of excellence . So, you now have a legendary European hotel run to the finest Ritz Carlton standards. I have stayed in hotels all over Spain but nothing even comes close to the Maria Cristina in terms of the service and the experience.

The Maria Cristina.

The hotel has yet another advantage. Because it is decades-old, it borders the old town of San Sebastian with its narrow, cobbled streets, its churches, its old shops and of course its pintxo bars.

It took me a while to work out that San Sebastian is part of the Basque country which has always regarded itself as being culturally distinct from Spain. The language the people speak is not remotely like Spanish, many of their names are different and for many years, they ran a fierce secessionist movement.

The old streets of San Sebastian.

One consequence of this cultural distinction is that there are no tapas in San Sebastian. Well, okay, there are, but the Basques call them pintxos and argue that they are a completely different phenomenon from the tapas of Spain. Originally, a pintxo was a bit of food stuck on to a piece of bread with a stick (the word pintxo means stick) but now they come cold (arrayed on the bar) or hot (made fresh in the kitchen and often, terrifyingly elaborate). The Basques will go to a bar, order two pintxo, move to another bar, eat another two or three and keep moving till they are full (or drunk).

On my second day in San Sebastian I got a map and decided to explore the pintxo bars in the old town. On the way I ran into the celebrated chefs Manish Mehrotra and Sriram Aylur, who were going eating with their sous chefs.

I know where to go, said Manish confidently. So I put away my map and our little party followed Manishs lead. We walked an inordinately long time but I only got suspicious when we seemed to be crossing the same shops again and again.

By now, Manish had realised that he may have overestimated his sense of direction, so he began going up to pedestrians and asking directions. He finally found an English speaker who looked at our exhausted little band pityingly and said I am very sorry but you have come in the opposite direction before pointing the way back.

But the story has a happy ending. We found the pintxo bar Manish had been looking for. While Sriram and I went off to pick cold pintxos from the bar, Manish ordered hot pintxos from the menu. Sadly, the stuff Sriram and I had chosen paled before the wonderful pintxos that Manish ordered, among them plump langoustines sauteed with olive oil and garlic and mashed potatoes with prawns.

While the pintxo tradition is strong in San Sebastian, the citys main claim to gastronomic fame is the quality of its many Michelin starred restaurants. Apparently, San Sebastian has more Michelin stars per square mile than any other region in the world.

Gastronomika had organised dinners on most nights. I missed the first one but went to the second because it was being held downstairs at the Maria Cristinas banquet rooms. Helene Darroze who runs a pop-up at the hotel was doing the dessert (her take on the Rum Baba) but all the other courses were collaborations between the great Spanish chefs who were attending Gastronomika from out of town.

I sat between the great Manjit Gill and Thomas Zacharias of Bombay Canteen and saw how they reacted so I dont think I am being unfair when I say that the food was complete rubbish. Manjit maintained a stony silence throughout and Thomas was reluctant to criticise another chefs work but he wasted all his food, which told its own story. I have attended many banquets where chefs from out of town collaborate in unfamiliar kitchens and the food is always terrible. The only way to judge a chef is in his own kitchen.

The following night, Gastronomika hosted dinner at Elkano, perhaps the greatest fish restaurant in Spain which is located just outside San Sebastian. Elkano is best known for its tradition of chargrilling fish on oak simply seasoned with only olive oil and salt. All the fish is local and the grilled turbot is legendary.

The turbot at Elkano.

Given how bad the dinner had been on the night before, I kept my expectations in check but as it turned out, the food was sensational. Of course the turbot was amazing but so were the grilled tuna and a dish comprising three takes on a local speciality: hake chin. In between, we had a plate of simply grilled local ceps (the mushroom the Italians call porcini). They did all this for seventy people, serving each course at the same time  quite incredible for what is just a medium-sized family-run restaurant.

There are four great restaurants in San Sebastian. The least known among foreigners in Martin Berasategui, perhaps because his name is so hard to spell, let alone pronounce. Eventually I took to calling him Martin Unpronounceable, to avoid embarrassing myself.

Martin Berasategui.

Arzak, run by a media-friendly father-and-daughter team, is globally famous. Akelarre is well known to foodies. And Mugaritz is a legend among chefs who admire the chef Andoni Luis Adurizs innovations.

I couldnt do all four. So I narrowed it down to two. Of these, Mugaritz is the most cerebral. Chef Andoni lectures regularly on food-related subjects at such universities as Harvard and MIT. He has gone beyond merely creating tasty food to pushing the boundaries of what we think of as food and how we look at ingredients.

Each day, the kitchen at Mugaritz makes around 60 dishes. Each table gets around 25 of them. I dont know what process they use to decide who gets what but on the night I went, Chef Sourabh Udinia of Masala Library, who was at the next table, got dishes I did not taste: stew of mushrooms, bone marrow with mole leaves, lobster and fern, minestrone etc. And of my 30 dishes (the chef decides how many courses you get) Sourabh did not get half.

I really cant list all 30 of the dishes I ate but I was stunned by the imagination. In one dish, they had scientifically extracted the flavour molecules of aged Riesling and paired them with caviar. Another dish turned pigeon into a wafer and served it with concentrated pigeon essence. Pork tripe was transformed into a stuffed pork scratching and curled into interesting twirls.

Rum baba by Helene Darroze.

The wine pairings also change every day. But I will never forget a very special Chassagne Montrachet, the Echezeaux from Domaine Romanee Conti and a Chateau dYquem 1990. All 20 wines and sakes were amazing.

That left Martin Berasategui.

This may have been the best meal of my trip. From his specialty of a parfait of foie gras and smoked eel to a tiny omelette filled with truffle to a foamy mushroom broth, to foie gras shaped to look like black truffles and served with an essence of ceps and trompettes to the tenderest, most flavourful, Galician beef it was all amazing.

And though he has two three Michelin star restaurants (the other is in Barcelona), Martin was warm and friendly, going from table to table along with an interpreter.

So will I go back to San Sebastian? Though I started out by saying that it was the trip of a lifetime, I think Ill be back. There are restaurants to try, pintxos to eat and the Maria Cristina awaits.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to give Rs25 crore to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) for it to be distributed as a Diwali bonus of Rs 5,500 to 41,000 BEST employees. The BMCs decision comes amid the civic administrations firm stand that there would be no unconditional bailout for BEST from its financial crisis.

Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar announced on Wednesday that fair treatment would be meted out to employees of BEST. The question that lingers is whether or not this would be treated as repayable amount.

The mayor said, Within the next month, BMC will meet and discuss the terms of repayment of this amount. We will try to merge the BMC and BEST budgets, and BEST employees will be considered to be at par with BMC employees. Hence, there is no question of repayment.

Shashank Rao, leader of Bombay Workers Union welcomed the decision. He said It is a good sign that BMC gave funds for the bonus to BEST employees. It is indicative that BMC is going to discuss a merger of the annual BMC budget and the BEST budget.

Earlier in August, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta had sais that BMC cannot give away Rs 2000 crore of publilc money to BEST, to pull the organization out of its financial crisis. The BEST employees had threatened to strike on October 21, if Diwali bonus was not paid to them like the other civic employees.
To reduce the burden on public transport, the Mumbai Maritime Board (MMB) started ferry services to Raigad and Ratnagiri from Wednesday.

A huge number of people travel to rural Maharashtra during the Diwali holidays. With the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staff on strike, most people are finding it difficult to travel to Ratnagiri and Raigad, officials said.

The MMB has introduced the services for seven days of the festive season, and plan to continue with it if the response is good.

The boat will leave from Ferry Wharf (Bhaucha Dhakka) in Mumbai to Dighi in Raigad and Dabhol in Ratnagiri district. The MMB will also provide inter-connectivity between Dighi and Dabhol. While the cost of a ferry ride from Mumbai to Dighi is Rs330, the ticket from Mumbai to Dabhol is Rs660.

Atul Patne, chief executive officer of MMB, said, We are keen on continuing with the services and extending them to Malwan. People are generally not used to a four-hour journey through ferry, but we will study the response over the next seven days.

The capacity of each ferry is 35-40 passengers at a time. Passengers can visit https://mahammb.maharashtra.gov.in. for the ferry schedule and timings.

On Wednesday, officials said around 12-15 passengers took the ferry from Mumbai to Dighi. We got better response on Dighi-Dabhol route. We might get more passengers from Thursday, said another official from MMB.
Four months after announcing the loan waiver, the state on Wednesday started the disbursal process to write off loans of about 65 lakh farmers. In this first phase, the state has covered 8.4 lakh farmers and cleared loans worth Rs4,000 crore.

Today, we have released Rs4,000 crore, of which Rs3,200 crore will be used to write off loans of 4.62 lakh farmers. The remaining Rs800 crore will be in the form of incentive for 3.78 lakh farmers who are paying their loans on time, Fadnavis said. The state has set a target of completing 80% of the loan waivers by November 15. When the waiver was announced on June 24, the state had estimated the number of beneficiaries would be 89 lakh and the waiver package was pegged at Rs34,022 crore.

However, the total number of farmers eligible for the waiver is likely to be between 62 lakh and 65 lakh and the waiver amount is likely to be between Rs22,000 crore and Rs25,000 crore.

Explaining the waiver process, Fadnavis said the banks have been given the list of beneficiaries. From a single bank account, money will be transferred to banks and they will be asked to deposit the money in farmers accounts as per the list. The process will be regularised from Monday once the holiday season ends, he said.

Fadnavis, along with state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, cooperatives minister Subhash Deshmukh and transport minister Diwakar Raote handed over certificates of loan waiver to farmers, who had come from Amravati, Akola, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts.

However, BJPs ally, Shiv Sena, and Opposition, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), continue to criticise the loan waiver. Although Sena leader Raote congratulated Fadnavis for implementing the loan waiver, he said his party wants the government to widen the scope of the waiver. If one is content, then there is no development. I congratulate the CM, but we would like the government to extend the cut-off date of repayment of the loans to June 30, 2017 from the current June 2016, Raote said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the government is just using the loan waiver as a publicity tool. They had announced that loan of 89 lakh farmers would be waived off, but now the figure is around 60 lakh. They have put so many conditions, they many farmers are left out. Calling it the biggest loan waiver is a publicity gimmick, Malik said.

The chief minister reiterated the loan waiver is not the only solution to the problems faced by the farmers in the state. He said continuous investment in the agriculture sector for the next five years is crucial. According to Fadnavis, the investment in the agriculture sector had increased from Rs21,000 crore to Rs63,000 crore now. He added that Jal Yukt Shivar has made a substantial contribution in ensuring a growth rate of up to 12% in the agriculture sector.

Fadnavis said the aim of the government by implementing the loan waiver is to get the farmers back into the institutional credit system. Our task has been to get farmers, who had gone out of the institutional credit system, back into the system so that they can get more loans, repay the loan successfully and earn money, he said.

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A 72-year-old woman is in a critical condition after a speeding tempo knocked her down in Kandivli West on Monday afternoon. After the accident, the tempo driver fled the spot without offering any assistance to the victim  Vimla Nair. The police later tracked down the vehicle and arrested the 33-year-old driver.

According to the Kandivli police, the incident took place around 1pm near the Dena Bank signal on SV Road. A rashly-driven tempo, coming at high speed, knocked her [Nair] down. The tempo driver fled without informing us or helping the senior citizen, said an officer from the Kandivli police station.

Nair was rushed to the nearby Shatabdi hospital, where her condition was declared critical.

The victims husband, Shankaran Nair, 82, filed a complaint and the driver has been charged under section 279 (rash driving on a public way) and 339 (causing grievous hurt by endangering the personal safety of others) of the IPC, as well as under 134A (not rendering help to the injured) and 134B (not submitting information to the police) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
A 20-year-old help was arrested by the Kalachowky police for allegedly filming his employers wife in the bathroom. The accused was arrested on Monday .

According to the police, the complainant, a 30-year-old woman, lives with her husband at Chinchpokli. She had lodged a complaint after she noticed a camera lens in the bathroom while she was taking a bath. She discovered it to be the mobile phone of Kailash Yadav, their domestic help, the police said.

According to the police, Yadav hails from Bihar and has been the couples full-time help for the past one-and-a half-years.

After investigation, we found this was the first time he had done something like this and there seems to be no involvement of anybody else, said Dilip Ugale, senior police inspector, Kalachowky police station.

The motive behind the filming was for personal use. He has been produced at court today [ Wednesday], added Dilip Ugale.

Yadav was booked under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code for outraging the modesty of a woman.
A 24-year-old man allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old man in Malad (East) on Wednesday. The Kurar police have arrested Ahmad Shah for stabbing Hamiuddin Ansari, , who is recovering in hospital, in an act of revenge.

According to the police, Shah had accosted Ansari outside his co-worker Zaheed Shaikhs house around 10.30am over an earlier issue.

In his complaint to the police, Shaikh said the fight soon escalated for the worse and Shah attacked Ansari with a knife. Ansari sustained multiple grievous injuries, an officer said. Shaikh intervened and rescued Ansari, after which the man was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The police have registered a case of attempt to murder against Ansari and have recorded Shaikhs statement.

The incident occurred owing to a petty dispute. The investigation is going on, said Uday Rajeshirke, senior inspector at Kurar police station.
A month after Thane police arrested Dawood Ibrahims brother Iqbal Kaskar in a case of alleged extortion, the ministry of finance has issued an auction notice seeking bids for six properties belonging to the underworld don in Mumbai and Aurangabad

This is part of the governments continuing efforts to curb Ibrahims operations in India.

The properties include flat numbers 18-20, 25,26 and 28 of the Damarwala Building, and houses 34-40 on Pakmodia Street and Yakub Street, where Iqbal Kaskar and his late sister Haseena Parkar used to reside. The properties are up for auction at a reserve price of Rs 1.55 crore. Another property listed by the government is the Shabnam Guest House, a double-storied building on Yakub Street with a reserve price of Rs 1.21 crore.

The finance ministry had listed Hotel Raunaq Afroz on Pakmodia Street for auction at a reserved price of Rs 1.18 crore, and put it under the hammer along with seven other properties in 2015. A former journalist raised the highest bid of Rs 4.28 crore, but was unable to deposit the sum in the requisite time frame.

In September, Iqbal was asked to vacate two dilapidated buildings in Mumbai on the grounds that they were illegally acquired. A notice under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act-1976, asking tenants to vacate the premises, was pasted outside the Damarwala building.

Various agencies have tried to auction Ibrahims properties three times in nearly two decades (2001, 2013 and 2015), but found no takers. The dearth of buyers largely stems from their fear of the gangster, who is now said to be in Pakistan.

Ibrahim is the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case in Mumbai. The British government had earlier frozen his UK assets.
Google whipped out yet another bright and beautiful new doodle on Wednesday, this time to celebrate the 66th anniversary of Studio for Electronic Music. Studio fur elektronische Musik for founded on October 18 1951 at Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (Northwest German Broadcasting - NWDR) which was a public broadcaster in the German Lander of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 1945-55.

The doodle has been designed by Berlin-based illustrator Henning Wagenbreth. It shows the Google logo in shocking greens and blues, made up from studio equipment like a mix table, a keyboard and more.

The Studio for Electronic Music paved way for the now popular genre of music loved by many. Musicians from all over the world would try to make different sounds in the studio all through the second half of the 20th century.

The concept for a studio to create electronic music was birthed by composers Werner Meyer-Eppler, Robert Beyer, and Herbert Eimert, who for years had brainstormed the technical requirements of the challenge, explained Google.

Watch how electronic music evolved through the years:

Artists in the studio created breakthrough beats, editing and mixing sounds using new types of equipment and technical composition.

Composers and producers came from far and wide as the studio became a breeding ground for musical innovation.

(with inputs from ANI)

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Every five years, the Communist Party of China (CCP) Congress has become one of the most keenly watched events with Chinas ascent in global inter-state hierarchy. Internal functioning of the Chinese polity remains highly opaque, so the CCP Congress gives outsiders an opportunity to discern political trends in one of the most influential countries of the world. While the rest of world still continues to struggle in trying to gain a comprehension of Chinese politics, what has been clear is the unprecedented centralisation of power under Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Xi was formally named the CCPs core leader (hexin) in October, a title previously given to Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin, but not to his immediate predecessor Hu Jintao. The Congress will be more about this Xi consolidation than anything else. There is even speculation that Xi could be positioning himself for a third term as party chief with a strengthening of his grip on the party apparatus.

In this context, one of the most interesting developments out of China over the last few years has been Xis attempts to shake up the Chinese military and to set the civil-military balance in favour of the CCP.

In far-reaching military reforms announced by Xi in 2015, the PLA, the worlds biggest army, shed 300,000 troops down to two million. PLAs four former headquarters  General Staff, General Political, General Logistics and General Armaments  were scrapped and 15 functional departments were set up to divide their powers. The PLAs seven military commands were also reshaped into five theatre commands. But this was just the beginning.

Xi initiated sweeping anti-corruption measures soon after becoming the party general secretary in 2012, a campaign which has seen punishment being meted out to at least 13,000 military officers. This military reshuffle, which has seen two heavyweights in the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) lose their commands just in the past month, will help Xi increase his dominance in the CMC.

Reform of the CMC underscores Xis absolute dominance in the army, which helped put the CCP in power. No other CCP leader, including Mao, has controlled the military to the same extent as Xi does today. Moreover, going far beyond the CMC chairmanship, Xi is keen to have a more hands-on operational role, resulting in the creation of the new post of commander-in-chief of the PLA joint battle command for Xi.

Defence reforms have been a priority for Xi who wants to make the PLA a lean, mean fighting force. In 2016 he downgraded the ground forces grip on power so that it would be at the same rank as the air force, navy, and rocket forces. Organisational reforms have resulted in the joint command between the service arms. In order to improve the PLAs combat readiness and war-fighting capabilities, Xis reforms are aimed at transforming Chinas military operations from a Russian-style, army-centric system toward a western-style joint command with young commanders manning top positions in the officer corps.

Xis military reforms will certainly make the Chinese military a more effective fighting force in the coming years. As it is because of its growing material capabilities, it is capable of potentially fighting and winning a war with overwhelming force against its weaker neighbours. Though there remain some concerns that Chinese military prowess remains largely untested, that too is changing with the Chinese military evacuating the countrys nationals from conflict zones and the Chinese Navys presence in the international anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.

Not surprisingly, the changes will have an impact on an already lopsided India-China military balance. Indian defence reforms continue to be a work in progress and serious efforts still lag behind the requirements of the contemporary challenges and war-fighting. The three services continue to undercut one another in emphasising jointery and one-upmanship remains the norm. The political leadership remains shy of pushing through the much-needed defence reforms. While the growing material imbalance between China and India remains a problem, it pales in comparison to the structural and organisational changes that are needed to make Indian defence forces truly cutting edge. Indian politys obsession with Pakistan means that it continues to ignore the far-reaching changes taking place in China.

Hopefully, as Xi consolidates his power even further this week, Indian policy makers and defence planners can rise from their slumber to take on a China which is getting better by the day at mobilising its hard power to achieve its foreign policy and national security objectives.

Harsh V Pant is professor at department of defence studies, Kings College London

The views expressed are personal
Recently, the Oriental Bank of Commerce became the seventh PSU bank to be brought under Prompt Corrective Action by the Reserve Bank of India. In simple terms, this means that the banks operations are severely restricted and it is waiting to be taken over by a stronger bank.

The public sector banking is a mess. It is the reason behind the tardy credit growth of the entire sector which many believe could be a key contributor to the current economic slowdown. When credit growth comes to a standstill for 70% of a countrys banking sector, it deserves the prime ministers personal attention.

Market forces are inducing a gradual transition  from the public to private sector. Every quarter, private sector banks eat away at the market share of their public sector counterparts and over the next two decades it is likely that the 70:30 market share split between public and private sector banks will turn the other way round.

While this may be in keeping with the rules of the marketplace  survival of the fittest  the ensuing period may be one of a very painful transition for the economy, as we could be witnessing today. As a nation we cannot afford it. Public sector banks have to be made competitive again and no, recapitalisation  while currently required  is not the medium term solution. It is merely kicking the ball into the long grass.

The problem lies at the core. Every few years, public sector banks are hit with a tidal wave of loans gone bad; the problem sectors change, the outcome remains the same. There has to be a new approach.

Successful banks can often trace their ascent back to the quality of top management, particularly the CEO. No one says it openly, but this is a major problem area for PSU banks. The top managements of PSU banks are simply not comparable to their counterparts in the private sector. The reasons are easy to spot. First, management compensation in the public sector is poor and that prevents lateral hiring at the top level from the private sector. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was set up to resolve this problem, but earlier this year the BBB chief HN Sinor resigned in frustration, before being persuaded to retract.

The problem is compounded by the ecosystem that surrounds PSU banks. Isnt it naive to believe that poorly paid PSU bank managements have never had moral lapses while handing out loans worth thousands of crores? It is also an open secret that politicians have always enjoyed enormous influence on directing loan sanctions from nationalised banks. PSU banks need stronger boards that can spot these misdemeanours and prevent them. One look at the board of HDFC bank and any large PSU bank will demonstrate the difference. These issues are structural.

The government is perhaps aware of it, which is why it has not hastened to recapitalise banks immediately. Giving capital to the weaker PSU banks would be throwing good money after bad. In the current economic environment, they will quickly make more bad assets (NPAs) of the new capital. The way around it could be to issue recapitalisation bonds only to the top six PSU banks and persuade them to sell their non-core assets within a stipulated timeframe. These banks have a tough time being just banks, they dont need to harbour delusional ambitions of being financial conglomerates. Since banks cannot be allowed to die, unlike other corporate entities, the weaker banks will have to be taken over by the stronger ones.

In the medium term, along with the NPA clean-up process which is underway, the structural issues will need to be addressed. Else, we will clean up this mess and be presented with another in the next economic down cycle. Leopards dont change their spots, after all.

Finally, it boils down to people. The example of RBL buttresses this point. Till 2010, Ratnakar Bank was a laid-back old generation bank. In July of that year, ex Bank of America stalwart, Vishwavir Ahuja took over as CEO. He was roped in with a generous employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Over the last seven years, RBL, as it is called now, has seen its deposits and profits jump 15 times. Ahujas own esop holding is worth around Rs 500 crore today. A clear win-win for all parties concerned. There may be a lesson in this for PSU banks.

Udayan Mukherjee in consulting editor, CNBC TV18

The views expressed are personal
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday condemned the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosai in Ludhiana and demanded that the guilty be brought to justice.

I strongly condemn the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosai in Ludhiana. Violence is unacceptable. The guilty must be brought to book, he said on Twitter.

I strongly condemn the killing of RSS leader Ravinder Gosai in Ludhiana. Violence is unacceptable. The guilty must be brought to book.  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 18, 2017

Gosai was killed by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on Tuesday in the Kailash Nagar locality of Ludhiana.

Ravinder Gosain, 60, was returning home after attending a morning drill (RSS shakha) when he was attacked, the police said. Gosain died on the spot while the attackers fled.

A three member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by deputy commissioner of police Gagan Ajit Singh has been formed to probe the case.

Yash Giri, city secretary of the RSS, had condemned the incident and said it was definitely a target killing.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh had also raised the issue with Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who assured him of action soon.
On the eve of Diwali on Wednesday, air quality in Punjab hovered close to the very poor mark as the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) measured the average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 290 in the last 24 hours. The safe limit is 100. While this may be due to crop residue burning and some pre-Diwali firecrackers, the PPCB experts even asserted that the quality will deteriorate particularly on the night of Diwali.

The AQI on Diwali night is likely to reach the severe level of 500, which has the potential to cause respiratory problems even among otherwise healthy people, said Kahan Singh Pannu, PPCB chairman. Last Diwali, the AQI during peak hours of celebrations (8pm to 2am) had reached 497.

This time, though, the Punjab and Haryana high court has limited the hours for burning crackers on Diwali day to 6.30-9.30pm in the two states and Chandigarh. Pannu, who wrote to all police chiefs and deputy commissioners to strictly implements the timings, said district administrations have already been sensitised about the deteriorating air quality. Strict action will be taken against violators, he said. Also, the PPCB chairman said, district administrations were directed to ensure that the number of licences to be issued for firecracker sales should only be 20% of last year.

Referring to stubble burning, he said it has added to worries and already deteriorated air quality. The PPCB has recorded 1,450 cases of straw burning after farmers ignored repeated warnings to adhere to a ban. Farmers have already been urged not to burn paddy straw as it first impairs their own right to breathe fresh air before it travel to cities, Pannu said. Farmers have been saying that they should monetary help and machinery to implement any alternative methods of straw treatment.

Whats AQI?

It measures particulate matter and four harmful gases that pollute the air, and converts the measured pollutant concentrations in a communitys air to a number on a scale of 0 to 500

 0-50: Good: Minimal impact on health

 51-100: Satisfactory: Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people

 101-200: Moderate: Breathing discomfort to people with diseases of lungs and heart

 201-300: Poor: Breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure

 301-400: Very Poor: Respiratory illness on prolonged exposure

 401-500: Severe: Affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases

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Actor Tejaswini Pandit is in love with festivals. Be it Ganeshotsav or New Year, the 100 Days actor is in the festive spirit throughout the year. Diwali always remains a special festival. And, I am in a festive mood through the year. When I was a kid and when my dad was around he would burst a sutali bomb (cracker) near our window. The sound would wake us up and this would be our start to the Diwali celebrations. From dahi pohe to kala chana usal, we followed all the traditions to the T, says Tejaswini.

The actor will be in Pune this year to celebrate Diwali with her mom and sister. I will start the day with applying ubtan (a paste made of coconut oil, turmeric and chickpea flour) then follow it with faral (Diwali snacks). I really miss those old days when we would celebrate with everyone in the colony and have friends and family over. It is unfortunate that children nowadays do not get to experience the fun and festivities like before.

Tejaswini stopped bursting crackers at the age of 13 and continues to promote a noiseless Diwali. As a generation we were luckier as we got to experience the real essence of festivals. An event or festival meant coming together of people and having a good time, unlike now when caste, religion and other irrelevant factors are dragged in.

She is also looking forward to drawing rangoli outside the front door of her home. I love colours and though I am not an expert in rangoli, I love drawing it at the entrance. I am also excited about the new festive collection that I recently launched where I have experimented with designer jacket blouses.

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She was the darling of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradeshs cinema-loving folks through much of the late 1990s and 2000s. Though she made her film debut in a Bollywood film, the Priyadarshan directed Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, she made her mark in the south Indian films.

Her string of successes include films like Kushi, Dhool, Thenali, Thirumalai, Dumm Dumm Dumm, Snegithiye, Kaaka Kaaka, Perazhagan, Chandramukhi, June R, Pachaikili Muthucharam, Mozhi and 36 Vayadhinile. Through much of early 2000s, she dominated the scene like a colossus.

She starred with all the leading men in the industry, starring with Rajinikanth (Chandramukhi), Kamla Haasan (Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu), Ajith (Vaali, Raja, Poovellam Un Vasam and Mugavaree), Vikram (Arul and Dhool), Vijay (Thirumalai and Kushi) and Chiranjeevi (Tagore).

However, it is with Suriya that she did seven films -- Poovellam Kettuppar, Uyirile Kalanthathu, Kaakha Kaakha, Perazhagan, Maayavi, Sillunnu Oru Kadhal and June R (June R starred Suriya in a guest appearance though). Jyothika, who married Tamil actor Suriya at the height of her career in 2006, celebrates her birthday on Wednesday.

On her birthday, heres a look at her films with Suriya.

Poovellam Kettuppar (1999)

Poovellam Kettuppar (Ask All the Flowers) was one of the earliest films Jyothika and Suriya worked in. A romantic comedy, the film is the story of two friends, both music directors, who have a bitter fall out. Years later, their children fall in love with each other. How they help their respective parents become friends again forms the rest of the story. As the name suggests, the future couple were set for a life together early in their career.

Uyirile Kalanthathu (2000)

A romantic comedy and a family drama, Jyothika and Suriya spread their charm yet again. Suriya, plays a young man who falls madly in love with Jyothika. Though he is the fond son of the family and much pampered, his elder brother detests him with all his heart. When Suriyas character decides to meet Jyothikas family, his brother plays the spoilsport and tries to sabotage everything. How the lovers eventually meet is what Uyirile Kalanthathu is all about.

Kaakha Kaakha (2003)

Kaakha Kaakha (To protect), directed by Gautham Menon, was the first big blockbuster in Suriyas career. It also happened to be the film in which Jyothika played his wife. A cop drama, in which Jyothikas character dies, saw the love birds play a married couple to the hilt. It would be in films like these the audience started getting a taste of their unmistakable chemistry.

Perazhagan (2004)

Yet another comedy with lots of drama, Perazhagan (Most Handsome Guy), is a case of two set of identical people, coming together under difficult circumstances as their paths cross. Both Suriya and Jyothika played double roles. While Suriya starred a hunchback and a college student, Jyothika plays the daughter of a cop and a blind girl. How the blind girl and her beloved, the hunchback, unite is what the film is all about. Needless to say, with all its twists and tales, Perazhagan, a remake of Malayalam film Kunjikoonan, was a major hit in Jyothikas career.

Maayavi (2005)

Maayavi or Magician is a kidnap drama with loads of comedy to boot. While Suriya plays a guide who is actually a thief, Jyothika plays herself onscreen. With his accomplish Sathyaraj, Suriyas character decides to rob a plush bungalow in Chennai. As luck would have it, the house belongs to actress Jyothika. Making matters worse, she catches them red-handed and gets them jailed. As revenge, Suriyas character kidnaps her and thats when all hell lets loose. A roaring comedy, the film sealed their fate as a hit-making machine.

Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (2006)

Yet another romantic comedy cum family drama, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal (A Breezy Love Story) is all about family and love one discovers in marriage. Suriya (Gautham) and Jyothika (Kundhavi) have an arranged marriage and like many such marriages, theirs too lacks any spark in the early years. They move to Mumbai, have a 5-year-old daughter, Ishwarya, and life seems good. As part of his job, Suriya leaves for New York. In his absence, Jyothikas character discovers an old letter of her husband, in which describes in great detail about his past love, his college sweetheart Ishwarya (Bhumika Chawla). On his return, Jyothika arranges for the former lovers to meet again for a day while she and her daughter leave their home.

On her return, a day later, she discovers that the former lovers realise that they have moved on in life and that Jyothika is indeed Suriyas true love now.

Author tweets @mniveditatweets

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The 3D printing craze may not have taken off around the world as expected, but there is now a bridge which holds the unique distinction of being the worlds first 3D-printed bridge. There was applause as officials wearing hard hats and workmens jackets rode over the bridge on their bikes at the inauguration in the southeastern town of Gemert.

The bridge is not very big, but it was rolled out by a printer which makes it unique, Theo Salet, from the Eindhoven University of Technology, told Dutch broadcaster NOS. Work on printing the bridge, which has some 800 layers, took about three months after starting in June and it is made of reinforced, pre-stressed concrete, according to the university. One of the advantages of printing a bridge is that much less concrete is needed than in the conventional technique in which a mould is filled, it said on its website, adding a printer deposits the concrete only where it is needed.

The eight-metre (26-foot) bridge spans a water-filled ditch to connect two roads, and in conjunction with the BAM Infra construction company was tested for safety to bear loads of up to two tonnes. Although designed for bikes, it could take up to 40 trucks, the designers said. We are looking to the future, said the head of BAM, Marinus Schimmel, adding in a statement that his company was constantly searching for a newer, smarter approach to addressing infrastructure issues and making a significant contribution to improving the mobility and sustainability of our society.

3D printing meant fewer scarce resources were needed and there was significantly less waste, he added. The Netherlands is among countries, with the United States and China, taking a lead in the cutting-edge technology of 3D printing, using computers and robotics to construct objects and structures from scratch without using traditional manpower.

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Each city in the world has something unique to offer. While some cities can leave their visitors disheartened, deceived and heavy with disappointment, others leave their visitors inspired and exhilarated - consistently. Tokyo was named one of the most visited cities in the world last month. In the 2017 edition of CN Travelers Readers Choice Awards, the city that never disappoints is Tokyo, where neon-lit skyscrapers co-exist with temples, shrines and ancient forests.

With more Michelin stars than any other destination in the world, Tokyo is also a food lovers paradise. Just ask Anthony Bourdain, host of CNNs Parts Unknown, who has circumnavigated the globe over the years and has repeatedly cited Tokyo as one of his all-time favorite cities. Its been a banner week for the Japanese capital, as an Economist report from their Intelligence Unit likewise named Tokyo the worlds safest city for 2017.

Meanwhile, after Tokyo, Vienna, Austria and Kyoto, Japan round out the CN Traveler podium. Overall, the list of best cities in the world is dominated by Europe, which take up six of the top 10 spots. While the US is conspicuously absent, Vancouver is the highest-ranked North America at No. 8. More than 300,000 readers cast their votes in categories like the best hotels, resorts, cruise lines, islands and airlines.

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Mindunter

Cast - Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany

Rating - 4.5/5

There is a scene in the first episode of Mindhunter in which Holden Ford goes to the movies. He sits there, transfixed, ignoring his girlfriends head on his shoulder, and the walkouts. Before him, Al Pacino is yelling Attica, Attica on the screen. In that nearly empty theatre, amid that apathetic crowd, Holden Ford is transformed. What he has just seen  a bank robbery picture called Dog Day Afternoon, in which cops try to reason with the criminals, instead of just shooting them up  has opened up a world of possibilities.

Holden works for the FBI  the behavioural science division, to be exact. Its a new setup, approved only after Holden agreed to many conditions. The divisions job, at least as far as he is concerned, is to profile individuals with a criminal past, and try to understand what drove them to commit the crimes they have been convicted of. Were talking only the most gruesome murders here, usually with sexual overtones. In one of his lectures  he also teaches at the FBI Academy  he shows scenes from Dog Day Afternoon, taking immense pleasure in shooting holes in the movies negotiation techniques.

Its 1977  Watergate is still a source of great embarrassment, as is the Vietnam War and the counter-culture movement that inspired Charles Manson to birth his Family. David Bowie and Led Zeppelin are on the radio, and saffron-clad bald men are on the streets, chanting Hare Krishna to anyone within earshot.

Its a time of disillusionment, and like everyone else, Holden just wants to make sense of it all. His rapid rise within the FBI raised more than a few eyebrows, and afforded him certain luxuries, but it has been largely unfulfilling. His chief is oppressively old school in his ideas, the sort of person who waves away concerns after a jilted lover blew his brains out during a hostage negotiation. No bystanders were harmed, he says, and thats a win in his book.

Holdens argument: Criminals  murderers, rapists  arent born evil. As a child, Charles Manson was beaten, and repeatedly institutionalised. His mother spent her days alternating between brothels and jails. Charles Manson, Holden says, wasnt born, he was created. He was turned into a monster by the world he grew up in.

And it is with these radical, and frankly unpopular ideas that Holden takes his jittery first steps into the world of behavioural sciences. Hes paired up with Bill Tench  played by Holt McCallany, an actor born to play cops, evidenced by a decades-long career of doing exactly that  and together, they devise a bold new strategy. They would travel the country under the pretence of conducting workshops for local police departments, but in their spare time, theyd arrange for personal meetings with some of the most infamous killers in America in an attempt to understand how their mind works.

They become Mindhunters. Cue the ominous music.

Of course, Thomas Harris famously explored this landscape in his Hannibal Lecter novels  particularly The Silence of the Lambs, which was inspired by the work of Special Agent John E Douglas, Holdens real-life counterpart. There are several, expertly-crafted scenes of dialogue between Holden, Bill and the notorious mass-murderer, Ed Kemper, that are eerily similar to Clarice Starlings exchanges with Dr Hannibal Lecter. And theyre as good as any weve seen in that classic film.

Ed Kemper in Mindhunter. (Merrick Morton/Netflix)

But of course they are. How could they not be? Now would be as good a time as any to mention that Mindhunter, this gorgeously cinematic new series on Netflix, is a product of the twisted mind of David Fincher. He directed four of the ten episodes  the bookends  and watching him maneuver this world, a world with which he has always shown endless fascination, is like watching Martin Scorsese make another gangster picture, or Steven Spielberg taking off into space.

Its fitting, for a series so obsessed with understanding the psychology of its characters, to itself be driven entirely by the decisions they make. As Holden and Bills quest inside the heads of these men collides with their personal lives, we see changes  subtle changes, like how they dress  that drive the story more strongly than any particular twist in the narrative.

David Fincher doesnt let the material define his style, he adapts it to suit what he does best  better than anyone who has ever picked up a camera. Now would also be as good a time as any to mention that he is  as he has been for almost a decade  my favourite director. This is him mucking about in his comfort zone, but that shouldnt be a reason to discount his achievements here.

For him to revisit this darkness  the depraved fringes of humanity that he periodically finds himself attracted to, in films like Se7en, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Zodiac  and to create a work of art that is at par with those movies, is worth throwing a national holiday for.

Mindhunter is the story of how a very particular term came into being, a term that would inspire thousands of works of fiction  books, comics, music, and movies, especially those of David Fincher.

After having interviewed dozens of deviants and disturbed individuals, Holden and Bill realise that theyre dealing with unprecedented information. Theyre going to have to come up with a new name for these guys. They look at each other, bounce ideas, and settle on one.

Theyd call them serial killers.

Watch the Mindhunter trailer here

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The author tweets @RohanNaahar
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Tuesday after a court ordered the detention of two Catalan separatist leaders, further inflaming tensions over Catalonias chaotic referendum on splitting from Spain.

Shouting freedom or independence and carrying candles, the demonstrators stood massed on a large boulevard in the city centre at nightfall before observing a long moment of silence.

Around 200,000 people took part, a spokesman for Barcelonas municipal police said.

Candle-lit demonstrations were also held in Girona, Reus and other Catalan cities in protest at the Madrid-based National Courts Monday ruling to keep Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez behind bars pending investigations into sedition charges.

They want us to be afraid so we stop thinking of independence, but the opposite will happen, we are more everyday and I think we will achieve it in the end, Elias Houariz, a 22-year-old baker, told AFP at the rally.

The demonstration came as the clock ticks down to Thursday, the deadline Madrid has set for Catalonias separatist leader Carles Puigdemont to spell out whether or not he intends to declare independence outright following the banned October 1 referendum.

Puigdemont has so far declined to give a definitive response, calling instead for Spains Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to come to the negotiating table.

But Rajoy rejects mediation as a non-starter and unless Puigdemont backs down, appears likely to start imposing direct control over the semi-autonomous region.

Doing so could further escalate Spains worst political crisis since it emerged from military dictatorship in 1977.

- Economic jitters -

The referendum, marred by a police crackdown on voters, resulted in a 90-percent Yes vote. But turnout was only 43 percent as many supporters of Spanish unity stayed away after the Constitutional Court ruled the vote illegal.

With the two sides stuck in a stalemate, Madrid announced late Monday that it was cutting its economic growth forecast for next year from 2.6 to 2.3 percent.

The prolonged uncertainty has rattled stock markets, while nearly 700 companies have moved their legal headquarters out of Catalonia, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The Spanish league have delayed putting out to tender their international television rights amid uncertainty over what the Catalonia crisis could mean for Barcelona, La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Tuesday.

This is a problem that could greatly affect the value of our competitions, he said.

- New phase -

Thousands of workers in Barcelona and other cities also staged a brief walkout at noon in protest at the detention of Cuixart and Sanchez.

The pair nicknamed the two Jordis are the leaders of pro-independence citizens groups Omnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC).

The groups count tens of thousands of members each and have emerged as influential players in the crisis.

We are entering in a new phase of mobilisations, and they will be peaceful as always, said Omnium spokesman Marcel Mauri.

Both Cuixart and Sanchez are accused of encouraging a major protest last month as Spanish police raided the Catalan administrations offices in the run-up to the referendum.

Police officers were trapped for hours and their vehicles vandalised as protesters ringed the building, with Cuixart and Sanchez standing on a police car calling for permanent mobilisation against the Spanish state.

The crime of sedition can carry up to 15 years in prison.

At the evening rally, Maria Miracle, 77, complained that the corrupt remain free and people who organise civilised, peaceful protests are jailed.

She understands Spanish but insisted on speaking to AFP in Catalan, remembering the times during Francisco Francos dictatorship when the regional language was officially banned and she had to pay one peseta for every word of Catalan spoken at school.

Omnium Cultural was founded in 1961 to keep Catalan alive.

Though she opposes the current drive for independence, Barcelonas leftist Mayor Ada Colau blasted the move to detain Sanchez and Cuixart, who she said were being held as political prisoners.

- Catalans split -

With its own language and culture, Catalonia is proud of its autonomy but its 7.5 million people are split over whether to break away completely from the rest of Spain.

Supporters of independence say the region pays more into Spanish coffers than it gets back and could prosper by going it alone, but their opponents say secession would spell political and economic disaster.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday laid out a confident vision for a more prosperous nation and its role in the world, stressing the importance of wiping out corruption and curbing industrial overcapacity, income inequality and pollution.

Opening a critical Communist Party congress, Xi pledged to build a modern socialist country for a new era that will be proudly Chinese and steadfastly ruled by the party but open to the world.

Although his wide-ranging address made clear there were no plans for political reform, Xi said Chinas development had entered a new era, using the phrase 36 times in a speech that ran nearly 3-1/2 hours.

Here are five things to know about Xis speech:

1) A message to the US

In what was probably an indirect reference to US President Donald Trumps America First policy, Xi promised that China would be fully engaged with the world, and reiterated pledges to tackle climate change. Trump this year opted to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate pact.

No country can alone address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation, Xi told the delegates, among them Buddhist monks, Olympic medallists, farmers and at least one astronaut.

2) Chinas economy

Speaking in front of a massive hammer and sickle, Xi touted his nationalistic China dream slogan, vowed to open the economy, promised to win the fight against poverty, and pointedly warned he would continue his zero tolerance campaign against corruption.

Xi worked to calm fear of rising home prices that have hit ordinary Chinese particularly hard, and real estate is a preferred investment in a country where the financial system is viewed with distrust, The Guardian said about the Chinese leaders speech.

Xi, in his three-and-a-half-hour address, said Chinas prospects are bright but the challenges are grim, a rare acknowledgement of severe economic issues. He added that the party would have to take big risks and overcome major resistance.

3) No significant political reforms

Xi set bold long-term goals for Chinas development, envisioning it as a basically modernised socialist country by 2035, and a modern socialist strong power with leading influence on the world stage by 2050.

But he signalled there would be no significant political reforms, calling Chinas system the broadest, most genuine, and most effective way to safeguard the interests of the people.

4) Promise of world-class army

Xi pledged to transform the countrys armed forces into a world-class military.

Xi, the chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission, called for unflinching loyalty from the army towards the party. China has the worlds largest standing army of 2.3 million. Unlike other countries armed forces, the army is political.

Xi has carried massive military reforms and decided to bring the number of troops to below one million. We must enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, Xi said, adding that focus must be on combat.

5) Any heir apparent?

The conclave, which will mostly meet behind closed doors and end next Tuesday, will select new top party members, including for the Politburo Standing Committee, Chinas all-powerful ruling body.

Xi and Premier Li Keqiang are expected to remain on the committee while the five other current members are supposed to step down under an informal retirement age set at 68.

But analysts say Xis 69-year-old right-hand man and anti-graft chief, Wang Qishan, could stay on, creating a precedent for Xi himself to remain in charge beyond retirement age in 2022.
An 87-year-old dubbed as Americas oldest jewel thief has been let off with a warning, according to a report.

Doris Payne, who has stolen about $2 million in jewels over 60 years, was recently arrested at a Walmart outlet, The Independent reported. Dont come back, Ms Payne, a judge told the woman while hearing a shoplifting case against her.

I wont, Payne told the judge. She was pleading guilty to theft and was given credit for 58 days served from July through September, the report said.

The 87-year-old was arrested in July after stealing $86.22 worth of items from a pharmacy, electronics and grocery departments. When she was picked up by the police, Payne was under house arrest for having stolen a necklace from a mall in 2016.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, over the years, Payne has dressed in fine clothes with deep pockets, charmed sales workers at high-end department stores, distracted them and slipped out with expensive jewellery.

A documentary titled The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne was produced in 2013 to detail the story of the jewel thief. The documentary tells the story of how she took a piece of jewelry at the age of 10.

From there the film goes back and forth between the past and the present until we finally learn what her destiny will be after over 50 years as an international jewel thief.
North Korea sent a congratulatory message to Chinas 19th Congress of its Communist Party on Wednesday, amid increasingly frayed relationships between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyangs nuclear weapons programme.

The central committee of the Norths ruling Workers Party of Korea said that China has made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the correct guidance of the Communist Party of China.

We are greatly pleased over this, the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it sincerely wished the China congress satisfactory success.

Officials and experts in South Korea had worried that Pyongyang may conduct a weapons test to coincide with the October 18 opening of the twice-a-decade Community Party congress in China.

While the United States and its allies, and many people in China, believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Koreas nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.

China, Pyongyangs sole major ally and which accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade with the isolated country, has said it will strictly enforce UN Security Council sanctions banning imports of coal, textiles and seafood, while cutting off oil shipments to the North.
A bomb targeted a police truck in Pakistans southwestern city of Quetta today killing at least seven policemen and injuring 22 others, police said.

According to initial reports, security sources claimed a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta- Sibbi Road, Dawn News reported.

However, the nature of the blast has yet to be ascertained.

Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig confirmed seven casualties and said that injured had been brought to the medical facility where emergency has been imposed, the report said.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti while condemning the attack confirmed the deaths in the attack. While 22 others were injured and are being treated at the hospital in Quetta.

The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area, the home minister said.

These cowardly attacks will not hinder our security forces in executing their duties, he added.

Security forces have reached the location and cordoned off the area, and a security sweep is underway, it said.

Balochistan has experienced incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. In recent months, the province has faced a number of security challenges, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.

Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta on August 13.

Earlier in June, 14 people - including seven policemen - lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quettas Gulistan Road area.

Pakistani leaders, including Imran Khan, and members of the civil society condemned the attack, praying for the victims.

Strongly condemn terror attack in Quetta causing loss of precious lives. We have to resolutely counter the terrorist threat holistically.  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 18, 2017

The loss of precious lives in terrorist attack in #Quetta is regrettable & highly condemnable.  Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri (@TahirulQadri) October 18, 2017

#Quetta bleeds again & again. Innocent lives fall. Govt fails & unwilling to consult stakeholders & address causes of violence & insecurity.  Sana BALOCH (@Senator_Baloch) October 18, 2017
Britain was facing its most severe terrorist threat ever and it witnessed a dramatic shift in the threat from Islamist terrorism this year, said the head of British intelligence agency MI5 on Tuesday in a rare public speech.

Andrew Parker, director-general of the domestic intelligence agency MI5, told journalists covering security and crime in London that fresh attacks in the country were inevitable.

Britain faced four terror attacks this year, one in Manchester and three in London, claiming nearly 35 lives. The current threat level from international terrorism is set at severe, which means attack is highly likely.

That (terror) threat is multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly and operating at a scale and pace weve not seen before. Its at the highest tempo I have seen in my 34-year career. Today there is more terrorist activity, coming at us more quickly, and it can be harder to detect, he said.

He said the under pressure MI5 had thwarted 20 plots in the last four years and seven plots in the last seven months alone.

The agency, he added, was running 500 live operations involving 3,000 individuals.

The threat is more diverse than Ive ever known. Plots developed here in the UK, but plots are directed from overseas as well, he said.

He said the plots involved complex scheming and also crude stabbings; lengthy planning as well as spontaneous attacks.

Extremists of all ages, gender and backgrounds, united only by the toxic ideology of violent victory that drives them, he said.

Asked if attacks were inevitable in future, he told newspersons: I think we have to be careful that we dont find ourselves being held to some sort of perfect standard of 100% because that just isnt achievable.

Attacks can sometimes accelerate from inception through planning to action in just a handful of days. This pace, together with the way extremists can exploit safe spaces online, can make threats harder to detect and give us a smaller window to intervene.

According to him, over 130 Britons were believed to have died fighting for the so-called Islamic State and danger was posed by the potential return of 850 who had travelled to its territory, although a large influx had not yet materialised.

Amid concerns that internet majors were not doing enough to curb terror-related activities, Parker said as technology advanced, social media companies had an ethical responsibility to do more to help suppress terrorism.

He warned that an unintended side-effect is that these advances also aid the terrorists, whether its the ease of online purchasing, social media content or encrypted communications. No company wants to provide terrorists with explosive precursors.

Social media platforms dont want to host bomb making videos. And communications providers dont want to provide the means of terrorist planning, beyond the sight of MI5.

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The challenges facing water systems in the Himalayas and the need for ecologically wise decision-making is the focus of a major exhibition attracting many visitors at the University of Cambridge as part of its India Unboxed programme and the Festival of Ideas.

Titled Pani, Pahar: Waters of the Himalayas, the photographic exhibition is based on a study led by Bhaskar Vira, professor in the department of geography, looking at mostly neglected locally appropriate ways of capturing and storing water in the context of mega projects.

The study is based on research in six towns - Palampur and Rajgarh in Himachal Pradesh, Mussoorie and Nainital in Uttarakhand and in Dhulikhel and Bidur in Nepal. The exhibition began on Tuesday and ends on October 28.

Vira told Hindustan Times: The waters of the Himalayas sustain the lives of over half a billion people, and we cannot afford to ignore the pressures on these beautiful, but ecologically fragile landscapes.

As more people move to small towns in the mountains, the needs of infrastructure and planning require us to work with nature, rather than trying to tame it through risky mega projects.

File photo of a waterfall in the Himalayas. (Courtesy University of Cambridge)

Investing in locally appropriate ways to capture and store water, and helping the regeneration of natural springs and other sources, is critically important for future water security. This exhibition highlights the aesthetic beauty of these mountain regions, but also how critical it is to pay attention to our sources of water and how they are governed, to ensure that they can sustain lives and livelihoods into the 21st century.

The exhibition presents four themes visible across the six towns - change and transformation around water sources, the growing visibility and rapid pace of urbanisation, the ebbs, flows and characteristics of seasonality that affect both social and ecological systems and the ways in which physical, social and political infrastructures are being built, transformed and consolidated in this time of rapid change.

The exhibition combines research led by Vira and Eszter Kovacs at the department of geography (with collaborators in India and Nepal) with contemporary imagery by photojournalist Toby Smith and curated archival prints from the University Library and the Centre for South Asian Studies.

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Attending his second Diwali function on consecutive nights, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed that economic ties with India have been a priority for his government since it was formed and the current environment of protectionism provides greater opportunities for engagement between the two sides.

After lighting a diya at a Diwali on the Hill celebration in Ottawas Parliament on Monday evening, Trudeau attended the Canada India Business Council (C-IBC) Diwali Gala in Toronto on Tuesday.

Addressing those gathered for the function, Trudeau said, Building stronger trade relationships between Canada and India is a priority for our government since Day One.

Given that the difficult process of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States is on, he said in an oblique jab at the Donald Trump administration: As countries around the world turn inward, as they fuel scepticism about trade agreements or are anxious about their borders, theres an opportunity for Canada and India to forge an even stronger relationship.

This is a point he has made many times to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trudeau added.

Trudeau also announced that three Canadian ministers will visit India in mid-November, leading a trade mission that will include a delegation of businesses. They are minister of international trade Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and economic development Navdeep Bains and minister of transport Marc Garneau.

Their trip is from November 12 to November 17 and starts with their presence at the 23rd Technology Summit in New Delhi, where Canada is a partner country.

Champagne, who too was present at the C-IBC event, said he believed this is the time in our relationship to be ambitious.

Reacting to Trudeaus presence at the gala, C-IBC president and CEO Kasi Rao said it was a foundational moment in the bilateral economic relationship.

The multi-ministerial presence in India next month will provide momentum, Rao said. He felt there is a strategic window ahead of us to move from confluence to convergence. We intend to play our part in this deepening economic relationship.

After switching on the ceremonial Diwali display at the event, Trudeau said, The central message of Diwali is a message, I think, more people need to hear. We need to be reminded that light can and will triumph over darkness, that knowledge and hope are powerful and effective ways to counteract ignorance and despair.

And that at the end of the day, evil doesnt stand a chance when its up against all the good in the world.

While Trudeau did not announce his own plans for visiting India, he sounded optimistic about the times ahead as he said, Canada and India have a long history together and I believe an even brighter future lies ahead.

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President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said China will build a powerful and modernised military and transform it into a world-class force under the Communist Partys leadership within the next two decades.

The target is to complete the mechanisation of the armed forces by 2020 and to complete the modernisation of the army, navy and air force in terms of organisational structure and weaponry by 2035, Xi told more than 2,200 delegates and senior Communist Party members who had gathered at the Great Hall of the People for the inauguration of the partys 19th national congress.

On broader terms, he said China was at a key juncture in its history.

This is a new historic juncture in Chinas development, said the 64-year-old Xi, who is set for a second term in office.

The Chinese nation...has stood up, grown rich, and become strong - and it now embraces the brilliant prospects of rejuvenation...It will be an era that sees China moving closer to centre stage and making greater contributions to mankind.

Xis comments on the military were specific.

A military is built to fight, Xi said to choreographed applause from the delegates.

Our military must regard combat capability as the criterion to meet in all its work and focus on how to win when it is called on. We will take solid steps to ensure military preparedness for all strategic directions, he added.

We must raise public awareness about the importance of national defence and strengthen unity between the government and the military and between the people and the military.

Founded in 1927, the Peoples Liberation Army now has almost two million service personnel.

College students wave national flags as they watch the opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress in Huaibei in China's eastern Anhui province on October 18, 2017. (AFP)

Throughout his three-and-a-half hour-long speech, Xi called on the Communist Party to urge its members not only to safeguard Chinas sovereignty but also to revitalise Chinese culture, oppose erroneous ideology and promote religion that is Chinese in origin.

The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is no walk in the park or mere drum-beating and gong-clanging. The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder effort, he said. To achieve great dreams there must be a great struggle.

Xi pledged to build a modern socialist country for a new era and said that by 2050, China would become a strong power with leading influence on the world stage.

The official title and aim of the conclave was, for the Communist Party, characteristically long-winded: Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

Among the likely outcomes of the meeting, which ends on October 24, is Xi consolidating his power by appointing loyalists and enshrining his political doctrines in the party charter.

New leaders, many close to Xi, will be inducted into the Communist Partys top governing bodies such as the central committee, politburo, politburo standing committee and the central military commission, which controls the Peoples Liberation Army.

Under normal circumstances, some of these inductees would take over in 2022, which will mark the end of Xis ten-year term and the beginning of a new dispensation for the top governing bodies of the Communist Party.

However, one of the most critical issues will not be decided till the end of this years meeting: whether Xi will announce a successor.
President Xi Jinping on Tuesday assured jittery neighbours that China is ready to resolve its disputes through dialogue but not at the expense of Beijings strategic interests, as he opened a key meeting of the ruling Communist party elite that will shore up his grip on power with a second term and even an unprecedented third innings at the helm.

Xi, the general secretary of the CPC, also vowed make the Peoples Liberation Army a world class military during his over a three-and-a half hour speech at the once-in-a-five-year Congress which is set to confirm his second term and elect new leaders to work with him.

The 64-year-old spoke mostly of rebuilding of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) keeping its socialist structure intact.

At the opening session of CPCs 19th Congress at the Great Hall of the People, the party put up a united show with most of the top retired leaders including former presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao besides former Premiers Wen Jiabao and several other erstwhile leaders sharing the dais with Xi on the front row.

The week-long meeting will also amend the partys Constitution.

Xi spoke at length of strengthening the military, need for continuation of his massive anti-corruption drive and bringing a new era of socialism and Chinese rejuvenation.

China will never pursue development at the expense of others interests, nor will China ever give up its legitimate rights and interests. No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests, he said amid thumping applause from over 2,300 delegates who attended the meeting telecast live.

Delegates, some wearing an ethnic minority outfits, listen to an address by Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 18, 2017. (AFP Photo)

About the neighbours, Xi said China would deepen relations with its neighbours in accordance with the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendship and partnership.

We should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion, coordinate responses to traditional and non-traditional threats and oppose terrorism in all its forms, Xi said.

China and India had been engaged in a standoff recently in the Doklam area in Sikkim. China was engaged in a number of maritime disputes with the neighbours in the South and East China seas.

Xi spoke at length about his plans to make the 2.3 million strong PLA, the worlds largest military, into a world class force.

By the year 2020, mechanisation will be basically achieved, with IT application coming a long way and strategic capabilities seeing a big improvement, he said.

The modernisation of the national defence and armed forces should be basically completed by 2035, by which the armed forces have been fully transformed into world-class military forces, he said.

The Chinese military, which underwent massive reform drive since Xi took over power in 2012, has over $ 141 billion annual budget next only to US military.

A military is built to fight. Our military must regard combat capability as the criterion to meet in all its work and

focus on how to win when it is called on , he said, adding that all steps would be taken to ensure military preparedness to implement strategic doctrines.

The CPC will build a powerful and modernised army, navy, air force, rocket (missile) force, and strategic support force, develop strong and efficient joint operations commanding institutions for theatre commands, and create a modern combat system with distinctive Chinese characteristics, he said.

Unlike the militaries elsewhere, the Chinese military functions directly under the leadership of the party. Xi is the chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the PLA.

Students wave flags as they watch a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the opening ceremony of China's 19th Party Congress in Huaibei in eastern China's Anhui province on October 18. (AP Photo)

Xi also devoted his address titled secure decisive victory in building moderately prosperous society in all its respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for new era mostly to strengthening the CPC, which has ruled the country since 1949.

We must unwaveringly uphold and improve Party leadership and make the Party still stronger, he said.

Xi, who in the past warned the party of going the way the Soviet Communist Party collapsed in 1991, said the defining feature of the party is socialism with Chinese characteristics.

We must keep on strengthening the Partys ability to lead politically, to guide through theory, to organise the people, and to inspire society, thus ensuring that the Partys great vitality and strong ability are forever maintained, he said.

Founded in 1921, the CPC has about 89-million members with more than 4.5 million grassroots organisations.

The Party is striving to strengthen its long-term governance capacity amid complex governance environment, Xi said, warning of the dangers of a lack of drive, incompetence, disengagement from the people, inaction, and corruption.

The primary task of a political party building is to ensure that the whole party obeys the Central Committee and upholds its authority and centralised, unified leadership, Xi said.

Last year, Xi was endorsed as the core leader, a status bestowed on party founder Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

By heading the party, presidency and the military, Xi has emerged as the most powerful leader in the country. His ideological teachings were expected to be made part of the amended CPC constitution during the Congress to ensure his legacy. Only the names of Mao and Deng were part of the CPC Constitution.

Observers say with consolidation of power and having bulldozed the remnants of opposition in the party in his massive anti-corruption drive, Xi, 64 may be declared as Chairman of the party and may even have an unprecedented, third term after 2022. All Chinese leaders retire at the age of 68.

Journalists film delegates applauding Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on October 18. (AP Photo)

In his speech Xi also pledged to make a sweeping victory in its fight against corruption to escape the historical cycle of rise and fall.

Calling corruption the greatest threat the Party faces, Xi said the situation in the fight against corruption remains grave and complex.

The CPC will prevent any interest groups from arising within the Party, Xi said.

Wherever offenders may flee, they shall be brought back and brought to justice, he added.

Since he took over power more than 280 centrally- administered officials were investigated and over 1.4 million official received punishments, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
US President Donald Trump has hailed the extraordinary contributions of Indian-Americans to science, medicine, business and education in the country as he celebrated his first Diwali at the White House.

Trump was joined by senior Indian-American members of his administration including Nikki Haley, his Ambassador to the United Nations and Seema Verma Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah, his Principal Deputy Press Secretary also joined Diwali celebrations.

As we do (celebrate Diwali) so, we especially remember the People of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the worlds largest democracy, Trump said in a Facebook post along with a video of his Diwali celebrations inside the Oval Office.

Trump said he greatly valued his very strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.

The presidents daughter Ivanka also joined him in celebrations, according to a picture released by the White House.

In his remarks, Trump said Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to the country  and to the world.

You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve BRAVELY in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land, he said.

Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in THE PEOPLES HOUSE. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American family, Trump added.

Diwali, he said, is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion.

A time of peace and prosperity for the New Year, it is a tradition that is held dear by more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide and more than 2 million Hindus in the United States. It is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains in America, India and around the world, he said.

The tradition of Diwali celebration at the White House was first started by President George Bush.

During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, former president Barack Obama lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Room of the White House.

In his last year in office in 2016, Obama for the first time observed the festival of lights in the Oval Office.
US-backed forces in northern Syria say they have captured Raqqa, once the seat of power for the Islamic State group, on Tuesday after a gruelling four-month battle that left the city in ruins.

Brig. Gen. Talal Sillo told The Associated Press that there are no longer clashes in the city, which had served as the extremist groups headquarters and self-proclaimed capital of their so-called caliphate for more than three years.

A formal declaration will be made from the city soon, after the clearing operations end. Raqqa is still full of land mines, Sillo added, but fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces are now in control of the former capital of terrorism.

Here are five things to know about Raqqa, and what comes next in the war on IS:

Capital of the caliphate

Raqqa, on the banks of the Euphrates River and with a population of about of 200,000, was the first city to fall into the hands of Islamic State militants.

Free Syrian Army rebels and al-Qaida fighters seized the city in 2013, bringing with them Sunni jihadis from the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, known then mostly as ISIS. The jihadis, in turn, expelled al-Qaida and the moderate opposition fighters from the city in January 2014 and set about transforming Raqqa into the de facto political capital of their soon-to-be declared caliphate.

IS razed Raqqas main Shiite mosque and converted churches into Islamic centers. Christians and other minorities were persecuted; most fled the city and the rest were compelled to pay a special tax. But those who could stay lived in relative security, as the bulk of the fighting over Syria was waged in the countrys western cities.

In this still file image taken from drone footage posted online Monday, March. 27, 2017 by the Aamaq News Agency, a media arm of the Islamic State group, shows the Tabqa Dam, in Raqqa, Syria. (AP Photo)

Terror-planning hub

Self-proclaimed IS caliph and the head of the militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, called on doctors and engineers to travel to Raqqa to help build his caliphate and realize the dream of global jihad. Foreign fighters flocked to the city from around the world.

Schools were closed, and children were sent to mosques for indoctrination into jihad and camps for military training. Foreign journalists and aid workers were held in the citys prisons and beheaded in videos that brought the IS militants the global attention they craved.

Planning for some of the major attacks in Europe in recent years, including the 2015 Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, and the 2016 suicide attacks on the Brussels airport and subway, which killed 32, was traced back to Raqqa.

Victory at a devastating cost

In June 2016, a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces launched operations to capture the city. Backed by US airstrikes and artillery fire, it took the SDF four months of street fighting to recapture Raqqa.

As the battle dragged on, the US-led coalition intensified its bombardment. According to Airwars, a group that monitors the human cost of the US and Russian air campaigns in Syria and Iraq, the coalition dropped more shells and bombs on Raqqa in August 2017 than it did on all of Afghanistan in the same month.

In September, the New York-based monitoring group Physicians for Human Rights said that there was only one hospital left operating in the city, which was treating wounds with just salt and water. Rescuers had stopped digging for survivors of the airstrikes for fear of being struck themselves.

Airwars and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say more than 1,000 civilians were killed just by coalition airstrikes since SDF forces first entered the city in June.

The Pentagon says some 1,100 SDF fighters have been killed and nearly 4,000 wounded in the twin offensives on Raqqa and the nearby city of Deir el-Zour.

Today, Raqqa lies in ruins. Whole neighbourhoods have been turned to rubble, and most of the population has been displaced to overcrowded camps and towns.

In this July 27, 2017 file photo, black smoke rises from Raqqa city where U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters battle against the Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, northeast Syria. (AP Photo)

Lingering tensions

Now that the Kurdish-led SDF has Raqqa, the question is what to do with it. The group has appointed a civilian administration of locals to rebuild the city, but bigger questions loom.

The SDF is a multi-ethnic force, but its Kurdish leadership harbors ambitions of autonomous rule over a Kurdish region in Syria that now includes the Arab-majority Raqqa. The ruling Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, no doubt with an eye on the Kurdish independence referendum held in Iraq on Sept. 25, understands it may never have a better opportunity to attain self-rule.

Syrian Arabs by-and-large prefer a unified country, and Kurdish domination over Raqqa threatens to engender resentment. At a summer graduation for the citys reconstructed police corps, The Associated Press spoke to SDF-trained cadets who struggled to make sentences in Arabic.

A backlash among Raqqas Sunni Arab population against the Kurds is a real concern.

Whats next: chasing is in east Syria

The war on IS has already shifted to Syrias eastern Deir el-Zour province, which holds much of the countrys oil and gas resources, plus a valuable crossing with Iraq. The jihadis still hold about 130 kilometers (81 miles) of the Euphrates River Valley inside Syria, including several key strongholds.

Unlike in Raqqa, there are two parties chasing IS in Deir el-Zour. Iranian- and Russian-backed Syrian government forces are gaining ground on the southeast banks of the river, while the US-backed SDF are advancing on the northwest.

The stakes are high and the two sides have exchanged accusations of firing on one another. The United States does not want Iran to secure a corridor across Iraq and Syria all the way to the Mediterranean.

IS is fighting a losing battle, and its days in northern and eastern Syria are numbered, though it will likely survive for some time as an insurgent group. The question now is who will pick up the pieces of its terrible rule.
Kewin Wilshaw was a member of a far-right and fascist group National Front in the UK for 40 years.

But white supremacist life is riddled with contradictions. In an interview with Channel 4, Wilshaw said his mother was part Jewish and he came out as gay on Wednesday.

Wilshaw, who was a member of the party till earlier this year, explains why he joined the group. I didnt have many friends at school, I wanted to be a member of a group of people that had an aim, and I thought getting involved in that kind of thing would be comradeship, he said.

Wilshaw even wrote about his hatred for the Jews on the application form for the group, which claims on its website it would halt all non-white immigration into Britain.

He admits in the interview that being a neo-Nazi and gay was another thorn because the party does not support LGBT rights. He says it wasnt until the abuse was directed at him that he understood his actions were wrong: Its a terribly selfish thing to say but its true. I saw people being abused, shouted at, spat at in the street  its not until its directed at you that you suddenly realise that what youre doing is wrong.

Wilshaw, who vandalised a mosque in Aylesbury in 1990s , was arrested in March for online race hate offences. He was a prominent organiser for the National Front in the previous decade.

But he says he feels guilty for his past and wants to attack extremists. I really do feel guilty, he said. Not only that, this is also a barrier to me having a relationship with my own family, and I want to get rid of it, its too much of a weight.

I want to do some damage as well, not to ordinary people but the people who are propagating this kind of rubbish  want to hurt them, show what its like for those who are living a lie and be on the receiving end of this type of propaganda.

Experts say the far-right is on the rise across Europe and the West, with Marine Le Pen in France and the AfD making inroads in German politics this year. In August, a white supremacist rammed his car into counter protesters, killing a woman, at a unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Kevin Wilshaws full interview:
A delegation led by Indias Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra held discussions in Ottawa with his Canadian counterpart Beverley McLachlin and others on key issues such as extradition.

Misra led the judicial delegation that participated in the Sixth Indo-Canadian Legal Forum. They were in Ottawa at the invitation of McLachlin.

Among the issues discussed at the Forum were Canada-India extradition proceedings, environmental courts in India, and alternate dispute resolution mechanisms in the two countries.

Members of the delegation also met the Leader of the House of Commons and minister for small business and tourism, Bardish Chagger, and the Speaker of the Senate, George J Furey.

The Indian delegation included Justices Kurian Joseph, RK Agrawal and Uday Umesh Lalit, additional solicitor general PS Narasimha and the secretary general of the Supreme Court, Ravindra Maithani.

A statement from the Indian high commission in Ottawa said that India and Canada share a similar legal system and, in the last fifty years, each has independently developed an unwritten constitutional jurisprudence that bears a striking resemblance to that of the other.

There is considerable appreciation in Canada for the landmark rulings and judgements by the Supreme Court of India in recent years which have taken further the concept of public interest litigation, it added.

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Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was trolled on social media after an unverified photograph circulating online purportedly showed her wearing skinny jeans and heels.

Many users said on Tuesday it looked like a picture of pornstar Mia khalifa and not of Yousafzai, who was shot at by Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls education in Pakistan.

Finally, a picture of @Malala where she is just being a normal young woman 

It's quite remarkable how her head is always covered... pic.twitter.com/IIkTjaygxl  Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) October 15, 2017

Facebook user Awaiz Nawaz commented on the image that apparently shows Yousafzai wearing jeans, heels and a bomber jacket: I thought she was Mia khalifa.

Pakistani newspaper places pic of Malala wearing jeans next to a report of an earthquake in (her hometown) Swat pic.twitter.com/BfChGFzU1H  omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) October 17, 2017

The photo appeared in a newspaper in Pakistan, a journalist tweeted.

A user named Fawad Khan said on Facebook mission completed from Pathan to secular oxfordian (sic) while another user called the activist a foreign agent who wont be accepted by Pakistan.

without father strange...............  Iftikhar Ahmad (@jawabdeyh) October 15, 2017

now jeans..shoes...soon that dupatta will be out  Lunatic living. (@Lunatic6923) October 15, 2017

However, hundreds of other responses drowned out the clammer of the trolls and defended Yousafzais right to wear what she wants. Some lamented that it was a sad state of affairs that there was a controversy over the Nobel peace laureates clothes.

Head is always covered? What are you trying to prove? Why cant we let her live how she wants to?  Omer (Son of Tahira) (@Omer_FM) October 15, 2017

How about we let her be however she wants and not headscarf shame or scarfless shame girls  Awesome Aquil (@AwesomeAquil) October 15, 2017

Glad to see that media finally highlights the important issues like Malala wearing jeans and ignores the non-issues like heavy foreign-debt.  Dr Saqlain Shah (@DrSaqlainSh) October 17, 2017

Hindustan Times could not independently verify the photograph. A reverse image search online did not return any results.

Yousafzai, 20, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, alongside Indian Kailash Satyarthi, for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.

In October, the young activist, who now lives in the UK, started classes for Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford. She had tweeted a picture of three books and captioned it, 5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford.

Yousafzai became a symbol of bravery after being targeted by Taliban when she was just 15. She said she got a second life following her surgery and rehabilitation in Birmingham. Apart from the being the youngest Nobel prize winner, she is also the author of I am Malala that documents her fight against the militant group and her journey from a remote valley in Pakistan to Britain.
Rio Tinto and two former top executives were charged with fraud by US authorities today, accused of inflating the value of the companys Mozambique coal assets and failing to disclose mounting losses.

The worlds second biggest miner vowed to vigorously defend the allegations, while announcing it had separately settled a case with Britains Financial Conduct Authority about the timing of writing down the same projects.

Under that arrangement, Rio was fined 27.35 million pounds (US$36 million) for breaching disclosure and transparency rules by failing to carry out an impairment review in a timely manner.

The US complaint was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Manhattan court, Rio said, with the miner, former chief executive Tom Albanese and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott facing claims they failed to follow accounting standards and company policies.

The Anglo-Australian giant bought its Mozambique assets for US$3.7 billion in 2011 and sold them for just US$50 million three years later, forced to write off $US3.0 billion from its value.

Albanese ultimately lost his job over the issue.

The SEC contends the company failed to accurately value the acquisition and hid or delayed disclosure of the mounting losses.

As alleged in our complaint, Rio Tintos top executives allegedly breached their disclosure obligations and corporate duties by hiding from their board, auditor, and investors the crucial fact that a multi-billion dollar transaction was a failure, said the SECs co-director of its Enforcement Division Stephanie Avakian.

Fellow co-director Steven Peikin added in a statement: Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch.

They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth.

Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto Limited, Albanese, and Elliott are charged with violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of US federal securities laws.

The regulator is seeking injunctions, a return of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest, and civil penalties. It also wants Albanese and Elliott banned from serving as public company officers or directors.

According to the SECs complaint, Rio acquired the Mozambique projects shortly after disclosing huge losses at its previous large-scale acquisition, Alcan.

Both took place under Albaneses leadership.

It claims the African asset failed as it was based on the incorrect assumption that Rio could inexpensively mine, transport, and sell large quantities of high-quality coal, chiefly using barges for shipping.
The US not only provided Pakistan intelligence about an American woman and her family held by the Haqqani Network, but also threatened that it may send in a team of Navy SEALs similar to the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, if Islamabad did not respond to the information, according to a news report.

Pakistan did deliver, securing the release of Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their three children last week, who had been held captive for five years after being kidnapped in Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that a CIA drone hovering over a Haqqani Network compound in Pakistan in September had picked up grainy images of a woman and children among the fighters. They looked like Coleman and her children.

Commandoes of Navy SEAL Team 6  the elite group that founded and killed bin Laden in Abbotabad in 2011  began training for an operation on the compound, which the report said was in Pakistan. But the operation was never launched over unspecified concerns.

US intelligence soon observed the terrorists were preparing to move the family further inland into Pakistan. Alarmed, the Americans instructed their ambassador David Hale to deliver an urgent message to Islamabad: Resolve this, or the United States will, according to the news report.

Implicit in that message was the threat that failure to act would lead to a SEAL raid on Pakistani soil and a repeat of the humiliation that it brought them. Also, it would reinforce US perception that Islamabad (or Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered) was in with the Haqqani Network.

Pakistan understood. It launched an operation based on US intelligence and rescued the family from their captors in a dramatic operation, which Pakistanis said involved shooting the tires of a vehicle where the prisoners were being transported. No one from among the terrorists in the vehicles was captured.

Some US officials have been leery of this account and maintain the family was handed over to the Pakistanis. The White House and the state department have both preferred to use the phrase secured the release of the family, not rescue.
Pakistan has arrested at least 25 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing illegally in its waters, officials said on Wednesday.

The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) made the arrests over the last four days, impounding four wooden boats, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He added: The arrested fishermen have already been handed over to police, who will produce them in a court on Thursday.

Senior local police official Adeel Chandio confirmed the arrests.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border is not clearly defined and many boats lack the technology to fix their precise location

The fishermen often languish in jail, even after serving their terms, as poor diplomatic ties between the two neighbours mean fulfilling bureaucratic requirements can take a long time.

Pakistan released 78 Indian fishermen held for trespassing into its territorial waters in July.
A second US federal judge has blocked President Donald Trumps latest effort to restrict citizens from eight countries from entering the United States, dealing another legal blow to the administrations third bid to impose travel restrictions.

US District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland, in a ruling filed overnight, said the plaintiffs challenging the policy were likely to succeed in proving that it violated the non-discrimination law to the extent that it bars entry by immigrants on the basis of nationality.

Trumps bid would have taken effect this week but was blocked on Tuesday by a US federal judge in Hawaii in a separate challenge.

Together, the pair of rulings set up a high-stakes battle over the presidents executive authority that is expected to ultimately wind up before the US Supreme Court.

Trumps latest order targeted people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as certain government officials from Venezuela.

The open-ended ban, announced last month, was the third version of a policy that had previously targeted some Muslim-majority countries but had been restricted by the courts.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu said Hawaii was likely to succeed in proving that the policy likely violated federal immigration law. The White House called the ruling flawed.

Unlike the Hawaii ruling, however, the decision by the Maryland judge is limited to individuals without bona fide connection to the United States.

Chuang also found that Trumps executive order violated the US Constitutions establishment clause, which prohibits the federal government from assisting a religion, a conclusion that the Hawaii judge did not reach.

In reaching his decision, Chuang cited a string of public statements Trump made during the presidential campaign in which he touted a Muslim ban.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest ruling out of Maryland.
President Donald Trump lit a diya to celebrate Diwali in the Oval Office with a group of Indian-Americans from his administration, including ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, and members of the community, as he made a nod to a very strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trumps daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, top donor to the Trump campaign and Republican Hindu Coalition founder Shalabh Kumar and his family were also present, according to those who attended.

Barack Obama was the first president to celebrate Diwali in the White House - in 2009, his first year in office - by lighting a diya, and this grew into a major celebration over the years. First lady Michelle Obama learnt Bollywood dance steps for the White House celebration in 2013.

Today, I was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community - to celebrate Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights, Trump said in brief remarks from behind the Resolute Desk on Tuesday, flanked by his guests.

As we do so, we especially remember the people of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the worlds largest democracy.

I greatly value my very strong relationship with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, he added.

Watch | Video of President Trump celebrating Diwali in the White House

Modi and Trump have met twice so far, the first time in the White House in June, and have spoken on phone several times. They are likely to meet again next month on the sidelines of the Asean meeting in Manila.

Our Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to our country  and to the world. You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve BRAVELY in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land, Trump said.

The lighting of the diya is typically celebrated by families in their homes. Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in THE PEOPLES HOUSE. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American FAMILY.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson on Wednesday made a strong pitch for greater cooperation with India to tackle global threats and challenges such as ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of a predatory China.

He stressed that while the United States wants to work with India and any other nation to counter terrorism, it still sees Pakistan as a valuable partner and will work with Islamabad and New Delhi to reduce tensions along the countrys eastern border with India and the western border with Afghanistan.

Tillerson did not explain what steps, if any, were being considered by the US for easing tensions along the India-Pakistan border, the mere prospect of which might cause concern in New Delhi, which has historically opposed any third-country or party intervention.

The secretary, who will travel to India next week as part of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Pakistan and Afghanistan, offered the most blunt assessment yet by an US official of Chinas rise in the context of relations with India and the region, speaking more approvingly of India.

China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order  even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations sovereignty, Tillerson said in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Chinas provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the US and India both stand for.

Tillerson was scathing in his criticism of Chinas aggression: The US seeks constructive relations with China. But we wont shrink from Chinas challenges to the rules-based order, or where China subverts the sovereignty of neighbouring countries, and disadvantages the US and our friends.

And in these times of uncertainty, he added, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the US is that partner.

He went on to offer a lofty framework for ties with India, saying, The emerging Delhi-Washington strategic partnership stands upon a shared commitment upholding the rule of law, freedom of navigation, universal values, and free trade. Our nations are two bookends of stability  on either side of the globe  standing for greater security and prosperity for our citizens and people around the world.

Tillerson also spoke of growing defence ties and the menu of defence options that the US has provided to India to choose from Sea Guardian naval drones, joint production of the F-16 and F-18 and aircraft carrier platform  and said security issues that concern India also concern the US.

He did not hesitate to mention challenges in the relationship with India, especially in trade and economy, and pressed on the need for New Delhi to stay the course on reforms.

Tillerson spoke of the need to expand trilateral engagement between the US, Japan and India, which now have joint military exercises, to include countries such as Australia to secure the Indo-Pacific region that is home to three billion people, and is the focal point of the worlds energy and trade routes.

He also said the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based on its soil. Such a move would ensure peace and stability in the region and improve Pakistans international standing, he added.

Describing India as a partner in Afghanistan, Tillerson said, As we implement President Trumps new South Asia strategy, we will turn to our partners to ensure greater stability in AfghanistanIndia is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and we welcome its assistance efforts.

He added that the US and India are jointly screening known and suspected terrorists and will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations.

Noting that India has more than 170 million Muslims, the third-largest Muslim population in the world, Tillerson said: Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society.

Ashley Tellis, a leading US expert on Asia at Carnegie, said: Despite the still pervasive fears that America First means an isolationist foreign policy, Tillerson affirmed the continuing primacy of the Indo-Pacific in US grand strategy, the pivotal role of the US-India partnership in securing the Indo-Pacific, and the sharp contrast between India as a responsible emerging power and China which has behaved less than responsibly.

This is a clear roadmap for the bilateral relationship going forward  and a ringing endorsement of the strategic partnership whose significance is defined in global terms.

Tellis also said Tillersons offer  to advance each others security, sovereignty and interests while working together to make the Indo-Pacific a more secure place for others  was an invitation to India: now the only question is whether New Delhi will respond as fulsomely as is necessitated by its own interests.

Tanvi Madan, a South Asia expert with Brookings, found Tillerson blunt on China being less responsible as it rises and added the do the needful, a phrase the secretary had used, was a motto for this next phase of the relationshiptheres convergence, now there must be more or better implementation.
The third iteration of US President Donald Trumps travel ban has been halted by two judges before it was to go into effect, with one citing his past remarks on Muslims to rule the intent of the order was discriminatory.

Hawaii judge Derrick K Watson ordered the first injunction on Tuesday, staying its rollout countrywide and as the White House prepared to appeal against it, Maryland judge Theodore D Chuang slapped a halt on Wednesday, just hours before the travel ban was to go into effect.

Chuang, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama, ruled Trumps order was inextricable re-animation of the twice-enjoined Muslim ban, according to The Washington Post.

The portion of the order restricting entry of nationals from Libya, Iran, Chad, Somalia, Yemen and Syria lacking bona fide connection to residents and entities in the United States stands stayed, but that on people from North Korea and Venezuela was allowed to go into effect.

The justice department had said it would challenge Watsons ruling. The White House, in a separate statement, said: Todays dangerously flawed district court order undercuts the presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States.

These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our nation. We are therefore confident that the judiciary will ultimately uphold the presidents lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people.

Trumps first travel ban, issued within days of his taking office, had suspended the entry of people from seven Muslim majority nations  Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria and Yemen  as well as all refugees.

After it was stayed by several courts, the administration returned a few weeks later with a narrower order that had dropped Iraq from that list, and exempted citizens already issued visas. It was further watered down by the Supreme Court that forced the government to exempt those with bona fides reasons to travel to the United States, and relatives of people of these nations already residing in America. Refugees were also allowed to bypass the restriction. That order was to be in force for six months.

The restrictions in the third version were to run indefinitely  the White House said they may be lifted as they (the eight countries) work with the United States government to ensure the safety of Americans.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday said the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and such a move will improve Islamabads international standing as well as stability in the region.

Tillerson said he would visit New Delhi next week and the Trump administration was determined to dramatically deepen cooperation with India.

He also said that states that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish, in an apparent dig at Pakistan.

We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region, he said while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top US think-tank.

It is the obligation, not choice, of every civilised nation to combat the scourge of terrorism. The United States and India are leading that regional effort together, he said.

By taking decisive actions against terrorists, Tillerson said, Pakistan furthers stability and peace for itself and its neighbours, and improves its own international standing.

President Donald Trump in August unveiled his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in which he had hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to agents of chaos that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has much to lose by harbouring terrorists.

Americas relationships in the region stand on their own merits, Tillerson told the audience.

In his major India policy speech, Tillerson said India-US cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism has strengthened in recent years.

In the past decade, our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded significantly. Thousands of Indian security personnel have trained with American counterparts to enhance capacity, he said.

The US and India are cross-screening known and suspected terrorists, and later this year, the two countries will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations, he said.

We are coordinating our counter-terrorism efforts more than ever before, the secretary of state said.

In July, Tillerson said, he signed the designation of Hizbul Mujahidin as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because the US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

Tillerson said India can serve as a clear example of a diverse, dynamic, and pluralistic country to others a flourishing democracy in the age of global terrorism.

The sub-continent is the birthplace of four of the worlds major religions, and Indias diverse population includes more than 170 million Muslims, the third-largest Muslim population in the world, he said.

Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society, said the top American diplomat.

He said India is a partner of the US in Afghanistan.

As we implement President Trumps new South Asia strategy, we will turn to our partners to ensure greater stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. India is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and we welcome its assistance efforts, he said.

President Trump had vowed to boost strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan. Trump had also sought an enhanced role for India to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistans Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last week warned that the Trump administrations desire to inject New Delhi in the war-torn country would be detrimental as he rejected any role for India in Afghanistan.
US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that America was open to UN reforms to expand the permanent membership of the security council but the key for India to get there would be to not touch the issue of veto power that current members are neither willing to share nor give up.

Haley also referred to President Donald Trumps new South Asia policy and his tougher approach towards Pakistan.

We cannot tolerate its government (Pakistans) or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists, she said, reiterating Trumps call for India to do more in Afghanistan.

But the UN reforms, Haley said at a discussion hosted by the advocacy group India-US Friendship Council, is much more about the veto. The permanent-five who have veto  the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China  none of them wants to give that up.

The key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not touch the veto, Haley, an Indian American, added, in a rare public discussion of the American position on Indias claim to a permanent UNSC seat, which was first endorsed by former president Barack Obama in a visit to India in 2010.

India has staked a claim to a permanent seat on a reformed UN security council, with all the same powers but along with other members of the G-4 pressure group  Germany, Japan and Brazil  has backed deferred and phased rollout of the veto power, after a transition period of 15 years.

The Trump administration reiterated US support for India during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit last June. Vice-president Mike Pence chipped in with his support in a speech to a trade body the next day. And, now the US ambassador to UN, which was the first for her, according to India watchers.

But India has been disappointed by the slow pace of the movement on the issue at the United Nations, as conveyed by officials at the recent UN general assembly meetings, in the context of secretarial and bureaucratic reforms by its leadership and embraced by Trump.

The US was not opposed to the reforms, Haley said in response to a question. Russia and China were.

While Russia has backed Indias claim, it has not been enthusiastic about reforms generally, not taking a position on any of the other claimants. China is the only permanent member not to back India but it has not backed any other country either. Diplomats concede the two countries together did indeed not seem open to reforms.

On the issue of the veto, the US and UK dont want to let go of it or share it, only France has said it was open to it. Russia remained ambivalent given its support only for India and China hasnt even gotten past the first block to even begin to consider the question of sharing or giving up the veto.
Over several nights in September, some 10,000 men, women and children fled areas under Islamic State control, hurrying through fields in northern Syria and risking fire from government troops to reach a province held by an al-Qaida-linked group.

For an untold number of battle-hardened jihadis fleeing with the civilians, the escape to Idlib province marked a homecoming of sorts, an opportunity to continue waging war alongside an extremist group that shares much of the Islamic States ideology  and has benefitted from its prolonged downfall.

While the US-led coalition and Russian-backed Syrian troops have been focused on driving IS from the countrys east, an al-Qaida-linked insurgent coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee has consolidated its control over Idlib, and may be looking to return to Osama bin Ladens strategy of attacking the West.

Syrian activists with contacts in the area say members of the Levant Liberation Committee vouched for fleeing IS fighters they had known before the two groups split four years ago and allowed them to join, while others were sent to jail. The activists spoke on condition of anonymity because they still visit the area and fear reprisals from the jihadis.

IS has lost nearly all the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq, including the northern Iraqi city of Mosul  the largest it ever held  and the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which once served as its de facto capital. Tens of thousands of its fighters have been killed on the battlefield, but an untold number have escaped. As it gradually disintegrates, theological splits have also emerged within the organisation, including the rise of a faction that blames its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, for the setbacks.

Al-Qaida will welcome ISIS members with open arms, those are battled-hardened with potent field experience, said Fawaz Gerges, a professor at the London School of Economics and the author of ISIS: A History.

The two groups both sprang from al-Qaida in Iraq, which emerged in the years after the 2003 US-led invasion, but split over ideology and leadership in 2013 and battled each other across northern Syria. Earlier this month, IS attacked the Levant Liberation Committee again, in what was seen as a revenge attack after the defections.

While IS went on to carve out a proto-state in large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate in 2014, the al-Qaida militants allied themselves with other Syrian insurgent groups and cultivated grassroots support by providing aid and other services to civilians. They remained focused on the war against Syrian President Bashar Assads forces, although theyve also crushed several small US-backed rebel factions.

But despite formally severing ties with al-Qaida last year and repeatedly changing its name, the group is still widely seen as a loyal affiliate of the global network that carried out the September 11 attacks. Brett McGurk, the top US envoy for the coalition battling the Islamic State group, has said Idlib is the largest al-Qaida haven since bin Ladens days in Afghanistan.

Two Iraqi intelligence officials told The Associated Press in Baghdad that bin Ladens successor, Ayman al-Zawahri, sent an envoy to Syria to convince IS fighters to defect and join his group. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief reporters, said this might have been the reason behind an audiotape released by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on September 28, in which he ordered his fighters not to retreat, run away, negotiate or surrender.

While al-Qaida may yet regain the mantle of worldwide jihad, it could also come under increasing threat in its bastion in northwestern Syria, as the forces arrayed against IS shift their focus to a new potentially worldwide threat.

The honeymoon period for al-Qaida, in which the so-called Islamic State absorbed most of the counterterrorism focus while al-Qaidas affiliates grew stronger, is coming to an end, according to an analysis by the Soufan Group security consultancy.

It now appears Zawahiri is seeking to consolidate the terror network and return the group to its heyday as the vanguard of a global movement, it added. That could place the militants in the crosshairs of the international coalition.

Turkey launched a limited military operation in Idlib last week aimed at imposing a de-escalation zone, one of several set up across Syria under an agreement between Turkey, Iran and Russia. The Turkish troops have yet to confront al-Qaida, but that could change if it comes to be seen as a regional or international threat.

Meanwhile, Assads forces, fresh from victories against IS in eastern Syria, may switch their focus to Idlib, the largest remaining insurgent bastion in the country. Russia, which has been waging an air campaign in support of Assad since 2015, struck an al-Qaida gathering in Idlib earlier this month, and claimed to have killed several militant commanders.

The US-led coalition has targeted al-Qaida militants on several occasions in recent years, aiming to disrupt what US officials say is a secretive cell known as the Khorasan group that is planning external attacks. A US airstrike killed al-Qaidas second in command, former bin Laden aide Abu al-Kheir al-Masri, in Syria earlier this year.
Was the loss of a patrol blimp off Maine in 1944 the result of pilot error, as the U.S. Navy maintains to this day, or was it due to a battle with a German U-boat?

When the U.S. Navy blimp K-14 went down in the Gulf of Maine in July 1944, it left behind a series of unanswered questions. The most controversial of these was whether K-14 had accidentally crashed, as a Navy inquiry concluded, or had been shot down by a German submarine. That question has never been sufficiently resolved.

The blimp was conducting an anti-submarine patrol on July 2 when it radioed a routine check-in call around 9:20 p.m. K-14 was not heard from again, and is believed to have crashed into the ocean at about 10 p.m. Six of its 10 crewmen perished in the crash, and the survivors clung to the tail fins of the wreck for more than six hours before being located and rescued. Evidence found on K-14s salvaged gas envelope and in its gondola indicated that shots had been fired both from, and likely at, the airship. Meanwhile military and civilian witnesses reported hearing gunfire and explosions around the estimated time of the crash.

Following the incident, the surviving crew members were ordered not to talk about it, orders the Navy has never rescinded. To this day, the wreck is officially credited to pilot error.

That German U-boats were in the area has never been disputed. U-233 was on a minelaying mission off nearby Nova Scotia at the time, and was sunk by American destroyer escorts three days after K-14 went down. By June 1942 alone, six months after the United States entered the war, 171 American vessels had been torpedoed off the East Coast, and by the end of the year U-boats had sunk 454 American ships. As part of its effort to counteract this submarine threat, the Navy began launching lighter-than-air craft to patrol the immediate offshore waters. These airships could fly lower and much more slowly and silently than airplanes. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and launched the U.S. into the war, the only airships then in servicemostly trainersincluded four K-type blimps that Goodyear had built between 1938 and 1941. They were quickly transferred to patrol duties.

The K-type blimps were 251 feet long and were powered by two 425-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp aircraft engines. They carried a crew of nine or 10 men and were armed with one .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun and up to four 350-pound Mark 47 depth charges. They could reach a maximum speed of 78 mph and had a range of 2,025 miles. The blimps mission was to locate enemy submarines and then call for help; their limited armament was considered too light to directly engage a U-boat.

On the morning of July 2, 1944, Earnest and Merrill Stanley, two lobstermen working out of Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, sighted a submarine at about 10:45 some 13 miles southeast of nearby Baker Island. They said they had spied a periscope sticking out of the water several hundred yards away, moving south. The weather at the time was clear and the seas calm with little or no wind. When the men returned to port that afternoon, they notified the Coast Guard station in Southwest Harbor of the sighting.

To search for the sub, the Navy sent surface vessels and launched K-14 at 5 p.m. from the naval air station in South Weymouth, Mass. The blimp arrived in the search area around 9 p.m. and dropped to an altitude of between 100 and 200 feet, where it deployed a magnetic anomaly detector that it pulled through the water to sense any large mass of steel such as a submarine. After its check-in call around 9:20, all attempts to contact K-14 failed, and at 4 a.m. surface vessels and aircraft in the area were alerted to keep an eye out for the missing blimp.

The four surviving crewmen later reported that K-14 was flying at 250 feet when it suddenly lost altitude, did not respond to attempts to right it and crashed into the water. Copilot Ensign Ernest Sharp said he was at the elevator controls at the time. I reached up to dim the lights, sat down, and saw the indicator at 200 feet, he reported. I gave it the throttle and the nose came up a bit[but] the first thing I knew she was going in.

According to the survivors, the airships gondola quickly began to fill with seawater, and the deflating gas envelope sagged and settled over the gondola on the oceans surface. The ships engines dipped below the surface, choked and died. As water poured into K-14s gondola, the trapped crew struggled to find an exit. Most of the windows did not open, and the main hatch was sealed with a metal bar on the outside to protect crewmen from accidently falling out. Five members of the crew were nonetheless able to escape and reach the surface. Among them was Aviation Metalsmith 3rd Class Edward J. Drzewiecki, who was weak and unresponsive and died later that night. The five remaining crew members never cleared the wreck and drowned.

The survivors clung to the crafts tail fins and the still-floating section of its envelope, trying to stay warm in the 55-degree water. Finally, at 4:55 a.m., the Navy patrol craft Patriot spotted the downed blimp east of Mount Desert Rock and about 25 miles south of Bar Harbor. The survivors were rescued and taken to the hospital at Bar Harbor, allegedly with orders not to talk to anyone about what had happened.

The airships remains were towed onto the shore at Bunker Cove on Islesford, another of the many islands dotting the area. The cove had been cleared of small boats and fishermen beforehand, but the islands residents were allowed to remain. There the blimps gondola was found to be 95 percent wrecked, with the bodies of two dead crewmen still aboard. (The bodies of the two other crewmen were never found.) Preliminary examination of the wreckage also revealed two depth charges missing and 15 to 20 .50-caliber shell casings in the gondola. There were also what appeared to be bullet holes in the underside of the K-14 gas bag near the gondola, which were consistent with the caliber of anti-aircraft ammunition fired from German submarines. It was also discovered during the salvage operation that the entire rear portion of the blimps gas bag was missing, something not known to have happened before to a K-type blimp.

As the investigation widened, a naval reserve lieutenant who had been on patrol at the time of crash reported that he and all hands on his ship heard the explosion of two depth charges to seaward about 40 minutes before the estimated time of the blimp crash. Warrant Officer W. Meytrott was aboard a ship stationed off Schoodic Point when he and three other men distinctly heard what sounded like six pom-pom shots, possibly from a 20mm gun at about 9:52 p.m. He recalled seeing the blimp a half-hour earlier, heading from Schoodic Point toward the area where it crashed. He estimated K-14 would have been in the area from which he had heard the gunfire.

Local fishermen reported they had seen flashes in the distance and heard two explosions, while three men stationed on another nearby island also reported hearing gunfire and an explosion, as did some area residents. Arlene Spurling, who had grown up in Southwest Harbor and was a teenager at the time, told the Mount Desert Islander newspaper, which in 2012 ran a series of articles on the K-14 incident, that she was sitting on the front porch of her home when there were flashes to the east and we heard shots and the thuds of large explosions.

In all, a secret Navy operational intelligence report filed on July 6 listed eight witnesses who reported gunfire and explosions around the time of the crash, and concluded the loss of K-14 could have been as a result of enemy action.

The Mount Desert Islander also reported in its 2012 series that unbeknown to the four K-14 survivors, a stenographer had been hidden in proximity to the room where they were receiving medical aid to record anything they said among themselvesan unusual security measure. No record of those conversations has ever surfaced, the newspaper noted, although the Bar Harbor bases commander at the time said in his memoir that nothing differed from the official transcript.

The alleged bullet holes in the blimps gas bag, the Navy suggested, were probably caused by grappling hooks used in the salvage operation, and the missing depth charges could have been jettisoned in the moments before the crash as a safety precaution. It has offered no explanation for the shell casings found in the K-14 gondola or for the eyewitness reports of gunshots and explosions.

The Navys final explanation for the crash was that the blimp was flown into the water during low-level operations. Although the Navy blamed pilot error, none of K-14s survivors was ever court-martialed or disciplined for the alleged error. It is generally accepted that the incident was swept under the rug to prevent panic among the public and to maintain the morale of blimp crews.

That explanation made sense in 1944, but its now 73 years later.

Fred Morin of Plymouth, Mass., who has been researching the K-14 incident for more than a decade, is among the investigators who insist that the available evidence clearly shows the blimp was shot down. Morin has interviewed survivors of the crash, and claims that copilot Carl Levine admitted to him that K-14 had been attacked. When the two men were alone during an interview, Morin said he asked Levine to tell him outright what had happened. Of course we were shot down, Morin said Levine replied. How do you think we ended up in the water? That quote, however, cannot be independently verified.

Morin has questioned the Navys refusal to release the results of several inquiries into the accident. Researchers have also pointed to a menu from the officers club at the Bar Harbor naval base that was taken by one of K-14s surviving crewmen as a souvenir. One of the rescue personnel signed the menu with the notation, Wishing you the best of everything although youre the only one that surprised a Bosch sub, an indication that both the K-14 crew and its rescuers knew the blimp had been attacked and shot down.

The shell casings in the gondola, the missing depth charges and the damaged gas envelope, plus at least eight eyewitness reports and an unverified claim by one of the surviving crew members make a strong case that K-14 was attacked that July night and brought down by a German submarine. So why, more than seven decades later, Morin and other investigators ask, is the Navy still clinging to an explanation thatalmost from the time it was first madehad more holes than were found in the K-14 gas bag?

[The Navys] excuses do not hold water and can be refuted relatively easily, Morin said. It would be to their credit to give out a few Purple Hearts and close the matter.

Chuck Lyons is a retired newspaper editor and a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in numerous periodicals. Further reading: Forgotten Weapon: U.S. Navy Airships and the U-boat War, by William F. Althoff.

This feature appeared in the November 2017 issue of Aviation History Magazine. Subscribe today!
In 1539 Franciscan friar Marcos de Niza set out to explore the region north of Sonora, Mexico, fabled to contain untold riches. Fray Marcos found no gold, but he is credited with being the first European to set foot on U.S. soil west of the Rockies.

Following in Fray Marcos footsteps in 1736, Jesuit priests found rich silver veins in the Patagonia Mountains. More than a century passed before Mexican prospectors filed the first substantial claim, establishing the Patagonia Mine in 1857.

Two years later Lieutenant Sylvester Mowry left Army service at nearby Fort Crittenden and bought the Patagonia claim for $20,000, unabashedly renaming it for himself. Investing in a dozen blast furnaces, Mowry refined some $1.5 million in lead- and silver-rich galena ore over the next few years. The proud Arizona booster also stumped for its separation from New Mexico Territory.

In 1859 Tubac newspaperman Ed Cross ripped Mowry in print for his boastful stump speeches, so the offended mine owner challenged the editor to a rifle duel. Thankfully, both men proved poor shots, and after firing wildly a few times, they put up their guns, shook hands and toasted one anothers health.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, rivals accused Rhode Island native Mowry of supplying lead to the South for bullets. In June 1862 the Army arrested him and imprisoned him at Fort Yuma. Though released that November for lack of evidence, Mowry lost the mine to public auction for $4,000 less than its peak weekly profit. He died penniless in 1871 at age 39.

In 1873 the Indian agent at Fort Bowie ordered rancher David Tecumseh Harshaw to remove his cattle from Apache land and relocate farther south to the San Rafael Valley. A few years later Harshaw was out tending beeves in the Patagonia foothills when he discovered a rich silver vein. By 1880 his Hermosa Mine was yielding $100,000 a month in ore, and Harshaw sold out, a happy ex-rancher and ex-miner.

At its peak the town of Harshaw boasted 2,000 residents, its own newspaper, a post office, stores, hotels, boardinghouses, corrals and seven saloons. By 1882, though, all was bust, as flooding, a fire and a drop in silver prices sent prospectors packing.

Tucsonan James Finley bought the mine in 1887 for a mere $600 and turned things around, but when he died in 1903, the town died with him. His house lies up a side road east of the main town intersection, just past the redbrick schoolhouse. Be sure to visit the cemetery with period headstones west of the intersection.

In 1889 mining and appliance magnate George Westinghouse bought up claims around the supply town of Washington Camp and formed the Duquesne Mining and Reduction Co. The dilapidated mining office abuts the road in Duquesne.

While Westinghouse pursued mining in Duquesne, Colin and Brewster Cameron started a cattle ranch farther east in Lochiel, named for the brothers Scottish hometown. Lochiel later served as a customs station. Its 400 or so residents weathered raids by Apaches, rustlers and even Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa. Film producers paid more welcome visits in the 20th century, using the San Rafael Valley as a backdrop for the productions Oklahoma, Tom Horn and MonteWalsh.

Accessible from AZ 82 in Patagonia, Harshaw Road/FR 49 runs south about 17 miles to Duquesne Road/FR 61. From there you can drive east to Lochiel for views of the San Rafael Valley or loop west toward Nogales for mountain vistas past the remains of the Kansas Mine.

For more information about the Harshawto-Lochiel circuit, including GPS waypoints, read Backcountry Adventures Arizona, by Peter Massey, Jeanne Wilson and Angela Titus, or Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, by Philip Varney.

Originally published in the February 2011 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
This Was Our Scene by Irish photographer Gregory Nolan will be showing at the Dublin venue until October 22...

London, the mid-noughties, a scene. The Libertines, Mumford and Sons, Frank Turner, Dan Smith (later of Bastille), Florence and the Machine, Razorlight and others, though inhabiting different genres, were filling clubs and venues all over the city. And then there were the fans - young, dedicated, party people; serious music lovers.

It was the best of times and Gregory Nolan, a young Irish photographer, was there. On stage, backstage, moving between increasing numbers of devotees, Nolans near non-stop photography produced a truly unique visual record of those unforgettable nights.

It was a scene too big to be ignored by the A-listers. Amy Winehouse and Noel Fielding were regulars. Although it was never about the stars, it was the scene itself. It was the energy that came from a crowd of many of the same people, dancing night after night after night. It was about their connection to the music and the musicians and DJs who provided the soundtrack for them.

The energy of youth culture and the passion of music fans are universal phenomena. What made this scene so special was the particular moment - the venues (many of which, like here in Dublin, are now gone), the sound, the organisation. It took place at a crossroads between the time of on street flyer marketing and the advent of mass online organisation. The power of the Internet was not yet mobile. This was our scene, the last before smartphones, less self-conscious and with zero risk of exuberance being tried in the courts of social media. Like the best of all scenes, it felt like the centre of the universe.

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This Was Our Scene features the after parties, venues, dance floors, stages, and backstages of the 00s scene. Nolan captured it like no one else and from every imaginable angle, but most of all, from the inside.
Roy Price, who is a close friend of Harvey Weinstein, has stepped down from his position at Amazon Studio following allegations of sexual harassment.

He was accused of sexually harassing a female producer of the Amazon series 'Man in the High Castle'.

While the British tabloids are this morning reporting how Anna Friel fled a house party after Price made inappropriate sexual advances towards her.

Price was caught up in the Weinstein sex scandal last week when it was claimed that he "ignored" the 'Charmed' actress Rose McGowan when she told him she had been raped by Weinstein.

Following Price's decision to step down, the producer in question who claimed he sexually harassed her, Isa Hackett released the following statement: "An important conversation has begun about the need to create a culture in our industry which values respect and decency and rejects the abuse of power and dehumanizing treatment of others.

"This is truly an opportunity to find a better way forward, and ultimately toward a balanced representation of women and minorities in leadership positions."
The former teen icon star of 'Sixteen Candles' and 'The Breakfast Club' has opened up about how a film director "stuck his tongue in my mouth" when she was only 14-years-old.

Writing in the new edition of The New Yorker magazine about the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal, Molly has decided to drop the shocking news about her own personal experiences of being both sexually assaulted and sexually harassed on film sets.

Molly claims a married film director "stuck his tongue in my mouth.

"When I was 14, a married film director stuck his tongue in my mouth on set. At a time when I was trying to figure out what it meant to become a sexually viable young woman, at every turn some older guy tried to help speed up the process," she writes.

Molly has also told how when she just 13-years-old an older film crew member pressed up against her with an erection.

"When I was 13, a 50-year-old crew member told me that he would teach me to dance, and then proceeded to push against me with an erection," she recalls.

She continues: "We all seem to have a Harvey story, each one a little different but with essentially the same nauseating pattern and theme. Women were bullied, cajoled, manipulated, and worse, and then punished.

While my own Harvey story may be different, I have had plenty of Harveys of my own over the years, enough to feel a sickening shock of recognition."

She also writes: At a time when I was trying to figure out what it meant to become a sexually viable young woman, at every turn some older guy tried to help speed up the process.

I never talked about these things publicly because, as a woman, it has always felt like I may as well have been talking about the weather.

"Stories like these have never been taken seriously. Women are shamed, told they are uptight, nasty, bitter, cant take a joke, are too sensitive. And the men? Well, if theyre lucky, they might get elected President.
Have a first peek at  or even a listen to!  the fantastic six-song EP from the Limerick lads.

They may be well-established musicians by now, but with all the highs of the headline slots and Main Stage performances at festivals, come the lows and money-woes of real life, which - as aspiring musicians know - can often be incredibly cruel.

Hermitage Green have condensed these contrasting feelings that artists know so well into their brilliant new six-song EP. Gold & Rust is a beautiful, rousing roar in celebration of the very thing that Hermitage Green do best - making music.

Speaking about the EP, the lads said this: "Gold & Rust - the title was inspired by a lyric that Griff wrote in the song 'Bring It On Down'. I suppose as an album title it represents the many contrasts of being in a band in 2017. The ups and downs, highs and lows, whatever you want to call it... From playing the mainstage at Electric Picnic, to getting laughed out the door of a bank when looking for a mortgage. From walking out of a sold out Olympia Theatre Dublin, to playing to 7 people in a town somewhere in the U.S. From telling your bandmates you love them and would do anything for them, to trying to kill your bandmates 'coz they piss you off sometimes. 'Gold & Rust' is the dichotomy between the struggle, and the absolute privilege of doing what you love for a living."

Hermitage Green have a string of UK & Ireland tour dates lined up for the rest of the year. Full details below.

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Listen to here:

19th Oct 2017  Cork, Opera House

30th Nov 2017  Liverpool, Academy

1st Dec 2017  London, Islington Academy

2nd Dec 2017  Birmingham, O2 Academy

3rd Dec 2017  Glasgow, O2

5th Dec 2017  Manchester, Academy
Texas electricity complaints last year hit their lowest level since the state deregulated its retail electricity market 15 years ago, demonstrating that complaints have fallen in sync with cheaper power prices, according to a report released Tuesday.

The numbers of complaints reached post-deregulation lows each of the past three years, tracking the declines in electricity prices, which, in turn, have followed plunging costs of natural gas, a fuel used to generate power. Still, the grievances remain higher than before Texas deregulated power markets in 2002 and broke up regional utility monopolies into separate transmission, generation and retail sales companies.

The transmission business of the old Houston Lighting & Power is today owned by CenterPoint Energy, the power plants are owned by NRG Energy, and sales are handled by hundreds of competing electricity retailers.

In its annual review, which comes out each fall, the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power said customers filed 4,175 complaints with the state Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the electric industry, down from 4,835 last year and a record 17,250 in 2003.

However, the highest number of complaints before deregulation was 2,062 in 2001, the last year before the overhaul.

Electricity prices were high in 2008 and 2009, but the shale boom has produced more cheap and ample natural gas ever since, allowing companies to produce affordable power and switch from a greater reliance on coal power to more electricity generated from gas-fired power plants and wind farms.

"The falling number of complaints may be explained, in part, by corresponding drops in residential electric prices since 2009," the report concludes. "Texans also have become more familiar with the state's competitive retail electricity system. This likely also has contributed to a drop in complaints since 2002."

The Public Utility Commission also has worked to strengthen consumer protection rules, while doing more to streamline the Powertochoose.org electricity shopping website, where customers can compare prices. Still, regulators concede that a lot of consumers remain confused by the process and overwhelmed by the hundreds of plans to choose from and are working to further simplify matters.
Gary Coronado/Staff

Rice University will celebrate the opening of its Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Sunday.

Lilie, the lab's nickname, features new and expanded entrepreneurship courses as well as a variety of co-curricular activities and resources. Its purpose is to support Rice students in entrepreneurial endeavors, according to a news release.
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Most economists agree that how a government levies taxes is just as important as how much it collects. And each year, the right-leaning Tax Foundation tries to call attention to this principle by publishing the State Business Tax Climate Index to compare the effectiveness of state tax policies in promoting growth and investment.

Texas ranked 13th in the 2017 edition, the same spot it occupied in 2016. Not bad, but certainly disappointing for a state that lacks both personal and corporate income taxes.

Texas should get used to the disappointment. It will never break the Top 10 as long as the state maintains an astronomical property tax, a high sales tax and the most stupid business tax in the nation.

"Taxation is inevitable, but the specifics of a state's tax structure matter greatly," the foundation's report said. "The evidence shows that states with the best tax systems will be the most competitive at attracting new businesses and most effective at generating economic and employment growth."

Wyoming and Alaska, both energy-producing states without income taxes, rank the highest. California, New York and New Jersey, each with a plethora of taxes, rank the lowest.

For Texas, the biggest black eye is the Margin Tax, which the Tax Foundation ranked as the second-worst business tax behind Delaware's Manufacturers' and Merchants' License Tax. And since the Margin Tax is paid by limited liability corporations and other companies that pass profits through to individuals, the Margin Tax becomes an indirect income tax and hurts Texas' ranking on that front.

The state comptroller levies the Margin Tax based on a company's gross receipts, or how much business it did in the previous fiscal year. Economists hate margin taxes because they are not based on profit or income, so money-losing businesses can end up paying taxes.

State lawmakers imposed the Margin Tax in 2007 to fix the school finance system, which relies on property taxes levied by school districts. School property taxes had reached statutory maximums, effectively imposing a state property tax. The Texas Supreme Court declared that unconstitutional.

Lawmakers, eager to avoid an income tax, chose to transform the tiny franchise tax that Texas charged corporations for doing business in the state. Legislators needed to raise $10 billion to transfer to school districts, which would allow them to cut property taxes.

State law allows accountants to calculate a company's margin using one of four methods, which requires businesses to keep a special set of books. Accountants often run all four options to find the one that generates the lowest tax, which also runs up bookkeeping fees.

The Margin Tax, though, never brought in as much money as expected and has created budget shortfalls ever since. And special interests have spent years lobbying lawmakers to carve out special exemptions, turning the tax code into Swiss cheese.

Legislators have managed to raise the basic exemption to $1 million in gross revenues. As a result, only 6 percent of Texas businesses pay the tax. But 100 percent have to file returns.

For years now, I've joined critics in begging lawmakers to eliminate the Margin Tax, but lawmakers don't want to replace the lost income from somewhere else because they fear conservative opponents will say they raised taxes.

When it comes to property taxes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick likes to make a lot of noise about helping homeowners, but he'd done nothing to help Texas business. That's put Texas at 37th in the nation for property taxes in a ranking that goes from best to worst.

Businesses in Texas pay tax on 100 percent of the value of inventory, placing a significant burden on retail businesses. Some industries have special methods for calculating the tax, but most states don't tax inventory.

Texas' 6.25 percent state sales tax, plus the maximum 2 percent local sales tax, puts the state 37th in the nation for sales taxes. The state tax on goods purchased by businesses inhibits investment.

The Tax Foundation also lowered Texas' ranking on the unemployment tax from 13th in the nation last year to 26th for 2017. The Texas Workforce Commission raised the average tax rate from 1.64 percent of the first $9,000 paid to an employee compared with 1.46 percent after claims outpaced payments in 2016.

No wonder that five out of the top 10 most serious problems expressed by Texas members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses are related to taxes. As the foundation points out, taxes are necessary, but how we tax whom can make a huge difference in whether government inhibits economic development or promotes greater business activity.

Generally speaking, government should never tax what it wants to encourage and heavily tax what it wants to stop. A smaller tax on more people and businesses is also better than a high tax on only a few.

Texas' tax system is as broken as the federal system and desperately needs an overhaul. We need the Legislature to stop punishing business and investment, and instead tax conspicuous consumption, bad behavior and extreme income.

Maybe then Texas' economy will grow in a way that benefits everyone.
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The family-owned Frankel Building Group has developed a Palladian mansion the size of a small hotel, a "rustic" estate spanning more than 8,000 square feet, and a lavish five-bedroom residence evoking Santa Barbara charm and affluence.

After 30 years building some of the most elaborate custom homes in town, the Frankels are launching a new company targeting buyers who don't have the time or bank accounts for multimillion-dollar custom homes.

"For the longest time people have told us that they love what we do but wish we offered something at a lower price point," said Scott Frankel, co-president with his brother Kevin.

The idea for the new company, BuildFBG, has been germinating for several years, but Hurricane Harvey sped up the launch.

"We didn't think we'd be coming to market so soon," Scott Frankel said. "People we know need houses now. They don't want to spend six months in design."

The new company will offer build-on-your-lot services. David Weekley Homes, Partners in Building, Trendmaker Homes and others offer similar programs.

The new company allows the Frankel brothers a way to tap into a demographic more like their own: Generation X buyers looking for a well-designed home from a luxury builder but at a lower price.

The new homes will be priced at around $175 per square foot, not including the land. Unlike custom homes, the costs won't vary throughout the process.

Frankel's custom homes often range from $200 to $210 per square foot, though highly specialized houses can be much costlier.

The Frankels expect many of its BuildFBG customers to come from Bellaire, Meyerland, Memorial and the Energy Corridor, areas affected by Harvey.

In the last three weeks, the company has taken five orders for new homes. At least four of the buyers experienced flooding in the storm.

"Frankel's timing couldn't be better," said David Jarvis, senior vice president of the Houston office of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. "We have to go out and remodel and rebuild a whole lot of homes."

Partners in Building, also a custom home builder with a build-on-your-lot program, has written more than 15 new contracts in Meyerland and nearby neighborhoods since the recent flood.

"We really became the dominant builder in Meyerland after the Tax Day flood and Memorial Day flood," president Jim Lemming said.

Over the last several years, Partners in Building built 30 to 40 homes in the Meyerland area, raising them 8 to 10 feet. Those houses didn't flood during Harvey.

Now the builder is looking at ways to mitigate flooding in garages. Solutions could include built-in car lifts and garages built with cinder block so if water gets in, the owners don't have to pull out sheetrock.

Lemming said demand after the flood is growing and he's being cautious about overcommitting.

"There are resource issues in the city," he said.

The Frankels said their new homes will include all the "must haves" they've learned high-end buyers want: an open floor plan, at least four bedrooms with a game room and oversized master closets, pantries and garages.

The homes will range from roughly 3,300 square feet to 5,500 square feet. They'll be built to achieve LEED certification, a energy/environmental efficiency building program run through the U.S. Green Building Council.

As of now, the builder is offering 10 different floor plans that can be applied to multiple exterior styles, including soft contemporary, traditional and European.

Frankel Building Group develops between 20 and 35 homes a year. Some take 18 months to design and build.

The brothers expect to be able to deliver BuildFBG homes in seven months from the time the first dirt turns.

Based on initial interest, the builders expect they could start as many as 10 homes in the first quarter of next year.

"We have economies of scale already in place that we're passing from one company to the next," Kevin Frankel said. "And all our trades are on board."

The homes will be built with either pier-and-beam or slab foundations depending on the neighborhood.

"We imagine everything in southwest Houston is going to be pier and beam," he said. "We believe most of west Houston will adopt pier and beam or the (homeowner associations) will start allowing it."

The Frankels are good builders, Lemming said, and the market will benefit from their expansion.

"I'm glad they're getting into it," he said. "We need the capacity."
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Silicon Valley is a uniquely American creation, the product of an entrepreneurial spirit and no-holds-barred capitalism that now drives many aspects of modern life.

But the likes of Facebook, Google and Apple are facing an uncomfortable truth: it is Europe's culture of tougher oversight of companies, not America's laissez-faire attitude, which could soon rule their industry as governments seek to combat fake news and prevent extremists from using the internet to spread hatred.

While the U.S. has largely relied on market forces to regulate content in a country where free speech is revered, European officials have shown they are willing to act. Germany recently passed a law imposing fines of up to $59 million on websites that don't remove hate speech within 24 hours.

How closely to manage the massive amounts of content on the internet has become a pressing question in the U.S. since it was revealed that Russian agencies took out thousands of ads on social media during the presidential campaign, reaching some 10 million people on Facebook alone.

That comes on top of the existing concerns about preventing extremist attacks.

In some ways it goes to a question of identity. Social media companies see themselves not as publishers but as platforms for other people to share information, and have traditionally been cautious about taking down material.

But the pressure is on to act. Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube in June created the Global Internet Forum to Combat Terrorism, which says it is committed to developing new content detection technology, helping smaller companies combat extremism and promoting "counter-speech," content meant to blunt the impact of extremist material.

The fact is the technology needed to detect and remove dangerous posts hasn't kept up with the threat, experts say. Removing such material still requires judgment, and artificial intelligence is not yet good enough to determine the difference, for example, between an article about the Islamic State and posts from the group itself.

In other words, taking down much of this material still needs human input, said Frank Pasquale, an expert in information law and changing technology at the University of Maryland. Acknowledging that is difficult for companies that were built by pushing the boundaries of technology.

"They don't like to admit how primitive their technologies are; it defeats their whole narrative that they can save the world," Pasquale said.

Employing enough people to fill in where their algorithms leave off would be a massive task given the volume of material posted on social media sites every day.

Siva Vaidhyanathan, director of the Center for Media and Citizenship at the University of Virginia, said he believes that moderating content is ultimately impossible because you can't create a system that works for everyone from Saudi Arabia to Sweden.

"The problem is the very idea of the social media system - it is ungovernable," he said. "Facebook is designed as if we are nice to each other. And we're not."

The U.S. government response has been more focused on policing than regulation, with security services authorized to sweep up huge amounts of electronic data to help them identify violent extremists and thwart attacks. Beyond that, authorities have mostly relied on the market to drive change amid fears that heavy-handed regulation could interfere with the First Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to speak out and exchange information.

European courts have had no such qualms, balancing freedom of expression against the right to privacy and community cohesion.
Scott Kelly is used to people confusing him with his twin brother, Mark.

The brothers are both engineers, U.S. Navy captains and retired NASA astronauts - and, well, they do look just alike.

"It used to be that people would think I was Mark," Scott Kelly said last week. "But after I spent a year in space, now it's gone to where more people think Mark is me."

In 2015 and 2016, Kelly spent 340 days on a mission to the International Space Station. The trip was a test of endurance, both physically and psychologically. Back on Earth now, he's written a memoir that tells the story of his NASA career, his adventures in zero-gravity and his unlikely shift from underperformer to space station commander.

* * *

More Information Author appearance Scott Kelly will read and discuss "Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery," 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Ballroom at Bayou Place, 500 Texas. Tickets ($29.95) include a hardcover copy of the book; purchase at Brazos Bookstore or brazosbookstore.com. Authorappearance Scott Kelly will read and discuss "Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery," 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Ballroom at Bayou Place, 500 Texas. Tickets ($29.95) include a hardcover copy of the book; purchase at Brazos Bookstore or brazosbookstore.com. See More Collapse

It was "The Right Stuff" that made Kelly want to be an astronaut.

As a kid growing up in New Jersey, he was a terrible student. He couldn't sit still, hated to read and didn't know how to study. He graduated in the bottom half of his class and got rejection letters from every college he applied to except one.

But then, one day early in his freshman year, Kelly went to the campus bookstore for candy and picked up a copy of "The Right Stuff," Tom Wolfe's space race book about the test pilots chosen for the country's first manned spaceflight. He opened it up and everything changed.

"I bought the book and lay on my unmade dorm room bed reading it for the rest of the day, heart pounding," he writes in his memoir, "Endurance." "This wasn't just an exciting adventure story. This was something more like a life plan."

For Kelly, it was the danger that made the story so irresistible, "the idea of doing something immensely difficult, risking your life for it, and surviving."

From an early age, he had loved risk and danger; by age 6, he was climbing up drainpipes and flying down hills on his bike. "If you were doing something safe, something you already knew could be done, you were wasting time," he said.

But the idea of being a test pilot, maybe even going to space - that was danger with a purpose, and it put Kelly's mind into focus. He learned how to study, earned an engineering degree, joined the Navy and learned how to fly fighter jets.

Naturally, fighter jets weren't dangerous enough to satisfy him. So Kelly set his sights on a NASA career.

He spent 20 years with NASA, making four spaceflights and serving as commander of the International Space Station. He has spent 520 days in space, seen thousands of orbital sunrises, commanded a shuttle and walked in the void of space.

Much of "Endurance" is about the realities of life in that environment - the mundane activities like eating, walking and tooth-brushing that become fascinating in zero gravity. At Friday-night dinners on the space station, the astronauts and their Russian counterparts shared treats such as caviar and canned trout, holding it all on the table with Velcro and duct tape.

While that can be fascinating to those of us who are earthbound, it's also difficult to imagine just how long a year can feel when you're trapped on a space station far from Earth, away from loved ones, stifled by limited freedom and privacy. On a quiet night three months into the mission, Kelly wonders: "What have I gotten myself into?"

And it's not daredevil-exciting, but Kelly also has risked his health for the sake of research - one major purpose of his year on the space station was to determine what happens to the human body when it's in space for a long time. He lost bone mass in space, has developed vision problems and has been exposed to 30 times the radiation we're exposed to on Earth - the equivalent of 10 chest X-rays every day.

"It's something I'll live with the rest of my life, not understanding exactly what kind of physical things could happen to me later in life," Kelly said. The fact that fruit and vegetables rot faster in space isn't comforting, he writes; "seeing the process makes me worry that the same thing is happening to my own cells."

In "Endurance," Kelly doesn't hold back from complaining that NASA was unconcerned with high carbon dioxide levels in the space station, which made crew members feel foggy and gave them headaches. He's just as honest about his own shortcomings - the end of his first marriage, the troubles in his relationship with his daughter.

"I think some people might cringe a little bit, but I think it's OK," Kelly said. He recalls another astronaut's biography, which detailed the author's NASA career but failed to mention he was married for 20 years and had children. "I wasn't going to do that."

Kelly gives readers fun tidbits from his life, too: his friendship with Houston entrepreneur Tilman Fertitta, his Twitter exchange with Barack Obama, his young daughter's conversation with John Glenn. He describes his brother Mark's attempts to send him a gorilla suit in a SpaceX care package: "There's never been a gorilla suit in space before. You're getting a gorilla suit."

He recalls feeling too far away in 2011, when a call came to the space station that his sister-in-law, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, had been shot in the head in a Tucson, Ariz., parking lot where she was meeting with constituents. "As astronauts, Mark and I had been confronted with the risks of flying in space," he writes. "None of us could have imagined that it would be Gabby, not Mark, whose work nearly cost her her life."

Kelly even discusses why he and his longtime partner, Amiko Kauderer, a NASA public affairs officer, haven't married: "we don't seem to see the point in it." That changed, by the way, as "Endurance" came together; the couple has been engaged since March, and Kelly said they'll probably marry next year.

Kelly, now 53, is officially retired from space travel. But he's not seeking thrills to replace that rush.

"For me, the 'flying in space' part was such an adrenaline rush that it seems like everything else pales in comparison," he said. He's content to stay on Earth.

"It's not like I have a desire to get decked out in a wingsuit and go jumping off a mountain like Batman," he said. "I don't feel like I need to find a replacement for it."

"Endurance" will be intriguing to anyone excited by NASA, space travel and the International Space Station. But there's more to it, Kelly believes. "I think it's also a story of a kid who couldn't do his homework, who had ADHD, and with something that inspired him, was able to change his life."
The Antone's Original po' boy has been much on my mind lately, ever since I wrote about my long relationship with the iconic Houston sandwich to mark Antone's 55th anniversary.

So I was delighted recently to discover that the bar at Provisions - the casual half of well-regarded The Pass & Provisions restaurant - offers a po' boy inspired by the Antone's Original on its happy hour menu, in effect 2:30-6 p.m. weekdays.

Despite the pedigree of chefs Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan (perennial inhabitants of the highest tier of this newspaper's Top 100 Restaurants ranks), the appearance of this local cuisine verite classic here makes a certain droll sense. The Pass & Provisions occupies the venerated Antone's deli location on Taft Street, and the sleek redesign of the big, rambling space even features the dramatic, bulb-lit "Antone's" sign that once hung outside.

Siegel-Gardner and Gallivan's tribute sandwich tastes like the Antone's Original grew up and went to culinary school. Graduated with honors, even. Instead of the Original's mild-mannered New World cold cuts, the piled-high meats on the reimagined Provisions version have the heft and swagger of Old World salumi: the delicate, nutty-tasting mortadella studded with delicious blobs of fat; the slick, spicy capocolla ham jumping with flavor and character.

There's a deep twang of very serious provolone chiming in; a minimalist swipe of mayonnaise to just barely suggest the original; and that all-important sweet-sour leap of chow chow, further amplified by a tart and hot pepper relish that gives all the other ingredients a kick in the pants.

More Information Happy hour at Provisions 807 Taft 713-628-9020 passandprovisions.com Hours: 2:30-6 p.m. weekdays See More Collapse

A sheaf of finely shredded lettuce and sliced tomato lend the Provisions po' boy an impression of immediacy and crunch that's quite a departure from the Antone's Original. And the crusty heft of the house baked buttermilk rolls could hardly be more different than the soft, yielding Royal Bakery custom rolls used by Antone's all these decades.

Yet despite all the tinkering and quality boosts, the overall impression hits that Antone's Original sweet spot. There's room in my world for both the mass market po' boy and the boutique version.

The $10 price for Provisions' homage sandwich is $4 over the current Antone's Original price, and I think it's worth it, both in and of itself, and for the amusing purposes of comparison. In fact, I can't wait to drop in to Provisions' exceedingly well-run bar during that long, civilized mid-afternoon-into-early-evening happy hour to eat it again. It's the perfect late lunch or early supper.

To go with it, you'll find such bargains as a daily $4 beer selection: a red and a white wine for $5; and a classic Margarita, Old Fashioned and Moscow Mule for $6. There's a daily punch and a cava, too, both for $5.

Somewhere Jalal Antone must be smiling.
When Troy Stuart walks into the atrium at the First National Bank of Alvin, he's met by two familiar green and scaly faces: Lizzy and Lucy, the bank's resident guard gators.

Stuart closes the door behind him and laughs. Lucy and Lizzy grip the curb at the side of their in-ground pool and pull their upper bodies out of the water. Their eyes are glued on Stuart, and they both open their powerful jaws, showing rows of massive teeth.

They're smiling.

Stuart laughs at them. Showboating clowns.

He drops a pail of chicken breasts on his right side and grabs a bamboo stick. He smiles as he peels the lid off the pail and pierces the first piece of chicken with the end of the stick, offering it to Lucy.

She lunges at it, and he scolds her affectionately: "Don't be pushy."

Lucy clamps her snout closed and slurps back the chicken as Lizzy jockeys for Stuart's attention. She'd like a piece too, please.

"You ready?" he asks, stabbing another piece of chicken and holding it out about a foot over Lizzy's head.

She sits beneath, like a well-trained puppy waiting for its owner to bring a treat down to her level.

"Oh come on, chicken," Stuart teases, as he lowers the stick and she gently tugs the chicken away.

For Stuart, the bank's head of maintenance, it's just another Friday.

The Alligatrium

The First Bank of Alvin has been home to alligators for nearly half a century. In 1969, a rice farmer donated three 6-inch gator hatchlings to the bank, to live in its goldfish pond, according to an Associated Press story, published in 1983. The trio - J. Paul Gator, Mitzi Gator and William Teller Gator - soon grew to be about 7 feet long, and became a major attraction for locals. The goldfish didn't last long.

By the late '70s, the gators had become such a celebrated part of the bank that when owner A. Guy Crouch made plans to move to a new $4 million facility, he spent $250,000 to build them a habitat: an open courtyard with an in-ground pool and a couple of waterfalls, right at the glassed-in center of the bank's five-story building. The Alligatrium, he called it.

MUSTANG SUMMER: A wild horse. A Texas trainer. And 126 days that could change her life

Since then, J. Paul, Mitzi and William Teller have all gone the way of the goldfish. And in the mid-'90s, the bank came close to being de-gatored.

"We bought the bank back in 1995, and the first thing we said was, 'We're gonna get rid of these damn alligators,'" says Randy Ferguson, the bank's current owner.

But that, he found, was easier said than done. The gators were the bank's brand.

The bank's phone service was branded as Gator Tel; overdraft protection was Gator Aid. Then there was the logo: a giant smiling alligator drawn into the "F" in First National.

Around that time, Ferguson says, on a flight to Dallas, the stranger sitting next to him asked what he did for a living.

"I'm a banker," Ferguson replied. "We just acquired the First National Bank of Alvin."

"The alligator bank?" asked the man.

So the alligators stayed. "They're better known than we are," Ferguson says.

Jon Shapley/Staff

'Like puppies'

Stuart, the gator keeper, grew up in Alvin - his family moved there when he was in middle school - so he always knew about the gators. But he didn't see them himself until seven years ago. He first walked into the bank at age 50 to interview for an opening on the maintenance team.

He knew part of the job would entail feeding the alligators, but he grew up on a farm, and is confident around animals. So, no sweat.

"They were kind of out-of-control when I got here," he says. The previous maintenance worker used to open the alligatrium door, toss in some food - everything from dog food, to chicken necks and the occasional steak splurge, according to that old AP story - and leave again.

"You can't do that," says Stuart. He called a friend at the Houston Zoo, who offered tips. Stuart bought the bamboo pole, and began nudging the alligators' nostrils with it, to urge them to move back when he was in the room. Over time, he got Lucy, who was at the bank when he arrived, and Lizzy, who showed up about a year later, to remain in the pool when he feeds them.

"They're like puppies in some ways," Stuart says, dotingly. "They've got a little brain. But if you train them not to do things, they won't do it."

He thinks of them as puppies, or some kind of pets. Often, during his Tuesday and Friday morning feeding sessions, he'll chat with them and laugh, as people do with dogs and cats. He asks how their day is going. Sometimes he'll comment on the weather or poke fun at them. They rarely talk politics.

"You go out there and talk to them, and they don't say a word," he says. "People think I'm crazy. They want to get me in a straitjacket  'Why are you talking to an alligator?'  well, they need to hear my voice, so they know who I am."

He's grown so fond of them that he longer eats gator nuggets at seafood restaurants, even though they're delicious. And you won't find him sporting alligator boots.

But still, he knows they're not pets.

"They're dangerous. When I say they're puppies, they'll follow me around, if I'm out there cleaning or doing something. The other day, they weren't letting me do anything," he says.

They kept coming up behind him, and Lucy would hiss loudly, trying to scare him.

"They were a little aggressive, so I was like, 'Nope!'" he says.

Even so, the twice-a-week feedings are the highlight of a jack-of-all-trades job that, in addition to gator wrangling, also includes information technology work and basic maintenance. In theory, the feeding could be over in two or three minutes, but Stuart stretches it out, playing with Lizzy and Lucy as he feeds them piece by piece.

By the end, they're stuffed and struggle to keep eating. Rather than tipping her snout up to catch chicken, Lizzy keeps it resting on the surface.

"Come on," he joke-chides. "Come on, you gonna be lazy this morning?"

She sets her right paw on the pool's curb and pulls herself up slightly. Stuart feigns exasperation as he lowers the chicken, so it's an easy grab.

"There you go," he coos.
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Homesick Texan Lisa Fain's new cookbook approximates a handful of famous quesos, including the famous one originating at Felix restaurant in Houston. (You can find how to make Fain's Felix queso by clicking here.) In that vein, we mined the Chronicle archives for recipes for other celebrated quesos from Houston restaurants.

El Tiempo Cantina's Chile con Queso

Courtesy Domenic Laurenzo

2 pounds, 4 ounces Velveeta

1 cup water

 cup pico de gallo

 cup finely diced celery

cup finely diced bell pepper

Instructions: Melt down the Velveeta together with the water over a double boiler, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Once completely melted and mixed thoroughly, add the pico and remaining vegetables, which are optional. Serve with your favorite chips.

Note: Laurenzo said for a richer queso, substitute the water for milk. Chicken stock works as well. El Tiempo serves its queso with flour chips instead of corn tortilla chips.
In January, I was sexually assaulted on the 8th floor of the university library. I'd spent the morning working on my thesis, then got up to leave for lunch. Just as I passed the women's bathroom, I felt someone grab me from behind.

I turned around, polite as always, thinking the man who grabbed me had made a mistake. Maybe he'd bumped into me, or tried to touch my arm but grabbed my butt, by accident.

Still polite, when he asked me for help, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

I was wrong. The man who grabbed me would go on to expose himself, then, when I tried to escape, follow me to the elevator, all while fondling himself and filming the encounter with his phone.

When I screamed, no one noticed. No one came. I hadn't noticed I was the only person on the floor. The only exit I knew of was the elevator, which he was blocking.

In all the hazy, terrifying emotions that ran through my head, one of them was: How could I have let my guard down?

FOR A few hours, I had been working in the sunny, day-lit, open floor of the library, and for this span of time, I'd completely forgotten my caution. I'd forgotten that I was vulnerable, in the way that all women are.

Ask any woman about her own guarding mechanism, and she'll tell you about not going out alone at night. She'll tell you about being careful around men, both strangers and familiar ones. She'll tell you about the trips she never took, the opportunities she never pursued, the jobs she had to leave behind, all because she felt unsafe. Women carry an awful burden  the feeling that we are somehow responsible for the actions of others. In the world we live in, where women who speak up are often ignored, punished or made to feel implicated in their own assault, this burden of responsibility is all too real.

I was raised Mormon, a religion known for its emphasis on women's modesty, a teaching that often translated into holding women responsible for men's actions. Throughout my teenage years, this attitude was reinforced, again and again, as we were advised to dress modestly, so that the men around us wouldn't be vulnerable to impure thoughts.

SEXUAL ASSAULT: #MeToo: Women tell their stories

As a teenager, every summer, I went to a church girls' camp. One year, a police officer came to speak to us about self-defense. One piece of advice he gave was to dress modestly. He advised us to avoid wearing skirts above the knee or sleeveless shirts or having extra piercings. To dress immodestly was to invite rape, he told us.

I was born in 1985. I am only a few years older than Elizabeth Smart, a fellow Mormon, who pointed to similar modesty lessons as contributing to her nine months of captivity with a captor who continually raped her. In Smart's case, her burden was a commonly taught lesson that compared women who lost their virginity outside of marriage to being a chewed-up piece of gum or a licked cupcake.

Even now, my mother still thinks this way. As an adult, when I told her about the police officer's lesson, she told me his advice was simply common sense.

But women are still assaulted and harassed every day. They are assaulted and harassed while wearing long skirts and short skirts. Long sleeves and tank tops. Having no piercings or many. They are assaulted and harassed by lovers, friends, acquaintances, bosses, complete strangers. They are assaulted and harassed in libraries, in alleys, in homes, in hotels, in workplaces.

THE CULTURE I was raised in is a microcosm of the world at large. The implication goes deep. As women come forward, speaking about abuse that happened in the past, at the hands of men powerful enough to ruin their careers, the reactions are still to blame the women. Women are blamed for not speaking up. They are blamed for trying to pursue a career or a career opportunity, and, in that pursuit, coming up against an assaulter who was in a position of power. We are somehow responsible for the actions of men.

We live in a world where a man can get caught on tape bragging about grabbing women without their consent and instead of believing the women who came forward, people dismiss the words as "locker-room talk" and go on to elect the man as president. A film producer can spend years preying on vulnerable women, destroying their careers if they try to speak up, with an entire industry aware of the problem.

GRAY MATTERS: Why #MeToo can be for men, too

I wish that we believed women when they speak out about assault. I wish that we lived in a world that blamed assault on the person who did the assaulting, rather the assaulted. I wish we lived in a world that honored and listened to the experiences of women. I wish we lived in a world where it is safe to speak up about assault.

I wish we lived in a world that talked less about how to prevent being assaulted and more about how to prevent assaulters from hurting and harassing people in the first place.

MY ASSAILANT was never caught. There were no cameras, either by the women's bathroom or by the elevator, that could capture his face. By the time I got to safety, he was long gone.

I managed to escape by running down the emergency stairwell in what was a desperate move, as I had no way of knowing if that attempt would lead me to safety or would simply trap me even further.

I was lucky. I escaped. As it turned out, that particular stairway had a security camera, a fact that, in retrospect, implies that he was familiar with the layout of the library enough to avoid detection. Ten months later, I don't think he will ever be caught, and, based on his actions, I'm willing to bet he has hurt other women in the past and will probably hurt more women in the future.

It's hard, knowing he is still out there. It's hard knowing more women will likely go through the same experience.

Even now, I know that I have the privilege of being able to speak about this particular assault. I am the "right" sort of victim, having been assaulted in a safe place, by a complete stranger, while wearing jeans and a sweater, rather than being a victim who was dressed "wrong," or in the "wrong" place, or around the "wrong" people.

Even with all that, I still carry society's internalized guilt, as though I am still somehow to blame for letting my guard down.

Enough is enough. Assaults happen because of someone's decision to hurt another person. If we are to ever change as a society, if we are ever to become better, then we have to recognize that, and we have to change. We have to be better.

Rachel Fairbank is a science writer living in Houston.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It is a microcosm of the world at large.
Notorious Houston serial killer Anthony Shore won a stay Wednesday hours before his scheduled execution, after he agreed to tell prosecutors about other murders he may have committed and divulged plans to falsely confess to one he didn't.

The last-minute push for the Tourniquet Killer's reprieve came after the condemned man revealed that fellow death row inmate Larry Swearingen begged him to take responsibility for the 1998 Montgomery County slaying of college student Melissa Trotter, according to prosecutors.

Instead, Shore came forward and confessed to the plot.

The revelation sparked a flurry of legal machinations as Montgomery County prosecutors fired off a letter Monday asking the governor to halt the execution. Instead, state District Court Judge Maria Jackson approved resetting the killer's date with death in response to a request from Harris County prosecutors.

Now, the former tow truck driver is slated to die by lethal injection in Huntsville on Jan. 18, the soonest date legally available.

Sitting in a holding cell outside the execution chamber, Shore showed little emotion upon hearing of the court's decision, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark.

"If this was my day, God's will be done," he told Clark. "He gave me another day."

DEATH ROW SCHEME: Inmate wanted Tourniquet Killer to take blame

Prosecutors made clear justice will be served in Huntsville.

"Anthony Shore is a serial killer," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. "A Harris County jury said he deserves to die."

Even Shore's family hopes the end is near.

"It is frustrating," said his youngest daughter, Tiffany Hall. "He can only avoid the inevitable for so long."

Shore confessed to killing four young women and raping another in a gruesome string of strangulations that shook the Houston area over a nine-year period starting in 1986. But his family told the Chronicle this week that they believe he may be responsible for other slayings.

In recent weeks, Shore refused to discuss the Trotter murder with authorities but said he would answer written questions from the Harris County DA's office "regarding his commission of other murders  on the condition that his responses would be revealed by his attorney after his execution," according to Montgomery County DA Brett Ligon's letter to Gov. Greg Abbott

Ligon said he is "absolutely certain" of Swearingen's guilt in the Trotter case.

"Permitting Shore to claim responsibility for that crime after his execution would leave a cloud over the judicial proceedings in Swearingen's case," he wrote.

Swearingen is set to be executed Nov. 16.

Officials first got wind of the killers' plans back in July, when Harris County prosecutors oversaw a search of Shore's cell in anticipation of a last-minute appeal centered around mental health claims.

But what they uncovered didn't relate to Shore's case; it stemmed from Swearingen's.

In a folder, prosecutors found about 10 items pertaining to Trotter's death, including everything from photos to a December 1998 calendar to a hand-drawn map. It looked more like Swearingen's writing than Shore's, but Montgomery County prosecutors immediately launched an investigation.

In early September, Shore's attorney, K. Knox Nunnally said his client would answer questions about other killings but wouldn't take responsibility for the Trotter slaying. The materials in his cell, he said, came either from Swearingen or from public sources.

A few weeks later, Nunnally said that Shore was no longer willing to confirm he'd gotten materials from Swearingen. Not long after, a death row visitor told investigators that Shore had confessed in a letter to Trotter's death and said he wouldn't let Swearingen be executed for the crime.

Then about 6 p.m. Tuesday  24 hours before his scheduled execution  Shore admitted the Trotter confession plan was a farce, saying he'd become friends with Swearingen and agreed to try exonerating him as a favor, according to a release from Montgomery County prosecutors. He admitted Swearingen had allegedly given him the damning map to locations containing more physical evidence from the Trotter killing.

First thing Wednesday morning, investigators swarmed a field in the Sam Houston National Forest looking for evidence based on the new revelations. It's not clear if they found anything.

"I'm sad for the family of the victims of Anthony Shore because they may have to be disappointed for a brief period of time while we sort these details out," Ligon said. "My heart goes out to them."

Sandy Trotter, who has waited nearly 20 years to see her daughter's killer punished, concurred.

"I feel for those victims' families," she said. "It's just beyond words."

The grieving mother also struck out at the killers.

"I think it's ridiculous that these inmates are plotting against the judicial system together," she said. "It's ridiculous."

If Swearingen's Nov. 16 execution date is called off in light of the abandoned scheme with Shore, it will be the state's eighth thwarted attempt to end his life.

Montgomery County's only death row inmate, the Willis man was convicted of raping the 19-year-old college student before strangling her with pantyhose and dumping her body in the Sam Houston National Forest.

Since then, prosecutors have repeatedly asked for execution dates  four of which a judge approved  only to have their efforts derailed by dogged appeals surrounding bids for DNA testing.

"We agree with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office that the governor should reprieve Anthony Shore so that his involvement in the Trotter case can be examined," Swearingen's attorney, James Rytting, said Wednesday.

He expressed hope that a stay could expose Shore's "potential involvement in the Trotter case, but also in other possible murders since he is a serial killer and there may be other victims out there."

Shore's lawyers did not return requests for comment.

Other victims?

Even before officials uncovered the plot, Shore's own family voiced concerns of a last-minute confession.

"He's good at keeping things hidden," his sister Laurel Scheel said earlier this month.

Gina Shore, another sister, also speculated about the possibility of additional victims.

"I know in my heart without a doubt that there are more," she said. "There had to have been other girls."

As far back as July, Shore hinted to his family that the October execution wouldn't go through as planned.

"Just a quick note to let you know that my execution is scheduled for Oct. 18, 2017," he wrote his father in a letter shared with the Chronicle. "I will likely get a stay, but ya' just never know. I'd prefer to live a bit longer but am ready if it's God's will."

Then on Tuesday, Shore dropped more hints about a different outcome when his youngest sister paid him a visit.

"He said that there was a possibility that he wouldn't go today," Scheel said Wednesday morning. "But I didn't ask him why  I didn't want to empower him."

The former telephone technician was convicted in 2004 of raping and murdering Maria del Carmen Estrada, and begged the court for the death penalty when he appeared for sentencing.

Shore's victims date back to at least 1986, when he slaughtered 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay. Six years later, he raped and murdered 21-year-old Estrada before leaving her naked body in the drive-through of a Spring Branch Dairy Queen.

In 1994, he killed 9-year-old Diana Rebollar. When her battered body was found, she was wearing only a black Halloween T-shirt with a ligature twisted around her neck.

Less than a year later, he murdered 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, then called a local TV station to report a serial killer on the loose.

The cases went unsolved for nearly two decades. Shore was forced to register as a sex offender for molesting his two daughters, placing his DNA into a state registry. But it was another five years before authorities tested old evidence that allowed them to link Shore's his DNA to the Estrada cold case.

When they brought him in for questioning, Shore coolly confessed to a string of rapes and murder in the Harris County area.

But even though he asked for death at sentencing, the condemned killer has spent more than a decade fighting his fate.

In his final appeals rejected by courts earlier this month, Shore's lawyers argued that brain damage from a 1981 car wreck rendered him morally inculpable, likening it to executing an intellectually disabled prisoner.

But a court disagreed, and shortly thereafter the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles slapped down his bid for clemency.
A 54-year-old Pasadena woman admitted embezzling nearly $2 million from Chevron Philips Chemical Co., according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Darla Kay Beede used company credit cards for her own personal benefit, the release said. She used the cards to buy pre-paid debit or gift cards and copper wire.
President Donald Trump created doubt and confusion Wednesday about a bipartisan deal to prop up Obamacare exchanges, saying on Twitter that he won't support "bailing out" insurance companies that have profited from the health-care legislation.

As soon as the deal was announced Tuesday, the Trump administration was sending conflicting signals about the pact reached by Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democrat Patty Murray of Washington, which also faces ambivalence from some Republican senators and outright hostility from many House Republicans.

His Wednesday tweet added to the uncertainty: "I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care." He didn't specifically say whether he opposes the legislation or whether he considers it a bailout of insurers.

Coming days after a decision by Trump to scrap subsidy payments to Obamacare insurers, the deal is likely the only Obamacare legislation with a chance of passing Congress this year. It could help stem a flight by major insurers out of the individual insurance market in many states, with Americans due to begin signing up for 2018 coverage in two weeks.

But even though a number of Republicans are eager to prevent a collapse of the individual health insurance market, opposition from Trump would likely doom the measure.

Trump has appeared to try to straddle the divide in his party on Obamacare, both encouraging Alexander to reach a deal with Murray and reveling in dismantling the Affordable Care Act. Alexander said Trump pushed him in phone calls last week to reach a short-term deal to stabilize the Obamacare exchanges. But the president also gloated on Oct. 14 after shares of health insurers fell following his order to end payments to help cover the cost of policies for low-income consumers.

"Health Insurance stocks, which have gone through the roof during the ObamaCare years, plunged yesterday after I ended their Dems windfall!" he said on Twitter.

Alexander said at an Axios event that Trump called him Wednesday morning and said he'll review the bill and see if there's anything he wants to add. Senators plan to introduce the bill on Thursday, Alexander said.

Trump acknowledged Tuesday that he had encouraged Alexander to reach a deal with Murray, but said he wanted to ultimately see states given blocks of money and be allowed to set up their own programs.

"The solution will be for about a year or two years; it'll get us over this intermediate hump," Trump told reporters.

But within an hour of his remarks, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told Bloomberg TV that "the president wasn't interested in signing the original version of Alexander-Murray." He added, "It could be packaged with some type of larger deal."

Marc Short, the White House legislative director, emerged from a Tuesday lunch meeting where the deal was discussed saying the White House wants bigger concessions, including doing away with the part of the law requiring everyone to have insurance, either through their own policy or their employer.

Later, speaking at the Heritage Foundation's annual President's Club meeting, Trump added: "While I commend the bipartisan work done by Senators Alexander and Murray -- and I do commend it -- I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies."

Alexander late Tuesday sought to assuage Republicans who may be wary of taking the limited action on a health program they campaigned to end altogether. On the Senate floor, he said the plan should be seen as an incremental move that can be followed later with other actions.

"Once we complete this limited first step we can take a second and a third step. I want to undersell this proposal instead of oversell it," he said on the Senate floor. "It has significant advantages. But it is only a limited first step."

The two-year deal would allow crucial subsidies to health insurers to start flowing again, potentially lowering insurance premiums for those in the program next year.

The package would give states new flexibility on how their Affordable Care Act markets are run. It will also encourage states to meld their markets together, and let more people buy low-cost, limited-coverage plans.

The flexibility would allow states to implement Obamacare in a way that provides customers coverage similar in affordability to plans under the current law. At the same time, states can't degrade consumer protections Obamacare requires plans to offer, such as maternity care, mental health services and a ban on discrimination against pre-existing conditions, Murray said on the Senate floor.

The agreement also restores some of the money the Trump administration slashed for outreach regarding open enrollment in Obamacare plans.

"We compromised on the outreach funding and have agreed we will spend about twice as much or more than President Trump wanted to spend but we will do most of that in grants to the states," Alexander said.

The administration had cut advertising spending by 90 percent down to $10 million for the sign-up period starting at the beginning of November. It also reduced payments by 39 percent to groups that help people choose among their health insurance options.

Perhaps the chief obstacle to the deal being enacted is the wariness of some key Republicans to embrace it.

Last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin praised Trump for planning to end the payments and he has never encouraged any short-term fix to stabilize the exchanges.

Resistance to the proposal is already building in the House. Rep. Mark Walker, who heads the conservative Republican Study Committee, said that GOP lawmakers should be focused on repealing Obamacare, not propping it up.

"This bailout is unacceptable," the North Carolina lawmaker said in a tweet from the group's account.

But other conservatives sounded more open to the deal, including House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who praised Alexander and Murray and said the deal "is a good start and a welcome expansion from earlier discussions."

In the Senate, Republican leaders still are recovering from the July collapse of their drive to replace Obamacare. Alexander told reporters this week that the leadership team was focused now on a tax overhaul and not on his efforts to stabilize the exchanges.

McConnell didn't commit to putting the compromise plan on the Senate floor after a closed-door meeting Tuesday of all Republicans in the chamber, where Alexander summarized the accord.

"We haven't had a chance to think about the way forward yet," McConnell told reporters.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Alexander-Murray package got "broad support" during Senate Democrats' weekly lunch at the Capitol.

"We think it's a good solution," he said. "I think there's a consensus that we need short-term stability."

The health-insurance subsidies, called cost-sharing reduction payments or CSRs, have been a major factor in the increased premiums plans say they'll charge next year. The subsidies help lower-income people with co-pays and other costs they face when they see a doctor or pick up a prescription.

A federal court ruled the CSR payments improper because of how the 2010 law was written, and the matter is currently before an appeals court. The Trump administration announced last week that it was cutting them off, leaving health insurers and hospitals wondering what would happen for the rest of this year and for 2018.

Funding the cost-sharing subsidies would spare insurers more than $1 billion in financial losses this year, and could let them lower premiums for 2018. But with rates already set for 2018, it's not clear whether insurers and state regulators would be able to bring premiums down immediately.

Trump's tweet on Wednesday left lawmakers uncertain.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Republican leader, said Wednesday he isn't certain whether Trump opposes the bipartisan deal. "Most of us are still looking at the details," Thune told Bloomberg Television.

Before the tweet, the senator had said he saw potential for a "short-term bridge" similar to what Alexander and Murray are proposing. Republicans could do that and then later seek deeper changes to Obamacare, he said.

Thune said if a final stabilization measure gets broad support, it could be attached to another piece of legislation this fall or be considered on its own. The most likely candidate is the year-end spending bill needed to keep the government open after Dec. 8.

GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose thumbs-down vote doomed an Obamacare replacement in July, praised Alexander and Murray's "good faith, bipartisan negotiations" in a statement and said he looks forward to voting for the bill.
By the time you read this, one of the most important global political events of the next five years - if not longer - will have begun: the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The event may sound obscure to those uninterested in Sinology. It's not.

Beginning on Wednesday and expected to last for about a week, the event brings together 2,300 Communist Party members from across China. It's where the party will select its leadership - and with it, its policies - for the next five years. Given China's huge population, economy and military strength, the 19th National Congress could set the agenda not only for Beijing, but also for much of the world.

Most observers predict that the congress will put power increasingly in the hands of one man: Xi Jinping.

Xi became the leader of China after its last party congress in 2012, and this year's edition will almost assuredly hand him a second five-year term, which has become near-automatic for Chinese leaders. But some think that Xi is setting himself up to spend a far longer time holding the reins of power.

"What he wants to do is create a very personalized style of leadership where it seems there is no alternative to Xi Jinping in terms of taking the country forward," said Rana Mitter, a professor of modern Chinese history and politics at the University of Oxford, to The Washington Post's Beijing bureau chief Simon Denyer recently. "The point of comparison is Vladimir Putin, who also runs a very personalized style of rule."

There are other, less-savory reference points as well. Stein Ringen, the author of "The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century," writes for The Post that Xi's state is Leninist. John Pomfret, a former Post bureau chief in Beijing, has a more ominous warning: "Xi has positioned himself as the defender of [Joseph] Stalin's legacy."

Such proclamations may be surprising to anyone who has gone to China recently and seen what seems to be an ever-less-ideological society, happy to embrace capitalism when it suits. Xi even presented himself as a defender of international economic cooperation during a speech in Davos at the start of the year, an address many analysts saw as a rebuttal to the protectionist ideas of President Donald Trump. "We must remain committed to developing free trade and investment," Xi said through a translator.

But observers point to a number of worrying signs that what Xi doesn't want is an increasingly open China. Instead, they think, he seeks a totalitarian quashing of dissent.

The most obvious component of that move is the rapid restrictions being placed upon dissent within the Communist Party itself. "The clear objective is to eradicate the organizational means to establish and sustain patronage networks that are not controlled by Xi or his clear close allies," Victor Shih and Jude Blanchette wrote for Foreign Policy this week, pointing to the shutdown of the Communist Youth League and other actions as evidence.

Xi has used a widespread crackdown on corruption to eliminate powerful rivals, including those with strong links to previous party leaders. "Since Xi took power, the number of arrests of senior Central Committee or provincial Standing Committee officials has increased dramatically - 28 officials in 2014 alone, which is nearly six times greater than the highest number of arrests" during the second term of Hu Jintao, Xi's predecessor, Shih and Blanchette write.

At the same time, restrictions on the freedoms of average Chinese citizens seem to be expanding. Take China's famous "Great Firewall" that restricts the country's access to the global Internet: In the weeks running up to the 19th National Congress, further restrictions were added to the censoring system - including one that effectively bans anonymous users - and the government cracked down on virtual private networks, tools long used by residents of China to circumvent the firewall.

Chinese citizens' online actions are also under tighter scrutiny. The government is requiring Internet companies to establish a system to rate and score users' online conduct, and those scores would be integrated into an already-in-development system of "social credit" that has been widely compared with an episode of the dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror. Steven Lee Myers and Sui-Lee Wee of the New York Times reported this week that in the aftermath of the political disruption allegedly caused by Facebook and other online services in the United States, Beijing feels vindicated by its new restrictions.

Even China's move toward capitalism and open markets may be pulled back.

Lingling Wei of the Wall Street Journal makes a persuasive case that China's declining economic fortunes are leading Xi to turn away from markets and back to state intervention. "Xi's increasing emphasis on ideological purity leaves little room for Western-style capitalism," Wei writes.

If Xi continues to push China in this direction, the impact could be huge. China is not just an economic giant planning an ambitious "One Belt, One Road" international infrastructure project, but a geopolitical one. Richard Bush, a Clinton-era national intelligence officer for East Asia and former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, has suggested that Xi may even set a deadline for resolving the ongoing dispute with Taiwan, potentially drawing the United States into that problem. China's role in the ongoing North Korea crisis also puts it squarely at the center of high-stakes geopolitics, although the issue is unlikely to come up at the party congress.

Perhaps worst of all is the sense that Xi's desire to tighten his grip isn't born of confidence, but of insecurity - of the idea that any cracks in China's totalitarian state would lead it to crumble. The worry for the world ahead of the Party Congress is that what he cooks up instead could be worse.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that former FBI Director James Comey had intended to spare Democrat Hillary Clinton from prosecution "long before investigation was complete" into her government email practices.

In a pair of early-morning Twitter messages, Trump referred to a recently released FBI email that indicates a draft of a Comey statement about the investigation was circulating among aides in May last year, two months before Comey announced the end of the investigation and his decision not to seek charges.

"Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete," Trump tweeted. "Many . . . people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he do this - obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?"

The FBI posted the document to its "Vault" Freedom of Information Act reading room on Monday. The unclassified document, titled "Drafts of Director Comey's July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server Investigation Part 01 of 01," includes part of an email message from Comey's Chief of Staff James Rybicki, who forwarded an email from Comey asking for "any comments on this statement so we may roll it into a master doc for discussion with the Director at a future date."

The draft statement itself is redacted, as is nearly everything else in the five-page document.

The draft statement was written before investigators had interviewed several witnesses, including Clinton. But it was reported at the time by The Washington Post and other news outlets that by early May, investigators had done the bulk of their investigative work and did not expect to file criminal charges in connection with the email server investigation.

Comey announced the closure of the investigation in July, days after Clinton's FBI interview. At issue was the security and handling of classified material on Clinton's home-based email server, which she used during her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Trump's tweets revive his feud with Comey, whom he fired in May, and the Democratic opponent he defeated last year. He has twice this week referred to Clinton as "Crooked Hillary," his campaign trail nickname for her.

Republicans have seized on the internal FBI emails as evidence that Comey and FBI leadership made a premature decision to not pursue criminal charges, because they discussed how they would explain not charging her before they'd interviewed her. Law enforcement officials have said that is a misreading of how investigations typically work -- that an interview with a principal like Clinton is in many cases the last investigative step, after agents have established many or most of the facts in a case.

By May of 2016, FBI investigators felt that there was not sufficient evidence to show that Clinton or others intended to violate laws on the handling of sensitive government information, according to people familiar with the matter. Even though they felt criminal charges were unlikely, FBI officials were still frustrated by what they felt was a carelessness at the State Department in handling classified information.

For those reasons, law enforcement officials have said, Comey and his aides began preparing a statement describing their findings, to be released after her interview.

Trump said Comey had "stated under oath that he didn't do this," in apparent reference to Comey's Senate testimony in which he said there was no criminal case to bring. In his tweet Wednesday, Trump asked, "Where is Justice Dept?" apparently inviting an investigation into the existence of the 2016 email chain.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have said the FBI email chain shows that Comey began drafting an "exoneration statement" long before the Clinton probe ended. In September, Graham told Fox News that although he does not think Comey perjured himself, he wants Comey to return to testify.

"This doesn't add up, and I smell a rat here," Graham said.
President Donald Trump, in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened, the father said.

Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Sgt. Dillon Baldridge, said that Trump called him at his home in Zebulon, North Carolina, a few weeks after his 22-year-old son and two fellow soldiers were gunned down by an Afghan police officer on June 10. Their phone conversation lasted about 15 minutes, Baldridge said, and centered for a time on the father's struggle with the manner in which his son was killed - shot by someone he was training.

"I said, 'Me and my wife would rather our son died in trench warfare,' " Baldridge said. "I feel like he got murdered over there."

Trump's offer of $25,000 adds another dimension to his relations with Gold Star families and the disclosure follows questions about how often the president has called or written to the parents or spouses of those killed.

The Washington Post contacted the White House about Baldridge's account on Wednesday morning. Officials declined to discuss the events in detail.

But in a statement Wednesday afternoon, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said: "The check has been sent. It's disgusting that the media is taking something that should be recognized as a generous and sincere gesture, made privately by the president, and using it to advance the media's biased agenda."

US Army

It was 18 months before then-President Barack Obama fulfilled a similar promise made to the family of Kayla Mueller, who was killed in 2015 while she was held captive by the Islamic State in Syria. Obama's undisclosed sum, for a charity set up in Mueller's name, arrived only after a report by ABC News called attention to what the president later called an oversight.

Trump said this week that he has "called every family of somebody that's died, and it's the hardest call to make." At least 20 Americans have been killed in action since he became commander in chief in January. The Washington Post interviewed the families of 13. About half had received phone calls, they said. The others said they had not heard from the president.

In his call with Trump, Baldridge, a construction worker, expressed frustration with the military's survivor benefits program. Because his ex-wife was listed as their son's beneficiary, she was expected to receive the Pentagon's $100,000 death gratuity - even though "I can barely rub two nickels together," he told Trump.

The president's response shocked him.

"He said, 'I'm going to write you a check out of my personal account for $25,000,' and I was just floored," Baldridge said. "I could not believe he was saying that, and I wish I had it recorded because the man did say this. He said, 'No other president has ever done something like this,' but he said, 'I'm going to do it.' "

The president has been on the defensive since details emerged of his phone call Tuesday with the widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed Oct. 4 along with three other U.S. soldiers in Niger. After not addressing the incident for 12 days, Trump on Monday falsely claimed that previous presidents never or rarely called the families of fallen service members. In fact, they did so regularly.

White House officials circulated a statement of sympathy for the soldiers killed in Niger after the attack, but it was never released, Politico reported Wednesday. It is not clear why the statement was never released, but it was prepared when the Pentagon had said only that three soldiers were killed and before officials disclosed that a fourth soldier, Johnson, also was killed. His body was recovered Oct. 6, two days after the attack.

Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., said Trump called Johnson's widow, Myeshia Johnson, on Tuesday and said her husband "knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway." Wilson was riding in a limousine with the widow and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

Attempts to reach Myeshia Johnson on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Trump denied the allegation Wednesday, saying in a tweet that Wilson had "totally fabricated" what happened and that he had "proof." But the soldier's childhood guardian, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Post that she also was in the car when Trump called, and said that "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband."

Trump later expanded his denial, saying that he did not say what Wilson alleged and that "she knows it."

He added: "I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was - sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people aren't too surprised to hear that."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president, saying in a news briefing that Trump was "completely respectful" during the call. Several White House officials, including Chief of Staff John Kelly, were in the room at the time, she said.

In all, seven Gold Star families contacted by The Post said they have had phone conversations with Trump. Most said they appreciated the gesture. Four other families said they have not received a call and were upset. One said Trump had not called but that they knew the late soldier would not want his death politicized. An additional family said it had corresponded with the White House but declined to elaborate.

The Associated Press reached one other family, that of Army Spec. Etienne Murphy, 22. His mother said she received neither a call nor a letter from the president.

Baldridge said that after the president made his $25,000 offer, he joked with Trump that he would bail him out if he got arrested for helping. The White House has done nothing else other than send a condolence letter from Trump, the father said.

"I opened it up and read it, and I was hoping to see a check in there, to be honest," the father said. "I know it was kind of far-fetched thinking. But I was like, 'Damn, no check.' Just a letter saying 'I'm sorry.' "

The experiences of other Gold Star families were more typical.

The family of Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, a 23-year-old Army Ranger killed April 27 in a raid on the Islamic State in Afghanistan, met with Vice President Mike Pence at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the soldier's casket arrived from overseas. They had a 20-minute call with Trump about two weeks later, said Thomas' father, Andre.

"He gave his condolences and made some comments how different his paperwork was when it went across his desk," the father said in a phone interview. "Said most of the paperwork he sees in these types of death says, 'He's respected by his peers.' He said Cameron's stuck out because it said he was respected and loved by his peers."

Thomas said he spoke at length about his son's love for the Army and his determination to become a Ranger, a distinction he earned at age 19. About midway through the phone call, Thomas said he told Trump that he had voted for him, and "that got him on another tangent" that extended the conversation for about 10 minutes."

The president then spoke about his work in office and "the strides that he's made in the short time he'd been president," Thomas said.

Thomas said the family was touched by the phone call. The father of a Mormon family with 12 children, seven of them adopted, Thomas said he was concerned about the attention that his son's death could bring. But talking to the president helped him put things in perspective and realize that his son "belonged to the country."

"Politics is politics, and maybe some people wouldn't care to hear from him," he said. "But putting politics aside, it does mean a lot to a family, their child."

William Lee, 40, said his entire family spoke by phone with Trump after his brother, Army 1st Lt. Weston Lee, 25, was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29.

"He was very cordial and very nice," Lee said, of the call, which he said lasted about five or six minutes.

Lee said the president spoke to them about "how impressive my brother was, how he had read the reports, reading everything about Weston, and he could tell how amazing he was. And talking to us, he could tell how strong we were and how strong he must have been. We were all pretty devastated.

"It meant something, the leader of our nation calling us and showing the honor and respect to my brother that I feel my brother earned," Lee said, his voice cracking.

Quinn Butler, whose 27-year-old brother, Aaron, was killed in August by an explosion in Afghanistan, said that their parents received numerous letters from generals and other leaders, but no call or letter from Trump.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, a Special Forces soldier, was very supportive of Trump and appreciative for what he has done for the military, his brother said. Quinn Butler said his brother believed that Trump helped initiate some changes that have enabled commanders to make more progress against the militants in Afghanistan.

Butler said that he was surprised that his parents did not receive a call from Trump, considering his brother was a "very elite soldier, a soldier who had given everything." But he said that the soldier would not want his death politicized.

"I think that Aaron would be very upset if anything was manipulated to show that he didn't support Trump and that he wasn't appreciative of the things that he did do, because he was," the brother said.

Euvince Brooks' son, Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, was killed Aug. 13 in Iraq. He has not heard from the White House. The president's claim this week that he had called every military family to lose a son or daughter only upset the Brooks family more.

Brooks said that after watching the news on Tuesday night he wanted to set up a Twitter account to try to get the president's attention.

"I said to my daughter, 'Can you teach me to tweet, so I can tweet at the president and tell him he's a liar?'" he said. "You know when you hear people lying, and you want to fight? That's the way I feel last night. He's a damn liar."

- - -

The Washington Post's Julie Tate, Anne Gearan and Kristine Phillips contributed to this report.

- - -

Video: President Trump's response to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger is causing an uproar.

URL: http://wapo.st/2imTje7

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Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Tuesday promised more pre-trial diversion programs for suspects in drug possession cases and those with mental health issues.

The increased focus on sending drug users to treatment instead of jail is one of the most noticeable and significant policy changes among eight separate action plans advanced by volunteer committees that Ogg created after she took office in January.

During a press conference Tuesday, Ogg laid out in broad strokes the policy recommendations written by the committees and emphasized that she is seeking participation from experts and Houston's leaders.

"We listen to the community," she said, flanked by about 30 volunteers including former HPD Chief C. O. Bradford and Thurgood Marshall School of Law professor Lydia D. Johnson. "We are evidence-based and data driven, but it is important to know how the community wants tax dollars spent to enhance public safety."

Ogg released the full reports from committees on officer-involved shootings, evidence integrity, equality, immigration, bail-bond reform, mental health and diversity.

Many of the reforms proposed using technology and data more efficiently to streamline the criminal justice system, such as moving to a paperless district attorney's office or using evidence-based risk assessments to determine bail amounts.

Tarsha Jackson, the Harris County Director with the Texas Organizing Project, was on the bail bond committee and applauded Ogg for involving people with different backgrounds, some with conflicting interests.

"It was a tug of war," Jackson said of her committee that included a bail bondsman and a representative of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. "We had deep debate on what the district attorney can do in regard to bail reform, about what's possible. And the final results were some good policies that she can implement."

Attorney Paul Morgan, an outspoken defense lawyer who exposed the massive destruction of evidence in pending cases from a property room Precinct Four Constable's Office last year, was on the evidence integrity committee, along with a forensic evidence expert, a medical expert and others.

"There's going to be new manuals and methods delivered to prosecutors on how to handle cases so that it's more evidence based, not just on a defendant's prior (convictions)," he said.

Some of those changes include corroborating the statements from police by reviewing body cameras, something that has not been standard operation procedure in the past. His committee also supported the creation of a regional property room for the area's law enforcement agencies.

Morgan noted his committee recommended a technological move to a paperless system that begins with digital reports from police officers that would allow the defense to review evidence remotely 24 hours a day.

To download each of the action plans, visit the Harris County District Attorney's website here.
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Officials have filed charges against a suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of a man and the wounding of another Monday in south Houston.

Mertroy Harris, 27, was arrested Monday night and is charged with murder and felony deadly conduct for the incident on the 6800 block of London Street on the south side of Houston.

Harris is accused of killing Sam Johnson, 53, and shooting Walter Fields, 22, according to police.

Harris has a lengthy criminal record beginning when he was 17 years old, according to Harris County court records. In 2011, Harris was convicted of robbery and sentenced to two years in prison.

Now Playing: Officials have filed charges against a suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of a man and the wounding of another Monday. Video: Houston Police Department

There is no clear motive yet on what sparked the incident, an HPD spokesperson said.

Three other suspects  described only as men between 18 and 25 years old  remain at large.

One fled the scene on foot toward Cullen Boulevard.

According to police officers, the four armed suspects were driving a blue-colored Mazda when they assaulted the two men.

Later, the men ditched the vehicle.

One suspect, Harris, ran toward Cullen Boulevard while the other three others ran up to a dark green Kia Sedona and carjacked a woman and her 11-month-old niece at gunpoint. Neither the woman nor the child was harmed.

The three suspects remain at-large.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
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Buc-ee's fans are calling out the roadside destination for not carrying enough University of Houston Cougars gear in its locations across the Houston area.

This could be a heck of a problem in the making for the Lake Jackson-based chain of irresistible travel centers that seem to treat our wallets like a veritable ATM machine on every road trip.

RELATED: The pros and cons of the biggest Buc-ee's locations across Texas

(Just kidding, but are you gonna finish that 10 lb. bag of Beaver Nuggets?)

Now Playing: The worlds of film, music, politics and sports are filled with former University of Houston Cougars who used their time at the university to springboard themselves to bigger things. Video: Houston Chronicle

Twitter on Wednesday, KTRK-TV's Mayra Moreno got the ball rolling by asking school alums to send tweets to Buc-ee's requesting they begin adding Cougars to store shelves.

It's not hard to find Aggies and Longhorns paraphernalia next to the Texas-shaped waffle irons and folksy pillows for Grandma.

Of course, Cougars past and present - being the persistent pride they are - took the chain to task for not having enough shirts and hats representing the Houston college.

"It seems there is a 20 year old report that tells store buyers that A and M / U of T are the only two schools in the state.Confusing, really" wrote one fan.

RELATED: GasBuddy study reveals that Buc-ee's is not Texas' top-rated gas station bathroom

It's easy to find tchotchkes from other area schools at Buc-ee's locations across the state. The travel center in Waller is close to Prairie View A&M (it's a favorite haunt of students at all hours) and some school gear can be found scattered throughout the store.

Houston-area fans though aren't seeing enough Cougars gear in Baytown, Texas City, or Katy it seems, at least not enough to quell a social media revolt.

Chron.com reached out to the chain's chief counsel Jeff Nadalo to see what's up with that and will update when gives us the lowdown.
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WASHINGTON - Twenty-three minutes before the ill-fated "Heart of Texas" hot-air balloon left the ground on a hazy July morning in 2016, visibility was reported to be about five miles.

Just 11 minutes later, as the sun started to rise over Lockhart, fog was forming and visibility was down to two miles.

"Clouds may be a problem," a weather forecaster told pilot Alfred "Skip" Nichols, readying 15 passengers for what was to be an hourlong sightseeing flight over Central Texas.

"Well, we just fly in between them," Nichols said. "We find a hole and we go."

Less than an hour later, at 7:42 a.m., Nichols' Czech-made Balony Kubicek BB85Z, one of the biggest hot-air balloons in the industry, struck a high-voltage power line and plunged into a field. No one survived the fiery crash.

On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a scathing final report that not only faulted the pilot, but also the Federal Aviation Administration, which exempts commercial balloon operators from medical certificates that are mandatory for other types of pilots.

Nichols, a solo operator with a long history of alcohol and drug arrests, took off under the influence of a veritable cocktail of medications for depression, attention deficit disorder and chronic back pain. One of the medications found in his system was oxycodone, a powerful opioid pain medication.

The combination of drugs not only impaired his ability to fly, it degraded his ability to judge the worsening conditions and assess his own fitness to fly, investigators concluded.

"This pilot should not have been flying, never mind carrying paying passengers," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. "The pilot's poor decisions on the day of the accident were his and his alone, but they affected those who flew with him. Other decisions made within government, dating back decades, exempted him from having to hold an FAA medical certificate."

Solo operators escape notice

The NTSB also faulted the FAA for focusing its safety inspections on large, organized hot-air balloon gatherings. Investigators found that the agency only reported an average of 14 inspections a year of smaller, solo hot-air balloon operations such as Nichols'.

"(The FAA) doesn't capture the one-off, small operator," said lead NTSB investigator Brian English, noting that Nichols was neither a member of the Balloon Federation of America, the national ballooning organization, nor a "part of the local clique" of balloon operators between Austin and San Antonio.

The NTSB's recommendations, however, already have encountered turbulence from the FAA and industry officials who argue that medical exams for balloon pilots would make little difference, especially in light of Nichols' decision to fly in violation of federal rules prohibiting pilots from flying when they're ill or impaired.

The 2,100-member Balloon Federation has proposed voluntary safety guidelines that would leave it up to the industry to police its own commercial operators.

An FAA spokesman, meanwhile, said the agency will "carefully consider" the NTSB's recommendations.

But in testimony during the accident investigation, FAA officials noted that Nichols did not report any of his disqualifying medical conditions to the FAA, as he was supposed to. He also failed to disclose a past drunken-driving conviction when he applied for a medical certificate in 1996. Nor did he report a series of subsequent drug and alcohol arrests, one of which resulted in the revocation of his driver's license in Missouri.

NTSB officials expressed incredulity that FAA policy is to rely on self-reporting by pilots suffering from medical conditions or legal problems that could ground them. Investigators noted that the background checks involved in a medical certification could have picked up Nichols' numerous arrests and convictions.

Sumwalt also was critical of the FAA's decision to dismiss information the agency received in 2013 about Nichols' alleged drunken-driving behavior, in part because too much time had elapsed.

While the FAA has made no move to change its policy, Texas Republican Ted Cruz introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate this year that would subject balloon pilots to medical exams much like other pilots, a move applauded by the victims' families.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a San Antonio Democrat, has a similar measure in the House.

"The FAA can say it can be voluntary, but that's not going to change the operators from doing what they want to do," said Patricia Morgan, who attended Tuesday's NTSB hearing as the mother and grandmother of two crash victims. "They need to make it mandatory."

Sightseeing pictures and videos taken by Nichols' doomed passengers became part of the NTSB's presentation as exhibits that chronicled the worsening cloud conditions that blinded Nichols toward the end of the 44-minute flight.

Safety reforms proposed

Much of the discussion, however, centered on the FAA's policy. "They deserve to be hit very hard," Morgan said.

Dean Carlton, past president of the Balloon Federation, said the industry has proposed its own reforms since the crash. He also argues that the exams needed for FAA medical certification are cumbersome and unnecessary.

"Historically, there have been virtually no accidents specifically tied to medical conditions," Carlton said. "Medical certification, at some level, isn't the best measure of safety."

Instead, his group unveiled a voluntary safety program last summer to provide drug, alcohol and other background checks on pilots who want the association's stamp of approval as professional ride providers.

"Ride operators who are willing to go the extra mile and provide this information, give us their information, we can provide better information to the public, and that's a much better way to increase the level of safety," Carlton said. "If you're going to be a professional, we expect certain levels of activity."

Sumwalt, however, said voluntary industry standards aren't always what they appear to be. "Voluntary compliance is a good thing, if it works," Sumwalt said. "There has to be teeth behind it."

Pressing for new FAA rules

While Sumwalt said he welcomed the Balloon Federation's program, he added, "the devil is in the details. How are they going to enforce that?"

Sumwalt was more critical of the FAA for "abdicating" its oversight responsibilities to the industry: "I'm disappointed that the FAA appears to be shirking their responsibility."

Sumwalt also noted that given Nichols' record, it's unlikely he would have taken part in the federation's voluntary program.

State Rep. John Cyrier, a Republican who lives on a ranch four miles from the crash scene, attended the final NTSB meeting and endorsed the board's unanimous recommendations.

He said the Legislature looked for ways to regulate commercial balloon operators, but that ultimately it falls under the purview of Washington. "There was some possible insurance (regulation) and things like that, but really this is an FAA matter," he said.

Despite the critical NTSB report, as well as the possibility of action in Congress, Cyrier said Texas will have to stay involved to press for new FAA rules.

"There's no question that it's going to take all of us to push on the FAA to make this happen," Cyrier said. "We need something done at the federal level, because that's where it starts."
On Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted out an image of one of the Zodiac Killer's cryptic letters, acknowledging the meme that suggested the Republican lawmaker was the unidentified 1970s California serial killer.

Cruz tweeted out the cipher, which was used by the Zodiac Killer to brag about his murders and taunt the press, in reply to Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who accidentally spilled Dr. Pepper on Cruz during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
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KERRVILLE  Their grandson Dayvid Pakkos disappearance Monday on the West Coast was naturally worrisome, but nothing could prepare Randy and Whitney Henckel for the subsequent news that his body had been found in a trash bin and their son Andrew was accused of killing him.

Theres no words for it, a grief-stricken Randy Henckel said Wednesday. I cycle every minute between being broken down for Dayvid and broken down because my very mild, sweet, very happy son is lying on a bunk in jail right now.

Andrew Henckel, 19, was charged with murder Wednesday in Washington state after telling investigators that he drowned his nephew  whom he was babysitting  in the bathtub in the Lynnwood apartment of his sister and her boyfriend, authorities say.

Now Playing: An incredibly tragic discovery was made in Seattle after the body of a 6-year old boy was found in a dumpster. Susana Victoria Perez (@susana_vp) has more. Video: Time

However, Randy Henckel is convinced that his son, who has autism spectrum disorder, was manipulated into making incriminating statements and that someone else killed Dayvid.

Please help me. I did not do this, he quoted Andrew as telling his court-appointed attorney at their first meeting Wednesday morning.

Andrew Henckel, a 2016 graduate of Tivy High School in Kerrville, traveled to Washington state Oct. 9 to spread his wings after spending most of his life living with his parents here in the Hill Country.

It was meant to be a positive and enriching family experience, explained Randy Henckel, 55, noting Andrew had moved back home in May after two semesters at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The family soothed Andrews fears about his first airplane flight by accompanying him to the gate in San Antonio, making arrangements with the carrier for an escort when he changed planes in Dallas, and having his sister meet him upon landing in Seattle.

Randy Henckel declined to identify Dayvids mother by name, saying, My daughter is just falling apart right now and I dont want (media) people hunting her down.

He said Andrew and Dayvid, who also had autism, had hit it off and gotten along well.

But Randy Henckel said Andrew had never babysat anyone before and shouldnt have been tasked with such responsibility by his daughters live-in partner, whom he identified only as Joe.

In an emergency situation, such as Dayvid choking, I dont know that Andrew would know how to handle it, said Randy Henckel, noting his daughter was not aware of Joes decision to leave Dayvid in Andrews care Monday afternoon.

Dayvids mother wasnt initially alarmed by his absence because he had a history of sneaking off, said Randy Henckel, who quoted her as telling him, Dayvids done one of his escape artist things again.

Andrews demeanor during the same phone call Monday evening contributes to Randy Henckels certainty that Andrew was not involved in the slaying.

I was concerned that he was feeling responsible since he was watching Dayvid. I could tell there was concern, but he seemed fine to me, said Randy Henckel. There were zero red flags. It was just like he was talking to me at home. He was answering my questions calmly and normally.

He said Andrew told him he had fallen asleep while Dayvid was playing with Legos at the apartment Monday afternoon.

The next thing he knew, Joe was waking him up and asking where Dayvid was. Andrew woke up and was like, Oh boy, he said. They started looking for him together and then they called the sheriff and they called my daughter.

Hundreds of volunteers participated in the search for Dayvid, a first-grader whod stayed home from school due to illness Monday. His body was discovered about 2 a.m. Tuesday in a trash bin at the Bristol Square Apartments, where the family lived.

Obviously, this is an incredibly tragic ending, Shari Ireton of the Snohomish County Sheriffs Department told media assembled there Tuesday. We dont believe there is anybody else involved in this crime.

A news release issued by Ireton on Tuesday didnt name Andrew Henckel as the suspect since he had yet to be charged.

The release stated that the suspect told investigators that while caring for the victim between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, he admitted to filling a bathtub with water with the intention of drowning and killing D.P. (name redacted), admitted to calling D.P. to the bathroom, picking him up and placing him face down in the water, and holding D.P.s head underneath the water while D.P. struggled for approximately 30 seconds before becoming still.

It says the suspect also said he left D.P. face down in the water for approximately 6 minutes. He did not provide life-saving measures on D.P., changed his clothing, wrapped D.P.s body in a blanket and placed him in a cardboard box, which he used to dispose D.P.s body in the nearest garbage dumpster.

Randy Henckel said Andrew, the youngest of his four children, has a condition that makes it difficult to verbalize his thoughts, and he could easily be confused by a stressful situation like being interrogated by detectives.

Under any kind of duress, he just shuts down, said Randy Henckel, an employee of the Hill Country Telephone Cooperative who reported Andrew has whats called sensory integration disorder.

All of his senses  hearing and sight and vision and touch  are somewhat scrambled when they get to the brain, so he could never tolerate loud noises when he was small, like a vacuum, he said. It was very serious. It was life-affecting.

However, after being enrolled in occupational therapy through middle school, Andrew was mainstreamed into a standard curriculum at Tivy High School, where he played baritone in the marching band and completed all four years without being absent once.

Hes very likable because hes a subdued person. Hes low key. Hes not aggressive in any way, Randy Henckel said. Hes always smiling and he just goes through life and deals with things he encounters in a positive attitude. No tantrums.

He said his other daughter, Caitlyn Henckel, traveled to Washington after Andrews arrest to hire a private attorney for him and find out when he can have visitors at the jail where hes being held under $1 million bond.

Although Caitlyn Henckel had yet to see Andrew as of Wednesday, she did speak to his court-appointed lawyer, who conveyed to her his protestations of innocence, Randy Henckel said.

Marty Lenard, a former band director at Tivy, is among those shocked by the murder allegations against his former student, of whom he recalled only positive experiences.

He was never any trouble, he said Wednesday. The biggest thing that I want to say is he was a good kid. Thats whats going to be hard for people to process.

zeke@express-news.net
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban unleashed a wave of attacks across Afghanistan on Tuesday, targeting police compounds and government facilities with suicide bombers in the country's south, east and west, and killing at least 74 people, officials said.

Among those killed in one of the attacks was a provincial police chief. Scores were also wounded, both policemen and civilians.

Afghanistan's deputy interior minister, Murad Ali Murad, called the onslaught the "biggest terrorist attack this year."

Murad told a news conference in Kabul that attacks in Ghazni and Paktia provinces killed 71 people.

In southern Paktia province, 41 people - 21 policemen and 20 civilians - were killed when the Taliban targeted a police compound in the provincial capital of Gardez with two suicide car bombs. Among the wounded were 48 policemen and 110 civilians.

The provincial police chief, Toryalai Abdyani, was killed in the Paktia attack, Murad said.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement earlier Tuesday that after the two cars blew up in Gardez, five attackers with suicide belts tried to storm the compound but were killed by Afghan security forces.

Health Ministry spokesman Waheed Majroo said the Gardez city hospital reported receiving at least 130 wounded.

A lawmaker from Paktia, Mujeeb Rahman Chamkani, said that along with the provincial police chief, several of his staff were killed. Most of the casualties were civilians who had come to the center, which also serves a government passport department, Chamkani said.

In southern Ghazni province, the insurgents stormed a security compound in Andar district, using a suicide car bomb and killing 25 police and five civilians, Murad said. At least 15 people were wounded, including 10 policemen, he added.

Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor in Ghazni, said the attack was repelled and 13 Taliban were killed.

And in western Farah province, police chief Abdul Maruf Fulad says the Taliban attacked a government compound in Shibkho district, killing three policemen.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

Later on Tuesday, an Afghan official said drone strikes killed 35 Taliban fighters in the country's east, near the border with Pakistan.

Abdullah Asrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province, said drones fired missiles at four locations in Anzarki Kandaw, killing the insurgents and wounding 15 others. He said a commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Abu Bakr, and other senior insurgents were among the dead.
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Last summer, 15 people died at the hands of a hot-air balloon pilot flying on a cocktail of medications near Lockhart. The Federal Aviation Administration was warned a tragedy like this could happen, but it did nothing. Read an investigation into the hot air balloon crash and how families are coping.

WASHINGTON  Twenty-three minutes before the ill-fated "Heart of Texas" hot air balloon left the ground on a hazy July morning in 2016, visibility was reported to be about five miles.

Just 11 minutes later, as the sun started to rise over Lockhart, fog was forming and visibility was down to two miles.

"Clouds may be a problem," a weather forecaster told pilot Alfred "Skip" Nichols, readying 15 passengers for what was to be an hour-long sightseeing flight over central Texas.

"Well, we just fly in between them," Nichols said. "We find a hole and we go."

Less than an hour later, at 7:42 a.m., Nichols' Czech-made Balony Kubicek BB85Z, one of the biggest hot air balloons in the industry, struck a high-voltage powerline and plunged into a field. No one was spared in the fiery crash.

On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a scathing final report that not only faulted the pilot, but also the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which exempts commercial balloon operators from medical certificates that are mandatory for other types of pilots.

Nichols, 49, a solo operator with a long history of alcohol and drug arrests, reportedly took off under the influence of a veritable cocktail of medications for depression, attention deficit disorder and chronic back pain. One of the medications found in his system oxycodone, a powerful opioid pain medication.

The combination of drugs not only impaired his ability to fly, it degraded his ability to judge the worsening conditions and assess his own fitness to fly, investigators concluded.

"This pilot should not have been flying, never mind carrying paying passengers," said NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt. "The pilot's poor decisions on the day of the accident were his and his alone, but they affected those who flew with him. Other decisions made within government, dating back decades, exempted him from having to hold an FAA medical certificate."

The NTSB also faulted the FAA for focusing its safety inspections on large, organized hot air balloon gatherings. Investigators found that the agency only reported an average of 14 inspections a year of smaller, solo hot air balloon operations like Nichols'.

"(The FAA) doesn't capture the one-off, small operator," said lead NTSB investigator Bill English, noting that Nichols was neither a member of the Balloon Federation of America, the national ballooning organization, nor a "part of the local clique" of balloon operators between Austin and San Antonio.

The NTSB's recommendations, however, already have encountered turbulence from the FAA and industry officials who argue that medical exams for balloon pilots would make little difference, especially in light of Nichols' decision to fly in violation of federal rules prohibiting pilots from flying when they're ill or impaired.

The 2,100-member Balloon Federation has proposed a set of voluntary safety guidelines which would leave it up to the industry to police its own commercial flight operators.

An FAA spokesman, meanwhile, said the agency will "carefully consider" the NTSB's recommendations.

But in testimony during the accident investigation, FAA officials noted that Nichols did not report any of his disqualifying medical conditions to the FAA, as he was supposed to. He also failed to disclose a past drunk driving conviction when he applied for a medical certificate in 1996. Nor did he report a series of subsequent drug and alcohol arrests, one which resulted in the revocation of his driver's license in Missouri.

NTSB officials expressed incredulity that FAA policy is to rely on self-reporting by pilots suffering from medical conditions or legal problems that could potentially ground them. Investigators noted that the background checks involved in a medical certification could have picked up Nichols' numerous arrests and convictions, particularly the ones for traffic offenses.

Sumwalt also was critical of the FAA's decision to dismiss information the agency received in 2013 about Nichols' alleged drunk driving behavior, in part because too much time had elapsed.

While the FAA has made no move to change its policy, Texas Republican Ted Cruz introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate this year that would subject balloon pilots to medical exams much like other pilots, a move that has been applauded by the victims' families.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin Democrat whose district extends into San Antonio, has a similar measure in the House.

"The FAA can say it can be voluntary, but that's not going to change the operators from doing what they want to do," said Patricia Morgan, who attended Tuesday's NTSB hearing as the mother and grandmother of two crash victims. "They need to make it mandatory."

Sightseeing pictures and videos taken by Nichols' doomed passengers became part of the NTSB's presentation as exhibits chronicling the worsening cloud conditions that blinded Nichols toward the end of the 44-minute flight.

Much of the discussion, however, centered on the FAA's policy. "They deserve to be hit very hard," Morgan said.

Safety reforms

Dean Carlton, past president of the Balloon Federation, said the industry has proposed its own reforms since the crash in Lockhart. He also argues that the exams needed for FAA medical certification are cumbersome, costly, and unnecessary.

"Historically, there have been virtually no accidents specifically tied to medical conditions," Carlton said. "Medical certification, at some level, isn't the best measure of safety."

Instead, his group unveiled a voluntary safety program last summer to provide drug, alcohol and other background checks on pilots who want the association's stamp of approval as professional ride providers.

"Ride operators who are willing to go the extra mile and provide this information, give us their information, we can provide better information to the public, and that's a much better way to increase the level of safety," Carlton said. "If you're going to be a professional, we expect certain levels of activity."

Sumwalt, however, said voluntary industry standards aren't always what they appear to be. "Voluntary compliance is a good thing," Sumwalt said, "if it works.... There has to be teeth behind it."

While Sumwalt said he welcomed the Balloon Federation's program, he added, "the devil is in the details. How are they going to enforce that?"

Sumwalt was more critical of the FAA for "abdicating" its oversight responsibilities to the industry: "I'm disappointed that the FAA appears to be shirking their responsibility."

Sumwalt also noted that given Nichols' record, it's unlikely he would have taken part in the federation's voluntary program.

Texas State Rep. John Cyrier, a Republican who lives on a ranch four miles from the crash scene, attended the final NTSB meeting and endorsed the board's unanimous recommendations.

He said the Legislature looked for ways to regulate commercial balloon operators in Texas, but that ultimately it falls under the purview of Washington. "There was some possible insurance (regulation) and things like that, but really this is an FAA matter," he said.

Despite the critical NTSB report, as well as the possibility of action in Congress, Cyrier said Texas will have to stay involved to press for new FAA rules.

"There's no question that it's going to take all of us to push on the FAA to make this happen," Cyrier said. "We need something done at the federal level, because that's where it starts."
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To Sean Fenton and Gigi Khadivian, the sight of the concrete channel in White Oak Bayou is a part of an urban landscape they try to avoid by cutting through wooded areas along the bayou during walks from their nearby home.

On Tuesday, however, they reveled at the thought of seeing the concrete lining removed and the bayou incorporated into a surrounding park space.

"I don't think much foresight went in when they originally built this," said Fenton, 32, an electrical engineer.

"I would rather have less cement," Khadivian, a 35-year old insurance broker added.

A feasibility study conducted for the Harris County Flood Control District and released Friday offers three options to do just that.

What it does not offer is a way to pay for the three alternatives, which range from $30 million to simply remove the concrete to $60 million to re-contouring the channel to connect the bayou with publicly owned parks and open land above and below the waterway.

The question is particularly significant after Hurricane Harvey laid bare weaknesses in the local flood control system: nearly 180,000 buildings exist in floodplains, a handful of channel widening projects are halted with lack of federal funding and the flood control district struggles to stretch $60 million every year to service a county of more than 4 million people.

"I can't look a citizen in the face that floods all the time and say 'Oh, I'm delaying your project by seven years,' for what's essentially an economic development project," said Matt Zeve, director of operations for the flood control district. "I work to improve drainage and reduce flood hazards, that's my #No. 1 priority."

The city likewise is not in a position to put money toward any of the three alternatives, mayoral spokesman Alan Bernstein said.

Bernstein said the city is open to coordinating with other agencies to connect trails and parkland to a potential project, but it is "not coming forward at this time with funding."

"The mayor's staff know all the details, is in on the discussion, but does not think that this project will in any way increase drainage," Bernstein said. "Last time we checked, increasing drainage was a high priority for everyone."

If the concrete removal is pursued, it would be the first such attempt to revert dozens of miles of concrete-lined channels that crisscross Houston to their natural aesthetic, building on recent widespread momentum to undo the utilitarian past. The concrete was laid as part of a massive flood control effort in the middle of the last century to straighten and channelize the bayous with an eye toward speeding stormwaters' rush downstream, eventually to the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay.

The idea of removing the concrete and restoring the bayou to a more natural state comes two years after a $58 million project created 160-acres of green space near downtown in Buffalo Bayou Park. That project was paid for largely through private donations, including a $30 million catalyst gift from Kinder Foundation in 2010. The flood control district contributed $5 million.

For White Oak, however, it's unclear who would pay for a bayou project that would take several years to complete and cost at least $30 million without significantly reducing flood risks.

The feasibility study presents three alternatives for a portion of White Oak Bayou between Taylor Street and Hogan Street: simply removing the concrete and excavating the channel; removing the concrete and connecting the bayou with city park space north of the bayou; removing the concrete and connecting the bayou to both the city park land and land owned by the Texas Department of Transportation to the south.

The first and cheapest option would cost roughly $30 million, the middle about $42 million and the most expensive option around $60 million.

Sherry Weesner, administrator and president of the Memorial-Heights Redevelopment Authority, which paid for the feasibility study said the group wanted to make sure, if and when the flood control district considered replacing the concrete, that it examine the idea of removing the concrete, as well.

Weesner said the authority currently does not have funding to pay for even the cheapest of the three proposals.

"By funding this study, we were able to say 'Look at the possible options,'" Weesner said. "That way, everyone can make the best decision as to what's best for the region in the long term to decide what to do when you need to do it."

The flood control district spends roughly $1 million per year on maintenance on White Oak Bayou from where it joins Buffalo Bayou, north to Cole Creek. Most of those costs, officials say, are for engineering and construction.

The concrete maintenance expenses would be eliminated by removing the lining, but the cost of vegetation management and erosion repairs would increase, flood control officials have said.

Zeve said the district does not have any immediate plans to replace the concrete in the Taylor to Hogan stretch.

"The concrete through there is not falling apart right now, it's still in good shape," he said.

Any option is expected to improve water quality and increase the bayou's ability to detain floodwater. Each of the alternatives create a "more natural, stable channel with enhanced value and the various benefits and costs of each option are considered," according to the study.

The report analyzed economic benefits, such as a bump in property values, quality-of-life improvements and other recreational benefits.

It states that removing the concrete could provide some modest increases in detaining stormwater to alleviate flooding downstream. Removing the concrete, however, would limit the ability of White Oak Bayou to move floodwaters to Galveston Bay faster, so each of the proposed alternatives include the excavation and widening of the bayou to compensate.

The report also suggests it would be possible to remove the concrete along the "entire reach of the channel upstream of Taylor Street and downstream of the I-610 loop."

Alvaro Gallardo works near the stretch of White Oak Bayou the proposals target, painting tubes and other equipment for oil companies. After work, almost every day, Gallardo walks along White Oak Bayou. He appreciates the tranquility of the area, and he does not agree that removing the concrete would make a big difference.

"To me, I like it the way it is," Gallardo said.
SAN ANTONIO - Democratic state Sen. Carlos Uresti has submitted a powerful list of Texas judges, politicians and lawyers to testify as potential witnesses in his upcoming criminal fraud trial, which starts Monday and may stretch three weeks.

His witness list filed with the court late Monday is a Who's Who of the San Antonio political elite, with Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia and state Sen. Jose Menendez heading the list of 38 witnesses expected to be called for the trial.

Uresti also supplied a separate list of 133 people who "may be called to testify" on his behalf, including Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former San Antonio mayors Julian Castro and Henry Cisneros, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County district judges Solomon Casseb III and Peter Sakai, Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff, and Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood.

Michael McCrum, one of Uresti's defense lawyers, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. But it's presumed that most of those prominent individuals, if called, would testify to Uresti's veracity or as character witnesses.

"It may be as simple as posturing (to list all of these prominent individuals as potential witnesses), but it could be a serious attempt by the defense to try to get as many people with good characters, who are well-known in the community, to come in" and testify, said Miguel Najera, a San Antonio criminal defense lawyer who is not involved in the case. "Because these people are going to have more gravitas, they are going to have a larger affect on either a judge or a jury when they are testifying in favor of an accused."

A jury may pay more attention to those individuals' testimony and give more weight to it because they are known in the community, he said.

Uresti is facing 11 felony charges, including wire and securities fraud, conspiracy, and acting as unregistered securities broker in connection with his involvement in now-defunct oil field services company FourWinds Logistics. A federal grand jury in May indicted Uresti, along with former FourWinds CEO Stan Bates and consultant Gary Cain. Each has denied the charges.

FourWinds collapsed into bankruptcy in 2015 amid allegations by some investors that they were defrauded. Prosecutors have called FourWinds a Ponzi scheme, an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to earlier investors from monies contributed by new investors.

Others potential witnesses include San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert Puente, state Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, former County Commissioner and ex-mayoral candidate Tommy Adkisson and former state district Judge John Specia.

Josh Baugh contributed to this report.
Sasha Haagensen/Stringer

Creating music is as innate as sleeping and eating. It's a part of every culture and nationality. Watching Houston artists like Slim Thug and Chamillioniare go from being musicians to entrepreneurs has helped to inspire people on multiple levels. As a melting pot of cultures, music creators in the U.S. have much inspiration to draw upon. Such inspiration has led to the evolution of music - in styles, preferences and techniques. We've also seen an incredible shift in technology, both as it relates to the creation of, and ultimately, consumption of music. We have gone from digging in the crates to tens of thousands of songs in the palm of your hand. However, while music technology has advanced, the laws governing it have not.

The impact of outdated music laws not only affect my work as an artist but also the work of my colleagues, the producers, sound engineers and songwriters who all play a part in the creation of a song. These individuals are not given fair recognition and compensation under current copyright and music licensing laws. While the next generation of young artists is already pushing the next step in music's evolution, such contributions to our society and culture are not being appropriately rewarded, and we may lose out on something great. As music industry laws lag behind reality, it's hard to imagine a future where creators see this industry as a viable career option.
Well, it took almost a year, but we now have the "Trump Doctrine." It's very simple. And, as you'd expect, it fits neatly into a tweet. On nearly every major issue, President Donald Trump's position is: "Obama built it. I broke it. You fix it."

And that cuts right to the core of what is the most frightening thing about the Trump presidency. It's not the president's juvenile tweeting or all the aides who've been pushed out of his clown car at high speed or his industrial-strength lying.

It's Trump's willingness to unravel so many long-standing policies and institutions at once- from NAFTA to Obamacare to the global climate accord to the domestic clean power initiative to the Pacific trade deal to the Iran nuclear deal - without any real preparation either on the day before or for the morning after.

Indeed, Trump has made most of his climate, health, energy and economic decisions without consulting any scientists, without inviting into the White House a broad range of experts, without putting forth his own clear-cut alternatives to the systems he's unraveling, without having at the ready a team of aides or a political coalition able to implement any alternatives and without a strategic framework that connects all of his dots.

In short, we're simply supposed to take the president's word that this or that deal "is the worst deal ever" - backed up by no serious argument or plan about how he will produce a better one.

I'm open to improving any of these accords or institutions. I'm even open to the possibility that by just tipping over all these accords at once, and throwing away his steering wheel, Trump will get people to improve the Iran deal or Obamacare out of sheer panic at the chaos that might ensue if they don't.

But I am equally open to the possibility that unraveling all of these big systems at once - health, energy, geopolitics - without a clear plan or a capable team will set in motion chain reactions, some of them long term, that Trump has not thought through in the least.

Moreover, when you break big systems, which, albeit imperfectly, have stabilized regions, environments or industries for decades, it can be very difficult to restore them.

Question: We're told by our secretary of state that he's been engaged in some secret contacts with North Korea, exploring the possibility of a diplomatic solution that might dramatically reduce North Korea's nuclear arsenal in return for U.S. promises of regime security. If, at the same time, Trump unilaterally pulls out of the deal we've already signed with Iran to prevent it from developing nukes - and Trump moves to reimpose sanctions - how does that not send only one message to the North Koreans: No deal with the U.S. is worth the paper it's written on, so you'd be wise to hold on to all your nukes?

Question: Iran controls tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen in Iraq and Syria who were our tacit allies in defeating the Islamic State. Tehran also has huge influence over Iraq's government and over certain regions of Afghanistan as well. Can we stabilize Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan - post-Islamic State - and keep our troop presence low and safe, without Iran's help - and will that help be coming after Trump rips up the nuclear deal? If you think so, please raise your hand.

Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and, at the same time, restricted U.S. government funding for birth control both at home and abroad. Question: What is driving so many immigrants and refugees in Africa, the Middle East and Central America to try to get out of their world of disorder and into America and Europe and the world order?

Answer: It is a cocktail of climate change, environmental degradation, population explosions and misgovernance in these countries. So Trump's policy is to throw away every tool we have to mitigate climate change and population growth and try to build a wall instead, while also trying to bully Mexico's unpopular president into trade concessions, which could help elect a radical populist in next year's Mexican election - a successor who would be anti-American - and destabilize its economy as well.

At a time when China has decided to go full-bore into clean tech and electric cars, at a time when all of the tech giants are building data centers that they want powered by clean energy, at a time when solar and wind power are growing increasingly competitive with fossil fuels (and America still has a technological lead in many of these areas), at a time when climate change may be stimulating bigger hurricanes and forest fires that are costing us hundreds of billions of dollars, Trump's central energy initiative is to reverse President Barack Obama's and bring back coal-fired power.

None of these dots connect. And we will pay for that. "Whiplash" was a great movie. But it's a terrible organizing principle for our foreign or domestic policy.
In early 2016, while researching some of the most popular U.S. secession groups online, I stumbled across one of the Russian-controlled Facebook accounts that were then pulling in Americans by the thousands.

At the time, I was writing on Russia's relationship with American secessionists from Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. These were people who had hitched flights to Moscow to swap tactics, to offer advice and to find support. They had found succor in the shadow of the Kremlin.

That was how I eventually found my way to the "Heart of Texas" Facebook page (and its @itstimetoecede Twitter feed as well). Heart of Texas soon grew into the most popular Texas secession page on Facebook - one that, at one point in 2016, boasted more followers than the official Texas Democrat and Republican Facebook pages combined. By the time Facebook took the page down recently, it had a quarter of a million followers.

The page started slowly - just a few posts per week. Unlike other secession sites I'd come across, this one never carried any contact information, never identified any of individuals behind the curtain. Even as it grew, there was nothing to locate it in Texas - or anywhere else, for that matter. It was hard to escape the suspicion that there might be Russian involvement here as well.

There were other oddities about the site. Its organizers had a strangely one-dimensional idea of its subject. They seemed to think, for example, that Texans drank Dr Pepper at all hours: while driving their giant trucks, while flying their Confederate battle flags, while griping about Yankees and liberals and vegetarians.

But Heart of Texas, sadly, was no joke. At one point the page's organizers even managed to stir up its followers into staging an armed, anti-Islamic protest in Houston. As gradually became clear, this was part of a broader strategy. The sponsors of the page were keen to exacerbate America's own internal divisions. At certain moments they lent support to Black Lives Matter, while in others they would play to the latent (or obvious) racism of Donald Trump's base.

By the summer of 2016, other themes began to emerge. Posts began to follow a perceptibly hard-right course, stressing Texas's status as a "Christian state," or touting the Second Amendment as a "symbol of freedom  so we would forever be free from any tyranny." Some of the page's contributors talked about the need to "keep Texas Texan," whatever that meant. There was also a generous dollop of conspiracy theory. There were posts about the allegedly unnatural death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and the supposed federal invasion orders behind the Jade Helm military exercise. Fake Founding Father quotes mingled with anti-Muslim screeds and paeans to Sam Houston. And the number of followers steadily crept into the hundreds of thousands.

Though the site's authors understood their audience well, there was something off about their writing. The page's "About" section proclaimed that "Texas's the land protected by Lord (sic)." Grammatical and spelling glitches were everywhere: "In Love With Texas Shape," "State Fair of Texas - Has You Already Visited?," "Always Be Ready for a Texas Size," "No Hypoclintos in the God Blessed Texas." (Or take this caption for a photo of country music star George Strait: "Life is not breaths you take, but the moments that take your breth (sic) away.") Yet the typos never seemed to raise any suspicions in readers' minds.

Even the page's calls for an early November protest across the state - part pro-secession, part anti-Clinton - were garbled. One post declared that "we are free citizens of Texas and we've had enough of this cheap show on the screen." The site called on those who showed up to "make photos."

Heart of Texas chugged on after the election, bringing in tens of thousands of new followers in 2017 who were unbothered by its mangled English, its rank nativism and its calls to break up the United States.

And then, in August, it was gone. Just like that, the most popular Texas secession page on Facebook was revealed to be a Russian front, operated by the notorious Internet Research Agency, with Facebook removing all of the posts from public view. (It's worth noting that another Instagram account started posting Heart of Texas material as soon as the original Facebook page was taken down.)

Despite its claims of transparency, Facebook has effectively prevented the public from examining these posts and these pages. So far Heart of Texas remains the only example of a Russian account that I and other researchers managed to study in detail before Facebook pulled the rug out from underneath it.

We know that the Russians behind these sites played all of their readers, and especially those who showed up at its protests in places like Twin Falls and Fort Myers and Houston, for fools. Considering that the number of their combined followers ranged into the millions - with some estimates placing total views potentially in the billions - they're probably right.

The creators of Heart of Texas not only targeted the sociopolitical tensions within the United Staes. They also exploited our gullibility, which turned out to be far greater than I could have ever imagined. And by assisting them in this massive lie, Facebook has enabled one of the greatest frauds in recent American history.

Michel is a journalist based in New York. This op-ed appeared first in the Washington Post.
Yet again, the Houston Community College System finds itself tarnished by scandal.

Former HCC trustee Christopher W. Oliver has been convicted for taking bribes and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Voters can help set the school system on the right path by electing the most qualified candidates to serve on the board. In particular, since so many HCC scandals have involved contract procurement, new trustees should endeavor to put as much distance between themselves and vendors as possible.

HCCS, Trustee, District IV: Carolyn Evans-Shabazz

The ideal candidate for this seat would be someone with a bold vision for HCC who is capable of collaborating with existing board members. It would be a candidate free from controversy. That candidate is not in this race. So instead we encourage voters to find the best candidate via the process of elimination.

That should lead voters, however reluctantly, to incumbent Carolyn Evans-Shabazz.

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in May 2015 to represent District IV, which includes Sunnyside and the Third Ward, Evans-Shabazz has carved out a leadership role on the board, chairing the success committee, which works on issues such as homelessness and food insecurity on campus. Off the board, she serves on the NAACP-Houston branch executive committee.

Evans-Shabazz, 64, has also been accused by one of her fellow trustees of violating board rules by casting a vote over the phone rather than in person. A board marked by scandal doesn't need trustees playing fast and loose with the bylaws.

Nevertheless, this retired educator and current real estate agent remains the only candidate qualified for the position.

When asked to list the problems at HCC, Daniel "DC" Caldwell I, a current law student at Texas Southern University with a background as a substitute teacher, complained to the editorial board about how certain doors on campus buildings are confusingly labeled. Not exactly a board priority.

Manny Barrera is a former teacher known for his "Inside HCC" blog, where for years he wrote about flaws in the college system's governance. When asked about contracting problems, he said there was nothing wrong with trustees suggesting to management that the college hire their friends so long as they're qualified. If elected, we worry that he'd be all too much like unproductive gadfly HCC Trusee Dave Wilson.

Neither of these challengers possess the minimum standards necessary to adequately serve on the HCC board.

HCCS, Trustee, District V: Robert Glaser

Incumbent Robert Glaser deserves a second term representing this diverse district that extends from West University to Bellaire to Memorial to Beltway 8.

Glaser, 56, points to HCC's progress during the past four years. The community college has hired a new chancellor, reduced its overall bond debt and kept taxes level. In addition, tuition rates have been frozen for the last three years while faculty and staff have received raises. Still, the businessman sees room for much improvement.

Glaser displayed a clear-eyed view of HCC's procurement process, calling it "too subjective." The Houston native wants to spur more collaboration between the business community and the college, labeling the existing efforts as mostly "cheerleading." His vision for public education is to extend it from pre-k to 14 years.

No doubt that his opponent Victoria Bryant would bring a breath of fresh air to the board. The civic leader, pharmacist and small businesswoman in the health care field has a particular passion for workforce development, and she should throw her hat in the ring again. But Glaser chairs the audit committee and continuity in governance is important, especially given Glaser's role as a reasonable voice on a fractious board.

HCCS, Trustee, District IX: David Jaroszewski

A lawyer and interim dean of academic studies at Lee College in Baytown, David Jaroszewski stands out as one of the few candidates for HCC with a clear vision about the role that community colleges should play, and how properly run boards help them achieve those goals.

The former PTO president has extensive experience in community college systems and understands the difference between governing and managing. He also expressed a dedicated focus on boosting HCC's retention rate.

But Jaroszewski, 64, earned our endorsement when he said: "The board should not be inserting themselves into the procurement process."

That's what voters should want to hear.

Pretta VanDible Stallworth previously served on the HCC board from 1989-1993 and has been a adjunct professor at Bellhaven College and guest professor at DeVry University. Well-positioned to reflect the values of the community, the chaplain for Senate 13 District PAC would have likely earned our endorsement except for her position on a key point: Stallworth believes that the board should be better trained and then given more responsibility with respect to reviewing contracts for compliance with HCC policies.

The highly educated VanDible Stallworth is right that the contract procurement process needs to be equitable. While we have no reason to doubt that this candidate would be unable to toe the line, in the past too many trustees have drifted from advocacy for vendors for reasons of equity into vamping for their pals.

Candidate Eugene "Gene" Pack, a veteran, expressed a commendable interest in working to expand access to community college, particularly for those who have served in the nation's military.
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway visited Houston schools on Wednesday to commend the district for its policy on data breaches.

As part of Cyber Awareness Month, Galloway stopped on campus to recognize Houston for its stance that families will be notified if their personal information on file with the district is compromised.

It is not state law that the school district make families aware, but the school district has taken the extra step of implementing that policy. That is a great thing, Galloway said.

Galloway presented Dr. Allen Moss, superintendent, and other school representatives with a certificate as a Cyber Aware School. She also spoke briefly to a classroom of middle school students and answered their questions about her role as state auditor.
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Is reliable as access to the employment agreement is provided in a unique email and makes the electronic signature and the document traceable and secure; and

Does not require the candidate to immediately sign the document, it allows them to print the documents and have a reasonable opportunity to take legal advice.

ignatures have soared in popularity thanks to the growth of remote working but some employers question just how strong they are and if theyd really stand up in court  here, a leading employment lawyer offers her advice.An electronic signature is legally binding if it satisfies the requirements of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, says Susan Rowe, a partner with Buddle Findlay.Under the Contract and Commercial Law Act  which replaced the Electronic Transactions Act 2002 just last month  electronic signatures are defines as a method used to identify a person and to indicate that persons approval of that information.The act also stipulates that an electronic signature will only be binding the other party consents to receiving the electronic signature, if it adequately identifies the signatory, if it adequately indicates the signatory's approval and, finally, if its reliable.For an electronic signature to be reliable, the means of creating the signature must be linked to and under the control of the signatory and no other person, and any alteration to the electronic signature must be detectable, explains Rowe.Rowe, who has spent more than 20 years with the firm, says many employers are now using electronic options when it comes to employment offers and acceptance  a practice which she says the Employment Relations Court has already endorsed.In its apparent endorsement, the Employment Court appeared stated that where a document requires a signature, that requirement is met by an electronic signature if it adequately identifies the signatorys approval of the contents and is as reliable as is appropriate in the circumstances.However, Rowe says the court also indicated that in some circumstances it may be necessary to provide additional confirmation of the reliability of the signature by paper-based copies, which presumably show an original signature.Employers will need to consider whether any proposed electronic signature system is sufficient to meet the requirements of identification and reliability, says Rowe.If an employer wanted to introduce an electronic signature system, it would need to ensure that the employment agreement could only be accessed by the employee concerned using a secure log on or sent to the employee's private email for approval, she continues. The system would need to reproduce an electronic form of their usual signature, so that the individual is sufficiently identifiable.One issue employers should be wary of, according to Rowe, is the legitimacy of varying software. Some employment software requires a user to sign up to the program before an electronic signature is created for them.Rowe says this type of software is likely to be valid for employment agreements because it:However, other software systems  such as those that require employees to simply tick a box accepting the conditions are unlikely to amount to a "signature" required under the Employment Relations Act.Related stories:
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Sometimes it takes a defining moment for things to change. For beliefs and attitudes that were once accepted to become unaccepted. For blind eyes to start seeing.

For some, the moment when sexual harassment in the workplace became unacceptable is when the serial offences alleged to have been committed by Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood movie producer, were laid bare in the New York Times (after other media outlets declined to break the story and the police decided not to press charges despite recorded evidence.)

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For others, it will be the unprecedented moment when the industry body behind the Oscars expelled Weinstein in order to: "Send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behaviour and workplace harassment in our industry is over."

In reality, it was the moment when tasteless jokes made by James Cordon, at the expense of Weinstein's alleged victims, attracted criticism instead of laughs.

How 'humour' is used to undermine sexual harassment

Sexual harassment jokes failing to rouse a laugh is a defining moment because for too long humour has been used to belittle the experience of those experiencing sexual harassment, with victims being told to "lighten up", "see the funny side" or "develop a sense of humour."

When Seth MacFarlane hosted the Oscars in 2013, he joked to the Best Supporting Actress contenders, "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer need to pretend you're attracted to Harvey Weinstein."

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The audience laughed back then. Today they wouldn't. As a result of so many high profile women speaking out, something fundamental has shifted and sexual harassment at work is no longer acceptable.

There are those who might argue that sexual harassment was never acceptable, but why then have two-thirds of 18-24 year olds been subjected to sexual harassment at work, according to the TUC, with 79% left feeling unable to tell their employer?

Why women hesitate to report sexual harassment

The actress and writer Emma Thompson has described an endemic system of "harassment, and belittling, and bulling," not just in Hollywood, but in other industries and everyday life that we've become used to.

Saying it's a system that means that virtually every woman has at least one story of sexual harassment to tell, "from being felt up on the tube to an older more powerful man lunging at them in a lift."

It's also a system which means the contribution of women to work and society has been belittled, including how much they get paid - female managers now earn 12,000 less a year than their male counterparts - and how much power they have. Last year there were more CEO's called Dave in the FTSE 100 than there were women, meaning that dubious comments and behaviours can often go dismissed as just being a bit of 'workplace banter'.

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While the experiences supposedly dished out by Weinstein are clearly far worse than most of the derogatory comments made towards women in the workplace, both need to be addressed at the same time, because it's the derogatory comments that make women feel like they can't report what's going on for fear that they won't be taken seriously. Which is all too often the case when those in a position to help them have chosen to turn a blind eye by buying into the idea that the perpetrator is "too valuable to the business" or "too powerful to challenge."

What needs to change?

As Weinstein's demise shows, no one is too powerful to avoid being held accountable for sexual misconduct. With the mounting allegations against Weinstein putting him at risk of criminal convictions that could carry a 25-year jail sentence, his senior colleagues now have to consider if turning a blind eye to his predatory behaviour was really worth it?

Was a strategy that effectively amounted to a culture of corporate compliance, driving A-listers such as Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet to vow never to work with the organisation again, such a good idea? Especially now that the many payouts made by Weinstein and Co., in return for the silence of victims, are to be investigated by the authorities. Forcing the company to consider having to sell and change its name amidst mounting allegations.

Can a strategy that puts the career of one individual over the wellbeing of so many others ever be justified?

I think not.

Now that employees have been empowered, not least due to the #MeToo movement, to become increasingly vocal about and intolerant of any sexual harassment, employers must fully embrace their duty of care to keep their employees safe and to ensure that they aren't being discriminated against.

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By publicly educating all employees about the need for 'dignity at work', what it feels like to have this undermined and getting senior leaders to reprimand anyone who crosses the line, employers now have a valuable role to play in ensuring that sexual harassment no longer has any role to play in our society.

If Weinstein is to have any legacy, let it be the end to the days of employers turning a blind eye to sexual harassment and bullying of any kind.

Three ways to eradicate sexual harassment at work

1. Always take action

Even if it's the boss themselves that's the perpetrator, if you know of anyone sexually harassing others within the organisation, you have a duty to report it and if you work in HR, or have a responsibility to the victim, a duty to take action.

At the moment there is a vicious circle of victims not reporting behaviour and instead leaving the organisation, only for another unsuspecting victim to fill their place and for the problem to continue.

Only by challenging behaviours and allowing victims to see that their concerns are taken seriously and addressed will other victims be encouraged to come forward, so that any inappropriate behaviour can be identified and addressed.

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If the perpetrator is senior or considered particularly valuable to the organisation, you may have to be resilient and persistent to identify someone who will take the issue seriously and use their influence to get something done.

2. Educate on dignity at work

Ensure managers and employees are publicly trained on what is and isn't acceptable and enlist someone senior who is prepared to hold difficult conversations with anyone found crossing the line.

As well as talking about sexual harassment, it can be helpful to broaden out the conversation to 'dignity at work' and educate people about what it feels like to have their dignity undermined on the basis of their sex, age or race.

Policies should be created to address harassment and bulling in all its forms, including how the company will deal with it. A key part of which must be to ensure that any unacceptable comments or behaviours are nipped in the bud, especially where they are being delivered under the pretext of 'humour'.

3. Allow women to progress

Critical to overriding a culture of sexism is addressing the lack of women in a position of power to challenge the status quo.

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Less than 5% of Fortune 500 companies are headed by women and just 7% of the FTSE 100 CEOs are female, with female traits such as empathy, communication and compassion frequently dismissed as being 'weak' and less attractive, despite research showing that women-led companies perform three times better than those led by men.
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"Just keep having lots of sex with your husband!", the doctor told me in a bright voice.

This was her advice when I went to see her to talk about wanting to get pregnant. What was especially irritating about her instruction - besides the obvious fact that for many women, "lots of sex" isn't enough to impregnate them - is that I have a wife, not a husband. I had seen this doctor before and had certainly mentioned it, and I couldn't understand why this bit of information wasn't in my notes, or why, if it was in my notes, she was ignoring it.

I politely reminded her that I didn't have a husband and that having "lots of sex" with my wife wasn't likely to result in a baby.

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"Oh!" she said, flustered. "Um, well, I once had a single lady who wanted to get pregnant..." The doctor couldn't think of any other advice for me, and my appointment ended with her awkwardly saying she'd look into it and get in touch. She never did contact me again.

This experience is one reason why I welcome the recent suggestion for general practitioners to talk to their patients about their sexuality. It would avoid repetitive, potentially uncomfortable conversations and also help doctors provide more individualised support for their patients.

Chairman Dr Peter Swinyard of the Family Doctor Association was quoted as saying that it was "potentially intrusive and offensive" to ask people about their sexuality. But of course there are more polite and respectful ways of going about it rather than simply demanding to know how people identify. A doctor can ask about a patient's partner or about sexual practices, rather than asking for a specific label; many people are uncomfortable with labels but are happy to refer to their same-sex partner or to acknowledge that they sleep with people from across the gender spectrum. And if doctors seem accepting and interested, more patients will likely reveal these facts to them.

Like Swinyard, some folks who are against the idea of doctors discussing sexuality with their patients argue that most medical conditions have nothing to do with sexuality. That may be the case, but of course the context of most medical conditions does relate to sexuality because a patient's health is never just about their body but also about who cares for them and who they interact with and how they feel about themselves and their lives. For example, someone may be depressed in part due to societal and/or internalised homophobia. Or a doctor might want to ask a patient about the kind of support they are getting at home, and it could derail the conversation if the patient has to interrupt the doctor to point out, "I have a male partner, not a female one." Some people are accompanied to appointments by partners and don't want to be continually asked if they are friends or siblings. Our full identities matter, and patients deserve to be visible in all aspects.

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Obviously some medical matters are in fact affected by sexual practices and doctors need to be able to advise their patients accordingly. Swinyard claims there are "relatively few" such medical issues, but even if one considers only matters such as sexually transmitted illnesses, sexual health, and fertility, those are quite large issues that affect people across large swathes of their lives, and doctors need to be informed about them.

And from the basic perspective of treating our fellow humans with dignity and respect, doctor-patient consultations could run much more smoothly if doctors tried to either employ gender-neutral terms (such as partner/spouse or they instead of husband/wife or she/he) or to keep notes on what their patients told them about their home and romantic lives. A doctor could be perceived as homophobic if they always refer to a male patient's wife or girlfriend, especially if the patient has already stated otherwise. A patient wants to just get help with health problems and not to have to come out again and again. Far from wasting time, a move to talk about sexuality will actually save time, since things will be out in the open and recorded.
So there's this book that I have seen advertised regularly through the 'A Mighty Girl' Facebook page. It's called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. It was written by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo and contains 100 stories about extraordinary women throughout the ages.

I'd often thought about buying the book for my kids but just hadn't got around to it. Then yesterday at a friend's house, I saw their copy and saw how inspired their five year old was by what she was reading and decided it was time to buy our own book.

On the walk to school this morning I told my five year old son that I had ordered a copy. He immediately scowled and informed me that he didn't want to read a book all about girls. As I tried to explain to him that the book was about interesting women who have done brilliant things, I saw I was getting nowhere. You can probably imagine how I was feeling. My son, yes, my son, my amazing, kind and gentle boy thinks he doesn't want to read a book about 'girls'. What hope do we have? My son is five, he lives in a feminist and thoughtful household and this is his reaction?

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One of my favourite anecdotes about my beautiful son is as follows: we were chatting in the park and he was telling me about a boy in his school who wanted to wear a princess dress to a party and how terrible this was. When I responded by telling him off, because anyone can wear whatever they like and boys can jolly well wear dresses if they please, he looked at me as if I were mad, and told me the point wasn't the dress but that it was a princess dress because he knows how his dad and I feel about undeserved power and equality!

So if that boy doesn't want to read stories about women, my heart is heavy. We are in the midst of an international awakening for men (I hope). Harvey Weinstein has been outed and women are standing up and saying 'me too' in whatever form they can. Whether it is 'me too' in Hollywood, university, on the tube, walking through the park or even at home, women are saying 'me too'. #metoo

And on this day, my son does not get to put his hands over his ears and tell me he doesn't want to read about girls.

So I tried another tack. I calmly reminded him that his daddy and uncle are amazing men, really special people and part of what makes them special is their unswerving belief in equality and justice and that our job is to ensure he grows up like them. This got his attention. I explained the word 'misogyny' to him. He was shocked to learn that people would ever think less of someone because they're female, and he was shocked to learn that there could be people who would not like women because they're women (to be fair, he did know that women aren't always been seen as equal to men) and he began to open up to the idea of the book. I didn't even need to remind him about all books with female protagonists that we have read, and enjoyed. We talked about how history has been primarily recorded by men and so has been about men, omitting the achievements and contributions of women. I explained that this book is celebrating women in the way most other books celebrate men, redressing an imbalance that sorely needs redressing.

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His response? 'Yeah, like Ada Lovelace, she wrote the first computer program, she's amazing'!

I imagine the book was written primarily to inspire little girls. I'm thrilled that it exists, my three year old daughter will enjoy reading about strong women who achieved great things. I hope it inspires her and millions of other girls around the world. But, for me, I'm more currently more concerned about ensuring my son grows up to be a 'gentle, kind feminist sorta guy'. I know how to raise a strong woman because I am one. Raising a compassionate son who doesn't abuse his male privilege, who understands it, is the trickier prospect. Thankfully, I have a grown-up one of those in the house to help on this journey.
Question: when you look back at October 16th 2017, what will you remember? The reports of the American president ribbing his VP's attitude to LGBT folk, by saying, "Don't ask that guy: he wants to hang 'em all;" if in London, a blood red sun in a St John the Divine sky; in San Francisco, the thickening of forest fire smoke in the atmosphere after a weekend where it seemed to be thinning. Or, as a social media user, will it be the day that your news feed revealed a phenomenal incidence of women typing, "Me too"?

It is mind-boggling to consider the fundamental truth of all men: that we are born of women. And yet, as we, the same men, mature - which we rarely seem to, truly - our allegiance errs towards our father's motile sperm, rather than our mother's fertile egg. That human existence is essentially an egalitarian, biological co-operation between the sexes - to begin with - unless we are cloned, give it time - seems the farthest thing from the typical male mind.

It is women who are afforded "child-bearing hips." It is men who are awarded "led in their pencil." Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette biography was revelatory with regard to royal women; in essence, reared concubines to be married off, to populate the world with kings. It was Princess Diana who fell in love with a prince who, in the presence of the international press, questioned what love meant upon the announcement of their engagement; only for Diana to discover, in her view, that she had been inveigled into the Windsor household purely to breed.

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The lives of women, the world over, are dominated by the chauvinism of boy-men: birkas, hijabs, mantillas, veils; banishment during the monthly "uncleanness;" genital mutilation, honour killings; pay inequality; beauty pageants; exploitation of the female form in art, advertising, film and pop music video; bikini contests; whipped cream wrestling at the Bulldog Bash; male surfers/surfer babes; the paternal news anchor flanked by the younger female anchor; Christian hostility to women priests; legislation on women's body rights by the majority male mind; female sex tape fame; a list without end.

That women are physically and emotionally "inconvenienced" by biological circumstance once a month is of little consequence to us blokes: see "on the rag," "pussyclart." That women are somewhat slowed by the nine months that they carry the men who populate the world and go on to perpetrate misogyny against them is not enough of a thing. The subsequent agony of birth, its menstrual corollary, and the rest - the biological clock, breech births, caesarian section, dysmenorrhea, lactation, menopause, suckling, and so on - constitute lucky male escapes.

Our male dismissal of, and indifference to these female realities is an ongoing tragedy for women. It is shameful; nothing to be proud of or indifferent to. Men blithely presume that nature is on our side - if our sexist "intelligence" allows. In simplistic male terms, the penis penetrates; the vagina receives. Feminism, it seems, is not feminism without the challenging mockery of men, and then we have to go and bring god into it.

Monotheism is a potent victory for male sexism in Christendom: God is cast as Zeus, antiquity's omnipotent Lothario; Mary, as an unsuspecting desert nymph; a humble, pregnable, inargumentative recipient of his seed; a device to ensure his son's, which is to say, male dominance. Again, monotheism is a permit to oppress, conceal and hobble women in the Islamic world, where, for example, incensed, unabashed male viewers say of a progressive female performer on The X Factor, Afghanistan, that "She deserves to be killed" because she shows her face, her hair, and uses makeup.

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Meanwhile, back in the western world, there are those women who experience crisis, if they are separated from their makeup, by "virtue" of what men will see. And female models are recruited by male led corporations to ensure this paranoia of deportment. "Because you are worth it."

And yet, oblivious to these unfortunate social truths, men are at ease on street corners, outside pubs, yelling, "Alright darlin'", "look at the knockers on that," "she looks a right goer," at the top of their voices, and disproportionately so, when a woman is a natural or a bleached blond(e). There are not nearly enough Estelle Rolfes - Garbo Talks (1984) - to go around.

You have to wonder if there is ever any male remorse after the self-indulgent fraternity of lecherous abuse - and it is abuse - with which they bedevil the women who pass building sites. Like the Harvey Weinsteins of this world, male builders may well look at themselves in the mirror before leaving the house, but nothing in the reflections, or their personal hygiene enlightens them as to how their uninvited advances are nauseating to women who have to get to work, feed their children, deal with husbands, boyfriends, male coworkers and bosses; women who are objectified every which way they look.

How extraordinary, then, how preposterous to have one's beauty, femininity, fitness, or taste in revealing clothing be interpreted as "Come hither." Are women ever protected from these nightmares? Are these men ever policed? It is difficult to be sure in a world where Hugh Hefner is some kind of hero, Larry "Hustler" Flynt offers millions to secure the impeachment of an American president exposed as a braggadocious predator, and Donna Karan, with a broad, intellectualist grin from ear to ear, questions whether women are "Asking for it," hollow apology withstanding. Tragically, her since relented position is nothing new; nothing that hasn't been heard before; from a female contributor on Channel Five's The Wright Stuff, for example.

And even so, predictable male challenges to women saying, "Me too" have surfaced. Male anger at being excluded from voicing the abuses they have experienced; males questioning what privileges a woman's sexual abuse and harassment over a man's; male incapability at staying out of what women feel they need to express as a supportive collective; male suspicion at women making a stand; males invoking lesbianism and unshaven feminist legs because women en masse are angry as hell, and not in the mood to be silent on aggressive sexism - just for a day! As if they ever accepted it in the first place.

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Men are more than happy to accept the hog-sized platter of privilege that they are handed. It is still a hog-sized platter, and we should notice that we are carrying it. If #metoo makes us men feel uncomfortable, good! Sad, even better. Ashamed? Uh huh. And this is written from the vantage point of a man who, for decades, has frequented male only establishments where punters are often "handy;" where it is presumed, by some, that it is OK to be grabby because men only gay spaces are cruise joints, and by entering them you are signing up for personal space invasion. Unnerving because, unless history repeats itself and LGBT equality erodes, gay "handiness" is probably the next sexual harassment frontier. Whoops! There goes the neighborhood.

Nevertheless, The impositions that we inflict on the mothers and sisters of others should alert us to the repugnance visited on our own mothers and sisters by men like us. We do not exist in the world but for women, unless tests reveal that we have the chromosomes of a jackal. And yet, time after time, we neglect to treat women with respect by presuming upon their personal space, making brusque mockery of their objections. It isn't on, and still, that we don't know better, that we seem incapable of recognising this, is an enduring mystery. If we are not mystified by this state of affairs, it is time that we were.

Thank you to the women who made a stand yesterday; and shame on those of us complicit in the necessity.
Peter Nicholls / Reuters

Watching the news, regularly checking social media, you'd be forgiven for thinking we're at war. There's so much division, so much aggression (much of it passive aggression, but nevertheless, aggression), so much ranting... and so much noise.

The thing is, that this won't actually be constructive. It might solve some problems, but it will ultimately end up creating new ones down the road.

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And why? Because what really creates healthy change won't just be shift in what some people believe, but HOW people believe.

Right now, our culture has a very binary system of belief.

In/Out, Right/Wrong, Labour/Conservative.

Under this binary, this closed-handed, perspective, the underlying message is:

"We're right, we have the moral and/or religious justification for dismissing and making mass-generalisations about any individual who has a different opinion to us, no matter what their individual story.".

We're seeing this played out here in the UK right now. We have a populist, some would say extreme socialist leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who is winning a lot of support, especially amongst the young and disenfranchised. And many of his supporters adopt a very binary view.

Which, to be quite honest, is crazy. I'd put myself in the centre, possibly centre-left of British politics. But a number of Corbynistas have labelled me anything from a closest Conservative (which I take as an insult), to a Blairite traitor, or even part of the establishment conspiring to 'stop the revolution'.

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And the irony is, now I find myself supporting a few, either moderated/expanded versions of some policies of all three major parties in the UK. Not just one.

But this hostility from Corbynistas to anyone who even remotely critiques their man or his policies, and the demonising of these people, is in part a consequence of a binary way of believing which only causes division and hatred on all sides - no matter how 'progressive' they label themselves.

The only healthy way forward is to change the view.

We need to change the very lenses through which we see the world.

The way we see things right now, is what I call a closed handed approach. We hold on to our beliefs very tightly. We are right, others are wrong. We don't listen to others stories, because we have the moral high ground.

But actually, the healthy way forward, the way we make genuine progress, is by opening our hands and hearing each others stories. Dropping the stones in our hands and listening to the stories of those who disagree with us.

Because most likely, their stories are way different than the images we've cooked up of who they are.

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Stories humanise people. They make them real. Suddenly, they aren't a number on a list, they are person, with story to tell. A human being with real fears, concerns and anxieties about their life and the people they love. And about the consequences of a particular worldview.

Recently I watched a video of a Black Lives Matter protest at a Donald Trump supporters rally in New York this year. And in this video, something amazing happened. The Trump supporters invited the BLM group to come on stage, and share their core message. And as they did, they got genuine cheers and support from several of the Trump-supporting audience. Their message connected with them.

Once the rally had ended, members of the two groups were seen having healthy, constructive conversations, exchanging phone numbers. The mood was positive. There was talk of significant progress being made, and people on both sides saying they'd build foundations of good relationships.

This is what a non-binary world looks like. Where leaders of Black Lives Matter and a Donald Trump supporters group can have conversations, hear each others stories, and build healthy relationships - even if they disagree.

Imagine Corbynistas, Lib Dem and Conservatives voters sitting down together to discuss policy in a healthy, respectful way, all open to learning from each other and expanding their views, not needing to be right.

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Imagine a cross-party negotiating team for Brexit from the very beginning, looking at all possible options, including remaining in the EU. Acting in the best interests of the country, not one party.

This is what can happen when we open up our hands, drop our egos and hear each others stories. This is what can happen when we let go of a binary lens of seeing the world, and instead embrace what is often called "non-dual thinking".

Now as we end, let me qualify this. Letting go of a binary approach doesn't mean we let go of our core values.

Racism is wrong, Abuse is wrong. Sexism is wrong. Inequality is wrong. Homophobia is wrong. Prejudice is wrong. White supremacy is wrong. Violence and murder in any form is immoral. Racial and religious intolerance is wrong. And these wrongs, these injustices, and the people who perpetrate them, must be confronted and defeated.

But instead of going to war with people who disagree with us - whether that's politically, religiously or anything else - let's hear their stories.

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We're lucky in the UK. From traveling around Europe and the world, I've always felt the UK is one of the most cohesive countries on the planet. We lead our lives, for the most part, sheltered from the most extreme forms of intolerance.

Safe in our homes we see horrific acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing play out in the newspapers and on TV, and of course we feel shock, sadness and anger, but we don't consider for a second that anything like that could ever happen here.

That's how I felt when I saw reports of the massacre of more than 8,000 men and boys in Srebrenica 22 years ago.

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As the events unfolded, I was aware of what was going on, of course, but I didn't make it my business to find out any more about it. And I certainly didn't think that anything similar could happen to us here in the UK.

Something like that could only happen in 'other' places, surely.

But when I went to visit Srebrenica in Bosnia Herzegovina last month I discovered that was exactly what they had thought there too.

Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs had lived together harmoniously for hundreds of years - they never thought it could happen to them either.

But it did.

Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians who'd happily lived side-by-side as friends and neighbours were suddenly at war. A creeping, sense of nationalism brought about by the collapse of Yugoslavia had exploded and the results were catastrophic.

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Ethnic cleansing

Muslim Bosniaks were systematically targeted in ethnic cleansing across eastern Bosnia and pushed into the UN-designated safe zone at Srebrenica.

But the Dutch UN peacekeepers stood by whilst the Bosnian Serb army overran the town in July 1995.

Mirroring the Second World War's Jewish Holocaust, civilian refugees who had sought safety in the nearby UN camp at Potocari after Srebrenica fell were rounded up and screened by soldiers. Women and girls were separated from the 8,373 men and boys who were sent to their deaths in mass executions.

I had the privilege of meeting a man who miraculously survived one of these mass killings. He was 17 when he was lined up with scores of other Bosniak men and boys and shot.

He and another man managed to survive by playing dead among the bodies and then trekking across country to safety, while severely injured, malnourished and dehydrated.

Lessons from Srebrenica

Now he takes part in the sponsored Lessons From Srebrenica educational programme that I was invited along to, reminding people of what happened in Bosnia 22 years ago and inspiring people to take action in their communities that will help to create a better, safer and stronger society.

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The programme, run by DCLG-supported charity Remembering Srebrenica, aims to motivate people of all ages to strengthen their communities by challenging hatred and intolerance by remembering the worst crime in Europe since the Second World War.

When the Second World War ended we said 'never again' would we allow the systematic persecution of a people.

But we've said 'never again' too many times and have stood by and watched atrocities like the Srebrenica genocide play out.

Wikipedia lists 33 genocides since 1945. That's almost one for every two years since the end of the war, and sadly too many to list here.

Even now Daesh is hell-bent on wiping out Shias, Yazidis and Christians in Syria and Iraq and Rohingya refugees are fleeing military persecution in Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

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And we'd be naive to believe that something similar would be impossible here. We need to remember that the genocide at Srebrenica happened in Europe at the end of the 20th century.

The events of the 1992-1995 Bosnian War left society deeply divided. Even now they're still feeling the effects of the hatred stirred up more than two decades ago.

New wave of nationalism

At home, across Europe and in America we're seeing a new wave of nationalism and a resurgence of the racial and religious intolerance we swore we'd never allow to surface again.

The UK is increasingly divided and, as an Asian Muslim man, I'm noticing it more and more.

I've encountered racism and Islamophobia throughout my life - my physical appearance and my name may both lead people to make judgements about me and my community. But as chief executive of Barnardo's, the UK's largest and oldest children's charity, I'm in a privileged position.

Many BAME young people do not enjoy that privilege.

UK society is becoming more unequal and people feel empowered by the divisive rhetoric they hear in the news or read in the papers.

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Srebrenica is a dark stain on humanity that happened on our doorstep in our living memory within a seemingly well-integrated society.

Consequences of hate

It's our duty as a liberal, tolerant society to open our eyes and the eyes of others to the consequences of hate and discrimination to make sure nothing like it can happen again.

We need to set examples to children and young people to embrace our differences and treat everyone with the love and respect they deserve; we need to empower them to speak up for themselves and other people.

As a mathematician, chaos theory springs to mind here - if enough butterflies beat their wings at the same time, we can cause a hurricane.
Albert Gea / Reuters

For sure there is something sad about breaking up. Certainly, as humans, as social beings, we develop a nostalgia and a fondness for unity - if, of course, both sides are happy in the union.

But what if one wants out? Then the relationship is less salubrious. And Carles Puigdemont and Mariano Rajoy may just have to face it, it's time they're through.

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And the sad truth is there is a high chance that Catalonia will get its independence - one day, at some point. We may or may not necessarily be around to see it, of course.

Because if history has taught us anything, borders are fluid. National and regional boundaries are in a constant state of flux, as we view them over time. They are artificial. They ebb and flow, bend and flex, depending on who says what and why new spaces need to be created.

The Roman Empire, a defining foundation of Europe, was centred around the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. The 6th century migrations split the unified, Roman Europe into a patchwork of tribal fiefdoms of Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Suebi, Frisii, Jutes, Burgundians, Franks, Huns, Avars, slavs and Bulgars - to name but a few. In fact, whether we take Charlemagne, the 843 Treaty of Verdun, the Habsburgs, the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, Strahlenberg in 1725, Napoleon, Bismark, Gariboli, the USSR, the 1985 Schengen Agreement, you name it, however we cut it, the European story is one long continuum of ever-shifting borders.

And that's simply because European identity politics is a complex conundrum. Looking back over European history, European communities differ among themselves - as much as they do from non-European communities - with respect to language (Basque, Finns, Hungarians), for example, or territory or law (Roman, Germanic), religion (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Islam), as well as in terms of ethnicity and culture, to name just a few. Indeed, the EU motto itself celebrates diversity not homogeneity.

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And we're kidding ourselves if we somehow think that this will change any time soon. There is no destination at which European communities will feel as one. There is no Hegelian sprit taking Europe's communities to an end point.

We are simply living through one short moment in a story that goes on forever. Where it was all different a thousand years ago, no doubt it will all be different again in a thousand years from now. Whether is it the European Union, Brexit or Catalonian independence, whether it is Scotland, the Basque Country, South Tyrol, The German Community in Belgium, regions grow and shrink, unite and dissolve in accordance to how they define what is common between themselves and how they differ from an 'other. The lines on the map simply won't look the same forever. It is sad, and breaking up is never easy, but the coming together and the breaking apart is all part of the European story.
Last month I arrived in sunny Brighton with my little one in toe, ready for the annual Labour Party Conference. It was heartening to be greeted by a multitude of EU flags waving in the wind at a rally whilst I was gearing up for my first speaking slot at a fringe event on why citizens' rights need to be guaranteed before Brexit negotiations move forward.

Since the referendum result in June 2016 local, regional and national media have been dominated by this topic and with good reason - even if it has left many casual observers with a critical case of "Brexit fatigue".

Leaving the European Union is not only a highly complex progress, it also bears intricate details that will have profound implications for every single aspect of life and work in the UK, while at the same time handing the Tories sweeping and unprecedented powers. It is hard to overstate what a monumental change of direction for our country this will be and the desperate need for scrutinising every aspect of the process. To ignore the news, research and comment related to Brexit would be a complete blunder.

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With this in mind, I was shocked to learn that Brexit - the single biggest issue affecting our country - and dear I say one bigger than our Party itself - had not been selected as one of the eight topics that conference would vote on this year. As a democratically elected representative for the North East of England, this is my top priority and will take up the majority of the time I have left in the job. So I took my frustration to Twitter and expressed the views above, only to have thousands of notifications pour through a couple of hours later after my tweet had been picked up by none other than JK Rowling - my 15 seconds of fame had come at last! And whilst most who replied seemed to share my opinion, it soon became apparent that many others had made this into a leadership related issue.

Along with other fellow Labour MEPs, I was looking forward to having a wide platform to debate the ins and outs of Brexit with likeminded individuals who stand for the same values as me and who support the strong opposition that is the Labour Party - a government in waiting. Wanting to properly debate and vote on Brexit during Conference is not and should not be considered a way of undermining Jeremy Corbyn whose stance, despite what others have tried to spin it as, is clear. He would still vote remain if a second referendum happened and under a Labour government, the UK would unilaterally guarantee EU citizens' rights, as well as secure a trading relationship with Europe that protects industry, protects jobs and protects services.

The meeting between Jeremy Corbyn and chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has gone better than any of talks with David Davis to this point, and the Labour leader is well known for having reached out to other socialist leaders across the continent. He would, no doubt, be able to get a good deal for the UK - something of which Theresa May and her Cabinet seem incapable; a Cabinet that has only managed to self-destruct by being divisive on vital issues like Brexit. Our Party must take note.

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This week Jeremy Corbyn is visiting the European Parliament in Brussels and our Labour delegation will meet with him to discuss Brexit. Theresa May is also here, trying her best to do some damage control and break the deadlock in Brexit talks caused by her unreliable and incompetent team. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which one of them is set up for failure.
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Who fished the prawns for tonight's curry? Or - for that matter - who harvested the rice? When it comes to our food shop, we're increasingly used to checking that the chicken is free range, but when the prawn label says 'responsibly sourced' it's not the welfare of the prawn that we're talking about. It's whether people have been violently assaulted, starved - and sometimes even murdered - to put those prawns onto my plate.

Slavery still exists. In fact, there are more people in slavery today than at any other point in history. And it's not a distant problem that doesn't affect us. Most of us are unwittingly loading products into our shopping trolleys that have been produced by people in slavery.

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Today is Anti-Slavery Day, and International Justice Mission (IJM) - the largest international anti-slavery organisation - is challenging you to look around this kitchen and find nine everyday products that often have slavery in their supply chains. Then join us in taking action to end slavery, for good.

Did you find them all?

1. Roses

Nothing says 'I love you' more than roses (except maybe chocolate). But of the 40 million slaves today, as many as one in four are children - many of them forced to work on rose farms, picking thorny flowers until their fingers bleed.

2. Prawns

In the UK, we consume around 85,000 tonnes of prawns each year - many of them from Thailand. Forced labour slavery is widespread in Thailand's seafood industry. Traffickers force labourers work up to twenty hours a day, underpaid, and often subject to extreme violence.

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IJM is backing the Thai government's work to stamp out slavery in its fishing industry by launching a new programme to rescue people out of slavery and hold the traffickers accountable under local Thai laws.

3. Jewellery

Was the price of your necklace the price of someone's freedom? Slave owners in the global mining industry trap entire families in slavery for generations. Conditions are so dangerous that the use of children in gold and diamond mining officially falls under the worst forms of child labour. Sadly that doesn't stop it from happening.

4. Carpet

Not an item we often associate with slavery but thousands of children work in India's carpet industry. Some have even been sold to traffickers by their own parents. The Indian government is cracking down on slavery across the country with the support of organisations like International Justice Mission - in fact, they' are aiming to end slavery by 2030.

5. Wood

Slavery is a global industry generating an estimated $150bn a year.

Slaves trapped in wood cutting facilities around the world can be forced to produce one tonne of wood a day. Kalpanna and her family spent four painful years enslaved in a tree cutting unit. She remembers their hunger, as the owner left them without food for days. She had to watch her little boy fall sick and pass away due to lack of medical care. There was nothing she could do to save him. Here's how IJM partnered with Indian authorities to rescue Kalpanna.

6. Chocolate

Life for those who farm chocolate is often anything but sweet. Many cocoa farmers and workers live below the poverty line, earning less than $2 a day. Young children have been found working as slaves after being abducted or sold into slavery. Beatings are common and many will never see their families again. That's enough to make us all think twice next time we pick up a chocolatey treat at the checkout.

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7. Clothing

What's the true cost of my new pair of shoes? The International Labour Organisation estimates that 152million children - more than twice the population of the UK - are engaged in child labour. In the worst cases, these children are slaves living in desperate conditions. Many child labourers are making textiles, shoes and garments to satisfy the demand for cheap, fast fashion in the west. Corners are cut, making serious injuries and fires commonplace.

Ajay was enslaved in a factory making high heels along with 10 other teenage boys and young men. They lived, slept and worked in one room. When IJM and local police rescued them he said: "I thought of running away, but others who had run away were brought back and beaten with iron rods, tortured with long needles and locked in a room for several days."

8. Coffee

We drink around 70 million cups of coffee in the UK every day. The unpalatable truth is that some of that coffee has been produced by people in forced labour slavery, many are children who are being denied access to education and basic human rights.

9. Rice

Was the rice in your cupboard produced by sleep-deprived, starving families like Gopi's working 15 hour days in paddy fields?

IJM's undercover investigators around the world are on the ground every day helping find slaves like Gopi and partnering with local police to rescue them so that they get their freedom back. And we don't stop there - our teams of lawyers help convict slave owners and put them into prison where they can't enslave anyone else.

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What's the solution?

At IJM we've found that slave-owners and traffickers aren't especially courageous when they're faced with the prospect of lengthy prison-sentences. In fact, we've seen levels of slavery drop dramatically when we've helped equip local police and courts to enforce laws.

Slavery is illegal pretty much everywhere and increasingly global governments are starting to tackle it. So here's the good news: it is possible to end slavery in a generation.
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Brexit means Brexit. Whatever this silly little phrase means, for me, one thing is clear: Brexit means that pressing issues are falling down the political agenda as quickly as the rats from good ship Brexit scuttled away on June 24th last year.

Brexit is all-encompassing. So much of our legislation is bound up with the European Union that MPs would have to sit 24 hours a day into the next century to discuss it all. There's enough barking going on from both sides of the debate to last us well into the next millennia. Should we remain in the single market? Should we leave the customs union? Should we have a second referendum?

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Whatever side of the argument you're on, one salient thing which cannot be argued with is that other issues - many of which are time sensitive - are going by the way-side. Mental health, counter-terrorism, humanitarian crises, the list goes on. These issues are clearly being discussed by MPs of all colours, but the greedy legislative burden that Brexit poses is making progress on these issues incredibly difficult.

Most people get interested in politics via a single issue. Mine was climate change. I'm not some hipster who wants to follow Naomi Klein's books as if they were gospel. But I do strongly believe that the action we take - or, perhaps more importantly, don't take - to help tackle global climate change will one day define how this generation is viewed in history books which are yet to be written.

Forgetting Brexit for a second (difficult for some, I know): this government's record on climate change isn't exactly rosy. I've still never quite forgiven Theresa May for abolishing the Department for Energy and Climate Change during her first day as PM. Not only did it ruin my masters dissertation, she sent out a message that her government was demoting the UK to a follower of climate change policy, rather than a leader. At the time, I asked a member of the DECC select committee where the statutory obligation for the government's climate change agenda now laid. He was unsure. Over a year later, and I'm sure there's a file in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy named "climate change targets" filed somewhere near the bins.

Since then, we've seen Theresa May continue the roll back of policies promoting renewable energy sources which began under David Cameron. The man who once hugged a husky is in no way a friend of climate change campaigners. The truth is this government is hallmarked with, at best, a reluctance to address climate change, and at its worst, borderline denial of its very existence.

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In the EU, the UK helped to set the agenda on climate change. It was the last Labour government which introduced the Climate Change Act (2008) which set ambitious emissions targets, catalysing Europe-wide benchmarks. The government may tell us that the EU targets which we are currently legally obliged to meet will continue to be followed after we leave the EU but over the past 16 months since the Brexit vote, we haven't yet received cast iron guarantees on pretty much anything. Just as the rights of EU citizens living in the EU shouldn't be used as a bargaining chip with the EU 27, neither should the health of the planet.

In a strange way, the Brexit mayhem acts as a huge dead cat which is constantly thrown by the government. Sure: they may receive bad press over the issue, but when it comes down to it, Brexit deflects attention from the government's reluctance to guarantee investment in renewables projects such as the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon or the fact that we are back-sliding on our renewables efforts more widely. The truth is we cannot trust this government on a single issue until it is written into law.

It's impossible to mention the current state of global debate around climate change without mentioning a significant source of hot air: Donald Trump. With the US President signalling America will withdraw from the Paris Accord, we cannot afford to stand by on the other side of the road. A non-existent trade deal of British ego is not worth destroying the UK's reputation as a global leader on climate change. I'd rather be patriotic about our efforts to halt one of mankind's greatest challenges than sell the USA a few cars at a slightly cheaper price.
Live Nation, MGM Resorts Sued In Wake Of Festival Shooting

Ten survivors of the deadly shooting spree at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas have hit the estate of alleged gunman Stephen Paddock, as well as MGM Resorts, Mandalay Bay and festival promoter Live Nation with a lawsuit alleging negligence.



The litigants in the suit, all from San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California, seeks redress for physical and emotional suffering as a result of the attack. Two of them were struck by gunfire and all ten say they have "emotional wounds" according to CBS news.

In a statement to CBS, a rep for MGM Resorts said:

The tragic incident that took place on October 1st was a meticulously planned, evil senseless act. As our company and city work through the healing process, our primary focus and concern is taking actions to support the victims and their families, our guests and employees and cooperating with law enforcement. We are grateful for all who came to the victims aid that evening, including our employees, first responders, the police and citizens who acted in countless ways to assist. Out of respect for the victims, we are not going to try this case in the public domain and we will give our response through the appropriate legal channels.

The suit follows a separate lawsuit filed last week by Paige Gasper, a 21-year-old student at Sonoma State University in California. Defendants in Gasper's suit include Mandalay Bay and its owner, MGM Resorts; Live Nation; and the company that manufactured the 'bump stocks' that modify semi-automatic rifles to be fired quickly and which were used by the Las Vegas gunman.

Gasper's suit claims that te defendants breached their duty of reasonable care and failed to keep the hotel in a reasonably safe condition and failed to properly train and supervise employees in an appropriate plan of action in case of an emergency.

Live Nation declined to respond to CBS citing pending litigation but said they are cooperating with the investigation.

via CelebrityAccess

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The word on everybodys lips is smart. Over the past 18 months, support for digital answers to the needs of the modern city has snowballed. City officials recognise the rewards they can reap from innovation: smart cities are future-proof, they are sustainable, and they make for more equal societies. Deutsche Telekom has followed this growing momentum and built up second-to-none experience in guiding cities through the transition process.

The European Union (EU) also understands this window of opportunity for cities and communities across the continent. The EU has put the urban dimension at the very heart of its 20142020 Cohesion Policy. With funding streams dedicated to boosting innovation, billions of euros have been made available to help cities make smart city solutions a reality throughout the EU. This initial funding will accelerate the implementation of smart infrastructure, helping to establish sustainable projects that will be of immense financial, social, and environmental benefit in the long-term.

With an established network of partners all over Europe, Deutsche Telekom is ideally placed to offer in-depth advice and guidance to give cities the best chance at understanding the funding options for their innovative ideas. Its support is founded on a deep understanding of the funding and implementation process, and it is ready to share tried-and-tested business models with aspiring smart cities. Deutsche Telekom understands that investment in information and communications technology (ICT) is the way forward in the digital age. This makes it the perfect partner to help navigate the pathway to EU funding for smart solutions.

The possibilities of smart cities are endless. From improving public safety to reducing pollution, improving efficiency and making a real improvement to citizens daily life, innovation is always the answer. Deutsche Telekom offers unparalleled support to help understand the process involved. With the help of EU funding and Deutsche Telekoms substantial experience in the field, city officials can seize the moment and make their smart city vision a reality.

Source: https://cities-today.com/industry/deutsche-telekom-helps-cities-go-smart-eu-funding/
Participatory budgetings (PB) roots lie in a radical democratic project led by the leftist Workers Party in Porto Alegre, Brazil in the late 1980s. Radical democracy includes incorporating ordinary citizens into government decision-making priorities, an inversion that led governments to allocate public resources to underserved areas (shantytowns) and policy issues (basic health care), with a strong emphasis on social justice. PB was designed to be a school of democracy, whereby citizens learn to deliberate, learn about the functions of government, and begin to engage in democratic practices ( Baiocchi 2005 ).

Since the late 1980s, PB has spread around the world in several waves. PB first spread within Brazil, largely promoted by a network of NGOs and a political party, the Workers Party. Municipal governments and their civil society allies were willing to adopt PB because of the early positive reportsrelatively high levels of participation, increased spending in low income neighborhoods, and the successful re-elections of governments that supported PB. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Brazils neighbors adopted PB in the second wave. In Peru, for example, the national constitution was amended to require all municipal-level governments to use PB. In addition, PB was adopted by cities and municipalities in Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela. PBs third wave of diffusion mostly involved leftist governments adopting PB in places as diverse as Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom), the U.S. (Chicago), India (Kerala), Indonesia (Solo city) and Africa (Durban, South Africa).

PB is rapidly expanding across the world, because its core tenets appeal to many audiences. Progressive activists and politicians like PB for many of the reasons cited abovethey hope that PB will be a vehicle to broaden the confines of representative democracy, mobilize followers, and achieve greater social justice.

PB is also attractive to major international agencies, like the World Bank, European Union, and USAID, because of its emphasis on citizen empowerment through participation, improved governance, and better accountability.

PB is no longer a localized phenomenon that takes place as part of a government-civil society alliance. Increasingly, donors and international organizations support PB efforts, as do non-profit advocacy organizations that exist around the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, international NGOs and multilateral development banks have helped to implement PB in Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania. In North America, the non-profit Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) provides technical assistance and tools to cities undertaking PB projects in both large (New York City and Chicago) and smaller (Greensboro, NC and Vallejo, CA) contexts. In Europe, Paris and Madrid are currently leading the way, currently investing 100 million Euros in each city in their annual PB processes, both Open Government Partnership Subnational Pioneer cities. City governments in Paris and Madrid are both currently providing technical support to governments across the world. Madrid developed an online open source civic engagement portal, Decide Madrid, that is now being be adapted to meet the needs of Buenos Aires and Paris as well as an additional 50 cities. OGPs subnational pioneers such as Jalisco (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Tbilisi (Georgia), Scotland (UK), Paris (France) and Madrid (Spain) are coordinating technical support and learning around participatory budgeting among governments and civil society selected to be part of OGPs subnational pilot program.

Causal Chains producing social and political change

Given this diffusion, what do we know about how PB is generating social and political change, as well as changing individuals and communities? The figure included at the bottom of this blog post illustrates the causal chain through which PB can generate social and political changes. Of course, these relationships are ideal types, and may not exist in every context where PB operates.

One common outcome that emerges from PB processes is attitudinal and behavioral change at the individual level, including among citizen participants, elected officials, and civil servants. Research has also demonstrated larger scale impact in some environments, such as:

Stronger civil society PB creates a stronger civil society by increasing CSO density (number of groups), expanding the range of CSO activities, and promoting new partnerships with governments. See Baiocchi 2005; Baiocchi, Heller, and Silva 2011; Montambeault 2015; McNulty 2011; Sintomer, Herzberg, and Rocke 2008; Santos 2005; Touchton and Wampler 2014 (see also Washington Post "Monkey Cage" article).



Improved Transparency PB improves transparency by generating greater citizen and CSO knowledge and allowing for more oversight and monitoring. See Wampler 2007; Goldfrank 2011; Shah 2007



Greater accountability PB improves governance and accountability because citizens are more likely to be aware of their rights and government activity through PB. Government officials will then respond to citizens demands and collaborate in pursuit of shared interests. See Wampler 2007; Shah 2007; Goldfrank 2011; Alves and Allegretti 2012; Dias 2014



Improved Social Outcomes PB improves social outcomes through improved governance, newly-empowered, better-informed citizens, as well as through the allocation of public work projects that focus on the needs of underserved communities. See Touchton and Wampler 2014; Goncalves 2014



Of course, there is great variation in the degree to which broader social changes accompany individual-level changes. At least five intervening variables consistently help to explain the wide variation in outcomes surrounding PB (see Figure 1 below). Each of these factors needs to be assessed prior to and during PB processes in order to understand the range of potential benefits of the program. For example, we expect a greater likelihood of positive change through PB when government support is high, when there are greater resources, and when civil society is mobilized and engaged. Conversely, we expect the potential for change to decrease as these factors weaken. This suggests that we need to tailor our expectations of the degree of change to the specific sociopolitical environment in which PB is adopted. It is possible that some PB programs will produce very limited results, just as it is possible that more robust programs can generate virtuous circles of political and social change.

Two additional blog posts follow this initial post. In the second post, we focus on how PB has transformed over the past 20 years; the rules and structures of many PB programs are now quite different from the founding Porto Alegre experience. In the third and final post, we focus on impact to highlight what we know about PBs impact as well as the unknowns.

*Support for this work was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation with additional input from Omidyar Network.

*Contact information: bwampler@boisestate.edu, smcnulty@fandm.edu, miketouchton@miami.edu.

Bibliography
Next up in this ongoing look at disruptive scenarios is the Smart City. For the first time in history, more than 50% of the worlds population lives in cities, and that percentage moves to 70% by 2050. This visual effectively captures the dramatic move towards urbanization:

In addition to rapid urbanization, the global population of people over 60 will double by 2050, putting additional stress on supporting the vulnerable. These two trends will amplify the challenges of an already challenged urban environment. Some of the existing challenges include: traffic congestion, dwindling resources, aging infrastructure, increasing global competition for talent, increasing demands on new and existing services, safety and security concerns, greenhouse gases, and limited parking to name a few. These challenges promise to intensify with urban growth, and they are already severe in several key areas. For example, according to a smart parking company called Streetline, experts estimate that 30 percent of urban traffic and associated vehicle emissions are directly related to motorists looking for parking. They quote a year-long study that found drivers in a 15-block district of Los Angeles drove in excess of 950 miles while searching for parking, producing 730 tons of carbon dioxide and using 47,000 gallons of gas. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that urban areas contribute over 67% of global greenhouse gases, rising to 74% by 2030.

Another key challenge that intensifies over time is the fight for talent. Cities are increasingly challenged to keep pace with the education and workforce reskilling requirements of the future. A next generation of education must emerge to address the increasing need for highly skilled workers and the implications to jobs affected by advances in automation. This simple chart makes the job implications fairly clear:

Growing urban challenges increase the focus on the Smart City agenda, as city leaders face compelling reasons to act. Working with limited budgets, cities must find effective ways to address them through innovation and technology, with a strong focus on human, intellectual, and social capital. According to a recent study, the number of smart cities across the world is set to quadruple between 2013 and 2025, with many new city developments. India, for example, is planning to spend $1.13 billion on 100 of them. Cisco believes the global Smart City market is worth $3 trillion, with close to $6 billion coming from India in the next five years. While India is expected to drive future growth, the current leaders are Europe, Singapore, and Korea, with a greater level of activity expected in countries like Brazil and China. The Smart City market is therefore set to explode, with Frost & Sullivan projecting a $1.5 Trillion global market by 2020 across several different segments:

Smart City Benefits

The Internet of Things brings information-gathering to a completely new level, enabling city planners to understand their city like never before. This great example is provided in a recent IDC White paper:

An interesting example is the use of acoustic sensors that are calibrated to detect gunshots. Some cities in the United States have deployed these sensors in areas of gun violence and discovered some shocking information. Police departments had historically assumed that residents called the police 80% of the time when shots were heard. And thus the police thought they had a fairly accurate measure of street gun violence. In San Francisco, after the sensors were in place, the police discovered that residents called the police only 10% of the time when shots were heard. In Oakland, California, the 911 call rate for shots fired was only 22%. Prior to the sensors, these police departments were operating on highly inaccurate information about the level of gun violence in certain neighborhoods. With this new information, police can now plan their patrols differently and better target areas to reduce gun violence.

With this unprecedented access to information, Smart Cities will deliver new levels of efficiency, effectiveness, safety, reliability, and higher levels of service. This access enables a city to anticipate and prevent problems in areas like reducing accidents by rerouting traffic, and reducing crime by identifying hot spots. New insight also enables the provision of services like finding a parking spot, monitoring air pollution, intelligent lighting, and others. A sense and respond model (a key future enabler) allows for the delivery of many of these services without human intervention.

A next generation of efficiency is also enabled, as asset tracking will streamline operations and insight will deliver unprecedented levels of efficiency. For example, a recent survey of water utilities found a saving potential between $7.1 and $12.5 billion each year through smart water solutions. The chief globalization officer of Cisco has said that smart cities drive energy consumption savings of 30% and water consumption savings of 50%. These environmental benefits include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving waste management. Boston University Installed self-powered trash receptacles which wirelessly alerted collection vehicles when they were full, resulting in on-campus trash collection being reduced from 14 times per week to an average of 1.6 times per week.

The Smart City

The Smart City is Defined as a developed urban area that creates sustainable economic development and a high quality of life by excelling in multiple key areas; economy, mobility, environment, people, living, and government. Excelling in these key areas requires strong human capital, social capital, and information and communications technology. We are in the early days of an evolution towards Smart Cities, and IDC Government Insights finds that most cities are deploying these projects department by department. In a recent IDC White paper, they provide a maturity model to describe this Smart City evolution:

In these early days, network infrastructure is a foundational Smart City investment, and increasingly, city services like finding a cab or bus, finding a nearby restaurant, reporting a problem, applying for a drivers license, or tweeting to a government representative, must be available in the citizens pocket. Much like the challenges of the private sector, these new services must be delivered through new channels, while maintaining traditional ones. Some of the components of a Smart City are:

Smart City Ecosystem

The Smart City ecosystem may ultimately be the biggest and most complex ecosystem. As described in previous posts, Combinatorial Innovation accelerates the potential for new disruptive scenarios while enabling their realization. In the Smart City context, disruptive scenarios themselves must come together to enable the Smart city vision, making it an aggressive combination of innovation. The visual below is an expansion of the visual that Ive used as the anchor for this disruptive scenario series, and describes the combinatorial nature of the smart City:

The primary digital forces form the Smart City foundation, which then combine with innovation accelerators like Renewable Energy, Robotics, and others. This technology foundation then combines with the highlighted disruptive scenarios to deliver against the smart city vision. Each of these disruptive scenarios brings a complicated ecosystem of its own, and when combined, forms a mega-ecosystem that amplifies the complexity. Consider the possible combinations of public and private sector stakeholders that have to come together to realize the ultimate vision: participants in complementary ecosystems, communication vendors, energy suppliers, building companies, health providers, education bodies, city planners and developers, system integrators, software vendors, the automotive industry, facility control providers, and technology providers for mobile technology, cloud computing, networking, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), and more.

Another way to look at the magnitude of the Smart City ecosystem would be from a data perspective. Look at the difference in the amount of resulting data across several key disruptive scenarios:

Source: Bosch

The ecosystem will expand organically, as cities open their data to the public to spur the creation of new businesses, exciting new jobs, and innovative services through applications that use this data.

Disruption

Demographic shifts and rapid urbanization are highly disruptive to cities  but the disruption does not end there. Smart City initiatives that leverage other disruptive scenarios have a multiplicative effect on disruption. For example, parking is an industry ripe for innovation, and smart parking solutions are emerging to manage the challenges referenced earlier. So in the short term, the industry should move to a more efficient place, as traffic congestion and vehicle emissions are reduced. But in the long term, what role does parking serve? The Autonomous Vehicle (another disruptive scenario) ultimately plays a major role in the future smart city, and it could make parking an unneeded component of the smart city landscape. In this case, the combination of disruptive scenarios completely disrupts the parking industry.

Competitive threats expand across a wide spectrum, as new opportunities arise for traditional companies to enter non-traditional ecosystems, and innovators to encroach on traditional company turf. In a Smart City context, energy and construction could be attractive spaces for the likes of Google, Cisco and other technology companies. Could a construction company acquisition be in their future  or do they become facilitators of a Smart City ecosystem that includes energy and construction companies? This recent LinkedIn post on Smart Cities and the Construction Industry provides additional insight. This is one small example of the cross-industry impacts likely to emerge, and more evidence of a shift from a vertical to horizontal orientation. Another cross-industry impact can be seen in this piece describing Comcasts Worst Nightmare. Utility providers will likely compete with Telecom providers, as witnessed by EPB, a Chattanooga Tennessee public utility that realized smart-grid energy infrastructure could also provide consumers super-fast Internet speeds at competitive prices. The result is a system that now provides the nations fastest broadband speeds at prices often cheaper than the private competition.

Response

As with each scenario analyzed, every possible disruption requires a response. The Smart City scenario is very intriguing, and is likely to stimulate innovation on a large scale. It is driven by serious social challenges that must be addressed. As such, the public and private sector will come together to evolve the future of our cities. Whats so intriguing about this scenario is its broad reach. The mega-ecosystem that I referenced earlier speaks to the wide reaching disruptive implications of the Smart City agenda. In responding, governments and companies will continue to blur traditional boundaries. The private sector will see new competitors arise from places they never expected, but at the same time, new revenue streams will emerge as they leverage assets in new ways. The Google and Cisco example above is indicative of both the blurring of boundaries, and the potential responses.

This focus on the disruption-response model is intended to describe a coming shift to a new paradigm. Traditional strategic planning cycles dont work anymore. Iterative strategic planning and insight-driven strategies and experimentation are the future, and responding to disruption will rapidly become a way of life. To get there however, companies must assess each relevant scenario, take a lean approach to experimenting with possible responses, embrace ecosystem thinking, and infuse the digital DNA required to succeed. The Smart City could very well be the biggest test.

As a reminder, this post continues a comprehensive look at a number of emerging disruptive scenarios:

Source: https://frankdiana.net/2014/10/16/the-smart-city/
Who Withdrew?: MNA Mixes Up Labor Board Complaints

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Massachusetts Nursing Association has withdrawn one of the multiple unfair labor practice charges it filed against Berkshire Medical Center.

In July, the registered nurses' union filed a charge against a new absentee policy the hospital's administration had established. The claim was that there was a modification to the contract because the new policy was not negotiated. The union said the hospital broadened the circumstances around absences for discipline.

However, according to a union spokesman, it was later learned that the policy was not going to be implemented for the union's membership. Last week, on Oct. 13, the union opted to withdraw the complaint.

While fairly straightforward, there was confusion on Tuesday regarding that withdrawal, and hospital officials were quick to pounce.

Somehow word got back to union leaders that Berkshire Medical Center had withdrawn a complaint it had made against the union with the National Labor Relations Board.

BMC had previously filed a complaint that accused the union of surface bargaining and failing to make any significant modifications to its offers during negotiations. Union leadership believed the hospital had withdrawn that and sent out a press release highlighting its significance.

"This charge was obviously just a public relations ploy, one of many baseless accusations Berkshire Medical Center has aimed at its own nurses rather than settle a fair contract," reads a quote from Alex Neary, co-chair of the MNA BMC Bargaining Committee, in the released statement.

Another quote read,"the hospital's entire charge was based in an alternate reality," from the other co-chair, Gerri Jakacky.

Except, BMC hadn't withdrawn the complaint. The union had made a mistake.

BMC's vice president of human resources quickly shot a letter to union leadership after the press release was sent.

"To be perfectly clear, Berkshire Medical Center has not withdrawn any unfair labor practice charge. As you well know, but chose not to disclose in your public release, the only party to have withdrawn any unfair labor practice charge in matters between the hospital and the MNA is your union itself," Milano wrote.

He added, "The MNA's latest stunt in misleading the public and its own membership necessarily raises the question why anyone in the community or in the bargaining unit should place any trust in anything that the union says."

The hospital and MNA have been at loggerheads for most of the year over a new contract. The nurses union says there are unsafe staffing levels that it wants addressed in the contract; hospital officials have refused, saying its proposal for a joint committee is appropriate and claiming the union is trying to galvanize support for a statewide ballot question.

The result was a one-day strike by the nurses that turned into a five-day lockout by the hospital.

Milano claims the union has been practicing "misdirection and misrepresentation" for more than a year.

But, he wrote, "we were unprepared for the complete fabrication that your organization released to the public today, falsely claiming that Berkshire Medical Center has withdrawn its unfair labor practice charge against the union.

"The MNA is apparently so fixated upon destroying the good reputation that the clinical teams at Berkshire Medical Center have built both locally and nationally that it has now chosen to invent a story that the hospital has given up on its charge that, in service to your statewide agenda, the MNA has been engaged in a yearlong pattern of bad faith bargaining."

Milano charged that the entire episode showed that MNA had targeted three hospital systems this year "just to raise public awareness of its 2018 ballot question designed to fatten the ranks and treasury of the union."

Shortly afterward, the union realized its mistake and a followup "retraction" of the press release was issued.

The news of the absenteeism policy complaint is fairly insubstantial, but Tuesday's back and forth shows just how on edge both sides are when it comes to negotiations. The union says there haven't been any negotiations since the one-day strike, but a federal mediator is still involved and will bring the sides together.

The nurses also plan another rally outside of the hospital's main entrance on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Clarksburg School OKs 'Blizzard Bags' to Case of Snow Days

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  School officials are preparing for another snowy winter with "blizzard bags" to keep students on track.

The School Committee on Oct. 5 approved a pilot program that would send predetermined school work home with children so up to five school snow days could be treated as instructional days.

"It's a way where you don't have to make up snow days at the end of the year, which is kind of a waste," Superintendent Jonathan Lev explained recently.

The discussions on the pilot took place over several meetings.

Clarksburg School had make up seven snow days this past year, extending the school year to June 23. The number and timing of storms last winter frustrated school districts across the region as they tried to decide on closings or half-days to maneuver around the bad weather to get their 180 days in. Most went beyond the five normal snow days.

The concept of "blizzard bags" (in reality a project or selection of projects) has been around for a few years and was most recently used by Gateway Regional High School in Huntington. The pilot was deemed a success although the school still ended up using snow days.

Lev said the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has no regulations preventing the use of blizzard bags. In 2015, under the commissioner's update, DESE posted in response to growing inquiries about the practice that "school districts must ensure that such work is structured learning time, is substantial, and has appropriate oversight and teacher involvement. ... Districts are encouraged to share their experiences as they experiment with different models so that all can learn about their effectiveness and develop examples of best practices."

The superintendent said the work should have the same value as a school day.

"Our thinking is it doesn't have to be done that day, maybe a week or even two weeks to turn in an assignment," he said. "For older kids, it might be some kind of paper or research ... we want to give them time so if they need questions or help."

He anticipated students could find help after school when they return or be able to communicate with teachers electronically on snow days.

"I think it's a great idea," said School Committee member Patricia Pengruber. She was, however, concerned about how long the pilot should run before being evaluated.

Principal Tara Barnes said she needed to know the length of the pilot to communicate to teachers and students.

"You don't want to go for a long amount of time and get sucked into a place where you're allowing 10 instructional days to pass," she said.

English teacher Michael Little thought it should be at least five days with the possibility to add more.

"I think if we went with two, I don't think two is quite long enough to work out some of the bugs, if there are any," he said. "But if we have a solid system in place before it goes out, I think it will be really smooth."

The School Committee moved to approve using blizzard bags for up to five snow days, and then re-evaluate if more should be added.

Lev said he is hoping for high participation since there will be the expectation that this is part of the school year.

"I talked with the superintendent who did this and they were pleasantly surprised at how successful it was," he said. "We feel the outcome is more beneficial for the kids and that the last couple days of June, how much academic work are they getting?"
Adams-Cheshire Superintendent Robert Putnam responds to a question at NBCC's forum on the Berkshire County Education Task Force on Tuesday. NBCC Director Amber Besaw, far left, leads the forum held at MCLA's Church Street Center. John Hockridge, Cindy Brown and Barbara Malkas, all members of the task force, speak to the forum. PreviousNext

Education Task Force Panel Answers Questions at NBCC Forum



Panelists Jake Eberwein, left, Paul Butler, Douglas McNally, Robert Putnam and Tony Mazzucco, all members of the task force.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The vision of the Berkshire County Education Task Force is a single, countywide school district that would create sustainable educational opportunities and academic support to a dwindling student population.

The controversial recommendation , made in July after two years of study and modeling, hasn't been an easy sell in the small towns fearing that consolidation means school closings and loss of local control.

But task force members are hoping that officials, parents and community members will see the benefits of at least working toward such a configuration over the next decade through outreach programs like the one held at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Tuesday.

"Drawing on all we have learned through Phase 1 and 2, the taks force in July concluded that a single school district offers the best opportunity to provide the best education for the most students at a sustainable cost," explained North Adams Superintendent of School Barbara Malkas to the 70 or so attendees in the college's Church Street Center.

The gathering, hosted by the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition as its October forum, included a presentation of the work of the task force by members Malkas and MCLA Vice President of Academic Affairs Cynthia Brown and an introduction by the task force's Chairman John Hockridge, a North Adams School Committee member.

The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session with five task force members: MCLA Dean Howard "Jake" Eberwein (former superintendent of the Pittsfield Public Schools); Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee Chairman Paul Butler; Windsor Selectman Douglas McNally (former Taconic High principal); Adams-Cheshire Superintendent Robert Putnam; and Adams Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco.

"The idea of a countywide school system is more common thorughout the United States ... it's more normal, if you will, than the school model we have here in Massachusetts," Mazzucco said.

Maryland, for instance, has a state superintendent and 25 school districts for more than 850,000 students. Massachusetts, in contrast, has nearly a million students in more than 400 school districts, with 17 school districts in the Berkshires in alone.

The panelists said the ability to consolidate operations would allow greater access to educational opportunities and free up adminstrators who have to be jack of all trades to focus on education.

Putnam told how he'd spent the day ordering handheld radios that weren't up the Fire Department's standards and roofing issues. "I know nothing about that stuff. But someone has to do it," he said. "In small districts like Adams-Cheshire, you become a utility person."

In larger districts, Mazzucco said, there are staff designated to take care of maintenance issues or information technology and other specialties simply not available to smaller districts.

"You'd be surprised how much time your average superintendents spend time doing things like checking bus schedules, managing buildings, handling all sorts of issues that don't have anything to do with education," he said. "We give them the tools and administrative support they need, one superintendent is going to have people assisting them ... It's about using the money we're spending a lot more effectively."

More importantly, larger districts can offer academic opportunities beyond that of smaller schools with limited resources. Schools could synchronize schedules, for instance, to ensure that periods line up for long-distance learning opportunities: one teacher could instruct students in a half-dozen different schools. High school students could participate in online college-level courses at MCLA or Berkshire Community Collage and gain credit for their work.

Elementary schools could be configured by grade rather than towns to ensure equitable education resources. Special education and academic support could be more easily delivered. Schools wouldn't be vying for the same professionals and a larger district would have more flexibility for movement of teachers and staff.

"Right now, depending on the community you live in, that can determine what opportunities you have," Putnam said. "When I went to Monument Mountain, you could take German, French, Latin, Spanish. And now the superintendent of the district told me the only language available is Spanish. Yet, if you were to live in a town next to it, there are more opportunities available."

The inherent inequities in the current system don't speak well for the entire county, he said. "One of the real goals has to be that all of the students in Berkshire County have real opportunities."

McNally said the general lack of vocational education was also an issue. McCann Technical in North Adams is nearly at capacity and the new Taconic High won't open until next fall. He said three students in his community were being bused and tuitioned, costing the town thousands of dollars. Streamlining access for vocational education needed to be part of the conversation, he said.

Some of the questions related to costs but the panelists cautioned that school funding formulas and health insurance were out of their purview. Some savings could be seen by streamlining and eliminating duplications, and in transportation, but the goal of the task force is on improving and sustaining quality education for a declining population.

"It's important that we understand that our assumption would be that the money saved wouldn't necessarily be savings, it would be reinvestment in improving the opportunity and access and the quality of things we're able to offer the students," Eberwein said.

The task force sees a gradual move toward district consolidation, with the presentation noting that almost all the current districts already have some form of partnership as regional districts or superintendency unions. Brown said every district will have to make its own decisions whether to continue to pursue deeper partnerships, keep the status quo or not participate at all.

Bulter said the concept of a single district invites the perception of a lack of local control that "sometimes is difficult to get past."

"Whatever solution we set up, we maintain a connection with the people in the community and the school that's in their line of sight," Eberwein said. That could come through empowering school councils. "We have too many school committees right now but we want a way for people to have a voice in their community."

McNally said, "I would rather have a little less control of a high-quality school than total control of a low-quality school."

A lot of issues would have to be worked out along the way: integrating contracts with the Massachusetts Teachers Association (which has been represented at task force meetings), sorting out governance issues, working with the state and the Massachusetts School Building Authority, dealing with funding and taxes, and reconfiguring, opening or closing schools.

Any of those decisions will be made at the local level, task force members said. The role of the group had been to provide a recommendation to move forward based on research of the current system and projections that the population will continue to decline as education spending rises.

"I think we don't even know what possibilities could open up if we had a regional basis," Putnam said. "It's hard to imagine what sorts of things could open up given the fact that we will be sharing."

The presentation and panel was recorded for replay on Northern Berkshire Community Television.

BCETF Phase II Final Report by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Cathy Keating, Caitlyn Lopez and Joe Bergeron of the Williamstown School Committee participate in Tuesday's joint meeting with the Lanesborough and Mount Greylock school committees.

Mount Greylock Asks Towns to Put Regional Expansion to Vote

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Tuesday decided to ask voters to approve the region's expansion to include Williamstown's and Lanesborough's elementary schools.

But there may be one more School Committee meeting to approve the final regional agreement language voters will see at Nov. 14 special town meetings in each community.

The junior-senior high school committee convened for its monthly meeting with hopes of reviewing a final draft of a plan that has been in the works for years. But the draft currently is under review by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Boston, which has the final say on the language used in regional agreements.

"There's been a little bit of a hiccup," Williamstown Elementary School Committee Chairman Joe Bergeron told his counterparts at Mount Greylock. "DESE is short-staffed. They're working hard and trying to give us a conditionally approved document.

"Currently, the staff that really knows regional agreements is only in a couple of days a week.  We do not have a draft approved by the commissioner's office before you tonight."

However, Bergeron and the task group that has taken the lead on the regional expansion since last spring have been in constant communication with DESE as they draft agreement was constructed. He said he hopes that any changes at this point will be minor edits and not the kinds of substantive changes that would require major consideration by the Mount Greylock School Committee.

If that is the case, the School Committee will have no trouble meeting an Oct. 23 deadline to put a final draft in the hands of the Williamstown and Lanesborough Boards of Selectmen along with a request for a warrant article for Nov. 14, when both towns plan simultaneous special town meetings.

Interim Superintendent Kimberley Grady told the committee that DESE has indicated it will have final comments on the agreement language back to the district by Friday.

With that in mind, School Committee member Chris Dodig moved that the committee approve the draft amendment in its current form with the understanding that any of the committee's seven members can request reconsideration at a special meeting scheduled for Monday, Oct. 23, at 8 a.m., if any of the changes requested by DESE raise a red flag.

The committee agreed to post a meeting at that time with the intention of canceling it if none of the DESE revisions warrant further considering.

Williamstown Selectmen Chairman Hugh Daley addressed the committee from the floor and urged the panel to get a final, DESE-approved draft in front of his board as soon as possible.

"Come Monday, my board is going to be looking for the final, no changes any more, locked agreement  with the hopes of adding it to the warrant article and moving it forward," Daley said. "What was supposed to happen tonight was you were supposed to lock in an agreement. It sounds like we're not going to have that until possibly Friday afternoon  and then my board is going to have to absorb it and vote on Monday.

The Williamstown and Lanesborough selectmen have to warn the meeting two weeks before a special town meeting. Monday is the final scheduled Williamstown Board of Selectmen's meeting before the two-week window closes.

The Williamstown board does have a Nov. 13 regularly scheduled meeting and the possibility of any number of dates for a special meeting prior to the special town meeting at which Daley's board could make an advisory vote on the question voters will face on Nov. 14.

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Bergeron told the Mount Greylock committee that the draft before it is largely the same as one presented to the panel at its September meeting.

"The spirit of the agreement has remained identical to what we saw a month ago," he said. "The significant changes are a lot of rewording.  What you saw a month ago was the result of copying and pasting in approved language from agreements in other regions.  For example, the language around the transition committee, which now has been significantly reworked."

That transition committee would helm a new preK-12 Mount Greylock district from Jan. 1 until the next school committee election in November. The plan is to have the transition committee include four members from the current Mount Greylock School Committee, two members from the Williamstown committee and one member from the Lanesborough committee -- maintaining the same mix of residents on the current Mount Greylock School Committee, with four Williamstown residents and three Lanesborough residents.

On Tuesday, Williamstown School Committee member Dan Caplinger asked why the draft agreement calls for the three existing committee chairs to appoint the representatives to serve on the transition committee instead of, say, having the respective school committees vote on who to put on the temporary panel, which would have responsibility for the expanded district's fiscal 2019 budget.

Bergeron said the chair-appointed transition committee members model has been used in other districts, and the intent was to make the language mirror what DESE has approved in the past. But both Bergeron and Lanesborough Committee Chairwoman Regina DiLego, who attended the joint meeting of the three committees, agreed they would not appoint the transition committee representatives without consulting with their colleagues.

Mount Greylock School Committee Chairwoman Sheila Hebert did not attend Tuesday's meeting, but Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Greene, who ran the meeting in place of Hebert, said Mount Greylock's committee generally reaches consensus before the chair makes subcommittee assignments and would likely do the same in this instance.

Caplinger indicated he was satisfied with the chairs' commitment to dialogue on the issue and the idea that the public would have a chance to comment before appointments were made. And he agreed that it was not an issue to change and, potentially, slow down DESE's review of the draft agreement.




Haiti - Politics : The Embassy of Haiti in Benin commemorates the death of Dessalines





As part of the commemoration of 211 years of the assassination of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Embassy of Haiti in Benin bows to the memory of this emblematic figure of the universal history whose fight aimed at the liberation of all Afro descendants in the world.



"Jean-Jacques Dessalines has broken the chains of the oppressive, inhuman and degrading slave system, in order to lay the foundations for a new world order based on social justice, fraternity and equality.



Ironically, every year since 1992, the United Nations has celebrated to this date the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty [...] This theme is similar to the cry of the heart launched by Emperor Jean Jacques Dessalines, and which may have led to his loss. 'And the black poor whose fathers are in Africa, will they have nothing ?'



It would do justice to Dessalines if the elimination of poverty could one day become a reality in the world. But we must believe that the journey will be long and difficult."



IH/ iciHaiti


















TOKYO  Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, met with Japans Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr Hiroshige Seko, to discuss a range of issues including recent developments in global energy markets.

The meeting was held during a visit to Tokyo as Dr Birol participated in the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference, and where the IEA launched its latest annual review of gas security.

Dr Birol and Minister Seko of METI discussed progress on deepening the IEA's engagement with emerging economies and options to develop more transparent and flexible markets LNG markets in Asia. Dr Birol also held other bilateral meetings, including with ministers from India, Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei. He also met with Mr. Iwao Horii, Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs.

In his scene-setting address for the conference, Dr Birol focused on how LNG was reshaping the global gas market. He emphasized how the LNG business had gone through fundamental changes over the past few years, and how it could redraw the global energy map for both consumers and producers.

Dr Birol said that LNG markets are witnessing a new supply boom led by the United States and Australia in the next five years. This wave of new LNG supplies is outpacing the growth in demand, creating a natural gas glut through 2022.

The IEA has received a mandate from its member countries to review natural gas security. The latest assessment, Global Gas Security Review 2017, found that market flexibility was improving thanks to LNG and that markets were currently well supplied, but that gas security remained a concern.
California and Chile to co-host webinar on precision agriculture

Sacramento, California - Sensors that tell growers how much water to use; drones that can fly over operations and asses the health of crops; real-time data at the fingertips of farmers.

Its not science fiction - its the future of agriculture.

In an attempt to streamline operations, increase sustainability and improve climate resiliency, California farmers are embracing precision agriculture technology. Also known as smart farming, precision agriculture uses the latest technological innovations to produce more food while using less resources.

But California farmers are not the only ones adopting this technology. Nearly 6000 miles away, farmers, academics and public officials in the country of Chile are also actively exploring opportunities in precision agriculture.

As some of the worlds largest wine producers, Chile and California share a number of similarities. They both enjoy Mediterranean climate ecosystems. They bought have struggled with prolonged drought. And most importantly, both California rrepresentatives from Chile and California to discuss the role precision technology can play in mitigating the impacts of climate change and improve on-farm efficiency. The event will be held on October 30th from 9 am to 11 am.

Registration and speaker information can be found at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2276456747899022083

California continues to work in collaboration with international partners to foster knowledge-sharing partnerships to address climate change impacts on agriculture. This webinar is the seventh in a series of international discussions focusing on climate smart agriculture. For more information, contact Jaydeep Singh at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. and Chile are committed to implementing climate smart agricultural practices.

In an effort to share best practices, exchange information and learn more about the potential of precision agriculture, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will host a climate smart webinar, titled California & Chile: Opportunities for Precision Agriculture in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.

This free webinar brings together farmers, research scientists and government representatives from Chile and California to discuss the role precision technology can play in mitigating the impacts of climate change and improve on-farm efficiency.

California continues to work in collaboration with international partners to foster knowledge-sharing partnerships to address climate change impacts on agriculture. This webinar is the seventh in a series of international discussions focusing on climate smart agriculture. For more information, contact Jaydeep Singh at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Situation Near Kirkuk, Iraq

Washington, DC - The United States is very concerned by reports of violence around Kirkuk, Iraq. We are monitoring the situation closely and call on all parties to coordinate military activities and restore calm.

We support the peaceful exercise of joint administration by the central and regional governments, consistent with the Iraqi Constitution, in all disputed areas. We are working with officials from the central and regional governments to reduce tensions, avoid further clashes, and encourage dialogue.

We strongly urge all parties to avoid provocations that can be exploited by Iraqs enemies who are interested in fueling ethnic and sectarian conflict. In particular, we note that there is still much work to be done to defeat ISIS in Iraq, and continued tensions between Iraqi and Kurdish forces distract from this vital mission. The United States will continue to stand with our Iraqi partners to ensure ISISs defeat.
Amendments to Cambodia's Election Law

Washington, DC - We are deeply concerned by the National Assemblys passage of amendments to Cambodias Election Law today. If ratified, these amendments, in conjunction with the lawsuit by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), would effectively disenfranchise the millions of people who voted for the CNRP in the 2013 and 2017 elections.

Genuine competition is essential to democracy and to the legitimacy of the 2018 national elections. History proves that suppressing legitimate political activity leads to more long-term instability, rather than less. We urge government officials to consider the serious implications of their recent actions.

We renew our call that the leader of the CNRP - Kem Sokha - be released from prison.
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I visited witch camps in Zambia and Ghana, says I Am Not a Witch director Rungano Nyoni. They are very disorganised and sparse and run by different chiefs.

It sounds like something out of Arthur Millers The Crucible or Shakespeares Macbeth but is a story told in the present. A witch camp is a settlement that gives refuge to women accused of being witches. They are most prevalent in Ghana where the government has announced an initiative to close witch camps and teach the population that witches do not in fact exist.

There is nothing extraordinary about witch camps, says Nyoni. They are like normal villages but populated by older women. They have the women working on the land and doing everyday activities.

It is the philosophy and the sexism behind them that drove the 35-year-old director to make her debut film about these enclaves. I am just trying to point out the absurdity of something that is misogynistic, she says. In my research, I found that the way that these people who held witches talked about women were extraordinary, so the film came from a place of anger.

The accused: young actress Maggie Mulubwa plays nine-year-old Shula, who is branded a witch

The director has channelled that anger into comedy; a cruel humour that has had audiences wondering whether they should laugh of cry, ever since the film received its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The best way for me to vent this anger was through a cruel humour, its a Zambian sense of humour which tends to be cruel. We have this hang up that we see in Britain of hierarchies where the middle class cant laugh at the working class.

I Am Not a Witch tells the story of nine-year-old Shula, who is accused of being a witch. She is faced with a choice of living as a witch in a camp that doubles as a tourist attraction, or trying to escape and being turned into a goat. A detail that was inspired by a French fairytale, La Chevre de Monsieur Seguin (Mr Seguins Goat), which tells the story of goats who want to escape from their farm, even though they know they face near certain death by a wolf should they do so. Its about how the desire to have a moment of freedom is stronger than the fear of death. It is through Shulas eyes that we learn about life on a witch camp.

The young actress Maggie Mulubwa, who plays Shula, was discovered after an extensive search. Nyoni looked at approximately 1000 children before making her decision. When Nyoni discovered that Mulubwa had never been to school, she set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to give her mesmerising lead actress an education in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. The rest of the cast are a mix of family members, non-professional actors and a captivating performance by Zambian TV star Henry BJ Phiri as government official Mr Banda.

Nyoni wanted to tell the story through the eyes of a child because she feels people are more willing to change when they have to accommodate a child. Indeed when we see Nyoni for the first time, it is the first hint that I Am Not A Witch will be a comedy, as shes wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with #Bootycall across its front. Africans and their random T-shirts! laughs Nyoni. That is giving people permission to laugh as people are kind of scared at laughing at the film.

For the director the film is about: How people impose rules, how people follow those rules and how difficult it is to break away from those rules, even if they are kind of unspoken rules or tradition.

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Needing to adapt to different cultures is something that Nyoni had to learn at an age not too dissimilar to the young protagonist in her feature film debut. Born in Lusaka at the age of eight, she moved to Cardiff where her mother had been studying as a student at university.

Owas Ray Mwape in Nyonis short film Mwansa the Great in 2011 (Icreatefilms)

I didnt get a culture shock, as I always say that Lusaka is like Wales, she says. Though admits: I found it difficult because people used to make fun of my accent and I had a very strong accent. I didnt have a lot of friends at the time as I was trying to work out how to behave. But now when Im in Wales, I have more of a Welsh accent, and when Im in Zambia I have more of a Zambian accent  I dont even know what my accent is anymore.

When she arrived in Cardiff, Nyoni lived in Riverside, where there were lots of other immigrant families. Her mother remarried a white Englishman and she was not able to go back to Zambia until she was 14. In Cardiff, her family stayed in a studio bedsit where she lived with her mum, dad and brother and sister, all in one room. I only realised when we were older that we were really poor.

She also had to navigate different expectations placed upon her. There are different rules in different places and I have to adapt accordingly. In Zambia there was an obsession about me not being married for a long time, and being childless, it still is.

Home is where the art is: Nyoni was born in Zambia but at the age of eight moved to Cardiff (Getty) (Getty Images)

Growing up, Nyoni dreamed of being an actress, studying an MA in screen acting at Central St Martins in London. During the course she realised she would rather be behind the camera. When she graduated, she began making short films, starting with The List in 2009. She went on to make two highly acclaimed short films: the Bafta-nominated Mwansa the Great, in 2011, and the multi-award winning film Listen, in 2014, which starts with a Muslim mother asking to be protected from her abusive husband in a Danish police station.

And her first film has been equally successful. Now, as it is being released in cinemas, she has one wish: In the end I cant help what people get from it, or take from it, I just hope that they laugh and that they feel the tragedy.

I Am Not a Witch is out on 20 October
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Mark and Jay Duplass have been creating original, interesting work since they burst onto the scene with The Puffy Chair in 2005. In the years since, one or both brothers have written, directed, produced and acted in films including Jeff, Who Lives at Home and Creep, as well as recent television programmes such as Togetherness and Room 104. In 2010, the siblings wrote and directed Cyrus, an unnerving comedy drama that blends the ethos of mumblecore with the kind of production values that had been absent from their work up to that point.

John C Reilly plays John, a depressed middle-aged man struggling to cope with the news that his ex-wife (Catherine Keener) is going to marry again. The film opens at a party during which he drinks too much but hits it off with Molly (Marisa Tomei), an affable single mum. This all seems too good to be true and so it proves when John is introduced to Mollys 21-year-old son, the eponymous Cyrus (Jonah Hill). The relationship Cyrus has with his mother might give Norman Bates pause for thought, and John soon realises this unhinged rival for Mollys affections will stop at nothing in his bid to break up the couple.

Unusually, the film was shot in sequence, and this method of working aids the mounting tension. The Duplass brothers encouraged the actors to improvise  the tone is entirely naturalistic. Tomei is excellent as the warm and affable mother caught in the middle of a war she wants nothing to do with, while Hill has never been better. The Oedipus complex on display here is never presented with scorn nor derision, the cast and crew keeping things nuanced, allowing us to invest emotionally in the events onscreen.

Reilly only met Tomei a day before the eight-week shoot began because the Duplass brothers dislike rehearsal, fearing it can compromise the realism of a picture. In a sense, this manner of working is closer to Mike Leigh or Curb Your Enthusiasm than conventional Hollywood methods, and Reilly has estimated that something like 80 per cent of his lines were improvised.

As with documentary features, the key work came after filming. Reilly is on record about the Duplass brothers as saying: They do their screenwriting in the editing room, almost. You know, they gather all this material and they try to guide it and they give a lot over to the actors and then they sit in this room for six months and reconstruct what they have.

The result is a touching, original and idiosyncratic movie from filmmakers reaching maturity.
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Kevin Smith has pledged to donate all future residuals earned from his films produced under Harvey Weinstein - either under Miramax or The Weinstein Company - to Women in Film, a non-profit organisation dedicated to seeking gender parity in the industry.

"My entire career is tied up with the man," Smith stated on his podcast Hollywood Babble-On. "Its been a weird f*cking week. I just wanted to make some f*cking movies, thats it. Thats why I came, thats why I made Clerks. And no f*cking movie is worth all this. Like, my entire career, f*ck it, take it. Its wrapped up in something really f*cking horrible."

When an audience member blurted out that it wasn't his fault, Smith responded: "I'm not looking for sympathy. I know its not my fault, but I didnt f*cking help. Because I sat out there talking about this man like he was a hero, like he was my friend, like he was my father and shit like that, and he changed my f*cking life."

"And I showed other people, like, You can dream, and you can make stuff, and this man will put it out. I was singing praises of somebody that I didnt f*cking know," he continued.

"I didnt know the man that they keep talking about in the press. Clearly he exists, but that man never showed himself to me. It all hurts, and it didnt happen to me, but it all hurts."

"I had a dream and I made it, and I presented it to somebody, and they didnt make me do something f*cking horrible," Smith added. "So I feel like there are so many people that we know of now, and maybe even more, that were made to do horrible things to make their dreams come true and maybe didnt even get to touch the dreams; this f*cking dude chased them away."

Weinstein produced many of Smith's early projects, including Clerks, Clerks II, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Show all 42 1 /42 Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Harvey Weinstein Harry Weinsteins reputation as one of Hollywoods leading executives was long cemented in stone. The acclaimed movie mogul, who produced Oscar-winning films Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, and The Artist, clocked up box office successes and accolades aplenty. But this has quickly changed since a chorus of women have come forward to accuse the Hollywood producer of sexual harassment and assault. Since the New York Times bombshell report disclosed sexual harassment and rape allegations against the film mogul dating back decades, Weinstein has been fired from his namesake company, expelled from the Oscars and has had his wife leave him. Weinstein has apologised for having caused a lot of pain but has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Annabella Sciorra The Sopranos actor alleged Weinstein raped her after shooting The Night We Never Met, a 1993 movie that Weinstein produced. Similar to the stories told by other women, Weinstein drove the actor home, only to reportedly burst into Sciorra's apartment and start unbuttoning his shirt. He shoved me onto the bed, and he got on top of me, Sciorra said. I kicked and I yelled. Weinstein then allegedly locked her arms and forced sexual intercourse on her. After the incident, Sciorra found it increasingly hard to get work, many filmmakers saying 'We heard you were difficult', something the actor claims was because of the 'Weinstein-machine'. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Natassia Malthe The model and actress, who has appeared in around 50 films, said she met Weinstein at a BAFTA after party in 2008 while she was working as a spokeswoman for LG. She told a press conference in New York that she felt pressured into telling Weinstein she was staying at the Sanderson Hotel after being put on the spot. Malthe, now 43, said after her shift on February 10 she went back to her room and went to sleep, but was awoken by "repeated pounding" on her door, from someone yelling: "Open the door Natassia Malthe, it's Harvey Weinstein." Feeling humiliated, she said she opened the door. She alleged Weinstein began implying sex would get her a role in an upcoming film while semi-undressed and then he began to masturbate. "I was sitting on the bed talking to Harvey when he pushed me back and forced himself onto me. It was not consensual. He did not use a condom," she said. AP Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Sean Young The actor, best known for her role in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, said that Weinstein exposed himself to her in the early 1990s, when she was starring in the Miramax-produced Love Crimes - a production company that Weinstein headed at the time. "I personally experienced him pulling his you-know-what out of his pants to shock me," she said. "My basic response was, 'You know, Harvey, I really dont think you should be pulling that thing out, its not very pretty.'" Young never worked with Weinstein again after the incident. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mimi Haleyi Mimi Haleyi said she was assaulted by Weinstein in what appeared to be a child's bedroom in his New York City apartment in 2006 when she was in her 20s. She said she was aspiring to work in television and film production when she was first introduced to him at the London premiere of The Aviator around two years earlier and he helped her get experience on the set of a TV show being produced by The Weinstein Company. But, she added, he repeatedly hassled her and even tried to force himself through her front door in an effort to get her to join him on a trip to Paris. At one point he allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on an aspiring production assistant while she was on her period. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lupita Nyong'o In an op-ed for The New York Times, the Oscar-winning actor said she was invited to Weinsteins family home in Connecticut on the premise of watching a film shortly after they met in 2011. But she said shortly after it started he "insisted" in front of his children that she follow him and she was led to his bedroom. The Kenyan-Mexican actress, now 34, said she felt pressured into giving him a massage after he offered her one. "Before long he said he wanted to take off his pants," she wrote."I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable. He got up anyway to do so and I headed for the door, saying that I was not at all comfortable with that." Over the years that followed, he continued to get in touch, Nyong'o said, and when she declined another proposition she felt her career was threatened. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lena Headey Writing on social media, the Game of Thrones actor claims she first met Weinstein at the Venice Film Festival in 2005 where, after taking her for a walk by the water, he made some suggestive comment and gesture. Headey claims she bumped into Weinstein years later where he kept asking her questions about her love life. She alleges that, when Weinstein invited her to his hotel room to show her a script, the "energy shifted. The actor notes how, after saying she was not interesting in anything but the work, Weinstein was furious, apparently marching her back to a lift, "grabbing and holding tightly to the back of [her] arm." She claims that, after paying for her car, he whispered in her ear: "Don't tell anyone about this, not your manager, not your agent. Headey finished the post, writing: I got in the car and I cried. Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lucia Evans The actor told The New Yorker that after a meeting to discuss casting her in various projects, Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. I said, over and over, I dont want to do this, stop, dont. She added: Hes a big guy. He overpowered me. I just sort of gave up. Thats the most horrible part of it, and thats why hes been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel like its their fault. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Laura Madden Madden, a production assistant who worked at Miramax for a decade, told the Times that Weinstein allegedly prodded her for massages at hotels, a common theme among the sources the Timess reporters spoke with. On one occasion, she claims she locked herself in his hotel bathroom, sobbing Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ashley Judd Judd recounted for the Times how Weinstein allegedly harassed her while she was filming Kiss the Girls in 1996, inviting her to his hotel room and asking her for a massage, then inviting her to watch him shower. Judd first went public with the allegations in a 2015 interview with Variety during which she discussed the experience without naming the producer involved. She described Weinsteins alleged behaviour as coercive bargaining; I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask, she told the Times AFP/Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Rose McGowan McGowan reportedly reached a previously undisclosed $100,000 settlement with Weinstein in 1997, over an incident that occurred in a hotel room Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mimi Haleyi Mimi Haleyi said she was assaulted by Weinstein in what appeared to be a child's bedroom in his New York City apartment in 2006 when she was in her 20s. She said she was aspiring to work in television and film production when she was first introduced to him at the London premiere of The Aviator around two years earlier and he helped her get experience on the set of a TV show being produced by The Weinstein Company. But, she added, he repeatedly hassled her and even tried to force himself through her front door in an effort to get her to join him on a trip to Paris. At one point he allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on an aspiring production assistant while she was on her period. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Emily Nestor Nestor had been temping at the Weinstein Company for only one day in 2014 when Weinstein allegedly offered to boost her career in return for sexual favours, according to the Times. She declined and reportedly complained of his behaviour to colleagues, who later passed the information on to senior executives. An internal Weinstein Company document cited by the Times describes Nestors encounter with Weinstein as follows: She said he was very persistent and focused though she kept saying no for over an hour Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ambra Battilana In March 2015, Battilana, an aspiring model and actress, was reportedly summoned to Weinsteins office on a Friday night to discuss her career. According to a police report cited by the Times, Battilana claimed she was assaulted by Weinstein, who grabbed her breasts after asking if they were real and put his hands up her skirt. Weinstein later claimed that Battilana had set him up, according to colleagues of his who were interviewed by the Times. The Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, later declined to press charges, and according to the Times, made a payment to Battilana. On 5 October, the International Business Times reported that after Vance dropped the charges, he received $10,000 from Weinsteins lawyer Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lauren OConnor Lauren OConnor, an employee of the Weinstein Company, penned a memo to executives alleging a toxic environment for women at the company. The memo cited numerous incidents of Weinstein harassing or coercing women who worked for him. She expressed fear that Weinstein was using her and other female employees to facilitate liaisons with vulnerable women who hope he will get them work. That same year, Weinstein allegedly reached a settlement with OConnor Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Kate Beckinsale The actor, who starred in the Weinstein Company films Serendipity and The Aviator, alleges that she was invited to Weinsteins hotel room at the age of just 17. When she approached the door, the producer reportedly greeted her dressed in just a dressing gown. I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him, she wrote on Instagram. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed. Theo Wargo/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Gwyneth Paltrow The actor alleges that after he cast her in the title role of the film Emma when she was 22, he took her to his hotel room, placed his hands on her and suggested massages. I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified, Paltrow told the New York Times. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Asia Argento Italian actress Asia Argento has alleged that in 1997 Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly told him to stop. When I see him, it makes me feel little and stupid and weak, Argento told The New Yorker. After the rape, he won. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Cara Delevigne The British model and actress penning an Instagram post claiming that Weinstein had ordered her to kiss another woman in his hotel room, and tried to kiss her on the lips. AFP/Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ashley Judd Ashley Judd said she rebuffed Harvey Weinsteins unwanted sexual advances by offering to consent only after she had won an Oscar. When she was initially invited to a meeting with Weinstein, Judd said, she was surprised to learn the producer was in his hotel room - a tactic that recurs in other womens accounts. Echoing the accounts of other women, Judd said Weinstein suggested she give him a massage and then invited her to watch him shower. After a volley of nos she said she would only after she wins an Oscar, fleeing after making the comments. Reuters/Mike Segar Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Judith Godreche French actress Judith Godreche said when she was 24 Weinstein invited her to his hotel room and asked to give her a massage. The next thing I know, hes pressing against me and pulling off my sweater, she told the New York Times. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mira Sorvino The Oscar-winning actor said she found herself in a hotel room with Weinstein in 1995 where he started massaging my shoulders, which made me very uncomfortable, and then tried to get more physical, sort of chasing me around. According to an interview in The New Yorker Weinstein subsequently arrived at her apartment late at night and she had to call a friend to come over to pose as her boyfriend in order to get Weinstein out of the house. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Katherine Kendall The actress said Weinstein undressed and chased her around a living room when she was just 23. She subsequently felt that telling others meant Ill never work again and no one is going to care or believe me, she told the New York Times. WireImage Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Tomi-Anne Roberts As an aspiring actress and working in a restaurant in New York, Tomi-Ann Roberts encountered Weinstein who encouraged her to audition for one of his films back in 1984. She subsequently went to meet him and found him naked in the bath and invited her to get naked and get into the bath with him, she told the New York Times. She said she left feeling manipulated. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Myleen Klass It has also been alleged that the disgraced film producer propositioned Myleene Klass with a sex contract at Cannes Film Festival in 2010. One of the singer and television personalitys friends reportedly told The Sun, Klass had told Weinstein to f*** off. Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Sophie Dix Sophie Dix, best known for her role as Captain Sadie Williams in Soldier Soldier, described her encounter with Weinstein when she was 23 as the single most damaging thing thats happened in my life. She told The Guardian Weinstein had pushed her to her bed and was tugging at her clothes. She rushed to the bathroom to escape, but when she came out she found him standing there masturbating. I quickly closed the door again and locked it, she said. Then when I heard room service come to the door I just ran. Rex Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lea Seydoux The actor and director claims she had to fight off Weinstein after he brought her to his hotel room during what she remembers to be 2012. He suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me. I had to defend myself. Hes big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him. I left his room, thoroughly disgusted, she wrote in The Guardian. AFP/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Claire Forlani British actress Claire Forlani wrote on Twitter that she had evaded Weinsteins advances on five occasions at the age of 25. At meetings with the Hollywood a-lister, she says massage was suggested, and that Weinstein had boasted of all the women hed had sex with. Mark Douet Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Florence Darel French actress Florence Darel claimed Weinstein relentlessly pursued her in the mid 1990's and propositioned her while Eve Chilton, his wife at the time, was in the hotel room next door. I was astonished, she told People magazine. When you have someone so physically disgusting in front of you, continuing and continuing as though this was all perfectly normal What happened to me may not be illegal but it was inappropriate. Very inappropriate. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lysette Anthony Lysette Anthony, who starred as Marnie Nightingale in Hollyoaks, has claimed Weinstein raped her in the late 1980's after turning up to her London home in the late 1980s. She described the disgraced film producers alleged attack as pathetic and revolting and said it left her feeling disgusted and embarrassed. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Dawn Dunning Dunning said she met Weinstein in 2003 when she was 24-years-old and the disgraced film producer suggested she have a threesome with him and someone else. She told the New York Times Weinstein got angry when she refused. Youll never make it in this business, she said he told her as she left. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Arquette was already well known for her role in Desperately Seeking Susan, when she said she met Weinstein at his hotel to pick up a script in the early nineties. Weinstein was dressed only in a dressing gown, and tried to put her hand on his erect penis. Speaking to the New York Times, Arquette said as she left she told him: I will never be that girl. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Emma de Caunes Caunes, a French actor, claimed Weinstein took her to his hotel room in 2010 supposedly to retrieve a book he was making into a film, but once there he went into the bathroom. De Caunes said he then emerged naked, with an erection and told her to lie on the bed. She fled the room. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Zoe Brock Model Zoe claimed that she had to lock herself in a bathroom at Weinsteins hotel in 1997, after the mogul had sent all of the assistants out of the room, and then appeared naked. I was alone with Weinstein, she told ITVs This Morning programme. He very quickly left the room and came back naked. He chased me naked. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Jessica Barth Actress Jessica Barth described an encounter with Weinstein in 2011 in an interview with The New Yorker in which she said Weinstein veered between offering her roles in films and demanding a naked massage. She alleges the producer said to her: So, what would happen if, say, were having some champagne and I take my clothes off and you give me a massage? When she tried to leave, he then promised to give her the number of a female executive at the company. He gave me her number, and I walked out and I started bawling, Barth said. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Romola Garai The actress told The Guardian she felt violated after she went to a meeting with Weinstein at the age of 18 and he met her in his hotel room wearing nothing but a dressing gown. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Heather Graham Graham claimed that during a casting opportunity in the early 2000's Weinstein had told her he had an open relationship with his wife. He could sleep with whomever he wanted when he was out of town. I walked out of the meeting feeling uneasy, Graham told Variety. There was no explicit mention that to star in one of those films I had to sleep with him, but the subtext was there. Graham was never hired to work in a Weinstein film. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Jessica Hynes Spaced and W1A star Jessica Hynes tweeted about an encounter with Weinstein earlier this week, but subsequently deleted the tweet. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lucia Evans The actor told The New Yorker that after a meeting to discuss casting her in various projects, Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. I said, over and over, I dont want to do this, stop, dont. She added: Hes a big guy. He overpowered me. I just sort of gave up. Thats the most horrible part of it, and thats why hes been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel like its their fault. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Louisette Geiss The former actress said she met Weinstein to pitch a film script she was working on. During the meeting, Weinstein allegedly went out and reappeared naked and got into a jacuzzi where he masturbated in front of her and said he would make the script into a film if she stayed and watched. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Liza Campbell Liza Campbell, a British writer and artist, alleged that Olympically ugly Weinstein asked her to join him in the bath and began getting undressed at a hotel. In a piece for The Times, Campbell claimed she was forced to sprint to the door to escape. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Louise Godbold Writing in a blog post, Louise Godbold, a non-profit director in Los Angeles, said her encounter with Weinstein took the form of an office tour that became an occasion to trap me in an empty meeting room. She said then Weinstein was begging for a massage, his hands on my shoulders as I attempted to beat a retreat.



The Hollywood mogul has since been fired from The Weinstein Co. following the explosive report by The New York Times, which alleged "decades" of sexual harassment. Since then, many women have come forward with further claims ranging from sexual harassment to rape, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rose McGowan, Cara Delevingne, and Asia Argento.

With the possibility that The Weinstein Co. may go under and fail to yield any further residuals, Smith has stated he will give $2,000 per month to Women in Film for the rest of his life. "That feels like a start," he concluded. "Hopefully that goes to people that get to make sh*t without having to deal with some f*cking animal saying, 'Here's the price.'"

You can donate to Women in Film here.

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British artists, writers and satirists have long been fascinated by Russian culture. Chekhov plays are continually staged in British theatres and Tolstoy novels are adapted for screen and TV at regular intervals.

In recent years, Peter Greenaway has made a biopic about Soviet-era filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein while Julian Barnes has written a novel (The Noise Of Time) about composer Dmitri Shostakovichs terror of being arrested after Stalin denounced his fidgety, neurotic opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtensk.

Martin Amis has also written fiction and non-fiction dealing with Stalins terror. Armando Iannuccis new feature The Death Of Stalin thus follows in a very long tradition of interpreting Russian history through British eyes.

Recommended Armando Iannucci comedy The Death of Stalin facing ban in Russia

The film is funny and shocking by turns but this is still an outsiders vision. Iannucci portrays the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1953 much as if it is a slightly more violent version of a leftist militant British city council in the 1980s.

Josef Stalin (engagingly played by Adrian Mcloughlin) is a very cunning and down-to-earth tyrant. There have been so many purges and executions under his rule that even his closest followers cant quite remember whos alive and whos dead.

They all know that they might be promoted one day and then denounced the next, arrested and either shot or hauled off to the gulags. Life, they accept, is very cheap.

Iannucci begins the film with a wonderfully comic, surrealistic and chilling set piece. Radio Moscow is staging a performance of a Mozart piano concerto in front of a live audience. The producer Comrade Andreyev (Paddy Considine) receives a call from Stalin himself.

The great dictator has enjoyed the performance so much that he would like a recording to be sent to him forthwith. His request induces panic and terror. The station hasnt recorded the concert and so Andreyev forces the orchestra to play it all over again, even if that means locking in the audience, bribing the pianist Maria Yudina (Olga Kurylenko), a haughty and beautiful figure who detests Stalin, and finding a new conductor, who oversees the second performance in his dressing gown.

The filmmakers capture the comedy as well as the paranoia that comes with everyday life under the dictator. There is real grotesquerie too in the early scene of Stalin and his closest comrades, eating, drinking and chest-bumping together, behaving like the senior pigs in George Orwells Animal Farm.

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 The Death of Stalin trailer

Iannucci goes out of his way to reveal the banality of Stalins existence. The dictator may have been responsible for the death of millions but his own demise is very undignified indeed. He is eventually discovered in his own piss (lying in a puddle of indignity as it is put.)

No doctor can be found because most of the competent ones have been purged. Even before his death has been established, the jockeying to succeed him begins in earnest. The only ones who seem to care for him are his daughter, Svetlana (Andrea Riseborough), and his hot-tempered son, Vasily (Rupert Friend).

The filmmakers have assembled a formidable cast. The actors speak in a range of vernacular accents. Steve Buscemi plays the reforming Nikita Khrushchev in a way that cant help but rekindle memories of his prohibition era gangster/politician Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk Empire.

Hes a decent man, disgusted by Stalins excesses, but capable of extreme ruthlessness. Other characters include Michael Palin, in antic, Pythonesque form as Molotov, a party loyalist wholl denounce anyone, even his own beloved wife, and Jeffrey Tambor, who bears a resemblance to Boris Karloff as the ineffectual and increasingly forlorn Malenkov, seemingly destined to take over from Stalin.

Late on, we get a very rum cameo from Jason Isaacs, who plays military hero Marshal Zhukov as if he is a bluntly spoken Yorkshireman in the Brian Close or Geoffrey Boycott mould and who tells all and sundry to fook off.

One of the delights of the film is Simon Russell Beales creepy but comic turn as Beria, head of the NKVD, the secret police, and by a distance, the most lethal member of Stalins entourage. Russell Beale plays Beria in a weasel-like, calculating and passive-aggressive fashion that echoes his performance as the similarly unctuous Widmerpool in the TV version of Anthony Powells A Dance To The Music Of Time. He is like a senior British civil servant. The difference, of course, is that most British civil servants dont torture people or make them disappear.

The accents and tweed jackets accentuate the feeling that were in Britain, not Soviet-era Russia. The dialogue is very ripe and full of colourful expletives. Did Coco Chanel take a shit in your head? one character goads another about his aftershave.

Why in the name of Gods arse did he invite the bishops, another character asks when representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church turn up at Stalins funeral.

Parts of The Death Of Stalin have the same barbed, outspoken humour found in Iannuccis politically-themed TV satires like The Thick Of It and Veep. The jokes, though, begin to seem increasingly incongruous as we realise how many people have actually died and are continuing to die.

The members of the Central Committee are all completely aware that if any of them makes a false step, the results will be lethal. When they do finally turn on one of their own, Iannucci films the scene in a way that evokes memories of the makeshift trial and execution of Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu.

We see a character who seems to have been in charge a few moments before being arrested, humiliated and killed. Given his misdeeds, this character may not deserve much sympathy but the manner of his death is still shocking.

It makes us think that maybe the Stalin terror and its aftermath isnt such a good subject for comedy after all. Iannuccis version of events may be well researched but it still gives us a very British, very witty but facetious version of a dark story which might have been better told by an insider.

The Death of Stalin hits UK cinemas 20 October
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In a music scene often lacking in creativity, imagination and innovation, Nordic Giants are a true revelation, an all-encompassing auditory and visual experience that can not fail to leave an impression. Their live shows, a heady, breath-taking mix of emotionally-charged, cinematic post-rock and specially commissioned short films with Hollywood production values, are magnificent displays that astound, delight and inspire. The duo's latest album, the soundtrack to their forthcoming short documentary film Amplify Human Vibration, is a stirring and captivating exploration of the human spirit, released on Friday 20th October, but you can listen to it now, exclusively with The Independent.

Amplify Human Vibration sets out to explore the very best of human nature and create an opposing narrative to the one often presented by the world's news media. It's an impassioned plea to humankind to focus on the positive aspects of our existence, lest the negatives become all-consuming. It is particularly pertinent in a world that is undergoing such turbulent changes; Amplify Human Vibrations is the band's attempt to bring light to the positive changes that people are making, to explore the kindness and drive of humanity.

Like much of the band's previous music, the soundtrack employs the use of inspirational quotes and samples to get its message across. The words of luminaries such as Martin Luther King, John Trundell, Terrance McKenna and Alan Watts are used to spread a message of hope, tolerance and optimism. The band will deliver that message far and wide on the Amplify Human Vibration European tour, where they will play almost 30 dates across the UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic & Poland.

Roka & Loki, the two enigmas behind Nordic Giants, provided us with an exclusive essay about the making of the film, the soundtrack and intent behind the project.

Amplify Human Vibration

An essay by Roka & Loki

When it comes to Nordic Giants, we love to keep pushing ourselves with new concepts, themes and live set-ups, but explaining what we do can be a bit of a challenge at the best of times. With masks, visuals, lights, smoke and the ambiance created, our releases tend to follow the same path. These are often hard to explain or understand at first glance, with no real set structure on how we do things, but the freedom to experiment.

The Amplify Human Vibration project started with the idea for a film; we wanted to create something uplifting to show that every person can make a positive impact on the world, no matter how small and to simply remind everyone the true power each of us have, especially when we all unite together as one.

Roka (Ed Sprake)

Its really up to us now, because its not an option anymore  its a necessity!

Miguel Amortegui  from the Amplify Human Vibration film

The film was shot and directed by us, without a mask or instrument in sight. We travelled the country, camped on beaches and slept on floors, personally searching and meeting inspiring people from all walks of life including some of our fans. Although we did all the hard work behind the scenes, the film is really not about Nordic Giants in any way. The film is about really down to earth people, doing what they love and trying to make a difference  it really is as simple as that!

Musically we have always linked our music to film, but when we started to experiment with the soundtrack for the film in the early stages, it was nothing like the final release. The original music consisted of shorter instrumental tracks using mainly piano, synths and bowed guitar, much like a more traditional soundtrack, but as we were writing and shooting the film at the same time, they both became intertwined. The underlying message of the film became embedded in music and the energy and emotion of the music started to mould the film.

The speeches take more of a role in this release than in our previous work. Not everyone will connect with the film or even get the chance to see it or a live show. For some people, music is the only way they might ever connect and resonate with a message, so as the songs developed it was important that the soundtrack stood alone as a piece by itself. With the right balance of energy, emotion and dynamics intertwined with strong narrative to help awaken the mass collective consciousness of the planet and also to inspire a positive change.

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The choice of featured speakers was not taken lightly but came down to a mix of different themes, ideas and views as well as different ages, countries and backgrounds. Everyone has a different perception of reality and a distinct perspective on the meaning of our existence as a species. We wanted to touch upon deeper questions than we have done in previous releases and link the themes directly with the film for more impact.

Some of the questions touched upon, or perceived by the listener may include: Why are we here on this planet? Are we heading in the right direction as a race? Does consciousness exist after death? Do we live in an illusory world simply going through day-to-day business as usual motions? Have we forgotten who we really are and the power that resides in every single living soul?

Touching on these kind of subjects, especially within music, is quite a risky move, even for a project as different as Nordic Giants. Everyone is at different levels of their lives and everybody has their own views and beliefs, so the balance of information was crafted as best we could to give food for thought, but also leaving a lot up to interpretation by the listener.

The title came from the motion that everything in our universe is made up of energy and vibration at the molecular level. Our thoughts create, our emotions amplify and our actions increase the momentum, so its really up to each of us to amplify our own strengths and not our weaknesses, to become less divided by religions, colour, or the country we were born in. To shed our egos and embrace the shift that is happening. Despite the fear led narrative we are made to swallow daily, there is so much positivity that needs to be amplified!

Loki (Magda Wrzeszcz)

Stop engaging in energy that dumbs us down and numbs us out

M.J Robertson - from the Amplify Human Vibration film

The soundtrack starts with the message Were not going to go silently into the gentle night (Terence McKenna). As a collective, we often tend to ignore real truths for temporary happiness, but the decision for change will always come down to us as individuals, not any government, corporation, religion or beyond. Thats why even though some of the speech samples may be decades old, they are still relevant now and will always resonate with every generation until we take our stand in a peaceful way.

Amplify Human Vibration can be interpreted in any way, shape or form; thats the true beauty of music. It can be someones therapy on a bad day or it can be the soundtrack to a quiet moment, however you want to use is up to you!

Our brief final message would be: Go where you feel most alive and do what you truly love... The time to act is not tomorrow  but today.

Roka & Loki x

The Amplify Human Vibration soundtrack is released on Friday 20th October with the film to follow later next year. Nordic Giants begin a tour of the UK and Europe on 31st October in Southampton
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Following allegations of sexual assault against Ducktails founder Matt Mondanile, nine of the bands upcoming 11 tour dates have been cancelled by promoters.

Mondanile  who was once a member of Real Estate  has been accused by seven women of sexual misconduct, as detailed in an article by music website Spin.

One of the venues where Ducktails were expected to play, PhilaMOCA in Philadelphia, issued a statement, reading (via The Guardian): After reading todays detailed article in Spin, we have cancelled the Ducktails show scheduled at PhilaMOCA.

We have decided to donate the total gross ($) from this particular show to RAINN, the nations largest anti-sexual assault organisation.

The band has been touring Asia over the past weeks. After the initial article was published, their Manila show was cancelled by Phillipenes promoters Sleeping Boy Collective. Thai promoters Have You Heard have also cancelled the band's Bangkok show.

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Mondanile abruptly left Real Estate in 2016, the band saying the guitarist was leaving to [focus] on his own Ducktails project.

However, last week, the remaining members of the band issued a statement to Spin, revealing the departure was due to allegations of unacceptable treatment of women.

We feel that any abuse of ones power or status to victimise another is completely unacceptable, the statement continues. We applaud the courage of the women who came forward to make us aware so that we could address the issue head on.

A former publicist of Mondaniles also told the publication they finished their relationship with Ducktails after hearing similar allegations.

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When I heard these allegations I spoke with the label and told them I could no longer work with him, they said. The label suggested they would be doing the same. The band firing came later I believe. That was the end of my dealings with him. We never had contact again.

Mondanile has since denied any misconduct, telling Pitchfork: Theres nothing I can tell you other than that Ive done nothing wrong at all. Theres nothing to find out about me at all. Spin claimed the artist had declined to address the allegations.
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In with the old and out with the new is the approach St Vincent seems to take at her sold-out Brixton Academy show.

Opening without frills or fuss she sings the tremorous first words of the title track from 2007s Marry Me, standing on the huge, sparse stage in a pink patent bodysuit and towering, thigh-level pink boots.

The lights drop after Cheerleader off Strange Mercy before a spotlight shows the artist born Annie Clark singing about the lost boy from the floor, curled in a half-foetal position.

On the funk-driven Digital Witness she is imperious and at times robotic as she leans over the guitar, mesmerising as she shreds on her custom design.

St Vincents new album MASSEDUCTION is new pop art: the bold block colours and the dynamics on this record are phenomenal, her songwriting is intelligent and the touches on production from Jack Antonoff arguably make it one of the best pop records of the year.

Yet tonight it becomes more obvious by the second that the entire show will be her and her alone onstage - no band, just a backing track. The sheer audacity of the move is breathtaking, and more than a few mutterings are heard around the crowd - a few people turn and leave at New York as she sings that eternal line: Youre the only motherfucker in this city who can handle me.

She stands alone, imperious and at times robotic as she leans over the guitar, mesmerising as she shreds on her custom design. Clark has described touring as a bloodsport and perhaps she still sees it that way, self-flagellating on stage with no one else next to her.

It may not be for everyone, but if you stay to the end - as she closes on the exquisitely haunting Smoking Section, the final track on MASSEDUCTION - it stays with you.
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British beer brand Hofmeister Helles has been crowned the best lager in the world at the 2017 Beer Awards.

It is also the first lager to be awarded five stars in the esteemed competition, which is in its second year and is run by the International Wine & Spirits Group.

The alcohol accolade is awarded to the best beer as voted for in a series of blind taste tests.

Recommended British people are happiest in the pub

The win marks a triumphant comeback for the British-born brand, after it was taken off pub shelves 13 years ago due to falling sales.

Due to its low alcohol content (five per cent), experts believe that the beer dwindled in popularity because higher strength lagers became more in-demand.

However, by championing its Bavarian heritage and returning to its roots, the beer has returned as an authentic Helles lager and has surged in popularity as a result.

The revamped Hofmeister has been crafted by a family-owned brewery just outside of The Ebersberger Forest in southern Germany. It is a totally different beer to the original, with lower carbonation and a lighter, golden blonde colour.

It is a gentle, highly complex beer, which showcases lager brewing at its best and the importance of good quality raw materials, said Tim Hampson, judge and chairman of the Beer Writers Guild.

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Its light, bright and very drinkable. Very well balanced. It is hard to cut corners when brewing a beer of this style.

The new team behind Hofmeister, which now operates under The Hofmeister Brewing Company, includes co-founders Richard Longhurst and Spencer Chambers and former marketing chief at Coca Cola, Zoe Howorth.

The brand was made famous in the 1980s with a series of ad campaigns fronted by an iconic, inspector gadget-hat-wearing mascot, George the bear.

Back then, the beer was produced by a Scottish brewery, however, its reincarnated version is now imported directly from Bavaria.
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Samsung Galaxy S8 users could soon gain access to one of the iPhone 8 Plus headline features.

The companys support team has hinted that an upcoming software update will bring Portrait Mode to the handset.

The feature is designed to let you quickly capture professional-looking pictures.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Show all 10 1 /10 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8

It deliberately increases the amount of blur in the background of shots, placing all the focus on the main subject.

Asked whether or not Portrait Mode would come to the S8, Samsung support told a customer: Kindly note that regarding your query unfortunately there is no information yet, but we hope that you will get portrait mode update with the next [software update].

While this is far from official confirmation, it certainly offers hope for users.

Portrait Mode is a headline camera feature on some of the best phones on the market, including the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus, but its also available on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, which came out after the S8.

Recommended How to take photos using the new Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus

Unlike the iPhones and Note 8, which use dual cameras, the S8 only has one rear sensor.

As noted by GSMArena, which was tipped off about Samsung supports message, that means the South Korean company would need to take a very different approach to Apple.

Like the Google Pixel 2, which also only features a single rear camera, the S8 could successfully replicate the effect with the use of software. If the feature comes to the S8, it will come to the larger S8 Plus too.
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An Instagrammer with almost three million followers is desperately trying to raise money for their sick daughter  because she and her partner only have $202 between them.

Jessica Stein - best known as blogger Tuula Vintage  has raised around $200,000 (151,000) since sharing the story of her six-month-old daughter Rumi Willis Cooper.

After a difficult pregnancy, baby Rumi was born weighing just 2kg and diagnosed with a very rare chromosome disorder known as Mosaic Trisomy 2.

Doctors told Jessica that there are less than 10 cases in medical literature, because diagnoses in the womb typically end in miscarriage, termination or stillbirth.

They are uncertain of how many others currently share this diagnosis, their best guess is two or three in the world. The eldest recorded age that they could trace is aged three, she wrote on her GoFundMe page.

Mosaic Trisomy 2 means theres an extra copy of chromosome 2, which can lead to complications in life such as intellectual disability, growth and motor delay, congenital heart defects, fibrosis, deafness, abnormal development of the spine and hernies, and twisting of the intestines.

An intestine-related issue has already arisen; two weeks ago Rumi underwent surgery for intestinal malrotation, which is when a babys intestines dont form into a coil.

Jessica and partner Pat are trying to raise as much money as possible to pay for private healthcare for Rumi, including physiotherapy, speech therapy, and medical equipment.

As part of that effort, the couple  based in Sydney, Australia  were searingly honest about their financial situation.

Pat and I would like to stress how uncomfortable we are to be asking for financial help and want to be completely transparent.

Unfortunately, all of our savings are long gone. We have already borrowed a few thousand from family to tide us over, but rent is due yet again and we currently have $202 between us.

Pat and I havent been able to work due to caring for Ru around the clock (Pat had finished his Honours Degree just two days earlier).

We have lived off what little savings we had, prioritising paying the rent for a house we barely get to live in and frozen meals each day while we split shifts in hospital.

Pat tried to work casual hours with a friend doing labouring, but never finished a day without a call from me in the emergency room or in the back of an ambulance.

She ended by saying that she hadnt planned to share pictures of her child on Instagram, but circumstances had changed that position.

I have always been extremely private and had planned to keep my pregnancy and children offline, until they could make the choice themselves, she wrote on Instagram. But sometimes you make plans and life happens. We have struggled to decide if we should keep Ru and all her strengths and her battles to ourselves, or to share.
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The UK government has stepped up its rhetoric about the chances that Britain could crash out of the European Union without any agreement to bring order to the divorce.

If the two sides cant reach a deal, companies will suddenly find themselves outside the rules, regulations and free-trading arrangements that they have built their businesses around for decades. What would such a scenario mean for business, and for daily life?

Just a few estimates: 400bn in lost economic growth by 2030, according to Rabobank; 17bn in lost exports from just four sectors, according to law firm Baker McKenzie; a 2.6 per cent drop in per capita income, says a paper published by the Brookings Institution.

Banks have so far led the charge in getting ready for a disorderly divorce that would probably result in tens of thousands of finance jobs relocating to the rest of Europe and billions in moving costs.

But what about risks faced by key industries particularly reliant on EU trade, labour or common rules, such as food and pharmaceuticals?

Flights

Ryanair, based in Dublin but with a large UK business, warns there could be months during which there are no flights between the UK and Europe. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond dismisses such suggestions, saying while its theoretically conceivable no one thinks thats where we will end up.

Easyjet is taking measures to make sure its flights between mainland European destinations wont be affected, setting up an EU-based company in Vienna. But that wont help UK-EU flights, in the worst-case scenario. The role of the European Court of Justice  taboo for pro-Brexit Brits  could come into play.

Calmer heads say a deal will be reached as the EU has as much to lose as the UK. They could fall back on earlier bilateral agreements on flights, although those would cover more limited routes and frequencies.

Food

Supermarkets are worried about fresh food rotting at border crossings, and in the fields if theres no one to harvest it. Prices will go up.

The industry has already been buffeted by the pounds decline, with grocers increasing prices and cutting costs in response. Further hikes would become inevitable if a no-deal exit brings tariffs that the British Retail Consortium reckons could amount to an average 22 per cent.

That would be on top of another sterling slump. The UK imports about half of its food.

As for domestic produce, Brexit day is shortly before the growing season for much of Britains domestically produced fruit and vegetables. Without migrant labour, many suppliers will struggle to find legal workers to pick the crops.

Still, when it comes to the risk of food held up at ports, the UK says its contingency plans for a no-deal split envisage measures such as registering consignments in advance, as theres not much room to expand at Dover to make room for trucks awaiting checks.

Pharmaceuticals

At stake is the free movement of medicines.

From product registration to drug testing, there are many challenges still to be solved.

The problem is particularly acute for drug and biotech companies whose products sometimes take years to make, test and navigate through regulatory channels.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot warns it may be impossible for the government to forge new trade accords, establish a regulatory framework and develop new procedures for shipping products in time.

And falling back on World Trade Organisation rules isnt a panacea: the register hasnt been updated since 2010.

Even in the best case, the UK is set to lose the European Medicines Agency and with it the ability to have drugs approved for use both in the UK and the EU.

Technology

Tech companies  such as Facebook and Google  will face challenges on data rules in the event of a no-deal split. And this is an area Mr Hammond has flagged as a possible risk.

Personal data would continue to flow between the UK and the European Economic Area but if the EU decides UK data privacy laws are inadequate, they will be open to legal complaints from European authorities (and activists).

That could mean fines and legal proceedings to force data to remain in the EEA.

While companies can seek guarantees companies from European regulators that will allow them to send data to the UK, these may be difficult to obtain quickly given the number of businesses wanting them and the limited resources at Europes regulators.

Manufacturers

Making goods in factories remains a key part of the UK economy, employing almost 3 million workers and accounting for almost half of all exports.

While some manufacturers initially got an export boost after last year's referendum when the pound fell, the risk of a chaotic divorce is a concern for many companies.

The car sector is dependent on exports, but also on imports for its components. Car parts stranded at customs when they're needed at just-in-time car plants is the industry's nightmare scenario.

Companies will suddenly need to deal with bureaucracy they've never handled before, and potentially with little warning.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders estimates tariffs could increase the cost of imported cars by 1,500 on average.

Restaurants

With the possible exception of pub chain JD Wetherspoon, whose boss is an avid Brexit supporter, restaurants and pubs are wary of Brexit. At least one in five kitchen workers, more than one in three housekeepers, and three in four waiters are EU migrants.

The British Hospitality Association warns of a staffing crisis. Britons represent just 2 percent of applicants at chains like Pret a Manger, and a replacement scheme wont be in place until 2022.

Bloomberg
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Dutch electric scooter startup, Bolt Mobility, has secured 3m (2.2m) in a fundraising campaign led by more than 2,000 investors from the UK and the Netherlands.

Bolt Mobility plans to use the funds to bring the AppScooter, an electric scooter with 4G internet connection and smartphone connectivity, to the market in 2018.

The startup, which was founded in 2014, says the AppScooter can travel up to 245 miles (400km) on a single charge and is able to accelerate from 0 to 25 miles per hour in just over three seconds.

The AppScooter can also send automated text responses and answer phone calls from its handlebars and touchscreen.

Its exciting to see so much support from the UK market, said co-founder and chief executive Bart Jacobsz Rosier.

We aim to have delivered more than a quarter million scooters to customers by 2020. We are truly excited to be at the forefront of a lucrative market worth over 30bn a year.

Edwin Berkhout, a Dutch venture capitalist and investor in Bolt, said: Bolt Mobilitys approach is revolutionary, as our scooters will be powered by clean, renewable [electricity] and therefore potentially game changing on a global scale.

As interest in electric cars grows, a number of European cities and countries have introduced legislation to tackle pollution from smaller-sized vehicles.

From January 2018, Amsterdam will ban scooters made before 2011, while the Mayor of Rome has banned drivers from using scooters on Sundays.

The UK Government announced in September that it will ban new diesel and petrol cars by 2040.

It is not yet clear whether they will expand the legislation to scooters and motorbikes, which emit a thousand times more toxic chemicals than larger vehicles, according to a study from the University of Cambridge.
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Brexit could trigger the next financial crisis if France and Germany try to demolish Londons status as a centre of the global economy, the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange has warned.

Xavier Rolet, who is one of the UKs most senior financiers, warned that as Britain braces to leave the EU, European leaders risk causing a crisis just to make a political point.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said that the same European leaders who had demanded tighter global regulation in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis werer now threatening to fragment those standards to punish the UK for voting in favour of Brexit.

Mr Rolet has repeatedly warned on the risks of Brexit this year.

In May he warned that stripping London of the lucrative euro clearing facilities after Brexit could cost investors 100bn (83bn) over five years.

(Clearing houses hold collateral centrally and ensure transactions go ahead in the event of a default.)

In January Mr Rolet said that Brexit could cost the City of London up to 230,000 jobs if the Government failed to provide a clear plan for post-Brexit operations.

Theresa Mays Government aims to secure a transition deal with the EU to begin in 2019, but some Tory MPs have suggested Britain should prepare for such efforts to fail.

Earlier this week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that a no-deal Brexit would wipe around 40bn off UK economic growth by 2019.

In his op-ed on Wednesday, Mr Rolet also called on the Bank of England and European regulatory bodies to speed up talks and deliver an update to reassure international financial firms.

He welcomed the Prime Ministers call for a transition period but also said that details of such a period would have to be agreed before the end of this year. He said that if no agreements were reached before the end of 2017, British jobs would start moving abroad.

Later on Wednesday, Mr Rolet is due to address a group of MPs and business leaders on the subject of Brexit.

He will reportedly make a direct appeal to European leaders not to make protectionist moves that could damage Londons position as a financial hub.
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In June 1960 after 52 years of rule Belgium granted independence to its Congolese colony. It is your job, gentlemen, to show that we were right in trusting you, proclaimed King Baudouin, sealing Belgiums parting grace with condescension.

One of historys most brutal rulers, the 19th century Belgian King Leopold II, successfully transformed the entire Congo  a landmass that would stretch from the Baltic to the Black Sea into his private domain. From 1885 to 1908, loot flowed endlessly from the dark interior of the jungle, up the river Congo and into colonial Belgium.

Estimates of deaths in that period range from 10 million to 15 million Africans, and the debate whether it constituted a genocide continues.

Today, as then, little to none of the horrors are anywhere in sight in Belgium, with collective apathy and a stagnant education system preventing the country from confronting its role in Congo, more than a century in the past.

The interior of the Bozar fine arts centre was painted to resemble a Congolese Court, to highlight the culture in the region before the arrival of Belgian colonists (Benas Gerdziunas)

Culture and identity

Growing up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country blinded from its colonial role, has left many Congolese Belgians struggling with their own identity.

Recommended Ceremony in Belgium marks 100 years since Battle of Passchendaele

In Belgium, it was as if black people did not exist, says Womba Konga, better known by his artist name Pitcho.

He is the organiser of music and arts festival Congolisation, which aims to connect ethnic Belgians and its Congolese minority. The festival has generated wide public support and included local politicians as guest speakers. We didnt want to confront only [white] Belgian [identity], but also African, he says, speaking in sight of Leopold II statue, steps away from Brussels Congolese area.

The recent discourse on confederate statues in the US have prompted calls in Belgium to reevaluate its own colonial statues. The proposed Lumumba Place  named after the Congos independence leader who became its first president and but was then assassinated  appears on Google Maps, but isnt recognised in Belgium, has become the kingpin in battles between activists and local government. To date, Brussels has not allowed for its official renaming.

We can have Leopold statues and avenues, but not Lumumba Place, who was killed by Belgians and its not spoken about it here, says Konga.

Artist Womba Konga, better known as Pitcho, in Brussels Royal Quarter. He is the organiser of an arts festival that aims to connect ethnic Belgians and the countrys Congolese minority (Benas Gerdziunas)

Overshadowed by the National Basilica on Brussels westernmost edge  where King Leopold II laid its first stone of construction  and tucked away in a quiet side street, a row of red-brick houses conceals a youth evangelic group. Inside, Stanislas Koyi, a maths university student from Congo, leads a small group of Congolese in French-language prayer.

Stanislas came to Belgium in 2007 when he was 15, to live with his relatives. After failing to adapt in a new country, he turned to the church.

I met a priest in his late fifties, who was born in Congo  but he is a white Belgian. He understood me like no one else, says Stanislas. Our generation of Belgians are more willing to look back critically than the older ones  theyre too stubborn. We talk about it in [our evangelical] group too, but I never want to split them  I dont want [Belgians] to look at their heritage only negatively.

Congolese heritage at the core of the Royal Quarter

Bozar, the fine arts centre in Brussels Royal Quarter, has taken a firm role in confronting Belgiums colonial heritage through culture. It hosts a dedicated Africa Desk, working to bring African art into Belgian mainstream

Theres a big frustration in the Congolese community that they are not seen as part of anything in Belgium, says Tony Van der Eecken, one of the figures behind the push from Bozar. Using Bozar is a symbolic place to honour Congolese artists  its next to the royal palace, the cultural centre of the king.

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He has helped organise a number of Congo-related festivals and exhibitions, including Afropolitan  aiming to present the best of contemporary artistic creations linked to Africa and its Diaspora in Europe and Congo Art Works.

The first there there was an exhibition on Congo curated by the Congolese was very confrontational, showing colonial times through their own eyes, he says. It was not that positive about the Belgians. It was a shock exhibition, it was good.

He is sceptical whether time is in Belgiums favour, pointing to the growing disillusionment of the widespread migrant population in the country. We are one of the only Western countries that doesnt have a street or a place dedicated to Lumumba, he says.

Matonge has seen creeping gentrification, with many new popular  and overpriced  cafes and restaurants springing up in recent years (Benas Gerdziunas)

Matonge, the Congolese area in Brussels

Brussels is multicultural, but communities live on separate islands, says Jeroen Marckelbach, coordinator of the Kuumba centre in Matonge, the historically Congolese area of Brussels. The mayor of Ixelles has said it will clean up Matonge. We had police raiding our centre. We put an end to it eventually.

Brussels has long been praised for its multiethnicity, which on the surface, seems to knit the colourful fabric of a cosmopolitan city together. Yet paradoxically, recent spate of terrorism stemming from Brussels highlighted some of its communities detachment.

In Matonge, Kuumba became the bridge in linking local guides with tour groups, in which Belgians are eager to explore to flavour- and colour-filled area, not bypassing the colonial legacy seeping within.

Bram Borloo, a Belgian activist and a painter, is also one of the local tour guides, helping span the knowledge gap. In Belgium children learn that Leopold II was the king constructor, continuing to construct this false image, he says.

Stanislas leads the church group near the National Basilica, which was initiated by the King Leopold II (Benas Gerdziunas)

Imperial buildings, as elsewhere in Europe, stand at the core of historic heritage, their heavy beauty masking the nature of its prerequisite wealth.

In 1899, Joseph Conrad immortalised the ghastly source of it with the book Heart of Darkness, later adapted by Francis Ford Coppola into the Vietnam film classic Apocalypse Now.

Louiza Cools, a woman in her forties, taking part in the tour, says: Only after school through reading we learned the negative side of colonialism  taking part in this tour confirmed our knowledge.

Much of the frustration among Belgians and the Congolese is directed towards flawed education, where to this day, the atrocities under the rule of King Leopold II are not addressed. Public discourse also promotes the view that Belgians had a civilising mission and purpose in Africa.

Years ago the first students from Congo were very angry, because they had personal connections [to the atrocities], says Geldof Annemiet, a teacher from a secondary school in Flemish Belgium. She believes more could be done to confront the history in classrooms. Every teacher realises very well what we did there, she says.

And as Belgium reels from the dozens dead following a spate of terror attacks, the Congolese are awaiting for Belgium to address its own reign of terror a century ago. But, according to Tony Van der Eecken, there are a lot of Belgians who would like to forget the period.
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Channel 4 has come under fire for pandering to racial stereotypes after producers painted a white woman brown to experience life as a Muslim.

Katie Freeman went undercover as a British Pakistani Muslim for the programme My Week as a Muslim, wearing a hijab and prosthetics to make her nose bigger.

She is heard admitting in the trailer that she normally wouldnt want to sit next to a Muslim in case they blow something up.

The concept has sparked a furious race row, with hate crime charity Tell Mama saying it crosses a line and is offensive to Muslims.

The most offensive bit is the gross exaggeration of features of the face, and that blurs the line, pandering to stereotypes of race and religion actually, Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Tell Mama, told The Independent.

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They did not have to do the blacking up. You could have taken somebody who is willing to talk to Muslims but in that journey experienced what Muslims experience by shadowing, using a secret camera, listening to what happens around womens role in Islam, this could have been done without pandering to some quite silly 1920s stereotypes.

Mr Mughal accepted the premise was coming from a positive place, but added the manner in which it was executed was offensive.

You can still make it really interesting for the public you dont have to end up doing something quite covert and unsettling and racial that has crossed the line, he said.

Ms Freeman said she was shocked at the racist abuse she received on the programme, saying at one point she considered pulling out of the show.

She said: It makes me ashamed to live here. I was raging and fuming inside. But I also felt vulnerable. What harm was I doing?

Executive producer Fozia Khan said: The programme allowed Katie to meaningfully walk in the shoes of someone from a different background and to experience what it is like to be part of the British Pakistani Muslim community rather than just observe it as an outsider.

The Independent has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
A new treatment could stop a quarter of new HIV cases.

The prophylactic, if given to high-risk men, could instantly and drastically reduce the transmission of the disease, a new study has found.

The programme has already proven controversial. But by giving men the medication, it could save the NHS millions, by reducing the cost of healthcare for people who become infected and need a life-time supply of drugs.

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The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. 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The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. 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The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

The study found it was likely to become cost effective within four decades, and within 80 years stood to make savings of up to 1bn.

The findings are from a study funded by NHS England investigating the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication in 10,000 men.

All the participants were classified as men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) at high risk of HIV infection.

Each year in the UK, 3,000 more men from the MSM community are diagnosed as HIV positive, and their numbers have remained at a high level for several years.

Over a period of 80 years, an estimated one in four HIV infections  around 44,300 cases  would be prevented by prophylactic treatment introduced across England, the study found.

Dr Valentina Cambiano, from University College London, said: "There is no doubt about the effectiveness of PrEP. In addition to delivering a substantial health benefit, our work suggests that its introduction will ultimately lead to a saving in costs, as a result of decreased numbers of men in need of lifelong HIV treatment."

The PrEP treatment involved a pill containing a combination of two anti-HIV drugs, emtricitabine and tenofovir, taken daily or around the time of sexual activity.

Individuals recruited for the trial were from a very high risk group and accounted for just 5 per cent of all men-who-have-sex-with-men.

NHS England initially refused to pay for PrEP, arguing that responsibility for HIV prevention lay with local authorities.

It agreed to fund the study at selected clinics after a High Court judge upheld a judicial review application challenging the legality of the original decision.

Writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal, the authors estimate that between 8,400 and 12,200 British men aged 15 to 64 would have qualified for PrEP last year.

Although HIV incidence was predicted to reduce without the introduction of PrEP, the programme was likely to result in significant health and cost benefits, they said.

Co-author Dr Alison Rodger, also from University College London, said: "As anti-retroviral drug patents expire over the next few years, the emergence of generic drugs could result in large cost reductions for PrEP, and these reductions could help to limit the impact of PrEP on NHS budgets, making it cost-effective over a relatively short time."

Commenting in the journal, health economist Paul Revill from the University of York wrote: "These findings ... call for NHS policy makers to negotiate with manufacturers to get favourable deals on prices and to be far sighted: invest now and reap long-term gains.

"This approach is currently challenging when unmet needs across all areas of health care are so great and NHS resources are stretched so thinly. However, this study provides the definitive evidence to support such a decision.

"With a combination of frequent HIV testing, immediate treatment and PrEP availability, there is now the prospect of bending the curve of new HIV infections downwards in a way that did not seem feasible just a few years ago."

Additional reporting by agencies
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Girls as young as 11 have been sexually assaulted in a string of attacks in London, prompting an urgent appeal for information.

Police said nine victims  seven of them children - have been identified so far but more may not have come forward.

Investigators are examining the possibility that the daytime attacks could be linked after several victims provided similar descriptions of the attacker as a white man in his 40s or 50s.

In all cases, the attacker has approached the victim and sexually touched them before running from the scene on foot, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.

All the attacks have taken place in the Greenwich and Lewisham areas of south-east London, with the first seeing a 13-year-old girl assaulted on 30 June.

An 11-year-old girl was attacked on 29 August, followed by a 13-year-old girl on 27 September and then another 13-year-old and an 11-year-old girl both assaulted the following day.

Three victims were attacked on 5 October, a 13-year-old girl and 27-year-old woman targeted 10 minutes apart on the same road, then a 25-year-old woman assaulted nearby shortly afterwards.

The most recent recorded assault was on an 11-year-old girl in Honor Oak Road on Monday, where the suspect was caught on CCTV fleeing the scene.

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All of the assaults have happened in daylight, between around 8am and 4.30pm

Superintendent Lee Hill said: These incidents were very frightening for the victims.

I am appealing to the public to help identify and locate this man as quickly as possible.

Although none of the victims have suffered physical injury, the effects of becoming a victim of sexual assault can be lasting and traumatic.

Supt Hill said police are looking into the possibility of a linked series of attacks after several victims gave similar descriptions of the culprit as a white man aged between 40 and 50, with short white or blonde hair.

I am concerned that there may be more victims who have not yet come forward and are not receiving the support that they may need, he added. I would urge any victims who have not yet come forward to contact police.

While efforts to trace the person or people behind these attacks progresses, police patrols in the area have been increased and officers are working with local schools to advise and reassure pupils and parents.

Anyone with information is asked to call Greenwich CID by on 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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Tributes are being paid to a man who was stabbed to death near Parsons Green Tube station after confronting a drug dealer.

Omid Saidy died at the scene on Monday night, just hours before a charity worker was killed on his doorstep in an unrelated attack elsewhere in London.

The Metropolitan Police said 20-year-old Mr Saidy had confronted a drug dealer and another male who was with him near Parsons Green station, where a homemade bomb partly exploded in a terror attack last month.

Recommended One man has died after a knife attack at Parsons Green station

The victim then chased the two suspects in the direction of Beaconsfield Walk, a spokesperson said.

During this pursuit he caught up with the suspects and was fatally stabbed.

A 20-year-old man who is a friend of the deceased came to his aid and was also stabbed.

Mr Saidys friend arrived at the scene on a moped, crashing into a parked car, but Scotland Yard are not treating the incident is not a moped-enabled crime following a spike in incidents involving the vehicles.

Police at the scene outside Parsons Green Tube station in London where three men were stabbed (PA)

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh urged anyone with information on the attack to come forward, adding: A young man has tragically lost his life for simply asking a drug dealer to move on.

Friends of Mr Saidy described him as a gentle young man who was one of the good guys, saying he had never been in trouble with the police and was from a good family.

Laying flowers at the scene of his death, his grandmother told the Evening Standard: He was just the greatest boy. He was just the best, he was caring and lovely.

He was a volunteer youth worker. He didnt deserve this - we are devastated.

Mr Saidys friend remains in hospital with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.

A 16-year-old boy who was also injured in the incident was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after being discharged from hospital and remains in custody.

Another suspect, described as a black male dressed in dark clothing, fled following the attack and police are appealing for information to trace him.

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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

DCI McHugh said: At this early stage we are piecing together a picture of how the sequence of events leading to and immediately following the murder took place.

"It is imperative that we speak to anyone who was in the area of Parsons Green station between 7pm and 8pm who may have witnessed the murder or the actions of the suspects immediately following the incident.

In addition, I am keen to identify the black male who fled Parsons Green Lane immediately following the murder and am appealing for footage that members of the public may have recorded as events in the area took place.

It came after a 20-year-old man was stabbed to death in Forest Gate, East London, on Sunday afternoon. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder.

On the same evening as the Parsons Green attack charity worker Abdul Samad was stabbed in the heart by moped robbers who are believed to have targeted him for his iPhone 7.

The 28-year-old, who had been on his way home from playing computer games at a friends house, was found bleeding on his doorstep by his parents and died in hospital hours later.

Two suspects, aged 17 and 18, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are being held in custody.

Anyone who witnessed the Parsons Green incident or has mobile phone footage should contact the incident room on 0208 785 8099 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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A murder investigation has been launched after a charity worker was stabbed to death by muggers who are believed to have targeted him for his iPhone 7.

Abdul Samad, 28, was knifed in the heart in the street near his home in Little Venice, west London, by assailants on mopeds.

The victims family said he managed to reach the doorstep of his home before collapsing.

His parents, Layla Begum and Fazal Miah, called for help but Mr Samad died in hospital an hour later.

Two males, aged 17 and 18, were arrested on suspicion of murder and are being held in custody.

Abdul Samad worked at a charity (SWNS.com)

The attack took place at 11.45pm on Monday, several hours after a 20-year-old man was stabbed to death outside Parsons Green tube station by an attacker riding a moped.

Mr Samad, a economics graduate, is understood to have been attacked after leaving a friends house where he was playing computer games.

He worked for the Dragon Hall Trust, which helps young people improve their computer skills and participate in social, educational and recreational activities.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 15 November 2022 Lesley Sutcliffe shelters from the rain next to a life-sized replica of the innermost coffin of King Tutankhamun by artist Amanda Stoner as it goes on display inside a traditional red telephone box which has been converted into a museum, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire PA UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters 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

The victims brother, Abdul Ahad, paid tribute to Mr Samad, saying he had never done anything wrong and had never been in trouble with the police.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, he said: He was geeky and loved his computers and thats why he was helping the young people. I could understand if it was some kind of postcode war but hes not that type of person, his friends are all geeks.

He loved helping children. Thats the sort of person he was. This is a young life gone and such a lovely life. He was full of energy and loved the kids he worked with.

Youre not going to find a nicer person. It was over a phone, its just so senseless.
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Diwali, the festival of lights, sees millions attend firework displays, prayers and celebratory gatherings across the world every autumn.

Observed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, the season's theme is the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

Here we take a look at one of the most significant annual rituals in Indian culture.

What is Diwali?

Also known as Deepavali, a Sanskrit word meaning rows of lighted lamps, Diwali is one of the most popular festivals celebrated across southern Asia.

It sees millions of earthenware oil lamps, called diyas, light up peoples homes, shops, public spaces and places of worship to mark the start of the Hindu new year.

When is it celebrated?

Diwali falls between October and November every year but the exact date changes in accordance with the Hindu lunar calendar.

Dancers perform a traditional Indian dance during the Diwali festival of light celebrations, in Trafalgar Square (Reuters)

It lasts five days in total, with the festival of lights falling on the third days of celebrations, marked on the 15th day of the Hindu month Kartik.

This year that falls on Wednesday 7 November.

What are the different legends being celebrated?

For many Hindus, Diwali honours the triumphant return of the deities Rama and Sita to Ayodhya, the ancient Indian city of their birthplace, following a 14-year period in exile and their ultimate victory over the demon Ravana.

Recommended The symbolic foods eaten during the festival of lights

As recorded in the epic poem Ramayana by Valmiki, Ravana had kidnapped Sita, Rama's wife, prompting the lord to set out to rescue her, ultimately slaying the demon with the aid of the monkey god Hanuman. Their victorious return home was celebrated by the lighting of lamps across the kingdom.

Diwali also pays homage to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity. Some believe it falls on her birthday, also the date on which she married Lord Vishnu.

Many in India leave their windows and doors open and light lamps as a means of welcoming Lakshmi into their homes.

For many Sikhs, Diwali is a cause for celebration because it coincides with the date on which the sixth guru Hargobind Singh and 52 princes were released from prison in 1619.

Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Show all 11 1 /11 Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Young hocky players light candle after track pujan at Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium Rex Features Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium decorated with oil lamps during Diwali celebrations Kumar Verma/ZUMA Wire/REX Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Sri Lankan Hindu devotees offer prayers during Diwali Festival at a temple in Colombo AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 A child watches fireworks at the Madan Mohan Malviya stadium AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 An Indian Sikh devotee paddles in the holy water tank 'sarovar' AFP/Getty Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 A young Indian Sikh devotee lights a candle in the early morning during Diwali Festival AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Indian Sikh devotees take an early morning dip in the holy water tank 'sarovar' AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Indian Sikh devotees lights candles in the early morning AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 An Indian Sikh devotee takes an early morning dip in the holy water tank 'sarovar' AFP/Getty Images Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures v Indians watch a sky lantern take flight during Diwali festival AP Diwali celebrations 2017  in pictures Diwali celebrations 2017 Indian Sikh devotees light candles at sunset AFP/Getty Images

For Jains, it is a celebration of their Tirthankara, or spiritual leader, specifically the moment the 24th of the current age, Tirthankar Mahavira, reached Moksha - the release from the cycle of death and rebirth cycle into infinite bliss and knowledge.

How is it celebrated?

Diwali is part of a five-day festival celebrated with music, lights, fireworks and traditional sweets.

Many prepare for the festival by cleaning and decorating their home, donning new clothes to take part in the family puja, in which prayers of devotion are offered to Lakshmi.

Rangoli artwork  patterns and designs made from coloured powders, ground rice powders and flowers  is proudly displayed.

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Celebrations held across the UK included an annual festival in Londons Trafalgar Square hosted by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. This features live music and dance performances, with traditional food and activities like yoga and henna on offer.

Leicesters celebrations, one of the biggest outside of India, regularly sees 40,000 people attend to watch the annual Diwali lights switch-on along the citys Golden Mile before the fireworks kick off.
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Non-Muslim men living in the UK have suffered verbal, physical and emotional abuse because they look Muslim, research has revealed.

Interviewees described how animal excrement had been pushed through their mailboxes and their shop windows smashed. Others said they were called terrorists or linked to Isis because of their skin colour or their beards.

The study found there were increases in hostility around the EU referendum and after terror attacks.

In research presented at the House of Commons during Hate Crime Awareness Week, Dr Imran Awan and Dr Irene Zempi argued the experiences of non-Muslim men suffering Islamophobia because they look Muslim remains invisible, both in official statistics and academic research.

Although its a case of mistaken identity, Islamophobic abuse should not be happening in the first place, Dr Awan, Associate Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University, told The Independent.

He said the research showed how perpetrators of hate crimes target their victims based on prejudice and stereotypes.

 Muslim Council of Britain: Newspapers are helping to spread Islamophobia

The researchers interviewed 20 non-Muslim men aged between 19 and 59 from black, white and Asian backgrounds. They included those from the Sikh, Christian and Hindu faiths, as well as atheists. Their responses were made anonymous in order to prevent them from being identified.

They found hate crimes would spike around trigger events such as terror attacks or the EU referendum.

One interviewee said they were sent a message on social media reading: Vote Out. Kick out the Muslims. Another said after Brexit they were told: Today is the day we get rid of the likes of you.

Others said they noticed an increase in harassment after Islamist terror attacks around the world.

Every time theres a major terrorism incident theres a sharp rise in hate directed at me and my family, one person told the researchers.

Another agreed, adding: Sadly the overall situation is deteriorating. Islamophobia is having an increasing impact on the lives of Asian men who look Muslim. The hatred that lies behind Islamophobia is spreading.

New figures released by the Home Office support their findings, showing hate crimes rocketed by around a third in the UK in the past year, with the police recording unprecedented spikes around the EU referendum and terror attacks.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

Some argued Donald Trumps administration and its stance towards Muslims had promoted and encouraged anti-Muslim sentiments.

Ive noticed that abuse has increased on social media after Trump coming into power, one said. Im on a lot of sites having discussions with people, and I find that racism and Islamophobia are very prevalent. Trumps views are very extreme, like banning Muslims to enter US. You could not make this up five years ago.

Another said: Trump really changed everything, didnt he? He is so blatantly racist and anti-Muslim that he changed the climate completely.

Victims told the researchers they were targeted because they were perceived to look Muslim, with one called a traitor and ginger terrorist because of his beard. They think Im Muslim, a convert to Islam, but Im not, Im an atheist, they said.

Another said: Its happened to me ever since I grew a beard. Im not a Muslim but people stare at me because they think I am. After the Woolwich terrorist attack, people kept giving me bad looks.

Others said they felt their skin colour led to them being perceived as Muslim. One described being on a train when someone shouted f*** off you P**i Muslim! They said when they replied to say they werent Muslim, the attacker laughed and said you all look the same.

One person was told: Youve killed innocent people, go back to Syria, you Isis terrorist.

The interviews revealed the emotional and psychological impacts suffered from experiencing anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Many of those interviewed reported suffering from anxiety, depression and physical illness as a result of the abuse. We live in fear every day, one person said. We face abuse and intimidation daily but we should not have to endure this abuse.

Victims also said they felt loneliness and isolation after they were abused in public and no one came to help them. Some said being abused led them to suffer from depression, eating disorders and sleeping problems.

Dr Awan and Dr Zempis recommended a public awareness campaign on how to report hate crimes, as well as training and workshops to teach bystanders how to respond if they witness hate crimes.

They also suggested a social media app which could be used to report abuse online and give advice on what constitutes a hate crime.
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More than 170,000 people were still without power in Ireland a day after a powerful storm ripped through the country and onto Scotland, where buildings were destroyed.

But by Tuesday night, ex-Hurricane Ophelia had passed over the UK and weather warnings were lifted.

The worst of Ophelia has now passed and the winds will continue to ease through the day today as she moves out into the North Sea, said Met Office Chief Forecaster, Paul Gundersen.

Strong, damaging winds were recorded in the warning areas on Monday with gusts of up 90mph recorded.

It killed three people in Ireland and nearly 70,000 people remained without water on Tuesday.

 Red sun caused by storm Ophelia

The storm also brought widespread disruption as it swept north to Northern Ireland, Scotland and north western England, bringing high winds and heavy rains.

In Glasgow, part of a derelict block of flats already earmarked for partial demolition collapsed at about 4am, and a scout hall roof was blown off in Dumfries and Galloway as the region took the brunt of winds up to 77mph.

In Cumbria the county council said high winds had torn the roof from a house in Whitehaven and even torn traffic lights from their poles, as well as causing traffic disruption. Part of the roof of a stand at National League team Barrow AFC was also ripped off by the wind.

Recommended Storm Ophelia engulfs town in foam in freak weather phenomenon

In total, around 50,000 homes in the UK temporarily lost power. There was significant transport disruption in Scotland and commuters were hit by delays after several rail lines were blocked by fallen trees.

Train services were temporarily hit between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and from the capital to Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth, as trees were blown on to tracks.

Ireland experienced the worst of the weather on Monday, with winds of almost 100mph damaging electricity networks and causing widespread disruption.

Irish Defence Force soldiers were deployed with vehicles and helicopters to help assess damage as thousands of staff from ESB, the Republic of Ireland's electricity network, worked to fix fallen and broken cables.

Schools on both sides of the Irish border remained closed for a second day as authorities began to assess the damage, but most are expected to open on Wednesday.

Ireland's national emergency co-ordination group was meeting in Dublin on Tuesday to assess the extent of the damage.

Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Show all 8 1 /8 Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Waves break on Longships lighthouse off the coast of Lands End PA Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK People play in the sea foam made by crashing waves after Ophelia hit Cornwall Alamy Live News. Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Storm Ophelia causing huge waves in Cornwall Alamy Live News. Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Rays of sunlight shine through dark clouds as storm Ophelia hits the County Clare town of Doonbeg REUTERS Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK A man struggles to walk in strong winds at Lands End PA Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Storm Ophelia hits Penzance Alamy Live News Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Two dogs being walked in strong winds as Ophelia hits Lands End PA Storm Ophelia reaches Ireland and UK Storm Ophelia hits the UK Dark clouds gather over the Irish Sea AFP/Getty Images

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar on Monday afternoon to offer support.

The Met Offices Mr Gundersen said: A brief quieter spell will last through Wednesday though interspersed with some rainfall in parts of the UK before further strong winds and rain move in from the west at the end of the week.

It is too early to be sure of details but there is potential for some disruption, so its best to stay up to date with the Met Office forecast. Despite some speculation in the media, Storm Brian has not been named.
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A six-hour riot involving hundreds of prisoners started after they were locked in cells for 23 hours a day and denied basics including toilet paper, a damning report has found.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said HMP Bedford was turned into a sad picture of devastation by the disorder in November.

Amid the ruins of two totally trashed wings, broken furniture and doors, a ruined segregation unit and destroyed prisoner records, only the library was left intact.

Investigators said the valued facility remained untouched whilst the area around it was pulled to bits, with one man leaving neatly hand-written notes reading telling those picking up the pieces that this was caused by 23 hour lock-up; peace and we need to be treated like human beings.

The IMB, which reports to the Government on prison standards, identified a catalogue of failings leading up to the violence at HMP Bedford.

The category B prison had capacity of 508 inmates at the time but there were only half the number of officers needed were available to work.

With only 55 available in the weeks before the riot, a limited regime was imposed seeing most prisoners locked in their cells for up to 23 hours a day as tensions rose.

Police vehicles outside HMP Bedford (PA)

The IMB said education courses, medical appointments and drug treatment courses were missed, adding: This was not treating prisoners fairly. It led to a riot. Are prisoners treated humanely? Prior to the riot of November 2016 the answer was no.

The inability to provide basic items such as soap, cleaning materials and toilet paper was a disgrace. At one stage prisoners in A-wing had to wait four weeks for letters to be sent home because of a shortage of envelopes.

New prisoners did not always have pillows. There can be no excuse for this.

The IMB said that it had expressed concerns over resources in last years annual report and that complaints had spiked for months as prisoners became increasingly angry and frustrated.

Limited staff were overwhelmed as conditions worsened, amid chronic shortages of basic items and unacceptably dirty conditions, including cockroaches and waste from pigeons.

Violence broke out when prisoners were unlocked briefly on the afternoon of 6 November, taking up improvised weapons and knives and starting fires.

A police vehicle outside HMP Bedford (PA)

Prison officers were ordered to withdraw as inmates took control A and B wings, although those on C wing did not participate in the rioting and apparently barricaded the wing to prevent other prisoners from entering.

Gangs gained access to the segregation unit and intimidated vulnerable prisoners, the IMBs report said, while a small number donned protective gear from lockers as officers were ransacked.

No prison staff were injured but one prisoner was attacked and another experienced breathing difficulties.

More than 120 officers from the National Tactical Response Group took six hours to restore order, moving 227 prisoners were decanted to other jails around the country with respect and without the unreasonable use of force.

The IMB said the capacity of the prison has now been reduced to 261 and that although clear improvements have been seen to the running of HMP Bedford, concerns about underlying conditions.

The report noted that four inmates died in custody in the past year  significantly above the national average  and mental health case and work to reduce self-harm and suicide must improve.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters 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 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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 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Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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

It came after warnings about the smuggling of the former legal high Spice into HMP Bedford, which has been linked to violence at other prisons including HMP Birmingham.

Rioting broke out in the G4S-run prison the month after the disorder in Bedford, with disorder breaking out after prisoners seized keys to free inmates and caused damage and losses running into millions of pounds.

The IMB called on the Government to ensure that all British prisons have sufficient staff to run decent and humane regimes.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said HMP Bedford had begun work to improve access to education and tackle contraband including drugs.

Transforming prisons into places of safety and reform is our top priority and we are tackling the challenges we face head-on, a spokesperson added.

Across the estate, we are investing 1.3bn to modernise the prisons, and 100m to significantly boost the front line by 2,500 additional prison officers.

We are on track to meet our recruitment targets and recently saw a net increase of 868 prison officers since January this year.


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Terror attacks in the UK and West are likely to increase despite Isis being driven out of the Syrian city of Raqqa, analysts have warned amid fears of an al-Qaeda resurgence.

The militants defeat in their de facto capital has been hailed as a major victory in the three-year battle to retake swathes of Syria and Iraq, but territorial losses are being met with intensified calls for atrocities around the world.

Experts say there is no sign of the deadly trend of rudimentary but lethal Isis-inspired attacks like those in Westminster and London Bridge slowing down.

Jean-Marc Rickli, a research fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and King's College London, said Raqqa was not the end of the story.

It is quite the opposite because for Isis to remain relevant they have to hit the headlines, so it will go after easier and softer targets, he told The Independent.

What were witnessing is an increase in the number of attacks in the West.

The destruction of Isis in Syria and Iraq will probably increase this phenomenon, not only in the West but in Asia.

 MI5 chief warns that Britain is facing an unrelenting terrorist threat

Dr Rickli said that as well as the heightened threat posed by an unknown number of foreign fighters returning to their home countries, Isis has increased its drive aimed at encouraging lone-wolf style attacks  recently extending the call to women.

The physical elimination of one group in one location doesnt at all mean the elimination of the entire cancer [of jihadism], he added. The ideology is out there and that is almost impossible to destroy.

Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said Isis was working hard on new ways to lure in new recruits without the promise of a utopian Islamic State.

Theyve lost territory and theyve lost Raqqa, so theres a less obvious state for people who were going to come and join them, he added.

But they have managed to spin an ideological narrative less bound to these realities, focusing on grievances and a supposed clash of civilisations.

Adam Deen, executive director of the Quilliam Foundation, said that Isis could use images from Raqqa and other warzones as a powerful tool of radicalisation, having released numerous photos and videos appearing to show children and civilians killed in air strikes.

The concern is that weve fallen into a sense of false victory like we did with the death of Osama bin Laden, he added.

Isis message was either to emigrate to the caliphate or carry out an attack. Now they dont have the former, all of their energy will be focused on the latter, even more so out of a sense of revenge.

Were going to see without a doubt more attacks in the West.

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

As Isis caliphate crumbles, there is an additional risk that followers unable to travel abroad will launch attacks on home soil instead  as seen in the London Bridge attack and other recent plots.

Analysts have also warned that Isis could pivot its propaganda to inspire revenge attacks borne of nostalgia for its destroyed state.

There is an additional possibility that the group could renew attempts to launch centrally organised assaults from its remaining territory in Syria and Iraq, or emerging bases elsewhere.

With Raqqa as Isis de-facto capital and base of operations, it presented an easy target for surveillance operations and air strikes but key operatives will be now more difficult to track.

Insurgents affiliated with the group control pockets of territory in countries including Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Nigeria and the Philippines  all of which could be used as future bases for international attacks.

Isis has continued efforts to expand its global operations, with an unverified video released this week claiming to show a new group of jihadis pledging allegiance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Research shows that Isis propaganda operations has been declining over the past year, although videos, statements and magazines are still being published in multiple languages including English, Turkish, Arabic and Russian.

Isis propaganda wing has taken a hit but it will continue to put out its message, Mr Deen warned.

Social media companies have improved removals but its not just about censorship, its about providing a counter-narrative because people will go underground to get the information.

The alternative is where were struggling.

Isis has continued to put out propaganda from warzones as it loses territory

Mr Deen, himself a former member of Anjem Choudarys banned al-Muhajiroun network, said Quilliam was among the organisations involved in counter-extremism programmes but warned of a long and drawn-out battle ahead.

He suggested that returned fighters who are disillusioned with Isis and can expose the groups hypocrisy and brutality could be used to dissuade future followers.

Experts are divided on the danger posed by returnees, who have not yet emerged in the UK in numbers once feared.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said his research indicated that jihadis who want to fight abroad and those who want to attack locally are two different kinds of people.

One is more interested in leaving the sinful West and wants to help fight for what they perceive to be a more pure society  the ones who attack locally are mostly motivated by revenge and wanting to pay back the West for attacks in Syria, he explained, warning that there was some overlap.

Mr Pantucci said former militants behaviour would be hard to predict, adding: Very few go out to go off to a place like Syria and Iraq with the intention of training and coming back to be a terrorist.

But some of the deadliest attacks in Europe have been carried out by trained foreign fighters, including the cell behind the Paris and Brussels attacks, and the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi is believed to have met Isis members in Libya.

Mr Deen said statistics show that the likelihood of carrying out a terror attack is dramatically increased for individuals who undergo combat training abroad, with those returning possibly feeling a heightened sense of grievance over Isis losses.

Youssef Zaghba, one of the London Bridge attackers, had been prevented from joining Isis in Syria

Andrew Parker, the director-general of MI5, previously revealed that seven plots have been foiled in the UK in as many months as the threat operates at a scale and pace we have not seen before.

The threat is more diverse than Ive ever known, he said in a speech on Tuesday. Plots online, complex scheming and also crude stabbings, lengthy planning, but also spontaneous attacks.

Around 500 live operations are currently underway, targeting 3,000 of the most dangerous known jihadists, while at least 20,000 are being monitored after previously appearing on the counter-terrorism radar.

Recommended Isis calls on women to fight and launch terror attacks for first time

Analysts have warned that the real threat may be far larger as clean skins not previously known for extremist links are inspired to launch attacks.

Dr Amarasingam said the glory days of Isis recruitment that saw more than 800 British followers leave for Syria and Iraq in 2014 and 2015 are over, adding: Their efforts at recruitment will of course continue, but their message will change, what they ask of recruits and supporters will change, and we just have to make sure we are listening carefully, both to local messages and their messages to supporters abroad.

While Isis has been credited with driving a dramatic increase in global terror attacks since 2014, the international focus on the group has allowed its rival al-Qaeda to gather strength elsewhere.

The group was virtually written off after heavy losses in Iraq during the mid 2000s, and again with the killing of its leader in 2011, but is now operating both openly and through affiliates across the Middle East and Africa.

Dr Rickli said the group, which spawned Isis but has since publicly denounced it for being too extreme, had been gathering members in the Idlib region of Syria but still had international ambitions.

In the future it is possible that we will see attacks in the West by both Isis and al-Qaeda supporters, we shouldnt dismiss the rising threat of al-Qaeda that has been rebuilt and will now probably strike again in the West, he added.

We shouldnt forget the lessons of what happened earlier  it might be that it wont be Isis or al-Qaeda that emerges as the next powerful group but a new one built on the lessons of the failures of its predecessors. You never know.
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A letter recovered from the body of a Titanic victim is to be auctioned in the UK.

The note was written on embossed Titanic stationery by first-class passenger Alexander Oskar Holverson on 13 April 1912, the day before the ocean liner sank.

It is one of the last known letters to have survived the sinking and the last-known letter written on board by a victim.

The note, addressed to Mr Holversons mother, reads: This boat is giant in size and fitted up like a palatial hotel.

If all goes well we will arrive in New York Wednesday AM.

Mr Holverson, a successful salesman, had been on holiday with his wife in Buenos Aires and was returning to the US via the UK.

The Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of 14 April 1912 and sank in just over two hours, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Mr Holverson did not survive, but his wife did.

The letter was discovered in a pocketbook when the victims body was recovered from the Atlantic and returned to his family, along with his other effects.

The note, stained with seawater, mentions the food, music and elite passengers on board the ship - which is extremely rare among artefacts retrieved from the Titanic.

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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 UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA

Mr and Mrs John Jacob Astor is on this ship, it reads. He looks like any other human being even though he has millions of money. They sit out on deck with the rest of us

American businessman Mr Astor, believed to be the richest man on board the liner, did not survive the sinking.

The letter is being auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son on Saturday 21 October and is expected to fetch between 60,000 and 80,000.

Earlier this year, a fur coat worn by a steward on the Titanic who survived the disaster was sold for 150,000 at auction.
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Anti-trafficking campaigners have welcomed a landmark Supreme Court ruling in favour of two domestic workers who claimed to have been the victim of racial harassment and mistreatment while working at the London home of a Saudi diplomat.

The court rejected the claim by Jarallah al-Malki that he and his wife were entitled to diplomatic immunity after the domestic workers took their claims of low pay and poor conditions to an employment tribunal.

The judgment was described as a major breakthrough for low-paid domestic workers in diplomatic households in the UK and around the world.

Cherrylin Reyes, from the Philippines, and Titin Rohaetin Suryadi, from Indonesia, said they were paid less than the national minimum wage, were subjected to unacceptable living and working conditions and faced harassment on the grounds of their race during their employment in 2011. Their allegations are yet to be determined at trial but the Home Office has recognised both women as victims of trafficking.

But Mr and Ms Al-Malki were able to avoid answering the claims after winning an appeal which allowed them to claim diplomatic immunity.

However, in a unanimous Supreme Court ruling handed down on Wednesday, the domestic workers were told they could take their claims to an employment tribunal.

The court said the diplomat and his wife were no longer shielded by immunity because his posting in the UK had finished and because the employment of Ms Reyes was not in the course of his official functions.

The judgment also noted that the exploitation of migrant domestic workers by diplomats was a "significant problem".

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA

Emmy Gibbs, a lawyer for the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), which was involved in the case, said the ruling was a major breakthrough [that] is likely to affect the rights of overseas domestic workers working in diplomatic households not just in the UK but also across the world.

If the Government hope to lead the fight against modern slavery as they state they do, they must now take steps to champion the rights of victims within the international community, she told The Independent.

In the meantime they must ensure that embassies themselves are directly responsible for any wrongs domestic workers suffer at the hands of their diplomat employers.

Ms Reyes claimed to have been paid $250 (190) in advance for a month's salary, followed by a payment of 1,000 after a claim was lodged by ATLEU.

The charity said that Ms Reyes worked for more than 17 hours a day, seven days a week, over the course of almost two months, meaning the pay was equivalent to around 1 an hour.

Ms Suryadi says she was paid in two instalments totalling 195 and 238 and was not allowed to leave the house.

Up to 17,000 domestic workers enter the UK each year, predominantly from Africa and Asia, with around 300 employed by diplomats or within foreign embassies.

The majority of these are women and are required to carry out tasks including cleaning, cooking, providing childcare and laundry services.

 Modern slavery: 97 arrested in nail bars crackdown

Male domestic workers are often brought to the UK as drivers, cooks and private security guards.

ATLEU said many domestic workers are employed under a "kafala" arrangement, which is widespread in the Gulf region, and which ties migrant workers to their employers.

They are not permitted to leave their jobs or the country without their employer's permission, an arrangement the charity said bears the features of modern slavery.

Recommended Women and girls make up nearly three quarters of modern slavery victim

Avril Sharp, Policy Officer for Kalayaan, a charity that supports migrant domestic workers and which provided evidence in the case, said: These cases were about access to justice for domestic workers, including those who had been trafficked to the UK and exploited in domestic servitude and forced labour.

Zubier Yazdani, a lawyer at Deighton Pierce Glynn who represented Kalayaan in court, added: These successful appeals represent a significant inroad into chipping away at the veil of immunity that has so far shielded diplomats who have trafficked their domestic workers.

Jakub Sobik, a spokesman for Anti-Slavery International, highlighted the role of European law on the judgment and warned about the impact of Brexit on future cases if basic rights for everyone in the UK are not be secured during negotiations.

Regardless of immigration status and no matter who employs them, vulnerable workers should have a right to bring their claims for compensation to the court, full stop, he said.

The case highlights how the deep vulnerability of people who come to this country as domestic workers. If the Government is serious about tackling slavery, it should allow workers greater flexibility leave abusive employers.

He added that the ruling was likely to promote the general rule of law across the world.

The Modern Slavery Act was introduced in Britain only two years ago, but already a number of countries such as Australia, France, and Switzerland have followed suit and are debating similar legislation, he said.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: We note the Supreme Courts judgment in this case and are currently considering the implications.

"The FCO takes no position on the merits of the underlying employment law claim that was at issue in this case. That is a matter for the courts.

The Independent contacted Saudi authorities for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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Amber Rudd has been told to authorise a broad inquiry into Home Office contracts handed to firms like G4S following the exposure of abhorrent abuse allegedly suffered by immigrants at a privately-run detention centre.

The UKs equality watchdog has given Ms Rudd 14 days to set out how she will arrange a probe or face the prospect of legal action or a forced investigation over her departments handling of private sector contracts.

Any inquiry should explore deliberate acts of humiliation and abuse the watchdog says have been uncovered at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre, but also the adequacy of Home Office outsourcing and the UKs use of indefinite detention for immigrants.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to the Home Secretary giving her notice of its decision in a move that marks a new and more muscular approach from the organisation.

Its letter was sent off the back of a BBC Panorama investigation into Brook House, near Gatwick Airport, which exposed abuse including a choking incident that the watchdog says appears to amount to an unlawful physical assault.

Commission chair David Isaac told The Independent: We saw evidence of deliberate acts of humiliation and abuse and unacceptable behaviour towards detainees who are mentally unwell and vulnerable. All of these actions are abhorrent.

Clearly the Home Office has issues in managing its contractors and, as a result, the vulnerable people its responsible for are at risk.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures 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 UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA

The Home Office must launch an immediate independent inquiry into this and weve written to them to say just that.

The letter sets out how the BBC documentary presents evidence the Home Office is not protecting the rights of immigrant detainees under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It goes on to state that the Home Offices obligations to inquire into the issue can only be met by holding an independent inquiry.

That inquiry should be broad enough to take into consideration not only the actions of the officers directly involved in incidents at the centre run by G4S, but also the surrounding circumstances that enabled these incidents to occur.

The Commission then raises concerns about the adequacy of Government systems to ensure human rights compliance in the outsourcing of contracts for Home Office functions.

It tells Ms Rudd that the inquirys terms of reference should enable it to make recommendations to enhance human rights and equality protections generally in this field of public procurement and that the inquiry should broadly investigate Home Office outsourcing arrangements for immigration detention centres.

The Commission also says footage presents evidence of the harmful impact of indefinite detention  something the UK is alone in practicing in the EU  and says it should be part of the inquiry too.

G4S guards responding to a detainee who had taken Spice at Brook House (BBC Panorama)

The letter ends: We ask you to confirm within 14 days whether the Government will institute such an inquiry, and if not by what means it considers that the investigative duty will be met.

Your response will enable the Commission to consider further whether it should exercise any of its statutory powers in relation to this matter.

The Independent understands that the Commission could pursue a judicial review, launch its own investigation or issue a compliance notice forcing Ms Rudd to take action.

 G4S accused of 'culture of intimidation' against asylum seekers

It comes after the watchdog set out plans to push for a constitutional right to equality to be enshrined in British law after Brexit, which the body said would rob the UK or a safety net for human rights.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We have repeatedly made clear that the sort of behaviour on display in Panoramas disturbing footage is utterly unacceptable and immediate action has been taken in response.

G4S suspended 10 staff members and have since dismissed six of them, including a member of healthcare staff. The Home Office suspended a former G4S officer who was working for the department and dismissed him last month. All allegations were referred to Sussex Police, who are considering whether criminal offences have been committed.

The Immigration Minister expects G4S to implement its action plan swiftly and rigorously and he is meeting G4S representatives next month to assess progress.

In September G4S immediately suspended members of staff pending further investigation into allegations made about Brook House, with managing director for custodial and detention services Jerry Petherick saying: There is no place for the type of conduct described in the allegations anywhere in G4S.

Such behaviour is not representative of the many G4S colleagues who do a great job, often in difficult and challenging circumstances, across the country.

The centres director Ben Saunders left his role at Brook House, one of two immigration centres run by G4S, with immediate effect three weeks after the scandal broke.

With a capacity for 508 adult men, Brook House was designed to hold people for up to 72 hours ahead of deportation, but some have been detained there for almost two years.

G4S was forced to repay 108.9m to the British Government in 2014 after overcharging on contracts to electronically tag offenders.

Nine of the of the Home Office's eleven immigration detention centres are run by private companies, including G4S, Mitie, Serco, GEO and Tascor, a subsidiary of Capita.

Any recommendations from an independent inquiry into outsourcing could have far-reaching implications for the way all government departments manage private contracts.

A National Audit office report last year showed that in 2014/15, 31 per cent of total government spending, or 242bn, was spent on external suppliers compared with 194bn on internal staff costs.
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Brexit preparations have been plunged into further chaos after the key legislation was shelved for up to a month because of Commons revolts.

The flagship European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is not expected to be put back before MPs until mid-November. It was originally due to be debated this week.

The move follows an avalanche of amendments  some signed by significant numbers of Tory backbenchers  which threaten the Government with defeat.

Labour immediately seized on the delay as further evidence that the withdrawal process was unravelling.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, said: This is further proof that the Governments Brexit strategy is in paralysis.

The negotiations are in deadlock and now a crucial piece of legislation is facing further delay.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman did not dispute that line-by-line scrutiny of the bill would be delayed until after a Commons recess, which ends on 13 November.

 Reverse Brexit with second referendum to save your economy, OECD tells UK

The latest hold-up follows warnings, from both veteran pro-EU Tory Ken Clarke and Labour, that Parliament will use the EU withdrawal bill to veto a no-deal Brexit.

A key amendment, co-tabled by Mr Clarke, demands that the Prime Ministers plan for a two-year transition period is written into law.

It would prevent the Government setting an exit day if that transition is not agreed in Brussels.

This week, Mr Clarke warned Ms May: This is a parliamentary democracy  Parliament can do practically whatever it likes.

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

Ministers are weighing up a concession on a second key amendment to give MPs more muscle, by requiring the final vote on the negotiations to form a separate act of Parliament.

They face further Conservative challenges over the use of Henry VIII powers to bypass MPs in making post-Brexit laws.

 Ministers fear collapse of Brexit talks 'within weeks' despite Theresa May's best efforts to kick-start process

The delay is crucial  and embarrassing  because the bill is the mechanism for pasting EU law onto the UK statute book before Brexit day, in March 2019, to avoid a legislative black hole.

There will be a further hold-up when the Lords eventually gets its teeth into the legislation  which is now not expected until next year.

One government source admitted to the BBC that the bill could not yet be brought back to the Commons because there is not enough political agreement yet.

However, a source at the Brexit Department insisted it was not being delayed  because a date for it had never been set.

But it was widely expected that the bill had to enter its committee stage in early October, if the Government was to have any chance of getting it through Parliament by the spring.

Speaking on the BBCs Daily Politics, Brexit minister Robin Walker said MPs would be debating it within weeks and that it would offer continuity and certainty as the UK leaves the EU.
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Young people are bemused, angry and resentful at the decision to leave the EU which they largely blame on older generations, according to a new report.

The new analysis by academics at the London School of Economics (LSE) for the All Party Parliamentary Group on a Better Brexit for Young People warned there was a deep concern about the negative impact of last years divisive referendum vote.

The report  based on the findings of 40 focus groups and a survey of more than 3,200 young people and adults  found young people were concerned about the loss of opportunity as well as the impact on Britains image as a tolerant, multicultural society.

Stephen Kinnock, the All Party Parliamentary chair and Labour MP, said he hoped that the report would be the catalyst for a national conversation on Brexit.

Young people want a voice in the Brexit process, and not one that is politely listened to and then dismissed, he added.

The report said that a significant majority expressed bemusement, anger and resentment at the choice to leave the EU, which was made  in their view  primarily by the older generations.

Young people in our study are concerned about the negative impact of Brexit on multi-ethnic communities in terms of rising intolerance, discrimination and racism in British society and the decline of Britains tolerant and multicultural image, the report said.

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

In contrast a small minority of young people in the study expressed optimism  either voicing pride in Britain, or suggesting Brexit was positive for the UK because it had motivated young people to become less passive.

Previous research from the LSE has suggested that turnout among young people at the referendum in June 2016 was around 64 per cent in the 18-24 group  significantly higher than anticipated. Polling has also claimed that around 70 per cent of this age group voted to Remain in the referendum.

But among the 55-64 group it was claimed the turnout was around 74 per cent and it was significantly higher  90 per cent  for those aged 65 and over.
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European leaders are still finding it hard to understand the UK's position on Brexit despite Article 50 having been triggered seven months ago, the Irish prime minister has said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said ambiguity in the official position and mixed messages coming from ministers meant the EUs 27 other national leaders struggle to grasp what the UK really wants from negotiations.

His comments came along side others from European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who said we need to know what the UK wants to do over Brexit, ahead a key meeting of the European Council which starts on Thursday.

It follows a day of confusion in London on Tuesday when two senior cabinet ministers appeared to contradict each other over the UKs approach to a no deal Brexit.

Mr Varadkar said: It's still not clear what the UK actually wants in terms of a new relationship, because on the one hand it seems that the UK wants to have a close trading relationship with Europe like it has now, but it also seems to want something different.

It is very hard for us as European prime ministers to understand exactly what the UK wants the new relationship to look like.

In an interview with the BBC's Spotlight programme, he went on: It certainly can't be, and I think anyone will understand it can't be, having all the benefits of EU membership but none of the responsibilities and none of the costs. If you join a club, you obey the rules and you pay the membership fee.

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

The fifth round of Brexit talks ended last week with the EUs chief negotiator saying there had still not been sufficient progress on withdrawal issues  including the divorce bill  for negotiations to move on to future trade or transition arrangements.

Mr Tajani said the UK Government was not realistic in its approach to the financial settlement and echoed Margaret Thatcher's language when she secured the British rebate, saying: We need our money backthis is important for us.

The figure of around 18bn that Ms May was offering so far is peanuts, he said, with the real situation being a sum of around 45bn to 53bn.

He told BBC's Newsnight: We need not one euro more, not one euro less.

Differences within the Cabinet were illustrated on Tuesday as Home Secretary Amber Rudd suggested that a no deal scenario was unthinkable, at least on security issues, while Brexit Secretary David Davis insisted the UK had to keep open the option of walking away from the talks.

There are also divisions over how close any future relationship will be, leading Mr Tajani to say: In the Conservative Party there are different positions. This is not good for good work in the next months.

EU leaders are due to meet at a summit on Thursday and Friday, during which the UK's Brexit proposals will be discussed.

Theresa May is due to outline developments in her Brexit plans, and is expected to argue that sufficient progress has been made in talks for them to continue to the next stage.

After she leaves on Friday, the 27 leaders will then hold a separate meeting on the UK's withdrawal plans at which Ms May will not be present.

The UK has previously been criticised by EU leaders over claims that the country's Brexit plans lack sufficient depth or detail, but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson denied it on Tuesday and urged the EU to get on with talks to ensure timely progress is made.
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Isiss so-called capital has fallen but aid organisations warned that help was urgently needed for people forced to flee the fighting.

The battle for Raqqa, the terrorist groups Syrian stronghold dubbed the head of the snake, was entering a mopping-up phase with work to clear land mines and any Isis sleeper cells.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said it was clear that the end is near for Isis in the city but stressed that operations would continue against the group in both Syria and Iraq.

The heavy fighting led to tens of thousands fleeing, creating the potential for a humanitarian disaster, Save the Children warned.

 Isis completely driven out of Raqqa by US-backed forces

The US-led military coalition has supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) conducting the operation to clear IS  also known as Daesh  out of the Raqqa.

As part of the offensive the RAF struck 213 targets in and around the city, including taking out sniper positions and Isis-held buildings.

Sir Michael said: It is clear that the end is near for Daesh in Raqqa but there is no room for complacency. RAF strikes will continue to hit terrorist targets in order to ensure Daesh loses its capital in Syria as it did so in Iraq over the summer.

Recommended Raqqa is liberated from Isis but civilians face months of hardship

We will stay the course as part of the global coalition battling the evil of our time ensuring the death cult is flushed entirely out of Syria and Iraq.

SDF spokesman Brigadier General Talal Sillo said the US-backed forces were now in control of the former capital of terrorism although a formal declaration has not yet been issued.

Save the Children said 270,000 people who have fled the Raqqa fighting are still in critical need of aid, with refugee camps bursting at the seams.

Sonia Khush, Save the Childrens Syria director, said: The military offensive in Raqqa may be coming to an end, but the humanitarian crisis is greater than ever.

Fighting still rages nearby and thousands more children are streaming into already overcrowded camps every day. Conditions in the camps are miserable, and families do not have enough food, water or medicine. But it is not yet safe for them to go back, and many of their homes are now turned to rubble.

These children have suffered for years under ISIS and must not be forgotten once the fighting subsides. We must ensure that they have a future to look forward to.

Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa atop of military vehicles REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces march past destroyed buildings as they celebrate victory REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces evacuate a civilian from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures A civilian prays after she was rescued by fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters ride atop of military vehicles as they celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrates in Raqqa Reuters

The international community invests vast amounts of money on military action, but only a fraction of that for helping the children and families who suffer the consequences.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned the humanitarian situation inside Syria remains dire.

The importance of targeting Raqqa was highlighted by former prime minister David Cameron when he pushed for British military action in Syria in November 2015.

It is in Syria, in Raqqa, that IS has its headquarters and it is from Raqqa that some of the main threats against this country are planned and orchestrated. Raqqa, if you like, is the head of the snake, he said.

Press Association
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Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson said a conman posing as Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon attempted to dupe him out of $5 million (3.8m) after lying about a kidnapping.

The 67-year-old spoke to a man who sounded exactly like Sir Michael who said a British diplomat was being held hostage by terrorists and there was a very sensitive reason for wanting to get him back.

Writing about the incident on his website, Sir Richard said his assistant had received a note on what appeared to be official notepaper with a request to call the Defence Secretary.

He said: He told me that British laws prevented the Government from paying out ransoms, which he normally completely concurred with. But he said on this occasion there was a particular, very sensitive, reason why they had to get this diplomat back.

So they were extremely confidentially asking a syndicate of British businesspersons to step in.

I was asked to contribute $5 million of the ransom money, which he assured me the British Government would find a way of paying back.

Sir Richard said he was sympathetic to the request, but wanted to carry out checks.

After he rang Downing Street and asked to be put through to Sir Michael's office, he realised the truth.

He wrote: His secretary assured me that Sir Michael hadn't spoken to me and that nobody had been kidnapped. It was clearly a scam. I told them what had happened and we passed the matter over to the police.

The tycoon also wrote of a similar incident where a fraudster impersonated him and was able to con 1.5m meant to help victims of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

He wrote: They told me that they had received an email from somebody claiming they were my assistant, to arrange a call with me.

When the call happened the conman did an extremely accurate impression of me and spun a big lie about urgently needing a loan while I was trying to mobilise aid in the BVI.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 A villager cooks roti bread at the site of the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. 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They claimed I couldn't get hold of my bank in the UK because I didn't have any communications going to Europe and I'd only just managed to make a satellite call to the businessman in America. The business person, incredibly graciously, gave $2 million, which promptly disappeared.

He added: People used to raid banks and trains for smaller amounts - it's frightening to think how easy it is becoming to pull off these crimes for larger amounts.

PA
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Theresa May will meet former US President Bill Clinton to discuss the ongoing political crisis in Northern Ireland.

Mr Clinton, who played a key role in securing the Good Friday Agreement, will visit the Prime Minister in Number 10 on Thursday after attending meetings with Northern Irish leaders in Belfast this week.

The DUP and Sinn Fein have been embroiled in crunch talks to end nine months of political deadlock after the executive collapsed in January in the wake of the resignation of the late Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "He and the PM wanted to take this opportunity to discuss Northern Ireland and also the ongoing partnership between the Government and the Clinton Health Access Initiative's work to lower the cost of HIV/Aids treatment worldwide."

Mr Clinton met privately with DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill during a visit to Belfast but Mrs May's spokesman made clear that he had not been used to deliver a message on behalf of the Government.

"Obviously work is ongoing in trying to reach a solution to get the compromises that are necessary to get the devolved administration up and running again," the spokesman said.

It comes as Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said progress to restore power-sharing had stalled over culture and language issues, forcing him to set a new deadline for a deal.

He said parties had to reach an agreement by the end of October, to give Westminster time to prepare to set a budget the following week.

Mr Brokenshire told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster: "A breakthrough has not been reached. Whilst if I had given evidence to this committee last week, I might have indicated some momentum, some more positive progress, that momentum stalled at the end of last week."

He added: "The prospects do not look positive at this time."

Mr Clinton has been a champion of Northern Ireland's peace process and contributed to securing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement when he was in the White House.
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Theresa May has confirmed there will be no Government cash to fit sprinklers in tower blocks, triggering accusations she has broken a promise made after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

It is up to the council to make decisions, the Prime Minister told MPs  amid a growing furore over the multi-million pound bills that town halls face.

Nottingham, Croydon and Wandsworth have all had multi-million pound requests turned  even after being advised to carry out works by their local fire brigades.

Recommended Council to help owners of tower block flats following Grenfell tragedy

Nevertheless, until now, ministers had said they would consider help where works are essential, even as they resisted applications.

However, during Prime Ministers Questions, Ms May gave a firm no after a plea for assistance from a Labour MP in Nottingham

How safe would she feel living on the 20th floor of Pine View or Southchurch Court in my constituency with one staircase and no sprinklers? Lillian Greenwood asked.

The Prime Minister dismissed the question, saying: Since Grenfell, much has been said in this House about sprinklers.

There are a number of aspects that have to be looked at in relation to the safety of tower blocks.

It is not the case that sprinklers are the only issue that needs to be looked at or addressed - nor is it the only solution to ensuring their safety.

On expenditure by the honourable ladys local council, it is of course up to the council to make decisions about what it wishes to do.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Greenwood said: The Prime Ministers response to me today was disgraceful.

After the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower she assured people living in council high rise blocks that action would be taken to keep them safe. Her answer today confirms that those were empty promises.

Alok Sharma, the housing minister, declined Nottingham City Councils request for help to install sprinklers inside flats and communal areas in 13 towers at a cost of 6.2m.

He told the council: The fire safety measures you outline are additional rather than essential.

The minister also told the London borough of Croydon, which wants to spend 10m on retrofitting sprinklers to 25 tall residential blocks: It is the landlords responsibility to ensure that people are safe.

Wandsworth wants to spend up to 30m on sprinklers in 100 towers but was told: Support will not include general improvement and enhancements to buildings.

Installing sprinklers in high rise buildings was one of the recommendations to come out of the inquest into the deaths of six people in the Lakanal House fire in Southwark in 2009.

The importance of sprinklers was reiterated by the London Fire Brigade last month, when Commissioner Dany Cotton claimed retro-fitting the devices cant be optional; it cant be a nice to have. This is something that must happen.
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The Labour party will challenge Tory rebels to back its call to pause the rollout of Universal Credit, and defeat the government in a House of Commons vote.

On Tuesday, Theresa May held meetings with Tory backbenchers who are considering rebelling, as the government continues its rollout of the new benefit system, which has so far been blamed for inflicting poverty on a number of claimants, even forcing some on to the streets.

Labour is to call on the government to pause and fix the system for six weeks.

Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke has insisted the roll-out of UC will continue, with the system tweaked so that claimants are offered advance payments upfront.

But he was accused by the Work and Pensions Select Committee chairman Frank Field of overseeing a department that has no idea about the operation of the policy.

After a dozen Tory MPs sent a letter to Mr Gauke urging him to pause the overhaul ahead of the Conservative Party conference earlier this month, Labour will hope to win a symbolic victory in an opposition day vote on Wednesday.

Last month, Labour received backing from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is propping up the minority Government, in opposition day votes on NHS pay and tuition fee increases, which forced the Tories to abstain on the non-binding motions.

The Prime Minister held talks with potential Tory rebels Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston and Johnny Mercer to listen to their concerns ahead of the vote.

The Government has insisted that it would consult with people to get the roll-out of the benefit right.

But shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams said: The Government has so far not listened to MPs concerns about the mounting issues with their flagship social security programme. We must stand together to make our voices heard.

I urge Conservative MPs to vote with their conscience and support our motion to pause the roll-out of Universal Credit.

The social security system is meant to protect people from debt and arrears, not exacerbate their situation.

We must pause and fix Universal Credit now, before millions are made worse off.

Universal Credit combines a number of benefits such as housing benefit and tax credits into a single payment.

From October the pace of its roll-out was set to be ramped up, with 50 Jobcentres moving to the service every month.

Government figures showed 23% of new claimants do not receive their first full payment within six weeks, which has been linked to rent arrears and other debts for claimants.

Mr Gauke will be grilled by MPs at a session of the Work and Pensions Select Committee ahead of the Commons vote.

Ahead of the session, Mr Gauke wrote to Mr Field and insisted there had been a sustained level of improvement in the timeliness of payments of the benefit, and stressed that those who need it are not left without support.

Bu Mr Field said the Department for Work and Pensions has no idea about the operation of its flagship policy.

For example, they do not know how many people are waiting eight, 10, 12 weeks for payment, or why.

They dont and cant know if its going right or wrong. It beggars belief that they decided to press ahead on this collision course totally in the dark.
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The Government has refused to ban controversial surgical mesh implants, despite calls for suspension of the treatment and a Labour push for a full public inquiry into the scandal.

Following a debate in Westminster, minister for care and mental health, Jackie Doyle-Price, acknowledged the severity of the issues surrounding the treatment  but ruled out a public inquiry or a suspension.

She also insisted the risks were associated with clinical practice, not the mesh implants themselves, despite hearing testimony from medical device experts and gynaecological consultants to the contrary.

The issue was brought to debate by Labours Emma Hardy (MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle), after hearing the experiences of women in her constituency who had been suffering in silence.

Ms Hardy told The Independent the response from the minister was incredibly disappointing.

She failed to acknowledge the problems with the product; that its not just procedural. It was an extremely dissatisfactory reply, and I can only hope ... she might think again.

 Cross-party call to end mesh procedure ends in disappointment

The insertion of a plastic mesh device to treat hernia, prolapse and incontinence  in particular, the transvaginal mesh procedure, used on around 10,000 UK women a year  has come under increasing public scrutiny as reports have emerged of high rates of complication and inadequate data.

Campaigners and high profile surgeons have accused the NHS of whitewashing after the official report in July failed to address risks or lack of proper clinical trialling.

The mesh treatment is marketed as a quick, cheap and easy procedure to replace traditional, more complex surgeries. However, women have been left unable to work, walk or even sit down after complications, including chronic pain, organ erosion and perforations, nerve damage and loss of sexual function. Some have reported feeling suicidal, as their quality of life has been lost.

Ms Hardy called for a suspension of the use of mesh until a full inquiry is completed saying: The lives of women and their families have been turned upside down ... The devastation has been appalling.

The Government will not be able to undo suffering, but a suspension will go a long way to make sure nothing like this happens again.

She was joined by members of the Tory party, as well as representatives from the DUP, Sinn Fein and SNP, all of whom expressed serious concern over the risks and lack of appropriate Nice guidelines surrounding the device.

Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Elmet and Rothwell, said: I did a lot of work on the thalidomide scandal. This is the new thalidomide.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, Conservative MP for Totness, insisted that we cannot allow this to continue; there is cavalier practice and insufficient data, and inadequate clinical trials.

Pointing out that the device is regulated by the EU, she asked: How does the government propose to take this forward after Brexit? We must make sure the safety of women is prioritised at all times.

Owen Smith, Shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on surgical mesh implants, called it one of the worst medical issues he had come across.

Mr Smith also called the response from the Government desperately disappointing. He addressed the women in the gallery directly: We know theres a problem, and were trying to reflect your bravery and amplify your voices in Parliament.

Conservative MP for St Ives, Derek Thomas, said that what we know so far is clearly just the tip of the iceberg. He explained that, having listened to his constituents tell their harrowing stories, he is convinced that the scandal could, and should, have been avoided.

He describes a 47-year-old member of his constituency who suffered from minor prolapse, and was treated with transvaginal mesh without being told of the risks. She now has a permanent low-level infection, he said, but when she went to a doctor she was told: Dont worry; you truly have a designer vagina.

She is also unable to sit or stand properly, he said; this was clearly echoed by women in the gallery, many of whom could not sit or walk easily and struggled to get from the debate hall to the conference room.

Jo Platt, Labour MP for Leigh, said: The worrying narrative emerging is many women experiencing problems are only now finding out about the complications mesh can cause.

Women who have had the procedure should be contacted and made aware of these issues. They deserve a full inquiry to determine how this could have happened, and steps taken to assure this will never happen again.

While the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and NHS official statistics put the risk of side effects at 1-3 per cent, the real statistics are almost certainly much higher. Non-hospital data is not included, many symptoms only manifest themselves years after the procedure, and many women dont come forward out of shame, embarrassment or even ignorance of even having the mesh inside them.

According to the most recent hospital independent statistics and independent studies, the risk of serious complications is actually between 10 and 12 per cent.

However, Kath Sansom, founder of the Sling the Mesh campaign, says the real risk is likely to be around 20 per cent. Many women experiencing symptoms either dont report them, or are dismissed by their GPs, she said.

They need to stop this myth that there are only infrequent complications, she said. According to the NHS, side effects for one in 100 is considered common; one in 10 is deemed very common.

She describes the case of a 27-year-old who was implanted with mesh at 13, then again at 16, to treat birth defects; she is believed to be the youngest in the UK. Ms Sansom explains that the woman did not even know that her symptoms could be related to her mesh implant until she saw a news article about the scandal two days ago.

She was told it would change her life. It did. She has suffered ever since but been ignored at every turn.

This isnt the cheap, quick fix dream. Its the stuff of nightmares.

 Cross-party debate on mesh procedure

In the US, mesh has been considered considered a high-risk device since 2011, with medical bodies estimating that up to 40 per cent of women suffer side effects. In Scotland, former Health Secretary Alex Neil called for their suspension two years ago.

Carolyn Harris, Labour MP for Swansea East, said: These figures are staggering, its like Russian roulette.

We cant just sit on the fence in the UK: this problem is ongoing and we cant sit around waiting for the guidelines to be published. There has to be an immediate inquiry; we cannot wait.

More than 800 UK women who received a mesh implant are already suing the NHS for failure to obtain proper consent and inadequate surgical technique. They are also suing device manufacturers, in particular prominent mesh providers Johnson & Johnson, who have already paid out $57m (43m) in Philadelphia last month to a mesh sufferer.

Manufacturers have also been accused of offering grants to bias surgeons and putting pressure on medical bodies to keep the device on the market, despite safety concerns. There is even evidence that the NHS tried to keep the scandal out of the public eye.

Robert Rose, partner and head of the clinical and medical negligence team, has acted for many women whos lives have been affected by vaginal mesh and fights for those affected to be correctly compensated.

He asks: If the medical profession were aware of these complications, why did they not do anything to raise awareness, and if they werent aware then why not?

Labour called for three things: a full public inquiry and retrospective investigation; a suspension of the use of mesh while the inquiry is carried out; and for new Nice guidelines to be published sooner than the currently predicted 2018/19, in order to raise awareness among MPs, GPs and the public.

However, all they managed to secure from Ms Doyle-Price was a commitment to bring the publication date of the updated mesh guidelines forward to before Christmas. She refused to suspend the use of mesh until then, arguing that there is not enough evidence to support suspension.

Ms Doyle-Price said: Im horrified to hear many women didnt even know they were having mesh devices fitted in the first place, which indicates some arrogance in the medical world against women.

However, the MHRA still says the device is the best product for treating incontinence. And more important than a public inquiry is that women get the treatment they need. The problem is with clinical practice, not the product.

Ms Hardy responded to Ms Doyle-Price: The reaction you have just given is not good enough, I completely disagree with you; its not just about the practice, it is about the product.

Recommended Why men should be worried about the vaginal mesh NHS scandal

This was echoed by Sohier Suzy Elneil, consultant urogynaecologist and one of the foremost mesh removal experts in the country, who treats about 15 women a week.

Its not just an issue with the mesh going in  most of the problem is related to the product, rather than the surgeon, said Ms Elneil, who wants to see a ban for at least two years while the data is investigated. And a huge amount of product is used. The inflammatory nature is so bad that it must be the device.

It was reported that at least 83 per cent of the mesh devices were contaminated with bacteria, despite clinical requirements of sterility. Removal of the mesh is also an extremely difficult and often not fully successful procedure, as the surgery is so complex its been described as trying to remove hair from chewing gum.

Sharon Hodgson, Shadow public health minister and the front bench representative for the campaign, called the Government response today a load of twaddle.

If there is not enough evidence to ban it, then there was not enough evidence to support its efficacy and safety in the first place.

She admitted that she had not heard of the issue before becoming health minister, but sees it as a huge, global problem.

I was horrified. When the general election was called, I had a commitment put in the manifesto to call for public inquiries into all outstanding medical scandals.

She has now made a front-bench commitment to push for a full public inquiry.

The Government have failed to answer big questions about the extent of this public health scandal, including how many women have been affected and why a product with such terrible risks was allowed into the market in the first place.

As a woman, I wouldnt have this procedure. None of us would, knowing what we do now. How many people in this chamber would agree to a mesh implant now?

She added: If mesh were a faulty car, it would be immediately recalled. Why does this precaution not apply to womens safety? Its time womens health was taken seriously.

We need to shout it from the rooftops: we must suspend this procedure.

In response to the arguments about insufficient evidence to support a ban, Ms Hardy said directly to the women:

You are the evidence. I will continue to represent you. I promise we wont stop now. You all deserve a hell of a lot more than youve been given today.
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A top Kenyan electoral official has resigned, saying that the presidential vote just eight days away cannot be credible as planned.

Roselyn Akombe quit as a commissioner of Kenya's electoral board by issuing a statement from New York saying the rerun of the presidential election scheduled for 26 October cannot be free and fair.

This election as planned cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election, said Akombe.Not when the staff are getting last minute instructions on changes in technology and electronic transmission of results. Not when in parts of country, the training of presiding officers is being rushed for fear of attacks from protesters, she said. We need the commission to be courageous and speak out.

Kenya's Supreme Court nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta's August re-election, citing illegalities and irregularities, and ordered a fresh election, which will be held next week.

Recommended Kenya has the task of choosing between the lesser of two evils

Opposition leader Raila Odinga had urged the court to overturn Kenyatta's victory, claiming the electoral commission's computer system had been tampered with to produce false results. Odinga has withdrawn from the fresh poll, saying the electoral commission has not made sufficient changes, such as new members or new procedures, to guarantee a fair election. Akombe's resignation and criticism of the electoral board is another blow to the credibility of the new polls.

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

Odinga on Tuesday suspended protests intended to press for reforms to Kenya's electoral commission, citing the killings of his supporters by police. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reported that 67 opposition supporters have been killed in protests since the 11 August announcement that President Uhuru Kenyatta had been re-elected in the first election.

AP
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Four Britons have been kidnapped in Nigeria's southern Delta state, a police official said.

The police are attempting to rescue the four people, who were taken by unidentified gunmen on 13 October, Andrew Aniamaka, a spokesman for the Delta state police, told Reuters.

The British nationals had been doing humanitarian work in the area, according to Agence France-Presse.

The spokesman for Delta state police, Andrew Aniamaka said the kidnapping occurred on 13 October.

The victims are of British nationality, two of whom are a couple, and have been rendering humanitarian services in the area for a while.

But unfortunately, they didnt let the authorities know of their presence in the area all this while.

There is a militant group that has been operating in the area and we believe they are the ones behind the abduction.

Immediately the militants struck, they whisked the victims to the interior regions of the creek where we believe they are being held for the past five days.

This latest kidnapping follows the release of Father Maurizio Pallu, an Italian missionary who was kidnapped by militants on the outskirts of Benin City and taken to a nearby forest.

63-year-old Fr Pallu was released on Tuesday, and told Vatican Radio "the Lord had performed great miracles to keep him alive."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was aware of the hostage situation in Nigeria but declined to comment further on the case.

The FCO advises against all travel to "riverine areas of Delta State", where the kidnapping occurred.

"If youre working or travelling in areas where there is a Boko Haram presence, especially in the north-east of Nigeria, you should be aware of the risk of terrorist kidnap", the FCO warns.

"There is a high threat of criminal kidnap in the Niger Delta region and Kogi state. Kidnaps can be for financial or political gain, and can be motivated by criminality or terrorism."
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The man behind one of the deadliest bombings in recent years was a former soldier whose hometown was raided by US special forces two months ago, officials in Somalia said.

More than 300 people were killed and hundreds more injured when two truck bombs exploded in the capital, Mogadishu.

Scores of people are still missing after the attack, the deadliest in the countrys history, and officials have said the death toll could still rise.

Somalian investigators told the Guardian the attack may have been motivated by revenge, following a joint US-Somali operation in August in which 10 civilians, including three children, were killed.

The raid, carried out in the town of Bariire  a stronghold of al-Shabaab  allegedly prompted local tribal elders to call for revenge against the Somali government and its allies.

The bomber who carried out last weeks attack was from the community targeted in the August raid.

Investigators have also established that both vehicles used in the Mogadishu bombing appear to have come from Bariire, officials said.

The blasts struck two busy areas in the heart of the city on Saturday 14 October, killing at least 320 people.

Police said a truck bomb exploded outside the Safari Hotel at the K5 intersection, an area home to government offices, restaurants and kiosks.

Two hours later, a separate blast hit the Medina district.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed declared three days of mourning in the aftermath of the bombing and joined thousands of people who donated blood to hospitals.

I am appealing all Somali people to come forward and donate, he said.

The attack is the deadliest since the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab began an insurgency in 2007.

Although no group has claimed responsibility, al-Shabaab  which is allied to al-Qaeda  carries out regular attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia.

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

This latest attack has cast scrutiny on US efforts to eliminate al-Shabaab.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump approved the expansion of military operations against al-Shabaab, including air raids.
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A possibly "suicidal" woman armed with a handgun has been detained by police in central Missouri city of Columbia.

The University of Missouri described the suspect a black female in her "mid to late twenties" as they warned students to "take appropriate actions" and "avoid the area around the city's Memorial Union".

They added that she was wearing a hoodie bearing the University's logo, brown pants, and a pair of flip flops.

No injuries were reported after the suspect was apprehended. The campus returned to operating under normal conditions after the gun scare.

Recommended Manhunt underway after three shot dead in Maryland business park

The university's website had encouraged its students to call up their parents to let them know that they are safe. Police and the school were also warning people to stay away from the area.

The school's campus was not put in lock down immediately after the woman was reported to police, but the school's alert system did encourage students to shelter in place if they were on campus.

Still, some students posted on social media that they had been ushered into the basement of one campus building to ensure their safety.

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 Columbia campus at the University of Missouri is the flagship campus of that university system. Founded in 1939, the school was the first public school west of the Mississippi River in America. The school boast of more than 33,000 students on its rolls, including at least 13,000 full-time students.

Students attend the school from all 50 US states, and from 120 countries. The university offers more than 300 degree programmes.
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Donald Trump told the widow of a US soldier killed in Niger he knew what he signed up for before she wept over his coffin, according to a congresswoman.

Sgt. La David Johnson was among four Green Berets killed when their patrol was ambushed by Islamist militants in the African country.

Myesha Johnson was riding in a limousine with her family to meet the casket at Miami International Airport when Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who was travelling with the family, overheard a phone call from the President.

Speaking to CNN, Ms Wilson said: "Basically he said, 'Well I guess he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts.

"I heard what he said because the phone was on speaker."

The Florida Representative said the mother-of-two, who had just been told her husbands casket would be closed for the funeral, was already having nightmares over how his body must look.

Everyone knows when you go to war you could possibly not come back alive, but you don't remind a grieving widow of that. That is so insensitive. So insensitive, Ms Wilson had earlier told WPLG.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Mr Trump has been criticised for his lack of a response to the deaths of military personnel in Niger on 4 October.

Asked on Monday at a press conference why he had not publicly spoken about the issue, the President falsely accused Barack Obama of failing to make phone calls to fallen soldiers families.

The traditional way, if you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didnt make calls, a lot of them didnt make calls, he said.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment, but a spokesperson for the administration told CNN: The President's conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private."
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George Soros has given 13.7 billion ($18 billion) to his human rights foundation in one of the biggest transfers of wealth ever made by a private donor to a single institution.

The billionaire hedge fund manager, who is a leading Democratic donor, has donated the majority of his estimated $24.6 billion fortune to the Open Society Foundations.

His hefty contribution makes the foundation the third largest in the world  just behind the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

The organisation, which has branches in 37 countries, seeks to promote democracy across the world with the explicit aim of advancing justice, education, independent media and public health. It has parted with nearly $14bn since it was established back in 1979 and has invested in programs which protect gays and lesbians and seek to tackle abuses by the police.

Officials from the foundation said the Hungarian-born philanthropist boosted the speed of donations from the earnings of his successful hedge fund.

Soros, who ranks 20th on Forbes magazines list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, has brought his lifetime giving to a whopping $32 billion with this donation.

The philanthropist, who was born in Hungary to a non-observant Jewish company, survived Nazi-Occupied Hungary and emigrated to England in 1947. He studied at the London School of Economics while juggling jobs as a railway porter and waiting tables but it was in the US where he made his fortune.

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

Soros has been a long-time champion of groups promoting liberal, democratic and open-border values in eastern Europe and is a long-standing critic of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbans right-wing government. He made substantial donations to Hillary Clintons unsuccessful bid to be president.

Soros rose to fame by betting against the pound in 1992 and used Quantum Fund to bet successfully that sterling was over-valued against the Deutsche Mark, forcing then Prime Minister John Major to pull the pound out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
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Three people are dead after a shooting at a business park in Maryland.

Sheriffs for Harford County said they were on the scene at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood - about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Baltimore - with two other people critically injured.

Harford County sheriff's office said federal officials had detained a suspected gunman at about 7.30pm local time. Maryland State Police had identified 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince as the alleged shooter.

Mr Gahler also said the suspect had fled the scene in a black 2008 GMC Acadia with Delaware license plates and was to be "considered armed and dangerous," the Baltimore Sun newspaper reported.

All five victims are believed to be employees of Advanced Granite Solutions, where the shooting happened, the sheriff said.

According to police, Mr Prince is an employee of the company though that was unclear at first.

They said a gunman walked into the business with a handgun and shot five employees just before 10 am local time.

The two injured were taken to Baltimore's Shock Trauma Center, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Other businesses in the Emmorton complex and five schools in the Edgewood area have been placed on lockdown  meaning students are being kept in the buildings, and visitors are not permitted  at the advice of the sheriff's office, the county school system has said.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) are also on the scene to assist local police.

Mr Gahler has also said police do not believe any other individuals were involved in the shooting and that it appears "to be a target attack, limited to that business."

According to the local newspaper, a residence in Cecil County, Maryland has been searched in relation to the incident.

Cast and crew from the Netflix programme House of Cards were filming nearby and are also on lockdown. Actress Robin Wright is on set, but actor Kevin Spacey was reportedly not on set today.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in a statement that "state helicopters are in the air and state troopers are on the ground from multiple barracks" to assist in bringing in the suspect in this "tragic shooting."

Mr Prince is also under suspicion for a shooting in Wilmington, Delaware that occurred nearly two hours after the Edgewood shooting which occurred at the 28th Street Auto Sales & Service. Local radio station WBAL reported that Mr Prince has family in the Wilmington area as well.

Mr Prince was convicted in 2003 on multiple burglary charges. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but served only two. According to court records, he was ordered to pay $34,500 in restitution as well, the Baltimore Sun reported.

He was also charged in 2015 in Cecil County, Maryland with felony possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm in his vehicle, however prosecutors in that case dropped the charges. It is unclear immediately as to why the charges were dropped.

The alleged gunman was also named in a restraining order in February 2017, but it was ultimately denied. No details about that case have been released as yet.
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Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has been interviewed by special counsel Robert Muellers team, as part of an ongoing investigation into possible Trump team collusion with Russia during the presidential election.

Mr Spicer served as White House Press Secretary until August, and as communications director for the Republican National Committee before that. His interview with members of Mr Muellers team lasted for most of the day, according to Politico, which first reported the news.

Mr Muellers team questioned the former Press Secretary about the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, his statements regarding the firing, and Donald Trumps meetings with Russian officials, a source with knowledge of the meeting told Politico.

Mr Spicer has been tight-lipped about the Russia probe since leaving the White House, telling ABC News Paula Faris that he was not going to discuss that issue at all.

But Axios recently unearthed evidence that Mr Spicer kept detailed notes of his time on the Trump campaign, and in the White House. Former colleagues of Mr Spicer told the outlet he kept notebook after notebook during meetings, and documented everything.

When asked about the notebooks, Mr Spicer threatened to report the journalist for harassment.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Muellers team has also recently interviewed former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and former interim national security adviser Keith Kellogg. They are reportedly looking to interview White House lawyer Don McGahn, and Communications Director Hope Hicks as well.

Topics of interest include former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who left the White House after it was revealed that he had misrepresented his conversations with Russian officials to the Vice President and others. Mr Mueller is also said to be interested in the misleading statement issued by Donald Trump Jr regarding his meeting with Russians last summer.

Mr Mueller was appointed by the Department of Justice to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the US election.
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Tamika Mallory, a prominent activist who co-chaired the Women's March on Washington, accused an American Airlines pilot of racial discrimination after he kicked her off a flight Sunday, following a disagreement with a gate agent over a seat assignment.

In a tearful Facebook Live broadcast late on Sunday, the New York resident said she had done nothing to warrant her removal and vowed to fight the airline. American Airlines has said it tried to de-escalate the situation and was investigating the incident.

Both Mallory and the airline agreed that it began with a seat-change mix-up.

While checking in for her flight from Miami to New York, Mallory said she used a kiosk to switch from a middle seat to an aisle seat. As she was boarding, however, a female gate agent told her the aisle seat was no longer available and printed her a new ticket with her original, middle seat.

As Mallory waited for an explanation, she said the gate agent brushed off her concerns and asked if she had paid for the seat upgrade. Mallory told the agent she was a platinum member of American's frequent-flier program, and that the kiosk had not asked for payment.

She laughs and says to me, 'Well, somebody else probably paid for it and that's why you got booted,' Mallory said in her broadcast. She said their conversation became increasingly terse, especially after she told the gate agent she should apologise. The issue is not even about the seat. The issue is about the way in which you are speaking to me.

Toward the end of their exchange, the male pilot of the plane came out - in time for him to hear Mallory tell the gate agent she felt disrespected and planned on filing a complaint online. He didn't say anything then, but stopped Mallory later as she was boarding the plane.

The gate agent was a black female and the pilot was a white male, Mallory noted in her broadcast.

The first words that came out of the pilot's mouth... and this is the part that it just really hurts me... the first thing this man said to me was, 'Respect goes both ways,' Mallory said. And he said, 'She told you she had nothing to do with your ticket and you had issue with that. What's your problem?' 

Mallory said she was taken aback and told the pilot he had walked out only at the end of the conversation. The pilot, in turn, said the gate agent had already told him what had happened and he didn't need to hear what she had to say, according to Mallory.

I'm definitely going to file a complaint, Mallory said she told him.

You're going to get yourself a one-way ticket off of this plane, she said he responded. The pilot then asked Mallory if she was going to behave on the flight or if she was going to be a problem.

Mallory said she told the pilot yes, no problems, I'm good, everything's fine and boarded the plane because she wanted to get home.

You are almost silenced as a customer on airlines. So I didn't say anything, she said. I sat down in my middle seat. I was quiet. I didn't say a word. I did not say one word to anybody. Not one... The next thing I know my name was called twice, full name, from the loudspeaker.

Mallory said when she went to the front of the plane, the pilot pointed at her and said: Yeah, her. Off.

In her Facebook Live broadcast, Mallory denied raising her voice earlier in the boarding process - but freely admitted that she began cursing the pilot out at this point.

You g***** right I did. They targeted me. I was already being thrown off the plane. There was nothing else to discuss at that point. Nothing, Mallory said. There was no reason at that point for me to be kind and continue to bow to master. No reason. I was disrespected. I was targeted.

When asked whether the removal was justified, an American Airlines spokesman told The Washington Post the airline was continuing to review the situation with our team members.

We take these allegations seriously, and we have spoken to all involved, including Ms Mallory, airline spokesman Ross Feinstein said. Due to an error with a seat change request, Ms Mallory was informed her requested seat was not available and she was given her original, pre-reserved seat. Our team members apologised for the error and attempted to de-escalate the situation. Ms Mallory was rebooked on the next flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Mallory said the pilot called police and about half a dozen officers came to escort her off the plane. A travelling companion who had boarded the plane earlier - who had also come to the front of the plane when Mallory was called up - was also asked to leave, she said.

[The pilot said] 'Remove him, too,' Mallory said of her travel companion. He didn't do anything. Nobody has told me why this happened to me today.

Shortly after the incident, Mallory took to Twitter to air her grievances against the airline. Though a supervisor tried her best to fix the situation by giving Mallory and her travel companion $15 dining vouchers, she said she remained angry about the way she was treated by both the gate agent and the pilot.

Only reason this pilot got involved was to assert his white male power over who he thought was just some uppity black girl, Mallory tweeted. That's it.

Mallory did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning. The co-president of the Women's March board, Mallory has also been organising the Women's Convention in Detroit that will convene at the end of the month. Her bio describes her as an advocate for civil rights issues, equal rights for women, health care, gun violence, and police misconduct.

In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters

Mallory told The New York Daily News the incident had caused her to miss the wedding of the Reverend Al Sharpton's daughter on Sunday.

I'm crying because I'm angry and I'm a fighter and I will not lay down, Mallory said in her Facebook broadcast. You better believe, they will not get away with throwing me off that plane today. Because I didn't do a g***** thing to deserve it. Nothing.

The Washington Post
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Upskirt images and messages glorifying violence are among the types of content Twitter is moving to crack down on with a harder set of rules on banned speech.

The social media company has released a new set of guidelines dictating what types of content or accounts it will suspend. CEO Jack Dorsey previewed the forthcoming rules last week by ruing that we see voices being silenced on Twitter every day and vowing to take a more aggressive stance.

Today we saw voices silencing themselves and voices speaking out because were *still* not doing enough, Mr Dorsey wrote on Friday, an apparent reference to a mass boycott of Twitter after the site temporarily suspended the account of an actress, Rose McGowan, who has publicly alleged that producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her. Dozens of women have come forward to accuse Mr Weinstein of harassment and assault. Mr Weinstein has denied that any sexual relations were non-consensual, and his legal team have called other allegations "false".

Critics have long assailed Twitter for its lax approach to some content, saying it doesnt do enough to suppress sexual harassment and hate speech. The new rules take aim at both, saying the result will be more abusive content getting removed.

An email to members of a Trust and Safety Council laying out the new approach was first reported by Wired, whose story Mr Dorsey referenced in a tweet.

People who post non-consensual nude images - both those who initially tweet such images and those who share them with the intent of harassing victims - will be permanently booted from the platform, whereas before first-time offenders faced temporary suspension. Twitter is broadening its definition of non-consensual nudity to encompass upskirt imagery, hidden camera content and creep shots, according to the email.

11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Show all 11 1 /11 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Turn on Night Mode Twitters dark blue Night Mode is a lot easier on your eyes than its regular, vibrant theme. On the site, you can enable it by clicking your profile photo (on the right-hand side of the bar at the top of the screen) and selecting Night Mode. On Android and iOS, you need to tap your profile picture at the top of the screen and select Night Mode. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Lengthen your tweets A small group of users are no longer restricted by Twitters 140-character tweet limit. Even if youre not a chosen one, you can double your limit to 280 characters on desktop by downloading the Tampermonkey plugin, going to https://gist.github.com/Prof9/c16fc4997e0ef5b22a15c43edd7f5f49, clicking Raw and then Install. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Improve search Twitters regular search tool can be a little messy, but Advanced Search makes it much easier for you to find specific things. Go to https://twitter.com/search-advanced and filter your search by word, hashtag, exact phrase, location, date and account. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Disable read receipts Like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Twitters direct messaging service shows you when your messages have been seen by the person you sent them to. You can disable read receipts though. On Android, iOS and the site, go to Settings and Privacy, click on Privacy and Safety and disable read receipts. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Monitor your tweets Retweets and Likes only form part of the story, as far as tweet engagement is concerned. You can view a lot more information about how people have reacted to your updates, including the number of times theyve been seen and the number of times people have interacted with them. Just open your tweets and hit the View Tweet Activity button. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Trim the fat If you feel like youre drowning in push notifications, you can cut down the number you receive from Twitter by going to Settings, Notifications, Push Notifications and deselecting the types of notifications you wouldnt like to receive. You can also enable sleep settings, which allow you to switch off all mobile updates during certain hours of the day. On the site, go to Settings, Mobile and select your hours. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Save data You can stop videos from playing automatically on desktop and the Twitter app. On the site, you can do this by going to Settings, Account, Video Tweets and unchecking Video Autoplay. On both the Android and iOS versions of the app, go to Settings, General, Data Usage, Video Autoplay, and choose between Mobile data & Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Only, and Never. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Save even more data You can save even more data and completely transform your timeline in the process by disabling images. Just go to Settings, Data Usage and uncheck the Image Previews box. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Customise your profile Editing your Twitter profile is really straightforward, just go to your profile and click the large Edit Profile button. However, theres one customisation option thats easy to miss. As well as your name, bio and profile photos, you can change your colour scheme. The option is only available on the Twitter site, and is sandwiched between the Website and Birthday sections. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Browse properly One of the Twitter apps most annoying features is its in-app browser, which links automatically open up in. You can sacrifice it for your favourite mobile browser by going to Settings, Display and Sound and unchecking the Use In-App Browser box. 11 useful Twitter features you might not know about Subscribe to tweets You can set up alerts that let you know whenever a certain account tweets, but its a two-stage process. First, on the app, go to Settings, Notifications, Push Notifications, Tweets and turn the toggle button on. Then open the profile page of the account you want to receive notifications from, tap the Bell icon next to the Following button and choose between All Tweets, Only Live Video and Off.

On the topic of unwanted sexual advances, the email is more vague. The site said it would continue to act when we receive a report from someone directly involved in the conversation, though it pledged to roll out improved reporting tools.

Some users criticised that strategy for suffering from the same shortcomings they say plague Twitter's current approach to abuse - the fact the self-reporting system is deemed ineffective by some.

Hate speech has become an unavoidable topic for dominant social media hubs like Twitter and Facebook in the months since a neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville spiraled into bloodshed, with Silicon Valley at large under heightened pressure to stifle the spread of hateful creeds.

Twitter said it would begin treating hate symbols as sensitive media, though the exact implications were yet to be determined, and would take enforcement action against organizations that use/have historically used violence as a means to advance their cause.

It also said it would expand its prohibition on violent speech from direct threats, which are already banned, to messages that condone or glorify violence.
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Two aviation security officers have been fired for their roles in forcibly removing a doctor from an overbooked United Airlines flight.

Dr David Dao, 69, was dragged off a flight from Chicago OHare airport to Louisville, Kentucky, to make room for four crew members on the plane.

He broke his nose, lost teeth and suffered a concussion in the incident on 9 April, which was captured on video.

A third officer resigned after the incident and two other officers involved in Dr Daos removal were temporarily suspended, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The names of the officers involved were not released.

A report by Chicago inspector general Joseph Ferguson stated the first officer who was fired violated the Department of Aviations use-of-force policy.

The officer escalated a non-threatening situation into a physically violent one by forcefully removing a passenger from the aircraft, Mr Ferguson wrote.

The ASOs use of excessive force caused the passenger to hit his face on an armrest, resulting in the passenger sustaining a concussion, a broken nose and the loss of teeth.

The second officer, who was also fired, made misleading statements in two reports and the third - who resigned - made material omissions in a report regarding the first officers forceful removal of Dr Dao.

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. 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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. 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Following the incident, United Airlines reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum with Dr Dao, which includes a provision that releases Republic Airways, which was contracted to operate the flight for United, and the Chicago Police from all responsibility in the incident.

Video footage of Dr Dao being dragged from the flight caused a public relations disaster for the airline as it was shared across the internet.

United has since pledged not to use law enforcement to remove people from flights.

The airline also said it would reduce incidents of overbooking and offer passengers up to $10,000 (7,750) to agree to be removed from a flight.
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Donald Trump has denied telling the grieving widow of US soldier "he knew what he signed up for" moments before she wept over his coffin, insisting the story is "totally fabricated".

The president was responding to Congresswoman Frederica Wilson's claim he had made the "insensitive comments" moments before the funeral of Lance Sergeant David Johnson. He was one of four Green Berets killed when their patrol was ambushed by Islamist militants in Niger.

He claimed not only that the Florida congresswoman who reported the phone call was wrong, but that she had intentionally lied. He has "proof" of that fact, he said.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

"Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Trump didn't say what proof he had collected. The White House had originally told the press that the phone calls between the president and families would be kept private.

Ms Wilson had told CNN that she overheard the phone call, and repeated her claim about Mr Trump's offensive comment.

"Basically he said, 'Well I guess he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts, she claimed. "I heard what he said because the phone was on speaker."

When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that she answered: "Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow."

She added: "That's so insensitive."

Later, reacting to Mr Trump's tweet, Ms Wilson said that the president was a "sick man". "I don't know what kind of proof he could be talking about  I'm not the only person that was in the car, and I have proof too" she said.

"This man is a sick man, he's cold-hearted and he feels no pity or sympathy for anyone," she told CNN.

The controversy comes as Mr Trump is criticised for the way he has responded to the families of the four soldiers killed in Niger. The president didn't reach out to the family straight away, and claimed when criticised that he'd written letters but they hadn't been sent out yet.
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Donald Trump has taken credit for Isis "giving up," claiming the group wasn't on the run before because he wasn't President.

US-backed militias in Syria declared victory over Isis in its de facto capital Raqqa on Tuesday after a four-month battle.

In Washington, the US military said that around 90 per cent of Raqqa had been retaken but it expected the Syrian Democratic Forces to face pockets of resistance.

"I totally changed rules of engagement. I totally changed our military. I totally changed the attitudes of the military and they have done a fantastic job," Mr Trump said on The Chris Plante Show.

"Isis is now giving up, they are giving up, they are raising their hands, they are walking off. Nobody has ever seen that before."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

When he asked why it hadn't happened before, Mr Trump replied: Because you didnt have Trump as your president."

He added: "I mean, it was a big difference. I mean, theres a big, big difference if you look at the military now."

Defeating Isis was a key component of Mr Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign, during which he argued former President Barack Obama had been too soft on the militant group and his opponent Hillary Clinton would be no better.

As President, Mr Trump has transferred power from the White House to the Pentagon, delegating more autonomy to military officials on the ground.

However, much of his administration's strategy to combat Isis has remained the same as that of the campaign which began under former President Obama.
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As many as 500,000 people - as much as 14 per cent of the population - could leave Puerto Rico for good in the aftermath of Hurricane Marias destruction, a new report suggests. The exodus would have a devastating impact on the islands already stagnant and flailing economy.

A month after the category four storm made landfall with winds of up to 155mph, the first hurricane of such strength since 1932, around 90 per cent of the island remains without electricity. Hundreds of thousands of people are scrambling to find fuel, food and clean water, and to access medical services.

A report published by the Centre for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, suggests between 114,000 and 213,000 residents will leave the island over the next 12 months.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz speaks to the media as she arrives at the temporary government center setup (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

It suggests that by 2019, up to 470,335 residents could have left for the US mainland, mostly to the states of Florida and New York.

In other words, Puerto Rico will lose the same population in a span of a couple of years after Hurricane Maria, as the island lost during a prior decade of economic stagnation, says the report.

Our projections indicate that Florida is the state most likely to be affected by the exodus.

Since the storm struck, the Trump administration has been trying to fight off accusations that it has done insufficient to help the residents of Puerto Rico, especially when compared to how it dealt with powerful storms that tore through Florida and Texas.

 David Usborne drives down a road in Puerto Rico lined with collapsed telephone polls

Mr Trump, who has engaged in a series of back-and-forth insults with the mayor of San Juan, has said the island should do more to help itself. He also said the claims of Carmen Yulin Cruz, who said her residents had been left to die, were politically motivated.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said this week it had 1,700 personnel deployed in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Around 2,600 FEMA staff remain deployed to Hurricane Harvey, nearly two months after that storm hit the Gulf Coast of the mainland US.

As emergency officials appeal to islanders not to drink water that may be contaminated, CNN said 35 per cent of households still did not have access to safe drinking water.

Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Show all 20 1 /20 Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Kenney shelters under the blade of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit preparing to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, Puerto Rico, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit takes off behind Crew Chief Alexander Blake and his fellow soldiers during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew member Bynum stands in tropical rain as a HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit prepares to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot Chris Greenway receives a hug from a woman thanking him for water as he works with the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Verde de Comerio, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A man carries a case of water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Alexander Blake from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit loads water into a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo Reuters Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field to avoid lightning during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Manati, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents hold their hands aloft to signal that they need water as UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade fly past during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Tropical rain splashes on a runway as HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit wait for weather to clear during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Pilot Eldwin Bocanegra Torres speaks with residents isolated by landslides in the mountains after unloading water and food from a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents stand in front of wind-damaged trees as they wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico The contents of a home are seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Thomas looks out of the window of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit, loaded with relief supplies, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A message written on the rooftop is seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Humacao, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in San Sebastian, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado, who is from Puerto Rico, looks for a landing spot for a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Boys carry water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks with residents as he helps during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents peek through a fence at helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit that had parked in a locked field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Lares, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson

Professor Edwin Melendez, Director of the Centre for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and co-author of the report, said the depopulation they estimated for Puerto Rico, using an econometric model of the costs of storms over the last 60 years, would be similar to that experienced by New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Today, the Louisiana citys population is 20 per cent less than it was before Katrina hit.

He told The Independent the major driver for people leaving Puerto Rico was employment opportunities. He said following Maria, infrastructure had been badly damaged, hotels were not hiring people and around 80 per cent of agricultural crops had been destroyed.

He said others researchers had found Maria could lower Puerto Rican incomes by up to 20 per cent over the next 15 years, a cost of $180bn to the islands economy.

We will need to wait for the release of data on employment and net movement of passengers in the months after Hurricane Maria to fully assess the exodus of Puerto Rico residents to stateside communities, his report adds.

Yet the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the population exodus and ensuing unemployment in New Orleans offer an example of what lies ahead for Puerto Rico.
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The mother of a soldier killed in battle has said President Donald Trump disrespected her daughter-in-law when he called to offer his condolences.

The claim appears to confirm accounts that Mr Trump upset the widow of Sergeant La David T Johnson, who was killed in Niger earlier this month, when he called her this week.

Mr Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Washington Post that she was in the car during the call, and that "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband."

Florida Representative Frederica S Wilson had previously recounted the call to US news network MSNBC, claiming that the President had forgotten the fallen soldier's name. The Congresswoman said she was also in the car with his widow, Myeshia Johnson, when she received the call.

"Sarcastically, he said: 'But, you know, he must've known what he signed up for,'" Ms Wilson told NBC. "How could you say that to a grieving widow? ... I couldn't believe... and he said it more than once.

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Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Mr Trump disputed the account on Twitter, writing: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

But when the Washington Post asked Ms Jones-Johnson if the Congresswomans recollection of the call was correct, she responded that it was.

The White House neither confirmed nor denied the account, saying in a statement: The Presidents conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private.

 Congresswoman reveals Trump's comment to the widow of an Army Sergeant

Mr Trump has been criticised for his response to the death of Mr Johnson and three other US Special Forces. The troops were gunned down at the border of Niger and Mali on 4 October. The President said nothing about the fatalities until 12 days afterward, when he was asked about them by a reporter.

Mr Trump told the reporter he would send letters to the soldiers families that day. He defended his silence by claiming that previous presidents  including President Barack Obama  did not make calls to the families of the fallen. The comments angered Obama administration staffers, who said the claim was false.

A senior administration official told the Washington Post that the White House had not received detailed information about the soldiers' deaths until 12 October, and that information was not fully verified by the White House Military Office until Monday. Mr Trump, however, claimed he had written the letters over the weekend.
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The Trump administration drafted a condolence statement after the death of four US soldiers in Niger, a new report has claimed  but the President never gave it.

Politico reports that National Security Council (NSC) staffers drafted a statement for Donald Trump the day after the soldiers were killed. But Mr Trump remained silent on the issue until 12 days later, when he was asked about it by a reporter.

The draft statement describes the President as heartbroken by the news.

"The heroic Americans who lost their lives yesterday did so defending our freedom and fighting violent extremism in Niger, the draft reads, according to a copy obtained by Politico. Our administration and our entire nation are deeply grateful for their sacrifice, for their service, and for their patriotism.

The statement was distributed to NSC and Defense Department officials, but never released. The NSC employee believed to have written the draft hung up on the Politico reporter who called to ask about it.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

It is unclear why the statement was never released. But the President offered his own explanation for his silence on Monday, telling reporters that he planned to call and send letters to the soldiers families.

At least one family appears to have been displeased by the Presidents eventual call.

Representative Frederica S Wilson told MSNBC that she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sergeant La David T Johnson, when Mr Trump called her this week. The widow teared up, she said, and told her: He did not even know his name.

Ms Wilson added: "Basically he said, 'Well I guess he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts.

 Rep. Frederica Wilson: Trump didn't know the name of the fallen serviceman Sgt. David Johnson

The President denied this claim, tweeting that the Congresswoman had totally fabricated her version of events. But the soldier's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, confirmed to the Washington Post that Ms Wilsons recollection was accurate.

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband, she said.

Still other families cast doubt on the Presidents claim that he had called every family of a fallen soldier.

Quinn Butler told the Post that his family had received letters from generals  but no calls or letters from Mr Trump  after his 27-year-old brother was killed in Afghanistan. Euvince Brooks said he, too, had not heard from the President after his son was killed in Afghanistan.

The President, he said, is a damn liar.
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Senior Republican senator John McCain has claimed the Trump administration has not been up front about what happened during the fatal incident in Niger that left four US soldiers dead and injured two others.

Amid a row over whether or not the President was disrespectful to the widow of one of the four Green Berets killed in action when he telephoned her, Senator John McCain said the White House needed to provide more information about the operation two weeks ago when US forces were ambushed by Isis-linked militants.

Mr McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was asked whether he thought the White House was being up front about what happened.

Mr Trump spoke with Myesha Johnson, the widow of Lance Sergeant David Johnson, as she was on the way to meet his casket (AP)

No, he told The Hill. Asked if he wanted to see a congressional investigation into the ambush, he added: Investigations? I want the information that the senate armed services committee deserves and needs to start with. Then you decide whether a quote investigation is needed or not.

The Defence Department is conducing a review of the incident in which up to a dozen US soldiers and 40 Nigerien troops were ambushed during a joint patrol. The Pentagon has blamed Isis-linked militants for the attack.

I had a better working relationship, as far as information back and forth, with Ash Carter than I do with an old friend of 20 years, Mr McCain added.

Mr Carter was the previous defence secretary for the Obama administration, which Mr McCain often attacked. Asked if he was referring to Defence Secretary James Mattis, Mr McCain said yes.

 Rep. Frederica Wilson: Trump didn't know the name of the fallen serviceman Sgt. David Johnson

I think they had this idea that once Trump won that we are a unicameral government, he added.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed has also called for more information about the ambush

I think the administration has to be more clear about our role in Niger and our role in other areas in Africa and other parts of the globe, he told CNN

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

They have to connect it to a strategy. They should do that. I think that the inattention to this issue is not acceptable.

In the last two days, the details of the raid have become overshadowed over allegations that Mr Trump was insensitive when he telephoned Myesha Johnson, the widow of Sgt David Johnson, one of the American soldiers who was killed.

Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, who was accompanying the Johnson family, told CNN that during the the five-minute conversation, Mr Trump had showed little tact or diplomacy required for such a situation.

Basically he said, Well I guess he knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts, said Ms Wilson. I heard what he said because the phone was on speaker.

Mr Trump has denied Ms Wilsons claim, saying it is fabricated.


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A second federal judge, this time in Maryland, has ruled against Donald Trump's travel ban and used his own words to do it.

US District Judge Theodore D. Chuang cited the president's tweets and comments during his 2016 campaign as evidence that the third iteration of the ban is unconstitutional.

Mr Chuang said it was the inextricable re-animation of the twice-enjoined Muslim ban, the Washington Post reported.

Mr Watson and Mr Chuang both said Mr Trump had overstepped his authority given by Congress in imposing immigration law and that it was based on religious discrimination, however Mr Chuang's ruling in Maryland did not find that the administration "violated a different part of federal immigration law requiring him to find entry of certain non-immigrant travelers would be detrimental to US interests before blocking them," per the newspaper.

Mr Chuang cited Mr Trump's repeated campaign promise to have a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" and subsequent comments and travel bans as evidence of a violation of the Constitution's protection of freedom of religion.

He also referenced the president's reaction to the second version of the travel ban was also blocked by federal judges when Mr Trump said: "we ought to go back to the first one and go all the way, which is what I wanted to do in the first place.

Mr Trump's tweets about a false story regarding First World War General John Pershing's use of bullets dipped in pig's blood against Muslims and directing people to "study" what "did to terrorists when caught" was also referenced in the ruling.

 Donald Trump blast "judicial overreach" as Hawaii judge blocks travel ban

The President also said in September that the travel ban should "be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!"

The ruling is "less complete" than the Hawaii ruling, according to the Washington Post; it directs blocking the administration's enforcement only on those who lack a "bona fide" relationship with a US person or entity.

The Hawaii ruling, made by Derrick K Watson, had blocked the administration from enforcing the travel ban order on anyone from six countries: Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia.

The other two countries added to the latest travel ban version, North Korea and Venezuela, were left out of the Hawaii and Maryland rulings.

Experts have said the Trump administration added those non-Muslim majority countries to the travel ban in order to argue against the claim that it is an unconstitutional "Muslim ban."

Both this and the similar the Hawaii ruling from 17 October are temporary and meant to stay the enforcement as the case is argued.

The US Department of Justice is planning to appeal the Hawaii ruling and will likely do so for the Maryland ruling as well.

The White House said in a statement that the Hawaii ruling undercuts the Presidents efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry" into the US.

This third version of the travel ban also caused controversy due to the exclusion of Sudan, but the addition of Chad.

New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Show all 27 1 /27 New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Ethnic Yemenis and supporters protest against President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban Men pray during a protest by ethnic Yemenis and supporters over President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen on February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. At least 1,000 Yemeni-owned bodegas and grocery-stores across the city shut down from noon to 8 p.m. today to protest the order. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People gather for evening prayer at a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally with flags at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest US President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban People rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall as Yemeni bodega and grocery-stores shut down to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen, on February 2, 2017 in New York. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner places a sign on the gate of his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 02: Yemeni business owner Musa closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty New York City bodegas strike to protest Trump's travel ban A Yemeni business owner closes the gate to his store February 2, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Across the city, Yemeni owned bodega and grocery-stores will shut down from noon to 8 p.m. to protest President Donald Trump's Executive Order banning immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Yemen. It is expected that over 1000 stores will be closed in protest with workers and owners participating in an afternoon rally in Brooklyn. Spencer Platt/Getty

The administration said the reason for the Sahel region countrys inclusion, in particular, was because Chad failed to adequately share public-safety and terrorism-related information.

What does that mean? Chad is desperately poor. ... It has a tough army but limited bureaucratic capacity, John Campbell, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, told BuzzFeed News.

Other experts said the same could be said for several developing nations and even some wealthier nations bogged down with bureaucratic procedures or shifting political leadership.

Chads addition has baffled regional experts and former State Department officials as it plays a cooperative and key role in the fight against extremist groups like Isis-West Africa, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram.

One explanation for why the Trump administration added Chad is incompetence, Geoff Porter, President of North Africa Risk Consulting, previously told The Independent.

He added that it is entirely unclear why Chad was included in the new ban when the number of Chadians in the US or visiting the US is less than negligible.

It provided the only continental force in the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership, which is funded by the US, as well as providing troops to the UN Peacekeeping force in nearby Mali.

He explained the countrys military force has been instrumental in combating al Qaeda affiliated groups in neighbouring countries like Niger and Nigeria as well.

The US military not only has a base in the country but recently a 20-nation exercise with US Africa Command to fight extremists was held there.

The US Army, Navy, and Marines have also trained Chadian forces and the State Department spent $300m (22m) on a new embassy in the capital city of N'Djamena.

The Sudanese government is still considered a state sponsor of terrorism and accused of carrying out a genocide in the Darfur region by the US State Department.
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Iran's supreme leader has threatened to "shred to pieces" the nuclear deal if the US withdraws from the pact, just days after Donald Trump signalled Washington was turning its back on the 2015 agreement.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the US President's rejection of the deal as the "rants and whoppers" of a "brute", and said the White House should refrain from "bullying".

In a speech on state TV, he said Tehran would stick to the agreement, but only as long as the six signatories  the US, UK, Russia, France, China, and Germany  respected the deal.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that Mr Trump's description of the deal as leading to "more violence, more chaos" was "nonsensical" and the result of a "foul-mouthed president".

His comments followed Mr Trump's announcement on Friday that he would not re-certify the landmark deal, which saw Iran suspend elements of its nuclear energy programme in exchange for a relaxation of sanctions.

The remaining parties to the accord insist Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multinational deal enshrined by a UN resolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei welcomed their backing but warned it would not be enough to save the agreement.

"Europe must stand against practical measures [taken] by America," he said. If Mr Trump ditched the deal, "Iran will shred it".

The Supreme Leader, Iran's highest authority, also said Tehran would continue its controversial ballistic missile programme despite pressure from Europe and the US to suspend it.

 Iran tests new medium-range missile despite Trump warnings

Tehran has defended the move, saying the weapons are solely for defensive purposes.

"They must avoid interfering in our defence programme," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "They [Europeans] ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons? We do not think it is acceptable for the Europeans to join America in its bullying."

He added: "They [the US] are angry as today the Islamic republic of Iran has disrupted their plans in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

"Everyone be assured that this time, too, America will be slapped and defeated by the nation of Iran."

Mr Trump's decision not to certify that Tehran was complying with the deal was quickly rebuffed by Iran's President, Hassan Rouhani, who said on Friday that Mr Trump's speech was full of "insults and fake accusations".

"The Iranian nation has not and will never bow to any foreign pressure...Iran and the deal are stronger than ever... Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps will continue its fight against regional terrorists," Mr Rouhani said.
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Thousands more Rohingya Muslims are fleeing large-scale violence and persecution in Burma and crossing into Bangladesh, a drone video shot by the UN refugee agency shows.

More than half a million Rohingya are already living in squalid and overcrowded camps, where they lack access to food and healthcare, officials said.

The UNHCR video shows thousands upon thousands of Rohingya Muslims trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to be a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh.

The line can be seen to stretch for several miles.

Rohingya refugees, who crossed the border from Burma a day before, wait to receive permission from the Bangladeshi army to continue their way to the refugee camps in Palang Khali (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya have fled since Sunday night, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said, raising the overall total to 582,000 refugees who have left Burma since 25 August.

He said the latest influx came through the Anjuman Para border crossing point, and many of the new refugees explained they had fled when their villages were set on fire. Anjuman Para is in the Palong Khali area where the drone video was shot.

"As of this morning, they are still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village in Bangladesh," Mr Mahecic told a news briefing.

"They are waiting for permission to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side," he added, using an alternative word for 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

Violence in Buddhist-majority Burma's Rakhine state erupted after a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security outposts on 25 August and the military responded with brutal attacks against the Rohingya Muslim population.

The exodus of Rohingya has continued, with a few small breaks, over the last eight weeks.

The new arrivals, almost all terrified and starving, have described scenes of incredible violence with army troops and Buddhist mobs attacking Rohingya homes.

The UN has described the violence as "textbook ethnic cleansing."

Rohingya children wait for food handouts at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (AP)

Many Buddhists in Burma call the Rohingya "Bengalis" and say they migrated illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in the country for generations.

Most Rohingya have been denied citizenship since 1982 and are excluded from the country's 135 official ethnic groups, which effectively renders them stateless.

Additional reporting by AP
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The Taliban unleashed a wave of attacks across Afghanistan on Tuesday, targeting police compounds and government facilities with suicide bombers in the countrys south, east and west, and killing at least 74 people, officials said.

Among those killed in one of the attacks was a provincial police chief. Scores were also wounded, both policemen and civilians.

Afghanistans deputy interior minister, Murad Ali Murad, called the onslaught the biggest terrorist attack this year.

Murad told a press conference in Kabul that attacks in Ghazni and Paktia provinces killed 71 people.

Recommended Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion after being captured by Taliban

In southern Paktia province, 41 people  21 policemen and 20 civilians  were killed when the Taliban targeted a police compound in the provincial capital of Gardez with two suicide car bombs. Among the wounded were 48 policemen and 110 civilians.

The provincial police chief, Toryalai Abdyani, was killed in the Paktia attack, Murad said.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement earlier Tuesday that after the two cars blew up in Gardez, five attackers with suicide belts tried to storm the compound but were killed by Afghan security forces.

Health Ministry spokesman Waheed Majroo said the Gardez city hospital reported receiving at least 130 wounded in the attack.

Hamza Aqmhal, a student at the Paktia University, told The Associated Press that he heard a very powerful blast that shattered glass and broke all the windows at the building he was in. The university is about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the training academy, said Aqmhal, who was slightly injured by the glass.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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A lawmaker from Paktia, Mujeeb Rahman Chamkani, said that along with the provincial police chief, several of his staff were killed. Most of the casualties were civilians who had come to the center, which also serves a government passport department, Chamkani said.

In southern Ghazni province, the insurgents stormed a security compound in Andar district, using a suicide car bomb and killing 25 police and five civilians, Murad said. At least 15 people were wounded, including 10 policemen, he added.

Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor in Ghazni, said the Taliban attack there lasted nine hours. By the time the attackers were repelled, there were 13 bodies of Taliban fighters on the ground, Noori added.

And in western Farah province, police chief Abdul Maruf Fulad says the Taliban attacked a government compound in Shibkho district, killing three policemen.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

Despite the staggering numbers, Murad said Afghan forces are confident in their readiness to fight terrorists and eliminate them from Afghanistan. He said the Taliban have suffered heavy defeats over the past six months at the hands of Afghan forces and were seeking revenge.

Later on Tuesday, an Afghan official said drone strikes killed 35 Taliban fighters in the countrys east, near the border with Pakistan.

Abdullah Asrat, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province, said drones fired missiles at four locations in Anzarki Kandaw, killing the insurgents and wounding 15 others. He said a commander of the Pakistani Taliban, Abu Bakr, and other senior insurgents were among the dead. He did not provide further details.

Chamkani, the lawmaker from Paktia, said the drones struck as the Taliban were collecting the bodies of 20 militants killed in a strike Monday on a militant base near the border.

Pakistani intelligence officials say Mondays drone strike hit a militant compound on the Pakistani side of the border, but Pakistans army later denied any such strike on its territory. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the two accounts.
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The decision is made, reads the text Ksenia Sobchak is due to deliver on Russian TV. Enough silence, Ive thought about it for months  I intend to be the candidate for those who want to vote against everyone.

The declaration of intent ends weeks of speculation as to whether the journalist, socialite, famous daughter and yet-more-famous-goddaughter would run in presidential elections next March. The talk that Ms Sobchak was considering a presidential bid  against the public advice of fellow liberal opposition politician Alexei Navalny  had electrified Russias somnambulant political circles. The news that she will run will be seen as a blow to Mr Navalnys hopes, and a split in the opposition now seems likely.

For Ms Sobchak, 35, the announcement completed a remarkable circle; the reinvention of Russias Paris Hilton as its Chelsea Clinton.

For much of her professional life, the daughter of St Petersburgs first post-Soviet mayor had been synonymous with sex and celebrity. She hosted the local, raunchier version of reality show Big Brother, and entertained tabloids with a string of scandalous relationships. In public, she was brash and haughty. If Im honest, she once lectured a radio host, your problem is that youve got an inferiority complex  you know youre not quite a star.

With an army of fans and multi-million earnings, Ms Sobchak clearly believed she was in a place to judge.

Ms Sobchak attends Paris Fashion Week in October 2015 (Getty) (Getty Images)

At that stage, she was decidedly apolitical. She refused to criticise President Putin, who was a friend and colleague of her late father, and rumoured to be her godfather. But in 2011, something changed. Ms Sobchak began to wear the badge of a political activist. In December, she spoke at an opposition rally protesting the results of the Duma parliamentary elections. She began to date one of the leaders of the opposition movement, Ilya Yashin, with whom she has since split.

Authorities made the extent of their displeasure clear by raiding her home early in the morning of 11 June, 2012; when masked, armed officers seized at least 2m (1.8m) cash.

By that time, Ms Sobchak had already begun a new career as a talk show host on TV Rain, the leading voice for liberal Moscow. Co-produced with the channels then editor-in-chief, Mikhail Zygar, her shows were hugely popular. They were sharp and smart, and featured the newsmakers Russians wanted to see. With influence and connections that reached across the political spectrum, there were few people who could turn Ms Sobchak down.

The interview series has no doubt proved a useful testing ground for Ms Sobchaks political career. But its roots go back much further than that  to 1989, and with the improbable union of two men: a 50-year-old democratic reformer called Anatoly and his former student, a 38-year-old former KGB agent called Vladimir.

Then mayor of St Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak was touted as a future national leader, second in popularity only to Boris Yeltsin. Mr Putin was Mr Sobchaks loyal deputy and close confidante.

In the late 1990s, Mr Sobchak fell from grace and began to be hit with legal challenges and corruption allegations from opponents. He became ill from stress, and apparently was on the verge of a heart attack. President Yeltsin refused to intervene to help his opponent, and legend has it Mr Putin, then a Kremlin official, personally arranged a special operation to evacuate his former boss to Europe.

Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Show all 12 1 /12 Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday An opposition activist wearing a rubber mask depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past gift boxes with lettering reading trial, resignation, impeachment, true election and others during an event dedicated to Putins 65th birthday in downtown Moscow, October 7 2017 AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators holding yellow ducks are interviewed by journalists as they arrive for the rally AP Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday A demonstrator chats slogans during the unauthorized anti-Kremlin rally called by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators shout slogans and wave Russian flags during the rally in Moscow AP Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators in downtown Moscow hold a poster which reads We demand a fair election. AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators walk down Tverskaya street during the unauthorized anti-Kremlin rally AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Riot police block an area AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators clench their fists during the rally. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has worked to organize protests in support of his presidential bid across Russia on Saturday AP Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators gather near a monument of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday Demonstrators march and wave a Russian flag AFP/Getty Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday A topless activist from the feminist group Femen depicts American actress Marilyn Monroe singing the happy birthday song EPA Russia protests on Vladimir Putins birthday On the birthday of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Femen wants to remind the world of the threat that it bears to all of us, and not only to those countries where it has now launched bloody wars, Femen said. AFP/Getty

Mr Sobchak spent his final days campaigning for Mr Putins presidency. In his last interview, taken in February 2000, just days before his death, he described Mr Putin as a democrat, free marketeer and, also a man of government  decisive and brave. Mr Putin returned the compliments: I really like people like him. Hes real. We had very close, comradely relations, very trusting. I think I can call him an old comrade.

At a press conference on 5 October, the President was asked what he thought about another Sobchak standing for office. He repeated his admiration for his former mentor, but refrained from endorsing a new Sobchak campaign. Its the first time Ive heard that she wants to run, he said. Im sure that there will be other candidates.

Few doubt Ms Sobchak has at least checked in with the Kremlin about her campaign. On 14 October, BBC Russian Service reported that Ms Sobchak had recently met with Mr Putin. According to Ms Sobchaks mother, the presidential hopeful had been recording a video about her father. Others suggested more was discussed. The business paper Vedomosti have reported sources in the presidential administration suggesting the Kremlin was looking for a woman to run, and that Ksenia was ideal.

A source close to the government told The Independent that the Kremlin understood Russia is not ready to endorse the idea of a female president. At the same time, it is widely assumed Ms Sobchaks star appeal will energise an otherwise predictable election.

Whatever the details of any arrangement, the Kremlins response so far has contrasted obviously with the treatment of fellow opposition politician Mr Navalny, who remains in jail for his role in organising unsanctioned protests.

On Tuesday, Mr Navalny celebrated a legal victory with a preliminary judgment from the European Court of Human Rights. That ruling said the embezzlement trial that saw him and his brother convicted in December 2014 was unfair. The subsequent conviction was a technicality impeding Mr Navalnys presidential bid. But the head of Russias Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova has since stepped in to declare that, regardless, he will be ineligible to stand until 2028.

The idea of Ms Sobchaks candidacy has been divisive in Russian opposition circles. Navalny and Sobchak, once close colleagues, have fallen out over it. Mr Navalny himself described Sobchak as the Kremlins ideal caricature liberal candidate. Ms Sobchak took to Instagram to reply publicly, criticising Mr Navalny for asserting a monopoly over the opposition.

Ilya Yashin, opposition leader and Ms Sobchaks former boyfriend, told The Independent that Mr Navalny was the only person with the popularity, the only person capable of running a campaign, and the only person running not for their image, but to win.

Mr Yashin said his party would continue to support Mr Navalnys campaign to get on the ballot paper.

Without him, there are no elections, he said.
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The Vatican has been forced to deny that former Pope Benedict XVI is close to death after rumours about his ill health were circulated on social media

The reports claimed the former pontiff's personal secretary, Georg Ganswein, had said described the former leader of the Catholic Church as "like a candle that fades slowly".

The Archbishop was also alleged to have said: "He is serene, at peace with God, with himself and the world. He can no longer walk without help and can no longer celebrate Mass. Please pray for our beloved Pope Benedict 16th."

However, Father Ganstein said the report was pure invention in a statement to the Catholic News Agency.

I have received in the last two days many messages that refer to this note, and people are worried, he said. It is false and wrong.

The quotation which has been circulated was actually taken from a 2016 interview with Mr Ganstein, published in Italian magazine BenEssere.

Pope Benedict, born Josef Ratzinger, became the first Pope in almost six hundred years to resign his post when he stepped down in 2013.

At the time of his resignation, the Pope said he felt a duty to resign because of his declining health.

Since stepping down he has continued to live in a former convent within the Vatican as a pope Emeritus, spending his time praying, reading or writing.

He has made only a handful of public appearances in the last four years.
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Russia will consider punishing parents if their children take part in protests against Vladimir Putin's regime, a counter terror chief in the country's ministry of internal affairs has said.

Timur Valiulin said the Government was "concerned" about young people participating in unsanctioned protests and that it would consider holding rally organisers, parents and teachers "accountable", according to RBC.

It follows mass protests across the country in March, organised by opposition leader Alexei Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).

"We are concerned about young people participating in uncoordinated street actions. The percentage of young protesters is growing. The ever-lowering average age of the participants is alarming," Mr Valiulin said.

"We should think if we could introduce amendments or changes in order to hold accountable both the rally organisers and the parents of the participating schoolchildren, as well as the educators, too"

The Social Policy Committee of the Federation Council's chairman Valery Ryazansky said Parliament had been trying to tackle the problem for some time.

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. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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. 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"Just as parents get punished if their child is caught driving a car, they must be held accountable if their children are involved in unauthorised actions," he said.

But teachers should not be held responsible, according to Galina Merkulova, chairman of the All-Russia Education Union.

"Teachers cannot control things that happen outside school. Those suggesting bringing parents and teachers to justice do not know how to do it themselves," she said.

It comes just days after hundreds of protesters took to Moscow's streets on Mr Putin's birthday.

The protests were originally planned for Mr Putins home town, St Petersburg, but were extended after organiser Mr Navalny was jailed together with his campaign chief in October.

Police told Interfax news agency an estimated 700 people were present at the protest in Moscow.

A total of 80 arrests were reported during demonstrations in other regions across the country, including 18 in Yekaterinburg, 12 in Tula and 10 in Samara.
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An 88-year-old woman, who has a string of previous convictions related to Holocaust denial, has been handed a six-month prison sentence for denying Nazi Germanys mass murder of six million Jews.

Ursula Haverbeck, who has been branded the Nazi grandma by German press, was sentenced by a Berlin court on Monday for denying the holocast at an event in Berlin back in January 2016.

She claimed the Holocaust did not take place and there were no gas chambers at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp. Auschwitz is the largest mass murder site in human history and an estimated 1.1 million people died there.

Ms Haverbeck, who once declared the Holocaust was the biggest and most sustainable lie in history in a TV interview, has never spent time in prison before despite having several previous convictions for holocaust denial.

Denying the Holocaust is a criminal offence in Germany and carries a sentence of between three months to five years in prison.

Ms Haverbeck, who is a popular figure in far-right circles, was sentenced to two years in prison back in August for denying the Holocaust in an article written for right-wing magazine Stimme des Reiches (Voice of the Empire). She has not served her sentences because she has appealed all of the verdicts and the hearings are incomplete.

During the trial, Ms Haverbeck claimed Auschwitz was a labour camp rather than an extermination camp.

In September last year, a court in Detmold sentenced Ms Haverbeck to eight months in prison on sedition charges. The judge said she had a lack of "any kind of respect" and that she had made more offensive comments in the courtroom and ruled out the possibility of parole.

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

She was found guilty of penning a letter to Detmold's mayor, Rainer Heller, saying it was "clearly recognisable" that Auschwitz was merely a labor camp.

In November 2014, she went so far as to lodge a police complaint against the Central Council of Jews in Germany, accusing them of "persecution of innocent people".

Her late husband was Werner Georg Haverbeck was during the Nazi period temporarily engaged in the national leadership of the Nazi Party, founder, and director in 1933 of the German Imperial Federation of Nation and Homeland.

At the Detmold trial earlier this year, she distributed a pamphlet titled "Only the truth will set you free" in which she denies the fact six million Jews were exterminated across Europe under Adolf Hitler's dictatorship, to the judge, the prosecutor and even reporters.

Ms Haverbeck did the same at the trial of Oskar Groening, the former Auschwitz guard who was known as the so-called "accountant of Auschwitz" and stood accused of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder for his role during the Holocaust, back in 2015.

At the time, she prompted outrage for publishing a YouTube video condemning the trial and handing out leaflets entitled "Mass-murder in the concentration camp Auschwitz?"
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Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has claimed capitalism is coming to an end because it is making itself obsolete.

The former economics professor told an audience at University College London that the rise of giant technology corporations and artificial intelligence will cause the current economic system to undermine itself.

Mr Varoufakis, who took on EU institutions over Greek debt repayments in 2015, said companies such as Google and Facebook, for the first time ever, are having their capital bought and produced by consumers.

 "Capitalism is breaking": meet the 25-year-old London politician fighting the housing crisis

Firstly the technologies were funded by some government grant; secondly every time you search for something on Google, you contribute to Googles capital, he said. And who gets the returns from capital? Google, not you.

So now there is no doubt capital is being socially produced, and the returns are being privatised. This with artificial intelligence is going to be the end of capitalism.

Warning Karl Marx will have his revenge, the 56-year-old said for the first time since capitalism started, new technology is going to destroy a lot more jobs than it creates.

 Stephen Hawking has a terrifying warning about artificial intelligence

He added: Capitalism is going to undermine capitalism, because they are producing all these technologies that will make corporations and the private means of production obsolete.

And then what happens? I have no idea.

Describing the present economic situation as "unsustainable" and fearing the rise of "toxic nationalism", Mr Varoufakis said governments needed to prepare for post-capitalism by introducing redistributive wealth policies.

He suggested one effective policy would be for 10 per cent of all future issue of shares to be put into a "common welfare fund" owned by the people. Out of this a "universal basic dividend" could be paid to every citizen.

In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics describes itself as 'building dynamic robots and software for human simulation'. It has created robots for DARPA, the US' military research company In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Google's self-driving cars Google has been using similar technology to build self-driving cars, and has been pushing for legislation to allow them on the roads In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history DARPA Urban Challenge The DARPA Urban Challenge, set up by the US Department of Defense, challenges driverless cars to navigate a 60 mile course in an urban environment that simulates guerilla warfare In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Deep Blue beats Kasparov Deep Blue, a computer created by IBM, won a match against world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. The computer could evaluate 200 million positions per second, and Kasparov accused it of cheating after the match was finished In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Watson wins Jeopardy Another computer created by IBM, Watson, beat two champions of US TV series Jeopardy at their own game in 2011 In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Apple's Siri Apple's virtual assistant for iPhone, Siri, uses artificial intelligence technology to anticipate users' needs and give cheeky reactions In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Kinect Xbox's Kinect uses artificial intelligence to predict where players are likely to go, an track their movement more accurately

Mr Varoufakis came to prominence during the Greek sovereign debt crisis when he led Greeces negotiating team seeking a resolution with its international creditors.

Describing the event as a complete failure on his part, he resigned as finance minister in 2015 after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to the terms of the EUs debt repayment plan.
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The Kurds may have lost 40 per cent of the territory they previously controlled over the last two days as they withdraw from areas long disputed with Baghdad. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are pulling back from a great swathe of land in northern Iraq stretching from Syria in the west to Iran in the east.

It is becoming clear that the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), both agreed at a meeting on Sunday that they had no choice but to withdraw from Kirkuk and other disputed territories. They knew that they were too weak to fight the Iraqi security forces and they had no allies to whom they could appeal for help. Kurdish leaders are now blaming each other for the debacle, which will go down as one of the great disasters in Kurdish history.

The political geography of northern Iraq is be transformed, much to the disadvantage of the Kurds. Kurdish military units have retreated from the Sinjar region close to the Syrian border which is home to the Yazidis who were massacred and enslaved by Isis when they advanced in August 2014. A paramilitary force made up of Yazidis but owing allegiance to Baghdad has taken over. At the other end of the dividing line between Kurd and non-Kurd, Peshmerga have left the towns of Khanaqin, Jaloula and Mandali close to the Iranian border north east of Baghdad. These are all places where the Kurdish parties had exerted themselves to firmly establish their rule in the last few years and are now lost, probably forever.

Recommended Iraq takes Kirkuk from Kurds in move that destabilises region further

Peshmerga have also abandoned the last two oilfields they held near Kirkuk city, thus ceding all the gains the Kurds have made territorially since the US invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Possession of the Kirkuk oilfields had been considered essential if the Iraqi Kurds were ever going to achieve economic independence.

Celebrations are widespread in Baghdad at what is seen as a second great victory for Iraq and the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi this year. The first success was the capture of Mosul after a nine-month siege in July and the second is the unexpectedly easy defeat of the Kurds this week in the wake of their self-destructive referendum on independence on 25 September.

What I fear now is triumphalism in Baghdad where there is talk about enforcing central government authority everywhere in Iraq, said one Kurdish commentator who did not want his name published. This might mean Baghdad putting heavy political and military pressure on the three Kurdish provinces that make up the Kurdistan Regional Government and which now look vulnerable.

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. 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The Iraqi President Fuad Masum, himself a Kurd, has called for dialogue between the central government and the Kurdish leaders to resolve the crisis sparked by the referendum. Mr Abadi referred to the referendum as finished and a thing of the past but also called for dialogue under the constitution, which would rule out Kurdish independence. There is no doubt that the balance of power has swung dramatically towards Baghdad and away from the Kurdish capital Irbil.

Mr Barzani and his KDP party sought on Monday to blame the PUK Peshmerga for the unopposed advance of the Iraqi security forces, accusing them of betraying the Kurds by reaching a separate deal with Baghdad. But Kurdish sources have told The Independent that both KDP and PUK had agreed that they were too weak to fight for Kirkuk, though orders did not reach all Peshmerga commanders in time. A hospital in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah says that it has received the bodies of 25 dead fighters and treated 44 wounded. Overall, casualties on both sides have been slight which is evidence that a deal on withdrawal had been struck before the Iraqi government advance. KDP Peshmerga withdrew from Sinjar on Monday and from the positions they held in Kirkuk province in what was evidently a prearranged retreat.

 Iraq PM Haider al-Abadi hails 'big victory' in Mosul

Mr Barzani himself is blaming unilateral decisions taken by Kurdish politicians, an accusation that presumably does not include himself though his ill-judged decision to hold a referendum brought on a confrontation with Baghdad in which the Kurds held much the weaker hand. The referendum was opposed by all international and regional powers with the exception of Israel and Saudi Arabia, neither of whom was in a position to be of any practical help to the Kurds. Mr Barzani also chose to challenge Mr Abadi just after his armed forces had won a big victory in Mosul and he was unlikely to back down.

The US opposed the referendum and has kept its distance from the crisis. President Trump could not have sounded more disengaged saying: We don't like the fact that they're clashing, and adding that we've had for many years a very good relationship with the Kurds as you know, and we've also been on the side of Iraq.

Responsibility for the disaster will be debated by Iraqi Kurds for decades to come, but in practice it was the result of Mr Barzani overplaying his hand and divisions between Kurdish parties which meant that they did not have a military option against Baghdad. Thanks to the referendum, the Iraqi Kurds have not only will they have failed to win independence, but will find the autonomy they previously took for granted under threat as Baghdad tightens its control on the Kurdish provinces.

Many Kurds will see the hand of Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as manipulating the Baghdad government and the Kurdish parties to produce the present outcome. Iran will be pleased that the Baghdad government has been strengthened and Mr Barzani, who is traditionally close to the US, has been weakened, but there is no need for conspiracy theories to explain what happened. Essentially, Mr Barzani started a confrontation which he could not win.
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They were arrested, suspended from jobs, shunned by relatives and denounced by clerics as loose women out to destroy society. Their offence? They did what many in Saudi Arabia considered unthinkable: getting into cars and driving.

Their protest in 1990 against the kingdoms ban on women driving failed, and the women paid dearly for it, with the stigma of being drivers clinging to them for years.

So last month, when King Salman announced that the ban on women driving would be lifted next June, few were happier than the first women to demonstrate for that right  almost three decades ago.

Recommended Car makers target adverts at Saudi women in rush to dominate market

Id thought maybe Id die before I saw it, says Nourah Alghanem, who had helped plan the protest. Now shes 61 and retired with five grandchildren. Whats important is that our kingdom entered the 21st century... finally!

The backlash against the 47 women who protested illustrates how deeply the driving ban was embedded in Saudi Arabias conservative society, reinforced by the state and its religious apparatus.

But since then, globalisation, social media, economic pressures and leadership changes finally created the conditions for the ban to end.

These are dizzying days in Saudi Arabia.

Carmakers are now targeting advertisements toward Saudi women, and a womens university is planning a driving school.

And the changes are not only related to the prospect of so many new drivers on the kingdoms highways. At a public celebration last month, crowds of men and women danced together as a DJ played. An end to the ban on cinemas is expected soon.

But in 1990, when the four dozen women took an extraordinary risk by fighting the driving ban, conditions in the kingdom were notably different.

At the time of the protest, Alghanem was 34-year-old graduate, with a husband, four children and a job at a school.

I didnt have anything interesting in my life, she recalls.

At the time, Saudi women were severely restricted. The culture was highly patriarchal, and clerics, thanks to their alliance with the royal family, had tremendous power to defend the kingdom against what they considered to be corrupting influences.

Women still remain under strict guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia

Much of that meant controlling women, and they saw the driving ban as necessary to prevent adultery and other social ills.

Allowing women to drive contributes to the downfall of the society, the kingdoms top cleric at the time wrote in a fatwa that was removed recently from a government website. This is well known.

Women who detested the ban saw an opportunity when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. US forces flooded the kingdom, including US servicewomen who drove military vehicles. Kuwaiti women who had fled the invasion also drove.

Alghanem took note.

I saw that we as Saudi women were powerless, she says.

She invited other women to her home to discuss the issue, and they decided to take action. They sent a letter to Salman  at the time the governor of Riyadh province  telling him that they planned to drive.

They never heard back, they say, so on 6 November 1990, they met near a supermarket in Riyadh, piled into 14 cars piloted by women with valid foreign licenses and drove around town.

They were social outliers, backed by no political party, and other Saudi women did not rush to join them. Many came from affluent families and had studied abroad. They included teachers, professors, a social worker, a photographer and a dentist.

Most were married with children; at least two were pregnant. One woman joined late, with her two daughters, one of whom was breast-feeding. Some had defied their male relatives to show up. Supportive husbands and brothers dropped off others at the meeting place.

Word spread, and the women were stopped by both the traffic police and the religious police, some of whom furiously banged on the cars.

I want to dig a hole to bury you all! Fawziah al-Bakr, an education professor, recalls one man shouting at her. They were thinking that we were going to destroy this country.

They were taken to the police station and released around dawn, after they and their male relatives signed pledges that the women would not drive again.

The next morning, Asma Alaboudi, a school social worker who had participated, overheard her colleagues saying that the women at the protest had burnt their clothes, worn bikinis and danced in the streets  all grave acts that had not happened.

Soon, the womens names were distributed, inflaming public anger.

King Fahd issued a decree suspending those who had government jobs, and preachers excoriated them during Friday prayers.

At that point, the society revolted, Bakr recalls.

Monera Alnahedh, who later became an international-development worker, says her father quit praying at his local mosque after the preacher said the women had been inseminated by 10 men.

Officials from the interior ministry came to the home of Madeha Alajroush, a photographer, to confiscate and destroy all her negatives  15 years of work.

That was a way of punishing me, she says.

Some friends and relatives shunned the women.

Carmakers are now targeting adverts at women in the country

It was a very, very scary environment, Alajroush says.

The harsh response from the state and society buried the issue of women driving.

It was a very heavy blow on the women who drove, and it was perceived by the society as a very heavy blow, says Alnahedh, the development worker. There was a decade of silence.

The suspended women struggled to find work, with some choosing to pursue advanced degrees.

About two years later, a princess intervened with the king, who returned them to their jobs and paid some of their lost wages.

Many of the 47 faded into private life, while others looked for ways to help women at girls schools, womens universities and in programmes for abused women and children.

Slowly, society changed.

University enrolment for both women and men rose, and in 2005, King Abdullah created a scholarship programme that sent hundreds of thousands of young Saudis, including many women, abroad, broadening their perspectives.

He added women to the Shura Council, an advisory body, and social media spread among the kingdoms youth, giving them freedom online that they lacked in real life.

The internet eroded the monopoly Saudi clerics had on religious interpretation, and many Saudis realised how differently Islam was practiced in other countries.

The government allowed women to work in new jobs, making their daily commute an issue.

Younger activists started to revive the struggle to let women drive.

In 2011, Manal al-Sharif posted a video online of herself driving and was detained. In 2013, dozens of Saudi women drove to protest against the ban.

In 2014, Loujain Hathloul tried to cross the border from the United Arab Emirates into Saudi Arabia in her car and was jailed for 73 days.

Few of the women who had driven in 1990 joined the new protests, but they cheered the younger women.

We were very angry, Alajroush, the photographer, says of Hathlouls detention. But inside of me, I thought that was a big step forward because finally we were taken seriously.

In 2015, Salman became king, and he empowered his young son, Mohammed bin Salman, who is now crown prince.

As the price of oil sank, sapping the economy, the crown prince laid out a sweeping plan to reform the economy, including increasing womens participation in the workforce.

Other steps followed. Women voted and ran for seats on local councils in 2015 for the first time, and some won. Public schools were told to offer physical education for girls, which clerics had argued threatened their femininity.

Then late last month, Alghanem, who had held the first meeting on the driving ban in 1990, was playing cards when her phone suddenly began overflowing with messages, she says.

Her husband called, shouting, Congratulations! and told her the ban was being lifted.

Alghanem  who had merely ridden along in 1990 and still cannot drive  plans to learn. I must get a license and drive, she says.

The government has played down any role the female activists played in prompting the decision, and some of the women say security officials have told them in phone calls to keep quiet.

The information ministry denied such calls were being made.

Many Saudis argue that the women exacerbated the issue by provoking the conservatives. In the kingdom, they argue, rights are given by the ruler, not publicly demanded by the people.

It is natural that they are happy that they have been given their legal right that they had demanded before, Prince Abdulrahman bin Musaid wrote on Twitter. But he called the idea that the womens struggle had influenced the decision a great fantasy.

The women believe the government will not acknowledge them so as not to encourage other activists.

Many restrictions on women remain, including guardianship laws that give Saudi men power over their female relatives on certain matters. But the original protesters are overjoyed that their daughters and granddaughters will have freer lives than they did, thanks to the car.

That I am driving means that I know where I am going, when Im coming back and what Im doing, says Alaboudi, the social worker.

It is not just driving a car, she says, it is driving a life.

 New York Times
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Airlines in the UK are reportedly drafting contingency plans to account for changes in consumer rights post-Brexit, which will see customers lose various protections held under EU law.

Under current laws, EU citizens are entitled to claim compensation in certain circumstances, for example, if their flight is delayed or cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. Current rights also extend to more unusual scenarios such as an unplanned downgrade, with a 30 per cent reimbursement for flights up to 1,500km to or from an EU airport, rising to 75 per cent on flights over 3,500km.

However, with Britain set to leave the EU in March 2019, such rights will no longer apply to UK citizens, reports Travel Weekly. An aviation deal has yet to be agreed upon to replace or replicate the current set of rights.

Airlines are said to be updating their websites to inform customers of the changes, notifying them that bookings will no longer be guaranteed post-Brexit, with proposed contingency plans reportedly due to come into effect as of Spring 2018 should talks continue to be deadlocked.

Virgin Atlantic is confident a deal on consumer rights will be reached (Getty Images)

The changes would apply to tickets sold to EU destinations, but also 17 other countries, such as the US, where Europe-wide agreements oversee the legal flight rights of British airlines.

Airlines would continue to refund customers the cost of their tickets, but would be unlikely to compensate them for other costs incurred should a flight be cancelled, as they are currently obliged to do under EU law.

Industry insiders are said to be optimistic that a deal will be reached, but numerous airlines have responded with plans to mitigate for changes to the industry, while there are concerns efforts to secure a deal will be hamstrung should the EU insist that the UK continue to follow rules set out by the European Court of Justice.

Thomas Cook has already made its terms more stringent with a clause confirming it wont be liable to pay compensation or reimburse expenses for delays caused by airspace closures, although it will refund tickets.

A Thomas Cook spokesperson told The Independent: "We are selling holidays for the post-Brexit world, so we are preparing the business to operate in that environment. We do expect some form of agreement on aviation but we now need urgent clarity from government."

Chancellor Philip Hammond has reportedly clashed with Transport Secretary Christopher Grayling over the possible impact Brexit will have on the aviation industry, warning that it could lead to grounded flights, something Grayling  who campaigned to leave the EU  refuted, telling the transport select committee that such a move would be inconceivable.

Other airlines were publicly more optimistic of a deal, with British Airways saying in a statement: Were confident that a comprehensive air transport agreement between the EU and the UK will be reached. Its in the UK and Europe's interest to have a fully liberalised aviation agreement. Nine hundred million travellers each year have benefited from open skies in Europe. That not only benefits customers but creates and helps to sustain jobs and wealth.

Virgin Atlantic, which operates numerous US routes, echoed BAs stance: We are working closely with the Government to achieve the best possible outcome for the UK, the aviation industry and our customers. Were confident that a new bilateral deal between the UK and USA to replace existing arrangements will be agreed in good time before the UKs exit from the EU.

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, said of the aviation industry's attempt to work with government on the issue: What we are doing is engaging with departments across Whitehall and talking through the impact on aviation. The main thing is we dont have the WTO fall back like other sectors and carriers need clarity owing to the lead-in times for selling tickets. For these reasons we want aviation to be through the door as soon as possible once the trade discussions begin, and ideally dealt with separate to the main negotiation.

"We think were in a good place and the discussions with Government have been extremely positive  DFT [Department For Transport] seem to be ahead of the curve in their understanding of the issues and implications for our sector, and we believe an agreement on aviation will be in the interests of both sides.

Carriers will continue to sell tickets as normal although clearly given the lead-in times early clarity would be welcomed.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has been particularly vocal in his demand for clarity from the Government following the vote to leave the EU.

The worst case scenario is becoming more and more likely, he told Sky News in August. The onus is on the British government to deliver a deal. If theres no deal by March 19, Britain gets thrown out of the European Union, youre out of open skies and there will be no flights.

We havent got plan B. We havent even got plan A-and-a-half yet.
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A family from Rotheram were left sickened after being forced to sit next to a pool of vomit during a four-hour Jet2 flight from Paphos, Cyprus.

Keeley Casewell, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, told The Sun the sick  from a previous flight  was beneath her daughter's seat, but claims staff wouldn't let her move. Casewell was travelling with 11 relatives and friends, and complained to the airline shortly after returning from the Mediterranean holiday in July 2017. She was surprised when Jet2 said it wouldn't offer compensation for the 8,000 holiday, sending general guidance of what to do if there is sick on a plane instead.

Since then, however, Jet2 has issued an apology, telling Casewell that it was an "isolated incident" and stressing the crew had been trying to ensure "the flight was not delayed".

Jet2 says it refused to move sick to avoid delays (PA WIRE)

Flight delays incur great costs to both airlines and passengers, with airline crew often bearing the brunt of pressures to avoid hold-ups.

Keeley said: "My family were on row 19 and the sick had spread to under my six-year-old daughter's seat. The sick was just covered with tissue and they were piled quite high over it. I couldn't see any clear attempts to clean it up properly. I asked the air hostess if she could move our seats but she just said no. I do understand that there may have been nowhere to move me to but she could have explained that."

"All together my family spent around 8,000 on the whole holiday so you'd think that we would receive better service. You wouldn't expect there to be sick underneath your seat on any flight. My kids were completely put off their food, they were crying because of the smell and because they were so hungry.They had to hold their noses throughout the flight. We had to leave our hotel at seven in the morning and the breakfast there didn't start until half an hour later so we told the kids we would get something at the airport."

"The food at the airport wasn't great so I thought we'd buy something on the plane but the kids couldn't stomach eating anything. We were on the plane for four hours and the smell was just getting worse I know that passengers can't control it if they feel sick but surely the staff should have the facilities they need to clean it up.

"The attendants said that they had tried to clean it up with the salts but you could tell they hadn't. There were huge clumps of it on the floor still. My partner even offered to clean it up for them but they wouldn't let him. I was told that if they had to clean it up there would have been a 12-hour delay, to be honest I'd rather have had the delay.

"It was really unpleasant to have to sit next to and it was making me feel sick. I just think it's absolutely disgusting. Surely the staff on board should have the correct equipment with them to clean it up.

Casewell also argued that the sick could easily made others ill, had the perpetrator had a stomach bug.

Jet2 had an embarrassing incident earlier this year when it was claimed a pilot was seen with a can of Stella Artois in the cockpit (Mercury Press & Media)

"It could have been a sickness bug so someone on the plane could have become ill from it. It's a very closed environment on the plane so there could have been all sorts of germs floating around. The air hostess told me that it wasn't a sickness bug as she had been told by the person who was sick.

But how does the person who was sick know it wasn't a stomach bug? During the flight an attendant did approach me and apologise but it was too late. Really you would think that they would have the facilities to clean sick up.

Since the event on the return leg of their family holiday, the airline has apologised to the family for the "isolated incident", telling them that staff had made every effort to clean it up. A spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise for this isolated incident. Our cabin crew did their best to clean the affected area during the time the aircraft was on the ground in Paphos, ensuring that the flight was not delayed, for the convenience of all customers on board."

The embarrassing episode follows an incident in August when a Jet2 aircraft was shadowed by a French fighter jet, in addition to a claim last month from a Jet2 passenger that he saw a can of Stella Artois sat beside a pilot in the cockpit after landing in the UK from Alicante. A sobering thought.
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The Panama Papers scandal last year shone a light on the extent and pervasiveness of tax avoidance that exists around the world. It revealed that individuals from 200 countries used more than 214,000 offshore entities to help them avoid paying billions in tax to their country of origin. Those implicated included 140 politicians and officials; including the president of Ukraine, the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, and the King of Saudi Arabia, many of whom have correctly now lost their positions.

Though these tax arrangements are totally legal, the super-rich that use them are directly undermining the funding of our vital services, including our schools, hospitals and emergency services.

While everyday working people have no choice but to pay taxes in their own country, some members of the global elite avoid paying their fair share by setting up shell companies in exotic tax havens.

When Jeremy Corbyn talks about the need to address the rigged system, this is exactly what he means. The problem is that even with a Labour government determined to fix the system, the scope for addressing this at the national level is limited.

Tax avoidance of this kind is a symptom of globalisation and as a result, it can only be countered at a transnational level. And the only international institution with both the appetite and scale to push for real reform of tax avoidance is the EU.

 Reverse Brexit with second referendum to save your economy, OECD tells UK

As a British Labour MEP, I sit on the European Parliaments Committee of Inquiry into Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion  set up in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal  which on Wednesday published its recommendations for stricter sanctions against banks and intermediaries involved in illegal tax or money laundering schemes, as well as a vital universally recognised definition of a tax haven.

The current lack of co-operation between member states, chronic underfunding and a lack of human resources of the supervisory authorities, as well as poor implementation and application of laws and sanctions, have created an environment where it is easier to avoid paying taxes.

Over the past few years, the EU has repeatedly shown that it has the courage to stand up to tax avoidance. It is not only individuals, but also multinational corporations, that are unwilling to pay their share.

In 2016, the Commission ordered Apple to pay 13bn in tax after it broke state aid laws, while just this month it ordered Amazon to pay 250m in unpaid back taxes. And the EU is willing to go further, with plans to rewrite the tax rules for technology companies, after a report revealed tech firms pay under half of the tax paid by traditional companies.

At the annual World Bank/IMF meeting, with the likes of Christine Lagarde, speakers from all corners were urging fairer taxation in current positive global economic climate.

The only other western lawmaking institution with similar economic might to the EU is the US. Yet while the EU looks at ways of preventing tax avoidance in an age of vast technological development and rapid globalisation, the US  under the leadership of Donald Trump  is taking a deep breath before slashing taxes and creating even more tax loopholes.

 Ministers fear collapse of Brexit talks 'within weeks' despite Theresa May's best efforts to kick-start process

Trump won the US election campaign using the rhetoric of a politician willing address to the systemic injustices in the global system, but his actions are creating more dark spaces for billionaires to hide their stockpiles of cash from national governments.

We may, of course, miss out on the effects of new EU rules and impetus to tackle tax evasion, in the result of a hard Brexit with no deal. This would be particularly damaging for the UK, as we had the largest number of offshore entities of any EU nation in the Panama Papers, with 17,973. Only Luxembourg came at all close with 10,877. With the UKs GDP growth predicted to fall to just 1 per cent next year, behind Italy, France and Germany, its clear that addressing the tax black hole should be our highest priority.

As the UK Government gets ready to turn its back on the EU with no deal, the Conservative leadership is looking towards the US for support. When Theresa May is not clutching Donald Trumps hand, Liam Fox is begging the US for a trade deal at any cost, threatening to sell off parts our NHS and feed us chlorinated chicken.

Boris Johnsons recent article in the Telegraph pointed towards a vision of a deregulated, low tax post-Brexit Britain. Meanwhile the Chancellor Phillip Hammond  supposedly the least extreme member of the Cabinet  has already threatened the EU that he will turn the UK into a tax haven in the ever-more-likely event of no deal.

Brexit is not only a question of leaving the European Union  it is a question of how we leave, and the Britain we create in its wake.

In my constituency, the West Midlands, there is already chronic underfunding in infrastructure and a significant skills shortage. This is why we cannot afford to mimic the low tax, low welfare example of the US.

 Now a no-deal Brexit seems a serious possibility, we could end up staying in the EU after all

Meeting many unemployed people, whether in Sandwell or Bilston in Wolverhampton, it is of real concern that we have the lowest employment rate of any other big city region  just 64.5 per cent compared to the UK average of 70.9 per cent.

After years of Tory-imposed austerity, what the West Midlands needs is not tax cuts for the rich but a massive injection of investment, ideally using some of the hidden cash floating somewhere in the Bahamas.

As we make monumental decisions about the future of the UK, and about the kind of deal we secure with our morally, culturally and geographically closest neighbours in Europe, let us consider carefully who will best help us tackle the imbalances of equality in our system.

Neena Gill is a Labour MEP for the West Midlands. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook
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Well, it took almost a year, but we now have the Trump Doctrine. Its very simple. And, as youd expect, it fits neatly into a tweet. On nearly every major issue, President Donald Trumps position is: Obama built it. I broke it. You fix it.

And that cuts right to the core of what is the most frightening thing about the Trump presidency. Its not the presidents juvenile tweeting or all the aides whove been pushed out of his clown car at high speed or his industrial-strength lying.

Its Trumps willingness to unravel so many long-standing policies and institutions at once  from Nafta to Obamacare to the global climate accord to the domestic clean power initiative to the Pacific trade deal to the Iran nuclear deal  without any real preparation either on the day before or for the morning after.

Indeed, Trump has made most of his climate, health, energy and economic decisions without consulting any scientists, without inviting into the White House a broad range of experts, without putting forth his own clear-cut alternatives to the systems hes unravelling, without having at the ready a team of aides or a political coalition able to implement any alternatives and without a strategic framework that connects all of his dots.

In short, were simply supposed to take the Presidents word that this or that deal is the worst deal ever  backed up by no serious argument or plan about how he will produce a better one.

Im open to improving any of these accords or institutions. Im even open to the possibility that by just tipping over all these accords at once, and throwing away his steering wheel, Trump will get people to improve the Iran deal or Obamacare out of sheer panic at the chaos that might ensue if they dont.

But I am equally open to the possibility that unravelling all of these big systems at once  health, energy, geopolitics  without a clear plan or a capable team will set in motion chain reactions, some of them long term, that Trump has not thought through in the least. Moreover, when you break big systems, which, albeit imperfectly, have stabilised regions, environments or industries for decades, it can be very difficult to restore them.

Question: Were told by our Secretary of State that hes been engaged in some secret contacts with North Korea, exploring the possibility of a diplomatic solution that might dramatically reduce North Koreas nuclear arsenal in return for US promises of regime security. If, at the same time, Trump unilaterally pulls out of the deal weve already signed with Iran to prevent it from developing nukes  and Trump moves to reimpose sanctions  how does that not send only one message to the North Koreans: No deal with the US is worth the paper its written on, so youd be wise to hold on to all your nukes?

Question: Iran controls tens of thousands of Shiite militiamen in Iraq and Syria who were our tacit allies in defeating Isis. Tehran also has huge influence over Iraqs government and over certain regions of Afghanistan as well. Can we stabilise Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan  post-Isis  and keep our troop presence low and safe, without Irans help  and will that help be coming after Trump rips up the nuclear deal? If you think so, please raise your hand.

And since our European allies as well as Russia and China have indicated that they will not follow us in backing out of the Iran deal or reimposing sanctions, Iran would have all the moral high ground and money it needs, and the US would be isolated. Are we going to sanction EU banks if they deal with Iran?

Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate accord and, at the same time, restricted US government funding for birth control both at home and abroad.

Question: What is driving so many immigrants and refugees in Africa, the Middle East and Central America to try to get out of their world of disorder and into America and Europe and the world order?

Answer: It is a cocktail of climate change, environmental degradation, population explosions and misgovernance in these countries. So Trumps policy is to throw away every tool we have to mitigate climate change and population growth and try to build a wall instead, while also trying to bully Mexicos unpopular President into trade concessions, which could help elect a radical populist in next years Mexican election  a successor who would be anti-American  and destabilise its economy as well.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

At a time when China has decided to go full-bore into clean tech and electric cars, at a time when all of the tech giants are building data centers that they want powered by clean energy, at a time when solar and wind power are growing increasingly competitive with fossil fuels (and America still has a technological lead in many of these areas), at a time when climate change may be stimulating bigger hurricanes and forest fires that are costing us hundreds of billions of dollars, Trumps central energy initiative is to reverse President Barack Obamas and bring back coal-fired power.

None of these dots connect. And we will pay for that. Whiplash was a great movie. But its a terrible organising principle for our foreign or domestic policy.

The New York Times
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan Kassym Zhomart Tokayev (Source: VNA)



During a meeting with Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan Kassym Zhomart Tokayev in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan on October 17th, Ngan informed the host about the outcomes of her talks with Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament (Lower House) of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin, saying that both sides agreed on specific cooperation contents to boost ties between the two legislatures and multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries.

She asked for reviewing the outcomes of the one-year implementation of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (Vietnam-EAEU FTA) and effectively upholding Vietnam-Kazakhstan Inter-Governmental Committee mechanism.

In the near future, she suggested that both sides should finalize the contents of the agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons for the early signing, boost joint work in line with the education-training cooperation agreement signed in September 2009 and the supplementary Protocol signed in November 2011, effectively realise the tourism agreement signed in November 2011 and related deals.

The Vietnamese legislature wants to strengthen ties with the Kazakh parliament at regional and global forums, she said.

On the occasion, she informed Kazakh Senate Chairman that the 14th Vietnamese NA has established the Vietnam - Kazakhstan Friendship Parliamentarians Group to help with linking the two law-making bodies together.

The Vietnamese NA leader proposed upholding consultation mechanism and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum. She asked for discussing regional and global issues of shared concern, facilitating the exchange of all-level visits and monitoring the implementation of agreements signed between the two nations.

Tokayev, for his part, hailed the significance of the first visit made by a Vietnamese NA leader to the country.

He said the two countries two-way trade rose to USD375 million in the first eight months this year from USD370 million in 2016. The figure is estimated at USD450 million this year, which he said, is still below the two countries potential. He asked for more active involvement of legislators in pushing their governments to promote trade.

The host agreed with the Vietnamese leader on fully tapping incentives and opportunities brought about by the Vietnam-EAEU FTA. The two sides could export and import goods of strength and demand, he suggested.

Kazakhstan welcomes small- and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises to do business in the country, he said, adding that the two nations will continue working closely together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties this year.

He also took the occasion to invite Vietnam to attend the sixth Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions slated for October 2018 in the country./.
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In London the speculation is that the UK might seek to join Nafta, the North American Free Trade Agreement launched in 1994, once it is no longer a member of the EU. Here in Washington the speculation is that pretty soon there may be no Nafta at all.

The story goes like this. Persuading countries that free trade leads to greater prosperity for all has long been tricky. After the Second World War, the victorious allies were determined to avoid the trade wars that had weakened the world economy in the 1930s. They set up the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to help finance trade and development, and wanted to found an International Trade Organisation to break down trade barriers and set the rules for freer trade.

As it happened there was political resistance to the ITO, and so the aim of free trade was negotiated under a treaty, rather than by an organisation, called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Gradually a series of negotiating rounds under the GATT cut down trade barriers, and the success of these led to the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995.

 Reporter confronts Donald Trump over repeated false claims US is the highest taxed country

But for a number of reasons, including frustration with the slow progress towards free trade, a number of regional trade agreements were reached. The European Economic Community (now the EU) was an early example, Nafta a later one. So now countries trade at three levels. There is the overlay of WTO rules, there are regional trade groups, and there are bilateral agreements between countries.

In the UK we are leaving the regional trade group of the EU, and the question is whether we will negotiate a bilateral trading agreement with it. The question for the US is whether it will leave Nafta, in effect breaking it up, and do bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico instead.

I had not realised it until I came here but there is a real possibility that Nafta will die. Donald Trump attacked it before he was elected, arguing that it killed American jobs, but somehow that seemed outlandish. Some lower-skilled jobs might indeed have been exported to Mexico but the US has got unemployment down to 4.2 per cent. As for Canada, the supply chains are so integrated, particularly for the car industry, that putting up barriers would seem ridiculous. There is no political dimension with Nafta, as there is with the EU, and in theory at least Canadians and Mexicans do not have the right to work in the US, or vice versa.

So whats gone wrong? Quite a lot. The issues with Mexico and Canada are different.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 15 November 2022 Lesley Sutcliffe shelters from the rain next to a life-sized replica of the innermost coffin of King Tutankhamun by artist Amanda Stoner as it goes on display inside a traditional red telephone box which has been converted into a museum, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire PA UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters 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 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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

With Mexico the core issue is cheaper labour competing against American workers. There is the immigration issue, and the Trump wall. There are the US auto plants in Mexico. There are other areas where cheap food imports (though welcomed by US consumers) have arguably hit domestic producers  tomatoes and avocados are alleged examples.

With Canada it is more complex. There is profound suspicion in the US about government subsidies. We have seen that with the challenge over the support for the Bombardier C-Series aircraft  a dispute now made more complex by Airbus taking the dominant role in the rather troubled programme, and with the UK caught in the crossfire, as some parts of the plane are made in Northern Ireland. There is a long-running dispute over lumber, Canadian timber exports to the US. Little (or what to an outsider would seem little) disputes keep coming up. There is for example a row about the price of some Canadian dairy products. And now the US wants to increase the US content of Canadian-assembled cars to at least 50 per cent.

So Nafta is not a mature, established creature that simply needs to be cared for responsibly. It is continually evolving, continually being challenged, and continually the focus for dissent. Just this week on Tuesday the current round of talks about Nafta ended, not with any substantive progress, but with the agreement to carry on the talks beyond the initial December deadline, through to March next year. That was by the markets regarded as good news  the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso went up  which shows how low expectations have become.

In Mexico, it seems that many large businesses are planning on the basis that Nafta is dead. Mexicos ambassador to China said that this was the impression he got from talking to their chief executives.

As for Canada, the question is whether trade will move to a bilateral basis, as it did before Nafta was created. Would this be as good as Nafta? Well, no. You can always trade under country-by-country agreements, but they are cumbersome. The Canadian foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, put it this way:

We have seen proposals that would turn back the clock on 23 years of predictability, openness and collaboration under Nafta. This is troubling.

She is right.
European leaders are finding it hard to understand the UK's position on Brexit due to mixed messages from the country, Ireland's prime minister has said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the ambiguity meant the other 27 nations in the EU are struggling to grasp what the UK wants from negotiations.

"It's still not clear what the UK actually wants in terms of a new relationship, because on the one hand it seems that the UK wants to have a close trading relationship with Europe like it has now, but it also seems to want something different, and it is very hard for us as European prime ministers to understand exactly what the UK wants the new relationship to look like," he said.

In an interview with the BBC's Spotlight programme, he said: "It certainly can't be, and I think anyone will understand it can't be, having all the benefits of EU membership but none of the responsibilities and none of the costs. If you join a club, you obey the rules and you pay the membership fee."

EU leaders are due to meet at a summit on Thursday and Friday, during which the UK's Brexit proposals will be discussed.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is due to outline developments in her Brexit plans, and is expected to argue that sufficient progress has been made in talks for them to continue to the next stage.

After she leaves on Friday, the 27 leaders will then hold a separate meeting on the UK's withdrawal plans at which Ms May will not be present.

The UK has previously been criticised by EU leaders over claims that the country's Brexit plans lack sufficient depth or detail.

The UK Government has denied this, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson this week urging the EU to "get on" with talks to ensure timely progress is made.
The Oireachtas Committee is taking evidence on the Eighth Amendment

Ireland would have an "epidemic of illegal abortions" and a "massive increase" in maternal mortality" if women were unable to access abortion in the UK, a senior doctor has warned.

Dr Peter Boylan, of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it is well-documented that in countries where abortion is banned, the rate of women dying "remains high".

Giving evidence to the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, Dr Boylan said around 70,000 women die each year from complications relating to unsafe abortion.

"It is equally well-documented that countries with liberal laws, and easy access to contraception, have lower rates of abortion than those with restrictive laws.

"Women in Ireland with financial resources have access to termination of pregnancy, primarily in the UK," he said.

Dr Boylan continued: "However, women who are poor, in the care of the state, or refugees for example, do not have such access.

"Without access to abortion in the UK it is inevitable that Ireland would have an epidemic of illegal abortions and a massive increase in maternal mortality."

The availability of abortion-inducing drugs online means that "the genie is out of the bottle," Dr Boylan said.

He warned that the grave concern for doctors is the potential for harm caused by the use of unregulated medication by Irish women and girls.

"If Ireland were to enact legislation in line with EU consensus, including termination without restriction up to 10 weeks, our law would be among the most conservative in Europe but would deal with the vast majority of circumstances in which women currently access services outside the State," added Dr Boylan.

Making abortion illegal only serves to promote illegal abortions, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Sabaratnam Arulkumaran told the committee.

Prof Arulkumaran, who wrote the report examining the death of Savita Halappanavar, said abortions can be life-saving in certain conditions.

He said: "If abortion is not made legal it will promote illegal abortion. Those women with influence and financial resources will get it performed in a safe environment. Those who are poor with less influence will resort to unsafe methods."

He added: "Ireland can and should provide first class sexual and reproductive health based on rights and public health perspectives. There are minimal ill effects to health with a well-informed safe abortion.

"Health advantages of avoiding or not having unwanted pregnancy need to be considered in addition to specific socio-cultural issues faced by the women."

The committee has been discussing what recommendations it will make on the position of the Eighth Amendment.

It is expected to vote on the issue in the next few weeks.

Several members of the committee submitted motions to recommend the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in a private session last week, rather than replacing or amending the article in the Constitution.
European Commissioner Phil Hogan has launched a stinging attack on the UK's approach to Brexit, warning: "We're now so close to the cliff edge of a hard Brexit that we can see the drop almost in front of us."

Mr Hogan also said that "it's painfully clear the UK government is not going to propose workable solutions for the benefit of the island of Ireland".

He also hit out at hardline Brexiteers who he claimed are "hooked on brinkmanship".

During a speech in Brussels, the Irish Commissioner also spoke of the urgency of an agreement for the return of the Northern Ireland Executive and the need for renewed North-south co-operation to discuss potential solutions to a hard Brexit.

His outspoken remarks come ahead of a European Council meeting where the remaining 27 EU member states are set to decide that not enough progress has been made in the first phase of Brexit talks to move onto the issue of future trade with the UK.

Mr Hogan said he fears "common sense left the building a while ago" in the UK Brexit debate.

He argued that "unfortunately facts and details are derided by the Brexiteers" and that "at a time when all the talent and energy of British politicians should be focussed on delivering a good result in the London-Brussels negotiations the unfortunate reality is that the London-London negotiation is still going on".

He said it's his view that the October target for moving on to the next phase of talks has been missed and that "only serious engagement and realism can deliver an agreement by December".

However, Mr Hogan said: "What becomes more obvious day to day is that the Brexiteers are hooked on brinkmanship and have been since the beginning."

Solutions

Mr Hogan claimed that the hardliners' "only approach is the tough-guy approach".

"No matter what Brussels says or does. No matter what business in the EU says or does, no matter how many companies announce plans to move workers from the UK to new European Union headquarters, the hardliners cannot get it out of their heads the idea that if they bully their way towards the wire, the union's nerve will crack.

"They need to get it into their heads that this is not the way that the European Union works," he added.

"Unfortunately we're now so close to the cliff edge of a hard Brexit that we can see the drop almost in front of us.

"We have to hope that between now and December that other voices will be louder and heard and that managed Brexit will emerge as a credible option."

The European Council meeting in December is set to become the new deadline for completing phase one of the talks that involve Irish issues and the so-called divorce bill the UK will have to pay to settle its EU commitments.

"It's painfully clear that the UK government is not going to propose workable solutions for the benefit of the island of Ireland," Mr Hogan said.

"Indeed the low priority afforded to Northern Ireland over in London is very disheartening."

Mr Hogan was speaking at the Brussels launch of RTE correspondent Tony Connolly's book 'Brexit & Ireland. The Dangers, the Opportunities, and the Inside Story of the Irish Response'.
An artists impression of the 22-storey tower Johnny Ronan wants to build at Tara Street

An Bord Pleanala has set aside two days next week to conduct an oral hearing into developer Johnny Ronan's appeal against Dublin City Council's rejection of plans by Ronan Group Real Estate to build Dublin's tallest building next to Tara Street station.

Mr Ronan's company, Tanat Ltd, is seeking permission for the construction of a 22-storey (88m) tower comprising offices, a hotel and roof-top restaurant on Tara Street.

Council planners ruled against the application in July on the grounds that the proposed tower would have a "significant and detrimental visual impact" on the city's skyline.

The decision of An Bord Pleanala to hold a two-day public hearing into the case, beginning next Thursday, October 26, came in response to a request from Mr Ronan's company, Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE).

In acceding to the developer's request, An Bord is observing a procedure it follows in cases it deems to be particularly complex or where there are significant national or local issues involved.

Planning appeals are, in the main, decided by its inspectors and decisions issued by way of a written order,

Central to Mr Ronan's appeal will be his contention that its plans for the site had followed the council's own planning policies and objectives for the Tara Street scheme.

His team is expected to argue that the George's Quay Local Area Plan (LAP) prepared by Dublin City Council's planners and adopted by the council includes a provision for an 88-metre-high building on the Tara Street site.
The IFA has slammed the massive differential between Irish and British beef prices which, it claims, has ballooned to almost 250/hd.

The IFA livestock chairman, Angus Woods, pointed out that British prices of 4.48/kg (including VAT) were at least 70c/kg above Irish returns or almost 250 per head on a finished animal.

He described the recent cuts in factory prices as completely unjustified given the strength of demand in British and continental markets. "Across our main Continental EU beef markets, cattle prices are up 30c/kg since this time last year, with very strong demand for manufacturing beef evident in stronger cull cow prices.

"In Britain, our largest export market, cattle prices are 3.78/kg, equivalent to 4.48/kg including VAT," Mr Woods maintained.

The IFA representative claimed there was no market basis for recent beef price pressure and he blamed "factory opportunism" for eroding beef farmer confidence and compounding an already difficult income year for finishers.

Mr Woods said steer prices this week ranged from 3.75-3.80/kg in the beef plants, while heifer prices were 3.80-3.90/kg, despite factories quoting less.

With weekly kills holding above 37,000 head, a noticeable reduction in fat cattle numbers has been reported in the marts.

Jim Bushe of New Ross Mart said there were fewer heavy cattle on offer in recent weeks, and he predicted that cattle supplies could "tighten up fairly quickly".

Beef finishers claimed that factories have been forced to "travel" outside their usual catchment areas to get stock.

The weaker tone to the factory trade has not been reflected in steer prices in the marts. Bullock prices were generally steady last week, the Ringside data confirmed.

However, the trade for fat heifers was back 20/hd on average last week, with prices down 70/hd over the last month.

In contrast, demand for cows has held, with factories which specialise in manufacturing beef paying 3.45/kg for R grades, 3.30-3.20/kg for O grades, and decent P-grade animals making from 3/kg to 3.15/kg.

Price chain

Meanwhile, Mr Woods said the factories attempts to slash beef prices highlighted the continuing "vacuum on transparency" in the beef price chain.

"IFA recently discussed this flaw in the beef price market with Minister Creed who accepted that there is a need for greater price transparency. IFA has called on the minister to develop a price index that accurately reflects market returns," he said.

ICSA president Patrick Kent said that the food chain needed to be much more transparent if farmers were to have any chance of making a viable return in most farm enterprises.

"The EU must tackle the inherent lack of balance in the food chain. Farmers spend three years producing beef cattle, processors spend three week getting it to the shelf and it takes the retailers three days to sell it, yet farmers are the only ones not making a profit.

"What is needed is compulsory audits of the food chain at EU level to see what margins are being made at processor and retailer level on key farm commodities such as meat, bread and dairy.

"We have very clear transparency around average farm margins but have very little information on what margins are being made by processors and retailers," added Mr Kent.
Irish dairy processors have been accused of "enhancing their own margins at the expense of their suppliers".

A number of co-ops have held their August milk price for September, a move that has been criticised by ICMSA.

ICMSA Dairy Chairman Ger Quain said the decision by Kerry and Glanbia represented a deliberate choice "to enhance their own margins at the expense of their farmer-suppliers".

Dairygold Board decided to hold the price for milk supplied in September at 36c/L including 0.5c/L quality bonus and Vat.

Mr Quain accepted that dairy markets had weakened in recent weeks, but he claimed the full benefits of the market improvements had not worked their way back to farmers.

"Farmers will clearly point to the investment in value added over the last number of years made by these two processors and, indeed, their own investment at farm level -including in SDAS - and they will ask the very simple question: why is their milk price still below the average EU milk price and not far ahead of the Fonterra price, which is broadly based on commodity-type products?" he said.

Disadvantage

The IFA also expressed disappointment with the decision of Kerry and Glanbia to hold milk prices and they called on processors to deliver a 1c/l increase for September.

"At a time when our European fellow dairy farmers have received increased September milk prices and further uplifts have been announced for October milk, it is crucial that dairy co-ops in Ireland would not leave their suppliers at a disadvantage," said IFA dairy chairman Sean O'Leary.

Lakeland Dairies kept its base price, but has added a 1c/L Butter Bonus for all milk supplied including all fixed price contracts. With this bonus for September, it takes the Lakeland payment to a gross 36.5c/L including VAT.

However, Lakelands has cautioned that the outlook for 2018 is not as positive for milk prices.

"Unfortunately butter prices have passed peak and are now much weaker as we face into 2018, and powder prices are returning less than intervention," the co-operative warned.

Some co-ops are 'enhancing their margins' at farmers' expense, claim ICMSA
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnam's membership to the United Nations (Photo: VNA)



Since its establishment in 1945, the UN has been leading in the world in peacekeeping activities, preventing conflicts, promoting cooperation and development, and ensuring human rights, the PM said.

He recalled the event on September 20th, 1977 when the UN General Assembly admitted Vietnam as the 149th member, which marks the UNs recognition of the independence, freedom and unification of the Southeast Asian country, progressing to Doi moi (renewal) and international integration.

On behalf of the Vietnamese Government and people, the PM thanked the UN and international community for their valuable assistance for Vietnam over the past four decades.

He noted that development and cooperation targets could only be achieved in the condition of peace and stability, which is particularly meaningful to the Asian-Pacific region.

Vietnam hopes the UN will further promote its role in maintaining peace, international security, preventing and accelerating the settlement of disputes via peaceful means and on the basis of respecting the UN Chapter and international law, he said.

Vietnam pledges to continue to be a member of UN agencies and expand peacekeeping operation as well as implement the sustainable development agenda and the Paris agreement on climate change, he said.

The country hopes to receive international support to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, he added.

The PM also called on the UN, development partners and international friends to continuously support Vietnam to implement successfully its renewal process to achieve sustainable development and prosperity.

On this occasion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a congratulatory message to the Vietnamese people and Government, saying that the international community has considered Vietnam, with numerous efforts in Doi moi, as a successful example of development.

He applauded Vietnams commitments to the South-South Cooperation and affirmed the UNs commitment to continue strong cooperation with the country, while expressing his hope that the country will further engage in UN peacekeeping operations.

In his speech, UN Resident Coordinator to Vietnam Kamal Malhotra highly valued Vietnam-UN cooperation over the past four decades. He hailed Vietnams efforts in achieving most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before 2015, voicing his belief that with its strong political resolve and experience in the MDGs realisation, the country will attain the Sustainable Development Goals with greater results.

From an ODA receiver, Vietnam has become a development partner, actively contributed to the maintenance of international peace and security, and helped to prevent and peacefully solve disputes and conflicts in the world on the basis of the UN Charter, he noted.

Malhotra said UN organisations will continue supporting the country to deal with challenges through high-level policy consultation, experience sharing, and expertise provision, thus helping to carry out innovative and feasible solutions towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

As part of the ceremony, PM Phuc and Resident Coordinator Malhotra cut the ribbon to launch an exhibition of the 40-year relationship between Vietnam and the UN./.
Bank of Ireland faces a legal challenge to its move earlier this year to fold its private banking arm into the wider group.

Court documents show a directions hearing at the Court of Appeal will be held on December 15 at 11am.

Bank of Ireland's in-house merger took effect on September 1, following approval from the High Court. However, the decision faces an appeal by a former client of the private bank, John Kelly, who was involved in a property investment with the bank in 2006.

Mr Kelly's solicitors outlined 10 separate reasons for opposing the merger, including an allegation that the High Court judge had failed to give adequate weight to "the fact that there was no urgency in the application for the approval of the merger".

Prior to lodging his appeal, Mr Kelly was pursuing a separate case against Bank of Ireland Private, contesting a decision to sell his 4pc stake in a Swedish office block.

The building was bought by a syndicate of investors, assembled by Bank of Ireland Private, in 2006 for about 126m or 1.185bn Swedish Krona. In 2010, the property was sold for 40pc less to an international law firm. Royal Bank of Scotland held the mortgage over the office block.

Mr Kelly alleges Bank of Ireland needed unanimous investor support to sell the property and claims that he opposed the move.
Cork-based education software developer Akari has signed 5m worth of deals with Australasian universities.

The company, which first launched in the Australian market in December 2015, signed contracts with Curtain University in Western Australia, Bond University, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong, the University of Tasmania and Massey University in New Zealand.

"It is 5m of deals in five months," its CEO, Eoghan O'Leary, said.

"This means that Australia is now our single largest source of income. We have very important clients in Ireland but Ireland was essentially our test bed."

Monaghan specialist forklift company Combilift announced that it has signed a AUS$1m (666,000) contract with Civmec, an Australian construction and engineering company.

Dublin-based technology company Oneview said its Australian export deals could open trade links with other markets.

Oneview Healthcare produces software for hospitals, including products that can help integrate IT systems across devices like bedside terminals, TVs and smartphones.

This week the company launched a new app that allows families and doctors to be in contact pre-admissions and post discharge.

The announcements were made at an Enterprise Ireland lunch at Sydney Opera House, attended by over 200 Irish and Australian business leaders.

It came as Central Statistics Office (CSO) data yesterday showed seasonally adjusted Irish goods exports fell 4pc to 9bn in August. Goods imports increased 2pc to 5.4bn, giving a trade surplus of 3.6bn for the month.
Queens University Belfast has been awarded a 4.6m (5.1m) tripartite grant to tackle colorectal cancer.

The US-Ireland partnership award provides a unique opportunity to bring together researchers from Queens University, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and GE Healthcare in the US, in an interdisciplinary programme of research to develop new approaches to diagnose and treat the deadly disease.

Through the use of technology developed by GE Healthcare, and alongside the RCSIs expertise in systems medicine, the researchers from Queens will comprehensively characterise the gene and protein interactions inside colorectal cancer cells, and use this information to select or stratify patients for particular therapeutic interventions.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Fiona Ginty of GE Healthcare, said that the technology that GE has developed will allow for the examination of tumour tissue samples at a level of detail that has not been possible before.

"Examining multiple proteins and different cell types in a single tissue sample allows us to define more clearly the biology that drives individual tumours.

We are delighted to be working with researchers on the island of Ireland to apply this technology and know it will positively influence patient care," Ms Ginty said.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and it is predicted that the number of cases will rise to 2.4 million diagnosed per year by 2035.

There are a number of treatment options available to colorectal cancer patients and a patients response to treatment will depend on the specific type or make-up of the cancer.

As a 'one-size-fits-all' treatment approach does not work for all patients, a more precise understanding of what happens inside colorectal cancer cells is required.

This study will involve the examination of thousands of tumour samples in a bid to develop a diagnostic test that will enable more precise treatment plans for individual patients.

The project is funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Health and Social Care Research and Development (HSC R&D) division of the Public Health Agency Northern Ireland/Medical Research Council and the Science Foundation Ireland/the Health Research Board of Ireland.

"The HSC R&D division in the Public Health Agency, with support from the Medical Research Council, is pleased to be funding this high quality research study.

We expect that the outcomes from this international research will lead to significant advances in the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer in the UK, Ireland and globally," Professor Ian Young, director of HSC R&D, said.
Crisis-hit Ryanair has confirmed that Peter Bellew - the highly-regarded CEO of Malaysia Airlines - is to rejoin the Irish airline as its chief operations officer.

He will succeed Michael Hickey, who recently resigned in the wake of the carrier's pilot-rostering fiasco. Mr Bellew last month indicated to the Irish Independent that he was not intending to rejoin Ryanair, where he was previously head of sales and marketing and deputy head of flight operations.

He is known to have visited Ryanair headquarters as the flights fiasco unfolded, however.

He's rejoining Ryanair after two years at Malaysia Airlines. Before that, he spent eight years on Ryanair's operations team.

He will rejoin the Irish airline on December 1 to "ensure that the pilot-rostering failure which Ryanair suffered in early September will never be repeated", the carrier said in a statement yesterday.

He'll be responsible for managing pilot careers and training. Ryanair has cancelled more than 20,000 flights as a result of a failure to adequately roster its schedule, a result of a combination of failures to manage pilot-leave allocations and the loss of senior pilots to rivals, including Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Mr Bellew joined Malaysia Airlines as chief operations officer in September 2015, when it was led by former Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller. Last year, the Irishman became Malaysian's third chief executive officer in two years when Mr Mueller left to join Dubai-based Emirates.

In Malaysia, Mr Bellew was part of the team charged with restoring confidence in the airline in the wake of the loss of two planes: MH370 which vanished over the Indian Ocean and a passenger craft shot down over Ukraine.
Kilcorney Church in Cork had a section of its roof blown off. Picture: Mark Condren

Householders and businesses will be picking up the pieces this week after the havoc wreaked by Storm Ophelia.

If you find you need to make a claim, it is important you make immediate contact with the insurer or your broker.

The Irish Claims Consultants' Association (ICCA) advises that you secure your property from further damage.

Do whatever temporary repairs are necessary to ensue there are no leaks or no dangers from the likes of exposed wires. Get professionals to do this. Most insurers will cover the cost of this emergency work.

Remove wet or damaged contents. But Jim Flannery of the ICCA says you should not dispose of this material off site.

Take photographs of the damage so you can prove what has happened in case your insurer or its loss adjuster decides to dispute the cost. It is also important to make an inventory of all the damage.

A good idea is to appoint a loss assessor to help you with the claim.

An assessor works on your behalf and will negotiate with your insurer to settle your claim.

This includes negotiating the settlement figure offered by the insurer if you feel that it will not cover the losses you have suffered.

Insurers use loss adjusters to assess the damage, but they act for the insurance company and may not assess the damage to the satisfaction of the claimant.

Having an assessor will ensure that the claim covers all damage and that something does not go wrong after the claim has been settled.

They can also take some of the stress out of the entire process as they deal directly with the insurer.

Loss assessors who are members of the ICCA are regulated by the Central Bank.
British Regional airline Flybe, which operates flights from Cork, Dublin, Knock, and Belfast, has warned over profits after incurring higher-than-expected aircraft maintenance costs.

The firm said its drive to improve the reliability of its planes, in particular the Bombardier Q400 turboprop, will see profits dive in the first half of the year.

Flybe said adjusted profit before tax is forecast to come in between the range of 5m to 10m in the period, down from a consensus estimate of 15m.

The diminished figure, which compares with a 15.9m profit in the same period last year, also takes in additional IT costs of 6m linked to the development of a new digital platform.

Chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said: "While half-year profits are lower than expected, I am confident that we are still on a clear sustainable path to profitability in line with our stated plan.

"The increased maintenance costs are disappointing, but we are already addressing these in the second half and remain focused on improving our cost base and reliability performance."

The announcement comes after slowing consumer demand and over-capacity sent Flybe swinging to a loss last year.

The firm posted a 19.9m pre-tax loss in the year to March 31, compared with a profit of 2.7m the previous year.

However, Ms Ourmieres-Widener added: "Our sustainable business improvement plan is delivering benefits with the fleet size now reducing, and consequently both yield and load factors are increasing."
Beds, table service, and a cocktail bar will be some of the luxurious additions to the cinematic experience at the newly refurbished Stella Cinema in Rathmines.

The Stella Theatre has been in existence for 94 years and when it opens on October 31 it will be unveiled in all its original 1923 glory, with a single screen and restored original features including a decorative ceiling.

Theater Director Karl Geraghty describes it as a "grown-up cinema" and a "proper luxury cinema".

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio 1 he said, "There's going to be fresh food- small plates - and the food will be brought to your table at the start of the film."

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There will be luxury furniture including armchairs and ottomans and even beds down by the screen.

The first floor has been restored and will be the Stella Cocktail Club, a sister of the Vintage Cocktail Club in Temple Bar, accessible to both people attending the movie and anyone who just wants a drink.

The cinema originally catered for 1200 but there is now space for 217 people so there is a lot more room.

"It's a lot more luxurious," said Karl. "I don't think there's anything like it in Ireland. People are completely blown away by it."

Speaking about the restoration, he added, "A huge amount of love and care and attention went into it to the point where when you come into the cinema you see the screen and the curtains and they got photos of some of the details on the cinema that had been destroyed and had been on the wall where the screen is. They restored those details, pillars and a reed feature behind it, even though nobody will ever see it. There's that level of detail."

There will be late night screenings and the film choice for the first screening is up for public vote. The options are: Casablanca, The Dark Knight Rises, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pulp Fiction, Carrie, Intermission, Ferris Beuller's Day Off and Cinema Paradiso.

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National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Chairman of the Mazhilis (lower house) of the Kazakhstani Parliament Nurlan Nigmatulin (Source: VNA)



At the talks with Chairman of the Mazhilis (lower house) of the Kazakhstani Parliament Nurlan Nigmatulin in Astana on October 17th, Ngan said her ongoing visit aims to enhance and deepen the friendship and traditional cooperation between the two countries in general and the two parliaments in particular.

She said the bilateral relationship is thriving in various areas, ranging from politics to economy, trade, culture, tourism and security, with two-way trade now reaching USD300 million per year.

The top legislator affirmed that the Vietnamese Government and relevant agencies always support and create favourable conditions for foreign businesses, including those from Kazakhstan, expressing her wish that Kazakhstan will assist Vietnamese firms in seeking investment opportunities in the country.

The two leaders held that the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (VN-EAEU FTA), which came into one year ago, has generated many opportunities for Vietnamese and Kazakhstani businesses. Therefore, they suggested the two sides make the most of tax incentives offered by the pact to boost exports.

Nigmatulin said Kazakhstan hopes to further beef up partnerships with Vietnam in the fields of agriculture, transport and tourism.

Ngan urged the two sides to evaluate the one-year implementation of the VN-EAEU FTA to withdraw lessons and set forth measures in order to continue implementing the deal effectively.

They said that Vietnam should increase its export of rice, rubber, coffee, seafood, computers, phones, machines and equipment to Kazakhstan while importing metal, steel and iron, ore, minerals and other products from the country.

The two leaders agreed to maintain the Vietnam-Kazakhstan Inter-governmental Committee on Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation, and soon organise the eighth meeting of the committee.

In addition to enhancing mutual support at international organisations, especially the UN, Vietnam and Kazakhstan need to strengthen collaboration in all channels, between the parties, states, localities, business and people-to-people exchange.

In the realm of security, Ngan suggested that the two nations should intensify cooperation and focus on exchanging information and combating terrorism, transnational and high-tech crimes, and illegal immigration. She underlined the need for the two sides to soon reach consensus on the contents of an agreement on the transfer of convicted persons so that it could be signed in the coming time.

Nigmatulin said Kazakhstan want to exchange legislative experience with Vietnam and suggested the two sides expand cooperation between specialised committees of the two parliaments.

While consenting to the hosts proposal, Ngan said legislative ties are an important channel for cooperation between Vietnam and Kazakhstan, saying the Vietnamese NA wants to enhance its cooperation with the Kazakhstani Parliament at regional and international forums.

The top legislators also agreed to continue the exchange of high-ranking delegations as well as between parliamentary committees and agencies, while joining hands to supervise the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between the two Governments./.
Kilcorney Church in Cork with a section of its roof blown off by Storm Ophelia Photo: Mark Condren

A church devastated by Storm Ophelia will take at least four months to repair.

The tightknit community of Kilcorney in north Cork are now coming to terms with the fact Christmas ceremonies will likely have to be celebrated in the local community centre rather than Kilcorney Church.

One-third of the Kilcorney Church roof was ripped off at the height of the storm.

Incredibly, the heavy roof beams and tiles were scattered to both sides of the church building - and did cause major interior damage.

The main church ceiling is still largely intact.

It is feared that the damage could cost several hundred thousand Euro to repair.

Parish Priest Fr William Winter said while locals were shocked by the damage to the church, they were "very thankful" that no one was hurt locally during the storm.

Fr Winter had used local Masses on Sunday to prove for the safety of the local community and local livestock.

The only major damage sustained in the community was to the church building.

Kilcorney Parish Council member Pat Sheehan said the fear is that the damage could be exacerbated by the weather over coming days.

"The roof thankfully wasn't blown down inside - it was blown to both sides of the church," he said.

But Mr Sheehan said locals were worried that if heavy rain came through the gaping hole in the church roof, interior ceilings could then collapse.

The damage is being assessed by engineers and roofing specialists but the belief is that repairs will take well into 2018 to complete.

"It certainly doesn't look like it will be done by Christmas," he said.

However, the tightknit community has vowed to transfer the local community centre and make it the festive hub of the area until the church is repaired.
The trial of a retired surgeon accused of indecently assaulting patients has heard that one alleged victim went to gardai after hearing about a campaign against the doctor.

Michael Shine (85) denies eight charges of committing indecent assault at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and at his private clinic, both in Drogheda, Co Louth, on dates between 1964 and 1991.

On Tuesday the first complainant, now aged 65, testified at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that while attending at the hospital in 1964 with a chest cyst Dr Shine massaged his testicles.

Today Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, put it to the witness that there was a campaign, run by a woman called Bernadette Sullivan, against Dr Shine.

He said there was a lot of publicity around this campaign including advertisements and talks on local radio asking anybody who had been treated by Dr Shine to come forward to make complaints.

The witness agreed he telephoned a number provided by local radio and later met with the organisation run by Ms Sullivan.

Mr Hartnett submitted that the organisation arranged for the witness to meet with gardai and to get a solicitor to arrange for actions for damages against the hospital. The witness agreed that a civil claim was pursued.

Counsel asked the witness if he was advised on how best to present or not present his case. The witness, who is legally entitled to anonymity, said he could not answer this and said it was just an ordinary meeting.

The complainant accepted that at one stage he considered withdrawing his complaint to gardai. He agreed he said this to the Bernadette Sullivan group and they said they would meet him and advise him.

Mr Hartnett put it to him that his reason for considering withdrawing his complaint was that there was no basis for it. The witness said this was wrong.

He said he had no memory of attending a psychiatrist despite medical records indicating that he did in September 2010. Mr Hartnett said this was also because there was no basis for his complaint.

Thats wrong, I know what happened to me, the witness said.

Mr Shine, of Wellington Rd. in Dublin 4 is accused of committing the indecent assaults at the hospital on unknown dates between 1964 and 1965, 1970 and 1972, 1975 and 1976 and, finally, on a unknown date between 1988 and 1991.

He is also accused of indecently assaulting a male on two occasions in a clinic in Drogheda on unknown dates in 1973 and 1974 and in 1975.

The trial continues before Judge Cormac Quinn and a jury of four men and eight women and is expected to last two weeks.
A woman who was sexually abused by her father has said she suffered feelings of "guilt, shame, embarrassment and hurt" for years, but was now "handing them back to my dad".

Brave Amy Barrett and her sister, Melissa O'Keefe, waived their right to anonymity to have their paedophile father Jerry O'Keefe named.

O'Keefe (69), a retired soldier of Oakhill, Youghal, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to raping Ms Barrett over a five-year period when she was a child and to regularly abusing Ms O'Keefe.

He pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of rape, five of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. These were nine sample charges out of a total of 78 covering a period from January 1980 to March 1987. He will be sentenced next month.

Sergeant John Sharkey told Timothy O'Leary SC, prosecuting, that the three charges of rape and two charges of indecent assault relate to his eldest daughter, Amy Barrett, and took place at the family home at The Arch, Youghal, Co Cork. The abuse ended in 1985 when Mrs Barrett was aged 12.

Sgt Sharkey said the remaining charges related to the abuse of the younger daughter, Melissa O'Keefe, which took place at the family's new home at Catherine's Street, Youghal, Co Cork.

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The women reported the abuse to the Southern Health Board in 1999 after attending the Rape Crisis Centre in Cork.

As a result, O'Keefe agreed to leave the family home and no further action was taken against him.

Ms O'Keefe said she went to gardai in 1999 but withdrew the allegations after her parents confronted her. Both victims reported the matter to gardai again in October 2014.

In her victim impact statement, Amy Barrett described her childhood as very traumatic. She said she found making friends very difficult and attempted suicide after the birth of her first child "just to get some peace".

Mrs Barrett paid tribute to the Rape Crisis Centre in Cork, who she said supported her throughout the last few years since she reported the matter to gardai. "I have had feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment and hurt for years but today I hand them back to my dad," she said.

A victim impact statement on behalf of Ms O'Keefe was read out to the court. "I went to gardai to make a complaint in 1999 but my parents confronted me so I had to lie and say I made it all up," she said. "If I get a certain smell or if someone moves in a certain way, I freak out. But today I finally have the voice that I didn't have when I was 16," she said.
The family of convicted killer Marta Herda have posted a letter online which appears to have been sent on behalf of Pope Francis.

Translated from Polish to English, the letter reads:

On behalf of his saintness, the Franciscan thanks for the letter of the day in which you write with great vigor about the difficult situation of your daughter, set in prison.

I want to assure you that the Holy Father embraces the ladies and her flock of prayer, praying to you the mercy of God. His sermon encourages him to trust in prayer and to offer his affairs to the most holy mother, who was also under the sea.

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There we were born as a tender mother of the church, who wants everyone to collect under their coat. She saw under the cross how good a letter was to receive forgiveness and took a Jesuit student for her son. she is the mother of mercy whom we entrust: our vassal situation, our every prayer, directed before her merciful eyes, will not remain unanswered, the rich riches mercy will empower the ladies and her mourning and help to solve this difficult situation.

The letter was signed by Mons. Paolo Borgia, an Italian priest who was appointed as an Assessor for General Affairs by Pope Francis.

A video of Herda reading a children's book from prison has also emerged online today.

The video, posted on the page 'Help for Martha', was uploaded today with the headline "Could this person kill anybody?"

"From prison Martha reads a tale for her sisters children. Translation of the video, done by Marthas niece will be available soon".

In the six-minute long video, the Polish woman reads the book aloud in her native language while sat in front of a book case.

It is understood she is working as a librarian in the Dochas Centre in Mountjoy.

She recently lost an appeal against her murder conviction.

The 30-year-old drove a man who loved her into a deep harbour, where he drowned.

Marta Herda, of Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow, knew her passenger could not swim when she drove her Volkswagen Passat through the crash barriers at South Quay, Arklow shortly before 6am on March 26, 2013.

During the trial, the jury heard that Herda believed she was being stalked by Mr Orsos. In her statement to gardai, she said the 31-year-old died because he loved her, that she couldnt take it anymore.

Speaking outside court last week following the unsuccessful appeal, Herda's sister Monika said: I think this was a ridiculous decision.

"Marta had an unfair verdict in my opinion and in the opinion of our family and our friends.

"We are sorry about Csaba but what happened after and now with that verdict is not fair for Marta.

"That's why it's not the end for now. We will wait for the Supreme Court.
A retired soldier who pleaded guilty to raping his daughter over a five year period and to regularly abusing another daughter will be sentenced next month.

Jerry O'Keeffe (69) of Oakhill, Youghal, Cork pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to three charges of rape, five of indecent assault and one of sexual assault. These were nine sample charges out of a total of 78 covering a period from January 1980 to March 1987.

Timothy O'Leary SC, prosecuting, told court that both women were waiving their right to anonymity.

Sergeant John Sharkey told Mr O'Leary that the three charges of rape and two charges of indecent assault relate to his eldest daughter, Amy Barrett and took place at the family home at The Arch, Youghal, Co Cork.

Sgt Sharkey said that O'Keeffe regularly asked Amy, who was aged eight at the time, to sit on his lap in the siting room. He would then sexually assault her before bringing her upstairs to his bedroom where he would remove his clothes and rape her.

The abuse ended in 1985 when Mrs Barrett was aged 12.

Sgt Sharkey said the remaining charges related to the abuse of the younger daughter, Melissa O'Keeffe, which took place at the family's new home at Catherine's Street, Youghal, Co Cork.

O'Keeffe would go into the child's bedroom late at night after returning from the pub and climb into bed beside her. He would then molest her, the court heard.

The women reported the abuse to the Southern Health Board in 1999 after attending the Rape Crisis Centre in Cork. As a result O'Keefe agreed to leave the family home and no further action was taken against him.

Melissa O'Keefe said she went to gardai in 1999 but withdrew the allegations after her parents confronted her. Both victims reported the matter to gardai again in October 2014.

In her victim impact statement Amy Barrett described her childhood as very traumatic, and said she was a mixed bag of confusion and terror as a result of her father's crimes.

She said she found making friends very difficult and attempted suicide after the birth of her first child just to get some peace.

She said still suffers from panic attacks and the sexual abuse took most of her confidence away.

Mrs Barrett paid tribute to the Rape Crisis Centre in Cork, who she said supported her throughout the last few years since she reported the matter to gardai.

I have had feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment and hurt for years but today I hand them back to my Dad, she said.

A victim impact statement on behalf of Ms O'Keeffe was read out to the court and described how she resisted calling out for her mother in case she got into trouble.

I went to gardai to make a complaint in 1999 but my parents confronted me so I had to lie and say I made it all up, she said.

Ms O'Keeffe said she found it hard to settle in relationships as a result of the abuse.

If I get a certain smell or if someone moves in a certain way I freak out. But today I finally have the voice that I didn't have when I was 16, she said.

The court heard that O'Keeffe, who has no previous convictions, completed three tours of the Lebanon and retired from the army in 2004.

Ronan Munro SC, defending, told the court that O'Keefe was himself the victim of sexual abuse when he was a child.

He said O'Keeffe made some admissions to a psychiatrist and agreed to leave the family home. His client suffers from a heart condition and has poor mental health, counsel said.

Judge Patrick McCarthy remanded O'Keeffe in custody until November 6 when he will be sentenced.
A 62-year-old man who fraudulently claimed over 40,000 of Jobseeker's Allowance in his brother's name was caught as a result of facial imaging technology, a court has heard.

Owen McKeever pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to fraudulently claiming jobseekers allowance in the name of Brendan McKeever on dates between 2009 and 2013.

McKeever, of Durrow Road, Crumlin, Dublin had been sent forward from the District Court on signed guilty pleas to 50 sample counts of social welfare fraud.

The total loss to the exchequer was 41,871.

McKeever was also making a legitimate social welfare claim in his own name at the time.

Garda Ian Abbey told James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, that facial imaging technology was introduced in the Department of Social and Family Affairs in 2013. A match was later discovered between a genuine photograph of McKeever and a photograph of McKeever purporting to be his brother.

Gda Abbey said he interviewed McKeever who immediately made full admissions and told him: I put my hands up.

McKeever's brother had been home from the UK for a time and began signing on for a claim in his name which McKeever continued when his brother returned to the UK.

McKeever told gardai he did not think the total was as much as it was but accepted it.

Mr Cathal O'Braoinan BL, defending, said McKeever had run a number of businesses, including a delivery business, which had failed as a result of the recession and his vehicles repossessed. He said he did not have significant debts as a result but it had led to change in lifestyle for him.

He asked the court to take into account his client's immediate co-operation and full admission which he said had saved the State time and resources in what could have been a technical and lengthy trial.

Counsel said his client was someone who was of previous good character and was remorseful once confronted. He said his client was a single man who was the sole carer for his 87-year-old mother.

He said McKeever has begun repaying the money at a rate of 50 per week and asked the court for time to allow further money be gathered.

Judge Karen O'Connor adjourned sentencing until January 28 next.
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover the
A man has been jailed for three years after he led gardai on a high-speed chase during torrential rain which led to the garda car aquaplaning and crashing on the M50 motorway.

Stephen Bailey (30) of The Village Square, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine and heroin, intentionally or recklessly ramming a garda, endangerment of Garda Gary Dunne and two charges of dangerous driving on April 11, 2016.

He has 22 previous convictions for possession of drugs and stolen property, trespass, public order and road traffic offences.

In passing a sentence of four and a half years, Judge Melanie Greally suspended the final 18 months of the jail term. She noted that the gardai were lucky to escape with their lives and banned Bailey from driving for ten years.

Earlier, Garda Ivor Scully told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting that a surveillance operation was in place on Old Glenamuck Road, Carrickmines, when gardai spotted a red Audi A3 that they were interested in.

Garda intelligence had suggested that a stash of drugs was to be picked up when they saw Bailey stop that car and his passenger get out. The officers, who had been concealed behind bushes jumped over railings and Gda Scully stood behind the car while his colleague Garda Gary Dunne stood in front.

Bailey accelerated the vehicle towards Gda Dunne who had to jump out of the way to avoid being hurt.

An unmarked patrol car that had been waiting nearby then drove up and the driver positioned the vehicle across the street to block Bailey's path.

Bailey drove straight into this patrol car, crashed into it and mounted a footpath before driving towards a roundabout. Both gardai were hurt but they continued to pursue Bailey as he drove dangerous ultimately joining the M50 at junction 15.

Gda Scully said during this pursuit a number of motorists had to take evasive action as Bailey joined traffic without slowing down or stopping.

There was torrential rain that day and the gardai couldn't keep up with Bailey when they were driving on the motorway at 120 km/hr. The patrol car aquaplaned and the driver lost control crashing the vehicle.

Gda Scully said both Sgt Divian Rock and Gda Tara Byrne had to be cut out of the vehicle. They managed to radio asking other units to lookout out for the Audi. Bailey was eventually arrested when the Audi was spotted at Hanlon's Corner on the North Circular Road.

Both Sgt Rock and Gda Byrne had prepared victim impact reports in which they stated that they each continue to suffer from the injuries they sustained that day.

Sgt Rock said his life has been severely impacted. He is in daily pain and he is returned to night duties at work. He doesn't know if he will ever return to his normal duties. He said his ongoing medical costs and loss of wages amounted to 9,500.

I did not leave my house that morning to expect my wife to have deal with this, he stated after adding that he feels responsible for his colleague's suffering.

Gda Byrne injured her neck, shoulder, lower back, knees and head. She is still undergoing treatment, has difficulty bending and taking the stairs and is still still unfit for normal duty.

She estimated her medical costs and loss of wages have amounted to 9,775. She said she finds it difficult watching people doing things for her she was previously able to do herself but she counts herself lucky that I am not worse off.

Gda Byrne said Bailey had consciously made the decision to ram the garda car. She said his behaviour had shown a blatant disregard for herself, her colleagues and other road users.

Gda Scully confirmed that Gda Byrne returned to light duties at work last week but is still in a lot of pain.

Gda Scully agreed with Seoirse O Dunlaing BL, defending that the medical reports suggested that it was the accident on the M50 that caused the majority of the serious injuries for both Sgt Rock and Gda Byrne.

Counsel said Bailey's actions on the day were shocking and appalling and apologised to the various gardai involved that day.

Mr O Dunlaing asked for the case to be adjourned to allow Bailey to continue with a drug treatment course he has started at Coolmine.

Judge Greally said the offence was at the mid to upper range on the scale and this was aggravated by the fact Bailey had been on bail at the time.

She noted that Bailey had taken impressive steps to address his drug additions and gave him credit for his guilty pleas.
Fiona OCarroll, daughter of Mrs Browns Boys star Brendan OCarroll, has appealed a 30,000 damages award she was directed to pay to a motorbike courier her jeep collided with on a roundabout.

Judge Francis Comerford in the Circuit Civil Court decided earlier this month that neither of the versions of the accident he had heard from OCarroll and courier Patrick Harrison about what had happened were completely true.

He said he did not think Ms OCarroll had lied to the court but had given a true account of what she recalled had happened.

He favoured the view that Ms OCarrolls Santa Fe jeep had struck the rear side of Mr Harrisons moped, knocking him off in what was a significant impact.

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OCarroll, of Hollystown Demense, Hollystown, Dublin 15, who has played a role in a number of her fathers world-famous shows, told her barrister Shane English she was on the roundabout when Harrisons speeding moped cut across in front of her after grazing the side of her jeep.

Harrison, of The Cottages, Killeen Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, claimed he was on a major roundabout at Snugborough Road, Dublin, in November 2015 when OCarrolls jeep had driven into the back of his bike.

He said he had ongoing symptoms with his right knee which had been injured in the collision.

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Judge Comerford said Mr Harrison was already on the roundabout and would have had right of way prior to Ms OCarroll joining the multi-road junction.

He could not see how the accident could have happened in accordance with either version presented to the court but he was not saying either Mr Harrison or Ms OCarroll had lied.

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He told John Ferry, counsel for Harrison, that confusion of the facts was very often caused by such high stress incidents.

He awarded Harrison 28,000 damages for personal injuries and 2,000 special damages against OCarroll and directed she pay the legal costs of the hearing.

Mr English, at the Circuit Court hearing on October 3 last, was granted a stay on Judge Comerfords order to facilitate consideration of an appeal, papers in which were lodged in the High Court today by Ms OCarrolls solicitors Hayes McGrath.
An appeal is being sought against a judgment permitting tech giant Apple to develop the first phase of a planned 850m data centre in Co Galway, the High Court has been told.

The permission to appeal application - which only the High Court can grant - will be heard on October 25 but may not conclude then and may have to resume later.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott, in separate judgments last week, rejected two judicial review challenges to An Bord Pleanala's August 2016 permission for a data hall at Derrydonnell, Athenry, the first of eight such halls Apple may build over a 15-year period.

The first challenge was by local residents Sinead Fitzpatrick and Allan Daly, of Lisheenkyle, Athenry, whose concerns included about the potential environmental impact of the entire development, particularly about greenhouse gas emissions.

The judge found the board and its inspector considered and assessed the potential environmental impact of the overall Apple "masterplan" and disagreed the board was required to carry out an environmental impact assessment of the entire proposed project.

Their counsel, Oisin Collins BL, said yesterday his clients did intend to seek a certificate for leave to appeal. When the judge said he was ready to hear arguments concerning the application, counsel said he wanted time to consider the matter.

Nuala Butler SC, for the board, said Mr Collins should outline within a week the point of law he intends to raise after which her side would provide written submissions.

The judge said he would hear the matter on October 25 and if it did not conclude by 10.45am that day, he would hear the remaining arguments on a later date.

In his judgment on the second case, by Brian McDonagh, of Ballymount Cross Business Park, Dublin, he found Mr McDonagh lacked the necessary legal standing to challenge the permission as he does not live close to the site and had not participated in the planning process. He should have disclosed at an early stage he was a director and shareholder of Ecologic Data Centre Ltd which had secured permission for a data centre on a Co Wicklow site considered as an alternative location for the Apple development, the judge added.

Mr McDonagh has not decided whether to seek leave to appeal. The judge said he would list his case for October 25.
A Somali man who 'fished' through letterboxes looking for keys at two apartment buildings will be sentenced later for burglaries and thefts.

Muhydine Adillahi (30) and three other males were captured on CCTV fishing through letterboxes shortly before breaking into a Dublin 4 apartment.

Gardai compiled CCTV from the surrounding area which showed Adillahi stealing alcohol from a Eurospar and breaking into a vacant apartment by fishing keys from a letterbox in earlier incidents.

Garda Bryan Hunt said ]that though Adillahi denied involvement, his DNA matched that taken from a Heineken bottle left at the scene of one of the burglaries.

Adillahi, of Blackhall Square, North Brunswick Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to trespass and theft at The Poolbeg, The Gasworks, Barrow Street between July 1 and 3, 2016.

He also pleaded guilty to dishonestly appropriating a set of keys and attempted theft at a post box at the same location on July 1, 2016.

He further pleaded guilty to trespass, theft and dishonestly appropriating a set of keys at The Jessop, Charlotte Quay Dock, on July 2, 2016, and dishonestly appropriating alcohol at Eurospar, Barrow Street on July 1 and 2, 2016.

He has 18 previous convictions including burglary, theft and fraud offences.

Garda Hunt told Gerardine Small BL, prosecuting, that Adillahi had four male accomplices and was the first to be sentenced for the crimes.

He said the apartment occupant at The Jessop awoke in the early hours of the morning to find three males in his home.

Adillahi was carrying the man's leather holdall and was the most verbally aggressive of the three. He left a Heineken bottle with his DNA on it as he and the other intruders made off with items worth 1,440.

Gda Hunt said he used CCTV to backtrack Adillahi's movements in the area over the previous days and uncovered the Eurospar alcohol thefts and the vacant property burglary.

The garda agreed with James Dwyer BL, defending, that Adillahi's DNA had also been found on a toothbrush at the vacant apartment. He further agreed that Adillahi had entered an early guilty plea.

Mr Dwyer said his client had spent most of his childhood at an Ethiopian refugee camp.

Judge Karen O'Connor remanded Adillahi in continuing custody and put the matter back for finalisation in November.
All sixth year students should now be in the thick of CAO research, at times, an overwhelming task. In my opinion, it is not the students who tell me they do not know what they want to do in college who I am most concerned about at this time of year. It is the student who comes with one perfect course who often causes me the most professional worry.

While it is a wonderful thing to meet a young person who has a passion, and who has identified their direction for future study, students who are overly rigid about their career goals and course choices can find this hampers their research. A student may feel they have found their dream course, but no CAO form should be submitted with just one choice. So, once the dream course is found, it is important to park it and get on with the task of researching. This course should not be allowed to prevent the identification of the other choices that can be listed.

Every CAO form can be submitted with up to 20 courses listed - 10 at Level 8 and another 10 Level 7/6. Applicants should endeavour to enter as many courses on their application as possible. The CAO can only offer places on courses that have been listed on the form. If an applicant receivea an offer they would prefer not to take, they may turn it down.

At this time of year, I advise my students to avoid looking for the perfect course. For many, this does not exist and leads students to focus on the negative aspects rather than the many positives. Instead we strive to find as many 'maybe courses' as possible. It is always easier have 30 'maybe' courses, which can be reduced later, than having too few to consider.

By completing the form in this way, we also minimise the potential disappointment for come August. Yes, an applicant may have a preference for one course and may be disappointed if they do not receive a place for this course, however they can clearly see the positives of each course listed and how it will help them achieve their career goals. There are always many paths to the same destination.

When researching 'maybe' courses applicants may consider the following questions:

l what do I like about this course and college?

l how might this course assist me in achieving my careers goals?

l does this course help me access the degree/master's that I will enjoy and help me achieve my career goals?

l what transferable skills might I develop?

l what other elements, such as sport, scholarships, clubs, might I enjoy at this college?

Once a student comes across a 'maybe' course, they should mark it in the prospectus, print it and keep them all print-outs in one folder. Students can use post-its to jot questions or thoughts on to the course descriptions and keep them for later. There is a lot of reading to do and students are able to make CAO changes until July 2018. It will be important to remember then all the details of the research that is being completed now.

Keeping an open mind and excellent records will result in less stress during this busy time. This will allow applicants to be more decisive as the February 1 deadline approaches.

Aoife Walsh is a guidance counsellor at Malahide Community School, Co Dublin
The Eighth Amendment has caused grave harm to women including death according to former master of Holles Street hospital, Professor Peter Boylan.

He was speaking before the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment today, where he also said Irelands abortion legislation has an effect on the decision-making abilities of clinicians, resulting in the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar who died of sepsis at Galway University Hospital.

She died as a consequence of the Eighth Amendment, Professor Boylan told the committee following questions from Deputy Mattie McGrath.

Mr McGrath went on to argue that there are lots of differing opinions about the cause of death of Savita Halappanavar, to which Professor Boylan said he had the advantage of reviewing her notes forensically.

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The fifth anniversary of Ms Halappanavars death is next week.

Also present at the Committee was Dr Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran president-elect of International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology who also investigated the death of Savita Halappanavar.

He said the difficulty in the Irish legislation where a clear and present threat to a womans life must exist before an abortion can occur creates a serious ongoing risk, some cases accelerate steeply and you miss the boat, he said. For example, there is up to 60pc chance of maternal mortality with sepsis fever but because the [foetal] heartbeat is there and you start dilly-dallying and thats it.

All witnesses at the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment today called on Ireland to repeal the Eighth Amendment and replace with legislation along the lines of what was called for by the Citizens Assembly earlier in the year.

The Citizens Assembly members voted on their recommendations for access to abortion for certain medical and other conditions and voted overwhelmingly to remove the 8th amendment from the constitution.

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64pc of the Members recommended that the termination of pregnancy without restriction should be lawful.

During todays meeting, expert witness Professor Peter Boylan former Master of Holles Street Hospital said Ireland could look at other EU countries to as possible legal models when shaping any new abortion legislation, not just the UK, where most Irish women have an abortion.

Mr Boylan said 99pc of women in the EU have access to termination in the first trimester.

The Oireachtas Committee is considering a range of options in the event of next years referendum on the Eighth Amendment passing, one of which is to insert limited legislation which allows for abortion in cases of rape or incest.

Professor Boylan pointed out the difficulties that will emerge when a burden of proof will lie with a woman to prove she has been raped in order to obtain an abortion.

There is no test to confirm rape and any woman who has "undergone the trauma of rape should not be forced to prove rape if she chooses to terminate a resulting pregnancy", he said.

Women should be "taken at their word, hardly a revolutionary concept", he added.
Around 10,000 people whose hospital outpatient appointments were cancelled due to Hurricane Ophelia on Monday may have to wait weeks to get a re-scheduled date.

The cancellations, which were called for safety reasons to prevent public patients having to make journeys in hazardous conditions, could result in extra clinics being laid on in some cases to help clear the backlog, Damien McCallion, the HSE's national director of emergency management, said yesterday.

He said other patients who had appointments with mental health and other services will have to be re-scheduled.

Health services continued to face disruption yesterday, although all outpatient clinics went ahead.

Some waiting list patients awaiting planned surgery had their operations put back because of a lack of beds.

Hospitals were under pressure to free up beds that were occupied by patients who could not be discharged due to the storm.

Mr McCallion said some hospitals opened closed beds and this helped to relieve overcrowding in hospital A&E departments.

The emergency departments were busy in the afternoon as patients, who held off seeking medical care on Monday, attended services yesterday.

Ambulance services in some areas of the country faced difficulties due to fallen trees and road blockages caused by the storm. This led to delays in some cases.

Mr McCallion said homecare services were also disrupted and some patients who needed medical equipment that was powered by electricity had to be moved to community hospitals after electricity supplies were affected.

In the run up to the storm, home care and other staff had tried to visit as many people as possible who rely on home visits in counties which were on "red" alert.

Five hospitals were in areas that suffered electricity blackouts and had to revert to their generators.

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service called for extra blood donations in Dublin to offset the shortfall in supply following the cancellation of all clinics on Monday.

"Cancellation of blood donation clinics on Monday led to a shortfall of approximately 500 donations," said operations director Paul McKinney.

Clinics were back to normal yesterday, with the exception of a scheduled clinic in Donegal which was closed. It will be open today.

"We have some extra bed capacity open in our D'Olier Street and Stillorgan clinics for the rest of the week to help make up the shortfall."

Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said yesterday it will "not tolerate employers deducting pay or insisting that employees take annual leave as a result of having to stay away from work on Monday due to the hurricane".

David Hughes, deputy general secretary, said: "The decision to declare a red weather warning was to save lives. The Taoiseach himself indicated that he was appealing to private employers to act reasonably where employees adhered to that warning. It is regrettable employers are now seeking to penalise nurses and midwives who adhered to the warning."
Gay and heterosexual couples who have been living together for at least three years or gay couples who are in a civil partnership will be able to apply to adopt a child from tomorrow.

Up to now a couple had to be married to adopt a child together.

The commencement order for the provisions of the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017 was signed by Children's Minister Katherine Zappone.

It will mean that unmarried couples who meet the assessment criteria will no longer have to adopt a child as a single person.

The legislation will also introduce other major changes for step-families where the non-biological parent wants to adopt a child.

Up to now a mother in this situation who re-married had to apply to adopt her own child.

It will also be easier for children in long-term foster care to be adopted by their foster family.

Adoption Authority chief executive Patricia Carey said it will mean children can now be considered equally in terms of their eligibility for adoption.

The fact they were adopted previously or born to married parents is no longer an automatic restriction.

"The best interests of the child are recognised as the most important consideration in any adoption application," she said.

"There is a detailed list of considerations in the amendment to be applied when judging the best interests of the child. These focus on how an adoption will likely affect the child and it also makes it clear that the child's own opinion is very important."

A distinction about a child being over or under seven years of age when being adopted has been removed. Now the only legal distinction about a child's age is that he or she still must be under 18 years of age.

Welcoming the triggering of the legislation, Geoffrey Shannon, chairman of the Adoption Authority (left), said it will ensure the voice of the child is heard in all adoption matters.

The vast majority of children adopted in Ireland come from abroad including China, Vietnam, India and the United States. An agreement has now been reached with Haiti.

The new law opens up the opportunity for more children in Ireland to be adopted and gives more young people in care a chance to be part of a family.
A daredevil runs out to the diving board at Salthill in Galway. An existing 1997 law makes it an offence to recklessly engage in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or harm to another person. Picture: PA

There have been growing demands for a crackdown on thrill-seekers who put the lives of emergency workers in danger during extreme weather events like Ophelia.

Fianna Fail has called for a "strong deterrent" against reckless behaviour of the kind seen on Monday where people were swimming and wind-surfing in high-seas whipped up by the hurricane force gusts.

Party leader Micheal Martin said it should be illegal to disobey the safety authorities' instructions under such circumstances.

Speaking in the Dail, Mr Martin said all parties should co-operate in bringing in legislation to prevent people taking undue risks against safety advice.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he shared the dismay of people at those who put emergency services personnel at risk by foolish actions.

Earlier, Minister Eoghan Murphy told Newstalk he was "furious" at the actions of people who went swimming. He said sanctions would be "worth looking at".

Dublin Fingal TD Darragh O'Brien told the Irish Independent he intends to draft a proposed law within six weeks aimed at posing a "strong deterrent" to those who engage in dangerous activities during extreme weather events.

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He said that some of the behaviour was "outrageously reckless" and that emergency services like the Coast Guard, RNLI and gardai must respond when people get into difficulty.

An existing 1997 law makes it an offence to recklessly engage in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or harm to another person. It allows for a fine of around 1,900 or 12 months in prison.

Meanwhile, broadcaster Joe Duffy hit out at those who ignored the weather warning on RTE's 'Liveline'. A woman rang into the show who went swimming in Sandycove and described the water as "balmy".

An angry Duffy responded: "I don't care if there was Radox in the water... there was a status red warning."
Tributes have been paid to three victims who lost their lives in Storm Ophelia related incidents: Fintan Goss, Michael Pyke and Clare ONeill

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurricane Ophelia Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

Cork was among the counties worst affected by Storm Ophelia (Picture: Mark Condren)

Elsa (7) and Tom (5) Dollard walk their dog on Centre Park Road in Cork after Hurricane Ophelia. Photo: Mark Condren

Insurance companies have been warned not to hike premiums to make up for the cost of multi-million euro claims due to Hurricane Ophelia.

It comes as insurers refused to rule out rising premium rates to fund claims.

Deputy chairman of the Consumers' Association Michael Kilcoyne said there was no justification for rises in the cost of home and business cover.

"There are a whole lot of years when there are very few claims from householders and businesses. People pay insurance for events like this.

"That day has now arrived, so consumers and businesses should not have to pay on the double," Mr Kilcoyne said.

He said the insurance industry had levied the cost of its losses on motor cover on to drivers.

Insurance Ireland said it was too early to assess whether premiums will rise after claims made on the back of the storm, but the organisation failed to rule out a rise.

Head of the insurance representative body Kevin Thompson insisted the industry had been able to cope with losses in the past and would be able to do so now.

"Insurance companies have been gearing up for this. They are prepared," he said.

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Mr Thompson said some of the losses would be covered by re-insurance arrangements that have been put in place by the industry.

He also denied homeowners and businesses would be blacklisted by not being able to get cover in future if they made a claim.

"There is no blacklisting in relation to insured events," Mr Thompson said on RTE's 'Morning Ireland'.

Insurance companies were accused of refusing to renew the cover of households and businesses hit by flooding in the north-east in August.

Experts have estimated the Ophelia claims at between 500m and 800m, according to analysts at Merrion Stockbrokers.

Even the lower figure would make it the most expensive weather event for insurers.

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Insurance Ireland said it would take a while before insurers would be in a position to start assessing damage and how much of that is likely to end up in claims costs.

"We won't know for a couple of weeks yet in terms of what the actual insured losses will be, until the claims start coming through.

"The industry has a good track record in being able to pay claims and sustain such losses," Mr Thompson said.

He said business insurance policies will cover storm damage to premises and stock, they will also cover business interruption if it has been triggered by storm damage.

"In relation to household insurance, household buildings and contents insurance policies will cover damage caused by storms and insurers will usually pay for costs of alternative accommodation if your home has become uninhabitable as a result of the storm," he said.

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Managing director of insurance brokerages InsureMyHouse.ie and CoverInAClick.ie Jonathan Hehir warned that premiums on home insurance, in particular, may rise if there is a high cost of claims.

"If there are a lot of claims that potentially could see premiums going up, especially on the household side," he said.

FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon said "while it is too soon to give an estimate of the ultimate net cost of the storm to FBD, unfortunately given its severity, we can be sure that a number of our customers are affected".
A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia.

A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia.

16/9/17 Gardai, the coastguard and the RNLI helicopter at Blackrock in Co Louth where windsurfers were surfing during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

Gardai, and Dundalk fire brigade attend the scene of an accident at Ravensdale outside Dundalk where a fallen tree struck a car during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

Spray splashes over a car at the Point in Westport, Co. Mayo as Storm Ophelia batters the country. Photo : Keith Heneghan / Phocus.

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurricane Opelia

Clare O'Neill who was killed in a car accident during storm Ophelia

Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk.

Michael Pyke, who was killed during storm Ophelia and Clare O'Neill who was killed in a car accident during storm Ophelia

Tributes have been paid to three victims who lost their lives in Storm Ophelia related incidents: Fintan Goss, Michael Pyke and Clare ONeill

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurricane Ophelia Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

Cork was among the counties worst affected by Storm Ophelia (Picture: Mark Condren)

A man walks in the Claddagh area of Galway. While the west did experience rainfall, it did not receive any more than would be typical on a very rainy day. Photo: Andrew Downes

'Storm Brian' could hamper efforts to restore power to 119,000 customers and water to 48,000, ESB revealed this morning.

As the clean up continues after historic Storm Ophelia battered the country on Monday, efforts are underway to restore services nationwide.

This morning, schools have re-opened and transport services have resumed.

Bernardine Maloney from ESB, told RTE that 119,000 customers remain without power.

"We're hoping to have 90 per cent of customers restored by Saturday. It's field by field, pole by pole, house by house. It is going to take a little bit longer but we will be working flat out until we have everyone solved."

Ms Maloney added that Storm Brian may have some impact on the work.

"We're getting updates from Met Eireann. I don't know what the wind speeds are going to be. It's possible that it could hamper our men and women out in the field that are doing the work. We need to be conscious that if it's unsafe levels of wind they won't be able to work in those conditions."

People without power can check when their power will be restored either on powercheck.ie or they can call 1850372999.

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The vast majority will have power reconnected within the next three days.

Defence Forces have two chainsaw teams deployed in the south of the country, as well as five vehicles in Galway to assist gardai.

The army are also bringing a tanker capable of holding 10,000 litres of water to Kilkenny.

Met Eireann told Independent.ie yesterday that a low depression is set to reach Ireland over the weekend.

The spell of bad weather, which would be called Storm Brian if it develops into a storm, is expected to hit Ireland or pass close by on late Friday and Saturday and a smaller bad spell of weather will cross Ireland on Thursday.

A status yellow weather warning has been issued for Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Louth, Wexford, Wicklow and Meath.

The warning is in place from Wednesday October 18 10:00 until Thursday October 19 at 23:59.

Met Eireann forecasts heavy rain with accumulations of between 30 and 50mm in some areas.

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Irish Water's Margaret Ashwood said that the organisation is working closely with ESB to try to help people get their water supply back.

She said: "Yesterday evening there would have 48,000 people still without water, this would have been reduced from peak at midday of 109,000.

"The number of customers at risk of running out of water would have been at a peak of 260,000 and this would have been reduced to about 56,000 yesterday evening.

"What we mean by at risk is that there is water in the reservoirs but as the reservoirs are emptying as power supply may not have been returned to these areas, so they are our next priority.

"We are working with ESB, we have prioritised our treatment plans based on the number of customers who have been impacted and also by water supply."

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She said that the worst affected areas were Kerry, Cork county, Waterford, Wexford and then more inland Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary.

She said that the priority now is installing power to the larger water schemes.

Ms Ashwood said that small schemes willl be connected to larger ones where possible and that tanker deliveries of water will be dispatched this morning.

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Eir spokesman Paul Bradley said that thousands are also without broadband, telephone and mobile services.

Mr Bradley said: "eir estimates that the number of customers without broadband, telephone and mobile service as a result of Storm Ophelia has reduced to 85,000."

"We expect the number of customers without service will continue to reduce today as power supply issues are resolved. However, the number of individual line fault reports will rise today and over the coming days. Given the overhead nature of our network in rural areas, the damage is extensive and repair work will take time.

"Approximately 1,200 staff will continue to work today to assess and repair network damage.

"Field technicians have, as a priority, attempted to make safe any dangerous poles or cables that have posed a public safety risk. There have been close to 400 reports of dangerous plant since Monday."

For more information please visit www.water.ie , powercheck.ie and www.eir.ie

Victims

The three victims were killed in separate counties following tragic incidents directly linked to the strongest storm to strike Ireland in more than 50 years.

The public's adherence to warnings to remain indoors is credited with preventing further loss of life during the storm.

Trees that were hundreds of years old slammed onto roadways while everyday objects became projectile missiles in the Hurricane force gusts.

The first fatality occurred at approximately 11.40am outside Aglish village, Co Waterford.

Clare ONeill (58) died after the car she was driving was struck by a tree. She was due to celebrate her 59th birthday on Tuesday October 17.

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Ms ONeills mother, who is in her 70s, was a passenger in the car and was injured during the incident and was transferred to Waterford Regional Hospital.

Her injuries have been described as non-life threatening.

Clare ONeill worked as an oncology nurse for over three decades and recently worked as Cancer Support Co-Ordinator with the Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

She was a very jolly woman, very helpful, local shopkeeper Richard Hurley said.

Its a big shock, its a miserable morning, a young woman like that (dying) in such a tragic accident.

The second tragic death caused by Ophelia occurred at around 12.30pm in Cahir, Co Tipperary.

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Local man Michael Pyke (31) was attempting to clear a fallen tree with a chainsaw when the tragedy occurred. Gardai believe that Mr Pyke was attempting to move the tree on the Cahir to Ardfinnan road, when another tree collapsed and struck him, resulting in him falling into the chainsaw.

Emergency services were called but Mr Pyke was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was later removed to Clonmel Hospital.

Meanwhile, at approximately 2.45pm a serious road traffic collision occurred in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk, Co Louth. Fintan Goss, who was aged in his 30s, was the driver of a vehicle when it was struck by a tree. It is believed the married father-of-two had been travelling home early from work due to the storm when tragedy struck.

Mr Goss lived in Ravensdale with his wife and children.

Expand Close Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk.

They were supporters of Fine Gael and last night the chairperson of Dundalk Municipal District, Cllr John McGahon (FG) said: This is an absolute tragedy. Fintan and the Goss family are extremely well regarded in the community.

He will be greatly missed by his friends, family and the local community in Ravensdale. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar extended his sympathies to the families of those killed.

President Michael D Higgins also extended his sympathies to the families who lost loved ones during hurricane Ophelia.

Speaking as he continued his State Visit of Australia President Higgins said; "My heart goes out those who have lost loved ones and what they must be suffering".

The President also acknowledged that the extent of the destruction the storm caused will continue to emerge today.

"Some people will have been badly affected by flooding, others will have to reconstruct houses," he said. "I hope that once again that people will come to gather in a spirit of cooperation."

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the "full resources of the state" will be deployed for the clean-up action.

"The full resources of the state will be deployed for the clean up operation. Crews from UK and Northern Ireland will be in to help," he told RTE.

This follows a call from British Prime Minister Teresa May yesterday when she offered the Taoiseach assistance in the recovery effort.

Mr Varadkar also urged continued continued caution today.

"We have had three tragic deaths but the most important thing is that no-one else else losses their life. There are still dangers even if the storm is gone.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next In Pictures: Hurricane Ophelia takes hold of Ireland Close As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes Spray splashes over a car ath the Point in Westport, Co. Mayo as Storm Ophelia batters the country. Photo : Keith Heneghan / Phocus. Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurrricane Opelia Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurrricane Opelia ..Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes Hurricane winds collapsed a stand at Turners Cross, Cork city during Storm Ophelia. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Fallen trees in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia. Damage to a fenced wall in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Walkers in Clontarf pictured this afternoon as Hurricane Ophelia hits the country. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien 16/10/2017 Poolbeg Lighthouse on the great South Wall during Hurricane Ophelia, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the height of the storm at the Spanish Arch and Claddagh area of Galway. Photo:Andrew Downes As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the height of the storm at the Spanish Arch and Claddagh area of Galway Photo:Andrew Downes Hurricane winds at the Apple campus, Hollyhill, Cork city during Storm Ophelia. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Damage to roofs in Hollyhill during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Fallen trees in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Advertising hoarding is ripped off during Storm Ophelia near Kent Station Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Advertising hoarding is ripped off during Storm Ophelia near Kent Station Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Provision 161017 Hurricane 'Ophelia'.... fallen tree Knocknaheeny, Cork City Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision 16-10-17 Storm scenes at Tramore Co. Waterford. Picture Dylan Vaughan 16/10/2017 Ophelia arriving in Galway. Quick walk on the prom ahead of the Hurricane . Photo:Andrew Downes 16/9/17 Gardai, the coastguard and the RNLI helicopter at Blackrock in Co Louth where windsurfers were surfing during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron Hurricane Ophelia hitting Fenit in County Kerry. Photo: Mark Condren Hurricane Ophelia hitting Fenit in County Kerry. Photo: Mark Condren Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia. Photo: Kyran O'Brien A woman carries her surfboard towards the rough sea in an area where the tide should be out on the eve of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough sea where the tide should be out on the eve of the arrival of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Surfers wait in the Atlantic on their surfboard for big waves to hit on the eve of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne The usually very Busy Clontarf road at 8.30 this morning . Photo: Kyran O'Brien The usually very Busy Clontarf road at 8.30 this morning . Photo: Kyran O'Brien Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia.Photo: Kyran O'Brien Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia. Photo: Kyran O'Brien A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne / Facebook

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Whatsapp As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes

Schools

Schools will reopen this morning, and school buses will be running, unless they have safety concerns, the Department of Education has confirmed.

The final decision on whether a school reopens will come down to whether there are any safety issues arising from Storm Ophelia.

In a statement yesterday, the Department said schools must ensure the safety of those in their care and give due consideration to this when making a decision to re-open.

The Department also advised that if a non-State owned school needs repairs it should, in the first instance, contact its insurance providers, before seeking any emergency funding from the State.

For any State-owned buildings, school authorities are free to apply for funding under the Department of Educations Emergency Works Scheme.

Education Minister Richard Bruton thanked principals, teachers, students and parents for their co-operation with safety measures over the past two days.

Health

Around 10,000 people whose hospital outpatient appointments were cancelled due to Hurricane Ophelia on Monday may have to wait weeks to get a re-scheduled date.

The cancellations, which were called for safety reasons to prevent public patients having to make journeys in hazardous conditions, could result in extra clinics being laid on in some cases to help clear the backlog, Damien McCallion, the HSE's national director of emergency management, said yesterday.

He said other patients who had appointments with mental health and other services will have to be re-scheduled.

Health services continued to face disruption yesterday, although all outpatient clinics went ahead.

Some waiting list patients awaiting planned surgery had their operations put back because of a lack of beds.

Hospitals were under pressure to free up beds that were occupied by patients who could not be discharged due to the storm.

Mr McCallion said some hospitals opened closed beds and this helped to relieve overcrowding in hospital A&E departments.

The emergency departments were busy in the afternoon as patients, who held off seeking medical care on Monday, attended services yesterday.

Ambulance services in some areas of the country faced difficulties due to fallen trees and road blockages caused by the storm. This led to delays in some cases.

Mr McCallion said homecare services were also disrupted and some patients who needed medical equipment that was powered by electricity had to be moved to community hospitals after electricity supplies were affected.

In the run up to the storm, home care and other staff had tried to visit as many people as possible who rely on home visits in counties which were on "red" alert.

Five hospitals were in areas that suffered electricity blackouts and had to revert to their generators.

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How did Ophelia affect you? Send your comments and pictures to contact@independent.ie. Remember to stay safe
Angus Bourke from Castlebar, Co. Mayo a member of Mayo Sailing Club preparaing his boat at Rosmoney, Westport, Co. Mayo before Storm Ophelia. Photo : Keith Heneghan / Phocus.

Pictured getting ready for hurricane Ophelia at Courtmacsherry Bay West Cork was Martin Galvin and his son Adam. Their seaside home at Lobster Cottage sits in Courtmacsherry Bay with County Cork expected to be among the worst effected counties. Picture Denis Boyle

A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A tree blocks the road at Killbritain Co Cork. Picture Denis Boyle

Walkers in Clontarf pictured this afternoon as Hurricane Ophelia hits the country..Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

16/10/2017 Ophelia arriving in Galway. Quick walk on the prom ahead of the Hurricane . Photo:Andrew Downes

A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia.

A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia.

A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia.

16/9/17 Gardai, the coastguard and the RNLI helicopter at Blackrock in Co Louth where windsurfers were surfing during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

A fallen tree struck at Thistle cross outside Dundalk during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

Gardai, and Dundalk fire brigade attend the scene of an accident at Ravensdale outside Dundalk where a fallen tree struck a car during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

Gardai, and Dundalk fire brigade attend the scene of an accident at Ravensdale outside Dundalk where a fallen tree struck a car during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurrricane Opelia

Spray splashes over a car at the Point in Westport, Co. Mayo as Storm Ophelia batters the country. Photo : Keith Heneghan / Phocus.

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurricane Opelia

Clare O'Neill who was killed in a car accident during storm Ophelia

Michael Pyke, who was killed during storm Ophelia

Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk.

Michael Pyke, who was killed during storm Ophelia and Clare O'Neill who was killed in a car accident during storm Ophelia

Tributes have been paid to three victims who lost their lives in Storm Ophelia related incidents: Fintan Goss, Michael Pyke and Clare ONeill

Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurricane Ophelia Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

A fallen tree blocks the R292 at Culleenamore, Strandhill, Co. Sligo. Photo: James Connolly

Cork was among the counties worst affected by Storm Ophelia (Picture: Mark Condren)

Ten of thousands of people are still without electricity or water following devastation caused by Storm Ophelia.

Irish Water has said there are 48,000 customers still without water following damage caused by the extreme weather.

Cork and Waterford are the worst affected counties.

The faults were generally as a result of power failures are treatment plants and pumping stations and burst pipes during the historic storm.

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However, it is feared that gale force winds this weekend will halt restoration efforts.

This morning, schools have re-opened and transport services have resumed.

Irish Water is currently co-coordinating up to 30 water tankers to affected areas , and in many places generators are keeping water plants in operation.

A further 23 generators on route to assist to restore supplies to 64,000 in the most impacted areas, particularly around the south of the country.

A number of wastewater treatment plants and a significant number of sewage pumping stations where power failure is resulting in discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater to receiving waters.

Around 30 wastewater treatment plants are also without power.

A crisis management team will stay in place at the utility until full service resumes.

Gerry Grant of Irish Water said he is "very hopeful" that progress will be made in fixing services - but they are largely dependent on ESB's ability to restore power.

Householders are being asked to conserve water until the issues have been resolved.

It comes as the ESB reported a number of "near misses" involving front-line staff who are trying to repair power lines.

The National Emergency Coordination Group heard crews had escape injuries from falling trees and live wires.

Derek Hynes of ESB appealed to he public to remain "vigilant, stay safe and stay clear".

Some 130,000 are still without power as ESB crews are prioritising water plants as repair work continues following Monday's extreme weather.

The utility is hoping to have power restored to those people still without power over the next three to four days.

Due to the devastation caused by fallen trees nationwide and because of the rural location of some of those affected it will take time to get services restored to those who still have no electricity she said.

Storm Ophelia caused the largest event ever faced by the utility with some 360,000 people left without power due to the storm which wreaked havoc across Ireland on Monday.

"We are hopeful that the majority of customers in the Northwest and Dublin will be restored tonight. We are also making significant progress in counties Kerry, Laois, Galway, Clare and Westmeath. The southwest counties of Cork and Kerry have had power restored to over 100,000 customers," the ESB said.

"We will have estimated restoration times for those customers who remain without power in the morning. ESB Networks will contact vulnerable customers without power this evening to provide updates on likely restoration times."

Transport

Luas Red and Green Lines have returned to passenger service ahead of schedule.

"Following a test of the track and technical systems tonight a decision was made to open service in advance of the publicised opening time Wednesday" the company said in a statement.

Meanwhile Met Eireann's Evelyn Cusack has indicated that another, much weaker storm named Brian could hit at the weekend.

She said there is a "huge question" over whether it will impact on Ireland but suggested that even if it does there is no concern that it will be anything like Ophelia.

Ms Cusack said that at present there are plans to issue a fresh weather warning.

Impact

An estimated 110,000 people are without communication services following unprecedented Storm Ophelia.

It is also feared that more customers will lose their broadband, telephone and mobile services today.

They said the storm caused unprecedented and widespread levels of damage to eirs infrastructure, including damage to poles and cables. They marked the southwest and the midlands as the worst affected areas, in particular Cork County.

Current fault levels for specific counties include:

CORK 51,000

WEXFORD 10,000

LIMERICK 9,000

TIPPERARY 9,000

GALWAY 6,000

KILDARE 3,000

KILKENNY 2,000

KERRY 2,000

WATERFORD 2,000

WICKLOW 2,000

The national clean-up bill is expected to run into the tens of millions.

Dangers

Following a National Emergency Coordination Group, its chairman Sean Hogan said: "There will be dangers even after the wind has passed.

"Unfortunately this storm has left tragedy in its wake and we extend our sympathies to these families."

He said the "next stage is now underway" and clean up crews are already on the ground in parts of the country.

Mr Hogan said the decision to effectively close down the country for the day by issuing a red alert weather warning was taken "based on the best scientific advice".

He said Met Eireann has entered "unchartered territory" but the emergency group was in no doubt that it was the correct decision.

"People should not take any risks over the coming days," Mr Hynes said, adding there are 5,000 individual faults.

The HSE have warned patients to expect "some disruption" this week as they deal with a backlog of cases. Some elective surgeries have cancelled on Tuesday.

Brendan Lawlor of the HSE asked that people only visit hospital emergency departments and GPS "if it is really necessary".

Victims

The three victims were killed in separate counties following tragic incidents directly linked to the strongest storm to strike Ireland in more than 50 years.

The public's adherence to warnings to remain indoors is credited with preventing further loss of life during the storm.

Trees that were hundreds of years old slammed onto roadways while everyday objects became projectile missiles in the Hurricane force gusts.

The first fatality occurred at approximately 11.40am outside Aglish village, Co Waterford.

Clare ONeill (58) died after the car she was driving was struck by a tree. She was due to celebrate her 59th birthday on Tuesday October 17.

Expand Close Clare O'Neill who was killed in a car accident during storm Ophelia / Facebook

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Ms ONeills mother, who is in her 70s, was a passenger in the car and was injured during the incident and was transferred to Waterford Regional Hospital.

Her injuries have been described as non-life threatening.

Clare ONeill worked as an oncology nurse for over three decades and recently worked as Cancer Support Co-Ordinator with the Cork ARC Cancer Support House.

She was a very jolly woman, very helpful, local shopkeeper Richard Hurley said.

Its a big shock, its a miserable morning, a young woman like that (dying) in such a tragic accident.

The second tragic death caused by Ophelia occurred at around 12.30pm in Cahir, Co Tipperary.

Expand Close Michael Pyke, who was killed during storm Ophelia / Facebook

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Local man Michael Pyke (31) was attempting to clear a fallen tree with a chainsaw when the tragedy occurred. Gardai believe that Mr Pyke was attempting to move the tree on the Cahir to Ardfinnan road, when another tree collapsed and struck him.

Emergency services were called but Mr Pyke was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was later removed to Clonmel Hospital.

Meanwhile, at approximately 2.45pm a serious road traffic collision occurred in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk, Co Louth. Fintan Goss, who was aged in his 30s, was the driver of a vehicle when it was struck by a tree. It is believed the married father-of-two had been travelling home early from work due to the storm when tragedy struck.

Mr Goss lived in Ravensdale with his wife and children.

Expand Close Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Fintan Goss has been named locally as the man who died when a tree hit his car earlier in the Ravensdale area of Dundalk.

They were supporters of Fine Gael and last night the chairperson of Dundalk Municipal District, Cllr John McGahon (FG) said: This is an absolute tragedy. Fintan and the Goss family are extremely well regarded in the community.

He will be greatly missed by his friends, family and the local community in Ravensdale. Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar extended his sympathies to the families of those killed.

President Michael D Higgins also extended his sympathies to the families who lost loved ones during hurricane Ophelia.

Speaking as he continued his State Visit of Australia President Higgins said; "My heart goes out those who have lost loved ones and what they must be suffering".

The President also acknowledged that the extent of the destruction the storm caused will continue to emerge today.

"Some people will have been badly affected by flooding, others will have to reconstruct houses," he said. "I hope that once again that people will come to gather in a spirit of cooperation."

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that the "full resources of the state" will be deployed for the clean-up action.

"The full resources of the state will be deployed for the clean up operation. Crews from UK and Northern Ireland will be in to help," he told RTE.

This follows a call from British Prime Minister Teresa May yesterday when she offered the Taoiseach assistance in the recovery effort.

Mr Varadkar also urged continued continued caution today.

"We have had three tragic deaths but the most important thing is that no-one else else losses their life. There are still dangers even if the storm is gone.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next In Pictures: Hurricane Ophelia takes hold of Ireland Close As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes Spray splashes over a car ath the Point in Westport, Co. Mayo as Storm Ophelia batters the country. Photo : Keith Heneghan / Phocus. Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurrricane Opelia Locals cut up and clear a fallen tree which had been blocking the road for most of the day on the Leixlip Road, near the Salmon Leap Inn this evening after Hurrricane Opelia ..Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes Hurricane winds collapsed a stand at Turners Cross, Cork city during Storm Ophelia. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Fallen trees in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision A fallen tree on Northbrook Road, Ranelagh, which was blown over during Storm Ophelia. Damage to a fenced wall in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Walkers in Clontarf pictured this afternoon as Hurricane Ophelia hits the country. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien 16/10/2017 Poolbeg Lighthouse on the great South Wall during Hurricane Ophelia, Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien Fallen tree near the Back of Dublin Airport at Knocksedan Photo: Kyran O'Brien As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the height of the storm at the Spanish Arch and Claddagh area of Galway. Photo:Andrew Downes As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the height of the storm at the Spanish Arch and Claddagh area of Galway Photo:Andrew Downes Hurricane winds at the Apple campus, Hollyhill, Cork city during Storm Ophelia. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Damage to roofs in Hollyhill during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Fallen trees in Farranree during Storm Ophelia Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Advertising hoarding is ripped off during Storm Ophelia near Kent Station Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Advertising hoarding is ripped off during Storm Ophelia near Kent Station Cork city. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision Provision 161017 Hurricane 'Ophelia'.... fallen tree Knocknaheeny, Cork City Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision 16-10-17 Storm scenes at Tramore Co. Waterford. Picture Dylan Vaughan 16/10/2017 Ophelia arriving in Galway. Quick walk on the prom ahead of the Hurricane . Photo:Andrew Downes 16/9/17 Gardai, the coastguard and the RNLI helicopter at Blackrock in Co Louth where windsurfers were surfing during storm Ophelia. Picture: Arthur Carron Hurricane Ophelia hitting Fenit in County Kerry. Photo: Mark Condren Hurricane Ophelia hitting Fenit in County Kerry. Photo: Mark Condren Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia. Photo: Kyran O'Brien A woman carries her surfboard towards the rough sea in an area where the tide should be out on the eve of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough sea where the tide should be out on the eve of the arrival of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Surfers wait in the Atlantic on their surfboard for big waves to hit on the eve of storm Ophelia in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne The usually very Busy Clontarf road at 8.30 this morning . Photo: Kyran O'Brien The usually very Busy Clontarf road at 8.30 this morning . Photo: Kyran O'Brien Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia.Photo: Kyran O'Brien Sandbags at the ready in Clontarf this morning for Storm Ophelia. Photo: Kyran O'Brien A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne A surfer is seen on rough water in the Atlantic on the eve of storm Ophelia in an area where the tide should be out in the County Clare town of Lahinch, Ireland October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne / Facebook

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Whatsapp As Hurricane Ophelia continues in Galway people taking video of themselves out in the Height of the storm at the Spanish arch and Claddgh area of Galway . Photo:Andrew Downes

Schools

Schools will reopen this morning, and school buses will be running, unless they have safety concerns, the Department of Education has confirmed.

The final decision on whether a school reopens will come down to whether there are any safety issues arising from Storm Ophelia.

In a statement yesterday, the Department said schools must ensure the safety of those in their care and give due consideration to this when making a decision to re-open.

The Department also advised that if a non-State owned school needs repairs it should, in the first instance, contact its insurance providers, before seeking any emergency funding from the State.

For any State-owned buildings, school authorities are free to apply for funding under the Department of Educations Emergency Works Scheme.

Education Minister Richard Bruton thanked principals, teachers, students and parents for their co-operation with safety measures over the past two days.

Health

Around 10,000 people whose hospital outpatient appointments were cancelled due to Hurricane Ophelia on Monday may have to wait weeks to get a re-scheduled date.

The cancellations, which were called for safety reasons to prevent public patients having to make journeys in hazardous conditions, could result in extra clinics being laid on in some cases to help clear the backlog, Damien McCallion, the HSE's national director of emergency management, said yesterday.

He said other patients who had appointments with mental health and other services will have to be re-scheduled.

Health services continued to face disruption yesterday, although all outpatient clinics went ahead.

Some waiting list patients awaiting planned surgery had their operations put back because of a lack of beds.

Hospitals were under pressure to free up beds that were occupied by patients who could not be discharged due to the storm.

Mr McCallion said some hospitals opened closed beds and this helped to relieve overcrowding in hospital A&E departments.

The emergency departments were busy in the afternoon as patients, who held off seeking medical care on Monday, attended services yesterday.

Ambulance services in some areas of the country faced difficulties due to fallen trees and road blockages caused by the storm. This led to delays in some cases.

Mr McCallion said homecare services were also disrupted and some patients who needed medical equipment that was powered by electricity had to be moved to community hospitals after electricity supplies were affected.

In the run up to the storm, home care and other staff had tried to visit as many people as possible who rely on home visits in counties which were on "red" alert.

Five hospitals were in areas that suffered electricity blackouts and had to revert to their generators.

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How did Ophelia affect you? Send your comments and pictures to contact@independent.ie. Remember to stay safe
ESB workers restoring power to a farm in Glamire, Cork after Hurricane Ophelia Pic:Mark Condren

Wet and windy weather predicted for the weekend will hamper efforts to restore electricity to the whole country  but wont stop work.

Around 105,000 homes and businesses are still without power and ESB Networks head of consumer services Senan Colleran has warned it could be next week before full service is back.

Met Eireann have activated a yellow weather warning for the next few days due to the potential for wind gusts of up to 110km/h, especially in coastal counties.

The National Emergency Coordination Group today reviewed the impact of the unsettled weather but concluded it will not be anything exceptional.

We dont have any serious concerns, NECG chairman Sean Hogan said.

In their latest update the Group confirmed that 105,000 homes and business are still without power, down from 385,000 at the height of the storm.

However, the rate of repair is likely to slow as technicians move to more rural areas and Mr Colleran said there is a huge task ahead.

The big gains have been made in the last few days but were now on a bigger slog, he said.

Asked about the incoming weather system, he replied: Our staff will work in those conditions but it will slow down the work.

More than 250 experts are arriving in the country from Northern Ireland, Britain and France to help the 2,500 ESB workers and 1,000 contractors already on the ground.

Power has been restored to all hospitals but people have been urged to check on neighbours who are elderly or infirm.

And Mr Colleran said: The public safety risk hasnt gone away.

He urged people, particularly farmers, not to remove fallen trees if there is any potential there could be damaged electrical wires in the area.

Irish Water has also reported excellent progress in restoring supply to large parts of the country hit by Hurricane Ophelia.

At its peak there were 109,000 premises without water, but this figure has dropped to 25,000. Another 20,000 homes remain at risk of losing water.

A number of boil notices have been issued, particularly in Tipperary.

Around 50 waste water plants are not operating at full capacity. The counties worst affected are Cork, Waterford and Wexford.

Meanwhile, eir estimates that the number of customers without broadband, telephone and mobile service as a result of the storm has reduced to 60,000.

"There are over 1,000 different locations across the country where we have sustained network damage. The scale of the damage ranges from a single pole, up to 18 poles and two kilometres of cables along one section of road," the company said in a statement.

"We expect the number of customers without service will continue to reduce as power supply issues are resolved. However, the number of individual line faults reported to us will rise over the coming days."

The southern half of the country continues to be the worst affected area.
Almost 137,000 households and businesses are without power, another 48,000 have no water and 150,000 have no broadband or telephone service as emergency crews battle to restore basic services in the wake of Ophelia.

Some 2,500 ESB staff are on the ground, supported by 1,000 contractors from Northern Ireland with more due from Scotland, England and Wales, to restore power and make the network safe across 5,500 locations with supply returning to some 170,000 customers since the storm hit on Monday.

The National Emergency Co-Ordination Group on Severe Weather said that while all customers will receive an estimated time for the restoration of their supply by today, it could be early next week before it is restored to homeowners in parts of Cork, Tipperary and Kerry, which were the worst affected.

Some 114,000 of the total affected are in Cork and Kerry, with most damage caused by trees and timber falling onto power lines.

Irish Water said it was working to restore water and secure supply for customers. Some 69,000 households had no supply at tea-time yesterday, however, by last night this had fallen to 48,000.

Loss of power to treatment plants and pumping stations, coupled with pipeline bursts and damage to facilities, has resulted in major affects across the network, particularly in the south. Some 100,000 remain at risk of losing supply, because stored supplies are running out.

"ESB Networks has been working on several of these schemes and we are confident that these numbers will be significantly reduced in the coming hours," Irish Water said. "In many other schemes, generators are maintaining power supply pending full restoration of mains service."

Some 16 generators have been put in place at drinking water plants, with 23 more being deployed which will help restore supply. Water tankers are also being deployed, but pollution risks have emerged.

"We have a number of wastewater treatment plants and a significant number of sewage pumping stations where power failure is resulting in discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater to receiving waters.

"As with drinking water, the number of installations affected is being reduced as power supplies are restored.

"We currently estimate that approximately 30 wastewater treatment plants are without power nationally.

"Our focus now is to get these plants fully operational as soon as possible."

More than 3,000 local authority staff remain on the ground assisting in clean-up efforts. Eir said that 150,000 customers had no service. Of these, 51,000 are in Cork.

It has 1,200 staff working on repairs.
A US tourist won an incredible 250,000 on a scratch card after his flight home was grounded due to Storm Ophelia.

Incredibly the retired public affairs professional (60s) also won 200 the previous day, while another US citizen scooped 100,000.

The first winner explained that after he fell in love with Ireland in 2000 and he has visited here eleven times since.

As historic Storm Ophelia battered Ireland this week, the winner, who wants to remain anonymous, saw his flight back to the US cancelled.

In lucky a twist of fate he decided to buy scratch cards in Daybreak on Lahinch's Main Street in Co Clare.

As he collected his new fortune at the National Lottery's Dublin headquarters yesterday, he said: "I couldnt believe my luck winning 200 and I thought, Im not going to bring this home with me so I brought my friend Jimmy and his family out to dinner as it was supposed to be my last day in Ireland before I went home.

"Just before dinner I went into the same Daybreak and got another scratch card, scratched it and just couldnt believe my eyes.

"I kept checking and checking it and after dinner I asked Jimmy to take a look and sure enough when I called the National Lottery they confirmed that I had won 250,000. I still cannot believe it!"

His friend Jimmy Clancy said he is over the moon, saying: "I am delighted for him. No better guy to deserve this windfall.

"He is someone who just loves this country  the music, the people, and the culture. I look forward to getting the call from him to say he is coming over for a stay."

The winner joked that he won't have any reason not to come back soon as he is a quarter of a million euro richer.

He said: "Its not as if I cannot afford it!"

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A South Carolina (70s) woman is 100,000 better off after she struck it lucky on a scratch card.

The punter - who has dual Irish-US citizenship bought her 100,000 Diamonds scratch card in the Post Office at the Rise in Mount Merrion, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

The woman, who is originally from Dublin, said: There really is no place like home and now we are retired it is fantastic that we can come back every year for a few weeks.

"We are over for five weeks this time  this time for a family wedding so it is great that we can celebrate this with the family before we return to South Carolina."

Tonight's Lotto jackpot is worth am estimated 6.5 million, play in-store, online or through the National Lotter App by 7.45pm
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed they are aware of the case

An Irishman has died tragically in the Maldives.

Independent.ie understands that the man got into difficulty while swimming.

It is believed he was holidaying on the Indian Ocean island when tragedy struck on Wednesday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that they are aware of the case and are providing consular assistance to the deceased man's family.

There is no resident embassy in the country but citizens may contact the Irish embassy in New Dehli.

More to follow...
A mandatory ban for drink driving has moved a step closer after receiving the backing of Fine Gael politicians.

There had been concerns within the party that some TDs and senators based in rural Ireland would seek a free vote on the bill, which is being spearheaded by Transport Minister Shane Ross.

But at a meeting of the parliamentary party this evening, Fine Gael members accepted a request from Taoiseach and party leader Leo Varadkar to back the measures.

The legislation itself will see the introduction of a three-month mandatory ban for drivers found to have reached an alcohol limit of between 50-80mg per 100ml.

The Cabinet backed the bill earlier this year - despite a number of Fine Gael ministers voicing concerns that the proposals will negatively impact rural communities.

At the final parliamentary party meeting before the summer recess, Mr Varadkar whipped his junior ministers into backing the bill and said the matter would be discussed again in September.

And tonight, he again spoke in favour of the bill and asked that it be supported.

At a meeting of the parliamentary party this evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke of the merits and asked that the bill be supported.

While Mr Varadkar did not issue a diktat to his members, nobody present called for a free vote when the bill comes before the Dail.

There were a number of concerns expressed that the measures could lead to rural isolation and decline.

It was also stated at the meeting that Mr Ross should be encouraged to visit parts of rural Ireland to experience first hand issues of rural decline.

Party chairman Martin Heydon will release a statement this evening which will say that the party is anxious that measures to address such as rural isolation and local transport be addressed.

Fianna Fail has said it will oppose the bill because it goes over the top.

The main opposition party instead wants to see an increase in the number of penalty points, as well as the size of the fine, levied on offenders.

Independent Alliance TD Sean Canney is also set to vote against.

But with the support of Sinn Fein and Fine Gael, the measures are expected to pass the Dail.

However, a number of amendments have been laid down which could alter the end product.
Leo Varadkar's controversial new 'spin unit' swung into action for the first tangible time during Storm Ophelia Picture: Frank McGrath

Across the country, families were hunkered down waiting to see what Ophelia would bring. Schools were marked off-limits and shops pulled down their shutters.

For many, it was the most unusual of 'down days' at home with the children, or the latest Netflix series. But in a small room in Dublin city centre, Ireland's 'Emergency Brains Trust' was gathered.

It was Thursday when a message first came from Met Eireann to the Department of Housing, warning that a major storm was brewing on the Atlantic horizon.

Such warnings are uncommon but rarely create panic among officials in the section of Minister Eoghan Murphy's department that focuses on Fire and Emergency Management.

"This was different though. At that stage, Met Eireann weren't entirely sure what was coming but they knew it was trouble," a source said.

By Friday, Mr Murphy had summoned the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) which brings together Government departments, emergency responders, the OPW, Defence Forces, ESB, Irish Water and other agencies that might have something to offer.

They met several times on Saturday in what was Ireland's version of Trump's 'situation room' - an unglamorous, overcrowded boardroom nerve centre located a short distance from Leinster House.

The key players, flanked by advisors, sat at a rectangular table built around two flatscreen TVs.

Met Eireann's Evelyn Cusack was in the spotlight. Her audience were not weather experts so she repeatedly walked them through "modelling and mapping" until everybody was clear on the threat level.

Based on her advice, a selection of counties were put on 'Red Alert' - but by lunchtime on Sunday "things were getting even more serious".

A sub-base was set up in Cork to co-ordinate the plan for the city, county and Kerry. Officials phoned in from there during the Sunday afternoon meeting.

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"There was a sense that we were heading for something unprecedented. Watching the images of the eye heading for the south coast was like something out of the movies," said one insider.

At 1pm, a decision was taken to "go red". Eoghan Murphy began phoning Opposition parties to brief them on the news and the media were told that "all unnecessary travel should be avoided on Monday".

Social media sneered at the idea of workers hiding under their duvets for the day.

As a result, Leo Varadkar's controversial new 'spin unit' swung into action for the first tangible time. John Concannon, the head of the Strategic Communications Unit, began calling newspaper editors.

He flagged a national emergency and asked them to take the situation seriously. It was largely unnoticed in the Dail yesterday but Mr Varadkar made a point of thanking the media for their assistance in "getting messages out".

"The front-page headlines on the newspapers on Monday morning were also very helpful. I do not think anyone who saw the front pages of the major newspapers on Monday morning could be in any doubt as to how serious the storm was," he said.

The Taoiseach, along with Mr Murphy and ministers Paul Kehoe, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran and Damien English, was at the NECG meeting on Monday morning as real-time reports rolled in from the south coast. In meteorological language, Ophelia had been downgraded from a hurricane, but when a 191kmh gust was recorded at Fastnet Rock nobody was worried about the technicalities.

'We were sitting there saying, 'S***, this is even worse than we thought'," said one key player.

Particular concern was expressed that the Tetra mobile radio network which is used by emergency services and county councils could be knocked out.

A press conference was called for 10.40am in which Mr Varadkar urged people who had already travelled to work to "stay where they are".

There were some complaints afterwards that the briefing didn't have anybody to relay the message in sign language. An interpreter was drafted in for subsequent briefings.

Very few members of the group left the building throughout the day. The Defence Forces delivered food from Cathal Brugha Barracks, a choice of chicken curry or sweet and sour beef.

As the storm moved north, a 20-minute debate took place on whether to close schools for a second day because of the storm.

Ultimately, it was the decision of the Department of Education, which was represented by Secretary General Sean O Foghlu, but NECG chair Sean Hogan went around the table seeking opinions.

There was no real dissent. The logic was that if they were still telling people to stay indoors, they couldn't feasibly ask principals to check on schools just as darkness was coming in.

When the NECG gathered yesterday, sympathy was expressed to the families of Clare O'Neill, Michael Pyke and Fintan Goss.

But there was also relief that Ophelia hadn't stolen more lives.

With calm restored, Mr Hogan "deplored" people who put the lives of rescue workers at risk by ignoring all the warnings.

And the Government is to better define what action people should take in the event of another red alert. All sides hope it won't be any time soon.
The minority Coalition is preparing to just shrug off another embarrassing defeat in a Dail vote and carry on.

Fianna Fail welfare spokesman Willie O'Dea will tonight table a motion condemning pension rules that reduce the entitlements of workers, especially affecting women who took time out of the workforce. The move will have the backing of most other parties, including Sinn Fein, which had already campaigned against the measure.

Last night, it was accepted that the Government does not have the numbers to oppose the motion that calls for the restoration of full pension entitlement to some 35,000 women who are paid a lower rate. Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty's counter-motion, which proposes dealing with the problem via broader, longer-term pensions reforms, will lose.

Announcing Sinn Fein backing for the Fianna Fail move, Mary Lou McDonald said her party got no such backing late last year for a similar measure. She said Fianna Fail's change of heart had more to do with publicity opportunities in the wake of its Ard Fheis last weekend.

"There's more brass neck in the Fianna Fail leadership than in the ranks of a marching band," Ms McDonald said.

Replying to Ms McDonald, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar defended comments on the issue by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. Mr Varadkar said the minister's use of the words "bonkers and unbelievable" referred to rules in force up to 1973 obliging women to quit public service jobs once they married.

The Taoiseach said he had received no lobbying from Fianna Fail on the issue during preparations for last week's Budget. He said that the issue is complex and required a broader pensions reform because trying to fix one problem risked creating other anomalies.

"It must be done comprehensively. It cannot be done in isolation," the Taoiseach argued.

The pensions rule change was made by then-minister for social protection Joan Burton back in 2012. It had the effect of averaging the number of pension contributions over an entire working lifetime.

In practice it meant people who worked in holiday jobs or as part-timers, decades previously, found themselves losing out. It also hit women who opted for years out of work as mothers and people who took time out to be carers for a sick relative.

Mr Varadkar said any remedy must address the cost of increased pensions and back payments. The cost is estimated at 70m in 2018, rising by 10m a year in future.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned banks guilty of wrongly depriving customers of tracker mortgages to resolve the bulk of outstanding cases before the end of this year.

Speaking in the Dail Mr Varadkar described the banks behaviour as scandalous and he warned that the Government is losing patience with the banks on the issue.

He said the Finance Minister, Paschal Donohoe, is meeting with the heads of the main banks on the issue next week. The Minister is also meeting with the Central Bank to see if they have all the powers they need to resolve the problems.

Its very much in the interest of the banks, their shareholders and staff to fix this problem, and fix it quickly, the Taoiseach said.

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The Taoiseach was replying to Labour leader, Brendan Howlin, who said the Central Bank had been investigating this issue for two years.

Mr Howlin said the delays were unacceptable as people had suffered financial loss and great human suffering. He called on the Central Bank to name two banks which had behaved especially badly.

The Dail debate follows details of an update by the Central Bank on failures by the banks to restore borrowers to tracker mortgages and compensate them.

The update revealed that up to 100 families lost homes because of banks failures.

The Taoiseach said the Government expected the bulk of cases to be dealt with and resolved by the end of this year.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made his comments in the Dail on Wednesday

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said comments made by US president Donald Trump about Ireland's corporate tax rate were "fake news".

The US president told reporters in the White House this week: "I hear that Ireland is going to be reducing their corporate rates down to 8pc from 12pc".

However, Mr Varadkar poured cold water on this suggestion in the Dail this afternoon.

"I can confirm that President Trump's claim that we are proposing to reduce our corporation profit tax to 8pc is indeed fake news. There is no such plan to do so," Mr Varadkar told the Dail.

Ireland's corporate tax rate, of 12.5pc, has proved of great interest to Trump who has committed to attracting American companies back to the US.

He has previously commented on Ireland's low tax rate in his first major tax reform where Ireland was named among a list of countries with a low corporate tax rate including France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

During his speech the former reality star said the US had "massive trade deficits" with these countries, but that his administration was going to "fix that".

He said cutting corporate tax is essential for the US to regain its competitive edge.

Meanwhile, the Irish government reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to retaining a 12.5pc corporate tax rate as a "core part of our offering" in Budget 2018.
A TD has apologised in the Dail for incorrectly linking the tragic death of a young member of the Defence Forces to his mental health.

Fianna Fails Lisa Chambers today said she was deeply sorry for any hurt I caused.

In July the first-time deputy became emotional while speaking about the death of a 21-year-old man.

She said Ben Garrett from Castlebar, who was a close friend of her brother and sister, took his own life.

Ben gave off the impression of confidence, happiness and things going very well. Clearly, underneath he was in a lot of trouble.

If only we had taken more time to talk about it. If only there was not such stigma attached and it was more okay to talk about mental health, she said at the time.

However, during a short address to the Dail today, Ms Chambers said: When I made a statement on the issue of mental health I spoke about a young man Ben Garrett and my facts were incorrect.

Ben tragically died by drowning and I am deeply sorry for any hurt I caused Bens family.

She added: I have spoken to Mr and Mrs Garrett to apologise personally and I want to thank them for their kindness and understanding.

Private Garrett was stationed at Dun Ui Mhaoiliosa barracks in Renmore, Galway. He had been celebrating at Carbon nightclub in Galway on the night he disappeared in March 2016, having earlier marched in the Easter Sunday military parade in Dublin.

His body was recovered from the River Corrib after a search that lasted more than two weeks.
The actress Minka Kelly apologised for staying silent when she became one of the growing group of women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct via her Instagram account last week.

"I'm sorry for obliging his orders to be complicit in protecting his behaviour, which he obviously knew was wrong or he wouldn't have asked me not to tell anyone in the first place," she wrote.

Kelly's misplaced sense of responsibility will no doubt please those who believe that Weinstein's alleged victims should have spoken out sooner; yet it fundamentally neglects the real issue: when we focus on urging victims to come forward, we lose sight of the perpetrator's enablers, allies and, indeed, anyone who sighed, "Sure, that's just Harvey".

The designation of blame should be fairly cut and dry when dealing with someone who allegedly masturbated into a potted plant, but as we all know - in Ireland especially - systemic abuse of power is always veiled by a conspiracy of silence.

What we find difficult to accept, however, is that this conspiracy of silence doesn't just allow abuse to prevail; it allows it to happen in the first place. The complicit don't just turn a blind eye: they book hotel rooms and make 'you'll never work in this town again!' phone calls the next day.

I'm not a mental health professional yet I can't help but notice that Weinstein's alleged pattern of abuse bears all the hallmarks of the Sociopath-Empath-Apath triad, a fascinating theory put forward by the authors of The Empathy Trap, Dr Jane McGregor and Tim McGregor.

According to the authors, sociopaths tend to target soft-touch empathic types: people who don't want to cause offence; people who struggle to say no. Yet in order to do this, the sociopath relies on the 'apath': an individual or an organisation that is willing to overlook the abuse.

The apath is the person who keeps his head down as a colleague is unfairly managed out of the workplace, or the junior accountant who knows her company is cooking the books, but decides that the matter is above her pay grade.

In other words, apaths are everywhere.

Emma Thompson recently joined the maelstrom, speaking out about the system of "harassment, and belittling, and bullying, and interference" that is endemic to the film industry. It was a damning indictment but perhaps the real issue is that apathy is endemic to the industry, just as it is to any industry where power is systematically abused.

Minka Kelly wasn't content to just apologise for staying silent. She also apologised for "not insisting that my reps never allow anyone to take a meeting in a hotel room (with him or anyone else)".

The subtext of this statement is clear - her representation put her in a vulnerable position - but why is she not emphatically taking them to task? Of course it's important that more women come forward, but it's more important that the people who helped put these women in uncompromising positions are called out.

Dozens of Hollywood agents, no doubt hypnotised by the 10pc fee on a Weinstein salary, told their clients to meet a prospective employer in a hotel room.

It's easy to point the finger at the women who watched as a Do Not Disturb sign was placed on the door, but we ought to remember that the people who were paid to protect these women told them to take the lift to the 10th floor.

You could argue that they were oblivious to Weinstein's alleged pattern of sexual misconduct, but it's also worth remembering that Hollywood agents know about potential productions when scripts are still at the first draft stage. It is within a talent agent's interest to know everything - everything - that is happening within the Hollywood ecosystem.

If they knew about the rumours surrounding Weinstein - which seems very likely - they gave his alleged advances a facade of professionalism, just as his assistants helped to cultivate a non-threatening atmosphere.

According to most accounts, Weinstein was almost always accompanied by an assistant who was ordered to fade out of the scene just before the producer moved in.

Cara Delevingne alleges that Weinstein's assistant encouraged her to go to the producer's hotel room, where she was later asked to kiss another woman. "[Weinstein] then invited me to his room," she wrote in an account on Instagram. "I quickly declined and asked his assistant if my car was outside. She said it wasn't and wouldn't be for a bit and I should go to his room. At that moment I felt very powerless and scared."

There have been many accusations from Weinstein's former assistants, suggesting that they too were the victims of coercive control - and we all know that the abused can often become the abusers.

Nonetheless, we can't ignore the key role that they played and the Faustian pact that they signed. A conspiracy of silence speaks volumes about the people who stay quiet.

Those of a utopian point of view believe that the Weinstein controversy is the beginning of a paradigm shift in Hollywood, but look a little closer and you'll see that we've been here before.

As scores of badge-wearing, virtue-signalling A-listers condemn the producer's actions and donate their salaries to Justice for Potted Plants and the likes, the rotting roots of apathy-fuelled systemic abuse continue to twist and warp.

The word 'complicit' has been bandied about in the ongoing allegations and, as always, the victims are the first to accept responsibility. But are these women truly complicit when they faced a culture that told them that Weinstein and those of his ilk were beyond recrimination?

More to the point, are Weinstein's enablers - the 'apaths' if you will - complicit, or are they in fact culpable?
Aidan Timmons and Motoring Editor Eddie Cunningham team up to help readers make the right choice with their next car. Aidan visits dealers all over the country to produce a monthly guidebook on the values of used cars. He is co-editor of Motor Trade Publishers, who supply a car-valuing service to the motor trade, insurance companies and finance houses. Eddie is author of former best-seller 'Clever Car Buying'

We are in a bit of a pickle over which vehicle to buy: a KIA Sportage, Hyundai Tucson or Toyota RAV4. We have taken a liking to the Sportage; we like the two-tone seating to get away from drab black, and the fact front and back seats are heated. But which is best to eliminate road noise; our 2008 RAV 4 is quite noisy (low mileage, great condition)? We thought there would be better straight deals on them coming so near the end of the year, but they're not budging very much.

Aidan: It's an almost impossible question. There are too many variables in determining road noise. Sure, decibel tests can be carried out, but real-world experiences can differ. For instance, consider the condition of the roads you travel, your perception of noise, the size of the wheels and the quality of the tyres. Believe it or not, sometimes the problem with road noise is exacerbated by tyres. There is even a decibel rating on tyres, so rather than simply buying the cheapest ones, it is advisable that everybody reads the headline figures of the tyres to check how loud they are and if grip in wet conditions is compromised over a premium brand tyre.

The amount of sound-proofing used in the car is a huge determining factor in the amount of road noise, too.

You like the Sportage, so take it for a spin on the route that you usually travel. Only then will you know for sure.

Eddie: If you don't buy the Sportage, you'll always wonder why. Don't worry too much about road noise. Most of it is generated by tyres, so concentrate on the sort you want, or wish, to have in your car. I also think you'll notice a pick-up in deals from here on in now the Budget is out of the way and January order books are being looked at. Sportage with quiet tyres it is.

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WE love getting your enquiries and try to reply to as many as possible here or via email. The ones dealt with here often represent a cross section of individual questions. You can help us help you with our free, independent, advice by including the following in your queries:

Budget (including trade-in).

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It was a blind date with a difference. All the windows of the Mercedes E-Class were completely blotted out. Not a pin-prick of vision. I relied entirely on cameras and sensors to get me around. I crawled and sweated, but I negotiated a tight test slot (short turns, reversing, parking) without a glitch.

I was a little disorientated. I looked over my shoulder (waste of time) on occasion. This is future driving; safer driving, better-visibility driving.

And behind this Mondello Park demonstration was Continental. I know you think 'tyres' when you hear the name, but that only accounts for 26pc of business (still 150m tyres a year). Chassis, powertrains, interiors, technology are other key divisions.

Core elements of my blind-date Merc were Continental (scroll-n-click rotary command area, double display screen and much more).

My Merc 'drive' was designed to show how future cars will rely on such technology and how helpful it will be in poor visibility - as well as underlining how important it is not to be distracted by phones etc.

I gave that Continental, sorry Mercedes, screen my full attention, I assure you.

And I sat in another Merc while the driver got out and parked the car remotely - with me in it. Strange feeling.

Next step, soon unveiled, will be the car learning the route into your drive, garage and parking itself.

And so from the future to the present and the everlasting debate over tyres. Look, it's simple. You mostly get what you pay for; lots of us pay for cheap ones and risk accident and injury.

I drove, braked and swerved on both cheap and quality (yes Continental) tyres. There were big differences in road holding and stopping distance. I'm talking many metres shorter in the wet on decent tyres. The difference between life and death. Yes, I've written that line a million times, but it is only when you see the difference in real life that you realise it.

I'm told some people like yourself and myself got a chance to try out the different tyres around Mondello at the weekend and were amazed. I'm not surprised.

Finally, I think, after a short stint, that 3mm tread depth gives a more secure grip than the 1.6mm minimum legal requirement, especially in the rain - contrary to what Michelin argues.

Something tells me there will be an eyes-wide-open date for more tests on that front.
The Aurora Borealis on the morning of June 23, 2015 over O'Brien's Castle on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands. Photo: Cormac Coyne

Our travel editor shares his tips on how to see the Northern Lights this winter.

I'll never forget the first time I saw the Northern Lights.

It was early evening, in a snow-dusted Reykjavik. I was walking to my hotel, cribbing about the cost of things, when I looked up.

The sky wasn't clear. But it was clear enough to see a spectral wave of green, billowing like a shawl overhead. That was the moment I understood that Iceland was a once-in-a-lifetime destination. The hook was in me.

Expand Close The Aurora Borealis on the morning of June 23, 2015 over O'Brien's Castle on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands. Photo: Cormac Coyne / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Aurora Borealis on the morning of June 23, 2015 over O'Brien's Castle on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands. Photo: Cormac Coyne

The aurora borealis are generated when electrically-charged solar particles collide with the earth's atmosphere. Aurora activity is cyclical, peaking roughly every 11 years - we've really been spoiled these past few winters, seeing the lights as far south as Inishowen, and even Inis Oirr (above).

But the cycle is now set to wane again, with spectacular events the exception rather than the rule - this winter could be a last chance saloon for sightings.

Top tips

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The best time to see the aurora is late October through March, with hours of darkness increasing the further north you travel.

The best place is typically above 65-degrees latitude, where the skies are clear, and there's an uninterrupted view of the northern horizon - Norway, Iceland and Finland, for example. Or further afield, in Canada or Alaska.

Remember, full moons and city lights can obscure the aurora, and sightings are never guaranteed - so try to manage your expectations.

Travelling for longer, and to several destinations, increases your chances.

Here in Ireland, you can also sign up for the Astronomy Ireland newsletter (astronomy.ie) to get aurora alerts. Happy hunting!

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Project Travel has direct flights from Dublin, two nights in Tromso and a three-night, full-board Hurtigruten cruise from 1,495pps.

It also has five-day packages to Tromso from 795pp.Other activities, such as dog-sledding, can be added on at additional costs. Contact 01 210-8391; Project-Travel.ie.

Meanwhile, Finnair (finnair.com) flies to Helsinki and onwards to Ivalo, a 30-minute drive from Kakslauttanen (kakslauttanen.fi, above), an Arctic Resort tailor-made for Northern Lights lovers.

Why? Glass igloos, that's why.

Glass igloo rates start from around 206pp. The resort also includes log cabins, snow igloos and the chance to ski and take reindeer safaris.

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Another option is a winter trip to Lapland, with packages available from Sunway (sunway.ie), Falcon Holidays (falconholidays.ie) and Visit Santa.ie among others. These aren't cheap - two-night trips with Sunway, for example, start from around 1,269pp.

Adventure Holidays (adventure-holidays.ie) also do packages.

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Expand Close The Northern Lights, photographed with wildflowers in Landmannarlaugar, Iceland. Photo: Deposit / Facebook

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If you can bag a low fare with Wow air (wowair.ie) or easyJet (easyjet.com), which fly from Dublin and Belfast to Reykjavik respectively, you're off to a good start.

Going to press, one-way fares to Iceland start from 49.99 (excluding bags), and you can tack on a three-hour Northern Lights tour from ISK5,325pp (43pp).

Airbnb (airbnb.ie) has rooms in Reykjavik from around 29, and there are hostel options too... the city can get very expensive, see our tips for Iceland on a budget.

Here in Ireland, Visit Inishowen has produced an interactive map (visitinishowen.com/northern_lights) featuring recommended lookout points when conditions are favourable on the peninsula.

Read more on the Northern Lights in Ireland here. You can also follow @aurora_Ireland for alerts, updates and photos on Twitter.

NB: All prices subject to availability. This article has been updated to reflect changing prices and tours.

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Over 300,000 travellers took part in Conde Nast Traveler's 2017 Readers' Choice Awards, submitting millions of ratings between them.

The results amount to one of the world's most influential travel splashes, naming everything from the world's best hotel (La Reserve Paris Hotel & Spa) to its top airline (Air New Zealand) and No.1 city (Tokyo, followed by Vienna and Kyoto).

Last year, Ireland's Ballyfin (above) was voted best hotel in the world, and this year the Co. Laois five-star ranks 13th, with Ashford Castle named among Europe's Top 10 resorts. Here are the travel bible's reader favourites in Ireland.

Conde Nast's Top Hotels in Ireland 2017

Ballyfin, Co. Laois The Lodge at Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo Lough Eske Castle, Donegal The Shelbourne, Dublin Waterford Castle, Co. Waterford The Killarney Park Hotel, Co. Kerry The Merrion, Dublin Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin The Westbury, Dublin The InterContinental, Dublin

"If youve ever dreamed of summering at a country house, you couldnt do much better than this stately, 20-room Georgian home," it says of Ballyfin.

B&B rates at the hotel start from 590 per room, midweek, with full-board rates rising to 1,650 per night in its top suite at weekends.

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In other categories, Dublin squeezed into the Best Cities in the World list at 39th place. The capital is "renowned for its medieval buildings, live music, stately churches, and of course, Guinness," Conde Nast says, but "underneath it all hums a modern heart."

"Get a sense of whats new in the capital by seeking out its edgiest artists at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, trying the fish of the day at Catch-22 or sampling the wares of Teeling, the first whiskey distillery to open in Dublin in 125 years."

Last weekend, Ireland retained its crown as 'Best International Destination' at the 2017 Group Leisure & Travel Awards in the UK.

See the full Conde Nast Traveler Awards here.

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I'm sitting across from RTE Prime Time presenter Miriam O'Callaghan, who is wearing nothing but her bra and knickers.

Sure, I'm focused on her thoughts on Dee Forbes. And yes, of course I want to know her views on the release of the station's recent pay figures.

But reader, I'm human, and it's taking every ounce of professionalism to hold her steely stare and avoid looking down.

Only a few minutes before, we were both fully dressed (it's worth noting I remained so) and I had dropped into Brown Thomas - where she was shooting a photograph for Breast Cancer Ireland's awareness campaign in conjunction with the luxury department store.

I had arrived unannounced and it seemed to unsettle her: "I have nothing to say, I have no good lines for you," she laughed, as a PR woman led me quickly to another area.

But when she eventually did the interview, in her underwear, I couldn't help but wonder if the woman renowned for unnerving the Taoiseach and making politicians sweat had suddenly turned the tables on me.

I was invited into her dressing room, where her pink dress came off. I sat on a small footstool and turned to face the wall. "Don't worry," I promised, "I won't look."

But my modesty proved unnecessary. The RTE star pulled up a low footstool and sat opposite me, legs akimbo, in a matching skin-toned bra and knickers.

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Miriam's husband Steve Carson has just landed the biggest job in BBC Scotland. From tomorrow he will be responsible for BBC Scotland's entire programme output, across TV, radio and online. It's a massive promotion. A job anyone would leap at.

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But after four years as the Head of BBC Northern Ireland's Content Production, it will bring Mr Carson further away from home.

I put the colour of the moment aside and ask her thoughts on the move.

"It's really exciting, I'm very proud of him," she says.

"When I met Steve, the only thing I worried about was he had a very fine career in London and I obviously had young daughters.

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"He came to live with me in the Republic of Ireland."

So there was a sacrifice from Steve at the beginning?

"I felt that. I felt he sacrificed a very glorious career for me.

"So right now it's wonderful, because I think it has come full circle and he did say he had a wonderful time working in RTE. He ran a production company called Mint, which did very good work.

"But I know, deep in his soul he is really happy to be back in the BBC."

When the job came up, Steve asked his wife her thoughts. "Obviously he said to me 'what do you think love?' and he is such a nice guy that if I had said 'no love', he would probably say 'oh...' [I won't take it] but I told him to go for it. It's such an exciting job. I really believe we have only one life, and this is it, so live it to the full.

"We have a very strong marriage and are very happy together, and I want him to be the happiest man on the planet."

On a personal level she says: "I honestly don't think it will be difficult. What's difficult in the world? It's difficult having a serious illness, it's difficult - I am making a film at the moment about profoundly special-needs adults and that's difficult.

"Difficult is not my husband getting a great job and us flying to Glasgow. It's not difficult.

"The fundamentals of my life are good. I have four healthy daughters, four healthy sons, I wake up every morning grateful for that and I am delighted he is going to Glasgow.

"I think it's a really exciting new chapter in our lives."

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She says she has made up her mind. She will never follow him to the BBC because she is happy in her position at Montrose.

I ask if she ever gets lonely. "It's a very interesting question and I don't want to sound smug, but actually, only once in a blue moon do I get the house to myself when no one is around - not even the dog - and I turn on the music loud and I dance.

"Even though I adore my family, I only get an hour every now and then, so I'm not lonely."

Steve will fly out on Monday mornings and fly home from Glasgow on Friday evenings.

"He will be home every weekend to take his sons to rugby and to take his wife out for dinner," she says.

Miriam has some astute advice to other couples.

"Let everyone have their dream.

"Just because you are in a relationship and you love someone, don't ever stop them doing what they want to do.

"I'm really proud of him and delighted he got the job. The minute he mentioned to me it was coming up, I said 'go for it.' And all the children are very happy. We are planning a Scottish outing for the Irish rugby game."

With that, Miriam gets up to slip into a lipstick-red dress for her next event. Relaxed that I now have my interview in the bag, I can finally let my eyes roam.

Her body is striking. Well-shaped decolletage, taut stomach and toned legs.

There is no sign of the eight children: she is in terrific shape.

But after we say our goodbyes I realised the one question I had wanted to ask Miriam had slipped my mind.

I can only surmise it must have been the bra and knickers.

Perhaps the Prime Time star should consider similar attire next time she has a red-blooded politician in the hot seat.

She would run rings round them.

Meanwhile, I am just praying if I ever have to grill her co-host David McCullagh, he won't be in his tighty-whities.

No offence, David!

From tonight, Brown Thomas Dublin will light up in pink for a week to raise awareness of breast health
Gina Casey, from Ennistymon, struggles with the high wind on the Lahinch coastline of Co Clare. Photo: Brian Arthur

As the nation comes to terms with the devastation caused by Storm Ophelia, a second storm is beginning to hit Ireland.

What can we expect with Storm Brian?

Five counties that were hammered by Hurricane Ophelia are now on high alert for flooding amid warnings of a potential "weather bomb" due to torrential rainfall and high tides.

Met Eireann has issued two Status Orange warnings and three Status Yellow warnings as Storm Brian is set to strike later today.

The latest storm will bring potential wind gusts of up to 110kmh to 130kmh from this evening until lunchtime tomorrow.

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However, most concern will surround the fact that potentially up to 50mm of rainfall will hit parts of Cork, Tipperary, Waterford and Limerick.

Coupled with a high tide in Cork, there is now a fear of flooding along low-lying coastal areas and parts of Cork city centre.

There is a risk of coastal flooding across the south and south-west.

Met Eireann forecaster Evelyn Cusack told RTE's Morning Ireland that gale force winds are expected tonight.

"Yesterday we had up to 30 millimetres of rain. It's a lovely sunny morning but there's another spell of rain coming up the country with about 20 to 50 millimetres of rain between today and tomorrow. This could lead to a risk of local flooding. Winds are picking up steadily today and Storm Brian as we've called it will be gradually pushing in this evening and tonight. There will be strong to gale force winds this evening and tonight and tomorrow veering west to north west.

"It's going to get very stormy tomorrow through some western and southern areas.

"There will be very high seas so there will be risk of coastal flooding and do take the warning of the coastguards seriously and don't go out because huge Atlantic waves will be crashing on the west-coast."

Ms Cusack said that trees that were damaged by Storm Ophelia may be at risk of falling due to the strong winds.

"Because it's a depression, all of the directions are changing."

She added that it will last until Saturday night.

"It looks much better on Sunday. Take care everyone."

Will Ireland be badly impacted?

Met Eireann told Independent.ie that "at the moment, Storm Brian is nothing to worry about here in Ireland".

"It's a moving depression rather than a hurricane. It's moving south and will bring a lot of rain and strong winds. I don't think it will hit Ireland as hard as it will hit the UK."

However, the bad weather could hamper efforts to restore power and water to thousands of people who were impacted by Storm Ophelia.

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When is the bad weather expected?

Storm Brian is expected to hit today as it will be wet and windy, and the weather will gradually move south-east. Saturday and Sunday will also see a lot of heavy rain and strong winds as Storm Brian passes through Ireland.

Are more big storms likely to hit Ireland?

Maynooth Geography Professor John Sweeney told RTE Radio One that Storm Brian won't be a "big beast".

"Tropical storm Philippe has already formed in the Atlantic after Ophelia.

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"Brian will be the next one in the sequence and by the weekend it does look like it's turning unsettled again but it's all relative. We won't have the same occurrence as Ophelia hopefully for a very long time. We're back to the normal winter storms climate, not the kind of big beast we saw Monday."

Met Eireann said that there is no indication that there are any more storms next week.
North Korea's deputy UN ambassador has warned that the situation on the Korean peninsula "has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out at any moment".

Kim In-ryong told the UN General Assembly's disarmament committee that North Korea is the only country in the world that has been subjected to "such an extreme and direct nuclear threat" from the United States since the 1970s - and said the country had the right to possess nuclear weapons in self-defence.

He pointed to large-scale military exercises every year using "nuclear assets" and said what was more dangerous was what he called a US plan to stage a "secret operation aimed at the removal of our supreme leadership".

This year, Mr Kim said, North Korea completed its "state nuclear force and thus became the full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges, including the atomic bomb, H-bomb and intercontinental ballistic rockets".

"The entire US mainland is within our firing range and if the US dares to invade our sacred territory even an inch it will not escape our severe punishment in any part of the globe," he warned. His speech follows escalating threats between North Korea and the United States, and increasingly tough UN sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was curtailing economic, scientific and other ties with North Korea in line with UN sanctions, and the European Union announced new sanctions on Pyongyang for developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said this week that diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the North Korean crisis "will continue until the first bomb drops".

His commitment to diplomacy came despite President Donald Trump's tweets several weeks ago that his chief envoy was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom he derisively referred to as "little Rocket Man".

North Korea's deputy UN ambassador called his country's nuclear and missile arsenal "a precious strategic asset that cannot be reversed or bartered for anything".

"Unless the hostile policy and the nuclear threat of the US is thoroughly eradicated, we will never put our nuclear weapons and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table under any circumstances," Mr Kim said.

He told the disarmament committee that North Korea had hoped for a nuclear-free world.

Instead, Mr Kim said, all nuclear states are accelerating the modernisation of their weapons and "reviving a nuclear arms race reminiscent of [the] Cold War era".

He noted that the nuclear weapon states, including the United States, boycotted negotiations for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was approved in July by 122 countries at the UN.

Meanwhile, a unit of US special forces tasked with carrying out "decapitation" operations may be aboard a nuclear-powered submarine docked in the South Korean port of Busan, the nation's newswire reported, citing a defence source.

The USS Michigan arrived in Busan ahead of a 10-day joint US-South Korean drill led by the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier.

The US navy maintains that the Michigan, known for carrying special-ops teams, is docked in a "routine port visit". The US military also denies training for decapitation missions or regime change, and does not typically comment on Navy Seal deployments.

North Korea's 33-year-old dictator Kim Jong-un is "extremely nervous" of clandestine assassination plots, according to South Korea's intelligence agency.
BrewDog plans to raise up to 50 million to underpin a fresh expansion drive which will include the launch of a craft beer TV network.

The Scottish brewer wants the financial firepower to roll out 15 new UK bars and bolster its brewing facilities, including an expansion of its UK operation and the creation of new breweries in Australia and Asia.

The crowdfunding push, which will have a 10 million target but could be extended to 50 million, will price shares at 23.75 each and will end on January 15 next year.

Co-founder James Watt said: The latest round of Equity for Punks will make us the biggest equity crowdfunded business of all time, having already raised over 41 million from a community of tens of thousands of misfits, forging a new kind of business model founded on craft, community and conscience.

The first 10 million will be used to finance a new Brewhouse at its Ellon brewery in Scotland to meet a growing demand across the UK and Europe.

If Brewdog rakes in the full 50 million, it will invest in its sour beer facility  The Overworks  set to open later this year, while ploughing 10 million into a new brewery in Asia and 5 million into a new Australian facility.

It will also drive 3 million into its UK BrewDog bars business, with the aim of launching 15 new outlets in 2018.

Mr Watt added: Our Equity Punk investors havent just supported the growth of an organisation now valued at over 1 billion, they have inspired the creation of a model that will give away 20% of its profits to its team and charitable causes via our pioneering Unicorn Fund.

BrewDog, which employs 800 people and has raised 41 million since 2009, plans to issue the shares in blocks of two with a minimum purchase of two shares for 47.50.
Rohingya Muslims rest on embankments after spending a night in the open in Bangladesh (AP)

Burma security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International has said in a new report.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, when Burma security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages.

Burma's government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.

The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Burma, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.

The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers' uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Burma's Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Burma's army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Burma border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.

He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnesty's reporting. Mr Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards away were untouched.

"It speaks to how organised, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country," Mr Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Burma and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Burma authorities do not act swiftly.

"It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar," Amnesty International said.

AP
BASF Concern, a leading global manufacturer of crop protection agents, has signed an agreement to acquire significant parts of Bayer's seed and non-selective herbicide businesses for EUR 5.9 billion.

BASF said in a press release that Bayer intends to divest these assets in the context of its planned acquisition of Monsanto.

"The assets to be acquired include Bayers global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide business, commercialized under the Liberty, Basta and Finale brands, as well as its seed businesses for key row crops in select markets: canola hybrids in North America under the InVigor brand using the LibertyLink trait technology, oilseed rape mainly in European markets, cotton in the Americas and Europe as well as soybean in the Americas," BASF said.

For the full year 2016, sales of the business to be purchased from Bayer amounted to around EUR 1.3 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to around EUR 385 million.

The transaction is subject to the closing of Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto and approval by relevant authorities. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

More than 1,800 commercial, R&D, breeding and production personnel shall transfer from Bayer to BASF. These employees are primarily located in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Canada and Belgium.

Furthermore, BASF will acquire the manufacturing sites for glufosinate-ammonium production and formulation in Germany, the United States, and Canada, seed breeding facilities in the Americas and Europe as well as trait research facilities in the United States and Europe.

"With this investment, we are seizing the opportunity to acquire highly attractive assets in key row crops and markets. It will be a strategic complement to BASF's well-established and successful crop protection business as well as to our own activities in biotechnology," Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, Dr. Kurt Bock, said.
Chinese president Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress in Beijing (AP)

Chinese president Xi Jinping has urged a reinvigorated Communist Party to take on a more forceful role in society and economic development, to better address "grim" challenges facing the country, as he opened a twice-a-decade national congress.

Speaking in the massive Great Hall of the People near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Xi laid out his vision of a ruling party that serves as the vanguard on everything from defending national security to providing moral guidance to ordinary Chinese.

He struck a nationalistic line throughout his speech, calling for the party not only to safeguard China's sovereignty but also to revitalise Chinese culture, oppose "erroneous" ideology and promote religion that is "Chinese in orientation".

"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is no walk in the park or mere drum-beating and gong-clanging.

"The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts," Mr Xi told hundreds of delegates, mostly men in dark suits who applauded regularly as they read copies of his prepared remarks.

"To achieve great dreams there must be a great struggle."

Hailing the start of a "new era," Mr Xi outlined a vision in which the party would lead China on the road to becoming a "great modern socialist country" by the middle of the century.

"This means he has already distinguished himself from the past and from previous leaders, but also that he is leading China into territory in which China is very close to achieving modest prosperity," said Dali Yang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Chicago.

According to Mr Xi's vision, "China would not only be a modern, socialist country but one that stands tall among the nations," Mr Yang said. "This message he delivered with vigour."

Mr Xi wields undisputed power and is expected to get a second five-year term as party leader at the gathering.

Analysts say he has consolidated his power by sidelining his competitors in other intra-party cliques, including those surrounding his immediate predecessor Hu Jintao and former leader Jiang Zemin.

The Communist Party meetings will largely be behind closed doors and are accompanied by extraordinary security measures, such as restrictions on knife sales and greater monitoring of dissidents.

But the congress will see powerful players emerge in new roles and is a chance for Mr Xi to publicly lay out his political and economic vision over the next five years.

Mr Xi, in his three-and-a-half-hour address, said China's "prospects are bright but the challenges are grim", a rare acknowledgement of severe economic issues.

He added that the party would have to take big risks and overcome "major resistance".

Other Chinese leaders have regularly warned since the 2008 financial crisis that China's economic growth faces "downward pressure" due to weak global demand that threatens export industries in the world's second-largest economy.

But Mr Xi's comments were unusual in a keynote speech meant to highlight the party's confidence and long-range vision.

Among the grave issues Mr Xi said were insufficiently addressed are a widening income gap and problems in employment, education, medical care and other areas.

He pledged to make high school universally available and promised to extend land-use contracts for farmers for another 30 years after expiration, among other policy measures.

Mr Xi hailed China's island-building efforts in the disputed South China Sea as well as his signature foreign-policy initiative, the "One Belt, One Road" infrastructure investment project aimed at improving connections between China, Europe and Africa.

He also praised the party's tightened grip over domestic security, saying that social stability had been maintained and national security strengthened.

Mr Xi pledged that the party would have "zero tolerance" for corruption and said it would "continue to purify, improve and reform itself" - an indication that it would not allow outside checks.

Observers will be watching the congress for signs of whether Mr Xi, 64, may be looking to appoint a successor.

While the nation's presidency is limited to two five-year terms, the tenure of the party's leader is bound only by tradition.

Mr Xi exhorted party members to resist "pleasure seeking, inaction, sloth and problem avoidance".

He drew a hard line on sovereignty, saying that the party must "staunchly oppose all efforts to split China" or to undermine ethnic relations.

Mr Xi announced no new initiatives but emphasised Beijing "must develop the public sector", a goal that reform advocates complain wastes public money and further slows economic growth.

Xi affirmed official pledges to make the banking industry more market-oriented and to shrink bloated state-owned steel and coal industries.

Excess industrial capacity has strained trade relations with Washington and Europe, which complain that a flood of low-cost Chinese exports is depressing global prices for steel, aluminium and other goods and threatening jobs abroad.

AP
Diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss policy responses to North Korea's accelerating efforts to expand its nuclear weapons programme.

Before flying to Seoul for talks with South Korean vice foreign minister Lim Sung-nam, US deputy secretary of state John Sullivan and Japanese deputy foreign minister Shinsuke Sugiyama met in Tokyo on Tuesday and vowed to find more ways to apply pressure on Pyongyang.

The vice-ministerial discussions will be followed by a meeting between the countries' top envoys for the currently-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea that also involved China and Russia.

North Korea has been rejecting the six-party meetings since 2008.

The talks came as the United States and South Korea held joint naval drills involving fighter jets, submarines and other naval vessels, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, to train for potential North Korean provocations. The allies regularly conduct joint exercises that Pyongyang condemns as invasion rehearsals.

North Korea in recent months has tested purported thermonuclear weapons and long-range missiles and flew two powerful new mid-range missiles over Japan between threats to fire the same weapons toward Guam, a Pacific US territory and military hub.

After his meeting with Mr Sugiyama in Tokyo on Tuesday, Mr Sullivan said that the focus at the State Department was still on diplomacy to solve the problem and eventually denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.

"We must, however, with our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail," he said, adding that the United States must be prepared to defend itself and its allies.

South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said ahead of the Seoul meetings that the allies were committed to "stably managing the situation" and pursuing all available avenues for North Korea's denuclearisation, including efforts to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

North Korea's deputy UN ambassador, Kim In Ryong, said Tuesday at the United Nations that his country planned to conduct more satellite launches, which outside governments see as a cover for banned tests of missile technologies.

On Monday, Mr Kim told the UN General Assembly's disarmament committee that the situation on the Korean Peninsula had "reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment", citing the US-South Korea drills and what he called US plans to remove the North's leadership.

He said the North had the right to possess nuclear weapons in self-defence because it was under the direct nuclear threat of the United States.

AP
Donald Trump has been criticised for not reaching out straight away to relatives of the four troops killed in Niger (AP)

The mother of a US Army sergeant killed in Niger has said Donald Trump showed "disrespect" to the soldier's loved ones as they drove to the airport to collect his body.

The president, engulfed in controversy over the appropriate way for presidents to show compassion for killed soldiers, strongly disputed that account.

Sergeant La David Johnson was one of four US military personnel killed nearly two weeks ago whose families had not heard from Mr Trump until Tuesday.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said Mr Trump told the widow Sgt Johnson "knew what he signed up for".

The Florida Democrat said she was in the car with the widow, Myeshia Johnson, on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body when Mr Trump called to offer condolences.

Sgt Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told the Associated Press that the congresswoman's account was correct.

"Yes the statement is true," Ms Jones-Johnson said. "I was in the car and I heard the full conversation."

Mr Trump later tweeted: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

And in a White House meeting on tax reform, he added that he "didn't say what that congresswoman said, didn't say it at all. She knows it".

Ms Wilson did not back down from her account, suggesting Mr Trump "never wants to take ownership" of a mistake.

"If you are the leader of the free world, if you are president of the United States and you want to convey sympathy to a grieving family, a grieving widow, you choose your words carefully," she said. "And everyone knows that Donald Trump does not choose his words carefully."

"She was crying for the whole time," Ms Wilson said of the widow. "And the worst part of it: when he hung up, you know what she turned to me and said? She said he didn't even remember his name."

Like presidents before him, Mr Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen but not all.

What is different is that Mr Trump alone has picked a political fight over who has done better to honour the war dead and their families.

He placed himself at the top of the list, saying: "I think I've called every family of someone who's died," while past presidents did not.

His delay in publicly discussing the men lost in Niger did not appear to be extraordinary, judging from past examples, but his politicisation of the matter is.

Democrats and some former government officials were livid, accusing Mr Trump of "inane cruelty" and a "sick game".

Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was attacked, said: "I just wish that this commander in chief would stop using Gold Star families as pawns in whatever sick game he's trying to play here."

Some Gold Star families who lost members in wartime told AP of acts of kindness from Mr Obama and George W Bush when those commanders in chief consoled them.

Mr Trump initially claimed that only he among presidents made sure to call families. Mr Obama may have done so on occasion, he said, but "other presidents did not call".

He equivocated on Tuesday as the record made plain that his characterisation was false. "I don't know," he said of past calls. But he said his own practice was to call all families of the war dead.

AP
About 60 people remain unaccounted for in the California counties of Napa and Sonoma more than a week after deadly wildfires started in the US state.

Crews have made progress controlling the blazes, but reported the first death from the firefighting effort after a driver was killed when his truck overturned on a winding mountain road.

The driver, who was delivering water to the fire lines, crashed before dawn in Napa County on a road that climbs from vineyards into the mountains.

He was identified as volunteer firefighter Garrett Paiz, 38, of Missouri, a privately contracted water tender driver.

After days of gusts that constantly fanned the fires, better weather offered a chance for crews to get the upper hand more than a week after the blazes, which have killed at least 40 people, started devastating the state's celebrated wine country.

The smoky skies started to clear in some places, and thousands of people got the all-clear to return home.

About 40,000 evacuees are still waiting for permission to go back to their communities, down from 100,000 on Saturday.

The number of missing people has reduced from roughly 100 on Monday, although it is unclear how many people are actually missing because reports have included duplicate names or names of people who were safe but unable to call relatives.

Some people reported as missing also never knew someone had been looking for them.

AP
Medical workers protest during a gathering in Barcelona after the leaders of two Catalan separatist organisations were jailed by Spains High Court. Photo: Reuters/Albert Gea

Catalonia refused yesterday to bow to the Spanish government's demand that it renounce a symbolic declaration of independence, setting it on a political collision course with Madrid later this week.

The Spanish government has threatened to put Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the economy, under direct central rule if its government does not abandon independence by tomorrow.

But Catalonia's government rejected Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's deadline.

"Giving in forms no part of this government's scenarios," Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said. "On Thursday, we won't give anything different than what we gave on Monday."

Spain's biggest political crisis in decades worsened on Monday night when Madrid's High Court jailed the heads of Catalonia's two main separatist groups pending an investigation for alleged sedition. The Catalan government accused Madrid of taking "political prisoners" and one of the groups has called for peaceful demonstrations around Catalonia.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, in a tweet following the detentions, said: "Sadly, we have political prisoners again."

The phrase was an allusion to the military dictatorship under Francisco Franco, when Catalan culture and language were systematically suppressed. It carries an emotional resonance given fascism is still a living memory for many Spaniards.

Justice Minister Rafael Catala hit back, saying the jailing of the leaders of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium was a judicial, not a political, decision.

"We can talk of politicians in prison but not political prisoners," he said.

"These are not political prisoners because yesterday's prison ruling was due to a [suspected] crime."

The crisis has deepened divisions at the heart of Spain's young democracy, underlining the complex sense of nationhood in the eurozone's fourth largest economy.

"They've crossed a line," said Eulalia Lopez, a 54-year-old office worker in Barcelona.

She said she and her colleagues would come out on to the streets if Madrid went ahead and took control of the region.

European capitals and financial markets have looked on with mounting alarm since October 1, when Catalan authorities held a referendum on independence in defiance of a Spanish court ban.

ANC leader Jordi Sanchez and Omnium chief Jordi Cuixart are accused of helping orchestrate pro-independence protests that trapped national police inside a Barcelona building and destroyed their vehicles. The same incident also led to Catalonia's police chief, Josep Lluis Trapero, being investigated for sedition.
Terrorist attacks cannot be completely prevented in a free society, the head of MI5 has said, as he warned a new pace of plotting and online technology meant attacks were being hatched in days.

Andrew Parker said Britain was now facing an intense threat from violent Islamist extremists who were devising plots at a tempo he had not seen before in his 34-year-career.

The director general of Britains Security Service made a rare public appearance to outline the severity of the threat after four jihadist attacks that have killed 36 people in Britain since March.

A dramatic increase in the menace this year had seen attackers hatch plots in a matter of only days, he said. Mr Parker (inset) also warned that internet firms were inadvertently helping terrorists conspire and they now had an ethical responsibility to help stop these worst excesses of criminal behaviour.

He called on tech firms to help governments tackle the dark edges of the online revolution, which was giving an advantage to violent extremists and spies.

Mr Parker said the dramatic upshift in Islamist threats in 2017 meant there is more terrorist activity coming at us more quickly and it can be harder to detect.

Speaking in central London, he said MI5 and the police had stopped 20 plots in the past four years, including seven since March, and would continue to find and stop most attacks.

But he warned they could not be expected to stop them all and it was likely more would follow.

He said: Attacks will occur sometimes because this is a free society, a liberal democracy, and we do not monitor everybody all the time and I wouldnt wish to live in a country that was like that.

I think we have to be careful that we dont find ourselves being held to some sort of perfect standard of 100pc, because that just isnt achievable.

Mr Parker also said technology firms were inadvertently helping terrorists.

Firms such as Google and WhatsApp have come under accusations from British ministers this year of doing too little to take down extremist content or for allowing terrorists a safe space to conspire using encrypted messages.

He said: We all rely on a myriad of brilliant technological advances in everyday life, but an unintended side-effect is that these advances also aid the terrorists.

The ease of online buying, the propaganda potential of social media and the ability to send encrypted messages were all problems, Mr Parker said.

He said: Addressing these challenges is about partnerships and ethical responsibility.

No company wants to provide terrorists with explosive precursors. Social media platforms dont want to host bomb-making videos.

He went on: I believe that there is a responsibility on the companies that offer those services to help governments be able to stop the worst excesses of human criminal behaviour.

Mr Parker said plots were being hatched both in the UK and elsewhere and ranged from complex, lengthy conspiracies to almost spontaneous acts of violence.

He said: These threats are sometimes coming at us more quickly, whether crude but lethal attack methods  for example, using a knife or a vehicle  or more sophisticated plots when in todays world terrorists can learn all that they need online to make explosives and build a bomb.

Attacks can sometimes accelerate from inception through planning to action in just a handful of days. This pace, together with the way extremists can exploit safe spaces online, can make threats harder to detect and give us a smaller window to intervene. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wants to leverage European business interests into protecting the nuclear deal (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP)

Iran's supreme leader has described Donald Trump as "mentally retarded" as he urged Europe to do more to back the 2015 nuclear deal after the US president refused to re-certify the pact.

European companies have rushed into the Iranian markets since the landmark accord, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments show he hopes to leverage them into protecting the nuclear deal.

While offering harsh criticism of Mr Trump, Ayatollah Khamenei wants to ensure that Tehran continues to have access to the international market for its crude oil as part of efforts to revive a stagnant economy.

"The European governments have underlined the nuclear deal's issue and condemned the US president's remarks," Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to comments posted on his official website.

"We welcome this approach but it is not enough that they only tell him not to tear up the deal. The nuclear deal is to their benefit."

He said: "I will not spend time to respond to the nonsensical comments by the foul-mouthed president," and referred to Mr Trump and his administration as "mentally retarded".

He also warned that if the US tears up the deal, "we will shred it into pieces".

The 2015 deal curbed Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions on Iran.

European aviation consortium Airbus signed billions of dollars in sales agreements with the Islamic Republic, France's Total SA and state-run China National Petroleum Corporation signed a 5 billion dollar agreement with Iran to develop the country's massive offshore natural gas field, and French motor manufacturer Groupe Renault signed a 778 million dollar deal.

Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union - the other parties to the nuclear accord - have been telling Mr Trump's administration to stay in the deal.

His refusal last week to re-certify has sparked a new war of words between the Islamic Republic and America, fuelling growing mistrust and a sense of nationalism among Iranians.

Mr Trump also criticised Europeans for their participation in Iran's energy projects.

He said he de-certified the accord on the grounds that Iran had committed several violations of the deal but he did not announce a withdrawal from the pact, instead shifting it to Congress for a decision.

AP
Their writings and debates surrounding the creation of the US constitution make clear that the framers feared a certain kind of character coming to power and usurping the republican ideal of their new nation.

Having just defeated a tyrant - "mad" King George III of England - they carefully crafted rules to remove such a character: impeachment. In the process, they revealed precisely the kind of corrupt, venal, inattentive and impulsive character they were worried about.

The very embodiment of what the Founding Fathers feared is now residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Again and again, they anticipated attributes and behaviours that President Donald Trump exhibits on an all-too-regular basis. By describing "high crimes and misdemeanours", the grounds for impeachment, as any act that poses a significant threat to society - either through incompetence or other misdeeds - the framers made it clear that an official does not have to commit a crime to be subject to impeachment.

Instead, they made impeachment a political process, understanding that the true threat to the republic was not criminality but unfitness, that a president who violated the country's norms and values was as much a threat as one who broke its laws.

Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the constitution's preamble, and future president James Madison were worried about a leader who would "pervert his administration into a scheme of peculation" - theft of public funds - "or oppression. He might betray his trust to foreign powers", as Madison put it. Morris, who like many in the colonies believed King Charles had taken bribes from Louis XIV to support France's war against the Dutch, declared that without impeachment we "expose ourselves to the danger of seeing the first magistrate [the president] in foreign pay without being able to guard against it by displacing him".

Trump's many ties to Russia spring immediately to mind, of course. What's provable so far - denying electoral harm perpetrated by Russian actors, hiding his efforts to conduct business in Moscow during his 2016 campaign, leaking state secrets to the Russian ambassador at a White House meeting, numerous contacts between his top staff and family and Russian agents - resonates deeply with this core concern expressed by the Founding Fathers.

The possible involvement with a Russian scheme to corrupt the election process was something else the framers worried about, with George Mason, at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, calling for impeachment for any president who "might engage in the corrupting of electors".

Meanwhile, Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey, the man investigating his administration's Russian connections, is clearly an impeachable act, according to Madison.

He wrote that if "the president can displace from office a man whose merits require that he should be continued in it... he will be impeachable... for such an act of maladministration".

Constitution-signer Abraham Baldwin, of Georgia, likewise seemed to be speaking about the Comey firing way back in the first congress, when he noted that if a president "in a fit of passion" removed "all the good officers of government" he should be susceptible to impeachment.

But Baldwin had in mind a more pressing fear: a president who didn't live up to his constitutional duty to properly staff the executive branch, including the various departments such as the state department - say, by removing appointments of a previous administration and not replacing them.

Sound like anyone you know? According to Baldwin, the duty of congress in such situations was to "turn him out of office, as he had others".

Another attribute the Founding Fathers feared in a president was the abuse of the power to issue pardons. Mason, at the Virginia constitutional ratification convention, worried in fact that the president might use his pardoning power to "pardon crimes which were advised against himself" or before indictment or conviction "to stop inquiry and prevent detection".

Whether Trump is considering a self-pardon is unknown, but it is fairly widely speculated that, with the August pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, he was signalling to the likes of former campaign aides Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn that they too might be pardoned for disregarding valid orders and laws. To which the words of Madison would apply: "If the president be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him," he should be impeached.

On it goes. The Founding Fathers tried to prepare the country for the possibility of someone not only corrupt and venal - whereby impeachment was "an essential check . . . upon the encroachments of the executive," as Alexander Hamilton put it in the "Federalist Papers" - but also from someone simply unable to perform the job, whether through incompetence, ignorance or incapacity. (The first successful impeachment conviction, for example, was of an elderly federal judge who had slipped into dementia.)

As Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the constitution, taught: the president "cannot act improperly, and hide either his negligence or inattention; he cannot roll upon any other person his criminality... and he is responsible for every nomination he makes... far from being above the laws, he is amenable to them... in his public character by impeachment".

But prescient as they were, what the framers may not have anticipated was someone who epitomised so many of their fears at once - someone like Donald Trump - being elected to the presidency in the first place.

They hoped that the electoral college system would prevent that from happening.

But in the event that didn't happen, they added an additional fail-safe: impeachment. It's now up to Congress to fulfil the framers' vision. ( Washington Post Syndication)
Carlos Nuzman was arrested at his home in Rio de Janeiro on October 5 (AP)

The head of last year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics has been charged by Brazilian prosecutors with corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and running a criminal organisation.

Brazilian prosecutors announced the formal charges against Carlos Nuzman on Wednesday.

The 75-year-old was arrested two weeks ago and is being held in prison.

Prosecutors also filed corruption charges against Nuzman's right-hand man, Leonardo Gryner.

Brazilian and French authorities say Nuzman helped pay 2 million dollars (1.5 million) to Papa Massata Diack to win votes to stage the 2016 Games.

In the vote in 2009 to pick the 2016 host city, his father Lamine Diack was a powerful International Olympic Committee member from Senegal with sway over the African voting bloc.

Nuzman resigned last week as the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. He has denied any wrongdoing.
CONCORD- Cabarrus County was recently at the top of a list of North Carolina counties dealing with opioid overdoses. On Tuesday, Oct. 24 at Concord High School, join the city's public safety team, Cabarrus Health Alliance and Cabarrus County EMS for the latest in a series of important conversations on prescription opioid and heroin abuse in the community.

The goal is to bring citizens valuable information on how they work together as a community to combat this epidemic.

In addition to this event on October 24, a second conversation in Concord is planned for November 14 at Jay M. Robinson High School.

Disposing of medications

One way to battle this epidemic is through proper disposal of medications.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday, Oct. 28. On that day, Concord Police are partnering with several pharmacies to host events where the public can drop off unused or expired medications for proper and environmentally safe disposal.

There will also be participating pharmacies in Kannapolis, Mount Pleasant and Harrisburg. All locations will accept drop offs between 10 a.m. and noon.

As a reminder, the Concord Police headquarters, the Kannapolis Police headquarters and the Cabarrus County Sheriff's Office all have a secure medication drop boxes that can be accessed 24 hours a day.

Find out more at lockyourmeds.org/nc/cabarrus.
With the festive season around the corner, companies in India are particularly vulnerable to risks arising out of the breach of anti-corruption laws. It is customary to give and receive gifts during major festivals in India, and firms typically incur various forms of hospitality and promotional expenditures in the course of business operations.

However, in certain cases, this conduct could potentially trigger serious fraud investigations into the company, even resulting in criminal liability. The compliance regime gets further convoluted in the case of multinational companies operating in India or having business interests in India due to the extra-territorial application of certain foreign statutes.

This article highlights how foreign firms can be implicated in such cases, and suggests international best practices to mitigate liability.

Extra-territorial application of foreign anti-corruption laws in India

Foreign companies having business connections or interests in India can be implicated if their home country law has extra-territorial application. Conversely, Indian companies having business connections in other jurisdictions may also be liable for extra-territorial offences.

The two most common examples of extra-territorial anti-corruption law are: the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and the U.K. Bribery Act (UKBA) of 2011.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The primary mandate of the FCPA is to prohibit U.S. companies and their employees from engaging in corrupt practices, irrespective of their location. Persons and entities falling within the radar of the FCPA are forbidden to make or promise to make any direct or indirect payment to secure any improper or undue advantages. Moreover, payments as defined by the law include both monetary and non-cash considerations. Further, certain categories of persons and entities are prohibited from making payments to foreign government officials for certain business purposes.

The ambit of the FCPA is extremely wide, and includes multinational U.S. companies, foreign companies owning stake in U.S. companies, as well as subsidiaries and employees. Due to its extra-territorial reach, investigations can be carried out on payments made by American companies, their foreign subsidiaries or associates, and other persons obligated to comply with the FCPA.

However, the FCPA exempts facilitation payments, that is, payments made to facilitate routine governmental action such as processing various permits and approvals, providing police protection, access to utilities such as water, power, and gas.

It must be noted that the size of the payment  cash or non-cash  is an irrelevant factor in determining violations under the FCPA. The FCPA also mandates fair and proper internal accounting standards, which accurately reflect all the transactions of a company.

The Walmart (India) bribery investigation is among the more prominent cases demonstrating the extra-territorial reach of the FCPA.

U.K. Bribery Act

Similar to the FCPA, the UKBAs jurisdiction extends to offences committed anywhere in the world if the business firm in question has a close connection with the U.K. or are domiciled in the U.K.

A distinct aspect of the UKBA is the liability of companies that fail to prevent bribery. This provision also has extra-territorial reach, and can implicate any person or entity having a close connection with a U.K. business entity.

For instance, if a Vietnam based agent of a Chinese company having a subsidiary in the U.K. commits an offence under the UKBA, the parent company can be prosecuted in the U.K. This is because the parent company is qualified under the Acts close connection test; whether the person actually committing the offence is associated directly with the U.K. entity becomes irrelevant.

Overview of Indias anti-corruption laws

The principal law governing the mitigation of corruption in India is the Prevention of Corruption Act (POCA) of 2013. POCA applies to India, Indian citizens abroad, as well as to foreigners or foreign entities established in India. POCA prohibits receiving bribes, such as monetary or non-monetary payments to government officials, and seeks to penalize bribe givers, bribe takers, as well as persons acting in collusion.

The term public official is given a wide interpretation under the Act, and can include any person performing a public function, including employees of private banks. Liability under POCA also extends to businesses; key managerial persons can be held liable for corrupt practices conducted by any employee of a company under investigation.

For American firms doing business in India, it is important to note that facilitation payments are not exempted under POCA and may attract criminal liability.

Other relevant anti-corruption regulation includes the Companies Act of 2013, which specifically defines and penalizes corporate fraud, and mandates the maintenance of transparent accounts.

Mitigating risk exposure in India

In order to mitigate their liability for breaches of anti-corruption laws, it is advisable that firms adopt certain precautionary measures. Some of the international best practices in this regard include:

Internal control and monitoring mechanism: Companies incorporated in India must have strong internal control mechanisms designed to prevent and monitor the violation of ethical compliance. Creating awareness, installing a robust whistleblower mechanism, and administering a top-down zero tolerance policy are also critical.

Due Diligence: Foreign firms must conduct basic due diligence of prospective Indian associates or business connections before entering into transactions or joint ventures; this reduces the risk of dealing with an entity already in breach of foreign statutes such as the FCPA.

Strategic gift policy: Gifts given to public officials must be infrequent, reasonable, and not intended for obtaining undue gains. Such transactions must be approved by the companys legal counsel and should be properly recorded in the books of accounts. It is advisable that companies frame a standard gift policy to avoid confusion and attracting future liability.
As we earlier reported that Salman Khan - Katrina Kaif's upcoming action film "Tiger Zinda Hai's" trailer will not be released on Diwali instead the first look of the film will be released and here it is:

Featured Video

We can see a wounded Salman holding a gun and his intense look is captivating. The poster has a taglineand Salman has truly justified the tagline. Didn't he?

The film stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Angad Bedi, Sudeep, and Paresh Rawal in the leading roles. Directed by Ali Abbas Zaffar, "Tiger Zinda Hai" is scheduled to release on 22nd December, 2017.

Ali while talking about this film had said in an interview, "Shooting for Tiger Zinda Hai was grueling, challenging and a whole lot of fun. We've shot across pristine, relatively unseen locations in Austria, Morocco and shot on a huge lot in Abu Dhabi along with other spots".

"Right from the infrastructure, to the support that the local military has given us, shooting here was smooth and a great collaborative experience. Tiger and Zoya's second outing is going to be larger than life, and the shoot lives up to that", he adds.

Here's what Salman tweeted about the poster:

The wait seems longer for the much anticipated film of the year... What do you guys think of the poster? Let us know in the comment section below!




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Transnational Indian pharmaceutical companies operating in Ukraine remain committed to the drug affordability strategy, according to Dr. U.P.R. Menon, the head of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (IPMA).

"Most transnational Indian companies are currently present on the Ukrainian market. These companies supply good-quality goods at an affordable price. These medicines have always been in demand among Ukrainian patients," he told Interfax-Ukraine, while commenting on the presence of Indian pharmaceutical companies on the Ukrainian market.

According to Dr. Menon, Indian pharmaceutical companies supply mainly generics and branded generics to Ukraine. At the same time, many Indian pharmaceutical companies are working towards the development of innovative drugs, having their own research centers.

While commenting on the participation of Indian pharmaceutical companies in the procurement of medicines for state budget funds, the IPMA chief noted that the results of budget purchases, in particular, on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis treatment programs, had confirmed the effectiveness of procurement of drugs manufactured by Indian pharmaceutical companies.

"Last year's results show that Indian companies have a significant share. They all have WHO prequalification and are quite affordable," he said.

According to him, in particular, there is a high share of Indian pharmaceutical companies in the segment of anti-tuberculosis and antiretroviral drugs, in the production of which India has always been among the world leaders.

So, according to the Business Credit company, in 2016, Ukrainian clinics used Indian drugs to treat HIV/AIDS for an amount exceeding $326,000 (50,600 packs), and over $10.855 million (1.904 million packs) was spent on drugs to treat tuberculosis. According to some positions, the share of Indian drugs in this category reaches almost 57% of purchased drugs.

The IPMA head noted that currently more than 80% of antiretroviral drugs used globally to fight AIDS are produced by Indian pharmaceutical companies. In particular, the Medicines Patent Pool, a UN-funded patent organization, signed six sub-licenses with Indian pharmaceutical companies Aurobindo, Cipla, Desano, Emcure, Hetero Labs and Laurus Labs, which allowed them to create a new drug to treat AIDS - generic Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) for 112 developing countries.

"I can state that the share of Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers in budget purchases has not decreased. International organizations that purchase medicines under these programs for state budget funds have the opportunity to purchase them directly at the central offices of pharmaceutical companies, so trading are also manufacturers who were previously not present on the Ukrainian market," he said.

The IPMA head noted that Indian pharmaceutical companies were implementing a strategy to increase the affordability of medicines.

"A high-quality and effective drug is not always the most expensive. Of course, generics are cheaper than original drugs. The expansion of the presence of high-quality generics is one of the tools to increase the affordability of drugs. Therefore, Indian companies have a demand in various markets of the world. The consumer is not the same in terms of capabilities and needs, and therefore generics have a demand even in developed markets, where the income of the population is high, and in countries with strict regulatory policies, where quality is paramount," he said.
Son of a former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Aminu Abubakar was remanded in the transit cell of Tinubu Chief Magistrates Court, Lagos on Wednesday.

Aminu was alleged to have disobeyed an order made by Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Ayeye on October 11 over the custody of six-year-old Amir Abubakar, who he was alleged to have taken away from the custody of his estranged wife, Fatima Bolori.

Ayeye had earlier ordered the respondent in the suit marked FCL/29/2017, between U. F. Bolori Vs M. A. Abubakar to produce Amir Abubakar at the first hearing of the case.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that when the case came up on Wednesday for the discharge of Emergency, Evacuation/Protection Order made by the court, the court was informed that the parties were planning to settle out of court.

In response, Boloris lawyer, Mr Nwabuzor Okoh, denied receiving any notification from the respondent to settle out of court.

Consequently, Chief Magistrate Ayeye cited Atiku for contempt for disobeying court order issued on Oct. 11.

She ordered that the respondent should be remanded in transit cell and the case stood down pending when he would produce the boy.

NAN also learnt that both Fatimo and Aminu had divorced in 2011.

The children were living with their mother, Fatimo, with an arrangement that they should be allowed to spend their vacation with their father.

However, when the children were on holidays in 2013, Aminu requested that they should be released to him to travel abroad for vacation and thereafter, refused to let them return to their mother.

Source: ( NAN )
The leader of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, was congratulated by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his appointment as the next Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.

The National leader of the All Progressive Congress ( APC ) said Adams had never left anyone in doubt over his resolve to fight for the interest of Yoruba race.

I congratulate you on your appointment as the next Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. With this, you have joined the elite rank of generalissimos in Yorubaland.

 You deserve this honour. You have a heart of steel. You have never left anyone in doubt about your resolve and readiness to fight for and defend the interest of Yoruba race.

In Yorubaland, particularly in the old Oyo Empire, the position of Aare Ona Kakanfo has always been a significant one.

Tinubu said that as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo and going through the list of those who had occupied the position, Adams come with an extra youth, vigour and vitality, which would be an added advantage.

 I rejoice with you and wish you well as you assume this leadership mantle and forge ahead in the service of our people, he said.

Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos also commended the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi for the appointment of Adams as the Aare Ona Kakanfo.

I congratulate you Kabiyesi, Iku Baba Yeye, over the appointment of Otunba Gani Adams as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.

You have accomplished another important task. You have broken the 19 years hiatus in picking another nominee for this prestigious title.

Otunba Gani Adams appointment comes after the demise of the last occupant of the office, Chief MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of the June 12 election, who died in incarceration in 1998.

I commend you Kabiyesi for the thorough search which produced the Oodua Peoples Congress Leader as the next occupant.

While wishing you renewed strength, good health and continued successful reign, I also wish the new Aare Ona kakanfo a glorious tenure, he said.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, confirmed the choice of Adams for the title on Sunday during his 79th birthday celebration .

Aare Ona Kakanfo in the pre-colonial Yoruba history was a supreme military title conferred by the Alaafin of Oyo.

Source: ( Premium Times )
The Ogun State Police Command, have arrested a couple living on Unity Road, Masafote, in the Ibafo area for allegedly engaging in child trafficking.

The suspects were identified simply as Morenike and Shittu.

According to reports , their neighbours became suspicious a few months ago when the woman would allegedly bring a child home in the evening and took the child away the following day.

She was said to have done so on four occasions before she was caught on Monday with a four-year-old girl, who was reportedly abducted in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Residents identified the landlady of the couple as Habibat Oresanya, sister of Shittu.

It was gathered that neighbours started to closely monitor Morenike after she brought in the four-year-old girl around 9pm on Sunday.

She had strapped the victim to her back and was leaving the neighborhood when a community leader, Chief Toyeeb Balogun, confronted her.

Balogun, who spoke with our correspondent, said he took her to the palace of Baale of Mosafote for questioning.

He said, People have been saying that Iya Ahmed (Morenike) bring strange children into the community in the evening and take them away the following day.

On Sunday, October 8, she came home with a girl of about five-year-old. The girl looked malnourished. The next day, she left home with her and did not return with her.

After that incident, some neighbours reported to the baale and he told them to monitor her. Around 12pm on Monday, some residents came to tell me that they saw her leaving the community with another girl. I rushed to meet her and asked her who the girl was. She said she was her sisters child in Egbeda.

We took her to the palace. When we got there, she told the baale that the girls mother is in Ipaja, Lagos State. We then took her to FSARS in Warewa. Her husband came to the station and told the police that she usually brought the girls from Ilorin (Kwara State).

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They asked him what the children were used for, but he said he did not know. Both of them have been detained. This is the fifth time she would be seen with an unknown child.

The baale, Chief Sakiru Ademuyiwa, said Morenikeji was asked to call the parents of the girl on the telephone to come to the palace.

He explained that he decided to involve the police in the case when the alleged parents did not show up.

Ademuyiwa said, She called somebody who claimed to be the mother of the girl. The person said she lived in Ipaja. I asked her to come to my palace with the father of the girl. I waited for several hours, but the so-called parents did not show up.

When she was interrogated by the police, she said the parents of the girl were in Ijebu. But the child told us that she lived with her parents in Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State. She said her fathers name is TK. I have told the police to handle the matter very well.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, We have been seeing her for some time now with unknown children. We wondered where she got those children from. The landlady does not live in the community, he added.

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the arrest, adding that investigation was ongoing.
Ksenia Sobchak, whose father served as mayor of Russia second-largest city, St Petersburg in the 1990s, showed her interest in running for the 2018 Presidential election.

Her deceased father, Anatoly Sobchak, was a reputed mentor of Russias present President, Vladimir Putin, and former President Dmitry Medvedev.

In a video posted on her campaign website, Sobchak said she was against everyone in Russias present leadership and said the country was in dire need of a change.

She said that Russians born when Putin became president for the first time in 2000 would be able to vote in this election.

She expressed support for Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny, who also wants to challenge Putin for the presidency but will most likely be kept off the ballot because of legal troubles.

Putin has not yet announced that he is re-contesting, but the long-time leader is seen as almost certain to win if he does declare his candidacy.

Source: (Reuters/NAN)
Former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan met with the former military President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida at his uphill residence in Minna, Niger State.

JAccording to reports, the ex president a source arrived the state capital at about 10.00am in a GMC bulletproof SUV with registration number ABJ 961ER.

He was said to have been accompanied by former Senator Nimi Barigha Amange, who had represented Bayelsa East in the National Assembly.

It was said that there were eight other vehicles in the convoy that accompanied the former President to Minna by road.

According to a source close to the IBB residence Former President immediately after arriving the IBB residence entered into a closed-door meeting with the former military president.

Only former Jonathan and Babangida were in the meeting, the source said adding that even former senator Amange waited in another part of the residence.

The meeting between the duo which started a few minutes after 10.00am did not end until about 12.14pm it was gathered.

On his way out former president Jonathan declined to speak to journalists describing his visit as private.

When pressed for comments the former President said he had not seen General Babangida since he returned from medical vacation and felt it was the right time to do so.

He commended the press for  doing a nice job, you people are doing well he said.

Asked to comment on the prevailing political situation in the country Jonathan replied:  we are retired politicians and drove off in the same car he had come

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday said 2,158,171 million registered voters would take part in the Nov.18 governorship election in Anambra.

Assistant Director, ICT Department INEC , Abuja, Mrs Bimbo Oladumjoye, made the disclosure during the official publication of Register of voters for the November Anambra governorship election in Awka.

She said out of the figure, 50.3 per cent were females while 49.6 percent were males.

Oladumjoye further said that students were the highest number of registered voters constituting 48 per cent, adding that Idemili North Local Government Area had the highest number of registered voters.

Also speaking, the INEC National Commissioner (South-East Zone), Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, described voters registration as the bedrock of a free, fair and credible of any election.

It is in view of this that the INEC has decided, today, to publish the register of voters in Anambra state, he said.

Ibeanu said the publication was in compliance with the Electoral Law which according to him stipulates that the commission should publish the register, 30 days before the election.

The INEC official said that the commissions headquarters in Awka had received non-sensitive materials for the exercise.

Ibeanu, however, noted that Anambra was the first to have 37 candidates contesting for a governorship position in an election since the history of elections in Nigeria.

In spite this number, the commission is very happy to remark that political parties have been very orderly in their campaigns without heating the polity and we are glad with such development, he said.

In an address of welcome, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, confirmed that 37 political parties would be participating in the election.

He reiterated the commissions readiness to conduct free, fair, credible and acceptable election in the state.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper)
The leader of a pro-Biafran group, Biafra Zionists Federation, Benjamin Onwuka, has dismissed the agitation by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra as a waste of time.

Speaking in Enugu on Tuesday, Onwuka said Biafra would not be actualised by IPOB. He said Biafra would be actualised once the United States recognised his Biafran government.

A lawyer, Onwuka had on July 25, 2017, named himself interim President of Biafra while announcing a Biafran government which included the Prof. Pat Utomi, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Labaran Maku, Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Barth Nnaji, and Chief Nnia Nwodo, among others.

He said, We are hopeful that Biafra is going to be approved in December by the US because this problem of Biafra is not about IPOB or Nnamdi Kanu, it is about Americas support.

We are now waiting for Trumps endorsement before Christmas. Whatever we are doing is based on Americas diplomatic engagement.

Biafra issue is a diplomatic matter, if America does not support us, it will not work. So, IPOB or Nnamdi Kanu cannot get Biafra, what the IPOB is doing is a waste of time.

The secessionist declared that Biafra would be formally declared in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, which he said was an Igbo territory.

Announcing plans for the independence of Biafra, Onwuka disclosed that a former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had been appointed the Biafran ambassador to the US.

Onwuka condemned the recent visit of some South-East leaders to President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential Villa.

Reacting to Onwukas declaration that the Igbo leaders meeting with Buhari was futile, Ohanaeze Ndigbo said the pro-Biafran activists talked in that manner because they lacked experience.

Speaking with newsmen, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Prince Uche Okpaga, said, There is this Igbo adage that says what an elder sees while lying down, the youth cannot see it even while on top of a tree.

Many of the agitators are youths who did not see the war, that is why they talk the way they do but we as elders, we dont want them to pass through the same experience we had.

We dont blame him (Onwuka) because he was speaking according to his level of understanding but those of us in Ohanaeze see things differently and we know what we are trying to protect and project.

The work Ohanaeze is doing is not quantifiable, but we believe that posterity will remember us.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, Kaduna Polytechnic chapter on Wednesday suspended its seven weeks strike.

A statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the union, Mr. Abbas Muhammad said the decision to suspend the strike was reached after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the management of the institution and the payment of some outstanding allowances that were diverted by the new Rector, Prof. Idris Bugaje.

He noted that after the payment, the union at an emergency congress held on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, called off the strike.

The statement quoted the Chairman of the union, Dr. Aliyu Hassan as saying that the strike was suspended to give the Rector the benefit of doubt to solve the lingering problems of the polytechnic.

He, however, said the suspension was for a period of six months after which the union would reassess the MoU reached with the management and decide on the next line of action.

He commended all those who made the strike a success, especially the media, who he said served as a morale booster for members and source of enlightenment.

He called on the management to ensure full compliance with all agreements reached for continuous industrial peace on the institution.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga called Wednesday for mass protests on the day of the October 26 presidential election, which he has refused to take part in.

Protests will go on, on the 26th (it) will be the biggest demonstrations in the whole country, he told a rally of thousands of supporters in a suburb of Nairobi.

Source: ( AFP )
Billionaire Real Estate developer, Sijibomi Ogundele aka Sujimoto is looking to settle down soon and is in search of the lucky lady. He took to his IG page to say he hopes to find true love before Christmas and when he does, the lady will get a house in Banana Island and a Rolls Royce. Ladies, are you interested? Send him a DM now!

Source: Instagram
The Lagos State Police command operatives have arrested a notorious robber who operates under the pretext of being deaf and dumb.

The man identified as Emeka Anthony Uche sneaks into offices while using his condition to cover up.



He specialized in sneaking into peoples offices to steal laptops, mobile phones and other valuables. He was arrested, yesterday, shortly after one of his escapades.

CCTV footages of his operations have been compiled ahead of his arraignment in court.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lawan Ado, has arrested four police officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad for sexually harassing a lady, identified as Kachi Zion, along the Pipeline area of Ilorin, have been detained.

Zion had through her Instagram page @69bars alleged that some SARS operatives accosted her at the Pipeline area in Ilorin at the weekend, accused her of prostitution and searched her.

She specifically accused one of the policemen of inserting his fingers into her private parts.

Ado, who spoke through the commands Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, told our correspondent on the telephone in Ilorin on Tuesday that he was sad at the allegation.

Okasanmi said he had been in contact with the spokesperson for the Zone 2 Police Command, Lagos, SP Dolapo Badmos.

Badmos had earlier told journalists that the Zone 2 would liaise with the Kwara State CP over the incident.

The Kwara PPRO said after the CP got information about the allegation on the social media, he directed that Zion should be invited to the command to shed more light on her allegation.

He stated that the lady honoured the invitation on Tuesday and had made useful statement.

Okasanmi said further that the four SARS men had been invited for interrogation.

He stated that although they denied the allegation, they had been detained.

He said, Regardless of their denial, the command is still investigating them and will punish them according to the law if it is proved that they are guilty. They will, however, be released, if they are innocent.

As the CP directed, I got in contact with the lady (Zion) and invited her to the command. The lady was with us this morning (Tuesday). We also invited the SARS men that were posted to the area on the day the incident took place. The team members denied the allegation, but we are still investigating the matter. The lady was satisfied with the action we have taken so far.

We will get to the root of the matter. If actually the policemen committed the offence, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law. The telephone number of CP and my telephone number are all over the place. We asked the lady that rather than going on the social media, why did she not make effort to come to a police station and report the matter because we would gone after the SARS officers immediately.

The officers are now in detention.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Controversial and outspoken Nigerian politician, Senator Dino Melaye, has been spotted in photos making the rounds online, having fun with a pretty white lady in the street of Russia.

Popular Nigerian Senator of the 8th National Assembly, Dino Melaye, who is representing Kogi West at the upper chamber, is obviously having the best of times in far away Russia.

The outspoken politician and chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), took to his Instagram page and shared photos of his recent visit to Russia as the location of one of the photos read; Church of the Savior on blood. St. Petersburg.
Police in Uganda have refused to give permission for an event which was to be headlined by Afrobeats artist-turned-politician Bobi Wine because he uttered words that are inciteful to the public.

He had made the offending comments during a previous concert, the police said. The lawmaker, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is now under investigation for the remarks.

Since being elected to parliament in June, Mr Wine has been a thorn to the governing NRM party. He is among opposition MPs who have been opposing a plan to scrap the presidential age limit, which is currently 75.

Removal of the age limit is seen as a plot to remove barriers that would allow 73-year-old President Yoweri Museveni to run in 2021.

Source: Linda Ikejis blog
The Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar III, has debunked the rumour that vaccines for polio and other communicable diseases is responsible for the death of infants in the State.

The paramount traditional ruler said this during a courtesy visit to Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Tuesday in Lafia, the state capital.

He advised politicians to stop politicising issues relating to health care for selfish reasons.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abubakar III, who is also the President General of Jamaatul Nasril Islam and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, is in Lafia for the 3rd Quarter Meeting on Polio Eradication Routine Immunisation.

He expressed displeasure at reports that vaccines for immunisation have been contaminated to poison certain groups of people and followers of certain religion in the country.

He described the reports as false and warned those spreading the rumours to stop discouraging innocent Nigerians from participating in the immunisation exercise to protect them against polio and other communicable diseases.

There are two things we must never politicise and they are health and security issues because they affect everybody irrespective of religious or tribal background.

I was so saddened when we heard that the vaccines contain poison to eliminate certain races.

We must never play politics with peoples lives. The vaccines are not meant to kill anybody but to protect Nigerians from these communicable diseases.

We will never support anything that will hurt anybody. So I urge our politicians and others to stop playing politics with the lives of anybody, the Sultan appealed.

He also urged traditional rulers, religious leaders and other well-meaning Nigerians to help enlighten others on the vital importance of immunisation to end the endemic status of some communicable diseases in the country.

On the mandate of the committee, Abubakar III explained that the committee was his vision set up eight years ago to fight polio and other communicable diseases especially in Northern Nigeria.

`Health is the most important thing to human beings. No matter how strong, brilliant and smart you are, if you are not healthy, you are useless.

That is why we set up this committee eight years ago to fight polio and other communicable diseases, he said.

The Sultan commended the Nasarawa State Government for its enviable contributions to the health sector especially primary healthcare.

According to him, the contributions of the state government to health care prompted the committee to choose the state for its third quarter meeting.

The last meeting we held was around July in Sokoto. It was there we heard of the strides made by the state government in the health sector and decided to hold the next meeting there.

We thank the state governor and his able lieutenants for giving us tremendous support, Abubakar III said.

Responding, Mr. Al-Makura thanked the Sultan and other members of the committee for choosing the state for the meeting.

We are proud and grateful for your advocacy and campaign on health which you have personally embarked on across Nigeria.

Your efforts on polio and other communicable diseases are efforts that have saved us from dooms day.

We have nothing to give you but appreciation. We cannot thank you enough for your selfless service to the nation.

I would like to encourage you to keep up the good work, the governor said.

Mr. Al-Makura, however, appealed to the committee and state governments in Northern Nigeria to take seriously the threat of Monkey pox so as to prevent it from spreading across the region.

We should not take lightly this issue of monkey pox, especially for some of us in the North.

I want to assure you we will commence enlightenment and sensitisation of people to take to immunisation.

I want to also assure that Nasarawa State will continue to collaborate with this committee in order for it to achieve its objectives, he said.

The governor also pledged that the health budget of the state for the remaining lifespan of the current administration would be given adequate attention to tackle health challenges across the state.

Source : (NAN)
A young model has shut down the damn internet after she and her team caused light traffic on Victoria Island in Lagos, just for a rare kind of photo shoot.

From the videos making rounds online, the model, a dark-skinned buxom beauty, is seen in stringy bikini that put her massive behind on display, the look was complete with stilettos. She struts across the road, in front of parked cars, while her photographer snapped away at his camera. Also, the model poses on the pavement, beside a palm tree, before crossing the road again, seemingly uncaring of the massive attention she is getting.

Astounded Lagosians could be heard behind the camera, swearing in righteous indignation, however none dared to confront to model.

This photo shoot may be the first of its kind in Lagos, and sure thing, everyone wants to know who this daredevil of a model is. But what do folks think about this daring shoot?

There are beaches and pools for shoots in Nigeria though. All for the wrong type of attention, said one Instagrammer. Another disagreed with this, saying that the model has the right to walk around the whole neighborhood.Shes Mama Africa.

LOL.

However, some did note that the model put herself in harms way, and this is because of the occasional reports of women who were harassed for wearing certain outfits their abusers deemed immodest.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha has slammed those calling him names and he also said he owes no apology for erecting Jacob Zumas statue in Owerri, the State capital.

Okorocha erected a 250-metre statue of the South African President in Owerri, which received a lot of backlash by Nigerians.

However, in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Okorocha, Sam Onwuemeodo said that they cannot be deterred by enemies of the people who are trying to discourage them from making the state open to foreign investors.

The statement reads; And in case these Galatians do not know all we need to do to attract good things or investments to Imo is erecting statues, then, we have no option than to erect as many of such structures as possible.

We owe no one apology. Rochas made a promise to open the doors of Imo to the rest of the world, for good and he is doing that and we cannot be deterred by these enemies of our people.

If it was in the days of PDP, schools and markets would have been shut down. And roads closed because President Zuma was coming. But none of such things was done because Rochas and his government have a human face.

The PDP for the 12 years they held sway never attracted any meaningful visitor to the State except PDP NEC members who were coming to loot the state.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The National Police of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings in connection with the infliction of a craniocereberal injury to a police officer during a clash with protesters near the parliament building on Tuesday.

"As a result of the conflict, a policeman was injured. He has a closed craniocerebral injury and bruises. He was hospitalized. The investigators opened the case," the National Police spokesman Yaroslav Trakalo told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday night.

He specified that the criminal proceedings were opened under Part 2 of Article 345 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (threat or violence against a law enforcement officer).

According to him, as a result of the clash, a total of four people were injured, including the aforementioned policeman. Two more victims received chemical eye burns due to the spraying of tear gas, the third got a head injury. They turned to the doctors, but refused to write statements to the police.

As reported, a rally with the participation of representatives of various political forces and non-governmental organizations, such as the Movement of New Forces, Batkivschyna (Fatherland), Samopomich, Anatoliy Hrytsenko's Civil Position, the Democratic Alliance, Svoboda, and the National Corps, began in front of the Verkhovna Rada's building on Tuesday. Participants in the rally are demanding the abolition of parliamentary immunity, the establishment of an anti-corruption court, and the introduction of a proportional electoral system, among other things.

During the day in the clashes opposite the building of the Verkhovna Rada at least four people were injured - three civilians and a policeman who received a head injury in the intersection of Hrushevskoho and Sadova Streets and was hospitalized unconscious.
The European self-storage market continues to grow, with a high ceiling for future supply, according to research released by the Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA) and investment-management firm JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). This year, the continent has 3,247 storage facilities in operation comprising 8.7 million square meters, an increase of more than 500 properties in the last year, according to a press release.

The self-storage industry has had a strong 2017 and has seen growth in rents, occupancy and the number of new stores across nearly every European country, said Ollie Saunders, lead director for JLLs Alternatives Team. Robust demand, coupled with ever-increasing awareness about the sector, makes the next 12 months look positive for operators and investors.

Despite the growth, the amount of rentable storage space available is just .018 square meters per person, compared to .878 square meters in the United States. Further, more than 85 percent of European facilities are concentrated in six countries, with 44 percent of facilities across the continent in the United Kingdom. The region is highly fragmented in terms of operating companies, with the 10 largest brands comprising 22 percent of all European facilities and 39 percent of total storage space, the release stated.

Among the countries outpacing the continental average of storage space per capita are Iceland and the Netherlands. Along with the U.K, these markets each have three times the European average of rentable square feet per person. Still, average rent across the region has risen to 258 per square meter per year, while average occupancy grew from 80 percent to 81 percent year over year.

The growth of self-storage in the U.K. has been fueled firstly by an increase in the number of people using self-storage to support their relocation around the country and, following Brexit, noticeably to other parts of the world, said Rennie Schafer, CEO for FEDESSA and the Self Storage Association of the United Kingdom.

One growing trend, particularly in the U.K., has been an increase in commercial tenants, including those renting office space and units for inventory. Last year alone, more than 10,000 customers started their businesses in U.K. self-storage units, Schafer said. Indeed, around 42 percent of all self-storage space in the U.K. is rented to business owners, with around half providing storage space for the burgeoning rise in online retail.

Founded in 2004, FEDESSA consists of 14 self-storage associations across Europe and represents about 1,400 self-storage facilities.

JLL is an investment-management firm specializing in real estate services for property investors and occupiers. The company has about 300 corporate offices in more than 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 78,000 employees. It completed $136 billion in acquisitions, finance and sales transactions in 2016.
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) has released its 2017 International Digital Issue, which includes in-depth articles about the growth, challenges and operation of self-storage businesses in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, South America and the United Kingdom. Written for facility owners, managers and investors, the articles include information about construction, development, industry trends and awareness, operating performance, market challenges, and more. Covered topics include:

A global view of the industry

How Asian operators are rebuilding

Pioneering in the Philippines

Growth drivers in Australasia

Operator performance in Australia

Going solar in South Africa

Challenges for the maturing European market

Increased demand in Finland

Mixed-use development in Scotland

Launching in Germany

Building multi-story in Latin America

The Colombian business model

Growth in Canada

The publication is available for free download.

For more than 26 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual ISS World Expo, an extensive website, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.
Entrepreneur Tod Sherman opened a new self-storage facility last week in Lancaster, Pa. Named LancasterStorage.com, the 20,000-square-foot structure at 21 E. Clay St. was converted from a former use to include 156 storage units in range of sizes. The total project cost was $2.1 million, including $300,000 for the real estate, according to the source.

Its a state-of-the-art facility. Its all Internet-driven on the cloud. You can rent a unit, buy unit insurance, pick a PIN and input your credit card numberall on your smartphone, said Sherman, adding that the property employs security cameras and three part-time staff.

Sherman was inspired to enter the self-storage business by his older brother, Guff Sherman, who owns three facilities in Alaska comprising more than 1,000 units, he told the source.

Before building, Sherman hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study and determine whether the community needed more storage, particularly records storage, he said. The study revealed unmet demand around the abundance of medical practices near Lancaster General Hospital and other small businesses in the area.

Vacant for three years, the property was most recently owned by ImageFirst, a provider of laundry and linen services to the healthcare industry, before the company moved to a new location. Built in 1942, the single-story structure has had numerous other uses over the years, including a car dealership and a meat-packing plant, the source reported.

Sherman was represented in the acquisition by John Stockdale, a broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty.

A native of Hershey, Pa., Sherman lives in Lititz, a borough in Lancaster County, Pa. He also co-owns Tybec Energy Management Specialist, an energy-consulting business, and was formerly a civil engineer for UGI Utilities Inc. He plans to develop a second self-storage facility in Lititz on Warwick Street, just north of the former Wilbur Chocolate factory, according to the source.
Up to one million Aussies could be eligible for compensation
Hub International Limited has just acquired the assets of Graffam Insurance Group.Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.The Cumberland Center, Maine-based Graffam specializes in employee benefits. Graffam primarily serves businesses in the Maine and New Hampshire areas.Graffam is the latest in a series of acquisitions made by Hub this year. Earlier this month, Hub acquired Rural Alaska Insurance Agency in Alaska. In all, Hub has completed more than 30 acquisitions to date.In mid-August, there were rumors that Hellman & Friedman, which acquired a majority interest in Hub in 2013, was reportedly looking to sell a stake in the insurance company. Reportedly, a number of other private equity firms, as well as sovereign wealth funds and public pension funds have looked into the deal.In September, Hub International named Marc Cohen as its new CEO, replacing Martin Hughes.
A Bryan, Texas, man was convicted earlier this week after being accused of robbing two insurance agency employees two years ago, despite a valiant  and slightly oddball  effort by his lawyer.Brodniey Charles Ray, 27, and another unidentified suspect stormed into a Safenet office with a gun blazing on September 09, 2015. According to Assistant District Attorney John Brick, the two took money, purses and cell phones from the insurance company and the two employees working that day  about $7,000 worth of items was taken from the office and over $800 in cash was stolen.Ray was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and faces between 25 years and life in prison due to prior felony convictions, The Eagle reported.During the hearing, Mark Maltsberger, the attorney representing Ray, used an unorthodox pie metaphor to describe how prosecutors had not met their burden of proof after he had challenged them the previous week.They responded by feeding you crumbs and trying to convince you it tasted like pumpkin pie, Maltsberger told the jury Monday.Maltsberger turned the jurys attention to a Ruger BB gun which looks like the real deal, found several blocks from the insurance office within an hour of the robbery that day. The lawyer argued that the BB guns presence is a possible indicator of another potential suspect.Prosecutors, however, said another man had discarded the toy gun when police approached him. The man threw away the BB gun out of fear that he would get in trouble, because he had been released on bond for another crime.The authorities had found a 9mm Ruger handgun magazine clip at the insurance office, though the BB gun had a BB magazine loaded inside of it. Maltsberger maintained that gun owners could carry more than one magazine on them when they are armed.Assistant District Attorney Philip McLemore, in his closing speech, reasoned that it made no sense to load a magazine with real bullets into a BB gun.Just go in with a BB gun, said McLemore in his statement.Maltsberger claimed that inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts of the color of the robbers getaway car meant that information should be discounted by the jury when deciding a verdict.Take your eyewitness testimony, ladies and gentlemen, and spit it out. That aint pumpkin pie, he said.
The Hilb Group (THG) has announced the acquisition of CNC Insurance Associates. The acquisition, which became effective October 01, is THGs 38th since its founding in 2009.Delaware-based CNC provides property and casualty insurance products for businesses in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. The company is THGs first acquisition in the state. CNC managing director Kevin Nemith will continue to lead the agencys associates, according to THG.The addition of CNC continues THGs national expansion and will further strengthen our presence in the mid-Atlantic region, said Ricky Spiro, CEO of THG. We are excited to welcome Kevin and his associates to our team.Joining THG will allow us to gain additional product and service offerings that will benefit our clients while continuing to deliver the exceptional, local service we are known for, Nemith said. We look forward to furthering our success with this new partnership.
Report sheds light on why insurance in the state is only deceptively affordable
A New Jersey doctor has admitted to bilking Medicare and private insurers out of $3 million by billing them for more than 150,000 physical therapy sessions that were performed by unlicensed and unqualified people.Anthony J. Enrico, 60, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice. Prosecutors said that between 2007 and 2016, Enrico billed Medicare and other insurance providers for physical therapy he was supposedly providing to his patients. In order for these services to be reimbursable, Medicare and private insurers require that they be performed only by people whove met certain training qualifications.Enrico did meet those qualifications, but he admitted that on more than 150,000 occasions, physical therapy was provided at his direction by unqualified people. As a result, he amassed about $3 million in fraudulently obtained reimbursements.Enrico could serve up to 10 years in prison for the offense. As part of his plea agreement, he must pay restitution of $3 million. He is scheduled for sentencing in January.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has reversed a Superior Court decision in favor of a law firm in a legal malpractice suit.

The plaintiff, Kiribati Seafood Company LLC, brought the legal malpractice claim against its former law firm, Dechert LLP, alleging that Dechert negligently failed to provide a French appellate court with the evidence it needed for Kiribati to prevail on a claim. Instead, the claim was denied.

A judge of the Superior Court initially granted summary judgment to Dechert and denied partial summary judgment to Kiribati. The judge determined that the French appellate court committed an error of law by requiring certain evidence and that, even if Dechert were negligent in failing to provide the needed evidence to the court, Kiribati could not recover damages for Decherts negligence because the courts legal error was a superseding cause of the adverse decision.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, however, concluded that an error of law under these circumstances is a concurrent, not a superseding, proximate cause and that the Superior Court judge erred in granting summary judgment to Dechert and denying partial summary judgment to Kiribati.

Dechert's failure to furnish the court of appeals with the documentation was so plainly negligent that no expert testimony is needed to establish it.

Case Background

This case comes after Kiribati purchased a fishing vessel known as the Madee and chartered it to Olympic Packer LLC and Dojin Co. Ltd. to fish for tuna in the Pacific Ocean, according to the Massachusetts SJC decision document.

After the ship sustained damage to its rudder, it was placed in a dry dock in the Autonomous Port of Papeete in Tahiti to receive repairs. When the dry dock collapsed, the ship sustained damages so severe that it was deemed a constructive total loss by Kiribatis port risk insurer, Certain Underwriters of Lloyds of London, according to the SJC decision document.

Kiribati then obtained two attorneys from Coudert Brothers LLPs Paris office to file a lawsuit for damages against the port in the Commercial Court of Papeete. When these two attorneys left Coudert to join Dechert, Kiribati continued to retain them and transferred the representation to Dechert.

Lloyds paid Kiribati $1,763,803.71 on its insurance claim regarding the loss of the ship, which compensated Kiribati for some, but not all, of its losses, according to the SJC decision document. Lloyds then had a right of subrogation to recover that amount from the port.

In April 2004, Lloyds and Kiribati entered into a written agreement to prosecute Kiribatis litigation in the commercial court. Kiribati sought to recover its losses that were not compensated by Lloyds, and Lloyds sought to recover through subrogation the amount it paid to Kiribati. As part of the agreement, Lloyds agreed to pay half of the attorneys fees and costs associated with the litigation.

However, Kiribati contended that it was paying substantially more than its fifty per cent share of the legal fees in the litigation, and Lloyds was failing to pay its equal share. Kiribati also claimed Lloyds failed to pay it in full for the sue and labor and mitigation expenses it was entitled to under its policy.

To settle these and other disputes, in December 2004, Kiribati and Lloyds entered into a new agreement in which Kiribati released Lloyds from all outstanding claims, including its claims for unpaid attorneys fees and sue and labor and mitigation expenses. In return, Lloyds assigned its subrogation claim to Kiribati.

In January 2008, the commercial court issued a judgment in favor of Kiribati and against the port. As part of the judgment, the court found that the assignment of the subrogation claim was signed abroad by two foreign registered entities without any specific agreement that French law would apply, so the validity of the assignment could not be determined under French law. The court concluded that it was valid under foreign law, and therefore, awarded Kiribati the full amount of the subrogation claim assigned to it by Lloyds  approximately $1.76 million. The port appealed from the decision to the Court of Appeals of Papeete.

Court of Appeals Decision

In its first appellate decision, issued in April 2010, the court of appeals affirmed most of the judgment of the commercial court but deferred a decision regarding its enforcement of the assignment of the subrogation claim. While the port claimed Kiribati was seeking a double compensation for the damages and an unjust enrichment, the court of appeals decided to defer any decision regarding this claim for compensation to allow Kiribati to prove the amount paid in consideration for the assignment by showing the actual price of the transfer.

After the first appellate decision, a Dechert attorney, Xavier Nyssen, advised Dennis Moran, an attorney in another law firm who was acting as Kiribatis general counsel, that he needed evidence of the consideration paid by Kiribati for the assignment to address the court of appeals concern about double compensation.

On two separate occasions, Moran provided various documents to Dechert as evidence. This included a 2004 letter from Moran to Lloyds counsel demanding payment of Lloyds equal share of Couderts legal fees with attached payment records that demonstrated Kiribati had paid more of the attorneys fees than Lloyds. It also included the December 2004 agreement between Kiribati and Lloyds with Kiribatis release of all further claims on its Lloyds policy, correspondence identifying the various claims against Lloyds that Kiribati had released and an unsworn written statement by a Lloyds representative that declared the assigned subrogation rights.

Dechert, however, only submitted as evidence to the court of appeals the 2004 letter from Moran, without any of the supporting documentation regarding legal fees, and the unsworn written statement by the Lloyds representative, without the policyholders release or the correspondence identifying the released claims.

The port noted in its response that Kiribati had provided no proof that it paid attorneys fees. With this in mind, another Kiribati attorney who was not associated with Dechert re-sent Nyssen the documents Moran had previously provided and informed Nyssen that he needed to submit the attorneys fee payment records and the policyholder release. Despite this, Dechert did not provide these documents to the court of appeals.

In its May 2011 final decision, the court of appeals reduced the amount of Kiribatis award by the amount of the assigned subrogated claim because Kiribati had failed to provide evidence of the financial compensation it paid for the assignment.

The court specifically noted Kiribati had failed to provide any evidence that it paid attorneys fees or that it released Lloyds from legal claims.

Superior Court Decision

In July 2013, Kiribati brought this action against Dechert in the Superior Court of Massachusetts. It alleged, among other claims, that Dechert was professionally negligent in its prosecution of the assigned subrogation claim because it failed to present evidence the court of appeals had requested and that Dechert had in its possession, resulting in a loss for Kiribati of approximately $1.76 million.

The superior court judge determined the court of appeals had committed judicial error under French law by not allowing recovery of the $1.76 million assigned subrogation claim for lack of proof that it was not double compensation, according to the SJC decision document.

The judge also determined that, regardless of whether Dechert was negligent in its handling of the appeal and regardless of whether the courts error of law was foreseeable, Dechert could not be found liable because the error of law by the court of appeals was a superseding cause relieving Dechert of any negligence in its representation of Kiribati.

Kiribati appealed, and the case was transferred to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on its own motion.

Supreme Judicial Court Decision

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court stated in its decision that attorneys who enter into attorney-client relationships owe their clients an obligation to exercise a reasonable degree of care and skill in the performance of [their] legal duties.

Dechert argued that, where a court rules against a client based on a foreseeable error of law, the clients attorney cannot be liable for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate the consequences of that error by offering evidence that would enable the client to prevail even under the courts erroneous view of the law, the SJC decision document stated. Dechert took the position that this is because in these circumstances, a courts legal error will always be the proximate cause of the adverse judicial decision.

In the context of this case, Dechert argued that by correctly applying French law, it can be concluded that Kiribati should have prevailed without proof of the consideration paid for the assignment. Therefore, Dechert argued, any negligence in failing to provide that proof cannot be the cause of the lost $1.76 million.

The fundamental flaw in this argument is that a plaintiffs loss need not have only one proximate cause; there can be multiple concurrent proximate causes, the Massachusetts SJC decision document stated.

The Massachusetts SJC added that when determining proximate cause in a legal malpractice action where there is an alleged error of law, it has to be determined whether the court that foreseeably made the error of law would have ruled in the clients favor had the attorney taken reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate it.

In the context of this case, where the court of appeals ruled against Kiribati because Dechert failed to submit the evidence it had been given that would have proved Kiribatis disproportionate payment of attorneys fees and its release of valuable claims against Lloyds, Decherts failure to provide the court with this evidence may be found to be the concurrent proximate cause of the courts adverse decision, the Massachusetts SJC decision document stated.

Therefore, the Massachusetts SJC decided that the Superior Court judge erred in ruling that Kiribati cannot prevail in this case.

We conclude that Decherts failure to furnish the court of appeals with the documentation was so plainly negligent that no expert testimony is needed to establish it, the Massachusetts SJC explained in its decision. Dechert may have believed that the court of appeals was wrong as a matter of law, but Dechert could have enabled Kiribati to win on its claim even if the court of appeals persisted in requiring what Dechert contended was an unnecessary factual showing to justify enforcement.

As a result of its analysis, The Massachusetts SJC reversed the Superior Court judges allowance of Decherts motion for summary judgment and his denial of Kiribatis motion for partial summary judgment on its legal malpractice claim, and remanded the case to the Superior Court for proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Topics Lawsuits Claims Excess Surplus Massachusetts Lloyd's Medical Professional Liability
The Ukrainian side of the Joint Coordination and Control Center (JCCC) has said that during October 15-17, 2017, illegal armed formations of certain regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions continue increasing the number of shelling positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the vicinity of civilian settlements.

"During the period of October 15-17, the total number of firing of the ATO positions by the illegal armed forces of the ORDLO has doubled, especially in Pavlopil, Vodaine, Hnutove, Artemove, Maryinka, and Zaitseve-Pivnichne areas (the territory of the ORDO), Triokhizbenka and Novotoshkivka (the territory of the ORLO)," the statement reads published on ATO's staff Facebook page on Tuesday.

The militants have repeatedly used weapons on the positions of the Armed Forces that are prohibited by the Minsk agreements: mortars of 82 and 120 mm caliber, as well as heavy machine guns and small arms, the message reads.

"The illegal armed formations of the ORDO had been firing from the machine guns and hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms on the positions of the ATO units in the area of populated localities of Pisky, Avdiyivka, Dutovka mine, Svitlodarsk and Kamyanka, Novo-Oleksandrivka, Popasna, Stanytsia Luhanska and Valuyske. In the Mariupol sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' units came under fire from grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms near Lebedynske, Shyrokyne, Talakivka and Novotroyitske," the press center of the ATO reported.

The Ukrainian side of the JCCC said that by such actions illegal armed groups ignore the Minsk agreements and demonstrate a desire to discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the eve of the next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group, as well as the desire for further aggravation of the armed conflict in Donbas.
More than six years after a deadly tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, the heavily damaged local school district has rebuilt.

Exactly how much of those costs the district will have to shoulder remains up in the air. The district is still haggling with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the amount of money its due.

The school district has seven appeals disputing more than $70 million of denied costs pending at FEMAs regional or national headquarters, according to records obtained by The Associated Press under the state Sunshine Law. The key issue is whether FEMA underestimated the cost to rebuild the schools, or whether the district is stretching FEMA rules to try to grasp as much cash as possible for its improved facilities.

The school district also has received money from an insurance settlement and voter-approved bond issue. But school officials said the FEMA funding disputes are financially straining the district, causing it to take out a $14 million, 10-year loan earlier this year while it awaits a final resolution from FEMA officials.

I have a great deal of empathy for them, because as caretakers of taxpayer dollars, just simply because (applicants) send a bill, they shouldnt be paying it. They need to validate that it went for its intended purpose, said Ron Lankford, Joplin School Districts interim chief financial officer.

But he added: In dealing with the federal bureaucracy  the reality is it is a very slow, cumbersome process.

The consequences of the disputed federal money are compounded, because Missouris emergency management agency wont pay any of its share of the disaster costs until all federal claims are finalized.

FEMA Public Assistance Director Christopher Logan acknowledges the agency has done a poor job resolving appeals quickly. But he says FEMA is trying to clear a backlog of appeals by next year while simultaneously dealing with a new wave of costly disasters that includes several Gulf Coast and Atlantic hurricanes and wildfires in the West.

Local governments and nonprofit organizations that are denied some or all of their requested disaster aid can appeal first to one of FEMAs 10 regional offices. If denied again, they can lodge a second appeal with its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Nationwide, roughly 280 first appeals are in the works, with 66 second appeals under review. That includes some stemming from disasters as far back as 17 years ago.

An AP analysis of more than 900 final appeals decisions over the past decade found that FEMA denied about two-thirds of them. Some were rejected because FEMA determined the repairs went beyond what was necessary; others because applicants failed to adequately document their costs. Still others were denied because they missed FEMAs strict deadlines.

All three of those issues appear to be in play for the Joplin schools.

The May 22, 2011, tornado that killed 161 people in the Joplin area was part of a series of spring storms and floods across Missouri that resulted in about 1,800 FEMA disaster projects, totaling $174 million of approved federal aid so far. That includes about $40 million of approved federal money for dozens of Joplin school projects, according to FEMA records, though the district claims it should get more than twice that much.

Joplin school officials contend FEMA significantly underestimated the cost to rebuild the facilities when it capped the amount the district could receive for its relocated and improved schools.

The district cites an engineering analysis that the square footage of the old high school was underestimated by about 5 percent, and that FEMA should have allowed costs for an underground water drainage system needed to meet city codes. The district also claims FEMA should have approved a 17 percent cost hike because of a labor shortage and adverse economic conditions.

The appeals ask for the project caps to be raised by more than $70 million, which the district said would result in an additional $62 million of aid based on its actual costs.

FEMAs acting regional director, Kathy Fields, denied one the schools appeals last month. She wrote that the alleged errors and omissions in FEMAs cost estimates related to hypothetical matters that could have been discovered by school officials at the time of the original estimate and were brought to FEMAs attention too late.

The school district plans to appeal again to FEMA headquarters.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Education Missouri
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday won the reversal of a $72 million verdict in favor of the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer they claimed stemmed from her use of the companys talc-based products like Johnsons Baby Powder.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District said that given a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that limited where injury lawsuits could be filed, the case over Alabama resident Jacqueline Foxs death should not have been tried in St. Louis.

The February 2016 verdict for Foxs family was the first of four jury awards totaling $307 million in state court in St. Louis to plaintiffs who accused J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products.

J&J says it faces lawsuits by 4,800 plaintiffs nationally asserting similar claims over its talc-based products. Many of those cases are in Missouri, where J&J won one trial, and in California, where in August a jury awarded a woman $417 million.

The Missouri cases, which have largely been brought by out-of-state plaintiffs, have faced jurisdictional questions after the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June that limited where personal injury lawsuits could be filed.

In a decision in a case involving Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the Supreme Court said state courts could not hear claims by non-residents who were not injured in that particular state or if the defendant company was not based in that state.

Supreme Court Limits Out-of-State Residents Joining Class Actions

The three-judge Missouri appellate panel cited that decision in its ruling in the case of Fox, who died four months before trial and who was one of 65 plaintiffs in her specific lawsuit, only two of whom were Missouri residents.

The cases of Fox and other plaintiffs from outside the state were joined with those of plaintiffs from Missouri, though each case resulting in a verdict has been tried individually.

The fact that resident plaintiffs sustained similar injuries does not support specific jurisdiction as to non-resident claims, Judge Lisa Van Amburg wrote.

Lawyers for Foxs family say the Alabama resident died in 2015 at age of 62 after using J&Js Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for more than 35 years. J&J sold Shower to Shower to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. in 2012.

J&J in a statement said it was pleased with the ruling. The $72 million awarded to Fox by jurors included $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in punitive damages.

Shares of J&J, which also reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its outlook on Tuesday, jumped 3.2 percent to $140.49 in afternoon trading.

Ted Meadows, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement said the ruling represents a denial of justice for the Fox family. He said the family was considering an appeal.

The case is Estate of Jacqueline Fox et al v. Johnson & Johnson, et al, Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, No. ED104580.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Andrew Hay and Leslie Adler)

Related:

Topics Missouri
President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed away from a bipartisan deal from two U.S. senators to stabilize Obamacare by restoring subsidies to health insurers, one day after signaling his support for the plan.

The agreement reached by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty Murray would continue billions of dollars of subsidies to insurers for two years to help lower-income Americans obtain medical coverage. Trump last week announced that he would end the subsidies, potentially creating chaos in the 2018 health insurance markets set up under Obamacare.

I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins cos who have made a fortune w/ OCare, Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Trump had indicated support of the agreement during a news conference, saying the White House had been involved in the negotiations and that the agreement would be a short-term solution that would get us over this intermediate hump.

During Tuesdays news conference, he also made clear that he wanted broader legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare and that he still considered the subsidies a government handout that had enriched insurance companies.

He also told a conservative think thank, While I commend the bipartisan work done by Senators Alexander and Murray  I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.

Trumps tweet on Wednesday could undermine efforts by proponents of the deal to build Republican support for it.

Fate Unclear

The Alexander-Murray proposal would meet some Democratic objectives, such as reviving subsidies for Obamacare and restoring $106 million in funding for a federal program that helps people enroll in insurance plans.

In exchange, Republicans would get more flexibility for states to offer a wider variety of health insurance plans while maintaining the requirement that sick and healthy people be charged the same rates for coverage.

The subsidies compensate private insurers for reducing deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket expenses for low-income customers. They are known as cost-sharing reduction payments.

The presidents move last week to discontinue subsidies was part of his effort to dismantle the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, through executive actions because his fellow Republicans who control Congress have failed to pass legislation to repeal and replace the law.

While the two senators proposal has broad Democratic support, it is unclear how many Republicans will endorse it and whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan will allow a vote on it.

Republican Senator Susan Collins, a moderate who helped kill earlier efforts to repeal and replace the healthcare law, said she backed efforts to shore up Obamacare but that it remained unclear if there would ultimately be enough support.

Now, the White House is sending conflicting messages, she told CNN in an interview on Wednesday, adding that the insurer payments had been mischaracterized as a boon for the industry.

Collins said she did not know if McConnell would schedule a vote but that if it comes to the floor, I think the votes are there.

Republicans, describing Obamacare as ineffective and a massive government intrusion in a key sector of the economy, have sought for seven years to repeal and replace it. Scrapping the law was also a top Trump campaign pledge.

Democrats have fought to defend Obamacare, which extended health insurance to 20 million Americans.

(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott)
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies wants to build a tube-based inter and intra-city transportation system to transport passengers and cargo at high speeds. As part of its efforts to gain support, it sought to assure people that its technology is feasible.

The firm recently collaborated with Munich Re on a risk analysis of Hyperloops proposed futuristic transport system.

The good news for Hyperloop is the experts at Munich Re believe the technology is both feasible and insurable.

This is how Hyperloop works: a travel capsule moves through a tube with nearly zero friction and safely up to airplane speeds. The capsule is propelled by a drastic reduction of air in the tube along with magnetic levitation and propulsion. The system is all powered by a combination of alternative energy and energy conservation systems that its designer day will produce as much or more energy than it uses.

Global insurer Munich Re conducted a comprehensive risk analysis of the Hyperloop technology and created the first Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Risk Report. Over the past year, a project team within Munich Res Special Enterprise Risks Unit weighed the risks and challenges facing HTTs Hyperloop technology. They developed risk landscapes to shed light on enterprise and technological risk and to document relevant external and internal influencing variables.

Munich Re concluded that the Hyperloop technology is both feasible and insurable in the medium term and that delivering the system demands a model represented by HTTs innovative approach.

The risk report forms the foundation for active strategic risk management and, according to company officials, having risk management integrated into its planning will allow HTT to move ahead to other challenges such as the legal framework for its transportation infrastructure and to commence actual construction.

Offering an insurable system is a massive milestone for this groundbreaking technology, Dirk Ahlborn, CEO and co-founder of HTT, said. As we move forward with commercialization of the system and our technology, our biggest challenge remains the creation of a new regulatory framework.

With one of the worlds leading insurance companies as a partner, we are able to integrate a risk management framework into our planning process, Bibop Gresta, chairman and co-founder of HTT said. Now with further validation that our technologies and system are feasible and insurable, we are ready to build.

The analysis also positions Munich Re to develop new insurance products to meet the needs of Hyperloop.

The technology developed by HTT is set to fundamentally change the way we travel in the future. Such technological shifts give rise to new insurance needs that demand innovative solutions, which Munich Re is happy to develop, said Torsten Jeworrek, member of the Munich Re board of management.

The Munich Re findings may also help sway public opinion as to the safety of Hyperloop, although recent research by travel and specialty insurer Allianz Global Assistance USA suggests the public is more comfortable with the idea of super-fast trains like Hyperloop than with autonomous cars. Self-driving or autonomous vehicles rate lowest for travelers very interested and highest for safety concerns among those not interested when compared to other future travel methods surveyed, including space travel, supersonic travel, Hyperloop high-speed rail, and even flying cars.

Founded in 2013, HTT is a global team comprised of more than 800 engineers, creatives and technologists in 52 multidisciplinary teams, with 40 corporate and university partners. Headquartered in Los Angeles, HTT has offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE; Bratislava, Slovakia; Toulouse, France; and Barcelona, Spain. HTT has signed agreements in California, Slovakia, Abu Dhabi, the Czech Republic, France, Indonesia and Korea.

Hyperloop has been promoted by entrepreneur Elon Musk, who founded Tesla Motors, helped start PayPal, and is also co-founder and CEO of Space X.

Related:

Topics InsurTech Tech Risk Management
In the event of a dirty bomb or a nuclear meltdown, emergency responders can safely tolerate radiation levels equivalent to thousands of chest X-rays, the Environmental Protection Agency said in new guidelines that ease off on established safety levels.

The EPAs determination sets a level ten times the drinking water standard for radiation recommended under President Barack Obama. It could lead to the administration of President Donald Trump weakening radiation safety levels, watchdog groups critical of the move say.

Its really a huge amount of radiation they are saying is safe, said Daniel Hirsch, the retired director of the University of California, Santa Cruzs program on environmental and nuclear policy. The position taken could readily unravel all radiation protection rules.

The change was included as part of EPA guidance on messaging and communications in the event of a nuclear power plant meltdown or dirty bomb attack. The FAQ document, dated September 2017, is part of a broader planning document for nuclear emergencies, and does not carry the weight of federal standards or law.

According to radiation safety experts, radiation exposures of 5-10 rem (5,000-10,000 mrem or 50-100 mSv) usually result in no harmful health effects, because radiation below these levels is a minor contributor to our overall cancer risk, EPA said in the document. That level is equivalent to as many as 5,000 chest X-rays or seven to 14 chest CT scans, according to a comparison with Food and Drug Administration data.

A 2007 version of the same document stated that no level of radiation is safe, concluding: The current body of scientific knowledge tells us this.

EPA Denial

EPA has not changed its standards regarding radiation exposure, and no protective guidelines were changed during this administration, EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said in a statement. We are simply providing more supporting resources.

Radiation of certain wavelengths, called ionizing radiation, has enough energy to damage genetic material and cause cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. The extent of the damage to the cells depends upon the amount and duration of the exposure, as well as the organs exposed, according to the FDA.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, exposure limits are set at four millirem (or mrem) a year, and federal standards for hazardous air pollutants limits radiation exposure to 10 mrem a year, Hirsch said. Federal regulations limit exposure for living near a nuclear power plant to 25 mrem a year, he said.

Even with those lower standards, the EPA had never before said that any level of radiation exposure is safe, according to Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog group of government workers and retirees. Ruch linked the EPAs scientific views on radiation exposure to the skepticism of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that humans are the main contributor to climate change.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Pollution
The former mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is suing an insurance company and broker because she says the $4 million she received for a lost blue diamond ring isnt enough.

The Tulsa World reports that Kathy Taylors federal lawsuit filed in Tulsa seeks more than $75,000. It alleges AIG Property Casualty Co. paid $4 million for loss of the ring her husband gave her, but hasnt covered the rings full value.

The insurance broker, Integro USA Inc., filed a motion to dismiss the case in which it says Taylor and her husband rejected a policy that would have covered any increase in the rings value.

Neither Taylor nor attorneys for the companies returned the newspapers phone calls seeking comment.

Taylor lost the 5-carat blue diamond ring in California wine country, according to the lawsuit.

While attending a cooking class, (Taylor) went to wash her hands, her petition states. She removed her ring and did not realize that she had forgotten to put it back on her finger, it says.

Taylor sent an email to the Meadowood Napa Valley resort staff on Nov. 6 that says she believes someone took the ring after she removed it from her finger during the cooking class.

When I returned to my room and began getting ready for croquet and went to put on my jewelry  I immediately realized I had left the ring, the email says.

Integro alleges in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that Taylors negligence claim cherry-picks from and ignores the indisputable documents received or authored by Taylor that undercut her claim.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Carriers Oklahoma
Georgias estimated insured losses from Hurricane Irma have climbed to more than $550 million, with insurers reporting approximately 103,163 claims filed so far, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

The estimate is based on claims data reported to the Georgia Department of Insurance by property and casualty insurance companies from damage to insured homes, vehicles, and businesses. Hudgens pointed out that flood damage to vehicles are included in the reporting, but damage to businesses and private dwellings from flooding, would not be represented. The majority of flood insurance is offered through a federal program, not through insurance companies.

Department of Insurance Consumer Claims Specialists continue to assists residents of storm damaged communities daily with claims issues and other insurance questions.

As part of our disaster recovery plan, my staff and I will continue to have conversations with claims managers of various insurance carriers to ensure a smooth claims process for the consumers of Georgia, Hudgens said.

Those experiencing difficulty reaching their insurance company can call the Georgia Consumer Hotline at 4046562070, or, outside the metro area, 8006562298. Phone lines are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Claims Profit Loss Hurricane Georgia
A Mississippi woman accused of attempting to defraud an insurance company out of thousands of dollars has been arrested.

News outlets report 30-year-old Kyomi M. Fulton, of Fayette, was arrested Oct. 11 and charged with one count of insurance fraud for allegedly attempting to defraud Geico Insurance out of more than $3,200.

Attorney General Jim Hood said in a press release that Fulton reported a 2000 Grand Marquis as stolen and then submitted a false repair report claiming that she had put a new engine in the vehicle before it was stolen. An indictment stated that no such repairs had been made.

If convicted, Fulton faces up to three years in prison and $5,000 in fines. Its unclear if she has a lawyer.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Mississippi
Lightning started a forest fire one August afternoon near Sisters, an Oregon tourist town, and it was spreading fast. Residents in outlying areas evacuated as flames marched toward their homes.

Just a few months earlier, the U.S. Forest Service and a group of locals representing environmental, logging and recreational interests arranged to thin part of the overgrown forest, creating a buffer zone around Sisters.

Workers removed trees and brush with machines, then came through on foot to ignite prescribed burns. That effort saved homes, and perhaps the community of 2,500 on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range, by slowing the fires progress and allowing firefighters to corral it.

Scrutiny of the condition of the American Wests forests, and of policies that curtailed logging and suppressed wildfires, has intensified amid a devastating wildfire season that has burned a combined area bigger than Maryland and caused widespread destruction in Californias wine country.

Until the advent of aggressive fire suppression at the turn of the last century, forests were historically shaped by low-intensity blazes, with the flames clearing underbrush but not killing tall trees. Forests across the West are now so overgrown theyve been called powder kegs.

The work by the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project in central Oregon, where towns and subdivisions sit in a green ocean of Ponderosa and lodgepole pines, shows the potential of forest thinning. And it shows how loggers and environmentalists  normally bitter enemies  can join forces.

But it also highlights the challenges of replicating the forest thinning across the West, where a lack of timber workers and money are among the obstacles.

On a recent morning, Forest Service fire manager James Osborne drove into a section of the Deschutes National Forest outside Sisters that was thinned in May. Widely spaced Ponderosas were blackened to twice the height of a person. But higher up, the bark retained its normal orangey color. Needle clusters shone vibrant green in the sunshine. Four deer trotted through dappled sunlight. This part of the forest looked healthy, not despite of, but due to, the prescribed burn.

Ponderosa pines are used to low-intensity fires, Osborne said. Every five to 15 years, a fire would come through. Were trying to take it back to low-intensity fires.

Californias situation is different because its wildfires have generally ignited in chaparral  brush that naturally grows densely packed, said Andrew Latimer, plant expert at the University of California-Davis. The temperate coniferous forests that burn in large wildfires elsewhere are historically less dense.

Returning those forests to their natural state is the goal of groups like the Deschutes Collaborative, one of 23 projects in the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration program created in 2009 by Congress. Overcoming suspicions and stereotypes was one of the Oregon groups first hurdles.

Deschutes Collaborative member Marilyn Miller, an environmentalist, and former member Chuck Burley, who then worked for an Oregon sawmill, used to call each other names, Miller recalled during a recent tour of Deschutes Collaborative projects. But they got to know each other in Bend, home to more microbreweries per capita than anywhere else in America.

I hate to say this, but beer really is a good conversation starter, Miller said. We would sit and talk. We learned were real humans with real concerns, and what we care about isnt that far apart.

Burley, whos now employed with the Forest Service, said the Deschutes Collaborative made recommendations on where and how much to thin, and the Forest Service almost always adopted them.

They had a consensus, a starting point, Burley said in a phone interview.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, applauds collaborative efforts, including the Good Neighbor Authority under which states can organize restoration of federal lands. Under the programs, a mill removes the timber after agreeing to buy it at a certain rate. The proceeds stay local, helping finance more restoration.

No. 1, it allows us to put Oregonians back to work in the woods, so there are good jobs, Brown said. No. 2, it provides product for the local milling infrastructure. And No. 3, it creates healthier forests. Do I think we need more efforts like this? Absolutely.

Such groups understand some management is required to keep public lands healthy, said Amy Tinderholt, a Deschutes National Forest ranger.

But replicating the work across the sprawling reaches of the West poses several challenges.

We really dont have the capacity in most places to do the work at anything like the scale needed, said John Bailey, an Oregon State University professor of silviculture and fire management.

There are no longer enough timber outlets such as mills and plants, he said. And things like equipment, trucks, drivers and infrastructure will take time and resources to ramp back up.

Also, smoke from controlled burns can surpass legal limits, though its much less than smoke from out-of-control wildfires. Some wilderness areas and habitats for endangered species could be off-limits.

Another challenge is money.

All of those funds will take you only so far across the landscape, and weve got pretty large landscapes, Tinderholt said.

Restored areas also would have to be thinned again after some years, unless fires are allowed to burn the vegetation that grows back.

In Oregon, many locals are proud of the Deschutes Collaboratives work, and want to see more done in the state and other parts of the West.

As it unfolded, the community has really come behind it. Its amazing, said Kevin Larkin, a senior Deschutes Forest ranger. Scaling up, thats our hope.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Wildfire Homeowners Oregon
Dont rely on the U.S. government to protect your business from cyber threats.

That was the consensus among experts speaking about cyber programs at a risk management conference on Tuesday.

The U.S. government hasnt done a lot to protect cyberspace, said Craig Guiliano, associate director of Aons cyber practice group, who was speaking on Tuesday at the 2017 Risk Management Summit: Unlocking Possibility.

The summit is being held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas from Sunday through Thursday. The conference is hosted by Energi, a provider of risk management and insurance offerings to the energy industry.

The panel he was on, Cyber Protection Plans, was moderated by John Serbin, regional vice president of safety and loss prevention for the Northwest region of eRisk Solutions. Other panelists were: Regine Bonneau, founder and CEO of RB Advisory LLC; Nathaniel Gravel, vice president of information security and IT at GraVoc; and Anthony Howley, senior underwriter for Evolve Cyber Insurance Services.

The panelists emphasized the need for companies to protect themselves, and not to rely on the government.

Guiliano said the governments defense focus has continued to be on defending air, land and sea.

In cyberspace, theyve kind of tiptoed around and actually have done very little comparative to other threats, Guiliano said.

He used the U.S. governments response to Sony Pictures and North Korea as an example

In 2014, a hacker group leaked data from Sony Pictures, which included personal information. The hack was tied to North Korea, though that nations leaders denied it.

The brunt of the U.S. governments response involved launching investigations.

Their response was very weak, Guiliano said.

This is why, Bonneau said, that companies which are exposed are not only at risk from domestic threats from hackers, but also from such threats from abroad.

Were fighting a silent war, Bonneau said.

Both she and Gravel emphasized the need to go above and beyond basic standards being set by the government to ensure a business is protected, and not simply using a government-generated check list and marking off boxes to make sure your company is compliant.

I think compliance has been misinterpreted over the years to be a gold standard and its really not. Its just a minimum standard, Gravel said.

Howley emphasized that risk managers and those involved with cyber security should understand what industry the company is in and what exposures that particular industry faces.

He offered as an extreme example a healthcare provider his firm worked with. The firms leadership wasnt aware that protecting patient records was subject to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) law.

The company lost a few thousand records, which he judged to be comparatively small, but it was slapped with nearly $2 million in fines.

Understand your industry, understand your exposures, Howley said.

Guiliano recommended that if a company is attacked that response efforts should include time and resouces to take an assessment of what was lost.

This will aid recovery efforts after an attack and make the company more resilient to attacks going forward, he said.

Understanding the effects of the attack are really important, Guiliano added.

Opioids

The best way to battle the opioid epidemic in workers compensation is to start looking at the minds as well as the bodies of recovering workers.

Thats according to Dr. Angel Garrido, chief medical officer of Concordia Care Inc.

Pain is a biopsychosocial phenomena, Garrido said, adding that we need to look at the person as a whole person.

Garrido, who was referring to a medical view that attributes pain or disease to the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors, was speaking on a panel titled The Opioid Epidemic and Injured Workers.

It was moderated by Elizabeth Ward, director of vendor management for eClaims Management. The other panelists were Stacey Whidden, CEO of EZ Comp Care, and Karen Derrico, vice president of workers compensation and critical care for Best Doctors.

The panelists agreed that battling opioid addiction should be undertaken through a multifaceted approach, which includes mental health evaluations of injured workers, more contact between the company and injured workers and best practices that include choosing board certified and well-vetted medical providers.

Garrido used as an example the case of a 51-year-old female with multiple spinal fusions who was on morphine for 14 years without returning to work.

Fourteen years of doing practically nothing, he said.

He said his firm got involved and intervened by talking with the worker and her physicians, and then got her help that ended up with her being weaned off the opioids and returning to work.

The lesson?

Theres no dichotomy between brain and body, he said. Healthy mind, healthy body. The biopsychosocial aspect is probably the No. 1 barrier to recovery.

Derrico advised that companies should consider creating a contract with injured employees who are taking opioids, which includes an agreement to be drug tested.

She also advised tapping into existing drug treatment programs and other forms of assistance, but to do so with measured optimism.

These programs can only go so far with certain individuals, she added.

Injured workers who are suspected of abusing opioids and are having trouble returning to work often have certain characteristics to look for such as a history of mental illness, a family history of mental illness or a previous bout with addiction, Whidden said.

These are people who typically have delayed recovery, she said.

Whidden noted that many firms are employing cognitive processing therapy, which uses elements of cognitive behavioral therapy to help people recover from posttraumatic stress disorder and related conditions, to assist workers who are dealing with pain.

She said the therapy helps to identify and address issues like anxiety, avoidance and catastrophizing, which often led to a prolonged time between an employees injury and their return to work.

Marketing

Your website is your storefront.

That gem was from Michael Richmond, CEO of DigDev Direct.

He was speaking on a panel on marketing. The panelists were Larry Neilson, CEO of Neilson Marketing Services, Julie Tinney, the chief marketing officer of Wells Media Group Inc., and Brian Gravel, vice president of creative technology for GraVoc.

Richmond, who was talking about the value of informative content in getting customers to a companys website, said the site should have a clear call to action in a prominent spot, such as: Free download of our white paper with must-knows on the petroleum industry.

The panel tackled everything from internet marketing, to website building, to SEO, to all things digital, to traditional marketing.

Neilson said social media should be viewed as an opportunity for us to scale relationship development.

I think social media provides exponential communications for us all, he said.

Tinney, who also talked about the importance of embracing social media in a companys marketing plan, said that not only time but resources are necessary for social media marketing to be effective.

Your organic reach on Facebook has gone down and down, Tinney said, noting that there is so much content on the platform that its hard for messages to get seen. If you want to leverage social media, put some money in it.

Tinney also warned against requiring potential customers to input a lot of information and forcing them to fill out numerous data fields on their first visit to the website or their first digital interaction with the company.

Resist, at all costs, asking for reams of data initially, Tinney said. You just put up a wall.

The panelists addressed customer reviews, which they agreed could be a good thing or a bad thing for a companys image.

Neilson believes companies should consider progressively seeking out customer reviews.

When a customer interacts with an employee, its an opportunity to ask for a review, Neilson said. Train your employees to ask for reviews.

Tinney offered a takeaway for the audience: the value of good, old-fashioned marketing and customer-facing service from a human being shouldnt get lost in the sea of emerging technology.

The irony of innovative marketing now is: When is the last time youve gotten a handwritten note? Tinney said. The traditional can help you through the clutter. The two should co-exist.

Other sessions on Tuesday included: Claims  Litigation Briefing; Risk Management  Transportation Regulatory Update; Risk Management  DOT Audit Compliance; and Human Resources  Wellness Programs.

Wednesday kicks off with sessions titled Vehicle Technology Solutions, and How to Change for Tomorrow.

Related:

Topics USA Trends Cyber Workers' Compensation Risk Management
Ukrainian authorities will not seek to demolish tents that protesters have pitched on Hrushevskoho Street and near the Verkhovna Rada building in central Kyiv, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.

"There will be no demolition of the tents. However, to avoid provocations and to ensure the security of the demonstrators themselves, the entrance to the rally zone will be through door frame metal detectors," Lutsenko said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Special services obtained information about and established instances of "storage and procurement of weapons by members of illegal groups among the demonstrators," Lutsenko said. "This is precisely what explains the Interior Ministry's increased security measures. Their duty is to ensure the security of rally participants, Kyiv, and the country," he said.

Meanwhile, about 200 demonstrators are currently near the Verkhovna Rada building, demanding "major political reform."

An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported from the scene that the situation there was calm on Wednesday morning. A field kitchen has been deployed near the tents pitched on Hrushevskoho Street. Groups of demonstrators are also warming themselves near portable heaters deployed there.

There are no politicians among the protesters at the moment.

About 5,000 people gathered for an open-ended rally on Hrushevskoho Street and near the Verkhovna Rada building in Kyiv on Tuesday. The protesters have demanded the abolition of parliamentary immunity, the establishment of a special anti-corruption court, and amendments to election laws.
Seattle, Wash.-based PEMCO Insurance has named M.J. Vigil to its executive team as the companys new vice president of people and brand.

PEMCO also named Paul Barry to its executive leadership team as vice president of claims.

Vigil will be responsible for guiding the overall customer and employee experience for PEMCO. Vigil is joining the organization under a newly created role on the executive team. In addition to the strategic oversight of the employee and customer experience, her role will have functional leadership for PEMCOs people services and marketing and communications areas.

Vigil has 20 years of human resources, customer service and business leadership experience. She spent 14 years at Starbucks holding various leadership roles, most recently as vice president of human resources. Prior to Starbucks, Vigil led talent acquisition, training, and operations for Northwest hospitality companies, including Schwartz Brothers, Cucina Cucina, and Restaurants Unlimited.

Barry replaces Steve Miller, who is retiring at the end of the year. Barry will begin transitioning into his new role, working with Miller through the fall.

Barry has been the senior systems manager for PEMCOs digital services team since 2015, and he has more than 30 years of insurance industry and claims experience. He got his start in the industry as a claims adjuster. Barry worked for Safeco Insurance from 1985 to 2006. In 2004, he became the vice president of national operations.

PEMCO is a Northwest company providing auto, home, and boat insurance.

Topics Claims Washington
Nel corso della notte l'unita di crisi della Farnesina mi ha comunicato la liberazione di don Maurizio Pallu, il presbitero missionario che era stato rapito in Nigeria. Lo aspettiamo presto in Italia. E' quanto ha dichiarato il ministro degli Esteri, Angelino Alfano, intervistato da Circo Massimo su Radio Capital. Il capo della Farnesina ha aggiunto che il sacerdote sta bene, spiegando che secondo quello che risulta anche ai suoi confratelli neocatecumenali sta bene, si starebbe recando ad Abuja. Alfano, inoltre, ha sottolineato che le notizie pero sono della notte e, nonostante ci saranno state sicuramente delle evoluzioni, le informazioni che abbiamo noi sono positive. Gia domenica scorsa, don Maurizio Pallu aveva rassicurato i suoi cari, telefonando e dicendo che stava bene. Il sacerdote, nato a Firenze, ma appartenente alla diocesi di Roma, aveva anche annunciato che da li a pochi giorni sarebbe stato liberato.

Il rapimento

Il sacerdote missionario e stato rapito lo scorso 12 ottobre in Nigeria, insieme ad altre quattro persone, mentre si stava recando a Benin City. I cinque erano stati fermati da un gruppo armato che li aveva rapinati di tutti i loro averi e avevano rapito il sacerdote che si trovava in missione nello stato africano da tre anni.

Nardella: Una splendida notizia

La liberazione di don Maurizio Pallu e una bellissima notizia, e una fortuna che la vicenda si sia risolta rapidamente. Cosi il sindaco di Firenze, Dario Nardella, ha commentato il rilascio del sacerdote di origini fiorentine a LadyRadio. Non lo conosco direttamente  ha aggiunto il sindaco  ma tutti coloro che lo conoscono e con cui ho parlato mi hanno raccontato che e una persona straordinaria: speriamo di poterlo riabbracciare presto a Firenze.

Don Maurizio Pallu

Sessantre anni, don Pallu e originario di Firenze dove e entrato nel Cammino neocatecumenale. Per 11 anni e stato missionario in diversi Paesi della Terra. Nel 1988 lingresso in seminario, il Redemptoris Mater di Roma. Dopo lordinazione ha operato in due parrocchie romane, poi lesperienza in Olanda, dove e diventato parroco nella diocesi di Haarlem. In Nigeria lavorava nellarcidiocesi di Abujia. Don Maurizio e oggi un presibitero della Fondazione Famiglia di Nazareth per levangelizzazione itinerante.
E stata presentata la stagione 2017/18 del Teatro dellOpera di Roma. Un palinsesto ricco e articolato tra decine di opere, balletti, concerti sinfonici, tournee e molto altro.

La stagione operistica

La stagione operistica 2017-18 del Teatro dellOpera di Roma continua sulle linee guida che hanno segnato gli scorsi anni. Ci sembra  si legge nel sito del teatroTeatro Costanzi, dal nome del suo artefice, dedicato allopera lirica e al balletto e diretto dal 2015 da Eleonora Abbagnato  di essere riusciti a convincere coloro che ci seguono con affetto da molti anni, ma anche ad avvicinare un pubblico nuovo, e specialmente giovanile, allopera, questa forma di spettacolo che arriva da un passato lontano e che ha saputo attraversare epoche e linguaggi diversi, mantenendo una sua specificita. In particolare la rilettura di melodrammi noti, che molti registi hanno saputo elaborare in maniera del tutto nuova, ha suscitato grande favore, insieme a un confronto di opinioni che testimonia la viva partecipazione del nostro pubblico, si legge nel sito. Questa rilettura dei capolavori sette-ottocenteschi e stata accostata a titoli del Novecento e anche contemporanei: unapertura al nuovo che ritornera nei prossimi mesi.

Proponiamo questanno al nostro pubblico 10 produzioni dopera (di cui 7 nuovi allestimenti) per 78 recite, 6 spettacoli di balletto (di cui un nuovo allestimento) per 46 recite e 4 concerti sinfonici. Se a questi numeri aggiungiamo la stagione di Caracalla 2018 per la quale prevediamo tre titoli per 25 recite, si superano le 150 recite. Queste cifre confermano dunque la crescita del Teatro, in linea con gli aumenti gia registrati nelle ultime stagioni.

La damnation de Faust

La prima opera in scena per la stagione 2017-18 manca dal Teatro dellOpera di Roma da piu di sessantanni: La damnation de Faust di Hector Berlioz, eseguita lultima volta nel 1955 diretta da Franco Capuana, torna (6 recite dal 12 al 23 dicembre 2017) in un nuovo allestimento, in coproduzione con il Regio di Torino e il Palau de Les Arts di Valencia. Il mito del Faust raccontato da Goethe acquista nuove tinte in questa versione, non a caso ideata dal compositore francese piu vicino al clima romantico tedesco. Lopera vedra impegnati il direttore Daniele Gatti e il regista Damiano Michieletto. Tornano cosi due artisti che hanno avuto grande successo nella scorsa stagione, il primo con il Tristan und Isolde inaugurale, il secondo con un intelligente, personalissimo allestimento de Il viaggio a Reims di Rossini. Le scene saranno di Paolo Fantin, i costumi di Carla Teti, le luci di Alessandro Carletti. Tra gli interpreti Pavel Cernoh, Alex Esposito, Veronica Simeoni e Goran Juric.

I masnadieri di Verdi

Molto rara, e anchessa con ascendenze tedesche e romantiche, e la seconda opera in cartellone. Solo unaltra volta (nel lontano 1972, diretta da Gavazzeni con la regia di Missiroli) I masnadieri di Verdi, su un libretto tratto da Schiller, erano approdati al Costanzi. Ritornano in un nuovo allestimento (6 recite dal 21 gennaio al 4 febbraio 2018), diretti da Roberto Abbado, ormai di casa al nostro Teatro, e con Massimo Popolizio che debutta cosi nella regia dopera. Riccardo Zanellato, Stefano Secco (che si alterna con Andeka Gorrotxategi) Artur Rucinski e Roberta Mantegna interpretano questo lavoro dalle forti tinte drammatiche, di rara esecuzione. Motivo di particolare interesse sta anche nel fatto che si tratta della prima opera con cui un Verdi trentaquattrenne debutto allestero, per giunta sullimportante piazza di Londra, nel 1847.

La sonnambula di Vincenzo Bellini

La sonnambula di Vincenzo Bellini (6 recite dal 18 febbraio al 3 marzo) vede il ritorno sul podio di Speranza Scappucci, dopo il successo ottenuto col Cosi fan tutte nel gennaio scorso, e la regia di Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, regista gia ben noto al pubblico dellopera. Anche questo un nuovo allestimento, in coproduzione con il Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari, e con il ritorno di una regina di questo repertorio, Jessica Pratt, protagonista lo scorso anno della Linda di Chamounix; con lei si alternera Jessica Nuccio; il ruolo del Conte Rodolfo sara interpretato da Riccardo Zanellato e Dario Russo, quello di Teresa da Reut Ventorero e Juan Francisco Gatell sara Elvino.

Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci di Rizzi

Il dittico Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci (5 recite dal 5 al 15 aprile) e un appuntamento sempre atteso dagli amanti dellopera. Viene proposto diretto da Carlo Rizzi, in un nuovo allestimento, in coproduzione con il San Carlo di Napoli, molto atteso anche per la regia di Pippo Delbono, al debutto allOpera di Roma. In Cavalleria rusticana canteranno Anita Rachvelishvili (Santuzza), Martina Belli (Lola), e Alfred Kim (Turiddu); George Gagnidze e Gevorg Hakobyan si alterneranno come Alfio e Anna Malavasi sara Lucia. In Pagliacci Fabio Sartori e Diego Cavazzin canteranno il ruolo di Canio, Carmela Remigio sara Nedda, George Gagnidze e Gevorg Hakobyan interpreteranno la parte di Tonio.

Billy Budd di Benjamin Britten

Un grande capolavoro del Novecento Billy Budd di Benjamin Britten viene presentato per la prima volta a Roma (5 recite dall8 al 15 maggio). James Conlon dirigera il nuovo allestimento (una coproduzione col Teatro Real di Madrid, lOpera National di Parigi e la Finnish National Opera) mentre lambigua, inquietante vicenda del marinaio narrata da Herman Melville sara raccontata dalla regia coinvolgente di Deborah Warner, una delle piu quotate registe di opera di oggi. Jacques Imbrailo sara nel ruolo del titolo, Toby Spence il Capitano Vere, John Relya sara Claggart.

La boheme pucciniana

La stagione ripropone anche un titolo pucciniano molto amato dal pubblico, in un nuovo allestimento coprodotto con il Regio di Torino. La boheme (11 recite dal 13 al 24 giugno) sara diretta da Henrik Nanasi (con cui si alternera Pietro Rizzo) e avra la regia di Alex Olle (La Fura dels Baus). Anita Hartig, Victoria Yeo e Roberta Mantegna si alterneranno nel ruolo di Mimi, Giorgio Berrugi e Ivan Ayon-Rivas in quello di Rodolfo, Olga Kukchynska e Valentina Nafornita saranno Musetta, nella parte di Marcello canteranno Massimo Cavalletti e Alessandro Luongo. Anche a questa, come alla precedente produzione, prendera parte la Scuola di Canto Corale del Teatro dellOpera di Roma diretta dal maestro Jose Maria Sciutto.

Mozart

E poi due capolavori di Mozart. Barrie Kosky e Suzanne Andrade firmano a quattro mani lallestimento di Die Zauberflote della Komische Oper di Berlino, con la direzione di Henrik Nanasi (8 recite dal 9 al 17 ottobre). Uno spettacolo strabiliante, che include parti di film danimazione ed e reduce da un grandissimo successo in tutto il mondo, dagli USA a Edimburgo a Pechino. Tra gli interpreti Amanda Forsythe e Kiandra Howarth come Pamina; Ben Bliss e Giulio Pelligra come Tamino. Christina Poulitsti e Olga Pudova canteranno il ruolo della Regina della Notte, Sarastro sara interpretato da Antonio Di Matteo e Gianluca Buratto, Papageno da Alessio Arduini e Joan Martin-Royo e Monostatos da Andrea Giovannini.

Le nozze di Figaro

Molto attesa e anche la seconda lettura della trilogia Mozart/da Ponte proposta da Graham Vick dopo il Cosi fan tutte dello scorso inverno. Le nozze di Figaro (10 recite dal 30 ottobre all11 novembre) in questo nuovo allestimento saranno dirette da Stefano Montanari, reduce dal recentissimo successo del Viaggio a Reims. Insieme, direttore e regista riusciranno certamente a dare tutto il brio necessario alla folle giornata del piu musicato dei barbieri!

Nella parte del Conte di Almaviva sentiremo Andrey Zhilikhovsky e Alessandro Luongo, Federica Lombardi e Valentina Varriale in quello della Contessa. I due sposi promessi saranno Elena Sancho Pereg e Benedetta Torre (Susanna) e Vito Priante e Simone Del Savio (Figaro). Miriam Albano e Reut Ventorero canteranno nel ruolo di Cherubino. Paolo Bordogna sara Don Bartolo, Matteo Falcier Don Basilio, Angela Nisi Barbarina.

La traviata e la Tosca

La nuova stagione vedra anche la ripresa di due allestimenti del Teatro, che hanno ottenuto grande successo. Torna cosi La traviata (5 recite dal 24 febbraio al 4 marzo) con la regia di Sofia Coppola, i costumi di Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri e Pierpaolo Piccioli, e le scene di Nathan Crowley. Protagonista sara Maria Grazia Schiavo, insieme con lei Antonio Poli (Alfredo), Stefano Antonucci (Giorgio Germont) e Anna Malavasi (Flora).

E sara riproposta anche Tosca, nellallestimento con la regia di Alessandro Talevi sulle scene e i costumi originali di Adolf Hohenstein ricostruiti rispettivamente da Carlo Savi e da Anna Biagiotti. Lopera sara diretta da Jordi Bernacer (5 recite dal 7 al 17 aprile) e poi ripresa, con la direzione di Stefano Ranzani (4 recite dal 15 al 18 novembre). Tra gli interpreti principali si alterneranno Monica Zanettin e Virginia Tola nel ruolo della protagonista, Stefano La Colla che si alterna con Andeka Gorrotxategi e Diego Cavazzin come Mario, mentre Fabian Veloz sara il barone Scarpia.

Tutti i titoli vedranno protagonista la nostra Orchestra (peraltro impegnata anche in quattro concerti sinfonici) e, laddove la partitura lo richiede, il Coro del Teatro dellOpera di Roma diretto dal maestro Roberto Gabbiani: due compagini che sono la prima garanzia di qualita delle nostre produzioni.

La stagione di balletto

Una sorprendente prima mondiale, unavvincente storia damore e un eccitante trittico contemporaneo per la prima volta in scena al Teatro Costanzi, una memorabile serata tutta francese e due straordinarie riprese, tracciano la nuova stagione di balletto 2017-18 del Teatro dellOpera di Roma con letoile, i Primi Ballerini, i Solisti e il Corpo di Ballo diretti da Eleonora Abbagnato.

Lintera stagione 2017-18 del Teatro dellOpera di Roma sinaugura con un balletto in prima mondiale, mercoledi 15 novembre al Teatro Costanzi.

Don Chisciotte

Si comincia infatti con Don Chisciotte  balletto in tre atti tratto dal romanzo di Miguel De Cervantes, Don Chisciotte della Mancia  nel nuovo allestimento della Fondazione lirico-sinfonica della Capitale con la coreografia di Laurent Hilaire, ispirata alla versione originale per LAmerican Ballet Theatre di Mikhail Baryshnikov, da Marius Petipa e Alexander Gorsky, su musica di Ludwig Minkus.

Si tratta di un evento unico enfatizzato dalla presenza di due grandi protagonisti della storia mondiale del balletto, letoile Laurent Hilaire attualmente Direttore Artistico dello Stanislavsky Ballet e il mito vivente Mikhail Baryshnikov.

La coreografia del francese Hilaire dal punto di vista dellazione sara molto teatrale e cinematografica e, pur rimanendo fedele a quella di Baryshnikov  che fu presentata per la prima volta il 28 marzo 1978 al Kennedy Center Opera House di Washington e danzata dalle maggiori compagnie internazionali, tra cui, nel 1993, il Royal Ballet di Londra  intende aggiungere delle danze che rimandano alla struttura originaria di Petipa. Tutta questa tradizione ballettistica e ora nelle mani del maestro coreografo Hilaire che intende realizzare un balletto narrativo e ludico, realista e vivace, rendendo la tradizione e la pantomima accessibili al grande pubblico.

Gli straordinari Iana Salenko principal dancer dello Staatsballett, Isaac Hernandez principal dancer dellEnglish National Ballet e Angelo Greco principal dancer del San Francisco Ballet, sono gli ospiti deccezione che, insieme ai Primi Ballerini, i Solisti e il Corpo di Ballo del Teatro dellOpera di Roma, restituiranno con la loro bravura e interpretazione tutta la briosita di questo balletto, sostenuta, in questa versione, da una scena pop art originale di grande impatto e una varieta di costumi dal sapore fumettistico, entrambi del Maestro Vladimir Radunsky. Le luci sono di A. J. Weissbard. Alla direzione dellOrchestra del Teatro dellOpera di Roma il Maestro David Garforth. Otto le repliche fino a giovedi 23 novembre 2017.

Lo schiaccianoci

La stagione continua domenica 31 dicembre con la ripresa del balletto Lo schiaccianoci di Giuliano Peparini che al suo debutto, nel dicembre 2015, raccolse il consenso di pubblico e critica, registro incassi da record diventando subito un successo senza precedenti per la stagione di balletto del Teatro dellOpera di Roma. Il coreografo e regista romano, dallimportante carriera internazionale, torna al Teatro Costanzi con la sua visione della societa, per parlare in maniera diretta al pubblico di tutte le generazioni e rendere questa storia cult del periodo natalizio un appuntamento imperdibile e unesperienza avvolgente. I protagonisti di questo balletto in due atti, tratto da un racconto di E.T.A. Hoffmann su adattamento dello stesso Peparini e musica di Petr Ilic Cajkovskij, sono i Primi Ballerini Rebecca Bianchi e Claudio Cocino con i Solisti e il Corpo di Ballo del Teatro dellOpera di Roma. Balleranno in unatmosfera da sogno, tra giochi di luce, straordinarie proiezioni e magiche illusioni realizzate da una squadra di eccellenti professionisti: Lucia DAngelo e Cristina Querzola (scene), Frederic Olivier (costumi), Gilles Papain (video grafica), Jean-Michel Desire (luci). Dirige lOrchestra del Teatro dellOpera di Roma il Maestro Alexei Baklan. Sette le repliche fino a domenica 7 gennaio 2018.

Soiree Francaise

Il terzo appuntamento e domenica 28 gennaio con la Soiree Francaise, un doppio programma che vede protagonisti due icone del panorama ballettistico francese e mondiale: Serge Lifar con Suite en blanc (1943) e Roland Petit con Pink Floyd Ballet (1972).

Serge Lifar (1905-1986), ballerino e coreografo ucraino, scrittore e illustratore di diversi libri sulla danza, inizia la sua carriera in seno ai Ballets Russes dove Diaghilev gli concede lopportunita di realizzare la sua prima coreografia, Renard. E il 1929, anno in cui balla e crea allOpera di Parigi Les creatures de Promethee. LOpera di Parigi diventa per lui un punto di riferimento: e qui primo ballerino, Maitre de Ballet e fervido rinnovatore. Attivo su piu fronti, svolge un ruolo fondamentale nellevoluzione della danza e nellattrarre un pubblico sempre piu numeroso a teatro. Nella tradizione francese dopo Lifar, il rinnovamento passa attraverso unaltra figura chiave, il geniale Roland Petit (1924  2011). Entrambi legati allOpera di Parigi, entrambi instancabili creatori di nuove coreografie, entrambi affascinati dallicona della danza francese e internazionale Yvette Chauvire, alla quale il Teatro dellOpera di Roma con questo programma francese vuole dedicare un omaggio in bianco, luminoso come la sua danza sublime. Per la premiere sara letoile Eleonora Abbagnato a ballare lAdage di Suite en blanc per ricordare la stella delle stelle.

La poesia di Suite en blanc, uno dei pochi balletti non narrativi di Lifar, apre la serata, la tecnica, il carattere e la fisicita di Pink Floyd Ballet la chiudono. Due protagonisti di spicco della scena internazionale sono invitati dal Teatro dellOpera di Roma a riallestire questi due capolavori: Claude Bessy il primo e Luigi Bonino il secondo. La musica di Edouard Lalo e eseguita dallOrchestra del Teatro dellOpera di Roma, diretta dal Maestro Carlo Donadio. Le musiche dei Pink Floyd per Pink Floyd Ballet sono su base registrata. Quattro le repliche fino a sabato 3 febbraio 2018, alle quali si aggiunge lanteprima giovani di venerdi 26 gennaio 2018.

Kylian/Forsythe/Inge

Il quarto appuntamento e giovedi 15 marzo con il trittico contemporaneo Kylian/Forsythe/Inger. Tre eccellenti coreografi della scena mondiale si trovano riuniti in un appuntamento che esplora gli orizzonti del balletto contemporaneo attraverso tre titoli mai presentati prima al Teatro Costanzi. Tre coreografi molto diversi, tre opere dal piglio diametralmente opposto, tre linguaggi unici fanno di questa serata unoccasione straordinaria per apprezzare laltra danza di qualita e tracciare una linea sottile che lega i tre che hanno operato, con ruoli diversi, nellambito del Nederlands Dans Theater, tempio europeo della danza neoclassica deccellenza. La serata si apre con il famoso pezzo Petite Mort (1991) di Jiri Kylian. Sulle note di Mozart il coreografo praghese, olandese dadozione, celebra la coppia e il suo ideale di bellezza che vuole le donne delicate e forti, gli uomini atletici e attraenti. Sei coppie in scena, con grandi gonne e spade, simboleggiano leros che sottende a tutto il balletto a partire gia dal titolo che in francese rimanda allorgasmo. Il Bolero di Ravel armonizza e spinge la danza di Walking Mad (2001) di Johan Inger  coreografo svedese anchegli olandese dadozione  alla liberazione sfrenata del movimento in un crescendo di grande attrazione fisica. Il pezzo nasce per il Nederlands Dans Theater e riscuote subito un grande successo di pubblico, incontrando i consensi della critica. Riceve il Lucas Hoving Production Award (2001) e il Premio Danza&Danza (2005). Chiude la serata Artifact Suite di William Forsythe. Artifact Suite e la versione ridotta di Artifact, primo balletto a serata intera che Forsythe creo nel 1984 per il Frankfurt Ballet. Il coreografo espone qui le sue teorie sullillusione della percezione, la decostruzione, la rottura degli equilibri e la proiezione dei corpi. Il soggetto del balletto e la danza classica stessa, la sua storia. Artifact Suite e un balletto in due parti. Nella prima parte, sulla famosa Ciaccona BWV 1004 di J. S. Bach, due coppie principali si alternano in anellamenti coreografici di stupefacente bellezza; nella seconda, su musica di Eva Crossmann-Hecht, tutto il corpo di ballo si misura con complessi movimenti accademici messi in relazione tra di loro. La musica dei tre titoli e su base registrata. Sei le repliche fino a mercoledi 21 marzo 2018, alle quali si aggiunge lanteprima giovani di mercoledi 14 marzo 2018.

Manon

Il quinto appuntamento e venerdi 25 maggio con letoile de lOpera di Parigi e Direttrice del Corpo di Ballo del Teatro dellOpera di Roma Eleonora Abbagnato in Manon, balletto in tre atti dello scozzese Kenneth MacMillan (1929-1992), tratto dal romanzo dellAbate Prevost, LHistoire du Chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut.

Per la prima volta al Teatro Costanzi, Manon di MacMillan, nellallestimento dello Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre su musiche di Jules Massenet, narra la tormentata storia della bellissima Manon che, divisa tra il desiderio di emanciparsi dalla sua poverta e lamore per lo studente Des Grieux, commette una serie di azioni vili e ingannatrici fino a trovare la morte. Il personaggio di Manon richiede una bellezza magnetica e un grande talento interpretativo; e un ruolo carismatico che illumina tutti gli altri personaggi, da Des Grieux a Monsieur GM. Per questo motivo letoile Eleonora Abbagnato e affiancata da Friedemann Vogel, principal dancer dello Stuttgart Ballet e dalletoile Benjamin Pech, assistente alla Direzione del Ballo al Teatro Costanzi dal 2016.

Il balletto viene creato da MacMillan nel 1974 ed e il secondo durante la sua direzione artistica del Royal Ballet. Nel repertorio della Royal Opera House erano gia presenti gli adattamenti in opera di Giacomo Puccini e di Jules Massenet. MacMillan, desideroso di creare unarmonizzazione totale tra la narrazione e la musica, sceglie quello di Massenet, meno conosciuto, e lo affida a Leighton Lucas chiedendogli di orchestrare una selezione di musiche provenienti da ouvertures, balletti, musiche di scena per spettacoli teatrali, opere e oratori. Nel 2011 Martin Yates realizza una nuova orchestrazione, quella che sara eseguita dallOrchestra del Teatro dellOpera di Roma e diretta dallo stesso Yates. Le scene e i costumi sono di Nicholas Georgiadis. Cinque le repliche fino a giovedi 31 maggio 2018, alle quali si aggiunge lanteprima giovani di giovedi 24 maggio 2018.

La bella addormentata

Il sesto e ultimo appuntamento e sabato 15 settembre con la ripresa de La bella addormentata di Jean-Guillaume Bart con Iana Salenko nel ruolo di Aurora.

Nel corso del 2017 la versione del francese Bart  molto raffinata ed elegante, con le magnifiche scenografie e i preziosi costumi del Maestro Aldo Buti  e stata ben accolta dalla critica e molto amata dal pubblico del Costanzi e del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, dove il Balletto del Teatro dellOpera di Roma ha danzato lo scorso maggio riscuotendo un notevole successo. Si tratta di un titolo fondamentale per una stagione di balletto che si fonda, per la sua quasi interezza, sul repertorio classico.

La bella addormentata e, per cronologia, il secondo dei tre balletti di Petr Ilic Cajkovskij. La prima rappresentazione fu al Teatro Mariinsky di San Pietroburgo nel gennaio 1890.

Nel maggio 1888 Cajkovskij ricevette dal direttore dei Teatri Imperiali di San Pietroburgo, Ivan Vsevolozskij, lincarico di comporre un balletto ispirato alla favola di Charles Perrault La belle au bois dormant. La coreografia fu affidata a Marius Petipa, co-autore del libretto insieme a Vsevolozskij. Jean-Guillaume Bart ha lavorato a questo titolo concentrando la sua attenzione sulla coerenza drammaturgica. Ha ascoltato la partitura musicale con altro approccio rispetto a quello di Petipa e lha utilizzata nella sua interezza per dare una maggiore unita teatrale allopera coreografica. In questa sua versione il Corpo di Ballo non e unimmagine sullo sfondo, ma e protagonista cosi come lo e il principe Desire al quale e dato molto piu spazio danzato. Nel riallestimento Bart e affiancato da Patricia Ruanne che per questa stagione 2017-18 e anche coreografo assistente, insieme a Gillian Whittingham, per laltro grande classico dapertura, Don Chisciotte. Dirige lOrchestra del Teatro dellOpera di Roma il Maestro Nicholas Brochot. Sette le repliche fino a domenica 23 settembre 2018.

La stagione di balletto 2017-18 del Teatro dellOpera di Roma conta in totale sei titoli ai quali si aggiunge una data in Francia il prossimo 10 dicembre 2018 a Cannes al Palais des Festivals  Grand Auditorium con Soiree Roland Petit.

I concerti sinfonici

Limpegno nel repertorio sinfonico non solo amplia lattivita di unorchestra dedita con eccellenti risultati alla lirica, ma da anche ai nostri professori loccasione di sfide nuove, con direttori che spesso vengono da esperienze diverse. Nei concerti sinfonici lorchestra, esposta alla vista del pubblico, diventa la star della serata e i singoli strumentisti hanno non di rado un ruolo protagonista.

Anche questanno quattro concerti sinfonici vedranno impegnata lOrchestra del Teatro, con una particolare attenzione al repertorio novecentesco e contemporaneo.

Il 22 dicembre 2017 Maxime Pascal in un programma aperto dalle Danze dallopera Powder her Face di Ades e da Rendering di Berio, dirigera La voix humaine di Poulenc con la voce di Anna Caterina Antonacci.

Dennis Russell Davies sara sul podio l11 gennaio 2018 per la Sesta sinfonia di Bruckner preceduta dal Tirol Concerto di Philip Glass interpretato da Maki Namekawa al pianoforte.

Due brani di Mussorgskij molto amati dal pubblico, Una notte sul monte Calvo e Quadri da unesposizione (nella trascrizione di Ravel), saranno diretti da Constantinos Carydis il 23 marzo, in un concerto che si aprira con le Quattro immagini del compositore greco Nikos Skalkottas.

Lultimo concerto, diretto da Lothar Koenigs il 17 maggio, vedra in programma due pagine di Schonberg: la sua trascrizione per orchestra del Quartetto in sol minore di Brahms e il monodramma Erwartung con la voce di Rachel Nicholls, che il pubblico ha apprezzato come Isotta nella scorsa inaugurazione.

Le tournee

Portare in tournee gli allestimenti del nostro Teatro non e soltanto loccasione di far conoscere in altri Stati il Teatro dellOpera di Roma. Le rappresentazioni allestero, in Paesi che da tempo sono appassionati alla nostra cultura e in altri che da poco si aprono ad essa, testimoniano anche della stima che i nostri allestimenti riscuotono da parte delle direzioni di molte altre istituzioni rivolte allopera lirica, un brand italiano che sempre piu successo va riscuotendo allestero. Per questi motivi ci aspettiamo grandi soddisfazioni dalle tournee che attendono i complessi del Teatro nella prossima stagione.

A Cannes, al Palais des Festivals, domenica 10 dicembre 2017, primi ballerini, solisti e corpo di Ballo del Teatro dellOpera di Roma saranno interpreti della Soiree Roland Petit, un omaggio al grande coreografo francese del quale proporranno tre capolavori sotto la supervisione di Lugi Bonino e con le luci di Jean-Michel Desire. Nel primo, La rose malade su musica di Gustav Mahler e con i costumi di Yves Saint Laurent, danzera anche Eleonora Abbagnato, direttore del Corpo di Ballo. Secondo titolo sara LArlesienne, su musiche di Georges Bizet, scene di Rene Allio e costumi di Christine Laurent e per finire Carmen, sempre su musiche di Bizet e con scene e costumi di Antoni Clave; questultimo balletto vedra la partecipazione di Natalya Kusch.

A Muscat, capitale del Sultanato dellOman, giovedi 15 e sabato 17 marzo 2018, andra in scena Pagliacci, lopera di Ruggero Leoncavallo, diretta da Paolo Olmi con regia e scene di Franco Zeffirelli; costumi di Raimonda Gaetani e luci di Agostino Angelini. Tra gli interpreti Jose Cura, Davinia Rodriguez e Marco Vratogna.

Due opere saranno allestite in settembre a Tokyo. Il 9 , 12 e 15 settembre 2018 La traviata di Giuseppe Verdi, diretta da Jader Bignamini con la regia di Sofia Coppola, i costumi di Valentino, Maria Grazia Chiuri e Pierpaolo Piccioli e le scene di Nathan Crowley. Tra gli interpreti Francesca Dotto, Antonio Poli, Leo Nucci e Anna Malavasi. Il 16, 20 e 22 settembre 2018 sara in scena Manon Lescaut di Giacomo Puccini, diretta da Donato Renzetti, con la regia di Chiara Muti, le scene di Carlo Centolavigna e i costumi di Alessandro Lai. Tra gli interpreti Kristine Opolais, Gregory Kunde e Maurizio Muraro.

Gli altri appuntamenti

Proseguiranno le Lezioni di Opera tenute da Giovanni Bietti che, oltre a un pubblico fisso di appassionati, raccolgono sempre nuovi ascoltatori di ogni eta che vogliono apprezzare meglio le particolarita del linguaggio musicale. Saranno guidati con una terminologia semplice e accessibile, e non per questo superficiale, che permette di ricostruire ogni volta gli elementi specifici di ogni produzione operistica.

Anche il balletto, come lopera, presenta un ciclo di incontri su alcuni titoli in programma con il progetto I coreografi, i ballerini e noi: tre appuntamenti per introdurre il grande pubblico nel mondo dei coreografi e dei protagonisti di questa stagione. Gli incontri, condotti dalla saggista e critico di danza Leonetta Bentivoglio, propongono un approccio informale ai balletti, attraverso brevi conversazioni con i coreografi ospiti, ritratti monografici, proiezioni video ed estratti di danze con i Primi Ballerini e i Solisti del Teatro dellOpera di Roma.

Continuera nella stagione 2017-18 anche lattivita di Fabbrica  Young Artist Program che ha permesso agli artisti prescelti di collaborare gia a molte produzioni del Teatro e di vivere dallinterno il modo in cui si mette in scena un melodramma. I giovani talenti inseriti nel progetto hanno anche modo di perfezionarsi sotto la guida dei vari artisti che realizzano gli spettacoli della stagione e anche di mettersi alla prova in lavori autonomi.

Se in generale e stato rilevato nella scorsa stagione un aumento del numero di spettatori, e stata di particolare soddisfazione la presenza nutrita di giovani (e anche giovanissimi!) nel nostro Teatro. A loro abbiamo dedicato due particolari iniziative che proseguiranno nella prossima stagione. Con lo slogan Vietato ai maggiori di 26 anni, alle prove generali potranno accedere coloro che non hanno ancora compiuto i 26 anni pagando solo 15 euro. Inoltre con liniziativa Last minute per alcune serate (a discrezione della Direzione) e prevista la riduzione del 25% sul prezzo dei biglietti in vendita, a partire da unora prima dellinizio dello spettacolo.

Sara ripreso anche il progetto OperaCamion, con una nuova opera che girera per le piazze di Roma e del Lazio sul camion, ormai famoso, appositamente attrezzato per contenere le scene e i cantanti.. Si trattera come sempre di una scelta essenziale, ma di grande qualita, di uno spettacolo dopera che raggiungera gratuitamente un grandissimo numero di spettatori. La parte strumentale del lopera sara curata ancora una volta dalla nostra Youth Orchestra. Si tratta di una nuova realta giovanile istituita dal Dipartimento Didattica e Formazione del Teatro dellOpera di Roma e formata da oltre cento musicisti, che ha gia al suo attivo un ricco curriculum di attivita.

Non manchera neanche il prossimo anno lattenzione per i giovanissimi: a loro non e solo dedicata la Scuola di Canto Corale del Teatro dellOpera ma anche il progetto Canta con me!, che ha anche terminato il suo primo percorso il 29 maggio con un grande concerto al Teatro Costanzi cui hanno preso parte con grande entusiasmo circa quattrocento bambini di quattro scuole delle periferie romane. Anche questa uniniziativa non secondaria del Teatro dellOpera, rivolta agli spettatori del futuro e che intendiamo proseguire anche nella prossima stagione.

La Scuola di Danza del Teatro dellOpera di Roma e i suoi giovani talenti sono anchessi al centro delle nostre attenzioni. Oltre ai consueti appuntamenti annuali con la Lezione Aperta e Il Saggio Spettacolo di fine anno, gli allievi partecipano ad alcuni balletti in programma nella Stagione 2017-18. La Scuola per la sua finalita e da sempre impegnata, attraverso una mirata selezione, a preparare bambini, adolescenti e giovani che intendono avviarsi alla professione del danzatore, con ammissioni annue di bambini provenienti da ogni parte dItalia e non solo.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman believes that Ukraine needs to create an Anti-Corruption Court and limit the immunity of Verkhovna Rada deputies without postponing it for a long time.

"The country still needs appropriate changes and quality solutions in many areas, in particular, we need to establish or complete the formation of anti-corruption institutions by the creation of the Anti-Corruption Court, and this is absolutely important and is the right decision. We need to limit the immunity of Ukrainian MPs," he said at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Wednesday.

The prime minister said that many deputies support the idea of limiting immunity.

"We need to collect the majority of votes to adopt these decisions. And it is very important to adopt them without shifting for some time in the future," Groysman said.

As reported, on October 17, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko submitted to the Verkhovna Rada an urgent bill on amendments to Article 80 of the Constitution of Ukraine, abolishing the immunity from prosecution for people's deputies of Ukraine which is to come into force since 2020.
The Army Bomb Disposal Team has been called after a suspect device was identified at a property in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, it has been reported.

According to local radio station Live95fm, gardai have closed Main Street between Castlematrix and the fire station as they await the arrival of bomb specialists.
The Housing Minister, Eoghan Murphy, has defended the Government's decision to keep schools closed again today.

Critics say schools which were not badly hit, especially in the Dublin area, could have reopened.
It looks like "unnecessary journeys" during yesterday's storm may not be covered by car insurance companies.

Three people were killed as ex-hurricane Ophelia battered the country yesterday and people have been warned to remain cautious in the aftermath of the severe winds.

A huge recovery operation is under way following one of the most powerful storms in recorded history in Ireland.

Fallen trees blocking roads and downed power lines are some of the likely hazards today as the country begins to return to normal following a day when the island went into lockdown.

Insurance Ireland have said that damage to cars caused by the storm is covered by comprehensive motor insurance policies.

However they also said: "Third party fire and theft policies cover motorists for damage to other cars in the event of an accident, injury to other people, or damage to your car in the event of a fire or theft."

Kevin Thompson, the CEO of Insurance Ireland, said: "Motor insurance cover operated as normal yesterday as it did every other day, and it's not impacted by the weather conditions.

"Obviously we would have asked people to heed the warnings and to not make any unnecessary travel, but if you had to travel and use your car yesterday, within the bounds of your policy you would have been covered."

For home insurance, policyholders are being told that household buildings and contents insurance policies will cover damage caused by storms.

They gave the following advice:

Insurers will usually pay for the cost of temporary repairs, so please keep receipts.

Insurers will also usually pay for the cost of alternative accommodation, if the home becomes uninhabitable.
Irish Rail and the National Bus and Rail Union are to go back to the talks table over pay.

The union said it has accepted an invitation to further pay talks ahead of planned industrial action at the train company.
The British government's plans for Brexit are "in paralysis", Labour claimed, amid speculation crucial legislation will be delayed again.

Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said there was "chaos at the heart of Government" over the approach to leaving the European Union.

But the Brexit department said it was "completely false" to suggest the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill had been pushed back, because no formal date for its return to the Commons had been fixed.

The so-called repeal bill, which will put existing EU regulations on the domestic statute book, cleared its first Commons hurdle on September 11 but has not been debated since then.

Ahead of detailed scrutiny in the committee stage, MPs have tabled some 300 amendments and 54 new clauses, potentially causing headaches for Theresa May's whips given that the precarious Commons majority secured with the help of the DUP would be vulnerable to any Tory revolt.

The official announcement of next week's Commons business will take place tomorrow, but Labour sources indicated the Bill was not expected to be listed.

Starmer said: "This is further proof that the government's Brexit strategy is in paralysis.

"The negotiations are in deadlock and now a crucial piece of legislation is facing further delay.

"There is chaos at the heart of government. Theresa May cannot unite her Cabinet or her party behind this deeply-flawed Bill.

"There are now serious questions about whether the Prime Minister can deliver Brexit."

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom will confirm next week's business in the regular statement on Thursday.

When the legislation was missing from last week's statement Mrs Leadsom told MPs it was "taking a bit of time to have proper, thoughtful, well-considered responses" to the proposed changes, but the Bill would return "just as soon as we're able to".

That had been taken as a sign the Bill could return in next week's business.

MPs are due to spend eight days debating the repeal bill at committee stage, which will then undergo further scrutiny in the Commons and the Lords before it is approved.

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: "The Withdrawal Bill is an essential piece of legislation in the national interest.

"It is completely false to suggest that there has been a delay to the Bill as it has yet to be scheduled to enter committee stage.

"The process is straightforward: the Leader of the House will announce the next week's business at business questions tomorrow."

Labour MP Chuka Umunna, co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on EU Relations, said: "I am not at all surprised at this delay on the EU Withdrawal Bill - it is a badly-drafted Bill, and badly thought through.

"The number of amendments has given ministers a lot to think about, which shows Parliament is taking back control and is already doing its job of scrutiny well on this."

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: "The delays to this Bill make Southern Rail look punctual.

"It's crystal clear there is no majority in Parliament or the country for the extreme form of Brexit this Government is pursuing."

Mrs Leadsom said the British government was still working on its response to the hundreds of proposed amendments to the Bill.

"We are still working through the proposals made through amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and the department will be responding to those once we get into the committee stages," she told the Commons Procedure Committee today.
All 4 subgroups of Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine meeting in Minsk

Four subgroups of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine are meeting in Minsk, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The working groups have converged ahead of the Minsk meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine," the ministry said on Twitter.

There are four subgroups in the contact group addressing political, economic, security, and humanitarian affairs.
A man has appeared in a London court charged with manslaughter after a woman he was on a date with was killed in a speedboat incident.

Charlotte Brown, 24, known as Charli, died in hospital after both she and Jack Shepherd, 30, ended up in the River Thames in December 2015.
The deal improves the chances that the all-new single-aisle aircraft will catch on with airlines worldwide, backed by Airbuss marketing muscle.

Bombardier hasnt landed a major order since April 2016 and the plane absorbed a new blow in recent weeks when the US commerce department slapped it with 300% tariffs after a complaint by Boeing.

That move put into question at least 1,000 jobs in Belfast where parts for C Series jets are manufactured. The Canadian plane maker employs a total of 4,000 people at its Belfast operations and it remains unclear what the long-term implications of the Airbus tie-up will be.

The value associated with the reduced stake is likely much higher, Fadi Chamoun, a BMO Capital Markets analyst, said in a note to clients.

For Bombardier, the deal reduces risk and opens up the opportunity for the programme to achieve commercial success that would have been nearly impossible to contemplate otherwise.

Airbuss control of the C Series boosts the jetliners viability after over $6bn (5.1bn) in development costs drained Bombardiers cash and forced the Montreal-based manufacturer to rely on government assistance.

The deal gives Airbus a smaller narrow-body aircraft fitting below its own A320-series models and competing with the smallest variants of Boeings workhorse 737.

Bombardiers widely traded Class B shares had climbed 25% in Toronto trade at one stage. The companys $1.25bn of 6.125% due in January 2023 surged. Shares in Airbus, based in Toulouse, climbed 4.8%. Boeing fell less than 1% at one stage.

Following Boeings complaint to the US that Bombardier sold at least 75 of its C Series jets to Delta Air Lines for absurdly low prices, the Trump administration imposed the import duties in recent weeks  roiling US relations with Canada and the UK.

Airbus believes it can get around the tariffs by locating some production of the C Series at Alabama factory, said Patrick de Castelbajac, Airbuss strategy chief. The plane would also continue to be built in Canada. The aircraft would be manufactured on US soil, he said.

Under the deal, Airbus will acquire a 50.01% stake in the single-aisle plane platform. The Canadian firm will own 31% while the province of Quebec, an investor in the C Series, will hold 19%. None of the partners will contribute any cash when the deal closes.

Bloomberg and Irish Examiner
Curragh Racecourse Limited, the new company formed to head planning and fundraising for the construction of world class facilities at the Kildare race venue, now simply has to complete the redevelopment in accordance with planning permission to gain a full publicans licence.

Constance Cassidy, counsel for the company, told Judge Martina Baxter at Naas Circuit Licencing Court that the application constituted the largest and most ambitious licencing project to date in the State.

The Curraghs new race stand, incorporating the bistro and restaurant, will overlook the 5,000-acre plains of Kildare and the racecourse which is home to Irelands five race classics, centre stage of which is the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

This major event for flat racing worldwide and a race that down through the years has been won by some of the greatest racehorses ever to run will be held at the Curragh in June 2018 and all redevelopment works are expected to be completed in late 2018 in time for the 2019 season.

Ms Cassidy, who appeared with barrister Vincent Nolan and Osbornes Solicitors, told the court the racing venue held three licences, one for horse racing and two pub licences attached to the existing bar facilities and the champagne bar.

She said these areas would be demolished and the licences transferred to the new bistro and restaurant which were expected to be in operation by March next year.

She said the planned newly constructed race stand would be completed by December 2018.

Curragh Racecourse chief executive Derek McGrath told the court the entire development of the Curragh facilities would cost in the order of 72m.

The project has had planning permission for almost 20 years and would soon reach fruition following new funding.

Granting a declaratory order for the future confirmation of a drinks licence for the bistro and restaurant, Judge Baxter congratulated the developers and wished the project every success.

During ongoing redevelopment the capacity for racegoers has been restricted to just over 6,000.
As that change unfolds Irish food producers and marketeers have an enormous opportunity to prosper.

This change is being created by dramatic changes in the way consumers behave and communicate. Younger consumers, in particular, have shifted their preferences towards authenticity, sustainability and affordability when choosing their foods and beverages.

They do so while moving towards far greater eat out or eat at home options. They engage with food sellers around these preferences differently via technology in the form of mobile or other digital devices.

All of this is revolutionising the way in which food is sold and purchased. Imagine a scenario whereby a Deliveroo courier can arrive at your apartment with a high-end prepared meal direct from a small artisan restaurant and do so at an affordable price.

Imagine, too, that this consumer only messaged their preference via text a couple of hours before consuming.

That circle from order to consumption marks a distinct threat to existing forms of food distribution and a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs who can seize the market unfolding before them.

Add to this idea some demographic numbers. In a recent investor presentation Kerry Group outlined data showing the global population growing from 7.3bn now to 9.7bn by 2050. Within that expansion they calculate 2.7bn new middle class consumers will exist in the Asia-Pacific region alone by 2030, eight times larger than all other regions combined.

These consumers are arriving amid unprecedented change in the way food is demanded. There is increased awareness, courtesy of technology and information sources such as Google, of authentic food sourcing that taps natural product and does so on a sustainable way that helps manage climate change. Those food producers that can deliver such attributes ought to be able to capitalise on these changes in a major way.

Ireland is ideally placed to ride these changes well. Its food is broadly sourced from grass-fed milk and cattle.

Grass is increasingly recognised as an optimal source of natural food produced in an environmentally positive context. Our food companies, unlike other taste and nutrition companies globally, originate in the primary production of food.

By contrast, many others have legacies in the chemical industry and struggle to bring true heritage to their brands and products. Irish companies have that heritage factor in abundance.

Already, Irish companies have grown a presence around the world. Yet they remain, by and large, small companies in a global context. Kerry Group, for example, has a stockmarket value of 15bn whereas Unilever has a value of 135bn.

This, for me, suggests a large canvas exists on which the Irish food industry can develop a much larger, but sophisticated, presence on world food and beverage markets.

If our companies can tap into the explosion in demand for naturally produced high quality food and drink they can create wealth and employment in abundance.

By combining the skills already in place with both organic and acquisition-led investments Irish companies can build out operations in developing markets that turbo charge their growth.

Irish food and drink companies can also build more robust business models that help deal with Brexit while diversifying the range of markets that Ireland can rely on for growth over coming decades.

Joe Gill is director of corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.
The airline lost its director of flight operations Peter Bellew, who had responsibility for pilots and service punctuality, two years ago to join Malaysia Airlines as chief operations officer.

However, his return to Dublin was announced yesterday, with Ryanair saying he will take up the post of chief operations officer at the beginning of December.

He replaces Michael Hickey, who is due to leave the company at the end of this month.

Ryanair boss Michael OLeary yesterday said that Mr Bellew has an unrivalled knowledge of the airlines business model and how the company maintains controlled growth.

Mr OLeary said that Mr Bellews appointment will help an improvement in pilots working environment and career development over the coming years as the airline seeks to develop its aircraft fleet and its passenger numbers to a level of 200 million per year.

Ryanair is set to publish first-half financial results at the end of this month, with analysts already having lowered their expectations in the aftermath of the rostering problem. Lost capacity, weak yields and one-off compensation costs are set to have reversed what had seemed to be a strong second quarter.

Pay rises and bonuses for pilots are expected to cost 70m to 100m over the next year and labour cost inflation will be difficult to offset, says Goodbodys aviation analyst Mark Simpson.

However, he said that Ryanairs low-cost, high-growth model remains intact and that positive cashflow will fund further share buybacks this year, while ancillary revenues and passenger numbers should continue to rise. Ryanair shares were down marginally yesterday.
In a no deal scenario emerging from EU-UK talks, a joint report by Resolution Foundation and Sussex Universitys UK Trade Policy Observatory estimates UK average price of dairy goods will rise by 8.1%, meat products by 5.8%, with cars and other vehicles rising 5.5%.

The average yearly household bill would rise by 260 (290) in a no deal scenario, in which UK imposes the same tariffs on the EU as it does for other World Trade Organisation countries.

However, 3m families could see price rises of over 500 (560) while the proportionate impact on the poorest fifth of households would be 33% greater than on the richest fifth, the joint report calculates.

The hikes in food prices would be central to that jump having the worst impacts on poorer sections of UK society.

Stephen Clarke, economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: The [UK] government has said that while it wants a comprehensive trade agreement it is also preparing for a no deal scenario when we leave the EU.

Such an outcome  which could see the UK imposing tariffs on EU imports  would increase the annual shopping bills of millions of households by 500, with poorer families taking the biggest hit.

While trade may not have been the biggest issue in the referendum, it is one that will affect the day-to-day living standards of every family in Britain.

The reports authors have urged the UK government to continue to prioritise a comprehensive new trade deal with the EU to avoid UK households facing higher prices and rapidly escalating households budgets.

Meanwhile, ICSA president Patrick Kent has urged the Government and all Irish MEPs to oppose any EU concessions on beef quotas in the Mercosur talks. He cited threats Irish beef is already facing from Brexit.

We cannot accept the EU making trade deals all over the globe when they are making no progress in solving the trading arrangements with the UK, said Mr Kent.

The UK took 270,000 tons of Irish beef in 2016. Anything which damages that market is disastrous for Ireland and combining that threat with 70,000 tonnes or more of ultra-cheap Brazilian beef and equivalent amounts of poultry would be suicide for our sector.
Numerous children were in the vicinity of the site in the grounds of Killarney Community College when a Health and Safety Authority inspector paid a routine visit at around 11am on February 25, 2016, when school was in progress, Killarney District Court heard earlier this month.

The prosecution against Evans and Kelliher Construction Ltd, of Chestnut Grove Apartments, Sprout Lane, Milltown, Co Kerry, was brought at the suit of the DPP.
Catriona Crowe, former head of special projects at the National Archives of Ireland, said that it should not be a matter of grace and favour that survivors are granted full access to records, but a matter of right.

She said Ireland had seen unprecedented disclosures relating to treatment of vulnerable women and children across a unique archipelago of institutions  mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundries, industrial schools, and reformatories. She said the only way to achieve a complete picture of what happened is to have full access to their archives.

She said these institutions were run largely with the blessing of the State and, as a result, the State should now intervene.

There should be very high-level talks between the Catholic Church and the State and the outcome of that should be that the Catholic Church would agree to put its records into an independent repository, including their parish records.

Ms Crowe said some religious records were regarded as a private fiefdom by the Catholic Church, the dioceses, and religious orders.

I have a proposal to make to the religious orders and the diocesan authorities that in lieu of part of their unpaid redress payment to the State, which still remains derelict in terms of what they should have paid, could they consider doing something that everyone would appreciate greatly, which is to bring their records together with the help of the State with proper and qualified people so that they can be accessed by survivors, scholars, and genealogists, she said.

Regarding material relating to mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundries and industrial schools that is held by the State, she said while privacy issues were important, there should be no reason the administrative records cannot be opened to scholars and journalists.

The way around this is to catalogue the records, digitise the stuff that relates to individuals if they want, anonymise the database, and open up all the rest of it to journalists and scholars and anyone who wants to see it.

Ms Crowe said it was utterly frustrating and completely wrong that administrative records are restricted or refused under freedom of information due to data protection or privacy concerns.

Its a very handy thing to use if you want to keep records closed this is the way to do it. Good archivists and people who believe in access will find ways around if they can but that shouldnt be the situation. It should not be there as a way to prevent material being made available.

Regarding adoption records held by Tusla, Ms Crowe said this material needed to be digitised and centralised as a matter of urgency.
Judge Aingil Ni Chonduin said: I had in mind finding them a lot more. I put it back so that I could calm down after all that rubbish I had to listen to.

They had a choice of going this way or that way and they went for the fight It was one big drunken brawl.

Five men faced penalty yesterday on assault charges arising out of the incident.

Four of them faced penalty for assaulting Donagh OConnell and one faced penalty on the more serious charge of assault causing harm to Mr OConnell on the night of November 15, 2015, at The Fox and Hounds in Ballyvolane, Cork.

Diarmuid Kelleher, defence solicitor, represented all five and said: First off I should say all of those gentlemen are working, they are responsible people, they have taken a lot of time off work [to deal with case], they have taken matters seriously.

I cannot condone the event in any manner or form. From watching it on CCTV a lot of people were involved and no on one covered themselves in grace. A load of people were involved. These five men were unlucky that the injured party knew them.

The common ingredient was that they had a lot of drink taken.

It was a bit of a storm in a teacup.

The solicitor said the injured party was punched but appeared to suffer his main injury falling to the floor.

Mr Kelleher said that all five men were anxious to avoid assault convictions.

The judge said that if the four men facing penalty for assault brought 400 to Cork District Court in January for Cuan Lee family refuge she would strike out their cases. Those four defendants  all aged around 30  were: John Ross Nolan of 29 Glenheights Rd, Ballyvolane; David Goulding of 119 Thorndale estate, Dublin Hill; Raymond Burke of 67 Thorndale estate; and Shane Brady of 23 Glenthorn Park, Dublin Hill.

In respect of Jamie Murray of 4 South Avenue, Lios Rua, Banduff Road, Ballyvolane, Judge Ni Chonduin said that on his payment of 700 to the injured party his assault causing harm charge would be struck out.
Alcohol Action Ireland accused the industry of using highly intemperate language and the pernicious distribution of inaccuracies, such as disputing scientific evidence that alcohol was a carcinogen.

Health Minister Simon Harris has said he hoped the long-waited Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will complete its passage through the Oireachtas over the autumn.

It includes provisions on mandatory minimum pricing, restrictions on alcohol advertising and marketing, the separation of alcohol in stores and alcohol labelling.

The bill marks the culmination of a drawn-out process of legislating for proposals made five and a half years ago by a State alcohol steering group. The first Public Health (Alcohol) Bill was published in February 2015.

Eunan McKinney of AAI said the highly influential employers group Ibec had sought to spin a common thread between those who lobby to guard vested interests and those who advocate to protect public health.

He said that while it was perfectly reasonable for business lobbyists to inform the political system, it was not reasonable to assert that it carried the same weight as advice from public health specialists.

He said that a media hungry for confrontation were willing to create a false balance between the two sides, thereby placing them as champions of equal value.

He said the bill contained reasonable and pragmatic measures that should, over time, reduce high-risk consumption of alcohol.

This is not prohibition or some trial of new economies but modest steps to curb an all-pervasive alcohol-fuelled culture that leads to an avoidable crisis of alcohol-related harms, he said.

Mr McKinney said that there was a battle for the publics heart and minds on the need for the new legislation.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland, which is part of Ibec, has said that the iconic Guinness Christmas ad would be banned under the bill and this month told the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee that images of farmers working in the likes of orchards would no longer be permissible.

One of the biggest concerns for the industry is that the Bill will make Ireland one of the most restrictive countries in the world for the marketing of alcohol products, ABFI director Patricia Callan told the committee.

In fact, the very farmers who supply the industry will be banned from ads. For example, images of farmers in barley fields and orchards will be prohibited.

The proposals contained in the Bill will undermine competition, innovation and investment in the Irish drinks industry.

ABFI estimates the bill will cost the media industry 20 million per year in lost revenue.
The Oireachtas committee examining the abortion laws has been told it cannot recommend a multi-question preferendum on the future of the eighth amendment.

Senior counsel Nuala Butler told the committee such a move would be unconstitutional during a three-hour private meeting of the group yesterday.

The Irish Examiner understands Ms Butler was asked whether the option, which has been raised a number of times by committee members in recent weeks, could be considered as a possible avenue for the planned vote next May or June.

However, she said the move, which would see the public asked to vote on a number of descending options, would be cumbersome and specifically note it is unconstitutional under current referenda rules.

Ms Butler outlined the benefits and difficulties of six different options being examined by the committee on how to address Irelands abortion laws at the meeting.

While deliberately not outlining any preferences, she is understood to have said a basic repeal, or repeal and replace with legislation, are the most straightforward referenda question options to ask, while others pose difficulties.

The advice, which will be discussed publicly today, was given during the meeting which also saw the committee remain divided on whether to hold a key vote to repeal or retain the Eighth Amendment today.

As reported in Mondays Irish Examiner, a number of pro-choice members of the committee last week lodged motions asking for the group to be allowed to vote on whether to repeal or retain existing abortion laws at the end of each of its three modules, the first of which ends today.

However, while Ruth Coppinger, Lynn Ruane, Clare Daly, Catherine Murphy, Jan OSullivan, Louise OReilly, Jonathan OBrien, and Paul Gavan put down the motions, others including Billy Kelleher and Hildegarde Naughton do not believe a vote at this stage is helpful.

This, they told yesterdays meeting, is because a module by module vote could corner the committee into a position before it has heard all evidence, and may make its hearings more and not less divisive.

During the meeting, all committee members said they do not want to support a motion that would divide the committee. However, none of the motions have been withdrawn. The issue is expected to be discussed during the second of this afternoons committee meetings.

Separately, the committee is due to hear from the author of the report into the death of Savita Halappanavar, Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, and the chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Peter Boylan today.

Prof Arulkumaran will tell the committee in an opening statement Ireland can and should provide first-class reproductive and sexual health based on rights.

The meeting will be attended by Mattie McGrath and Ronan Mullen, the latter of whom attended yesterdays private meeting for two minutes before departing. Both Mr McGrath and Mr Mullen last week threatened to quit the committee over an alleged pro-choice bias.
However, Insurance Ireland, which represents almost 130 companies providing insurance domestically in Ireland, says it is still too soon to accurately assess the cost of the damage caused by ex-Hurricane Ophelia, which battered the country on Monday.

Businesses, homeowners, and motorists are still in the process of counting the costs of the storms impact, and as yet the total cost is unknown, Insurance Ireland says.

Insurers in Ireland have paid out over 1.3bn to help policyholders recover from severe weather events such as storms and flooding over the last 10 years. Insurers will be assessing the damage caused by Ophelia in the coming weeks and months and will be providing assistance to their customers to help them recover from the damage. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the insured losses from the event at this very early stage, a spokesperson said.

Those who have suffered damage are advised to liaise with their insurers throughout the process of repair and remediation.

We would advise people to talk to their insurer about what needs to be done and they will provide guidance. It is best to stay in contact with your insurer throughout, Insurance Ireland said.

Householders have been advised to check the full extent of their policies, and contact their insurer or broker for further information. They should also document any impacts on their property and keep receipts to claim back the costs of temporary repairs.

The Irish Claims Consultants Association, the representative body for public loss assessors, said policyholders should take photographs of damage; make an inventory of what needs to be repaired; and, advised that any wet or damaged contents can be removed, but recommended not disposing of these items off-site.

Dublin MEP Brian Hayes said the Government should apply for EU financial support to assist with the costs of the damage: Yesterdays storm has caused significant damage across the country. While the full value of the damage will not be known for weeks, the Government should immediately notify the European Commission of their intent to apply for EU financial support.
The reclaimed Vat will allow the Irish Cancer Society to fund more than 1,300 nights of palliative home care night nursing.

The Jack and Jill Foundation estimate they will be able to reclaim between 4,000 and 6,000 each month and use it to pay for up to 375 hours of home nursing care for children.

If Special Olympics Ireland can reclaim the full amount of Vat, it will cover the total cost of 290 participating athletes.

The scheme will also boost the ability of Irelands largest charity St Vincent de Paul to provide additional fuel, food and other provisions to the families they support.

The benefits of the scheme were outlined by Charities Institute Ireland (CII) which has more than 150 members.

Under the new scheme, charities will be able to reclaim Vat in direct proportion to their fund-raised income. CII has led the campaign for such a scheme for more than 15 years.

The Charities Vat Compensation Scheme, which has an initial allocation of 5m, will come into effect from January but will be paid one year in arrears.

Charities will be entitled to a refund of a proportion of their Vat costs on inputs, including eligible purchases, based on their non-State funding.

Pieta House reckons that up to 2,000 in Vat on its 24-hour helpline could be reclaimed each month.

The organisation supports people in suicidal distress and those who engage in self-harm. It spends 10,000 a month on running the helpline.

CII estimate that Vat costs on the new Mayo Roscommon Hospice build is 1.3m.

CII chief executive Lucy Masterson said the income of charities is broadly divided 60-40 between government and private funding: Suppliers tend to find it incredible that it costs charities more to buy their products than it costs commercial organisations but that has been the reality.

Ireland joins just three other countries in the EU that have introduced similar schemes  Denmark, Netherlands and Britain.
It was 2008 and life was good for Liagh, now 45. A financial services worker, shed just returned to Ireland after several years in New Zealand.

Three weeks into her new job in Dublin, Liagh was in London on a business trip.

It was exciting. Id started a new job and I was in London, a city I love.

On the day of her grim discovery, shed enjoyed a meal with a former colleague. Id had a good day. Back in the hotel bedroom, the last thing on her mind was being sideswiped by a health issue.

I was in this gorgeous hotel bathroom, with lots of lighting and lots of mirrors, so I treated myself to a bath. In New Zealand, Liagh had a breast scare, but the lump was benign. The radiologist had then explained the changes in breast tissue that might be problematic. Certain words had stuck with Liagh, including a detail about puckered skin.

I was drying myself after the bath. Because of the light and the mirrors  and I wasnt in my usual hurry, like Id be after my morning shower  I noticed a slight puckering of the skin on my breast. I palpated it and felt something branch-like  there was nothing like it in the right breast.

Liagh says shes not a panicker, but a doer. I found a GP in Dublin. She was calm, matter-of-fact, and referred me to St Vincents Hospital.

Thats when I entered the cancer machine. Though not massively intuitive, Liagh felt the news wouldnt be good.

I didnt tell anyone until I was diagnosed. I wanted the information clear in my head, so I could say to people: heres what has happened and heres whats going to happen, she says.

While this meant handling things alone, she says: You handle it yourself anyway, even if you have friends, family, or partner  cancers a lonely place. The cancer was rather advanced, aggressive, and large.

It had spread to her lymph nodes.

They wanted to both shrink the tumour and halt its spread. There was no potential for breast conservation.

"Im not a dramatic person, but when I heard the word chemo, I lost it. My only experience of people whod had chemo were people who died. I thought chemos for sick people.

"I knew I had cancer, but I felt so well, it was so incongruous. Liagh doesnt use the word sick to describe herself and she never says my cancer.

Since her New Zealand scare, shed regularly checked her breasts and was perplexed that, seemingly out of nowhere, this tumour had come.

It was a mixed type. Id always had small breasts  the radiologist in New Zealand called them neat boobs. So, how did this monster of a tumour spring up like daisies? Id seen nothing and suddenly I had this whopper.

Four months of neoadjuvant chemotherapy  administered before surgery  worked. I could feel the tumour shrinking. I wasnt being Pollyanna. I got all my friends to feel my tumour. I said this is going to be cut out of me soon.

I want you to know what it feels like. Liagh had surgery in October, 2008, involving mastectomy of the left breast and removal of all lymph nodes under the left arm. Then came quite the cocktail of treatment: chemo and radiation that winter. That chemo was really an insurance policy. She endured a violent menopause, due to the treatment.

Id looked into having my eggs frozen. I thought maybe Id want to have children, after all this. I did the consultation, but it wasnt really a priority. Because of my diagnosis, there just wasnt time, so the decision was out of my hands. Then, when my treatment ended, my periods came back with a bang!

Though the treatment has been successful and shes cancer-free, Liagh continues to be monitored.

I said to my consultant one day: listen, when am I going to stop seeing you? He said Liagh, were not [stopping]. I suppose because my tumour was aggressive, oestrogen-positive and Im still not perimenopausal. With cancer, Liagh believes in being well-informed.

I didnt do the Dr Google websites. I didnt torture myself with posts on Facebook, saying I shouldnt have eaten mushrooms at seven. Theres a lot of craziness out there that isnt for me.

She calls cancer the biggest, rudest interruption you could ever get.

Originally from Cork, she has been head of underwriting for several companies, but even on returning from New Zealand, shed wanted to change career. Cancer robbed that option.

I needed routine, security, she says.

Post-treatment, she didnt want to make changes. I thought tog go bog e  youve had enough drama. We were also in mid-recession. But when the opportunity arose, she grabbed it with both hands, switching from financial services to yoga instructor.

I get to help other cancer patients, at ARC Cancer Support and Tallaght Cancer Support. I teach yoga otherwise, too, and I love it, she says.

For Liagh, breast cancer meant the scales fell from her eyes. I take pleasure in the small things: looking at the birds, a nice cup of coffee.

Breast cancer survivor, Majella ODonnell, is backing Cups against cancer, a new breast cancer campaign to fund more research.

Shes asking people to get their cups out for a good cause and host a coffee morning in October.

Eight women daily are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland (2,900 annually). Funds raised also go towards services to support those affected.

Sign up: www.cancer.ie/cupsagainstcancer. Speak to Cancer Nurse about breast cancer on 1800 200 700, cancernurseline@irishcancer.ie, or visit one of 13 Daffodil Centres in hospitals nationwide (email daffodilcentreinfo@irishcancer.ie).
Last month, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a status report, tracking progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The data, highlighting efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce premature deaths, was also intended to cajole.

Countries can, and must, do more to address global development challenges, the report concluded.

No country was singled out in the Gates report for its potential to restore the worlds commitment to development. Rather, leaders everywhere bear responsibility for ensuring that the SDGs are met by 2030.

But there is one country that can do more than others to build the world envisaged by the SDGs: China.

Two years into the SDG programme, international development is at a crossroads. The United States, long the torchbearer of foreign aid, is retreating; so is Europe (albeit to a lesser extent).

But China, with its newly articulated global ambitions, can reinvigorate humanitarian assistance.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, the SDGs outline a vision for global development that targets poverty, education, public health, inequality, sustainability, and climate action over the next 15 years.

It presents a broad vision for development, whereby issues once viewed as country-specific are treated as challenges for the entire world to tackle collectively. By contrast, the Millennium Development Goals, which ended in 2015, were narrower, and primarily targeted at issues affecting poor countries.

But the Gates study suggests that some of the SDG targets are in jeopardy.

For example, the health goal (SDG 3), which includes a target for eliminating preventable deaths among newborns and children, is unlikely to be achieved in the allotted timeframe. At the current pace, mortality reduction in South Asia and Africa will not be realized until mid-century.

Clearly, more investment is needed globally in the types of interventions that have proven effective locally. Ethiopias health extension worker programme and Malawis Health surveillance assistant programme have reduced child mortality. Aid dollars should be earmarked for programmes like these to expand to other regions.

Instead, the opposite is happening. The growing isolationism associated with the populist backlash around the world is having severe consequences for foreign assistance.

According to the OECD, bilateral aid to the worlds least-developed countries fell by 4% in 2016. This is an alarming drop, given that official development assistance (ODA) accounts for more than two thirds of the aid these countries receive.

The US, the worlds largest donor for nutrition programmes and for maternal and child health initiatives, is leading the funding retreat.

Donald Trumps 2017 budget proposal includes a staggering 45% cut to the US Agency for International Developments funding for water and sanitation projects, a 26% cut to global health funding, and the elimination of funds for family planning.

While it is not clear whether the US Congress will support Trumps budget request, which would amount to billions of dollars in lost aid, even a minor reduction in US aid spending would hurt many of the worlds poorest.

The US is not alone in its foreign aid retrenchment. The EUs 2018 draft budget proposes a 90m ($106m) cut to development spending, while Austria, Germany, and Italy have all diverted development assistance budgets towards migration crises viewed as imminent national security threats.

These are troubling trends, because private philanthropy cannot replace aid withdrawn by governments.

The world needs a new champion for international development, and China should assume the role. With weakening ODA commitments from traditional donors, China has a chance to lead in human development, poverty alleviation, and public health spending.

Chinas aid model differs from the Wests. Europe and the US have historically focused on funding health care and education, while encouraging civil-society growth and participation.

China grants aid bilaterally, and has typically targeted its funding toward infrastructure projects. But Chinese leaders have also recently shown interest in aid to strengthen civil society and improve livelihoods.

Although Chinese ODA is still a fraction of what OECD countries spend, China has signalled its interest in becoming a development leader, especially in the health sector.

At the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York, China pledged 2bn to help implement the SDG agenda, and Chinas flagship Belt and Road Initiative includes health cooperation as part of its proposed strategy.

In 2014, China also committed 47m to help contain the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

While that was significantly lower than the US pledge of $1.8bn, China was among the fastest to deliver on its commitment.

Chinas geopolitical and economic influence is growing, and so, too, must its role in promoting international peace and development.

There will be scepticism about Chinas development intentions, given Chinas political and ideological differences with the West. But the scepticism could yield positive results, if it prompts Western powers to reevaluate their foreign aid retreat.

Even if it does not, China has the tools to become a leader in international development. And, having lifted some 470m of its own citizens out of extreme poverty between 1990 and 2005, it also has the experience.

But, more than anything, China now has the political opportunity. As the US and Europe turn inward, ensuring the SDGs success will increasingly depend on encouraging Chinese leadership.

Asit K Biswas is a visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Kris Hartley is a lecturer in public policy at the University of Melbourne. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
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A TEACHER from the Isle of Wight has been jailed for sex offences against two boys he met through an online dating app.

Thomas Goodey, 27, of Daniel Street, Ryde, who took one of the boys to a hotel and gave him vodka, and invited the other to his mother's house while she was away, was sentenced to four years in prison when he appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has held a telephone conversation with Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis, during which they discussed Ukraine's law on education in terms of protection of the language rights of national minorities, as well as current issues of Ukrainian-Romanian relations.

The president of Romania confirmed the unchanged support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, the Ukrainian president's website reported on Wednesday.

Poroshenko invited Iohannis to visit Ukraine soon.
A California plaintiff has voluntarily withdrawn her proposed class-action lawsuit against Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. over what she claimed were misleading nutritional labels.

The complaint from Jacqueline Salem of Beverly Hills was filed Thursday in the Central District of California with a request for a jury trial.

Salems lead attorney, Todd Friedman, submitted a one-page motion Friday addressing her dismissal. The motion appeared Tuesday on the Pacer website that contains federal legal filings.

Friedman said the dismissal was being made without prejudice, meaning it could be filed again.

The filing and withdrawal of the complaint occurred before Krispy Kreme could answer the complaint or file a motion for summary judgment.

Krispy Kreme spokeswoman Sarah Roof said Monday that the company has a policy of not commenting on active litigation. Also being sued was franchisee Great Circle Family Foods LLC.

Salem accused the companies of feeding false information to consumers in order to deceive them into making purchases that they would otherwise not make to obtain an unfair and unjust benefit.

California law is considered to have a low bar for proving violations of the business and professions code, as well as false advertising and breach of contract.

Salem said she ate apple fritters on a reoccurring basis at Krispy Kreme shops from 2013 through this month. She claimed to have used a company nutritional guide in making her purchase. The guide was presented as an exhibit in her complaint.

Friedman could not be reached to determine how many apple fritters Salem bought each week or month.

Krispy Kreme advertises that its apple fritter is brimming with cinnamon flavor and contains bite-size chunks of real apple. And, of course, our signature glaze adds a satisfying finishing touch.

Salem said she specifically chose an apple fritter because the nutritional chart listed it as having 4 grams of sugar and 210 calories. The same chart listed the companys original glazed doughnut as having 10 grams of sugar and 190 calories. Most regular-size specialty doughnuts ranged from 7 to 34 grams of sugar, and from 190 to 400 calories

Krispy Kremes website lists 28 grams of sugar and 390 calories for the apple fritter, with a caloric breakdown of 47 percent fat, 49 percent carbohydrates and 4 percent protein.

Salem accused the companies of trying to take advantage of consumers who are actively trying to make healthier and more conscientious decisions about what they consume.

Salem requested restitution for herself and potential class-action members, as well a court order for Krispy Kreme to change its nutritional listings. Krispy Kreme apple fritters typically cost between $1.09 and $1.29 each.
LOS ANGELES  Roy Price has resigned as the head of Amazon Studios after an allegation that he sexually harassed a television producer working on one his shows.

An Amazon Studios representative confirmed that Price resigned from the company on Tuesday. Price was placed on unpaid leave Thursday following accusations made by Isa Hackett, an executive producer on the Amazon drama series The Man in the High Castle.

Hackett told the Hollywood Reporter that Price made lewd remarks to her during a promotional tour at Comic-Con in San Diego in 2015, including repeatedly making unwanted propositions to her while on a cab ride.

Albert Cheng has been named to run Amazon Studios on an interim basis.



2017 Los Angeles Times

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Curtis Cotton III, the band director at Philo-Hill Magnet Academy, is a testament for his students to the power of music. He says its what kept him in school at an early age, and ultimately led to a scholarship to UNC Greensboro.

When Cotton came to Philo-Hill eight years ago, about five students were in the band program. He has nurtured the program to the point where it now has 126 students.

Only two of those students can afford to own their instruments.

But on Tuesday, a donation of about 100 musical instruments  including guitars, saxophones, trumpets, trombones, snare drums, clarinets, flutes, violins, a cello and recorders  was presented to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools by National Pawn & Jewelry, a North Carolina company.

Jaiden Howell, 14, is in the eighth grade and one of the students who pays $40 a year to play a trumpet owned by Philo-Hill. He started playing band in sixth grade and he loves it.

I like how we all come together and sound like one, Howell said. I appreciate the donation. The (instruments) look good. We need it.

Eighth-grader Jared Cruz, 13, also plays trumpet. Like Howell, he began in sixth grade when he came to Philo-Hill.

I heard people on TV playing it and I wanted to try and see if I liked it, he said, adding that hell continue in high school.

Cruz said he was excited to see the instruments.

I think its cool, he said. Thanks for the donation.

Local store

Philo-Hill was one of the schools selected for the gift of instruments after Cotton wrote a letter to Bob Moulton, the president of National Pawn. National Pawn opened its first store in Winston-Salem in December, at 3600 Reynolda Road.

Closed mouths do not get fed, Cotton said. If you dont ask, how will you know? You need to be responsible for your own success.

He had heard that Moulton had donated instruments to schools in the past and sent him the letter in May.

In fact, Moulton, 55, has made donations of instruments and $2,000 for the past six years to school systems in counties where he has businesses, including Durham, New Hanover, Wake, Orange, Mecklenburg and Cumberland counties. This year donations will also be made to Gaston and Guilford counties.

The recorders will be given to Easton Elementary School, which asked for some before the donation, said Brad Oliver, the school systems director of arts education and summer enrichment programs. The guitars will be given to Walkertown Middle School, which also asked for more before this opportunity arose. It will also get a few stringed instruments.

The band instruments are being split evenly between Philo-Hill and Mineral Springs Middle School because they need them. The four schools will split the $2,000.

Cotton called it, a humbling experience, to know his letter was able to generate instruments for the school.

There are not too many opportunities to fill out a raffle ticket and win, he said.

Positive step

Philo-Hill is a Title I school with 100 percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches, according to school officials. Cotton said music can have a big impact on their lives.

It can be a struggle to work with these students, knowing the neighborhoods they live in, he said. I may be the only positive thing they have that day. I may help them get their scholarship to college.

Moulton said the instruments donated to schools each year come from his pawn shops, with the exception of the recorders and guitars, which he buys wholesale. If someone brings an instrument to one of the shops to pawn, it is saved to be donated to schools.

I had incredible memories of being in band, and I want to put instruments in kids hands, Moulton said. Its a really exciting, fun thing to do and its very important to me. Im lucky because Im in a position to do it.

He challenged former band geeks who have instruments they no longer play to donate them to schools. Moulton said if they cant afford to donate them, then bring them to his stores and they will buy them so they can be donated.

There is such a need, he said.
If a metaphor could be used for this White House, it might be a two-sided coin with President Trump the head and Vice President Mike Pence the tail.

The president tends toward the bombastic to get peoples attention and make his points, while his vice president is calm and measured in his response to questions, sometimes resembling a contemplative monk. In many ways they complement each other.

During an interview Thursday, the vice president said tax reform is now the administrations top domestic priority and that we have the best opportunity between now and the end of the year to do that. He believes it will get done.

Why the optimism? Because, he says, there is broad-based and more than a little bipartisan support for tax relief to get this economy growing again. Pence thinks the failure to repeal Obamacare in 2017 has created (an) even greater sense of urgency. Theres a great sense of anticipation among the American public. I think members of Congress are very aware of that.

What about Obamacare and the failure of Republicans to repeal and replace it, leading to a number of executive orders (issued Thursday) to address what the president feels is the harm caused by that law?

Pence predicts the Senate will go along with the House next spring when a new budget bill comes up for consideration. The word we got from Senators (Lisa) Murkowski (R-AK) and (John) McCain (R-AZ) was very favorable toward the Graham-Cassidy bill, which would have repealed the individual mandate, repealed the business mandate and block grant(ed) resources back to the states. Their attitude on the substance was very favorable, but both of them wanted to give the Senate time to go through the committee process, the hearing process, for full floor consideration and amendments.

What about Iran and the decertification of the nuclear deal made during the Obama administration? Pence said the president considers the deal a disaster agreement for the United States. From the White House on Friday, the president announced he was decertifying the deal, imposing new sanctions and asking our allies and Congress to address the deals serious flaws.

North Korea? Pence notes how truly remarkable he believes it is that there is a global consensus around a commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. ... What weve seen from the Kim regime in recent months is a series of provocations and a nuclear missile test I believe has created an environment that has made it possible for us to forge not only stronger relations with our allies in the region, but given President Trumps strong relationship with President Xi of China, weve seen China take action regarding North Korea that theyve never taken before (including) cutting off access to financial institutions in China.

I ask if a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and getting Kim to stop production of nuclear weapons can be achieved without war and get the standard answer the president has given: We remain hopeful well be able to achieve it by economic and diplomatic means, but all options are on the table.

As might be expected of a loyal vice president, Pence suggests the president is not getting the credit he thinks he deserves for undoing some of the policies of previous administrations, attempting to loosen the grip of ISIS in Iraq and for his businessmans approach to government, emphasizing more private-sector jobs and relaxing or eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle economic growth.

Would he care to comment on the Harvey Weinstein story everyone is talking about?

He smiles and demurs, possibly adopting the philosophy that when your liberal political enemies are destroying themselves, why get in the way by changing the subject?

On the way out of the White House Mess where we had lunch, Pence pauses to admire a model of an old ship. To employ a nautical phrase, Mike Pence is a calming influence on sometimes stormy political seas. He may be President Trumps greatest political and personal asset.
It's about time somebody gives Donald Trump the credit he deserves. Even if that person is Donald Trump.

"We're doing a lot of great things," the president said at the start of a Cabinet meeting Monday. Further, he said, "we are getting tremendous accolades for what we're doing." What's more, "the Justice Department is doing a fantastic job," while the economy is growing "phenomenally," except for the drag from those hurricanes -- the handling of which, Trump would again say Monday, earns him an "A-plus" grade. He also boasted about his yet-to-be-passed (or even proposed) tax cuts -- the "largest tax cuts in the history of our country."

But the highest praise of all came for his Cabinet -- or, rather, his own acumen in choosing this truly exceptional group of people seated at the table around him. "There are those that are saying it's one of the finest group of people ever assembled as a candidate -- as a Cabinet," he said. (Trump's candidate-Cabinet mix-up followed his Friday mishap when he praised parents who sacrifice for the "furniture," rather than future, of their children.) "This is a tremendous amount of talent," Trump continued. "We have just gotten really, really, great people. I'm very proud of them."

And I'm very proud of Trump for recognizing the greatness of his Cabinet. But he is being modest. This isn't just "one of the finest" Cabinets. There has never been a Cabinet like this before -- and there probably will never be one like it in the furniture.

Sure, George Washington sat around the Cabinet table with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox and Edmund Randolph. Abraham Lincoln won the Civil War with William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edwin Stanton. Franklin Roosevelt beat the Depression and the Nazis with Henry Morgenthau, Harold Ickes and Henry Stimson.

But Washington didn't have a professional-wrestling executive in his Cabinet, nor an education secretary foresighted enough to warn the country about the danger posed to schools by bears.

Lincoln didn't think to hire a Cabinet secretary who proposed abolishing the very Cabinet agency he runs, as Trump has found in Energy Secretary Rick Perry. FDR never had on his Cabinet someone he'd compared to a child molester, as Trump has with Ben Carson, his secretary of housing and urban development.

No matter how you measure it -- billionaires, white men, oddballs -- this Cabinet is extraordinary. Alexander Hamilton's entire treasury probably didn't have the amount of money EPA chief Scott Pruitt has spent on a soundproof phone booth, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has spent on her security detail, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife spent taking a government jet to Kentucky, where they viewed the eclipse, or tried to spend, requesting a government plane for their honeymoon.

They are so good that Trump doesn't need to be modest about it. John F. Kennedy may have brought Camelot to Washington, but he thought it necessary to acknowledge the genius of his predecessors, declaring a White House gathering of Nobel laureates the most extraordinary collection of talent -- except for "when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Never before has a Cabinet been this obsequious. Recall Trump's first Cabinet meeting? "Mr. President, what an incredible honor." "I can't thank you enough." "It is just the greatest privilege of my life."

Never has a Cabinet incurred so many probes and reprimands in so little time. U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley earned a reprimand for improper political activity, while Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's attempted intimidation of lawmakers has come under review, as have actions by Pruitt and Mnuchin.

Never has a Cabinet endured more humiliation with more aplomb. Two members (Reince Priebus and frequent-flier Tom Price) have already been sacked. Trump publicly eviscerated Attorney General Jeff Sessions and contradicted Mnuchin and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has routinely endured Trump's criticism of his workers, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has watched Trump savage her husband (Trump's "friend") Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, recently disemboweled by Trump in tweets and, after the "moron" comment became public, challenged by Trump to an IQ test, sat silently at Trump's right arm on Monday.

Tillerson, clinging to his job by his fingertips, has been so badly undermined by Trump that Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., says he's been castrated. Tillerson denies he's a eunuch. "I checked," he said Sunday on CNN. "I'm fully intact."

George Washington's Cabinet was pretty good. But this? Best. Cabinet. Ever.

Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, @Milbank.

The Washington Post
WASHINGTON  Hypocrisy, one of the most damnable sins, has been rendered obsolete. When everybodys a skunk, nobody smells the stench. Or, more to the point, when everyones slurping from the same trough, whos a pig?

Today, hypocrisy is the smirk on Harvey Weinsteins face as he pursues therapy and asks forgiveness for his sexual transgressions. Well, I suppose one could say, at least hes not a hypocrite! Indeed, he isnt. Weinstein openly admits to bad behavior toward women, though he denies ever having had nonconsensual sex. I neednt bore you with the banality of his alleged gross exhibitionism and other impositions.

Weinstein, whose whiskered jowls and corpulent corpus are perfectly cast for the villainous character he plays in life, is but the latest in a lineup of high-profile (alleged) predators, including Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill OReilly and, long before, Bill Clinton. It bears mentioning that most of these men have never been formally charged or tried for sexual crimes in a court of law but recently been convicted in a trial by Twitter where the presumption of guilt overrides any considerations of due process. This isnt to defend any of them, but shouldnt we save a little of our outrage for these truncated expressions of justice?

Exceptions to the extra-legal rule are Clinton, who was impeached by the House of Representatives (and acquitted in the Senate) for perjury and obstruction of justice related to lying about sex with an intern; and Cosby, who had his day in court on a sexual assault charge that resulted in a deadlocked jury. The 80-year-old comedian faces a new trial next April.

Ailes, of course, left the company he created two weeks after former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued him for sexual harassment. They reached a settlement amount of $20 million, and he died soon thereafter. Justice doesnt get any plainer than that. OReilly left the same company after revelations that he had settled with five women who accused him of sexual harassment, though the dethroned king of cable news has said the claims had no merit. Even so, one neednt strain to recognize hypocrisy lurking in the corridors of the network that promoted family values while its boss and its highest earner were (allegedly) demanding sexual favors on the side. Settlements dont necessarily confirm guilt, but numbers of women and dollars might.

Both Hollywood and the broadcast world are especially tough on women. Foxs blend of sex(y) and news should have been scandalous (and was to many serious journalists), but Ailes knew his audience of mostly white, middle-aged men and sold them what they apparently wanted  ample leg and hint of bosom topped off with bee-stung lips and baby-doll eyes. No matter how many advanced degrees the Fox women have, Ailes set the stage for female objectification and created a prime-time bonanza that relied upon implicit and complicit exploitation. As long as everyone was living large, nobody complained.

Moreover, everyone sorta knew about these men, at least by reputation and rumor. Not everyone, obviously. Greta Van Susteren, who left Fox soon after Ailes, told me again last Thursday that she never had any idea what was going on. But many did, apparently, and they looked away, including some of the alleged victims, who kept silent for fear of retribution or, perhaps, because they were ultimately willing to suffer humiliation in exchange for advancement. This seems an obvious, if painful, truth.

If you want to move up, as Weinstein allegedly put it to his targets, this is the way it works. If women didnt want to play nasty with the boss, who could conjure dreams or nightmares with a phone call, they were finished.

To say that these women, some barely in their 20s at the time, should have just-said-no and walked out is to misunderstand the power dynamic between a young, inexperienced woman and a powerful, physically imposing boss. It is also to wish for a different world, which, as it turns out, is coming right along. The alleged predators in each of these cases belong to a fading generation and the James Bondian, 60s free-love, Playboy era. Soon enough, they, too, will be joining Hugh Hefner and Ailes.

And the futures power brokers will be at least equally women, who, in the aftermath of these buffoonish bullies, wont hesitate to speak up and speak out, setting an example for others not yet so brave. The panty party is over.

Now, about Twitter and the future of justice.
Jay Byars is back to serve in his fourth term on Dorchester County Council. Fresh off his decisive win  by a 37 percent margin  over Petition challenger Brian Riesen in the Nov. 8 race for the District 7 seat, the Spartanburg native remains steadfast in his commitment to improve parks and  Read moreJay Byars targeting parks, roads and more in new term
A judge for the US District Court for Hawaii on Tuesday blocked [order, PDF] the implementation of the latest version [text, PDF] of President Donald Trumps so-called travel ban [JURIST news archive]. The ban significantly limits travel to the US from six majority-Muslim countries and North Korea.

In the ruling, the judge said the latest version of the ban violates the Immigration and Nationality Acts prohibition [section 1152(a), text] on nationality-based discrimination. This is the same law the Ninth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] an earlier version of the ban [text] violated. Lawyers for the Trump administration had argued that he had the authority to block travel from the specified countries under the law [section 1182(f), text], but the court found the argument unconvincing:

Ignoring the guidance afforded by the Ninth Circuit that at least this Court is obligated to follow, [the new ban] suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, a precondition that the Ninth Circuit determined must be satisfied before the Executive may properly invoke Section 1182(f). And [the new ban] plainly discriminates based on nationality in the manner that the Ninth Circuit has found antithetical to both Section 1152(a) and the founding principles of this Nation.

Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court dismissed a separate challenge [JURIST report] to the earlier, now-expired, version of the ban as being moot.
[JURIST] The legal defense team for former South Korean presidentPark Guen-hye [BBC profile] resigned en masse Monday to protest their clients corruption trial, citing beliefs [VOA report] that the court was biased against her.

In her trial, which is already underway at the Seoul Central District Court [official website], Park faces charges of abuse of power, extortion, bribery and other corruption charges. She could potentially serve the rest of her life in prison if convicted on all charges.

Her legal team resigned after the court granted an extension of her detention until April 2018 in light of the courts belief that Park may destroy evidence in the case against her if given the opportunity to do so. Park and her legal team, however, have maintained that she is innocent and that the extension is simply a result of the courts inherent biased against her.

There are no reports of how Park will handle their resignation as the trial goes on.

Park was formally indicted [NYT report] in May on a total of 18 charges, including accepting upwards of $52 million in bribes from Korean corporations such as Samsung [corporate website].

Park was also indicted [JURIST report] in April along with Shin Dong-bin [Forbes profile], chairman of the Lotte Group [official website], on similar bribery charges. Earlier in April South Koreas Constitutional Court upheld [JURIST report] parliaments decision to impeach Park

Park will now remain detained by South Korean authorities while the trial continues.
[JURIST] Spains Constitutional Court [official website] unanimously ruled [judgment, PDF, in Spanish] Tuesday that Catalonias referendum on independence was illegal as the regional law upon which it was based was illegal under Spains Constitution.

Spains Constitution [text, PDF] prohibits any region in Spain from seceding and mandates that all Spanish citizens must have a voice in the countrys national sovereignty. Earlier this month, the court ordered [JURIST report] the suspension of Catalonias planned parliamentary session on independence next week warning of prosecution if they proceeded with the session.

Catalan officials have spoken out [NYT report] over secession failures and the jailing of regional officials [JURIST report] as repression over dialogue. Since the jailing of pro-independence leaders on Monday, protests have arisen across the country. The Catalan government has asked the EU [Telegraph report] to help with the conflict stating that the jailing of the two independence leaders is an attack on fundamental rights.
The multi-party systems established in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia in the early 1990s have endured despite electoral violence. But democratic hopes have been dashed or perverted throughout the rest of the region. The governments built on the ruins of the civil wars in Angola, Burundi, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda have all relied on armed political groups to stay in power.

From June 2015 to August 2017 an uninterrupted series of general elections took place in Central and East Africa. Those in Burundi (2015) and the DRC (initially set for 2016) were expected to be the most problematic. In both the incumbent presidents were seeking to extend their mandates beyond a second term. In the Congo, Uganda and Kenya, the risk of violent clashes was palpable.

The ruling regimes were not only dated, but worse for wear. At the time of the elections, the presidents of Angola (Jose Eduardo Dos Santos), the Congo (Denis Sassou N'Guesso) and Uganda (Yoweri Museveni), all members of the revolutionary or progressive New Generationof African leaders, were all in their seventies and had been in power for 30 or more years. The Presidents of Rwanda (Paul Kagame), the DRC (Joseph Kabila) and Burundi (Pierre Nkurunziza), having served terms of 21, 14 and 10 years respectively, took steps to change their countries constitution to seek a third term.

Despite the bleak regional outlook and contagious scepticism among voters, these pious democratic rituals have become critical events over the past 20 years. This is true even in the most authoritarian countries where so much is predetermined. From the parties in the running to the authorised candidates and even the results.

As artificial as they may be, these rites still represent a risk for those in power. Rulers need expert skill to ensure both maximum control over their institutions and demonstrations of love from their people. Consequently, the outcome of the race  between increasingly artful electoral manipulation and limitless possible manifestations of democratic expression  is never entirely certain.

From Kinshasa to Kampala, from Brazzaville to Luanda and Bujumbura, courageous dissenters have organised numerous protests, usually with the approval  and sometimes active support  of the general population. These protests express the frustrations and expectations of a generation fed up with regimes clinging to power and responding to growing disillusion with increasing authoritarianism.

The ruling parties have, on the whole, proved themselves highly resourceful and resilient against the desire for change. Their victory has been comprehensive. Only Kenya is the exception: a second vote is set for October 26 following the Supreme Courts surprise decision to invalidate the election results. In the DRC, Joseph Kabilas delaying tactics have so far allowed him to remain in power. And while Dos Santos eventually withdrew his candidature due to illness, the election of his chosen successor has ensured power in Angola remains in his factions hands.

In power until 2034

The string of Central and East African elections got off to a bad start. In April 2015, the president of Burundi controversially sought a third term in office. Although devastated by 10 years of internal strife, Burundi had become a symbol of peaceful transition in the region. Three months of tactical manoeuvring and brutal repression were required to bring victory to the incumbent president. This pushed the country back to the brink of civil war and further plunged it down the ranks of the worlds poorest countries.

The resulting crisis and the violent response by this relatively inexperienced president threw discredit on other outgoing presidents in the region, all flagrant repeat offenders. They were forced to up their game.

In February 2016, Museveni took office for the fifth time in Uganda amid relative calm. In March, in a tenser national atmosphere, Congolese president Denis Sassou-Nguesso started on the first of the three extra terms allowed by the recent constitutional reform. He could still be in power in 2031, at nearly 90 years of age.

Not to be outdone, Rwandan President Paul Kagame presided over a constitutional referendum in 2015 enabling him to remain in power until 2034. The reform was approved by 98% of voters, with a voter turnout of more than 98%.

Overall, pending the outcomes in Kenya and DRC, each of the self-proclaimed candidates who won the recent bout of electoral contests can boast enviable popular mandates, and even landslide victories.

Every leader for themselves

In the eyes of these leaders their longevity, and that of their counterparts in the region, constitutes in and of itself a justification for remaining power.

Their relations, alliances and conflicts were carved out in a shared past, marked by civil wars and fiercely violent regional clashes. Widespread structural insecurity plagues the entire region as a result. The insecurity is fuelled by governments failure to lay down formal, mutually beneficial, political frameworks for cooperation and regional integration. Yet such frameworks would allow them to develop the human resources and agricultural and mining potential of the region in an equitable manner.

In 2013, as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, African Intervention Brigadeswere authorised to take offensive measures to neutralise the main militia groups in the countrys Eastern region. The Brigades main target was the M23, a movement supported by Rwanda and Uganda, according to intelligence later submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The return to low-scale warfare is a sign of a regulated joint governance of the instability.

Despite the presence of peacekeeping forces, numerous political and criminal armed groups still control vast, lawless zones. In their own ways, these groups secure the exploitation of natural resources. They supply a lucrative cross-border trade run at the highest levels of government. These activities bring in significant profits for the ruling classes. They also allow countries in the sub-region to export goods they do not produce themselves. And they ensure the continued viability of the various regional and international trade routes towards the Indian Ocean.

At every stage of wealth creation, profits are essentially redistributed according to private interests. It is therefore easy to understand why each head of state believes themselves best placed to serve both national and personal interests, and the interests of the political-ethnic groups they represent.

The price of longevity

When they came to power, the new generation of leaders from the Great Horn of Africa embodied the new ideal of good governance. They were strong men at the head of strong and sustainable democracies, ensuring the order and security necessary for development.

During the course of these elections, none of these so-called democrats, so regularly and resoundingly elected by their citizens, had any thoughts of retirement. Setting aside Kabila, whose fate is still undecided, at least two of them, in Burundi and Uganda, had no qualms about changing their countrys constitution to ensure their own reelection.

But in a region of considerable wealth, its by no means certain that government can indefinitely be determined by the life expectancy of leaders who are still incapable of developing the regional cooperative frameworks that would ensure peace, security and prosperity for their citizens.

Translated from the French by Alice Heathwood for Fast for Word.

This article was first published by The Conversation
A consortium of media known as the European Investigative Collaboration (EIC), of which French investigative website Mediapart is a member, has revealed certain facts that are embarrassing to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Court has opened an internal investigation and suspended two members of staff, but the scandal focuses on former ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo. Apart from the questions about individual responsibility, the main issue raised by these revelations is ICC governance. Indeed, how should the ICC Prosecutor, the Courts sheriff, be watched over?

When Luis Moreno Ocampo arrived in The Hague in 2003, he carried hopes for independent and ambitious international justice. On paper, Ocampo seemed ideal, and that is why he was chosen. This Argentine lawyer became well known as a prosecutor investigating corruption and human rights abuses by the military during his countrys former dictatorship.

But very quickly, Ocampos prosecution strategy raised criticism, whether it be his one-sided investigations into the Lords Resistance Army and not the Ugandan army, the arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir for genocide or the prosecution of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo but not supporters of the current president Alassane Ouattara. Indeed, the most serious allegation by Mediapart concerns Cote dIvoire and the fact that Ocampo, who was ICC Prosecutor at the time, asked for Gbagbos detention in 2011 without any judicial basis to do so.

Confiding in Angelina Jolie

Apart perhaps from that allegation, nothing so far allows us to say that Ocampo committed illegal acts, but the Mediapart articles show how the behaviour of the ex-sheriff of international justice was far from the ethical rules. Hardly had his nine-year mandate ended than Ocampo, who returned to being a lawyer, used his expertise and his contacts to help some clients who were his former targets. According to Mediapart, he worked to find an honourable way out for Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom Ocampo himself had indicted for crimes against humanity! He also worked behind the scenes to get an ICC indictment against enemies of Libyan general Khalifa Haftar and protect Haftar and his men from prosecution, whereas it was again Ocampo himself who opened an ICC investigation into war crimes committed in Libya.

We are again shocked to learn of documents showing the ex-Prosecutor had offshore bank accounts in Panama and the British Virgin Islands, whereas he had been a top representative in Latin America of Transparency International, an organization that fights against tax evasion and tax havens. In short, all this points to inappropriate behaviour. It is surprising too to learn that the Prosecutor shared confidential Court information with actress Angelina Jolie. Ocampo told her he was preparing to announce that he would not open an investigation into alleged Israeli army crimes, and sent her the document.

According to the ICC Statute, the Prosecutor must be a person of high moral character. In addition it says that neither the Prosecutor nor a Deputy Prosecutor shall engage in any activity which is likely to interfere with his or her prosecutorial functions or to affect confidence in his or her independence. They shall not engage in any other occupation of a professional nature.

These multiple revelations constitute a sort of Ocampogate for the ICC. But however embarrassing they may be, they do not target the current Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who was nevertheless Ocampos deputy.

Dont plot against the oversight mechanism!

The EICs revelations have led the ICC to suspend two members of staff and open an internal investigation. According to Mediapart, a Court press officer received secret payments from a New York banker to push a certain case at the Office of the Prosecutor, and another ICC official shared with third parties information obtained from a Libyan prosecutor as part of that countrys cooperation with the ICC.

All this is certainly enough to demonstrate that ICC governance safeguards are not sufficient. According to the documents obtained by Mediapart, former Prosecutor Ocampo fought hard in 2010 and 2011 to limit the powers of the ICCs oversight body, the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), in the name of the Prosecutors independence, to the point that in November 2011 the President of the ICC Assembly of States Parties wrote to Ocampo telling him not to plot too much against the IOM!

The conduct of international criminal justice and the men and women who represent it must be irreproachable, even after the end of their mandate. Clearly no provisions have been made to this effect. In addition, the 18 ICC judges are not bound to disclose their assets. There is nevertheless no lack of qualified jurists to put in place an efficient system of administrative and financial oversight. The sheriff or ex-sheriff of international justice should not be able to put himself (or herself) above the law, nor lose their moral compass.
The presidium of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China holds its first meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping was present and delivered a speech. JU PENG / XINHUA

The election of delegates to the Party's 19th National Congress was carried out with strict examination of the qualifications of candidates and enforcement of discipline, according to a report that was passed on Tuesday by the presidium led by General Secretary Xi Jinping.

The report, approved at the presidium's first meeting, confirmed the credentials of 2,280 delegates from the 2,287 delegates previously elected by the Communist Party of China from around the nation. Xi attended the meeting and gave an important speech.

The 243-member presidential team was elected at the preparatory meeting of the congress held at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday afternoon.

Xi presided over the preparatory meeting, which was attended by 2,307 Party delegates and invited delegates.

A 22-member delegate credentials committee was approved at the meeting. A presidium of the congress consisting of 243 members was also approved. Attendees also approved the organizational setup and tasks of the secretariat of the congress.

The report said the CPC Central Committee, with Xi as the core, has attached great importance to the election of the delegates to the 19th National Congress.

Since November, the Party's organizations have advanced election work under the rules of the Party's Constitution, it said.

During the election process, the Party organizations have widely heard the voices of grassroots agencies and Party members, made political integrity the top priority, and collected opinions from disciplinary authorities, the report said.

The CPC National Congress, usually held every five years, unveils new leadership and sets a blueprint for national development for the next five years and beyond.

Some 99.2 percent of the country's 89 million-plus Party members and all the primary-level Party organizations took part in the election, according to the Party.

The report said the delegates all meet the criteria laid down by the CPC Central Committee. With balanced composition and distribution, the proportion of delegates from the front lines of work has increased outstandingly, and the numbers of women and ethnic delegates both increased, it said.

During the seven-day congress that starts on Wednesday, the delegates will hear and examine a report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee, examine a work report of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, deliberate and adopt an amendment to the Party's Constitution, and elect the Party's 19th Central Committee and its 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Photo taken on Oct. 14, 2017 shows the explosion site near Safari hotel in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. At least 276 people were killed and more than 300 others injured in the bombing that happened on Saturday in a shopping area of Mogadishu, making it the deadliest single attack in Somalia's history. [Photo: Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent condolences to his Somali counterpart, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, over the deadly truck bombing in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

In a message of condolences, Xi said he was shocked to learn the bombing that had caused heavy casualties.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people as well as in his own name, Xi mourned the dead, extended heartfelt sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families and wished the injured a quick recovery.

At least 276 people were killed and more than 300 others injured in the bombing that happened on Saturday in a shopping area of Mogadishu, making it the deadliest single attack in Somalia's history.
Two boys were arrested near North Platte Tuesday after a search by multiple agencies through the South Platte River bottom.

According to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, the two boys were wanted in connection with a stolen pickup, taken early Tuesday in Cozad.

A black, Chevrolet 1-ton pickup later was spotted by Lincoln County sheriffs deputies west of Loves Travel Shop that matched the description from the Dawson County Sheriffs Office. The pickup fled west on Walker Road, the sheriffs office said.

About the same time, the North Platte Police Department had responded to a report of a hit-and-run at Loves Travel Stop, and investigation led police to believe that the same pickup was involved.

Sheriffs deputies followed the pickup into a feedlot on Crane View Road, where two people got out and ran into the river bottom. This led to an extensive search that included the Nebraska State Patrols ground and air divisions.

Officials located two 17-year-old boys hiding in an elevated, enclosed deer stand. They refused to come down and were eventually pulled out of the stand.

The teenagers were arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and flight to avoid arrest, which are felonies. The boys are from eastern Nebraska, the sheriffs department said.

The investigation is ongoing.
WASHINGTON  The head of the Environmental Protection Agency sought Tuesday to calm Midwestern senators who could block his nominees if the agency sets renewable fuel mandates too low.

All four GOP senators from Iowa and Nebraska attended Tuesdays face-to-face meeting with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in the Capitol Hill office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

After the meeting, lawmakers indicated that they got assurances of more conversation but no commitment on numbers.

Just hours before the meeting, Grassley bluntly answered a reporters question about what leverage the group would have if the agency fails to listen.

Hold up EPA nominees, Grassley said. I think theres plenty of senators would do that.

The dispute centers on the EPAs recently released proposals for the mandated levels of ethanol and biodiesel usage under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Those policies are followed closely by Nebraska and Iowa, the nations top two producers of ethanol.

Renewable fuels groups have criticized the agencys latest numbers as too low, particularly its levels for biodiesel. A bipartisan group of 33 senators wrote Pruitt on Monday objecting to those biodiesel requirements as insufficient.

These proposed volumes do not reflect the existing potential for the biodiesel and renewable diesel industries in our states and could cause near-term job losses and discourage investment in capacity and new fuel development, they wrote.

Grassley signed that letter, along with Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., did not sign it but instead sent his own letter saying that while the agency has some waiver authority, it should strive to issue volume requirements that respect the intent of Congress.

Sasse praised Pruitt for listening to concerns during Tuesdays meeting and explaining the pressures coming from various interests. He said Pruitt was not in a position to offer guarantees because he has to gather more information before finalizing the numbers next month.

Pruitt left the meeting without speaking to reporters.

Fischer and Ernst are both members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the agency and will be considering EPA nominees.

The administrator gave us assurances that hes going to continue his conversations with us and committed to working with us on a variety of issues that deal with the RFS, Fischer said after the meeting.

Fischer indicated support for at least one key EPA nominee but did not rule out using the nomination process to get the agencys attention on the RFS.

There are always options available for senators to use, Fischer said.

An Oklahoman, Pruitts ties to the oil and gas industry caused some heartburn among Midwestern senators when he was nominated for the position, and he won confirmation only after offering them reassurances during a similar meeting in Grassleys office.

Ernst recalled that earlier session in a press release she issued after Tuesdays meeting.

Administrator Pruitt again claimed today that he will not do anything to undermine the program, Ernst said. However, we have heard this before. We now need to see it. I will continue to work with the EPA, but they must prove to the agricultural community who put their faith in this administration that they will fulfill their promise to maintain the letter and the spirit of the RFS. We will not accept anything less.

Speaking to reporters, Grassley pointed to President Donald Trumps campaign promises to support ethanol. Grassley said Trump called him not long ago to assure him that he would stand by that support.

I reiterated this story to Mr. Pruitt and said that you can get in the weeds about what you ought to do or not do as a way of policy, but this is an issue of the president keeping his promise to the people,  Grassley said.
A state court has upheld the 40-year prison sentence of Brian Robeson, the former Omaha middle school teacher who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a former student.

Robeson had appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, arguing that the sentence was too harsh and that he received an ineffective defense from his lawyers.

Robeson, 37, is serving a 40-year prison sentence at the Nebraska State Penitentiary after pleading guilty in September 2016 to first-degree sexual assault as part of a plea agreement. In exchange for the plea, the Douglas County Attorneys Office dropped a second sexual assault charge.

Under state sentencing guidelines, he will have to serve half of that before he can be released.

Over the course of more than a year, authorities say, he was involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a former student, with the assaults starting when she was 13 and a student at Alfonza W. Davis Middle School. Robeson taught seventh-grade math at the school.

Robeson was employed by the Omaha Public Schools for 13 years. He was fired shortly after his arrest in December 2015.

In his appeal, Robeson contended that the sentence handed down by Douglas County District Judge Kimberly Pankonin was excessive and did not take into account mitigating factors, including Robesons history of alcoholism, his rocky childhood and his relationship with his two young children. In addition, Robeson said the sentencing shouldnt have occurred without a presentence investigation report.

The appeals court, made up of a three-judge panel, said in an opinion delivered Tuesday that Robeson waived his right to a presentence report when he and his lawyer requested an expedited sentencing after entering the guilty plea. Robeson said at the time that he didnt know all the facts about presentence reports.

The court also rejected Robesons claim that the sentence was excessive, noting that he agreed to a plea agreement for 40 years in prison.

The parents of the victim have filed a federal lawsuit against Robeson, OPS and Davis Principal Dan Bartels, alleging that the district and several administrators ignored warning signs that Robeson was grooming and assaulting their daughter.
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Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland meets for a trilateral meeting with Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, left, and Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, United States Trade Representative, during the final day of the third round of NAFTA negotiations at Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. The NAFTA countries haven't broken up. But they are publicly bickering. They are delaying their next get-together date. And they appear to have agreed they won't be resolving their differences by the end of this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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Foreign analysts and media look to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for clues about Chinas future. It is no secret that President Xi Jinping, during his almost five years as Chinas senior-most leader, has strengthened the Partys role in governing China  and foreigners have questions. Im asked these questions by foreign media and I think it useful to state and examine them.

What is it about the Party, the CPC, and its governing philosophy, that makes Xi so committed to enhancing the Partys governing power? What are the Partys positions and policies, organization and governance, vision and challenges? Why has China opted for perpetual CPC leadership? What innovations has Xi brought to the Partys leadership role in the economy and society? Why has Xi elevated strict discipline of the Party to the highest level of national importance, the fourth of his Four Comprehensives for governing China? Why is his anti-corruption campaign so relentless?

Answers to these questions lead to a more basic question: How has the Party led China to its remarkable development and modernization? How has the Party adapted to changing conditions, kept up with the times? What can we learn from the Partys history, its triumphs and tragedies? What is it about the Partys recent past that it must now be rejuvenated?

But can a system with a perpetually ruling party discipline itself, itself establish credible checks-and-balances? What challenges does the Party face? What does the Party consider its greatest dangers? And what are its enduring ideals, its visions for the future? Under Xis core leadership, how might the Partys role in governing China develop over the next five or ten years?

China requires strong leadership to maintain stability given Chinas unique, complex challenges: domestically (slower growth, industrial overcapacity, endemic pollution, imbalanced development, income disparity, social injustice, social service demands) and internationally (regional conflicts, sluggish economies, volatile markets, trade protectionism, ethnic clashes, terrorism, geopolitical rivalries, territorial disputes).

Xis unprecedented anti-corruption campaign has won strong public support. His determination to root-out corruption and cut the wasteful and detested perks of officialdom is altering how officials in government, and executives in state-owned enterprises, work and even think.

But some foreign analysts see Xis anti-corruption campaign as a weapon of political power, thus reflecting their superficial and one-dimensional understanding of China. Befitting the size and complexity of the country, for almost every decision of importance, Chinas leaders have multiple motivations or reasons.

For the anti-corruption campaign, I can see ten motivations or reasons.

First, to state the obvious, officials who are manifestly corrupt are brought to justice. To manage Chinas huge society, there must be respect for law and judicial impartiality.

Second, by combatting corruption the Party increases public trust, building confidence in the Partys leadership.

Third, by combatting corruption the Party functions more effectively and efficiently, making decisions for the general good, not biased by personal benefits.

Fourth, corruption distorts markets, so that by reducing corruption, resources are allocated more efficiently.

Fifth, corrupt officials impede economic reform because change threatens their private interests. The removal of corrupt officials facilitates reform.

Sixth, corrupt officials thwart rule of law for personal interests and prosecuting them strengthens rule of law for the national interest. Rule of law is exceedingly important, the third of Xis Four Comprehensives.

Seventh, some corrupt officials, in addition to enriching themselves, have non-standard political ambitions that could destabilize the system; their removal helps maintain national unity and political stability, which is essential for China.

Eighth, for China to become a world business center, China must have world-class business ethics and standards.

Ninth, combatting corruption benefits Chinas entire society, elevating morality and restoring Chinese civilization as a paragon of ethics and integrity.

Tenth, for China to become a global role model, China must exemplify morality and rectitude.

The CPC is a work in process. For the world to understand the China, it must understand why the Party asserts that its continuing political leadership is optimum for Chinas development. One key is the Partys adaptability, stressing experimentation and testing of new policies.

The benefits of a system with a single leading party include implementing critical policies rapidly and assuring that strategies which require long-term commitment, have long-term commitment - for example, China's Belt and Road Initiative.

The Partys leadership is deemed essential for China to continue its current development. Yet to continue to earn its leadership, the Party has a higher obligation to enhance rectitude of governance, standards of living and personal well-being  which includes rule of law, transparency in government, public oversight, institutionalized checks and balances, increasing democracy, various freedoms, and human rights.

Going forward in the new era, the Party faces challenges - furthering economic reform and transformation, and guiding social development and transition - while at the same time, improving transparency and building institutions that are self-regulating. The Party claims a historic mission. The Party will continue to be judged by the results.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual, political/economics commentator, and international corporate strategist. He is the host of Closer To China with R.L. Kuhn on CGTN.
China is ready to provide additional assistance if needed to help post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Marawi City in southern Philippines.

China stands ready to continue providing needed support and assistance in light of the needs of the government of the Philippines, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Lu Kang said at a recent regular press conference.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced the liberation of the southern Philippine city from the clutches of the extremists following the killing of terrorist leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.

The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the people in Marawi and the Mindanao region can enjoy the peaceful and tranquil life again at an early date, Lu said.

Last June, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua handed to Philippine health and social welfare officials a P15-million (over RMB2 million) check donation for Marawi Citys relief operations and rehabilitation.

The presentation of the check was witnessed by President Duterte, whose foreign policy has led to the revival of Chinese-Philippine relations.

According to the reports, at least P50 billion (USD 1 billion) will be needed to rehabilitate Marawi City ravaged by five months of battle between government forces and the terrorists led by Hapilon and Maute.

Also last June, China donated P370 million (RMB 52 million) worth of about 3,000 rifles and six million pieces of ammunition to help the Philippine military in fighting the terrorists.

Combating terrorism is the shared responsibility of all nations, Lu said.

Meanwhile, a total of 47 sets of heavy equipment that China donated for the reconstruction of Marawi City arrived last week in southern Philippines.

The equipment include eight sets of excavators, eight sets of wheel loaders, five sets of compactors, five sets of track-type tractors, five sets of bulldozers, eight sets of dump trucks, eight sets of cement mixers, and one container van.

Seven more equipment are expected to arrive through Chinas Emergency Humanitarian Assistance, according to Philippines public works Secretary Mark Villar.
Kilkenny farmers are among a large number of Glanbia Ireland milk suppliers who remain without power. Those without access to generators face a very difficult situation with herds now requiring milking urgently.

The worst affected regions are Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary but issues are not confined to these areas. On Tuesday afternoon, the number of seriously affected Glanbia farms was estimated at approximately 500.

Glanbia Ireland is working with suppliers, collecting milk as frequently as possible where access is safe. In some of the worst affected areas, access to some farms is still not possible due to the presence of fallen trees with attached power cables.

Glanbia Ireland Chairman Henry Corbally said: There is a severe shortage of suitable generators available. I would urge farmers in areas that have not been adversely affected by Storm Ophelia to consider making suitable mobile generators available to dairy farmers in affected regions.

Those with suitable mobile generators available for use should contact their local Glanbia Ireland representative immediately. The full list of Farm Development Managers and their contact details are available on www.glanbiaconnect.com

Henry Corbally praised the efforts of Glanbia Ireland staff and milk hauliers who were out before and after Storm Ophelia to ensure the maximum number of farms were promptly collected.
The Reverend James Mulhall is no ordinary Rector. The man who has been appointed priest-in-charge of the Church of Ireland Kells Union with Inistioge was once a Catholic priest before joining the Church of Ireland and has a great reputation as a counsellor.

He was introduced to his new parish on Friday last, October 13 , at a special service of introduction in St. Marys parish church, Kells.Clergy and members of the parish and wider community gathered to welcome him and his wife, Suzanne, and their two children, to the area.

He will be serving as priest-in-charge there.

He will continue his role as Childrens Ministry Officer in the Diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory with special responsibility for Safeguarding Trust (the Church of Irelands child protection policy) and resourcing childrens ministry.

James succeeds the Reverend Martin Hilliard who retired last Easter and comes to the parish with substantial life experience having been a Roman Catholic priest for 12 years.

He was later a HSE social worker prior to his licensing for ministry in the Church of Ireland in 2009.

He and his family have just completed seven years in Lismore Union of Parishes where he was curate assistant.

Speaking at this special service of welcome, Jamess former rector, the Very Reverend Paul Draper, Dean of Lismore, who preached at the service, told the congregation that they were getting somebody very special.

Youre really getting one of our prized possessions so look after him well, he said. Although when James is talking to you, whether it is in a sitting-room or in a dairy, he appears easy going, you quickly realise that he is communicating something of great depth to you.

He loves to tell stories and use props. In essence, not only does James teach about Jesus but sometimes he also teaches like Jesus.

Siobhan Tulloch welcomed him on behalf of the parish saying it was encouraging to have a person so dedicated to rural ministry living among them.

Fr Dan Bollard, parish priest of the Thomastown Catholic parish said he looked forward to sharing the Christian mission with James and welcomed him and his family to the parish, as did Minister of State for Housing, John Paul Phelan.

Minister Phelan also drew attention to Jamess reputation as a conciliator and healer, expressing the opinion that there has never been more of a need for healing in the world than at present.

The Chairperson of Kilkenny County Council, David Fitzgerald as well as Father Dan Carroll, Parish Priest of Danefort also attended.

In response, the Reverend Mulhall said that he was excited about coming to Kells and he thanked everyone for their warm welcome.

Over the coming months and years I look forward to us all getting to know one another better and sharing the joys and beauty of being human, he said.

He finished up by inviting the gathering to come back for further instalments in the months and years to come.

Refreshments were provided by parishioners afterwards in Stoneyford Community Centre to complete this enjoyable and sociable event.
The SmartAQnet research project pools data from old and new measurement systems to better understand urban air pollution. (Photo: P. Langer/KIT)

KIT researchers are currently developing a closely meshed network for predicting air quality with a high temporal and spatial resolution. The new measurement and analysis system does not only pool existing meteorological and traffic data as well as air quality data measured by stations, but also data recorded by flights of drones and fine dust measurements of citizens with the help of specially equipped smartphones, for instance. The SmartAQnet project coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is funded with EUR 2.9 million by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

Worldwide, more than half of the population lives in cities. In Germany, this holds for more than three quarters of the population. For their health, air quality is of crucial importance. However, distributions of pollutants, such as fine dust, in the urban atmosphere vary considerably. Highly precise, expensive measurement stations can be found at a few critical points, where air pollution is very high, examples being Neckartor in Stuttgart or Landshuter Allee in Munich. So far, information on air pollution in the own quarter or on the way to the working place has not been available to the individual citizen. The Smart Air Quality Network (SmartAQnet) project is aimed at developing a system to better understand the distribution of fine dust in the city, with Augsburg being the first model region. Within the framework of the KIT-coordinated project with partners from industry, science, and the city, existing datasets are pooled and combined with an interconnected mobile measurement strategy.

We try to pool all available data and complement them by a multi-level network of sensors to improve the dataset, says project head Matthias Budde, computer scientist at the Chair for Pervasive Computing Systems (PCS) and member of the TECO research group.

The Chair works on efficient methods to evaluate large data volumes and convert them into usable knowledge. It is headed by Professor Michael Beigl, Spokesperson of the Smart Data Innovation Lab (SDIL), one of three big data competence centers in Germany established with federal funds. Within SmartAQnet, the data collected do not only include air and weather data of classical measurement stations, but also measurements by drones, i.e. information on the fine dust distribution in higher air layers, and measurement data of citizens measuring urban air pollution with low-cost sensors. Budde has developed a plug-in sensor and an app to turn the camera of a smartphone into a fine dust detector. The flash of the smartphone emits light into the measurement area. This light is scattered by the fine dust. The camera captures the measurement result in the form of a picture. From its brightness, the dust concentration can be calculated. Simple technology for measurement by non-experts may be less precise, but this drawback is compensated by the large number of measurements and the wide area covered.

Evaluation of the data measured by a variety of instruments, from stationary, scientific high-precision devices to low-cost systems that can be operated easily by non-experts, is one of the challenges of the project. For this purpose, smart algorithms and big data analyses are required, Budde says. SmartAQnet focuses on the development of a platform into which the project partners input their measurements. Except for personal data, all data collected by researchers and citizens will be made available to the interested public as open data, Budde adds. The data can then be used by scientists, urban planners, authorities, and citizens.

Urban climate researchers are highly interested in large-area measurements to obtain a complete picture of air quality, says Professor Stefan Emeis, climate researcher of KITs Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), a partner of SmartAQnet. Findings obtained from the SmartAQnet project will be used among others by climate researchers for numerical simulation under the Urban Climate under Change program funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). SmartAQnet is considered a promising project to understand which parts of the city are subjected to which levels of pollution, Emeis points out. Augsburg is a suitable model region, because a number of environmental institutions are located there and stationary measurement instruments have been installed, whose long-term data can be incorporated in the project.

The SmartAQnet project that started in spring 2017 has a duration of three years. The cooperation project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with EUR 2.9 million from funds for digital, data-based innovations. Of these, the KIT institutes involved are granted about EUR 500,000 each. Other partners are Aerosol Akademie e.V. that operates an interdisciplinary network for aerosol technology and aerosol research, GRIMM Aerosol Technik GmbH & Co. KG, a highly renowned globally acting enterprise in the area of environmental and industrial safety measurements, Augsburg University with the Chair for Physical Geography and Quantitative Methods (IGUA) of its Institute of Geography, and two working groups of Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, German Research Center for Environmental Health (HMGU): The Institute of Epidemiology II and the Comprehensive Molecular Analytics Group (CMA). The Environmental Office of the city of Augsburg supports the project as an associated partner.

More information:

http://smartaq.net/ (in German only)

More about the KIT Climate and Environment Center: http://www.klima-umwelt.kit.edu/english

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
(Kitco News) - Miners could not even see Canadas biggest gold deposit until glacier receded and uncovered what lay beneath, according to one mining executive with operations in northern British Columbia.

Rudi Fronk, CEO of gold explorer Seabridge Gold, told Kitco News that the company acquired the KSM project back in June 2000 from Placer Dome that had spent approximately $25 million at KSM, focusing on the Kerr and Suphurets deposits that were visible from the surface.

But, one area the previous owner ignored was the Mitchell Zone, as it was covered by a glacier when Placer conducted its activities.

Since Placer Dome worked at KSM, the Mitchell glacier has retreated by almost 3 km, exposing the Mitchell deposit, and allowing us to ascertain whats there, Fronk said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Even though global warming is not the most popular topic within the mining industry, it is opening up doors for some miners in remote northern locations, not accessible before.

Theres no question that as glaciers retreat, more ground will become available for exploration and more discoveries could be made in that part of the world, said Fronk. It is a possibility that we might see more of such deposits as Mitchell.

A preliminary feasibility study of the KSM project conducted in November 2016 showed that the site contained 39 million ounces of gold and 10 billion pounds of copper, with a mine life of more than 50 years. The Mitchell deposit accounts for 27.5 million ounces of KSMs gold reserves and 5.1 billion pounds of copper.

The company plans to first mine the Mitchell deposit as an open-pit mine and then go underground.

Seabridge Gold already has the permits to start mining, but is looking for a major mining company to join the venture as a partner. We intend to partner with large and skilled operator, said Fronk.

Another example of a similar discovery made possible due to warming weather conditions is the companys Iron Cap deposit, which is located near the Mitchell deposit. In fact we believe that the Iron Cap deposit at KSM could eventually match Mitchell in size.

The site has revealed positive results once Seabridge was able to drill through the ice.

Four of the five holes have long intercepts with gold grades above one gram per tonne, according to a press release published in September. Hole IC-17-65 returns 422 meters grading 1.04 g/T Gold and 0.32% Copper. Hole IC-17-66 returns 64 meters grading 4.77 g/T Gold. Exceptional gold/copper values could accelerate plans for Iron Cap block cave.

However, it is also important to remember that global warming could have adverse effects on the mining industry as well. For example, Newmont Mining has said in the past that higher temperatures contribute to rising sea levels, which can impact operations in a negative way.

Newmont has two port facilities where we ship concentrate product from our operations in Indonesia and Western Australia. These facilities could be impacted by long-term (>100 years) rising sea levels; however, the range of currently estimated short-term rise in sea levels suggest that neither facility would be impacted within the current lifespan of the projects (<20 years), the company said in March 2017.
David Lawder, David Ljunggren

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Trade negotiators from the United States and Canada accused each other of sabotaging attempts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement on Tuesday, even as they and Mexico agreed to extend talks into 2018.

A round of talks in Washington that lasted seven days failed to find the most basic common ground between the three parties, and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland accused the United States of pursuing a winner take all approach.

The Trump administrations proposals to reshape NAFTA to help shrink U.S. trade deficits have created stumbling blocks, leaving observers to wonder whether it intends to sink the agreement.

Washingtons demands, previously identified as red lines by its neighbors, include forcing renegotiating the pact every five years, reserving the lions share of automotive manufacturing for the United States and making it easier to pursue import barriers against some Canadian and Mexican goods.

As difficult as this has been, we have seen no indication that our partners are willing to make any changes that will result in a rebalancing and a reduction in these huge trade deficits, said Washingtons negotiator, Robert Lighthizer.

News of the talks' extension through to the first quarter of next year, from the end of this year, lifted the Mexican peso MXN=D2 1.2 percent after a volatile day of trading. The peso has fallen 7 percent since July on expectations that NAFTA would not survive.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo struck a more positive tone than both Freeland and Lighthizer, saying the extension of the talks showed the three parties were giving ourselves an opportunity to find a solution.

Despite the tension at the talks, Mexican and Canadian officials have stressed that their governments will not walk away from the table. The talks are now scheduled to resume in Mexcio City on Nov. 17-21.

REMAIN CALM

Describing some of the demands as ridiculously extreme, Moises Kalach, head of the international negotiating arm of Mexicos powerful CCE business lobby, said the U.S. government knew that it would not be able to push them through.

The key is to remain calm and see if the American government is ready to negotiate, he told Mexican radio.

One person close to the process said there was now a possibility that negotiations to modernize NAFTA, which underpins some $1.2 trillion in annual trade between the three countries, could collapse.

Lighthizer says his hard negotiating line reflects U.S. President Donald Trumps desire to claw back lost manufacturing jobs and shrink U.S. goods trade deficits amounting to $64 billion with Mexico and $11 billion with Canada last year.

Trump, who made trade a centerpiece of his 2016 presidential campaign as he promised to reinvigorate the U.S. manufacturing sector, has continued his attacks on NAFTA and repeatedly threatened to terminate the pact if Mexico and Canada will not agree to changes.

U.S. negotiators opened a new front over the weekend with a proposal that Canada dismantle its system of protections for the dairy and poultry sectors, a move that Ottawa will reject.

The Trump administration has also set out proposals that could impose fresh restrictions on long-haul trucking from Mexico, according to a person familiar with the matter. That too is likely to meet stiff resistance, Mexican officials say.

U.S. opposition to NAFTAs dispute resolution mechanisms, plans to restrict outside access to government contracts and attacks on Canadian dairy and softwood lumber producers are all causing friction behind the scenes, officials say.

In public, Mexican and Canadian officials have played up progress in areas of greater consensus such as telecommunications, financial services and digital trade.

Canadian and Mexican officials are loosely allied with U.S. industry, farm and services lobbying groups that oppose the Trump proposals and are stepping up their efforts to persuade administration officials to ease them.

Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Arlington and Sharay Angulo in Mexico City; Editing by Paul Simao, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis
MANILA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A planned domestic bond issue by the Philippine government to fund rebuilding of the badly-damaged southern city of Marawi will likely be launched in January, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday. The government is looking to raise as much as 30 billion pesos ($584 million) by selling 20-year bonds in the domestic market. President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday declared Marawi liberated from pro-Islamic State militants, after a 148-day battle with government security forces. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

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.
(Adds Ivanhoe announces resignation of Faber from board, director fees)

By Jennifer Ablan and Nicole Mordant

NEW YORK/VANCOUVER, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Marc Faber, the Swiss investor based in Thailand, provoked a backlash from business television and investment management firms on Tuesday after comments in his latest newsletter suggested the United States had only prospered because it was settled by white people.

The investor and commentator, known as "Dr Doom" for bearish calls on stocks and the economy, was dismissed from the boards of Canadian fund manager Sprott Inc , NovaGold Resources Inc and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd after his remarks.

Business television networks such as CNBC and Fox Business said they would remove Faber from booking lists for their shows.

In the October edition of his newsletter, "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report," in a section discussing capitalism versus socialism, Faber criticized the move to tear down monuments commemorating the U.S. Civil War military leaders of the Confederacy, and said:

"Thank God white people populated America, not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority."

"I am not a racist," Faber continued, "but the reality - no matter how politically incorrect - needs to be spelled out as well."

The comments in his newsletter were circulated on Twitter after subscribers scanned and posted it.

CNBC and Fox Business Network, the business news television channels where Faber has been an occasional guest commentator for years, said Tuesday that Faber was now off their booking lists for their shows.

A CNBC spokesperson said, "We do not intend to book him in the future" and a Fox spokesperson said, "Faber has not appeared on the network often, and will not be on in the future."

In response to CNBC's decision, Faber told Reuters in an email: "What else would you expect?"

"If stating some historical facts makes me a racist, then I suppose that I am a racist," Faber said by email.

"Maybe I am wrong and the U.S. would be far more prosperous if the blacks had populated it but then please explain to me why you would think so."

Sprott, a Toronto-based alternative asset manager where Faber had served as a director since 2010, demanded his resignation and he complied, effective immediately.

"The recent comments by Dr. Faber are deeply disappointing and are completely contradictory with the views of Sprott and its employees," Sprott Chief Executive Peter Grosskopf said in a statement. "We pride ourselves on being a diverse organization and comments of this sort will not be tolerated."

Late Tuesday, NovaGold Resources and Ivanhoe Mines, both Vancouver-based mine development companies, announced the departure of Faber from its boards of directors, effective immediately.

"Ivanhoe Mines disagrees with, and deplores, the personally-held views about race that Marc Faber has published in his current investment newsletter," Ivanhoe said in a statement.

Faber has been on the board of Africa-focused Ivanhoe since 2004 and was paid $120,305 in fees and share-based awards last year, a company filing showed.

Faber, who has been a director of Novagold since 2010 and is on the board's corporate governance committee, was paid $199,019 in cash, stock and options by the miner in the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, according to a Novagold filing.

Faber, who has said that he predicted the 1987 stock market crash, made his comments after a lengthy critique of socialist policies which were prefaced by a reference to this summer's violent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which one woman was killed.

Faber described monuments commemorating the U.S. Civil War military leaders of the Confederacy, which were at issue in the protests, as "statues of honorable people whose only crime was to defend what all societies had done for more than 5,000 years: keep a part of the population enslaved."

(Editing by Dan Burns and Clive McKeef)
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Below are the ratings awarded by Credit Analysis and Research Ltd. (CARE) for local debt instruments as of October 17, 2017. COMPANY INSTRUMENT RATING AMOUNT MOVEMENT

(RS.MLN) ------- ---------- ------ ------- --------- SHORT TERM RATINGS: ------------------- Cheer Sagar ST Bk Fac CARE A3 35 - Issuer not cooperating; Best on best available information. Cheran Spinner Pvt Ltd ST Bk Fac CARE A3 80 Reaffirmed (reduced from 9.24 CR) Emperor Textiles Pvt Ltd ST Bk Fac CARE A4 220 Reaffirmed Grg Cotspin Pvt Ltd ST Bk Fac CARE A2+ 560 Revised from

CARE A3+ K.K. Builders ST Bk Fac CARE A4 350 Assigned Shivam Motors Pvt Ltd Bk Fac - NonFB - CARE A4 40 Reaffirmed

ST - BG/LC Sri Kannapiran Mills Ltd ST Bk Fac CARE A4+ 250 Reaffirmed (enhanced from 10.50 CR) Suzlon Energy Ltd Proposed CP CARE A3+ 10000 Reaffirmed Vishnu Cars Pvt Ltd ST Bk Fac CARE A4+ 5 Assigned LONG TERM RATINGS: ------------------- Aditya Hotels & Hospitalities Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE B 88 Assigned Cheer Sagar LT/ST Bk Fac CARE BBB- 67 -

/CARE A3 Issuer not cooperating; Best on best available information. Cheran Spinner Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE BBB- 394.8 Reaffirmed (reduced from 41.81 CR) Dbl Silwani Sultanganj Tollways Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE A- 787.5 Reaffirmed (reduced from Rs.88.10 crore) Eashwara Sai Cotton Industries LT Bk Fac CARE B+ 59.4 Assigned Emperor Textiles Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE B+ 57.1 Revised from

CARE BB- (reduced from 6.84 CR) Grg Cotspin Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE A- 2116.5 Revised from

CARE BBB+ Growthpath Solutions Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE B 60 Assigned Hmt Ltd Fund based-LT Bk - - Withdrawn

Fac Hmt Ltd Non-fund based-ST - - Withdrawn

Bk Fac Honey Overseas LT/ST Bk Fac CARE BB- / 80 Revised from

CARE A4 CARE B+ /

CARE A4 Incredible Realcon Pvt Ltd LT Instruments CARE BBB-(SO) 6000 -

(Non- Convertible

Debentures) K.K. Builders LT Bk Fac CARE BB 310 Assigned (enhanced from Rs.5 Crore) Man Global Ltd LT Bk Fac - - Withdrawn Narayan Maruti Mahajan LT Bk Fac CARE BB- 70 Assigned Navayuga Engineering Co. Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE A 28191.7 Revised from

CARE A- (enhanced from 2,543.07 CR) Navayuga Engineering Co. Ltd LT / ST Bk Fac CARE A; 47930 CARE A-/CARE

Stable/CARE A1 A2+ (reduced from 4,800.00 CR) Navayuga Infotech Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE A- (SO) 650 Revised from

CARE BBB+ (SO) Navayuga Infotech Pvt Ltd LT/ST Bk Fac CARE A- (SO) 352.3 Revised from

/CARE A2+ (SO) CARE BBB+

(SO)/CARE A2 (SO) (reduced from 86.84 CR) North Eastern Electric Power NCD CARE AA 43000 Reaffirmed Corporation Ltd. North Eastern Electric Power Proposed NCDs CARE AA 10000 Assigned Corporation Ltd. Punarvasu Financial Services Pvt Ltd LT / ST Bk Fac CARE AA- (SO) 225 Assigned

/CARE A1+ (SO) Shivam Motors Pvt Ltd Bk Fac - Fundbased CARE BB 684.9 Reaffirmed

- LT - CC (enhanced from Rs 59.00 cr) Shivam Motors Pvt Ltd Bk Fac - TL - LT CARE BB 15.1 Assigned Shradha Agencies Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE B 130 Revised from

CARE BB+ Shradha Agencies Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE D 150 Revised from

CARE BB+ Sri Kannapiran Mills Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE BB+ 534.8 Reaffirmed (enhanced from 9.50 CR) Suzlon Energy Ltd LT/ST Bk Fac CARE BBB / 164760 Reaffirmed

CARE A3+ Vishnu Cars Pvt Ltd LT Bk Fac CARE BB+ 145 Assigned -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $: Rating watch with positive implication #: Rating Watch with Developing implications @: Rating Watch with Negative Implications %: Rating under Credit Watch wd -Rating Stands Withdrawn sp -Rating Suspended pp -Principal Protected pn -Principal Not Protected CARE may apply + or - signs for ratings to reflect a comparative standing within the category. BG-Bank Guarantee; CC-Cash Credit; CCPS-Cumulative Convertible Preference Share; CD-Certificate of Deposit; CLO-Collateralized Loan Obligation; CPA-Claims Paying Ability; CP-Commercial Paper; CPS-convertible preference shares; CRPS- Cumulative Redeemable Convertible Preference shares; DDB-Deep Discount Bond; EPBI-Exchange premium bond; FBL-Fund Based Limits; FRB/FRN -Floating Rate Bond/Note; ICD -Inter Corporate Deposit; ITD-Immediate Term Debt; LOC-Letter of Credit; LT -Long Term; LTB -Long Term Borrowing; LTD -Long Term Debt; MOCD-multiple option convertible debenture; MTD -Medium term Debenture; MTN-medium term notes; NCD(SO) - Non-Convertible Debenture-(Structured Obligation); NCD-Non-convertible Debentures; NCRB-Non Convertible Redeemable Bonds; NM-Not Meaningful; OCD-optionally convertible debenture; OD-Over Draft; OFCD-Optionally Fully Convertible Debenture; PCD-Partially Convertible Debenture; PCN-partly convertible notes; PCPS-Partly Convertible Preference Share; POCD-partly optional; PP-privately placed; PSPC-Post Shipment & Packing Credit; PS-Preference Shares; PTC-Pass Through Certificates; RPS-Redeemable Preference Shares; SCPN-secured convertible preference notes; SDO-Structured Debt Obligation; SLR-Statutory Liquidity Ratio; SO-Structured Obligation; SPCD - Secured Partly Convertible Debentures; SPN-secured premium notes; STB-Short Term Bond; STD-Short Term Debentures; ST-Short Term; Sub. Bonds-Subordinate Bonds; TB-Taxable Bond; TFB-Tax Free Bond; TL-Term Loan; TOCD-triple option convertible debentures. (Mumbai Rate Reporting Unit + 91 22 6180 7222/3317 7222, E-mail at rru.data@thomsonreuters.com)

Keywords: CARE RATINGS/
BERLIN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Given that people are feeling brighter about the economy, the European Central Bank should consider tweaking its bond-buying programme, Governing Council member Ardo Hansson told newspaper Handelsblatt.

"People are much more optimistic about the economic development and in this situation it is appropriate to think about small corrections," he said, adding it was his personal view that bond buys should be reduced.

Asked if the ECB had enough room for maneuver in its monetary policy, Hansson said: "I think so. If the question is whether we have done all we can, the answer is no," he added.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Madeline Chambers)
WARSAW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has set final terms of its 750-million zloty ($208.80 million) tap of bond issue due 2021 with yield at 2.332 percent, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The price was set at 99.716, the source also said, while the total issue size was taken to 4.0 billion zloty. ($1 = 3.5920 zlotys)

(Reporting by Marcin Goclowski; Editing by Agnieszka Barteczko)

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.
JAKARTA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Indonesia aims to replant about 20,000 hectares (49,400 acres) of smallholder palm plantations this year, under a government scheme aimed at boosting flagging yields, the agriculture ministry's director general of estate crops said on Wednesday.

President Joko Widodo launched the scheme, funded by a levy on crude palm oil (CPO), last week in South Sumatra as the world's biggest palm oil producer tries to squeeze more output from existing plantations.

"There are 2.4 million hectares that need to be replanted. About 400,000 hectares are old crops, and the rest are not using proper seedlings," said the director general, Bambang, who uses one name like many Indonesians.

Currently, smallholder plantations yield 2 tonnes of CPO per year, but yields could increase to 8 tonnes per year if replanted using better seedlings, he told reporters.

The replanted seedlings could start production within two years, he added.

Plantations that received funding through this scheme will have to meet the requirements to receive Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification.

ISPO is a government certification programme that is mandatory for companies, but voluntary for smallholders. It requires that land is legally owned, does not encroach on forest areas and uses good agriculture practices without burning.

Indonesia has come under pressure from activists and a growing number of purchasing countries to improve the sustainability of palm oil production and curb forest loss.

Indonesia has 11.9 million hectares of palm oil plantation out of which 4.7 million hectares are smallholder plantations, according to ministry data.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
BRASILIA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Engineering group Odebrecht SA asked Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday to threaten fines against Venezuela's former chief prosecutor to stop her from divulging information from the company's confidential plea bargain testimony. In December, Odebrecht and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA agreed to pay $3.5 billion in fines to settle a political bribery investigation with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities. Aspects of the testimony in that deal have remained confidential when they involved countries where Odebrecht did not reach a settlement with prosecutors.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Editing by Richard Chang)

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.
Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Wednesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

DATA

The statistics office will publish September industrial output, retail sales and producer prices data at 1200 GMT. ARBITRATION OVER GREEN ENERGY

Several international companies are planning arbitration against Poland over the alleged failure of Polish state energy companies to honour contracts relating to green energy, Parkiet daily reported citing a partner from K&L Gates law firm Karol Lasocki.

U.S. company Invenergy LLC has already announced its dispute with Poland. WARSAW'S DISPUTES WITH EU

European Commission disputes with Poland over issues including the rule of law lead to a political stalemate also harms the EU, Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told Rzeczpospolita daily.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****

For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
LISBON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Portugal sold all the 1.25 billion euros ($1.47 billion) total of 3- and 11-month Treasury bills on offer in an auction on Wednesday with yields mixed, state debt agency IGCP said.

The average yield on the shorter maturity, of which 300 million euros were placed, fell further into negative territory, to -0.389 percent from -0.348 percent in the previous auction two months ago.

The longer issue yielded -0.325, slightly up from -0.345 percent in last month's auction, which was the first debt placement after ratings agency Standard & Poor's lifted the country back to investment grade after 5-1/2 years.

($1 = 0.8519 euros)

(Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge)
Oct 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray finalized the basic contours of a bipartisan deal designed to shore up health-insurance markets while giving states more say in how they implement rules set out by the Affordable Care Act. - U.S. President Donald Trump's new effort to impose a travel ban drew fire Tuesday from a federal judge who blocked implementation of restrictions on people from six Muslim-majority countries, on the eve of the policy taking full effect. - George Soros, the 87-year-old pioneer of hedge-fund investing, has turned over nearly $18 billion to Open Society Foundations, a move that transforms both the philanthropy he founded and the investment firm supplying its wealth. - U.S.-backed forces said they have captured Islamic State's de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, wrenching away the terror group's last major urban stronghold. - Sidewalk Labs, the city-building unit of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc , will partner with the city of Toronto on a high-tech waterfront development, the first major foray of the search-engine giant into creating urban space. - Saudi Arabia still plans to publicly list a portion of its state oil company in 2018, the kingdom's oil minister said Tuesday, after reports that the effort may be abandoned. - U.S. regulators sued Rio Tinto and two former top executives over claims they misled investors about the value of Mozambique coal assets obtained in an acquisition that caused massive losses for the company. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
By Hanna Paul

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock markets retreated on Wednesday with the Philippines giving up more than 1 percent as investors cashed in on the gains recorded over the past few weeks.

Philippine shares fell as much as 1.4 percent, marking their biggest intraday percentage drop in more than three weeks.

"Profit-taking is driving the market. The market has been on an uptrend for several weeks in anticipation of the successful operation in the hostility in Marawi," said Manny Cruz, an analyst at Asiasec Equities Inc.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday declared the southern city of Marawi liberated from pro-Islamic State militants, signalling the end of a battle that killed more than 1,000 people. "The early resolution or the successful military operation was used as an excuse by investors to cash in on the recent gains," Cruz said.

The government said its proposed domestic bond issue to fund the rebuilding of Marawi was likely to be launched in January. Thai shares also posted their biggest intraday dip in about three weeks.

Data showing a 21.9 percent surge in auto sales in Thailand, the regional vehicle production and export base for the world's top car makers, had little impact on traders. Indonesian stocks also fell, with the telecommunication sector leading the losses.

Meanwhile, Vietnam shares inched higher to touch a near 10-year peak, with gains in consumer staples and utilities lifting the index.

Markets in Singapore and Malaysia were closed for a national holiday.

For Asian Companies click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS: CHANGE AS AT 0400 GMT Change on the day Market Current Previous Pct Move

close Bangkok 1717.11 1724.47 -0.43 Manila 8379.77 8497.74 -1.39 Jakarta 5923.532 5947.33 -0.40 Ho Chi Minh 830.25 828.29 0.24

Change on year Market Current End 2016 Pct Move Bangkok 1717.11 1542.94 11.29 Manila 8379.77 6840.64 22.5 Jakarta 5923.532 5296.711 11.83 Ho Chi Minh 830.25 664.87 24.9 (Reporting by Hanna Paul; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
LJUBLJANA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Slovenia's finance minister Mateja Vranicar Erman will meet European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Oct. 26 to discuss delaying the sale of state-owned Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), the ministry said on Wednesday.

Slovenia had agreed to sell a 50 percent stake in NLB, the country's largest bank, this year in exchange for the EU executive Commission's approval of a 2013 rescue in which the government gave the lender 1.55 billion euros in state aid.

NLB is the biggest asset on the government's privatisation list. A sale planned for June was cancelled, with the government saying the likely price, valuing the whole bank at a minimum of 1.1 billion euros, was too low. "Considering all ... circumstances and possibilities the government believes it is best to postpone NLB's privatisation," the ministry said in a statement.

"Slovenian taxpayers fully covered the cost of state help to the bank in 2013 so it is not possible to agree to proposals that would mean an additional financial burden to taxpayers on account of lower price of the bank."

The ministry also said it would not agree to sell off NLB's units in the Balkans, which media reports have suggested the Commission might demand if the agreed stake sale does not go ahead. NLB has units in Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

"The goal is to keep NLB as a strong regional bank group," the ministry said.

The Commission has not said what it might ask of Slovenia if NLB is not sold.

The Slovenian government still controls about 45 percent of the banking sector, a much bigger share than in neighbouring countries which privatised their banks from the 1990s onwards.

The centre-left government sold Slovenia's then second-largest bank, Nova KBM (NKBM), in 2015 to U.S. investment firm Apollo Global Management and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for 250 million euros.

No significant privatisations are expected before the next general election, which is due in June or July 2018.

(Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Catherine Evans)
HANOI, Oct 18 (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 0402 GMT.

October 18 USD/VND mid-point 22,460 USD/VND interbank 22,719/22,720 USD/VND unofficial 22,720/22,740 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.33/36.55

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.7-1.1

1 week 0.8-1.2

1 month 1.5-1.9

3 months 3.2-3.6

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)
MADRID, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Spain has summoned the Venezuela ambassador in Madrid to explain comments made by the Latin American country's President Nicolas Maduro on the situation in Catalonia, the Spanish foreign ministry said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Maduro said that Spain was holding political prisoners after the arrest of two Catalan civic leaders accused by prosecutors of sedition related to protests that last month trapped national police inside a Barcelona building and destroyed their vehicles.

(Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Jesus Aguado)

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.


OSLO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Norway's central bank sold the following government bond (NST 474) in an auction on Wednesday: Coupon: 3.75 pct Maturity: May 25, 2021 Settlement date: Oct 20, 2017 AUCTION DATE Oct 18, 2017 Jan 18, 2017 YIELD (pct) 0.92 1.01 ALLOTMENT PRICE 109.96 111.58 SCHEDULED OFFER (bln NOK) 3.00 3.00 TOTAL BIDS (bln NOK) 7.949 6.035 ALLOTED (bln NOK) 3.00 3.00 BID COVER RATIO 2.65 2.01 NOTE: The central bank said that there was about 83 percent allotment on lowest accepted bids.

(Reporting by Oslo 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, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Wednesday.

The lira stood at 3.6645 against the U.S. dollar at 0514 GMT, little changed from 3.6670 at Tuesday's close.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 11.31 percent in spot trade on Tuesday.

The main BIST 100 share index rose 0.49 percent to 106,990.87 points on Tuesday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares consolidated recent gains and currencies kept to tight ranges on Wednesday as investors waited to see what policies might emerge from China's Communist Party conference. The twice-a-decade congress is expected to cement the power of President Xi Jinping, who kicked off the week-long event with a wide-ranging speech in which he said the market would be allowed to play a decisive role in allocating resources. ERDOGAN

President Tayyip Erdogan will make a speech to neighbourhood administrators at the presidential palace (1000 GMT).

YILDIRIM

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will attend the TRT World Forum in Istanbul (0700 GMT) and speak at the opening of the academic year at the Saglik Bilimleri University in Ankara (1130 GMT).

FOREIGN MINISTER

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva and they will hold a joint news conference (0815 GMT). Cavusoglu will also meet the Nigerian foreign minister (1130 GMT).

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)
(Adds details, background)

By Davide Barbuscia

DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development bank based in Saudi Arabia, has hired banks ahead of a potential U.S. dollar denominated sukuk.

The potential bond sale, expected to take place next week, is the latest in a string of bond deals in the Gulf, as companies follow the region's governments in tapping the international debt markets.

The planned five-year sukuk would be the company's second Islamic debt sale after a $500 million five-year sukuk issuance in 2015.

APICORP, wholly owned by the ten member states of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting countries (OAPEC), has also raised two Formosa bonds - debt issued in Taiwan - over the past two years.

It sold a $300 million five-year bond in 2016 and, just a few weeks ago, a $105 million five-year bond. Both transactions were led by Credit Agricole CIB .

APICORP will start meeting fixed income investors in Riyadh on Thursday, and then will hold meetings in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and in London on Monday and Tuesday next week.

The planned bond is expected to be of benchmark size, which is usually upwards of $500 million.

The bond's pricing will take into account a series of comparable deals, including APICORP's sukuk due in 2020, but also the recent five-year bonds issued by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, considering that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are two of APICORP's three largest shareholders together with Kuwait, one source close to the matter said.

APICORP, created by OAPEC in 1975 to provide financing options to the Arab energy industry, will tap the international debt markets at a busy time for Gulf issuers. But it is likely to attract strong demand from Islamic accounts that can only invest in Islamic paper.

Bahrain's Oil and Gas Holding Company is expected to complete on Wednesday a 10-year benchmark conventional bond, and Abu Dhabi's ADNOC is also expected to announce the launch of a project bond soon likely to be around $3 billion. APICORP, rated Aa3 by Moody's, has hired Bank ABC, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank , HSBC , KFH Capital and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers and bookrunners for the planned deal.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; editing by Jason Neely and Jane Merriman)
* China had planned to launch nationwide scheme in 2017

* But move has faced delays

* NDRC official says will struggle to launch by year-end

(Adds detail)

BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China will struggle to launch its long-awaited nationwide carbon trading scheme this year as planned, an official from the country's state planner said on Wednesday.

"Although China has collected industrial data for the country, it is very difficult to unify the standards and come up with one for the whole country," Dongming Ren, director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Energy Research Institute told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.

China, the world's biggest emitter of climate-warming greenhouse gases, has launched seven pilot regional trading schemes and promised to create a national exchange as part of its pledges ahead of the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.

But the national programme, originally touted to launch in the first half of 2017, has faced delays due to unreliable data and other regulatory problems. A government researcher had previously said it would launch by November at the earliest. (Reporting by Muyu Xu and Josephine Mason; Editing by Joseph Radford)
(Adds details, quote, background)

By Chijioke Ohuocha

LAGOS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on Wednesday it had ordered the suspension of Oando shares citing concerns about possible insider trading and the oil company's shareholding structure.

The SEC ordered the Nigerian Stock Exchange to implement a 48-hour suspension of Oando's shares after which it would implement a price freeze until further notice.

Oando, with dual listings in Johannesburg and Toronto , said it would issue a statement in due course.

Its shares last traded at 5.99 naira in Lagos.

The regulator said it had carried out a comprehensive review of Oando after it received two petitions and found related party transactions were not conducted at arm's length and discrepancies in its ownership structure.

A company source said the petitions centred around the ownership of some Oando shares bought through an investment vehicle at the time the company bought ConocoPhillips' Nigerian business for $1.65 billion in 2014.

"The commission notes that the above findings are weighty and therefore needs to be further investigated. After due consideration, the commission believes that it is necessary to conduct a forensic audit into the affairs of Oando Plc," the SEC said in a statement.

It said a team of auditors, lawyers, stockbrokers and share registrars would conduct the forensic audit on Oando to ensure independence.

The SEC said in July it was investigating Oando's shareholding structure. (Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagiram; editing by Jason Neely)
* Aviation regulator's order covers aircraft, engines, propellers

* Focus is on Kobe Steel products for "current production"

(Adds Justice Department request, asset sale report,)

By Ritsuko Shimizu and Tim Hepher

PARIS/TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Europe's aviation regulator has advised aircraft manufacturers to stop using parts supplied by Kobe Steel until their safety can be verified, following product data manipulation by the Japanese company.

The move by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is another headache for Kobe Steel, which has shocked aircraft, auto, train and other industries with its revelations that it has been shipping some products to customers with falsified data on strength and durability. The U.S. Justice Department is also see eking information from Kobe Steel and has requested documentation on products the company has sold to U.S. buyers, Kobe Steel said earlier.

The Justice Department inquiry could significantly raise the stakes for the Japanese steelmaker, Daisuke Yuki, a lawyer at Nozomi Sogo Attorneys at Law said.

The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau is investigating the issue and gathering information from Japanese manufacturers and Kobe Steel, a spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Where alternative suppliers are available, it is recommended to suspend use of Kobe Steel products until the legitimacy of the affected parts can be determined," EASA said in a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) dated Oct. 17.

EASA said the concern was not serious enough at this stage to warrant any compulsory measures.

A Kobe Steel spokesman declined to comment on the EASA statement.

SUPPLY CHAIN CONCERNS

The admissions that Kobe Steel's supply chains have been tainted, affecting about 500 companies across the world, has sent its shares into freefall. The tampering went back more than 10 years, a source told Reuters earlier this week.

The scandal puts another stain on Japan's manufacturing prowess after similar cases including automakers Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Nissan Motor Co .

"All organisations that may have specified or used Kobe Steel products should do a thorough review of their supply chains in order to identify if, and when, Kobe Steel products have been used in their product designs and fabrications," the SIB said.

Because the period of the data tampering has not been ascertained, the focus should be on "current production," the agency said.

The world's two largest planemakers, Airbus and Boeing , have already said they are conducting a review.

Kobe Steel will hold a first round of bidding on Friday in the sale of a real estate unit, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The company has hired Mizuho Securities, the brokerage arm of Mizuho Financial Group Inc , as an advisor for the sale of more than two-thirds of Shinko Real Esate, Bloomberg said, citing unidentified sources.

The Nikkei newspaper reported last week the sale may raise about 50 billion yen ($444 million).

Kobe Steel and Mizuho Securities declined to comment.

Mitsubishi Motor also said on Wednesday it is investigating how components from suppliers containing Kobe Steel parts have been affected by the data tampering. ($1 = 112.6900 yen)

(Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu and Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Sam Nussey; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has encouraged graduates of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at the prestigious Peking University to be leaders of reform and development in their own countries.

Xi announced the establishment of the institute during a series of summits commemorating the 70th anniversary of the UN in 2015. In an effort to train high-end talent for developing countries, the institute admitted 48 government officials, lawmakers, financial professionals and scholars from 27 developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe for master's and doctoral degrees in September 2016.

The institute's first 26 postgraduates read out a thank-you letter to Xi at their commencement in July, thanking China for offering them the opportunity to learn Chinese experiences in the reform and opening-up.

In a reply last Wednesday to their letter, Xi said he was delighted that the students had benefited as the first graduates of the institute.

Xi said the purpose of the institute, as the students hoped, was promoting fair, inclusive and sustainable development.

"South-South Cooperation is a great cause for developing countries to grow stronger together and tackle challenges," Xi said. "China will give full play to the role of the institute and help developing countries to find a path of common development and prosperity."

"Your mission is to explore a sustainable development path that suits your own country and become leaders of national reform and development," Xi said.
* SEC charges Rio Tinto and top executives with fraud

* Executives concealed problems with Mozambique assets - SEC

* Company raised money while misinformation in the market - SEC

* SEC seeks to bar Albanese, Elliott from roles at public companies.

(Changes date, dateline, adds court document details)

By Jonathan Barrett and Brendan Pierson

SYDNEY/NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday charged mining company Rio Tinto Plc and two of its former top executives with fraud, saying they inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealed critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also said on Tuesday it had reached a settlement with Rio Tinto under which the company would pay a fine of 27 million ($35.6 million) to settle claims that it breached accounting rules in connection with the Mozambique assets.

The Mozambican coal business, which relied on barging the product down the Zambezi River to port, was acquired for $3.7 billion in 2011 from Riversdale Mining and sold a few years later for $50 million.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, the SEC said Rio Tinto, former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Albanese, and former Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record the assets.

The SEC said that soon after the deal was completed, Rio Tinto learned that the acquisition would yield less coal, and of a lower quantity, than expected. The global miner could only transport and sell a fraction of the coal it had originally assumed, the SEC said.

By making misleading public statements, Rio Tinto and the executives were able to raise $5.5 billion from U.S. investors, the SEC said. They continued to solicit the investments even after executives of the Mozambique subsidiary told Albanese and Elliott that the unit was likely worth negative $680 million, according to the SEC.

"There is no truth in any of these charges," Albanese said in a statement.

Christina Mills, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said Elliott would vigorously contest the charges.

Rio Tinto said it would defend itself vigorously against the SEC's allegations. The company said the U.K. FCA had "made no findings of fraud, or of any systemic or widespread failure by Rio Tinto".

HOW IT UNFOLDED

The SEC allegations are contained in court documents that also request a jury trial. The SEC said the rapid and dramatic decline in value of the coal business was concealed, in part because Rio Tinto had already disclosed huge losses in connection with its 2007 acquisition of Alcan.

"The Mozambique acquisition was expected to restore the market's confidence in Albanese's deal-making acumen, but on-the-ground realities in Mozambique quickly undermined that narrative," the SEC said.

The SEC said the company knew its barging assumptions were unrealistic and railway capacity severely limited by the end of 2011, just months after securing the Riversdale assets.

"Defendants concealed the nature and extent of these adverse developments from Rio Tinto's Board of Directors, Audit Committee, independent auditors, and the market," the SEC said.

The SEC said that if it had been disclosed, the developments would have triggered an impairment analysis. An impairment analysis would measure the difference in the expected cash flow from an asset and the value the company has booked the asset at.

By May 2012, Albanese and Elliott were informed of the negative $680 million valuation, although the company carried the assets on its books at more than $3 billion while also promoting its prospects to the market.

The SEC said the fraud continued until January 2013, when another executive discovered accounting irregularities. Albanese subsequently resigned and the value of the Mozambique assets were lowered by more than $3 billion.

The SEC is seeking to have Albanese and Elliott barred from acting as officers or directors of any public company.

The SEC also disclosed that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was looking into Rio's accounting of the Mozambique assets.

(1 = $1.3185)

(Additional reporting by James Regan and Jane Wardell in SYDNEY, Eric Walsh in WASHINGTON and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE.; Editing by David Gregorio and Christian Schmollinger)
Oct 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened on Wednesday with the difference in yield between U.S. 5-year and 30-year Treasuries falling to the lowest since November 2007 and the yield spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasuries hitting the lowest since August 2016. The moves came in overnight U.S. trading with analysts pointing to a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Communist Party Congress and overhang from hawkish rhetoric from the U.S. Federal Reserve and signs of progress in Washington.

(Reporting by Dion Rabouin)

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ISTANBUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The economic success and growing influence China has achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) show that the Asian country represents hope for mankind, said a Turkish political party leader.

In a recent written interview with Xinhua, Dogu Perincek, chairman of the Patriotic Party, highlighted China's achievements in building socialism and its solidarity with the developing countries.

That has turned China and the CPC "into a source of hope for the whole humanity," he said ahead of the 19th CPC National Congress, which opened Wednesday in Beijing.

"China today represents hope for the whole humanity," said Perincek. "We have to keep that hope alive. Hope for a world free of imperialism, a world of free and independent nations, a multipolar world, a world that is following the path of shared growth."

In Perincek's view, the greatest success of the CPC lies in that it has given the Chinese people "confidence," which he believes has contributed to China's economic growth and its strength in defending free trade.

"Every time I visited China, I encountered a new China," said Perincek, who has visited China nine times. "I always returned to Turkey with the feelings of both surprise and admiration."

The "Chinese model" will gain followers in the coming years, he added.

Noting that China has promoted sustainable development and actively participated in efforts to combat climate change, he said China is playing a vital role in building a "new world order" and a "multipolar world."

Beyond that, he added, China is advancing common development and prosperity through cooperative platforms such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Perincek said the Belt and Road Initiative is of great importance in building a multipolar world and promoting the Eurasian continent as a space for shared growth.

"This initiative starts the Asian Age, and builds the backbone of Eurasia and the path humanity will follow," he said.
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The hands  Urban Jurgensen

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The grenage dial  Urban Jurgensen

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By Yoon Ja-young



The government will focus on protecting the agriculture market in revising the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), the agriculture minister said Monday.



He also stressed that the Anti-Graft Law should be softened to lessen the damage to farmers.



"We have many tasks lying ahead, including the KORUS FTA," Agriculture Minister Kim Yung-rok said in a meeting with the media, adding that the government will take measures to minimize the damage to the agricultural sector.



Following continuous pressure by Washington, the administration agreed to begin the amendment process for the bilateral trade pact. While Korea's agriculture imports from the United States are 10 times bigger than what the U.S. imports from here, Washington is set to demand further opening of the market.



The minister, however, has been stressing that Korea has nothing more to give when considering the already huge agriculture trade deficit with the United States.



"The imbalance in trade is already huge in agriculture. While Korea exported $700 million worth of goods to the United States, imports stood at $6.8 billion," the minister pointed out at a National Assembly audit last week.



The minister also said that the Anti-Graft Law needs some revision. "We will coordinate with related ministries to pull up the price ceilings to a realistic level," he said.



The country has been implementing the law since last September, which bans public servants, teachers and journalists from receiving meals valued over 30,000 won, gifts worth more than 50,000 won and congratulatory and condolence money in excess of 100,000 won.



While the law is expected to enhance transparency in society, there has been a growing complaint from industries that were hit with plunging sales.



The agriculture sector is among them, with flower businesses, farmers breeding hanwoo, or Korean beef, and farmers of quality fruit suffering as consumers drastically reduced purchasing these products to offer as gifts.



The agriculture minister said at the Assembly audit that the price ceilings should be raised to 50,000 won for meals, 100,000 won for gifts and reduced to 50,000 won for congratulatory and condolence money.



He said that the ministry will put priority on prevention of animal disease and food safety next year.



"With the PyeongChang Olympics scheduled, we would concentrate our efforts on making the country safe from avian influenza and foot and mouth disease. We will also put priority on protecting food safety," he said, recollecting the pesticide-contaminated eggs scandal.



He added that farming practices focusing on animal welfare should be expanded.




Egypt's prosecutor-general has referred on Tuesday to Cairo criminal court a man charged with killing a Coptic priest and injuring another in Cairo last week, state news agency MENA reported.

The prosecution charged forty-year-old Ahmed El-Sonbaty with premeditated murder in the killing of Arc Priest Samaan Shehataa, who hailed from Beni Suef Governorate in Upper Egypt, in El-Salam City east pf Cairo last Thursday.

Another priest was injured in the attack.

The interior ministry has not commented on a possible motive behind the attack.

Evidence against the defendant includes a confession, witness statements, and forensic evidence, according to MENA.

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South Korea is confused by the mixed signals the United States has been sending on how it wants to handle the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a ranking Democratic senator said Tuesday.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently returned from a trip to South Korea, where he met with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and other officials.

"I think the confusion is the message the administration is sending," he told CNN. "Secretary (of State Rex) Tillerson has been trying to establish diplomatic channels to North Korea. He's been trying to collaborate with our allies. But President Trump ... repeatedly sort of dissed him, told him not to do it in a series of tweets."

Last month Tillerson said the U.S. maintains direct channels of communication with Pyongyang. But Trump tweeted a day later that Tillerson was wasting his time.

"It's going to be ultimately necessary to have diplomacy here," Reed said, "because the consequences of a war are catastrophic on the peninsula."
By Kim Rahn

Cho Myoung-gyon

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Wednesday the chances of North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons are extremely low.

The remark by one of the nation's top government officials in charge of North Korea issues came as international society has been intensifying sanctions against Pyongyang to make it scrap its nuclear program.

In a lecture organized by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, the Korea-China Leaders Society and a forum of next-generation leaders of Korea and China, he said the chances for the North giving up its nuclear ambitions are very low when looking at the situation with a cool head.

"It is a euphemistic expression; for now, it might not be wrong to say there is no chance for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, because it believes nuclear weapons are its lifeline," Cho said.

He said the sanctions on the North are gradually producing an effect but only adding sanctions cannot make the Kim Jong-un regime give up its nuclear weapons.

"Will Kim give up the nuclear weapons when his people suffer from starvation? He believes his regime and North Korean society will collapse if he gives up nuclear weapons, so he will hold out for as long as possible in such circumstances," Cho said.

The minister said a military option to resolve the nuclear issue had been mentioned by previous administrations as well, but noted that such an option now poses a much higher risk.

"It could produce miserable results which we cannot handle, so we have to exclude military action in resolving the issue."

Cho pointed out the needs to set conditions to make North Korea give up nuclear weapons. "An economic approach is required. I don't mean we need to throw money at the North under the United Nations Security Council sanctions, but we need to take an economic approach on a level that does not damage such pressure," he said. "I seek to change the situation in the North and resolve the nuclear issue through cooperation with the North."

Regarding Pyongyang's nuclear capability, the minister said experts predict the country will be able to complete developing the weapons in two years, but added there is a chance for it to do so by next year.

Cho also reiterated the government stance not to redeploy U.S. tactical nuclear weapons here to deter the North, a deterrence option pursued by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party. "From the government's point of view, the redeployment is practically impossible and we are not considering it for now," he said.

"Redeploying tactical nuclear weapons means we acknowledge the North possesses a nuclear capability. There is a big difference between officially recognizing the North as a nuclear state and not doing so."

He said redeployment may cause a similar response as the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which has brought strong backlash and economic retaliation from China which does not want the expansion of the U.S. military presence in Northeast Asia.

"We have already been suffering from difficulties regarding THAAD. If we say we would redeploy U.S. tactical nuclear weapons, the same trouble can take place," he said.
By Yi Whan-woo



The No. 2 diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan and their top nuclear envoys met in Seoul, Wednesday, to discuss bolstering their alliance against North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.



The three-way dialogue among Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama took place ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's trip to Asia next month.



They were accompanied by top nuclear negotiators  Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Lee Do-hoon, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun and Japan's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director General Kenji Kanasugi.



Their talks came amid speculation the Kim Jong-un regime may conduct a ballistic missile test on the occasion of Trump's five-nation visit to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines in November.



"We shared our assessments of the current situation and reaffirmed our push for a complete dismantlement of the North Korea's nuclear program through peaceful methods," Lim said during a joint press conference.



"We also agreed to make all possible diplomatic efforts, including sanctions and dialogue, through close coordination among the three countries."



"In particular, the three countries held the same view that it is essential to stably manage the situation on the peninsula, while at the same time keeping pressure on the North to resolve its nuclear problem," he said.



Sullivan said the Trump administration's goal is to press the Kim regime to return to the negotiating table "unconditionally."



Prior to the joint high-level talks, Lim and Sullivan separately held a strategic dialogue and coordinated details for Trump's state visit to South Korea, slated for Nov. 7 and 8.



This was the first strategic dialogue between the No. 2 diplomats of Seoul and Washington since June 2014.



"Trump's South Korea trip was on the top of the agenda while the two sides also discussed diplomatic methods for dealing with North Korea," a foreign ministry official said.



Sullivan said he found the meeting with Lim "very productive."



Lim held one-on-one talks with Sugiyama, too.



Although their talks were mostly about Pyongyang's nuclear program, they also shared thoughts on historical conflicts centering on Seoul and Tokyo, such as wartime sexual slavery of Koreans during Japan's 1910-45 occupation of the peninsula.



Sugiyama said he "clearly conveyed" his government's view to faithfully carry out the accord reached between the two sides in December 2015 over former Korean sex slaves.



The Moon Jae-in administration has been against implementing the accord, claiming that the deal was hastily made under former President Park Geun-hye.



Meanwhile, the three top nuclear envoys agreed to continue working closely to better support each other's North Korea policies.



"It's rare for Seoul, Washington and Tokyo to hold talks among their No. 2 diplomats on one hand and top nuclear representatives on the other on the same day," a foreign ministry official said. "This shows the three sides are keeping up cooperation on North Korea."



Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile Sept. 14, but has not made any provocations since then.



The South Korean military, however, said it has detected suspicious activities at missile test sites in the North, fueling speculation the repressive state may resume its provocations soon.



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said during her meeting with Sullivan that she hopes the Trump administration will promptly finalize its decision for the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea.



The post has remained empty since Mark Lippert, a political appointee under the Barack Obama administration, returned to the U.S. in January.



Mark Knapper, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy here, has been serving as acting ambassador since then.




U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) East and North-East Asia Office director Kilaparti Ramakrishna / Courtesy of ESCAP





By Rachel Lee

It is important to highlight issues that affect older people, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region as the population ages, a high-ranking United Nations official says.

U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) East and North-East Asia Office director Kilaparti Ramakrishna says Korea needs to think about the experiences and contributions of older people, socially and economically, as it is projected that 41.5 percent of the population will be 60 or older by 2050.

"For ESCAP, this is a key area of work because it affects our region in a dramatic way," the director told The Korea Times. "We have the world's most-aged country, Japan, the fastest-aging country, the Republic of Korea, and the country with the largest population of older persons, China."

According to the U.N., the composition of the world's population has changed dramatically in recent decades. Between 1950 and 2010, life expectancy worldwide rose from 46 to 68 years, and it is projected to increase to 81 by the end of the century.

Almost 700 million people are now over the age of 60. By 2050, 2 billion people, over 20 percent of the world's population, will be 60 or older. The increase in the number of older people will be the greatest and the most rapid in the developing world, with Asia as the region with the largest number of older people, and Africa facing the largest proportionate growth.

In the 1990, the U.N. General Assembly adopted International Day of Older Persons, to be held each Oct. 1. This year's theme was "Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society." This recognizes that "older persons play important roles in our families, communities and economies," Ramakrishna said.

ESCAP has been working with governments and academic and civil society across the region to share expertise and find policies that help better manage population aging. It also conducts analysis to find a direction for aging policy in this region. The recently launched report "Addressing the Challenges of Population Aging in Asia and the Pacific" outlined some key recommendations for government on this topic.

"Part of this is supporting global processes such as reviewing the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging,' a global policy framework on aging," he said.

Ramakrishna praised Korea for significant progress with a universal contributory public pension and the tax-funded social pension as a safety net.

He recommends using technology in the future.

"Korea has made considerable progress based on technology and innovation, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution offers further opportunities based on internet connectivity and increased computation of data and AI," Ramakrishna said.

"Korea is therefore well positioned to further explore the use of technology in aging, so that better quality care can be provided more efficiently, and so that older persons can continue to participate in society longer aided by technology."

To enable countries to provide more social services, ESCAP also looks at the economic dimensions, such as enabling older people to continue working.

"Flexible work arrangements and non-discrimination on the basis of age are therefore recommendations arising from the report that all countries can improve on, and are in their self-interest to improve on," he said.

The international community started to highlight the situation of older people in the "Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging," adopted at the World Assembly on Aging in 1982. The 1991 "United Nations Principles for Older Persons," the 1992 "Global Targets on Aging for the Year 2001" and the 1992 "Proclamation on Aging" further advanced international understanding of essential requirements for the well-being of older people.
China Town in Incheon / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization



By Ko Dong-hwan

Incheon is failing to cater for its rising population of foreigners because the city does not have enough designated lawyers to meet the demand.

The international port city on Korea's west coast has just nine designated lawyers to help 61,254 foreign residents (as of September).

This was an increase of nearly 4,000 from 2015 when the Ministry of Justice introduced the policy to help foreigners nationwide with a total of 201 dedicated lawyers spread across different cities.

Most foreigners in Incheon are laborers, who often face legal issues like filing complaints about unpaid wages, signing rental contracts or immigration matters.

"We need additional lawyers for foreigners who have language problems and experience disadvantages due to lack of legal knowledge," an Incheon Migrant Workers Center official said.

One of the Incheon's designated lawyers for foreigners said, "We are inundated with requests from the justice ministry's call center to help foreigners on legal issues, but our limited staff cannot handle all those calls."

The number of Incheon lawyers is unrealistic considering the city's comparatively large population of foreigners.

The city is the home of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, China Town tourism district and many industrial companies with international partnerships.

In Seoul, 57 dedicated lawyers help more than 116,000 foreign residents (as of September), most of whom are in Korea on business contracts.
Medytox CEO Jung Hyun-ho Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Lee Jong-wook

By Lee Hyo-sik

Medytox, Korea's largest maker of botulinum toxin (BTX), will file a civil lawsuit here against Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, accusing the latter of stealing its strain of the toxin, the company said Wednesday.

The decision came four months after Medytox lodged a civil suit with the Orange County Court in southern California, which recently ordered the litigation to be first dealt with by a Korean court.

The company said it will file the suit by the end of this month, calling on Daewoong to correct its wrongdoing and return the stolen property.

On Oct. 12, the Superior Court of California in the Orange County issued a minute order, saying "The court finds that Korea is an alternative suitable forum in which an action can be brought against all defendants."

"If it turns out that the alternative forum is not suitable after all, this court has the power to lift the stay and proceed with the action in the original forum," the U.S. court said. "The court sets a status conference on a stayed matter for April 13, 2018, at 9 a.m."

Alleging Daewoong illegally obtained its strain of toxin via a former employee who stole it from the lab, Medytox said the court will vindicate its claim.

"In accordance with the U.S. court's minute order, we will initiate the suit in October," a company official said. "The U.S. court clearly stated it will reopen the case if the matter is not settled in Korea."

The official said for the sake of Korea's biopharmaceutical industry, Daewoong must reveal how and when it got its BTX strain and disclose the strain's full DNA sequence.

"It should also agree to hold and take part in an open debate to let independent scientists and other experts clarify the origin of its strain," he said.

But Daewoong spokesman Cho Kyu-chul was not available for comment.

Botulinum toxin is a biopharmaceutical substance used to remove facial wrinkles by paralyzing muscles. The demand for BTX has been growing rapidly in Korea and elsewhere as more people undergo the treatment to look younger. Medytox's BTX product, Meditoxin, is also available in Japan, Thailand, Brazil and dozens of other countries.

Medytox has been insisting its former employee surnamed Lee, who was part of the Meditoxin development team, stole the strain and gave it to an acquaintance at Daewoong in exchange for money and other perks.

It also alleges that Daewoong gave the former employee $120,000 and offered a paid position at a U.S. university for his postdoctoral study.

The company filed the suit in the U.S. a month after Daewoong and its U.S. partner Alphaeon filed for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its BTX strain, Nabota.

Medytox, in cooperation with its U.S. partner Allergan, has been conducting clinical trials in the United States to get approval for Meditoxin. Another local firm, Hugel, has also been implementing clinical trials to obtain approval from the FDA.
President Xi Jinping was elevated to the status of "core" leader of the party last year.



By Viola Zhou, Sidney Leng





President Xi Jinping is about to begin his second term as the top leader of China's Communist Party. So what has he done during the first five-year term?

Politics

 After coming to power in 2012, Xi launched a relentless campaign to crack down on corruption and enforce loyalty. More than one million officials have been disciplined, including a number of prominent party and military leaders.

 Xi took aggressive steps to tighten the party's control over Chinese society. His calls to strengthen grass-roots "party building" have seen weak party branches in 77,000 villages and communities become active again. He also ordered state media and universities to serve the party.

 His administration put forward strict rules regulating non-government organisations, religious practices and online speech. Hundreds of rights lawyers and activists were detained or interrogated during his first term.

Society

 Xi made environmental protection a priority. Numerous officials and companies were punished in the crackdown on pollution, but environmental problems remain serious, especially in the country's industrial regions.

 Beijing has consistently reaffirmed its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change, which it ratified in September last year, despite this year's US withdrawal.












Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed in a phone call with Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday boosting cooperation between the two countries, El-Sisi's office said in a statement.

The presidency said that the two leaders affirmed the depth of the strategic and historical relations between the two countries and their keenness to push forward cooperation on all levels.

They also discussed a number of regional issues as well as recent developments in the reconciliation between Palestinian factions.

Abdullah said that he backs Egypt's efforts to end the rift between Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas, who reached a reconciliation deal under Cairo's sponsorship last week.

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The first Gowind 2500 corvette of four ordered by the Egyptian naval forces from France, and a second Type-209/1400 submarine from Germany, arrived at a naval base in Alexandria on Wednesday, Egypt's military said in a statement.

A military drill was conducted between the Egyptian and French naval forces, including the two new additions to the Egyptian fleet, in the Atlantic Ocean during their voyage to Egypt, the statement said.

The ENS Al-Fateh, as the Gowind is named, was handed over to Egypt last month at a ceremony in the French city of Lorient.

Egypt received the German submarine a month earlier in German city of Kiel.

Egypt signed a deal with Berlin to buy two German-made Type-209 submarines in 2011, and ordered two more in 2014. The first was handed over in December 2016, officially joining the Egyptian naval fleet in April.

The Gowind warship, manufactured by French shipbuilder Naval Group, is part of a 2014 deal to manufacture four corvettes for the Egyptian naval forces. The other three corvettes will be built in Egypt under a transfer of technology agreement.

The new units will take part in tactical manoeuvres this month to commemorate the 44th anniversary of Egypts victory in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, and the 50th annual Egyptian Naval Forces Day.

The delivery of the new units is part of a series of purchases by the Egyptian military of helicopter carriers, submarines, warships and other military units worth billions of dollars.

Egyptian officials have said the armament deals are aimed to enhance the efficiency of Egypt's naval forces and help bolster the country's national security.

In 2016, Egypt took delivery of two French Mistral helicopter carriers, in a deal worth $1 billion.

Egypt also received a multi-purpose frigate FREMM as part of a deal worth 5.2 billion euros.

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Ahmed El-Tayeb's statement comes as parliament prepares a new law aiming to stem the tide of 'flawed and bizarre' fatwas

In a brief statement before a conference on "The role of fatwas (Islamic edicts) in stabilising society", Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb said Islam's teachings and legacy face an unprecedented wave of distortion at the hands of those who issue fatwas without licences and adequate knowledge.

"Unfortunately, some have been allowed to issue flawed fatwas that distort Islamic Sharia and violate Islam's true teachings," said El-Tayeb, urging Islamic scholars and clerics to take utmost care when issuing fatwas.

El-Tayeb said "While some unlicensed figures were allowed to issue bizarre fatwas, others issued flawed fatwas that go against Islam's teachings, such as equalising women and men in matters of inheritance."

"I wonder why Al-Azhar faces a wave of programmed attacks every time it gives an opinion on a certain issue, such as the inheritance question," said El-Tayeb, accusing the fatwa institution in Tunisia, which allowed equality in inheritance between men and women of making "a big assault on Islam."

El-Tayeb said "Those who take charge of issuing fatwas in the Arab and Islamic world should be people with a high level of learning, integrity and uprightness." "They should be so because they are the ones entrusted with giving fatwas to those who seek answers on religion and life," said El-Tayeb.

El-Tayeb also said muftis  or those who are officially entrusted with issuing fatwas  should have a deep background of Islamic learning and honesty in order to explain Islam's noble values to the people.

El-Tayeb deplored that "Islam as a religion faces a ferocious campaign on its teachings and rules." "It is the religion which comes on top of world religions facing attacks, with many trying to blame it for terrorist acts," said El-Tayeb.

He added: "It is no coincidence that countries which spark civil wars in Islamic countries do this in tandem with calls aimed at destroying Islam's heritage and promoting their agenda."

Also addressing the conference, Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said, "There is a pressing need that we stem the tide of bizarre fatwas."

"The non-specialised people who issue fatwas without license will open gates of sedition and unrest," said Gomaa, adding that he approved a law aimed at imposing discipline on the area of religious fatwas.

Osama El-Abd, head of parliament's religious committee and former head of Al-Azhar University, revealed this week that a four-article law on regulating religious fatwas will be discussed soon in a plenary session in parliament.

The law, drafted by the religious affairs committee's secretary-general and Kafr El-Sheikh governorate MP Omar Hamroush, gained the approval of all the committee's 30 members.

"It also won the praise and official consent of Minister of Religious Endowments Mokhtar Gomaa and we hope that parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal will put it up for debate in a plenary session very soon," said El-Abd.

The draft law's first article allows Islamic clerics to issue religious fatwas only if they are members of four institutions: the Council of the Grand Scholars of Al-Azhar, Dar El-Ifta (the House of Fatwas), the Complex of Islamic Research, and the Ministry of Religious Endowments' Department of Fatwas.

Article 2 indicates that religious lessons and preaching delivered by Al-Azhar clerics in mosques can't be considered "fatwas." "They can preach Muslims in mosques and show them the true teachings of their religion in a tolerant way and without taking this as a license for issuing fatwas," the article said.

Article 3 states that members of the above institutions can deliver fatwas only via licensed media outlets, and that violators can face six years in jail and pay as much as EGP 5,000 in fines.

MP Hamroush told reporters that his draft law goes in line with Egypt's war against religious extremism that endangers the stability and security of Egypt and the region. "It helps the state in its war to control extremist mosques, clerics, speeches, schools and financial resources," said Hamroush.

Hamroush said his draft law mainly aims to control Salafist (ultraconservative) clerics who have issued some of the most controversial fatwas in recent weeks, such as one that makes it illegal for Muslims to congratulate Copts on Christian holidays.

"Every now and then we were shocked by such bizarre kinds of fatwas and now it is high time to control them," said Hamroush.

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Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Wednesday that the government is currently working on relocating ministries headquarters from Cairo to the new administrative capital, which is set to be completed in 2020.

In a statement issued after a cabinet meeting, the prime minister said that the government is modernizing the states administrative apparatuses.

Ismail said that the cabinet has received the executive bylaws of the new investment law from the Ministry of Investment on Wednesday and expects to issue them next week.

Last week, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended a ceremony marking the official launch of the country's new administrative capital, which will be home to government ministries, residential units and an international airport.

Located some 40km to the east of Cairo, the under-construction city is part of the governments plan to expand urban areas to deal with the country's rapid population growth and improve the nation's infrastructure.

The government has started building 25,000 residential units in the city so far.

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A series of terrorist incidents rocked North Sinai this week. One attack on Sunday targeted the Karm Al-Qawadis checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid, killing six security personnel. A second attack took place a day afterwards in Arish, where terrorists staged a two-pronged assault killing three policemen and three civilians.

Mondays attack unfolded when militants drove into the centre of Arish in the morning and split into two groups. One group exchanged gunfire with the guards outside the Church of Saint George, unused for months following a surge in attacks on Christians in the peninsula. The second group shot and killed the guards at the local branch of the National Bank and then stormed in and emptied the safe.

Though no group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, it bore all the hallmarks of the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group, which has changed its name to the Sinai Province.

Military spokesman Tamer Al-Rifaai said in a statement that law-enforcement forces operating in the framework of the Martyrs Right Operation had succeeded in intercepting an attempted terrorist attack against security points in Al-Qawadis, killing 24 terrorist operatives, wounding another, and destroying six four-wheel-drive vehicles. Six members of the security forces were killed. A combing operation of the area is still in progress.

Subsequently, photographs of the terrorists who were killed were published, along with video footage of the incident. The presidency issued a statement praising the efforts of law-enforcement forces in the Sinai in the fight against terrorism, and the authorities sealed the Rafah crossing in the wake of the incidents.

A later report stated that about 100 terrorists had taken part in the attack against the Al-Qawadis checkpoint and security forces, using dozens of four-wheel-drive vehicles. This checkpoint is strategically situated between the Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid sector and Arish.

Informed sources relate that the Al-Qawadis assault was intercepted within the space of eight minutes, during which about a quarter of the attacking force was taken out. However, the two incidents in Arish triggered an outburst of criticism against the security plans in the city, especially in view of the fact that the bank robbery had succeeded and several police and civilian lives were lost. The assailants also managed to break through three police checkpoints in the area.

The current security plans do not change and develop as they should in Sinai, said MP Hossam Al-Rifaai, parliamentary representative for North Sinai, in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly. He noted that in spite of repeated incidents, the plans were still flawed and needed to be revised. There is nothing sacred about them that prevents revision, as long as the primary aim is to safeguard Egyptian national security, he commented.

Mondays incident on 23 July Street proves that the security plans are not working in the present form. An armed bank robbery took place in broad daylight at 8:45am after penetrating three checkpoints around the site in a 100-metre area. We have said time and again that these checkpoints are a target. And that is what happened in this case, Al-Rifaai said.

The policemen did not have the flexibility needed to block the attack. If the security plans had realised their objectives and prevented such incidents, we would not have reached the result weve been experiencing on the ground for four years.

Asked where the attackers and vehicles had come from, Al-Rifaai said that in the past such incidents were attributed to the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, but that now that the Palestinian reconciliation agreement was being put into effect and Hamas was coordinating with Egypt, it was more difficult to ascribe responsibility to Hamas.

Khaled Okasha, a terrorist affairs expert and member of the National Council for the Fight against Terrorism, responded to the question by saying I have no answer. A fog has descended over the situation. There may be wings of the movement in Gaza that are angry about the reconciliation.

Cairo has succeeded in concluding a reconciliation agreement with Hamas leading to a number of security arrangements. One is the construction of a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the border, parallel to the broader buffer zone on the Egyptian side. The border tunnels are under full control from both sides, and Hamas has also taken action against attempts to infiltrate the borders on the part of terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) group and a Palestinian organisation in Rafah called Nour Eissa, he said.

Charges of shortcomings on the part of the security services are countered by charges of shortcomings in Sinai society. Critics point to the reluctance of the peninsulas Bedouin communities to deal with security and to a social environment that nurtures extremist elements. However, this view was rejected by both Al-Rifaai and Salah Salam, head of the North Sinai branch of the Doctors Syndicate and a member of the National Council for Human Rights.

Sinai is a part of Egypt, Al-Rifaai told the Weekly. We cannot separate what is happening in Sinai from what is happening in the rest of the country. Extremist thought proliferated in Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s and infiltrated Sinai in the 1980s. We have to ask whether Al-Azhar has performed its role and whether the Ministry of Waqf (religious endowments) and Ministry of Culture have performed theirs, he commented.

Have these agencies taken appropriate actions against the wave of extremist thought that has led to terrorists controlling mosques in entire areas like Rafah? We had pinned our hopes on development after the territory was recovered. But development plans in the past were riddled with corruption, and we are paying the price for this today in Sinai.

As for claims regarding an environment that nurtures extremism, we are working hand-in-hand with the Armed Forces in the area to fight terrorism. Many Sinai people know that they are also targets of the takfiris and many of them have paid the price.

The sight of a mother receiving 16 bullets in her back while holding her son is enough to realise who is paying the price. Terrorism had been confined to Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid. Now its in the centre of Arish. Why? Because it moved with the people who were evacuated from the border areas. This is enough to suggest that there is a deficiency in intelligence and that plans need to change, Salam said.

For his part, Okasha remained adamant that the Sinai environment was conducive to terrorism and that the governments reluctance to admit this was part of the problem.

We cant say that the terrorists somehow dropped out of the sky. Most of them are from an environment that rejects the presence of the government in any form. Even when they came to say that they wanted to defend themselves and take up arms in the fight against terrorism, we discovered that it was to promote their own interests, he said.

However, all the sources agree that changes need to be made in order to ensure a more effective campaign against terrorism in Sinai and that these should begin with a new strategy to narrow the confidence gap between the people of Sinai and the government and security apparatus.

*This story was previously published in Al-Ahram Weeekly

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Egypt's Army Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazi met on Wednesday with US Army Central Commander Michael Garrett to discuss developments in the region and a number of issues of common interest in light of military cooperation between the two countries.

The two commanders agreed on the necessity of enhancing the exchange of technical capabilities and expertise between the two countries armies in various fields.

Hegazi stressed the importance of military partnership and cooperation and coordination to achieve security and stability in the region.

Garett stressed the importance of comprehensive cooperation with the Egyptian Armed Forces, expressing his appreciation for the ongoing organisation between both militaries.

The meeting was attended by a number of Egyptian Armed Forces commanders and a US military delegation.
From modern American street food with a Southern twist to classic Japanese sushi, The Village has some new eateries, and more to open soon. Here is the rundown:

Parachute

Parachute Brunch & Supper House opened Oct. 4 in the former Streetcar Merchants space at 811 Prospect St. As the name would suggest, the emphasis is on brunch and dinner, and the restaurant is closed in between. Brunch hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily; dinner hours are 5-9 p.m.

We wanted to bring what we call modern American street food with Southern twist,  said co-owner Kristy Olivolo. We wanted to modernize your home-cooked meals and hit the spectrum of healthier options and meals with some heartiness to them.

The brunch menu features sweet breakfast staples like pancakes, French toast and waffles; pastries such as doughnuts, beignets and rolls; along with what they call breakaway items like pork belly Monte Cristo, green eggs and ham (poaching the eggs with basil), and a fried chicken biscuit sandwich.

The dinner menu has flatbreads, sandwiches and salads; adds upscale nibbles, such as seared foie gras and confit duck wings; and main courses such as sweet potato gnocchi and the everything salmon, which is topped with bagel crumble and herbs and cheese dumplings to resemble an everything bagel with lox.

Our menu is unique, Olivolo said. La Jolla is an amazing place, in terms of the restaurant scene, its a diverse area with different food options. We wanted to open in La Jolla because we feel the locals are in need of something like us.

She added that Parachute is in the middle between fancy and casual. We want people to come in wearing jeans and flip-flops, but if you wanted to have a celebration or a date here, we have that atmosphere, too.  (858) 291-8191. parachutelajolla.com

Himitsu

Helmed by chef Mitsu Aihara, the 16-year sushi chef at Sushi Ota in Pacific Beach, Himitsu Japanese Restaurant opened Oct. 6 in The Village at 1030 Torrey Pines Road, Suite G. Contact information and a website are being developed, but the restaurant serves dinner 5-10 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Touting simple Japanese cuisine with a Western twist using high-quality, fresh fish, Aihara said the menu consists of nigiri (a slice of raw fish pressed into rice), sashimi (slices of raw fish with no rice), sushi rolls, small plates and hot dishes.

I recommend the sashimi and nigiri, he said. The rolls are OK, but they usually have some sauce or flavoring that can cover the flavor of the fish, and thats what I want people to try. Some fish has a taste people dont like, but when its fresh, some might like it.

He said the fish is sourced from trusted providers across the world, and he strives to provide an experience at the restaurant. We offer a chefs choice option that is up to me, and I use whatever is best and most fresh. It might not be on the menu, it might not even be something youve heard of, so we can provide the opportunity to try something new, he said.

Those looking for something less adventurous can opt for dishes with cooked beef, pork, chicken and vegetables. We also have a great sake and wine selection, Aihara said.

 (858) 263-4463. himitsusd.com

Philz Coffee

Philz Coffee opened its second San Diego location in La Jolla, at 8849 Villa La Jolla Drive, Suite 307, in September. Founded in San Francisco, Philz Coffee specializes in some 20 customized (and customizable) blends made from high- quality beans from around the world. Ranging from light to dark, there are more than 4 million ways to have a cup of Philz coffee, and those who visit the La Jolla location can create their own cup or trust baristas to make one for them.

Philz does not offer lattes, cappuccinos, espressos or pre-brewed coffees. Beans are available by the pound. The business is named for founder Phil Jaber, who personally created more than 30 unique coffee blends.

Hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

(858) 242-5070. philzcoffee.com

Shake Shack

The grills are warming up at La Jolla Shake Shack in preparation for a Oct. 20 opening at Westfield UTC. Its the first San Diego location for the East Coast eatery. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Shake Shack started in New York City as a hot dog cart from restaurateur Danny Meyer in 2001 (and soon after) opened as a 475-square-foot kiosk. It was a community venue that took a fine-dining approach to a quick-service restaurant, said Shake Shack vice-president of development Andrew McCaughan. The food all comes from a fine dining background using top quality ingredients. And really, the food speaks for itself.

In addition to the burgers (including a vegetarian shroom burger and SmokeShack burger with bacon and cherry peppers), the eatery will offer flat-top hot dogs (including the Shack-cago dog topped with vegetables and the Chicken Dog), and, of course, shakes.

We have milkshakes and floats with ice cream that we spin fresh every day, and we have a specialty dessert that we call our frozen concretes. Its a thick, dense delicious dessert. We partner with local groups in every city for fun collaborations for our concretes, McCaughan said. The concretes are so thick, you could hold the cup upside down without spilling any.

The La Jolla location will offer Hopscotch, Smore Peanut Butter Please and Pie Oh My flavored concretes. We also serve beer and wine from the San Diego area, and well have a killer patio for people to hang out at, he said.

 shakeshack.com

Nautilus Tavern

With no other promise beyond coming soon, Nautilus Tavern will open in WindanSea at 6830 La Jolla Blvd. on an unknown date. The management company that operates Pillbox Tavern in Solana Beach is also behind Nautilus Tavern. Similar to Pillbox, Nautilus Tavern will offer appetizers, such as lettuce wraps and poke bowls; salads and sandwiches; wings and brunch options. There is a daily happy hour 3-6 p.m. and different daily specials after 5 p.m. Nothing on the menu is higher than $18.  nautilustavern.com

Nekosan Sushi

Progress is slow but steady over at Nekosan Sushi, 1119 Wall St., with tables in place, visible from the street. The sushi eatery will also feature poke bowls and pokerittos (sushi served like a burrito). An opening date has not been announced.

Burgerim

Burgerim plans to open at 1271 Prospect St. by the end of the year, offering miniature burgers comprised of your choice of mix-and-match proteins (in 2.8 ounce patties), buns, toppings and sauces. There will be three buns, six sauces, 11 patties and nine topping options, and orders may range from one to three burgers in a box or a party box of 16 burgers, and each one in the box can be different.  burgerim.com
A draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed North Torrey Pines Living Learning Neighborhood at UC San Diego will be released in the coming weeks, providing one of the last opportunities for public comment on the multi-million dollar, 11-acre, six building project on campus.

A 45-day public comment period will begin as soon as the report is launched, but the La Jolla Shores Association (LJSA) is irked by the parallel of this timeline to the holidays, while a university spokesperson maintains the dates cant be changed.

The EIR and its public comment period were discussed at the Oct. 11 LJSA meeting on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. Assistant Director for UCSD Communications & Community Planning, Anu Delouri, told the group that the EIR will be released the first week of November, and depending on the release date, the public comment period would close Dec. 15-21. A public hearing would also be held in that time, but is yet to be scheduled.

Arguing the holiday season spans from the end of November through the new year, acting LJSA chair Janie Emerson countered: This is too important a project to dump it on the community over the holidays and have that be the 45-day comment period. To me, that feels like someone trying to shove something through when the community cant be proactive on it. This is a huge project that is going to impact a lot of people, there has been lots of discussion about it  pro and con  since it was first mentioned.

The 11-acre mixed-use complex on the west campus between Muir College and Marshall College, will house academic buildings for Social Sciences and for Arts & Humanities departments; 2,000 undergraduate beds divided between four residential buildings; 1,200 underground parking spaces; and a market, dining hall and craft center. It is expected to start construction in June 2018 and be completed in Fall 2020.

Because of the construction schedule, Delouri said there is no way to move the EIR public comment period sooner or later.

Were trying to get (the EIR) out as early in November as possible, so that 45 days will be far before the holiday season, she said. We are trying for Nov. 1, but in speaking with colleagues, there has been a little delay, likely to Nov. 6. This is not a document we slap together. This is a document includes all the information, all the analysis weve done over the last nine months. When we have everything together, we release it.

Conversely, Delouri added the report could not be released in the new year. To keep the project on track to go to construction in June, we have a schedule we must stick to. There is no way we can hit June if we delay the review period, she said. We are looking at Nov. 6, which we dont see as near the holiday season. Honestly, we work right up until Dec. 21 or 22.

Holiday roadblocks

However, LJSA trustees maintained the proposed timing would be an issue, with Thanksgiving being Nov. 23, Hanukah on Dec. 12-20 and Christmas Dec. 25.

Most people are really busy during that time, and you are talking about a community that is not paid like you are, who are volunteers who have families and kids in school. Its a lousy time to be doing this, Emerson said. (I see this as) a deliberate act on the universitys part. Its absurd.

Comparing the length of an EIR to the novel, War and Peace (published in 1867 at approximately 1,225 pages), she added that people would not want to commit the time to reading and finding environmental issues within the document to meet the criteria of feedback the university will accept.

The purpose of the environmental review, Delouri explained, is not to determine whether the project is liked or not, but to find environmental issues that were not thoroughly addressed.

If you find deficiencies in the document from environmental perspective, you can send a letter or speak at the public hearing, and we are obligated to respond to each of the comments. If you say traffic hasnt been addressed because of x, y and z, we will be forced to provide a reply, she said.

The EIR is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

LJSA trustee Dolores Donovan pointed out: The comments in this document will provide the foundation if there is to be a lawsuit. The way the project is stopped, if someone wants to do that, is to intervene during this time period, over the holidays, and lay the foundation for a CEQA lawsuit.

A public hearing to further discuss the EIR will be scheduled during the 45-day public review period, but Delouri said it would not be on a major holiday.

The timing of this EIR public review period continues a trend of what some LJSA trustees consider to be a PR problem for the university.

We appreciate you coming and telling us things we dont want to hear, but on the face of it, UCSD always feels like its running roughshod over the community, said trustee Susan Tshrin. That perception does not seem to go away, so when these things come up, its not just this one thing were considering, theres history. Were asking the university be a little more careful with how they handle this.

The universitys Living Learning Neighborhood is part of a larger expansion and renovation of the campus. So much so that a university promotional article, Changing the Face of Campus, reads five years from now, the UC San Diego campus will be almost unrecognizable. According to the Shift San Diego platform, there are 18 projects either currently underway or planned for the next five years on the UCSD campus.

WANT TO KNOW MORE? An e-mail address has been set up for feedback once the Living Learning Neighborhood EIR is released: env-review@ucsd.edu

Project details and drawings can be found at: livinglearning.ucsd.edu
Westfield UTC shopping mall will soon charge visitors who park longer than two hours, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report. The change will take effect sometime in early 2018.

The reason, a mall exec said, is that some motorists park at the mall all day for free with no intention of shopping there.

Others have been the beneficiaries of our 5,000 parking spaces for decades, mall manager Ryan Perry reportedly told attendees of a UC San Diego retail real-estate conference last week. College students and nearby businesses were blamed.

We were shocked at how many friends at the IrvineCo. (offices) are parking on our site, Perry said. P.F. Chang parks in our lot. UCSD students love to park at UTC and go to school.

Perry added that the new rules restrict parking in a thoughtful way.

The only exceptions cited were for members of 24 Hour Fitness, who will receive three free hours, and ArcLight moviegoers, who will receive four. (This suggests that these tenants will issue validation stamps altering the standard parking tickets.)

Its not known how much parkers will need to pay per hour after their free time expires. A Westfield UTC spokeswoman claimed she was unable to provide responses to this and other questions by press time.

While the new limitation will make it easier for mall patrons to find parking, it may curb business from those who like to spend all day browsing Macys or ice-skating, then grabbing a bite afterward. (The rink, owned by Westfield UTC, was not listed as an exception to the two-hour free parking limit.)

Im pretty annoyed, said 20-year-old Elissa Cope of San Diego, speaking from an SUV parked in the mall lot while enjoying a bowl of Sloans Ice Cream (her favorite). If I want to hang out in the mall, then I shouldnt have to worry about having to be on a time schedule to be back in my car.

Why cant they at least make it four hours free for everyone? Cope added.

A new five-level parking structure is slated to open this month as part of a $600 million mall expansion. However, a portion of Westfield UTCs original lot is now where a 300-apartment residential development is expected to open in 2019.
One of the most illustrious of the more than 72,000 centenarians in America today is oceanographer, geophysicist and longtime La Jollan Walter H. Munk, who celebrates his 100th birthday Oct. 19.

Often referred to as The Einstein of the Oceans, Munk is a mainstay of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and considered the worlds greatest living oceanographer. So there will be many centennial celebrations, starting with the dedication of La Jolla Shores Boardwalk, now officially named Walter Munk Way (3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Kellogg Park).

His actual birthday has been declared Walter Munk Day, in the City of San Diego, and visitors to Birch Aquarium are invited to join the festivities there and feast on free cupcakes (2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19).

On Saturday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., there will be special tours of SIO, including a visit to the Munk Lab at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP), which he helped create. Tours are free, but pre-registration is required: bit.ly/munktour

Finally, on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment, there will be a Centennial Conversation with Walter Munk and His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, a passionate advocate for oceangoing exploration and research. Attendance at the event is by invitation only, but the Conversation will be livestreamed 11:30 a.m. at scripps.ucsd.edu/symposiums/munk100/

Walter Munk with Mary Coakley-Munk, his wife since 2011, and the Dalai Lama, who was UC San Diegos 2017 commencement speaker. (Courtesy of UCSD/Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

Munk: The Man and His Work

Born in Vienna to a family of bankers and politicians, Walter Heinrich Munk was sent off to prep school in upstate New York, destined for a career in banking. He ended up driving cross-country, getting accepted at Cal Tech in Pasadena, and beginning his studies in geophysics.

A summer job with Scripps Institution of Oceanography led him to become SIOs first graduate student, but with the outbreak of World War II in Europe, he left to enlist in the U.S. Army. After Pearl Harbor, the Navy claimed him, and working with a group of colleagues from SIO, he developed a way of predicting wave patterns that contributed to the success of the 1944 D-Day invasion. His knowledge of ocean physics and acoustics helped give the Allies the edge in submarine warfare, and he began investigating the relationships between wind, waves, the moon and the Earths rotation.

Walter Munk (right) with his mentor and doctoral adviser Harald Sverdrup at SIO. (1946) (Courtesy of UCSD/Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

After the war, he became a professor of geophysics at SIO, and played a huge part in the creation of UC San Diego, beginning with a plan to construct an Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics on the SIO campus. He was IGPPs first director, from 1963 to 1982.

At age 100, Munk continues to hold the Secretary of the Navy chair at SIO, with the Office of Naval Research funding his work. He is currently delving more deeply into the influence of wind on waves. Among his many awards and honors is the 2010 Crafoord Prize from Sweden: for his pioneering and fundamental contributions to our understanding of ocean circulation, tides and waves, and their role in the Earths dynamics.

Walter Munk at work in the South Pacific, Capricorn Expedition (1952). (Courtesy of UCSD/Scripps Institution of Oceanography.)

San Diego Intl Film Festival screens Munk documentary

On Oct. 7, a capacity crowd turned out at ArcLight Cinemas La Jolla to see Spirit of Discovery, a documentary about Walter Munk that was part of the San Diego International Film Festival. The 69-minute film follows Munk and a crew of young scientists on a nine-day expedition into Baja California to see a gathering of Mobula munkiana, a species of high-jumping, horned devil rays named for him 30 years ago. Also onboard is the discoverer and namer of the Mobula, Guiseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, a longtime Munk mentee and friend.

Filmed two years ago when Munk was only 98, the movie starts off with Walter onboard their small boat singing La donna e Mobula, a Munkian parody of the famed Verdi aria that translates as Women are changeable. Its a great introduction to the Einstein of the Oceans as a humor-loving adventurer who happens to hit the right note on his elusive namesake Mobulas, which dont, in fact, show up where theyre supposed to be. He does get to see a few of them  not enough to validate any theories, but enough to bring him joy.

As the movie shows, Munk is never disheartened by failure; hes had plenty of it in his long, successful career. Theres always the possibility of a new discovery different from what you were hoping for, he says.

From his wheelchair mid-theater, seated beside his wife Mary, Munk joined in the post-screening talkback panel, moderated by Film Festival chairman Dale Strack, and including director Eliana Alvarez Martinez. His words on the need to encourage fallible research clearly showed the fearless spirit of discovery that is with him still.

By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt
Like so many people this hurricane season, Sherry Thomas has watched on TV as one natural disaster after another heaped misery on communities far, far away.

Unlike most people, Thomas decided to go help.

The Walworth County woman  a wife and mother, a former school teacher, and a onetime real estate broker  signed up to volunteer with the American Red Cross.

Thomas, 52, who lives in Elkhorn, was moved by the televised images of senior citizens in Texas sitting in their wheelchairs as floodwater from Hurricane Harvey surrounded them.

When she contacted the Red Cross, the agency was already bracing for the next disaster: Hurricane Irma was closing in on Florida. So that is where Thomas was sent as a volunteer relief worker.

From Sept. 13 to Sept. 30, she worked in Jacksonville, Florida  sometimes 14 to 16 hours a day  helping the Red Cross manage resources and tend to the needs of families living through the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Thomas sat down with a Regional News reporter recently to discuss her experiences as a hurricane relief volunteer.

(The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.)

Q: What makes a person want to leave their job and family and go hundreds of miles away to help people hit by a hurricane?

A: I think its just something, maybe in your heart, that you just are feeling so bad for those people, and knowing that if you were in that situation that you would want people helping you. Its just kind of giving back. You feel helpless watching it on TV. I didnt know how everyone was going to react at first, meaning work or husband. I wasnt sure of the kind of response I was going to get. But it was all positive. They were like, Oh, thats really good. So I was like, Oh, Im going.

Q: What were you able to do?

A: We all moved into the local Red Cross office in Jacksonville. We basically took over their whole office. Theres people in all these different departments. Its amazing. Volunteers come in and they get processed. Lets say youre in medical care, or youre in mass care with feeding, or sheltering. I think we had about 16 shelters at that time. I was really exposed to a lot of the inside, and saw the whole operation. And then I also worked with a lot of the volunteers for anything they need. We basically were meeting their needs.

Q: Did you have any direct contact with people hit by the hurricane?

A: One day, the deputy director came to me and said, Sherry, will you take a drive with me? We were going to do a shelter visit, and we were going to visit all these different shelters. We started out at the first shelter. I was in there with the people who were our clients, the Red Cross clients, the people who were experiencing the disaster. Its definitely humbling. Its just amazing how people didnt have family they could go to, or whatever. Everyone had different needs.

Q: Do you feel like you made a difference?

A: In a lot of ways. There were some volunteers who were starting to feel a little bit stressed. I worked with a lot of the volunteers, calming them down and stuff like that. So I think I made a difference in that way. I think I made a big impact people-wise, and also bringing everyone together whenever there was any stress. I feel like I was kind of pulling things together as a group. It was such a cool, cool experience.

Q: What would you say to people who think they could never do that, could never go help?

A: Its kind of like, if youre a flexible person, if you know what your mission is, that you want to help in some way, you need to go. And know that no matter what little part, you think that its a little part, its really a big part. If you werent there, what you did would not be happening. It would be missing. And if you work well with others, I think its just such a great learning experience for anyone to go. The people I met and the people I worked with were just so incredible. Everything that happened just added to my life and who I am as a person.
The judging panel praised George Saunders's book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators as 'utterly original'

US author George Saunders on Tuesday became only the second American writer to win Britain's renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo."

Judges for the world's most prestigious English-language literary award praised as "utterly original" the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators.

"The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent, and deeply moving narrative," said Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, in announcing the prize at a ceremony in London.

Saunders, 58, described the award as a "great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life."

In a brief, politically-tinged acceptance speech, he made several thinly-veiled references to the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump.

"We live in a strange time," he told the audience. "In the US now we're hearing a lot about the need to protect culture. Well, this tonight is culture."

He later told reporters he was in disbelief and numb at the award.

"For an artist, I think validation is really helpful," he added.

"My opinion of myself improves a little bit."

The winner of the Man Booker receives 52,500 ($69,300, 58,800 euros), although the bigger prize is seen as a spike in sales which invariably follow the announcement of the winner.

This year's shortlist stoked controversy over its big name omissions and eclectic line up, with one British columnist calling it "baffling" and a leading US critic decrying its "Americanisation".

It pitted three nominees from the US against two British writers and a British-Pakistani author.

The award, launched in 1969, was only open to novelists from Commonwealth states until it began permitting those from other English-speaking countries in 2014.

Last year Paul Beatty became the first American to win for his novel, "The Sellout".

Saunders was the British bookmakers' favourite ahead of the 2017 announcement on Tuesday.

He wrote "Lincoln in the Bardo" over a four-year period, after first conceptualising it 20 years ago, the author told a press conference following the ceremony.

Saunders said he was unsure how exactly to tell the story at the outset, but relished the artistic freedom.

"I think the true mastery (of storytelling) is to be willing to wade into something and not be sure how it's going to turn out," he added.

In a lengthy and varied writing career, Saunders has penned award-winning short story collections, essays, illustrated fables and a bestselling children's book, as well as many pieces of journalism.

In 2006, he was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship, while in 2009 he received an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

To clinch the Man Booker Prize he beat competition from a varied selection of writers, including fellow American Paul Auster, who penned "4321."

The shortlist also included two other debut novelists -- Emily Fridlund, who wrote "History of Wolves", and Fiona Mozley, the 29-year-old British author of "Elmet".

British author Ali Smith was shortlisted for the fourth time for "Autumn", while Mohsin Hamid, a British-Pakistani writer, completed the line-up with his second shortlisted novel, "Exit West."

The Man Booker's five person judging panel only reached its decision at 2:40 pm (1340 GMT) on Tuesday afternoon, according to Young, the chair.

She said the nationalities of the writers were not a factor, and the group were "very diligent, very thorough" in their considerations.

"There were no fights, no blood on the carpet," she said.

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DELAVAN  City officials have approved plans for redeveloping the former Geneva Lakes Kennel Club to include a new Mills Fleet Farm store and perhaps other commercial and residential uses.

The Delavan City Council on Oct. 17 voted to endorse the property owners vision for transforming the former dog-racing track site along Interstate 43 into a new mixed-use development.

Mills Fleet Farm is the first announced tenant of the project, with its proposal to build a 218,653-square-foot retail outlet.

The city council action followed the plan commissions vote Oct. 9 to recommend approval for the estimated 200-acre development, including Mills Fleet Farm.

City Administrator Denise Pieroni said planners heard no public opposition to the plans for the high-profile property, which has been largely dormant since the racetrack closed in 2005.

It was well received, Pieroni said of the plan. Its moving forward.

Mills Fleet Farm hopes to begin construction later this year on a mega-sized store that would create up to 200 full- and part-time jobs. The store is scheduled to open in 2018.

Geneva Lakes Kennel Club operated as a dog-racing track for about 15 years before the attraction shut down at I-43 and State Highway 50.

NRB Land Development Group, of McHenry, Illinois, then acquired the 130-acre racetrack property and 70 adjacent acres.

In addition to the proposed Mills Fleet Farm store, city officials have approved NRBs conceptual site plan for adding other commercial and residential development to the site.

Andy Teegen, manager of NRB Land, said he is pleased with how the city is handling the project.

Everything seems to be moving very smoothly so far, he said.
It is time for Fontana village officials to come clean.

In fact, it is past time.

Officials are beginning the search for a new village administrator. But they are forgetting some unfinished business: reporting on what happened to the old village administrator.

Before things go any further, these public officials owe their public an explanation.

The secrecy began when the village board convened for a special meeting Sept. 23  on a Saturday  to discuss village business behind closed doors. The posted agenda made clear that this was no typical meeting. Officials were gathering to discuss an investigation and possible action against an unnamed village employee.

To be clear, Wisconsins open meetings law allows local governments to hold closed-door meetings under such circumstances. We applaud Fontana for fulfilling its obligation to post an agenda and disclose that the meeting was taking place, even if the public was locked out.

But the situation has grown more murky and troubling ever since.

Village Administrator Dennis Martin vanished after Sept. 23, leaving the villages daily business to who knows who. Martin was being paid $82,500 a year to manage Fontanas affairs. And he was nowhere to be found.

What is more, neither Village President Patrick Kenny nor other elected officials would explain what was going on. The taxpayers paying Martins salary, not to mention the village board salaries, were kept in the dark about how their money was being spent.

Then the mystery deepened when Martin posted his resignation on Oct. 10. Village officials announced the resignation, but they continued refusing to tell the public what was happening.

Instead, the village board simply got started searching for a new village administrator, as if nothing unusual were happening. Why should Fontana residents trust their elected officials to hire the next village administrator when those officials will not disclose what happened with the last one?

Enough is enough.

We recognize that personnel issues can be delicate. And we appreciate that village officials might be concerned about a lawsuit, or bad publicity, or possibly just some mild embarrassment.

But this is not their private country club. This is the peoples government. The village impacts quality-of-life issues for 1,700 residents in Fontana  and for others in Walworth County. The village spends about $8 million of the publics money every year, including $3.5 million collected in property taxes.

Ironically, the village wants voters next month to approve a special referendum for taxing and spending even more. Asking people for more money while operating in secrecy is not often a formula for success in local government.

People have a right to know as much as possible about why Dennis Martin resigned, including what sort of investigation was involved, and how much all of this is costing the village.

It is time for some transparency at Fontana Village Hall.

In fact, it is past time.

The editorial board consists of General Manager Robert Ireland, Editor Scott Williams, Office Manager Sue Hinske and Resorter Editor Jessica Franzene.
It is a privilege to communicate to you as the president of Visit Lake Geneva. Our organization serves two distinct purposes by being the destination marketing organization (DMO) in promoting tourism throughout the Lake Geneva region, as well as leading the Lake Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce that is responsible for economic development to more than 400 partners from all business segments within Walworth County and beyond.

We are very fortunate to live in such a great area that people want to visit, with a location so close to large populations within 100 miles that can support unprecedented tourism opportunities to our unique and boutique destination. The Lake Geneva region has long been a haven to Midwest travelers since the mid- to late-1800s, and continues to drive revenues, jobs and tax benefits to the 28,000+ residents who live from Delavan to Lyons to Linn to Fontana on Geneva Lake and all points in between, which we represent.

What do we do?

At Visit Lake Geneva, we welcome more than 15,000 people a year and answer more than 6,000 phone calls at our Visitor Center at 201 Wrigley Drive. We answer questions, recommend hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping and inquiries from folks wishing to relocate to our area or buy a second home. I consider this our Front Desk to the region and am grateful for our concierge staff who make these visitors feel welcome and keep them coming back.

The financial impact of tourism in Walworth county brings more than $700 million in tourism-related revenue annually (2016), ranking our county 5th out of 72 counties in the state. With only 102,000 residents in Walworth County we have the smallest population of the top five. We are small but mighty. The mission of Visit Lake Geneva is to increase tourism-related revenue and provide avenues for economic growth throughout the region. Our nonprofit organization is funded with room taxes collected by our partner hotels, as well as membership fees from our business partners. While many of our marketing efforts are tourism focused, our partners realize the overall economic benefits of our marketing efforts and direct sales team.

We are a small-and-mighty staff at Visit Lake Geneva, like our county, with a total staff of 10 people who are continually engaged in sending the message of all that the Lake Geneva region offers. We are blessed with an ideal resort setting that is truly four seasons. Whether visitors come in summer, fall, winter or spring, we have accommodations, attractions and world-class restaurants and shopping that can take care of their needs  all of which is an honor to represent.

While the tourism industry has seen unprecedented growth annually since the downturn of 2009, we know that we can continue to get better.

We would like to ask all residents, business partners and visitors to act as our ambassadors to make this happen. Should you belong to an organization that happens to use hotels for a conference or banquets, think of us. Should your company have meetings and training conferences that might use our hotels event venues or facilities, have them contact us with the opportunity. Should you simply meet a tourist on the street, show them hospitality that will send them home touting what a great area and great people we have here in the Geneva Lake Region.

We are calling this program Hometown Hero, Bring it Home.

A Hometown Hero is a person who is a resident of the area who encourages or influences a group to hold its event in the area. There is so much to do, see and experience in Geneva Lake.

Bringing your organizations event to the area provides you and your organization the opportunity to showcase your hometown, or organizations facilities, professional team, and other amenities.

If your business, association or industry hosts meetings, regional or national conferences, trade shows, reunions or any other special events, Bring it Home. As an example, bringing your organizations meeting to Lake Geneva provides an economic boost to our local economy. Out-of-town visitors support Lake Geneva by dining in local restaurants, shopping in local stores, visiting attractions and staying in Lake Genevas hotels and resorts. Visitors help support local jobs.

We are fortunate to live here, and together we can assure our positive footprint on tourism and economic development continues to move forward. We are hoping that by this time next year, we have made it to fourth place in Wisconsin county tourism revenues, and we can all celebrate together our small but mighty team.

Feel free to contact me with questions, ideas and any business opportunities you can send our way at ed@visitlakegeneva.com of 262-248-1000.

Ed Svitak is president of the Lake Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, two organizations that merged in 2016 and adopted the name Visit Lake Geneva.
The Israeli occupation army has arrested two Palestinians and closed eight media production companies in the West Bank for six months on suspicion of incitement to violence.

Wednesday's army statement says the companies were shut because they promoted "violence and terrorism against Israelis" and provided information to Palestinian media outlets belonging to the militant Hamas group.

It says the two arrested are employees of the shuttered outlets. Equipment and documents were also seized in the overnight raid, which comes as part of Israel's crackdown on alleged incitement to violence by Palestinian figures and organizations.

Palestinian deputy information minister, Mahmoud Khalefeh, called the closures "a stark violation of the freedom of press in Palestine" that he said was aimed at preventing them "from reporting the Israelis daily violation of human rights."

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Telecommunications giant AT&T has secured the blessing of Brazilian regulators for its $85-billion takeover of Time Warner Inc., moving the blockbuster deal closer to the finish line.

The Dallas phone company on Wednesday said Brazils antitrust authority, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, had signed off on AT&Ts application to consolidate the New York-based media company, which owns CNN, HBO, TBS, Cartoon Network and Hollywoods biggest film and television studio, Warner Bros.

Now, AT&T must win approval from the U.S. Department of Justice before it can finalize the merger. The governments review slowed over the summer because the Senates approval of President Trumps appointment of Makan Delrahim as chief of the Justice Departments anti-trust division was made in late September. The Justice Department and AT&T continue to negotiate conditions for the merger, according to knowledgeable people who do not want to be identified discussing the sensitive process.

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AT&T earlier had received approval from regulators in Chile and Mexico. Brazilian regulators concluded that AT&T would not be required to divest any assets, the company said.

We appreciate the hard work by CADE to review and evaluate the AT&T-Time Warner merger and approve it based on its benefits to Brazilian consumers, David McAtee, AT&Ts general counsel, said in a statement.

meg.james@latimes.com

@MegJamesLAT

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Related Islamic State group loses emblematic Syria stronghold Raqa

A Syrian army general who led a brigade besieged for three years by Islamic State group in Deir al-Zor city has died, pro-Syrian government media outlets said on Wednesday.

Major General Issam Zahreddine, head of the 104 Brigade of the Syrian Republican Guard, was killed by a mine in the city, a military media unit allied to Hezbollah said.

Syrian radio station Sham FM and Lebanese pro-Syrian government TV stations al-Manar and al-mayadeen also reported his death.

Lebanon's Hezbollah has provided military support to the Syrian government during Syria's more than six-year-long war.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian military and Iran-backed militias, lifted the siege in early September. Islamic State group has lost ground rapidly in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zor in recent weeks.

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Cable giant Charter Communications and programmer Viacom Inc. have reached a tentative agreement on a new carriage deal, averting a threatened blackout of Viacom channels such as Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central.

Negotiations continued well beyond a Sunday deadline, with the two companies announcing a truce Tuesday night.

Viacom and Charter have reached an agreement in principle, the companies said in a joint statement. Spectrum subscribers will continue to have access to Viacoms networks, without disruption, while we finalize terms.

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The tentative pact covers more than 16 million Spectrum customers nationwide  including nearly 2 million homes in the greater Los Angeles region.

Meanwhile, in a separate carriage dispute, Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications on Monday saw its channels taken off Verizons FiOS television and mobile service.

We urge Verizon to put Univision back on and come back to the negotiating table and prove its commitment to the Hispanic community and show that it understands the value of Spanish-language programming, Univision said in a statement Monday.

In its own statement, Verizon said: Unfortunately Univision is proposing an increase of more than double what they charge for access to their channels today. It said that the appeal of Univisions programming is waning and that it provided a reasonable offer.

The disputes highlight the tensions in the pay-TV industry.

Charter, which acquired the Time Warner Cable systems last year, has been playing hardball with TV channel owners, including Viacom, in an effort to curb increases in programming costs, which contribute to higher bills for consumers.

Viacom said it was not asking Charter to pay higher fees for individual channels. Instead, Viacom indicated one of the main sticking points in the tense negotiations was Charters reluctance to carry nearly all of Viacoms 23 TV channels in the basic tier of Spectrum service.

It was not clear Tuesday night what Viacom channels Charter agreed to carry, or the number of channels.

Viacom has been in a tough spot. Its channels are not as popular as they once were, reducing the companys leverage. Viacoms stock price has fallen 25% in the last 12 months as investors worry about its ability to continue to demand top dollar for its channels.

The New York company, which is controlled by the family of media mogul Sumner Redstone, has been trying to preserve its channels because they generate affiliate fees, which are important to the companys revenue picture.

For its part, Charter is grappling with a huge debt load from last years acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. And like all pay-TV operators, Charter has been struggling to hold on to customers who threaten to cut the cable cord.

We believe that the long-term partnership between the two is mutually beneficial, media analyst Vijay Jayant of investment firm Evercore ISI wrote in a report Sunday.

Viacom shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Paw Patrol, South Park, The Daily Show With Trevor Noah and The Comedy Get Down still draw large audiences, and viewers were getting nervous as the negotiations between the two companies went down to the wire.

In the last few days, Charter customers had posted more than 5,000 comments on the Spectrum Facebook page, with most of the comments decrying the stalemate between the two sides.

Negotiate for the channels, because if not, Ill be putting your equipment in a trash bag on my front porch, and you can come get it before it rains next, one North Carolina man, Mark Hull, wrote on the Facebook page.

Another customer, Letty Quinones, chimed in: Im canceling my subscription too... my son cant be without his Paw Patrol... And my daughter without SpongeBob.

meg.james@latimes.com

@MegJamesLAT
LA Weeklys owner, Voice Media Group, has agreed to sell the alternative weekly newspaper as it sheds print assets and focuses on its digital business, a representative for Voice Media confirmed Wednesday.

The buyer, Semanal Media, is a new entity created for the purpose of this transaction, said Sara April at Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a merger and acquisition firm that is representing Voice Media in the sale. April would not say who owns Semanal or where the company is based.

The deal is expected to close in the next couple of weeks, April said. Terms were not disclosed.

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Voice Media announced in January that it was putting LA Weekly up for sale. It said at the time that the publication, founded in 1978, was still profitable.

LA Weeklys print edition is distributed throughout the city and is free for readers to pick up. It was once thick with news and culture articles, criticism, columns and calendar listings  and ads  but the publication and its newsroom have shrunk in recent years as news publications struggle to make money in the internet age. About a dozen editorial staffers remain on the payroll.

Those staffers fates are unclear. On Wednesday afternoon, staff members who are part of the International Assn. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers union received a notice from LA Weekly Chief Financial Officer Jeff Mars saying that when the sale closes, their employment with the company will terminate. Eligible employees will receive severance payments, the notice says.

A representative for Semanal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After the deal closes, Denver-based Voice Media will no longer have a presence in California, April said.

As part of its selling spree, Voice Media jettisoned San Franciscos SF Weekly in 2013. Last year, it sold Orange Countys OC Weekly to Duncan McIntosh Co., which publishes nautical magazines. It continues to own the Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, Denver Westword, Dallas Observer and Houston Press.

This has been a difficult autumn for alternative weeklies. A month ago, New Yorks famed Village Voice  which Voice Media sold off in 2015  published its final print edition, going online only. And last week, OC Weeklys editor in chief, Gustavo Arellano, resigned after refusing to cut half his staff.

lauren.raab@latimes.com

UPDATES:

4:00 p.m.: This article was updated with information about a notice from LA Weeklys chief financial officer and with additional background information.

This article was originally published at 3:20 p.m.
White House officials working on trade policy were alarmed last month when a top advisor to President Trump circulated a two-page document that alleged that a weakened manufacturing sector leads to an increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce and infertility, two people familiar with the matter said.

The so-called fact sheets, which were obtained by the Washington Post, were prepared and distributed by Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. They were presented without any data or information to back up the assertions, and reveal some of the materials the Trump administration reviewed as it was crafting its trade policy.

Two administration officials confirmed the authenticity of the documents. The fact sheets have emerged as the administration has threatened to withdraw from a free trade agreement with South Korea and is taking a hard-line stance against Canada and Mexico in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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The fourth round of talks wrapped up Tuesday amid pointed remarks and with few signs of progress. Negotiators said the talks would have to be extended beyond the original deadline into 2018.

The administration has repeatedly linked the decline in U.S. manufacturing to NAFTA and other trade agreements, claiming the deals were bad for U.S. workers.

Navarro has urged Trump to favor bilateral trade agreements over regional ones such as NAFTA, and he supported the presidents decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership. His documents alarmed other White House officials, who worried that such unverified information could end up steering White House policy, the two administration officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal documents, which were not released publicly.

The documents Navarro circulated list what he alleges are the problems that have resulted from a weakened manufacturing base. Some of the consequences are economic, including lost jobs, depressed wages and closed factories.

But a separate sheet claims Socioeconomic Costs of the decline of the countrys manufacturing industry, such as Higher Divorce Rate, Increased Drug/Opioid Use, Rising Mortality Rate and Higher Abortion Rate, among many others.

We dont comment on purported internal documents, a White House official said. The president is working hard on behalf of the American people to make sure our trade agreements are free and fair and benefit the American worker.

Navarro, an economist, is part of a small but influential wing of White House advisors who believe that decades of free trade policies have decimated the U.S. manufacturing base and allowed countries such as China, Mexico and Canada to take advantage of the U.S. They blame American reliance on imports from other countries for hurting U.S. manufacturing, something Trump has promised to reverse.

Two administration officials gave differing accounts of Navarros memo, which was prepared and shared last month. One described the documents as staff level, but another said the paperwork was shared with Cabinet secretaries during internal deliberations.

Although Trump has called NAFTA the worst agreement ever, he has heard from a cacophony of voices within the White House on how he should proceed on his trade threats.

Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, has urged Trump to be cautious, worried about what abrupt changes might mean for the United States and the global economy. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has taken steps to reverse what he views as trade imbalances between the United States and China, though some of his decisions have also been delayed as the White House has focused on NAFTA.

Navarro had worked in the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, a new division created by Trump after the inauguration. But the office was recently folded into the White House National Economic Council. Despite losing his official senior perch within the administration, Navarro remains influential and has argued for a harder line on trade.

Paletta writes for the Washington Post.

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The old Hollywood adage that directing is 90% casting holds just as true in the theater, especially with a new play: Those first performances can turn heads, build buzz, entice other theaters to give the script a spin  or not.

So when Bart DeLorenzo agreed to direct the world premiere of Alessandro Camons Time Alone at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, he knew he needed to find the perfect Anna, a middle-age Texas woman mourning her son, a police officer slain in the line of duty. Anna is lonely and miserable and furious, and her only real goal for the rest of her life  the one hope that keeps her from suicide  is to watch the execution of her sons killer.

Our casting director had a long list of really exciting, famous people for the part, DeLorenzo recalls during a pre-show chat one night at the LATC. But I felt it was really important to have a real theater artist. Its immensely challenging, this piece  the depth that the character has to go, and also to maintain our interest through monologues.

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DeLorenzo thought the role would be difficult for a great film or television actress if she werent steeped in theater. So I was thinking about different people, and then I was having my taco over at Guisados with Alessandro, the playwright, and I thought, You know who would be great? Shed never do it. But you know who would be great would be Tonya Pinkins.

Well, yes, Camon agreed. Obviously. Pinkins, who won a Tony for Jellys Last Jam in 1992 and originated the lead in Tony Kushners 2003 Broadway musical Caroline, or Change, would be an awesome Anna. World peace also would be cool.

Yeah, shed never do it, De Lorenzo said regretfully.

Pinkins heard about Time Alone from her friend Annabelle Gurwitch. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times )

But after lunch, he called his close friend Annabelle Gurwitch, also a friend of Pinkins.

Do you think she would do anything like this? De Lorenzo asked Gurwitch.

I dont know, she said. Maybe. Why not ask?

Cut to another day in a restaurant in Silver Lake at lunchtime, where Pinkins  spoiler alert, she said yes  takes up the story. Shes wearing an ankle-length dress of brilliant purple and lipstick in the same shade as she orders hot water with lemon and a seared tuna salad.

I got an email from my friend Annabelle about this play before my manager sent me the offer, she recalls. Like, the same day. And I thought to myself, Hmmm, do I want to do a play? I hadnt done a play in a couple of years.

She could think of at least three arguments against it.

The first was money. Pinkins had been working mostly in TV, including playing the creepy doctor Ethel Peabody on Gotham. She was enjoying it. And as much as she would have loved do to a play, you could make that much money in two days on a TV series, she says. So youre always having to think, I would have to really, really love this to give up even the opportunity to make as much money in such a short amount of time. And that, in this point in my life, is always a consideration.

Gurwitch offered that Pinkins could stay at her place in L.A. The two women met when they were 15 at Northwestern Universitys summer theater program.

Annabelle tells me Steve Carell was also there, Pinkins says. But we didnt know him. Im like, Damn, why didnt we know him? There were only about 25 of us. He must have been a real dweeb, because we didnt pay him any attention, she adds with an infectious chuckle.

A place to stay couldnt answer Pinkins second argument, which was: Did she really need the stress?

The last two or three theater things I had done were really traumatizing for me, she says. She has been originating roles in new plays for 40 years and is accustomed to collaborating with writers and directors in shaping her roles. I feel really comfortable talking with a writer about my perspective inside of it as the actor, she says. Like, This doesnt feel good in my mouth, or I think I could show you this and I dont have to say it. Listen to this. What do you think?

Im comfortable in being powerful and being assertive, and there are certain rooms where thats not OK.  Actress Tonya Pinkins

In at least the last two plays she joined, Rasheeda Speaking and Mother Courage and Her Children, Pinkins says, she and the creators didnt see eye to eye about her characters. The experiences didnt feel like just aesthetic disagreements but, as she puts it, like a bunch of white people denying [my] reality of what it is to be a black person. At the end of 2015, she made headlines when she dropped out of the Classic Stage Company production of Brechts Mother Courage and Her Children during previews. The show went on, with Kecia Lewis in the lead.

Pinkins released a statement saying that her role had been neutered by the filter of the white gaze. Some of the press coverage hinted that Pinkins had overreacted or that she was difficult to work with.

She says shes gotten about six play offers since  and turned them all down.

When she was deciding on Time Alone, she says, I had to go, OK, are you ready to go back in the room again? And once again being the only woman in a room full of men, and what thats like. And Im a very comfortable woman. Im comfortable in being powerful and being assertive, and there are certain rooms where thats not OK.

Gurwitch had worked with DeLorenzo  he directed a stage adaptation of her book I See You Made an Effort at the Skylight Theatre in 2015  and could assure Pinkins that his room wouldnt be that kind of room. Pinkins also talked with Camon, who had been inspired to write Time Alone by his experiences teaching writing in correctional institutions, and although he is an advocate of prison reform, he wanted the play to explore a range of views.

I appreciated his humility about writing this character, Pinkins says. He told me, I wrote Anna as a white woman, because I thought I could write a white woman, and I dont know that I could write a black woman. Do I have to change it to write a black woman? And I said, Well, you wrote about grief, which is universal and doesnt really have a color, so I dont think theres anything you need to change for me to play it.

Time Alone is a two-hander, and the other character is Gabriel (Alex Hernandez), a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in solitary confinement. He tells his story to the audience in a series of monologues interspersed with Annas that reveal the darkness of prison life.

There is a lot of humor in the play, DeLorenzo says. Its beautifully written, but, yeah, its intense. The effectiveness of the work as a whole, though, hinges on the audiences willingness to spend time with both characters.

I dont know what acting means. This is all I have to work with, my body and my experiences, and thats what youre going to see.  Tonya Pinkins

Which brings us to Pinkins third argument: Did she want to go there? Pinkins hasnt been the sort of actress to pay lip service to a characters pain.

Im the character, she says. I dont know what acting means. This is all I have to work with, my body and my experiences, and thats what youre going to see: these words as interpreted through this body and in the light of me. Its deeply, deeply personal for me, and Ive got to go through it every day. The body doesnt know that its imaginary.

So when she started reading the script, her first thought was, Whoa, this is really dark. She has four children, ranging from 18 to 30. And as a parent, its like, Uh, do I want to inhabit that? Im already feeling raggedy, and do I want to add some more raggedy on there? So I had to think on that.

But in the end, her choice didnt involve thinking at all.

At that point in time, I was conducting these womens circles, where women connect with women across the generations to reconnect to our sacred feminine self and where our real power is, and its not here, she says, pointing to her head. And thats what comes out across all our meetings, is that when anyone can get us to go here [the head] first, were not going to make a decision thats in our best interest. So we were really focusing on just, Lets ask our bodies, and my bodys like, I think Im supposed to go to L.A. And my agent was like, Well, you know youre up for these three series, and I was like, I dont think thats going to happen. Im supposed to go to L.A. Something instinctively said, This is where you need to be right now.

If this process sounds out there or New Age-y, Pinkins in person describes it with such low-key, matter-of-fact conviction that it makes perfect sense. Shes not only exceptionally glamorous  she says shes never been the type of performer who likes to be looked at, but its hard to look anywhere else  but she also exudes an aura of trustworthiness and warmth that makes people want to confide in her.

At this point, the waiter sets down a seared-tuna sandwich in front of her. Oh, I thought this was a salad! she exclaims. Everybody freezes  waiter, publicist, reporter alike. Is this when were going to meet the storied Broadway diva? Pinkins takes a breath. Its OK, she says, setting the top slices of bread to the side. The waiter hurries away, and the show goes on.

De Lorenzo said hed heard about Pinkins disagreements with previous directors but he wasnt nervous about working with her.

Ive worked with a lot of opinionated, strong-willed performers, and I actually like that, he said. She had some strong ideas right at the beginning, and I thought they were great, and Ive just tried to support her thoughts.

I suppose if shed had an idea that I thought was terribly wrong and wed had a huge fight about it, he adds contemplatively, I might feel differently. But that wasnt my experience. Tonyas really smart, and her mind works faster than anybodys Ive ever seen. Shes really quick with everything. Shes quick with her thoughts and quick with her feelings, and I just kind of hang on for the ride. Shes a force of nature in the best way. Im not sure what this show would be without her.

Shes quick with her thoughts and quick with her feelings, and I just kind of hang on for the ride, director Bart DeLorenzo says of actress Tonya Pinkins. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times )

         

Time Alone

Where: Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre 2, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Monday, 8 p.m. Oct. 26-28, 3 p.m. Oct. 29

Price: $30-$55

Info: (213) 489-0994, www.bellerevetheatre.com

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

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The putty-colored warehouse bearing a sign for the Fu Yuan International wholesaler on the northern fringes of Los Angeles Chinatown doesnt look like a place you might stumble upon a work by Jesus Rafael Soto, the famed Venezuelan artist known for his finely rendered, mind-bending optical works. Or an installation of wooden totems by 20th century Uruguayan sculptor Francisco Matto. Not to mention the photographs of Mexicos Lourdes Grobet, renowned for her images of Mexican wrestlers (and who currently has work on view at the Hammer Museum as part of Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-85.)

But through the end of this month, this industrial site  which checks in at 20,000 square feet  is serving as the temporary home for a pop-up art space called ProyectosLA, a collaboration with nearly two dozen well-known galleries from throughout Latin America, including OMR in Mexico City; Revolver Galeria in Lima, Peru; and Galeria Nara Roesler, which maintains exhibition spaces in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and New York.

The show, one of many Latin America-themed gallery projects being held in parallel with the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibitions across Southern California, was organized by independent curators Claudia Segura, who hails from Colombia, and Luiza Teixeira de Freitas, who lives in Lisbon. They worked with the galleries to created a single, flowing exhibition  one that makes savvy use of the rugged space.

The idea was not just to showcase art for sale, but to tease out connections and themes.

The notion of the border and its understanding in a broad prism was a leitmotif of the show, the curators say in an email. [It] allowed us to intertwine concepts such as identity, syncretism, nationalism, indigenism, utopia, reality.

Superficial Exercises, by Jose Carlos Martinat, an artist who collects objects from the U.S.-Mexico border  presented by Limas Revolver Galeria. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

In one massive room, a series of filmy, house-shaped silhouettes by Los Angeles artist Carmen Argote hovers near totems by Matto. In another, an assemblage by the contemporary Argentine collective Mondongo hangs near an installation of ceramics by Magali Lara, a Mexican artist who has been active since the 1970s, and whose works use language to explore the nature of intimacy.

A small structure wrapped in corrugated metal  likely once a warehouse office  features documentation from a 1973 performance orchestrated by Argentine conceptual artist Marta Minujin. The piece, titled Kidnapping, was originally staged at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and it consisted of kidnapping 15 spectators from an event at the museum, and taking them to destinations around New York, including a concert and an artists studio. It feels like a miniature show within a show.

Even as ProyectosLA mashes up geography, time periods, artistic movements and materials, it explores linkages. One room features paper art by Mexican avant-garde artist Ulises Carrion hanging alongside work by Brazilian Japanese sculptor Tomie Ohtake and a photo-based installation by Chilean poet Raul Zurita.

All of them dissimilar artists, from different periods of time, but surprisingly, all interested in abstraction, Segura and De Freitas write. They compose a beautiful narrative together that questions borders of nationalities, times and formats.

In addition, the architecture of the site provides an interesting frame for these stories.

The notion of the border and its understanding in a broad prism was a leitmotif of the show.  Claudia Segura and Luiza Teixeira de Freitas

Chilean poet Raul Zuritas Proyecto Escritura Material, on view courtesy of Galeria Isabel Aninat. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Ezequiel Farca, of Ezequiel Farca + Cristina Grappin, a firm with offices in L.A., Mexico City and Milan, added a few structural elements to the space  so that art could be suspended on walls  but he has left vast areas of the old warehouse untouched. This keeps the white-box effect to a minimum.

Unfiltered daylight streams through large windows. Several rooms are clad in pockmarked corrugated metal. Others bear structures once used to support industrial machinery. The building is charged with the energy of past lives (a poignant reminder of the antiseptic nature of so many museum and gallery spaces).

To visit all 18 galleries during any other time would require plane tickets to Buenos Aires; New York; Guatemala City; Sao Paulo; Mexico City; Lima; Santiago, Chile; and Bogota, Colombia. ProyectosLA makes the art-gazing infinitely easier.

A photographic preview:

Warehouse as gallery

ProyectosLA takes advantage of the sites industrial architecture to showcase art from the 20th century to the present.

Industrial infrastructure frames a series of totems by Francisco Matto, presented by Cecilia Torres Gallery. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

An installation by Colombian artist Carolina Caycedo at ProyectosLA. (Carolina Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Juxtaposing artists

The show clusters work by artists from different eras, nations and galleries in ways that highlight materials and themes.

A 2017 sculpture by Mexican artist Jose Davila sits before a 2015 canvas by Chilean artist Josefina Guilisasti. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

A work by 70s Brazilian avant-gardist Paolo Bruscky (foreground) sits before a canvas by contemporary Brazilian artist Dora Longo Bahia. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

The Americas in a warehouse

There are artists from throughout the Americas represented, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and the U.S.  a world of art contained in a single warehouse space.

A detail from an installation of ceramics by Mexican artist Magali Lara, displayed by Argentinas Walden Gallery. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Peruvian artist Alberto Boreas installation sculpture Combis: Tupac Metropolitano, Ciudad, shown by Y Gallery. (Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

ProyectosLA

Where: 1667 N. Main Street, Chinatown, Los Angeles

When: Through Oct. 28

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carolina.miranda@latimes.com

@cmonstah

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Molly Ringwalds experiences with Harvey Weinstein were, she says, more a matter of bad taste than bad behavior. But that cant be said about the rest of Hollywood when she was a career-on-fire young actress fueled by her success in the films of John Hughes.

Thankfully, I wasnt cajoled into a taxi [by Weinstein], nor did I have to turn down giving or getting a massage, Ringwald wrote Tuesday in an essay for the New Yorker. I was lucky. Or perhaps it was because, at that moment in time, I was the one with more power. The English Patient, Weinsteins first Best Picture winner, was still a few years away.

Women with power  Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton, to name a couple  seem to have been spared advances from the now-disgraced producer, whose alleged decades-old habits were outed in stories by the New York Times and New Yorker only two weeks ago. A-list victims such as Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow say they were targeted years before they became Angelina and Gwyneth.

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Ringwald, who said she had been warned about Weinstein, talked about changes he made to Loser Takes All on its way to being rechristened 1990s Strike It Rich, which ultimately bombed. She talked about having to sue for her contractually guaranteed share of the movies gross.

I was always a little mystified that Harvey had a reputation as a great tastemaker when he seemed so noticeably lacking in taste himself, the Breakfast Club star wrote. But he did have a knack for hiring people who had it, and I figured thats what passes for taste in Hollywood.

Then she talked about her reception when, burned out, she moved to Paris and pulled back on her career, coming home only occasionally to work.

The magazine Movieline decided to feature me on its cover, I guess because anyone who leaves Hollywood after having success seems intriguing on some level, she wrote. In that [1995] article, the head of a major studio  and, incidentally, someone who claims himself to be horrified by the Harvey allegations  was quoted as saying, I wouldnt know [Molly Ringwald] if she sat on my face. I was twenty-four at the time. Maybe he was misquoted. If he ever sent a note of apology, it must have gotten lost in the mail.

I never talked about these things publicly because, as a woman, it has always felt like I may as well have been talking about the weather.  Molly Ringwald, writing in the New Yorker

Enter Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was chairman of Walt Disney Studios when Disney acquired Weinsteins Miramax Film Corp. in 1993. Eight days ago, the WndrCo honcho decried Weinsteins behavior and went public with a scathing email he had sent the producer in response to a desperate plea the latter sent to fellow Hollywood heavyweights, begging for support as the scandal began to break.

In a statement Tuesday to the Hollywood Reporter, Katzenberg denied having said what was attributed to him in the Movieline story.

Anyone who knows me now or back then knows I do not use language like that as a matter of course, or tolerate it, Katzenberg told THR. Ms. Ringwald, 22 years too late, I am deeply, deeply sorry.

Somewhat lost in the OMG-he-said-what discussion about Katzenberg vis-a-vis Ringwald have been the sexually charged situations the Sixteen Candles actress described in her New Yorker essay. There was the 50-year-old crew member who allegedly told her at 13 that he would teach her to dance, then pushed up against her while sporting an erection; the married film director who stuck his tongue in her mouth while she was 14 and on set; the director who had a lead actor put a dog collar around her neck during an audition, despite it having nothing to do with the scene or the story.

I never talked about these things publicly because, as a woman, it has always felt like I may as well have been talking about the weather, wrote Ringwald, who considers herself lucky to have had protective parents who tried to shield her when she was a young star.

My hope, she wrote, is that Hollywood makes itself an example and decides to enact real change.

cdz@latimes.com

@theCDZ
Lupita Nyongo relates her story of inappropriate Harvey Weinstein encounters

Lupita Nyongo with her Oscar after winning Best Actress for 12 Years a Slave at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

With stories about women allegedly harassed by Harvey Weinstein surfacing all around her, Oscar winner Lupita Nyongo decided she couldnt keep her own story squashed down any longer.

She thought the things that had happened were unique to her, not a larger pattern of what she on Thursday called sinister behavior. She blamed herself for much of it.

I had shelved my experience with Harvey far in the recesses of my mind, joining in the conspiracy of silence that has allowed this predator to prowl for so many years, Nyongo wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times.

The 12 Years a Slave actress was still at Yale School of Drama when she and Weinstein crossed paths at a 2011 awards ceremony in Berlin, where he was introduced to the then-aspiring actress as the most powerful producer in Hollywood. Dinner companions told her he was a good man to know in the biz, but someone to be careful around because he could be a bully, she wrote.

The interactions that followed between her and the producer went back and forth between seemingly appropriate and uncomfortably inappropriate, Nyongo said.

The invitation to screen a movie with Weinstein and his children at his Connecticut home turned into a restaurant lunch where he tried to bully her into drinking alcohol, she wrote, followed by him cutting short her viewing of the movie after 15 minutes and taking her to his bedroom where he offered to give her a massage. She said she flipped the situation around.

I began to massage his back to buy myself time to figure out how to extricate myself from this undesirable situation, the actress said. Then he wanted to take off his pants, she wrote.

He couldnt make it to see a production she was in, but invited her to bring anyone she wanted to see a staged reading of Finding Neverland, one of his. Dinner followed, with her friends relegated to a non-Harvey table.

The talk was shop the whole time and Harvey held court with ease. He was charming and funny once more, and I felt confused about the discomfort I had previously experienced, Nyongo said.

Lupita Nyongo accepts the supporting actress Academy Award for her work in 12 Years a Slave on March 2, 2014. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A couple of months later, he invited her to a screening of W.E. followed by a trip to the Tribeca Grill, which she said she assumed would be another group meal. It was not. His assistants, she said, had seemed uncomfortable as they set up the logistics with her.

Before the starters arrived, he announced: Lets cut to the chase. I have a private room upstairs where we can have the rest of our meal. I was stunned, Nyongo wrote. I told him I preferred to eat in the restaurant. He told me not to be so naive. If I wanted to be an actress, then I had to be willing to do this sort of thing. He said he had dated Famous Actress X and Y and look where that had gotten them.

She declined, and his tone changed, she said. As he escorted her out, sans meal, she checked in with him to make sure they were still good after shed said no.

His response, according to the actress: I dont know about your career, but youll be fine, he said. It felt like both a threat and a reassurance at the same time; of what, I couldnt be sure.

They didnt cross paths again until the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, which she was attending in support of 12 Years a Slave.

At an after-party, he found me and evicted whoever was sitting next to me to sit beside me, she wrote. He said he couldnt believe how fast I had gotten to where I was, and that he had treated me so badly in the past. He was ashamed of his actions and he promised to respect me moving forward. I said thank you and left it at that. But I made a quiet promise to myself to never ever work with Harvey Weinstein.

Our business is complicated because intimacy is part and parcel of our profession; as actors we are paid to do very intimate things in public. Thats why someone can have the audacity to invite you to their home or hotel and you show up.  Lupita Nyongo

The following year, after her Oscar win, he tried to get her in one of his films, showering her with talk of a star-vehicle film in the offing for her later if shed first take a role in a Weinstein Co. movie shed already turned down. She held firm.

When she first met the now-disgraced producer, she wrote, she was entering into a community that Harvey Weinstein had been in, and even shaped, long before I got there. He was one of the first people I met in the industry, and he told me, This is the way it is. And wherever I looked, everyone seemed to be bracing themselves and dealing with him, unchallenged.

Since then, she said, she hasnt encountered treatment like that from anyone else. Still, she talked about the often-blurry lines in the workplace known as Hollywood.

Our business is complicated because intimacy is part and parcel of our profession; as actors we are paid to do very intimate things in public, wrote Nyongo, who is now 34. Thats why someone can have the audacity to invite you to their home or hotel and you show up. Precisely because of this we must stay vigilant and ensure that the professional intimacy is not abused.
If the real world already feels too much like an unremitting sea of bleakness punctuated by violent, howling noise, perhaps this weekends inaugural Cloak & Dagger festival in downtown L.A. isnt for you.

But what if two nights of heavy, goth-inspired music (a category that today transcends any particular sound) in a pair of old downtown theaters sounds like a respite from anxiety? Then this show  with headliners Jesus and Mary Chain, KMFDM and scores more  may actually be a security blanket.

A lot of people want to avoid whats going on in the world right now, so theyll turn to music to escape real life, said Adam Bravin, one-half of the electro-rock group She Wants Revenge and a co-founder of Cloak & Dagger. Were all surrounded by so much. Part of the reason the fest is so interesting is that we know people want to escape right now.

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The Cloak & Dagger festival, which will run late into the evening on Friday and Saturday, began as a literal manifestation of whats always driven fans of eerie, mysterious music  the desire to inhabit a different world, one that felt more relatable and cathartic to those with a dark side.

Adam Bravin, one-half of the electro-rock group She Wants Revenge and a co-founder of Cloak & Dagger with Michael Patterson. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times )

Thats what led Bravin (who, outside his band, also DJs as Adam 12 and is a fixture in both Democratic activism and the West Hollywood disco lounge Giorgios) to create the original Cloak & Dagger club night in Hollywood two years ago, with co-founder Michael Patterson.

The weekly night requires a black card membership to get in, and comes with a drolly rigid dress code (guess what color is solely permissible) and a flair for immersive theater. Bravin was a hip-hop head growing up, and he saw the connection among 80s and 90s staples like Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees and modern hip-hop and techno with a melancholy kinship. For instance, The Weeknd sampling Cocteau Twins on a mixtape, or the Geto Boys as a gangsta-rap Misfits; thats the world he wanted to live in.

With goth clubs, you usually know exactly what youre going to get, from the music to the fashion, Bravin said. But Wu-Tang Clan is dark, Mobb Deep is dark. Every genre has a dark side.

The idea clicked with fans. Bravin and his team  the promoters Restless Nites and stalwarts Spaceland Presents  saw an opening for a new sort of festival at the Globe and Tower theaters downtown, one that could pair the techno-metal deconstructions of Health with the noise-rap tumult of Ho99o9 and old-guard goth supergroup Poptone.

An intriguing slate of young acts  the ethereal Chasms and Drab Majesty especially  keep the lineup cutting edge even as it nods to decades of goth lineage.

With the festival, the organizers wanted to match fans hunger for a deep dive out of our current circumstances with the flourish and intrigue of their exclusive club night. Additionally, expect some avant-garde haunted house vibes to further shake fans out of their present malaise .

They imagined Cloak & Dagger as a way to get upset without the stress, a way to be nostalgic without aging said Annie Lesser, who oversees the theater and production design elements of the club and festival.

Immersive theater give people a safety net, Lesser added. Day to day, we dont know whats going to happen. Were constantly on alert. Here, theres no danger of judgment while being vulnerable in public.

That doesnt mean the real world recently hasnt intruded on the show. They quickly dropped headlining act Gaslamp Killer after allegations of sexual assault (which the artist has denied) began circling on social media the week before the fest. And some fans expressed concerns that the dual-theater format would result in them being locked out for big acts.

Were all fest-goers too, and everyones going to be able to see everything they want to see, Bravin said.

But in the same way that the original goth movement took root at the height of Cold War anxiety, maybe theres a reason why despair, anger and escapism seem suddenly relevant across all genres of music. Bravin is self-aware about his adult-goth indulgences. But we all have good reason to be frightened today, and for a few hours, Cloak & Dagger going all-in on that sensation might feel like a way out.

You know, I still like things that appeal to that darker side of my personality, Bravin said. If you pay close attention to that and do the work, you can always end up somewhere else.

         

Cloak & Dagger with Jesus and Mary Chain, KMFDM, She Wants Revenge and more

Where: The Globe Theater, 740 S. Broadway, 90014, and the Tower Theatre, 802 S. Broadway, 90014

When: Friday and Saturday, doors at 5 p.m. each night

Cost: $69 to $400

Info: https://www.xcloakanddaggerx.com

For breaking music news, follow @augustbrown on Twitter.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred" the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after US President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach toIran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute (U.S.) president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran quoted by state television.

"Trump's stupidity should not distract us from America's deceitfulness...If the US tears up the deal, we will shred it."

Trump's move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union - who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a UN resolution.

Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran's state matters, welcomed their support but said it was not sufficient.

"European states stressed their backing for the deal and condemned Trump ... We welcomed this, but it is not enough to ask Trump not to rip up the agreement. Europe needs to stand against practical measures (taken) by America."

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions that crippled its economy, and UN nuclear inspectors have repeatedly certified Tehran's compliance with the terms.

Trump accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and says the 2015 deal does not do enough to block its path to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran says it does not seek nuclear arms and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State group on the policies of the United States and its regional allies.

In decertifying the nuclear deal last week, Trump gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.

"Do Not Interfere"

In a major shift in US policy, Trump also said Washington will take a more confrontational approach to Iran over its ballistic missile programme and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Tehran has repeatedly pledged to continue what it calls a defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism. The United States has said Iran's stance violates the 2015 deal in spirit as missiles could be tipped with nuclear weapons.

Tehran has said it seeks only civilian nuclear energy from its enrichment of uranium, and that the programme has nothing to do with missile development efforts.

"They must avoid interfering in our defence programme ... We do not accept that Europe sings along with America's bullying and its unreasonable demands," Khamenei said.

"They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons?"

The Trump administration has imposed new unilateral sanctions targeting Iran's missile activity. It has called on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans.

Iran has one of the biggest ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

Americans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region," Khamenei said.

Supporters of the deal fear Trump's decision to decertify the deal could eventually unravel it, causing more tension in the crisis-hit Middle East, where Shia Iran is involved in a decades long proxy war with US-ally Sunni Saudi Arabia.

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For nearly two weeks, President Trump was silent about an ambush in the north African nation of Niger on Oct. 4 that killed four American soldiers and wounded two. When he did speak, in answer to a reporters question on Monday, he provoked another multi-day controversy regarding a fallen soldier.

During his campaign, Trumps call to ban Muslims from entry into the United States drew much-reported criticism from Khizr Khan, whose son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Trump in turn criticized Khizr Khan and his wife, Ghazala Khan, sparking a furor.

Now Trumps reported comments on Tuesday to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger has spurred outrage yet again for his alleged insensitivity to a Gold Star family.

Here is a timeline of events giving rise to the latest controversy:

Oct. 4

Militants attack U.S. and Niger forces

A patrol of American and Niger forces, departing a meeting with village officials, is ambushed by about 50 militants believed to have links to Islamic State. Four U.S. soldiers were killed; one was left behind, and his body was recovered by villagers two days later.

President Trump is told of the attack by his chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly.

Oct. 6

A fourth body is found

The Pentagon announces the fourth body has been recovered near the site of the ambush. They dont yet identify the soldier  Sgt. La David T. Johnson, 25 -- but they do name the others: Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29.

When asked by reporters why Trump has not mentioned the deaths, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says, Were continuing to review and look into this. She adds, As we have more details, well certainly let you guys know.

Oct. 11

Defense Secretary Mattis addresses the attack

Defense Secretary James N. Mattis makes his first public statements about the ambush. He says the patrol was hit hard in an area not previously considered dangerous, that French aircraft were there within a half-hour to evacuate casualties, and that the military would be reviewing operations to determine whether changes are needed.

I completely reject the idea, Mattis told reporters, that the response was slow.

Clockwise from upper left: Army Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35; Sgt. La David Johnson, 25; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29. (Handout)

Monday

Trump speaks to deaths for first time

Twelve days after the ambush, the president finally addresses the soldiers killings when he is asked by a reporter at the White House, Why haven't we heard anything from you so far about the soldiers that were killed in Niger?

Rather than answer the question, Trump says he likes to call and write letters to families of slain service members, and adds that his predecessors didnt do that, or didnt do it often  a false statement that prompts aides to past presidents to refute him, some angrily.

Tuesday

Trump makes calls, one backfires

The White House says the president called family members of the soldiers. Later, Rep. Federica Wilson, a Democrat who had known Sgt. La David T. Johnson for years and was with his wife Myeshia Johnson when Trump called her in Florida, complains publicly that the president upset the widow by saying the soldier must have known what he signed up for, and that Trump seemed to not know the soldiers name.

Wednesday

With tweet, its Trump vs. soldiers family

On Twitter early Wednesday, Trump says Wilson, the congresswoman, totally fabricated her account of his call to Johnsons widow. Wilson stands by her recounting, and Johnsons mother corroborates her, saying the president disrespected the family.

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Trump continues spat with congresswoman over his call to soldier's widow: 'I did not say what she said'

Killing of 3 Green Berets in Niger puts a spotlight on U.S. counter-terrorism efforts

Missing U.S. commando found dead in Niger desert two days after deadly ambush
Cadiz pipeline: In the Oct. 17 California section, an article about the federal government allowing Cadiz Inc. to use a railroad right-of-way for its water pipeline said the company had lobbied the Interior Department to rescind a 2011 legal opinion. Cadiz lobbied the department to rescind a 2015 decision to deny use of the right-of-way.

Business preview: In the Oct. 15 Business section, the Coming Monday item highlighted an article about the holiday travel season that was supposed to run the next day. The article was not published, and instead the Oct. 16 section featured a story about no-frills flights.

If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. The readers representative office is online at latimes.com/readersrep.
When prosecutors filed campaign finance charges against L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez last month, many charter-school supporters rallied to his defense in hopes of saving not just his seat but their pro-charter school agenda.

They said that Rodriguez, a political novice, had made mistakes and that the amount of money involved, about $24,000, was too small for so much fuss.

But new conflict-of-interest allegations that came to light Monday focus on significantly more money  about $285,000  and on Rodriguezs actions as co-founder of a charter school network, his area of expertise.

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Now the prospects of keeping him on the board, as the linchpin of a narrow 4-3 pro-charter majority, have suddenly become politically perilous.

Partnerships to Uplift Communities, which Rodriguez co-founded, alleged in a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission last week that Rodriguez authorized $265,000 in payments from PUC to a nonprofit that he ran. The complaint also notes that he co-signed checks totaling $20,400 to a private company in which he might have owned a stake.

An attorney who examined the money transfers for PUC said he had found little to no evidence so far of service provided for the payments.

During a period when charter leaders are pressing for fewer regulations, the allegations of self-dealing have given fresh ammunition to those who have long called for more oversight.

This isnt just about an individual, said Alex Caputo-Pearl, head of United Teachers Los Angeles, the local teachers union. Its not just about one potential mistake of an individual. This is about the charter school industry and bad practices.

Charter school advocates spend their lives saying that they care about kids, but protecting their power and fighting to protect someone who is engaged in self-dealing is not protecting kids, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Those are just about the last messages that charter supporters would want the public to take away from the problems plaguing Rodriguez.

The California Charter Schools Assn., which put more than $2 million into the effort to elect Rodriguez in 2015, stuck to a statement  originally issued Monday  that it expects of the charter movement the highest standards of integrity and ethics.

Campaign consultant Michael Trujillo, who worked on behalf of charter-backed candidates this year, said he is not worried that Rodriguezs legal woes will hurt L.A.s charter movement. Any time you have a larger organization, whether its a nonprofit or a government agency, you find folks that are making human errors or making larger mistakes, he said. At no point does the public cast a wider net.

Numerous other charter advocates declined to discuss the allegations.

The current school board majority, which includes Rodriguez, is the first to be elected largely as a result of major funding from charter-school backers.

What that means in practice has yet to be truly tested. So far, the pro-charter bloc has stuck together in votes, even on relatively minor issues. But its members have resisted any characterization that they are tools of charters. In one instance this month, they even voted against a charter school renewal.

But their backers had high expectations, especially for a strong pushback against the rules of the district division that oversees local charters.

Rodriguezs vote matters. If he were to step down, the result could be a 3-3 deadlock.

If Rodriguez chooses to fight the charges, it could take two to three years to resolve the case. Such a scenario would give charter school advocates enough time to have another round of elections, so they can look for their next fourth vote, said political consultant Rick Taylor, who said he has not worked on recent school-board elections.

But if the board moves to scale back charter school regulations, with Rodriguez casting the key vote, that could look bad to the public. Campaign consultant Mike Shimpock said the latest allegations show Rodriguez is the fox guarding the henhouse when it comes to supervision of charter schools.

The question is: Does Rodriguez deliver the reduction in oversight for the charter schools before he leaves? he said. Because its not a question of whether theyre going to try and do it. Its whether they can do it before he is forced from office.

Shimpock worked on this years unsuccessful reelection bid of board member Steve Zimmer. Zimmer was backed by the teachers union and lost to Nick Melvoin, who is part of the pro-charter majority.

On Tuesday, Melvoin had little to offer about next steps.

Its a serious allegation that I havent had much time to look into, but obviously I will, he said Tuesday before a board meeting at Fairfax High School, of the most recent allegations against Rodriguez. We need to make sure were all operating with integrity, transparency and accountability. So I expect that well get a full accounting of what happened and then go from there.

Board President Monica Garcia, who is also part of the current majority, said it was important for board members to focus on their fundamental role of looking out for the interests of students as events played out.

One example of an issue important to charters is the level of regulation that L.A. Unified has required charters to accept. Charter leaders have been developing a strategy around this issue for months, even inviting L.A. schools Supt. Michelle King over for dinner to lay the groundwork for their case. They say charters are unfairly at risk of being closed for minor violations or bureaucratic issues that have little to do with how well they are teaching students.

King, who is on a medical leave, would not necessarily support streamlined oversight.

If Rodriguez expects to be forced from office, it has not been apparent. At Tuesdays board meeting, he smiled, nodded enthusiastically and appeared fully engaged as teachers and children gave presentations. On social media, he has continued to post motivational messages and descriptions about his visits to schools.

In the campaign-finance case, prosecutors have charged Rodriguez with three felony and 25 misdemeanor counts, alleging that he illegally reimbursed 25 donors to his campaign. City ethics officials said such practices are against the law because they conceal the true source of a candidates support.

In a brief conversation before the board meeting, Rodriguez said he was unable to comment or answer questions.

He has received some good news on one front: a $75,000 contribution to his legal defense fund from Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. Hastings made the contribution after the money-laundering charges were filed but before the latest allegations.

Since 2013, Hastings has provided more than $7.8 million to a political action committee used by the California Charter Schools Assn. to assist school board candidates in Los Angeles, according to state contribution records.

In an email to The Times, Hastings echoed the charter association in saying that school leaders must uphold the highest ethical standards  and noted that the allegations against Rodriguez need thorough investigation.

Im supporting his legal defense fund to ensure he gets the fair hearing that everyone deserves, Hastings wrote.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

joy.resmovits@latimes.com

howard.blume@latimes.com

ALSO

L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez faces conflict-of-interest complaint over $285,000 in payments

Editorial: Ref Rodriguez needs to explain himself  or get off the board

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Widespread complaints that residents did not receive cellphone alerts before wildfires swept through Californias wine country, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than 40 people, has prompted calls to improve the system.

The so-called Wireless Emergency Alert system allows authorities to push out warnings that trigger loud alarms and vibrations to cellphones in geographic areas, unless people specifically opt out.

But neither Sonoma County nor Napa County sent them.

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Now, as the North Bay reels from the devastation, Californias two U.S. senators have raised questions about deficiencies in the federal system after many wine country residents failed to get warnings that they were in the path of last weeks destructive wildfires.

Because of the systems imprecise geo-targeting capabilities, the Democratic senators wrote, authorities have to decide whether to notify too many people  or not nearly enough  when disaster strikes.

In a letter dated Tuesday to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein said authorities instead relied on alert systems that were far less effective.

These emergency services are caught in a bind between notifying individuals in imminent danger and risking mass panic, the senators wrote. As a result, these services are compelled to rely on emergency messaging systems with far less reach and far less capacity.

The senators wrote they were disappointed that the FCC had not fully implemented a 2016 proposal to require wireless carriers to enable more precise geo-targeting for emergency alerts.

We are also concerned that the FCC has granted a temporary waiver of the existing, imprecise geo-targeting requirements for certain carriers, they wrote.

The senators asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to get feedback from officials in Northern California, as well as those who responded to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Jose, about how the warning system should be improved.

When the fires erupted, some residents had minutes to escape. Neighbors pounded on one anothers doors and blasted car horns. Friends called friends and urged them to get out.

Some couldnt outrun the flames.

Meanwhile, Sonoma County officials contemplated sending out a mass alert. Ultimately, they decided not to out of concern it would have pinged every cellphone connected to a cell tower in Sonoma County.

They worried about unnecessary gridlock on streets far from the fire and impeding first-responders trying to reach threatened areas.

Instead, the county sent out warnings through its SoCoAlert service and Nixle, both of which require residents to register before an emergency. The county also sent out reverse 911 calls to landlines in unincorporated areas.

Santa Rosa, where rows of suburban tract homes were destroyed, sent out alerts through SoCoAlert, Nixle and on social media.

Napa County issued alerts through Nixle, but officials said some residents had trouble receiving the warnings.

By Tuesday, the string of wildfires raging for more than a week had scorched more than 210,000 acres and destroyed whole neighborhoods.

Dozens of people are still missing.

Fire crews have, however, turned a corner in battling the blazes, reaching more than 50% containment on the four largest wildfires. Tens of thousands of residents were allowed to return home and at least one hospital reopened.

The 52,894-acre Nuns fire, which gave firefighters the most trouble over the weekend, was 78% contained.

A smaller, stubborn fire that ignited Saturday near the Oakmont neighborhood on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa burned 1,029 acres and was 27% contained as of Tuesday evening.

Officials told firefighters to be meticulous about extinguishing smoldering piles of grasses and leaves because higher winds expected later Tuesday could send embers into unburned areas, igniting new fires.

Mop-ups going to be the key. As we get to the point where the perimeters controlled, all the stuff inside needs to be controlled, 100%, said Don Watt, a fire behavior analyst for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The biggest danger to firefighters over the next few days is fatigue, which has set in after eight long, smoky days of firefighting, officials told crews in Sonoma on Tuesday morning.

You guys have been in warp drive, said Bret Gouvea, the Cal Fire incident commander. Now the adrenaline is coming off. Youre feeling the fatigue. Youre getting tired. Lets finish this thing strong, without any major accidents.

Willon reported from Santa Rosa, Serna from Calistoga,Tchekmedyian from Los Angeles. Laura J. Nelson in Santa Rosa and Rong-Gong Lin II in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

9 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout additional quotes and background information.

This article was originally published at 7:25 p.m.
Dr. Scott Witt kept close behind the ambulance carrying the newborns. On his motorcycle, he drove over and ducked under downed power lines. He swerved around embers blowing onto the highway.

Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, where Witt oversees the neonatal intensive care unit, was being evacuated Oct. 9 because of wildfires that would become the deadliest in California history.

But Witt couldnt call the doctors who would be caring for the babies because there was no power. The physicians at the other hospital also had no way of accessing Witts medical records online to know what treatment was needed.

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I knew if I didnt leave then, there would be no way I could take care of the babies, he said.

As the blaze grew feet away, Witt tailed the ambulance through smoke and debris.

The Northern California wildfires created what some described as an unprecedented healthcare crisis that has served as a wake-up call in the region. Not only were two major hospitals evacuated hours into the disaster, but the chaos continued for days after.

A wheelchair is abandoned at the evacuated Villa Capri assisted living facility on Fountaingrove Parkway in Santa Rosa. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

Thousands of people were displaced and staying in shelters, many without their medicines. The fires left clinics burned, or evacuated for days. Pharmacies struggled to fill prescriptions. Nursing home patients waited on cots in shelters, without oxygen tanks or their caregivers. Doctors and nurses also lost their homes.

Some of the problems were unique to the wine country fires, which raced from open space into the hearts of communities, killing more than 40 and destroying more than 5,000 homes, many in Santa Rosa.

But the damaging effects on the healthcare system could easily be repeated during other natural disasters, such as earthquakes causing widespread destruction in the Los Angeles region and the Bay Area.

Officials in Santa Rosa said the fires showed the success of some of their medical emergency planning, but also exposed gaps in the healthcare systems response.

Its going to happen again. Theres going to be another fire, theres going to be another earthquake, theres going to be another flood and ... we absolutely have to get better at this, said Chad Krilich, chief medical officer for St. Joseph Health in Sonoma County.

Contra Costa paramedics help Bill Parras, 96, evacuate his home in Calistoga. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

Hitting close to home

In the dead of night, one of the wildfires forced the evacuation of Sutter Santa Rosa and Kaiser Santa Rosa hospitals. Patients were wheeled out and hooked up to IVs, while flames approached. Staff concerned about power outages affecting the elevators helped fragile patients walk down the stairs. Some were put on city buses to their next destination.

Kelsey Claybrook, a security officer for the Sutter hospital, burned his jacket as he tried to put out spot fires outside the hospital with a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher.

It was like a whack-a-mole, you would pour water, it would come back up, he said.

The hospitals were safely evacuated and avoided severe damage, but the fires reduced nearby neighborhoods to ash. The medical centers in the region that remained open last week treated not only the patients of the evacuated hospitals, but also people suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Ive been at this a long time and ... Ive never seen anything like this, in terms of the magnitude of the response that was necessary, said Sarah Krevans, chief executive of the Sacramento-based Sutter Health system.

Health workers werent spared from the fires damage. The homes of many county employees, doctors and nurses were in the blazes path, complicating the early response to the fire.

When trying to roll out emergency operations at Sonoma County government offices early that Monday morning, some staff couldnt be contacted or called in because of downed power lines, said health department spokesman Scott Alonso. They had to scramble for replacements for some roles that needed to be filled, he said.

We train in this, we practice it, and when a disaster strikes, sometimes its like a training, but often its not, Alonso said.

At St. Josephs Petaluma Valley Hospital and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, planning was challenging as the fires continued throughout the week. A change in winds could mean a new group of staff members needed to leave work to pack up their belongings and evacuate their homes, Krilich said.

It wouldve been really nice to be able to have a crystal ball if you could know what area would be impacted, said Krilich, who was evacuated from his home. Is that going to hit the lab, or anesthesiology, or is that going to hit housekeeping?

Downed power poles and lines block a street in the Hidden Valley neighborhood in Santa Rosa (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

Witt made it to Santa Rosa Memorial safely with the babies as dawn broke on Monday. He then met up with his wife and children, whod been pushed from their home by the threat of fire earlier in that morning.

Hours later, he learned their Santa Rosa neighborhood, Fountaingrove, had been decimated by the fire. His family hadnt grabbed much on their way out because they thought the evacuations were a precaution.

The doctor hopped on his motorcycle, again scooting around felled power lines.

I wanted to see for myself, he said. It was just rubble and ashes.

Making it through the week

The aftermath of the fire presented countless challenges for the rest of the healthcare system.

Many residents struggled to breathe because of the smoky air. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated into schools and fairgrounds across the region.

Each shelter had to figure out how do you manage these almost MASH-unit trauma centers, said Jason Cunningham, chief medical officer for the West County Health Centers.

When Dr. Deborah Donlon arrived at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa on Monday, many frail nursing home patients were sitting in folding chairs in the gym.

Donlon rushed to one of the Santa Rosa Community Health clinic sites nearby, where she works, to grab medicines that would be most useful, like aspirin and inhalers.

She remembers standing in the pharmacy thinking, I wish I had a list that said, In case of huge fire that wipes out a third of your community, take these medications, she said. Our usual way of operating was completely out the window.

Like many medical facilities that stayed open last week, Santa Rosa Memorial was inundated by people who wanted to help patients, both from the community and from outside. However, some had trouble getting privileges to work at the hospital and it was difficult to teach the systems electronic health record system to those who did, Krilich said.

Kevin Kip Thomas, director of the healthcare emergency management program at the Boston University School of Medicine, said thats a downside of not having medical records accessible to all doctors, no matter who they work for. Medical facilities in Northern California have planned for wildfires and evacuations, but its unlikely they envisioned so many facilities would be affected at the same time and that they would need access to so many other hospitals.

The big challenge here is the magnitude of this, Thomas said. Thats definitely something that hasnt had to be addressed to this level before.

The charred remains of a wheelchair rest near two burned-out cars in Santa Rosas Mark West Springs neighborhood. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

How do I get my medicines?

With so little time to flee their homes, many evacuated without their medicines.

Safeway pharmacists traveled from other parts of the state to help the stores that were filled with patients and brought medicines with them to keep up with the extra demand, said the companys Northern California pharmacy director Narayanan Ramachandran.

I dont think we were ready, but we definitely reacted, Ramachandran said. Almost every counter had somebody there to take care of people, and honestly we needed everybody there.

On Monday, shortly after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency because of the fires, Californias pharmacy board instituted a disaster protocol that allows pharmacists to dispense medicines without prescriptions. It instructs them to use their best judgment to help patients.

But doctors in the North Bay said many patients still showed up at their offices unable to get vital prescriptions like seizure medications. Many encountered hurdles with insurance companies, which pharmacists typically had to call individually to approve the refill requests. Some doctors began standing outside of pharmacies to write prescriptions for needy patients.

Richie Duenas, a pharmacist and owner of Mercury Pharmacy  which has one location in Vallejo and one in Fairfield, near the Napa fires  said the fire made him concerned about the durability of pharmacy supply chain.

Medicines are delivered by UPS and Fed-Ex. But the delivery worker dropping off medicines in the days after the fire was suffering from the smoke, even while wearing a mask to protect his lungs, Duenas said.

He said to me, I dont know how long I can do this, Duenas said.

Duenas said hes considering stockpiling medicines, but many have a short shelf life.

This kind of exposed a big piece of what we can do to make sure people get healthcare and medicine, he said. You go to the doctor. What do you get? A prescription. So how do you get people their meds in times of emergency?

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

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A group of legal organizations has established a free hot line to help fire victims navigate disaster-related challenges.

Victims of fires anywhere in California may call (415) 575-3120 with questions about landlord-tenant issues; life, medical and property insurance; emergency aid applications; home repair contracts; mortgage foreclosure concerns and replacement of important legal documents.

Lawyers from a variety of legal groups, including the State Bar of California, are providing the free service and also offering help in Spanish and Chinese.

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In addition to the main state bar hot line, Napa County residents may contact the Bay Area Legal Aids Legal Advice hot line at (800) 551-5554. The Healthcare Consumer Center also has established a number, (855) 693-7285, for residents of both Napa and Sonoma counties with concerns about medical and prescription coverage.

Other information can be found on the website of the State Bar of California.

maura.dolan@latimes.com

Twitter: @mauradolan
Crews on Wednesday continued to increase containment of a cluster of deadly wildfires that have ravaged Northern California, while authorities announced the discovery of another fire victim  a development that brought the fatality count to 42.

Authorities confirmed a 23rd death in Sonoma County  22 from the Tubbs fire and one from the Nuns fire, officials said. There were eight deaths in Mendocino County, seven in Napa County and four in Yuba County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.



For the record: A previous version of this article said all mandatory evacuation orders in Napa County had been lifted. Some remain in effect.

The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office also released the names of two more Santa Rosa fire victims: Monte Neil Kirven, 81, and Marilyn Carol Ress, 71.

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After more than a week of warm days and extremely dry air that helped keep the fires raging, a cooler weather pattern blanketing the wine countrys valley floor with fog has begun to settle in.

The combination of light winds, increased moisture and lower temperatures has aided firefighting efforts across the region, Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.

Were hoping ... to see even some rainfall by tomorrow, Berlant said Wednesday morning.

Firefighters took advantage of the favorable conditions to conduct firing operations Tuesday night.

A back-burning operation on the north end of the Pocket fire, the smallest but least contained of the fires in the region in north Sonoma County, has stymied the blazes potential to race out of control, officials said.

Cal Fire operations Chief Steve Crawford told crews that Wednesday was the day to push the fires containment deeper into itself until it burns itself out. The Pocket fire has burned 12,430 acres and is 63% contained.

Fire crews also burned vegetation in the path of the 54,423-acre Nuns fire, Berlant said, burning in the hills connecting Sonoma and Napa counties.

The Nuns fire has claimed two lives  one in Sonoma County and one in Napa County. The Napa County victim was a Cal Fire contractor driving a water tanker who was killed in a rollover accident.

Overnight, an offshoot of the Nuns fire that ignited Saturday  the Oakmont fire  connected with the rest of the blaze on the northwest flank. Crawford told crews to patrol the area for any new flames in the steep mountainous terrain.

The fire was 80% contained Wednesday morning.

Firefighters are taking a more direct approach with the Tubbs fire to the south, Crawford said. Crews on foot and by air directly attacked flames creeping downhill east toward Napa Valley.

The deadliest of the blazes, the Tubbs fire, was mostly under control by Wednesday. After scorching 36,432 acres and leveling much of the city of Santa Rosa, it was 91% contained.

Firefighters are essentially in a mop-up phase for much of the area, where crews are patrolling for hot spots that could rekindle and chew through unburned vegetation, Crawford said.

Theres a lot of cautious optimism in terms of final containment, but were still not there, Sonoma County spokesman Barry Dugan said. We also understand that these fires can be volatile and weather can change.

Northwest winds with 20-mph gusts were expected over peaks and across canyons in the area Wednesday, officials said.

Most Sonoma County evacuation orders have been lifted for areas that werent burned, but residents in burn areas are still barred from returning home, as are evacuees from Geyserville and parts of the Sonoma Valley, Dugan said.

In Napa County, firefighters continued to uncover more damage from the deadly Atlas fire that raced west down Atlas Peak on Oct. 8, killing six people. The 51,064-acre fire was 83% contained Wednesday.

The total number of buildings destroyed by the blaze Wednesday stood at 421 with another 66 damaged.

Most mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted in Napa County. Some roads are still closed, Napa County officials said Wednesday morning.

As some residents are allowed to return to their homes, please drive carefully as emergency personnel are still working throughout the fire area, authorities warned in a Cal Fire incident report.

In Mendocino County, the Redwood fire has burned 35,800 acres and was 70% contained as of Tuesday night. Residents are returning to their homes there as well, after the Redwood and Sulphur fires combined to destroy 680 structures.

The Redwood Fire efforts are progressing toward full containment, according to a Cal Fire incident report Tuesday. Firefighters will extinguish hot spots around structures and actively mop up as residents repopulate the affected fire areas.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.

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UPDATES:

2:15 p.m.: This article was updated with the names of two more fire victims.

9:05 a.m.: This article was updated with information about firefighting efforts in Sonoma and Napa counties.

This article was originally published at 8:05 a.m.
Jesus Fabian Gonzalez lived in a homeless encampment beneath the Verano Avenue bridge, spanning Sonoma Creek, just a few hundred yards from a cluster of fast-food restaurants and mom-and-pop shops.

He cut an eccentric figure, occasionally seen racing around in a small bicycle, zigzagging in circles in parking lots. Other homeless people knew the diminutive Gonzalez, who sported a shaved head, by his nickname: Oaxaca.

On Sunday afternoon, Gonzalez, 29, was arrested on suspicion of felony arson and booked at the Sonoma County Jail.

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He was screaming really bad things at the police when he was arrested, recalled David Moreno, 29, who witnessed the arrest. He was yelling things like, Im going to teach you a lesson youll never forget.

Gonzalez is being held in lieu of $110,000, according to Sonoma County booking records  $10,000 for the felony arson charge, and $100,000 for a bench warrant issued in Ventura County.

Gonzalez was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in a county jail facility because the courts were closed due to the wildfires in Californias wine country. The arraignment was closed to the public and media.

Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano on Tuesday afternoon tried to tamp down speculation that Gonzalez was responsible for the fires that have killed more than 40 people in Northern California and destroyed thousands of homes.

There is no indication that he is responsible for these fires, Giordano said.

Websites Breitbart and InfoWars linked Gonzalezs arrest to the deadly wildfires.

Breitbart reported, The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) issued a detainer request on the Sonoma County Jail for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, who was arrested Sunday on suspicion of arson in Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents.

Apparently responding to those stories, the Sacramento Bee quoted the sheriff as saying:

There is a story out there that hes the arsonist in these fires. Thats not the case. Theres no indication hes related to these fires at all. ... I wanted to kill that speculation right now, so we didnt have things running too far out of control.

Three Sonoma County probation officers patrolling Maxwell Farms Regional Park just before 3 p.m. Sunday noticed a plume of smoke rising from an area near the Sonoma Creek, Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Misti Harris said.

Gonzalez walked away from the fire as the officers approached, Harris said.

Nobody else was in the area, Harris said.

Sonoma County Sheriffs Department deputies followed Gonzalez to a nearby McDonalds. Gonzalez had previous contacts with law enforcement, she said.

Gonzalez told police he started the fire because he was cold, Harris said. Officers found a lighter in his pocket.

Some homeless people who knew Gonzalez said that he had a habit of setting fire to brush along the creek bed.

Tensions were already high in this smoke-filled region, about 25 miles east of Santa Rosa.

Local mechanic Shawn Stephensen, 40, said, A few days ago I was walking down the street with a gas can and someone driving by stopped to say, I wouldnt be carrying a thing like that around at a time like this.

At first I didnt get it, Stephensen, who knew Gonzalez, said. Then it dawned on me  Oh yeah, instant felony case.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Twitter: @LouisSahagun

laura.nelson@latimes.com

Twitter: @laura_nelson
For more than a year while he was dean of USCs medical school, Dr. Carmen Puliafito abused drugs on days he worked as an eye doctor in university facilities and would return to his medical office to see patients within hours of using methamphetamine, a state investigation alleges.

Puliafito consumed heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs on a near-daily basis at the Keck School of Medicine campus and in other locations, and the physician supplied drugs to other people, including a teenager and a patient in an addiction treatment facility, according to a filing that details the results of an investigation conducted for the Medical Board of California.

A Los Angeles Times investigation in July first sparked the state probe. It may have serious implications for both Puliafito, who could lose his medical license, and the reputation of the university that kept a troubled person in one of its most important and sensitive posts.

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Arthur Caplan, the founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York Universitys Langone Medical Center, called the medical board filing describing Puliafitos alleged misconduct a grim litany and said it ranks among the worst cases against a physician that he had seen.

Its one after another after another of reprehensible conduct, Caplan said.

Puliafito, a once-renowned ophthalmologist who resigned as dean last year, could not be reached for comment. The attorney representing him before the medical board did not respond to a message seeking comment.

USC received complaints about Puliafitos drinking and abusive treatment of colleagues, but administrators have said they were stunned by revelations of his drug use.

As we have previously stated, until July of this year no university leader was aware of any illegal or illicit behavior by Carmen Puliafito and to date there have been no issues or complaints related to patient care. Once the university was aware of his illicit behavior, he was immediately removed from his patient care role and he is no longer employed by the university, USC spokesman Charles Sipkins said Wednesday in a statement.

In the filing, medical board Executive Director Kimberly Kirchmeyer portrayed Puliafito as both an addict and an enabler of addiction. Between February 2015 and November 2016, Puliafito used drugs with a circle of addicts, prostitutes and other criminals. The conduct persisted after he stepped down as dean in March 2016 and continued practicing medicine as a member of the faculty, according to the dates outlined in the filing.

After The Times report, investigators interviewed people who partied with Puliafito and reviewed photos and videos of the physician using drugs and socializing with the group.

Puliafito, who earned more than $1 million a year at USC, bought drugs for group members, the filing states.

Among those to whom he furnished drugs was Huntington Beach teenager Charles Warren, according to the filing that identifies the teen as C.W. Puliafito purchased methamphetamine and pipes for smoking the drug for Warren when he was 17, according to the filing.

In an interview with The Times, Warren, now 19, said that he had never tried any drugs beyond marijuana when the physician gave him methamphetamine. He recalled visiting Puliafito in his deans suite at USC and then accompanying him to a campus parking structure to smoke methamphetamine.

Over the course of 18 months, Puliafito also provided methamphetamine, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and heroin to Warrens 22-year-old sister, Sarah, according to the filing. The Times has previously written about Puliafitos presence in a Pasadena hotel room in March 2016 when Sarah Warren suffered an overdose and was rushed to a hospital.

Sarah Warren told state investigators that around the time of her overdose, Puliafito stashed a bag of heroin, methamphetamine and GHB in a hotel stairwell, according to the filing. The state investigation found that before her overdose, Puliafito covered some of the costs of inpatient rehab for Sarah Warren  identified as S.W.  but also sent her drugs of abuse while she was in treatment.

She told The Times that Puliafito mailed her drugs, hidden in packets of Skittles candy. At one Malibu rehab center, he delivered methamphetamine to her camouflaged in a sunglasses case, she said.

The Warrens and their parents have retained high-profile lawyer Mark Geragos in connection with their contact with Puliafito.

USC banned Puliafito from campus and university medical facilities in the wake of The Times report. He voluntarily surrendered his medical license last month in the midst of an investigation by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, which conducted the inquiry on behalf of the medical board. In the accusation filed in Sacramento last week, Kirchmeyer, the medical boards executive director, asked the board to hold a disciplinary hearing to revoke or suspend Puliafitos license.

Obtaining and using drugs occupied a great deal of time in Puliafitos life, the filing states. While tasked with overseeing hundreds of medical students and thousands of faculty members as dean, he spent nearly every day, including business days, using drugs and driving to see Sarah Warren, according to the filing.

Investigators found that Puliafito wrote prescriptions for both Warrens for various non-addictive drugs and introduced Sarah Warren around campus as his niece. He maintained a secret compartment in his car to hold drugs, the investigators found.

He and his acquaintances often partied at hotels, and as a result of unruly conduct and behavior, including room damage due to drug use, Puliafito was banned from hotels in Pasadena and elsewhere, according to the filing.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

paul.pringle@latimes.com
The last time congressional Republicans mounted a serious push to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, they painted America as a desperate petroleum mess. The need, they said, was clear. The country consumed and imported more oil than ever before, produced less than at any time since World War II and paid near-record prices.

Still, the 2005 bid to drill in the 19.6-million acre wilderness in Alaska failed as Democrats and some Republicans, supported by major environmental groups, pushed back with a politically popular message to conserve one last immense expanse of pristine wildlands from industrial depredation.

For the record: An earlier version of this article contained a reference to the 1022 area. It is 1002.

Today, U.S. oil production is nearing a record 10 million barrels a day, imports are at the lowest level since the mid-1990s and prices are less than half of what they were a decade ago. Against that backdrop, the Republican-led Congress again appears to be focused on drilling in the Arctic refuge.

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press )

As part of the process for preparing the new federal budget, the Senate is expected to approve a resolution late this week that instructs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to write legislation that generates $1 billion in revenue. The committees chairwoman is Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a three-term Republican who has consistently expressed her devotion to new revenue from the Arctic refuge to replace dwindling oil revenue from Alaskas North Slope.

At a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday, prominent Democrats said they viewed the $1-billion demand as a clear signal that Republicans are prepared to wage the fifth consequential political struggle since 1977 that pits oil production against Arctic wilderness protection.

Democrats vowed to block any bill that contains provisions that threaten the refuge.

This is nothing more than a Big Oil polar payout, said Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who, as a member of the House, helped lead the 2005 opposition campaign. This heartless budgetary scam underscores the backward priorities of President Trump and congressional Republicans.

Republican lawmakers and their allies held their powder. The offices of Murkowski and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee did not respond to requests for interviews. Neither did the American Petroleum Institute, which has consistently supported oil exploration in the Arctic refuge.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established in Alaskas northeast corner in 1960 by President Eisenhower for the purpose of preserving unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values. Oil companies first formally expressed their interest in exploring the immense expanse of mountain, tundra and coastal plain in 1977 and were rebuffed by President Carter. In 1980, Congress approved expanding the refuge and also designated 1.5 million acres along the Arctic Ocean coast, known as the 1002 area, to be specifically set aside to study its potential for oil and gas development.

In early March 1989, the Senate approved a measure to lease the coastal plain for energy development. But the proposal died weeks later after the Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled its cargo into Alaskas Prince William Sound. In 1995, Congress tried again and approved a bill that included coastal oil exploration in the refuge. It was vetoed by President Clinton.

Though the 2017 Republican strategy to use the budget-writing process to open the Arctic is similar to the strategy that failed 12 years ago, the message and the forces aligned to support exploration are different. This year, Republican lawmakers are not stressing a dire need for new oil supplies. Instead, they say opening the refuges 1.5 million-acre coastal plain to exploration would generate enough revenue from oil leases and royalties to help reduce Americas budget deficit.

Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke also see opening the refuge to exploration as an important piece of the administrations campaign for American energy dominance. In May, in a speech he delivered in Anchorage to the Alaska Oil and Gas Assn., Zinke signed a secretarial order that directs his agency to update scientific assessments and create a new plan to develop energy resources on the refuges coastal plain and in the National Petroleum Reserve, which lies west of the refuge.

Im a geologist, said Zinke, whose order was greeted with jubilation by Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and the states congressional delegation, all Republicans. Science is a wonderful thing. It helps us understand what is going on deep below the surface of the Earth. We need to use science to update our understanding of the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as Congress considers important legislation to responsibly develop there one day.

Environmental leaders say congressional Republicans are doing the bidding of a fossil fuel sector that is steadily losing market demand in the United States and globally to fuel-efficient engines and the advance of electric vehicles. Oil prices, they argue, are too low to attract companies to undertake expensive exploration and drilling operations in some of the planets harshest weather and in a roadless wilderness.

Several environmental leaders interviewed also noted that they anticipated the issue and have been preparing since Trumps inauguration in January to again argue their case for preventing energy development in the refuge.

The American public recognizes that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a special place. It represents Americas best idea of preserving our natural heritage. This is a crown jewel of that idea, said Ana Unruh Cohen, director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Even in 2005, we rallied to protect it when prices were high. Now, were exporting oil. Its not like we need to sacrifice any of the Arctic for oil company profits.

Schneider is a special correspondent.

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Israeli authorities approved another large set of plans for settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, bringing the total for the week to more than 2,600, settlement watchdog Peace Now said.

Some 1,323 settlement housing units were given a green light on Wednesday, while 2,646 have been advanced this week, it said, as part of a government push to expand West Bank settlement construction.

The plans passed this week, criticised on Wednesday by the European Union, are at various stages in Israel's complex approval process. A planning committee overseeing West Bank settlement construction granted the latest approvals.

Peace Now said the settlement push was "distancing us daily from the possibility of a two-state solution".

"The government is sending a clear message to settlers: Build illegally and anywhere and we will find a solution for you," it said in a statement.

Government officials have pledged a major boost in settlement home approvals this year, with US President Donald Trump so far much less critical of such plans than his predecessor Barack Obama.

Israeli officials say a total of around 12,000 housing units will be given various stages of approval this year, four times the amount in 2016.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and settlement advocates wield heavy influence in his ruling coalition.

In a response to the plans for settlement homes advanced on Tuesday, the European Union called on Israel to reconsider.

"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to ongoing efforts towards meaningful peace talks," an EU statement said.

The bloc voiced particular concern about proposals to build settler homes in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron for the first time since 2002 and about the start of preparatory groundwork in the occupied east Jerusalem area of Givat Hamatos.

Construction in Givat Hamatos would "severely jeopardise the contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state", the EU said, adding that it would continue work with international and regional partners to try to restart dialogue.

Trump has also said he is seeking to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, which have been frozen since a US-led initiative collapsed in 2014.

However, his administration has offered no details of its plans and he has yet to commit to a two-state solution to the conflict -- long the focus of international peace efforts.

Settlement building in the West Bank and occupied east Jerusalem is considered illegal under international law.

It is also seen as a major obstacle to peace as the settlements are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Prominent members of Netanyahu's coalition openly oppose the idea of a Palestinian state and advocate occupying most of the West Bank.

Netanyahu recently said he plans no uprooting of settlements, blaming Palestinian "incitement" and attacks against Israelis, among other issues, for the lack of progress in peace efforts.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Can this school board member be saved?

Ref Rodriguez, who was the president of the Los Angeles Unified school board, was charged last month with three felonies. According to prosecutors, he engaged in money laundering by reimbursing donors for nearly $25,000 in contributions to his campaign for the board. He quickly resigned his position as president, though he stayed on the board. But he offered not a single word of explanation to the public.

Now, new allegations are swirling. The charter school organization that Rodriguez co-founded has filed accusations against him with the state Fair Political Practices Commission. Rodriguez allegedly withdrew $285,000 in 2014 from accounts of the charter group Partnership to Uplift Communities, in amounts small enough not to trigger oversight by the groups board. Most of that money, the group claims, went to a separate nonprofit organization controlled directly by Rodriguez, with little or no accounting of how the money was being used to benefit the schools. No criminal charges have been filed, but the FPPC could eventually refer the matter for criminal prosecution, depending on the outcome of its investigation. Again, Rodriguez has not responded to questions.

Meanwhile, Rodriguezs cousin, who worked for the partnership and requested $188,000 worth of those checks, was allowed to resign from the group on Friday. She also faces criminal charges in the money laundering case.

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Enough already.

Rodriguez hasnt been convicted of anything; the allegations are still just allegations  and The Times editorial board believes people should be considered innocent until theyre proven otherwise. So he has the right to continue receiving his paychecks while the accusations against him are being investigated.

But there are a couple of caveats to that. For one thing, he no longer can remain tight-lipped while such serious allegations are circulating about his financial and campaign dealings. He owes schoolchildren, their parents and the voters answers about the accusations that have been made.

Maybe he can explain it all, quickly producing a set of receipts showing all the ways in which the $285,000 was used legally and transparently to benefit schools and students.

But if he cant  or wont  offer an open and persuasive explanation, Rodriguez wont be able to function successfully on the relatively small and tightknit board that sets policy for all the schools in the district. His legal woes will erode trust in him and in anything he might try to accomplish, especially when it concerns the districts finances. When he speaks or votes, it will be hard for the audience to put aside the extraordinary allegations against him. The unresolved charges will create turmoil on the board, hanging darkly above the dais during meetings and casting a shadow on discussions of policy and budget. Thats not good for students, who need to be the school districts first priority. If he cant beat back that lack of trust with a clear explanation, Rodriguez needs to get off the board. At a minimum he should take a leave from the board until the investigation is concluded.

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Early Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted: As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!

That was an awkward prelude to testimony later in the day by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Only a few hours after Trump portrayed Comey as a friend of Hil, Sessions was reiterating his view that Comey committed a fireable offense by mishandling the investigation of Clintons use of a private email server. In other words, he treated Clinton unfairly.

Of course, that was also supposedly Trumps view on May 9, the day the FBI director was cashiered. According to a White House news release, Trump fired Comey based on the clear recommendation of Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions.

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Attached to Comeys pink slip was a memo in which Rosenstein wrote: I cannot defend the directors handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clintons emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.

But this explanation for Comeys firing was thrown into doubt on May 11 when Trump sat for an interview with NBCs Lester Holt. Trump told Holt that when he decided to fire Comey, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, its an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.

Some have suggested that this doesnt necessarily mean that Trump fired Comey to try to obstruct the investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia. Maybe his real objective was simply to get rid of an FBI director who wouldnt say in public what he told Trump privately: that the president wasnt a target of the investigation.

Either way, Trumps reasons for getting rid of Comey seem to differ from those of Sessions and Rosenstein.

On Wednesday senators asked Sessions whether Trump really fired Comey to end the investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion with Trumps campaign. Session wouldnt comment. Asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein if Trump mentioned Russia, Sessions said he couldnt confirm or deny the existence of any communication with the president that I consider confidential.

But whether or not Trump said something to Sessions about this Russia thing, the presidents tweet on Wednesday further undermines the notion that he was simply channeling Sessions and Rosensteins concerns. (The New York Times reported last month that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has a copy of an earlier draft of a letter dismissing Comey.)

If Sessions isnt going to talk about his conversations with Trump, there may be other ways for Mueller to gain insight into the presidents motivations in firing Comey. On Monday, Muellers team met with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and its not unthinkable that Trump himself will be asked to sit for an interview.

If hes willing to explain himself to Lester Holt, why not to Bob Mueller?

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Orange County at center of fundraising in Californias most contested races By Sarah D. Wire More than half of the money raised for the most contested House races in California is going to candidates in Orange County, another indication of its starring role in the Democratic effort to win back control of the House next year. Of the 80 or so challengers in California, 27 are running in Orange County. A Los Angeles Times analysis of this years campaign finance filings found it is also where the cash is going to: About $15 million of the nearly $28.5 million raised this year for 13 key races went to candidates in just four Orange County districts: Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown plans climate trip to Vatican, Belgium, Norway and Germany By Chris Megerian (Eric Risberg / Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown has mapped out a busy European travel schedule that includes attending the next United Nations conference on climate change in Bonn, Germany. While the White House declares war on climate science and retreats from the Paris Agreement, California is doing the opposite and taking action, Brown said in a statement. We are joining with our partners from every part of the world to do what needs to be done to prevent irreversible climate change. Roughly two dozen public events are planned over 10 days, starting with a speech at a Vatican symposium on Saturday. Brown wont be the only California politician at the conference. Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) is speaking later that day, and state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is scheduled to appear Friday. After the Vatican, the governor is bouncing between Germany and Belgium, plus a stop in Norway to meet with scientists. Hes holding press conferences with the president of the European Parliament and the minister-president of Baden-Wurttemberg, a German state that has collaborated with California on an international climate pact. Once the Bonn conference begins, much of Browns focus will be on how states, provinces and other local governments can tackle climate change absent stronger action from national leaders. He was named a special advisor to the U.N. conference for states and regions earlier this year. Brown is scheduled to appear with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Nov. 11 and speak at numerous other events, a packed itinerary much like the one he kept at the Paris climate conference two years ago. His last event is expected to take place Nov. 14. Facebook

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California business tax incentive program should end, legislative analyst says By Liam Dillon California no longer should give specific tax incentives to businesses and instead should provide broad-based tax relief, the states nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office said in a new report. The analysts office examined California Competes, a program that began four years ago to give tax credits to businesses looking to move to the state or remain here, and found it puts existing companies that dont receive the awards at a disadvantage without clear benefits to the overall economy. Picking winners and losers inevitably leads to problems. In the case of California Competes, we are struck by how awarding benefits to a select group of businesses harms their competitors in California, the report said. We also think the resources consumed by the program are not as focused as they should be on winning economic development competitions with other states to attract major employers that sell to customers around the country and the world. California Competes has allowed the awarding of nearly $800 million in tax credits. The legislative analyst found that more than a third of the credits awarded through California Competes resulted in no change to the overall economy and put the states existing businesses at a competitive disadvantage. The analyst couldnt assess the value of the remainder of the credits because its impossible to know how businesses would have reacted had they not received them. California Competes is scheduled to end next year. The analysts office recommends replacing it by lowering business taxes overall or, should lawmakers want to keep it, tailor the program more narrowly to focus on attracting and retaining high-value companies. Facebook

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Electric companies found at fault in North Bay fires wont be able to pass costs onto residents under proposed bill By Liam Dillon Jason Miller, 45, plants an American flag on the charred remains of his house in Coffey Park. He had lived in the Santa Rosa neighborhood for 23 years. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) If electric utilities are found at fault in the recent wildfires in the North Bay, a group of state lawmakers want to ensure they dont pass along their costs to residents. Victims of devastating fires and other customers should not be forced to pay for the mistakes made by utilities, state Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) said in a release. Hill is one of four Bay Area legislators who said they plan to introduce a bill when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January to block any effort by utilities found at fault to recoup any costs from ratepayers. Investigators have not identified the cause of the wildfires that ripped across Northern California this month that left more than 40 people dead and thousands of homes destroyed. But the lawmakers said their legislation is motivated by San Diego Gas & Electrics efforts to recover costs from wildfires in that region a decade ago. Co-authoring the bill with Hill is Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael). Facebook

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Proposed initiative would end early release for some crimes, allow more DNA collection By Patrick McGreevy (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) A coalition including police officers and prosecutors on Monday proposed a California state initiative that would end early release of rapists and child traffickers and expand the number of crimes for which authorities could collect DNA samples from those convicted. The ballot measure is sponsored by the California Public Safety Partnership, and would reverse some elements of Proposition 47, which was approved by voters in 2014 and reduced some crimes deemed nonviolent from a felony to a misdemeanor. The proposed initiative would add 15 crimes to the list of violent crimes for which early release is not an option, including child abuse, rape of an unconscious person, trafficking a child for sex, domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon. These reforms make sure that truly violent criminals stay in jail and dont get out early, said Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, a leader of the coalition. The initiative would also allow DNA collection for certain crimes, including drug offenses, that were reduced to misdemeanors under Proposition 47. Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) said there have been 2,000 fewer hits matching DNA to cold cases annually in recent years. He cited one case from 1989 involving the murder of two young girls in Sacramento that was solved last year by DNA taken from a man in a drug case before those were excluded from DNA collection. If that case happens today, right now, it does not get solved, said Cooper, a former sheriffs captain. Changes in law also made theft of goods valued at less than $950 a misdemeanor, so some criminals are committing serial thefts and keeping each one to $949 or less, Cooper said. The initiative would make serial theft a felony. The measure also mandates a parole revocation hearing for anyone who violates the terms of their parole three times. A Whittier police officer was recently murdered by a parolee who had violated parole five times, said Los Angeles Police Protective League President Craig Lally, who supports the initiative. A representative of the group behind Proposition 47 said it was not reasonable to blame the ballot measure for an uptick in some crimes in some parts of the state. Fluctuations in crime have much more to do with economic and social policies and practices, said Tom Hoffman, a spokesman for the group Californians for Safety and Justice. Its so much more complicated than one piece of legislation as an issue. The proponents of the initiative need to collect signatures from 365,880 voters by the end of April to qualify the initiative for the November 2018 election. Facebook

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When men with power go too far: After years of whispers, women speak out about harassment in Californias Capitol By Chris Megerian Tina McKinnor, left, Sadalia King, Amy Thoma Tan, Jodi Hicks and Sabrina Lockhart have come forward to talk about their experiences with sexual harassment at the Capitol. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) It started with a dinner invitation from a former assemblyman more than twice her age. He had offered his services as a mentor, but his hand reaching for her knee under the table revealed other intentions. Then came the late-night phone calls and unexpected appearances at events she had to attend for her job in the Capitol. Fresh out of college, Amy Brown did what she thought women were supposed to do in these situations  she reported him. The former assemblyman accused her of slander, an experience that left her so humiliated that she left Sacramento for a new job in San Jose. I immediately got the hell out of town, Brown said. I felt like the people  the person  I was relying on for advancement in my career was preying on me. Stories like these have taken many forms through the years. Sometimes its a professional meeting that turned inappropriately sexual, or its a groping hand on a backside. In one case, a woman said a lawmaker masturbated in front of her in a bar bathroom. No matter the details, each story involves a man with power  the kind of power bestowed by voters, an influential lobbying client or a supply of campaign cash. And instead of wielding that power to shape politics or public policy, the man used it to proposition women or to touch them inappropriately. Read More Facebook

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Big jump in the number of House challengers isnt great news for California Republicans By Christine Mai-Duc So far this year, 80 challengers have reported raising money across California for the 2018 midterm elections, more than triple the number who had done so at this point in the 2016 election. Collectively, theyve raised more than $14.9 million, and 70% of that has gone to the four Republican-held districts in Orange County that Democrats consider key to their chances. There havent been this many congressional challengers in Californias House races this early in the game since at least 2003, and that could be bad news for Republican incumbents. Read More Facebook

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Californias Senate culture doesnt encourage women to file complaints. Heres how that could change By Melanie Mason Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), shown in September, acknowledged that the Senate could improve its procedures for reporting misconduct. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) In 2014, reeling from scandals that led to the suspension of three Democratic senators, Californias state Senate changed its policies to make it easier for employees, members and the public to sound the alarm about misconduct. A Times analysis of those rule changes shows a lack of follow-through to make reporting complaints more accessible. And the lawmaker who worked on changes in the Senates operations after that scandal says more could have been done. Then-Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) suggested at the time that the move would lead to positive cultural change and strengthen the integrity of this great institution. But as the Capitol now soul-searches over allegations of widespread sexual harassment, the current legislative leaders acknowledge the culture still does not encourage women to file complaints. The Senates effort to reform itself three years ago  and how it fell short  is instructive as both legislative houses embark on a new round of self-improvement. Read More Facebook

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Have you experienced sexual harassment in government or politics? Tell us your story If you work in government or politics and have experienced sexual harassment, wed like to hear from you. Please tell us your story using the form below. We will not share your personal contact information. Facebook

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California Assembly Speaker applauds Capitol staffers bravery in going public with complaint against assemblyman By Melanie Mason Gyore spoke publicly for the first time about a 2009 complaint she filed against Bocanegra. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said Friday that the experience of a staffer who filed a complaint eight years ago against now-Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra illustrates why the Capitol culture must change. Elise Flynn Gyore told The Times about her experience filing a complaint against Bocanegra, who was then a legislative staffer, after she said he groped her and followed her in a manner she found threatening at a 2009 after-work event in a Sacramento bar. The Friday morning story in The Times was the first time she had spoken publicly of the incident and the complaint, which resulted in Bocanegra being disciplined. I appreciate Ms. Gyores bravery in bringing this incident forward. We have to change the culture in the Capitol and in society and her experience shows why, Rendon said in a statement Friday afternoon. How incidents of harassment were handled in the past can inform our current efforts to improve the system and to build a future where these injustices are prevented before they happen and no employee has to fear harassment or abuse. Bocanegra, who was first elected in 2012, is part of Rendons leadership team, serving in the position of majority whip. A top lieutenant to Rendon, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), also chimed in with support for Gyore on Friday. I dont know Elise Gyore. But, I believe her & Im grateful for her bravery. This is unacceptable.  Lorena (@LorenaSGonzalez) October 27, 2017 Former Speaker John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles), who led the Assembly from 2010 to 2014, said he was unaware of the complaints existence until The Times report. He said he had never heard of any complaints  formal or informal  against Bocanegra, nor had he witnessed any inappropriate behavior from the Pacoima Democrat. Also on Friday, the organizers of We Said Enough, a recently launched campaign against harassment, thanked Gyore for sharing her story. This is an act of true courage  and we support every woman who chooses to do so. Sadly, this story is just one example of how the existing system fails victims and survivors. We are resolute in our call for action, the group said in a statement. The groups organizers added that they are calling for an overhaul to the complaint process  such as confidential reporting, an independent oversight body and whistleblower protections  to better guard against harassment. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says California Republicans have slavish adherence to their partys tax plan By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) Gov. Jerry Brown took aim at the sweeping tax overhaul plan in Congress and Californias Republican delegation on Thursday, saying their support of the plan is wrong economically and morally. Brown, who joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on a conference call with reporters, aimed most of his fire at the provision to cancel deducting local and state taxes paid from federal taxes. Both governors said it could have a profound impact on their states bottom lines. Brown criticized Californias 14 Republican House members for their Thursday budget vote, which allows for a $1.5-trillion deficit to help finance tax cuts. I know there is a lot of slavish adherence to the Republican leadership, Brown said. Its bad for California. Theyre doing a disservice. California and New York taxpayers have long been able to deduct the cost of paying local and state taxes from their federal tax liability. Both governors said Thursday they believed the effort by President Trump and Republicans to be at least somewhat motivated by their states voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump last November. Its using a handful of states to finance the tax cuts for their states, Cuomo said. Brown, who sent personal letters to all California GOP members of the House urging them not to go along, said the proposal was particularly unfair in light of how it would not apply equally to corporations. Its a gross manipulation of our tax code, he said. Its a Hail Mary pass by the Republicans. Facebook

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Heres why Republicans could help send Dianne Feinstein back to Washington  even if they cant stand her By Mark Z. Barabak Its the voters like Republican Larry Ward  conservatives who feel voiceless and adrift, bobbing like red specks in a blue sea  who could help usher the 84-year-old Dianne Feinstein back to Washington with a new lease on her Senate seat. Like most voters here in El Dorado County, Ward supported President Trump. He cant understand why Democrats and the media pile on and keep him from cutting taxes and fulfilling a campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare. He certainly doesnt think Feinsteins been too kind to Trump  the argument made by her newly announced challenger, Kevin de Leon. The state senator from Los Angeles and others on the left were spitting fire a few weeks back when Feinstein allowed as how she hoped, given time and a radical transformation, Trump might end up being a good president. Read More Facebook

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Car runs into immigration protesters outside Rep. Ed Royces district office By Sarah D. Wire  A vehicle drove into a group of protesters outside of GOP Rep. Ed Royces office in Brea on Thursday afternoon, but no injuries have been reported to police so far. (Tony Mendoza / Unite Here) A vehicle drove into a group of protesters outside GOP Rep. Ed Royces office in Brea on Thursday afternoon, but no injuries have been reported to police so far. The alleged driver, 56-year-old Daniel Wenzek of Brea, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked and released pending further investigation, according to Lt. Kelly Carpenter of the Brea Police Department. Organizers say several hundred people were protesting outside Royces office, many of them arriving on buses after a morning news conference with elected officials and labor leaders in Los Angeles MacArthur Park. They were trying to deliver letters to Royce (R-Fullerton) about what losing temporary protected immigration status would mean to them, said Andrew Cohen, a communications specialist with the organization Unite Here. Read More Facebook

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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla backs Gavin Newsom for governor over former colleague Antonio Villaraigosa By Seema Mehta California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, left, and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the highest-ranking Latino in a statewide elected position in California, endorsed Gavin Newsom for governor on Thursday. Padilla said he had known Newsom for more than a decade and admired his track record as mayor of San Francisco and now lieutenant governor. Its always important to [have] leaders that are committed and get it done, and thats what Ive seen in Gavin Newsom over and over and over again, Padilla said, speaking to dozens of Newsom supporters at a union hall in downtown Los Angeles. The endorsement was seen as a slap at former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is one of Newsoms top rivals in the governors race. Padilla was president of the Los Angeles City Council during the two years Villaraigosa was a member of the body, and for the first six months of Villaraigosas tenure as mayor. But the two men have never been viewed as close allies. They come from different power bases for Latino politicians in Los Angeles  Villaraigosa from the Eastside and Padilla from the San Fernando Valley. They also have not supported each others political pursuits. In 2001, Padilla backed James Hahn over Villaraigosa in the mayoral race. In 2006, Villaraigosa backed Cindy Montanez in a state Senate race over Padilla. Padilla said he has a relationship with all of the top Democrats running for governor. This is a tough one because I do know Antonio Villaraigosa and I know John Chiang and I know Gavin Newsom, but I think that because of whats happening in the political environment at this time, this isnt one where we can sit back, Yeah. OK. Cool, lets see who wins and well work with whoever, Padilla said. If there is a candidate I believe is best for the future of California, Im compelled to weigh in and thats what Im doing today. Luis Vizcaino, a Vilaraigosa spokesman, said the announcement was to be expected and noted that Padilla had a leadership role in Newsoms short-lived 2009 gubernatorial campaign. The only surprise here is we thought Alex had endorsed Gavin months ago considering he was Gavins Campaign Chair the first time he ran for governor, Vizcaino said in an email. Villaraigosa and Chiang, the state treasurer, have also received key endorsements from Latino politicians. Villaraigosa has the backing of the Latino Caucus in the state Legislature, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and Lucille Roybal-Allard. Chiang has won the support of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. Updated at 2:07 p.m.: This post was updated to add a comment from Villaraigosas campaign. Facebook

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Californias Rep. Paul Cook picked to lead Foreign Affairs subcommittee By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) has been named chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) made the announcement in a news release Thursday morning following the former subcommittee chairman Rep. Jeff Duncans (R-S.C.) departure from the committee this week. As a former Marine Corps colonel, Rep. Cook is deeply committed to defending U.S. interests worldwide. I look forward to working with him to continue holding the [Raul] Castro and [Nicolas] Maduro regimes [of Cuba and Venezuela, respectively] accountable for their brutal repression, while increasing U.S. commercial opportunities throughout the hemisphere, Royce said in a statement. California holds several leadership positions on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) is the chairman of the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats subcommittee. Rep. Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks is the highest ranking Democrat on the Asia and the Pacific subcommittee and Rep. Karen Bass of Los Angeles is the highest ranking Democrat on the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations subcommittee. Facebook

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GOP tightens restrictions on Rep. Dana Rohrabachers subcommittee because of scrutiny over his Russia connections By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Dana Rohrabacher speaks to Russian lawmakers at a meeting in the Russian parliaments lower house in Moscow in 2013. (Misha Japaridze / Associated Press) The congressional subcommittee led by California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) is being heavily monitored by GOP leaders because of allegations the Orange County congressman has been overly influenced by his connections to Russia. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) will be more involved in guiding the direction of the subcommittee that is in part responsible for examining U.S. policy in Russia, said a senior congressional aide who asked not to be identified in order to discuss internal committee matters. Rohrabacher has long said that the United States needs a better relationship with Russia, puzzling colleagues who have speculated privately about why hes willing to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Connections between Rohrabacher and Russian officials have been newly highlighted as Congress investigates Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Read More Facebook

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Californias GOP members vote in favor of Republican budget, paving way for tax overhaul By Sarah D. Wire All 14 California House Republicans on Thursday voted in favor of the GOPs budget, which paves the way for overhauling the U.S. tax system. The budget, which allows for a $1.5-trillion deficit increase that sets the stage for President Trumps tax cuts, passed 216 to 212, with 20 Republicans joining Democrats in opposing it. At the root of their objection is the potential repeal of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, which would hit especially hard in wealthier states like New York and California. Gov. Jerry Brown had implored the GOP members not to support the budget, saying there hasnt been enough time to fully understand what it will mean to the estimated 1 in 3 Californians who claim the deduction. Democrats are targeting nine of the states 14 Republican-held districts, and have said theyll make the elimination of the tax deduction an issue in the campaign. Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale said he voted for the budget because hes been assured that a fix will be made to the tax plan that will address or offset the potential tax increase caused by the elimination of the tax deduction. The tax plan is scheduled to be unveiled next week. Still worried about it, still working on it, Knight said after the vote. I am confident [it will be fixed], but Ive also said that is my No. 1 priority, so if we cant get it fixed then were going to have problems. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown urges California GOP House members to vote no on budget bill: First lets get the facts By Sarah D. Wire Gov. Jerry Brown implores each GOP member of California delegation to vote no on budget today over end of state and local tax deduction. pic.twitter.com/bkCihAtvFG  Sarah D. Wire (@sarahdwire) October 26, 2017 Gov. Jerry Brown implored Californias GOP House members to oppose their partys budget bill over a provision that will end a deduction for state and local taxes used by one in three Californians. In letters to each Republican member of the California congressional delegation, Brown asked the members to at least ask for more time to learn the specifics of the plan. First lets get the facts. Then, debate the issue. And then we can decide whats the right thing to do, Brown says in his letter. The potential repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction  the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes paid  would hit especially hard in wealthier areas. The vote is scheduled to take place Thursday morning. Facebook

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Six female California lawmakers back Dianne Feinstein in Senate race By Sarah D. Wire Assemblywomen Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, right, and Susan Talamantes-Eggman in May. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Six California Assembly committee chairwomen endorsed Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday over their state Capitol colleague, Senate leader Kevin de Leon. In a statement released by Feinsteins campaign, Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), Blanca E. Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) said the state needs Feinstein in these uncertain and difficult times. We are proud to endorse Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has been an inspiration for all of us. The first woman to serve on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Feinstein is now the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. In that position, she is defending California against the Republicans and the Trump administration on critical issues like immigration, womens rights, federal judicial appointments, LGBT rights, civil rights, and gun control, they said. De Leon is the highest-profile Democrat to announce plans to challenge Feinstein in her bid for a fifth full term. Facebook

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Kevin de Leon vows to back Medicare for all, signaling key issue in 2018 Senate campaign By Sarah D. Wire State Senate leader Kevin de Leons opening salvo in the U.S. Senate race against Sen. Dianne Feinstein takes on one of the main frustrations progressives have voiced with her, a refusal to support single-payer health care. I believe that every family, it doesnt make a difference who you are or where you come from, deserves to have quality healthcare. It is a universal right, De Leon says in a video released by his campaign Wednesday. Its not the exclusive privilege of the elite and the wealthy. The concept of single-payer healthcare has grown in popularity among Democrats since the 2016 election, with some members of the so-called Sanders wing of the party urging Democrats to use support for it as a litmus test in 2018. Such a program is unlikely to become law while Republicans control both chambers of Congress. Feinstein has said she doesnt support expanding Medicare to the entire population at this stage and has cited the cost of doing so as a reason. If he were elected, De Leon would join Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and 15 other Democratic Senators as co-sponsors of the bill proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris wont back federal spending bill without DACA fix By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that she wont back a bill that allows the federal government to spend money unless Congress has a legislative fix to address the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children. I will not vote for an end-of-year spending bill until we are clear about what we are going to do to protect and take care of our DACA young people in this country, Harris said. Each day in the life of these young people is a very long time, and weve got to stop playing politics with their lives. President Trump announced in September that he was giving Congress until March before the program would shutter and recipients would begin losing work permits and protection from deportation. An estimated 200,000 of the nearly 800,000 recipients of the Delayed Action for Childhood Arrivals program live in California, giving the Golden State an outsized stake in resolving their legal status. Harris spoke at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday with other members of the California delegation to urge quick action on the issue. It is absolutely urgent that we pass the legislation, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said. We are determined that the Dream Act will be the law of the land before the year is out. Democrats and Republicans are negotiating the details of a fix, and when something could pass. Pelosi has hinted that if Republicans dont have the votes within their party to pass the end-of-year spending bill, which Congress has to pass to keep the government open, Democrats will offer their votes  for a price. Facebook

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher gets a second Republican challenger By Christine Mai-Duc A second Republican is jumping in to challenge GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, and hes pitching himself as an alternative for conservatives who are fed up with Rohrabachers controversial antics. Paul Martin, 52, is a freelance writer and self-proclaimed Reagan Republican who lives in Costa Mesa. Rohrabacher is himself a former speechwriter for Reagan. Martin grew up in Anaheim with an Italian immigrant mother and a Mexican American father, and says hes opposed to many of the policies coming out of the Trump administration. Ive had enormous struggle with the rhetoric thats coming out of Washington, D.C., and even more so with the rhetoric that comes out of Dana Rohrabachers mouth, Martin said in an interview. Its just not in the spirit that I grew up with. Following President Trumps travel ban announcement, Martin started the Christian-Muslim Alliance, a campaign aimed at fostering dialogue between people of different faiths. He describes himself as a raging centrist on a personal blog, where hes criticized Trumps response to white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va., and Rohrabacher for taking money from the National Rifle Assn. Still, Martin says hes a true conservative who wants to focus on issues of human dignity and bring better-paying jobs to the district. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott send a message with their World Series bet By John Myers (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) As governors of states hit hard by natural disasters, the leaders of California and Texas hope to send a message with their wager on the outcome of the World Series. The winner will receive food or drink from either Californias wine country or Houstons best barbecue joints. The bet, made Tuesday before the start of the first World Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros, came with a request from both Gov. Jerry Brown and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for tourists to come back to those regions as soon as possible. While we dont expect to have to send any vino to Texas, we hope travelers from all over the world  yes, even the Lone Star State  will continue to visit California, said Brown in a written statement. If the Dodgers win, Abbott will send Brown Texas-style barbecue and a six-pack of Houston-brewed beer. Should the Astros prevail, Brown has promised wine from the Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino regions. Texas and California are recovering from some of the worst natural disasters our states have ever encountered, Abbott said in a joint statement from the two governors. As we work to overcome these challenges, our two states are united by Americas pastime as we cheer on our home teams in the World Series. Go Astros! Facebook

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California Assembly to hold public hearings to address sexual harassment By Melanie Mason Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, right. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The California Assembly will hold public hearings next month to address sexual harassment in the Capitol, Democratic lawmakers announced Tuesday, as allegations of pervasive mistreatment continue to ripple through Sacramento. The announcement comes one day after the California Senate announced it has hired lawyers and human resources consultants to investigate allegations of widespread sexual harassment and evaluate Senate procedures. In a joint statement, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) said that sexual harassment of any kind is intolerable. The lawmakers say a three-pronged approach is necessary to confront the issue: changing a climate that has been permissive to sexual harassment, offering victims have a safe place to discuss complaints and ensuring that sexual harassment is dealt with expeditiously and that the seriousness of consequences match the violations committed, they said in a statement. Vowing a comprehensive effort to address these issues, lawmakers said there will be public hearings in November to discuss how the Legislature can tackle the issue. The panel, tasked to discuss harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention and response, is chaired by Friedman and was formed in June, though it has not yet met. The panel is a subcommittee of the powerful Rules committee, chaired by Cooley, which functions as the chambers de facto human resources department. As we move forward, we must remember that the bottom line is harassers need to stop their abusive actions, the statement said. The rest of us need to call out harassment and abuse by its name and stigmatize this behavior each and every single time we see it. Adama Iwu, who helped organize the public letter published last week decrying an atmosphere of sexual harassment in the Capitol, said she and some of the women who signed the letter were concerned if any victim would be asked to testify with no legal guarantee against retaliation. Furthermore, we are concerned about the divergent paths of the Assembly and Senate, Iwu said in a statement. It is imperative that we work with outside experts, as part of a public independent review with whistleblower protections, to address the pervasive culture of sexual harassment in the Capitol community. Meanwhile, the trade association representing lobbyists, the Institute of Governmental Advocates, said in a statement Tuesday that it unequivocally supports [the women who signed the letter] and any other person in our Capitol community who has suffered harassment. Dates for the hearings, which are expected in late November, have not been set. Facebook

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Recall effort against Sen. Josh Newman still on track after too few voters request to remove their names from petitions By Patrick McGreevy State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), left, listens to debate in June on a measure to change the rules governing recall elections. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Of the more than 70,600 voters who signed petitions to hold a recall vote on state Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton, only 849 asked that their signatures be withdrawn by the deadline, clearing a major hurdle for an election on whether to oust the Democratic lawmaker, officials said Tuesday. Opponents of the recall needed to get more than 7,000 voters to withdraw their signatures to deprive supporters of the 63,593 signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot, under a new system approved recently by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that slows down the process. Sen. Josh Newman has spent months lying to his constituents by claiming people were duped into signing the recall petition against him, and with todays tally, he has been unmasked again as a pathological liar who is unfit to hold office, said Carl DeMaio, a Republican activist heading the recall drive. We eagerly look forward to voters having a chance to vote him out for his lies and his decision to increase the gas tax. Newman won a close contest last November in a district formerly represented by a Republican. He was targeted for recall by Republican activists for voting in April for a $52-billion transportation plan that raises gas taxes and imposes a new annual vehicle fee. A successful recall would deprive Democrats of a supermajority in the Senate. Once Secretary of State Alex Padilla certifies that there are sufficient valid signatures based on the data collected Tuesday, the new process calls for him to notify the state Department of Finance, which will be given 30 business days to prepare a cost estimate for the recall election. Once the estimate is prepared, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee will have 30 calendar days to review and comment on the estimate, said Sam Mahood, a spokesman for Padilla. On the following business day, the secretary of State will certify to the governor that the recall has qualified for the ballot. That could happen as late as Jan. 11 if the reviews take all the time allotted. Gov. Jerry Brown must then call an election to be held 60 to 80 days later, or within 180 days if there is a regularly scheduled election within Senate District 29 during that period. There will be a June 2018 primary election for the Assembly districts that make up the Senate District, so Brown could consolidate the Senate recall vote with that state primary. However, the new, longer process could end up being abandoned if supporters of the recall are successful in a lawsuit alleging the new rules are improper. At the same time, opponents of the recall have filed a lawsuit to block the recall, alleging petition circulators misled voters by saying their signatures would help repeal the gas tax. The underhanded methods used to qualify this recall likely represent one of the worst cases of voter fraud in California history, said Derek Humphrey, a consultant for the Newman campaign. Now, millions of tax dollars will be wasted to redo an election the Sacramento special interests lost barely a year ago. Its a shameful waste of money that voters will soundly reject and vote to keep Josh Newman fighting for them in the state Senate. Facebook

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Rep. Devin Nunes announces investigation into Obama-era uranium deal By David S. Cloud House Republicans are opening investigations of the Obama administrations 2010 decision to approve the sale of American uranium mines to a Russian-backed company, and California Rep. Devin Nunes is at the forefront. Nunes (R-Tulare), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said at a news conference that his panel and the House Oversight Committee would jointly probe the deal, which President Trump has called the real Russia story. Nunes and other Trump supporters have raised the 7-year-old uranium deal while four congressional committees and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III are looking into Russia interference the 2016 election and whether Moscow had any direct links to the Trump campaign. Read More Facebook

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Former deputy director of California tax agency says he was fired for whistleblowing By Patrick McGreevy The state Capitol (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A former deputy director of the state Board of Equalization said Tuesday he was improperly fired this month after cooperating with a state Department of Justice investigation into allegations that agency officials improperly used public resources. Mark DeSio was fired Oct. 12 as the director for external affairs of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, which recently was split off from the board in an agency shakeup. He has filed a whistleblower complaint and appeal to the state Personnel Board seeking reinstatement to his position. He alleges the agency before its split up was rife with nepotism and that there is improper hiring and use of employees from one fund to instead help elected board members in field offices. For more than a year, DeSio gave information about the BOE to the Department of Justice and several state agencies and auditors, right up until the time of his firing, said a press release from his attorney, Mary-Alice Coleman. Despite being pressured, DeSio refused to engage in certain activities. DeSios job was threatened multiple times during the course of his employment. In April, Gov. Jerry Brown called for a Justice Department probe of allegations that employees of the state Board of Equalization misused state resources assigning high-paid tax auditors to tasks such as directing traffic for community events promoting elected board members. Brown also set in motion steps that broke up the agency in June, putting the five-member board in one office, and tax collection and appeal system in two other offices. At the time, Brown cited serious problems of mismanagement identified in a Department of Finance audit of the agency, which is responsible for collecting $60 billion in tax revenue annually. DeSio said he has also provided information on alleged improprieties to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which investigates political wrongdoing. Days before he was notified of his termination, DeSio said he told Department of Justice investigators that the board had misused 30 information officer positions as personal staff for board members. He also said supervisors overruled him when he refused to hire 10 new call center employees from funds not set aside for that purpose. He said 10 people were hired even after Brown had revoked the agencys hiring power. DeSios complaint alleges that in August 2016, board member Jerome Horton pressured DeSio to promote a particular employee who was funded by DeSios office, but actually worked in Hortons office. When DeSio refused, saying the employee was not the top-scoring candidate, the complaint says Horton became angry and his chief of staff threatened DeSio. Board Executive Director David Gau, the complaint alleges, contacted Desio and told him to either do what Horton wanted or be fired. After meeting with Department of Finance auditors, DeSio said he was contacted by Horton in November 2016. Horton demanded to know what DOF had asked and what documentation Desio had provided in response. DeSio said he refused to disclose what he gave the auditor. Horton threatened DeSio, saying, I only need one more vote to take you out, the complaint alleges. Horton disputed the allegations. If he has filed a complaint, the facts will show that I had an excellent professional relationship with Mr. DeSio and the allegations are not true, I had nothing to do with his termination, Horton said in a statement. Gau did not immediately respond to requests for comment. DeSio also alleged multiple cases of nepotism in the agency. In one example, he alleges agency officials improperly orchestrated the hiring of the man whose wife worked for a top manager at the agency. Updated at 3 pm to include comment from Board member Jerome Horton. Facebook

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Want the Sierra Clubs endorsement? Here are its standards By Chris Megerian The Sierra Club is setting some ground rules for California gubernatorial candidates that may want its endorsement. No. 1 on the list is independence from the oil industry, which has been a fault line in the Capitol during debates over climate change policies. This year, given how important Californias role has become to the nation for leadership on the environment, it made sense to lay out in advance what some of the overall characteristics that the endorsement committee will be looking for in candidates, said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California. Other requirements include independence from the tobacco and e-cigarette industry and a commitment to public health, environmental equity and transparency. Facebook

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California Senate hires investigators to look into sexual harassment allegations By Melanie Mason California Senate leader Kevin de Leon will hire two outside firms to look into allegations of a widespread culture of sexual harassment in the state Capitol. De Leon announced Monday he has hired the law office of Amy Oppenheimer to conduct an external investigation into harassment and assault allegations, and the consulting firm CPS HR Consulting to review Senate policies on harassment, discrimination and retaliation. De Leon also sent letters to lobbyists in the Capitol community detailing how existing rules protect non-employees. Theres always more employers can do to protect their employees, De Leon said in a statement. Everyone deserves a workplace free of fear, harassment and sexual misbehavior and I applaud the courage of women working in and around the Capitol who are coming forward and making their voices heard. The women behind an open letter sent last week calling out a pervasive culture of mistreatment in the political industry said that De Leons actions were insufficient. More than 140 women, including legislators, Capitol staff, political consultants and lobbyists, signed the letter. To find the truth and rebuild trust, we need a truly independent investigation, not a secretly hand-picked self-investigation, said Adama Iwu, a government affairs director for Visa who spearheaded the campaign. We need full transparency. How was this firm selected? Who will they report their findings to? What exactly are they investigating? Is the Assembly involved? Meanwhile, the women who have signed the letter, who have coalesced into a group called We Said Enough, announced they were formalizing their advocacy efforts on Monday by launching a nonprofit organization. The group plans to hold forums to outline a plan of action for improving how harassment and abuse complaints are reported, investigated and addressed. Facebook

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Kevin de Leon has millions in state campaign accounts that cant be rolled over to his Senate race By Patrick McGreevy State Senate leader Kevin De Leon has millions of dollars socked away in state campaign accounts, but federal law prohibits him from rolling over the money into his federal campaign for the U.S. Senate. So what options does the Los Angeles legislator have as he puts together a campaign to unseat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a fellow Democrat, in next years election? Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown heads to Washington to talk about the threat of nuclear war Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: What happens next in Sacramentos discussion of sexual harassment is important By John Myers Theres a big, challenging question beyond the initial shock of sexual harassment stories told by women working in California politics: What happens next? On this weeks California Politics Podcast, we discuss the allegations that have emerged from an open letter first reported by The Times on Tuesday. And a key part of the next chapter is how legislative leaders and the states major political parties respond to the concerns raised in the letter signed by more than 140 women. We also take a closer look at the new effort by wealthy activist Tom Steyer to demand impeachment proceedings against President Trump, and whether the San Francisco Democrat is thinking seriously about jumping into the U.S. Senate race. And with Gov. Jerry Browns action on hundreds of bills complete, we offer up a few notable decisions in those final signings and vetoes. Im joined by Times staff writer Melanie Mason and Marisa Lagos of KQED. Facebook

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Sen. Tom Cotton chides Californians: Your sanctuary cities werent enough, you had to have a sanctuary state instead By Phil Willon Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton addresses the California Republican Party at its fall convention in Anaheim. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton told California Republicans they should expect better days ahead, in part, because of liberal overreach by California Democrats on taxes, immigration and other issues affecting the daily lives of working-class Americans. Cotton invoked the memory of former president and California governor Ronald Reagan as a guiding light, and ridiculed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) as a harbinger of doom. All it takes is a little new thinking applied with old principles. The principles of Ronald Reagan, Cotton told a packed ballroom at the California Republican Partys fall convention in Anaheim on Saturday. Cottons keynote address hewed toward traditional conservative themes and was peppered with light moments and witty jabs about the Democrats grip on California politics. When Jerry Brown has to veto your legislation because its too liberal, you might have to take a look in the mirror, Cotton told the crowd. It was a big departure from the speech the night before by GOP firebrand Steve Bannon, President Trumps former political strategist. Bannon unleased attacks on former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). He told Republicans they needed to rise up in California or else the progressive left and lords of the Silicon Valley would try to secede from the union in 10 to 15 years. Cotton, who at 40 is the youngest member of the U.S. Senate, is widely believed to be eyeing a run for higher office. During the 2016 Republican National Convention, he was the most active politician on the breakfast circuit, visiting the South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and California delegations. California, of course, is home to more than 5 million Republican voters and has been a wellspring of political cash for GOP presidential candidates. Cottons message of hope has been a running theme throughout the three-day GOP gathering as the state party tries once again to turn things around in left-leaning California. The partys share of the state electorate has fallen to 26% and no Republican has been elected to statewide office since 2006. Cotton, however, told the party faithful to remain upbeat. Californias Republican members of Congress play a pivotal role in Washington, and there are ample opportunities to rekindle the partys presence in Sacramento and throughout the state. Cotton zeroed in on the new gas tax and vehicle fee hike in the state, which would raise $5.2 billion annually for transportation and mass transit improvements, saying it would hurt ordinary Californians. If you live in West L.A. or San Francisco and you have the money to afford a Tesla, maybe youll be OK, Cotton said. What about the farmer in the Central Valley who has a pickup truck and needs to fill it up three times a week? He also took shots at the so-called sanctuary state law signed this month by Gov. Jerry Brown, which will limit law enforcement agencies from questioning and detaining people for immigration violations. Your sanctuary cities werent enough, you had to have a sanctuary state instead, Cotton said. So all your citizens will face greater danger no matter where they live. Before he took the stage, the state GOP played a short video introduction of the Arkansas senator, focused on his experiences serving as an Army officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Washington, Cotton was a harsh critic of President Obama and is considered a hawk on national defense. During a hearing in June, Cotton also openly mocked the idea of the Trump administration colluding with Russia. Facebook

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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticizes Gov. Brown, lauds Trump at California GOP convention By Seema Mehta McCarthy is lauding Trump for his "character and vision and understanding," compares him to Reagan. #cagop17 pic.twitter.com/AlyvgOvQWF  Seema (@LATSeema) October 21, 2017 House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) on Saturday blasted Gov. Jerry Brown over Democrats positioning the state as the liberal resistance to President Trump and for legislative efforts to circumvent the presidents policies. Brown, he warned, could be viewed similarly to southern governors who sought to pick and choose which federal laws to uphold during the civil rights era. He focused on Browns recent signing of a bill to make California a so-called sanctuary state, which will limit law enforcement agencies from questioning and detaining people for immigration violations. I dont think history will be very kind to Gov. Brown, McCarthy told a few hundred delegates and guests at a luncheon at the California Republican Party convention in Anaheim. California is a critical part of Democrats efforts to retake the House of Representatives, with a focus on seven Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election. Only one of the Republican representatives of those targeted districts had appeared at the convention as of Saturday afternoon, Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine. McCarthy said Vice President Mike Pence raised $5 million for the efforts to protect the seats during a recent three-day fundraising trip through California, but he did not otherwise go into detail about the congressional battle expected in 2018. He instead lashed out at Republican members of the state Legislature who voted for Democratic policies. My advice to those Assembly members in Sacramento: You will not win a majority by thinking youll be Democrat-light. You will win the majority by showing the differences in the party, McCarthy said. You will not win the majority by voting against your own principles on a Democratic policy, and let Democratic targets vote no. You will not win the majority if youre concerned about being able to stand behind a podium with a Democratic governor instead of giving the freedom to Californians across this entire state. McCarthy did not name the members he was speaking about, but it was clear he was referring to Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) and other Republicans who voted for an extension of the states cap-and-trade program this year. Mayes stepped down as Assembly Republican leader under pressure from others in his party who were upset over his vote for the climate change program, which requires companies to purchase permits to release greenhouse gases. McCarthy spoke a day after former Trump White House advisor Stephen K. Bannon addressed the group. Bannon has declared war on the GOP establishment, of which McCarthy is a member. McCarthy did not push back at Bannons remarks, which included criticism of former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Rather, McCarthy lauded Trumps vision, compared him to former President Reagan and pointed to economic gains and regulatory reform since Trump took office. What a difference nine months and one election makes, McCarthy said. What a difference: A man who ran for president on issues and keeps his word and actually enacts the things he promised to do. Trump has tried to enact many of his campaign promises but has been unsuccessful on several priorities, including a travel ban on citizens from Muslim-majority countries and a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Tax reform is the latest priority on the Republicans agenda, and McCarthy promised that Congress would push a package by Thanksgiving that includes lowering rates for small businesses and corporations, and simplifying the tax code from seven income tax brackets to three. He also spoke out in support of one of the more controversial parts of the proposal: eliminating the deduction of state and local taxes. I dont think its fair for somebody else to subsidize poor management in California, McCarthy said. Look at the entire [tax reform] bill when it comes out, you will pay less. But no longer can Sacramento say, Im going to raise the rates just because Ill have the federal government subsidize it. They will have to be held accountable for when they want to raise taxes. Facebook

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Gold Star father Khizr Khan, who clashed with Trump during the election, goes after him again in California By Phil Willon Khizr Khan at the National Union of Healthcare Workers conference in Anaheim on Saturday. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq who feuded with Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, on Saturday criticized the Trump White House for its clash with a widow of a fallen soldier this week. Khan, speaking to reporters after addressing a National Union of Healthcare Workers conference in Anaheim, said the families of all military members killed in combat deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, especially in the days and weeks immediately following the death of their loved one. It was disappointing to see the behavior of [the White House], Khan said, before criticizing Trump administration officials for standing in front of the cameras and providing a defense for the indefensible behavior. Khans comments came just days after the uproar over Trumps call to the widow of Army Sgt. La David T. Johnson of Florida, one of four U.S. soldiers who died in an Oct. 4 ambush in Niger. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson of Florida was with Johnsons wife, Myeshia Johnson, in a car when the widow took Trumps call on speakerphone. Wilson publicly described Trumps comments as insensitive, saying he suggested that the sergeant knew what he was getting into when he joined the Army. White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, whose son was killed in combat, defended the presidents comments, saying that he advised Trump on what to say and that the president was trying to praise Johnsons unselfish military service as well as offer words of comfort to his widow. Khan avoided attacking Trump directly or expanding on his remarks, saying he will address the controversy in more detail after Johnsons memorial services. The clash between Khan and Trump ignited after Khans speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. There, Khan ripped into Trump, then the Republican nominee for president. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son the best of America. If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America, Khan said at the convention. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities  women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us from this country. Trump responded by questioning whether Khans wife, who stood by her husbands side during the couples high-profile appearance, was silent because of her Muslim faith. The controversy ignited by Trumps jabs at a Gold Star family dragged on for days, and he drew rebukes from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). During his speech to the healthcare union Saturday, Khan lamented the loss of civility in national political discourse and pointed squarely at the president. He said the current White House has sown division by attacking immigrants and belittling political rivals. Facebook

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California Teachers Assn. votes to endorse Gavin Newsom for governor By Seema Mehta Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with participants of a march in Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide in April. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) The politically influential California Teachers Assn. on Saturday endorsed Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for governor, praising his support for public schools and his promise to hold charter schools more accountable. Gavin has long supported increased funding for education and is committed to making investing in students a top priority as governor, CTA President Eric Heins said in a written statement Saturday. He supports a public education system that attracts, not attacks, teachers, universal preschool and affordable college for all. The move is not entirely surprising given the antagonism between one of Newsoms top Democratic rivals, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and teachers unions in California. Villaraigosa launched his career as a union organizer, including for United Teachers Los Angeles, and labor played a critical role in getting him elected to office. But after he tried to gain control of Los Angeles schools, he questioned policies fiercely guarded by teachers unions, such as seniority protections that resulted in regular layoff notices to younger teachers who tend to staff the most challenging schools. He grew to support using student test scores to evaluate teachers and other overhauls opposed by union leaders. Villaraigosa, who eventually gained control of more than a dozen struggling city schools through a nonprofit, ultimately blasted the citys teachers union where he once worked as the largest obstacle to creating quality schools. The teachers association also passed over Democrat Delaine Eastin, a long-shot candidate who jumped into the 2018 governors race last year. Eastin, who served as Californias state superintendent of public instruction, has vowed to put education at the forefront of her campaign. The key question going forward is how much CTA plans to invest in the governors race and how it plans to spend it. In 2014, the union spent $12 million to defeat Marshall Tuck, a huge sum in an obscure race to be state superintendent of public instruction. A Democrat and former charter school leader, Tuck was hired by Villaraigosa to run the nonprofit that oversaw his schools. Tuck, who narrowly lost his race in 2014 against an incumbent, is running for state superintendent again in 2018. CTA on Saturday also endorsed his opponent, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond). Facebook

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Bannons mention of Sen. John McCain, George W. Bush draws boos at California GOP convention By Seema Mehta  Former Trump White House advisor Stephen K. Bannon ripped into former President George W. Bush and Arizona Sen. John McCain Friday night at the California Republican Party Convention in Anaheim, saying there has not been a more destructive presiden Mere mentions of former President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) drew loud boos and catcalls as former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon derided the GOP leaders in his address to California Republicans on Friday night at their fall convention in Anaheim. Bannon, who runs the far-right website Breitbart News, blasted Bush for his harsh assessment of Trump and his policies, which the former president delivered at a policy seminar in New York on Thursday. Bush suggested that Trump has promoted bigotry and falsehoods, violating this countrys values. President Bush to me embarrassed himself. Speech writers wrote a highfalutin speech, Bannon said. Its clear he didnt understand anything he was talking about.  Just like it was when he was president of the United States. Bannon, who was ousted from the White House in August but said he considers himself Trumps wingman, didnt stop there. He ripped into Bush, saying he allowed China to grow as a world power under the premise that global engagement might shepherd the county toward democracy. Theres not been a more destructive presidency than George Bushs, Bannon said. Bannon also had no love for McCain, who has openly clashed with Trump and helped torpedo Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The crowd at #CAGOP17 just booed George W. Bush and John McCain. "Hang him!" one man yelled about McCain.  Seema (@LATSeema) October 21, 2017 He praised McCains military service, but said as a politician, Hes just another senator from Arizona. The boos from the crowd of Republican donors and activists show how much the state party has changed as its influence has waned and its numbers have dwindled in California. The brand of conservatism belonging to Bush and McCain resonated with Californias GOP voters during their presidential campaigns. Both men forged deep ties with the states Republican elected leaders and donors, raising tens of millions of dollars here for their political campaigns. In California, Bush received 1.1 million more votes in the November 2004 presidential election than Trump did last November. McCain received almost 600,000 more votes in the November 2008 presidential election than Trump received in the state in 2016. Read More Facebook

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College journalists say covering Bannon at GOP convention prepares them for Yiannopoulos on campus By Anh Do Student journos Amy Wells + Brandon Pho of #CalSrateFullerton say peers are interested in party politics, esp info collected by young ppl. pic.twitter.com/b2MikBGnQD  ANH DO (@newsterrier) October 21, 2017 Student journalists Amy Wells and Brandon Pho from Cal State Fullerton teamed up outside Anaheims Marriott Hotel as night descended, assigned to cover Stephen K. Bannons speech and protesters targeting him. We dont underestimate how movements can pull in more youth, especially if they hear other youth pushing it on social media, said Pho, a sophomore majoring in journalism. Were always on the lookout for more policy to dig into because we have a lot of undocumented students on our campus and theyre way aware of national issues, added Wells, a senior pursuing a journalism degree. Pho and Wells said reporting on the small crowd of protesters will prepare them for much larger turnouts when provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos visits their campus at the end of this month. While Bannon is more provocative, he doesnt have the reach of someone like Milo who knows how to engage an online audience, said Pho, 19. We learn from watching how different public figures do outreach. Wells, 22, described the nights gathering as having the feel of a college campus protest. And of course, that feels familiar, with people here maybe figuring out what to do next. Small steps. Facebook

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Indivisible members rally ahead of Stephen K. Bannons speech to California Republicans By Anh Do Michelle Fowle, founder of The Resistance - Northridge, Indivisible, along w 100 supporters, launch protest vs. #SteveBannon in #Anaheim. pic.twitter.com/1yEdrUm9Si  ANH DO (@newsterrier) October 21, 2017 Growing up as a Republican in Southern California, Michelle Fowle said she automatically registered to join the party because her parents were also members. I didnt know the right civics, recalled the Northridge activist, 50. I didnt really know women died for the right to vote. I just voted for whoever I saw on signs, or whose names I remembered. Now Fowle is the founder of The Resistance - Northridge, Indivisible, which united supporters outside the California GOP convention in Anaheim on Friday to protest an appearance by Stephen K. Bannon. She joined a crowd of about 50 people across the street from the Anaheim Marriott on Friday night as they denounced President Trumps former advisor. They were separated from conventiongoers by metal barriers and a cordon of private security guards while police officers observed from nearby. Information and exposure and understanding show us that he is dangerous. Hes a very, very good manipulator, Fowle said of Bannon. His goal is to try and get rid of established Republicans and bring in more extreme people. Bannon is using whatever base Trump has left to recruit. Carolyn Criss, a retired film industry researcher, drove from Sherman Oaks to protest. Bannon is a clear danger to our democracy, she said. Criss said Trumps election awoke her dormant activist tendencies, and she now regularly attends protests against the president. She said she thought Bannons visit was an effort to amplify his voice while also helping the GOP raise money. I really hope the GOP just wants to make some money off him and doesnt believe what he says, she said. Facebook

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California lawmaker plans to introduce legislation to protect workers who exercise right to free speech By Mina Corpuz San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, left, take a knee during the national anthem in a 2016 game against the Rams. (Daniel Gluskoter / Associated Press Images for Panini) A California lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would help protect workers from employer retribution for exercising their right to free speech. Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) said Friday that the state should be a sanctuary for free speech, including the kind that some might find offensive. He said he will introduce a measure when the Legislature is back in session in January. It doesnt matter if youre Ben Shapiro speaking at UC Berkeley, a brave female employee standing up to misogyny in her workplace through the #MeToo movement, or a Dallas Cowboy playing in California this Sunday, he said in a statement. The Constitution does not limit speech based on value judgments so long as it doesnt harm others. Stern said the presidents attempt to urge NFL owners to fire players who kneel during the National Anthem is a troubling attack on the 1st Amendment. The Constitution trumps Trump, he said. Americans of all political stripes ought to stand up and defend it. The legislation would also help public institutions fund security for events that could include offensive speech. Public institutions and law enforcement shouldnt have to bear the cost of ensuring constitutional protections for such events, Stern said. Stern, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is part of the ongoing work to define hate speech and find a way to address it while upholding the Constitution. Facebook

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Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom fights NRA over gun control law in federal court By Patrick McGreevy Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Tim Berger / Times Community News) Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the courts to lift an order that blocks Californias ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines, which was approved in November by voters when they passed Proposition 63. In June, a federal judge in San Diego ruled in favor of a request by the National Rifle Assn. to temporarily delay the magazine ban until the court could make a final decision on the law. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez wrote then: If this injunction does not issue, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise law-abiding citizens will have an untenable choice: become an outlaw or dispossess ones self of lawfully acquired property. In a friend-of-the-court filing, Newsom and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence argued the ban on large-capacity magazines is needed to help prevent the occurrence of high-fatality gun massacres, and to reduce the bloodshed when these tragedies occur. Newsom, a candidate for governor, sponsored Proposition 63 with the law center. Its a tragic reality that as time passes, we are presented with more and more evidence on the devastating power of large-capacity magazines, which are consistently the accessory of choice in mass shootings for mass murderers, Newsom said Friday in a statement, predicting the federal courts would uphold the ban. Facebook

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State GOP leader says the new gas tax and high poverty rate make Democrats vulnerable in California By Phil Willon California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte, center, addresses GOP delegates at the state partys convention in Anaheim on Friday. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte kicked off the state GOPs fall convention with a speech to delegates that outlined why he thinks Democrats will be vulnerable in the upcoming 2018 elections. Brulte zeroed in on the new gas tax and policy declaring California a sanctuary state  both approved by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature and both, he said, unpopular with California voters. He said Democrats have tried to deflect voter attention from these issues, as well as Californias high poverty rate and an uptick in crime, by continually attacking President Trump. Here in California, the reason they want to talk about Donald Trump is because they dont want to talk about the record they created, Brulte said. They broke it. They own it. If Donald Trump were not president, we would still have 22% of Californians living below the poverty line. Thats not Donald Trumps fault. Thats the Democrats who control California. The state GOPs three-day convention at the Anaheim Marriott will kick off in earnest Friday night when Trumps former political strategist, Steve Bannon, takes the stage for a keynote address to delegates. Facebook

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Far-right blogger Chuck C. Johnson gave bitcoin donation to Dana Rohrabacher By Christine Mai-Duc Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) speaks to Russian lawmakers at a meeting in Moscow in May 2013. (Misha Japaridze / Associated Press) Right-wing blogger and provocateur Chuck C. Johnson gave Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) a $5,400 campaign contribution weeks after he said he helped arrange a meeting between the Orange County congressman and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The donation, the maximum amount allowed by law, came in the form of bitcoin, a virtual currency. Johnson, who previously was banned from Twitter after soliciting donations toward taking out a prominent black activist, is listed on campaign finance forms as a self-employed investor who lives in Rosemead. Rohrabacher campaign spokesman Jason Pitkin confirmed the donor was the same person who helped arrange the Assange meeting. Johnson also recently sat in on a meeting between Rohrabacher and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in the Capitol. Pitkin said they discussed Assanges legal situation and cannabis policy, among other things. Rohrabacher previously said Assange had emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved in hacking the 2016 elections but claimed his plans to bring the information directly to President Trump have been thwarted by White House staffers. Pitkin said Johnson approached the Rohrabacher campaign shortly after his trip to London and said he wanted to donate. He said, Do you take bitcoin? and I said, I think we can,  Pitkin recalled. The campaign then set up a bitcoin wallet to receive the funds, Pitkin said. Rohrabacher is not the only California House candidate this cycle who has accepted contributions in bitcoin. Democrat Brian Forde, who is challenging GOP Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine, reported raising more than $59,000 in bitcoin donations between July 1 and Sept. 30. Facebook

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Government needs more women, Nancy Pelosi says By Colleen Shalby Nancy Pelosi has 30 years worth of insight for women starting out in politics. Shes run into plenty of naysayers over the years, but said she hasnt let other peoples doubt stop her. Her advice for those at the beginning of their career is simple. Know your purpose, she said in an interview Wednesday night before a Summit event hosted by the Los Angeles Times and the Berggruen Institute. The House minority leader said she hopes more women will run for office, calling their participation a necessity for government and the future. Whether its education, the environment, equal rights, womens health  whatever it is. Master your subject. Have a plan on how you will implement your ideas and you will attract support. Facebook

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This Los Angeles representative spent $105,500 on Hamilton tickets By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Tony Cardenas asks a question of Lin-Manuel Miranda during a town hall at Panorama High School in Panorama City. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Hamilton fever has caught at least two Los Angeles area members of Congress whove used campaign funds to purchase tickets to the hit musicals run at the Hollywood Pantages. Rep. Tony Cardenas campaign and his political action committee Victory by Investing, Building and Empowering PAC spent $105,500 in April buying tickets to the show, which is playing in L.A. until Dec. 30. Two fundraisers using the approximately 400 tickets have raised more than $300,000, a spokesman for the congressmans campaign said. For both Cardenas campaign and the PAC, the tickets were the single most costly expense of the year. Basically they saw this as an opportunity to have a nice fundraising opportunity and go to a show that celebrates American democracy, campaign spokesman Josh Pulliam said. The Los Angeles Democrat is friends with the father of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning creator of Hamilton. When the show opened in Los Angeles in mid-August, Miranda spoke to nearly 1,000 students in Cardenas largely Latino San Fernando Valley district . He raffled off some tickets to the show as an online fundraiser in September. Miranda has a history of supporting Democrats, and Hamilton has been used as a fundraiser before. In July 2016, Hillary Clintons presidential campaign hosted a special showing of the musical for donors, with a starting ticket price of $2,700. Cardenas held two fundraisers tied to the show. Miranda did not attend either event, Pulliam said. Pulliam said a few dozen tickets went to people in the community as gifts. He also raffled off some tickets to the show as an online fundraiser in September. Cardenas isnt in a particularly tough race for 2018. A Democrat and a Green Party member have filed to run in his district, but neither have raised or spent enough to require them to file campaign finance reports. Cardenas most recent report, which covers what he raised and spent in the last three months, shows he raised $232,389 and had $481,049 in the bank as of Sept. 30. Its fairly common for lawmakers or candidates to use sports events or concerts as major fundraising opportunities, especially when big names such as Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen play concerts in Washington. Rep. Maxine Waters campaign spent just under $11,000 on tickets to Hamilton in August. Reached by phone, the Los Angeles Democrat seemed surprised reporters were asking about the tickets. She said her campaign made $110,000 at a fundraiser using the tickets. Everybody does it, whether its a concert or a baseball game, she said. Several conservative groups have targeted Waters, an outspoken critic of President Trump, for the 2018 election. She won in 2016 with 76% of the vote over Republican Omar Navarro, who is challenging her again. In a statement released by her campaign, Waters stressed that fundraising at an event means the campaign doesnt have to rent space or buy food. These fundraising activities are similar and sometimes less expensive than the amount of money a candidate would spend to host a fundraising dinner within a private room at a restaurant or hotel  once you factor in associated catering costs, she said. The price for the Hamilton tickets was similar to what one would have to pay at these venues. There was nothing improper or unusual about the expenditure. Facebook

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California Republicans increase security at state convention ahead of Steve Bannon speech By Seema Mehta (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press) The California Republican Party is ramping up security at its weekend convention in anticipation of protests at the Friday night keynote speech by Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Trump and the executive chairman of Breitbart News. Part of providing a good experience for our convention goers is assuring your safety, state party Executive Director Cynthia Bryant wrote in an email to attendees on Thursday describing the security measures. Attendees will pass through metal detectors and their property is subject to be searched before they are allowed to enter the ballroom at the Anaheim Marriott, where the speech and dinner are taking place. Weapons, noisemakers and signs are prohibited. We did not make the decision for the additional security lightly and we know that it does impact your convention going experience, Bryant wrote. I sincerely regret that. Its a level of security rarely seen at political party gatherings in California. Convention attendees were also screened when Donald Trump, then a candidate seeking the GOP presidential nomination, appeared at the spring 2015 convention in Burlingame. That decision was made in consultation with the Secret Service, which had already begun protecting Trump. That convention attracted large-scale protests that at times turned into tense stand-offs between activists and police officers. Bannons speech is also expected to draw protests. Bannon, a conservative media leader, promoted Breitbart as a platform of the alt-right and needled establishment Republicans when Trump selected him to be the chief executive of his 2016 presidential campaign. His views as a nationalist, economic populist and nativist indelibly shaped Trumps message to voters. Once Trump was sworn in as president, Bannon was named White House chief strategist. He was a divisive figure in the administration, disparaging his colleagues to the media before he left the White House in August. He has since declared war on the GOP establishment, including supporting challengers to incumbents and other candidates backed by Trump. Facebook

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L.A. County Supervisors unanimously back Sen. Feinstein for reelection By Sarah D. Wire L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) The five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have all endorsed Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the senators campaign announced Thursday. The announcement comes as factions of California Democrats begin weighing in on the Senate race between Feinstein and state Senate leader Kevin de Leon next year. Its a snub for De Leon, a native Angeleno who has represented part of the city for more than a decade in the Assembly and state Senate. Sen. Feinstein has been our strong partner on the critical issues confronting L.A. County  homelessness, healthcare, and transportation. Her support for our county hospitals, including her commitment to our new Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, has been essential to our countys healthcare system, Board Chairman and 2nd District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said in a statement. Ridley-Thomas said the board members support Feinstein -- including the lone Republican on the board, 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who said in a statement that California needs Feinstein in the Senate. Ive worked with Sen. Feinstein for many years. Shes extremely knowledgeable and always prepared on the tough issues we confront. Shes a problem solver we can count on now and in the future, Barger said. Feinstein already has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which traditionally backs incumbents. Soon after he announced a challenge, De Leon was endorsed by Democracy for America, the progressive political action committee formed by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean in 2004. Facebook

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Northern California wildfires mean thousands of families will flood the regions already strained housing market By Liam Dillon Tom and Shelly Lanning, from left, talk with Lannings mother, Jeannie Anderson, on Oct.17, 2017. The Lannings have been staying with Anderson since they lost their home in wildfires. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Even before devastating wildfires struck Northern California last week, the regions housing market was in crisis. Home values and rents already were at or near record highs, and decades of slow construction has left few homes available for the thousands of displaced residents. The number of new families flooding the market is giving rise to fears of widespread displacement and even higher costs. The scope and magnitude of the rehousing is unfathomable, said Larry Florin, chief executive of the nonprofit Burbank Housing, one of Santa Rosas largest low-income housing providers. If you take 3,000 units being demolished in a market that was already dramatically constrained, its hard to imagine whats going to happen, where people are going to go. Read More Facebook

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California lawmaker wants to ban secret settlements in sexual harassment cases after Weinstein scandal By Melanie Mason State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), shown speaking at a 2016 news conference for ending the statute of limitations for rape, wants to ban confidentiality provisions from sexual harassment settlements. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) A California state senator says she intends to introduce a bill next year to ban confidentiality provisions in monetary settlements stemming from sexual harassment, assault and discrimination cases. Secret settlements in sexual assault and related cases can jeopardize the public  including other potential victims  and allow perpetrators to escape justice just because they have the money to pay the cost of the settlements, Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) said in a statement Thursday. This bill will ensure that sexual predators can be held accountable for their actions and ideally prevent them from victimizing others. The measure comes after revelations of decades-long alleged sexual misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Some of those incidents were obscured from public view thanks to monetary settlements whose terms required confidentiality. The issue has a renewed resonance in Sacramento after scores of women working in state politics renounced a pervasive culture of harassment and abuse in the Capitol in a public letter this week. Leyva told the Times she intends for her proposed settlement ban to include both private employers and public ones, such as the Legislature. 9:41 a.m.: This post was updated to specify Leyvas proposal would apply to private and public employers. This post was originally published at 8:54 a.m. Facebook

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Nancy Pelosi: Its your problem if you dont recognize that women are ready to do any job By Colleen Shalby Nancy Pelosi knows what it feels like to have to prove herself in politics simply because shes a woman. She says she experiences the pressure every day. But its your problem if you dont recognize that women are ready to do any job, the House minority leader said in an interview before a Summit event hosted by the Los Angeles Times and the Berggruen Institute on Wednesday night. When she decided to run for a leadership position in Congress, Pelosi said a man questioned her move. As if a woman had to be told she could run, she recalled. We just laughed and said poor babies. In the midst of a growing sexual misconduct scandal centered on Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, many women are sharing their stories of sexual harassment and assault. No industry has been spared  women at Californias Capitol signed an open letter Tuesday outlining pervasive harassment in Sacramento. Pelosi said she wasnt prepared to share a so-called me too moment, but she thanked the women who have. The sheer numbers speak eloquently to the fact that we should get to zero tolerance, she said. Facebook

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Watch: The View from California political panel with John Myers Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers hosted a panel discussion about the view from California as part of our L.A. Times and Berggruen Institute Summit series. Joining him were state Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), Republican strategist Luis Alvarado, UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavreck and Alma Hernandez, executive director of SEIU California. We also had a conversation with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Watch that here. Facebook

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Watch: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi talks to the L.A. Times House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) spoke Wednesday about her view of national news, working with the Trump White House and the future of the Democratic Party. The event was co-hosted by The L.A. Times and the Berggruen Institute. Following that conversation, Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers hosted a panel discussion about the view from California. Joining him were state Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), Republican strategist Luis Alvarado, UCLA political scientist Lynn Vavreck and Alma Hernandez, executive director of SEIU California. Watch that here. Facebook

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Kevin de Leon: My whole life, Ive been told to wait my turn and know my place You know, my whole life, Ive been told to wait my turn and know my place. Well, its Californias turn to lead. And Californias place to be a shining example for the world and a stark contrast to the failures of Washington.  State Senate leader Kevin de Leon, kicking off his U.S. Senate campaign Read More Facebook

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Pelosi, in Los Angeles visit, calls on Congress to pass Dream Act By Makeda Easter Rep. Nancy Pelosi meets with young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in downtown Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called on the GOP-controlled Congress to pass the Dream Act by years end. Pelosi appeared at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights with community leaders and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients in Los Angeles. The San Francisco Democrat said she has confidence Republicans and Democrats will be able to work together to pass the Dream Act. President Trump said we had shared values when we spoke to him, Pelosi said. I trust that he will honor that commitment because the American people want him to do so. The Democratic leader had conversations with Trump about continuing DACA after his heartless decision to end the program. Pelosi said that President Reagan was great on immigration and noted his immigration agenda protected a larger percentage of people than President Obama did with his executive order regarding DACA. She added the last three Republican presidents strongly acknowledged the value of immigration to America. A majority of the estimated 800,000 immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children live in California. These newcomers make America more American, Pelosi said. She noted there have been a handful of Republicans who support forcing a Dream Act vote via a procedural move. Still, her party is in the minority. You can have all the conversation in the world that you want, but youve got to have the votes, she said, encouraging moderate Republicans to support the Dream Act. She was joined by Democratic Reps. Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles, Judy Chu of Monterey Park and Lucille Roybal-Allard of Downey, the first Mexican American woman elected to Congress and original co-author of the Dream Act. Roybal-Allard said the so-called Dreamers have lived in this country, they have grown up here, they have pledged allegiance to our flag. To do anything else but to protect them by passing the Dream 
Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, facing barbed questions Wednesday from some former Senate colleagues, once again heatedly denied any improper dealings with Russian officials while working with the Trump campaign.

In sharp exchanges with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he served for 20 years, Sessions defended his evolving statements on three conversations with the former Russian ambassador.

He also continued to defend the firing of former FBI Director James B. Comey in May, even as he stood firm in his refusal to reveal anything President Trump told him about his reasons for the firing.

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And he said that although reporters havent been targeted aggressively by the administrations efforts to end leaks, he could not guarantee that he would not to try to jail a journalist who published classified information.

I dont know that I can make a blanket commitment, he said.

The hearing, the first time Sessions has appeared on Capitol Hill since June, was a reminder of how questions about Russia continue to cloud the Trump administration and especially the Justice Department.

Sessions recused himself from any dealings with the Russia probe soon after being confirmed, but that has not spared him from continued questions about his involvement  or from Trumps wrath. The president went on a Twitter tirade this summer about the investigation, blaming Sessions recusal for what he called a witch hunt by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Well, people are quite free in this country to express their views about matters of that kind, Sessions said dryly. Im just an old prosecutor who says the process has to work its will.

Sessions said he was willing to cooperate with Muellers investigation, but that the special counsel has not asked him for an interview.

Both Republicans and Democrats said they still expected answers about the reasons behind Comeys firing.

The American people have a right to know why he was fired, especially in the middle of so many high-profile issues going on, including the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said in opening remarks.

In testimony earlier this year before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sessions said he and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein agreed that Comey needed to go because of his decision to talk publicly about the investigation into Hillary Clintons email practices while she was secretary of State  and his defense of those statements before Congress.

I dont think its been fully understood, the significance of the error that Mr. Comey made on the Clinton matter, Sessions said on Wednesday. Particularly, we were concerned that he reaffirmed that he would do it again.

But Sessions turned aside questions about whether Trumps real motivation for firing Comey was a desire to end the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. After Comeys firing, Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former FBI director, as special counsel.

That calls for a communication Ive had with the president, and I believe it remains confidential, Sessions said. Pressed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) about whether that meant Trump did say something about Russia, Sessions said he cannot confirm or deny the existence of any communication with the president that I consider confidential.

Sessions told senators that he needs to protect a tradition of private conversations between the president and aides. But Democrats said he had no legal basis to refuse to answer; Trump has not invoked executive privilege, which might force a legal confrontation between the White House and Congress.

My concern is you were part of the Russia facade, and you went along with it, said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt).

Im not part of a facade, Sessions said, adding that he was hurt by the question from a former colleague.

Sessions shifting statements on his conversations with Russian officials sparked sharp exchanges as Democrats pressed him on whether he misled the committee in previous testimony.

In January, Sessions testified that he did not have communication with Russian officials, but news accounts later revealed three meetings with Russias then-ambassador. Leahy pressed Sessions on whether he had given false testimony.

Sessions said he had understood the questions as senators wanting to know if he had talked with Russians about interfering in the election.

Every one of your previous questions was about improper involvement, and I felt the answer was no, Sessions said.

The attorney general got testy when Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn), who was one of his interrogators in the January session, accused him of moving the goalposts on his answers about Russia. His current statements are very different from saying, I have not had conversations with the Russians, Franken said.

But Sessions said he had been taken aback by Frankens question toward the end of a long day and said he had made a good faith response denying collusion. I dont think its fair for you to suggest otherwise, he said.

The appearance came after a tumultuous summer during which Sessions endured a barrage of public criticism from Trump, even as he aggressively moved to champion tough policies on crime and immigration.

When Trump decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, it was Sessions who delivered the news.

In his opening remarks, Sessions said DACA was unlawful and contrary to the laws passed by this institution.

Sessions, a hard-liner on immigration issues during his time in the Senate, said he hadnt changed his views that people who enter the country illegally should not be eligible to receive citizenship or government benefits.

If people are here unlawfully, it seems to me the last thing you want to do is subsidize that unlawfulness, he said.

But he added that Trump remains interested in working with Congress to find a legislative solution for the approximately 700,000 young immigrants who have been protected from deportation by the DACA program. The president has said he wants to work with Congress. He has a heart for young people, he said.

Sessions also defended his controversial policy of trying to deny federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities that dont cooperate with immigration enforcement.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said Sessions policy was at odds with his promises to help stop violent crime in cities like Chicago.

You want to cut off federal funds to that city, and come here and criticize the murder rate, Durbin said. You cant have it both ways.

Sessions said he only expected cities and counties to inform immigration agents when a prisoner who is in the country illegally is about to be released. Its amazing to me that some of the mayors are so reluctant and so hostile to that simple request, he said.

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Twitter: @jtanfani

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UPDATES:

3:25 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional testimony and details from the hearing.

10:40 a.m.: This article was updated with additional testimony.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
In kicking his top priorities to Congress, President Trump is setting the stage  intentionally or not  for weeks of messy horse-trading that may culminate in a year-end standoff to avoid another government shutdown.

Trump is betting he can pressure Congress into breaking its gridlock and squeeze some concessions from Democrats.

But his own flip-flops on key issues have left lawmakers unable to trust the White Houses leadership and uncertain how to resolve the most thorny policy disputes.

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The latest example came Wednesday when Trump reversed course again, criticizing a short-term fix to the Affordable Care Act that he had endorsed just a day earlier. That sent lawmakers back to the negotiating table.

This president keeps zigging and zagging, so its impossible to govern, said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The chaos could become a liability for Trump if it distracts Congress from making progress on its tax reform package or undercuts Republicans leverage with Democrats on issues such as helping young immigrants known as Dreamers, stabilizing Obamacare and funding the government.

The lack of a clear strategy has complicated the fall agenda for Congress. Republicans, who control the House and Senate, would rather focus their remaining time this year on advancing Trumps tax cuts package, which faces its own problems amid intraparty disputes. Instead, they are now facing a series of deadlines on difficult issues  immigration, healthcare, the Iran nuclear deal  that have lingered for years.

The result of Trumps outsourcing may be to push Republicans and Democrats to an agreement by Dec. 8, if not sooner, when they face a series of must-pass votes, including one to fund the government and extend the nations debt limit. If Republicans are unable to pass those measures on their own  as has been the case in recent years  that could provide Democrats with a vehicle to push their own priorities.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, predicted Wednesday that the bipartisan fix to the Affordable Care Act that he negotiated with the panels top Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, could still be approved.

My guess is that it will be a part of discussions between the president and congressional leaders, Alexander said after talking with Trump. And I predict it will pass in some form before the end of the year.

Trump on Tuesday called the healthcare compromise a good solution that would bring down healthcare premiums. But after conservatives balked, the president backed away Wednesday, calling it a bailout for the insurance industry and demanding more concessions from Democrats.

Delaying action and piling up too many items on the to-do list at year end is not without risk. Health insurers, for example, are already preparing for open enrollment in November. Trumps decision to cut off federal cost-sharing reduction payments that offset subsidies for some low-income Americans covered by Obamacare is imposing new uncertainty that could lead to higher premiums.

The Alexander-Murray deal would allow the payments to continue for two years in exchange for loosening some restrictions in the healthcare law on the types of policies insurers can provide.

On immigration, Dreamers face deportation if Congress fails to meet Trumps demand for a new strategy. In September, the president announced an end to the Obama-era program that offers those who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children temporary permits to work and remain in the country.

Trump first said he wanted to help the Dreamers stay in the U.S.  they have widespread public support  and he was willing to make a deal in exchange for border security improvements. But after criticism from anti-immigration voices in the GOP, Trump sent Congress a long list of demands that even some Republicans would not be willing to accept in a deal to protect the young immigrants.

The presidents pointing fingers, said Schumer, who helped negotiate the Dreamers deal with Trump. He blames Mitch McConnell for obstruction, he blames the Democrats for obstruction. Hes the obstructionist in chief because he cant stick to a position.

Eventually Congress will be forced to deliver. Republicans, in particular, are worried about facing voters next year having little to show for their hold on the White House and Congress. But they are also loath to make compromises on healthcare or immigration that could anger Republican voters already upset at inaction on Trumps many campaign promises. Tax reform is looking less likely to be completed this year.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) is opposed to the Alexander-Murray deal. The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare, spokesman Doug Andres said.

However, Ryan and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are well aware that they will need to rely on Democrats in the coming weeks on key issues  to approve disaster aid in areas hit by hurricanes and wildfires, funding to keep the government running and authority to raise the nations borrowing limit. Those measures probably cannot pass without Democratic support because many conservative Republicans oppose any government spending that is not offset by cuts that the majority of Congress wont support.

Some Democrats have already said they will seek a remedy for Dreamers as part of the year-end deal. Others will focus on blocking Republican priorities typically attached to must-pass bills, such as those to limit access to abortion services.

But their leverage is limited as both parties are wary of a federal shutdown, which would be unpopular with voters.

Trump could step in and lead the way, as presidents often do, or he could remain on the sidelines as Congress tries to broker outcomes on its own.

Both seem unlikely. Congress has shown it is often unable to deliver without presidential leadership, and Trump, who promised to disrupt the status quo in Washington, is unlikely to change his freewheeling, unpredictable style.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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The monstrous flames ripping through Northern California in recent days have burned communities to the ground, killed dozens of people caught in their path and wreaked havoc on a regional economy.

By almost any metric, that would be defined as a natural disaster  except the one used by Congress to draw up the federal budget.

The absurd way in which Washington pays to put out wildfires throughout the West is making a dangerous situation even more so. Its a rare point of bipartisan agreement in Congress that a fix is urgently needed, particularly as fires grow in duration and intensity.

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But as with so much else on Capitol Hill, politics and ideology have left a serious problem to fester and grow, as lawmakers forsake a simple solution and hold the issue hostage to more complicated battles. Partisan feuds over climate change, clear-cutting and bedrock federal environmental policies are undermining efforts to confront the rapidly swelling fire money dilemma.

The root problem: the U.S. Forest Service is strapped for cash. Its firefighting budget amounts to a fraction of what it actually costs to fight fires. Not sending firefighters is hardly an option. Even in the wine country blazes, which are not on federal land, the service has sent 1,500 firefighters to help out the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, along with dozens of fire engines, air tankers, helicopters and water scoopers.

The Forest Service has no choice but to pay for the assistance by raiding funds from other programs in its budget  many of them oriented toward preventing the very fires it is fighting. Prevention efforts are put aside as dollars are funneled to putting out flames.

To put it in perspective: About 56% of the agencys budget now gets consumed fighting fires. In 1995, not even a sixth of its budget was spent there. That is a lot of fire prevention work going undone.

We have a dangerous, worsening cycle, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said on the Senate floor just before Californias wine country became an inferno. Shoddy budgeting today leads to bigger fires tomorrow, and it needs to stop.  This battle has gone on for years.

This is not the way Washington confronts other disasters. Hurricane, tornado and earthquake assistance and relief come from emergency funds that can be accessed without robbing other programs.

State officials are growing increasingly anxious that wildfires are treated differently. The bipartisan Western Governors Assn. warned congressional leaders in November that the financial shell game has allowed severe wildfires to burn through crippling amounts of the very funds that should instead be used to prevent and reduce wildfire impacts, costs, and safety risks to firefighters and the public.

Cal Fire just last week expressed concern about the reliability of federal help in the future if the financial chaos persists. Within four years, more than two-thirds of the Forest Service budget will be consumed by firefighting costs if Congress does not act.

But Congress cant seem to figure out how, amid feuding about the science and economics of wildfires. Many Republicans are demanding that any solution involve intensifying the amount of logging on public land, allowing clear-cuts as large as 10- or 15-square miles in federal forests, and weakening the National Environmental Protection Act, the 1969 landmark law that drives much of federal conservation policy.

The rollbacks are nonstarters for Democrats, who brandish research findings that climate change is a major driver of the intensifying fires, not too little commercial logging. California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris last week sent Trump a letter as fires raged in Northern California imploring him to support fixing the Forest Service money problem in a stand-alone measure, and then deal with the broader disputes over forestry management separately.

The White House has gone the other direction. Its budget director, Mick Mulvaney, wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that active forest management and other reforms must be part of the solution to curb the cost and destruction of wildfires. The posture has emboldened Republicans in their push for more logging.

Among them is Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove, who during a floor speech this month mocked the science Democrats point to showing climate change is a big factor in the worsening wildfires. One such study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last year found that climate-change-induced hotter, drier weather in the West has doubled the amount of forest land hit by wildfires since 1984.

McClintock made clear he doesnt buy it. He instead blamed the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Their endlessly time-consuming and cost-prohibitive restrictions, McClintock said, have driven away the timber companies that had previously helped clear the driest and most stressed wood from forests.

Well, after 45 years of experience with these environmental laws  all passed with the promise that they would improve our forest environment  I think we are entitled to ask: Hows the forest environment doing? McClintock said. All around us, the answer is damning. These laws have not only failed to improve our forest environment, but they are literally killing our forests.

Democrats and environmentalists say the House measure that McClintock and other Republicans favor to fix the Forest Service funding problem is less about fighting fires than creating a big giveaway for logging interests. We dont think completely eliminating environmental safeguards will solve the problem or make us safer, said Megan Birzell, national forests campaign manager at the Wilderness Society. We dont need 10,000-acre clear cuts in the back country to solve this.

The continued fight, for now, leaves the Forest Service in the lurch as resources from its prevention programs are drained to fight increasingly bigger and hotter fires.

Wyden called it the longest running battle since the Trojan War.

The West, he said, cannot wait any longer for Congress to break this dangerous cycle that defies common sense, shortchanges wildfire prevention, and does it year after year.

evan.halper@latimes.com

Twitter: @evanhalper
Republicans, in a shift after Las Vegas massacre, are open to considering a gun limit -- on bump stocks

The Las Vegas massacre has forced a breach in congressional Republicans solid opposition to gun restrictions, prompting many, from party leaders on down, to say they will consider banning bump stocks that turn assault rifles into virtual machine guns.

The National Rifle Assn., to which most Republicans are loyal and which had been silent since the gunmans attack Sunday night, on Thursday in a statement said it could back such limits -- as a federal regulation, not law.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations. its statement on Thursday said.

The NRAs blessing will probably increase the number of Republicans willing to back restrictions, but if those limits come in the form of regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), rather than in a law, Democrats are certain to object.

Just Wednesday, when California Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to ban bump stocks by law, only fellow Democrats joined with her.

By Thursday, however, top GOP leaders in the House and Senate, including Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, signaled their interest in working on legislation that that could limit access to the devices.

Clearly thats something we need to look into, Ryan told MSNBC host Hugh Hewitt in an interview scheduled to air this weekend.

Senators on Thursday morning privately discussed ways they could tackle the issue as they met for routine business.

I will tell you that the unique aspect of the bump stock and how you would literally transform a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic weapon is something that I think bears looking into, Cornyn told Texas reporters on a conference call.

He has asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley of Iowa to convene a hearing and look into it.

Even Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus of conservative hard-liners, told reporters earlier in the week hed be willing to consider banning bump stocks, if the Senate passes a bill and sends it to the House.

The shift is notable for Republicans who, under great pressure from the NRA and other gun rights groups, have resisted past efforts at gun control, even after some of the most devastating mass shootings in the United States.

Coming after the Las Vegas shooting, which left 58 dead and hundreds wounded in what authorities said is the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, the movement may indicate the potential limits of the gun lobbys reach into politics and policy.

Polls show Americans overwhelmingly want measures that could curb gun violence and pressure has mounted as cultural figures, including late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, have delivered heart-wrenching criticisms of congressional inaction.

Democrats, who have at times splintered on firearms issues as conservative-state lawmakers joined Republicans to defeat gun-safety bills, welcomed the changed outlook.

They have called on President Trump to cut across partisan lines and push Congress toward legislation to reduce gun violence that polls show most Americans would support.

Will the president stand up? said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. The president has a choice.

Many Democrats, however, will not want to limit action to bump stocks.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said bump stock legislation was one approach, but no substitute for a background check bill that she said would have bipartisan support in the House if Ryan would allow a vote.

It really is all up to the speaker, she said. Is he going to bring the bill to the floor?

At the same time, lawmakers were skeptical that initial interest in limited bipartisan legislation would translate into enough actual votes to write the restriction into law.

We need to move Republicans from being open to the idea to being willing to actually work on it, said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat who has become a leader on firearms safety measures since the 2012 killings of 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

One key Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who co-sponsored a bipartisan background check bill that was defeated a few years ago, was noncommittal Thursday. He said he was just learning about bump stocks and needed more information.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told reporters it was too soon, as the investigation in Las Vegas was just underway, to consider legislation.

Lawmakers, though, appeared concerned that the device offers a way to get around the existing ban on automatic weapons, which have been outlawed for years except for military use.

In the House, several military veterans, led by Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, sent a letter to federal officials asking them to reconsider how they regulate the devices. During the Obama administration, the ATF authorized use of the stocks.

This is definitely an area were going to look [at], Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said on Fox News.

A number of lawmakers, including Ryan, an avid hunter, said they were unfamiliar with bump stocks before the Las Vegas shooting. The alleged gunman appears to have used the device for rapid shooting.

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A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber rammed a car into a police truck in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least seven people, police said.

The attack killed five police officials and two passers-by on the outskirts of the volatile frontier city, Quetta police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said. He said another 22 people were wounded, eight of them critically.

Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister of Baluchistan province, told Reuters: "It was a suicide blast." Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province and lies about 100 km (60 miles) east of the border with Afghanistan.

Bugti said the truck carrying the police officials was on its way to the city to drop them at their posts when the suicide bomber rammed into the vehicle, ripping it apart. Television pictures showed the burnt wreckage of the vehicles.

The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella of various militant groups within Pakistan and loosely allied to the Afghan Taliban, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

Baluchistan province has long been the scene of an insurgency by separatists fighting against the state to demand more of a share of the gas- and mineral-rich region's resources. They also accuse the central government of discrimination.

The Taliban, Sunni Islam militants and sectarian groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group also operate in the strategically important region, which borders Iran as well as Afghanistan.

The violence has fuelled concern about security for projects in the $57 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy link planned to run from western China to Pakistans southern deep-water port of Gwadar.

A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State at a Sufi shrine earlier this month killed 22 people and wounded more than 30.

Ayub Qureshi, the provincial police chief, said a counter-terrorism police officer was also shot and killed in another part of Quetta on Wednesday at the time when authorities were dealing with the suicide bombing.

No one has claimed that shooting.

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A woman in Florida was taken into custody after she threw hot nacho cheese on a cashier at 7-Eleven. According to the Palm Bay Daily, 31-year-old Stephanie L. Hicks walked into the convenience store in Melbourne at 1:50 a.m. on October 12 for a sandwich and side of liquid cheese, which she wasnt authorized to obtain on her own. An employee asked Hicks not to open the cheese dispenser, which apparently she didnt like - she later told officers she didnt appreciate the clerks attitude.

When Hicks approached the counter to pay for her food, she was denied service. In a fit of rage, she threw both her sandwich and the cup of gooey cheese, which went all over the clerks hands and feet. While waiting for police to arrive on the scene, she told the cheese-covered employee that the customer is always right.

Hicks was arrested and taken to Brevard County Jail, where she was charged with battery. For more unconventional wrongdoings, check out the 10 funniest drunk arrests in the U.S.
It has been more than a year since the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority decided to rebrand Bob Hope Airport as Hollywood Burbank Airport and a little more than two months since initial marketing of the new name was completed.

Now branding firm Anyone Collective, which has been working with airport officials for almost three years, is ready to start heavily marketing Hollywood Burbank Airport to potential passengers outside the Southern California region.

On Monday, the airports operations and development committee unanimously recommended to the authoritys board that the South Pasadena-based company should move on to the third phase of the rebranding process in an effort to help attract more travelers from east of the Colorado Rockies.

Michael Fiore, a co-founder of Anyone Collective, said that through June 30, 2018, his firm will create and implement a series of advertising campaigns that will target specific groups, such as business professionals and leisure travelers.

He said he and airport staff will use a 300-page marketing guide his team created during the second phase of the marketing campaign to develop specific advertising, whether it be in print or digital media, that will hopefully spark an interest for potential travelers to visit the local airports website.

We are still developing on who to target most, how to target those people, Fiore said. Thatll really allow us to elaborate on a hyper-targeted message versus just an awareness message.

During the second phase of the rebranding process, Anyone Collective purchased ads that would pop up as people browsed the Internet as well as Facebook ads. The firm also purchased ads in Southwest Airlines magazine and the L.A. Weekly and S.F. Weekly magazines to promote the Burbank airport.

However, Fiore said the third phase will have a larger scope and involve purchasing more digital and print ads, collaborations with other businesses and video advertising.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Related Taliban attacks kill at least 61 across Afghanistan

The death toll from two suicide and gun attacks on Afghan security forces in southeast Afghanistan has risen to 80 with nearly 300 wounded, officials said Wednesday, in the bloodiest day in the country in almost five months.

The deadliest of Tuesday's assaults was on a police compound in the city of Gardez in Paktia province where Taliban militants disguised as police detonated three explosive-packed vehicles -- including a truck and a Humvee -- that cleared the way for 11 gunmen to enter.

At least 60 people, including Paktia police chief Toryalai Abdyani and civilians waiting to collect documents, were killed in the blasts and ensuing battle that lasted around five hours, Gardez deputy director of health Hedayatullah Hamidi told AFP.

Some 236 people were also wounded in the assault, he added.

"The first checkpoint for the compound was blown up by a truck bomb. Two other vehicles then entered the compound -- one detonated near the second checkpoint and the other rammed into the police chief's office that killed the police chief and his bodyguards," said Paktia governor spokesman Abdullah Hasrat.

The militants had been wearing police uniforms and carrying fake police identification, Hasrat said -- a common tactic used by insurgents to gain entry to government and security installations.

Police spokesman Sardar Wali Tabasum said two members of the security forces had been arrested in connection with the attack, suggesting the assailants had insider help.

"We think the Taliban took these vehicles (a Humvee and a police pickup truck) when Jani Khel district fell to them in August," Tabasum told AFP. Jani Khel is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Gardez.

In the second attack in the neighbouring province of Ghazni, some 100 kilometres west of Gardez, the official death toll was lowered to 20, including 15 members of the security forces and five civilians, Ghazni governor spokesman Haref Noori told AFP.

The number of wounded stood at 46.

That assault followed a similar pattern involving insurgents detonating an explosives-laden Humvee near a police headquarters then storming the building, Noori said. Six attackers were killed.

An earlier toll had put the number of dead at 30 with 10 injured.

It was the deadliest day in Afghanistan since May 31 when a truck packed with 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives detonated in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Kabul, killing around 150 and wounding hundreds more, mostly civilians.

Kabul police foiled an even larger truck bomb on Saturday -- 2,700 kilogrammes of explosives stashed under boxes of tomatoes -- that would have caused carnage had it exploded.

Less than two days later authorities seized a car driving towards Kabul that was carrying 300 kilogrammes of explosives.

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In an opinion column called Spiritual Politics, writer Mark Silks reacts to televangelist Pat Robertsons recent contention that disrespect and a lack of godliness has led to a rise in violence and mass shootings like the one in Las Vegas earlier this month.

When there is no vision of God, the people run amok, Robertson stated on The 700 Club.

Silks delved into the data and found a reverse correlation showing that states known for higher religiosity also rank among the highest in murder rates, while states with populations least identifying themselves as religious rank at the bottom of the same FBI Uniform Crime Report.

Of course, correlation is not causation, Silks admits.

Q. Do you believe a more religious society would lower violent crime? What do you think of Robertsons assertion and the data analysis by Silks?

..

I believe a more Christian society would lower violent crime. I would not expect a more religious society to do the same. By Christian I do not mean in name or affiliation only, I mean by true conversion of the heart, as Jesus said was necessary: You must be born again (John 3:7). By religious I mean those who are attempting, in their own strength, to seek, please or appease some deity of their own making, in other words, an idol. Some religions of the world are violent, teaching that the infidel must be punished and killed. Some religions teach that mans every desire should be indulged, not tamed. Of course, mans proclivity to violence must be included in his desires. And yet others teach peace and love as goals, but cannot equip unredeemed people to actually accomplish them. Without being born anew through faith in Christ and living by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit man will always revert to his fleshly nature, which produces immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these (Galatians 5:19). In contrast, the life of the follower of Christ is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit [which] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:19-23). Religion is not the answer to mans violence. Being born again through faith in Jesus Christ is the answer.

Pastor Jon Barta

Burbank

..

The problem is not with a religious or nonreligious society. It is with the pronoun before religion. If the religious person believes my religion is the only true religion, then it becomes permissible to murder in the name of religion, and the idea of right and wrong becomes muddled by my right and your wrong.

Reverend Robertsons ideas that a more religious society would be less violent than a nonreligious society stems from his belief that his path is not the only path but the best path. I agree, the best path for him. I daresay that his belief in the sacredness of the Jewish people stems from his understanding of Leviticus 19, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. He understands neighborliness and with that the love for all those who struggle with and do righteous acts.

There is conflict and violence when people are not willing to look at Deuteronomy 6, where it states you will love God, (and by extension each other), physically, spiritually and uniquely (my translation of the Hebrew MODEKA). The attempt to place all people in the category of believer or nonbeliever according to ones personal values devalues the valuee and the valuer.

It violates Koran Sura 2: Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve, by causing others who travel other paths to fear for their path and to grieve their decision.

And that bigotry leaves us with no room to appreciate others journeys. As it says in John 14, In my fathers house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you so.

The tragedy of narrow-minded religious people is that their house is not Gods house because of its lack of room for others.

Let us not greet others with the closed fist, but let us show them our open hand as we walk together in Gods many paths.

Rabbi Mark Sobel

Temple Beth Emet of Burbank

..

Concrete data show that more religious places do not in fact have lower levels of violent crime than places that are less religious. I challenge Rev. Robertson to show scientifically produced data that lack of godliness is correlated with more crime or is in any way associated with horrendous mass shootings such as the latest in Las Vegas. (Or another one occurring in our gun-saturated country before this is printed!)

Silks writes about the Pew Research Centers ranking of states by percentage of their population which does all of the following: believe religion is very important in their lives; attend church weekly or more; pray daily; are absolutely certain God exists. He then points out that according to data from the FBI, states with the highest ranking, in other words the most religious, also have the highest murder rates and the least religious states the lowest.

As any good science writer must, Silks cautions that correlation is not causation. The religious states could be more violent because of something else other than religion, and the least religious less violent for a different reason.

And by the way, this same principle applies to Rev. Robertsons assertions. Even if he had data showing that lack of religion correlates with criminal acts (which I am sure he doesnt because I doubt that such data exists), it wouldnt prove that lack of religion caused those acts.

Lastly, heres another statement supported by data: Gun control reduces violence.

Roberta Medford

Atheist

Montrose

..

A nation where sincere religious faith motivated residents to treat one another with love, charity and respect would, quite likely, have a lower incidence of violent crime.

While religion can exert a refining influence, its power to change us, and our world, for the better is limited by imperfect faith and human weakness. So, even in the more religious society that Robertson and Perkins describe, there still would be murders, assaults and other violent crimes because there still would be people who harbor hatred, envy and avarice in their hearts.

I believe, however, that there also would be more acts of kindness and generosity, more concern for one another, than in a society that has rejected religious precepts.

I dont think we will ever fully understand what drives mass murderers such as Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock and the many others we have seen in recent years. The statements that some have left behind dont fully explain the rationalizations and distorted thinking that spurred them on. There are simply no easy answers for why they kill, just as there are no simple or easy solutions for stopping them.

As for Silks comparison of religiosity and crime in the South versus New England, the argument is more rhetorical than analytical. Nevertheless, its worth digging a little deeper into the factors at play in those states. A quick look at just two states is revealing. In Alabama, the poverty rate is 55 percent higher than the rate in Massachusetts, and median household income is 53 percent lower. Only 24 percent of Alabama adults age 25 and older have a bachelors degree compared to 41 percent in Massachusetts. My guess is that income, education and poverty have more to do with the crime rates in these states than religion.

Michael White

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

La Crescenta

..

I do believe a Christian society would be safer, but I do not think mere religion or merely identifying with religion will add anything positive to our society. Most religions are based on lies, or they simply deny God, yet theyll craft morals to suit themselves and then violate them without fear of Gods judgment. Likewise, there are many people in very religious regions who would identify as Christian despite the fact that they really arent; they merely embrace the default American faith as being lockstep with patriotism. An image that comes to mind is the KKK and their burning of crosses on the lawns of black neighbors. Using a cross to burn does not a Christian make, and perhaps the black family they threaten to lynch is the only genuine Christian in the community. I bring up the KKK because the comparison in the study pitted four New England states against six Bible Belt states, and it is the latter where the KKK emerged spouting its hatred for everything while maintaining a Christian facade.

Another inequity regarding this study is the sheer population numbers. Of the Bible Belt states studied, their combined population is about 26 million plus, while the combined populations of the New England states amount to only about a third of the Bible Belt states. There are just so many more millions of people, I dont see how the conclusion can be legitimate. Not only this, but the history and education levels of some regions in the South cannot compare to the smaller northern counterpart. Also, I wonder why only murder rates are compared. Could it be that in the North there is more adultery, more white collar crime and other misconduct that reflect its less religious culture?

While I echo the scripture verse quoted by Robertson, I am reminded of another that laments the failure of ancient Israel to keep near to God, and the passage reads, In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6 ESV). It reflects lawlessness and spiritual lack, even in the land where God had personally assigned the Israelites. God himself was supposed to be their king. If we in America, North or South, truly believe our nations motto, our Declaration of Independence, and our national anthem, then we should have a better society because we will be a society that actually serves God rather than just mouthing the words. I do no violent crime because God tells me its wrong; if he did not, I would. Multiply that by millions and you have your answer. And Jesus is king.

Rev. Bryan A. Griem

Tujunga
The Fountain Valley City Council took a step Tuesday toward banning recreational marijuana-related businesses in town.

The council voted 4-0, with member Mark McCurdy abstaining, to approve the first reading of an ordinance to ban all commercial marijuana activity such as shops and delivery services, plus outdoor cultivation.

The council must affirm the ban with a second vote at a later meeting for it to take effect.

Since we anticipate other cities in Orange County are actually going to allow commercialization, it might be a prudent approach for the council to take a step back and see what happens in the other cities first by issuing a ban now, said Colin Burns, the citys attorney. And then if it works out in the other cities and people are happy with it, and theres no secondary impacts and the industry is running up to par, you can always lift your ban later on.

California voters last year passed Proposition 64, legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults, but the law allows for local control. Cities have until the end of this year to preemptively ban marijuana-related commercial activity. The state will begin issuing business licenses for shops and other commercial endeavors Jan. 1.

McCurdy said that in approving Prop. 64, voters were saying they wanted recreational marijuana legalized. He said he wanted more research and public input  including what other cities plan to do and how many are allowing commercialized recreational marijuana  before we decide to do something that the voters didnt vote for. His motion to delay a ban ordinance died for lack of a second.

He then abstained from the vote on the ban.

Councilwoman Cheryl Brothers said a ban is prudent, at least right now.

[A ban] can be lifted more easily than it can be implemented, especially if we have a number of licenses already issued, she said.

Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach already have voted against commercialization of recreational marijuana.

Costa Mesa has extended its prohibition on most recreational cultivation to give city staff more time to study options, but it does allow some medical marijuana-related businesses.

Newport Beach City Attorney Aaron Harp said an ordinance passed in 2015 already bans the cultivation, processing, distribution and delivery of all types of marijuana in the city.

Fountain Valley already prohibits medical marijuana commercial activity.

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD
Good morning. Its Wednesday, Oct. 18. Heres whats been happening around O.C.

Top story

Vulnerable Republicans back away from hardline immigration stances

For years, Orange County Republicans, such as Reps. Ed Royce and Mimi Walters, have drawn from a familiar GOP playbook on immigration. But when President Trump announced last month that he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, Royce sympathized with children who have only known America as their home, and Walters said it would be unjust to punish them. Both called on Congress to find a permanent solution for DACA recipients, though neither has signed on to one. Los Angeles Times

Politics

Another congressional challenger debuts a video featuring Trump

Democrat Kia Hamadanchy is trying to tie his opponent to Donald Trump. Hamadanchy, who is running to be the first Iranian American member of Congress, released his first campaign video ad in his race against Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine). Los Angeles Times

Business

Giant Toyota campus in Torrance is being sold to Irvine developer

Irvine developer Sares Regis is buying the sprawling Toyota office complex in Torrance that was formerly the Japanese car manufacturers North American headquarters. Los Angeles Times

Media

OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano resigns in dispute over cost cuts

Longtime Orange County columnist, government watchdog and foodie Gustavo Arellano said he has voluntarily resigned from his role as editor of alternative newspaper OC Weekly. Los Angeles Times

Life & arts

Chinese artists first solo U.S. museum exhibit focuses on nature and harmony

Shi Zhiying makes a point of painting or drawing the Buddha at least once a day. Shes a Chinese artist whos having her first solo museum exhibition in the United States at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. Shi Zhiying runs through Dec. 31. TimesOC

Legendary Disney songwriter Richard Sherman shares stories at O.C. School of the Arts

He has written some of the most beloved music in the world, including Its a Small World and the songs for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Richard Sherman is a living musical legend, and he made a special appearance at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana. TimesOC

Faith

Messy Church brings celebration, food, crafts and service for adults and children

Marty Drake and Leyla Wagner went to England last year to hear about the mission of this thing called Messy Church straight from the founders mouth. They had no idea the founder would pull them aside and ask them to take the movement back to America with the daunting task of building Messy Church USA. TimesOC

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to dailypilot@latimes.com.
Criticism ignores the Constitution

It is about time that the Daily Pilot and columnist Barbara Venezia finally published a direct attack on churches and individuals that support traditional marriage (Councilman reiterates opposition to gay unions, Feb. 25). Newport Beach City Councilman Scott Peotter, a highly respected and successful local leader, deserves every word of Venezias screed, as does St. James Anglican Church. After all, they dont think there is a right to be found in the Constitution that no one else until 2003 dreamed was there.

They even have the temerity to believe along with the late Justice Antonin Scalia who, in his Obergefell dissenting opinion had Venezia in mind when he wrote: "[they] know that limiting marriage to one man and one woman is contrary to reason; they know that an institution as old as government itself, and accepted by every nation in history until 15 years ago, cannot possibly be supported by anything other than ignorance or bigotry. And they are willing to say that any citizen who does not agree with that, who adheres to what was, until 15 years ago, the unanimous judgment of all generations and all societies, stands against the Constitution.

Venezias victims believe that both the Bible and the Constitution shouldnt be rewritten by slaves of fashion. Someone may want to point out to the factually challenged Venezia that St. James Anglican was never part of St. James the Great, which was only formed after St. James Anglican vacated their property. All funds donated to build the St. James property on Via Lido now shuttered by the bishop came, not from the small body of followers of Rev. Vorhees at the newly christened St. James the Great, but by folks like Frank and Allan Trane at St. James Anglican.

Paul Rolf Jensen

Costa Mesa

*

Dont let Newport become West L.A.

I received an Orange County Museum of Arts members-only invitation to hear plans of Related Californias Museum House, a 26-story tower building proposed to replace our present OCMA site near Fashion Island. OCMA would be moving to the area near South Coast Plaza, if the proposal is approved.

Evidently the new director of OCMA, who only just moved to N.B. last August, feels it would fit in well within our city. The OCMA trustees agree. Seems they will realize the monetary gains from the sale to Related will benefit the OCMA South Coast new museum plan.

Thirty years ago, living in West Los Angeles, I fought a high-rise, the Kirkabee Building, at Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. That was 30 years ago that brought us to our beautiful Newport Beach, and now look at West L.A. Do we want another West L.A. or another New York City?

Lyn Belasco

Newport Beach

*

Reader enjoys quippy headlines

Congrats to the Daily Pilot staff for following the hallowed journalistic tradition of using double entendres in the headlines for some stories. Two recent ones made me grin: Nazi Comment Causes Furor, and, This Feathered Passenger Ran A-Fowl of the Guidelines, which commented on a story of a turkey being given a seat on an airplane as an emotional support animal.

Steven Hendlin

Newport Beach
This week my column has gone to the dogs, literally.

As a doggie mama of two rescues, Stasha and Rocco, Im firmly behind the efforts of a new nonprofit in town, Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter (FONBAS).

The group formed last fall.

Money raised by FONBAS goes to augment the city-run shelter at 20302 Riverside Drive, make animals more comfortable and adoptable, upgrade cages, provide additional medical and dental care and the like.

They also hope to launch a capital campaign to either buy the current shelter or another building.

The board consists of Tim Stoaks (my neighbor), Jean Watt, Walt Howald, Jonathan Langford, Evelyn Hart and Nancy Gardner. Newport police Lt. Tom Fischbacher is the citys liaison.

Hart is in charge of forming an advisory board  which I agreed to serve on  and we built a website at www.fonbas.org.

After months of organizing, the group has raised more than $30,000 just by word of mouth. On Oct. 28, there is FONBAS first official fundraiser, a Howl-O-Ween costume party for dogs at Marina Park, 1600 W. Balboa Blvd., from 10 a.m. to noon.

Prizes will be awarded for scariest, prettiest and most Newport Beach costumes. Awards will also go to best owner/pet ensemble, best trick and most personality.

The event is free and will feature Vladae the World Famous Russian Dog Wizard offering training tips. There will also be dog adoption opportunities from the shelter and refreshments for people and pets.

But heres the catch: Though this seems to be a great public-private partnership with the city for a good cause, Newport hasnt signed the simple three-page agreement FONBAS presented via the Police Department and Fischbacher in August.

Without an official agreement, the nonprofit cant legally give money to the city or obtain insurance, according to Stoaks.

I read the document. Its pretty much based on the same agreement the city has with Friends of Oasis and Friends of the Library.

Seeing nothing controversial in it, I asked City Manager Dave Kiff and City Attorney Aaron Harp about the holdup.

Kiff apologized for the delay and assured it will get on a City Council agenda shortly. Kiff also applauded the efforts of FONBAS and hopes to attend the fundraiser.

I guess the wheels of government turn slower than those of passionate volunteers. But, agreement or not, the event is moving forward as planned.

Ill be there with my two fur babies in their matching pumpkin sweaters.

Stasha has volunteered to be a judge for the costume contest, as shes far more media savvy than Rocco.

And speaking of media savvy, Stasha is used to having her picture taken. Rocco isnt, so I wondered how hed do during a recent photoshoot at Dogma Pet Portraits on Superior Avenue in Costa Mesa.

Turns out hes a ham, as Dogma owner David Capron discovered.

Since 2010, Capron, a professional for 16 years, has been taking pictures of dogs.

Capron tells me he started with Emotion Portraits Studio in 2005.

Nearly every time we made a family portrait, there was a dog in it, and over the years weve sold as many portraits of dogs as we have of kids, he told me.

Along with his wife, Sylvaine, the couple switched their business concept to address the needs of our four-legged friends and their humans, Capron said.

They really have this doggie photography down to a science.

During the initial design appointment, about a week before your photoshoot, he gets both you and your dog comfortable in the studio. You can pick a package.

The photoshoot itself was fun. Capron was great with Stasha and Rocco as he coaxed them into poses using treats.

Next theres the sales and ordering appointment, where you see a slideshow of photos and pick artwork.

On the home page of their website, www.dogmapetportraits.com, is a video explaining the process and photos of previous clients.

During our photoshoot I enjoyed getting to know this creative couple. It was obvious they love what they do. Theyve photographed more than 2,000 dogs and enjoyed all those photoshoots, they told me. Theyre still in touch with many clients, whom they can call friends.

I can believe that. They both made me and my dogs so comfortable.

Capron said he is in a business where he gets to provide something thats more than just a thing.

We capture memories, emotions and moments in time, which, for obvious reasons, is so very important in your life with a dog, he explained.

Looking at the photos he took of my two, I felt the images really captured their essence of wonder and fun.

I just hope Stasha and Rocco dont start barking about wanting modeling agents now.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.
Metro officials held a community meeting earlier this month about the latest updates for the proposed interim improvements tied to the grade-separation project that would improve safety along two hazardous railroad crossings along San Fernando Road.

The Metro project plans to replace two railroad crossings with overpass connectors.

The first overpass would connect Salem and Sperry streets, splitting pedestrians and vehicles from trains at the Broadway/Brazil crossing.

The second overpass would connect Fairmont Avenue and West San Fernando Road to accommodate emergency vehicles as well as provide local business access.

The California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, suggested Metro make interim safety improvements at the troublesome crossings before the projects construction.

The short-term improvements were the focus of discussion at the community meeting.

Metro officials presented updated plans that addressed feedback and suggestions received during a Dec. 7 meeting, where concerns about pedestrian travel as well as the closure of busy intersections during construction were debated.

As part of the improvements, the city of Glendale will upgrade traffic-light software that handles congestion at the Brazil/Broadway intersection.

The upgrade should alleviate some of the gridlock that results when a train passes on San Fernando Road, according to Pat Somerville, project manager with HNTB, a Metro consultant.

What the signal upgrade will allow us to do is, when the train comes, San Fernando Road will be able to have a green light on the through movements. It will start moving traffic while the train is there, he said.

Metro officials will also propose the creation of a two-way crossing at Doran Street rather than the current plans to modify an at-grade, one-way roadway for westbound traffic.

The proposed two-way configuration will have its own community outreach meeting in the future, officials said.

Once completed, the interim improvements will allow the city of Glendale to apply for quiet zone status at the Doran Street and Broadway/Brazil crossings.

This way, the almost 100 trains that travel through that part of Glendale each day will no longer sound their horns as required by the Federal Railroad Administration to alert nearby drivers at public, highway-grade crossings.

Those two crossings would join the three quiet zone railroad crossings at Grandview Avenue, Sonora Avenue and Flower Street, along San Fernando Road.

Metro officials also discussed a few possible pedestrian and bike-friendly additions near the troublesome areas.

The first would add a pedestrian and bike bridge near the proposed overpass in the north that connects Fairmont Avenue and West San Fernando Road.

A similar bridge would connect Doran Street to West San Fernando Road to the south.

Also on the table is the addition of a protected pedestrian and bike lane on the Salem/Sperry overpass.

According to Metro officials, the interim improvements are still pending review by the CPUC as well as approvals and concurrence from key agencies and stakeholders with no timeline for their completion.

The grade-separation project is scheduled to complete the preliminary engineering and environmental clearance phase by fall 2018. There is no timeline for the start of construction.

For more detailed information about the Doran Street and Broadway/Brazil grade-separation project, visit metro.net.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
Jason Bess and Steven Keys were both out with friends and family at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas when the night descended into chaos.

Around 10:05 p.m. on Oct. 1, a lone gunman had fired upon the 22,000 concertgoers across the street from the venue. Among the thousands in attendance were the two Glendale firefighters.

The two administered first-aid to whomever they could, even while the shooting continued.

In the end, 59 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded in what has been called the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

Bess and Keys were recognized for their bravery during the annual Glendale Fire Department awards luncheon Tuesday afternoon.

Bess received a Fire Chiefs Commendation for his action during the incident. ABC 7 Anchor Ellen Leyva, who presented the awards, recounted what the fire engineer did.

After fleeing from the venue, Bess found refuge in a nearby building with a group of more than 200 people.

Jason and another off-duty EMT started doing assessments on everyone to see if anyone needed immediate medical attention, Leyva said.

She said Bess spent over two hours looking after people and even took supplies from a nearby ambulance in order to administer aid to four people who had been injured.

For Keys, Leyva read an account of what the firefighter-paramedic wrote of that night. When the shooting began, he assumed it was a firecracker or fireworks going off.

But then, a woman several yards away from Keys fell down and a man she was with began yelling for help. The woman had been shot.

Once I recognized her condition  I started giving her chest compressions, Keys said.

While giving the woman first-aid, Keys was grazed by a bullet. He said it was at that moment, he realized people were being deliberately targeted.

Unfortunately, he said the woman didnt survive.

Sometime after taking cover from the shooting, Keys tried to help other people who were wounded.

I started assessing these patients and realized quickly they were deceased, he said. I decided to provide a brief effort of CPR in the hopes that it provided some comfort to their families.

Keys eventually joined with two other people and used an unattended truck to help shepherd the wounded to safety, while police officers provided cover.

There were dozens of amazing and heroic, brave people pitching in to provide care, and it was an honor to work beside all of them, he said. None of them who I will ever know their names.

For his actions, Keys was awarded the Medal of Valor  an honor that hasnt been giving out in over three decades, according to the department.

In addition to Bess and Keys, more than 30 other first responders and civilians were honored during the ceremony.

Distinguished services awards were presented to firefighter-paramedic Gilbert Pedroza, engineer Brian Stien and Capt. Jason Broussard.

The Service Above Self Award was presented to Nicholas Lam, vice president of Pacific BMW and the Bidamar Corp., for his extensive charitable work.

The Ambulance Operator of the Year Award was given to Rudy Morefield, while engineer Ara Hoonanian received the Ambassador Award.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
The proposal to update Glendales aging natural-gas power plant came under fire Monday by residents who claimed reports on potential environmental impacts were understated by utility officials and not enough consideration was given to more sustainable alternatives.

During a special meeting of the Glendale, Water & Power Commission, consultants with Stantec presented a draft environmental impact report that examined noise, hazardous materials, greenhouse gases and other possible effects associated with a proposed re-powering of the Grayson Power Plant.

In 2015, the City Council ordered utility officials to draft plans to renovate the plant, which serves more than 88,000 electric customers, into a facility that is more reliable, sustainable and affordable.

Removing, rebuilding and replacing seven of the eight electrical-generation units at the location constitutes the bulk of the project. The utility expects the 80-year-old units will fail within the next decade if not replaced.

According to utility officials, the decommissioned units would remove 219 megawatts in generating capacity and be replaced by four units that produce 262 megawatts, an additional 43 megawatts.

Of the nine categories of environmental factors analyzed  which included air quality, noise and hazardous materials  the draft environmental impact report found less than significant impact in all instances, some with mitigation.

However, the meeting on Monday was filled with residents who argued that the proposed project is a risky investment for the city  about $500 million in estimated costs  as California is moving away from fossil fuels as well as imposing stricter clean-energy standards.

Dan Brotman, a Glendale Community College economics professor who recently formed the Glendale Environmental Coalition, packed the room with supporters of a more comprehensive, independent study of renewable-energy alternatives.

We are not a bunch of starry-eyed environmentalists. Were practical people, and we want them to study a real serious set of alternatives for the city, Brotman said in a phone interview on Tuesday. We know its going to have to be a complicated mix of [renewable and fossil-fuel] solutions.

Other issues raised during the public-comment portion of the meeting were concerns about rebuilding the facility at its current site, which is in proximity to two fault lines. Also, several residents said they were worried about the economic impacts that the surplus of power generated by the facility would create in the future.

An investigation by The Los Angeles Times this year found that Californias electricity system is overbuilt  led by natural-gas plants  amid an abundance of available clean energy. The state has had to close some plants and resort to paying other states to take the unusable, surplus power California is generating.

Steve Zurn, the local utilitys general manager, said at the meeting that the recommendation of the Grayson project was not based on the sale of power.

At the close of public comments, Glendale Water & Power commissioner Roland Kedikian said the utility should explore a more comprehensive approach to meet the needs and desires of the community.

We are in a position here, unfortunately, that we let everything run 40 some years without building anything and our options are limited, Kedikian said. But to  continue down this path  of solely gas power  I dont see that as the right path.

On the same day as the public meeting, plans for a proposed natural-gas power plant in Oxnard were all but killed because its developer asked regulators with the California Energy Commission to suspend all hearings and review of the project after a large public outcry over potential pollution.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
A repeat presidential election in Kenya due next week was plunged into crisis Wednesday when senior electoral officials spoke out against threats and interference from politicians, and a senior electoral commissioner fled to the U.S. citing death threats.

With a new election due in just over a week, after the Supreme Court nullified the Aug. 8 election, Kenyans learned that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has been facing anonymous threats and toxic political interference. The commission, divided along party lines, appears paralyzed.

The chief of the commission, Wafula Chebukati, warned political leaders to stop interfering in its work and threatening his staff.

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Ironically the very people, the political leaders who are supposed to build the nation have become the greatest threat to the peace and stability of the country, he said. Ill not tolerate the threats on my staff anymore. Ill not tolerate the interference in the commission anymore.

Commissioner Roselyn Akombe resigned and fled to the United States, saying that the commissioners were partisan and that the commission could not deliver a credible election. She said staff and commissioners faced political intimidation and lived in fear they would be killed.

Her comments were reinforced by Chebukati, who said commissioners had repeatedly voted down his reforms along political lines in recent weeks. Staff members who were implicated in failures during the nullified Aug. 8 election had refused to step down, he said.

The crisis comes after the Supreme Court voided the Aug. 8 election because it did not meet standards set down in the constitution and electoral law.

The election has been marred by violence and intimidation: the killing of an election official in charge of data and transmission just days before the poll; the arrests and deportation of four foreign advisors hired by the opposition to ensure a transparent and fair election; and the killings of at least 67 people  mainly protesters  by police since the poll, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

After the Supreme Court decision, President Uhuru Kenyatta called the judges crooks, accused them of stealing the election and vowed to fix them.

Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, were charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in relation to violence after the disputed 2007 election. But prosecutors complained that Kenyan authorities blocked access to documents and refused to cooperate. Witnesses were intimidated and many withdrew their testimony, forcing the ICC to drop both cases.

Kenya has seen opposition protests across the country in recent weeks calling for the removal of commission staff members whom they accuse of failures in the Aug. 8 poll.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga last week withdrew from the repeat election, saying the conditions for a free and fair election did not exist.

All indications are that the election scheduled for Oct. 26 will be worse than the previous one, he said.

Chebukati and Akombe portrayed an electoral commission in chaos, poisoned by political interference and paralyzed by partisanship.

Akombe said in a statement that the commission was under siege and would not deliver a credible election, not when commissioners and staff are intimidated by political actors and protesters and fear for their lives. Not when senior secretariat staff and commissioners are serving partisan political interests.

She said she faced anonymous death threats and pressure to resign, and said she did not believe it would be safe to return to Kenya in the near future. She made the comments to the BBC, adding that you would have to be suicidal to think nothing will happen to you.

Election official Chris Msando was abducted, tortured and killed in July in what many believe was an effort to interfere in the August election.

Chebukati said until compromised staff members stood down, the Oct. 26 poll would not be credible.

I have made several attempts to make critical changes, but all my motions have been defeated by a majority of the commissioners. Under such conditions its difficult to guarantee free, fair and credible elections.

Without critical changes in key secretariat staff, free, fair and credible elections would surely be compromised. I therefore call on the staff who have been adversely mentioned to step aside to allow this project team to function without interference.

Chebukati and Akombe said legal advice put forward by commissioners was skewed to suit political interests.

Chebukati called on politicians from both sides to meet and forge an agreement to restore respect for democratic institutions, enabling the commission to do its work. Without such an agreement, he warned the country risks a return to the ethnic violence that followed the 2007 election when about 1,500 people were killed.

Once the Kenyan people see that their leaders are talking and putting Kenya first, then we can douse the tension in the air. Politics should not make people enemies, Chebukati said

If violence erupts again, the people to suffer would be ordinary Kenyans, not their political leaders, he said.

Peace is what we get when we embrace true democracy. If Kenya burns, it will be because we have not addressed these issues and because we have created a society where some are more equal than others.

Despite the concerns about another tainted election, Kenyatta has signaled his determination to go ahead with it and has ruled out political talks with Odinga and the opposition.

On Wednesday, he declared Sunday a day of prayer for Kenya.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT
Nearly four decades ago, Mo Fengyue leaned over the boat carrying her to China and dumped her Vietnamese identity cards into the river. With a flick of the wrist, Mo sacrificed the land of her birth for an ancestral homeland shed never known.

You had to make a choice once you came back, so I became a Chinese citizen, said Mo, a 12-year-old girl then fleeing discrimination for her heritage.

Her story is a rare reminder of a time when China opened its borders. In the first three decades of the Peoples Republic, through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, leaders welcomed hundreds of thousands escaping persecution and violence in Southeast Asia. Most were ethnic Chinese. Authorities settled them in so-called overseas Chinese farms and handed out hoes. The government called the population returnees. Many never left.

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These are Chinas forgotten refugees.

Today, China has no refugee resettlement policy or national legislation on asylum. Chinese officials have merely acknowledged the humanitarian crisis in neighboring Myanmar and opted not to shelter Syrians escaping a multi-year war. But it wasnt always that way.

Mo settled on Taihe farm in 1978, now a scattering of brick houses and grapevines amid the green terraced hills of southern Chinas Yunnan province. These faded buildings and dirt roads reveal a piece of history largely overlooked -- one that offers insight into Chinas diaspora and its current rationale toward refugees amid the worlds worst forced migration in decades.

The government wanted to bring us back, said Sai Jie, 59, a neighbor of Mos. Its different.

Mo Fengyue and her daughter, Deng Liqun, make Vietnamese-style coffee at their restaurant on an overseas Chinese farm. (Gaochao Zhang/for the Los Angeles Times )

Just off Binchuans main road, Sais brother runs an outdoor cafe where customers sit in squat, blue plastic chairs. The family serves coffee with sweetened condensed milk and a slice of Vietnam. A mural spread across the far wall reveals the light blues and gray shadows of Vietnams most famous landmark, Halong Bay. Even the leafy trees shading the shop feel more like tropical Southeast Asia than mountainous Yunnan province.

Sai was 20 when she left northern Vietnam in 1978 and settled on the farm. It was here she met her husband, who was born in Indonesia and had arrived almost two decades earlier. Sai, who now oversees the production of peppery chicken soup at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, does not consider herself a refugee.

She is, she said, a returning Chinese.

Nearly 300,000 people from Vietnam alone fled to Chinas southern provinces around the late 1970s, as the countries turned on each other in a brief border war. Rather than establish temporary refugee camps, the government opted to place them on farms. Some, like Sai, received hukou, an essential household registration that allows people to work and attend school. She now receives a monthly pension of about $300.

Taihe and 83 other farms are dotted across Chinas southern provinces, although many original inhabitants moved abroad or died. The second generation married locals and further scatted. There is no definitive account of the total number that settled on these plots of land, or how many remain. But out of about 2,700 people at Taihe, just over half are returnee-refugees and their descendants.

Many in Dali -- a scenic lakeside town an hour-and-a-half drive southwest -- have never even heard of the farms.

China did a pretty good job with refugee resettlement, said Elaine Lynn-Ee Ho, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, who has studied overseas Chinese farms. They did go through hardships, but they received care packages, and in terms of subsistence material the government gave it to them and they have assimilated into Chinese society.

China ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and a subsequent treaty known as the 1967 Protocol. But the country lacks its own method for assessing asylum claims and restricts the U.N. refugee agencys access to some populations.

Many Vietnamese are technically still recorded as refugees, although fewer than 800 other displaced persons were living in the country as of 2015, mainly from Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq and Liberia, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Chinese officials contend they help people through other means, namely humanitarian assistance and the promotion of peace talks.

When our neighbors have difficulties, we should offer a hand rather than just tighten our fences, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the U.N.s Geneva headquarters in January. He then pledged $29 million in aid to Syrian refugees. Officials also recently sent 2,000 tents and 3,000 blankets as part of a relief package for Rohingya refugees.

But hosting them is another matter. China has a longstanding policy of noninterference in other countries domestic affairs, and the acceptance of those fleeing conflict is often perceived as taking sides. Overseas Chinese who want to settle in China now require immigrant visas.

Welcoming refugees is also not a particularly palatable idea to many in the worlds most populous nation, which still struggles with poverty and where Islam is increasingly equated with religious terrorism.

Other ethnicities would only create instability, said Zhang Xiaolong, 26, a driver who grew up near the farms. Well give out humanitarian aid but we dont want to accept refugees. We have our own issues.

So what led China to make an exception?

The overseas Chinese farms speak less to a shifting refugee policy than to an entrenched sense of Chinese identity bolstered by the state.

Mo was a city girl from Haiphong, Vietnam, when she tossed her past into the river.

It was tough at first. She despised manual labor on mucky land. But soon after she arrived, Mao-era collectivization gave way to reform, bringing a more open economy and individualized work. She started a small Vietnamese restaurant.

Mo, whose face creases in smiles, insisted she was always welcomed. But researchers say tensions built with locals envious of the privileges granted overseas Chinese, who received financial assistance and preferential status to attend universities.

Not everyone benefited. Many of the farms lost money in the early 2000s, and living standards plunged. Vietnamese who cant prove their ethnic ties have found themselves unable to gain citizenship, according to the state-run Global Times newspaper.

In 2004, then-president Hu Jintao, vowed to help develop the farms and officials cast them largely as financial opportunities. Li Haifeng, then the deputy director of the central governments Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, called these areas economic and political attributes.

Some farms now function as manufacturing zones or sugar cane plantations. Others market themselves as destinations for Chinese tourists looking to experience Southeast Asia without leaving the country. Their role, like the people inside them, has changed.

These farms are going to be a disappearing relic, Ho, the professor, said. It no longer has that historical value attached to it.

Deng Liqun sees them as something more. A 29-year-old entrepreneur with dark cropped hair and shimmery blue eye shadow, she is determined to turn her Taihe farms open-air restaurant into a premier dining location.

Mo, Dengs mother, washed dishes one afternoon as Deng boxed up her homemade Vietnamese chili sauce for a trade show in Kunming, the provinces capital. Deng was born on the farm and watched many others her age leave. She did too, and then returned six years ago to start Little Vietnam.

Unlike her mother, Deng doesnt need to choose one nationality.

I want to keep my Vietnamese and Chinese dual heritage, she said, laying out a platter of rice paper crepes. Its our unique identity. Otherwise, why would I open Little Vietnam?

Her 5-year-old daughter came home from school, not much younger than her grandmother was when she crossed the river. Deng scooped the girl up, burying her in kisses and the tones of Vietnamese.

Gaochao Zhang, Matthew DeButts and Nicole Liu in the Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

Meyers is a special correspondent.

Twitter: @jessicameyers

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At least four people were shot dead on Wednesday in clashes between protesters and security forces in Togo's two largest cities, authorities said.

Protesters erected makeshift barricades and blocked roads in the west African nation, as soldiers and police used teargas to prevent the latest anti-government protest.

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Five years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping took over a Communist Party torn by infighting and deceit.

On Wednesday, he stood in Beijings Great Hall of the People and urged a revived party to shepherd society toward renewed glory. His speech signaled a push toward greater ideological cohesion by a president who has fashioned a stronger, more aggressive China and emerged as the most authoritarian leader since Mao Tse-tung.

Both China and the world are in the midst of profound and complex changes, he told more than 2,000 delegates at the opening of a twice-a-decade party gathering. The prospects are bright but the challenges are severe.

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Xi called it a new era.

His keynote speech  the most important policy address since he took office  ran three and a half hours. It kicked off the weeklong 19th party congress, which determines leaders and policies for the next five years.

The congress ends when those new leaders walk out onto a red-carpeted stage and present themselves to the world. Xi is all but certain to start another five-year term, and the people who flank him will help reveal whether he plans to groom a successor or stay in power past his decade tenure.

Xi Jinping is emphasizing the importance of party direction and party control above all else, said Willy Lam, an expert on elite politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. And the corollary is for the party to be successful in these goals, you need a strongman at the helm.

With predecessor Hu Jintao and 91-year-old former leader Jiang Zemin seated behind him, Xi spoke of a more accomplished China than the one he was handed.

He praised efforts to build islands in contested waters of the South China Sea and gave a nod to his signature foreign policy initiative that will expand trade routes to Europe. He heralded tighter controls as a boon to national security, pledged to make it easier for foreign businesses to operate and vowed to turn the military into a world-class fighting force.

But he also cautioned against any Cold War mentality when confronting global tensions and insisted China would never attempt global hegemony.

Xis list of successes belies the challenges facing his second term. China still struggles with bloated state-run companies and heavy corporate debt. Pollution continues to shroud cities. Party leaders aim to create a moderately prosperous society, which means continuing to ensure steady growth.

His term has been a failure to really have bold reform domestically, said Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies at Kings College in London and author of a biography about Xi. Its all promises and no delivery.

Xis speech was essentially a 65-page work report, which is by nature broad and vague. But the topics were striking in their breadth; he addressed issues from Hong Kong to environmental degradation. (His keynote went twice as long as Hus.)

He also repeated comments about the stresses on Chinese society, including income inequality and access to basic services such as healthcare.

Chinas ability to innovate needs to be stronger, the real economy awaits improvement, and we have a long way to go in protecting the environment, he said.

This congress not only gives Xi an opportunity to lay out his vision for socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, but it also may help enshrine his policies  or even his name  into the constitution. Its also probably the last one before the partys centennial anniversary in 2021, and officials are eager to show fortitude rather than disintegration.

The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts, Xi said.

Hundreds sat ramrod straight in the Great Halls main floor and clapped in sync  including heads of state-run chemical companies from Beijing, history teachers from Inner Mongolia, electrical engineers from Tibet and many military officials. Most were men in similar black suits.

Some took selfies after the speech amid stately granite columns and praised Xis plan.

His grand strategy for China to move forward on the global stage is really peaceful, said Wang Jing, a teacher from the mountainous southern province of Yunnan. Thats a good way to lead China.

Xi, chosen because party leaders thought they could control him, has quickly consolidated power. Hes spearheaded a popular anti-corruption campaign thats sidelined his challengers, taken the helm of major committees, tightened media and internet controls and silenced hundreds of activists.

In the run-up to the congress, certain shows deemed too entertaining were censored. Soldiers appeared at the entrance to Beijing subways. Civil liberty advocates were told to stay home. Reminders of core socialist values appeared all over China  from taxicabs in Hefei to noodle shops in Guiyang.

Leaders tend to close factories during the event to ensure blue skies, but the weather on Wednesdays opening was a dull, rainy gray.

The throat-clearing in [previous congresses] was assumed to be more empty words, said Jude Blanchette, a researcher at the Conference Board in Beijing. Now we are realizing, Heck, we need to start recognizing the partys vision for its role.

Gaochao Zhang in The Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

Meyers is a special correspondent.

Twitter: @jessicameyers

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The establishment of an independent Kurdistan  a decades-old dream for many people here  was starting to take shape. In a nonbinding referendum held by the Kurds three weeks ago, more than 92% of voters favored breaking away from Iraq.

But on Tuesday, the dream all but died.

The Kurdish troops known as the peshmerga peacefully withdrew from disputed territories outside the semiautonomous Kurdish region, including some that it had recently helped retake from the Islamic State extremist group.

The biggest blow to the Kurds was the loss of two major oil fields that had given the Kurdish region a large degree of financial autonomy since mid-2014, when Iraqi troops fled a sweeping advance by Islamic State only to have the peshmerga take over.

The Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields are near the city of Dibis and produce 300,000 barrels a day, or nearly half the total output of the Kurdish region, according to Assem Jihad, an Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman. The Kurdish government had been extracting and selling its own oil and gas.

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Iraqi troops took over the fields Tuesday without a fight or any loss of production capacity, Jihad said. Iraqi forces marched into Dibis unopposed, a soldier from the countrys Counter-Terrorism Service said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak a reporter.

Iraqi government forces enter an oil field west of Kirkuk. (Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images )

The story was much the same in other places that were seized by the government: The Kurdish forces abandoned their positions without firing a shot.

In the city of Sinjar, the ancestral home of the Yazidi minority, the army worked with a local militia to reestablish control.

We entered after 2:30 in the morning and went into all the villages of Sinjar, and now we have stability, Murad Sheikh Kallo, the head of the Yazidi militia, said Tuesday. We preserved public institutions and services and there was no trouble.

We refuse to have any force here that does not submit to the central government, he said. We refuse the presence of the Kurdish separatists.

Yazidis accuse the peshmerga of abandoning them in 2014, when Islamic State took over Sinjar, executed thousands of Yazidi men and boys and kidnapped Yazidi women to make them sex slaves.

The retreat Tuesday came a day after Iraqs prime minister, Haider Abadi, launched a military operation to retake the disputed areas, and Kurdish forces handed over the city of Kirkuk.

Massoud Haider, a Kurdish member of parliament, said the government takeover was part of a deal negotiated by Iran between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan  a skittish partner of Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraqs Kurdish region  and Shiite-dominated paramilitary groups that are collectively known as Popular Mobilization Forces and backed by Iran.

In a statement Tuesday, Barzani seemed to blame the turn of events on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which presumably negotiated for a role in the administration of the disputed areas.

The Kurdish people will reach their blessed aim  sooner or later, he said.

At 15% to 20% of the population, the Kurds make up Iraqs largest ethnic minority. Their desire for independence has long been thwarted. Last months referendum was roundly opposed by the government in Baghdad and internationally.

The United States vowed to remain neutral in the conflict between Iraq and the Kurdish regional government. It has relied on both Iraqi forces and the Kurdish troops in the fight against Islamic State.

We are not taking sides, said Heather Nauert, a State Department spokeswoman.

After Iraqi forces took Kirkuk on Monday, hundreds of Kurds fled their neighborhoods. By Tuesday, they were returning.

We thought there would be clashes, and a mortar doesnt care if youre an Arab or a Kurd, said Bassam Zangana, a 46-year-old plumber who returned with his family to the Kurdish-dominated Barood Khana neighborhood.

Though many stores in Kurdish neighborhoods remained closed, Zangana and other residents said they expected to return to work by Wednesday.

The subdued atmosphere in Kurdish neighborhoods stood in stark contrast to the celebrations on Kirkuks aptly named Baghdad Road, where traffic was snarled by dozens of young men waving Iraqi, Shiite and Turkmen flags. Drivers would occasionally abandon their cars in the middle of the street for a quick celebratory dance.

The Kurds are still our brothers, but the leaders were the problem, said Mohammad Hussein, a 23-year-old resident of Kirkuk who was draped with an Iraqi flag. Thank God the Iraqi army came.

Bulos is a special correspondent.
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Egypt's Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said on Tuesday in Washington that the Egyptian government is aiming to reduce the total budget deficit to 4-5 percent of the gross domestic product by 2022, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

In a meeting with Standard Bank investors to discuss the recent economic reforms in Egypt, El-Garhy said that the country seeks to reduce the budget deficit each year by 1-1.5 percent of the GDP.

The budget gap for the last fiscal year, which ended on 30 June, shrank to 10.9 percent of GDP from 12.5 percent the previous year.

El-Garhy said that reducing the deficit and public debt will provide more resources for investments and increasing growth in the public sector.

The minister also revealed that the government is targeting $10 billion in direct investment in Egypt this year.

He also said that the ministry of finance is considering releasing Eurobonds and USD-denominated bonds in 2018 to diversify the finance portfolio in Egypt.

El-Garhy is heading a high-level delegation of officials in Washington to attend a number of meetings organised by the International Monetary fund and the World Bank.

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Egypt's tourism revenues jumped 211.8 percent year on year to $5.3 billion in the first nine months of 2017, a government official said on Wednesday, as the industry starts to recover after years of political upheaval that drove visitors away.

The tourism sector is one of the country's main sources of foreign currency but it has struggled since the 2011 uprising. A currency float tied to a $12 billion International Monetary Fund programme signed last year has also helped give the country a competitive edge.

"Tourism revenues jumped to $5.3 billion in the first nine months of 2017 compared with $1.7 billion the year before ... The improvement in numbers came from an increase in tourists' average spending to $88.2 per night," said the official who requested anonymity.

The number of tourists who visited Egypt in that time jumped 55.3 percent to 5.9 million, with European visitors reaching 3.2 million, an 85 percent increase from the previous year, he added.

The number is still well below the 14.7 million who visited Egypt in 2010 before the uprising.

The industry took a blow when Russia, once responsible for a large portion of visitors to Egypt's popular Red Sea resorts, banned its flights to the country following a plane crash over Sinai in 2015 that killed over 200 people.

Egypt only made $3.4 billion in tourism revenues in 2016.

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Before a packed attendance on Tuesday last week, Jordan Auctioneers offered for sale Woodville House on 18-acres and 100-acres of agricultural land at Meelick Portlaoise.

The land was offered for sale in 3 lots and while there were several bidders for Lot 1 and Lot 2 it developed that the entire was making more and this was put on the market at 1,300,000 before being sold for 1,350,000 to a local farming family.

Jordans had guided the 100 acres at 1,000,000 so the sale price of 13,500 per acre was a strong reflection both of the market and the quality of the land.

The entire was located a short distance from Junction 17, less than 3km from Portlaoise town centre with approximately 80 acres in one block with two farmyards, and a further 20 acres on the opposite side of the motorway.

Next up was Woodville House which adjoined the above lands and this opened with an initial offer of 500,000 with two active bidders.

The property was placed on the market at 610,000 and a number of further bids were received before the hammer dropped at 630,000 to a Solicitor acting in trust on behalf of an undisclosed client.

Jordans had been guiding this lot at 625,000.

Woodville, owned by the Odlum family was described by Jordans as a charming Georgian Residence with courtyard and Gate Lodge on 18 Acres of parkland and amenity grounds.

Built originally in the 1800s the residence comprises 5,000 sqare feet of accommodation and whilst in good repair required some upgrading.

Speaking after the Auction Paddy Jordan said both properties had generated substantial interest throughout the marketing period and while the house did require some upgrading it was in a good location surrounded by splendid mature timber and within close proximity of the M7 and Portlaoise town centre.

Paddy further said the land, whilst all very good is likely to have some long term potential and although the price achieved was strong it could in time prove to be an excellent purchase.

See also: Two quality land parcels for auction
Little Harry OBrien from Sallins stole the show on Ireland AM this morning as his family helped launch the Bake a Cake for Goodness Sake fundraiser for Jack & Jill.

Denis and Maria appeared on TV3 with their son Harry, along with Catherine Leyden, Odlums Brand Ambassador and Hugo Jellett, CEO Jack & Jill.

The Jack & Jill Children's Foundation, supported by Odlums, is asking people to bake a cake for family and friends and to host a bake sale to help the charity raise much needed funds for very sick children across the country.

SEE ALSO:SEE ALSO: Two Wicklow students raise 6784 for Jack & Jill

The campaign was launched with the help of the OBriens. One and a half year-old Harry is the only child in Ireland diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Genitopatellar. He is supported by Jack & Jill.

People can register now for a free baking pack at www.jackandjill.ie and to make a donation to Jack & Jill, with every 16 funding one hour of home nursing care for a sick child.

Participants throughout the month of October will be in with a chance of winning a Kenwood mixer and Odlums hamper and the charity is hoping to start a wave of baking across the country, especially with the Halloween midterm break coming up.

People are asked to return the money raised to Jack & Jill by November 2 to be in to win a prize and receive a gift certificate of time donated.

Catherine Leyden, Odlums Brand Ambassador and Home Baking expert said, I am delighted to be supporting Bake a Cake for Jack & Jill with Odlums. Bake sales are a great way to bring people together in the workplace, school and in the community. During the month of October, Odlums wants to inspire people to dust off their aprons, try a new recipe and get baking to help raise money for this very worthy cause.

Hugo Jellett CEO of the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation said;"With the Halloween midterm coming up, this is an ideal time for all the family to have fun together baking and we are expecting some spooky photos, as well as closely guarded family recipes to be revealed on our facebook page.

Linking the iconic Odlums brand to a charity like ours that is all about homecare and community helping community is a great match and we are in very good company. Caring can be a lonely job and seeing the positive support from Odlums on pack and in-store now reminds families that they dont walk alone, that their community really cares."

Each year, Jack & Jill must raise 3.5 million to provide its unique home nursing care and respite service delivered to sick children across the country 365 days a year with no means test and no waiting list.

With less than 20% of funding from the State, Jack & Jill relies on the generosity of the public and fundraisers like this to keep going.

The charity was set up in 1997 (20 years ago) by Kildare residents, Jonathan Irwin and his wife Mary Ann OBrien in memory of their son Jack who they nursed at home and whose home nursing plan became the blueprint for Jack & Jill.
Richard Duffy  Lackagh, Monasterevin

Beloved husband of Julianne and much loved father of Tony and Bernie. Deeply regretted by his loving family, daughter-in-law Mary, grandson Cillian, brothers Benny, Jimmy, Liam and Noel, nieces, nephews, extended family relatives and friends. Reposing at the Chapel of Rest, Monasterevin on Wednesday October 18 from 4:00pm until 8:00pm with rosary recital at 8:00pm. Removal on Thursday October 19 to SS Peter & Paul's Church for 11:00am Requiem Mass. Interment afterwards in St. Evin's Cemetery. Family flowers only please.

Rena Dunne  Balan, Moone / Kerry

Late of London and Kerry. Wife of the Late Luke Dunne, sister-in-law of Ger, Tom, Kathie and Sr Imelda of Balan Moone. Peacefully in the company of her daughters Anne, Kathy and Imelda. Sadly missed by her sons-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, relatives and friends. Reposing at McGuills Funeral Home, Bennekerry, Carlow from 5pm this Wednesday October 18, Removal from there on Wednesday evening at 7.15pm by Leighs Funeral Directors to the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Moone for prayers at 8pm. Funeral Mass at 11am on Thursday morning, October 19. Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Gerard Fitzgerald  Lismoy, Newtownforbes, Longford / Naas

Formerly of Nass, Co. Kildare, peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family, predeceased by his mother Mary, father Joseph, brothers Senan and John. Sadly missed and remembered with love by his wife Elizabeth, daughter Clair (Baxter), sons Martin and Joe, sisters Josephine (Cashman) and Margaret (Byrne), sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, son-in-law Aiden, daughter-in-law Lorna, grandchildren Daniel, Aaron, Emer, Thomas and Leo, nieces, nephews, relatives, friends and his beloved pet Trigger. Reposing at Glennons Funeral Home, Ballinalee Road, Longford on Wednesday October 18 from 6.00pm until 8.00pm,concluding with prayers at 8.00pm. Removal on Thursday October 19 to arrive at St. Marys Church, Newtownforbes for Mass of the Resurrection at 11.00am, interment afterwards in Newtownforbes Cemetery. Family flowers only please, donations, if desired, to Friends of St.Lukes Hospital.

Maureen Knightly  Parkmeen, Rathangan / Offaly

October 16 2017, Deeply regretted by her daughters, Sheila, Breda, brother Joe, Sister, Sr. Sheila, granddaughter Emily, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, relatives, neighbours and friends. Reposing at her daughter Sheila's home on Thursday (October 19) from 12 o'clock with removal at 6.30 o'clock to the Church of Assumption, Rathangan arriving at 7 o'clock. Requiem Mass on Friday morning (October 20) at 10 o'clock, burial afterwards in Coolegegan Cemetery.

Mary (Maura) Maguire  Garrisker, Broadford

October 16 2017, Peacefully in the care of the staff of Parke House Nursing Home, Kilcock, deeply regretted by her son, sisters, brother, daughter in law, grandchildren, sister-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends. Reposing at Paul O'Neills Funeral Home in Johnstownbridge, Enfield on Tuesday (October 17) from 8pm with Rosary at 10pm. Reposing on Wednesday (October 18) from 7pm with Rosary at 9pm. Removal on Thursday (October 19) at 11.30am to St. Mary's Church, Broadford arriving for Funeral Mass at 12 noon. Burial afterwards in adjoining cemetery.

Charles (Charlie) McCarthy  Celbridge / Lucan, Dublin

October 162017 (peacefully) in the loving care of the staff at St. Brigids Hospice, Monasterevin, Charles (Charlie), beloved husband of the late Deborah and dear father of Deborah and Tony and a devoted grandfather of Donal and Conor; sadly missed by his loving son, daughter, grandchildren, son-in-law Bernard, daughter-in-law Susan, sister Maureen, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Reposing at Cunninghams Funeral Home, Ardclough Road, Celbridge on Wednesday evening (October 18) between 6pm and 8pm. Removal on Thursday morning (October 19) to St. Patricks Church, Celbridge arriving for Requiem Mass at 11am followed by burial in Esker Cemetery, Lucan. Family flowers only, please. Donations, if desired, to St. Brigids Hospice, Monasterevin.

Francis (Frankie) McGovern  Preston Heights, Kilmeague

October 15 2017, tragically following an accident, beloved son of the late Martina, deeply regretted by his loving father Francis, brother Sean, sisters Deborah & Izzy, grandparents Jack, Lizzie & Olive, uncles, aunts, cousins & friends. Reposing at Reilly's Funeral Home, Prosperous on Wednesday October 18 from 5pm, with prayers at 8pm. Removal on Thursday October 19 at 10.30am to arrive at the Church of Our Lady & St. Joseph, Prosperous for 11am Funeral Mass, followed by burial in Killybegs Cemetery. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to Pieta House.
Ireland is a country famous for its incredible castles and Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa is one of its finest examples of the vision, splendour and elegance of the era when these homes graced our lush green landscape.

This magnificent Gothic Castle is unique in that its history can be traced right back through the royal family who resided there. For more than 300 years, this 50-acre estate remained in the Tenison family, before falling into disrepair in their absence. In 2006, it was lovingly brought back to life by passionate Irish father and son, Alan and Albert Hanly. They endeavoured to restore it to its former glory by maintaining the homely feel and medieval soul but with a modern touch of luxury, technology and the best food that the surrounding lands still produce.

Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa now has 85 superbly appointed bedrooms with luxurious and decadent furnishings capturing the original ambiance of the castle from Classic King rooms to Family rooms and for that extra special occasion you can upgrade into a Lake View room or a for poster Authentic Castle Suite.

The latest addition to the rooms at Kilronan Castle Estate & Spa is the luxurious Castle Tower Suite which is quite simply the creme de la creme of rooms at the castle. On the top floor of the castle, inside its iconic central tower and situated over two floors, lies a magnificent suite, the stuff of which dreams are made.

From the vintage furniture to the stunning skylight, the downstairs living room you are greeted by is tastefully decked out with a mix of the old and the new. Antique touches sit side by side with modern technology, in a space youll spend most of your time relaxing in.

Then, when it comes to retiring upstairs, your beautiful bedroom gives you breathtaking panoramic views of the beautiful estate from the comfort of your majestic four-poster bed. And to top it all off, you can relax in your own Jacuzzi in your large en-suite bathroom complete with his and hers sinks, separate shower, comfortable bathrobes and slippers and even your own selection of award-winning Elemis amenities.



Open now, the all-new Tower Suite comes complete with temperature-controlled air-conditioning, a wide-screen HD television and your own intimate dining area with Nespresso coffee machine and complimentary still and sparkling water

The discreet service and luxurious furnishings of the Douglas Hyde Restaurant offer a perfect setting in which to enjoy the traditional art of elegant dining accompanied with wines that have been carefully selected from vineyards across France, Italy, Spain and the New World. Executive Head Chef David Porter & his team delight culinary sensations with mouth-watering ala carte and table d'hote seasonal menus.

The Drawing Room is the main reception room and is worthy of its name. It features a bay window with uninterrupted views of Lough Meelagh and is a wonderful area in which to relax by the enormous Inglenook fireplace, itself a renowned architectural feature of the Castle. An extensive and delicious bar food menu is available daily in addition to the traditional Afternoon Tea which includes a selection of delicacies baked in our kitchen.

The World Class Spa & Thermal Suite creates an oasis of calm for you to relax and unwind in with luxurious individual treatments & retreats carried out by our highly qualified therapists. The Leisure Club features facilities such as 18m Pool, Sauna, Steam Room & Jacuzzi as well as gym and fitness studio.

The commitment at Kilronan Castle is to provide the highest level of luxury, comfort and service. You will enjoy old world elegance with modern day comforts. One step inside Kilronan Castle and you are at home.

With a warm and friendly atmosphere the staff will see to your every need, everything has been designed with your desires in mind  Call 07196 18000, email enquiries@kilronancastle.ie or visit www.kilronancastle.ie
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), in response to enquiries from members, have indicated that they will not tolerate employers deducting pay or insisting that employees take annual leave, as a result of having to stay away from work on Monday due to Hurricane Ophelia.

Pointing to the fact that a red weather warning was issued for the entire country and that the Taoiseach and many ministers indicated that people should stay at home, David Hughes, Deputy General Secretary of the Organisation said The decision to declare a red weather warning was to save lives. The government re-enforced the red weather warning and the Taoiseach himself indicated that he was appealing to private employers to act reasonably where employees adhered to that warning.

"It is most regrettable that health employers are now seeking to penalise nurses and midwives who adhered to the warning or could not attend their workplace yesterday because of the effects of the hurricane.

Mr Hughes said that where health employers sought to either deduct pay or offset annual leave against the day, the INMO would fully represent members and insist on their right to be paid.

Mr. Hughes continued, Many nurses and midwives did attend work yesterday and continued to provide emergency and essential services. In common with all other emergency services, these efforts have been acknowledged and are appreciated by the general public and official sources. Irresponsible small minded deductions, on the part of employers, will entirely undermine the purpose of red weather warnings and governments declaring national emergencies for such circumstances. Forcing people to take chances on such days will inevitably have consequences which go way beyond the value of a single days pay.
A MAN has admitted setting a fire which extensively damaged two council-owned houses in Patrickswell earlier this year.

When arraigned at Limerick Circuit Court this Tuesday, John ONeill, aged 43, who has an address at Lisheen Park, Patrickswell pleaded guilty to a charge of arson under the provisions of the Criminal Damage Act.

The charge relates to damage which was caused to two adjoining houses at Lisheen Park in the early hours of March 10, last.

The defendant, whose home address at the time was at one of the houses, was charged before the district court earlier in the year and the matter was sent forward to the circuit court after the DPP directed trial on indictment.

Three units of Limerick Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene of the fire for more than two hours after the alarm was raised. Nobody was injured as a result of the fire.

After Lily Buckley BL, prosecuting, indicated Mr ONeils plea was acceptable to the State, she requested a sentencing date in December.

Judge Tom ODonnell noted this and he directed that a psychiatric report be prepared in relation to the defendant who has had difficulties with substance abuse in the past.

Mr ONeill was remanded in continuing custody pending the sentencing hearing.
A MAN who is accused of tasering and stabbing another man at a house in Limerick city last year has been refused bail.

Michael Hayes, aged 38, who has an address at Galvone Road, Kennedy Park, is accused of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the alleged victim in the early hours of April 4, 2016.

The defendant, who travelled to the UK following the incident, was arrested at his home address in July of this year and brought before Limerick District Court.

The DPP has directed trial on indictment and the case was sent forward for trial at Limerick Circuit Court last month.

Opposing a bail application, Detective Garda Denise Moriarty said it will be alleged Mr Hayes stabbed the injured party in the right side of his upper body after tasering him in the neck in the kitchen of a house at Byrne Avenue, Prospect.

She said the injured party sustained a laceration to the liver and required treatment in hospital following the incident.

Detective Garda Moriarty told John OSullivan BL, prosecuting, the defendant had been claiming Jobseekers Allowance in Liverpool before his arrest and that she had concerns he would not appear in court if released.

She added she believed there was a grave risk that Mr Hayes would commit other serious offences if granted bail.

Cross-examined by Mark Nicholas SC, the detective agreed his client was never questioned about the allegations and that he had returned to Limerick of his own volition.

Mr Nicholas said his client was located at his family home and suggested the case against him was not particularly strong.

He submitted the concerns of gardai could be addressed by the imposition of strict conditions.

Having considered the gardai objection, Judge Tom ODonnell said he was concerned Mr Hayes represents a flight risk and that he would not stay around for his trial.

He refused bail and remanded the defendant in continuing custody to October 26, last.
THE DEFENCE forces have now made safe an improvised explosive device which was found in a West Limerick town this Wednesday morning.

The Defence Forces deployed the Army Bomb Disposal Team to Rathkeale, following a request from An Garda Siochana this morning, due to the discovery of a suspect device. The bomb squad arrived on the scene at 12:17pm.

A garda source said that the device was found at the rear of an unoccupied house in the town.

To ensure public safety, a number of houses and local businesses were evacuated and a cordon was put in place for the duration of the operation, said a spokesperson for the Defence Forces.

The device was removed to a secure military installation for further examination at 2:06pm. Any items of an evidential nature will be handed over to An Garda Siochana to assist them with their investigations, added the spokesperson.

The town was closed off while gardai and the bomb team dealt with the homemade device. The local doctor's surgery in the town was also evacuated, and people were told to move to a safe location.

Main Street in Rathkeale was closed between Castlematrix and the fire station for the afternoon, because of the operation, but it has since re-opened.
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It was 2 a.m. when Dr. Scott Witt got a call at home telling him he was needed to help evacuate the babies under his care in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.

The Tubbs Fire, which had erupted hours earlier, was sweeping across much of the city and its flames were nearing the hospital.

Within minutes of the call, the director of the hospitals neonatal ICU was steering his pickup truck away from his Santa Rosa home toward Highway 101, leaving behind his wife and four of his children. It was the beginning of a harrowing early-morning adventure in a quest to save eight newborn babies.

It did not get off to a smooth start. By the time Witt, 45, reached the freeway, it had been closed. Flames from the fire had jumped across its lanes and traffic was a mess.

Figuring it would be easier to weave through traffic on his motorcycle, Witt turned around and raced back home to get it.

Now Playing: A Santa Rosa doctor went on a dangerous mission to save newborn babies form the deadly Tubbs Fire. He used his motorcycle to get through the clogged, and debris heavy, highway. Video: KTVU

It was a 15-minute drive to his Fountaingrove neighborhood , and when he arrived, police were advising residents over loudspeakers to evacuate. The fire was still far away, Witt thought, but he asked his family to do as police requested and leave. He said he needed to focus on the babies under his units care and didnt want to also worry about his family.

He then climbed onto his motorcycle, a 2015 BMW R nineT, and navigated side streets toward the hospital, 4 miles away.

I got to where the fire was and started skirting around it, he said. It wasnt all that harrowing, it just involved darting around traffic, riding on the shoulder, sliding in the gravel. The police, when I explained, let me go through.

When he arrived at the hospital, flames were approaching from two sides. Witt scanned the parking lot for a spot where patients could shelter if the building caught fire, as advised by the hospitals fire safety plan, but saw nothing.

In this case, he said, no place was safe.

Inside the hospital, he  along with another doctor and the nurses  prepared the units babies, most of them born prematurely, to be taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital about 6 miles away. They moved them to the labor and delivery unit, closer to a fire-free exit, and began loading them into ambulances as they became available. It took multiple trips over about three hours.

As the last two babies were loaded into an ambulance, Witt realized the only way he could make it to Memorial Hospital was on his motorcycle.

At that point, the fire had come close enough that I knew the only way I could get there was to follow the ambulance on the freeway, he said. I figured it would be OK if I followed the ambulance and got some draft.

The ambulance, with Witt on his motorcycle close behind, sped onto Highway 101, which was closed to all but emergency vehicles. The smoke from the fires was so dense, Witt had to rely on the ambulances lights to guide him. Flames licked at the side of the freeway and embers whipped through the air and across the pavement. Fallen power lines and branches were scattered across the roadway.

Witt said he simply tried to steer clear of hazards and stay focused on getting to the new hospital to take care of his young patients.

On a motorcycle, youre pretty versatile, he said. I wasnt really thinking of the danger because I was just thinking about what the babies would need. I know each baby personally, I know what they need and I wanted to pass that on to their new doctors.

I wanted to be there for them.

The babies, and Witt, arrived safely at Memorial Hospital.

I wouldnt say it was the scariest thing I did in my life but close to it, Witt said. It didnt seem scary at the time. It seemed like the fire was far enough away. But later, looking back, it seems a little dangerous.

With the newborns safe and being cared for, Witt called his family. They were safely sheltered at their church. He joined them there, to recover from his ordeal, and wait.

It was Monday morning, the first day of the fires that would bring so much destruction. About noon, Witt and his family learned their home and the rest of their neighborhood had been destroyed.

We lost everything, he said. But well be OK. We have insurance, and we intend to rebuild. And the support from the community has been amazing.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
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Even though theres nothing left to rescue, the search and rescue teams have come to Coffey Park.

The flames are out, the fire trucks are gone, the grieving residents keep their distance. The search and rescue teams go to work.

With crowbars on their shoulders and long poles in their hands, the six-member teams of volunteers from the Alameda County Sheriffs Office sort through the powdery gray remains of Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, where entire blocks of homes disappeared in the early hours of Oct. 9 in the worst wildfire disaster in state history.

Its a lonely, quiet, painstaking job. Suddenly, amid the ash and cinders, appears something recognizable. A pair of childrens underpants lined with pink lace. A fancy backyard grill. A heat lamp. The talismans of suburban life, the untouched items spared by happenstance as the flames jumped from home to home.

Some is unbearably grim. The bones of people who died in their beds, the remains of pets that tried to hide under cars.

Hey, Mitch, said search and rescue team member Ed Lim, poking through the foundation of one home Tuesday. I think we have something here.

Now Playing: Wine Country Fires Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Lim and Mitch Rogers look inside a half-melted remains of a freezer. There are bones inside, but they came from a butcher shop. Maybe lamb, maybe pork, they decide. No need to summon the coroner.

The search started Sunday and will continue for weeks. More than 4,000 homes were destroyed in Sonoma County. Sixty-five people remain missing. Its the biggest scene the crews have ever searched.

These teams come from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office search and rescue unit, a group of 100 volunteers established more than half a century ago that often assists other counties. The team includes a large pack of rescue dogs with specially trained noses that find what the humans miss.

The teams already canvassed Coffey Park for human remains last week. But before the police barriers can be lifted and the residents return, the searchers must scour the detritus again. Anything of significance  safes, firearms, animal corpses  is marked with orange tape.

Santa Rosa police officers pack the valuables and store them in the evidence room. Its already overflowing with charred belongings. Animal control officers pick up the remains of the pets.

The search teams, in their gas masks, safety suits and thick boots, look like astronauts on moonwalks. One team clomped past a tiny stone Nativity scene perched on a retaining wall. Jesus and Marys heads were charred and blackened.

Zinka, a black German shepherd, pointed his handlers to a clump of dead chickens and a dead cat caught underneath a burnt-out pickup truck. The workers marked both spots.

Theres a really nice vase over there, said searcher Denise Blackman.

Rogers stopped next to the remains of an old car.

What is that, a 56 Chevy? said Rogers, peering under the hood. The guy mustve been working on it. The engine is missing.

The crews usually start in the garage, where the burnt cars are. Then they seek out the metal box springs  that indicates a bedroom. Stoves and freezers indicate a kitchen. Thats about all there is to go by.

At one house, Lims team unlatched the front gate in a white picket fence and walked through. The fence had survived. The house was only a memory.

Chronicle staff writer Steve Rubenstein contributed to this report.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com
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Robots may be allowed on the streets and sidewalks of San Francisco  but only if they have permits, according to a revised ordinance that Supervisor Norman Yee presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The law was supposed to get its first vote that day, but Yee kicked it back to the boards Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee after offering a lengthy list of amendments to placate technology startups that are testing the robots. One such company, Marble, has several robots delivering meals in the Mission and Potrero Hill neighborhoods, to people who order via the Yelp Eat24 app.

Yee said the sentiment behind his proposal is more pro-person than anti-machine.

I resolutely believe that our sidewalks should be prioritized for humans, Yee said.

His initial ordinance, which would have outright banned the devices from city sidewalks, did not appear to have enough votes to pass the board. Supervisor Jeff Sheehy opposed it in the boards Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee, and Supervisor Mark Farrell criticized it at Tuesdays meeting.

I think its a mistake to ban things or stick our heads in the sand and say were not going to tolerate these things in San Francisco, said Farrell, who runs a Silicon Valley venture capital firm in addition to holding office.

But Yee said he hopes the amended proposal will please everyone. It would allow companies to apply for a limited number of permits to test the delivery robots within areas circumscribed by the City Planning Department. Companies would also have to keep a human nearby to monitor the devices and agree to a labor clause protecting their human workers right to unionize.

Also on Tuesday, Mayor Ed Lee introduced legislation to lease new buildings for city departments that are currently housed in the squalid Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St. Lee also told the board to come up with an exit plan for inmates in the buildings seventh-floor jail.

Supervisor Mark Farrells law barring flame-retardant chemicals from upholstery and childrens products sailed through the board Tuesday, getting unanimous approval on its first reading. The ordinance, which would take effect in 2019, was inspired by numerous scientific studies linking these chemicals to cancer, hormone disruption, lowered IQs, attention problems and reproductive issues.

The supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance, sponsored by Sheehy, requiring big grocery stores to report the antibiotic content in their meat. Sheehy characterized it as a strike against superbugs that spread infections, killing 23,000 people in the United States each year, according to data from San Francisco Health Officer Tomas Aragon.

And the board voted 9-2 to approve another Sheehy ordinance to prevent bicycle chop shops from obstructing city sidewalks. Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Sandra Lee Fewer voted against the law, which allows the citys Public Works Department to seize disassembled bicycles. They said it would do nothing to curb bike theft.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
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Councilman Greg Brockhouse lambasted city and county officials for publicly refusing to bid on Amazons $5 billion campus, saying their open letter last week to CEO Jeff Bezos damaged San Antonios reputation and competitiveness.

The Mayors Open Letter to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon plastered San Antonios curious history of self-doubt regarding its future as a national player across social media and unfortunately, to any other corporation looking to relocate or grow their operation, Brockhouse, District 6, said in his own open letter to San Antonio.

The Seattle e-commerce giant invited cities last month to bid on the location of its second headquarters, HQ2, promising 50,000 new jobs that pay an average of more than $100,000 a year. The deadline is Thursday.

San Antonio, you deserved better in the pursuit of Amazon HQ2, Brockhouse said in his rebuttal, which criticized Mayor Ron Nirenberg and others for making the decision in secret and without consulting the rest of the council. We all should have been a part of the bidding process decision, the pros and cons, and how we want to portray ourselves to our country and the global stage we want to occupy.

RELATED: San Antonio, Bexar County bow out of bid for Amazon's second headquarters

He added that we failed, because there was a lack of dialogue around the decision.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and Nirenberg sent a letter to Bezos asserting that blindly giving away the farm isnt our style.

Weve long been impressed by Amazon and its bold view of the future, Nirenberg and Wolff said in the letter. Given this, its hard to imagine that a forward-thinking company like Amazon hasnt already selected its preferred location. And if thats the case, then this public process is, intentionally or not, creating a bidding war amongst states and cities.

Brockhouse rebutted that argument in his letter.

Boldly saying we wont play that game because it isnt our style, isnt an answer, Brockhouse said. He noted that while Amazon may have had preferences of where to build its new headquarters, the bidding process creates opportunity.

Its the job of Mr. Bezos and his team to provoke conflict, to push for the best deal possible. That is business, and that is competition, Brockhouse said.

OPINION: Amazon should be a local wakeup call

He said San Antonio could have submitted a bid, being thoughtful, aggressive, and fiscally sound in its use of incentives.

If we dont tell people and companies the success story we see in ourselves, then how in the world will we convince others to buy into San Antonio and what our great city has to offer? he questioned in the letter.

Brockhouse said last week he learned about the citys decision from Facebook, adding that City Council members didnt discuss the Amazon bid in any official capacity since the Seattle company put out its request for proposals in September.

I think that its sad that he discussed it more with Nelson Wolff than he did his own colleagues on the city council, Brockhouse said then.

RELATED: Boutique hotel, apartments among early plans for Merchants Ice

Nirenbergs office refuted Brockhouses assertion at the time. Spokesman Bruce Davidson said in an Oct. 12 email that council members discussed Amazon in executive session last week.

The mayors office said Wednesday that specific project details are subject to a nondisclosure agreement.

All of the specific project details that allowed EDF to evaluate San Antonios prospects are subject to a nondisclosure agreement that was executed by everyone involved in the evaluation and consideration of this project, spokesman Davidson said.

In response to Brockhouses letter, Nirenberg said Wednesday in a statement that the county, city, and Economic Development Foundation decided not to blindly throw taxpayer money at Amazon in an effort to bring them here.

The decision of the county, the city and the EDF on Amazon is that we are not going to mortgage our future, Nirenberg said. We speak with one voice and it is a disservice to our community to obfuscate the facts and suggest rogue economic development policy.

RELATED: These companies in San Antonio are hiring tech-savvy people

New York research firm Moodys Analytics said in a report Friday that San Antonio might have actually had a fighting chance among other U.S. metro areas vying for the headquarters.

The San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area ranked 14 out of 65 U.S. metro areas, according to Moodys. The Alamo City, in fact, was a better contender than Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas.

While Edward Friedman, a Moodys economist who studies Texas and its major metro areas, said San Antonio ranked high for several reasons, including for a business-friendly environment, but said it ranked low when it came to educational attainment and its ability to supply the kinds of tech workers Amazon would need to hire for a second headquarters.

In his letter, Brockhouse also questioned whether San Antonio lacks an educated workforce.

Many folks have lamented about the lack of our educated workforce. I dont buy that for one minute. I find that comment borderline elitist. We have the people power and they deserve every opportunity to prove their worth, Brockhouse said. To say otherwise, or lay our fear of competition on our uneducated workforce, is probably the most offensive comment I have heard regarding HQ2.

In a statement accompanying the letter, Brockhouse said City Council still hasnt discussed or fully vetted the decision not to bid.

The bottom line is we must be transparent and inclusive of the entire City Council and key stakeholders in everything we do, he said. We must do better, and I wanted to write a competing Open Letter to let San Antonio residents know we will never sell San Antonio short and there are many who believe this was a missed opportunity.

Staff writer Joshua Fechter contributed to this report.

sehlinger@express-news.net | Twitter: @samehlinger
Houston-based Pontikes Development plans to develop a 3 million-square-foot distribution center in Baytown to serve companies handling products from plastic pellets to finished retail goods.

The Port 10 Logistics Center, planned for eight buildings, will be built on 246 acres of undeveloped land near the southeast corner of Interstate 10 and Thompson Road. The first phase will include two cross-dock buildings, of 485,000 and 295,000 square feet, and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2018. Two-thirds of the project will be rail-served, according to JLL, which is marketing the project for the developer.

Companies operating there will be able to handle international distribution through Port Houston and reach nearly half of Texas within a four-hour drive, JLL said.

The multimodal logistics project, a short drive from Port Houston's Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals and two other deep-water ship terminals, will have more than half a mile of freeway frontage.

"We're going to be able to transfer cargo by truck, ship, rail and barge," said JLL broker John Talhelm.

The park will include on-site storage for about 450 railcars, trailer storage, and it will offer direct access to Union Pacific's Coady rail yard.

Pontikes is breaking ground before securing tenants, which Talhelm said is not unusual for industrial projects. The vacancy rate for industrial buildings in the southeast Houston region is 4.7 percent.

"It's a very strong market and it has been a strong market for some time," he said.

Port 10 Logistics Center adds to a number of new big-box warehouses going up in the Houston region as demand for consumer products grows along with the population. A record seven warehouse and distribution facilities greater than 400,000 square feet are set for completion in 2017, according to JLL research.

Fifty miles west, another speculative development recently broke ground at Oakmont West 10 in Katy. Oakmont Industrial Group started building a nearly 700,000-square-foot warehouse on 42 acres off Interstate 10. The project is near Amazon's upcoming fulfillment center.

Talhelm and JLL broker Kevin Erck will handle leasing and marketing for Pontikes Development.

Pontikes Development, an arm of Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, handles a range of construction including educational, commercial, government, manufacturing, retail and aviation facilities.
A state appeals court overturned the felony conviction of a San Francisco sheriffs deputy for assaulting a homeless and disabled man at San Francisco General Hospital, saying Tuesday the trial judge failed to let the jury decide whether the officers use of force was necessary.

Michael Lewelling was convicted in October 2015 of assault by an officer and was granted probation, with 100 hours of community service. As a member of the sheriffs patrol unit at the hospital, he had been charged with illegally attacking Fernando Guanill in the waiting room in November 2014.

Guanill, 60, had come to the hospital in severe pain, and argued with a nurse. He fell asleep while awaiting an appointment, but staff members asked Lewelling to escort him out. The deputy tapped Guanill on the shoulder to wake him, then tried to handcuff him.

In a followup report, Lewelling said Guanill had threatened him and tried to attack him with his cane. Guamill said Lewelling and two other deputies hit and choked him. Prosecutors charged the officer with assault and said a video of the incident showed he was the aggressor.

Guanill sued for damages, and the city agreed to pay a little over $100,000 in a settlement, said Guanills lawyer, Randolph Daar.

At Lewellings trial, a sheriffs sergeant who reviewed the deputys report testified that Lewelling had used reasonable force to overcome Guanills resistance, but that choking him was excessive.

A jury convicted him under a rarely used state law that forbids public officers to assault or beat someone without lawful necessity. In Tuesdays ruling, the First District Court of Appeal said Superior Court Judge Ellen Chaitlin had failed to define lawful necessity for the jurors and instead allowed them to decide that any use of force  like pushing Guamill back in his chair  amounted to assault if Lewelling had no legal basis for detaining Guamill.

Based on the judges instructions and the evidence, the jurors must have relied on the prosecutions invalid theory of unlawful detention without the need to show unreasonable force, Justice James Richman said in the 3-0 ruling reversing the deputys conviction.

Defense lawyer Harry Stern said after the ruling that the jury instructions used in the trial would have led to the understandable reluctance by the police to stop and detain criminals. Lewellings alleged crime, Stern said, was attempting to stop a disruptive street person from attacking a nurse.

District Attorney George Gascon declined to comment. His office could appeal the ruling and could also seek to retry Lewelling, but Dylan Schaffer, another lawyer for the deputy, said the courts definition of the assault charge left no basis for a retrial.

Lewelling has been on leave since his conviction but could return to the department, Schaffer said, since hes done nothing wrong.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@

sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko
The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume 1: 1940-1956

By Sylvia Plath. Edited by Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil

Harper. 1,424 pp. $45

---

Sylvia Plath may have died at the age of 30, but in her short life she produced an enormous body of writing. She wrote a radio play, a children's book, dozens of short stories, and numerous incidental pieces of journalism and memoir. She started two novels and published a third, "The Bell Jar," now regarded as a coming-of-age classic. She wrote more than 200 poems. Gathered into her "Collected Poems," which won a 1982 Pulitzer Prize, they showcased her as a master of the "confessional" style.

She also kept an extensive journal and carried on voluminous correspondence with a range of family members, friends and business contacts. It has fallen to Plath experts Peter K. Steinberg and Karen V. Kukil to gather Plath's correspondence into "The Letters of Sylvia Plath," a collection so mammoth it will be published in two volumes. Volume 1, covering 1940 to 1956, is being released now. Volume 2, covering 1957 to 1963, will appear next October.

Often using vivid and compelling language, Plath addresses many topics in her letters - from politics and literature to her education and love life to her own unbridled literary ambitions and her plans to achieve them. The sheer quantity of the letters - Volume 1 runs to more than 1,300 pages - is as impressive as their quality. "I am in awe of her output," Frieda Hughes, her daughter, writes in a foreword, "and the way in which she recorded so much of her life so that it was not lost to us."

The letters begin in 1940, when Plath was 8, with notes to her parents, Otto and Aurelia. They go on to document her youth in Wellesley, a quaint town outside Boston where she grew up in a "cozy little 'matchbox.'" Tellingly, Plath almost never mentions the death in 1940 of her father, a highly regarded biologist and Boston University professor who misdiagnosed himself with cancer, refused treatment, and died from what turned out to be a treatable form of diabetes. "My father is dead now," Plath wrote as a teenager in a rare reference to him to a German pen pal, "so my mother teaches instead."

A vast number of the letters document her education at Smith College, where Plath excelled on a scholarship funded by Olive Higgins Prouty, the novelist who would serve as a sponsor and mentor for the rest of Plath's life. The litany of successes at Smith - studying with figures like W.H. Auden, acceptances from publications like the Nation and the Christian Science Monitor, a guest editorship at Mademoiselle - were eclipsed by what happened in the summer of 1953 when she was not accepted into Frank O'Connor's fiction class at Harvard University.

"I began to frequent the offices and couches of the local psychiatrists," Plath wrote to her friend Edward Cohen. "I underwent a rather brief and traumatic experience of badly-given shock treatments on an outpatient basis. Pretty soon, the only doubt in my mind was the precise time and method of committing suicide." She stole a bottle of 50 sleeping pills from her mother's safe, hid in the crawl space under the front porch of the family home and swallowed many of them. "I ... blissfully succumbed to the whirling blackness that I honestly believed was eternal oblivion [but] I had stupidly taken too many pills, vomited them, and came to consciousness in the dark hell. ... My brother finally heard my weak yells."

A stint at McLean Hospital was followed by her return to Smith to complete her degree. A Fulbright scholarship allowed her to study at Cambridge University. There, she met the man who would alter the direction of her life. Through her high school and college years, Plath had enjoyed romances with a variety of young men, but this time it was different.

In March 1956, Plath mentioned her new love interest to her mother for the first time: "Met, by the way, a brilliant ex-Cambridge poet at the wild St. Botolph's Review party last week; will probably never see him again (he works for J. Arthur Rank in London) but wrote my best poem about him afterwards: the only man I've met yet here who'd be strong enough to be equal with." In another letter she named him: "His name is Ted Hughes: he is tall, hulking, with rough brown hair, a large-cut face, hands like derricks, a voice more thundering and rich than Dylan Thomas."

Four months after meeting, Plath and Hughes were married in a secret ceremony in London - Plath feared losing her Fulbright - attended only by Plath's mother. Volume 1 ends with a decision by Plath to reveal her marriage so that Hughes could join her at Cambridge. Readers will have to wait a year for the letters that chronicle their marriage - one of the most discussed in literary history - the dissolution of which contributed to Plath's suicide in 1963.

Engaging and revealing, "The Letters of Sylvia Plath" offers a captivating look into the life and inner thinking of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. "Through the publication of her poems, prose, diaries, and now her collected letters," Frieda Hughes writes, "my mother continues to exist."

---

Alexander is the author of, among other books, "Rough Magic," a biography of Sylvia Plath, and "Salinger," a biography of J.D. Salinger.
WASHINGTON - In 1995, the National Gallery of Art opened an exhibition of works by Johannes Vermeer that attracted enormous crowds. Lines stretched around the block and people set up camp on the sidewalk in hopes of snagging timed-entry tickets. Despite two government shutdowns and a major blizzard, about 300,000 people came to see the gathering of 21 of the 35 extant works by the beloved Dutch painter.

The National Gallery's new "Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting," organized in conjunction with the National Gallery of Ireland and the Louvre in Paris, is not a reprise of that exhibition. Instead, the curators have gathered about 65 works by contemporaries of Vermeer, all of whom were working from 1650 to 1675, one of the most exciting periods of the golden age of Dutch painting. The show includes 10 works by Vermeer, along with those of Gerard ter Borch, Gerrit Dou, Pieter de Hooch, Gabriel Metsu and Frans van Mieris, among others.

It serves as a capstone on an extraordinary run of monographic shows devoted to individual Dutch painters in the years since the famous Vermeer blowout of 1995. Under the guidance of Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., the gallery's curator of northern baroque paintings, the gallery has surveyed painters who worked in the vibrant art business along and in competition with Vermeer, including ter Borch, who invented ideas Vermeer borrowed, Metsu, who rivaled him at the brilliance of rendering everyday life, and van Mieris, whose exceptionally refined and detailed work occasionally surpassed that of Vermeer in its concentrated power and vision.

The goal isn't to reaffirm or question the public's sense that Vermeer was the greatest painter of his age. Rather, the exhibition lays out a web of connections, between the works on view and the artists who made them, as they invented what was then unprecedented new subject matter: the elegant side of everyday existence. Artists had painted peasants in their revels and beautiful women in their baths. But when painters such as ter Borch turned to contemporary (rather than mythological or historical) figures in refined but recognizably quotidian pastimes - writing letters, washing hands, fussing over a pet, seeing a doctor - they were asserting something just a bit arrogant: that their own world was ready for the same glamorous spotlight that religious and historical painting had turned on the grand characters of the spiritual and political past.

The exhibition is full of twists. Perhaps most surprising is how a relative paucity of subject matter inspired a profusion of imitations, variations and adaptations. These painters didn't turn a camera on the domestic world to gather up its infinite riches and variety. Rather, they turned time and again to certain stock scenes, varying the details, adding new figures, overlaying new ideas on the foreground, or cluttering up the backgrounds with curious interlopers. Often, what we think of as Vermeer's distinctive vision was a minimalist distillation of a scene that others had filled with more matter and incident. When other painters depicted a woman dressing in the company of her maidservant, Vermeer preferred a solitary scene; and even his most solitary scenes are often thinned out and sparse, as if the detail and context has dissolved in watery light.

The paintings are organized thematically, and clustered to show affinities. Four paintings look at an idea that seems to have originated with ter Borch, a solitary woman writing a letter. His image shows a young woman with a blue ribbon in her hair writing on a lightly folded piece of paper. A rug is bunched up on the left side of the table and an ink stand has caught a glint of light. The model was probably the painter's half-sister, Gesina, who was an accomplished woman but is depicted as delicate, modest, earnest and quietly engaged in what is likely a love letter. Behind her, the thick draperies of a bed can be seen.

Variations on the basic elements of this scene occur in nearby paintings by Metsu, van Mieris and Vermeer, all of whom add one key element: Unlike ter Borch's fully absorbed young woman, the women they depict addresses the viewer directly. Metsu's elegant lady, dressed in a sumptuous fur-lined coat, smiles with the confidence of a seasoned socialite, while van Mieris's figure is seen in candlelight, perturbed perhaps, either by the intrusion of the viewer, or the intimations of mortality that haunt her thoughts. And what of Vermeer?

In this painting, and others, the figure seems slightly vacant. We can't be sure of what she is thinking, and the soft fuzziness of the image suggests a soft fuzziness to her thoughts. There is melancholy and intelligence in the finely painted woman of van Mieris, and great esprit in the figure of Metsu. But Vermeer's woman seems more connected to the world we know, precisely because she is vague and isolated and perhaps lost in a mental lapse, a momentary sense of not knowing what time it is, or to whom she is writing or what's next on the day's agenda.

Reflexively, we tend to think of Vermeer's world as more real than that of other painters, but what emerges from this exhibition is that Vermeer's world is just as contrived as those created by his contemporaries. It may eschew the dramatic chiaroscuro of van Mieris's letter writer or Dou's 1665 "Astronomer by Candlelight," or the heightened theatricality or sentimentality one finds in Jan Steen or Pieter de Hooch. But seen in succession with other Vermeers, and in contrast to the product of other artists, paintings such as Vermeer's "Woman With a Pearl Necklace," "The Astronomer" and "The Geographer," begin almost to cloy. The same light through the same window achieves the same miracle, which is to make us crave our own dissolution into this perfect existential moment.

It's a magnificent accomplishment, but it wasn't flawlessly executed every time. In a grouping of paintings that show "doorkijkjes," or "through views" that give the viewer access to an interior space through a shadowed door in the foreground, Samuel van Hoogstraten plays Vermeer's cards better than Vermeer. His space feels more spare and remote, and although he makes reference to a famous painting by ter Borch, he clears his interior of people. Vermeer's "The Love Letter," which depicts a similar space, also includes a little dramatic episode. A woman who has been practicing her music seems surprised by a letter, and that surprise allows time and specificity to flood into the picture. The artist has cluttered up his canvas with the suggestion of actual consciousness and engagement, and the conjurer's trick falls flat.

Without comparison to the works nearby, the failure might not be so obvious. But after viewing the rest of this endlessly absorbing exhibition, you understand the risk the artist took, and why it was almost certain to misfire. Vermeer has gathered together multiple tropes - woman with a stringed instrument, woman reading a love letter, and the doorkijkje view into an interior space. There were at least three balls in the air, and the juggler couldn't quite pull it off. The lute suggests self-absorption, the letter suggests longing, the maid standing nearby suggests surprise and the physical space suggests the usual luminescent cocoon of Vermeer's best interiors. There is too much to resolve.

It's a relief to see Vermeer fumble something. It punctures what was always a rather distracting and silly idea: that he was somehow more perfect and true to life than other painters. But the pleasure here isn't in pulling Vermeer down to a more manageable sense of genius. Rather, it is the depth of insight we receive into his contemporaries, who aimed at different things and achieved them perhaps as often as Vermeer finessed his particular ambitions. The gift of "Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting" is to receive all the rest of Dutch painting in its fullness.
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GreenStreet

1201 Fannin; greenstreetdowntown.com

Ghostbusters Paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop a ghost invasion. 8 p.m. Friday

Memorial City Mall

303 Memorial City Way; memorialcity.com

GoosebumpsA teenager teams up with the daughter of young-adult horror author R.L. Stine after the writer's imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Del. 7 p.m. Friday

River Oaks Theatre

2009 W. Gray; landmarktheatres.com

HalloweenFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to kill again. Midnight Friday and Saturday

14 Pews

800 Aurora; 14pews.org

The DepartureA former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan helps suicidal people find reasons to live. 7 p.m. Saturday

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

1001 Bissonnet; mfah.org

Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes For LizardsAn in-depth portrait of master shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday

Ex Libris: New York Public LibraryFilmmakers delve into the New York Public Library. 2 p.m. Saturday

Houston Museum of Natural Science

5555 Hermann Park Drive; hmns.org

Incredible Predators 3-DDeconstructs the world of major predators, taking an intimate look at the remarkable strategies they use to succeed. Multiple screenings daily

Dream Big 3-DLearn how today's engineers are shaping the world of tomorrow. Multiple screenings daily

Amazon Adventure 3-DA Victorian-era naturalist discovers a butterfly that reinforces Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Multiple screenings daily

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

531 Mason, Katy; drafthouse.com/houston

HellraiserAn unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover and the demons pursuing him. 10 p.m. Friday

The Old Dark HouseSeeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate. 7:30 p.m. Saturday

The Addams FamilyCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle. 7:30 p.m. Saturday

I Know What You Did Last SummerOne year after a nasty accident, four friends are threatened by a hook wielding killer. 10 p.m. Saturday

Carnival Of SoulsAfter a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to an abandoned carnival. 6 p.m. Sunday

Halloween III: Season Of The WitchA small-town mask maker orchestrates a mass murder using ancient rituals. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Market Square

301 Milam; marketsquarepark.com

PsychoA woman on the run checks into Bates Hotel, run by a young man under the domination of his mother. 7 p.m. Wednesday

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

531 Mason, Katy; drafthouse.com/houston

The CraftA newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft. 7:30 p.m. Friday

The Rocky Horror Picture ShowA newly engaged couple has a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to a bizarre residence. 7:30 p.m. Saturday

GhostAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind, with the help of a reluctant psychic, to warn his lover of impending danger. 2:45 p.m. Sunday

The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to the magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home. 6 p.m. Sunday

Dirty DancingSpending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances falls in love with the camp's dance instructor. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

Houston Zoo

200 Hermann Park Drive; houstonzoo.org

Hocus PocusAfter three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Mass., on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to their reign of terror once and for all. 5 p.m. Friday

Czech Center Museum Houston

4920 San Jacinto; czechcenter.org

The Zookeepers WifeAntonina and Jan Zabinski, keepers of the Warsaw
Snapshot: The Recovery Room likes to have fun playing on the curative benefits of alcohol. The bar advertises itself as your prescription for fun, and advises patrons to enter as directed. Energetic owner Heather Bury Stich took over the bar four years ago after a lengthy career in the industry, and shes quick to engage customers with welcoming conversation and hospitality. The Recovery Room has the look and feel of a dive bar, but it doesnt smell like one (the bathrooms are nicely maintained), and there is more going on here than a few people sitting at the end of the bar complaining about the state of the universe.

Who goes there: Regulars fill the bar during a daily happy hour that runs from 2 to 8 p.m. The space on the corner end of the bar is reserved for Kathy Carroll, who has a custom-made nameplate that verifies it. There also is a heavy mix of military personnel from nearby Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, an occasional college crowd and folks looking to recover for the very first time.
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National Book Award finalist David Grann is one of six authors who will talk about their latest books at the 2017 San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon.

Granns best-selling book Killers of the Flower Moon is one of five books nominated in the nonfiction category. Winners will be announced Nov. 15.

Now in its 26th year, the luncheon has raised more than $3.7 million for the UT Health Cancer Center (formerly Cancer Therapy & Research Center) Phase I Clinical Research Program. Tickets for the Oct. 30 event cost $85.

A perennial sellout that draws more than 1,100 book lovers to the Marriott Rivercenters large ballroom, the book & author luncheon is one of the highlights of the citys literary calendar, having hosted renowned authors such as Michael Connelly, Sandra Cisneros, Robert K. Massie, Sena Jeter Naslund and Bruce Feiler in the past.

More Information At a glance What: 2017 San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon When: 10 a.m.-2p.m. Oct. 30 Where: Marriott Rivercenter, 101 Bowie St. Who: This year's authors are David Grann, David A. Carter, Sally Mott Freeman, Ben Blum, Lyanda Lynn Haupt and Sarah Penrod. Admission: $85. Order online at makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu/bookauthor or call 210-567-1206. See More Collapse

Heres a look at the 2017 authors. To read interviews with them, click the authors name for a link.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, Grann tells the story of a 1920s series of at least 24 murders of members of the Osage tribe. The Osage had been shuttled off to a rocky corner of Oklahoma, where many struck it rich in the oil boom. When they began turning up dead, the fledgling FBI under a youthful J. Edgar Hoover is summoned, in what was one of the bureaus earliest cases.

In his first book, Ben Blum, older cousin of Alex, unravels what initially seems to be an unbelievable story in Ranger Games. The book chronicles the tale of Alex Blum, who had dreamed of becoming a Ranger since childhood but ended up in a nightmare as an accomplice in an armed bank robbery.

Even now, Lyanda Lynn Haupt of Seattle is surprised she wrote Mozarts Starling, a book about a composer that she liked but wasnt necessarily her favorite, and about a bird species that is widely despised across America. After writing the book, Haupt deeply appreciates Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and now lives with her own starling, just as Mozart did.

Sally Mott Freemans doggedly researched The Jersey Brothers is about three brothers with impressive Navy pedigrees and tells a wider story about World War IIs Pacific Theater and the brutal treatment of Allied POWs by the Japanese.

Sarah Penrods Urban Cowgirl is equal parts compendium of tried-and-true Texas recipes and a handbook to Texan life, guided by wisdom the 34-year-old author has gathered as a Texas native, personal chef and contestant on Food Network Star.

Open a David A. Carter book, such as either his latest two, Autumn and the forthcoming I Love You, and another world erupts  one of swirling shapes and whimsical geometry. Its no wonder hes known as the the Picasso of paper engineering.

sbennett@express-news.net
On this date in ...

1917: Albany's middle class, "which is spending money as freely as ever with no thought of sacrifice," was chiefly responsible for the poor shoring the city had shown so far in subscriptions to war bonds as part of the second Liberty Loan, according to a statement issued by Harold F. Greene, member of the Fifth New York district committee, the group in charge of the campaign for this area.

1967: Howard Engel, a member of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Board of Education, voiced his concern about the condition of the Jericho School roof. He said it was in "horrible shape," a bucket in the gym was accommodating the leak, and he questioned if the roof had enough support if it should have to take a heavy load of snow. Further investigation of the roof was to be made.

1992: When Don Rittner noticed, by chance, a yellowed poster for a missing child tacked to a telephone pole at the Altamont fairgrounds, he knew there had to be a better way to disseminate this crucial information. Rittner, a full-time freelance computer writer and systems operator, decided to create an online computer database to replace the archaic missing-child conduits of street posters, milk cartons and out-of-date printed directories. Rittner went to work in his Schenectady home office, enlisting his contacts in the computer industry and members of the Computer Users for Social Responsibility.

Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/
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What started as a human smuggling report turned into the discovery of drugs inside a man's home  and in his rectum, according to Laredo police.

Ramiro Hernandez, 39, was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of marijuana.

Authorities said Hernandez was also wanted by the U.S. Marshals for probation violation. He was additionally served with a possession of marijuana warrant out of Medina County and another out-of-town warrant for allegedly possessing forged documents.

At about midnight Friday, police responded to reports of undocumented immigrants being held against their will in the 1400 block of Main Avenue.

READ MORE: Laredo city councilman who disclosed rival's juvenile criminal records to keep seat

A male caller told police he had been held hostage at an apartment on Main. LPD said the man had escaped and made it to Houston. The man further stated drugs and weapons could be in the residence.

When police went to the apartment, Hernandez allegedly took a long time to open the door. He gave permission to police to search the apartment, according to LPD. Authorities said they discovered five bundles of marijuana in the home.

Police also said they found 148 grams of heroin, a .40-caliber handgun and three boxes of assorted ammo.

RELATED: Laredo man set fire to 3 mobile homes, a house and a vehicle, authorities say

While being booked at LPD, officers noticed Hernandez walking "at a very slow pace in a crouched position," police said.

According to LPD, Hernandez denied hiding anything but later pulled out 50 grams of heroin and 12.7 of a controlled substance called Suboxone from his rectum, according to police.
A convicted felon landed behind bars recently for allegedly being in possession of a firearm, according to Laredo police.

David Garcia, 38, was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by felon. He is out on bond.
Ivan Pierre Aguirre/San Antonio Express-News

A new search committee -- including professors, administrators and one student -- will begin searching for the University of Houston-Victoria's next president about one year before the campus' current leader steps down.

Vic Morgan, who started as an interim UH-Victoria president in 2014, will step down next fall. UH-Victoria said in a press release that he served on a year-to-year contract that was extended three times.
When I first saw Gaspar Noes 2009 mind trip Enter the Void, I walked out after about 45 minutes, when there were still two hours to go.

Now I count it as one of my top 10 films of the 2000s.
Goodbye Christopher Robin is an exquisite, beautiful film, and like most beautiful things, theres something painful about it. It depicts a kind of beauty, innocence and purity that cant be forever, whose existence forces you to stop and appreciate it now  and in the moment of appreciating it, to contemplate its future nonexistence.

Thats really the governing emotion of this film, the pitch that it reaches and sustains from beginning to end, a kind of sadness in the midst of happiness, a paradise with an awareness of mortality. Its the story of the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne and of the rewards and consequences those books had for him and for his family, but particularly for the little boy depicted in them, his son, Christopher Robin Milne.

The books came out during the period between the world wars, and the screenplay (by Frank Cottrell Boyce Vaughan) gently suggests that they were in some way a product of World War I and a respite from dread of World War II. Milne saw horrors in his military service  he was in the battle of the Somme, among others  and moved from London to the countryside in East Sussex to find peace and to recover from the stress. The rapturous reception of the Pooh books, the result of that change of scene, may have had something to do with a traumatized nation trying to regain its joy.

For director Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn), the great task of Goodbye Christopher Robin is to accomplish two things seemingly in conflict. Its to create an aura of enchantment on a level with the books, one that, in a sense, explains their creation, while at the same time suggesting a darker world hovering outside of it. He lingers, for example, on the view from Milnes property  an undisturbed, peaceful green vista  while reminding us that such valleys were the settings for the worst battles of the Great War.

Domhnall Gleeson, as Milne, is gentle and witty, radiating a quiet pleasure at his own brilliance, but with an aura of sadness that he cannot shake. His face is like the most sensitive seismograph for everything hes feeling, so that in a close-up, we not only see his thoughts, but flickers of half-thoughts. This would hardly seem possible  how do you act a feeling thats not a full thought? The only way to do it is not to think at all, but to be a receptacle for raw emotion. Watching Gleeson here feels like witnessing something privileged and intimate.

But then, this is a film of remarkable performances, including that of the movies most astonishing find, Will Tilston, who plays the 8-year-old Christopher Robin. Tilston has a face out of a fairy tale, completely open and sweet. Just in terms of pure being, hes ideal for the role, but hes also called upon to act, to suggest an understanding of his fathers pain, and a devotion to his nanny, and a joy in nature, and a growing disillusionment at his unwelcome fame  and he does it all, and beautifully.

As a director, Curtis is able to communicate complicated states without relying on a line or two of dialogue to explain his meaning. Notice his direction of Margot Robbie as Daphne Milne, who could have been played as a superficial snob  or even worse, as a misunderstood superficial snob. Instead, Curtis and Robbie present us with a complex woman, a product of her class and of her emotional limitations, but also in possession of certain strengths.

This willingness to present people in their fullness extends to the nanny as well, played by Kelly Macdonald as a person with deep sensitivity and patience, but also a lust to find her own life, outside domestic servitude. And then theres Stephen Campbell Moore as E.H. Shepard, the illustrator of the Pooh books, who appears in only a couple of scenes, and yet powerfully conveys that he, too, was scarred by his experience of war.

This is the movies one big idea, which is more than an idea but an enveloping emotion that surrounds every scene, that the pain of war somehow led to this expression of childhood innocence and joy  and further, that this expression of childhood joy led to pain. In expressing this, Goodbye Christopher Robin touches something bigger than its own ambitions. It touches, in a way movies rarely do, on some essential current of life.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @MickLaSalle

Goodbye Christopher Robin

Drama. Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie and Will Tilston. Directed by Simon Curtis. (PG. 107 minutes.)
It didnt escape filmmaker Flore Vasseurs notice that to make her documentary about saving democracy, she had to go to Moscow.

Yes, the irony is to have a discussion on democracy in Russia, Vasseur said with a laugh.

But thats where American surveillance whistle-blower Edward Snowden resides, a fugitive from much of the Western world.

Vasseurs film Meeting Snowden is a conversation about the future of democracy in the Trump-Putin era between Snowden; Harvard professor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Lawrence Lessig; and Icelandic poet Birgitta Jonsdottir, a poet who formed the Pirate Party, which favors a system of direct democracy and won a seat in Icelands parliament, the Althing.

Meeting Snowden makes its U.S. premiere at the 20th United Nations Association Film Festival on Oct. 28 at Stanford Universitys Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (Encina Hall, 616 Serra St., Stanford). Vasseur and Lessig are scheduled to attend.

Needless to say, it was a quite a feat to get these busy people together.

Im part activist, part filmmaker, Vasseur said by Skype from a film festival in Iceland. The activist part of me was just ecstatic, like it was maybe the best day of my life. But the filmmaker in me was absolutely overstressed because I had decided not to intervene, not to play the journalist. I wanted to film them as an anthropologist.

UNAFF 20 opens at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Aquarius Theatre (430 Emerson St., Palo Alto) with a slate that includes Oscar-winning filmmaker Ruby Yangs short film In Search of Perfect Consonance, about the cultural importance of the Asian Youth Orchestra; the Japanese American World War II internment documentary And Then They Came for Us; and Mankiller, an intriguing documentary about Wilma Mankiller, who became the Cherokee Nations first female principal chief.

The festival closes Oct. 29 at Stanfords Cubberley Auditorium (485 Lasuen Mall) with Tomorrow, a documentary about the future  if any  of humankind, co-directed by French actress Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds).

UNAFF 20 will also have its traditional day in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 23, at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center (145 Ninth St.). Among the four films: San Francisco filmmaker James Hoskings Even in Darkness, about the citys Night Minister, the Rev. Lyle Beckman.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the inspiration for the founding of the festival by film critic and educator Jasmine Bojic. The festivals mission is to advance discussion about issues that affect that idealistic directive, which is, as always, a work in progress.

And never has it felt more in progress for many than since the election of Donald Trump as president.

Filmed in late 2016 after the Nov. 8 American presidential election, Meeting Snowden has Snowden, Lessig and Jonsdottir discussing not only the possible dangers of a Trump presidency but also the conditions that gave rise to the Trump phenomenon.

They say it is related to the levers of government and a privileged few using modern technology  surveillance, social media  to systematically strip away democratic institutions, rendering the ordinary citizen more and more powerless. And much of what they predict that winter day in a Moscow hotel room about a Trump presidency has, in effect, already come true.

And this was before Russian interference in the election became an international topic.

The biggest thing I have learned from doing this film is a line from Snowden saying, We are not going to change the world, but we are on kind of a learning curve, Vasseur said. And maybe you do not see the impact, but maybe because you are doing that somebody is going to take your action and push it forward. For me, its really important for a lot of activists today.

There are plenty of people who are rushing into activist work with these big ambitions and that tomorrow, because they are getting into it, somethings going to change. And its like weve got to be an adult about it. Because maybe we are not seeing the change, but we push the envelope a little so that maybe one day its going to change.

Its a message of humility.

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen

20th United Nations Association Film Festival: Thursday, Oct. 19. Through Oct. 29. Various venues in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Stanford. www.unaff.org

San Francisco day: Monday, Oct. 23. Ninth Street Independent Film Center, 145 Ninth St., S.F.
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Some residents who live outside Pearland and like it that way are fighting a city proposal to annex 2,500 acres including an airport.

The plan is being considered before a new state law goes into effect Dec. 1 that would require that annexation be contingent on a referendum in which most voters living in targeted areas agree to the deal.

"I believe this is nothing but a land grab," said Michele Falzon, who owns property in two of the five targeted parcels in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction.

City Councilman Keith Ordeneaux said that the state law, Senate Bill 6, was a factor in the move to annex the parcels, which are scattered to the south and west of the city. He stressed that the expansion would eventually add property tax revenue.

That revenue boost would total around $1.2 million per year, according to Joel Handy, a management assistant with the city's management office.

"I'll be honest," Ordeneaux said. "That is the reason I want to see this happen because the state has forced our hand."

But opinions on the council are mixed on the issue, which has resulted in raucous meetings that filled a meeting room in the city's Public Safety Building with some of the 500 residents of the parcels, which are labeled as A, C, L, P and I.

Readings for the proposed ordinances authorizing the annexations are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 and Nov. 27 at the city's temporary council chambers at 2555 Cullen Parkway on the second floor of the Pearland Public Safety Building.

City Councilman Woody Owens said he's concerned with the increased debt the city would absorb through expanding its services to the parcels and expressed an overall negative view of the plan to annex.

"Any time is a good time to stop a bad decision," Owens said at an Oct. 16 hearing on the proposal.

Falzon told the council that an Aug. 29 letter sent to residents notifying them of the annexation plan was badly timed since mail service was disrupted for more than a week after Hurricane Harvey flooding. Most homeowners in the area were not in their homes or focused on more pressing needs at the time, she said.

"We are being forced," Falzon said.

She owns commercial property in the largest parcel eyed for annexation - 1,002 acres northeast of Texas 35 between Dixie Farm Road and County Road 29 that encompasses privately owned Pearland Regional Airport and includes approximately 80 homes. The airport has tenants and businesses including several flights schools, airplane and helicopter maintenance shops and 20 full-time residents who live in homes or condos.

"Pearland's 2017 budget does nothing to provision services for areas I and L, does it?" she said.

Nathan McDaniel, spokesman for the author of Senate Bill 6, state Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) was concerned that an annexation effort was being pushed just after the hurricane.

"Something is a little fishy with this Hurricane Harvey thing," he said. "We passed this bill for a reason so these types of things wouldn't be common without collaboration or vote."

The parcels mainly consist of properties on larger lots where residents can raise animals, make campfires and be free of homeowners associations and their rules. The residents say they have no need for city services such as police and fire protection and water and sewer lines that council members promise would be available if the land is in the city. Many residents said they already have water wells, didn't trust the city to maintain roads and are satisfied with response from the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office to law enforcement needs.

According to the city, annexation could mean the owners of properties within the parcels would pay an average of $1,000 annually in city property taxes before homestead exemptions.

Hayley Beeson, who lives in Area L on a horse sanctuary, told the council that a 2015 city document contradicts the reason for annexation now. Beeson said that the city's strategic plan indicates that adding more homes would not be profitable to the city.

"It doesn't look good and it's not good for the city." she said of the annexation proposal.

If the annexation plan doesn't succeed, Ordeneaux told residents at the Oct. 16 meeting, "I will, for the residents of the city, be making a motion to stop all services into the extraterritorial jurisdictions. That will mean a lot of negative things."

Councilman Trent Perez said at that hearing he understands that residents will not like the plan but added that they could see property values rise in 15 to 20 years after all city services are connected.

The statement resulted in laughter across the room, to which Perez responded, "I understand that's laughable. When you're able to sell your property for more, it's not going to be so laughable."
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas on Wednesday issued an order granting a motion for Clinton Lee Youngs stay of execution. Young, 34, was convicted in Midland County and had an execution scheduled for Oct. 26.

The courts order states the case is remanded to the trial court after meeting requirements of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 11.071, section 5. The requirements were regarding his first allegation, in which he contends that false or misleading testimony was introduced at trial, according to the order.

Young was sentenced to death in 2003 after he was convicted of the murders of Doyle Douglas and Samuel Petrey. The two were fatally shot during a 2001 crime spree.

Youngs attorneys from the Office of the Federal Public Defender recently submitted an application for a writ of habeas corpus and asked the appeals court for a stay. The case will now go to the 385th Judicial District Court, according to information from the attorneys office.

I am very grateful to the Criminal Court of Appeals for granting this stay and for giving me a chance to prove my innocence in court, Young said in the offices press release.

The attorneys application for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in the 385th Judicial District Court on Oct. 2. The document referred to the testimony of David Lee Page, a co-defendant in the case.

We are confident the court will conclude that Page lied under oath to save himself, and that our client is innocent of the crime that put him on death row, said Margo A. Rocconi, chief of the Capital Habeas Unit for Office of the Federal Public Defender, in the press release.

Another claim in the application was that Young was entitled to relief under Article 11.073 because previously unavailable scientific evidence shows he did not cause the death of Samuel Petrey. The courts order states Young didnt meet the requirements of that article.

DNA on a pair of gloves found near Petreys body matched Page, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram article. The gloves were recently tested and found to contain gunshot residue.

Page, 35, is serving a 30-year sentence for aggravated kidnapping, according to TDCJ records.
The first attack came in 1995, when Daphne Caruana Galizia's front door was doused with fuel and set ablaze. She told her three children that the fire had simply been caused by candles, left outside for too long. Privately, she believed that she was targeted for retaliation. Her collie was killed soon after, left in front of her home with a slit throat.

A reform-minded political columnist, Caruana Galizia had written an editorial for the Sunday Times of Malta, her country's largest newspaper, calling for the commander of Malta's armed forces to resign because his children had been linked to drug trafficking.

Fearing for her family's safety, she took her own children out of school and for several weeks stayed away from her home in Bidnija, a small town in the hills of one of Europe's smallest countries.

Nothing more came of the story. But in 2006, shortly after she published an article critical of neo-Nazi groups in Malta, a stack of tires was arranged behind her house and set on fire. "My brother happened to be coming home at night and noticed the fire," Matthew Caruana Galizia said in a phone interview. "If he hadn't noticed, we probably would have been burned alive."

Caruana Galizia, who faced what her family described as an escalating series of retaliatory attacks for her independent reporting on Maltese politics, died Oct. 16 after her Peugeot 108 exploded near her home in Bidnija. She was 53.

Malta police are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI, as requested by Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat. If Caruana Galizia is found to have been targeted, she will be the 28th journalist killed for her work this year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Caruana Galizia was in some ways an unassuming muckraker. Though she established herself early in her career as a scorching political commentator, since 2004 she had run Taste & Flair, a lifestyle magazine published by the Malta Independent newspaper.

Writing and editing the magazine's stories, mainly about Maltese cuisine, was her day job. In her free time, she posted articles to a blog called Running Commentary, a website that made her Malta's most prominent investigative reporter and, as Politico wrote in one recent profile, "a one-woman WikiLeaks."

On some days, the site drew more than 400,000 readers, a figure that dwarfed the audience of Malta's main newspapers and nearly equaled the country's population. Her posts ranged from commentary on the country's "19th-century" treatment of women to more salacious items, including a report that a Maltese government minister was seen in a German brothel. The minister denied the story and in February received a warrant to freeze Caruana Galizia's bank accounts.

Her recent work was fueled by the Panama Papers, a 2016 leak of more than 11 million documents that linked government officials around the world to secretive offshore shell companies. Caruana Galizia's work occurred independently of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative effort led by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in partnership with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other media organizations. (Her son Matthew is a software developer and data journalist with ICIJ.)

In blog posts based on documents from the Panama Papers, she tied Muscat's government - including his wife, chief of staff and energy minister - to several shell companies. She alleged that officials had been receiving illicit payments funneled by the government of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet satellite state.

Officials denied the charges, and Caruana Galizia soon faced a deluge of libel threats and suits. In addition, her bull terrier was poisoned and nearly killed earlier this year, Matthew Caruana Galizia said, and one of her younger sons, a Maltese diplomat, was recalled from his post in New Delhi without explanation. Before her death, Matthew said, his mother had planned to sue the government, arguing that the diplomatic ouster was intended as retaliation for her reporting.

"Everyone knows Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic of mine, both politically and personally, but nobody can justify this barbaric act in any way," Muscat said after Caruana Galizia's death.

Malta's government had been in a state of near-disarray since Caruana Galizia began publishing her allegations, with Muscat holding snap elections in June in an attempt to solidify his four-year hold on power. Shortly before the election, Ken Mifsud Bonnici, an adviser to the European Commission, wrote that Malta was facing "a veritable collapse of the rule of law."

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote that his mother "was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists." He blamed the "incompetence and negligence" of the police and government for her death.

"This is what happens when the institutions of the state are incapacitated," he continued: "The last person left standing is often a journalist. Which makes her the first person left dead."

Daphne Anne Vella was born in the resort town of Sliema on Aug. 26, 1964. Her father owned a business that imported and installed elevators, and her mother was a homemaker. She married Peter Caruana Galizia in 1985.

Caruana Galizia joined the Times of Malta two years later, working as a reporter and then a columnist before moving to the Malta Independent as an associate editor in 1992. As a columnist, she developed a flair for fiery, opinionated writing that carried over to her blog.

In 1997, she received a bachelor's degree in archaeology from the University of Malta.

In addition to her husband, survivors include their three sons and her mother and father.

Caruana Galizia's last post, published a half-hour before her death, described her increasing frustration over a lack of accountability for government corruption. In a court hearing that morning, the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, said he had not been able to respond to accusations of corruption because of a "medical condition."

"There are crooks everywhere you look now," she wrote. "The situation is desperate."
CAIRO - A crackdown on gay people in Egypt intensified over the weekend as security forces raided cafes in downtown Cairo and courts delivered harsh prison sentences, further driving the nation's LGBT community underground.

More than 60 people have been arrested, said human rights activists, since a concert last month by a rock group where some members of the audience waved a rainbow flag - photos of which went viral on social media and triggered public outrage.

Security forces have also detained people at their homes in the middle of the night and used apps and online chat rooms to entrap those perceived to be gay. Some cafes frequented by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have been shut down.

Some of those arrested have endured beatings and other forms of abuse in their prison cells while others have been subjected to forced anal examinations, human rights activists said.

"The targeting of the community was never on this scale before," said Doaa Mostafa, a human rights lawyer who is representing a man and woman arrested in the latest crackdown.

The sweeps have unfolded as international human rights activists have denounced the Egyptian government and urged an end to the arrests. On Friday, the United Nations human rights office described the anti-gay raids in Egypt and similar assaults in Azerbaijan and Indonesia as unjust and violations of international law.

On Saturday, an Egyptian court sentenced four people suspected of being gay to three years in prison, according to Egypt Independent, a local newspaper.

The crackdown is the latest sign of the repression of political and social freedoms under the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Extrajudicial killings by state security forces have soared, as have arrests of political opponents. Hundreds of websites, including independent media, have been blocked.

Gay rights activists view the suppression of their community as part of an effort to distract from the country's pressing political and economic woes, including rising costs of living and declining government subsidies, that have fomented anger on the streets.

Targeting the gay community, activists say, appeals to Egypt's mostly conservative population; both Muslims and Christians view homosexuality as a sin. A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 95 percent of Egyptians believed that homosexuality was socially unacceptable.

"The rainbow flag incident has made the public furious, and this gave an opportunity for the government and state security to start the arrests," said Mohamed, an Egyptian gay rights activist who requested that his last name be withheld for security reasons. "They are showing the people that 'We are conservative. We are embracing our traditions and customs.' "

Homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt. But authorities have been targeting gay people under a 1960s anti-prostitution law that contains a clause against "debauchery," which Egyptian courts have interpreted to include homosexuality.

The latest detentions constitute the biggest action taken against the gay community since the 2001 arrest of 52 people at the Queen Boat, a floating night club on the Nile. Over the next three years, an estimated 200 more were arrested, activists said.

Since late 2013, after a military coup led by el-Sissi ousted the elected Islamist government, an estimated 550 people accused of being gay have been arrested, said activists. More than 250 men have been prosecuted for their perceived sexual orientation, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, whose lawyers are defending those facing trials this month.

The current wave of incarcerations was set off when concertgoers waved a rainbow flag at a performance by Mashrou' Leila, a Lebanese band with an openly gay frontman. As images spread on Twitter and Facebook, lawmakers, TV personalities and religious leaders publicly condemned homosexuality as well as the actions of the concertgoers, further fueling the crackdown.

"The arrests put an end to the defaming of Egypt's image and its youth," Mostafa Bakri, a parliamentarian told Youm7, a local newspaper. He added that those detained "should be put on an immediate trial because they deliberately aimed to use this event to claim Egypt is a country of homosexuality, and this is not true."

Some were arrested for waving rainbow flags while others for their Facebook posts. So far, at least 10 men have received prison sentences of between one and six years, U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on Friday. It was unclear if the 4 prison sentences reported were included in the UN count.

"In some cases, individuals were reportedly arrested after being entrapped by law enforcement officials on apps and in Internet chat rooms," Colville said. "Charges include 'habitual debauchery,' 'inciting indecency and debauchery,' and 'joining a banned group.' "

Doaa Mostafa, the human rights lawyer, said both of her clients - Ahmed and Sara - are in jail awaiting trial. Sara was arrested earlier this month at her home in the middle of the night. Both were at the concert, waving rainbow flags.

Security guards ordered other female prisoners to attack Sara in her cell, Mostafa said.

"She was beaten up for one night," she added.

Egyptian authorities did not respond to requests for comment but have denied allegations by human rights groups of widespread torture by the nation's security forces in detention facilities.

Activists say that many in their community have left the country in recent weeks - or are considering doing so soon.

"We're getting lots of messages from people seeking help getting out of the country," said Mohamed, the activist, who himself has left Egypt for work and is planning to return only when it is safe. "In the next few months, more people will leave and seek asylum outside Egypt."

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The Washington Post's Heba Farouk Mahfouz contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Tuesday largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the president's controversial travel ban, setting up yet another legal showdown on the extent of the executive branch's powers when it comes to setting immigration policy.

The decision from U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii is sure to be appealed, but for now, it means that the administration cannot restrict the entry of travelers from six of the eight countries that officials said were unable or unwilling to provide information that the United States wanted to vet the countries' citizens.

The latest ban was set to go fully into effect in the early hours of Wednesday, barring various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. Watson's order stops it, at least temporarily, with respect to all the countries except North Korea and Venezuela.

In a 40-page decision granting the state of Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order nationwide, Watson wrote that the latest ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor."

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Watson also wrote that the executive order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a way that is opposed to federal law and "the founding principles of this Nation."

The White House said in a statement that Watson's "dangerously flawed" order "undercuts the President's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States."

"These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation," the White House statement said. "We are therefore confident that the Judiciary will ultimately uphold the President's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people."

The State Department said that it instructed embassies and consulates across the globe to resume regular processing of visas for people from the six countries but that it would implement the order for those affected from Venezuela and North Korea. Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said government lawyers would appeal the judge's decision in an "expeditious manner."

"Today's ruling is incorrect, fails to properly respect the separation of powers, and has the potential to cause serious negative consequences for our national security," he said.

Opponents of the ban, though, hailed the judge's ruling. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said, "Today is another victory for the rule of law. We stand ready to defend it."

Omar Jadwat, who directs the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and was involved in a separate challenge to the ban in federal court in Maryland, said, "We're glad, but not surprised, that President Donald Trump's illegal and unconstitutional Muslim ban has been blocked once again."

Trump was blocked by courts from imposing his last two versions of the travel ban, but the ultimate question of whether he ever had the authority to implement such a measure remains somewhat murky.

The Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear arguments on his second travel ban, inked in March, which barred the entry of citizens from six majority-Muslim countries and refugees from everywhere. But a key portion of that ban expired and Trump issued his latest ban before the hearing.

That prompted the justices to remove oral arguments from the calendar. They later dismissed one of the challenges to the March version of the ban.

Federal appeals courts had ruled against the Trump administration on the last measure, and Watson relied in part on the precedent from one of those cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The Supreme Court, though, had vacated the precedent from the other ruling that went against the administration in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

The state of Hawaii, the International Refugee Assistance Project and others who sued over the March travel ban asked judges to block the new one in federal courts in Hawaii, Washington state and Maryland. They argued that Trump had exceeded his legal authority to set immigration policy and that the latest measure - like the last two - fulfilled his unconstitutional campaign promise to implement a Muslim ban. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judges in Maryland and Washington state had yet to rule, although arguments in Washington are scheduled for Oct. 30.

"It exceeds the limits on the President's exclusion authority that have been recognized for nearly a century, by supplanting Congress's immigration policies with the President's own unilateral and indefinite ban," the challengers in Hawaii wrote of the new ban. "And it continues to effectuate the President's unrepudiated promise to exclude Muslims from the United States."

Hawaii asked a judge to block the ban with respect to all the majority-Muslim countries; the state's lawyers did not challenge the measures imposed against Venezuela and North Korea.

Watson did not address whether the ban was constitutional; rather, he limited his analysis to whether Trump had exceeded the authority Congress has given the president to impose restrictions on those wanting to enter the United States. Of particular concern, he said, were that officials seemed to treat someone's nationality as an indicator of the threat the person poses - without providing evidence of a connection between the two.

Watson said that the order did "not reveal why existing law is insufficient to address the President's described concerns" and that it was internally flawed - for example, by exempting Iraq from the banned list even though Iraq failed the U.S. government's security assessment.

Legal analysts had said challengers of the latest travel ban would face an uphill battle, particularly because the measure was put into effect after an extensive process in which the United States negotiated with other countries for information.

Such a process, legal analysts said, presumably would help the government defeat arguments that the president had not made the appropriate findings to justify his order. The list of countries affected also was changed to include two countries that are not majority Muslim - Venezuela and North Korea - potentially helping the government argue that the measure was not meant to discriminate against Muslims.

Challengers to the ban, however, sought to link the new directive to its predecessors, and they asserted that even the additions were mainly symbolic. The ban only affects certain government officials from Venezuela, and very few people travel to the United States from North Korea each year. They noted that Trump himself promised a "larger, tougher, and more specific" ban - meaning that the new version would have the same legal problems as the earlier iterations.

The directive imposed more complete bans on some countries than on others, and the Trump administration has indicated that countries could make their way off the list if conditions changed.

For Syria and North Korea, the president's proclamation blocked immigrants wanting to relocate to the United States and nonimmigrants wishing to visit in some capacity. For Iran, the proclamation blocked both immigrants and nonimmigrants, although it exempted students and those participating in a cultural exchange.

The proclamation blocked people from Chad, Libya and Yemen from coming to the United States as immigrants or on business or tourist visas, and it blocked people from Somalia from coming as immigrants. The proclamation named Venezuela, but it only blocked certain government officials.

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The Washington Post's Carol Morello contributed to this report.
Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch emerged from a bipartisan meeting with President Donald Trump saying there's a chance that a bipartisan tax bill could emerge from his committee.

"It was a very Kumbaya meeting," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chamber's third-ranking GOP leader and a member of the tax-writing finance panel. The president told Democrats he wants to "figure out something that will attract their votes," he said.

Thus far, Republicans have had difficulty fashioning a partisan bill -- let alone a bipartisan one. Disagreement has emerged, for example, over a plan to eliminate the state and local tax deduction, which would hurt taxpayers in high-tax states.

Nonetheless, as members of the Senate Finance Committee met with Trump at the White House Wednesday, Thune said Trump told the Democrats that he shares their concern to make sure middle-class taxpayers benefit more than the wealthy. Hatch said Trump spoke to Democrats more than to Republicans during the session.

The talk of bipartisanship came on the same day that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin appeared to contradict Trump's middle-class messaging in a published interview. Mnuchin told Politico it's difficult for tax legislation to avoid providing a tax cut for the wealthy.

"The top 20 percent of the people pay 95 percent of the taxes. The top 10 percent of the people pay 81 percent of the taxes," Mnuchin said in the interview. "So when you're cutting taxes across the board, it's very hard not to give tax cuts to the wealthy with tax cuts to the middle class. The math, given how much you are collecting, is just hard to do."

There are other points of disagreement as well. On Wednesday, Thune said Democrats would "have to back off" what he characterized as a requirement that the bill must avoid adding to the deficit on a so-called "static" basis. Senate Republicans want to use dynamic scoring -- that is, they want to consider the legislation's effect on the larger economy -- in determining its fiscal effects.

Additionally, Trump delivered a speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation on Tuesday in which he said it would be hard to get Democratic votes for a tax bill "because they're obstructionists."

Still, Democrats emerged from a White House meeting describing a president who seemed to want their support.

"I think the president would really like to have some Democrats engaged," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "I mean I think he wants a bipartisan deal." She called the exchange "interesting," but said she wants to think through the exchange before discussing it publicly to ensure she's "thoughtful in the way I characterize it."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he discussed a tax credit for working families, among other ideas, with Trump.

"He says they want to focus on the middle class, so we'll see," Brown said. "I know that's not what the bill does now."

Brown also said he was concerned that Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Hatch "and the special interest Republicans on Capitol Hill will not be so embracing of it."

Democrat Bill Nelson of Florida, another Finance Committee member, said the proof of a bipartisan bill remains to be seen -- but he said Trump called it a good idea.

In a statement, the White House press office described Wednesday's meeting as "productive."

"The group discussed the historic nature of tax cuts and reform, and stressed the urgent need to deliver tax relief for the middle class by cutting taxes and simplifying the burdensome tax code," the White House statement said. "The Administration looks forward to continued opportunities to reach across the aisle in an effort to provide tangible quality of life improvements for the American people."

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Laura Davison of Bloomberg BNA's Laura Davidson contributed.
This summer, India deployed troops to prevent China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) from constructing a road on the Doklam plateau near the contested Bhutan-China-India border. Indian forces stood in the path of the construction crews, blocking their work and at times even tussling with Chinese troops. Despite increasingly harsh warnings from Beijing, including the threat of "all-out confrontation," the Indians held fast. After a nearly two-month standoff, both sides disengaged and the PLA stopped its road-building activity, though China made clear that it would "continue fulfilling its sovereign rights" by stationing troops and patrolling in the area.

It is tempting to dismiss Doklam as yet another inconsequential Sino-Indian spat in a long-disputed border region. But that would be a mistake. The standoff suggests that changes may be afoot in India - changes that could significantly alter India's strategic character.

India, in its 70-year history, has rarely sought to employ force beyond its borders. When it has done so, it has generally faced relatively weak adversaries, such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka during the late 1980s, and potential coup-makers in the Maldives in 1988. In the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, India confronted an able adversary, and it attacked well into enemy territory, nearly reaching the border city of Lahore. But India did not seek this conflict, which began when Pakistan attempted to seize Kashmir with irregular and conventional forces. India's most ambitious military operation occurred in 1971, when it launched a large-scale armored thrust into East Pakistan, severing Pakistan's Eastern and Western wings and helping to create the new state of Bangladesh. India acted only after an influx into West Bengal of refugees fleeing Pakistan's civil war had forced its hand, however. Unable to absorb the flow of new arrivals, it had little choice but to attack East Pakistan and put an end to the crisis.

The modesty of this martial record has helped to create the impression of a strategically passive India, which despite its considerable economic and military heft is hesitant to use force in anything more than domestic policing and counterinsurgency operations. The accuracy of this characterization is of more than academic interest. India has emerged as a central partner in U.S. efforts to balance rising Chinese power in the Indian Ocean/Asia-Pacific region, and Washington has invested heavily in helping to build Indian strategic capacity through arms sales, technology sharing, joint military exercises, and deepening diplomatic engagement. An India unwilling to use force beyond its borders would be of limited utility to regional balancing efforts and a poor choice for a close partnership with the United States.

It is easy to exaggerate the likelihood that India will prove to be a passive behemoth. Its strategic track record is more complicated than initial appearances suggest. India has engaged potent adversaries in the past, including numerically superior Chinese forces in 1962, a qualitatively better-armed Pakistan in 1965, and a nuclear-armed Pakistan in 1999. Although India did not launch these conflicts, and not all of them crossed international borders, they did involve protracted combat that entailed significant cost and risk.

But now India may be evincing an increased willingness to employ force beyond the confines of its own territory. The Doklam standoff, in which India deployed troops to Bhutan in response to Chinese provocations, was particularly notable in this regard. What prompted India to adopt such a confrontational policy?

The answers to this question are manifold. First, India is treaty-bound to cooperate closely with Bhutan on strategic matters. This cooperation is broadly understood to imply an Indian obligation to ensure Bhutanese security. The Bhutanese government opposed China's road-building, labeling it a "direct violation" of existing boundary agreements and calling for a return to the status quo.

Second, even though China was not building its road on Indian soil, the project threatened India's security. Doklam is not only perilously close to the Indian border but also near the Siliguri Corridor (often called the "chicken's neck"), which links India's heartland with its northeastern region. At its narrowest point, this corridor is only about 17 miles wide. In the event of a war, a PLA pincer movement could cut off India's northeast from the rest of the country - a fear that has long plagued military planners in New Delhi.

Third, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration appears to believe more than many previous Indian governments in the utility of force in addressing security concerns. For example, in June 2015, Indian troops crossed the border into Myanmar and attacked the camps of anti-Indian insurgents. Just over a year later, Indian commandos crossed the Line of Control dividing India from Pakistani territory in the disputed territory of Kashmir, and attacked a number of Pakistan-supported terrorist training camps. Although previous governments had conducted similar operations, they had carefully avoided discussing them publicly. In this case, however, Indian officials then provided detailed public briefings about the raids. Indeed, Modi, in a public address in New York, went to so far as to say that, "When India conducted surgical strikes, the world experienced our power and realized that India practices restraint but can show her power when needed." The current government's willingness to not only acknowledge these operations, but actually to highlight them, marks a distinct policy shift.

In the case of China, despite initial friendly overtures following Modi's election, India has adopted a more assertive stance. It made clear to China's President Xi Jinping during his state visit to India in 2014 that Delhi would stand firm in the Ladakh region of Kashmir, where the PLA had made a number of limited probes. Then, when confronted with China's road-building activities at Doklam, India moved quickly to aid Bhutan, deploying troops to block further Chinese progress. (In 2013, under the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India had downplayed protracted Chinese incursions into Indian territory in Ladakh.)

Finally, India's understanding of its self-interest appears to be expanding. By stopping China's road-building project, it protected not only itself but also a smaller neighbor from coercion by a powerful third country. In doing so, India not only demonstrated that it would resist Chinese bullying, but also showed that India would, at least in some cases, seek to prevent China from bullying others.

This suggests a more muscular approach not just to defending India's own interests, but also to preserving the existing regional order, and may hint at the emergence of a more robust Indian leadership role in the region. In private conversations, Indian strategists acknowledge that such leadership implications were an important part of their calculus in dealing with the crisis.

The question now is whether this more assertive Indian approach will endure. India was in a particularly favorable legal and geographical position to intervene in Doklam, and the characteristics of future crises could differ considerably. The Indian government shows no signs of adopting a more conciliatory stance, however. A post-crisis statement, though measured, made clear that India would not accept forceful attempts to alter the status quo. Border agreements, it said, must be "scrupulously respected."

Moreover, the winds favor New Delhi: The Doklam episode was generally interpreted as a victory within India, garnering largely favorable press coverage and commentary from the strategic community. This will create domestic political incentives to continue to pursue forward-leaning policies. Finally, general strategic momentum is pushing India in an increasingly competitive direction. India has become one of the world's largest arms importers, while also emphasizing indigenous defense production through its "Make in India" campaign. Its projects include raising a mountain corps, modernizing its fleet of combat aircraft and improving its nuclear capabilities. In addition, India is working closely with partners such as Japan, Vietnam, and the United States to hedge against regional security challenges through efforts such as joint exercises, training and military sales. The U.S.-India relationship is especially important; Indian leaders have described it as "indispensable," and the two countries are cooperating on a number of significant projects, including the joint development of jet engines and aircraft-carrier technology.

All of these developments suggest that Doklam was not a wholly unique event, but rather part of a broader trend toward increased Indian strategic activism. And the standoff's favorable outcome may encourage the Modi government to adopt even more activist policies in the future. If this proves true, India will face an increased risk of regional confrontation, including more Doklam-like standoffs along the contested Sino-Indian border. But India may also begin to shed its reputation for passivity, emerging as less of a strategic bystander than as a stakeholder in and defender of the existing regional order.

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The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Department of Defense.
After three days of mourning, thousands of men and women marched through the streets of Somalia's capital on Wednesday, answering the Mogadishu mayor's call for unity in the wake of the country's deadliest terrorist attack, which occurred over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Somali intelligence officials began to divulge details of how the attackers, who killed at least 320 people, managed to get inside the heavily guarded city. Although no official account has been released, much of the information given to journalists unofficially matches up on a basic sequence of events.

In what is known as a "knock-knock" strategy, the attackers hoped to detonate a small bomb to blast open the gates of the intended target, allowing a large truck laden with explosives to enter. The intended target of the attack is unclear; different officials have offeredpossibilities, including government ministries, embassies, army compounds where Somali troops are being trained by Turkish, American and African allies. The bustling intersection where the truck eventually exploded is not thought to have been the intended target.

That knock-knock plan went awry when a minivan carrying the smaller bomb was stopped, and its payload found. While police attempted to dismantle the bomb, it exploded, but no one was hurt. The larger truck also attracted the suspicion of police, who stopped it at a checkpoint. The driver ultimately made it through by phoning someone whom the officers manning the checkpoint trusted.

But at a second checkpoint downtown, security personnel insisted that the truck be inspected thoroughly. According to reporting by the Voice of America, the driver panicked and sped off into one of the busiest parts of the city.

There, in the middle of an intersection packed with pedestrians, taxis, street vendors and roadside eateries, the truck detonated. A nearby tanker truck filled with petroleum ignited into a giant fireball. Many of the dead were charred beyond recognition. A prominent hotel and numerous buildings were leveled.

Somalia's president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, blamed the attack on al-Shabab. The militant group has routinely carried out small-scale bombings in Somalia, but Saturday's attack ended a few months of relative calm. In addition to the still-growing death toll, at least 400 people were injured and dozens remain unaccounted for.

Al-Shabab has not claimed the attack, but analysts say no other group in Somalia has the capability to carry out such a sophisticated strike.

"There is detailed scholarship that suggests leaders of organizations using terror tactics are unlikely to claim responsibility for a particular attack if they anticipate negative political fallout from it," said Paul Williams, a professor at George Washington University who specializes in Somalia. "The massive demonstrations by Somalis against Saturday's attack show an overwhelmingly negative view of it. Hence al-Shabab's leaders would be foolish to claim responsibility."

Al-Shabab is the armed wing of an Islamist political organization that used to be in power but was deposed by a U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006. Since then, al-Shabab, which means "the youth," has controlled ever-diminishing swaths of the country, mostly its southern regions, though it has continued to mount attacks on Mogadishu. Now, only rural areas remain under its control, and it has no established presence in any major Somali towns or cities. The group presents itself as a savior of the homeland and sees the government as a foreign-backed occupier.

Al-Shabab's control of rural regions has exacerbated droughts in the past decade, because it has prevented aid groups from accessing affected areas. In 2011, more than a quarter-million people perished, and hundreds of thousands were displaced this year after consecutive seasons of failed rains. Progress against al-Shabab, mostly because of the efforts of 22,000 African Union troops aided by U.S. airstrikes, meant that aid groups had greater access this year.

The Trump administration has given the U.S. military greater powers to fight al-Shabab by designating parts of Somalia as areas of "active hostilities," and drone strikes and raids involving U.S. troops picked up over the summer. In May, a Navy SEAL was killed in one of the raids, marking the first U.S. combat death in Somalia since 1993.

But Saturday's attack proved - as it was intended to - that al-Shabab is not on the out and out and that it is not averse to killing large numbers of civilians.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson laid out the Trump administration's vision for the U.S. role in South Asia, arguing for greater U.S. economic influence and military ties as he praised an "emerging Delhi-Washington strategic partnership" as an anchor for stability.

Tillerson's speech on Wednesday, a rare policy address for America's top diplomat since he took office more than eight months ago, was in keeping with a broader shift on South Asia under which the U.S. intends to seek India's help more often as a partner in Afghanistan. That includes increasing pressure on India's rival, Pakistan, to stop supporting terrorist groups that the U.S. says continue to foment conflict.

"The Trump administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the United States and India to work together," Tillerson said at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he was a board member for 11 years. The remarks came ahead of Tillerson's planned trip to India next week.

"In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage," Tillerson said, days before he departs for South Asia. "I want to make clear: With our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the United States is that partner."

India ranks just 130th on the World Bank's annual survey on the ease of doing business. Yet Tillerson cited the growth of the two countries' economic partnership, saying 600 American companies work there and that U.S. investment in the country has risen 500 percent in two years. He said bilateral trade will climb beyond the record $115 billion reached last year, noting that a U.S. shipment of crude oil arrived in India this month for the first time.

Citing India's role as the world's most populous democracy, Tillerson said the two countries "share a vision for the future." He called for closer defense ties, citing a range of hardware the U.S. is prepared to sell India, and said the two must work together to address shared security challenges. He added that he "couldn't agree more" with comments by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that the world's two greatest democracies should have the two greatest militaries.

Tillerson also called out China, saying that its rise as a global power had been carried out "less responsibly" than India's and that the country's leaders had undermined the "international, rules-based order."

He reserved his most pointed remarks toward China and its push for greater economic influence in the region for the question-and-answer period at the end of the speech. He said China was offering financing that saddles countries with enormous debt and triggers that lead to default.

"We will not be able to compete with the kind of terms that China offers, but countries have to decide what are they willing to pay to secure their sovereignty and their future control of their economies," Tillerson said. He said the U.S. has begun "quiet conversations" with countries in the region about other forms of financing.

Ahead of Tillerson's trip to South Asia, which will include a stop in New Delhi, he said the U.S. and India will convene "a new dialogue on terrorism designations." He didn't provide details.

Tillerson only briefly mentioned Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said Pakistan is also an important partner and is expected to "take decisive action" against terrorist groups. He said the U.S. will turn to its partners to bring more stability to Afghanistan, where the U.S. has had troops for nearly 16 years in what has become America's longest war. "India is a partner for peace in Afghanistan, and we welcome its assistance efforts," he said.

"The challenges and the dangers we face are substantial," Tillerson said. "The scourge of terrorism and the disorder sown by cyberattacks threaten peace everywhere."
Three words now describe Midland Colleges strategic goals: start, strive and succeed. The MC board of trustees on Tuesday approved revising the institutions strategic and operational goals as well as its mission statement.

The board approved the following strategic goals: increase enrollment, especially of specific demographic groups; keep students engaged and on their selected pathway; and increase the number of students earning credentials and/or successfully transferring. The goals align with start, strive, succeed, respectively.

Crystal Velasquez, director of institutional research, said each goal will include objectives and related action items. She said MC administrators or others on campus will meet to review goals.

Its going to actually become a scorecard internally  to say, we had this target, and weve reached it or we have not, Velasquez said after the board meeting. It makes the strategic plan more tangible to all of the employees.

Velasquez presented to board members the strategic goals as well as the operational goal: institutional excellence. She also introduced proposed revisions to the colleges mission statement.

The board approved a mission statement of about three-dozen words, which kept some phrases from the colleges previous 73-word mission statement.

We just wanted it to be a little more concise and easier to remember, Velasquez said. Truly, when we got the new strategic plan approved, thats what were hoping people will remember. It does support the mission, but its so much easier to remember.

Reviewing the mission statement started as the college prepared for the accreditation process. A faculty and staff committee formed in the spring to discuss college data, statutory requirements and other information.

Velasquez hopes to have town hall-style meetings to encourage people to determine how MC departments fit within the strategic plan. She thinks the pathways initiative  a program that assigns students advisers in their fields of study  recently has made a difference for the institution.

I believe that the implementation of guided pathways is changing the college, and I think a new mission and a new strategic plan really reflect those changes, Velasquez said. It gives us some energy.

Also during Tuesdays meeting, the board approved consent items, which included a revision to its weapons policy. The change removed shared housing from the list of areas where concealed handguns are prohibited.

A law that went into effect Aug. 1 lifted restrictions on concealed weapons at public colleges and universities in Texas. The law stated campus policies couldnt generally prohibit concealed handgun license holders from carrying firearms.
WASHINGTON - This is the story of how an office supply glitch became a major irritant between the United States and one of its close security partners.

When President Donald Trump added the African nation of Chad last month to his most recent installment of travel restrictions, everyone from the Pentagon to Chad's leaders to the French government was perplexed.
The Texas Business Leadership Councils fall meeting, which begins today, takes place in San Antonio the day after the fourth round of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement concludes. The fate of the 24-year-old trade deal is likely to be preoccupying many executives in attendance.

Understandably so: NAFTA accelerated the growth of diverse Texas industries in recent decades, and its uncertain future is now destabilizing many profitable businesses.

The prognosis so far is not optimistic. Negotiators from the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments have completed three sets of talks in a sprint to ink a new deal before the end of the year, before upcoming elections in the United States and Mexico.

NAFTA renegotiators have only been able to finalize one chapter of a new agreement, on small and medium enterprises, with at least a half-dozen significant issues still in play. Further complicating negotiations are the U.S. Commerce Departments decision to impose a 220 percent tariff on the C-series jets manufactured by Bombardier and U.S. plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, moves that have not engendered cooperative feelings among our trade partners.

Texas business leaders are understandably attentive to any alterations to a free trade cooperative that has streamlined manufacturing and opened new markets. But we are even more concerned with the Trump administrations threats to withdraw from NAFTA altogether if a new deal cannot be reached within the current ambitious time frame.

NAFTA has been good for Texas, and reverting to closed borders and high tariffs would place billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs and companies in the Lone Star State in jeopardy.

Since the agreement took effect in January 1994, Texas exports to Mexico have grown more than 350 percent, with imports and exports between Mexico and Texas topping $177 billion in 2016. We run a yearly trade surplus with our southern neighbor, and nearly 400,000 Texas jobs depend on these transactions.

NAFTA has also led to increases in foreign direct investment and tourism for Texas. Every year, 7.7 million Mexicans spend more than $4.5 billion visiting our state. Also, several Texas oil and gas companies are positioned to profit from Mexicos moves to open its energy sector to foreign investments.

By virtually every metric, the people of Texas are better off thanks to NAFTA. Yet the agreement has become a scapegoat to explain disappearing manufacturing jobs, jobs that were mostly lost due to technological advances and trade with China.

Executives attending TBLCs fall meeting are likely to hear about these issues and more from Robert Kaplan, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Kaplan has spoken about the benefits of trade with Mexico in terms of our competitiveness as a state and nation  a sentiment many Texas executives share.

I am proud of the efforts our business community has made to educate Washington officials about the benefits of cross-border trade. These efforts include the formation of the Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition, trips to Washington to meet with congressional and administration officials, and outreach in Mexico City.

We hope state officials will join us in making the case for NAFTA. The Texas business community is working hard to give federal trade representatives the data they need to save jobs and build new economic opportunities, It would be welcome if Austin made itself a partner in this endeavor.

Charles E. Amato is chairman of the Southwest Business Corp. and vice chairman of the Texas Business Leadership Council.
Perhaps when EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is in Houston this week to speak at an oil and gas industry forum, he also will address the trail of disasters left behind by the inaction of his agency during and after Hurricane Harvey.

Perhaps he will take a few deep breaths near the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, where 20 emergency responders became ill breathing smoke-filled air after floodwaters cut power and wiped out the backup generators at the facility.

Perhaps he will sit down for dinner with a family in Manchester and tell the children why EPA took so long to test the noxious odors that wafted from the Valero refinery after Harvey damaged the roof atop one of its storage tanks - a toxic plume that my organization independently found to contain benzene.

Perhaps he will extend to other at-risk parts of Houston's ecosystem the promise he has made to fix one of Houston's most dangerous Superfund sites, the San Jacinto Waste Pits, and explain why EPA took the word of the company responsible for it that there was no danger from the storm. Weeks later his agency acknowledged finding the release of cancer-causing dioxins into the river there at levels 2,000 times EPA's safety limits.

As a Texas-based health scientist, I am concerned about the recent past performance of Pruitt's agency during and after Harvey's tragic strike here. I am even more worried about the future and his campaign to curtail EPA's ability to protect public health every day and especially during disasters.

Though Pruitt and President Donald Trump refuse to accept the scientific understanding of climate change, we know that storms like Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate will be more frequent and more intense with a warming planet. Coastal cities will flood. Wildfires will continue to rage across the tinder dry West and Southwest. More people and more infrastructure will suffer.

There is a lot EPA does to help America protect itself. A fully equipped agency can help monitor pollution dangers, set and enforce prudent standards and keep the nation's laws in touch with the principles of chemistry and physics.

If Pruitt and his allies have their way, however, Houston will be less ready to face environmental hazards before the next hurricane season. The administration called for slashing an astonishing 30 percent of EPA's already low budget; the House plan strips half a billion dollars from the agency, and the Senate is about to vote on its cuts to environmental protections.

Pruitt, meanwhile, is installing reckless industry insiders in top EPA positions while working to lay off thousands of the agency's science, enforcement, and administrative staff. He also delayed rules requiring companies to fully address risks in their chemical emergency plans - a move he made following requests from the chemical industry.

The administration's actions and the budget cuts pending in Washington threaten public health and safety. We are all in harm's way.

Environmental Defense Fund's air quality sampling after Harvey renewed my belief that America needs more, not less, monitoring, as well as stronger safety plans at refineries and petrochemical plants to protect public health.

We need stronger enforcement so that polluters, not taxpayers, pay the bill to clean up their messes.

We also need ongoing scientific research and review, not rhetoric, to identify the best ways to keep people safe. We need reality-based standards, not politics.

It is time to reverse the dangerous course of Pruitt's policies and Trump's budget cuts. Ignoring science, weakening protections and crossing our fingers that the next storm does not target the Gulf Coast will not get the job done. If the administrator who is supposed to protect our environment does not seize the opportunity of his Houston visit to start setting things right, then Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz should stand up for Texas and reject the Pruitt playbook and the back-room budget deals that put us all at risk. We need a fully funded, fully functioning EPA - for the next storm and for our future.

Dr. Elena Craft is a Texas-based senior health scientist at Environmental Defense Fund.
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The Texas Research and Technology Foundation has ambitious plans for a boutique hotel, apartments and outdoor plaza as part of its renovation of the Merchants Ice complex on the East Side.

The foundation recently bought the complex through its subsidiary Merchants Ice LLC for an undisclosed sum. The plans released Wednesday show that developers also plan to include an event center, offices and a lab as well as space for the multi-building VelocityTX innovation center, according to a press release.

Although we are early in the process, we are very happy with the direction Lake | Flato and DWG are taking not only from the development perspective but also the self-sustaining perspective, foundation CEO Randy Harig said in the news release.

RELATED: Top San Antonio job perks include massages, napping pods

At a tech event last week Harig said Lake | Flato was hired to do a master plan for the property and offer some ideas for the site.

The boutique hotel, Harig said last week, would be for people who are coming in to work with various companies or to pitch ideas.

It gives us a place where they can stay right on campus, they dont have to go rent a car, Harig said then. And they can see whoever they need to see.

At the event, held at Tucker's Kozy Korner, VelocityTX CEO Jorge Varela also assured attendees that Alamo City Music Hall is there to stay.

Just like Tuckers its a treasure, we need to preserve it, Varela said. We dont believe that just because you bring innovation into an area, we necessarily need to change the culture.

VelocityTX, the foundations new subsidiary, is supposed to act as an innovation superhub, a organization focused around emerging technology investment and entrepreneurship support.

Last week it was announced that VelocityTX will manage the Alliance of Texas Angel Networks, a loosely organized group of 14 individual angel network organizations across Texas.

RELATED: Creepy photos of the old Windsor Park Mall before Rackspace bought it

sehlinger@express-news.net | Twitter: @samehlinger
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This Halloween season (and beyond), there are more ways than ever to get your shocks off, with frightful haunted houses, spine-tingling escape rooms and eerie ghost tours ready to scare you silly.

Heres a look at them all.

Haunted houses

Haunted houses let you experience the thrills and chills of a scary movie, but up close and very, very personal. Some houses open just for the Halloween season; others are in boo-siness year-round. Some offer online reservations that let you cut to the front of what are often very long waiting lines.

13th Floor Haunted House

This years two themes are Biohazard, in which creatures of the night created by toxic sludge are let loose; and Cursed, The Ritual, with werewolves overtaking the hamlet of Blackmore.

Open through Oct. 31, Nov. 3-4. 1203 E. Commerce St., $19.99-$29.99 and, for a reserved time, $39.99-$52.99, depending on day and time. 13thfloorsanantonio.com, 210-910-6450

Bud Light Haunted River.

For one night, the River Walk gets spooky with music, dancing, an adult costume contest and a haunted river parade.

Oct. 27, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., Arneson River Theatre in La Villita, 418 Villita St. and Shops at Rivercenter, 849 E. Commerce St. Free, https://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/events/budlight-Haunted-River

Psycho Asylum and Slaughterhouse

Get two frights for the price of one. Psycho Asylum houses the criminally insane, while the Slaughterhouse was the site of a grisly red rum, er, murder.

Open through Oct. 12-15, 19-22, 25-31. 1201 E. Houston St., Online, $30, Gate, $35 for admission to both. psychoasylumsa.com, 830-499-7229

Ripleys Haunted Adventure

Meet South Texas horror legends such as the Donkey Lady, La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) and others in this haunted house located across from the Alamo.

Open year-round, seven days week. 329 Alamo Plaza. $21.99. ripleys.com/phillips, 210-226-2828

SeaWorld Howl-O-Scream

Seasonal event includes five haunted houses (one new) in addition to six scare zones where there roam demon dolls, asylum escapees and more. There also are two theme bars, shows and nighttime roller coaster rides.

Open Oct. 13-15, 20-22, 27-29. 10500 SeaWorld Drive. Admission included with daily park admission; online, $69; at the gate, $74. seaworldsanantonio.com, 210-520-4732

Six Flags Fright Fest

Fright Fest features five haunted houses (two that are new) as well as separate scare zones inhabited by blood-thirsty creatures. There also are live shows starring various ghouls, zombies and other scary critters.

Open 13-15, 20-22, 26-31. 17000 I-10 W. Included with daily admission of $77.99, sixflags.com/fiestatexas 210-697-5050

Escape rooms

Escape rooms challenge participants to solve puzzles, answer riddles and decipher clues to free themselves from various scary scenarios  all while the clock is ticking. Most rooms require advance reservations and a minimum number of participants, so you may be paired with other groups. Scenarios listed below change regularly, so check the websites in advance. Unless otherwise indicated, escape rooms are open year-round, seven days per week.

Clocked In Escape Room

This escape room features two different scenes.

Priceless Gift: Find your deceased grandmothers hidden diamond necklace before new buyers take possession of her home.

Youve Been Scouted!: Successfully solve a series of puzzles so you can join the CIA.

Before the Sun Sets: Lost in the woods, you come across a mysterious campsite and need to find the supplies you need before sundown.

3519 Paesanos Parkway. Ste. 101, $29 for a 60-minute session, clockedinescaperoom.com, 210-267-8777

Exit Game Escape Room

Katherines Asylum Escape: Find your way out of a locked asylum by finding and deciphering clues revealing how a previous patient escaped.

Area 52: Find the cure to a zombie virus before the room youre in blows up.

Zodiac Killers: You one of the captured victims of the Zodiac Killer and must disable the alarm and escape before he returns.

5720 Bandera Road, $29.95 for a 60-minute session, exitgame-sa.com, 210-568-7777

Extreme Escape Collonade

This escape room features four different scenes.

Master of Illusion: Escape a crazed magicians lair  or disappear forever.

Undead: Find the antidote to save humanity from a zombie apocalypse.

Mutiny: Escape from the ships hold of a notorious pirate.

Trapped Below: You must escape being stranded below the Earths surface and also recover a hidden treasure.

9995 I-10 W., $29.99 for a 60-minute session, extremeescape.com, 210-641-2828

Extreme Escape Stone Oak

Encounter: Escape from a carnivorous space alien .

The Other Side: Inspired by Stranger Things, you must rescue a lost boy from creatures of the Dark Dimension.

The Curse: Venture into a remote cabin where you must reverse a witchs evil spell before she returns with her Swamp Walkers.

The Lost Tomb: Restore stolen artifacts to a Mayan Temple before angry gods destroy humanity.

434 N Loop 1604 West Suite 1204, $29.99 for a 60-minute session, extremeescape.com, 210-402-3722

Great Room Escape

This escape room features three different group scenes and a solo virtual reality mission.

The Cabin: Escape from a remote cabin where youve been trapped by a crazed serial killer.

Zombie: Find your way out of a locked study before a chained zombie trapped in there with you is freed.

Countdown: With a team, disable a sabatoged missle defense system to avoid nuclear doomsday.

Virtual Escape Rooms: Take on a 10-minute virutal reality solo mission. Scenarios vary.

1203 E. Commerce St., $39.99 for a 60-minute session, $10 for 10-minute solo session, greatroomescape.com, 210-504-4698

Key Quest Escape Room

This escape room features three different scenes.

Vacation Vandals: Recover your stolen holiday tickets before your vacation is ruined.

The Cellar: Escape a dark cellar where youve been trapped by a psychopathic serial killer.

Detention: Find the hidden hall pass to get out of school detention early.

606 Embassy Oaks, $15 for a 45-minute session, keyquestescaperoom.com, 210-499-4400

6420 NW Loop 410, $15 for a 45-minute session, keyquestescaperoom.com, 210-520-8555

Premier Escape Rooms

This escape room features four different scenes.

Conspiracy Cure: Discover the cure to the deadly virus before you die.

Foreign Agent: Find incriminating documents in the office of a rogue spy before he returns.

Hostel Dread: Decipher clues to a missing friends whereabouts in his disheveled hostel room.

Table 42: The restaurant you and your date are at is experiencing electrical issues, causing the lights to go out and the doors to lock, and you must fix the problem to escape.

Open Wednesday-Sunday, 19186 Blanco Road, $35 for 60-minute session, $60 for Table 4 2 scene, premierescaperooms.com, 210-896-1050

San Antonio Panic Room

This escape room features three different scenes.

Prison Escape: Free yourself after being jailed for a crime you didnt commit.

Phase III: Human Trials: You have been kidnapped by a mad surgeon who has injected you with a lethal drug, and you must find a cure and escape before its too late.

Cabin Fever: Caught in the snow, you and your friends were forced to take shelter in a nearby cabin; it can stand the brunt of the storm for only so long.

12770 Cimarron Path, $25 for a 60-minute session, texaspanicroom.com/sa, 210-802-8958

Ghost tours

Ghost tours of haunted hotels, spooky homes and poltergeist-infested buildings up the scare factor by taking place after dark. Some relate stories of hauntings, others utilize detection equipment to let you play amateur ghostbuster. Reservations are usually required and, unless otherwise noted, tours run year-round.

The Paranormal Activity Ghost Tour

Downtown ghost hunt led by professional parapsychology group utilizes EMF detectors and temperature sensors to look for ghosts and other apparitions.

Meets at the Alamo Plaza cenotaph. Adults, $15; children 7-11, $10; bestsanantonioghosttours.com, 210-999-1478

Alamo City Ghost Tours

Walking tour through historic King William district utilizes ghost-hunting equipment such as thermal meters and dousing rods.

Meets at the corner of S. St. Marys Street and King William Street. Adults, $18; active duty military $16.00; children 5-12, $13; alamocityghosttours.com, 210-336-7831

Bad Wolf Ghost Tours

Downtown walking tour utilizes an EMF detector so you can look for ghosts along the way. Ends with an optional haunted happy hour at the Hotel Indigo.

Meets at 1909 Bar & Bistro, 105 N. Alamo St. Adults, $15; children under 12, $10; badwolfghosttours.com, 805-757-0512

Ghost City Tours

This tour company provides historically accurate walking tours of downtown.

Meeting locations may vary. Adults, $19.95; age 6-11, $9.95; ghostcitytours.com, 888-859-5375

Paranormal Visits

The tour conducts actual paranormal investigations at purportedly haunted locations.

By appointment only. 1201 E. Houston St., $60 an hour, paranormalvisit.com, 830-499-7229

Silverghost Tours

Walking tour of downtown blends history and culture with ghost stories.

Meets in Alamo Plaza gazebo. Adults, $18; students, $10; 6 and under, free; silverghosttours.com, 210-215-2172

Sisters Grimm Ghost Tours

Ghost bus tour takes visitors to haunted and historic locations such as the Menger Hotel, the old red light district and a cemetery.

Meets outside the Menger Hotel. 204 Alamo Plaza, prices start at $40 (16 and older), sistersgrimmghosttour.com, 210-638-1338

Spirit Chamber Lights Out Ghost Tour at Terror Mansion

One-hour tour inside a haunted house utilizes night vision cameras and other equipment to view paranormal activity.

Ghost tours run March-Aug. via appointment, regular haunted house runs Sept.-Oct. 414 W. Laurel St., $50 per person for ghost tours, spiritchamber.com, 210-226-2666
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A 22-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a mass shooting at a 2016 Halloween party in San Antonio.

Robert Contreras was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in the Bexar County Jail.

RELATED: McManus: 'Gang-related' East Side shootout leaves two children injured

Contreras, who was dressed as Freddy Krueger, and a group of several other men arrived to a party at a home in the 2900 block of Aspen Meadow about 5 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2016, according to the affidavit.

The 25-year-old host of the party didn't recognize the men so he didn't let them in. Three of the men, including Contreras, allegedly pushed their way inside, initiating a shoving match.

During the fight, one of the uninvited guests told the host to fight his brother "one on one." They fought but then the host saw Contreras, still dressed as Freddy Kruger, holding a shotgun, police said.

Contreras allegedly fired, striking not only the host, but four other people as well. He and several other uninvited guests then fled the scene, authorities said.

RELATED: Laredo man accused of holding immigrants hostage hid heroin, other drugs inside rectum, police say

Paramedics transported three men to University Hospital and another man at Baptist Medical Center in downtown San Antonio. A female victim drove herself to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital but crashed on the way there, police said.

There were no breaks in the case until the host reportedly identified Contreras in a photo line up. The affidavit didn't specify how police developed Contreras as a suspect.

A second witness identified him as well, police said.

A judge signed a warrant for Contreras's arrest on August 9 and was finally executed almost one year after the shooting.

Contreras was only charged in connection to allegedly shooting the host, but he may face further charges.

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
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WAHINGTON: US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali in Oval Office of the White House along with senior Indian-American members of the administration, including Nikki Haley, Seema Verma and community leaders. Cabinet ranking Haley is US Ambassador to the UN and Seema Verma is administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah his Principle Deputy Press Secretary were among those from his administration.Daughter Ivanka Trump also joined the President in celebration of Diwali celebrations. Last year Ivanka, who is now a presidential advisor, had visited Hindu temples in Virginia and Florida as part of Diwali.

Trump, then as the Republican presidential nominee, had addressed the Indian-American community from a public meeting in New Jersey wherein he lit the traditional diya. The tradition of Diwali celebration was first started by former President George Bush. During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House Complex. PTI


Investment trivia might be useful for quiz night, but not for your portfolio. (Photo by natasaadzic/iStock by Getty Images.)

MarketMinder does not recommend individual securities. The below simply illustrate a broader theme we wish to highlight.

Pub quiz! Here are three fun factoids. What do they have in common?

If you answered, "They're all fun but meaningless," congratulations! You win a pat on the back and your drink of choice. These are all just interesting observations-they don't predict forward-looking stocks, aren't guaranteed to continue and probably shouldn't influence your investment decisions. Always beware of correlation without causation.

Without a fundamental cause, interesting observations aren't actionable. What makes this year's two-week October stretch special for FAANGs? If the answer is, "because it has happened before" (or even a lot), that isn't good enough. Without knowing a fundamental reason why they happen to jump now, it's useless trivia at best-if circumstances changed, how would you know? (Besides, outside of FAANG's historically best two weeks, they've still delivered world-beating returns. But that's because big Tech's strong profit growth, high quality and massive size are in favor presently, not because of calendar quirks.)

Likewise, the S&P 500's steady rise this year and MSCI World's Q4 historical positivity tell you nothing on their own. They don't make it any more or less likely for the S&P 500 to bust its legendary "year seven" affliction, which is itself an exercise in meaningless pattern-seeking. Stocks aren't serially correlated-one day's movement doesn't influence the next day's. Fundamentals don't magically get better during the year's final three months.

We could probably whip up a hundred more fun little stats. Which day of the year has the best historical average returns? Do Mondays totally beat Thursdays?[ii] Is Friday the 13th, Leap Day or a blue moon more bullish? Is the secret to investing success selling at 9:23 AM PDT the first Monday after the vernal equinox and then buying in the second-to-last Tuesday before the summer solstice at 11:57 AM PDT? (Good luck timing that if you're in Arizona.)

It would be great if all this worked, but it doesn't. Past patterns don't dictate future results. Like any other seasonal investment advice-sell in May, come back in September or maybe October, the January effect-investment returns don't automatically follow a data-mined or one-off pattern. Even if any of these little tricks and treats worked once upon a time, it would get quickly priced in. People would try to get in front of it. Maybe you'd have to sell three weeks before the start of spring and get back in before June. Markets adapt to incorporate all widely known information, beliefs and expectations. No one weird trick works for all time-when everyone does it, the effect fades.

"What" happened is important to know, but without a sound, probable explanation of why it happened, you can't judge whether it will repeat. In the absence of "why," "what" is trivial. In our view, some historical observations do have power, like market returns in election and inaugural years. Usually, when Democrats are elected, you get weak returns in the election year and above-average returns in the inaugural year. With Republicans, it's usually the opposite: strong election year, below-average inaugural year. But there are also identifiable reasons why this holds true. Prevailing wisdom views Republicans as pro-market and Democrats less so-in the lead up to election, investors typically cheer if a Republican is polling ahead and jeer if it's a Democrat. But then inauguration year reality sets in against too high (Republican) or too low (Democrat) expectations as neither deliver what investors' hoped or feared-damping or boosting returns-respectively.

Understanding this causation can help you understand why the historical pattern seemingly broke last year and this year: As President Trump campaigned on protectionism, drug price caps and other market-spooking proposals, investors feared him the way they typically fear Democrats, dampening election-year returns. This year, he has proven far less anti-business than feared, and markets have rallied. Investors who entered 2017 understanding the historical pattern and theoretical causation had a leg up, in our view. But to see this, you'd need to find, understand and apply the "why."
COLLINSVILLE  A Martinsville man pleaded guilty to multiple drug and gun charges Tuesday in Henry County Circuit Court and was sentenced to a total of 90 years in prison, with a total of 18 years to serve. The balance of the sentence was suspended on certain conditions.

Under a plea agreement, Bobby Lee Carter, 35, of Martinsville, pleaded guilty to four charges of distributing methamphetamine (reduced from four charges of distributing methamphetamine-second offense). He also pleaded guilty to one charge each of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm by a violent felon, possession of a firearm while possessing methamphetamine, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of more than five pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute.

In addition, the prosecution dropped one charge of distributing methamphetamine-second offense and one charge of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine against Carter, in connection with an alleged incident on July 8, 2016.

Judge David V. Williams sentenced Carter to a total of 90 years in prison, with a total of 18 years to serve and 72 years suspended on conditions including supervised probation, indefinite good behavior, payment of $1,800 in restitution and payment of fines.

Henry County Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Dawn Futrell and the prosecutions case summary alleged that Carter sold a total of about 27.7 grams of methamphetamine to confidential informants during an undercover drug investigation. The sales occurred on July 20, July 22, July 27 and Sept. 15, all in 2016.

Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant to search Carters home in the 100 block of Berry Hill Court Extension on Nov. 16, 2016. The SWAT team entered the trailer first and cleared it. They found Carter and a woman insidethe home.

The items officers seized from the trailer included a tax ticket to the trailer with Carters name on it, a white chunky substance, a wallet containing seven $100 bills and Carters identification. A bag in the nightstand drawer also contained a white substance and officers recovered two firearms at the base of the night stand. One was a .38-caliber Taurus revolver and the other was a 20-gauge Mossberg pump shotgun. Both guns were loaded and appeared to be in mechanical working order.

A laptop, three cell phones and an opened safe also were in that bedroom, with a Samsung tablet on top of the safe. The safes contents included a Samsung cell phone, $29,060 in cash, a three-drawer container, a check from a credit union with Carter as the remitter, six mobile home titles, real estate documents with Carters name on them, AR 15 magazines and .22 rounds, a vehicle title, two clear plastic bags containing a clear crystal substance, digital scales, a LG phone, five Suboxone pills (a prescription medicine), a threaded metal container with 46 pills inside, a backpack, a receipt book and assorted vehicle titles.

Inside the backpack were digital scales, 16 oval tablets, two ziplock bags with a white substance, an unknown substance in plastic wrap, five vacuum sealed bags with a green substance, three plastic wrapped bundles of green substance and four shrink-wrapped packages containing a green substance. A digital video recorder was behind the safe.

Officers found a handwritten ledger and four cell phones in the second bedroom, which they said was not used as a bedroom. They found a vacuum sealer on a glass table next to the bedroom door, as well as a HP laptop and a money counter on top of the refrigerator next to the bedroom door. They found a different money counter on the front porch and in a kitchen drawer, they found vacuum seal plastic bags, fold-top plastic bags, small plastic ziplock bags and an electronic counterfeit bill tool.

Various substances seized from the trailer were analyzed by a state Department of Forensics Science lab and determined to be a total of about 554 grams (or 1.2 pounds) of methamphetamine, a total of about 77 grams (or about 2.7 ounces) of cocaine, a total of about 2,320 grams (or about 5.1 pounds) of marijuana and five units of suboxone, containing buprenorphine and naloxone.

Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester told the Martinsville Bulletin that these items were seized from Carter pursuant to civil asset forfeiture: a total of $30,222 cash, a 1989 Toyota truck, a 2006 Dodge Charger and a 2005 Mercedes-Benz.

Nester said the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services gets 10 percent off the top from civil asset forfeitures, and of the remaining 90 percent, 70 percent goes to the Henry County Sheriffs Office and 20 percent to the Henry County Commonwealths Attorneys Office. Nester said his office uses those funds for such things as equipment and supplies, saving taxpayer dollars.
MARTINSVILLENew College Institute officials on Monday toured eight locations in Martinsville and Henry County where the school potentially could move, according to Executive Director Leanna Blevins.

She declined to identify the locations, saying she could not go against a state directive. The state Department of General Services (DGS) has refused to identify the locations, citing a provision in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act that exempts from release appraisals and cost estimates of real property subject to a proposed purchase, sale or lease, prior to the completion of a transaction.

Blevins said that as far as she knows, there have been no discussions about moving NCI out of the community.

State-funded NCI offers local access to bachelors and masters degree programs through partnerships with universities statewide. It also offers training and professional development programs designed to be responsive to needs of businesses and industries in Southern Virginia.

In 2014, NCI moved into a three-story, 53,527-square-foot building on the Baldwin Block in uptown Martinsville erected specifically for it. The state leases the building from the New College Foundation (NCF), the institutes independent, private fundraising organization, for $383,000 a year.

NCF recently turned down an offer by the state of no more than $7.76 million to buy the building. Its executive director, Deborah Kaufman, has cited various reasons, including the foundation potentially having to return a $600,000 donation to a capital campaign and board members believing that the community prefers for the building to stay under local control.

The city of Martinsville deeded the Baldwin Block to NCF for the institute to locate there. If NCI was to ever leave, restrictive covenants in the deed would enable the city to recover the title to the property, including the building, City Attorney Eric Monday has said. The city wants the institute to remain in the building, he has mentioned.

Still, state budget legislation adopted earlier this year reads that the institutes board is authorized to seek an agreement with the New College Foundation and other non-governmental parties to acquire the building. If an agreement is not reached, the legislation says, NCIs board, with help from the DGS, is further authorized to plan for the construction or acquisition of a new facility.

Blevins was on Mondays tour of potential new locations for NCI along with state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, who is chairman of the institutes board; Bob Burger, a board member; Christina Reed, the institutes finance director; three DGS representatives and two staff members of Divaris Real Estate in Richmond. Acting on the states behalf, the company in August issued a request for proposals for commercial space in Martinsville or Henry County which NCI could lease for its operations.

The next step in the process, Blevins said, is for the DGS to evaluate the locations toured and then provide written comments for NCIs board to consider.

No definite plans for the institute to move have been made, she emphasized.
SPRINGFIELD -- Ninety percent of business leaders in the bi-state Springfield and Hartford region say the soon-to-begin New Haven to Springfield CTrail commuter train service will benefit their enterprise.

Many of those businesses, 41 percent, say the most important benefit will be to bring them the skilled workers they need. Nearly half, 49, percent said the service will benefit the region's quality-of-life.

This is according to the Hartford New Haven Business Survey unveiled Wednesday by New England's Knowledge Corridor.

But knitting that CTrail service -- set to begin in May and increase the number of north-south trains to Springfield from six a day to 12 a day -- into the region's overall transportation network and improving that network are still challenges, according to lawmakers and policy experts who gathered Wednesday at Springfield's Union Station.

Wednesday featured a roundtable of Congressional representatives from the region: U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield; U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester; and U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty , D-Connecticut; as well as a visit from Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy who detailed the rail plan, spoke of how it works with the Ctfastrak bus service from New Britain to Hartford.

Malloy also threw his support behind the push for enhanced passenger rail running east-west.

Neal, a driving force behind the renovation of Springfield Union Station completed in June, reminded listeners that President Donald Trump built his campaign in part on a promise to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure: roads, bridges, rail, airports. It was music to the ears of blue-collar workers who feared they'd been left behind by the post-recession economy.

"Well, here we are a year later and still no movement in the transportation bill," he said.

The problem is, many Republicans in congress balk at paying for the construction projects, according to Neal.

McGovern, whose district also includes Northampton, said there is support across the country for increasing funding.

"Then the president would keep at least one of his promises," McGovern said.

Esty said mass transit and ride sharing are features of the new economy.

"Young people actively don't want to own a car," she said.

And cars of the future will be self-driving and fueled by electricity or natural gas. That means no federal gas tax to fund infrastructure. People will have to get used to paying by the mile or some other plan.

Esty asked business and government leaders to think in new ways. It makes no sense, she said, that Bradley international Airport was built with no direct passenger rail connection.

That's something Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, is trying to address. He plans to have buses meet each Ctrail train at at the Windsor Locks train station.

Final design work is underway for a $200 million ground transportation center hosting buses, rental cars, cabs and the like. The Airport Authority and the nearby towns also preserved a high-speed rail corridor from the Windsor Locks station to the airport so one day a shuttle train could be built.

"Our travelers, particularly our European travelers, want that air-rail connection, Dillon said.

The New Haven-Springfield Ctrail service will cost more than $760 million in construction: $564.3 million from the state of Connecticut and $204.8 million from the federal government. Another $403 million in track work from Windsor to Springfield has yet to be funded.

Service from New Haven to Hartford will be more frequent, growing from six trains a day to 17.

Even in Springfield, trains will run every 45 minutes during morning and evening peak times and every 90 minutes at off-peak time. The trains will go as fast as 110 mph and cut the 62-mile trip from Springfield to New Haven to 81 minutes. In New Haven, there will be connections to and the Metro-North connections to Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal

The goal is to divert 1.5 million car trips to rail each year and build a ridership.

The survey, an annual feature of the knowledge Corridor events, was based on 440 responses and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percent. half the respondents are from Connecticut, 44 percent are from Massachusetts and 6 percent have presences in both states.
Another Massachusetts elementary school announced it has canceled its Halloween festivities this year.

The Boyden Elementary School in Walpole announced the school will trade its annual Halloween costume parade for a "Black and Orange" spirit day on Oct. 31. On Friday, Oct. 20, the school will also host a "Monster Mash Pasta Bash" during after-school hours, reports WCVB.

In a statement, the school told media that the costume parade "is out of the ordinary routine and can be difficult for many students," adding that the parade "is not inclusive of all the students" according to a report by WBZ.

The Walpole school's announcement comes weeks after the Mitchell Elementary School in Needham canceled its Halloween celebrations due to what they say is a lack of inclusivity for children.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declined to fire back at New Hampshire after the Granite State released a bid for Amazon's second headquarters that devotes sections to trashing the Massachusetts capital.

"Good luck to them," Walsh told reporters inside Boston City Hall. "I mean, I wish them well. We'll see what happens."

He added: "This is about positive stuff, this isn't about negative stuff. I mean, we put a bid in, we put what we could in the bid and hopefully we'll see what happens."

The New Hampshire bid lashed Boston for having "congested, decaying roads and overcrowded subways."

"I mean, I don't want to have Amazon come to Boston by tearing down another city, that's not my style," Walsh said when asked about the New Hampshire bid.

Walsh was on his way to signing Boston's bid before he spoke to reporters. He declined to provide details before they finalized the bid, but acknowledged the bid is focused on one location.

Amazon has pointed to incentives as something cities could include in their bids to draw in the company. Worcester submitted its bid this week and included $500 million in potential real estate tax savings.

"It's kind of too early to talk about incentives," Walsh said. "I think one of our incentives is our talent pool."

The mayor said Boston is seeking to get to the next round and incentives would likely be tied to whatever sites Amazon may be interested in.

But he added he understands why cities like Worcester including incentives in their respective bids.

"They want a competitive edge there and again, good luck to them," Walsh said.
Whatever the result of Donald Trump's latest needless, senseless controversy, the fundamental but important presidential action of consoling a military widow has been ruined.

Sgt. La David T. Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, says she was present during the White House call to Johnson's widow, Myeshia Johnson. Johnson's mother defended the account by Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.), who said Trump told Johnson's widow that her husband "must have known what he signed up for."

We are living in a nightmare, because these types of disputes throw gut punches to America's soul. Yet with Trump, it happens over and over and despite his protests this time that he has proof he didn't say it.

Let's say for argument's sake that proof exists. That suggests Trump is taping sensitive phone calls that need not be taped, a paranoia that even Richard Nixon never imagined.

If no proof exists beyond Trump's word, can we believe his word? This from a man who mocked a Gold Star mother and her family during the campaign.

This from a former candidate who ridiculed John McCain's experience as a prisoner of war. Yet right-wingers who wrap the American flag around themselves and swear allegiance to our brave military forces cheer for Trump as their hero, in spite of his disregard for our military's courage and sacrifice.

It makes no sense. Trump is accusing Wilson of politicking on the Johnson controversy, but there would seem to be nothing gained by the soldier's family speaking out against the president - unless there was truth to it.

With his denials, Trump comes off as the boy who cries wolf. The difference is that the boy in the fable hurt only himself. The president's style deeply hurts others in the most personal of ways.

The real tragedy? We can't be sure who to believe. Trump's track record of flip comments, lousy jokes at the most inappropriate times and astonishing insensitivity - to the point of a lack of patriotism - means we cannot automatically believe the president.

That's the price of a track record and reputation he has earned. Yet many sunshine patriots cheer him as a pro-military Commander-in-Chief. Imagine that.
The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Africa said Wednesday that President Trump "did disrespect my son" with remarks in a condolence telephone call.

Sgt. La David T. Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Washington Post that she was present during the call from the White House on Tuesday to Johnson's widow, Myeshia Johnson. Johnson's mother also stood by an account of the call from Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Fla.) that Trump told Johnson's widow that her husband "must have known what he signed up for."

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Jones-Johnson said.

Trump lashed back. He denied Wilson's account in a Twitter message Wednesday. He said he had "proof" that the exchange did not go as Wilson had described. Trump did not elaborate, but the claim again raised questions about whether the president tapes calls and conversations.

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017

Later Wednesday, Trump expanded on his denial.

"I didn't say what that congresswoman said; didn't say it all. She knows it," Trump said when asked about the exchange by a reporter. "I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife who was -- sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people aren't too surprised to hear that."

Trump spoke at a meeting at the White house with members of the Senate Finance Committee.

Wilson had said that the Johnson family was "astonished" by Trump's remarks during the phone call, which Wilson said she heard via a speaker phone while riding in a car with the Johnson family.

"She was crying the whole time, and when she hung up the phone, she looked at me and said, 'He didn't even remember his name.' That's the hurting part." Wilson told MSNBC on Wednesday that Johnson's widow was shaken by the exchange.

Wilson went on to say Trump "was almost like joking. He said, 'Well, I guess you knew' -- something to the effect that 'he knew what he was getting into when he signed up, but I guess it hurts anyway.' You know, just matter-of-factly, that this is what happens, anyone who is signing up for military duty is signing up to die. That's the way we interpreted it. It was horrible. It was insensitive. It was absolutely crazy, unnecessary. I was livid."

"She was in tears. She was in tears. And she said, 'He didn't even remember his name.'"

I still stand by my account of the call b/t @realDonaldTrump and Myeshia Johnson. That is her name, Mr. Trump. Not "the woman" or "the wife"  Rep Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) October 18, 2017

On Tuesday, Wilson told The Washington Post that Trump had told Johnson's widow, "He knew what he was signing up for, but I guess it hurts anyway."

Wilson said she was riding in a limousine with Johnson when the president called, and said she heard the conversation on speakerphone.

"He made her cry," Wilson said.

Jones-Johnson, speaking to The Post via Facebook Messenger, declined to elaborate.

But asked whether Wilson's account of the conversation between Trump and the family was accurate, she replied: "Yes."

The White House did not confirm or deny Wilson's account on Tuesday.

"The President's conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private," a White House official said in a statement.

The White House had said Tuesday that Trump placed calls Tuesday to the families of all four service members killed in Niger on Oct. 4. The calls followed Trump's claims Monday and Tuesday that his Democratic predecessor, President Barack Obama, had not often made such calls to families. Former Obama administration officials strongly dispute that claim, saying Obama engaged families of fallen service members in various ways throughout his presidency.

Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Fla., was found dead after initially being reported as missing after the attack.

He was a driver assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) based in Fort Bragg, N.C.
File photo / The Republican

By Shira Schoenberg / The Republican

Massachusetts switch to a new educational test this year has hit the pause button on the practice of ranking schools, as schools adjust to a test with more rigorous standards.

MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) scores were released Wednesday for all schools and districts in the state. Test scores show that some of the districts in Western Massachusetts that were already struggling and where efforts are in place to improve the district  including Springfield and Holyoke  are continuing to struggle.

The work of school turnaround is not something that happens overnight. Its a multi-year issue, said Jeff Wulfson, acting commissioner of elementary and secondary education. Were certainly not satisfied with where either of those districts are, but I think its probably too soon to say that the efforts arent paying off.

In addition to the new test, the state is designing a new accountability system. Currently, schools are ranked level one to five, with one being the top ranking and five being the lowest. The state provides supports and interventions for Level 4 schools and could take over a district that becomes Level 5.

This year, the state did not give a new accountability rating to most elementary and middle schools. It did not move any new schools into the Level 4 designation, and only one district moved out.

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Statewide synopsis

The spring of 2017 was the first time students in grades three through eight took a new version of the MCAS test for English and math.

Statewide, only 49 percent of third to eighth grade students who took the new test met or exceeded expectations on the English test and 48 percent met or exceeded expectations in math.

The new version is based on updated, and more rigorous, Massachusetts educational standards. It is computer-based, rather than paper-based. The scores are: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations and Not Meeting Expectations.

It is not possible to compare the results of the new and old tests.

Ultimately, the goal is to increase standards to ensure that students who enter college are prepared for it.

The old test was graded with scores of advanced, proficient, needs improvement or failing.

High school tests as well as the science and technology tests given to fifth and eighth graders this year were the older version. The state will transition to a new test for those grades in future years.

This is year one of the new assessment, said Education Secretary Jim Peyser. Comparisons with the past are difficult and should not be made at all.

Among 10th graders who took the old MCAS, 91 percent of students statewide scored proficient or higher in English, 79 percent did in math and 74 percent did in science.

Parents should receive their childs scores in late October or early November.

Here is a look at how some Western Massachusetts districts did:

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File photo / Don Treeger, The Republican

Springfield

Springfield middle schools are involved in a unique model called an empowerment zone, which is being considered as a model to be replicated statewide.

Springfield 'empowerment zone' school model considered for statewide expansion



Although it is impossible to compare test results between years, Springfield students continued to perform below the state average.

In Springfield, among third through eighth graders who took the new test, only 26 percent of students met or exceeded expectations in English. In math, only 23 percent of Springfield students met or exceeded expectations.

The lowest scores came among middle schoolers. In 6th through 8th grade, between 15 and 18 percent of students met or exceeded expectations in math and between 21 and 25 percent met or exceeded expectations in English.

Fifth and eighth graders who took the old science test saw no change from last year. (The Department of Education defines "no change" as scoring within three points of last year.)

Among Springfield 10th graders, where the results are comparable between years, 73 percent scored proficient or higher in English, but only 43 percent of students did in math and 42 percent in science. Compared to last year, this reflects a decline in English scores (4 percent fewer students received a top score), an increase in science scores (by 4 percent) and no change in math. These scores are all well below the state average.

Peyser said Springfield is trying to turn itself around, but it will take time. Theyre doing certain things to set themselves up for success, but it will take awhile to play out in terms of measurable student achievement, Peyser said.

Peyser said the fact that there is a new test also makes it more difficult to measure student achievement compared to past years.

Youd expect it to take a couple of years for scores to level out to a place you can treat them as reliable indicators of overall performance, Peyser said.

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File photo / Don Treeger, The Republican

Holyoke

Holyoke is in its third year under state receivership, and students are still struggling, based on the new test scores.

In Holyoke, just 14 percent of third to eighth grade students who took the new test met or exceeded expectations in English and 10 percent did in math. With these scores, Holyoke ranked as one of the lowest-performing districts in the state.

Among Holyoke 10th graders who took the old MCAS, 73 percent scored proficient or higher in English, 47 percent did in math and 42 percent did in science. In addition to being far below the statewide averages, this reflected a drop of 6 percent in Holyoke students scoring well in English compared to last year, a drop of 7 percent in math and no change in science.

Peyser noted that the whole reason Holyoke was placed in receivership was because of poor performance. Turning around a system  takes time, Peyser said.

Peyser said that the new superintendent and the relationship between the city and state are producing changes, but it will take time for those changes to be reflected in test results.

At the end of three years, wed certainly want to see the building blocks in place for whats necessary to drive improvement, Peyser said. But the actual change in achievement levels takes a little while.

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File photo / The Republican

Northampton

Northampton students performed well, with many of their scores exceeding the statewide average.

In Northampton, 50 percent of third through eighth grade students met or exceeded expectations in English on the new test, and 42 percent did in math.

Among 10th graders who took the old test, 96 percent scored proficient or higher in English, 87 percent in math and 88 percent in science. This represented an improvement over last year in math and no change in English and science.

Northamptons fifth graders saw a drop in science scores and eighth graders saw no change.

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Third-Party-Submitted

Chicopee

In Chicopee, 39 percent of third through eighth grade students met or exceeded expectations in English and 44 percent met or exceeded expectations in math.

Chicopee 10th graders who took the old MCAS improved their performance in math, with 73 percent scoring proficient or higher, a 9 percent increase from last year. Students stayed the same in English and science, with 88 percent scoring proficient or higher in English and 55 percent in science.

Fifth graders saw their performance improve in science, and eighth graders saw their performance decline.

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The Republican file photo

Greenfield

In Greenfield, 39 percent of third through eighth grade students met or exceeded expectations in English, and 32 percent met or exceeded expectations in math.

Among 10th graders, 81 percent scored proficient or higher in English, 71 percent in math and 64 percent in science. This reflected an improvement over last year in science, a decline in English and no change in math.

The performance on the science MCAS declined among fifth graders and improved among eighth graders.

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Above: Mayor Domenic J. Sarno gives high fives to students at the White Street School as they line up to walk in on the first day of school in September 2015

File photo / The Republican

Commendations

White Street School in Springfield was one of two schools recognized last month by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School for its work closing gaps in achievement.

Heights Elementary School in Sharon was also commended for closing its achievement gaps while Old Post Road School in Walpole was commended for high performance.

Seven additional high schools received commendations this week from the State Department of Education for making strong progress based on the new MCAS scores. These include Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High in Upton, Abington High, Apponequet Regional High in Lakeville, Lynnfield High, Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High in Lexington, Swampscott High and Westwood High.

No schools in Western Massachusetts received the state commendation.

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Low participation

At a small number of elementary and middle schools, fewer than 90 percent of students took the new test. These schools were automatically designated Level 3 schools.

They include the Amherst school district, the Amherst-Pelham district, Berkshire Hills, Gill-Montague, Maynard and Wareham.

Western Massachusetts schools where fewer than 90 percent of students took the "legacy test" include the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Holyoke and the Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Springfield.

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District results and state averages

The charts on the next slide show how 10th grade MCAS results for Massachusetts school districts compare to the state averages in the subjects of English, math and science and technology / engineering.

The results show the percentage of 10th grade students scoring "Advanced" or "Proficient" in each subject area.

District results are shown in blue. State averages are shown in orange.

Use the navigation tools at right to select specific subject areas  or, use the search field to look up a specific school district.

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Graphic by Greg Saulmon / The Republican

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View 10th-grade results by school

The charts on the following slide show 10th grade results by school.

The numbers represent the percentage of students scoring "Advanced" or "Proficient" in English, math and science and technology / engineering.

Use the navigation tools at right to search for a specific school. Or, use the "District Name" filter to view all schools in a specific district.

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<a href='#'><img alt='Dashboard 1 ' src='https:&#47;&#47;public.tableau.com&#47;static&#47;images&#47;mc&#47;mcas-10th-grade-scores-by-school&#47;Dashboard1&#47;1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a>

Graphic by Greg Saulmon / The Republican
HOLYOKE -- James Brunault has been endorsed in his campaign for the Ward 6 City Council seat in the Nov. 7 election by Raymond H. Feyre, a longtime former councilor.

"I am pleased to announce that I am endorsing Jim Brunault for the Ward 6 seat on the Holyoke City Council. As a former Ward 6 city councilor and 24-year councilor at large, I feel I can speak of the experience, knowledge and skills that are important in that position," Feyre said in an Oct. 8 email provided by Brunault's campaign.

"Jim has the education and work ethic to be a good councilor. Jim is honest and compassionate. Jim understands the need for jobs in Holyoke. But the most important reason I am supporting Jim: Jim is an independent thinker. We need independence on our City Council," Feyre said.

Brunault said it was an honor to get Feyre's support.

"I am very pleased and proud to receive Ray's endorsement. Ray has served Holyoke for many years, and has been honored by the Parade, Commitee, the Democratic city commitee and many others. It is an honor to be endorsed by him," Brunault said.

Brunault, 52, of 49 St. James Ave., is a counselor and job placement specialist with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission here. He is running for the seat on Election Day Nov. 7 against Juan C. Anderson-Burgos, 46, of 236 Locust St., a banker with Citizens Bank.

Kevin A. Jourdain, the incumbent Ward 6 councilor and the City Council president, isn't running for re-election. Jourdain also has endorsed Brunault.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a Florida congresswoman "fabricated" an account of the commander in chief telling the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for."

Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson said she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson's husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called. Wilson said she and others heard part of the conversation on speakerphone.

When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that she answered: "Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow." She added: "That's so insensitive."

But in a Wednesday morning tweet, Trump said Wilson's description of the call was "fabricated."

"Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Trump wrote without specifying what proof he had.

Wilson stood by her account, telling CNN on Wednesday that "the president evidently is lying, because what I said is true." Wilson said she and others in the car with Johnson heard Trump.

Escalating the criticism of the president, Wilson said, "He doesn't even know how to sympathize with people. We're grieving. This is a grieving community. ... It's disgraceful for him to even tweet about this. And as I say, this gentleman has a brain disorder and he needs to be checked out."

La David Johnson was among four servicemen killed in the African nation of Niger earlier this month. They died when militants thought to be affiliated with the Islamic State group ambushed them while they were patrolling in unarmored trucks with Nigerien troops.

Wilson said she did not hear the entire conversation, and Myeshia Johnson told her she couldn't remember everything that was said when asked it about it later.

"When she hung up the phone she looked at me and said, 'He didn't even know his name.' Now that's the worst part," Wilson told CNN.

Trump has been criticized for not reaching out right away to relatives of the four killed in Niger. On Monday, Trump said he'd written letters that had not yet been mailed. His aides said they had been awaiting information before proceeding.
"We developed a crush on the town." John Masterson  Truth or Consequences Brewery http://www.torc.beer/

Marianne Blaue and John Masterson discovered Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, by accident in September 2015.

They intended to pass this offbeat town as they traveled from Albuquerque to Silver City on vacation, but they were tired. They pulled off and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Masterson found the communitys artist directory in the hotel lobby the next morning. It piqued their interest in a town they knew nothing about except for its funny name.

They stayed in T or C most of the day. They explored downtowns quirky businesses, which are interspersed with vacant, often dilapidated buildings. They discovered soothing hot springs and quality restaurants.

Heath Haussamen/NMPolitics.net

http://www.hcn.org/articles/state-of-change-a-new-brewery-helps-create-momentum-for-a-small-towns-downtown?utm_source=wcn1&utm_medium=email
The 2016 economic contribution of nonresident travelers to Montana was $3.04 billion spent by 12.4 million visitors, according to new figures released by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana.

Visitor spending directly supported nearly $2.5 billion in economic activity for Montanas economy and nearly 34,700 statewide jobs. Nonresident travelers also indirectly supported an additional $1.7 billion of economic activity and almost 13,000 more jobs.

http://news.umt.edu/2017/10/101717itrr.php
On Thursday, October 19 the Kalispell Chamber will be hosting its annual Flathead Timber Tour. Participants of this free event should be prepared to board a bus and depart the Kalispell Chamber at 12:00pm, before traveling to tour the Weyerhaeuser sites in Kalispell and F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber site in Columbia Falls. The Flathead Timber Tour will also feature presentations from the Flathead National Forest and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Tour buses will arrive back at the Kalispell Chamber at 4:30pm. Lunch will not be provided.

While at Weyerhaeuser, visitors will tour both the Plywood and Lumber plants. The Kalispell Plywood plant manufactures plywood products to various grades, dimensions, and performance standards appropriate for a wide range of customer end-uses. The Lumber Plant manufactures solid sawn studs, available to markets from coast-to-coast.

The Flathead Timber Tour will also visit F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber, where the facility tour will highlight the Sawmill Complex, which shows how logs are turned into lumber, the Planer Complex, which is where rough-cut lumber is made into planed lumber, and the Power Plant (Co-Gen) Complex, which is where F.H. Stoltze breaks down its wood waste before using it to fuel the facility.

Space is limited. All interested participants should reserve their spot by contacting the Kalispell Chamber at (406) 758-2803, [email protected], or registering online via the calendar tab of http://www.kalispellchamber.com.

The Flathead Timber Tour is the Flathead Valleys contribution and celebration during Montana Forest Products Week, which was established by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Across the state, this week Montana Forest Products Week highlights locally made wood products, the stewardship of our private and public forests, and the industrys gainful employment.

About the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce

Since 1904, the Kalispell Chamber has provided quality programs and services that drive the economic prosperity and sustainability of the Flathead Valley by creating a climate of growth and success that includes efforts to improve opportunity, infrastructure, development, tourism, and education. Visit http://www.kalispellchamber.com for more information.
2017-10-24 13:00:00

Online

Contact: http://www.montanaworldaffairs.org

1:00  2:00 PM

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

* Interested teachers should call 406-728-3328 to sign up

About our guest:

On January 7, 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated Max Sieben Baucus to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Peoples Republic of China. He served as Ambassador from February 21, 2014 until January 19, 2017. Ambassador Baucus formerly served as the senior United States Senator from Montana. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, Ambassador Baucus represented Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978 and represented Missoula, Montana in the Montana House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974.

To read Ambassador Baucus full bio, please visit our website here. https://montanaworldaffairs.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=22d4e21a49e30d3d14a15df4f&id=c2b6641088&e=cbcdc9b569
Africa No Filter and Meta have announced the six finalists of the Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds programme  focused on harnessing and investing in the next generation of Extended Reality (XR) creators in Africa.

The winners, selected from Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Cameroon, and Kenya, will incorporate the creative uses of music, multimedia installations, films and sculpture to explore projects around spirituality, heritage, the cosmos, imagination and memory and masculinity into their extended realities projects  all with a focus on telling compelling African stories that are contemporary, narrative-shifting, and immersive.

The six participating storytellers are:

Pierre-Christophe Gam, Cameroon: A multimedia artist who is working on a hybrid art installation that fuses VR, film, photography, and mixed-media sculpture to imagine the future of Africa from the perspective of an African family living in 2070.

Xabiso Vili, South Africa: A writer, performer and new media artist, Vilis visual album is a speculative fiction piece that explores reconciliation and healing. Vili hopes to turn toxic masculinity into compassionate masculinity.

Nirma Madhoo, Mauritius: A fashion filmmaker, XR creator and Ph.D. candidate, her work explores African cultures as technologies, which she illustrates through ancient practices like cultural astronomy.

Michelle Angawa, Kenya: A film editor XR creator, this creation centres around a short tragicomedy that depicts a day-in-the-life of a Nairobian boda boda rider, exploring desire and the complexities of Nairobian life.

Malik Afegbua, Nigeria: A multimedia artist who is focused on curating a virtual heritage experience of the Kofar-Mata dye pit, a cultural and historical site in Kano, Nigeria.

Lara Sousa, Mozambique: A director and producer, this creation uses the journey of Lemanja, the Afro-Brazilian goddess of wisdom, to explore the ocean as a sacred site of spirituality.

As part of the Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds programme, each creator will be supported with funding of up to $30,000 and also participate in XR-industry events to improve their creativity and drive interest in their projects. They will also access mentorship from Electric South and Imisi3D.

Jessica Hagan, Arts and Culture Program Lead at ANF, said, Its reassuring to see the amount of incredible XR talent on the African continent. The creativity and innovation we encountered in the selection process has been very exciting. It shows that Africa is also on the pulse of global innovation and tech trends that are redefining how stories are told and experienced. XR content creation is costly, but African creators are not falling behind.

Sherry Dzinoreva, Metas Public Policy Programs Director, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey, said: This specially curated program is an opportunity to support African storytellers who are leveraging the power of the next evolution of social technology, whilst also shining a spotlight on the amazing, creative, and diverse talent pool we have here on the continent . We understand the power of Extended Reality and how it can be used to tell stories that shift narratives about and within the continent  and were excited to see these visions come to life.

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Voters in Marion and Old Fort can now select who they want as their mayors, council members and aldermen. And in Marion only, the issue about the full on-premise sale of malt beverages such as beer will be decided.

The early one-stop voting for the Marion and Old Fort elections is going on now at the McDowell County Board of Elections office and will last through Saturday, Nov. 4. The schedule for the early voting is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

On Saturday, Nov. 4, early voting will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. County election officials said Nov. 4 will be the only Saturday in the early voting period as well as being the last day.

The Board of Elections office is located in room 244 on the second floor of the County Administration Building.

In Marion, voters will select a mayor and three City Council members. Mayor Steve Little is seeking re-election and faces no formal opposition. Council members Lloyd Cuthbertson and Juanita Doggett are seeking re-election. Councilman Everette Clark chose not to run again. The challengers are Woody Ayers, Jacob Blair, Ann Harkey, Mark Hoskins, M. Chad Marsh and Louie Parrow.

In Old Fort, voters will pick a mayor and two aldermen. Mayor Rick Hensley is seeking re-election and faces opposition from challenger Emmett Carson. Aldermen Melvin Lytle and Wayne Stafford are seeking re-election and face no formal opposition.

Election Day will be Tuesday, Nov. 7.

And just in Marion, voters will also decide whether to allow the full on-premise sale of beer with no restrictions. Only residents of Marion can cast their ballots on this issue.

Late last year, the City Council first heard a request from Sarah and Ryan Jacobs, who own and operate Refinery 13 taproom at 13 N. Main St. Their craft beer taproom, which has become very popular since it opened in March, features products from breweries in Morganton, Burnsville, Asheville, Brevard, Charlotte and other North Carolina cities.

But one issue remains.

Marion is still under a restriction where the only places allowed to sell beer on-premises are hotels, motels and restaurants (HMR). Refinery 13 had to get around this HMR restriction by opening as a private club.

Therefore, first-time customers at Refinery 13 have to fill out an application and pay a $1 fee so they can go in and enjoy some craft beer. The money from the $1 fee has gone to support the Friendship Home.

Last December, the Jacobs said they didnt want their new business to be a private club. Having to register as a private club in the state of North Carolina is costly for the business owner and more employees have to be hired to monitor and sell the memberships along with keeping track of the paperwork. They asked the Marion City Council to call for a referendum on removing the HMR restrictions. Such a move requires a vote of the people.

In a similar matter, Brown Mountain Bottleworks in Morganton had to open first as a private club because of the old HMR restrictions there. But in 2015, voters in Morganton voted overwhelmingly to do away with the restrictions. That special vote was done as part of their municipal election as well.

Numerous other cities and towns in North Carolina have likewise removed their HMR restrictions. They include Asheville, Black Mountain, Brevard, Conover, Forest City, Hendersonville, Glen Alpine, Hickory, Lincolnton, Mills River, Newton, Mooresville, Rutherfordton, Statesville, Tryon, Valdese, Waynesville, Weaverville, among many others.

Marion officials have stated their strong support of having the restriction removed. A resolution adopted in December of last year by the City Council calling for the referendum cited the economic advantages for Marion if the HMR restriction was gone.

Whereas, within the past few months, businesses have expressed a desire to locate in Marion, but will be forced to make significant and costly changes to their operating location and/or their business plan in order to comply with the citys HMR restrictions, reads the resolution signed by Mayor Steve Little.

The removal of the restriction is an an economic development issue, according to Marion officials.

Whereas, the City Council has found and determined that it would be advantageous for economic development and would attract residents and visitors alike to eliminate the HMR restriction, and that doing so would place Marion on a level-playing field with the other municipalities in western North Carolina, reads the statement adopted by council.

If the on-premise sale of beer is approved, it will allow breweries, meaderies and taprooms inside Marion to sell products not made at their facilities. For example, a brewery could sell other peoples beer and a meadery could sell beer or someone elses products.

Jason Snyder with Mica Town Brewing said he supports the removal of this restriction even though it would not apply to his new brewery now under construction. That is because he will sell his own beer made on-site.

Keepers Cut Meadery is now under construction along West Henderson Street. City officials said another taproom is in the works for downtown Marion and it could be located on South Main Street. Marion could also get a second brewery, this one on West Henderson next to the meadery.

The city of Marion already allows for on- and off-premise sale of wine and hard cider, according to information from Mica Town Brewing.

For more information, call 652-7121, ext 342 or visit www.mcdowellboe.com.
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Previous research already has established worse birth outcomes in women with psychosocial risk factors, including low socioeconomic status. The cellular aging found in this study is one possible explanation, said Lisa Christian, the study's senior author and a researcher in Ohio State Wexner Medical Center's Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research."Access to support, care and resources is so important to expectant moms," she said.The study included a racially diverse group of 81 pregnant women who were 25 years old on average. They were evaluated during each trimester of pregnancy and again about two months after delivery.Measures of trauma and low socioeconomic status during childhood, along with the measure of current social support, came from questionnaires the women filled out.Family social support - but not support from partners or friends - emerged as a strong predictor of telomere length, as did low socioeconomic status during childhood.Advanced maternal age is defined by doctors as 35 or older. It is well-understood that older mothers are at higher risk of having babies with medical and developmental challenges, and it is possible that this applies to moms with advanced cellular age as well, said the study's lead author, Amanda Mitchell, who was on the research team at Ohio State and is now a faculty member at the University of Louisville."What we are wondering is, how does biological age factor in? We know that there are younger mothers who have poor birth outcomes, and that chronological age is not a perfect predictor of outcomes," Mitchell said.Telomeres are caps on the ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells replicate - part of the natural aging process. Mitchell compared them to the plastic covering on the end of a shoelace."With age - or stress - those plastic coverings wear away and the ends of the lace unravel," she said.The good news: Telomeres can also lengthen, lowering biological age.For now, telomere assessment is strictly used for research purposes and not something that would translate into clinical practice, Christian said.But it's possible that the knowledge gained by research into cellular aging could prompt useful interventions in obstetrics practices - including greater focus on moms' psychological well-being and support systems, Christian said.Source: Eurekalert
The larger study reported in 2014 in the journalfound that 59 percent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment at field sites and 19 percent had been sexually assaulted.The new analysis takes a qualitative look at interviews conducted with a random sample of 26 of the respondents who were willing to be interviewed."These interviewees, both men and women, shared positive and negative field experiences that deeply shaped them as scientists and as people," said University of Illinois anthropology professor Kate Clancy, who conducted the research with Julienne Rutherford, of the University of Illinois at Chicago; Robin Nelson , of Santa Clara University; and Katie Hinde, of Arizona State University."Many of the scientists we interviewed revealed a real lack of clarity in what constituted appropriate professional conduct, because the field site would have no rules or the rules wouldn't be enforced, or the director himself or herself would be a perpetrator of psychological abuse or sexual violence," Clancy said.The new study, reported in the journalfound that field site directors who failed to establish clear ground rules for the behavior of their team also were more likely to tolerate, ignore or in some cases, engage in and encourage the physical and/or sexual harassment of some members of their team.According to interviewees who had had positive fieldwork experiences, site directors who set clear guidelines for behavior and stressed the importance of mutual support among team members created a positive work environment for everyone on their team. Such leaders also tended to make themselves accessible to even the most junior members of their team, and made a special effort to include and accommodate those with physical or other limitations."Science is not just the samples and data, it is also the people and process," Hinde said.Abusive site directors often undermined their targets' educational goals by giving them less-desirable tasks housekeeping or cooking chores for female, but not male, team members, for example - and denying them access to activities that would enhance their research-related experience and understanding, the interviews revealed."People who had negative experiences in the field often felt isolated and undermined by their perpetrators, so that their contributions to the projects were diminished or attributed to someone else," Rutherford said.Some site directors also limited team members' access to food, water or the opportunity to empty their bladders."Some of the targets of these actions said they felt vulnerable, powerless, isolated or 'like prey.' In the fieldwork setting, there's often nowhere to go to avoid your harasser," Rutherford said."Many respondents described trying, unsuccessfully, to prevent or deflect the abuse. The power of the people in charge puts the onus on them, not the targets, to improve conditions."The new analysis offers a few guidelines for those hoping to design field studies that benefit everyone on the team, Nelson said."As a community, we must prioritize the inclusion and safety of members of our research team," she said."At a minimum, this includes creating and enforcing codes of conduct. Those with the least professional power should not have to risk their own physical and emotional safety to engage in these important educational opportunities."Source: Eurekalert
Let's get one thing clear  Heath Ledger was the best Joker of all time. Everyone has heard about his commitment to this demanding role, giving a phenomenal performance in the end. But unfortunately, he never got to see the massive impact he had as he died six months before 'The Dark Knight' was released.

He took method acting to a whole new level to portray the role of the of the comic book villain, and he was so set on getting the perfect take he actually wanted his co-star Christian Bale to hit him during the interrogation scene in The Dark Knight.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, a new book called '100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die' by Joseph McCabe contains interviews Bale and Nolan from around the time of the film's release, and he spoke with Ledger in November 2007 as well.

Bale said, As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realises that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him, the more he enjoys it. The more I'm giving him satisfaction. Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion.

Since Ledger's character had 'a thirst for blood', Bale said that while filming the interrogation scene, he started egging him on.

He said, I was saying, 'You know what? I really don't need to actually hit you. It's going to look just as good if I don't'. And he's going, 'Go on. Go on. Go on...' He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total."

Talking about what it was like working with the late actor, Bale said, Our first scene was in an interrogation room together, and I saw that he's a helluva actor who's completely committed to it and totally gets the tone that Chris [Nolan] is trying to create with this.

Bale also noted that Ledger completely embraced Nolan's vision for the film  which was a darker drama, instead of just comic book caricatures.

He said, We're treating this as serious drama. You go into character and you stay in the character. I love that. I find that so ridiculous that I love it, and I take that very seriously. Heath was definitely embracing that. When he was in the makeup and the garb he was in character the whole time; and when he took it off he was absolutely fantastic company to be around."

Image4

Later, Ledger was posthumously awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the Joker, which was absolutely well deserved.
IFC: Azerbaijan needs single standards for mortgaged property evaluation

Azerbaijan needs to create single standards for mortgaged property evaluation, Hamid Mammadjanov, a consultant with International Finance Corporation (IFC), told Trend.He said the standards currently used in Azerbaijan are based on old international analogues, adopted back in 2003."International standards have changed many times, and the latest amendments were made in 2017," Mammadjanov said. "Therefore, we offer Azerbaijan a project on creating new evaluation standards."He added that creation of single standards understood by all market participants will make it possible to avoid disagreements as well as minimize risks for market participants."Misunderstandings and disagreements between banks and entrepreneurs are caused by the absence of single standards," Mammadjanov said.Azerbaijan has been cooperating with IFC since 1995. IFC has granted loans worth $473 million to Azerbaijan for implementation of 56 projects.
Smith says that the Chinese government's initiatives to make it harder to evade censorship will be the "new normal" with a worrying effect. "Sadly, we are seeing that foreign companies are willing to work closely with the Chinese authorities to limit Internet freedom in China," the activist said in an e-mail to VOA, referring to Apple's decision to remove VPN apps from its app store. The situation will quickly worsen if other companies follow suit, he warned.

Unlike his predecessors, Xi understands the power of the Internet and has ensured that all regulations to control China's Internet are fully enforced, said a founder of GreatFire, an organization dedicated to fighting the so-called Great Firewall of China, who goes by the pseudonym Charlie Smith.

While China's general public may view the tightening controls as a short-term extra-vigilant approach by top leadership ahead of this week's meetings, observers warn they are not passing trends. Instead, they say they are part of a long term vision of control.

Those measures include facial recognition and identification checks for passengers in and out of Beijing subway stations and on trains bound for the capital city, and the detention of a dozen of activists nationwide who had posted comments or shared information authorities deem threatening to "political stability."

China's Communist Party is set to host a high-level meeting in Beijing that will usher in a much-anticipated reshuffle of the ruling party's top leadership. Strict security measures have been put in place, along with sweeping online censorship controls to ensure its success.

 Political Censorship

He added that, in the run-up to the 19th party congress, it's not surprising for authorities to monitor sensitive keywords on Chinese social media. Even the keyword "19th Party Congress" was tightly controlled because the authorities want the good messages to get out on social media and the bad messages to be deleted, he noted.

The movie Youth by Feng Xiaogang, which tells a love story during the Sino-Vietnam war in the 80s, was also said to be pulled off the National Day schedule due to its political sensitivity. According to local media reports, online discussion about the movie was also banned.

Making things worse, Chinese authorities have further detained 14 activists on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble," ahead of the meetings, according to China Human Rights Defenders.

 No Freedom of Political Expression

Those include dissenters and netizens who have discussed corruption allegations made by fugitive Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui as well as a professor who had called for democratic elections at the upcoming party congress, the rights group said.

"This kind of top-down directives about making sure that there's nothing that can embarrass the leader in this period, and the way this is being enacted has been fairly aggressive," said the group's researcher Frances Eve.

Eve however noted it remains to be seen if any public backlash toward the government's tightening controls would emerge. "[The] slow grind of ever-increasing controls and repression makes it harder for people to sort of realize it is like kind of an analogy of a frog being boiled alive in a pot," she said.

Over the past few weeks, a state media blitz has highlighted the party's achievements over the past five years, but few people that VOA spoke with were even paying attention to or had much to say about the political gathering.

"We don't know much about politics. I'm not interested in those things, unless it relates to my company or work. The only thing that bothers me now is that express delivery services have been suspended. So, I have to go shopping myself," said a lady surnamed Li.

"[People] care less about whether he [Xi] has consolidated his own power, but more about whether he has strived to improve people's livelihood, which is the top priority. I won't say much about him as long as China is on the right track," a party member surnamed Wu added.
Azerbaijan Railways reveals when BTK will start transporting passengers

From 2018, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will start transporting passengers, Javid Gurbanov, head of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, told reporters in Baku on Oct. 13.As you know, we have purchased 30 railway cars that were produced by Swiss company Stadler using a special technology, he said.Gurbanov added that travel time from Azerbaijans Baku to Turkeys Kars will be about 16-18 hours.The Georgian part of the railway stretches through the highlands, where the speed of the train will not exceed 60-70 kilometers per hour, so the travel time will be 16-18 hours, he explained.He added that tariffs for passenger transportation via BTK have not been discussed yet.The BTK railway has been constructed on the basis of a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The railways peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.
Bruno Balvanera of EBRD: Georgia: Leader of Europes second wave

Georgia is heading in the right direction thanks to its growing economy and increasing political stability believes the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, Bruno Balvanera.In his interview with Emerging Europe, Balvanera repeated the EBRD Presidents, Suma Chakrabartis words that Georgia is leading the second wave of countries moving into the western economy.if the first wave comprised the nations of Central Europe, like Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, countries which are all now well advanced, then the second wave is those who are trying right now to insert themselves into the market economy. And Georgia is clearly a country that is ahead of the rest, said Balvanera.The EBRD official said that the commitment, the vision and the strategy of the government, and the fact that the government is elected democratically in a transparent way are the main reasons that are driving Georgias leadership, that make Georgia stand out.Georgia is a country under construction. Whatever ministry you visit you will see that they are creating the foundations of the future, and the changes are dramatic. Its such an overwhelming agenda of change that you end up feeling a little bit worried that they may have too many things on their plate, Balvanera said.He highlighted that Georgia has historically been closely linked to Europe, "and you can see that in the people. Georgia is clear about its orientation: European and North Atlantic. The country has very strong ties with Europe, very strong ties with the US and clearly has a vision of its future lying very much in that direction.As for challenges, Balvanera said that developing skills within government, but also in business is one of the challenges the county is facing. Also, as a small country for Georgia it is difficult to attract a large investor, said Balvanera.The third challenge is government. Its agenda is overwhelming, and obviously, it needs to continue improving the investment climate. But more important is governance, and I think that public services need to be transformed to be more user-friendly. Georgia could take this opportunity to become much more high tech, like Estonia or the other Baltic countries, where you can do everything on your computer or your iPad, or phone, he added.As for economic growth, Balvanera believes that 2017 is going to be a good year for Georgia and the next year is going to be even better.And when I say a good year, that means growth of above 4 percent. That kind of growth is felt by the population: one which is so eager to see improvement after so many years of sacrifice, Balvanera said.
New European company to acquire gas from Shah Deniz 2

Italys Edison and Natural Gas Fenosa have signed a binding agreement for the acquisition by Edison of Natural Gas Vendita Italia, and of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz II gas contract, said the message posted on Edisons website.As part of the agreement, and, subject to the closing of Natural Gas Vendita Italias acquisition, Edison will also acquire a 11TWh long term gas supply contract from the Shah Deniz II field.Notably, the total consideration payable is 30 Million Euros for the gas supply contract, of which a down payment of 10 Million Euros and an earn-out of 20 Million Euros, payable from 2021, subject to the first delivery of gas to Italy through the TAP pipeline.This transaction is a breakthrough opportunity for our company: on the one hand, we grow our role in the Italian retail market, which is one of the pillars of our development plan. On the other hand, through the acquisition of Shah Deniz II contract, we enlarge our gas supply portfolio guaranteeing gas at a competitive price to all our customers and the security of the Italian energy system in the long term, said Marc Benayoun, Chief Executive Officer of Edison.Edison will acquire 100 percent of Natural Gas Vendita Italia (GNVI), the company owned by Gas Natural Fenosa, that commercializes natural gas and electricity across Italy. The purchase price is 192.8 million euros, corresponding to an enterprise value of 263 million euros, after debt repayment and provision.The acquisition of Natural Gas Vendita Italia is subject to European Competition clearance. Edison will fully control and consolidate Natural Gas Vendita Italia from the closing date, which is expected to occur between December 2017 and March 2018.
In the context of his participation at the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, G. Katrougalos, stressed that the migration issue must be handled in a comprehensive manner. Mr. Katrougalos stressed in addition that previous decisions must be respected, including those on relocation of migrants  decisions that were recently upheld by the European Court  and that the EU must promote a new asylum system based on solidarity and the equal sharing of burdens and responsibility. The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs also highlighted the need to set up a European mechanism for the return of migrants and that it is of vital importance that the Schengen single space of free movement not be undermined.

Mr. Katrougalos underscored the need for the Digital Europe plans to be accompanied by a digital tax. Thus, he explained, the EUs own resources will be bolstered and multinational internet companies will pay their fair share of taxes. Mr. Katrougalos also confirmed the great importance of the European organization for cyber security, ENISA, which is based in Greece, and he supported a proposal for strengthening civil protection mechanisms in order to deal with natural disasters, such as wildfires.

Finally, in the context of the debate on rule of law and freedom of the press, he highlighted the importance of freedom of the press for the existence of democracy, quoting Thomas Jefferson: Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

Mr. Katrougalos also had a bilateral meeting with the UK Minister of State, Joyce Anelay, ahead of the Council debate on the progress in the Brexit talks.
A federal judge in Hawaii has blocked President Donald Trump's latest order restricting travel which was to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

The ruling by Judge Derrick Watson prohibits restrictions on travelers from six countries that the Trump administration said could not provide enough information to meet U.S. security standards.

The travel order would have barred to various degrees travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Watson's temporary restraining order did not interfere with restrictions on North Korea and Venezuela.

The new travel order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the United States,'" Watson wrote in his opinion.

The suit was filed by the state of Hawaii, the Muslim Association of Hawaii and various individuals. The travel order was also scrutinized in a Maryland courtroom on Monday. In a 90-minute session, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang heard arguments brought by advocacy groups led by the International Refugee Assistance Project, which argued that the current travel order still amounts to a Muslim ban and that it exceeds presidential authority.

Chuang asked about information the new, more targeted order was based on, specifically a classified Department of Homeland Security report that government lawyers have said was the basis for the new order.

While Chuang blocked a key part of Trump's second travel order in March, he did not indicate how he might rule. Nor did he say if he would issue a ruling before the order takes effect.


Europe looks set to have its youngest leader with Austria's 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz of the conservative People's Party scoring a clear victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, winning around 32 percent of the votes cast.

Kurz, who took the reins of the party earlier this year, told his jubilant supporters that "The Austrian population gave us their confidence to bring about a new style of political culture and for a respectful relation to the other parties, and most importantly to advance Austria forward."

His victory marks an extraordinarily rapid rise to the top of Austrian politics. Kurz transformed the fortunes of his People's Party, largely on an anti-migrant platform. On the campaign trail earlier this month, he promised supporters that he would "strike a very clear path which is going to reduce illegal migration to zero," adding that migrants who "set off illegally must be stopped at the border, taken care of and sent back."

Elections in France and the Netherlands this year checked the momentum of right-wing populist parties in Europe. But Austria has shown it is still a political force, says Leopold Traugott of the analyst group Open Europe.

"Right wing populism certainly is not dead in Europe, particularly not in Austria. Austria was one of the main reception countries, but also transit countries during the refugee crisis in 2015. And still during this election campaign it was the meta-topic to which all other issues were combined."

Kurz's rival, Heinz-Christian Strache -- leader of the far-right Freedom Party -- accuses Kurz of stealing his policies and political slogans on migration and Islam. "Now we will see if they really mean it honestly or seriously, if they are even willing to have honest negotiations with us or not. And I'm telling you: you can rely on one thing. We are going to stay true to ourselves," Strache told supporters Sunday as it became clear his party had sealed second place.

With all parties well short of a majority, tough coalition talks lie ahead. Analysts say a coalition agreement between the People's Party and the Freedom Party is now the most likely outcome of the election -- although other combinations are possible. The third-placed Social Democrats, hurt by scandals during the campaign, have not ruled out forming a coalition with either of the two right-wing parties.
Senior U.S. and Japanese officials arrived in Seoul on Tuesday, to meet their South Korean counterpart for talks over North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan was joined by Tokyo's Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama, for a three-way meeting with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam. During his two-day stop in Japan, prior to his arrival in Seoul, Sullivan said the U.S. is not ruling out the possibility of holding direct talks with Pyongyang.

Rex Tillerson's deputy will hold strategic dialogue with Lim to discuss the situation with North Korea and reaffirm the South Korea-U.S. alliance ahead of President Trump's visit to Seoul early next month.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul said Tuesday it would not evacuate American citizens without informing the South Korean government first. The embassy issued a statement responding to rumors that the U.S. was making secret evacuation plans amid growing North Korean nuclear threats.

The embassy said it was aware of recent rumors, inaccurate news reports, and false social media warnings regarding the alleged imminent evacuation of Americans from South Korea, and urged the public to check the U.S. governments official websites for accurate information.

It referred to the websites of the embassy (kr.usembassy.gov), U.S. Forces Korea (www.usfk.mil), and the U.S. State Department's travel information service (travel.state.gov).

Decisions on whether to evacuate Americans are made by the State Department in consultation with the U.S. Defense Department and other government agencies, it said.

Any such decision would be communicated to the host country through official channels and an evacuation would be conducted in cooperation with South Korean authorities, it added.
BAD AXE  A Harbor Beach man has been charged for allegedly stabbing another man in the head during an altercation over the weekend.

The suspect, Randy Hayward II, was charged with one count of felonious assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder after he appeared for arraignment in Huron County District Court on Monday.

Hayward, 24, is accused of stabbing a 26-year-old Harbor Beach man in the head/face area, according to Harbor Beach Police Chief Todd Bucholtz.

He said the stabbing took place just before 2 a.m. Saturday near a residence in the 100 block of North Second Street in Harbor Beach. The victim called 911 and was able to walk to Harbor Beach Community Hospital  with the knife still in his head  for treatment.

The victim was transferred to a Royal Oak area hospital and the knife was removed from his head during surgery.

Hayward was treated for minor injuries at the Harbor Beach Community Hospital, arrested, and then taken to the Huron County Jail.

It was not a random act, Bucholtz told the Tribune, noting the case is still under investigation.

At arraignment, Huron County Magistrate Jessica Testolin-Reinke set bond at $100,000 cash.

Hayward was appointed Bad Axe-based attorney Elizabeth Weisenbach to represent him at future court proceedings.

He is scheduled to appear in court next for a probable cause conference on Nov. 2 and a preliminary examination the day after.

As of Tuesday, Hayward remains lodged in the Huron County Jail.

Although Bucholtz did note the victim was in critical condition following the assault, his current condition is unknown.
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President Xi Jinping warned of "severe" challenges while laying out a road map to turn China into a leading global power by 2050, as he kicked off a twice-a-decade party gathering expected to cement his influence into the next decade.

In a speech that ran for more than three hours on Wednesday, Xi declared victory over "many difficult, long overdue problems" since he took power in 2012. He said China would continue opening its doors to foreign businesses, defend against systemic risks, deepen state-run enterprise reform, strengthen financial sector regulation and better coordinate fiscal and monetary policy.

"Right now both China and the world are in the midst of profound and complex changes," Xi said. "China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development. The prospects are very bright, but the challenges are very severe."

Investors are watching to see whether Xi will push through tough reforms as the world's second-largest economy faces structural challenges over the next five years. At the same time, he's seeking to boost China's global clout with infrastructure spending while seeking to avoid a conflict with U.S. President Donald Trump over North Korea.

A last-hour surge by some of China's biggest companies kept the nation's benchmark stock index in the green. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.3 percent higher, despite almost three stocks falling for each that rose. The onshore yuan was little changed against the U.S. dollar and 10-year bond yields held steady near the highest level since late 2014.

"We have a fairly clear blueprint of Xi Jinping's political economy, with incredibly robust, strengthened state-owned sector playing a large role in propping up growth," Jude Blanchette, engagement director at the Conference Board's China Center, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "We're moving into a sort of China Inc. 2.0, a real upgraded version. That, sure, has markets and they're going to play a really important role in this, but this is all within a birdcaged economy."

Xi's speech -- officially known as the party work report, China's most important policy document -- included sections on politics, the economy, national defense, foreign policy and Hong Kong and Taiwan. He reiterated the goal of attaining "moderately prosperous society" by 2020, which has helped drive economic policy over the past five years.

Xi also laid out an ambitious plan to make China a "great modern socialist country" over two stages in the following 30 years -- part of what he has called the "Chinese dream."

By 2050, he said, China will become "a global leader in terms of comprehensive national strength and international influence" with the rule of law, innovative companies, a clean environment, an expanding middle class, adequate public transportation and reduced disparities between urban and rural areas.

"Chinese people will enjoy greater happiness and well-being, and the Chinese nation will stand taller and firmer in the world," Xi said of his vision for 2050. He said China "is approaching the center of the world stage."

Xi painted China's governance system as a unique development model while hailing signature policies like his Belt-and-Road infrastructure initiative and anti-corruption campaign, which has ensnared some 1 million officials since 2012 and sidelined many of his would-be rivals.

Xi affirmed the Communist Party's supremacy and said that China shouldn't copy the political systems of foreign nations, repeatedly emphasizing that the country had entered a "new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics." He called for the rejection of the "Cold War mentality" in addressing global challenges, and said China would never seek global hegemony.

Xi said the Communist Party will strive to fully transform the People's Liberation Army into one the world's top militaries by 2050, and emphasized the need to modernize its combat capability.

"A military is built to fight," he said.

Throughout the week, more than 2,000 delegates to 19th Party Congress will discuss and approve Xi's report and revisions to the party charter. They will also appoint a new Central Committee, which will elect the party's Politburo and its Standing Committee -- China's most powerful body -- the day after the congress ends on Oct. 24.

Xi is set to emerge as one of the country's top three leaders along with Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong, who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949. He'll be looking to secure a majority of allies on the new Standing Committee, which may potentially include possible successors who could rule until 2032.

While economic growth has surprised on the upside in recent quarters, inefficient state-owned enterprises and ballooning corporate debt pose threats to stability. Last year, China saw its slowest full-year growth in about a quarter century, and S&P Global Ratings last month cut China's sovereign rating for the first time since 1999.

The Communist Party has been adept at changing course and finding ways for its citizens to make money, according to Fraser Howie, co-author of the books "Red Capitalism" and "Privatizing China."

"The bargain certainly in the past 25 years plus has been forget political freedoms, we will allow you to get rich," Howie said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "Keeping power has been of absolute paramount importance to the party, and that's the focus of what these meetings are about."

---

Bloomberg contributors: Keith Zhai, Peter Martin, Jeff Kearns, David Tweed, Enda Curran and Xiaoqing Pi.
CROMWELL  A 27-year-old New Britain woman has been charged with embezzling more than $16,000 from a Berlin Road business.

Senior police officials say the case was a complicated one that involved the theft of money and lottery tickets over a nearly three-week period this past summer. It was unraveled by the efforts of Officer Peter Pietraroia, who was assigned to the detective division in February and was conducting what really was his first big case, officials said.

In her regular monthly report to the Town Council, Police Chief Denise Lamontagne outlined the investigation and said Pietraroia had done an exceptional job.

This was a very time-consuming case and Detective Pietraroia conducted a very thorough investigation, Sgt. Steve Penn said during a discussion of the case Friday.

For one thing, this investigation required Detective Pietraroia to immerse himself in the intricacies of the state lottery, Capt. Kevin A. VanderSloot said.

In June, police were contacted by the owner of a Berlin Road convenience store about some unexplained losses, VanderSloot said. The store owner had identified an employee whom he believed was responsible. The thefts, totaling $16,353, included both cash and lottery tickets and took place between June 6 and 18, VanderSloot said.

At the time, the captain was overseeing the detective division on a temporary basis. He assigned Pietraroia, who launched a broad-scale investigation, VanderSloot said.

He was multitasking and using all his efforts together at one time, he said.

Pietraroia reached out to both the Connecticut Lottery Commission and the state Department of Consumer Protection, VanderSloot said. After becoming familiar with the process, Detective Pietraroia was able track the dates and times of the some of the (winnings) the suspect was claiming, VanderSloot said.

Pietraroia also reached out to the suspect.

Initially, she agreed to be interviewed, VanderSloot said. But then, as the date and time of the interview drew closer, the suspect became increasingly less cooperative, until she finally told Pietraroia to speak to her attorney.

Pietraroias familiarity with the lottery operation enabled him to confirm the identity of the suspect, VanderSloot said. He compiled three binders full of evidence and information on the case, the captain said.

In fact, Penn said, his work was so thorough that prosecutors asked for an outline of the case.

When Petraroia applied for a warrant for the suspects arrest, it was readily granted, VanderSloot said.

On Sept. 19, the suspect, Amanda Johnson, was arrested and charged with second-degree larceny. She was released on $25,000 bail and is due back in Middlesex Superior Court Nov. 14.
MIDDLETOWN  A forensic nurse, the 10th employee of the states hospital for the criminally insane charged in connection with the investigation into multiple instances of abuse of a patient, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the incidents Wednesday.

Michael P. Presnick, 27, of Hunters Run, Cromwell, who works at Connecticut Valley Hospitals Whiting Forensic Division in Middletown, was charged on a warrant with cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct.

The investigation is being conducted by members of the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad and state Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services.

The patient, who is classified as high-maintenance, according to court documents, is on a treatment plan that requires the assignment of two supervisory staff members 24 hours a day, as well as constant video surveillance. The victim was not the primary aggressor in any of the recorded incidents, officials said.

In all, 31 DHMAS employees are on paid suspension for alleged policy violations or accusations of criminal acts, police said.

An official from CVHs Whiting Forensics Division contacted police March 21 to report an accusation of patient abuse, the arrest warrant affidavits said. Following an investigation, the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad and DMHAS police arrested nine men Sept. 6.

Among Presnicks duties as forensic nurse are alerting physicians to emergencies, protecting human and civil rights of patients, teaching self-care, assessing medical-psychosocial needs and conferring with other medical staff on a patients needs, according to the warrant.

The patients disabilities often prevent him from being communicative and hinder his ability to process facts and relate experiences, according to the report. No orders allowed the accused to make the type of physical contact they did toward the victim, according to investigators.

On March 10 at 9:11 a.m., the patients doctor was observed on videotape looking at the man.

A forensic treatment specialist entered, applied an aerosol spray to the patients groin area as the patient pulled his pants open, allowing the staffer to apply it, according to the warrant. While the worker was leaving, Presnick allegedly entered the room, grabbed the patients arm and sprayed him in the face with the medication.

The patient is seen reacting by flailing his arms from the contact of the spray in a distressful manner, the report said. Two technicians were seated outside, documents report, and no note is made in the mans records about the application.

On March 21 at 11:30 a.m., forensic treatment specialists Lance Camby, 48, of Prospect Street, New Britain; and Robert Larned, 45, of Village Lane, Hebron, allegedly restrained the victim while Presnick put a diaper over the mans pants while he was fully clothed.

Camby and Larned are among the men accused of a sustained pattern of attacks and provocations of the patient. Both are charged with five counts of cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct.

While trying to re-dress the patient after he removed the diaper, Camby put the diaper over the mans head as he and Larned restrained him as the patient struggled, according to documents presented in court. Nothing in the patients records details the diapering incident or the restraint, authorities said.

After Presnick, Camby and Larned tried to hold the patient down and place the diaper over his pants, the three appear to be smiling as they stand outside in the hallway after the incident, the warrant said.

When police interviewed Presnick at his home May 3, he reportedly told investigators the patient had soiled his pants. Presnick described the patient as difficult to deal with and is often child-like in behavior, court documents read.

Presnick allegedly said he asked the man if he wanted to be changed and if he would wear the diaper under his pants, but the patient swore at him in response.

On March 22, Presnick was placed on administrative leave for an unspecified reason, the warrant said, while Camby and Larned were also on leave.

When asked about the aerosol, Presnick told investigators the patients treatment includes Vaseline spray applied to his skin two to three times a week everywhere on his body, including his face.

Because the patient is child-like at times, Presnick told police he sprayed Vaseline on the mans forehead or cheek because he usually rubs it in himself, court documents read.

On Sept. 1, the patients doctor told authorities that a topical medication would be applied gently to a patients face and a spray would never be used for fear of causing irritation or damage to the eyes, the report read.

The physician also allegedly said placing a diaper outside the mans soiled pants would be highly unusual, the warrant read.

A diaper over the outside of a patients clothing may be used to contain soiled body fluids so the patient could be transitioned to a different place, such as a shower, but typically this is done with either towels or sheets that are wrapped gently around the patient to contain soiled clothing or body fluids, court documents read.

Presnick was released on $25,000 bail and is due back in Superior Court in Middletown on Oct. 24.
Overseas reporters flood Beijing

From:Chinadaily | 2017-10-17 15:49

Huang Kunming (center), executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, leads a group of officials in a toast to welcome Chinese and foreign journalists who will be covering the 19th CPC National Congress at a reception on Monday in Beijing. Feng Yongbin / China Daily

They'll cover the National Congress from fresh angles

A total of 1,818 overseas journalists, including correspondents from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan, have registered to cover the upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

That is 6.7 percent more than those who covered the 18th CPC National Congress five years ago, Hu Xiaohan, director of the congress's press center, said at a media reception attended by more than 500 overseas journalists on Monday.

Hu said the foreign journalists come from 134 countries, about 20 percent more than in 2012.

For the first time, the press center opened an official WeChat account, which provides online information for journalists about the agendas, notices and other items of interest.

The center first developed a registration system for media applications, accepting those from foreign media and from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

"Everybody is waiting for what the congress is to come out with," said Kajubi Mukajanga, executive secretary of the Media Council of Tanzania. He attended a forum on the Belt and Road Initiative with media organizations from several countries earlier in the day. He said he will focus on China's stability, economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts at the congress.

Many journalists are looking at China's endeavors in areas like poverty relief. Mukajanga said China's poverty alleviation is a "truly alternative way of doing things".

Bipul Pokhrel, vice-president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, said media can work with the government to enhance poverty alleviation."Media can support the government. It's possible to create change for good. That's a great message from China to us," he said.

Aly Diouf, a journalist from Senegal, said he is impressed with anti-desertification steps being taken in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

"At every step, there are efforts - the national, provincial, municipal and district levels. Things are being done to enable people to leave poverty and live with dignity," Diouf said."The congress allows us, as African journalists, to experience China in our own way. We Africans see there are positive things here in the Chinese (system)."
The services' incentive comes at a time where the military is still grappling with getting troops to fully comply with its...
The Islamic State terrorist group is on the "verge of a devastating defeat" in both Syria and Iraq despite a recent clash between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed city of Kirkuk, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday.

"Overall, ISIS is losing in every way," U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said during a video conference from Baghdad to defense reporters at the Pentagon.

"We have devastated their networks, targeted and eliminated their leaders at all levels. We've degraded their ability to finance their operations -- cutting oil revenues by 90 percent. ... Their story of leading a holy cause has proved to be a cesspool of brutal lies, torture and oppression," he said.

Dillon's comments came as U.S. coalition-backed fighters from the Syrian Democratic Force liberated "more than 90 percent" of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terrorist group's so-called capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

"We are aware of reports that ISIS has been defeated in Raqqa; however, clearance operations have to continue, and we expect our Syrian Democratic Force partners to hit pockets of resistance as the final parts of the city [are] cleared," Dillon said.

In 2014, ISIS held as much as 104,000 square kilometers, including major cities in Iraq and Syria, he said.

The terrorist group "stunned the civilized world by televising torture, mass executions and other unspeakable crimes against humanity" as it became a global threat planning, funding and inspiring terrorist attacks around the world, Dillon said.

Since then, the coalition has removed ISIS from 87 percent of territory it once held, he added.

SDF commanders say the fight in Raqqa is now more about IEDs and explosives than it is against ISIS.

The commander of the Raqqa Internal Security Force "unfortunately and sadly was killed yesterday when he was walking through Raqqa and triggered an IED," Dillon said, adding that entire families have been killed by hidden bombs in the past week.

"That goes to show the work that must go into first off clearing the explosives and booby traps and mines that have been left behind by ISIS," he said.

But the fight against ISIS is not over, Dillon said. The group still has about 6,500 fighters in both Syria and Iraq, he said.

While only about 100 ISIS fighters remain in Raqqa, many are still located in the "middle Euphrates River Valley," he said.

Meanwhile in Iraq, operations against ISIS were disrupted when Iraqi and Kurdish forces clashed in the city of Kirkuk.

Iraqi Security Forces recently moved in to retake the oil-rich north-central city from the Kurds, who have held sway since ISIS swarmed into Iraq in 2014.

Neither side gave a casualty toll for the operation, but an aid group working in Kirkuk said several Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Iraqi soldiers had been killed in a clash south of the city, Reuters reported.

"Regarding the tensions in Kirkuk -- aside from the incident from the early morning hours on 16 October south of Kirkuk that we assess as a miscommunication between Iraq security forces and a Kurdish checkpoint -- there have been no further reports of armed conflict or attacks between the two groups," Dillon said.

When pressed by reporters, he acknowledged that both Iraqis and Kurds had been killed in the clash.

"That one incident was the only altercation, armed conflict and exchange of fire that we know about," Dillon said. "It was supposed to be a coordinated movement through a checkpoint. This happened at about 3 o'clock in the morning. Tensions were already high, and that is how we assess that particular incident of what happened there, and that is the only incident that we know about."

Coalition officials continue to monitor the situation and are urging both sides to avoid escalation, he said.

"These tensions distract from our unified fight against ISIS, which remains a very real threat in Iraq," Dillon said.

In the past week, coalition forces have conducted 30 airstrikes against ISIS command-and-control facilities, car-bomb factories, weapons caches and a training camp, he said.

In back-clearing operations of the Tal Afar area, Iraqi forces have found and removed large caches of weapons and explosives, including 550 Improved explosive devices, 1,800 mortars, 25 land mines, 101 suicide vests, 16 tunnels and 11 factors for making IEDs, Dillon said.

With coalition support, Iraqi forces are moving into western Anbar Province to clear the remaining ISIS forces from the region, he said.

"As we look forward to even after the military defeat of ISIS ... there is still going to be work to be done," Dillon said. "ISIS will be defeated militarily, but we know that there still is going to be the ideology and the continued insurgent activity."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
In the wake of two destroyer collisions this summer that cost 17 sailors' lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, the Navy is putting all ships in its surface fleet through a one-time readiness assessment to ensure they and their crews can safely operate.

The move, announced Oct. 11 by Naval Surface Force Pacific, comes days before the expected completion of a comprehensive readiness review initiated after the second collision, involving the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer John S. McCain in August.

"[U.S. Pacific Fleet commander] Adm. [Scott] Swift, he and his Pacific Fleet team wanted to take immediate action where they could take action while the comprehensive review was underway," Cmdr. John Perkins, a spokesman for Naval Surface Force Pacific, told Military.com.

The two-day assessments have already begun, Perkins said, with eight ships forward-deployed to Japan and forward-based at Yokosuka Naval Base having already completed the assessment period, and two additional assessments ongoing.

The plan, he said, is to complete assessments for all cruisers, destroyers, amphibious ships, and mine counter-measure ships in Japan by the end of January 2018, and to finish assessments for the remainder of the surface fleet by June 2018.

Both collisions, involving the McCain and the destroyer Fitzgerald in June, took place in the Pacific; both ships were forward-based in the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Congressional hearings following the tragic accidents emphasized reports from the Government Accountability Office that showed many forward-based ships in Japan lacked crucial certifications and did not have built-in time for training.

In addition, the reports showed sailors aboard these ships frequently worked 100-hour weeks, raising the question of whether exhaustion played a role in the collisions.

Under the supervision of Naval Surface Forces commander Adm. Tom Rowden, the Navy has already implemented several measures to mitigate these conditions, including an order to ensure sailors underway get guaranteed sleep on a reliable schedule.

The assessments, which began last month, include one day in port and one day at sea, Perkins said.

The first day focuses on administrative items, including manning qualifications, watch bills and equipment checks, he said, while the second includes assessments of watch team proficiency, propulsion and navigation drills, and other at-sea evolutions.

Between 12 and 15 assessors will be involved in each evaluation, depending on the size of the ship, Perkins said. They will include senior surface officers, senior enlisted sailors, and limited duty officers, he said.

"I have absolute confidence that our crews are working very hard to care for their ships and to meet operational requirements," Rowden said in a statement. "These assessments are about taking an honest, hard look at how we do business and adjusting, as required, to remain the world's pre-eminent naval force, uniquely capable of operating in the waters of the world's oceans."

Perkins said the Navy would not disclose which ships, or how many, failed this two-day readiness assessment for operational security reasons.

If a ship does fail the assessment, he said, Naval Surface Force Pacific will make a recommendation to U.S. Pacific Fleet that the ship is unavailable for operational tasking until the deficiency can be corrected.

If the recommendation is accepted, the ship may then be given a deadline to correct the problems that were identified.

"Pacific Fleet will assess the operational requirements versus correcting the deficiency in order to make an informed risk decision," Perkins said.

Rowden, according to a public release, is "taking a steadfast stance" to ensure ships also receive appropriate training time and certifications prior to deployment, and to standardize best practices across the the Navy surface force and the service as a whole.

"Every day, we owe it to our Sailors and their families to explore opportunities to mitigate risk where we can -- from immediate daily fundamentals to instituting complex organizational change," he said in a statement.

Editor's Note: The second graph was updated to show the assessment was announced Oct. 11.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
An Airman who disappeared from an Air Force Base in North Dakota 40 years ago is in custody of the U.S. Air Force after he was discovered last week living in Florida.

Jeffrey Michels, 64, was arrested Thursday on charges of desertion after he failed to report for duty at North Dakota's Minot Air Force Base on July 6, 1977, WFTV reported.

Michels, originally from East Liverpool, Ohio, was found living a double life in Sanford, Fla. -- under the name "Jeffrey Lantz," according to a police report.

The man reportedly used the fake name to obtain a business license in Florida in 1998. Online records show the name Jeffrey Lantz had a certified general contractor license for construction business Atlantic Development Corporation.

A photo of Michels was posted on July 9 to the Facebook group "Veteran Doe" -- a website dedicated to bringing "attention to the many missing veteran/active duty cases and unidentified person cases where there is a possible military connection." The post was deleted after Michels was discovered.

Related content:

It's unclear if the Air Force opened an investigation into Michels' disappearance due to the Facebook post.

Michels, according to WFTV, is in the custody of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Because there is no statute of limitations for deserting a military post, Michels will stand trial in military court.

Reports of Michels' arrest come one day after Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion charges after he left his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Bergdahl was subsequently held captive by the Taliban until May 2014.
A large-scale prostitution and human trafficking sting in Florida's Polk County this week resulted in the arrest of a seasoned Marine colonel assigned to the Joint Staff.

Tampa Bay Times reported that Col. Kevin Scott was among 277 individuals arrested and charged in "Operation No Tricks, No Treats," a sting carried out by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Master Sgt. Ryan O'Hara, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Command, confirmed that Scott was assigned to Joint Staff Suffolk, Virginia.

Scott entered the Marine Corps in 1984 and is a logistics officer, O'Hara said.

"Everything's under investigation now," he said, adding that more actions may be taken by the service pending the results of the investigation.

Related content:

At the time of his arrest, Scott had been serving in a temporary duty position as desk officer for U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. A military video from July shows him discussing a military exercise in Tajikistan in an interview.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the 51-year-old Scott was arrested Oct. 14 after he approached an undercover detective and offered to pay for sex. The paper also reported that Scott drove a government-leased car to the meeting point.

When he was arrested, the paper reported, he claimed he was retired and no longer serving in the Marine Corps.

"We had to call the government and say, 'Hey would you like to come get your leased car 'cause your colonel is on the way to the county jail,' the paper quotes Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd as saying.

According to the Times, Scott was charged with a single misdemeanor count of soliciting a prostitute.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Area businesses are supporting the University of Michigan Health System's Breast Care Center this month with a new take on the Think Pink, Go Blue campaign.

Now dubbed See Pink, Go Blue, the campaign has returned this year with a new moniker and more than 50 businesses raising awareness with special "See Pink" items available through October, such as Pretzel Bell's Bramble On cocktail and Arbor Brewing Company's pink-hued draft beer called HopBeet.

As a participant in the #SeePinkGoBlue fundraiser for the University of Michigan Breast Care Center, we brewed this... Posted by Arbor Brewing Company on Friday, October 13, 2017

Other businesses are offering discounts on merchandise and services or events to help raise funds for UM's Breast Care Center, such as the Sweet Grizzly Vie 5K on Oct. 29 organized by Vie: Fitness and Spa.

VIE'S 2ND ANNUAL 5K! Sweet Grizzly Vie 5K Sunday, 10/29 @ 10am Gallup Park Supporting UofM's Breast Cancer Care Center To sign up: CLICK ON THE 5K BANNER ON VIEFIT.COM Posted by Vie: Fitness & Spa on Sunday, October 1, 2017

The breast cancer awareness campaign was created in 2016 as a result of a conversation between Dr. Jacqueline Jeruss, director of UM's Breast Care Center, and Liz Marek, community relations manager for Pretzel Bell.

Marek was inspired to help after hearing Jeruss speak about the funding needed to complete research and conduct programs at UM's Breast Care Center, and the two developed what is now a fundraising campaign to help connect people with simple ways to support the U-M Breast Care Center.

Participating businesses include:

A2 Yoga

Afternoon Delight Restaurant, Ann Arbor Michigan

Amanda Orr

Angelos

Arbor Brewing Company

Avalon Ann Arbor Cafe & Kitchen

Aventura Ann Arbor

Bar Louie

Bivouac Ann Arbor

The Blue Leprechaun

Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery

The Bo Store

The Brown Jug

Cantina Ann Arbor

Carson's American Bistro

The Chop House Ann Arbor

Conor O'Neills Ann Arbor

Donut Bar + Coffee

Frita Batidos

Good Time Charley's

Gratzi Ann Arbor

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company

HOMES Brewery

HopCat - Ann Arbor

Isalita

Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & Brewery

Knight's on Liberty

Knight's Steakhouse

La Dolce Vita Ann Arbor

MANI Osteria & Bar

Residence Inn by Marriott Ann Arbor Downtown

mash

Inside The Huddle with Michael Spath

Mikette Bistro & Bar

My Urban Toddler

Old German

Orangetheory Fitness AnnArbor

Orangetheory Fitness AnnArbor North

Palio Ann Arbor

Pizza House

The Pretzel Bell

Real Seafood Company Ann Arbor

Rock Paper Scissors

Carol Roeda Studio

Slurping Turtle

Taylor & Colt Ann Arbor

Underground Printing

Vie: Fitness & Spa

Those interested in donating to the See Pink, Go Blue campaign can also text "SPGB" to 50555 to contribute $10 to UM's Comprehensive Cancer Center, with charges being applied to their phone bill.

According to the See Pink, Go Blue website, around 250,000 men and women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

UM's Breast Care Center offers patients a team-based approach for treatment including conversations with both surgical and medical oncologists, plastic surgeons, gynecologists and social workers with an emphasis on quick turn-around for medical diagnosis.
WYOMING, MI - City officials are planning a ribbon cutting and "grand re-opening" ceremony to celebrate the renovation of 28 West Place, formerly known the Wyoming Village Mall.

The property, originally developed in 1962 as the Southland Mall, was re-developed by the Meyer C. Weiner Co, which demolished 58,000 square feet of obsolete building space in 2016.

This year, developers added 20,000 square feet of new energy efficient building space and two out-lot buildings with 11,000 square feet and property improvements to upgrade the existing retail center and its parking lot. The 28 West site also includes another 5,500-square-foot pad building.

New tenants in the development include:

CSL Plasma, which leased 10,000 square feet and opened in April

Mr. Alan's clothing store, which leased a 5,400 square foot out-lot building and opened in June

Simply 10 clothing store, which leased 4,400 square feet and will open for business in late October.

"We are excited to commemorate this first stage of redevelopment," said Wyoming Assistant City Manager Megan Sall in a press release.

"There are so many opportunities inherent in this area and we're pleased to have a partner in Meyer C. Weiner Co. as we set the stage for future growth."

The redevelopment was done in tandem with Wyoming's construction of "28 West Place Street," a new road that bisects the mall's property and connects 28th Street SW to Michael Avenue.

The new road is part of the City of Wyoming's master plan to redevelop the former Studio 28 site which once boasted more than 20 screens and held the status of having the most screens of any multi-plex in the world before it was closed in 2008.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor's cost estimate for building a new Amtrak station is off by millions of dollars due to some bad math.

The city has confirmed "an arithmetic error" was made when calculating the $81 million estimate for building a new station and parking garage in Fuller Park, and it actually should be about $5 million higher.

Rita Mitchell, a member of the citizens group Protect A2 Parks, caught the mistake and brought it to the city's attention.

Mitchell's group is opposed to building a train station and parking garage in Fuller Park and has questioned the cost analysis done by the city's project team that concluded a new Depot Street station, where the existing Amtrak station is located, would be significantly more expensive than a new station in Fuller Park.

After review, it appears there was "an arithmetic error with an adjustment due to the time of construction" for the Fuller Park option, said Eli Cooper, the city's transportation program manager.

Cooper said a correction will be made to the city's recently released draft environmental assessment report, where the cost estimates for different options are contained, before the report is finalized.

Because it would be constructed on city-owned property, the Fuller Park option has the lowest cost, the city's draft report states, citing an $81 million estimate for the Fuller Park option, the city's preferred option, and higher estimates ranging from $94 million to $98 million for three Depot Street options.

The city argues a new Depot Street station would require widening the Broadway Street bridges and acquiring property from Amtrak and DTE Energy, so the estimates for the Depot Street options include $6.7 million to $12 million for right-of-way acquisition and $5.9 million for the work on the Broadway bridges.

Mitchell filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city in late September, asking for a detailed breakdown of the cost estimates since only the totals were shown in publicly released documents. In response, the city provided previously unreleased cost spreadsheets on Oct. 4.

They show the project team used an escalation factor to calculate costs for a full-buildout scenario in year 2035, counting that as an extra $6.1 million to $6.5 million in costs for Depot Street options but only $1 million for the Fuller Park option, which was a miscalculation.

Cooper said the city now acknowledges the Fuller Park estimate should be about $5 million higher.

Here's a summary of what the cost spreadsheets show:

Elevated station on Depot Street: $94 million

$12.5 million for station building

$3.8 million for escalators, overpasses, elevators, skywalks, stairs, etc.

$4.5 million for rail platforms/canopy

$600,000 for ground-level elements under the parking deck, including areas for buses, circulation drives, short-term parking, taxi stands, "kiss and ride" areas and walkways

$1.5 million for site work outside the parking deck footprint, including grading and drainage, water quality protection features, lighting, landscaping, ADA-compliant walkways, drives and bicycle facilities

$250,000 for site utilities

$1 million for environmental mitigation to address potential soil contamination

$17.9 million for a parking deck with 870 long-term and 50 short-term parking spaces

$6.7 million for right-of-way acquisition

$0 for railroad track improvements

$1.2 million for railroad flagging/inspection

$250,000 for roadway improvements, including acceleration and deceleration lanes, intersection improvements, added travel lanes, structural work and associated utility work

$5.9 million for Broadway bridge improvements over Depot Street and the Huron River, including staircases

$10 million for contingency costs

$3.5 million for preliminary engineering, permitting and site plan approvals

$5.2 million for final design

$13.1 million for construction administration and testing

$6.2 million for escalation to year 2035

Ground-level station on Depot Street: $97.1 million

$10.9 million for station building

$3.8 million for escalators, overpasses, elevators, skywalks, stairs, etc.

$4.5 million for rail platforms/canopy

$800,000 for ground-level elements under the parking deck, including areas for buses, circulation drives, short-term parking, taxi stands, "kiss and ride" areas and walkways

$1.6 million for site work outside the parking deck footprint, including grading and drainage, water quality protection features, lighting, landscaping, ADA-compliant walkways, drives and bicycle facilities

$250,000 for site utilities

$1 million for environmental mitigation to address potential soil contamination

$17.9 million for a parking deck with 870 long-term and 50 short-term parking spaces

$6.7 million for right-of-way acquisition

$3.2 million for railroad track improvements

$835,000 for railroad flagging/inspection

$250,000 for roadway improvements, including acceleration and deceleration lanes, intersection improvements, added travel lanes, structural work and associated utility work

$5.9 million for Broadway bridge improvements over Depot Street and the Huron River, including staircases

$10.4 million for contingency costs

$3.6 million for preliminary engineering, permitting and site plan approvals

$5.4 million for final design

$13.5 million for construction administration and testing

$6.5 million for escalation to year 2035

Reusing the historic Michigan Central Railroad depot building that now houses the Gandy Dancer restaurant: $98.1 million

$10.3 million for station building

$5 million for escalators, overpasses, elevators, skywalks, stairs, etc.

$4.5 million for rail platforms/canopy

$600,000 for ground-level elements under the parking deck, including areas for buses, circulation drives, short-term parking, taxi stands, "kiss and ride" areas and walkways

$1.7 million for site work outside the parking deck footprint, including grading and drainage, water quality protection features, lighting, landscaping, ADA-compliant walkways, drives and bicycle facilities

$250,000 for site utilities

$1 million for environmental mitigation to address potential soil contamination

$17.9 million for a parking deck with 870 long-term and 50 short-term parking spaces

$12 million for right-of-way acquisition

$625,000 for railroad flagging/inspection

$250,000 for roadway improvements, including acceleration and deceleration lanes, intersection improvements, added travel lanes, structural work and associated utility work

$5.9 million for Broadway bridge improvements over Depot Street and the Huron River, including staircases

$10.8 million for contingency costs

$3.4 million for preliminary engineering, permitting and site plan approvals

$5.1 million for final design

$12.7 million for construction administration and testing

$6.1 million for escalation to year 2035

Elevated station above tracks at Fuller Park: $81 million (should be about $5 million higher)

$12.5 million for station building

$3.8 million for escalators, overpasses, elevators, skywalks, stairs, etc.

$4.5 million for rail platforms/canopy

$1.2 million for ground-level elements under the parking deck, including areas for buses, circulation drives, short-term parking, taxi stands, "kiss and ride" areas and walkways

$1.2 million for site work outside the parking deck footprint, including grading and drainage, water quality protection features, lighting, landscaping, ADA-compliant walkways, drives and bicycle facilities

$125,000 for site utilities

$1 million for utility relocations on the site

$100,000 for environmental mitigation to address potential soil contamination

$17.9 million for a parking deck with 870 long-term and 50 short-term parking spaces

$0 for right-of-way acquisition

$3.2 million for railroad track improvements

$1.2 million for railroad flagging/inspection

$200,000 for roadway improvements, including acceleration and deceleration lanes, intersection improvements, added travel lanes, structural work and associated utility work

$9.4 million for contingency costs

$3.8 million for preliminary engineering, permitting and site plan approvals

$5.6 million for final design

$14.1 million for construction administration and testing

$1 million for escalation to year 2035 (Note: This is where a mistake was made and the number should be about $5 million higher.)

The city also provided spreadsheets showing first-phase cost estimates for starting with a smaller parking deck with 435 long-term and 50 short-term parking spaces. In those scenarios, the Depot Street options range from $73.2 million (elevated station) to $74.9 million (ground-level station) to $77.7 million (historic depot), while the Fuller Park option comes in at $64.5 million.

Cooper cautioned that because the project is in the conceptual planning phase, the cost estimates are "extremely high-level" and merely "order of magnitude" estimates at this point. He said the actual costs could end up being 50 percent higher or lower than the preliminary estimates.

"For this reason, it is important to recognize that these cost estimates were included in the draft EA as an information item and are not a primary decision factor in the selection of a preferred alternative," he said. "It is clear, however, that correction of the error would result in an increase in the estimated costs associated with alternative 3A. These additional estimated costs do not change the 'order of magnitude' nature of the estimate or the overall ranking of alternative 3A's estimated cost relative to the other three build alternatives."

Alternative 3A is the Fuller Park option.

As the city continues to seek public feedback on the new report identifying Fuller Park as the city's preferred option for a new train station, and as decisions are being made about how to move forward, Mitchell said it's important for community members to be provided with accurate information about the cost estimates since the cost has been cited as an advantage for the Fuller Park option.

If the cost of land was excluded in the estimates, Mitchell said, the overall cost estimates would be much more similar.

"I raise that point because, for the Depot location, Amtrak would be selling land to the city and yet using/leasing the building. It may be possible to consider the value of the Amtrak land as an offset to expense at the Depot location," she said.

DTE Energy also has expressed interest in cooperating with the city and accommodating plans for a new train station off Depot Street as part of a major redevelopment planned for DTE's adjacent property.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A new tool developed at the University of Michigan will offer patients guidelines on how many opioid pain medications they should take after undergoing any of 11 common operations.

The recommendations were created by the Michigan Opioid Prescribing and Engagement Network (Michigan-OPEN), in collaboration with the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative, both based at the UM Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

They are based on data and surveys from surgery patients across Michigan, and research by UM researchers who study pain control and surgical quality.

Michigan-OPEN researchers have previously shown that when patients are prescribed fewer pills, they consume fewer pills with no changes in pain or satisfaction scores.

"Certainly, any overdose is sad," Michigan-OPEN Co-Director Chad Brummett said in a video outlining the new tool. "But with 91 people per day dying in the United States, when you look at the pictures, these represent every demographic in the United States.

"I think this is a place where surgical care has a lot of opportunity to help fix the problem."

Researchers first focused on prescribing recommendations on a range of common operations, from hysterectomy and colon surgery to appendectomy and breast biopsy. They give recommended numbers of pills to prescribe to patients who have never taken opioid painkillers before their operation.

The new guide aims to prevent new chronic opioid use by giving detailed amounts of hydrocodone, oxycodone, tramadol and codeine/acetaminophen in an easy-to-print chart.

The amounts represent the actual maximum opioid use reported by three-quarters of actual surgery patients. Most patients actually took far less, from 0 to 5 pills, even when they were prescribed more by their surgeon or other provider.

Project lead Ryan Howard said studies showed that around 50 opioid pills were given to patients on average in post-operation prescriptions - far more than what the average patient ended up using.

"We found that half of the patients used 6 pills or less, and here we were, on average giving an average of 50," Howard said in a video outlining the project. "So they had a lot of left over. That discrepancy really allowed us to develop what we thought were safe and smart prescribing guidelines."

Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and prescription pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and codeine.

Opioids can be highly addictive, and their use and abuse is a growing issue in the United States. While the U.S. has about 5 percent of the world's population, it consumes about 80 percent of the global supply of prescription opioids.

Michigan health-care providers wrote 11 million prescriptions for opioid drugs in 2015 and another 11 million in 2016, compared to roughly 8 million prescriptions in 2009. That equates to about 1.1 prescriptions for every Michigan residents, according to the state's drug monitoring system.

Earlier this month, UM President Mark Schlissel announced a new initiative aiming to address societal health problems beginning with the opioid crisis called the Precision Health initiative.

The initiative will include researchers from across the university, bringing together genomics with millions of other data points to better understand what factors influence an individual's health and wellness.
BURTON, MI - A police investigation over a budget dispute that started at the request of the Burton City Council has been turned over to the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office.

Michigan State Police Spokesman Lt. Dave Kaiser said on Wednesday, Oct. 18, that the complaint was filed by a Burton city councilmember. He declined to share further information on the investigation.

Councilman Duane Haskins said he filed the complaint with the state police.

The complaint included allegations that an alteration to a union contract for now-Chief of Staff Rik Hayman increased his pay by approximately $30,000 without city council approval, said Haskins.

Hayman declined to comment on the case.

Haskins said the change was a violation of the city's charter as council members are required to vote on any contract changes.

"We have a governing body of laws that govern the elected officials of the city," he said. "If we don't abide by them, it's criminal."

Haskins argued a memorandum of understanding is also required in the union contract, which he says is not part of the contract he obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

"We could be held liable for that," Haskins said.

Kaiser said the investigation has been forwarded to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.

Leyton told MLive-The Flint Journal that his office received an "investigative packet" regarding Burton in the last few days, but it had not yet been reviewed.

"I think it's about some kind of budget dispute between the council and the mayor that may or may not be connected to civil litigation before (Genesee Circuit) Judge (Judith A.) Fullerton," Leyton said.

There is no timetable for when Leyton will review the information or make a determination on if he will authorize any charges, he said.

Burton Mayor Paula Zelenko's attorney Patrick Greenfelder says the dispute goes back to 2014, and the council has since approved two budgets with the new position Haskins referring to.

"I don't see any criminal issues whatsoever," Greenfelder said. "From what I understand, I think it's something with the mayor's powers."

This is not the first time police have launched an investigation into goings-on by public employees in Burton.

Zelenko said at a City Council meeting earlier this month that Clerk Teresa Karsney and Deputy Clerk Racheal Ervin-Boggs were removed from office in connection with a police investigation into the clerk's office.

Karsney's attorney, Matthew L. Norwood, said the investigation is related to a property deal.

Hayman has been sworn in as the acting clerk and human resources director and Sue Warren is serving as deputy clerk, which some Burton council members previously questioned.

City attorney Amanda Doyle said the mayor has the authority to make the appointments. She added the employees currently on leave remain employed by the city.

Four of the seven City Council seats are up for grabs on the November ballot.

Pre-election testing has been completed and absentee ballots sent out to residents that submitted an application, Zelenko previously said.

Burton Police Chief Tom Osterholzer previously said the investigation into the clerk's office has been turned over to the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor's office said the matter is still under review.

"We want to see this new (investigation) to see if there is any connection to the two," Leyton said on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

-Staff Writer Roberto Acosta contributed to this report.
HOLLAND, MI - Many people say they want to help others when they see natural disaster victims in the news, but few do anything about it. Holland veteran Kyle Upton is among those few.

As he saw more and more news coverage of damage left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the 46-year-old said he felt increasingly compelled to help those in Texas.

"Sometimes we've got to get out of our La-Z-Boys and go get it done," he said.

Upton contacted Team Rubicon, a company that combines the skills and experiences of military veterans and first responders, rapidly deploying emergency response teams to sites like Texas.

As part of Team Rubicon's Operation Hard Hustle, Upton spent eight days helping hurricane victims in Wharton, Texas. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, Upton and other volunteers in the operation were deployed throughout Wharton as part of a field-based "strike team."

The volunteers offered direct recovery support to homeowners impacted by flooding and other hurricane-related damage, according to a letter sent to Upton's employer from Jim Leckinger, the operation's incident commander.

Leckinger said volunteers removed debris, worked with chainsaws, and completed mucking and gutting and demolition services free-of-charge to homeowners who could otherwise not afford to rebuild their flood-ravaged homes.

Volunteers would contact residents by phone before entering their homes, as the residents were often at Federal Emergency Management Agency camps and not at home, Upton said. As such, volunteers usually did not typically meet the residents they were helping in-person.

One memorable moment of the operation came when the team was working on the home of a 70-year-old woman, Upton said. She had been living in her car for five weeks. The team went into her home, removed all the debris and damaged drywall, ensuring the woman had a place to stay.

"I think we all have grandparents and I think it hits home to see an elderly person in that situation," Upton said.

Overall, he said his team worked on at least 15 homes in Wharton during their time there.

Now back in Michigan, Upton keeps in contact with other volunteers through Facebook.

He said the operation was an international effort, with volunteers from the U.S., Norway, Australia and other countries.

"It was great, we all had a common goal," Upton said. "To help humanity."

Upton served in the U.S. military from 1990-1996, including four years with the National Guard and two in the Army Reserve.

David Cook is the CEO of Code Blue Corp., Upton's employer in Holland, and a Navy veteran himself. Cook said the company is proud of Upton's initiative to volunteer his time to bring relief to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A local pastor has announced his candidacy as a Democrat for the congressional district that includes Grand Rapids.

The Rev. W. Frederick Wooden, who has served as senior minister of Fountain Street Church since 2005, launched his campaign for Michigan's 3rd congressional district at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids on Monday, Oct. 16.

In a statement released prior to that announcement, Wooden said he is entering the race because he is "still a Boy Scout at heart."

"Having done my duty to God as a clergyman for nearly forty years I wish to do my duty to my country at a time when the wisdom and experience of working with all races and classes and religions is sorely needed in what seems a deeply divided nation," he said in a statement.

The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, who was first elected to Congress in 2010. Amash won reelection to a fourth term in November 2016, and a spokesperson for Amash confirmed the congressman intends to run for reelection in 2018.

Wooden is not alone in seeking the Democratic Party's nomination to oppose the incumbent.

Local business owner and nonprofit organizer Jeff Thomas announced his bid for the Democratic nomination in June, listing his top priorities as "education, healthcare, criminal justice reform, a living minimum wage and cleaning up the campaign finance system."

Others who have filed statements of candidacy for the 3rd District seat in 2018 include Democrat Catherine Albro and independent candidate Douglas Smith Jr., according to Federal Elections Commission records.

Wooden said he chose to declare his candidacy in front of the statue of Rosa Parks on Monday because he has stood in that same place "on behalf of marriage equality" and "to affirm that Black Lives Matter." He said Parks serves as a model of civic commitment and moral advocacy.

"And we have the same birthday," he said.

Wooden said the November 2016 election indicated to him that "our democracy was itself at risk," prompting the process that led him to announce his candidacy.

"Last year I led members of my church in reading Parker Palmer's book, 'Healing the Heart of Democracy,'" Wooden said in a statement. "He convinced me that we have to restore our democracy first and foremost.

"After many months of prayerful thought, conversations with family and advisers, I believe this is the best way for me to do what I can for that cause. Of course I have opinions on the issues of the day, but my deepest hope is to help rebuild our faith in democracy and government."

Fountain Street Church has a long history as a liberal voice among West Michigan's traditionally conservative religious community.

On the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, the church organized transportation for a large group of local residents who traveled to the nation's capitol for the 2017 Women's March on Washington. During the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement, the church allowed Occupy Grand Rapids protesters to camp in its parking lot. Over the years, the church has helped organized demonstrations in support of same-sex marriage, economic equality and, more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement.

Before coming to Grand Rapids, Wooden served congregations in New York, Texas and Massachusetts. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, later attending college in St. Louis, Missouri, and seminary in Chicago. He has his wife have two grown sons and one daughter-in-law.

Wooden has been active with the Grand Rapids Urban League for a decade, serving as its chair between 2009 and 2013. He has also served as a member of the West Michigan ACLU Advisory Board, on the board of the Interfaith Dialogue Association and Opera Grand Rapids. He has been a contributor to the Grand Rapids Press Religion and Ethics panel since its inception, and hosted "Faith & Reason" on WPRR radio for several years.

Michigan's 3rd District stretches from Albion in the south to Sand Lake in the north and includes all or portions of Barry, Calhoun, Ionia, Kent and Montcalm counties.

The candidate who receives the Democratic Party's nomination is sure to face an uphill battle for the district in November. The district has solidly supported Republican presidential candidates in each of the the last seven presidential elections.

After beating out U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles to win the seat in 2010, Amash has repelled challenges in each of his three bids for reelection. In each, he took more than 50 percent of the vote and, in 2016, defeated Democrat Douglas Smith by a 75,000-vote margin.

Prior to Amash, the seat was held by Republican Vernon "Vern" Ehlers for 18 years.

The area, which was part of Michigan's 5th congressional district prior 1993, has not elected a Democrat to Congress since 1974, when Richard Vander Veen was elected to a single term in Congress. Immediately prior to Vander Veen, the seat was held by Gerald R. Ford, who was destined to become vice president and, later, president of the United States.
MACKINAC COUNTY, MI - A Vietnamese woman allegedly offered a Michigan man $20,000 to marry her to evade U.S. immigration law.

Andrew James Murray and Trang Minh Nguyen were indicted Tuesday, Oct. 17, on a charge of marriage fraud, a five-year felony.

Both are free on bond.

The couple married on April 4, 2014, in St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula.

In applications filed with the government, they provided photos of themselves at their wedding and other social situations, court records said. They also provided a bank statement from a joint account.

Both insisted during initial interviews with investigators that their marriage was legitimate but later acknowledged it was a sham, an investigator said.

Nguyen paid Murray $13,000 of a promised $20,000, Todd Allen, a special agent for the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, wrote in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

He detailed the investigation in an 11-page complaint.

The investigation started in April 2016 when a supervisor at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, where Murray worked as an officer, told federal authorities that Nguyen paid Murray to marry so she could obtain U.S. citizenship, Allen wrote.

The supervisor learned of the agreement from one of Murray's relatives. The supervisor was told that Murray's uncle, who was married to Nguyen's aunt, helped arrange the marriage, the investigator wrote.

"Further, the (supervisor) was told that Murray and Nguyen had practiced the answers to questions they knew would be asked when Nguyen applied for citizenship," Allen wrote.

Nguyen entered the U.S. as a student on March 29, 2012, living in New York. After the marriage, her status changed from student to conditional resident and she and Murray listed an address on East 12 Mile Road in Sault Ste. Marie.

Another Homeland Security special agent, Alexander McLellan, conducted surveillance in June 2016 at a home on Ashmun Street, where investigators believed Murray was living with his girlfriend.

Over the course of days, investigators determined that a car linked to Murray's girlfriend was parked in the employee lot at Chippewa County International Airport where he worked. Vehicles belonging to Murray and his girlfriend were parked outside of the Ashmun address.

Investigators conducted surveillance for three days in July 2016 at Murray's home and did not see Nguyen or her vehicle at the Ashmun home.

McLellan interviewed Murray on Oct. 13, 2016.

Murray initially "stated that he and Nguyen were truly married and involved in a relationship" but later recanted, Allen wrote.

Murray said Nguyen told him her family was wealthy and could give him money, records said. He used the $13,000 for personal expenses, including $3,500 for a 2003 Honda motorcycle, records showed.

Nguyen at first also said the marriage was legitimate before she came clean and said they wed so she could stay in the U.S, record showed.

Investigators looked at Murray's cell phone and found numerous texts showing a home life with his girlfriend, not Trang.

In one, his girlfriend allegedly wrote: "I really was hoping you'd be done with this Trang thing before we moved into a house together.. Because I don't want to be hiding where I live."

Murray's attorney declined to comment. Trang's attorney could not immediately be reached.
WYOMING, MI -- One of two woman charged with perjury in connection with a Wyoming homicide gave police a "wiped" cell phone after they asked to examine it.

Angela Ruth Wilson, 57, is charged with perjury and tampering with evidence in connection with the investigation into missing person Ana Carrillo, 35.

Wyoming police are investigating her disappearance as a homicide and have charged Andrew Hudson, 38, with open murder and tampering with evidence.

Hudson is the ex-boyfriend of Carrillo and police say they found blood evidence in his Wyoming house and his vehicle. They also found evidence of burned clothing and charred buttons, incinerated in a burning barrel, that were the same Aeropostale brand that Carrillo wore when she went missing Sept. 3.

Wilson is among three people in Hudson's extended family now charged with perjury.

The others are 62-year-old Lyle Hudson, his father, and 63-year-old Nancy DeCamp, his mother. Wilson is the common-law wife of Lyle Hudson.

According to court documents, Wilson made a false statement while being interviewed by prosecutors during an investigative subpoena. During that process, she was told that authorities would need to examine her cell phone for evidence.

Wilson later turned the cell phone over, but police say it had been "wiped" or "factory reset," destroying communication records.

Court documents show prosecutors accuse Lyle Hudson of lying about "his knowledge of and/or involvement with a trail camera and/or images storage device and/or his contact or communication with Andrew."

Court records do not specifically spell out Nancy DeCamp's alleged false statements. However, Andrew Hudson allegedly asked her to lie about the Sept. 3 whereabouts of the three children he and Carrillo have together.
With schools across Michigan facing a substitute teacher shortage, lawmakers took testimony Tuesday on bills that would make it easier for retired educators to return to the classroom on a temporary basis.

"I would love the opportunity to have them in my classrooms and not have to scramble for subs," said North Muskegon Public Schools Superintendent Curt Babcock. "It probably won't fix the problem completely, but it definitely will help."

Babcock appeared before the Senate Education Committee alongside state Rep. Holly Hughes, R-Montague. She's the lead sponsor of a bill that would indefinitely extend a state law - due to expire in July 2018 - allowing retired teachers to return to the classroom as substitutes without forfeiting a portion of their pension.

A companion bill, also sponsored by Hughes, would eliminate a requirement that substitute teachers have at least 90 or more college credits.

Instead, substitutes - in addition to having a high school diploma or equivalency - could hold a professional license or certification issued by the state in the field they're seeking to teach. People whose license or certification expired less than two years ago could still sub as long as they were in good standing at the time their credential expired.

"As we know, there are many hard working and very knowledgeable people that work or have worked in careers that don't require college coursework that could help contribute to the education of our kids," said Hughes, who latter added that such substitutes would largely be used for non-core curriculum courses, such as welding or physical education.

Both bills were passed by the state House in May. They must now get the state Senate's stamp of approval.

Nicholas Swartz, the talent acquisition manager for Grand Rapids Public Schools, testified in support of the bills.

Allowing retirees back into the classroom makes "a big impact on student learning," especially in subjects - such as math, science and special education - where it's difficult to find substitutes and full-time teachers, he said.

"We do have a hard time filling our openings at the start of the school year," said Swartz, whose district seeks to attract skilled substitutes through a payment of $100 a day. Typically, substitutes are paid $85 daily.

In Michigan, most districts use a third-party business to provide substitutes. One is Grand Rapids-based EDU Staff, whose president, Clark Galloway, told lawmakers that 13 percent of requests his company receives for substitutes are going unfilled.

"We're talking easily 1,500 positions on a good Friday, or 1,000 on average, that we cannot find a substitute for," he said.

He said Hughes' legislation would help reduce the shortage by eliminating a provision in state law requiring schools to pay into the unfunded accrued liability - within the state's teacher pension system - for each retired teacher who comes back to work as a substitute.

Eliminating that provision would make it more financially palatable to hire retired teachers, he said.

"Ten years ago, 80 percent of the sub pool were certified teachers, of which 15 percent were retirees," he said. "Today, it's a complete reversal. We don't hire retirees at EDU Staff right now because of the way the law is currently written."

Kerrie Vanden Bosch, director of the state Office of Retirement Services, said her office is neutral on the legislation but expressed "concern" about removing the requirment that districts pay the unfunded accured liabilty contributions for retired teachers who return as substitutes.

Instead of being paid for by the districts, these costs would be absorbed by the state School Aid Fund, she said.

"Schools who hire retirees to return to work as subs would benefit from not paying the UAL (unfunded accrued liability) on their retiree sub-wages," she said. "But all schools who receive the money from the school aid fund would shoulder these costs in the form of a reduced foundation grant."

Vanden Bosch said it's difficult to put a dollar figure on how much the legislation would cost, because - if it were to pass- it's unclear how many schools would change their patterns of who they hire as substitutes.

Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said he will likely take more testimony on the legislation at his committee's next meeting.
Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist to President Donald Trump, will be the keynote speaker at a Macomb County Republican Party dinner in November, the group announced on its website Tuesday.

Bannon worked for the conservative website Breitbart before joining the Trump campaign and working as Trump's chief strategist. That role ended in August, and he has since returned to Breitbart.

The dinner takes place on Nov. 8 -- a year to the day after Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Michigan since George H.W. Bush did in 1988.

Macomb County helped push Trump over the finish line in Michigan. While 51 percent of Macomb County voters supported President Barack Obama in 2012, it flipped red, with 54 percent of voters there casting their ballots for Trump.

The dinner featuring Bannon starts at 6:30 p.m. and takes place at the Andiamo restaurant in Warren.

Tickets to the event range from $70 for an individual attendee to $1,000 for a "Gold Sponsor" that comes with 10 tickets and entry to a VIP reception, according to information on the MCRP's website.
ALBION, MI - Albion City Manager Sheryl Mitchell resigned Wednesday, Oct. 11, citing "irreconcilable differences" between herself and Mayor Garrett Brown and Mayor Pro Tem Sonya Brown.

Mitchell, who became Albion's city manager in September 2014, said Garrett Brown and Sonya Brown have attempted to undermine her integrity through email exchanges, public meetings, evaluations and social media.

Her resignation came less than a week after her performance evaluation before the city council on Oct. 5.

"It has become increasingly more evident that the mayor's and mayor pro tem's behavior (even prior to the city manager evaluation session) has been out of line with appropriate council practice," Mitchell said in a two-page resignation letter to the council.

"It would be beneficial that all incoming and newly elected mayors and council members get training that is available to them through the Michigan Municipal League in regards to their roles and responsibilities. That would aid in not having as much conflict," she told the Citizen Patriot.

The council gave Mitchell an overall evaluation score of 4.5 out of five.

However, her lowest scores came from Garrett Brown and Sonya Brown.

Garrett Brown and Sonya Brown gave Mitchell scores of 2 and 2.5, respectively, on her judgment and decision-making capabilities. Sonya Brown gave Mitchell a 2.5 on financial management and budgeting.

Both mentioned their concerns during the Oct. 5 meeting. They include Mitchell not publicly posting an assistant city manager position prior to filling it, not immediately updating the council about grants, and city employees resurfacing an Albion College parking lot and not being initially paid for their work by the college.

In her resignation letter, Mitchell referred to two evaluations that contained "biased and incorrect," information.

Mitchell said the negative remarks also stem from Garrett Brown and Sonya Brown believing Mitchell took a side supporting the 2016 annexation of Albion Public Schools by Marshall Public Schools.

"(The) annexation was an action taken by (Albion) voters, for which the mayor continues to erroneously assert that I acted contrary to the actions of the council," she said.

In a statement released Tuesday, Sonya Brown stood by giving Mitchell an overall score of 3.8.

"I offered areas of growth for the city manager, as a member of council. I also offered solutions to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the city manager-council relationship, and ultimately, the overall execution of services to our community," Sonya Brown said. "No one on council, including me and Mayor (Garrett) Brown, asked or 'forced' Mitchell to resign."

Garrett Brown did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

At the city council's Oct. 16 meeting, councilmen Andrew French and Maurice Barnes brought forth a motion to censure the mayor.

"(It would) start a process of reconcilitation by which the council and the mayor would vent with each other and the city attorney to discuss the relationship as outline in the city charter between the mayor and the city manager," French said.

The motion was tabled indefinitely by at 5-2 vote.

Mitchell will leave office on Nov. 8, she said.

A Facebook page titled "We Support Sheryl Mitchell" has since been created.

Mitchell is unsure what comes next for her, she said. But she will miss serving the Albion community, she said.

"I'm very sad to be leaving," she said. "I loved Albion. I think we have a great future ahead of us and as long as people work together and collaborate, the future remains bright."
Amit Gupta of ICICIdirect told CNBC-TV18, "We are recommending South Indian Bank and Karnataka Bank to our clients. If you look at the recent results, South Indian Bank declined towards Rs 30 levels, but it immediately recovered because operationally the results were better. We have seen that both the banks are near a very crucial breakout zone because last nine years' breakout for Karnataka Bank is near Rs 140. Last three year breakout for South Indian Bank is near Rs 30. So now they are very close to those levels. So the risk reward I think is also very much favourable."

"If you look at the open interest position, since September, in South Indian Bank the open interest got doubled. So that means the long positions are now aggressively formed which is where the momentum can now come in these stocks."

"South Indian Bank now can go to Rs 35. In the current series itself in Karnataka Bank, the open interest increased by 30 percent and I think it can move towards Rs 175-178. So from the midcap banking we are recommending these two stocks just on this belief the results were pretty okay and can be utilized as a buying opportunity in both of these stocks," he said.
Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "The trades are mainly in the midcap segment because we should be long in the Nifty anyway. United Spirits is a buying opportunity. I am not sure how it is related to Diwali, but it has made a very attractive micro bullish pattern and I think there is a trade here which is not only a day trade, but you could actually carry it forward."

"Apollo Tyres has a similar bullish pattern, sharp deep correction, consolidation, a base building exercise and an imminent breakout. Both trades should be carried forward if they close strong for the day. There is probably more up steam here on the charts."

"Then we have Century Textiles and Industries where a large consolidation is taking place at higher levels. There is a breakout here and you can trade it intraday, carry it for a day, but the other two are worth carrying for weeks, not just days," he said.

"Two short sells, one is Canara Bank which is breaking down and all PSU banks are doing that. Cummins India is going nowhere, lower highs, lower lows. I think in a choppy market there will be opportunities to go short. That is why we have these shorts here."

"Metals are going in a strong momentum upsurge and that should continue. Tata Sponge itself could be looking at Rs 1,100-1,150 plus. So most of these stocks are buying opportunities on consolidations, dips, breakouts, wherever you can buy them," he added.

"Bharti Airtel is at Rs 450 approximately which is a very strong resistance level. Once it crosses that, it becomes like Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Reliance Industries, two of our perfect example stocks, but that may take time. So I am not in any hurry to go and build a long position there. It should stay above Rs 450 for weeks and then it becomes a perfect buy."

"In metals, Hindustan Zinc and surprisingly Tata Steel are for buying."

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
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Hari Krishna Exports, a leading diamond industry player, is offering an all-expense paid trip to Rishikesh for 10 days to their 450-odd employees in Mumbai and their family members (a total of around 700 people). The company famous for giving valuable gifts, such as cars and flats, to its employees has also spent funds on a womens safety campaign in Surat.

As per a company release, one of the company's employee lost his wife during a road accident, leaving a four-year-old son and a two-month-old toddler behind.

Post this, the Chairman & Founder of Hari Krishna Exports, Savjibhai Dholakia, announced the distribution of 6,000 helmets to each and every employee for his/her spouse, daughter, mother, sister (female member of the family) followed by an 18-km drive rally in Surat with 12,000 people participating in it.

The company said that this rally was to awaken the thought of women safety for those riding in couple and set a message for all, educating them on the sense of safety of the passenger sitting along with the rider.

Last year, Dholakia announced that his company would give 1,260 cars, 400 flats and pieces of jewellery to his employees ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali which falls on the weekend.

While dry fruits, gift cards, sweets and chocolates are the usual gifts for Diwali, some companies are treading a different path.

Take Dun & Bradstreet for example. The company is giving out copper bottle sets to employees to promote health and wellness.

We as a company believe in Sustainable High Performance and thereby we give a lot of importance on nurturing healthy lifestyle. This Diwali we are presenting a copper bottle set to all our employees. Drinking from copper has many benefits: Copper kills bacteria, stimulates the brain, strengthen immune system, aid in digestion and has anti-inflammatory properties. said Pallavi Dhawan Gupte, Director  People Team, Dun & Bradstreet India.

Human resource officials said that while some companies use the gifting funds for CSR initiatives, smaller players, especially those in commodity businesses in the East belt, give organic rice and pulses to employees. However, gift cards and Diwali bonuses are the most popular choice of gifts among the mass employers.

Companies also had some apprehensions about the applicability of goods and services tax (GST) on gifts given to employees. However, tax experts have clarified that these gifts will not be subject to GST provided they don't exceed Rs 50,000 per employee.
Market place lending firm Rubique has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government to be a part of its Andhra Pradeshs Fintech Valley Initiative and is also foraying into the state with its first branch in Visakhapatnam.

Andhra Pradesh government is promoting Visakhapatnam as Fintech hub focusing on converging finance and technology, to create large avenues of growth through industry-enablers, world-class infrastructure, entrepreneurship and innovation.

By collaborating with the Andhra Pradesh government, Rubique will accelerate its journey in digitizing the Andhra Pradesh financial sector by bringing in much needed technology in traditional practices of lending through its unique proprietary platform called as Online PLUS model.

The platform has been integrated with financial institutions systems for real time processing and for providing online approvals to the customer.

Andhra Pradesh is becoming one of the pioneers of the digital revolution in India and we are quite excited to be a part of this upcoming Fintech Valley of the country, said Manav Jeet, MD & CEO of Rubique.

Through our expansion in the state, we are hoping to witness nearly fivefold increase in the number of aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals who would be willing to take the digital route of raising finance to fulfill their business goals, Jeet added.

Rubique is currently operational in 27 cities and has disbursed Rs 2000 crore since starting operations. The company has adopted a paperless-focused feature through e-KYC, ranking analysis, and real-time status tracking.
After getting Qatar and Australia to lower gas price, India today pitched for flexible terms for LNG purchase including provision of pricing review, flexible take or pay and abolition of destination restriction clause.

Speaking at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference here, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the global LNG market is undergoing a major transformation driven by new supplies which has created a situation of oversupply.

"He urged the global LNG markets, in which producers and consumers of LNG have equal stakes, to join hands to design flexible terms such as pricing review, flexible take or pay, abolition of destination restriction clause in the LNG contracts," an official statement said.

These reforms, he said, are essential for developing a transparent, efficient, truly global and balanced LNG market.

India, which is among the biggest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has used his position to lower prices, contracted when oil was raging high, to reflect the slump in rates.

In 2015, India did not take all of the 7.5 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) it had committed to buy from Qatar and instead renegotiated price of the long-term deal to save Rs 8,000 crore.

Qatar also agreed to waive take-or-pay conditions on the quantities India did not take.

Last Month, Exxon Mobil Corp in principle agreed to cut price of 1.44 million tonnes a year LNG being imported from Australia's Gorgon project.

It is now seeking to reopen the LNG contracts with the US.

Long-term LNG supply contracts traditionally lock-in a price that is indexed to oil rates. They have provision of buyer having to pay even if they dont take supplies and that the gas is tied to a particular destination, thereby restricting its trading or diversion to other use areas.

Pradhan also held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Hiroshige Seko and discussed furthering cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector between the two nations.

"They also explored joint cooperation in the areas of LNG sourcing, swapping and optimization of LNG sources and commercial exploitation of methane hydrates," the statement said.

Pradhan invited Seko to attend the 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting to be held in New Delhi during April next year.

The ministers signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on establishing a liquid, flexible and global LNG Market.

"The MoC provides a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of destination restriction clause and also explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and supply," it said.

The pact, it said, would help in promoting bilateral relationship between India and Japan in the LNG sector.

India and Japan are major consumers of energy in the world. In the LNG sector, Japan is the world's largest importer and India is the 4th largest importer.

Under the Japan-India Energy Partnership Initiative signed in January 2016, the two sides had agreed to work together in promoting well-functioning energy markets and affirmed to promote a transparent and diversified LNG market through the relaxation of Destination Restriction Clause.
Mobile wallet company Paytm today said gold worth Rs 120 crore has been transacted within six months of launch of sales on its platform and the number of buyers crossed one million mark on the Dhanteras day.

The company said it witnessed 12 per cent surge in gold sales on Dhanteras, which was celebrated yesterday across the country. It is an auspicious day to buy gold, silver and other metals.

"More than 60 per cent of Paytm Gold sales were from smaller cities and towns, with southern and eastern states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal registering the maximum demand," Paytm said in a statement.

A landmark of over a million customers transacted the yellow metal worth Rs 120 crore on its platform within six months of launch, it noted.

A majority of the customers purchased gold worth up to Rs 500, while more than 70 per cent customers were millennials - pointing at an increasing trend of consumers choosing Paytm Gold as the preferred method for long-term savings, it said.

"Gold gives us an extraordinary opportunity to create a wealth solution that is trusted and used by consumers across every nook and corner of the country," Paytm senior vice president Nitin Misra said. Paytm partnered with Indias only internationally accredited refinery MMTC-PAMP to launch Paytm Gold on its platform.

This will allow customers to buy 24 carat 999.9 pure gold online and store it in the MMTC-PAMPs most secure, 100 per cent insured lockers at no additional charge. Customers can also request this gold to be delivered at their homes in the form of minted coins or sell it back online to MMTC-PAMP at transparent market-linked prices.
The festival of lights, Diwali is just a few days away and there are fireworks all around on D-Street with benchmark indices touching record highs in the run-up to the event. If you would have invested in equities at the start of Samvat 2073 chances are you might be sitting on a huge pile of profits.

However, chances of you making a sound return on your investments increase exponentially if you would have invested in ten stocks which historically have given smart double-digit returns in the last five Samvat years.

Top stocks which have given returns up to 300 percent in the last four out of five Samvat years include names like Britannia Industries, Eicher Motors, Transpek Industry, Avanti Feeds, Hester Bio, Natco Pharma, Hatsun Agro, Sakuma Exports, LT Foods, Ruchira Papers and Indian Terrain.

Britannia Industries, the FMCG major, more than doubled investors wealth in two out of five Samvat years. It rose nearly 40 percent in Samvat 2073. For the September quarter, the event such as GST will have a short-term impact on sales, but it is positive in the long run.

New product addition and expansion in distribution channels will help the company to post steady earnings growth in the coming years, suggest experts. The stock is currently trading at 42x its FY2019E earnings.

Another company which has been investors favourite is Avanti Feeds. The stock hit a fresh record high on Tuesday. It has already rallied over 400 percent so far in the year 2017 and about 360 percent in Samvat 2073.

It rose by about 3 percent in Samvat 2072 but it has been a massive outperformer in the last five years. The stock rose over 500 percent in Samvat 2017 and over 50 percent each in Samvat 2071 and Samvat 2069.

Ruchira Papers, LT Foods, Sakuma Exports, Hatsun Agro also did not disappoint investors. Shares of these companies more than doubled investors wealth in two out of five Samvat years.

Sectoral Performance

Among the sectors, the S&P BSE Consumer Durable index rose by over 40 percent in Samvat 2073, followed by metals index which rose 39 percent, and Realty index gained 37 percent in the same period.

The S&P BSE Smallcap index rose 24 percent while the S&P BSE Midcap index gained 18 percent compared to 16 percent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Going into Samvat 2074, analysts advise investors to focus on sectors which are related to consumption, economy and govt policy.

These sectors are likely to hog the limelight. IT and pharma could well show some gains if the rupee depreciates further but they have headwinds which would cap upside.

The key overweight sectors for us are  Cement, Capital Goods, and Oil & Gas. Governments continued focus on affordable housing and infrastructure creation should aid demand in Cement and Capital Goods, Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO- Equity, Kotak Mutual Fund told Moneycontrol.

Oil&Gas sector is likely to deliver one of the more consistent sets of earnings growth in the market and is also reasonably valued.

Some other sectors such as Pharma, Telecom and IT are facing structural headwinds and earnings are under pressure. We do not envisage any improvement in the short to medium term in these sectors, said Upadhyaya.

He further added that valuation-wise there are many other sectors such as NBFCs, FMCG etc. which are trading at rich multiples, and therefore could pose risk.

Outlook for Samvat 2074

Samvat 2074 is unlikely to be any different from Samvat 2073. Analysts expect stock specific action to dominate next 12 months while benchmark indices could well give another high teen return in the same period.

The broader market looks extremely strong although some stocks could be displaying frothy valuations. But, corporate earnings growth which is likely to rebound in next few quarters should lead the recovery and support sentiments, suggest experts.

Market looks extremely strong and amid a bull rally. Nifty has already hit a high and Sensex followed the suit. So far as Samvat 2074 is concerned, I am optimistic about the market. I am expecting Nifty to give 15-17 percent returns in the next one year, Prakarsh Gagdani CEO, 5Paisa Capital, A subsidiary of IIFL Group told Moneycontrol.

The main reason for this surge is healthy domestic inflows and I dont see any reason why domestic inflows would reduce in coming months. I expect the next year to be much better in corporate earnings than this year. I am sure the effect of demonization which was there on the economy will fade out over next year, he said.
The fiercely fought battle between e-commerce companies and brick-and-mortar retailers appears to be heading for a stalemate. Both parties seem to have realized that there will be no clear winners in a war that is turning out to be costly for both sides.

E-commerce players backed by private equity funds announced themselves in grand style. They went all out to capture market share and started selling goods way below showroom prices of the retailers. There have cases been recorded where some e-commerce players were selling their goods below their cost price to drive up sales. No wonder then that many e-commerce companies had to eventually down shutters.

The retailers, who were at the receiving end, had to either take on debts on their books or slow down their expansion plans to absorb the losses caused by e-commerce companies aggressive selling.

Badly bruised, both the factions are now calling a truce and embracing what is being termed as omnichannel.

In less than a month of Amazon picking up a 5 percent stake in retailer Shoppers Stop, there is news of Flipkart looking eyeing a stake in Future Retail. For Future Retail, the development comes soon after its acquisition of retailer Hypercity. For a sector swamped with gloomy news, things appear to be turning around.

E-commerce companies joining hands with the retailers is a marriage of convenience for both the players. The move has largely been necessitated by the fastest growing and biggest sector for both the players being common--garments.

Though the sale of garments has soared for e-commerce companies, the number of rejections too were high. For a business that still operates in the cash burn model cutting down losses on account of rejections is important. Having a brick and mortar frontend helps the customer getting a feel of the product. For the retailer, the e-commerce companies help push their brand to a wider audience.

This trend of a joint venture between retailers and e-commerce companies is not restricted to India. Online company Amazon recently acquired a grocery store Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. Earlier it had picked up Westland, the publishing unit of Tata group. In China, Alibaba and JD.com are hunting for retailers in which to either buy a stake or the entire company.

While the marriage looks like one made in heaven, both the players are likely to encounter teething problems. Logistical coordination of managing two sets of inventories is just one of the problems. The two players will need to integrate their software and hardware.

More importantly, pricing the same product at both the front-ends will be an issue and might lead to conflicts going forward. E-commerce players thrive on discount sales and if there is too much of a differential in the prices, offline retailers will only be an outlet for window shopping with customers coming to the store only to test the garment.

The real cost benefit of an omnichannel from the retailers point of view is not yet clear. Retailers will need to allocate counters for picking up garments and specialized space and staff to handle rejections.

For the e-commerce companies adding a retailer is like adding another seller on their platform. However, what an e-commerce company will miss is getting into the psyche of a client. E-commerce companies do a lot of data analytics to understand the customers preference. This will not be possible when they visit the retail outlet.

Both e-commerce and retailers have been testing various growth models in search of profits. Jointly working together is another experiment that the two players are working on. Irrespective of the outcome, the very fact that they are working together rather against them improves their chance of success.
In a bid to introduce healthy competition in the energy sector, the government plans to make it easy for power consumers to switch from one service provider to another, according to an article in the Economic Times.

The draft bill, that includes the option of portability, has faced opposition from different state distribution companies as it would disrupt their monopoly on power supply in their respective states.

The government is planning to table the bill in the winter session of Parliament as an amendment to the Electricity Act 2003. It is going to enable issue of licenses to multiple entities for one area to create a competitive retail electricity sector to better supply services, and reduce prices.

The investors will have the biggest platform to enter the Indian utility business which comprises 250 million customers, Sambitosh Mohapatra, Partner of Energy & Utilities at PwC told the newspaper.

This legislation will perhaps require states to notify implementation of the reform for portability of electricity connection only in next three to five years, he added.

According to officials, the bill may not mandate an implementation related deadline for states by paying heed to their concerns as well.

The proposal has been drafted for several years and parallels can be drawn between it and the mobile number portability mechanism. The mobile portability system, customers can switch their service providers without a disruption in the mobile connection.

The bill will also separate the power distribution and network maintenance businesses which are conducted by same entities presently.
Gurgaon based E-commerce firm Snapdeal is in an advanced stage of talks to sell off its logistics arm Vulcan Express to BSE-listed logistics firm AllCargo for a sum of around Rs 20-30 crore, according to people privy to the matter.

"The term sheet hasn't been signed yet and the company is evaluating a draft," said one of the persons quoted above adding that what remains to be decided is whether it will be an all-cash deal or not.

The amount is a fraction of the almost Rs 200 crore investment that Snapdeal made in Vulcan in the last few years, said the second person quoted above. As per data firm Tracxn, Snapdeal has invested close to USD 29.4 million in Vulcan Express so far.

AllCargo dubbed the acquisition talks as 'market speculation'. "We do not respond to market speculation," said Rohan Mittal, vice president, strategy and mergers and acquisition of AllCargo in an email response to Moneycontrol.

Mumbai-based AllCargo provides global transportation logistics solutions and has a presence in over 160 countries.

Snapdeal confirmed it is considering 'strategic options' for Vulcan Express. Snapdeal is pushing for an all-cash deal with AllCargo, just like the way it sold off its payments arm Freecharge to private lender Axis Bank.

Vulcan Express is evaluating multiple strategic options and any final decision will be made only after consultation with our Board on the relative merits of each option, which has not occurred yet, said a Snapdeal spokesperson in an email response.

Snapdeal received around Rs 300 crore in cash from the Freecharge deal. If Vulcan too is sold, an all-cash deal will expand the shrinking coffers of the company a little further, at a time when it has decided to go solo with a much reduced monthly cash burn.

Also Read: Axis Bank holds back Rs 80 crore in FreeCharge payout to Snapdeal

"If all goes well, the deal with AllCargo will be finalised in the next 10 days," said the source.

AllCargo also provides e-commerce logistics and offers automated warehouse solutions, e-fulfilment, cross dock management, return management services among other things, which could make Vulcan a strategic fit for the company.

Earlier this year, the company announced its plans of entering into the last mile delivery business as well. AllCargo also announced that it was looking at acquisitions worth Rs 200 crore this year.

The company is gearing up for an aggressive domestic play and has set a target of growing its domestic revenue three times at Rs 1,500 crore from the segment by 2020.

Vulcan's acquisition will help the company in this direction.

Vulcan has had Snapdeal as its biggest client, so far. With the company shrinking its operations, Vulcan's delivery numbers have also gone down drastically. Vulcan offers services such as pickup, consolidation and fulfilment operations, warehousing solutions and last mile delivery services.

Besides AllCargo, Vulcan has had other potential suitors in the past such as Gati and TVS logistics.

Snapdeal also wanted to sell off Vulcan to Flipkart along with Snapdeal. It is also said that Flipkart's reluctance to include Vulcan in the deal was one among the several other reasons for Snapdeal to call off the deal.

Snapdeal called off the acquisition talks with rival Flipkart in August, after Axis Bank agreed to acquire Freecharge.
Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg...the tech world has several well-known names of male founders and CEOs. Now try and think of a successful woman techie. Hardly any name comes to mind, especially when it comes to India.

How do you bridge this gender gap in the technology sector? Thats the question the US-based pro-women non-profit organisation Anita Borg Institute (now called AnitaB.org) is trying to answer.

A nonprofit organisation was founded by the late computer scientist Anita Borg, known for starting Systers, an emailing list for technical women in computing.

During her lifetime, she continued to advocate for women in tech.

A well-respected name globally, the organisation recently severed ties with Uber to highlight its stance against the work culture of the US-based cab hailing company.

In India, the organisation under its India MD Geetha Kannan has been working with women, tech companies, and engineering colleges to create a business case for women to be given an inclusive role in the sector.

Kannan who in the past has helmed HR departments of companies such as Infosys and ANZ, spoke to Moneycontrol on the organisations efforts to increase gender diversity in the sector and the challenges ahead.

What was the organisations rationale behind severing ties with Uber?

We support women technologists and we work with corporates to create that opportunity for women. If thats not happening then we need to take a stand.

Its not like we severed ties with them right after the news (of harassment of a woman employee) broke out. We have been trying to talk to them and work with them. But they have been a lukewarm partner since the beginning. They were not interested in our efforts to shake hands with them.

Then in the end when this happened, we, of course, stood behind the women technologists. What happened there really hit hard on our philosophy. It went against our grain. We still reached out to them and said if you need any help we are ready to give our senior-most people.

Ubers case is out in the open, but there are other companies that have similar issues. But until and unless it comes out in the open its very difficult to take action.

What is the organisations business case for promoting women in tech?

Todays world is largely tech-driven, especially with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT). If technology has to appeal to a wider audience, you have to have women in your team because then youre doing better from a business perspective while also catering to your market.

To that end, we say that if Indias population consists of about 49 percent women, a similar ratio should reflect in its corporate culture. If the workforce is not diverse, the relevance of a product is lost on half the population.

We have had cases where a few FMCG companies developed products for women with an all-male research team! How can they create an effective product for women without women? The moment that changed, we started to see thoughtful products in the market. Tech is omnipresent, and if you dont appeal to half of the population, the product reach will be limited.

The second business case is regarding talent.

IT companies are always on the lookout for good talent, especially because IT industry is the harbinger of tech advancement. If you cut down half of the talent pool because they are women then you are limiting your chance to get good talent.

If we talk about successes for AnitaB.org, which companies would you talk about?

Intel is one of the companies that has done a commendable job in creating opportunities for women techies. They have seen a percentage increase in their diversity ratio due to those efforts. They dedicated funds for it, created a diversity division, and worked towards it with concentrated effort.

ThoughtWorks is another company that has successfully created an inclusive culture. The companys top management is very serious about it, and that trickles down to the whole organisation.

From our experience with US companies, we have learned that the effort to create gender diversity has to come from the top. There almost all top companies have chief diversity officers, their recruitment process is more refined now, and they also take efforts in retaining the recruited talent, so there are women in higher management. The companies also come out with diversity reports to track progress.

In India, however, we are still trying to convince the companies to share data. After four years of operation, they have finally started to share some.

What are the basic challenges in India that arrest growth of women in tech?

India historically has always had a science and maths driven education system, especially basic education. We have a higher concentration of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) than in the US.

The workforce strength in entry level consists of nearly 35 percent women. But we start seeing a leak further up in the pipeline, mostly due to personal reasons.

Many companies today have Back-To-Work programs to bring back employees who left or are on a sabbatical. But they struggle with a lack of applications. Theres hardly any traction. We have our own back-to-work program, where companies give spot offers to women techies. There have been times when they had 2-3 offers in hand but didnt join.

The bigger challenge, however, is the pressure from society. There was a girl who worked night shifts. It suited her and her parents were supportive too. But the pressure came from neighbours and relatives who raised objections to her coming home late, warning parents that no one will marry her! She was ultimately forced to resign. That (societal) pressure is the hardest to tackle. Thats one of the biggest reasons we havent been able to achieve a healthy diversity ratio.

How do you tackle these challenges?

There is enough research to prove that you hire whom you relate to. We talk to companies and tell them why it is important to have a diverse interview panel; because it will lead to a balanced recruitment decision. The idea is not to put down

The idea is not to put down men, but to bring up women to enjoy the same kind of preference, which is based on talent, not gender. We dont say go and hire all women. Then there are internal policies that we try and influence to include family friendly, employee sensitive clauses. We circulate white papers with companies to initiate knowledge sharing. Then there is a CXO breakfast event series to influence and create an inclusive work culture.

We also work with students once they have taken a decision to get into tech. We conduct Code-a-thons across the country. We conduct these in small towns also, such as Coimbatore, Jaipur, Madurai, Bhilai, and so on. These small towns dont have much networking opportunities. We realised they dont understand a few tech terms also that we use. Their practical training is not that much. But in a workforce, they will be required to have same skillsets. So the quality of engineers, be it from metros or small towns, has to be standardised. This is where these programs help.

Durba.Ghosh@nw18.com
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JM Financial's research report on IndusInd Bank

IndusInd Bank (IIB), over the weekend, announced that it will acquire Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BHAFIN, Unrated) for a consideration of INR 1,118 per share (i.e. swap ratio of 0.639) valuing BHAFIN at ~INR 155bn, a premium of 11.4% over the last closing price. The transaction values BHAFIN at 6.4x trailing BVPS and 4.2x FY19E P/BV (consensus) and will entail dilution of 14.8%. In addition, promoters of IIB will infuse capital in to the bank (through equity warrants) to keep their economic interest intact at 15% taking total dilution to 17% for existing shareholders. Notwithstanding the premium paid, we like the transaction given the multiple benefits that it brings to IIB. In our view, the transaction is unique given the upfront benefits that accrue to the bank. We see IIBs RoA expanding above 2.2% by FY20E that can potentially be best-in-class. A NIM level comfortably above 4.25%, Tier1 above >15% and earnings growth of over 25% sustainably. We believe these are ingredients that should drive IndusInd to rerate higher. We are upgrading our earnings for FY18E/FY19E by 3%/22% factoring the merger and introduce our FY20E estimates with an EPS of INR 108/ share.

Outlook

We value IndusInd at 4.5x FY19E P/BV (which is now largely in-line with our HDFC Banks P/BV multiple) and raise our target price to Rs2,120 per share, 21% upside. IndusInd continues to be one of our top picks in the sector and would be buyers of the stock on any declines.

For all recommendations 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.

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Shares of Reliance Industries crossed Rs 900-level for the first time Wednesday, up 4.5 percent to end at record closing high of Rs 913.75 per share on value buying, following Jio earnings and strong refining margins in quarter ended September 2017. Majority of analysts remained positive on the stock, and expect telecom business to show profits in December quarter after turning EBITDA positive in September quarter.

Analysts are also positive on its refining and petrochemical businesses, especially after company's recent capex that is expected to aid these segments.

The consistent rally in the stock that rose 68 percent in 2017 increased investors' wealth by Rs 2.43 lakh crore during the year.

On last Friday, Reliance Industries reported net profit of Rs 8,097 crore for September quarter (up 12.8 percent YoY) on revenue of Rs 101,169 crore (up 24 percent YoY). Its gross refining margins came at USD 12 per barrel against street expectations of USD 12.5 a barrel, which outperformed benchmark Singapore Complex margins by USD 3.7 per barrel.

Higher refining margins and higher production from refining and petchem segments boosted profitability.

Reliance Jio, most keenly watched by analysts, posted a net loss of Rs 270.6 crore in July-September quarter against loss of Rs 21.3 crore in June quarter, which was much lower than analysts estimates of around Rs 2,000 crore.

Jio's revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 6,147.06 crore (led by ARPU of Rs 156, coming partly from Q1FY18 recharges) and EBITDA stood at Rs 1,442 crore with margin at 23.45 percent, which also surprised the Street. The company also highlighted Jio numbers in a separate press release.

Most analysts expect Jio to be profitable in December quarter itself, which may be boosting sentiment.

JM Financial expects Jio to swing to profits in Q3, driven by the 57 percent interconnection usage charge (IUC) cut to 6 paise per minute from 14 paise, effective October 1.

Including capitalised operational expenses + interest, Q2 capex was Rs 7,500 crore, versus Rs 18,000 crore reported for Q1.

"Driven by the IUC cut and rollover to Dec-18, DCF-derived equity value for Jio has increased to Rs 1,45,000 crore from Rs 1,20,000 crore previously," JM Financial said.

While recommending buy rating with the target price of Rs 1,200 per share, KR Choksey also believes that given the strong business model of the Jio telecom business and the robust pace of its subscriber addition, going forward, the segment will positively contribute to the bottomline from Q3FY18 onwards.

Edelweiss believes, commissioning of grandiose USD 20 billion core projects is likely to bolster RILs earnings, boost return on equity, and turnaround free cash flow (FCF). The research house has maintained its buy call on the stock with increased target price at Rs 1,104 (from Rs 1,009 earlier) factoring higher value from Reliance Jio.

In second half of FY18, Motilal Oswal expects addition of 42 million subscribers, taking the overall subscriber base to 181 million by March 2018 and 205 million by March 2019, from 139 million in Q2FY18, with ARPU estimates of Rs 156/172 in FY18/FY19. The brokerage house upgraded the stock to buy with a target price of Rs 1,005 per share.
Vodafone

Telecom operator Vodafone is gifting 'eco-friendly' crackers containing soya or tulsi plant seeds to customers visiting its stores in Delhi.

"As a part of these 'Super Celebrations', we are happy to announce the Vodafone Green Diwali Campaign which aims to give our customers a great experience this Diwali.

"Our specially designed eco-friendly crackers contain air purifying plant seeds that will bring about a change in the pollution levels of the city leading to a safer and healthier atmosphere for everyone," Vodafone India Delhi and NCR Business head Alok Verma said in a statement.

In the gift pack, the company is giving 'super crackers' which are eco-friendly water soluble papers in form of cracker that carry soya or tulsi plant seeds.

"The eco-friendly crackers will be available at all our stores giving our customers the opportunity to celebrate Green Diwali and be a part of the great awareness campaign against air pollution," Verma said.

Also, customers visiting Vodafone stores will be able to design personalised GIF greetings that they can send to friends and family through social media.
October 18, 2017 / 07:41 PM IST

19:38 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that he dreams of 'Ram Rajya' in the state, while addressing a gathering as part of the Ayodhya Deepotsav in Ayodhya.

The UP chief minister highlighted achievements of his government in the six months since it took office, and charted out the state government's plan to turn Ayodhya into a tourism hub.

href="http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/dream-of-ram-rajya-in-uttar-pradesh-yogi-adityanath-2415965.html" target="_blank">Dream of Ram Rajya in Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath on Ayodhya Deepotsav. Read the full story here.

19:33 The lazer show is currently underway.



#Diwali celebrations underway at banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/a6M1KFdUFg

 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

18:03



Uttar Pradesh: Banks of river Saryu lit up with lights & earthen lamps as part of #Diwali celebrations. pic.twitter.com/IDMc1EFRMb  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017



18:02 Uttar Pradesh's Governor Ram Naik is addressing the gathering.

17:59 Yogi Adityanath has attacked the Opposition

"There are people in this country who will oppose every good initiative," the UP chief minister said.

17:56 Meanwhile, earthen lamps are being lit on the banks of Saryu River in Ayodhya. This is part of an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record. The current record is held by Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, according to media reports.

17:53 UP CM Yogi Adityanath is highlighting the work done by his government in the last six months.

Ayodhya maanavta ki dharti hai, maanavta ka path duniya ko Ayodhya ne padhya hai Ram rajya ke maadhyam se: UP CM at #Diwali celebrations pic.twitter.com/4d83lMKHql ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

17:45 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says that the government in collaboration with the government of India will help create tourism centres.

17:42 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says that his government wants to make Ayodhya a global destination for tourism.

17:35 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is addressing the gathering.

17:28 Alphons Kannanthanam, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism says that the government is 'doing many things for Uttar Pradesh. He says that Rs 133 crore have been sanctioned for Ayodhya.

"We will give you more funds," he added.

17:22

17:20 UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya says that the government is awaiting for Supreme Court's verdict in the Ram Mandir case.

17:07

16:51 Guests are being welcomed. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to addressing the gathering shortly.

16:44 The lazer show which is supposed to happen later in the evening is expected to last for 22 minutes. It will be on Lord Ram's journey from Ayodhya to Lanka, according to media reports.

Some candid shots from Shobha Yatra being held in Ayodhya on the occasion of #Deepotsav. #HappyDiwali pic.twitter.com/XNv1Ramk2v CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) October 18, 2017

16:28

16:26 UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has arrived in Ayodhya. He is expected to speak soon.

16:24 During the programme, Ramlila will be staged by artistes from Indonesia and Thailand. A grand "aarti" of River Saryu will also be performed by Chief Minister Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik followed by a laser show.

UP govt to showcase Ayodhya development plans at Deepotsav. Read the full story here.

16:18 Speaking to News18, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath has called his visit to the temple town this evening as an attempt by his government to promote "religious tourism" in the state and not about politics.

"We must be proud of our religious and cultural centres. My visit to Ayodhya is part of our effort to develop these religious places so that we meet international standards in terms of providing facilities to tourist," Yogi told News18.

16:14 Prominent buildings and ghats will be illuminated to attract tourists. The objective of the entire programme will be to promote Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, as a tourist destination, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Awanish Awasthi told PTI.

16:11 One lakh and seventy one thousand earthen lamps will be lit on the banks of river Saryu as part of the Uttar Pradesh government's plans to project the heritage of the temple town. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be attending the mega event.

The Shobha Yatra depicted an amazing blend of cultures, bringing together happy faces during the #Deepotsav in #Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/VTYqgyR3q1 UP Tourism (@uptourismgov) October 18, 2017

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister is expected to unveil a series of programmes at the Ayodhya Deepotsav.
The BJP mounted attack on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, questioning their "silence" over a claim in a media report that Robert Vadra had "links" with fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

While Vadra did not react to the media report, Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said Prime Minister Narendra Modi could get "any investigation" done into any allegations against the party chief's son-in-law to find out if there was any "wrong doing".

The BJP fielded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to attack the Congress leadership over the media report which claimed that Vadra had "links" with Bhandari who had even booked tickets for Vadra for an overseas visit in 2012. Sitharaman, while addressing a press conference in Delhi, asked, "Why senior leadership of the Congress, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, is keeping a studied silence?"

She said the silence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul will be construed as acceptance of charges against Vadra.

Citing the media report, Sitharaman alleged that a London house linked to Vadra was refurbished by Bhandari, who also made arrangements for his travel abroad.

She also claimed that an amount of 7.5 lakh Swiss franc was deposited in a bank account of Bhandari and asked if there was a connection between this and the money spent on refurbishing the London house linked to Vadra.

The minister, citing the media report, alleged that there were at least three transactions between them with "serious financial implications".

Referring to Rahul Gandhi's frequent tweets, the minister wondered why he was keeping silent on this matter.

Asked what the CBI was doing as it was investigating Bhandari, she said this question should be put to the agency.

The government is taking all steps to bring the absconding arms dealer back to India to face law, she added.

Party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said, "If you believe that Vadra is innocent, then why not file a defamation suit?... the silence shows guilt."

In Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani addressed a joint press conference, asking Rahul Gandhi to break his silence on the issue.

Rupani alleged that Vadra has emerged as the "face of crony economy".

"Of late, Rahul Gandhi has become very active on social media. He is also visiting Gujarat more often. But, why is he silent on this issue? Why even Gujarat Congress leaders are silent? Rahul Gandhi must tender an explanation about Vadra's links with an arms dealer," said the chief minister.

Vadra, while not reacting to the allegation, put out a philosophical message.

"Good Morning, I am capable, I am strong. If I believe in myself, I can turn my dreams into a plan, and my plan into my reality," said a quote on his Facebook post along with his photograph and a few horses running by a sea.

Surjewala, while addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, said Vadra has been going through "witch-hunting" for the last 41 months.

"As far as any allegations against Robert Vadra are concerned, we will only say, Modiji has been in power for 41 months.

"They have a government in Haryana and Rajasthan, and by all means, conduct any investigation that you choose, and come to a conclusion through a free and fair process of law of any wrong doing," the Congress spokesman said.

He said in "witch-hunting" of 41 months and multiple commissions of inquiries, the BJP has not arrived at a single conclusion of violation of any law, rule or regulation, either in Haryana and Rajasthan.

"Allegations were levelled in these two states, based on which they came to power," the Congress spokesman added.
A Kid holding beautiful sparklers (fire crackers) in hands during Laxmi Puja as the procession of Tihar or Deepawali and Diwali celebrations at Kathmandu, Nepal on Sunday, October 30, 2016. Tihar is a hindu festival celebrated in Nepal for 5 days. Cows are considered to be the incarnation of the Hindu god of wealth, Lord Laxmi. (Photo by Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Bursting firecrackers is joyful, but little does one know how hazardous the smoke emitted from them can be. For example, a string of 1,000 crackers, popularly known as 'laad', can be as dangerous as smoking over 270 cigarettes.

The black-coloured pellet, which spews out a 'snake', when lit can be as harmful inhaling smoke from as 464 cigarettes, according to calculations done by IndiaSpend.

The Methodology

Burning crackers and cigarettes produces particulate matter of PM2.5 concentration  a health hazard.

A significant study by Chest Research Foundation (CRF) shows the level of pollution caused by burning a few firecrackers. The CRF team monitored and measured personal exposure levels to PM 2.5 with respect to the burning of six most common firecrackers  fuljhadi, chakri, flower pots, pulpuls or string-shaped sparklers, laad and snake pellets.

Among the six, snake pellets generated the highest level of PM2.5 at 64,500 mcg per cubic metre of air space during a small span of burning. It was followed by laad which reached the level of 38,540 mcg per cubic metre.

Source: ERS Journal

Now, in an enclosed space, the PM 2.5 generation from cigarette smoke is 139 mcg/m 3 , according to a research published by Tumori Journal.

Thus, in smoke equivalent, burning a laad (PM2.5 = 38,540 mcg/m3) is as bad as lighting up 277 cigarettes (PM 2.5 = 139 mcg/m3).

One pulpul or a string-shaped sparkler when lit leads to smoke which is equivalent to smoking 208 cigarettes, fuljhadi emits smoke that means lighting up 74 cigarettes, Chakri or ground spinners - 68 and a flower pot or Anaar leads to smoke that is equal to the smoke emitted by close to 35 cigarettes. All this, quite alarmingly, happens within 2-6 minutes if one unit of each firecracker is lighted at once.

As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards, the 24-hour mean of PM2.5 concentration should not cross 60 mcg/m 3 . The WHO standards are even lower at 25 mcg/m 3 .

Fine particles on their own or with combination with other air pollutants are linked with a number of health problems like premature death, aggravated asthma, acute respiratory symptoms including aggravated coughing and difficult or painful breathing, chronic bronchitis and decreased lung function, says a medical study facilitated by CPCB.

Exposure to PM2.5 led to over a million deaths in India, according to data from the State of Global Air 2017, a project by Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in collaboration with the Global Burden of Disease project.

Around 1.4 million people died in India due to diseases caused by air pollution in 2013, according to a 2016 study.

Delhi - The Smog Capital

The Supreme Court of India has banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR during Diwali owing to previous instances of pollution level soaring up to toxic levels during the festive season.

Delhi is one of the worst affected cities by such air pollution.

As per a recent forecast by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), a pollution monitoring group, Delhi's air quality will remain 'very poor' even if 50 percent lesser firecrackers are burnt compared to last year. If the level of firecrackers burnt stays the same, the air quality will turn 'severe'.

'Very poor' air quality means that people may suffer from respiratory illness after exposure to such air for a significant period of time.

Another study suggests that people in India's capital can live nine years longer if the country meets the WHO's air quality standards. The Air Quality-Life Index (AQLI) report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) suggests that if India meets the national Air Quality Standards or WHO standards for PM2.5particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in size, several cities would gain in terms of life expectancy.

Among all of India's cities, Delhi's citizens would be the biggest beneficiaries if the city adheres to the WHO prescribed air quality norms. The people of Kolkata and Mumbai could live roughly 3.5 years longer if the country met WHO standards. Overall, Indian citizens could live four years longer if India meets WHO standards, the report states.

To find more about the report findings head to  DATA STORY: Living in Delhi can cut 9 years of your life

Is it really that bad?

The concentration of PM10 was very high during Diwali as compared to the normal days and the day before Diwali, states a 2014 study conducted by Chirag Verma and Dhananjay K Deshmukh from National Institute of Technology, Raipur and Hokkaido University, Japan respectively. The concentration of PM10 was 507 mcg/m 3 in Delhi, 753 mcg/m 3 in Lucknow and 930 mcg/m 3 in Nagpur.

Higher values of iron, barium and copper are found in the ambient air during Diwali as these are used for creating colourful fireworks while zinc is used for the smoke effects, according to the study.

Firecrackers, which generally contain 75 percent potassium nitrate, 15 percent carbon and 10 percent sulphur, release toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxides and nitrogen dioxide, the research shows. Sulphur dioxide is more toxic because they slowly get absorbed in the fine particles and are transported deep into the lungs, damaging the tracheal nasal system, the study states.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday raised questions on recent media reports of Chinese action in the Doklam area at a parliamentary panel meeting which was briefed by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was briefed on the topic Sino-India relations with a focus on the Doklam situation.

Gandhi, who is also a member of the panel, had the maximum number of queries on the issue and raised questions about media reports that claimed China had again started constructing a road in the Doklam area, a member present at the meeting said on the condition of anonymity.

Jaishankar replied that the government had no information on China building roads outside its territory.

The committee's members also appreciated the resolution of the Doklam standoff through diplomatic channels.

The 73-day face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Doklam started on June 16 after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army.

Gandhi wanted to know what the government was doing to ensure that such a face-off did not occur again, the member said.

The Congress leader also raised questions about reports of Chinese incursions in Ladakh.

When contacted, Tharoor declined to share the details of the meeting but said, "It was an intense and interesting meeting".

During the 90-minute long meet, foreign ministry officials also briefed the members about the Rohingya issue.

Only six of the 30 members of the panel were present at the meeting. Of them, only one MP, Richard Hay, was from the BJP.
India Economy

The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries  India, Brazil, Germany and Japan  met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support India's permanent membership.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) made a big catch and arrested a man who was allegedly converting demonetised currency into valid ones. The arrest was made on Monday in Mumbai.

Allegedly, the 35-year-old man was part of a fake currency smuggling and distribution racket. The DRI sleuths also seized fake notes worth Rs 10 lakh from him.

Rehan Khan, who claimed to be associated with an NGO and a political party, was converting demonetised notes with fake notes at a rate of 11 percent, i.e. he was offering Rs 55 for every Rs 500 demonetised currency, reported DNA.

In a month-long operation, the DRI men have arrested Congress office-bearer Haji Imran Alam Shaikh, his uncle Zahid Shaikh and a Khar-based builder Mahesh Alimchandani in the said racket.

Haji Imran and others would receive the consignment of fake currency from Khan, a source told, requesting anonymity. "Khan appears to be the top person in the hierarchy of this syndicate. He had gone into hiding ever since he got a whiff that DRI is looking for him."

The agency is now looking into how Khan utilised the demonetised notes.
MUMBAI, INDIA - FEBRUARY 20, 2009: Education - Students - Youth - Group - Friends - Debate - Disscussion - E sell students in IIT. (Photo by Prasad Gori/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was pegged as the best Indian university in the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) University Rankings for Asia, where most of the prominent Indian educational institutes slid from their past ranks.

IIT Bombay is presently ranked at 34th among 400 Asian universities assessed in the list by British organisation QS.

IIT Bombay is followed by IIT Delhi (41), IIT Madras (48), and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru (51).

As per the QS rankings which were published on Monday, IISc's rank has dropped the most among Indian institutes. It was at the top in India and at the 33rd position in 2017. Since then, it has slipped by 18 ranks.

IIT Bombay has an overall score of 75.7 based on indicators such as academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty to student ratio, papers attributable to per Faculty (Data from Scopus) and so on.

In terms of academic and employer reputation, IIT Bombay maintained high scores of 88.1 and 97.5 respectively. It is the only one among top institutes that has somewhat maintained its position, going up by one rank from last year.

"Employer Reputation indicated the strongest one for IIT Bombay with a rank of 21 globally," IIT Bombay said in a statement on Tuesday.

The top three universities in Asia are National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Neighbouring China has its Tsinghua University in fifth place, followed by Peking University at ninth.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will deliver his first policy speech today on the US' bilateral relationship with India.

Tillerson will deliver his remarks on 'Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century' at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a top American think tank, a statement said.

His first India policy speech after becoming the top American diplomat early this year, comes ahead of President Donald Trump's Asia visit which will take him to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Tillerson had a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New York last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

President Trump also hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in June.

After assuming office, Trump has committed himself to strengthening the US relationship with India.

Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during his visit to the US which concluded today. He raised some key issues of concern to India, including on H-1B visas.

Early this month, the first consignment of American crude oil reached India and Indian petroleum companies plan to purchase crude oil worth USD 2 billion from the US in the next one year.

India has also placed a large defence order with the US worth billions of dollars.
19:52 All measures should be taken to make Pyongyang and Seoul sit down for talks: Russian Speaker

Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko stressed the necessity to do all that is possible to organize talks between North Korea and South Korea, though Pyongyang is not ready for it yet, according to a report by Russian news agency TASS.

"There is no other way than

negotiations. North Korea is not ready for them yet, but we should do all possible to make them sit down for talks," the parliamentary member said at the final press conference of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly (IPU).

19:32 North Korea's spate of cyber attacks worldwide finds a majority of its launches from foreign computers. Many such hackers can be launching cyber attacks on the behalf of North Korea, according to a New York Times report.

18:29 North Koreas deputy U.N. ambassador said Tuesday the country plans to launch many more satellites and accused the United States of trying to block its efforts to help peacefully develop outer space, the Washington Post reported .

Kim In Ryong told a U.N. General Assembly committee meeting on International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space that the countrys five-year plan for 2016-2020 includes development of practical satellites that can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the peoples living.

17:40 North Korea congratulated China on its 19th Communist Party Congress on Wednesday amid increasingly frayed relationships between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyangs nuclear weapons program.

The central committee of the Norths ruling Workers Party of Korea said that China had made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the correct guidance of the Communist Party.

Read the full story here.

16:20 Seoul's Unification Minister said on Wednesday (Oct 18) that it is highly unlikely that North Korea will relinquish its nuclear weapons, as it nears the completion of its weapons programme, reports The Straits Times.

"The possibility that North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons is extremely low," Unification Minister Cho Myoung Gyon said at a forum hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday.

"I used the term 'extremely low' to express it on a softer note. It would not be incorrect to say there is actually almost no chance that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons because it views it as its lifeline," he added, indicating that Pyongyang's nuclear programme is not a mere bargaining chip for its leader Kim Jong Un.

"Experts expect (its nuclear weapons programme to be completed) in two years. There is a possibility that (the North) might reach their goal next year," Mr Cho said.

The minister's statement comes amid the international community's mounting efforts to get Pyongyang back to dialogue for denuclearisation.

15:44 Diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss how to respond to North Koreas nuclear weapons program, reports USA Today.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said that Washington continues to view diplomacy as the primary means for solving the crisis, but added that the allies must be prepared for any eventuality.

Our objective is, throughout that campaign of pressure, to bring North Korea to the negotiating table without preconditions so that we can achieve our objective of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, Sullivan said at a news conference after the meeting.

Diplomacy is our primary objective and primary means to addressing the threat posed by North Korea. But we need to be prepared to respond to any eventuality given the unpredictable nature of the regime in Pyongyang, he added.

14:55 The Trump administration has not ruled out direct talks with North Korea but the United States and its allies must be prepared for the worst if diplomacy fails, the deputy secretary of state said on Tuesday, reports New York Post.

Eventually, we dont rule out the possibility of course of direct talks, John L. Sullivan said during a meeting in Japan, Reuters reported.

Our focus is on diplomacy to solve this problem that is presented by the DPRK. We must, however, with our allies, Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst, should diplomacy fail, he said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

13:57 Hillary Clinton has said that China should play a more active role in pressuring North Korea, arguing it would help the isolated country return to the negotiation table over its nuclear program, reports Nikkei Asian Review.

The former US Secretary of State called for patience in diplomacy, referring to the years of intensive discussions that lead to the Iran nuclear deal framework.

"We all have a stake in trying to persuade China to take a more active role in helping us to contain and deter North Korea," said Clinton at the 18th World Knowledge Forum in Seoul.

"If they take a more out-front role" in trying to "tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions," she said, there would be pressure on and consequences for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

11:53 A Japanese survivor of one of the only two nuclear attacks ever conducted in history has appealed to world leaders to abandon the weapons of mass destruction and enact a comprehensive ban on their production, testing and possession, reports Newsweek.

"None of them having (nuclear) weapons will contribute toward having peace," Tokuko Kimura, 82, said Monday at an anti-nuclear weapons event in New York City, according to The Japan Times.

Kimura was 10 years old when the U.S. Air Force dropped the so-called "Fat Man" atomic bomb on her city of Nagasaki in August 1945. The event, along with a second atomic bombing on the Japanese city of Hiroshima three days later, killed at least 250,000 people and brought an end to World War II. It also introduced the world to the vast destructive capabilities of nuclear power, inspiring similar programs in other countries, the most recent being North Korea. As the world's first nuclear power threatens to disarm the latest, Kimura urged all governments to outright ban such weapons.

For full story, click here.

11:21 North Korea's deputy UN ambassador said Tuesday the country plans to launch many more satellites and accused the United States of trying to block its efforts to help peacefully develop outer space, reports AP.

Kim In Ryong told a UN General Assembly committee meeting on "International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space" that the country's five-year plan for 2016-2020 includes development of "practical satellites that can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people's living."

As a party to several space treaties, North Korea's space development activities are "all ground on legal basis in all aspects," Kim said.

But he said the United States is "going frantic to illegalize our development of outer space," claiming the effort violates UN sanctions.

Read full story here.

11:11 Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said cavalier threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are dangerous and short-sighted, reports Reuters.

There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea), said Clinton, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks. Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face, Clinton said, but did not mention Trump by name.

10:30 Despite their disagreements in the recent past over nuclear tests, China is North Korea's go-to friend when it comes to business. North Korea imported 85 percent of its goods worth USD 3.47 billion from China in 2015. In the same year, North Korea exported about 83 percent of goods worth USD 2.83 billion to the manufacturing superpower.

On the global front, India has been a critic of North Korea's nuclear tests and has also criticised its ties with Pakistan and its support for the Kashmir conflict.

The more surprising fact is that India comes right after China as North Korea's second biggest trade partner among all other countries who maintain trade relations with the communist state.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred" the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after US President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute (US) president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran quoted by state television.

"Trump's stupidity should not distract us from America's deceitfulness...If the U.S. tears up the deal, we will shred it."

Trump's move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union - who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a UN resolution.

Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran's state matters, welcomed their support but said it was not sufficient.

"European states stressed their backing for the deal and condemned Trump ... We welcomed this, but it is not enough to ask Trump not to rip up the agreement. Europe needs to stand against practical measures (taken) by America."

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions that crippled its economy, and UN nuclear inspectors have repeatedly certified Tehran's compliance with the terms.

Trump accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and says the 2015 deal does not do enough to block its path to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran says it does not seek nuclear arms and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies.

In decertifying the nuclear deal last week, Trump gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.

"DO NOT INTERFERE"

In a major shift in US policy, Trump also said Washington will take a more confrontational approach to Iran over its ballistic missile programme and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Tehran has repeatedly pledged to continue what it calls a defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism. The United States has said Iran's stance violates the 2015 deal in spirit as missiles could be tipped with nuclear weapons.

Tehran has said it seeks only civilian nuclear energy from its enrichment of uranium, and that the programme has nothing to do with missile development efforts.

"They must avoid interfering in our defence programme ... We do not accept that Europe sings along with America's bullying and its unreasonable demands," Khamenei said.

"They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons?"

The Trump administration has imposed new unilateral sanctions targeting Iran's missile activity. It has called on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans.

Iran has one of the biggest ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

aAmericans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region," Khamenei said.

Supporters of the deal fear Trump's decision to decertify the deal could eventually unravel it, causing more tension in the crisis-hit Middle East, where Shi'ite Iran is involved in a decades-long proxy war with US-ally Sunni Saudi Arabia.
The eccentric Gloom, Boom & Doom report author, who often speaks on CNBC and other financial media, generally forecasting some type of market downturn, focused his latest comments on the racial conflicts happening around the country.

Market doomsayer Marc "Dr. Doom" Faber has launched a racially charged diatribe in his latest newsletter, alleging that the U.S. is great primarily because it is ruled by white people.

The eccentric Gloom, Boom & Doom report author, who often speaks on CNBC and other financial media, generally forecasting some type of market downturn, focused his latest comments on the racial conflicts happening around the country.

(A CNBC spokesperson said it will not book him in the future.)

"And thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority," he wrote.

"I am not a racist, but the reality  no matter how politically incorrect  needs to be spelled out."

Reached for comment via email, Faber did not back away from his statements to CNBC.

"If stating some historical facts makes me a racist, then I suppose that I am a racist. For years, Japanese were condemned because they denied the Nanking massacre," he told CNBC in an email.

In addition to the brief statement, he sent a link to a USA Today story titled, "Banned in Biloxi, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' raises old censorship debate," focusing on the Harper Lee classic.

In the newsletter, Faber's comments address the confrontation in Charlottesville, Virginia, directly. Protesters clashed in August over a white nationalist rally called Unite the Right in Charlottesville, where officials were debating the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue from the University of Virginia campus.

The violence sparked a national debate over race and monuments that honor prominent Confederate figures that Faber decided to weigh in on.

Faber called the monuments "statues of honourable people whose only crime was to defend what all societies had done for more than 5,000 years: keep a part of the population enslaved."
Representative image

India is tightening quality controls for consumer and capital goods, officials say, a move that follows calls to curb cheap imports from China amid diplomatic tensions between the world's two most populous nations over their shared border.

The new rules target toys, electronic goods, machinery, food processing, construction and chemicals, sectors dominated by China, and come amid greater scrutiny of mainland firms looking to enter India's multi-billion dollar power transmission and telecoms business.

For India's toy retailers, who import everything from toy cars to musical phones and even robots from China, the new requirements have meant supply disruptions just ahead of the Diwali festive season.

The government's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approximately 23,000 standards across industries, many of which are never fully enforced, officials say. Now, government departments have been asked to carry out laboratory tests and spot inspection to ensure goods conform to the regulations.

"We have started this work on a war footing, to have quality control orders for almost every product that we are consuming in the country," said Ramesh Abhishek who heads the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

The new rules apply to both foreign manufacturers and domestic firms.

However, two people familiar with trade policy who did not want to be named said the sectors targeted are ones in which China controls more than two-thirds of the market, such as toy and stainless steel good industries, and where there have been "chronic" complaints of substandard products.

Separately, Indian Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma said her department will soon release new guidelines, raising quality norms for welded stainless steel pipes that are used in oil and gas as well as construction sector.

"There is evidence of China exporting semi-finished and finished goods using stainless steel that do not meet the BIS standards," Sharma said.

India's trade ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the new rules. China's Foreign Ministry referred questions to the Commerce Ministry, which did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Bilateral trade between India and China boomed to $71.45 billion in 2016-17 from $1.83 billion in 1999-2000, though most of this is skewed to Chinese exports.

The trade deficit has widened to $51.1 billion over the past year, a nine-fold increase over the last decade, despite repeated Indian calls for China to address the imbalance and open its markets.

Those trade differences are now being amplified by the resurfacing of a long-running border dispute, which has stirred protectionist sentiment in India.

In June, a nationalist group tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party began a campaign to discourage the use of Chinese goods in the country.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the main Hindu nationalist organisation that fights for domestic industry and agriculture, has planned a protest rally in Delhi later this month against the influx of Chinese products.

TOYS FROM CHINA

The new testing requirements for toys focus on their chemical content and flammability and demand more stringent testing for those that are electrically operated.

China accounts for 85 percent of India's $760 million toy industry and these are priced at anything from 50 cents to $150.

Several toy importers are urging the government to delay the new regulations until the festival season is over, saying it would choke supply.

"It comes out of the blue, with no forewarning and gives no time for retailers to prepare for compliance," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India that represents over 1,000 members.

"As a result, it will have grave consequences, such as losses in terms of huge amounts of money paid as advance by retailers to suppliers overseas and a loss of jobs as some businesses that sell only toys will have to shut shop."

While the new rules could hurt local retail consumption, other industry participants argue they will ultimately help local firms by improving standards and keeping low-end imports in check.

They follow similar moves in August, when the government ordered makers of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs to register their products with the BIS for safety checks in an industry where smuggling of Chinese products is rampant.

"There is a need for stronger enforcement for compliance to these standards," said Sumit Joshi, vice chairman and managing director, Philips Lighting India, the country's largest LED maker.
US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to building an "ambitious" partnership that benefits not just their countries but also other nations working towards peace and stability, America's top diplomat said on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a Washington audience that Modi's visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new era of strategic relationship.

"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are committed  more than any of our leaders before them  to building an ambitious partnership that benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability," said Tillerson in a major India policy speech before CSIS, a top US think-tank.

Tillerson is scheduled to visit India next week.

"My visit could not come at a more promising time for the US-India partnership. As you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of relations between our two countries," he said.

Tillerson said his relationship with India goes back to 1998, when he began working on issues related to India's energy security and has made many trips to Delhi.

"It was a privilege to do business with Indian counterparts then, and it has been my great honour this year to work with Indian leaders as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning to Delhi next week, for the first time in my official capacity," Tillerson said.

Referring to the fact that earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, Tillerson said it was a tangible illustration of India and the US expanding their energy cooperation.

The Trump Administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to work together, he asserted.

Noting that more than 600 American companies operate in India, Tillerson said the US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone.

The bilateral trade hit a record of roughly USD 115 billion last year, a number US plans to increase, he said.

"Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion," he said.

The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both economies, he said.
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,
"The thought is that parents, grandparents, will bring their kids there to have fun, to use the trails, but also to understand the history of veterans' service in Towamencin," land planner Peter Simone
Community Life  as seen on social media
State officials announce $2.85M for new police station in Upper Moreland
October 18, 2017

Saudi Money Invades Raqqa - Sowing The Seeds Of ISIS 2.0

There is dangerous news evolving from Raqqa, Syria. While ISIS is largely defeated seeds get sown for its reappearance.

The Kurdish forces under the label SDF and led by U.S. special forces have defeated ISIS in Raqqa. Cleanup operations continue. The victory came only after the the U.S. and its proxies agreed to give free passage to the last few hundreds of foreign and Syrian ISIS fighters and their families. Since these boarded buses and were moved out of Raqqa on Saturday night nothing has been heard of them.

On Monday the U.S. coordinator for the fight against ISIS, Brett McGurk, brought an unwelcome visitor to Syria.

Raqqa24 @24Raqqa - 9:49 AM - 17 Oct 2017 Brett McGurk visited Ayn Issa today with the Saudi minister Thamer al-Sabhan (former Ambassador to Iraq) & joined 3 different meetings. #R24 First meeting was with the local council of #Raqqa then with reconstruction committee at the least they met with elders of Raqqa Picture of the visit of Brett McGurk and Thamer al-Sabhan. Source: Unknown



via Raqqa24 - bigger

The visit was confirmed by a (pro Kurd) journalist:

Wladimir @vvanwilgenburg - 5:06 PM - 17 Oct 2017

Wladimir Retweeted Raqqa24 I was there. No pictures allowed. Meeting was indeed about reconstruction.

Thamer al-Sabhan is the Saudi Minister for Gulf Affairs. He is known to be extremely sectarian and anti-Shia.

In 2015 Thamer al-Sabhan was appointed as the first Saudi ambassador to Iraq since the Iraqi takeover of Kuwait in 1990. He made no friends in Baghdad when he ranted against the Popular Mobilization Units, which had stopped and fought back ISIS. He denigrated the most revered religious scholar in Iraq:

Sabhan asserted that whoever listens to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistanis Friday sermons and Muqtada al-Sadrs statements can feel the threat that Shiite religious authorities pose.

Al-Sistani is well know for caring for all Iraqis and for speaking out against any form of sectarianism. This was an insult and threat to a very high religious authority with a huge following.

Sabhan's loose talk did not go down well with the Iraqi population and its political circles. Immediately demands were made to kick him out of Iraq. Sabhan then claimed that an Iraqi official had told him that Shia groups directed by Iran were out to kill him. The Iraqi government denied that claim. But Sabhan continued to stir inner-Iraqi strife. The government finally asked Riyadh to call him back. In October 2016 Sabham was recalled from Iraq and appointed minister. He recently demanded "to eliminate the rogue Iranian regime."

To invite him to Syria, as Brett McGurk (on order from the White House?) did, is a dangerous provocation.

The Trump administration is not willing to spend money on the rebuilding of Raqqa which was largely destroyed (video) by thousands of U.S. air and artillery strikes. The State Department promised to "lead" efforts to restore water and power supplies in Raqqa, but it wants to put the financial burden elsewhere:

"We will assist and take, essentially, the lead in bringing back the water, electricity and all of that," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing. "But eventually the governance of the country of Syria is something that I think all nations remain very interested in."

It is a complete wrong approach. The U.S. should ask the Syrian government to immediately take responsibility of Raqqa and then leave the country.

Now Thamer al-Sabhan is asked to cough up money for "reconstruction" and "governance". But Saudi Arabia does not have humanitarian interests. Just witness the slow genocidal war it is waging on Yemen. Saudi Arabia will only support groups and populations that are willing to follow its extreme Wahhabi version of Islam.

ISIS follows largely the same creed as the Saudis do. ISIS used Saudi schoolbooks in its schools. Many of its leading members come from Saudi Arabia. It is generally assumed, with some evidence, that Saudi donors financed ISIS - at least in its early days.

The ISIS members leaving Raqqa under free passage went where? The Syrian forces fighting ISIS along the Euphrates further east report that ISIS fighters have largely vanished from the area. They either melted into the general population or moved north of the Euphrates to hand themselves over to the U.S. proxy forces. What will happen to them? Who pays to feed their families?

ISIS was born out of the Sunni resistance against the U.S, occupation of Iraq. Around 2010/11 the resistance was perceived to be a dead force. But to others it was still a valuable anti-Shia instrument and money from the Sunni gulf regimes continued to flow. The Sunni terror groups in Iraq slowly grew back. The Obama administration saw ISIS develop but intentionally let it grow for its own political purposes. The U.S. military at times supported it in its fights against the Syrian state.

ISIS is not even completely defeated, yet the seeds for its next incarnation already get sown. Thamer al-Sabhan will use the money he spends in Syria to further stir the anti-Shia pot. He will finance those who will promise him to resist the "Shia axis" of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. "Former" ISIS members will be welcome to join the "rehabilitation" work.

One hopes that the "resistance" axis in Syria will finds ways and means to kill these weeds before they grow back to size.

Posted by b on October 18, 2017 at 14:04 UTC | Permalink

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Ever find it hard to find the right kind of movie to watch? This could fix that
When a South County fire department put out a call for donations for victims of the recent North Bay fires, firefighters were welcomed with an outpouring from area residents.

On Monday, Oct. 16, staff of the Gilroy Fire Department Local 2805 carried two truckloads of donated hygiene supplies, clothing, food and other donations to North Bay locations, according to Gilroy firefighter Chris Teresi.

On the way to their first drop-off point in Petaluma, the convoywith one trailer already loaded with donated suppliesstopped at the home of Carrie and Peng Lim in northwest Morgan Hill. The couple had a garage full of donated items for the fire victims, collected from students and families of the Charter School of Morgan Hill, Carrie Lim said.

Teresi said shortly after the IAFF Local 1165 Firefighter Union posted on social media that it was accepting donated items, the firefighters were flooded with support. At one point, there was a line of cars outside the Gilroy Fire Departments Chestnut Street station with residents dropping off donations. The generosity came from as far away as Monterey, Teresi said.

Everybody wanted to do something, said Teresi, who noted that the convoy of supplies was transported by truck and trailers donated by George Chiala Farms in Morgan Hill.

As of Oct. 15, four major fires in Napa and Sonoma countiesthe Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns and Oakmont Fireshad burned more than 94,000 acres, destroyed more than 3,300 homes and killed 40 people, according to authorities.

The emergency has drawn resources from all over the state to help extinguish the blazes, help with the cleanup and recovery effort and control traffic and crowds. Convoys of military vehicles and fire engines have been seen traveling north on U.S. 101 through South County since last week.

This past weekend, two officers from the Morgan Hill Police DepartmentCpl. Scott Martin and Officer Eric Adamswere deployed to the North Bay area to help with the public safety response, according to Sgt. Carson Thomas. In general, the officers duties during the emergency include help prevent looting, safeguard homes and assist with evacuations, according to a Morgan Hill Police Department Facebook post.

Wildfires impact air quality, health

The fires have also resulted in significant air quality impacts in Morgan Hill and South County. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued Spare The Air alerts and health advisories for several days, starting last week and continuing at least until Oct. 18, according to the districts website.

The health advisories are asking residents to stay indoors and avoid extensive outdoor activity until the air clears up. Elderly people and residents with existing health conditionssuch as asthma, COPD, emphysema and heart diseaseare particularly vulnerable, according to the BAAQMD website.

During Spare The Air alerts, residents are advised not to contribute to the diminished air quality by burning wood, mowing grass and even barbecuing.

The alerts and advisories have extended all the way past Morgan Hill, but the impact is expected to wane by the end of this week. The five-day BAAQMD air quality forecast for Santa Clara Valley shows the air returning to good on Oct. 20 and 21. Until then, the air quality is expected to be in the moderate range.

But these forecasts can change quickly, depending on the direction of the wind and the amount of new smoke in the air. For example, a new wildfire in the Santa Cruz mountains west of Morgan Hill, which started burning Oct. 17, could add to the harmful particles in the air here, according to BAAQMD spokesman Aaron Richardson.

Things are really blowing around today, Richardson said Oct. 17. Its worse than we expected initially.

Richardson added that authorities are hopeful that a low-pressure weather front moving into the area by Thursday will clear things out.

The most harmful particles in the air that emanate from heavy wood smoke are too small to see with the naked eye. Authorities are generally concerned when there is an abundance of particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller, or about one-seventh the width of a human hair, Richardson explained.

Theyre small enough that theyre inhalable, and can penetrate deep into the respiratory system, and even the bloodstream, Richardson said. They can bypass the bodys defense mechanisms, and penetrate really deeply.

Compounding the risk is the possibility that other chemicals burning within the offending fires might also get into the air. If there are other chemicals, they can attach to these fine (smoke) particles and get carried deep into the body. With a fire like this (in the North Bay), its hard to tell what those chemicals would be, Richardson added.

He also noted that for most people, adverse health effects are likely only during long-term exposure to fine smoke particles and other contaminants in the air. Recent reports of poor air quality are only a short-term concern in the Bay Area, Richardson noted.

Given that, the truth is there are short-term effects, especially for people with existing health conditions, he said. Theyre even linked, in some cases, to heart attacks.
A Marion man was charged with armed robbery after a witness said he stole the wallet of a man who had wrecked his moped, according to a Morganton Department of Public Safety report.

Officers charged the suspect, Charles Young, 33, on Monday, nearly two weeks after the crime was committed.

Capt. Jason Whisnant said officers had to wait before charging him because the victim still was injured and on pain medication from the wreck.

The wreck happened Sept. 27 in the 100 block of Holly Place in Morganton, the report said. Officer J.B. Bess arrived at the scene and found Roderick Caldwell, 23, of Morganton, on the ground next to a moped turned on its side.

Caldwell was unresponsive and had a bleeding knot on his head, the report said. The pocket of his shorts was turned inside out as if someone had taken something out of it.

The 911 caller, Kevin Hamm, also was at the scene and told Bess he saw a silver Ford Mustang stopped beside the moped. Hamm asked the driver of the Mustang if everything was OK, and the driver said the moped had fallen over, the report said.

As Hamm began driving away, he noticed the driver got out of the car and began going through Caldwells pockets, the report said. This was the first time Hamm noticed someone was on the ground.

Hamm said it looked like the man was taking Caldwells wallet, the report said. When Hamm started coming back toward the Mustang, the driver sped away toward Lenoir Road. Hamm then called 911, the report said.

Officers also found a pistol on the ground near Caldwell, the report said. The gun was missing its magazine, and Whisnant said officers believe the gun belongs to Young.

EMS arrived and transported Caldwell to a local hospital before he was airlifted to a Charlotte hospital, the report said.

MDPS officer Miller located the Mustang at the Jett Express in Morganton later that night, the report said. The report said Young was found with a gram of marijuana, and Whisnant said he was charged for drug possession that night.

Young was charged with felony armed robbery Monday and was placed in a local jail under a $20,000 bond, according to an arrest report. Whisnant said Young still was in jail as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Officer Gillstrap arrived at the scene Sept. 27 and conducted a reconstruction of the wreck, the report said. The cause of the moped wreck still is under investigation, and officers are trying to rule out an intentional collision, Whisnant said.

Young was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2002, according to a North Carolina Department of Public Safety offender search.

Ryan Wilusz is a staff writer and can be reached at rwilusz@morganton.com or 828-432-8941.
Citizens are asked to be on the lookout for Christine Barnes St. Clair, a 74-year-old Taylorsville woman who was last seen early Wednesday morning.

According to the N.C. Department of Public Safety, St. Clair is believed to be suffering from dementia or a similar cognitive impairment. A silver alert was issued shortly after 4 a.m.

She was last seen in the 100 block of Eastview Court, Taylorsville. She may be headed toward Land Cemetery Lane or County Home Road in Taylorsville, officials said.

St. Clair is white, with brown eyes and short, graying red hair. She is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and jeans.

She may be driving a blue or gray 2016 Nissan Sentra with North Carolina plate number EBS-6582.

Anyone with information is asked to call Heath Pennell at the Alexander County Sheriffs Office, 828-632-2911.
As chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to the people of Morganton and the larger regional community for their enthusiastic support of the NCSSM-Morganton campus. This sentiment is echoed by members of our Board of Trustees, Western Campus Core Planning Team, and Project Director Kevin Baxter.

Since 2012, we have been engaged in conversation with community members, grassroots leaders, and regional legislators with the common purpose of establishing our second campus in western North Carolina. Throughout the process we have been impressed with and heartened by the tremendous energy and commitment the community has demonstrated.

As you know, we recently celebrated two major project milestones as our Board of Trustees gathered in Morganton late last month to approve both the educational program vision and campus master plan. Both aspects of the project were approved unanimously by the board during their quarterly meeting that was hosted in the beautifully renovated Morganton Community House  a fitting location indeed!

We are grateful to have received support from a diverse cross-section of champions in western North Carolina. In particular, we appreciate those in Burke County and throughout the Unifour who have invested considerable energy toward this work. We have benefited greatly from significant contributions of time and energy from the local representatives to our Core Planning Team: Ellen Collett, Michael Helmick, Enoch Moeller, Larry Putnam, and Sally Sandy. We have also enjoyed tremendous support from throughout the region including Representative Hugh Blackwell, Senator Warren Daniel, Senator Andy Wells, Mayor Ronnie Thompson and members of the Morganton City Council and the city of Morganton team, Burke County Manager Bryan Steen and the Burke County Board of Commissioners, and the many leaders from the civic, business, governmental, and education sectors that have provided such incredible support and encouragement for this project every step of the way.

Collaboration across interests, county lines, and jurisdictions has helped turn the idea of this campus into a reality. I want to again thank the community for your support and let you know that we look forward to continued collaboration as we move into the next phases of development, and as NCSSM-Morganton becomes a part of your community.
Brexit is a third level issue for Europe  they have other priorities, says Guntram Wolf, director of European think tank Bruegel.

Angela Merkel is foremost concerned with getting the collation government of Germany to work, and sorting out the immigration concerns. Emmanuel Macron wants to fix the labour market of France and focus on European integration. For Spain, there is the issue of Catalonia.

It is incomprehensive this side of the Channel that Brexit may not be at the top of the to do list for our European neighbours. But while Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis claims the EU is dragging out negotiations to secure a bigger divorce bill from the UK, the truth may be more mundane  they simply havent got the time right now, they have bigger fish to fry.

Speaking in Brussels last week, Wolf said that UK Prime Minister Theresa Mays speech in Florence was well received, and with good will, but did not bear the same sentiment as it did back in the UK.

Michel Barnier has a job to do, but the deal will not be agreed by him and Davis. The situation will first escalate and may then be resolved at the heads of state level.

Wolf suggested this would not happen until other political uncertainties had been resolved however, such as the forming of the new government in Germany in the first quarter of next year.

To add to that, the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker is fully tasked with what the EU ex-UK will look like; the forming of a new, more integrated 27-state Union.

Junker has many concerns; Russia, migration, security and defence. They have to pool resources. Work out what the EU response is to a global event, commented Conservative MEP for Wales Kay Swinburne.

Daniel Gros, director for the Centre for European Policy Studies, is more blunt.

Outside of the Brussels bubble, people in Europe dont care about Brexit, he says. I am concerned for what it means for the UK voters however. If the vote had been 30/70 with a clear plan for exiting that would be different. But 50/50 with no plan it leads to feelings of betrayal and disappointment among the voters.

Swinburne says that her colleagues in the European Parliament could not believe the Government had no plan for Brexit.

The members here are bemused by the political turmoil back in the UK. We are usually known as one of the most organised governments. They could not believe we did not have a secret plan up our sleeve. They thought we would just turn up to the first meeting and say heres the deal. What we wanted, our specific requests. It took about six months for other members to believe we had no plan.
In European Commission President Jean-Claude Junckers State of the Union speech in September, he focused on the future of the EU 27  the 27 remaining members of the European Union. Juncker has already erased the UK from mind and talks of deepening the union between the remaining 27 nations.

Conservative Member of European Parliament for Wales Kay Swinburne voted to remain in the European Union. But she says she would vote to leave Juncker's new vision for the EU.

I voted to remain in the EU. I was committed to staying in and reforming the EU from within. But now I wouldnt vote to stay. Now there is a push for all members to take up the single currency. Money talks. Currently the Polish government for example see their currency as an extension of their proud patriotism and Sweden keeps deferring the decision to join the euro. But things change, she said.

Without the UK the EU will be move to a more cohesive union. They will appoint a single EU Treasury Minister. There will be a more centralised system. The axis of power will shift from between the UK and Germany to between France and Germany.

Speaking in Brussels last week, Swinburne says there is now a different attitude among the Commission elite. Without the UK, the plan is for a more united Union.

As a result, Germany and France will dominate the agenda. Small member states will not be able to be as vocal, or have a strong a standing in decision making. Many small member states want to stay close to London, particularly those with financial services connections such as Ireland, Luxemburg, Cyprus and Malta.

In the past the UK would help dictate EU law, if the UK said a certain policy would not work then it would not happen. Scandinavia in particular is concerned about our voice no longer being a part of proceedings. Central and Eastern European countries are worried too; the UK assisted in their ascension the EU and have helped in their success. Many eastern nations left a big Bloc not that long ago and are not keen to join another.

What Next for the UK?

The legislation culture is as if Brexit is not happening, says Swinburne. There is talk of repatriating euro-clearing  the flow of money around the world done in daily trading between and within financial services  from the UK to Brussels.

Swinburne says: The truth is clearing cant be repatriated as it was never headquartered in Brussels. These transactions have always taken place in London.

The EU cannot force all euro clearing to happen in the eurozone; there is a similar location policy in place in Japan but only a fraction of trades are cleared there. There is too much liquidity risk.

Without the UK, EU capital markets are less strong says Swinburne. The EU is reliant on turning German savers into investors to invigorate the markets, but she says that will be a difficult shift. It will be tricky to replace London capital market flows.

Talks of the demise of the City of London are overstated.

The City of London will remain a key financial centre. There may be some people movement but in 10 years time London will be the financial hub it is today, says Swinburne. The combination of a supportive financial legal system, strict regulation, labour flexibility and infrastructure will ensure that. Another reason it is a financial centre is the time zone  this hasnt changed. London is positioned between the US and Asia. The UK Government will continue to enforce regulation  the Prime Minister is committed to making London the best regulated financial centre.

Why Did Brexit Happen?

Swinburne says she knew she was against the populist vote, campaigning in Wales to remain in the EU. Wales voted 52.5% to leave, not that different to the national vote. But if you break the results down by region 17 councils voted to leave the EU, compared to just five voting to remain.

Brexit happened because voters felt no one was listening, it was a protest vote  nothing to do with the European Union, says Swinburne. They wanted to vote against the Government, including those who were in receipt of the largest amount of EU money. The referendum conflated very different issues but I believe in democracy.

People were feeling sore and bitter. We did not realise that we already had our cake and were eating it too when it came to the EU  we had rebates and no euro. Now we will have to work out how to minimise the cost of leaving; in constructing car parts a car moves across the border between the UK and Europe 20 times  10 times there and 10 times back. It is not just the tariffs to consider, it is the paper work, the friction that will hold up work.
The average UK smaller companies fund has comfortably outperformed the FTSE Small Cap and Numis Smaller Companies indices in 2017 so far, with the average fund returning 20.6% versus 12.6% for the FTSE and 14.9% for the Numis. Why is this?

There has certainly been a stylistic tailwind benefitting active funds in the period. The category average demonstrates a clear growth bias relative to the FTSE Small Cap index, and small-cap growth stocks as defined by Morningstar have outperformed small-cap value stocks in 2017 to the end of September. Nonetheless, the average fund has also been able to demonstrate strong stock selection on top of that to help drive home the gains over the index over this period.

When compared to the Numis index rather than the FTSE, the category averages growth bias still remains, but it is less pronounced. The stylistic tailwind versus this index has thus been smaller, but attribution analysis again shows that strong stock selection has helped the average fund to outperform.

Is there a market-cap effect also at play? Partially. The average fund has benefitted from being overweight to mid-cap growth stocks, which include the likes of Renishaw (RSW) and Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH), common holdings among a number of small-cap funds that have contributed to returns this year. However, the difference in returns overall between the FTSE 250 and the FTSE Small Cap index in 2017 to the end of September has been small. It is also worth mentioning AIM. Many smaller companies funds include significant allocations to AIM-listed stocks, and AIM has enjoyed a very strong run over recent times, with notable constituents including FeverTree Drinks (FEVR) and Clinigen (CLIN). Indeed, anecdotally we have noted a trend of small-cap funds expanding their maximum allowable allocations to AIM in the past couple of years. Which Stocks Have Gained in 2017? So where have the stock selection gains been made by active managers this year? Stock picking has been strong across a range of sectors, notably within the consumer space. FeverTree, for example, remains a popular pick among UK smaller companies fund managers and the stock has continued its upward trajectory this year. albeit coming off the highs more recently. Within technology, FDM Group (FDM) is another popular holding that has contributed strongly this year. Avoiding significant fallers is also an important part of an active fund managers role, and they have had some success in doing so this year. For example, within the real estate sector, generally steering clear of estate agencies Foxtons (FOXT) and Countrywide (CWD) has been positive for active stock selection. Similarly, avoiding Imagination Technologies when it lost its contract with Apple helped the average fund. These examples demonstrate how active management can add value in the smaller companies space. Nonetheless, there remains wide dispersion in the performance of the best and worst performing funds, underscoring the importance of sound fund selection when allocating capital to this space.
Bloggerii militari rusi, extrem de suparati ca armata lor nu a tras asupra lui Zelenski in timpul vizitei din Hersonul rusesc: Nu vrem sa luptam cum trebuie!
Canadas housing market is ripe for a pretty severe correction with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce the most vulnerable, according to Steve Eisman, a fund manager at Neuberger Berman Group LLC.While Canadas subprime mortgage market is much smaller than in the U.S., real estate prices in the country have risen more, said Eisman, who was featured in Michael Lewiss book The Big Short. Regulations that Canadian authorities are putting in place will have a negative effect on mortgage volume next year which will translate into lower prices.In Canada, theres some pretty good evidence that the housing market is finally starting to turn over, Eisman told Bloomberg earlier this week.Canada is not going to crash, but it hasnt had a credit cycle in 25 years. I think theyre about to have one.Among the countrys banks, CIBC is the most exposed, Eisman said. He said he wouldnt call the bank at risk of death and destruction, but of an earnings decline.Canadian real estate markets have recovered slightly after sliding on government moves to curb prices but Toronto home sales are still down 36 per cent from a year ago, according to last weeks data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.Vancouvers million-dollar home prices arent just straining buyers, theyre holding back investment and businesses, British Columbias Finance Minister Carole James said last week, vowing to look at every option on the table to cool the market.
Troubles continued this week for Wells Fargo, with both California and Ohio deciding to extend sanctions against the embattled bank even as it slashes nearly 500 jobs at a high-performing Pennsylvania call center.Since Wells Fargos scandals broke  and have continued to break with depressing regularity  several states and cities have suspended their governments business with the banking giant. But now both Californian and Ohio have extended their bans on the bank, Ohio for six months and California  Wells Fargos home state  for a year.California Treasurer John Chiang imposed his states ban in October of last year after Wells Fargos fake-accounts scandal initially came to light, according to a report by Corporate Council. In that scandal, it was revealed that the banks sales staff had opened millions of customer accounts without those customers knowledge or consent. But it was the constant revelations of other scandals that convinced the treasurers office to extend the ban.A statement from Chiangs office Monday said that there has been an alarming drum beat of new reports of egregious, unethical or illegal actions by the bank over the past year.Meanwhile  in a move that apparently shocked the affected employees  the bank announced Tuesday that it would close a Bethlehem, Pa., call center, eliminating 460 jobs and nearly halving its workforce in the area. Wells Fargo employee Nancy Jennings told local paper The Morning Call that call-center employees were called into the centers cafeteria at about 11 a.m. and informed that the center would close. Jennings told The Morning Call that some employees walked out of the meeting early, in tears, while others demanded to know why the bank was eliminating a high-achieving call center in the midst of a scandal based in Wells Fargos branch offices.So this was a big shock, Jennings said.A Wells Fargo spokesman told the paper that call-center workers will be paid for the next 60 days but will only work for the next 15. The spokesman said the banks scandals didnt play any role in the decision to close the center.But the scandals may have driven a sharp drop in profit for the bank. Wells Fargos third-quarter profit saw a steep year-over-year drop this year, falling nearly 19% from Q3 of 2016, The Morning Call reported. And the bank announced earlier this year that it would cut $2 billion in annual expenses  most of the savings coming from the planned closure of 450 branches.
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Several transportation improvement projects have funding and on Monday got the OK from the Permian Basin Metropolitan Planning Organization.

By a 5-0 vote, the MPO public policy board approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2017-20 Transportation Improvement Program, a four-year outlook that lays out road projects that have identified funding sources. The projects are as follows:

 2017: Fairgrounds Road interchange at Loop 250 in Midland County; $12,997,699.

 2018: JBS Parkway realignment to intersect Farm-to-Market Road 3503 in Ector County; $2,486,357.

More Information Info on Proposition 1: https://trib.al/9ak77UR Info on Proposition 7: https://trib.al/t2Co3EC Info on the TxDOT planning process: https://trib.al/X9BWGyn See More Collapse

 2018: U.S. Highway 385 interchange at North Loop 338 in Ector County; $17,700,000.

 2018: Interstate 20 ramp reversal at Lamesa Road to FM 715 in Midland County; $4,500,000.

 2019: I-20 interchange at County Road 1250 in Midland County; $19,840,000.

 2019: Loop 250 interchange at county roads 1150 and 60 in Midland County; $21,500,000.

 2020: Loop 338 East interchange at Yukon Road in Ector County; $19,200,000.

Total funding for these projects is $98,224,056. MPO Executive Director Cameron Walker said the amount of money available is unprecedented, adding that the boost in funds is because of Proposition 1 and Proposition 7.

Texas voters approved Proposition 1 in November 2014. The action moved a portion of oil and gas tax revenues that normally would go to the Economic Stabilization Fund into the State Highway Fund, according to a Texas Department of Transportation explanation on the agencys website.

In November 2015, voters approved Proposition 7, which dedicates some revenues from the states general sales and use tax, the motor vehicle sales tax and the rental tax to the State Highway Fund, according to TxDOT. The sales and use tax portion began collection in fiscal year 2018 (September 2017); the others begin in fiscal year 2020.

MPO board Chairman and Odessa Mayor David Turner was absent Monday. Vice Chairman and Midland County Commissioner Robin Donnelly filled in. Other board members present were Midland City Councilman John B. Love III, Ector County Judge Ron Eckert, Martin County Judge Bryan Cox and TxDOT Odessa District Engineer John Speed. Midland-Odessa Urban Transit District General Manager Rob Stephens was absent.

In other business:

 TxDOT will host a public meeting 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sibley Nature Center to discuss and receive public comments about the construction of an overpass at Loop 250 and county roads 1150 and 60.

 The Permian Road Safety Coalition will host its Goal Zero rally at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 2 at the Horseshoe Arena Education Building. Goal Zero is a campaign to have one day without any vehicle wrecks in the Permian Basin.

The next MPO meeting is 5 p.m. Nov. 20 at the MPO offices at 9601 Wright Drive, Suite 1. Meetings are open to the public.
Community members wanting to provide input that Midland ISD leaders can use in its next strategic plan can attend one of the remaining two Listen and Learn events.

The fourth of five meetings is scheduled to take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at True-Lite Fellowship, 3001 N. A St. The final Listen and Learn event is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Martinez Bakery, 206 E. Florida Ave.

After the fifth meeting, we will do a full breakdown of the consensus from the posters (where ideas are ranked), and from each of those, we will create a strategic plan for a direction moving forward, said Elise Kail, executive director of Accountability and Data Systems for the district. We will develop a plan in support of what we are doing or wanting to change.

At Listen and Learn events, community members are brought up to speed on what is taking place inside the district and then have the opportunity to provide input on things the district should keep doing, things the district should stop doing and things the district should start doing.

Superintendent Orlando Riddick told the Reporter-Telegram previously that Listen and Learn sessions are not like traditional town hall events.

I want to hear your concern; I want you to be vested, and I want you to be involved, Riddick said after the first Listen and Learn event in September. I want you to hold me accountable for the actions that come out based on the information we collected.

Kail said about 150 members from the community have attended the first three Listen and Learn events held at Crestview Baptist Church, Brew St. and Casa de Amigos. Midland ISD officials are hoping for standing room only for the last two.

The community has been open and participatory in the meetings, Kail said.

Along with the information provided through Listen and Learn events, Midland ISD is taking community comments from people online about what they believe makes a great school. The district has the ability to take comments in English. Spanish and Hakha Chin.

Online:

MidlandISD.net\communityvision

midlandisd.net/midlandonthemove/home

The following are top items for input received from the first three Listen and Learn Tour events. The top five from each topic during each session are listed.

Sept. 14

Things to keep doing

-Keep professional learning communities and collaboration opportunities 34

-Keep expanding magnet schools and fine arts programs 27

-Keep growth mindset and no-excuses philosophy 19

-Keep communication from school to home in native language 13

-Keep over-communicating with parents 13

Things to stop doing

-Stop one-size-fits-all instruction 17

-Stop doing the things we always did just because we did them 16

-Stop overwhelming kids with homework 14

-Stop imposing politically correct agenda on our community and our kids 10

-Stop overcrowding classrooms 9

-Stop not communicating and wasting time and disrespecting adults, teachers and students 9

Things to start doing

-Start to plan for future bonds for elementary and secondary schools 28

-Start homework help after school 16

-Start recognizing importance of fine arts 16

-Start more vocational training 13

-Start preparing kids for the real world and thinking beyond graduation 12

Sept. 21

Things to keep doing

-Keep open communication and the efforts on shifting community perception 15

-Keep expecting excellence and creating bigger goals for self and students 14

-Keep magnet programs 13

-Keep vocational training 9

-Keep professional learning communities 4

Things to stop doing

-Stop allowing discipline disruptions 15

-Stop citing policy and rules over common sense 11

-Stop placing a focus only on college degrees 10

-Stop retaining teachers who dont want to or shouldnt be teaching 9

-Stop unhealthy food options 5

Things to start doing

-Start a bond for secondary 17

-Start growing mentoring and support quality teachers 13

-Start effective discipline and classroom management 10

-Start more opportunities for classes that prepare students with practical life skills 10

-Start recruiting students for career training 6

-Start providing all kids G1 learning opportunities

Oct. 12

Things to keep doing

-Keep professional learning communities 30

-Keep performing arts, career and technology and extracurricular activities 24

-Keep supporting teachers 15

-Keep all aspects of communications methods possible in multiple directions 11

-Keep positive discipline 8

Things to stop doing

-Stop lower expectations for challenging students 13

-Stop the heavy emphasis on testing, which causes anxiety 9

-Stop singling out students in front of others 8

-Stop bussing kids away from their neighborhood schools 8

-Stop the cookie-cutter industrial model of education 8

Things to start doing

-Start curriculum development that includes cultural awareness and diversity 21

-Start new grade reconfiguration (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) 20

-Start more creative and parent-involved initiatives 19

-Start having administrators substitute for a day 7

-Start magnets at the secondary school level 6

-Start exposure to and resources for different student populations 6

-Start budgeting more for tutorials 6
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Gina Shore feels it in her bones: There must have been more.

Sure as the tick-tick of the clock winding down her brother's final hours. Certain as the needle the state of Texas will slip into his arm. Fixed as the gruesome fates of the four girls he raped and murdered.

"I know in my heart without a doubt that there are more," she said. "There had to have been other girls."

But if there are, the world may never know.

Now Playing: Researchers say they have now proven that a controversial diary actually belonged to Jack The Ripper. Josh King has the story. Video: JW Player

Anthony Shore, the notorious Tourniquet Killer who terrorized the Bayou City in the 1980s and 1990s, is set to meet his fate Wednesday in Huntsville's death chamber.

APPEAL: Houston serial killer loses appeal one week before scheduled execution

"I think it will give closure," Gina said. "Then when people ask what about him, we can just say he's dead."

The 55-year-old former telephone technician was sent to death row in 2004, after confessing to the rapes and murders then begging the court for capital punishment.

He'd escaped detection for nearly two decades, but ultimately it was DNA  put on file after he was convicted of molesting his daughters and forced to register as a sex offender  that brought police to his door.

Since arriving on death row, he's waged a war against the state's harshest punishment, filing appeals blaming everything from ineffective lawyers to previously unrealized brain damage.

As of Monday, courts had slapped down all his last-ditch bids for life and the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles had turned down his request for clemency, according to Shore's attorney, Knox Nunnally.

Yet Shore's youngest sister, Laurel Scheel, holds a creeping fear of a darker chance for a stay  a last-minute slew of confessions. Houston police and the Harris County Sheriff's Office both confirmed he is not considered a suspect in any open cases.

But his family members  who spoke extensively to the Chronicle  have their doubts.

"He's good at keeping things hidden," Laurel said.

Since his sentencing, Shore has been tight-lipped with the media, even as he fired off a regular string of upbeat and neatly penned missives to his family.

"I will likely get a stay, but ya' just never know," he wrote his father in July, the same day a judge greenlit prosecutors' request for an October execution. "I'd prefer to live a bit longer but am ready if it's God's will."



Decades before his name became synonymous with a trail of bodies, Anthony Shore was a little boy with promise.

Smart as a whip and talented at any instrument set before him, he was "a musical prodigy who never realized his potential," as author Corey Mitchell wrote in his 2007 true-crime tale of the case.

"All my girlfriends were in love with him because he was so charismatic and cute," Laurel, now 47, said of her older brother, who taught her how to fight.

Their father's work with NASA forced the family to move cross-country repeatedly, but otherwise it was a normal upbringing.

"The only messed up part of my childhood was that my mom and dad split up," Gina, now 53, recalled.

But there were early signs something was amiss. Tony killed a neighbor's cat when he was 5 or 6, "because he didn't want it to run away," Gina said.

DATE WITH DEATH: Houston's 'Tourniquet Killer' set for October execution

And as he grew older, his pastimes grew more sinister. He used his sister as bait to lure young girls outside. He once boasted that he and some friends had beaten a homeless man to death behind a grocery store.

Some actions, though, seemed off-kilter only in retrospect, like the time he told his mom his favorite thing about his girlfriend was "the nape of her neck."

It seemed innocent enough at the time.

"But then he turned out to be a strangler," Laurel said.

After spending the later part of his childhood in California, Tony moved back to Texas as a young adult.

He settled down and got married. He had two daughters.

He got a job. He joined a band.

And he became a serial killer.

In 1986, he slaughtered 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay, snatching the girl up on her way to the bus stop. Six years later, he raped and murdered 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada before leaving her naked body in the drive-through of a Spring Branch Dairy Queen.

In 1994, he killed 9-year-old Diana Rebollar. When her battered body was found, she was wearing only a black Halloween T-shirt  and a ligature twisted around her neck.

Less than a year later, he murdered 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, then reportedly called a local TV station to report a serial killer on the loose.

All of the victims were raped and tortured before he strangled them with handmade tourniquets.

When he finally confessed to the four murders and another rape, his family was shocked. But they believed it right away.

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind," Laurel said. "Because of what he did to his daughters."

For years, Gina suspected something was amiss in her brother's household. Five times, she says, she reported her concerns to child-welfare authorities in Texas.

During a visit to Texas in 1995, one of Gina's friends reported Tony for child endangerment after noticing the windows nailed shut.

"They were locked in the house, they had no running water and no power," Gina said.

But it wasn't until the girls visited family on the West Coast in 1997  during Tony's honeymoon following marriage to a woman 14 years his junior  that the truth came out.

Even after his conviction forced him on the sex offender registry in 1998, it took another five years before authorities finally tested cold-case evidence and matched a murder to Shore.

"I think he knew he was going to get caught," Laurel said.

Even as he waits out his last days behind bars, his family still describes him as a master manipulator. A control freak. A man always seeking to control the narrative.

But he confessed when it suited him. He asked for death when it suited him. And he argued for life when that suited him instead.

Years ago, Laurel said, she predicted an end-of-the-line appeal hinging on medical issues.

"And sure as s***, that was his last plea," she said, referencing the claims of brain damage from a 1981 car wreck that left him with mangled hands and a wire in his jaw.

"I think it's a load of crap," said his younger daughter, Tiffany Hall, now 32 and living in Arizona.

Gina simply snorted in derision.

"The only reason I can see him wanting a stay is so he can torture his victims and his family by being alive."

But whenever death comes calling for Anthony Shore, his family won't be there to watch.

His father, Rob Shore, plans to stay home. Gina and her mother, who now live together in Washington, may stop to remember him  but not fondly.

"I would have never been for the death penalty if it had not been for my brother," Gina said.

Laurel agrees. "He should be killed," she said. "He was a good brother, but he's not a good person."

Now living in Oklahoma, she drove down to the Houston area a few days before the execution. But she's not heading to Huntsville to watch.

"We'll probably go to the beach or something," she said.

Amber Shore  the killer's older daughter  hasn't been heard from in years, but her sister deemed it unlikely she'd attend.

"The final slap in the face for him would be to pretend that he's not important enough," Tiffany, his youngest daughter, said Monday. "His own children think he's insignificant."

For Tiffany, it'll be an almost normal day. Formerly a sheriff's deputy and now in the Air National Guard, the single mother is working her way through college for a second time. She's got a three-year-old to raise and forensic science classes to complete.

"Honestly, I have a biology lab and calculus that day. So I'm going to go to school," she said. "Maybe I'll see a movie later if I have free time."
Texas is among the top 10 states where man-on-women homicide is most common, according to a new study by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit organization against gun violence.

Using FBI crime data, researcher looked at 1,686 incidents of murder across the U.S. where the victim was female and the assailant was male.
He, however, asserted the state govt should also respect its limits that it's not their job to run universities.
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What's become known as the "Comfort Quilt" is being handed from Orlando to another city that needs comfort.

Orlando, Orange County leaders present Las Vegas with 'Comfort Quilt'

Quilt was made by Ohio schoolchildren after 9/11 attacks

Quilt symbolizes unity, caring, warmth and love



The quilt is being presented to Las Vegas after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

It's hard to lose the memories of the Las Vegas massacre and the 58 people who died and the hundreds of others were injured. You also can't forget the words, "We are thankful, we are blessed," which have appeared on the comfort quilt for years.

"It symbolizes caring, warmth, letting folks know that they're not alone, that we understand and that we're praying for them and that we love them and we support them," Orange County Vice Mayor Victoria Siplin said Tuesday.

Elementary school kids in Ohio made the quilt right after the 9/11 attacks for children who were the same age and needed comfort after losing family members.

The quilt has been to many places since then, and now it goes from Orlando to Vegas  along with a signed banner from the city.

"Love always conquers hate; we're living proof of that," Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said. "And (we want) to share with them our experience of strength, and unity and resilience."

It's also to let the people of Las Vegas know that they, as Jacobs put it, are strong and united, too.

The banner that's going with the quilt was signed by the Central Florida LGBT community, and it will soon have the signatures of the Orange County Commission.
The Plainview Downtown Restoration project was among four groups receiving grants in Lubbock on Tuesday from the E. Jay Matsler Trust for Historic Preservation.

The funds, totaling $20,000, were presented by Community Foundation of West Texas President Stephen Warren. The presentations came during a press conference at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture, in front of a 1925 Pullman train car which is included among the four preservation projects.

Congratulations to all of the grants recipients, Warren commented. We can't wait to see what you do to preserve history in your community.

The E. Jay Matsler Trust was established with a bequest of $348,000 for supporting historic preservation projects in Lubbock and Hale counties. Matslers gift to the Community Foundation of West Texas reflects his roots as the child of a Hale County pioneer family and avid supporter of historic preservation.

Because of Matslers generosity, funding will be available from the E. Jay Matsler Trust every year for generations to come for a variety of important local historic preservation projects. Since the inception of this fund in 2014, the Matsler Endowment has granted $59,250 for historic preservation projects.

Blair Willson, representing Plainview Downtown Restoration, accepted the grant funding for work on the east entry and exterior lightning restoration at the Skaggs Building at Seventh and Broadway. That group is working to restore the downtown office building to its former glory. The last time the exterior lights were used to illuminate the now-vacant structure was 25 years ago, when it was used as a backdrop for scenes in the Steve Martin film, Leap of Faith.

The other projects include:

--Slaton Railroad Heritage Association: Early 1900s Fort Worth and Denver caboose interior restoration

--Lubbock County Historical Commission: Lubbock County courthouse cannon restoration

--Lubbock Heritage Society: Underwood Pullman car preservation project

Edward Jay Matsler was born at home on Aug. 7, 1939, in the Liberty community north of Plainview to the late Grover C. and Lura Nell Matsler, a Hale County pioneer family. He died on Dec. 31, 2013, in Lubbock at the age of 74. A Lubbock resident since 1954, he graduated Lubbock High School and Texas Tech University and began his 40-year banking career, retiring from Wells Fargo Bank as vice president and trust officer. He was active in the Lubbock community and a volunteer on several boards and organizations.

The Community Foundation of West Texas works to improve the quality of life in all of the communities in its 15-county region by providing leadership for effective philanthropy that builds enduring assets and by promoting community solutions through research, convenings, and actions that advance the common good.
The Texas Department of Transportation has released a draft of the Texas Freight Mobility Plan 2017, and will be accepting comments on the report until Thursday, Oct. 26.

Officials with the Ports-to-Plains Trade Alliance point out the importance for local and area residents to voice their support for the Ports-to-Plains Corridor, and particularly the extension of Interstate 27.

The Texas Freight Mobility Plan includes several components that are compatible with the goals of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance. It recognizes the importance of rural transportation, with the entire Ports-to-Plains Corridor in the state included in the Texas Highway Freight Network. A segment of the corridor is designated as a Critical Rural Freight Corridor, and several projects on the route are listed in the recommended projects list.

One item that the Ports-to-Plains Alliance would like to see directly addressed in the Plan is the extension of Interstate 27. With freight tonnage projected to double by 2045 and existing interstates forecasted to see increased congestion and declining level of service, the extension of I-27 would undoubtedly improve freight movement in the state.

Texas does not have a major north-south Interstate west of I-35. Extending I-27 will fill a major gap in Texas highway network and provide an economic development boom for West Texas.

The groups preliminary draft of comments to TxDOT explains, Extending Interstate 27 will provide a much-needed alternative Interstate highway that can funnel some of that freight traffic away from bottlenecks in urban areas. The 2015 Texas Freight Mobility Plan noted this saying, The state must focus not only on improving existing facilities, but also on developing future freight corridors to move products to markets and exports. It goes on to recommend that TxDOT give additional consideration to the extension or designation of other interstate routes. Examples include I-27 and upgrades to portions of US 190 to interstate standards.

The 2015 TFMP also stated, By 2040, over 73 percent of Texas population and 82 percent of the states employment is projected to be located within five miles of an interstate. With that in mind, extending Interstate 27 is critically important to create balanced growth in the state, and to ensure that West Texas can compete economically.

Comments may be submitted through Oct. 26 via:

 Email at TxDOT_Freight@txdot.gov

 Postal mail addressed to TxDOT Freight and International Trade Section,

125 E. 11th St., Austin, TX 78704 (mailed comments must be postmarked by Oct. 26, 2017.)
The development of wind energy resources in Briscoe County has proven to be a mixed blessing for Silverton ISD which, because of increasing property values, is being required to hold an election to determine voter preferences on methods to pursue to equalize its level of wealth as required by Chapter 41.

That election is set for Nov. 7. Early voting will be held weekdays Oct. 23 through Nov. 3 at the Briscoe County Clerks Office in Silverton.

According to a public notice from Silverton ISD published Oct. 5 in the Caprock Courier, during the 2017-18 school year, Silverton ISD is expected to collect more local taxes in relation to its students (the wealth-per-student) than what the state permits. As a result, the district is classified as a property-wealthy school district under Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code.

That provision requires Silverton and other wealthy districts to reduce or equalize wealth-per-student level to the state average for any year they are classified as property-wealthy. Its commonly called the Robin Hood statute.

Although voters in Silverton ISD recently approved a bond issue and construction is now under way, the bond election has no bearing on Silvertons designation as a property-wealthy district, and proceeds from the bond issue will not be calculated in any tax revenue redistribution.

Texas school districts levy two types of property taxes: M&O  maintenance and operations taxes -- and I&S -- interest and sinking fund taxes. Revenues from M&O taxes are used for the day-to-day operation of the district such as teacher salaries, books, utilities and food. I&S taxes can only be used to pay debt service on bonds which have been approved by voters. Bond funds can only be used for capital improvements such as Silvertons construction project.

Chapter 41 provides various methods for schools to share their M&O tax revenues with other school districts, but not I&S funds. Voters will have an opportunity to determine how Silverton ISD reduces its wealth-per-student in this one-time only election.

The state outlines five methods that can be used for recapturing wealth:

Option 1: Consolidate with another district

Option 2: Detach property. Property would be de-annexed by Silverton ISD and given to a nearby school district.

Option 3: Purchase attendance credits from the state. This option requires voter approve. It allows payment of recapture funds directly to the state.

Option 4: Contract to educate nonresident students from a partner district. This option requires voter approval. It allows payment of the amount of recapture to a property-poor district.

Option 5: Consolidate tax bases with another district. This option requires voter approval.

Options 3 and 4 are the options most commonly chosen, since they allow districts to retain control of district operations and are not permanent. Any year that a district is not considered property-wealthy, it is not required to send money to the state or to a property-poor district. The other three choices (Options 1, 2 and 5) are less common since they involve consolidation or tax-base sharing, loss of local control, and are permanent and non-reversible.

The ballot being put before Silverton ISD voters lists both Option 3 and Option 4. If neither option receive voter approval, then the Texas Commissioner of Education is required to select either Option 1 or Option 2 for Silverton ISD. Option 1 would require Silverton ISD to consolidate with another district, such as rival Valley. Option 2 would permanently detach a portion of Silverton ISDs property and attach it to another district.

The Nov. 7 election will ask voters to approve either Option 3 or Option 4, or both, so that Silverton ISD can equalize its wealth level as required by Chapter 41.
Voters in Tulia ISD will be heading to the polls Nov. 7 to determine the fate of a $13 million bond proposal on facility improvements on several campuses.

Early voting is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30-Nov. 3, at the Health & Human Services Offices, 219 SE Second, Tulia. Election Day voting, on Nov. 7, is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., in the Health & Human Services building for those in Voting Precincts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9; and Kress ISD Administration Office, 200 E. Fifth Ave., Kress, for Voting Precincts 6 and 11.

The bond election follows an assessment of school district buildings led by Dr. Paul Trautman of Houston-based Genesis Partnership, a consulting firm that works with the Texas Association of School Administrators. Also, a study committee composed of Tulia ISD residents spent six months compiling and evaluating the needs of the district.

At a recent meeting of the Texas Retired Teachers Association in Tulia, it was noted that the districts newest facility is the Tulia Junior High Annex, built in 1993, followed by Highland Elementary in 1967. Tulia High School was built in 1956, Tulia Junior High in 1924 and Dallas Street Gym in 1954.

If approved by voters, the proposed improvements include:

--Construction of new high school classrooms

--Renovation of classrooms

--Construction and expansion of Highland Elementary to include Grades 3-5

--Relocation of Swinburn Elementary to Highland Elementary

--Renovation of Tulia High School office areas, including the addition of safety entrances

--Remodeling and renovation of the high school auditorium.

School officials note that projects may not be constructed in any specific order, and are subject to change as the districts needs are further assessed and refined.

If the bond package is approved, it will required a projected maximum I&S (Interest and Sinking Fund) tax rate of $0.267 per $100 valuation. However, the district will qualify for the states Existing Debt Allotment funding program, which will allow Tulia ISD to receive about $11.9 million in state funds to help pay the annual principal and interest over the life of the bonds.

The impact of the $0.267 I&S tax rate increase on a Tulia ISD taxpayer with a home valued at $50,000 would be $66.75 per year or $5.56 per month. For someone with a $75,000 home, the added cost would be $133.50 per year or $11.13 per month. On a $100,000 home, it would be $200.25 per year or $16.69 per month. For a $150,000 home, the cost is $333.75 per year or $27.81 per month.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has doubled the reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the 1982 murder of a 19-year-old college student.

For this month only, DPS is offering $6,000 to anyone who has details into the murder of Ruth Elizabeth Bettis, who was found dead in a pasture near Sprinkle Cutoff Road, east of Dessau Road, in Travis County on. Nov. 25, 1982, DPS stated in a news release. She had been sexually assaulted and shot to death.
SOUTHINGTON  Thirteen Town Council candidates shared their views this week at a forum held at the Southington Public Library.



Six Democrats, six Republicans and one unaffiliated candidate participated in the forum Tuesday night moderated by veteran newscaster Al Terzi. Candidates answered questions on topics ranging from the budget, to opioid addiction and senior tax breaks.



Several candidates spoke on the topic of regionalization.



William Dziedzic, an attorney and Republican challenger, said other states have regionalized their probate courts and placed them under the superior courts. While Connecticut has moved to regional probate courts, Dziedzic said, it could do more to save money in the court system.



It would save us a ton of money in regards to probate courts and expenses, he said.



John Barry, a Democratic incumbent, said the effort to increase regionalization has to overcome the states tradition of town control over services. There is an opportunity to save money and reduce the number of managers through combining with other municipalities, he said.



Towns and cities are struggling. Regionalization is moving forward, Barry added. You will continue to see regionalization because it saves money.



Jack Perry, an unaffiliated candidate, said the next council has to look closely into regionalization, which is common in other parts of the country.



Regionalizing may be better so we could reduce some of our management in town, he said.



The effort was important, according to Perry, since towns cant continue on their present course.



I think we have to do things different. The old ways arent working, he said.



Peter Santago, a Republican challenger, was asked about the growth of residential development in town. He said it does add to the services the town must provide, but that it spoke well for Southington that people wanted to move in.



People want to move in because this is a good place to live, he said. Its a good thing that people want to move in.



Its important to increase commercial economic development, according to Santago, as well as control spending.



Dawn Miceli, an incumbent Democrat, said the new housing developments did come at a cost to the town. Buying open space helps prevent over-development and protect the character of Southington.



Im an ardent proponent of open space, she said.



She disputed the idea that there is little open land left, saying the town has identified 550 acres worth of large parcels.



There is land out there but we do need a strategy, Miceli said.



Christopher Poulos, a Democratic challenger, said the towns growth has brought new groups in addition to the ethnicities historically represented. He said he takes his children to the Italian-American Festival, has heard Sikhs speak before the council and attends a church with many parishioners of Polish descent.



We have a responsibility to make sure our kids grow up exposed to diversity, Poulos said. Were in a global world now.



Paul Champagne, a Republican incumbent, talked about the opioid epidemic and urged residents to take action.



You need to look into your medicine cabinets and see whats there, he said. You need to control this yourself.



Extra pills can end up in the hands of youths and adults must remain vigilant in protecting young people from addiction.



Carolyn Futtner, a Democratic challenger, talked about her willingness to work with members of other parties. As an attorney, shes accustomed to dealing with people who may be hostile.



Futtner also said she wants to open up government more to residents.



We need a little bit more transparency, she said. What Ive been hearing from a lot of citizens is to have more public meetings, to have the public involved.



Victoria Triano, a Republican incumbent, said Southington is an aging town and the older population sometimes has trouble living on fixed incomes.



We have to continue to look at tax incentives for our seniors. Right now we have some on the books but we do need to continue, she said. We have to start making some accommodations for our seniors,



Chris Palmieri, a Democratic incumbent, said a proposal for senior tax relief was rejected by voters years ago but should be revisited. Other towns have such programs to aid those struggling.



Id like an opportunity to explore tax relief for our seniors, he said.



Tom Lombardi, a Republican incumbent, responded to Democratic criticisms of Republican spending. He said there are rarely serious suggestions to bring down town expenses.



If you want to make tax cuts, lets be real and lets be transparent with the public. Lets talk about what were going to cut, he said.



Lombardi encouraged residents to read the towns budget book and come forward with their ideas.



Michael Riccio, a Republican incumbent and current Town Council chairman, talked about the efforts to re-gentrify the towns centers. That requires people, he said, which drive business.



You have to have people living there with money to spend, he said. Thats going to help re-gentrify our downtown.



Some businesses that opened downtown in anticipation of major housing developments that have stalled have since gone under. Riccio said the town needs to move those things along to spur activity.



Kelly Morrissey, a Democratic challenger, said despite dire news from the state, Southington was a healthy town and could weather major state aid cuts.



We are going to be OK, we just need to manage what we have and we need to make smart choices, she said.



That would require compromises and balancing the interests of different groups. Residents also need to know what the options are.



There isnt always going to be an easy answer, she said. Its about not making rash decisions.



jbuchanan@recordjournal.com 203-317-2230 Twitter: @JBuchananRJ






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Firefighters have finally managed to dig, burn and bulldoze containment lines around nearly all the North Bay fires, and smiles were at last beginning to appear Wednesday on faces of the people holding the hoses and shovels.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said it now had a handle on the major fires that only days ago were raging wildly out of control as they cut multiple paths of death and destruction in the North Bay and beyond. The death toll went up by one Wednesday to 42.

We were pretty successful getting good containment, said Cal Fire Deputy Chief Bret Gouvea. We stopped the forward progress (and) we have containment lines around those fires.

As more evacuation orders were lifted in Sonoma and Napa counties and residents returned home, traffic jams began to settle over the area, accompanied by frayed tempers and impatience.

Now Playing: The Bear Fire broke out Monday night in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It burned buildings and prompted numerous evacuations around Boulder Creek. Video: Trisha Thadani / SF Chronicle

With tens of thousands of residents being allowed to return to their neighborhoods, Gouvea said, a lot of people are going to the same area all at once. He pleaded for cautious, courteous driving.

As of Wednesday night, the Tubbs Fire was 91 percent contained. The Atlas, Nuns and Pocket fires were at 84 percent, 80 percent and 63 percent containment respectively, Cal Fire said.

Full containment could come sooner rather than later, if we keep getting cooperation from Mother Nature, Cal Fire spokesman Jay Smith said.

Sonoma County authorities announced their death toll grew by one overnight  bringing the overall fatality count in the Northern California disaster to 42.

Of the deaths, 23 occurred in Sonoma County, seven in Napa County  including a volunteer firefighter who crashed a water truck  eight in Mendocino County and four in Yuba County.

The latest death was confirmed Wednesday by Giordano, who added that the body was recovered in the Fountaingrove area of Santa Rosa. The person, whose name was not released, died when the Tubbs Fire, the deadliest of the blazes, swept through the area.

The Sonoma County Sheriffs office also released the names Wednesday of two people killed in the fires. They were identified as Monte Neil Kirven, 81, and Marilyn Carol Ress, 71, both of Santa Rosa.

Of the nearly 2,000 people reported missing in the fires, 50 remain unaccounted for in Sonoma County.

A hundred miles to the south, the Bear Fire that started in the Santa Cruz Mountains late Monday continued its moderate spread Wednesday after destroying at least four structures, injuring six firefighters, blackening more than 270 acres and causing residents in some 150 homes to evacuate.

Fire officials had to ground aerial attacks on the blaze for about 90 minutes Wednesday due to a rogue drone being flown illegally in the area. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff Office also said they arrested a suspected looter who broke into an evacuated home on Hidden Springs Lane and stole about $15,000 worth of jewelry and a bicycle. He was identified as Marlon Coy, 54, of Boulder Creek.

The steep, rugged terrain in the area has posed the greatest challenge and contributed to injuries to firefighters, said Angela Bernheisel, a Cal Fire spokeswoman. One firefighter who fell from about 30 feet Tuesday remained hospitalized and may need surgery to repair cuts to his face, she said. Another firefighter suffered second-degree burns to his hands early Wednesday and was being treated at a hospital, Bernheisel said.

The Bear Fire was 10 percent contained Wednesday, as firefighters went about the task of preventing the wildfire from spreading to homes in the Las Cumbres community, which have been evacuated.

The fire activity has calmed down a lot, Bernheisel said. Surrounding communities outside of the evacuation area are not a threat. Those areas dont need to be concerned about this fire.

Up north, with continued progress, full containment  meaning the fires will no longer be able to spread  is expected for all Sonoma County wildfires by Friday, officials said.

Thats still the goal. Were on track for that, Jones said. Were hoping we hit it.

Rain forecast to arrive in the area Thursday could help. Light rain is expected to arrive Thursday evening and likely continue into the night in the North Bay, National Weather Service forecaster Steve Anderson said. And there was a 30 percent chance of light rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Thursday night.

Winds will be light and temperatures moderate in both areas, Anderson said.

In the Wine Country, businesses were continuing to unlock their doors and encourage customers to come back and help with their presence and with their dollars.

The Hagafen Winery in Napa, said to be the only kosher winery in the area, was open again on Wednesday  and had a total of one visitor in its first two hours.

The winerys tasting room  where bottles were selling for $30 to $600  was largely undamaged, although the winery lost tractors, equipment and a chicken coop to the fire.

Jenna Lyons and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com and srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno

Helping and getting help

FEMA is offering assistance to fire victims. Information: www.disasterassistance.gov or call (800) 621-3362.

The Red Cross is organizing relief efforts. Evacuees trying to connect with others should post on the organizations Safe and Well website: www.redcross.org/safeandwell.

Community volunteers who want to help with relief efforts can sign up with the Red Cross at http://tinyurl.com/RedCrossVolOctober2017.

Donations to help those affected by wildfires and other disasters can be made at www.redcross.org. People can also call (800) 733-2767 or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

To report or ask about a missing person in Sonoma County, call the county Fire and Emergency Services Department: (707) 565-3856.

For tips on how to prepare for a wildfire, go to: www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/wildfire.

For fire information in Sonoma County, call (707) 565-3856.

Donations to help fire victims can be made here: https://www.redwoodcu.org.

To help Tubbs Fire victims, donate at http://biturl.in/64.

Food donations can be made at the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa: http://refb.org.
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These are the developments in the North Bay fires as of 12:15 p.m. Wednesday. Click here to see the latest updates:

12:15 p.m. Flu vaccine clinics closed in Napa County: Napa County Public Health has canceled all free flu vaccine clinics because of the fire response, according to county officials. The clinics are usually run annually during the flu season. Clinics will be rescheduled, officials said.

Anyone seeking more information can call (707) 253-4270.

11:33 a.m. Air operations on Bear Fire in Santa Cruz Mountains grounded as officials seek to identify drone: Crucial aerial firefighting operations on the Bear Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains had stopped since about 10:30 a.m. as officials removed a rogue drone from the area, said Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office officials. Air operations on the fire resumed about noon.

Now Playing: Wine Country Fires Video: San Francisco Chronicle

It is against the law to fly a drone in a disaster zone. The incident grounded air operations as authorities seek to identify the owner, said Sgt. Chris Clark, a sheriffs office spokesman.

Theres a lot of people trying to put this fire out, Clark said. This only slows that down.

The Bear Fire, which started Monday night in a structure off Bear Creek Road near Boulder Creek and spread to vegetation, had burned 271 acres by Wednesday morning and was 10 percent contained, according to Cal Fire estimations.

10:35 a.m. City of Napas Fire and Life Safety Day postponed due to unhealthy air quality from wildfires: Napa Fire Department had announced a month before destructive wildfires hit the region that Fire Life and Safety Day would be held at their No.1 fire station on Oct. 21. But city officials said Tuesday the event was postponed due to poor and unpredictable air quality.

10:05 a.m. President tweets message of support to California first responders: President Trump tweeted , Our hearts are with all affected by the wildfires in California. God bless our brave First Responders and @FEMA team. We support you! The tweet was quoted under a re-tweet of FEMA administrator Brock Long, who had a posted photo Tuesday on Twitter of officials from FEMA, California Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire surveying fire damage in Santa Rosa.

10 a.m. All evacuation warnings lifted in Mendocino County wildfire zone: All residents in areas of the deadly Mendocino County wildfires no longer need to prepare for further evacuations, Cal Fire announced Monday.

Residents had been allowed back to the area by 2 p.m. Monday, but evacuation warnings had remained in place for the Van Arsdale community north of Stroh Ranch on both sides of the Eel River in Potter Valley, including Van Arsdale Road, Oat Gap Road, Ridgewood Road, and all feeder roads in the area. Those warnings are now lifted.

Mendocino County was devastated by two fires. All eight deaths in the county stemmed from the 35,800-acre Redwood Valley Fire, now 75 percent contained, which started north of Highway 20 and west of the Mendocino National Forest. The 2,207-acre Sulphur Fire, which started off Highway 20 and Sulphur Bank Road, was 92 percent contained.

The fires destroyed 447 homes and hundreds of other structures, according to Cal Fire. The agency expects full containment in the county by Nov. 1, which means the fires will no longer be capable of spreading.

9:25 a.m. Deadliest of Northern California wildfires more than 90 percent contained: The 36,432-acre Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County  which accounted for at least 19 of the 42 deaths since wildfires hit the region Oct. 8  is 91 percent contained, according to Wednesday morning Cal Fire estimates. At least 23 people died in Sonoma Countys three major wildfires, with the most recent death confirmed Wednesday morning in the Tubbs Fire. The Sonoma County blazes  which include the Pocket and Nuns fires  have blackened more than 100,000 acres. The 12,430-acre Pocket Fire is at 63 percent containment and the Sonoma portion of the Nuns Fire, which is also burning in Napa County, is 34,398 acres and 80 percent contained. The Nuns Fire has burned a total of 54,423 acres. Full containment, which means the fires will no longer be able to spread, was expected Friday for Sonoma County.

9:15 a.m. Largest of Northern California wildfires merges with another blaze, but is 80 percent contained: The Nuns Fire straddling Napa and Sonoma counties has now merged with Sonoma Countys Oakmont Fire, the fifth wildfire it has consolidated with, Cal Fire officials said Wednesday. Fortunately, the 54,423-acre fire was 80 percent contained, according to Cal Fire estimates.

8:30 a.m. An estimated 22,000 people remain evacuated in Northern California wildfires: Tens of thousands of people have yet to return home after a series of large wildfires blackened more than 200,000 acres statewide, killing at least 42 people in the northern part of the state and destroying thousands of homes, Cal Fire officials said Tuesday. The agency advised residents who were already given the green light to return home to check out safety tips at www.fire.ca.gov.

6:30 a.m. Death toll rises to 42 in Northern California wildfires: Another fatality was confirmed in the Sonoma County wildfires, bringing the number of deaths in the county to 23 and the overall total to 42 in the Northern California disaster, officials said Wednesday.

The death was recorded sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, said Sonoma County Sheriffs Deputy Brandon Jones. Of the nearly 2,000 missing persons reports, 43 remain outstanding in the county, and 36 were transferred to other jurisdictions. The people named in the remaining 1,827 reports were accounted for, he said.

6 a.m. Countdown to rain  one more day: After last weeks dry, warm air and gusty weather aided rapid fire growth of the devastating North Bay wildfires, the temperatures have cooled, winds are light and fog has returned to the Bay Area. By Thursday, much-needed rain is forecast to finally reach the Northern California fire zones.

Somewhere between a tenth and a quarter inch of rain is expected in the North Bay, considered a decent rain that gets into the topsoil, said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A cold front coming in has already cooled the air, with relative humidity increasing from the 10 to 20 percent range to the still relatively low 20 to 30 percent range in the fire zones. The North Bay and the Santa Cruz mountains  the latest site of an uncontained wildfire  should have highs in the 70s, Canepa said.

Were at the point where were expecting a whole lot of improvement. It should be noticeable improvement. By late afternoon into the evening it should feel cooler, Canepa said Wednesday morning. Where the fires are at, the winds should be mainly light today.

Drizzle could begin as early as Wednesday night, but those amounts would be a barely measurable rainfall that wont do anything.

5:30 a.m. Fallon Fire near Dublin fully contained: The Fallon Fire near Tassajara and Fallon roads in Dublin was 100 percent contained overnight after scorching 118 acres of vegetation and prompting a mandatory evacuation, according to Alameda County Fire Department. Crews responded to the fire about 2 p.m. Tuesday, and fire officials issued a shelter in place order for the Dublin Ranch Golf Course area on the east side of Fallon Road and the Positano community because of heavy smoke in the area. An evacuation order issued for Signal Hill Drive, East Cog Hill Drive and Avalina Drive north to Ducale Way was lifted about 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday

8 p.m. New numbers released on major fires: CalFire released new acreage and containment numbers for fires burning in Northern California. The Bear Fire, which started on Monday night, is now 271 acres and 5 percent contained. The Nuns Fire is 52,894 acres and 78 percent contained; the Tubbs Fire 36,432 acres and 87 percent contained and the Atlas Fire 51,064 acres and 80 percent contained.

7:49 p.m Highway 101 fully reopened: All lanes of southbound Highway 101 are open after two small fires prompted a shutdown earlier in the day, California Highway Patrol said. Firefighters from the Marin County and Southern Marin fire departments will be on the scene overnight to tackle remaining hotspots, CHP said, but their work is not expected to impact the roads.

7 p.m. Highway 101 partially reopened: Two lanes on southbound Highway 101 were back open by 3:35 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. All southbound lanes were closed earlier in the day because of two new vegetation fire near the highway. The fires were each one to two acres in size and were under control earlier Tuesday afternoon.

6:35 p.m. Dublin fire decreases in size: The Alameda County Fire Department said that the Fallon Fire near Dublin is now only 118 acres, down from 180 earlier. The fire is 75 percent contained.

5:35 p.m. Evacuation orders lifted in Dublin: Firefighters made significant progress on the Fallon Fire near Dublin even as the blaze grew to 180 acres. The fire is now 75 percent contained, the Alemeda County Fire Department said, and the fires forward progress has been stopped.

All evacuation orders in Dublin have been lifted.

4:53 p.m. More evacuation orders lifted in Napa County: Napa County lifted the mandatory evacuation order for Green Valley Road on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The mandatory evacuation order for Partrick Road will be lifted at 5 p.m.

Wild Horse Valley Road east of Green Valley Road will remain under mandatory evacuation.

4:50 p.m. Police request assistance to identify arsonist: Investigators have ruled out all accidental causes for vegetation fire that burned three acres on Sunday afternoon near Seventh Street and Carmel Drive in Novato.

The fire prompted a temporary evacuation, threatening a cluster of homes, before it was brought under control in about an hour, Novato police said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and police have ruled it suspicious in nature. Anyone with information on the incident can contact the Novato Police Department by calling 414-899-7036.

4:39 p.m. Dublin fire spreads: The Alameda County Sheriffs Office said that the Dublin fire has grown to 100 acres and remains 20 percent contained.

4:31 p.m. Mandatory evacuations ordered for parts of Dublin: The Alameda County Sheriffs Office ordered a mandatory evacuation for Dublin on Signal Hill Drive, Eastbound Cog Hill Drive and Avalina North to Ducale. The Wave at Emerald Glen Park is currently serving as an evacuation site.

4 p.m. Shelter in place issued for areas near 40-acre fire in Dublin: A vegetation fire that formed off Tassajara and Fallon roads in Dublin grew to 40 acres and was 20 percent contained Tuesday afternoon, according to the Alameda County Fire Department. A shelter in place order was issued for the Dublin Ranch on the east side of Fallon Road and the Positano communities because of heavy smoke in the area, fire officials said.

3:25 p.m. More acres burned in the last 9 days in California than the past 9 months: The series of deadly wildfires in Northern California, along with wildfires across the state, have burned an estimated 245,776 acres between Oct. 8 and Oct. 16. Thats nearly 12,000 acres more than recorded for the first nine months of the year, in which 233,969 acres burned from Jan. 1 to Oct. 8, according to Cal Fire.

During fall is when CA sees some of its most damaging fires. Dont let your guard down - #FireSeason is not over! http://ReadyForWildfire.org, the agency tweeted.

Of the top 20 deadliest wildfires in modern state history, three occurred in the past week, and more than half on the list occurred during the month of October.

This years Tubbs Fire ranked third on the deadliest list, with 18 fatalities confirmed. Topping the list was the 47-acre Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles County that killed 29 people in 1933. Second was the 1,600-acre Oakland Hills Fire in 1991 that killed 25 people. Both fires took place in October.

3:15 p.m. Power restored to most Northern California wildfires area, but some 17,000 still without gas: More than 96 percent of the 359,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers who lost power during the wildfires have had electric service restored, the utility said Tuesday afternoon. The energy company cut gas service to 42,000 customers as a precautionary measure due to the wildfires, officials said. More than 25,000 customers have had their gas service restored, PG&E estimated.

2:45 p.m. New vegetation fire starts in Dublin: A vegetation fire that had burned at least 30 acres after starting near Fallon and Tassajara roads in Dublin was spreading at a moderate rate of speed, according to the Alameda County Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to the scene shortly before 2 p.m., fire officials said. No structures were threatened.

2:30 p.m. Evacuation orders lifted for some Santa Rosa neighborhoods: Residents of the Oakmont neighborhood in Santa Rosa, including all streets south of Highway 12 and east of Calistoga Road to Pythian Road, will be allowed to return to their homes, according to Santa Rosa Police Department.

All northbound roads off Highway 12, including Highway 12 eastbound at Pythian Road, is still under mandatory evacuation.

The medical complex located at 3536 and 3540 Mendocino avenues was also cleared to be reopened. Motorists must use Steele Lane and head north to Mendocino Avenue to access the complex, police said.

Please drive slowly and yield to emergency personnel in the area. As you re-enter your property and evaluate damage, be aware that hazardous conditions may exist, particularly if a residence or outbuilding has burned, the department statement read. Hazards may include asbestos, heavy metals, byproducts of plastic combustion and various other chemicals.

2 p.m. Some schools in Napa, Sonoma counties to remain closed all week due to wildfires: Napa Valley Unified School District locations will not welcome back students until Monday, Oct. 23, at the earliest, the district announced Tuesday. Earlier, officials had planned to resume classes Wednesday after fires tore through the region.

In Sonoma County, schools have various reopening dates. A detailed list of school closures is available online.

1:45 p.m. Volunteer firefighter killed in Northern California wildfires IDd: The volunteer firefighter who was killed when he crashed a water truck near a fire line in Napa County was identified Tuesday by the county coroner as a 38-year-old Missouri man.

Garrett Paiz was driving a privately owned water tender on Oakville Grade round 7 a.m. on Monday west of Highway 29 and north of Yountville when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Napa Sheriffs deputies, Cal Fire, National Guard units, and various law enforcement agencies escorted Paiz body from the scene, according to a statement from the Napa County Sheriff.

Paiz was the latest person to die in a series of Northern California wildfires that began on Oct. 8 and have killed at least 41 people.

1:15 p.m. Brush fire closes southbound Highway 101 near Marin City: All lanes of southbound Highway 101 were closed Tuesday afternoon as crews responded to a new brush fire near the freeway at Rodeo Avenue in Marin City, authorities said.

The fire was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 11:58 a.m. Fire crews are on the scene battling the blaze, according to the Mill Valley Police Department.

CHP does not have an estimate on when the highway will reopen. Traffic is being diverted off the freeway at Marin City. Drivers should avoid the area.

12:30 p.m. Bear Fire in Santa Cruz Mountains now 200 acres: The wildfire that started at a structure on Bear Creek Road and spread through the Santa Cruz Mountains late Monday grew to 200 acres and was 5 percent contained Tuesday, according to a Cal Fire report. About 150 homes were threatened and four structures had been destroyed.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office released an updated list of evacuations.

Evacuations for the Bear Creek area include Bear Creek Canyon, Sunset Ridge, Hartman Creek, Lost Valley, Golden Ridge, Hawk Ridge, Dons Road, Rons Road, and Double Bear.

In the Las Cumbres area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Favre Ridge, Beatty Ridge, Grizzly Rock, Milter Ridge, Reed Knoll Road, Knuth, Oak Ridge, Skyline Ridge and a portion of Skyline Boulevard have been evacuated.

The fire has injured five firefighters, including an inmate firefighter. All were expected to recover. About 250 firefighters were attempting to contain the wildland fire, which was only moving at a moderate speed.

Were trying to get as much direct line as we can. Were going right on the fires edge, said assistant Cal Fire Chief Rob Sherman. Its very steep out there.

Light winds worked in firefighters favor of firefighters, but low humidity and high temperatures in the lower 80s posed challenges.

The fire is burning in steep inaccessible terrain covered by drought stressed fuels and moving north into heavy timber, according to Cal Fire.

12:12 p.m. Santa Rosa accepting Halloween costumes for kid wildfire evacuees: Anyone who wants to donate new costumes to the children of families touched by the wildfires can drop them off at Santa Rosa Police Department headquarters at 965 Sonoma Avenue by Monday. The costumes should be new and can be of any size, police said.

11:45 a.m. Number of open missing persons cases continue to drop in Sonoma County: The number of missing people still unaccounted for in Sonoma County has dropped to 65, according to the county Office of Emergency Services.

The majority of the reports stemmed from communication difficulties spawned by faulty cell service in the aftermath of the wildfires, and resolved themselves when evacuees reconnected with loved ones.

The nearly 5,000 firefighters in Sonoma County made headway Monday on the four fires burning in the region: the Tubbs, Pocket, Oakmont and Nuns fires.

The deadliest of the Northern California fires was the 36,432-acre Tubbs Fire, which killed at least 18 people and was 82 percent contained.

The Pocket Fire at 12,430 acres was 58 percent contained. The Sonoma County side of the Nuns Fire, which is also burning in Napa County, was at 33,369 acres and was 68 percent contained. And the 1,029-acre Oakmont Fire was 27 percent contained, according to Cal Fire estimates.

Were making good progress. We got a lot more areas that are contained, said Dennis Rein, a fire information officer for the county. Buttoning up the Oakmont Fire  thats the priority for today.

11:15 a.m. Boil water notices no longer in effect for Fountaingrove and White Oak in Santa Rosa: Residents in Santa Rosas Fountaingrove and White Oak neighborhoods are no longer required to boil water used for drinking and cooking, according to city officials. Water quality testing reportedly confirmed the liquids were safe after wildfires caused the water system to lose pressure.

The notice was not lifted for evacuated areas, where no one should have access to the neighborhood, city officials said.

10:30 a.m. More than 34,000 remain evacuated in Northern California wildfires: As weather improves and firefighters gain control of deadly wildfires in the region, some evacuees have been allowed to re-enter wildfire zones, but tens of thousands remain evacuated, according to a Tuesday morning Cal Fire report.

At least 12 large wildfires are burning across the state, including one that started Monday night in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Boulder Creek and had burned 152 acres and four structures by Tuesday morning.

Some of the big wildfires that started ignited during a wind storm on Oct. 8 in the Wine Country and elsewhere in Northern California, including Mendocino and Yuba counties, have consolidated or been contained. More than 245,000 acres have burned statewide, killing 41 people and destroying more than 5,700 structures, fire officials said.

The weather today will be warm with low humidity, which will continue to challenge firefighters, but only light winds are forecast, the Cal Fire statement read. A chance of precipitation is expected to arrive later in the week, bringing relief from the dry conditions.

9:35 a.m. Mendocino County Fires estimated containment is Nov. 1: The Redwood Valley and Sulphur fires in Mendocino County are expected to be contained  which means they will not be able to spread farther  by Nov. 1, according to a Tuesday morning Cal Fire estimate.

Containment on the deadly 35,800-acre Redwood Valley Fire reached 60 percent Tuesday morning, a day after all mandatory evacuation orders were lifted. Residents were allowed back to the area by 2 p.m. Monday, according to Cal Fire officials.

Authorities said an evacuation warning remains in place for the Van Arsdale community North of Stroh Ranch on both sides of the Eel River, including Van Arsdale Road, Oat Gap Road, Ridgewood Road, and all feeder roads in the area.

The 2,207-acre Sulphur Fire was 92 percent contained. All eight deaths in the county stemmed from the Redwood Valley Fire. The fires destroyed 436 homes and seven commercial buildings, according to Cal Fire.

8:45 a.m. Deadliest of Northern California wildfires more than 80 percent contained: The Tubbs Fire, the wildfire that produced the highest number of fatalities with at least 18 deaths recorded, was 36,432 acres and 82 percent contained, according to a Tuesday morning Cal Fire report.

Firefighters battling four Sonoma County fires, which accounted for 22 of the 41 deaths from the Northern California disaster, made considerable progress Tuesday morning. The Pocket Fire, measuring 12,430 acres, was 58 percent contained. The Sonoma County side of the Nuns Fire, which is also burning in Napa County, was at 33,369 acres and was 68 percent contained. And the 1,029-acre Oakmont Fire was 27 percent contained, according to Cal Fire estimates.

7:45 a.m. Sonoma County hospital reopens after being closed by fires: Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital reopened at 7 a.m. Tuesday after being closed for days due to deadly wildfires that swept through the region, according to the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office.

Motorists are asked to use Mark West Springs Road off of Highway 101 to access the hospital. We are grateful to once again be able to serve our community, the hospital announced on its website. Those in fire zones can access a list of Sutters open and closed medical clinics online.

7:05 a.m. Nuns Fire now largest of Northern California wildfires: The 51,064-acre Atlas Fire, once the largest of the destructive wildfires burning in the Wine Country, was 77 percent contained Tuesday morning and was now second in size to the Nuns Fire straddling Sonoma and Napa counties.

The Nuns fire merged with four other fires in the past week and was at least 51,512 acres Monday night and 53 percent contained. The containment number signifies how much control line firefighters have installed along the outer edges of the wildfire to stop its spread.

6:05 a.m. Light winds, cold front on the way: Winds were calm Tuesday morning in the areas where wildfires continued to burn in the North Bay and in the Santa Cruz mountains, the site of a new blaze that started Monday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Rapid gusts that aided the spread of deadly Northern California wildfires that started on Oct. 8 and prompted several Red Flag warnings last week and over the weekend have been replaced by winds of 3 to 5 mph, said Rick Canepa, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Winds in the North Bay are lighter and humidity was gradually increasing as low pressure moving into the area and dry warm air was moving out, Canepa said. As a cold front comes in and brings light rain Thursday, the area is transitioning from light offshore flow to light onshore flow winds.

Variability in winds can add more questions marks as to how to tackle a fire, Canepa said. The good news is were not expecting a bunch of wind.

The amount of precipitation expected Thursday has dropped down to a tenth of an inch, which is still considered a notable amount of wetting rain. Thunderstorms Monday morning brought a couple dozen lightning strikes about 200 miles southwest of the Bay Area, but none are likely to reach the region, Canepa said.

5:10 a.m. New fire breaks out in Santa Cruz Mountains, evacuations under way: A 125-acre wildfire that started off of Bear Creek Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains Tuesday morning prompted Cal Fire to issues evacuation orders.

The fire was burning southwest of San Jose and residents were being evacuated along Deer Creek Road, Rons Road, Dons Road, Lost Valley Road, Favre Ridge and Oak Ridge.

Click here for earlier updates on the Northern California wildfires.
San Antonio-based refiner Andeavor says it delivered its first export of fuel by ship into Mexico as the company ramps up its retail expansion inside the country.

Andeavor said the fuel was exported to Mexico by ship through the Rosarito terminal run by Mexicos state-run oil company Pemex, according to a statement.

The terminal is located in the Baja California city of Rosarito, around 12 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. While the company, formerly named Tesoro Corp., has exported fuel via truck before, this was its first maritime export.

The refiner also said it opened two Arco-branded gas stations in Mexico that have been supplied from the U.S. by truck, part of Andeavors ultimate plan to open 200 to 400 branded gas stations in Mexicos Baja California and Sonora states over the next few years.

Andeavor confirmed that a pipeline deal made in March with Pemex has begun shipments into Mexico. The deal was reported at the time to allow Andeavor to ship nearly 10,000 barrels of fuel daily into Mexicos Baja California and Sonora states through Pemex-owned pipelines and store more than 320,000 barrels of product. The fuel will be used to supply the local Mexico market including stations using Andeavors Arco brand.

San Antonio-based refiner Valero Energy Corp., the largest refiner in the U.S., is also looking to export more fuels into Mexico. In August Valero announced a long-term agreement with IEnova, a Mexico-subsidiary of San Diego, California-based energy services company Sempra Energy, that will allow Valero to utilize three fuels terminals in Veracruz, Puebla and Mexico City for imports.

IEnova said the terminals are set to be completed in 2018 and 2019 at a cost of $275 million. After their completion Valero has the option to acquire a 50 percent stake in the terminals.

rdruzin@express-news.net | Twitter: @druz_journo
Eric Gay/STF

The Texas Gulf Coast is leading the way as the nation ships out record levels of crude oil and petroleum products to foreign markets, including China, which is buying more American oil.

The United States is routinely exporting more than 1 million barrels of oil a day and shipping out more than 6 million barrels of total petroleum a day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. More than two-thirds of those petroleum exports are shipped through Gulf Coast ports.
A federal judge postponed State Sen. Carlos Urestis criminal fraud trial  scheduled to start Monday  after concluding a lawyer for one of his co-defendants wasnt adequately prepared for trial.

The trial will now start on Jan. 4, Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Wednesday.

I am disappointed, Uresti said after a court hearing. The San Antonio Democrat opposed a delay on the grounds that it would interfere with his right to a speedy trial.

On Wednesday morning, the court-appointed lawyer for Stan Bates, a co-defendant and the former CEO of now-defunct San Antonio oil field services company FourWinds Logistics, filed a court motion seeking to withdraw from the case over a conflict of interest.

The concerns and issues have damaged and destroyed the attorney client relationship, Karl A. Basile, Bates lawyer, said in the filing. Basile didnt provide any details.

Uresti, Bates and FourWinds consultant Gary Cain were indicted in May on a total of 22 charges in connection with the 2015 collapse of the frac-sand company. Prosecutors say FourWinds was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors. Uresti served as FourWinds lawyer for a brief time and recruited two investors.

Basile said in his court filing that his client expressed a desire to be represented by another attorney as a result of a conflict between the two.

Ezra held a hearing on the request Wednesday afternoon, but closed the courtroom to the public for most of it, despite an objection from the San Antonio Express-News. Ezra said closure of the courtroom was warranted because Basiles request dealt with the attorney-client relationship and details of a grand-jury investigation.

After about 40 minutes of closed proceedings, Ezra re-opened the courtroom and announced he was removing Basile as Bates lawyer.

I am fully satisfied (Basile) has not, by his own admission, adequately prepared for trial and so the court is releasing him from further duty on the case, the judge said.

Ezra instructed U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad to appoint Bates a new lawyer, and said he was postponing the trial so the new attorney can be ready and so (Bates) constitutional rights are preserved.

The judge did not leave Basile completely off the hook.

Defense counsels performance is such that it is of grave concern to this court regarding his ability to provide competent and meaningful assistance to Bates, Ezra said. The judge added it was the courts intention to refer the matter to Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia so the courts disciplinary board can look into it.

After the hearing, Basile said, I had to do what was required under my fiduciary duty to ensure he (Bates) gets a fair trial. He declined further comment. Bates declined to comment after the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Blackwell, Mark Roomberg and William Harris also had no comment.

Basiles request to withdraw came 16 days after he asked for a continuance of the trial, saying he was not ready to go because he had been unable to devote the necessary time to review the voluminous discovery due to his heavy criminal trial docket. Ezra denied the request to delay the trial.

Basile said in his latest request that he might of been able to provide the minimum effective representation of counsel as required by law, but due to recent developments in this matter and recent information that has become known, he said he can not provide effective representation.

pdanner@express-news.net
The changes President Donald Trump is seeking in NAFTA negotiations will be impossible for Mexico and Canada to agree to because they conflict with trade agreements they have with other nations, a Toyota executive said in San Antonio on Wednesday.

The issues are impossible for our neighbors to accept. They have other free trade agreements they must comply with, said Leila Afas, Toyota director of international public policy in Washington, D.C., to an audience of about 200 people during the Free Trade Alliance San Antonios International Business Forum event.

The fourth round of NAFTA negotiations that concluded this week in Washington, D.C., reported few results and led to a delay in the fifth round until Nov. 16, originally scheduled for the end of October.

That will make it difficult for the planned seven rounds to finish by the end of the year.

The year-end goal for negotiations had been set to avoid mid-term U.S. elections in the fall of 2018 and the Mexico presidential election in July 2018, Afas said.

Among the contentious issues are ways to narrow the U.S. trade deficit in goods with Mexico, alter the dispute resolution process and a U.S. proposal to add sunset clauses that could automatically terminate NAFTA in five years.

If the talks reach a stalemate, U.S. President Donald Trump could pull out of the agreement altogether with six-months notice, Afas pointed out.

Trump has been highly critical of NAFTA, both as a presidential candidate last year and as president.

This is a critical time to reverse what is happening, Afas said, acknowledging that many U.S. companies have built their supply chains around the 22-year-old trade agreement.

Afas cited the Trump administrations rejection of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership before it could go to Congress for passage, negotiations she said she participated in as a staffer in the Barack Obama administration.

We failed to explain why TPP matters. As corporations, we fail to explain the benefits of trade, Afas said.

The San Antonio Toyota assembly plant, with 3,200 employees, imports the chassis for its Tundra pickup trucks from a plant in Apodaca, Mexico, a suburb of Monterrey, said factory spokesman Mario Lozoya.

The 23 Toyota suppliers, which employ another 4,200 workers in San Antonio, receive some of their small parts for their components used for assembly in San Antonio, Lozoya added.

Auto components can cross the U.S. border with Mexico and Canada seven or eight times before final assembly, Afas said. Its highly integrated, she said, citing the just-in-time process used by the San Antonio assembly plant to avoid the costs of inventory.

NAFTA can be improved through the negotiations with stronger intellectual property protections and harmonizations of regulations and standards, Afas said.

We dont want to hurt what is working, she added, urging the audience members to contact members of Congress about the benefits they receive from NAFTA rules.

It would be customers who would suffer, people like us, she said.

Speaking privately with members of Congress, they get it, Afas said. But in trade matters, the U.S. president has a lot of power to change rules, she explained.

Robert Barnett, a partner in the U.S.-Mexico law firm Cacheaux Cavazos & Newton, whose clients are mostly companies doing cross-border business, also spoke at the luncheon.

We are telling our clients that its not clearly cut and dried that a U.S. withdrawal will be the end of NAFTA, he said. NAFTA entered into law through congressional legislation and would remain unchanged until Congress acts.

But Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who advocated for NAFTA as San Antonio mayor in the early 1990s, said, if it goes to Congress, NAFTA is in deep, deep trouble.

Wolff cited the narrow vote in Congress in November 1993 that approved NAFTA. With the psychotic Congress we have now, I wouldnt bet a nickel on the survival of NAFTA, he said.

U.S.-Mexico trade volumes have multiplied six times since NAFTAs enactment, and the U.S. exports more to Mexico and Canada than its other top 10 trading nations combined, Wolff said. It just depends on how far Trump pushes this thing, he said.

Free Trade Alliance CEO and President Carlos Jarquin said the alliance will be working to explain the benefits of NAFTA, such as affordable prices and diveristy of products.

Jarquin predicted that companies such as Toyota, H-E-B and Valero Energy Corp. will make a big push to preserve NAFTA.

dhendricks@express-news.net
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Two 49ers linebackers had guns pointed at them in an attempted robbery early Monday as they were leaving a San Francisco nightclub, the team confirmed Tuesday.

Ray-Ray Armstrong and Reuben Foster were leaving Love and Propaganda at 85 Campton Place about 2 a.m. Monday when two masked men carrying an assault rifle and a handgun exited a white Audi and pointed the guns at the players, Mission Local reported.
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The Modernist is anything but modern. And thats a good thing.

The new cocktail and wine bar from longtime area bartender Olaf Harmel and restaurateur Gerry Shirley, owner of Sukeban and Mons Thai Bistro & Sushi quietly opened Tuesday evening. Situated inside a 1920s home along East Grayson Street near The Pearl and decked out with a decidedly midcentury vibe, the spot feels more akin to bellying up in your cool uncles living room.

Groovy tunes play through a vintage Technics tuner. A pile of 1960s National Geographic magazines rest on a swanky coffee table. Furniture looks like it could have been lifted from a Mad Men set.

The joint is cozy, to say the least. At a snug 700 square feet, The Modernist has eight seats at the bar with room for maybe a dozen more on sofas and chairs grouped around the room. An outdoor space for an additional 50 or so is planned.

And behind the bar, Harmel waits to strike up a conversation and pour you a righteous libation.

On the menu: Strictly speaking, The Modernist does have a cocktail menu, although copies were not available during our visit. Manhattans. Old-fashioneds. A precursor to the cosmopolitan called The Harpoon.

But menus are for squares, man.

The Modernist, Harmel explained, is more about having a dialogue with drinkers. Name your spirit, and hell build a drink around your tastes, his own inspirations and what he happens to have on hand that day. And despite the individual treatment, cocktails are modestly priced, most sips falling between $6 and $12 depending on the ingredients and level of difficulty involved.

On opening night, for example, my call for gin resulted in a blend of Tanquerey Rangpur, lime juice and elderflower liqueur with a pour of freshly brewed Earl Gray tea decanted from a long-necked copper kettle. Its not on the menu, and you cant order it by name, but its what Harmel was feeling on Tuesday. And it was delightful, a crisp and aromatic refresher with just the right touch of complexity.

A request for bourbon netted a stiff pour of Benchmark bourbon augmented by little more than a generous splash of Angostura bitters, dribble of simple syrup and a Luxardo cherry. Blissfully absent was the hazy cloud of muddled orange that often taints the old fashioned Harmel was riffing on. The lack of citrus, even as a garnish, let the bitters do the heavy lifting for a drink that was assertive and polite at the same time.

If The Modernist sounds a bit too fussy for your tastes, fear not. Theres plenty of Lone Star Light on hand (if you must.) Harmel said theyll add a few taps with local brews in the the coming weeks, but the bar will focus more intensely on offering an interesting selection of wines.

A few nibbles are planned for the future, but The Modernist does not currently serve food. Harmel said the selection would be very limited, probably only three or four items. Fortunately, hes got plenty of tasty neighbors nearby with The Bin Tapas Bar, Shuck Shack and Grayze on Grayson all on the same block.

Location: 516 E. Grayson St. 210-446-8699, Facebook: The Modernist

Hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. daily, may close earlier on Sundays

pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
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Combining an account of one of the most heinous murder sprees in the nations history with the birth of what was to become the Federal Bureau of Investigation, David Grann has shed light on a tragedy most Americans are only dimly aware of, if they know of it at all.

Granns painstakingly researched Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of a series of killings during the early 20th century that came to be known as the Osage Murders.

A best-seller, it a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award. Winners will be announced Nov. 15 in a ceremony in New York City.

Grann first heard about the murders in 2011 while talking to FBI historian John Fox. The killing of more than two dozen Osage Indians was one of the first major homicide cases investigated by the bureau, then under the command of a young J. Edgar Hoover.

More Information Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI By David Grann Doubleday, $28.95 2017 San Antonio Express-News Book & Author Luncheon WHEN: 10 a.m.-2p.m. Oct. 30 WHERE: Marriott Rivercenter, 101 Bowie St. WHO: This year's authors are David Grann, David A. Carter, Sally Mott Freeman, Ben Blum, Lyanda Lynn Haupt and Sarah Penrod. ADMISSION: $85. Order online at makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu/bookauthor or call 210-567-1206. See More Collapse

In the 1920s, members of the Osage Nation in northern Oklahoma were, per capita, the richest people in the world. The tribe previously had been shuttled to this dusty, rocky corner of the state where little would grow. But when oil was discovered beneath the land, they became rich beyond all dreams.

Americans were fascinated by the Osage rags-to-riches story, and the press was happy to oblige in the hyperbole.

They built huge mansions on the prairie, sent their children to study in Europe and, at a time when only one out of every 11 Americans owned a car, the papers claimed that every one Osage owned 11 automobiles.

Their wealth, however, made them a target and soon, tribe members began turning up dead, murdered in cold blood.

In researching the book, Grann relied on vast amounts of primary material, including court documents, newspaper accounts, notes from FBI investigators, interviews with surviving family members, even, at one point, a lost manuscript compiled by the great-great-grandniece of one of the victims. Much of the material had never seen the light of day.

I remember opening up a folder and finding transcripts of secret grand jury testimony, recalled Grann, a staff writer with The New Yorker and author of the best seller The Lost City of Z. That gave me not only the details of one aspect of the case, but the voices as well.

Although the FBI closed the case after the conviction of local businessman William K. Hale, and cow thief and bootlegger John Ramsey, Granns digging revealed that there were likely more murders than was generally thought at the time and that there were many more people behind the killings.

While the Osage murders have mostly faded from our collective memory, they continue to resonate in this corner of Oklahoma.

During his first research visit, Grann went to the Osage Nation Museum in Pawhuska, where he noticed a panoramic photo from 1924 showing hundreds of members of the tribe as well as local businessmen and civic leaders.

As I scanned the picture, he wrote, I noticed that a section was missing, as if someone had taken scissors to it.

When he asked museum director Kathryn Red Corn about it, she pointed to the blank space and said, The devil was standing right there.

She showed him a smaller, blurred print of the panorama and standing there in the missing section was the devil himself, William Hale.

Kathryn told me they removed him from the photo not to forget the murders, but because they cannot forget them, said Grann.

rmarini@express-news.net

Twitter: @RichardMarini
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BRIDGEPORTBarber Deon Rodney, 31, left a heroic legacy when he died defending his co-workers and clients from a masked gunman.

The suspected killerstill at largetook so much away: a father, a husband and a friend.

Now Rodneys widows co-workers are raising money to cover funeral his costs and a trust fund for his 9-year-old daughter.

Please help us provide Deon with the dignified hero's farewell he deserves, wrote organizer Suzanne Letso, who described herself as a co-worker of Rodneys wife, Kimone Waite.

Dozens of people contributed to the GoFundMe page (http://bit.ly/2yt4Xed) Wednesday and Thursday, raising $3,000 in less than 24 hours. The goal for the campaign is $30,000.

I know that everyone is recognizing his heroism now, but he was always like this. Always a role model and always willing to give, said Teron Haughton, Rodneys cousin, a graphic designer who also lives in Connecticut. Always willing to go out of his way to help a stranger. Nothing has changed in all his years. I guess Im glad that the masses can now see this.

Rodney and Waite met in Jamaica, married, and had lived together in Bridgeport for about 5 or 6 years, Haughton said.

Police are investigating the shooting, which was caught on video surveillance and had many witnesses.
The candidates for the Board of Selectmen faced off Tuesday night in a forum, presenting their visions for not just Greenwichs future but the current issues the town faces.

The forum, which took place in backcountry at the Round Hill Community House, was sponsored jointly by the League of Women Voters of Greenwich and the Round Hill Association with a standing room only crowd in attendance. Incumbent Republican First Selectman Peter Tesei, his Democratic challenger Sandy Litvack and Selectmen John Toner, a Republican, and Drew Marzullo, a Democrat, all took part in the forum, which saw all four answering the same questions and sharing time during the hour and a half event.

Questions, several of which were written by audience members, covered topics like high speed rail going through Greenwich and the agreement between all candidates about the need to find additional efficiencies in town government. And the candidates were asked what the biggest challenge facing Greenwich was.

What most concerns me is the impact to our most vulnerable citizens, those living on fixed incomes and, particularly, our seniors, Tesei, a five term incumbent, said. People are living longer and they need to maintain some semblance of lifestyle. How we address that is we continue to manage our budgetary priorities and support all our wonderful not-for-profits that provide services to these populations. Im very proud of my involvement in a number of these organizations and I have great faith in them. We have to do more to partner with them.

Litvack, who noted his extensive background in high ranking positions in both the Walt Disney Company and the United States Department of Justice, said he was worried about a lack of economic development in town.

We have to have an economic development plan and target growth because we cant continue to just swipe at the bottom line, Litvack said. Weve got to grow the top line and that requires a plan. That requires economic know how. Thats the kind of thing we did at Disney and thats the kind of thing Ive done all my life.

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Tesei responded by saying he agreed that economic development was vital and placed the problem at the state level.

What makes it hard to do is the dismal state of affairs in Hartford, Tesei said. The states punitive tax policies have destroyed a lot of our base, particularly our wealth. Locally businesses that support the non-profits and support the community have had to relocate. We need to stabilize the state and then we can move forward with a plan to bring in new commerce to Greenwich Avenue and service oriented businesses that people desire and wish for.

Litvack rejected that line of thinking, telling Tesei, We can go blame Harford all we want but the fact is we live in Greenwich and cant secede from the state. The issue isnt who are you going to blame, but is what are you going to do about it? Im going to develop the town economically.

Marzullo has been the subject of much discussion since it was revealed he had been arrested in August on a misdemeanor charge of fifth degree larceny after allegedly shoplifting from two stores in an outlet mall in Clinton. The Democratic Town Committee withdrew its support of after his arrest, which he did not disclose to the party leadership, was revealed Marzullo but he has remained on the ballot. He was not asked any questions about the arrest but did allude to it.

In his closing statement, Marzullo thanked all of his supporters and said he understood the heavy criticism he has received from members of his own party. And he said he wanted to humbly and with humility ask for peoples votes to remain on the board for a fifth term.

My life has been one of joy, hard work and luck, Marzullo said. It also has been one of, at times, sincere regret and contrition. And while there are no do overs I also know there is a plan forward. My plan is to continue to try and do some good, more so than ever, not always getting it right. Like every election the voter has a choice to make and I respect that to my core and will accept any outcome.

During the forum, Litvack raised what he saw as a lack of planning from the town toward its challenges several times during the forum including about housing. He said without a plan the town found itself in a position where developers could take advantage of it because the town is below the level mandated by the state for affordable housing in town and said he was committed to creating that plan if elected.

Unless we set about coming up with a plan this is a problem that is going to continue on into the future and we are going to be at a point where the courts are making the decisions and not us, Litvack said.

Tesei discussed the ongoing work put in place through the 2009 town Plan of Conservation and Development and how work would soon begin for the 2019 version of the POCD. He said the POCD called for a housing plan that was out forward and now offered incentives to developers to add in moderate income housing. He noted how controversial that had become, though, as neighbors had objected to several proposed housing developments in town due to their size.

We have seen developers take advantage of this new regulations, Tesei said. There needs to be some examination of utilization of the regulation that incentivizes but also controls density. Density is something that comes to the heart of traffic and congestion. Working with private development is a key to this solution.

The need for planning was also stressed by Litvack when discussing parking in town.

This cant be looked at in a silo, Litvack said. You have to look at in an all over plan and we have lacked planning in this area. We do not have a traffic plan in town. We do not have a traffic engineer in town. Until you are going to do that this is going to continue to be an issue.

Tesei talked about discussions between the town and private developers about the possibility of adding parking underground in Greenwich, which would accomplish the objective without adding the blight people so object to. Those are only proposals and Tesei said he expected the discussions of potential plans to be part of the next POCD development.

While Tesei and Litvack are running for first selectman and both Toner and Marzullo are seeking new terms as selectmen, the top three vote getters among them will be seated for the new term of the Board of Selectmen, which will begin in December. Both Toner and Marzullo were given equal time to Tesei and Litvack during the forum and both advocated for their own reelection, with Toner stressing his strong support for Tesei and his dedication to community service and working with people.

Toner also weighed in on issues like the parking situation in Greenwich and how, as a lifelong resident, it has become more and more of an issue and it needed to be addressed.

I wont shop in downtown Greenwich because its impossible to find a place to park, Toner said. Given the nature of human beings, and you can sit on Greenwich Avenue and watch them, they will not go anyplace to park that they have to walk. They want to park in front of the stores they are going to. We have an issue.

Marzullo spoke about the housing stock in town, saying it was an issue that is very important to him as he has a number of close friends in low income housing and meets regularly with residents.

Its a good thing to provide work force housing, Marzullo said. Its good thing to provide senior housing and we do this by continuing to make sure we have in place a Housing Authority board that is engaged, that meets regularly with residents and offering incentives to developers. And we do this with ending the stigma associated with housing.

Toner weighed in as well on the housing issue, saying it was motherhood and apple pie because housing is wanted, needed and looked forward to.

Unfortunately in the recent past in Greenwich the developers who are building some units of affordable housing are building these monstrosities like down on West Putnam Avenue and in Old Greenwich on Sound Beach and on Sheephill Road, Toner said. This is a town of neighborhoods and small villages. It has a certain character and I am in all favor of letting people develop in town as long as it keeps the character of our neighborhoods.

Tesei and Litvack clashed on a few issues particularly on the issue of whether it was necessary to fund a public relations campaign to promote Greenwich. The program began in July and is ongoing. Tesei supports it but Litvack questioned the need for it.

During the forum, the most vocal response from the crowd came when Tesei sarcastically reference to Litvacks background at Disney while praising the efforts of his volunteer Economic Advisory Committee, which successfully pushed for the PR campaign over skepticism from both the towns BET and RTM.

This should be cherished and applauded, not demeaned because someone comes in from the Magic Kingdom and thinks that they have a better idea, Tesei said, getting a loud response from all sides.

Litvak responded by saying, Oh, how can I let that go, which drew laughter from the audience and then pushed it back to his belief more planning was needed from the first selectmans office.

Instead of sitting and saying the state of Connecticut has a problem, what are you going to do about it? Litvack said. Ill tell you what Im going to do about it. Im going to bring in new businesses. Im going to have an economic plan.

Tuesdays forum is the only publicly announced event for the Board of Selectmen candidates. On Oct. 24, the League of Women Voters is holding a debate at 7 p.m. at Town Hall between Tax Collector Tod Laudonia, the incumbent Republican, and Democratic challenger Howard Richman.

John Breunig contributed to this story.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
NEWTOWN  Ten Sandy Hook families appealing to have their lawsuit against the nations oldest gunmaker revived will have their case heard in the states highest court in mid-November.

The Connecticut Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments Nov. 14 about the families wrongful death lawsuit against Remington, which was dismissed in state Superior Court in 2016.

The families of victims of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary are suing Remington, a distributor and a retailer, claiming the company negligently entrusted an AR-15-style rifle to the civilian market and ignored the risks it would be misused.

On Dec. 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza took his mothers AR-15-style rifle from an unlocked closet and killed 20 first-graders and six educators at the school.

A Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit last year, ruling Remington was protected by a federal law that shields the gun industry from most liability when its firearms are misused.

Among supporters is a group of trauma surgeons who treated victims of four of the nations deadliest mass shootings. Those doctors petitioned the Supreme Court in spring to reinstate the families lawsuit.

The gun industrys trade organization and the largest gun-owners group in Connecticut have rallied behind Remington. The Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Connecticut Citizens Defense League asked the Supreme Court this summer to uphold the lower court ruling, arguing the shooter, not the gun maker, was responsible for the crime.

The appeal will be heard by a seven-member panel of judges, because the families lead attorney, Joshua Koskoff, requested an en banc hearing of all seven judges earlier this month.

The problem is Supreme Court only has five active members. Justice Dennis Eveleigh reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 earlier this month. Justice Carmen Espinosa reached senior judge status in July.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy earlier this month nominated two judges from state Appellate Court to fill the vacancies. Those picks  Raheem Mullins and Maria Araujo Kahn  have not been confirmed by the state legislature.

To comply with the families request, two Appellate Court judges will be brought up to hear the case.

Koskoff was in court Wednesday and was not immediately available to comment.

A legal observer said Koskoff was trying to maximize his chances of a favorable hearing.

A panel of seven means you will have more people to hear your case who can be persuaded, said Timothy Everett, a law professor at the University of Connecticut.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
Melissa Phillip/Staff

The Lake Houston Economic Development Partnership (EDP) will host a seminar, Relief After Harvey presented by CenterPoint Energy, Monday, Oct. 23 at the Humble Civic Center starting at 8:30 a.m. to help businesses affected by Hurricane Harvey.

The Relief After Harvey seminar is focused on highlighting existing and tested federal hiring programs as well as recent legislation that can help affected businesses offset the increased cost of retaining existing employees and finding new ones in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Depending on the size of the business and hiring profile, the credits can be worth a few thousand dollars to tens of thousand dollars annually.
LONDON - The wave of revelations and revulsion over Harvey Weinstein has gone global.

As A-list actresses level claims of sexual misconduct at the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul, ordinary women everywhere engaged in a collective outpouring of their stories of assaults and sexual harassment, inspired by an online campaign made famous by Alyssa Milano.

And, as the #MeToo ranks swelled, there is also a sense of bitterness about how sexism remains rooted in many parts of the world - including places seen as progressive regarding women's rights.

"This has been part of our world - women's world - since time immemorial," said the British actress Emma Thompson when asked by the BBC about the Weinstein scandal.

Indeed, the statistics compiled by the Stop Street Harassment campaign in the United States make for sober reading.

The group highlights a 2014 study by YouGov that ranked the safety of transit systems for women in 16 cities around the world. Bogota was the most unsafe city in the survey, while Mexico City was the worst for verbal and physical harassment, with 64 percent of women respondents saying they had been groped or harassed on public transit.

Within hours of Milano's #MeToo call, the hashtag was trending worldwide, with accounts pouring in from Calgary to Cairo and from Paris to Perth. The two-word hashtag has been tweeted more than half a million times and has been featured in over 12 million posts on Facebook. On Arab social media sites, women jumped into the conversation using the hashtag #AnaKaman, the Arabic translation of "me too."

A 63-year-old Australian woman tweeted that harassment was present "all through my early working life in the 70s & 80s" while working at the Department of Defense in Sydney.

"Looking back it was horrendous," she wrote.

A parish priest in rural England tweeted where she faced harassment: "Paris when I was 16 heading to visit my pen friend. Norfolk when I was 22 being expected to 'earn' some bar work. Others I can't say."

"In Calgary traveling with a client on business . . . In Vancouver applying for one job, working at another . . . Amazingly #JustHowItWas #MeToo," tweeted a Canadian author with her list.

A self-described German-Finnish world traveler tweeted: "And then there was that old man who placed his sweaty hands on me in an overfilled metro in Rome acting as if it's not him."

"Tailors in Pakistan who always need to measure your chest and hips at least 7 times," wrote a press officer in Lahore. "You always know when the hand lingers too long."

"When I was in India, Egypt, Mexico, Belgium, and pretty much everywhere I've lived," wrote a Mexican living in Brussels.

Even in countries considered to be progressive, women were sharing stories of abuse. "5 years ago at Copenhagen Airport I was sexually assaulted by a security guard," tweeted a British comedian and actress.

In France - where President Emmanuel Macron said he would revoke Weinstein's Legion d'Honneur award - a separate but similar campaign took root with thousands taking to social media with the hashtag #balancetonporc, or "squeal on your pig."

Sandra Muller, a French journalist, kicked off the #balancetonporc campaign when she encouraged people to name and shame those responsible for sexual harassment. She named her own former boss, whom she said commented on her breasts and told her that she was "my type of woman."

Stories began flooding in, like that of a Paris-based radio journalist who tweeted that an editor of a major radio station once grabbed her by the throat and told her she would have sex with him "whether you want it or not." She said she filed a complaint but that nothing happened.

On Monday, Marlene Schiappa, France's gender equality minister, said legislators will debate proposals for cracking down on sexual violence and harassment, including issuing fines for "wolf whistling" and other sexually tinged comments on the street.

This isn't the first time that women - and some men - have turned to social media en masse to highlight examples of harassment and abuse.

Five years ago, Laura Bates, a British writer and campaigner, founded #Everydaysexism, an online project that catalogues everyday, street-level sexism.

She said in an interview that the recent campaigns following the Weinstein allegations highlight how "enormously widespread" the problem is and how too often women are ignored or silenced.

"Women are often told that the problem doesn't exist, sexism is the thing of the past, we're equal now, those things only happened in the 70s, you must be overreacting, you got the wrong end of the stick, he probably meant it as a compliment, you just need to smile, darling," she said.

Many of the patterns seen in articles that have emerged in recent days - stories of abuse at home, in the workplace, at schools, in public spaces - are not new, Bates said. But she said that more women are speaking out.

"I don't think we've seen great strides in the last five years with the problem shifting. What we are seeing is thanks to the incredible courage of women and girls all over the world speaking out about their experiences is the increased tendencies for survivors to be able to talk about what's happened to them," she said.

She added that she hoped the outpouring of grief and frustration will help shift the conversation from "this point, where we are constantly trying to raise awareness that the problem even exists" to the next phase, "where we are having a debate about how to fix it."

--

Heba Habib in Stockholm contributed to this report.
BAD AXE  If the state picks up its share, the cost of defending indigent criminals in Huron County will increase by $129,451 a year.

The countys share  $79,436  will not change under the new state requirements that include defense attorney training, standards for the initial client interview; supplying investigators when needed; and representation at first court appearance. The total cost for criminal indigent defense in Huron County is $208,887 under the plan presented to the Huron County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

Huron County will only comply with the plan in its entirety if a grant  is approved by the (Michigan Indigent Defense Commission), states the plan.

It is due to the state Nov. 20, Corporate Counsel Steve Allen told the board.

Michigan ranked 44 out of 50 states a few years ago in a survey of indigent criminal defense quality. In order for the state to avoid lawsuits, upgrading the system became law.

Startup costs include sound proofing interview rooms, and the state has said it will cover that cost.

For the most part, nothing will be done until the state provides funding.

However, the county has already implemented representation at first court appearance.

In the plan, the list of court-appointed defense attorneys consists of: Jill Schmidt, Andrew Lockard, Elizabeth Weisenbach, Dallas Rooney, Diana Kessler, Kyle OMara, Walter Salens and Michelle Siev.

For the two or three newest attorneys on the list, basic skills training will be required, which includes shadowing a more experienced attorney, according to the plan.

In the requisite basic skills acquisition class, the new attorneys will learn critical lessons of advocating for the indigent in the safety of a simulated environment before accepting assignments, the plan reads.

Michael Murawski may also be included as one of the new attorneys.

Twelve hours of legal education will be required for all of the attorneys, who are members of the newly formed Huron County Defense Bar.

Stakeholders include Salens, who is the MIDC representative; Allen; Commissioner John Bodis; the commissioners Executive Assistant Jodi Essenmacher; Huron County judges David B. Herrington and Gerald M. Prill; Lieutenant Joshua Powell; Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski; and other court personnel.

Another provision of the law is that the county employ an administrator who is a lawyer to oversee the program.

The changes also require that lawyers are appointed independently from the court, Allen said.

Weve had the benefits of having a small community, he added. And we work well in this community between our courts and our court-appointed lawyers. In bigger systems, there have been abuses that helped rate Michigan at 44th out of 50 states with respect to meeting certain requirements.

Allen described the evil that the state is trying to eradicate with the program by describing his prior experience in Oakland County.

If you were a fair-haired lawyer, you would get a lot of appointments, he said. Part of the way you kept getting a lot of appointments is by moving files.

Whether an attorney is paid or not, he or she has the responsibility of representing clients zealously, he added.

But theres an economic motivation, if Im going to try and keep my office open, to move (the case), Allen said.

So even if an investigator or expert is necessary, the attorney may not go to the trouble of seeking someone out in order to speed things up and get more appointments.

So I talk him into pleading rather than pursuing justice, Allen said. Thats the evil that this act is attempting to eradicate from our system in the state of Michigan."
JERUSALEM - Ultra-Orthodox Jews protesting the military draft is nothing new in Israel but a young woman using karate chops and kung-fu kicks to push back a crowd of angry young men might just be a first.

Meet Nomi Golan.

On Monday night, Golan, an off-duty soldier, attempted to guide a car through a violent protest that erupted in Jerusalem after two yeshiva students were arrested by the army for not showing up at the military recruitment office.

Ultra-Orthodox students have long been exempt from serving in the military but they must still present themselves to the army with a letter from their school - something a number refuse to do.

The video of Golan fending off a group of men as they cursed at her, calling her a "shiksa" (a non-Jewish woman) and a whore and spat at her, has caught the attention of both secular and ultra-Orthodox or Haredi media in Israel.

It was featured by mainstream news outlets and shared widely on social media Tuesday, as the protests by one of the more extreme Haredi sects continued for a second day.

Nearly 60 people were arrested in Jerusalem and Bnei Barak, near Tel Aviv in protests, police said.

In an interview in Hebrew with local media, Golan said she had stopped to help the car pass through the protest. Her goal, she said, was to approach the protest's leaders and tell them to back off.

"They attacked me, so as a soldier, a civilian, an old woman, young or no matter what role I or what I was wearing, I defended myself as I would in any other situation," she said, according to the Facebook page First Report.

In these protests, groups of ultra-Orthodox young men block major roads and spit and hurl insults at passing motorists to draw attention to their anger over having to register for military service.

All Jewish men and women, as well as Druze men, are required to serve in the army at the age of 18. Only Israeli Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews receive an exemption. It's a point that has caused tension in recent years, as those who do serve feel they are shouldering more of the country's burden.

When long-standing legislation automatically exempting some 54,000 full-time yeshiva students from the draft expired several years ago, protests by the ultra-Orthodox against the army became commonplace.

In response, the previous government extended the law until this year, insisting that the sector be eased into military service with the implementation of enlistment quotas and criminal sanctions for those who refused to serve.

However, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined forces with the ultra-Orthodox political parties in the present government, the plan for sanctions was removed and the law extended once again until 2020. In September, a legal petition filed to Israel's Supreme Court struck down this new arrangement, saying it would expire within a year.

Mainstream Haredi groups, those who are represented in Israel's parliament, have in the meantime been looking for alternative solutions. One sect, however, led by 86-year Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, has consistently refused to cooperate at all with the state or the army, said Israel Cohen, a journalist and commentator for the Haredi news website Kikar Shabat.

Cohen said that Auerbach's yeshiva students were instructed not to respond to call up papers or even request the exemption as is required from the ultra-Orthodox. When two of Auerbach's students were arrested Sunday for not showing up at the military recruitment offices, his followers took to the streets in protest.

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Video link: . http://wapo.st/2ijto74
With the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China around the corner, 32 leaders of media organizations from 27 countries along the Belt and Road routes have been invited to visit China.

With the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China around the corner, 32 leaders of media organizations from 27 countries along the Belt and Road routes have been invited to visit China. They will not only cover the meeting, but also discuss journalist cooperation mechanisms under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

During their stay, they will be introduced to the achievements which China has made in innovation, ecological preservation and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional development.

They visited the meeting's press center in Beijing on Oct. 16, and took part in a seminar covering media cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The attendees agreed that the journalists should actively engage with the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen media exchanges and cooperation, and promote people-to-people communications, so as to enjoy the new development opportunities together.

Eight people in charge of the journalist organizations from Nigeria, Thailand, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Belarus shared their views on the 19th CPC National Congress, Belt and Road cooperation, and media exchanges and cooperation with Chinese reporters.

They introduced that mainstream media outlets in their countries have given special attention to the meeting. The foreign media outlets have not only relied on the Chinese mainstream media for authoritative information, but have also sent their correspondents to cover the widely-anticipated event in Beijing.

According to the reporters, China's relationship with the world is undergoing unprecedented changes, and the influence of the meeting has gone far beyond China's borders and is of wide concern to the international community.

Snezhana Todorova, president of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, commented that China's influence on the international community is increasing, and that Chinese media has an increasingly large say in the world, which is catching world-wide attention including in Bulgaria.

Sergey Sverkunov, the first deputy chairman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, points out that China and Belarus have achieved positive cooperation results under the Belt and Road framework. "China helps us to build roads. With the support of Chinese engineers, the roads are of very high quality," he said.

He said Belarus attaches high importance to China's Belt and Road Initiative, and actively supports the implementation of the initiative. "There are no obstacles between the two countries. As long as the two sides put their hearts together, they can achieve a lot of things," he said.

The group of reporters considers that western media coverage of China can easily lead to bias and misunderstanding. Witnessing China's development and changes, they believe, puts them in a better position to report China objectively to their compatriots and introduce China more comprehensively.

According to the press center of the 19th CPC National Congress, more than 1,800 foreign journalists have registered to cover the event in Beijing.
Socialite and reality-TV star Ksenia Sobchak said she plans to run against Vladimir Putin in presidential elections in March, declaring herself the representative of those who want to vote "against all" the other candidates.

"I'm going to take part in the elections, not just as a candidate but as a mouthpiece for those who can't become candidates," said Sobchak, who's the daughter of Putin's political mentor, the late Anatoly Sobchak, in a letter published by Vedomosti newspaper on Wednesday. "I'm ready to criticize the existing system."

Her declaration ends weeks of hints that she intended to run. Opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who's already announced his candidacy but is barred by law from getting on the ballot, called her bid part of a Kremlin plan to present "a caricature liberal candidate," in an online talk show on Sept. 21.

Putin, 65, is widely expected to announce that he'll seek a fourth term to extend his presidency to 2024 and complete nearly a quarter-century in power as the longest-serving Kremlin ruler since Josef Stalin. While he's all but certain of victory, the Kremlin's challenge is to motivate voters to turn out so that Putin gets a credible mandate even as Russia emerges from its longest economic contraction this century. The main parties in Russia's parliament have repeatedly nominated the same candidates to face Putin, despite their evident failure to win support at the polls.

Sobchak, 35, is a sometime vocal critic of Putin who took part in anti-Kremlin protests that erupted before the 2012 presidential election. Putin, who's rumored to be her godfather, has often described Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St. Petersburg and democratic reformer, as a major influence on him when they worked together in the 1990s.

Navalny, who's currently serving a 20-day jail term for calling anti-Kremlin protests, said in his broadcast that a Sobchak candidacy would be part of a "repulsive Kremlin game under the name 'Let's drag a liberal laughing-stock into the elections to distract attention."'

While the Kremlin will seek "to use my campaign as a legitimation of this election," Sobchak said she won't "play someone else's role, take someone else's place."

She intends to "talk about how bad things are in this country, how the system needs to be changed and I will demand the release of Alexei Navalny and his registration as a presidential candidate," she said. If the Kremlin allows him to run, she'll consider dropping out of the contest, Sobchak said.

Kremlin officials identified Sobchak as an ideal opponent for Putin as they considered the idea of a woman candidate to liven up the contest, Vedomosti reported last month, amid worries that voter boredom with the usual party candidates may lead to low turnout. Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, then Russia's third-richest man, had a similar impact as a newcomer in 2012, gaining support from people disaffected by Putin, particularly in Moscow, while finishing a distant third with 8 percent.

Sobchak is a "talented person" and her participation would "fully comply" with Russia's constitution, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview on Dozhd.

An initial test of Kremlin willingness to allow her to compete will be the ease with which she's able to collect 300,000 signatures from voters around Russia in support of her candidacy to get on the ballot.

Sobchak faces an uphill battle to win support. Only 0.4 percent of Russians would back her for the presidency, while 53 percent oppose the idea of a woman as head of state, according to a Sept. 15-19 survey of 1,600 people by the Moscow-based Levada Center polling company.

Navalny, who's held nationwide rallies in support of his candidacy, is barred from the election because of a fraud conviction that he says is politically motivated. Part of his electorate may back Sobchak, who could get as much as 8 percent at the polls, according to Valery Solovei, a political scientist at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations.

"She could attract the young, her campaign would be hyped-up, fashionable and counter-cultural," said Grigory Kertman, senior analyst at the FOM polling company in Moscow, which assisted Prokhorov's campaign. "She's much better known than Prokhorov was at the time of his nomination."
Last week, the Interior Department sent a letter to Cadiz Inc. that the company long had hoped to receive.

For years, the renewable resource company had been trying to build a drinking-water pipeline between land it owned over an aquifer in the Mojave Desert and thirsty residents of Southern California. To help get the go-ahead from the federal government, it hired the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to help grease the wheels in Washington.

But in 2015, Cadiz's effort sputtered when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within Interior, said the company would have to obtain permission from the government to build the 43-mile pipeline along an existing railroad.

President Donald Trump's Interior Department, under new management, has now changed course and told Cadiz that the pipeline "does not require authorization by BLM" anymore.

Part of that new management is David Bernhardt, Interior's deputy administrator. Before he became Interior's No. 2, he was a partner at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, the firm Cadiz had hired.

In an email, Interior was unequivocal about Bernhardt's lack of involvement in the pipeline decision. "Deputy Secretary Bernhardt has absolutely no role in anything related to Cadiz," spokeswoman Heather Swift wrote. Bernhardt was not a lobbyist for Cadiz during his time at the firm, she added.

Before his nomination, Bernhardt led Trump's transition team at Interior. The department did not respond to a follow-up question asking whether Bernhardt discussed or shared information regarding Cadiz with anyone at Interior before his nomination. The lobbying firm was awarded shares in Cadiz for its work.

Given that connection, David Hayes, who held that same No. 2 post at Interior under President Barack Obama, called for an investigation into the pipeline decision:

The Mojave Desert Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation group that has opposed the pipeline, echoed that concern.

"He was one of the folks directing operations at the law firm that was lobbying for Cadiz, and that's a pretty close link," said Frazier Haney, conservation director at the land trust, adding that "it's very troubling that Mr. Bernhardt was on the transition team."

Haney and other environmentalists fear that tapping Mojave groundwater will siphon water from desert springs that sustain bighorn sheep, migratory birds and other wildlife, whose presence in turn underpins the local desert tourism economy driven by the nearby Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument.

With BLM's letter, Cadiz can use the existing right-of-way permit for a railroad through the desert for the pipeline. Under Obama, BLM and Office of the Solicitor had determined otherwise. Bernhardt was Interior's solicitor under President George W. Bush.

Cadiz plans to press forward with the project, which it says can provide 400,000 residents of drought-stricken Southern California with drinking water.

"It has been reviewed, approved and upheld in accordance with California's stringent environmental laws," said company spokeswoman Courtney Degener, adding that Cadiz can pump and deliver water "without harm to the environment."

"The company is very pleased to receive this letter from the BLM," Scott Slater, Cadiz's chief executive, said in a statement. Slater is also a partner at the Brownstein firm.

Cadiz says it will not pump at a rate that will suck the aquifer dry, and that building along the rail line minimizes the project's environmental footprint.

But BLM was just one obstacle to bringing the project to fruition. The state of California owns a 1-mile-long strip of land through which the pipeline would run, and the California State Lands Commission recently told Cadiz that it would need its approval, too.

There's also one other potential hurdle at the federal level: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "It's no surprise the Trump administration is willing to look the other way while Cadiz drains a vital desert aquifer," Feinstein said in a statement after the decision. "California must now step up to protect the Mojave desert from Cadiz and its friends in the administration."

Spurred by a request from Feinstein, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies the region's drinking water and would need to greenlight the project, too, said in September that the Mojave water contains arsenic and other contaminants at levels too high to drink without treatment.

If Cadiz required federal approval, as Interior said it would under Obama, the project would have had to undergo a lengthy environmental review process under the National Environmental Protection Act that could have restricted the project.
The leading U.S. trade negotiator exchanged unusually sharp words with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts Tuesday, saying he was "disappointed" at their "reluctance to give up unfair advantages."

In a press conference wrapping up a fourth round of negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, a combative U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration was determined to craft a better deal for U.S. companies and reduce a roughly $60 billion trade deficit with Mexico.

"Trade deficits do matter and we intend to reduce them," Lighthizer said at a joint press conference with Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.

However, Freeland cautioned earlier that an agreement "cannot be achieved with a winner take all mindset." Guajardo said: "In order for the efforts of Mexico, the United States and Canada to be fruitful, we must understand that we all have limits."

Despite the harsh words, the three ministers agreed to spread out the rounds of talks and extend them through the end of March, which Freeland called a sign of "goodwill."

But there was little positive in the remarks beyond that.

Although NAFTA was designed to encourage investment and freer flow of goods between the three countries, Lighthizer said "continuing to design a national manufacturing policy largely dependent on exports to the United States for balance cannot long continue."

And he said that "It is unreasonable to expect that the United States will continue to encourage . . . U.S. companies to invest in Mexico and Canada primarily for export to the United States."

Freeland countered that U.S. proposals to increase U.S. national content in goods given favored treatment within NAFTA "would severely disrupt supply chains" and "put in jeopardy tens of thousands of jobs."

She said that U.S. proposals "would turn back the clock on openness and predictability" and "in some cases run counter to World Trade Organization rules."

She said "our purpose here is to make a good agreement even better," but that what negotiators had seen was "a series of unconventional proposals" that "make our work much more challenging."

Guajardo also appealed for reason. "Despite our current differences, we must ensure that the decisions we make today do not come back and haunt us tomorrow."

Though President Donald Trump has called NAFTA the "worst agreement ever," he has heard from a cacophony of voices within the White House on how he should proceed on his trade threats.

White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn has tried to press Trump to be cautious, worried about what abrupt changes might mean for the U.S. and global economy. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has focused much of his attention on dealing with what he views as trade imbalances between the U.S. and China, though some of those decisions have also been delayed as the White House has focused on NAFTA.

Lighthizer has emerged in recent weeks as one of the most strident voices within the White House, pushing back on foreign ministers and business groups who have urged caution. And Peter Navarro, a top White House trade adviser, has lost his official senior perch within the Trump administration but remains very influential.

---

The Washington Post's Damian Paletta contributed to this article.
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The family of the late philanthropist and lay minister Howard E. Butt Jr. donated $1 million to provide Hurricane Harvey relief aid to hard-hit areas along the Gulf Coast.

The check was presented Tuesday at Sintons First United Methodist Church to the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group Fund, in honor of Butt, who died last year.

The fund is focused on addressing the unmet needs for low-income, elderly, disabled, single-parent households and U.S. veterans, according to the Butt familys announcement.

The donation is slated to fund relief efforts at areas along the coast, including Port Aransas, Refugio and Rockport.

Butts widow, Barbara Dan Butt, and their three children  Howard Butt III, Stephen Butt and Deborah Dan Butt Rogers  made the contribution.

We know of no better way to honor our father, Howard E. Butt Jr., and his legacy, than by extending a helping hand to the victims of Hurricane Harvey along the coastal bend of Texas, Howard Butt III said in a prepared statement.

The Rev. Beth Tatum, president of the recovery group fund, said they were grateful for the contribution and touched by the familys generosity.

Their support will ensure we have the necessary support to readily activate and begin to help our community, Tatum said in the statement.

Its our privilege, Stephen Butt said, to support our great HEB Partners and Gulf Coast friends as a strong recovery and rebuilding plan gets underway.

Deborah Dan Butt Rogers said the Gulf Coast, especially Corpus Christi and Port Aransas, meant much to their father, who would have celebrated his 90th birthday in September.

dhendricks@express-news.net | vtdavis@express-news.net
Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

AUSTIN  As expected, Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday officially asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower courts ruling that invalidated two of Texas 36 congressional districts.

The lower courts decision to invalidate parts of the maps it drew and adopted is inexplicable and indefensible, Paxton said in a statement. Were eager for the high court to take up the case.
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A 22-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a mass shooting at a 2016 Halloween party on the West Side.

Robert Contreras was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He remains in the Bexar County Jail.

RELATED: McManus: 'Gang-related' East Side shootout leaves two children injured

Contreras, who was dressed as Freddy Krueger, and a group of several other men arrived to a party at a home in the 2900 block of Aspen Meadow about 5 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2016, according to the affidavit.

The 25-year-old host of the party didn't recognize the men so he didn't let them in. Three of the men, including Contreras, allegedly pushed their way inside, initiating a shoving match.

Now Playing: San Antonio police investigate a shooting on the Northwest Side that left five people wounded Sunday morning, Oct. 30, 2016. Video: San Antonio Express-News

During the fight, one of the uninvited guests told the host to fight his brother "one on one." They fought but then the host saw Contreras, still dressed as Freddy Krueger, holding a shotgun, police said.

Contreras allegedly fired, striking not only the host, but four other people as well. He and several other uninvited guests then fled the scene, authorities said.

RELATED: SAPD: 20-year-old man shot during confrontation with suspected car burglars

Paramedics transported three men to University Hospital and another man at Baptist Medical Center in downtown San Antonio. A female victim drove herself to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital but crashed on the way there, police said.

There were no breaks in the case until the host reportedly identified Contreras in a photo line up. The affidavit didn't specify how police developed Contreras as a suspect.

A second witness identified him as well, police said.

A judge signed a warrant for Contreras's arrest on August 9 and was finally executed almost one year after the shooting.

Contreras was only charged in connection to allegedly shooting the host, but he may face further charges.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
Now Playing: A 20-year-old man was shot Wednesday morning, Oct. 18, after he confronted two suspects he thought were trying to break into cars in the area. Video: San Antonio Express-News

A 20-year-old man was shot Wednesday morning after he confronted two suspects he thought were trying to break into cars in the area.

Police said the victim, who has not been identified, was at a party around 3:15 a.m. in the 8200 block of South Flores Street when he and the other attendees thought they saw the suspects breaking into vehicles outside.
Police on Tuesday arrested a San Antonio man accused of robbing a Lyft driver after requesting a ride using his own account - complete with his name and phone number.

The driver picked up Emmanuel Maldonado, 26, on Sept. 22, according to an arrest affidavit.

While heading to the destination, Maldonado asked the driver to stop at a gas station along the way, police said. Then Maldonado suddenly pointed a handgun at the driver's head and demanded he give up his wallet, his car and his cell phone, according to the affidavit.

Five minutes later, police said, Maldonado was caught on surveillance footage as he pulled up to a 7-Eleven in the car he allegedly stole. He made two purchases using the driver's stolen credit card before leaving, the affidavit says.

Police were able to narrow in on Maldonado after Lyft gave the detective information on the account that was used to request the ride. The account included Maldonado's name and phone number, police said.

RELATED: Bexar County deputies reportedly find stolen law enforcement equipment in pickup truck after chase

Detectives determined Maldonado's photo matched the description given by the driver who was robbed.

Maldonado was arrested Tuesday on a $75,000 bond and charged with aggravated robbery.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.

fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
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A Central Texas attorney was sentenced this week to federal prison, nearly a year after he was convicted of an international wire fraud scheme that accumulated millions of dollars and led to a murder-for-hire plot by one of his co-conspirators.

Perry Don Cortese, of Little River-Academy, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday in the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, according to federal court records. Priscilla Ann Ellis, of Killeen, received a sentence of 40 years in prison and her daughter, Kenietta Rayshawn Johnson, of Kansas, got 3 years and 4 months.

Cortese, 53, worked with Ellis and Johnson to defraud law firms, title companies and users on dating websites, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

RELATED: 22-year-old arrested in 2016 'Freddy Krueger' mass shooting at S.A. Halloween party

The victims would wire money into a funnel account, and the money was quickly disseminated to other accounts across the world. Authorities determined other co-conspirators lived in Canada, Nigeria, South Korea and Senegal.

The court entered a $9,288,241.36 money judgement against both Cortese and Ellis. Both were also ordered to pay $3,767,196 in restitution.

Ellis was also convicted in a subsequent murder-for-hire plot in March, according to court records.

While an inmate at the Pinellas County Jail awaiting sentencing, Ellis approached at inmate the day after her conviction about starting a new counterfeit check scheme, according to a complaint filed by an FBI agent.

Ellis also asked the inmate if she knew people who could "get their hands dirty," meaning she wanted people killed, officials said.

RELATED: Man who allegedly led deputies on high-speed car chase arrested on outstanding warrants

Ellis told the inmate of three people on her list, including a witness, a different witness' mother, and a Houston-based lawyer.

The inmate notified authorities, who gave the inmate a recording device which was used to record subsequent conversations Ellis had with the inmate about the scheme, law enforcement said.

An undercover agent acted as the inmate's cousin, and reached out to Ellis about the proposed killings, which led up to the arrest after money was exchanged for the job, authorities said.

Ellis has not yet been sentenced for the conviction as she appeals the decision, according to court records.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.

fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a Senate panel Wednesday that he would not answer questions about his conversations with President Donald Trump leading up to the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, saying he considered them confidential.

Sessions, the former senator from Alabama and 20-year member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is testifying before that panel for the first time since being confirmed as attorney general.

Democrats have made it clear they will once again press him for answers about his conversations with Trump and Comey in the days before Trump dismissed the FBI director in May.

In testimony earlier this year before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sessions said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein agreed that Comey needed to go because of his decision to talk about the email investigation of Hillary Clinton - and his defense of it in Congress.

'Remains confidential'

But Sessions would not answer Wednesday when Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee's top Democrat, asked whether Trump actually fired Comey to remove a cloud created by the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

"That calls for a communication I've had with the president, and I believe it remains confidential," Sessions said. Pressed by Feinstein about whether that meant Trump did say something about Russia, Sessions said he "cannot confirm or deny the existence of any communication with the president that I consider confidential."

Sessions says he needs to protect a tradition of confidential conversations between the president and aides. But Trump has not formally invoked executive privilege, which might force a legal confrontation between the White House and Congress.

Last week, the Democratic senators on the committee sent a letter to Sessions, warning him that they expected he "will answer members' questions fully and truthfully" or invoke the privilege.

The committee's Republican chairman also indicated that he wants to probe further into the reasons for Comey's firing. "The American people have a right to know why he was fired, especially in the middle of so many high-profile investigations," Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said in opening remarks.

Pressed by Democrats

Sessions' shifting statements on his conversations with Russian officials sparked sharp exchanges as Democrats pressed him on whether he misled the committee in previous testimony. In January, Sessions testified that he "did not have communication" with Russian officials, but news accounts later revealed three meetings with the former Russian ambassador. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., pressed Sessions on whether he had given "false testimony."

Sessions said he had understood the questions as senators wanting to know if he had talked with Russians about interfering in the election.

"Every one of your previous questions was about improper involvement, and I felt the answer was no," Sessions said.
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SAN ANTONIO - Democratic state Sen. Carlos Uresti has submitted a powerful list of Texas judges, politicians and lawyers to testify as potential witnesses in his upcoming criminal fraud trial, which starts Monday and may stretch three weeks.

His witness list filed with the court late Monday is a Who's Who of the San Antonio political elite, with Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia and state Sen. Jose Menendez heading the list of 38 witnesses expected to be called for the trial.

Uresti also supplied a separate list of 133 people who "may be called to testify" on his behalf, including Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former San Antonio mayors Julian Castro and Henry Cisneros, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County district judges Solomon Casseb III and Peter Sakai, Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff, and Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood.

Michael McCrum, one of Uresti's defense lawyers, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. But it's presumed that most of those prominent individuals, if called, would testify to Uresti's veracity or as character witnesses.

"It may be as simple as posturing (to list all of these prominent individuals as potential witnesses), but it could be a serious attempt by the defense to try to get as many people with good characters, who are well-known in the community, to come in" and testify, said Miguel Najera, a San Antonio criminal defense lawyer who is not involved in the case. "Because these people are going to have more gravitas, they are going to have a larger affect on either a judge or a jury when they are testifying in favor of an accused."

A jury may pay more attention to those individuals' testimony and give more weight to it because they are known in the community, he said.

Uresti is facing 11 felony charges, including wire and securities fraud, conspiracy, and acting as unregistered securities broker in connection with his involvement in now-defunct oil field services company FourWinds Logistics. A federal grand jury in May indicted Uresti, along with former FourWinds CEO Stan Bates and consultant Gary Cain. Each has denied the charges.

FourWinds collapsed into bankruptcy in 2015 amid allegations by some investors that they were defrauded. Prosecutors have called FourWinds a Ponzi scheme, an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to earlier investors from monies contributed by new investors.

Others potential witnesses include San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert Puente, state Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, former County Commissioner and ex-mayoral candidate Tommy Adkisson and former state district Judge John Specia.

Josh Baugh contributed to this report.
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AUSTIN -- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blaming the Texas House for the Legislature's failure to pass tax cut legislation that could have helped hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas.

Patrick said he supported a bill in the spring that would have forced all local governments to reappraise damaged homes and businesses after a storm to lower taxes. But he said it was the House that killed the idea, not the Senate.

In an opinion piece published in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Patrick said, "House leadership slow-played the Senate disaster reappraisal bill" and killed the legislation, not the Senate as key House members have said.

Last week State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, put blame for the bill's demise on Patrick. She told the Houston Chronicle that the House passed her bill overwhelmingly, but Patrick never put it to a vote of the Senate. It is a move she said was punishment for her opposition to the bathroom bill, one of Patrick's top priorities.

"I have little doubt its slow death in the Senate is because of social issues like the bathroom bill," said Davis, a Houston Republican whose district flooded badly during the 2015 Memorial Day storms and the 2016 tax day storms.

Currently after natural disasters, all local taxing jurisdictions have the authority to reappraise property damaged during a storm, but few do because of the cost and time. But under the Davis bill, all homes and businesses damaged during a nationally declared disaster would have to be reappraised, essentially lowering the tax bills for anyone affected by storms like Hurricane Harvey.

On four different occasions the bill was a single round of votes away from passing, but never became law.

In April, the Davis bill, HB 513, first passed the full House 148 to 0. A month earlier, the Senate passed a similar bill by Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, that was filed months after Davis' bill. The Senate passed Taylor's SB 717 by a 31-0 vote.

If the House had passed Taylor's version without Davis' name on the bill, it would have gone to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature to become law.

"All they had to do was pass the Senate bill on the floor," Patrick said in his piece in the Caller-Times.

Similarly, if the Senate passed the Davis version, it would have been sent to Abbott.

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said the only reason the Senate wouldn't take up the Davis bill was because of "fake junior high politics" and they were upset with her.

The result was that neither chamber budged, and both bills died despite being nearly identical except for the sponsor's name.

On Aug. 11, two weeks before Harvey made landfall, the House again passed another version of Davis' idea without opposition and sent it to the Senate. Although the special session had five days remaining, the bill never was sent to a committee or voted on in the Senate.

But Davis said the House made yet one last shot, when they amended another property tax reform bill and included the reappraisal requirement.

The Senate, however, voted not to concur on the amended property tax reform proposal. That tax reform plan died after the House ended the special session nearly a full day early and under a hail of criticism from Patrick directed at House leaders for not finishing property tax reforms or the bathroom bill.

Patrick said if the House had not "quit early and walked out" the disaster reappraisal idea would have been part of final negotiations over the property tax reform bill that never passed.

After the Houston Chronicle reported on the failed disaster reappraisal legislation, Mike Collier, a Democrat running against Patrick in 2018, penned a piece for the Caller-Times blasting Patrick for not passing the Davis bill when he had a chance in the spring.

"Our Lt. Governor, bizarrely obsessed with bathrooms, refused to consider a bill written by someone in his own party that would have protected ordinary homeowners from this risk," Collier wrote in the piece published on Friday. "The bill would have required reappraisals after a storm. Thanks to Dan Patrick, no such protection exists."

Collier is a CPA and former longtime partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In his letter to the Caller-Times, Patrick called Collier's comments "outrageous and false."

jeremy.wallace@chron.com

twitter.com/@JeremySWallace
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President Donald Trump has empowered federal authorities to deport immigrants here illegally, promised to punish so-called sanctuary cities and is pushing Congress to start funding a complete wall along our southern border.

Fearful of being exposed and sent back to countries that may no longer be familiar or welcoming, immigrants are withdrawing even more into the shadows. The worry extends to their spouses and children, who, in many cases, are American citizens.

The five storylines below are the face of immigration in Houston. Click here to view the entire project, "A New America."

Marie D. De Jesus/Staff

DEPORTEES: Strangers in their homelands

The profile of deportees has been changing with the Donald Trump administration. In Latin America, authorities are receiving more deportees who have lived for years in the United States, without criminal records and parents of US citizen children. Their attachment to America and relative unfamiliarity with their homeland leads to extreme challenges in reintegration in nations dominated by criminal gangs. For many, it's a terrifying and unsustainable prospect with only one choice to make: Back to America.

Read the series below:

***

Marie D. De Jesus/Staff

OUT OF TIME: Deportation looms

Candidate Donald Trump inspired anti-immigration fervor across the country - and created panic at Juan Rodriguez's home. His family felt that Juan, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had been regularly checking in with ICE, would be in danger of deportation.

Soon after the election, he was told that he wasn't "a priority for this country anymore." An immigration lawyer came to his defense, and three high-profile attorneys signed on to assist Juan's wife, a U.S. citizen, and their three American daughters in the legal battle.

Read the series here. Follow the family's struggles in photos here.

***

Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle

CRACKDOWN: Jails, courts get busy

Donald Trump's focus on immigration is straining the federal court system and significantly ramping up construction of new facilities to house detainees. In the first three months of his presidency, at least 113,828 immigrants were locked up in 180 different facilities across the nation  a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2016.

The Trump administration wants to pump an additional $1.6 billion into ICE's budget for 2018 and boost the number of beds in detention facilities nationwide from 30,000 to more than 50,000. Meanwhile, the federal courts, already backlogged, are burdened by an influx of people without criminal records facing deportation.

Read how Trump is pressing for mass criminalization of illegal border crossers here. Private prisons are also booming under Trump's immigration crackdown.

***

Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle

DEEPER UNDERGROUND: Fear runs rampant

For decades, undocumented immigrants started businesses, bolstered the work force, bought houses and raised families in Houston with little fear of being questioned about their legal status. They helped build the city into a metropolis.

Now immigrants, both undocumented and documented, are keeping a low profile. Laws such as Texas Senate Bill 4 -- which allows police officers to question a detained person's status -- and aggressive federal enforcement have sparked fear in the city's immigrant enclaves, leading to a retreat into the shadows.

Read how fear is driving mistrust between police, immigrant communities here.

***

Juan Carlos

JOSE ESCOBAR: A family torn apart

On Feb. 22, Jose Escobar went to the Houston immigration office for his annual check-in. He'd held a work permit since 2012, granting a provisional stay of deportation. But ICE has different rules now.

The 31-year-old father of two American children was detained and later sent back to El Salvador, where he hadn't been since he was 15. He fell victim to a paperwork gaffe - his mother had sent for him when he was a teenager, an age when he qualified for temporary protected status. She assumed his permit would automatically renew when she reapplied for hers. It didn't.

Read the series here. See the life Escobar had to leave behind and how he's adjusting to life in a foreign homeland in photos.

***

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Never interested in private practice, Dr. Alfonso H. Holguin choose to spend his medical career in public health.

Working with the U.S. Public Health Service and what is now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Holguin was involved in testing both the inactivated and oral polio vaccines in the 1950s and in containing an uptick in cases of tuberculosis in the 1960s.

It was during the time when the government was trying to put a stop to tuberculosis after it had been dormant for a few years, said his wife, Hanna Holguin. The CDC wanted protocol to get all the states to be on board  to do surveillance; during those few years, he visited all the states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Most of all, though, Holguin wanted to help others.

He was very dedicated to serving the underserved populations  along the U.S.-Mexican border, said longtime friend and colleague Teresa Hines. He was very concerned  in being aware of the tribulations of the migrant workers and other populations.

Holguin died Oct. 6 at 86.

The oldest of six children reared in El Paso, Holguin put himself through what is now the University of Texas at El Paso, earning a degree in biological sciences before entering medical school at UT Galveston.

More Information Alfonso H. Holguin Born: April 3, 1931, El Paso Died: Oct. 6, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Alfonso and Effie Mae Holguin; son-in-law David Wagner Survived by: Wife Hanna Holguin; daughters Laura Wagner, Theresa Fisher and son-in-law Will, Carol Holguin; sons Mark Holguin and daughter-in-law Rebecca, Paul Holguin and daughter-in-law Kathleen, and Stephen Holguin and daughter-in-law Lisa; two sisters; 15 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren Services: Mass at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 10703 Wurzbach Road, followed by a celebration of life See More Collapse

Working on an Indian reservation early in his career, Holguin saw how economics affected public health care.

Prescribing three medications to one of the residents of the reservation, Holguin was taken aback when asked which drug was the most important because the patient could only afford to purchase one.

Thats when it hit home to him that he couldnt make the assumption that whatever he decided, his patient would be able to comply, Hines said. It was those kind of experiences that helped him become who he was.

Such realizations enabled Holguin to later work more effectively with people living in colonias, poor neighborhoods made up of substandard housing along the Texas border.

Recruiting residents to help educate the rest of the population about clean drinking water, vaccinations and other preventative health care, Holguin also worked to get more Hispanics to go into public health careers.

After serving as director of the state and community services division at the CDC, Holguin and his family moved back to Texas, where he began teaching at the UT School of Public Health, first in Houston and then, starting in 1980, at San Antonio.

He loved to have that input with the students  get them interested in public health, his wife said.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
Perhaps one of the only positives to the end of summer for a beer lover is the return of the Oktoberfest beers and seasonal ales. Courtnay Lowell, an expert in the beer selection at Total Wine and More's new location at the Forum, says there are two styles of brew that are briefly available this time of year: Marzen beers and pumpkin ales.

"Marzen beers are traditionally made for Oktoberfest," she says. "They are heavier beers, emphasizing malt over hops, and often have a deep golden color. Pumpkin ales use real pumpkin in the brewing process and/or add pumpkin pie spices like nutmeg. Pumpkin ales have been trending in popularity over the last decade."

"Marzen" means March in German, the time of year when the brewing season came to end in the Bavarian region before refrigeration was available. Bavarian brew masters would make these last barrels of full-bodied beers to store over the summer, ready to serve at Oktoberfest. Marzenbiers have been brewed in Germany since the 16th century.

Comparatively, the popularity of pumpkin ales may seem like a current fad, but adding pumpkin to beer dates back to Colonial days in America. The pumpkin is a native plant here, making the tradition a uniquely American one. Lowell says modern pumpkin ales show a variety of approaches by brewers. Some may use hand-cut pumpkins or puree in the mash. Others spice the beer with ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Many breweries make specialty offerings with pumpkin, either seasonally, in collaboration with other breweries or as a one-off, she says.

Brew connoisseurs should grab these seasonal offerings while they can, Lowell cautions, as the last delivery of these autumnal varieties is typically the first week of November. Then it will be another year before these fun labels reappear.

Lowell shares a few examples of both styles that are popular and currently available at Total Wine and More:

Marzen/Oktoberfest beers

Ayinger Oktober Fest ($3.49/16.9oz): Hailing from Germany, this brew is described as "the Alps in a bottle." Deep gold color with a malty nose.

Ballast Point Dead Ringer Oktoberfest($9.99/6pk): Pours a deep amber color. Nicely balanced with malt and sweetness, with pumpkin flavor notes.

Ranger Creek Oktoberfest (8.99/6pk): A local brew aged in oak barrels and stored in a cold room to simulate traditional methods from Germany.

Saint Arnold Oktoberfest (8.99/6pk): Rich, full-bodied and malty, this beer from Houston represents the shift from summer citrusy pale ales.

Pumpkin Beers

Ballast Point Pumpkin Down Scottish Ale (9.99/6pk): A Scottish-style ale brewed in California with roasted pumpkin and spices. Pours a copper orange color and has an earthy flavor.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (14.99/6pk): Utilizing baked pumpkins and with spices and brown sugar added, the flavors balance rather than overpower.

No Label Nightmare on 1st Street (8.99/4pk): An Imperial Amber style of ale from Katy, there is a big malt presence with hints of ginger, clove and cinnamon.

Wasatch Nitro Pumpkin Ale (8.99/6pk): Brewed with pumpkin and spiced, this Utah brewery also added nitro bubbles to give a thick, creamy head.

Join in the harvest season by sampling some of the variety of these traditional, seasonal beers available at any of our locations.

Del Norte

125 NW Loop 410

San Antonio, TX 78216

(210) 524-9300

The Rim

17530 La Cantera Parkway

San Antonio, TX 78257

(210) 877-9155

The Forum

8356 Agora Parkway

Selma, TX 78154

(210) 566-1503

You can also shop online at www.TotalWine.com.

Editors Note: This content is made possible by Total Wine & More. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com.
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Derived from the Vienna style, Marzen and Oktoberfest beers can offer similar flavors and feel. Known as Marzenbier, German for "March beer," this German lager was developed in the 1840s, before refrigeration. It was traditionally brewed in the spring and stored in cool cellars for consumption over the warmer summer months. Remaining supplies of Marzenbier were then consumed during Oktoberfest celebrations. The color ranges from clear, deep gold to orange-red, with a foamy, off-white head. Vienna and/or Munich malts contribute to the darker hue and characteristic toasty malt sweetness of Oktoberfest beers, and background Noble hop bitterness keeps them from being cloying. With malt character potentially rich and complex, the best Oktoberfest beer exhibits a clean, smooth lager character. While some are available year-round, most beers of this style are only available seasonally to ring in the fall months.

Characteristics:

Malty, sweet, toasty, smooth, medium-bodied


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Tuscan wine is inseparable from Italy's history, with recorded references to the area's wine merchants going back 1,000 years. Wine is a traditional part of the Italian lifestyle, with wine integral to the region's lauded cuisine. And wine has left its mark on the Tuscan environment: with the region's winegrowers producing some 26 million cases of wine each year, there are a lot of vines covering Tuscany's hillsides.

Those idyllic hills, the slopes of Italy's Apennine mountain range, stretch through Tuscany from north to south. Sangiovese, Tuscany's native red grape, predominates in the vineyards there. Sangiovese is the chief or sole grape in almost all Tuscan red winesand more than three-quarters of the wines produced in Tuscany are red.
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DERBY  For the first time in 12 years, the two mayoral candidates vying for voters in November will meet face to face in an old-fashioned public debate.

Democratic Mayor Anita Dugatto, whos seeking a third term in office, will join GOP challenger Richard Zeke Dziekan at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Derby High School auditorium, 75 Chatfield St., for a debate sponsored by the Derby Public Schools and the Valley Independent Sentinel.

High School students will ask questions, the candidates will question each other and then will field questions from Valley Indy reporters. The event is free and open to the public.

Dugatto, a dentist and former member of the citys tax board, became the citys first female mayor in 2013, beating former Republican Mayor Anthony Staffieri. In the 2015 election, Dugatto faced a challenge from Dziekan, winning re-election by just 112 votes.

Dziekan, a retired Hamden police officer, former alderman and former member of the tax board, is ready for a rematch.

Dugatto is excited about taking the debate to the people.

Debates enable residents to make an informed voting decision, she said. During a debate, candidates have the opportunity to qualify their leadership skills, demonstrate their understanding of the unique challenges facing Derby and communicate their plans for credible solutions.

Dugatto said shes looking forward to discussing the many good things that have happened on her watch over the past four years, including numerous new businesses opening up, adopting a strategic plan, cleaning up neighborhoods and receiving public and private investment in support of economic development objectives.

I hope the public walks away with a true understanding of the issues and opportunities facing the city of Derby, the tremendous progress that has been made under my administration and how important continuity in leadership is to achieving the objectives we have laid out, Dugatto added.

Dziekan, an Air Force veteran, is looking forward to discussing his message with the public.

It is important to debate because the voters deserve an opportunity to hear each candidates platform in his/her own words, said Dziekan. Each candidate should also be given a chance to speak directly to supporters and critics alike. Lastly, its important for voters to see how their elected officials operate under a little pressure.

Dziekan said Derby needs leadership to help struggling taxpayers, who he said over the last year endured a whopping 10.2 percent tax hike, ranking Derby the 18th municipality out of 169 cities and towns with the highest tax rate. And he hopes to be the candidate to help turn Derbys finances around.

We have seen our hometown headed down the wrong direction for too long, Dziekan had said.

Dziekan said hes been making the rounds, door to door, for the past few months and loves interacting with the residents. He said the debate provides another opportunity for that.

After the debate, Im hoping the public will see that I am the right person for the job, he said. I have the passion, dedication, and wherewithal necessary to get Derby moving back in the right direction.
WILTON  Eric Von Kohorn, a former Miller-Driscoll School paraprofessional accused of inappropriately touching two preschoolers in lawsuits filed against the town, will be released from the Brooklyn Correctional Institution on Friday, Oct. 20, officials said.

Von Kohorn will have served two years at several institutions on a six-year suspended sentence for an unrelated conviction of second-degree illegal possession of child pornography, a public information officer said. Upon release, he is required to register under the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry and to serve 10 years of probation.

As of 2010, the total number of registered sex offenders in Connecticut is 5,231, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Under standard court-ordered probation conditions, Von Kohorn may be required to: participate in counseling, including any anger management or family therapy as required by probation; be evaluated for participation in sex offender treatment, including periodic polygraphs; abide by all the rules regarding sex offender registration; receive authorization from probation to use a computer and/or to access the internet; seek employment approved by the probation unit; and adhere to other special sex offender conditions outlined by probation.

The list has been reviewed with Von Kohorn but the process is not yet complete, Connecticut Judicial Branch spokesperson Rhonda Stearley-Hebert said. His probation is set to begin on Oct. 22 and he will be supervised by the probations sex offender unit, she said. Failure to abide by any conditions would result in immediate violation of probation.

Von Kohorn pleaded guilty in 2015, after he was arrested by Connecticut State Police on charges of first-degree possession of child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance. The arrest prompted his resignation from Wilton Public Schools, where he was employed from 2007-2014.

A 2015 civil lawsuit filed against the Board of Education and town alleges Von Kohorn took a fully toilet-trained 4-year-old female preschooler into the bathroom alone and inappropriately touched her. Another lawsuit filed in 2016 alleges Von Kohorn brought a fully toilet-trained 4-year-old boy into the bathroom alone and photographed him while his pants were down. Both lawsuits are ongoing and have a jury trial set for March and and April of 2018, respectively.

skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim
A policeman accused of torching former police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuris house before exchanging fire with soldiers was on Thursday remanded in custody to January 16.

Hardlife Maukazuva, 27, made his first appearance at the Harare Magistrates Court in December, facing charges of unlawful entry into Chihuris property in aggravating circumstances, malicious damage to property and attempted murder.

Allegations are that on December 6 around 6am, he arrived for his guard duties at Chihuris residence in Greystone Park, while the police commissioner-general was away.

He assumed his shift from one constable Mabaso and Gwatiringa who had just finished their night duties and duly assumed an AK rifle with a magazine of 30 rounds, among other things, from them.

The State alleges that Maukazuva went on to force open a closed window to gain entry into Chihuris house and stole a Samsung LED 32 inch television set; a black hp satchel bag; tuxan shoe polish; black high fashion ladies top; green ladies suit; Levine black ladies suits; a pair of black spectacles; two silver coat hangers; kasper light green ladies jacket, and an emirates grey slip on shoes.

The goods were worth $2 000 and they have since been recovered.

Maukazuva escaped through the window and was spotted by Chihuris gardener, Robson Mubaiwa, after he had hidden his loot in the yard.

Mubaiwa tried to raise alarm and appeal for help from neighbours, without success.

It is further alleged that Mubaiwa went on to confront Maukazuva who admitted to his crime.

Matters boiled over when other officers who guard Chihuris residence tried to disarm and arrest Maukazuva who is said to have become violent, striking constable Kudakwashe Jekemu on the back using his service AK rifle.

He then went inside Chihuris house and set it on fire, destroying household property, clothes and causing damage to the house worth $300 000.

While the house was smouldering, the court heard that Maukazuva started firing his AK rifle charged with a magazine of 30 rounds indiscriminately, while standing guard by the veranda of Chihuris house to ensure that no one came close to put out the fire.

He is said to have opened fire on several of the guards on duty but missed and continued to fire on heavily-armed soldiers who had been dispatched to the scene of incident as well as at his superiors dispatched from Morris Depot.

It was said that he tried to commit suicide using the same rifle but realised that he had run out of ammunition. It was at this juncture that he was subdued and arrested.

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The high court agreed to hear an appeal that challenges the credit-card firms push of customers to use credit cards with lower transaction fees.

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal from 11 states that disputes American Expresss regulations mandating that retailers who accept AmEx cannot ask consumers to pay with cards that have lower swipe fees, The Hill reports. Ohio was the first state to file the lawsuit, and has been joined by Vermont, Utah, Rhode Island, Montana, Michigan, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Idaho and Connecticut.

The states allege that the AmEx rules go against federal antitrust law because the regulations restrict trade. AmEx adopted the prohibitions when MasterCard and Visas 1980s ad campaigns touted American Expresss smaller network and higher swipe fees. The states argument is that the AmEx regulations have in fact raised industry swipe fees across the board.

AmEx replied that the mandate gives it a place at the table because MasterCard and Visa have a combined 68% of credit-card transactions. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a lower court decision that had forbidden AmEx from enforcing its regulations.

Though merchants may desire lower fees, those fees are necessary to maintaining cardholder satisfactionand if a particular merchant finds that the cost of Amex fees outweighs the benefit it gains by accepting Amex cards, then the merchant can choose to not accept Amex cards, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals said. Indeed, many merchants have already made and continue to make this choice.

In 2010, the U.S Justice Department signed on with the states against AmEx in district court, but by August 2017, the agency had backed off. Although the court of appeals decision was erroneous, this case does not satisfy this Courts traditional standards for certiorari, then-Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall wrote. Most importantly, the court of appeals decision does not directly conflict with any decision of this Court or another court of appeals.

The states countered that the case had too much importance to wait. Given the pervasive significance of credit cards to the national economy, the question here is of undoubted importance, according to the states.
Shannon Goldwater - Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award (3 of 4)

Winning the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award would be transformational for our organization. It would mean the world to us. Just to be nominated and have a chance to win the award is a victory for us, in and of itself. Shannon Goldwater

The NASCAR Foundation's Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by Nationwide honors NASCAR fans who are also accomplished volunteers working for childrens causes in their communities throughout the United States. It's that time of year again. Four remarkable finalists are up for a $100,000 donation to the charity they represent. You can vote once a day, everyday for your favorite finalist. Voting ends November 29.

Shannon Goldwater - 2017 Finalist - Feeding Matters

Shannon Goldwater founded the Feeding Matters organization in 2006 after experiencing first-hand the challenges  and the fear  a parent faces when their childs life is in danger due to a Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD). Her experience was especially challenging; her fear was threefold. Goldwaters premature triplets, born in 2002, all were battling PFD. This, after the triplets had survived complicated surgeries. Seeking medical care for PFD was frustrating. Diagnoses varied, as did the treatments, which produced inconsistent results.





It led Goldwater down the path of founding Feeding Matters, in the hopes of helping others avoid the arduous journey her family had experienced. Feeding Matters began with Goldwater and three other volunteers. The organization now annually reaches more than 65,000 people  family members and medical professionals.





Her goal has been to combine efforts of families, medical professionals, feeding therapists and engaged volunteers to mobilize  and maximize  efforts to battle PFD. Feeding Matters promotes advances against PFD by accelerating identification and accurate diagnoses at the outset, then promoting research and care.





She has personally mentored more than 100 families dealing with PFD, connecting them with resources, providing emotional support and, perhaps most importantly, ensuring that their voices are heard by medical professionals









The NASCAR Foundation is Dedicated to

Helping Children Live Happier, Healthier Lives.

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Tipperary farmers are still suffering the after-affects of Storm Ophelia  and Glanbia Ireland is appealing for farmers to urgently make generators available to worst affected regions

A large number of Glanbia Ireland milk suppliers remain without power on Wednesday morning. Those without access to generators face a very difficult situation with herds now requiring milking urgently.

The worst affected regions are Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny and Cork but issues are not confined to these areas. On Tuesday afternoon, the number of seriously affected Glanbia farms was estimated at approximately 500.

Glanbia Ireland is working with suppliers, collecting milk as frequently as possible where access is safe. In some of the worst affected areas, access to some farms is still not possible due to the presence of fallen trees with attached power cables.

Glanbia Ireland Chairman Henry Corbally said: There is a severe shortage of suitable generators available. I would urge farmers in areas that have not been adversely affected by Storm Ophelia to consider making suitable mobile generators available to dairy farmers in affected regions.

Those with suitable mobile generators available for use should contact their local Glanbia Ireland representative immediately. The full list of Farm Development Managers and their contact details are available on www.glanbiaconnect.com

Henry Corbally praised the efforts of Glanbia Ireland staff and milk hauliers who were out before and after Storm Ophelia to ensure the maximum number of farms were promptly collected.

Co-Ops should help co-ordinate efforts - IFA

IFA National Dairy Chairman Sean OLeary today (Wednesday) said it was crucial that co-ops would co-ordinate their efforts to support farmers in dealing with the consequences of hurricane Ophelia to optimise its efficiency.



Sean OLeary said, The most pressing problem on farms is where they are left without electricity after a power outage which it could take days for ESB to deal with.



Ensuring that cows can continue to be milked is crucial from an animal welfare point of view, and maintaining refrigeration is essential to ensure the valuable quality milk produced is not spoilt or wasted, he said.



I am aware that some co-ops, including Glanbia, have made teams of electricians available, and are facilitating the loaning of generators between farmers who have them but dont need them and those who do, he added.



It is essential that co-ops would co-ordinate their efforts, especially in the South West, the South East and the West, where the impact from Ophelia on the power grid seems to have been the greatest, he said.



Farmers who continue to have difficulties with their power supply should make contact with their IFA County Chairmen and with their Co-op, he concluded.
Sinnerboy are delighted to be returning to Mulcahys, Clonmel this Saturday, October, as part of their October 2017 Irish Tour.

This is an exciting opportunity to see this fantastically talented tribute to Rory Gallagher, in Rorys home country. The Irish tour sees Barry Barnes on vocals and lead guitar, Derek White on bass guitar and Steve Richardson on drums, a great line-up!

Barry says Its always special to play Rorys music in his homeland. Theres such a buzz as Rory fans pay homage to one of the greatest musicians to ever emerge from Ireland. Barry himself is one of Rorys most devoted fans and feels blessed to be able to play his music. You can guarantee that he and the boys will be playing with their usual skill, passion and pure unadulterated love of the music of Rory Gallagher!

As the years keep on rolling by, its ever more important to make sure that Rorys music isnt forgotten. Its wonderful to see his faithful fans, many lucky enough to have seen him play live, now being joined by a new generation discovering the magic of Rory Gallagher.

Anyone who has seen Sinnerboy play before cannot doubt how passionate they are about Rorys music. Playing the Ballyshannon festival each year since 2003, they delight the crowds and have a faithful following there.

In Barrys words I may have driven all day, humped amps up stairs and feel completely shattered, but as soon as I plug in my Strat, hit the first chord and see the smiles on people's faces the weariness just falls away.

Dont miss this chance to catch them in Clonmel!

www.sinnerboy.co.uk

Twitter @Rory_Sinnerboy

Venue: http://mulcahys.ie/
Giza and the Pyramids

Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass. Thames & Hudson: 2017.

9780500051894

9780226425696

An aeroplane flies over the pyramids and Sphinx on the Giza Plateau near Cairo. Credit: James L. Stanfield/NATL Geographic Creative

In Giza and the Pyramids, veteran Egyptologists Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass cite an Arab proverb: Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids. It's a reminder that the great Egyptian complex on the Giza Plateau has endured for some four and a half millennia  the last monument standing of that classical-era must-see list, the Seven Wonders of the World.

Lehner and Hawass have produced an astonishingly comprehensive study of the excavations and scientific investigations that have, over two centuries, uncovered the engineering techniques, religious and cultural significance and other aspects of the Giza site. Three decades in the making, the book has undergone many iterations in step with new findings, from tombs to data gleaned from the study of clay sealings, plant remains, bakeries, abattoirs and workshops.

Both authors have been deeply involved with the site since the mid-1970s, and they often openly agree to disagree on interpretations of evidence. Lehner began studying Giza under the aegis of the Stanford Research Institute in California, later founding the non-profit organization Ancient Egypt Research Associates. Hawass served as Giza's governmental chief inspector and, in 2011, as Egypt's first Minister of Antiquities under President Hosni Mubarak. After Mubarak fell from power during the Arab Spring that year, Hawass resigned, amid controversy.

The Giza complex invites speculation and debate. Its three pyramids are the tombs of pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, also known as Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus, respectively. They were built during the Old Kingdom, roughly 2,575 to 2,150 BC. Yet the nearby Sphinx is not referred to in any hieroglyphic inscription from that period, and its origin and purpose remain unknown. Moreover, Khufu's tomb, the Great Pyramid, was the tallest artificial structure in the world for almost four millennia, and remains an engineering conundrum. It consists of some 2.3 million vast stone blocks, assembled using methods that can only be guessed at. The geometry of its base may not be an exact square as imagined by Isaac Newton, but it is not far off. As Lehner and others showed in a 2015 survey (G. Dash AERAGRAM 16(2), 814; 2015), the tomb's four sides, each a little more than 230 metres long, vary by at most just 18.3 centimetres.

Lehner and Hawass reject the idea that armies of Egyptian slaves constructed the pyramids, as the classical Greek historian Herodotus suggested. They do, however, embrace the concept that the innovative administrative and social organization demanded by the enormous task of building the complex were key factors in creating Egyptian civilization.

The authors are also in accord over a theory regarding the purpose of the Giza monuments. Lehner noticed that if you stand near the Sphinx during the summer solstice, the Sun appears to set midway between the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre, visually echoing a hieroglyph that symbolizes the cycle of life and rebirth. Along with other astronomical evidence, this has led him and Hawass to speculate that the progenitors of the complex saw it as a cosmic engine  a way of harnessing the power of the sun god Ra to resurrect the soul of the entombed pharaoh (see go.nature.com/2xupsis).

The hundreds of illustrations in the book  from hieroglyphic inscriptions to laser scans  reveal other marvels. Photographs of the inner chambers, cores and outer masonry of the pyramids show intriguing details. The inner masonry (which on Khufu's pyramid was originally faced with polished white limestone) is surprisingly irregular and full of holes, analogous to Swiss cheese. All three pyramids are now being investigated, using muon tomography and infrared thermography, for the presence of internal voids  a project of international consortium ScanPyramids under the authority of Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities. The group has located two possible cavities of as-yet-unknown significance in the Great Pyramid.

A fascinating discovery by Lehner and Hawass centres on the funerary monument of Khentkawes, a queen with complicated royal connections who may have ruled during the fourth dynasty, the Old Kingdom's 'golden age'. Drilling cores into a depression east of this complex in 200914, the team hit a hard surface below the estimated level of the Nile Valley floodplain in that dynasty. They posit that this may be evidence of a functioning harbour  a pyramid port that filled during the annual inundation. (Floods could reach the foot of the plateau before 1902, when the first Aswan dam was completed.)

So, did the pyramid builders ship in stone by river? That is supported by papyrus rolls found in 201113 by French archaeologist Pierre Tallet and his team, who were excavating a port complex of Khufu at Wadi el-Jarf on the Red Sea. These contain the hieroglyphic journal of a pyramid builder named Merer and accounts of provisions for his team. Hailed by Hawass as the greatest discovery in Egypt in the twenty-first century (see go.nature.com/2y1rneg), the papyri detail the building of the Great Pyramid. They describe workers delivering limestone to Giza by boat from quarries at Turah, halfway between modern Cairo and Helwan. As in the nineteenth century, archaeological techniques combined with ancient manuscripts are advancing Egyptology.
Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page has been subpoenaed as part of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russia's alleged intervention in the 2016 election, a source directly familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The committee expects Page to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to answer questions, the source said. Page previously said he would participate in a hearing.

Page, who has repeatedly denied any inappropriate ties to Russia, has drawn scrutiny for meeting with the former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the Republican National Convention last year.

On Nov. 1, the committee has scheduled an open hearing with social media giants including Twitter, Facebook and Google.
A federal judge in Hawaii blocked most of President Donald Trump's latest travel ban Tuesday, just hours before it was set to take effect, saying the revised order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor."

It was the third set of travel restrictions issued by the president to be thwarted, in whole or in part, by the courts.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued the ruling after the ban on a set of mostly Muslim countries was challenged by the state of Hawaii, which warned that the restrictions would separate families and undermine the recruiting of diverse college students.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the ruling "dangerously flawed" and said it "undercuts the president's efforts to keep the American people safe." The Justice Department said it will quickly appeal.

At issue was a ban, announced in September and set to go into effect early Wednesday, on travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, along with some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

The Trump administration said the ban was based on an assessment of each country's security situation and willingness to share information with the U.S.

Watson, appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, said the new restrictions ignore a federal appeals court ruling against Trump's previous ban.

The latest version "plainly discriminates based on nationality in the manner that the 9th Circuit has found antithetical to ... the founding principles of this nation," Watson wrote.

The judge's ruling applies only to the six Muslim-majority countries on the list. It does not affect the restrictions against North Korea or Venezuela, because the state of Hawaii did not ask for that.

"This is the third time Hawaii has gone to court to stop President Trump from issuing a travel ban that discriminates against people based on their nation of origin or religion," Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said in a statement. "Today is another victory for the rule of law."

Hawaii argued the updated ban was a continuation of Trump's campaign call for a ban on Muslims, despite the addition to the list of two countries without a Muslim majority.

Watson noted that Hawaii argues Trump hasn't backed down on calls for a ban on Muslim immigration. Watson cited Trump's series of June tweets "in which (Trump) complained about how the Justice Department had submitted a 'watered down, politically correct version' to the Supreme Court."

Other courts that weighed the travel ban have cited Trump's comments about banning Muslims from entering the United States.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said a previous version of the ban was "rooted in religious animus" toward Muslims and pointed to Trump's campaign promise to impose a ban on Muslims entering the country as well as tweets and remarks he has made since becoming president.

In Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang called Trump's own statements about barring Muslims from entering the United States "highly relevant."

In his previous ruling, Watson wrote, referring to a statement Trump issued as a candidate, "For instance, there is nothing 'veiled' about this press release: 'Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.'

Watson's ruling Tuesday said the new ban, like its predecessor, fails to show that nationality alone makes a person a greater security risk to the U.S.

"The categorical restrictions on entire populations of men, women and children, based upon nationality, are a poor fit for the issues regarding the sharing of 'public-safety and terrorism-related information' that the president identifies," Watson said.

He also said the ban is inconsistent in the way some countries are included or left out. For example, Iraq failed to meet the security benchmark but was omitted from the ban. Somalia met the information-sharing benchmark but was included.

Watson also found fault with what sorts of visitors are barred. For instance, all tourists and business travelers from Libya are excluded from the U.S., but student visitors were allowed.

The judge said he would set an expedited hearing to determine whether his temporary restraining order blocking the ban should be extended.

Other courts are weighing challenges to the ban.

In Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups are seeking to block the visa and entry restrictions. Washington state, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New York and Maryland are challenging the order in front of the same federal judge in Seattle who struck down Trump's initial ban in January.

That ban  aimed mostly at Muslim-majority countries  led to chaos and confusion at airports nationwide and triggered several lawsuits, including one from Hawaii.

When Trump revised the ban, Hawaii challenged that version, too, and Watson agreed it discriminated on the basis of nationality and religion. A subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the administration to partially reinstate restrictions against Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and against all refugees.

Hawaii then successfully challenged the government's definition of which relatives of people already living in the U.S. would be allowed into the country, and Watson ordered the list expanded.


Report reveals growth in modern slavery victims Report reveals growth in modern slavery victims

A new report has revealed the continued growth in victims of modern slavery requiring support from The Salvation Army.
Insurers say council must improve lightning conductor system after 2016 strike

NEWBURY Town Council may have to spend more than 22,500 to protect the town hall against lightning strikes, to make sure it complies with UK safety standards.

The council has been advised by town hall insurers that it must upgrade its existing lightning protection, after the building was hit by a lightning strike in September 2016.

At a recent meeting, members of the policy and resources committee approved an increase to the councils repair and maintenance budget to install a new lightning conductor system for the historic building.

In September 2016, the town hall was hit by an extreme bolt of lightning, which missed the standard conductor on the clock tower and hit the lead roof protection to the north of the building.

The strike created a three-inch hole through the lead weather protection and produced an electricity surge, causing a power outage. According to the council, no staff were in danger.

Following a subsequent inspection of the town halls lightning protection, Newbury Town Council was told that it must be upgraded to better dissipate any future lightning strikes around the building.

At the committee meeting, services manager Granville Taylor told members the cost of such an improvement would be 22,500 plus VAT. However, he did say that was the worst-case scenario and that every effort would be made to reduce the spend.

Members were also told the work was compulsory.

The committee voted unanimously in favour of using funds from the councils reserves.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Taylor said the council had no option but to meet safety standards. He said: Our current lightning conductor didnt comply with the current British Standards.

A single rod running down the side of the building is not adequate protection from a severe lightning strike.

The new lightning protection has a network of wires that they fit to the building, dissipating the energy more effectively. This offers a much better level of protection for the whole building.

Fitting this system fully complies with our insurers requirements and British Standards. It offers full protection against a worst-case scenario.

Its like the flood protection recommended by the Environment Agency ensuring that the areas of high risk are fully covered during a once-in-a- hundred-years event.
Questions raised over offshore wind cable proposed for Sakonnet River

After offshore wind developers raised concerns over financing, Rhode Island regulators consider pausing application for electric cable for one of the projects.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Snow showers this morning becoming more scattered later. High 38F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 29F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Bajaj Auto, which today reported a marginal dip in net profit at Rs 1,193.6 crore in the three months to September, said it will start exporting its premium bikes to Australia and Thailand this fiscal. The Pune-based automaker also said it is "on track" to achieve the target of selling four million vehicles, including in the overseas markets, in the current fiscal. The company attributed the fall in net income to lower sales as well as a 13.3 percent decline in other income quarter from Rs 297.2 crore due to lower investment income.

Hit by higher input costs, lower sales and a dip in other income, its consolidated net declined about one percent to Rs 1,194 crore from Rs 1,200 crore a year-ago. "The quarter was good. We had the highest-ever turnover, an Ebidta margin of 20.8 percent and an over 20 percent market share in domestic motorcycle segment,"S Ravikumar, the president--business development at Bajaj Auto told PTI in a post-earnings concall today.

During the quarter, the company sold 10,71,510 units, up 4 percent from 10,31,945 units a year ago. Ravikumar said their market share in the motorcycle segment in the domestic has been improving month-on-month, adding, "last couple of quarters we were impacted by new emission norms, the transition to GST, among others. All that has now been sorted out and things are now falling in place." He attributed the fall in the Ebidta, which used generally used to be above 20 percent, to the GST, BSIII and discounted sales by the competition. "The focus in the current quarter is to get back to the 20 percent market share and plus 20 percent Ebidta that has been achieved," he said.

He said its premium offering Pulsar, including Pulsar NS 200 CC and Pulsar NS 160 cc and Avenger are doing very well with 45 percent market share while in the lower segment, the City and Platina have 35-36 percent market share. The Pulsar NS 160 was added in the June quarter but the company had the full quarter benefit in this quarter very well, he said.

In September, Bajaj had sold more than 1.12 lakh Pulsars which was the highest ever monthly sales, he said. These products have just been introduced but even after the festival season the sale of the new product is expected to continue to be good going forward in the two subsequent quarters, Ravikumar said. Be it a commercial vehicle or three-wheeler or domestic Bajaj has done very well, he said, adding exports has been consistently good. "Though the raw material prices are hardening a bit, we will be able to deliver profitability beyond 20 percent Ebidta and fairly a good set of numbers," he said.

"Bajaj effected a marginal increase in its prices due to the higher input costs and going forward, I think whatever price increases in the input side, the cost increases, we are quite comfortable that we should be able to pass on these increased costs entirely to the customer," he said.

He said the company has already started exporting its vehicles in the previous quarter to Malaysia and the exports to Australia and Thailand are getting added in the next two quarters. Despite poor numbers, the street lapped up the Bajaj counter with the shares closing at Rs 3,257 or up 1.09 percent on the BSE on a dull trade, wherein the benchmark Sensex closed 0.08 percent down after a week of the rally to historic highs.

Also Watch: Maruti Suzuki Dzire vs Tata Tigor Comparison Review | Cars18
The sales figures for the month of September 2017 are out and based on the numbers, Hyundai Verna seems to be a runaway success. The latest C2 segment sedan has overtaken its main rivals  the Honda City and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz by registering a year on year (YoY) growth of a whopping 410.9 percent.

The number of Hyundai Vernas that were sold in September 2017 was 6054 units. While this was more than the Honda City, the difference was only marginal as Honda City clocked sales of 6010 units. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz seems to have taken the biggest hit following the Verna launch as it registered a YoY growth of -14.4 percent, clocking sales of 5,603 units.

What remains to be seen is whether the new Hyundai Verna manages to keep the momentum going as the Honda City is breathing down its neck. The numbers for the current month will also be interesting since October consists of a festive season and will give a clearer picture of which car is the more popular one.

Watch this space for updates.

Also Read: Hyundai Verna 2017 First Drive Review
If every car that it builds is exciting as the Polestar 1, Volvo's decision to spin off its racing and tuning arm as a standalone environmentally responsible sportscar company could be one of the best it's ever made.

Unveiled at a special event in China, where the new cars will be built, the Polestar 1 will go on sale in 2019 and is described by its creators as a 2+2 grand tourer coupe.

"Polestar 1 is the first car to carry the Polestar on the bonnet. A beautiful GT with amazing technology packed into it -- a great start for our new Polestar brand," said Thomas Ingenlath, Volvo's former chief of design and the current CEO of Polestar.

The inaugural Polestar uses a hybrid powertrain to deliver a combined 600hp and 1000Nm of torque and, at 150km, it can travel further on pure battery power than any plug-in hybrid currently on sale anywhere in the world.

However, as the brand grows and the technology underpinning it matures, Polestar will move away from internal combustion assistance altogether. "All future cars from Polestar will feature a fully electric drivetrain, delivering on our brand vision of being the new standalone electric performance brand," said Ingenlath.

The new car closely follows the lines and creases of the achingly beautiful 2013 Volvo coupe concept that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show (and which Ingenlath penned) and that made such a huge impression on the car-obsessed that Volvo executives were inundated with demands for the car to become a reality.

Polestar 1 interiors. (Image: Polestar)

Four years later that reality has arrived, and the car doesn't just look sporting, it promises to deliver on those aesthetics. It has a weight-reducing but rigidity-increasing carbon fiber shell. It is the first production car to use Ohlins Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension and the addition of a double electric rear axle means that the car can push torque to the wheel that needs it most in a millisecond.

Those that want this limited production car will have to have a very fast internet connection as all ordering and specification will take place exclusively online. And, as for the pricetag, Polestar isn't charging a lump sum, rather a subscription over two or three years. This fee will cover all aspects of ownership and maintenance from automated collection for servicing and return at a designated location. The system will also permit owners to loan their cars to others via the smartphone as a key system that can give a third party geotagged, time-controlled access to the car, with the accompanying app.

Digital order books for the Polestar I will open Tuesday. And, for those that want something less sporting but even more environmentally responsible, on Tuesday the company confirmed that Polestar 2, which will be a true mass-produced car, will be an all-electric compact car aimed squarely at those otherwise considering a Tesla Model 3 when it is revealed in 2019, while the third new Polestar, due a year later, will be a larger SUV-style plug-in electric car.

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Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai became a target for online trolls for apparently wearing jeans, boots, and a jacket.

Yousafzai who had recently asked social media for advice on starting her college life at the Oxford University in London came under fire after an unverified photograph of her started doing rounds on the Internet.

First published on a Pakistani Facebook page Siasat.pk, the moral brigade came out in full force criticising the Nobel Laureate for "shameless" outfit.

The comments started pouring in on the unverified photograph of Yousafzai with one user going, "How long till the scarf is off too?"

now jeans..shoes...soon that dupatta will be out Lunatic living. (@Lunatic6923) October 15, 2017

However, there were a plenty sane voices who came out in her defence.

Malala Yousafzai photographed wearing jeans and all the haters go wild. This mentality is what keeps nations and societies in decline. pic.twitter.com/5ZtuEGwA6p Marium Soomro (@Marium_Soomro) October 16, 2017

More people lost their minds over Malala wearing jeans than when she got shot. Our priorities demonstrate why we are our own worst enemy. Imaan Mazari-Hazir (@ImaanZHazir) October 17, 2017

Finally, a picture of @Malala where she is just being a normal young woman It's quite remarkable how her head is always covered... pic.twitter.com/IIkTjaygxl Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) October 15, 2017

Malala Yousafzai, now 20, came to prominence when a Taliban gunman shot her in the head in 2012 after she was targeted for her campaign against efforts by the Taliban to deny women education. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Yousafzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for demanding education for girls has begun her new life at Oxford University to study Politics, Philosophy, and Economics.
India's gun laws may be among the strictest in the world, but does that deter us from owning them?

With 273 mass shootings in 275 days this year, it's difficult to believe that the Las Vegas mass shooting -the deadliest in recent years - will be the last. And despite a string of such cases, the unrestricted access to guns continues.

Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter, was found to have acquired 47 guns, including rifles and semi-autos. He lived in a state (Nevada) where buyers don't need permits to buy assault weapons.

The picture is different in India, which has one of the strictest gun laws in the world. Here, acquiring firearms is a privilege and not a constitutional right (like in the US). In fact, Arms Rules, 2016, makes licences necessary, even for air guns. The process of procuring licences though, is difficult and often takes months. They are granted only after a thorough assessment, including background checks.

The Sydney University database on guns puts the rate of private gun ownership per 100 Indians at 3.4. That's a paltry number compared with 101 guns per 100 Americans - that's more guns than people!

India might not be trigger happy but it has its own misfiring when it comes to gun ownership. One, strict gun laws restrict access to licenced weapons but unlicenced firearms form about 85% of the civilian-owned stockpile. Second, India too has its 'gun hubs' - areas with a higher gun ownership and fatalities.
Srinagar: Four persons were injured on Wednesday when security forces fired on a mob in Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir following an alleged braid chopping incident, police said.

Residents of a village in Pahalgam area of Anantnag district staged a protest after they caught an alleged braid chopper, a police official said.

He said a security forces vehicle passing through the area was stopped by the protesters, who tried to deflate its tyres.

As the mob got violent, the security forces personnel opened fire, resulting in injuries to four persons, the official said.

He said further details of the incident were awaited.
Lucknow: Attempting to de-link grand Diwali celebrations at Ayodhya from politics, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath has called his visit to the temple town this evening as an attempt by his government to promote "religious tourism" in the state.

"We must be proud of our religious and cultural centres. My visit to Ayodhya is part of our effort to develop these religious places so that we meet international standards in terms of providing facilities to tourist," Yogi told News18.

The CM tried to play down his Agra visit after the Taj Mahal controversy. He said the visit was pre-planned that included developing the Yamuna river front and a pathway from Taj Mahal to Agra Fort.

It is part of government's effort to develop religious tourism circuit that would include other major centers like Vrindavan, Varasani, Mathura, he said.

The state government has made elaborate arrangements for Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya this year. Nearly two-lac diyas will be it up along the Saryu river as chief minister and senior ministers of Yogi government will participate in Diwali celebrations.

"In the process we will also attempt to refresh memories of Lord Ram returning to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile," the chief minister added.

With the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh about to face its first civic elections, the party is tapping the festive season in all its fervor to highlight the village electrification initiatives and other development projects undertaken by the BJP government.

Apart from the Jyoti Parv celebrations in 1,275 villages, the Ghats of Saryu River have also been decked up as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will soon reach the temple town to celebrate Choti Diwali.

In a major feat, the chief minister is expected to light a record 2 lakh diyas at the Saryu Ghat after the grand Aarti ceremony in the evening.

Adityanath will reach Ayodhya in the afternoon and is expected to discuss the development projects undertaken by the state government for Ayodhya. He will address a gathering later.

Ever since he became the chief minister, Adityanath has paid special attention to Ayodhya. Apart from dedicating several government projects to the city, he has also raised the political tempers by visiting the disputed site of Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi.
New Delhi: An investigation done by CNN-News18 has found that the Supreme Courts ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has not turned people to online portals or any black market. It is the regular neighborhood shops that are selling firecrackers openly.

The SC on October 9 had reversed its earlier September 12 order and stated that in view of the alarming rise in levels of noise and air pollution, sale of firecrackers would be prohibited in Delhi-NCR till November 1.

However, in various locations of Delhi, the ban remained only on paper and did not seem to affect business.

At Uttam Nagars Atsal Nagar, CNN-News18 team found that firecrackers were being sold illegally inside the house of a shopkeeper. The modus operandi was simple. Light and lamps were available outside the shop, and if the customers were looking for crackers, then they could just step inside the sellers home, away from prying eyes.

When the correspondent enquired about crackers, the shopkeeper said, Yes, we have all kinds of crackers. Later his wife too joined in and offered to show the more powerful variety of crackers. This illegal transaction passed off without incidence despite there being a police station right across the road.

Although Delhi police has seized over 1,200 kgs of firecrackers so far, CNN-News18 found that crackers are also still being sold openly in local markets near Brahmaputra, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon.

When the correspondent approached the shopkeepers who were selling crackers from inside their homes, a seller in West Delhi said, How much do you want? We have bombs, rockets, everything. Our children too burst crackers every day and nothing happens, said the seller.

At some places, our correspondent found that shops which had their shutters down and locks sealed were also selling crackers discreetly.

Isnt there are a police station around, asked our correspondent, to which the seller replied that the station is 300 metres away from the shop. He alleged that the police worked in cahoots with the sellers.

The police comes to probe us only when there is a complaint otherwise we have already given them money. Their (police) jobs will be in jeopardy if we do our business in open, said the shopkeeper in Farrukhnagar in Ghaziabad.

The sellers also said that they had paid a sum of Rs 5,000 to the police as they were caught selling firecrackers. The shops are sealed but customers keep calling us and we sell them, said the Farrukhnagar cracker seller.

With Diwali tomorrow, the big question is how these traders are running this illegal sale of firecrackers despite tall claims by the authorities of executing the SC order on ground. Is it really a cracker-free Diwali?
Washington: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that India could help America keep an eye on Pakistan after Donald Trump's "tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists".

Haley said that one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India. Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia is to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she was quoted as saying by PTI.

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists."

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan.

They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable because we are at a point where we kind of laid the groundwork that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harbouring the terrorists. We have to see something change.

India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump Administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said.

The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.

"Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people," she said.

For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

"It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why," she asked.

"Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.

The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment to defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.

"There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India," she said.

"It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she added.

(With PTI Inputs)
New Delhi: Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI on Wednesday said the family of the 11-year old Jharkhand girl, who died of starvation, had Aadhaar and stringent action should be taken against those who denied her government benefits.

Activists have alleged that the 11-year-old girl in Simdega district died of starvation as her family's ration card was cancelled as it was not linked to Aadhaar. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey termed the incident as "unfortunate".

He asserted that this was not a case of denial of benefits because of Aadhaar, as the family had the 12-digit identifier since 2013.

The Section 7 of Aadhaar Act stipulates that the benefit shall be given on the basis of Aadhaar card or authentication, he added.

"The Jharkhand government has ordered a probe in the matter to find out the facts behind the unfortunate incident. I expect that person responsible for denial of benefits - inspite of Aadhaar card - will be held accountable and necessary action will be taken against such people by the state, so that it acts as a deterrent for future," Pandey told PTI.

He further said that the Aadhaar Act was "absolutely clear" that no one would be denied benefits for lack of Aadhaar. "...Section 7 specifies that till Aadhaar number is prescribed, the benefits should be given through alternate means of identification," he said.

Stating that the guilty should be held accountable and punished, Pandey said that all field agencies should also be extremely sensitive in ensuring that the benefits, subsidies or programmes flow to the grassroots.

"...the field agencies should be sensitive to the needs of the people and ensure they do not do anything that result in denial of benefits," he added.
Chennai: Superstar Kamal Haasan has apologised for supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation move and said he took the decision "in a hurry".

In a column titled A big apology in the Tamil magazine 'Vikatan', Haasan said: I owe a big apology to the people for supporting demonetisation in a hurry. I initially thought demonetisation move was going to curb black money and that people should bear with the problems during that transition.

The actor said many of his friends who understand economics criticised his stance. I consoled myself, saying that while the plan was good, there may have been some problems with implementation, he said.

Haasan said that when more and more people voiced their anger, he had his doubts. The sign of a good leader is to accept his/her mistake. Gandhi accepted his mistake and leaders today can also accept mistakes. If the PM accepts his mistake in this case, then I will salute him.

Haasan was among celebrities who had supported the demonetization scheme. "Salute Mr Modi. This move has to be celebrated across political party lines. Most importantly by earnest taxpayers, the actor had tweeted in November last year.

This U-turn comes at a time when Haasan is all set to enter politics. He has also made it clear that his colour was definitely not saffron. Rajinikanth is a suitable ally for the BJP. I am a rationalist, the superstar told CNN-News18.

He had also opposed the Centres stand on beef and had said the government cant give the menu but should indeed give food to the people of India.

Haasan had said that none of the already-existing parties represented his beliefs, the reason he wants to launch one of his own. He said all the parties in Tamil Nadu were corrupt, and he was determined to rid Tamil Nadu of corruption.

The superstar had said that he will announce his political outfit on the occasion of his 63rd birthday, November 7. Haasan had met his fans in Chennai to chalk out a strategy and give it a final shape before his birthday.

Talking about his high-profile meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, which many thought might be a sign of his aligning with the AAP, the Hey Ram actor had said, I did not go to Kejriwal, he came to me. It was kind of him.

Another Tamil superstar and Haasan's contemporary Rajnikanth is also flirting with the idea of joining politics. He, though, has been linked with the BJP which is trying to push itself beyond the Hindi heartland.
Washington: The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is "not to touch the veto", US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up.

So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley was quoted as saying by PTI.

The US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on "The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues."

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus "on Russia and China", the two permanent members of the Security Council who "do not want to see any" changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries India, Brazil, Germany and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of the general assembly to support India's permanent membership.
New Delhi: Its not every day that one comes across people celebrating festivals like that of Diwali, sitting neck-deep in pits dug on the ground. But on Thursday, when people would be indulging in festivities across the nation, a group of at least 50 farmers in Neendar would observe the day from their zameen samadhis.

The unique protest that has grabbed many an eyeball across the nation, started on October 2 against the acquisition of farm land and will enter its 17th day on Diwali.

Men and women, irrespective of their age, have been sitting in these neck-deep pits to protest what they call is a forceful acquisition of 540 acres land by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) to build housing societies.

The farmers have been protesting ever since the construction work for the proposed housing society started in September. They sat through Karwa Chauth and Dhanteras in these pits and images of wives seeking blessings from their husband buried in the ground, became an instant hit on the Internet.

At any given time in Neendar, one can find at least 50 men and women sitting inside these pits with an indefinite hunger strike banner in the background.

The state government has maintained that it has awarded adequate compensation to farmers whose land is being acquired to build societies, while the unclaimed compensation money has been submitted in the court.

The BJP government has also said that proposal for the housing society was cleared in 2010 by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government. The government is compensating the farmers as directed by the 2010 proposal and at prices set seven years ago.

Now, the farmers are alleging that Gehlot had promised them that their land would not be acquired and agreed that the prices were outdated and incommensurate with the new farm prices.

In the 16-day protest, two women were reported to have collapsed while sitting inside the pits. This prompted the state government to call them for talks. However, discussions between the two parties have remained inconclusive so far.

The proposed housing society has 18 colonies that are supposed to accommodate a population of at least 7,000 people.

Agitated farmers have also argued that similar housing societies constructed in the past by JDA, have found few takers. Thus, this forcible acquisition will ultimately prove to be a wastage at several levels.
Washington: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Wednesday for the US and India to expand strategic ties. He also pointedly criticized China, which he accused of challenging international norms needed for global stability.

Tillerson was speaking on relations between the world's two largest democracies ahead of his first trip to South Asia as secretary of state at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He said the world needed the US and India to have a strong partnership. He said the two nations share goals of security, free navigation, free trade and fighting terrorism in the Indo-Pacific, and serve as "the eastern and western beacons" for an international rules-based order which is increasingly under strain.

Both India and China had benefited from that order, but Tillerson said India had done so while respecting rules and norms, while China had "at times" undermined them. To make his point, he alluded to China's island building and expansive territorial claims in seas where Beijing has long-running disputes with Southeast Asian neighbors.

"China's provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the United States and India both stand for," Tillerson said in an address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

He added that the US seeks constructive relations with China but "won't shrink" from the challenges it poses when it "subverts the sovereignty of neighboring countries, and disadvantages the US and our friends."

US-India relations have generally prospered in the past decade, in part because of their shared concerns about the rise of China. While President Donald Trump has looked to deepen cooperation with China on addressing the nuclear threat from North Korea, he's also sought a closer relationship with India, which shares US worries on Islamic extremism.

"In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the United States is that partner," Tillerson said.

Tillerson said the US wants to help improve India's military capabilities, and also improve security cooperation among the region's major democracies, which included Japan and Australia.

Tillerson said the US and India were leading regional efforts on counterterrorism. He called for India's archrival Pakistan "to take decisive action against terrorist groups based within their own borders that threaten its own people and the broader region."
New Delhi: The controversy over Taj Mahal has reached foreign shores. Advocate and member of the Central Waqf Council of India, Dr Syed Ejaz Abbasi, has written a letter to the International Council of Monuments and Sites complaining against Uttar Pradesh government for abandoning the historical Taj Mahal, Agra and infusing hatred against history of Mughals.

Expressing concerns over the safety of the monument built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, Abbasi said, I am writing this letter to you as there is the likelihood of injury or destruction being caused to the monument. I fear that people in or out of the government might harm Taj Mahal structure. As earlier there have been attacks.

There is an infusion of hatred and remarks with a communal bias against Mughals  (the dead Muslims). The citizens of my country have complained about this. There are other complaints as well like the misuse of waqf properties and administrative frauds, he added.

The world heritage monument has been in the midst of controversy over the last few days after BJP leader Sangeet Som called it a blot on Indian country and another BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said that it was a Shiva Temple that was destroyed by Shah Jahan.

Abbasi further said that despite 13% of Indias population being Muslim, there are systematic governmental policies and decisions made to demean, degrade the Mughals. The BJP is trying to communalise past wars and battles, he said.

Abbasi even went on to name BJP leaders like Sakshi Maharaj, Vijay Rupani and CM UP Yogi Adityanath in his letter and said that they were unnecessarily abusing long-deceased Muslim rulers. In such a hateful, biased environment it is advisable to transfer the Maqbara Dargah over to the UP Waqf Board or a special body be constituted as per special laws enacted for the management of Ajmer Sharif.

Clarifying his need to seek international attention to the matter, Abbasi told News18 that he wrote the letter because there are consistent attacks on Taj Mahal by the government. The same thing happened in Palmyra and whatever part of it is lost, cannot be reconstructed. As a concerned society we have to save the Taj Mahal from attacks."
Lucknow: Amid all the hue and cry over the Taj Mahal, now, BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar has claimed that Shah Jahan had destroyed a Hindu temple to build the monument.

Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple that was known as Tejo Mahalaya. It was a Shiva temple that was demolished by Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal, Katiyar told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.

He added, It is a fact that there was a Hindu temple, but Im not asking for the Taj Mahal to be destroyed. It is also all right that CM Yogi Adityanath wants to visit the monument.

Two days ago, BJP MLA Sangeet Som had created a major row saying that the Taj Mahal was a blot on Indian heritage that was built by traitors and is nothing to be proud of. Som was referring to the fact that the Uttar Pradesh tourism department did not mention the 17th century mausoleum in its tourism booklet.

The Tejo Mahalaya has been a rumoured theory that has surfaced time and again with reference to the Taj. It is remarkably similar to the dispute of Babri Masjid and Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya.

Katiyar, who was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice, also touched upon the Ram temple debate. He said, We hope for a favourable verdict by the Supreme Court in the Ram temple case. But if it doesnt come through, we will still have other options like how it was done in the case of Somnath Temple. We are ready with the ground work required for the Ram temple and raw material for the first storey has also been prepared.
New Delhi: Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy has courted a fresh controversy by comparing noise created by firecrackers with azaan (the Muslim call to prayers).

Every Diwali, fights start over noise pollution from crackers. Crackers that are burst only a few days in a year. But no fight about azaan over loudspeakers at 4.30 AM!" Roy tweeted.

The BJP leader said there is no mention of use of loudspeakers in the Quran or Haadis. Actually this silence of the secular crowd over noise pollution by azaan perplexes me. Loudspeakers are not prescribed in Quran or any Haadis, he added.

Roy has been voicing his opposition to the Supreme Court ban on firecrackers. Earlier, Roy smelled a communal conspiracy that is one by one targeting all Hindu rituals.

First Dahi Handi, now crackers. You never know, tomorrow the award wapsi brigade and those carrying out candle marches might file a litigation against the last rites ritual of Hindus, too," he had tweeted.

Speaking to CNN-News18, he said that he, as a Hindu, feels unhappy with the restrictions placed on bursting of crackers. But he defended his comments, saying that he has not crossed his constitutional limits. I am entitled to my opinion.

When asked if he was not concerned about the poor air quality in Delhi, he said he was aware of the situation, but argued that Diwali happens only once a year.

On October 9, the SC banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till November 1 to prevent the formation of a toxic haze over the capital like last year. We should see at least in one Diwali the impact of a cracker-free festivity, the court said.

Many on social media, however, denounced the verdict on the grounds that it was a Diwali dampener and encroached upon their religion. Posts alleging the beginning of an Islamic rule trended on social media sites all day.

Every Diwali fights start over noise pollution from crackers. A few days in a year. But no fight about Azaan over loudspeakers at 4.30 AM! Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) October 17, 2017

Among those criticising the verdict was author Chetan Bhagat, who said the ban on firecrackers was akin to banning Christmas trees on Christmas and slaughter of goats on Bakri-Eid.

When a Twitter user pointed out to Bhagat that bursting of crackers leads to pollution, the author suggested that there were better ways to combat pollution. It is one day of the year. Our biggest festival. Uber has saved pollution more than any ban would. Come up with innovations. Not bans," he tweeted.

Bhagat also went on to say that those wanting to reform festivals like Diwali, should "show the same passion in reforming other festivals full of blood and gore."
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government seems to have gone into damage control mode after the controversy related to remarks about the Taj Mahal from the ruling BJP refuses to die down.

While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to visit the Taj Mahal on October 26, UP Tourism has released an official calendar featuring Taj Mahal with the pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Adityanath.

The state Information and Public Relations Department has issued a heritage calendar which includes a photograph of Taj Mahal with PM Modi and CM Yogi on the July page. It also highlighted development the schemes related to it.

This time Gorakhnath Temple of Gorakhpur has also been included in the heritage calendar, alongside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Banaras; Vindhyachal; Holi of the Barsana of Mathura, Krishna birthplace; Jhansi fort and Sarnath. Other places which are showcased in the heritage calendar are Ram Ki Paudi in Ayodhya, Triveni Sangam of Allahabad and Gurudwara of Pilibhit.

After BJP MLA Sangeet Som's controversial statement about the Taj Mahal, the BJP government has been on the backfoot after much trolling on social media.

Adityanath appeared before the media soon after and said that he himself was going on a review visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal. He also said that the monument was built by the sweat and blood of Indian workers.

Sensing the backlash, even Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday said that one should take pride in history and heritage. According to sources, the central high command of the BJP is unhappy with the statement of Som.

Amid all the hue and cry, BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar claimed that Shah Jahan had destroyed a Hindu temple to build the monument. Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple that was known as Tejo Mahalaya. It was a Shiva temple that was demolished by Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal, Katiyar told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.

He added, It is a fact that there was a Hindu temple, but Im not asking for the Taj Mahal to be destroyed. It is also all right that CM Yogi Adityanath wants to visit the monument.
While we are busy ensuring that the festival of lights is welcomed with perfect preparations, we may tend to overlook caring for ourselves. Care for your skin and hair, suggest experts.

Besides cleansing the skin before sleeping, it is important to care for your hair. Skip products like hair mousse, opt for blow dry instead.

Amit Sarda, Managing Director at skincare brand Soulflower, Shikhee Agarwal, Head Trainer at The Body Shop India and make-up expert Shahnaz Husain have shared inputs.

Skincare tips:

* Cleansing the face at the beginning and end of the day is a very vital part of this routine. If you are used to wearing make-up, cleansing becomes all the more important.

* Our skin needs to remain moisturised as much as possible. One of the easiest ways to compensate the lack of moisture for skin is by the use of carrier oil like grapeseed. This carrier oil lightens marks and dark circles, tightens and tones skin, and helps skin become baby soft.

It also helps lighten blemishes, stretch marks, sunburn, controls itchiness and irritation.

* Treat your skin with Vitamin E and essential oil rich creams and oils which protect skin. Remember to complete your intake of water of 8-10 glasses, which is the best way to a glowing skin.

* Wrap up your skincare routine with a smear of sunscreen. Use a powerful UV protection which fights free radicals and keeps your skin ever glowing.

* Follow your grandmother's recipe of a healthy scrub bath on the morning of Diwali with the choicest nourishing scrubs available in the market. Experience the richness of shea, olive and xemenia which have rich oils and will hydrate the skin.

They help in exfoliating the dead skin cells and stimulating the blood circulation, which gives a fresh look to the skin.

* It might look like a very cruel advice for the festive season, but it is important to keep the consumption of sweets in control. Overdosage of fried and sugary foods can lead to breakouts, weight gain, dull looking skin and a lot of allergies too.

* To brighten tired eyes, take two used tea bags, soak them in a little warm water, squeeze out the water and apply on the eyes like eye pads. Cotton wool, soaked in rose water, can also do the trick.

Haircare tips:

* During Diwali, we do experiment with different hairstyles and they also become exposed to pollution. Washing hair with rosemary lavender shampoo bar will provide it with the kind of nutrition that hair needs to become voluminous and get the bounce it needs.

Enriched with refreshing lavender and rejuvenating properties of rosemary the small molecules penetrate into your hair right from the first wash.

* After the wash, let it dry and apply Moroccan argan oil as a post-bath serum. It gives your hair an attractive shine, restores and strengthens damaged hair, protects it from heat of hair dryers, curlers, and flat irons, and deeply conditions hair, helping rid split ends and tames the frizzy brittle hair.

* Do not use mousse on hair. If you do, wash it off at night or the next morning.

* Opt for blow drying with low heat, which is better than ironing. Ironing can lead to hair breakage.

* If you suddenly find your hair has too much static - or a fly away hair problem. All you need to do is to wet your hands with water and smooth your palms over the hair. And, avoid too much brushing.
Cities in Asia and Europe dominate a newly released Safe Cities Index by The Economist Intelligence Unit, which named Tokyo the world's safest city for the second consecutive time.

For the 2017 edition of the biennial report, analysts examined 60 cities across 49 indicators that covered everything from digital, health, infrastructure and personal security, to determine which cities can call themselves the world's safest destinations.

Thanks to its strong performance in digital security and its seven-point rise in the category of health security from the last report in 2015, Tokyo managed to hold on to the top spot again this year.

Rounding out the podium are Singapore and Osaka. Overall, the top 10 is made up of four Asian cities and three cities in Europe.

For the purposes of the report, digital security is defined as the strength of a city's cyber security and internet access, while health security measures air and water quality, along with healthcare.

Personal security considers crime, violence and police engagement, while infrastructure security looks at transportation, and vulnerability to natural and terrorist strikes.

At No. 4, the highest-ranked North American city is Toronto, while the US cracks the list in 15th spot with San Francisco.

Since the release of the last report two years ago, analysts point out that the world's urban population is estimated to have grown by more than 150 million people, raising the total number of people living in cities to above 4 billion.

In 2016, there were 31 megacities on the planet, defined as cities with populations that exceed 10 million inhabitants.

By 2030, that number is projected to rise to 41.

"While cities generate economic activity, the security challenges they face expand and intensify as their populations rise," reads the report.

"These include growing pressure on housing supply (prompting the spread of slums) and services such as healthcare, transport, and water and power infrastructure."

Cyber security, income inequalities, climate change-related extreme weather events, terrorist attacks and increased congestion are identified as some of the key factors at play in a city's security.

At the other end of the spectrum, Karachi, Yangon and Dhaka landed at the bottom of the heap and could be considered the world's most dangerous cities.

Here are the top 10 safest cities in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit:

1. Tokyo

2. Singapore

3. Osaka

4. Toronto

5. Melbourne

6. Amsterdam

7. Sydney

8. Stockholm

9. Hong Kong

10. Zurich
Chennai: Huge banners and cut-outs are nothing new at a Vijay movie, but this one at the release of Mersal is different - a theatre in Chennai facaded to look like the state secretariat.

The symbolism is not lost on the people of a state where the natural progression for a superstar is from the movie halls to the corridors of power. It comes at a time when Vijay has asked his fans to "more good for the state" than merely focus on his film releases.

This is being taken by many to mean that while all eyes were on the biggies Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, Vijay or Ilaya Thalapathi (Junior Commander-in-chief) as he is populary called, too is making small steps towards a future in politics.

But while Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have given clear indications of joining politics, young Vijay hasn't made any such statements in public of late. He raised his voice for Jallikattu and demonetisation, but that's about it. Haasan on the other hand has said he will announce the launch of a political party at his birthday later this year and Rajinikanth is set to take the plunge "at the riht time".

Like the two veterans, Vijay too has a legion of fans who can be converted into political cadre at short notice. And a cinema hall looking like the state secretariat would be an indication that his followers too want him to make the move soon.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, asking it the intention behind the of import 16 union ministers to carry out "provocative propaganda" in the state.

Vijayan asked if they were here to "shatter the peace and harmony", adding that BJP's act will go down history as "a classic example of the violation of federal principles".

The chief minister, in a Facebook post, responded to BJP president Amit Shah who a day earlier had asked the CM if he had got the mandate from people to "murder BJP-RSs workers".

BJP had fielded a large number of leaders, including four chief ministers and 10 national leaders, to take part in the "Janraksha Yatra", demonstrating against the political violence on the RSS workers.

Responding to BJP president Amit Shah's challenge to contest the election on development plank, Vijayan said he would "wholeheartedly" accept his challenge.

"Amit Bhai ! development does not mean few high rise buildings or growth of crony capitalism and few businessmen as practised by BJP led governments. Can He or his imported coterie tell whether a state ruled by BJP is anywhere near or even comparable with Kerala's international standards of Human Development Index," the chief minister said.

Vijayan added that Kerala had nothing to learn from the BJP and RSS. "Salutes to my dearest comrades & supporters of CPI(M) who stayed vigil and ignored the venomous propaganda, threats and provocations, all through the duration of this yatra."

Citing the abysmal performance of BJP in the Vengara bye-election in which the party was second to NOTA, Vijayan said that it spoke volumes of how Shah's Yatra was a failure. "Amit Shah must now realise how the people of Kerala perceive such crooked politics and I hope he will glady take home a lesson taught by the people of Kerala," he said.
New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday released a list of 59 candidates for the November 9 election to the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Sitting chief minister Virbhadra Singh will contest from the Arki constituency, while the state Congress chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will represent the party from Nadaun.

Congress' principal opponent in the state, the BJP, had earlier in the day named all 68 contestants for the elections. Congress currently occupies 36 seats in the assembly. The BJP has 26 seats and is determined to increase its numbers. The state has continuously changed hands between the BJP and Congress, with both parties ruling the state alternatively.

Virbhadra Singh, who is seeking his 6th tenure as the chief minister, vacated his Shimla rural constituency this time. Rumour was rife that his son Vikramaditya Singh was going to fill his shoes.

Singh is battling a series of corruption charges against him, but the Congress reposed faith in him recently, giving him a carte blanch to take all the necessary measures to ensure a victory.

Here's a list of declared 59 candidates.
New Delhi: The Congress working committee is likely to meet on October 24 to announce the dates for the election of the party president. Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's coronation is expected to feature prominently in the discussion.

The All India Congress Committee will, then, endorse the election of the new president in its next session, likely to take place on November 4, 2017.

Sources in the party say that Rahul's election to the top party post is a foregone conclusion.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had recently confirmed that Rahul's elevation to the post of party president was going to happen soon.

"You (the media) have been asking me about Rahul (taking over the party) for a long time. It will be done soon," Sonia had said while speaking on the sidelines of former president Pranab Mukherjee's book launch in New Delhi.

A number of states, including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, had recently passed resolutions, urging Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party.

As a part of the takeover strategy, Rahul has been the main face which Congress has been pitting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last three years.

So, when Rahul was in the US recently, he attacked Modi for what he called his divisive politics and failed economics. And when senior ministers rushed in to defend the PM and attack Rahul, the Congress smiled as it saw in the retaliation an acknowledgement of the fact that Rahul was being seen as the main adversary to Modi.

The target-Modi strategy is also fraught with a huge risk as Congress is left with limited options for the next general elections.
Ahmedabad: Ahead of the crucial Gujarat Assembly elections, both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have been making attempts to win over Naresh Patel, chairman of the powerful Shree Khodaldham trust, in order to secure the Patel votes who constitute a major chunk of the population.

The trust, while meeting leaders of all these parties, has however maintained that it will not declare its support for any party.

The Patidars account for about 12-13 percent of the states population.

The politically and economically influential Patidar community enjoys a position to affect the election results in several urban and rural seats of Central Gujarat and South Gujarat.

The community was known to be ardent BJP loyalists over the past two decades. However, the dynamics of the community have changed with the Patidars finding a new leader in Hardik Patel and his call for reservation.

Speaking to News 18, Paresh Gajera, President of Kagvad-based Shree Khodal Dham Trust said that both BJP and Congress have senior Patidar leaders and the trust is a politically neutral organisation.

"Politicians and their parties are always welcome to speak to us and hold meetings, but Khodaldham has not and will not extend support to any political party. We will ask the Patidar community to vote for good candidates irrespective of which party they stand for," Gajera clarified.

According to sources, the office bearers of the Shree Khodaldham Trust held a meeting to decide that candidates with a good background, and a track record of good social work, will be given preference.

Among the Patidars, the Leuva Patidars constitute about 70 percent of the population, while Kadva Patidars make up the remaining 30 per cent.

The Leuva Patidars are predominantly scattered over Saurashtra, Central Gujarat and South Gujarat, while the Kadva Patidars are settled in North Gujarat.

While Umiya Dham in Unjha town of North Gujarat's Mehsana district is the religious seat of Kadva Patidar community, the Khodaldham at Kagvad in Saurashtra's Rajkot district is the seat of the Leuva Patidar community.

Meanwhile, social scientist Gaurang Jani believes that the Patidar youths vote could prove to be a game changer in this election as it is most likely to go against the BJP because of the reservation agitation.

"Just last week, about 2.5 lakh aspirants appeared for an examination for 113 vacant police inspector posts in Gujarat. The Patidar youth believes that they are being left out of the mainstream because of no reservation," Jani told News18.

Jani says that although the statements of trusts like the Khodaldham do influence voting patterns of a community, in this age of social media, decisions are taken based on personal experiences. "Patidars could influence the result of as many as 20 Assembly seats in forthcoming elections," he added.

Despite repeated attempts, Shree Khodaldham Trust chairman Naresh Patel could not be reached for a comment.
Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Wednesday took up the cudgels against the erstwhile Akhilesh Yadav government, saying Samajwadi Party's rule was a "Ravana Rajya based on nepotism", while the BJP rule was a "Ram Rajya" with no place for discrimination against anyone. "Ram Rajya is development; it is bijli, sadak, and paani (Electricity, Roads, and Water)," he said.

The chief minister, who is in the holy city of Ayodhya ahead of Diwali, said that the Opposition had acquired a habit of asking questions to divert people's attention. "We are here not to divert issue but to work on the development of the city," he said, adding that the previous regime had neglected Ram's birthplace for a long time. "It will not be the case anymore."

Urging people for their support, Adityanath said that every religious place in the state will be brought to the attention of international audience so as to bolster Uttar Pradesh tourism.

He said that people should understand the significance of Ayodhya. "Ayodhya gave Diwali to the world. It taught us humanity," he said, adding that projects worth Rs 133 crore had been launched on Wednesday to boost state tourism.

Adityanath said this was first of the four phases planned for Ayodhya.

"There will be beautification of Ayodhya and its ghats. This effort will continue in other historic places. Be it Kashi, Mathura, Namisharayna (Sitapur), Mirzapur, Tulsipur (Balrampur), Saharanpur, we will develop historical places.

The state should become a world tourism hub and it is a beginning from Ayodhya," he said.

The chief minister said he wanted to restore the ancient glory of Ayodhya. Referring to the 1.71 of earthen lamps being lit on the bank of river Sarayu, Adityanath said the figure matched the population under the Ayodhya Nagar Nigam.

Officials said that the 1.71 lakh earthen lamps being lit at an event could enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his speech, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that "those opposed to Lord Ram cannot stop us from developing Ayodhya".

Adityanath said that a 'Ramayan mela' will be associated with this programme next year onwards.

UP Governor Ram Naik lauded the efforts of the Adityanath government in developing Ayodhya and thanked him for this assurance that all the work would be completed in two years, before his (Naik's) tenure ends.

Prominent among others present included seers, Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons and BJP state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey.

After the main event, the stage was set for a grand laser show and 'aarti' (worship) of river Saryu.

The Uttar Pradesh government has been in the eye of a storm ever since its tourism booklet, a fortnight ago, gave the iconic Taj Mahal a miss. BJP MLA Sangeet Som, a few days ago, raked up another controversy, calling the Taj a "blot" on India's heritage.

Som, however later, modified his statement, saying he was not against the Taj but its constructor whose history was dotted with blood.

Before that, the chief minister had courted controversy, proposing a 100-metre tall Ram statue in the holy city to promote tourism. The Opposition had criticised Adityanath's priorities, asking him to focus on improving the health infrastructure of the state, instead.
Karachi: At least six persons, including six policemen, were killed on Wednesday when Pakistani militants targeted police van in the restive Baluchistan's capital Quetta, police said.

Security sources said a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta-Sibbi Road.

Baluchistan's Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said six policemen had been killed in the terror attack in which the truck carrying policemen was the target.

"A forensic team is reaching from Lahore and will determine whether it was a suicide bomb attack or whether explosives were detonated close to the vehicle," Bugti said.

He said while seven people, including a civilian, were killed on the spot, 24 others had been moved to the Civil Hospital in Quetta for treatment.

"The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," the home minister added.

Security forces have reached the location and cordoned off the area, and a security sweep is underway, he said.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Senior police official, Razzak Cheema said a car with explosives was apparently rammed from behind into the truck.

"It appears that 80 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack," Cheema said.

In a separate incident, Police Inspector Abdul Salam was shot dead on Quetta's Qambrani Road, in what security sources claim was a targeted killing.

Balochistan has experienced incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. In recent months, the province has faced a number of security challenges, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.

Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta on August 13.

Earlier in June, 14 people - including seven policemen - lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quetta's Gulistan Road area.
Cikawao: A gory fight to the death between snarling dogs and captured wild boars.

Gathered around a bamboo-walled arena, Indonesians in this remote part of Java island seem eager to watch the blood-curdling contests, known locally as 'adu bagong' (boar fighting).

Not surprisingly, animal rights activists are up in arms against the regular spectacle, which began in the 1960s when wild pig numbers in this area in West Java soared and they were hunted to protect crops.

Participants told Reuters the fights were a way to preserve a tradition of hunting in the area. There's also a cash prize of up to $2,000 for the winning dog.

"It used to be very simple, not like now when the dogs are trained," said Nur Hadi, head of Hiparu, a group of hunting dog enthusiasts that takes part in the fights.

"From there it's been handed down and has even become part of tradition and culture," Hadi told Reuters.

He defends the practice against criticism from animal rights groups, who say it should be banned.

"It is a criminal act against animals," said Indonesian animal rights activist Marison Guciano.

"The government and NGOs should go to the field to stop this event and educate the people that dog fighting is not right."

The fights take place in a 15-by-30 metre (50 ft by 100 ft) arena surrounded by a bamboo fence to protect spectators, and only end when one of the animals is injured.

Participants say the contests test the agility and hunting abilities of the dogs. If a boar survives a fight, once healed it will be returned to the arena to fight another day. If not, it will be butchered and sold for meat.

Dog breeder Agus Badud says the tradition also gives people a source of income.

"I take part in this contest to increase the selling price and economic value of my dogs, and it would be useless for me as a breeder if I did not participate in a contest like this," Badud said in his house where he keeps 40 dogs.

Dog owners pay anywhere from 200,000 rupiah to 2 million rupiah ($15 to $150) to enter the fights, depending on the size of their dog.
Washington: US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali in Oval Office of the White House along with senior Indian-American members of the administration, including Nikki Haley, Seema Verma and community leaders.

Cabinet ranking Haley is US Ambassador to the UN and Seema Verma is the administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah his Principle Deputy Press Secretary were among those from his administration.

Daughter Ivanka Trump also joined the President in celebration of Diwali celebrations.

Last year Ivanka, who is now a presidential advisor, had visited Hindu temples in Virginia and Florida as part of Diwali.

Trump, then as the Republican presidential nominee, had addressed the Indian-American community from a public meeting in New Jersey wherein he lit the traditional 'diya'.

The tradition of Diwali celebration was first started by former President George Bush.

During his term, it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House Complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, his successor Barack Obama lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Rook of the White House. Thereafter he made it a point in celebrating the festival of lights in one way or the year.
Beirut: Iran's military chief warned Israel against violating Syrian airspace and territory on a visit to Damascus on Wednesday, Iranian state media said, a sign of rising tensions with Israel as it voices concern over Iranian influence in Syria.

General Mohammad Baqeri also pledged to increase cooperation with the Syrian military to fight Israel and insurgents in Syria, where Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias including Hezbollah have provided critical military support to Damascus.

"It's not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate the land and airspace of Syria anytime it wants," Baqeri said in the Syrian capital at a news conference with his Syrian counterpart.

"We are in Damascus to assert and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists," he said, a reference to Israel and Sunni Muslim jihadists including Islamic State. "We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation," Syrian state media cited the Iranian military chief of staff as saying.

Iran's expanding clout during Syria's six-year-long civil war has raised alarm in Israel, which has said it would act against any threat from its regional arch-enemy Tehran.

Israel's air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times during the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran was strengthening its foothold in Syria and that Israel was watching developments. He said Israel would do whatever it takes to protect its security.

Tensions had risen this year between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, which have avoided a major conflict since 2006.

This week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft battery that had fired at its planes over Lebanon. But the Syrian army said it hit an Israeli warplane after it breached its airspace at the Syria-Lebanon border.
Nairobi: A top Kenyan election commissioner has quit and fled the country ahead of an October 26 presidential election saying the vote would not be credible but incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta restated his commitment to the poll.

The opposition is likely to say the resignation of Roselyn Akombe, one of seven election board commissioners, is further evidence that the repeat election is illegitimate.

The Supreme Court last month nullified the Aug. 8 vote on procedural grounds following a petition by opposition leader Raila Odinga against Kenyatta's victory.

Odinga withdrew from the repeat poll last week, saying the election board had not carried out reforms including the firing of key officials he blames for the mistakes of Aug. 8.

The resignation heightens uncertainty over a vote that some independent observers say Kenyatta looks set to win.

Political uncertainty has blunted Kenya's economy. The central bank sold dollars on Wednesday in the foreign exchange market after the shilling currency weakened on news of Akombe's resignation.

Kenya is East Africa's richest country and a hub for diplomacy and security in a region that faces conflict in Somalia and South Sudan.

At least 37 people have died in violence since the August vote, including four killed in confrontations between police and protesters in the past week. Youths have also broken up meetings by election officials in the opposition stronghold of western Kenya this week.

The election board said it has conducted some reforms and the vote will go ahead with seven candidates including Odinga on the ballot.

"We walk towards the declared date of the 26th of October both as a God-fearing leadership and government," Kenyatta said in a televised speech on Wednesday.

Akombe said the election would not be credible and warned Kenyans to remember violence that followed a disputed 2007 poll when more than 1,200 people were killed. She told BBC radio she fled to New York after receiving numerous threats that she said came from both sides.

"The commission has become a party to the current crisis. The commission is under siege," she said in a statement dated Tuesday. She said commissioners were serving partisan interests and legal advice was being skewed for political reasons.

A week before the August poll, the election commission's head of IT was found tortured and murdered in Nairobi, raising fears of a possible hack of the commission's computer systems.

ROLL THE DICE

Kenyan law requires that the new election be held within 60 days of the nullification of the original vote but Odinga says his withdrawal should trigger a new election cycle 90 days from his announcement.

The ruling party has used its parliamentary majority to pass electoral amendments saying the remaining candidate wins if the other candidate pulls out. They also curtail the grounds on which the Supreme Court can nullify an election.

Odinga has called daily demonstrations to protest against the election body and draft law, which the president is yet to sign. The protests have mostly been small and police have used tear gas to quash them.

This week, police raided homes belonging to wealthy opposition financier Jimi Wanjigi and said they found a cache of weapons. Wanjigi said in an emotional interview the firearms were licensed and he was being persecuted.

On Tuesday, Deputy President William Ruto said Odinga pulled out of the race to avoid a "humiliating defeat".

Some independent observers say the opposition, which has been issuing urgent appeals for donations, was likely to lose if it competes next week.

"There is probably a NASA judgment that if they go back to a poll, they are going to lose," said one senior Western diplomat, referring to Odinga's National Super Alliance. "So there's a NASA judgment to roll the dice ... reset the situation."

Efforts by diplomats, religious leaders and civil society leaders have so far failed to bridge the divide.
Baghdad: A Saudi Arabian commercial airplane arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday for the first time in 27 years, the Iraqi transport ministry said.

There have been no flights between the neighbouring countries since former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both wooing Baghdad now in an effort to halt the growing regional influence of arch-foe Iran.

"Baghdad International Airport today welcomed the first Saudi plane after a 27-year break," said a ministry statement cited by local media. "This plane belongs to the Saudi company Flynas."

Flynas, which launched as Nas Air in 2007 and first turned a profit in 2015, is facing increasing competition in Saudi Arabia, its primary market. It said last week it would soon start flights to several Iraqi cities.

In August the two countries said they planned to open the Arar land border crossing for trade for the first time since 1990.
Seoul: Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start a war on the Korean peninsula are "dangerous and short-sighted".

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," said Clinton at a forum in the South Korean capital Seoul, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said but did not mention Trump by name.

The former US secretary of state said Washington's allies have increasingly been expressing concerns over the reliability of the United States.
The United States Navy SEAL Team was ready to mount a raid deep into Pakistani territory to free an American citizen and her family if the Pakistan government did not act against the Haqqani network - the terror outfit that had kidnapped the family five years ago.

It would have been another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011. The operation against Osama was conducted by the same Navy SEAL commandos without the knowledge of the Pakistani government.

Officials said that if the Pakistani government did not act decisively to free the family, it would have confirmed their suspicions that it was working in tandem with the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, the New York Times reported.

Caitlan Coleman (31), Joshua Boyle (34), her Canadian husband; and their three children, who were born in captivity, were freed last week after Pakistani military launched an operation with American assistance. The Pakistani officials had acted within hours after the stern warning from US authorities.

The NYT, citing unnamed senior US officials, reported that Navy SEAL Team 6 was mobilized to conduct a rescue operation, but it was called off later.

A CIA drone had reportedly caught the Haqqani network move the family from its camp in northwest Pakistan last month after which the raid was planned.

The risky operation, however, was called off at the last moment as some in the United States government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were in fact the kidnapped family. There were also concerns about the tough terrain.

After the plan was put on hold, the US military decided to put pressure on the Pakistan government. US President Donald Trump was also briefed that if Islamabad failed to cooperate, the SEALS would go in.

Trump, who has been highly critical of Islamabad, praised Pakistan's cooperation with the US government over the freeing of the hostages, saying it represented "a positive moment" for US-Pakistan relations.

In recent days, senior US officials have been more pointed about Islamabad's alleged ties to militant groups, who are battling against US and US-backed forces in a stalemated 16-year-old war in neighbouring Afghanistan. Some U.S. officials say Pakistani safe havens have helped prolong the conflict.

Pakistan fiercely denies such ties, and it touted the operation as proof of the strength of the alliance.
Washington: A US federal judge has barred the White House from implementing yet another version of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order on immigration, hours before it was due to go into full effect.

The decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii -- which the White House signalled it would appeal -- marks the latest blow to Trump's long-running efforts to restrict entry of travellers from targeted countries into the United States.

Watson said the third rendition of the travel ban -- covering people from six mainly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and some officials from Venezuela -- could not be justified under the law.

In his decision, Watson wrote the ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specific countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.'"

The ruling means the Trump administration could again ask the Supreme Court to decide whether his immigration orders are legal.

The newest order was announced last month to replace an expiring 90-day temporary ban on travellers from the Muslim- majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The September decree removed Sudan from the list but added Chad and North Korea for full bans and Venezuela for a ban limited to certain classes of officials.

The White House justified the measure as needed to protect US national security -- but critics said it appeared virtually the same as the original order of January 27.

Courts shot that version down saying it targeted Muslims, violating the US constitutional protections for religious freedom.

A second version was only slightly adjusted and was quickly tied up in similar legal wrangling.

In June, the Supreme Court accepted to review the case but let the 90-day ban go mostly into effect in the meantime.

When the ban expired, the court said there was nothing to rule on.

Trump went forward with a new version with no expiry date, taking on North Korea and Venezuela to the list of targeted countries and implying the updated measure did not simply target Muslim countries.

But Watson -- who also issued freezes on the first two attempts -- said the order does not improve US security since individuals who pose risks can already be denied entry under existing law.

The order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a manner antithetical to US laws "and the founding principles of this nation," he wrote.

Watson placed a freeze on the ban on travellers from the six countries but allowed it to be implemented on North Korea -- which sent only a handful of people to the United States last year -- and Venezuela, where US sanctions have also already made travel to the United States difficult for many officials.
Security officers hold umbrellas in the rain outside the Great Hall of the People as they wait for delegates arrive for the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Image: AP)
Lynchburg City School Board members announced the superintendent search is on schedule at their Tuesday night meeting.

Robert Brennan, who represents District 1, said Ray & Associates, the search firm hired by the division to help with the search, will present their top candidates to the board by Nov. 20, and interviews and selection will be completed by Dec. 11. Board chair Michael Nilles, who represents District 3, emphasized these dates are not set in stone, but he expects the selection process to be finished by early to mid-December.

Larry Massie is serving as interim superintendent after former Superintendent Scott Brabrand left to head Fairfax County Public Schools in June.

School board members also discussed growing a valuable commodity: teachers.

John Walker, professor for leadership studies at Lynchburg College, came to the meeting to publicize the Grow Your Own Teachers program, which is a partnership between Lynchburg College, Central Virginia Community College and local school divisions. Students interested in becoming teachers can apply to the program, which involves two years at CVCC and two years at Lynchburg College, and culminates in a Virginia teachers license. School divisions nominate students with the hopes they will return to teach at the schools they attended.

We need good people. We need them to come; we need them to stay, Walker said.

The program prioritizes minority applicants and applicants interested in teaching in the Science, Technology, Math and Engineering fields. Massie said the division is working hard to hire more minority teachers and said he sees the program as a vehicle to help in that endeavor.

Other board members also were excited about the program.

To me this is just a no-brainer; this is great, said Sharon Carter, who represents District 2. To the parents out there, please spread the word, and we can spread the word. We need more people to come through the ranks and go to E.C. Glass or Heritage [high schools] and join the board and be principals and teachers.
As the nation continues to debate gun rights, Roanoke indoor range and firearms retailer SafeSide Tactical is preparing to educate local residents about gun safety at a new location in Lynchburg.

The new indoor, state-of-the-art shooting range located in what was once a 1940s lumber processing mill on Mayflower Drive  and in the midst of its soft opening now  will offer gun safety and training courses, conference spaces, retail space and 22 shooting lanes.

Its a growing interest, co-owner Mitch Tyler said. I was told by the range designers that more ranges will open this year [2017] across the country than Starbucks.

Tyler, his brother Matthew and father, J.R., opened the first store in Roanoke in 2015. Its owners decided to open a second location after seeing many of their customers were traveling to Roanoke from Lynchburg.

It was a natural fit to come down here, Tyler said.

SafeSide typically serves three types of customers: members of law enforcement, first-time gun buyers and regular shooters.

First-time gun buyers dont want to go into an old school gun shop, he said. We present a facility like this, for someone whos not a gun person can still feel comfortable. They go from never holding a gun to making an educated decision on what gun to buy. We built the facility to cater to them.

Education and equipping guests with the knowledge they need to protect themselves is a priority for the Tylers.

Gun rights came back to the forefront of national debate after the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, after a gunman wielding a semi-automatic weapon killed 58 people and injured more than 500.

Though the weapon used was legal, it continues to spark debate across the country about bump stocks, the device 64-year-old Stephen Paddock used to modify his gun.

Tyler said there could be a political shift that puts certain types of firearms and accessories in the limelight, some of which are sold at SafeSide.

But our role is to be good citizens, follow the laws, and make sure were operating SafeSide in a way that attracts the law-abiding people in the Roanoke and Lynchburg areas, he said.

Tyler said the question he always asks customers is what happens if you have to defend yourself, and the police cant come?

We want people to have the tools to protect themselves and their family, he said. And that transcends age, race, religion and even political leanings. Self defense and the love of sport shooting transcends a lot of different things.

Sometimes those not involved in the sport tend to perceive it negatively.

And I think thats because they dont fully understand it. The best misconception is a firearm owner is looking for a reason to use their firearm, he said. The reality is, in many cases, that person has already been background checked by the state and the feds, and as [a] society, we know more about that person, who is a legal gun owner, than the next guy that we dont know anything about.

SafeSide conducts an extensive background check on anyone purchasing a firearm.

We consider ourselves the gatekeepers, and some people dont like that because we ask personal questions, Tyler said. We err on the side of caution. We want to give good customer service, but we arent afraid to be straight with someone.

Tyler said the business is invested in Lynchburg and is here for the long haul. He said the business sees itself as a functioning member of society, not the black sheep because its a gun dealer.

Were looking at long-term success here, so losing a sale over someone who may not be able to legally buy a gun is a sale were willing to lose, he said. We have a reputation to defend; we have a lot invested  theres no motivation for us to do it any way but right.

For the past year, Terry Gaddy, former Campbell County sheriff and member of the SafeSide advisory team, has been offering SafeSide Tactical advice and opinions.

It is important to him gun owners be responsible and can shoot accurately, he said.

Im a firm believer that anyone with a gun needs to know how the weapon works and needs to be able to shoot and hit what theyre shooting at, he said. When you pull the trigger, you need to know where the bullet is going to go and where the bullet is going to stop.

He also believes the new range will be a boon for local law enforcement.

The biggest thing is its indoor, and you dont have the noise. Campbell County has been having problems within the last eight years to put a range in because people were concerned with noise being close to their homes, he said.

Gaddy, who retired in 2011, had served in law enforcement for 36 years in Campbell County and said the county sheriffs office uses the Lynchburg Police Departments shooting range. He also trains all police and sheriffs departments in Central Virginia as part of the Central Virginia Criminal Justice Academy.

I think it will be a good source that theyve never had before and can utilize, he said.

With 22 lanes that can accommodate up to three people per lane, there can be 60 shooters at any one time in the two separate ranges. There are two ranges, one with four lanes of more than 100 yards for hunters and another range with 18 lanes of 25 yards for handgun users.

Ariel Turley, from Lynchburg, went to the facilitys soft opening Oct. 7 and said he wanted to compare the new facility to the one in Roanoke.

I went to practice shooting my pistol, and I greatly enjoyed the way it was laid out, he said. It was very convenient and useful, super easy to use, and I thought it was better than the one in Roanoke.

SafeSide has installed rubber on all range walls to absorb any round if hit.

When it hits the steel-back plate, the rubber stops it from bouncing back, so there is no ricochet, he said.

The rubber is a $100,000 investment. The facility alone is about an $8 million investment, Tyler said.

The facility has bulletproof glass, HEPA filtration and a live safety officer in the range at all times. A 3,500-square-foot retail space offers firearms and ammunition. Tyler said about 80 to 100 guns will be available for rent. Guns available in the store range from AR-10 and AR-15 pistols and rifles to upgrades and embellishments for existing firearms.

Depending on the success of the business, there is the potential and capacity for 40 more lanes of 25-yard lane shooting in the back of the building.

Thirty new employees have been hired for the facility.

The facility will be open nearly 80 hours and seven days per week.
Government is set to evict over 300 families illegally settled on the shores of Lake Mutirikwi to restore a buffer zone around Masvingo Citys sole water supply that is threatened with siltation. The illegal settlers have been pouring onto the shores of Lake Mutirikwi, south of the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site, exacerbating siltation of the lake.



The lake is less than 30 percent full, with experts blaming the siltation on the proliferation of illegal settlements in the catchment area. Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Deputy Minister (Cropping) Davis Marapira said there was urgent need to restore the buffer zone to protect the dam. He said Government would soon initiate moves to remove hundreds of illegal settlers occupying the shores of the dam stretching from areas close to the Great Zimbabwe Monuments into the nearby Boroma resettlement area in Murinye communal lands.



Lake Mutirikwi is under serious threat from these illegal settlers, who allocated themselves plots on the shores of the dam The area currently occupied by the illegal settlers is supposed to be a buffer zone that is devoid of human settlements to avert the threat of siltation, said Deputy Minister Marapira. Deputy Minister Marapira said Government would make sure that the illegal settlers were moved to save Lake Mutirikwi.





We are going to move in and restore sanity for the sake of our dam, which is of great strategic economic importance to Masvingo city and the province at large, he said. Deputy Minister Marapira expressed concern that the buffer zone that should be a wildlife sanctuary had been turned into a settlement area. Human activities such as agriculture are blamed for the massive soil erosion that causes siltation in the dam. Deputy Minister Marapira said Lake Mutirikwi was struggling to fill up despite above normal rains received in most parts of Masvingo and the country at large, due to siltation.





Apart from supplying Masvingo city, Lake Mutirikwi provides irrigation water to sugar cane plantations in the Lowveld. The dam is also a source of water for numerous irrigation schemes dotted along Mutirikwi Rivers journey to the Lowveld and the growing threat of siltation would affect food security for downstream communities that rely on the irrigation projects. Lake Mutirikwi was once Zimbabwes biggest inland dam before the completion of Tokwe-Mukosi Dam in Chivi. Zinwa recently started water draw-downs from Tokwe-Mukosi to irrigate sugar cane plantations in the Lowveld as part of efforts to relieve pressure on Lake Mutirikwi. herald
Most of our solar projects have been having challenges in that people bid, they are given permission to do whatever they are supposed to do, but at times those people would not be having (financial) resources.
AN inexplicable bout of diarrhoea has affected over 100 pupils at Thornhill and Guinea Fowl high schools in Gweru and most of the children have since been hospitalised.



Reports from the two schools indicate that some pupils failed to sit for their O level Geography paper 1 and Accounts Paper 1 examinations because of the diarrhoea. Both schools have recorded over 50 confirmed diarrhoea cases each in the last four days and parents have been forced to take their sick children to local medical institutions for treatment. Midlands provincial education director Mrs Agnes Gudo confirmed the outbreak, saying Ministry officials were on the ground investigating the matter.



Yes, we got information to the effect that there were school children at Thornhill and Guinea Fowl high schools in Gweru who have been affected by diarrhoea. Inspectors are on the ground looking into the matter and we hope we will have information as to what is happening and what is causing it. Mrs Gudo said both day scholars and boarders had been affected by the disease. If it were only boarders, we could be saying the problem is at the schools, but day scholars have also been affected, she said. I dont have the exact number of the affected children right now, she said. The two schools are widely regarded as top institutions of learning in the Midlands Province.



The transmission mode has remained largely unknown so far, said a teacher at Thornhill High School. Some affected children have been sent for medical observation at home, while we are busy disinfecting the school under the watchful eye of officials from the Ministry of Health and Child Care. A parent said, on condition of anonymity, that she was called to Thornhill High School on Saturday evening after her child developed diarrhoea.





I travelled from Bulawayo to Gweru on Saturday evening after my daughter developed diarrhoea, she said. I was shocked to see over 50 pupils being attended to while some were taken to local hospitals. I took mine to one of the hospitals where she was hydrated. Another parent said he was worried that his childs O level examination preparations would be affected.





My son is sitting for his O level examination and now he has been affected by this unexpected illness, he said. I hope he will perform well. Diarrhoeal diseases account for nearly two million deaths a year among children fewer than five years of age, making them the second most common cause of child deaths worldwide. Herald
AS the first phase of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) reaches midway, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has so far registered only 675 762 voters, which is 9,7 percent of the targeted 7 million voters.



The first phase began on October 10 and will run until October 26. Latest ZEC statistics show that as at October 17, Mashonaland East had registered the most voters at 111 881, followed by Manicaland 109 607, Midlands 92 183 and Masvingo 84 642. In the period, ZEC officials in Mashonaland Central had captured 82 493, Harare 80 192, Mashonaland West 44 341, Matabeleland South 25 841, Matabeleland North 25 791 and Bulawayo 18 216.



Incidentally, Harare  which has a relatively low figure of voters that have been processed so far and is ranked sixth out of the 10 provinces in terms of current registrations  has the highest number of people expected to register at 1,3 million. A total 15 973 people were turned away during the September 18 to October 9 period. Aspiring voters are being turned away for defaced national identification particulars, no IDs and failure to produce proof of residence, among other reasons.



In Masvingo, for example, some Tokwe Mukosi prospective registrants had no IDs, while others did not have proof of residence. In Manicaland, people were being turned away either for being aliens or not having their IDs. In Mashonaland Central Province, a large number was turned away for being non-citizens. ZEC, however, noted that there were communication hitches in getting updates from some remote and inaccessible centres, which, to some extent, could have affected the tallying of the overall figures.

The figures show that there are no returns or submission from the 431 out of the 2 697 centres on October 17, at 4pm due to network and communication challenges. Figures from these remote and inaccessible centres are coming at different intervals as and when they manage to get the network or travel top accessible areas.

Projected voter population figures are for 2018 and include aliens, foreigners and persons without identification particulars as well as people turning 18 in 2018. Under Zimbabwean law, voter registration is not compulsory, said ZEC. But the figures registered so far represent 20 percent or a fifth of 3,4 million voters for the 2013 harmonised elections, which President Mugabe won by claiming 61 percent, or 2,1 million votes. ZANU-PF Harare political commissar Mr Shadreck Mashayamombe said that the challenge was not so much in the numbers turning up to vote, but the time that was being taken by ZEC to process prospective voters.

We have seen people queuing very early buy ZEC only start to serve them well after 800 am. So you will find that at the end of the day they would have served fewer people than anticipated, said Cde Mashayamombe. The issue of polling stations sited in wrong wards and constituencies, he said, was also causing delays. According to MDC-T secretary-general Mr Douglas Mwonzora, ZECs insistence on proof of residence and a commissioned affidavit was a major put-off for prospective registrants.

There are very few commissioners of oath, who are also charging between 50c and $1 to commission an affidavit, while in rural areas the village heads are charging between 25c and $1. We know that our people do not have this money and will obviously opt to ignore the whole process, resulting in very few people successfully registering.

This condition is not legally and logically sound because at the end of the day, people should vote from whereever they chose to, said Mr Mwonzora. He added that 254 people failed to register in Dzivarasekwa yesterday because they did not have proof of residence in the required format. ZEC should take on the recommendation that every registration officer must be a temporary commissioner of oath so that the numbers of people in the voter register do not dwindle.

If they do not do that, the register is going to shrink by a huge margin, he said. But the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), a non-Governmental organisation, commended ZEC for ensuring that every ward under phase one of the voter registration exercise has a functioning registration center and kit. ZESN, however, raised concern about the inordinate time ZEC was taking to register voters.





ZEC is also making sure that kits in areas where there is low turnout are moved to areas with more traffic. However, ZEC should share this information with the public so that people know of these changes. The time taken to process a single registrant continues to take more time in most parts of the country beyond the four minutes per person targeted by ZEC.





However, faster processing times have been recorded in places such as Epworth ward one, Epworth Primary School over 200 people were registered on the 16 October 2017, said ZESN. nA high voter participation in the elections means the next Government that will be formed after the 2018 elections will have an overwhelming mandate from the people. ZEC has established 2 508 registration centres countrywide for the first phase of the exercise, which will last for 72 days. It will be done in four segments. The first phase runs from October 10 to 26, while the second phase will be done from October 29 to November 13. The third segment will take place between November 16 and December 1. The last phase will run from December 4 to 19. herald
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It's not every day you babysit your two young grandkids and end up $522,822 richer, but that's exactly what happened to a New York man, UPI reports. Palmer Scumaci, 67, of Ronkonkoma, says he and his wife were looking after their 2-year-old and 4-month-old grandkids and were, well, beat. So he offered to make a run for coffee to put some pep back in his wife's step; while at the One Stop Deli, he also bought a CashX20 scratch-off ticket.

Wife Nancy says he returned to the home screaming about an upcoming trip to Disney World: He had won the $1 million jackpot, which the New York Lottery explains netted him the aforementioned six figures. A trip to Disney will happen, says Scumaci, but not much more, per Nancy. "No fancy cars. I'll still clip coupons. We're just that kind of people." (Read more lottery stories.)
Molly Ringwald had a negative interaction with Harvey Weinstein, but it was purely business-related. That doesn't mean she's escaped unscathed. In a New Yorker column, the actress says she's "had plenty of Harveys of my own over the years," including a 50-year-old crew member who pushed up against her with an erection when she was 13 and a married film director who put his tongue in her mouth, on set, when she was 14. "At a time when I was trying to figure out what it meant to become a sexually viable young woman, at every turn some older guy tried to help speed up the process."

It continued into adulthood: A director asked her to let the lead actor put a dog collar around her neck even though it wasn't in the script and made no sense in the story. The head of a major studio, after Ringwald's retreat from the spotlight, commented in a magazine article that he wouldn't know the 24-year-old "if she sat on my face." There are more stories, but she never discussed them publicly "because, as a woman, it has always felt like I may as well have been talking about the weather," she writes. "Stories like these have never been taken seriously. Women are shamed, told they are uptight, nasty, bitter, cant take a joke, are too sensitive. And the men? Well, if theyre lucky, they might get elected President." Click for her full column. (Read more Molly Ringwald stories.)
Wyatt Shaw was living it up at his uncle's wedding. The 7-year-old ring bearer from Kentucky even snagged the bride for a final dance. The next day, when he complained of a headache and an upset stomach, his family figured "he had just had too much cake," grandmother Rhonda Thompson tells the News-Enterprise. But when Wyatt had trouble waking the next morning and couldn't stand up, mom Amy Shaw grew alarmed. The second-grader was alert when he checked into a Louisville children's hospital, but he then fell into what granddad Doug Thompson calls "that deep sleep." He wouldn't wake for another 11 days. "It was horrible," Amy Shaw tells WDRB. A battery of tests, including three spinal taps, turned up no clues as to what happened. Doctors ruled out viruses, bacteria, and encephalitis, a brain infection, per the News-Enterprise.

Wyatt's condition confounded experts from the Mayo Clinic to London, where a doctor said the longest he'd seen a child sleep was 10 days, Rhonda Thompson says, adding that the doc predicted, accurately, that the boy would wake up "and nothing would ever be found." With the help of meds used for seizures, Wyatt woke last Thursday, per WDRB. He's able to drink liquids, but his speech and movement are limited. Wyatt is headed to rehab, and his doctor warns that the road to recovery will be more of a "roller coaster," Doug Thompson tells the News-Enterprise. Family friend Jade Flynn is raising funds to help the family. "Wyatt is just a spunky kid, full of life," she says. "It's heartbreaking to see them go through this." (Experts puzzled over an Italian girl's death from malaria.)
Jeffrey Michels disappeared from an Air Force base in northern North Dakota on a summer day in 1977and was found last week in Florida living a double life, Fox News reports. Michels, 64, was arrested Oct. 12 on desertion charges filed against him after he went missing from Minot Air Force Base near the Canadian border. Police say the former airman had taken the name Jeffrey Lantz, married, and had kids, per WFTV. In 1998, "Lantz" applied for a business license and started a construction company, Atlantic Development Corporation. Michels, originally from Ohio, was nabbed after the Facebook group Veteran Doe posted his photo in July, nearly 40 years to the day after he failed to report for duty. (That photo has since been taken down.)

The site calls "attention to the many missing veteran/active duty cases and unidentified person cases where there is a possible military connection." The Air Force hasn't explained how Michels was found, per the Miami Herald. But Seminole County authorities identified him by a scar on his left leg near the ankle. There's no statute of limitations on desertion, so Michels will stand trial in a military court, per the IB Times. He was turned over to the custody of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations. Why Michels walked away from the remote base is unknown, but the Herald notes it's known for its nuclear missile silos and hard winters. (One of the first women Army combat engineers was accused of desertion.)
The wife of an aspiring pastor in North Carolina had 123 stab wounds and cuts after what investigators say was a frenzied attack at their Raleigh home last month. Matthew James Phelps, husband of Lauren Hugelmaier Phelps, has been held without bail on a first-degree murder charge since the Sept. 1 killing. In a 911 call early that morning, the 29-year-old told a dispatcher he thought he had killed her in his sleep after taking more cough and cold medication than he should have. "There's blood all over me, and there's a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it," he said. "I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good and sometimes I cant sleep at night."

State pathologists say Lauren Phelps had 44 cut and stab wounds from a kitchen knife, some of them 4 inches deep, around her head and neck, the News and Observer reports. One of the cuts severed her left jugular vein. She also had dozens of wounds on her arms and torso. Attorney Karl Knudsen tells WRAL that the shocking number of wounds could actually help Phelps' defense. "It is, in fact, indicative of somebody who may be detached from reality or having a psychotic state because they're doing it far, far in excess of what would be necessary." He adds, however, that taking medicine is not a total defense. "For those people who think, 'Well, I can go drink a couple of bottles of cough syrup and kill somebody and get away with it,' that's not what the law is," he says. (Read more murder stories.)
Joshua Boyle, a Canadian who was rescued with his family last week by Pakistani troops, says that his wife had to be rushed to the hospital from his parents' Ontario home and remains there. Boyle told the AP that his wife, American citizen Caitlan Boyle, was admitted Monday. His email did not specify why she was taken to the hospital. "My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now," Boyle wrote. Boyle, his wife, and their three children were rescued Wednesday, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. The children were born in captivity.

Joshua Boyle said after landing at Toronto's airport on Friday that the Taliban-linked Haqqani network killed an infant daughter and raped his wife during the years they were held. On Monday, Boyle told the AP that he and his wife decided to have children even while held captive because they always planned to have a big family and decided, "Hey, let's make the best of this and at least go home with a larger start on our dream family." "We're sitting as hostages with a lot of time on our hands," Boyle said. "We always wanted as many as possible, and we didn't want to waste time. Cait's in her 30s, the clock is ticking." (Boyle says their middle child is afraid of people wearing boots.)
President Trump's claim Tuesday that he has called the family of every American soldier to die during his presidency was simply untrue, reports the AP, which found three families that never got the call. Two of them didn't receive a letter. Sheila Murphy, whose Army son died in Syria in May, says she never heard from Trump, even after she wrote to him to say "some days I don't want to live." Other families did receive calls: Aldene Lee says 10 days after her son was killed in Iraq in April, Trump called and described the soldier as a "lovely young man." Asked Tuesday to clarify his comments on his predecessors not calling families, Trump said reporters could "ask General Kelly did he get a call from Obama" when his son died in 2010.

Kelly has been reluctant to publicly discuss his son, 2nd Lt. Robert Kelly, though he did describe him as a "wonderful guy" in an emotional Fox interview on Memorial Day, the New York Times reports. "Wonderful husband. Wonderful son. Wonderful brother. Brave beyond all get out," he said. Sources tell the Washington Post that Kelly is very strongly opposed to having his son's death politicized, and that Trump may have publicly repeated details his chief of staff told him in private. "I just think it demeans the presidency" for Trump to use Kelly and his son "to back up his excuses for whatever happened," former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tells the Post. (A Florida lawmaker says Trump made an insensitive remark to the widow of one of four soldiers killed in Niger.)
Trump the candidate had a very public feud with a Gold Star family; Trump the president appears to be embroiled in one, too. The dust-up began with a Democratic Florida congresswoman, who says President Trump told the widow of a slain soldier that her husband "knew what he signed up for." Rep. Frederica Wilson said the knowledge of the comment came firsthand: She was in the car with Myeshia Johnson when the call came in and says the call was put on speakerphone. They were en route to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson's husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, who was one of the four servicemen killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month, the AP reports. When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that, she answered: "Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow." She added: "That's so insensitive." Here's what's happened since:

On Wednesday morning, Trump hit back at Wilson, tweeting: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

This led to calls on Twitter for Trump to provide this alleged proof, and for Wilson, who appeared on CNN's New Day, to comment on the president's latest statements. "I don't know what kind of proof he could be talking about," she said. "I'm not the only person that was in the car. I have proof, too. This man is a sick man. He's coldhearted, and he feels no pity or sympathy for anyone."

But Wilson wasn't the only one in the car with Myeshia Johnson. Her husband's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, was also in the vehicle and tells the Washington Post: "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband." She didn't elaborate, but she offered a "yes" when asked if Wilson's version of the story was true. The Miami Herald notes Wilson's press person and the master sergeant, among others, were also in the car. (Local10 notes Johnson was adopted by his aunt following his mother's death.)

Greg Sargent spoke with Wilson, and writes for the Washington Post that her involvement is more personal than initially reported. She founded a mentoring program in Miami in 1993 called the 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project; Johnson not only participated, Wilson "practically raised him," she says. Politico notes that when Johnson's father was in elementary school, Wilson was the principal.

Writing for CNN, Chris Cillizza thinks it's entirely possible that the words simply got mangled. "Calling a recently widowed woman of a soldier killed in action is an incredibly difficult thing to do," even more so for Trump, who had no experience with calls like these prior to becoming president. That makes it "absolutely plausible that Trump expressed a real sorrow somewhat inarticulately." The problem is that rather than cop to that, Trump "always has to ramp up controversy and drama rather than play it down."

Myeshia Johnson has a 2-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter and is pregnant with their third child. The Herald reports that a scholarship fund has been set up for the children. More than $358,000 has been raised at the time of this writing.

Local10 has a profile of Johnson and shares details of his death. It notes the 25-year-old was known by thousands as "Wheelie King 305" for his stunts on a bicycle that lacked a front wheel.

(Trump also said his predecessors didn't call families of fallen soldiers .)
It was the sound of a door closing loudly behind Jesus Campos that likely alerted Stephen Paddock to the security guards presence on Mandalay Bays 32nd floor minutes before he opened fire on a Las Vegas concert crowd below. Days after canceling a series of media appearances, Campos appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show alongside Mandalay Bay engineer Stephen Schuck and, in an interview airing Wednesday, offers his version of events from Oct. 1, per the Los Angeles Times. Alerted that a door was ajar on the 32nd floor, Campos says he climbed up from the 31st floor but found a stairwell door blocked. Using another route, he reached the other side of the door, inside a small room, and found a metal bracket keeping it closed. He says he called for an engineer, then exited the room with the door banging behind him.

"I believe that's what caught the shooter's attention," says Campos. As he walked away from Paddock's room next to the stairwell, "I heard rapid fire" and "took cover," he says. Campos realized he'd been shot but only radioed that shots had been fired. "I was going to say that I was hit, but I got on  my cellphone just to clear radio traffic," he says. As Schuck arrived on the 32nd floor, Campos warned him to take cover, too. "Within milliseconds, if he didn't say that, I would have got hit," Schuck says, noting he could feel "pressure" from bullets "passing behind my head," per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Campos says he also warned a guest to take cover. The security guard adds he's "doing better each day." DeGeneres says Campos will offer no other comment on the shooting. (Read more Las Vegas shooting stories.)
What a Utah man should've done, at least per one friend's advice, when 16-year-old Jchandra Brown told him she wanted to kill herself: talk her out of it. What Tyerell Przybycien is charged with doing instead: helping her set up and carry out her suicide, the Daily Herald reports. On Tuesday, a 4th District Court judge ruled there was "reasonable belief" that enough evidence exists to send the Spanish Fork man to trial for Jchandra's death, charging him with first-degree murder and failure to report a dead body, both felonies. If convicted, he could face 15 years to life in prison. In court documents cited in the Washington Post, prosecutors say when Jchandra told Przybycien of her plans, the 18-year-old texted another friend to ask what he should do, and the friend told him he should persuade her otherwise. Przybycien, however, reportedly had the reverse reaction.

"It be awesome," he texted back, noting he wanted to help her carry out her plan. "Like getting away with murder." Those records also detail Przybycien's alleged role, including mapping out Jchandra's suicide, picking her up from work May 5, and buying rope and compressed air. He's then accused of taking Jchandra to the Maple Lake Campground in Payson, setting up a noose for her, and filming her as she inhaled the compressed air, passed out, and fell off a wooden pedestal, hanging herself in the process. The Salt Lake Tribune has reported he also provided running commentary through the video found on her cellphone, including noting at one point: "That's when the brain stops getting oxygen." Przybycien's lawyer argues his client didn't actually carry out the actions that killed her, but Judge James Brady says Przybycien's help was a "substantial factor" in her death. Przybycien's arraignment is set for Oct. 24. (Radio host Delilah revealed the contents of her son's "goodbye note.")
Family members are shocked after police declined to press charges in a shooting death at one of South Florida's top illegal shooting ranges. Lawrence Ramdass, 46, was fishing at Holey Land Wildlife Management Area in Palm Beach County in July when he was struck in the chest as some 15 bullets came "out of nowhere," reports the Washington Post. Only they didn't: After a three-month investigation, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says the bullet that killed Ramdass came from a .45-caliber gun two men were firing into a berm covered in "brush and tall grass," unaware Ramdass was boating on the other side about a third of a mile away, reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The paper notes 125 people have been caught illegally firing guns in the same area, all but three receiving warnings.

Ricardo Galvan and Christian Salcedo were questioned by a state wildlife officer in the minutes before the shooting but reportedly said they had only fireworks. Tracked down after Ramdass' death, the men admitted to firing several guns and "Galvan voluntarily surrendered his .45 caliber gun for testing," say police, who confirmed the fatal bullet came from the weapon. However, both men were unsure who was responsible and "expected that no one would, or even could be behind the berm that they were shooting at," a rep for the sheriff's office says, referring to the incident as "a tragic accident." Ramdass' sister says she's shocked and disappointed that no charges were filed. "There are signs out there saying it's illegal to shoot," she says. "Anyone that fires a weapon, you're responsible for your actions, accident or no accident." (Read more shooting death stories.)
If President Trump thinks the Iran nuclear deal should be scrapped, the ayatollah seems happy to oblige. "If the US tears up the deal, we will shred it," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday in a speech to students, per Reuters. He was referring to President Trump's decision last week not to recertify the deal struck under the Obama administration. Trump's move doesn't mean the US is withdrawinginstead he essentially turned that decision over to Congress. In his own speech, Khamenei unleashed a torrent of criticism against Trump. "I don't want to waste our time to respond to the rants and whoppers of the foul-throated president of the United States," the Guardian quotes him as saying. (Translations differ slightly in various accounts.)

"Everyone should know that once again America will receive a slap in its mouth and will be defeated by the people of Iran." The AP's account has the ayatollah referring to the Trump administration as "mentally retarded." Other nations are part of the nuclear accord, but Khamenei suggested that a US withdrawal would effectively kill it. And he seemed to be urging other parties, especially in Europe, to stand up to the US. "European states stressed their backing for the deal and condemned Trump," he said, per the Hill. "We welcomed this, but it is not enough to ask Trump not to rip up the agreement. Europe needs to stand against practical measures (taken) by America." The next big move may be up to Congress, which has 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were lifted by the agreement. (Read more Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stories.)
President Trump seemed to back away even further on Wednesday from his support of a bipartisan deal that would shore up ObamaCare for the near future. In a tweet, Trump said he could "never support bailing out" insurance companies, referring to the deal struck between Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray to restore subsidies to big insurers for two years. Trump's opposition would all but doom chances of getting it passed, notes Politico, but it's difficult to gauge exactly how opposed he is, given the "mixed signals" he's been sending over the last two days, per the Washington Post. Alexander, for one, suggests there's not much reason to worry because Trump phoned him Wednesday and said he's still open to the deal, subject to his final review. Meanwhile, a strategy is emerging on how to slip it through Congress.

Politico reports that a stand-alone bill seems unlikely and that Democrats may instead tuck it into the year-end spending bill. The New York Times lays out the thinking: "In December, the government will run out of money, and no bill to keep it funded can pass without Democratic votes," write Robert Pear and Thomas Kaplan. "At that point, supporters of the Alexander-Murray measure can insist on its inclusion in any spending bill and threaten to shut down the government if they do not prevail." Conservative Republicans may oppose the measure, favoring a repeal of ObamaCare instead, but it could well attract enough GOP support to succeed. At a forum Wednesday sponsored by Axios, Alexander sounded confident, predicting the legislation would pass in some form before the end of the year. (Read more ObamaCare stories.)
Not only was the US aware of anti-Communist killings in the 1960s in Indonesia that resulted in at least 500,000 deaths, but in some instances it celebrated and supported the situation. Thousands of files from the US Embassy in Jakarta were declassified Tuesday, the Independent reports. According to the New York Times, the documents show the US was "meticulously documenting" the killings in 1965 and 1966 but never publicly criticized them. The killings were carried out by the Indonesian army, as well as paramilitaries and religious mobs. They targeted members of the Indonesian Communist Party, or PKI, as well as Chinese people, students, and more, Al Jazeera reports. Among the details revealed in the newly public documents:

US was aware Indonesia was dealing with overcrowded prisons by executing suspected communists or "killing them before they are captured."

US said anti-American President Sukarno must be replaced in order for Indonesia to receive US aid. He was replaced with Suharto, general who headed three-decade military dictatorship.

American diplomat called the change in leadership, even accompanied by mass killings, a "fantastic switch."

US officials believed Suharto gave the orders for some mass executions.

US tried to stop foreign coverage of the killings.

US believed Indonesian army was behind attempted coup against Sukarno despite publicly going along with account that blamed Communists.

A Indonesian human rights lawyer says the killings "are among the world's worst crimes against humanity, and our country's darkest secret." (Read more Indonesia stories.)
Jeff Sessions refused Wednesday to answer questions about his "confidential conversations with the president" regarding the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, CNN reports. The attorney general claimed executive privilege when questioned by Democrats during testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I cannot waive that privilege myself or otherwise compromise his ability to assert it," Sessions said. The move is sure to upset Democrats after Sessions used the same excuse in refusing to answer similar questions in June. According to the New York Times, the nine Democrats on the committee sent a letter to Sessions last week saying he was expected to answer the questions unless President Trump formally invoked executive privilege, which he has not.

Most of Wednesday's hearing was centered on Russia, and Sessions largely avoided saying "anything of real substance," the Washington Post reports. For example, Sessions refused to say whether or not he had been asked for an interview by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, saying he "will check and let you know." The attorney general also had a heated interaction with Sen. Al Franken, who noted Sessions has changed his story from having no contact with the Russian government during the campaign to having no improper contact after it was revealed he met with the Russian ambassador. While accusing Franken of being "totally unfair to me," Sessions admitted Wednesday it was "possible" that "some comment was made about what Trump's positions were" during his meeting with the ambassador. (Read more Jeff Sessions stories.)
Authorities say they have charged a man with murder after he gave a 3-year-old boy a gun and told him to chase the victim around the yard of a South Carolina home. Aiken County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Shunn said witnesses told deputies that 24-year-old Timothy Johnson was shot in the chest Tuesday afternoon after the gun fired while the child was carrying it outside a home in Warrenville. Shunn said in a statement that 31-year-old Albert Davis is charged with murder, possession of a stolen handgun, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Shunn told the AP that deputies are still investigating why Davis gave the child the gun and whether Davis was angry at Johnson. (Read more murder stories.)
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Mumbai:

The Maharashtra government has decided to fully fund the phone-an-ambulance service across Maharashtra, a government resolution (GR) issued today said.



It was partially funded by the Centre, and now state government has decided to bear its total expenditure, said the GR.



Under Maharashtra Emergency Medical Service (MEMS), the Maharashtra government had provided hundreds of ambulances across the state with a common emergency number of 108.



One has to dial it from mobile or landline number and the ambulance service was available free of cost.



The scheme, which launched during the tenure of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, was expanded in the subsequent years by the present BJP government.



The government resolution stated that the partially funded Centre's scheme will now be handed over to the state government and all types of expenses will be borne by the state government.



"It is a routine procedure and it happens with most of the schemes. The Centre helps the state government to launch a particular scheme, funds it and eventually withdraws its funding so that it could take up new projects," Archana Patil, director of state health department told PTI today.



The Maharashtra government has sanctioned Rs 15.34 crore for the MEMS to be used till March 2018, the GR stated.



The GR has also restricted the health department not to make any fresh purchases of ambulances or equipment. The sanctioned funds have to be used mostly for running the ambulance service such as salaries of the staff, diesel expenses among others.



There are 233 advance life support ambulances and 704 basic life supporting ambulances across the state serving under MEMS, the GR stated.
New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is all set to celebrate Diwali with all grandeur at the temple town of Ayodhya on Wednesday. The Deepotsav will have one lakh seventy one thousand diyas to lit up the banks of river Saryu in Ayodhya.

The state government is also getting ready to make a new Guinness World Record by lighting record number of diyas on the banks of the Saryu River as a part of Diwali celebrations.

Adityanath will arrive in the temple town on Wednesday to take part in historic Deepotsav.

Prominent buildings and ghats will be illuminated to attract tourists. The objective of the entire programme will be to promote Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, as a tourist destination, he said.

A heritage walk, a yatra reminiscing the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya, and the launch of several schemes by the chief minister and other dignitaries will be part of the programme, Awasthi said.

A grand aarti of River Saryu will also be performed by Chief Minister Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik followed by a laser show.

As many as 60 potter families are engaged in making two lakh lamps in order to participate in the mega Diwali event.

To add a touch of fantasy to the event, a chopper decorated as the mythological Pushpak Viman, will descend on Ram Katha Park with artistes decked up to resemble Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman.

A 22-minute laser show with special sound effects on Ramayana will be the major attraction during the mega event at Ram Katha Park, Awasthi said.

With PTI inputs

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Guwahati :

The festival of lights calls for celebrations and merry-making. Light diyas, burst crackers or party with family and friends, but do spare a thought for the animals and the birds that are as much a part of this society as we are.

Every year, loud sound from fire crackers causes stress, terror and even death in strays and birds. This year will be no different, unless we become more responsible.

An Assam NGO is working overtime to spread awareness on how excruciating a firecracker can be to a dog or a bird.

"Diwali is a festival of twinkling lights, sweets, new clothes and plenty of fireworks for the humans. But on the contrary, it causes trauma to pets and stray animals atlarge," Sashanka Sekhar Dutta, the Managing Trustee of NGO 'Just Be Friendly' (JBF), told PTI.

To minimise their sufferings, JBF is trying its best to create awareness among people, he added. "When lakhs of people celebrate the festival of lights, another part of the society bundle up in fear," Dutta said.

Also Read | Diwali Lakshmi Puja 2017: Check Mantras, Muhurat, Puja Vidhi for pujan

He explained that dogs have an incredible hearing ability. They can detect sounds at frequencies higher or lower than the audible range of an average person.

"Many puppies and even adult dogs get crushed under the wheels of the cars on the night of Diwali while trying to escape from the noise," Dutta said.

It also causes temporary deafness in many animals and disorientation among the birds during night hours. For some, these blaring noises may even lead to permanent loss of hearing.

He said the number of distress calls received by JBF is increasing every year with cases ranging from injury to deafness to skin problems.

"JBF attends to all calls for help and ensures proper treatment and care for the animals at their centre," Dutta said.

Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, director (culture andinformation) of North Eastern Council, who owns a 10-year-old Japanese Spitz is sceptical that this year, too, the sound from crackers might take a toll on his pet's health.

Also Read | Choti Diwali 2017: All you need to know about Naraka Chaturdashi

"All pets, including mine, react to firecrackers. They start behaving abnormally. Diwali should be celebrated with lights and not loud crackers," he said.

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New Delhi:

The elite commando force of the CRPF, CoBRA, which has been regularly alleged of human rights violation by activists in Jharkhand, since its deployment to counter Maoist rebels, again showed a human side of the troop proving their motto to serve the mankind and motherland.

A company of CoBRA troopers were returning to its state headquarters in Khunti after a week long combing operation from jungles of Latehar a a highly Maoist infested district of state. Maoists in 2013 had surgically implanted a IED in a CRPF troopers abdomen a when they sighted a youth lying in pool of blood crying for help on the Ranchi-Khunti road on Wednesday late evening.

In the official twitter handle of CoBRA 209 the paramilitary tweeted, aWarriors of 209 #CoBRA #CRPF rescued the victim of #RoadAccident in #Jharkhand A #Samaritan continues the service to #Mankind & #Motherland.a

A deputy commandant rank officer of CoBRA said, aWe serve the mankind and motherland. We have been posted in Jharkhand to save people. It was our duty to save the youth.a

A CoBRA trooper told News Nation that the team was completely exhausted after extensive combing operation at Latehar jungle but still they decided to help the critically injured youth you met with the road accident.

The CoBRA troopers of Battalion 209 provided first aid to the injured youth and shifted him to the Khunti district hospital for further medical attention.

According to doctors, the youth could have lost his life due to excessive bleeding if he had not been provided with first aid on time.

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New Delhi:

The Modi-led Central government is all geared up to auction properties of Indias most wanted man and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim for auction.

Ministry of Finance has put up an advertisement auctioning the properties of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim for auction on November 14.

The Ministry of Finance under SAFEMA (Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators) Forfeiture of Properties Act is auctioning Dawood six properties.

The Ministry has put up an advertisement for auctioning five properties and two property listed for the auctioning belongs to Dawood and family.

This is part of the governments continuing efforts to curb Ibrahims operations in India.

One of the properties enlisted for auctioning is Dawoods Mubais Damarwala building room number 18-20, 25. 26 and 28. The building is located at Pakmoida Street and Yakub street.

Damarwala building is the same building from where Dawood brother Iqbal Kaskar was arrested in connection with an extortion case. It is said that Dawoods sister also owns a flat in this building.

The second building owned by Dawood in the auction list is the infamous Hotel Raunaq Afroz in Mumbais Bhendi Bazaar.

According to reports that the hotel was notoriously known fas Dawoods hangout place.

Also read: Dawood is in Pakistan, police say Iqbal Kaskar told them



The properties are up for auction at a reserve price of Rs 1.55 crore.

According to intelligence sources Dawood is currently in Pakistan, while the neighbouring country has regularly denied his presence.

Dawood is the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case in Mumbai in which around 260 people were killed, and more than 700 suffered injuries.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Terrorists shot dead a special police officer (SPO) in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said.

The ultras fired at SPO Haleem Gujjar at his residence in Gutroo village of Tral area, 36 kilometers from Srinagar, killing him on the spot, a police official said.

The militants escaped from the scene after carrying out the attack, he said, adding a manhunt has been launched for the assailants.

Earlier on Monday, militants shot dead a former sarpanch belonging to the ruling PDP party in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir while the deceaseds family members killed one of the assailants in a scuffle during the attack late evening.

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New Delhi:

As the festivals like Diwali and Chhath are in the offing, Railways has taken slew of measures to manage crowd at the New Delhi Railway Station. The Railways does not want to take any chances especially after Elphinstone Road stampede in Mumbai.

Railways has decided to put up extra ticket counters, control room for keeping tight vigil on crowd movement, mobile toilets and drinking water and food stalls.

The Railways has also said that they will make sure that no last-minute platform changes for train are announced.

As per report, New Delhi Railway Station is set to witness almost six lakh passengers on daily basis during the festivals.

Special duty officers will also be deployed at the station for crowd management at five station in Delhi including Anand Vihar Terminal, Old Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Sarai Rohilla stations.

The Northern Railway will also deploy civil defence personnel, apart from Railway Police Force (RPF) officers, on foot overbridges to control crowd movement.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The death toll in the triple suicide bombing affected by Taliban in Afghanistan on Tuesday has risen to 74 as per latest reports coming on the barbaric incident. The Afghan authorities meanwhile claim to have killed 35 Taliban fighters in a drone attack near Pakistan's border.



The number of people dead has risen up to 74 in a wave of attacks launched by Taliban on Tuesday, reported AP. Multiple suicide bombers attacked Afghanistan's south, west and eastern parts. Several people have been reported to be wounded as well.

In a press conference, Afghanistan's Deputy Interior Minister, Murad Ali Murad, called the attacks the "biggest terrorist attack this year". He further told that the attacks killed 71 people in provinces of Ghazni and Paktia.

In southern Paktia province, 41 people - 21 policemen and 20 civilians - were killed when the Taliban targeted a police compound in the provincial capital of Gardez with two suicide car bombs. Among the wounded were 48 policemen and 110 civilians.

Paktia's provincial police chief was also among the people killed in the attack. Waheed Majroo, spokesperson of Afghanistan's Health Ministry in a statement said that the Gardez hospital had recorded around 130 wounded people in the attack.

Apart from the police chief, many civilians have been reported dead. Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor in Ghazni, said the Taliban attack there lasted nine hours. By the time the attackers were repelled, there were 13 bodies of Taliban fighters on the ground, Noori added.

Meanwhile, in the western province of Farah, Taliban attacked a government compound in Shibkho district, killing three policemen.The Taliban has claimed responsibility for all three attacks. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the attack and confirmed the use of two vehicles -- a truck and a stolen police vehicle. "In both attacks tens of police were killed, buildings destroyed," Mujahid said.

The Afghanistan government has been rapidly losing ground to Taliban over the past two-and-a-half years. According to US SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction), the government controls only 57 per cent of the country. SIGAR data also shows that between January and November 2016, at least 6,785 Afghan security personnel were killed and 11,777 wounded, coinciding with an escalation in the conflict, reported IANS.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Washington:

India is emerging as a very important regional strategic partner for the US that can help modernise Afghanistan both politically and economically, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday.

Tillerson's remarks came after President Donald Trump unveiled the US strategy in Afghanistan which included expanded authorities to target terrorists.

"India is emerging as a very important regional strategic partner with the United States, and has played an important role supporting the Afghan government and in particular supporting their economy", Tillerson told reporters.

He also praised India's role in Afghanistan.

"India has provided development assistance. They've provided economic assistance. They are hosting an important economic conference in India this next week. All of that is important to stabilising Afghanistan as a nation", he said.

Read more: White House placed on lockdown for suspicious package investigation

"Get their economy functioning, stabilise the country so that they can provide more opportunities to their citizens. These are all elements of what will lead to stability and ultimately a peace agreement", he said.

Responding to a question, the Secretary of State sought the help of India in changing Pakistan's behaviour.

"It is important that Pakistan begin to think about its ability to contain these groups as well. It's why, though, we take a regional approach. The US alone is not going to change this dynamic with Pakistan", he said.

"India and Pakistan, they have their own issues that they have to continue to work through. But I think there are areas where perhaps even India can take some steps, a rapprochementon issues with Pakistan to improve the stability within Pakistan and remove some of the reasons why they deal with these unstable elements inside their own country", Tillerson said.

Read more: 83 Nigerian children deployed as 'human bombs' since January: UNICEF

According to the Secretary of State, other regional players have strong interest in Pakistan.

"China has strong interest in Pakistan. Having a stable, secure future Pakistan is in a lot of our interests. They area nuclear power. We have concerns about their weapons, the security of their weapons. There are many areas in which we believe we should be having very productive dialogue that serves both of our interests and regional interests as well", Tillerson said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

In a major move that will greatly boost the capabilities of Indian Navy, the Trump administration has decided to share the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) with India for the Indian Navy's future aircraft carrier.



India had sent a letter of request to the US government for the Electromagnetic Launch System (EMLAS) built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy during the tenure of Barack Obama.



The decision has come ahead of the visit of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to India the formal date of which will be announced soon.



Due to its flexible architecture, EMALS can launch a wide variety of aircraft weights and can be used on a variety of platforms with differing catapult configurations.



Aerospace expert Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive, US and International Strategic Development, of General Atomics had told PTI earlier that General Atomics is planning to open an office in Delhi to support the Indian government's military requirements.



The Indian Navy plans to integrate the US-made EMALS catapults into its future supercarriers.

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New Delhi:

At least seven policemen were killed and twenty two people were injured in an explosion in Sariab Mill area on Quetta-Sibbi road in Pakistan on Wednesday.

As per reports, a bomb exploded on the side of road when a vehicle carrying 35 policemen was passing. The nature of blast is yet to be ascertained.

Security forces have already cordoned off the area.

The Balochistan area has constantly been on the target of miscreants. The roadside explosions targeting sercurity personnel has become common in Balochistan area.

According to initial reports, security sources claimed a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta-Sibbi Road, Dawn News reported.

Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig confirmed seven casualties and said that injured had been brought to the medical facility where emergency has been imposed, the report said.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti while condemning the attack confirmed the deaths in the attack. While 22 others were injured and are being treated at the hospital in Quetta.

The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area, the home minister said.

These cowardly attacks will not hinder our security forces in executing their duties, he added.

Security forces have reached the location and cordoned off the area, and a security sweep is underway, it said.

Balochistan has experienced incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. In recent months, the province has faced a number of security challenges, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.

Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta on August 13.

Earlier in June, 14 people - including seven policemen - lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quettas Gulistan Road area.

With PTI inputs

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#FIFA World Cup Numbers confirmed for S. Korean players South Korea released squad numbers for their players at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, with captain Son Heung-min getting his usual No. 7. The Korea Football A...

#BTS Seller of BTS member Jungkook's lost hat referred to prosecution Police on Tuesday referred to the prosecution a former foreign ministry employee accused of attempting to sell BTS member Jungkook's lost hat online, officials said. The suspec...
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A newly built and controversial Norwalk residence won accolades in an annual architectural contest spanning Connecticut, one of multiple projects located in the Greenwich-New Haven corridor, or undertaken by firms located here.

The Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Architects has held is AIA Connecticut Design Awards annually dating back to 1986, with this years winners covering commercial buildings, schools, apartment buildings, residences and historic preservation.

AIA Connecticut bestowed 11 honors awards this year, with Beinfield Architecture winning two for its Novella apartment building in downtown New Haven and the 2 Nearwater house in Norwalk, with Beinfield Architecture having its offices in the city under founder Bruce Beinfield.

Beinfield had originally intended to build on a causeway that juts into Farm Creek in Norwalks Rowayton district, only to meet opposition from others who felt the project would ruin a scenic vista. Instead, he opted for a striking, narrow home at the base of the causeway that AIA Connecticuts judges deemed a whimsical but clever design, with a great site plan.

In Stamford, the new Mill River Park Carousel Pavilion also won plaudits as designed by New Haven-based Gray Organschi Architecture, with the facility the centerpiece of an ongoing plan to enhance a park at the western edge of downtown. AIAs judges described the exterior as an understatement that opened up to the extraordinary discovery of the carousel inside.

Gray Organschi Architure led all firms in this years AIA Connecticut Design Awards with three, along with houses in Hamden and Marthas Vineyard, Mass.

Elsewhere in southwestern Connecticut, Steven Mueller Architects received an AIA Connecticut honors award for a Shingle-style residence it designed in Greenwich, where it is based. And the Greenwich firm Joeb Moore & Partners Architects was lauded for a Tudor home it designed in Scarsdale, N.Y.
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HARTFORD  Republicans and Democrats who have been attempting for weeks to negotiate a spending package without the governor said that it could take some time to study a new plan he offered Monday.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, warned Gov. Dannel P. Malloys proposal could slow the process down.

I think its a distraction in regards to four caucuses that are sitting in that room, day after day and making progress toward getting a budget together, and were going to continue to do so, Klarides said. The governor will be brought into this process when we all believe that it is the most efficient time for him to be brought in, and thats not right. I think the governor would like to muddy the waters but were not going to do that.

Malloy said his two-year, $41.25 billion proposal contains elements of both previous Democratic and Republican budgets. But his would raise $150 million less in revenue over the two years than Democrats and cut spending by about the same amount from the Republican plan.

More News Malloys budget plan shuffles school funding

This new proposal is bare-bones, no-frills budget, Malloy told reporters at noon. This new budget eliminates numerous tax increases such as cellphone surcharges, a second-home tax and ride-sharing fees. It cuts spending by an additional $144 million over the biennium. It is intended to be helpful, not hurtful.

Malloy said he is willing to compromise further with legislative leaders, who have been meeting separately over the last two weeks, attempting to reach a compromise to present to Malloy for a final round of talks before possible votes in the General Assembly next week.

More Information Highlights of governor's latest two-year, $41.25 billion budget plan Revamps the formula for funding local schools, essentially eliminating funding from 36 of the wealthiest school districts. Changes the way towns and cities are awarded state aid. Reduces about $150 million in revenue from the $850 million proposed last month by Democrats. Cuts overall spending by about $144 million over the two years. Shifts $90 million of the state's cost for teacher pensions to the municipalities in the first year of the budget and $190 million the next. See More Collapse

No budget is perfect and no one of us has cornered the market on good ideas, he said. But I cannot stress enough: time is of the essence. Simply put, we need to act now on behalf of our constituents if we want to avoid the most difficult cuts to towns, hospitals and nonprofits.

Legislative leaders said they need time to review the proposals. Senate President Martin M. Looney said the negotiations on Monday included school funding formulas and the retirement system for school teachers.

Its presenting other options, so we havent focused on that in any detail yet, Looney, D-New Haven, said. Maybe it helps accelerate the process.

Were happy that the governor put some ideas  everybody should put some ideas  on the table. I think thats helpful, said Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, of North Haven. I think the ideas he has put forth have not garnered the support in the past and I suggest that they dont. So were going to go through it and see what he has in there thats new or that we can adopt or not adopt.

Klarides said the point of the talks among legislative leaders is to agree to a potential bipartisan deal that Malloy would sign into law. She noted Malloys new budget  his fourth since February  seems to have taken more ideas from a failed Democratic budget than the successful GOP plan that passed the General Assembly last month with a few Democratic votes, but which Malloy vetoed.

I would say the governors new proposal is no different than previous ones, said House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford. Were well aware of what priorities he cares about. Just because you have House and Senate Dems and House and Senate Republicans working together doesnt mean youre excluding his ideas and his concerns.

In reaction, the Connecticut Council of Small Towns and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities criticized Malloys plan. In particular, CCM opposes the phase-in of towns and cities paying employer portions of teacher pensions for the first time.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
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The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is believed by many to be haunted by ghosts, and one family's photo is the latest to attempt to give credence to the ghostly claims.

The Mausling family of Aurora, Colorado was on a "spirit tour" of the 108-year-old hotel on Sept. 16 when John "Jay" Mausling claims to have snapped a photo of what he says appears to be two ghosts.

HAUNTED?: Man's video of a 'ghost' in a South Texas motel goes viral

It wasn't until the family returned home from their visit that they realized two shadowy girls might have been captured on camera. Mausling told Huffington Post that in the photo, the girls seem to be walking up the staircase, adding that there weren't any girls matching their description in their tour group.

"At first I thought maybe a little girl ran by," Jessica Mausling, his wife, told Inside Edition. "I was in shock. How could all of us miss her, especially a little girl in a white gown?"

Huffington Post had Ben Hanson, host of "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files," inspect the Mausling's photo. Hanson told the outlet, "Assuming it's not doctored, it ranks up there as one of the best photos of possible paranormal evidence I've seen."

HOUSTON GHOSTS: Is the Houston Zoo haunted by the ghost of a former daredevil zoo keeper?

Given the Stanley Hotel's history, it's not surprising that tourists often report ghost sightings; the hotel helped to inspire Stephen King's novel, "The Shining." It even offers night spirit tour, noting "The experience will educate you on how to interact with the type of activity many people claim to encounter, but does not intend to prank or scare."

The Mauslings aren't the only ones to share "ghost" photos on social media. Henry Yau of Houston also believes he may have caught a ghost on camera in April 2016 and shared his discovery on Instagram.

By golly! I think I may have captured a #ghost at #StanleyHotel. #EstesPark A post shared by Henry Yau (@ares415) on Apr 12, 2016 at 7:33am PDT

Scroll through the gallery above to haunted places you can stay at.
A Florida woman is facing a murder charge after, authorities say, she punished her 9-year-old cousin by sitting on her, causing the child to go into cardiac arrest.

Veronica Posey, 64, told investigators that her niece, Dericka Lindsay, had been misbehaving, so she decided to sit on top of the child as punishment. Minutes later, Dericka said she couldn't breathe. She was unconscious by the time Posey stood up, according to an arrest report from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

Dericka, who was just a little over 3 feet tall, weighed 74 pounds, the report says. Posey weighs 320 pounds - more than four times the child's weight.

The incident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a home in Pensacola, Fla.

Dericka's mother, Grace Smith, 69, told investigators that she was having problems with her daughter's behavior, so she called Posey, her niece, to help discipline the child. It's unclear from the arrest report, which has several redacted portions, how long Posey sat on the child.

But according to the Pensacola News Journal, Dericka ran toward an armchair after Posey struck her with a ruler and a metal pipe. Her father, James Smith, 62, told officers that Posey sat on her in the armchair for 10 minutes before the child said she couldn't breathe. But Posey didn't immediately stand up after Dericka complained - and sat on her for two more minutes.

Posey told investigators that she called 911 and performed CPR after she stood up and realized that her cousin was unconscious.

The arrest report does not say whether Dericka's parents tried to help her. She was taken to a hospital, where she died less than an hour later.

Posey has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated abuse. The child's parents, who were home when the incident occurred, have each been charged with child neglect. It's unclear whether they have attorneys, but online jail records say they are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 3.

The child's family had previous interactions with Florida's child welfare system, Mike Carroll, secretary of the state's Department of Children and Families, said in a statement. It's unclear, however, what the nature of those interactions were. Florida law prohibits the agency from releasing any information about investigations involving children. Records, however, become public once investigators determine that a child's death is the result of abuse or neglect.

Carroll called Dericka's death "appalling" and promised a thorough review of the family's previous interactions with the agency.
CALGARY, Oct. 17, 2017 /CNW/ - Packers Plus Energy Services Inc. is pleased to have partnered with Gran Tierra Energy to optimize well performance as the company advances its conventional development program in Colombia. Using a Packers Plus multi-stage completion system, the operator successfully stimulated the targeted reservoir through a horizontal wellbore with a 10-stage completion.

"Gran Tierra is focused on growth and creating value in the proven hydrocarbon producing basins of Colombia," says Gary Guidry, Gran Tierra Energy President and CEO. "We look forward to more positive results as we continue to collaborate with Packers Plus, building a record of success in Colombia in a transparent, safe, and responsible way."

Packers Plus has been at the forefront of pushing completion capability boundaries in Latin America for over a decade. An innovative, field-proven technology, the Packers Plus multi-stage completion system allows for exact placement of the acid treatment in one continuous pumping operation. This technology has been an efficient and cost-effective method for both conventional and unconventional resource development in several key energy markets around the world.

"As more operators focus their efforts on opportunities in Colombia, our goal is to introduce and accelerate new technology and completion capabilities to enhance well performance," says Packers Plus President, Ian Bryant. "We look forward to working with other companies in Latin America, helping the region develop both conventional and unconventional resources."



About Packers Plus

Packers Plus is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing lower completions solutions for a variety of technically challenging applications. Known for its innovative, high-quality and responsive style, the privately held company has run over 16,000 completion systems, accounting for over 240,000 fracture stages since it started operations in 2000. Today, Packers Plus has employees around the world, maintaining an influential role in key markets and remaining true to its rootsan innovative company with a focused niche, enabling it to be one of the best in the industry. Learn more at packersplus.com.

SOURCE Packers Plus Energy Services Inc.

For further information: Ian Bryant, President, Packers Plus Energy Services Inc., [email protected], +1 (281) 587-7446; Steve Macleod, Manager, Technical Marketing, Packers Plus Energy Services Inc., [email protected], +1 (587) 293-2020

Related Links

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By Olivier Ferret 18 October 2017 - 08:26





The Sauber F1 Team is heading out to the United States and Mexico for the last two back-to-back races of the 2017 FIA Formula One season. After his debut in the Sauber C36-Ferrari in FP1 during the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, Charles Leclerc will again be driving the Sauber C36-Ferrari in FP1 at both the Circuit of The Americas (in place of Pascal Wehrlein), and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (in place of Marcus Ericsson). The respective regular Sauber F1 Team drivers will then take over their cars from FP2 onwards.

Marcus Ericsson

"Going to Austin is always lots of fun. Its a great race on an interesting track. In my opinion, it is one of the best of the newer tracks on the calendar. The city of Austin has a lot to offer, which makes it even more enjoyable to be there. Straight afterwards, we are heading to Mexico City  another great race weekend. We usually have lots of support from the fans there which makes the atmosphere very special. I look forward to being back in the car and getting the maximum out of the car in both races."

Pascal Wehrlein

"Im looking forward to the next races. The US Grand Prix takes place close to Austin  a vibrant city with character. The track is challenging but at the same time fun to drive, especially due to the wide variety of fast and slow corners it features. There will also be events taking place around the track which will make the experience great for the fans. As for the Mexican Grand Prix, I like the atmosphere at the track as the fans are very passionate. The last sector is especially impressive, giving the feel of driving into a stadium."
WASHINGTON  The Gunn Historical Museums 10th Annual Washington Green Cemetery Tour will take place on Friday, Oct. 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For the 10th anniversary, members are bringing back some of their favorite characters from the past decade. Groups of visitors will be led by tour guides dressed in vintage attire along a path of 1,000 luminaries through the cemetery to meet some of Washingtons unforgettable residents from the past. These citizens from centuries long ago will be brought to life by costumed actors who will tell stories of their life; some amusing, some sad, some tragic even horrific.
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BRIDGEPORT  Staff at St. Vincents Medical Center are honoring those shot in Las Vegas earlier this month  and the medical professionals who have been treating them  with messages of support.

On its Facebook page, the hospital posted multiple pictures of members of its emergency department holding signs bearing words of inspiration and support, such as Vegas Strong, Pray for Vegas and Love Prevails. The messages are to honor the 59 people who died and more than 500 who were injured when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, Oct. 1.
CHESHIRE  A nonprofit group looking to turn an old West Main Street factory into an arts center is preparing to kick off a $2 million fund raising drive to pay for the first phase of the conversion process.

Ball & Socket Arts will launch its capital campaign Nov. 11 with an event at the Waverly Inn. Work on the initial phase of the conversion process will begin next spring and be completed later in 2018, Jeffrey Guimond, co-founder and artistic director of Ball & Socket Arts, said Wednesday.

The first phase of the project will involve restoring two buildings on the sites West Main Street frontage, Guimond said. The buildings will house an art gallery, meeting space, co-work and studio spaces as well as commercial tenants. The projects initial phase also calls for the facade and windows of the factory complexs executive office building to be restored.

The Cheshire community is pulling together to build Phase 1 and kick-start the project, Guimond said in a statement. We know well need a wider pool of supporters and funders from across the region and the state to get to the ultimate finishing line. If the people of Cheshire can make Phase 1 happen, it sends a huge message that the local community is truly behind to the project,

The second phase of the restoration project calls for converting buildings on the remainder of the complex into art galleries, performance spaces, retail shops, dining establishments and possibly a microbrewery.

But before any restoration of the remainder of the complex can take place, an environmental remediation of the complexs main building must take place. Work is expected to get underway during the next 12 months to clean up contaminants left behind from when the factory  called Ball & Socket Manufacturing  was making metal buttons.

The clean up of the main building will be paid for with a $750,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

The factory ceased operations in 1994 and was sold to a local business, Dalton Enterprises. Ball & Socket Arts purchased the 64,000-square-foot factory complex for $725,000 in 2014.

Guimond formed the nonprofit in 2011 with two former Cheshire High School friends, Kevin Daly and Ilona Somogyi, in an effort to preserve the historic factory for use as an arts center.

Advanced tickets for the capital campaign kick-off event are $25 and are available through the Ball & Socket Arts web site.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  A legislative breakfast where state charter school families and officials on Wednesday asked for more funding for their students was missing one thing. Legislators.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy released a new budget in Hartford, so it was difficult for legislators to attend, said Jose Alfaro, Connecticut Advocacy Manager for the Northeast Charter Schools Network, said. Hearst Media reported on Tuesday that lawmakers considered Wednesday to be make-or-break for the state budget.

Aside from requesting an increase to charter students $11,000 per-pupil funding, as has been the law for the last four years, Alfaro said the breakfast at Common Ground School was an occasion to build fellowship among the different charter schools in the state.

As a preamble to more than a dozen speakers at the breakfast from charter schools in New Haven and Waterbury, Alfaro preemptively dismissed multiple criticisms of charter schools. Charter schools are public schools, he said, serving underrepresented students and they do not cherry pick which students enter the schools, which is done through a lottery.

Liz Cox, the director of Common Ground High School, rattled off several statistics  the student body is 70 percent students of color, the four-year graduation rates have been 100 percent and 92 percent in the last two years and the school is in the 90th percentile in growth on statewide exams  and said she is worried about the schools future.

Teachers at the school work at 85 percent of the pay scale as traditional public school teachers, she said, and they can cross to the district for more money. Additionally, she said school officials worry about covering the overhead for a new $7.5 million building, unveiled in June 2016.

Cox said state legislators must know we will do whatever it takes to work with them for more funds.

John Taylor, executive director of Booker T. Washington Academy, said an 8-year-old student asked him if the school would be around in 20 years so he could send his own children, which he pondered.

I wonder how viable the charter sector is and how viable choice is, he said. If flat funding continues, we wont be there in 20 years.

The $11,000 per-pupil figure is below the state average by about $4,000. Taylor said that, once $2,500 is taken out of each students funding for facilities costs, the amount of funding that reaches charter school students in Connecticut each year is about $8,500.

Thats Mississippi-level funding, he said.

Cathy Dumas, community outreach liaison for the Achievement First network, painted a grim picture of traditional public schools.

Too many young, bright children are lost to a public education system that doesnt educate them at all, she said. If were fiscally smart, we would be spending the money where its shown to work.

Patricia Foster-Newton, aunt of a Common Ground student, matched criticism for traditional public schools and called on the charter advocates to march on Hartford.

I dont understand how public schools can get more money than charter schools, she said, rapping her hands against the lectern with each word. I am begging the legislators  I am actually begging them to increase funding to charter schools, she said.

Common Ground senior Elijah Voss said his experience at Common Ground gave him a larger perspective and made him realize he could be a leader and enjoy working on a farm. Booker T. Washington student Zahariyana Jenkins, a fourth grader, said her reading lexile is 795, which places her in between fourth and fifth grade reading level. She is on track to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor, she said.

The New Haven Educators Collective, a local group centered on support for public schools, said in a statement it supports Common Ground as an independent and locally-owned charter school, but they disagree with the characterization of charter schools as underfunded.

[W]e believe that corporate-style charter management organizations like the Achievement First seek to divert funding from public schools into [Charter Management Organizations] that are not transparent or accountable to the public, the group said in a statement. We have seen these attempts to divert public school funding in New Haven, as well as across the country, as part of a national effort to dismantle and privatize our public education system.

Although no legislators showed, Alfaro still challenged attendees to email the governor and the lawmakers to request more funding for charter schools.

Requests for comment to representatives for New Havens legislative delegation were not returned before press time Wednesday.
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Brewing is becoming a big business in Connecticut, creating a $1 billion impact on the states economy and drawing attention from the states legislative delegation to Washington.

The state currently has between 50 and 60 craft brewers, according to Dana Bourque, co-owner of Firefly Hollow Brewing in Bristol and president of the Connecticut Brewers Guild.

Its growing so fast that its hard to keep track of the exact number, Borque said Tuesday night during a meeting with U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5, at Alvarium Beer Co. in New Britain.

That kind of growth has been helped out in part by loans that have the backing of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Anne Rice Hunt, the director of SBAs Connecticut District office, said 30 Connecticut breweries have availed themselves of loans backed by the agency since 2013.

A lender can make a loan to a brewer that they might not otherwise make because we are taking on the risk, Hunt said.

Estys visit to Alvarium is also illustrative of the industrys growing clout. Twice during the summer, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., focused his attention on Connecticuts brewery industry, once visiting a farm that grows hops in Morris and then later with a visit to the Thomas Hooker brewery in Hartford.

RELATED: Craft brewers hit major milestone in 2016

Esty said part of the reason for the growth in Connecticuts local brewers is that many consumers want what they eat and drink to be as locally sourced as possible.

Theres a lot thats going on in the Fifth District alone, whether its in Kent or here, she said. People dont want everything to be cookie cutter anymore.

Alvarium opened in a former printing facility in June. Two of its founders, Brian Bugnacki and head brewer Chris DeGasero, still work day jobs and work at the brewery in their spare time.

RELATED: Two Roads breaks ground on second brewing facility

Bugnacki said that city officials have been very cooperative in helping the brewery get off the ground. But he said Connecticuts liquor laws have put a crimp in how much Alvarium can sell.

Esty said state and federal laws regarding the brewing and sale of beer should be structured so that they compliment each other rather than conflict.

DeGasero said that even though craft brewers are theoretically competing against each other for customers, there is also a sense of camaraderie.

Its a feel good industry, he said. Everyone helps everyone else out.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
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NEW HAVEN  Before arriving in Connecticut last month, Idalmis Crespo found herself spending hours finding basic necessities: Three hours to find water, two hours for food and eight hours for gas.

Eventually, it was going to be very difficult to keep living in Puerto Rico, Crespo said in Spanish. We decided, without thinking about it too much, to come here because  for better or worse  we would be better off here than Puerto Rico.

The Crespos are among thousands of families now relocating to the mainland following the devastation left by Hurricane Maria. Crespo came to New Haven on Sept. 29 with help from her cousin, Alder Jose Crespo, D-16, who helped her and five other family member relocate to the city. Crespo is now housing all six members and has helped one find a job. He said his father is still living on the island.

These are our families, Jose Crespo said. This hits close to home. Were trying to help as much as we can.

Idalmis Crespo spoke Wednesday to a group of students from Fair Haven School, who sat near an educational installation premiering across the street at Junta for Progressive Action on Grand Avenue. The installation calls attention to climate change, which scientists have suggested is contributing to more powerful hurricanes due to rising sea levels and warmer oceans.

I at least was able to come here, but not everyone in Puerto Rico has that (opportunity), Crespo said in Spanish. But there are a lot who have been able to leave and are arriving to the United States and we are grateful for anyone who can help.

Junta Program Director Paola Serrecchia said their organization, which provides community services for Latinos in the region, has already met with six families from Puerto Rico this week alone. Serrecchia said theres been an increase in Puerto Ricans seeking their assistance.

Our doors are open to everyone, Serrecchia said.

Armando Caceres, of Humacao, Puerto Rico, lost everything to the hurricane. He carries the evidence on his phone, where he took photos displaying a tattered blue home filled with debris and remnants. The photos are misleading, since they were taken on a sunny day, as if disaster had never struck.

He arrived in New Haven in dire straits: Hes preparing for an emergency surgery for kidney cancer. Caceres said he received his diagnosis two days before the hurricane struck. He was able to relocate to New Haven with help from his brother. Junta is working with Caceras to provide him with medical insurance.

Theyre going to perform the surgery here, thank God, Caceres said. Were looking for all available help.

Most of the students who visited Wednesday have families from Spanish-speaking countries, sixth-grade bilingual teacher David Weinreb said. Most students hands shot up after being asked who had family in Puerto Rico.

Lynette Ramos, 11, was one of the children who raised their hands. She, like the other children, had many ideas about what could be done to help.

They need to send help to the most affected towns, Ramos said.

Her idea wasnt too far off from what Crespo suggested for fellow Puerto Ricans displaced by the storm.

Were not asking for extraordinary help, were asking for ordinary help, Crespo said in Spanish. Food, clothing, social services, and more than anything, housing, because we dont have anywhere to live.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901 or esteban.hernandez@hearstmedia

ct.com
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NEW HAVEN  Approximately 400 people gathered for a march and vigil at Yale University Tuesday Night in support of an undocumented immigrant father facing deportation.

Students and immigration rights advocates marched from La Casa Cultural: The Latino Cultural Center at Yale to Cross Campus to in support of Melecio Andazola Morales, who is being held in Colorado while his daughter, Viviana Andazola Marquez, a senior at Yale, fights for his stay.

He has been living and working in the U.S. since 1998 and this year his daughter petitioned for his to obtain permanent stay. But at the interview for his citizenship Oct. 12 in Colorado, he was detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and now faces deportation.

Since then, he has been held in the ICE Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado.

Andazola Marquez, along with fellow students and friends Ivetty Estepan, Maya Jenkins and Yuni Chang, have started the campaign #FreeMelecio. They are asking for his immediate release and have sent approximately 200 letters to Jeffrey D. Lynch, acting field director of Colorado ICE, and gathered more than 18,000 signatures as of Tuesday night to petition for Andazola Morales release.

Theyve had to go through the same process of getting legal status as almost everybody in my family, Estepan said, who has several family members who were undocumented . I understand what it is to walk in there, to be in that room waiting to hear.

This rally in New Haven was coordinated with a sister action outside the the ICE Denver Contract Detention Facility in Colorado, where Andazola Morales is being held.

Youre trying to trust in the officials that theyll have your best interest in mind and yet every case proves that its not the case, Estepan said. Vivianas dad trusted they would take his character in mind, what hes done over 20 years, and he trusted theyd make the right decision by his family and by his kids to let him stay in the country, but they didnt.

Monday morning was the first opportunity Andazola Marquez had to see her father since he was detained, Estepan said.

Its detrimental and brutal to be forcibly removing people from their families and communities, said Yale student Tom Chu , who participated in the march.

Erick Ramos, whose parents had a deportation order for Sept. 29 but which was extended, also marched with his brother Jason. Their parents are from Ecuador and have lived in the U.S. with no criminal history, he said.

This is a problem of not just me or you, but of every single person, every single person should care, he said. This is a family being torn apart and this is serious.

Andazola Morales is a father to four children who are all U.S. citizens. He entered the country in the late 1990s, was served a deportation order and left. When he re-entered he didnt submit a waiver, Estepan said. This was marked on his file but no one ever pursued it, not even when his brother petitioned for Andazola Morales permenent stay in 2001, Estepan said.

It is up to the discretion of the judge handling his case whether to deport Andzola Morales.

Any little thing they can find to sabatage your application theyll pulll out, Estepan said. So being immigrants and knowing that, they prefere to stay in secret hideout and not pursue legal status and not identify themselves.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
The President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has lamented that Nigeria and other African countries spend $35 billion yearly on food importation.Adesina said in his Norman Borlaug Lecture delivered at Iowa State University, titled: Betting on Africa to Feed the World, yesterday in Des Monies, Iowa in the United States.According to him, it is unacceptable by his estimates warning that if the current trend continues, Africa is estimated to spend $110 billion by 2030 on food imports.He therefore called for land tax for unused agricultural land, to provide incentives for faster commercialisation of agriculture and unlocking its potential in Africa.Adesina said Africa held the key for feeding nine billion people by 2050, adding that more than ever before, the world must help Africa to rapidly modernise its agriculture and unlock its full potential.According to him, the challenge of addressing global food security is the greatest in Africa.
The Federal Government has secured $150million (about N43.2billion) loan from the World Bank for the Mindiver Project, the Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, has saidFayemi who stated this at the second Annual Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja yesterday, said the fund will go to strategic interventions in the mining sector. He added that plans are also underway to pull another $600million investment fund for the sector working with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)among others.The forum is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with IPAD Nigeria, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and SpintelligentFayemi said the ministry would focus on delivering key performance indicators (KPIs) including a robust institutional and governance framework that would provide adequate oversight and guidance, stronger participation and shared responsibility from the states and communities. He also added that the government will promote a wider spectrum of vibrant participants across the entire value chain, a solid archive and database of geo-sciences research and data that would actively encourage investor participation, a thriving enabling environment that would provide the key support infrastructure and services that enables the industry to flourish.
THE Senate yesterday postponed the planned probe of the Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr...

THE Senate yesterday postponed the planned probe of the Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, over alleged award of $25 billion contract without due process.The upper chamber also resolved to investigate Baru over alleged insubordination and abuse of office as contained in the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwus letter to President Muhammadu Buhari.Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who announced the postponement, said the investigation wouldbegin next Tuesday.The investigative panel to be chaired by Senator Aliyu Wamakko ought to have started yesterday.Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, did not give any reason for the sudden postponement.Senate President Bukola Saraki constituted the ad hoc panel last week following a resolution of the Senate and public outcry over the content of Kachikwus letter.The committee was given four weeks to submit its report.A source said earlier meeting scheduled last week by the committee chairman was also called off at the last minute.Wamakko is yet to address the reporters about the modalities his committee would adopt to conduct the investigation.Kachikwus letter was leaked to the press last two weeks.In the memo, Kachikwu alleged lack of due process in the award of contracts valued at over $25 billion by NNPC.
An octogenarian, Pa Ayoade Omobolaji, was yesterday remanded at the Kirikiri Prison by an Ikeja Magistrates Court in Lagos for allegedl...

An octogenarian, Pa Ayoade Omobolaji, was yesterday remanded at the Kirikiri Prison by an Ikeja Magistrates Court in Lagos for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl.Omobolaji, 82, will remain in custody pending the perfection of his bail conditions.He was arraigned before Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi on a one-count charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.Police prosecutor Simon Imhonum alleged that the defendant committed the offence on September 25 at 26, Amosu Street, Obadore, Igando, Lagos.The charge reads: That you, Ayoade Omobolaji, on September 25 at 26, Amosu Street, Obadore, Igando, Lagos did forcefully and unlawfully defile a 13-year-old girl by having sexual intercourse with her and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.The defendant pleaded not guilty.Osunsanmi granted him bail at N500,000 with two sureties.She said the sureties must work in a reputable organisation, own property in the jurisdiction, show evidence of tax payment in the last three years, all of which must be verified.The magistrate adjourned the matter till November 21 for trial.
AAre Ona Kankanfo of Yoruba-designate, Otunba Gani Adams, yesterday said the title offered to him by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adey...

AAre Ona Kankanfo of Yoruba-designate, Otunba Gani Adams, yesterday said the title offered to him by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, will moderate his radicalism and strengthen his resolve to contribute to the unity of Yoruba.He described the Alaafin as a highly respected monarch and an intelligent leader, adding that he consulted with the traditional institution, political class and leaders of opinion in Yoruba land before giving him the title.Adams told reporters in Lagos that the status had catapulted him to the enviable position of a statesman.According to him, it has fulfilled the wish of the activist-lawyer, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), who always hailed him as generalissimo.The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) leader said he accepted the offer with optimism and enthusiasm in deference to the Alaafin, who, historically, has the prerogative to confer the honour on him, following consultation with the Oyomesi.He said he met the criteria, including loyalty to the royal father, focus on welfare of Yoruba land, defence of Yoruba cultural values and leadership of a socio-cultural group with about six million people.Adams said he had consulted prominent Yoruba leaders.Noting that attention will focus on him as the Aare Ona Kankanfo, he said: The title of Aare Ona Kankanfo will moderate my radicalism. I am going to meet Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Frederick Fasehun to inform them. The title will moderate my radicalism.But I will not compromise my principle. I will not betray the cause of Yoruba people. I will also be a good Nigerian. I will relate with all Nigerians, based on justice. The position of Aare Ona Kankanfo is a position of a statesman.Adams, who holds 52 chieftaincy titles in Yoruba land, promised to work with prominent leaders to unite the race and fight for its progress.He added: Chief Obafemi Awolowo became the premier of Western Nigeria at the age of 45. Gowon became Head of State at the age of 38. Obasanjo became Head of State at 42. In the United States of America, Bill Clinton became president at 42, George W. Bush at 42 and Barack Obama at 46. In France, the president got there at 39. In Austria, the president is 31. At 47, I can occupy any position in Nigeria.He added: When the Alaafin saw my curriculum vitae, especially the formation of the Oodua Progressive Union (OPU) in 78 countries, he resolved to consult widely before giving me the title. Aare is a position of service to Yoruba land. You can only attain the position as a freedom fighter and philanthropist.Chief Ladoke Akintola became the Aare because he was the premier. Chief MKO Abiola became the Aare because he was a philanthropist. Gani Adams is a promoter of Yoruba culture. Since March 15, 1999, I have been serving Yoruba as the coordinator of OPC.Former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has felicitated with Adams on his designation as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba.In a message, Kalu said: The news of your confirmation as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land did not to come to me as a surprise, owing to your gallant qualities and exemplary leadership style. It is indeed a well-deserved honour.You have, over the years, demonstrated patriotism in your pursuits; as such, your contributions to the socio-political development of the Yoruba nation and Nigeria are remarkable.While urging you to use your position to promote peace and unity in Nigeria, I wish you a successful reign as the field marshal of Yoruba land.Also, OPC leader in Ekiti State, Prince Adeniyi Adedipe, has said Adams deserves the title.He hailed Oba Adeyemi for considering Adams worthy of the prestigious title.Adedipe described the recipient as a round peg in a round hole.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday presided over the meeting of Federal Executive Council in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The meeting which started at about 10 a.m., was attended by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Habiba Lawal and cabinet ministers.The president was scheduled to leave Abuja for Turkey immediately after the Councils meeting.A statement by the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Tuesday, said Buhari would participate in the ninth D-8 Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 20.Adesina said prior to the summit, Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, would be on working visit to Ankara, the Turkish capital.He said the President would during the visit have a private discussion with his Turkish counterpart, while delegations from both countries would hold discussions in various fields including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.According to the presidential aide, the Nigerian leader will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, where he will meet with the Turkish Speaker, Ismail Kahraman.Adesina said Buhari would also use the occasion to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries.The D8-member countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged accountants in the country to help the Federal Government in its resolve to route corruption out of the country.Buhari said this while declaring open the Annual Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.The president who was represented at the event by the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Idris Ahmed, urged accountants and auditors to put Nigeria first in all their professional endeavours.He said accounting and auditing play key roles in public finance management through the provision of reliable financial positions of businesses in both the public and private sectors.The presi dent added that data integrity was paramount in guaranteeing accuracy of liabilities and comparability.He said, The Nigeria of our dream is one that must prepare itself for global competition not only in recruitment space but also in the delivery of goods and services to the citizens in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.Nigerians must work together and all hands must be on deck for our nation to be on the path of sustainable economic growth and development. Our journey towards a united and prosperous nation envisages a strong patriotic competent and highly productive manpower.The government remains committed to tackling unemployment, improving productivity and ease of doing business. We remain resolute to deliver good governance to Nigerians.Transparency and accountability remain key elements in the general conduct of government businesses hence this administration is fully committed to timely implementation of accrual based international public sector accounting standards with a view to deepen public financial management reforms.In his address, ICAN president, Mr. Ismaila Zakari, said the institute in its continuing efforts to sharpen its professional ethics and contribute to nation building recently adopted the revised global ethical code on non-compliance with laws and regulations.He said that the code was a whistleblowing initiative which mandated accountants and auditors to expose any act of non-compliance to laws and regulations by their employers and clients to relevant authorities.
The 36 Governors of the Federation under the umbrella of Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari in cl...

The 36 Governors of the Federation under the umbrella of Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari in closed-door at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and demanded for the payment of the balance Paris Club Refunds as agreed in 2016.The governors also commended the President for his intervention in the payment of salary crisis in many States through the the bailout funds, adding that the bailout had remained a great relief bearing in mind that the majority of the nations population resides in rural areas of the states. Recall that President Buhari in the first tranche of the refunds, approved the release of N516 billion to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). A total of N243. 795 billion was released to the states in the second tranche as part of the wider efforts to stimulate the economy and support states in meeting salary and other obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers.But the President has expressed concern on the growing complaints and agitations by workers in states over unpaid salaries and allowances, in spite of interventions by the Federal Government President Buhari according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the plight of workers in the states need urgent attention as many could barely survive. He said, How can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months. I actually wonder how the workers feed their families, pay their rents and even pay school fees for their children.The President told the governors that two out of the three-pronged focus of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to secure the country and fight corruption had received some commendable reviews by the people, noting that the challenge in payment of salaries in states had taken a toll on the people. He said, God has been merciful in hearing the prayers of his servants so the rainy season has been good, you can ask the Kebbi State governor on this, and our enormous food importation bill has gone down. President Buhari said the Federal Government and state executives would need to work together to ameliorate the situation of workers across the country. The President said he had instructed all government agencies to comply with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in order to ensure more transparency and prudence in accounting for the revenues of the government and the sharing of entitlements with states.Chairman of the NGF, Abdulaziz Yari at the meeting said the various interventions by the Federal Government, which include the bailouts, were judiciously utilized by the states, stressing that the governors inherited backlog of unpaid salaries and huge debts portfolios on assumption of office. He said, We are concerned with the situation in our states, and we are trying our best to manage the resources. Yari noted that the bailout funds, and part of the fallout from the London-Paris Club that had been received by the states, were properly expended to alleviate the plight of workers, but more had to be done. The NGF chairman commended the efforts of the President in improving the economy, assuring that the states would continue working with the Federal Government to improve the livelihood of workers and all Nigerians.While speaking to journalists, Governor Yari flanked by representatives of governors from the six geopolitical zones said that they reminded the president that in 2016, they presented to him the numbers of Paris Club exit fund and an agreement was reached that 50 percent should be paid, while the remaining will be open for reconciliation. On their mission at the Villa, he said, We are here on behalf of the 36 states governors and this is as a result of collective decision to see the President after the National Economic Council meeting last month.Our mission here is simple, we are here to thank Mr President for his concern about the state economy and the situation by giving us several supports ranging from bail out, restructuring our debt, London- Paris Club exit payment etc. We also told him that we think that it was because of his decision he has taken (to give bailout), in which many Nigerians are criticising him, this is the reason why we got out of recession.Note that the 200 million citizens residing in Nigeria are residing in respective states. This support is going down to them, when you are taking the indices from the grassroots. We thanked the president for that and at the same time, as a father, we confronted him (by reminding him that) Mr President you remember that in 2016, we presented to you the numbers of London and Paris exit funds which we agreed, and you directed we be paid 50% and 50% open reconciliation . Reconciliation is on since 2016, we are hoping that both DMO, (Debt Management Office), Ministry of Finance, AGF (Attorney General of the Federation) and our consultants are concluding this reconciliation by November. Therefore, we want to crave your indulgence so that we can factor the numbers in our 2018 budget so that we can use it for projects and other recurrent spending according to the specification given by our respective House of Assemblies. That is why we are here. Mr President was prompt being that he has a representative in the National Economic Council, that is the Vice President and Minister of Finance is away. We are going to work with the numbers when he returns from his trip, we are going to follow up this meeting with him so that we can conclude on what is going to be done next.The delegation of NGF drawn from the six geopolitical zones with Zamfara state governor as Chairman were, Atiku Bagudu, from North West, the Bauchi governor, Mohammed Abubakar, North East, Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara State, North Central, the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu from South West, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, South-South and the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Eric Kelechi Igwe, representing South East as well as the Director-General of NGF, Asashana Okauru.
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday depart for Istanbul, Turkey to participate in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) on...

President Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday depart for Istanbul, Turkey to participate in the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8) on Friday, October 20, 2017.Prior to the D-8 Summit, President Buhari, at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, will participate in an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city.A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that the President in Ankara will have a tete-a-tete with his Turkish counterpart while delegations from both countries will hold discussions in various fields including defence cooperation, security, educational and migration issues.Buhari, he said, will also visit the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara where he will meet with the Speaker, Ismail Kahraman.While in Istanbul, the Turkish commercial centre, President Buhari will use the occasion of the D-8 Summit to bolster warm and growing ties across a broad range of areas of cooperation with leaders of the D8-member countries, namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.The Summit with the theme, Expanding Opportunities through Cooperation, will among other things, focus on cooperation in the areas of agriculture, trade, transport, energy and increased private sector participation among member-countries.During the ninth Summit of the D-8, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the organisation established to improve the developing countries positions in the world economy, the President will highlight the significant show of confidence in Nigerias business environment and economy.The President, he said, will also affirm Nigerias resolve to work with D-8 member-countries on many key areas, including peace and security, economy and trade.At the end of the Summit, the Heads of State and Government will adopt a Communique, also known as the Istanbul Declaration.The President will be accompanied on the trip by ministers, top government officials, including the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali.
FORT LEE - A Manhattan man who threatened to shoot everyone inside a bank during a robbery was sentenced Tuesday to more than 3 years in prison, according to acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Isaac Nesbit

Isaac Nesbit, 30, admitted he used a threatening note to rob a Bank of New Jersey in Fort Lee, according to court documents.

Nesbit entered the bank around 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, approached a teller and handed him the note.

"This is a robbery! I will shoot you and everybody in the bank if any alarm is pressed," the note stated, according to the criminal complaint. "I have a gun! Won't be afraid to use it! Hurry up! Make it fast & easy and no one gets hurt!"

The teller took $5,145 from a cash drawer and placed the money on the counter. Nesbit grabbed the cash and his note and fled on foot, according to the FBI.

The teller activated an alarm and law enforcement officers quickly surrounded the area.

Nesbit was found by Fort Lee police as he ran on Center Avenue near the George Washington Bridge, just a few blocks from the bank. Police at the time said Nesbit had crossed more than 14 lanes of highway traffic.

Officers found the stolen cash in a back pocket of Nesbit's pants, according to the complaint.

In a nearby Dumpster, cops found the note.

Nesbit pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery and was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Newark to three years and six months in prison. Federal Judge Esther Salas also sentenced Nesbit to three years of supervised release.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- Authorities have identified the victim of this morning's fatal stabbing inside a West Side apartment building as a 38-year-old woman.

Milagros Rodriguez De Morel was pronounced dead inside 36 Duncan Ave. just after 2:30 a.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement.

Police were called to the six-story building at about 2:15 a.m. on reports of a woman being stabbed. She was found unresponsive in a hallway and pronounced dead shortly after, she said.

The woman's husband, 59-year-old Jose Morel, has been charged with murder and weapons offenses in connection to the woman's death. He is expected to make his first court appearance Thursday.

Sources say the victim's teenage son witnessed the crime and at some point tried to save his mother. Witnesses say Morel dragged his wife out of their third-floor apartment and into the hallway.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office at 201-915-1345 or leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutor's website. All information will be kept confidential.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- The re-election campaign of Mayor Steve Fulop reported receiving a $1,000 donation last month from the managing partner of an energy company that is at the center of allegations that city officials tried to steer a contract the company's way in 2014.

The Fulop campaign, in reports made public today, said it received the contribution from Javier Barrios, managing partner of Good Energy, on Sept. 7. Asked to comment, the Fulop campaign questioned the relevance of the reported donation.

"Three years ago the city canceled this bid," the campaign said in a statement. "Currently, Good Energy does no business with Jersey City, making this donation permitted. That company employs Jersey City residents and they are one of 5,000 donors to the campaign. The only reason this is now an issue is because of political shenanigans by our opponents three weeks before an election."

Fulop is seeking a second term on Nov. 7. His campaign has reported raising a total of $1.9 million. He has one challenger, attorney Bill Matsikoudis.

A spokesman for Good Energy confirmed Barrios attended a "small" fundraiser for Fulop "as a third person" but said Barrios "absolutely did not make a donation." When The Jersey Journal read details of the donation from Fulop's campaign report, the spokesman said, "It's an error."

Barrios' employer on the campaign report is listed as Multi Property Management Inc., at the same Madison Avenue address as Good Energy's New York office. Barrios did not return a voicemail left for him at Good Energy.

The contract-steering allegations date back more than three years but were first made public last month in depositions given by Business Administrator Bob Kakoleski and one of his aides, Dominick Pandolfo. The two men, who were being deposed for a harassment lawsuit filed against the city, said that three city officials made private comments to Kakoleski and Pandolfo in February 2014 that the two men interpreted as attempts to steer a city consulting contract to Good Energy over three other bidders.

Pandolfo, who was on a committee tasked with reviewing and scoring the four bids, testified that Anthony Cruz and Shawn Thomas -- the director and, at the time, deputy director of the city's housing, economic development and commerce department -- made comments to him indicating Good Energy's bid was the Fulop administration's preference. Kakoleski testified that after he heard about this from Pandolfo, he canceled the bid process. The contract was never awarded.

Fulop has noted that Pandolfo was once chief of staff for Fulop's predecessor and longtime rival, Jerramiah Healy.

Kakoleski and Pandolfo also said in their depositions that before the bid process was halted, Muhammad Akil, then Fulop's chief of staff, left a voicemail for Kakoleski that included an accidentally recorded conversation between Akil and Thomas. Kakoleski said he heard Akil and Thomas expressing concern that the committee Pandolfo was on would not make the recommendation Akil and Thomas wanted.

Kakoleski testified he forwarded the voicemail to Pandolfo in 2014. Pandolfo testified that email remains in his inbox.

The harassment case was filed by city employee Dan Wrieden, who alleges Cruz harassed and improperly demoted him. As part of that case, Wrieden is seeking a recording of the voicemail. On Friday Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mary K. Costello ordered the city to hand over the recording to Wrieden. Costello also ordered Thomas to be deposed about the voicemail on Monday. The city is asking Costello to reconsider.

Matsikoudis' allies, hoping to gain an advantage in the last three weeks of the campaign, have seized on the allegations in Kakoleski's and Pandolfo's depositions and demanded the city release the recording of the voicemail to the public.

At a mayoral forum on Saturday, Matsikoudis said the Good Energy episode is an example of Fulop's lack of transparency. Fulop has said he reported the incident to authorities.

"I have no idea who Good Energy is," Fulop said on Saturday.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
UPDATE: Teen was found behind hotel near Penn Station on Oct. 8.

KEARNY -- Police have announced the search for a missing 14-year-old boy has come to a tragic end.

Angel Gonzalez, of Kearny, has been found dead in Newark, police said in a statement on Facebook. The news comes one day after authorities asked for the public's assistance locating the missing teen.

The Kearny Police Department was notified on Tuesday that Angel was found unresponsive in Newark, where he was brought to a local hospital and pronounced dead. The Regional Medical Examiner made the identification and the cause of his death is pending.

Authorities say Angel's death appears to be an "isolated event" and there is no danger to the community.

"The police department extends its deepest condolences to Angel's family and friends in this most difficult time," a statement reads.

Grief counselors will be on hand Wednesday at Kearny High School, Lincoln Middle School, and Franklin School.

Additional information was not immediately available.
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A Mississippi school named after Confederate leader Jefferson Davis is changing its name to honor former President Barack Obama, according to a report from The Clarion-Ledger. (File AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)(Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Reese Witherspoon arrives at the 24th annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
University Medical Center in New Orleans has agreed to implement and follow policies and procedures to ensure hard of hearing patients would not be discriminated against.(Chris Granger, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
President Donald Trump calls on a reporter during a news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, left, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The study looks at two smaller-scale projects that are in some ways predecessors to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the $2 billion plan to slow land loss erasing Louisiana's coast. Construction on that project could begin as early as next year, while a similar one on the opposite side of the river known as the Mid-Breton Diversion could follow.
Enrollment declined at both Lewis Central and Council Bluffs Community School Districts this year, but there are signs that the downward trend is leveling off.

The districts submitted certified enrollment figures to the Iowa Department of Education Sunday.

Lewis Centrals certified enrollment of 2,874 was down 65 students from last year, Superintendent Mark Schweer said. Still, thats better than last year, when the district had a drop of 95.

At Council Bluffs Community Schools, certified enrollment was 9,127.79, down 129.1 students, said Diane Ostrowski, chief communications officer. (The decimal reflects the states system of adding weight to certain students.)

The drop all but canceled out the jump of 130.9 students Council Bluffs tallied last year.

The change in enrollment affects the 2018-19 budget, not this years budget, for both school districts.

If the Legislature approves a 1 percent increase  called allowable growth or supplemental state aid  for 2018-19, Lewis Central should get $39,000 more  still an increase, but much smaller than the boost it would have received if enrollment had held steady or gone up.

Not counting whatever growth rate the Legislature approves, Council Bluffs would lose about $869,000, said Superintendent Vickie Murillo.

The number of students who live in the Lewis Central district but open enrolled to a school in another district hit 272 this fall, Schweer said.

Very often, its a family that moves in and continues to go to school where they came from, Dave Black, school improvement specialist, told the Lewis Central school board meeting Monday.

However, Black emphasized, Lewis Central still gains many more students than it loses through open enrollment. This year, 674 students open-enrolled in, giving Lewis Central a net gain of 402 students through open enrollment, Schweer said.

Lewis Centrals biggest sender and receiver of students is Council Bluffs. Lewis Central received 551 students from Council Bluffs and sent 173 to the district. Next is Treynor, where Lewis Central sent 70 students and received 46. Third is Glenwood, which sent 39 students to Lewis Central and received 8.

Council Bluffs is still losing more students than it gains through open enrollment, but the gap is narrowing, Ostrowski said.

This year, 727 students open enrolled out of the district, and 239 open enrolled into the district for a net loss of 488 students. Thats 60 students fewer than last years net loss.

According to Council Bluffs figures, the district sent 550 students to Lewis Central and received 172, Ostrowski said. (The districts calculations differ slightly, which may be due to weighting or a program that serves students from both districts.)

Council Bluffs also sent 93 students to Underwood and received 21. In addition, 43 Bluffs students went to Treynor and 11 came in.

I think parents are really starting to take note of some of the great opportunities we have here in Council Bluffs, Murillo said.

Among the highlights are the districts free 21st Century Community Learning Center and paid Kids & Company before- and after-school programs at the elementary level, its International Baccalaureate programs at two elementary schools and now the middle schools, and Advanced Placement and college dual-credit courses at the high schools, she said.

Parents want to have high-quality schools  high-quality instruction, great facilities, good co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, Murillo said. It is our intent to let all our families know that they can receive a high-quality education here in Council Bluffs Community School District.

Long term, Lewis Central officials are concerned that classes coming in have been smaller than those graduating in recent years, Schweer said. This years senior class numbers 241, while there are only 193 kindergartners.

This years kindergarten class and the previous two kindergarten classes  all three have been less than 200 students, he said.

Council Bluffs kindergarten class of 692 students is down a little this year but is still larger than the senior class of 677, Ostrowski said. Enrollment at Council Bluffs high schools is 1,337 at Abraham Lincoln and 1,243 at Thomas Jefferson.

Lewis Centrals enrollment includes 941 students at the high school (grades 9-12), 695 at the middle school (grades 6-8), 874 at Titan Hill Intermediate (grades 2-5) and 388 at Kreft Primary School (which also serves 86 preschoolers).
RED OAK  An old, vacant Red Oak church building burned Monday and required firefighters to battle the blaze for well more than 2 hours.

The building, near Seventh and Coolbaugh Streets, had been First Christian Churchs, but that church moved many years ago to its current Summit Street location, said the Rev. Will Brown.

Brown, of First Christian, said the building was erected about 1912 but had structural problems and was not handicapped-accessible. So the church moved in the early 1990s and no longer owned it.

Nevertheless, he said, Were very sorry to see it go in this way.

The Rev. Len Taylor of First Baptist Church in Red Oak said the building has been empty about 10 years.

He said the fire evidently had started by 4 p.m. and that firefighters and trucks poured water on it like gangbusters.

They still were fighting it about 6:30 p.m.

Taylor said the building had been sold to a woman who has since died and that the city had condemned the building.
A federal judge on Tuesday largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the president's controversial travel ban, setting up yet another legal showdown on the extent of the executive branch's powers when it comes to setting immigration policy.

The decision from Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii is sure to be appealed, but for now, it means that the administration cannot restrict the entry of travelers from six of the eight countries that officials said were either unable or unwilling to provide information that the United States wanted to vet their citizens.

The latest ban was set to fully go into effect in the early morning hours of Wednesday, barring various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. Watson's order stops it, at least temporarily, with respect to all the countries except North Korea and Venezuela.

In a 40-page decision granting the state of Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order and blocking Trump's order nationwide, Watson wrote that the latest ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.'"

Watson also wrote that the executive order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a way that was opposed to federal law and "the founding principles of this Nation."

The White House said in a statement that Watson's "dangerously flawed" order "undercuts the President's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States."

"These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation," the White House said. "We are therefore confident that the Judiciary will ultimately uphold the President's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people."

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said the department would appeal in an "expeditious manner."

"Today's ruling is incorrect, fails to properly respect the separation of powers, and has the potential to cause serious negative consequences for our national security," he said.

Opponents of the ban, though, hailed the judge's ruling. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said, "Today is another victory for the rule of law. We stand ready to defend it."

Omar Jadwat, who directs the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and was involved in a separate challenge to the ban in federal court in Maryland, said, "We're glad, but not surprised, that President Trump's illegal and unconstitutional Muslim ban has been blocked once again."

Trump had been blocked by courts from imposing his last two versions of the travel ban, but the ultimate question of whether he ever had the authority to do so remains somewhat murky.

The Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear arguments on his second travel ban, inked in March, which barred the entry of citizens from six Muslim majority countries and refugees from everywhere. But a key portion of that ban expired and Trump issued his latest ban before the hearing.

That prompted the justices to remove oral arguments from the calendar. They later dismissed one of the challenges to the March version of the ban.

Meanwhile, the State of Hawaii, the International Refugee Assistance Project and others who had sued over the March travel ban asked judges to block the new one in federal courts in Hawaii, Washington and Maryland. They argued that Trump had exceeded his legal authority to set immigration policy, and the latest measure - like the last two - fulfilled his unconstitutional campaign promise to implement a Muslim ban. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judges in Hawaii and Washington had yet to rule, though arguments in Washington are scheduled for Oct. 30.

"It exceeds the limits on the President's exclusion authority that have been recognized for nearly a century, by supplanting Congress's immigration policies with the President's own unilateral and indefinite ban," the challengers in Hawaii wrote of the new ban. "And it continues to effectuate the President's unrepudiated promise to exclude Muslims from the United States."

The state asked a judge to block the ban with respect to all the Muslim majority countries, though they did not challenge the measures imposed against Venezuela and North Korea.

Watson did not address whether the ban was constitutional; rather, he limited his analysis to whether Trump had exceeded the authority that Congress has given the president to impose restrictions on those wanting to enter the United States. Of particular concern, he said, were that officials seemed to treat someone's nationality an indicator of the threat they pose - without providing evidence of a connection between the two.

"As discussed herein, because [the executive order's] findings are inconsistent with and do not fit the restrictions that the order actually imposes, and because [the executive order] improperly uses nationality as a proxy for risk, Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their statutory claims," Watson wrote.

He added that the order did "not reveal why existing law is insufficient to address the President's described concerns," and it was internally flawed - for example, exempting Iraq from the banned list, even though that country had failed the U.S. government's security assessment.

Legal analysts had said those challenging the latest travel ban would face an uphill battle. That was particularly because measure was only put into effect after an extensive process in which the United States negotiated with other countries for information, putting those on a banned list that could not or would not meet a baseline standard.

Such a process, legal analysts said, presumably would help the government defeat arguments that president had not made the appropriate findings to justify his order. The list of countries affected also was changed to include two countries that are not Muslim-majority - Venezuela and North Korea - potentially helping the government argue against the measure was not meant to discriminate against Muslims.

Challengers to the ban, though, sought to link the new directive to its predecessors, and they asserted that even the additions were mainly symbolic. The ban only affects certain government officials from Venezuela, and very few people actually travel to the United States from North Korea each year. They noted Trump himself promised a "larger, tougher, and more specific" ban - meaning the new version would have the same legal problems as the prior iterations.

The directive imposed more complete bans on some countries than others, and the Trump administration has indicated countries could make their way off the list if conditions changed.

For Syria and North Korea, the president's proclamation blocked immigrants wanting to relocate to the United States and nonimmigrants wishing to visit in some capacity. For Iran, the proclamation blocked both immigrants and nonimmigrants, though it exempted students and those participating in a cultural exchange.

The proclamation blocked people from Chad, Libya and Yemen from coming to the United States as immigrants or on business or tourist visas, and it blocked people from Somalia from coming as immigrants. The proclamation named Venezuela, but it only blocked certain government officials.
Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan told her relatives and friends that she was going on vacation to Key West.

Then the Florida mother flew to Omaha on a one-way ticket to take her own life  with the help of her Nebraska boyfriend, Cass County authorities say.

The visit started out ordinary enough, her boyfriends parents, Howard and Sheri Stubbendieck of Weeping Water, Nebraska, said. Their son, Matthew, 41, had picked up Alicia, 38, at Eppley Airfield on July 31.

Theyd all gone out for dinner at Old Chicago in west Omaha that evening. The following morning, Howard chatted with Alicia before she and Matthew, whod recently moved back to Nebraska from Florida, said they were going on a country drive.

Alicia never came back from the drive and within a few days, Matthew had taken Cass County Sheriffs deputies to a wooded area near Weeping Water where Alicias partially decomposed body was found. He told authorities she had taken her life during an ordeal that took hours: She had cut her wrists multiple times and hed tried to suffocate her to ease her death. He now is being held in the Cass County Jail on a felony charge of assisting suicide.

Howard Stubbendieck, a former mayor of Weeping Water and a retired quarry superintendent, said he and his wife had no idea that their son and girlfriend were planning her suicide  a way to end her pain from the cancer she said she had.

I think she came here for three reasons, he said in an interview Sunday. To meet us. To see Matt. And to kill herself. Why would she do this to us?

An affidavit, filed last week in Cass County Court, describes in graphic detail what happened on Aug 1.

Matthew Stubbendieck told authorities that Alicia, his girlfriend for 1 years, had stage 4 cancer in her lymph nodes, neck, armpits and stomach and couldnt live another minute. He said she didnt have a regular doctor  and hed never gone with her for treatment  but she had been diagnosed and treated in an emergency room.

He said she had come to Nebraska to end her life and wanted to die in his arms. He said he had made a bunch of promises  including to not tell anyone about her death for several months after it had occurred. But he had decided to break those promises by contacting authorities because it was the right thing.

During that country drive on Aug. 1, Stubbendieck said the couple looked for a place where Alicia could spend her final hours. They went to the MoPac Trail near Schramm Park near Nebraska Highway 31 in rural Sarpy County. But a worker was there, so they hunted for another out-of-the-way location and found it in Cass County. Around 2 p.m., while Stubbendieck stepped away to urinate, he said Alicia began cutting her wrists with a kitchen knife shed taken from his parents house.

The ordeal lasted the rest of the day  more than seven hours  and Stubbendieck twice tried to end Alicias pain by suffocating her. After four hours in, he tried to do it as she slept, but she awoke and looked so frightened he stopped. She cut her wrists more, and he asked if she was ready. She said she was not  she wanted more time. An hour later, he asked if she was ready and she said yes. He tried again to suffocate her, but it looked to him like she was suffering even more and so he couldnt go through with it. When he left her about 9:30 p.m., she was whispering.

Stubbendieck said he returned the next day, on Aug. 2, and found Alicia deceased, lying on her back and not breathing.

It was a few days later, Aug. 5, that he contacted authorities. Cass County Sgt. Karl Boehm pronounced her dead at 8:52 p.m. that day. By that point, her body had begun to decompose.

An autopsy, conducted by Douglas County coroners physician Michelle Elieff, included these findings: Cutting wounds on Alicias forearms and wrists were consistent with commonly observed self-inflicted cutting wounds.

There was no sign of blunt-force injury.

The toxicology report showed that she had morphine in her system, along with other chemicals including hydromorphone, a narcotic painkiller, and acetaminophen and diphenhydramine, which is an ingredient in antihistamines and sleep aids.

And the cancer? The pathologist did not explicitly address whether she had it beyond this detail: no tumors or masses.

From Stubbendiecks cellphone and interviews with Alicias family and co-workers, authorities found evidence that the pair had planned her death in Nebraska. Alicia had arranged for a friend to watch three of her children (she has four, according to Howard Stubbendieck).

Matthew Stubbendieck most recently worked as a tree trimmer in Omaha. His criminal record in Nebraska includes various misdemeanors for driving under the influence and writing bad checks.

Assisting suicide is a felony charge that has rarely resulted in prison time in Nebraska and Iowa, according to a World-Herald review in 2016 of a dozen such cases in both states. County attorneys in Nebraska and Iowa told the newspaper last year that prosecutions under current laws are extremely rare and a prison sentence is not required. If a person doesnt have a lengthy criminal record, the family of the victim is not seeking punishment and a suspect is unlikely to reoffend, a prison sentence is unlikely.

Wilemon-Sullivans family couldnt be reached Sunday.

Howard Stubbendieck said he and his wife did not know Alicia well. He said they did not know what her plans were when she came to Nebraska, other than that the visit would be quick.

She told us, With this cancer, I dont have long. 
Several major capital projects have been undertaken in Council Bluffs, earning praise for the improvement they have brought to the community.

Yet the effort to create the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus is remarkable among them for several reasons, not the least of which was how much money  $35 million  was raised in a short, two-year span, including support from foundations and individuals along with local, state and federal funding.

It was a very unique and innovative approach, said Pete Tulipana, who was  a decade ago, when the project was conceived  president and CEO of Heartland Family Service and now is president and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, which led the push for the Lakin Campus concept.

The campus brings together HFS with four other human service agencies: The Salvation Army, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands, the Loess Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Micah House. Together, they shelter homeless women and children while providing after-school support to children, a gym, a cafeteria, classrooms and office spaces among other amenities.

The biggest advantage to me is the consolidation of services, Tulipana said. Its very hard for troubled families to trek around town to find the services they need.

In addition, co-location of the facilities saved at least $10 million, money that could be diverted to other worthwhile investments in the community.

The project also enabled the return of the Boys & Girls Clubs to Council Bluffs, which wasnt present when the project started in 2005.

The Lakin family invested $10 million in the project, which grew up on the former Chalet Motor Lodge at North 16th Street and Avenue G.

In one stroke, I feel Ive helped agencies that help young people grow up to be good citizens and also help families in need, said Lakin, whose $10 million gift got the project started.

We congratulate the Lakin Campus on its success over the past decade, especially the many families it has supported, and look forward to its continued prosperity.
After a long discussion, the North Platte City Council approved a resolution to apply for federal assistance for a downtown park on Tuesday.

Keep North Platte and Lincoln County Beautiful, along with the North Platte Downtown Association, Whitetail Screen Print, City of North Platte and Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation have all been working together on the project for the last couple of years, said Mona Anderson, executive director at KNPLCB.

We are applying for $75,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund program, Anderson said. Other funds have been raised for the park including $9,400 by KNPLCB and Mid-Nebraska Community Foundation has said that they would put in about $14,000, depending on what we were applying for.

The park would occupy a plot of vacant land owned by the Downtown Re-Development Authority.

They are taking action to give it back to the city, just as they did the parking lot there at the corner of Sixth and Jeffers streets, city administrator Jim Hawks said.

Phase I of the project is estimated to cost about $150,000 with the grant covering half of that.

Glen Petersen, council member, asked if this was the park that was going to be named after former Telegraph editor Keith Blackledge. Hawks confirmed that it was.

Council member Larry Pedersen said he was concerned about the project that will sit adjacent to the current parking lot on the corner of Jeffers and Sixth streets.

I find there are a number of discrepancies in the materials that were sent to us, Pedersen said. If Im looking at it correctly, youre showing that that parking lot has access to drive around that island. That is not the case.

Anderson said that was true at this time, but it is part of the proposal to make that possible.

The proposal is to take out those two stalls so the parking lot can be driven around, Anderson said.

That would be a real plus because right now you can hardly even get in and around that parking lot, Pedersen said.

He went on to say Blackledge was a practical man, and Pedersen said this project is not so.

He was involved with Habitat for Humanity and he was involved in everything we did, and again, I want to emphasize the word practical, Pedersen said. I see this project as totally impractical.

Pedersen said because the park is on the north side of a two-story building, it will cost thousands of dollars to keep the snow and ice off of it.

Anderson said at this time, the city will have to do something to resolve the drainage issues, and that the park would help solve many of those issues.

Council members Andrew Lee and Jim Carman both spoke in favor of the project.

The lot looks like an eyesore, Lee said.

I appreciate Larrys concerns, Carman said. Im in favor of this project that has been an eyesore for far too long.

The measure was approved with Pedersens vote being the lone no vote.

The council:

 Approved ordinance 3974 to amend ordinance No. 3971 to adjust electric rates effective Oct. 1.

 Adopted resolution to issue warrants to Steeles Roofing and Construction in the amount of $65,945.93 for completed construction.

Also approved was the consent agenda that included several special designated licenses and certificates of completion for street improvement districts and water extension districts throughout the city.

The council also approved a contract for the water department for a well with Sargent Drilling Co. of Broken Bow.
Years of drug charges sent one man to prison Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

Aaron Bosveld, 37, was sentenced to two to six years for possession and distribution of a controlled substance. He was given credit for 167 days served.

Bosvelds attorney, Martin Troshynski, asked that his client instead be required to complete drug treatment.

He desperately needs that, Troshynski said. This is not a local drug lord. This is an addicted person who sold part of his stock to continue his habit and put food on the table.

When District Judge Richard Birch asked Bosveld if he had anything to say, Bosveld declined, instead saying of Troshynski, He did a good job.

Bosvelds presentence investigation, completed by the District 11 Probation Office, did not recommend a probation sentence.

Youve been in jail, by my count, at least 13 different times, Birch said. Bosvelds latest sentence, he said, was for 360 days in jail  one year is the longest sentence you can serve in the county jail.

I realize youre an addict to amphetamine, Birch said. But youre still selling amphetamine.

 In another case, Rudy Perdomo, 27, was sentenced to 270 days in jail for conspiracy to commit a Class 4 felony and second-degree forgery.

Prosecutors have said that Rudy Perdomo and Michelle Perdomo obtained property by passing invalid checks between January and late March 2016.

Although Deputy County Attorney Angela Franz called Rudy Perdomos behavior patterned behavior across three counties, Birch said he had the least involvement out of the individuals involved in the case.

Michelle Perdomo was sentenced in August to 364 days in jail for conspiracy to commit theft of more than $5,000.
Too often recently, those shouting loudest in the public square for property tax relief seem bent on seeing that issue as a rural-versus-urban zero-sum game. And that shortsighted vision gets harder and harder to alter, leading to fewer openings for actually generating property tax relief. We need not be condemned to this vision.

Of total taxes paid by Nebraskans in 2016, 44 percent was property tax, 29 percent was income tax, and 27 percent was sales tax. Those numbers are significantly removed from the historic target of state policy makers that each category generate approximately one-third of the total collected. Roughly half of property taxes go to fund local K-12 schools, and much of the property-tax-heavy disparity in those 2016 percentages flows from Nebraskas overreliance on property taxes to fund local education. In 2012, Nebraska ranked 49th nationally in state support of K-12 schools. And despite much gnashing of teeth, raising of voices, and promising from west Nebraska politicians, little has been accomplished to alter education fundings dependence on property taxes relative to the state budget resources of income and sales tax.

Some argue that seeking property tax relief by increasing education funding from income and sales tax sources is an undesirable, or even unacceptable, tax shift. That position seems largely a product of the same mentality that insists that cutting taxes while increasing governmental services is not only possible, but would be easily accomplished if elected officials were not incompetent, corrupt or some combination of the two. Such pipe dreams advance no causes. If property tax relief is to be delivered in Nebraska, it will require that we rely less on property tax to fund education.

Returning to the rural-versus-urban question, those of us in sparsely populated, agriculture-dominated areas of Nebraska seek reduction of property taxes. Citizens in our states more urban areas nearer the Missouri River  where fewer people own large tracts of real estate and a larger portion of people are renters  are hit less by property tax and more broadly by income and sales taxes. Some tension in tax policy is a natural byproduct of that demographic reality, and it is easy to allow that strain to devolve into an us-against-them mentality. But the population in eastern Nebraska weights our states representative politics more and more toward urban interests, and there is little to suggest that trend will reverse. Rural Nebraskans have little reason for optimism in taxing policy if it will be dictated solely by tallying how many rural and urban citizens there are; there almost certainly will always be more urbanites.

Fortunately, there is no reason to conclude that property tax relief is unachievable. First, those in east Nebraska understand that our states economic well-being depends on a strong, healthy agriculture industry. Driving ag off a fiscal cliff of unsustainable property tax obligations is bad for Nebraska. Second, property tax relief and rebalancing our reliance on property, income and sales taxes is not an us-against-them proposition; it is not a zero-sum game. There is room for movement that can benefit all.

As an example, some Lincoln and Omaha interests seek incentives to promote business expansion, and we Westerners do ourselves no favors by opposing those efforts by our big-city fellow Nebraskans. Economic development in our home community that helps create more local jobs that pay better wages and that increases retail sales is great. But that type of economic development in Nebraskas larger cities in the eastern end of the state is good for us west of Grand Island, too. Larger incomes and more jobs anywhere in the state produce more income tax revenue. More people means more sales; more per capita income means more available money to spend. Both mean more sales tax revenue. It will be much easier to get more funding from state budgetary sources of income and sales taxes  and relieve the pressure on property taxes  if Nebraska is generating more income and sales tax revenue.

If working across political divides to reach reasonable compromise was not such a foreign concept in our too-partisan times, perhaps a package could be crafted providing some development incentives that urban interests desire and some property tax relief that rural interests crave. Granted, such an approach is not going to produce snappy political campaign rhetoric like impotent shouts for tax cuts or demonization of real and imagined opponents will  but it just might work.
It was a great privilege to be invited to address the North Platte Area Chamber of Commerce last Thursday evening. However, I was surprised by the letter to the editor from Jim McMurtry criticizing me for deliberately failing to recognize state Sen. Mike Groene during my remarks. It certainly was not any deliberate intent to overlook or disrespect Sen. Groene or any other senator.

The names I mentioned are North Platte natives, who hold what are generally deemed as constitutional offices, from the western half of Nebraska, including Bob Phares, Molly OHolleran and myself. I was not addressing our state Legislature, nor any state senators.

North Platte and Lincoln County will always have a state senator, but wont always have constitutional officers. In my remarks, I stressed the importance of North Platte and Lincoln County encouraging and supporting candidates for constitutional offices who can add additional voices in the State Capitol from the western half of Nebraska. Constitutional officers include the six statewide executive officers, the University Board of Regents, members of the State Board of Education and members of the Public Service Commission.

Sen. Groene won his legislative seat through hard work and a focus on property tax reform. He is a strong voice in the Legislature on property tax issues. He does his homework when it comes to studying legislative bills and has a great attention to detail. Sen. Groene often asks me to address his constituent groups who visit the State Capitol, which I am pleased to do. He was elected chairman of the Education Committee and sits on the Government, Military and Veteran Affairs Committee, before which I regularly appear. He is informed and asks good questions. I hold Sen. Groene, and all of our other state senators, in high regard. Service in the Legislature is a major personal sacrifice and requires great dedication. I admire their service.

My point is that North Platte needs to remain a major voice through the candidacy, support and election of constitutional officers as well.

John Gale

Secretary of State
EAST CHICAGO  The death of 30-year-old woman, who was struck by a car that did not stop, has been ruled an accident, a Cook County medical examiner's office spokeswoman said.

Luz Elena Arias, 30, of East Chicago, died Oct. 12 at Advocate Christ Medical Center from multiple blunt force injuries suffered in the crash Oct. 6 in the 3700 block of Parrish Avenue. The medical examiner's office described Arias as a pedestrian.

Police said earlier this week someone in a crowd of people, who had gathered around Arias as she lied injured in the street, shouted out a vehicle description and identity of a possible suspect.

A patrol officer found Arias after being flagged down about 4:20 p.m. Oct. 6 by a witness, police said.

Arias had abrasions to her face and hand and was holding her body while moaning as if in pain, police said. Some of the people in the crowd were trying to render aid.

A person shouted a red Chevrolet Traverse, possibly driven by a man known to Arias, might have been involved, police said.

Arias was taken to St. Catherine Hospital and later transferred to Advocate Christ. No other people were reported injured.

Police Detective Sgt. Terence Fife said Wednesday his investigation remains open, and he is still seeking witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call Fife at 219-391-8318. To remain anonymous, call 219-391-8500.
CROWN POINT  A 36-year-old dog trainer and breeder was accused Tuesday of allowing more than two dozen dogs to live in unsanitary conditions at a St. John industrial warehouse.

Larry E. Brodanex is charged in Lake Criminal Court with seven counts of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal and 11 counts of cruelty to animals.

Brodanex, the operator of The Trauma Training Experience, denied the allegations in an interview Wednesday.

I run my business like an open book, he said. I don't hide anything.

Brodanex has filed a civil lawsuit against the town of St. John seeking the return of his animals and compensatory damages.

Brodanex was charged after the town's animal inspectors and police visited his business Sept. 12 in the 9600 block of Industrial Drive in St. John, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The police noted in the affidavit the smell of urine and feces inside the business was overbearing and found 37 dogs in the building, most of which police described as sickly or horrendously thin, the affidavit states.

The animals were seized from the location after a veterinarian determined many of the dogs showed signs of trauma, active skin infections or inadequate nutrition.

Brodanex filed his lawsuit Oct. 6 in Lake Superior Court seeking the animals be returned, according to court records.

The lawsuit alleges police wrongfully seized the animals, as well as a laptop, business documents, a camera and veterinary medicine, during searches on Sept. 13 and Sept. 19.

The town filed a petition Tuesday seeking to have the lawsuit refiled in the U.S. District Court in Hammond.

A hearing on the petition has not yet been scheduled, according to court records.

Brodanex said he has trained dogs for 14 or 15 years. He said he put a deposit down Aug. 8 for the industrial warehouse in St. John and an animal inspector visited the property Aug. 21.

She said everything was fine, Brodanex said.

He said the animal inspector visited again Sept. 11, and he admitted the place looked bad.

He said he fed the animals a new dog food the night before, which caused them to have intestinal distress. He said he also had five dogs he obtained from a jailed friend, and those dogs were in poor condition.

But he denied his dogs were mistreated or kept in poor conditions.

That's a lie, he said. That's not what was happening with my dogs, at all.

Dave Augsten is representing the town of St. John in the lawsuit.

He said the documentation from the police investigation and animal inspection spoke for itself.

An initial court hearing has not been scheduled.
CROWN POINT  A defense attorney requested a mental competency examination Tuesday for the 52-year-old man charged in two separate machete attacks at his Gary home.

Defense attorney Lemuel Stigler said at a court hearing Tuesday in Lake Criminal Court he believed Tyrone D. Hammons was unable to aid in his defense on charges of attempted murder and felony battery.

The defense attorney also entered a formal plea of not guilty on behalf of Hammons, and filed a notice of intent to claim insanity to the charges.

Judge Samuel L. Cappas ordered the defendant to be examined by two physicians to determine his competency.

Hammons is accused of attacking two other men with machetes in separate incidents Sept. 30 and Oct. 7 at his home in the 500 block of Kentucky Street, according to court records.

One man told police he was drinking with Hammons Sept. 30 when Hammons punched him and then tried to slash his throat with a box cutter. He said Hammons slashed him with a machete as he fled the home.

An officer was dispatched to the home Oct. 7 after receiving reports of an attack, and found Hammons standing over another man, chopping at him with the machete, the records state.

The second man was treated for a gash to his head, multiple cuts on his legs and the partial severing of his right thumb, the records state.

Both men told police they had known Hammons for decades.

Hammons is jailed on $130,000 in bonds on the charges.

A new court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.
CROWN POINT  The state has made a plea offer to a 28-year-old woman charged in a police pursuit earlier this year that killed a 13-year-old Whiting girl, according to her defense attorney.

Defense attorney Patrick Young told Judge Diane Boswell at a court hearing Wednesday in Lake Criminal Court he needed more time to discuss the deal with Jessica S. Pichon.

The judge scheduled a new hearing for Nov. 8. The terms of the plea offer were not discussed at the hearing.

Pichon, 27, of Danville, Illinois, is charged with reckless homicide and several counts of resisting law enforcement on allegations she participated in a high-speed chase with police Feb. 15 that resulted in a two-car crash in Hammond.

The crash killed Julianna Chambers and injured the girl's grandmother, Theresa Paramo.

Pichon is also charged with six counts of failure to register as a sex offender related to a juvenile conviction in 2002 for criminal sexual abuse in Vermillion County, Illinois.

Donnell Howard Jr., 31, of Highland, is charged as a co-defendant on allegations he operated the vehicle during the fatal crash.

The state also offered a plea bargain to Howard, but a deputy prosecutor said at a court hearing in September he rejected the deal.

Howard is scheduled to appear at trial Jan. 16.
LAPORTE  Plans for an OReillys Auto Parts store crossed a major hurdle after the American Legion next door chose to no longer oppose it.

The City Council on Monday night approved rezoning the parcel at East Lincolnway and Holcomb Street from residential to commercial.

Chuck Greenawalt, commander of American Legion Post No. 83, once strongly against the project, expressed support after working on the plans with the developer the past few weeks.

Its still a tight squeeze for the building on the parcel after four dilapidated homes are torn down.

However, the building has been moved back from the edge of the American Legion property and 5 feet from the edge of the sidewalk along Ind. 2.

Its also been turned slightly to provide a better view of oncoming traffic for members pulling away on Ind. 2, Councilman Roger Galloway said.

"Theyve changed the design some and theyre getting along better," said Galloway, a member of the post.

Casting the only vote against rezoning was Tim Stabosz, who felt the building is too big for the small parcel and too imposing for nearby landowners, especially with an Auto Zone already across the street.

"The city needs to make sure when you transition between commercial development and residential areas, you dont screw the people that have a residence," Stabosz said.

Vernon Berg said the store would be just 1 foot off the property line of one of his rental homes on Holcomb Street and will not only disrupt his tenants but also reduce what he can get for the property if he ever chooses to sell it.

"Why should I continue to fix my properties up if the city is going to do things thats going to hurt me on the value of my property," Berg said.

Councilman Miles Fettinger also has concerns about the development but didnt want to send the wrong message to other new businesses looking at possibly coming to LaPorte.

The blueprints must now be approved by the citys site review committee for construction to begin.
Sasakawa Global 2000, a farmer support organisation working with government to improve farming practices, has started realizing the impact of its intervention.

Over 4,700 farmers in Tororo are harvesting the benefits of practicing modern faming technologies as well as collective farming. The farmers, under various farmers-based organizations (FBOs) in Tororo, say they are now harvesting increased crop yields from their farms.

According to Aterensio Otwani, the chairperson, Nyalakot Farmers Group, one of the 156 FBOs in Tororo, the farmers are now using modern farming technologies that have led to increased and quality crop yields.

The farmers group located in Osukuru sub-county, Tororo district, has 35 acres of maize, rice, soybeans and groundnuts collectively.

We now know how to space our seedlings while planting, how to spray and best post-harvest handling to prevent aflatoxin contamination, notes Otwani.

Sasakawa Global 2000 has been training the farmers in best farming practices. According to Rosette Kemigisha Ngingo, a program officer with Sasakawa, the organization has trained 15,000 farmers across eight districts (Bugiri, Lira, Pallisa, Buikwe, Luweero, Kamwenge, Kamuli and Tororo) in the country on developing strong and viable farmers groups.

According to Jacinta Obbo, one of the members of Nyalakot Farmers group, the training they have received from Sasakawa has resulted into increased harvests, thereby enabling her to earn more income.

I used to get one bag of maize from an acre. Now, I usually get between 16 and 20 bags from the same acre. I have learnt how to save and buy inputs like fertilizers and [equipment like] spray pumps, which has helped me improve my crop yields.

The agricultural sector in Uganda contributes less than 30 per cent of the gross domestic product and is the backbone of the countrys industrial activity. However, the majority of farmers are smallholder.

Kaloli Ijara, the Sasakawa district coordinator, noted that the farmers are embracing large commercial faming, which has improved their livelihoods.

Our farmers in the past did not know how to practice large commercial farming; they used to practice mixed farming, intercropping all the crops, notes Kaloli. The harvest would be poor and, in the process, the soil would deteriorate. Now, they practice modern farming technologies that have improved their yields.
In the USA, one of the slang terms for the vagina is The Force.

When I read about that, I actually chuckled; for, how true!

I lose count of the number of times I have encountered wives encouraging other wives to use sex to get their husbands to do things they would normally not consider.

And at one bridal shower, a hired ssenga advised the bride-to-be and her girlfriends to always wait for the most opportune time when your husband is at his weakest, to settle any disputes.

As a result, many, many wives wait for crunch time when the pink elephants are impatiently trumpeting in the corridor outside the master bedroom, to start reeling off demands and questions. All to their husbands chagrin.

Well, blame The Force.

One husband once said, My wife always waits for that time when I would do anything to just be allowed to cross that finish line, to start asking ridiculous questions. Later, I want to kick myself when I recall the list of things I assented to!

Junior wants to be moved from the good, but local school next door to a high-class one across town? Mama pitches this proposal just as the pink elephants finally knock the door down, to papas Yes, yes, yes!

Other wives wait for the dust to settle down after good lovemaking, and satisfied mister is lying there feeling like a true head of the home, to launch a list of requests  especially those that involve his wallet. The answer is usually affirmative.

Another husband once said he was weary of making love to his wife because their love sessions were more like interrogations.

Do you love me? So, was that harlot you cheated on me with anything like me in bed? Tell me, where did you learn that thing you just did? Are you sleeping around with prostitutes?

Ring a bell, anyone?

Well, your wife, like many women, simply recognises the power of love, sex and desire, and takes full advantage of that knowledge.

Do I agree with using sex like this? No. But each to their own; when all diplomacy fails in negotiations, it is good to know there is always an ace card somewhere. Cough-cough.

Naomi Wolf writes in her book Vagina: A New Biography: Women indeed take love, sex and intimacy seriously; not because women, intimacy and Eros are trivial, but because nature in its clever and transcendental wiring of womens genitals and their brains has forced women to face the fact, which is more obscured to men, that the need for connection, love, intimacy and Eros is bigger and stronger than anything else in the world.

Wolf notes that cultures that do not respect women often mock this feminine preoccupation with love and desirability. I have heard Ugandan husbands even refer to love and romance as bya bakazi (womens things) or kajanja (unnecessary fussing).

A womans preoccupation with her youthfulness, desirability, sexiness, etc, is often trivialised by men who may not know how much control The Force has over them.

Women know where a lot of their power lies and subconsciously pay it much attention.

Wolf says the same is actually true about men  they wield the same power over their wives  but just dont have the awareness of this influence of love and Eros.

They prefer to focus on other forces, such as money and power. But think about it: a well-loved wife in the bedroom can be putty in your hands when it comes to what you want her to do for you, how.

And because she is already wired that way too, she will also somehow get her way with you once she has you where it counts.

The result? A happy marriage, I imagine.

Some call it manipulation, wives call it The Force.

Which is why it is devastating to a marriage when the sex department malfunctions.

carol@observer.ug
When HIV/Aids was first reported in parts of present-day Kyotera district, only a few wanted to associate with people suffering from the then mysterious killer disease that left its sufferers looking like walking skeletons.

Only close family members stood by the afflicted. But for Robina Ssentongo Nakasirye, the newly elected Kyotera Woman MP, her professional calling as a nurse took her closer to Aids patients and their families.

Caring for people infected and affected by HIV/Aids has been my preoccupation for the past 30 years, and because I felt that their voice was not well heard, I decided to join politics so that I could be their voice, Ssentongo told The Observer on October 12.

Robina Ssentongo Nakasirye, the newly elected Kyotera Woman MP

Kyotera is one of the five new districts that became effective on July 1, 2017 and thus Ssentongo, who stood on a DP card, becomes the new districts Woman MP. Her illustrious work in HIV/Aids care under Kitovu Mobile Aids Organisation (KMO) made her a tough candidate to beat for the ruling NRM, in an area perceived to be an NRM stronghold.

The 56-year-old had no mark on the political scene until after the 2011 elections, when talk of a new district of Kyotera started.

As director and later chief executive officer of KMO, I was responsible for the entire fundraising programs for the organization. That made me travel widely in and out of the country. That is when I realised that because I was a CEO of a local organisation, there were offices I could not easily access, Ssentongo says.

But through my work with the local communities, I realised their issues were not being listened to, maybe because there was no one to amplify them; I decided to upgrade to a position where the voices of people suffering could be given due attention.

The hope for the creation of Kyotera district collapsed back then, and she changed her focus to representing the unified Rakai district. She stood as an independent for the Rakai Woman MP seat in the 2016 elections, but controversially lost to Juliet Kinyamatama.

2016 was my worst experience, because I knew I was going to win; and I indeed won but the [Electoral Commission] declared somebody else. That is when I realised I had joined something tough, Ssentongo said.

She went on to successfully challenge Kinyamatamas election at the High court in Masaka, but as she awaited the Court of Appeal ruling, Kyotera became a district.

She surprised many when she got nominated as a DP candidate and for many, including DP vice president Fred Mukasa Mbidde, there was no way she could beat the NRM candidate Rachael Nakitende. She, however, polled 21,731 votes against Nakitendes 15,511 votes.

I decided to stand as DP because they were willing to work with me and also, because my ideals rhyme well with their ideology. I have always wanted to see a just and transparent society where human rights are respected, Ssentongo said.

She was persuaded to join DP by the Masaka Woman MP, Mary Babirye Kabanda, who promised to support her through the campaigns. This meant financial and technical support.

Kabanda ensured that all the DP MPs as well as other leaders at various levels kept in Kyotera to campaign and lay strategy for their new recruit, popularly known as Maama Kitovu Mobile.

Being that Kitovu Mobile has directly or indirectly benefited each household in the district, it became difficult for the NRM to counter Ssentongos popularity.

This partly explains why even members of the state machinery quietly worked for her, including leaking to her camp the election day strategy that had been designed to give the NRM candidate undeserved victory.



THE JOURNEY

In 1987, Sister Ursula Sharpe, an Irish nun working with the Medical Missionaries of Mary, got touched by the suffering of Aids patients that were being admitted at Kitovu hospital, where she worked.

HIV/Aids was a new disease at the time and many people thought it was an aggressive form of witchcraft that left entire villages in Rakai deserted.

Being that it was only a year after the guerrilla war that brought President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM to power, the social service structure was at its worst. And because of this, prevention and treatment plans were not yet in place and many spouses, caregivers and children were infected with HIV and many died within two years.

Patients would literally go to Kitovu to die, but due to biting poverty, their relatives could not even find means of transporting the bodies back home for burial.

In this depressing setting, Sharpe worked with Ssentongo, who had just graduated from Nsambya School of Nursing. They started a mobile care program for HIV/Aids patients in Rakai district where the disease started.

Instead of patients and their relatives coming to suffer at Kitovu hospital, Sharpe and Ssentongo would drive and find them in their respective homes.

As the disease spread to the then unified Masaka district, Sharpes Kitovu Mobile Aids Care program was rolled out to other parts of Masaka Catholic diocese, this time with an expanded scope to offer orphans and families support.

The programs went on evolving, responding to the needs at the time because there was a lot of suffering. These needs included pyscho-social support and general welfare for people living positively with Aids, Ssentongo said.

In 1995, Sharpe left the country for a long holiday and left Ssentongo in charge of the now growing organisation. On return, Sharpe left Ssentongo to continue running the organisation, and she chose to play an advisory role until 2000 when she left the country for good and left the organisation under Masaka diocese.

In 2005 when Masaka diocese registered it as a company limited by guarantee, Ssentongo, by then a graduate of Human and Social Studies from the University of South Africa, and a holder of diplomas in Development Studies (Dublin), Research Methods (Makerere University), and Counselling and Guidance (Mbarara University of Science and Technology), was appointed the CEO.

She went on to study for a masters degree in Health Services Management at Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi.

I have no intention of abandoning my work, but I want to add on to the care for people infected and affected by Aids with a bigger voice and a bigger potential to fundraise, Ssentongo said.

She hopes that her parliamentary office can make her a good ambassador for KMO and by extension, the families affected by Aids.

At KMO, we have been running a program for the older people funded by the Stephen Lewis foundation in Canada; I would love to see these people benefiting from the government program for the elderly, because they suffer a lot caring for their orphaned grandchildren, Ssentongo said.



GUNS ON CERVICAL CANCER

Political parties dont help the people but instead benefit those holding leadership positions. Theyre simply vehicles that lead us to these positions but the needy people dont think of the political parties when they are suffering; they want to see a leader attending to their needs, Ssentongo said.

What you do as a leader is what matters; parties dont count when one has no food to feed his children, or lacks the means to take a sick child to hospital or when a mother goes to a health centre and she cant get adequate care.

Using the KMO model, Ssentongo plans to launch mobile clinics to specifically reach out to mothers and offer care and support for cervical cancer.

Testing and treatment of such cancers are available at regional referral hospitals but many women cant find transport to Masaka to get such medical services, she said.

I have a double role as a parliamentarian and a development worker. Given the KMO experience, I know that access to quality education is a nightmare in the district. I want to strengthen the economic empowerment programs we had at KMO. I will keep an ear on the ground, Ssentongo said.

And that is how one selflessly impacts millions of lives and receives their reward in the form of a vote of absolute confidence.



sadabkk@observer.ug
Scientists have said the first batch of locally grown genetically modified potatoes will be on sale in Ugandan markets in 2020.

Dr Alex Barekye, the director of Kachwekano Zonal Agriculture Research Institute in the western district of Rubanda, said agricultural biotechnology research on potatoes is underway to create a genetically modified variety that will be resistant to diseases.

Barekye said three trials have been conducted on the Victoria potato variety and so far, tests did not find any disease yet the yield is high.

When we look at all the products in the GMO line and look at the duration of the crop, I think potatoes will be the first GMO crop to be commercialized in Uganda. We have conducted three trials and found that the disease is not there. The yield is good and there is nothing that has changed. The Victoria that is transforming is the same as the one which is not transformed, Dr. Barekye told The Observer in an interview, on the side-lines of the World Food day celebrations in Rubanda on October 16.

This revelation comes barely two weeks after parliament passed the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill, in short christened the GMO bill.

Barekye explained that the next phase of the project is to test the transgenic potato in three different areas in Uganda, beginning in November this year, to establish whether the seed crop will thrive in the environment.

They include Rwebitaba Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI) in Kabarole district; Buginyanya Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Mbale district and Kachwekano.

Before planting begins at the three multiplication sites, scientists said the National Biosafety Committee must give the nod of approval.

The committee is provided for under the GMO bill and is tasked with prescribing conditions, standards and procedures relating to development, testing, transit and general release of a GMO.

President Yoweri Museveni, in a speech read by the second deputy prime minister, Kirunda Kivejinja, pledged more funding towards research to find solutions to drought and diseases hindering productivity in the agricultural sector.
President Museveni

Barely a month after commandos from Special Forces Command stormed parliament and violently ejected MPs opposed to the lifting of the presidential age limit, President Museveni has suggested that his ruling NRM may not shy away from using brute force in future.

Presiding at a thanks-giving ceremony for Namutumba Woman MP Mariam Naigaga on Monday, Museveni said he would not take any more threats from the opposition.

I want to warn all those who are threatening people, akabwa akasiru kayigga enjovu [a foolish dog hunts an elephant]... to think that you can threaten NRM, and you use violence, yet NRM is the master of violence but our violence is disciplined and purposeful, a tough-talking Museveni said.

I will really want to advise anybody who has got illusions that he can use violence and shut up [our people]; we shall not waste time, Museveni said.

Museveni spoke against a backdrop of spontaneous attacks on NRM MPs. Among those who have been attacked by an agitated public is Simeo Nsubuga (Kassanda South), James Kakooza (Kabula), Ibrahim Abiriga (Arua Municipality), Judith Nabakooba (Mityana Woman), Doreen Amule (Amolatar) and Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi (Mityana North).

The state minister for Urban Development, Isaac Musumba (Buzaaya) and Connie Nakayenze Galiwango (Mbale Woman) have failed to convince their constituents to support age limit removal.

The world witnessed chaotic scenes in the Ugandan Parliament on September 26 and 27 when fist fights broke out moments after junior minister Ronald Kibuule reportedly smuggled a gun into the house. Museveni called for a calm discussion.

The issue should be discussed calmly, politely... you dont have to abuse anybody, bring your reasons; you dont need to threaten anybody so that we get a correct solution, Museveni said.

Chief Opposition Whip Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda scoffed at the warnings.

The president is now desperate because he doesnt trust his own troops. It is the reason why he has resorted to violence and threats. The unfortunate thing is that he is still president and when he gets desperate, he thinks of violence, Ssemujju said.

He said desperation is the very reason Museveni got involved in armed conflict as an answer to political challenges.

He has been violent all through, wherever he loses, he resorts to violence  when he lost to Sam Kutesa in Nyabushozi in 1980, he picked guns and went to the bush. What he is bringing out now is that he is not the democrat that he has been pretending to be, Ssemujju said.

sadabkk@observer.ug
The army's reserve force commander, Maj Gen Charles Otema-Awany, last week appeared before the land inquiry to answer accusations of illegal and forceful eviction of people in Acholi sub-region.

In one incident, Dr Oweka, a resident of Got Okwara in Lungulu sub-county, accused the general of malicious destruction of property and forceful eviction off his 350 acres by soldiers sent by Otema-Awany. Assistant lead counsel John Bosco Suuza led the questioning. ALI TWAHA brings you an abridged account of the proceedings:-



Suuza: Please state your name for the record.

Otema: Im Maj Gen Charles Otema-Awany. Currently, I command the Reserve Force of the Uganda Peoples Defence Force.

Maj Gen Charles Otema-Awany

Suuza: How old are you?

Otema-Awany: Im 54 years old.

Suuza: Where do you live?

Otema-Awany: In Purongo sub-county in Nwoya district.

Suuza: Are you an active member of the UPDF?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Suuza: How long have you been performing that duty?

Otema-Awany: Its over 30 years.

Suuza: How long have you commanded the reserve force?

Otema-Awany: As commander of the reserve force, its about a year now.

Suuza: When did you attain the rank of major general?

Otema-Awany: When I became the commander of the reserve force.

Suuza: At the rank of major general, you are a very senior officer of the UPDF?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Suuza: Do you own land at Got Okwara?

Otema-Awany: Not in my name.

Suuza: But you own land there?

Otema-Awany: I had interest but I dont own it.

Suuza: Do you still have the interest?

Otema-Awany: I pulled out because of confusion on the land.

Suuza: Can you give us the description of the land that you are interested in?

Otema-Awany: The land is located in Got Okwara in Lungulu sub-county which belongs to Mr Odong.

Suuza: Does Odong have another name?

Otema-Awany: I dont remember the other name.

[Commission chairperson Justice Catherine] Bamugemereire: Is he a policeman by any means?

Otema-Awany: Not a policeman. Its another Odong.

Suuza: Is it Odong or Odokoyero?

Otema-Awany: Its Odong. For Odokoyero, Im not interested in his land.

Suuza: Do you have interest in land described as plot 110 block 4 at Pajengo in Nwoya?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Suuza: What kind of interest do you have?

Otema-Awany: This land was for Odokoyero Richard who applied for the title and sold his interest to me.

Suuza: How did you acquire this land?

Otema-Awany: I recall this year, around March, Mr Odong came and met my brother David. He said he lost all his property in a workshop that got burnt and he had a bank loan. So, he said he wanted to sell the land to me. I made inquiries to confirm whether the land belongs to Odong. I called the LC-III of Lungulu sub-country to confirm...

Suuza: What is his name?

Otema-Awany: I dont remember. He is here; he will come and tell you...

Suuza: Wait a minute. This person comes to you and probably you are meeting him for the first time. How did you reach the chairman?

Otema-Awany: He gave me the [phone] number.

Suuza: Do you still have that number?

Otema-Awany: He gave it then and I made the call.

Suuza: So, what did the chairman tell you?

Otema-Awany: He told me that that land belonged to Mr Odong.

Suuza: The sub-county is a big place, why did you think the right people to inquire from are the district chairmen?

Otema-Awany: My lord, according to the land structure at the sub-county level, there is a land board where the people know who owns what. I thought it was more relevant to contact the LC-III to confirm if the land belonged to Mr Odong.

Suuza: Have you ascertained whether this land had a title or not?

Otema-Awany: I made an effort and [found out that] it was a surveyed land.

Suuza: Did that, to you, mean there is a certificate of title to that land?

Otema-Awany: He told me that he was processing but he ran out of money, otherwise he would have got the title. But at least he had all the documents and the land was surveyed.

Suuza: Did he show you copies of those documents?

Otema-Awany: He did, my lord.

Suuza: What documents did he show you?

Otema-Awany: He showed me the deed and the permission which was granted by the district that the land should be surveyed.

Suuza: Did that document mean Mr Odong had title for that land?

Otema-Awany: That document means that if you paid the premium because the land had already been surveyed, then automatically you would get the title.

Suuza: Were you not worried that since this man didnt have the title, that another person would come and lay a claim on the same land?

Otema-Awany: I was not worried, because after that, I travelled there myself to see if there are any structures there. I didnt not find anyone on the land.

Suuza: What did you find on the ground?

Otema-Awany: I saw burnt houses...

Suuza: What did that mean to you? Could it be that there was a dispute over that land?

Otema-Awany: That did not occur to my mind.

Suuza: So, where did these arsonists come from? Were they rebels?

Otema-Awany: He has lived on that land for 10 years. Thats why I didnt think there was any issue on that land.

Suuza: I know of land issues that have raged for 30 years...

Otema-Awany: Since I did not see any squatters there, I didnt think of any disputes.

Suuza: So, what happened next?

Otema-Awany: We decided that I advance him some money so that he pays his loan, which I did.

Suuza: How much did you advance?

Otema-Awany: Shs 25 million.

Suuza: Did you write an agreement for that?

Otema-Awany: Not really. I knew Odong before because he did some work with me.

Suuza: So, you are happy that you advanced Shs 25 million without any single document?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Suuza: Was that a down payment?

Otema-Awany: We were trying to reach agreement to see that if that land is there, its suitable for cultivation. I wanted to grow cassava in that place.

Suuza: You said you have a lot of land...

Otema-Awany: I dont have enough, my lord. Land is never enough.

Suuza: How much land do you have?

Otema-Awany: I have about 6,000 acres.

Suuza: Just out of curiosity, how, when and where did you apply for that land?

Otema-Awany: I applied for it through Amuru land board.

Suuza: You applied for the 6,000 acres through one application?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Suuza: How much did you pay?

Otema-Awany: I paid premium, about Shs 43 million.

Suuza: And what kind of title do you hold?

Otema-Awany: Leasehold for 49 years.

Suuza: Let us go back to the land at Got Okwara, after paying Shs 25 million what happened?

Otema-Awany: After paying, I had intention this second season [that] I send my tractors, workers and four guards to guard my materials on the land.

Suuza: As far as I understand, you have not acquired this land. You have only advanced Shs 25 million. He (Odong) has not acquired a title. On what basis are you sending equipment and guards on the land?

Otema-Awany: My lord, I send on the basis that there was no claimant on the land except Odong who has been on it for the last 10 years.

Justice Catherine Bamugemereire

Bamugemereire: Is that the land where you said you lost interest?

Otema-Awany: My lord, what happened is that there is a complaint on the border between the land of Odong and Odokoyero. Im not interested in the land of Odokoyero. There is an issue of opening the boundaries. Right now, Im not on that land [Odokoyeros].



Commissioner Rose Nakayi: We are talking about land at Got Okwara, where we had the first complainant. Are you saying you completely lost interest in the land?

Otema-Awany: Until the boundary opening.

Nakayi: So, its not that you are not interested in the land?

Otema-Awany: The interest is there. But I realised there is a mess in the whole thing.

Suuza: Did you hear of the first complainant, Mr Oweka?

Otema-Awany: My lord, to be honest I do not know Oweka.

Bamugemereire: But did you hear...?

Otema-Awany: I heard but he even confessed that he does not know me.

Suuza: So, you are hearing of this story of Oweka [just now]?

Otema-Awany: From Oweka, I was getting calls that there were issues with the neighbours; that evictions are taking place. I have not gone there to evict anybody who is on the land. I went there knowing, I was going to occupy vacant land. So, if there are issues there, Im not interested until the boundaries have been opened.

Suuza: As of today, you are not on the land?

Otema-Awany: Not at all.

Suuza: Have you caused any evictions?

Otema-Awany: Not even one.

Suuza: Have you caused the burning of houses?

Otema-Awany: I dont know about that.

Suuza: According to a statement we have, you have actually deployed some people?

Otema-Awany: I did not deploy, I said, I only had four guards for my tractors...

Suuza: Have you had any transaction with Odokoyero?

Otema-Awany: I saw Odokoyero this morning, I have never met him.

Suuza: So, you have not purchased any land from him?

Otema-Awany: Not even a piece.

Bamugemereire: Could it be that one of your brothers purchased land from him and you are not aware?

Otema-Awany: My lord, Odokoyero is here, he can speak for himself.

Suuza: According to your own statement here this is what you say, In 2013, I got interested in land on plot 110, block 4 at Pajengo in Nwoya of one Odokoyero Richard. The land was registered and I visited it and I found out that most of it was free except 100 acres...

Otema-Awany: My lord, that is another Odokoyero.

Suuza: You mean there are two Odokoyeros?

Otema-Awany: Yes, my lord.

Bamugemereire: Do we have two Odokoyeros in this room? [The two Odokoyeros who filed complaints stood up]

Suuza: Is he among the two?

Otema-Awany: That one is another Odokoyero. I dont think he is here.

Suuza: Now lets take it that the land in question concerns Mr Odida Alfred. Isnt that the land you are talking about?

Otema-Awany: The one I bought is from Odokoyero.

Suuza: How much did you pay for the land?

Otema-Awany: The one with the title, I paid Shs 250 million.

Suuza: Have there been any disputes on this land since you acquired it?

Otema-Awany: Not at all, except that there were some squatters. Thats where we went for mediation; there was a balance of Shs 50 million to pay the squatters.

Suuza: Who were the other squatters?

Otema-Awany: Mr Opogo was one of the beneficiaries. He is here. Mr Nyero is here. [But] there were issues, I told them to sit and agree because there were disagreements.

One was saying, hes having a bigger portion and the other smaller. Mr Odida wanted to take the money alone, and not consider the squatters. I ask this commission to go back and renegotiate so that people on that land can benefit. Right now my cows are not even grazing on that land.

Suuza: You refer to these people as squatters, why?

Otema-Awany: They have no documents at all.

Bamugemereire: What documents do you have to call the others squatters?

Otema-Awany: They claim that they have interest in that piece of land. I dealt with Odokoyero who has the documents.

Suuza: So, your opinion is based on what Odokoyero told you?

Otema-Awany: They were there.

Suuza: Before you bought this land, you said you inspected it, did you sign an agreement?

Otema-Awany: I did [inspect the land], my lord.

Suuza: Did you see Odida and others live on the land?

Otema-Awany: Not at all.

Suuza: So, when did they come to occupy the land?

Otema-Awany: They were there but not on the land.

Suuza: This is your word again. But in your statement, you acknowledged that about 100 acres were occupied by them?

Otema-Awany: They were not on the land, my lord. It was for other people and they are cultivating on it.

Suuza: But you have had some sort of mediation?

Otema-Awany: On the mediation, part of the land which was not necessarily the one Odida is claiming. He can tell the truth. I paid him for 200 acres. He sold his interest to me earlier. That deal was done and he lost interest on the land.

Suuza: How much did you pay him?

Otema-Awany: I paid him Shs 20 million. The land was not surveyed, it was just there.

Suuza: Do you have a document proving that?

Otema-Awany: I will get...

Suuza: If that document is not available, do you acknowledge you will have to pay them?

Otema-Awany: I will pay them, my lord.

Suuza: Do you also ac- knowledge that they have rights?

Otema-Awany: My lord, you see the issue of land here has been politicised. And the issue that the general is holding interest in my land should be out of this completely. But again, the same land being claimed by Odokoyero, where he is holding a title, is the same land claimed by Odida Francis.

Suuza: Lets go back to the issue of Odong, did you eventually get title for the land?

Otema-Awany: I have no idea since I pulled out.

Suuza: So, it is your evidence that nobody should have a claim against you on that land?

Otema-Awany: Nobody should, because Im not there.

Suuza: So, what happens to the Shs 25 million [you paid]?

Otema-Awany: Its up to him. If they survey the land and the dispute is not there anymore, then we can complete the transaction.

Suuza: Have you ever deployed UPDF soldiers on any of your lands?

Otema-Awany: In the north, we have the local defence unit and the UPDF. The LDU normally gives security to the residents. So, when Im here, I contact the commander who provides me with the LDU, but not the UPDF.

Suuza: According to Mr Oweka, at some point you used UPDF soldiers to evict them from their home.

Otema-Awany: My lord, that is not me. I never caused any destruction at all.

Suuza: Anybody listening to you will think you are a very innocent man...

Otema-Awany: Indeed, Im.

Suuza: That you are being accused of things you dont know about. If that is true, why are people making accusations about you?

Otema-Awany: Well, they know themselves. They know my character and how I worked tirelessly to take them back and fight Kony. They know my level of contribution, how Ive supported them. The issue of grabbing land is just politicised.

Suuza: Why are they politicising the issue and who are they?

Otema-Awany: I put it very clear that I did not evict anyone or take any land by force.

Suuza: How much land do you have in total as Maj Gen Otema-Awany apart from the 6, 000 acres you gave us?

Otema-Awany: My lord, I have lived a bit longer... my family are farmers and they live on the farms. Our main interest is cultivation.

Suuza: You have not answered my question. How much land do you have in this part of the country?

Otema-Awany: I have been buying from people... about 8,000 acres.

Suuza: In this day and age, is it possible that you can own 8,000 acres and you dont have anybody laying claim on part of that land?

Otema-Awany: In the north, my lord, all my land [pieces] I purchase them, not by force. If you have money and you want land here, there are people who are selling land.

Bamugemereire: We feel that there are some issues that need to be sorted out. We want to understand what your relationship is with Odokoyero and the real issues between him and the other witnesses.

If you dont mind, we would like to take some time and understand what issue we are dealing with here. Maybe, Maj Gen Otema-Awany before you leave, the commission would like to understand your view toward brutal and illegal evictions because those people wouldnt come here without an issue.

Otema-Awany: Im very happy that this commission is sitting here. Its not acceptable [for soldiers to evict people], that is why when my name was mentioned, I ordered immediately my disinterest in that land because Im not a party to such evictions at all. These people like Odokoyero could have done it without my knowledge.

Bamugemereire: Could they have used your name to evict these people?

Otema-Awany: They used it for themselves. That is why I said, I dont want anyone to use my name. If that eviction at all happened, it is those that carried out the eviction [who should be blamed but] not with my instructions.



alitwaha@observer.ug
A solar power plant with 10 megawatt capacity was commissioned in Tororo on Monday.

The Tororo Solar North plant comes on the heels of another with the same capacity that was launched in Soroti in December 2016.

The government has in recent years prioritised electricity generation after realising that the country cant develop without affordable energy.

Consequently, there has been massive investment in electricity generation with most of the money going into hydro power dam construction. Two sizeable dams are nearing completion at Karuma and Isimba.

Once completed, Ugandas installed electricity capacity will jump over the 1,000MW mark, but this will remain well below the expectation of a country dreaming of rapid transformation.

However, dam construction is very expensive and has environmental repercussions. In addition, transmitting hydro-power is an expensive undertaking, especially in rural and sparsely populated areas.

Besides, according to experts, even if all hydro-power sites were exploited, they wouldnt generate enough electricity to power Ugandas needs in the next 20 years.

It is, therefore, wise and strategic to explore alternatives. Nuclear energy has been mentioned and MOUs signed with Russia in that regard, but this is a long short and is unlikely to be realised in Uganda in the next 10 years.

On the other hand, Uganda has comparative advantage in solar power. With the sun out 12 months every year, its incredible that this country is not exploiting this natural resource much more.

Europeans and Americans, with their less than six months of sunshine every year, are exploiting solar energy to a greater extent than Africans!

The 20MW in Soroti and now Tororo is a good step forward, but it should just be the start of a solar revolution in Uganda. Just as it did with oil, the government should invest in training and skilling a critical mass of human resource needed to spark this revolution.

Government should also attract investors to manufacture or assemble solar panels and related accessories to make it cheaper for Ugandans and transfer technology. Ugandas comparative advantage in solar should be fully exploited.
Is Kenya headed for an Arab Spring?

This is a question many of those in the establishment or those in diplomatic circles may not wish to read or hear but which we must ask!

When protests started in Tunisia, many did not know they would bring down Tunisias former strong man or that they would successfully spread through the region.

When this became a reality, the troubled governments in Tunisia and later in Egypt and Libya were quick to blame Western countries whom they accused of supporting and hiring protestors against their governments through third parties.

As a student of foreign policy, I have keenly followed events in Kenya. After the Supreme Court of Kenya ruled, nullifying Uhuru Kenyattas August 8 election victory, the same court ordered fresh elections to be organized by the same electoral body in 60 days.

We later saw demands by opposition NASA and later some protests which followed their unmet irreducible demands. Some of these protests have been bloody including claiming lives as it was during the Arab Spring.

Now that NASA has announced they will have daily protests until the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) meets their demands even after their candidate Raila Odinga announced his withdrawal from the race, the fact is we should expect more confrontation with police, and if police uses much force, diplomats, especially from Western countries, will condemn the government.

Actually, led by the USAs ambassador to Kenya, Western envoys have already sounded their warning against what they called violation of human rights and suggested they would blacklist those who will be found to be involved. The question again is: is Kenya heading for an Arab Spring?

For now, this is a lingering question because something went terribly wrong with Chief Justice David Maragas ruling which has brought Kenya to a crossroads.

The situation went wrong because in the ruling, the judges ordered a repeat of elections by the same body which it accused of spoiling the election exercise. Secondly, there are claims that this ruling was arrived at using fake or forged documents!

On October 3, the chief executive officer of the embattled IEBC, Ezra Chiloba, told special investigators from Kenyas directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that Supreme court judges relied on fake or forged documents.

Chiloba, who was grilled for over six hours, maintained it was very possible that someone had accessed the court and doctored documents judges used to reach their ruling.

The challenge is when the DPP sent investigators to the court to verify the claims, the court registry denied them access.

This raises questions like; what are they hiding from the DPP?

If the Supreme court was to be the first midwife of Kenyas Arab Spring, then the second midwife and the most serious one would be the diplomats in Nairobi.

The current US ambassador since 2012, Robert F. Godec, was USAs ambassador in Tunisia just one year before the revolution.

Two, the the French ambassador to Kenya, Antoine Sivan, was Frances representative to Libyas National Transitional Council government based in Benghazi. It is important to recall that Benghazi is where Libyas revolution started.

Three, the European Union Elections Observer Mission chief in Kenya, Marietje Schaake, is the current board member and advisor at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

It is important to recall that Tahrir Square is the birthplace of the Egyptian protests and later revolution that ended Hosni Mubaraks 30-year rule and later the same place produced protests that led to the overthrow of the first-ever democratically elected president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi.

Is it by coincidence that all these very diplomats are deployed in Nairobi at this particular time? Is Uhuru Kenyattas presidency safe?

There are many questions with few or no answers, yet we ought to ask more questions; after all, Indira Gandhi taught us The power to question is the basis of all human progress.

We must remember Western countries, especially USA and France, often plan and execute long-term plans to ensure regimes they think will not support their hegemony fall.

During his victory speech, though he did not mention the country, Kenyatta had a message for USA  Kenya is an independent country, we can do without you! He said this because USA was against his candidature since he contested at a time when he had a case at the International Criminal Court.

After winning, Kenyatta told off the Western giants that Kenya was less reliant on Western aid and favors than it used to be, adding that with newly discovered deposits of oil and gas, Kenya had eager suitors in China.

With NASAs announced daily protests in Kenya effective at the very time when Odinga will be in UK and USA later (as he announced), I conclude that like it was claimed in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, NASAs mass protests are funded by this fellowship of war interest.

President Kenyatta should expel these diplomats from Nairobi or, else, he should wait for a version of the Arab Spring which may sweep him away.



allawissemanda@icloud.com



The author is a PhD student of International Relations and Diplomatic Studies at Linnaeus University, Sweden.
After being nearly wiped out from New England in the 1800s, wild turkeys are apparently turning the tables on their human oppressors, wreaking havoc on the streets of Boston and other urban areas of Massachusetts. The number of residents attacked by the aggressive birds has increased dramatically in the last year, police say.

Wild turkeys once dominated the forests of the Northeast, but they seem to have taken a liking to cities and towns in Massachusetts, where finding better foraging beside dumpsters and in peoples backyards than in the woods. Theyve become so at home among humans that people have started referring to them as urban turkeys. They can be seen strutting their feathers on sidewalks, pecking shiny objects, blocking traffic, chasing after smaller pets and, in rare cases, even attacking people.

Photo: YouTube screengrab

And while most people laugh at the idea of getting brutalized by turkeys, experts warn that wild turkeys are considerably stronger, faster and meaner than the ones we serve on Thanksgiving. Males are particularly aggressive, and will not shy away from attacking humans to as a way to climb the social pecking order. Its nothing personal, they dont even think of us as humans, but as competitors, so its important to let them know whose boss.

Turkeys may attempt to dominate or attack people that they view as subordinates, and this behavior is observed most often during breeding season, Marion Larson, chief information and education officer for the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife told Metro Boston. Instead of answering violence with violence, Larson recommends charging at turkeys while waving your arms in the air and yelling like a weirdo.

Photo: YouTube screengrab

Turkeys dont really mean to harm people  its just tied to their social dynamics within the flock, biologist David Scarpitti said. They lose perspective that humans are humans and turkeys are turkeys. They just want to assert dominance over anything.

Massachusetts police are usually not allowed to remove wild turkeys, but in five of the 137 turkey cases reported in the last two years, the birds were so aggressive that they had to be shot as a matter of public safety. There was also the 2013 case of a deranged turkey terrorizing a school in Brookline. It also had to be euthanized.

Complaints about turkeys causing all sorts of trouble in Massachusetts have surged in the last three years, turning what was once an isolated problem into a constant source of headaches for law enforcement and health officials.

Theyre terrible. Every year theyre worse, said Tess Bundy, a history professor in Brookline. I really do think that theyre a menace to the town.

They get really up close to you, too, another Brookline resident said. One had me almost cornered, it was really uncomfortable.

Experts say that humans carry much of the blame for this turkey invasion. Many people leave food out for the birds, which only encourages them to settle in the neighborhood to increase their chances of surviving the winter.

Experts advise people confronted my gangs of aggressive turkeys not to back down in fear, but step toward the turkey and act confidently. If that fails, all they can do is call MSPCA.
Cheese and ice tea doesnt sound like a particularly tasty combination, but just try telling that to the thousands of people all across China standing in line for up to five hours to get their hands on a cup of it. Cheese tea is a nationwide sensation, making it hard to believe that it was created by a guy in his early 20s with no real knowledge of tea.

Only a few months ago, Hey Tea, the company behind Chinas insanely popular cheese ice tea, was a small street-side shop in Jiangmen, Guangdong, but today they have over 50 branches in Guangdong Province alone, as well as new venues in bustling urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing. They are growing at an astonishing rate, but its still not enough to satisfy demand for their bizarrely-sounding cheese tea. People still have to spend at least 2 hours, and, in some cases, up to 5 hours in line to get their hands on a cup. Its apparently so good that busy people pay others to wait in line for them, and the company sometimes has to hire private security to keep the lines moving and hustlers from cutting in line.

So what is the deal with cheese tea? Well, its apparently very similar to Gong Cha, another popular brand of tea in China, which tops of the refreshing drink with a thick layer of cream. Only Hey Tea uses imported cheese instead, which apparently compliments the tea surprisingly well. The gooey cheese usually comes from Australia and New Zealand, and is described as creamy and salty.

But why is tea and cheese considered delicious, again? Xiao Shuqin, Hey Teas publicist, recently told VICE Munchies that the cheese neutralizes the bitterness of the tea with its smooth and sweet flavor, and as you drink it you taste the returning sweetness of the tea. I havent tried it, so I cant comment on that, but if the insane popularity of the drink is anything to go by, shes most likely right.

Because getting your hands on a cup of original Hey Tea cheese ice tea requires hours of waiting in line, the drink itself has become somewhat of a trophy to be showed off on social media. Many of Hey Teas customers snap pictures of their drinks and post them online, before taking their first sip, and that only boosts the companys success.

Social media has made this place a fashion, a trend, and a symbol, one Hey Tea customer in Beijing said. Its like when we first had Starbucks here.

Another thing that makes Hey Tea so impressive is that it was founded by a 21-year-old guy with no experience in tea drinks. Nie Yunchen started his own tea mixing shop in 2012, in his home city of Jiangmen. Sales were unsurprisingly poor, with slow days often resulting in sales of just a few cups. But the ambitious young man didnt give up. Instead, he looked for inspiration in improving his small business, and found it in Starbucks, the international coffee chain with 1100 branches in China alone.

Studying Starbucks, Nie realized the importance of branding and putting customers first, so he and his team invested hundreds of dollars more into the company, creating new tea mixes, opting for better quality ingredients and focusing a lot on marketing. But upon reopening the shop, a year later, the results were just as modest as before. Something wasnt working and Nie decided to find out what by listening to his customers.

The young founder went on Weibo (Chinas version of Twitter) and read what his customers had to say, especially their criticism. He made adjustments, and business started to pick up. The internet and Nies lack of experience with tea combinations can also be credited for the creation of Hey Teas signature cheese tea. After noticing that cheese was one of the most discussed food flavors on Weibo, Nie Yunchen decided to try mixing it with his teas, and found that both the flavor and the texture of the drink were surprisingly better. Apparently, his customers felt the same way.

After cheese tea became popular in Jiangmen, Nie decided to change the name of his company from Royaltea, to HEEKCHA and, in 2016, to Hey Tea, due to the growing numbers of copycats that not only copied their drinks, but also their name. Even after multiple rebrandings, you can still see knock-offs like Hi Tea or Hey Juice selling cheese teas in cities like Shanghai. They are a nuisance, but also a testament to Hey Teas success.

If you ever get the chance to try cheese tea, Hey Tea recommends holding the cup tilted at a 40 degree angle so that the right amount of cheese and tea flow up into your mouth with every sip. The thick creamy cheese layer gives the tea a really nice texture, and its salt seasoning apparently bring out the flavor and sweetness of the drink.

Hey Tea offers several varieties of cheese teas, including green, black and oolong, with prices per cup ranging between 9RMB  29RMB ($1.30  $4.20).
Almost half (46 percent) of voters believe media make up stories about Donald Trump and his administration, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult survey.

Its surprising that figure isnt higher. The off-the wall actions/policies of the Trump Administration must be "fake news." This can't be happening in the U.S. Right?

Its hard to swallow that America is led by someone as disengaged from reality (never mind policy) as our commander-in-chief. Here are some highlights of the past week.

The media report today that Trump told the widow of an Army sergeant who was killed in action in Niger that he knew what he was getting into. Why would the President say that to a grieving widow? It must be fake news.

Or what about news that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a moron? Tillerson, who had the opportunity to deny that claim, declined to do so? Why would a cabinet member insult the intelligence of the President? It must be fake news.

And then there was the Oct 16 Washington Post/60 Minutes blockbuster that Trumps nominee to lead the Office of National Drug Policy, Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, crafted legislation that weakened the Drug Enforcement Agency from stopping companies from distributing massive amounts of opioids.

For instance, Marinos bill allowed a drug company to ship 11M doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone to Mingo County WV, an 11,000 population area in a state that is the heart of the opioid crisis. [Meanwhile, Trump claims his terrific war on coal has completely turned around the economy of the Mountain State. We know how that claim is going to turn out as the world ditches coal for shale/natural gas.] Why would a President select a guy like Marinowho is now out of the drug czar picture--for the ONDP post. It must be more fake news.

The media aren't to blame for reporting on the many shortcomings of Team Trump. Marty Baron, executive editor of WaPO, told the National Press Club Oct 16: Truth may be elusive, but there is such a thing as truth. Its not just a matter of personal opinion. And our job is to come in every day, do our job, do our work, and try to determine the truth.

The 46 percent in the poll who think the media are making it up live in a state of suspended belief. They just cant fathom how such an unqualified individual is sitting in the White House. Result: scapegoat the media for the dysfunctional Administration. Deny reality. Make Us Feel Great Again, indeed.

Trump recently said: The media is absolutely dishonestand frankly, Ive never seen anything quite like it.

The American people have never seen anything quite like whats going on in the White House. Trust in the media will ultimately win out once America accepts Trump for what he really is.
Mississippi Elementary School Named After Confederate President To Be Renamed After Barack Obama Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When

A Mississippi elementary school is changing its name to honor former President Barack Obama.

In a report from local paper The Clarion-Ledger, Davis IB Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi, which is named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis, will be changing its name to honor the 44th President of the United States. The decision was announced Tuesday night, with the name change taking effect next school year.

READ: The Obamas Choose Artist Kehinde Wiley to Paint Their Official Presidential Portrait

Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him, Janelle Jefferson, president of the schools PTA, said in a statement.

Jefferson added that the school community wanted to rename the campus to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves.

The elementary schools enrollment is 97 percent black.

Recently, Obama selected Kehinde Wiley to paint his official portrait. The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery made the announcement earlier this week. The portraits are scheduled to be unveiled sometime in 2018. Back in August also came the announcement that Illinois would be celebrating Barack Obama Day. The state holiday will be celebrated across Illinois on August 4 (Obamas birthday) every year starting in 2018.

The bill states that the holiday will be observed throughout the State as a day set apart to honor the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities.

Source: clarionledger.com
Kansas Man Who Spent 23 Years In Prison For A Crime He Didnt Commit Wont Receive Compensation Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When

Lamonte McIntyre will not be receiving any compensation from the state of Kansas for serving 23 years in Prison for a crime he never committed.

In a report from Kansas City, McIntyre was recently released from prison at the age of 41 after he was charged for the deaths of Doniel Quinn and Donald Ewing in Kansas City, Kansas, back in 1994 when he was only 18-years-old. However, McIntyre was wrongfully convicted for the murders, with authorities charging him for Quinn and Ewings death even though there was a substantial lack of evidence against him.

Im all right. Im happy, you know, McIntyre said shortly after being released. Im here thanking God. Im thanking everybody who supported me and been here for me. It feels good. I feel good. Im happy.

But since Kansas is one of 18 states in the country that offers no compensation for people who have been wrongfully convicted, McIntyre will not be receiving anything from the state.

We are stealing a part of their lives and they are not guilty of what theyve done. And they should have more than an apology from the state, Kansas State Sen. David Haley, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, said to KSHB.

Haley has tried to push for a bill that would compensate those wrongfully convicted for the past two years but both bills were unsuccessful. One of the bills would have compensated individuals $80,000 for each year they served (the same price Texas pays for people who serve time for a wrongful conviction) but the bill was delayed after a comprehensive study on the matter was never conducted.

Part of McIntyres legal team has set up a site to help fundraise for his future, with the goal set at $5,000.

Source: kansascity.com
Agricultural News

Strong Fall Markets Signal More Value of Gain Being Offered in Stocker Cattle, Despite Larger Supply







Cattle markets this fall have outperformed most people's expectations, especially in regards to stocker and yearling markets. Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, includes himself among those surprised by the welcomed strength in markets this year, after watching them tumble over the last few years around this season. He talked this week with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about what exactly is happening.





According to Peel, the price of light weight stocker calves have dropped since August as they typically do, but only by about half as much as normal during this period - showing some relatively fair strength. On the other hand, heavier weight feeders are actually running about 8 percent above August levels with very strong demand.





"When you raise the big end relative to the light end, you start to change that stocker signal in there - offering more value of gain," Peel explained. "That's fairly typical this time of year, but maybe even a little more pronounced this year."





Peel says this is especially surprising, given the fact that feeder supplies are up. In fact, he notes that in Oklahoma's combined auction totals, the state has ran 11 percent more feeder cattle compared to a year ago during the past six weeks. Even more surprising, he says, is that this is happening while wheat pastures remain undeveloped thanks to various planting delays.





"I think because there is pretty good forage conditions in general, there's been good stocker demand," Peel said. "I think a lot of stocker cattle are kind of stashed out on pasture waiting for that wheat pasture to get there and as a result, we've continued to see these strong prices even with bigger numbers this fall."





Listen to Peel and Hays discuss the unexpectedly strong performance of cattle markets this fall, on today's Beef Buzz.





The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.



















Listen to Peel and Hays discuss the unexpectedly strong performance of cattle markets this fall, below

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President Donald Trump appeared to distance himself further from a bipartisan Senate health-care effort Wednesday, warning against "bailing out" insurance companies.

"I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care," Trump wrote on Twitter. He was referring to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who forged a deal with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that was released Tuesday and was greeted by ample GOP skepticism.

The president's tweet Wednesday was his latest conflicting statement about the Alexander-Murray plan.

The compromise would authorize payments to health insurers that help millions of lower-income Americans afford coverage in exchange for granting states greater flexibility to regulate health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Trump ended the payments, known as CSRs, last week, arguing that they were illegal because they were not explicitly authorized under the ACA. He left it to Congress to decide whether to fund them.

Initially, on Tuesday, Trump said the Alexander-Murray proposal would "get us over this intermediate hump" and allow Republicans to later revisit efforts to aggressively undo the ACA. But later Tuesday, he was noticeably cooler to the idea, saying, "I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies."

Alexander, who has repeatedly emphasized that he had been empowered by the president to forge the agreement, said in an interview that Trump did not close the door to the deal in a phone call Wednesday morning.

"He told me that he wanted to encourage me but that he will review it, as I would expect a president to do," the senator said. "He may want to add something to it. It may come up as part of the end-of-the-year negotiations. We'll see."

Although Trump has repeatedly described cost-sharing payments as a "bailout" to insurers, the money directly covers the discounts that low-income Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act receive for deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs. This group includes about 7 million Americans earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level.

Insurers are obligated to provide the discounts, which totaled about $7 billion this year and are estimated to reach $10 billion next year, even if the federal payments are cut off. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Trump's decision last week to end the subsidies will cost insurance carriers more than $1 billion this year.

Facing the prospect for months that the Trump administration would cut off the payments, most insurers have opted to factor this shortfall into their 2018 premium rates for all their customers. The cutoff in cost-sharing payments has translated into premium increases of 12 percent to 20 percent, according to several analyses.

Speaking to reporters in the Cabinet Room on Wednesday, Trump praised Alexander's efforts, saying, "If something can happen, that's fine, but I won't do anything to enrich the insurance companies."

"They've been enriched by Obamacare like nothing anybody's ever seen before," the president added.

In a tweet Wednesday, Alexander suggested that he may tweak the language of the proposal to address Trump's concerns that insurers would benefit from the cost-sharing reduction payments.

"He and I absolutely agree that CSRs should benefit consumers and not insurance companies," Alexander tweeted. "The Alexander-Murray agreement has strong language to do that, and I will work with the president to see if we can make it even stronger."

Trump's increasing skepticism puts him in line with congressional Republicans, many of whom are not championing the plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not mention it in a speech opening Senate business Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, McConnell said he hadn't "had a chance to think about the way forward yet."

Key House Republicans have been outright hostile.

"None of our guys voted for Obamacare," Rep. Tom Cole, of Oklahoma, a close ally of House GOP leaders, said in an interview Tuesday. "They're not very interested in sustaining it."

But Democratic leaders have been supportive of the blueprint. Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, Minority Leader Charles Schumer, of New York, who discussed the prospect of a bipartisan deal with Trump less than two weeks ago, railed against the president for his about-face.

"The president doesn't know what he's talking about," Schumer said of Trump's suggestion that legislation authorizing the subsidies amounted to an industry bailout. "It helps people who are sick and need health care. It keeps their premiums low."

The minority leader described the commander in chief as someone who constantly shifts positions and expresses a willingness to broker deals with Democrats but then is reined in by conservative Republicans.

"This president keeps zigging and zagging," Schumer said, noting that Trump had reassured him and Alexander that he was open to a compromise that would keep the payments flowing. "Our only hope is maybe tomorrow, he'll be for this bill."

The Alexander-Murray bill would authorize CSR payments for two years. Those payments help offset deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income consumers who obtain insurance through the law; critics of Trump's decision to halt CSR payments said eliminating the subsidies would cause insurers to back out of marketplaces across the country.

The framework would also allow insurers to offer catastrophic insurance plans to consumers age 30 and older on ACA exchanges, while maintaining a single risk pool. It would shorten the period for federal review of state waiver applications, expedite review for states in emergency circumstances and those with waiver proposals that have already been approved for other states, and allow governors to approve state waiver applications rather than requiring state legislative approval.

On Wednesday, a major patients' rights group, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, endorsed the new bipartisan proposal even as it cautioned that it would monitor whether the new flexibility it offered could raise health-care costs in some instances.

"This deal offers important, immediate action to stabilize the individual insurance market," said the group's president, Chris Hansen. "Restoring $106 million per year in outreach and education programming would help to reduce public confusion over the law and ensure more people who need health coverage get it."
An Omaha youth pastor contacted a teenage boy to set up a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl, prosecutors said.

Sarpy County prosecutors allege that Klint Bitter, employed at the time as a pastor at Christ Community Church in Omaha, assaulted the child in February in Bellevue. He was booked at the Sarpy County Jail on Tuesday on a warrant charging him with felony first-degree sexual assault of a child.

Bitter, 34, of Omaha, appeared in Sarpy County Court on Wednesday morning and waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Judge Robert Wester set Bitters bail at $1 million and ordered Bitter not to have contact with anyone 18 years or younger. He was released later Wednesday after posting 10 percent of that bail, $100,000.

Sarpy County Deputy Attorney Phil Kleine told the judge that Bitter contacted DeArch Stubblefield, then 18, to set up a meeting with the girl. Bitters attorney said he was responding to a Craigslist ad. A criminal complaint said the offense took place near the intersection of Fort Crook and Childs Roads on Feb. 27.

That same day, Bellevue police said they began an investigation into a report of possible human trafficking, which led to the March arrest of Stubblefield.

In asking for a high bail, Kleine compared Bitters case to co-defendants Stubblefield and Jason Gibson, who was charged March 9 with the same offense as Bitter. Stubblefield was initially held on no bail and Gibson was held on $2 million bail.

Gibson, 41, later pleaded no contest to attempted first-degree sexual assault of a child. He will be sentenced next month and faces up to 50 years in prison.

And on Wednesday, Stubblefield pleaded guilty to attempted human trafficking, attempted aiding and abetting first-degree sexual assault of a child, and possession of child pornography. Prosecutors dropped an additional charge of child abuse. He faces a maximum of 72 years when sentenced in December.

Thomas Petersen, Bitters attorney, asked Wednesday for a $150,000 bail amount. He told the judge that Bitter emailed after seeing the Craigslist ad to ask if the girl was 18.

Kleine said he hasnt seen those alleged emails.

In asking for a lower bail amount, Petersen also said his client is married with children, owns a home, is college educated and until recently was employed as a pastor.

Mark Ashton, lead pastor at Christ Community Church, said Bitter worked for the church for seven years and was in charge of the churchs kids and student ministries.

Ashton said Bitter was fired on Saturday after the church learned about the allegations. The churchs governing board sent a letter to the congregation regarding Bitters termination.

The charge does not involve anyone associated with Christ Community Church, the letter said. To our knowledge, there has been no one associated with the Church that has been endangered by Mr. Bitter. Prior to his termination, Mr. Bitters employment history was without incident or complaint.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the U.S. government to allow an undocumented teenager in their custody to have an abortion, after saying she was "astounded" the Trump administration was trying to prevent the procedure.

Lawyers for Attorney General Jeff Sessions signaled to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington that the 17-year-old, who crossed the border from Mexico illegally last month, did not have a constitutional right to an elective abortion in federal custody, unless it was a medical emergency.

Chutkan, an Obama administration nominee, said the government appeared to be presenting the teenager identified in court papers as "Jane Doe" with two options: Voluntarily return to a nation she fled to procure an abortion, or carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

"I am astounded by that position," Chutkan said in a 40-minute hearing that was mostly consumed by a back-and-forth between the judge and Scott Stewart, a deputy assistant attorney general.

She ordered the government to transport the teenager to have the procedure  or allow her guardian to transport her  "promptly and without delay."

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the girl, asked Chutkan for an emergency restraining order to prevent the government from blocking the girl's plan to have an abortion. They also sought a preliminary injunction to protect others seeking abortions.

Last week, Nebraska joined Texas and five other states (Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina) in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the federal officials and opposing the ACLU request.

Attorney General Doug Petersons office said Nebraska got involved because the case concerns important questions about whether constitutional rights apply to people who enter the country illegally.

ACLU lawyer Brigitte Amiri argued that it was "out of any sort of constitutional bounds" for the U.S. government to block the teenager's legal right to an abortion, which is preserved in the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling. A federal magistrate judge in California agreed with the ACLU earlier this month but said she could not rule in the case because the girl is detained in South Texas.

But Stewart told the judge that pregnant undocumented minors from other countries are not entitled to abortions, and said in court records that opening the door to that right "would significantly infringe on the government's interests in preserving life and protecting national boundaries."

"I respectfully disagree that she's entitled to an abortion" facilitated by the government, he said, noting that the girl's case was not a medical emergency. In court filings, the government said it has "strong and constitutionally legitimate interests in promoting childbirth, in refusing to facilitate abortion, and in not providing incentives for pregnant minors to illegally cross the border to obtain elective abortions while in federal custody."

Chutkan countered that the teenager does not need a medical emergency to exercise her right to an abortion. She said the girl had followed state and federal rules: She obtained permission from a state judge in Texas to have an abortion and would cover the expenses herself or with help through her court-appointed guardian.

All the government had to do, the judge said, is process the paperwork to let the girl visit the clinic, just as they would if she needed to have her tonsils removed.

Stewart said the girl could also voluntarily leave the United States and find another way to have an abortion, and said the girl had chosen to remain in federal custody instead of returning home.

That claim appeared to irk the judge, who pointed out that the federal workers took the girl, against her wishes, to a Christian pregnancy facility for counseling and also informed her mother about the abortion. Both steps potentially violated the girl's constitutional right to privacy and other protections, Chutkan said.

"The government certainly had no problem taking her against her will to receive pregnancy counseling, which was designed to change her mind," Chutkan said. "The government didn't seem to have any problem facilitating that."

The judge and Stewart also sparred over whether some aspects of the law remain undisputed.

Chutkan asked Stewart if he thought illegal immigrants had constitutional rights and if he believed that Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a woman's right to an abortion, is still the "law of the land."

Stewart acknowledged the Supreme Court's ruling but said the government views this case differently because the teenager is an undocumented immigrant in federal custody.

He also said undocumented immigrants have "minimal" protections in this country.

"I'm not going to give you a concession on that your honor," he said.

The judge laughed. "This is remarkable," she said.

During the hearing, Chutkan also answered her own questions, saying the girl's legal status was "irrelevant" and that "despite the fact that she's in this country illegally, she still has constitutional rights."

However, the girl is quickly running out of time to have a legal abortion in the United States. The girl is 15 weeks pregnant, and Texas bars most abortions after 20 weeks.

The girl's native country was not identified during the hearing, and it is not clear that abortion is legal in her homeland if she were to return home. She was apprehended in the United States in September after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Like other presidents, Donald Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen and not all.

Whats different is that Trump has picked a political fight over the matter.

He boasts: I think Ive called every family of someone whos died.

But the AP found that Trump has not spoken with the families of all the war dead on his watch. At least two never got a call or letter, and another family received no call.

And theres ample evidence that presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush pulled their weight in offering condolences, contrary to Trumps assertions.

Meanwhile, Trump told the widow of a slain soldier that he knew what he signed up for, according to a Florida congresswoman.

Rep. Frederica Wilson said she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnsons husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called. Wilson says she heard part of the conversation on speakerphone.

When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that she answered: Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldnt say that to a grieving widow. She added: Thats so insensitive.

Sgt. Johnson was among four servicemen killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.

Wilson, a Democrat, said she did not hear the entire conversation and Myeshia Johnson told her she couldnt remember everything that was said when asked it about it later.

Wednesday morning, Trump disputed the report.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday: Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!

Trump did not specify what proof he had.

Also Wednesday, Trump:

 Again tweeted criticism of the NFL over players kneeling during the national anthem.

Trump said on Twitter that the NFL has decided that it will not force players to stand for the playing of our National Anthem.

He added: Total disrespect for our great country!

Trump appeared to be responding to the NFL annual fall meeting. The league invited players and representatives from their union to discuss social issues.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said owners did not ask players to commit to standing during the anthem.

 Trump suggested that former FBI director James Comey had intended to spare Democrat Hillary Clinton from prosecution long before investigation was complete into her government email practices.

In a Twitter message, Trump referred to a recently released Justice Department document that indicates a draft of a Comey statement about the investigation was circulating among aides in May last year, two months before Comey announced the end of the investigation and his decision not to seek charges.

Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete. Many... people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didnt do this obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?

Copyright 2017, the Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A federal judge on Tuesday largely blocked the Trump administration from implementing the latest version of the president's controversial travel ban, setting up yet another legal showdown on the extent of the executive branch's powers when it comes to setting immigration policy.

The decision from Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii is sure to be appealed, but for now, it means that the administration cannot restrict the entry of travelers from six of the eight countries that officials said were either unable or unwilling to provide information that the United States wanted to vet their citizens.

The latest ban was set to fully go into effect in the early-morning hours of Wednesday, barring various types of travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. Watson's order stops it, at least temporarily, with respect to all the countries except North Korea and Venezuela.

In a 40-page decision granting the state of Hawaii's request for a temporary restraining order and blocking Trump's order nationwide, Watson wrote that the latest ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States.'"

Watson also wrote that the executive order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a way that was opposed to federal law and "the founding principles of this Nation."

The White House said in a statement that Watson's "dangerously flawed" order "undercuts the President's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the United States."

"These restrictions are vital to ensuring that foreign nations comply with the minimum security standards required for the integrity of our immigration system and the security of our Nation," the White House said. "We are therefore confident that the Judiciary will ultimately uphold the President's lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people."

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said the department would appeal in an "expeditious manner."

"Today's ruling is incorrect, fails to properly respect the separation of powers, and has the potential to cause serious negative consequences for our national security," he said.

Opponents of the ban, though, hailed the judge's ruling. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said, "Today is another victory for the rule of law. We stand ready to defend it."

Omar Jadwat, who directs the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and was involved in a separate challenge to the ban in federal court in Maryland, said, "We're glad, but not surprised, that President Trump's illegal and unconstitutional Muslim ban has been blocked once again."

Trump had been blocked by courts from imposing his last two versions of the travel ban, but the ultimate question of whether he ever had the authority to do so remains somewhat murky.

The Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear arguments on his second travel ban, inked in March, which barred the entry of citizens from six Muslim majority countries and refugees from everywhere. But a key portion of that ban expired and Trump issued his latest ban before the hearing.

That prompted the justices to remove oral arguments from the calendar. They later dismissed one of the challenges to the March version of the ban.

Meanwhile, the State of Hawaii, the International Refugee Assistance Project and others who had sued over the March travel ban asked judges to block the new one in federal courts in Hawaii, Washington and Maryland. They argued that Trump had exceeded his legal authority to set immigration policy, and the latest measure - like the last two - fulfilled his unconstitutional campaign promise to implement a Muslim ban. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judges in Hawaii and Washington had yet to rule, though arguments in Washington are scheduled for Oct. 30.

"It exceeds the limits on the President's exclusion authority that have been recognized for nearly a century, by supplanting Congress's immigration policies with the President's own unilateral and indefinite ban," the challengers in Hawaii wrote of the new ban. "And it continues to effectuate the President's unrepudiated promise to exclude Muslims from the United States."

The state asked a judge to block the ban with respect to all the Muslim majority countries, though they did not challenge the measures imposed against Venezuela and North Korea.

Watson did not address whether the ban was constitutional; rather, he limited his analysis to whether Trump had exceeded the authority that Congress has given the president to impose restrictions on those wanting to enter the United States. Of particular concern, he said, were that officials seemed to treat someone's nationality an indicator of the threat they pose - without providing evidence of a connection between the two.

"As discussed herein, because [the executive order's] findings are inconsistent with and do not fit the restrictions that the order actually imposes, and because [the executive order] improperly uses nationality as a proxy for risk, Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their statutory claims," Watson wrote.

He added that the order did "not reveal why existing law is insufficient to address the President's described concerns," and it was internally flawed  for example, exempting Iraq from the banned list, even though that country had failed the U.S. government's security assessment.

Legal analysts had said those challenging the latest travel ban would face an uphill battle. That was particularly because measure was only put into effect after an extensive process in which the United States negotiated with other countries for information, putting those on a banned list that could not or would not meet a baseline standard.

Such a process, legal analysts said, presumably would help the government defeat arguments that president had not made the appropriate findings to justify his order. The list of countries affected also was changed to include two countries that are not Muslim-majority  Venezuela and North Korea  potentially helping the government argue against the measure was not meant to discriminate against Muslims.

Challengers to the ban, though, sought to link the new directive to its predecessors, and they asserted that even the additions were mainly symbolic. The ban only affects certain government officials from Venezuela, and very few people actually travel to the United States from North Korea each year. They noted Trump himself promised a "larger, tougher, and more specific" ban - meaning the new version would have the same legal problems as the prior iterations.

The directive imposed more complete bans on some countries than others, and the Trump administration has indicated countries could make their way off the list if conditions changed.

For Syria and North Korea, the president's proclamation blocked immigrants wanting to relocate to the United States and nonimmigrants wishing to visit in some capacity. For Iran, the proclamation blocked both immigrants and nonimmigrants, though it exempted students and those participating in a cultural exchange.

The proclamation blocked people from Chad, Libya and Yemen from coming to the United States as immigrants or on business or tourist visas, and it blocked people from Somalia from coming as immigrants. The proclamation named Venezuela, but it only blocked certain government officials.
Sometimes the Nebraska Legislature, with good reason, frees state agencies from the fiscal and administrative authority of the Governors Office.

But such moves, especially when poorly designed or executed, occasionally create unintended consequences. They can leave state agencies without a clear chain of command or appropriate oversight, spurring new and different problems.

A recent example is the state Board of Parole, which was made independent of the Nebraska Department of Corrections under the previous administration after the Legislature learned of gubernatorial pressure to release more inmates than the board could vouch were prepared.

Now, however, lawmakers might need to clarify the roles and personnel benefits of Parole Board members, given a recent legal opinion from the attorney general and the findings of a related state audit.

Confusion arose after the Parole Board paid three of its departing members a total of nearly $58,000 in unused sick and vacation time.

State Auditor Charlie Janssen and his staff noticed the payments and questioned them. Parole Board chairwoman Rosalyn Cotton, who approved the payments, defended them as appropriate, citing similar past practice.

On Oct. 6, Attorney General Doug Peterson issued a legal opinion that Parole Board members are not considered state employees under state law, so they are not owed sick or vacation pay, which are employee benefits.

This is where the Legislature needs to step in. It should clarify whether members of the Parole Board  appointees who are paid more than $70,000 a year  should be treated differently from members of other state boards and commissions.

Other state agencies have faced similar growing pains after the Legislature converted them to independent agencies.

The Nebraska Tourism Commission, for example, failed to properly monitor its executive director. They fired her after a series of concerns surfaced, including spending over the agencys budget without the boards approval.

The Legislature flirted afterward with moving the agency back underneath the governor-controlled Department of Economic Development but chose to give the agency time to right the ship.

With the Parole Board, lawmakers could side with the attorney general and existing state law. Or they could consider authorizing a Parole Board executive director so the chair doesnt have to handle management duties, which is how the board operates today. Or they could decide to make the board chair or board members state employees.

Nebraska lawmakers should resolve the confusion by studying and debating these competing ideas, then provide the clarity and guidance the Parole Board needs to do its job in a fiscally prudent way.
Sky News 15 Nov 2022

Arms manufacturer BAE Systems has said it has seen increased orders, the benefits of which are to be felt for years to come, as..
ODN 15 Nov 2022

World leaders arrive at the G7 summit in Bali, Indonesia as talks continue over support for Ukraine and how to address food..
by  Graham Pierrepoint



The Harvey Weinstein scandal is something which is opening up to be far more than anyone  at least outside of Hollywood  may have ever expected. With multiple women accusing the movie producer of inappropriate conduct and some even of outright sexual assault, its been a week for the mogul that has resulted in a spectacular fall from grace. By all accounts, for good reason  the film boss has been summarily sacked by his own company (where his brother Bob still operates as a director), reportedly separated from his wife and is supposedly undergoing some form of time off  likely to recuperate from the unfolding scandal. Its unclear how many, if any, of the exposed charges will go to court  and just how many of them Weinstein will outright fight or deny in the dock.

The scandal has also opened up the floor to scores of tasteless jokes. While dark humor and the like can be appropriate and even enjoyable, its hardly arguable that making light of what several women in the industry have reportedly faced at the hands of Weinstein is fair game  if ever. Therefore, its a subject  while touched upon by Saturday Night Live after a rather quiet week on the subject from the stars  which few have been cracking jokes about, and rightfully so. Step forward, then, James Corden  who seems to have made poor judgment indeed in recent days.

Corden is the latest in a string of British stars to have successfully made it over the pond to the US mainstream  with both the Late Late Show and a series of movie voice credits to his name, hes arguably in the same position Russell Brand was a few years ago. However, following a series of jokes made regarding Weinsteins alleged conduct at this years amfAR charity gala in Los Angeles, it seems that he has some apologizing to do to retain his cheeky, affable image.

Corden has rightfully apologized, therefore, on Twitter  stating that sexual assault is no laughing matter and that we was aiming to make light of Harveys inexcusable behavior. I am truly sorry, he adds  but for those who reacted to Cordens comments on-stage via social media as it happened, has damage already been done. In any case  the Weinstein allegations continue to unravel  and it is certainly best that jokes like these stay unspoken.
Bang Media 22 Aug 2020

Harvey Weinstein is seeking to pursue arbitration over his firing from The Weinstein Company, after he was sacked in 2017.
ODN 14 Nov 2022

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has suggested he could meet with China's Xi Jinping at the G20 in Indonesia. Speaking after landing in..
Eurasia Review 14 Nov 2022

By Antara Ghosal Singh



The Taiwan issue figured prominently in the 20^th National Congress of the Communist Party of..
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UPDATE 5:04 p.m.: Police say the suspect, Ryan J. Anderson, 30, of Ridgefield, has died. They also identified the homeowner as Steven R. Cox, 60.

* * *

A Vancouver homeowner shot someone in a backyard altercation Wednesday morning, police said.

The homeowner was awoken by the person, who was prowling in his fenced backyard in the 14500 block of Northeast 49th Circle, Vancouver police said, citing early information. Police said the homeowner then got a gun and confronted the prowler. They got in a "physical altercation," police said, and the homeowner shot the prowler one time.

The prowler was taken to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police initially responded to the home around 5:25 a.m. The shooting is under investigation.

The agency didn't release any additional details about the shooting in a news release Wednesday morning. Police haven't publicly identified either party.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
Two years after the death of Esquire food writer and Portland resident Josh Ozersky, the magazine has returned with a survey of the best new restaurants to open in that span. And Portland fares well.

New food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier called out two Portland restaurants, The Oregonian's 2016 Restaurant of the Year Coquine and modern Korean restaurant Han Oak to his best new restaurants list, the magazine's first since 2015.

Coquine came in at No. 4 on the ranked list. Han Oak took the No. 8 spot. JuneBaby, the Seattle restaurant from chef Edouardo Jordan, whom I interviewed last month, landed at No. 3. At No. 1 is Los Angeles pasta santuary Felix Trattoria.

Perhaps because Gordinier took in two years of openings, neither Portland restaurant is particularly new. Coquine opened in 2015, Han Oak in early 2016.

But it's a far cry from the bad old days. For eight years stretching from 2007 to 2015, a period when the magazine could have recognized former Oregonian Restaurants of the Year Le Pigeon, Beast or Ox, among a dozen other worthy contenders, Esquire didn't bother to travel to Portland at all.

Ozersky, who moved to Portland in 2014, planned to change that -- before his untimely passing, he had southern brunch spot Muscadine earmarked for his 2015 list.

This year, Gordinier's list eschews big-ticket tasting menu spots in favor of places that make you feel like a regular, "where you sit down and order and feel, for a couple hours, happier to be alive than when you first walked in." Both Coquine and Han Oak fit that bill.

Beyond the best new restaurants, the magazine named Miles Thompson of Santa Monica's Michael's its rising star, Genie Kwon of Chicago's Oriole its pastry chef of the year and Ignacio Mattos -- who will be in Portland in January -- of New York's Estela its chef of the year,

Here's what Esquire had to say about Coquine:

Some restaurants shout. Others whisper. Last summer I had a dinner at Coquine that represented the paragon of hushed excellence. I sat outside with old friends in a residential neighborhood seemingly shorn of traffic and noise. We listened to the hum of night falling and marveled at our good fortune as chef Katy Millard, a veteran of Maison Troisgros in France and Coi in San Francisco, composed plainspoken poems with greens and fava beans and squid. The meal crested with a roast chicken, its skin crispy and glazed. If things got quieter at that point, it's only because we were speechless.

And here's the magazine on Han Oak:

Welcome home. We mean the home of chef Peter Cho and wife Sun Young Park and their family, including Cho's mother, who's in the kitchen wrapping dumplings. You're in their backyard. There are babies and dogs; there's a Pacific Northwest breeze. As the banchan begin to arrivelittle heaps of kimchi, asparagus, sweet potatoesyou realize you've never felt less rushed in a restaurant. When the pork belly arrives, befunked with koji and roasted patiently toward meltiness, you hope these nice folks will let you stick around all night.

-- Michael Russell
Tech genius Stanley Mazor makes a good point: It's best to figure out the big picture of a breakthrough idea, then refine it as it gradually rolls out. This top-down approach works well in computer development, where Mazor succeeded for four decades.

But building an exotic structure in fits and starts is a different story.

Mazor's massive, three-story house in Ashland -- modeled after a 17th century chateau and built using his unconventional plans and Styrofoam scraps mixed with cement -- was intentionally completed in four phases over six years.

He calls his project "growing a chateau."

Out-of-the-box thinking? OK, but remember this: The microelectronics engineer helped invent Intel's microprocessor computer brain in 1969 when Bill Gates was still a freshman in high school.

In some ways, Mazor duplicated what's familiar. His idea was to start with a cottage, then build incrementally, systematically, up and out. But, what is typically done out of necessity -- the family gets bigger -- or status -- there's more money -- Mazor did to prove a point: By pausing between construction phases, the plan gets sharper.

"In my case, I did have a grand vision of what I wanted to end up with," he says, inside his 9,000-square-foot mansion, but "I wanted to spread out the costs and spend more time on the design, tweaking it a bit."

Hard-won lessons, as Mazor calls them, in the early phases led to improved efficiency and lower costs in later stages, especially for this atypical house.

Mazor says it took one-sixth as much labor time to place concrete in the foundation piers in phases that followed the first one. He also saved money by reusing a single set of foundation forms.

The drawbacks to serial construction: Expenses rise since each stage requires plans, permits, inspections and contractors. Mazor repeatedly hired workers familiar with his property and unusual plan.

Also tricky: Matching foundation, floors and roofs lines.

In Mazor's case, arched windows were designed to evolve into doorways, minimizing the waste of tearing out something when a new section was attached and a door, rather than a window, was needed to connect the rooms.

Another example of a smooth transition from cottage to chateau: The original, temporary kitchen is now a caterer's kitchen off the foyer.

Some evolutions weren't as pretty or practical.

When the mansard roof was incomplete, it looked odd. But it was not as attention grabbing as the appearance of the cottage. Passersby on Oregon's Interstate 5 saw a boxy building with an out-of-scale, giant pediment hovering over six elaborate window frames.

The initial section of what would become a faux chateau looked like an overgrown playhouse, surrounded by 27 empty acres.

"The house looked silly," Mazor says.



GROWING A CHATEAU

In 1995, Mazor was living in Palo Alto, California, and thinking of retirement. He and his wife, Maurine, bought land with Mount Ashland as a backdrop.

They visited a chateau in northwestern France that they saw in Architectural Digest. They called the owner, a marquis, ahead of time, then knocked on the front door. Maids in black aprons scurried around as Maurine held a measuring stick and Stan snapped exterior photos.

Later, Stan Mazor pulled out grid paper and started drawing squares and rectangles as an engineer would. He built a small-scale version of his chateau and faxed his plans to Western Design International in Prineville to get advice and detailed drawings.

Although Mazor made his mark in an emerging industry, he wanted his home to look like an old chateau. Centuries ago, when natural light and candles were the only ways to illuminate a room, manors were long and narrow, with windows on both sides. Mazor mimicked this floor plan.

The Mazors' house, which they call Chateau Herbe, is just over 15 feet wide.

As in the past, there is no hall here, but an open passageway that links a series of rooms. Five-foot-wide arched doorways open from one room to the next.

Enter the foyer and you can look straight through to the wood-paneled study on one end or through the living room and dining room all the way to the other end.

The first completed section of the chateau was 35 feet long. Now. the finished house has a garage in one tower and, 184 feet away, a matching tower that holds the kitchen. Mazor knows this distance makes bringing in groceries a bigger chore, but that's how the grid -- and traditional symmetry -- worked out.

The chateau's construction spanned from 1999 to 2005. Halfway through, Mazor wrote a helpful, how-to book, "Design an Expandable House: For Present Needs and Future Dreams," that outlines his three points: He loves France; he has faith in Styrofoam being recycled into Insulated Concrete Forms; and a house should be designed to expand.

This is not unheard of. Look around neighborhoods and you'll see Craftsman bungalows that have a bumped out kitchen or ranch-style tract homes with a bedroom addition in the backyard. Architects can incorporate future expansions in plans for new homes.

Still, the Mazors may be the only ones to not only build a new chateau in calculated stages, but also adhered to 17th century floor plans while introducing inventive building materials.

For 17 years, they have demonstrated that Styrofoam blocks filled with concrete are sturdy. They have also corrected strangers who think that their home is a wine tasting room -- there are 1,000 Chardonnay, Viognier, Muscat, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir vines -- or a storybook B&B.

Now, the Mazors want to downsize. They have put their 27-acre vineyard estate at 1280 Oak St. up for sale at $4.5 million.

"I'm hoping to find a buyer," says Stanley Mazor, "who wants to take this chateau to the next level."

-- Janet Eastman



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman
Two plainclothes immigration officers didn't racially profile a Latino man when they mistook him for a criminal suspect last month near the Washington County Courthouse, an ICE official says.

The officers identified themselves as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during the encounter and never tried to detain the man, said ICE Acting Field Office Director Elizabeth Godfrey of Portland.

The confrontation between the officers and Isidro Andrade-Tafolla, a longtime Washington County road maintenance worker who was at the courthouse with his wife, was caught on video and prompted two members of Oregon's congressional delegation to demand that ICE apologize and investigate what happened.

The officers were looking for a man who had been deported twice before and was due to appear at the courthouse in Hillsboro on Sept. 18 on an allegation of impaired driving, Godfrey wrote in a letter to U.S. Reps Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer.

The two identified themselves to Andrade-Tafolla, displayed their badges, asked for his name and asked that he show them his identification, the letter said. When they determined Andrade-Tafolla wasn't the man they sought, they apologized "and swiftly departed."

"Throughout the encounter, ICE officers handled themselves with professionalism and treated Mr. Andrade-Tafolla with respect," Godfrey wrote.

On Wednesday, Andrade-Tafolla called Godfrey's account "absurd" and said he was bothered by her attempt "to excuse away what happened."

"At least they said something, but nothing there is true," said Andrade-Tafolla, 46, about the letter. "Video was taken just about as soon as we were stopped and clearly the video shows they never identified themselves, even when we kept asking."

Andrade-Tafolla said he hasn't received any notifications or apology from ICE. He is going to therapy to deal with stress from the encounter, he said. Andrade-Tafolla, born in Mexico, became a U.S. citizen in 1996 and has worked almost 20 years for Washington County.

Bonamici, a Democrat from Beaverton, also expressed concern over "apparent contradictions" in ICE's account and footage released by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon. Legal observers from the group were nearby to attend a protest at the courthouse against President Trump administration immigration policies and took video of the encounter nearby.

Bonamici said in a statement that she plans to ask the House Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the incident when she returns to Washington, D.C.

Bonamici, Blumenauer and two members of the Judiciary Committee also have asked ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan to investigate and still await a response, a spokeswoman from Bonamici's office said. Blumenauer said ICE should produce some evidence to prove Andrade-Tafolla wasn't targeted because of his race.

"Release the photos of the person of interest and let the American people decide whether or not racial profiling was at play," he said in a statement.

The ICE field supervisor said the officers were conducting an investigation that was an "essential part of routine, daily operations" for law enforcement at every level nationwide.

The officers didn't target Andrade-Tafolla because of his race and any assertions that he did or that ICE officers engage in racial profiling "directly undermine public trust in law enforcement," Godfrey wrote.

Officers at times approach suspects in plainclothes to protect themselves, she said.

"In the Portland metro area in particular, ICE officers are facing increasingly hostile and aggressive sentiment and obstructionist tactics," Godfrey wrote. "These officers are simply carrying out their duty to uphold the laws that Congress has passed."

Andrade-Tafolla told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he and his wife were heading to their pickup from the courthouse when a man and a woman came out of a van parked in front of them.

One of the agents showed Andrade-Tafolla and his wife a picture of another Latino man and claimed it was Andrade-Tafolla, he said. He and his wife adamantly denied the resemblance. The officers left after another agent who drove up to the scene said Andrade-Tafolla wasn't the man in the photo.

Andrade-Tafolla said he discovered the man and woman were with ICE because one of the other officers who drove up wore a jacket with the agency's name on it and wore a badge.

The Oregon ACLU described the encounter as a "clear case of racial profiling" by the immigration agency and last week filed a Freedom of Information Act request with ICE seeking records on arrests that the agency has made in and around the Washington County Courthouse.

Mat dos Santos, ACLU of Oregon's legal director, described Godfrey's letter as "shocking, incomplete, at best misleading, but probably intentionally false." He also said he believes the video contradicts the version of events laid out by the federal agency and said he was struck by the lack of an apology to Andrade-Tafolla.

"It's incredibly disappointing that instead of using this as an opportunity to acknowledge a mistake and inform the public on how they would correct that in the future, we got a letter that was replete with misrepresentation and mischaracterization," dos Santos said.

ACLU observers have seen at least 10 people arrested by ICE agents at the county courthouse since April, the watchdog group said. That same month, Oregon Chief Justice Thomas Balmer wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly urging ICE to stop making arrests in and around Oregon's courthouses.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
Karen Karlsson and Rick Michaelson, owners of the 1880 Morris Marks house, cut the 137-year-old structure in half and moved it through downtown Portland. The rare Portland example of Italianate architecture was moved from 1134 S.W. 12th Ave., to a vacant lot near the Interstate 405 interchange at Southwest Broadway and Sixth Avenue. That spot has an interesting place in the history of the emerging core of the city.

Don't Edit

John Killen/Special to The Oregonian

By John Killen, Special to The Oregonian

When movers placed the historic Morris Marks house on a grassy triangle at Southwest Broadway and Grant Street last month, it marked the beginning of a new life for one of Portland's historic homes.

It also was the start of a new chapter in the significant history of the property where the house now rests.

The patch of land near where many eastbound commuters exit Interstate 405 has been little more than an afterthought since the construction of the freeway more than 50 years ago.

Don't Edit

Before that, however, the site spent about 35 years as part of a two-section city park known as Coolidge Square. Previously, it was the home of the Lincoln Street Reservoir, which during pioneer days was the primary source of water for much of 19th century Portland.

Built in the late 1860s, the reservoir occupied a full city block and shows up on some of the earliest lithographs and photographs of Portland. It held at least 2 million gallons and some sources state its capacity at as much as 3.5 million gallons.

The reservoir stored water from some of Portland's original sources  Caruthers Creek and the Willamette River  and fed water lines to the rapidly growing town, most of which was downhill from the location. During the reservoir's main years of service from the late 1860s to the early 1890s, Portland grew from about 8,000 residents to about 46,000.

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In fact, the reservoir would have been the source of water to the Morris Marks house when it was at its original location. But by the 1880s, the Lincoln Street Reservoir was proving too small and it couldn't be enlarged. By then, it had been boxed in by homes.

And that wasn't the only issue. According to The Oregonian, residents had begun to complain not only about the high cost of the water from the privately owned reservoir but also about its declining quality. While water from the Willamette had been more than suitable for humans during Portland's early days, rapid growth had led to increasing pollution of the river, which, in turn, led to dirty water in the reservoir.

Civic leaders had begun pushing for a public water supply to replace the private company and finally, in 1885, the Oregon Legislature gave the OK for the city to finance its own municipal water system.

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By 1895, Portlanders begun receiving their water from the Bull Run watershed, which initially fed Reservoirs 1 and 2 on Mount Tabor. They paid less, got cleaner water and The Oregonian reported that cases of typhoid in the city dropped noticeably.

As for the old reservoir, it played a back-up role at best for the next two decades and by the late 1920s, it had been virtually abandoned and had devolved into a neighborhood nuisance.

A story in The Oregonian in October 1929 reports about a campaign by a South Portland neighborhood group to "do away with unsightly conditions" at the reservoir and have "a portion of the block dedicated to a diagonal cut-off street from Broadway to Sixth Street and the rest of the property turned over to the park bureau for development for park purposes..."

That's exactly what happened. The idea was approved a month later, the reservoir was filled in, the diagonal street was built, and on either side -- in the two resulting triangles of land -- more than 220 rhododendrons were planted. In February 1933, it was christened "Coolidge Square," in honor of President Calvin Coolidge, who had died that January.

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For the next three decades, the street through Coolidge Square provided a convenient connector from Southwest Broadway to the increasing popular Terwilliger Parkway.

But in the early 1960s, progress caught up with the piece of property again. Plans for Interstate 405 were taking shape and engineers decided they needed much of Coolidge Square to make room for the new freeway.

By the time cars and trucks began using I-405 in 1969, all that was left of the reservoir-turned-park was the triangular chunk of land bordered by Southwest Grant Street on the south, Broadway on the north and Broadway Drive on the west.

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Mark Graves/The Oregonian/OregonLive

By the time cars and trucks began using I-405 in 1969, all that was left of the reservoir-turned-park was the triangular chunk of land bordered by Southwest Grant Street on the south, Broadway on the north and Broadway Drive on the west.

That was pretty much how things stood for the next 10 years until 1979, when Roland Hill of the parks bureau sent a memo to Bob Gustafson, manager of operations:

"The construction of the 405 portion of the I-5 freeway eliminated all but a small part of a public area designated as Coolidge Square ... Since this city owned property is in a prominent place at the intersection of SW Broadway Drive and Grant Street, it would be appropriate to improve the landscaping from the present non-irrigated turf to selected ground covers, shrubs and trees with all to serve as a low-maintenance landscaped area similar to Collins Circle at S.W. 18th and Jefferson."

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Mark Graves/The Oregonian/OregonLive

Over time, a few small trees did pop up on the property but essentially, it played the role of traffic diverter for the next several decades.

But now, the Morris Marks house has arrived and after years of anonymity, the piece of land that once played a key role in the development of Portland has a new job to do.

 John Killen
Critic Marc Mohan spotlights films of interest screening this week in Portland-area theaters

Lon Chaney in 1941's "The Wolf Man," one of several classic horror films playing this week.

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'Nocturama'

In the first half of this dispassionately provocative film, a group of young people, diverse both ethnically and socioeconomically, meander through Paris, ultimately planting a series of bombs which go off in a terrorist attack seemingly without a particular political motivation. In the second half, the group takes refuge in an upscale department store, hiding from police but becoming oddly seduced by the creature comforts around them. Director Bertrand Bonello ("Yves Saint-Laurent") crafts a sleek, ambiguous, quasi-thriller that leaves itself open to multiple interpretations and recalls Jean-Luc Godard's quote about the "children of Marx and Coca-Cola." (Friday-Sunday, Oct. 20-22, Northwest Film Center)

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'The Beyond'

Italian film composer Fabio Frizzi came to town last October to perform live excerpts from several of his legendary horror movie scores. Now, he's back, with a seven-piece band, to play a newly revised version of his score for the gory, dreamlike 1981 Lucio Fulci genre classic "The Beyond." The unique experience of hearing the soundtrack live while the film plays simultaneously should be a treat for fright mavens that'll be hard to forget. (Thursday, Oct. 26, Hollywood Theatre)

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Halloween revivals

"The Beyond" isn't, of course, the only horror classic getting some big-screen love in the weeks before Halloween. Highlights of this year's scary-movie revival lineup include 1943's "The Leopard Man" (Tues. 10/24, Hollywood); Lon Chaney in 1941's "The Wolf Man" (Fri.-Thur., 10/20-26, Laurelhurst) and 1925's "The Phantom of the Opera" (Sat., 10/21, Hollywood); and Sam Raimi's timeless cult classic, 1981's "The Evil Dead" (Fri.-Thur., 10/20-26, Academy).

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'Human Flow'

The Chinese artist and political dissident Ai Weiwei, now living in Berlin, tries to capture the scope of our planet's migrant and refugee crisis with this globe-trotting, epic documentary, shot in 23 countries over more than a year. This is not his first directorial effort, but it's certainly his most ambitious, moving from intimate cell-phone video to soaring drone shots in an effort to convey the immensity and the intimacy of the problem. That effort is largely successful, though even at nearly two-and-a-half-hours, the film barely scratches the surface of this intractable 21st-century dilemma. (Opens Friday, Oct. 20, Hollywood Theatre)

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'The Secret of Roan Inish'

With all these terrifying lycanthropes and Necronomicons populating movie theaters, who will think of the children? This charming Irish fable from indie-film icon John Sayles played Portland theaters for months and months back in 1995. Now somewhat forgotten, it's about a young girl sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast who encounters the magical selkies, seals who shed their skins to live among humans. Don't miss this opportunity to revisit a family classic, or introduce a new generation to it. (Saturday, Oct. 21, Northwest Film Center)
While it is Oregon's largest college, Portland Community College, doesn't always get the attention or acclaim of the state's other, more well-known colleges and universities. Or, for that matter, the anonymous donations worth $50 million -- with no strings attached.

Instead, the school that serves 78,000 full- and part-time students across the Portland area relies on a relatively flat level of state funding along with a bond levy that voters first passed in 2000. That bond has helped renovate and grow its 11 campuses and centers across the Portland area, expand program offerings and cover safety and seismic upgrades at various facilities.

But the needs continue. As the country's workforce shifts away from manufacturing, employees need advanced skills and new training for a better chance at landing service and technology-oriented jobs. That pressure is compounded in the Portland area, where would-be students rely on affordable tuition as they face higher costs for rent. For that reason, voters in November should approve extending the bond that will continue the tax at its current rate of 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value over the next 16 years.

A key part of the renewed, $185 million bond would provide money to build a new workforce training center in Northeast Portland with updated equipment and technology. Along with general community education classes, the nearly 20-year-old facility provides a program that links people who are on public assistance with training to help them find family wage jobs.

The bond also will help cover seismic and campus security improvements, including new cameras and doors that can be locked down from a central location. Some of the strategies that will be used were identified after the deadly mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg.

The bond also will update and expand offerings for science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs. Portland Community College plays an important future role in this area for students who might not be as well served at their public high schools. That's because Oregon lawmakers last session only set aside about half of $300 million in funding laid out in Measure 98, which voters overwhelmingly passed in hopes of expanding high school career and technology programs.

Of course it's never ideal to cover ongoing costs and maintenance through such levies, especially when Portlanders are feeling the pinch on their pocketbooks through a number of new and existing bonds. The PCC Board of Directors considered reducing the rate on this bond ask, yet they faced a long list of needed work and deferred maintenance, Executive Vice President Sylvia Kelley recently told The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board. Instead, she said, they opted to simply limit the projects they'll tackle this time around.

She also said the college also has cut back on other program costs to save money and has a hiring freeze in place.

Community colleges are the state's educational workhorses and, if the economy continues to slow as expected, they should be prepared to help students from across the metro area to get back to work with the skills they need to be competitive.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board

Oregonian editorials

Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Mark Katches and John Maher.

To respond to this editorial, post your comment below, submit an OpEd or a letter to the editor.

If you have questions about the opinion section, email Laura Gunderson, editorial pages editor, or call 503-221-8378.
Access supports grades 1-8 who have not had their educational needs met in their neighborhood schools due to their advanced rates and levels of learning. These are kids who were, at best, isolated, bored and disengaged. At worst, they were traumatized, depressed and bullied, all because they simply don't learn at the same rate as other kids their age. Their neighborhood schools have officially acknowledged that they cannot meet the learning needs of these students!

Access has been a great place for so very many students from across the entire district to find peers, social support and renewed joy in learning. Both of my kids have gone through this process: going to the neighborhood school, finding that they don't fit in, internalizing the idea that maybe they are flawed and should try suppressing their intellectual curiosity, developing a penchant for storytelling and quirky humor in order to fit in, applying to Access, hoping, waiting, getting accepted and then thriving and growing into themselves.

The district's current proposal explicitly states it will serve "current Access students," but does not include designating more spaces for other students. In order to successfully increase talented-and-gifted services, the district should keep the existing Access program intact as a support for smaller satellite pathway program placed in schools across the district. Closing Access and dividing it into multiple pathways eliminates the only successful working model in the district for providing social and emotional support as well as educational services for advanced learners such as these children.

Alexis Howell-Kubler, Northeast Portland
UPDATE 4:53 p.m.: Officials say the fire continues to burn inside a structurally compromised warehouse, and flare-ups and smoke plumes are expected for the next few hours. SR 14 remains open with traffic controls in place, but conditions could change, officials said. The public is encouraged to avoid the area and to stay indoors with windows closed if smoke becomes heavy.

Huge smoke plumes from the fire at a Bingen, Wash. fruit plant rise above the clouds: https://t.co/BOdzMiYmQJ pic.twitter.com/WoLgfKF7lq  KGW News (@KGWNews) October 18, 2017

A large fire broke out at a Columbia River Gorge fruit warehouse early Wednesday.

The blaze started around 5:45 a.m. and has sent large amounts of smoke skyward from Underwood Fruit & Warehouse Co. in Bingen. Power is out in parts of the small Klickitat County city and neighboring White Salmon because of the fire, according to the county's Department of Emergency Management.

Many agencies have fought the fire, and people should expect to see smoke in the area for a few hours, the emergency management department said in a news release late Wednesday morning.

The fire was isolated at that point to the building where it began, the department said.

The department said there hadn't been any "hazardous material released off site." No injuries have been reported, according to KPTV.

State Route 14 is open, though officials may set up a detour if conditions change, the department said. People should avoid the area.

White Salmon Valley School District said students will stay inside for recess and after-school activities because of air quality concerns.

The fruit company, founded in the early 1900s, "is a major packer of pears apples and cherries in the Hood River, The Dalles and White Salmon growing districts," according to its website.

 The Oregonian/OregonLive
BEIJING - Xi Jinping called Wednesday for furthering reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and making them "stronger, better and bigger."



Xi made the remarks in a report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

"We will further reform of SOEs, develop mixed-ownership economic entities, and turn Chinese enterprises into world-class, globally competitive firms," Xi said.

He urged more efforts to improve the systems for managing different types of state assets, and reform the system of authorized operation of state capital.

"In the state-owned sector, we will step up improved distribution, structural adjustment, and strategic reorganization," he said.

Vowing to take effective measures to prevent the loss of state assets, the CPC will also work to ensure state assets "maintain and increase" their value, and support state capital in "becoming stronger, doing better, and growing bigger," Xi said.
To the editor:

On Oct. 9 for Chemical Bank Cares Day, employees of the Chemical Bank family joined members of the Foster Closet family to assist in moving, inventorying and shelving clothing for foster children. The Foster Closet of Midland County is grateful for the generous time and encouragement from the Chemical Bank employees/volunteers.

What a powerful display of community commitment from the Chemical Bank family. Thank you.

JUDY STEIN

Midland
To the editor:

After the Pulse nightclub shooting last year (which was then the deadliest mass shooting to date in U.S. history), I wrote the editor to comment that it was insane to expect that new, even more horrific mass shootings wouldnt occur given our lax gun control laws and cavalier attitudes about guns. Now weve arrived at another grim milestone with a fresh new "deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history" in Las Vegas.

As Americans, the blood is on our hands. We have failed to address gun control in a serious and meaningful way and have resigned ourselves to the fact that "these types of things are bound to happen."

It doesnt have to be this way. In Australia after the 1996 Port Arthur mass shooting, their government acted swiftly and decisively, passing strict gun control measures. More importantly, their society also responded, with many people giving up their guns in a government-sponsored gun buy-back program. They havent had a mass shooting (five or more people) since.

Shame on the United States for not trying harder. Shame on our elected representatives for bowing to a vocal anti-gun control minority. Shame on us as a people for prioritizing ownership of ridiculous offensive weapons that are solely intended to kill people over the lives of our fellow citizens. Its sickening.

JOHN ROBERTS

Midland
LEXINGTON  Asked to make a speech on his 100th birthday, Lexington farmer Sam Harms quickly declined with a wry smile and a wave of the hand.

Asked to tell some stories, though, Harms didnt disappoint.

How many people know how penicillin started? he asked a crowd of about 40 people Tuesday morning at the Prairie Central Co-Op in Lexington. I was one of the first ones in the USA to be on it. I was in the hospital for three days and had 24 shots, one shot every three hours.

It happened in the early 1940s, but Harms retold every detail in the story as if it happened yesterday, even describing how after getting his shot one evening, his brother-in-law helped sneak him out of Mennonite Hospital in Bloomington for three hours because there was farming to be done.

We got back and the darned hospital was locked, he said.

He eventually found an open entrance at the rear of the building, planning to sneak back into his bed without being noticed. He knew it was nearly time for his next shot.

I got to the first floor and back to my room and there was a woman in my bed, he said. I went to the nurses station and told them there was a woman in my bed. They asked me what I was doing there. I told them I was a patient. The lady said Well, sir, this is the maternity ward.

I guess my bed was on the second floor.

Friends and family gathered at the elevator Tuesday to watch Harms, who was born on Oct. 17, 1917, drive a 7230 John Deere tractor hauling two wagons filled with grain over the scales as part of his 100th birthday celebration.

I just dont understand it, really, Harms said of the people gathered to watch a 100-year-old man haul grain to an elevator. It aint that big of a deal, is it?

Harms began working on his family farm in the late 1920s, when he was just a boy. He eventually inherited the farm and then turned over day-to-day management to his children in the 1980s.

Still, he helps out when he can, and even has his drivers license. He also has the energy, he says, to work every day.

He is just an incredible man, said his daughter, Karen Young. We were blessed to have great parents and this day is special for all of us.

Also on hand Tuesday was Sams wife, LaVerne, who celebrated her 100th birthday March 1. The two were married Jan. 2, 1940, and together they have three children, nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Hes an unbelievably great guy, said Lori Harms, a granddaughter-in-law. Sometimes, when I am around him, I will start talking louder, but he has perfect hearing and will say Lori, you dont have to yell, I can hear you just fine. He has responses for everything and is still very, very sharp.

"I just love talking to him. The entire family does.

The celebration at the elevator included a green and yellow cake  the colors of his favorite tractor, a John Deere  baked in his honor. An inscription read, You have seen it all.

Yeah, I think I have pretty much seen it all, he said.

Rita Mikel worked at the elevator for 26 years and saw Harms almost every day during harvest season.

Sam was first in line and it didnt matter if we opened at 5, 6 or 7 a.m., she said. He was always first in line.

Bill Killian worked at the elevator for 41 years.

I said when he pulled onto the scale, My God, Sams made a lot of trips on that scale, he said. It would be impossible to calculate how many trips he has made.

"But the thing about Sam is he is more than just a farmer. Hes just a great guy and a great friend to all who know him.

Harms says he has no plans to settle down. As for his secret to life, he shrugs as if he doesnt know.
BLOOMINGTON Medication abortions are now being offered at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bloomington.

Julie Lynn, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Illinois, said the clinic began offering the abortion pill to clients at the beginning of the month.

Like any of our services, we want to offer the full range of reproductive health care, she said.

Previously, patients had to travel to health centers in Aurora or Chicago for in-clinic abortions through Planned Parenthood.

Lynn said she was unsure how many clients had used the pill so far at the Bloomington clinic, 1319 N. Veterans Parkway.

The abortion pill is offered up to 10 weeks after the start of the last menstrual period. Patients take one pill, mifepristone (RU-486), during a scheduled appointment and then take a second pill, misoprostol, within the next 48 hours.

A follow-up appointment, including ultrasound or blood draw and birth control consultation, is scheduled during the subsequent two weeks, she said.

Most women have a complete abortion within four to 24 hours after taking the second pill, but some bleeding and cramping may persist for a few days to weeks.

Patients are given post-abortion self-care, medications and a birth control method, and they are told to report any complications experienced during or after an abortion procedure to Planned Parenthood immediately.

Thomas Shilgalis, president of the McLean County Right to Life Commitee, said he was disappointed to hear about the pills being distributed locally.

"I would like to know what prompted them to do this, why they are doing this, and what they hope to accomplish," he told The Pantagraph on Wednesday. "They have made it easier to kill a developing baby and those that do that have blood on their hands."

The abortion pill is 97 percent effective, according to Planned Parenthood.
BLOOMINGTON  Mayor Tari Renner has nominated the first members of Bloomington's new civilian board to review public complaints against the police.

The City Council will be asked Monday night to approve the appointments of the Rev. William Bennett, Robert Bosquez, Surena Fish, Jan Lancaster, Sally Rudolph, Arthur Taylor and Jeffery Woodard to the seven-member Public Safety and Community Relations Board.

"I think they are very representative of the community," said Renner. "We've got people of color. We've got males and females, people who have long records of accomplishment in our city."

Bennett is pastor of the City of Refuge, a church on the west edge of downtown. Bosquez is the community engagement coordinator for the West Bloomington Revitalization Project.

Fish is retired and a member of the Miller Park neighborhood group. Lancaster is a self-described advocate for equality and owner of the downtown bar, The Bistro, a gathering place for the local LGBT community.

Rudolph is a retired pharmacist, a member of the League of Women Voters McLean County and former McLean County Board member. Taylor is active in Not In Our Town and was involved in diversity training at State Farm before retiring.

Woodward is director of marketing and community relations for the McLean County Museum of History.

"I am very confident that (the board) is going to be able to move forward and help us improve our police and neighborhood relationships," Renner added.

The mayor's appointments to the board must be approved by a supermajority of the council, which is six out of the nine aldermen.

As mayor, Renner could have made the selections himself, but he said he wanted the aldermen to have more input because this is a new board. He asked each alderman to look at all of the applications and submit his or her top three choices.

"This is the list, out of 66 applicants, who were the top vote-getters by the City Council, and I did promise the City Council that those would be the names I would submit," Renner said, adding, "The council made a very wise choice overall."

In July, the council approved creating the board, which was requested by an alliance of community organizations, including Not in Our Town, American Civil Liberties Union of Central Illinois, NAACP, YWCA of McLean County and Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal.

Black Lives Matter noted in a statement Tuesday that none of the group's 40 proposed members was nominated, but "we recognize and celebrate the leadership of the seven current nominees, and congratulate them on their opportunity to answer our communitys call for greater civilian power over the police."

The seven-member board will play an advisory role only. In looking at public complaints about police, the board will be empowered only to review whether police department protocols were followed properly in the department's own investigation of each complaint.

All applications will be kept on file for 24 months in case a vacancy should arise, said Bloomington Communication Manager Nora Dukowitz.
NORMAL  A low-price clothing retailer could be coming to the former Dick's Sporting Goods store in Normal.

Ross Dress for Less, an outlet store with locations throughout Illinois, including Champaign and Peoria, is named as the tenant coming to that space in a document provided by the town of Normal.

The document is a schedule of project expenses for owner Phillips Edison and Company to improve two connected shopping centers that include Fresh Market and Petco. It lists Ross Dress for Less as a tenant to receive $1 million in improvements.

That's the same amount Phillips Edison officials said the company will spend on the former Dick's space, and there's currently no Ross Dress for Less there  or anywhere else in Bloomington-Normal.

Officials avoided naming the retailer while discussing it Monday. Phillips Edison declined Tuesday to confirm or deny that it's Ross Dress for Less, and the retailer did not respond to a request for comment.

The chain's website, rossstores.com, refers to Ross Dress for Less as "the nations largest off-price retail chain."

"We work directly with manufacturers to negotiate the best deals. ... We love new buys  we keep it simple so we can get the great buys into our stores quickly, which means almost every day," according to the site. "We believe in 'no frills' no window displays, mannequins, fancy fixtures or decorations in our stores, so we can pass more savings on to our customers."

The eventual tenant is set to open next fall or the following spring, said Scott Adair, vice president of community partnerships for Phillips Edison, Tuesday.

"This, in part, will depend on how quickly the permitting and plan review process can be concluded," he said.

The Normal City Council approved Monday night an $800,000 sales tax rebate for Phillips Edison, which plans to spend a total of $4 million on improvements. That deal is expected to bring at least three new businesses to the center.

Two of those will be where Office Depot and Shoe Carnival are now; those businesses will stay open but downsize their spaces.

"We are actively engaged in discussions with numerous national credit retailers for the site. We have a multitude of relationships with retailers and are actively pursuing all opportunities," Adair said of what type of businesses will use those spaces. "(When they will open) is yet to be determined."

The company will receive 0.5 percent of sales from the new retailers through the sales tax for 10 years, estimated at $800,000; the town is expected to receive $4.6 million in new sales tax revenue from the deal.

The company also plans to install two "pad sites," smaller retail spaces in the center's parking lots.

"We are actively marketing two pad sites. No firm proposals yet. But, as indicated above, we are reaching out to our retail contacts about these opportunities," said Adair. "If anyone in the community is interested in one of the pad sites, they may contact Greg Clough, vice president of redevelopment."
Britain's Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, his wife Princess Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte walk at the airfield in Hamburg Finkenwerder, Germany, July 21, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON -- Kensington Palace said Tuesday that the duke and duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, are "delighted" to confirm they are expecting their third child in April.

The child will be born fifth in line to the throne, pushing uncle Prince Harry into sixth place.

The duchess has been suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, but made a surprise appearance at a royal engagement on Monday when she danced with Paddington Bear at Paddington Station for a charity event, watched by William and Harry.

Her pregnancy was announced early in September because she had to skip some official engagements.

As expected, William and Kate are not revealing the sex of their baby. They left the gender of their first two children a surprise.

William and Kate, both 35, are already the proud parents of four-year-old Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who turned two in May.
While Google is trying to reinvent their hardware line of products of late and make AI the center of their universe, their parent company Alphabet Inc. is looking at bigger picture projects that fall under various companies that they own such as Calico, DeepMind, Nest labs and others including Sidewalk Labs who happens to be in the news today.

Sidewalk is working with the Canadian City of Toronto to a futuristic high-tech neighborhood that could be a model for other cities to follow. According the company, "We are designing a district in Toronto's Eastern Waterfront to tackle the challenges of urban growth, working in partnership with the tri-government agency Waterfront Toronto and the local community. This joint venture, called Sidewalk Toronto, aims to make Toronto the global hub for urban innovation."

According to a new report today by CNN we're learning that Sidewalk Labs will invest $50 million in an initial phase of planning and pilot testing. Alphabet has also pledged to relocate Google's headquarters in Canada to the new neighborhood, called Quayside, which is on the Toronto waterfront. Google has roughly 1,000 employees in Canada.

Sidewalk Labs plans to do everything from reduce pollution, commute times and landfill waste to improve the weather. It envisions reducing the impact of wind, increasing shade on sunny days and blocking rain due to smart building design and tree planting.





In an ambitious proposal, Sidewalk Labs promised to make the weather more comfortable to enjoy the waterfront. It also believes it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 73%, potable water consumption by 65% and landfill waste generation by 90%.

Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt said at a news conference yesterday that "This is not some random activity from our perspective. This is the culmination of 10 years of thinking about how technology can improve the quality of people's lives." For more, read the full CNN report here.

Apple is working on renewable energy and their new headquarters, Apple Park, is powered entirely with renewable energy and all of the electricity in their data centers worldwide comes from solar, hydro and wind power.

These types of high tech projects by Alphabet and Apple are what all tech fans can applaud and cheer on instead of supporting issues that divide us. Here's to hoping that more high tech projects like those found in today's report become a reality and replace Cupertino's latest vision of being a high tech church for the world. I don't know about you, but I don't want my favorite tech companies moralizing and taking their internal values and spewing them out as if they're the new Vatican. Stick to tech, end of story.





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A year ago Google's CEO Sundar Pichai introduced the Google Manifesto wherein he noted that tech world was shifting from a Mobile First to an AI First market. In so many words Pichai tried to convey that Apple brought the world the mobile revolution and it would be Google bringing on the next revolution where AI was the leading force behind future services and products.

It was an extraordinary presentation and foundation for what was going to begin rolling out this year at the October 4th event that Patently Apple covered in two reports (one and two). Google introduced a string of new products with each presenter making it clear that in someway the product or service was powered by AI or machine learning. This wasn't the old Motorola shtick repackaged, this was well thought out, planned and is now being executed upon.

Some of Google's AI and machine learning work is being done by DeepMind in the UK. DeepMind is opening their first research lab outside the UK in Edmonton Canada and not the U.S.

Apple has been working on machine learning and AI with Siri for some time but was criticized in a Wired report which stated that "Six years after its launch, Siri has by most accounts fallen behind in the virtual assistant race. Amazon's Alexa has more developer support; Google Assistant knows more stuff; both are available in many kinds of devices from many different companies."

The most interesting part of the Wired article involved the revelations of how Apple works on developing Siri in more languages than any other digital assistant. That part of the story that's under the header "Ask me Anything" is worth reading the Wired report for alone.

Apple has been introducing machine learning into more of their developer programs. One page you could review is titled "Build more intelligent apps with machine learning," wherein developers can learn hot to take advantage of Core ML, a new foundational machine learning framework used across Apple products, including Siri, Camera, and QuickType.

After Apple's WWDC 2017 event, Apple began publishing a "Machine Learning Journal."

In their opening issue their welcome message read as follows: "Welcome to the Apple Machine Learning Journal. Here, you can read posts written by Apple engineers about their work using machine learning technologies to help build innovative products for millions of people around the world. If you're a machine learning researcher or student, an engineer or developer, we'd love to hear your questions and feedback. Write us at machine-learning@apple.com

Here are the issues published thus far

01: Improving the Realism of Synthetic Images

02: Improving Neural Network Acoustic Models by Cross-bandwidth and Cross-lingual Initialization

03: Improving Neural Network Acoustic Models by Cross-bandwidth and Cross-lingual Initialization

04: Inverse Text Normalization as a Labeling Problem

05: Deep Learning for Siri's Voice: On-device Deep Mixture Density Networks for Hybrid Unit Selection Synthesis

06: Real-Time Recognition of Handwritten Chinese Characters Spanning a Large Inventory of 30,000 Characters

07: Hey Siri: An On-device DNN-powered Voice Trigger for Apple's Personal Assistant

Introduction to October's Machine Learning Journal Issue

The "Hey Siri" feature allows users to invoke Siri hands-free. A very small speech recognizer runs all the time and listens for just those two words. When it detects "Hey Siri", the rest of Siri parses the following speech as a command or query. The "Hey Siri" detector uses a Deep Neural Network (DNN) to convert the acoustic pattern of your voice at each instant into a probability distribution over speech sounds. It then uses a temporal integration process to compute a confidence score that the phrase you uttered was "Hey Siri". If the score is high enough, Siri wakes up. This article takes a look at the underlying technology. It is aimed primarily at readers who know something of machine learning but less about speech recognition.

To review the full Machine Leaning Journal Vol. 1, issue 6, October 2017, click here.

Apple is and should continue to go on the offensive when it comes to all-things machine learning and AI because this is now one of Google's top priorities: to convince the market and developers that Google is number one in machine learning and AI with no equal. The war has in earnst begun and it's way too early to announce an AI revolution winner just yet, where it counts, the marketplace.





About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
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From my 2004 book, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants [two alternate renderings of Luther quotations used]

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. . . [Martin Luther] believed in the Real Presence, although he denied transubstantiation and rejected the Sacrifice of the Mass. Luther (according to his nominalistic, anti-Scholastic leanings) didnt want to speculate about metaphysics and how the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ. He simply believed in the miracles of the literal presence of Jesus Body and Blood alongside the bread and wine (consubstantiation). In this respect, his position was similar to the Eastern Orthodox one.

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I have often enough asserted that I do not argue whether the wine remains wine or not. It is enough for me that Christs blood is present; let it be with the wine as God wills. Sooner than have mere wine with the fanatics, I would agree with the pope that there is only blood. (Confession Concerning Christs Supper, 1528, Luthers Works [henceforth, LW], Vol. 37, 317) [T]he glory of our God is precisely that for our sakes he comes down to the very depths, into human flesh, into the bread, into our mouth, our heart, our bosom . . . (This is My Body, 1527, LW, Vol. 37, 72)

Protestantisms founders vary in their interpretation of this verse and in their Eucharistic theology. John Calvins mystical view of the Eucharist is complex and not quickly summarized or refuted. Ulrich Zwingli (the Protestant Reformer of Zurich) held to a symbolic view, on the other hand, which seems to have prevailed among many evangelical Protestants today. We shall concentrate on the exegetical and logical weakness of Zwinglis arguments in this chapter. He wrote about this passage:

In the words: This is my body, the word this means the bread, and the word body the body which is put to death for us. Therefore the word is cannot be taken literally, for the bread is not the body and cannot be . . . This is my body, means, The bread signifies my body, or is a figure of my body. (On the Lords Supper, 1526; in Bromiley, 225)

Yet Martin Luther refutes this line of thinking, using the very same scriptures:

[T]his word of Luke and Paul is clearer than sunlight and more overpowering than thunder. First, no one can deny that he speaks of the cup, since he says, This is the cup. Secondly, he calls it the cup of the new testament. This is overwhelming, for it could not be a new testament by means and on account of wine alone. (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525; LW, Vol. 40, 217)

In that same work, Luther makes a fascinating argument that a purely symbolic Eucharist turns the sacrament into a futile work of man rather than a grace and blessing from God:

He thinks one does not see that out of the word of Christ he makes a pure commandment and law which accomplishes nothing more than to tell and bid us to remember and acknowledge him. Furthermore, he makes this acknowledgment nothing else than a work that we do, while we receive nothing else than bread and wine. (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525; LW, Vol. 40, 206)

Martin Luther rebukes the symbolic view of the Eucharist, held by most evangelicals today:

[S]ince we are confronted by Gods words, This is my body  distinct, clear, common, definite words, which certainly are no trope, either in Scripture or in any language  we must embrace them with faith . . . not as hairsplitting sophistry dictates but as God says them for us, we must repeat these words after him and hold to them. (Confession Concerning Christs Supper, 1528; in Althaus, 390)

[John 6]

Zwingli offers us an example of early Protestant symbolist reasoning:

There can be no doubt that only the spirit can give life to the soul. For how could the physical flesh either nourish or give life to the soul? . . . with his own words Christ teaches us that everything which he says concerning the eating of flesh or bread has to be understood in terms of believing . . . . this passage tells us that the carnal eating of Christs flesh and blood profiteth nothing, and you have introduced such a carnal eating into the sacrament . . . (On the Lords Supper, 1526; in Bromiley, 206-207, 210-211)

Martin Luther, however, expounded the text otherwise. Preaching on John 6, he stated:

All right! There we have it! This is clear, plain, and unconcealed: I am speaking of My flesh and blood. . . . There we have the flat statement which cannot be interpreted in any other way than that there is no life, but death alone, apart from His flesh and blood if these are neglected or despised. How is it possible to distort this text? . . . You must note these words and this text with the utmost diligence . . . It can neither speciously be interpreted nor avoided and evaded. (Sermons on the Gospel of St. John: Chapters 6-8, 1532; LW, Vol. 23, 133-135)

Luthers eucharistic theology was not identical to Catholic theology, but it was far closer than to the symbolic view. To reiterate: he thought that Jesus Body and Blood were present alongside the bread and wine (consubstantiation) after consecration. So Jesus was really there, but the bread and wine were there, too (whereas in Catholic theology, they cease to remain bread and wine after consecration).

1 Corinthians 10:16: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

This verse again allows us to observe in a nutshell, traditional Protestant controversies in their own ranks. Catholics interpret it in a literal way, but Protestants differ amongst themselves. Zwingli special pleads in his interpretation of the passage:

[W]hen you offer thanks with the cup and the bread, eating and drinking together, you signify thereby that you are one body and one bread, namely, the body which is the Church of Christ, . . . (On the Lords Supper, 1526; in Bromiley, 237)

But Martin Luther again ably refutes this specious interpretation, and offers us a unique insight into a Protestant exegete who had every motivation to disagree with the Catholic Churchs interpretation, but in the end was forced by the text to accept its straightforward meaning:

I confess that if Karlstadt, or anyone else, could have convinced me five years ago that only bread and wine were in the sacrament he would have done me a great service. At that time I suffered such severe conflicts and inner strife and torment that I would gladly have been delivered from them. I realized that at this point I could best resist the papacy . . . But I am a captive and cannot free myself. The text is too powerfully present, and will not allow itself to be torn from its meaning by mere verbiage. (Letter to the Christians at Strassburg in Opposition to the Fanatic Spirit, 1524; LW, Vol. 40, 68)

For Luther, the passage is quite compelling:

Even if we had no other passage than this we could sufficiently strengthen all consciences and sufficiently overcome all adversaries . . . . . . He could not have spoken more clearly and strongly . . . (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525; LW, Vol. 40, 177, 181)

Luther thinks the realist, concrete, non-symbolic nature of the verse is obvious, to the point where he seems to be aggravated (the three-time repetition of it is) that others cant see what is so clear:

. . . The bread which is broken or distributed piece by piece is the participation in the body of Christ. It is, it is, it is, he says, the participation in the body of Christ. Wherein does the participation in the body of Christ consist? It cannot be anything else than that as each takes a part of the broken bread he takes therewith the body of Christ . . . (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525; LW, Vol. 40, 178)

1 Corinthians 11:27-30: Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Again, many Protestants today have lost the sacramental outlook of Martin Luther (and to a lesser extent, even of John Calvin). Baptist apologist James White provides a contemporary version of Zwinglian symbolism:

Participation in the Supper is meant to be a memorial (not a sacrifice) of the death of Christ, not the carefree and impious party it had become at Corinth. (White, 175)

Martin Luther would have a great problem with such reasoning, and in refuting it, he closely approximates what a Catholic response would be. He argues that it is pointless for St. Paul to speak of sin here (profaning in the text) if Jesus is not present in the eating of the bread and that the nature and character of the sentence requires this clear interpretation. Luther sums up his exegetical argument:

It is not sound reasoning arbitrarily to associate the sin which St. Paul attributes to eating with remembrance of Christ, of which Paul does not speak. For he does not say, Who unworthily holds the Lord in remembrance, but Who unworthily eats and drinks. (Against the Heavenly Prophets in the Matter of Images and Sacraments, 1525; LW, Vol. 40, 183-184)

I prefer what is often called the superstition of Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and the Fathers of the Church, as it seems to be far and away the most natural reading of all these texts. Augustine wrote:

[I]t is the Body of the Lord and the Blood of the Lord even in those to whom the Apostle said: whoever eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself. (Baptism, 5, 8, 9; in Jurgens, III, 68)

The eucharistic Catholic verses are some of the most important in the entire Catholic exegetical and apologetic arsenal. It can be shown (and I think I have done so) that Protestants are trying to skirt around the edges of them, special plead, eisegete (reading their own prior biases into texts) and improperly denying the straightforward literal reading. This is odd, given the usual Protestant acknowledgment that Scripture is to be interpreted literally unless there are clear indications in the text otherwise.

These passages are so compelling that they played a crucial role in producing a near-unanimous patristic viewpoint of acceptance of the real presence in the Eucharist. Several major Protestant Church historians and experts on history of Christian doctrine note this (for example, Otto W. Heick, Williston Walker, Philip Schaff, Jaroslav Pelikan, Carl Volz). The historical facts cannot be denied. They are unarguable. As just one representative statement, I cite J. N. D. Kelly, perhaps the most-cited patristics scholar:

One could multiply texts like these which show Augustine taking for granted the traditional identification of the elements with the sacred body and blood. There can be no doubt that he shared the realism held by almost all of his contemporaries and predecessors. (Kelly, 447) Catholics need not be shy in defending transubstantiation or the real presence. The biblical evidence is very strong, and so is the history of the beliefs of the early Christians on this score. We have nothing to fear, and we can decisively win this battle of competing eucharistic theologies on the field of Scripture and history alike. Addendum: An [anonymous] Orthodox Christian who read my paper made the following comment (all-caps emphases are his own): As a Russian Orthodox Christian, I must say that Luthers doctrine of the Holy Eucharist was most definitely NOT that of the Orthodox Church. We Orthodox are often misunderstood in regard to transubstantiation. Of course, transubstantiation is a scholastic Latin theological term that the Church of Rome uses to describe its view of the Eucharist. We know that. But it disturbs me when I hear non-Orthodox Protestants saying that Orthodox reject a belief in transubstantiation. While we did not invent this term and it is not our preference to use it very much, we Orthodox absolutely accept the sacramental reality of what the term transubstantiation is trying to convey. We DO believe that the Bread is TRANSFORMED into the Body of Christ and the wine is TRANSFORMED into the Blood of Christ at the Epiclesis (the Invocation of the Holy Spirit). Now as to HOW that actually happens, we say it is a Holy Mystery. We dont try to define it with Aristotelian philosophical terms such as accidence and essence. In fact, the Longer Catechism of the Orthodox Church (sometimes called the Catechism of Metropolitan Philaret) specifically ENDORSES the term transubstantiation provided that it is used to affirm the permanent transformation of the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Epiclesis. As long as the term transubstantiation is used to describe the REALITY of the Eucharistic miracle, the Orthodox Church has no problem with it. Only when the term is used to try to describe HOW the Eucharistic miracle occurs does Orthodoxy caution against its uses, because that is something that is understood by God alone.

I reply:

Thats my understanding of the Orthodox approach to the question as well. I dont see much or any difference at all in how I understand your position and how you just expressed it. You think we philosophize too much; we think that you do a bit too little. But on the essence of the Holy Eucharist we agree.

In my article (from one of my books), I wrote: [Luther] believed in the Real Presence, although he denied transubstantiation . . . Luther . . . didnt want to speculate about metaphysics and how the bread and wine became the Body and Blood of Christ.

My emphasis was on the similarity of belief in the Real Presence and antipathy to excessive explanation: common to both Lutheranism and Orthodoxy. I didnt mean to imply that Orthodox deny a transformation. I can see, however, that I worded it a bit imprecisely.

SOURCES

Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martin Luther, translated by Robert C. Schultz, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966.

G. W. Bromiley, editor and translator, Zwingli and Bullinger, (The Library of Christian Classics series), Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1953.

William A. Jurgens, editor and translator, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, three volumes, 1979.

J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, San Francisco: Harper & Row, revised edition of 1978.

Martin Luther, Luthers Works (LW), American edition, edited by Jaroslav Pelikan (volumes 1-30) and Helmut T. Lehmann (volumes 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (volumes 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (volumes 31-55), 1955.

James R. White, The Roman Catholic Controversy, Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1996.

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If so, please seriously consider a much-needed financial contribution. Im always in need of more funds (and am in no danger of cracking the Fortune 500). 1 December 2021 will be my 20th anniversary as a full-time Catholic apologist , and February 2022, the 25th anniversary of my blog.

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Photo credit: The Last Supper (with Luther amongst the Apostles) (1530s), by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

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Kurdish Officials Blame Iran as Disputed Territories Fall to Iraqi Forces

10/18/17

By Rikar Hussein, VOA

WASHINGTON - Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government are accusing Iran of playing a key role in the fall of disputed territories in northern Iraq including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a claim rejected by Iranian officials. This week the Iraqi government forces backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) marched into the Kurdish-controlled disputed territories after Kurdish forces known as Peshmerga withdrew from the region.



Source: Tehran Times



"Iranians were leading the battle on Kirkuk and our forces had to withdraw to protect the lives of Peshmerga," Sheikh Jaafar Mustafa, the commander of Peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, said in a statement Monday.



"The decision [to withdraw] was not a mistake," he emphasized.



The Iraqi army and the PMF started their advances into Kirkuk on Monday after weeks of threats following the Kurdish referendum.



Faced with minimum confrontation from Kurdish forces, the army captured the entire city including its key military installations and oil fields in a few hours.



While claiming that it respects Iraq's sovereignty, Iran has refused its involvement in the takeover.



"Iran has no role in Kirkuk operation and most Iraqi Kurdish people are opposed to [KRG president] Masoud Barzani's ambitions," Ali Akbar Velayati, the top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters Tuesday after a meeting with France's special envoy for Syria.



"We saw that almost without any conflict, the region came under the control of Iraqi central government. Barzani must realize and admit that he has made a mistake," he said referring to the controversial referendum vote that Kurdish leader adamantly supported.



Importance of Kirkuk



Kirkuk is rich with natural resources including gas and oil, and is part of territories claimed by both the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan region. The city came under the control of Kurds in 2014 when the Iraqi forces left their bases following a large scale push by the Islamic State terror group.



The conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government over control of the city is decades old. What exacerbated that situation was Kurdish Regional Government's decision to proceed with the controversial referendum and the inclusion of Kirkuk in the vote, despite strong opposition from the central government in Baghdad.



Iraqi Prime Minister Haider-al-Abadi said the takeover is within the "national constitutional mandate" to reinstall Baghdad's power over the "federal facilities" in Kirkuk and other disputed territories.



Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition spokesperson told reporters Tuesday that based on their available intelligence, they have not seen Iranian IRGC units or the PMF in Kirkuk.



"We don't have any reporting or any indications that there are units in and around Kirkuk of [IRGC] elements," Colonel Ryan Dillion said.



But a statement from the Peshmerga Ministry on Monday claimed the Iraqi operation was led by an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) known as Iqbal Pur.





Related article by Iranian daily Ghanoon:

"IRGC's General Qassem Soleimani intervened to stop brothers killing each other"



Domestically, some put the blame on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party (PUK) as well, alleging that because of their rivalry with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party, they yielded the way for advancing Iraqi and PMF forces.



"The attack, which came from the Iraqi government, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and IRGC's Quds forces, is in retaliation to the calls for freedom by the people of Kurdistan," the statement said. "Unfortunately, some PUK leaders aided the conspiracy ... by leaving some key defense lines to the Popular Mobilization Forces and the Iranian IRGC," the Ministry of Peshmarga said in a statement.



Ruling PDK officials blamed Iran for sowing the division among Kurdish political parties and using PUK as a means.



PUK officials denied the allegations of teaming up with Iran and cited the prevention of casualties to Kurdish forces as reason behind their retreat.



Monday's retreat continued onto Tuesday as well, with Kurds withdrawing from more territories in Nineveh Plains and the town of Sinjar.



Regional Influence



Experts say the neighboring countries, including Iran, Turkey and Syria, which are home to a significant number of Kurdish population, fear that an independent Kurdistan could have a domino effect in the region. To prevent that, they argue that these powers take advantage of the internal divisions amongst Iraqi Kurds.



"It is clear that there is no coherence between Kurdish leaders and their forces," said Ammer Goli, a Hamburg-based Kurdistan affairs analyst.



"Kurdish forces are not lined under one banner or joint command but show their allegiances to various leaders and factions," he added.



Goli said Tehran has tried to sustain its leverage on the PUK for strategic purposes while the ruling PDK has warmed up its relations with Ankara.



Tehran strongly opposed the Kurdish referendum from the beginning and its strongman Ayatollah Khamenei called it a "plot by Zionists."



Iranian officials reportedly met with the PUK leaders several times in an attempt to dissuade them from their September 25 independence referendum.



Some experts believe Iran has maximized its benefits from the recent developments in northern Iraq and the region.



"Tehran has been the winner of the conflicts in the region so far," Julian Roepcke, a Germany-based analyst with Bild newspaper, told VOA.



"It is difficult to know if the Iraqi forces and its affiliated Shiite PMF militia started their attacks with a green light from Tehran, but the result seems to be in Tehran's benefits," Roepcke added.
Norway Defies Trump, Enters 4-Billion-Dollar Deal With Iran

10/18/17

Source: Press TV

Norwegian solar company Saga Energy has signed a $4-billion investment deal with Iran just days after US President Donald Trump calls for isolating Tehran. "Norway is fully committed to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and this is proof that we have taken the opening very seriously, and we will see more investment very soon," AFP quoted Norway's Ambassador to Tehran Lars Nordrum on Tuesday.

Nordrum made the comment during the signing ceremony of a deal between Norway's Saga Energy and Iran's Amin Energy Developers aimed at the installation of two gigawatts of solar panels in various locations in the country's deserts.



The project is being financed by a consortium of European private and state investors.



"We hope to build a factory in Iran to build the panels so that we are also generating jobs," said Saga's development manager Gaute Steinkopf.



"I'd like to thank Norway, which has always been one of the best friends to Iran, for this exciting opportunity," said Amin's head of international affairs, Saeid Zakeri.



The joint measures come just days after Trump refused to formally certify that Iran was complying with the 2015 nuclear deal and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.



While Trump did not pull Washington out of the JCPOA, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact. Reimposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories to the accord and the European Union.





PressTV-'US' traditional allies siding with Iran'

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Washington's traditional allies are siding with Tehran over the nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that Washington's traditional allies are siding with Tehran over the nuclear deal.



On Monday, European Union foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for the historic nuclear agreement, saying the accord is working and is a key part of non-proliferation efforts.
Follow a team of volcano sleuths as they embark on a worldwide hunt for an elusive volcanic mega-eruption that plunged medieval Earth into a deep freeze. The mystery begins when archaeologists find a hastily dug mass grave of 4,000 men, women, and children in London. At first they assume its a plague pit from the Black Death, but when they date the bones, they turn out to be too old by a century. So what killed off these families? The chronicles of that time describe a run of wild weather that devastated crops and spread famine across Europe. NOVAs expert team looks for the signature of a volcanic eruption big enough to have blasted a huge cloud of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere, which chilled the entire planet. From Greenland to Antarctica, the team finds telltale fingerprints in ice and soil layers until, finally, they narrow down the culprit to a smoldering crater on a remote Indonesian island. Nearly 750 years ago, this volcanos colossal explosion shot a million tons of rock and ash every second into the atmosphere. Across the globe, it turned summer into winter. What would happen if another such cataclysm struck again today?
CITIZENS of both Ghana and Ivory Coast will soon begin to reap the benefits of agreements and strategic roadmap reached for the implementation of the recent judgement on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated.



The two governments yesterday signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and one strategic agreement on various sectors of co-operation, as well as the way forward for the implementation of the ruling.



Ghana and Ivory Coast established a joint committee to oversee the implementation of the recent judgement by the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), over the two countries maritime border dispute.



The agreements were reached as part of events marking the two-day visit by the Ivorian leader to Ghana.



The Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) ruled in favour of Ghana in the three-year-long maritime dispute.



The chamber, in a unanimous decision on Saturday, September 23, 2017, ruled that there had not been any violation on the part of Ghana on Cote dIvoires maritime boundary.



Speaking after the signing ceremony at the Flagstaff House yesterday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said, among other things, that the dedication exhibited by both the Ivorian and Ghanaian teams in producing the working documents attest to the commitment both countries have invested into making the ruling beneficial to both countries.



These two days have proved fruitful and I believe that the various agreements that have been worked out begin to play out in the public space. The Ghanaian and Ivorian people will see the necessity of this vision and its value to them, the President noted.



He reiterated the importance of the two countries to harness synergy for mutual benefits, as well as setting the tone for greater integration among the rest of the West African region and the continent as a whole.



It is obvious the reasons why Ivorian and Ghanaian leadership should always be in harmony and work togetherit is the best guarantee that the various strengths that we have individually can be put together for the benefit of our two populations, he said.



He also reposed confidence in his Ivorian counterpart in exercising the political will to see to the realisation of visions set for the two countries.



I am very confident that in President Ouattara, I have a partner who is determined to translate the words we find on paper to concrete actions to the benefit of our people, he added.



The Ivorian President, on his part, expressed gratitude to the Government and People of Ghana for the immense support and solidarity demonstrated to his country during the Ivorian crisis, and fondly recalled the crucial role played by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was then the Foreign Minister of Ghana, in taking a principled and objective stance that ensured the peaceful resolution of the crisis.



President Ouattara also thanked President Akufo-Addo for his personal efforts in ensuring the return of Cote dIvoire to the path of democracy.



The two leaders also reviewed Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire bilateral relations, and agreed to continue to build on the existing special bonds of kinship and co-operation for the mutual benefit of their peoples.



Furthermore, both Presidents indicated their commitment to ensure the continuous deepening of brotherly ties beyond the existing framework for bilateral co-operation, such as the Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation, and agreed to boost the momentum of Ghanaian-Ivorian Co-operation by establishing a strategic co-operation framework referred to as the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), which covers the following areas such as Defence and Security; Cocoa and Cashew and other strategic crops; Maritime Cooperation; Mining, Energy and Environment; Transport; and Economic Policies.



President Akufo-Addo bestowed the honour of The Companion of the Star of Ghana, Honorary Division, Ghanas highest civilian national honour, on President Ouattara for his untiring efforts at ensuring social justice, peace and security at the domestic, as well as the international, level for his leadership qualities.

Source: The Finder









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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
English historian Thomas Fuller must have seen it coming when he noted that those born to be hanged cannot be drowned. Why else would Ghanas 2017 reigning National Best Teacher, Ms Faustina Coppson, who started at the age of 10 to teach her mates, would still be teaching at age 41, and conclude that teaching is the only career for her?



Not your typical child prodigy though, Ms Coppson says she discovered at the rather young age  10 years  that teaching was a natural flair for her even before she herself could be taught enough, and so she decided to bear her cross in life that early.



Away from the national spotlight brought to shine on her upon winning the national diadem, the educationist cast a simple, lovable yet firm personality, tinged with a heavy dose of the missionary discipline now so acutely out of supply in Ghanas educational institutions. She had agreed to speak to Graphic Online from close range, close enough to help us know her most underpinning principle in life  whatever you get to do, give it your all and do it the best way you can.



I saw myself teaching way back in class four. I started gathering Sunday School children and teaching them any time our Sunday School teachers were not available. So they [Sunday School unit] realizing that I had the interest, created a very young class for me. So I started handling them, the very young ones, below five and six years, Ms Coppson told Graphic Online in an interview.



Ms Coppson in an interview with Graphic Online



Her Methodist Church would encourage her further as she was handed leadership roles at the girls fellowship.



Now at age 41, married with a 13-year-old son and serving as Deputy Headmistress of the Richard Akwei Memorial Basic School at Agbogbloshie in Accra, Ms Coppson believes some divine hand was in control of her early life when she thought she was having fun.



Early Life



Ms Coppson was born in the Northern regional capital of Tamale, on September 27, 1976 to Mr Charles Coppson (a soldier) and Mrs. Rebecca Coppson (a caterer) who both hail from James Town in Accra.



The last of five siblings - two boys and three girls - Faustina Coppsons family was based in Tamale at the time of her birth because Mr. Charles Coppson, then a military officer, had been posted there. And as fate would have it, the family was on its way back to Accra only a few months after she came into this world, as father was once again put on transfer.



They settled at Dansoman where she has since lived with her family.



Educational Background



Ms. Coppson was first enrolled at the Most Holy Heart School and later continued at the Ebenezer Secondary School, both in Dansoman.



Upon completing her General Certificate of Education, GCE O Level, she gained admission to the Holy Child College of Education in Takoradi.



Career



Ms Coppson in class



After successfully completing Holy Child, Ms Coppson was posted to Bewuanum - Mfafo D/C Primary School in the Central region.



In her fourth year at Bewuanum - Mfafo D/C Primary School, she gained admission to the University of Education in Winneba to study Basic Education, whereupon completion, she was posted to the 28th February Road Mixed Primary School, Osu in Accra, where she stayed for five years. At the beginning her sixth year however, she was transferred to the Richard Akwei Memorial Basic School.



Deserving Best Teacher Award?



Ms Coppson prizes award to the Headmistress of Richard Akwei Memorial Basic School, Madam Emelia Larbie



She has no qualms about that. While the recognition might have been one way God is smiling at her, she says she has also given her all to the only profession she knows and loves.



The selection process is rigorous, she recalled, and nominees compete at the district level, then to a regional phase before facing off in the national challenge.



Teachers lesson notes, exercises books of the children, marking of the registers, and corrections of pupils are checked by retired educationalists. In addition, nominees must teach in the presence of a panel of judges, besides oral interviews.



They need to know what you really know about your job, they need to know whether you know about your employer, what are some of your responsibilities, the kind of teaching aids you are using, whether they are useful to the pupil. You need to know beyond being a teacher, so they check on all those things, she told Graphic Online.



Ms Coppson said the judges also watch out for the impact of the nominee in the community he or she lives as a teacher, and they visit the community to interact with community members without as much of a hint to the candidate.



Prize

Ms Faustina Coppson, currently a primary one teacher of Richard Akwei Memorial School at Agbobloshie, beat two others to win the coveted national prize  which comes in the shape of a 3-bedroom house, GH50,000 cedis, a scholarship to study abroad and a life insurance cover from SIC.



Investing in wards



One of Ms Coppson's pupils solving a maths problem



The most devastating realization in her career is that parents are not investing enough in the education of their wards.



Citing herself as an example, she said the chance given her by her parents paid off.



And she is convinced that that is definitely the way to go if parents would devote their time and finances to support the wellbeing and the educational needs of their children.



Ms Coppson would also want parents to follow up their wards progress at school and help suggest corrective measures for their holistic upbringing, saying it is not enough to secure admission for ones ward.



A child can come to school a whole term and there are no exercise books, no pencils, nothing and you are a teacher and you are preparing lesson notes every week to teach. How do you teach them? she quipped.



This, Ms Coppson noted hinders the academic performance of the children and the evaluation process of the teacher.



Burning desire

The National Best Teacher for 2017 intends to focus on educating street children, in addition to her teaching. According to her, it has been her dream that most street children in the national capital would acquire at least, basic education.



And as first steps towards the realization of the long-held dream, she has adopted three street children she has put in school at the Richard Akwei Memorial School.



And she plans to use her position as the National Best Teacher to seek sponsorship to move children off the streets and put them in schools.



Hobbies

Ms Coppson lists listening to music and sightseeing as her hobbies, and when it comes to her favorite dish, gari with grounded pepper and fish must be on the menu.

Source: Daily Graphic









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The Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) is yet to pay compensation to landowners and farmers in its operational areas due to litigation over the rightful owners of the affected land.



This is in spite of the Lands Valuation Division of the Lands Commission completing the necessary valuation of the land, and the Ghana Gas setting aside funds to compensate the landowners.



The Regional Head of the Land Valuation Division of the Lands Commission, Mr Seth Boakye Owusu, made this known in response to accusations by the chiefs and people in the affected communities that Ghana Gas had not compensated them since it entered the land.



This was at the sixth public session of the Citizen Advisory Council of Western Regional Coastal Foundation in Takoradi on Tuesday.



Resolve differences



Mr Owusu said the failure to submit a litigation-free claim of land was delaying the payment of the compensation.



He acknowledged the sentiments of the aggrieved landowners and those whose crops were affected.



The publication



Mr Owusu explained that after the valuation was completed for the purposes of compensation, there were publications in August and September 2014 for claimants of the land to file for compensation.



The publications and invitations, he stated, saw a tsunami of conflicts, while others were affected by statutory timelines.



Mr Owusu said the payment of compensation could only be done devoid of conflict.



On the 111-kilometre pipeline occupying 910 acres of land, there were 35 claimants out of which 19 out of the number were within time and the remaining 16 claimants were statutorily barred, he said.



Another interesting thing, he stated about the claims within time, was that, 18 out of the 19 were saddled with conflicts as many factions claimed ownership of the same space.



Mr Owusu said Ghana Gas had indicated that it had set aside funds and was ready to pay the rightful claimants.



Ghana Gas



When contacted, officials of Ghana Gas said the company had initiated processes to engage the project-affected communities and people who needed to be compensated.



The Senior Manager, Government Relations, Ms Augustina Asare Osei, said a team headed by its Chief Executive, Dr Ben Asante, had engaged the Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Dr Wilfred K. Anim-Odame, and his team in their effort to resolve the pending compensation issues.



Thus, we are working closely with the Land Valuation Division of the Lands Commission to quickly resolve all outstanding compensation packages for the project affected people and the communities, she said.

Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The African Centre of International Criminal Justice has organized a two day legal capacity building training programme to provide international criminal law education to African journalists, law students, lawyers, the civil society and the general public.



The ACICJ training programme, 2017, hosted by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration Law School, Green Hill, was targeted at Ghanaian and African journalists and to provide them with an in-depth overview of International Criminal Law and Justice.



The training which brought together journalists from across the country drawn from radio, television, print as well as those on social media including bloggers and online reporters.



The two day course also aimed at introducing to the participants the overall objective of the ICJL regime from a historical perspective, through to present times.



Dahirou Santa-Anna, a prosecutor at the ICC, took participants through the discussion.



On legal basis, jurisdiction for the establishment of the International Criminal Court, Edmund Foley and Jean-Jacques Badibanga of the GIMPA Law School and the ICC respectively educated those present on the operations of the court.



Amongst the topics treated during the period included jurisdiction and processes of the International Criminal Court, the role and rights of participants in proceedings before the ICC, the International Criminal Court and Africa: situations and cases as well as media ethics and effective legal communication for journalists.



On jurisdiction of the ICC, participants were made to know that the court has power to exercise its authority on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which is in line with the Rome Statute.



The experts took turn and outlined some of the cases the ICC under the office of the prosecutor is investigating from countries such as Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Darfur in Sudan, Kenya, Libya, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali and Georgia.



One area which was critical to the participants as it touched on their core mandates as far as reportage on the activities of the ICC is concerned was the media ethics and effective legal communications.



Here, participants were taught how to appreciate certain terminologies so as to appreciate the workings of the court in their reportage.



During the question and answer time, more light was thrown on how the ICC is working to bring sanity onto the continent by prosecuting leaders who try to entrench themselves in power.



Journalists were schooled on the composition of the ICC.



With a working staff of 800 from 100 states, the ICCs President is Judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, with Ms Fatou Bensouda as prosecutor and Mr Herman von Hebel as registrar.



It is headquartered at The Hague, Netherlands.



Since the inception of the ICC in July 1, 2002, there are six persons currently in their custody. They are Bosco Ntaganda of DRC; Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo of Central African Republic; Laurent Gbagbo, Charles Ble Goude, Dominic Ongwen of Uganda and Ahmad Al Fagi Al Mahdi.



All participants who took part in the capacity programme were awarded certificates of participation by the ACICJ.





Source: The New Statesman









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The outgoing Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr. Bright Oduro has expressed worry over his unexpected proceed on leave order by his superiors.



Nobody sat me down to discuss this issue with me. I wasnt confronted in connection with this issue. What I know is that some individuals have been peddling force information about me. It is a bit odd for them to tell me to proceed on leave, why me? he questioned in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie.



Mr Bright Oduro was appointed as CID boss in January 2017 at the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) and was recently promoted to the rank of Commissioner of Police (COP).



He was unexpectedly asked to proceed on leave last Friday, October 13, 2017, a few hours after the maverick Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyapong had reiterated a series of allegations on radio, accusing him of protecting and shielding criminals and land guards at Miotso in Greater Accra.



But he claims the entire allegations are force and an attempt to tarnish his reputation in the service over the years.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Ambrose_wash









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Governance Watch has cast doubt on the credibility of Deputy Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, to act as CID boss.



Following the subtle order for COP Bright Oduro to proceed on his terminal leave, pending his retirement in January next year, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the Second-In-Command at the CID Headquarters, has taken over the mantle of leadership. But Governance Watch thinks this is a wrong move.



According to the Governance Watch, ACP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah is yet to clear her name in the alleged A Plus doctored tape SAGA hence, she cannot act as CID boss.



The Executive Secretary, Stephen Kwabena Attuh, told Valentina Ofori-Afriyie on the 505 programme on Tuesday, October 17 that: She may have whatever academic or work experience and qualifications to occupy that office, but there is a pending issue.



We were all here when an audio recording was leaked to the public, and eventually the parties involved  ACP Addo Danquah and then the said Kwame A PlusShe admitted having conversed with individuals. A Plus equally admitted having conversed with her.



Even if she stood, the most qualified individual would you prefer that such qualified individual would head an institution that would continue to draw down its credibility?



Whatever you put out in the public, the public can stand up and challenge it. I am not sure that the Ghana Police will tell us that there is nobody who is qualified apart from this woman.







Source: classfmonline.com









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Nii Ayi Bontey II, the Gbese Mantse and King Tackie Adama Latse II, the Ga Mantse, were on Wednesday inducted into the Greater Accra Region House of Chiefs (GARHC).



The two chiefs swore the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath before Mr Frank Yao Gbeddy, a Circuit Court Judge at Odumase Krobo and the Oath of membership and secrecy administered by Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, President of GARHC at Dodowa in Accra.



Nii Dowuona VII, who is also the Osu Mantse, said the ceremony signified their official acceptance into the house to help work for the interest of Accra in ensuring peace and development.



He therefore called on the two chiefs to unite the people and bring development in the area.



There cannot be effective development without peace and unity, and therefore, I urge you to lead the crusade to unite all factions to pave way for development in the area, he added.



The Osu Mantse said Chieftaincy in the region was bedeviled with conflicts and misunderstanding, which retarded development and, therefore, urged them to institute measures to resolve the issues, and ensure peace and unity.



Nii Dowuona VII urged the two chiefs to acquaint themselves with the countrys Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) to guide them in making decisions.



He also urged them to lead exemplary lives to gain public confidence.



Nene Atiapa III, the Vice President of the House, advised the chiefs not to meddle in politics but concentrate more on their core mandates and bring development to their area of jurisdiction.



Nii Adjei Kraku, the Tema Mantse, called for oneness to forge ahead to spearhead the development of the region.



Nii Ayi Bontey pledged his allegiance to the House and promised to consult the leadership of the House in strategising for the improvement of the Gbese community and to resolve conflicts in the area and called on his subjects to co-exist peacefully and contribute meaningfully to the development of the town.



The ceremony brought together members of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs including; Nene Aadegbor Ngmongmowuyaa Kwesi Animle VI, the Paramount Chief of Osudoku Traditional Area, and Nene Abram Kabu Akuaku II, the Ada Mantse.



The rest are; Nii Tetteh Tsuru II, the Kpong Mantse, Professor Odeifio Welentsi III, the Paramount Chief of Nungua Traditional Area, and Nene Atsure Benta III, the Acting President of Prampram Traditional Area.

Source: GNA









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Some polling station executives in the Ashanti Region are calling for the reinstatement of Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, who was suspended indefinitely by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) months before the 2016 elections.



Addressing a press conference in Kumasi on Monday, October 16 Mr Tweneboah Kodua, convener for the group, appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, the National Executive Council of the party and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, to reconsider the suspension and call Mr Agyapong back.



" so our humble appeal to the National Council of the party is to recall Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyapong back to his office, he stated.



The NEC of the opposition New Patriotic Party acted based on findings of the party's Disciplinary Committee and suspended Kwabena Agyepong, together with 2nd Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe.



Both of them were handed indefinite suspensions on Dec 10, 2015 after a meeting held by the NEC members at the party's headquarters in Asylum Down, Accra.



The suspensions follow a petition brought forth by some NPP members who accused the two of undermining the partys authority of the party.









Source: classfmonline.com









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Informatiile publicate de evz.ro pot fi preluate de alte publicatii online doar in limita a 500 de caractere si cu citarea sursei cu link activ. Orice abatere de la aceasta regula constituie o incalcare a Legii 8/1996 privind dreptul de autor.
The words of an immigrant mother can be heard reverberating outside of Philadelphia's City Hall.

Her story of fleeing to America only to be detained for two years at the Berks Family Residential Center is told every Wednesday and Friday night from 8 to 10 p.m. until Nov .17. Her name is not shared, but the message is hers.

It's called "Seguimos Caminando (We Keep Walking)," an art installation by Michelle Angela Ortiz and part of the Mural Arts Philadelphia Monument Lab.

There are two women's stories told in the piece, which features animations projected onto the walls of City Hall. Both of the women were kept at Berks Family Residential Center while they sought asylum in the United States. The Berks Family Residential Center is one of three facilities in the United States where the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency holds undocumented immigrant families.

The center has been the subject of numerous protests, especially by those who say the detainees have been subject to various forms of abuse including sexual.

Governor Tom Wolf has pushed for the facility's license to be revoked.

Both of the women in "Seguimos Caminando" were released in August, Ortiz said.

Ortiz partnered up with the Shut Down Berks Coalition for her work, which is in two parts. There's the aforementioned "Seguimos Caminando" portion. Then there's "Flores de Libertad (Flowers of Freedom)."

Ortiz had 14 mothers at the detention center make paper flowers, a Mexican cultural tradition, and write messages of freedom on them.

"The reasoning for making the flowers was for them to have at least a moment in their day when they were not thinking about 'am I going to be deported?', 'am I going to stay in the center?', 'am I going to stay in the U.S?'" Ortiz said. "This was happening at the time when out of those 14 mothers, 10 were deported back to their home countries after being detained in the center for 2 years."

Ortiz has since brought the flowers to the public, hosting free Flores de Libertad workshops at the Barnes Foundation in October (both at the Monument Lab field research office outside of the museum and in the Barnes' Annenberg Court). It's meant to engage people and educate them about the plight of these immigrant families.

"It's also to allow different people from all different parts of the city to share their message of freedom to either the mothers at Berks or the policymakers who have the power to shut down the center," Ortiz said.

The flowers will be placed outside of City Hall on Oct. 25, assembled in such a way as to spell "libertad" (or freedom). Ortiz will re-stage the placement again on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at the Barnes Foundation.

You can learn more about Ortiz's artwork in the video below, or by visiting monumentlab.muralarts.org.

For those interested in contributing to the paper flower collection, there will be free workshops on the following days:

Oct. 20 from 6-9:30 p.m. at the Monument Lab field research office at the Barnes Foundation

Oct. 21 from 1-4 p.m. at the Monument Lab field research office at the Barnes Foundation

Oct. 23 from 12:30-3 p.m. at the Barnes Foundation's Annenberg Court

Nov. 1 from 1-4 p.m. at the Barnes Foundation's Annenberg Court

The Barnes Foundation, and the Monument Lab field research office outside of it, are located at 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. For more information about the Barnes Foundation visit barnesfoundation.org. For more information on the Shut Down Burks Coalition visit vamosjuntos.org/Shut-Down-Berks.
Weeks before her death, 16-year-old Jchandra Brown confided in her friend, Tyerell Przybycien, that she wanted to kill herself. When Przybycien, 18, asked another friend what he should do, the friend encouraged him to talk her out of it.

But Przybycien, of Spanish Fork, Utah, admitted he wanted to help end her life. "It be awesome," he texted. It would be "like getting away with murder."

He helped her meticulously plan the suicide and set it in motion, prosecutors allege in court documents. He researched and settled on how she would do it.

And on May 5, he picked the girl up from work, purchased an industrial strength aerosol air duster and rope for her, and drove her to the site of his choosing: the scenic Maple Lake near Payson Canyon, 23 miles south of Provo, Utah.

He helped fasten the rope to a tree, ensuring it was tight and high enough, Przybycien would later tell authorities. He set up a wooden pedestal atop a rock, and tied a noose for her because she didn't know how to do it.

Then, he filmed the grim moments that followed - Brown stepping onto the pedestal, placing the noose around her neck, inhaling the air duster, which caused her to lose consciousness, and ultimately her falling off the platform in a twisting motion. Przybycien continued filming for about 10 minutes.

Was it murder? Przybycien's lawyer, Gregory Stewart, argued that none of his actions directly caused Brown's death.

"Her putting the noose around her neck, stepping onto the pedestal, and inhaling the compressed air so she passed out and slipped from the pedestal caused her death," Stewart told The Washington Post. "These intervening acts, we argue, and not Tyerell's actions, caused her death."

But on Tuesday, a judge ruled it is "reasonable to infer" that Przybycien intended to cause Brown's death, and were it not for his actions, the girl would not have died.

Utah County district court Judge James Brady on Tuesday ordered Przybycien to go to trial on a first degree murder charge. He also faces one misdemeanor count for failing to report a dead body. If convicted of murder, Przybycien could face 15 years to life in prison.

In his 16-page ruling, Brady wrote that Przybycien's actions were a "substantial factor" in bringing about Brown's death, which was "foreseeable." He said prosecutors are not required to show that Przybycien's actions were the sole cause of her death in order to support a murder conviction.

Przybycien, Brady wrote, cannot "escape criminal responsibility" just because the girl apparently wanted to die. The man knew what he was doing, the judge wrote, and took no precautions to prevent the death.

"Likewise, encouraging and helping to facilitate the suicide of an impressionable minor who could have benefited from support, counseling or therapy is completely lacking of social value," Brady wrote.

The case parallels some aspects of the landmark case of Michelle Carter, the Massachusetts woman who was found responsible for the death of her boyfriend, whom she urged through phone calls and text messages to kill himself.

She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to more than two years in the Bristol County House of Correction in Massachusetts.

The judge ruled on Przybycien's case after a preliminary hearing last month.

Przybycien's lawyer said he is exploring all options available for his client, who will probably plead not guilty to all charges at his arraignment next Tuesday.

In the weeks leading up to Brown's death, Przybycien began spending more and more time with her as she told him she was considering suicide, according to court documents.

On April 19, he messaged a friend, asking "What you do if you knew a friend was trying to commit suicide?"

The friend replied "Talk them out of ut."

"The thing is," Przybycien replied, "I wanna help kill them. It be awesome. Seriously im going to help her. Its like getting away with murder! ... I'm seriously not joking. It's going down in about a week or two."

On the morning of May 6, a turkey hunter came across Brown's body hanging in a tree by a rope. The air duster can was resting at her feet, beside a receipt showing the purchase of a rope under Przybycien's Visa card, according to court documents. A handwritten note was also left near her body. It stated her name and referred any questions to a video captured on her black smartphone, which was also left at the scene.

Once they charged the phone, officers watched the 10-minute video, which was later shown in court. At one point in the video, Przybycien is heard saying to Brown, "Thumbs up if you're OK," according to the Salt Lake Tribune. At another point, he said, "That's when the brain stops getting oxygen."

When Brown passed out and fell from the pedestal, he is heard saying, it "didn't work. That did not even work," according to court documents.

As officers investigated, Przybycien returned to the scene and soon after admitted to his role in the suicide. He told authorities he had an interest in watching someone die, and admitted that he got "carried away" with the idea of Brown's death. He said that he, too, was suicidal and wanted to watch Brown die to see if it was something he could go through with himself.

He admitted to telling her he would also kill himself, according to court documents.

Przybycien also said he wanted to retrieve the rope for sentimental value, and told police "that was my plan. that was the plan." He said he checked her pulse after the hanging and left the scene after not finding one.

Just before midnight the night of Brown's death, according to court documents, he wrote to a friend: "Bro It happened. I helped her do it too and I feel so guilty."

After her death, Przybycien dropped off a suicide letter to Brown's family. The letter, addressed to her mother, ended with Brown writing, "Again, this was my decision," according to television station KSL.

In a hearing last month, Brown's mother sat in the courtroom with her hair dyed blue as a tribute to her daughter, KSL reported. Sue Bryan said she felt her daughter was "groomed" by Przybycien to take her own life.

Przybycien and Brown were both students at Spanish Fork High, KSL reported.

"Friends don't let friends die," the mother told Fox 13, "So Tyerell was not a friend."

Brown's aunt, Polly Mejia, went further with her words, as she spoke to KSL.

"Her problem was she thought she'd found a friend," Mejia said. "Instead she'd found a monster."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The mother of an Army sergeant killed in Niger said Wednesday that President Donald Trump, in a call offering condolences, showed "disrespect" to the soldier's loved ones as they drove to the airport to meet his body.

Trump, engulfed in controversy over the appropriate way for presidents to show compassion for slain soldiers, strongly disputed that account.

Sgt. La David Johnson was one of four American military personnel killed nearly two weeks ago whose families had not heard from Trump until Tuesday. Rep. Frederica Wilson said that Trump told the widow that Johnson "knew what he signed up for."

The Florida Democrat said she was in the car with the widow, Myeshia Johnson, on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body when Trump called. La David Johnson's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the congresswoman's account was correct.

"Yes the statement is true," Jones-Johnson said. "I was in the car and I heard the full conversation. Not only did he disrespect my son," but he disrespected his wife and me and my husband.

That's simply not so, Trump said Wednesday. He declared on Twitter: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

But Wilson did not back down from her account, adding that Trump at one point could not remember the slain sergeant's name.

"It's disgraceful for him to even tweet about this," she told CNN. She added a personal insult: "And as I say, this gentleman has a brain disorder and he needs to be checked out."

Like presidents before him, Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen but not all. What's different is that Trump, alone among them, has picked a political fight over who's done better to honor the war dead and their families.

He placed himself at the top of the list, saying on Tuesday, "I think I've called every family of someone who's died" while past presidents didn't place such calls.

But The Associated Press found relatives of two soldiers who died overseas during Trump's presidency who said they never received a call or a letter from him, as well as relatives of a third who did not get a call.

And proof is plentiful that Barack Obama and George W. Bush -- saddled with far more combat casualties than the roughly two dozen so far under Trump, took painstaking steps to write, call or meet bereaved military families.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, an Iraq veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was attacked, said: "I just wish that this commander in chief would stop using Gold Star families as pawns in whatever sick game he's trying to play here."

For their part, Gold Star families, which have lost members in wartime, told AP of acts of intimate kindness from Obama and Bush when those commanders in chief consoled them.

Trump initially claimed that only he among presidents made sure to call families. Obama may have done so on occasion, he said, but "other presidents did not call."

He equivocated Tuesday as the record made plain that his characterization was false. "I don't know," he said of past calls. But he said his own practice was to call all families of the war dead.

But that hasn't happened.

No White House protocol demands that presidents speak or meet with the families of Americans killed in action -- an impossible task in a war's bloodiest stages. But they often do.

Altogether some 6,900 Americans have been killed in overseas wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the overwhelming majority under Bush and Obama.

Despite the much heavier toll on his watch -- more than 800 dead each year from 2004 through 2007 -- Bush wrote to all bereaved military families and met or spoke with hundreds if not thousands, said his spokesman, Freddy Ford.

Veterans groups said they had no quarrel with how presidents have recognized the fallen or their families.

"I don't think there is any president I know of who hasn't called families," said Rick Weidman, co-founder and executive director of Vietnam Veterans of America.

"President Obama called often and President Bush called often. They also made regular visits to Walter Reed and Bethesda Medical Center, going in the evenings and on Saturdays."

Trump feuded with one Gold Star family during last year's campaign, assailing the parents of slain Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who died in Iraq in 2004, after they criticized him from the stage at the Democratic National Convention.




STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- I'm one of the lucky ones.

I realized that during six weeks of radiation treatment at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in Basking Ridge,

N.J.

One day early in the process, I was sitting in the radiation waiting room filled with braless women of various ages clad in red and white linen gowns, all waiting to be called for their treatment.

"What are you doing here? You look too young to have cancer -- and you have hair," said a cheerful 60-something-year-old woman with very short gray hair, dangling gold earrings and red lipstick.

I looked around, and she was right. A lot of the women had scarves wrapped around their heads, having lost their locks from chemotherapy.

"I was lucky," I said to the room of women all sharing one painfully common bond. "I took my routine mammography, and they caught it early -- it was less than two centimeters, and it didn't spread."

Stages of cancer, I quickly learned, are just another way of saying how big the cancer is. Mine was small -- Stage 1.

The woman said her cancer had already reached Stage 3 when it showed up on her yearly mammogram. Another woman I met, who came from Arizona for her treatment, was just 32 and had Stage 4 cancer in both breasts.

When I was diagnosed, I hadn't immediately realized just how lucky I was.

I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG

It was Aug. 18, 2015, when I went for my yearly mammography at Regional Radiology in West Brighton. I was in a rush; I needed to get to work. But the radiologist took extra time reading the mammogram. The X-ray technician told me not to get dressed. I had to wait; I started to get impatient.

Never before had I been called in to take more photos. I was left in a waiting room yet again -- still in a robe, texting my editor that I'd be late.

I knew something was wrong.

Once inside the radiologist's office, she pointed out tiny white dots on the X-ray. She said I had very small calcifications that most likely were "nothing," but I'd need a biopsy.

For the next two weeks, everyone I told said it was likely just a precaution, or a false alarm. Calcifications, as it turns out, are common. One woman told me how she'd had eight biopsies for calcifications and they were always negative.

'YOU HAVE CANCER'

A week later, I went to Regional Radiology -- this time, in Charleston -- to have the biopsy done. It was painful, and I still have a mark on my left breast where the doctor shot a metal marker into my skin.

However, waiting for the results was far more painful.

The doctor called sooner than expected, on Sept. 1. I'll never forget how the words sounded. "You have cancer." Those words echoed in my head for a few minutes before I realized what she had said.

I had a common form of breast cancer -- hormone receptor-positive, which means it was fueled by estrogen. It was also

, which means it wasn't invasive.

Still, I had to be dreaming, right? Why me? Was it because I smoked for 15 years? Was it because I grew up near the former Fresh Kills Landfill? I eat healthy and exercise; how could this have happened? There was hardly any cancer in my family.

But after sobbing to my closest friends for a few hours, I realized it didn't matter how I got breast cancer; I just had to beat it. And not just for myself. My daughter was 11 at the time, and her friend's mother had died of breast cancer only a few years before.

I sat her down and told her I had it. And I told her I'd beat it.

ONGOING TREATMENT

My lumpectomy -- the surgery in which doctors remove the cancer, some surrounding tissue and one lymph node in my case -- was Sept. 15 at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in Manhattan.

I had to go on disability for three weeks for the surgery and recovery period. I went back to work for a month, and then I was out again for six weeks of radiation.

I'm happy to say that I've been cancer-free ever since, something I'm slightly embarrassed to write because so many millions of women have had it so much worse than I did. But now, as a breast cancer survivor, my life isn't quite the same.

I've been traveling to Uptown Manhattan every four months to see a medical oncologist and every six months to see my breast surgeon. I have to take a drug called Tamoxifen for 10 years.

My medical oncologist described to me how the medication works by telling me, "It's like putting those child-proof plugs into electrical sockets; that's how it blocks the estrogen in your body."

Breast cancer cells taken out during a biopsy are tested to see if they have proteins that are estrogen or progesterone receptors. "When the hormones estrogen and progesterone attach to these receptors, they fuel the cancer growth," the American Cancer Society says on its website.

NEW PERSPECTIVE

These days, I look at life a lot differently. I'm less vain and more relaxed -- especially when those little annoying things happen like losing your car keys when you're already late for work, or getting a flat tire.

Since my surgery, I've also put on weight. I've gone from a size 2 to size 6 -- a side effect of the medication, along with unpleasant hot flashes. So I eat even healthier than I did before, and I work out more than ever -- attending pilates and hot yoga classes and riding a treadmill three to five nights per week.

My daughter hears me complain when I look in the mirror and yet another piece from my closet doesn't fit.

"But you're alive," she says.

And I smile, and say, "Yes, I am."

EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES

If there's one thing I can share with my story, it is this: You should get a yearly mammogram if you're 40 or older.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women after lung cancer, and less than 15 percent of women have a family history of the disease. Don't make the mistake of thinking it can't happen to you.

Early detection saves lives. It saved mine. I didn't have a lump on my breast. I had something only a mammography could pick up. My cancer was so small it didn't even show up on the ultrasound scan.

While the American Cancer Society now recommends mammograms every two years for women 55 and older, from what I've learned, that is far too long to wait. In another year, my cancer could have been Stage 3 or 4. I might have needed a mastectomy, chemotherapy or more radiation, and, yes, I could have lost my life.

MAKING STRIDES

For the last two years, I've raised money by participating in the Staten Island Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk with friends and family.

This year, I have a bigger team, "Tracey's Team," which is made up of supporters ranging from co-workers to friends and family members. It's Oct. 15 in Midland Beach, where there will be a sea of pink and thousands of people -- along with hundreds of survivors -- walking to raise money to find a cure for this disease that claims the lives of some 40,000 women each year. Join us.

In the meantime, don't wait to go for that mammography. At best, you'll be clear. If not, your life may depend on early detection.
The state House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday night that represents one way to backfill the bulk of a $2.2 billion deficit in this year's $32.0 billion state budget.

The plan, like most considered in this cycle, relies mostly on borrowing, one-time fund transfers and other accounting maneuvers to belatedly balance the budget.

But because it does not meet Gov. Tom Wolf's targets for new, recurring revenues to fund state government, it seemed likely to serve mainly as the launch point for the next, and hopefully final, round of negotiations with the administration and state Senate.

At worst, it could lead to continued stalemate.

Senate Republican and Democratic sources made clear Tuesday night they had not agreed to the House's proposal, and would only begin considering it now.

Wolf's office, meanwhile, continued to stump publicly for a new tax on gas production from the state's Marcellus Shale formation as a vital component piece of any final revenue package.

Pennsylvania is currently the only Marcellus Shale state without a severance tax on gas production, though producers here do pay impact fees on individual drill sites as they are constructed.

There were signs late Tuesday such a levy could get a fresh chance to enter the late-stage talks as early as Wednesday. That's when the House Finance Committee is scheduled to consider a shale tax bill.

Details of the proposal were not available Tuesday night, but several sources said if that bill passes out of the committee it could get consideration on the House floor as early as next week.

The shale tax was always going to have to be launched on a second track, however, as it is opposed by top House Republican leaders including Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, and Majority Leader Dave Reed.

The consensus Tuesday was that it still had only an outside chance of being in the final revenue mix for this year.

The tax code bill that won House approval Tuesday on a 102-88 vote was really more of an authorization to borrow - it carries language approving a $1.5 billion cash advance against future revenues due Pennsylvania from the 1998 multi-state settlement with big tobacco companies.

That would be a one-time cash infusion to largely cover a 2016-17 deficit that will force a portion of the future settlement payments - currently about $350 million a year and used for a variety of health-related programs - to be swept off in repayments to whatever lender steps forward.

Tobacco borrowing has always been a part of the budget-balancing package this year, but the House plan took it to higher levels so as to minimize the need for new taxes.

As presented Tuesday, the bill has only about $85 million in new revenue from a variety of tax measures, none of which would hit the typical Pennsylvanian in the course of their everyday lives.

They include:

* A projected $52 million from changes in the state's rules regarding businesses ability to deduct past years' operating losses against current taxable income.

* $20 million in new projected revenue from changes in procedures regarding state tax appeals and witholding of rent, royalty and other income paid to non-residents.

* $10 million in the current fiscal year from efforts to wring more sales tax collections from certain online sellers.

* $2.6 million from a new tax on the retail purchase of fireworks.

Some of those revenue lines would grow in 2018-19.

But they are still small in comparison with a Senate-package - negotiated with Wolf in July - that contained roughly $570 million in new taxes, highlighted by its own version of a severance tax and other new taxes on natural gas consumption.

Tax-averse fiscal conservatives in the House's 121-member Republican majority had enough strength to kill that plan, but they have struggled - until now - to offer a complete counter-proposal.

In the interim, the state has lurched forward with an out-of-balance spending plan, delaying payments, taking out loans against funds held in the Treasury, and suffering the national black eye of a credit downgrade.

Programs and services, however, have largely been unaffected.

There has been general agreement on some other steps - to be taken up in a series of follow-up measures - to balance the books, including $300 million in one-time fund transfers from apparent surpluses in various special state accounts; a controversial sweep of $200 million from state-established medical malpractice insurance provider; and new licensing fees and taxes on profits from a yet-to-be-completed expansion of legal gambling.

But those were stalled by grinding fights over a final tax piece to meet Wolf's demand for about $400 to $500 million in recurring revenue to at least partially offset new recurring expenses in the current fiscal year.

With Turzai and Reed dead-set against a shale tax, a variety of proposals were considered including a new statewide hotel tax, application of the state sales tax on commercial storage, and a surcharge on motorists entering or exiting the state on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

All faltered in the House this month.

Wolf, in the absence of a final revenue plan, has threatened to move forward unilaterally with his own fiscal management plan, which would include getting his own cash advance against future state-owned liquor store revenues and a lease of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

House leaders from both parties set their struggles aside Tuesday, if only temporarily, by simply agreeing to boost the previous cap on the tobacco borrowing from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

"We had folks on both sides of the aisle kind of say, look, we're fighting over a hundred million, two hundred million dollars," Reed said in describing Tuesday's House truce. "It's a thirty-two billion dollar state-funded budget.

"Let's figure out a way to work through that and let's move on."

Taken together with the other transfers and gambling expansion, Reed said, "we think this package will take us through last year, this year and help balance next year as well."

Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny County, said House plan does set a course toward giving the beleaguered governor more options.

But the absence of public statements and press calls after Tuesday's vote seemed to indicate all sides recognized that this was really only another step along the way.

The House floor debate was dominated by opponents, who mostly decried the imbalance balance between the proposed one-time revenue sources and the limited new, recurring revenue.

"That is like buying groceries on a Visa card," complained Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery County.

"As much as I would like a (completed) budget, and I'd like it yesterday... I can't vote that we'll be paying back for the next 20 years a $1.5 billion loan for operating expenses."

"As many of us say, we can't tax our way to prosperity," agreed Rep. Russ Diamond, a Republican from Lebanon County.

"We also can't borrow our way to solvency... This revenue package before us is not a major tax increase today, but it will certainly call for a major tax increase in the future."

But when the roll call was taken, 70 Republicans and 32 Democrats voted yes, apparently in hopes of getting the four-month budget deadlock off-center.

We should know soon if it worked.
That lawmakers on Capitol Hill are reportedly "scrambling" to repeal a 2016 law that hamstrung the government's ability to fight the scourge of opioid abuse tells you all you need to know about the pernicious influence of big money and the revolving door between government and big business in the nation's capital.

U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, the northeastern Pennsylvania Republican at the heart of this story, was right to withdraw his name from consideration as President Donald Trump's pick to run the Office of Drug Control Policy.

Marino is also right that the bill he sponsored weakening key federal enforcement standards passed the U.S. House and Senate by what's known as "unanimous consent."

And he is right that it was tragically signed into law by then-President Barack Obama, occurred without barely a whisper of concern by key regulatory and oversight agencies.

But complaints by Marino, a former federal prosecutor who touted his own tough-on-drugs pose, that he was unfairly targeted in the joint Washington Post/60 Minutes investigation that brought this epic dysfunction to light, ring laughably hollow.

It was Marino, and not someone else after all, who sponsored the bill - and did so with the assistance of former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials who'd passed through the revolving door and gone to work for Big Pharma.

In the wake of its becoming law, government enforcement actions predictably plummeted, The Post reported, even as the overdose death toll rose.

As The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday, Marino accepted $92,500 from the pharmaceutical industry over four years.

That happened even as thousands of Pennsylvanians fell prey to the scourge of abuse, with many dying of them from fatal overdoses.

Yet Marino's colleagues, among them, U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello, R-6th District, and Lou Barletta, R-11th District, are expressing surprise that a bill marketed as a way to ensure that patients received access to pain medication without interruption, might have had a darker agenda.

They're simply guilty of the worst kind of intellectual torpor.

It's long been a sad joke on Capitol Hill that lawmakers often don't read the legislation they're called to vote upon. This multi-level failure is the example that proves the cliche.

"If the purpose of the law is now not being realized, then we need to fix it," Costello told the Inquirer in a statement. "I am in the process of investigating and evaluating this as we speak."

A laudable sentiment, Mr. Costello. But where was this vigilance last year when the legislation sailed through Congress?

The same holds true for Barletta, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, who dinged Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., for failing to oppose the bill.

"You'd have to believe that someone would have raised a red flag," if there had been issues with the legislation when Congress acted upon it in the spring of 2016, Barletta told PennLive on Wednesday.

Your outrage is misplaced, Mr. Barletta. Unanimous consent means no one, including you, opposed it.

Where were you?

So while it's good that Congress has recognized its mistake and is going back to fix it, the institution - and the former White House - has blood on its hands for allowing this monstrosity of a law to fester into existence in the first place.

It's a national disgrace.
It is beginning to appear that students attending Pennsylvania's state-related universities might be able to stop worrying about a potential mid-year tuition hike.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said the House is set to consider funding bills for Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln universities as well as University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school on Wednesday.

The funding bills, which won Senate approval on June 30, would provide some $600 million in state support to those so-called state-related universities and Penn Vet.

In exchange for state funding, it buys the 130,000 or so Pennsylvania students who attend them a five-figure discount on their annual tuition bills, among other programs and services that are provided to the commonwealth.

Officials from Penn State, Pitt and Temple indicated that a mid-year tuition hike might be necessary if the state funding didn't come through.

A spokeswoman for Lincoln, which depends on the state support to cover a quarter of its operating budget, said university officials chose not to think about what action it might have to take although some lawmakers speculated that it might have to close.

National higher education observers said not funding those institutions would propel Pennsylvania - already ranked in the top five states for having high tuition and high student debt - to the top of the list of most unaffordable states in the nation for students to pursue a college education.

Some lawmakers privately indicated a willingness to cut the cord between the state and these state-supported universities this year but both the House and Senate GOP leaders said on Tuesday that's a conversation for another day.

"Folks want to have further discussion about what to do with the state-relateds," said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana County. "That's a long-term discussion. That's not a decision you make mid-semester."

Stripping out funding for the universities is "a fine public policy discussion to have. It shouldn't be eliminated because of a budgetary decision," said Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre County, said. "We should go through the process and weigh the benefits and costs of the state-related universities. To just pull the rug out from under them without any notice would be wrong."

Gov. Tom Wolf will sign the funding bills for the state-related universities if the House sends them to him, his spokesman J.J. Abbott has said. But Abbott added that accompanying those bills should be a revenue plan to pay for them, calling that the "responsible and fair thing to do."

Reed indicated the House would be voting on a revenue package on Wednesday evening that through a mix of revenue sources - excluding the controversial hotel tax and tax on commercial storage - an expansion of legalized gambling and borrowing $1.5 billion against the tobacco settlement payouts would provide a path to fully funding the $32 billion enacted state budget including these universities.
A worker prepares umbrellas for the delegates in the rain outside the Great Hall of the People during the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged a reinvigorated Communist Party to take on a more forceful role in society and economic development to better address "grim" challenges facing the country as he opened a twice-a-decade national congress. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
FILE - In this June 7, 2017 file photo, Donna Karan attends the 2017 Urban Zen Stephan Weiss Apple Awards in New York. Karan says she is apologetic and embarrassed about the remarks she made last week that suggested sexual harassment victims were "asking for it" by the way they dressed. Her comments on a red carpet touched off outrage online in wake of allegations against fallen mogul Harvey Weinstein. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP, File)
B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen leaves Government House after Premier John Horgan was sworn-in as Premier in Victoria, B.C., on Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Transportation spokesman Adam Olsen says the arrival of ride sharing to B.C. has been stalled by both the Liberals and NDP. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Actor John Dunsworth listens to a speaker at a news conference in Halifax on April 12, 2005. Dunsworth, best known for playing Jim Lahey in the comedy series "Trailer Park Boys," has died. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Eric Salvail holds up his ward for best talk show host at the Gala Artis awards ceremony in Montreal, Sunday, May 14, 2017. Salvail, a popular Quebec media personality, is suspending his professional activities amid allegations of sexual misconduct. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
In this picture taken July 12 2017, Portuguese Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa attends a parliament debate in Lisbon. De Sousa the Portuguese government minister in charge of emergency services has resigned after 106 people were killed in wildfires this year. The government said on its website on Wednesday Oct. 18, 2017, that Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa has tendered her resignation and that Prime Minister Antonio Costa has accepted it. . (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
FILE - In this file image from video released by Taliban Media in December 2016, Caitlan Coleman talks in the video while her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle holds their two children. The couple and their three children were rescued Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2017, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. The children were born in captivity. (Taliban Media via AP)
With hundreds of miles of scenic bike paths running through Greater Philadelphia, its no wonder so many Philly residents are avid bicyclists. If youre looking for new routes to try in town, check out our list of the citys best
A PharmaCann medical marijuana dispensary in Albany, N.Y. The company plans on opening a dispensary near Philadelphia Mills Mall (formerly Franklin Mills). Read more

The largest shopping mall operator in America wants to prevent a medical marijuana dispensary from opening near the former Franklin Mills Mall, and is attempting to turn its effort in Southeastern Pennsylvania into a federal case to ensure that the cannabis business never launches.

Simon Property Group, a $59 billion company based in Indianapolis and best known locally as owner of King of Prussia Mall, also owns the Northeast Philadelphia mall now known as Philadelphia Mills.

PharmaCann LLC, a small medical marijuana company based in Chicago, operates eight legal cannabis dispensaries in Illinois and New York state. It bought the site of a former Chi-Chi's restaurant at the periphery of the Philadelphia Mills property earlier this year with the intention of opening a cannabis oil outlet there.

But it may not be able to meet the state Department of Health's deadline to open before January 1, 2018. The site has been mired in litigation since September, with little communication between the two sides.

"We don't know why Simon has made this an issue," said PharmaCann's attorney, Joshua Horn of Fox Rothschild. "There's always a path to a resolution. We tried to speak with them; they told us to pound sand."

A representative for Philadelphia Mills declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Attorneys for Simon Property Group did not return calls requesting comment. It is not known why Simon doesn't want the proposed dispensary to open on the 500 block of Franklin Mills Circle. The dispensary, which is not on the mall's property, would be designed as a nondescript office building with very little to identify it from the outside.

In March, Simon passed on the opportunity to buy the land, waiving its right of first refusal before PharmaCann agreed to buy the property for $1.1 million, according to court papers obtained by the Inquirer.

In passing on the property, Simon asserted that a dispensary would be "strictly prohibited" because of a deed restriction forbidding a drugstore. PharmaCann attorneys said the dispensary  which will sell only a handful of cannabis oils, tinctures and lotions to sick registered patients and their caregivers  is not a drugstore.

The state, which legalized medical marijuana in April 2016, granted PharmaCann a permit to open on the site in June. The city granted zoning approval for the company to run a dispensary there in July.

Simon also said the deed forbids illegal activity on the premises. Because federal law considers any form of cannabis to be a Schedule 1 substance without any approved medical use, Simon's attorneys said a medical marijuana facility is prohibited there, or anywhere else in the state.

PharmaCann countered with a filing in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court so it could proceed with construction to meet the state-mandated deadline requiring it to open by year's end, Horn said.

On Tuesday, Simon sought to make an end run around state law by removing the case to U.S. District Court.

"Although Simon wants to get it into the federal court, there's still a jurisdictional issue because the issue is over Pennsylvania real property," Horn said. "PharmaCann believes the matter must be heard in state court."
Ivanka Trump, daughter of Republican Presidential Nominee Donald J. Trump, takes the stage during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last July. Comcast Corp. and other companies secretly financed a cloakroom for lawmakers to network as part of the convention, published reports say. Read more

Comcast Corp. helped finance a posh "cloakroom" at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland for top federal lawmakers that skirted campaign-finance disclosure rules, according to published reports on Wednesday.

Comcast gave $200,000 for the well-appointed gathering place constructed inside the Cleveland Cavaliers' practice facility for House Speaker Paul Ryan and other powerful Republicans.

Corporate and organization funding to the Friends of the House 2016 LLC appeared to fall outside the public disclosure rule as the group was not a politcal committee but a limited liability company.

Comcast did not comment on Wednesday but noted that it did not contribute other money to the Cleveland political convention. The same story was initially published by the Center for Public Integrity, the Columbus Dispatch, and the Daily Beast.

Comcast heavily lobbies federal and state lawmakers and has faced pressure from Philadelphia-based shareholder activists to disclose more of its political activity. Comcast says it complies with state and federal disclosure laws. Shareholders rejected the calls for greater disclosure on Comcast's political activity this year.

The Koch Companies Public Sector LLC, Microsoft Corp., AT&T, Chevron, and the National Retail Federation  in total, about 20 politically influential organizations  also financed the cloakroom, with checks written to a private company called Friends of the House 2016 LLC.

A spokeswoman for Health Care Service Corp. told the Center for Public Integrity, which broke the story, that sponsors of the "hospitality venue" were invited to use it, which would have given officials from those companies and organizations access to lawmakers.

Comcast's $200,000 was the biggest check to Friends of the House LLC. The next-largest contribution was $100,000 by seven companies or organizations.

Details of the cloakroom spilled into the public domain this year through an Ohio court case involving concerts at the 2016 Republican Convention. Friends of the House LLC was not a defendant in the case but images of the checks were attached to the court filings. The Comcast check was drawn on a Wells Fargo account.

"This is the real problem you have with political spending that is walled-off from disclosure," said Bruce F. Freed, president and cofounder of the Center for Political Accountability. The center publishes an index of corporate accountability, the CPA-Zicklin Index.
A new group of business, civic, and academic leaders backing SEPTA's proposed Norristown High Speed Line extension to King of Prussia is portraying the project as a crucial link between the region's largest suburban employment center and Philadelphia's urban core.

The King of Prussia Rail Coalition was formed to promote the extension after the release late last week of a draft report on the project's impact, an important early phase of development. Jerry Sweeney, president and chief executive of Philadelphia developer Brandywine Realty Trust, was named the group's chairman.

The project would branch off the existing line a few stops shy of its Norristown terminus, wending west through about four miles of Upper Merion Township to end near the Valley Forge Casino Resort after stopping at the King of Prussia Mall, the King of Prussia Business Park, and other locations.

With the project's anticipated completion in 2023 at an estimated cost of $1.1 billion, those employment-rich suburban sites would be connected to Philadelphia's main business districts of Center City and University City via the Norristown line's existing link to the Market-Frankford Line at 69th Street in Upper Darby.

"When we look at King of Prussia and the wonders it provides in terms of economic growth  it becomes incredibly important to make sure we do not pass King of Prussia by, that King of Prussia becomes just as accessible as other parts of our region," Sweeney said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the rail group's formation.

The group also includes officials with the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the King of Prussia District business association, and officials with Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Villanova University.

The organization was formed ahead of scheduled sessions next month to present the new report, a so-called Draft Environmental Impact Statement, in King of Prussia and Norristown.

When aspects of the proposal were last presented, at the start of 2016, critics said that the planned rail line would pass too close to existing homes, amid other complaints. Since then, a petition by a rail-opposition group calling itself NoKOPRail has attracted more than 800 signatures.

The impact study, released Oct. 13 by the Federal Transit Administration and SEPTA, looks at how each of five potential routes would impact area properties, ease transit use, enable economic development, and other criteria. It also analyzes the consequences of abandoning the project.

The route recommended by the study's authors would follow a portion of an existing PECO electric utility corridor and a strip of Pennsylvania Turnpike property passing behind the King of Prussia Mall, before turning north to use a section of Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad track. It would then turn west along First Avenue to end near the intersection with North Gulph Road, close to the casino resort.

King of Prussia Rail Coalition members say the benefits of the project would be enormous, including increased job growth in King of Prussia of up to 1,500 positions a year and 310,000 square feet of real estate development stimulated along the corridor.

Sweeney, whose Brandywine owns office properties along both existing and proposed portions of the envisioned Center City-to-King of Prussia transit route, called the project "a regional economic imperative."

"We absolutely have to make sure that our mass transit system here really does  create a great framework for businesses to grow," he said.
Workers at the Navy Yard business and industrial park in South Philadelphia, one of the sites that the city is expected to proposed to Amazon for its planned second headquarters campus. Read more

Pennsylvania officials plan to offer Amazon more than $1 billion in tax incentives if the e-commerce giant locates its planned second headquarters campus in the state, the head of the Philadelphia area's main business group said.

Rob Wonderling, president of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, said in an interview Tuesday that the tax breaks would be an extra enticement on top of Pennsylvania's existing draws. State legislators highlighted Pennsylvania's educational institutions and high-tech workforce in an online letter to Amazon.com Inc. this month.

Wonderling declined to specify in any more detail how much state officials planned to authorize in incentives for Amazon, citing a nondisclosure agreement surrounding his talks with leaders.

Gov. Wolf's spokesman, J.J. Abbott, said in an email Wednesday that details of any incentive offers would not be made public before Amazon's Thursday deadline for accepting headquarters site proposals.

"To preserve competitive advantages of these proposals, it would be premature to share while other states are still able to amend their bids," he said.

Amazon said it plans to employ 50,000 skilled workers at a second headquarters campus  nicknamed HQ2  outside its native Seattle. The plans call for spending $5 billion to develop millions of square feet of new office space.

Construction and ongoing operations of the campus are expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in surrounding communities, Wolf said in a Wednesday release.

Wisconsin's proposed $3 billion in tax breaks for Chinese electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group to open a U.S. plant there served as a model for Pennsylvania leaders in their discussions, Wonderling said. He declined to compare those breaks with what Pennsylvania plans to offer Amazon.

Separately, Philadelphia City Councilman David Oh proposed legislation last month that would grant a city tax exemption to "new mega-businesses" matching the planned headquarters' description. The bill, which is to be considered by Council's finance committee, would absolve the company from paying the city's business net income tax for 10 years, for a savings of up to $2 billion.

Philadelphia also has been releasing a series of videos this week featuring promotional remarks by local business, academic and cultural leaders in the leadup to its bid submission on Thursday.

The third of the videos, released Wednesday, focuses on the city's diversity; affordability; and recreation, cultural and dining options, with remarks by Iroko Pharmaceuticals LLC founder Osagie Imasogie and Yards Brewing Co. operations chief Trevor Pritchett.

Pennsylvania metropolitan areas Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were ranked the top two choices in North America for the second Amazon headquarters in a Moody's Analytics Inc. analysis that included geographic location in addition to preferences stated in the company's request for proposals.

Other Pennsylvania municipalities expected to submit bids include Delaware County with the city of Chester and Bensalem Township in Bucks County.

Pennsylvania also plans to submit a state-level proposal to accompany the bids from individual municipal governments, according to Wolf's statement.

"We believe we have the strongest proposal and are extremely well-positioned to win this project," the governor said. "We are proud to have coalesced all of our state leaders and partners in this effort and would be proud to be the home of Amazon HQ2."

UPDATE: Philly one of 20 finalists for Amazon HQ2
People used to laugh at my suggestion that computer viruses were being planted and user info was being purloined by the same companies who sell us security software. These products are intended to safeguard our computers, our identity and online activities, by remotely snooping over our cyber-shoulders (with permission).

But of late the "fox-in-the-henhouse" mentality has been gaining credibility in our politically disturbed world. As when we hear about distant hackers in Russia and China faking Facebook identities (she seemed like such a nice girl, and weren't those puppies cute!) to plant viruses and disrupt elections.

Consider the growing fears and revelations surrounding Kaspersky Lab, a leading seller of antivirus software, spawned in Moscow by a KGB-trained operative, Eugene Kaspersky.

Revelations have come out about Russian cyber-espionage hacks conducted through the Kaspersky platform on a global scale, extracting secrets and tools from our National Security Council (and maybe the CIA, too?).

On Oct. 5, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that the personal computer of a National Security Agency contractor (stupidly loaded up with classified documents) had been hacked by Russian agents using backdoor access through Kaspersky security software. The breaches, which occurred back in 2015, were first discovered (and shared way back then with the NSA) by computer spies in Israel who had wormed into the networks of Kaspersky Lab, the New York Times reported.

And this is rich: The bad guys narrowed their search and discovery of useful dirt by looking for such key phrases as "Top Secret" and "Very Important." We'll never use those terms again! (Wait, too late!)

While Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab has called these allegations "unfounded," the U.S. government on Sept. 13 banned its software from any U.S. government or military computer.

On the home front, Best Buy, Office Max, and Office Depot have all stopped selling Kaspersky products. And they are offering customers a free swap-out and installation of other security software. Act fast, as some deals with one-year's free replacement service may run out at month's end!

"For any consumers or small businesses that are concerned about privacy or have sensitive information, I wouldn't recommend running Kaspersky," counseled Blake Darche, a former NSA cybersecurity analyst who now steers the cybersecurity firm Area 1.

Until last week, Kaspersky Lab was still basking in the "halo glow" of trust by association with National Public Radio. A leading underwriter of Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Kaspersky was celebrated with the on-air salute: "Giving 400 million users the power to protect their money, privacy, computers and mobile devices from cyber theft viruses and other online threats. Learn more at Kaspersky.com."

But then, on Oct. 12, the morning after new revelations about Kaspersky's dark web connections, the NPR spots abruptly ceased. Kaspersky would no longer frolic in underwriter land with Subaru, Novo Nordisk and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. NPR spokeswoman Isabel Lara soft-pedaled that the end had been long in coming: "The prior funding ended earlier this month and the credit schedule ran its course." But come on!

A leading proponent of ban-Kaspersky legislation, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), has argued that "because Kaspersky's servers are in Russia, sensitive United States data is constantly cycled through a hostile country. Russian law requires telecommunications service providers such as Kaspersky to install communications interception equipment that allows the FSB [Federal Security Service] to monitor all of a company's data transmissions."

In truth, government snooping authorizations also apply to U.S. software companies thanks to the Patriot Act. Also questionable, reported British website theregister.co/uk, are the CIA's investments (through In-Q-Tel) in security start-ups FireEye, Interset, ArcSight, and Silver Tail Systems.

So what are other acceptable security software options? Some endorsers, such as PC Magazine, are sticking by this 20-year operation, arguing that Kaspersky makes great products and is innocent until proven guilty. And in truth, a slew of testing labs here and abroad have top-rated Kaspersky security programs for their skills at scanning computer traffic, ratting out malware, and ransomware.

But even PC Mag grants that there's "room at the top" for Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic, the light but tough Webroot Secure Anywhere AntiVirus, and the multi-device-protecting McAfee AntiVirus Plus.

Consumer Reports tester Rich Fisco said it's no longer difficult to make a switch. "You run the uninstaller, wait for it to say that it's done and then reboot your computer."

However, he warns that Windows Defender Antivirus built into Windows 10 is a different story: "You can disable it but you can't uninstall it." And if you ever reinstall" (from a disk or USB recovery drive) "the operating system for a laptop that had been preloaded with Kaspersky antivirus software, the Kaspersky software will be reinstalled along with the rest of the operating system."
In Beirut, a man holds a Kurdish flag with a picture of Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani during a gathering to support last months referendum. Read more

The Iraqi Kurds' dreams of independence, endorsed by a Kurdish referendum last month, have come to a crushing halt.

This week the hostile Baghdad government clawed back the key oil-town of Kirkuk from Kurdish forces, along with other territory both sides claim. The Kurds, close American allies, feel that Washington betrayed them by effectively taking the side of Baghdad. There is some truth to the claim but the Kurds were also betrayed from within.

More important is how Washington deals with the Kurdish issue in the future. In both Iraq and Syria, Kurdish fighters have been crucial U.S. allies against ISIS. That battle is almost ended, now that the last ISIS stronghold  the Syrian city of Raqqa  is falling.

Yet signals from Washington indicate small interest in the Kurds' fate once their fighters are no longer needed.

How the United States treats its Kurdish friends now will signal whether the Trump team has a long-term strategy to help keep the region stable post-ISIS. If it doesn't, the biggest victor will be Iran.

To understand why, you need some background. No Mideast group deserves self-determination more than the Kurds. An ancient non-Arab group, they were promised independence by the great powers after the breakup of the Ottoman empire. Instead, the World War I allies divided their mountainous lands among Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

The United States bears much responsibility for the Iraqi Kurds' recent gallop toward independence. After the 1991 Gulf War, Washington established a no-fly zone over Iraqi Kurdistan that enabled them to establish an autonomous zone. Following Saddam Hussein's ouster in 2003, the six million Kurds set up their own Kurdish regional government (KRG).

When ISIS troops pushed into Iraq in 2014 as Iraqi forces fled, the Kurds defended their region. They later rolled ISIS back from huge swaths of land with support from U.S. airpower.

As for Kirkuk, this multiethnic city, surrounded by rich oil fields, is dear to the Kurdish psyche and wallet. But, as I witnessed firsthand in 1991, Saddam drove thousands of Kurds out of the city, dynamited their homes, and resettled their districts with Iraqi Arabs. The Kurds took back Kirkuk during the fight against ISIS.

Kirkuk's fate was supposed to be decided by a referendum no later than 2007. But the Baghdad government never scheduled the vote, nor did it ever conduct serious negotiations with Kurdish leaders on Kirkuk or other contentious issues. The KRG's frustration helped drive the decision to hold the referendum.

The Baghdad government, along with neighboring Turkey and Iran, all opposed the referendum. So did Washington. But the Kurds argued that it would finally give them leverage in bargaining with Baghdad. However, the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said it would only talk if Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani rescinded the referendum. That he would not do.

In recent days, Iraqi security forces, including Iranian-backed Shiite militias, massed outside Kirkuk. Iraqi media reports say a senior general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps told Kurdish commanders in the city to surrender or be crushed. Iran is trying to dominate post-ISIS Iraq, and the famous IRGC Quds force chief, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, travels there often.

But here comes the internal Kurdish betrayal. Leaders of one political faction in Kurdistan made a side deal with Baghdad and told their forces to pull back from Kirkuk without informing Barzani. So Kirkuk essentially fell because of Kurdish disunion, followed by a negotiated Kurdish troop pullback from other areas.

"The referendum is over and belongs in the past," crowed Abadi. But will the Iraqi government seek to further humiliate the Kurds, or will the Iraqi leader finally negotiate with the KRG over territory and oil.

The answer to that question revolves heavily around what the United States does now.

In years past, U.S. diplomats proved crucial in mediating disputes between Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad. Only the United States is in position to do that again.

Yet President Trump has shown little interest in post-ISIS diplomacy, and an understaffed State Department is in poor position to handle negotiations. Disinterest in Washington is the first step to betrayal of our Kurdish allies. (Washington also seems ready to abandon our Syrian Kurdish allies once the Raqqa battle is complete.)

However, if the Baghdad-Erbil dispute comes to a boil, Iran will inserting itself in the middle. Tehran is eager to end the U.S. presence in Iraq and to dominate Baghdad.

"It behooves the United States to push Abadi to sit down and negotiate," says Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman. the KRG representative in Washington. "We know the United States wants to teach the Kurds a lesson but how far does the U.S. want Baghdad to go?

"Now is the time to get everyone around the table," Abdul Rahman adds. "Let's get to talking."

Too bad Washington didn't get that dialogue going sooner, but later is better than never.

Betrayal may be easier, but a record of abandoning one's allies can come to haunt the betrayer. So the time for Washington to act on the Kurdish question is now.
Faculty and staff of West Chester University on strike last fall. Read more

After a strike last fall, faculty at Pennsylvania's 14 state universities have reached a tentative agreement on a new one-year contract  eight months before the old pact is set to expire.

"After our previous contract negotiations, we were determined to improve the overall negotiations process, and I am happy to report that our communication with the system vastly improved with these talks," said Kenneth M. Mash, president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF).

Mash said both sides recognized the importance of having labor peace while in the middle of a search for a new system chancellor. Frank T. Brogan left the job this summer.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's 5,500 faculty went on strike for three days last October after protracted negotiations failed to yield an agreement.

If approved by the state's board of governors and ratified by faculty, the new tentative agreement will run through June 30, 2019. (The current pact is set to expire in June 2018.)

No details will be released until the contract is approved, both sides said, declining to comment on whether the pact includes salary increases. Mash said he hopes the necessary approvals will be completed by December.

"We have been committed to working together to achieve a new agreement in a collaborative manner," State System Interim Chancellor Karen M. Whitney said in a statement. "As we move toward a positive conclusion for this contract, I'm hopeful it will lead to an even more meaningful relationship based on mutual respect and trust."

The state system enrolls more than 100,000 students at 14 universities including West Chester, Cheyney, Bloomsburg, California, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, and Slippery Rock.

The contract does not affect Pennsylvania State, Temple or Lincoln Universities, or the University of Pittsburgh, which are not part of the state system.
Culinary students at Dobbins High School gather around a teacher at the school. Read more

For years, eighth graders across Philadelphia who wanted to attend career and technical education schools and programs needed good attendance and behavior records. They could have no D's on their report cards.

Each year thousands were rejected.

On Tuesday, the district announced plans to do away with those standards. Now, any student who wants to attend a program at one of 31 high schools has a shot at admission through a lottery.

It's a move that officials say promotes fairness and alumni say is a weakening of the affected schools, which allow students to learn trades such as welding and cosmetology, or to gain skills that lead them to postsecondary schools.

"This is purely about equity for us," said Shawn Bird, the district's chief schools officer. "This is about providing options for kids.

A recent report by the Pew Charitable Trust found that some students who meet admissions requirements for the city's selective high schools never apply to them; Bird said that report was a main driver of the decision, which affects current eighth graders now applying to high schools for the 2018-19 school year.

Overall, the report found the city's selective high schools don't reflect the city's population at large  they have higher percentages of white and Asian students and lower percentages of students living in poverty, learning English, and receiving special-education services.

"We know that kids in middle school make mistakes," Bird said. "We don't want that to be a barrier for them."

Bird, who came to Philadelphia this year from California, said this move brings the district in line with school systems nationally.

"Until I came to Philadelphia, I never heard of a CTE school having admissions requirements," he said.

Admissions criteria for Saul High School are not changing. Saul, which offers agricultural programs, is a selective admissions school like Central or Masterman, with even tougher requirements than CTE schools such as Dobbins, Randolph, Swenson, and Mastbaum.

Right now, the district has more than 6,700 students in 40 occupational fields at schools across the city.

Some of its career and technical education programs are underenrolled, Bird said, but that was not a driver. Many programs have wait lists, he said.

Carolyn Monson, a longtime Dobbins teacher and 1964 graduate of the school, is alarmed by the change.

"It's a huge problem," Monson said of the North Philadelphia school. "We run reunions and classmates come back and tell us their stories about what Dobbins did for them  people who are now doctors and lawyers and judges."

Monson, president of the Dobbins Alumni Association, is organizing graduates to lobby school officials to reverse the new policy.

"If this changes, it doesn't look well for the future," she said. "To strip away safeguards that allow students who are really interested in vocations to come to the school is a bad idea."

The change is unsettling for Emahjai Chester, 16, a junior at Dobbins. After a year at George Washington, a neighborhood school in the Northeast, Chester transferred to Dobbins to study cosmetology  and to get away from chaos at her old school, she said.

"I didn't want to go to a school where kids have behavior issues," said Chester, an A student. "I want to go to a school where kids want to learn, and to get careers."

Chester said she also fears safety may slip at her school if admissions requirements are dropped.

Bird dismissed that notion.

"I have faith in our kids and our system," Bird said. "We will put supports in place as they are necessary. We would do that at any school."
Is there a more delicious hunk of programming this entire season than the two Schubert piano trios being played at the Curtis Institute of Music?

It's possible to speak of Tuesday night's performance of the E Flat and B Flat trios in present tense because they are still, in a way, going on. Curtis streamed the concert via Facebook Live and is extending its reach for a week by putting the entire two hours on the school's Facebook and YouTube pages.

The evening had the feeling of an event in part because of the presence of Noah Bendix-Balgley, the relatively young (33) violinist plucked from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2014 to be a first concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic (one of three with that title). Bendix-Balgley, pianist Robert Levin, and cellist Peter Wiley spent two days in a Curtis residency, working with students on instrumental matters and chamber music principles presumably manifest in this performance.

Some musicians are better teachers than performers, and vice versa. As an influence, though, Bendix-Balgley  who studied at Indiana University and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Munchen  was no doubt valuable to have around in the classroom, as he was Tuesday night in Field Concert Hall. His is not a huge sound, nor is he given to dramatic gestures. But beyond the solid technique is an old-school sweetness. There's none of that wide vibrato that you hear quite a bit in these parts. Rather, at least on this night in this repertoire, Bendix-Balgley tended to start many a note with no vibrato at all, and then warm the sound just slightly.

If this is a violinist who wants to make the listener lean forward, the pianist has no such concerns. Levin, widely known for his musicology, bordered on aggressive. In the Trio in E Flat Major, D. 929, piano runs sometimes started or ended with a pounding note that seemed out of place given the dynamic range of Levin's colleagues. (The piano sound was better blended, though it still had an edge, in a morning-after spin on Facebook Live.)

There was much else about Levin's playing that I loved. The performers were largely of a single mind and spirit in the Trio in B Flat Major, D. 898  the slightly military-march springiness of the first movement with its near-Wagnerian penultimate stretch, a second movement that lulls more sweetly than any lullaby, and the crisp folklike third. Stylistic touches were beautifully worked out.

Of all the evening's strong moments, none surpassed the last few minutes of that lullaby. When Bendix-Balgley refloated the main theme near the end (at 35:04, Facebook fans), he did it with such control  sustaining direction and tone, but barely  it reached a peace both deep and rare.

In fact, the entire movement is worth repeated visits. Go ahead, you need it; social media for all of its promise has turned out to be mostly an endless stream of human anxiety and misery. When was the last time you found a couple of minutes of unalloyed joy on Facebook?

Tuesday's Curtis Institute of Music concert can be seen and heard at www.curtis.edu/YouTube and www.facebook.com/CurtisInstitute
My wife bought the Ancestry.com DNA test for my birthday. Great gift, cheap, easy and fun. Everyone is doing it. Six weeks after sending in the spit, I got the results. Nicely presented  colorful graphs and charts  but they seemed a bit off and more vague than I had expected.

For instance, my grandfather was an immigrant from Greece. He came through Ellis Island in 1911. I figured that made me at least 25 percent Greek. Yet, Ancestry showed a range of 9 to 30 percent Italy/Greece, with a likelihood of 18 percent. Vague in itself  not to the mention the fact that mixing Italians with Greeks would have driven my grandfather to the nearest bottle of Metaxa.

Nevertheless, I thought little more of it until I mentioned the test to my sister Barbara. Unbeknownst to me, she'd had the test done, as well, and was awaiting the results. They came a week later. And those results were more than just a bit off.

Our Italy/Greek numbers were about the same. But her results showed 37 percent British Isles, whereas I was 53 percent. She also showed 10 percent Scandinavian and 7 percent East Europe  neither of which even appeared in my results. And we're about as Scandinavian-looking as Jennifer Lopez.

Let's chase the elephant out of the room. The odds that my happily married and saintly mother might have had a dalliance, with, say, a Norwegian sailor back in the 1950s are nil.

So, same parents, different DNA test results. What gives?

"It's very difficult to accurately find your ancestry under any circumstances," said Jonathan Marks, an anthropology professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "There has been genetic mixing for thousands of years. These tests are fun but rarely accurate  10 percent Scandinavian could be no Scandinavian because the test could very easily be 10 or 15 percent off."

The imprecisions are not limited to Ancestry. My sister's son took a DNA test from 23andMe, another popular DNA testing company. His father is Italian and Irish, named Rettaliata. The test showed no Greek and just 1 percent Italian.

"The methodology they use in determining the DNA markers is solid," said Deborah Bolnick, an anthropology professor at the University of Texas. "The challenges come with interpreting those DNA sequences to say something accurate about your ancestry."

Those challenges sure aren't conveyed in the ubiquitous TV ads. Folksy testimonials from happy customers beam with wonder. "I found out I was 16 percent Italian," says one consumer. Well, maybe you are and maybe not. Experts say assigning a specific percentage is problematic.

"You are dealing with probabilities here, not certainties," said Sarah Tishkoff, professor of genetics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Our genes identify many characteristics about us  for instance, there is a gene that programs eye color. Genes contain DNA, the chemical basis of heredity. A genetic test is never going to be 100 percent accurate in determining ancestries tied to specific ethnic groups. Ethnicity is not a trait derived from a single gene or a combination of genes. If only it were that simple.

Determining your precise ethnicity under any circumstances is murky. Ancestry seems to try as hard as anyone to get it right.

About my sister and me having different results, Ancestry explained that it is not all that uncommon for siblings with the same parents to have different ethnic traits.

"Each parent gives 50 percent of their DNA to you, but the subset of DNA you get could be different from your sibling," says Eurie Hong, senior director of genomics, research and development at Ancestry.

Bolnick agrees that siblings could potentially inherit some different DNA sequences from a parent. But she is a bit skeptical that this could lead to significantly different assessments of the siblings' ancestry.

Still, let's assume my sister did receive a different DNA sequence, which accounted for some variance in the results. That just illustrates the fundamental problem with the tests: too many variables.

Most testing companies compare snippets of a person's DNA to that company's database of DNA markers from people living in various regions of the world. That would work flawlessly if our ancestors had stayed in one place, but they moved around. Once ships and roads were invented, it threw everything off kilter, genetically speaking.

Let's say you had a great-great-great-grandfather from Germany named Otto, who was a playful and libidinous sort. He spends a youthful summer in Italy, where he impregnates a local woman, maybe without even knowing it. He returns home, marries a German woman, and has one son, Hans, your great- great-grandfather. Hans eventually moves to the United States, marries an American woman of Irish descent. They have kids, generations pass, more kids. You are born and grow up confident of your German-Irish heritage.

But Otto's kid in Italy has been growing his family too, having kids and more kids. By the time you are born, Otto's DNA footprint in Italy could be as big as it is in Germany. So when you take the DNA test, your DNA also matches all these people from Italy. Voila! Ancestry determines you are likely 20 percent Italian.

"If you really wanted to know where your ancestors lived, say 500 years ago, you'd have to compare your DNA to a database of the DNA of people who lived 500 years ago," said Bolnick.

And that's the bottom line: Today's inhabitants of an area might have a different genetic makeup from its ancestral inhabitants. Just because your DNA matches someone who currently lives in a particular region, that doesn't necessarily mean your ancestors came from that place.

It's a particularly knotty problem for African Americans. More than 11 million Africans were forcibly shipped to the Americas during the slave trade and there were no lists of passengers or records. DNA testing might be the only way many African Americans can discover their African heritage. But some experts say there has been too much mixing of west African groups to correctly identify a country, much less a tribe.

"I can tell African Americans where they are from without a DNA test  anywhere between Senegal and Angola," said Bert Ely, professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina. "These tests are fine at identifying continents but the more specific you get  in trying to identify countries and tribes  the greater the probability of inaccuracies."

But to many African Americans, the tests have real value, even if they can only give an estimate.

"If the test indicates that your DNA matches the Yoruba in Nigeria, that is some real information for some people, something to hold on to," said Charmaine D. Royal, associate professor of African and African American studies at Duke University.

Regardless, questions about accuracy haven't hurt sales. Ancestry has sold nearly 4 million DNA testing kits at $99 a pop. And sales show no sign of slowing down.

"Even if the numbers are often off, they're still fun to talk about at parties," said Marks.

Bob Carden is a freelance writer from Bethesda, Md.
Shone Santiago (left), 22, of New York City, and Evaughn-Sha Walters, 21, of Washington, are accused of racing each other on Route 422 in West Pottsgrove, Montgomery County, in February 2017. Santiagos BMW crashed, killing his two passengers. Read more

A 22-year-old New York City man pleaded guilty Tuesday in the deaths of two adults and an unborn child in a drag-racing crash earlier this year in Montgomery County, prosecutors said.

Shone Santiago pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder of an unborn child and will be sentenced within 60 to 90 days. Santiago was racing a car driven by Evaughn-Sha Walters on Route 422 in West Pottsgrove the night of Feb. 4 when he lost control and crashed. Investigators said he was going at least 121 mph. They had raced an hour earlier on Route 100.

Anthony Rodriguez, 23, and Marissa Kelly, 20, and her unborn child were in Santiago's car and were killed.

Walters pleaded guilty last week to two counts of homicide by vehicle. Both Santiago and Walters remain held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility pending their sentencings.
A Delaware County man accused of hiding his past as a murderous Liberian warlord was convicted Wednesday on federal immigration fraud charges  a historic verdict that resonated from Philadelphia's sizable community of West African expats to the Liberian capital of Monrovia thousands of miles away.

Mohammed Jabateh, a 51-year-old father of five and owner of a Philadelphia-based international shipping company, is the first person found guilty of crimes tied to the numerous documented atrocities that occurred during the protracted, multi-faction civil war that ravaged Liberia between 1989 and 1997. Until now, no one had even been prosecuted in connection with that conflict, which left more than 250,000 dead in a nation no larger than Tennessee.

Jabateh was not specifically charged with any of the dozens of acts of murder, rape, enslavement, and cannibalism that government witnesses attributed to him and to rebel soldiers under his command. But federal prosecutors in Philadelphia and human-rights advocates claimed victory in the jury's decision to convict him of lying about those misdeeds while seeking political asylum in the United States.

"We hope that there's a measure of justice, not only for the violation of our laws but also in Liberia for those that have been victimized," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Linwood C. Wright, who prosecuted the case along with co-counsel Nelson Thayer.

Across the Atlantic, Hassan Bility, director of the Monrovia-based nonprofit Global Justice and Research Project, echoed that sentiment. His organization helped U.S. investigators identify many of the men and women who testified against Jabateh at trial.

"This case shows that Liberians do not have to accept the status quo of impunity in Liberia," Bility said in a statement. "Victims want justice and we will continue to support them in their pursuit of accountability within and outside of Liberia.  This is only the beginning."

In keeping with his stoic behavior throughout the trial, Jabateh showed little reaction when the verdict was read just after 1 p.m. Wednesday. As he was handcuffed to be led back to prison, he pursed his lips, stared at jurors, and gave a nod to a small crowd of supporters.

His wife, Nafisa Saeed, however, did not mince words, telling reporters she was not surprised by the outcome of the case.

"I don't think the process was fair," she said. "It was the superpower of the Earth against one man."

Her frustration was shared by a large crowd of friends and relatives outside the courthouse. Many had horrific stories about their own wartime experiences. Nearly all alleged that Jabateh's accusers were so eager to hold anyone accountable for their brutalization that they framed an innocent man.

Yet none of the 17 Liberians whom the U.S. Justice Department flew in from Africa for the eight-day trial hesitated when asked during their testimony who was responsible for their brutal treatment. Each offered the same answer, identifying Jabateh by his nom de guerre, "Jungle Jabbah."

One woman testified she had been captured and turned into a sex slave at 13, only to be raped daily for weeks until she managed to escape. A farmer from Liberia's northwest mining country detailed how he had been forced into slavery and ordered to dig for diamonds on threat of death, to fund Jabateh's war effort.

And in perhaps the most wrenching testimony of the trial, the wife of a village chieftain alleged that Jabateh's soldiers killed her husband and then delivered his heart to her on a platter with orders to cook it for Jabateh and his men.

Jabateh's lawyer, Greg Pagano, asked each why they had not reported any of their claims to authorities in the two decades since the war.

"Who am I gonna tell?" one witness scoffed. "Nobody. I didn't tell any local official, because they couldn't do nothing about it."

That sense of unanswered grievance hung over the case from the day when federal agents arrested Jabateh at his East Lansdowne home in March 2016. Coverage in Liberian newspapers described the case in totemic terms that extended far beyond Jabateh and the crimes he committed, wondering if it might signal an end to the impunity the nation's war criminals had enjoyed for so many years.

The nation's former president, Charles Taylor, was convicted of war crimes by an international court in 2012  but for actions tied to a civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. It took a U.S. court to sentence his son  known as "Chuckie" Taylor  to prison in 2009 for his own barbaric behavior in a second civil war that roiled Liberia between 1999 and 2003.

Some former rebel leaders now hold positions of power within the government in Monrovia, and the ethnic divisions that fueled the wars still divide Liberians  even among the estimated 15,000 now living in the Philadelphia region.

Jabateh maintained that he, too, was a victim  of Taylor's autocratic regime. After fleeing to the United States in 1997, he sought and obtained political asylum, claiming that he had been imprisoned and tortured by the president's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).

But in a series of recent cases  including two others against Philadelphia-area residents  the U.S. Justice Department has trumpeted its own commitment to tracking down and expelling West African war criminals now living in this country.

In 2014, Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested former Taylor spokesman Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, now 71, at his home in Collingdale in an immigration fraud case. And federal prosecutors in New York have accused Isaac Kannah, of Philadelphia, of committing perjury while testifying about his wartime actions in another case. Both men await trial.

"The United States will not be a safe haven for human rights violators and war criminals," Marlon Miller, special agent in charge of HSI's Philadelphia field office, said in a statement after Wednesday's verdict. "[We] will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure that those who have committed such acts abroad never evade justice and accountability for their crimes by hiding among their victims in the United States."

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond has not set a sentencing date for Jabateh, who faces up to 30 years in prison and all but certain deportation after he completes his prison term.

But Pagano, his lawyer, said he would not rule out an appeal.

"We disagree with the jury's verdict," Pagano said as he left the courthouse Wednesday. "But we of course accept it and respect it. We're going to prepare for sentencing."
Protesters march through downtown San Francisco in December 2014 voicing their anger over grand jury decisions involving the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York City. Read more

DeRay Mckesson, the Baltimore-born activist and one of the faces of the Black Lives Matter movement, has a new T-shirt for sale: simply, the words "Black Identity Extremist" in white letters on a black background within a white box.

It is mocking, for sure, the FBI's report  released in August and obtained by Foreign Policy magazine last week  that newly classifies "Black Identity Extremists" as a growing terror threat against law enforcement. BIEs, the report says, are individuals who seek retribution through violence for "perceived racism and injustice in American society."

But to Mckesson, the $28 T-shirt (and $40 hoodie) claim the terminology triumphantly. On the site that sells the merch, he writes: This is confirmation that the work of social justice continues to threaten those in power.

"It's not new for the government to target activists, especially black activists," Mckesson said in a telephone interview. "We are only threats if you think that equity and justice are threats."

Experts, too, who are familiar with counterterrorism policies, warned the terminology was invented in an effort to give law enforcement license for bias.

"It's a made-up term," said Michael German, who spent 16 years undercover in the FBI with neo-Nazi groups and now works with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. "There is no such thing as a Black Identity Extremist movement."

"The bureau may once again be profiling black activists because of their beliefs and race, not because they pose a real threat of violence," said Nusrat J. Choudhury, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's racial justice program, calling the report "seriously flawed in its conclusions and methodology."

Incorrectly identifying protesters as extremists can be dangerous for police as well as civilians, leading to misdirected resources and a biased law-enforcement response, German said.

The terminology was created "in an ill-advised attempt to create parity to serve as the opposite side of the coin to white supremacists," he said.

The report was, in fact, dated Aug. 3, only days before a group of white supremacists and neo-Nazis gathered in Charlottesville, Va., for a rally that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a white woman, killed after a white man from Ohio plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters. Two law enforcement officers also were killed in a helicopter crash while monitoring the rally.

The FBI's public affairs office in Washington said Tuesday that it could not comment on specific questions about the report. But it issued a statement:

"The FBI investigates activity which may constitute a federal crime or pose a threat to national security and cannot initiate an investigation based solely on an individual's race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or the exercise of First Amendment rights.

"The FBI remains committed to protecting those rights for all Americans. Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on individuals who commit violence and other criminal acts. Furthermore, the FBI does not and will not police ideology. When an individual takes violent action based on belief or ideology and breaks the law, the FBI will enforce the rule of law."

The FBI report cited six individual cases where men were motivated to violence because of "alleged" police brutality. They had no connection to each other or the Black Lives Matter movement.

"The only thing they have in common is that they're black," German said.

Micah Johnson, who ambushed and killed five officers in Dallas during a protest against police shootings last July, had "searched and liked social media pages of BIE and black separatist groups," and had been ousted from a local BIE group for being too radical, the report cited.

It also noted the five officers were white. However, one of the officers, Patricio "Patrick" Zamarripa was Mexican-American, according to his obituary and news reports.

The FBI did not respond to a question about its description of Zamarripa's ethnicity.

Gavin Eugene Long ambushed and shot six law enforcement officers, killing three, in Baton Rouge, La., also last July. The report noted that Long, a Moor, had expressed "frustrations with the police and criminal justice system."

But Moorish sovereign citizens are a network of mostly African Americans who do not recognize the authority of the U.S. government.

Choudhury, of the ACLU, said the FBI simply linked together black men who had varying ideological beliefs.

"The report itself acknowledges that the six violent incidents it looks at appears to have been influenced by more than one ideological perspective," she said.

The NAACP used the FBI report to urge its members to take action.

"It's time for us to stop the true sources of hate in this country," said Derrick Johnson, interim president and CEO.

He urged NAACP members to call Congress in support of the No Hate Act, a Senate bill that would provide incentives for hate-crime reporting, grants for state-run hate-crime hotlines, and additional penalties for individuals convicted under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

"In a time when white supremacists are marching down city streets with loaded weapons and tiki torches  organizing rallies of terror around the countryit comes as a great shock that the FBI would decide to target black identity groups protesting police brutality and their right to exist free of harm as a threat," Johnson said.

While the report doesn't name Black Lives Matter, its history of the BIE movement mirrors that of Black Lives Matter, and it cites 2014  the year Black Lives Matter protests erupted after Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., was killed by a police officer  as the year there was a spike in BIEs targeting law enforcement.

According to German, the FBI has issued warnings in the past about violence from black separatists. Even still, black separatist movements are minuscule when compared to white separatists movements, he said.

"There is no parallel black supremacist movements in the United States that has a coherent ideology and organization that would somehow mirror the white supremacy movement that has been extremely organized and violent over the last 150 years," he said.
South Street retailer Ps & Qs partnered with Clae to to create a sneaker with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese theme. There's just one problem... Read more

Philadelphians are an incredibly proud group and we will try to take credit for everything we can, even the really weird stuff  we're looking at you Edgar Allan Poe and David Lynch.

But we can admit that sometimes, people take Philadelphia a little too far.

Exhibit #1: Philadelphia Cream Cheese sneakers

South Street retailer P's & Q's celebrated its five-year anniversary this month by collaborating with Clae, a Los Angeles-based footwear company, to create a $140 sneaker with a Philadelphia Cream Cheese theme.

Just try to stop thinking about dunking your foot into a vat of cream cheese.

Luckily, the only Philadelphia Cream Cheese-inspired aspects of the shoe appear to be its colors  beige, white and blue  and the words "PHILADELPHIA ORIGINAL" on the sole, in lettering similar to that of the famous food product.

We actually like these kicks, but you know what we don't like? Imaging our feet in cream cheese. Why not wooder ice, which on a hot day at least, we could imagine sticking our feet into?

If the shop intended to celebrate its Philly roots with this collaboration, Philadelphia Cream Cheese may not have been the best product to pick, as it wasn't invented or made in Philadelphia. It was created in New York. The cream cheese was given the Philadelphia name around 1872 because, at the time, Philly was considered to "be the home of top quality food," according to a brand history page.

Exhibit #2: Philly Cheesesteak Pringles

In June, Pringles' Canadian branch announced a "Guess the Mystery Flavour" contest on social media, urging consumers to pick up cans labeled "Mystery Flavour" at local stores and channel their "inner detective" for a chance to win $10,000.

For the last five months, people have been tagging Pringles Canada on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #MysteryChallenge and their guess for the flavor. Philly cheesesteak seems to overwhelmingly be the most popular guess, though others include poutine, cheese curds and French onion soup.

The only thing that should be flavored like a Philly cheesesteak is a Philly cheesesteak. Other cities can barely get the basic sandwich right, and now Canada comes along thinking it can capture the essential Philly flavor in a single chip? What's that about, eh?

As far as we know, this "mystery flavour" is not available in the United States. If it were, that 'u' in flavour probably wouldn't last too long. But if you have a friend in Canada who wants to send you a tube, the contest is open until Dec. 31.

The strangest product I've ever seen with "Philadelphia" branding was at a Burger King in Spain in 2014, where the fast food chain tried to sell "Philadelphia Cheese Balls" like they're a thing.

What's the strangest product you've seen use Philadelphia's name? Let us know in the comments or send an email to farrs@phillynews.com.
Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.), nominee for White House drug czar is under scrutiny after a news investigation found the lawmaker helped steer legislation that made it harder for the government to take some enforcement actions against giant drug companies. Tom Marino participates in the House GOP leadership press conference after the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 in Washington, District of Columbia, U.S. (Bill Clark/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom/ZUMA Press/TNS) Read more

This July, in U.S. Rep. Tom Marino's Northeastern Pennsylvania district, 51 people overdosed on a bad batch of heroin over the course of 48 hours.

Lycoming and Tioga Counties, where the overdoses hit, are like so many other rural communities in the country: increasingly ravaged by an opioid addiction epidemic fueled by the overprescription of pain pills. In Wellsboro, Pa.  the Tioga County seat, in the middle of the Republican congressman's district  overdose patients filled half of the 16 beds in the local emergency room.

Marino, a favorite of President Trump's and a seeming lock to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, withdrew his name from consideration Tuesday, after the publication of an explosive report by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes about a little-noticed law passed last year that severely limits the Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to go after the drug manufacturers that supply pill mills  the driving force behind the opioid epidemic.

"We had people coming back 12 hours later, having taken the same dose," Toni Burtch, an RN at Wellsboro hospital told the Inquirer and Daily News in July. She talked about the frustration and sadness she felt during the 17-hour shift she worked that weekend, about watching people in Tioga follow the now-familiar path of opioid addiction: pills, then heroin  and, if they're lucky, recovery instead of an overdose in that tiny ER.

The law now under scrutiny  written by Marino, who received $92,500 in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry over the last four years, the Post reported  was marketed as a way to ensure pain patients get their medications without interruption. But, the report found, it also makes it nearly impossible for the DEA to suspend large, suspicious shipments of opioid medications to pharmacies and doctor's offices. And as deaths from pill and heroin overdoses skyrocket  Philadelphia is on track to see 1,200 overdoses this year  the DEA has issued fewer and fewer suspension orders against drug companies.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Marino said he withdrew his name "to remove the distraction my nomination has created."

He also defended the legislation, saying it assured that people "who genuinely needed access to certain medications were able to do so."

Also, he called the news reports false and unfair.

"The news media have left behind any concept of balanced reporting and credited conspiracy theories from individuals seeking to avert blame from their own failures to address the opioid crisis that proliferated during their tenure," Marino said in his statement.

Erick Coolidge, a Tioga County county commissioner, dairy farmer, and former hospital administrator, said Monday that his county is working hard to get addicted people into treatment  but he wishes the drug companies whose pills fueled the epidemic would pony up some money for it. "That's just this farmer's opinion," he said. "But it's a responsibility of us all, to try to understand it, and more importantly try to address it. If we don't, we'll all lose this battle."

He doesn't know too much about the Marino bill  which puts him in the same category as most of the country and, apparently, President Barack Obama, who signed the bill into law after it moved through Congress with remarkably little opposition in 2016. But, if it's as harmful as the Post's report suggests, Coolidge said, "it's unfortunate that that law was presented by the candidate that's being considered for the drug czar."

Another local lawmaker, Chester County Rep. Ryan Costello (R., Pa.), co-sponsored a version of the bill. Last April, his website touted his participation in a bipartisan task force to combat the opioid epidemic, and his most recent press release, sent last week, included his testimony that a major issue in his district was the cost of treatment for heroin addiction.

Costello noted in a statement that the legislation passed the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Obama, with no opposition from the DEA. He said the legislation was intended to clarify the agency's enforcement standards and help patients get their medicine. "If the purpose of the law is now not being realized, then we need to fix it," Costello said. "I am in the process of investigating and evaluating this as we speak."

In Philadelphia on Tuesday, the CEO of one of the drug companies mentioned in the report, the Chesterbrook-based AmerisourceBergen, was doing damage control, insisting that the industry is one of the most heavily regulated in the country. The company paid West Virginia $35 million in a lawsuit last year over its opioid shipments there.

By Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers were scrambling to repeal the law, which passed by unanimous consent last year. The repeal effort in the House of Representatives was spearheaded by Langhorne Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.). Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) had introduced a similar bill in the Senate.

"This legislation is about righting a wrong and upholding our commitment to keep our constituents safe," Fitzpatrick said in a press release.
Jozef Dudek, a 2-year-old boy from Buena Park, Calif., died in May when a three-drawer Malm dresser in his bedroom fell on him after he was put down for an afternoon nap, according to a lawyer for the family. Read more

Another child has died beneath a tipped IKEA dresser.

Jozef Dudek, 2, was crushed by a Malm dresser in his California bedroom in May after being put down for a nap, according to a lawyer for the boy's parents. Ikea and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday both confirmed being aware of the death, and a spokesman for the safety agency said it had opened an investigation.

Jozef is the eighth child known to have died when an unsecured Ikea dresser toppled forward and the first confirmed death since last year's historic recall of 29 million of the company's bureaus.

His death has revived concerns from safety advocates about the effectiveness of the recall, which has resulted in only a small fraction of the dressers being repaired or destroyed, and whether Ikea should be doing more to raise awareness with consumers.

Jozef's parents did not know the dresser had been recalled, according to their attorney, Daniel Mann of Philadelphia's Feldman Shepherd law firm.

"Jozef's tragic death was completely avoidable," said Mann, who has represented the parents of three other children who died in tip-overs of dressers from the popular line. "What makes this death more heartbreaking is the fact that last year's so-called recall was poorly publicized by Ikea and ineffective in getting these defective and unstable dressers out of children's bedrooms across the country."

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Ikea on Wednesday said the dresser had not been attached to the wall and encouraged consumers to use anchors included with its products.

"Our hearts go out to the affected family, and we offer our sincere condolences during this most difficult time," spokeswoman Mona Astra Liss said.

Last year's recall was among the largest in the safety agency's history, involving not just dressers from Ikea's Malm line, which at the time had been linked to at least four deaths, but dozens of other models sold by the retailer over decades. The company agreed to give full refunds in most cases.

It also redesigned many of its dressers to meet the industry's safety standard, which requires dressers to remain upright without being anchored when a 50-pound weight is hung on a drawer.

The recall came after years of negotiations with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2015, Ikea agreed to address the hazard with a program that included sending new anchoring kits to consumers. Negotiations with safety regulators restarted when a 2-year-old boy from Apple Valley, Minn., died beneath an Ikea dresser, the third death in two years. His parents said they had not heard of the dangers posed by the dressers.

The most recent death was reported to police about 5:30 p.m. on May 24 in Buena Park, Calif. Mann said Jozef's father found the child trapped beneath the three-drawer Malm dresser.

Mann has declined to provide further details about the incident, saying the parents are trying to "privately grieve the passing of their lovely and only son." He said the parents plan to sue Ikea, which has its North American headquarters in Conshohocken.

Ikea in December agreed to pay $50 million to settle suits filed by the parents of three children killed in Malm tip-overs in 2014 and 2015, including 2-year-old Curren Collas of West Chester.

Upon learning of the most recent death, eight consumer and health organizations on Wednesday issued a joint statement calling on Ikea and the safety commission to increase efforts to raise awareness of the recall. The groups called Ikea's efforts to date "lackluster."

Members of several of the organizations have stressed that Ikea needs to specifically tell consumers about the recall rather than focusing on its "Secure It!" campaign, which encourages general anchoring practices.

William Wallace of Consumers Union, the policy and action division of Consumer Reports, said Ikea should promote the dangers posed by its dressers with the same vigor it put "into marketing the product in the first place."

Benjamin Hoffman, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Protection, said that effort needs to include making the recall as easy to access as possible.

"If the recall had been truly successful nobody would be hurt any longer," he said. "And the fact that a child in California is dead, it's inexcusable."

After years of pushing for more action by Ikea and federal safety regulators, Rachel Weintraub, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, gasped when she heard from a reporter about the new death.

"Oh my god," she said. "This is horrific and tragic news and really exactly what we never want to hear again."

Astra Liss, the Ikea spokeswoman, said the company has continued sharing information about the recall on its website and through social media and email campaigns while focusing on its wider public awareness campaign. She encouraged consumers to take part in the recall, either by ordering a free wall anchoring kit from Ikea or returning the product for a refund.

As part of the recall, Ikea will send a crew to consumers' homes to either anchor dressers or collect them.

It is unclear how many of the 29 million dressers have been either repaired, returned or destroyed. Ikea on Wednesday declined to say how many have been addressed through the recall.

The company must file monthly progress reports to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the one filed for the period ending Jan. 1 showed that about 882,500 dressers had been addressed through the recall and earlier repair program. That is about 3 percent of those recalled.

The Inquirer has filed an open-records request with the safety agency for more recent reports, but the response numbers have been redacted on those provided.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich as they participate in a discussion on bridging political and partisan divides at the University of Delaware Tuesday. Read more

NEWARK, Del.  The setting: the campus of the University of Delaware.

The lesson: How to bridge the partisan divide.

The professors: two guys with similar blue-collar Pennsylvania backgrounds whose presidential stock has risen in the era of Trump toxicity  former Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

They disagreed Tuesday on the question of free speech on campus.

Biden, a Democrat who hails from Scranton, told the students here it is "simply wrong" when conservative speeches get shut down on campuses such as the University of California-Berkeley.

"We hurt ourselves badly when we don't allow the speech to take place," he said. "If your idea is big enough, it should be able to compete."

Kasich, a Republican who grew up outside of Pittsburgh, disagreed, saying he supported the president of Ohio State University in refusing to allow a recent event that he said would have featured "hate speech."

"We're not talking about people who have diverse ideas," Kasich said. "We're talking about people who are there to "

As he trailed off, Biden offered "to incite?"

"Exactly," Kasich replied.

Both men agreed that partisan rancor is at an unacceptable level. They took turns dating it to the rise of Newt Gingrich as speaker of the U.S. House, the impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton and, more recently, a congressman yelling "You lie!" during President Obama's 2009 State of The Union address.

And they agreed that economic uncertainty was a central factor in the 2016 presidential race, creating a result that worsened the problem.

Biden turned his ire on President Trump's approach to governing since then while Kasich, who did note his refusal to endorse Trump after the GOP primaries, lamented American culture gone awry.

"It going to sound trite but leadership matters," said Biden, who said a European foreign minister  he didn't identify the country  compared Trump to "Il Duce," the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini.

"No joke! No joke," Biden exclaimed when the audience burst out in laughter. "That's what people are thinking."

Kasich rattled off corporate beaches of trust, from Equifax's data breach to Wells Fargo's banking scandal. He also made a veiled reference to the film producer Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment imbroglio, and cited Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot's appeal of a suspension due to allegations of domestic violence.

"As I look across our culture, I begin to wonder, have we lost our way," Kasich said.

The advice both men offered the students could be distilled to this: Listen to people you don't agree with and consider how they think.

One subject that didn't come up: the 2020 presidential election.

Kasich, speaking on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, dodged when asked if he would be a candidate for president in three years.

Biden in June announced a new political action committee, American Possibilities, refreshing talk of the White House ambitions he set aside in 2016. He didn't address the topic Tuesday. The men were not available to the media.

Tuesday's discussion was promoted by the PAC, Kasich for America, that the Ohio governor used in his 2016 run for president.

And it was hosted by the University of Delaware's new Biden Institute, another venture that prompted speculation about the former vice president's 2020 ambitions.

Editors Note: This story was corrected to reflect the university Gov. John Kasich referred to in a discussion of hate speech was Ohio State University, not Ohio University.
File: New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, right, introduces a speaker at a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Manchester, N.H. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (center) and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (left) also attended. Commission member David Dunn died this week of complications during surgery. Read more

A member of President Trump's voter fraud commission, former Arkansas state representative David Dunn, has died from complications during surgery, his office said.

Dunn, 52, was among five Democrats on the 12-member Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a panel launched by Trump in the wake of his unsubstantiated assertion that fraudulently cast ballots cost him the popular vote last year against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Dunn, who ran a government relations firm, was undergoing surgery Monday to repair an aortic aneurysm.

He was recommended for the voting commission by the Republican secretary of state of Arkansas, who has a working relationship with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican and the vice chairman of the commission.

"I think they were looking for a Southern Democrat to serve on the commission for some diversity," Dunn said in an interview in July, before the panel's first meeting.

Dunn said he was skeptical of Trump's claim about losing the popular vote because of illegal voting and of claims of widespread voter fraud more broadly. But, he added, "I'm certainly open to considering what makes people feel that way."

On Tuesday, fellow commissioner J. Christian Adams, a Republican, said on Twitter that he was saddened by Dunn's passing.

"He was courageous to serve, courteous in his manners, and kind to everyone," Adams said.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump renewed his claim Tuesday that former President Barack Obama failed to call families of fallen U.S. service members, adding "you could ask General Kelly" whether the White House chief of staff got a call when his Marine son was killed.

"I think I've called every family of someone who's died," Trump said during an interview.

"As far as other representatives, I don't know," Trump told Fox News radio host Brian Kilmeade.

"You could ask General Kelly, did he get a call from Obama?"

Kelly's son, Marine 2nd Lt. Robert Kelly, was killed in 2010, while serving in Afghanistan. A White House official said Kelly did not receive a call from Obama at the time. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.

Kelly has spoken movingly of his son's death, which occurred when the elder Kelly was himself a Marine general.

Trump had claimed Monday that other presidents, including Obama, did not call surviving families.

Challenged on that point during a news conference, Trump said he had been told that Obama rarely made such calls.

He said he had called nearly every affected family, and that he likes to call when he feels the time is right. Trump also said he was writing letters and has planned phone calls with families of four U.S. soldiers killed in Niger on Oct. 4.

A former White House official flatly denied Trump's claim that Obama rarely called families of military lost during his administration.

"President Trump's claim is wrong. President Obama engaged families of the fallen and wounded warriors throughout his presidency through calls, letters, visits to Section 60 at Arlington, visits to Walter Reed, visits to Dover, and regular meetings with Gold Star Families at the White House and across the country," the former official said.

The references to Obama's actions are to the area of Arlington National Cemetery where war dead are buried, the Army medical center where some wounded warriors are treated and to Dover Air Force Base, the Delaware airfield where the bodies of service members killed overseas are returned to the United States.

It appears the Obamas also had some contact with Kelly and his wife after the loss of their son.

Obama hosted a breakfast for "Gold Star" families  those who had lost a family member who was in uniform  on May 30, 2011, according to the White House public schedule for that day. Kelly and his wife were invited, and White House records indicate they attended.

A person familiar with the event said the couple were seated at then-first lady Michelle Obama's table.

A former spokesman for Obama, Ned Price, said Trump's comment amounted to "inane cruelty" to Kelly.

"Kelly, a man of honor & decency, should stop this inane cruelty. He saw up-close just how -& how much  Obama cared for the fallen's families," Price tweeted Tuesday.
WASHINGTON  President Trump suggested Wednesday that former FBI director James Comey had intended to spare Democrat Hillary Clinton from prosecution "long before investigation was complete" into her government email practices.

In a pair of early-morning Twitter messages, Trump referred to a recently released Justice Department document that indicates a draft of a Comey statement about the investigation was circulating among aides in May last year, two months before Comey announced the end of the investigation and his decision not to seek charges.

The FBI posted the document to its "Vault" Freedom of Information Act reading room on Monday. The unclassified document titled "Drafts of Director Comey's July 5, 2016 Statement Regarding Email Server Investigation Part 01 of 01" includes part of an email message from FBI official James Rybicki, who forwarded an email from Comey asking for "any comments on this statement so we may roll it into a master doc for discussion with the Director at a future date."

The draft statement itself is redacted, as is nearly everything else in the five-page document.

It was written before investigators had interviewed several witnesses, including Clinton herself. Comey announced the closure of the investigation in July, days after Clinton's FBI interview. At issue was the security and handling of classified material on Clinton's home-based email server, which she used during her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Trump's tweets revive his feud with Comey, whom he fired in May, and the Democratic opponent he defeated last year. He has twice this week referred to Clinton as "Crooked Hillary," his campaign trail nickname for her.

Trump said Comey had "stated under oath that he didn't do this," in apparent reference to Comey's Senate testimony in which he said there was no criminal case to bring. In his tweet Wednesday, Trump asked, "Where is Justice Dept?" apparently inviting an investigation into the existence of the 2016 email chain.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R., Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) have said the FBI email chain shows that Comey began drafting an "exoneration statement" long before the Clinton probe ended. In September, Graham told Fox News that although he does not think Comey perjured himself, he wants Comey to return to testify.

"This doesn't add up, and I smell a rat here," Graham said.
Even before President Trump announced his campaign for the presidency or chose his running mate, the country's LGBT community was concerned about Mike Pence.

The former Indiana governor, who bills himself as a Christian first, a conservative second and a Republican third, signed a law in 2015 that he said protected "individuals when they believe that actions of government impinge on their constitutional First Amendment freedom of religion."

But the LGBT community processed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act differently: Individuals, companies and businesses protested it after Pence signed it into law, fearing that the legislation would be used to discriminate against LGBT people.

Pence remained on the radar of gay rights supporters as a threat to the advancement of those rights during the Obama administration.

A year later, while competing for the Republican presidential nomination, Trump attempted to convince LGBT Americans that his association with the GOP would not keep him from advocating for their concerns  and that he would do it better than rival Hillary Clinton.

"Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community, Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words? Clinton wants to allow radical Islamic terrorists to pour into our country  they enslave women and murder gays," Trump said in New Hampshire after the June 2016 mass shooting at a gay Orlando, Florida, nightclub.

Before that, Trump had voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage and made vague statements on where he stood on national anti-discrimination legislation. But some gay conservatives were already on the Trump train and tried to persuade others in the LGBT community to board.

"Unlike Clinton, Trump has a record in the business world of inclusion and support for LGBT Americans," Christopher Barron, co-founder of GOProud, a now-defunct LGBT advocacy group, wrote in June 2016 CNN op-ed. "Donald Trump was supporting average LGBT Americans who worked for his companies and patronized his hotels and clubs long before it became trendy to do so."

Weeks later, Trump tweeted his choice of Pence as his running mate.

It was reportedly Pence's experience governing and his credentials as a former House Republican leader that made him attractive to the political novice Trump. But it was that same experience that immediately concerned the LGBT community.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called Pence "the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America."

Pence "has made attacking the rights and dignity of LGBT people a cornerstone of his political career  not just a part, but a defining part of his career," he said.

And those concerns resurfaced this week in a New Yorker article claiming that Trump mocked Pence's socially conservative beliefs.

"Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence's determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. "You see?' Trump asked Pence. 'You've wasted all this time and energy on it, and it's not going to end abortion anyway.' When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, 'Don't ask that guy  he wants to hang them all!' "

Before the vice president could respond, many gay rights advocates responded to the report on social media, taking issue with both Trump's joking tone and Pence's history on their issues. The National Center for Lesbian Rights tweeted that having a president joke about the death of gay Americans is not normal.

Others weighed in as well.

"It is unsurprising that Trump is not a beacon for LGBT inclusion and rights in the White House as he was never a believable advocate for the LGBT community," LGBT activist Eliel Cruz said. "His empty statements on being great for the LGBT community during his campaign where just that . . . In reality, the Trump campaign never had any proposed LGBT policies on his website, nor made any during campaign speeches, showing pro-LGBT specific public policy issues were simply not a priority."

However, Pence's press secretary, Alyssa Farah, said on Tuesday that the New Yorker piece was "inaccurate" and "filled with unsubstantiated, unsourced claims that are untrue and offensive."

"From start to finish the article relied on fiction rather than facts," she said. "The president has the highest level of respect for the vice president, and for his deeply held faith."

Given the youth of this administration, the Trump White House still has time to improve its relationship with the LGBT community.

Acknowledging the "offensiveness" of a joke about ending the lives of fellow Americans because of their sexuality appears to be a start.

"The suggestion that he would make such outrageous remarks is offensive and untrue," Farah said. "The anecdote was meant to divide, not unite and is completely false."
Mike Collins (left) and Frank Calabrese with Philadelphia Sign Co., of Palmyra, finish installing the Subaru logo and sign at the automakers still under construction U.S. headquarters in Camdens Gateway District. Read more

The company name and logo went up Tuesday at the future headquarters of Subaru of America in Camden. The sign was installed by the Philadelphia Sign Co., of Palmyra, to the top of the five-story building just off Admiral Wilson Boulevard.

Subaru will relocate to Camden from its current home in Cherry Hill in mid-spring 2018, said Michael McHale, director of corporate communications from the American subsidiary of the Japanese automaker.

"Everything's looking good," McHale said about the project, which will bring together four offices and 500 existing jobs into the complex.

The project had reportedly been expected to be completed by the end of this year, but McHale said it was "right on schedule."

Subaru announced its relocation in 2014 after it was awarded $118 million in state tax credits, which are spread over 10 years and conditional on the company creating at least 100 jobs and staying in Camden for 15 years.

The new headquarters will be 250,000 square feet with an additional 83,000-square-foot training facility.

On Feb. 15, the company will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the region, McHale said.

In 1968, Subaru arrived first in Bryn Mawr, then moved the following year to Pennsauken, then to Cherry Hill in 1986.
John J. Joyce, 90, a former Stratford Police Chief, died peacefully in his home on Oct. 13 in Stratford, N.J. Read more

John J. Joyce, 90, a former Stratford, N.J., police chief who used his photographic memory to help solve countless crimes, died on Oct. 13 in his Stratford home.

Mr. Joyce was born Feb. 10, 1927, in Philadelphia and attended Furness High School. He served in the Army from 1951 to 1954 in Heidelberg, Germany, as a military police officer. He studied at Heidelberg University in Germany while there.

After leaving the Army, Mr. Joyce returned to Philadelphia. In 1956, he married his wife, Patricia, who died eight years ago. The two moved to Stratford in 1960 and helped found Saint Luke Catholic Church, according to family. Mr. Joyce and his brother constructed the church's entryway and donated a statue of the saint that still stands outside the building.

"It bothered [my grandmother] that they didn't have a church in town," said Maggie Kenney, one of Mr. Joyce's granddaughters.

Mr. Joyce joined the Stratford police department in 1962 and helped solve hundreds of cases until retiring 30 years later. He began as a patrolman, but held multiple other jobs to support his family, including as a bus driver and bread deliveryman. He eventually became a detective, then captain, and finally police chief in 1987.

Mr. Joyce's work as an officer sometimes hit too close to home. In 1970, he was investigating a drug ring being run out of a Stratford diner and arrested several men, Kenney said. One suspect's siblings retaliated by firebombing a local library, the police headquarters, and Mr. Joyce's house, where his wife and six children were sleeping.

While Mrs. Joyce called the police, Mr. Joyce raced after the firebombers in his car, Kenney said. It was a moment Kenney described as emblematic of the protective person he was.

Mr. Joyce earned dozens of commendations from the department, including for arresting men involved in an armed robbery at a local supermarket filled with shoppers in the mid-1970s. His wife worked at the store at the time.

He was gifted with a photographic memory, which he used to share information with the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. He helped identify numerous subjects in the agency's cases by relating old crime scenes to new ones.

But one unsolved case stuck in his mind for years: The murder of Linda LePordo in 1973.

Mr. Joyce found 20-year-old secretary LePordo's body in her Stratford apartment. She was strangled. He gathered evidence and interviewed family members and suspects, but the case went cold.

Stratford police reopened it three years ago with new DNA evidence, and Mr. Joyce met with detectives to offer insight on the case, said current Chief of Police Ron Morello. At 87 years old, Mr. Joyce "recalled all the nuances important for an investigation," down to the temperature on the day of the murder.

"I hope they can finally give the young girl's family the closure they are looking for," Mr. Joyce told Fox29 in a 2014 interview. The case remains unsolved.

Mr. Joyce remains a legend in the department, Morello said, with younger officers "still hearing stories" about his time as police chief.

In 2016, Mr. Joyce was the Grand Marshal of Stratford's July 4th parade, his oldest granddaughter, Stephanie Nelson, said.

Mr. Joyce often drove past family members' homes while running errands to keep an eye on his loved ones, Nelson said.

He was "always the police officer," Nelson said.

Mr. Joyce is survived by his brother Bill Joyce, sister-in-law Cas Joyce, children Jack Joyce Jr., Patti Ori, Clare Kenney, Dan Joyce, Colleen Marchinek, and Maureen Joyce, 15 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Visitation for relatives and friends is set from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Oct. 19, and from 8 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, at Eugene J. Zale Funeral Home at 712 N. White Horse Pike, Stratford, N.J. 08084. Funeral Mass is at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 20, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish-Saint Luke Church, 55 Warwick Rd., Stratford, followed by interment in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Berlin.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Kathleen Anne Joyce Education Foundation, a charity set up in the name of Mr. Joyce's daughter-in-law, who was a teacher and died from cancer in April. Donations may be sent to Box 3871, Cherry Hill, N.J. 08034.
I traveled with President Trump to Harrisburg last week as he made the case for tax reform to the American people. In the audience were American truckers who transport the food that feeds the nation, the materials that build our cities and towns, and the products that keep the country moving. Truckers are on the front lines of our economy and see firsthand the struggles hardworking Americans endure.

Economic recovery is not an academic exercise. Higher growth means trillions of dollars of economic activity and opportunities enjoyed by more Americans. The Trump administration is committed to jump-starting a return to faster economic growth with a bold new tax-reform plan that will provide much-needed relief.

I am committed to tax reform, which is necessary to lead us to the sustained growth that is critical to the success of middle-income families and small businesses. If we get this right, tax reform will spur what the president has called a "middle-class miracle."

It has been more than 30 years since President Ronald Reagan passed tax reform. That was in 1986, and since then, our tax code has become uncompetitive for our modern economy. We have developed a framework to ensure that our tax code is fairer than the current system and works to create greater economic opportunities for all Americans. Individual and business tax reform will give U.S. workers the long, overdue pay raise they deserve. And a competitive tax system will stop major companies from leaving this country to do business abroad, which hurts American workers and families.

We plan to double the standard deduction for individuals to create a large "zero-tax bracket." The first $12,000 of income for individuals and $24,000 for families will not be subject to federal income tax at all. For those who already take the standard deduction, this likely means more money immediately back in your pockets. For many who spend hours itemizing and collecting receipts, this is not just money back in your pockets, it is more time for things that are important. Our plan will allow 95 percent of Americans to complete their taxes on a single, easy-to-file sheet of paper. We will also simplify the system from seven brackets to three and eliminate many special-interest loopholes. When combined with our proposed increase in the child tax credit, these changes will allow the average family to spend more money and time together, and save for a more secure future.

We must also reform our business tax system so that American companies and workers can compete in the global economy. Our current "Offshoring Model," with the highest business rate in the developed world, encourages companies to move overseas to countries with lower rates. We need to change this with an "American model" that reduces the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, incentivizing companies to create more better-paying jobs here.

Economists have found that more than 70 percent of the corporate tax burden falls on American workers. For proof, we need look no further than the impact felt by working families during the last administration. As noted recently by Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Kevin Hassett, corporate profits rose by 10.9 percent per year, but median wage growth for workers was only 0.6 percent per year. This is because firms kept 71 percent of their foreign-earned profits abroad, benefiting foreign workers instead of U.S. employees. Hassett estimates our plan will result in an increase of $4,000 in income annually for the median American family.

America was born in part because of unfair taxes, leading to the signing of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This is why we should think more about Pennsylvania than D.C. when writing our tax laws. Tax reform is how we can once again grow this economy, so it is imperative for Congress to pass a comprehensive tax plan for the president to sign. We need to create massive economic growth in this country so that American families, workers, and small businesses can once again succeed.

Steven T. Mnuchin is the 77th secretary of the U.S. Treasury.


Many of us take our ballet training for granted. But for dancers living in Puerto Rico, which is still reeling from the devastating affects of last months Hurricane Maria, pursuing a ballet career or simply taking class must now feel insurmountable. What do you do when Mother Nature not only destroys your dance studio, but your home and the majority of the city you live in? Priorities must shift to those of basic survival.

Now, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School is trying to help six Puerto Rican dancers resume their training. The students, whose studio in San Juan was badly damaged, had recently attended SCBSs summer intensive. School directors Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernandez have started a fundraising effort called Sarasota And Puerto Rico Dance Together to temporarily relocate the dancers. While they can easily offer them scholarships, Serrano and Hernandez must raise an additional $36,000 to provide housing, food and living expenses for one year. (SCBS has a dormitory for female students, but not for male students.)

The Sarasota Herald-Tribunes

Carrie Seidman reports the harrowing living and financial conditions the young dancers are experiencing, as well as the anxiety Serrano feels as they desperately text him for updates on the fund-raising effort. One student, Danny Rivera, tells Seidman: With this disaster, no one in Puerto Rico is thinking anything about the arts. The possibility to continue our training in ballet is very, very low.



Gabriel Roman, a student from Puerto Rico whose studio was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria. Photo by Soho Images, Courtesy SCBS.

Luckily, the dance community isnt one for resting on its laurels, as evidenced by recent efforts to help Hurricane Harvey victims. For more information on Sarasota And Puerto Rico Dance Together and to donate, click here. SCBS isnt the only American school raising money for Maria victims. Read on for more ways to help Puerto Rican dance studios in dire need of aid.
Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed on duty in 2010. His death became a political flashpoint after it was discovered he was shot with a gun smuggled into Mexico under an ATF operation. (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The U.S. Attorney's Office says authorities in Mexico have arrested the final of several defendants accused in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose death exposed the Fast and Furious federal gun operation, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga faces first-degree murder and other charges in the December 2010 killing of 40-year-old Brian Terry in Arizona.
The Los Angeles Police Department said women who feel they were victims of a crime at the hands of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein should report what happened to authorities, reports the Los Angeles Times.

"We absolutely encourage anyone who may be a victim of sexual assault to come forward and report the crime," Josh Rubenstein, the LAPD director of communications, said Monday.

Los Angeles Police Capt. Billy Hayes, who oversees the Robbery Homicide Division that handles sex crimes, said the LAPD currently does not have any active investigations into Weinstein.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell also said his department "certainly will investigate any allegations that are brought to our attention, like we would do for anyone else."
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By Christine Kim

SEOUL (Reuters)  Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that cavalier threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are dangerous and short-sighted, urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a more outfront role in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea), said Clinton at a forum in the South Korean capital Seoul, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face, Clinton said, but did not mention Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trumps insults towards North Korea on Twitter, saying the insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I dont think theyve benefited the United States.

The tweets are making future negotiations with North Korea difficult, she said, adding that Washington should incessantly, persistently work to get involved parties to dialogue with North Korea.

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader little rocket man on a suicide mission, and vowed to destroy North Korea if it threatens the United States or its allies. North Korea has in turn called Trump mentally deranged.

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said Washingtons allies have increasingly been expressing concerns over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming sidelined with North Korean threats and be as forcefully patient as possible.

Regarding Chinas role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off in taking a more outfront role in trying to tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions against North Korea.

Clinton said Chinas retaliatory actions against South Korean companies doing business in China following the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job containing and deterring North Korea.

China has been curbing South Korean businesses there since Seoul decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, saying its powerful radar could be used to pierce its territory. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Koreas missile threats.

The Chinese cant have it both ways. They cant do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face, she said.

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Michael Perry)
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Sen. John McCain dealt another blow to Trump by announcing that he will support the Senate bill to strengthen Obamacare.

McCain said in a statement, I want to commend Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray for reaching a bipartisan agreement to help stabilize the individual health insurance marketplace. As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate, and the deal reached today marks a critical step towards that end. Over the past several months, the HELP Committee heard testimony from governors, insurance commissioners, and stakeholders about ways to provide short-term relief to the individual marketplace and streamline the 1332 waiver process to provide states with greater flexibility. While this deal certainly doesnt solve all the problems caused by Obamacare, it shows that good faith, bipartisan negotiations can achieve consensus on lasting reform. It is my hope that this is a sign of increased bipartisanship moving forward. I look forward to voting in support of this bill.

Sen. McCain has been very clear that he wants to see bipartisan compromise and legislation coming to the floor through regular order. The agreement to stabilize the insurance markets meets both of those criteria.

Trump threatened McCain during a local radio interview on Tuesday after McCain took apart Trump in a speech where he was awarded the Liberty Medal, and the Arizona Senators support for this legislation is certain to drive Trump nuts.

There should be more than enough Republicans in the Senate to get this legislation to the needed 60 votes of support. As McCain fights a battle against brain cancer, he is working on what matters most to him. John McCain loves the institution of the Senate, and he is putting his efforts into making the Senate stronger and bipartisan. If John McCains final act in public life is to stand up to Donald Trump, it will be one final service to his country that is fitting of a man who is already regarded by many as a hero.
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Rachel Maddow showed why the Trump White House should be very afraid by connecting the dots on a meeting between Jared Kushner and a Putin ally during the presidential transition.

Video:

Maddow said, Gorkov meeting with Kushner is not just a red flag. It is a blaring red siren and the fact that its not just contradictory explanations from the White House and the Russian side of this. There has been no plausible White House explanation for what Jared Kushner was doing in that meeting. Was it related to Kushner family business properties? Was it related to the Trump transition? Was it related to the Magnitsky Act? Was it related to sanctions? Was it related to ongoing undisclosed conversations that Flynn was having with Russians at the same time? Weve had no explanation of that what so ever. Jared Kushners M.O. in terms of dealing with the Russia investigation is to appear to be completely transparent and cooperative. His security clearance application was a complete disaster in terms of disclosing his foreign contacts. His answers about whether or not anyone from the Trump campaign had been in contact with Russian officials is a complete disaster in terms of what we later learned about those contacts that he did not disclose, but this Gorkov meeting in particular. What was it about? The White House should have to say what it was about if Jared Kushner is going to continue to work at the White House.

There have been numerous reports that Trumps lawyers want Jared Kushner out of the White House. Trump is still getting updates from Kushner on the Russia investigation, and his son in law represents a giant legal liability for Trump.

Maddow nailed it.

If there is a Russia collusion red flag or smoking gun, it is likely to be attached to Kushner. The White House should be worried because the cable news host with the most audience growth has their number. Rachel Maddow is connecting the dots, and the result is that millions of people have a better understanding of the Russia scandal and Jared Kushners role in it.
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A Mississippi public school is dropping Jefferson Davis from its name and will be renaming itself after former President Barack Obama.

The Clarion-Ledger reported:



Davis Magnet IB PTA President Janelle Jefferson announced at the Jackson School Board meeting Tuesday evening that school stakeholders voted on Oct. 5 to rename the school Barack Obama Magnet IB.

Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him, she told the board.

A demographic breakdown of Davis Magnets enrollment for 2017 shows 98 percent of the schools students are black.

Jefferson said the school community wanted to rename the campus to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves.

When conservatives say that they are protecting heritage and history what they are referring to is the culture of racism and white superiority. The renaming of the school for Barack Obama is exactly what the white supremacists and racists fear the most. No matter how much terror and bigotry they try to poison our society with, no matter how strong of an ally they may have in the White House, America remains a nation of progress.

Children deserve to have their school named after a man that they can be proud of. Jefferson Davis tried to destroy a nation. Barack Obama had a vision of a nation governed by its better angels.

Here is hoping that more schools honor Obama and dump the Confederacy.
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Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted that Trump has no proof that he didnt insult the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson who was killed in Niger.

Video:

.@PressSec tells @CeciliaVega several other admin officials, including John Kelly, were on Pres. Trump's call with fallen soldier's widow. pic.twitter.com/u3lFUZBsmE  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 18, 2017

ABCs Cecilia Vega asked if there were recordings of the call to La David Johnsons widow. Sanders answered, No, but there were several people in the room from the administration that were on the call including Chief of Staff, Gen. John Kelly.

Trumps proof that he didnt insult the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson by not knowing the fallen soldiers name and telling his family that he knew what he signed up for was a lie. If there were other members of the administration on the call, why hasnt the public heard from any of them?

It has been Trumps worthless word against that of several witnesses.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to blame the media and move the goalposts by claiming that the press is focused on process, which isnt true. The press is focused on the Presidents refusal to acknowledge the deaths, and then behaving disrespectfully to a grieving family.

Trumps proof just like many of the words that come out of his mouth was a total lie.
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By Mark Hosenball and Nathan Layne

(Reuters)  The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has asked the son of President Donald Trumps former national security adviser to provide documents and testimony as part of the panels probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, a source familiar with the congressional matter told Reuters.

Michael G. Flynn was a close aide to his father, former U.S. Army general Michael Flynn, 58, who was fired by Trump three weeks into his White House job in February as he came under scrutiny for his foreign contacts.

The son managed his fathers schedule and accompanied him on trips while working at Flynn Intel Group consultancy, including one to Moscow in 2015 for an event where the elder Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia has repeatedly denied the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies that Moscow interfered in the presidential campaign to help Republican Trump by hacking Democratic Party emails and spreading propaganda online.

Barry Coburn, a lawyer for the younger Flynn, 34, declined to comment on the Senate committees request, which was reported earlier by NBC News. The panel could issue a subpoena to the younger Flynn, although he could invoke his Fifth Amendment constitutional protection against self-incrimination and not comply.

The elder Flynn has also been asked by the panel to provide information and to testify. A source close to Flynn said that he had turned over documents to intelligence committees in both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

The source familiar with the congressional investigation said that the Senate committee is not satisfied and wants to obtain more evidence from him.

The source also confirmed that the Senate panel was issuing a subpoena to former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page after Page declined committee requests that he voluntarily turn over records related to any contacts with Russians.

Page told Reuters in an email on Tuesday that he was cooperating with everyone in D.C. who might want my help in the interest of helping our country get to the end of this witch hunt. Page has said it was touched off by the circulation of a dossier produced by former British spy Christopher Steele on purported links between Trump, his advisers and Russia.

The Senate committee, which has sought to speak with Steele, is also investigating whether there was any collusion between then-candidate Trumps campaign and Moscow officials. Trump has denied any collusion by his associates, calling it fake news.

The Flynn consultancys business activities are under scrutiny by congressional and federal investigators mainly because of the lobbying work it did for a Turkish businessman.

Various congressional panels are sparring over Steeles reports outlining Russian financial and personal links to Trumps campaign and associates.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Nathan Layne in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)
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President Trump threw a tantrum on Wednesday morning after he was caught insulting the widow of a Green Beret who was killed in an ISIS ambush in Niger.

After it was reported that told the widow of La David Johnson that he knew what he signed up for when he died, Trump tweeted:

Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017

The President didnt bother to say what proof he has, or how he can prove it, just that he has proof and that it was sad. The White House has proven that their readout of Trumps calls are laughable fantasies that have little relationship to what Trump says. If they have tapes of Trumps calls, I am sure that Congressional investigators and the Special Counsel would be very interested in any possible tapes regarding the Russia investigation.

Donald Trumps proof is never real evidence. Trump proof usually involves his claim that something didnt happen, an attack on the accuser, and occasionally some half-baked story planted in conservative media.

Trump is not well. He cant be trusted to carry out the most basic duties of the presidency. The only denial out there of Trumps comments has come from the president himself, and since Donald Trump lies an average of five times a day, no one should believe that he is telling the truth this time either.
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By Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders will focus on getting liberal candidates elected to state and local offices ahead of next years midterm elections rather than on higher-profile U.S. congressional races, to help build a national progressive movement from the ground up.

Sanders said he hoped his emphasis on school boards, city councils and statehouses will help support the next generation of activist progressive candidates and dovetail with the mission of Our Revolution, a nonprofit political group run by former staffers and volunteers for his 2016 presidential campaign.

I look at politics a little bit differently than some of my colleagues in the sense that I believe that we need to build a national grassroots movement, Sanders told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

So I think my emphasis is going to be more on grassroots politics, he added.

Sanders, an independent in the U.S. Senate, galvanized the Democratic Partys progressive wing last year with his primary challenge against eventual nominee Hillary Clinton.

Sanders, 76, drew huge crowds and won 43 percent of Democratic primary voters with his calls to end the influence of big money in politics, create Medicare-for all healthcare and establish free tuition at public universities.

Democrats are arguing over the best way out of a deep electoral rut capped by Clintons presidential election defeat by Republican Donald Trump. The party lost nearly 1,000 state legislative seats nationally during former President Barack Obamas two terms in the White House, and hold the fewest governors offices in nearly a century.

NEW GENERATION

There is an absolute need for the development of a new generation of leadership, said Democratic strategist Erik Smith, adding that current Republican victories are the result of grassroots investment in the 1980s.

Sanders said the type of progressive policies he espoused during his campaign are winning support around the country.

He traveled to Georgia last month to campaign for Vincent Fort, a state senator running for Atlanta mayor. Sanders called Fort, who supports a $15 per hour minimum wage and the expansion of the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor and disabled, a life-long progressive.

Sanders also pointed to the success of local candidates backed by Our Revolution, including Randall Woodfin, a school board president who triumphed in a crowded field to oust the incumbent Democratic mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who defeated an incumbent and a state senator to become the Democratic nominee for mayor in Jackson, Mississippi.

Democrats suffer from thin-bench syndrome in so many states, said Matt Barron, a Massachusetts Democratic strategist focusing on rural issues.

Barron pointed out that in Mississippi, just one of eight statewide offices is held by a Democrat and both chambers of the legislature are controlled by Republicans. There is almost nobody to run, he said.

Sanders said he plans to travel to Somerville, Massachusetts, next week to support a half dozen candidates in city council races.

If you look at cities and town and school boards, what you see all over the country is that we are in fact making progress, Sanders said.

While Sanders frequently exasperated Clinton and her supporters, his policy prescriptions won support from many Democrats and the party has shifted to the left since Clintons defeat. Many potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates back Sanders Medicare-for-all proposal.

Republicans hold 52 seats in the 100-member U.S. Senate, and Democrats and independents will be defending 25 of the 34 seats up for re-election in 2018. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats hold 194 of 435 seats and all are up for re-election next year.

(Reporting by Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan; Editing by John Whitesides and Alistair Bell)
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Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Overcast. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 74F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The State Ports Authority wants to build a new terminal for passengers of cruise ships such as the Carnival Ecstasy. File/Staff
Watchdog and Public Service reporter

Thad Moore is a reporter on The Post and Couriers Watchdog and Public Service team and a graduate of the University of South Carolina. To share tips securely, reach Moore via ProtonMail at thadmoore@protonmail.com or on Signal at 843-214-6576.
Kalyn Oyer is a Charleston native who covers arts & entertainment and food & bev for The Post and Courier. She's a music festival & concert photographer and used to write about music for the Charleston City Paper, among other publications.
November is a truthful month  it doesnt indulge fantasies of permanence, such as mortals sometimes cling to, because it demonstrates unmistakable change from start to finish. Read moreAging for Amateurs: November is a dance on the foggy coast
With so many oyster options, looking at a Charleston restaurants raw bar menu can feel like sifting through a complicated wine list. By learning more about where chefs source their oysters, we can better understand the flavors and prices to expect, along with why restaurants put so much time and effort into this low-profit product. Read moreRaw oysters remain a Charleston restaurant mainstay, despite low profit margins
Savi Cucina + Wine Bar launched its new fall menu earlier this month, and it seems more tweak than transformation. At their best, the flavors are bold, sometimes unexpectedly so, and when the dishes step a bit outside the safe Italian, seafood and steakhouse lane, they tend to really shine. Read moreRestaurant review: Savi's culinary reboot delivers uneven experience, except at the bar
Walmart has agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the impact of the prescriptions its pharmacies filled for powerful prescription opioid painkillers. It follows a similar announcement from pharmacy chains CVS Health and Walgreen Co. Read moreWalmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Andrew Knapp is editor of the Quick Response Team, which covers crime, courts and breaking news. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at Florida Today, Newsday and Bangor (Maine) Daily News. He enjoys golf, weather and fatherhood.
Democrat Katie Hobbs was elected Arizona governor on Monday, defeating an ally of Donald Trump who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged and refused to say she would accept the results of her race this year. Read moreHobbs wins Arizona governors race, flipping state for Dems
Jane Belau and Beth Karon are calling their combined art exhibit that opens Thursday at Charter House's Parkside Gallery, "Invincible Signs and Seasons," but it could just as easily be called two Rochester artists who have almost nothing in common.

Because at its heart, this exhibit is about dissimilarity. Previous exhibits at Charter House, which features two new artists every three months, have often brought together art combos who share a common discipline, theme or sensibility.

Not this one. This exhibit not only dispenses with the idea of a unifying theme, but seeks to make the two parts as dissimilar as possible.

"(Belau's) paintings are big and bright and colorful and beautiful," Karon said about her exhibition partner. "Some things go better together if they are completely different, and I thought it was an opportunity to do something totally different."

The exhibit's opening will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Charter House, 211 Second St. NW. It will include refreshments and music by Chione Quintet. There is no cost for admission and the event is open to the public.

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This will be Karon's first photo exhibit ever. Belau, a well-known Rochester poet and musician as well as a painter, has had work displayed in senior residential facilities and commercial places in Rochester and around the world.

The focus of Karon's exhibit is on the pedestrian: The quirky, subversive, tongue-in-cheek signs that Karon has encountered during 30 years of travels in the U.S. and around the world. They include an "Umpire Lounge" sign she spotted at Target Field that included a braille translation at the bottom. (Some might agree that umpires are blind.) Or the neon sign in the Netherlands that declared, "No Drugs or Nuclear Weapons Inside."

"If you like humor or irony, the signs themselves are often artistic," Karon said. "I just love humor. They just strike you at a funny moment."

Karon said that once her radar became alerted to them, it became impossible not to notice that such signs were almost everywhere. Then her family members got in on the act, and they began sending her photos of idiosyncratic signs.

Karon spotted and photographed her first sign in 1976, about the same time Belau began to paint and produce art in earnest. Belau's paintings at Charter House are celebration of autumnal colors. Her paintings are rich in red, gold and silver leaf.

Belau said she likes to enliven spaces with bright colors and accents, to brighten the environment, and to bring smiles to people's faces.

She calls one of her watercolors " Invincible Summer." It was inspired by an Albert Camus quote, "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."

"That makes me happy," Belau said. "For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger  something better, pushing right back."

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The Wedding Guys are proposing that Unveiled Rochester, from noon to 4 p.m. this Sunday at Mayo Civic Center, will be their best event here yet.

"Unveiled is designed to be more than your traditional bridal show," said Matthew Trettel, whose fellow Wedding Guy is Bruce Vassar. "And this Unveiled is going to showcase some really fabulous emerging trends in bridal wear."

Based in the Twin Cities, Trettel and Vassar are celebrating their fifth year of shows between St. Paul, Minneapolis and Rochester. Together they marry efforts with bridal wear specialists, florists, stationers, chefs, photographers, videographers and others dedicated to helping make weddings distinctive and memorable, Trettel said.

"We just got back from the New York Bridal Show, so we are bringing the latest in dresses to Unveiled," Trettel said, adding that he and Vassar met up with Kathy Mestad and her daughter Holly, of Mestad's Bridal and Formal Wear , who will be coordinating the wedding attire component for Unveiled.

"In New York, we met with designers and saw dresses that haven't hit the stores yet. And the really great thing is that there are styles that have not been seen in a very long time  fuller skirts, sleeves, lace.  There will be a really wide variety at Unveiled," Trettel said. This includes skirt length of wedding dresses as well, he said.

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For emerging trends in bridesmaid dresses, Trettel said, "We saw muted colors, blushes, green blues." And, again, assorted lengths.

"All of these trends are for the next year and a half," Trettel said. Whether a bride is planning to be married in six or 18 months, there will be attire styles to fit the occasion, he said, noting that all will be available through Mestad's.

Beyond the couture fashion show, Aisle of Style, and a bridal wear gallery where bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos will also be shown, Unveiled will feature a tasting bar, beauty bar and stationery bar among other spots to help with planning and implementing every aspect of a wedding, from understated affair to extravagant celebration.

"The tasting bar will feature mini-menu items from Kahler Events catering," Trettel said. "At the beauty bar, brides can have experts work with them on makeup, everything from lip shine to more."

In addition, there will be a cake emporium and stations where there will be the opportunity to see invitations and specialty stationery items, interior decorating ideas for receptions, venue possibilities, photography choices and much more, Trettel said.

If you go

What: Unveiled Rochester

When: Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday

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Where: Mayo Civic Center, 30 Civic Center Drive SE

Admission: $15 general, $20 general and fashion show

Information/tickets: theweddingguys.com/shows/unveiled-rochester
I've been pretty focused on Rochester's "singles" scene lately.

That might sound creepy coming from a woman who's been married for 21 years. It's admittedly been a fair bit of time since I've been part of any singles scene.

It's a work thing.

As associate editor of Rochester Magazine, I spent the last couple weeks interviewing eligible singles for our upcoming Single in the City issue. I ask these brave men and women about online dating, about the best place to meet other singles, and about their takes on the city's singles scene.

But mostly, I ask them about themselves  from their strangest dates to the last songs they listened to.

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I was doing the math the other day, and realized that since joining the Rochester Magazine team in 2010, I've asked somewhere between 50 and 75 single Rochesterites these same questions. It occurred to me that it's not very fair to keep grilling people with personal questions year after year and not give my fair share, too.

So this year, I'm changing it up and answering the Single in the City questions myself  as a married woman with 20-plus years of matrimony under my belt. Here they are:

Last song I listened to?Beauty School Dropout from the Grease soundtrack albumon the original vinyl I've had since grade school!

What might someone be surprised to learn about me?For the first 20 years of my life, I was certain my destiny was to be a grade-school teacher. Sometimes I still dream of going back to school to teach.

Best date?My husband and I spent my 35th birthday in New York City. Best three-day date ever. (Even though I made him get up WAY too early to wait in line at the Today Show.)

Most uncomfortable date?Sophomore year homecoming dance. I was so nervous that I hardly made eye contact with my date all night. Or wait. Maybe it was my Sophomore year Snofest dance  for which I was so nervous that I hardly made eye contact with my date all night. Sophomore year was not my year.

Three things you love?It's a given that family tops that list. But other than that, I'd have to go with (1) traveling to new places; (2) genuine laughter; (3) a nice, warm chai tea at a coffee shop on a Saturday morning.

First kiss?Summer before ninth grade. Church trip school bus. Game of truth or dare.

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Ideal day off?I'd start the day off with a nice, long walk with my dog. Then I'd meet a friend at a coffee shop. My family and I would go for a hike at Indian Heights, and no one would complain or make an excuse about why they couldn't go. Then our private jet would fly us to somewhere I've never been for lunch at the area's quirkiest restaurant. The return flight would feature live music. And I'd end the day with a dance party, before heading home to do the crossword puzzle in bed. That's the dream version. About half of it is possible on any given day off.

Best place to meet other singles in Rochester?Clearly, this is where my expertise lies. Or not. But I'd recommend that anyone  of any partnered status  attend the events held in our city every week. You can't even plead ignorance, because you can find them all in 507 magazine's event calendar (http://events.postbulletin.com). A quick look at this week's calendar lists stand-up comedy, live music, art classes and exhibits, live theater, a haunted house, and a guided hike at Quarry Hill  and this is just for starters.

What if you don't like to go out?Then do like my friends Nikki and Sean did when they moved to Rochester and knew no one: Hold a good old-fashioned cocktail party every month and invite everyone you come in contact with, from your mailman to your city councilwoman. And ask them to bring friends. Maybe your grocery store clerk's cousin's son is your future soul mate.

First thing you notice about someone?Their warmth, or lack thereof.

Dating advice?Brush your teeth and carry mints.

Oddest online dating moment?"Online" wasn't a thing when I was dating. My future husband gave me his phone number on a piece of paper that he ripped from his planner.

Rochester's dating scene?I think I'll leave this one up to the real singles.
Kevin Tyrone Williams, 42, a Level 3 registered predatory offender, has moved within the city of Rochester.

Specifically, he has relocated from being homeless in northwest Rochester near 41st Street to the 1900 block of 8  Street Southeast.

Williams has a history of sexual contact, including penetration, with adult females he knows. He has used a weapon, force and threats to gain compliance, his record shows, and has broken into a residence to gain access.

Williams is black, 6 feet tall, weighs 208 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. He was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 33 months in prison.

In 2009, he was convicted of felony assault and sentenced to 26 month in prison; in 2014 Williams was again convicted of felony assault and received another 33-month term, with credit for 147 days already served.

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Williams was released from prison in July 2016, when he moved to a halfway house on Campus Drive Southeast in Rochester.

He moved Feb. 27 to the 3800 block of U.S. Highway 14 East; a notification meeting for the community was held March 13.

There will be no new community notification meeting about Williams, but questions about him can be directed to Lt. Craig Anderson at the Level 3 notification meeting about Jeremy Franken that will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Rochester Police North Precinct, 4001 West River Parkway , in the basement classroom.

Please park and enter on the northwest corner of the building. For additional information on Williams or any other Level 3 Predatory Offender in Minnesota, please visit https://coms.doc.state.mn.us/publicregistrantsearch.

Anderson may be reached at 328-6896 or canderson@rochestermn.gov with questions or comments if unable to attend Wednesday's notification meeting.
Students at Riverside Elementary could soon be spending a little more time learning outdoors.

School leaders are considering designating land at Riverside as a "school forest" for students  providing a learning environment, and possibly an outdoor classroom, where students will be able to learn about a variety of subjects.

This will be done through the Minnesota School Forest Program , which is a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota schools that allows districts to designate land specifically for learning outside.

"The nice part with the connection with the DNR is that it's a state-run organization and they affix many of their targets with state standards and their partnership is far beyond just a friendly visit or an explosion-type of event, where you say boom, this is one big fun day," said Riverside Principal Matt Ruzek. "It's a sustainable program where they're going to be infusing learning with kids."

The DNR provides professional development to staff, teaching them how to more effectively engage students outside. Plus, there's not cost, said Lida Casper, Riverside's community schools facilitator.

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Riverside educators are in the beginning stages of planning the program, which includes things like forming a committee to guide the site's development and preparing to submit a plan to the school board for approval.

There's nothing particularly legally binding about it, it's really just a designation, Casper said. Schools are required to offer at least five education-related activities throughout the school year, such as after school programs or lessons conducted by the school, according to the program's website.

The statewide program has been around since 1950, with 130 school forests throughout the state, ranging from less than one acre to 300 acres.

It'll be a project that the school will be able to pull together with everyone's help, Casper said.

"Yes, we could just go out and buy our own outdoor classroom," she said. "But we want to use our current building as a community school to create it together."
A northwest Rochester convenience store/gas station recently closed its doors, because it's being sold to a neighboring business.

The CHS/Cenexstation at 545 16th Ave. NW recently closed its doors and shut off the gas pumps. St. Paul-based CHS Inc. issued a statement saying the station is under contract to be purchased by the neighboring business, Joe's Auto and Tire.

Joe Peter, the owner of Joe's Auto, says CHS soon will remove the underground tanks and then the sale can close, hopefully by the start of November.

Since he opened his auto and tire shop on Civic Center, Peter says he has been asking CHS/Cenex about purchasing their property. CHS, which used to be Greenway Cooperativeuntil a 2014 merger, has three other Rochester stations.

"This year, we were to get together and get a deal done," Peter said.

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He doesn't have any specific plans for the future of the site yet. In the short-term, it will be used for some much-needed additional customer parking.

"It's a great spot. This gives us more options," he said.

Joe's Auto Care also has another Rochester shop nearby at 923 Sixth St. NW as well as one in Winona. Joe's was founded in 2000.

Biz buzz

After weeks of construction this summer, the new Panera Breadlocation at 825 16th St. SW opened earlier this month.

The stand-alone, 4,100-square-foot Panera features a drive-through window to serve local commuters.

It stands in front of the new Red44luxury apartment complex and next to the103-room Home2 Suites by Hiltonhotel. A new Buffalo Wild Wingsalso is planned for that area.

Panera's new location is part of a development driven by North Rock Real Estate, a tandem effort of Rochester-based Jeff Brown Jr.and Mike Zirbes.
Democratic candidates for governor weighed in on single-payer health care and Mayo Clinic's hospital consolidation plans during a forum Tuesday night in Rochester.

More than 100 people gathered at the Heintz Center on Rochester Community and Technical College's campus for the chance to see the candidates square off for the first time in the Med City.

Five of the candidates participated in the forum, sponsored by the Minnesota Medical Association and Zumbro Valley Medical Society. They were state Rep. Tina Liebling, state Rep. Erin Murphy, State Auditor Rebecca Otto, state Rep. Paul Thissen and 1st District Rep. Tim Walz. Post Bulletin Executive Editor Jay Furst moderated the forum.

Several candidates told the crowd that they back moving to a single-payer system for health care. Liebling said the loss of health care services in rural areas points to the need to make the switch. Providers are struggling to negotiate with insurance companies about payment.

"The bottom line is it should be about people  not money," Liebling said.

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Otto told the crowd she has introduced a plan to move to a universal, publicly financed health-care plan. Federal funds would be funneled into a separate account to help pay for the program.

"Put the patient and provider back in the center of health care. Insurers shouldn't be in the middle of that anymore," she said.

Thissen agrees that Minnesota needs to move toward a Medicare-for-all system but that won't solve soaring health-care costs. To help with that, he said it is important to start investing in research to prevent costly diseases.

Both Murphy and Walz said they support the idea of allowing people to buy into the publicly-run MinnesotaCare program.

Tough words for Mayo Clinic

Several of the candidates took Mayo Clinic Health System to task for its plan to move most in-patient services from its Albert Lea hospital to its Austin location. More than 30 opponents of Mayo's planned consolidation sat in the audience wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Save Our Hospital."

Thissen said Mayo is making a big mistake getting rid of those services in Albert Lea. He said he wants lawmakers to change the governing structure for the Destination Medical Center initiative as a result of Mayo's actions. The state approved up to $585 million in public funds for infrastructure to support DMC.

"The Mayo is a very powerful institution in the state, and you have to be willing to stand up and say what you are doing in this circumstance is wrong," he said.

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Murphy said she is also deeply concerned about what is happening in Albert Lea.

"The footprint of Mayo has changed the way care is being delivered all across the southeastern part of the state of Minnesota, and the business practices cannot trump access to high-quality care in the southeastern part of the state," she said.

Murphy argues the state needs to take advantage of its purchasing power and contract directly with providers instead of relying on health insurance plans. She said that would help prevent consolidation in the future.

Liebling said she would sponsor a bill to require health care providers to explain their reasons for consolidating services to the Minnesota Department of Health. The public process would allow residents to weigh in on the proposed changes. She also said the state could provide additional money to support facilities in rural areas.

Otto said the Albert Lea situation highlights that the current health-care system in Minnesota is unsustainable and reinforces the needs to move to a universal health-care system.

Walz said when Albert Lea residents contacted him with concerns about the hospital consolidation, he responded right away. He said he went to work talking with all the parties involved and gathering data. He also helped arrange for a mediator to work with the city of Albert Lea and Mayo Clinic to try and reach a solution. He said that is the same approach he would take if he was governor.

He added, "As governor, it's my responsibility as it is here to bring the people to the table, to be a fair arbitrator in this."

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STEWARTVILLE  The Stewartville Sportsman's Club board has canceled the appearance of an anti-Islamic speaker, several days after fliers promoting the speech and warning of Islam's "threat to our way of life" began showing up at Stewartville homes.

"It has become apparent that a rental at the Stewartville Sportsman's Club is being advertised as an information session targeting a specific ethnic group," said a statement released by the club Wednesday afternoon. "When the rental contract was drafted, the Club Board was unaware of what the purpose of the event was for.

"The mission of the Stewartville Sportsman Club is to promote outdoor activities that benefit the outdoors and provide a venue for local youth and adults to learn about and develop a passion to enjoy the outdoors in a safe and responsible manner. In no way is our club a sponsor of political viewpoints and we do not endorse our facility to be used in such a way."

Dave Bunde, the club's president, said the board held a meeting at the club Tuesday night and voted 6-2 to cancel the contract for the speaking event featuring Usama Dakdok.

Bunde said a motivating factor in the board's decision was the negative publicity that the event was generating for the club. The club is known for hosting wedding receptions, company parties, funerals, charity events and even events organized by Muslims, he said.

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The general sentiment among the board, even among those who voted to cancel the event, was that Dakdok should be allowed to present his message, "but they didn't think going through the club was the place," Bunde said.

"I'm kind of on the side of free speech, and I'm not biased against Muslims whatsoever. I don't have a problem with them. It's just the ISIS parts that I have an issue with," Bunde said, referring to the Islamic terror group that has inspired attacks in Europe and the U.S.

Dakdok is an Egyptian Coptic Christian who has traveled across Minnesota promoting what his critics say is a negative, distorted view of Islam. He is known for telling listeners that Muslims are in the U.S. to behead Christians and Jews.

Days after word of the speech began circulating, area Muslims began arranging a speaking event of their own at the Rochester Public Library as a counterpoint and rebuttal to Dakdok's appearance. Organizers are calling it, "Say No to Fear: Understanding Islam and Your Muslim Neighbor." The idea was to hold a competing event, rather than staging protests outside the club that would give more prominence to Dakdok's speech.

Regina Mustafa, a Rochester Muslim who is organizing the event, said she supported the club's decision, but didn't discount the possibility that Dakdok might secure another venue around Rochester. In the meantime, she said she was inclined to go ahead with the counter-event at the library, which is set for Oct. 29 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., the same day Dadok was set to speak.

"I'd like to still have this event," Mustafa said. "There's a great amount of interest in it already."

Dakdok was unavailable for comment.

Mustafa said that her biggest concern about Dakdok was that "he's stoking fear."

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"He's fear-mongering and essentially what he's doing is making it difficult for Muslims to try and go about their daily life," Mustafa said. "He tries to take advantage of the current climate against Muslims and Islam in this country."

The fliers that began appearing in Stewartville neighborhoods on Friday were headlined, "Exposing Sharia and the deception of Islam," promising a speech that would reveal the motives and teachings of an Islamic system that is a "threat to our way of life. "Crossroads Ministries" stickers were attached to the fliers.

Bunde said that the board listened to the sponsors who arranged for Dakdok to come to Stewartville before voting to cancel the event.
WINONA  Three vehicles crashed at the intersection of U.S. Highway 61 and Homer Road in Winona on Tuesday evening.

Gail Walker, 52, of Winona was making a left-hand turn across Highway 61 heading east on Homer Road when her car was struck in the northbound lanes of the highway by a minivan driven by Jenna Adams, 20, of Rochester. After the collision, Walker's car continued on to crash into a car that was stopped at the lights, according to a report by the Minnesota State Patrol.

Walker, her passenger, Darlene Riles, 29, of Chicago, and Adams were all transported to Winona Health with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the stopped car, Daniel Lund, 22, of St. Michael, was not injured, the state patrol reported.

The Winona County Sheriff's Office also responded to the scene.
The federal fundraising numbers are out and candidates in the 1st Congressional District are already hauling in substantial sums of money.

The race is expected to be one of the most-watched contests in the nation. Seven Democrats and two Republicans are vying to replace DFL Rep. Tim Walz. The Mankato Democrat is stepping down to run for governor in 2018. Here are five takeaways from the third quarter financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

1. Big money is already pouring into the race

The 2018 election is still 13 months away but a hefty sum of money has already been raised by some of the candidates. Hamline University political science professor David Schultz said he is struck by the fact that three of the DFL candidates raised a total of nearly half a million dollars in the third quarter.

"That's a pretty remarkable chunk of change for the top three to collectively raise," Schultz said.

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U.S. Army veteran Dan Feehan, of North Mankato, raised the most money, bringing in more than $253,000. Mankato attorney Joe Sullivan came in second with nearly $125,000 raised, including a $30,000 loan from the candidate. Rochester attorney Rich Wright raised $113,000, including $70,000 he lent his campaign.

Schultz expects candidates will end up having to raise $2 million for the race and that when money from outside groups is factored in, a grand total of $10 million may be spent on this race.

Former state Sen. Vicki Jensen, of Owatonna, came in a distant fourth in fundraising. She raised less than $29,000 in the third quarter. No reports were available for the other candidates.

2. Democrats will fight hard to keep the seat

The hefty fundraising totals point to the concern among Democrats about holding the seat. Republican Donald Trump won the district by 15 percentage points last year. Walz narrowly kept the seat, beating GOP rival Jim Hagedorn by less than one percentage point.

"This is going to be one of those seats that Democrats are, rightly so, worried of losing. And if they have even a remote chance  and I think it's remote  of taking back the House of Representatives, they have to hold this one," Schultz said.

3. Fundraising gives Feehan DFL frontrunner status

While money certainly isn't everything when it comes to politics, it can be a good indicator early on of which candidates are seen as having the best chance of winning, Schultz said. Feehan's campaign made a point of noting that the veteran raised more than any other non-incumbent in their first quarter in the 1st District.

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"I think of (fundraising) like horse racing at this point. Unless you want to play the long shots, you put the money on the horse that you think is going to win. And I would think at this point the fact the money is going in his direction has to be suggesting this is the person at least national Democrats are more persuaded by who has got the best chance of winning," Schultz said.

Still, Schultz said for a candidate to be successfully they have to build a strong network of support across the district. The question will be if Feehan can do that after lived outside the state for many years. Feehan returned to Minnesota to run for the seat.

4. Hagedorn's fundraising solidifies frontrunner status in race

Hagedorn raised a total of more than $102,000 in the third quarter. So far, he has raised more than $405,000 since launching his third straight bid for the seat. He also has more than $237,000 in the bank.

Besides money, Hagedorn has built up name recognition in the district and a campaign network because of his previous runs.

"He's got the money, and he's got name recognition. I have to think that overall he's the front runner," Schulz said.

5. Carla Nelson needs to prove she can raise big money

Republican state Sen. Carla Nelson announced after the third quarter deadline that she is running for the seat. In order to be competitive, Schultz said she will need to show she can raise substantial funds.

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"She's going to have to raise a ton of money," he said. "Does she have to raise as much as him? I don't think so, but I'm guessing she's going to have to show solid six figures."
Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Greg Katsas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Katsas is hugely qualified for this important judgeship.

As I discussed here, he was executive editor of the Harvard Law Review, a Supreme Court clerk for Justice Thomas, and a high ranking attorney at the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration.

Katsas has argued Supreme Court cases as a government attorney and in private practice. He has also argued in every U.S. appeal court. In all, he has more than 75 appeals.

This year, Katsas became deputy counsel to the president in the White House Counsels Office. It is this service that provides the left with its pretext for trying to block, as it routinely does, a highly qualified conservative from the federal bench.

The group that calls its People for the American Way openly states that Katsas shouldnt be confirmed because his decision to work in the White House Counsels office for this particular administration by itself disqualifies him. It argues that even if Katsas had no direct involvement in Trump administration decisions it doesnt like, he has chosen to continue to serve and provide legal advice to the lawless president who has carried them out.

This line of attack will resonate with Senators who would oppose Katsas anyway (namely all or virtually all Democrats). However, its not likely to prevent Katsas from gaining support from at least 50 GOP Senators  i.e., support enough to be confirmed.

Thus, at yesterdays hearing Committee Democrats probed Katsas involvement, as deputy White Counsel, in various legal matters.

Katsas handled these questions in just the right way. He disclosed which issues he has worked on, but was unwilling  indeed, unable because of the attorney-client privilege  to disclose the legal advice he gave. And he promised to recuse himself from any cases involving his work as a government lawyer.

Senators were particularly interested in learning about Katsas role, if any, in dealing with Robert Muellers probe. Katsas testified that he provided legal advice on a few discreet questions arising from that investigation.

Nothing in Katsas testimony should cause Republican Senators to oppose his confirmation. This nominee is obviously a superstar. There is no basis for doubting that Katsas will recuse himself from hearing cases where it is appropriate to do so. Nothing in his record suggests a lack of integrity.

The Washington Post says its not typical for a president to reach into his own White House Counsels Office to fill vacancies on a federal appellate bench in part because of questions inevitably raised about the nominees legal advice. If so, such reluctance is unnecessary, as Katsas testimony showed.

The Post also claims that President George W. Bushs nomination of current D.C. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh was stalled for three years in part because of Kavanaughs work as a top White House aide. This statement is misleading, in my view.

The nomination of Kavanaugh didnt stall because Kavanaugh offered legal advice to the Bush administration. Kavanaugh served as White House staff secretary, not as a member of the White House Counsels office. [Correction: Kavanaugh did serve as assistant White House counsel before becoming staff secretary]

The attack on Kavanugh as a nominee centered around allegations of strong conservatism on his part and that of the Bush administration, including the nomination of judges Senate Democrats didnt like. This 2004 article from the New York Times provides the flavor.

Kavanaughs biggest problem, though, was probably his role in Kenneth Starrs investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Hillary was a member of the Senate when Kavanaughs nomination was under consideration.

It was Mrs. Clinton who, in an act of pure vindictiveness, held up Kavanaughs nomination.

This is old (but I hope interesting) history. It is Greg Katsas who is before the Senate now. Given the caliber of the nominee and the importance of the D.C Circuit, I view this nomination as the second best Trump has made  behind only Justice Gorsuch.

The Democrats barely laid a glove on Katsas yesterday, in my opinion. The GOP Senate needs to get this guy confirmed without delay.
ATLANTIC CITY  Music fans accustomed to seeing rock star Jon Bon Jovi on a concert stage in front of thousands in the resort received a chance to experience him in an intimate ballroom Tuesday if they were contributors to Democrat Phil Murphys run for governor.

Bon Jovi, 55, performed a three-song, acoustic-oriented set in the 700-person capacity Ocean Ballroom inside Resorts Casino Hotel.

With accompaniment by a guitarist, keyboardist, violinist and percussionist, Bon Jovi performed his No.1 country single from 2006, Who Says You Cant Go Home; his bands signature song and No.1 Hot 100 hit Livin on a Prayer from 1986; and a cover of the Beatles Here Comes The Sun from 1969 and written by the late George Harrison.

Murphy made the introduction of Jon Bon Jovi and called him one of the giants.

Murphy told the audience how he got to know Bon Jovi. Their children attended the same schools in Monmouth County, so they initially bonded as fathers.

Murphy praised Bon Jovis JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, Monmouth County, and called it a game changer. JBJ Soul Kitchen is a nonprofit community restaurant that serves paying and in-need customers.

When Jon Bon Jovi came on stage, he shook Murphys hand and hugged him.

During Jon Bon Jovi rendition of Who Says You Cant Go Home, he had to cough, so he stopped the song in the middle and drank some water. Some people were standing inside the ballroom and taking pictures and video as he performed.

Im really, really happy to be here as always for my friend, Phil Murphy, said Bon Jovi from the stage.

Bon Jovi said he has known Murphy for 20 years, and they both have four children.

He believed in New Jersey, like I did, Bon Jovi said.

As far as politics or public service is concerned, certain people do it for the power, and a choice few, like Murphy, do it because they can make a difference, Bon Jovi said.

Thats why I believe in my friend, Phil Murphy, he said.

After singing Livin on a Prayer, Bon Jovi thanked the crowd for coming out on a fall night.

Get out and vote. Do the right thing, he said about Election Day on Nov. 7.

Prior to playing Here Comes The Sun, Bon Jovi said it was a song he wished he wrote.

After Bon Jovi finished his set, Murphy came back on stage to shake his hand and to hug him. Murphy said it was merciful for the audience Bon Jovi was doing the singing and not him.

He has answered the bell every single time, Murphy said.

New Jersey is one of two states to hold a governors race this year along with Virginia.

Former President Barack Obama will be in Newark, Essex County, on Thursday to campaign for Murphy, according to the Associated Press. Former Vice President Al Gore spoke at a rally for Murphy Sunday in Ocean Township, according to NJ.com.
ATLANTIC CITY  The scent of fire-cooked dough and melting mozzarella wafted through the concourse of the Atlantic City Convention Center on Tuesday, the first day of the Pizza & Pasta Northeast expo.

More than 150 booths, featuring specialty foods, restaurant equipment and recipe demonstrations, looked to present the latest in restaurant industry innovation to owners and chefs from multiple pizza-loving cities.

Jim and Tammy Bourque, of Manchester, Connecticut, were most interested in finding a gluten-free dough option for their pizza shop, Lenas Italian Kitchen.

Weve never been to a show thats been strictly geared towards what we do at our restaurant said Jim Bourque, referring to a lack of pizza exhibits at standard food industry expos.

Las Vegas has hosted the International Pizza Expo annually for 33 years. 2017 is the first year convention organizers have held the two-day food industry trade show on the East Coast, citing Atlantic City as within a few hours drive of one-third of the countrys population, according to the event website.

This is the correct audience were working with. The Northeast is our biggest demographic said Nick Baralus of the Phillly Cheesesteak Company. Its nice to have this convention in our backyard.

In each corner of the convention hall, cooking demonstrations and challenges were pitting chef against chef for top honors. The Caputo Cup, held by the Italian company Caputo Flour of Naples, was awarding $2,500 prizes to winners in the best traditional pizza division, the nontraditional division and pizza Napolentana.

From Chicago deep dish to traditional margherita, pizza is a $43 billion per year industry, according to industry magazine Pizza Today. On display were several models of fire pizza ovens, food prep machines and international suppliers with specialty ingredients and toppings from Italy.

While there were many wares to sell and pitches to hear, some were at the convention to bond over the love of pizza. Atlantic City pizza innovator Mike Hauke, of Tony Boloneys, spent time Tuesday catching up with colleagues at the local expo.

I know a lot of these guys, a lot of the vendors. Its always good to reconnect with people. I have friends from New York, friends from Chicago are here. ... But now that its in A.C., its home turf. said Hauke.

Aside from directing fellow foodies where to enjoy a meal in Atlantic City, Hauke said, he was getting many questions on his restaurants creations that have been shared on social media, the Taco Pizza and Rainbow Mozzarella Sticks.

Ive been stopped in every aisle said Hauke.Its crazy. This famous pizza company that came from Naples over there, I was talking to the guy and he said, Youre the guy with the color mozzarella!

I think its the ultimate community food, said artist and pizza enthusiast Steph Mantis.

Mantis grew up in the food industry community and brought samples of her artwork with her  a resin-encased slice from her familys pizza parlor in Biddeford, Maine, and bronze-cast pepperonis. Her love of pizza has helped propel her career, garnering internet fame with the preserved Forever Pizza and getting the chance to partake in several pizza events, including the Guinness World Record event for longest pizza in California this summer.

Im here for creative inspiration. I think theres a narrative to pizza. ... Its simple, shared and fun Mantis said.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  Hoping to connect with children in the township and create safe and productive learning environments for students, Middle Township schools and police will present Rachels Challenge to the community next month.

In my opinion, its harder to be a kid now than its ever been, said Middle Township Police Sgt. Mark Higginbottom.

Rachels Challenge is an anti-bullying and positive school culture intervention program started by the father of Rachel Scott, the first victim to die in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. The program promotes the values of Scott as described in personal essays and journal entries written by the teen just before her death.

If you ever had a chance to sit down and listen to her story, it just blows anybody away, Higginbottom said.

The program includes two in-school presentations for students in sixth through 12th grades, and a community-wide presentation on Nov. 1.

Rachels Challenge is another great opportunity for our school community to help students be respectful to one another, and take on initiatives that promote kindness, collaboration and positive school culture, said Superintendent David Salvo.

After the presentations, students will participate in break-out sessions with the presenter, peer leaders, faculty, administration and law enforcement during the school day. From there, they can start a club and continue to pursue the values of the program.

It can carry over into the next year, Higginbottom said.

This event is the result of a challenge to Higginbottom and other officers in the police department at the start of this year by Police Chief Christopher Leusner to find ways to establish stronger relationships with area youth.

He felt that the nucleus of our community was that age group and he wanted to be better at connecting with those kids, said Higginbottom.

The officers came up with various new initiatives, but returned to Rachels Challenge, a program they had tried out about seven years prior, after reading about how much it had grown over the years.

According to independent research from Multi-Dimensional Education, LLC, schools implementing Rachels Challenge with fidelity achieved statistically significant gains in community engagement, faculty/student relationships, leadership potential, and school climate; along with a reduction in bullying behavior.

Rachels Challenge has reported that schools who implement the program have up to 84 percent reductions in disciplinary referrals. In addition, over 150 suicides are averted annually, as reported by students themselves.

When you can get a program thats so proven to be successful to come to your community, you kind of have to take advantage of that. And thats what were trying to do, Higginbottom said.

Middle Township Police Department and Middle Township School District have partnered with the Cape May County Prosecutors Office bring Rachels Challenge to the township.
ATLANTIC CITY  Two of the candidates vying to be the next mayor of this city are tallying their endorsements three weeks before the election.

Republican Mayor Don Guardian, who is running for re-election, announced endorsements on Monday from several city community leaders, including Democratic City Council President Marty Small, who originally set out to challenge him.

Small lost in the June primary election to Democratic candidate Frank Gilliam, who will challenge Guardian in the general election.

Gilliam previously announced he was endorsed by the South Jersey Building Trades Council, which is made up of about 40,000 members and 25 trades.

Along with Small, Guardian also announced endorsements from former City Councilman and current Atlantic County Freeholder Ernest D. Coursey, the Rev. Collins A. Days Sr. and Bishop R. Fulton Hargrove II.

Last month, Unite Here Local 54, the citys Policemens Benevolent Association and the president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey also endorsed Guardian and his team for mayor and council at-large.

Gilliams campaign Tuesday announced several endorsements, including from the Asian American Democratic Forum, the South Asian Democratic Caucus, former Councilwomen Barbara Hudgins and Joyce Mollineaux, Atlantic County Democratic Committee Vice-Chair Mary Slomine, the former Washington Township Mayor Barbara Wallace and former Philadelphia 76ers player Julius Erving.

Also running for mayor are Independent candidate Joseph Polillo and Green Party candidate Henry Hank Green.

The election is on Nov. 7.
CHATSWORTH  Cranberry farmers in South Jersey are busy harvesting their crop, which is forecast to be down from last year.

As of Oct. 10, the states 2017 cranberry production was forecast to be down 9 percent, according to a study released by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Cranberry harvest season in full swing for 5th-generation owned company CHATSWORTH  Six Pine Island Cranberry Co. workers, dressed head to toe in protective gear a

NASS expects 590,000 barrels of cranberries to be produced this year.

Last year, NASS forecast 588,000 barrels, but the state produced 653,000.

The projected numbers fluctuate for a variety of reasons, New Jersey Department of Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fisher said.

(The farmers) are looking for color. When its cooler, the berries have a chance to mature and become a fuller red, Fisher said.

Despite this Octobers warm start, Fisher said he doesnt think it will have a major effect on this years harvest, which began in September and runs until the first week of November.

New Jersey is the third-largest cranberry producer in the United States. It harvests from about 3,000 acres, primarily in Atlantic and Burlington counties, Fisher said.

In the past 20 years in New Jersey, the climate has been stressful for farmers, said Nicholi Vorsa, a Rutgers University New Brunswick biology professor and director of the universitys Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension.

During the warm growing days of June, July and August, farmers need to irrigate the vines to keep them cool.

The higher moisture environment leads to a higher risk of fruit rot, Vorsa said.

Farmers control fruit rot and any possible diseases through fungicides. But some fungicides are no longer available, and some diseases are resistant to the fungicides, Vorsa said.

The Marucci Center creates different varieties of cranberries that suit the needs of future production. Berry varieties from 100 years ago wouldnt survive in todays climate, he said.

The PICC grows four varieties from the Marucci Center: Crimson Queen, DeMoranville, Mullica Queen and Haines, a berry that was named in honor of Bill Haines Sr., who was instrumental to the success of the Marucci Centers early cranberry breeds.

Due to warm harvesting weather, the Ocean Spray receiving station in Chatsworth has noticed a lag in grain trucks. The station receives cranberries from about 20 companies in the region, including one from Delaware, a receiving station representative said.

After arriving, grain trucks dump the cranberries into a receiving pool, which washes, sorts and packages the fruit to be shipped to a freezer in Philadelphia or an Ocean Spray plant in Middleboro, Massachusetts. The receiving pool wasnt full during a recent visit, and Ocean Spray workers had not attached the conveyors onto the receiving pool, which transport the berries onto a shaker table.

Once the weather begins to cool down, the receiving station expects to be busy with about 50 trucks a day.
In 2015, when state Democrats began pushing to legalize and tax marijuana in New Jersey, we suggested waiting to see how that turned out for the several states that already had done so.

Those states  Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska (as well as Washington, D.C.)  provided a large laboratory for much-needed research on the health effects and societal impacts of commercially available marijuana, we said. New Jersey could learn from their successes and their mistakes before joining them.

Two years later, a very disturbing effect is starting to appear.

The Denver Post, which supported legalization, analyzed federal and state data and found a 40 percent increase in drivers involved in fatal crashes from 2013 to 2016. Adult use of marijuana was legalized in late 2012 and commercial sale started in 2014.

Increasingly potent levels of marijuana were found in positive-testing drivers who died in crashes  according to coroner data since 2013, the newspaper said recently. Nearly a dozen in 2016 had levels five times the amount allowed by law, and one was at 22 times the limit.

The national Highway Loss Data Institute says auto collisions have increased 3 percent in states where marijuana is legal.

The magnitude of the driving-high problem cant be known yet because there is no effective roadside test for marijuana impairment. Currently that can only be determined by drivers confessing to use or being tested after dying in a crash, as was done in Colorado.

The urine tests widely used by employers detect breakdown products of THC, marijuanas psychoactive component, which can be found months after use.

Blood-plasma analysis shows promise in determining an individuals THC intoxication, but police cant draw blood roadside, and authorizing that would raise privacy issues. And even if blood THC levels are known, impairment level is also influenced by the pattern of use and dose, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Companies are racing to develop the equivalent of the breathalyzers used to gauge alcoholic impairment of drivers. Tests based on saliva, urine or pinpricks of blood (like diabetics use for blood glucose) also are being pursued.

Meanwhile, the number of marijuana-impaired drivers remains unknown, and police have no way to enforce laws against driving under the influence of the psychoactive drug. New Jerseys 21 county prosecutors unanimously oppose legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

Anecdotal reports from Colorado are also worrisome.

In Pueblo, a city that embraced legalization, a month-long test of newborns at a hospital found almost half had THC in their bloodstreams at birth. In nearby El Paso County, a county commissioner said data indicate crime and homelessness have risen, and arrests of black and Hispanic teens related to marijuana have increased a lot.

Politicians in overspending, overtaxing New Jersey are understandably anxious to find substantial new sources of government revenue.

But before they allow and promote the commercial sale of taxable marijuana, they must make sure theyre not committing state residents to an increase in traffic deaths and other social ills.

Once the experience of the marijuana-experiment states becomes clear and the current robust scientific and medical research delivers its findings, then it might be time to ask New Jersey voters whether they want legal, taxable, commercial marijuana.
South Jersey is on track to once again lead the state in total spending for the general election, with one race poised to shatter records and siphon money from other contests in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties.

On Tuesday, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission released public fundraising and spending records for candidates across New Jersey, and it came as no surprise to election observers that the 2nd Legislative District ranked near the top of the fundraising and spending categories, as both Democrats and Republicans scrambled to fill the state Senate seat that was held by the late Jim Whelan.

However, it is the 3rd District race to the west between Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland, and Republican Fran Grenier that has attracted the largest spotlight, and funding.

The NJEA has spent nearly $5 million in ads attacking Sweeney and supporting Grenier. Independent political action committees have matched the spending in ads to get Sweeney re-elected.

Once allies, Sweeney and the New Jersey Education Association have been at war since the Senate president broke a promise to lobby for a constitutional amendment that would force the state to make full pension payments every year.

The 3rd District race is poised to shatter spending records in New Jersey for legislative races.

Its completely unprecedented but not something that couldnt be predicted, said Jeff Brindle, executive director of ELEC. Weve said for almost a decade that independent groups would have a big impact in New Jersey, and this is further proof of that.

The spending in the 3rd District may be having an effect on races in the 2nd and 1st districts.

Assemblyman Chris Brown, who is looking to become the first Republican senator in Atlantic County since James Sonny McCullough in 2007, has outraised his opponent, Sen. Colin Bell, and the two Democratic Assembly candidates combined.

Brown, who was the top vote-getter in a three way race with Vince Mazzeo and Bell in the Assembly election in 2015, has received nearly $200,000 from state Republicans and a flurry of individual contributions from individuals and political action committees from inside and outside the county.

In total, he has $719,534 in contributions, including more than $300,000 he had saved from previous elections.

Bell, who is filling Whelans seat, has just $182,559 in contributions, according to ELEC reports.

The 1st District has seen even lower numbers. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jeff Van Drew has just $24,574 in total contributions, while Republican Mary Gruccio has $48,223.

Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science and law at Montclair State University as well as the president of the New Jersey Political Science Association, said the expensive Sweeney election is taking money away from Democrats in the 2nd District.

There is definitely a siphoning off of some of the resources, Harrison said. Some of that money would have been used for the Democrats in (Atlantic County).  Some of the NJEA money would have also gone to some of the Democrats.

Mike Suleiman, chairman of the Atlantic County Democratic Committee, said he is very confident of Bells chances despite the differences in fundraising.

A recent Stockton Poll, the only public poll available, had the race between Brown and Bell as a dead heat two weeks ago.

Chris Brown is going to have his North Jersey political bosses dump a lot of money into this race. We expected that, Suleiman said.

He added he was disappointed when the NJEA endorsed Brown and decided to dump millions into the Sweeney race.

A lot of people dont feel (the Sweeney race) is the best use of membership dues, he said. Its kind of neglecting other races.

Brown and Atlantic County Republican Chairman Keith Davis said the Republican Party donating money to the campaign does not constitute having a political boss.

Once again, Colin Bell is relying upon money from his political bosses, while the only people Chris Brown owes allegiance to are the hardworking families and retirees of Atlantic County, Davis said.

Harrison said it is not uncommon for state Republicans and Democrats to invest a lot of money in races where they could pick up or lose seats, especially considering there are only a few competitive races throughout the state. The Republicans investing money in the Brown campaign is an example of that, she said.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The global parliamentary community has condemned today the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority in the Northern Rakhine state of Myanmar. MPs have called upon the Government of Myanmar to end immediately the violence and forced displacement of the Rohingya and the blatant violations of their human rights.

In a resolution on the emergency item on it agenda, adopted today at the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), MPs expressed grave concern over the unprecedented exodus of one million Rohingya to Bangladesh and the humanitarian and potential security consequences for that country and the region. The Rohingya began fleeing when an insurgent attack led to a massive military response.

"This resolution urges the global parliamentary community to take concrete steps to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya from Rakhine state, and to end further human rights violations," explained Saber Chowdhury, the IPU President. "We cannot remain on the sidelines as one million people flee violence and persecution. This crisis is a major threat to regional peace and security."

The resolution strongly recommends the creation of temporary safe zones inside Myanmar under UN supervision to protect all civilians irrespective of religion and ethnicity. MPs have also urged the Parliament of Myanmar to make every effort to stop the violence and to put an end to this tragic situation.

"The resolution on the emergency item at this year's Assembly was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the world's parliamentarians, reflecting the concern of the entire global community over the situation. I believe that this signal will be heard by the authorities and by parliamentarians in Myanmar, and that it will enable them to take effective steps to normalise the situation and avoid a large-scale humanitarian disaster," explained the Assembly President, Valentina Matvienko.

IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong explained, "The situation of the Rohingya is unacceptable. It is vital that parliamentarians from around the world stand together to condemn this atrocity."

Other issues proposed as an emergency item were the political crisis in Venezuela and the threat to peace and international security posed by the nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Djibouti, which proposed a resolution on the role of parliaments in maintaining international security and peace, withdrew it as a gesture of solidarity to reach consensus on one item.

As the Assembly may only adopt one emergency item, the selection process consists of a vote in the plenary. Requests must receive a two-thirds majority of the votes cast in order to be accepted. Of these, the one that receives the largest number of positive votes will be accepted. For the IPU 137th Assembly, two proposals - the DPRK's nuclear testing and the Rohingya crisis - received a two-thirds majority. The proposal on the Rohinyga crisis received the most votes in the plenary, and was selected as the emergency item.

SOURCE Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
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San Francisco, Oct 14 : Two US lawmakers will visit the Silicon Valley next week to ask technology companies like Airbnb, Facebook, Twitter, Lyft and Uber to hire more people from the black community.

The push to hire more African-Americans comes as Facebook and Twitter are under fire for racist content on their platforms and Google is accused of promoting anti-diversity.

Two Democrats -- Barbara Lee and G.K. Butterfield -- would start meetings with these five companies and others from Monday to push them to increase their efforts to hire and retain more engineers and executives from the community, ReCode reported on Friday.

This initiative -- called 'Congressional Black Caucus' -- is part of a campaign called 'Tech2020', which aims to increase the representation of African-American workers at all levels of the tech industry, the report said.

Lawmakers launched this initiative in 2015 and at that time, they even threatened to regulate the tech industry if it failed to improve its hiring practices.

Under the Donald Trump administration, however, it has become more difficult, Lee said.

In an interview, Lee said she would also prod Facebook and Twitter to address racist content that has been spread on their platforms, "particularly in light of reports that Russian agents -- in a bid to stir political unrest in the US - shared such messages on social media during the 2016 presidential election".

"They have got to understand, they've got to move quicker," Lee was quoted as saying.

"And they've got to figure out a way to stop allowing these ads that really undermine our elections and create havoc, really, in communities by trying to create division and hostility and hatred," she added.

The report said that at Facebook, roughly half of the team in the US is white. Black engineers only account for three per cent of the social giant's US payroll.

At Twitter, roughly 57 per cent of its US workforce is white and about three per cent is black, according to its 2016 data.
Beijing, Oct 16 : India and China can jointly lead efforts to solve the Rohingya crisis by offering humanitarian aid to Myanmar's conflict-ridden Rakhine state, an article in the state-run media has said.

"Given the interests Beijing and New Delhi share with Myanmar, the two could cooperate in offering humanitarian aid to Rakhine state, assist Bangladesh in resettlement of refugees, enhance economic cooperation with Myanmar," according to the article in the Global Times.

"... China and India can also promote greater integration of trade and investment in the area, including the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor."

The exodus of Rohingyas to neighbouring Bangladesh began on August 25 when the Myanmar Army launched an offensive in the region following an attack by Rohingya rebels on multiple government posts.

"As Myanmar's neighbours, the last thing China and India want is terrorist violence on their doorstep. In the meantime, both countries are well aware of the complexity of the Rakhine ethnic and religious conflict, knowing it will take time for the government to solve such a complex question," the article stated.

"In terms of economics, there are more reasons for the two to cooperate. China's investment in Myanmar reached $18.53 billion in January 2017 and the country plays a unique role in Beijing's Belt and Road initiative.

"It is impossible for Beijing to remain indifferent. Nor can India's interests be divorced from peace and stability in a nation (Myanmar) that forms a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia," the article stated.

"Myanmar, the gateway for New Delhi's northeastern states to Southeast Asia, is crucial to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar last month, during which the two sides inked a series of economic, trade, defence, energy and strategic agreements, is proof enough."

The support and sympathy offered by Beijing and New Delhi to Mynamar's ruling National League for Democracy party over its efforts to deal with the Rohingya crisis was portrayed by the Western media as a "scramble" for influence between China and India, the article said.

"The possibility of the two big countries (China, India) cooperating to help resolve the ethnic conflict in Myanmar went largely unnoticed, it said.
Kabul, Oct 16 : US President Donald Trumps praise for Pakistan over the recent rescue of a Canadian-American family from the Taliban apparently didnt go down well with some politicians in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Afghan Senate chairman has claimed that the Pakistan Army's rescue operation triggered by an American intelligence tip-off was an attempt to divert world's attention from the "terror sanctuaries in the tribal regions".

American Caitlan Coleman, 31, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle, 34, and their three children born in captivity had been held hostage by the Haqqani network since 2012.

"Canadian family's release by the Pakistani military was a move to divert the attention of the international community, specifically the US, at a time when the pressures were unprecedented due to the safe havens of terror groups," Khaama Press quoted Fazal Hadi Muslimyar as saying during a general session of the upper house of the Afghan parliament.

Coleman was pregnant with their first child in 2012 when they decided to go hiking in Afghanistan's Wardak province, a dangerous region south of Kabul that is dominated by feuding militant groups.

"The family was kept inside Pakistani territory for several years and Pakistan used the opportunity to use the Afghan soil and create a scenario to divert the attention and pressures from Islamabad," Muslimyar claimed.
Imphal, Oct 17 : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit to Manipur.

Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Assembly Speaker Yumnam Khemchand received the Dalai Lama, who has been declared a state guest, at the airport.

There was tight security at the airport and the Dalai Lama came out in a bullet-proof vehicle. Soon after his arrival, he went to the Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Najma Heptullah.

This is the first time the Dalai Lama is visiting Manipur. His earlier visit to Arunachal Pradesh led to a diplomatic row between India and China.

The Dalai Lama has lived in self-imposed exile in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. Around 100,000 Tibetans also live in India.
Mumbai, Oct 17 : After an anxious wait of over five months, Maharashtra farmers will get a "Diwali gift" in the form of loan waivers from October 18, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced here on Tuesday.

"From tomorrow (Wednesday), we shall start disbursal to farmers under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Shetkari Sanman Yojana across all the districts in the state. The money would be deposited directly into their bank accounts," Fadnavis told media persons while hosting the customary Diwali-eve lunch at his official residence, Varsha.

Admitting that it would entail a huge burden on the state exchequer, he made it clear that "providing relief to the farmers is the top priority" of the state government.

"Within the next 25-30 days, we shall clear around 80 per cent of the loan waiver disbursals. We have a software in place which has been tested and has a data base of around six million applicant-farmers," Fadnavis added.

On reports of many "farmers" from Mumbai applying for the debt waiver scheme, he said a probe was underway and only those found genuine and eligible would be entitled for the disbursal.

Earlier, welcoming the announcement, the ruling party ally Shiv Sena claimed credit for the farm loans waiver and hoped that the entire exercise would be completed by October-end.

"It is because of the crusade we had launched that the state government had announced the loans waiver scheme for farmers," said Shiv Sena Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut late on Monday.

On June 24, the state government had announced a massive Rs 34,022-crore relief package for the farmers, days after an unprecedented 11-day strike by the farming community in the state.

Under the scheme, the total number of beneficiaries were estimated to be around 8.90 million, but it is expected that over four million, mostly small and medium farmers, shall become completely debt-free, enabling them to avail fresh bank loans.

As per the available figures, around 3.61 million farmers shall be eligible for financial assistance of up to Rs 1.50 lakh each to clear their pending loans.

Interestingly, last August, a belligerent Shiv Sena had demanded that the Bharatiya Janata Party "prove its claims" that the farm loans waiver would actually benefit 8.90 million farmers, and sought a detailed list of all the beneficiaries to be tabled before the state assembly.

Similarly, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar recently questioned the government figures that it would dole out Rs 34,022 crore for the farm loans waiver and claimed that the actual relief would be in the range of Rs 10,000 crore-Rs 12,000 crore only.
Beijing, Oct 17 : China will hold its most important political event -- the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) -- on Wednesday where some 2,300 delegates will meet to decide the leadership of the world's second-largest economy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's re-election as the party's General Secretary -- China's top post -- and a reshuffle in the all-powerful seven-member Politburo Standing Committee and other bodies will be the key highlights of the once in five years event.

"The Congress will last seven days from October 18 to 24," spokesperson for the CPC, Tuo Zhen, told the Chinese and international media at the Great Hall of the People here. A total of 2,280 delegates will attend the event.

The Congress will chart the course for China's next five years in the fields of economy and foreign policy besides other domestic issues.

However, this year's Congress is primarily seen as an event where Xi, who has emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades, will amass more power.

In nearly an hour and a half long press conference, Tuo said the constitution of the CPC will be amended at the 19th Congress.

"It is an established practice of the party to amend the party's constitution at the national congresses in response to the innovations in theory and development practice at all national congresses," Tuo said.

It is speculated that Xi's philosophy will be incorporated in the constitution. So far the party's constitutions have the doctrines of greats like Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

Last year, Xi was awarded the title of "core" leader, an award only given to Mao, Deng and Jiang. This reflects Xi's rising power as the honorific places him at the top of the Politburo Standing Committee.

By the de facto retirement rule of 68, five members of the Standing Committee are to retire. Xi, 64, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 61, will stay on.

It is to be seen if Wang Qishan, Xi's close confidant, will be retained in the Standing Committee as he is 69.

Of the 25-member wider Politburo, 11 are due to retire.

Tuo announced that new election of the Central Party Committee and a reshuffle in the country's top anti-graft body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, will take place.

Wang heads the anti-corruption body.

Tuo also said there will be no let up in the fight against corruption.

Over a million people have been punished in a Xi's signature anti-corruption campaign which also includes top echelons in the party and the Army.

The work report of the CPC's 18th Central Committee and the report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will be discussed, Tuo said.

All the meetings will be held behind closed doors and everything will take place according to the pre-written script.

China's has one of the world's least transparent political systems.

Founded in 1921, the CPC has nearly 89 million members, a number which is more than the population of Germany.

It is also the world's longest ruling party. It took power in 1949. The first party Congress was held at 1921 in Shanghai.
Washington, Oct 18 : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed support for a bipartisan initiative to restore the ObamaCare subsidies he suspended last week.

"We have been involved and this is a short-term deal because we think ultimately block grants going to the states is going to be the answer," Trump told reporters at the White House, Efe news reported.

Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wa.) announced on Tuesday an accord "in principle" to re-instate for two years the cost-sharing reduction payments, known as CSRs, that Trump halted last week.

The proposal would at the same time give states "more flexibility in the variety of choices they can give to consumers", Alexander said.

Alexander, the chair of the Senate Health Committee, received encouragement from the President last weekend for his attempt to find common ground with the Democrats.

"Lamar has been working very, very hard with ... his colleagues on the other side, and, Patty Murray is one of them in particular, and they're coming up, and they're fairly close to a short-term solution. The solution will be for about a year or two years, and it will get us over this intermediate hump," Trump said on Tuesday.

Trump signed an executive order last Thursday loosening some of the requirements set down for health insurance plans by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the signature domestic policy initiative of his predecessor Barack Obama.

He signed another directive terminating the CSR payments late Thursday night.

The President, who vowed to repeal and replace the ACA - popularly known as ObamaCare - has grown frustrated by the failure of the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a bill undoing the 2010 legislation.

"This takes care of the next two years," Alexander said of his and Murray's proposal. "After that, we can have a full-fledged debate on where we go long-term on health care."

Murray, meanwhile, said that the plan would protect people from sharp increases in premiums resulting from Trump's decision to end the CSR payments.

"Overall we are very pleased with this agreement," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, praising the deal for including "anti-sabotage provisions" to prevent the administration from undermining the ACA.

The Republican lawmakers were reluctant to comment on the Alexander-Murray accord.

"We haven't had a chance to think about the way forward yet," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said after meeting with his Republican colleagues.

Despite his encouraging words for Alexander, Trump kept up his criticism of the ACA.

"ObamaCare is virtually dead. At best you could say it's in its final legs. The premiums are going through the roof. The deductibles are so high that people don't get to use it. ObamaCare is a disgrace to our nation and we are solving the problem of ObamaCare," he said.
Rio De Janeiro : Rio de Janeiro,, Oct 18 (IANS) One person was killed and four others injured when a Greenpeace aircraft crashed in Brazil's Amazon region, a spokesman for the environmental group said.

"We can confirm that one of the five people who were aboard the plane died and that the other four suffered injuries, though not serious," Efe news quoted the spokesman as saying.

The Cessna Caravan 208 Amphibian model aircraft on Tuesday flipped over while attempting to land on the Rio Negro river in the northern state of Amazonas.

Four of the people aboard managed to climb out, but the fifth drowned.

The four survivors were rescued by the crew of the vessel Comandante Natal, which was roughly one kilometer (0.6 miles) away when the plane went down.

The ship's crew also righted the aircraft to prevent it from sinking.

Greenpeace said in a statement that the organisation was focused on aiding victims and their families and collaborating with authorities in the investigation of the crash.

The Brazilian Air Force said that it sent a team of investigators to the site to determine the cause of the accident.
United Nations, Oct 18 : UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, has expressed concern over the dire security and humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

The security and human rights situation in the country remain grave as fighting continued in various parts of the country, said Lacroix in a briefing to the UN Security Council, Xinhua reported.

The humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate as a result of fighting and an increasingly challenging operating environment for humanitarian aid delivery, he said.

He noted the government's security institutions as well as opposition forces continue to restrict the UN mission's freedom of movement.

"Despite a highly effective humanitarian operation that has reached millions with life-saving assistance, without a reduction in conflict and improved access, humanitarian indicators are likely to continue to deteriorate."

Over two million people have fled the country since the start of the conflict in 2013 and another 1.9 million people are displaced within the country, he said, warning that further displacement can be expected and any significant return of refugees or internally displaced people remains unlikely.

With regard to the political process, Lacroix said the conflict is a direct outcome of a prolonged disproportionate access to power and wealth.

He said that all future dispensations must, therefore, rest on the principle of inclusiveness that leads to equitable power and wealth-sharing.

Lacroix said the conflict in South Sudan is a man-made conflict for which the leaders of the country bear a direct responsibility.
Caracas, Oct 18 : Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said the outcome of last weekend's regional elections had sent a brutal message to his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Sunday's elections saw the ruling socialist party PSUV win 17 out of 23 states and the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) only won five states in the regional elections, according to the National Electoral Council, Xinhua reported.

"Our people have been wise, our people have sent a brutal message to the imperialist government of Donald Trump, to his regional allies and to the local right wing," Maduro told local and international media gathered for a press conference on Tuesday.

"Venezuela has just undergone a very important electoral process that has influenced the future of the (national) situation for this year and coming years."

Maduro also defended the election process in the wake of the MUD refusing to recognize the election results.

"In Venezuela it is impossible to carry out electoral fraud because the system is automated and audited at every stage: before, during and aftervotes are cast," he said.
Tripoli, Oct 18 : Libya's national defence and security committee has called for an urgent investigation into allegations about Foreign Minister Mohamed Sayala granting a diplomatic passport to a foreigner.

Tarek al-Jaroushi, a member of the committee, on Tuesday said that the defence committee called on the general intelligence agency and the Attorney General to start an urgent investigation into this case plus "officially order cancelling of passports issued to foreigners and circulate the cancellation of passports to the ports", Xinhua reported.

Tarek Shoaib, Deputy Foreign Minister of the government of national accord, earlier accused Sayala of granting diplomatic passports to foreigners, including the Syrian wife of the Vice President of the Libyan-Arab bank Mohamed Abdel-Jawad.

Sayala responded, saying that the passport was renewed "because it was issued during the time of former regime by order of the previous leader (Muammar Gaddafi)"

"It was also renewed by the successive governments that came after the February uprising."
Dhaka, Oct 18 : President Abdul Hamid has said the European Union should continue to exert pressure on Myanmar so that it takes back the Rohingya refugees who have escaped to Bangladesh.

Hamid praised the European Union (EU) for its support during the crisis when Rensje Teerink, its new ambassador, submitted her credentials at Bangabhaban on Tuesday, his Press Secretary Md Joynal Abedin told bdnews24.com.

Teerink, a Dutch national, also praised Bangladesh for its humanitarian attitude towards the refugees and the measures taken to accommodate them the different camps.

Over half a million Rohingya refugees have fled atrocities in Rakhine State since the army crackdown began on August 25.

The new arrivals take the number of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladeshi camps close to a million.

Around 400,000 of the stateless Muslim minorities who fled past violence in Myanmar were already in Bangladesh.
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Beijing, Oct 18 : China's biggest political event, the Communist Party congress that determines who rules the country and its direction for the next term, has begun here on Wednesday under tight security.

President Xi Jinping is addressing more than 2,000 delegates in the capital, Xinhua news agency reported.

The closed-door summit that takes place once every five years was expected to finish next week. Xi, who became the leader in 2012, was expected to remain as the party chief, the BBC reported.

Shortly after the congress ends, the party is expected to unveil the new members of China's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, who will steer the country.

Xi began his speech listing China's achievements during his term, and said socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered "a new era".

China's socialist democracy is the broadest, most genuine, and most effective democracy to safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, he said at while opening the 19th session of the congress.

He called on party members to "always share our fate with the people, always keep the better life for the people in mind".

Xi said China will not close its door to the world, and it will only become more and more open.

"Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying inside the Great Hall of the People here.

He also spoke about the success of his wide-reaching corruption crackdown within the party that has punished more than a million officials, the BBC said.

Beijing is decked out in welcome banners and festive displays for the congress.

However, there is a high security alert. Long lines were seen earlier this week at railway stations due to additional checks at transport hubs.

The congress has also affected businesses, with some restaurants, gyms, nightclubs and karaoke bars reportedly shutting down due to tightened security rules, and accommodation-booking websites like Airbnb cancelling bookings in central Beijing, the BBC said.
Imphal, Oct 18 : There are no Muslim or Christian terrorists because terrorists are no more religious once they embrace terror, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday.

"People cease to be Muslim, Christian or any group the moment they became terrorists," the Dalai Lama said at a public reception here on the second day of a three-day visit to Manipur.

The Tibetan leader also said that he does not like the "America first" slogan of US President Donald Trump.

A strong votary of non-violence, the Nobel Prize winner said violence does not solve any problem.

"India, which has a tradition of 1,000 years of non-violence, could ensure world peace by reviving the ancient knowledge."

According to him, almost all the problems people face today were "our own creation".

He underlined the need to control emotions. Anger weakens people's immune system and as such was bad for health, he warned.

"Out of seven billion people on earth, six billion are children of god while one billion are non-believers."

Problems around the world can be solved through dialogue, said the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 and who is hated by the Chinese Communist regime.

India with her ancient knowledge and education could ensure world peace, he said. "China has also potentialities except for the Communist ideology."

The spiritual leader said that the widening gap between the rich and poor was morally wrong. "This gap is visible in India and Manipur also."

In his speech, the Dalai Lama recalled how he came to India as a refugee 58 years ago. India is also home to some 100,000 Tibetans.
Washington, Oct 18 : US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali at the White House by lighting a diya amid a gathering of leading members of the Indian American community and said he greatly valued his relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump's daughter Ivanka also attended the festivities in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Also present were Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai, US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley and Administrator of the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma.

Trump gave an effusive speech recognizing the US ties with India and the contributions of the Indian American community.

"Today, I was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community -- to celebrate Diwali -- the Hindu Festival of Lights," he said in a message posted on his Facebook page.

"As we do so, we especially remember the people of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the world's largest democracy.

"I greatly value my very strong relationship with Prime Minister Modi. Diwali is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion," said Trump.

"A time of peace and prosperity for the New Year, it is a tradition that is held dear by more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide and more than 2 million Hindus in the US. It is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains in America, India and around the world.

"Our Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to our country - and to the world. You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education.

"America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve BRAVELY in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land," Trump said on Facebook.

The US President then explained why diya, or earthen lamp, is lit during Diwali.

"The lighting of the diya is typically celebrated by families in their homes. Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in THE PEOPLE'S HOUSE.

"In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American FAMILY.

"We wish all of America's Hindus and everyone who celebrates Diwali a joyous holiday and blessings of light, goodness, and prosperity throughout the New Year. And now we will light the diya," the President said.

A video of the White House celebration and Trump's message was posted to the President's Facebook page.
Mohali, Oct 18 : Punjab Police on Wednesday booked a hotelier here for murdering his wife following a heated argument in a car.

Kulwant Kaur, aged over 60 years, died on the spot after being shot four times from close range by her husband, Nirankar Singh, 60.

The hotelier was arrested from the spot, located in front of the Manav Mangal Smart School in Phase 10 of Mohali.

He shot his wife with his licensed weapon, which has been recovered by police.

The couple were going to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research(PGIMER) in Chandigarh for Singh's heart check-up.

Singh owns the Sarao Hotel in Phase 10 at Mohali, 15 km from Chandigarh.

Police said Singh, who was settled in Britain, had moved to Mohali in 2004 along with his wife. The two children of the couple are settled in the UK.
Washington, Oct 18 : A US judge blocked the latest version of the Trump administration's travel ban just hours before it was set to take effect from Wednesday, saying that it "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor".

Derrick Watson, a US district judge, on Tuesday granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the federal government from enforcing the policy. He said the new ban "violated immigration law".

The newest travel rules, which Trump signed on September 24, indefinitely ban entry to the US by nationals of Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea. They also restrict travel by certain Venezuelan government officials and their families.

The ban, in its third iteration, was one of Trump's earliest and most controversial decisions after taking office in January. It had also been one of the most legally troubled, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Both previous versions were ordered halted by federal district judges who said they violated the Constitution or exceeded the President's authority and those orders were upheld on appeal.

The third travel ban, Judge Watson wrote on Tuesday: "Suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor."

Among those flaws, he wrote, was that the ban "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a way that undercuts "the founding principles of this nation," and that the government had not shown that the US' national interests would be harmed by admitting travellers from the affected countries.

The Trump administration swiftly denounced the judge's order, saying that the latest travel restrictions were issued after an "extensive worldwide security review".

The White House called the ruling "dangerously flawed" while vowing to appeal it, stating the court order "undercuts the President's efforts to keep the American people safe and enforce minimum security standards for entry into the US".

"The Department of Justice will vigorously defend the President's lawful action," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Judge Watson had previously blocked Trump's last travel ban in March. The policy "lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the US,'" Judge Watson wrote.

The issue could head to the Supreme Court, where justices cancelled a hearing previously scheduled for October 10 concerning an earlier version of the travel ban.

Refugees and civil rights groups hailed the latest court ruling as a victory for people across the world fleeing persecution and violence in war-torn countries.
Agartala, Oct 18 : There may be some camps of northeastern militants in Bangladesh but the Border Security Force (BSF) has no specific information about them, an official has said.

"Some camps of northeastern militants might be in Bangladesh but we have no specific information about the camps or hideouts there," BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General S.R. Ojha told the media here on Tuesday evening.

He said: "The Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) is cooperating a lot. Sometimes, BSF and BGB troopers jointly conduct patrolling along the borders to check crimes, infiltration and illegal movements besides cross-border smuggling."

Ojha said of the 856-km India-Bangladesh border with Tripura, around 21 km were unfenced and work is on to fence them.

"To further tighten the vigil along the border, floodlighting would be done around 145 km border areas in Tripura," he added.

He said in view of the largescale Myanmarese Rohingya influx into Bangladesh, security along the India-Bangladesh borders had been further tightened to prevent any such infiltration into the northeastern region.

"We have further alerted our troopers posted along the borders with Bangladesh. BSF personnel intensified patrolling along the borders to prevent any influx, especially of the Rohingyas," Ojha said.

According to the intelligence officials of Tripura Police, at least 15 camps or hideouts of Tripura militants still exist in Bangladesh. These camps are mostly of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT).

A few years back, the BSF and intelligence agencies had said around 100 camps or hideouts of northeastern militants operated in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet areas of Bangladesh.

India shares a 4,096-km border with Bangladesh in West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km).

Large parts of these borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar are riverine, mountainous and unfenced, enabling illegal immigrants, intruders and smugglers to cross over without much of a problem.
New Delhi, Oct 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked bureaucrats to break out of the "silo mentality", which he said is a "big bottleneck" in the functioning of the Union government, an official release from the PMO said on Wednesday.

During interactions with around 380 Directors and Deputy Secretaries working in various departments and ministries in the central government in four groups over the last fortnight, Modi asked them to work "with full dedication" towards realising the dream of 'New India' by 2022.

Modi emphasised that it was important to break the "silo mentality" for effective functioning of the government.

"He said that silos are a big bottleneck in the functioning of the Union government. He urged the officers to adopt innovative ways to break silos, which will result in the speeding up of various processes of governance," the release said.

During the interactions - the last of which happened on Tuesday, subjects such as governance, corruption, health, education, skill development, agriculture, transport, national integration, water resources, Swachh Bharat, tourism and Government e-Marketplace came up for discussion.

"The Prime Minister exhorted the officers to work with full dedication towards creation of New India by 2022. He said officers at the level of Directors and Deputy Secretaries must create teams to achieve better results," it said.

A silo mentality is defined as a phenomenon where one department is reluctant to share information with other departments of the same organisation, and also do not welcome suggestions as to how they might improve.
London, Oct 18 : Up to 95 per cent of the plastic polluting the world's oceans comes from just 10 rivers, including the Ganges, new research has found.

While eight of these 10 river systems are in Asia, two are in Africa.

The findings published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology showed that large rivers play a particularly large role - not only because they also carry a comparatively large volume of waste on account of their larger discharge.

"The concentrations of plastic, i.e. the quantity of plastic per cubic metre of water are significantly higher in large rivers than small ones. The plastic loads consequently increase at a disproportionately higher rate than the size of the river," said Christian Schmidt, a hydrogeologist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig, Germany.

"Halving the plastic input from the catchment areas of these rivers would already be a major success," Schmidt added.

"To achieve this, it will be necessary to improve the waste management and raise public awareness for the issue. We hope that our study will make a contribution to a positive development so that the plastic problem in our oceans can be curbed in the long run," Schmidt said.

For the study, the researchers analysed various scientific studies that examined the plastic load - that is the quantity of plastic carried by the water - in rivers.

They converted the results of the studies into mutually comparable datasets and determined the ratio of these figures to the quantity of waste that is not disposed off properly in the respective catchment area.

"We were able to demonstrate that there is a definite correlation in this respect," Schmidt said.

"The more waste there is in a catchment area that is not disposed off properly, the more plastic ultimately ends up in the river and takes this route to the sea," Schmidt added.

The researchers found that 10 rivers transport 88-95 per cent of the global plastic load into the sea.
Mumbai, Oct 18 : October 26 will mark a decade since "Jab We Met" released, but to many Bollywood buffs, it feels as fresh as ever. Director Imtiaz Ali says keeping a movie "pure" is important for it to be remembered.

Imtiaz, whose last directorial "Jab Harry Met Sejal" failed to garner the response that the team had expected, made "Love Aaj Kal", "Rockstar", "Cocktail", "Highway" and "Tamasha" after the success of "Jab We Met". But the story of the vivacious and spirited Punjabi girl Geet and her tryst with a Mumbai businessman left a lasting impact with its simple story told in an entertaining way through performances by Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor.

"When making a movie, you try to do your best, you write your best, you try to make it as natural and fun. But one thing I have realized is that if you put artificiality in a film and try to make it spicy for that moment, those things start looking very redundant very soon.

"Keeping it pure is very essential in order for it to be remembered," Imtiaz told IANS in a recorded response.

What's next for him?

"For me, there are two films that I am working on and I want to make both of them at some point of time," he said.

Are they romantic?

"When I did 'Jab We Met', I thought it is not a romantic film, but obviously it is because everyone says so. It is only after my film is made, released and reacted to... As far as I think, it is not a romantic type."

"Jab We Met" will air on &pictures and &pictures HD on October 26.
Beijing, Oct 18 : Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday said China was for peaceful settlement of disputes with its neighbours but asserted it won't "swallow" whatever undermines Beijing's interests.

Delivering a three-and-a-half-hour speech at the packed Great Hall, Xi also pledged to transform the armed forces into a world-class military and safeguard China's sovereignty.

At the opening day of a seven-day 19th Party Congress of CPC, Xi's speech was peppered with national rejuvenation, Chinese socialism, loyalty to the party and China's achievements in the past five years.

"China will never pursue development at the expense of others' interests, nor will China ever give up its legitimate rights and interests. No one should expect China to swallow anything that undermines its interests," Xi said at the iconic venue.

He said China would "deepen relations its neighbours in accordance with the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendship and partnership.

"We should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion, coordinate responses to traditional and non-traditional threats and oppose terrorism in all its forms," added Xi, who is set to be re-elected the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

China has decades-old land dispute with India and Bhutan while it is in confrontation with littoral countries over the South China Sea and East China Sea.

China and India ended in August over two months of military stand-off at Dokalm on their border.

On a rain-soaked morning, Xi said military mechanization would be achieved by 2020 and the application of IT in the force had come a long way.

"The armed forces will be transformed into a world-class military by the mid-21st century," he declared amid rapturous applause.

Xi, the Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, called for unflinching loyalty from the Army towards the party.

China has the world's largest standing Army of 2.3 million. Unlike in other countries, the Chinese Army is political.

Xi has carried massive military reforms and decided to cut the number of troops to below one million.

"We must enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces," Xi said, adding that focus must be on combat.

Addressing 2,280 party delegates from different parts of China, Xi said the party would resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests.

Xi, who at the last Congress in 2012 talked about "China's dream", used the term "national rejuvenation" several times.

Xi, who is set to get a second five-year term as General Secretary at the event, talked about the success of his anti-graft campaign.

"We have taken out tigers, swat flies and hunted down foxes. The goal of creating a deterrent against corruption has been initially attained."

Xi also vowed to reunite self-ruled Taiwan with China.

China considers Taiwan a wayward province which it dreams to reunite with the mainland, even by force if needed.

The opening day of the Congress was attended by Xi's predecessors Hu Jintao and 91-year-old Jiang Zemin.

Xi was flanked by the two leaders. While he was delivering the speech, a bespectacled Zemin was seen reading the work report by using a magnifier.

At the once-in-five-years event, party delegates meet to decide the top leadership of the country of 1.3 billion.

Xi's re-election as General Secretary -- China's top post -- and a reshuffle in the all-powerful seven-member Politburo Standing Committee and other bodies will be the highlights of the event.

The Congress will chart the course for China's next five years in the economy and foreign policy besides domestic issues.

This year's Congress is primarily seen as an event where Xi, who has emerged as China's most powerful leader in decades, will amass more power.
New Delhi, Oct 18 : Actor John Abraham says he is going to celebrate a "cracker-free" Diwali, and will ensure he sticks to his skin and body care regime.

The actor, brand ambassador of Garnier Men, talked about his perfect Diwali:
Washington, Oct 18 : US Navy Seal commandos were ready to conduct a raid inside Pakistan, similar to the one that killed Osama bin Laden, if Islamabad failed to rescue a Canadian-American family seized in 2012 by the Haqqani network, the New York Times said.

A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drone was circling a remote valley in northwest Pakistan last month when it captured the images of a young woman and children in a militant camp, the Times said.

To intelligence analysts, she appeared to be the American abducted five years earlier while backpacking in Afghanistan with her Canadian husband.

American Caitlan Coleman and Canadian Joshua Boyle were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan. Coleman, 31, was pregnant at that time. All their three children were born in captivity. Boyle was 34 when rescued.

Calling the images a "breakthrough", the daily cited the American officials as saying that "military planners mobilized members of the Navy's Seal Team 6, an elite group of commandos, to mount a rescue".

The commandos started rehearsing. The raid was to take place not far from where the CIA had originally spotted the family, said one official.

But the risky operation planned on Pakistani soil was called off because some in the US government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were Coleman, Boyle and their children, according to the officials.

Days later, the CIA watched in alarm as militants drove the family out of the camp and across Pakistan's lawless tribal lands close to Afghanistan.

American officials formed a plan to push the Pakistani government to act. Trump was briefed and Defence Secretary James Mattis and State Secretary Rex Tillerson both backed the idea that if Islamabad declined to rescue the family, the Navy Seals would go in.

US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale told Islamabad: "Resolve this, or the US will."

The Times said: "The implication was clear. If the Pakistanis did not act decisively, the US would set aside its unease and launch a raid deep inside the country to free the family.

"It would be another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, conducted by the same elite Navy SEAL commandos well into Pakistan without its government's knowledge.

"And a failure to act would underscore American officials' belief that the Pakistani government gives safe haven to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network that had kidnapped the family," it said.

Pakistani officials said they acted within hours.

With assistance from American intelligence, they located the vehicle and rescued the family last week in a dramatic confrontation with its captors.

Inside the car were Coleman, Boyle and their three children.

Trump administration officials described the rescue as a win for Pakistan without publicly acknowledging that officials there had to be pressured into conducting the operation.

"This is a positive moment for our country's relationship with Pakistan," President Trump had said.

The family's time as hostages was harsh. Boyle has said that his wife was raped and that the Taliban killed one of their children shortly after birth, an allegation the militants denied.

Coleman gave birth four times in captivity.

Although Pakistan kept saying that it had no knowledge of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts, he was located in a safe house at Abbottabad, 130 km from Rawalpindi. The Al Qaeda leader died in the US commando operation. His body was dumped in the sea.
Dhaka, Oct 18 : The Unicef on Wednesday said there is an urgent need to raise more funds to continue helping thousands of Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The agency said in a statement that it managed to raise only 7 per cent of the total $76 million it required to continue to help the children refugees who fled ongoing violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

"We are now providing them with immediate support. However, to continue to support them in the long term, like say the next six months, we need to raise more funds," Sakil Faizullah, Communication Manager of Unicef Bangladesh, told Efe news on Wednesday.

He added the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) was planning a donor conference in Geneva on October 23 to raise more funds.

Without more funds, the Unicef will not be able to continue providing potable water to more than 40,000 people and will have to cut back on nutritional food for the around 15,000 malnourished children in the camps, the statement said.

Another 80,000 people will lose access to basic health services, it added.

"Rohingya children have already endured atrocities. All of them need the lifesaving basics -- shelter, food, water, vaccinations, protection -- not tomorrow or next week or next month, but right now," said the statement.

The UN on Tuesday had raised the number of Rohingyas who arrived in Bangladesh, fleeing the ongoing military offensive in Myanmar that began on August 25, to 582,000 -- 45,000 more than the figure released on Monday.

On August 25, Rohingya rebels had launched a series of attacks on multiple government posts in the region, leading the Myanmar Army to unleash a military offensive that was criticised by human rights groups for its rampant human rights abuses.
Kolkata, Oct 18 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday quizzed former West Bengal Minister Madan Mitra in connection with the Narada sting case and Saradha ponzi scam.

The Trinamool Congress leader, who was in jail for nearly two years for his alleged involvement in the multi-billion rupee Saradha scandal before getting bail in September last year, appeared before the agency at their city office in CGO Complex here at around 12 noon, an official said.

Emerging from the agency office after the questioning, Mitra said he tried to answer all the queries. He said he was ready to cooperate with the central agencies like Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"I tried to answer all their questions. However, some of the happenings are really old and I do not remember everything as I went through a bad phase for nearly 22 months. That was a disastrous time for me," he said, responding to questions on the Saradha scam.

"Whatever situation I may be in, I am ready to cooperate with agencies like CBI and ED whenever they call me," Mitra added.

The agency lodged an FIR on April 17 against 13 persons, including several state ministers and MPs from the ruling Trinamool, a month after the Calcutta High Court ordered a preliminary inquiry into the Narada sting footage case.

They have already interrogated many of the accused in the case.

The controversy erupted in election-bound West Bengal in March last year when Narada News portal uploaded a video clip purportedly showing Trinamool leaders receiving money for extending favours to a fictitious company.

The ponzi scam came to light in early 2013 when the Saradha Group of companies downed shutters, unable to repay the investors -- most of them poor and from rural areas -- who had parked their life's savings in its various schemes lured by promises of returns far higher than market rates.

A number of Trinamool leaders, including Mitra, were arrested or quizzed in connection with the scam.
New Delhi, Oct 18 : The BJP on Wednesday asked the Congress to come clean on the claims made by a US investigator Michael Hershman, who has alleged in television interviews that the then Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation into the Bofors case.

"Indians across the nation and the world have asked for accountability in the Bofors scam. Revelations made by Hershman brings to the forefront a few questions which Congress needs to answer," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani said at a press conference, referring to the claims made by Hershman.

She said that the questions raised by Hershman were not only for investigative agencies but also for the Congress party to come clean with.

"For too long, Congress conveniently kept quiet. It's time they answer what's the involvement of its leaders then and now in the Bofors case," she said.

Hershman was the secret investigator of the Fairfax Group deployed by the Finance Ministry under V.P. Singh to probe suspicious transactions of some industrialists in Swiss banks. During this investigation, he chanced to stumble upon a suspicious deposit that could be later linked to Bofors payoffs. He also alleged that a Pakistani citizen met Rajiv Gandhi with a briefcase.

"Rajiv Gandhi met a Pakistani citizen. Who was this Pakistani gentleman who met Rajiv Gandhi with a briefcase? Which official of the BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International based in Pakistan) was he? What was in the briefcase?," Irani asked.

On the claim that Hershman received death threats and attempts to lure him, the Union Minister said: "It's a matter of investigation as to which individual attempted to bribe those individuals who were investigating the Bofors scam."

To a statement by Hershman that the Congress government tried to implicate V.P. Singh, the then Finance Minister, Irani said this was an attempt by the then Prime Minister in silencing Singh.

"Why would a Congress leader, the then Prime Minister of the country, choose to silence a Minister in his own government, was only because V.P. Singh was carrying out an investigation into the Bofors scam. This was to minimise the impact of the revelations made by Hershman," she said.

The Bofors deal was signed between the then Rajiv Gandhi-led government and the Swedish company Bofors in 1986. In the same year, in March, the deal for 410 Howitzer field guns was completed.

The alleged corruption in the Bofors gun deal had created a scandal in 1987 and was one of the major reason for the defeat of the Congress in 1989 elections.
Dubai, Oct 18 : The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has warned its citizens against travel to Madagascar after the reported outbreak of pneumonic plague in the African country.

The Ministry has taken all necessary preventive measures to instil awareness in this regard, said Fatma Al Attar, an official at the Health Ministry, affirming that there were no pneumonic plague cases in the United Arab Emirates.

The Ministry and health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will issue circulars to all medical officers about the plague including methods of diagnosis, prevention and isolation of patients, if any, as well as follow-up measures and care for the infected, she said.

Madagascar's health authorities were checking all those departing from the country's ports to ensure they were not carrying the diseases and all suspected cases were prevented from leaving and given all necessary medications, Attar said.

"There are not direct flights between the UAE and Madagascar, except for indirect trips run by local and international carriers via Kenya and Ethiopia," the official said.

"The Ministry calls upon all those wishing to travel to Madagascar to report to the travel clinics affiliated to the Ministry and get updated on all developments related to the disease in Madagascar and other world countries concerned in order to get the right vaccines and necessary medical instructions," Attar said.
Seoul, Oct 18 : South Korean police on Wednesday raided the head office of Samsungs construction arm to probe allegations that the company's funds were diverted to renovate the group patriarch Lee Kun-hee's family residences, officials said.

Investigators from the Korea National Police Agency searched Samsung C&T's construction division to seize documents related to remodeling projects.

Police suspect that billions of won (millions of dollars) in company money was used to fund the remodelling of Lee family residences, Yonhap news agency reported.

Samsung is suspected of making payments from accounts created under borrowed names between 2008 and 2015. In August, police raided the management office that administers the residences and seized related documents, the agency reported.

Police said they plan to call in company officials for questioning after scrutinizing the seized documents.

The investigation came after police found financial irregularities in a housing interior company in a separate probe. Police had also been investigating similar suspicions involving Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho.
New Delhi, Oct 18 : The BJP appears to have decided to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh without declaring a chief ministerial face.

After toying with the idea of projecting Union Minister J.P. Nadda as a possible Chief Minister face, the party has reportedly decided to fight the November 9 elections and make the choice later depending on the results.

A thumping victory could pitchfork Nadda to the front, while a win close to the victory margin could favour the old warhorse Prem Kumar Dhumal, according to BJP sources.

Dhumal, 73, a two-time Chief Minister was keen on fighting the polls after being declared the CM face but the party has not warmed up to the idea. He has been now named candidate from Sujanpur constituency after being shifted from his traditional Hamirpur seat.

He is believed to have told the leadership that fighting the elections without declaring the choice of Chief Minister could cost the party dearly and give an edge to rival veteran and Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.

"Whoever you want to declare as your CM, you declare. Be it Nadda or me. Going into elections without a face may cost the party dearly," a source, who did not want to be named, quoted Dhumal as telling the party General Secretary (Organisation) Ram Lal.

Dhumal held separate meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Ram Lal.

Dhumal's meeting with Modi took place on last Saturday after the BJP's Central Election Committee deliberated on the names of candidates for the elections.

The party CEC meeting was attended by Modi and Shah. Party veterans Shanta Kumar and Dhumal also attended the meeting along with Himachal BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti and state in-charge Mangal Pandey.

The sources said the leadership was in favour of the party contesting the elections without declaring a chief ministerial candidate. They want to shift Nadda to the state after the polls if the BJP registers a resounding victory.

Dhumal, who was in Delhi for three days till Monday for the deliberations with the party leadership, returned to Hamirpur and held a roadshow in Sujanpur on Tuesday.

The Congress has named Virbhadra Singh, 83, as its chief ministerial candidate.
Mumbai, Oct 18 : Nearly five months after announcing waiver of farm loans, the Maharashtra government kickstarted the process on Wednesday as "Diwali gift" to the state's farmers. Rs 4,000 crore will be distributed among 840,000 beneficiaries in the first phase of the massive Rs 34,000-crore scheme.

At a function, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a portal in which the names of the beneficiary farmers were uploaded which will be sent to the banks.

From a single bank account, the money would be transferred to various banks, which in turn would deposit the pre-defined amounts in the individual farmers' accounts as per the list, he said.

"We have released today (Wednesday) an amount of Rs 4,000 crore, of which Rs 3,200 crore will go towards loan waivers of 462,000 farmers and the rest Rs 800 crore would be paid as incentives to 378,000 farmers who have been repaying their loans on time," Fadnavis said.

He assured that payments funds under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Shetkari Sanman Yojana would be a continuous process till every eligible farmer was benefited, and by November 15 around 75 per cent of disbursals would be completed.

According to Fadnavis, government employees who also earn income from agricultural activities, legislators and others who are regular income tax payers have been exempted from the scheme.

However, the Chief Minister made it clear that loan waiver was not the sole solution to farmers' problems and reiterated that continuous investment in the agricultural sector for the next five years would enable sustainable development besides reducing distress in farms.

"Our aim was to help those farmers, who had stepped outside the institutional credit systems, return to the system so that they don't get stuck in the debt-trap of private money-lenders, and also ensure they can avail fresh loans from financial institutions, earn profits and repay them," Fadnavis explained.

Detailing schemes for the farmers, he said the investments amounting to Rs 21,000 crore in 2011-2012 had now increased three-fold and stood at around Rs 63,000 crore in the agriculture sector.

Besides, schemes like the Jalyukt Shivar water conservation initiative contributed to ensure a growth rate of up to 12 per cent in the agriculture sector, which was ensuring production worth over Rs 40,000 crore in actual terms, he said.

Fadnavis said farmlands had been experiencing many problems for the past few years, resulting in negative growth and that was the reason the government looked at options beyond relief and rehabilitation.

The Chief Minister admitted that he was initially apprehensive about the additional financial burden of the loans waiver scheme on the state exchequer, but with the help of Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, the government finally managed the herculean task.

On June 24, the state government had announced a massive Rs 34,022 crore relief package for the farmers, days after an unprecedented 11-day strike by the farming community in the state shook the ruling establishment.

Under the scheme, the total number of beneficiaries were estimated to be around 8.90 million, but now it is expected that over four million, mostly small and medium farmers, shall become completely debt-free, becoming eligible to avail fresh bank loans.
Srinagar, Oct 18 : Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat arrived here on Wednesday to review the security situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The General was received by Lt General D. Anbu, the Northern Army Commander, and Chinar Corps Commander Lt General J.S. Sandhu.

"The Army chief addressed all officers at the Badami Bagh cantonment here and complimented them for providing excellent military leadership in the most challenging circumstances.

"He also commended all ranks for their relentless pursuit towards achieving the objective of bringing peace and normalcy to the Valley," Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

"General Rawat was briefed by the Chinar Corps Commander on the latest operations and updated on the overall security scenario along the Line of Control as well as in the hinterland."
Rome, Oct 18 : The Italian Catholic priest who was abducted by an armed gang in Nigeria last week and released will arrive back in his native city of Florence on Thursday, Italy's Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Wednesday.

"I spoke to don PallA. He is in our embassy in Abujda. His words were full of joy and without bitterness. He will return to Florence tomorrow," Alfano tweeted.

Alfano earlier on Wednesday said he learned from the Foreign Ministry's crisis unit that Maurizio Pallu had been freed overnight unharmed and was in good health.

Pallu said he was kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint together with two Nigerians while driving to Benin City in southern Nigeria and made to walk deep into the forest.

Pallu is from the town of Scandicci, six kilometres from Florence.
Maryland, Oct 18 : Three people were killed and two were in critical condition after a "targeted attack" by a gunman at a business establishment in Maryland in the US early on Wednesday, officials said.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office said the Wednesday morning shooting happened at Advanced Granite Solutions in Edgewood. Major William Davis said investigators are involved in a manhunt for the suspect, who was identified as Radee Labeeb Prince, 37, CBS News reported.

Davis said all five victims were employees and that the attack appeared to have been targeted. Davis said Prince was associated with the business but didn't know how.

"We have lost three lives so far this morning in Harford County," Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said at a news conference, adding it was not a random shooting but a "targeted attack."

Two victims from the shooting were taken to Shock Trauma hospital in Baltimore and are listed in critical condition, the facility said on Twitter, Fox News reported.

Businesses in the area were on lockdown as a result of the shooting.
Hyderabad, Oct 18 : European volunteers of the not-for-profit Heartfulness Institute on Wednesday planted more than 500 saplings at Kanha Shantivanam near here to celebrate Diwali.

Around 1,000 Heartfulness practitioners from Europe are visiting the park to attend a meditation and training session from October 21 to 29.

About 100 Europeans who arrived early took part in the plantation drive. In all, they will plant around 7,500 saplings.

The 'Green Kanha' initiative emphasises the need to grow ecologically, economically, and socio-culturally important native tree species.

Kanha Shantivanam is also an ex-situ conservation centre, where rare and threatened plant species are being collected from far and wide within India, said a statement by Heartfulness Institute.

More than 40,000 trees have already been planted and the aim is to reach 200,000.

More than 300 mature trees marked for felling because of road works have been transplanted at the Kanha Shantivanam.

Heartfulness is an approach to the Raja Yoga system of meditation called Sahaj Marg, founded at the turn of the 20th century and formalised into an organisation in 1945.

The Heartfulness Institute promotes well-being and self-development through meditation, research and training.
Kabul, Oct 19 : The Afghan police arrested five officers in connection with the recent Taliban attack on a police centre in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, an official told EFE on Wednesday.

In the attack Tuesday, 53 people were killed and 158 others were injured.

"Four members of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and one member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), who were on duty in first main entrance of the Police Headquarters during yesterday's attack have been arrested and are under investigation," Abdullah Hasrat, the spokesperson for Paktia province governor, told EFE.

According to Hasrat, the detainees allowed the entry of an armed vehicle loaded with explosives and a police car carrying insurgents, without offering any resistance.

The five officers held are being investigated over suspected ties with the insurgents and negligence, and the question arises how the attackers managed to pass through the first gate and enter the premises without coming across resistance, according to Hasrat.

The attack had began around 9.30 am at the police barrack in Gardez, the capital of Paktia, where Afghan security forces have their main headquarters for the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Logar.

This was one of the three attacks that took place on Tuesday in different parts of eastern Afghanistan, leaving behind a total toll of 74 dead and 168 wounded.

The Afghan government has been losing ground to the Taliban since the end of the NATO military mission in January 2015, and it currently controls only 57 per cent of the country, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) of the US Congress.
Islamabad, Oct 19 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday received a telephone call from US Vice President Mike Pence who offered thanks for the rescue of an American hostage, her Canadian husband and three children, the Prime Minister's office said.

The Haqqani Network, a group affiliated with the Afghan Taliban kidnapped the couple in Afghanistan in 2012.

Pakistan Army said last week that security forces rescued the hostages from terrorist custody through an intelligence-based operation after the Islamabad-based American diplomats shared information that the hostages would be shifted to Pakistan's Kurram tribal region.

"Speaking on behalf of the US government, Vice President Pence thanked the government of Pakistan and praised the professionalism of the Army and the intelligence agencies for the swift response and safe recovery of the US national Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children," a statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

Pence reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and said that the US would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region, the statement said.

Reaffirming Pakistan's resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil, the Prime Minister assured the US Vice President that Pakistan would respond to any actionable intelligence shared by the US side.

The two leaders agreed to maintain high level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the Prime Minister's office said.

Pence also accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister to visit Pakistan in the near future, it said.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also called to convey the US government's gratitude for the safe recovery of the hostages, the Prime Minister's office said.
Washington Research Library Consortium Extends Ex Libris Alma and Primo Implementation to Additional Libraries of Member Universities

Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce the the number of libraries participating in the Alma and Primo implementation at the WRLC Consortium, has increased to 16.

CHICAGO, IL, October 18, 2017  Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the number of libraries participating in the Ex Libris Alma and Primo implementation at the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), in Washington, DC, has recently increased to 16.

Georgetown Universitys Law Library, American Universitys Pence Law Library, and George Washington Universitys Jacob Burns Law Library and Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library will now be able to take advantage of the consortiums implementation of the Alma library management service and Primo discovery and delivery solution. The Alma and Primo platforms will provide these libraries with new opportunities for collaboration, such as the sharing of resources and bibliographic information, to enhance services and support for faculty and students.

Mark D. Jacobs, executive director of the WRLC, noted, Seamless discovery, access, and resource sharing are essential for our end users. Providing a library infrastructure that facilitates such sharing has been the mission of the Washington Research Library Consortium for 30 years. Alma and Primo have helped us expand the Consortium and fulfill this mission.

Our commitment to the collective management of both print and digital resources requires a library services platform that can manage our large volume of data and transactions. Alma and Primo have the capacity and the innovative features that we need to increase coordination and collaboration within the WRLC and will enhance our ability to work together with our partner universities.

Billie Jo Kaufman, associate dean and professor of law at American University, Washington College of Law, added, The American University Pence Law Library is pleased to join the Alma and Primo integrated library system, providing our library users with an easy, inclusive access point to all resources available through the WRLC. Alma and Primo will make our collaboration with the WRLC intuitive and clear to our library staff and patrons. Together with the WRLCs high level of service, the collaborative Alma and Primo system will provide clarity and budget-sensitive options not previously available.

Eric Hines, president of Ex Libris North America, commented, We are pleased to provide tools that enable consortia to promote learning and scholarship among their members. Alma and Primo are strengthening collaboration at the Washington Research Library Consortium and expanding the services that the partner libraries offer their user communities.

About the Washington Research Library Consortium

The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) is a collaborative partnership providing proactive, responsive, innovative, and cost-effective access to shared information resources, services, and expertise. Through strategic priorities such as the creation of coordinated collections and a robust infrastructure for discovery and access, the WRLC is contributing to the success of learning and scholarship. The combined collections of the Washington Research Library Consortium total more than 14 million items. For more information, visit the WRLC website at http://www.wrlc.org.

About Ex Libris

Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About ProQuest (http://www.proquest.com)

ProQuest is committed to supporting the important work happening in the worlds research and learning communities. The company curates content that matters to the advancement of knowledge, assembling an archive of billions of vetted, indexed documents. It simplifies workflows so that people and institutions use time effectively. And because ProQuest connects information communities, complex networks of systems and processes work together efficiently. With ProQuest, finding answers and deriving insights is straightforward and leads to extraordinary outcomes.

ProQuest and its companies and affiliates  Ex Libris, Alexander Street, Bowker  stand for better research, better learning, better insights. ProQuest enables people to change their world.
The SPEAC System Helps Patients and Their Seizures Be Heard To be noticed and recognized by the editors of Popular Science is truly humbling

Popular Science magazine has named the SPEAC System "Best of Whats New in 2017" in the Health category. The SPEAC System is the first FDA-cleared, non-EEG, physiological, signal-based system for seizure monitoring.

"We are excited and thrilled by this award from Popular Science," said Mike Girouard, President, CEO and co-founder of Brain Sentinel, Inc. Girouard continued, "There is so much innovation going on right now in advanced biomedical science and technology. To be noticed and recognized by the editors of Popular Science is truly humbling."

"The Best of Whats New awards honor the innovations that shape the future, says Joe Brown, Editor in Chief, Popular Science. "From life-saving technology to incredible space engineering to gadgets that are just breath-takingly cool, this is the best of whats new.

Epilepsy affects over 3.4M people in the US and 65M people worldwide. One in twenty six Americans will develop epilepsy in their lifetime, according to the CDC. It is the fourth-most prevalent neurological disease affecting more people than Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, and Parkinsons combined. Unfortunately, 55,000 people die from complications from epilepsy each year (Fisher, 2010; Britton, 2002; Sander, Bell, 2004). Approximately one-third of people with epilepsy do not have control over their seizures and another third can only partially control their seizures (Baker, 1997). Studies have shown that about 50% of seizures happen at night (Herman, 2001) and 86% of nocturnal seizures are not documented (Hoppe, 2001).

ABPN board-certified epileptologist and Brain Sentinel co-founder, Jose E. Cavazos, MD, PhD, added, "The sEMG biomarker is an exciting breakthrough because it reflects the activity of the primary motor cerebral cortex. This finding allows us to monitor patients in new ways outside the hospital for longer periods of time than ever before while providing diagnostic data to their physicians.

Harnessing the rich sEMG data through recording and in-depth analysis allows patients and their seizures to speak to physicians in a way not possible before. "With the SPEAC System, we can now give physicians a much more complete longitudinal record of their motor seizures and events," said Luke Whitmire, PhD, Brain Sentinels Chief Science Officer. Whitmire continued, "For 30-day periods of monitoring, we can provide the physician with motor seizure and event counts along with the time and date stamps of those events. Through post-processing analysis of the sEMG record we can calculate the tonic and clonic phases of generalized tonic clonic seizures. We can also perform wavelet-transform analyses that may help a physician determine if events were epileptic or not. Also, the System may be able to provide an audio recording of the event so physicians can hear if there was an ictal cry  an unmistakable, involuntary sound the patient makes at the beginning of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Further, audio recordings may give insight to subjective experiences that occur during the onset of a seizure and can provide insight to how patients recover from seizure events. Ongoing monitoring may help a physician determine if the prescribed treatment plan is effective or not."

Girouard added, "This journey began simply by trying to help a mother who couldnt sleep at night because she was worried about her sons nocturnal seizures. Now, we have a chance to help a whole category of patients suffering from uncontrolled seizures. Weve moved sEMG from artifact to an epilepsy biomarker."

Cavazos continued, "The struggle to gain seizure freedom is real. The industry has not materially impacted the percentage of people who have uncontrolled epilepsy despite the launch of many new drugs and devices over the past twenty years. With better information now available to them from the SPEAC System, physicians have another tool to help their patients be heard."

About the SPEAC System

On February 16, 2017, Brain Sentinel received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) de novo clearance to begin marketing the SPEAC System, the Brain Sentinel Monitoring and Alerting System. The adjunctive seizure monitoring system is indicated for adults at home or in healthcare facilities during periods of rest. A lightweight, non-invasive monitor is placed on the belly of the biceps muscles to analyze surface electromyography (sEMG) signals that may be associated with generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures. It provides an alarm to alert caregivers of unilateral, appendicular, tonic extension that could be associated with a GTC seizure. The System records and stores sEMG data for subsequent review by a trained healthcare professional. The SPEAC System is currently available to the VA Health System.

About Brain Sentinel

Brain Sentinel, Inc. is a privately held, medical device, start-up company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company manufactures and markets its sEMG-based System under the name, the SPEAC System: the Sensing, Portable sEMG, Analysis and Characterization System. Brain Sentinel is committed to helping people gain better control over their seizures and be heard by their physicians.
CheckAlt, a leading provider of treasury solutions to financial institutions, recruited one of the treasury industrys most respected experts, Tamir Shafer. Widely recognized as a pioneer in the treasury services industry, Tamir will serve as Managing Director of Client Relations at CheckAlts strategically important Eras division.

Tamir was an early advocate for providing specialized treasury services at cost-effective levels. For nearly a decade, Tamir has been delivering customized solutions and driving innovation directly for the treasury divisions of Fortune 1000 companies. In 2010, Tamir launched The Montauk Group, a provider of Bank Relationship Management (BRM) services. At Montauk, Tamir created next-generation products and services to assist CFOs and treasurers in optimizing their bank relationships. Redbridge Debt & Treasury Advisory, a French boutique advisory company, recognized the growth opportunity and, in 2015, acquired The Montauk Group. Tamir was instrumental in facilitating the acquisition and successfully integrating Montauk into Redbridge DTA. Prior to Montauk, Tamir launched and managed the Treasury Platform at NOI Strategies, which is a leading advisor to commercial real estate owners and operators. Earlier in his career, Tamir oversaw multiple treasury teams at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, contributing to the success of each organizations platform.

According to Shai Stern, who is the CEO of CheckAlt, Tamir is a proven industry leader who will continue to enhance CheckAlts innovativeness, business development, and client delivery capabilities. Having Tamir lead the management and relationships of our growing base of clients will allow us to continue providing cutting edge outsourced banking applications and products to our esteemed client base. Tamir added, Joining CheckAlt at this juncture in its evolution is an incredible opportunity. I look forward to working with the rest of the CheckAlt management team, staff, and clients in the coming months and years."

About CheckAlt-Klik

CheckAlt is the largest independent provider of lockbox and treasury solutions in the country. CheckAlts solutions include lockbox processing across 14 locations nationwide, consolidated item processing, Omni channel integrated treasury solutions and mobile capture services. CheckAlts client base includes 600 financial institutions. CheckAlt is headquartered in Miami, FL. Klik Technologies, Corp., established in 1998, has been a wholly owned subsidiary of CheckAlt since 2016. For more information, visit http://www.checkalt.com.
Hays Academy of Hair Design

Hays Academy of Hair Design in Kansas is pleased to announce that it is a co-sponsor for the Hays Middle School Halloween Fundraising Dance. Held on Friday night, October 27, at the Hays Recreation Commission, the event includes dancing, pizza, candy, costume contests, and even a raffle. The local community is encouraged to contribute cash, gift cards, or raffle prizes.

All proceeds from the evening go to support Coreluv (http://coreluv.org/), an organization that benefits orphans in Haiti and Honduras. The organization focuses on six core elements that can better the childrens lives and break the cycle of poverty:



Clean Water

Proper Food

Healthcare

Education

Job Skills

Loving Home

Community members who wish to contribute are encouraged to contact their local Hays Academy campus to see how they can help.

About Hays Academy

Hays Academy of Hair Design in Kansas offers cosmetology and nail technician courses to prepare students for a successful career in the beauty industry. The school also offers salon services including hair services, nail treatments, facials, and waxing services.

Hays Academy has two campuses in Kansas:

Hays Academy - Hays Campus

1214 E 27th St, Hays, KS 67601

(785) 628-6624

Hays Academy - Salina Campus

115 S 5th St, Salina, KS 67401

(785) 833-2280

For more information, visit the website at http://haysacademy.edu/
Beverly Hills Physicians annual bra collection campaign is held in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Bra donors are invited to stop by during business hours at any of its nine Southern California locations, which are located in Beverly Hills, Encino, Lancaster, Oxnard, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Thousand Oaks, and Valencia.

Beverly Hills Physicians, a Los Angeles Area health and beauty medical group, has announced that its annual bra collection drive will return starting on October 18, 2017. Held in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the medical group will be requesting donations of both new and lightly used bras from anyone who has old or unwanted bras to donate. Beverly Hills Physicians notes that the bras will be recycled and then redistributed to women in need. Bra donors are invited to stop by during business hours at any of its nine Southern California locations, which are located in Beverly Hills, Encino, Lancaster, Oxnard, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Thousand Oaks, and Valencia.

This year, the bra collection drive is also being held in cooperation with the breast reconstruction awareness campaign being sponsored by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and The Plastic Surgery Foundation. Beverly Hills Physicians has a page devoted to the bra drive on the campaigns web site and the medical groups adds that it enthusiastically supports the campaign. The campaigns website says that its goal is to inform women of their breast reconstruction options following a mastectomy or lumpectomy.

Beverly Hills Physicians notes that, like many providers of plastic surgery, it offers post-breast cancer reconstruction surgery. The firm notes that every woman is different and some may not want the procedure, while others may not be candidates for one or more health reasons. However, the medical group adds that many women may feel a void following a procedure and that breast prosthetics are often not sufficient to ensure that they look and feel their very best. Therefore, post-surgical reconstructive procedures  which are legally required to be covered by health insurance -- are often the best way to address the situation.

Beverly Hills Physicians adds that it has helped a great many of its patients emerge from the aftermath of a mastectomy or lumpectomy for breast cancer. The medical groups says that, as with any plastic surgery, an important key to the success of the procedure is ensuring that the patient has realistic expectations regarding the most likely outcome. Therefore, the groups says that it is careful to make sure that all of its physicians who practice plastic surgery communicate clearly and compassionately with their patients.

The medical group concludes by noting that it is proud to be part of this years campaign to raise public awareness of the need to keep on fighting breast cancer and also to remind women of their options for reconstructive surgery following a procedure

.

Readers who are interested in learning more about the bra collection campaign or the services being offered by Beverly Hills Physicians are invited to call the medical group at 800-788-1416 or visit the groups web site at http://www.BeverlyHillsPhysicians.com.
George Foster, an African-American citizen who has experienced racism firsthand, has completed his new book Silent Terrorism: A Look at American Racism and Hypocrisy: an elaborate work about the devaluing of American ideals due to racism, the miseducation regarding the nations history, and the flaws of the justice system.

Author Foster points out the conflicting actions of Americans in present times: We dont trust the government. We dont trust the legal system. We dont trust the media. And we dont trust one another. Donald Trump has been elected to the most powerful office in the free world because he repeatedly espoused these ideas before an angry American public, while a group made up primarily of minorities, espousing the same lack of trust in the legal system, police and government are labeled terrorist for exercising the constitutional right to march and protest police brutality and their treatment by the justice system. What is the difference? Why is it that the American public is so willing to accept Donald Trump bashing the American government, the legal system, and the media but attacks a group supporting African Americans wanting better treatment from their government? Why attack, vilify, and label a group of Americans terrorist for peacefully marching and making the same statement that Donald Trump repeatedly made while campaigning for President of the United States?

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, George Fosters informative book sees that the lack of ideal role models is a major problem in society, because children without good examples to look up to, who arent taught to Love themselves or given an appreciation of their heritage, who are uneducated and are repeatedly shown that both society and their government place no value on their lives, will grow up outside of society norms, find it harder to break the cycle of poverty, crime and violence, adding more problems in the country.

Readers who wish to experience this enlightening work can purchaseSilent Terrorism: A Look at American Racism at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, Kobo or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional New York based full-service publishing house that handles all of the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not bogged down with complicated business issues like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes and the like. Its roster of authors can leave behind these tedious, complex and time consuming issues, and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Building on the success of its inaugural Code-a-Thon in 2016, Learning.com today announced registration for the 2017 competition is now open until November 6. The contest will run from November 13-17, providing an engaging introduction to coding for elementary and middle school students. The grand prize winner will receive 20 Chromebooks for their school and a free year-long subscription to EasyTech and EasyCode.

More than 250,000 students from 1,700 schools competed in last years Code-a-Thon. North Heights Junior High School in Texarkana, Arkansas, was the national winner of the 2016 competition. Due to the overwhelming response to the contest, Learning.com also awarded regional winners from across the country.

"Developing computational thinking skills and coding proficiency, as early as elementary school, accelerates students progress on the path to success in todays digital world, said Learning.com CEO Keith Oelrich. Our Code-a-Thon contest provides a great way for teachers to engage their students with coding concepts even if they dont have any prior experience teaching coding.

To participate in the contest, teachers simply need to register their class to receive free access to EasyCode. During the registration process, they will choose one of two solutions available during the Code-a-Thon--EasyCode Foundations, which is a game-based introduction to coding recommended for elementary school students, or EasyCode Pillars, which is an interactive curriculum to help middle school students learn key coding principles using Python. Students will earn points for progressing through the lessons during the week of November 13-17, and for every 100 points earned, each class will receive one entry into the random drawing. There will be one grand prize winner and two runners up randomly drawn from the participants.

Schools are also encouraged to use #codeathon2017 on social media to share their progress and interact with other participants. To register for the contest, please visit http://www.learning.com/code-a-thon.
QuerySurge is improving our overall test efficiency and leading to considerable cost savings. Hakan Andersson, Senior Program Manager for Swedbank AB

The new partnership between QuerySurge, the premier automated data testing solution for big data, and Teradata, the leading analytic data solutions company, provides customers with the ability to assure the quality of their valuable data assets.

QuerySurge is built specifically to automate the testing of data warehouses and big data stores, ensuring that the data extracted from sources remains intact in the target data store by analyzing and pinpointing any differences quickly. This is critical, since poor data quality costs organizations an average of $14.2 million annually, per a Gartner survey.

The partnership we are introducing today can provide our mutual customers and prospects with the ability to validate data when moving from a competitors offering to Teradata or when moving or transforming data from source files and databases to your Teradata software, said Bill Hayduk, CEO for QuerySurges parent company, RTTS. This is critical for organizations, since strategic decisions mined from their BI and analytics efforts assume that the underlying data is accurate and has not been corrupted during the ETL or migration process.

QuerySurge makes it easy for both novices and experienced team members to validate their organization's data quickly through Query Wizards while still allowing power users the flexibility they need to handle complex transformations. QuerySurge identifies data issues such as duplicate records, transformation logic errors, record count mismatches, data type mismatches and many other issues.

QuerySurge can test across different platforms, whether a big data lake, data warehouse, traditional database, NoSQL document store, flat files, JSON files, SOAP or restful web services, xml, mainframe files or any other data store. And QuerySurge fits well into teams DevOps strategies by providing continuous delivery through integration with most build, configuration management, ETL & QA management solutions.

According to Hakan Andersson, Senior Program Manager for Swedbank AB, QuerySurge is used by Swedbank for testing its new Group Data Warehouse solution, which resides on Teradata. QuerySurge integrates well with Swedbanks DevOps approach, helping us achieve comprehensive end-to-end test coverage across multiple technical platforms in multiple test environments, improving our overall test efficiency and leading to considerable cost savings.

By working with leading partners like QuerySurge, Teradata continues to provide a choice of integrated solutions for mutual customers. And QuerySurge has become the unquestioned leader in the data testing space, with almost 100 enterprise customers in 16 different countries and a global partner ecosystem.

Teradata understands the importance of data quality as more businesses become data-driven and rely on advanced analytics to support business foresight and positive outcomes, said Sean Slack, Vice president, Teradata Global Alliances / Global Learning & Education. We look forward to working with QuerySurge in a marketplace where the quality of data can truly enhance the quality of customer relationships.

The QuerySurge team will be at the Teradata Partner Conference in Anaheim, CA from October 22-26. Please visit us in the Exhibitor Hall at booth #635.

About QuerySurge

QuerySurge is the software division of RTTS, the premier pure-play QA & Testing organization that specializes in test automation. With headquarters in New York City, RTTS has been providing consulting & training to 700+ companies since 1996. The team of experts at RTTS developed QuerySurge to address the unique testing needs in the Big Data and Data Warehousing spaces while providing both real-time and historical views of your datas health. For more information on QuerySurge, visit http://www.QuerySurge.com. For more information on RTTS, please visit http://www.rttsweb.com

About Teradata

Teradata empowers companies to achieve high-impact business outcomes. Our focus on business solutions for analytics, coupled with our industry leading technology and architecture expertise, can unleash the potential of great companies. Visit teradata.com.
The University of Delaware and All Campus have partnered to address increasing employer demand for skilled data professionals as well as growing interest among recent graduates and working professionals for advanced data science skills. All Campus, a leading provider of online program management services, is helping UD launch and realize full market potential for its new online Master of Science in Applied Statistics degree.

To support the launch and growth of the online MS in Applied Statistics, All Campus is providing services including marketing, recruitment, enrollment and retention. Teaming up with All Campus enables the university to extend the reach of our graduate programs in the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics (APEC) and help students become qualified candidates for the growing number of positions in data, says Thomas Ilvento, Ph.D., chair of University of Delawares APEC.

The rigorous curriculum, developed by faculty and data professionals from leading organizations, is delivered in a flexible online format, enabling students to acquire the skills they need to enter or advance in the field without disrupting their careers and incurring relocation costs.

The projected growth rate of job demand for statisticians between 2014 and 2024 is 34 percent, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Market intelligence firm, International Data Corporation, estimates that by 2018 employers in the United States will need 181,000 people with deep analytical skills and 905,000 people with data management and interpretation capabilities.

UDs case study-based approach to learning and free access to SAS software, a widely-used tool by organizations to mine, modify, manage and analyze data sets that may be very large and complex, provides students with experiential training and excellent preparation for well-paying jobs in data. The median annual wage for statisticians in 2016 was $80,500, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

All Campus is honored to partner with the University of Delaware in this endeavor. As marketing data experts, ourselves, this is a particularly gratifying program for us to support. We employ many of the same analytics skills to manage our business every day, says Joe Diamond, CEO of All Campus.

Among the ways that well bolster the success of UDs online MS in Applied Statistics offering is through our proprietary analytics platform, he adds. Real-time statistics provide All Campus with deep conversion metrics and enrollment projections that enable us to optimize every marketing campaign and fine-tune our enrollment services for our university partners.

To learn more about UDs online MS in Applied Statistics, visit the program website: https://onlinestats.canr.udel.edu/

About All Campus

All Campus provides higher educational institutions with an alternative to the traditional OPM model, which typically requires universities to outsource curriculum development and relinquish control of enrollment and other decisions. All Campus offers comprehensive, customized OPM services including marketing, curriculum development, enrollment, recruitment and retention  all with our partners unique identity and brand top of mind. Our expertise and upfront marketing investment enable our partners to connect their academic program with qualified students, increase enrollment and maximize market share. Visit the All Campus website: https://www.allcampus.com/

About University of Delaware

The University of Delaware is a state-assisted, privately governed institution with a strong tradition of distinguished scholarship, research, teaching and service. It is one of the nations oldest universities, beginning as a small private academy in 1743. Three of its original 10 students went on to sign the Declaration of Independence. Today UD is a Land Grant, Sea Grant and Space Grant institution that the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies as having very high research activitya designation accorded to fewer than 3 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. Visit the university website: http://www.udel.edu/
HCAPs support and advice have been instrumental to the success of PPAH and its employees over the years.

HCAP Partners, a California-based mezzanine debt and private equity firm and recognized impact investor, announced today the recapitalization of Protect Plus Air Holdings, LLC (PPAH), a leading manufacturer and distributor of residential air filtration products and accessories in the US. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

PPAH manufactures and distributes residential filters used in air conditioners and heating units. The company is one of the largest residential air filtration companies in the US and represents a diverse portfolio of air filtration-related products and brands, including Arm & Hammer, Dupont, Purafilter 2000 and True Blue. PPAH employs approximately 900 in the US and serves in excess of 45,000 retail doors in 48 states.

HCAP Partners began its relationship with PPAH in 2004 when it invested in a predecessor entity called Purafilter 2000, which at the time was generating approximately $5 million in annual revenues. HCAP Partners has been working with the Lackey Group since 2008, when the Lackey Group and HCAP Partners first fund bought the controlling interest in Purafilter 2000 and embarked on a successful turnaround of the struggling company. Since 2008, PPAH has merged with and acquired four other air filter companies and HCAP Partners has been a supportive partner in each step of its growth.

The Lackey Group was started as a product development consulting firm 40 years ago by Robert Lackey Sr. Today, the group consists of 20+ businesses that are owned primarily by Robert Lackey and his son Robb Lackey. The portfolio of companies are focused on consumer product sectors such as air and water filtration, employing around 1,000 people across the nation. The Lackeys attribute the Companys success in large part to the talented senior management group, a strong corporate culture with well-defined values, a dedicated staff of employees, as well as its strong alliances with its key financial partners.

HCAPs support and advice have been instrumental to the success of PPAH and its employees over the years, stated Robb Lackey, CEO of PPAH. We have been especially impressed by their fair and open approach to structuring the funding arrangements, as well as their desire to be involved when needed to help our business grow with both the proper financial tools and business insights. We have a tremendous amount of respect and trust in the HCAP team and the relationship that we have built over the years.

Morgan Miller, HCAP Managing Partner and Board member for PPAH, commented, We have been pleased to be a part of the Lackey team for over thirteen years during which time HCAP financed several phases of their growth. They are a well-run, highly successful group as evidenced by growing the company both organically and through acquisitions. The team worked hard and was quite effective creating efficiencies from their acquisitions.

The VSTH Group, LLC of Charlotte, NC led by Patrick Heinrich acted as advisor to the Lackey Group on this transaction.

About HCAP Partners

HCAP Partners was founded in 2000 and is a provider of mezzanine debt and private equity for underserved, lower-middle market companies throughout California and the Western United States. The firm seeks to invest $2 million to $9 million in established businesses generating between $10 million and $75 million in revenues in the healthcare, software, services, and manufacturing industries. HCAP Partners has invested in over 60 companies since it was founded and through ongoing, active engagement with portfolio companies, the team at HCAP Partners provides value-added resources to help optimize performance and increase enterprise value. The firm has been recognized as an ImpactAssets 50 fund four years running and, through its Gainful Jobs Approach, works to facilitate a positive impact on underserved businesses, their employees, and their communities through active portfolio engagement. Partners Tim Bubnack, Morgan Miller, Frank Mora, and Principals Hope Mago and Nicolas Lopez lead HCAP Partners investment team. For more information, please visit http://www.hcapllc.com or call (858) 259-7654.
Everyone will receive a gift; A-$50 dining card that day at the party

In Summerlin area of Las Vegas, NV - On Monday, October 23rd. 2017 starting at 5pm, Via Brasil Steakhouse will be hosting their 9th anniversary party with not just great traditional Brazilian cuisine but theyre bringing out traditional Samba Dancers and music throughout the night. They will also provide Free Champagne for everyone from 7pm to 9pm because its a big party and celebrations for their family and friends. The Gomes family opened this restaurant in 2008 in the beginning of the recession but they are still doing well because of support of locals. The Gomes family would like to say thank you to all Las Vegas locals by proving complementary Champagne for everyone at this event and everyone who joins their 9th year anniversary party will also receive a gift; a $50 dining card for their next visit as their gift of their appreciation.

Via Brasil Steakhouse is one of the best Brazilian steakhouse restaurants in the Las Vegas, that fuses traditional recipes with a heartwarming lively atmosphere that truly feels as though you were dining in a churrascaria in the heart of Brazil. The specialty is of course the all you can eat churrasco with a wide variety of 21 meats cooked to perfection.

If that sounds good, well it tastes even better, so come on by October 23rd with your friends and family after work and be a part of the Via Brasil Steakhouse family.

Located at 1225 S. Fort Apache Rd. in Las Vegas. Via Brasil Steakhouse is a 375 seat, family owned Churrascaria or Brazilian Steakhouse, with a tradition of excellence dating back to 1978 when the original Via Brasil was opened in New York City. Since opening the Las Vegas location 9 years ago, they have won the Best of Las Vegas awards in 2010, 2014 and 2015 and have continued to further cement their name as one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas and is here to stay
Cutter Associates LLC is pleased to announce that Lisa Masten has joined the firms consulting division as a Managing Director. Lisa is a highly accomplished technical manager with over a decade of experience in application implementation and solutioning for complex business process challenges. Lisa joins the firm from Invesco, where she had an eight-year career in project and implementation management, overseeing various multi-year, transformational projects, including a data project and an implementation of a new performance system.

John Clark, Head of CutterConsulting noted, We are delighted to welcome Lisa to CutterConsulting. She brings a wealth of experience and deep industry knowledge. We continue to see increasing demand from our clients looking to achieve clarity in their technology and operations strategy, and Lisas experience will be a benefit for our consulting clients.

Lisa has more 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, having had prior roles as a Business Analyst at McDonnell Investment Management and as a Programmer Analyst at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. She holds a B.A. in Finance and Computer Science from North Central College.

About Cutter Associates, LLC

Cutter Associates, LLC serves the operational and technology needs of the global asset management industry, providing clients the tools and services they need to be successful. By leveraging multi-faceted expertise and an unrivaled knowledgebase, Cutter Associates provides clients truly independent research, exclusive member-only events, custom operations benchmarking, and a global consultancy for strategic advice on and delivery of operational and technology excellence. Cutter Associates works with the worlds leading asset managers, providers and servicers. Headquartered in Hingham, MA, Cutter Associates has subsidiaries in Canada and the UK, and is on the web at http://www.cutterassociates.com.
Building Structure Safety Monitoring - Inclination, Crack and Vibration

Polysense and AEIDO Group jointly expand into structure health monitoring (SHM) market

Polysense Technologies, Inc. and AEIDO Group today have jointly announced the strategic partnership to enter into the fast growing Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) market with the LPWAN based IoT technology, specifically, using LoRa based IoT product and solution from Polysense and leveraging the market strength and technical expertise in SHM from AEIDO Group.

The announcement follows the recent presentation and report at Sensor Midwest in Chicago IL, http://www.sensorsmidwest.com/, titled Tilt, Vibration and Crack Monitoring for Building Life Cycle Health with Cloud Data Analytic. The presentation and report detailed the successful commercial deployment of its SHM solution for a few dozens of aging building structures which are designated as unsafe and must be monitored in real time in the city of Shaoxing, China (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaoxing). In the Yangzi Delta region alone, it is estimated that there are over 400,000 buildings which will require SHM solutions in the coming years.

We are very excited to partner with AEIDO Group to provide a turkey SHM solution," says Alex Wu, President of Polysense Technologies, Greater China, we will continue to develop additional sensing capability such as foundation settlement to enhance the SHM solution.

The SHM solution consists of various LoRa sensor end nodes, LoRa outdoor Gateway, and cloud based data management platform (Polysense iView). This allows the end users (local government agencies) to monitor the inclination, crack growth, and vibration hourly, with 0.1 degree inclination accuracy and 0.1mm crack accuracy using accelerometer and displacement sensor. With the wide area coverage of LoRa technology, the solution can be rolled our quickly and cost effectively. Further, the solution is wireless and battery powered, easy to install, in comparison with wired sensors.

Mr. You Dong, Chairman and CEO of AEIDO Group, commented, The Polysense SHM turkey solution is both flexible to deploy and feature rich, enabling us to meet the requirement of our end customers. We plan to expand nationwide in 2018 in China, and also are exploring the market feasibility in USA as well as United States also has an aging infrastructure.

There are millions of unsafe structures in USA and in China, due to structures' age, building code weakness, unsound structure design, geological and environmental conditions such as hurricane/flooding, or simply defective materials, including residential and commercial buildings, historical buildings, bridges, dams, tunnels, and platforms. This, on one hand, often poses a dangerous situation for the residents and users of these structures, and on the other hand, also represents a significant market for LPWAN IoT.

Availability

Polysense's LoRa WxS 8800 product line is in mass production and immediately available for ordering.

Please contact Polysense for further ordering and pricing information

About Polysense

Located in Santa Clara, California, heart of the Silicon Valley, also with offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China, Polysense develops products and solutions for Industrial IoT and smart homes, including distributed fiber sensing, LPWAN LoRa and NB-IoT based wireless IoT sensors, Passive Optical Network (PONs) and cloud based data management and analytic platform.

About AEIDO Group

Headquartered in Beijing, China, with 18 wholly owned subsidiaries (one of which is a publically listed company) and offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fujian, AEIDO Group is a leading corporation in the area of building structure design, investment and development, earthquake reinforcement, safety inspection, and monitoring, service operation and certification, and elevator services since 1999.

Polysense Press Contact: Katherine Yang

Email: kyang(at)polysense(dot)net

Phone: +1-408-800-7728

Web: http://www.polysense.net

AEIDO Group Press Contact: Ying Xiao

Email: yingxiao(at)aeido(dot)com

Phone: +86-400-618-0509

Web: http://www.aeido.cn/
Recently reviewed and approved NJ Top Dentist, Dr. Michael Scagnelli, receives constant raving reviews for his excellence in general dentistry. Many of these stellar reviews comment on the ease of scheduling urgent appointments, cleanliness of the office, staff friendliness and minimal total wait time in the waiting and exam rooms. Dr. Scagnelli even offers in office and at home teeth whitening with GLO technology.

Sizable donations of supplies are annually delivered to two dental clinics in Haiti and a medical/dental clinic in Liberia, Africa on behalf of Dr. Scagnelli. Which is just one of the ways he shows his dedication to not only his patients, but for the world as a whole.

Dr. Scagnelli has earned the title of NJ Top Dentist not only for his educational background and experience, but for the trust and positive testimonials from his patients.

Dr. Scagnelli is the best. Our whole family has gone to Dr. Scagnelli for all our dental needs. We highly recommend him.- Koczman Family

My family has been going to this dental practice for many, many years (upon a recommendation of my neighbor who went here as a child) and I'm so glad we picked Dr. Mike. He is caring, thoughtful and most of all GENTLE. He listens to your concerns and doesn't make you feel that your questions are ridiculous or silly. As for his staff, Pat and Carol, you ROCK. I have recommended this practice to several people as well. Thank you for all you do.  Audrey P.

Dr. Michael Scagnelli is conveniently located in Matawan, New Jersey. For more information and locations you can visit Dr. Scagnellis custom NJ Top Dentist webpage at http://www.njtopdocs.com/michaelscagnellidmd.

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About Us

NJ Top Docs a comprehensive, trusted and exclusive healthcare resource featuring reviewed and approved Top Doctors and Dentists in New Jersey online in an easy to use format. NJ Top Docs only reviews and approves providers based on merit after they have been extensively vetted.

NJ Top Docs is a division of USA Top Docs which allows patients to meet providers online before making their appointment.

For more information please click here to contact us or you can visit http://www.NJTopDocs.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Nephrology Associates, P.C. is pleased to welcome David J. Arrieta as its first CFOO. David joins Nephrology Associates with an impressive 20-year career as both administrator and independent consultant in the health care field. He has worked in both large and small nephrology practices, dialysis clinic administration, nephrology clinical research and disease management services. He has been published in both Renal Physicians Association News and Nephrology News and Issues, and is a regular speaker on the topic of data analytics at national and regional Renal Physicians Association conferences. David was recently honored by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of their 2017 Healthcare Hero Outstanding Healthcare Executives. Nephrology Associates looks forward to Davids contributions to both the practice and the local Nashville community.
It was a privilege to accept the award from the RPRS on behalf of Tompkins International. Receiving the award provided full validation that we hit a home run with our new brand.

Tompkins International, a supply chain consulting and implementation firm, received a Sir Walter Raleigh Gold Award for Excellence in Communication. The Sir Walter Raleigh Awards competition is presented annually by the Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS), to showcase exemplary work by North Carolina public relations and communication practitioners. The awards recognized entries for outstanding communications for the calendar year 2016.

Tompkins International was recognized for a highly effective branding campaign, in which our new corporate brand has been enthusiastically received by our target audience. This category also recognized our companys effort to effectively reinvent our brand, bring it to the market properly.

It was a privilege to accept the award from the RPRS on behalf of Tompkins International. Receiving the award provided full validation that we hit a home run with our new brand. As we continue to build new Tompkins International Companies including MonarchFx, Tompkins Robotics, and SensorThink, I believe our new brand well represents Tompkins as a thought leader creating newer, smarter, and more valuable innovations adding to the greater success of supply chains, Jim Tompkins, CEO, Tompkins International.

We are excited our work has been recognized by our peers. We could not think of a greater honor and a better location to have received the award, home to our headquarters, Raleigh, NC, stated Jamie Heaward, Marketing Director, Tompkins International.

Tompkins International was a sponsor of the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards for Excellence in Communication Banquet held Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at the Cannon Room in Downtown Raleigh. William N. Finley, IV, hosted this years RPRS awards banquet.

About Tompkins International:

A supply chain consulting and implementation firm that maximizes supply chain performance and value creation. We enable clients to be more profitable and valuable, while also becoming more agile, flexible, and adaptive to the marketplace. Tompkins collaborates with client teams to develop improved operations strategies, supply chain planning, and execution across all the Mega Processes of supply chains (PLAN-BUY-MAKE-MOVE-DISTRIBUTE-SELL). Tompkins is headquartered in Raleigh, NC and has offices throughout North America and in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit: http://www.tompkinsinc.com.
DRB Financial Solutions, LLC is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, USClaims (http://www.usclaims.com), again has been voted a top service provider by the readers of The Legal Intelligencer in the publications Best of 2017 survey. The firm earned the gold title of top Case Funding Provider, making it the eighth consecutive year that USClaims has placed in the top tier. The firm also won first place in the Best Consumer Litigation Funding category.

The Legal Intelligencers Best of survey asks readers to vote for the best providers of products and services to Pennsylvanias legal community in more than 40 categories. The results were published in the Best of 2017 issue on Oct. 16, 2017. The Legal Intelligencer is the oldest and most respected daily legal journal in the country.

This honor is the direct result of our commitment to our clients, said Donna Lee Jones, Executive Director and Vice President of USClaims. Our team works every day to offer the best legal funding solutions to plaintiffs, giving their attorneys the time they need to work for fair resolutions to their cases.

Founded in 1996, USClaims is the longest continuously operating pre-settlement funding firm in the United States. The firm operates by purchasing a portion of the anticipated proceeds of a legal claim and is paid only if the plaintiff wins its case or receives a settlement. In 2014, the firm was acquired by Florida-based specialty finance company DRB Financial Solutions, LLC, a move that has enabled USClaims to assist more customers than ever before.

About USClaims: USClaims (http://www.usclaims.com) provides non-recourse financial support to personal injury victims, some of whom may have suffered catastrophic injuries from defective products, unsafe premises, motor vehicle accidents, and other types of accidents. A longtime member of the industry trade group the American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), USClaims supports injured plaintiffs and their attorneys by purchasing a portion of the anticipated recovery, thereby providing the injured plaintiff the means to pay bills and endure the often long and arduous litigation process.

About DRB Financial Solutions, LLC: DRB Financial is a leading purchaser of structured settlement and annuity payments and other types of contractual cash flows through its subsidiaries US Claims, DRB Capital (http://www.drbcapital.com), CRG Financial (http://www.crgfinancial.com), Echelon Medical Capital (http://www.echelon.us), and Producer Advance (http://www.produceradvance.com).
Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial, a financial advisory services firm in Birmingham, Alabama, today announces that it has been named to the first-ever National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) Top DC Advisor Firms list, one of only three firms in Alabama to be recognized.

The list, which ranks individual firms or teams of advisors by defined contribution (DC) assets under advisement,* was published on September 21, 2017, on napa-net.org.

Wayne Bloom, CEO of the firms Broker-Dealer, Commonwealth Financial Network, said, Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial is at the forefront in delivering full-service solutionsto retirement plans sponsors to help them manage their enormous and complex fiduciary responsibilities, as well as to plan participants to help them pursue the rewarding and dignified retirement they deserve. All of us at Commonwealth congratulate Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial and are grateful for the opportunity to support the firms retirement plan businesses.

Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial is an industry leader in helping to provide focused, full-service defined contribution consulting services to employers looking for efficient, effective strategies for their retirement plans. Valerie Leonard, the firms co-founder notes, We are working hard to move the needle when it comes to helping hard-working Americans reach retirement. There is nothing our team is more passionate about than helping employers run more efficient and successful 401(k) plans because that is the key to closing the retirement gap in this country.

About Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial

Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial has been providing individuals and organizations with financial guidance since 2007. Located at 1950 Stonegate Drive, Suite 275, Birmingham, Alabama, 35242, the firm prides itself on crafting unique strategies for each client. For more information, please visit http://www.grinkmeyerleonard.com. Trent Grinkmeyer, Valerie Leonard, Jamie Kertis and Caleb Bagwell are Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives with/and offer securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Fixed insurance products and services offered through Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial, Grinkmeyer Leonard Benefits Group, or CES Insurance Agency. Grinkmeyer Leonard Benefits Group and their leadership consulting services are separate and unrelated to Commonwealth. This communication is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified tax advisor or attorney.

About Commonwealth Financial Network

Founded in 1979, Commonwealth Financial Network, member FINRA/SIPC, is the nations largest privately held Registered Investment Adviserindependent broker/dealer, with headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California. The firm supports 1,710 independent financial advisors nationwide. For more information, please visit http://www.commonwealth.com.

*The 2017 NAPA Top DC Advisor Firms list is a compilation of individual advisor firms, or teams, solely ranked by DC assets under advisement. Firms were asked to complete an application and provide information concerning their DC business to NAPA. Overall, 325 qualified firms were considered, of which 250 (77 percent of candidates) were recognized. This award is not indicative of the future performance of the firm or its advisors. Your experience may vary. For more information, please visit http://www.napa-net.org.
We have a common goal to increase productivity, independence, and enrich the lives of people living with visual impairments

Lesa Kretschmer, Florida Vision Technologys Founder and CEO, recently attended the 2017 FAER Conference in Orlando. (FAER stands for the Florida Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired). Kretschmer has worked in the blindness and low vision industry for more than 24 years and operates her business out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In an interview, Kretschmer states, I attend numerous national and Florida state events to stay informed about new technology and learn about whats coming in the near future.

Not only are products showcased, but also services, opportunities, and resources. At the recent FAER conference, Kretschmer showcased IrisVision, a wearable low vision device, Prodigi Connect 12, an all-in-one solution for students with low vision and the BrailleNote Touch, a Google certified Braille tablet. Kretschmer says, Its important for Florida Vision Technology to attend these events in order to showcase the newest, cutting-edge, assistive technology devices so agencies, schools, can experience what it can do for their populations, first-hand.

Additionally, Kretschmer comments, These events allow those who work with the blind or visually impaired to share our experiences and knowledge with each other, in order to better serve our communities. Kretschmer points out, We have a common goal to increase productivity, independence and enrich the lives of people living with visual impairments.

Kretschmer utilizes this expertise and know-how to provide her clients with the right assistive technology to live more independent, fulfilling lives. Kretschmer and her team conduct training sessions with clients when purchasing new technology to ensure they not only know how to use it, but that they are comfortable using it. Kretschmer adds, As part of our services, we offer one-on-one training so its personalized to meet the clients specific needs. Or, we can customize a group training just as easily.

As the United States population ages, more and more people will be able to benefit from the advances in assistive technology. According to Kretschmer, Continuous education, networking, benchmarking the best practices, and keeping up on new technology are essential when serving a growing customer base with diverse needs. These events feature speakers who share their successes as well as offer insights into the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Kretschmer responds, By understanding the challenges and issues, I can work on ways to assist agencies, schools, employers, and end users more effectively, and provide the specific services they really need.

Florida Vision Technology can be counted on to serve the blind and visually impaired community by offering the latest, cutting-edge assistive technology devices, conducting personalized one-on-one client consultation, and ensuring end users are provided with the expert training they need to successfully use their new device and enjoy greater independence.

Where can you find Florida Vision Technology next? Look for them at the Macular Disease Association monthly meeting on October 20th, at 3pm, at the Clayton Conference Center (2815 S. Seacrest Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL). Or, visit their Fort Lauderdale location at the Lighthouse of Broward (650 N Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL).

About Florida Vision Technology

Lesa Kretschmer, Founder and CEO, has worked in the blindness and low vision industry for more than 24 years. She is committed to placing the best adaptive technology and products available today within reach of blind and visually challenged people of all ages and walks of life. Florida Vision Technology is a minority certified small business based out of Fort Lauderdale. 650 N Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311.
The United States Supreme Court has denied review of Scenic Americas lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation over a 2007 memorandum issued by the Federal Highway Safety Administration (FHWA) that allowed digital billboards to begin proliferating on federal aid roads across the country. In an unusual statement accompanying the denial, three of the justices agreed with Scenic America that the lower courts' deference to the FHWA's interpretation of "flashing, blinking or intermittent" lighting presented important questions of law.

Scenic America is disappointed with todays announcement from the Supreme Court, said Mark Falzone, president of Scenic America. The bar for review is very high and we knew our chances were slim, but we felt very strongly that this was an issue we needed to pursue as far as possible on behalf of our supporters, affiliates and all those who care about America the Beautiful.

Todays announcement ends a legal effort Scenic America initiated in January 2013 with the filing of a lawsuit in U.S. District Court that sought to ensure that the integrity of Lady Bird Johnsons Highway Beautification Act is upheld by federal officials.

Digital billboards first began appearing on federal aid roads in 2005, and as more of them went up around the country state regulators sought guidance from the FHWA on their legality. Longstanding language in most state-federal agreements written to carry out the Highway Beautification Act prohibit signs with flashing, blinking or intermittent lighting.

In September 2007 FHWA issued a memorandum stating that billboards with images changing every 4 to 10 seconds would not be considered intermittent, setting off a cascade of digital billboard construction around the country. There are now around 7,500 digital billboards nationally, with more going up every day. As a result, roads have become less safe, property values have declined and quality of life has been diminished for countless people who are forced to live, work or drive by these bright, blinking signs.

We extend our sincere gratitude to our affiliates, supporters and all those who helped us persevere to this juncture, including our counsel: Susan L. Trevarthen and Laura K. Wendell at Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole & Bierman, said Falzone. Scenic America still believes that digital billboards are visual pollution and we will continue to oppose them on behalf of our supporters, affiliates and the public.

Case No. 16-739 in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Northeast Technical Institute adds two new staff members at the Bangor Campus. Nicole Kelley takes the role of Campus Manager, and David Kerr has been hired as Student Services Advisor.

Nicole Kelley joins Northeast Technical Institute as the Campus Manager bringing more than a decade of recruiting and talent acquisition experience in the healthcare and technology industries. Previously at St. Joseph Healthcare and the Jackson Laboratories, Nicole has been successful in leading effective strategies to improve recruitment and retention, foster relationships with educational partners and employers, and create new recruitment pipelines. At Northeast Technical Institute, she will be responsible for planning, directing, and organizing school operations at the Bangor campus. Nicole is a graduate of the University of Maine Augusta and the Bangor Region Leadership Institute. A believer in lifelong learning, she is continuing her education at the University of Maine Augusta.



Following a 23-year career in the military, David Kerr comes to Northeast Technical Institute to take the role of Student Services Advisor. David retired from the Army as a Sergeant First Class, the first Army Master Instructor and Master Instructor of the Ordnance Corps after serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. Most recently, David worked with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients with FEDCAP in Ellsworth. At Northeast Technical Institute, David will be responsible for ensuring student outcomes in Bangor through guidance and assistance throughout their period of enrollment. David holds an Educational Specialist Degree and both Associates and Bachelors degrees. He also earned a Masters in Education from Liberty University and is currently enrolled as a doctorate student in their Education Leadership program.

Both Nicole and David are can be reached at Northeast Technical Institutes Bangor Campus, 207.805.8000.
Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) and Specialty Technical Consultants (STC) announce the availability of the newly updated International Audit Protocol Consortium (IAPC) EHS audit protocol for the European Union. Leading companies around the world use IAPC EHS audit protocols to understand the scope of their EHS regulatory obligations and rapidly collect, share, archive, and export audit findings in a cost effective manner. IAPC EHS audit protocols are now prepared by STC in partnership with STP and continue to focus on those national (plus, in some cases, regional or provincial) EHS requirements that have site-specific application for manufacturing operations. As a leading EHS management consulting firm with a global network of experienced EHS teaming partners, STC has indepth knowledge and technical expertise of local/regional EHS requirements.

STP and STC maintain leading-edge EHS audit protocols for more than 30 jurisdictions. The protocol documents are written in English and are available in MS Word, Adobe Acrobat and Excel formats, as well as through STPs web-based portal or can be integrated into an existing company platform. Using the protocols custom templates and advanced functionality features, auditors can easily track audit findings and manage data over time to improve compliance, risk management and safety performance. In addition, STPs formatting is compatible with leading risk management and sustainability platform providers.

Highlights of selected legislation covered in the newly updated protocol include:



"Directive (EU) 2016/802 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 Relating to a Reduction in the Sulphur Content of Certain Liquid Fuels" repealed and replaced "Council Directive 1999/32/EC of 26 April 1999 Relating to a Reduction in the Sulphur Content of Certain Liquid Fuels." The requirements are not significantly different. However, it was clarified in the new Directive that a permit must be obtained if the sulphur content of heavy fuel oils in a combustion plan is greater than 1% by mass.

The requirements of "Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the Limitation of Certain Pollutants in to the Air from Large Combustion Plants" were repealed and transitional replaced with the requirements of "Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on Industrial Emissions with full effect on 1 January 2016." "Directive 2010/75/EU" has been in effect since 7 February 2013. However, there was a transition period before it fully repealed "Directive 2001/80/EC."

"Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the Harmonisation of the Laws of the Member States Concerning Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres" repealed and replaced "Directive 94/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 March 1994 on the Approximation of the Laws of the Member States Concerning Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres with effect from 20 April 2016." The structure of the requirements is different in the new Directive. Facilities with the applicable equipment and protective systems will need to ensure that the equipment and systems have an EU declaration of conformity and a CE marketing and any other relevant documentation. The scope of coverage was amended.

"Directive 2014/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the Harmonisation of the Laws of the Member States Relating to the Making Available on the Market of Simple Pressure Vessels" repealed and replaced "Directive 2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 with effect from 20 April 2016." The structure of the requirements is different in the new Directive Facilities with pressure vessels will need to ensure that the vessels have an EU declaration of conformity and a CE marketing and any other relevant documentation. The scope of coverage was amended.

"Directive 2014/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the Harmonisation of the Laws of the Member States Relating to Lifts and Safety Components for Lifts" repealed and replaced "European Parliament and Council Directive 95/16/EC of 29 June 1995 on the Approximation of the Laws of the Member States Relating to Lifts with effect from 20 April 2016." The structure of the requirements is different in the new Directive Facilities with lifts will need to ensure that the lifts comply with the essential health and safety requirements, which are not significantly amended. The scope of coverage was amended. For example, the scope has been expanded to include safety components of lifts.

For more information on all International EHS audit protocols offered by STP and STC click here.

About Specialty Technical Publishers

Specialty Technical Publishers (STP) produces technical resource guides covering environmental, health & safety, transportation, accounting, business practices, standards and law, offering comprehensive guidance on key compliance and regulatory issues. STP is a division of Glacier Media Inc., a Canadian information communications company that provides primary and essential information in print, electronic and online media. Glaciers Business and Professional Information Group publishes directories, technical manuals, research and development materials, medical education, electronic databases, investment information and specialty websites.

About Specialty Technical Consultants

Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc. (STC) is a specialized management consulting firm working to enhance environmental health and safety (EHS) performance. Through its consulting services, STC partners with clients to strengthen management systems' design and implementation, and identifies needs and implements solutions to meet business objectives. Services provided include: EHS compliance support; risk assessment; EHS auditing; corporate responsibility and sustainability; EHS management systems development and implementation; EHS regulatory information tools; and EHS training.

STC is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse for the California Public Utilities Commission, and as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program.
EchoPlus-NG Hard Drive Duplicator The EchoPlus-NG provides high-end features in a compact package and at a budget-friendly price. stated Mr. Farid Emrani, President and CEO of Logicube. No other portable 1 to 1 duplicator on the market can match the performance and broad interface support, including PCIe, of the EchoPlus-NG, con

Logicube Inc., the industrys leader in hard drive duplication and digital forensics, has announced the addition of the EchoPlus-NG to its premier line of high performance hard disk drive cloning solutions. This is the 2nd generation of one of the companys most successful products, the EchoPlus.

The EchoPlus-NG provides high-end features in a compact package and at a budget-friendly price. stated Mr. Farid Emrani, President and CEO of Logicube. No other portable 1 to 1 duplicator on the market can match the performance and broad interface support, including PCIe, of the EchoPlus-NG, continued Emrani.

The EchoPlus-NG provides extremely fast cloning speeds at 18GB/min, supports SATA, USB3.0 and PCIe M.2 drives. Cloning modes include Mirror Copy, a bit-for-bit copy, and CleverCopy mode which copies only data areas, skips blank sectors and scales partitions to the target. The highly portable size and weight of the EchoPlus-NG makes it perfect for the workbench or mobile on-site applications.

This is the seventh new product that Logicube has launched this year:



A PCIe enabled version of the Talon Ultimate forensic imaging solution

A PCIe enabled version of the SuperSonix-NG multi-master/multi-target duplicator

PCIe enabled versions of the WriteProtect forensic write-blockers

The PCIe Bridge, an adapter that adds PCIe capability to the ZCloneXi volume hard drive duplicator

The ZCloneXi-Laptop that allows users to clone directly from up to 6 laptops or tablets simultaneously without removing hard drives

The WriteProtect-PORTABLE, an extremely compact forensic write-blocker that supports 3 interfaces in one device including PCIe

We are committed to bringing the latest technology in hard drive duplication and forensic imaging to our customers, commented Mr. Emrani. Staying ahead of the technological curve has been a hallmark of our engineering development and design. No other company in our market segment comes even close to the magnitude, breath and frequency of new product introductions as Logicubes. While some of Logicubes competitors struggle to introduce a new forensic imager (let alone commercial duplicators) every few years, Logicube has traditionally introduced at least 2-3 new products every year and this year has surpassed all such track records by launching half a dozen new products, excluding software updates and feature enhancements added to its existing premier products, continued Emrani. Continuous assessment of the challenges faced in both the IT and digital forensic communities, allows us to deliver solutions that solve problems, improve efficiency and are simple to use.

The EchoPlus-NG can safely and securely sanitize hard drives and also features remote operation, allowing you to control all operations from a remote computer using a web browser.

The product is available for order immediately and will start shipping the first week of November. For more information, please contact sales(at)logicube(dot)com or visit http://www.logicube.com.

About Logicube

Logicube is the worlds leader in hard drive duplication and digital forensic solutions. Founded in 1993, with headquarters in Chatsworth, California, Logicube is dedicated to delivering reliable, innovative, state-of-the-art solutions for users worldwide. The companys products are sold direct to users, through international distributors and authorized dealers world-wide. Visit their website at http://www.logicube.com or follow Logicube on Twitter, @LogicubeUSA.
I urge CEOs and other executives who may not know how to authentically connect talent to their strategic objectives to read The Talent Brand. -Marshall Goldsmith

A branding expert may ask, "Do you have a favorite store that you visit frequently, where the employees know your name and buying preferences? What about the barista at Starbucks who knows just how you like your coffee? Isnt that why you keep going back?"

Thats the hallmark of a truly successful brandwhen the hearts and minds of an organizations employees are fully aligned with delivering a branded experience to consumers. As branding expert Jody Ordioni outlines in her timely book, The Talent Brand: The Complete Guide to Creating Emotional Employee Buy-In for Your Organization (LID Publishing: http://lidpublishing.com/), talent branding is the fulfillment of a promise of an organizations culture and the employee experience. It is informed by every interaction with an organization, from pre-employment vetting to post-employment separations. It is a shared dialogue of that experience, owned by every past, present, or potential employee and visible everywhere. According to LinkedIn, North Americas 2015 Top 100 InDemand employers were Google, Apple and Facebook. Its no surprise that these companies are among the top 25 brands in the world.

Drawing upon years of experience as founder and chief branding officer of the New York-based branding and communications agency Brandemix (https://www.brandemix.com/), Ordioni outlines the process for creating the key framework that defines an organizations culture. The Talent Brand guides the reader through Brandemixs carefully constructed talent brand architecture development methodology, providing complete access to branding tools, brainstorming templates, learning resources and activation process.

The fastest and surest way for organizations to drive their business results is to leverage the power of their talent, says Ordioni, and when talent branding is done well, your messages will inspire and incentivize your employees to become living ambassadors of your brand, and passionate contributors to the success of your organization. They will work harder, attract more talented professionals to join your organization, and entice more customers to your business. You only get one reputation, and The Talent Brand will show you how to create the reputation that drives business results.

The Talent Brand is a must read. Direct in her approach, Jody Ordioni explores the art of making a strong emotional connection throughout an entire organization to drive business forward. Pat Wadors, Former SVP, LinkedIn

I urge CEOs and other executives who may not know why or how to authentically connect talent to their strategic objectives to read The Talent Brand. By following Ordionis clear path forward, organizations can realize a swift and significant impact to their bottom line. Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Wont Get You There

The Talent Brand is currently available for pre-order on Amazon (https://goo.gl/LAufme) and will officially go on sale November 27, 2017.

About Jody Ordioni

Jody Ordioni is the founder and chief branding officer of Brandemixa New York-based branding and communications agency that solves challenges through defining and marketing organizational culture to the people who drive business forward. Representing a wide range of industries from retail and tech to non-profit and healthcare, her clients have included Best Buy, Bloomingdales, Planned Parenthood, NBC Universal, and Nikon. Visit: https://www.brandemix.com/

About LID Publishing

LID Publishing specializes in working with business authors and organizations to help them develop content to promote their brand, message, and expertise. Founded in 1993, LID has over 1,700 authors and continues to add approximately 120 new titles each year. Visit: http://lidpublishing.com/
We are hearing about delays in other areas of the Caribbean, including of course the Virgin Islands," said Corra Group Co-Founder, Nick Gustavson. "However, we are still able to provide a variety of background checks from other parts of Latin American."

Corra Group has discontinued all Puerto Rico Background Checks until further notice. The devastation to the island territory from Hurricane Maria has made it questionable when such public services as criminal and civil records checks, and Motor Vehicle Driving Records will again be accessible for employment screening purposes.

It is just absolutely tragic, all the destruction to Puerto Rico, said Corra Group Co-Founder, Nick Gustavson. The citizens are in desperate need of food and fuel, and hospital supplies. The electric grid has been destroyed. This is no time to expect any government agency to be paying attention to background checks.

Our researchers have advised us that there will be no access checks until further notice, said Gustavson. We at Corra Group believe it will be many months before most government services are even partially restored.

Gustavson remarked that before the storm, Corra Group had been providing from Puerto Rico county criminal records searches, county civil records searches, and statewide criminal records searches, as well as MVRS and education and employment verification searches. He noted it is the criminal and civil searches, and the motor vehicle records that are principally put on hold.

We have a number of clients who are headquartered in Puerto Rico, said Gustavson. Additionally, we have mainland based clients who have been hiring many Puerto Rican citizens who have been coming to the mainland to escape the economic crisis that was occurring even before the ravages of the hurricane. Now, we expect to see more Puerto Rican citizens fleeing the island and seeking work in mainland America. The devastation is beyond tragic.

We are hearing about delays in other areas of the Caribbean, including of course the Virgin Islands. However, we are still able to provide a variety of international background checks from other parts of Latin American, including criminal and civil records, and education and employment verification."
Provincetown Town Hall Provincetown Halloween Weekend (October 27  November 2) is packed with plenty of activities for the 21+ crowd as well as families.

This Halloween, witness Provincetowns transformation as the sun goes down, jack-o-lanterns light up Commercial Street and revelers emerge in elaborate costumes. One of the biggest celebrations of the year, Provincetown Halloween Weekend (October 27  November 2) is packed with plenty of activities for the 21+ crowd as well as families: costume parties, haunted house dances, bar sing-a-longs, and more festive events. Its time to break out your wildest, most creative costumes for the best Ptown Halloween yet!

Kick off Halloween Weekend with a tune at the Crown and Anchors Hairspray Movie Sing-a-long (October 27). Join the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in rousing renditions of your favorite Hairspray songs and belt out Big, Blonde and Beautiful or croon along to (Youre) Timeless to Me with the rest of the crowd. The sing-a-long includes a costume contest so be sure to don your biggest Tracy Turnblad wig and of course, break out the hairspray.

The revelry continues all weekend long at various venues throughout Provincetown. Dont miss the Spooky Bear Saints & Sinners Party  Renaissance Bears and Medieval Madness with DJ Chris Racine at Paramount and VJ Tom Yaz at Wave Bar (October 27). The following night, the bears are back at the Crown and Anchor for a full night of dancing and celebration at the legendary Costume Ball.

Halloween weekend isnt limited to parties; there are plenty of activities to keep visitors busy from morning to night. Go on an outdoor adventure with the Provincetown Ghost Tour (October 27 & 28). The 90-minute walking tour explores old Provincetown buildings and cemeteries and provides a taste of the towns long history and reported ghost stories. For those that prefer a night of live theater, take in an eerie Halloween performance of Frankenstein at the Provincetown Theater (October 5  October 30).

For families with little ones, the Third Annual Halloween Greet n Treat (October 31 4:30pm-6:00pm) is a fan favorite. The kids parade will march through town in the afternoon, followed by trick-or-treating on Motta field where local businesses will hand out candy from festive, hand-decorated stations.

The fun doesnt stop when Sunday comes to a close; Provincetown Halloween Weekend runs through Tuesday (October 31) with numerous theme events and parties. Check out the Shipwreck Lounge hosted Haunted Hotel. Part Halloween party and part haunted house, this FREE event is not to be missed. Then hop over to the Ptown Ghost Hunt to investigate whats lurking in the shadows of the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House with Adam Berry (TLCs Kindred Spirits, SyFys Ghost Hunters).

Provincetowns 2nd Annual Day of the Dead Performing Arts Festival is a community event honoring life and death through art. Inspired by the Mexican traditions of El Dia de los Muertos, the Festival includes a series of art workshops, a procession, an ofrenda exhibition, a performing arts event and a dance party. Workshops begin mid-October. The procession, ofrenda exhibition, performing arts event and dance party all take place on November 2.

Join the fun and have an unforgettable time at Provincetown Halloween weekend!
Theres an old adage that says, a picture is worth a thousand words and thanks to Lamington Press, an Australian-based company, customers are now able to purchase high-quality Australian-made art.

Were very excited to be able offer these great selections of art, said Kiah Rea, co-owner and spokesperson for Lamington Press.

Lamington Press, according to Rea,specializes in capturing and creating unique photo wall art that is inspired by the natural Australian elements. As for the Australian made art, customers can look forward to a wide variety of a photographic art print, such as Gossamer Flannel; Layabout; Glass; Island Blue, and more.

Rea noted that customers will have the option of selecting the standard size for the Australian made art, or ask about custom made.

All prints are produced on archival grade paper and framed in black, white or raw timber molding, Rea explained, before adding, These products are all hand made in Sydney, and are also available on canvas and glass. And perhaps the best part about it is that free shipping Australia wide comes as standard on all products.

For more information, please visit the online : http://lamingtonpress.com.au

About Lamington Press

Lamington Press is a collaboration of photographic artists from Southern Sydney. Every part of the day provides possibilities of beauty; we want bring this beauty to our clients. Lamington Press offers standard size images and a full custom service for that special piece. Our service is available to interior and corporate designers,home stylists and individual homeowners. Working with our clients is part of the creative process.

Contact Person

Kiah Rea

167 Port Hacking Rd

Miranda NSW 2228

Australia

Phone: +61 419 482 909

Source: Lamington Press

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Carpet One Floor & Home's Collection of Pink Ribbon Welcome Mats Supports The Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Carpet One Floor & Home released its 2017 collection of pink ribbon welcome mats to support breast cancer research, with 18 new mats that are stylish, humorous or whimsical to marry with any home design preference. The Carpet One Welcomes Your Support campaign has been raising funds to support organizations and researchers searching for a cure since 2004 and has raised almost one million dollars so far.

Lending their talent to the initiative are Lisa Mende, one of Charlottes Top 10 Interior Designers of 2015 and Melissa Davis, Art Director and Series Designer for HGTVs award-winning series Income Property. Justin Niederkorn, a senior designer for an international non-profit agency tapped his artistic talent and love for the women in his life to create a mat that graphically tells the important story of a breast exam. Mikayla Chandler, a sophomore studying advertising and illustration at Savannah College of Art & Design created a powerful image of lines that seem almost inter-connected, and resemble the shape of a breast, swoop of a cup and wisps of hair.

Like most families today, all designers are touched in some way by the disease, with Lisa Mende explaining, "I want to thank CarpetOne for allowing me to participate in this campaign and continuing to aid in the fight against Breast Cancer. We all should be so diligent as to get involved in the fight. I urge everyone to support this campaign and buy a mat for themselves and for someone they know who is fighting or has fought this disease." Her design, is titled, Hello, Gorgeous.

Twenty-five percent of each sale will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Each mat is made in the USA complete with a sturdy rubber backing and a pink ribbon to remind people of the cause each mat stands behind. All of Carpet One Floor & Homes welcome mats are stain- and water-resistant and machine-washable, and measure 2 by 3.

I love the passion and creativity that goes into this collection of welcome mats, said Terri Daniels, Vice President of Public Relations for Carpet One Floor & Home. Each design has a story to tell. Its rewarding to brighten our customers doorsteps while were working to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer.

In their traditional use as welcome mats, Carpet One Floor & Homes pink ribbon mats help keep floors clean by trapping dirt before it makes its way into a home, but the versatile designs add color and protection to any area of the house, including foyers, kitchens, baths, pet areas and more.

Pink ribbon welcome mats are available year round at Carpet One Floor & Home stores for approximately $24.99US/$34.99CDN. These inspiring pink ribbon mats make great gifts and add a special touch to a home. Visit CarpetOne.com to find the nearest Carpet One Floor & Home store to purchase a pink ribbon welcome mat and contribute to an important cause.

About Carpet One Floor & Home

Carpet One Floor & Home (http://www.CarpetOne.com) is North Americas leading floor covering retailer, with 1,000 independently owned and operated locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Carpet One Floor & Home stores are known for a broad selection of carpet, wood, laminate, ceramic, vinyl, and area rugs, including exclusive brands like Bigelow and Lees. They offer a unique customer experience with the exclusive SelectAFloor merchandising system that simplifies the shopping experience and The Beautiful GuaranteeTM, which guarantees that the customer will be 100% happy with their floor.

About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation:

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is dedicated to being the end of breast cancer by advancing the world's most promising research. Founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993, BCRF-funded investigators have been deeply involved in every major breakthrough in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. This year, BCRF will award $59.5 million to support the work of more than 275 scientists at leading medical and academic institutions across 15 countries, making BCRF the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide. BCRF is the highest rated breast cancer organization in the U.S.the only one with an "A+" from CharityWatch and Charity Navigators highest rating of four stars. Visit http://www.bcrfcure.org to learn more.
GasBuddy Business Pages

GasBuddy, the only smartphone app connecting 70 million drivers with their Perfect Pit Stop, today announced that GasBuddy Business Pages, the smartphone app companys B2B Retailer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), has been awarded Best New Technology Product of 2017 in CSPs Best New Product Awards. For 14 years, CSP has conferred the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the industry.

The awards are presented annually by CSP, whose publications are the leading source of industry information for fuel and convenience store executives. GasBuddy Business Pages was selected by a panel of expert judges who are retailers, that evaluated a stellar field of nominees.

We have seen tremendous adoption to GasBuddy Business Pages this year, having signed on large fuel retailers to bring the number of individual retail sites covered by the marketing and analytics software to more than 31,000, said Walt Doyle, CEO of GasBuddy, Being honored by CSP is another testament to the work weve put into building a product that addresses the needs of the industry.

GasBuddy Business Pages is the B2B SaaS platform for the $650 billion retail fuel and convenience store market that enables marketers and operations personnel alike to help them create a Perfect Pit Stop for consumers. That is, to manage critical customer-facing store information such as hours, prices and amenities; to manage and maintain store performance with respect to customer service and experience; and to directly market to GasBuddy consumers products such as loyalty programs and other incentives. GasBuddy Business Pages ties directly to its consumer-facing smartphone app which has been downloaded more than 70 million times, and attracts millions of station ratings and reviews each month.

Major retailers have subscribed to GBBP including Phillips 66 and Gulf Oil.

As our industry evolves, we remain committed to honoring innovation and excellence. Were proud to recognize GasBuddy and its contributions to propelling the industry forward, said Abbie Westra, retail content director for Winsight, including CSP and Convenience Store Products.

GasBuddy will be honored at the NACS show. For additional GasBuddy Business Pages information and future product updates, visit business.gasbuddy.com. Product demos will be held at the GasBuddy booth at NACS #3962.

About GasBuddy

GasBuddy is a smartphone app connecting drivers with their Perfect Pit Stop. With 70 million downloads, GasBuddy is the leader in crowdsourced information to help drivers find the best gas prices, closest stations, friendliest service, cleanest restrooms, tastiest coffee and much more. GasBuddy is the leading source for the most accurate, real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations in the U.S., Canada and Australia. The Companys B2B Retailer Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), known as GasBuddy Business Pages, provides Fuel Marketers and Retailers their best opportunity to maintain their station information, manage their brand, and promote to their target consumer audience. For more information, visit http://www.gasbuddy.com or email press(at)gasbuddy(dot)com.

About CSP

For 20 years, CSP magazine and its award-winning editorial team have covered the convenience and petroleum retailing industry, consistently at the forefront of the days critical issues and trends, keeping business leaders one step ahead of the competition. CSP reaches every retail chains key buyers as well as high-volume, one to 10-store independent operators in the $682 billion convenience retailing industry. Since 2003 CSP magazine has ranked No. 1 in readership and market share over all other industry publications. C-store marketers have identified CSP as the preferred magazine source for their trade marketing communications. With industry-leading, highly targeted circulation to more than 100,000 subscribers, CSP reaches the key convenience retailing decision-makers fifteen times a year.
We developed the Chronic Absenteeism Intervention Program to empower schools and districts with the low-cost tools they need to encourage school attendance and reduce the number of chronically absent students.

Chronic absenteeism  missing 15 or more days or 10 percent of the school year  affects more than 10 percent of U.S. students, with the number increasing in high school. Students who are chronically absent struggle academically, are more likely to drop out and often struggle later in life. Recognizing its impact on student success, 36 states and the District of Columbia plan to use chronic absenteeism as an indicator of school performance for their federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability reports.

To help schools combat chronic absenteeism, Wests SchoolMessenger solutions today launched its Chronic Absenteeism Intervention Program (CAIP). CAIP combines the proven elements of SchoolMessenger Communicate, the most-trusted K-12 notification service, and SafeArrival, a unique student attendance management tool, with a set of professional services that support schools as they plan and implement a program to reduce chronic absenteeism.

The impact of chronic absenteeism is well documented. A U.S. Department of Education study, Chronic Absenteeism in the Nations Schools, revealed that students who are chronically absent in preK-1 grades are much less likely to read at grade level by the third grade, and a study of Utah public high school students found that even one year of chronic absenteeism was associated with a 7X increase in school dropout.

However, research and experience demonstrate that a tiered intervention approach can reduce chronic absenteeism, including by building awareness, encouraging families, providing support and engaging students. A recent Teachers College, Columbia University, experimental study of 22 West Virginia middle and high schools sent automated text-message alerts to parents about their childs class absences, increasing attendance by 17 percent.

Building on this evidence, the components of CAIP are uniquely designed to help schools develop and deploy a customized, preventive family messaging program to reduce absenteeism that meets their local needs.

Research supports what common sense tells us: regular school attendance is a crucial component of student success. Yet, with 6.5 million U.S. students chronically absent each school year, we have nothing short of an epidemic in our schools, said Robert Iskander, executive vice president and general manager of Wests Education group. We developed the Chronic Absenteeism Intervention Program to empower schools and districts with the low-cost tools they need to encourage school attendance and reduce the number of chronically absent students.

West also partnered with nonprofit Attendance Works to host a webinar in late September on Preventing and Reducing Chronic Student Absences, to educate school districts about the new ESSA accountability guidance and share resources to help reduce absenteeism. The webinar will be archived with other attendance-related resources at https://www.schoolmessenger.com/resources/.

For more information about the Chronic Absenteeism Intervention Program, visit https://www.schoolmessenger.com/chronic-absenteeism-overview/.

About Wests SchoolMessenger Solutions

West Corporation is the trusted provider of SchoolMessenger solutions. More than 63,000 schools and other educational institutions in all 50 states and Canada depend on SchoolMessenger products and services from notifications and websites to custom mobile apps and social media. School leaders have relied on the SchoolMessenger platform since 1999 to engage with their communities in multiple languages and on any device. To learn more about SchoolMessenger products, visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com or call 888.527.5225
New Restricted access session Announced at the 2017 CyberSat Summit  the event now just three weeks away!

Explore the state of the art in cyber-resilient engineering of space systems while learning about the US Air Forces unique and diverse missions as they operate across an increasingly cyber-contested lifecycle. Plus, gain an experts understanding of how future space systems will be engineered to survive and thrive in a cyber-contested domain.

In this private session, organized by the Air Force Research Lab, we bring together a team of industry leading experts from the Air Force Institute of Technology, the Space Defense Task Force, the Air Force Research Lab, as well as Honeywell to talk about the major cybersecurity issues facing the space and satellite sectors.

Topics include: the art in cyber-resilient engineering of space systems; assurance of the US Air Forces unique and diverse missions; future space systems and how they will be engineered to survive and thrive in a cyber-contested domain.

3:00  3:30 pm

Honeywell Space & Defense, Dr. Ken Heffner, Honeywell

3:30  4:00 pm

Engineering Cyber-Resilient Space Systems, Dr. Logan Mailloux, Air Force Institute of Technology

4:00  4:30 pm

Assuring USAF Space Missions Across a Cyber-Contested Lifecycle, Maj Larry Llewellyn, Space Defense Task Force

4:30  5:00 pm

Space System Cyber-Security On-Orbit Experimentation, Cal Roman, Air Force Research Lab

5:00  5:30 pm

Space Cyber Resiliency - Engineering Lessons Learned, Robert Vick, Air Force Research Lab

5:30  7:00 pm

Networking Reception

As the session has a classification of UNCLASSIFIED, DISTRIBUTION D there will only be limited admission to the session. Attendees must:



Be a U.S. citizen

Be a DoD Employee, or an employee whose organization has an active contract with the DOD (CAGE # required)

Contractor employees must bring a Drivers License ID, and DoD Employees must bring their Government photo ID to be given entrance

There are limited seats available in this closed session, so hurry to guarantee your seat.

To find out more and to register for this event visit http://www.cybersatsummit.com

About Via Satellite

For over 30 years, Via Satellite has provided essential news and expert business analysis on the global commercial communications satellite industry, including current and evolving applications, infrastructure issues, technology, and business and regulatory developments around the world. Top satellite executives from 160 countries read Via Satellite to fully understand the industry and maximize their companies profits.
Fix Your Feet

On Rushion McDonalds Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio Podcast, Dr. Yolanda Ragland, Founder of Fix Your Feet, revealed her unique take on the recent Nielsen report that went viral, African American Women: Our Science, Her Magic. Watch the full show here.

I am part of a group that was underserved, and was an afterthought to marketers, said Dr. Ragland. My frustration fueled me to serve African-American women - I know what its like to walk in their shoes. The heels of strong, African-American women are what carry us. I wanted to empower women with a strong foundation, so I became a podiatrist.

The recent Nielsen report cited:



Self-made and self-reliant, the number of businesses majority-owned by Black women grew 67% between 2007 and 2012, more than all women combined

64% of Black women agree their goal is to make it to the top of their profession

58% of Black women agree that they do not mind giving up their personal time for work

14% of Black women have annual incomes of $50,000 or higher (up from 9% in 2005)

Rushion, I was an early adopter of my own market!  said Dr. Ragland. I learned that the key to create a business differentiator, is to focus on your dream demographic, and everything else will follow. I now have established my core market and am also building other markets My inquiries have expanded from women to men, and from the northeast corridor to all of America and as far as Dubai.

Dr. Ragland is available for follow-up interviews. Related topics include:



The Key to Growing a Small Business as an African-American Woman

How African-American Women May Prevent or Treat Foot Problems

Why Bunions & Hammertoes are a Bone, not Skin, Problem

Benefits of Being Active in Movements Like "Black Girls Run"

How Dr. Ragland Invented the Tiara Toe Technique, Key for Beautiful Feet

ABOUT

Dr. Yolanda Ragland wanted to empower women with a strong foundation, so she became a podiatrist. As a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, Dr. Ragland is a Podiatric Reconstruction Forefoot Surgeon, often called the Queen of Toes. As CEO & Founder of Fix Your Feet, Inc., with 15 years of medical experience, she maintains offices on Park Avenue in New York City and in Washington Metro area, in Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The focus of her practice is bunion and hammertoe correction.



First, and only, female podiatrist with practices dedicated solely corn, bunion, and hammertoe corrections

Best forefoot reconstructive surgeon in the Northeast

Coined the term "Inter-Digital" approach for hammertoe procedure

Surgical Certificate of training from Academic Affiliate of Weill Medical College, Cornell University

Graduate of NY College of Podiatric Medicine; Graduated of University of Maryland, College Park

Five year Dermatology Fellow at the National Institutes of Health

Member of the American Society of Foot and Ankle Dermatology; the Physician Attending

Association, Lenox Hill Hospital; and the Manhattan Central Medical Society

Attending Surgeon, Department of Orthopedics at Lenox Hill Hospital & Midtown Surgery Center

MONEY MAKING CONVERSATIONS

Emmy Award Winning Rushion McDonald hosts and produces Money Making Conversations," airing every Monday from 12PM-2PM EST. The radio talk show features interviews with CEOs, Celebrities, Business Entrepreneurs and Industry Decision Makers. Providing free information about building your life, marketing your career, reaching your goals, and the Secrets to SUCCESS! Tune in on KLVL, 1480 AM out of Houston, TX, Facebook live video on @MoneyMakingConversations Fan page, and iHeartMedia Podcast.
We organized SphereCon to share our knowledge and educate the development community on how to build scalable software products that can work in high-load, demanding environments. (Leon Ginsburg, CEO, Sphere Software)

Ruby on Rails, Go, front-end and back-end developers, along with UX/UI designers from around the world will gather at Sphere Softwares annual SphereCon on October 28, 2017 to network and gain best-practice insights from Sphere experts. This free event will take place at Interias conference hall located at Volodymyrska St, 49a, Kiev.

With Ruby and Go constantly evolving as premiere programming languages, the need to discuss and network about its changes increases. This prompted Sphere Software and its CEO Leon Ginsburg to incept SphereCon as a way for developers to gather for a free, one-day conference that supports discussion around these programs.

We organized SphereCon to share our knowledge and educate the development community on how to build scalable software products that can work in high-load, demanding environments,  said Leon Ginsburg. At Sphere, we develop scalable products for a wide range of companies -- and it's important to share this expertise with the community because itll give developers a competitive advantage in the long run.

Contributing expertise to the software development ecosystem has been a core principle for Sphere Software since it started in 2005. Sphere Software does this through conferences, open source projects, blogs, case studies, knowledge sessions, Sphere academy, and developing their own products.

As a developer, you should always be looking to fine-tune your expertise in programming languages, Ginsburg added. It not only makes you more marketable, but makes you more versatile as a developer. SphereCon is a great opportunity to connect with other developers, and allow them to expand their professional network.

SphereCon will feature the following speakers:

Artur Koshtei - A back-end Web developer at Gett.com, with a passion for technology and complex problem solving. Artur will concentrate on techniques and solutions that helped Gett to increase system stability in http calls, caching, and more.

Ilya Biin - Ilya is a Golang expert at Gett.com, with 10+ years of experience in design, architecture, development, testing, and implementation of applications. He will discuss rapid Web development and multitasking using Go versus Ruby.

Maxim Kupriianov - An experienced Go developer who likes to create open-source software solutions that are useful for enterprises and education. Maxim will present a robust caching layer written in Go that reduces the amount of requests to Amazon S3.

Anton Shemerey - A Ruby on Rails Web developer with a wide background in high-load heterogeneity systems, experience building monolithic, and micro service oriented apps. Anton will share "mental context switch" problems and show the diversity of Ruby on Rails and Go.

Mikhail Kurakin & Sergey Makarov - With Mikhail being a talented UX/UI designer, and Sergey being a front-end developer, these two will cover the collaboration process, how to bring complex applications to life, and how to adapt them to inconstant clients requirements.

Having the opportunity to share my expertise, and walk other developers down my path is exciting, said Ilya Biin. The development community is so tightly knit and open to discussions and new ideas, this conference will help a lot of people in our industry.

For more information and to register for this free event, please visit SphereCons website. SphereCon 2017 is made possible in partnership with Gett.com, Groupon, Eligo Energy, and Integra Credit.

About Sphere Software

With headquarters in Chicago and regional offices in New York, Miami, Buenos Aires, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Sphere Software is a global company with a local focus and a national presence.

Sphere Software has over a decade of proven success creating innovative web and mobile software solutions, big data analytics and providing staff augmentation for both start-ups and the Fortune 100. Our consulting services includes DevOps and the Atlassian product suite. Spheres technical expertise includes Ruby on Rails, Go, Python, React.js, Node.js, Scala and Clojure, and a broad range of industry experience as well.

To find out how Sphere Software can help your business reach peak performance, connect with us on Twitter @SphereSW or Facebook, or contact us on our website at http://www.sphereinc.com.
With a college education more importantand costlier than ever, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the countrys largest private provider of scholarships to minority students, will bring its campaign for higher education for all to Rochester Monday, October 23rd, with a lineup of events designed to help students go to and through college.

Education is the key that opens so many doors," said Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren. "That's why I'm proud to partner each year with Councilman Adam McFadden to bring the UNCF luncheon and college fair to Rochester. One of my goals as mayor is to provide more educational options for our children, and exposing them to UNCF-member colleges and universities is a great step towards achieving that goal.

The day will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center with UNCFs HBCU College Fair, a free college-and-career readiness road show for high school juniors and seniors as well as Monroe Community College transfer students. The event, which runs until 2 p.m., features inspirational discussions and workshops on preparing and paying for college. Representatives from over 25 colleges will be on-site to offer information, and many will review students transcripts and resumes and offer on-site admissions to qualified applicants. Most of the participating colleges are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and 12 are UNCF-member HBCUs. There will also be several career-organizations present, as well as Fraternity and Sorority chapters from the Greater Rochester area.

Committee member, Councilman McFadden, who has served on the Rochester City Council for the past 14 years, is a proud alumnus of UNCF-member institution Claflin University.

This is about remembering what helped me become the leader I am in Rochester today, and also about knowing that there will be young people who will have a similar experience because of the opportunity were providing for them through this luncheon and HBCU college fair, said McFadden. I think the value that HBCUs provide is really knowing how to meet students of color where theyre at and placing them in a supportive and structured environment that only helps them to succeed; not fail.

The days second event, UNCFs Rochester Leaders Luncheon, starts at 11:30 a.m. in the Highland Room of the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, featuring Mayor Lovely Warren, School Superintendent Barbara Dean Williams, and Councilman Adam McFadden. Luncheon emcee, Spectrum News journalist and multimedia reporter for 103.9 WDKX Radio, Melanie Johnson, is also a graduate of an HBCU, Howard University. The luncheons keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Ronald A. Johnson, president of Clark Atlanta University, UNCFs largest member institution. Proceeds from the luncheon will help all of UNCFs member HBCUs keep academic programs strong and tuition affordable, and fund last-dollar scholarships. Luncheon sponsors include: lead sponsors, City of Rochester and the Mayors Office, Rochester City School District, JP Morgan Chase, and Delta Airlines; luncheon sponsor, Farash Foundation; and table host sponsor, C&S Companies.

UNCF has years of experience helping young people receive the college education they need, and that we as a nation need them to have, said UNCF New York regional development director David F.A. Walker, and these two events are designed to put that knowledge and experience to work for Rochester students, families and employers. At UNCF we say that A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in. UNCF is grateful to all the people, organizations and agencies who have invested their time and treasure in making this day of events a success. The education that Rochester students will receive and the careers theyll launch are the return on that investment. They are our dividends.

For more information and to stay connected to the New York office of UNCF, please visit: http://www.uncf.org/newyork

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About UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nations largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF awards more than $100 million in scholarships annually and administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at more than 1,100 colleges and universities. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous news and updates, follow UNCF on Twitter @UNCF.
Foreign Policy Research Institute

On October 21- October 22, 2017, the Foreign Policy Research Institute will hold a professional development conference, co-sponsored by the Department of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Carthage College, for high school and secondary school educators in Philadelphia, PA.

The weekend conference focuses on What is Eurasia? and will connect 40 educators with leading scholars in the field of international relations. Nine experts will present topics including the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian revolution, Post-Soviet democratization, the Baltic States and more. A full list of topics and speakers can be found here.

This conference comes at an opportune time to reexamine the history of Eurasia. December 2016 marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the U.S.S.R., while November 2017 will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Soviet Russia. Educators will be able to closely explore Eurasia  a vast and diverse region- and its critical history and future.

Part of a 20-year series of History Institutes put on by FPRI, these conferences enable educators to apply these complex subjects to a high school level curriculum. After the conference, educators are encouraged, with the offer of a stipend, to create lesson plans meeting national standards to be shared on the FPRI website and among a network of teachers across the U.S.

This year History Institute participants include educators from:



Cholla High School  Tucson, AZ

The Buckely School  Sherman Oaks, CA

Gonzaga College High School  Washington, DC

Odyssey Charter School  Wilmington, DE

Cutler Bay Senior High School  Cutler Bay, FL

Palm Bay Magnet High School  Melbourne, FL

Deerfield High School  Deerfield, IL

Marian Catholic High School  Chicago Heights, IL

Northwood High School  Silver Spring, MD

Lake Shore High School  St. Clair Shores, MI

Centennial High School  Circle Pines, MN

Chesterton Academy  Edina, MN

Irondale High School  New Brighton, MN

Mankato West High School  Mankato, MN

Mahtomedi High School  Mahtomedi, MN

Rogers Middle School  Rogers, MN

Camden County College  Cherry Hill, NJ

Franklin High School  Somerset, NJ

George Washington Middle School  Wayne, NJ

Mount Saint Mary Academy  Watchung, NJ

Ranney School - Tinton Falls, NJ

Hunter College High School  New York, NY

Pelham Memorial High School  Pelham, NY

Poly Prep Country Day School  Brooklyn, NY

Smithtown High School West  Smithtown, NY

California University of Pennsylvania  California, PA

Central Bucks East High School  Doylestown, PA

Central High School  Philadelphia, PA

Downington East High School  Exton, PA

North Pocono High School  Convington Twp, PA

Rosemont College  Rosemont, PA

Schuylkill Valley High School  Leesport, PA

Centennial High School  Austin, TX

Clark High School  Plano, TX

Episcopal High School  Houston, TX

St.Stephens Episcopal School  Austin, TX

Union Grove High School  Gladewater, TX

Mount Vernon High School  Alexandria, VA

Tecnologico de Monterrey, Jalisco, Mexico

Established in 1990, the Marvin Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy of FPRI seeks to foster civic and international literacy in the community and in the classroom. The Madeleine and W.W. Keen Butcher History Institute is the centerpiece of the Wachman Center, sponsoring programs designed to bring high school teachers from around the country together with the nations top scholars in history, political science and more. Over the past 20 years, History Institutes have garnered a national reputation for excellence and have worked with over 1,000 teachers from over 800 different schools in 47 states.

For more information about future History Institutes and other teacher resources, please visit http://www.fpri.org/education.

About FPRI

FPRI is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank located in Center City Philadelphia. Its mission is to bring the insights of scholarship to bear on the foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. It seeks to educate the public, teach teachers, train students, and offer ideas to advance U.S. national interest through the lens of history, geography, and culture.
General Motors has contributed $5 million to The Henry Ford, it was announced today by Patricia Mooradian, President and CEO of The Henry Ford.

We are honored to welcome General Motors as a Partner in Innovation, said Mooradian. This gift of $5 million is a game changer and allows us to deepen our community impact with innovative experiences and new exhibitions and programs in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

In recognition of GMs historic gift, The Henry Ford announced that the flexible gallery space in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation will now be known as The Gallery by General Motors.

General Motors is working to drive sustainable change by supporting organizations that help build brighter futures for students and promote workforce development, said Mark Reuss, Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain of General Motors. We can move toward a lot of those goals by supporting The Henry Ford.

The Gallery by General Motors will host a wide variety of national travelling exhibitions including Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms on display fall of 2018. Currently, The Gallery is hosting The Science Behind Pixar now through March, 2018.

About The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan is an internationally-recognized history destination that explores the American experience of innovation, resourcefulness and ingenuity that helped shape America. A national historic landmark with an unparalleled Archive of American Innovation, The Henry Ford is a force for sparking curiosity and inspiring tomorrows innovators. Nearly 1.8 million visitors annually experience its five attractions: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village, the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, the Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford Giant Screen Experience. A continually expanding array of content available online provides anytime, anywhere access. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates over 500 students a year on the institutions campus. In 2014, The Henry Ford premiered its first-ever national television series, The Henry Fords Innovation Nation, showcasing present-day change-makers and The Henry Fords artifacts and unique visitor experiences. Hosted by news correspondent and humorist, Mo Rocca, this Emmy-winning weekly half-hour show airs Saturday mornings on CBS. For more information, please visit our website thehenryford.org.

About General Motors

General Motors Co. and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
Patrick J. Hurd The insurance companies in these states will be unable to offset the costs of the ceased CSRs and face the choice of incurring substantial losses or withdrawing immediately from the Marketplace

Absent the success of a bipartisan solution now brewing in the Senate, President Donald J. Trumps move to stop paying subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would deal a heavy blow to insurers in states that failed to factor such losses into their 2018 Obamacare plans, writes Patrick J. Hurd, Partner in LeClairRyans Richmond office, in a new post on the national law firms LR Workplace Defender blog.

Prior to last weeks announcement, Trumps saber rattling about the future of the so-called Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments had already triggered tremendous uncertainty among insurers, Hurd noted in the post. Indeed, this is precisely why many insurers went ahead and factored premium increases into their forthcoming ACA Marketplace plans.

The insurance companies in these states will be unable to offset the costs of the ceased CSRs and face the choice of incurring substantial losses or withdrawing immediately from the Marketplace, writes Hurd in the post, Ceasing the CSRs: Once a Threat, Now A Promise.

Companies that gambled on the continuation of CSRs face difficult choices in days ahead, Hurd writes, as do individuals who will be looking to buy insurance on the ACA Marketplace when open enrollment begins on Nov. 1.

Of course, these concerns could be alleviated if the short-term plan announced yesterday by Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray gets ratified by both houses of Congress, says Hurd. Among other things, the proposal calls for the CSR subsidies to be funded for two years, while providing states with more flexibility on the variety of plans offered to consumers.

As designed, the Alexander-Murray plan would get insurers and consumers through the next two years, giving Congress the breathing room necessary to come up with a long-term solution to our nations healthcare insurance dilemma, Hurd comments. But theres no guarantee of passage in the Senate or House, even though the President voiced support for the proposal.

In the column posted last week Hurd delves into the history of the ACA Marketplace subsidies and describes the 2014 legal challenge against them (United States House of Representatives v. Burwell, 185 F. Supp. 3d 165 (D.D.C. 2016) No. 14-cv-01967-RMC).

He also explores the disruptive effects of ceasing the subsidiesin particular, earlier predictions and commentary on these impacts by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). In an August 2017 report, for example, these analysts presciently described the potential fallout of giving insurers the bad news about the payments after those insurers had already set their 2018 plans: if CSR payments were stopped after premiums were finalized or were already being charged, the analysts wrote, CBO and JCT expect that additional insurers would exit the marketplaces in 2018 to reduce their financial losses.

And in fact, major healthcare companies are now weighing whether to pull out of what will be, for them, money-losing exchanges in 2018, Hurd says. The veteran healthcare attorney and others at the firm will continue to monitor the situation and write updates at LR Workplace Defender. At the time of this writing, there appears to be some interest among some members of Congress in both parties to enact a temporary fix to avoid the disruption and attendant costs of ceasing the CSRs, he notes in the post.

Moreover, attorneys general from 18 states and Washington D.C. have already asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to stop the administration from killing the payments on the grounds that ACA is still the law of the land, Hurd notes.

The full column is available at:

https://lrworkplacedefender.com/ceasing-the-csrs-once-a-threat-now-a-promise/

About LeClairRyan

As a trusted advisor, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and litigation. In this role, the firm applies its knowledge, insight and skill to help clients achieve their business objectives while managing and minimizing their legal risks, difficulties and expenses. With offices from coast to coast, the firm represents a wide variety of clients nationwide. For more information about LeClairRyan, visit http://www.leclairryan.com

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Press Contacts: At Parness & Associates Public Relations, Bill Parness, (732) 290-0121, bparness(at)parnesspr.com or Lisa Kreda, lkreda(at)parnesspr.com
Joseph Straus, CareOne EVP Elizabeth Straus, HipNJ Lisa Marie Latino Elizabeth Straus is a multi-faceted leader who has such a strong passion for improving senior care. She showcases what a driven, motivated, progressive role model looks like, says LWE founder, Linda Wellbrock.

CareOne, a premier family-owned healthcare company with more than 30 facilities throughout New Jersey, announces that its Executive Vice President, Elizabeth Straus, has been named a Top Leading Woman Intrapreneur and Corporate Leader in the state of New Jersey. The award was granted at the LWE gala on October 16, 2017 at Liberty House in Jersey City.

Elizabeth Straus is a multi-faceted leader who has such a strong passion for improving senior care. She showcases what a driven, motivated, progressive role model looks like, says LWE founder, Linda Wellbrock.

For the past 9 years, Elizabeth Straus has overseen operations for her familys senior care company, CareOne. In her role, Straus has transformed the 15-year-old company into multi-faceted provider of healthcare which spans the senior care continuum. Further, Straus has developed a model that is centered on providing exceptional care in exceptional settings. She has overseen over $30 million in new facility construction and is responsible for a workforce exceeding 10,000 employees throughout all of CareOnes business. Under her leadership, CareOne has attained the highest ratings (5 Stars) in New Jersey from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, spearheaded dynamic clinical programs, and lead philanthropic efforts throughout her company which has produced over $10 million raised by CareOne for charitable causes.

Elizabeth Straus and Daniel E. Straus, owner and operator of CareOne, have teamed up for their latest philanthropic effort, the highly-anticipated Starry Night Masquerade. The event is taking place on October 19th from 7-11pm at Skylight Clarkson North in New York City, and will feature celebrity guests and special performances by Pitbull and JoJo. Uniting to challenge themselves and partners to raise millions of dollars to rebuild the star of Puerto Rico, 100% of the ticket and sponsorship proceeds will be made immediately available through the family's Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Charitable Fund for Puerto Rico relief efforts.

Its a real honor to be recognized with such incredible women here tonight. I am taken aback by the women who are also receiving the award tonight, said Executive Vice President of CareOne Elizabeth Straus. Ms. Staus went on to say My father Daniel Straus, who is my mentor and teacher has instilled in me that if you know something is right, dont be afraid to change it.

About CareOne

With services that include post-hospital care, rehabilitation, assisted living, long-term care and a variety of clinical specialty programs, CareOne offers compassionate care in gracious, professionally managed centers and communities. CareOne serves thousands of patients every day and admits and discharges more than 20,000 patients every year. With more than 30 centers in New Jersey, CareOnes outstanding programs and services are conveniently located throughout the state. Interested parties can engage with CareOne on social media by following @CareOneMgt on Twitter,@careonemgt on Instagram, and CareOne Management, LLC on Facebook and LinkedIn. For more information about CareOne, please visit http://www.care-one.com.
Mara Liasson

Salt Lake Community Colleges 2017 Tanner Forum on Social Ethics is hosting NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson Nov. 8 on the SLCC South City Campus in the Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State Street, Salt Lake City. The event is free and open to the public, with seating available on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 6 p.m., and then at 7 p.m. Liasson will give a 45-minute presentation, followed by a 45-minute Q & A.

Liasson can be heard on NPRs All Things Considered and Morning Edition, and she can be seen as a contributor on Fox News Channel. During her visit to the Grand Theatre, Liasson will explore the changing face of journalism and investigate how people currently consume news, the concept of freedom of the press and the recent successes and failures of media.



The Tanner Forum on Social Ethics brings nationally and internationally recognized speakers in the area of social ethics to Salt Lake Community College annually. The Tanner Forum enhances the Colleges mission as a community-based learning institution by providing opportunities for the students, faculty, staff and wider community to come together for the thoughtful examination of critical issues in contemporary social ethics. The Tanner Forum on Social Ethics is funded in part by the O.C. Tanner Company.

Those needing special accommodations are asked to call 801-957-4659.



The Grand Theatre is a 1,100-seat venue located at Salt Lake Community Colleges historic South City Campus, home of the innovative and state-of-the-industry Center for Arts and Media. The theatre dates back to the 1930s when it was part of South High School, which SLCC purchased in 1989, a year after the school closed. The Grand Theatre began offering productions that year and has since with great care and expense retained its Depression-era charm and attraction while also incorporating the latest technology in lighting and sound. For the past three years it has been an official screening venue for the annual Sundance Film Festival. Every season the Grand is host to award-winning theatre and dance productions and concerts that attract arts enthusiasts from all along the Wasatch Front.
Dr. Amarik Singh, Periodontist in Chicago, IL, Attends Annual AAP Meeting

Chicago, IL, periodontist Dr. Amarik Singh, DDS, MS, joined his colleagues from September 9-12, 2017, at the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) 103rd Annual Meeting, Navigating the Future of Periodontology. Held in Boston, MA, this year, the yearly AAP Meeting provides periodontal professionals with several days of continuing education and development opportunities.

During the AAP sponsored event, Dr. Singh learned and networked with other well-regarded periodontists from around the nation, discussing the latest developments in the field of periodontal wellness. A strong focus of the 103rd Annual Meeting was the topic of emerging trends regarding implant dentistry. As a periodontist who has placed more than 15,000 dental implants during his two-decade career, Dr. Singh had a special interest in learning about new opportunities to bring his patients.

Named by Wellness Hour host Randy Alvarez as the first choice for dental implants among periodontists in Chicago, IL, Dr. Singh utilizes cutting-edge laser dentistry and computer-aided software to perform more precise dental implantation surgeries. A huge proponent of lifelong education, he regularly applies the most modern technologies to improve patient care.

Dental implants have become a standard method to permanently restore missing teeth. Many of Dr. Singhs patients have struggled for years with one or multiple missing teeth, which is not unusual in the American adult population. More than half of men and women over the age of 45 are missing at least one natural tooth. Instead of relying on bridges or dentures, more and more individuals prefer to have a solution that requires no special maintenance after placement and can last 20 or more years.

Dr. Singh is currently accepting new patients interested in finding out if they are right for dental implant surgery. His office number is 630-424-9404, and initial consultations to determine candidacy for implant dentistry are complimentary.

About the Doctor

Periodontal Implant Associates is a periodontal practice offering personalized dental care for patients in Oak Brook, IL and the Chicago area. After graduating from Northwestern University Dental School, Dr. Amarik Singh went on to obtain his Specialty Certificate in Periodontics and earn his Masters from Northwestern University. Dr. Singh is deeply committed to continuing education and prides himself on remaining on the cutting-edge of the newest techniques and technology in dentistry. Dr. Singh has placed over 15,000 dental implants using minimally invasive techniques and is part of an elite group of dental professionals at the forefront of the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique (PST), a revolutionary new approach to repairing gum recession. To learn more about the periodontal services available at Periodontal Implant Associates, please visit http://www.pidentists.com or call 630-424-9404.
Drs. Adam and Hal Kimowitz are pleased to announce the expansion of their practice, and are currently accepting patients without a referral from Randolph, NJ and the greater Morris County area for full mouth reconstruction. As a part of a full mouth reconstruction, patients can receive relief from sleep apnea, tooth loss, jaw pain and restore complete oral function. Offering numerous skilled services at one location, Denville Dentist provides custom treatment plans to create each patients healthy, ideal smile.

Tooth loss is a common issue experienced by millions of Americans which also makes dental implants a helpful solution in full mouth reconstruction treatments. The popularity and success of dental implants has drawn many people with missing teeth in Randolph, NJ and Morris County, to choose this tooth replacement option. Anchored to the jawbone with a post that acts as a tooth root and attached to a dental crown, the prosthetic is indistinguishable from natural teeth. When a person requires multiple teeth or an entire upper or lower arch replaced, the Drs. Kimowitz often recommend Hybridge restorations as a lasting solution. This treatment is a cost-effective way to replace multiple teeth with fewer implants.

Tooth roots do more than hold the lifelike crowns in place. They also create pressure against the jawbone when a person chews, and this stimulates healthy bone volume. Traditional dentures sit on top of the gums, so they do not perform this function, and the bone deteriorates, changing the shape of the face. To prevent this disintegration, Hybridge dental implants include a limited number of posts strategically placed to promote healthy bone. These replacements also prevent the bridge or arch of teeth from moving, even when a person eats crunchy, sticky or chewy foods that may have dislodged a removable denture.

Often, a person in Randolph, NJ, is missing teeth because of oral health issues such as gum disease. At Denville Dentist, patients can receive treatment for gum disease as well as general dentistry care, specialized treatment of conditions such as TMD and sleep apnea, and other services. More information about the practice is available on the website at http://www.denvilledentist.com, or patients can schedule an appointment by calling 973-627-3363.

About the Practice

Denville Dentist is a general and cosmetic dental practice offering personalized dental care to patients in Denville, New Jersey. Denville Dentist upholds a philosophy of providing leading preventative care to ensure patients reach and maintain proper oral health. Dr. Hal H. Kimowitz is a Fellow and Diplomate in the International Congress of Oral Implantology, Diplomate in the American Society of Osseointegration, Fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry, graduate of the Misch Institute of Implant Dentistry and member of numerous professional organizations. Dr. Adam S. Kimowitz is a graduate, Alumni President elect and lecturer at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine and founder and president of the Grassroots Dental Study Club. He is also a credentialed Fellow of the International College of Oral Implantologists and a credentialed Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Drs. Kimowitz offer the latest techniques in a variety of services including implant, cosmetic, and laser dentistry. To learn more about Denville Dentist, Drs. Kimowitz or the services they offer, visit http://www.denvilledentist.com or call 973-627-3363 to schedule an appointment.
CorTechs Labs, the leading medical software innovator providing solutions for quantitative brain volume analysis, is pleased to announce a new software release of NeuroQuant. This latest version, based entirely on customer feedback, adds exciting new features to the current version of NeuroQuant, including the ability to customize NeuroQuants volumetric reports, improved accuracy of lesion segmentation and the ability to customize the setting parameters of the LesionQuant module, as well as updates to the information provided in the Triage Brain Atrophy report.

Driving the quality of patient care by continuing to develop advanced quantitative imaging solutions to help physicians in their assessment of neurodegenerative conditions is our ongoing mission at CorTechs Labs, said Guri Stark, CorTechs Labs CEO. We are extremely excited to release this latest version of NeuroQuant, which is based completely on our customers feedback and provides users the ability to personalize NeuroQuant and LesionQuant to their specific needs. This latest release is a testament to our dedicated and supportive customers worldwide, who are eager to help improve and enrich our quantitative image analysis software with their personal experiences.

Advanced and Customizable Features and Benefits of NeuroQuant:



Custom Volumetric Reports  Physicians can develop and create NeuroQuant reports tailored to their caseload, with up to 9 different structures, including brain structures not currently provided in the standard NeuroQuant reports.

LesionQuant Segmentation Improvements  The segmentation accuracy of lesions in the LesionQuant module has been improved by reducing the impact of FLAIR image artifacts on segmentation.

Customizable Lesion Segmentation  Two lesion specific parameter settings are now available for physicians to configure independently and define the minimum detected lesion size and the minimum gap between lesions.

Triage Brain Atrophy Report  Additional information includes the total volumes for all structures and the total lobe volumes are tallied and reported.

Dark Background Reports  Radiologists now have the option to comfortably review NeuroQuant dark background reports in the darkened radiology reading room.

This current NeuroQuant version is now available to all Online System customers and is currently being rolled out to Installed Systems customers.

For more information on the NeuroQuant release features, visit http://www.cortechslabs.com/neuroquant. For more information on the LesionQuant release features, visit http://www.cortechslabs.com/lesionquant.

About NeuroQuant

CorTechs Labs flagship product, NeuroQuant, is the first FDA 510(k) cleared, CE marked, and Health Canada, Australia, and Korea licensed medical device software providing physicians with fast, accurate, proven and fully automated quantitative 3D T1 MRI post-processing image analysis. NeuroQuant is used by physicians worldwide in patients ranging from 3 to 100 years of age as a supplemental tool to measure brain structure volumes and confidently assess the presence of neurodegeneration of brain structures.

The LesionQuant module of NeuroQuant can assist physicians in their clinical evaluation process, clinical treatment planning and monitoring of disease progression by combining T2 FLAIR with 3D T1 scans for quantitative lesion analysis. It automatically visualizes lesions and lesion volume changes and provides longitudinal changes brain structure volumes.

About CorTechs Labs

CorTechs Labs develops and markets breakthrough medical device software solutions capable of automatically segmenting and quantifying brain structures, making quantitative analysis of the human brain a routine part of clinical practice. CorTechs Labs cutting-edge brain imaging analysis provides neurologists, radiologists, and clinical researchers worldwide with a convenient and cost-effective means to quantify subcortical structures to help assess a variety of neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain trauma and brain development. Please visit http://www.cortechslabs.com for further information.
Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC, Attorneys Share Knowledge of DUI Defense Partners James Nesci and Joseph P. St. Louis presented at the 21st Annual DWI Means Defend With Ingenuity Seminar.

Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC, a premier criminal defense law firm located in Tucson, Arizona, is pleased to announce that Partners James Nesci and Joseph P. St. Louis presented at the 21st Annual DWI Means Defend With Ingenuity Seminar, held from October 4 to 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National College of DUI Defense hosted the event, which was titled The Rock Stars of DUI Defense.

This national seminar drew more than 400 attorneys from across the country to discuss the latest scientific and legal strategies to optimize trial success regarding driving under the influence of alcohol and drug defenses. Nesci taught a workshop demonstrating advanced techniques for cross-examining law enforcement officers on field sobriety testing. St. Louis assisted Wisconsin attorney Andrew Mishlove in teaching participants how to cross-examine the states blood analyst.

Tucson DUI Lawyer James Nesci is a partner at Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC. He is the Dean Emeritus of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), a nationwide defense organization with more than 1,600 members, where he has also served as a sustaining member and regent. He has lectured across the country on numerous criminal defense topics including: cross-examinations, field sobriety testing, blood alcohol calculations, source code litigation, and trial tactics.

Nesci has authored four editions of Nescis Arizona DUI Defense: The Law & Practice and was named one of the Best Lawyers in America by Woodward/White. He is also rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest attainable peer rating. Additionally, Nesci is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Arizona State Bar Association, and the Pima County Bar Association.

Tucson DUI Attorney Joseph P. St. Louis is a partner at Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC. St. Louis is the only lawyer in the state of Arizona certified as a specialist in both criminal defense (the Arizona State Bar) and DUI defense (the NCDD, as recognized by the American Bar Association). He is a regent, sustaining member and serves on the faculty of the NCDD. St. Louis also frequently presents at legal education seminars throughout the country. He maintains an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating on Martindale-Hubbell and has been named to the Best Lawyers in Arizona and New Mexico by Super Lawyers for the last eight years in a row. Woodward/White listed St. Louis as a Best Lawyer in America for the practice area of DUI defense.

St. Louis is a past-president of the Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice and is a member of the Arizona State Bar Association and the Pima County Bar Association. Additionally, he is a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

About Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC:

The criminal defense law firm of Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC is located in Tucson, Arizona. The veteran DUI attorneys have more than 80 years of combined legal experience. Nesci & St. Louis, PLLC successfully handles cases pertaining to DUI charges, drug charges, felonies, aggravated assault, domestic violence, and armed robbery. The firm represents clients located throughout southern Arizona, including the counties of Pima, Maricopa, Santa Cruz, Cochise, Pinal, Yuma, and Graham. For more information, call 520-622-1222 or visit http://www.azdefense.com to schedule an initial case review to discuss your legal matter.
Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) and Hospitality Technology (HT) are collaborating again to host HT-NEXT 2018, a unique conference for the hospitality technology industry.

This event combines the historical HTNG North American Conference and HTs Hotel Technology Forum. The 2018 event will take place March 12-14 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

HT-NEXT brings together technology leaders and influencers from leading hotel companies spanning IT, finance, marketing and operations. In 2017, the event attracted 650 hospitality professionals and brought in over 35 percent more hoteliers than both the 2016 HTNG North American Conference and HTF combined. Both of these numbers are expected to grow in 2018.

The inaugural HT-NEXT was a great success and a testament to the passion todays hoteliers and solution providers have for true collaboration, says Abigail Lorden, HT brand director. Technology needs to be a part of the broader corporate conversation as IT leaders are spearheading initiatives that impact every component of business from operations to the customer-facing experiences that span pre-, during- and post-stay.

Industry decision makers will attend HT-NEXT to learn about the emerging trends and dig in to work together to solve current industry problems. The program will feature engaging and thought-provoking keynotes, diverse educational and breakout sessions, HTNG workgroups and a technology exhibit hall for attendees to discover cutting-edge solutions. Also, the Hotel Visionary Awards and the HTNG TechOvation Award will be presented again at this years event.

In addition, the 2018 event will add unique education and networking programs, including a new leisure networking event during the day on Tuesday to increase interaction and Innovation Labs focusing on cutting-edge topics.

After last years successful event, I look forward to a second year of collaboration, said Michael Blake, CEO of HTNG. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we have tweaked the schedule to include additional networking events and a more robust program to build on the value for our attendees.

Exclusive access for hoteliers and sponsors begins on Monday, March 12 through lunch on March 13. Conference-wide access to HTNG vendor member attendees begins the afternoon of March 13 through the close of the event on March 14.

A limited number of high-demand sponsorships are available and are expected to sell out. Secure your sponsorship early to ensure exclusive conference access, branding and promotional opportunities. For more information, visit http://www.ht-next.com.

About Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG)

The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG is a self-funded, nonprofit organization with members from hospitality companies, technology vendors to hospitality, consultants, media and academic experts. HTNG's members participate in focused workgroups to bring to market open solution sets addressing specific business problems. HTNG fosters the selection and adoption of existing open standards and also develops new open standards to meet the needs of the global hospitality industry.

Currently more than 400 corporate and individual members from across this spectrum, including world leading hospitality companies and technology vendors, are active HTNG participants. HTNG's Board of Governors, consisting of 23 top IT leaders from hospitality companies around the world, itself has technology responsibility for over 2.5 million guest rooms and world-leading venues. HTNG publishes workgroup proceedings, drafts and specifications for all HTNG members as soon as they are created, encouraging rapid and broad adoption. HTNG releases specifications into the public domain as soon as they are ratified by the workgroups. For more information, visit http://www.htng.org.

About Hospitality Technology

Hospitality Technology (HT) is the only publication dedicated to covering the role of information technology in improving business performance for hotel and restaurant operators. The Hospitality Technology editorial portfolio includes: a print publication that publishes nine times annually and reaches more than 16,000 hospitality industry executives, three networking and educational events (MURTEC, HT-NEXT and MURTEC Executive Summit), a comprehensive website, e-newsletters, web seminars, and several exclusive annual reports and studies. Visit Hospitality Technology online at http://www.hospitalitytech.com. Hospitality Technology is published by Chicago-based EnsembleIQ.

About EnsembleIQ

EnsembleIQ is a premier business intelligence resource that exists to help people and their organizations succeed. It is structured to serve the business-to-business needs of retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, technology vendors, marketing agencies and retail service providers by using its integrated network of media and information resources designed to inform, connect and provide actionable marketplace intelligence. Learn more about EnsembleIQ at http://www.ensembleiq.com.
It embodies the goodness in powerful, resourceful people collaborating to make a difference in helping people become healthier and feel better in a connected, global environment.

Simon Chin, CEO of IRIS Biotechnologies Inc. (OTC MKTS:IRSB), and its subsidiary, IRIS Wellness Labs, Inc. was one of five panelists to address the issue Are DNA and Biomarker Tests Ready for Prime Time? at the Global Wellness Summit in Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, UCSF Clinical Professor of Medicine moderated the panel, which included Dr. Paul Limburg, Medical Director at the Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Elissa Epel, PhD, UCSF Professor of Psychology and Assistant Director of the Center for Health and Community.

Mr. Chin talked about how IRIS was unique in its comprehensive approach, why it is better to analyze both DNA sequence and epigenetics, and the important role microbiome plays in human health and wellness. IRIS is unique in providing comprehensive DNA testing and directly engaging with patients and their physicians while also focusing on disease prevention through life style modification.

At the Summit, Wellness Moonshot was launched with a vision of a World Free of Preventable Disease, a call to action to eradicate chronic, preventable diseases by uniting the health and wellness industries. The launch received an enthusiastic response from the 600+ delegates, comprising health and wellness leaders, including Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, Professor of Surgery, Columbia University, and host, The Dr. Oz Show, and Dr. Dean Ornish, Founder and President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute.

The time has come to pool our resources - knowledge, access, funding - and use our collective megaphone on the world stage to work towards achieving a world free of preventable disease, said Susie Ellis, Chairman and CEO of the Global Wellness Summit and Global Wellness Institute.

"The world is increasingly plagued by largely preventable chronic diseases, and the crippling economic burden that comes with them. This call to action is absolutely critical, refocusing on humankinds most pressing need, said Dr. Carmona. The Global Wellness Institute is the right organization to launch this moonshot, as it can only be achieved with high-level collaboration in the many health and wellness sectors.

The Annual Global Wellness Summit, an invitation-only event, was held at the Breakers Palm Beach Resort in Florida from October 9-11, 2017. Breakers President Paul Leone said that he has witnessed about 15,000 conferences come through the hotel and he cant think of one thats more important than the Global Wellness Summit. According to the CDC, approximately 70% of all deaths each year are a result of preventable diseases. The World Economic Forum estimates that the global cost of largely preventable chronic disease could reach $47 trillion by 2030.

At the Global Wellness Summit, Mr. Chin exchanged ideas with many people, including Dr. Michael Roizen, Chief Wellness Officer, Cleveland Clinic. IRIS is the first and only company to offer not only comprehensive DNA testing and integrated, in-depth analysis of the whole person, but also a conference with each client and his or her ordering physician. This physician conference format helps to maintain the patient-physician relationship while introducing cutting-edge genomic science, empowering physicians to deal with health risks uncovered by IRIS's proprietary precision medicine technology. Quicker and better interventions result in cutting costs and saving lives.

In the workplace, IRIS proposes offering every employee a basic wellness program, offering upper level management a complete DNA analysis as well. The DNA analysis benefits the individual directly and his or her family and descendants indirectly in many applications related to health and wellness. Employees who are not offered in-depth DNA analysis may also elect to have a DNA analysis. Either way, IRISs wellness program will increase job satisfaction, improve overall health of the employees and reduce absenteeism and job dissatisfaction; the value and return on investment is tremendous.

For the past five years, IRIS CEO, Simon Chin has been serving on the Industrial Advisory Board of the University of Pacifics Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Chin has expertise in genomics, big data and precision medicine, and closely follows the trends in the pharmaceutical industry. With two decades of domain expertise in personalized medicine, IRIS is the ideal collaborative partner for many companies to adopt and to innovate healthcare with cutting-edge, patented medical technology. IRIS has foundational patents in an Artificial Intelligence System for Genetic Analysis.

Mr. Chin said, The Global Wellness Summit is very different from all the conferences I have ever attended. It embodies the goodness in powerful, resourceful people collaborating to make a difference in helping people become healthier and feel better in a connected, global environment.

About IRIS Biotechnologies Inc.

IRIS Biotechnologies Inc. (OTC MKTS: IRSB) is a life sciences company that develops technologies that provide accurate, affordable precision healthcare through comprehensive analysis of the whole person inside and out. Iris offers the best approach to the treatment of cancer and other diseases through incorporating DNA, RNA and protein analysis with a patient's medical records, family medical history, life style and environmental exposures. Iris enables personalized, cost-effective healthcare and is the future of precision medicine.

About IRIS Wellness Labs, Inc.

Iris Wellness Labs is a private, precision health and wellness company. We work directly with healthy people, patients, physicians, and companies. We provide whole genome sequencing, gene expression testing, and microbiome testing. We work with genetic counselors, and psychologists. We collect information, do the research and analyze genomics, gene expression, protein expression, life style, environment, and comprehensive family medical history to understand the whole picture and deliver unprecedented insight into your overall health at the molecular level. No other company comes close to providing such a broad and in-depth analysis in engaging with patients and physicians.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this presentation about the Company's expectations, applications of its technology, markets, launch of tests and other statements that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on management's current beliefs, assumptions, estimates and projections. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including risks associated with product and test development, test transfer to contracting labs, government regulation, market acceptance, limited commercial experience, dependence on key personnel, obtaining financing and other factors discussed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

IRIS Biotechnologies Inc.

Simon Chin

408-806-7149

President and CEO

simonchin(at)irisbiotech(dot)com

Source: IRIS Biotechnologies Inc.
AI and Video Analytics for Smart Cameras IntelliVisions advanced analytics and intelligence technologies, coupled with its ability to deploy inside the camera, on-premise servers, or on the cloud put it well ahead of its competition in this field.

IntelliVision, a pioneer and leader in AI/Deep Learning video analytics software for smart cameras, announced today that it has been named the 2017 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year for Security Intelligence and Video Analytics by leading analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.

Video analytics and intelligence functions will remain the most in-demand security technology segment for customers looking to modernize their security operations and increase overall efficiency, said Danielle VanZandt, security industry analyst with Frost & Sullivan. IntelliVisions advanced analytics and intelligence technologies, coupled with its ability to deploy inside the camera, on-premise servers, or on the cloud put it well ahead of its competition in this field.

We are honored to receive this award from Frost & Sullivan, said Vaidhi Nathan, IntelliVisions CEO. It is a vindication of our many years of research, development and customer service in the growing field of AI-based video analytics for smart cameras.

To receive this award, an organization must be on a growth path for success and must be best-in-class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, and differentiating from the competition. Frost & Sullivan analysts follow a rigorous 10-step process to evaluate award candidates and perform 360-degree research for over 12 industry areas on a global scale.

About IntelliVision

IntelliVision is a market leader in AI and Deep Learning video analytics software for smart cameras, providing video analytics solutions for several markets including Smart Home/IoT, Smart Security, Smart Retail, Smart Business, Smart City, big data analytics and video search. IntelliVision technology has been recognized as the Brains Behind the Eyes for many applications deploying and using cameras to analyze video content, extract metadata, send out real-time alerts and provide intelligence to other home, business and security systems. IntelliVision provides the largest suite of video analytic products in the market today. Its products are used by Fortune 500 companies, the US Government, and many leading brands. IntelliVision is headquartered in San Jose, California with offices in Asia and Europe. For more information, visit: http://www.intelli-vision.com.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages more than 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses, and the investment community from 45 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.
Encompassing orthodontists and their staff in the northeastern U.S. and Canada, the NESO Boston 2017 event serves as a professional development and networking event. The meeting will be held in Boston from November 9-12th at the The Marriott Copley Place.

The Meetings attendees will get to experience 3 days of lectures and workshops by some of the industrys leading professionals. Red Spot Interactive (RSI), an elective healthcare marketing and software company, will speak for the second year in a row to further educate the societys members on practice management. Jason Tuschman, CEO & Co-Founder of RSI will discuss the best practices of managing an elective health care practice, from patient acquisition and retention to return-on-investment.

Red Spot Interactive is a Gold Level Sponsor and has been selected to sit on the NESO Industry Advisory Council for the second year. The Council was created to maximize the shared benefits of NESO and its partners.

We are delighted to have Red Spot Interactive on board again this year to provide a wealth of resources in support of private orthodontic practices, said NESO President Dr. Carrie Melita. We appreciate the value of partners like Red Spot Interactive, who advance the tools and technologies available to orthodontic practices.

The Northeastern Society of Orthodontists is a non-profit corporation and a part of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). NESO shares the same goals and purpose as the AAO  together they seek to advance the art and science of orthodontics, to promote research, to preserve the highest standards in education and practice, to make significant contributions to the health of the public and to promote goodwill among its members.

About Red Spot Interactive

RSI provides a platform focused on patient acquisition and retention, marketing and lead nurturing to increase the return-on-investment for elective healthcare practices. The companys proprietary reporting system allows it to objectively measure the ROI for orthodontics and other elective health care practices across the U.S.
Our Master of Science in Finance degree program is an ideal choice for working adults who are looking to advance in their careers as financial analysts, financial planners, stock traders, portfolio managers and many other finance-focused careers.

New England College of Business (NECB) is pleased to announce that its Online Masters Degree in Finance (MSF) was listed in College Choices ranking of the 34 Best Online Masters in Finance Degrees for 2018. The accredited program was listed as #30 in the nation.

College Choice compiled this list based on a number of factors, including reputation, cost and return on investment, pulling data from sources such as the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, U.S. News & World Report, the National Center for Education Statistics and PayScale.com.

Noted for its curriculum, which is designed specifically for online learning, the accelerated Master of Science in Finance degree comprises 10 courses that can be completed in as little as 15 months. The program also features an option for a concentration in global finance and trading.

NECBs Masters Degree in Finance requires an undergraduate degree, and the program provides students with an in-depth look into financial models, financial markets and investment strategies. For those looking to increase their knowledge of the finance industry without committing to a masters degree, NECB also offers a variety of continuing education certificates in the field, including the Graduate Certificate in Financial Management, the Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning and the Graduate Certificate in Global Finance Trading.

Our Master of Science in Finance degree program is an ideal choice for working adults who are looking to advance in their careers as financial analysts, financial planners, stock traders, portfolio managers and many other finance-focused careers, said NECB President Howard Horton, Esq. It is an honor that College Choice has included us on this nationwide list of colleges. We are thrilled to be recognized both for our curriculum and for our affordability.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects that financial occupations will grow by 8% from 2014 to 2024. To learn more about enrolling in NECBs Master of Science in Finance, visit https://enroll.necb.edu.

About New England College of Business

Founded in 1909, New England College of Business (NECB) is a leading higher education institution offering quality education and online degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Serving students across the United States, NECB is an online college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. For information on NECB, visit https://www.necb.edu/, follow NECB on Twitter or connect with the school on Facebook.
MetaMetrics, developer of the widely adopted Lexile Framework for Reading and Quantile Framework for Mathematics, today announced their partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education. Through this partnership, students in grades 3-8 receive both Lexile and Quantile measures from the South Carolina College-and-Career- Ready Assessments (SC Ready). Students also receive Lexile measures from the English 1 assessment and Quantile measures from the Algebra 1 assessment as part of the End-of-Course Examination Program. By receiving Lexile and Quantile measures on their SC Ready score reports, students can access a wealth of free, web-based tools to help find ability- appropriate materials, including Math@Home and the popular Find a Book search tool.

I applaud South Carolinas dedication to improving education by bringing meaning to measurement, stated Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., CEO, president and co-founder of MetaMetrics. By delivering universal metrics to connect students with materials that match their unique abilities, Superintendent Spearman and her team are helping accelerate reading and mathematics growth of the students throughout their state.

The SC Ready student reports will also feature Lexile and Quantile resources for parents to monitor growth towards college and career readiness. South Carolina will be rolling out the Lexile and Quantile Growth Planners, a new tool to determine if a student is on track to graduate college- and career-ready. Students and parents across the state will be able to forecast future reading and mathematics growth and compare that to the demands of college and careers. The tool offers Lexile and Quantile measures for the reading and mathematical demands of hundreds of high-growth careers. If needed, students and parents will receive a custom growth path to ensure the student graduates college- and career-ready.

It is critical that we empower students, parents, and teachers with information that can be used to improve academic achievement, said South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. By providing Lexile and Quantile measures we are able to personalize learning for every child and ensure they graduate prepared for success.

The Lexile and Quantile Frameworks place both the student and instructional material on the same scale to match the learner with math and reading resources at each students ability level. A scientific approach to reading measurement, the Lexile Framework for Reading matches readers to text. The Lexile Framework involves a scale for measuring both the reading ability of an individual and the text complexity of materials he or she encounters. Similar to the Lexile Framework, the Quantile Framework matches students with instructional materials by measuring the mathematical ability of a student and the complexity of mathematical skills and concepts on the same developmental scale.

About MetaMetrics

MetaMetrics is focused on improving education for learners of all ages and ability levels. The organization develops scientific measures of academic achievement and complementary technologies that link assessment results with real-world instruction. MetaMetrics' products and services for reading (The Lexile Framework for Reading, El Sistema Lexile para Leer), mathematics (The Quantile Framework for Mathematics) and writing (The Lexile Framework for Writing) provide unique insights about academic ability and the potential for growth, enabling individuals to achieve their goals at every stage of development. Connect with the organization at: metametricsinc.com/blog.
By providing build data to DataOne, our dealers are now able to accurately and quickly decode which options and features are installed on any specific vehicle they are researching.

DataOne Software, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions and a leading provider of automotive data and software solutions, today announced the availability of Mazda Build Data within its VIN Decoder Web Service. Inclusion of this data will allow DataOnes customers to accurately identify and describe all Mazda inventory by VIN from model year 2010-current.

"By providing build data to DataOne, our dealers are now able to accurately and quickly decode which options and features are installed on any specific vehicle they are researching, said Patrick Halfpenny, senior manager of application development. This is an essential tool as customers shop dealer sites, searching for products they are interested in.

OEM Build Data provides an additional level of vehicle details at the time the vehicle was built. This would include equipment such as the installed transmission, exterior and interior color, upholstery type, and factory installed equipment that otherwise cant be identified using the VIN pattern alone. This level of VIN-referenced vehicle information will help advance some of the most innovative products on the market.

The VIN-specific details accessible with build data are valuable for many solutions throughout the auto industry, stated Jennie Davis, OEM relationship manager at DataOne Software. Businesses can leverage this data to produce more intuitive, user-friendly experiences that will drive engagement. We are excited to enter this partnership with Mazda and to incorporate build data into our products."

While some OEM build data has been available to the marketplace in recent years, its use has not become widespread, said Jake Maki, general manager of DataOne Software. We hope to change that. This enhanced data set will greatly benefit our customers utilizing DataOnes VIN Decoder Web Service API and will support the creation of next generation vehicle shopping solutions.

About DataOne Software

DataOne Software is a leading vehicle data and software solutions provider for U.S. and Canadian automotive markets. Since its founding in 1999, DataOne has provided powerful data solutions to the automotive marketplace, empowering businesses with industry-best VIN decoding and support for rapid technology development. In 2007, DataOne was acquired by Dominion Enterprises and has added, as clients and sister divisions, some of the largest automotive solutions in the industry.

Today, DataOne Software, as a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions, provides data and software to most segments of the automotive industry including dealerships and their service providers, as well as portals, insurance, finance, transport, print, and government agencies. For more information about DataOne Software automotive content, visit http://www.dataonesoftware.com, call 877.438.8467 or e-mail jennie.davis(at)dataonesoftware(dot)com.

About Dominion Dealer Solutions

Dominion Dealer Solutions improves dealers' lives by developing advanced technologies including: reputation and social media management, responsive websites, digital advertising, SEO, SEM, multi-channel marketing, and custom market reports. Coupled with award-winning lead management, inventory merchandising, equity mining, customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management (DMS) solutions, Dominion redefines automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for today's automotive dealerships. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, every OEM and more than 10,000 U.S. dealers depend on Dominion's foundation of innovation, integrity, excellence and teamwork to provide them with results at every turn. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube, or follow us on Twitter.

Contact:

Jennie Davis

DataOne Software

978-522-5322

jennie.davis(at)dataonesoftware(dot)com
Pamela Prue, Recently hired by Morgan Auto Group as Chief Learning Officer All business owners look for ways to constantly keep one step ahead of the competition. With Pam, we took a leap ahead

Morgan Auto Group proudly announces the appointment of Pamela Prue as Chief Learning Officer for the Tampa-based, auto giant. Prue will be in charge of sales recruiting and training for the company.

Prue, who holds a Bachelors of Arts degree from Saint Josephs College, in Standish, ME, has a strong automotive background. Prue was Area Training Manager for Toyota, for whom she trained more than 500 sales agents for Toyota dealerships throughout the West Coast of Florida. Furthermore, Prue has served as senior account manager and training and development manager.

We are extremely happy to have Pam with us. Her background and knowledge are invaluable. All current and future Morgan Auto Group associates will benefit from her years of experience. Our strong commitment to excellence and exceptional customer service has just become even better with the addition of this consummate professional, said Brett Morgan, CEO of Morgan Auto Group.

Additionally, Prue, who will relocate to the Tampa Bay area for this new chapter in her life, has strong leadership capabilities. She developed a Training Assessment evaluation process with which dealers could improve the hiring process, the training and the development of their individual sales team.

All business owners look for ways to constantly keep one step ahead of the competition. With Pam, we took a leap ahead, said Morgan.

About Morgan Automotive Group

Morgan Auto Group is one of the largest, privately held automotive dealer groups in the nation, recently ranked in the top 50 by Automotive News.

Through its 28 dealerships, the Tampa-based business offers 15 unique brands, from Honda to Lamborghini, with new, certified pre-owned, and quality used vehicles available for lease or purchase. These retail locations also sell car parts, service contracts, along with maintenance and repair services.

The company's famous slogan, "When You Make It Morgan, We Make It Happen" is the basis for all customer service, branding, promotions, and other key operations at its 28 locations from Columbia, Missouri, to Naples, Florida.
Its a thrilling time to be an entrepreneur, as the world continues to get more connected and new markets open up. I think the coming year will see the rise of massive tech titans out of new regions, and Im excited to be a part of that shift at ironSource.

Goldman Sachs is recognizing ironSource CEO and Co-Founder Tomer Bar-Zeev again as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2017 at its Builders + Innovators Summit in Santa Barbara, California.

Goldman Sachs selected Bar-Zeev as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. A technology veteran, Bar Zeev worked at Microsoft, Payoneer and Atlas CT before founding ironSource in 2010 to address the challenges developers face in turning their products into successful businesses.

Today, ironSource is one of the largest independent platforms for mobile monetization and marketing, providing technologies that enable tens of thousands of app and game developers take their apps to the next level. The companys in-app video ad network empowers over 80K apps to drive revenue with dynamic, interactive ads which users actually enjoy, allowing ironSource to connect leading brand and performance advertisers with over 1 billion unique users every month.

This has been an incredible year for ironSource, and its a huge honor to be included in this list again, standing alongside some of the worlds most influential entrepreneurs, said Bar Zeev. Its a thrilling time to be an entrepreneur, as the world continues to get more connected and new markets open up. I think the coming year will see the rise of massive tech titans out of new regions, and Im excited to be a part of that shift at ironSource.

We are pleased to recognize Tomer Bar-Zeev as one of the most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2017," said David M. Solomon, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer at Goldman Sachs. "This is the sixth year that weve hosted the Builders + Innovators Summit where emerging business leaders gather to discuss their common interests in building prosperous organizations."

For more than 145 years, Goldman Sachs has been advising and financing entrepreneurs as they launch and grow their businesses. In addition to honoring 100 entrepreneurs, the Summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by Goldman Sachs experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, academics and business leaders as well as resident scholars.

About ironSource

ironSource, the leading in-app video advertising platform, makes free-to-play and free-to-use possible for over 1.2B people around the world. We build technologies that help app developers take their apps to the next level. Since only 2% of users pay to play, we provide tools to engage the other 98%. Thats why over 80K apps use our technologies to grow their app businesses, and why were working with leading companies like Big Fish Games, Zynga and Playrix. We care about good creative and making ads as enjoyable as your games, and our designers sit next to our performance team, making sure data informs every creative decision. Founded in 2010, were a truly global company, with offices in Tel Aviv, London, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, Bangalore and Seoul. Read more at http://www.ironsrc.com.
Longleaf Lodge Southland is proud to be recognized once again, and for several years running, for the excellence of our custom log home home designs

Southland Log Homes, designer and manufacturer of America's Favorite Log Home, has been honored with a national award for excellence in log home design presented by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Southland received design honors for log home of distinction in the greater than 4000 square feet" category. The award was presented at the industry's annual conference in October. This award is just the latest in a long string of log home design awards that Southland has won over the past several years.

Southland Log Homes provides its customers with personalized designs and high quality log cabin kits, as well as support in working with quality log home builders, understanding financing options, and identifying available land anywhere in the US.

Southland is proud to be recognized once again, and for several years running, for the excellence of our custom log home home designs," said Ken Sekley, Southland's President and CEO. Southland's design team is expert at turning our customer's log home dreams into reality, ranging from beautifully rustic traditional log home plans to the latest in modern design trends and sustainability."

Southland was also recognized for excellence in marketing, with awards granted for the companys popular website and its print advertising. Southlands website at SouthlandLogHomes.com has more than 1.5 million visitors each year.

About Southland Log Homes: Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, Southland Log Homes was founded in 1978 and is the largest log home company in the United States. Southland operates model home sales offices and has authorized Southland dealers located throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Model homes are located in Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Biloxi, MS; Birmingham, AL; Charlotte, NC; Christiansburg, VA; Columbia, SC; Dallas, TX; Danville, PA; Fredericksburg, VA; Greensboro, NC; Greenville, SC; Houston, TX; Northwest Indiana; Kansas City, MO; Lake City, FL; Louisville, KY; Macon, GA; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Springfield, MA; and San Antonio, TX. For more information about Southland Log Homes, call 800-641-4754 or visit SouthlandLogHomes.com.

About NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, DC-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country, as well as internationally. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.
Cognata, Ltd., was named the Best Young Company in Israel today at NVIDIAs GPU Technology Conference (GTC Israel), where it won the Inception Award for the most innovative use of artificial intelligence and deep learning in its simulation platform for testing and validating autonomous vehicles. Presented by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the award recognizes Cognata as the first among Israels hottest startups, exemplifying fast growth and disruptive technology in a country known as startup nation.

The award presentation was a highlight of GTC Israel, part of a global series of events hosted by NVIDIA and held in Israel for the first time this year to shine a spotlight on the next generation of rising stars. The top startups competing for the Inception Awards were chosen from the membership of NVIDIAs Inception program, a select group of dedicated and exceptional startups. Eligible AI startups had to be based in Israel, founded within the last two years, and having raised no more than $5 million in funding.

As the winning company, Cognata was presented with an NVIDIA DGX Station, a new personal supercomputer designed for leading-edge AI development.

In his keynote at the GPU Technology Conference in Beijing several weeks ago, Huang said the AI field is growing rapidly because the impact to society is great, the technology necessary to achieve autonomy is finally here, the problem is incredibly challenging  so it can sustain innovation at startups for a long time.

Cognata combines artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision in a simulation platform that enables autonomous vehicle developers to trim years off the road-testing process with highly realistic virtual test drives. Its simulation engine empowers autonomous vehicle manufacturers to log test miles on virtual roads in virtual cities in remarkably true to real-world conditions. Cognata provides the only solution capable of validating autonomous vehicles with unlimited scalability, marking a major milestone for the industryand bringing safer self-driving vehicles to market much faster than anticipated.

GTC Israel is showcasing the latest in artificial intelligence and deep learning applied to autonomous vehicles, smart cities, cyber security and healthcare, with attendees including experts from large enterprises, top research organizations, and leading-edge AI startups on the brink of transforming the world.

About Cognata

Cognata provides a fast lane to autonomous driving with its testing and evaluation solution for self-driving vehiclesa realistic automotive simulation platform where virtual cars travel virtual roads in virtual cities, all remarkably true to real-world conditions. Led by CEO Danny Atsmon, a widely respected expert in ADAS and deep learning, Cognata brings the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision to the autonomous driving simulation world. Cognatas simulated testing and evaluation environment shaves years off the validation time by generating fast, highly accurate results, and eliminates the safety concerns, high costs, and limited scalability of road-testing in the physical world. Cognata was founded in 2016 by a team of experts in deep learning, autonomous vehicles and computer vision. The company is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, close to the Weizmann Institute of Science. For more information, visit http://www.cognata.com
Haute Residence welcomes real estate broker, Andria Clancy to its prestigious network of top brokers. As a Haute Residence partner, Clancy exclusively represents the Jackson Hole, Wyoming market.

Among the top brokers of Wyoming, Clancy founded the Trinity Real Estate Group  a boutique real estate firm that exemplifies her exceptional professionalism and outstanding dedication to her clients. With a philosophy that elevates trust, service and knowledge, Clancy brings a unique approach to her work that many realtors lack. In addition to being a real estate broker, she is a licensed general contractor.

Passionate about Jackson Hole and its spectacular nature and real estate, Clancy and her team at Trinity are committed to nourishing the best client experience possible. Trinity also offers wonderful luxury vacation properties for her exclusive clientele. These properties offer the highest level of quality, luxury and personal service to the Jackson Hole vacation experience.

When not working hard for her clients, Clancy enjoys international traveling with her husband of 24 years and their three children, Sarah, Conogher and Rachel. She is an art enthusiast, community activist and breeder of the Authentic Australian Labradoodle. She and her family are blessed to call Jackson Hole home.

About Haute Residence:

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners.

The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers and real estate enthusiasts.

HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate and more.

Access all of this information and more by visiting: http://www.hauteresidence.com.
Leading San Francisco Web Design Firms

10 Best Design is honored to present the winners of its Best San Francisco Web Design Firm awards for October 2017, announcing Arhue as the leader in this category.

The Top SF Website Design Firm Award has gone to companies that carry a high level of pride in the services that they give to their customers. These companies do everything that they can to ensure that every site visitor potentially becomes a new client. Following is a summary on the top three winners.

Arhue showed leadership and promise because of its extensive line of service offerings and its collaborative efforts in making those services bring the clients to their maximum potential. Being one of the top SF website design firms, Arhue works with their clients every step of the way. They conduct analysis and make sure that the brand image is painting the company in the appropriate light. They have creative specialists who can help to add a dramatic edge to the client's image that will separate them from the completion. Other services available from the company include video creation, brand marketing and strategies.

EIGHT25MEDIA is a leading web design firm that is absolutely amazing when it comes to tangible results. The company has designed hundreds of websites, all which have gone on to produce fantastic conversion rates for the companies. This business provides a full suite of website developmental services as well as maintenance products for businesses that need to stay on top.

KNI is a top web design firm recognized for October due to its expertise and service. It uses innovative tools and practices to ensure that its customers have the opportunity to grow and expand. Its goal is to take businesses that have limited reach and open the doors of possibility to them. KNI works with their clients on a partnership level and offers to "create" together. They create potential, success and continuous growth.

A business owner can have the highest level of confidence in what any of these top contenders can do. 10 Best Design will be releasing a new list of winners next month, as this will be an ongoing award. What this means for web design companies is that they must continue to provide only the highest level of services to all of their current customers. They must also continuously work hard to bring new customers on board.

For more details about the award-winning firms, please visit http://www.10bestdesign.com.
InstantWage No hardworking employee should have to incur late charges or turn to predatory lenders, that collect billions of dollars in fees, when they can simply access the money they have already earned.

Cardplatforms announces it has launched a new on-demand pay feature that will be crucial to the financial health of its clients cardholders. Running out of money between paychecks is one of the most common causes of financial stress. Now with InstantWage, employees can instantly* access their earned but unpaid wages at any time.

Cardplatforms mission is to deliver solutions to underserved populations and markets, where traditional financial services have failed to provide affordable and convenient options, said Jeff Foster, Chief Executive Officer, Cardplatforms.InstantWage is another example of Cardplatforms delivering on that promise. No hardworking employee should have to incur late charges or turn to predatory lenders, that collect billions of dollars in fees, when they can simply access the money they have already earned.

According to a report by CareerBuilder, 78% of full-time American workers said they are living check-to-check. As a result, any unforeseen expense could cause a financial catastrophe. Until now, consumers were forced to charge a credit card, overdraft their bank account or turn to predatory lending products like payday loans, which charge extremely high fees. In 2015, consumers spent an astounding $141 billion in fees and interest on financial services according to research from the Center for Financial Services Innovation.

What makes this worse is that rather than solving the problem, these products tend to push consumers deeper into debt by forcing them into a vicious cycle of re-borrowing. For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that more than 80% of payday loans taken out by borrowers were rolled over or re-borrowed within 30 days, incurring additional fees with every renewal.

This financial dilemma is not just a problem for employees. According to a 2010 Federal Reserve study, employee financial stress costs businesses $5,000 per employee, per year in lost productivity.

To solve the problem, InstantWage is transforming payroll to meet the needs of todays employee. Available exclusively to Cardplatforms clients, InstantWage allows businesses to offer their employees instant* access to their earned but unpaid wages. Cardplatforms provides employers with access to funds for an employees InstantWage payment, so there is no impact to a businesss cash flow. There is no cost** to the business to offer InstantWage. Once an employer is signed up, all of their employees with earned but unpaid wages are eligible. For a small transaction fee of up to $5, employees can access as much as half of their earned net wages.

What makes InstantWage even more valuable to employees is that it is part of the companys custom payroll card programs. The payroll cards that Cardplatforms issues on behalf of their clients come with numerous complimentary bonus features  making them a better alternative to a traditional bank account for consumers that don't want or who cant qualify for a banking relationship.

To learn more, visit http://www.cardplatforms.com/Instantwage.

About Cardplatforms

Cardplatforms delivers impactful payments solutions to underserved populations and markets, where traditional financial services have failed to provide affordable and convenient options. Leveraging a unique blend of industry expertise and proprietary technology, we design and develop white-label solutions for payroll, corporate expenses, incentives, government benefits, legal settlements and insurance claims that are specifically tailored to the needs our partners and their consumers. Our experience navigating an ever-changing payments landscape, combined with the control provided by our Blu Box technology platform, allows us to fully customize programs and get them launched faster. Learn more at cardplatforms.com.

*Website or network connection issues may delay InstantWage funding.

**InstantWage provides employers with the funds for employee InstantWage payments. All InstantWage funds and fees pass through the employers InstantWage Master Funding Account, so there is no net cost to the employer.
Souhegan High School Students and Mechanical Mayhem (FIRST Robotics Team) meet at Cirtronics on Manufacturing Day, 2017 We get to support the education of our next generation through direct interactions and experiential learning. This not only supports the future of manufacturing, but also encourages broader creative thinking about technology.

Cirtronics, a Contract Manufacturer in Southern New Hampshire, hosted 45 high school students for a manufacturing day event on Friday, October 6th, 2017 featuring Mechanical Mayhem, a FIRST Robotics team, and a facility tour.

Manufacturing Day is a national event created in 2012 specifically to introduce the next generation to modern manufacturing and encourage interest in manufacturing careers. By hosting coordinated events all across the country, manufacturers are able to show the next generation what is often difficult to tellwhat it is really like to be a manufacturing company, what the challenges are, and what it feels like to work in the industry.

Cirtronics Manufacturing Day annual events are opportunities for local high school students to see where and how technology is built. For the past two years, Cirtronics has partnered with Mechanical Mayhem to expand that experience to include an interactive demonstration to further increase interest in applied technology. This year, Mechanical Mayhem brought their new robot and students watched a live demonstration and had an opportunity to directly engage in discussions with their peers -- the FIRST Robotics team members.

Nancy Streeter, mentor of FIRST Robotics Team 1519 Mechanical Mayhem: The Mechanical Mayhem FIRST Robotics team was privileged to help our sponsor, Cirtronics, with their Manufacturing Day Event where we shared our enthusiasm for FIRST Robotics! The Mayhem students presented our team's design philosophy and the various types of materials we use to manufacture our 120-pound robot to compete in the FIRST Robotics challenge each year. The Souhegan High School students proved to be a great audience, impressing us right from the moment they entered by filling up the front row of seats first. They asked great questions after the presentation, and most students took a turn driving Lady Launch-a-Lot. Manufacturing Day at Cirtronics exceeded all expectations! We thank the Cirtronics family for making this opportunity possible!"

After the exciting Robotics demonstration, the students were given a tour of the Cirtronics facility to learn more about the unique role contract manufacturing plays in building products. Students were able to directly experience the culture, high-tech equipment, processes and dedication to quality required of successful contract manufacturing of robotic, medical and security devices.

We love hosting events for Manufacturing Day because its a great way to introduce modern manufacturing to the next generation, and it allows them to experience the way things are built and how we work, says Gerardine Ferlins, President and CEO of Cirtronics. We love engaging students in this way, and  of coursewe hope that some are inspired to pursue careers in manufacturing.

Ferlins continues, We get to support the education of our next generation through direct interactions and experiential learning. This not only supports the future of manufacturing, but also encourages broader creative thinking about technology. Thanks to the robotics demonstration, these kids leave here excited about technology, and  after touring our sitetheyre much more aware about what it means to bring technology from concept to product.

Cirtronics offers leading edge technical capabilities and experience, integrated lean manufacturing methods, and a true dedication to quality. Combining these with a sincere focus on fostering proactive and positive customer relationships through Precision Engagement, Cirtronics is in the business of building relationships as well as products.

About Cirtronics

Cirtronics is a locally owned and operated, contract manufacturer for electronics, electro-mechanical assemblies and box builds for a wide range of markets including med/tech, communications, aerospace, military, security, industrial, and robotics. Cirtronics is an Employee Owned Company (ESOP) that qualifies for US government woman-owned and small business status. To learn more about Cirtronics and Precision Engagement, visit http://www.cirtronics.com.
ConstructConnect is a leading provider of construction information and technology solutions in North America. ConstructConnect is proud to support AIA in their efforts to contribute to rebuilding their communities in Houston and Puerto Rico.

ConstructConnect, a leading provider of construction information and technology solutions in North America, announced it is building on its continued corporate philanthropic efforts with the addition of two generous financial donations to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) local chapters in Houston and Puerto Rico. Both Houston and Puerto Rico have suffered devastating damage and are looking to their local AIA chapters to provide design assistance with renovation. ConstructConnect funds will help support that renovation, bringing hope back to those in need. Additionally, in 2018, ConstructConnect through its nonprofit foundation AEC Cares will sponsor a blitz build in Houston to contribute to the revitalization of the city overwhelmed by one of the worst weather events in U.S. history.

ConstructConnect is proud to support AIA in their efforts to contribute to rebuilding their communities in Houston and Puerto Rico, said Laura Marlow, vice president of strategic partnerships. Given our long-term relationship with AIA, its just natural that we lend a hand after these devastating hurricanes.

ConstructConnects commitment to community is built into its core values by putting people first which includes co-sponsoring AEC Caress annual blitz build and community partnerships with Ronald McDonald House and Habitat for Humanity. ConstructConnect encourages its employees to give back to their community and lets its employees take as much as 24 paid hours to volunteer every year.

Even before we knew the totality of the devastation of hurricanes Harvey and Maria, our partner ConstructConnect reached out to see how they could help our AIA Centers and members get back on their feet, explained John Crosby, Managing Director, Corporate Partnership, The American Institute of Architects. We're honored to be longstanding partners with companies like ConstructConnect whose employees care deeply about the profession and the people impacted.

To learn more about ConstructConnect, visit constructconnect.com.

About ConstructConnect

ConstructConnect is a leading provider of construction information and technology solutions in North America. Through the combination of its four legacy brands (iSqFt, Construction Market Data, BidClerk and Construction Data), ConstructConnect brings project participants together with the most complete, accurate and actionable construction data and tools to drive success in national, regional and local markets. Its collaborative network empowers the construction industry to be more successful with access to relevant information through easy to use technology. For more information, visit constructconnect.com

About AEC Cares

AEC Cares is a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation actively supported by CMD with the AIA and Hanley Wood, generous sponsors, donors and volunteers. Bringing together architects, contractors, manufacturers and industry professionals from across the United States and Canada, AEC Cares works to create positive change through meaningful projects that benefit a new community every year. To learn more about AEC Cares, visit aeccares.com.

About The American Institute of Architects

Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects consistently works to create more valuable, healthy, secure and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public wellbeing. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nations and world.
The CCISO of the Year winner is Favour Femi-Oyewole, CISO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, a self-driven, motivated, problem-solving CISO with a positive, can-do attitude. EC-Councils CISO Awards recognize leaders making an impact by implementing security programs and security awareness programs that break the mold and address the root problems of modern breaches.

In a black-tie ceremony, EC-Council honored leaders in information security by recognizing finalists and winners in seven categories. The CISO Awards precedes both Hacker Halted, EC-Councils largest annual cybersecurity conference, and the Global CISO Forum, EC-Councils premier executive-level event. EC-Councils CISO Awards recognize leaders making an impact by implementing security programs and security awareness programs that break the mold and address the root problems of modern breaches. These awards are decided by a committee in an anonymous voting process.

The first award given was the Presidential Award for Excellence to Nitin Kumar, the Senior Managing Director of Technology, Media & Telecom for FTI Consulting where he manages innovations in security across multiple industries. Kumar is a founding member of the Certified CISO Executive Board and has helped shape the CCISO program and its initiatives since its very inception.

The next category was the Innovative Security Project of the Year, wherein EC-Council recognizes a CISO for a specific effort that made a lasting impact to his or her business. The winner, Jorge Mario Ochoa Vasquez is the CISO for Tigo Guatemala and he focused his innovative project on an area critical to the success of a security program: end user awareness. After a thorough measure of the demographics of his company, adjustments were made to the communication strategy that leads to drastically improved outcomes for participation, comprehension, and phishing incidences.

The next award was Most Improved Security Program of the Year. This award was designed to recognize CISOs who have been able to make huge strides in their programs in a short time. Nominations outlined where their programs started, the changes implemented, and the improvements realized. The runner-up for the award was John Young, IT Security Manager for his work with the Peoples Postcode Lottery security system.

The winner, Hemant Dusane, Chief Information Security & Risk Management Officer of Rage Frameworks, focused improvements for his program on reducing the delays caused by information security measures to product development, thereby reducing project teams hesitance in involving security as early in the project as possible.

The third award is for the CISO of the Year and is EC-Councils chance to look out at the industry and acknowledge a distinguished professional making a difference in the security of not just their organization, but the world at large. The finalists for the awards were John Christly, Global CISO at Netsurion and EventTracker; Heath Renfrow, CISO at US Army Medicine; Sumit Dhar, Senior Director & Head, Information Security & Risk Management; Tim Callahan, SVP, Global Chief Security Officer at Aflac; Ashvin Parankusha Narasimha Murthy; Risk and Compliance Leader at IBM; Aneesh Nair, CIO at NDTV Worldwide; and Youseff Elmalty, Global Cybersecurity Architect at IBM.

The winner, Heath Renfrow, CISO of Army Medicine, oversees a vast network of military healthcare entities. He has helped guide his teams to executing the Risk Management Framework and NIST standards throughout not only the enterprise, but also with the medical devices and their vendors. He oversees a complex and vast worldwide cyber security program, which not only includes the security of the enterprise, but the manpower recruitment, training programs, budgetary management, and many other complicated duties.

The final award was the Certified CISO of the Year. The Certified CISO program has been in place since 2011 but has seen an explosion of growth around the world in the last two years. Finalists include Favour Femi-Oyewole, CISO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Vijay Haripal, Director, Solutions Architecture for Optiv; Bob Van Graft, Director IT/CISO for Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Cory Mazzola; CISO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp; Sean Walls, Senior Director of Information Security for Presidio; Mike Santos, Director of Security and Information Governance; Syed Ovais Irfan, ISM South Asia Region SSC, IT Manager, BGV Pakistan Pvt. Ltd; Patric Versteeg, CISO at Novamedia; Craig Goodwinn, Vice President, Chief Security Officer (CSO) at CDK Global; Marco Pacchiardo, Senior Enterprise Security Architect EMEA at Akamai; and Blake Holman, CIO & HIPAA Security Officer at St. Davids Foundation.

The CCISO of the Year winner is Favour Femi-Oyewole, CISO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, a self-driven, motivated, problem-solving CISO with a positive, can-do attitude. Oyewole strives to suggest ideas, innovations, and drive solutions. She worked tirelessly to deliver twenty policies within 6 months of joining the organization and this had grown to about 120 security policies at the time of the nomination.

About EC-Council

EC-Council has been the worlds leading information security certification body since the launch of their flagship program, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), which created the ethical hacking industry in 2002. Since the launch of CEH, EC-Council has added industry-leading programs to their portfolio to cover all aspects of information security including EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO), among others. EC-Council Foundation, the non-profit branch of EC-Council, created Global CyberLympics, the worlds first global hacking competition. EC-Council Foundation also hosts a suite of conferences across the US and around the world including Hacker Halted, Global CISO Forum, TakeDownCon, and CISO Summit. For more information about EC-Council, please see http://www.eccouncil.org.
Jeffrey Lane There are skilled and dedicated professionals every year that find themselves in difficult positions before the Board that knowledge and preparation could have prevented. Past News Releases RSS

Medical credentialing expert, Jeffrey Lane, shared his insights on the topic of medical board licensing and compliance at a recent meeting with students of Mercer Universitys medical school. The event, which is part of the schools first year integration into course study, addressed a number of important issues related to compliance, regulations, reporting, and investigative processes.

Lane believes that knowledge of the Medical Board and its credentialing and investigative process is a key component of being prepared to practice medicine. Safely and effectively treating patients in their care is the first priority for our healthcare providers, but there is also an important credentialing component to the practice of medicine, said Lane. There are skilled and dedicated professionals every year that find themselves in difficult positions before the Board that knowledge and preparation could have prevented. I give a lot of credit to Mercer for its commitment to ensuring its students have all the tools required to be successful in their careers, and I enjoyed my time with their entering class.

Its been a busy year for Lane. In addition to his presentation at Mercer, he spoke to the Emergency Medical Department at the Emory University School of Medicine in a session titled Laws and Rules of the Georgia Medical Board. Lane also published a book in late 2016 titled Fundamentals of Medical Practice Investigation which is available through CRC Press and on Amazon. The book is the first to be published on medical practice investigation and combines the knowledge necessary for a thorough investigation into one source.

About Allen & McCain, P.C.: The law firm of Allen & McCain, P.C. represents healthcare professionals across the Southeastern United States in complex matters involving medical malpractice, licensing, staff privileges, and practice formation and management. The firms experienced team of attorneys and support staff have earned a reputation for exceptional results in the most challenging cases over more than 30 years. The firm is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Cortica's treatment center is setting a new global standard for autism care by achieving superior developmental outcomes for the children and families of those living with autism. It was important for us to create both a visual and content strategy that reflected Corticas philosophy that families deserve effective, collaborative, caring therapies that are accessible and reasonably priced, no matter who they are or where they live, said Sagetree CEO Rich Yumul. Past News Releases RSS

Sagetree, an innovative web strategy, design and development digital marketing agency, has developed branding, messaging and new website for Cortica, a provider of advanced neurological therapies for children with autism. Utilizing an intuitive user experience, the website provides parents searching for an effective and customized treatment program for their autistic children with an answer.

Sagetree helped us create a beautiful website that exemplifies how we work together with families and their children to clarify the complex, celebrate extraordinary efforts, and witness moments of brilliance as they grow new skills and abilities, said Cortica Founder, Suzanne Goh, MD, Neurologist.

Cortica, previously Pediatric Neurology Therapeutics, has carefully built its clinical and operational model to a level that produces a great experience for families while it achieves the positive results for the kids they serve. The companys long-term goal is to open centers first across the U.S. then globally. The executive team knew that to grow the company they needed a new website.

With the selection of Sagetree for the website development, Cortica experienced Sagetrees process  one of discovery of a clients purpose through a series of workshops with leadership. Corticas website needed to generate leads as well as include both educational and getting started components. A career section would address the need to identify physicians, therapists, social workers, clinical staff, and behavioral interventionists for new centers.

To support our plans for growth, it became apparent we needed a new name, fresh branding and an intuitive, engaging website that was going to convey the substance of what we do, as well as have the emotional impact, said Corticas President Walt Cooper, Ph.D. We interviewed a half-dozen local and national companies. None initiated a face-to-face meeting as the Sagetree team did -- along with follow-up demonstrations of Sagetrees personal commitment to the work they do for their clients.

It was important for us to create both a visual and content strategy that reflected Corticas philosophy that families deserve effective, collaborative, caring therapies that are accessible and reasonably priced, no matter who they are or where they live, said Sagetree CEO Rich Yumul. We used videography and photography of real patients so that parents could visualize how the treatment includes not only the child but the family as well. Its a very holistic approach.

Sagetree designed the companys new logo with interconnected circles to feature the Cortica Care Model which is based on a six-point understanding of a child's neurobiology and developmental profile. The multi-modal approach to treatment includes six neurological therapies for autism: neurophysiology, biochemistry, sensorimotor integration, communication, cognition / behavior, family and home.

The website design and content beautifully conveys the companys service and care through the stories and images of real Cortica families. An intuitive user experience makes the onboarding process easy to start online.

The treatment center is setting a new global standard for autism care by achieving superior developmental outcomes for the children and families of those living with autism, or a potential diagnosis of autism. Cortica is opening another center in Irvine, California in October 2017.

For more information about the website developer, Sagetree, visit https://www.sagetree.com/.

For more information about Cortica, and to view the new website, visit https://www.corticacare.com/.

About Sagetree Solutions

Sagetree is an innovative web strategy, design, and development provider that solves complex problems with smarter websites. By leveraging more than a decade of experience working with clients such as ViaSat, Point Loma Nazarene University, and Comic-Con International, Sagetrees goal is to solve complex problems through simple and elegant online solutions. In addition to being a leader in Drupal innovation and education, since 2005 Sagetree has helped more than 250 organizations create long-lasting, audience-first web experiences. For information visit https://www.sagetree.com.

About Cortica

Based in San Diego, California, Cortica is a leading provider of comprehensive autism treatment in Southern California. Cortica aims to bring to families the most effective therapies for the treatment of autism. Its six-point Cortica Care Model is based on the scientific research and clinical practice of founder, Dr. Suzanne Goh. Every child at Cortica has an individualized program to accelerate learning and development created by a multidisciplinary team. An essential ingredient for success is this collaboration among physicians, therapists, parents, children, and extended communities. For more information, visit https://www.corticacare.com/.
Shady Grove Fertility Baltimore Family Day 2017 Family Day is such a special day for us. We are there to celebrate the perseverance and strength we see in our patients. They inspire us just as much as they say we inspire them.

Shady Grove Fertility, the nations largest fertility center, hosted a Baltimore, MD-Metro Family Day earlier this month. Baltimore-Metro-based SGF physicians, Drs. Stephanie Beall, Gilbert Mottla, Joseph Osheroff, Lorna Timmreck, and Ricardo Yazigi, along with many Shady Grove Fertility staff hosted nearly 100 families for a day of fun and celebration at the Maryland Zoo.

Family Day is such a special day for us. We are there to celebrate the perseverance and strength we see in our patients. They inspire us just as much as they say we inspire them, shared Dr. Timmreck, of SGFs Columbia, MD office.

Families lined up with each of the Shady Grove Fertility physicians to have their pictures taken and express their mutual appreciation and gratitude.

I couldnt wait to show off my baby to my doctor and team who helped make it happen. They never stopped encouraging me and supporting me. They never let me lose hope. Theyve given our lives new purpose and immeasurable joy, remarked a former SGF patient who attended the event.

Shady Grove Fertility is encouraging its community in the Baltimore, MD-Metro region and all of its 28 locations throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, and Washington, D.C., to never underestimate the power of hope, belief, and community.

While this event has passed, SGF would still like to spread the love and inspiration by asking patients to share their story and post photos captured from Family Day to their favorite social community using the hashtag #SGFstrong.

Shady Grove Fertility is hosting various Family Day events throughout the mid-Atlantic this Fall.

To request a consult with a SGF physicians, call 888-761-1967 or submit this brief form.

About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)

SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with 50,000 babies born and counting. With 41 physicians and 28 locations throughout MD, PA, VA, GA, and D.C., we offer patients individualized care, innovative financial options, and pregnancy rates among the highest of all national centers. More physicians refer their patients to SGF than any other center. Call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com.
Attorney Aaron Woods We are honored to partner with Soles4Souls and help provide assistance to people who were affected by these devastating hurricanes. Past News Releases RSS Attorney Aaron Woods Educates...

Woods Law KC, LLC is hosting a shoe donation drive for Soles4Souls. Soles4Souls is a nonprofit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. Currently, Soles4Souls is collecting new shoes to benefit victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. New shoes can be dropped off at Woods Law KC, 218 NE Tudor Road, Lees Summit, MO 64086.

We are honored to partner with Soles4Souls and help provide assistance to people who were affected by these devastating hurricanes, said Aaron Woods, founder of Woods Law KC, LLC.

Soles4Souls was founded as a disaster-relief organization after philanthropists and shoe executives provided footwear to those most impacted by The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It continues to act as a second-wave responder providing footwear and clothing to those in need during times of disaster. To date, Soles4Souls has collected and distributed more than 30 million pairs of shoes to those in need in 127 countries around the world and all 50 states in the U.S.

We strive to be extremely intentional when responding to disasters, said Soles4Souls President and CEO, Buddy Teaster. We are committed to working with invested partners on the ground and providing meaningful assistance through shoes, clothing and other necessities people need at the most appropriate time.

For more information about getting involved with Soles4Souls or to become an official drop-off location, visit https://soles4souls.org/get-involved/. For those who may not be able to drop off new shoes, but still want to help, Woods Law KC encourages people to make a monetary donation to help with transporting these much-needed items at https://fund.soles4souls.org/campaign/help-hurricane-victims/c141742.

About Soles4Souls

Soles4Souls disrupts the cycle of poverty by creating sustainable jobs and providing relief through the distribution of shoes and clothing around the world. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the organization repurposes product to supply its micro-enterprise, disaster relief and direct assistance programs. Since 2006, it has distributed more than 30 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries. A nonprofit social enterprise, Soles4Souls earns more than half of its income and commits 100% of donations to programs.

About Aaron Woods, Woods Law KC, LLC

Aaron Woods devotes his practice to representing injured people and their families, and speaks up for real people against some of the most powerful companies and interests in America. Woods Law KC focuses exclusively on personal injury. For more information, please call (816) 398-7877, or visit http://www.woodslawkc.com.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
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Authorities said they believe 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince was behind a shooting at an office park in Edgewood, Maryland, shortly before 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The gunman, wielding a handgun, shot five employees of Advanced Granite Solutions, a kitchen countertop company, killing three people and critically wounding two.

Prince fled the scene in a black SUV, initiating a multi-state manhunt by state police, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler called Prince "armed and dangerous."

Hours later, authorities revealed that Prince was also believed to be responsible for a shooting 55 miles away at a used car dealership in Wilmington, Delaware. Details of that shooting are unclear, although no injuries have been reported. The shooting occurred around 10:45 a.m.

The identities of the victims in either shooting have not been released.

Advanced Granite Solutions owner Barak Caba told the Associated Press that Prince worked at the company as a machine operator.
WASHINGTON  Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee left their meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday feeling unheard and ignored as the effort to reform the tax code moves forward.

"I have had people on both sides  and I promised not to mention the name of the people on the other sides, or names  but a lot of people are liking this very much, and I think we're going to have tremendous support," Trump said to reporters after the meeting concluded. But the Democrats who returned to Capitol Hill were less optimistic.

Trump hosted mostly Republicans, but also included Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden, of Oregon, as well as four Democrats up for reelection next year in swing states the president won in 2016: Missouri's Claire McCaskill, Pennsylvania's Bob Casey, Michigan's Debbie Stabenow, and Ohio's Sherrod Brown.

"Two big issues that I raised  or ones I raised over and over again  were it's a giveaway to the one percent, not middle class," Casey told Business Insider of the tax reform plan. "They don't get a kind of tax cut they should get and secondly, the cut in the budget resolution, Medicare and Medicaid, a trillion and a half, is just totally unacceptable. So I didn't get good answers to those questions."

Stabenow echoed that sentiment.

"During today's meeting, I expressed concerns that the Republican tax proposal would give 80% of the benefits to the top one percent, take away important tax incentives for Michigan manufacturers and small businesses, and add to our nation's deficit," Stabenow said in a statement. "I told President Trump that instead of spending over $1.5 trillion on tax cuts for the wealthy, we should work together to stop tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give middle-class families a bigger tax cut."

Most frustrated with the meeting and overall process by which Republicans are planning to pass a tax reform bill was McCaskill, who told reporters there are a number of nonstarters in the GOP's framework.

McCaskill's frustrations stem from what Democrats believe is a distortion of the regular order, bypassing the 60-vote threshold through the budgetary process known as reconciliation. This process would allow the GOP to pass tax reform without any Democratic support.

"My point I made to the president is it's very clear: 'Mr. President, you've got a deserved reputation for being a great negotiator, would you ever negotiate when you had no idea what the other side is proposing?'" she said. "That's not a negotiation. That's not how we get to the middle."

"I'm somebody who's not ashamed to say I'm a moderate," McCaskill added. "I like to bring people in from the ends and try to get something done. So I am perfectly willing to negotiate. I can't do it in a vacuum and it feels like the reconciliation is a gun to our head to say 'well you gotta negotiate in a vacuum.' It doesn't work that way."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who was not present at the meeting but regularly communicates with Trump, suggested that the forthcoming GOP tax bill will likely face the same fate of the several failed attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The US Army is now facing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as growing demand for personnel in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The service has dealt with more missions and a higher operational tempo for some time, and it also is looking for ways to increase training and prepare for future conflicts. Ongoing train, advise, and assist operations have also added to the demand for US troops.

As a result, Army leadership is looking to expand the branch's ranks with personnel who can fill all these roles.

While there has been a troop drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, the overall size of the Army has shrunk as well. "So the ratio of operations to the size of the force did not radically change," Milley said, adding that the Army is responsible for about half of the Defense Department's steady state, predicted, and year-to-year demands worldwide.

The Army ended fiscal year 2017 in September with 476,000 active-duty soldiers, adding 16,000 troops through concerted recruitment and retention efforts. That total is down from a wartime high of 570,000, however, and Milley has said the force needs 540,000 to 550,000 active-duty soldiers.

I think we need to be bigger than we are today

Continued demand for more soldiers likely means the Army will maintain some flexibility in its recruiting standards, drawing more from the pool of less qualified troops and offering waivers for previously disqualifying things like marijuana use, according to a USA Today report.

Relaxed recruiting standards became common in the mid-2000s, during periods of intense operations and longer deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The number of new troops the Army could draw from Category Four recruits  Army prospects who scored in the lower one-third of standard military exams  was expanded to 4% and sometimes exceeded that. Previously it had been limited to 2%, but the Army maintains the 4% threshold today.

Recruits with lower qualifications have presented dangers both during their service and afterward. One soldier who got waivers for previous criminal behavior was involved in the rape of an Iraqi girl in 2006.

High demand for recruits during the war on terror allowed gang members and criminals to join. Some recruiters issued "moral waivers" to meet quotas, and some right-wing extremists were able to join as long as their uniforms covered their tattoos.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow told USA Today that he thought the Army would be able to reach its new recruitment goal without compromising on quality.

During fiscal year 2017, the Army recruited almost 69,000 soldiers for active duty, 1.9% of whom belonged to Category Four, according to USA Today, up from .6% in 2016.

The Army has brought in more Category Four recruits during periods where recruiting is typically more difficult in order to fill training requirements, and that pool of prospects has gained appeal as an improving economy gives potential recruits more civilian job opportunities.

Beth Asch, a military-recruiting expert at Rand Corp, told USA Today that the Army could avoid the problems it saw in the mid-2000s as long as it continues to accept a small number of less qualified personnel.

Being more flexible with recruiting standards and offering waivers for things like drug use  so long as recruits promised not to use drugs again  can help the Army maintain troop levels while saving on bonuses, Asch said.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had proof that a Democratic congresswoman "fabricated" her account of a call that he'd made on Tuesday to the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.

But that soldier's mother said the congresswoman was correct in her characterization of what Trump said, telling The Washington Post that Trump disrespected her son and daughter-in-law.

Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida told the Miami ABC affiliate WPLG on Tuesday that Trump had told Myeshia Johnson  the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the four troops killed during a mission in Niger  that "He knew what he signed up for, but when it happens, it hurts anyway."

"So insensitive," Wilson told WPLG. "He should not have said that  he shouldn't have said it."

Wilson said she was riding in the car with Myeshia Johnson, who was on her way to the airport to receive her husband's body, when Trump called.

Wilson then told MSNBC on Wednesday morning that the soldier's widow was "crying the whole time" and that when she hung up the phone, she looked at Wilson and said, "He didn't even remember his name."

Wilson added that Trump "was almost like joking."

"He said, 'Well, I guess you knew'  something to the effect that 'he knew what he was getting into when he signed up, but I guess it hurts anyway,'" Wilson said. "You know, just matter-of-factly, that this is what happens, anyone who is signing up for military duty is signing up to die. That's the way we interpreted it. It was horrible. It was insensitive. It was absolutely crazy, unnecessary. I was livid."

Trump responded to Wilson's comments on Wednesday morning, claiming she "totally fabricated" her account of his remarks.

"Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!" Trump tweeted, though he did not elaborate.

Shortly after that tweet, the soldier's mother told The Post via Facebook Messenger that Wilson's account of the conversation was accurate.

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Cowanda Jones-Johnson told The Post. Though she declined to elaborate, she said "yes" when asked whether Wilson's account was true, The Post reported.

A White House official told The Post in a statement that Trump's "conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private."

Speaking to the press during a White House meeting with the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, Trump again pushed back on Wilson's account of what he said.

"Didn't say it at all," he said. "She knows it. And she now is not saying it. I did not say what she said and I'd like her to make the statement again because I did not say what she said. I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said, and most people aren't too surprised to hear that."

When a reporter asked Trump at a press conference on Monday why he had not publicly mentioned the soldiers killed in the Niger ambush, Trump asserted that President Barack Obama did not call the families of slain service members  a false claim that was met with scorn from former Obama administration aides. Trump backed off the claim slightly when pressed further by reporters.
The search firm is under global political pressure to crack down on extremist YouTube videos, and said its machine learning algorithms are getting better at spotting illegal videos automatically.

Unfortunately, that means mistakes and accidental censorship.

The company wrote in a blog post:

"Inevitably, both humans and machines make mistakes, and as we have increased the volume of videos for review by our teams, we have made some errors. We know we can get better and we are committed to making sure our teams are taking action on the right content. We are working on ways to educate those who share video meant to document or expose violence on how to add necessary context."

Google said more than 83% of deleted videos were removed before any human flags in the last month, up 8 percentage points. Previously, YouTube has heavily relied on its community to flag up content that violates its policies. Its moderators have trained YouTube's machine learning algorithms by reviewing more than 1 million videos.

But the company hasn't provided any guarantees accidental deletions won't happen again, and its statement puts the onus on video creators to add "necessary context." That might include voiceover narration, as well as additional context in video titles and captions.
There were many tears in the courtroom when the man was finally freed.

According to a human right group, Injustice Watch, the first word that Lamonte McIntyre uttered when he came out of prison was, Its nice outside.

The now 41-year-old was convicted at the age of 17 for murdering a man at an Illinois McDonald upon the testimony of witnesses who later retracted their testimonies.

Prosecutors in the case presented no physical evidence or motive to tie him to the 1994 murders.

McIntyres day of freedom came when the new prosecutor in the case revealed in a news release that new information cast doubt on witness identification of McIntyre as the killer, and that a jury might have not convicted him.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree said In light of information learned by my office since I began in January, my office is requesting the Court find that manifest injustice exists.

READ ALSO: Lifeless baby found in Subi river with a hospital drip syringe fastened to its arm

According to the Washington post, the original investigators of the daytime shooting never issued search warrants nor discovered a link between McIntyre and the victims.

He was arrested after less than 20 minutes of interviews.

The investigation was hasty and superficial, said the Midwest Innocence Project, which helped free McIntyre.

According to AFP, McIntyre has always maintained his innocence.

His mother Rose McIntyre, who was present when he was arrested decades ago, thanked everybody who never gave up on my son.
The app for the system was developed by VOKACOM. Asaase GPS will be used to generate street address and postcode in Ghana.

Here are steps on how to use AsaaseGPS

 You can use AsaaseGPS on your computer, phone, or tablet to search, explore, and find your way around Ghana.

 On your computer, open www.asaasegps.com, on your phone or tablet, use the AsaaseGPS app.

 Visit your App store to download the AsaaseGPS App for free from Google Play Store and Apple store for Android and IOS users respectively.

 Once the app is installed, follow the instructions to register, verify and confirm your login details.

 No payment is required to download or use the AsaaseGPS app.

How to verify your address

 Click on the menu button

 A menu will appear with a Verify Your Address button

 Click on the button to verify your address

 A pop-up message will ask that you close or continue with the request.

How to generate your address

 Ensure your phones location button is turned on.

 Open the AsaaseGPS app and click on the button

 Your unique address will appear next to the Digital address, for example, Digital Address: GA-543-0125

 The first two alphabets represent the region and district. The 3-digit that comes after the first two alphabets is the postcode The last 4 digits represent the unique property address.

How to contact emergency services using the app

 Click on the emergency button

 Select the service you require i.e. Police Service, Fire Fighter Services or Ambulance Service.
The president was speaking at the launch of the system in Accra Wednesday.

With this new system, every property in Ghana will have an address and can be accounted for, Akufo-Addo said.

He added that the era where landmarks or food joints were used to give directions is over.

With this new system, the location of the blue kiosk, the waakye seller or the koko seller will have an address. The Property Addressing System also means that the koko seller can now open a bank account.

The Digital Address System also means that the koko seller will be able to meet the basic requirement to access loan facilities from a bank. Today marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. We are launching a solution to our problems because its a trustworthy database of addresses, he added.

READ ALSO: BoG warns against doing business with unlicensed Oboanipa Ventures

In his address, President Akufo-Addo encouraged the utility providers especially the Ghana Water Company Limited to take full advantage of the system since it will help them easily locate customers and boost revenue collection.

The location-based system will provide an effective means of addressing every location to facilitate the implementation of key government policies. The app will generate a unique code for every property or location in Ghana, using the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Vokacom, a Ghanaian Information Technology firm, designed the system at a cost of $2.5 million.
She replaces COP Bright Oduro, who has been asked to proceed on his terminal leave, pending his retirement in January next year.

ACP Addo-Danquahs appointment takes immediate effect.

It will be recalled that ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah was implicated in the infamous corruption saga leveled against two deputy chiefs of staff.

The Deputy CID boss had claimed that the tape recording making rounds in the media which suggests that she covered up for the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff has been doctored.
The 2, were part of about 40 children enrolled in the new community school called Kingdom International School. The school which is located in the Alorgui suburb of Dzodze in the Volta Region was established by the Jesus Kingdom Ministry.

According to Accra-based Citi FM, the classrooms are made of wood and fenced with mats made from palm branches, and corrugated iron roofing.

The children were in the classroom when the rains started. They were then relocated to the church building nearby.

The other pupils who were injured were rushed to the St Anthonys Hospital in Dzodze.

The District Manager of National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Mr Atikese who has been leading investigations into the collapsed building said that the church building has structural defects.

Kingdom International School started 3 months ago. The school has been operating without license or approval from the District Education Service.

The Public Relations Officer of the Education Service, Benjamin Dunyo, expressed his disappointment at the situation.

He added that the District Education Service has started closing down schools operating without permission from the appropriate office. However, he said they had not come across the said school.
The Downtown Business Improvement District held its monthly meeting Tuesday at Grace Church.

One topic of discussion, which was brought forward by committee member Glen Ellis, was his nomination of Fremont to Deluxe Corporations Small Business RevolutionMain Street series.

The Small Business RevolutionMain Street program is a series of videos that shine the light on small businesses in select towns across the country. Along with featuring the winning town in a series of online videos, the program also provides $500,000 to selected businesses within those towns.

They are in their third season, and every season they choose a city to come to, Ellis said at the meeting. I nominated Fremont by just filling out a paragraph online.

They came back and said that our application looked interesting, and sent another form to fill out for their vetting process.

Following the nomination, and subsequent vetting process, Deluxe chooses five finalists and then opens voting to the public to determine what the winning town will be. The first two seasons of the series featured Wabash, Indiana, and Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania.

Once they select a city, they then come in and select 8 to 10 businesses within the city to work with and just rally the city around them, and drop $500,000 into those companies, Ellis said.

The video series features Robert Herjavec from ABCs Shark Tank and each season features 9 episodes of the town and selected businesses.

They go from anything from a bar and grill, to a clothing store, to an audio visual store, Ellis said. If nothing else they are just really good small business videos of having Robert Herjavec come in and talk to each one of the businesses.

Ellis nominated Fremont to be featured on the series, and after getting word back from Small Business RevolutionMain Street, brought the issue to the BID in an effort to put a team together to assist in completing the more thorough vetting process application.

Once we got through the first level I got these questions sent to me and wanted to put together a team of people that we are going to use to put together the complete application, Ellis said.

With more than 10,000 applications to the most recent Small Business RevolutionMain Street series, there is a lot of competition for the one coveted spot, but Ellis said it is still worth a shot.

It is a long shot, but youve got to take it, he said. Even if we make it into the top five, that would actually would be extremely beneficial because they come in and survey and interview the towns as a part of that process.

Members of the BID committee will now work to fill out specific questions on the second-round application and wait to hear back from Small Business Revolution.

It is definitely worth the effort, because the ultimate payback to the city would be very significant, Bob Missel said.

For more information about the Small Business RevolutionMain Street series, or to watch episodes of the previous two seasons visit https://www.deluxe.com/small-business-revolution.
Former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, proposed the registration of all alleged witches in the Northern Region as beneficiaries of the LEAP programme as it is meant to cater for the poor.

However, Executive Director of Women and Child Rights advocacy Non-Governmental Organization called Songtaba, Hajia Lamnatu Adam, revealed that not all inmates of the five alleged witches camps in the Northern Region are benefiting from the LEAP programme.

At a workshop in Tamale christened Working with alleged witches, the Nanumba South District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Abdul Rashid Ziblim, disclosed that majority of the beneficiaries particularly those at the Kukuo alleged witches camp are yet to receive their grants.

According to Citi FM, Mr. Abdul Rashid Ziblim described the situation as worrisome due to the fact that the LEAP programme remains a major source of livelihood for the beneficiaries.

He therefore appealed to the current Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba, to address the problem.

If you reintegrate someone wherever he or she finds himself or herself, he or she can still have access to the funds because it on Ezwich.

Reintegrating someone and even denying him or her this cash is even bringing more pressure and creating more vulnerability in the system, Mr. Abdul Rashid Ziblim said.

Meanwhile, Executive Director of Songtaba, Hajia Lamnatu Adam said the workshop had sought to mobilize and build the confidence of the alleged witches and to engage stakeholders on their plight so as to pave way for their reintegration and closure of the camps.

The aim is to empower these women to live lives of dignity to enjoy their basic rights and participation in decision making in a violence free environment.

READ ALSO: Lifeless baby found in Subi river with a hospital drip syringe fastened to its arm

The workshop is to increase awareness of the women on their rights, advocate for district assemblies budget to be responsive to the social needs of the camps. Also, it is to build the confidence of the regional network of the alleged witches to adequately engage government and traditional authority.

She however stated that there is still a long way to go in attempts to disband and reintegrate the alleged witches.

There is still a mixed feeling about the reintegration of alleged witches. Belief in superstition is high, hence the inability of women to report abuse and violation of their rights to the appropriate authorities.
According to him, he has a network of informants which he uses to arrest criminals.

Bright Oduro has been relieved of his position.

READ ALSO: Sacked CID boss accuses Kennedy Agyapong for removal

In his stead, his Deputy Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah has been appointed to take charge of the Department with immediate effect.

Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, has been waging a relentless campaign against COP Oduro for his alleged connection with land guards.

Mr Agyapong on Accra-based Oman FM lambasted the police chief over a case involving some policemen at Miotso, near Tema.

Speaking on the development, Bright Oduro said he was not given a fair hearing into the allegations leveled against him.

He said "My accusers dont know me, they havent met me before and they dont really know how I am. I will be the last person to shield a wrong doer and so why will someone say I am shielding criminals? What do I stand to gain from shielding criminals? For what? Does it make sense?

"I have a whole network of informants and I believe I am one of the officers in Ghana who has so many informants and so I am able to direct my officers to the specific hideouts of these criminals to be arrested."

In an interview on Accra FM, the suspended police chief said "Where do I get the information from? I get the information from the same criminals because the most reliable information comes from the one we normally refer to as criminal informant.

"If my contact with criminal informants is what is prompting assertions that I am shielding criminals, then that person making the allegation doesnt know what he is talking about.

"If you are a CID detective you should have informants. Cultivating informant and using informant is one of the key issues every investigator must have, otherwise, you will be there as an investigator and wont be able to do anything."
He said he's qualified for the position to lead the NDC when given the opportunity in elections 2020.

READ MORE: Here are the politicians accused of corrupt practices in Ghana

He mentioned how he rose through the ranks from the grassroots through to his current position as the NDC scribe.

"I am ready to lead the NDC in the 2020 general elections. Who will not be happy when called upon to be the President of Ghana?," he said.

Speaking toKSM on the 'Bo Me Nkomo' show, Asiedu Nketia recalled some of his achievements since entering into politics in 1978.

He said, he began as a Towns Development Committee Secretary doubling as a teacher and later joined the PNDC revolution from 1978-1979 and became a Bank Manager and got the chance to be elected as an assembly member when the district assembly elections started.

Mr. Nketia explained that, former President John Mahama, Alban Bagbin and former Speaker of Parliament Doe Adjaho approached him to lead the party as the General-Secretary.

"My colleagues President Mahama, Alban Bagbin and Doe Adjaho approached to convince me to take up the General Secretary role of the party in order for the party to win the next election. Therefore I had to abandon all my plans and work for the party till now. This is my twelve year as the General-Secretary of the NDC," he added.

Watch video below:
The controversial president has appointed former Finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa as the head of the Threat Detection, and Mitigation ministry.

The new portfolio has got critics talking as some Zimbabweans have joked about the development, claiming Chinamasas appointment makes him the minister of WhatsApp and Facebook.

However, Chinamasas first job, apparently is to get rid of, or regulate the use of Whatsapp and Facebook. Many analysts have raised serious concerns over freedom of expression, access to information and a clampdown on social media messaging.

READ ALSO: MP in trouble for teaching constituents how to give a woman good sex

Recently, the government of Zimbabwe issued new rules on using WhatsApp, in the country.
According to him, he has not appointed anyone as his personnel secretary to take decisions for him.

"I have a month and I can speak for myself and will not wait for anybody to do that on my behalf," he said.

Deputy General Secretary of the party, Koku Anyidoho, has revealed that Asiedu Nketia will not stand for re-election when the NDC goes to congress to elect new national executives.

Anyidoho, speaking on Accra-based Neat FM noted that he has the blessings of General Mosquito to run for General Secretary.

"Asiedu Nketia has given me his endorsement and some bigwigs and I see that as a beauty of the democracy because, if he has decided not to contest, why should I refuse. I will gladly step in his shoes and work for the party," he revealed.

He added: "Asiedu Nketia has given me the green light and I promise to continue the great work he is doing for the party because, I have what it takes to help wrestle power from the NPP."

READ ALSO: Koku Anyidoho to contest General Secretary position

But Asiedu Nketia speaking to the media, he said he is still in the race for the General Secretary slot of the NDC and have not directed anybody to tell the world he's not seeking re-election.

He said "Im still in the race for the General Secretary slot of the NDC and I have not directed anybody to tell the world Im not seeking re-election as the Chief Executive Officer of the party. I have not given my blessings to anyone vying for the position besides it is too early for anyone to start thinking about internal contest when there is work ahead."

"the party is now going for the branch elections before constituency elections then followed by regional elections before the National elections so what is the haste to succeed me?," he queried.
According to him, he was not given a fair hearing into allegations leveled against him by Kennedy Agyapongof protecting and shielding criminals and land guards at Miotso in Greater Accra.

But the sacked CID boss in an interview on Accra-based Oman FM said he was indeed due for retirement on January 3, 2018 but discounted the police administrations explanation for the new development.

He said he should have normally started his terminal leave on August 30, 2017 but the convention in the Police Service is that, officers stay on till their last day, and that is exactly what had initially been planned for him, until he was surprisingly asked to proceed on leave last Friday without any explanation.

He insisted a number of serving officers have recently similarly stayed on and worked till their final day and so when he expressed his desire to stay on and work beyond August 30, 2017 and no officer was appointed to replace him, it was an acknowledgement he was going to stay till January 3, 3018.

"All other officers who retired recently used their leave to work, why is Bright Oduro alone to proceed on leave and hand over?..."Whoever has taken that decision has not given me a hearing apart from in June thereabout, when I spoke to the deputy Minister of Interior about it, otherwise no one has spoken to me on it," he said.

He added "his removal was premised on "complete misinformation and peddling of falsehood against him."
Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to maintain Britain's contributions for two years after Brexit in March 2019 to complete the current EU budget period, totalling around 20 billion euros ($24 billion).

But Tajani told the BBC's Newsnight programme late Tuesday: "Twenty billion is peanuts. The problem is 50 or 60 (billion euros), this is the real situation."

Disagreement over the extent of Britain's financial liabilities is a major sticking point in the Brexit negotiations, which were due to move on to the next stage this month but are still deadlocked.

"The UK government is not realistic. We need to put the money on the table, we need our money back as Mrs Thatcher said 30 or 40 years ago," Tajani said.

He was referring to a demand in 1980 by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher to adjust Britain's contributions to Europe.

"Then it is possible to start the negotiations for the new deal," Tajani said.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit in which they will decide what progress has been made in the first stage of negotiations on Britain's withdrawal.

London had hoped they would approve the start of talks on the future trading relationship between the two sides, but this is likely to be postponed until a December summit.

'A difficult negotiation'

Brexit minister David Davis on Tuesday accused the EU of holding up divorce negotiations to get Britain to pay more money.

"They're using time pressure to see if they can get more money out of us -- it's obvious to anybody," he told MPs -- prompting a swift denial from Brussels.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the problem was that EU leaders were still unsure about what Britain wants, after weeks of public disagreements in May's cabinet.

"It is quite a difficult negotiation when people who want to leave the European Union in Britain don't really seem to agree among themselves what that actually means," he told the BBC's Spotlight programme late Tuesday.

He added: "It's still not clear what the UK actually wants in terms of a new relationship.

"Because on the one hand it seems that the UK wants to have a close trading relationship with Europe just like it has now, but it also seems to want something different.

"And it is very hard for us as European prime ministers to understand exactly what the UK wants the new relationship to look like."
"We're extraordinarily concerned by what is happening with Rohingya in Burma," Tillerson said.

"I've been in contact with Aung San Suu Kyi the leader of the civilian part of the government, as you know this is a power sharing government.

"We really hold the military leadership accountable for what's happening," he said, warning the world won't stand and "be witness to the atrocities that have been reported."

In the last seven weeks, more than half a million Rohingya have fled Rakhine and crossed into Bangladesh.

Their stories have shocked the world globe, with accounts of Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist mobs murdering and raping civilians before torching their villages to the ground.

The western region descended into chaos when Rohingya militants attacked Myanmar police posts on August 25, triggering the brutal military crackdown.

Tillerson said that Washington understands that Myanmar is facing "serious rebel terrorist elements" in Rakhine, but warned the military must be disciplined and "restrained."

And he said Myanmar must grant fuller access to aid agencies to aid civilians and to allow the world "a fuller picture of what is going on."

"Someone is going to be held to account for that and it's up to the military leadership of Burma to decide what role do they want to play in the future of Burma," he said.
Stockton, California is expected to become the first US city to launch an experiment in universal basic income, a system of wealth distribution in which people receive a set amount of money just for being alive.

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs said that by August 2018 he hopes to enroll an undisclosed number of Stockton's 315,000 residents in the program. Tubbs said the experiment  which is set would ideally last for a period of three years.

A radical system gets government approval

Stockton is a unique candidate for basic income, which has gained traction over the past few years as a solution to poverty and a safeguard against the looming threat of robot automation.

Tubbs is 27 years old. When he was elected last year at 26, he became the youngest US mayor in a city of more than 100,000 people. The city he oversees  technically an exurb, about 50 miles east of Berkeley  became the first in the country to file bankruptcy, in 2012. It is still very much in recovery.

Tubbs credits his rough-and-tumble upbringing as part of the inspiration for pursuing a creative, if radical, solution to poverty. "When things came up unexpectedly it would cause a lot of hardships," Tubbs told Vox.

That background was mixed with Tubbs' admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who himself had proposed a guaranteed minimum income for all citizens in 1967. King advocated for basic income "so we can bring to the attention of our nation this need ... which I believe will go a long, long way toward dealing with the Negroes' economic problem and the economic problem many other poor people confront in our nation."
Stock of Qudian, an online small credit provider, popped more than 43% after the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning, opening at $24 a share.

The China-based company, which was founded by a 34-year-old named Min Luo, targets China's younger and underserved markets with small loans via its mobile app.

The stock jumped to a high of $34 a share Wednesday morning before falling back to $30 at the time of publication.

Qudian, according to its prospectus, offered 37.5 million shares. Reuters reported that the company raised $900 million from the initial public offering, making it one of the largest IPOs of a Chinese company in the US this year.

The company counts Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce and technology company also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, as a backer.

Carl Yeung, the company's chief financial officer, told Business Insider the firm was going after a market the country's traditional banks couldn't serve. Yeung said reaching the hundreds of millions of Chinese people with modest incomes is too expensive for larger financial-services players. Qudian is using nascent technology to capture that market.

"We are looking to use behavioral data, more and more data, to discover business opportunities," Yeung said. "We are tracking the cutting-edge data with artificial intelligence to see who has a high willingness to repay."

With such technology, the company is able to offer folks higher credit limits and earn a larger margin.

Qudian, according to a press release, "facilitated $5.6 billion in transactions" to 7 million customers in the first half of the year.

Chinese fintech is red-hot

Qudian's strong IPO illustrates the red-hot market for fintech in China. Some of the world's largest privately owned financial technology companies are based in China, including Lu.com, a Shanghai-based personal finance company, valued at $18.5 billion, according to CB Insights.

A recent study by the consultancy EY found that one in three digital consumers used two or more fintech products. This level, according to EY, indicates that fintech has crossed the threshold of early mass adoption. The firm said adoption was being driven by emerging markets, such as China.

"FinTech adoption by digitally active consumers in Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa average 46%, considerably higher than the global average," the report said. "From an individual market perspective, China and India have the highest adoption rates at 69% and 52% respectively."

The firm said emerging markets were more open to fintech disruption because of the large populations of people who are underserved by existing financial infrastructures. Here's EY:

"Our five emerging markets are characterized by having growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class, but without traditional financial infrastructure to support demand. Relatively high proportions of the populations are underserved by existing financial services providers, while falling prices for smartphones and broadband services have increased the digitally active population that FinTechs target."
On Sunday, a group of more than 171 area residents met at Sid Dillon Auto Group and headed out for a cruise.

Onlookers pulled over on the highway to catch a glimpse of the pack of 97 new and classic cars as they made their way to Omaha as part of the annual Sid Dillon Fremont Fun Cruise.

The event was started by Sid Dillon Sales Manager John Kennedy as a way to thank the people who helped him put on the John C. Fremont Days Cruisers on Main Car Show, and has grown every year since.

It started off as a thing for me and the guys that helped me out with the car show to get together and have a good time, Kennedy said. Then afterwards, I kept getting calls from people asking why they werent invited to come on the cruise and it just kept getting bigger every year.

Each year, attendees meet at Sid Dillon before heading out on the cruise which includes stops at various car collections and automobile-related businesses.

I try to find some place we can go as a group, like touring a car collection, Kennedy said. Then we all stop and have lunch together before cruising on home to Fremont.

At this years Fremont Fun Cruise, the group made stops at Gas Pump Heaven in Omaha, as well as a stop to tour Peter Finks, from Certified Transmission, private car collection also in Omaha.

Gas Pump Heaven is one of the largest manufacturers of reproduction gas pumps and parts in the region.

They do really amazing work making reproduction gas pumps and signs, Kennedy said. They make everything for a man cave.

Following the visit to Gas Pump Heaven and the private car collection, the group made their way to Council Bluffs, Iowa, for lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube.

They let us park our cars in kind of a car show formation and we do a bunch of different door prizes, its just a neat experience, Kennedy said.

This years cruise featured a wide variety of cars and although there were plenty of classic cars in the bunch, people could also participate in the cruise in any vehicle they wanted.

They dont have to be old cars, some people bring their everyday drivers, but we had a lot of Camaros, Corvettes, 37 Chevys, 57 Chevys and a lot of project cars that some of the people have been working on for years, he said.

One of those project cars is a 1972 El Camino that Bryan Fagan, and his son Max, have been rebuilding together as a father and son project. The pair swapped the original engine out for a Chevrolet Big-Block engine, and got the car running just days before the cruise.

It was a big thing to have that all finished up before the cruise, that was the goal and we made it, Bryan Fagan said.

The Fremont Fun Cruise also features a people choice winner, which went to a blue 1956 Chevrolet COE Snubnose pick-up truck.

It was just such a unique truck that you dont see very often, really funky looking Kennedy said.

For Kennedy, the Fremont Fun Cruise has become a great way to enjoy a day with other area car lovers and enjoy the open road.

It is just neat to see so many people get out on a Sunday morning and it just gets a little bigger every year, he said. We just have a heck of a time.
The Beijing Daxing Airport is being built 42 miles south of the Chinese capital. It's a looming steel infrastructure meant to relieve pressure on Beijing's existing airport, which opened a new terminal in 2008 ahead of the Olympic games, according to Reuters.

Scroll down for a closer look at the massive project:

Beijing broke ground on the project in 2014 under President Xi Jinping.

The Daxing Airport is 42 miles south of Beijing and will be accessible by expressway and high-speed train. Technically, it's located in the Hebei province, but its proximity to the capital should relieve some stress from Beijing Capital International Airport.

The Beijing Capital International Airport is already bigger than most. It had the second-highest total passenger traffic in 2016, falling just short of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's passenger tally.

Atlanta's International airport is the busiest airport in the world, averaging 275,000 passengers a day. The terminal complex measures 6.8 million square feet.

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Daxing could challenge Atlanta's passenger traffic. It will initially serve 45 million passengers annually, but could eventually support 100 million passengers each year.

The airport will span 18 square-miles, including runways. It required 57,000 tons of steel to construct.

It cost roughly $12 billion to build.

Two of China's three major airports will use the airport, which will account for most of the airport's total traffic. China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines will fly in and out of Daxing once it opens.
The Citizenship Office, representing the Citizenship Commission, is presenting to the media and other agencies in Vanuatu, that the Citizenship Office has not got any legal confirmation on any so called Bitcoin payments as stated in the media outlets, Acting General Secretary Samuel Garae said, according to the Vila Times.

The Office of the Citizenship is giving an assurance to all the Citizenship Designated Agents, that all the payments concerning the DSP program will still be in US dollars as prescribed by the Citizenship Regulations, he said.

Any other arrangement made by any sub-agent will not be considered by the Citizenship Office.

Earlier this year, the Thai government started offering "elite" residency visas for wealthy foreign citizens, allowing them to live in the country for around $3,000 (2,403) a year.

There are seven different packages, with the most expensive being the "Elite Ultimate Privilege" scheme. It costs $60,000 for 20 years residency, along with a $600 a year membership fee.
With the Republican attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on ice for now, two senators from either side of the aisle are trying to shore up the law's insurance exchanges in the meantime. Resistance from leading Republicans, however, could sink the attempt.

The bill from GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray  the leaders of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee  would help pump some funding back into the exchanges to ensure costs for consumers stay low while also allowing states more flexibility to try their own fixes for exchanges.

Here's a rundown of some major pushback the package received so far:

President Donald Trump:

took issue with the inclusion

House Speaker Paul Ryan:

reiterated that Wednesday

The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare," Ryan's office said.

Republican Study Committee chair Mark Walker:

The GOP should focus on repealing & replacing Obamacare, not trying to save it," Walker said via Twitter. "This bailout is unacceptable."

Conservative action groups:

Republican Sen. John Kennedy said Trump's reversal on the bill likely means the push is dead for now.

"

While there could be some push for the bill over the next few weeks, Rick Weissenstein of Cowen Washington Research Group said in a note to clients that the GOP resistance could put the effort on ice until the year-end negotiation over government funding.

"Statements this morning by President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan critical of the deal reached between Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray should not be taken as a death knell for the bill. It was always unlikely that the measure would move on its own," Weissenstein said.
Greg Katsas, the deputy White House counsel whom Trump nominated to be a judge on the powerful DC Circuit Court of Appeals, told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing that he worked on the White House's response to Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference. He also said he was involved with work on controversial policies and initiatives that could well end up before the court he is tapped to possibly sit on in some form. Those policies include the travel ban, the voter fraud commission, and the decision to phase out protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for young undocumented immigrants.

Those issues caused some to wonder just how independent Katsas, who served in the Trump administration since January, could be when faced with cases involving the Trump administration. Katsas said he would recuse himself from matters related to Mueller's investigation that he personally worked on, but did not commit to a recusal for all potential cases stemming from the Mueller probe, saying he would consider the facts of the case before making a decision.

During an exchange with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the ranking member of the committee, Katsas said he has "given legal advice on a few discrete legal questions arising out of the" Mueller investigation.

"I have no knowledge of any underlying facts regarding Russian interference," he added.

When pressed by Feinstein to "tell us what those legal questions were," Katsas said he could not, saying that the topics were both confidential and covered by attorney-client and executive privilege.

"I have not until today been asked to reveal the substance of advice that I may have provided," he said, adding that going into detail could undermine the Mueller investigation.

"I don't think I could properly talk about issues that could signal what he is looking at, the scope, the focus, the progress of his investigations," he said. "And I want I want to be very careful not to say anything that inadvertently undermines his work."

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse did not think much of that explanation.

"What on Earth could you possibly say there that would undermine the work of the special counsel?" the Rhode Island Democrat asked.

Richard Painter, the top White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, echoed Whitehouse in an interview with Business Insider.

"That's nonsense," he said.

Painter said he wrote a letter to Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on the concerns that should be addressed with Katsas in the hearing. Painter, a frequent critic of the Trump administration, said Katsas could claim executive privilege and avoid answering some of the questions he was faced with, but the Senate also is not under any obligation to confirm him.

In recent days, Trump has been pointing to the Senate's slow pace of confirmation for his many judicial nominees, saying it's "not fair."

"For the purpose of evaluating his character and fitness, it's important to know the areas where the White House may very well have acted inappropriately," he said. "Evaluating his character and fitness  that's very relevant."

Katsas, who served as a top official in the Justice Department during Bush's presidency, received high praise from conservative judicial activists.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, which has been aggressively backing Trump's judicial nominees, said Katsas is "simultaneously a brilliant and talented lawyer and an unfailingly kind and humble man."

"A seasoned and well-respected Supreme Court advocate, Katsas will uphold the Constitution and apply the law fairly," she said. "I hope for a speedy confirmation for the latest of President Trump's stellar judicial nominees."

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond professor who is an expert on judicial nominations, told Business Insider in an email that Katsas' limited answers on his involvement in the Russia investigation doesn't "seem like a major issue."

Tobias added that is because the White House lawyer "suggested that he had given legal advice to a few people, but we don't know who they were or the nature of the advice so you can't tell definitively."
Comments President Donald Trump reportedly made during a phone call with the widow of a US soldier raised some eyebrows on Tuesday night.

Rep. Frederica Wilson told the Miami affiliate WPLG that while speaking with Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the four US Army Special Forces troops killed in action during a mission in the African country of Niger earlier this month, Trump said, "He knew what he signed up for, but when it happens, it hurts anyway."

"Yeah, he said that," Wilson told the news station. "So insensitive. He should not have said that  he shouldn't have said it."

The congresswoman later told CNN's Don Lemon she was riding in a car Myeshia Johnson on their way to receive the soldier's body when Trump called the widow.

"I heard what he said because the phone was on speaker," Wilson said.

Wilson continued:

"This is a young, young woman, who has two children, who is six months pregnant with a third child. She has just lost her husband. She was just told that he cannot have an open-casket funeral, which gives her all kinds of nightmares  how his body must look, how his face must look  and this is what the president of the United States says to her?"

The former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who also served as a US Army captain, called the remark "nauseating" in an interview with CNN, but added, "I've heard people say this before  I think we probably all have.

"We've all heard people find out about soldiers dying and say something like this, and so I think it's important to talk about why people say that," Kander continued. "People say that because they're seeking emotional distance from the situation. People say that because they want to avoid feeling that pain.

"And when you're the president of the United States, when you're the commander in chief, you need to be able to lean into that situation."

Other commentators noted that the context around what Trump said on the phone call with Johnson's widow was not immediately clear.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump doubled down on a false claim that President Barack Obama did not call the families of fallen American service members. Several former Obama administration officials disputed Trump's assertion.

The president over the past 24 hours has sought to tout his empathy for Gold Star families, but observers have criticized him for seeming to use the tradition of consoling the families as a means to congratulate himself.

Also Tuesday, Trump drew his chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, into the fray during an interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade. Kelly's son Robert was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
The statement, drafted on October 5 by a National Security Council staffer, was meant for Trump to issue almost immediately and was circulated around the Defense Department and the National Security Council, Politico reported.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these brave American soldiers and patriots," the statement read, according to Politico. "They will remain in our thoughts and prayers."

"Our administration and our entire nation are deeply grateful for their sacrifice, for their service, and for their patriotism," the statement continued.

News of the unreleased statement comes amid criticism of Trump's response to the service member deaths. Following the initial reports of the deaths of US soldiers in an ambush in Niger earlier in October, Trump made his first public remarks on the incident 12 days later.

As Trump delivered his remarks on Monday, he mentioned that he had written letters and was planning on making calls to the families of the fallen soldiers. His remarks further received criticism after he falsely claimed that his predecessors failed to take action.

"President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn't make calls," Trump said. "I call when it's appropriate."

On Tuesday, Trump was further criticized for statements he reportedly made during his call to one of the families.

According to Rep. Frederic Wilson of Florida, who was reportedly with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson when Trump called her, Trump said, "He knew what he signed up for, but when it happens, it hurts anyway."

"So insensitive," Wilson told Miami affiliate WPLG. "He should not have said that  he shouldn't have said it."
Telling people you and your partner met online can seem kind of boring.

Wouldn't you rather be able to share a story about how you were both reading the same obscure French novel on the New York City subway? Or how you'd been best friends since kindergarten and then one day something just clicked?

But couples who connected through swiping or clicking can take, ahem, heart: If they choose to tie the knot, they'll likely have a healthier marriage than couples who met offline.

There's a growing body of research to support this idea, and the latest piece of evidence is a paper by Josue Ortega at the University of Essex in the UK and Philipp Hergovich at the University of Vienna in Austria, cited in the MIT Technology Review.

The researchers reached their conclusion by creating upwards of 10,000 randomly generated societies. Then they simulated the connections made through online dating in each society.

The researchers calculated the strength of marriages by measuring the compatibility between two partners in a society. And they found that compatibility was greater in partners after they had added those online-dating connections to that society.

Earlier studies  in which real people were surveyed  have found relationships that begin online tend to have an advantage over those that began offline.

For example, a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 looked at about 19,000 people who married between 2005 and 2012. People who met their spouse online said their marriage was more satisfying than those who met their spouse offline. Plus, marriages that began online were less likely to end in separation or divorce.

(That study was funded by eHarmony.com, but one of the study authors told MarketWatch that it was overseen by independent statisticians.)

Another study, published in the journal Sociological Science in 2017, found that heterosexual couples who met online made a quicker transition to marriage than couples who met offline.

None of this research proves that online dating causes couples to have a stronger relationship. It's possible  and more likely  that there's some self-selection going on, as University of Kansas professor Jeffrey A. Hall told MarketWatch in 2013.

That is, people who sign up for dating services may be more interested in a relationship, and even marriage, than say, people at a bar who aren't specifically there to meet a serious partner. As Business Insider previously reported, 80% of Tinder users say they're looking for a meaningful relationship  despite the app's reputation as a place to find hookups. Plus, the more people you're exposed to, the more likely you are to find someone you're compatible with.

The takeaway here isn't that online dating is a panacea for your romantic troubles. It's not necessarily.
Five years ago, she was shot by the Taliban in her native Pakistan for defying the ban against women going to school. Since then, she has won the Nobel Peace Prize, traveled all over the world, authored two books, and started studying at Oxford University.

Below, we rounded up some of the highlights of Yousafzai's incredible life.

Malala Yousafzai is 20 years old. She is a Pakistani activist, an author, and the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Yousafzai began studying at Oxford University in October 2017. She will study philosophy, politics, and economics.

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Yousafzai grew up in the Swat Valley in Northwest Pakistan. The Taliban took control of the area in 2007. She defied the ban preventing women from attending school: "I just could not imagine a life limited to the four walls of my house and never be myself."

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In 2012, Malala was 14 when she was shot by a member of the Taliban. A bullet narrowly missed her brain.

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In 2013, Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin, established the Malala Fund to give girls all over the world access to education.

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That same year, Yousafzai published a memoir titled "I Am Malala," co-written with Christina Lamb.

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She appeared on The Daily Show and left Jon Stewart speechless when she explained what she would do should someone from the Taliban come after her again: "I will tell him how important education is and that I even want education for your children as well. And I would tell him, 'That's what I want to tell you. Now do what you want.'"

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Yousafzai met with President Barack Obama and challenged him on the drone strikes in Pakistan: "Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact."

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In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She said the award was also "for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change."

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As of 2014, Yousafzai didn't have a cell phone or use social media, so she could focus on her education. She does use Twitter, though. Recently, she crowdsourced tips on packing for college.

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Yousafzai recently published a children's book titled "Malala's Magic Pencil." "The magic is in their voice, in their words, in their writings," she said of the kids who read her book. "They should dream beyond limits and believe that there is magic in them."

In April, Yousafzai went on a "Girl Power Trip" to meet with women around the world and was designated a UN Messenger of Peace. After winning the award, Yousafzai told the audience that the most difficult period of her life was between 2007 and 2009 in the Swat valley: "We were at a point of making a decision about whether to speak out or remain silent. And I realized that if you remain silent, you are still going to be terrorized. So speaking out, you can help people."
Launched in September 2011, China's first space station  Tiangong-1  will soon burst into a fiery rain of debris over Earth.

China recently told the United Nations that Tiangong-1 could reenter our atmosphere by early 2018. When it does, extreme heat and pressure caused by plowing through air at more than 15,000 miles per hour will destroy the 8.5-ton spacecraft.

But not everything may vanish.

Bill Ailor, an aerospace engineer and atmospheric reentry specialist, says there's actually a good chance gear and hardware left onboard could survive intact all the way to the ground, thanks to Tiangong-1's onion-like layers of protective material.

"The thing about a space station is that it's typically got things on the inside," Ailor, who works for the Aerospace Corporation, told Business Insider. "So basically, the heating will just strip these various layers off. If you've got enough layers, a lot of the energy is gone before a particular object falls out, it doesn't get hot, and it lands on the ground."

When NASA's Columbia space shuttle broke up over the US, for example, he said investigators recovered a working flight computer  an artifact that ultimately helped explain how the deadly incident happened.

How the sun could make Tiangong-1 crash sooner

China's Tiangong-1 or "Heavenly Palace" space station is 60 times smaller by volume than the International Space Station. It was superseded in 2016 by a follow-up Chinese space station, Tiangong-2.

However, China and experts alike hail it as a major achievement for the nation's space program, since it served as a prototype toward establishing a permanent Chinese presence in orbit.

"It conducted six successive rendezvous and dockings with spacecraft Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 and completed all assigned missions, making important contributions to China's manned space exploration activities," according to a memo China submitted in June 2017 to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

In the same note, China also said it lost contact with the spacecraft on March 16, 2016, after it'd "fully fulfilled its historic mission."

By May 2017, Tiangong-1 was coasting about 218 miles above Earth yet dropping by about 525 feet per day. Its altitude has since plummeted to about 180 miles, according to The Guardian.

China expects its space station to reenter Earth's atmosphere and be destroyed "between October 2017 and April 2018," according to the UN memo.

"For any vehicle like this, the thing that brings them down is atmospheric drag," Ailor said. "Why there's a lot of uncertainty in the predictions is that it depends on what's the sun's doing, to a large measure."

The sun can unleash solar storms and solar flares  bursts of X-rays and ultraviolet light  that heat Earth's outer atmosphere. This heating causes the air to expand, rise higher above the planet, and force low-flying objects like Tiangong-1 to plow through denser gases.

"This puts just a little bit of a higher force on these objects that causes them to come down," Ailor said.

When and where Chinas space station might crash

Ailor said he doesn't think Tiangong-1's crash is imminent, but added it's also not too far off.

"If you look at the range of predictions that have been made, it's been gradually moving earlier in time," he said. "People are speculating anywhere from the end of this month until sometime in January or February of early next year."

Business Insider asked NASA for comment on reentry forecasts for Tiangong-1, as well as whether the spacecraft posed a threat to any ongoing missions.

"We're not commenting on this piece of hardware coming in. NASA actually doesn't track any debris," a space agency spokesperson told Business Insider.

He then directed us to contact the US Strategic Command's Joint Space Operations Center  the military group that tracks space debris and lets NASA know if and when it poses a threat. JSpOC responded to our queries but did not provide an interview or comment in time for publication.

When Tiangong-1 does crash, it's most likely to happen over the ocean, since water covers about 71% of Earth's surface. But there's a decent chance some pieces may strike land as it breaks up over a long and thin oval-shaped footprint.

"The whole footprint length for something like this could be 1,000 miles or so," Ailor said, with heavier pieces at the front and lighter debris toward the back.

He said pieces of China's space station are "really unlikely" to hit anyone or anything: "It's not impossible, but since the beginning of the space age .... a woman who was brushed on the shoulder in Oklahoma is the only one we're aware of who's been touched by a piece of space debris."

Should a hunk of titanium, an intact computer, or other pieces smash through someone's roof or windshield, however, international space law assures that victims will be compensated.
Silicon Valley has never been a center of haute cuisine. Rising

Nobu's ever-expanding culinary empire has a glitzy new addition.

Nobu Palo Alto is located in the Larry Ellison-owned Epiphany Hotel, which is currently being rebranded as a Nobu Hotel. It's not the first time the tech icon and chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa have partnered. The pair co-owns Nobu restaurants in Malibu and Hawaii.

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Nobu Palo Alto  restaurant No. 37 in chef Matsuhisa's empire  aims to deliver the same hugely popular dishes and clubby scene as other Nobu locations worldwide.

Hotel guests have the luxury of being able to order room service from Nobu.

Another popular dining option is to reserve a meeting room in the hotel. Ross Boykin, the restaurant's general manager, said most tech executives prefer the private setting.

Boykin wouldn't name names, but he said the restaurant has been visited by tech executives and "pioneers" from nearby companies, including Facebook, Google, Apple, and Instagram.

Most people will want to pop into the hotel's ground floor, where the restaurant is. Collapsible walls allow guests to people-watch on the streets of downtown Palo Alto.

There are no white linens on the table.

"We don't like to be too stuffy," Boykin said. He added that the plain teak tables and patio space help create a family-style atmosphere, where businesspeople can "let their hair down."

You won't find silverware at your dinner setting  just chopsticks with the logo burned in.

During a recent visit, we stopped first at the bar.

Nobu offers a premium selection of sakes, but the restaurant is also known for its original cocktails. Every month, Nobu bartenders participate in a challenge that's like "Top Chef."

A recent challenge asked bartenders to incorporate monk fruit, a melon that is about 300 times sweeter than sugar. The winning Nariyuki cocktail, out of Malibu, is made with Atlantico Platino Rum, Disaronno amaretto, egg white, pineapple, monk fruit, and yuzu.

It costs $18. The drink burst with tropical flavors. We bet it would taste even better poolside.

Nobu Palo Alto, like other Nobu restaurants located in hotels, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It does this to better accommodate guests, as well as executives who power-lunch.

The culinary team has adapted Japanese flavors for three distinct menus.

A popular breakfast item is the jidori chicken and waffles served with wasabi-infused maple syrup. The chicken comes from a Japanese poultry breed that our server described as the "Wagyu of chicken," because of its superior quality and lofty price.

The combination of sweet and spicy flavors played well, but the dish was otherwise an unsurprising take on a Southern staple. The jidori chicken and waffles costs $24.

A power-lunch might include some Nobu sushi classics. The restaurant receives shipments of fish imported from Japan "all day long," according to Boykin.

The yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno is one of the best known dishes created by Chef Matsuhisa. "It is a simple dish, but full of flavor; the heat of the jalapeno enlivens the milder yellowtail," the chef told food blog First We Feast. I would have eaten it by the fistful.

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The restaurant prepared a trio of samples for us, but a standard plate of the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno costs $29.

The bluefin and yellowfin toro tartare with caviar is made with the flavorful bits of tuna that don't make the cut for as sashimi or sushi. It's frozen and mixed with garlic and onion.

The $38 dish gets a kick from the melts in your mouth.

The dish landed Nobu in hot water about 10 years ago when the bluefin tuna was named an endangered species. Chefs like Gordon Ramsey swiftly removed the fatty pink fish from their menus, but Nobu refused. Instead, it added a note to its menu asking diners to consider an alternative. The World Wildlife Fund still lists the bluefin tuna as an endangered species.

A personal favorite was the tai agave sashimi, which features thinly sliced Japanese red snapper sashimi with an aji amarillo (a Peruvian chili pepper) and agave dressing.

It costs $36.

A spinach salad topped with dehydrated tofu skins and a Japanese olive oil cost $24 that I would have preferred to spend on something a little more elaborate.

The chefs flexed their culinary skills with this whole-fish showstopper. A sea bass prepared tempura-style and served with dry miso and a tomato-based soy sauce was a visual delight.

Succulent pieces of white flakey fish fell off the bone in chunks. It was heavenly.

The cost of the whole fish is based on market prices.

We went in for a second round of drinks and tried the signature lychee and elderflower martini. The $16 cocktail contains Spring 44 Vodka, St. Germain, and lychee (a sweet summer fruit). The sugary concoction added a dose of indulgence to the meal.

I took a break and stepped in to the kitchen. I was unsurprised to find chefs wearing Apple Watches  a pretty clear indication that the restaurant is based in Silicon Valley.

Young chefs of every ethnicity hustled in the kitchen. A diverse staff is a reflection of Chef Matsuhisa's style, which blends Japanese and Peruvian influences, according to Boykin.

We watched as a chef plated a sashimi sampling with precision.

The presentation was simple and clean. When the server set the plates down in front of us, he rattled off the exotic ingredients used in each piece. The sashimi glistened before us.

To be honest, I had no idea what I was eating. I lost track during the server's monologue. But each piece of melt-in-your-mouth sashimi tasted fresher than the last.

Sashimi ranges in price between $7 and $18 per piece. Check out the menu here.

I was prepared to refuse dessert, but Boykin insisted we try the white chocolate namelaka. "We want you to feel lighter than when you walked in," he said.

White chocolate panna cotta topped with orange tapioca pearls, strawberries, citrus fruits, and shiso syrup was so refreshing and light, it acted as a palette cleanser.

The dessert costs $16.

The meal gave a whirlwind tour of Japanese, Peruvian, and Californian flavors, and was a feast for the eyes as much as my stomach.
The Christian Post reports that a majority of adults in the United States disagrees with the common notion that one needs to believe in God in order to be a moral person.

According to the survey carried out by the Pew Research Center, 56% of Americans adults say it is possible to be a good person without being a believer.

The survey also revealed that 32% of white evangelical Protestants agree with the majority of the American adults.

85% of religious nones say the same thing.

This survey shows the increase in people who say that belief in God is unnecessary for morality as compared to a previous poll done in 2011.

In 2011, 49% American adults expressed this view as opposed to the 56% this year.

There has also been an increase of religious nones, from 78% in 2011 to 85% in 2017. It is interesting to note that only 18% stood as religious nones, now this number has gone up to 25%.

Overall, the number of religiously affiliated adults that share the belief that faith in God is unnecessary for morality has gone from 42% in 2011 to 45% in 2017.

The trends go with what atheists have said for years. A clear example is a 2011 and sponsored by the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York.

It said, You dont need God  to hope, to care, to love, to live.

Former CFI President Ronald A. Lindsay, backed the ad saying that it is a myth that nonreligious people lead meaningless, selfish, self-centred lives.

This is not only false, its ridiculous. Unfortunately, all too many people accept this myth because thats what they hear about nonbelievers.

Nigerians, what do you think? Do you need to have faith in God in order to be a moral person?
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Ekene Uwaoma, 23, was a graduate of History and International Studies from the Imo State University, Owerri.

According to Punch, the deceased's friend, MacDonald, said that he was with him when the gunmen waylaid them and demanded their mobile phones.

Narrating why Uwaoma was killed, MacDonald said the deceased refused to surrender his phone to the gunmen and he was shot in the chest before they ran away.

He said We were returning home from where we went to buy food. Suddenly, four boys bearing arms stopped and asked us to surrender our phones. I quickly gave them mine, but Ekene (Uwaoma) refused to surrender his phone.

They started struggling and I ran away. They shot him in the chest and ran away. They also shot into the air to scare people away.

The gunmen didnt go with his phone. It was a pity. This was the first time somebody was killed in my presence. I am heartbroken. His picture keeps appearing in my mind. I cant bear it,

MacDonald also said that Uwaoma was pronounced dead after being rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri.

ALSO READ:Two Corp member drown in Nassarawa
Nollywood fast-rising actor, Ayo Olaiya will be reliving that in his yet-to-be-released movie entitled, "Eyan Kan". The self-acclaimed African Eddie Murphy, also played multiple roles in the one-cast movie which involved acting, production and directing.

The movie which essentially parades a solo act, highlights greed, trust, love and money. It tells the moving story of two bosom friends turned enemies due to an unquenchable desire for financial wealth.

As part of its morals, the film discourages greed and avaricious love for money among the younger generation. It also emphasizes much on the need for loyalty among friends.

Ayo Olaiya has featured in many highly-rated movies like "Jemiriye", "Seven Days", "Omo Ale", "Ara Nla", "Awari", "Wura Mi" amongst many others.

ALSO READ: 4 new Nollywood movies you should see this October

He has featured alongside many top-rated actors and actresses in several movies which gave him his now top ranking in the movie industry.
I want that, and I want it every day. Nigerians search for the most porn on the internet, at a rate that even beats the worlds most horny country, the USA. One in four shocking stories you will read is about sexual abuse. I have never been sexually abused, but I have seen victims. Wizkid needs to come closer and call his band members. He needs to do a sound check, and make a list of songs to perform for me, forever. I need that performance.

Unemployment is rising in Nigeria every year. Many of my young friends have no job. I once read the news of some people who took N7,000 to kill a person. They chased him, caught him, struck him with blunt force until he died. The voodoo priests arent left out of it. Baddo gang attack victims and smash their heads with a stone, to access their brain and convert it into money by some cosmic force. People are desperate to survive, to eat, to stay alive.

I picture me and Wizkid at the Shrine. There are other people around, but he is there because of me. He gives me a nod and talks to his band members. He sees me, acknowledges that he is there for me. The guitarist strikes a note, a bad note. Wizkid moves slowly to him and whispers with seriousness on his face. The drummer gets his breaks right, at least someone is doing their job. Everyone else follows his lead, as they create a pre-show synergy that is needed to give me an eternal performance. We need that performance. Nigeria is burning, and we would soon be ashes.

In Benue there is flooding. Lives and property worth millions were destroyed. Parents lost children, children lost parents. Somewhere in Suleja, they have announced a death toll after water washed them away. Nature is angry at Nigeria, and we are paying for it. We dont produce much other than oil, but we are killing our environment faster than the generations before us. If we discover oil in a new place, we say goodbye to life.

Wizkid begins to talk to his band members, and present songs to play. Its the smallest performance of his career, but the most interesting one he will ever have. Please play Ojuelegba. I want to hear you sing about Lagos and its ghetto stories. I want to get lost in the music and think of humanity commoditized into stories. I want to drown in the music that life eventually becomes. I want Starboy in my ear and his voice in my soul. I want him all.

The other day they killed the Igbos for wanting their own country. Before the Igbos, it was the Shiites, who followed God and sought his face. The military shot them down, to the death in the thousands. Somewhere on the edge of the North-East, a man named Shekau feeds on blood and Chibok girls. He rains down terror from our borders into Chad, Niger and Cameroon. When the IDPs flee to Rann, the Federal Airforce drops bombs on them, and all I can hear are the wailings of poor people, who are stuck in this Nigeria. Please start the performance. Choose a song, any song, your song, sing it. Let me get disappear into No lele.

Start Wizkid, start. Perform the Superstar album. I want you to croon about Gidi Girls and tell me to Holla at your boy. Sing to me like your music is my oxygen, and without it, Nigeria gets too toxic for me. I want to eat a plate of Dont dull, and dance in the rushing waves of Tease me. Lets pretend that we are in a bubble, and your music is all that matters. For me, it is all that matters.

Sing to me as they sign those deals under the tables at Aso Rock. As Diezani is prosecuted and BabachirLawal gets away with cutting grass at IDP camps for N270 million. I dont want to hear the sound of stolen monies in my sleep. I dont want to hear political thugs attack citizens. I want your music to cover me, protect me, and lull me to sleep. Monkey Pox is around the corner, hide me behind Come Closer. Ebola left a mark, shield me from its aftermath. Lassa Fever is roaming the streets, waiting to infect our blood and kill us all. Dont stop performing, dear Wizkid. Lets dance and cry as you sing to us with your breath, your voice. And when you stop, may we all be in heaven.
Ibom News reports that Elder Akpan who resides on Eda Street, Uyo, had killed killing his 35-year-old wife and mother of his three children, Martha Sunday Uko, at their home on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, during a heated argument.

After murdering the wife in the presence of his children, Elder Akpan was said to have dismembered her body and hid the remains in a rubbish dump to avoid detection.

Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer [PPRO], DSP Bala Elkana, said Elder Akpan was arrested following a report of the children who had witnessed the murder of their mother, some days after he committed the dastardly act.

"The suspect,had a misunderstanding with his wife which led to a fight on the day leading to his killing her.

After a tip-off, the command arrested Mr. Akpan, an elder in the Light of the World Mission Church, Oron Road, Uyo, for the murder of his wife, Martha.

The suspect, at midnight, went further by using a machete to cut the remains of his wife into pieces; he gathered them in two sacks, put the sacks in a wheelbarrow and disposed them of in a rubbish dump close to the NDLEAs office, off Nwaniba Road, Uyo.

The suspect has owned up to the crime and investigation is ongoing, DSP Elkana said.
According to National President of the INM, Mazi Ifeanyi Igwe, the person behind the rumours is Emmanuel Kanu, the younger brother of the leader of the now proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra [IPOB] Nnamdi Kanu.

Mazi Igwe says Emmanuel is the faceless person behind the hoax that has caused serious disaffection between the Military and the people of the South East region of the country.

The group has, therefore, urged the Federal Government through law enforcement agencies to stop IPOB from continuing to create panic across the country even after it has been outlawed as a terrorist organization.

INM further demanded a thorough investigation of any financial transactions between people of Igbo extraction in government and IPOB since this would amount to financing terrorism.

Mazi Igwe who spoke in Abuja at a press briefing on Wednesday, October 17, 2017, lamented that the latest round of propaganda by IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, has also done untold damage to the Igbo cause with his allegation that soldiers were forcefully injecting students with virus as the fear of vaccines created by the hoax could potentially make parents avoid life-saving vaccinations.

Mazi Igwe called on relevant security agencies to unravel the true identity of whoever is posing as Emma Powerful since no such entity has ever come forward at any of the various fora that had been convened to discuss the marginalization of the Igbo nation.

"The brazen way this character continues to tell lies that terrorizes the populace, especially the Igbos, is because he is using a fake identity.

Look at the trauma he put parents through in the South East with the hoax about the Monkey Pox virus and how soldiers were injecting school children with it, which turned out to be false but the panic spread across the whole place nonetheless.

Now, in future, parents will be reluctant to vaccinate their children against diseases like measles, polio and other preventable childhood killer diseases; it is Igbo children that will die as a result of this mischief of spreading fake news.

The source of the fake news has been established as IPOB's spokesperson, who goes by the alias of Emma Powerful, whom we have found out to be Nnamdi Kanu's brother.

He signed the statements asking parents to take their children from school, alleging that soldiers were forcefully ejecting pupils with killer viruses.

It is the same terrorist that has been inciting IPOB members to attack anyone that goes out to vote in the Anambra State governorship election in November.

A large chunk of IPOB's hate messages come from this faceless individual. The thing that is even more of concern is that it has been said severally that there is nobody like who is merely an alias for the junior brother to IPOB leader,

It will interest you to note that in the hours and days after IPOB members confronted soldiers on Operation Python Dance II, if one compares the utterances and interviews by Emmanuel Kanu with statements by Emma Powerful, the conclusion would be to challenge law enforcement agencies to repeat the same exercise and arrive at their own conclusions.

I, therefore, call on the relevant law enforcement agencies to draw on the relevant provisions of the anti-terrorism legislation in the country to unmask the identity of Emma Powerful to end his reign of terror that has caused unnecessary panic in our states," Igwe demanded.

He further noted that the Federal Government, the military and security services owe Nigerians explanations on how it was possible that a group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the court in line with the anti-terrorism law continues to issue statements like a legal entity.

Igwe went on to accuse governors of the five South East states of playing to the gallery with their proscription of IPOB since the group continues to freely operate in their jurisdictions after the proscription including issuing the statement that caused panic with a warning that a state of emergency may eventually be declared in the region because of their lukewarm attitude.

Igwe warned that IPOB will not stop causing problems in the South East if certain political office holders and top businessmen do not stop funding the outlawed terror group.
Annabel needs to fight for her marriage and get her husband back but how would she go about it?

Read her story here:

"My name is , a 34-year-old woman. I have been married to for 12 years now with three children but presently, my marriage is on the verge of collapse after my husband left me for an older woman.

When we got married, we were madly in love and we always prayed to grow old together and watch our children grow into adults.

kept promising me that nothing would ever make him leave me and that he would never cheat on me but now, all those promises mean nothing to him as he has left me and moved in with a 56-year-old woman who is 18 years older than he is.

In all our years together, I had done everything to make our marriage work and never denied him anything he wanted. Even when he did not have money, I had to support him with what I make from my business.

I did everything and lived for my family but has betrayed me in the most callous way anyone can ever think of.

It started when I began hearing stories of how he was seen with one rich old woman who has a chain of businesses all over Lagos.

Some of my friends who had seen him with the woman several times, warned me that something sinister was in the offing and that I should sit up and get back my husband.

They feared she could have used charms on him because he was like her Personal Assistant and was always at her beck and call.

But when I asked him, he denied having any relationship with the woman, saying she is only trying to help him set up a business. He repeated that his family was so important for him to throw it away.

Initially, I believed him because I had to but the rumours persisted and I knew I had to do something. I managed to get the woman's number and called her. I pleaded with her to leave my husband alone to look after his family.

I was shocked when Bernard stormed home that evening and gave me the beating of my life, accusing me of trying to take away his meal ticket.

After beating me, he stormed out of the house and for three months now, my husband has been living with the woman. He sends money for the children's fees and upkeep but has told me he is not coming back.

All the pleas from our families and friends have fallen on deaf ears as Bernard has refused to listen to voices of reason.

I now know the woman used juju on my husband but I want my family back together. I need help urgently.

Annabel."

The teaser for the day was:

What do you think Annabel should do to get Bernard back?

How Nigeria voted:

Annabel should fight the battle spiritually - 50%

Annabel should go and confront the woman - 2%

Annabel should report the matter to the police - 10%

Annabel should forget Bernard and move on - 36%
According to a video which was made of the incident, Idehen, himself a married man. had gone to the woman's house for his usual sex romp not knowing the husband had gotten wind of his adulterous affairs with his wife and organized some thugs who laid in wait for him.

After sneaking into the house thinking the coast was clear as usual, the waiting gang stormed in on the duo and that was hen all hell was let loose.

Idehen was given the beating of his life, had his clothes torn and forced into the boot of his car.

However, the victim, through his lawyer, Jefferson Uwoghiren, has sued the husband of the woman, a police Sergeant attached to the Special Anti Robbery Squad [SARS], of the State Command for allegedly organizing the thugs to disgrace Idehen.

In the petition, Uwoghiren said that the woman and the police officer husband are separated and by law, is not his legal wife and had no right to beat up Idehen.

According to Uwoghiren, the SARS operative identified as Nagbama Osakpamwan Eboigbe a.k.a Smally, was arrested following the petition filed by him at the Benin Police Headquarters for brazen abuse of power, criminal abduction, assault, and battery.

The lawyer also revealed that other officers and thugs who assisted the suspect to attack and imprison his client are in big trouble as they have also been arrested.

This is what Uwoghiren wrote on the incident:

Sequel to our petition and complaint of brazen abuse of power, criminal abduction, assault and battery, a Sergeant with the Edo State Special Anti Robbery Squad has been arrested.

Other officers who assisted him to falsely imprison our client, are in trouble."
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Day three of the fashion show on October 15, 2017 at the Federal Palace, Lagos saw models strut the runway in never before seen pieces from the Natures gift collection.

In this collection, fashion designer and creative director of Sunny Rose, Maureen Ikem Okogwu-Ikokwu plays around with solid metallic colours catering specially to the tastes of adventurous and fashionable woman. The collection comprises of sheer blouses and dresses, blouses, dresses and impressive matching sets with delicate fringe, tassels, and statement cuts.

The designer revealed to Pulse in a text interview the new collection expresses the progression of a woman becoming aware of herself.

The story behind the collection is a journey a woman undertakes from childhood to when she blossoms into who she is created to be, Ikem said.

From her infancy she is like a grain of sand introduced into the shell of an oyster (the world) and gradually she gets coated with different layers from the environment trying to make her suitable for her surroundings, this brings about the color filled transition of the collection as she finds herself in the various layers coated upon her till her true beauty is finally discovered in varying shades.

Sunny Rose Spring 2018 Natures gift is one half of a two part collection. Ikem disclosed to Pulse the first part is the beginning of a womans transition into herself.

The Nigerian fashion brand was created in 2008 with the intention to fill a creative void. Sunny Rose describes their creative process as  edgy with an artistic flair.

When talking to Pulse about what her pieces say about the world we live in, she said: Its evolving and accepting diversity.
Turns out, there's one variety of onions that's better for you than the others. A 2017 study published in Food Research International found that red onions were most effective at killing human cancer cells compared with other onions thanks to their higher levels of the antioxidants quercetin and anthocyanin.

"Anthocyanin is instrumental in providing color to fruits and vegetables, so it makes sense that the red onions, which are darkest in color, would have the most cancer-fighting power," says study author Suresh Neethirajan, Ph.D.

However, red onions aren't the only ones with these benefits. "All onions are potent cancer fighters thanks to their high concentrations of the antioxidants anthocyanin and quercetin," says Karen Ansel R.D.N., author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer. Red onions just happen to be even better at fighting cancer thanks to their high amounts of anthocyanin, which increase the effectiveness of quercetin in attacking cancer-causing free radicals, she adds.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who went around various medicine dealers stands on Wednesday, saw customers consulting the dealers and buying recommended herbal drugs.

Some of the ailments enjoying high patronage are erectile dysfunction, diabetes, high blood pressure and infertility.

Mrs Jumoke Oladapo, one of the patients seen waiting patiently at one of the vendors shops, said she was there for the problem of infertility.

According to her, she has been battling it for a long time, going to various orthodox hospitals for treatments and medications to no avail.

She said that she wanted to try the traditional method if it could solve her challenge of hormonal imbalance.

Another customer, who preferred anonymity told NAN that he was suffering from low sperm count and quick ejaculation.

He said that he went to see the traditional medicine doctor for possible treatment.

Mr Ahmed Mohammed, one of the traditional medicine dealers, said that he had been involved in the business for the more than 10 years.

Mohammed claimed he specialises in the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, infertility and all types of sexually transmitted diseases.

According to him, there have been many testimonies from his treatments of such ailments.
Amaechi said he never complained when former president Goodluck Jonathan victimised him. He said Wike raises an alarm over every little thing.

He stated this when he met members of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Eleme kingdom, Rivers State.

The minister said that the coming governorship and other elections in the state will be fair and free.

He accused Wike of masterminding election mal-practices during the Jonathan adminsitration.

He said, "Fight for your right. I fought for my right (during the Jonathans administration) when the President was molesting and harassing me, I got up, mobilized Rivers People and we fought for our right.

"We would not have won Rivers governorship because they rigged everywhere, wrote results and brought army and police to chase us away.

"Now there will be voting. They shouting and crying police o, army o; INEC o just because they are scared of what they did to us (APC).

"President Buhari will not allow that happen. He will not allow any police man to stop anyone from voting.

"That person is there shouting INEC, police while he was inside INEC building the day of election and they were writing results and we didnt complain. Now he is shouting INEC o, police o because he is afraid.

"But well follow the law; we shall vote on that day and get our people to vote for us. If we win, we thank God.

"If he wins, we thank God. It will be free and fair. Let him stop crying because its too early. When a man starts crying, it means he is afraid.

"Did I cry about President Goodluck Jonathan? I didnt cry, I came out to fight for my right. But this man is crying because of ordinary one police CSP every day.

"What do you call him, 'cry cry governor.' He is a governor with one agenda, namely Amaechi."

ALSO READ: I will complete all hospital projects abandoned by Amaechi - Wike

The minister further said that when Wike sleeps and wakes, "he dreams of Amaechi".

The minister and Wike have unrelentingly brought serious allegations against each other.

In July 2017, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Director-General of the Department of State (DSS), Musa Daura attempted to reconcile Amaechi and Wike but it failed.
Saraki said the relationship between the two countries was nowhere close to where it should be, adding that there was need for improvement to increase trade volume.

The president of the senate made the remark in a meeting with Chairperson of Council of Russian Federation, Valentina Mativienko, St. Petersburg, Russia on Wednesday.

The meeting was on the sidelines of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly.

Saraki said "I think we share a lot together and the two countries should be closer than what it is now.

"Nigeria has the largest population and political voice in Africa. Today, the Secretary General of OPEC is a Nigerian. Also, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN is a Nigerian.

"We are a country that is relevant in international politics and I think we need to improve trade volume with Russia."

The president of the senate, who said he used the opportunity of the IPU Assembly to strike a relationship with Russian Government, added that "I believe we can work together in the area of gas development.

Earlier, the Russian chairperson told Saraki that Nigeria and Russia had some things in common.

She added that "One thing that was common to both countries was the fight against terrorism.
The governor has been dealing with public backlash resulting from his unveiling of the N520 million statue that many condemned as a waste of money, an improper endorsement of a president facing corruption allegations, and incapable of dealing with xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in his country.

In a statement released by the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Tuesday, October 17, 2017, he lashed out at the backlash and called his critics 'enemies of our people'.

The governor argued that the statue was part of his government's bid to attract meaningful investors that'll contribute to the growth of the state.

He said, "In case these 'Galatians' do not know, if all we need to do to attract good things or investments to Imo is erecting statues, then, we have no option than to erect as many of such structures as possible. We owe no one apology.

"Rochas made a promise to open the doors of Imo to the rest of the world for good and he is doing that and we cannot be deterred by these enemies of our people."

While remaining unapologetic, the governor attacked the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) for not matching up to his achievements in attracting meaningful visitors like President Zuma.

"If it was in the days of PDP, schools and markets would have been shut down. And roads closed because President Zuma was coming. But none of such things was done because Rochas and his government have human face.

"The PDP for the 12 years they held sway never attracted any meaningful visitor to the state except PDP NEC members who were coming to loot the state," he said.

ALSO READ: 7 times Governor Okorocha has baffled Nigerians
President Donald Trump defended the federal government's response to the disaster in Puerto Rico, and contended difficulty accessing food and water was due to shortcomings on local distribution.

"We have delivered tremendous amounts of water, and then what you have to do is you have to have distribution of the water by the people on the island," Trump said at a news conference on Monday from the White House.

Trump noted the military is on the ground helping with distribution efforts -- which he argued shouldn't be their job.

"What we've done is we now actually have military distributing food, something that really they shouldn't have to be doing," Trump said.

He said there are plenty of supplies in Puerto Rico, but the local distribution chains need to work to get them where they are needed.

"We have massive amounts of water," Trump said. "We have massive amounts of food, but they have to distribute the food, and they have to do this. They have to distribute the food to the people of the island."

Trump said the situation was "very tough" because Puerto Rico is an island and had a poor electrical grid prior to being hit by back-to-back hurricanes.

"It was in really bad shape before," Trump said.

The entire island of Puerto Rico was walloped by hurricanes last month, and the population of more than 3 million US citizens continues to struggle with the fallout. The House passed a package of relief funding last week, but much of the island remains without power -- and access to clean water continues to be lacking.

CNN's Dan Merica contributed to this report.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed's Special Adviser on Security, Alhaji Amusa Bello, on Wednesday, October 18, 2017.

The statement advised the general public, most especially parents, to not panic as the stories are untrue.

He said, "It has come to the notice of the Kwara State Government that certain individuals are spreading rumours about soldiers injecting school pupils in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Area of the State.

"The general public is hereby advised to ignore such rumours as neither the Nigerian Army nor any other security agency is currently undertaking a vaccination exercise or any other health campaign in any part of the state.

"Members of the public, particularly parents, are advised not panic and to refrain from withdrawing their wards from schools based on this unfounded rumour."

False stories about soldiers forcefully vaccinating students has been a constant feature since last week.

ALSO READ: Army denies forcefully vaccinating students in Rivers

Yesterday, the Nigerian Army was forced to deny the rumours after parents in Port Harcourt and Akure reportedly withdrew their children from school premises.

In a statement released by Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, he condemned the "callous and unpatriotic rumours" deliberately spread by "enemies of state" to cause unrest with the public.
He let his heart get the better of his head.

It was stated that the person to sign the bond must be a senator. The reason was simple too. They assumed that none of us will have the courage to come out and sign the bail. I came out and I did it, Abaribe remarked defiantly, to rousing applause from his audience during a recent 'meet and greet' with diaspora Abians in the United States.

The other sureties who signed Kanus bail bond are Jewish High Chief Priest, Immanuu-El Shalom Okabemadu and a Chartered Accountant who resides in the capital city of Abuja, Tochukwu Uchendu.

Bail conditions

Kanu is facing trial for charges bordering on treasonable felony, secession and illegal possession of firearms in a federal court in the nations capital city of Abuja.

On April 25, 2017, presiding Judge Binta Nyako granted Kanu bail with stringent conditions to boot.

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was told not to grant interviews, hold rallies or conduct affairs in a crowd of no more than ten persons.

Weeks after his application was granted, Kanu made sure to flout all his bail conditions.

He held rallies, set up a private army, spewed hate speeches at gatherings and incited violence when he could.

His incendiary rhetoric would culminate in bloody clashes between members of his IPOB and soldiers in September.

Disappearing act

On September 14, 2017, after soldiers invaded Kanus residence in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the separatist agitator disappeared into thin air.

There have been reports that hes fled to the UKwhere he retains the status of a citizen.

His lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, denies the claim, however, saying Kanu is being held by the federal government.

The government has denied it is holding Kanu and soldiers say they have no idea where he is as well.

Kanus disappearance now means his sureties, including Abaribe, face the real prospect of arrests if they cant produce him for continuation of his trial.

Abaribe has admitted that hes now in trouble.

In trouble

Those of us who signed the bail are now in trouble because we dont know where he is, Abaribe says.

Chief Okoi-Obono Obla who is President Buharis Special Assistant on Prosecution says the implication of the failure of Kanu to appear in court on the next adjourned date on those who stood sureties for his recognizance is that his recognizance shall be forfeited.

The court also may issue a warrant of arrest where a defendant (Kanu) bound by a recognizance or bond fails to appear before a court or police station. It follows that if Kanu fails to appear before the Federal High Court on the next adjourned date, the Judge will likely issue a warrant for his arrest.

It follows that Kanus three sureties will be ordered to pay N100M each. Where sufficient cause is not shown by the sureties or the persons bound and the penalty is not paid, the court may recover the penalty from the person bound or from his estate if he is dead, in the manner laid down in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, for the recovery of fine.

However, where the penalty is not paid and cannot be recovered in the manner laid down by the law, the person bound shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months,Obono-Obla added.

Missing in action

As the Kanu trial resumed on Tuesday, October 17 with the mans whereabouts still unknown, Abaribe told the Judge that hes no longer interested in standing as surety for the run-away secessionist.

The senator also pleaded that his N100M bail bond be forfeited.

In yet another prayer, Abaribe asked that he be given time to produce Kanu.

Kanus lawyer, Ejiofor, insists he has no idea where his client is at the moment.

"The Nigerian Army invaded his house and killed 28 people. I do not even know if he is alive or dead. The soldiers are in a better position to tell us," Ejiofor said.

The army has denied it killed anyone in Kanu's home on the day.

Options

The Kanu trial was adjourned to November 20, 2017 with Senator Abaribe handed three options:

1. Produce Kanu in court and then apply to be discharged as a surety.

2. Be ready to forfeit N100M bail bond.

3. Be given more time to produce the defendant.

As the wall closes in on Abaribe, the senator could be forgiven for cursing his luck. However, he continues to defend his decision to stand as surety for the eccentric Kanu whose group has since been proscribed as a terrorist sectn Nigeria.
According to the president's Personal Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, he left for Turkey after presiding over Wednesday's Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa.

He revealed this on his Twitter account (@BashirAhmaad), tweeting, "After presiding over Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting, President has departed for Turkey, to attend the D-8 on October 20th."

According to statement released on Tuesday by the president's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president will also participate in an official working visit to Ankara, the capital city, on the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

ALSO READ: Buhari to leave for Turkey on Wednesday
According to The Nation, some 'powerful' Nigerians have asked the Committee Chairman, Aliyu Wammako to suspend the inquiry or ensure "soft-landing" in the panel's report.

Some other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry are said to be lobbying the leadership of the Senate to stay action on the matter due to "convincing clarifications" by the Presidency.

They claim there is nothing to investigate again.

It is believed that the pressure is the reason the committee has not started sitting since it was constituted by the Senate on October 4.

It was also gathered that lobbyists have in the past weeks trailing Wammako to his residence in Asokoro District.

"These bigwigs actually wanted the Senate to suspend the probe. But the chamber said since the issue was already in the public domain, it will not be good for the image of the Senate", The Nation quoted a source as saying.

"The battle has shifted to the Senate Ad Hoc Committee. Some of these lobbyists have either asked Wammako to either stay away from the probe or work towards a "soft-landing" investigation and report.

"In one breath, they claimed that since the Presidency and NNPC had made convincing clarifications that there was no contract awarded, going into the allegations contained in the Ministers memo will be chasing shadows.

"They alleged that since the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru have reconciled, there is nothing to probe.

"This is the real reason why the committee has not been able to sit. The chairman and members are really under pressure," the source said.

On August 30, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari about an alleged infractions by Baru.

ALSO READ: NNPC says Osinbajo approved the $25bn controversial oil contracts

In the memo, he also alleged that the GMD makes major decisions unilaterally without recourse to the NNPC board, which is headed by the minister.

Following the public outrage caused by the leaked memo, which apparently portrayed the Buhari administration in a bad light, the President summoned Kachikwu and Baru separately.

Consequently, the two held a reconciliation meeting in Abuja, where they were seen shaking hands and laughing together as if nothing ever happened.
According to a report by The Punch, the former president visited Babangida's residence on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, in company of former Senator Nimi Barigha Amange.

After arriving around 10am, Jonathan proceeded to have a private meeting with the former military leader with Senator Amange waiting in another part of the residence.

The meeting reportedly lasted for about two hours but the president declined to comment on what he discussed with IBB.

When he was requested to comment on the nation's political situation, he reportedly replied, "We are retired politicians."

The former president then left the residence in his bulletproof SUV and 9-car convoy.

ALSO READ: 5 things Jonathan said about PDP

Earlier on Tuesday, October 17, Jonathan made a rallying call to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to carefully select its next National Working Committee (NWC) members at December's elective convention.

He cautioned that the party could not afford to make mistakes in choosing its next national chairman and publicity secretary, describing them as "very delicate positions".
Obasanjos disdain for the PDP has been palpable for a while. In 2015, Baba Iyabo (as Obasanjo is fondly called) commissioned the PDP chairman of his ward in Ogun State to rip his party membership card to shreds before a jubilant crowd.

I am no longer a politician, I am now a statesman, Obasanjo declared emphatically at the time.

After making a show of tearing apart his PDP membership card, Obasanjo went on to work against then President Goodluck Jonathan in the general elections. Jonathan would go on to lose that contest to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

In referring to the PDP as vomit this week, Obasanjo reiterated that hes done with partisan politics.

"I have said no partisan politics for me again. But Nigeria is my passion until death do us part and anything that concerns Nigeria; the good of Nigeria, you will see my involvement."

Obasanjos relationship with the PDP hasnt always been this frosty. He was the first elected president on the partys platform in 1999 and served a two-term of eight years with the infamous PDP rigging and arm twisting machinery at his beck and call.

His attempts to seek a third term collapsed like a pack of cards in parliament in 2007 and Obasanjo retreated into a shell for a while.

However, it was clear Obasanjo had lost it with his party in 2013 when he sent an uncomplimentary letter to Jonathan, upbraiding the then president for losing his way around governance.

Now 80 years of age, Obasanjo has dedicated himself to championing humanitarian causes through his library; and his best days as a politician are now firmly behind him.
No details of her illness were provided, but Boyle told CTV that "he and their three children are by her bedside."

Boyle could not be reached for comment. Hospital officials would not confirm that Coleman had been admitted, citing privacy laws.

Coleman, Boyle and their three children -- all born in captivity -- were freed by Pakistani troops a week ago.

The couple was kidnapped by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network in a remote area of Afghanistan in 2012.
He is also believed to have placed a mole inside the German tax office, though this person's identity is still unknown.

Switzerland had been seeking the identities of three German tax officers, hoping to build a case against them for illegally obtaining banking data -- which is protected under the country's strict secrecy laws.

The country's banks had come under intense pressure in recent years as several German states started buying CDs or USB memory sticks allegedly containing data on German taxpayers who had parked their fortunes across the border.

German investigators say they believe that Daniel M. was in the employ of Bern's spymasters by July 2011 at the latest.

Along with an associate working for a security firm in Frankfurt, he allegedly collected birthdates, telephone numbers and private addresses of German tax officials.

The spying claims sparked outrage in Germany, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel rebuking Switzerland over the scandal and summoning Bern's envoy for clarification.

The case was especially embarrassing for Switzerland, which in 2015 had signed a deal with the European Union to exchange bank data starting in 2018 as part of an international pledge to clamp down on tax cheats.

Big risks, at what gain?

Amid the uproar, German and Swiss media reported that the accused's operation had unravelled by chance, possibly because he had walked into a trap set by Werner Mauss, a former top spy dubbed Germany's James Bond.

Daniel M., a former policeman and a high-ranking security officer at Swiss banking giant UBS, reportedly passed on a CD containing banking data to a German contact -- who had in fact been working for Mauss.

The data turned out to be erroneous, but Mauss reported the exchange to UBS, which in turn passed it on to Swiss authorities who arrested M. in February 2015 for breaching banking secrecy.

During the investigation, M. apparently told Swiss investigators that he had been working for Bern to spy on German authorities.

But a copy of a summary of the interrogation ended up in the hands of German authorities through Mauss, leading eventually to M.'s arrest in Frankfurt.

German prosecutors say he was paid 3,000 euros ($3,500) a month over half a year by his Swiss handlers.

He also received 13,000 euros for the personal details of tax officials, of which 10,000 euros he gave to his associate.

Separately, for the mission to place a mole in the tax office, M. was promised 90,000 euros.

He received 60,000 euros of the sum but passed on most of it to unknown individuals, according to German prosecutors.
The centre-left premier, who was accused by the blogger's son on Tuesday of being complicit in his mother's death, attempted to shift the spotlight onto the main opposition Nationalist Party, saying it had been the focus of Caruana Galizia's latest investigations.

"It is unthinkable in a country like Malta to die for your job, in Caruana Galizia's case for what she wrote," Muscat said in an interview with Italy's La Repubblica daily.

"She was probably my biggest adversary, she attacked me from when I was leader of the opposition. But that was her job," he said, adding that he had called in "the FBI and other European security services" to find her killers.

Caruana Galizia, who had been called a "one-woman Wikileaks", was killed in a car bomb on Monday.

She had lately used her widely-read blog to make a series of detailed allegations of corruption in Muscat's inner circle, some based on the Panama Papers data leak.

Muscat refused to speculate on who might be behind her death, but said that "the easiest thing for me to do would be to point the finger against the opposition, the leader of which was the subject of Daphne's latest stories".

'Cowardly attack'

In an interview with La Stampa daily, he raised opposition leader Adrian Delia again, saying the blogger had accused him of "money laundering, prostitution and more".

Muscat also said she had written on her blog about receiving threats "from people in the opposition" over the last month, but that he could not verify the claim.

On Tuesday Delia called on Muscat to step down, accusing him of personally failing to safeguard the blogger's life.

Muscat responded to that charge in an interview with Maltese TV, saying he could not impose police protection on someone who did not want it.

Dutch forensic experts arrived on the island on Tuesday to aid the investigation.

Police sources said Semtex explosives were believed to have been used in the car bomb, a demolition compound known to be favoured by terrorists in large-scale attacks.

Cauana Galizia's killing has sent shock waves around the world with the United States the latest country to condemn it.

"It was a cowardly attack that took the life of a talented and brave reporter who dedicated her career to ... shining light on corruption," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has said that it wants to study the report on Khan Sheikhun before deciding whether to support another one-year mandate for the panel.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the Security Council must vote on renewing the panel, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), before the report is released.

"The Russians have made it very clear that should the report blame the Syrians suddenly they won't have faith in JIM. If the report doesn't blame the Syrians, then they say that they will," Haley told reporters.

"We can't work like that."

The United States will circulate a draft resolution on Wednesday aimed at extending the JIM and will seek a vote at the Security Council "as soon as possible," Haley said.

Russia could decide to use its veto to block the draft resolution and effectively shut down the investigation of deadly gas attacks in Syria.

"It would be a shame if Russia chose to decide whether to have an investigative mechanism based on who is to blame in Khan Sheikhun," said Haley.

Russia says sarin bomb used in Khan Sheikhun

The United States, France and Britain have accused Assad's forces of carrying out the April 4 attack on Khan Sheikhun, an opposition-held village in Idlib province.

At least 87 people, including more than 30 children, died in the attack that drew global outrage over the use of banned sarin as a weapon.

During a briefing last week to UN member-states, Russian foreign ministry official Mikhail Ulyanov said the sarin attack was most likely caused by a bomb set off directly on the ground and not by a Syrian air strike.

Russia will study the report on Khan Sheikhun by the JIM to "judge if it deserves the extension," said Ulyanov.

Haley said there was "overwhelming support" in the council to allow the JIM to continue its work and stressed that "we can't go and pick and choose who we want to be at fault and who we don't."

The JIM has already determined that Syrian government forces were responsible for chlorine attacks on three villages in 2014 and 2015, and that Islamic State jihadists used mustard gas in 2015.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) earlier this year presented a report confirming sarin gas was used in Khan Sheikhun, but did not assign blame, leaving that determination to the JIM.

In total, the OPCW is investigating as many as 45 suspected chemical attacks in Syria since mid-2016 including the recently-disclosed use of sarin on an opposition-held village on March 30.
Xi told some 2,300 delegates at the imposing Great Hall of the People that the country was entering a "new era" as the party pursues "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

"The prospects are bright, but the challenges are also severe," said Xi, who is expected to secure a second five-year term as general secretary and stack leadership positions with loyalists during the twice-a-decade congress.

Speaking in front of a massive hammer and sickle, Xi extolled China's rising clout abroad and its fight against poverty and inequality at home, as well as his "zero tolerance" campaign against corruption within the party.

"Every one of us in the party must do more to uphold party leadership and the Chinese socialist system and resolutely oppose all statements and actions that undermine, distort or negate them," Xi said.

Considered China's most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping or even Mao Zedong, Xi could use the congress to lay the foundation to stay atop the 89-million-strong party even longer than the normal 10 years, according to analysts.

This would break the unwritten two-term limit accepted by his immediate predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao -- who were by Xi's side at the congress -- and end the era of "collective leadership" aimed at preventing the emergence of another Mao.

Another signal of Xi's rise to the pantheon of Chinese leadership would be if his name is added to the constitution, an honour has only been bestowed upon modern China's founder, Mao, and the father of economic reforms, Deng.

A congress spokesman said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will amend its constitution to add Xi's "new vision and thinking" on governance, but he did not indicate whether Xi's name would also be added.

'Tigers and flies'

Potential rivals have been swept aside under Xi's vast anti-corruption campaign, which punished 1.3 million Communist Party officials over five years.

Xi said the anti-graft campaign has been "unswervingly fighting against 'tigers', 'beating flies', 'hunting foxes'" -- terms used for lower and higher ranking officials.

Xi's rise has also been marked by a relentless crackdown on dissent, with authorities even refusing to free Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo as he lay dying of cancer in July.

On the global stage, he has restructured the military, asserted China's claims to disputed seas and used the country's economic prowess to increase its influence in Asia and beyond.

He has taken up the mantle of globalisation in the face of US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy.

But foreign companies will look for signs at the congress that Xi will live up to his promises to further open up China's economy in the next five years.

Legitimacy at risk

Authorities stepped up policing for the week-long congress, with red armband-wearing "security volunteers" fanning out across the capital, karaoke bars closing and online kitchenware firms even suspending knife sales.

The conclave, which ends next Tuesday, will select new top party members, including in the Politburo Standing Committee, China's all-powerful ruling body.

Xi and Premier Li Keqiang are expected to remain on the committee while the five other current members are supposed to step down under an informal retirement age set at 68.

But Xi may lobby to retain his 69-year-old right-hand man Wang Qishan, who heads the leader's signature anti-graft campaign. This would create a precedent for Xi himself to remain in charge beyond retirement age in 2022.

"If Xi expresses intent to lead beyond his 10-year limit, this would be reminiscent of the Mao era, which would be damaging to Xi's legacy and call his legitimacy into question," said Simone van Nieuwenhuizen, a Sydney-based researcher and co-author of "China and the New Maoists".

But a Xi heir apparent could emerge from the congress.

One former potential successor who was outside Xi's circle, Sun Zhengcai, was ousted from the party last month due to graft allegations.

Chen Miner, a former Xi aide who succeeded Sun as political chief in the city of Chongqing, is now well positioned for promotion.

"The question is what is Xi going to do after he secures absolute power after the 19th party congress," said Hu Xingdou, a Chinese governance expert at the Beijing Institute of Technology.
PORT BYRON -- Nearly three dozen residents attended an Economic Development Committee meeting Monday to protest being required to hook up to the village water system at a cost of about $6,000 each.

"My well is fine. In fact, the water is better than the village water," Trustee Brian Bitler told the committee. "At the meetings before the project, we were told when water and sewer lines were put in, we did not need to hook up unless our wells or septic went bad.

"Compulsory hook-up is lying to the people of the community," he said, referring to a reported pledge by a previous village board that residents wouldn't be required to hook up if their systems were working efficiently. "The village should stand by its word.

"To put it simply, we are stuck," Mayor Bruce Peterson told the crowd.

Village sewer lagoons were condemned by the Illinois EPA, and there were issues with septic systems contaminating private water wells, so the IEPA gave the village a $2.926 million loan to build a new wastewater treatment facility in 2012, the mayor said.

But that was contingent on the village enacting an ordinance requiring all residents within 200 feet of the village water line to connect within two years of phase 1 of the construction project, he said.

Some residents complained about village water pressure, which public works employee Don Loy said is about 75 percent.

That amount of pressure would blow my cast iron pipes apart, Trustee Bitler said.

James Heaton said he was unhappy with first being taxed for the Tax Increment Financing District and then being told he would have to pay for water he didnt need.

Peter Crocker agreed. I bought my house as a summer house. One of the reasons for my choice was that it had a well and I would not have a water bill. This is more expense that is not necessary."

Barry Plumb said he just moved to the village. "We went through all tests and sign-offs. Our well was fine. Why were there no disclosures that I would have these additional bills?

Since residents have until 2022 to hook up without penalty, others in the gallery questioned how this new information would future affect house sales

We are going to do all we can to help you with the financial responsibility," Mayor Peterson said, adding that he plans to make several proposals to trustees.
Every American deserves the utmost respect when they interact with their government, but sometimes they can encounter complicated hurdles and federal red tape. When this happens, I encourage you to contact my office. My staff members across Nebraska can assist those trying to navigate the federal bureaucracy.

In Scottsbluff, Kearney, Norfolk, Lincoln, and Omaha, my staff has years of experience and a strong track record of aiding constituents as they confront roadblocks. My offices often help Nebraskans with a broad array of problems, from struggling to acquire VA medical records or proper designation for their military pensions to trouble with Social Security and tax refunds owed by the IRS.

Outreach and casework staff can assist in other types of cases you might not expect. For example, Amanda Knobbe, a zookeeper at Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, recently needed to travel to South America, but couldnt obtain the proper travel visa. Last year, Amanda was chosen to travel to Brazil to partake in the Giant Armadillo Project, an organization looking to establish an ecological study of giant armadillos in the Brazilian Pantanal wetland.

One of three people selected worldwide, joining the project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Amanda, but the problem with her visa made the trip seem unlikely. Disappointed, she decided to contact my office to see if I could help. We got started immediately.

My staff went to work, discussing the issue with the State Department, and soon after, Amanda received her travel visa. While in Brazil she helped to expand research about giant anteaters and giant armadillos. This knowledge will help us protect endangered species and preserve natural wildlife.

When Amanda returned, she sent us a thank you note that included some great pictures from her trip, including an armadillo she and her team saved. It was great to see Nebraskans changing the world by conserving nature.

While Amandas case is unique, the most common circumstances involve Nebraskans fighting for what they deserve. In a recent case resolved by staff in Scottsbluff, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) charged a Wilbur resident with an alleged erroneous debt collection for overpayment of program funds. Facing a bill of over $7000, my office helped him prove that the NRCS was in the wrong, saving him from a debt he never accrued.

My offices also receive requests from those facing dire circumstances, especially when it involves receiving payment earned by those who served our country.

Recently, my Omaha office assisted a mother and daughter facing a dispute in the mothers non-service connected pension from the VA. A member of the WWII WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), a branch of the Naval Reserves, she was facing the prospect of being forced out of her assisted living residence if she did not receive the proper compensation for her service to our country. Our office spoke with the VAs Pension Management Center and helped the process move along. When everything was settled, the former WAVE member was awarded a monthly pension of $1,794.00. This allowed her to stay in her current assisted living residence.

These are all examples of how my offices can serve you during interactions with federal agencies and programs. Making a real-world impact in the lives of Nebraskans in need of help continues to be the most rewarding aspect of my job. Im always ready to remind the federal bureaucracy that they serve the people, not the other way around, and my staff knows how to get the job done.
Id like to address the elephant in the room. That elephant being the Republican Party and their refusal to represent the majority of their constituents. Lets begin with stricter gun control (something that would help lessen the fears parents have when sending their children off to school), 53% of Americans favor this (Pew Research) yet the elephant in the room refuses to consider any such thing. Over 70% of Americans want stricter background checks yet again; the elephant in the room refuses to represent them. 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal. Again, the elephant in the room pushes laws that do the opposite. 74% of Americans do not want social security reduced in any way. But the elephant in the room pushes to do just the opposite, cut social security. 63% of Americans now prefer Medicare for all, but the elephant in the room fights it with all its might. 67% of Americans feel more needs to be done to reduce climate change, but not the elephant in the room. The elephant sides with the fossil fuel industry claiming its not a big concern. Given these few statistics (there are more like them) its obvious that the Republican Party is the party of minority rule, quite the opposite of what our founding fathers envisioned. The Republican Party has become a power cult, not a party that represents the majority of Americans. Remember this while you mark your ballot in this midterm election. Save Democracy! Vote Democratic!
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Prisons play a key role in Nebraskas criminal justice system by protecting public safety and preparing inmates for return to our society. Under the leadership of Director Scott Frakes over the past two years, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) has been making great strides and working to better achieve their mission. From expanding facility capacity to automating sentence calculation processes and expanding programming, the agency has been adopting data-driven practices to modernize its operations and facilities.

While Scott and his team have accomplished much over the past couple years, their efforts havent come without support from numerous partnerships.

To realize many of these changes, we have taken an all hands on deck approach by working with all three branches of state government on several initiatives. Since 2014, Nebraskas three branches of government have collaborated with the Council of State Governments Justice Center on justice reinvestment initiatives, which included the successful passage of sentencing reform with LB 605 (2015). In August, NDCS announced they had successfully completed implementation of their justice reinvestment initiatives. These included risk/needs assessments and programming reviews to protect public safety and help prepare inmates for reentry into the community upon completion of their sentence.

Successful outcomes for NDCS also require proper funding. Since entering office I have made it a priority to adequately fund our corrections system. I worked with the Legislature in 2015 to secure an additional $37 million over two years to improve operations in the corrections system. In 2016, the Legislature and I agreed upon an additional $26 million to expand our current prison facilities. This year, we worked together again to provide another $75 million in housing investments to appropriately house and care for the needs of elderly inmates and to deliver better programming for those with behavioral health needs.

We are beginning to see tangible results from these investments. Eight of our ten facilities are successfully filling vacancies and retaining staff members. The agency has put more of a focus on leveraging data to manage the prison population and better deliver programming. This year, NDCS completed over 7,000 risk-needs assessments on inmates to determine where they should be housed and what programming can help prepare them for reentry. Last month, the agency opened a new 100-bed dormitory at their community corrections facility in Lincoln, which is preparing inmates to return back into society.

While we continue to see great progress, we still have work to do. Staffing at two of the states maximum security facilities continues to present a challenge. To address this, Director Frakes recently instituted a new hiring bonus for corrections officers at these facilities along with raises for more experienced workers. These bonuses and incentives aim to decrease the amount of overtime required by the current workforce. If these strategies succeed, a higher level of staffing will alleviate pressure on our workforce, allowing our officers to better focus on their jobs, families, and personal well-being. We want our corrections officers to go to work each day feeling secure and supported in their environment as they protect public safety.

Hiring more corrections officers not only benefits our loyal officers, but also saves the taxpayer money as well. Every vacant position which is filled by a full-time team member rather than overtime saves an estimated $13,000 per year.

Looking to the future, we also continue to put a focus on programming to prepare inmates for their return to the community. More than nine in ten people currently in our prisons will reenter society. One program new to NDCS is titled Thinking for a Change. It is helping inmates to recognize criminal thinking and replace them with constructive thinking and problem-solving skills. The program aims to reduce recidivism (the rate of reoffending) as well as lower incidents of inmate misconduct in our facilities.

Weve also seen great community support for innovative partnerships thanks to the philanthropic support of Nebraskans like Rhonda and Howard Hawks as well as Ken Stinson and others. Last fall, NDCS launched a new partnership with Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization which transforms the lives of individuals with criminal records by hosting entrepreneurship, employment, and character development training programs. Defy Ventures currently operates in three NDCS facilities: the Nebraska State Penitentiary, the Omaha Correctional Center, and the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. By providing this opportunity, Defy not only equips inmates with multiple skills they can use once they return home, but it also makes our prison environments healthier and safer.

Thinking for a Change and Defy Ventures are just two examples of the innovative programming changes NDCS has made. These changes are evidence-based and are helping accomplish our goal of rehabilitating the individual rather than simply holding onto them until their sentence is finished. Ultimately, this approach helps ensure inmates have a constructive pathway to reentering society rather than a quick return to a taxpayer-funded prison. These programs, combined with increased housing and new hiring initiatives, are building a bright future for NDCS.

If you have any questions or comments on our work in transforming our criminal justice system, I hope youll share your ideas. Please call my office at 402-471-2244 or email me at pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov.
Canada gives OmniTRAX 30 days to repair flood-damaged Hudson Bay Railway Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman , Editor, Railway Track & Structures; and Engineering Editor, Railway Age









The government of Canada is giving OmniTRAX 30 days to repair and restore service on the Hudson Bay Railway to Churchill, Manitoba, or risk a lawsuit for breach of contract.

Official statements from Canada Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr and Merv Tweed, president of OmniTRAX Canada, each blamed actions of the other for the delayed rail repairs.

The line between Amery and Churchill has been inoperable since May 23 due to a 200-year flood event that requires between CA$20 million (US$16.18 million) and CA$60 million (US$48.55 million) in repairs. In September, the government of Canada formally demanded that the Hudson Bay Railway Company, which is owned by OmniTRAX, honor a 2008 agreement and repair the tracks.

Since the rail service disruption in late May 2017, the government of Canada has been working towards the restoration of the rail line. Despite these efforts, OmniTRAX Inc., the parent company of the owner and operator responsible for restoring service to the affected communities, has not met its obligations. As such, today, Transport Canada sent OmniTRAX Inc. a notice of default of its agreement, demanding that it complete all railway repairs and resume rail service within 30 days. Failing this, Transport Canada will instruct Justice Canada to file a lawsuit for breach of contract, said Minister Carr.

In response, OmniTRAX issued a statement saying the action is an indication that the government of Canada has no intention of solving the situation.

Culminating in the threat of legal action from Transport Canada, it has become clear to us that the federal government has no intention of constructively solving this problem for Churchill. It appears from their collective indecisiveness, dysfunction and lack of leadership on this critical issue that both Canada and the province of Manitoba are content to leave Churchill as a remote, fly-in community for the first time in over 100 years, said Tweed.

Tweed cited a neglectful approach to Churchill and a continued reduction in federal financial support that has resulted in the collapse of commercial activity along the line to the point of non-viability. It is our view that, as a result of the federal governments actions (or inactions) recently and over the past ten years, the HBR is not commercially viable and should be regarded as a public utility. We recognize this position has frustrated many, but it has become the inconvenient truth for Churchill, said Tweed.

He continued, We do, however, believe a solution is achievable, as do many of the local stakeholders. In early August, we entered into an agreement with Grand Chief Dumas and a new coalition of First Nations buyers. This coalition has the capability to operate the line and ensure it can offer a sustainable link to Churchill and points north. This agreement now hinges on the federal government and its willingness to provide the requisite approvals and financial support. Minister Carr also cited potential buyers of the line, saying, I am encouraged by the significant breakthrough towards an agreement between Missinippi Rail and One North to create a unified group as a potential buyer. I am optimistic that the partnership can develop a viable, sustainable business plan towards owning and operating the line. Their collective interest in regional ownership and focus on long-term sustainable operations represents an important step towards ensuring viable transportation in the years to come. Minister Carr said Canadas appointed Chief Negotiator Wayne Wouters would continue to facilitate discussions in the next few weeks between all parties, including with the Missinippi Rail and One North partnership.
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Russian Supreme Court to review sentence of top anti-corruption official on November 23

MOSCOW, October 18 (RAPSI)  The Supreme Court of Russia will review sentence of the ex-head of the Interior Ministry's Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Department, Denis Sugrobov, on November 23, the courts website reads on Wednesday.

In April, the Moscow City Court sentenced Sugrobov to 22 years in a high-security penal colony for organizing a criminal group, abuse of office and provocation of bribery.

Other Interior Ministrys officers involved in the case, Salavat Mullayarov, Ivan Kosourov, Vitaly Cherednichenko, Yevgeny Shermanov, Sergey Borisovsky, Sergey Ponomarev and Andrey Nazarov, received prison terms ranging from 17 to 20 years. One more defendant, businessman Igor Skakunov, was sentenced to 4 years in high-security prison.

Sugrobovs deputy Boris Kolesnikov, who had committed suicide in 2014, was also found guilty. The case against Kolesnikov was closed because of his death.

All convicted officers were stripped of their ranks by court order.

Trial was held behind closed doors because the case is classified as secret.

In July, the court gave a 3-year prison sentence to Gennady Sobolev, ex-officer of the Interior Ministry's Economic Security and Anti-Corruption Department, for abuse of authority.

According to investigators, Sugrobov and Kolesnikov tried to provoke a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer by offering him $10,000 a month for his protection. Sugrobov has been charged with organizing a criminal group, abuse of power and bribery.

Kolesnikov was arrested in February 2014. In June, he jumped out of a window during questioning at the Investigative Committee. Later, the Basmanny District Court said no evidence was found of assisted suicide.

In total, 10 people became defendants in this case with case materials making about 400 volumes. Thirty persons were recognized as aggrieved parties, thirteen of whom filed suits seeking to recover in total 218 million rubles (about $3.5 million) from the defendants. Later, victims withdrew their claims.

Sugrobov, 41, is one of the youngest police generals. He obtained the rank of Lieutenant General at the age of 36.
Moscow court sentences participant of unauthorized March 26 rally to 2 years

MOSCOW, October 18 (RAPSI, Nikita Shiryayev)  The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow has sentenced Alexey Politikov, a participant of the unauthorized March 26 rally in Moscow, to two years in a penal colony, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom on Wednesday.

The man was found guilty of using force against a representative of authority. Prosecutor asked to sentence Politikov, who pleaded guilty, to two years behind bars.

The court found that during the rally Politikov attacked an officer by grabbing him and trying to throw him on the ground while kicking the officer in the process.

According to police, about 500 people were arrested on March 26 during the unauthorized rally. Overall number of people present in the area at the time was estimated at as high as 8,000 people.

Three participants of the rally have been already sentenced for the use of force against police officers to prison terms ranging from 1.5 to 4 years in prison. One more man has received 8 months in a penal colony settlement.

The Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, arrested during the rally, claimed that Moscow authorities refused to greenlight the rally in the citys center and proposed alternative areas only a day before it was to take place. Navalny said that in this case Russian legislation allows organizers to hold an event at the area, which was listed first.
Over the past eight years, leading Republicans including Vice President Mike Pence and Energy Secretary Rick Perry have regularly criticized cap-and-trade plans that, according to their top champion  President Obama, would cause electricity rates to necessarily skyrocket. The idea of a cap-and-trade plan to drive up energy prices and make renewables more cost-competitive never got off the ground in Congress and was seen for what it was  governments preference for picking winners and losers in the energy marketplace.

While coals share of the nations electricity mix has declined in recent years  some of which is attributable to Obama-era regulations that the Trump administration is now actively rolling back  the free market also played a significant role in its demise, as the economics of abundant and low-cost natural gas became hyper-competitive. Renewables, to a lesser extent, have also increased their market share at the expense of coal and nuclear power.

The good news for consumers and U.S. manufacturers is that electricity prices never actually skyrocketed, partly thanks to the fact that a cap-and-trade plan never gained traction on Capitol Hill and because advances in drilling techniques led to the discovery of decades worth of domestic natural gas supplies.

All that could change if a new Trump administration plan to prop up nuclear and coal is adopted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Energy Secretary Perry recently issued a directive asking FERC to create rules requiring ratepayers  regular everyday consumers and small businesses  to subsidize nuclear and coal power plants by paying them to keep a 90-day stockpile of fuel on hand. Secretary Perry insists the directive merely recognizes the contribution of baseload coal and nuclear power to the resiliency of the nations electric system, but in reality, it would undermine competitive wholesale electricity markets.

Nuclear power plants and coal-fired plants have struggled to stay competitive with cheaper natural gas and wind and solar generation. Thats a fact. But its also an example of the free market working. Now the government is attempting to put its thumb on the scale to make nuclear power and coal more viable.

Set aside the fact that this administration has repeatedly rejected policies put forward by President Obamas EPA that negatively impacted coal-fired electricity. And set aside the fact that both the Trump and Obama administrations have provided billions of dollars in taxpayer money in the form of loan guarantees to their preferred electricity sources. For Trump, its nuclear; for Obama, it was renewables.

When Secretary Perrys proposal was rejected by both Republicans and Democrats, including renewable advocates, natural gas power producers and former FERC commissioners, as a massive government handout and market intervention, it was a rare moment of unity in Washington.

According to a preliminary analysis by ICF International, Perrys proposal could cost ratepayers as much as $3.8 billion annually. That money would come from consumers from every walk of life and would be directly transferred to publically traded companies that operate power plants that are incapable of competing in a free market.

If this looks, feels and sounds like the failed cap-and-trade energy tax that President Obama pushed in past years, its because it is. At its core, the directive is designed to shift the cost of maintaining aging and uneconomic generating assets to consumers, just like cap and trade would have subsidized renewable energy. Both put government  not consumers or the market  in the driver's seat.

The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) has already weighed in, stating the proposed rule is significant and would have major negative impacts on organized markets and result in higher prices, which directly impact the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector, but especially electricity-intensive manufacturing industries. The IECA went on to add, "Even a one-cent increase in industrial electricity rates would increase our costs $9 billion to $10 billion a year."

President Obama spoke of causing electricity prices to skyrocket to make wind and solar generation more cost competitive. Secretary Perry and the Trump administration now appear to be reading off the same game plan.

This kind of thinking is what President Trump pledged to change when elected; lets hope he changes course so ordinary Americans and manufacturers arent left footing the bill for another Washington bailout.

Dan K. Eberhart is CEO of Canary oilfield service company and an energy consultant.
Recent firings of regional governors have dealt yet another blow to Russian federalism. Russians are again being taught that regional autonomy is unnecessary because Moscow knows best.
On Sunday October 15, the Pentagon encouraged Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Peshmerga to avoid escalatory actions, as Iraq gave the Kurds an ultimatum to withdraw from areas around the city of Kirkuk. The United States said it opposed violence from any party, and that any action could risk destabilizing Iraq and distracting from the war on Islamic State.

The Pentagon statement has been overtaken by events. At two oclock in the morning on October 16, the Prime Minister of Iraq ordered forces to secure bases and federal installations in Kirkuk province. Columns of black-painted Humvees from the elite counterterrorism Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), and others from the Federal Police and Iraqi army, moved towards the Kurdistan frontlines at Taza and Tuz Khurmatu south of Kirkuk. In addition, elements of several Shia militias, called the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization units (PMU), sought to attack Kurdish positions. According to an article at the Institute for the Study of War, these included the Iranian-backed Badr Organizations Turkmen brigade and units of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq. They advanced toward a military base called K1, an airstrip and oil field near Kirkuk. Kurdish Peshmerga withdrew from many positions in the face of superior Iraqi firepower.

The conflict over Kirkuk goes back decades and involves bitter memories for Kurds of Saddam Husseins ethnic cleansing in the 1980s. It was a key sticking point in 1992 when Kurdish forces under Jalal Talabani occupied the city. After 2003, and especially under the 2005 Iraqi constitution, the status of the disputed city was supposed to be determined. It never was. Instead, the United States withdrew from Iraq and the situation in Kirkuk seethed. In 2014 Islamic State launched an offensive throughout northern Iraq, conquering Mosul and other cities in June. In August, it struck at Kirkuk. While Iraqi army units fled, abandoning an estimated 2,000 vehicles in northern Iraq to ISIS, the Kurds, with help from the U.S.-led coalition, eventually stopped the tide near Kirkuk. Iraq also rallied with the aid of tens of thousands of Shia volunteers for the PMU, who led the way to reconquer areas alongside newly minted and U.S.-trained units such as ISOF.

The current conflict unfolding around Kirkuk has its origins both in 2014 and in deeper conflicts with Baghdad. On September 25 the KRG held a referendum for independence which 92 percent of voters supported. Baghdad threatened to close the borders of the Kurdistan autonomous region in response, and closed the airports in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Baghdad wants a powerplay in Kirkuk to both punish the Kurds and control the local oil. But the actors involved show that the project is deeper than just Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis strategy.

Baghdad, with U.S. advisors for its forces from the coalition and its numerous political parties, has not been the only driver of pressure on Kirkuk. Rather, the Shia militia leaders have. The day before Iraq announced its October 16th offensive, both senior leaders of the PMU, Hadi al-Amiri and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, went to Kirkuk to negotiate with local Kurdish leaders from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Local journalist Fazel Hawramy tweeted photographs of them in Kirkuk. Amiri fought with the Iranians against Saddam in the 1980s and his Badr Brigade became a political organization after 2003. A member of Badr runs the Iraqi Interior Ministry, which oversees the Federal Police. Al-Muhandis is active in the Kataib Hezbollah militia and had to flee Iraq when the United States put him on a terrorist list.

Together, al-Amiri and al-Muhandis are close to the commander of the Quds Force from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which carries out the external operations of the IRGC. This commander, Qassem Soleimmani, arrived in Kurdistan on October 15th, according to Reuters. Soleimani, who paid two visits to the Kurdistan region in recent weeks, first to attend the funeral for former Iraq President and PUK leader Jalal Talabani, and then to discuss Kirkuk, has played a prominent role in recent affairs. This brings into stark clarity the Iranian influence over the Kirkuk operation.

The Iranian involvement is in stark contrast to U.S. policy, which has recently shifted to challenge Iranian influence in the region. In remarks at the University of Texas annual National Security Forum on October 12, Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo laid out a robust position against Tehrans policy. Iran is a powerful nation-state that remains the worlds largest state-sponsor of terrorism, he said. When you look at the death and destruction inflicted in Syria, Yemen and Iraq by Tehran and its proxies the threat is clear, Iran is mounting a ruthless drive to be the hegemonic power in the region. President Donald Trump denounced Tehran in his October 13 speech, where he referenced Iranian support for attacks on Americans in Iraq. The U.S. Treasury Department has also sanctioned the IRGC, noting that it was involved in using airports and bases in Iraq to transfer equipment to Syria. The picture Washington has painted is one of deep Iranian involvement in Iraq that is troubling for U.S. policy as the war against ISIS winds down.

The Kurdistan government has sought to raise the issue of U.S. equipment being used by the Shia militias in the battle for Kirkuk province. The Kurdistan Regional Security Council has put online footage it says shows Iranian-backed PMU deployed near Maktab Khalid, southwest of Kirkuk, using U.S. equipment for attack on Kirkuk.

For U.S. policymakers, the Kirkuk clashes are a test of their new Iran policy but also a headache. On October 13, Secretary of Defense James Mattis told reporters that we have got to work on this. The Secretary of State [Rex Tillerson] has the lead, but my forces are integrated among these forces [Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi Army]. He said that the United States was working to keep any potential conflict off the table. However, conflict has erupted. Tillerson was disappointed that his attempts to get the Kurdistan Region to call off the referendum were not successful.

The developments in Kirkuk presents several important questions. Did Baghdad mislead the United States about its build-up near Kirkuk? On October 12, Maj. Gen Pat White, the commanding General of the Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command tweeted that he had zero proof that any senior Iraqi government has sent threatening messages to the Kurds. The U.S. coalition seemed to indicate that the presence of Iraqi units that had been advised by the United States during the Hawija operation was a natural outcome of that operation.

The United States has often stressed that the Kurdish vote might distract from the war against ISIS. Yet the current deployment of Iraqs best unitsincluding those that fought in Mosul, Tal Afar and Hawijaagainst the Kurdish Peshmerga in Kirkuk is not only a distraction from the fight against ISIS, but is also outside the mission U.S.-led coalition training was intended for. U.S. officials, such as Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk, have been silent on the Kirkuk crisis.

Divisions in the Kurdish political camp between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and PUK have also complicated the situation in Kirkuk. The governor of Kirkuk, Najmaldin Karim, is from the PUK, as is the Vice-President Kosrat Rasul. Both have opposed the Iraqi operation. However, other PUK figures such as Bafel Talabani have sought dialogue with Baghdad. On October 16, some Peshmerga forces abandoned their positions south of Kirkuk because of the confusing internal political situation, according to local channel Rudaw. The divisions among the Kurds have enabled the Iranian-backed PMU and Soleimani to seek a separate agreement with different factions. The same divisions affect Baghdad as well. The ISOF and elite units were not trained to fight other peaceful Iraqis. The Iraqi Prime Minister stressed that the ISF were supposed to cooperate with Peshmerga and avoid confrontations, in a tweet sent out early in the morning on October 16. This means that the Ninth Armored and other Iraqi units may be confused as to the operations goals and rules of engagement.

The clashes around Kirkuk illustrate that Iraq is entering a new phase with the decline of ISIS. For Baghdad, the priority is re-asserting control over the autonomous Kurdish region. For U.S. policymakers, the growing Iranian influence in Iraq, which could have been ignored during the war against the common enemy of ISIS, is now a concern.

Reprinted with permission from The National Interest. Seth J. Frantzman is a Jerusalem-based journalist who holds a PhD from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a research associate at the Rubin Center for Research in International Affairs at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya.
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LAND FOR SALE IN NICE CALIFORNIA! Would you like to own property in Lake County California? Does residential land in Nice, CA interest you? Here is your opportunity to purchase real estate for a fraction of market value. Known as the "Bass Capital of the West." Clear Lake supports large populations of bass, crappie, bluegill, carp and catfish. Located along California St., the lot itself measures approximately 4,880 square feet. Please feel free to drive out and visit the property for yourself p...

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SAN DIEGO CA LAND LOT ADJACENT TO FWY 8, NO RESERVEAPN : 661-020-08-00LOT SIZE : 0.25 ACRES , 10,890'WAS SOLD ON 2017Recording/Sale Date : 03/07/2007 / 01/24/2007 Sale Price : $65,000GOOGLE MAP LINK https://www.google.com/maps/place/32%C2%B038'07.0%22N+116%C2%B009'48.1%22W/@32.6345234,-116.1668265,602m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d32.6352778!4d-116.1633611 Auction Disclaimer All property is sold as is, where is, with no warranties expressed or implied. It is the duty of prospective buye...

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Vacant Land in Logan, Quay County, New Mexico! Item Id: Wilburn03 Case Name: Wilburn, Donald P Case Number: 17 04539 Trustee: Description: Estate's interest in 1.76 acres of vacant land in Logan, New Mexico near Ute Reservoir. The property is located on Sun Up Drive, Logan, NM 88426. The status of water, power, sewer and utilities is unknown. The APN# is R913477. The legal description is: 'The Lots One (1),with warranty covenants. Legal Description is 18 lines long and will be provid...

Price: $ 860 Property Address: Sundown Drive Seller State of Residence: Arizona State/Province: New Mexico Zip/Postal Code: 88426 Type: Homesite, Lot City: Logan Location: 884**, Logan, New Mexico

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10 acres of agricultural land near Sanderson TX in Terrell County Texas, a few miles south of Highway 90 off gravel roads. No known recorded easement to get to property. This property was purchased site unseen from a owner that had inherited this property and never traveled to it. Access would be the responsibility of the buyer. The address stated is not exact due to rural location, see GPS coordinates for specific location, directions, and aerial views.Used for goat grazing in the past and coul...

Price: $ 818 State/Province: Texas Seller State of Residence: Texas Zip/Postal Code: 79848 Property Address: 389-221 Gatlin Rd City: Sanderson Type: Recreational, Acreage Zoning: Agricultural Location: 787**, Austin, Texas

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The Philippines (winter 2014)Western US (fall 2011/2012/2013/2014)Turkey (fall 2010)France/Germany/Denmark/Hollan (summer 2010)Uganda/Tanzania/Kenya (winter 2010)China (fall 2009)France/Italy (summer 2009)South Africa/Lesotho/Mozambique (winter 2009)Southern U.S. (fall 2008/fall 2010/spring 2011)Spain and the Camino de Compostela (summer of 2008)Israel (winter 2008)Eastern U.S. (fall 2007)Great Britain (summer 2007)Venezuela (winter 2007)Japan (fall 2006)Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland (summer 2006)Western US (fall 2005)Ecuador (winter 2005)Italy (spring 2004/summer 2009)France (summer 2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019)Iceland (summer 2003)Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia (Fall 2002)Minneapolis to Chicago (summer 2002)Bolivia (spring 2002)Scandinavia--Finland, Norway, Sweden (summer 2001)Hes followed the Tour de France seventeen times beginning in 2004 , riding much of each year's route, fully loaded, before or after the peloton and sent out regular reports during the race, also posted here.He has a long-running email list that he sends updates to every few days when he's on tour.You can write him at: george6567@yahoo.com. If you like, he'll add you to his e-list.He spends the rest of the year also on a bike, working as a messenger in Chicago.He's also an independent film enthusiast, attending or working at several major film festivals annually, including Telluride and Cannes. His coverage of Cannes is also included here in May of 2004-2015.For a "Chicago Tribune" article on George see the January 17, 2002 entry of the blog. There is also a "Hollywood Reporter" article posted October 25, 2005, and a "Streetwise" cover story posted on April 17, 2010 and stories in French newspapers the past few summers.(I'm Jeff Potter and I helped George get his blog going. I run OutYourBackDoor.com , where I report on a wide range of everyday, affordable, healthy outdoor action. I also sell some hard-to-find indy culture media and other goodies. Lotsa bike stuff!)
In response to the increasing awareness of local homelessness, Athens-Clarke County employees will be collecting toiletries to make personal care kits for those in need. This idea, referred to as Project TAKEcare, has been taking place since July 7 and will continue through August 7.
'Cloud has been a good story.'

'The guidance we gave, in the last three quarters, is at a growth trajectory.'

Indias third largest information technology firm Wipro sees every dollar of its four dollars coming from digital services.

Bhanumurthy B M, bottom, left, president and chief operating officer, Wipro, tells Ayan Pramanik and Raghu Krishnan that service delivery through digital technology-enabled platforms will change the business dynamics for the company. Excerpts:

The health care segment is still weak. When do you expect clarity on this front?

Lawmakers (in the US) are proposing different alternatives to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The fact is, you need some policy to serve the people who want to get insured. At this point, there is no clarity on how it will emerge.

We have a very robust platform (in HealthPlan Services). Because of the lack of clarity (in regulation), the payers are not able to decide whether to enter or exit the market. We are waiting on how the enrollment will happen in the coming months.

How are the acquisitions, such as Designit, Appirio or HealthPlan Services, paying off in terms of business growth?

We needed capability in design and could not have waited for building it, so we got Designit. Now we have tucked in Cooper (San Francisco-based design firm) with that.

The next is on the platform side. In the first two-three quarters of last year, when the policy changes did not happen, HealthPlan Services was doing extremely well and gave us a good entry into some of the customers base as well where we were not present, or were present in a small scale.

The third one is cloud: Appirio. Our cloud revenue has hit almost $1 billion on a run-rate basis.

Cloud has been a good story, obviously large portion of that is subsumed into the digital part as well.

With Appirio, we are now able to tell the full story of cloud all the way, from process to application to infrastructure to data.

Analysts say Wipro has not been able to narrow the gap with peers in growth. What are your strategies?

If you look at the guidance we gave in the last three quarters, it is at a growth trajectory. You see critical parameters such as percentage of digital business.

At 24.1 per cent (of revenue from digital services), we are delivering digital at scale.

(Decline in revenue from) communications business was an one-time issue and it has bottomed out this quarter.

The other service capabilities, application development, analytics all of them have grown well.

Are you seeing a trickle-down effect from digital business for traditional outsourcing?

If you look at the digital ecosystem, it is not just the front-end piece of work.

A lot of times, we see that the existing method of work from the customer has already transformed into digital.

There are pieces of design and software development; it is a combination of things and that ecosystem is 24.1 per cent.

Are you also getting a higher margin from newer offerings than traditional services?

When we look at the run (traditional) service, there is obviously price pressure.

Because of this, you do a lot more automation, and to that extent, percentage (of margin) may look different.

On the digital side, these skills are of premium and we also have to make investments to ensure that people are trained properly.

We have built 16 design pods, and opened an automotive centre of excellence in the US.

As revenue from digital increases, will we see more divergence between revenue and headcount?

During the first quarter this year, we added a large number of people. This quarter, we definitely improved utilisation.

That is one way of absorbing the efforts. As the digital revenue grows for us, there is obviously premium for such services.

The next is automation; with more services delivered through automation. You will see a divergence with the revenue growth and people growth.

Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters
In the April-September period, HMSI has logged 18 per cent growth in two-wheeler sales, outpacing the industry average of 10 per cent.

Leading two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd is looking at two new product offerings by the close of this financial year. The company has lined up a capital expenditure (Capex) of Rs 700-800 crore, to be invested mostly in creating additional production line at its Karnataka plant.

"We are planning to launch two new models -- a gearless scooter and a motorcycle. Our capex for this financial year would be used primarily on the new production line at Karnataka that would enhance annual production capacity by 50,000 units. Some of the capex would also go into new model line-ups and product upgrades. Our cumulative capex stands at around Rs 8,000 crore", said Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice president, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI).

In the April-September period, HMSI has logged 18 per cent growth in two-wheeler sales, outpacing the industry average of 10 per cent.

Scooters contributed 67 per cent to the company's overall sales in this period.

Honda's total two-wheeler sales in last fiscal crossed five million units in FY17, marking a growth of 12 per cent. Of this, total automatic scooter sales edged past three million units, rising by 16 per cent.

The two-wheeler manufacturer also posted 42 per cent growth in exports (283,163 units) in FY17 when the industry was let down by a de-growth of six per cent.

"This fiscal, we are aiming at an export volume of around 300,000 units. We have already exported over 4000 units of Navi. Latin America is our major export market, we are also the number one exporter to Nepal and Sri Lanka," Guleria said.

HMSI is the biggest player in the scooter market with a share of 60 per cent.

In the overall two-wheeler sales, its share at the end of 2016-17 was 25 per cent.

About 30 per cent of HMSI's total sales come from rural India.

To drive penetration of scooters into the price conscious rural market, Honda is betting on its latest model -- Cliq.

The competitive pricing of this model along with the Activa engine is expected to deepen rural sales.

The company, however, is not ready yet on plans to roll out battery-powered two-wheelers.

"At the global level, some kind of an arrangement is being discussed with Hitachi. Any work on this front has to be led by out global R&D team. In India, the switch to electric vehicles will first take off for four-wheelers. But, there are hurdles like charging and disposal of battery", he said.

Note: The lead image is used only for representational purpose. Photograph: Courtesy, honda2wheelersindia.com
Govt working on policy to regularise migrant workers, labour ministry puts out broad contours of the policy for public discussion

In a move that might increase its appeal among the migrant worker community in urban areas, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has come out with a policy to formalise the domestic workers and extent social benefits to them.

The Union labour ministry on Monday put out the broad contours of the policy for public discussion. The four key takeaways are recognition of these people as workers, guaranteeing them a minimum wage, permitting unionisation, and devising a dispute-resolution mechanism.

The policy seeks to give these workers equal remuneration, minimum wages, fair employment terms, and a mechanism for redress of grievances.

If adopted, the policy will give the workers granted a rights to form unions and get protection from violence and abuse.

They will also have an access to health and maternity benefits and old-age pensions.

The ministry has invited comments on the draft from the general public within a month.

The government believes that an institutional dispute-resolution mechanism will help avoid incidents like the recent one in Noida where a female domestic help working in a housing society was allegedly beaten up, following which a not-so-peaceful protest took place.

The mob also blocked the Dadri-Surajpur-Chhalera road at Barola.

There are about 4.2 million domestic workers in India and they are in high demand in urban areas, especially with the changing nature of lifestyle.

Yet, they continue to live and work without respectable social conditions and basic facilities.

Women form the bulk of this workforce. The absence of a fixed wage structure forces them to work in many households for earning a decent living.

The 189 convention of the International Labour Organisation ensures various rights for domestic workers. These include fixed wage, weekly holiday and medical benefits.

India, however, has yet to ratify the convention.

Due to the nature of their job and dispersed locations across any city, domestic workers have mostly remained unorganised so far.

And this is understood to be a reason why they are often exploited by employers and private domestic workers agencies and made forced to work for long hours for lower wages.

Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
While the framework of service delivery and client-focused approach remains unchanged, Nilekani's suggestions, of taking start-ups with newer technologies to clients, are being implemented.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Infosys, Indias second-largest software services firm, has focused largely on ensuring business numbers during the near two-month period since co-founder Nandan Nilekani returned to take over as chairman of the firm.

As the $10.2-billion Indian information technology (IT) firm nears its crucial second-quarter (Q2) result announcement (July-September) on October 24, albeit delayed for the first time in many years, two people aware of the companys key focus areas under Nilekanis leadership said the mandate is to get the numbers right for Q2 and ensure better service delivery to clients.

They clarified the firms new strategy would come up for discussion at the time of announcement, and there has hardly been any major change in operations from the strategy set by its non-founder chief executive Vishal Sikka, who had quit the company in August.

Sikka, who had set a road map for non-linear growth, had cited distractions over public accusations led by founder N R Narayana Murthy over alleged corporate governance lapses in the company.

Sikkas exit was immediately followed by a public spat between the company helmed by then chairman R Seshasayee and Murthy.

It also saw investors losing confidence in the companys stock.

Nilekani, who had remained silent on Infosys ever since he quit the firm to join the governments flagship programme, Unique Identification Authority of India, as its chairman, was persuaded by Murthy, the investors and the board to take up the reins.

It also led to Seshasayee and the two independent directors exiting the firm.

The mandate from Nilekani is to not get distracted but ensure timely delivery. Get people deployed and have as little bench as possible, with a hardcore operations-focused approach and keep the costs under control, said one of the two, requesting anonymity.

At operational level, nothing has changed and leaders have been told to make sure more employees are billed against projects to ensure better margin.

While Nilekani is not involved on a day-to-day basis from an operating perspective, and the framework of service delivery and client-focused approach remains unchanged, his suggestions, of taking start-ups with newer technologies to clients, are being implemented.

The status quo at Infosys is also being reflected in many of the employees expecting flat salary growth and the very senior level salary hikes yet to be announced.

Contrary to popular reaction, he added, From an employee engagement perspective, nothing has changed. There are employees who are considering alternative careers since consulting is still not considered a priority for Infosys. They are ensuring the numbers are first taken care of.

Infosys has engaged consultant Egon Zehnder to help find Sikkas successor.

For now, interim chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director U B Pravin Rao is battling the botched implementation of the Goods and Services Tax network software, which has led to glitches and affected tax filings of thousands of merchants.

The government had to intervene by setting up a group of ministers led by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to look into the glitches and review the tech implementation every fortnight.

Only two of the 43 issues have been plugged.

Infosys is widely expected by market analysts to report flat Q2 results and may announce a revision in its growth forecast.

Equity analysts largely predict two per cent growth in revenues, while net profit could see a decline.

Both ICICI Securities and HDFC Securities have forecast between two and three per cent revenue growth in constant currency terms for July-September quarter.

Equity analysts across the board have predicted clients discretionary spending in retail and banking, financial services and insurance likely to impact its Q2 results like its peers in the IT services industry.

On October 24, Nilekanis team is likely to unveil the new strategy drafted by independent directors Ravi Venkatesan and D N Prahlad; indications of the new CEO and Nilekanis feedback on the independent report that Murthy wanted to make public on the probe over the Panaya acquisitions that first led to suspicion of governance failure in the company.

Infosys declined to comment, citing the silent period ahead of the Q2 results.
In the 25-page defence evidence affidavit, which was served to the UK Crown Prosecution Service, Mallya is learnt to have alleged that his was a case of political vendetta and loss-making business.

Probe agencies are preparing answers to questions raised by Vijay Mallya in his defence affidavit against charges of money laundering and criminal conspiracy and seeking his extradition.

Sources said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are in the final stages of compiling the reply to the defence that Mallya submitted in a London court to avoid extradition to India.

In the 25-page defence evidence affidavit, which was served to the UK Crown Prosecution Service, Mallya is learnt to have alleged that his was a case of political vendetta and loss-making business.

He also expressed serious concerns about the quality of prisons in India being below par and cited Abu Salems extradition case.

According to Mallya, Indian agencies had twisted certain clauses in that case.

The Indian authorities have been asked to file a reply in the UK court in London to the affidavit before November 3.

The issues Mallya raised have nothing to do with the charges against him, said a senior investigative officer privy to the extradition case.

According to him, the Indian authorities would not address these concerns and may send generic responses.

The response would mention that the case was not politically driven or motivated.

Sources said that Mallya had cited some political names allegedly responsible for the Kingfisher Airlines debacle.

Further, he has also said that human rights were often being violated in Indian prisons.

To support his concerns, he had highlighted the views of four different foreign-based independent counsels, who are domain experts, and shared their views in individual capacity.

Among his key strategies is to convince the UK courts that his offence is not criminal but civil in nature, the official said.

The contents of this affidavit have been kept secret by the London court.

The judge has refused to share any papers related to the affidavit with anyone except state authorities, said the officer.

India is pursuing the extradition case against Mallya with the UK government after investigations by the CBI and the ED charged him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The pre-trial review on the extradition case will be held on November 20 in London.

On October 4, the UK Crown Prosecution Service, on behalf of India, filed a supplemental affidavit in connection with money laundering charges of the Rs 950 crore loan default to IDBI Bank.

Based on this, Mallya was re-arrested and granted bail till December 4, when the extradition hearing is scheduled to commence.

Mallya was first arrested and produced before the court in London on April 18 for extradition hearings and was later granted conditional bail.

The CBI has been investigating loans granted by IDBI Bank to Kingfisher Airlines in 2010 and has secured a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in a case related to alleged money laundering and wilful default of loans.

Simultaneously, the ED is also probing the alleged diversion of the same loan to front companies.

The Kingfisher Airlines default on the Rs 6,963 crore loan is being investigated by the CBI separately. An additional chargesheet in the case is expected soon.

Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters
'The forces of good are on the run.'

'But dark times also challenge people to fight.'

'I believe Indians will rise against these dark times.'

Even as he was fighting against the deportation of Rohingya refugees in the Supreme Court came the announcement that Colin Gonsalves, founder of the Human Rights Law Network, had been named one of the four winners of this year's Right Livelihood Award, often described as the Alternative Nobel Prize.

The distinguished lawyer spoke to Jyoti Punwani about his journey from IIT Bombay to fighting for the wretched of the earth in the apex court.

How did you switch from IIT to the law?

When I was in IIT, the situation was politically very turbulent.

The Jayaprakash Narayan movement was on as was the railway strike. This turbulence percolated down to students.

A Marxist Study Circle was formed in IIT. It was an academic group where a lot of reading took place.

For me, studying a dull and boring course, this was exciting, specially because we had some world class teachers in that study circle.

Why did you choose a 'dull and boring course' to study?

My father was an engineer and in those days there was no counseling.

A friend asked me to appear for the IIT entrance exam along with him. So I got into civil engineering. It was purely arbitrary.

But when you switched to law from engineering, surely your parents must have been upset.

My parents were very simple people.

When I got a first class in my ICSE school leaving exam, they were pleasantly surprised.

My father didn't know what IIT was. Frankly, nor did I.

They just went along with my decision.

I didn't become a lawyer immediately. I got involved in the housing rights movement. We used to have morchas against evictions, where I was arrested many times.

They (his parents) used to read about my arrest in the papers. And they must have guessed my finances weren't great -- I always took a bus, not an auto, my clothes were old...

I didn't live at home, I was quite a nomad, living at different activists' homes. But whenever I went home, they never asked what I was doing.

I was an engineering graduate, but could never send money home. They never said anything about it.

How did you become a lawyer?

After two years in the housing rights movement, I went to meet (trade unionist) Dr Datta Samant. At that time I was living in a textile worker's chawl at Currey Road (south central Mumbai).

Dr Samant spoke to me very roughly, implying: You middle class people come here to work for some time and then run away.

When he came to know I was a BTech he told me: 'Better go find a job, don't fool around.' But I was insistent, so finally he called his brother Dada Samant and said: 'What can we do for him?'

I had noticed many workers coming to them with their problems regarding lockouts, strikes. I suggested I could write letters for them. That's how I started.

I went on to participate in domestic inquiries (against workers) in at least 500 industrial establishments in Mumbai. It was a marvelous experience.

Then a judge in the industrial court told me that if I didn't become a lawyer I would have no career.

Miltancy is the right approach because in this country there is no respect for the rule of law and for working class people.

Did Dr Samant pay you?

The princely sum of Rs 500 a month for working from 8 am till midnight. But those were the happiest days of my life.

You started off as a labour lawyer?

Yes, even today I do a lot of labour law.

I practised in the Thane industrial tribunal and then in the Bombay industrial tribunal, and then moved to the high court.

I stopped appearing exclusively for Dr Samant's workers only after his death.

Could you earn much?

I had many cases of Dr Samant's workers so I was able to lead a decent life.

Dr Samant started me off with Rs 500, but left me with a rich legacy both of experience and of clients. I'll remain eternally grateful to him.

He was my true guru. He taught me to see the world through the eyes of the working class. Only if you do that, can you do labour law meaningfully.

Dr Samant was much vilified, but he was one of the greatest trade unionists we've had.

His definition of militancy was correct -- that one should not believe in the law and the court while negotiating workers' demands. One must be a militant.

I have seen salaries of workers under him go up from Rs 400 to ten times that much just through negotiations.

When I see the salary scales today, some at pre-1980 levels and some even below the minimum wage, I feel all the gains of his period have been wiped out.

Explain: 'One must be a militant'.

Miltancy is the right approach because in this country there is no respect for the rule of law and for working class people.

The inherent culture of domination lays down that working class people be treated with indignity. They must rise in revolt.

This is a fundamentally evil and unjust system.

What Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar said in 1942 (in his speech at the All India Depressed Classes Conference): 'Agitate, educate and organise' is still valid.

Those who see the legal system close up, specially, see that it is all maya.

It is deeply inequitable and actually cruel for working class people. It needs such a radical overhaul that even the best of judges cannot think what kind of change is necessary.

So it will have to be changed only by people revolting against it.

Take a simple thing like a worker being terminated. He cannot approach the court directly, except in Maharashtra. He has to take permission from the labour commissioner before his case is sent to court.

So the labour commissioner's office has become a cesspool of corruption, with companies ready to pay so that cases don't go to court.

Now Modi is going to dismantle labour laws. I'm sure if that is done workers will rise in insurrection, just as we rose against the British.

There is little evidence of people rising in insurrection except maybe the Maoists.

There is lot of evidence in remote pockets where the media doesn't go. There are latent forms of insurrection -- you don't see it because the State is so repressive.

There is so much bitterness, anger and resentment among people that is ground for insurrection.

Converting every social activist into an enemy of the State is the hallmark of this government.

If the legal system is maya, why do you continue with your practice?

Even if it is an illusion as a whole, there are very kind judges who want to change the world and the system, in significant positions in all courts.

Some judges make PILs (public interest litigation) their own cause. And the judgment by a Supreme Court judge covers the whole country, while that by a high court judge covers an entire state.

So, public-spirited lawyers can do good work. The law is an area no human rights organisation lawyer should abandon.

Some cynics say that by using the law you are strengthening belief in the capitalist system. But within capitalism there are areas of combat possible.

In the legal system, decent results are possible.

You get great judgments, but what about the implementation?

There are varying levels of implementation.

The Right to Food judgment was implemented 70%.

The midday meal and anganwadi schemes were about to close in 2000. Under IMF and World Bank pressure, the government had decided to close down the public distribution system.

Then came the PUCL case asking for legal enforcement of the Right to Food, and the Supreme Court's orders were implemented.

PDS coverage went from 14% to 70%. And in 2013 the Food Security Act was passed.

A lot depends on judges and the media. I tell sceptics -- and there is a breed of new law professors who are super sceptics -- as long as people are coming to you, people who have no lawyers to defend them, you must defend them.

If someone comes to tell you the bulldozer is coming to my house, will you tell him to fight the bulldozer by himself or give him a lecture on corruption of the judiciary? You would just take up the case.

Why did you move to Delhi?

When I was in Mumbai, the Human rights Law Network had only three or four offices. It was only after I came to Delhi that I could coordinate things and it could grow to 20 offices.

In Mumbai, the labour law field was stagnating because of the closure of factories and textile mills.

In Delhi, I started taking on environmental law and PILs. I found it to be a vibrant city of activists from all over the country.

So you don't subscribe to the view that young people today are no longer drawn to social causes like the previous generation?

No. A whole generation is coming up with different approaches, maybe not in the field of labour, but all branches: Environment, housing rights, minority rights, Dalit rights. I'm optimistic.

I believe we are in kalyug where rakshasas rule and the forces of good are on the run.

But dark times also challenge people to fight. I believe Indians will rise against these dark times.

As the Sikh activist Jaswant Singh Khalra said: 'Today when darkness with all its strength thrusts itself over the truth, if nothing else, a proud and noble Punjab is the light that will challenge it.'

He was just a diya, but if all activists become diyas, what will be the result?

The NDA has raised the level of repression enormously.

The amount of surveillance, suspicion and anger against those involved in civil rights and Constitutionally protected work is very very high.

Fear among the people is also very high.

Do you see any difference in the way the UPA dealt with human rights and what the NDA is doing?

There is an element of continuity between the two. The UPA also suppressed civil rights groups and NGOs. Its levels of corruption were astronomical and this affected all its programmes.

But the NDA has raised the level of repression enormously.

The amount of surveillance, suspicion and anger against those involved in civil rights and Constitutionally protected work is very very high. Fear among the people is also very high.

Those who don't see themselves as enemies of the State like me -- I'm just trying by bits and pieces to correct the system; or the hundreds of NGOs and people working for reform in their specialised areas -- we are all treated like enemies of the State.

Converting every social activist into an enemy of the State is the hallmark of this government.

Lynchings and hate speech, incitements to kill, are the hallmarks of this State.

Has all this affected the judiciary? The NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) was shot down.

There is pressure to appoint judges of a particular political orientation. The NJAC would have fast-tracked the system of undermining the judiciary.

In two years the government would have appointed hundreds of judges. Now they have to do so in a decentralised fashion, go person by person.

You have recently taken up the Rohingya issue, before that you had taken on the AFSPA in Manipur. Do you get threats?

We get indirect threats.

Sometimes outside court someone walks up to me and says don't do this. I just tell them that I'm doing my dharm. It is my duty.

They expect hostility and anger; I don't have any.

I've found you have to listen to the other side and debate; people can then get logical answers to questions troubling them.

On the Rohingya issue, Subramanian Swamy in a debate with me on a TV channel raised security concerns. We have to take these concerns seriously, we can't reply to them by just repeating, 'Oh this government has an anti-Muslim stand'.

I pointed out that 7,000 Rohingyas live in Jammu. There has been not a single case filed against them. The CM of the state says there are no cases, the police say there are no signs of radicalisation.

So who are these terrorists we are worried about? Can't you isolate and arrest them?

After the AFSPA judgment (the Supreme Court ruled last year that every death caused by the armed forces in a disturbed area should be thoroughly inquired into), I was accused by some army officers of supporting terrorists, and never condemning the killing of security forces by terrorists. Such judgments affect the morale of the forces, I was told.

I told the officers: If a terrorist tries to shoot you, and you shoot him dead, I'd be the first to pin a medal on you because you risked your life for the country. If a terrorist bombs a school he must be proceeded with within the boundaries of the law.

But to take someone on suspicion, torture him and then kill him in cold blood in a fake encounter... that cannot be supported.

Won't your morale be higher if you catch rogue elements of the army and police, I asked the officers. Then you would not only be a fighting force, but a moral force too. I found that debating with them helped me clear my mind too.

What do you see as the biggest obstacle to human rights?

It is all to do with the kalyug we are facing.

Under globalisation, capitalism has moved to a cruel stage. Money is equal to god, GDP is everything, and might is right.

In these circumstances, common people are deprived of all their rights, most of all, the right to live with dignity.

The hallmark of cruel capitalism is the violent discrimination of the poor.

The only solution then becomes revolution by the people. That is not a radical thought, it is just the simple solution.

Maybe it won't happen in my lifetime, but one day it will.

So many millions cannot live under such oppression for so long.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, suggested Tuesday that the Senate could hold up Trump administration nominees to the Environmental Protection Agency if it doesn't abandon a potential rollback of Renewable Fuel Standard requirements.

Grassley and a handful of farm state senators met with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Tuesday over the EPA's announcement that it might lower advanced biofuel volumes for 2018 and count ethanol exports toward the renewable standard.

The EPA's announcement has riled renewable fuels groups, and farm state politicians have raised their voices as well, arguing that such a move would betray a promise President Donald Trump made as a candidate in 2016.

Grassley's suggestion that nominations could be held up came before Tuesday's meeting with Pruitt. On a conference call with reporters, Grassley said,"I think there's plenty of senators who would do that."

After Tuesday's meeting, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, still expressed concerns about the biofuels issue. She said Pruitt told them he's only getting input from stakeholders, but she added, "it is evident that the stakeholders he refers to are not the farmers and manufacturers across the State of Iowa." She said Pruitt needs to live up to his promise not to undermine the RFS.

Grassley, meanwhile, issued a statement after the meeting saying he had impressed upon Pruitt that supporting biofuels is "good policy" and what the president promised last year. Grassley said the message was "well received."

On the conference call earlier, Grassley said he also met with Pruitt on Monday, for lunch, where the biofuels issue was discussed. Grassley said he got the impression that Pruitt believes he can "thread the needle" and keep the president's promises to the renewable fuels industry as well as meet the desires of refiners. The Iowa Republican said he believes that's an "impractical position."

The two senators have continued to express confidence in Pruitt as EPA head, even as the RFS has been threatened. However, the idea that EPA nominees could be at stake as a result of the controversy raises the temperature of the controversy.

Ernst is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over nominations to the EPA. A spokesperson, Leigh Claffey, said that she's keeping her options open. Already, Ernst has expressed concerns over a Trump administration nominee, William Wehrum, to head the EPA's office of air and radiation, which deals with the RFS.

Claffey said Ernst doesn't believes she got straight answers from Wehrum, and "would like more clarity" on how he would enforce the RFS.

The EPA declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.
'Both empires had profound influences on modern India.'

'But neither can India's history be reduced to the actions of imperial rulers.'

'We need to think about India's history beyond India's current borders.'

IMAGE: Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, with his son Dara Shikoh in 1638. Photograph: Kind courtesy the Victoria and Albert Museum. Scanned from a book, via Govardhan/Wikimedia Commons

Harvard historian Sunil Amrith, 38, was utterly surprised and shocked to hear that he had won the prestigious MacArthur 'Genius' Grant.

He felt a sense of detachment after the phone call ended -- almost as if it were happening to someone else. He had no inkling that he had been nominated, and had never dreamed that he would win something like this.

The news coincided with another tiding of great joy -- the birth of his daughter five days ago.

The MacArthur Fellowship is a five-year grant of $625,000 awarded to individuals who show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future.

Individuals cannot apply for this award; they must be nominated.

Kenya-born, Singapore-raised Amrith left the University of London where he taught history for nine years for Harvard in 2015. He is the Mehra Family Professor of South Asian Studies and Professor of History, and a Director of the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

His research has focused on migration in South and Southeast Asia and its role in shaping present-day social and cultural dynamics.

Among his works are Crossing the Bay of Bengal: The Furies of Nature and the Fortunes of Migrants, Migration and Diaspora in Modern Asia and Decolonizing International Health: South and Southeast Asia, 1930-1965.

He is currently on a sabbatical writing Unruly Waters about how water has shaped modern India. The book will be published in 2019.

A lover of jazz music, he is also a busy parent -- along with his British barrister wife who is a lecturer at the Harvard Law School -- to a four-year-old son and 12-day-old baby girl.

The MacArthur 'Genius' explained to Rediff.com's Archana Masih in an e-mail interview how we should explore the past in all its complexities and why he is wary of the term 'genius'.

Part I of a must read interview!

Does the Taj Mahal stand out as a symbol of invaders and plunderers? Is it foreign or Indian?

What is the best way to deal with a historical past that a section of people are uncomfortable about?

The Taj Mahal is a work of enduring architectural beauty that every Indian can consider part of their cultural inheritance, in just the same way as Indians can appreciate and embrace the beauty of the temples or gurdwaras or churches that shape our landscapes -- or even, for that matter, the British colonial architecture of Mumbai or Chennai or New Delhi -- regardless of their faith or political inclinations.

Many of the world's great monuments were built by rulers whose actions and ethics we no longer condone. Many great monuments were built by forced labour.

As Walter Benjamin once wrote, 'Every monument of civilisation is also a monument of barbarism.' We should bear that in mind.

I think we can have the cultural maturity to live with contradiction: We can appreciate architecture and art aesthetically while still delving into the conditions of their production.

We can give new meaning to the monuments that we live amongst if we treat them as part of a living, evolving culture, rather than as frozen in time and fixed in significance.

One of the things that has always impressed me about Indonesia is the level of comfort that country has with its diverse past.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country, and quite happily celebrates as part of its heritage a Buddhist site like Borobodur, or the wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre which reinterprets the Ramayana.

There is no contradiction there, and I think that shows an inspiring level of cultural self-confidence.

Of course, the forces of intolerance are on the rise in Indonesia, too, so that too may change.

I do think the quest for cultural purity is a dead end. Are we going to abolish potatoes and chili from our cuisine as symbols of Portuguese conquest?

Serious history is not about searching for heroes and villains, it is about trying to understand the choices and the dilemmas facing people in the past -- choices which may or may not be familiar to us today.

As a student, teacher and lover of history -- what are your thoughts on the manner in which history is being contested in India?

The Mughals are receding from text books.

Icons of the right are making their way into political culture and iconography -- how do you see this churn, this revision of history affecting Indian history?

I think our main responsibility as scholars and students of history is to explore the past in all of its complexity.

We can no more do away with the Mughals in our textbooks than we can do away with the British. Both empires had a profound influences on modern India.

But neither can India's history be reduced to the actions of imperial rulers.

There are so many dimensions to history that we need to attend to: We need more space for local and regional histories; we need to delve into the histories of particular communities; we need to emphasise gender history and environmental history; we need to think about India's history beyond India's modern borders.

The very division of Indian history into successive imperial epochs can divert us from other sorts of historical change that followed different rhythms.

Serious history is not about searching for heroes and villains, it is about trying to understand the choices and the dilemmas facing people in the past -- choices which may or may not be familiar to us today.

We need to recognise the ways in which institutions and policies forged at particular moments in the past may well continue to shape the world we live in.

Moral judgement is, of course, an important part of the discipline of History -- it is certainly our responsibility to assess the consequences of past political systems, especially when these consequences may still be the source of inequality in the present day.

But this is not the same as retrospectively applying our contemporary moral preoccupations and standards to a past in which they may have had no meaning.

I am all for recovering forgotten voices and revisiting historical figures, as long as this is done in a rigorous way that adheres to standards of evidence.

The danger lies in cherry-picking or even mythologising historical examples to legitimise a contemporary political agenda, which is, I fear, what is being done by those who wish to emphasise only the 'Hindu' dimensions of India's past.

The path to a better understanding of our contested past must lie in maintaining the autonomy of institutions like the ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research) or the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

In order to debate the past, we need to preserve its traces, and so we need to support and respect our archives and manuscript libraries; and we need to respect the integrity of the scholarship going on in Indias universities.

As a student, teacher, and lover of history, my main source of optimism comes from the fact that India has one of the greatest concentrations of outstanding historians anywhere in the world.

Any country would be lucky to count among its historians such brilliant minds as Seema Alavi and Srinath Raghavan, Radhika Singha and A R Venkatachalapathy -- to name just a very few.

IMAGE: Sunil Amrith, among the 24 winners of the MacArthur 'Genius' Grant this year, on the Harvard university campus. Photograph: Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard University, kind courtesy Sunil Amrith

What does being a MacArthur Fellow mean for an individual? What does this badge of honour, this stamp of genius, help in shaping individual work and her/his future?

It's a huge honour, of course. The MacArthur Fellowships are given to individuals, yet my work is always part of a collective endeavour.

I hope that my award will also bring more attention to the work that so many others are doing on Asian history, on migration, on environmental history.

In terms of shaping my own work in the future, clearly this is a huge boost of confidence; it brings me very generous resources to put towards my research; it will, I hope, open up new collaborations and relationships by bringing my work to a broader audience.

But the fundamentals of my working life won't change -- I shall continue to do research, and write, and teach.

I'm very wary of the term 'genius' -- and indeed the MacArthur Foundation themselves don't use it! -- it suggests a special innate ability that I really don't have.

To put it another way, genius comes in countless forms, and most often goes unrecognised.

How do you intend to use the $625,000 over the next five years?

I will not be making any hasty purchases! Some of it I will use directly towards my current research. Some of it I hope to use to seed new collaborations. Some I will set aside for future projects.

I also plan to donate some of the money to help organisations that do important work related to the issues I am most concerned about.

Global migration has become a very intensely debate in recent times. In the shadow of terrorism and increasing nationalist sentiments, countries are increasingly unwelcoming of migrants -- especially from conflict zones -- how will this impact the movement of ideas, histories that have shaped the world?

I worry deeply about the increasing hostility to migrants that I witness in societies around the world: From Trump's America and Brexit Britain to Modi's India; I even see it in a small city-State like Singapore, which has tended to be very open to migrants.

I think there is a narrowing of our own horizons when we turn our backs to what is 'foreign' -- indeed, some of the most vibrant intellectual and cultural and political movements in modern history have been the product of mixture and cultural exchange.

Hostility to migration is not new.

There have been moments in world history when migration has occasioned a sense of panic: Think of the American exclusion acts of the late-nineteenth century (designed to keep the Chinese out), or the restriction of Indian migration to Burma in the 1930s, following communal violence.

In those moments, as today, broader fears about intensifying global economic connectedness channelled themselves into restricting migration as a way of asserting control.

Migrants came to be seen as the symbols of unrestrained globalisation -- when, ironically, they were often the victims as much as the beneficiaries of those very processes.

'Migrant' is a capacious term. The conditions under which people have migrated have varied greatly, and they continue to vary -- on one end of the spectrum, migration has been the result of violence and migrants have been faced by a lack of freedom and a lack of choices; on the other end of the spectrum, migration may be seen as an ongoing quest for autonomy, as people move to seek better lives, better opportunities, and new horizons.

Current discourse in many Western countries stigmatises these motivations by considering 'economic migration' As something negative -- but what could be more natural, or more human?

I cannot imagine any of the societies I know well -- whether India or Singapore, or the UK or the US -- without the multiple cultural influences that migrants have brought to them.
A federal court in Hawaii on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, a day before it was set to take effect.

This is in the series of legal setbacks for the President's immigration agenda.

After courts rejected his earlier attempts to impose sweeping restrictions on refugees and travelers from Muslim-majority countries, Trump in September unveiled a new executive order indefinitely banning travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, and North Korea.

Judge Derrick Watson said the travel ban -- Trump's third version of the policy -- 'plainly discriminates based on nationality', reports CNN.

The CNN quoted Watson as saying in his order that 'The President's executive order suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States'.

Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, commonly known as the travel ban, was an executive order issued by Trump.

Immediately, there were numerous protests and legal challenges, with some calling it a 'Muslim ban' due to the fact that six of the affected countries had a Muslim majority.

Photograph: Reuters
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.

Air Force Day, celebrated on October 8 each year, provides occasion to revisit the Indian Air Force's biggest worry -- its declining squadron numbers -- and to examine how this could be reversed within its budget.

Military planners estimate that the IAF needs 42 fighter squadrons to tackle a two-front threat from Pakistan and China.

Against this, the air force has just 33 squadrons, including 10 squadrons of obsolescent MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters overdue for retirement.

True, new Tejas and Sukhoi-30MKI fighters are rolling off the lines, but not quickly enough to replace the retiring MiGs, leave alone increasing the number of squadrons.

Each fighter squadron should have 21 aircraft, including 16 single-seat fighters, two twin-seat trainers (which would fly combat sorties in wartime) and three aircraft as maintenance reserves.

The IAF has about 600 fighters, and calculating at 21 fighters per squadron, this adds up to just 29 squadrons.

That means many of the IAF's 33 squadrons operate with fewer fighters than the 21 authorised.

So why is the air force not allocated more money to quickly buy more fighters?

The IAF has already been allocated 43 per cent of the capital budget, which pays for new equipment.

Additional capital allocations are possible only by raising defence spending (at the politically costly expense of social sector spending and infrastructure creation), or at the expense of the army or navy.

The army, despite its massive size and urgent need for artillery guns, infantry equipment and air defence weaponry gets less than a third of the capital budget.

Reducing it is impossible.

The navy, which plays a growing role in the Indian Ocean, is as short of warships as the air force is of fighters and cannot countenance its modernisation budget falling below the present 25 per cent.

The answer, obviously, is for the IAF to spend more judiciously.

The IAF's misguided quest to own all flying machines, including attack helicopters that fight the land battle and should rightly belong to the army, has resulted in the IAF spending some $2 billion on 22 Apache attack helicopters -- money that could have gone out of the army's coffers.

The IAF must also balance between, on the one hand, buying pricey, cutting-edge fighters like the Rafale that it can afford only in small numbers; and, on the other hand, acquiring inexpensive workhorses that provide the numbers needed to cover India's vast airspace.

While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers.

A telling example is the IAF's Rafale purchase, where exorbitant cost (Rs 686 crore/Rs 6.86 billion per aircraft, Rs 58,000 crore/Rs 580 billion for the deal with add-ons) has left the IAF with just 36 fighters instead of the 126 that were tendered.

Everyone disregarded Stalin's dictum: 'Quantity has a quality of its own.'

Building up quantity, without sacrificing quality, requires the IAF to progress on five simultaneous tracks.

The air force chief recently stated, without elaborating, that by the IAF's centenary in 2032, its squadron strength would reach authorised levels.

In a country where even annual plans are seldom met, this projection is so far into the future as to be practically meaningless.

The IAF must clearly elaborate how it will meet its targets, and lay down mid-course milestones for 2025.

To stimulate this process, here is a five-point road map.

First, the IAF must expedite the long-postponed proposal to upgrade at least four of its six Jaguar ground strike squadrons with more powerful engines, DARIN-3 navigation-attack avionics, airborne electronically scanned array radar and capable air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry.

Along with three Mirage 2000 and three MiG-29 squadrons already being upgraded, this would keep 10 squadrons of capable (though not cutting-edge) fighters flying for another 15 years till 2032. The upgraded Jaguars could serve some years beyond that.

Second, the IAF must whole-heartedly support indigenous fighter development: Specifically the Tejas Mark 1A, followed by the eponymous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) -- a twin-engine, stealthy, fifth-generation fighter.

The IAF has initiated the acquisition of 84 Tejas Mark 1A fighters (four squadrons). This will have four improvements over the initial Tejas -- AESA radar for added combat capability; air-to-air refuelling to increase combat range; an externally-mounted 'self-protection jammer' to blind enemy radars, and tidier internal systems to increase maintainability and reduce 'turnaround time', that is how quickly a refuelled and rearmed Tejas can leave on a fresh mission after returning from an earlier one.

Improving the Tejas incrementally could give the 2032 fleet eight Tejas squadrons.

Simultaneously, the IAF must strongly support the indigenous AMCA.

Having a fully-developed and flight-tested AMCA by 2032 is vital for replacing the upgraded MiG-29s and Mirage 2000s that begin retiring that year, followed by the Jaguar.

Expediting the conclusion of a contract to build a single-engine fighter in India with foreign collaboration would benefit the AMCA by galvanising an indigenous aerospace eco-system.

It would also add six (or more) squadrons to the IAF by 2032.

Third, the IAF must drive the contract for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to partner Sukhoi in co-developing and manufacturing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. This heavy fighter would replace the Sukhoi-30MKI, when that IAF workhorse ages.

In July, a defence ministry expert committee ruled that the technological expertise Indian engineers would gain from working with Russian experts would also feed positively into the AMCA project.

HAL chief T Suvarna Raju says if India acted quickly, it would get to co-design the heart of the FGFA's combat systems, including navigation systems, radars and weapon aiming devices. This would translate into the ability to upgrade the FGFA mid-way through its life cycle.

Further, the FGFA co-development is incredibly cost effective -- India will pay just $3.1 billion. There is no reason to delay this project.

Fourth, paradoxically, considering that buying the Rafale was a financial blunder, the IAF must now procure two more squadrons.

The Rafale will be the IAF's eighth fighter type when it joins (sixth if one discounts the MiG-21 and MiG-27 on their way out), and it makes little sense to create basing and maintenance infrastructure for just two Rafale squadrons.

Fifth and finally, the IAF must focus on acquiring and indigenously developing force multipliers, especially aerial tankers (unforgivably stuck for years in the defence ministry pipeline); airborne warning and control systems to maximise usage of existing combat assets; and satellite-based data links to greatly enhance airspace awareness and weapon-targeting capabilities of the fighter fleet.

The challenge is as clear as the opportunities. Can the IAF and defence ministry get their acts together?

IMAGE: A Tejas aircraft, the fourth plus generation lightweight, multi-role supersonic single engine jet sporting IAF colours, soars to the skies, July 1, 2016. Photograph: PTI Photo
Haley said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year. She also said that India is a responsible nuclear power.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley during a working dinner with Latin American leaders in New York. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/ Reuters



India can help the United States keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has 'taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists', US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said.

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a 'tougher approach to Pakistan harboring terrorists'.

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help it more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the ground work that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harboring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump Administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said.

The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.

"Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people don't threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that don't respect the will of their own people," she said.

For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

"It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why," she asked.

"Because India is a democracy that threatens no one," she said.

The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.

"There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but there's another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India," she said.

"It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she added.

*****

'Key to India becoming permanent UNSC member is not to touch veto'



The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is 'not to touch the veto', Haley said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

"(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto," Haley said.

The US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on 'The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues'.

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate can't have much role in reforming the Security Council.

"Not really. They really can't. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council," she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus 'on Russia and China', the two permanent members of the Security Council who 'do not want to see any' changes in the Security Council.

"It's a UN issue, it's going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council," Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countries -- India, Brazil, Germany and Japan -- met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.
The United States is India's "reliable partner" at the world stage in this period of uncertainty and angst, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday, sending a strong signal to side with India amidst China's "provocative actions" in the region.

In a major India-policy speech, the first by the Trump administration, Tillerson, who is scheduled to visit India next week, referred to the rise of China, saying its behaviour and action is "posing a challenge to the rules-based international order".

"China, while rising alongside India, has done so less responsibly, at times undermining the international, rules-based order even as countries like India operate within a framework that protects other nations' sovereignty, he told a Washington audience ahead of his maiden visit to India as the top American diplomat.

"Chinas provocative actions in the South China Sea directly challenge the international law and norms that the US and India both stand for," he said.

Underlining that the US seeks constructive relations with China, he said, "But we won't shrink from China's challenges to the rules-based order, or where China subverts the sovereignty of neighbouring countries, and disadvantages the US and our friends."

"In this period of uncertainty and angst, India needs a reliable partner on the world stage. I want to make clear: with our shared values and vision for global stability, peace and prosperity, the US is that partner, Tillerson said.

He said the emerging Delhi-Washington strategic partnership stands upon a shared commitment upholding the rule of law, freedom of navigation, universal values and free trade.

"Our nations are two bookends of stability -- on either side of the globe -- standing for greater security and prosperity for our citizens and people around the world," he said, noting that the challenges and the dangers are substantial.

The scourge of terrorism and the disorder sown by cyber-attacks threaten peace everywhere. "North Koreas nuclear-weapons tests and ballistic missiles pose a clear and imminent threat to the security of the US, its Asian allies, and all other nations, he said.

"And the very international order that has benefited Indias rise and that of many others is increasingly under strain, he said.

Tillerson said with Indias youth, its optimism, its powerful democratic example and its increasing stature on the world stage, it makes perfect sense that the US at this time should seek to build on the strong foundation of its years of cooperation with India.

"It is indeed time to double down on a democratic partner that is still rising and rising responsibly for the next 100 years," he said.

"But above all, the world -- and the Indo-Pacific in particular -- needs the US and India to have a strong partnership. India and the US must, as the Indian saying goes, 'do the needful', he said.

The Secretary of State said India and the US can be the voice the world needs them to be, standing firm in defence of a rules-based order to promote sovereign countries' unhindered access to the planets shared spaces, be they on land, at sea or in cyberspace.

"India and the US must foster greater prosperity and security with the aim of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The two countries, he said, need to collaborate to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is increasingly a place of peace, stability, and growing prosperity, so that it does not become a region of disorder, conflict and predatory economics.

"The world's center of gravity is shifting to the heart of the Indo-Pacific. The US and India -- with our shared goals of peace, security, freedom of navigation, and a free and open architecture -- must serve as the eastern and western beacons of the Indo-Pacific," he said.

****

'US expects Pak to take decisive action against terrorists'

Tillerson said the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists and such a move will improve Islamabad's international standing as well as stability in the region.

He also said that states that use terror as an instrument of policy will only see their international reputation and standing diminish, in an apparent dig at Pakistan.

"We expect Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorist groups based there that threaten its own people and the broader region," he said.

"It is the obligation, not choice, of every civilised nation to combat the scourge of terrorism. The United States and India are leading that regional effort together," he said.

By taking decisive actions against terrorists, Tillerson said, Pakistan furthers stability and peace for itself and its neighbours, and improves its own international standing.

President Donald Trump in August unveiled his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in which he had hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists.

America's relationships in the region stand on their own merits, Tillerson told the audience.

In his major India policy speech, Tillerson said India-US cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism has strengthened in recent years.

"In the past decade, our counter-terrorism cooperation has expanded significantly. Thousands of Indian security personnel have trained with American counterparts to enhance capacity," he said.

The US and India are cross-screening known and suspected terrorists, and later this year, the two countries will convene a new dialogue on terrorist designations, he said.

"We are coordinating our counter-terrorism efforts more than ever before," the secretary of state said.

In July, Tillerson said, he signed the designation of Hizbul Mujahidin as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation because the US and India stand shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism.

Tillerson said India can serve as a clear example of a diverse, dynamic, and pluralistic country to others -- a flourishing democracy in the age of global terrorism.

The sub-continent is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, and India's diverse population includes more than 170 million Muslims, the third-largest Muslim population in the world, he said.

"Yet we do not encounter significant numbers of Indian Muslims among foreign fighters in the ranks of ISIS or other terror groups, which speaks to the strengths of Indian society," said the top American diplomat.

He said India is a partner of the US in Afghanistan.

"As we implement President Trumps new South Asia strategy, we will turn to our partners to ensure greater stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. India is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and we welcome its assistance efforts," he said.

President Trump had vowed to boost strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan. Trump had also sought an enhanced role for India to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last week warned that the Trump administration's desire to inject New Delhi in the war-torn country would be "detrimental" as he rejected any role for India in Afghanistan.

****

'Trump, Modi committed to build ambitious partnership'

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to building an "ambitious" partnership that benefits not just their countries but also other nations working towards peace and stability, Tillerson told a Washington audience that Modi's visit in June highlighted the many areas of cooperation that are already underway in this new era of strategic relationship.

"President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are committed -- more than any of our leaders before them -- to building an ambitious partnership that benefits not only our two great democracies but other sovereign nations working toward greater peace and stability," he said.

"My visit could not come at a more promising time for the US-India partnership. As you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of relations between our two countries," he said.

Tillerson said his relationship with India goes back to 1998, when he began working on issues related to India's energy security and has made many trips to Delhi.

"It was a privilege to do business with Indian counterparts then, and it has been my great honour this year to work with Indian leaders as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning to Delhi next week, for the first time in my official capacity," Tillerson said.

Referring to the fact that earlier this month, a shipment of American crude oil arrived in India, Tillerson said it was a tangible illustration of India and the US expanding their energy cooperation.

The Trump Administration is determined to dramatically deepen ways for the US and India to work together, he asserted.

Noting that more than 600 American companies operate in India, Tillerson said the US foreign direct investment has jumped by 500 per cent in the past two years alone.

The bilateral trade hit a record of roughly USD 115 billion last year, a number US plans to increase, he said.

"Together, we have built a sturdy foundation of economic cooperation as we look for more avenues of expansion," he said.

The announcement of the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit ever to be hosted in South Asia, to take place in Hyderabad next month, is a clear example of how President Trump and Prime Minister Modi are promoting innovation, expanding job opportunities, and finding new ways to strengthen both economies, he said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on relationship with India for the Next Century at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters
The United States Navy Seals were ready to mount an operation inside Pakistan, similar to the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden, if it failed to act decisively on a US tip off to rescue a Canadian-American family abducted by the Haqqani network in 2012, according to a media report.

The whereabouts of the hostages were located by a CIA drone in a remote valley in northwest Pakistan last month. The grainy images -- captured by the drone -- of a young woman and children in a militant camp were a "breakthrough", The New York Times reported, citing senior American officials.

Caitlan Coleman, an American citizen, and her husband Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip.

Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. All the three children were born in captivity.

"Military planners mobilised members of the Navy's SEAL Team 6, an elite group of commandos, to mount a rescue," the paper said, quoting the officials.

The commandos of SEAL Team 6, tapped to rescue the family, started rehearsing. The raid was to take place not far from where the CIA had originally spotted the family, according to one military official.

But the risky operation planned on Pakistani soil was called off because some in the US government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were Coleman, Boyle and their children, according to the officials.

Others voiced worries about the difficult terrain and the moon -- it was too bright for a night time airborne raid.

Days later, the CIA watched in alarm as militants drove the family out of the camp and across Pakistans lawless tribal lands.

On October 11, as they headed toward Kohat, a city farther inside Pakistan, American intelligence officials realised they could not let the opportunity to save the family slip by and the United States had to act.

American officials formed a plan to press the Pakistan government. President Donald Trump was briefed, and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both backed the idea that should the Pakistani government decline to try to rescue the family, the Navy SEALs would go in.

US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale delivered an urgent message to the Pakistani government -- "Resolve this, or the US will" -- the paper quoted one of the officials as saying.

"The implication was clear. If the Pakistanis did not act decisively, the US would set aside its unease and launch a raid deep inside the country to free the family," it said.

"It would be another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, conducted by the same elite Navy SEAL commandos well into Pakistan without its governments knowledge. And a failure to act would underscore American officials belief that the Pakistani government gives safe haven to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network," it added.

"The push worked. American officials said the Pakistanis acted quickly, intercepting the vehicle with Coleman and her family," the paper said.

Pakistani officials later said they acted within hours.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said they recovered 5 Western hostages including 1 Canadian, his US National wife and their three children from terrorist custody through an operation based on actionable intelligence from US authorities.

Trump administration officials cast the rescue as a win for Pakistan without publicly acknowledging that officials there had to be pressured into conducting the operation.
DES MOINES | Pending federal action will have significant impacts on health care and the renewable fuels industry in Iowa.

Gov. Kim Reynolds will be in the nations capital next week, where she will have an audience with Vice President Mike Pence to discuss those issues, the governor said Tuesday.

Were working on both fronts, Reynold said Tuesday at her weekly news conference at the Iowa Capitol. I can do both issues at one time and I have to do both issues because its really important for the state of Iowa and for Iowans.

Iowa is awaiting word whether the federal government will approve its waiver request to tweak its use of federal health care dollars to help make insurance options more affordable for some low-income Iowans in 2018. The state submitted what officials call the stopgap proposal in June.

President Donald Trump in August told a top federal health care official to reject the proposal after reading about it in a newspaper article, the Washington Post recently reported.

State officials say they have remained in constant contact with the federal administration, working to get approval.

Were in touch with the White House almost every single day regarding the stopgap proposal, Reynolds said.

The ruling will impact health insurance options in 2018 for roughly 72,000 Iowans. If the stopgap proposal is not approved, costs could spike enough to make insurance too expensive for more than 20,000 Iowans, the state has estimated. If the proposal is approved, it could face legal challenges because it strays from how the federal Affordable Care Act was written.

Reynolds said she plans to discuss the stopgap plan with federal officials, including the vice president, while in Washington, D.C. She does not have a meeting planned with Trump.

Reynolds said she also will discuss the federal Renewable Fuels Standard with Pence and Scott Pruitt, director of the Environmental Protection Agency, during her trip.

The EPA is considering lowering the amount of biofuels that are required for production, which state renewable fuels officials say would hurt the industry and tangentially the states agricultural economy.

The RFS has an impact on Iowans as well, on our economy, Reynolds said. Especially as weve seen the volatility in commodity prices. Its really, really important now that we dont do one more thing to really impact commodity prices (which will impact) farmers and families across the state of Iowa and the Midwest.

In the case of the renewable fuels, Reynolds is striving to preserve a program Trump pledged to support during his 2016 campaign.

They need to follow through with what they told us when they were campaigning and what they promised that they would do to support the Renewable Fuel Standard, Reynolds said. And were not going to let up.

Job training top priority

A state program designed to ensure 70 percent of Iowas eligible workforce has post-high school education or training by 2025 is the administrations top priority, Reynolds said.

She said her budget proposal will include funding for scholarship and grant programs for the program called Future Ready Iowa.

This is the No. 1 priority of our administration, Reynolds said. Its necessary. Its critical.

Reynolds said how much state funding she will propose will depend upon revenue estimates that will be published in the coming months. When a reporter asked whether her proposal will be closer to $5 million or $30 million for the scholarships and grants, Reynolds said, Somewhere in between.

The scholarship and grant programs were among recommendations made Tuesday by Future Ready Iowa officials.

The other recommendations are to improve and expand support for Iowans who are completing college or career training; expand internships and apprenticeships in high-demand careers; identify early education tools that prepare students for a changing economy; and create collaborations between businesses and regional workforce and education groups.
JOHNSTON  Consumers, not lawmakers and regulators, may drive the debate over water quality and good farm production, according to a former U.S. agriculture secretary visiting Iowa this week.

More and more, the general consumer, with the use of his or her smartphone and ability to communicate, is much more empowered on these issues than you used to see, Dan Glickman, who ran the federal agriculture agency during the Clinton administration, said during recording of Iowa Public Televisions Iowa Press.

Glickman, 72, who was the U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary from 1995 to 2001 after representing a Kansas congressional district for 18 years, said the public often has views and thoughts that may not be necessarily consistent with production agriculture and thats likely where battles over water quality and the use of GMOs  genetically modified organisms  may be fought.

And that is why its good to see the seed sector and chemical sectors and the food industry beginning to respond to this by saying the public wants safe land, safe soil, cleaner water, those kinds of things, Glickman said. Those are factors that we didnt see 20 and 30 and 40 years ago like we do today.

Glickman, now executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, and Mike Johanns, who headed the USDA for two years during the George W. Bush administration, predicted that science and technology also will change the debate.

What I see is youll have better science, better technology, better equipment, better everything because that has been the pace of agriculture, said Johanns, a former Nebraska governor and one-term GOP senator who now serves on the board of the Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska as well as Deere & Co.

I grew up on a dairy farm and I can tell you we planted corn with a four-row planter and (a) John Deere B (model tractor) and Dad would sight down the row, said Johanns, 67, an Osage native. You dont do that anymore. Its GPS. So when you look at U.S. agriculture, I do envision a day where we have the ability to say were just using our resources much more wisely.

Johanns and Glickman were in Des Moines for the Iowa Hunger Summit organized by the World Food Prize.

Not every farmer currently has the capacity to use GPS to adjust planting and the application of fertilizer, herbicides and fungicides to match soil and moisture conditions, Johanns said. But that day will come.

Getting there will require expansion of broadband access into rural areas, and funding for agricultural research.

So there are a lot of things that are potentially available on the research side as long as public and private research dollars are adequately funded, he said.

Glickman thinks consumers will support that because people do want to know whats in their food, how its produced, where its produced, whether its safe, who grew it and all those kinds of things.

That power of consumers is going to impact a lot more players in agriculture, he said.

In addition to farmers and ranchers, he said the medical profession may play a larger role in agriculture because, after all, what you eat has a lot to do with how long youre going to live.
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
China: Xi Can't Do It Alone

Publisher Amnesty International Author Nicholas Bequelin Publication Date 18 October 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, China: Xi Can't Do It Alone, 18 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e70d2a1.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

"To forge iron, one first needs to get strong" - Chinese President Xi Jinping's homespun maxim, casually uttered during his first public appearance when he ascended to power in 2012, looks in retrospect as having been the very core of his programme.

In the five years since, Xi has never deviated from this objective, embarking on an unprecedented drive to consolidate his personal power, skillfully using a popular anti-corruption campaign to methodically take down every rival faction and interest group within the vast Chinese bureaucracy. From the princelings to the army, from the "oil gang" to the state-owned enterprises, from the Communist Party Youth League to wayward provincial leaders, every potential source of internal resistance was dealt heavy blows through arrests, demotions and secret detentions for "violating Party discipline".

Crackdown

Xi also struck preemptively at China's nascent civil society, unleashing the powerful national security apparatus on every dissident, critic, lawyer, writer, NGO or critical voice whose loyalty to the Party could not be counted on. It was a crackdown that harked back to the darkest days of post-Tiananmen China and culminated with the grotesque staging of the death of the Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo in a heavily guarded hospital in North Eastern China.

While eliminating any source of opposition, Xi has also been attentive to building popular support domestically, through a radical change in propaganda methods and what the Party stills refers to as "thought work": a combination of heightened ideological controls over the media ("whose surnames should be 'Communist Party'" he famously quipped), over universities (instructed to "combat pernicious ideas such a so-called judicial independence and universal values") and unmatched censorship of the internet (which Chinese netizens now deride as having become a "Chinese intranet").

A powerful narrative of "national rejuvenation", delivered in a slick and modern form to rival the most engaging ad campaign in the West, and a quasi personality cult centred on a benevolent yet firm "Uncle Xi" presiding over the great Chinese family, has yielded effective results and has given Xi something none of his colleagues in the Politburo have: a measure of genuine popularity.

Power grab

The 19th Party Congress opening on Wednesday will without doubt consecrate Xi as the most powerful Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping - perhaps even more powerful than Deng himself, who had to contend with other revolutionary elders and a hardliner faction that opposed his liberalization program.

But is this enough to start "forging iron" as Xi promised? Will this unprecedented power grab deliver the kind of economic and social reforms that will address, rather than entrench, the myriad of problems threatening the sustainability of the "Chinese model"? Or will Xi's contempt for human rights ultimately unleash the very kind of social instability that the government wants to avoid at all cost? The signs are not good, and they are mostly of Xi's making.

The first roadblock Xi created for himself is the enormous national security architecture that he has put in place: six new pieces of legislation, ranging from cybersecurity to counter-terrorism, give essentially unfettered power to a secretive security apparatus that largely operates outside of legal constraints and wields virtually limitless powers over individuals and institutions, including foreign companies. Although efficient at crushing dissent, it is turning into an unaccountable state-within-the-state that is on the path to derailing decades of efforts to build a reasonably fair legal system that citizens and economic actors can trust.

Censorship

The second barrier is the chokehold on information and freedom of expression that is now the "new normal" in Xi's China. From jailing a blogger who aggregated public information about strikes and protests, to pressuring Cambridge University Press into pulling out scientific publications on "sensitive" topics, to barring Justin Bieber from performing in China, there seems to be no end to the appetite of the censorship machine - often to a degree of pointlessness.

In doing this, not only does China turn its back on the international obligations it has contracted as a member of the United Nations and a party to multiple international treaties in the field of human rights and elsewhere, it also acts as a bad actor in the global information age. The short gains made in airbrushing facts and opinions that could embarrass the government are vastly outweighed by the long-term consequences of a distorted information landscape and the silencing of diverse viewpoints.

While headlines touting record-breaking investments at home and abroad continue to make many foreign leaders giddy about the potential of cooperating with the new "can-do China" under the firm hand of President Xi, the reality is that he has dangerously imperiled a key achievement of the Opening and Reform era. Namely, granting citizens a modicum of rights that recognized the limits of the reach of the state, fostered the kind of entrepreneurship that lifted the country's economy and brought China closer to being a trusted member of the international community.

The real question about the 19th Party Congress is not whether it will reflect a consolidation of Xi's power -it will - but whether ordinary Chinese people will benefit from it. Based on the last five years, the answer is no.

A version of this article was also published on China File

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Turkey: Dismay as "fantastical allegations" accepted by court

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 17 October 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Turkey: Dismay as "fantastical allegations" accepted by court, 17 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e70dec4.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Baseless allegations against 11 human rights defenders, including Amnesty International's Turkey director and chair, should have been rejected in their entirety, said Amnesty International after an Istanbul court accepted the indictment today.

"This indictment fails to provide a shred of incriminating evidence to substantiate the trumped up terrorism charges it contains. In accepting this indictment the Istanbul Court has missed a golden opportunity to bring this grotesque miscarriage of justice to a halt," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe Director.

"This is politically motivated prosecution aimed at silencing the work of some of Turkey's most prominent human rights defenders. It beggars belief that anyone who has read the fantastical allegations laid out in the indictment could see it in any other way."

The 11 defendants are set to have their first hearing on 25 October in Istanbul. Taner Kilic is set appear before an Izmir court under a separate indictment on 26 October 2017.

Amnesty International will be sending observers to both trials and will publish a critique of the case against them next week.

Background

Ten activists, including Idil Eser, the Director of Amnesty Turkey, were arrested on 5 July whilst Amnesty International's Turkey Chair, Taner Klc, was arrested a month earlier. Under the indictment accepted today, they are accused of membership of a variety of 'armed terrorist organizations'. These charges carry jail terms of up to 15 years.

On 4 October an Istanbul prosecutor filed an indictment against the Istanbul 10 that included Taner. This means, as well as being tried on 26 October, he will also be tried on 25 October in the "Buyukada case". In the indictment, the prosecutor called for Taner to be added to the trial because he claims he was aware of preparations for the Buyukada workshop and was in contact with Idil and another of the defendants.

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Kenya: Ban on protests must be lifted

Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 16 October 2017 Cite as Article 19, Kenya: Ban on protests must be lifted, 16 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e710094.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

ARTICLE 19 condemns the 12 October 2017 announcement by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Coordination, Fred Matiang'I, that bannedprotests within the city boundaries of Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu,in the wake of the ongoing stalemate around the presidential elections.

The government based its directive on what it termed the "escalation of lawlessness, breach of peace and public order during demonstrations organised by National Super Alliance Coalition in parts of Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori, Siaya and Nairobi" that have sometimes led to looting and assaults on civilians. As a result, the government invoked Section 5 of the Public Order Management Act to ban NASA protests.

"The move to ban protests is unconstitutional and has a chilling effect on those seeking to exercise that right, even in other parts of the country, particularly given the brutal police response to recent protests," said Henry Maina, Regional Director ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa. "Peaceful protest is a form of expression and it cannot be disallowed in the country's biggest cities in such a blanket manner" added Maina.

ARTICLE 19 calls for accountability for security agents involved in the spate of recent attacks on protesters in Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Nairobi (including the recent attack on University of Nairobi students), and other instances of attacks on those exercising their right to protest. The security forces have a history of impunity for attacks on protestors in the country. A recent report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) entitled "Mirage at Dusk" documented 35 deaths, including an infant and 2 children, and 126 injuries, at the hands of police during post-election protests in August 2010.

According to Article 21 of the Kenyan Constitution, the state is obligated to protect and promote the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights including the right to peaceful assembly, by establishing an enabling environment for citizens to enjoy the right to protest. Article 24 of the Constitution of Kenya prescribes how and when fundamental rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, may be limited, by administering a three part test that requires limitations to be prescribed by law, necessary and proportionate; and to pursue a legitimate aim. These rights and permissible restrictions are also part of Kenya's obligations under international law, through Articles 21 and 4 of the ICCPR.

ARTICLE 19 notes that the blanket ban on opposition protests in certain areas of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu fails the above test on necessity and proportionality. The government and the police should explore other strategies to ensure law and order, and protection of life and property.

ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Kenyan government to immediately lift this ban, and take positive steps to end the excessive use of force by police against protesters. We also urge the Inspector General of the Police together with the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to bring to book all officers involved in the killing and brutalizing of protesters.

We also call on the government to review the Public Order Management Act No.26 of 1950 with a view to aligning it to the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and international standards on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

For more information, please contact: Henry Maina, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa, [email protected] or call 0727862230

Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19
WATERLOO -- Officials say a threat made by a West High School student Tuesday night over social media was not credible.

Principal Andy Miehe notified parents by phone and email Wednesday morning of the situation, which involved the social media app Snap Chat.

"Late last night, a student put a threat on their Snap Story that they thought would get them some attention," Miehen said in the message.

Waterloo Community Schools spokeswoman Tara Thomas said the district worked with Waterloo Police to ensure that the threat was not credible and West could provide a safe environment.

"Had we learned otherwise from police, we would have taken appropriate action to ensure staff and students were not put in harm's way," she said. "We take every communication seriously and immediately involved the police, who are now addressing the situation."

In reference to disciplinary action, Thomas said "the police will determine with the school how this plays out." She added, "When it rises to this level of threat, students need to understand the police will be involved and the threat will be taken seriously."
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Press freedom violations recounted in real time January 2017

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 18 October 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Press freedom violations recounted in real time January 2017, 18 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e711094.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

18.10.2017 - Journalist convicted a second time for same "crime"

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the one-year prison sentence that a Tehran revolutionary court passed on 30 September on Souroush Farhadian, a contributor to several pro-reform newspapers and editor of the bimonthly Ro Beh Ro (Opposite). His lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, said it was the second time he has been tried and convicted for the same articles. He has appealed.





Farhadian's ordeal began on 15 May 2016, when he arrested in the central city of Arak on charges of anti-government publicity and "activities threatening national security" as a result of a complaint by the local military. After being freed on bail the next day, he was sentenced on 23 September 2016 to seven years in prison but an Arak appeal court later reduced the sentence to a fine.

In both cases, he was convicted over the same articles denouncing the illegality of the detention of Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister and owner of the now closed newspaper Kalameh Sabaz, Zahra Rahnavard, a writer who is his wife, and Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker and owner of the now closed newspaper Etemad Melli.

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13.10.2017 - Kurdish journalist returned to prison

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns Mokeryan news website journalist Bakhtyar Khoshnam's arrest on 28 September in Saghez (in Iran's Kurdistan province) to serve a three months jail term for being in contact with media based abroad, above all Radio Farda (Radio Free Europe). He was taken directly to the city's main prison to start serving the sentence. Initially arrested in June, he was freed on bail a month later. A Saghez revolutionary court imposed the sentence on 18 July after convicting him of "contact with media opposed to the Islamic Republic."

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09.10.2017 - Prosecutors shut down reformist daily

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the suspension of the reformist daily newspaper Mostaghel (Independent) by the Tehran prosecutor's office for culture and media since 5 October. According to Mostaghel's editor, Ali Nazari, it was suspended for publishing former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi's photo. This apparently violated an order by the High Council for National Security and Justice banning any information in the media about the leaders of the protests against former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection in June 2009.

On 4 October, the newspaper published the photos of Iran's five prime ministers from 1979 to 1989 (including Mousavi's) to illustrate an article about the possibility of a return to a parliamentary system. The owner of the now closed newspaper Kalameh Sabaz, Mousavi was prime minister from 1981 to 1989 and ran against Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election. He, his wife (the writer Zahra Rahnavard), and Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker and owner of the now closed newspaper Etemad Melli, have been kept illegally under house arrest and deprived of all their rights since 24 February 2011.

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03.10.2017 - Mehdi Khazali freed

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that Mehdi Khazali, an outspoken blogger who was arrested on a Tehran street by plainclothesmen on 12 August, was freed on 28 September. The editor of the Baran blog, he had been openly critical of the head of the judicial authority in the months prior to his arrest. Arrested many times in the past, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011. The conditions of his latest release have not been revealed. He is the son of Ayatollah Abolghasem Khazali, an influential conservative cleric and regime member for 37 years.

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14.09.2017 - Detention of two journalists extended by another month

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns a judicial decision to extend the provisional detention of two journalists - Sasan Aghai, the deputy editor of the newspaper Etemad and Yaghma Fashkhami, a reporter for the news website Dideban e Iran - by another month in violation of both Iranian law and international standards. They are also being denied the right to see a lawyer and to be visited by their families.





Both were arrested last month at their workplace by plainclothesmen from the justice department's intelligence protection section - Aghai on 11 August and Fashkhami on 21 August. The authorities have still not said why they were arrested or where they are being held.

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11.09.2017 - Kurdish journalist freed on completing jail term

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is pleased to learn that Khosro Kurdpour, a Kurdish journalist who edited the Mokeryan news website in the northwestern city of Mahabad, was released on 8 September on completing a sentence of five-year in prison. Ministry of intelligence officials arrested him at his home in Mahabad on 7 March 2013, one day before summoning and then arresting his brother, Masoud Kurdpour, who contributed to the website. The Mahabad revolutionary court that sentenced them both on 9 November 2013 gave Masoud Kurdpour a three and a half years jail term.

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30.08.2017 - Two women journalists freed provisionally

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved to learn that Hengameh Shahidi, a woman journalist who edited the Paineveste blog, and Zeniab Karimian, a woman journalist who hosted a programme on Iran's 3rd TV channel, were both released provisionally yesterday on bail of 900 million toman (810,000 euros).





Arrested on 9 March, Shahidi staged several hunger strikes in protest against her detention and prison conditions, despite being very ill. Karimian was arrested at her home on 23 January 2017 by intelligence ministry plainclothesmen.





Both were held in isolation in different security sections of Tehran's Evin prison, initially under the intelligence ministry's control and then under the control of the justice department's intelligence section. When Shahidi emerged from the prison, she appeared weak and had clearly lost a lot of weight.

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07.08.2017 - Imprisoned citizen-journalist's wife arrested

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the arrest of Nastaran Naimi, the wife of the imprisoned citizen-journalist Soheil Arabi. Plainclothesmen arrested her at her home on 31 July after searching it. Her family has still not been told why she was arrested or where she is being held.





Arabi has been detained for the past three and a half years. Arrested by Revolutionary Guards in December 2013, he was incarcerated in Security Section 2a of Tehran's Evin prison, where he was isolated and mistreated for two months to get him to confess to helping to create a Facebook network that blasphemed Islam and criticized the government.

The confession led to the imposition of a death sentence in August 2014, which - following protests by his lawyer and the intercession of UN special rapporteurs - was eventually overturned. At a retrial in September 2015, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison starting with two years under observation, during which time he must prove he has repented to avoid reimposition of the death sentence.

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02.08.2017 - A journalist and four Telegram group administrators bailed

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that four administrators of a group that used the instant messaging service Telegram to circulate information - Seid Mojtaba Bagheri, Said Naghdi, Javad Jamshidi and Nima Keshvari - were freed on bail of 500 million toman (410,000 euros) on 30 and 31 July.

Held in Tehran's Evin prison after their arrest by Revolutionary Guards on 16 March, they are due to be tried on 12 August. Two other members of the group who were arrested at the same time, Sobhan Jafari Tash and Ali Ahmadinia, will be freed as soon as their bail is paid, their lawyer, Ali Mojtahad Zadeh, said.





RSF has also learned that the journalist and photographer Assal Esmaeilzadeh was freed on bail of 300 million toman (270,000 euros) on 13 July pending trial. She was arrested without charge at the behest of the Tehran prosecutor's office for culture and media on 20 June.

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30.06.2017 - Two months after release, journalist sentenced again

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the six-month jail sentence that was imposed on Issa Saharkhiz, the former editor of several, now-closed reformist newspapers, on 19 June, just two months after his release. His lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie, said he was convicted of insulting the head of the judicial system.





One of the victims of a wave of arrests in early November 2015, Saharkhiz was sentenced by a Tehran revolutionary court in August 2016 to three years in prison on charges of anti-government propaganda and insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. His lawyer reported at the time that two other charges against Saharkhiz - publishing false news and insulting the head of the judicial system - would be tried separately as political crimes before a court of assizes.





After the latest sentence was passed on 19 June, Alizadeh-Tabatabaie pointed out that the court had accepted that his client's criticism of the head of the judicial system had been personal in nature. It therefore could not be regarded as a political crime meriting a six-month jail sentence, he added, announcing that they planned to appeal.





Saharkhiz was released on 15 April after being deemed to have completed the first sentence. While held, he staged several hunger strikes in protest against his imprisonment and had been serving his sentence in a Tehran hospital since March 2016.

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26.06.2017 - Newspaper journalist freed provisionally

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that, after payment of 300 million toman (270,000 euros) in bail, Borna News social affairs editor Tahereh Riahai was released provisionally on 24 June pending trial. Arrested by plainclothes intelligence officers on 27 December 2016, she had been kept in isolation in Section 209 of Tehran's Evin prison for months.

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23.06.2017 - Ahmadinejad's former press adviser arrested

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that Abdol Reza Davari, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's onetime press adviser, who also once ran the newspaper Shahrvand and the government news agency Irna, was arrested on 31 May in order to serve a three-year jail sentence.

Davari was convicted in September 2013 of "insulting" Supreme Leader AliKhamenei in three comments posted on Facebook and was given a six-year jail sentence that was reduced to three years on appeal. He was arrested two days after posting an open letter criticizing Ebrahim Raisi and Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, two members of a commission that passed death sentences in 1988 on thousands of political prisoners who refused to renounce their beliefs.

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01.06.2017 - Narges Mohammadi back in prison two days after operation

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is very concerned about the health of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned journalist and human rights defender who has been returned to prison just two days after undergoing an operation. Rushed to hospital with severe uterine bleeding on 28 May, Mohammadi was operated on the next day and was taken back to prison yesterday.

Held since May 2015, Mohammadi was deemed to have completed an initial six-year sentence on 17 March and immediately began a second, ten-year one. She has several ailments including muscular paralysis but is being denied the medical care she needs. Her health is in danger and she should not be in prison. We call for her immediate release.

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24.05.2017 - Magazine editor Morad Saghafi released on bail

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that Morad Saghafi, the editor of the magazine Goft o Gu (Dialogue in Persian), was released on payment of bail on 20 May pending trial. He had been arrested at his Tehran home on 16 March.

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18.05.2017 - Hengameh Shahidi suspends hunger strike

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was relieved to learn today that imprisoned

journalist Hengameh Shahidi decided to suspend her hunger strike after receiving a visit from her family in 16 May and a promise from the Tehran prosecutor's office that her appalling prison conditions will be improved and that she will be given complete medical examinations.

According to her family, she is suffering from several heart and respiratory ailments, along with other conditions. She had not been eating any food since 10 May.

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12.05.2017 - Journalist freed after ten years in prison

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is pleased to learn that Mohammad Sedegh Kabodvand, the editor of Payam-e mardom-e Kurdestan (a regional newspaper closed by the authorities in 2004), was granted a conditional release today on completing ten years in prison.





Held since July 2007 in Tehran's Evin prison, Kabodvand was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison in connection with his journalistic activities and his creation of a human rights organization in Iranian Kurdistan, the northern region where he lived.





He has been freed provisionally pending a judicial decision on the application of article 134 for the new Islamic criminal code to the rest of his sentence. Under a 2013 amendment to the code, a person convicted on several charges should serve only the most important sentence. By this token, he should have been freed four years ago.

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27.04.2017 - Two journalists freed conditionally

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that two imprisoned journalists, Kaivan Karimi and Issa Saharkhiz, have been released conditionally in the past week.





Karimi, a young documentary filmmaker, was freed on 20 April after completing half of the one-year sentence he received in November 2016 . Saharkhiz, the editor of several reformist newspapers was released on 25 April. His lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie, said he had completed his sentence.





One of the victims of a wave of arrests in early November 2015, Saharkhiz was sentenced by a Tehran revolutionary court in August 2016 to three years in prison on charges of anti-government propaganda and insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While held, he staged several hunger strikes in protest against his imprisonment and had been hospitalized since March 2016. The sentence was reduced last September.

Ranked 165th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press

Freedom Index, Iran is one of the world's five biggest prisons for

media personnel, with a total of 28 journalists and citizen journalists

detained.



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19.04.2017 - Narges Mohammadi begins serving second jail term

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is outraged by the continuing persecution of journalist and leading human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who has just started serving a ten-year prison sentence on completing a six-year one. She received the ten-year sentence a year after her most recent arrest, on 5 May 2015.





Mohammadi has a long history of persecution by the judicial authorities and has been arrested several times. During her spells out of prison, she has worked closely with Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi at the Centre for Human Rights Defenders.





The six-year sentence followed her arrest at her home on the evening of 10 June 2010. She was convicted two months later on charges of "meeting and plotting against the Islamic Republic," "anti-government publicity:" and "collaborating with the Centre for Human Rights Defenders" and was given an 11-year jail term that was reduced to six years on appeal in March 2011.

Mohammadi suffered muscular paralysis as a consequence of the heavy-handed interrogation sessions to which she was subjected after her arrest in 2010. As a result, she was paroled in July 2012.

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17.03.2017 - More journalists arrested

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) yet again condemns the persecution of journalists in Iran after at least three more were arrested in the past week.





The latest victims include Morad Saghafi, the editor of the magazine Goft o Gu ("Dialogue" in Persian), who was arrested at his Tehran home yesterday and was taken to an unknown location. His lawyer, Hamed Zargar, said neither he nor Saghafi's family have been told why he was arrested.





Meanwhile, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, yesterday asked the minister of intelligence to explain why a military unit recently arrested 12 editors of pro-reform information pages on the instant messaging service Telegram.

Motahari also criticized the detention of Ehssan Mazandarani, the former editor of the newspaper Farhikhteghan, on 12 March (see RSF's 13 March release). His wife, Malieh Hossieni, a journalist with the newspaper Farhikhteghana, was fired the day after his arrest.





Although banned, apps and social networks such as Telegram, Facebook and Twitter nowadays play an important role in providing Iranians with news and information. Telegram says it has more than 15 million users in Iran.

According to the Kalameh news website, Ali Ahmadinia, the administrator of the Eslahat News (Reform News) channel on Telegram, was arrested on 14 March and was taken to an unknown location.





RSF is currently very concerned about the health of two journalists who have been on hunger strike since their arrest. One is Mazandarani, who was arrested on 12 March (see above). The other Henghameh Shahidi, who was arrested on 9 March.

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15.03.2017 - Former editor gets six-month jail term

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the six-month prison sentence that has been passed on Hossein Karoubi, the former editor of Etemad Meli (a newspaper closed since August 2009) for circulating the open letter that his father, Mehdi Karoubi, wrote to President Hassan Rohani.

In the April 2016 letter, published in mostly foreign-based media outlets and on social networks, Mehdi Karoubi asks to be tried before a public court "in order to present the evidence I possess about massive fraud during the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections and to show what has happened to young Iranians in the country's legal and illegal detention centres."





Etemad Melli's owner and a former parliamentary speaker, Mehdi Karoubi has been under house arrest since February 2011, a fate he has shared with former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi (the owner of the closed newspaper Kalameh Sabaz) and Mousavi's wife, the writer Zahra Rahnavard. Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who are both former presidential candidates, are being held illegally and are being denied their rights. Their state of health is very worrying.





RSF has meanwhile learned that Samna Safari, a journalist with the monthly Andisher Poya, was released on 11 March after the authorities determined that he had served his two-year jail sentence. Detained along with three other journalists in a wave of arrests in November 2015, he was sentenced by a revolutionary court in March 2016 to five years in prison for "anti-government propaganda activities." This was reduced to two years on appeal.

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28.02.2017 - City of Qom suspends newspaper

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the decision by the city of Qom's public prosecutor to suspend the newspaper Shakheh Sabz on 26 February, a day after it ran a story criticizing the level of violence in one of its poorest districts, which it likened to a "jungle." The suspension was ordered after 136 parliamentarians supported a resolution accusing the daily of "insulting the population of the Holy City of Qom." The newspaper's name means "Green Branch."

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22.02.2017 - Ahmad Montazeri returned to prison

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) firmly condemns progressive cleric Ahmad Montazeri's arrest yesterday. The editor of the website of his late father, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, he was returned to prison after being summoned before a special court for clerics.

Tried behind closed doors and without a defence lawyer on 20 October, Montazeri was sentenced on 27 November to ten years in prison for endangering state security, ten years for publishing a "classified audio recording" and another year for anti-government "propaganda."

He was prosecuted for posting an old recording on the website on 9 August 2016 in which his father could be heard criticizing the wave of executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.

For more information: Ahmad Montazeri gets 21-year jail term as part of bid to suppress history





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17.02.2017 - Editor freed on completing jail term

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that Ehssan Mazndarani - the editor of the newspaper Farhikhteghan and one of the victims of a wave of arrests in November 2015 - was released on 9 February. He had been given a seven-year jail sentence that was reduced to two years on appeal, His lawyer said he was freed as a result of a decision that he had completed his sentence. While in prison, he was hospitalized several times with heart and chest problems after a three-week hunger strike.

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10.01.2017 - Website reporter flogged for getting facts wrong

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that Hossien Movahedi, a local news website reporter, was flogged last week in Najafabad, a city 450 km south of Tehran, for getting one of his facts wrong in a story about the confiscation of mopeds from female students at a technological secondary school in the city.





Movahedi reported on the Najafabad News website on 14 June 2016 that the police seized 35 mopeds when, according to the police, it was only eight. Although he apologized for his mistake and although the police were allowed to publish their version on the website, the police pressed charges against him and a Najafabad court sentenced him to 40 lashes for "publishing false information." This inhuman and medieval sentence was carried out on 4 January.





Iran has yet to ratify the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.

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06.01.2016 - Woman journalist freed on completing one-year jail term

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that Rihaneh Tabatabai, a journalist who has worked for several reformist newspapers, was released yesterday on completing a one-year jail term on charges of endangering national security and anti-government publicity. She was arrested on 12 January 2016 to begin serving the sentence, which was originally imposed in November 2014 and was confirmed by a Tehran appeal court a year later. The sentence also includes two-year ban on political and journalistic activity in the media and online following her release. In all, Tabatabai has been jailed four times since 2010 in connection with her journalistic activities.





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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January -December 2016)



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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January -December 2015)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time ( January-December 2014)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time ( January-December 2013)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-December 2012)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-December 2011)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (July-December 2010)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-July 2010)

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Press freedom violations recounted in real time (June-December 2009)
Ukraine arrests second journalist on Interpol red notice

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 18 October 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Ukraine arrests second journalist on Interpol red notice, 18 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e7115a4.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Fikret Huseynli, a journalist of Azerbaijani origin living in exile in the Netherlands, this week became the second foreign journalist to be arrested at a Kiev airport on the basis of an Interpol red notice in the past month. He follows Uzbek journalist Narzullo Akhunzhonov, who was arrested on arrival from Turkey on 20 September.





Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Ukrainian authorities to free Huseynli at once and calls for an urgent reform of Interpol, whose red notice system is often abused by repressive governments in order to pursue dissidents after they have fled abroad.





Huseynli was about to board a flight to Dusseldorf at Boryspil International Airport on 14 October when he was arrested under a red notice issued by Interpol at the Azerbaijani government's request. It accused him of "crossing a border illegally" and "fraud."





Following his arrest, a Kiev court ordered him held for 18 days pending examination of his appeal.





The fact that Huseynli was arrested when he left, and not when he arrived, would seem to reflect the political reasons behind the red notice's accusations. His arrest appears to have been encouraged by Azerbaijani officials who were at the airport as he was about to leave and who wanted to take advantage of his visit to Ukraine to detain him.





"Ukraine must not abet the attempts of regimes such as Azerbaijan's to extend their persecution beyond their borders," RSF said. "We call for Fikret Huseynli's immediate release, as he would face politically-motivated charges. This latest case underlines the urgent need to reform Interpol's red notice system in order to quickly end the pursuit of dissidents after they flee into exile."





Huseynli fled Azerbaijan in 2008 after being persecuted in various ways. He was badly injured in an attack by masked men in 2006, when he worked for the opposition newspaper Azadlig. After fleeing the country, he obtained political asylum in the Netherlands and now works for Turan TV, an Azerbaijani opposition TV channel based outside the country.





The number of Interpol red notices has grown almost five-fold in the past decade, from 2,804 in 2006 to 12,878 in 2016, prompting criticism from civil society groups that has finally received some attention.





Interpol began reinforcing its appeal mechanism in 2015 but much remains to be done, both as regards putting the reforms into practice and providing better filtering of requests from repressive states.





This was stressed in an April 2017 resolution by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which called on Interpol "to continue improving its red notice procedure in order to prevent and redress abuses even more effectively."





Azerbaijan is ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index. After eliminating the last vestiges of an independent press in the past three years, its authorities are now trying to extend their reach beyond its borders.
Indonesia: US Documents Released on 1965-66 Massacres

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 18 October 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Indonesia: US Documents Released on 1965-66 Massacres, 18 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e715a54.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Newly released US government documents on the mass killings in Indonesia in 1965-66 underscore the need for the US and Indonesian governments to fully disclose all related classified materials, Human Rights Watch said today. Those classified documents are crucial to an accurate historical record of the killings and to provide justice for those crimes.

The release on October 17, 2017, by the United States nongovernmental public transparency organization National Security Archive of 39 US Embassy in Jakarta documents show that US diplomatic personnel were fully aware of the scale and savagery of the 1965-66 killings. The documents reveal that US diplomats and their State Department counterparts in Washington, DC, were documenting tens of thousands of killings by the military, paramilitary groups, and Muslim militias of suspected members of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), and ethnic Chinese, as well as trade unionists, teachers, activists, and artists.

"These newly released documents make clear that US officials had detailed knowledge of the mass killings in Indonesia in 1965-66," said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director. "The US government now needs to release the remaining documents, not only for the historical record of one of the 20th century's worst atrocities, but as a long overdue step toward bringing redress to the victims."

The US government now needs to release the remaining documents, not only for the historical record of one of the 20th century's worst atrocities, but as a long overdue step toward bringing redress to the victims.

Phelim Kine

Deputy Asia Director

The 39 documents are part of a cache of almost 30,000 pages of declassified embassy paperwork spanning from 1965 to 1968, processed by the National Declassification Center, a division of the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). They include State Department letters, telegrams, situation reports, and confidential communications between US consulates in Indonesia and the US Embassy in Jakarta. They do not include US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents, which remain classified.

In Indonesia, there has been a recent surge in efforts by paramilitary groups and militant Islamists to stoke "anti-communist" paranoia in response to calls for accountability for the mass killings. Elements of those groups led a violent "anti-communist" demonstration in Jakarta in September while the Indonesian military launched a propaganda offensive aimed at reinforcing the official narrative that the killings were a justified response to an attempted communist coup.

Starting in October 1965, Indonesian army officials, led by then-Major General Suharto, oversaw a campaign of mass killings targeting Communist Party members and giving free rein to a mix of soldiers and local militias to kill anyone they considered a communist. Over the next few months into 1966, at least 500,000 people were killed (the total may be as high as 1 million).

In the 52 years since the killings, the Indonesian government has justified the massacres as a necessary defense against the PKI. Its account holds that the communists attempted a coup, murdering six army generals on September 30, 1965, as part of their attempt to turn Indonesia into a communist state. In October 2012, then-Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto responded to findings of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) that the events of 1965-66 constituted a "gross human rights violation" by insisting that those killings were justified. Public discussion about the killings, a taboo topic in Indonesia for decades, has increased in recent years, a process substantially aided since 2012 by the release of the documentary films The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence.

On December 10, 2014, US Senator Tom Udall introduced a "Sense of the Senate Resolution" condemning the 1965-66 atrocities in Indonesia and calling on US authorities to declassify related documents in US files. The proposed Senate resolution highlighted the continued impunity enjoyed by those who carried out the crimes, and called on Indonesian political leaders to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to address alleged crimes against humanity and other human rights violations. It called upon all relevant US government agencies to "locate, identify, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public all classified records and documents concerning the mass killings of 1965-1966, including but not limited to records and documents pertaining to covert operations in Indonesia from January 1, 1964-March 30, 1966," and to expedite the public release of such files. The release of the 30,000-odd US Embassy documents was just the first step in that process.

"The US government can help the Indonesian government shine a light on the 1965-66 massacres," Kine said. "Meaningful accountability for those heinous crimes - including the role of the US government - requires full-disclosure and declassification of all relevant official information."

Excerpts from the 39 Declassified US Embassy in Jakarta Documents:

- "We continue to receive reports [of] PKI being slaughtered by Ansor [a Muslim militia] many areas East Java. Killing of PKI continues in villages bordering Surabaya and wounded released from Surabaya refuse to return to their homes. According head East Java Railways, 5 stations closed because workers afraid to come to work since some of them have been murdered." (Telegram from US Consulate in Surabaya to the US Embassy in Jakarta, November 26, 1965)

- "Meanwhile, both in the provinces and Djakarta, repression of the PKI continued, with the main problem that of what to feed and where to house the prisoners. Many provinces appear to be successfully meeting this problem by executing their PKI prisoners, or by killing them before they are captured." (Cable marked "Secret" from the Political Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Jakarta to Washington DC, November 30, 1965)

- "Muhammadiah [a reference to Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's oldest Muslim mass membership organization] source reports that preachers in Muhammadiah mosques are telling congregations that all who consciously joined PKI must be killed. 'Conscious' PKI members are classified as lowest order of infidel, the shedding of whose blood is comparable to killing a chicken. This appears to give Muhammadiah Muslims wide license for killing. Policy of reformist Muhammadiah very similar to 'Final Interpretation" issues by conservative NU [a reference to Indonesia's mass membership Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama], suggesting Muslim opinion here practically unanimous on disposal of PKI members." (Cable marked "Confidential" from the US Consulate in Medan to the US Embassy in Jakarta, December 6, 1965)

- "[Anti-PKI violence] have now resulted in an estimated 100,000 PKI deaths. A reliable Balinese source informed the Embassy that PKI deaths on the island of Bali now total about 10,000 and include the parents and even distant relatives of crypto-Communist Governor Sutedja." (Cable marked "Secret" from the Political Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Jakarta to Washington DC, December 21, 1965) 

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
If UN is to be credible, it must act on Burundi before it's too late

Publisher IRIN Author Dominique Fraser Publication Date 11 October 2017 Cite as IRIN, If UN is to be credible, it must act on Burundi before it's too late, 11 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e716234.html [accessed 15 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Burundian government carries the primary responsibility for protecting its citizens from crimes against humanity, but instead it's the main abuser.

A UN Commission of Inquiry reported last month that the security forces, the intelligence service, and the ruling party militia bare the greatest guilt for two years of killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, disappearances, and sexual violence in Burundi.

With the government unwilling to protect its population, it falls to the international community to provide that shield.

But although Burundi remains on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and the Security Council in New York, the reaction by the world body has so far been insufficient.

During the most recent session of the Human Rights Council last month, two resolutions on Burundi were adopted.

The first, led by the European Union, extended the mandate of the commission of inquiry - set up to investigate human rights abuses - for a further year. It received support from two African member states, Botswana and Rwanda.

The second resolution was a last-minute bid by the African Group, which sought to discredit and dismantle the panel of inquiry launched by the Human Rights Council in 2016.

It called for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to send three separate experts "to engage with the Burundian authorities and all other stakeholders".

Burundi has promised to cooperate with those experts. But the likelihood they will have any real impact is in doubt given Burundi's past refusal to cooperate with UN initiatives that seek an end to the crisis in the country, which pits President Pierre Nkurunziza against an opposition that claims his rule is illegal, and demands his ousting.

For example, in July 2016, the UN Security Council authorised 228 police officers to monitor the security situation. The resolution was an attempt to salvage the reputation of the Council, which needed to be seen as doing something. However, due to government opposition, the police officers were never able to deploy.

Following the outcome of the Human Rights Council meeting last month, it is unlikely that the Security Council will take strong action - such as targeted sanctions - despite Burundi rejecting its legally-binding resolutions.

Divided UN

In New York as in Geneva, Burundi remains one of the most divisive issues. Some Security Council members - primarily China, Russia, and Egypt - see the situation as an internal human rights affair rather than a peace and security issue.

The position of those who want the Security Council to be more engaged on human rights issues, led by the United States, is sharply opposed by those who want the Council to remain focused on more traditional security matters.

All members of the Security Council are waiting to take their cues from African states - primarily Burundi's neighbours - Tanzania and Uganda.

Given the relatively strong African consensus in Geneva opposing what is characterised as outside interference, and the ongoing - although stalled - mediation efforts led by the East African Community, those members of the Security Council interested in stronger action are unlikely to push for that in the current climate.

Despite the new UN secretary-general's focus on crisis prevention, the case of Burundi shows how difficult it is to implement prevention measures in specific cases.

The Human Rights Council has no way of enforcing decisions and relies on the cooperation of UN member states, including Burundi. The Security Council is unlikely to act until a situation has already spiralled out of control and threatens international peace and security.

On the ground, three scenarios could jolt the Security Council into action.

The first could be an escalation of attacks from outside Burundi, such as by the Democratic Republic of Congo-based rebel group, the Popular Forces of Burundi. The FPB's leadership recently vowed to increase attacks. This would likely intensify the violence and could even lead to civil war in the long term.

The second scenario could centre around the more than 400,000 refugees in neighboring countries. Tanzania, which hosts almost 60 percent of fleeing Burundese, has already reached a deal with Burundi and the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, which will see the repatriation of almost 12,000 refugees, many of whom want to leave ill-equipped camps.

If the refugee flow does not stop, Tanzania may change course and ask the Security Council to do something.

A third scenario could see an intensification of internal division within the ruling party, which would likely see a deterioration of the security situation, especially if an attempt is made to prevent Nkurunziza from running for a fourth term.

All three of these scenarios would pose an even greater risk of mass atrocities. If the UN is serious about prevention, it must take credible action on Burundi now before it is too late.
Mexican shelter provides safe space for Central Americans

Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Publication Date 17 October 2017 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Mexican shelter provides safe space for Central Americans, 17 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e717024.html [accessed 15 November 2022]

At a shelter near the Guatemalan border, a Mexican friar provides protection and humanitarian assistance to people fleeing violence, extortion and forced recruitment by gangs in the north of Central America.

Tomas Gonzalez Castillo, a member of the Christian religious order of Franciscans, opened the La 72 shelter in the town of Tenosique in 2011 and since then it has welcomed more than 50,000 people.

It accommodates up to 250 people at a time, including single mothers, minors and a growing number of families, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, collectively known as LGBTI, from the north of Central America.

More than one thousand people arrive each month at the shelter, where they receive shelter, counselling, legal assistance and home-made meals.

"All of them are victims of forced displacement due to different circumstances," Friar Tomas said. "Economic reasons, widespread violence, discrimination based on sexual identity, fleeing murder, or simply because they are women."

When refugees arrive in Mexico, they have few belongings but carry a huge emotional burden as a result of the violence and fear they have experienced in their home countries and during their journey. The first step towards recovery is having a good meal and a safe place to stay.

"The first thing we do is fill the stomach," said Friar Tomas. "Everyone who comes in is hungry after a long walk.

"After we cure the physical pain comes the most difficult thing - to cure the pain inside, the escape from their country."

La 72 is one of a network of shelters - or safe spaces - in Central America and Mexico which provides basic assistance, information on how to apply for asylum, referral services for those with special needs, and safe accommodation.

Since La 72 opened in April 2011, it has welcome roughly 10,000 people per year.

In the past two years, shelters in Mexico have seen the demand for their services nearly double as the number of people in need of protection continues to grow. The shelters, often run by civil society or church groups, have also received more than 1,500 asylum-seekers released from migration detention centres in a programme that began in 2016.

The network of safe spaces in Central America and Mexico is one of the examples of good practice being discussed at a two-day conference that opened today in Geneva, as UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads the process to develop a global compact on refugees.

The High Commissioner for Refugees was given that task by the UN General Assembly as part of last year's New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

The Geneva conference will examine how governments, with the help of civil society, faith-based organizations and international organizations, can establish systems to ensure refugees are received in a safe and dignified way.
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Sometimes its the list your town or city doesnt make that Trumbulls Tim Herbst says sets him apart from his gubernatorial rivals Joe Ganim and Mark Lauretti.

Both Ganims and Laurettis cities were placed on a credit downgrade watch list this week.

Bridgeport and Shelton were among 26 municipalities flagged by Moodys because of the domino effect of the states 110-day budget impasse, which the ratings agency said has cost $928 million in state aid to local governments.

Trumbull, where Herbst has been first selectman since 2010, averted a potential change to its credit rating.

Herbst said thats a credit to his fiscal management of the town, from passing retirement reforms to fully fund the towns pension system to imposing a mandatory rainy day fund minimum that is equal to 10 percent of the towns annual budget.

He was critical of both neighboring mayors, especially his fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Lauretti, who has long maintained that Sheltons lower tax rate makes it more competitive than Trumbull.

I think this credit downgrade shows the danger when someone is a one-trick pony, Herbst said. People need to know why Mayor Lauretti professes that Shelton has low taxes. They dont maintain a healthy fund balance. They do not fund their public schools like Trumbull does. They dont pave roads and invest infrastructure like Trumbull does. They dont invest in their parks and open space like Trumbull does.

Lauretti, whose 26 years in office makes him Fairfield Countys longest-serving mayor or first selectman, downplayed the Moodys forecast as speculative and said it only matters when bonding for projects.

I dont have to defend everything that a novice says,Lauretti said. Besides, who cares? I could care less than that. I havent bonded in four years. My debt is so low it makes peoples heads spin.

Herbst also took a swipe at Ganim, a Democrat who reclaimed the mayors office in the states largest city in 2015 after a prison stint for corruption and is exploring a run for governor.

I think there are things he might have done differently in his first term, Herbst said. I think that was a missed opportunity to really bring the types of pension and health care reforms that would have put the city on more solid footing.

Ganim said he was puzzled by Herbsts comments and cited his successful efforts this year to get legislation passed allowing Bridgeport to bond its unfunded pension liabilities.

Youre talking about Bridgeport? Ganim said. This is a good chance to highlight the fact that Bridgeport is restructuring our pension obligations that will save the city close to $60 million over the life of pension bonds.

Ganim said Bridgeport has become a magnet for commercial investment that is helping to grow the citys grand list by $2 billion and cited a $675 million privately funded MGM casino proposal as another sign of progress.

He attributed the Moodys report to the states protracted budget mess.

I talked to Moodys. I talked to Standard & Poors. I talked to Fitch, Ganim said. This is a warning to cities and towns because of the states finances. Its not a political volley at a local level. I think Bridgeport is in as strong a financial position as it can be.

Herbst even managed to bring Dave Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general and governors race adversary, into the debate over credit ratings. Walker, a Republican, had previously blamed Ganim for the slow real estate market for his home in Bridgeports Black Rock neighborhood.

Our fiscal health is superior, and I can guarantee you that if David Walker purchased a home in Trumbull rather than Bridgeport, he wouldnt have trouble selling it and he would get a better return on his investment, Herbst said.

Walker was dismissive of Herbst.

Ive done an extensive financial analysis on the state and a number of cities within the state, and theres no question that Shelton is in a much better financial position and competitive posture than Trumbull, Walker said. Bridgeport is a challenged city, and my platform for governor includes a range of steps to turn around Connecticut and revitalize its cities, including Bridgeport.

Danbury, where longtime GOP Mayor Mark Boughton is running for re-election and weighing a third run for governor, was also excluded from the list.

Is it fodder? I think its just symptomatic of a state budget process thats just completely run amok, Boughton said when asked if he would use the negative outlook against Ganim or Lauretti. Having said all that, its not good to be on that watch list.

http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436
DeWitt was transported to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. A hospital spokesman said he couldn't release Dewitt's condition.

The sheriff's office says the incident remains under investigation. No other information is available at this time.

The Mason City police and fire departments provided assistance at the scene.
LITCHFIELD  The former county courthouse on the town green has been a fixture in the community for generations. Under a plan presented this week by the Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust, it would continue to serve residents for years to come as the home of town government.

Members of the trust presented an overview of their plan to the Board of Selectmen this week.

With the state vacating the building, the trust interest is to acquire, preserve and protect the historical and architectural features for reuse. We also are interested in continuing its economic viability, said trust President Paul Hinkel. And we also understand that the town is in need of a new town hall, or a replacement town hall, and that is the direction we are looking to go to... we just think that this seems to be the higher and better use for this facility.

Under the plan proposed by the trust, the interior of the former courthouse would be reconfigured into office space for the municipal government, with a design based off suggestions made by the Facilities Committee in a September 2016 report.

Architects from Cambridge Seven Associates Inc. estimate the cost of the conversion, which would include an addition designed to improve accessibility for handicapped visitors, at $5.2 million, according to documentation presented Tuesday.

This would include $250,000 for landscaping and other site improvements, $4.48 million for the renovation of the existing building and $478,550 for new additions. The cost of constructing a new town hall was estimated at $5.9 million in the September 2016 plan generated by the facilities committee.

The trust is currently engaged in an effort to gain title of the building.

Six families donated land for the construction of the courthouse, according to trust member Carol Bramley. Only one claim, that of the Beckwith family, can be traced to the present, she said.

A special act aimed for inclusion in the bill to implement the state budget would strip away the claim of the families other than the Beckwiths, and the trust would then buy the property, she said.

Hinkel said the trust expects to take ownership of the property Oct. 31. If it is able to acquire it, the trust would aim to find interim uses for the courthouse to defray associated costs  perhaps as office-sharing space, Hinkel said. The process of converting the building would likely take years, he said.

We look at it as sort of a unique opportunity. It has such an enormous presence, which you really realize when you drive down North Street toward the center of town. Its a focal point, said Bramley. Its not anything that any of us would have asked for at this point in time, but it is an opportunity, and if we can be creative and sort of figure out a way to make it work.

Selectmen indicated that they were interested in considering the plan further in the future, if it was decided to pursue the idea of a new Town Hall. The board has not looked at the concept of renovating or constructing a new town hall in over a year, First Selectman Leo Paul said.

Paul said the potential project would be something to consider in the long-term.

We definitely have to look at this as an option. Theres no ifs, ands or buts about it, said Paul. Its a critical piece of the community.

The former Litchfield Judicial District courthouse closed in August, as the state began to shift judicial proceedings to Torrington. The former Bantam courthouse has also closed, with officials considering a plan to convert the annex to affordable housing.
Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday defended the arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha on charges of treason and further accused the U.S. of trying to topple his government amid international condemnation of an ongoing crackdown in the country ahead of an election set for next year.



Speaking to more than 15,000 factory workers in the capital Phnom Penh as part of a bid to earn the trust of voters in the lead up to a July 2018 general election, Hun Sen said he had acted in defense of the nation by arresting Kem Sokha and threatened to continue detaining members of his Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) until the party is eliminated.



The prime minister suggested that a January 2014 strike by garment workers in Phnom Penh over wages that was broken up when police shot and killed four people had been engineered by the opposition partywhich made substantial gains in the countrys general election the previous yearat the behest of Washington.



[The CNRP] used to chant Step Down Hun Sen and you created a movement that caused the deaths of several people on Veng Sreng Street, he said, referring to the area of the capital where the strike took place.



Was that an act of respect of the peoples will or a revolt backed by a foreign power to instigate another war in Cambodia?



On Monday, the National Assembly approved four amendments to the countrys electoral law, despite a boycott by the parliaments 55 CNRP lawmakers, paving the way for their seats to be redistributed to smaller government-aligned parties in the event that the opposition party is dissolved.



Cambodias Senate Committee will convene on Thursday to review the amendments. The senate will send the amendments, with any proposed changes, back to parliaments Constitutional Council which, after further review, will forward them on to King Norodom Sihamoni for final approval.



Hun Sens comments apparently referred to a statement Tuesday by CNRP lawmakers, who called the approval of the amendments by ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) members of parliament an abuse of power  [and] the will of the people.



The prime minister reminded the CNRP that you were defeated in 2013s elections, yet you have not abandoned your bad intentions.



Arrest for treason



He also defended the Sept. 3 arrest of Kem Sokha, who has been charged with treason for collaborating with the U.S. to overthrow the CPP, in a move critics say shows Hun Sen is intensifying his attacks on political opponents ahead of next years ballot.



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 U.S. experts, though the U.S. embassy has rejected any suggestion that Washington is interfering in Cambodian politics.



You may ask me why Kem Sokha has just been arrested for a speech he made several years ago, Hun Sen said.



Its not about when to carry out the arrest, but about how relevant the evidence regarding his speech was. Its about the consistency of his speech and his acts, he added.



The search is underway. When the evidence is well established and consistent, not only Kem Sokha will be liable for the crime, but the entire opposition party shall be dissolved.



Hun Sen also took aim at the U.S. for carrying out a secret bombing campaign within Cambodia from 1969-1970 in a bid to wipe out safe havens for Communist Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, accusing Washington of maintaining a double standard for accusing his government of human rights abuses.



More cases of victims affected by the bombs have since been found, and this was a tragedy caused by a foreign power, he said.



The children of the villagers in the affected areas have birth defects  [When the U.S.] dropped millions of tons of bombs on us, did you ever think about human rights and democracy? Now we have to set up centers to treat people who have been affected by the radiation leaked from those bombs.



International criticism



Hun Sens comments came as a group of organizations, including New York-based Human Rights Watch, held a press conference in Bangkok, calling on the international community to prevent Cambodia from abandoning democracy.



Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watchs deputy Asia director, called for sanctions against Cambodia in response to the ongoing crackdown in the country, and urged governments to withdraw technical assistance for the countrys elections next year if the CNRP is dissolved.



Quite clearly we're on the cusp of losing another democracy in the world, Roberston said, adding that Washington has essentially stood by and allowed it to happen.



Hun Sen is looking around, he's seeing very little comment from the international community, and for him that's a green light to continue the repression.



Also on Wednesday, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) expressed deep concern about what it termed the increasing repression and escalation of human rights violations against opposition MPs in Cambodia on the closing day of the 137th IPU Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.



In a statement accompanying a resolution passed by its Governing Council, the IPU called for fact-finding missions by its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to be sent to Cambodia, as well as to Venezuela, Turkey, and the Maldives, in the near future.



The IPU dismissed the use of the 2013 video as evidence of treason against Kem Sokha, demanding that he be immediately released and allowed to resume his duties as a parliamentarian and the president of the opposition.



It also urged Cambodian authorities to allow for the return of opposition MPs who had been forced into exile so that they could campaign freely ahead of the 2018 election.



Since Kem Sokhas arrest, some 20 CNRP lawmakers, along with deputy presidents Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang and a number of party activists, have fled Cambodia fearing retaliation by the CPP following important electoral gains by the opposition in Junes commune ballot, which are seen as pointing to a strong showing in next years vote.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
CHARLES CITY | A Floyd County jury has found Antoine Williams guilty of second-degree murder.

Williams, 36, of Charles City, was accused of fatally shooting 36-year-old Nathaniel Fleming just before 10 p.m. on June 30 outside the Clarkview Apartments  now known as the Casa Apartments.

Williams sat and nodded silently as the verdict was read Wednesday in Floyd County District Court, and as a roll call of each jurors decision was taken.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General Coleman McAllister said after the verdict that the justice system did its work, and expects Williams could face up to 50 years in prison. Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey told reporters Williams himself and many witnesses probably led to the jurys decision.

I believe the defendants confession he had given to the agent (Jon Turbett) or well as eyewitness testimony by many of the witnesses is what the jury would have put the emphasis on, she said.

Nellie OMara and Steve Kloberdanz, who represented Williams, declined comment.

McAllister and Ginbey argued Williams planned to shoot Fleming, and that he should pay for committing such a crime.

"We're all responsible for our actions," McAllister told the jury during his closing arguments Tuesday. "Sometimes the truth is hard. Sometimes the truth hurts."

The defense countered by arguing Williams was acting in self-defense, when Fleming appeared to reach for a gun in the center console of the car he was driving that night.

"This case is not about who shot Nathaniel Fleming," Nellie O'Mara, a public defender representing Williams, said in her closing argument. "The state has shown you the who, what, the where and the how ... but they haven't shown you the why."

Friends and family testified Monday that Williams was soft-spoken, not violent and would not have shot Fleming for any other reason than to protect himself.

The state used evidence from the scene and testimony from several Iowa DCI agents to show Williams could not have acted in self-defense.

Dr. Dennis Klein, the state medical examiner, testified Fleming was shot at least four times, according to the autopsy he performed on his body.

McAllister noted this in his closing argument, and urged the jury to use "reason, common sense and life experiences" in their deliberations.

The defense, however, argued Williams' past experiences and character traits could not have led him to commit such a heinous act. Williams took the stand Tuesday morning, and said he had survived a shooting and a stabbing over a decade ago.

"He made it impossible," Williams testified about dealing with Fleming's behavior. "He would just ugly it up for no reason ... he was ticking everyone else off."

The jury deliberated for about two hours before reaching its verdict Wednesday. The trial started Oct. 10.

A sentencing date hasn't been set.
China will maintain "a firm grasp" on Hong Kong, and exercise full powers of governance in the former British colony, President Xi Jinping told delegates at the ruling Chinese Communist Party's 19th National Congress in Beijing on .



Xi told delegates that Beijing's jurisdiction over the city, and the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, should not be shaken, amid concerns that the "one country, two systems" principle has already been diluted by repeated interventions in Hong Kong.



"We will develop and strengthen the ranks of patriots who love both our country and their regions," he said, adding that "patriots will be playing the principal role" in governing the city.



However, he stopped short of mentioning recent calls for independence in the city, focusing instead on the pro-independence movement in democratic Taiwan, which has never been ruled by his party.



"We will never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," he said.



Taiwan's mainland affairs council called the Communist Party congress' comments "regrettable", saying Beijing wouldn't win over the island's 23 million people" with this approach.



Pan-democratic politicians and rights activists in the Hong Kong, where courts recently sent three student leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy movement to jail, said Xi's comments don't bode well for the promises of "a high degree of autonomy" made to Hong Kong ahead of the 1997 handover.



And a series of high-profile interventions by China's parliament have cast doubts over Beijing's growing political influence in the city, which extended to stripping pro-democracy lawmakers of their seats in the Legislative Council, after their oaths of allegiance were ruled invalid.



High-level interventions

Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said Xi's words on Hong Kong suggest the central government's use of high-level interventions in the city's political life will only get more frequent in future.



"I think that Beijing is now thinking that it gets to define what 'one country, two systems' means, that it wants to distort the definition as understood by the people of Hong Kong and the international community," Wu told RFA.



"This is very, very dangerous, and it will send Hong Kong into a vicious circle, worsening tensions between Hong Kong and the central government, and giving the [city's] government even less room for maneuver," he said.



The erosion of Hong Kong's traditional freedoms of speech, publication, and judicial independence in recent years and a stalled timetable for full democracy in spite of the 2014 protest has coincided with growing talk of independence, and a renewed backlash from Beijing.



Some 40 percent of young people support the idea, compared with around 70 percent who oppose it across all age groups, according to recent opinion polls.



Wang Guangya, who until recently headed the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of China's cabinet, the State Council, said the idea of independence for Hong Kong is anathema to Beijing.



"The central government and the rest of mainland China are definitely behind Hong Kong and Macau's development ... but President Xi made it clear in 's speech that the central government is drawing a red line," Wang said.



"That red line is, don't do anything that harms national sovereignty, security or economic development."



Eroding freedoms

But Regina Ip, who chairs the pro-Beijing New Peoples Party, said Beijing would be happy to leave the Hong Kong government to manage the issue, however.



"Provided that Hong Kong is able to keep these separatists sentiments at bay and help our young people understand that we are an integral part of the country  I see no reason why the central government will tighten up its policy on Hong Kong," she said.



But Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung dismissed such claims.



"There has been a gradual tightening of control over Hong Kong, whether by the central government or by its liaison office [in Hong Kong]," Yeung said. "So [Xi's] words make me feel that we are unlikely to see any loosening of restrictions in future."



Yeung blamed former chief executive Leung Chun-ying for exacerbating calls for independence during his tenure in the city's top job.



"I think that the person who created the situation should be the one to resolve it," he said. "This issue won't be resolved while the central and the Hong Kong governments ...persist in using hardline tactics [to deal with it]."



Under the terms of the 1997 handover, Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy and the maintenance of judicial independence, progress towards universal suffrage and traditional freedoms of speech, publication and association.



Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong called on Beijing to clarify what Xi meant by "full powers of governance," saying that the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, was designed to allow Hong Kong people to rule the city by themselves.



"According to the Basic Law, we are currently implementing one country, two systems, and Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong," Wong said. "That means that Hong Kong affairs should be managed by our own administration."



"But is there any limit to these 'full powers of governance'? If China interferes with Hong Kong's internal affairs, with its elections, then this is a serious breach of our jurisdiction."



And political affairs commentator Liu Ruishao warned that the space for public freedom of expression in the once-freewheeling city is also rapidly shrinking.



"If Beijing doesn't change its approach, the obstacles will remain, the red line will keep moving, and all the conflicts will still be there."



A recent report by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China found that "the long-term viability of the 'one country, two systems' model ... is increasingly uncertain given central government interference."



The oaths row "was the first time the [National People's Congress] standing committee] had preemptively ruled on a case under consideration by a local court, raising further concerns about Hong Kongs autonomy," the report said.



Reported by Lam Kwok-lap for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Gao Feng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Uyghur children whose parents or guardians have been detained in political re-education camps are being held in terrible conditions in orphanages in northwest Chinas Xinjiang region, and overcrowding has forced authorities to send them to facilities in the countrys inner provinces, according to sources.



Since April, thousands of Uyghurs accused of harboring extremist and politically incorrect views have been detained in a vast network of re-education camps throughout Xinjiang, where members of the ethnic group complain of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule.



Sources believe there are virtually no majority ethnic Han Chinese held in the Xinjiang camps, and that the number of detainees in the regions southwhere the highest concentration of Uyghurs are basedfar surpasses that in the north.



A Uyghur officer at a police station in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefectures Peyziwat (Jiashi) county recently told RFAs Uyghur Service that local government officials were deciding the fates of children who had been left behind after their guardians had been sent for re-education.



Children who were left without parents are being cared for by their relatives, and district committees are in charge of those who have no relatives to care for them, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.



An official at the Peyziwat county government office refused to answer questions about the children of detained Uyghurs, but a staff member at the Chasa Street neighborhood committee in Kashgar city told RFA that those who have no guardians to care for them are being sent to orphanages.



Those children are being looked after by orphanages through arrangement by the government, said the staff member, who asked to remain unnamed.



No one has the authority to make a decision about these children except the government, he added, before hanging up the phone.



A Han Chinese staff member at the Central Orphanage of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the regional capital Urumqi, refused to provide any information about how the government was caring for children of detained Uyghurs, but sources in other parts of the region told RFA of situations similar to that in Kashgar prefecture.



A teacher at a primary school in neighboring Aksu (Akesu) prefectures Kuchar (Kuche) county said that the headmaster was making arrangements for children there.



If the children were already registered at the school, then the school would accept responsibility for them, she said, adding that other children in the prefecture were being sent to orphanages, though she did not know how the decisions were being made.



Sources in Hotan (Hetian) prefectures Qaraqash (Moyu) countywhere officials last week said they had been ordered to send 40 percent of area residents to re-education campsalso told RFA that the children of detained parents were being brought to schools or nurseries for care, in addition to orphanages.



Terrible conditions



A Uyghur worker at a regional orphanage in southern Xinjiang, who requested anonymity, said his facility was seriously overcrowded and described the conditions there as terrible.



Because there are so many children, they are locked up like farm animals in a shed, he said.



We receive a lot of cash donations from the public, but only a very little is spent on the children.



The worker said that some of the money is used to decorate a few rooms and dress up some of the children for advertising on television.



The orphanage also saves money by giving the children meat only once a week, he said, while the rest of the time they are provided with rice soup.



In the past we didnt have so many children, but now there are too many, he said.



According to the worker, a large number of children whose parents were sent to re-education camps, had arrived in the last month, including kids aged six months to 12 years old.



Authorities in Xinjiangs northern prefectures, such as Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous prefecture and in Tarbaghatay (Tacheng) prefecture, are more relaxed about placing Uyghurs in re-education camps, the worker said, but added that he had heard their orphanages are overcrowded too.



With all of the overcrowding at orphanages around the region, authorities are moving children to mainland China, he said, though he was unsure of where they were being sent.



They are making the excuse that they are providing them with free food, accommodation and schooling, he added.



With security so tight in Xinjiang, it isnt possible for parents who have been released from re-education camps to look for their children in the orphanages, the worker said.



In the current climate, not even a bird can fly in and out freely, he said.



Youd better not ask any more questions, otherwise you place the person answering them in jeopardy, and other people they come into contact with will also get into trouble.



Camp network



Last month, sources told RFA that political re-education camps in Ghulja (Yining) county, in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, and Korla (Kuerle) city, in neighboring Bayingholin Mongol (Bayinguoleng Menggu) Autonomous Prefecture, hold at least 3,600 inmates deemed politically incorrect by local authorities.



The camps are labeled career development centers in a bid to mask their true nature, they said, but the detainees held there are rarely freed, despite undergoing months of training.



Officials told RFA last week that authorities in Korla are also detaining Uyghurs in re-education camps for traveling overseas where they are influenced by extremism and other things, and refusing to free them until they admit it was wrong to have left the country.



New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch has called on the Chinese government to free the thousands of Uyghurs placed in the camps since April and close them down.



The campswhere inmates who have not broken any laws are detained extrajudicially, indefinitely and without the knowledge of their familiesrun contrary to Chinas constitution and violate international human rights law, Human Rights Watch noted.



China regularly conducts strike hard campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material.



While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009.



Reported by Gulchehra Hoja and Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma and Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The Richmond chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit association that provides mentoring for entrepreneurs, saw growth in the number of businesses it assisted in its most recent fiscal year.

The 50 local volunteer mentors for SCORE  mostly retired business people  had face-to-face advisory meetings with 663 entrepreneurs, up from 637 the previous fiscal year. They had 1,661 follow-up meetings compared with 1,290 the previous fiscal year.

We are very, very happy with performance, John Anderson, chairman of the Richmond chapter of SCORE, said at its annual meeting Tuesday at Salisbury Country Club in Chesterfield County.

We donated more than 9,000 hours to the community. Anderson said. That is a record we are very proud of.

Five entrepreneurs who have benefited from SCORE counseling spoke during the meeting. They were: Gwen Hurt, founder of wine seller Shoe Crazy Wine; Isaiah Ham, founder of tick control service Ivy Oaks Analytics; Britt Sebastian, owner of custom apparel maker Haberdash; Barb White, co-owner of specialty beer and wine retailer Bottleworks; and Gordon Wisotzki, founder of POS Global Concepts, a refurbisher of credit card and check equipment.

The Richmond area has good infrastructure in place to support entrepreneurs, such as universities, business accelerators, and mentoring programs, said Jennifer Finn, chief operating officer of small business bank at Capital One Financial Corp., the financial services company that is the regions largest private employer. There needs to be a culture of support and networking, and a culture of helping each other, said Finn, the keynote speaker for the event.

She said some of the major forces driving entrepreneurial innovation now are digitization, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
MASON CITY | A Mason City man was arrested Tuesday after a police sting operation involving a bait bike.

The Mason City Police Department conducted an operation where a bicycle was left unattended in a public location while officers watched to see if anyone would attempt to steal the bike, Lt. Rich Jensen said in a press release.

After 11 p.m., just two hours into the operation, the bait bike was stolen. Police say they attempted to apprehend the man, who tried to elude officers by riding away on the bike.

After a short pursuit by officers on foot and in a vehicle, the suspect was tackled and taken into custody, Jensen said.

Joseph Angel Luna, 27, was charged with fourth-degree theft, interference with official acts and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He is being held at the Cerro Gordo County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

The department will continue to utilize undercover activities such as this to identify and apprehend bike thieves, Jensen said.

 Courtney Fiorini
POUND, Va.  A search warrant executed by authorities at a residence in Pound last Tuesday turned up black tar heroin, crystal meth, various hallucinogenic drugs and several illegal firearms.

The operation was the result of a lengthy criminal investigation into the residence, located in the 10000 block of Right Fork Road, according to the Pound Police Department.

Officers also found LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, dozens of prescription pills and various drug paraphernalia.

A woman who officers identified as a suspect in the case was found with more than a dozen prescription pills on her.

A safe was discovered in a bedroom that contained more than $700 in cash inside a suspects billfold.

The search was conducted with the Virginia State Police Tactical/SWAT Team and the Drug Task Force.
It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it. So remarked Gen. Robert E. Lee to Gen. James Longstreet during the battle of Telegraph Hill. War is a terrible thing. It destroys lives and homes and countries. Long after treaties are signed and generals have retired, its scars remain  deep, ugly, and painful.

While bombed-out structures can be rebuilt and killing fields resown with grain, human scars cannot so easily be erased. The physical and emotional wounds suffered in combat can be debilitating long after a veteran has left the battle. Though some never recover, most learn to cope through a myriad of techniques. Some have learned to deal with the trauma through exercise, others through writing. Many veterans have turned to art to express their thoughts and feelings and begin the healing process.

The Virginia War Memorial is hosting a special exhibit through Oct. 27 featuring military art created by veterans. From paintings to sculptures, woodwork and photography, the images and artwork are stunning, haunting, and inspiring. Photographs on display highlight life in Afghanistan and Iraq as seen through the eyes of two award-winning combat photographers.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Special one-day events, such as keynote speakers and an exhibit on military tattoos, will be offered throughout two-week exhibit. (Most events are free but do require prior registration.) Visit http://vawarmemorial.org/ for further information and registration for the events.
MASON CITY | A Mason City man has been arrested in connection with several garage burglaries last week, police say.

Joshuah John Hockenson, 22, stole tools and bicycles in those burglaries, the Mason City Police Department said in a news release.

Mason City police seeking owners of suspected stolen bikes MASON CITY | The Mason City Police Department says it's looking for the owners of suspected 

He has been charged with two counts of felony third-degree burglary, two counts of misdemeanor attempted burglary and misdemeanor fourth-degree theft.

After Hockensons arrest, officers served search warrants at two Mason City residences.

Hockenson is being held at the Cerro Gordo County Jail on a $13,000 bond.

 Ashley Miller
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
A Bath County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to the fatal shooting of her 6-year-old daughter, which she told police she did to protect the child from aliens.

Darla Elizabeth Hise, 27, accepted a plea agreement that will send her to prison for 24 years.

The agreement, which precludes a second trial after efforts in August to seat an impartial jury in Bath County were unsuccessful, reduced a first-degree murder charge to second-degree murder, according to her attorney, Suni Mackall of Winchester.

Hise pleaded guilty to five other charges  including the attempted murder of her 3-year-old son in the same Hot Springs home where her daughter was found dead  and received a total sentence of 50 years in prison, with all but 24 years suspended.

In a statement made Tuesday in Bath County Circuit Court, Hise expressed remorse and spoke about how her addiction to drugs had taken over her life, Mackall said.

To me, Darla Hise showed tremendous remorse and quite frankly, tremendous courage, to be in the situation where she found herself, Mackall said.

Hise was arrested shortly after the Feb. 4 shotgun shooting of Abigail Grace Hise in their Hot Springs home.

According to court documents, Hise told a Bath County detective that she believed her daughter and son were in danger from aliens and she thought she was going to save her daughter by sending her to heaven. The boy was found unharmed in the house on Billy Goat Lane.

Shortly after her arrest, Hise was taken to the emergency room of Bath Community Hospital after complaining of anxiety and abdominal pain. In a statement there to the detective, she talked about her fear of aliens.

Tests showed that Hise had been using methamphetamines, amphetamines, and marijuana, drugs she said she had been taking for the past three weeks.

In addition to second-degree murder, Hise pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder, two firearm offenses, possession of methamphetamine, and having the drugs while in possession of a firearm.

Commonwealths Attorney John Singleton could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Tuesdays plea agreement came after earlier efforts to seat an impartial jury failed in Bath County.

Nearly all of the county residents called for jury duty on Aug. 23 recognized the case, and more than half said they would be unable to keep an open mind based on what they knew or had heard in the tight-knit county of about 4,400.

After nearly nine futile hours of jury selection, Judge Michael Irvine granted a motion for a change of venue and moved the case to Staunton Circuit Court. A trial there was called off after Hises convictions.
HAMPTON | The Franklin Wellness Center is hosting a fundraiser to purchase new fitness equipment.

The center is hosting a "Sock Hop around the Clock" Saturday, Nov. 4, in its gym. This family event for all ages includes a 50s-themed dance, dance lessons, refreshments and games.

Dance lessons with Mari and Kirk Petersen start the festivities from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dance to D&J Productions from 7:00-11:00 p.m.

Everyone is encouraged to dress in 1950s attire. Poodle skirts are available to rent at the wellness center for $10 each.

Fun activities and group games will be held throughout the evening.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and $25 for families.

The wellness center, which opened in 2005, is operated by Franklin County Residents Active in Community Exercise, a nonprofit organization.

Contact FWC Manager Jim Davies at franklinwellness@gmail.com or 641-456-2827 for more information.
Abingdon farmer and small business owner Anthony Flaccavento will take a second swing at unseating U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith.

Flaccavento, a Democrat who opposed Griffith during the congressmans first re-election bid in 2012, announced Wednesday he will seek the Democratic nomination for Virginias 9th Congressional District.

This go-round, Flaccavento, 60, is launching his campaign five months earlier and plans to reach out to voters outside the Democratic Party, especially independents and moderate Republicans who are frustrated with the current political climate.

When Flaccavento previously ran for the 9th District seat, he earned 39 percent of the vote, which is 11 points better than any Democrat who has run in the district since.

Flaccavento is critical of the Democratic establishment because as he sees it, the party has abandoned working people, especially in rural areas.

I am going to shout at the Democrats the whole way through this campaign because that needs to change, he said.

Flaccavento argues that progressives should not ignore rural communities. He launched a website called Rural Progressive Politics this summer to help make his case.

His platform stresses that land, livelihood and community shape the way rural voters see politics and the world, and his campaign will focus on fostering healthy local communities. Flaccavento is an organic farmer, and much of his message stems from his consulting work devoted to growing healthy, sustainable regional economies.

When we invest in local communities, when we invest in small, independent businesses and mid-size businesses, when we invest in innovative manufacturers, we get much, much, much more bang for the buck than the corporate giveaways that have become the foundation of most state and local economic development policies, he said.

Vigorous local economies means fewer tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and lower taxes for small businesses, instead of significant tax breaks for major corporations that can afford to pay them, Flaccavento said.

Flaccavento doesnt expect much support from the party establishment for his congressional bid, but he plans to pursue grass-roots backing by signing up 1,000 campaign volunteers and hosting 100 town hall meetings throughout the district before the 2018 election.

Griffith, R-Salem, has repeatedly denied requests for town hall meetings, saying he would rather hold informal discussions with community members. Town hall meetings are an excuse for theatrics, and not a chance for substantive discussion, Griffith has said .

In his campaign announcement at a labor union office in Christiansburg, Flaccavento criticized Griffith for not being visible in the 9th District, which includes 26 jurisdictions and is larger than the state of New Jersey.

Im sick and tired of a congressman who is not a representative, Flaccavento said.

Although he has no plans for a formal announcement, Griffith called it a pretty safe bet that he will seek re-election next year. Griffith is a lawyer and former majority leader of the Virginia House of Delegates who defeated 28-year congressman Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, in 2010.

Griffith called Flaccavento out of touch with 9th District voters, but said he looks forward to spirited debate during the campaign. Griffith has nearly $200,000 in cash for his 2018 re-election bid, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Flaccavento supports the Affordable Care Act and believes lawmakers should be shoring up the health policy instead of tearing it down. He also supports Medicaid expansion and universal health care. Griffith has supported Republican plans to repeal and replace former President Barack Obamas signature health care legislation.

Flaccavento also wants to break away from the War on Coal narrative that has pitted environmentalists against coal miners. Instead, progressives should involve coal communities in the conversation instead of regulating and restricting the industry to the point where workers cant earn a living.

The 9th District isnt perfect, the Appalachian culture isnt perfect, the United States of America isnt perfect, he said. But lets be honest, what we have is a region and a country with so much to build on and were just going in the wrong direction on so many different things.
Gov. Terry McAuliffes administration has not yet fulfilled a series of information requests from the lawyer the city of Charlottesville hired to review the violent white nationalist rally in August and how public officials planned for the danger that came with it.

Tim Heaphy, a former federal prosecutor hired to lead Charlottesvilles review, said in early September that he had requested information from state agencies and asked to interview state officials as he examines the coordinated response to the rally. As of last week, Heaphy said he had not been granted access to the records he was seeking.

We have not yet received replies to the (Freedom of Information Act) requests weve submitted or the separate requests for information Ive sent to various state agencies, Heaphy said in an Oct. 9 email to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I continue to believe that information sharing is in the commonwealths interest, as well as that of our clients in Charlottesville.

In early September, Heaphy said he wanted to review the assistance Charlottesville received from the Virginia National Guard, the Department of Emergency Management and the state police. Assessing the city-state coordination in the lead-up to the rally, Heaphy said at the time, will be an important part of the citys review.

McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said Monday that the state has been in ongoing discussions with Heaphy, but is prioritizing its own review, led by outside consultants with an estimated price tag of almost $300,000, ahead of the review spearheaded by the city. Charlottesville is paying Heaphys firm $545 an hour with an initial fee cap of $100,000.

Coy added that some of the records Heaphy wants are exempt from disclosure as protected law enforcement records or records connected to pending litigation.

The McAuliffe administrations resistance to Heaphy  a white-collar criminal defense lawyer with Hunton & Williams  is perhaps the most significant sign of what some observers see as a puzzling air of secrecy surrounding the states efforts to review the rally, which led to the death of one anti-racism activist and was indirectly linked to a Virginia State Police helicopter crash that killed two troopers. Rally attendees on both sides have blasted the law enforcement response, accusing police of standing by and allowing melees to develop in the streets surrounding the downtown park where white nationalist groups intended to rally to defend a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Because the McAuliffe administration does not consider the post-Charlottesville task force on civil unrest a public body, the meetings havent been announced on official state calendars. Before the task force started its work, its members  almost all of whom are government officials  were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement saying they understood that the disclosure of certain information could cause irreparable harm to the governors office. If improper disclosures were to occur, the statement reads, the governors office may seek legal remedies.

Coy said the after-action report the task force will produce will be released to the public, but he said the task force was not created for a public airing of the events in Charlottesville.

It is for experts to advise the governor on actions that he should take to keep the public safe, Coy said.

State Del. C. Todd Gilbert, a Shenandoah County Republican in line to become the next majority leader of the House of Delegates, said the House GOP welcomed the task force and asked that it be as transparent as possible, but is quickly losing confidence in it. Gilbert said the task force has initially focused too much on the possibility of restricting guns at future rallies, and not enough on getting to the bottom of the breakdown in public order that led to this tragic outcome.

I hope they are not using this opportunity to just pivot to what is otherwise lawful conduct when there was plenty of unlawful conduct that went unanswered that day until it was too late, Gilbert said.

Coy said: This may be political for some folks. But its not political for the governor or the folks on this task force.

The task force is scheduled to have two more meetings before finishing its work next month.

Last month, the McAuliffe administration denied a FOIA request filed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch seeking records showing how public safety officials prepared for the rally at the state level. Pointing to a pending lawsuit that raises questions of legal liability and the sensitive nature of police tactics, the governors office said it was keeping the records confidential under the broadly defined working papers exemption and the executive privilege doctrine.

The state has hired The Olson Group, an Alexandria-based security consulting firm, to lead its review in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The contract allows up to $299,511 in billable hours, with top Olson Group employees charging at a rate of $320 per hour.

Its not yet clear if a separate after-action report being prepared by the state police will be released.

Though officials have vowed to fully examine what happened in Charlottesville and explore how similar fiascoes could be prevented in the future, the public work of the task force so far has focused largely on how the permitting process for political rallies could be tightened without curtailing free speech.

The ACLU of Virginia, which has been feuding publicly with McAuliffe after its decision to go to court to help defend the free speech rights of the white nationalist rally organizers, criticized the perceived lack of transparency in a recent letter requesting copies of an emergency regulation the task force has developed that sets new ground rules for rallies at the state-owned Lee statue on Richmonds Monument Avenue.

In an interview, ACLU spokesman Bill Farrar said it was kind of ridiculous to think that only people already in government  not advocacy groups or the public  should be at the table to discuss post-Charlottesville policy issues.

This is a highly public and highly contentious issue that a lot of people have opinions on, said Farrar, who on Monday was still waiting for a response to his request to see the draft regulation. We shouldnt have to beg for these things or demand them.

In an executive order, McAuliffe suspended permitted political rallies at the Lee statue until the task force could craft new rules. Once its in place, the emergency regulation will be subject to a public comment period.

Though the organizers of the white nationalist rally and the activists who turned out to protest it seem to agree that police did little to intervene as clashes broke out, the two sides have put forward two opposing theories. White nationalists have pushed the theory that the government took a hands-off approach as a pretense to declare the event a riot and shut down unpopular speech. Anti-racism activists, who are often sharply critical of police, have accused law enforcement of being unwilling to protect them against a white nationalist invasion.

Officials have adamantly denied that any stand-down order was given, but one counterprotester has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was injured as police officers stood by and did nothing. The governors office cited the suit, which names both city and state officials, while explaining its reluctance to release documents related to the rally.

In light of recently announced litigation, as well as because of the sensitive nature of law enforcement strategic and tactical decisions, we will await a more fulsome review of any materials related to the Aug. 12 incident before disclosing these items, wrote Noah Sullivan, McAuliffes counsel. We will reconsider releasing records after that is complete.

McAuliffes office announced the membership of the Task Force on Public Safety Preparedness and Response to Civil Unrest just two hours before the groups first meeting on Sept. 12. The second meeting on Oct. 3 wasnt announced at all. A reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatch was allowed to sit in on both meetings, which the McAuliffe administration said wasnt required because state open meeting laws, including a requirement to announce meetings three days in advance, dont apply to advisory task forces created by the governor.

Its more analogous to one of our Cabinet meetings than it is to a formal, open public body, Coy said.

Meghan Rhyne, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the states transparency law makes a distinction between advisory bodies created by another public body, such as a city council or the General Assembly, and panels created by an executive such as a mayor or a governor. The latter, she said, are not covered in the legal definition of public body.

Do I like that definition and that distinction? No. Of course not, Rhyne said. And certainly when youre dealing with an issue of such huge public interest, it seems to defy common sense to not hold these meetings publicly.
A contender for Salem sheriff is taking voluntary leave from work until after the elections after questions were raised over whether she needs to abide by a local statute governing city staffers who seek public office.

The city concluded that sheriffs office Maj. April Staton and other employees of independently elected, constitutional officers arent classified as city employees and therefore dont fall under City Code Sec. 2-117.

That particular ordinance sets out a list of restrictions for city employees engaging in political activity. Staffers are barred from politicking during work hours, for example, and no political advertising can be posted on city property.

The language also stipulates that any full-time, city employee who runs for office must take a 30-day leave of absence from work before Election Day.

City Code Sec. 2-117 also bars Salem employees from wearing uniforms while participating in political activity.

Local election officials said they were contacted by an upset caller last week after a forum was held for the six candidates vying for Salem sheriff. Officials contacted for this story did not have the callers full name.

The caller took issue with Staton wearing her sheriffs uniform to the event and questioned whether she was in compliance with the city regulations, said voter registrar Dana Oliver.

Staton, whos currently second in command at the Salem Sheriffs Office, said while shes been assured that she isnt subject to the citys mandate, she opted to take a leave of absence to defuse the issue and avoid any potentially distraction-causing controversy.

I dont want that negativity on our office, she said. I want everybody to be able to come into work and focus on work as we normally do.

Staton said shell be using paid leave time shes accrued while on the job. Her leave took effect Monday.

The registrars office referred the questions about Staton at the forum to City Manager Kevin Boggess. He, in turn, consulted with the city attorney and said he was advised that employees of the sheriff and other constitutional officers dont fall under the heading of city staff.

These employees are hired and supervised by the sheriff, an independent elected official, not the city, Boggess said. Their paychecks are processed through the city but financed primarily by the state with city-funded supplements offered for some positions.

The caller, who contacted the local office multiple times, also questioned whether Staton was in compliance with the U.S. Hatch Act, Oliver said. The Hatch Act was established in 1939 primarily to regulate federal personnels participation in political activity.

It can also apply to local and state officials who work with programs that benefit from federal grants.

The question of whether it bars candidates for sheriff from campaigning in their uniforms has been raised in races across the nation.

In 2011, a lieutenant colonel running for Spotsylvania County sheriff was cleared of any wrongdoing when a uniform-related complaint was lodged against him, according to The (Fredericksburg) Free Lance-Star.

In 2016, a lieutenant running for sheriff in Hillsdale, Michigan, was warned by the feds that he was in violation for using campaign photos of himself in uniform, according to The Collegian, a Hillsdale College student newspaper.

It wasnt immediately clear how the Hatch Act might apply to the Salem sheriffs race. Local officials concluded that questions about the federal law exceeded their purview and should instead be directed to the appropriate federal agency.

Everette Obenshain, Salems first and longest-serving sheriff, said hed be surprised if there had been any violation.

Sheriffs have been campaigning in uniform for centuries, said Obenshain, who retired in 2000.

Obenshain serves on the Salem Electoral Board and is among the local officials who spoke to the caller. The local board took no position on the Hatch Act question .

Current Salem Sheriff Ric Atkins, whos endorsed Staton in the six-way race to pick his successor, was on vacation and couldnt be reached. Atkins is not seeking re-election. Aside from Staton, the other candidates running to replace him are Jacob Carroll, Richard Goodman, Tim Sutphin, David Wells and Flint Wright.

Staton said she planned to look into the issue to verify what was required. She said she had not knowingly violated any rules.

Staton added she plans to continue focusing on a positive message and platform as the Nov. 7 election nears.

I want to be positive, she said. Thats the stance Ive taken.
MASON CITY | "Lime Creek Littles" is coming to the nature center at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30.

The program is for children ages 3 to 5, who are accompanied by an adult.

On the eve of Halloween, children will learn about some of natures scariest creatures  that maybe aren't so scary after all.

A craft activity will follow the presentation.

There is no charge but registration is required  call 641-423-5309.
Its taken 60 years and billions of dollars, but mass transit is finally coming to Dulles International Airport outside the nations capital. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is ready to open the second and final phase of its Silver Line Metrorail extension on Nov. 15. The six new stations will for the first time connect the airport and the outer suburbs of Loudoun County to the regions flagship mass transit system. But the Silver Line extension comes at a time when ridership on Metro remains at roughly half of what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Metro officials say the long-term vision of those who pushed for the line will be vindicated as riders return.
For the past week or so, Jeff Farinholts been a man on a mission to track down a set of old wooden chairs with rush seats.

It started at Tree of Life Ministries parking lot yard sale on Timberlake on Oct. 7, where Farinholt of Prince Edward County had set up a table to sell old furniture and household items. Among his successful sales that day were four chairs hed brought out of storage.

Two days later, he was helping his daughter Jessie Farinholt inventory her furniture at a storage unit in Farmville when she noticed something was missing  her dining table was without a few matching wooden chairs.

I was like, Did you take them to the yard sale?  she recalled in a phone interview Tuesday, and he was silent, and I was like, Oh my goodness. 

The chairs were her grandmothers, passed down after she died through Farinholts mother.

Its the same chairs that weve used my entire life, she said.  Theyve just always been at the dining room table  since I can remember.  You go to anyones house in my family, these chairs are there.

Although the chairs were rich in family history, Jessie Farinholt, 28, told her father not to fret over the chairs since, as she said, Theyre just chairs.

Even so, Jeff Farinholt decided hed at least try and get them back.

Farinholt wrote an announcement in the Oct. 13 edition of The News & Advance about wanting to buy back the chairs in cash, at 10 times the sale price that I received.

With that information out, word spread through those who knew the Farinholts.

Next to Jeff Farinholts yard sale setup at the Oct. 7 Tree Market, Pam Neisch, of Lynchburg, was looking to sell her camper. She also ended up buying two sets of chairs from Farinholt: the wooden set with rush seats and another dining room set shes since sent to be reupholstered.

Neisch heard word through her co-workers about the ad and got in touch with Farinholt.

It is amazing that he found them that quick; that was good, Neisch said. I totally understand, because if one of my heirlooms had been sold, I would be pretty upset too.

Refund in hand, Farinholt drove his truck to Neischs house from his home in Prince Edward County on Tuesday.

Theyre pretty cool, you know? he told Neisch as he carried the chairs out to his truck.  One day Im going to sit at her table and eat something good.

Neither of the Farinholts are sure exactly how old the chairs are, but they do know theyre from E. A. Clore Sons Inc., a family-owned furniture crafting company from the Central Virginia community of Madison thats been in operation for about 180 years.

The chairs will be heading up to Alexandria, where Jessie Farinholt will be training to join up with the Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard for a two-year stint.
CLEAR LAKE | A mobile paper shredding truck caught fire in Clear Lake Monday evening, according to the fire department.

The Clear Lake Fire Department said in a news release it was dispatched to the FedEx facility at 5202 Highway 18 around 5:22 p.m. for a vehicle on fire.

Once on the scene, firefighters found the rear of a Shred-It truck was smoking. The department said the truck contained a large amount of shredded paper that was smoldering.

Firefighters were able to extinguish and remove the burning paper, with minimal damage to the truck.

The department said it couldn't determine a cause for the fire.

The Clear Lake Police Department provided assistance at the scene.

 Ashley Miller
HOUSTON, Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanchez Midstream Partners LP (NYSE American:SNMP) (SNMP or the Partnership) announced today that it will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 to discuss third quarter 2017 results. The Partnership expects to release its third quarter 2017 earnings before the market opens that day.



What: SNMP Third Quarter 2017 Earnings Conference Call When: Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) Dial In: 1-844-824-3837 (U.S.) 1-412-317-5161 (International) Request Sanchez Midstream Partners Conference Call Webcast: Live and rebroadcast over the Internet at: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/asr9wybi Replay: A replay will be available approximately three hours after the call through Nov. 21,

2017, at 10:59 p.m. Central Time (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time). The replay may be

accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 (U.S.) or (412) 317-6671 (International), and

referencing the replay passcode: 10113660.

About the Partnership

Sanchez Midstream Partners LP (NYSE American:SNMP) is a publicly-traded limited partnership focused on the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of midstream and other energy related assets. The Partnership has ownership stakes in oil and natural gas gathering systems, natural gas pipelines, and a natural gas processing facility, all located in the Western Eagle Ford in South Texas. For more information on the Partnership, please visit our website: www.sanchezmidstream.com.

PARTNERSHIP CONTACT

Charles C. Ward

Chief Financial Officer

Sanchez Midstream Partners GP LLC

(877) 847-0009

General Inquiries: (877) 847-0008

www.sanchezmidstream.com
UKIP councillors will call later today for a public inquiry into the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal.

Two motions going before todays full council meeting will discuss the contents of six independent reports into the councils conduct during the time covered by the Jay Report.

There were claims of a whitewash after independent investigators ruled the council had failed to get a grip on CSE due to systemic failure and no individual former officer or councillor should be held responsible.

A petition set up by a CSE survivor known as Elizabeth, which demands a fresh criminal investigation into police officers and council officers actions, has attracted more than 16,000 supporters.

Now UKIP is set to call for council support for a full public inquiry, to be conducted by an agreed independent body, of the period covered by the Jay Report.

The inquiry should have the authority to investigate everyone from all functions and departments, in both the public and private sector.

Proposer Cllr Allen Cowles will argue this is in order to identify those who were aware of what was taking place and who took little or no action to prevent further harm to victims and to make them both responsible and accountable for their actions.

Council leader Cllr Chris Read will propose a rival motion on behalf of the Labour ruling group, praising survivors bravery, vowing to support efforts to bring perpretrators to justice, bidding to the Home Office for extra support for helping survivors and expressing the councils deep sorrow for the failings of the past.

The motion also expresses great disappointment that no disciplinary action was recommended in the investigation report by law firm Gowlings, and reveals that Cllr Read has written to the Government calling for a change in the law to prevent former officers who overseen systematic failures being let off the hook in future.

The full council meeting will be held at the Town Hall at 2pm today.

You can see and sign Elizabeth's petition here.
Zimbabwes High Court has thwarted an attempt by Fuss Diamond, an Israeli firm to close its operations in the southern African country without settling its debts.

The Financial Gazette reports that Justice Owen Tagu had granted an application by a local businessman, Fadi Ali Khatoun, and his two companies to stop Fuss Diamond from repatriating cash from Zimbabwe without settling its financial obligations.

Fuss Diamond was said to have appointed Khatoun as its local representative for purposes of "negotiating, execution of a diamond purchase and sale contract, receipt of diamonds and monies in connection therewith".

Khatoun then organised for Fuss Diamond to buy diamonds from Marange Resources and got the Israeli firm to make a deposit of $5 million.

Between July 2013 and April 2016, Marange Diamonds and later ZCDC released diamond gems and money to Khatoun worth about $3 774 000 for Fuss Diamonds, leaving a payable balance of $1 1226 000, the Financial Gazette reports.

During the course of the transactions, Fuss Diamond engaged one of Khatoun's firms, Minexus Mineral Resources (Pvt) Limited as its agent in various mining concessions and interests which it entered into and was involved in activities in the Kadoma area where it incurred various contractual and statutory debts and liabilities amounting to $1 689 800.

Fuss Diamond failed to settle these debts to Khatoun and his two companies, resulting in the issue going to court.

Fuss then applied for provisional liquidation in Israel, which saw the joint liquidators writing to the ZCDC and the Minister of Mines and Mining Developments, Walter Chidhakwa, demanding that the $1,2 million that had not been spent from the deposit of $5 million be released straight to them, not via Khatoun, the local agent.

However, Khatoun saw this as a ploy by Fuss Diamond to exist Zimbabwe.

"The applicants (Khatoun and his companies)suspect that the provisional liquidation of third respondent in Israel is a fraud well-calculated to evade debts there and internationally."



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Dutch English

October 18, 2017

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZA.AS; AKZOY)

AkzoNobel announces today the nomination of a new Supervisory Board member; Mr. Michiel Jaski, following an extensive search process. This follows the nomination of Mrs. Sue Clark and Mr. Patrick Thomas for appointment to the Supervisory Board as announced on August 16, 2017.

A request from AkzoNobel shareholder Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited ("USS") was received on July 24 to nominate Mr. Eric Meurice for appointment to the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board has accordingly placed this proposal on the agenda of the EGM of November 30, 2017.

As announced previously, there is a vacancy for three additional AkzoNobel Supervisory Board members. The General Meeting can therefore vote for the appointment of Mr. Patrick Thomas or Mr. Eric Meurice.

The Supervisory Board does not support the proposal from USS to appoint Mr. Eric Meurice, taking into consideration feedback received from an independent search firm during the process.

Ms. Sari Baldauf, member of the Supervisory Board since 2012, has decided to step down as of December 1, 2017 due to time requirements for fulfilling other roles and responsibilities.

Antony Burgmans, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented:

"Sari made a significant contribution to our Board due to her extensive global business experience and insight. We wish her all the best for the future.

"I am very pleased we have nominated Michiel Jaski who brings with him a wealth of knowledge and insights which will benefit the composition of our Board moving forward."

The appointment of Ms. Sue Clark, Mr. Patrick Thomas and Mr. Michiel Jaski to the Supervisory Board of AkzoNobel is subject to shareholder approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting of November 30, 2017.

As per AkzoNobel's articles of association, Mr. Patrick Thomas can be appointed by a simple majority of the votes cast; Mr. Eric Meurice, as a nominee of USS, requires at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, if such a majority represents more than half the issued share capital.

This is a public announcement by Akzo Nobel N.V. pursuant to section 17 paragraph 1 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014).

- - -

About AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel creates everyday essentials to make people's lives more liveable and inspiring. As a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, we supply essential ingredients, essential protection and essential color to industries and consumers worldwide. Backed by a pioneering heritage, our innovative products and sustainable technologies are designed to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing planet, while making life easier. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we have approximately 46,000 people in around 80 countries, while our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International, Interpon and Eka. Consistently ranked as a leader in sustainability, we are dedicated to energizing cities and communities while creating a protected, colorful world where life is improved by what we do.

Not for publication - for more information

AkzoNobel Media Relations AkzoNobel Investor Relations T: +31 (0)88 969 7833 T +31 (0)88 969 7590 Contact: Diana Abrahams Contact: Lloyd Midwinter

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements which address key issues such as AkzoNobel's growth strategy, future financial results, market positions, product development, products in the pipeline and product approvals. Such statements should be carefully considered, and it should be understood that many factors could cause forecasted and actual results to differ from these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, developments in raw material and personnel costs, pensions, physical and environmental risks, legal issues, and legislative, fiscal, and other regulatory measures. Stated competitive positions are based on management estimates supported by information provided by specialized external agencies. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risk factors affecting our business please see our latest annual report, a copy of which can be found on our website: www.akzonobel.com.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The Brazilian market regulator, known as CVM, shelved an administrative procedure aimed at analyzing transactions of Banco Original - one of the companies from J&F, the parent holding of JBS - in the derivatives market.

According to the CVM, there was insufficient evidence that the bank profited from insider information regarding the announcement of a plea-bargain deal involving Joesley and Wesley Batista, owners of the Brazilian meatpacker JBS.

News about the deal came to light the night before a flash crash in Brazilian stock and foreign exchange , in mid-May, as the Batista brothers told authorities that the Brazilian President Michel Temer was involved in a corruption scandal.

Authorities believe that the Batista family and JBS positioned themselves in the stock and foreign exchange markets to profit from the news that the company signed the plea-bargain deal with public prosecutors.

Original, as a J&F subsidiary, was under investigation because of that suspicion. However, another 12 inquiries related to J&F are ongoing, including a possible purchase of U.S. dollars by JBS before the news on the plea-bargain deals.

On Monday, the Batista brothers officially became defendants, since the Federal Court of Sao Paulo accepted the Public Prosecutor's Office's complaint in which both are accused of insider trading and market manipulation.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Swiss investor Marc Faber, in his latest newsletter, has made a racially charged statement that America is great because it's ruled by white people. He wrote that "the U.S. would look like Zimbabwe" if it had been settled by black people instead of whites

In his popular newsletter "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report", dated October 3, he wrote, "And thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under white majority."

However, in an interview with MarketWatch, Faber doubled down on his racial comments and said "I am not saying it would be better. I am just saying that progress would not have been the same."

"Europeans brought science to America. They brought technical skills.I am not sure the Africans would have done that," Faber explained.

If "stating some historical facts makes me a racist, then I suppose that I am a racist," Faber added and stood by his earlier statements.

"If you have to live in a society where you cannot express your views and your views are immediately condemned without further analysis and analysis of the context in which [they're written]if you can't live with that, then it is a sad state of where freedom of the press and freedom of expression have come," Faber said on his right to free speech.

Meanwhile, Toronto-based Sprott Inc. asked Faber to resign from its board. CNBC and Fox Business Network said Tuesday that they will no longer ask him to be on their shows.

"The recent comments by Dr. Faber are deeply disappointing and are completely contradictory with the views of Sprott and its employees," Sprott CEO Peter Grosskopf said in a statement.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
The verbal spat between President Donald Trump and Senator John McCain has taken a serious turn with the former issuing a warning shot against the veteran Republican leader who denounced "half-baked, spurious nationalism" in US foreign policy.

During a speech Monday night in Philadelphia, receiving the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal, McCain said: "To abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems, is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history."

Former Vice President Joe Biden presented the Vietnam prisoner of war with the Liberty Medal for a lifetime of service and sacrifice to the nation.

The remarks were widely interpreted as a shot at Trump's political style.

In a radio interview with WMAL in Washington, host Chris Plante sought Trump's response to McCain's comments.

"Well it's a shocker," the president said. "Yeah, well I hear it and people have to be careful because at some point I fight back. You know, I'm being very nice. But at some point I fight back and it won't be pretty."

Trump told the radio host that McCain voted against Republican efforts to dismantle the Obama government's Affordable Care Act.

The six time Arizona senator brushed off the apparent threat by saying that he has faced some fairly significant adversaries in the past.

Talking to reporters at Capitol Hill on Tuesday, McCain said that Trump is not the first politician to use "America First" language. "No, there's a whole lot of people besides the president who have said 'America First.'"

McCain, who is battling brain cancer, and Trump have long been at odds. Trump once suggested that McCain was not a war hero because he doesn't like people who were captured.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
McDonald's offers smartphone lockers so as to help customers spend quality time during family meals. The "Phone off. Fun On" campaign, introduced recently in a Singapore branch, aims to encourage diners to take a break from the virtual world to have real conversations over meals.

The fast food chain has installed the first 100 transparent mobile lockers in the McDonald's Marine Cove outlet.

A recent survey of around 300 parents conducted by McDonald's in Singapore found that 98% parents use their mobile device whenever they're with family. A majority of them admitted using smartphones during meals. Most parents also admitted that their kids use their phone during family time.

With the move, McDonald's hopes to get both parents and children off their devices and spend quality time as a family.

Linda Ming, director of McDonald's Singapore's brand communications and customer care, reportedly said, ""As a popular restaurant destination for families, we have observed that the use of mobile devices during meal times may sometimes get in the way of family bonding."

"This 'Phone Off, Fun On' initiative is part of our efforts to advocate family togetherness and encourage families to spend quality time together," she added.

The campaign primarily targets families, yet the service is free for anyone to use.

McDonald's said it was collecting feedback at the Marine Cove branch before any plans to expand the service to other outlets.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Editors Pick

Retail giant Walmart reported Tuesday a loss for the third quarter compared to a profit last year, despite strong revenue growth, hurt by hefty $3.3 billion charges related to opioid legal settlements. However, adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations. The retailer also raised its adjusted earnings guidance for the full-year 2022.

The U.S. Department of Transportation or DOT has fined $7.25 million to six airlines across the world, which also collectively returned around $600 million in refunds to their passengers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the DOT said these fines are for extreme delays in providing refunds.

Shares of Vodafone Group Plc were losing around 5 percent in the morning trade in London as well as in the pre-market activity on Nasdaq after the British telecom major reported Tuesday weak profit in its first half with lower revenues. For fiscal 2023, the company now projects adjusted EBITDAaL at at the lower end of original guidance. The company also announced a new cost savings target
Dutch English

October 18, 2017

Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZA.AS; AKZOY)

AkzoNobel today announces an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held on November 30, 2017.

The agenda includes:

The proposal to appoint Mr. Maarten de Vries as member of the Board of Management, with effect from January 1, 2018 (voting point).

The proposal to appoint as members of the Supervisory Board, with effect from November 30, 2017: Either (i) Mr. Patrick Thomas or (ii) Mr. Eric Meurice (voting point) Ms. Sue Clark (voting point) Mr. Michiel Jaski (voting point)

The approval of the separation of the Specialty Chemicals business from AkzoNobel through a private sale or a legal demerger (voting point)

The proposal to appoint Mr. De Vries as member of the Board of Management follows our earlier announcement that Mr. De Vries will be designated by the Boards as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), starting January 1, 2018, upon his appointment by the General Meeting.

AkzoNobel today announces changes to the Supervisory Board, including the nomination of new members of the Supervisory Board.

The requested approval for the separation of the Specialty Chemicals business will enable AkzoNobel to pursue a dual-track process for the separation, in accordance with the announcement of our revised strategy on April 19, 2017. The dual-track process ensures appropriate flexibility necessary to obtain an optimal result for shareholders and other stakeholders as well as certainty of execution.

In case the Boards decide to pursue a legal demerger, this would entail that AkzoNobel 'spins off' the Specialty Chemicals business to a separated listed company, of which the shares will be allotted to the shareholders of AkzoNobel.

As previously announced AkzoNobel intends to return the vast majority of the net proceeds of the separation of Specialty Chemicals to its shareholders - starting with advance proceeds of a 1 billion special cash dividend following shareholder approval at the General Meeting. The special dividend will be paid out on December 7, 2017.

Antony Burgmans, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented:

"The requested approval for the separation of the Specialty Chemicals business will allow us to take the next step in value creation. It will enable AkzoNobel to unlock the full potential of the Paints and Coatings business and the Specialty Chemicals business, to the benefit of our shareholders and other stakeholders.

"Following approval of the separation, our shareholders will receive a 1 billion special dividend which reflects our confidence in the proposed separation."

Further details on the requested shareholder approval for the separation of the Specialty Chemicals business are available in a Shareholder Circular, the EGM Agenda with explanatory notes and other documents on the demerger proposal, which are available on the website (www.akzonobel.com ) .

This is a public announcement by Akzo Nobel N.V. pursuant to section 17 paragraph 1 of the European Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014).

- - -

About AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel creates everyday essentials to make people's lives more liveable and inspiring. As a leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, we supply essential ingredients, essential protection and essential color to industries and consumers worldwide. Backed by a pioneering heritage, our innovative products and sustainable technologies are designed to meet the growing demands of our fast-changing planet, while making life easier. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we have approximately 46,000 people in around 80 countries, while our portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International, Interpon and Eka. Consistently ranked as a leader in sustainability, we are dedicated to energizing cities and communities while creating a protected, colorful world where life is improved by what we do.

Not for publication - for more information

AkzoNobel Media Relations AkzoNobel Investor Relations T: +31 (0)88 969 7833 T +31 (0)88 969 7590 Contact: Diana Abrahams Contact: Lloyd Midwinter

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements which address key issues such as AkzoNobel's growth strategy, future financial results, market positions, product development, products in the pipeline and product approvals. Such statements should be carefully considered, and it should be understood that many factors could cause forecasted and actual results to differ from these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, developments in raw material and personnel costs, pensions, physical and environmental risks, legal issues, and legislative, fiscal, and other regulatory measures. Stated competitive positions are based on management estimates supported by information provided by specialized external agencies. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risk factors affecting our business please see our latest annual report, a copy of which can be found on our website: www.akzonobel.com.
Nearly 70% of patients maintained platelet counts of >=3010 9 /L without rescue therapy for prolonged periods, reducing the overall risk of bleeding



More than one-third of patients permanently stopped one or more concomitant ITP medications (including corticosteroids, danazol, azathioprine)



Study establishes long-term safety profile for and demonstrates treatment benefit with Revolade

Basel, October 18, 2017 - Novartis today announced long-term study results supporting the positive safety and efficacy of Revolade (eltrombopag) in adults with chronic/persistent (enrolling patients that were 6 or more months from diagnosis) immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (ITP) were published online in Blood. The EXTEND study found that a majority of patients maintained a substantial clinical response and many no longer needed concomitant ITP medications. The research evaluated patients for up to 8 years of continuous treatment (median exposure of 2.4 years)[1],[2].

ITP is a rare and potentially serious blood disorder where the blood doesn't clot as it should due to a low number of platelets. As a result, patients with ITP experience bruising, bleeding and, in rare cases, serious hemorrhaging that can be fatal[3]. The goal of treatment in chronic/persistent ITP is to maintain a safe platelet count that reduces the risk of bleeding[1],[3].

"The EXTEND data published in Blood validate Revolade as an important oral treatment option that, by often increasing platelet counts, significantly decreased bleeding rates and reduced the need for concurrent therapies in certain patients with chronic/persistent immune thrombocytopenia," said lead author James Bussel, M.D., professor emeritus of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine. "With this information, physicians can better optimize long-term disease management for appropriate patients living with this chronic disease."

The efficacy results of EXTEND demonstrated that median platelet counts were elevated to >=50109/L within two weeks of Revolade treatment, with median platelet counts >50109/L maintained for more than four years. Post-baseline, overall bleeding rates declined and the majority of bleeding that occurred during the study was Grade 1 or 2 according to the World Health Organization bleeding scale. Some patients (39%) were capable of reducing or permanently stopping one or more concomitant ITP medications without the need for rescue therapy, many of which sustained reduction for at least 24 weeks[1],[2],[4].

"We conducted this trial, the largest of its kind in adult patients, to ensure that clinicians have comprehensive data on hand as they work with their ITP patients to make treatment decisions," said Vas Narasimhan, M.D., Global Head Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "The EXTEND results reinforce Revolade as a trusted treatment option that can be used over the long-term for those living with this chronic and rare disease."

Overall, the safety profile of Revolade was consistent with previous studies. The most common adverse events were headache (28%), nasopharyngitis (25%) and upper respiratory tract infection (23%). During treatment on EXTEND, 6% of patients experienced thromboembolic events[1],[2],[4].

About the EXTEND Clinical Trial

EXTEND, an open-label extension study of four trials (TRA100773A, TRA100773B, TRA102537/RAISE and TRA108057/REPEAT) of Revolade, enrolled 302 adults with chronic/persistent ITP (6 or more months from diagnosis) who had received prior therapy for their ITP, and is the largest study of its kind. To qualify for the prior trials, patients must have had thrombocytopenia for at least 6 months (chronic ITP was previously defined as thrombocytopenia for 6 or more months).The objectives were to assess the safety and efficacy of long-term treatment with Revolade, including the proportion of patients achieving stable platelet counts during treatment with Revolade; maximum duration of platelet count elevation >=50109/L or >=30109/L during treatment with Revolade, and the effect of Revolade on reducing and/or sparing concomitant ITP therapies, while maintaining a platelet count >=50109/L[1],[2].

The study allowed each patient to achieve an individualized dose and schedule of eltrombopag based upon their platelet counts in the desired range between 50 to 200 Gi/L. Therefore, patients who were enrolled in EXTEND must have completed the treatment and follow-up periods as defined in previous protocol and must have not experienced eltrombopag-related toxicity or other drug intolerance on prior eltrombopag study even if resolved. In addition, patients who discontinued from a previous study due to toxicity were not eligible unless they received placebo[1],[2].

Revolade was started at a dose of 50 mg/day and titrated to 25-75 mg/day or less often based on platelet counts. Maintenance dosing continued after minimization of concomitant ITP medication and optimization of Revolade dosing. The overall median duration of exposure was 2.37 years (range, 2 days to 8.76 years) and mean average daily dose was 50.2 (range, 1-75) mg/day[1],[2]. One hundred thirty five adult patients (45%) completed the study and 75 adult patients (25%) were treated for four or more years. Most patients were aged <65 years, female, and had platelet counts <30109/L at baseline. About one-third were using concomitant medications at baseline, and 53% had received three or more prior ITP therapies[1],[2]. In addition, 91% (276/302) of patients achieved platelet counts >=30109/L without rescue treatment, and 86% (259/302) achieved platelet counts >=50109/L without rescue treatment[1],[2],[4].

Grade 3 and 4 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 26% and 6% of patients, respectively. Grade 3 cataracts occurred in four (1%) patients and Grade 3 pain in extremity in six (2%) patients. Grade 3 AEs occurring in three (<1%) patients each included diarrhea, headache, migraine, dyspnea, decreased platelet count, and menorrhagia; those occurring in five (2%) patients each included pneumonia, fatigue, back pain, increased alanine aminotransferase, increased aspartate aminotransferase, anemia, and hypertension. Grade 4 anemia and thrombocytopenia occurred in three (<1%) and four (1%) patients, respectively. All other Grade 4 events occurred in one patient each[1],[2].

About Chronic/Persistent ITP

Chronic/persistent ITP is a rare and potentially serious blood disorder that is characterized by the improper functioning or destruction of platelets, which are blood cells that allow the blood to clot properly[3]. People who have ITP often have purple bruises or tiny red or purple dots on the skin[3]. They also display symptoms such as nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums during dental work, or other bleeding that is hard to stop[3]. The potential for drops in platelet counts may also cause emotional distress and may result in a hindered ability to do work or embarrassment due to visible symptoms[5].

ITP is classified by duration from diagnosis into: acute (0-3 months), persistent (3-12 months duration) and chronic (>12 months duration). Chronic/persistent ITP is more likely to occur in adults, and women are affected two to three times more often than men[3].

The goal of treatment in chronic/persistent ITP is to maintain a safe platelet count that reduces the risk of bleeding. Treatment is determined by the severity of the symptoms. In most cases, drugs that alter the immune system's attack on the platelets are prescribed to help manage bleeding and bruising in adults.

About Eltrombopag

Eltrombopag, marketed as Promacta in the United States and Revolade in countries outside the US, is approved in more than 100 countries worldwide for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an inadequate response or are intolerant to other treatments, approved in over 45 countries worldwide for the treatment of patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who are refractory to other treatments, and also approved in more than 50 countries for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic hepatitis C to allow them to initiate and maintain interferon-based therapy. Eltrombopag is approved in the US and in the European Union for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in pediatric patients 1 year and older with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids and immunoglobulins.

Important Safety Information for Revolade (eltrombopag)

Revolade may cause serious side effects, such as liver problems, high platelet counts and a higher chance for blood clots, bleeding after stopping treatment, and bone marrow problems.

Revolade may damage the liver and cause serious, even life threatening, illness. Blood tests to check the liver are needed before taking Revolade and during treatment. When certain antiviral treatments are given together with Revolade for the treatment of thrombocytopenia due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, some liver problems can get worse.

A doctor will order the blood tests and any other tests required. In some cases, Revolade treatment may need to be stopped. Patients should tell a doctor right away if they have any of these signs and symptoms of liver problems: yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes (jaundice), unusual darkening of the urine, unusual tiredness, or right upper stomach area pain.

Patients have a higher chance of getting a blood clot if their platelet count is too high during treatment with Revolade, but blood clots can occur with normal or even low platelet counts. Patients who have cirrhosis of the liver are at risk of a blood clot in a blood vessel that feeds the liver. Patients may have severe complications from some forms of blood clots, such as clots that travel to the lungs or that cause heart attacks or strokes. A doctor will check the patient's blood platelet counts, and change the dose or stop Revolade if platelet counts get too high. Patients should tell their doctor right away if they have signs and symptoms of a blood clot in the leg, such as swelling or pain/tenderness of one leg.

When patients with chronic ITP stop taking Revolade, their blood platelet count will drop back down to what it was before they started taking Revolade. These effects are most likely to happen within 4 weeks after patients stop taking Revolade. The lower platelet counts may increase risk of bleeding. A doctor will check platelet counts for at least 4 weeks after patients stop taking Revolade. Patients should tell their doctor or pharmacist if they have any bruising or bleeding after they stop taking Revolade.

Patients being treated for the disease may have problems with their bone marrow. Medicines like Revolade could make this problem worse. Signs of bone marrow changes may show up as abnormal results in blood tests. A doctor may also carry out tests to directly check the bone marrow during treatment with Revolade.

The most common side effects of Revolade when used to treat adult patients with chronic ITP include headache, anemia, decreased appetite, insomnia, cough, nausea, diarrhea, alopecia, pruritus, myalgia, pyrexia, fatigue, influenza-like illness, asthenia, chills and peripheral edema.

The most common side effects of Revolade when used to treat pediatric patients with chronic ITP include upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, cough, diarrhea, pyrexia, rhinitis, abdominal pain, oropharyngeal pain, toothache, rash, increased AST and rhinorrhea.

The most common side effects of Revolade when used to treat patients with chronic HCV and antiviral agents include headache, anemia, decreased appetite, insomnia, cough, nausea, diarrhea, alopecia, pruritus, myalgia, pyrexia, fatigue, influenza-like illness, asthenia, chills and peripheral edema.

The most common side effects of Revolade when used to treat patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) include headache, dizziness, insomnia, cough, dyspnea, oropharyngeal pain, rhinorrhea, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, transaminases increased, ecchymosis, arthralgia, muscle spasms, pain in extremities, fatigue, febrile neutropenia, and pyrexia. Common side effects that may show up in blood tests include increase in some liver enzymes and laboratory tests that may show abnormal changes to the cells in the bone marrow.

Please see full EU Summary of Product Characteristics for Revolade (eltrombopag).

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payer and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; general economic and industry conditions, including the effects of the persistently weak economic and financial environment in many countries; safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 119,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com

James Bussel, M.D. has received research support payments for his service on an advisory board as well as participated in speakers' bureaus sponsored by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

References

[1] Wong R, et al. Safety and efficacy of long-term treatment of chronic/persistent ITP with eltrombopag: final results of the EXTEND study. Blood. October 2017; Online First Edition

[2] Bussel J, et al. Final Safety and Efficacy Results from the EXTEND Study: Treatment with Eltrombopag (EPAG) in Adults with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (cITP). 2016 Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA). Copenhagen, Denmark.

[3] Immune Thrombocytopenia. US National Institutes of Health website http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/book/export/html/4917. Accessed October 16, 2017.

[4] Novartis Data on File.

[5] Mathias S, et al. "Impact of Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) on health-related quality of life: a conceptual model starting with the patient perspective." Health and quality of life outcomes 6.1(2008):1.

# # #

Novartis Media Relations

Central media line: +41 61 324 2200

E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com

Eric Althoff

Novartis Global Media Relations

+41 61 324 7999 (direct)

+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)

eric.althoff@novartis.com Michael Billings

Novartis Oncology

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Novartis Investor Relations

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E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com
By SA Commercial Prop News

On behalf SA Commercial Prop News, Media Director Ortneil Kutama accepts the prestigious SAPOA Journalism Award for best Online News Coverage Category. Image gallery



SAPOA sewed up the 2014 Property Journalism of the Year Awards today at its 46th Annual International Convention and Property Exhibition in Cape Town, as the commercial property sector honoured and recognised the dedicated and professional members of the media who have contributed immensely to the industry.

This years winners are Joan Muller from Business Day for Property News Journalist of the Year, Mary Anne Constable of the Journal of Facilities Management in the Property Feature Journalist of the Year category, Shopping SA cinched Property Publication of the Year and SA Commercial Prop News took the Property Online News award for the third consecutive year.



The SAPOA Property Journalism Awards serves not only to recognise the best in the industry but also to encourage journalists to strive to achieve the highest standards, and hopefully the recognition from these awards will serve to motivate and inspire the best journalists in the profession, says Neil Gopal, SAPOA CEO.



This year, tracking technological developments in the media industry, digital-only publications were also considered in the Property Publication of the Year category for the first time.



The awards were sponsored by property services company, JHI, "This is a complex and dynamic industry, which encompasses a wide range of issues and aspects impacting on those operating in the built environment, placing a high demand and responsibility on the media who report on these, says JHIs Managing Director, Nomzamo Radebe.



This years five-person Judging Panel, chosen for their valuable insights and expertise, included Radebe, Editor for the Business Times Rob Rose, Vernon Matzopoulos of Summit TV, Managing Director of Design & Photography Services , and Capstone Property Groups Brian Azizollahoff, who also serves as Chairman of the SAPOA Property Journalism Awards.



We were thrilled to see that the number of entries received this year were up from last year. This meant more work for the judges of course, but we were more than happy to do it especially because the high quality of the entries made the process informative and inspiring, says Azizollahoff.



Demonstrating the esteem in which the awards are held, entries increased from 27 to 37 across the board for this specialised journalism beat. The most hotly contested category was Property Feature Journalist of the Year which received 14 entries.



In the Property News Journalist category, Business Days Joan Muller, was praised for her unwavering standard of quality journalism, newsworthy content and thorough investigation into pertinent property issues.



Former winner in the category and esteemed property journalist Elma Kloppers from Sake24/Beeld received a special mention in this group.



In the Property Feature Journalist category, Mary Anne Constable, features writer for the Journal of Facilities Management, won the award for her fresh style of writing and thought-provoking articles that the judges felt were well presented.



Candace King from SA Property Review and Property Developer received a special mention in this category.



Winning the coveted Best Property Publication, Shopping SA, the Official Journal of the South African Council of Shopping Centres, was a clear winner for what the judges described as a good range of informative and well researched content. The publications relevance to the sector scored it paramount with the panel.



Earning a special mention in this category was the Real Estate Magazine.



Scooping up the Property Online News award, SA Commercial Prop News impressed judges with its comprehensive site, which they felt presented a wide variety of current and topical property information. Its neat, visually appealing, easy-to-navigate structure earned it top place in the category.
By SA Commercial Prop News

Michelle Dickens, Managing Director of TPN says she has seen a definite rise in tenants using identity theft to scam their landlords



Property rental scams have been increasing in recent years, as con artists have been taking advantage of the difficult economy and the housing crisis.

Reports of rental scam victims have come from all corners of the world. This issue is so prevalent, that SA Commercial Prop News wanted to revisit the topic and provide some further information.

Rent is, in most cases, the biggest monthly expense for the average consumer. So it shouldnt come as a surprise then that scam artists are out to target landlords through identity theft in an effort to avoid paying their dues. This particular type of fraud is quite common  and what is most concerning is how easy it is to become a victim.

Weve seen a definite rise in tenants using identity theft to scam their landlords, says Michelle Dickens, managing director of TPN. She explains that this is most often accomplished either through the manipulation of ID documentation or through the theft of a family members identity.

One of the recent incidents we encountered involved a tenant who signed a lease with the landlord and proceeded to hand over a false proof of payment. Not knowing that the payment was false, the landlord handed over the keys. It was several days before they realised they had not actually been paid and issued a letter of demand. Initially, the letter of demand could not be processed because they had been given the wrong ID number. The landlord, with the help of TPN, tracked down the correct ID number and issued the letter of demand, Dickens relates.

By the time the landlord was successful in evicting their tenant, they had sustained the loss of eight months rent as well as an outstanding electricity bill. Not to mention the fact that the tenant was vindictive, vandalising property on departure.

Dickens urges landlords to protect themselves from this type of rent scam by being thorough in their administrative processes. Never accept a photocopy of an identity document as valid ID, make sure that you see a copy of the original and that the person in front of you is the same person photographed in the document. Also remain strict about running credit checks on potential tenants, she advises. In cases where landlords perceive red flags, credit bureaus such as TPN are able to assist with further background research.

Other fraud tactics that landlords should be aware of include tenants conning other individuals without negative credit histories into co-signing a lease agreement with them so that their own credit history will be overlooked, as well as tenants stealing the identities of family members or altering a number on their ID document.

The alteration of isolated numbers such as date of birth should be relatively easy to spot, as naturally the ID number will no longer match. In cases such as these, typing the ID number into the credit bureau will quickly provide evidence that something is amiss, informs Dickens.

With incidents of fraud and identity theft on the increase, landlords simply cannot afford to be caught unawares. Maintaining strict procedure during tenant screening and the signing of lease agreements is vital if they are to avoid falling victim to rent scams.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MX Gold Corp. (TSX-V:MXL) (FSE:ODV) (OTCQX:MXLGF) (the Company or MX Gold) is pleased to announce that CEO Dan Omeniuk and his technical team have completed a site visit and initiated a due diligence review of Symple Internet Financial Ltd. (Symple), an arms length private British Columbia company based in Manitoba. As disclosed in a news release dated October 13, 2017, MX Gold has entered into a letter of intent to acquire all of the shares of Symple.



Dan Omeniuk describes Albert Buu, the principal of Symple, as a trailblazer in the blockchain/crypto currency mining sector who anticipated future opportunities in the growing industry, including the growth of crypto currencies as an asset class for financial diversification by industry participants. Symple operates in a 5,000 square foot leased facility in Manitoba with the possibility to expand in the future under current leases. As part of its due diligence, MX Gold is modelling potential expansion of the existing site which benefits from having access to highspeed internet access and making sure there is ample cooling and ventilation in the building and most importantly, very competitive energy costs.

CEO Dan Omeniuk comments, We are excited at the prospect of working with Albert Buu in connection with the acquisition of Symple. We are currently negotiating the definitive agreement and finalizing due diligence on the proposed transaction. Personally, I am also looking forward to working with Albert Buu in Manitoba, a place where Ive done business for nearly 40 years. I truly believe that the sector can provide our shareholders with a unique angle to differentiate ourselves from other mining companies.

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 500 tonnes-per-day dynamic cyanide countercurrent system plant constructed in 2013, which the Company plans to expand to 1,000 tonnes-per day. The Company also owns 50% of the IDS Project, which includes a smelter that was completed in 2014 for a throughput capacity of 50 tonnes per day. The smelter was built to receive and process material from small-scale miners across the state of Durango and beyond. MX Gold has acquired a substantial land package of approximately 22,881 acres in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The Companys primary focus in British Columbia is its 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. 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 Companys projects 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

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical, and consist primarily of projections - statements regarding future plans, expectations and developments. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", potential, "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import tend to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include the anticipation of entering into and closing a definitive agreement with respect to the acquisition of Symple. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation: the Companys ability to enter into and close the definitive agreement and acquire Symple; the ability to obtain Exchange approval with respect to the transactions; MX Golds ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, including the proposed consulting agreement with Mr. Buu; and the ability of the Company to fund its operations, as well as other risks and uncertainties identified under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys continuous disclosure documents filed on SEDAR. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. MX Gold cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and managements assumptions may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and MX Gold does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or managements beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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.
TOKYO (AP)  U.S. and Japanese diplomats agreed Tuesday to maximize pressure on North Korea to resolve tensions over its nuclear program, while citing the need to be prepared for the worst if diplomacy fails.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, after meeting his Japanese counterpart, Shinsuke Sugiyama, told reporters that the focus at the State Department is still on diplomacy to solve the problem and eventually denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

"We must, however, with our allies in Japan and South Korea and elsewhere, be prepared for the worst should diplomacy fail," he said. The U.S. must be prepared to defend itself and its allies, he said.

Sugiyama, briefing reporters separately, reiterated Japan's support for President Donald Trump's policy of keeping all options open, but stressed the need for a diplomatic solution by bolstering cooperation among Japan, U.S. and South Korea, as well as via cooperation with China and Russia.

The two diplomats will join their South Korean counterpart in Seoul for further talks Wednesday on North Korea.

The talks come as the U.S. and South Korea hold joint naval drills this week. They regularly conduct joint exercises, though North Korea condemns them as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea's deputy U.N. ambassador warned on Monday that the situation on the peninsula "has reached the touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment."

Kim In Ryong told the U.N. General Assembly's disarmament committee that North Korea has been subjected to a direct nuclear threat from the United States and has the right to possess nuclear weapons in self-defense.

He pointed to military exercises and what he called a U.S. plan to stage a "secret operation aimed at the removal of our supreme leadership."

Kim's speech follows increasingly tough U.N. sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is curtailing economic, scientific and other ties with North Korea in line with U.N. sanctions, and the European Union announced new sanctions as well.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korean and U.S. troops began five days of naval drills on Monday after North Korea renewed its threat to fire missiles near the American territory of Guam.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries regularly conduct joint exercises, often enraging North Korea, which views such training as an invasion rehearsal. The latest drills in the waters off the Korean Peninsula come amid fears of a possible military clash following the exchanges of insults and fierce rhetoric between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The drills involve fighter jets, helicopters and 40 naval ships and submarines from the allies, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, according to South Korea's navy. Spokesman Jang Wook told reporters the drills are aimed at practicing how to respond to a potential naval provocation by North Korea and improving the allies' combined operational capability.

The drills were to include live-fire exercises by naval ships and aircraft and anti-submarine training, but South Korea's military didn't release any photos or video.

In a possible show of force against North Korea, the United States also sent four advanced fighter jets  two F-22s and two F-35s  for an air show and exhibition in Seoul that are to begin Tuesday. Last week, the United States flew two B-1B supersonic bombers from its air base in Guam to South Korea to try to demonstrate its power against any North Korean aggression.

North Korea didn't immediately respond to the start of the drills. On Friday, the North's foreign ministry accused the United States of provoking the country by mobilizing the aircraft carrier and other war assets near the peninsula.

"Such military acts compel (North Korea) to take military counteraction," said Kim Kwang Hak, a researcher at the Institute for American Studies at the ministry. "We have already warned several times that we will take counteractions for self-defense, including a salvo of missiles into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam."

In August, North Korea issued a similar threat, saying its military had presented Kim Jong Un with plans to launch intermediate-range missiles to create "enveloping fire" near Guam, a key U.S. military hub in the Pacific. The North has yet to carry out its threat.

Lobbing missiles close to Guam would be deeply provocative for the United States, and a miscalculation on either side could lead to a military conflict.

Under Kim's leadership, North Korea has been accelerating its efforts to bolster its weapons arsenals and acquire the capability to fire nuclear missiles at any target in the U.S. mainland. The North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September and test-launched two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.
Dear Editor,

Why are poor countries poor?

In his book ` The Undercover Economist, published by Little, Brown in 2006 (reprinted four times in 2006) Hbk ISBN 0 316 732931; C format ISBN 0 316 731 161, Tim Harford explains why the ordinary people in poor countries are trapped in poverty.

He begins by pointing out the fact that economists used to think that economic wealth came from a combination of man-made resources (roads, factories, machines, telephone systems), human resources (hard work and education) and technological resources (technical know how i.e high tech machinery).

He states that it is obvious that poor countries grow into rich countries by investing money in physical resources and by improving human and technological resources with education and technology transfer programmes.

Why are poor countries not catching up with rich countries in spite of huge foreign aid and foreign investment?

Harford points out that poor countries should show rapid signs of catching up to rich countries as slight improvements in resources show increasing benefits.

Harford points out the fact that countries like China, Taiwan and South Korea, Botswana, Chile, Mauritius and Singapore have become the fastest growing economies on the planet yet fifty years ago these countries lacked man-made, human, technical and sometimes natural resources and yet have grown much richer since then improving their education, technology and infrastructure.

Harford states that a lack of improvement results from the theft of the resources of a nation by its leaders.

Harford refers to an economist called Manour Olson who suggests that the poverty of the poor countries arises from stable dictatorships, which stunt their economic growth.

A purely self-interested dictator will realize that he cannot destroy the economy and starve the people if he plans to remain in power because he would exhaust all the resources and have nothing to steal the following year.

As long as a dictator feels secure in his power, he will not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

He will not destroy a community which continues to produce opportunities for exploitation.

Like the disease whose very existence relies on the body it afflicts, the dictator has to keep the economy functioning in order to steal from it.

This example from the top creates `bandits, bandits everywhere.

Self-interested, ambitious people in power are often the cause of hardship for the poor as checks and balances to prevent corruption are either removed or completely ignored.

Educating the population is the last thing anyone profits from doing. Keeping the population ignorant and vulnerable to exploitation is a necessary component in maintaining political power.

Traditional authorities and uneducated citizens are ignorant of models of healthy governance and unable to comprehend the criminal genius developed in Western societies to exploit native peoples and deprive them of their traditional lands and resources.

If a poor country has a thief for a leader, theft and dishonesty will be widespread because he needs to allow others to steal in order to keep their support.

At the top of this dishonest hierarchy, the money stolen from the nation may be measured in hundreds of millions or even hundreds of billions.

Further down the pyramid of wealth, development is prevented because the rules or laws of the society do not encourage projects or businesses which would be to the common good.

The web of corruption undermines every effort to improve the infrastructure, attract investment and improve educational standards.

The lack of trust in a community creates a dog eat dog society in which it is in most peoples interest to take action that directly or indirectly damages everyone else.

The rot starts with the government but afflicts the entire society.

There is no point investing in a business because the government will not protect you against thieves. So why not become a thief?

There is no point in getting an education because jobs are not handed out on merit but because of corrupt connections and the government does not provide good schools.

Good governance and economic growth are all about a better life for individuals, more choice, less fear, less toil and hardship.

Letting a selfish few wallow in a nations wealth results in an ignorant and unhealthy population which is constantly being abused.

Do the selfish few need to be reminded that true power lies with the people? Is Samoa a kleptocracy?

Maua Faleauto

[email protected]
Acting Prime Minister, Papalii Niko Lee Hang, is on a mission to investigate reports about certain party members conspiring to take over the Prime Ministership role.

He has also reassured the country there is nothing to be alarmed about.

With Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi remaining in New Zealand for medical reasons, reports have surfaced about underground jostling within the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) members for the position.

Asked for a comment yesterday, Acting P.M. Papalii said he has taken steps to get to the bottom of the reports. That includes a meeting with the Member of Parliament, Faumuina Wayne Fong, who raised the claims last week.

Faumuina had expressed sadness at what he had described as dirty politics within H.R.P.P.

He did not say who the members were. A move that was strongly criticized by fellow H.R.P.P. Member of Parliament, Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, who challenged Faumuina to cough up the names of the so-called members of the H.R.P.P. who are conspiring to take over the Prime Ministership role.

Leala told the Samoa Observer that as a member of the H.R.P.P, theres nothing going on in our party nor is there any underground jostling for the Prime Ministership position among certain members as mentioned by Faumuina in the paper."

But the Acting Prime Minister told the Samoa Observer, the views expressed by the said Members of Parliament were their own, not the views of H.R.P.P.

As far as I know, these are just speculations of a small party who are small minded, he said.

I am not really concerned about them and their motives. I am meeting with Faumuina Wayne this afternoon (yesterday) as I need to know what is going."

Im meeting him for information to be relayed to the Prime Minister when he calls and I will tell him what is going on."

But for me I cannot comment on what is going on because I dont know who are behind this and like Faumuina said they are small-minded people.

Pressed for his views as Acting Prime Minister, Papalii said: As I said before, I have to meet the man who started this."

At this stage there is nothing to worry about. We will also have to wait until the arrival of the Prime Minister."

In the meantime I will speak to Faumuina today and then I will know everything. But for now I have nothing to say about the issue."

I mean I hear speculations here and there from other members of Parliament and I think its time the identities of people behind this should be revealed."

I will meet him this afternoon and then I will get those names and report back to the Prime Minister, Papalii said.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is expected to return home this Sunday.

This was confirmed by Acting Prime Minister, Papalii Niko Lee Hang, who spoke briefly about the status of the Prime Ministers health yesterday.

The Prime Minister is recovering well and he is scheduled to return this Sunday, he told the Samoa Observer.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Tuilaepa was flown to New Zealand after being admitted into the Intensive Care Unit at the Motootua Hospital.

Prior to departing, he moved to assuage fears in Samoa and from around the world about his health.

The government has kept his medical condition under wraps.

It could not be confirmed whether Prime Minister Tuilaepas absence had anything to do with the cancellation of a Parliament session, which had been scheduled to start on Tuesday.

The cancellation was confirmed in a public notice signed by the Head of State, His Highness Tuimaleaaliifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II. The notice said the session has been postponed until further notice.

Attempts to get a comment from the Legislative Assemblys Media Officer were unsuccessful.
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The insulation market was valued around USD 40.06 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach roughly USD 74.75 billion by the end of 2022 while registering itself at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.06% during the forecast years, owing to rising consumer awareness about energy conservation. The encouraging regulatory circumstances in the majority parts of the globe, like novel building codes in the EU which necessitate amplified insulation utilization to trim down energy consumption and it is also anticipated to influence demand growth positively. Rising infrastructure expenditure in developing markets of Asia Pacific region such as China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. is also anticipated to encourage growth over the next few years. Unstable prices of major raw materials are projected to pose a major challenge for market players. Raw materials like styrene that are utilized to produce plastic foams are experiencing volatility because of uncertain prices of crude oil. Such problems are projected to challenge major industry players concerning production costs and profitability. Though, in the present scenario, lesser crude oil cost is anticipated to promote the demand growth for plastic foam.



Major Key Player

Huntsman Corporation

Rockwool

Knauf

Johns Manville Corporation

Saint-Gobain S.A.

Get complete access to Reports: http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/insulation-market

The global insulation market is segmented as follows 

By Product type

Fiberglass

Plastic Foam

Mineral Wool

Other Product Types

By Application

Residential Construction

Industrial, HVAC, and OEM

Nonresidential Construction

By Region

North America

 Canada

 U.S

 Mexico





 Canada  U.S  Mexico Europe

 Spain

 Germany

 UK

 France

 Italy

 Rest of Europe





 Spain  Germany  UK  France  Italy  Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific

 Japan

 India

 China

 Australia

 South Korea

 Rest of Asia Pacific





 Japan  India  China  Australia  South Korea  Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the World

 Brazil

 United Arab Emirates

 South Africa

 Saudi Arabia

 Others

Get Sample of this Report @ http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report-sample/CM09232

Table of Contents

Introduction Executive Summary Market Overview

3.1. Introduction

3.1.1. Market Definition

3.1.2. Market Segmentation

3.2. Market Share Analysis

3.3. Market Dynamics

3.3.1. Drivers

3.3.1.1. Rising Levels of Noise Pollution

3.3.1.2. Prevalence of Birth Complications and Genetic Disorders

3.3.1.3. Demand for Advanced Miniature Hearing Devices

3.3.1.4. Technological Advancements

3.3.2. Restraints

3.3.2.1. High Cost of Devices

3.3.2.2. Lack of Infrastructure in Emerging Economies

3.3.3. Opportunities

3.3.3.1. Innovations in IT Application Enabled Devices such as Bluetooth and Wifi Devices

3.4. Industry Trends Insulation market By Product Insulation market By Application Insulation market By Region Company Profiles

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Crystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.

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Samoa will once again play host to another conference in November.

This event will see Pacific artists and academics from around the world descending on Apia, prepared to take on this years theme of Making the invisible, visible.

The International Pacific Arts community will be taking their turn to weigh in on the issues of climate change and dislocation and how they will impact our cultures in the future.

Samoan artist, Tupe Lualua, is the Creative director behind Le Moana Dance Company based in Wellington, New Zealand, and she will be attending this years arts conference.

In addition she has been invited by the Samoa Arts Council to use her talents as a writer/director/choreographer to present her findings through the performance art piece titled Aumaga.

The young creative director spoke to the Samoa Observer about her upcoming presentation which will be very interactive in nature.

Ms. Lualua will be arriving with her dance company a couple of days in advance to the conference where they will undertake a project as part of their professional development.

The project will see the dancers live and work on a plantation in Savaia, Lefaga, to further research and develop the choreographic, theatrical and elements of the story, which they will then present to the P.A.A. conference in a live session.

With Aumaga, we will be presenting our findings and most recently developed works to a conference of international Artists and academics, said Ms. Lualua.

It is a great honour to be selected for the P.A.A. conference but it is also just as important for us to present our works to the people who live and breathe the stories that have inspired us.

Returning to Samoa as often as she can and engaging with the local community is crucial in Ms. Lualuas professional and personal development.

As a New Zealand-born Samoan artist and entrepreneur who is emerging as a critically acclaimed writer/performer in the creative arts scene both in New Zealand and internationally, Samoa is the ultimate testing ground and also a launching pad for her work.

When we first toured and performed 1918 in Samoa in 2016, the engagement that we had with the different communities, was crucial for the growth of our emerging company.

As practitioners of Siva Samoa and storytellers who are inspired by Samoan history, we are always aware that we do not have artistic ownership of the histories that we tell, we are not the only voice on Samoa performing arts but we would like to think that our contribution is important."

It was the first international tour for Le Moana, I knew that coming to Samoa would either make us or break us, especially considering that all of us were born and bred in New Zealand and half of our company at the time were Maori.

Sharing our works and allowing a space to receive critical feedback from different audiences was pivotal and gave us the confidence to then tour 1918 to the USA and Australia.

Ms. Lualua looks forward to the chance to come together with other Pacific artists to share, celebrate and hopefully collaborate in this years P.A.A. conference and more than that she is thrilled that it will be held in Samoa, a place she holds close to her heart.

Sharing our dances and receiving faamanuiaga from the people of Samoa has been one of the ultimate blessings in my career thus far and at the time, grounded our purpose as a company, confirming why we do what we do - to empower and enrich our audiences through live performance.

One of my beloved mentors the late Dr Teresia Teaiwa always reminded us, that as researchers (choreographers), it is our obligation to feed back into the communities that own these histories.

Le Moana looks forward to being in Samoa again and welcomes any opportunity to engage with the local groups. 

According the Samoa Arts Council, registration will take place on Monday 27 November and the conference itself will run from Tuesday 28 November through Friday 1 December.

The conference will not only include academic presentations, but will also provide delegates with the opportunity to engage with artists and museum personnel and participate in workshops.

Evening events will include our conference welcome, an evening of films, performances, and our conference dinner. A special event is being organized to honour the lifes work of Allan Alo and the contributions he made to Pacific Performance.

The conference will be held in the Pacific Fale at the National University of Samoa (N.U.S).
A new koko nursery, launched in Asau yesterday under the auspices of the award-winning WhittakersVaai Partnership, and with support from New Zealand  looks set to help further develop Samoas burgeoning koko industry and grow Samoas koko export production.

During the koko halcyon days of the 1960s, Samoa exported around 5,000 tonnes of koko, annually; that figure currently sits at about 40 to 50 tonnes, per year.

The seeds of the WhittakersVaai partnership were actually sown over 50 years ago  my grandfather was supplying J.H. Whittaker & Sons with Savaii cocoa beans when he was running the Vaai Plantation, said Tupai Saleimoa Vaai of Savaii Koko, the Partnerships lead in-country stakeholder.

Initially, we had 91 farmers working with us to meet Whittakers supply requirements  we now have around 430 farmers from across both Savaii and Upolu.

Our goal is not only to strengthen the supply chain for this Partnership, but to increase the vitality, returns and resilience of the Samoan cocoa industry overall.

For Keith Budd of S.P.S. Biosecurity, the Partnerships horticultural post-harvest expert, the opening of the nursery reinforces the commitment both S.P.S. Biosecurity and Whittakers have in revitalising Samoas cocoa production and exports.

Being able to identify high performance koko plants for propagation, and having a nursery facility to cultivate these plants in, is really significant, Mr. Budd said.

Through the WhittakersVaai Partnership, we are already working closely with local growers to improve cocoa farming systems and rehabilitate overgrown plantations.

Now, with the new nursery, we can really focus in on developing yield and character in new plantings  increasing agricultural resilience and potential  all with the view to producing larger amounts of high value, chocolate quality cocoa.

Last week, New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa, David Nicholson, presented an award at the National Agriculture Show, recognising the contribution of the WhittakersVaai Partnership in leading Samoas cocoa renaissance.

Both the WhittakersVaai Partnership (which is also co-funded by J.H. Whittaker & Sons) and the Samoa Cocoa Export Improvement Programme receive funding from the New Zealand Aid Programme, administered by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Preparations for the inaugural McDonalds 12 Joyful Nights of Christmas this year are well and truly underway.

On Tuesday night, Pacific Kingz Communications, Media, Productions and Events (P.K.C.M.P.E.) presented $10,000 to the E.F.K.S TV2 for the screening of the event to be held at Taumeasina Island Resort.

P.K.C.M.P.E. Events Coordinator, Mindy Faaeafaleupolu, says the event is an opportunity for youths in Samoa to showcase their talents and it is also a stepping stone for them to shine and expose their talent.

The same sentiment was echoed by the Patron of P.K.C.M.P.E., Aigasagauifaleai Faava Puletua Samuelu R.Olo, the wife of the late Rev. Elder Reupena Samuelu Olo (faletua o le toeaina malolo); who was the resident church minister of C.C.C.S. Moataa from 1980-2001.

Mrs. Samuelu Olo encouraged the youth to come forward and use this golden opportunity to praise God and to remember His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ His son.

In handing over of the cheque, Mrs. Samuelu Olo says she is confident the money will be well spent on E.F.K.S. TV2 preparations in conjunction with P.K.C.M.P.E. in broadcasting live the prestigious event.

E.F.K.S. TV2 General Manager, Sua Henry Fruean, acknowledged the generous donation saying he was very thankful to the Pacific Kingz C.M.P.E., because not only had they donated the money, but they had also looked for a sponsor to assist TV.

He thanked the Pacific Kingz and promised that TV2 will work together with Pacific Kingz C.M.P.E. to make sure the programme is successful.

Recently, Tautolo A.C.Tautolo, President of McDonalds Samoa, had donated $30,000 to Pacific Kingz C.M.P.E, as the Naming Rights Sponsor of the event.

The donation was presented to the Director, Hemi Aiono Pulumelo K. Faaeafaleupolu.

Tautolo also remains firm on his resolve that despite our different political circumstances, the two Samoas are one.

We are the same people with the same culture, same traditions and heritage and by engaging Pacific Kingz C.M.P.E, it supports McDonalds Samoas, community engagement initiative that will see new jobs become available and open educational opportunities for Samoa and her youth.

Although born in American Samoa, Tautolos mother, Talaleu Leaitu-Tautolo, is Samoan born. She hails from the Aiono family in Fasitoo-uta and the Tofa family in Saipipi, Savaii.
The impact of the high cost of living in Samoa is not a laughing matter.

So says Rosa Asalemo of Leauvaa and Nuu Fou, who thinks it is high time the leaders address the cost of living.

It is really hard to cope with the situation right now because some families like ours really cant afford it, and it is no joke at all, the 27-year-old said.

Rosa shared about her family and how they are coping with the high cost of living.

I am living in our small house in Nuu Fou with my husband and his sisters family, she said.

We have only one child and my husband is the only one who works and provides for our family.

However, Rosa has got it all figured out especially on tackling the expensive lifestyle.

She says the family planning initiative really helps her and her husband to tackle obstacles associated with the high cost of living.

Luckily for us we only have one child and we are looking into family planning initiatives because I think and believe that to provide for more people, you need to have good and enough source of income to support and provide for their needs.

Rosa said she was planning to look for a job sometimes soon to help her husband support their family.

I am planning to look for a job soon to help my husband because here in Samoa not only do we work for our daily supply of needs and wants, we also have to support church and family obligations such as funerals, weddings and title bestowment.

So basically life isnt just about supporting us, we have lots of other things to finance and that is why having one child for now is the best way not to burden ourselves but we are thinking of more kids when the time is right and the money is enough.

Rosa Asalemo added they had just moved there and they were slowly working their land to plant crops to help sustain their livelihood.

We just moved here for like four years now and we just finished clearing a small piece of land to plant some crops to help us with our daily feed so that we dont depend much on supermarkets when they are getting expensive day in and day out, she said.

Rosa also says she plans to have another child when she gets a job and enough money to support her family and her husband.
There is always light at the end of the tunnel. All it takes to get there is a little faith in God and the passion to achieve your dream.

This is how Sefulu Puepuemai Meki describes his life journey.

Sefulu, 23, is about to explore the world and live his dream after receiving a phone call that is soon to change his life including his family forever.

This has been a dream come true, I graduated from the National University of Samoa School of Maritime in 2014 and it was just earlier this month that I received a phone call that Ive got a job in Venice, Italy, the young lad said.

After years and months of praying and waiting, he is set to spread his wings and make his family and village.

Village Voice met Sefulu of Samata-i-Uta when he was on his way to Savaii yesterday morning to meet his father who will sign his sailors contract for Venice, Italy, for the next nine months.

To be honest, I was praying for this a long time ago when I graduated from Marine School in 2014.

I thank God when I was contacted last week to get ready to go and thats good news not only for me, but for my parents as well.

Like other families struggling from the high cost of living, he says his family is no exception.

I come from a family thats heavily depended on the plantation and the sea for our everyday feed, with my dad being the only person working, Sefulu said.

I am the youngest child in the family and my parents expected me to do well with school and with a career.

Sefulu said this would be his first time travelling out of Samoa.

The only time I left home was to come here in Apia for school but this will be my first time to leave Samoa for overseas and its something really big for me.

Ill make sure to stay away from trouble because I think thats the number one enemy that affects any work contract.

Sefulu added after his graduation in 2014, he had been working in Apia to support his family in Savaii.

After graduation I was fortunate to get a job here in Apia and support my family, he said.

With his trip tomorrow, Village Voice asked if he had a message for young people in Samoa.

I think we the youths should respect our roots and work hard for our prayers to be answered.

Life is hard and the reason why we work hard is to be able to give back and support our families and that is the reason why Samoans work.

Sefulu will be leaving for New Zealand tomorrow and then will head to Venice on Sunday.
DNA, the universal code of life, can be altered to make useful medical and scientific materials, according to a study from The Scripps Research Institute. Moreover, the process isnt just a laboratory experiment, but can be put to use practically.

The modified form of DNA is more stable than natural DNA and possesses additional desirable properties, according to the study by Floyd Romesberg and Tingjian Chen, a scientist in Romesbergs lab. Research into these properties is ongoing.

For example, the modified DNA could be used to make a hydrogel, a water-containing substance that can deliver drugs, or shaped into nano-sized structures, or nanomaterials. In addition, the synthetic DNA could itself be made into a drug, surviving in the body when natural DNA outside a cell would be quickly destroyed.

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Biology is full of enzymes called DNAases and RNAses, and these are enzymes that specifically degrade RNA and DNA, Romesberg said. And its been a real limitation of the field of trying to use DNA for any purpose in medicine as a therapeutic.

But those enzymes dont cleave the synthetic DNA.

The study was published Oct. 10 in the journal Angewandte Chemie. It can be found at j.mp/romesbergdna.

Moreover, the modified DNA can be precisely replicated, using an enzyme Chen developed for that purpose. That accomplishment was detailed in a study published last year in Nature Chemistry. It can be found at j.mp/pcrmdna.

Evolving function

Chen produced the enzyme through a process of directed evolution, selecting for enzyme variants that were steadily more productive in replicating the modified DNA.

The artificial enzymes role is reminiscent of the development of polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, a workhorse technology thats a foundation of biotechnology. It uses a natural enzyme that replicates DNA, necessary for cells to divide and life forms to grow.

Like its natural equivalent, the synthetic enzyme replicates modified DNA automatically. That means an engineered DNA molecule can be mass-produced in the manner that natural DNA is now manufactured, Romesberg said.

That combination of precise engineering, stability and ease of production of nanomaterials gives the modified DNA great power, Romesberg said.

Romesberg has explored the use of DNA for decades. In 2014, a team he led produced the first life form that incorporates an expanded DNA alphabet. Instead of DNAs natural four letters, the As, Ts, Cs and Gs, the engineered bacterium can use six, the additional two being called X and Y. The two extra letters can give the organism properties impossible to produce with natural biology.

That work continues in Romesbergs lab, and at Synthorx, a San Diego biotech company that licensed the technology from The Scripps Research Institute. Meanwhile, Romesberg has continued on a parallel path to investigate the use of DNA outside cells.

DNA is in many ways an ideal polymer, capable of being designed with exact specificity, Romesberg said. Polymers are materials made up of simpler building blocks added together. Rubber, wool, silk and synthetic plastics are common polymers.

Most people dont think of DNA as a polymer, Romesberg said. But it actually solves several of the problems that the polymer field has. Producing polymers of controlled length is really hard with normal, conventional polymers. And the exact composition of the polymer is also really very difficult to make.

Precise engineering

DNA provides precise control over length and composition, he said. Its letters are arranged in a sequence that spells out the genetic code. And mutant DNA polymerase, the enzyme Chen evolved, duplicates DNA strands.

That control provides the ability to arrange the DNA letters, or nucleotides, in exactly specified locations, and to create three-dimensional structures at a molecular scale, useful for creating nanomaterials.

Besides introducing automatic replication of modified DNA, last years Nature Chemistry study described some modifications to the DNA letters to improve stability, such as the attachment of fluorine atoms at specific places.

The new study added molecular hooks that can grab onto other molecules. These hooks operate through a process called click chemistry, pioneered at The Scripps Research Institute by Nobel laureate K. Barry Sharpless. As its name implies, click chemistry is a process that uses simple rules to easily click molecules into place.

DNA-like materials could be shaped and optimized by an evolutionary process of variation and selection, Romesberg said.

Lets say that you began with a material that did something and you wanted to change it or impart it with new function, he said. What were selecting for is a certain property of the nanomaterial. And then when we recover that nanomaterial, it presumably would have a very low (quantity) so you couldnt even analyze it. But then we could PCR amplify it, because we have a polymerase that can work with these modified nucleotides.

And one begins to think about what you could do if you could if you could apply evolution to nanomaterials. Could we evolve new nanomaterials that do interesting things?

With the whole suite of improvements  stability, control, ease of duplication and improved ability to grab onto other molecules  the modified DNA is ready for commercialization, Romesberg said. Hes talking with several companies who are interested in licensing the technology from TSRI.

I think this will play out over the next few months, he said. I think its very likely that this is going to be licensed and used commercially which is something thats really exciting.

The research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

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Scripps scientists get closer to artificial life with synthetic proteins

New DNA code makes synthetic proteins

Synthorx raises $10M to make artificial proteins

Life engineered with expanded DNA code

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bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020
Six years after purchasing an aging Mission Valley hotel, longtime San Diego televangelist Morris Cerullo won approval Tuesday from the City Council to transform the site into a $160 million religious-themed resort and conference center, complete with replicas of the Western Wall and Roman catacombs.

The 7-2 vote, with Councilmembers Chris Ward and Georgette Gomez dissenting, came almost a month after a majority of the council balked at moving forward with the controversial project because of concerns that the environmental analysis may have underestimated the retreats potential impacts on Mission Valley traffic.

Underlying the debate, though, has been a sense of uneasiness from some, mostly unspoken, about the Legacy International Centers religious theming and Cerullos evangelical teachings.

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Both at the beginning of the hearing and also before the vote was taken, the City Attorneys office warned the council that it could not take into account the religious nature of the project in its vote.

Several local religious leaders turned out to praise both the development and Cerullo, while some members of the LGBTQ community voiced their strong opposition but emphasized that their concerns were rooted solely in fears about increased traffic.

Morris Cerullo World Evangelism has consistently maintained, as it did again on Tuesday, that the vehicle trips generated by the proposed Legacy Center would fall far short of what is permitted in the Mission Valley Community Plan and that they do not contribute to a significant impact on traffic in the area.

Councilman Scott Sherman, whose district includes Mission Valley, acknowledged the religious undertones of the conversation about the project.

We cant take into consideration a lot of this ancillary discussion about religion and values, Sherman said. We should not be using that as a benchmark for whether its allowed. Whats important is whether it meets guidelines set forth by the city, and I believe it does.

We have property rights and its very important we dont abridge those property rights, especially when it comes to matters of religious organizations.

Still, it appeared that Councilwoman Barbara Bry struggled with her decision to vote in favor of the development, while noting that she, too, had some concerns about traffic. But she acknowledged the legal admonition the council was given.

We are not allowed to address what we like or do not like on this site, she said. I know it will upset many people close to me in the past, but my job is to look at what we are allowed to decide on.

The Legacy Center, almost five years in the making, will not only serve as the new headquarters of Cerullos operation, but will also include event and meeting space for corporate functions, a 127-room hotel, and a combined welcome center and museum space with Christian-themed exhibits and a huge interactive globe.

The project also has attractions reminiscent of an amusement park, with its rock-wall-lined Roman catacombs, a replica of Jerusalems Western Wall and a domed motion-seat theater featuring 4-D biblical films produced by Disney Imagineering alums.

Located on Hotel Circle South, the project site was previously occupied by the now closed 202-room Mission Valley Resort, a mini-mart and former Frogs gym. It was bought out of foreclosure in 2011 by Morris Cerullo World Evangelism. In a video produced several years earlier, the now 85-year-old Cerullo said the project was a fulfillment of a vision, a dream that God gave to me.

On Tuesday, Cerullo, who had been traveling overseas, and his wife, Theresa, applauded the council action.

We are thrilled and excited that the Legacy project was approved by the City Council today, the couple said in a statement. We are also humbled by the overwhelming support of the San Diego faith community and national and international faith leaders.

Project Manager Jim Penner said after the hearing he realized there were concerns about the projects religious theming but hopes those will disappear once the center opens in 2019.

Everyone comes to a point in life where theyre influenced by past experiences but once they come and walk through the center after it is finished, they will see it as a place of welcome, and any concerns they had will evaporate fairly quickly, he said. We now have the opportunity to be able to prove it to them but before its built, its hard to give them that experience.

Rebekah Hook-Held of The San Diego LGBT Community Center told the council that despite speculation that she and others were objecting to the project on religious grounds, that was not the case. Traffic and noise are the real concerns, she said.

This is proposed to be built in the already impacted Mission Valley area, she said. This contains too many negative impacts to this area. Its bad for Mission Valley, bad for the (nearby) neighborhoods in Hillcrest and Mission Hills and its bad for San Diego.

The project approved by the council was actually downsized from the original design after Cerullos organization hired a new architectural firm, and in the process, the number of average daily vehicle trips fell from 4,400 to 2,873.

Required will be an additional two lanes on Hotel Circle South. In a move to allay some council members concerns and also win approval, the developer agreed Tuesday to conduct periodic traffic counts over a five-year period after the center opens. If those counts prove to be higher than what was projected, the Legacy Center will adjust the operating hours or its programming to help reduce traffic.

It was also agreed that events drawing more than 200 people to the projects 500-seat theater would not start or end during peak commute times.

Councilman David Alvarez, who had pressed for a more rigorous evaluation of traffic counts, said it was because of the concerns raised by the community that the council was able to secure the traffic monitoring and other assurances.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
Valley View Casino & Hotel on Tuesday announced a $50 million expansion, becoming the regions sixth casino property to launch a construction project that will increase its size and lineup of guest amenities.

Valley View will add more than 42,000 square feet to the casino floor as well as a new restaurant and main entrance. Work will begin in April 2018 and is expected to take a year to complete.

Casino officials unveiled their plans on the day Pala Casino Resort & Spa broke ground on its own $170 million expansion, underscoring the increasingly torrid pace of casino construction in the San Diego area. An estimated $1 billion is being spent on new hotels, pools, spas and significant remodels in more than half of the regions 10 casinos.

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Its exciting to see our casino grow and continue to evolve. The improvements we are making to Valley View Casino & Hotel in the coming year will enhance the experience for all of our guests that have been with us since the beginning as well as for our new guests visiting us for the first time, Joe Navarro, president and CEO of the San Pasqual Casino Development Group, Inc., said in a statement.

As part of its $50 million undertaking,Valley View will completely upgrade its existing casino and make room for additional gambling space. A new beer- and burger-themed restaurant, Patties & Pints, will increase the casinos eatery offerings to seven.

Valley View is a modest-sized boutique resort property with an adult-only, non-smoking, 108-room,12-suite hotel. Its location in Valley Center puts it in direct competition with four nearby casinos  Pechanga Resort & Casino, Pala Casino Spa & Resort, Harrahs Resort Southern California and Casino Pauma.

Four area casinos are adding hotel accommodations: Pechanga in Temecula, Pala, Viejas Casino & Resort and Sycuan Casino. Sycuan is spending $226 million to build its first hotel, a 300-room high-end tower, as well as adding an eight-acre pool complex, spa and fitness center, new dining venues and additional gaming space.

The casino building boom is also bringing thousands of jobs. Valley Views expansion will result in 80 new positions, general manager Bruce Howard said in a statement.

Palas project will generate 400 construction jobs and 200 new resort jobs. This summer, Pechanga held a series of job fairs to fill 750 positions in every area of the massive resort. Officials there said 3,000 construction-related jobs will have been created by its $285 million expansion. The doors to Pechangas new 568-room hotel will open in December. Viejas, which will complete its new 158 all-suite hotel in early 2018, is adding 750 jobs.
A refrigerator on the blink at the San Diego VA hospital in La Jolla has resulted in up to 1,540 veterans and employees receiving flu shots that are now considered potentially ineffective.

In response to questions from the San Diego Union-Tribune, a U.S. Veterans Affairs Department spokeswoman said late Tuesday that workers discovered a temperature failure during an Oct. 13 inspection.

A pharmacy refrigerator rose above the correct temperature range, and the stored flu vaccine did not stay within the recommended range of 36 to 46 degrees, said spokeswoman Cindy Butler, in a written statement to the U-T.

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There are potentially 1,300 veterans and 240 VA employees who may have received the compromised vaccine, she said.

All veterans and staff will be notified to come back to get another flu vaccination.

The product is now considered to be potentially ineffective, but there would be no negative side effects, Butler said.

A county spokesman said the VA, a federal agency, isnt required to report the incident to the countys public health department, so he didnt have any further information.

Butler said no other medications were stored in that refrigerator unit.

The San Diego VA has modified its processes in response to the incident, Butler said.

A Centers for Disease Control guideline for handling vaccines says errors like this, which require repeat doses, can result in a loss of patient confidence.

It is better to not vaccinate than to administer a dose of vaccine that has been mishandled, the CDC guidelines say.

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jensteeley
On a rooftop overlooking the nations busiest border crossing, environmental authorities are making their first effort at measuring the effect of some 50,000 daily vehicle crossings on the regions air quality.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District on Tuesday unveiled a monitor at the San Ysidro Port of Entry that offers real-time readings of the level of fine particulate matter that can enter the lungs and pose a hazard to human health.

The EPA has provided $110,000 in funding to the air pollution control district for a two-year monitoring project. The instrument was installed last week on the roof of the ports pedestrian processing building. It is now one of five active monitors maintained by the district that measures fine particulates known as PM 2.5 in real time.

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The instrument is seen as an important step to providing public information on a 24-hour basis about the levels of pollution near the port of entry  whether from vehicle emissions at the port, or other sources on either side of the border.

When we think about the border and this region, it is one airshed, said Jared Blumenfeld, EPAs regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. This air shed does not respect boundaries; it blows every way that it wants to.

Traffic-related air pollution for years has been a source of concern in San Ysidro. A study published last year in the journal Atmospheric Environment stated that proximity to the crossing may increase exposures to traffic-related pollutants in the local community, and that long northbound wait times may contribute to pollution levels.

The new monitor also can help evaluate the health risks from pollution to pedestrian crossers, vendors, border inspectors and others exposed to the car fumes, sometimes for hours at a time.

The monitor is going to provide information around the clock every day of the year, said Michael Benjamin, chief of monitoring for the California Air Resources Board. It will allow us to understand trends, time of day, and month, to measure the effectiveness of pollution control programs on both sides of the border.

The monitor is currently the only one on the California-Mexico border that is directly at a crossing. The Air Pollution Control District previously maintained one at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, but it looked at somewhat larger particles, and has since been moved to the Donovan State Prison, said Mahmood Hossain, chief of monitoring and technical services at the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.

So far, the results have shown no appreciable difference in air quality at the border compared with other parts of the county. On Tuesday night, the Air Pollution Control Districts website ranked the air quality as moderate in San Ysidro, as it did for Otay Mesa and downtown.

Robert Kard, head of the air pollution control district, said the acquisition of the new air quality monitor is the opening salvo on how were going to do more localized monitoring. The districts big monitors help us comply with federal law, but they dont tell us what the local impacts are.

Celebrating the new monitor on Tuesday were Matthew Rodriguez, California Environmental Protection Agency secretary, and San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox. Also participating were representatives of Casa Familiar, a San Ysidro social services agency, and the Environmental Health Coalition.

San Diego County currently is in compliance with federal clean air requirements for fine particulates, but we want to know more about the quality in San Ysidro and how its affected by 50,000 cars a day coming across the border, Cox said.

Community groups for years have been clamoring for air quality data on San Ysidro.

We got word last month that this was going to happen, and we were elated, said David Flores, community development officer at Casa Familiar. The information is finally here that we can explain to the community what a range of healthy air is, and when they need to be cautious for sending kids outdoors if they have asthma.

The information provided by the monitor can be important to determining San Ysidros ranking compared with other vulnerable communities in CalEnviroscreen, an online tool developed by CalEPA. Without data on San Ysidro, the border area didnt rank high as a community of concern, said Georgette Gomez of the Environmental Health Coalition.

San Diego State University professor Penelope Quintana, one of the authors of the Atmospheric Environment report, called the monitor an important first step. But Quintana said there remains a need for more detailed monitoring of the traffic exhaust: We know there are very bad actors in these particles, and they should be measuring those as well, she said.

sandra.dibble@utsandiego.com

(619) 293-1716

Twitter: @sandradibble
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Rathbone Brothers PLC (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Clinigen Group PLC (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 17/10/2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" Yes





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



0.1p Ordinary



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 6,722,452 5.83 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 6,722,452 5.83

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit (p) 0.1p Ordinary Sale 250 1,126.02 0.1p Ordinary Purchase 2,815 1,127

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit





(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 18/10//2017 Contact name: Emma Mulhearn - Compliance Department Telephone number: 0151 236 6666

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
A fugitive suspected in the 2002 kidnapping and slaying of a 15-year-old girl on her way to school in Montebello was killed in Mexico, investigators announced Tuesday.

George Barraza, who fled to Mexico after the gang payback killing of Brenda Sierra, was on the U.S. Marshal Services 15 Most Wanted list, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Investigators tracking his activity planned to extradite him to the United States for prosecution. But sheriffs deputies learned recently that Barraza was killed in Sinaloa.

Three others suspected in Brendas slaying were arrested in 2015 after a years-long investigation and are awaiting trial. They have all pleaded not guilty. A fifth suspect was killed in an unrelated homicide in 2003.

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Investigators have said Brenda was targeted because her brother had testified as a witness to a gang shooting about 10 days before she disappeared Oct. 18, 2002.

That morning, Brenda left her East Los Angeles home to walk five blocks to a friends house. Theyd planned to ride to Schurr High School. But Brenda never showed up.

A missing persons report was filed that night. The next day, Brendas body was found face down in an area of the San Bernardino National Forest known as the Valley of Enchantment.

Authorities have said she was taken to a gang hangout, where she was sexually assaulted and beaten to death with a blunt object. Her body was then dumped in the forest.

Investigators said they are still looking for witnesses who may have hesitated to come forward earlier because of Barrazas rumored affiliation with gangs in East L.A. and drug cartels in Mexico. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek
After months of often-heated debate, a civilian oversight panel Tuesday signed off on a yearlong test of drones by the Los Angeles Police Department, which will become the largest police department in the nation to deploy the controversial technology.

The Police Commissions 3-1 vote prompted jeers, cursing and a small protest that spilled into a downtown intersection just outside the LAPDs glass headquarters  evidence of the opposition police have faced in recent weeks as they tried to reassure wary residents that the airborne devices would not be misused.

The use of drones  or small Unmanned Aerial Systems, in police-speak  has become a contentious issue for law enforcement in Los Angeles, where the nations largest sheriffs department has flown one since January.

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Advocates say camera-mounted drones could help protect officers and others by collecting crucial information during high-risk situations or searches without risking their safety. For many privacy advocates and police critics, however, the drones stir Orwellian visions of unwarranted surveillance or fears of militarized, weapon-toting devices patrolling the skies.

LAPD brass, along with police commissioners, tried to ease those concerns by promising careful restrictions on when the drones would be used and strong oversight of the pilot program. Weapons and facial-recognition technology will also be prohibited.

But some critics said they could not trust the department to follow its own rules, no matter how stringent.

Mission creep is of course the concern, said Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles. The history of this department is of starting off with supposedly good intentions about the new toys that it gets  only to then get too tempted by what they can do with those toys.

The president of the union representing the LAPDs rank and file praised the commissions decision, calling drones a tool that will protect both police officers and residents.

Whether its an active shooter at a school, or a suspect barricaded in a home in a Los Angeles neighborhood, this technology will help us save lives, Craig Lally, the unions president, said in a statement.

After the vote, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said the department probably would purchase two drones  one to use and one for backup  and roll them out in about 30 days.

The debate over whether the LAPD should use drones began in 2014, when the department received two Draganflyer X6 drones from police in Seattle  devices the Washington agency unloaded after heavy criticism from the public.

The outcry continued in L.A., and the drones were grounded  and ultimately destroyed  before they were ever flown.

I will not sacrifice public support for a piece of police equipment, Beck said at the time.

Commissioner Cynthia McClain-Hill, who cast the sole vote against the drone program Tuesday, asked Beck about his comments three years ago and why he thought now was a good time to revisit the issue. He pointed to the wider use of drones by other agencies and what he described as a much more robust feedback mechanism this time around.

Many in the audience jeered.

I know that all of you think that the process means nothing to me, but that is not true, Beck told the crowd. Are we going to agree in the end? Maybe not. But I will have heard you.

McClain-Hill, though, said she believed the LAPD failed to do what it should do and needs to do in order to build the trust that is required to support the implementation of this technology.

For weeks, the LAPD has sought public input on its potential use of drones. The department solicited written feedback and held community meetings, during which officials described situations when the devices would be useful, such as looking inside a building where a suspect was barricaded or quickly searching for victims after an active-shooter incident.

Dozens of people expressed their skepticism during those forums. And police officials said only a fraction of the hundreds of emails the department received had encouraged it to move forward with the initiative.

The opposition intensified this week when the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition sent letters to police commissioners urging them to reject the program.

Matt Johnson, the Police Commissions vice president, said specific changes were made to the rules in response to concerns, including the ban on facial-recognition software.

Its not surprising to see the level of passion over this issue, Johnson told the audience Tuesday. Whether you are happy with the policy or not, the policy, I do believe, has been made tighter and better because of your input.

Johnson was joined by two other commissioners  Sandra Figueroa-Villa and President Steve Soboroff  who said they believed the policy offered strict limitations and enough oversight to allow the one-year test to proceed.

Under those rules, only SWAT officers will be allowed to fly drones during a handful of specific, high-risk situations. They can also be used during search and rescue operations, or when looking for armed suspects who have superior firepower, an extraordinary tactical advantage or who are suspected of shooting at an officer.

Each flight must be approved by a high-ranking officer. Any request to fly a drone  whether approved or not  will be documented and reviewed. The Police Commission will also receive quarterly reports that will be made public.

At the end of the yearlong program, commissioners will review how the drones were used and decide whether to continue.

kate.mather@latimes.com

@katemather

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UPDATES:

9:05 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from police commissioners, LAPD chief Charlie Beck, drone opponents and a union representative.

1 p.m. This article was updated with the Police Commissions vote and scenes from the protest that followed.

10:05 a.m. This article was updated with details from a news conference outside LAPD headquarters Tuesday morning.

This story was originally published at 5 a.m.
The daughters of a mentally ill man who jumped to his death in a Los Angeles jail in 2014 will receive $1.7 million under the terms of a settlement approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Eric Loberg, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and appointed a legal conservator after being found gravely disabled, was placed in custody of the county Sheriffs Department in November 2014.

Despite his history of mental illness, refusal to take medication and a request from the countys Office of the Public Guardian that he be placed in mental health housing, Loberg was housed in a less secure, two-tier unit at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, according to the complaint filed in district court and a case summary provided to the board. A week later, he jumped headfirst to his death, the complaint says.

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This case represents a perfect storm of deliberate indifference, attorney Ronald Kaye said by phone Tuesday. First and foremost he should never have been in a jail setting.  Secondly, they completely dropped the ball in providing him with psychiatric intervention.

Tuesdays settlement is among the largest for a jail suicide in L.A. County and will be paid out of the Sheriffs Department and county Department of Mental Health budgets. It comes two years after the county approved a $1.6-million settlement for another high-profile jail suicide, that of Austin Losorelli, the son of an LAPD lieutenant.

That settlement immediately followed an agreement to implement sweeping reforms to mental health care in county jails after the Justice Department concluded that the Sheriffs Department had violated inmates constitutional rights by failing to provide adequate mental health services.

With the history of a failure to provide constitutionally mandated mental health care, its a travesty that this occurred, Kaye said.

Loberg, who was 48 at the time of his death, was a high-school graduate who had worked in sales, according to the complaint. He had two daughters, Maria and Erica, with whom he remained close even after suffering from late-onset schizophrenia in his 30s, Kaye said.

In 2013 Loberg was arrested on burglary charges. He was released from jail to Olive View Medical Center on an involuntary psychiatric hold and later deemed gravely disabled by a court, the complaint says. The Public Guardian was appointed his conservator, and Loberg was transferred to Olive Vista Behavioral Health Center in Pomona for long-term in-patient care.

In November 2014 he escaped, was picked up by Pomona police and transferred to the custody of the Sheriffs Department for violating his probation. He was evaluated for suicide risk, but Loberg lied about his mental health history, according to the complaint. After further evaluation he was prescribed an antipsychotic but took it only 20% of the time, according to the case summary.

A representative of the Public Guardian advised the Department of Mental Health that Loberg was a conservatee and gravely disabled, but the department did not request a bed in the forensic inpatient unit for mentally ill inmates who present a danger to themselves or others, the complaint says. Instead Loberg was placed in tiered moderate observation housing, which presented suicide risks.

My clients lost their father, Kaye said, and the fault is 100% based on failure to treat someone with an objectively clear mental illness.

The Loberg settlement was approved on the same day that the Board of Supervisors received a report from the Department of Mental Health on the standard of care for mentally ill patients in L.A. County, including a recommendation to develop guidelines for law enforcement when dealing with individuals who meet the criteria for an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Los Angeles County has made the treatment of those with mental illness a priority in recent years, expanding the budget and staff of the Department of Mental Health, including mental health as a consideration in homelessness prevention and housing, and devising strategies to divert the mentally ill from county jails. The county also plans to build a $2-billion replacement for Mens Central Jail focused on mental health treatment.

The case summary and corrective action plan provided to the Board of Supervisors state that steel mesh barriers have been installed at the jail to prevent jumping, and mental health staff are now required to notify conservators if patients refuse their medications.

nina.agrawal@latimes.com

Twitter: @AgrawalNina
In a rare move, a San Diego federal judge reversed a jury verdict that had cleared county social workers of fault for their conduct in an investigation into child abuse allegations against a family.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez also concluded that a longstanding county policy allowing investigators to interview children at their school without the consent of parents or a court order was at fault.

That conclusion could have large implications for the county, potentially allowing families subjected to similar treatment over the years to sue the county, lawyers said.

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The ruling came in the lawsuit filed by Sara Dees and her two young daughters, each of whom was caught up in a brief investigation by Child Welfare Services workers in 2013.

They contended that a county social worker violated their rights when she questioned both the children, then 9 and 5, at their school without the knowledge or consent of the parents in early 2013.

In February, after a week long trial, a jury found in favor of the county.

But last week, Benitez reversed that decision  a step judges do infrequently. In a 20-page ruling Benitez concluded that the clear weight of the evidence does not support the verdict.

He then took a further step and said he would set a date for a new trial  one to determine how much in monetary damages the county would have to pay. A hearing to set that date is scheduled for Thursday.

The ruling also has potentially larger impact. The judge concluded that a county policy in place for years that allows social workers to conduct interviews at schools of children suspected to be abuse victims  or their siblings, who were not victims  was the underlying cause that led to the violation of the familys rights.

That part of the ruling could open the county to lawsuits from children and their families who, over the years, have been interviewed at schools without a social worker getting a court order, warrant, or consent from the families, or in instances where there was not an immediate threat to the safety of the child  known as an exigent circumstance.

San Diego, along with other counties, routinely conducts such interviews, said Donnie Cox, the Oceanside lawyer who represented the family. He said while state law allows such interviews San Diego County uses it more aggressively than most other counties.

This has broad implications, Cox said. It potentially exposes the county to liability in all those cases where they interviewed a child where there were not exigent circumstances, a warrant, court order, or imminent danger of injury to a child.

County Communications Director Michael Workman said the county planned to appeal, and declined further comment because the case was still ongoing.

The lawsuit centered on a short investigation by social workers in February and March, 2013. Dees lived with her two young daughters, her husband Robert Dees and his two daughters from a previous marriage in San Diego.

It started on Feb. 7, 2013 when Child Welfare Services got a investigative referral that Robert Dees had taken naked photos of his 11-year-old daughter, Benitez wrote. The girl said she wanted the photos taken to document her physical appearance as it changed during puberty.

In addition to investigating the circumstances of the 11-year-old, social workers also sought to find out if Sara Deess two younger children were also in danger of abuse, court records say.

Nothing came of the referrals, however. By Feb. 21 San Diego police, who had opened an investigation, had closed it and told county social workers that both the police and District Attorney would not be pursuing any case.

That should have been the end, Benitez wrote. It was not.

Five days later social worker Caitlin McCann went to the school where Sara Deess two young daughter attend, he wrote. She spoke to the older child for about five minutes.McCann testified at the trial she made the visit to make sure the children were okay and to wrap up the investigation.

McCann did not ask for consent from Sara or the childrens father to speak with them, Benitez wrote. One of the children became upset and was screaming down the hallway CPS is here, CPS is here after the interview, he recounted.

County policy says that when interviewing children at school who are either the alleged victims of abuse or siblings, parental consent is not needed.

While McCann said she was checking on the status of the kids, Cox said the technique is often used to dig up evidence against parents.

The investigation was closed three weeks later, with all allegations determined to be unfounded. But Sara Dees sued, alleging the nonconsensual interviews violated the rights of her children, and her own rights to parent her children under the 14th amendment  a legal doctrine known as familial rights.

While the jury sided with the county, Benitez saw it differently. He ruled that the childs rights were violated during the interview because she was effectively seized under the law  unable to leave, not free to decline to speak with McCann.

A reasonable nine-year-old child who is called out of class by school officials for the purpose of meeting with a social worker who has already disturbed the childs family life, and who is not advised that she may refuse to speak with the social worker, will feel compelled to talk to the social worker and remain there until dismissed, he wrote.

Interviewing the children  identified by their initials L and G in court records  without permission of parents and with no indication they were in danger also violated Sara Deess rights, he wrote.

The evidence is clear that McCann purposely went to the one place she knew she could find L or G and question L or G without Sara knowing, he wrote. Because of the Countys policy, that place was the childrens school.

Shawn MacMillan, a lawyer who frequently represents parents in suits against county social workers, said the county has been on notice since 2010 that school site interviews are problematic. A federal appeals court held in 2010 that such interviews without a warrant, court order or parental consent were unconstitutional.

Theyve known that this is a potential problem for a long time, and theyve done nothing about it, he said.

Twitter: @gregmoran

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com
San Diego Unified School District board President Richard Barrera has issued a call to action on several social issues, saying housing, immigration and criminal justice reform all affect education.

As your representative, Im here to challenge all of us, Barrera said, speaking Tuesday night at Sherman Elementary School before Superintendent Cindy Martens annual State of the District address.

The honest truth is, if we reflect on the role were playing as a community in supporting our schools, our schools are in the most fragile place that theyve been in the course of our lifetime.

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Similar to Martens address, Barrera praised the work of educators in the district, but said more funds could help them do a better job. Specifically, another $3,500 per student would significantly reduce the achievement gap, said Barrera, who was quoted later by KPBS as saying the district is considering putting a bond on the 2018 ballot.

Besides calling for support of increased education funding, Barrera called for activism on other levels, including fighting for affordable housing.

The housing crisis is hitting our kids and families like it never has before, he said. He added that a projected 1,000-student enrollment drop this school year could be related to families moving out of the city because of housing costs.

We need to understand that the housing crisis is an education crisis, he said.

On another topic, Barrera referred to Michelle Alexanders book The New Jim Crow when talking about how some district families have been affected by incarcerations. Alexanders book focuses on what she called nationwide mass incarnations of men of color and how their time behind bars forever affects their lives and their community.

Criminal justice reform is an education issue because it affects our kids and our families every day, he said.

Barrera said some district families also have been torn apart by a crackdown on unauthorized immigrants. To illustrate his point during his talk, Barrera introduced the family of Gaston Cazares, who was deported to Mexico about three weeks ago.

Weve seen a magnified threat since the presidential election in our students and our parents and our families facing deportation, he said. People applauded at the introduction of Cazares wife, Ahimee Cazares, their daughter Yahaira and son, Ivan, who were in the audience..

Ahimee and Gaston are exactly the kind of parent we strive for in our district, Barrera said. Active, involved parents, supportive of their kids education.

Barrera described Yahaira as a straight-A high school senior who is applying to San Diego State University and Ivan as a freshman at Scripps Ranch High School.

Gaston came to this country when he was 16 years old, he said. An incredible parent and an incredible role model in our community. And the federal government found it in its wisdom that it was a good thing to do to take Gaston away from his home and his family.

Barrera said the community could help the family by ensuring Ivan and Yahaira that they would support them in any way they could to help them succeed in school.

But we also have to understand that weve got to do more than that, he said. Weve got to come together as a community and be willing to fight for our families, fight for our young people, and stand up against this kind of injustice.

Barrera also said that change is hard in the country, but he urged people in support of public education to stand up for their rights because there always will be others fighting for their own interests.

If were willing to wage that fight, we cant wait any longer, he said.

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gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
San Dieguito Union High School District Superintendent Rick Schmitt will leave his post in June to become superintendent of San Ramon Valley School District in Northern California.

Schmitt, who has served as a principal and administrator in San Dieguito for 13 years, will continue in his post until June 30. He said he hopes the district will hire a new superintendent to start July 1 and pick up where he leaves off.

The news of his looming departure came as something of a surprise in the affluent school district where student performance is among the highest in the region.

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Mr. Schmitt has been a tremendous asset to the district and I am sad to see him go, school board President Beth Hergesheimer said in a statement.

As San Dieguito superintendent, Schmitt was earning total pay and benefits of about $265,000 in 2014, according to Transparent California, a website that tracks salary data for public employees. San Ramon Valley Superintendent Mary Shelton, who is retiring in June, was earning $278,000.

Schmitt said he could not pass up the chance to return to a part of the state where he has strong roots.

It was an incredible opportunity in a community that Id been aware of for decades, and familiar with its great schools, and had actually started our family there many years ago, he said. We just one day figured we may end up returning to Northern California, and our extended family is still there.

Schmitt and his family moved from Northern California to San Diego in 1999, he said, when he was hired as principal of Coronado High School. In 2003, he became principal of Torrey Pines High School within the San Dieguito Union High School District, serving in the same school from which his children later graduated in 2007 and 2009.

In 2006, Schmitt was promoted to associate superintendent of educational services with the district, and in 2013, he took over as superintendent, advocating for flexible schedules and course options.

My vision and mission around public education is to provide more choice for families, he said.

San Dieguito includes about 13,000 middle and high school students who come from elementary schools in Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

During his tenure, Schmitt said he worked to introduce an open enrollment program, which allows all of the districts students to enroll in their first choice among its four high schools.

We have boundaries, but we also have enough flexibility and good planning to allow each and every student to attend any school, he said.

The district also enacted flexible start times at its middle schools, allowing students to choose varied start and ending times to accommodate the different priorities of families.

It gives families lifestyle choices and sleep choices, he said. Next year were extending that flexible bell schedule to our high schools.

The high schools also allowed varied schedules ranging from five to eight classes per semester, and added more options for elective, advanced placement and honors classes, he said.

Hergesheimer, the board president, praised Schmitt for building strong relationships with staff and parents, and leading the work to continually improve student achievement while caring for the overall well-being of each student.

deborah.brennan@

sduniontribune.com
The man arrested in connection with attacking a police officer and four pedestrians in Edmonton, Canada, in late September had previously been ordered deported in San Diego.

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, who obtained refugee status in Canada, is believed to be the same Somali man named Abdullahi Hassan Sharif, who was detained after coming without documents to the San Ysidro port of entry in 2011, government officials from both countries told several media outlets.

On Sept. 30, 2017, a man struck an Edmonton police officer with a white Chevrolet Malibou, according to Edmonton police. He then jumped out of the car and stabbed the officer with a knife before fleeing on foot. Around midnight, a police officer pulled over a U-Haul truck and recognized the drivers name from the earlier attack. A chase ensued, and the U-Haul truck deliberately attempted to hit pedestrians as it crossed intersections, police said.

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The U-Haul truck eventually flipped, and police apprehended the driver.

The driver, Sharif, had obtained refugee status in Canada after crossing the border legally in 2012, public safety minister Ralph Goodale told Canadian news outlets. Unlike in the U.S., immigrants in Canada can apply to be refugees after they arrive.

Sharif was never a refugee in the U.S., where only those who come through the resettlement program that partners with the United Nations have that status. Nor was he granted asylum.

According to Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sharif was held at Otay Mesa Detention Center throughout his immigration proceedings and ordered deported in September 2011 by a judge. Sharif waived his right to appeal the decision, she said.

Robin Carr, an immigration attorney who has worked with many Somali clients, said that if Sharif saw a judge, he most likely requested asylum.

Statements from government officials did not say whether Sharif requested asylum. Federal government officials cannot discuss asylum claims because of privacy rules.

Sharif was never deported. The U.S. didnt recognize a government in Somalia at the time, Carr said, which meant no one from Somalia could be deported.

Because Sharif couldnt actually be sent to Somalia in the reasonably foreseeable future, the agency had to release him from custody, spokeswoman Mack said. A 2001 Supreme Court ruling says that the U.S. government cant hold deportees indefinitely if they are unable to be deported.

It was a different ballgame back then, Carr said, explaining that her clients often wouldnt appeal their cases if they lost because it meant they would get out of detention more quickly.

The agency released Sharif on an order of supervision a month after he was ordered deported, Mack said. Sharif didnt show up for his check-in meeting two months later.

Efforts by ERO San Diego to locate him were not successful, Mack said. Sharif had no known criminal history at the time of his encounters with ICE.

The situation for Somalis isnt the same today.

After Somalia established an embassy in Washington, D.C., the Obama administration began negotiating for travel documents to begin sending deportees to Somalia. Some left on commercial flights in 2016, and the first flight full of deportees took off in January 2017.

The Trump administration has imposed visa sanctions on four countries that it says refuse to take back deportees: Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Its not clear how Sharif was able to apply for refugee status after crossing legally into Canada.

Carr, the immigration attorney, said people from other countries crossing at ports of entry between Canada and the U.S. are not supposed to be able to request asylum because of an agreement between the two neighbors.

They are allowed to apply as refugees if they make it inside without detection, she said, and the process is easier than getting asylum in the U.S.

She has had recent clients who gave up on their asylum cases in the U.S. and snuck into Canada to try there, she said.

In Canada, its not an adversarial process like it is here, Carr said. You dont have a government attorney sitting at the other table trying to make sure you dont get asylum.

After the first news reports of Sharifs history surfaced, some San Diegans called for an end to refugee resettlement in the county.

San Diego strikes again. Another radical Muslim from San Diego attacks in Edmonton, said Curt Crook of East County. How many more are there among us? San Diego was the start for the 9/11 terrorist, and Im sure there were more, but well never know the way everyone plays the PC game nowadays.

Some suggested banning Muslims.

Banning Muslims is not Anti-American. It was routine before 1952, based on legislation passed in 1924, said Lincoln Pickard of Palm City. Our culture is under attack because Muslims commit and/or condone violence that enforces Sharia Law.

Nadine Toppozada, director of refugee services for Catholic Charities in San Diego, said that Sharifs case isnt representative of refugees or Muslims.

Muslims are no more linked to terrorist activity than Christians are to the KKK, Toppozada said.

She used the Rohingya, who are mostly Muslim, and who are fleeing ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, as an example.

I dont think Rohingya Muslims are fleeing Burma because they want to commit terrorist acts elsewhere, Toppozada said. Theyre fleeing because theyre being persecuted. Being of any particular faith doesnt automatically associate one with extremist tendencies.

President Donald Trumps travel ban executive order has often been called a Muslim ban by those who oppose it. The latest installment of Trumps order barring entry to citizens of certain countries was blocked Tuesday by a judge in Hawaii.

Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter
San Diego City Council members voted on Tuesday to support gay rights in an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case over a cake shop owner who categorically refused to sell wedding cakes to same-sex couples.

San Diego joins several other cities, counties and mayors that have voted to participate in the filing of an amicus brief in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the states anti-discrimination laws.

The council voted 6-1 in a session closed to the public, with Republican Scott Sherman voting no and Republicans Chris Cate and Mark Kersey absent.

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The six votes in favor came from Republican Lorie Zapf and the councils five Democrats.

This is a blatant act of discrimination, Councilman David Alvarez said after the vote. I support the amicus brief because I support equal rights.

City Attorney Mara Elliott said San Diegos support is important because a ruling against Colorado could have a ripple effect across the country.

The City Councils action reflects the values of our city, Elliott said. If the Supreme Court does not support Colorado in this case, any form of discrimination will be permissible as long as its consistent with a religious belief. Anti-discrimination laws, including San Diegos, would become unenforceable.

The baker, Jack Phillips, argues that the states anti-discrimination laws violate his First Amendment free speech rights and his religious beliefs.

Colorado argues it was illegal for Phillips to refuse to make a wedding cake for same-sex couple Charlie Craig and David Mullins in 2012, because businesses that serve the public must abide by anti-discrimination laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on Dec. 5.

The Trump administration filed a brief in support of Phillips last month.

This isnt the first time that Elliott brought forth a proposal for San Diego to get involved in controversial cases elsewhere in the nation.

In February, she asked whether the council would file a brief in the state of Washingtons suit against the Trump administrations travel ban. While the council supported joining the suit, some Republicans questioned why she brought it up and said its not a local matter.

Elliott said another city had requested San Diego join the suit and that her job required her to bring that to the council for consideration.

Its common for interested parties, including average citizens, legal advocacy groups and cities, to enter an amicus curiae brief in support of a position on cases in appeal.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Washington, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

CohnReznick, one of the largest accounting, tax and advisory firms in the United States, has teamed with New Frontier Data, the leading provider of data, analytics and business intelligence for the cannabis industry. CohnReznick will work with New Frontier Data to provide increased transparency, improved efficiency, and more accurate risk management in taxation, compliance and accounting within the cannabis space.

The partnership between New Frontier Data and CohnReznick could not have occurred at a more pivotal time for the industry as a whole. Together, we will explore the overall impact that U.S. tax code has on the cannabis industry, owner operators, as well as investors and other stakeholders, said Giadha Aguirre De Carcer, CEO and Founder of New Frontier Data. The industry is growing very fast, with still little visibility into, or understanding about, critical matters relevant to both compliance and profitability. CohnReznicks breadth and depth of expertise in complex taxation and regulatory matters will fulfill a critical need in this rapidly growing market.

CohnReznick is very excited to launch this teaming arrangement with New Frontier Data. We are looking forward to applying our expertise in this burgeoning market while working hand in hand with New Frontier Data to fill clients needs for business intelligence that helps maximize their mission and growth goals. At CohnReznick we provide forward-thinking solutions, service that exceeds expectations, and create opportunity, value, and trust for our clients, our people, and our communities, Michael Harlow, Partner of CohnReznick.

CohnReznick serves clients with advisory, accounting, and tax services to support their business objectives through all stages of the life cycle. Vast experience across several relevant industries, disciplines and specific services make them a perfect fit for navigating the challenges of a sector with rapid growth and so much competition and varied opportunity.

New Frontier Data and CohnReznick have agreed to jointly produce:

A published report that examines the tax pitfalls facing cannabis businesses

Bi-Weekly tax insights published in New Frontier Datas weekly CannaBit free newsletter

Two cannabis tax specific webinars to help inform and educate on pertinent tax matters ahead of tax season

About New Frontier Data:

New Frontier Data is an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in the cannabis industry. We offer vetted data, business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors, operators and policymakers. New Frontiers data and reports have been cited in over 65 countries around the world to inform industry leaders. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and an additional office in Denver, CO. For more information or media inquiries, please visit www.newfrontierdata.com or contact Gretchen Gailey at 202-489-3821 or ggailey@newfrontierdata.com.

About CohnReznick:

CohnReznick LLP is one of the top accounting, tax, and advisory firms in the United States, combining the deep resources of a national firm with the hands-on, agile approach that today's dynamic business environment demands. With diverse industry expertise, the Firm provides companies with the insight and experience to help them break through and seize growth opportunities. The Firm, with origins dating back to 1919, is headquartered in New York, NY with 2,700 employees in offices nationwide. CohnReznick is a member of Nexia International, a global network of independent accountancy, tax, and business advisors. For more information or media inquiries, please visit www.cohnreznick.com or contact Julie Rogers Murawski at 973-364-6693 or Julie.Murawski@CohnReznick.com.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5205996e-4035-4a53-8438-af4604c42776
San Diego will boost pay for police officers between 25 and 30 percent to help solve a crisis of departing officers that has lengthened response times, limited proactive policing and ballooned overtime budgets.

The steep pay hikes, which also aim to help attract recruits to the police academy, come as the number of city officers has dropped to 1,801  13 percent less than the citys goal of 2,040.

City and police officials have blamed the vacancy crisis primarily on San Diego officers being among the lowest paid in the region and the state, prompting many officers to transfer to other law enforcement agencies with higher pay.

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All officers would get cumulative hikes of at least 25.6 percent between next July and January 2020, and veterans with more than 20 years on the job would get 30.6 percent raises.

But 6.6 percent of those raises  3.3 percent in July 2018 and July 2019  was already included in a $92 million labor pact with officers the city approved in spring 2015. So the amount of new money is between 19 and 24 percent.

This landmark investment into our police force will help ensure San Diego stays one of the safest big cities in America for decades to come, said Mayor Kevin Faulconer. We face a significant police officer recruitment and retention crisis that demands this kind of action.

The tentative pact with the police officers labor union still must be approved by local officers and the City Council.

Union president Brain Marvel said he expects the deal to make a big difference.

By employing a new strategy with regard to SDPD recruitment and retention, one based on competitive compensation, the city is sending the right message to our experienced officers, catching the eye of the quality laterals and recruits we want to attract, and giving taxpayers more value for their tax dollars, Marvel said.

Council members have expressed strong support for higher police compensation, despite the city facing tight budgets in coming years as tax revenues plateau and pension payments continue to rise.

Im glad to hear that an agreement was made, said Councilwoman Barbara Bry. Hopefully it will be helpful in recruiting and retaining more San Diego police officers. Public safety is the citys most important responsibility.

The contract would cost the city $66.2 million over the two years it covers.

City officials didnt provide an estimate of how much the raises would affect the citys long-term pension debt, which is estimated at $2.6 billion.

But an actuarial analysis conducted for the city shows that the raises would increase the citys annual pension payment, which was $324 million this fiscal year, by $6.4 million in fiscal 2020 and by $9.5 million in fiscal 2021.

Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who is retiring in March, also praised the deal.

Our officers are the finest men and women I have ever had the privilege to work with, she said. Knowing their hard work and dedication to our city is being acknowledged like this will make an enormous difference for our current and future officers. In a very competitive market for police officers, this is a game changer.

Zimmerman has stressed during the staffing crisis that San Diegos crime rate has remained relatively low for such a large city.

FBI statistics released last month show that only four of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the nation have lower rates for violent crime and property crime than San Diego.

And for the fifth year in a row, the city of San Diego had the lowest murder rate among the countrys 10 largest cities, at 3.6 killings per 100,000 people.

But staffing concerns go beyond the current crisis and into the future, with the number of new San Diego police officer applicants dipping more than 30 percent over the last two years, and about 600 of the departments 1,800 officers eligible to retire by 2022.

The proposed raises come two months after the city approved a $4 million increase to stipends officers receive to pay for their uniforms and other equipment.

RELATED: San Diego boosting efforts to solve worsening police officer shortage

That increase boosted the annual amount from $900 to $2,405 for all officers, with an additional $2,100 per year going to officers with less than eight years of experience.

And in June, the City Council added $300,000 to the Police Department budget to cover additional overtime pay so officers can work longer hours when there are personnel shortages.

RELATED: New solutions demanded for San Diego police officer shortage

The budget also includes $350,000 for a marketing effort to boost recruitment, which has become crucial with recent police academies running at about half capacity.

The city is also paying $150,000 for a compensation study under way that aims to determine how officer pay in San Diego compares to other law enforcement agencies for rookies, longtime veterans and those in between.

An independent survey in fall 2014 showed San Diego police officers were at or near the bottom of the pay scale when compared to their counterparts in 18 other large cities and counties in California.

A recent analysis by the Union-Tribune shows San Diego rookie officers make $4,166 a month, compared with $5,730 in La Mesa, $4,910 for sheriffs deputies, $5,243 in El Cajon and $6,123 in Chula Vista.

RELATED: San Diego police staffing woes: Its low pay, and a lot more

Some council members say that in addition to studying officer compensation, they would like to explore why officers are leaving in case there are additional reasons beyond pay.

The proposed contract, which the unions members are scheduled to reject or approve in an online vote in coming days, starts next July with raises of 8.3 percent that include 3.3 percent already approved in 2015.

Officers would then get another 5 percent increase in January 2019, a previously approved 3.3 percent hike in July 2019 and then a 5 percent boost in January 2020.

In addition, officers with 20 or more years of service would get 5 percent more in July 2019, increasing the 3.3 percent to 8.3 percent.

And all officers would get 4 percent more in increases in July 2019, but that additional pay would be in exchange for negotiated changes in flexible health care benefits.

This is a fair agreement that makes San Diego officers salaries highly competitive and encourages veteran officers to stay and grow within SDPD, Mayor Faulconer said. San Diego has the best police department in the nation, and now every current officer and prospective recruit has great new reasons to choose SDPD.

Marvel, the union president, wrote in the latest edition of the union newsletter that this falls raises should be viewed as part of a two-step process, with additional hikes expected when this contract ends in 2020.

The city is prohibited from giving pay raises that increase pensions by Proposition B, a pension cutback measure approved by city voters in 2012.

But the proposed police raises dont violate the measure because it prohibited raises affecting pensions through June 30, 2018, the day before the first of the police pay hikes would kick in.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Authorities are asking the public to help identify a man who sexually battered a 15-year-old girl who was walking from her house to Mira Mesa High School last week.

The man walked up to the teen from behind and began to talk to her in a thick Spanish accent as she walked west on Hillery Drive, roughly a block away from the school, about 6:35 a.m. Thursday, San Diego police said.

After he assaulted the girl, the assailant ran away south through an apartment complex on Hillery.

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The man was described as Latino, 42 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall, with short dark-colored hair. He was wearing a light-blue, short-sleeved shirt and baggie blue jeans, police said.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call San Diego polices sex crimes unit at (619) 531-2210 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
In a moving, graphic account of bravery, luck and determination, Holocaust survivor Rose Schindler recently shared memories of her World War II experiences in the Auschwitz death camp when visiting Rancho Bernardo.

Schindler, now 87, spoke at the Wednesday Etc. Womens Club meeting on Oct. 11 at the Bernardo Heights Country Club.

Jewish people are very good listeners and doing what they are suppose to do, Schindler said. I wish they didnt. Why .... did our parents not fight back?

We were taken like sheep to the slaughter  adults .... didnt do anything about it, she said. If they knew what was going on, they should have fought back. (The Nazis) were killing people (back in) 1938, 1939.

Schindler, her parents and seven siblings lived in Seredne, a small town of around 2,000 in what is now the Czech Republic. While by todays standards they lived in primitive conditions  a three-room house with no electricity or indoor plumbing  she said it was a happy childhood.

We lived so primitive, but you do not miss things when you dont have anything, she said. In pre-World War II years, her father was a tailor, very successful with a good reputation, Schindler said. The family grew almost all the food they needed and there were few stores in their village since most goods not grown or made at home were obtained via bartering at the farmers market.

We knew everybody in town, she said.

In the pre-war years, she said the Czech government was very pro-Jewish and we had the same rights as everybody else. ... We got along with our neighbors.

All that changed in 1938 under the Hungarians, which little by little put restrictions on the Jews. Children went to school through their middle school years and, if they wanted to be educated beyond that, went to a nearby town. But when Schindler  who was born in 1929  was around age 10, Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend school.

Her father, like his fellow Orthodox Jews, saw their businesses taken away from them and Jewish people were treated like third-class citizens, she said. Non-Jewish friends turned on them.

Hungary did all of Hilters dirty work, she said. (The Hungarians) were very happy to do that.

In 1944 her family was told they needed to leave and turn in their valuables, which would be given back later.

I think our parents knew something, Schindler said, describing how her father hid some of their jewelry in their home. Schindler added that she  then age 14  and other youths were very ignorant. We did what our parents told us.

Her family and other Jews in their town were transported by oxen-driven wagons to a train station in April 1944. From there, they were packed into cattle cars with no food, water or bathroom facilities and transported for several days to Auschwitz, a German death camp near Krakow, Poland. The smell in the train was pretty bad, she recalled. People were passing out or dying.

Upon arrival, a camp inmate told her to lie about her age, to say it was 18 instead of 14, so she would not be considered too young to work and immediately put to death in the gas chambers. That was the fate of her mother and four younger siblings.

We could see smoke and hear children crying, she said. They put people in the gas chamber, but there was not enough gas (to kill them all) so they were burning them when they were half alive.

Poland is filled with the ashes of all our people on the ground, Schindler said.

Those not murdered upon arrival were stripped, had their entire body shaved and were given rags to wear. Her father and older brother were sent one way while Schindler and two older sisters went to a barracks crammed with 1,000 women and barely given food. What they were provided was not edible, she said.

Schindler and her sisters briefly reunited with their father and brother. During that encounter their father made the girls promise to stay together, stay alive and tell the world what they are doing with us. That was their last conversation.

In September 1944 her sisters were selected for factory work and Schindler had to sneak into the line since on several occasions she was designated for the gas chamber, but managed to slip away among the crowd. By then, the girls ate anything they could find.

We got used to the hard conditions, she said. It is amazing how much a human body can take.

She said surviving Auschwitz required having a brain, guts and doing things that were not kosher. Many prisoners working at the gas chamber saw their parents go in, but could not do anything about it if they wanted to survive.

It is estimated 1.1 million people died at Auschwitz from 1940 to 1945.

Conditions improved when the sisters were sent to a German factory to make ammunition, uniforms and gas masks. They treated us like human beings, but nothing too fantastic. ... It was like from hell to heaven, Schindler said. Their food situation improved and they wore slightly better clothing. In 1945 they were liberated by the Soviet Red Army.

The Russians were very good to us, she said. Nobody can imagine what freedom means.

The three sisters returned home after liberation. They learned that their brother was murdered 10 days before the war ended and their father killed in a gas chamber after becoming ill. They retrieved their few hidden possessions  their neighbors refused to return the items held for them  and embarked on new lives. Her sisters married, one went to live in Prague, the other stayed in their hometown, which was under Soviet occupation.

Schindler was among the more than 700 Holocaust orphans sent to England after the war so they could learn a trade. While the group was known as The Boys, there were girls too and that is how she met her future husband, Max, whose family was also killed. They married in 1950, emigrated to New York in 1951 and moved to San Diego in 1956. They had four children and nine grandchildren.

For the past four decades, Rose Schindler has been fulfilling the promise she made to her father to tell the world what happened to them. The couple, accompanied by their children, returned to their homeland a few times. Max Schindler died earlier this year, at age 87.

Email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
In the old days  before globalization 3.0 and the age of the internet  all you had to do was be on time, have a good memory and stay out of trouble.

Now, we see jobs disappearing, everybody seems to have a 3.5 GPA and a decent SAT. To be competitive, you have to have a new skill set for a very new economy. You are competing for a job with every kid in the world for a new (and shrinking) workplace that values creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship  things that are not routinely nurtured in most schools.

Not only are we facing offshoring and outsourcing, according to a recent study by Oxford Research, nearly half of all jobs are vulnerable to machines  to applications using information technology. It was predicted that more than 47 percent of the jobs that exist today would be gone  forever  over the next 20 years.

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Yes, the world has changed, and what we called high school must change too. And it is changing  perhaps too slowly.

In 1996, San Diegos Business Roundtable and the Economic Development Corp. wanted a school that turned out the kind of young people in demand by San Diegos high-tech businesses. This helped birth a school called High Tech High.

Its really not about high tech, though. It is about design thinking, art integration and project-based learning. Its about learning how to learn and thinking differently about what you learn.

Gary Jacobs, chair of the schools board, and Larry Rosenstock, the schools founding CEO, did something no school has ever done before. Instead of teaching all the disciplines per se, i.e., math, science, art and music, etc., they replaced those silos with real-world projects or challenges requiring collaboration, also known as project-based learning or PBL. This methodology requires out-of-the-box thinking, research, observation and multiple communication skills. Projects are assigned at the beginning of each semester and team-taught by the teachers.

Since then, many schools in the area have begun using many of the same techniques. One of the most creative is e3 Civic High, also known as the school in the library. It states its mission, too, as a school designed to prepare students for college, career and life-long learning through project-based instruction, cutting-edge technology, expansive research facilities via our exclusive location within the San Diego Public Library, and active civic engagement in the downtown community.

It sees the library as a co-educator and says students are expected to take full advantage of the learning environment and its resources: more than 1.2 million resources in its collection, city librarians as instructors for research, auditorium and special events penthouse, a teen and homework center, art gallery, reading room, City Television, and IDEA lab.

Another wonderful example of this new approach to reinvention comes from the id8 or Ideate High Academy, formerly known as the Urban Discovery Academy, located in the IDEA District downtown. It also deploys PBL but emphasizes the role of design thinking As Ideate describes it, this is an empathy-based process and strategy for cultivating innovative solutions to complex challenges, as well as supporting the development of creative thinking skills. Ideate closely follows the success of IDEO, the design firm, and the Stanford d.school: empathize, define, Ideate, prototype and test.

These new methods of teaching and learning are at the center of all that The Innovation Academy does in Scripps Ranch and, like others, it asks the teacher to be guides, not guards and to let students question the answers, not answer questions, recognizing that real learning occurs when we fail, a notion at odds with the way things used to be.

Other schools in our region are embracing the new methods and they must. Given the constantly changing (and shrinking) workplace, lifelong learning is the new normal. Yet most high schools are not prepared to give young people the skills they will need to enter todays workplace. Yet what happens in high school can make all the difference in navigating ones path in life.

Eger is Zahn Professor of Creativity and Innovation and Van Deerlin Chair in Communications and Public Policy Director, Creative Economy Initiative, School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University.
SAN DIEGO - A bodybuilder and editor-in-chief of a musclemagazine who received shipments of a counterfeit human growthhormone, then illegally sold it to bodybuilders, was sentencedFriday to 10 months in federal custody.

David Palumbo, 36, pleaded guilty Oct. 5 to conspiracy tounlawfully distribute a human growth hormone, Serostim.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan gave Palumbo a sentence on thelow end of federal sentencing guidelines, saying the defendantdidnt know the Serostim he got from a San Diego man wascounterfeit.

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I dont think he would be taking the counterfeit producthimself, Whelan said.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson, arguing for a13-month sentence, said Palumbo held himself out as an expert inthe bodybuilding world who surely would have known the Serostim hesold was counterfeit.

Clearly, he does deal in counterfeit product as well aslegitimate product, the prosecutor said. There was a recklessrisk that was taken by this defendant in distributing thisproduct.

Palumbo, of Seaford, N.Y., even appeared on CNN, warningconsumers about the fake human growth hormones, Pierson told thejudge.

The defendant, editor-in-chief of Rx Muscle magazine, said hewas embarrassed by the situation.

I think of myself as a role model in society, Palumbo told thejudge. I need to see who I wasnt. I can guarantee that this willnever happen again.

In his plea agreement, Palumbo admitted that he got Serostimfrom Bill Young in San Diego, which he would then sell tobodybuilders who didnt have a prescription.

Palumbo acknowledged in his plea that between July 1, 2002 andAug. 13, 2002, he received in New York two shipments of 50 boxeseach of counterfeit Serostim from Young in San Diego.

A third shipment of 100 boxes of counterfeit Serostim sent byYoung to the defendant was lost in transit and never delivered,Pierson said.

Palumbo further admitted that he sold 90 boxes of counterfeitSerostim between June 2002 and September 2002 for about $63,000 toseveral people believed to be bodybuilders, and who the defendantknew could not provide a valid prescription that would allow themto receive legitimate Serostim.

Serostim is approved by the FDA for use in the United States totreat AIDS wasting, authorities said.

Young pleaded guilty last year to trafficking in counterfeitSerostim.

Whelan told Palumbo he could split his sentence by serving fivemonths in a West Virginia federal prison and five months of homeconfinement and electronic monitoring.

Palumbo is to surrender to authorities Feb. 4.
WASHINGTON (AP)  On Aug. 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, which has been called the single most effective civil rights law ever passed by Congress.

Because of the Voting Rights Act, millions of minorities have exercised their right to vote in states that previously hindered them through tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests, civics quizzes or violence. President Barack Obama will mark the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on Thursday.

Here are a few things to know about the Voting Rights Act:

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PRESIDENTIAL POWER

During a January 1965 meeting at the White House, President Lyndon B. Johnson told Martin Luther King Jr. that he didnt think that, after pushing the Civil Rights Act through the year before, he could get Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act too, said former Ambassador Andrew Young, who attended that meeting with King. After leaving the White House, King said, Weve got to get this president some power, Young recalled, laughing. Johnson used the voting rights bill as his response to the Bloody Sunday police beatings of civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama, that March. In his speech before a joint session of Congress  which many historians consider one of Johnsons most eloquent  Johnson even used the phrase, We shall overcome, borrowed from the civil rights movement.

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KEY REQUIREMENTS

A key requirement of the law set up a process known as preclearance, which required some states and individual jurisdictions to obtain federal approval of changes to voting laws, to ensure they did not have a discriminatory effect. The states most affected were primarily in the South, although some jurisdictions in other states from Alaska to New York were also required to get federal preclearance of voting law changes.

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IMMEDIATE IMPACT

According to the ACLU, 250,000 new black voters were registered by the end of 1965, with one-third of them by federal examiners. Turnout among black Southerners exceeded that of their white counterparts in four of the 12 presidential elections since 1965, and nationwide black turnout clearly exceeded white turnout in presidential elections in 2012 and perhaps in 2008, according to a new report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

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MINORITY ELECTED OFFICIALS

Since 1965, African Americans went from holding fewer than 1,000 elected offices nationwide to more than 10,000; Latinos from a small number of offices to more than 6,000; and Asian Americans from under a hundred documented cases to almost 1,000, according to the Joint Center. However, the percentage of minorities in Congress, state legislatures and city councils still lags below the percentage of minority voting-age representation in the United States.

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SUPREME COURT CHALLENGE

The Supreme Court threw out the most powerful part of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, the requirement in the Voting Rights Act that all or parts of 15 states with a history of discrimination in voting get the federal governments approval before changing the way they hold elections. Chief Justice John Roberts said the laws provision that determines which states are covered is unconstitutional because it relies on 40-year-old data and does not account for racial progress and other changes in U.S. society. Obama has called on Congress to update the law.

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Jesse J. Holland covers race, ethnicity and demographics for The Associated Press. Contact him at jholland@ap.org or on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/jessejholland .
The latest crop of releases includes good Champagne, a couple of Urugyan whites, and some good offerings from Argentina - including bargains from the countrys southern Patagonia region.

Boizel Champagne Brut Reserve NV ($55). Rich on the palate with some tropical fruit notes, nice granularity, and a clean finish.

Boizel Champagne Brut Rose NV ($57). Very fresh and floral with a crisp finish (picture a butterfly dancing on a tightrope).

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Boizel Champagne Blanc de Blanc NV ($66). A straightforward sparkler with tart apple flavors and a very crisp finish.

Matua Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 ($12). Lightly spritzy - gas added? - which emphasizes the lively green fruit flavors.

Garzon Uruguay Albarino Reserve 2016 ($17). Very nice, with typical albarino floral notes and a lively, crisp finish.

Garzon Uruguay Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2016 ($17). Lively and crisp lime flavors with medium body and a tangy finish.

Priest Ranch Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016 ($20). This is the anti-Marlborough of sauvignon blancs - full-bodied, with floral notes and a hint of tropical fruits.

Cote Mas Rose Aurore 2016 ($8). A delightfully complex yet quaffable pink with interesting spice and floral notes and orange and cherry flavors.

Ferraton Samorens Cotes du Rhone Red Wine 2015 ($12). A full Cotes-du-Rhone, more like a village-designated bottling than its appellation would suggest, with its rounded cherry flavors and good tannins.

Postales del Fin del Mundo Patagonia Cabernet-Malbec 2016 ($12). Good for the price - Bordeaux-like cherry flavors, although not much complexity

Postales del Fin do Mundo Patagonia Malbec 2016 ($12). Tangy cherry flavors with some balancing barrel notes.

Bonterra California Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 ($14). From organically grown grapes, this one has enjoyable, ripe fruit - still tightly wound - with some savory notes.

Fin del Mundo Patagonia Pinot Noir Reserva 2014 ($17). Pleasant, light-bodied pinot with dark and rooty full flavors.

Ravenswood Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel 2014 ($17). Tart cherry and berry flavors and good structure and toasty tannins in the finish.

Humberto Canale Patagonia Malbec Gran Reserva 2015 ($20). Enjoyable light, tart, fresh cherry flavors - a good companion for barbecue.

Monteviejo Lindaflor Petite Fleur Uco Valley Red Blend 2012 ($20). Assertive but smooth, with creamy cherry flavors, some floral notes, and a firm finish.

Ruffina Lodola Nuova Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2012 ($25). A reasonably priced vino nobile with macerated cherry flavors and mineral hints.

Hess Collection Allomi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 ($29). Rich intensity, with juicy cherry flavors and some plums in the finish.

Fin del Mundo Special Blend Patagonia Red Wine 2012 ($37). Quite nice, with dark fruits and buttery barrel notes, and smooth tannins.

Monteviejo Lindaflor Uco Valley Malbec 2010 ($41). Assertive in a good way, with dark berry flavors, a hint of sootiness, and lots of tannins.

Tapiz Black Tears Uco Valley Malbec 2012 ($48). Very warm and generous, with complex, muddled cherry fruits, nice tannin, and dried spices in the finish.

2015 Bouchaine Pommard Clone Carneros Pinot Noir 2015 ($50). Generous but well-balanced cherry fruit along with some savory notes and flavorful tannins.

Double Canyon Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 ($65). Very good red cherry flavors - on the bright side, but with savory undertones.

Monteviejo Lindaflor La Violeta Uco Valley Malbec 2010 ($113). Big, delicious, at 15 percent alcohol, with lots of tannins and concentrated but not jammy fruit. It gets the juices flowing!

Grahams Otima 10-Year-Old Tawny Port ($30). A light-bodied port with good richness and flavors of roasted chestnuts and light molasses.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Phoenix, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  An internally created promotional video is helping BioNovelus President and CEO Jean Ekobo spread the word about the companys non-toxic, organic fungicide and the very strong early results that farmers who are using it are reporting.



Over the last few years, my team and I have worked with farmers in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras to understand the challenges that the agriculture industry faces when eradicating pests and disease, Ekobo says in the video. Weve seen crops devastated by disease often because they develop resistance to the chemicals that were meant to protect them. Farmers are using many harsh treatments together in concert just to keep plants from dying. This toxic cocktail of chemical products is so toxic that they contaminate and deplete the farmers soil causing smaller and unhealthy yields. And if a loss in revenue isnt concern enough, we found that many growers are worried about how chemicals might be harming their workers.

As Ekobo explains in the video, the farmers who are now using CR-10 are having a very different result. With CR-10, farmers can cut back on the number of products they have to use without risking the health of their crops. They can lower their labor costs, increase their yields and reduce their workers exposure to chemicals.

With a fully developed product now ready and sales underway, a big part of Ekobo and his teams current job is marketing our results as when the product is applied on farmers crops, and as can be seen in the video, we believe the product sells itself.

For his part, Ekobo remains strongly committed to CR-10 and the difference it can make in a world where food is an ever-more important part of the conversation. What started out as a goal to develop a non-toxic, organic fungicide, has turned into a mission to give farmers, food packers, and exporters one powerful solution. One that can effectively fight pathogens, maximize yields and increase revenues in a competitive market.

You can see the video and hear farmers explain their enthusiasm for CR-10 in their own words here https://youtu.be/zQ6vXRHkh5M on YouTube.

About BioNovelus:

BioNovelus is a bioscience company that honors the environment with innovative, cost-effective, and disruptive technology-based solutions to crop protection, food security, and health challenges.

About CR-10 Biofungicide

CR-10 Biofungicide is a proven, biodegradable, non-toxic solution that kills bacteria, fungi, and spores rapidly, safely and effectively. It is a new generation of biofungicide with a unique mode of action. BioNovelus management believes that CR-10 has a broad range of uses in crop protection before harvest.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements covered by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results for the fiscal year 2017 and beyond could differ materially from the Companys current expectations. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as anticipates, projects, expects, plans, intends, believes, estimates, targets, and other similar expressions that indicate trends and future events.

Factors that could cause the Companys results to differ materially from forward-looking statements regarding the success of the workshops and efficacy of the crop restoration and results of CR-10 include the lack of capital needed to complete testing, the lack of experience with pursuing approval of this product and modifications and receipt of information that may be demanded by the registration of the CR-10 formula and the delays in the various government approval processes unrelated to the product itself. Factors that could cause lower turn-out in the future include the cities we select to have our workshops and the interest in alternatives to existing products, rates of success in CR-10 eradication of fungi and bacteria include the method and timing of applications of CR-10, the impact of the strength of fungi and bacteria contamination, and other environmental conditions resulting in re-infection. Factors that may impact Guatemalan acceptance of our product include the compatibility with other chemical products.

There is no assurance of when all necessary registrations in Guatemala will be obtained for CR-10 Biofungicide and various applications as several field trials are still in progress. There is no assurance that the coffee rust application or any other crop protection or post-harvest protection applications will prove commercially viable. There is no assurance that any transaction will be done with Guatemalan distributors although we do have one distributor currently importing product to Guatemala.

Factors that could cause the Companys results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, without limitation, variation in demand and acceptance of the Company's products and services, general business and economic conditions beyond the Companys control the consequences of competitive factors in the marketplace including the ability to attract and retain customers, results of continuous improvement and other cost-containment strategies, compatibility with other chemical products, the application of the products, and the Companys success in attracting and retaining key personnel. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update forward-looking statements because of new information, since these statements may no longer be accurate or timely.

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933, and are subject to Rule 3B-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and other results and further events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements.

 30 
Trusted Access leader also launches identity verification for individual physicians e-prescribing controlled substances

ANN ARBOR, MI--(Marketwired - Oct 18, 2017) - On the heels of a $70 million Series D funding round at $1.17 billion valuation, Duo Security today also announced enhancements to its flagship Duo Mobile app and new innovations which help harden user and mobile device security as attackers poke holes in the traditional, perimeter-based security model:

An Alternative to Mobile Device Management (MDM) Products: Organizations without the ability to identify and manage personal mobile devices are at risk of breach due to non-compliant and potentially unsecured devices accessing critical data. Traditionally, this problem has been solved with a mobile device management (MDM) solution, which many organizations neither have the time or resources to implement.



Now, without the need for a potentially costly MDM solution, the Duo Mobile app and its Trusted Endpoints feature allows IT admins to easily determine which devices accessing company applications are corporate-trusted devices. Duo Mobile can also enforce basic security requirements such as passcode, biometrics and encryption if the user intends to use the device for work purposes.



"No longer is top level security only available to organizations with the means and resources, or users who are the most privileged in terms of access," said Ash Devata, Duo Vice President of Product. "Organizations now have an alternative to a full-fledged MDM solution in which they can use Duo to easily keep end user mobile devices up-to-date, encrypted and secure. Our new product enhancements are helping make security easier and more effective for all."

Organizations without the ability to identify and manage personal mobile devices are at risk of breach due to non-compliant and potentially unsecured devices accessing critical data. Traditionally, this problem has been solved with a mobile device management (MDM) solution, which many organizations neither have the time or resources to implement. Now, without the need for a potentially costly MDM solution, the Duo Mobile app and its Trusted Endpoints feature allows IT admins to easily determine which devices accessing company applications are corporate-trusted devices. Duo Mobile can also enforce basic security requirements such as passcode, biometrics and encryption if the user intends to use the device for work purposes. "No longer is top level security only available to organizations with the means and resources, or users who are the most privileged in terms of access," said Ash Devata, Duo Vice President of Product. "Organizations now have an alternative to a full-fledged MDM solution in which they can use Duo to easily keep end user mobile devices up-to-date, encrypted and secure. Our new product enhancements are helping make security easier and more effective for all." Secure Single-Sign On (SSO) for All Customers: Secure SSO is now standard for all paying Duo customers at no additional cost, allowing end-users easy and secure access to cloud applications from a central login screen. Combined with Duo's flagship two-factor authentication (2FA) capabilities, Duo's SSO allows customers to add frictionless layers of security without requiring additional usernames and passwords.

Secure SSO is now standard for all paying Duo customers at no additional cost, allowing end-users easy and secure access to cloud applications from a central login screen. Combined with Duo's flagship two-factor authentication (2FA) capabilities, Duo's SSO allows customers to add frictionless layers of security without requiring additional usernames and passwords. Security Checkup and Account Restore for iOS and Android Phones: The Duo Mobile app now helps iOS and Android users keep their phone updated and maintain the security hygiene necessary to have authorized access to corporate applications. The company also introduced Duo Restore, enabling iOS and Android users to back up their Duo-protected accounts and easily transfer them to a new device.

The Duo Mobile app now helps iOS and Android users keep their phone updated and maintain the security hygiene necessary to have authorized access to corporate applications. The company also introduced Duo Restore, enabling iOS and Android users to back up their Duo-protected accounts and easily transfer them to a new device. U.S. Healthcare ID Proofing: Duo expands its United States healthcare sector offering with the launch of online identity proofing for physicians using electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS). This helps hospitals meet EPCS compliance requirements and fight against prescription drug fraud easily.

Highlights of these latest innovations for Duo customers include:

Duo Secure SSO Made Standard at No Additional Cost

Duo's secure SSO can check a user's identity and the security posture of a personal or corporate owned device before allowing access into applications. In addition, administrators can set specific security policies for each application ensuring risky devices are not allowed to access critical applications until they are updated.

"Integrating Duo into our security offering has helped our customers stay secure in an IT environment that is shifting to more cloud applications and increased BYOD usage," said Mike Paul, Chief Technology Officer at Innovative Computing Systems. "The combination of Duo's 2FA mobile app and their SSO dashboard allows security and flexibility to work hand-in-hand, providing another essential layer of security without burdening end users with a cumbersome multi-step process. Security is now seen as simply part of the end user's daily workflow, rather than a deterrent to productivity."

Duo's SSO can integrate with major cloud applications such as Office 365, Google, Salesforce, Workday, Box, Dropbox and many more.

Duo Healthcare ID Proofing: Physicians Easily Verify ID for E-Prescriptions

Further expanding its Trusted Access vision in the U.S. healthcare sector, Duo now enables individual practitioners, such as doctors, nurse anesthetists and other licensed professionals who do not work on hospital premises to verify their identity online prior to EPCS enrollment and subsequently use two-factor authentication to approve each e-prescription, in accordance with federal law. This new capability reduces a previously onerous and manual process from weeks to minutes, all while helping healthcare organizations meet federal EPCS compliance requirements.

According to a recent Surescripts study, 45 million e-prescriptions for controlled substances were delivered in 2016, a 256 percent increase from the year prior. EPCS has been shown to increase patient adherence to medications, reduce error and fraud in prescriptions and improve patient health outcomes. Unfortunately, despite the patient and provider benefits, deploying electronic prescriptions can be both time-consuming and costly for healthcare organizations.

"Manual ID proofing can cause doctors to waste hours traveling to hospital headquarters, time better spent helping patients," said Jon Oberheide, Duo Security Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. "Still yet, hospitals may not have appropriate staff and resources to help validate identities on a large scale either. This cumbersome process deters many hospitals and physicians from using e-prescriptions due to increased time and costs."

Duo's ease of deployment and use is why more than 100,000 physicians currently use the product to approve e-prescriptions. At half the cost of similar products, Duo has no hardware deployment, complex software configurations or manual setup, allowing 75 percent of organizations who use Duo to get up and running in less than a day.

For more information, please visit duo.com

About Duo Security

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches through its easy and effective cloud-based Trusted Access product suite. The company verifies the identity of users, and the health of their devices, before granting them access to applications. Duo's intentional balance of security and usability has led them to be a trusted partner to thousands of customers world-wide, including Dresser-Rand, Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Random House, Etsy, Yelp, Zillow, Paramount Pictures, and more.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company maintains offices in Austin, Texas; San Mateo, California; and London, and is backed by Benchmark, Google Ventures, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Radar Partners, Redpoint Ventures, True Venture, and Workday. Visit duo.com to find out more.

Media Contact

Meredith Corley & Jordan Fylonenko

Duo Security

Press@duo.com
Duo will use round of funding led by Meritech Capital Partners and Lead Edge Capital to expand global operations and fund increased innovation in the Trusted Access space

ANN ARBOR, MI--(Marketwired - Oct 18, 2017) - Duo Security, one of the fastest growing information security and software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies in the world, today announced it has raised $70 million in additional financing led by Meritech Capital Partners and Lead Edge Capital. The Series D round also included new investors, Geodesic Capital and Index Ventures, as well as existing investors Redpoint Ventures and True Ventures. A new strategic partner, Workday, also participated in the round. Duo now ranks among the world's most valuable private SaaS companies with total funding of $119 million, and a company post-money valuation of $1.17 billion.

Alongside this financial milestone, Duo is also pleased to announce it has exceeded 10,000 customers and protects more than 300 million logins worldwide every month. Additionally, Duo welcomes Lorrie Norrington, Operating Partner for Lead Edge Capital, former eBay President and former Board Member for McAfee, to the Board of Directors and Rob Ward, Co-founder of Meritech, as Board observer.

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches by making security easy and effective. Anchored by its flagship two-factor authentication (2FA) app, Duo's "Trusted Access" product suite verifies the identity of users and the health of their devices before granting them access to data and applications -- helping prevent breaches and account takeover.

"Cybersecurity has become the biggest geopolitical problem of our time. We are at a point where every organization in every industry is challenged with the overwhelming cost and complexity of securing a modern workforce," said Dug Song, Chief Executive Officer, Duo Security. "Duo pioneered cloud-delivered security by making user access easy, effective, and trustworthy. With this investment, we will continue to innovate solutions to the world's most fundamental security problems, expand our global reach, and accelerate our leadership position in the industry."

"In a world with innumerable security products that are difficult to implement, use and maintain, Duo stands alone as a vendor beloved by its customers and end users," said Rob Ward, Managing Director at Meritech Capital Partners. "As a result, Duo has established itself as the leader in cloud-based trusted access and we are delighted to support their rapid growth."

Rapidly Expanding User Base and Building World Class Team

Duo's momentum is underlined by more than doubling its annual recurring revenue (ARR) for the past four years. The company also:

Protects more than 10,000 diverse organizations worldwide , including Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Paramount Pictures, Random House, Yelp, Zillow and more.

, including Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Paramount Pictures, Random House, Yelp, Zillow and more. More than doubled employee headcount in 2016 , today with over 500 team members globally.

, today with over 500 team members globally. Secures more than 300 million logins worldwide every month.

"Duo represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the security market today. Through its product excellence, market leadership and outstanding team, Duo has demonstrated best in class financial and operating performance," commented Lorrie Norrington, Operating Partner for Lead Edge Capital. "Lead Edge is thrilled to continue to support Duo through the next phase of its growth and I am delighted to join the Board of Directors."

Product Innovation and Strategic Partnerships

Microsoft Integration: Alongside this largest round of funding to date, Microsoft recently announced integration of Duo's 2FA product into their Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) platform.

Duo Beyond Expansion - A Trusted Access Vision: Duo also continues to drive innovation in security with Duo Beyond, the first major commercial implementation of Google's BeyondCorp framework that drastically improves and simplifies the security management of how people and their devices access critical corporate applications. Duo gives administrators visibility into all end user devices including personal Macs, PCs and mobile devices - all without agents. Some recent product enhancements include:

Duo now extends secure single sign-on (SSO) capabilities for all its paid product editions.

With Trusted Endpoints, Duo customers can now establish policies to allow only trusted laptops, desktops and mobile devices to access critical work applications such as Workday, Salesforce, source code repository or an engineering VPN -- all without installing any agents.

Duo has expanded its Trusted Access vision to healthcare, offering Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) compliant remote identity (ID) proofing and strong authentication. This helps hospitals fight against prescription drug fraud and comply with regulations easily.

For more information, please visit duo.com

About Duo Security

Duo helps defend organizations against breaches through its easy and effective cloud-based Trusted Access product suite. The company verifies the identity of users, and the health of their devices, before granting them access to applications. Duo's balance of security and usability has led them to be an enduring and trusted partner to thousands of customers world-wide, including Dresser-Rand, Etsy, Facebook, K-Swiss, Random House, Etsy, Yelp, Zillow, Paramount Pictures, and more.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company maintains offices in Austin, Texas; San Mateo, California; and London, and is backed by Benchmark, Geodesic Capital, Google Ventures, Index Ventures, Lead Edge Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Radar Partners, Redpoint Ventures, True Ventures, and Workday. Visit duo.com to find out more.

Media Contact

Meredith Corley & Jordan Fylonenko

Duo Security

Press@duo.com
Alaska has been part of America for 150 years. Heres to Americas largest and most ruggedly beautiful state!

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150 years ago today, Alaska was formally transferred from Russia to the United States. The purchase of the $7.2 million was widely derided until gold was discovered 30 years later. Alaska became even more valuable during World War II as a military outpost. One hundred years after its purchase, North Americas largest oil field was discovered in Prudhoe Bay. Today, Alaska is celebrated not only for its rich natural resources, but also its rugged beauty and unique culture.

Charles Bull painted many striking scenes of the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska. Despite his grand depictions of animals in nature, Bull got most of his inspiration from sketching animals at the Bronx Zoo.

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The gold rush in Alaska and the Yukon territory brought many people to the area seeking their fortunes. It also piqued the interest of Americans in the the lower 48. When Charles Bull painted this cover, Alaksa was not yet even a territory; that wouldnt happen until 1912. But Americans were likely fascinated by the regions large animals, chilly climate, and Inuit and Yupik culture.

Artist Frank Schoonover was part of of the Brandywine School, and studied under Howard Pyle. He painted more than 2,000 illustrations in his lifetime. This included eight covers for the Saturday Evening Posts sister publication, Country Gentleman. Several of his covers depicted vividly colored scenes of Native Americans going about their daily lives. This cover was the first one that Schoonover painted for Country Gentleman.

Even back in 1939, cruise ships were invading the isolated and pristine shores of Alaska. Artist Charles Hargens painted ten covers for the Post and Country Gentleman, a fraction of the more than 3,000 magazine covers he illustration. Hargens was known as a stickler for accuracy in his paintings.

This cover by John Clymer illustrates the strategic importance of Alaska during World War II. Clymer painted this picture before he joined the Marines. He recalled, I was thirty-six years old at the time, and going through boot camp with a bunch of kids nearly killed me.  This was his first Post cover, but he would go on to paint 79 more.

One overheated July day when artist John Clymer was motoring in Alaska he paused at this spot at Portage Glacier. People came and boated around beside the small bergs. Next day, when John returned to sketch, a change of wind had blown Mother Natures chopped ice over against the glacier, and the sketching spot was as hot as Tophet. The artist says no, he did not go over and take a ride on the glacier.

Alaska, along with Hawaii, were the new states in 1960. Cover artist Constantin Alajalov shows the citizens of each state waiting in line to vote in the 1960 presidential election (Nixon v. KennedyKennedy won). Alajalov earned his voting rights the hard way. He was born in Rostov, Russia, and arrived in New York in 1923.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/17/2017 -- Today's fabrics are a result of detailed mechanisms and state-of-the-art machinery. As the worldwide textile business caters to increasing fabric requests for varying functions, however, the need for innovative mechanisms will always allow faster production in relatively shorter time periods. One of the most commonly used fibers that are highly in demand is Cotton. With the aim to cater to the increasing demand for this popular fiber, cotton yarn winding machine manufacturers are increasingly gaining momentum. A new study, titled "Global and Japan Cotton Yarn Winding Machine Market Analysis Report 2017-2022", with focus on top players in the global and Japan, identifying market's development status and future trend, has been broadcasted to the online repository of Market Research Hub (MRH). According to the study evaluations, the global and Japan cotton yarn winding machine market has showcased significant growth over the past few years and is anticipated to generate substantial revenue (in USD million) along with double-digit CAGR over the period 2017-2022.



Request Free Sample Report: https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1342754



Winding machine is suitable for all kinds of hank yarn winding processing, such as cotton, linen, wool and blended yarn. Cotton yarn winding machines are mainly categorized by drive and shape. On the basis of drive, it includes direct and indirect drive winding machine. The shape of these machines are in cone, column, horn/bugle and others. Key applications of cotton yarn winding machine include Combed Yarn and Carded Yarn.



Initially, the study starts by presenting detailed overview of cotton yarn winding machine market covering various segments and sub-segments. The following section defines product overview and scope. The report covers historical data between 2012 and 2017 for the market, in which it splits cotton yarn winding machine market by type and by applications to fully and deeply research and reveal market profile and prospect. Geographically, the report offers a precise market forecast analysis at the global scale, and with a prime focus on Japan market. Overall, it covers regions such as Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Middle East & Africa.



Moreover, this market study includes drivers and opportunities of the cotton yarn winding machine market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Moreover, historical year-on-year growth has been taken into consideration while estimating the market size. The market size and forecast in terms of sales, volume, revenue, market share for each segment has been provided for the period from 2017 to 2022. As per the findings, Japan plays an important role in global market. Japan cotton yarn winding machine market is likely to gain substantial revenue by the end of 2017 and further rise at an impressive CAGR over the 2017-2022 forecast period.



Browse Full Report with TOC- https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/2017-2022-global-and-japan-cotton-yarn-winding-machine-market-analysis-report-report.html



Further, the report offers profiles of key players along with their cost and revenue structure, business strategies, latest developments, and contact information. Key players include Batliboi Ltd. (India), Itema S.p.A. (Italy), Benninger AG (Switzerland), Kirloskar Toyoda Textile Machinery Private Ltd. (India), Murata Machinery Ltd. (Japan), Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd. (India), Mayer & Cie GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Veejay Lakshmi Engineering Works Ltd. (India), Intertrad Group (UK), Savio Macchine Tessili S.p.A. (Italy), Itema Group (Italy), Lonati S.p.A. (Italy), TMT Machinery (Japan), ITEMA (Switzerland) Ltd (Switzerland), Rieter AG (Switzerland), Toyota Industries Corporation (Japan), Navis Global (USA), Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd. (Japan), Santoni S.p.A. (Italy) and Saurer AG (Switzerland).



Enquire about this Report- https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1342754



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Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRH's expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.



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A Yale University-led study suggests that abrupt shifts in climate caused by massive volcanic eruptions helped to trigger poorly understood revolts  such as the great 20-year Theban revolt  and other political upheaval in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Around 245 BC Ptolemy III, ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt, made a decision that still puzzles many historians  after pursuing a successful military campaign against the kingdoms nemesis, the Seleucid Empire, Ptolemy III suddenly decided to return home.

Yale historian Dr. Joseph Manning and co-authors identified a possible reason for Ptolemy IIIs trek back to Egypt: volcanoes.

Massive eruptions can disrupt the normal flow of the Nile River by cooling the planets atmosphere. In Ancient Times, that may have led to food shortages and heightened existing tensions in the region, the researchers explained.

Our study creates a strong case that sudden shifts in climate can have big impacts on human society, Dr. Manning said.

And its remarkable for doing so by drawing on a wide range of methods and evidence  from ice core records to Egyptian papyri.

At the heart of that dynamic society was the Nile River, the lifeblood of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

This empire arose in about 305 BC, not long after the death of Alexander the Great, and ended around 30 BC with the death of Cleopatra.

During this period, Egyptian farmers depended on the yearly flooding of the Nile in July through September to irrigate their grain fields  inventing systems of channels and dams to store the rivers overflow.

When the Nile flood was good, the Nile valley was one of the most agriculturally-productive places in the Ancient World, said co-author Dr. Francis Ludlow, a climate historian at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

But the river was famously prone to a high level of variation.

In some years the Nile didnt rise high enough to flood the land, and that could lead to trouble. Historical records suggest, for example, that a shortage of grain and the unrest that followed were behind Ptolemy IIIs return to Egypt. And the authors had reason to think that volcanoes could be behind some of those bad years.

The reason comes down to a squiggly band of monsoon weather that circles the planets equator called the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

Every year around summer in the northern hemisphere, this band moves up from the equator. That, in turn, soaks the headwaters of the Blue Nile River, a major tributary of the Nile.

But when volcanoes erupt, they blast out sulfurous gases that, through a chain of events, cool the atmosphere.

If that happens in the Northern Hemisphere, it can keep the monsoon rains from moving as far as they usually do.

When the monsoon rains dont move far enough north, you dont have as much rain falling over Ethiopia. And thats what feeds the summer flood of the Nile in Egypt that was so critical to agriculture, Dr. Ludlow said.

But how often would eruptions diminish the rivers flooding?

To find out, the scientists turned to computer simulations and real-world measurements of the Nile River that date back to 622 CE.

They discovered that poor flood years on the Nile lined up over and over with a recently published timeline of major volcanic eruptions around the world. That evidence suggested that when volcanoes explode, the Nile tended to stay calm.

The team then dug further to see if that might have an impact on Egyptian society during the Ptolemaic era, which is rich in papyri and other written records. They include the trilingual Rosetta Stone.

Again, the timelines matched: volcanic eruptions preceded many major political and economic events that affected Egypt.

They included Ptolemy IIIs exit from Syria and Iraq  just after a major eruption in 247 BC  and the Theban revolt.

We then examined how likely it was that these events occurred so close in time to eruptions, finding it highly unlikely to have occurred by chance, such is the level of overlap, Dr. Ludlow said.

The volcanic eruptions didnt cause these upheavals on their own. But they likely added fuel to existing economic, political and ethnic tensions.

The research appears in the journal Nature Communications.

_____

Joseph G. Manning et al. 2017. Volcanic suppression of Nile summer flooding triggers revolt and constrains interstate conflict in ancient Egypt. Nature Communications 8, article number: 900; doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00957-y

This article is based on text provided by Future Earth.
TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Platinex Inc. (CSE:PTX) (the "Company" or Platinex) is pleased to announce the formation of a special committee ("Special Committee") to evaluate opportunities in cannabis space as well as an update on its efforts to establish an entry point into the cannabis market.

As the Company continues to execute its strategy in the cannabis space, its Board of Directors has appointed a Special Committee to evaluate and develop a range of cannabis-focused investment opportunities. The Special Committee is comprised of current directors Bruce Reilly and Mark Scarrow who are working closely alongside the Companys financial advisors, FMI Capital Advisory. The Special Committee is in the process of considering various business models and acquisition/partnership opportunities.

Platinex continues to believe that North America offers an attractive opportunity set of cannabis investments. Together with its advisors, the Special Committee has identified the State of Oregon as a particularly attractive jurisdiction given the states burgeoning adult-use cannabis market, accommodative regulatory environment, appealing growth prospects and willingness to accept new investors. The Company has been engaged in discussions with several Oregon-based cannabis companies with a view towards structuring a potential transaction once the necessary business, legal, regulatory and financial due diligence steps have been completed.

The Companys targets include businesses in both the regulated, ancillary service & branding segments including retail, cultivation, extraction, processing; as well as companies that work directly with licensed operators, but are not subject to the same regulatory requirements. The Company is continuing to develop its Cannabis Mall strategy and is in discussions with potential partners.

James R. Trusler, President and CEO of Platinex comments, "By appointing a Special Committee to spearhead our cannabis strategy, the Company has positioned itself to effectively examine and capitalize on the various opportunities it has identified. These efforts have led us to narrow our geographic focus to the U.S. Pacific West Coast where the Company believes it can find an ideal entry point into the cannabis space.

About Platinex Inc. Platinex is currently focusing efforts on developing various strategies to capitalize on the lucrative growth of the cannabis sector in North America. At the same time Platinex has been focusing its mining business efforts in assembling a very large property in the Shining Tree gold camp, which has received little modern exploration compared to other gold camps in the Abitibi greenstone Belt. Shares of Platinex are listed for trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "PTX".



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Platinex Inc.

Lori Paradis, Corporate Secretary

Tel: (416) 268-2682

Email: lparadis@platinex.com

Web: www.platinex.com

To receive Company press releases, please email lparadis@platinex.com and

mention Platinex press release on the subject line.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain of the information contained in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information and statements may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, costs, objectives or performance of Platinex, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as may, would, could, will, likely, believe, expect, anticipate, intend, plan, estimate and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are based on information available at the time and/or managements good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control. The Company does not intend, nor does the Company undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws.

Neither the CSE 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.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Paris Climate Change Accord prepares to meet 617 November in Bonn, Germany for its 23d session against the backdrop of four hurricanes that savaged the US, which had announced its plan to pull out of the Accord.



The irony is obvious. The US is picking up the pieces of its homes, cities and infrastructure following these climate change disasters in Florida, Louisiana and Puerto Rico while preparations for the COP 23 moved apace.



At the COP 23 headquarters, however, the mood is one of hope and optimism that the implementing rules for the Paris Accord, which came into force on 4 November 2016, would be finalised this year.



The Pacific island nation of Fiji will be making history as the first-ever small island state to hold the COP presidency. In a meeting early this year with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Fiji stated that the interest of small island nations will be prioritised.

Our presidency will keep the interests of all nations  including those that are low-lying and vulnerable  at the forefront of our negotiations. Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama



Island nations issues



Our presidency will keep the interests of all nations  including those that are low-lying and vulnerable  at the forefront of our negotiations. We are also focused on turning the words and commitments of the Paris Agreement into measurable actions on the part of all nations, and are calling for transparent systems of accountability and practical outcomes to ensure the agreement is a success, said Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. [1]



Bainimarama identifies climate adaptation finance, effective monitoring of adherence through the rulebook to the Paris Agreement, and the object vies of the Climate Action Agenda, as key issues for his presidency.



On the other hand, an international advisory group told UNFCCC that three issues emerged as key expectations of COP 23: progress on pre-2020 commitments, progress on the work programme to implement the Paris Agreement, and clarity in the design of the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue (2018 FD). In particular, clarification of the 2018 FD refers to agreement reached in Paris for a dialogue to take stock of the collective efforts of Parties in relation to progress towards the long-term goal of the Paris Accord and the preparation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs). [2]



COP 23 also provides opportunity for developed countries to revisit their commitment to support the Paris Accord  particularly their own emission reductions and the US$ 100 billion per year they promised to help developing countries with their own emission reduction programmes.



The UNFCCC advisory group also agreed to the appointment of two high-level champions to help the COP presidency campaign for support on the implementation of the Climate Change Accord. Appointed in 2016 were Moroccan minister of environment Hakima El Haite and French ambassador Laurence Tubiana.

Core issues, however, remain despite the Paris Agreement [3]:

Differentiation  Developed countries do not want to have binding emissions targets for developed nations only, which they contend should be for all. Developing nations want the onus to be on the big emitters.

Finance  Developing countries want developed countries to make good on their commitment to mobilise US$ 100 billion a year in public and private finance by 2020 to establish a Green Climate Fund which would finance mitigation and adaptation projects. But developed nations want to have more donor countries so the burden is not entirely on them. The prospects of meeting the target, however, are bright. In Marrakech, the UNFCCCs Standing Committee on Finance reported that total global climate finance increased 15 per cent in 2013  14, reaching a high estimate of US$741 billion in 2014. [4]



Legal character  While the agreement will have legal force, there is no consensus on precisely what form it will take. The US was ready for binding procedural commitments and opposed binding emission targets. This was during the Obama presidency, but Donald Trump has since withdrawn from the Agreement.

Transparency  Existing requirements for the reporting of country efforts are two-tiered, with a more rigorous system for developed countries than for developing ones. Developed countries are pushing for a common framework for all parties.

US withdrawal and backsliding on commitments could mean three billion tonnes more of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year. Crispin Maslog

Impact of US Withdrawal



But the biggest issue confronting COP 23 today is the USs plan to withdraw from the Accord, already announced by President Trump. What impact would this have on the goals of the Accord?



To recall, SciDev.Net had observed before the Climate Change Treaty was approved in Paris in 2015, that the participation in the Accord of the United States and China, the worlds two biggest carbon emitters, was crucial to seal the deal. [2]



The US threat to withdraw, however, would unseal the deal and could have disastrous consequences for the planet. Two dozen climate change scientists, in a poll by one news agency, have said that US withdrawal would make it much more difficult to prevent crossing a dangerous threshold in global temperatures. [5]



US withdrawal and backsliding on commitments could mean three billion tonnes more of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year, increasing the rate of rising sea levels and melting ice sheets. The US could add as much as 0.3 degrees Celsius to global warming by the end of the century if it cops out, according to one simulation.



"The US matters a great deal," according to Climate Interactive co-director Andrew Jones. "That amount could make the difference between meeting the Paris limit of two degrees and missing it." [5] In fact, it might be difficult to collectively aim for the tougher 1.5 degrees Celsius without the US commitment.



However, under the rules of the Paris Agreement, the process of the US withdrawal could take at least three years, which by then its possible that a new US president would be sworn in and might reconsider the decision to opt out.



For now, the US government has indicated that it will be joining the COP 23 talks. Fiji is hoping that the US embrace talanoa, a Pacific concept of informal storytelling which builds empathy and consensus, and a buzzword it is employing in the climate talks.



The devastation in the Caribbean, hopefully, would help the Trump administration understand what the small island states will be facing more and more in the future. Lets not wait for another hurricane to drive everyone to a consensus.



Crispin Maslog is a Manila-based consultant for the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. A former journalist, professor and environmental activist, he worked for the Press Foundation of Asia and the International Rice Research Institute.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk.
Despite immense potential that nanotechnology holds for Africas development, the continent is slow in embracing it, a workshop reports says.



The report compiled from a national workshop by Nanotechnology Research Group at Nigerias Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and published last month (11 September) cites inadequate funding as a major challenge to embracing nanotechnology.



Nanotechnology focuses on the design, synthesis and manipulation of particles or structures within the range of one to 100 nanometers.

By adopting nanotechnology, Africa can enter knowledge-based economy. Agbaje Lateef, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

According to the report, nanotechnology research in Nigerian universities and institutes should be prioritised and adequately funded by the federal and state governments, individuals, industries and public organisations.

While nanostructures have been in existence for long, the report notes that scientists have only recently started using this knowledge to create arrays of functional materials for applications in diverse areas of agriculture, medicine, science and engineering.

The benefits include provision of clean water, solar energy, antimicrobial products, diseases detection, diseases vector control, foods and stored products preservation, and food security through improved agriculture.

The workshop gathered participants from several Nigerian universities, institutes and governmental agencies to draw researchers attention to new trends in nanotechnology, with lectures and practicals.

Agbaje Lateef, a convener of the workshop and a professor of microbiology at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, tells SciDev.Net that although Nigerias nanotechnology initiative started in 2006, activities in this area of research has been low.

He says that Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are making progress in nanotechnology research and applications, but a lot needs to be done for Africa to become a global player in it.

According to Lateef, efforts to boost nanotechnology should include more functional centres of excellence in nanotechnology with the state-of-the-art equipment, public-private partnerships and creation of curriculums that integrate nanoscience and nanotechnology.

There is need to create a critical mass of specialists in this area through collaboration, advanced training, retraining, conferences, short courses and workshops, Lateef adds.

By adopting nanotechnology, Africa can enter knowledge-based economy, explains Lateef. At the moment, several African countries do not have national policies on nanotechnology and its applications. A policy framework on nanotechnology should deal with the issue of risks associated with nanomaterials.

A national policy on nanotechnology, he emphasises, is key to addressing human resource development, coordination of research activities, research outputs translation to real products, intellectual property rights and ethical issues.

But Tebello Nyokong, a professor in medicinal chemistry and nanotechnology at South Africas Rhodes University, says that there is no point having policy without proper funding, adding that Africa cannot afford to ignore nanotechnology.

According to Nyokong removing barriers in research and applications of nanotechnology, and training young, innovative scientists in nanotechnology are crucial.

Nyokong tells SciDev.Net that showcasing Africas role models in nanotechnology could motivate more students to study it and help build capacity on the continent.



This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
FLORENCE, S.C. -- Two of South Carolinas most laudable artists will display their works through Nov. 9 at the Francis Marion University Adele Kassab Gallery.

Artists Colin McNaught, a Charleston-based abstract painter, and Greenville native Kelly King, a renowned ceramicist, will provide a wide array of expressions ranging from the cerebral to the flamboyant.

Kings current series of ceramics, Wonky Ground, explores the way objects are arranged within a landscape, with elements such as lawns, buildings and draperies. In addition to creating increasing interesting works of art, King is also an instructor at the Fine Arts Center of Greeneville.

McNaughts works have become large, bold, geometric abstract paintings, leading to an interesting mix of the ordinary and the imperceptible. McNaught is a native of Scotland and originally began his professional career as a clothier.

Both exhibitions will remain on display in the Adele Kassab Gallery at Francis Marion University through Nov. 9.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Elmcroft Senior Living Community introduced its newly renovated facility on 3006 Hoffmeyer Road with an open house and ribbon-cutting celebration Tuesday afternoon.

Ambassadors with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce joined Elmcroft executives in the celebration, which featured music, food, beverages and a tour of the building.

Kristie Kronk, senior vice president of operations at Elmcroft, said the renovations were the first for the building in more than a decade and included updates in 45 apartments, new carpeting and flooring, paint, furniture and window treatments.

Kronk said many of the 72 residents had a voice in what happened with the renovations, which took approximately three months to complete and cost roughly $325,000.

As they have seen the transformation happen, its really fun and exciting for them because they feel as if this is their own home going through this renovation, Kronk said. Putting money back into the building and keeping it updated not only for our residents and their families but really the community at large, its really the progression of senior housing to keep your building fresh and new.

Elmcroft Senior Living offers services and amenities for seniors who need assisted living as well as adults with Alzheimers disease or related dementias. For more information about Elmcroft Senior Living in Florence, call 843-292-0012 or visit http://www.elmcroft.com/community/elmcroft-of-florence-sc/.
Do you believe in guardian angels? Have you ever had the feeling that something was stopping you from approaching danger ahead?

I've heard many stories about people who were convinced that their "guardian angel" prevented them from things such as car accidents and other dangerous encounters.

There have been several occasions when I've been forced to do an about-face before leaving home. Later after rushing off to my destination, I'd find the scene of an accident in my direct path.

A few years ago I found myself sharing the road with a driver who obviously had places to be. He closely rode my bumper before finally passing me. Even with him out of sight, I continued to discuss with my husband how disgusted I was with a few not so nice words.

Moments later, I noticed the same car with an SUV rammed into the side of it. The other driver had run the stop sign and crashed into "Mr. Impatient." Was this simply the carelessness of two drivers or an act of my guardian angel?

This past Labor Day my grandmother found herself in the hospital having a pacemaker inserted. When I went to see her, she was still a little weak and complaining of being extremely cold. She and I were alone as I stood by her bedside. She explained to me how good God had been to her. She told me with her frail voice that she wanted to share something with me.

A week earlier she had been driving and was stopped by what she later referred to as her guardian angel. She began the story by telling me about a situation where she was at the doctor's office, where her cousin also happened to be. Her cousin had her grandchildren in tow. They ranged from 1 year old to 12 years old. She said on her way out of the office, she stopped and asked her cousin if a ride was coming for them. Her cousin replied yes and said they would be fine.

Of course, with her loving heart she was unable to leave the five of them behind. She told me she just couldn't see herself leaving them without knowing when they would be picked up. She packed the five of them into her Toyota Camry.

While on the way home, she was stopped by the police. She said the officer who walked up to her car door had a glow that surrounded him. He asked for her driver's license and registration. She said that in that moment she could not believe that all of her personal information was left at home on the kitchen table. Being completely honest, she informed him of that exactly. He even told her not to worry and asked for her name.

Afterward, he told her that she was going one mile over the speed limit and that she needed to go home to collect her driver's license and registration. She said that he never even glanced in the back seat of the car. There sat four children in a three-passenger back seat, which included a 1-year-old without a required car seat. She sat in her big brother's lap.

My grandmother couldn't believe what she had just escaped, and she only had one explanation. It had to have been her guardian angel.

I had chills as she finished her story. She was convinced that this was her guardian angel sent in the form of a police officer to protect her from danger that awaited her ahead. She said she did not know if it was a car accident or something more sinister, but she wholeheartedly believed that something was holding her back that day, and by the time her story was complete, so did I.

There have been times when I left my cell phone or had to turn around because I hadn't picked up all of the items on my mental grocery list. I try not to allow these events to frustrate me. I always force myself to believe that I'm being held up for a reason.

Some people might have a million explanations for the events I have mentioned. I'd like to keep thinking that something greater than me is watching my back.
Schlieren, Switzerland, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InSphero AG, the leading supplier of assay-ready 3D cell culture models for accelerating drug discovery and development, will present data characterizing and demonstrating the utility of its new 3D InSight Human Liver Fibrosis Model for screening efficacy of anti-fibrotic drugs. The findings will be presented at oral and poster presentations this Friday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) Conference in Washington, DC.

Anti-fibrotic therapies aim to inhibit activation of hepatic stellate cell (HSCs), thereby preventing excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as collagen, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure. The InSphero 3D InSight Human Liver Fibrosis Model is unique in that it contains all liver cell types necessary to mimic fibrosis in vitro in a high throughput, screening-compatible platform.

InSphero Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Patrick Guye says, Our 3D human fibrosis model is composed of primary human liver cells, including HSCs, hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and liver endothelial cells, all of which are required to accurately reflect the clinical fibrotic disease state in a cell culture model. Treatment of the model with TGF-b1, a known inducer of HSC activation, was shown to trigger strong induction of pro-fibrotic gene expression and ECM protein accumulation in the microtissue, resulting in collagen deposition and diminished hepatocyte function, both hallmarks of liver fibrosis. Even more promising, we were clearly able to demonstrate successful inhibition of disease progression on a phenotypic and transcriptional level using drugs known to interfere with pro-fibrotic signalling pathways.

Dr. Jan Lichtenberg, InSphero Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, notes, These findings support the power of our model to help drug discovery groups meet the demand for safer, more effective anti-fibrotic drugs. The initial feedback from beta testers within major pharmaceutical groups with fibrosis programs has been overwhelmingly positive. Not only does the model overcome the lack of cellular complexity of current in vitro models, but being based on our pharma-validated Human Liver Microtissue platform, it can deliver valuable data on both the efficacy and safety of drug candidates, without the use of animal models.

AASLD Presentation Details

Friday, October 20: 12:00  1:30 PM

Abstract #385: Development and characterization of a novel in vitro human liver fibrosis model for efficacy testing of anti-fibrotic drugs based on 3D Human Liver Microtissues

Poster presented by: Dr. Radina Kostadinova, InSphero AG

For more information about InSphero, visit www.insphero.com.

###

InSphero contacts

Dr. Randy Strube

Director of Global Marketing

Phone +1 800-779-7558 ext. 102

randy.strube@insphero.com

Dr. Jan Lichtenberg

Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder

Phone +41 44 5150490

jan.lichtenberg@insphero.com

About InSphero

InSphero sets the standard for in vitro testing of novel drugs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with comprehensive solutions that provide greater confidence in decision making. Its robust and highly physiologically relevant suite of 3D InSight Microtissues and Services are used by major pharmaceutical companies worldwide to increase efficiency in drug discovery and safety testing. InSphero patent-pending technologies and methods enable large-scale, reproducible production of scaffold-free 3D microtissues driven solely by cellular self-assembly. The company specializes in delivering assay-ready and custom 3D models derived from liver, pancreas, and tumor tissues, to provide unrivalled biological insight into liver toxicology, metabolic diseases (e.g., diabetes and liver diseases), and oncology. All InSphero microtissues are thoroughly validated to ensure the highest quality, certified for use in a variety of assays, and shipped globally to customers in a patented, easy-to-use spheroid-optimized platform, ready for research. Field application scientists and research staff with expertise in working with 3D models help ensure efficient integration and onsite training as needed. For customers who prefer an outsourcing strategy with fast turnaround, InSphero also offers contract research services utilizing their 3D microtissue models.

InSphero 3D InSight solutions drive significant findings in peer-reviewed journals, through collaborative industry initiatives such as EU-ToxRisk and HeCaToS, and have gained validation in the worlds largest government institutions and pharmaceutical, chemical and cosmetics companies.

Founded in 2009, the privately held company is headquartered in Switzerland, with subsidiaries in the United States and Germany. It has been recognized for its scientific and commercial achievements with several national and international awards.

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1201e5f9-a462-4dca-b453-e61881c14090

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/63584ccd-618f-48fd-aec4-5e289e46c2de

Attachments:

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-- The Cap-Score is projected to improve pregnancy rates and save couples time and money

-- The cost savings as a result of the Cap-Score may lead to more infertile couples seeking infertility treatments

MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Androvia LifeSciences, a company devoted to the development of infertility solutions, announced today the publication of a paper presenting the potential economic impact of the Cap-ScoreTM in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, a Springer International Publishing AG publication.



The Cap-Score has the potential to change the management of male factor infertility and infertility of unknown origin by increasing access, improving outcomes, and saving money, said Joseph B. Babigumira, Associate Professor, Global Health and the lead author of the study.

The studys objective was to evaluate the differences in outcomes and financial expenditures when using the CapScoreTM with timed intrauterine insemination (IUI) versus standard of care (SOC). To assess the potential benefit of adding the Cap-Score to the SOC, researchers at the Global Medicines Program at the University of Washington utilized decision-analytic modeling methods, sensitivity analysis and estimates of the cost of fertility treatments to demonstrate that compared to SOC, utilizing the CapScoreTM in conjunction with timed IUI has the potential to dramatically reduce medical costs associated with IUI and in vitro fertilization (IVF) when combined with SOC vs SOC alone. The study also projected a reduction in the cumulative number of IUI and IVF procedures as well as the total costs of fertility treatment across all age groups studied.

Data from this study projected that mean IUI cost savings varied from $595 in couples with women under 35 years of age to $1,366 in couples with women over 42 years of age. Mean IVF cost savings were projected to vary from $3,410 in couples with women under 35 years of age to $17,823 in couples with women over 42 years of age. Mean total cost savings were projected to vary from $4,000 in couples with women under 35 years of age to $19,100 in couples with women over 42 years of age.

Notably, the cost savings attributable to CapScoreTM usage consistently increase with maternal age because of decreasing probability of clinical pregnancy with age. Therefore, implementation of the Cap-Score SFT can potentially increase the clinical and economic value propositions for older couples with difficulty conceiving.

The Cap-Score is a potentially valuable clinical tool which allows the physician and infertile couple to select the best cost effective option for their treatment. By using the Cap-Score we may be able to reduce the time to achieve a clinical pregnancy and thus save the couple time and money, said Dr. Fady Sharara, one of the leading fertility specialists in the country and one of the first to offer the test at his practice, the Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine and also an author of this publication.

From what we have seen to date, the Cap-Score is a valuable tool and a step towards a couples personalized treatment which should result in a cost savings and positive outcome in an accelerated fashion, said Michael V. Novinski, CEO of Androvia LifeSciences.

An on-going company-sponsored multi-site investigation has shown so far that Cap-Score results are highly predictive of negative outcomes related to use of IUIs when reviewed along with other semen analysis parameters, and is predictive of positive fertility outcomes. The company is looking to increase the positive predictive value of this test by integrating more data and the influence of insemination timing on positive predictive outcomes along with other factors.

To read this publication through open access, please visit the following:

Projecting the potential impact of the Cap-ScoreTM on clinical pregnancy, live births, and medical costs in couples with unexplained infertility

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1021-4

Infertility

Approximately 73 million couples experience infertility globally. At least 6.7 million infertile couples live in the United States. Male factor infertility contributes to roughly half of all cases of infertility, and 50% of male infertility cases are unexplained by traditional semen analysis.

About Androvia LifeSciences

Located in Mountainside, NJ, Androvia LifeSciences is a CLIA registered laboratory. The companys first product, the Cap-Score SFT, has been developed to empower couples and clinicians with critical information, helping them to achieve more personalized fertility solutions. For more information on Androvia and the Cap-Score please visit. http://www.androvialifesciences.com/

Contact:

Alana Simpson

201-317-0960

asimpson@androvialife.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riverside Resources Inc. (Riverside or the Company) (TSX-V:RRI), is pleased to provide an update on Riverside-owned projects and upcoming growth plans during the final months of 2017. Riverside enters the fall season with C$4,000,000 in cash and less than 45,000,000 shares outstanding. The Company continues to advance its project portfolio through a combination of self-funded and partner-funded exploration programs, with a catalyst-rich six months ahead. Riverside will be providing a subsequent update on partner-funded exploration results and go-forward plans, including drilling in the near future. The summary below outlines some of the key developments and status updates for the projects Riverside geologists have been working on during the last quarter.



Penoles Silver-Gold Project (Penoles) :

Penoles is a 100% owned Riverside Project, which has had substantial previous work and shows strong upside for Riverside. The Project is located in north-central Durango, Mexico and is situated within the Mexican Silver Belt, a globally important, northwest-trending mineral province that extends through north-central Mexico. Past-partners of Riverside conducted drilling campaigns between 2011 and mid-2014 that targeted potentially heap-leachable, disseminated gold mineralization that forms the El Capitan deposit as well as vein-associated silver mineralization at the Jesus Maria prospect area (see Technical Report issued April 16, 2015).

Riverside geologists returned to the project in September of this year to re-examine drill cores that delineated the silver resource, particularly those holes that intersected high-grade silver mineralization, including hole JM-14-24 (7.15m @ 988 g/t silver and 1.24 g/t gold within a 22m interval  see press release, June 9, 2014)1. Re-logging of fifteen of the Jesus Maria drill-holes and detailed analysis of previously acquired geochemical data for drill-core samples resulted in the development of a geological model of the Jesus Maria vein system that clearly demonstrates the exploration potential associated with moderately south-dipping high-grade structures which were intersected by JM-14-24 and a few other nearby boreholes.

For the estimation of the Jesus Maria silver resource that was done in 2014, the high-grade silver mineralization intersected by drill-hole JM-14-24 was in effect diluted with adjacent low-grade mineralization also cut by this drill-hole, and as a result the full significance of the high-grade intercept, in terms of exploration potential, was not previously realized. Riverside geologists now believe that the Jesus Maria vein system includes at least one and possibly multiple high-grade vein structures that remain untested for hundreds of meters along strike and down dip from the intersections of these structures observed in the 2013 and 2014 drill cores. The opportunity to significantly increase and upgrade the Jesus Maria Inferred Mineral Resource1 by increasing the strike and dip extent of the known high-grade silver mineralization, particularly to the west towards the El Capitan gold deposit, appears very compelling. Riverside geologists are preparing a set of geological cross-sections through the Jesus Maria vein system which support the new model of this silver deposit and highlight its potential for yielding a resource that is considerably greater than the one currently defined.

Riversides President and CEO, John-Mark Staude, stated: We see great discovery potential at Penoles and will provide shareholders with additional updates on our progress as we make advancements towards a new partnership or self-funded drill campaign. We are committed to creating value through discovery and have updated our approach to budget for more self-funded exploration and drilling in addition to all of our partner-funded activity. We are currently engaged with prospective partners on several of our projects and we are confident that the Company will be able to deliver multiple new drill programs during this years winter season.

Cecilia Gold-Silver Project (Cecilia):

Riversides summer field program at the Cecilia Project in northern Sonora, Mexico was successful in that a rock-chip sampling program confirmed the existence of widespread gold mineralization being hosted by a rhyolite flow-dome complex (see RRI press release July 25, 2017). Some 394 samples were collected from four target zones that occur within an area of about 1,000 metres long by 200 metres wide and extensive previous rock sampling found more than 25 prospector pits and underground workings. Twenty-one percent of Riversides 394 chip-channel samples assayed greater than 0.3 g/t Au, with two select samples of epithermal quartz vein rock returning high-grade gold assays of 58 g/t and 133 g/t Au. A historical drill-hole that tested one of the defined gold targets intersected 30.0 metres averaging 1.41g/t Au, starting 4.0 metres down the hole.

Riverside considers Cecilia to be a high-potential exploration asset where the extensive low-grade gold mineralization identified at surface represents the upper portion of a dome-related epithermal precious metal system not unlike the systems found at SSR Minings La Pitarrilla Project and Fresnillos new San Julian mining operation in Durango State. Specific drill targets have been designated and a work permit application was recently approved by the Mexican environmental agency, SEMARNAT. Riverside may initiate a drill program at the project in the coming months, or it may choose to have a partner fund the drilling as part of an earn-in agreement.

Staude added, All of the Companys exploration and targeting work completed this summer and fall has helped us define numerous high-quality drill targets and position the Company for a busy and productive winter season. We are excited to deliver exposure to multiple discovery chances for our shareholders in the months ahead.

Tajitos Gold Project (Tajitos):

The 100% Riverside-owned Tajitos Project is strategically located within the Sonoran orogenic gold province of northern Mexico, which includes multi-million ounce gold deposits at the La Herradura, Noche Buena, El Chanate and San Francisco mines. Geological and geochemical data generated two years ago by partner-funded surface rock sampling and an 8-hole diamond drilling campaign were reviewed in detail this past summer and as a result a number of new gold targets have been defined on the property.

The area immediately surrounding Riversides concessions is also receiving considerable attention from major gold producers. Agnico Eagle Mines, with partner Colibri Resources, has been drilling at the Pitaya project which borders the western boundary of Riversides Tajitos property, while Fresnillo plc has outlined a resource within their neighboring concessions, which are located two kilometres along the eastern boundary of Riversides Tajitos Project.

La Silla Gold Project (La Silla):

La Silla project has progressed with Riverside continuing to consolidate a strong coherent land package, outline multiple veins and verifying historic exploration work. Riversides funded generative fieldwork includes soil surveying, mapping, sampling, and structural analysis to build upon the use of remote sensing and prospecting that is defining several drill ready targets at La Silla.

Qualified Person & QA/QC:

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the corporate update was reviewed and approved by Ron Burk, P. Eng, a non-independent qualified person to Riverside Resources, who is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided in this news release is accurate and who acts as a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Riverside Resources Inc.:

Riverside is a well-funded exploration company that is driven by value generation and discovery. The company has approximately $4,000,000 in cash, less than 45M shares issued and a strong portfolio of gold-silver and copper assets in North America. Riverside has extensive experience and knowledge operating in Mexico and leverages its large database and diverse portfolio. In addition to Riversides own exploration spending, the Company also aims to diversify risk by securing joint-venture and spin-out partnerships to generate more discovery chances, while advancing multiple assets simultaneously. Riverside has additional properties available for option, with more information available on the Companys website at www.rivres.com.

ON BEHALF OF RIVERSIDE RESOURCES INC.



John-Mark Staude



Dr. John-Mark Staude, President & CEO

For additional information contact:

John-Mark Staude

President & CEO

Riverside Resources Inc.

info@rivres.com

Phone: (778) 327-6671

Fax: (778) 327-6675

Web: www.rivres.com Raffi Elmajian

Corporate Communication

Riverside Resources Inc.

relmajian@rivres.com

Phone: (778) 327-6671

TF: (877) RIV-RES1

Web: www.rivres.com



Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking information. These statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology (e.g., "expect, estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "plans"). Such information involves known and unknown risks -- including the availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of exploration results and other geological data, or unanticipated costs and expenses and other risks identified by Riverside in its public securities filings that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

______________________________

1 The El Capitan gold and Jesus Maria silver Inferred Mineral Resource estimates were done by Robert Sim, P.Geo of SIM Geological Inc. Mr. Sim is an Independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and is a co-author of the 43-101 Technical Report on the Penoles Gold-Silver Project, Durango State, Mexico that was made public on April 16, 2015. Inferred Mineral Resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability.
Following a debut season in the Caribbean starting in December 2018, Celebrity Cruises' newest ship will head across the Atlantic and first visit Southampton.

Cruise line president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo announced the programme, including two ex-UK cruises, Tuesday night at a media and travel partner reception in London.

First up will be a preview sailing, May 13-15, followed by a 10-night Iberian Peninsula cruise, the ship's first European revenue cruise from Southampton, calling at Bilbao, La Coruna, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Cagliari and finishing at Civitavecchia (Rome).

Edge will spend May through to Nov. 1 sailing seven-, 10- and 11-night cruises from Rome and Barcelona stretching the breadth of the Mediterranean including the Greek Isles and featuring two new ports of call for Celebrity: Nauplion, Greece, and Santa Margherita, Italy, a picturesque town near Portofino.

Lutoff-Perlo also introduced British designer Kelly Hoppen and praised her work on Celebrity Edge.

'We have pushed the boundaries in every aspect of the on-board design and we have achieved that,' Lutoff-Perlo said.

'Design comes from experience,' according to Hoppen, 'and I get inspired when I travel.'

The Celebrity boss told Seatrade Cruise News that whilst some of the design features from Edge will be cascaded fleetwide as part of the recently announced $400m Celebrity Revolution modernisation programme, Hoppen will not be working on this.

Celebrity's head of UK & Ireland Jo Rzymowska was visibly brimming with excitement about Edge's European debut being in the UK. She referred to 2017 as an 'incredible year for the brand,' attributing the success in the 'sums of the part coming together.'

Rzymowska told Seatrade Cruise News: 'The fact Lisa came over to the UK to announce Edge's UK and European summer season debut is testament to how important this market is to the company.'

Lutoff-Perlo leaves the UK Wednesday on a weeklong European tour to promote Edge with stops in Barcelona, Naples and Athens together with Celebrity Edge travel ambassador Nate Berkus. 'Don't forget to follow me on social where I will be talking about the places we visit,' she told the London gathering



In addition to Edge, four other Celebrity ships will sail in Europe in 2019: Celebrity Infinity, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Reflection and Celebrity Silhouette.



In 2019, Celebrity Infinity returns to Europe for the first time since 2014, with itineraries including Italy, Malta, Greece and Croatia on alternating seven-night sailings from Venice to Rome and Rome to Venice.



Celebrity Constellation will also be returning to Europe with nine- and 10-night itineraries sailing from Venice, Barcelona and Rome.



Celebrity Reflection will call Dublin and Amsterdam home for eight- to 12-night sailings across northern Europe, from the British Isles to Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland.



And Celebrity Silhouette returns to Southampton to offer a variety of three- to 14-night cruises to Europe, including Scandinavia/Russia, the Norwegian Fjords, Ireland and Iceland.
The $35m investment, which also includes 14 new rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), is the latest phase of RSGTs expansion at Jeddah Islamic Port which is becoming an increasingly important regional transhipment hub for very large container ships on the worlds most important liner trade between Asia and Europe. The new equipment takes the terminals crane count to 12 super post-panamax quay cranes out of a total of 14.

The terminals managing director, Jens Floe, commented: By investing in our state-of-the-art infrastructure, we are further establishing Red Sea Gateway Terminal as one of the best equipped and most technologically advanced terminals on the Asia Europe trade lane.

The new cranes boost the terminals annual capacity from 1.8m to 2.5m teu and provide more capacity for handling the largest container ships. With an under-spreader clearance of 52m, the ZPMC cranes can stack up to 11 tiers of boxes, making RSGT the only terminal in Jeddah with this capability.

Expansion of the Suez Canal has already demonstrated its appeal to the operators of the largest container vessels, and Jeddah is ideally placed as a key transhipment port for the region, with minimal deviation.
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eventus Systems, Inc. (Eventus), a provider of innovative regtech software solutions, announced that Phillip Capital Inc. (PhillipCapital) is a client of its Validus risk and surveillance platform. Validus provides a centralized view of trading, operations, surveillance, compliance and risk management information for a wide range of financial firms including FCMs, brokers, Exchanges/ATS, banks and proprietary trading firms.



Validus proprietary design provides a centralized view into trading, operations, surveillance, compliance and risk management information across asset classes for both buy- and sell-side firms, and is the only run-time enterprise risk and compliance platform on the market capable of spanning the front-, middle-, and back-office. Validus has both Enterprise and Cloud solutions to be able to customize the solution per client.

"In examining the landscape for cross asset surveillance systems, Eventus and the Validus platform offers us what we need," said Lynette Lim, Director & Co-CEO at PhillipCapital.

"Were delighted to have PhillipCapital and ETC as new clients, because of their strong client first cultures, commitment to compliance and efficient business operations," said Travis Schwab, CEO of Eventus.

ABOUT EVENTUS

Eventus Systems, Inc. is a regtech software firm that assists financial firms in solving pressing industry challenges. Led by a veteran management team, Eventus brings exceptional talent and pedigree in software development, with a particular expertise in capital markets and high-performance data management. Eventus Validus is the only run-time enterprise risk and compliance platform on the market capable of spanning the front-, middle-, back-office, allowing for sophisticated risk management and surveillance. Through multi-stream data reconciliation and pipelining, Validus offers a high-performance, scalable platform that was built and battle-tested in the toughest market conditions. www.eventussystems.com

CONTACT:

Travis Schwab

Eventus Systems, Inc.

travis@eventussystems.com

844.438.3688

About Phillip Capital Inc.

Phillip Capital Inc. (PhillipCapital) is a Chicago-based futures commission merchant (FCM) and broker dealer that is part of the PhillipCapital Group based in Singapore since 1975. Formed in 2010 as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), the firm has exchange memberships on the CME, CBOT, COMEX, NYMEX, ICE Futures US, CFE, NFX, ICE Futures EU and DME. In addition, it provides access to the major Asian and international exchanges through the PhillipCapital network of companies. In 2015, PhillipCapital became a registered broker dealer and is a member of FINRA and DTCC. As a broker dealer, PhillipCapital is able to provide clearing, execution and custody services of US securities. PhillipCapital also has its own proprietary back office processing software, which enables them to offer facilities management to other FCMs. The company is located at the historic Chicago Board of Trade building.

Media Contact:

Laura Chia

312.374.2463

laura@phillipcapital.com




Its dinnertime at Dearborn Meat Market, and the place is packed. Customers quickly fill up the six tables in the back of the restaurant, the space so limited that someone can touch elbows with another person at the next table. At the front of the room, an employee is overseeing a massive grill; the aromas of beef and chicken are filling the air.

For those who couldn't grab a seat at one of the tables, they can easily walk through the tiny kitchen and icebox to the front of the store, where a small countertop is planted against the wall. That space is small too, as the meat display case, the butchers counter, and cash register take up most of the room.

Manager Abe Saad says that despite the markets small size, he does not plan to expand.

We like to keep the small hole-in-the-wall type of vibe, he says. We would rather have a person sit and eat with a lot of people next to them than sit in a big place all alone. When it's more crunched up, everyone feels like family.

Located on the citys east side, Dearborn Meat Market opened in 2007. The owner is Saads father, Sam Saad. The family is not new to running a business, as Sam was the owner of Saad Brothers Supermarket from 1974 until 2000.

The market and restaurant menus are mixes of Middle Eastern and American favorites. The restaurant side features beef kabobs, beef kafta (ground beef kabobs with parsley and onions), chicken tawook (chicken kabobs), and beef makanek sausage. Organ meats are also offered, such as beef liver, kidney, and heart. The market side features all of these items, plus burger patties and steaks. Both sections provide sides such as hummus, baba ghannouj, and parsley salad. Saad says the beef kabob and kafta are the most popular meats.

Dearborn Meat Market buys all of its food locally. Saad says they hand slaughter about four cows per week in Minden City, a village in the thumb region of the state. The next step in the process is skinning the meat, then deboning it and putting it in a refrigerator. Then an inspector from the United States Department of Agriculture comes out to make sure the meat is safe for consumption.

Later that day, a semi truck picks up the meat and takes it to the market, where Sam Saad puts the meat through a grinder and debones it again. He then cuts the meat into pieces to be skewered, and seasons it. Saad says it takes about five to seven minutes for beef to be cooked on the grill, while chicken takes a little longer at nine to 10 minutes.



Saad first took the role of manager in 2013. Some of his responsibilities include overseeing employees and customers, buying drinks, food, and other items needed for the shop, as well as social media management. The market and restaurant has gained a large following on Instagram, with over 11,000 followers.



Saad has even used his social media skills to help small businesses in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. He has assisted in managing social media accounts for La Fork, Big Als Pizzeria, Signature Hookah Lounge, and Fahs Surgical Services. He says the combination of social media and word of mouth has helped Dearborn Meat Market blow up in the past four years. On average, the market serves about 100 to 200 customers a day.



In addition to the locals, people from as far as Florida, Arizona, and California have eaten at the restaurant. Saad says a biomedical engineer from California comes to visit every time he has a meeting near Michigan.

When he has a meeting in Ohio, hell go to the meeting, fly to Michigan, eat here, and then fly back to California.

Saad said he and his father have talked about opening a second location in downtown Detroit, but a plan has not yet been made.

In the meantime, the two of them, plus their six employees, are busy helming the Dearborn shop. With the market open seven days a week, Saad and his father wake up at 6 am every day to prepare for the markets opening at 10 am. They stay on at the market after closing hours at 6 pm, leaving around 7 pm, or even 8 pm.

Its hard work, says Saad, and I believe thats the reason why it pays off.

Dearborn Meat Market is located at 7721 Schaefer Rd. Follow them on Instagram here.
Its been a long road back in Lincoln Park from April 2014 when a financial review committee appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder declared the city in a fiscal emergency and appointed an emergency manager from July 2014 to December 2015.

The downriver community was released from receivership in August 2017 after wiping out an operating deficit, building a fund balance of more than $3.4 million and making contributions to pension funds among other changes.

And there have been a lot of changes at city hall and in the community ever since.

Expansion of the Ford Motor Company Technical Training Center is the single biggest recent boost to the communitys rebirth and is helping the city build its budget through increased taxes.

The former Ford glass manufacturing plant on Outer Drive reopened as a training facility and is in the midst of a $14 million renovation. About 250 trainees from across the country will travel to the facility every five weeks or so. Those employees will stay at local hotels, dine in the area and generate other local commerce, according to Matt Coppler, Lincoln Parks city manager.

Every $1 million in assessment value increase generates between $17,000 and $18,000 more in taxes annually, he adds.

Coming out of receivership, the money we receive goes toward improving road and water sewer lines and enhancing services, including an increased number of police officers on staff to ensure residents have a safe environment, Coppler says.

Challenges remain, especially when it comes to dwindling population rates and low-income levels in the city.

As of 2015, there were 36,720 Lincoln Park residents, down from 40,008 in 2000 and a big drop from the citys heyday around 1960 when there were 53,933 residents.

The citys median household income in 2016 was $41,090 annually, and the poverty rate was 19.9 percent, which is well above the national poverty rate of 13.5 percent based on U.S. Census Bureaus 2015 estimates.

Employment numbers, however, are looking up. Lincoln Park employment has been growing at a rate of 1.86 percent from 15,102 employees in 2014 to 15,383 employees in 2015.

A big part of our success is showing change, says Giles Tucker, Lincoln Parks director of economic development and Downtown Development Authority. Its changing the mindset and focusing on some of the positive things we are doing to recover.





Hispanic influence

Another sign the community is rebounding is the influx of Hispanic owned businesses opening at a record pace in the downtown area and that has been encouraging, explains Tucker.

In the last few years, the city has welcomed five taquerias and three authentic snack and Mexican-style ice cream type parlors.

The new businesses started popping up after the Hispanic and Latino population increased in the city. By 2015, those ethnic groups made up about 15 percent of Lincoln Park residents.

Los Arcos Market opened four years ago, after owners Mario Briones, his brother Arturo, Jr., and parents Martha and Arturo noticed the trend.

Martha Briones had a hair salon in southwest Detroit and we were looking for something we could have for the whole family, Mario Briones says. Wherever people go is where businesses start going.

Los Arcos Market features a grocery store, meat market, carry-out and casual dining.

They found a great opportunity in the building previously known as Chiarellis Market, an Italian grocery store that closed its doors in 2008 after more than 80 years in the city.

What we do is the same kind of thing, but its Mexican, and we serve food, Mario Briones says. We have a mixture of Hispanic clients and a lot who have lived here a long time who still call it old Chiarellis.

City anchors

Longtime Lincoln Park business owners, like Sue and Sandy Ingesoulian, have seen a lot of changes in the 20 years since they bought Chesleys Bar on Fort Street. It originally opened in 1984 and is a landmark of sorts.

Sue Ingesoulian says she sees waves of customers from all age groups.

"There are lots of regulars, people who come in once or twice a year and people who moved out of state who stop in, Sue Ingesoulian says.

A sign out front boasts Chesleys was voted best neighborhood bar in the suburbs by Hour Magazine in June 2017.

We get the kids in their twenties, people in their sixties and everyone in between, she says, adding that downriver residents who have moved to other communities have a strong connection to their home in downriver.

She notices a lot more empty storefronts in the city than there were when they took over the business two decades ago.

In the working class neighborhoods its harder for the people to make it, she says, but adds that watching young families moving in offers hope.

One storefront at a time

Tucker said the city is pushing hard to reduce the number of vacant storefronts.

This year we have had a lot of new businesses coming to the city, he says. We went from not a lot going on to very, very busy.

There isnt one reason behind the surge in businesses landing in Lincoln Park, he adds, but a lot has to do with the economy rebounding.

Tucker promotes the downtown area, sending out newsletters encouraging businesses to get involved in grant programs, like the 50-50 match for facade improvements, which matches up to $10,000.

Another piece in the economic rebound involves a lot of new midsize developments, like the Sonic Drive-In coming to Dix Highway and Emmons sometime in 2018. A few others are in the planning stages, Tucker says. And the historic rehab of the landmark downtown movie theater-turned-adult theater into Lincoln Park Lofts has created new, high-quality, affordable housing in the city.

Lincoln Park has also turned to the Michigan Economic Redevelopment program encouraging communities to adopt innovative redevelopment strategies and make them more attractive to investors.

Were starting to see things come together. What happened in Lincoln Park can be found in any other inner ring suburb. There are commercial vacancies, but I wouldnt call that extraordinary, Tucker says. We see a lot of positive things. I think our community has turned the corner.
San Francisco, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (October 18, 2017)Callan LLC published the results of its first-ever DC Plan Governance Survey to help DC plan sponsors better understand good governance practices, including how their peers are structuring their oversight committees and the attendant success or challenges.

The survey identified common approaches and best practices for:

committee structure

composition

number of meetings

setting meeting agendas

fiduciary training

It also identified steps plan sponsors can take to improve committee effectiveness. The findings reaffirmed Callans view that a properly structured and resourced committee serves as a critical foundation on which a DC plan thrives.

Strong governance committees are essential for helping DC plan sponsors meet their fiduciary responsibilities, said survey author Jana Steele, a vice president in Callan's DC Consulting group. And the stakes are higher than ever given the increasing complexity of DC plan requirements and the deluge of DC plan lawsuits. Mindful consideration of governance supports the plan, plan sponsor, and participants.

Additional key findings include:

Large plans preferred to split the difference: Plans with higher participant counts were more likely to have separate committeesadministrative and investmentthan smaller plans, which were more likely to have a single committee.

Size matters: Across committee types, poor participation and clarity around roles corresponded with a higher-than-average number of committee members.

Improving the odds: Investment and administrative committees with an even number of members were more likely to report challenges with strained internal resources.

Fiduciary training isnt a given: While most committees reported annual or at least periodic fiduciary training, nearly one in seven respondents from single committees noted no fiduciary training had been done.

The hand that rocks the cradle rules: The party responsible for setting the agenda influenced the committees priorities (i.e., staff vs. committee head).

Committees tend to work: In general, respondents viewed their committees as highly effective.

Callans DC Governance Survey, conducted in May 2017, gathered responses from 106 institutions; 57% were corporations, 22% public agencies, and 22% tax-exempt organizations. Respondents represented more than 16 fields, with government agencies (19%) the most prevalent, followed by financial services (11%). Energy/utilities and health care were tied for third, at 9%. Among respondents, 72% reported maintaining a 401(k) plan, followed by 457 plans (28%), and 401(a) plans (25%).

The full survey is available on Callans website, titled DC Observer, 3rd Quarter 2017. While the website does request users register, the survey results, like all of Callans Research Library contents, are offered at no cost.

# # #

About Callan

Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Since that time, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions that are backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises on more than $2 trillion in total fund sponsor assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has five offices throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit www.callan.com.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e10cbaeb-e36d-402e-95d2-975875b6596a

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/11d0f441-6c8b-4b03-8425-8110739e4f15
MESSAGE OF SEN. PANGILINAN

ON THE PASSING OF CARDINAL VIDAL

We are deeply saddened by the passing of His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, but at the same time, immensely blessed that our lives have been touched by a man who lived by faith -- in God, in the Filipino people, in his country.

Cardinal Vidal professed a calling that is not just within the walls of his congregation and the church, but in communities, especially among the poor and voiceless.

He was aware about the ills of society and was never afraid to speak about them, and call out the country's leaders for collective action.

He had an incisive political judgment and played a historic role in dealing with past presidents. In 1986, as president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, he signed the pastoral letter that called that year's snap elections fraudulent. This gave the moral impetus to the first Edsa People Power Revolution.

In 2001, he quietly visited then President Estrada to leave Malacanang to avert violence. He also voiced out his views on controversies hounding the Arroyo and Aquino administrations.

Cardinal Vidal brought the church at the center of the lives of the Filipino people and has shown how God works in mysterious ways.
Press Release

October 18, 2017 PDP Laban inks historic accord with United Russia ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Senate President and PDP Laban President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with United Russia, the largest party in Russia, in St. Petersburg. United Russia is the ruling party of the Russian Federation and counts Russian President Vladimir Putin among its leaders. "This is a historic moment, as it brings Russia and the Philippines closer together through relations between their ruling parties, and not just their governments", said Pimentel. The Senate President is in St. Petersburg for the 137th International Parliamentary Union Assembly, as well for talks with leaders of United Russia. The accord between the two parties is the second memorandum with a foreign political party signed by Pimentel for PDP Laban, the first one being the Memorandum of Agreement between PDP Laban and the Communist Party of China, signed in February of this year. Pimentel said, "PDP Laban is unique among political parties in the Philippines not just for its active grassroots presence and ideological discipline, but also for its efforts to boost diplomatic ties through relations with ruling parties of other countries." President Rodrigo Duterte, Party Chairman of PDP Laban, has rekindled ties with Russia and China as part of his administration's independent foreign policy. Pimentel emphasized that PDP Laban is open to building ties with political parties in other countries that share its commitment to Change for the welfare of the people. The PDP Laban President said, "We want to share our experiences with parties from other countries, and we want to learn from their experiences as well. The Change we push is not change for the sake of change, but rather, it is aimed at eradicating age-old problems and must therefore be sustainable."
Press Release

October 18, 2017 SILENCE AN INJUSTICE TO ATIO CASTILLO, FAMILY, POE TELLS AEGIS JURIS MEMBERS Sen. Grace Poe today slammed the continued "code of silence" of Aegis Juris fraternity members and their refusal to fully cooperate with Senate probers on the death of hazing victim Horacio Tomas "Atio" Castillo III, saying this was an injustice to the family of the 22-year-old University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student. Poe moved to cite Aegis Juris president Arvin Balag in contempt for his continued refusal to confirm, at least, whether or not he was a member of the fraternity that carried out initiation rites that killed Castillo last month. "I'm not asking if you performed hazing...Ikaw ay miyembro ng Aegis Juris, hindi ba? Siguro naman malinaw 'yan dahil nandito ka ngayon o nagmamatigas ka na ngayon sa sinabi mong 'code of silence' dun sa iyong messages?" Poe grilled Balag, who refused to answer saying his testimony may further incriminate him in ongoing cases against him. Poe was referring to the Facebook chat among fratmen in which Balag told members to deactivate their social media accounts and reminded them of the "code of silence." In recognizing Balag as the Grand Praefectus of Aegis Juris, Poe, vice-chairperson of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, cited the fraternity's membership application bearing his signature, organization sheet showing that he was president, and UST's Office for Student Affairs' recognition of the fraternity. "Nakakaawa rin, mga bata pa ito, eh. Pero bata pa lang ganyan na mag-isip. Kung hindi natin yan ilalagay sa tama ngayon pa lang, lalo na siguro 'pag tumanda na 'yan," said Poe. Poe's motion was carried, but Senate probers led by committee chair Sen. Panfilo Lacson said they will give him a chance to cooperate so they may stall any decision to put him in detention--possibly at the Pasay City Jail since Congress is currently on session break. Poe made a last ditch appeal to Balag to "weigh the consequence of being cited in contempt and detained," but he remained unfazed. "Ang fraternity ninyo may motto pa na 'do no injustice, suffer no injustice.' You're doing an injustice to your fellow schoolmate, fratmate, brother by not answering these questions. Nandito na nga yung magulang. Siguro naman kayo ay may pamilya rin. Ayaw na namin itong contempt na ito, ayaw na naming mag-detain. Sagutin mo na yung simpleng tanong. Pero kung ayaw mo, ikaw na ang pumili ng kahihinatnan mo ngayon," Poe added. "Being a member of a fraternity does not necessarily admit guilt...kasi bata ka pa at ayaw ko namang makulong ka sa kung saan man. Pick your battles. Mahaba-haba pa itong laban na ito," Poe told Balag. Poe also called on UST Law Dean Nilo Divina to take a leave pending the investigation, citing "conflict of interest" in his capacity as head of the Faculty of Civil Law, counsel for the UST, and being subject of the ongoing probe. Poe said UST engaged the services of Divina's law firm, the DivinaLaw. "This is one aspect of your job but it weighs in heavily on the impression that you give, being still the dean of UST Law. We have a very important criminal investigation that's ongoing but you are definitely a figure that's looming large," Poe said. But Divina refused, saying the case "has no bearing on my competence as dean" and that he maintained "neutrality" and "kept distance" from Aegis Juris since accepting his job as dean. "Nobody is indispensable. But giving a few months is a sacrifice on your part as well. You could still continue lecturing. But holding a position in power as dean can compromise and can even scare away certain members. It's a conflict of interest as dean, as counsel of UST, as subject to the investigation. Itong mga estudyante na may nakabinbin pang grades, baka matakot sila na pag nagsalita sila na baka bumagsak sila," the senator added. Frat member Ralph Trangia, who returned on Oct. 10 after fleeing the country hours after Castillo's death on Sept. 17, also invoked his right against self-incrimination when asked by Poe whether he or his father owned a red pickup truck that took Castillo to the hospital. Trangia's driver Romeo Laboga drove the vehicle bearing another frat member John Paul Solano, a registered medical technologist, and Castillo's body to the Chinese General Hospital. The Manila Police District later confirmed that a red Mitsubishi Strada with plate number ZLU 539 was registered under the name of Antonio Trangia, Ralph's father, in Meycauayan, Bulacan, but neither the younger Trangia nor his parents would admit ownership of the pickup truck. Antonio Trangia said he was with his driver, who Solano testified drove him and Castillo's body to the hospital, during the time the CCTV recorded footage in the hospital showing a red pickup truck. Poe then moved to invite Laboga in the next Senate inquiry to back up Antonio's claim. "Kung patuloy niyong pagtatakpan ay hindi na kayo matutulungan," said Poe.
Press Release

October 18, 2017 PGA Welcomes the Strong Opposition of the Senate of the Philippines to the Reintroduction of the Death Penalty Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) welcomes the decision of at least nine of the twenty-four Senators to speak out against the bill reintroducing the death penalty in Filipino law, more than ten years after it was abolished for the second time in the history of the country. Among the nine parliamentarians who rejected capital punishment are PGA leading Member Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, and Sen. Leila de Lima, who was the victim of a politically motivated arrest earlier this year. This development follows the overwhelming vote the House of Representatives on 7 March 2017, which approved the first bill of the Legislature, introduced by two majority MPs with the aim of reintroducing the death penalty in Filipino law. According to media sources, some Legislators had been threatened by the Speaker of the House and co-author of the bill that they would lose their positions in committees if they did not vote in favour of the bill. The reintroduction of the capital punishment had been one of the electoral promises made by now President Rodrigo Duterte before his election in 2016, as a way to fight drug trafficking in the country, despite the fact that the Philippines have ratified in 2006 the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which bans the use of the death penalty. This treaty does not allow State Parties to withdraw from it, which would put the Philippines in violation of its international obligations if it were to reintroduce the capital punishment. While thanks to the courageous stand taken by Senators it now seems unlikely that the death penalty will be reinstated into Filipino law, PGA calls on the parliamentarians of the Philippines to continue to hold their government accountable for its actions and to ensure that the human rights of all those under the jurisdiction of the Philippines are respected. Human Rights Watch estimates that since President Duterte took office in June 2016 more than 7,000 individuals have been victims of extrajudicial executions in the name of the "war on drugs".
Press Release

October 18, 2017 Villar cites huge potential of agri tourism to improve lives Senator Cynthia A. Villar has underscored the 'big potential' in combining agriculture and tourism to help improve the lives of our farmers and fisherfolks. She assured to strengthen the training and education under the Farm Tourism Development Law since the Agricultural Training Institute and TESDA shall encourage farm tourism camps to become learning sites and accredited extension service providers. She said TESDA shall accredit farm tourism camps as technical vocational institutions for agriculture and tourism. "So I am encouraging farm owners to make their farms farm schools, learning sites or training centers. The establishment of farm schools in every town is also supported by TESDA," said Villar in her speech during the Bulacan Business Conference 2017 held in Malolos, Bulacan. She said the Farm Tourism Development Law also seeks "to promote environment-friendly, efficient and sustainable farm practices. Furthermore, the senator, acknowledged that increasing food production and farm productivity alone cannot move them permanently out of poverty. "We must also teach small farmers capacity-building strategies and approaches to get them to operate their small farms as agri-businesses and to make them competent and competitive in it. We need to make entrepreneurs out of farmers," said Villar. Based on studies, she said, among the barriers that keep Filipino farmers from being more successful are the lack of technical expertise, inadequate access to socialized credit and lack of mechanization and financial literacy or business sense. "We need to focus on removing these barriers," said Villar as she related that this is what she has been doing in her personal capacity and through legislations. "I have been pursuing programs I have been implementing through the Villar SIPAG," said the senator. In fact, she said they have established two farm schools, one in Las Pinas, Cavite and the other in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan."
Press Release

October 18, 2017 Statement of Senator Cynthia Villar on the Liberation of Marawi I welcome the news that President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the liberation of Marawi City from "terrorist influence" after more than four months of having been terrorized by the ISIS-linked Maute Group militants. This truly marks the start of the rebuilding of the city and the lives of its residents. I hope the displaced families can return to their homes at the soonest possible time. Likewise, I salute the courage and bravery of the Filipino soldiers in seizing control of the stronghold of the terrorists in the city and finally killing the terror group's leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute. The valiant efforts of our troops and the sacrifice of their fallen comrades have not gone in vain. Together with all Filipinos, we hope and pray that this will mark the end of terrorism in our country, especially in Mindanao. However, we cannot be complacent. We have to remain vigilant against any future threats to our peace and freedom. The country's unity and the citizens' united front are crucial for peace and order to prevail. Together, we also have to do our parts in rebuilding what was left of Marawi City and helping our fellow Filipinos who were affected by the conflict, so they can go back to their normal lives.
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbacusNext, the largest Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider for the legal and accounting professions, today announced that they are joining the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) as a corporate member, reinforcing their mission to provide the most secure, fully managed private cloud available. CSA is the worlds leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment.



Cyber security is essential to everything we do at AbacusNext, said Jerome Fodor, CTO of AbacusNext. Our membership in CSA will serve to further our commitment to enabling professionals with technology and meeting their data security needs by providing the most secure private cloud on the market today.

As a CSA member, AbacusNext will benefit from CSAs ongoing research into cloud security assurance and the opportunity for AbacusNext security experts to advance their knowledge through CSAs certifications. AbacusNext will expand their leadership role on cyber security issues as a member of CSAs Advisory Council, providing guidance on strategic research initiatives and allowing its own security expertise to benefit the cloud computing community.

AbacusNext is a perfect fit for the Cloud Security Alliance, said Jim Reavis, CEO of CSA. As a fast growing, dynamic player in the cloud hosting space, they have everything were looking for in a CSA member. Were excited to work with them toward our goal of defining and raising awareness of secure cloud computing practices.

About the Cloud Security Alliance

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is the worlds leading organization dedicated to defining and raising awareness of best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment. CSA harnesses the subject matter expertise of industry practitioners, associations, governments, and its corporate and individual members to offer cloud security-specific research, education, certification, events and products. CSAs activities, knowledge and extensive network benefit the entire community impacted by cloud  from providers and customers, to governments, entrepreneurs and the assurance industry  and provide a forum through which diverse parties can work together to create and maintain a trusted cloud ecosystem.

For further information, visit us at www.cloudsecurityalliance.org, and follow us on Twitter @cloudsa.

About AbacusNext

As the largest Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider for the professional services sector, AbacusNext helps legal and accounting professionals achieve ultimate success and peace of mind through the delivery of a complete suite of compliance-ready technology solutions designed to support a secure and cloud-enabled practice at a cost they can afford. Our portfolio of turnkey solutions include hardware, software and infrastructure on a pay as you go model; Practice Management, Client Resource Management (CRM), Payment Processing, Email, Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and Managed IT.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, and backed by private investment with Providence Equity, AbacusNext delivers products and services to over 500,000 businesses worldwide. To sign up or learn more visit AbacusNext.com.

About Providence Equity

Providence is a premier global asset management firm with $45 billion in assets under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses. Providence pioneered a sector-focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Since the firm's inception in 1989, Providence has invested in more than 150 companies and is the leading equity investment firm focused on the media, communications, education and information industries. Providence is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, and has offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Delhi. For more information, please visit www.provequity.com.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:SYH) (OTCQB:SYHBF) (Frankfurt:SC1P) (the Company) is pleased to announce the Companys option partner Azincourt Energy (TSX-V:AAZ) (Azincourt) has announced details for an upcoming exploration program at the East Preston Uranium Project located in the western Athabasca Basin near NexGen Energy Ltd.s high-grade Arrow deposit hosted on its Rook-1 property and Fission Uranium Corp.s Triple R deposit located within their PLS Project area.



Preston Uranium Project Claims Map:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/SYH_Patterson_Lake_Area_Promo_20161212_blue_hi_res.pdf

Skyharbour and Clean Commodities entered into an Option Agreement (the Agreement) with Azincourt which provides Azincourt an earn-in option to acquire a 70% working interest in the East Preston Property (see news release dated March 28th, 2017). Under the Agreement, Azincourt has issued to Skyharbour and Clean Commodities each 2,250,000 common shares and will contribute cash and exploration expenditure consideration totaling up to CAD $3,500,000 in exchange for up to 70% of the applicable property area over three years. Of the $3,500,000 in project consideration, $1,000,000 will be in cash payments to Skyharbour and Clean Commodities.

East Preston Program Highlights:

Extensive reinterpretation of historical helicopter-borne VTEM and ground geophysical data by expert geophysical consultant highlights untested conductor systems and corridor trends

Ground geophysical program planned to refine drill targets over with grid establishment, Horizontal Loop Electromagnetic (HLEM) and Gravity surveys to be used

Work to commence after freeze-up in November

Azincourt may earn a 70% interest in East Preston totaling 25,329 hectares, which represents the eastern region of the larger 74,965 hectare Preston Project through the upfront issuance of 4,500,000 shares as well as $3,500,000 of total project consideration over three years, including up to $2,500,000 of exploration work programs and $1,000,000 of cash payments to Skyhabour and Clean Commodities to be split equally.

In addition to the Azincourt Agreement on the Preston East Property, Skyhabour also announced an option agreement with AREVA Resources Canada whereby AREVA may earn up to a 70% interest in a separate 49,635 hectare portion of the Preston Project.

East Preston Project 2017 Geophysical Program:

Skyharbours option partner Azincourt engaged a highly experienced geophysical consultant, Mr. Lawrence Bzdel, PGeo, to interpret the extensive historical airborne and ground geophysical data set and build on the already extensive previous work. The reinterpretation work has identified and prioritized numerous conductor trends, with the highest priorities being the A, B and D trends, respectively (see figure in link below).

East Preston Survey Grid Location Map:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/Low-res-Figure-2---East-Preston-Survey-Grid-Location-Map-with-mid-time-channel-VTEM-440-us.pdf

Trend A is a very long, wide N to NE trending conductive corridor with an observed flexure bound and crosscut by interpreted E-W cross-faults. Trend B is a long linear conductor system coincident with an interpreted NE trending fault. Trend D is a NNW trending conductor system parallel to an interpreted fault.

The East Preston geophysical program is expected to commence in November following freeze-up in northwestern Saskatchewan. Grid establishment will precede the planned surveys. The grid lines will be perpendicular to the interpreted VTEM conductive trends. The HLEM and Gravity surveys will consist of 47 line km of each method.

The HLEM data will be collected with a 200 m Transmitter-Receiver separation, and 50 m station intervals. The survey is designed to accurately identify multiple conductor systems in this shallow depth to basement environment. Unconformity-related uranium deposits are often associated in proximity to basement conductive trends, and represent a first order criteria for discovery.

The Gravity survey will record measurements at 50 m station intervals. Subtle gravity low anomalies can highlight areas of alteration and structural disruption. Gravity highs may represent basement topography, which are also associated with unconformity-related uranium deposits.

This initial ground geophysical program is expected to yield drill targets within previously untested corridors. Skyharbour and its option partner Azincourt expect to generate enough targets for several drill programs.

Overview of East Preston:

The significant potential of the Western Athabasca Basin has been highlighted by recent discoveries in the area by NexGen Energy Ltd. (Arrow), Fission Uranium Corp. (Triple R) and a joint-venture consisting of Cameco Corporation, AREVA Resources Canada Inc. and Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (Spitfire). More than $4.7-million in expenditures on the entire Preston Uranium Project have been incurred to date, including over $2 million at East Preston. This exploration has consisted of ground gravity, airborne and ground electromagnetics, radon, soil, silt, biogeochem, lake sediment, and geological mapping surveys, as well as two exploratory drill programs. Several high-priority drill target areas associated with multiple prospective exploration corridors have been successfully delineated through this methodical, multiphased exploration initiative, which has culminated in an extensive, proprietary geological database for the project area.

Preston Uranium Property Map and Regional Exploration Corridors:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/SYH_Regional_Corridors.jpg

Furthermore, on March 9th, 2017, Skyharbour announced an option agreement with AREVA Resources Canada which provides AREVA an earn-in option to acquire up to a 70% working interest in a 49,635 hectare portion of the total 74,965 hectare Preston Uranium Project (see News Release dated March 9th, 2017). Under the agreement, AREVA can contribute cash and exploration program consideration totaling up to CAD $8,000,000 in exchange for up to 70% of the applicable project area over six years.

Qualified Person:

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Richard Kusmirski, P.Geo., M.Sc., Skyharbours Head Technical Advisor and a Director, as well as a Qualified Person.

About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:

Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of uranium and thorium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with five drill-ready projects. In July 2016, Skyharbour acquired an option from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, to acquire 100% of the Moore Uranium Project which is located approx. 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced stage uranium exploration property with high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone with drill results returning 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 metres including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical depth of 265 metres. Skyharbour recently signed option agreements with AREVA Resources Canada and Azincourt Energy whereby AREVA and Azincourt can earn in 70% on the Preston Project through a combined $9,800,000 in total exploration expenditures, as well as $1,700,000 in total cash payments and 4,500,000 Azincourt shares. Preston is a large, geologically prospective property proximal to Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit as well as NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit. The Company also owns a 100% interest in the Falcon Point Uranium Project on the eastern perimeter of the Basin which contains an NI 43-101 inferred resource totaling 7.0 million pounds of U3O8 at 0.03% and 5.3 million pounds of ThO2 at 0.023%. The project also hosts a high-grade surface showing with up to 68% U3O8 in grab samples from a massive pitchblende vein, the source of which has yet to be discovered. The Company's 100% owned Mann Lake Uranium project on the east side of the Basin is strategically located adjacent to the Mann Lake Joint Venture operated by Cameco, where high-grade uranium mineralization was recently discovered. Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

Skyharbours Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca Basin:

http://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/SYH_Landpackage_2014.jpg

To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:SYH) visit the Companys website at www.skyharbourltd.com.

SKYHARBOUR RESOURCES LTD.

Jordan Trimble



Jordan Trimble

President and CEO

For further information contact myself or:

Nick Findler

Corporate Development and Communications

Skyharbour Resources Ltd.

Telephone: 604-639-3850

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@skyharbourltd.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
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They didnt know his name. They only knew he seemed to have figured out how they could survive.

As the Tubbs Fire cut a wide path through northern Santa Rosa early Oct. 9, 35 people huddled in their cars in a parking lot in the hills above town. The oldest was 91, the youngest 4 months. They had tried to drive to safety, but there was no way. Now the fire was on both sides, and they were terrified.

They had been led to the parking lot by a Sonoma County sheriffs deputy who didnt dare let on how scared he was.

Deputy Mark Aldridges shift started at 7 oclock the previous evening. A pretty normal night, he said.

The first call came at 10 p.m. to evacuate houses at Mark West Springs and Porter Creek roads. There had been grass fires everywhere, so it was kind of nonchalant at the beginning, he said. Kind of no big deal.

But the deep red glow toward the east was unnerving. Aldridge joined other deputies banging on doors on the 3600 block of Porter Creek and yelling, Sheriffs office!

He would wait, but not long before moving onto the next house.

People would say, How much time do I have? And you say, None. You need to leave now.

He could see flames. They were as high as a 10-story building, and the winds pushing them toward him were blowing at 50 mph.

A driver headed down the hill pointed to a house just above Mark West Lodge, an event center surrounded by wooded hills. There was an older couple in the house and they werent leaving, the driver told Aldridge.

The deputy went up to the house and found the couple trying to catch and load their seven cats into their cars. They had found five.

I told them to (leave) the cats, Aldridge said, although his choice of words was more urgent and less polite.

They followed him out in two cars and another car pulled in behind him. But down the road, it was just a wall of flames, Aldridge said.

He turned the caravan around. His boss, Sgt. Brandon Cutting, was ahead of him, his body camera capturing the chaos of falling trees and wires, the embers, flames. On the video, he yells into his radio, No pass! Do not pass!

He was talking to Aldridge. The deputy steered his evacuees back to the Mark West Lodge parking lot, which holds about 30 cars. It was 12:30 a.m.

More people started pulling into the lot, their escape routes blocked. Aldridge had no firefighters to help him, no way to fight the flames except for a small fire extinguisher he kept in his car.

He took peoples names, cracked jokes, kept people calm, said Mike Mendenhall, 56, one of those who had taken refuge in the parking lot.

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You could tell he was struggling a little, Mendenhall said. But he pulled it off.

Out of the earshot of children, he told their parents, Look, if this overruns us, you stay in your car. Its going to burn right over us and you might need a new paint job.

He told them to put clothing over the inside of the windows to reflect the heat.

He didnt tell them he was scared, too.

We could hear the trees exploding as it kept getting closer, said Jennifer Arrington, 46, who was with her 12-year-old son, Tommy, and their two large dogs. We could hear it marching, things exploding, getting closer. The glow got brighter. We could see the heat wave.

Aldridge kept everyone calm. They talked about their families, Arrington said, and at one point he stopped by to give her son a fruit snack that his own son had left behind in his car.

Oh, God, now your mom is going to be mad at me because she has to go buy them for you, he told her son.

It was community banter, Aldridge said. It was parents. It wasnt like, Im the sheriff.

But the deputy was keeping a sharp eye on the fire. He didnt remember until later that he had proposed to his wife in the lodge, when it was still a restaurant. And he didnt remember that his father, a volunteer firefighter, defended the lodge when the last fire roared through the area in 1964.

Instead, he was focused on his radio, the scanner traffic tracking evacuations in Fountaingrove, the fire jumping the freeway and pushing through Coffey Park.

I remember feeling helpless that Im not down there, Aldridge said.

All through the night, his evacuees asked if they would be all right.

I told them, Were going to be all right, he said. The whole night I was like, Everything is going to be fine.

Most of the night, he feared that was a lie.

The fire drew near at one point, just over the hill, and he told everyone to shelter in place, to stay in their cars. He thought their only hope was that the fire would pass over them quickly. And then, suddenly, the wind shifted. It never got that close again.

Without Aldridge, Joe Grey believes, there would have been panic in the parking lot.

There were grown men there starting to lose it, Grey said. If he hadnt been there, people would have probably left, gone every which way.

Grey doesnt believe anyone would have made it out had they tried to flee.

Hours into the ordeal, after children finally fell asleep in the backseats of cars, a tender and engine from the Mountain Volunteer Fire Department in Calistoga made it through and pulled into the parking lot.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

And as dawn broke, Sgt. Cutting made his way up to the lodge and helped lead the caravan of cars down the hill, through debris and downed power lines. Aldridge brought up the rear, making sure everyone got down.

At the bottom, they told the evacuees about available shelters.

And then they drove away, said Aldridge, who drove home to hug his kids and tell his wife he loved her before heading back to work.

The fire had come within 100 yards of the lodge, burning everything around them. Then it had skipped off to the side. The lodge survived, too.

Mendenhall said hes trying to contact Aldridge. Hed like to buy him dinner or at least a beer, something for saving so many lives.

On Tuesday, after Arrington figured out who the mystery deputy was, she called and left him a message thanking him.

He was a human, she said. He was a dad. He was the best.

Aldridge doesnt feel like he did anything special.

I didnt do anything anybody else wouldnt have done, he said.

But it wasnt anyone else. It was Aldridge. He still thinks about the people who refused to leave when deputies banged on their doors that night. And he thinks about what could have happened had the wind kept blowing in their direction instead of shifting.

But he doesnt dwell on that.

It stays with you, but you put it on the back burner, he said. You keep doing your job.

Chronicle staff writer Hamed Aleaziz contributed to this report.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @jilltucker
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In todays politically combustive world, tailored for symbolic drama, how fitting that Justin Herman Plaza is in the spotlight not for its forlorn condition, but for its problematic name.

Herman was executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency in the 1960s. His legacy includes the demolition of more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the Western Addition and the displacement of the largely African American families who lived there. On Thursday, the Recreation and Park Commission is likely to vote to strip Hermans name from the large public space next to Embarcadero Center and across from the Ferry Building.

Which raises two questions: What name should follow in its wake? And will the transformation include the difficult work of making the prominently located space relevant to todays city?

The name change is simple. In fact, on a visit to the plaza Tuesday I couldnt find any sign or plaque that referred to Herman at all.

Instead, I encountered a stark concrete landscape familiar to anyone who has cut through the plaza on the way from the Financial District to the Embarcadero waterfront. Cracked pavers and sagging walkways. Lunch tables with their swivel chairs bolted into place.

The aggressively exuberant Vaillancourt Fountain is dry, again, while workers behind a chain-link fence install the plazas skating rink for the still-distant holiday season. A homeless persons tent hides behind the fountain and the back of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Memorial, an easy-to-miss tribute to American participants in the Spanish Civil War.

Not all is dismal: The gingko trees alongside the tables look great. A hummingbird treated a potted shrub as a breakfast buffet. Jean Dubuffets huge sculpture La Chiffonniere is striking. But theres no earthly reason you would want to be there.

Which in some ways makes it a fitting tribute to Herman, a tenacious leader in the cause of urban renewal  a cause embraced nationwide in the 1950s by decision-makers and then challenged, rightly, because of the damage that it caused.

Its as if planners and politicians were jealous of Europe because it had all those bombed-out city centers to work with, said David Prowler, a San Francisco development consultant who has worked for community nonprofits and at City Hall. He also teaches a course at Stanford on the citys battles over growth during the past 50-plus years.

In that course, Prowler shows a photo of Dresden after that German city was largely destroyed by bombs in World War II alongside an aerial photograph of the Western Addition, where nearly 60 blocks were razed as part of redevelopment efforts that began before Herman was hired in 1959, and continued after his death of a heart attack in 1971. Theyre too similar for comfort.

That clearance, and the physical and mental scars left in its wake, is the reason that the Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 last month to urge the Rec and Park Commission to strip Hermans name from the plaza on the Embarcadero. If the space is named for someone else, the board proclaimed, this person should embody San Francisco values of equity, inclusion and forward-thinking.

Read the resolution closely and you starting scratching your head. There are incomplete sentences and a reference to how the Embarcadero is so much nicer since the removal of the Central Freeway in 1991  an elevated structure that in fact went through Hayes Valley and came down more than a decade later.

The double-deck Embarcadero Freeway was razed in 1991. Oh, those pesky facts.

In other words, the resolution reads as if it was slapped together in haste. Cobbled together from online sources in a local show of solidarity to efforts elsewhere to rename or remove Confederate memorials.

Herman, who served three mayors, becomes the cartoon villain of a compact drama. Its the mirror image of the praise he received after his death, when he was extolled as a crusader for a more orderly city. He was lauded for the sort of vision embodied in Embarcadero Center, with its elevated walkways and aloof office towers  and his public plaza.

The plaza wasnt named for Justin Herman because he was a hero. Its a monument to the ideology he represented, Prowler said. The idea that buildings and streets and the future were more important than the people already there.

There was good to the ideology as well. One longtime affordable housing architect is Bob Herman, a relative, who argues that the Bay Areas rich heritage of community-based developers in part has Justin Herman to thank  because the latter felt that the long-term livability of subsidized apartments would be helped by having those units owned and managed by local nonprofits.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Replacement names for the plaza already have flooded City Hall. Locally raised author Maya Angelou has been suggested, and African American photographer David Johnson. So has Tina Modotti, an artist who lived in San Francisco briefly and then moved to Mexico with photographer Edward Weston.

Oh, and Harvey Milk and Warren Hellman. Just because.

The board resolution originated with Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who suggests that the space for now be renamed Embarcadero Plaza.

I like it. And if city leaders really want the plaza to become an aspirational example of San Francisco values, then lets make it into a better public space. Freshen it up. Clean Vaillancourt Fountain and update the concrete moonscape.

Then let the debate on renaming begin. In the meantime, Embarcadero Plaza will do just fine.

Place is a column by John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
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The Chronicle will continue to keep readers up to date on events that have either been canceled or postponed because of the North Bay fires, as well as any benefits for fire victims. We will strive to update the story regularly.

Send us announcements on closures, events and more by emailing datebook@sfchronicle.com.

BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE DISPLACED BY THE FIRES

SAVA Social: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19. Event will be hosted at a SoMa location to be emailed to ticket holders. $15-$20. Proceeds from ticket and raffle sales, plus any non-perishable food items donated, will go to the California Growers Association and the Redwood Empire Food Bank. https://impactflow.com

So Stressed, Bad Psychics, Raised by Zebras: 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. $10, plus donations. Bad Psychics will match donations up to $1,000. Sales from the show poster by local artist Aaron Zonka will also be included in the donations. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. www.bottomofthehill.com

Stronger Together  North Bay Fire Benefit: 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. A fundraiser for North Bay Fire victims featuring Poor Mans Whiskey, New Monsoon, Ben Morrison of the Brothers Comatose, Avi Vinocur, Kelly McFarling, the Welcome Matt, John Elliott Music, Lisa Azzolino, the Sam Chase, others. All proceeds will be donated to North Bay Fire Relief. Address of venue in Piedmont to be disclosed after purchasing ticket. www.brownpapertickets.com

NAPA Strong Benefit Concert: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22. Performances by Essence Goldman, Amber Snider, Gabe Walker, Sorry Lot, Dirty Cello, Krooked, Ordinary Sons, others. Tip jar donations and silent auction proceeds will go to Napa Valley Disaster Relief Fund. $5 cover at door and $1 of every beer sold go to the Napa Valley Firefighters. Billcos Billiards and Darts, 1234 Third St, Napa. (707) 226-7506.

Chamber concert: Cellist Rebecca Rust, bassoonist Friedrich Edelmann and pianist Laura Magnani play music by Mozart, Bach and Grieg in a benefit for fire victims. 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23. $50. 1451 Scenic Ave., Berkeley. RSVP required to smithjm@berkeley.edu

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show: 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1:30 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 29. Bay Area Childrens Theatre is offering complimentary tickets to families affected by the North Bay fires. Osher Studio, 2055 Center St., Berkeley. (510) 296-4433. http://bactheatre.org

Bay Area Discovery Museum: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Free admission to those affected by the North Bay fires through Friday, Oct. 20. Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito. (415) 339-3900. http://bayareadiscoverymuseum.org

Monterey Bay Aquarium: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free admission to Northern California residents whose communities are in fire danger zones through Sunday, Oct. 22. 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. (831) 648-4800. www.montereybayaquarium.org

Art Ventures Gallery: 50 percent of the proceeds from art work sold through Tuesday, Oct. 24 will be donated to the Red Cross. 888 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park. (650) 400-5325. www.artventuresgallery.com

Good & Kissed: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. Free admission; all cash donations go to Redwood Credit Unions North Bay Fire Relief Fund. Pinole Community Playhouse, 601 Tennent Ave., Pinole. (510) 7249844. www.facebook.com/events/123807701596828

Rocky Horror Show: 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Free, but cash donations will be accepted. Proceeds benefit Community Foundation Sonoma County and Napa Valley Community Foundation. San Jose Stage Company, 490 S. First St., San Jose. (844) 647-6259. www.rockyhorrortickets.com

Creature Features: Santa Rosa Symphony Family Concert led by conductor Richard Loheyde. Event also features free photo booth and instrument petting zoo. 2 p.m. Oct. 29. Free for families who have lost their home in the North Bay fires. All children younger than 13 also receive free admission. Weill Hall, Green Music Center, Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. (707) 546-8742. http://srsymphony.org

Golden Gate Wine Cellars Special Wine Tasting: 1-5 p.m. Nov. 4. $27.13. All ticket proceeds and a portion of all sales will be donated to the Napa Valley Vintners Association and the Sonoma Wine Growers Association. 2337 Ocean Ave., S.F. (415) 337-4083. www.localwineevents.com

NOW OPEN

Napa Valley Museum: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Napa Valley Museum, 55 Presidents Circle, Yountville. (707) 944-0500. www.napavalleymuseum.org

JaM Cellars Studio: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday. Operations resume this week with live JaMSessions on Thursday, Oct. 19 (RoAn Gibson) and Friday, Oct. 20 (Groovy Judy). Free. JaM Cellars Napa, 1460 First St., Napa. www.jamcellars.com/events

Green Music Center: Programming resumes with Peter Sirkin (Friday, Oct. 20) and the all-star band Hudson (Sunday, Oct. 22). Weill Hall, Green Music Center, Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. http://gmc.sonoma.edu

Silos Napa: Live music programming resumes with Mike Greensill (Wednesday, Oct. 18), Don Bassey (Thursday, Oct. 19), Second Street Band (Friday, Oct. 20) and Guitarzilla (Saturday, Oct. 21). 530 Main St., Napa. www.silosnapa.com

CANCELED

Funkendank Oktoberfest: Saturday, Oct. 21. Canceled due to public safety and health concerns. SOMO Village Event Center, 1100 Valley House Drive, Rohnert Park. Refunds will be issued. www.somoconcerts.com

Lagunitas Beer Circus: Saturday, Oct. 21. Canceled due to public health and safety concerns. Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and Events Center, 75 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma. https://lagunitas.com/beercircus

POSTPONED OR MOVED

The Laramie Project: Originally scheduled to open Oct. 12-15. Opening postponed to Thursday, Oct. 19. (The entire San Francisco State University campus has been closed through Sunday, Oct. 15.) Check website for updates; additional performances may be added. San Francisco State University, Creative Arts Building, Little Theatre, 1600 Holloway Ave., S.F. (415) 338-2467. http://theatredance.sfsu.edu

The Rainmaker: Originally scheduled to open Oct. 13. Postponed to Thursday, Oct. 19. Rotary Stage, Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. www.sonomaartslive.org

Exhibition opening reception for David Ligares Magna Fide (The Great Belief) and Forge and Stone: Contemporary California Women Sculptors: The exhibitions are now open to the public, with opening reception postponed to Dec. 9. Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, 551 Broadway, Sonoma. www.svma.org

M. Ward: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 29. $40. Moved to Terrapin Crossroads, 100 Yacht Club Drive, San Rafael (originally scheduled for Historic Redwood Barn, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma). All tickets previously purchased will be honored. http://folkyeah.com

Punk in Drublic: Originally scheduled for Oct. 14. Postponed until Oct. 29 due to air quality concerns. Tickets will be honored at new date or refunds are available at the original point of purchase. Festival officials added that due to artist availability, the lineup has been updated to include: NOFX, Bad Religion, Goldfinger, Bad Cop / Bad Cop, Get Dead, with more still to be announced. Concord Pavilion, 2000 Kirker Pass Road, Concord. http://punkindrublicfest.com

Clean and Sober Music Fest: Originally scheduled Oct. 14. Postponed until June 9-10, 2018. Refunds for tickets will be made through Eventbrite. Mendocino County Fairgrounds, Boonville. www.cleanandsobermusicfest.org

The Crucible: Originally scheduled to open Friday, Oct. 20. Opening postponed to Oct. 27 and now running only two weekends. Lucky Penny Productions will reach out to those with tickets to the canceled performances. Lucky Penny Community Arts Center, 1758 Industrial Way, Suite 208, Napa. (707) 266-6305. www.luckypennynapa.com

Art Trails: Now scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 21-22 and Oct. 28-29 at locations throughout Sonoma County. http://sonomacountyarttrails.org/

Boz Scaggs: Originally scheduled Thursday-Friday, Oct. 19-20. Postponed to May 4-5. Refunds will be available at point of purchase and currently held tickets will be honored on new date. Uptown Theatre Napa, 1350 Third St, Napa. (707) 259-0123. www.uptowntheatrenapa.com

CLOSED

Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art: Closed through Sunday, Oct. 22. 5200 Sonoma Hwy., Napa. www.dirosaart.org

Blue Note Napa: Closed through Nov. 5. 1030 Main St., Napa. (707) 880-2300. www.bluenotenapa.com

Napa Valley Opera House: Closed through Nov. 5. 1030 Main St., Napa. (707) 880-2300. www.bluenotenapa.com

JaM Cellars Ballroom at Margrit Mondavi Theatre: Closed through Nov. 5. 1030 Main St., Napa. (707) 880-2300. www.jamcellarsballroom.com

Fairwinds Estate Winery: Weekly Wine Crush Party canceled until further notice. 4550 Silverado Trail N., Calistoga. www.fairwindsestatewinery.com

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts: Closed through Nov. 5. Events will be rescheduled as soon as possible. In the event a performance is canceled, refunds will be issued once the center is operationally capable. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. https://lutherburbankcenter.org

Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center: Closed until further notice. 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa. https://schulzmuseum.org
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Its time for Commis C.D.P. to get to work in Oakland, according to James Syhabout.

For the uninitiated, C.D.P. is Syhabouts new bar whose name is an acronym for chef de partie, a nod to the adjacent Commis, which in kitchen vernacular means junior chef.

Aesthetically similar but meant to appeal to different segments of the Commis fan base, Syhabout said the bar will be the go-to for folks who want a Commis type of night, but without the sit-down dinner experience.

In the hours leading up to the opening today (Wed., Oct. 18), Syhabout was doing exactly what hes done at the end of every project hes introduced over the last year  like Old Kan and the upcoming Hawking Bird: obsessing over small details.

Im really happy with it. Right now, its 98 percent complete. Its going to open, but there are a few small things that Im going to do while I have a little time, Syhabout told Inside Scoop as he left an East Bay hardware store.

Food from the Commis side will sneak onto the C.D.P. menu, things like the signature slow-poached egg dish tgat Chronicle critic Michael Bauer once raved about, and the Commis bread. All will be small plates and a la carte options. Bar snacks like olives and almonds are in the mix, along with caviar. Oysters in the half-shell and what Syhabout says is a greasy bar sandwich round out the offerings.

The beverage side leans on Champagne and brandy. As for prices, theyre still being finalized but the early word is the drinks will be in the $8 to $20 range.

Were being really chill about it so theres no reservations needed at C.D.P., Syhabout said. The space wont have a standing bar because the noise level might disturb guests at Commis. We want to respectful to the diners there as well. But Im excited about this. I just have a few last things to get done before we open.

C.D.P.: 3859 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. until close; Sunday from 4:30 p.m. until close

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
For the first time in nearly three decades, Thomas Keller is closing a restaurant.

The chef and restaurateur has decided to shutter Bouchon Beverly Hills at the end of 2017, bringing an end to his Los Angeles presence. The complex  which includes a restaurant, cafe and bakery  opened in 2009, as an equal business partnership with the city of Beverly Hills.

None of us wanted to walk away from this partnership without giving it everything we had, says Keller. Nine years later, I think we've given it everything we've had, and the best thing to do is shake hands and terminate the lease and move on.

For Keller, its the first time hes closed a restaurant since the 1994 debut of the French Laundry catapulted a restaurant empire that now includes footholds in Yountville, New York, Las Vegas and until Dec. 31, Los Angeles.

People always ask, 'why does a restaurant close?' There's never a single reason, says Keller, who hasnt had a restaurant fail since New Yorks Rakel, which folded in 1991. After that, he came west to run Checkers in Los Angeles for a year before heading to Napa Valley.

There are always 10 or 12 reasons.

JOHN LEE/SFC

At Bouchon Beverly Hills, the reasons are primarily financial, and the operation continued to be cash negative. Keller says that three of the four primary revenue streams of the Bouchon business model  lunch service, the cafe and the bakery, which was the highest grossing bakery per square feet in the TKRG group  were strong, but dinner service was lacking in the Beverly Hills branch.

It spans 11,000 square feet and two stories. That second-floor restaurant location didnt help matters, nor did the rise of downtown Los Angeles as a dining center. There were other factors  L.A.s transit overhaul, the forthcoming Hudson Yards project  and it became apparent that it would be better to work with the city of Beverly Hills and shut down.

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Everyones walking away feeling some pain, says Keller. But with a complete understanding that this is the best thing for both of us.

Paolo Lucchesi is the food editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: plucchesi@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lucchesi
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KC Turner was feeling distraught over the news of the wildfires ravaging Northern California, so he called up a few friends and quickly organized one of his signature house concerts with plans to donate 100 percent of the proceeds to the North Bay Fire Relief fund.

I wanted to think about what I could do to help people out, says the San Francisco concert promoter. Im doing the one thing I know how to do best.
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Bill and Mary Owens had a choice: Save the home where theyd raised three children or save Cascos Martial Arts Academy, an East Oakland studio where theyve trained thousands of students.

It really wasnt much a choice at all.

At the tail end of the subprime mortgage crisis, when adjustable-rate mortgages left many homeowners susceptible to defaults and foreclosures, the Owenses chose to let their house go in 2012.

We lost our house to stay here, Mary Owens said, as she sat on a stack of folding mats in the MacArthur Boulevard studio theyve owned for 45 years. The camaraderie here  the parents, the children  theyre family.

They were behind on mortgage payments for the house and the studio, and they reasoned that they could afford only the studio, which cost $6,000 per month, if they cut out the house payment, which leapt to more than $2,000 per month.

If the balloon payment hadnt hit, we probably wouldve been able to do it, Bill Owens said of keeping both the studio and the house. When the balloon payment came, we had to make a decision. If we let the school go and kept the house, where would we teach?

The house they lost is around the corner from the studio, the first home you see on 73rd Avenue after making a right turn from MacArthur. The Owenses now live in an apartment in the building they also own next door to the studio.

On Saturday, theres a reunion celebration for former Cascos students and friends at Geoffreys Inner Circle in downtown Oakland. Bill Owens will be honored for a half century of teaching.

But, to me, the event is really celebrating two people whove held on as the neighborhood around them has changed. Even as enrollment numbers have dipped significantly, theyve kept their studio open for more than four decades because they want to give their students, who are mostly black, something to be proud of.

He felt he really wanted to stay to support the community, Mary Owens said.

If I couldnt control nothing else, I could control the kids that came through me, Bill Owen, 74, added. I could give them something to be proud of, to be proud of themselves. If I let (the studio) go and took a bus driving job, that would cheat the kids I wouldnt get to reach.

Bill Owens moved with his family from Texas to the Bay Area when he was 7. His family lived in San Francisco and Richmond before settling into Oakland. He graduated from Oakland Tech High School.

He got interested in fighting because of the Wednesday night fights at Bushrod Park in North Oakland. Hed climb trees to watch older boys from Berkeley and Oakland scuffle over girls after the weekly dances ended.

I saw some real vicious fights, he recalled. I wasnt in them. I was too little. I was considered one of the little kids. It made me aware of what you had to do, which means you had to know how to fight  or run.

Bill Owens started seriously training in 1967. He developed his own technique called Blossom Fist, which is a blend of karate and kung fu and other fighting styles such as Brazilian capoeira.

The hand movements draw floral patterns in the air while defending and striking. It reminds me of the sweeping hand gestures of an orchestra conductor.

The Owenses met while working at the post office on Seventh Street in Oakland. Their schedules overlapped for a few hours so theyd chat in the break room.

He was so different, Mary Owen recalled.

She moved to Oakland from Paso Robles for the job. She didnt like to go to parties. Instead, she read books, swam and hiked.

He was such a gentleman, Mary Owens, 68, said. I really liked that. I started to go out with him.

She started as his student in 1971, and they were married 12 years later.

In the studio they opened together in 1972, theres a shelf of dusty trophies overlooking the floor, a reminder of the world-class skills of the owners. Mary Owens, still limping from left knee replacement earlier this year, has as many trophies as her husband.

On one wall, theres a family tree with the names of more than 100 black belts the Owenses have trained, including their three sons.

As we talked, a young woman came into the studio with her sister. Bill Owens spent 20 minutes talking to the women, who said they walk past the studio daily. Cascos doesnt get many walk-ins from the neighborhood these days.

In the 80s and 90s, Cascos thrived back when the neighborhood had a lot more black families. Back then, if you got to class late you might not have a place to stand, Bill Owens told me.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Today, enrollment is down to about 50 students per week. A precipitous decline began in March 2009 after a convicted felon fatally shot four Oakland police officers in a shooting spree that lasted just over two hours.

The first two officers were gunned down during a traffic stop in front of the studio while Bill Owens taught a class. Parents told him it wasnt safe waiting for their children outside, so they pulled them from the school.

The way the world is now, you need a parking lot, Bill Owens said. When I came along, parking wasnt that essential. People could park two blocks up the street and it didnt matter. But now, everybody is so concerned about the car, and, of course, they should be  break-ins and safety.

He sighed.

If you could move the same building into someplace like Hercules, Pinole, it would be booming, he said.

Still, Bill and Mary Owens dont plan on leaving East Oakland as long as they have students to uplift.

It dont matter what youre dressed like or what your name is, you better know youre the greatest person on Earth, Bill Owens said. Theres God and theres you, and if you dont believe that, I cant teach you.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr
When a self-driving car crashes into a human-driven one, whose fault is it?

Answering that question will be a challenge for an emerging industry that desperately needs to win the publics trust, and clarify liability for automakers and insurers.

Intel and Mobileye on Tuesday proposed a mathematical formula that provides specific parameters for that assessment  and seeks to make sure that any accident will never be the robot cars fault. Intel wants to engage with the nascent self-driving car industry and standards bodies to create an open system for determining fault in autonomous-car accidents that can be used in all circumstances.

As machines start causing collisions, theres a lot of risk that consumers could turn against them and all the benefits and investments could really be damaged, said Dan Galves, senior vice president at Mobileye, an Israeli company making sensors for robot cars. Intel bought Mobileye for $15.3 billion in March. It would help a lot to know that there are predetermined rules for clarifying fault.

Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua, who is now an Intel senior vice president, presented his concept, also published in an academic paper, at the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul on Tuesday.

The ability to assign fault is the key, Shashua said, according to prepared text of his speech. Just like the best human drivers in the world, self-driving cars cannot avoid accidents due to actions beyond their control. But the most responsible, aware and cautious driver is very unlikely to cause an accident of his or her own fault, particularly if they had 360-degree vision and lightning-fast reaction times like autonomous vehicles will.

His system involves programming autonomous cars to always follow certain parameters such as calculating the exact safe distance to follow other cars on the highway, based on sensor input of their speed, information on their braking power, and other factors.

A major positive of agreeing on these definitions of responsibility and fault would be to never put an autonomous vehicle at risk of violating any of these rules, Galves said. It creates a safety layer where, no matter what, the vehicle will never issue a command to the brakes or steering that would put it at risk of causing a collision that would be its fault.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

While Intel hasnt yet reached out to the industry at large, its gotten positive response from its customers, Galves said, naming core customers as BMW, Nissan and Audi.

This is a discussion that needs to happen now, he said. Were not that far away from beginning to deploy these vehicles.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
Almere, The Netherlands

October 18, 2017

ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V. ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY AND TIMING OF THE THIRD QUARTER 2017 CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) will report operating results for the 2017 third quarter (which ended on September 30, 2017) at approximately:

18:00 p.m. Continental European Time - Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

13:00 p.m. US Eastern Time - Tuesday, October 31, 2017.

ASM International will furthermore host an investor conference call and webcast on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 15:00 Continental European Time (10:00 a.m. - US Eastern Time).

The teleconference dial-in numbers are as follows:

United States: +1 646 254 3360

International: +44 (0)20 3427 1918

The Netherlands: +31 (0)20 716 8257

Access Code: 7553803

A simultaneous audio webcast, and replay will be accessible at www.asm.com.



About ASM International

ASM International NV, headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, its subsidiaries and participations design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International, its subsidiaries and participations provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as for assembly & packaging and surface mount technology (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASMI's website at www.asm.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's reports and financial statements. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.



CONTACT

Investor contact:

Victor Bareno

T: +31 88 100 8500

E: victor.bareno@asm.com



Media contact:

Ian Bickerton

T: +31 625 018 512
Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

America has been trying and failing to forcibly prevent people from using their drugs of choice since before Prohibition. A new study provides the latest evidence of a drug epidemic stemmed by the opposite approach.

Colorados marijuana legalization coincided with a reversal of a long-standing rise in opioid-related deaths, according to research published in the American Journal of Public Health. Having climbed consistently since 2000, the toll has fallen 6 percent since legal cannabis sales began in 2014, inviting the suspicion that one far less dangerous drug is substituting for the other.
Backers of Sen. Dianne Feinstein have moved to form a super PAC for her re-election next year  not so much to beat back the just-announced challenge by fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon, the state Senate president, as to arm for possible war against billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.

Steyer is the real issue that is stalking her right now, said Sean Clegg, a partner in the political consulting firm SCN Strategies. This is a guy who spent north of $70 million on Senate and gubernatorial races all around the country in 2014 election cycle, so he has a proven track record of unlimited spending.

Steyer, who lives in San Francisco and made his money as a hedge fund manager, hasnt said whether hell make a run at Feinstein. But hes definitely thinking about it.

I am looking at the best way to take our government back from the political establishment and to stop Donald Trump. That includes a full consideration of running for the United States Senate, Steyer said in a statement over the weekend.

Cleggs SCN is helping to set up the pro-Feinstein super PAC, which can spend unlimited amounts on her behalf as long as it doesnt coordinate its activities with her. SCN isnt running the senators campaign  thats the job of her longtime strategist, Bill Carrick.

Theres no doubt that Steyer could spend major money in a run against Feinstein. All he has to do is tap his own bank account  there are no limits to how much candidates can spend on their own campaign.

Steyers billions give him a major advantage over de Leon, who has no personal fortune to draw upon and must raise cash in small chunks. Even Feinstein, whose worth is in the neighborhood of $79 million, could have a hard time matching Steyers spending dollar for dollar, though her campaign says she is willing to self-fund.

But if money alone could buy an election, wed be wrapping up Gov. Meg Whitmans second term. Longtime pollster Mark DiCamillo notes that there are some things money cant buy  such as name recognition.

They may have the resources, but they dont have a very large name identification with voters, DiCamillo said of the long list of wealthy, self-funded candidates who have failed in runs for office in California in the past 25 years. That is something that takes time.

A Steyer challenge would not be the first time Feinstein has faced off with a multimillionaire. In 1994, Republican Michael Huffington (the then-husband of Arianna Huffington) spent $28 million of his own money running against Feinstein. She won re-election, by a mere two percentage points.

This time, Feinsteins supporters want to be ready. But the super PAC solution has the potential for backfiring.

A super PAC can be a conduit for funneling special-interest money into a race, and special interests can be an embarrassment. Picture the headlines, for example, if ExxonMobil decided to funnel big bucks to Feinstein through an unaffiliated super PAC.

But they are popular with the political set. De Leon backers Maclen Zilber and Dave Jacobson at the J&Z Strategies consulting outfit in Los Angeles have set up a super PAC for the state Senate president.

We will be looking to raise on a small and on a larger scale from everyone from progressives to environmental organizations to organized labor, Zilber said. Everyone fed up with the status quo.

The goal is to bring in as much good money as we can.

With Feinstein racking up early endorsements from such big names as Democratic U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, de Leon can take heart that hes won the backing of a prominent Bay Area Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna of Fremont.

Khanna knows what its like to take on an establishment Democrat  he did it twice, losing to Rep. Mike Honda in 2014 before beating him in a rematch two years later.

She should have a challenge, Khanna said of Feinstein. We need new voices. We need a vigorous debate.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
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From day one, they seemed like interlopers. Two cannabis dispensaries, wedged together on the same block in San Franciscos Excelsior neighborhood  a neighborhood freckled with produce shops and hole-in-the-wall churches, and filled with merchants who hadnt asked to be part of a green zone.

It didnt take long for the complaints to pile up. A baker said cannabis patients were smoking in his doorway and chasing away customers. A beauty shop owner said the pungent smell of marijuana was seeping through her walls. The owner of a chicken restaurant knocked persistently on the clubs doors, trying to tell the operators that their customers had all but commandeered her small parking lot at Mission and Niagara streets.

With the sale of recreational marijuana becoming legal next year in California, this type of turf war could soon be replicated all over the city.

You have businesses that have been there for 20 or 30 years, and then you have these new (dispensaries) coming in with a real transient, in-and-out clientele, said Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who represents the Excelsior. Hes complained at Board of Supervisors meetings that the pot clubs on Mission Street arent cigar-lounge beautiful and that one has bars on its doors and armed security guards standing outside.

Over the summer, Safai stepped in to mediate the conflict between merchants on the 5200 block of Mission Street and the two dispensaries, Mission Organic and Cookies SF.

So far, it hasnt been easy.

The cannabis patients  they dont respect us, said Raquel Alvarez, owner of El Pollo Supremo, the chicken restaurant. Her relationship with the two dispensaries grew so bad that Cookies SF now assigns an armed security guard to stand in her parking lot and make sure cannabis patients dont use it.

But Mission Organic owner Mikhail Mekk said the clubs are being scapegoated.

Its easy for her (Alvarez) to blame us, Mekk said. But from our perspective, shes always getting a free security guard.

Mekk, who opened in 2012, said hes tried to be a good neighbor. He installed air filtration systems, attended neighborhood meetings and sent his staff to pick up litter at nearby Cayuga Park. His building seems designed to be inoffensive, with its lobby that resembles a doctors office and its iridescent green cross in the window.

But those concessions havent satisfied Mekks neighbors. The conflict escalated in 2013 when another dispensary, TreeMed, moved in  it later changed ownership and became Cookies SF.

Since (the dispensaries) arrived, my business has dropped by 40 percent, said Mauricio Varela, manager of the Pan Lido bakery, which is sandwiched between Cookies SF and El Pollo Supremo. Hes among several shop owners who now place Out of Service signs on their bathrooms so that cannabis patients cant use them.

Recently, a separate battle flared up in the Outer Sunset, where neighbors rallied to prevent a high-end dispensary from opening on Noriega Street. Crowds of mostly older Chinese residents packed City Hall hearings throughout the summer, saying the club would bring crime and drug-trafficking to their neighborhood. Some compared marijuana to the opioid epidemic. Others called it a form of gentrification.

The opponents ultimately swayed the Board of Supervisors, which voted to revoke the clubs permit during a dramatic, seven-hour meeting earlier this month. It signaled that cannabis may already be the most divisive land use issue in the city  and that politicians who claim to be pro-marijuana wobble easily under pressure from constituents.

There will definitely be tension, said state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who is also a former supervisor. He noted that even though San Francisco voters overwhelmingly support cannabis, its different when a dispensary wants to locate near where they live.

For years, San Franciscos cannabis clubs have clustered on scrappy corridors in SoMa or the outer pockets of the city  mostly because zoning laws prevent the clubs from opening in neighborhoods that are zoned as residential or industrial, or within 1,000 feet of the nearest school. The Excelsior became a particularly desirable spot because it borders San Mateo County, where dispensaries have been prohibited.

But the neighborhoods culture and topography made conflict almost inevitable.

You have a commercial area surrounded by a lot of residential side streets, said San Francisco Police Capt. Joseph McFadden, who runs the Ingleside district station. Since the dispensaries moved in, hes received numerous complaints about customers double-parking and people smoking marijuana in residents driveways and refusing to leave.

Were kind of a forgotten neighborhood, said Sean Ingram, co-owner of the Dark Horse, a craft beer bar that sits kitty-corner to Mission Organics and Cookies SF. Ingram said the Excelsior is already struggling with a number of other problems, such as underground casinos and boarded-up storefronts. He and others say it became a dumping ground for cannabis largely because its a working-class, immigrant neighborhood without a lot of political juice.

Ive noticed there arent any pot clubs in Noe Valley, he said.

City officials say they will fix the clustering problem when the Board of Supervisors passes new cannabis regulations in the coming weeks, reducing the school buffer from 1,000 to 600 feet and requiring at least 300 feet between dispensaries.

Safai, meanwhile, is trying to play both sides.

In July, he sponsored an ordinance to limit the number of cannabis clubs in his district to the current three  the third, called the Green Cross, sits farther north on Mission Street and appears to have a more amicable relationship with its neighbors.

As the supervisor works to limit the cannabis trade in his district, he is also trying to broker a peace plan between the existing clubs and their neighbors.

Hes urged Mission Organic and Cookies SF to emulate the Green Cross, which has an elaborate system of surveillance cameras that connect to a central control room. Its security guards wear dark suits and ear pieces, and patrol the block in small cars with sirens.

The Green Cross has a much more professional look, Safai said, noting that he will ask the other clubs to voluntarily add a network of surveillance cameras and guards with patrol cars.

Mekk bristled at Safais request, saying he cant afford to hire a new security detail.

I understand what (Safai) wants, but this is all very expensive, he said. Im a small business with taxes to pay and competition next door. Is (Safai) going to make the liquor stores and the produce market hire security?

Cookies SF, which has the barred doors and the armed security guards, did not return numerous calls for comment. The owners have been on good terms with Alvarez since they began sending guards to patrol the parking lot at El Pollo Supremo.

Cookies SF is trying to help, Alvarez said.

Other neighbors just want to get rid of the clubs altogether.

Among them is Varela, the baker. He winces, recalling a petition that circulated a few years ago to prevent the two dispensaries from opening.

Varela regrets that he didnt sign it.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
One of San Franciscos architectural gems is now home to an Italian sartorial treasure. Isaia, the luxury menswear line from Naples, has moved into the Frank Lloyd Wright building on Maiden Lane, where no alterations are allowed to its historic interiors. Whod take on that challenge? Gianluca Isaia, the third-generation CEO of the family business, who was looking for a space matching the eccentricity and uniqueness of the brand. Isaia (EES-eye-EE-yah) is known as much for its lushly soft cashmere blazers, whisper-thin wool sweaters and wool suits as its fine tailoring  90 percent of the garments are made by hand. The interiors feature built-in cabinets from the original V.C. Morris gift shop in 1948, as well as antiques from gallery Esprit Nouveau in Naples: a pea-colored velvet couch downstairs, and a bar for sipping Campari upstairs at the top of a swirling, two-story ramp. A display nook with the CEOs private cell phone collection, a record player for clients to DJ their own music and a red lacquer piano for anyone to play make the store not just a place to shop, but to linger. Prices range from $225 for a tie to $3,950 for crocodile tennies to $10,000 for a wool suit thats soft as silk. Isaia flew in for the opening-night party that spilled into Maiden Lane with a string trio, caviar and Aperol spritzes. He wore a white tux jacket (with the brands signature coral pin on the lapel), a patterned T-shirt, jeans and white leather flip-flops  emblematic of the studied nonchalance, or sprezzatura, that the house embodies. Isaia, he said, is interesting for people who love life and are passionate about everything they do.

 Carolyne Zinko, czinko@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco artist Lynn Kirby has been going to the Russian Hill Bookstore since it opened 24 years ago. So when she was invited by the San Francisco Arts Commission to design a unique ink stamp for any business on Polk Street, she requested the bookstore.

Come by on Sunday, Oct. 22, and Kirby will be at a desk stamping books just like Marian the Librarian in The Music Man. Her stamp is a spin on the ex libris bookplates that link a book to its owner.

I like to make work that is related to a place and has a history, says Kirby, who is one of 16 local artists participating in Passport, a one-day scavenger hunt on Middle Polk, between California and Green streets.

For $25, SFAC will issue each hunter a book with blank pages to be filled with stamps the size of index cards. The books, a limited edition of 500, can be bought at Cheese Plus, on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Polk Street. From there, passport stamp seekers can walk up and down Polk as if each participating business were a foreign country. The artists are the customs agents, there to ask questions and answer them.

This could make for some interesting interrogations because the stamp for Bobs Donuts, a Polk Street favorite, has nothing to do with a preference for glazed or cake. Berkeley artist Miriam Klein Stahl drew the stamp as if Bobs were a leather bar in Polk Gulch. It shows four men, three dressed skimpily, doing the cancan like pom-pom girls.

Another provocative stamp will be issued at ReLove, a resale store for vintage and designer clothing. Shopkeeper Delila Hailechristos requested that she be matched with an artist of color and was introduced to multimedia artist Leila Weefur of Oakland.

I looked into her art and thought it was a great fit, says Hailechristos. She went on to do this really cool project and design stamps that are controversial and say something about the current state of where we are in race relations.

Weefur has designed two stamps: One reads White Capital, to be stamped in red ink, and the other reads Black Labor, to be stamped in blue. Weefur, who will be set up in the backyard of ReLove surrounded by a showcase of her art, will describe the difference as she stamps each passport.

This is the ninth year of Passport, and it has been all over town. Those who have been collecting from the start could have collected up to 125 miniature prints, by the likes of William T. Wiley, Barry McGee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Hung Liu.

The artists submit their designs by digital file, which are then converted to stamps by the SFAC. Not all artists are alive to stamp the books. In the past, there has been a Richard Diebenkorn stamp and a Ruth Asawa stamp, both artists who have passed away in the last two decades. This year there will be a stamp design issued by the estate of Roy De Forest.

From the SFAC point of view, Passport brings collectors to a different neighborhood and introduces them to the work of 16 local artists that might be collectible in sizes larger than a stamp.

One of the great things about this program is that it puts the public face-to-face with artists in the community, says Kate Patterson, director of communications for SFAC.

From the merchants point of view, it gets bodies walking through the door. In the case of Russian Hill Bookstore, it is a new door. Three months ago, it upped and moved. Those who show up to the old location will find the windows papered over with no sign to direct them to its new spot (hint: go one block south). Thats part of the hunt.

We hope it will bring in some neighbors and friends who may not know that we have moved and will introduce them to our little bookshop, says co-owner Jessica Tsang.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art

Passport: Noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22. $25, $125 for a prestamped Concierge Passport. Middle Polk Street, between California and Green streets. http://sfartscommission.org
New York, NY, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. (Symbol: SRCO), announced today that the demand for Spartas iMobileApp product is expanding into Agribusiness. Sparta reports that farm equipment dealerships are using mobile applications to facilitate the ordering of parts and to schedule service appointments. The apps also provide maintenance and troubleshooting videos, announce events and special offers, and integrate solutions from RTK Towers to JDLink.

Below are some of the farm equipment dealership apps developed by iMobileApp:

LandMark Implement, a John Deere dealership, with 17 locations in Nebraska and Kansas,

( https://imobileapp.com/customer-applications/landmarkimplement )

Best Line Equipment, a multi-brand agricultural dealership, with 13 locations in Pennsylvania servicing 7 surrounding states,

( https://imobileapp.com/customer-applications/bestlineequip )

Red Power Team, a multi-brand agricultural dealership, with 10 locations in Iowa,

( https://imobileapp.com/customer-applications/redpowerteam )

Haug Implement, a John Deere dealership, with 2 locations in Minnesota,

( https://imobileapp.com/customer-applications/haugimplement )

Java Farm Supply, a multi-brand farm equipment dealership, with 4 locations in New York,

( https://imobileapp.com/customer-applications/javafarmsupply )

Besides farm equipment, iMobileApp ( www.imobileapp.com ), creates mobile apps for a wide range of businesses: restaurants, gyms, and nearly every type of retail operation. Then works with each client to ensure that the app supports his overall marketing plan and is an extension of the clients e-presence. iMobile also offers website design, hosting, support and maintenance.

Watch these videos on YouTube to see iMobiles restaurant and grocery store apps :

iMobileApp Restaurant Video - https://www.youtube.com/embed/szYAwXtAiFg?VQ=HD1080



iMobileApp Grocery Store Video - https://www.youtube.com/embed/qz9Bs8qFj7o?VQ=HD1080



To learn more about iMobileApp, visit http://imobileapp.com/ .

About Sparta Commercial Services, Inc.

Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. ( www.spartacommercial.com ), through its subsidiary, iMobile Solutions, Inc., is a leader, in developing, managing, and servicing custom mobile apps for vehicle dealers from Harley-Davidson to John Deere, automobiles and RVs, restaurants, liquor stores, clubs, and other businesses in 49 states and Canada. In addition to mobile apps, Sparta provides motor vehicle title history reports to dealers, insurance companies, credit unions, and consumers. The Company also offers nationwide ehicle and capital lease finance programs for municipalities.

iMobile Solutions, Inc. offers customizable mobile applications designed for vehicle dealers, providing for ongoing contact with their customers and communications of upcoming and ongoing promotions, special events, new and used inventory, and more, and for a wide range of other businesses and entities, offering a customized mobile app designed specifically for their purposes, at a fraction of the cost of both traditional and web marketing. iMobileApp, ( www.imobileapp.com ), is a custom, fully-branded app that is an extension of a businesss e-presence. In addition, the company offers complete website design, development, hosting, support and maintenance.

The Company also provides detailed used vehicle title history reports to dealers, insurance companies, credit unions, etc., as well as to consumers. The reports are trusted by industry professionals to provide buyers accurate, timely, and thorough title history reports. The Company targets four motor vehicle markets through http://www.carvinreport.com (automobiles and light trucks), www.cyclechex.com (motorcycles), www.rvchecks.com (recreational vehicles) and www.truckchex.com (commercial trucks).

Sparta's Municipal Leasing Division ( www.spartamunicipal.com ) offers and administers a specialized municipal leasing program for local and state agencies. The Company is dedicated to serving jurisdictions with small and growing vehicle fleets who seek a better and more economical way to finance their essential equipment needs - from police motorcycles and cruisers, to EMS equipment and busses, to virtually any type of equipment a municipality requires. The Municipal Leasing Division also works with larger jurisdictions to provide competitive leasing facilities for specific segments of their fleet portfolio.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements are valid only as of today and we disclaim any obligation to update this information. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, competition, financing and commercial agreements and strategic alliances, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, management of potential growth, system interruption, consumer and industry trends, limited operating history, and government regulation. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. Further information regarding these and other risks is described from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available on its website at: http://www.sec.gov.

Company Contact:
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SACRAMENTO  Organizers of a campaign to qualify a ballot measure that would repeal the states gas tax and new vehicle fees unveiled their growing coalition Wednesday at the state Republican Party headquarters, where GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox said he will make a substantial donation to the effort.

Cox, a wealthy businessman, declined to give specifics about how much he will donate to the campaign, which named him honorary co-chair.

To qualify for the November 2018 ballot, organizers of the measure have to collect 584,000 signatures, a hefty lift for any effort. The ballot measure would be a constitutional amendment because it not only repeals the gas tax and vehicle fee increases approved this year, but it also requires voters to approve any future increases.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County) and Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Irvine, both spoke in support of the potential ballot measure.

Im from the business world, and I know you cant just keep raising your prices because people just wont buy, Cox said. Thats what is happening in California. ... Working Californians are questioning if they can even stay in a state that politicians are making even more unaffordable as we speak.

Political observers say such a ballot measure would surely ensure conservative voters will turn out to the polls in the 2018 general election, which will include the governors and U.S. Senate races.

Another Republican running for governor, Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach (Orange County), is also pursuing a ballot measure to undo SB1, the bill that increased the gas tax and vehicle fees.

The state Legislature passed SB1 with two-thirds support in April to raise $52 billion in new taxes and fees to pay for repairs to the states roads and bridges. Gov. Jerry Brown signed it into law.

Under SB1, the states gas excise tax, which is currently 18 cents per gallon, will increase by 12 cents. The excise tax on diesel fuel, which is primarily used by the commercial trucking industry, will increase by 20 cents a gallon to 36 cents. The diesel sales tax also will rise to 5.75 percent from 1.75 percent. Those increases begin Nov. 1.

Beginning Jan. 1, vehicle registration fees will increase by $25 to $175 depending on the value of the vehicle. Owners of zero-emission vehicles will begin paying an additional $100 annual fee beginning in 2020.

If this gets on the ballot, we are still very confident that voters will reject it because voters are sick and tired of bad roads, said Kathy Fairbanks, spokeswoman for the Fix Our Roads coalition that supported SB1. They want better roads. They want to spend less time in traffic. They want better commutes and to spend less money on fixing their cars due to poor roads.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
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Birds, their feathers dusted with ash and their lungs choked by smoke, are turning up in Bay Area parks and backyards in droves as wildfires continue to sizzle across Northern California, experts say.

"I've seen a lot more hillside birds coming down from the fires and moving into East Bay cities," said Andrew Ford, a Martinez-based wildfire biologist. "Birds I wouldn't normally see in such high numbers."

Don't expect any rare bird sightings, Ford said, but you can look forward to higher volumes of species that have fled the North Bay like vireos, lesser goldfinch, morning doves and scrub jays. It will likely take a few weeks before data from regional banding sites can confirm Ford's anecdotal findings, but biologists from the Audubon Society and San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory also claim to have noticed the trend.

The birds that survived the initial outburst of flames have other dangers to contend with now, Ford notes, namely the thick smoke that has floated south from the Wine Country and blanketed surrounding regions.

Avians are circular breathers, explained Amber Engle, wildlife rehabilitation manager at Lindsay Wildlife Experience, and smoke can suffocate their delicate lungs.

"Birds are more sensitive to it [than humans] because they have a more extensive respiratory system," Engle said. "They have to move so much oxygen throughout their bodies to fly."

Thus, it's ostensible that a suffocated bird may drop to earth, Ford said, having suffocated mid-flight from the ash-flecked air.

Now Playing: Residents of a Santa Rosa neighborhood return to find their homes in ruin after the devastating Tubbs fire ripped through their streets. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Navigating fuzzy skies poses problems for birds' navigation systems, too, because the gray smoke can block out the sun and cloud their vision. This can prove a challenge for predators, like raptors, that case the ground for prey and birds in the midst of migrations.

"It's an important migration time for the birds so my question is what are the migratory birds doing that normally migrate to the North Bay?" said Yiwei Wang, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. "Will there be any differences or changes in their journeys?"

Many questions remain up in the air, but humans shouldn't excessively worry for the Bay Area's airborne animals, at least in the short term.

All of the biologists SFGATE spoke to stressed that wildfires are often a positive force for forest-dwelling creatures, diversifying the landscape and enabling new outgrowth. At least that's been the narrative for the last few decades.

With global warming, says Andrea Jones, Audubon Society's director of bird conservation, the story might be changing.

"We're going to have to rethink the way we look at fires," she said. "It may not always be positive. We're getting these absolutely gigantic fires, and it's not yet certain how they will impact the landscape and wildlife."

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  A fire that erupted at the largest oil refinery on the West Coast threatened storage tanks while sending huge flames into the sky and black smoke across California neighborhoods before crews quickly smothered it.

Dozens of firefighters responded late Tuesday to the 1,000-acre Chevron El Segundo Refinery just south of Los Angeles, which processes nearly 275,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Nearby residents were urged to close windows and stay inside. Streets were briefly closed, but no evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.

Crews using firefighting foam kept the blaze from spreading to storage tanks. Within a half-hour, few flames were visible.

The fire did not burn near any of the facilitys main processing units and was confined to a distribution manifold along the facilitys southwestern perimeter, Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall said in a statement. The cause was under investigation, he said.

At this point, Chevron does not expect this incident to have an impact on its ability to supply petroleum products to its customers in the region, the statement said.

Petroleum industry analyst Patrick DeHaan said initial information indicates the fire was unlikely to affect gas prices.

DeHaan, a senior analyst with GasBuddy, said the El Segundo facility was not running at full capacity at the time of the fire because it had shuttered most operations for semi-annual preventative maintenance.

Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state for a major fire in 2012 at a refinery in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The El Segundo refinery supplies 40 percent of the jet fuel used at nearby Los Angeles International Airport and has 20 percent of the market for gasoline in Southern California, according the companys website.

Daily production includes 110,000 barrels of gasoline and 100,000 barrels of jet and diesel fuels. Other products include fuel oils, coke and liquefied petroleum gas.

About 1,100 Chevron employees and 300 contract employees work at the refinery.

The facility dates to 1911 and was the second refinery built in California by Chevron predecessor Standard Oil Co.

Christopher Weber is an Associated Press writer.
A grassfire surged through hilly terrain Tuesday afternoon in the eastern side of Dublin and threatened homes enough to force the temporary evacuation of several hundred people.

The blaze broke out before 2 p.m., probably in a creek bed near Fallon and Tassajara roads near a newer section of town east of Interstate 580, and quickly burned at least 30 acres, officials reported. As it spread toward a subdivision, firefighters told residents to leave their homes while the attack mounted against the fire.
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Back from fighting a wildfire on the Oregon border and coordinating rescue missions in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, Chris Landry got a 60-hour break from humanitarian disasters before a new one crawled up to his Glen Ellen doorstep.

Without a truck or fire hose, the Oakland Fire Department captain used a shovel, water from a nearby creek and two 3,000-gallon tanks, and a tractor  until its hydraulic line melted  to smother the Nuns Fire when it tore through the Sonoma Valley the night of Oct. 8, confronting his and his neighbors homes with two fronts of flames.

This fire, there was no putting it out, said Landry, 41. All I could do was bump it around. If I had 10 engines, I couldnt put it out.

By daybreak, he said, it felt like there was gravel and rocks in my eyes. Although a few outbuildings and part of his barn burned, Landry managed to save his house, chickens, donkey and two sheep.

His improvised firefight defended several other properties in the area, including the home of his next-door neighbor  also an Oakland firefighter, who was away on a camping trip. The neighbors four pigs and four goats were spared, too.

The Nuns Fire merged with several others in the area, burning nearly 53,000 acres in the last week. By Tuesday, it was 68 percent contained.

Now Playing: Wine Country Fires Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Although his house doesnt have running water or power, Landry said he has been there since night one, patrolling for hot spots and feeding the animals. Off-duty Oakland firefighters have paid him a visit to help.

When the flames approached that Sunday night, Landry was just getting back to his normal rhythm after spending two weeks in Puerto Rico, managing search teams in villages who were rescuing victims of Hurricane Maria, and visiting hospitals to monitor diesel fuel needs for generators.

The mission with his Federal Emergency Management Agency task force came just days after a three-week stint fighting the 80,000-acre Eclipse Fire in the Klamath National Forest.

This ones a lot harder because its in my own backyard, Landry said of the Nuns Fire. We are trained how to put our emotions aside and treat missions at face value, identify what the needs are, not get emotionally attached to it. But this was personal.

Besides his job with the Oakland Fire Department, Landry is a part-time volunteer firefighter in Glen Ellen. He first learned of the Nuns Fire when his pager sounded, asking for help at an address he recognized as the Beltane Ranch bed and breakfast inn up the road.

He was there helping other off-duty firefighters until 2 a.m., when he learned the fire front was approaching his own property on Henno Road. His wife and children were evacuated, along with their cat and two dogs.

All night, he and his friends battled two walls of flames  one advancing along the creek behind his house and another from the road. When the flames knocked his tractor out of commission, Landry turned to hand tools and a water pump.

Finally the fire passed us, he said. And the sun came up.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
San Francisco appears to be closer than ever to building a citywide municipal Internet network  an ambitious project thats proved elusive for more than a decade.

City officials are poring over the findings of a comprehensive 200-page report that will serve as San Franciscos lodestar as it moves toward creating a proposed $1.5 billion city-owned fiber-optic network that can connect every home and business in the city to a blazingly fast 1-gigabit Internet service.

Its an initiative that, if successful, would make San Francisco by far the largest city in the country to operate a municipal fiber network. Linking every home in the city to a fast Internet connection  and providing subsidies to households that currently cant afford one  is also critical, officials say, if the city is to bridge its so-called digital divide. At present, 12 percent of the citys residents, or about 100,000 people, dont have an Internet connection at home, according to city data.

Bridging the digital divide is right for our residents and right for the future of our city, Mayor Ed Lee said in a statement. With this report, we are one step closer to bringing fast and affordable Internet to every San Francisco business and resident, regardless of where they live or their economic status, through municipal broadband.

While theres no firm date about when the planned network would be up and running, the city is hoping to put out a request for proposals sometime next year.

The new report, compiled by the consulting firm CTC Technology & Energy, was commissioned by the city last year and paid for out of a $2.5 million pot of money in Lees 2016-2017 budget allocated to create a more detailed vision of what such a service would look like in San Francisco. Those funds will also be put toward hiring a project manager to oversee the rollout and management of the network and for specialized legal counsel.

But the report is more than a purely academic analysis when it comes to making a municipal fiber network a reality, said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who has been spearheading the initiative in conjunction with the mayors office. Rather, it represents the blueprint that the city will utilize as it begins reaching out to potential private-sector partners and contractors who will be hired by the city to build the network

This is not just another report, Farrell said. This is the seminal report on the issue for the city of San Francisco. This is a clear road map for moving forward, and were going to march down that road. This is going to become a reality.

In November, the city will embark on what officials are calling an industry sounding day, when telecommunications experts will hear about the citys plans and talk about ways to make the project as efficient and cost-effective as possible.

City officials also will hold public hearings on the project, looking for suggestions from San Francisco residents. Taken together, that input will help the city narrow its options and decide what it needs to do to move ahead with the project.

As the report lays out in detail, the easiest and cheapest way for the city to operate an Internet network providing universal access to all city residents would be through a public-private partnership. Going it alone, the report said, would mean the city would have to bear all the costs and risks involved with building and maintaining a brand-new utility, including tasks like customer service and bill processing.

The purely public option also would require the city to sign up between 45 and 53 percent of the city population to break even on the project financially. Few municipal networks have managed to reach this level of penetration, the report said.

With a public-private partnership, the city must then work out the details of how to work with the private companies that would deliver the actual Internet service to homes and businesses.

But the city will be able to have a level of control over how much the service costs, as well as key provisions on consumer privacy.

This is the citys asset, and the city can presumably put requirements on it when it leases it to independent Internet service providers, CTC President Joanne Hovis said. Thats a call the city can and presumably will make.

Eric Brooks, a community organizer in San Francisco and a member of a citizens advisory panel on the fiber plan convened by Farrells office, has watched one citywide Internet proposal after another sputter and fail. In 2003, then-Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Chris Daly commissioned a $300,000 study  also performed by CTC  into a city-run Internet service, but a concrete plan never materialized. The next year, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom laid the groundwork for an ill-fated effort to beam free Wi-Fi services across the city. That project was dead by 2007.

But this time, Brooks said hes optimistic the municipal fiber project will succeed where its predecessors have fallen short.

What Ammiano first started in the early 2000s, we were just starting to understand how big the Internet would become, Brooks said. Its pretty obvious now.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @dominicfracassa
President Trump tweeted out support to California wildfire victims and first responders on Wednesday.

It was the presidents first online mention of the disaster, in which a series of wildfires has claimed at least 42 lives, destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 200,000 acres in California since Oct.8. Trump had undergone some criticism for not immediately tweeting about the fires, although he has already spoken about it publicly.

Trump tweeted, Our hearts are with all affected by the wildfires in California. God bless our brave First Responders and @FEMA team. We support you!

The tweet was quoted under a re-tweet from FEMA administrator Brock Long, who on Tuesday posted, Viewing fire devastation in Santa Rosa, CA neighborhood w/ @Cal_OES @CAL_FIRE and @femaregion9 

Longs post included a photo of officials from FEMA, California Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire surveying fire damage in Santa Rosa.

Trump mentioned the fires on Oct. 10 before welcoming the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House. At the time, he said he had spoken with Gov. Jerry Brown and that the federal government would stand with the people of California and be there with you in this time of terrible tragedy and need.

The president also approved federal disaster relief funds that day for areas in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, and Yuba counties affected by wildfires.

Trump has traveled to a series of U.S. disaster zones in the past few months. He visited hurricane victims in Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Trump also visited victims of the recent shooting massacre of 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

There was no immediate announcement that the president would visit California fire zones.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
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Leave it to Mare Island Brewing Co. co-owners Kent Fortner and Ryan Gibbons to dub an emerging stretch of craft beverage companies around their business The Wet Mile.

The duo, who run their three-year-old taproom in the Vallejo Ferry Building and are finishing the final details on a new brewery just across the Mare Island Strait, are already known for their inventive beer names.

Their Hydraulic Sandwich IPA, for example, salutes Vallejos former World War II naval workers code phrase that meant beer for lunch.

The area, after all, boasts a rich history as a military and shipbuilding base that flourished from 1852 to 1996.

Now, with Fortner and Gibbons leading the way, Vallejo is poised for a re-emergence of liquid meals, in the form of beer, wine, bourbon, whiskey and rye. Their new brewery will open for its first tours and tastings in November. Then, by spring, the new Savage & Cooke distillery is slated to open just down the waterfront from the brewery.

The two spots join Napa Smith Brewery, which opened this past November in northern Vallejo, and Vino Godfather, a wine tasting room that debuted in a former naval commanders home on Mare Island in 2015.

All the activity marks quite an evolution for Vallejo, considering the areas last beer manufacturer, Solano Brewing Co., closed with prohibition in 1920.

Theres such community and culture here, and were trying to bridge the history gap via beer, said Gibbons, of his other tribute beers like Survivors Tale Pale Ale and Saginaw Golden Ale, named for the first ship keel laid on Mare Island in 1857. Old vets especially love it. They buy our logo pint glasses at our taproom to take to other restaurants (that carry our beer) since they wont drink out of Coors glasses.

Mare Island Brewing Co. Taproom

Co-owners Kent Fortner and Ryan Gibbons both live on Mare Island, and as self-described fans of the historic area, celebrate its naval tradition in every aspect of their beer business.

Their General Order No. 99 porter, for example, refers to the directive issued by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels in 1914, banishing all alcohol from Naval bases and ships. And trivia: As Gibbons is quick to explain to a guest, legend has it that cup of Joe originated as a not-so-complimentary salute by sailors to Daniels when his order suddenly made coffee the strongest drink on the base.

Indeed, there are coffee notes in this intense brew aged in former whiskey and Pinot Noir barrels for six months, blended and then bottle-conditioned in  get this  a historic bomb shelter on Mare Island. The result is bold yet creamy and elegant, with hints of chocolate, fresh-milled grain, vanilla spice and toast. And like all the Mare Island Brewing beers, the suds remind of wine with their balance and finesse; thank Fortner and Gibbons vintner backgrounds for the graceful style.

Small batch seasonal recipes change often, and the beers have been so well received since the taproom opened in 2014, that Fortner and Gibbons have more than doubled production, from 600 barrels last year, to 1,300 this year.

More beer is on the way, too, thanks to their new brewery, set up in June in a collection of historic turtle hump design buildings called the Coal Sheds because the nine waterfront structures used to store coal for the navys steamships.

Debuted as an 8,000-square-foot, 15-barrel operation, plans are already underway for more tanks, and also a 4,000-square-foot restaurant that may come online in 2019.

A larger kitchen is in the works at the Vallejo Ferry Building taproom, too, where chef Scotti Hazeltine works from-scratch magic in a 210-square-foot kitchen.

The kitchen soon will span 900 square feet, for dishes like a beer-steamed pastrami sandwich with homemade sauerkraut and Swiss on rye, or a smoked pork and veal bratwurst steamed in Coal Shed stout with sauerkraut and IPA spicy mustard.

Guests also soon will find a greatly expanded restaurant here, extending into the Ferry Building lobby, and upstairs, to a 125-seat observation deck offering spectacular water, shipyard and coal shed views.

Napa Smith Brewery

The brewmaster at this expansive operation in a former Sears service center building is named, oh-so appropriately, Stein Servick. And hes serious about the 14 beers on tap that he and his team craft in small batches totaling some 5,500 barrels.

Were hyper seasonal, Servick said. Its good for our customers, who want variety among our core beers. And its great for our brewers, who dont want to make the same beer day after day.

Since relocating from multiple buildings in south Napa to Vallejo last winter, Servick and crew are luxuriating in 36,000 square feet of space, including an airy taproom anchored by a floor-to-ceiling mural painting of the brewing process.

The new taproom is doing double the business of the Napa space, said hospitality manager Noelle Roldan, partly because its more accessible now for visitors and commuters off Highway 80.

The tasting set-up definitely helps with the wow factor, too. Twelve beers are served in small glasses set into a carved out wood barrel stave with two more beers available on the side. The amount looks intimidating, but Roldan assures guests the flight only adds up to about 20 to 24 ounces, or two regular beers, easy enough to enjoy.

The range offers something for every palate, too, from the crisp, light Pilsner, to the inky dark, velvety smooth Black Chasm stout brimming with notes of coffee and tobacco.

Tip: Soak up live music on Saturdays, and dive into the ribs, chicken, pulled pork and fried catfish from Earls Barbecue truck parked daily by the taproom door.

Vino Godfather Winery Mansion Tasting Room

The setting is just too cool  a grand, Colonial Revival Commanders house built in 1901 on Mare Islands gracious Mansion Row. Spanning 7,500 square feet, the three-story white manse features formal parlors set with antique chandeliers and coal burning fireplaces, double staircases, a full attic and goodies like a carved wood cupboard panel that opens to a secret compartment etched by the homes former resident: CDR John J. Beck and Millie and Mittens  complete with a tiny, dark-stain cat paw print.

Owners Frank Kennedy and Twila Nixon acquired the lease and turned the space into a tasting destination in 2015, showcasing Kennedys approachable, fruit forward wines from Suisun Valley and Clarksburg sourced grapes. Its the first and only wine tasting room in the area with the Vino Godfather name being a tip of the hat to Kennedys family tree of longtime winemakers.

The $10 tasting brings about a half dozen wines, and once you find your favorite, youll want to grab a full glass ($8 to $13) and relax on the front porch, nibbling complimentary spicy cracker mix. Its timeless elegance, the porch framed with carved columns and banisters and overlooking an expansive emerald lawn.

On Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m., live music makes this one of the best party places in town, featuring notable acts like the legendary Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Ensemble.

Savage & Cooke

By spring, bourbon, whiskey and rye lovers will be able to admire a brand new distillery, housed in a very old brick building next door to the Mare Island Museum. Set in Building 45 in the Mare Island Historic Core, the two-story waterfront brownstone was originally built in 1864 and used as a Navy apprentice training facility.

While the business is new, it does come with a pedigree. Savage & Cooke is owned by David Phinney, who also was winemaker at Orin Swift Cellars of St. Helena, and is known for his Splinter Group Spirits Straight Edge Bourbon Whiskey and Slaughter House American Whiskey. He recently sold Orin Swift to E&J Gallo and Splinter to Vintage Wine Estates.

At more than 16,000 square feet, renovating the building has been an undertaking, guided by Vallejos Architectural Heritage and Landmarks Commission. Initial focus is on setting up the distillery, according to Savage & Cooke general manager Lauren Blanchard, with a tasting room to follow.

Already, the company is producing several small batch spirits off-site, including Second Glance American Whiskey and The Burning Chair Bourbon, both finished in wine barrels from Phinneys Napa Valley Cabernet projects, and Ayate Reposado and Ayate Anejo tequilas, both finished in wine barrels from Phinneys Napa Valley Chardonnay projects.

If you go

Mare Island Brewing Co. Taproom: 289 Mare Island Way (in the Vallejo Ferry Building Waterfront Rotunda), Vallejo, (707) 556-3000, www.mareisland

brewingco.com. Open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Napa Smith Brewery: 101 Yolano Drive, Vallejo, (707) 252-4392, www.napasmithbrewery.com. Open noon to 9 p.m. daily.

Vino Godfather Winery Mansion Tasting Room: 500 Walnut Ave., Vallejo, (707) 552-2331, www.vino

godfather.com. Open noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and noon to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.

Savage & Cooke: 1096 Railroad Ave., Vallejo, www.savageandcooke.com.
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Former San Francisco Poet Laureate devorah major calls herself an inherent optimist. And it shows.

Her positivity runs through, if only as an undercurrent, a conversation that can shift between discussions about the Bay Areas housing crisis to the state of the world  topics that dont currently lend themselves well to glowing outlooks.

For one, she has been priced out of her own city, where she spent her childhood and entire life as an artist. Buying a house in San Francisco was not possible, forcing a move to Antioch.

I am one of the thousands of black people that left, major says wearily. Three generations of my family gone now.

Major, who still spends time in San Francisco (she is the poet in residence at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), sees a less welcoming presence in the neighborhoods she grew up in. Poems like city scat, an effervescent picture of city life from her most recent book of poetry, and then we became (City Lights; $14.95), might now feel stripped from a bygone era.

She laments at length the fate of artists in the city, but still qualifies the bleak reality of their mass exodus. Of course, artists are artists. Water finds its own depth. So they will, she says. They will find each other and rebuild. And then it will be San Franciscos loss.

For major, what is now will never permanently be. Theres an inherent sense of possibility and potential, of becoming, becoming, throughout and then we became. Split into four sections, its poems concern a variety of terrains: family history, victims of trauma, colonial power. But they are bookended by cosmology meditation #1 and cosmology meditation #2, poems on the vastness of existence and unending expansion of our universe.

Theres always this idea that you become whatever it is you become, major says. You become a grown-up. You become a journalist. And my thing is that were always becoming ideally. Theres this constant idea that were growing into newness.

To be clear, major by no means subscribes to a hippie naivete. That idealism may have faded after the political movements of the 60s and 70s, during which major thought wed win the revolution.

We did have impact, but I thought it would be forever. I didnt think wed be losing ground like we are now, she says, referring to examples within the current political moment in America. I thought it was forward ever, backwards never.

But major, who sees a growing broader consciousness that will turn the tide, maintains her optimism. Her next book of poems, Love in the Hunting Season, is her attempt to strike a balance in her art between acknowledging realities (the titular poem, Hunting Season, refers to the hunting of young black and brown men) and celebrating love.

The book, major says, is her attempt to navigate the question: How does one hold onto love  and the power of love, and the wonder of love  in a time of so much hunger and despair and killing and needless death?

I dont want to give up, major says. And I dont want anyone to give up. I want all of us to see a better world and make it so.

Saturday, Oct. 21, major will read from her work at the Make-Out Room in San Francisco.

Brandon Yu is a Bay Area freelance writer.

Book events

Devorah major at Writers with Drinks: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. $5-$20. Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St, San Francisco. www.makeoutroom.com

John Kaag celebrates the paperback release of his book American Philosophy: A Love Story. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct 19. Free. Green Apple Books on the Park, 1231 Ninth Ave, S.F. www.greenapplebooks.com

San Jose Poetry Festival presents poetry readings and workshops in the third annual South Bay gathering. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 21-22. $5-$30. History Park San Jose, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose. http://pcsj.org/festival

10th Annual Beat Museum Poetry Festival celebrates a decade of gathering poets, musicians and performance artists in the spirit of the Beat Movement. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 21-22. Free. The Beat Museum, 540 Broadway, S.F. www.kerouac.com

Berkeley Festival of Ideas hosts a parade of speakers, artists, performers and thinkers to discuss anything and everything. Oct. 27-28. $120-$220. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley. www.berkeleyideas.com
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A fair share of the country's billionaires call the Bay Area home, due in large part to the success of Silicon Valley.

Forbes released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans on Tuesday and many of the biggest names in tech were on it. Though topping the list were Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, both of whom call Washington state home.

Click through the slideshow above to see which Bay Area billionaires made the top 20 list of richest Americans.

There were 22 newcomers to the Forbes 400 list this year. The only local added in 2017 was Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who has a net worth of $2.2 billion.

WEALTHIEST WOMEN: Bay Area's wealthiest self-made women, according to Forbes

Hastings was tied with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at No. 359 on the list. Hastings' fortune is largely tied up in Netflix stock, which was hovering near its all-time high of about $200 a share.

Now Playing: On Tuesday, Forbes released their "Forbes 400" list of richest Americans One of the major newcomers was Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. In order to make the list, members must be worth at least $2 billion. Hastings first appearance on the list is thanks to Netflix's big year which saw it spend over $6 billion on original content. Video: Wibbitz

Netflix announced Monday it added another 5.3 million subscribers across the globe in its third quarter, growing its customer count to nearly 110 million worldwide. Netflix recently announced a price increase on two of its subscriber tiers, with the company upping its content budget in 2018 from $7 billion to $8 billion.

LOCAL BILLIONAIRES: 9 Bay Area billionaires have the same net worth as 1.8 billion people

One interesting tech subplot from the Forbes list  Snap chief exec Evan Spiegel and his co-founder Bobby Murphy tied with President Donald Trump at No. 248 with roughly $3.1 billion.

You can see more of the rankings on Forbes' website.

The Wrap contributed to this report. See their story here.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
IRVING, Texas and LAS VEGAS, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, today announced an expansion of its Prescriptive Security managed services offering to hybrid cloud platforms. With this latest extension, Atos Prescriptive Security unifies Cloud security with traditional on-premise security into one, centralized security operations platform.



Even for large companies with many Cloud instances, the newly enhanced Atos Prescriptive Security offering can be initiated within a few hours, and workload threats can be discovered and eradicated within minutes from multiple layers.

Our customers are increasingly concerned with ensuring the same level of security to their hybrid Clouds as they do for their on-premise platforms, said Stephen Shibel, head of Big Data & Cybersecurity for Atos North American Operations. In extending our leading Prescriptive Security offering to hybrid Clouds, weve addressed this need by consolidating endpoint, network and Cloud security into one delivery unit. Plus, our solution can discover security issues in Cloud workloads within minutes rather than hours or days.

Atos Prescriptive Security offering is the first to include the technology combination known as McAfee Threat Defense Lifecycle providing one of the most powerful integration and automation capabilities in the industry with Atos super computer-functionality of bullion servers and delivered as a service. Now, Atos is extending its Prescriptive Security offering to include McAfees new Cloud Workload Security offering, which helps to eliminate security blind spots with automation, secure critical workloads, and simplify management of hybrid Cloud environments.

Few organizations are purely on-prem or purely Cloud, especially when it comes to security, said Richard Steranka, vice president of Global Channel Sales and Operations at McAfee. With Atos expansion of the Prescriptive Security service, centered around McAfee Enterprise Security Manager and OpenDXL, customers reap the benefits of consistent policies, high-performance analytics and open automation that adapts to their specific hybrid infrastructure.

Atos Prescriptive Security managed service offering, which has now been expanded to hybrid Cloud platforms, is available for customers now and will be highlighted for demo during the McAfee MPOWER Cybersecurity Summit in Las Vegas this week.

McAfee and the McAfee logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of McAfee, LLC or its subsidiaries in the US and other countries. Other marks and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Media Contacts

Atos:

Lacey Hautzinger +1 214 735 7964 lacey.hautzinger@atos.net

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 72 countries and annual revenue of around  12 billion. European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, the Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.
This week, with the burnt-log haze beginning to thin, the power came back on in downtown Sonoma, and restaurants began to think about what the weekend might bring.

The selection in the pastry case at Basque Boulangerie on the Sonoma Plaza was sparse on Tuesday, but it was enough to draw a line of women in their 60s, who greeted each other with hugs. Nearby, at Marys Pizza Shack, managers from the chains other locations converged to help reopen the restaurant, covering for workers who were still out of town.

At the Swiss Hotel, owner Hank Marioni and manager Kristin Schantz straightened tablecloths and chairs while their cooks rushed to get everything prepared for dinner. The cooks had begun the day by throwing out spoiled sauces and retrieving meats they had stored in refrigerators across town where the electricity had stayed on.

The hotel, which has been in the same family for 95 years, had lost many paying customers, but people were starting to come back for dinner. Weve had cancellations, but its mostly locals who are calling, wanting us to open, Schantz says.

Now Playing: "There's more love in the air than smoke, " Santa Rosa evacuee Tobi O'Neill told KTVU, as she and her husband checked on their residence, and found it untouched. Debora Villalon reports Video: KTVU

Its a healing process, Marioni added. These guys want to work. We want to be around people. We want to serve people like we have for 95 years.

Marioni lost his home of 35 years late last week, one of many consumed by the Nuns Fire. I can feel sorry for myself, but when I see what happened in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico and Houston, Ive dodged a bullet for a lot of years. California has, he said. His children, he added, were devastated.

Many restaurants had closed after Pacific Gas & Electric Co. shut off power to much of downtown Sonoma on Saturday morning. The lights came back on Monday night. But electricity wasnt the only factor keeping restaurants closed. Many had been shuttered since Oct. 9, when many staffers had to evacuate, so restaurants didnt have enough workers.

On Saturday morning, the fire came within three-quarters of a mile of the eastern edge of downtown, spurring a round of evacuations. A handful of homes in the city burned.

As the fires had grown closer, plenty of people left town. Some families, like Dave and Rocal Fuentes, who run a cafe trailer called Coffee + Coco on Napa Street, decamped with their small children to their parents home in Napa. The smoke was simply too thick, they felt, for them to work in downtown Sonoma.

Holdouts such as Cafe La Haye, just off the plaza, weathered the loss of workers and power to prepare food for first responders. One night, owner Saul Gropman said, he invited neighbors in for wine, and on the next, he cooked a simple three-course meal at no charge.

Gropman had a generator keeping the refrigerators and freezers from thawing out. Not every business was so fortunate; in nearby Boyes Hot Springs, El Molino Centrals cooks returned to work on Monday and had to throw out a mountain of spoiled food to reopen Tuesday.

The power outages affected an odd patchwork of downtown Sonoma businesses through the weekend. Those on the western side of the Plaza were able to reopen earlier, and locals say the Sonoma Grille and Bar and Steiners Tavern were packed with people who had stayed in town.

October is normally the busiest time of year for Sonoma hotels and restaurants because the wine grape harvest is at its peak, according to restaurateurs. Some had been anticipating the best October in years before the fires. We were on a record-setting pace until this happened, Marioni said.

Karen Taylor, owner of El Molino Central, said that the restaurant only did 30 percent of its normal business on Tuesday. I think its a good thing to just try to get back to normal if you can, she said. Even if smoky air prevented people from dining on the patio, they could take food home.

If its a nice weekend and the smoke has been pushed out, I think youll get a lot of people coming up from the Bay Area, Marioni said.

Tourists? Well, thats another quandary. But the businesses are sure one group of customers will quickly come back: Sonoma residents.

On Wednesday morning, Myra Martinez, manager of Marys Pizza Shack, reported that locals had packed her business on Tuesday night, ecstatic to feel a return to normal. Its a bad thing we went through, she said, describing their response. Were lucky we are alive and can come in and have dinner.
For the third time in just over two years, Middletowns Twin Pine Casino is operating an evacuation center for those forced out of their homes by raging fires. Meanwhile, Rohnert Parks Graton Casino opened its hotel to fire refugees in Sonoma County.

Casinos are typically places to gamble, drink and dine, but during the Wine Country fires these two facilities have volunteered to serve some of the thousands of people forced to leave their homes during the fires that have recently consumed entire neighborhoods.

The Sulphur Fire near Clear Lake, which has burned more than 2,200 acres and destroyed at least 158 homes, ignited during the nighttime hours of Sunday, Oct. 8. Shortly thereafter, Twin Pine, owned and operated by the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, turned its event room into a Red Cross evacuation center, said Kyle Lewis, the casinos director of marketing and guest services.

We opened at 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 and by 6 a.m. we had 140 people from the Sulphur Fire, he said.

When Calistoga was evacuated due to the Tubbs Fire late last week, that pushed more people into the center, which has a capacity of 500. By Monday, Oct. 16, the number of evacuees was down to 30. The center will stay open through this weekend, Lewis said.

Its surreal that in two years weve opened as an evacuation center four times, he said, recalling the following moments: September 2015 for the Valley Fire that tore through Lake County; in August 2016 for the Clayton Fire; last January for flooding in Hidden Valley; and now for the fires that continue to burn in the North Bay. Weve been through so much in the last two years  its insane.

In Rohnert Park, about 10 miles south of the Santa Rosa fires, Gratons hotel opened some of its rooms to evacuees and provided food to first responders. A hotel spokeswoman didnt have an estimate of how many rooms were donated to evacuees, but confirmed that Graton has pledged to donate $1 million to the fire relief effort.

Not only are hundreds of our very own team members and tribal members displaced permanently from their homes, but we are heartbroken for the countless neighbors, families and friends whose lives have dramatically been affected by this ongoing devastation, said Greg Sarris, tribal chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, owners of Graton Casino.

River Rock Casino in Geyserville was evacuated last week but reopened Wednesday, Oct. 18.

The Napa Valley Casino in American Canyon and the Parkwest Casino Sonoma in Petaluma were not shuttered due to the fires and remain open for those looking for a respite.

Michael Shapiro (www.michaelshapiro.net) is author of A Sense of Place. Twitter: @shapirowrites
The Chronicle will continue to keep readers up to date on events that have either been canceled or postponed because of the North Bay fires, as well as any benefits for fire victims. We will strive to update the story regularly in print and at SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com. Check those sites for a more complete list of closures, postponements and benefit opportunities.

Send us announcements on closures, events and more by emailing datebook@sfchronicle.com.

BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE DISPLACED BY THE FIRES

North Bay Resiliency: Silent auction and benefit show featuring Lauren and the Arrows, Kendra Current and After the Fall, plus open mike. 7:30-10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18. Free, suggested donation of $15-$45. Will also accept nonperishable items for those displaced by the fires. Donations will go to the Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority, Napa County Fire Department, Lake County Fire and Rescue and North Bay Fire Recovery Fund. Email Anwen Baumeister at anwenbaumeister@gmail.com to donate items for the silent auction. Key Tea, 921 C St., San Rafael. (808) 428-3233. www.keyteahouse.com

SAVA Social: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19. Event will be hosted at a SoMa location to be emailed to ticket holders. $15-$20. Proceeds from ticket and raffle sales, plus any nonperishable food items donated, will go to the California Growers Association and the Redwood Empire Food Bank. https://impactflow.com

So Stressed, Bad Psychics, Raised by Zebras: 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. $10, plus anything additional that can be donated. Bad Psychics will match all total donations up to $1,000. Sales from the show poster by local artist Aaron Zonka also will be included in the total donations. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. www.bottomofthehill.com

Stronger Together  North Bay Fire Benefit: 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. A fundraiser for North Bay Fire victims featuring Poor Mans Whiskey, New Monsoon, Ben Morrison of the Brothers Comatose, Avi Vinocur, Kelly McFarling, the Welcome Matt, John Elliott Music, Lisa Azzolino, the Sam Chase, others. All proceeds will be donated to North Bay Fire Relief. Address of venue in Piedmont to be disclosed after purchasing ticket. www.brownpapertickets.com

NAPA Strong Benefit Concert: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22. Performances by Essence Goldman, Amber Snider, Gabe Walker, Sorry Lot, Dirty Cello, Krooked, Ordinary Sons, others. Tip jar donations and silent auction proceeds will go to Napa Valley Disaster Relief Fund. $5 cover at door and $1 of every beer sold go to the Napa Valley Firefighters. Billco's Billiards and Darts, 1234 Third St., Napa. (707) 226-7506.

Chamber concert: Cellist Rebecca Rust, bassoonist Friedrich Edelmann and pianist Laura Magnani play music by Mozart, Bach and Grieg in a benefit for fire victims. 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23. $50. 1451 Scenic Ave., Berkeley. RSVP required to smithjm@berkeley.edu

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show: 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1:30 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 29. Bay Area Childrens Theatre is offering complimentary tickets to families affected by the North Bay fires. Osher Studio, 2055 Center St., Berkeley. (510) 296-4433. http://bactheatre.org

Bay Area Discovery Museum: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Free admission to those affected by the North Bay fires through Friday, Oct. 20. Ft. Baker, 557 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito. (415) 339-3900. http://bayareadiscoverymuseum.org

Monterey Bay Aquarium: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free admission to Northern California residents whose communities are in fire danger zones through Saturday, Oct. 22. 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. (831) 648-4800. www.montereybayaquarium.org

Art Ventures Gallery: 50 percent of the proceeds from art work sold through Oct. 24 will be donated to the Red Cross. 888 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park. (650) 400-5325. www.artventuresgallery.com

Good & Kissed: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. Free, all cash donations go to Redwood Credit Unions North Bay Fire Relief. Pinole Community Playhouse, 601 Tennent Ave., Pinole. (510) 724-9844.

Rocky Horror Show: 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Free, but cash donations will be accepted. Proceeds benefit Community Foundation Sonoma County and Napa Valley Community Foundation. San Jose Stage Company, 490 S. First St., San Jose. (844) 647-6259. www.rockyhorrortickets.com

Copperfields Books: The chain had to shutter its Calistoga location. The seven other stores, including its Napa store, are open. People may use their electrical outlets and Wi-Fi free of charge. Dogs are also welcome. www.copperfieldsbooks.com

Napa County Libraries: All branches of the Napa County Library are open except for the Calistoga location. Napa Main, Yountville and American Canyon libraries are offering free use of Wi-Fi, areas to charge electronic devices and laptops. www.countyofnapa.org/Library

NOW OPEN

Napa Valley Museum: Regular hours resume 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, including scheduled school tours and classroom programs. Napa Valley Museum, 55 Presidents Circle, Yountville. (707) 944-0500. www.napavalleymuseum.org

Jam Cellars Studio: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday. Operations resume this week with live JamSessions on Thursday, Oct. 19 (RoAn Gibson) and Friday, Oct. 20 (Groovy Judy). Free. Jam Cellars Napa, 1460 First St., Napa. www.jamcellars.com/events

Silos Napa: Live music programming resumes with Mike Greensill (Wednesday, Oct. 18), Don Bassey (Thursday, Oct. 19), Second Street Band (Friday, Oct. 20) and Guitarzilla (Saturday, Oct. 21). 530 Main St., Napa. www.silosnapa.com

Green Music Center: Programming resumes with Peter Sirkin (Friday, Oct. 20) and the all-star band Hudson (Sunday, Oct. 22). Weill Hall, Green Music Center, Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. http://gmc.sonoma.edu

CANCELED

Funkendank Oktoberfest: Saturday, Oct. 21. Canceled due to public safety and health concerns. SOMO Village Event Center, 1100 Valley House Dr., Rohnert Park. Refunds will be issued. www.somoconcerts.com

Lagunitas Beer Circus: Saturday, Oct. 21. Canceled due to public health and safety concerns. Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and Events Center, 75 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma. https://lagunitas.com/beercircus

POSTPONED

The Laramie Project: Originally scheduled to open Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 12-15. Opening postponed to Thursday, Oct. 19. Check website for updates; additional performances may be added. San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., S.F. (415) 338-2467. http://theatredance.sfsu.edu

The Rainmaker: Originally scheduled to open Friday, Oct. 13. Postponed to Thursday, Oct. 19. Rotary Stage, Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. www.sonomaartslive.org

Exhibition opening reception for David Ligares Magna Fide (The Great Belief) and Forge and Stone: Contemporary California Women Sculptors: Originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14. The exhibitions will be open to the public Wednesday, Oct. 18, with opening reception postponed to Dec. 9. Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, 551 Broadway, Sonoma. www.svma.org

Punk in Drublic: Originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14. Postponed until Oct. 29 due to air quality concerns. Tickets will be honored at new date or refunds are available at the original point of purchase. Concord Pavilion, 2000 Kirker Pass Rd., Concord. http://punkindrublicfest.com

Boz Scaggs: Originally scheduled Thursday-Friday, Oct. 19-20. Postponed to May 4-5. Refunds will be available at point of purchase and currently held tickets will be honored on new date. Uptown Theatre Napa, 1350 Third St., Napa. (707) 259-0123. www.uptowntheatrenapa.com

The Crucible: Originally scheduled to open Friday, Oct. 20. Opening postponed to Oct. 27 and now running only two weekends. Lucky Penny Productions will reach out to those with tickets to the canceled performances. Lucky Penny Community Arts Center, 1758 Industrial Way, Suite 208, Napa. (707) 266-6305. www.luckypennynapa.com

Pacific Coast Trail Runs Eldrith Gosneys Pure Ultra: All race distances for the Saturday, Oct. 21, have been postponed until January. PCTR and M.H. Bread & Butter are encouraging trail runners to donate new or barely used running shoes and clothing from 7:30-10 a.m. Saturday to Runner Helping Runner at the San Francisco Running Co., 247 Shoreline Hwy., Mill Valley.

Art Trails: Now scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 21-22, and Oct. 28-29 at locations throughout Sonoma County. http://sonomacountyarttrails.org
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It may be months before fire investigators are able to determine what caused the devastating and deadly Wine Country fires. But that didn't stop multiple fake news sites from spreading conspiracy theories about causes, even as firefighters are still working to contain the fires.

Fact-checking website Snopes has already debunked one popular rumor: that the fires were "started by Mexican drug cartels in order to gain a strategic advantage over the legal marijuana industry."

The GotNews.com article purporting that theory only cites "law enforcement authorities," "senior Department of Homeland Security officials" and "key people within the legal marijuana business." The story doesn't contain a single quote or named source.

The site also claims the fires' timing was "suspicious," because most wildfires in California "usually occur in December and January, not October." But as Snopes points out, that's simply not true. More fires have burned in October than December or January almost every year of the past decade, as shown by California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection data.

Snopes calls GotNews.com "a disreputable web site run by the infamous internet troll Chuck C. Johnson" with a history of publishing "often-xenophobic conspiracy theories."

VIDEO FROM THE WINE COUNTRY FIRES

Now Playing: Wine Country Fires Video: San Francisco Chronicle

Breitbart and InfoWars, two far-right websites with much larger followings, helped spread another unfounded story about the cause of the fires, incorrectly blaming them on a 29-year-old Latino man who was arrested Sunday.

"The U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) issued a detainer request on the Sonoma County Jail for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, who was arrested Sunday on suspicion of arson in Wine Country fires that have killed at least 40 residents," the Breitbart story reads. InfoWars reprinted Breitbart's story word for word.

Gonzalez was in fact arrested on suspicion of arson, as reported by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, but not in connection with any of the large wildfires burning in the North Bay. In fact, the fire Gonzalez is accused of starting at a Sonoma park was so small that a sheriff's deputy was able to put it out before firefighters even arrived on scene.

The Press Democrat reports that Gonzalez lives under a nearby bridge and told authorities he started the fire because he was cold.

Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano tried to put an end to the story once and for all Tuesday in a press conference, according to the Sacramento Bee.

"There's no indication [Gonzalez is] related to these fires at all," Giordano said. "I wanted to kill that speculation right now, so we didn't have things running too far out of control."

Investigators are still working to determine the cause or causes of the Wine Country fires. As part of that investigation, Cal Fire said it is looking into reports of downed Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power lines, the Chronicle reported.

"We are investigating a number of potential causes, including whether reports of power lines falling down and electrical transformers exploding Sunday night may have caused some of the wildfires in the region," said Cal Fire deputy director Janet Upton.

"These destructive winds, along with millions of trees weakened by years of drought and recent renewed vegetation growth from winter storms, all contributed to some trees, branches and debris impacting our electric lines across the North Bay," PG&E spokeswoman Ari Vanrenen told the Chronicle in an e-mail.

There's at least one thing the conspiracy sites got right. GotNews.com boasted that its exclusive "report" linking drug lords to the Wine Country wildfires wouldn't be found anywhere in the "mainstream media."

Thankfully, that part is true.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
1 Education Department sued: Democratic attorneys general in 17 states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Education over its decision to block an Obama-era rule designed to protect students from being defrauded by for-profit colleges. The Gainful Employment rule was supposed to take effect this year, but Education Secretary Betsy DeVos froze it until a new rule could be crafted. The lawsuit comes as DeVos faces criticism from student advocates and Democratic lawmakers for delaying action on tens of thousands of claims for loan forgiveness from former students at defunct for-profit colleges.

2 NAFTA talks: Talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled over tough American demands, dashing hopes that a deal can be reached this year. A fourth round of negotiations among the U.S., Mexico and Canada ended in mutual exasperation Tuesday. Talks will continue next month in Mexico City and will spill over into next year. Talks have deadlocked over Americas insistence that a rewritten NAFTA reduce Americas huge trade deficits. President Trump has vowed to withdraw from the 23-year-old pact if he cant get what he wants. Among other things, the U.S. seeks to shift more auto production to the United States.
English Icelandic

Landsbankinn will publish its financial results for Q3 2017 after market closing on Thursday, 26 October 2017.

The following day, 27 October at 10:00 local time, the Bank will host an investor call in English covering the main Q3 results. Please register to the call by emailing ir@landsbankinn.is.

For further information contact:

Hanna Kristin Thoroddsen, Investor Relations, ir@landsbankinn.is
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday strongly defended President Trumps firing of James Comey, linking the FBI directors abrupt dismissal to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation. But he refused to discuss any private conversations he had with the president leading up to Comeys firing and would not say if he had discussed with the president an FBI investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Sessions, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was the first time Im aware of in which an FBI director had performed the traditional role of Justice Department prosecutors by announcing on his own the conclusion of a federal investigation  that no charges would be brought against Clinton.

He said he was further galled when Comey, one week before his firing, insisted to Congress that he would have taken the same actions again.

Sessions insistence that Comeys firing was motivated by displeasure over the Clinton email case is consistent with the initial White House explanation. But Trump himself has at times appeared to undercut that explanation, saying he would have fired Comey even without the recommendation of the Justice Department and that he was thinking of this Russia thing when he dismissed him on May 9.

Trump has accused Comey of having prematurely exonerated Clinton, even though the Justice Departments own explanation for the firing cited his decision to effectively reopen the probe days before the November election.

The FBIs investigation is now being run by the Justice Departments special counsel, Robert Mueller. After initially balking at the question, Sessions said that he had not been questioned by Muellers team of investigators. He has been seen as a possible witness in the case, given his involvement in the firing of Comey.

Sessions stressed at the outset that he would not discuss any private conversations with the president and he largely abided by that principle, deflecting questions not only about the Russia investigation but also about the presidents pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among other topics.

The Russia probe has shadowed much of Sessions tenure as attorney general, even though he recused himself in March because of his role as a staunch Trump campaign ally. It was a central focus of the oversight hearing, too, as lawmakers repeatedly pressed Sessions about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S., his discussions with Trump about the investigation and his involvement in the firing of Comey.

Sadie Gurman and Eric Tucker are Associated Press writers.
WASHINGTON  The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger said Wednesday that President Trump disrespected her family during a call with the mans widow by saying the soldier knew what he signed up for.

Trump denied he said those words to Sgt. La David Johnsons pregnant wife during a Tuesday phone call and escalated his dispute with Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who first described the exchange on Tuesday.

Speaking before a meeting with members of the Senate Finance Committee, Trump said, I had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a wonderful woman. He also asserted, I didnt say what that congresswoman said. Didnt say it at all, she knows it.

Yet when asked about Wilsons account of the call on Wednesday, Johnsons mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, backed the congresswomans version. Yes, he did state that comment, Jones-Johnson said of Trump, corresponding via Facebook.

Pressed twice by reporters about Wilsons description, Trump dared her to make the allegations again. Let her make her statement again and then youll find out, the president said.

The back and forth has angered many, including Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., who said Trump needs to stop disrespecting Johnsons family. My position is that the vapid, vacuous vessel that is Donald Trumps brain produces lie after lie after lie, Hastings said. All of us see this, and somebody needs to say to him, not just as it pertains to this issue, Stop the damn lies.

Wilson recounted details of Trumps call with Johnsons widow, Myeshia Johnson. On Tuesday, Wilson was in the car with Myeshia Johnson and said she overheard the phone call from the president, who was on speakerphone. Johnson, 25, was killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month that killed three other soldiers and injured two in the Army Special Forces Unit.

Yamiche Alcindor, Mark Landler and Eileen Sullivan are New York Times writers.
A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday joined another federal judge in Hawaii, halting President Trumps latest travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuangs order came just hours after U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii issued an order Tuesday blocking Trumps ban for what he said was its violation of immigration law.

Chuang wrote that the presidents campaign trail comments about Muslims and his Twitter postings pointed to the ban being an unconstitutional example of discrimination against Muslims.

The newest travel rules, which Trump signed Sept. 24, were supposed to go into full effect on Wednesday and indefinitely ban entry to the U.S. by most nationals of Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea. They also restrict travel by certain Venezuelan government officials and their families.

The White House vowed to fight to re-establish the ban, and the Justice Department said it would appeal the judges decisions.

Jaweed Kaleem is a Los Angeles Times writer.
Ai Weiwei, the 60-year-old Chinese artist who has long been an activist thorn in the side of his countrys political leadership, has acquired international celebrity largely by making a career of honoring others. His 2014 San Francisco exhibition, @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, which focused on incarceration policies around the world, drew nearly 900,000 visitors in its seven-month run.

Now, Ai has produced an epic documentary film, nearly 2 hours long, drawing sympathetic attention to the circumstances of some 65 million refugees across the globe. Human Flow opens in San Francisco on Friday, Oct. 20.

The Chronicle spoke with Ai Weiwei in San Francisco before the screening. This interview has been edited for length.

Q. Whats the question that no one has asked you, but that you wish someone had asked about this film?

A. I think the question would be, were living in the 21st century. And I think that as humans we are already, maybe, at the most prosperous or have the highest self-confidence. And also, quite possibly, we already see the end is coming. ...

We all live on this planet. Planet Earth. And that planet is so singled out from the rest of the planets. We know that (another planet) is cold or its hot, or it is not a condition that has life or species like us.

But we are not so appreciative. We are not even just celebrating life itself. It creates so much difference, it is so difficult for (other) human beings. And it leaves them in unthinkable conditions. It is very crude and it shows how primitive we can be.

So, that is very hard to accept, actually. We really have to speak out, yell out, for certain ideas or ideologies.

Q. How long have you worked on this film?

A. If you are talking about (when) I had a consciousness to make this film, its about a year. But the postproduction takes about half a year, and the distribution and promotion take another half.

In this period of time, we already did about 20 museum shows ... I mean, big shows, that take the whole museum. And of course I did hundreds of interviews.

Q. Why do you do all that? You dont need more fame. You dont need more money.

A. I dont need anything. I just want to burn myself out. Its life; you better use it. Its the way we celebrate our life. ...

I have to get out of myself, get myself into unfamiliar situations. That is the way of learning, that is the way of experiencing yourself, and its a challenge. It sounds stupid, but in that way I feel life itself. Fresh.

Q. You were the director; you did a number of the interviews. ... What would you say your most important role was in this?

A. How I function in this film, first, is the understanding about what we are doing. And the scale of the film. And possible language of how to structure this film ... because you have to define the language.

We know we all tell the same story: Its about human tragedy. It is on the news all the time. But how to come out with a film that still has its own integrity and which argues (for) its own existence?

Q. Im going to make an assumption, which may be wrong, that you dont have a lot of experience at filmmaking.

A. I never had experience with this kind of commercial type. But I do have a lot of experience in architecture, which is very much like film. Everything is concept, design, fabrication and furnishing.

As someone very experienced in journalism, in China, I ended up doing a lot of films to put on the Internet: investigations, quick response. I did at least 20 documentaries and put them on the Internet. The next day, millions of people watch it in China. That is why Internet is so dangerous ... because that kind of truth-telling really challenges everybodys nerves when they watch it. So, yeah, I am quite experienced about how to achieve a visual language to reach the audience.

Q. Its long, the film.

A. Its long, but it is too short for this kind of story. ...

Doing this film gave me a chance to get knowledge. My knowledge about refugees or human flow was from zero. Because China was a society, where I grew up, of frozen human beings.

Restrictions are characteristic of this kind of authoritarian society. They always tell you you cannot do this, you cannot do that. People take it as part of nature. Like, today is rainy, tomorrow is cloudy. Now it can be a sunny day. This is the general condition; everybody understands that.

Among this 65 million, people have been forced to leave their home. That means if they dont leave they will die. The casualties will not be just a few hundred thousand, it will be 60-some million people, just dead. Because it is not just their house being bombed; the whole city disappeared. Those images, you would never believe. Only in Hollywood movies, and they still cannot capture that kind of thing, you know.

But we see it before breakfast, or when we drive to work, and we forget about it because we have other agendas to do. It is very interesting how our human emotions and logic are designed. It is like a huge computer: emotion, rationality, logic. It purposely can be cut off from one another. It protects us not to get crazy or mad.

Q. I thought refugees were poverty-stricken. But then you have the scene where theres the generator running, and everybody has got their smartphones plugged in. Are most of the refugees middle class?

A. If you are talking about refugees from Syria, they are middle class. They can pay thousands of dollars for smugglers, and they have a vision about where they want to go. Many of them are engineers, doctors, lawyers, professionals. The first one I interviewed, I still remember. A young guy from Afghanistan, speaks seven languages. So he became a translator for the film, working with my studio for a year just translating everything.

But for certain places, if you look at what happened in Myanmar and Bangladesh, those people  before they lost their home (now it is a half-million), I dont think they had ever been educated. Or African people. ... If you go to their tents, it is ridiculous. The inside and outside is the same. They are living there for generations but there is nothing inside. Outside is just sand and the wind. It is nothing.

Q. Do you have hope?

A. Personally? Or for humanity? That is very different, right?

Personally, I enjoy every moment. I still have consciousness. I meet people and talk about whatever we can talk about. It is such a joy.

But, as humanity, I worry about this a lot. Because I think that we are not fully appreciating who we are. Not even understand the fragile condition of our existence. That is a tragedy, because life is so precious and such a miracle.

So, do you have a goal for the film?

My goal for the film is to get the audience to watch it. It is my test or challenge to see, even I make this little effort but still I want people to watch it: two hours. But I kinda feel that I am asking too much, people spend their precious two hours to go to a film, which is not so fashionable today. But I still think that maybe people later can get on Amazon or something to watch it. Because this is a topic that we all should know and we all should  in a democratic society, or in modern days, we cannot say of something that we just dont know it. That is a shame.

Why do you care?

Maybe it is something inside me, I dont really know. It is not really any kind of higher moral judgment. Ive really thought about it. But I dont think we know each other that well. And, especially, I dont think I know me that well. And before the end comes I try to dig at it to say, lets try this.

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1

Human Flow

Documentary. Starring Israa Abboud, Hiba Abed, Rami Abu Sondos. Directed by Ai Weiwei. (PG-13. 140 minutes.)
Californias U.S. senators have called out a critical flaw in a federal emergency warning system that sends cell phone blasts to those in danger, saying the shortcomings led to a possibly fateful choice by local officials not to employ it in the early hours of wildfires that have devastated Californias Wine Country.

In a crisis like this, receiving a timely emergency alert on your mobile phone can be the difference between life and death, Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein said in a letter sent Tuesday to the Federal Communications Commission, outlining concerns that the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system can not target specific enough locations.

The warning system, used in every state and roughly one-third of counties, can send a mass Amber Alert-type message to large numbers of cell phones in an emergency. The short texts are delivered with a unique sound and vibration designed to get peoples attention.

But some local officials say they often dont deploy the system because its reach can be too broad, sometimes hitting every available cell phone in a county.

Sonoma County, which was hit particularly hard by the fires and had suffered at least 22 deaths as of Tuesday, chose not to issue the wireless warning as fires broke out overnight on Oct. 8 and 9, fearing pandemonium and clogged roadways would make it difficult for first responders to get to people in harms way.

These emergency services are caught in a bind between notifying individuals in imminent danger and risking mass panic, the senators wrote. As a result, these services are compelled to rely on emergency messaging systems with far less reach and far less capacity.

The decision not to use a WEA alert left many Sonoma County residents, some in areas devastated by the fires, with no official warning. Many fled only after being awakened by the smell of smoke, the sound of sirens or neighbors pounding on their doors.

In September 2016, the FCC proposed new rules that would require wireless carriers to allow the alerts to target more precise geographic areas, the senators letter said, but the federal agency has not finalized the policies.

Emergency responders across California have voiced frustrations about the limitations of the alert system. In a September 2016 letter to the FCC, Los Angeles Emergency Management Department General Manager Aram Sahakian recommended improvements to the WEA system so it could target smaller geographic areas.

In Los Angeles we have communities near the ocean, the letter says. If our intent is to warn those residents that there is an on-coming tsunami and the message goes out to the residents in our inland areas, it will not make sense because the people in the inland areas are not located near any bodies of water.

Yuba County Emergency Operations Manager Scott Bryan called the system cumbersome. The county, which had roughly 10,000 acres burn in the recent wildfires, has not sought to use WEA alerts, relying instead on other notification systems.

During the wildfires that broke out last week, local officials throughout California used the alert system four times. One message Oct. 14 gave an update on evacuations in Lake County; two messages on Oct. 9 issued mandatory evacuation orders in parts of Orange and Lake counties. On that same day, people in Marin County received a message with the locations of evacuation centers for North Bay fire refugees.

In Sonoma County, officials chose not to send a WEA alert but instead sent cellular and email warnings through two other programs that residents must sign up for. They also placed robocalls to landline telephones and sent first responders to help people in areas that needed to be evacuated.

According to county records, relatively few residents were enrolled in the voluntary alert systems that were used before the fires broke out.

If I had done the Wireless Emergency Alert, I would have been notifying Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma  all of the cities and unincorporated areas in the county, said Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Zachary Hamill, who helped make the decision not to send the wireless alert. I didnt need to do that, and I needed to focus on who specifically needed help.

Feinstein and Harris have asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reply to their letter and a series of questions by Oct. 24, including whether the agency has reached out to areas recently hit by natural disaster to ask how the WEA system is working.

Joaquin Palomino is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jpalomino@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoaquinPalomino
FOLSOM, Calif. (KCRA)  A new California law will force the Folsom Cordova Unified School District to end its policy of allowing select employees to store and  if necessary  access guns on campus.

School officials sent out a statement Monday after Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 424 into law over the weekend. The bill, authored by Sacramento Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, expands the ban of firearms in a school zone to include school employees.

Before, a school district superintendent, or an equivalent school authority, could give select employees permission to carry guns on school campuses.

The Folsom school district's policy has been in place since 2010.

"This legislation ends our years-long practice of allowing trained, select employees with valid concealed weapons permits to safely store and, if necessary, access a firearm on school grounds. Unlike other districts, Folsom Cordova does not allow teachers to carry firearms," Superintendent Sarah Koligian said in the statement.

No other school districts in the Sacramento area allows school employees to have or carry guns on campus. The Stockton and Modesto school districts don't allow guns on campus either.

After introducing the bill in February, McCarty said it's designed to close loopholes in the Gun-Free School Zone Act.

"It's a simple bill, it says that schools should be a place of learning, books, and pencils, and teachers, and education -- not a place with guns around," he said.

Koligian said the school district will be working with law enforcement, families and staff to "ensure we are doing everything possible to protect the safety of our students. That will include reviewing our active shooter and emergency planning, and maintaining communication to families and community members about our District emergency procedures."

The bill exempts school activities, like shooting sports, from the ban. Law enforcement, military personnel and security guards with proper training and permits are also exempt.

The law goes into effect Jan. 1.

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com
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When Hollywood studio manager Mark Walter decided to open a Bay Area production facility last year, he discovered Vallejos Mare Island.

A joint venture between Film Mare Island and Los Angeles-based Cinelease, the soundstage on the former naval base had only been open for two days when a Paramount TV production moved in. Once its crew discovered what downtown Vallejo also had to offer, five days of filming turned into five months.

To have them be that impressed with the area and the island means a lot, Walter said.

These days, a big-budget movie and the second season of 13 Reasons Why currently in production keeps more than 600 workers and vendors busy on any given day on Mare Island, and the Cinelease venture is also just one of the 110 businesses bringing new energy to the former naval shipyard established in 1854, the first on the West Coast, and decommissioned in 1996.

Just like the families who have made Vallejo the nations second hottest real estate market, businesses are discovering the city has a lot to offer, from its industrial past to its innovative future, without the high prices of the rest of the Bay Area.

Local developer and fifth-generation Vallejo resident Dennis Brinson points to several of the citys compelling resources as drivers in its booming home sales and job growth.

Vallejo is a natural transit hub for the area, from rail to buses that connect to BART to ferries to San Francisco and the major highways of 37, 29, 780, 680 and 80, and pricing on homes is half of what youd experience in San Francisco, which is a pleasurable ferry ride away, or by car right down 80, he said. But the nuts and bolts of why a new economy employer would be here is our unique infrastructure. 

That includes big power grids from the former nuclear submarine base, ideal for companies that require substantial amounts of energy.

There are plenty of new economy applications that are pretty power-hungry, Brinson said.

Vallejo also has an incredible water supply  we sell water to other cities and we have 25 percent unused water treatment capacity, he said.

This helped the city attract Napa Smiths multimillion-dollar brewery and taproom to Sonoma Boulevard (Highway 29), according to Brinson.

A public-private partnership with Inyo Networks, launched in summer 2017, is utilizing an existing city fiber network to provide gigabit internet services to businesses at unparalleled rates. This new public internet initiative is enabling Vallejo to significantly lower the operating costs for businesses and employers in the city.

Vallejos resources also include ready-to-develop sites on its scenic waterfront and in downtown, as well as the now-private shipyards on Mare Island, said James Cooper, president and CEO of the citys Chamber of Commerce.

This year more than a million ferry passengers will land at the waterfront, which regularly hosts festivals and lies only two blocks from a downtown with recently improved lighting, sidewalks and security.

Theres a real ambience thats being created and developed, Cooper said. Thats where the opportunity lies.

Employers are also discovering Vallejos rich human assets, in part created by the citys institutes of higher education.

In a very broad sense, Vallejo is a college town, said Bob Arp, vice president for university of advancement at CSU Maritime Academy, also known as Cal Maritime, which educates 1,100 undergraduates on its 89-acre waterfront campus. Vallejo also boasts Solano Community College, which recently added a 400-student auto tech program to its local campus, and Touro University, which trains its 1,465 students for health care professions.

At the West Coasts only degree-granting maritime academy, Arp notes, we produce graduates that not only go to sea as deck officers or engineers, were producing people who are facilities engineers or mechanical engineers, who are more than meeting the needs of local business, including manufacturers.

Nearly 95 percent of students are employed upon graduation, he said.

We have a growing number of internships and summer placements, not only within the shipping industry, but with a wide variety of businesses and opportunities, Arp said.

Joanna Altman, the citys public information officer, hails Touro University, Solano Community College and Cal Maritime as key partners in Vallejos economic development.

The city continues to find ways to support them as they grow, as all three institutions have plans to double enrollment, increase their programs and grow their campuses, she said.

One of Vallejos largest employers is healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, which numbers 4,300 employees in the city, and a total of 6,900 in Solano and Napa counties combined. The diversity in cultural backgrounds and skill sets of Vallejos workers makes the city very attractive, according to Nor Jemjemian, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanentes Napa Solano Area.

From a labor standpoint were able to attract a variety of levels of workforce, he said. From the educational institutions around us, we can get anyone from nurses to physicians to the technically trained, to storeroom workers and receptionists.

The citys wide array of ethnic groups is also reflected in the company, much to its benefit, Jemjemian adds.

Kaiser Permanente is known industry-wide as the No. 2 diverse company in the country. Vallejo offers so much diversity that were able to bring in a diverse workforce, Jemjemian said. It affects the quality of care because there are different viewpoints and different cultural practices ... and if you have a diverse workforce in your hospital, youll be able to articulate and connect with the individuals youre serving in those hospitals.

City officials recently decided to showcase the human and physical resources of Vallejo and its business-friendly policies in a new portal, www.choosevallejo.com, and a YouTube video that reflects many business leaders enthusiasm for the citys positive economic climate.

The Vallejo business boom is not hype, its the reality, Jemjemian said. Now people are discovering it, Im very confident were going to see more major organizations here, whether in manufacturing, IT or service. The transformation of Vallejo is happening today.

Details

For Vallejos business video, see https://youtu.be/5iN6GN0w3Os.
Belleville, Illinois, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Each year, hundreds of thousands of former workers get stuck in the approval logjam for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) because of simple mistakes in their initial applications. A new web pagessdi101.allsup.comis now available with expert tips and recommendations to avoid the delays that can add months or years to the process of applying for disability benefits.

The page provides valuable information in an easy-to-understand format, with graphics and special features, including a benefits calculator that can help applicants quickly learn how much they will earn in monthly benefits if the Social Security Administration (SSA) approves their claim.

Tens of thousands of people with work-disrupting health conditions apply for disability benefits every month without realizing the challenges of timing, finances and medical evidence important to their claim, said Mike Stein, Allsup assistant vice president.

SSDI101: The Path To Benefits gives former workers and their families the basics for getting started, especially to get through an extremely frustrating process when they dont have any help at the beginning, Stein added.

SSDI101: The Path To Benefits is a robust resource that:

Outlines how to determine whether a former worker is eligible for benefits.

Provides step-by-step instructions for applying for benefits.

Offers a benefits calculator to discover how much someone is likely to receive based on their previous earnings.

Lists the most common physical and mental ailments covered by SSDI.

Explains what happens at each level of the process, from application to award, including a process timeline.

Defines key terms, and much more.

About 8.7 million former U.S. workers currently receive SSDI benefits, which they paid for through their FICA taxes. The average SSDI recipient worked 22 years prior to receiving Social Security disability. Applicants must have paid payroll taxes and worked five of the past 10 years. They must be under retirement age and suffer from a severe work-disrupting injury or physical or mental illness that will last at least a year, or is terminal.

Unfortunately, the application and appeals processes are difficult and lengthy. About 2 million Americans are now at some stage in the Social Security disability claims review processfrom application to appealsthat can take more than 800 days to complete.

The web page was created by Allsup, which has helped more than 275,000 people receive their Social Security disability benefits and navigate the complicated process of completing forms, filing appeals, tracking deadlines, and potentially returning to work.

The web page also provides free access to Allsups convenient online tool, empower by Allsup, which combines an SSDI assessment for eligibility and Social Security disability application support, plus return to work assistance, for those who are able to return to work following medical recovery or stabilization of their conditions.

Go to ssdi101.allsup.com to learn more.

ABOUT ALLSUP

Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, exchange plan and Medicare services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis.

Follow us at Facebook.com/allsupinc or @Allsup on Twitter.
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A San Francisco police officer on bicycle patrol three blocks from City Hall was critically injured Wednesday by a suspect in a gun-related case who ran him down in a sport utility vehicle and then drove off before being arrested several hours later, officials said.

The officer was struck about 12:30 p.m. on Turk Street near Van Ness Avenue. As he was rushed in an ambulance to a hospital for emergency surgery, police officers began searching for the driver in and around Buena Vista Park in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, roughly a mile and a half southwest of the crash scene.

The Lexus SUV that police said struck the officer was recovered near the intersection of Fell Street and Central Avenue, close to the Panhandle north of Buena Vista Park. Witnesses said the driver ran away after ditching the car.

Now Playing: San Francisco police say they have taken a suspect into custody after an officer on a bicycle was struck by a hit-and-run driver this afternoon. Video: KTVU

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Police took a suspect into custody at 3:30 p.m. more than a mile away, on the 500 block of Ellis Street in the Tenderloin. His name was not released because police have some ID issues, said Assistant Police Chief Toney Chaplin.

Chaplin did not disclose details of the officers injuries, but said he was out of surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and in the intensive care unit.

Hes in the ICU, so I think that speaks for itself, Chaplin said. Hes in grave condition.

The officer has been with the Police Department for four years and works the bicycle beat out of Tenderloin Station, police said. His name was not immediately released.

I just spoke with some of the officers at the affected station, and everyones having a tough time right now, Chaplin said.

Mayor Ed Lee arrived at the hospital shortly after the officer was brought there.

Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a department spokesman, said the officer was on his department-issued bicycle and investigating a firearms case when the suspect in that case saw him approach and hit him with the SUV.

Police cordoned off Turk Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street after the crash. A damaged bicycle lay on its side in the roadway next to a rental truck, as investigators began documenting evidence.

About 1:30 p.m., police asked people to avoid the area around Buena Vista Park. They searched the park until around 3 p.m. Neighbors were advised to shelter in place during the search.

Antonio Garcia, who was working on construction on Haight Street, said he heard noise on the street as he was taking his lunch break around 12:40 p.m.

I heard cops. They were everywhere in the park, driving past here so fast, he said. There were maybe 40 or 50 of them. They had people on bikes, motorcycles, horses all over the park.

The license plate on the SUV that hit the officer was stolen from another vehicle, the woman who owned the plate told The Chronicle. She said her husband had noticed the plate missing around lunchtime Wednesday.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Kevin Fagan and Filipa Ioannou of sfgate.com contributed to this report.

Vivian Ho and Annie Ma are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com, ama@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo, @anniema15
Waltham, MA, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

CallMiner, the award-winning platform provider of speech and customer engagement analytics today announced its partnership with PTP, a leading customer experience (CX) consulting firm.

PTP provides organizations with CX-focused solutions that drive revenue and improve experience-based metrics. The company has worked extensively with contact centers to replace outdated systems and connect internal knowledge management and CRM systems. PTPs focus is the entire CX experience  including customer journey maps, process optimization, and technology innovation  to help organizations provide a seamless, omnichannel experience for their customers.

Our business exists to improve our clients operations and deploy technologies across all channels to deliver the optimal customer experience, said PTPs President, John Podlipnik. We offer CX strategy, implementation and support services, and are always looking for the right technology partners such as CallMiner that offer tremendous value for our clients. By leveraging CallMiners speech analytics, well provide contact centers with an entirely new layer of intelligence that reflects every customer interaction. Theyll uncover how their agents phrasing and tone improves customer satisfaction and retention, directly increasing revenue.

CallMiners Eureka platform, along with PTPs custom integration services, provides organizations with an effective way to capture 100 percent of interactions that contact center agents have with customers and then turns them into searchable text. In addition to providing data on customer preferences, Eureka provides sentiment analysis to better understand how customers feel about products, promotions, and brands. The platform analyzes sentiment based on certain language used in conversations as well as the tone, amount of stress in the voice and the rate and volume of speech. By objectively measuring sentiment and other desired behaviors, companies receive the feedback they need to improve the customer experience in near real-time across 100% of their contact center engagements.

Were thrilled to partner with PTP to provide their clients with meaningful data on how to improve call center metrics, says CallMiner CEO, Paul Bernard. Theyre focused squarely on the customer experience as a whole, and desired a customer-focused platform that would transform call center operations. We look for partners, like PTP, that want to help organizations take action on the insight extracted through speech analytics and we value their contribution toward broader adoption of our technology.

About PTP

PTP is a Customer Experience (CX) consulting firm wholly focused on helping organizations deliver strategic customer experience solutions that drive revenue. We provide strategy, implementation and support services across the most common Contact Center, CRM and Security technology platforms.

To learn more about PTP, visit https://www.ptpinc.com/.

Follow PTP on Twitter at @PTPCX or subscribe to our blog at https://www.ptpinc.com/ptp-blog/.

About CallMiner

CallMiner believes that resolution is the fundamental driver of positive customer experiences. When contact center agents and others responsible for customer engagement are empowered by insight and feedback in near real-time, they can dramatically improve the rate of positive outcomes. With the tagline Listen to Your Customers, Improve Your Business our goal is to help companies automate the overwhelming process of extracting insight from phone calls, chats, emails and social media to dramatically improve customer service and sales, reduce the cost of service delivery, mitigate risk, and identify areas for process and product improvement. Highlighted by multiple customer achievement awards, including seven Speech Technology implementation awards in the past five years, CallMiner customers have been recognized for unparalleled success in leveraging Eureka interaction analytics to attain their business goals and objectives. www.callminer.com.

Media Contact: Maureen Szlemp | CallMiner Marketing Director | Maureen.szlemp@callminer.com | 319-573-3312.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b6229dbf-5de4-42f7-b5ce-2e9eae6c4694
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANYOTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.





THIN - CONTEMPLATED PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Oslo, 18 October 2017





Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thin Film" or the "Company") has retained Carnegie AS as Sole Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner, and Cowen and Company, LLC and DNB Markets (a part of DNB Bank ASA) as Joint Bookrunners (together with Carnegie, the "Managers") to advise on and complete an undocumented private placement of up to the NOK equivalent of USD 110 million, representing approximately 43% of the outstanding shares in the Company (the "Private Placement").

The subscription price in the Private Placement will be set through an accelerated bookbuilding process and is expected to be set between NOK 2.50 and NOK 2.65 (the "Indicative Price Range"). The Company has received significant pre-commitments from existing shareholders, as well as new institutional investors, to subscribe for shares in the Private Placement within the Indicative Price Range.

The application period for the Private Placement commences today at 16:30 CET and closes 19 October 2017 at 08:00 CET. The Company and the Managers may, however, at any time resolve to close or extend the bookbuilding period at their sole discretion and on short notice. The minimum subscription amount in the Private Placement will be the NOK equivalent of EUR 100,000. The Company may, in its sole discretion, allocate an amount below EUR 100,000 in the Private Placement provided that the Company is able to rely on any applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirement pursuant to applicable regulations, including the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and ancillary regulations.

The net proceeds from the Private Placement are intended to fully fund investments and operations until cash break-even based on current projections. Cash break-even is expected to occur in early Q2 2019. Capital expenditures are expected to consume 40% of the proceeds, mainly related to: a) roll-to-roll equipment and installation, and b) back-end development and innovation to increase gross margins on tag sales from 30% to >45%. 55% of the proceeds are expected to be consumed by operational costs, including a ramp in headcount in the software and go-to-market sales teams. The remaining proceeds will fund working capital needs. The company's technical and engineering team is already adequately dimensioned and no significant additions are to be expected. In 2019, production capacity is expected to reach 3 billion NFC equivalent front-end die, and in 2020 to reach 7 billion units. The foregoing overview of the intended use of the proceeds from the Private Placement are estimates only and subject to change as circumstances may warrant.

The Private Placement will be divided into two tranches; Tranche 1 consisting of approx. 81.9 million new shares (representing approximately 10% of the capital of the Company) (the "Tranche 1 Shares") and a Tranche 2 consisting of up to the number of new shares necessary to raise gross proceeds of the NOK equivalent of USD 110 million (the "Tranche 2 Shares"). The completion of Tranche 1 of the Private Placement is subject to approval by the Board of Directors of the Company pursuant to an authorisation granted by the Company's general meeting held on 5 May 2017, and the completion of the potential Tranche 2 of the Private Placement will remain subject to the approval by an Extraordinary General Meeting (the "EGM") expected to be held on or about 13 November 2017.

The Private Placement will be directed towards Norwegian investors and international institutional investors, in each case subject to and in compliance with applicable exemptions from relevant prospectus or registration requirements. The private placement structure of the transaction will inherently require a waiver of existing shareholders' preferential rights to subscribe for new shares. The Board of Directors of the Company considers such structure and waiver necessary and appropriate in the interest of time and successful completion.

The date for settlement of Tranche 1 Shares of the Private Placement is expected to be on or about 23 October 2017 (regular DVP, t+2 basis). Tranche 1 Shares are expected to be tradable on or about 20 October (which shall not be prior to the date on which the share capital is registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and announced by the Company).

The date for settlement of the Tranche 2 Shares is expected to be shortly after the EGM, which is expected to be held on or about 13 November 2017, subject to any shortening or extensions of the application period. If a prospectus has not been approved by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority at that point in time, the Tranche 2 Shares may be issued on a separate ISIN and delivered to the investors. These shares would thereafter be converted to the existing ISIN of Thin Film and become tradable on the Oslo Stock Exchange as soon as practically possible following the approval of the prospectus by the Norwegian Financial Services Authority.

For further information, please contact:

Ole R. Thorsnes

CFO

Mobile: +47 91 86 66 97

E-mail: ole.thorsnes@thinfilm.no





Important information:

The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia).

This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. The subscription or purchase of shares in the Company are subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assumes any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.

The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Private Placement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Private Placement and/or any other matter referred to in this release.

Forward-looking statements:

This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements acc. to 5-12 vphl (Norwegian Securities Trading Act)
Finnish English

Metsa Group Press release 18 October 2017

Metsa Group celebrated the inauguration of its next-generation bioproduct mill in Aanekoski, Finland, on 18 October 2017. The mill was inaugurated by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto. With a cost of EUR 1.2 billion, the mill is the largest investment in the history of the Finnish forest industry. It will produce pulp and a wide selection of other bioproducts. The decision to implement the mill project was based on the increasing global demand for these products.



In his inauguration speech, President Sauli Niinisto noted that Finland's well-being is largely based on the export industry.



The forest industry continues to be a key export sector and a major employer in Finland. Its economic importance is emphasised by the fact that raw materials and services needed in production are mainly sourced from Finland. Metsa Group's Aanekoski bioproduct mill is an example of the forest industry of the new era. Its positive impacts on the Finnish economy are substantial, Sauli Niinisto says.



President and CEO of Metsa Group Kari Jordan emphasised in his address that economic growth in Finland requires investments.



The forest industry is doing well and has resumed its position as Finlands most important export industry.



All in all, Metsa Group is investing around EUR 2 billion between 2015 and 2017. Of this, around 85 per cent is investments in Finland. The bioproduct mill has nationwide effects. It will increase Finlands annual exports by EUR 0.5 billion, in addition to creating around 1,500 new jobs throughout the direct value chain and having an effect on wood supply across the country. As Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence, Metsa Group is honoured to be participating in building a stronger economy for the country, Jordan said.



The construction of the bioproduct mill began in April 2015, and the mill started up in mid-August 2017  exactly on schedule and on budget. The mills production has increased as planned, in line with the start-up curve.



The bioproduct mill has shown that large-scale projects can be implemented in Finland competitively and in line with high quality standards. The project was made possible by careful planning and highly committed employees, as well as open, constructive cooperation between the project parties.



Pulp production at Aanekoski is increasing to 1.3 million tonnes from roughly 0.5 million tonnes. The bioproduct mill is a significant project in terms of Metsa Groups competitiveness. It is expected to achieve its nominal capacity in mid-2018, which will make Metsa Group the worlds largest producer of softwood market pulp.



With this new bioproduct mill, Aanekoskis industrial ecosystem will develop and grow further, as the mill serves as a platform for the manufacture of new bioproducts. In the first phase, new bioproducts will include product gas, sulphuric acid, biogas and biofuel pellets. Key bioproduct development projects include lignin products, textile fibres and biocomposites.



The bioproduct mill will accelerate the use of renewable energy in Finland, increasing its share of total energy consumption by around 2 percentage points. In terms of energy efficiency, the mill is a leading facility globally. Its bioelectricity self-sufficiency rate is 240 per cent, and it uses no fossil fuels.

Link to photos: https://databank.metsagroup.com/c/5671





METSA GROUP



For further information, please contact:

Juha Laine, Senior Vice President, Communications, Metsa Group, tel. +358 10 465 4541



Metsa Group

www.metsagroup.com

Metsa Group is a forerunner in sustainable bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsa Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and cooking papers.

Metsa Groups sales totalled EUR 4.7 billion in 2016, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. The Group operates in some 30 countries. Metsaliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsa Group and is owned by approximately 104,000 Finnish forest owners.



Follow Metsa Group:
INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indiana University has pledged to contribute $50 million to reduce and prevent the spike rate of fatal drug addiction across the State. The endeavor was announced as a part of the Universitys esteemed Grand Challenges Initiative program which is dedicated to funding some high-profile research projects.



Drug issues have reached an overwhelming height in Indiana in recent times. The State is one among the four American States where drug overdose has increased more than four times since 1999. 1,100+ Hoosiers lost their lives to a drug overdose. The State hospitals report around 400 overdose cases every week. Last year, there were 619 opioid overdose death cases in Indiana. A recent report reveals a steep increase in opioid-related deaths in Vanderburgh County. The southwest country has witnessed 55 deaths from drug overdose in 2017 so far compared to 50 cases last year. The age of victims ranges from say 22  81.

Heroin overdose has sky-rocketed to three times from 2010-2015 and is one of the main reasons behind the increasing drug addiction deaths today. While heroin is immensely potent, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 50 times more powerful. Its available both legally and illegally which has further abetted more fentanyl-induced deaths today.

Drug addiction has surfaced up to a dire health crisis today, noted Michael A. McRobbie, the honorable President of Indiana University while announcing about the $50 million pledge to fight the drug-terror. Its getting lethal for countless Hoosiers and creating a ruckus across communities all through the State.

The latest pledge is a part of the new "Responding to the Addictions Crisis" initiative that was declared with the University Health President Mr. Dennis Murphy and Governor Eric Holocomb.

Mr. McRobbie has announced to distribute around $30 million within the coming six months to address the shortage of expert addiction professionals and extend the Universitys partnership with various workforce development initiatives aimed to lessen drug addiction. The funding would also be utilized for the compilation of country-specific data on drug addiction and overdose. IU would source the researchers from a wide number of campuses, and the group would be guided by Robin Newhouse, the Dean of IU School of Nursing.

We are looking forward to lessening the menacing mishaps of substance abuse issues through the grant challenge. Together we are aimed to reduce the number of tragic deaths caused by opioid overdose, and together we are committed to lessening the number of little ones born with the neonatal abstinence problems, noted Mr. Newhouse.

Speaking further, Mr. Newhouse stressed on utilizing the grant for spreading awareness about the main causes behind addictions and overdoses.

We are often faced questions on the reasons and process of addictions from our patients and people in our community. Clinicians also ask about better and more effective means to take care of those down with addiction problems. Together, we would gather an extensive understanding of social, behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that abet addiction and issues associated with it.

Author: Kevin Leonard

Organization: The Recover

Address: 402 West Broadway, #400, San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 877-957-2244
FRANKLIN, Tenn., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) today announced that it will provide an online Web simulcast and rebroadcast of its third quarter 2017 conference call.

The Company will issue a press release announcing its results on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, after the regular close of trading. The conference call is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Central time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, on Thursday, November 2, 2017. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available online at www.chs.net . To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at least 15 minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue through December 2, 2017.

During this call, Community Health Systems will review the Companys financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.

About Community Health Systems, Inc.

Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the largest publicly traded hospital companies in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in communities across the country. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns, leases or operates 129 affiliated hospitals in 20 states with an aggregate of approximately 21,000 licensed beds. The Companys headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CYH. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.
Courtesy of Lightwire Theater

With Lightwire Theater, it can be hard to believe that what youre seeing isnt a sparely animated film. The New Orleans company, whose Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey plays for just one day at Palo Altos Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, performs its childrens shows in pitch black, its characters outlines illuminated by battery-powered glow-in-the-dark wire. Since just outlines are lit, and otherwise dancers wear black, their bodies seem to be two-dimensional, part of the dark background. As you watch Lightwires shows, your brain is constantly trying to parse that optical illusion, while your imagination fills in the gaps between whats illuminated.

If co-creators Ian Carney and Corbin Popp have envisioned an extraordinary world, thats also what their protagonist, Marvin the Mouse, is trying to do. Bullied by other rodents, he rockets to the moon to find friends in the cosmos.
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After researchers at the California Academy of Sciences discovered a new species of butterflyfish in the Philippines, they returned to San Francisco to find the same species had been sitting in a jar, undiscovered, for years.

This first brown-and-white specimen came to the Cal Academy in the spring of 2015, collected from a dive in the Philippine's Verde Island Passage, said curator of ichthyology and co-leader of "Hope for Reefs" Luiz Rocha. Academy scientists assumed the fish was a Roa modesta, a species common to the depths of Philippine waters. They placed the specimen, along with dozens of others, in a jar, to be given a closer look when they got around to it.

Nearly two years later, Rocha and the Cal Academy deep dive team returned to Verde Island, where, 360 feet below the surface of the ocean, they captured another Roa modesta. But this time, it was alive.

Things turned didn't turn out to be so black and white. After placing the newly collected specimen alongside Roa modestas in the Cal Academy's "Twilight Zone" exhibit, Matt Wandell, a former Academy aquarium biologist noticed something fishy. The tank's latest addition had a black fin spine, the other fishes' spines were white.

After giving the fish a second  and third and fourth  look, they determined that it not only had different coloring, but different numbers of scales and spines, too. A sequencing of the fish's DNA  conducted by Rocha's teenage son  confirmed their suspicions. Swimming in the backlit waters of the "Twilight Zone" was not a new dimension, as in the television show, but a new species of butterflyfish.







The researchers named the new species Roa rumsfeldi. They published their findings Wednesday in ZooKeys. And yes, the fish is named after Rumsfeld, as in Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford and George W. Bush and a key figure in the planning of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

It turns out that some of Rumsfeld's unique lexicon has made its way into the fish researcher vernacular, specifically this famous quote referring to the uncertainties of war:

"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns  the ones we don't know we don't know."

In fish speak, there are also known knows and known unknowns and unknown unknowns, Rocha explained. He says newly discovered species that have already been classified are called "known knowns"; deep reef species that are known to be new but have yet to be described are "known unknowns"; and species that scientists haven't described and didn't know were new, like the Roa rumsfeldi, are "unknown unknowns." It's almost as confusing as Rumsfeld's quote.

"We joke about that a lot," Rocha said, somewhat deprecatingly.

As for the fish Rumsfeld at the Cal Academy, he's met a sad end. In a cruel twist of fate, the fish died just days after the researchers submitted their paper.

He's with his fish family now. That is, in a jar on a Cal Academy shelf, alongside the other Roa rumsfeldi specimen.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
Logan Couture scored twice as the Sharks extended their dominance of Montreal with a 5-2 victory on Tuesday night at SAP Center.

Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl also scored for San Jose, which has won its past 11 home games against the Canadiens, a streak that dates to Nov. 23, 1999.

On a power play late in the third period, rookie Tim Heed took a shot off a face-off that bounced free in front of the net. Pavelski couldnt get his stick on it but managed to kick it across the net for Couture, who found a huge opening.

That was pretty special, Couture said. I dont know if he knew I was there but he kept his balance and kicked it over.

Couture opened the scoring 3:50 into the first period, grabbing a rebound off the end board, skating across the crease past goalie Carey Price and then firing into an open net.

Jonathan Drouin and Shea Weber scored for the Canadiens, who are winless since an opening-night victory in Buffalo.

Its a very poor start from our team, from myself, from a lot of individuals, Montreals Max Pacioretty said. Its a good time to look in the mirror and see what were made of because a lot of people are probably doubting this team right now.

Martin Jones stopped 28 shots for the Sharks, who finish their season-opening homestand with a 2-3 record.

The biggest thing is finding that energy for the whole game, Jones said. We started OK and then we got better as the night went on.

Pavelski gave the Sharks the lead for good when he redirected Kevin Labancs shot just less than a minute into the second period. The shot, which snapped a 1-1 tie, hit Webers left shin and bounced into the net.

There were a lot of good things out there, Pavelski said. We didnt have the homestand we wanted but we can leave on a positive note.

Rick Eymer is an Associated Press writer.
1 Hate crimes: The referendum on British membership in the European Union and several terrorist attacks, including a suicide bombing after a concert in Manchester, England, have helped drive hate crimes in Britain to record levels, official figures showed Tuesday. The Home Office in London said 80,393 hate crimes were reported during the 12 months to March of this year, an increase of nearly 30 percent and the largest year-to-year rise in the five years data has been collected. The Brexit campaign last year to leave the European Union was supported by some right-wing and nationalist groups, and the vote gave rise to concerns that minorities and immigrants would be more vulnerable to hate crimes. In addition, provisional data collected around the time of terrorist attacks this year in London and Manchester, where the bombing outside the Ariana Grande concert left 22 dead, found that hate crimes soon followed the attacks.

2 Terror threats rise: Britains domestic intelligence chief warned during a rare public speech Tuesday that the terrorist threat the country faces has accelerated at an alarming pace and is worse now than at any time in his 34-year career. MI5 Director General Andrew Parker said his agency, also known as the Security Service, is constantly expanding and upgrading its capability, but cannot realistically prevent all attacks targeting civilians. In 2017, with all that has happened and much that has not, it is clear that we are contending with an intense U.K. terrorist threat from Islamist extremists, Parker told journalists in London. That threat is multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly, and operating at a scale and pace weve not seen before. He noted a dramatic upshift in the threat this year, with successful attacks in London and Manchester that killed 36 people combined. He said continental Europe has faced a similar surge, particularly in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain.
BEIRUT  U.S.-backed Syrian forces were removing land mines and clearing roads in the northern city of Raqqa on Wednesday, a day after commanders said they had driven the Islamic State group from its de facto capital.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said preparations were under way for a formal declaration of the citys liberation.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said Tuesday that military operations in Raqqa have ended and that their troops have taken full control of the city. The U.S.-led coalition cautioned that the clearing operations would continue, saying about 100 militants still may be hiding in the city.

On Wednesday, the spokesman for the coalition, Col. Ryan Dillon, tweeted that 95 percent of the city is under full control as clearing operations continue.

The coalition stressed that the Syrian Democratic Forces have been successful in holding on to captured territory because of its thorough clearing procedures, which prevent counterattacks.

Brett McGurk, the top U.S. envoy for the coalition, said he was in northern Syria to prepare for the defeat of the militants. He said the United States will help in clearing explosives as well as restoring services in the city.

McGurk posted a photograph Wednesday of surrendering Islamic State militants, saying: Once purported as fierce, now pathetic and a lost cause. He said the Islamic State group lost nearly 6,000 militants in Raqqa before surrendering in large numbers.

Aid and charity organizations have warned of the high cost borne by civilians.

The International Rescue Committee said late Tuesday that in the past few days, around 40,000 Raqqa residents arrived in already overcrowded displacement camps in the province.

Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer.
GREENSBORO, N.C., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terrible Herbst just completed its most successful annual Gas4Life promotion by leveraging Gilbarco Veeder-Roots Impulse countertop merchandising solution to increase participation and engagement, while significantly boosting store merchandise revenues.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3f6864ba-93fc-4fd6-a987-d7adda377836

Terrible Herbst ran Gas4Life, a 90-day game-of-chance promotion designed to engage customers. If customers purchased featured store items, they would receive special game codes on their receipts which they could use in the on-line Gas4Lilfe drawing site to win major prizes like cars, beer for a year, or gas for a lifetime. They also had a chance to win prizes instantly at the checkout by spinning a video-based prize wheel that would rotate and stop on prizes like food, beverages or candy.

Central to the promotions success was Gilbarco Veeder-Roots Impulse platform which was programmed to host the instant-win portion of the promotion on the interactive Spin2Win video wheel. Rather than receive a scratch-off card as in earlier versions of Gas4Life, customers were given a chance to spin the interactive wheel, using their fingertips to start the rotation. If they were lucky, the wheel would stop on a prize.

Impulse is a basket-based, suggestive selling solution that uses sophisticated, behind-the-scenes technology to display relevant and colorful offers, games (like Gas4Life), and surveys to the customer before, during, and after check out. It integrates seamlessly with Gilbarco's Passport Point-of-Sale system and the stores price book to power an automated upselling feature which generates displays at the checkout counter to increase basket size and overall sales. In this case, Terrible Herbst programmed Impulse to feature an interactive casino-like game.

Terrible Herbst is an innovator when it comes to leveraging technology and promotion at the c-store level. A key strategy in its marketing plan is to supplement fuel sales with store merchandise purchases  which means getting customers to enter the store.

We used to use scratch-off cards to provide the instant-win portion of our annual Gas4Life promotion, said Mark Walters, Terrible Herbst Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Theres a lot more manual work involved with scratch cards, given the record keeping and distribution. Plus, theres the printing of the cards. Impulse saved us over $40,000 just in scratch cards which we could put back into the promotion. The colorful graphics and lure of Impulse Spin2Win interactivity simply made it easier and more fun for customers to participate.

This years Gas4Life promotion is our most successful promotion to date, said Walters. Fun and innovative ideas to engage and entertain customers are key to driving in-store sales and retaining loyalty. But the Impulse technology really brought the Spin2Win portion of the promotion concept to life. People like instant gratification and Impulse helped us leverage that desire. The incremental sale of in-store items was significant.

Leading c-store retailers like Terrible Herbst are setting new trends in c-store merchandising by leveraging the latest technology, said Mark Williams, Vice President of Marketing, Gilbarco. They are using Impulse to increase sales and grow business, but also to help drive customer loyalty.

With more than 250 lanes of Impulse installed across its network, Terrible Herbst continues to use Impulse as a business strategy to increase sales and to learn how to effectively engage customers.

Founded in 1937, Terrible Herbst is a privately-held gas station company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company operates gas stations in Nevada, California and Arizona. It sells gas, groceries, and other products, as well as car wash and oil change services. It also sells gift cards and car wash plans online.

To learn more about Gilbarco Veeder-Roots Impulse merchandising platform or more about other upselling solutions, visit: http://www.gilbarco.com/us/learning-center/learn-about-upselling.

About Gilbarco Veeder-Root

Gilbarco Veeder-Root is the worldwide technology leader for retail and commercial fueling operations offering the broadest range of integrated solutions from the forecourt to the convenience store and head office. For over 150 years, Gilbarco has earned the trust of its customers by providing long-term partnership, uncompromising support and proven reliability. Major product lines include: fuel dispensers, pump media, point-of-sale systems, payment systems, tank gauges, software development and integration, fleet management systems, and nozzles.

For further information, contact:

Patricia Stancati, Marketing Communications Program Manager

Gilbarco Veeder-Root

Tel: (336) 547-5121

e-mail: patricia.stancati@gilbarco.com




NEWARK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Congressman Ro Khanna (D-17) joined domestic sourcing firm Nexient yesterday to mark the opening of the companys new, expanded Silicon Valley headquarters.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/40819402-ac50-41c4-a453-abb08676fb21

Nexients 100% US-based custom software development model was recently highlighted in The New York Times as part of a flourishing niche in the tech world as some American companies pull back from the idea of hiring programmers a world away.

Located in Khannas congressional district, the new office provides an expanded base for client innovation workshops and startup partnerships. However, the majority of Nexients 400+ designers and development professionals work in Midwestern delivery centers in cities like Ann Arbor, Michigan and Kokomo, Indiana.

Khanna called Nexients domestic sourcing model a powerful vehicle for job creation in Americas heartland. Nexient is bringing together the best of Silicon Valley and the Midwest, Khanna said. Together, we can work to create good-paying tech jobs and pave the way forward to a thriving 21st century economy.

Nexient credits its growth to increasing interest in US-based, product-minded development. In contrast with traditional IT project management, this approach focuses on revenue growth and customer experience, using short, iterative Agile cycles to help enterprise clients achieve faster, more market-driven development.

Analyst firm Gartner anticipates [1] that by 2020, organizations that have embraced the product model will outperform the competition that has not, in both customer satisfaction and business results.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc., whose brands also include Pottery Barn and West Elm, is an example of companies adopting the model. We have just recently begun our relationship with Nexient to help accelerate our mobile e-commerce efforts, commented Sameer Hassan, Williams-Sonomas Senior Vice President of E-Commerce & Marketing. The early results have been great, and we look forward to exploring additional opportunities with the Nexient team.

US businesses are in the midst of a massive transformation, said Nexient CEO Mark Orttung. Theyre retooling to deliver more compelling customer experiences by leveraging Agile, cloud, mobile and DevOps. Domestic sourcing gives them a way to deliver that mission-critical work faster, at lower cost, using real-time collaboration with top-notch developers right here in America.

[1] Gartner: Mastering the Role of Products in the Digital Era; Donna Scott, Mike West and Mike Gilpin; 9 May 2017
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and TOKYO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sequent, one of the worlds leading providers of tokenization services, and TIS, part of TIS INTEC Group based in Japan and a leading payments solution provider, have entered into a strategic partnership to provide next generation secure mobile payment solutions to businesses and consumers in the Japan, ASEAN, and China markets. The two companies announced a strategic investment by TIS in Sequent as part of the Sequent Series C investment round in June 2017.



Sequent and TIS are deploying a mobile card tokenization service leveraging Sequent Platform which will enable TIS to service its customers with a range of highly secure mobile payment and access applications and solutions. These solutions and applications will change the way bank cardholders make purchases and access services from their smartphones and other connected devices. The partnership combines Sequent expertise in next generation tokenization technology with the long-standing payment operations expertise and depth of resources of TIS.

Asian markets have led the world in mobile services consumption and are poised to accelerate the adoption of NFC and in-app purchase transactions, said Fred Thiel, Sequent Chairman of the Board. We are pleased and honored to have the opportunity to partner with TIS to bring new mobile experiences to markets where TIS has a wealth of experience.

We are hoping to combine the advanced technology of Sequent with the strengths of our retail payment solutions and services. We intend to create advancing synergies for our customers in Japan but also in the ASEAN and China regions, comments Isao Otokita, Division Manager of Solution of Payments Division of TIS.

About TIS

In addition to being a leading payments solution provider, TIS of TIS INTEC Group provides a number of IT solution services, including Data Center and Cloud solutions. Simultaneously, we are also arranging a global support system focused in the China and ASEAN regions, contributing to the development of our valued customers as a business partner of more than 3,000 companies in various industries such as finance, manufacturing, distribution/service, public, and communication. For more details, please refer to http://www.tis.co.jp/

About Sequent

Sequent brings cards to mobile and makes them useful for consumers. Sequent Platform enables banks, transit agencies, and access control providers to securely tokenize and digitally distribute their credit, debit, transit, loyalty, or ID cards, to their own application and many other mobile wallet providers. Sequent APIs empower app developers to add tokenized card data to their apps on mobile, wearables, and other connected devices enabling consumers to make payments, redeem offers, open doors, and ride transit systems. For more information, visit www.sequent.com, and follow us on Twitter @sequentsw.

2017 Sequent Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sequent, the Sequent Platform and Sequent logo are unregistered trademarks of Sequent Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

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InsightCirclePR for Sequent

408-807-3780,

carol.felton@insightcirclepr.com




STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A former NYPD sergeant from Staten Island faces 10 years in prison after a New Jersey jury found her guilty of shooting the car of a man she had been dating.

Wanda Anthony, 47, was convicted Thursday in relation to the incident that occurred in Watchung, N.J. in the early morning hours of April 30, 2014, according to a media release from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office.

The off-duty sergeant became involved in a physical altercation with the girlfriend of her date when they returned to his home, according to the release.

After the dispute settled, she went to her car, returned with her NYPD-issued firearm, and when the other two thirds of the love triangle ran in the house, she fired a shot at her date's Mercedes Benz.

The Mariners Harbor resident fled the scene, but local police quickly caught up with her nearby.

Anthony denied firing her weapon, but a forensic technician later recovered two fragments from the resident's vehicle, and a ballistics expert matched them to Anthony's handgun, according to the release. She was fired by the NYPD.

She was found guilty of second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief. Anthony is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 1.
CITY HALL -- Republican Councilman Joseph Borelli and Democrat challenger Dylan Schwartz are vying to represent the South Shore in the City Council for the next four years.

Borelli and Schwartz met with an Advance editorial board on Monday to discuss district issues and what the job means to them ahead of the Nov. 7 election.

The candidates covered a wide range of topics, from racism to the borough's drug crisis and their own approaches to the work if elected next month.

MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE JOB

"The most important part of the job for me is being a voice for an underrepresented population of New York City, which are outer-borough homeowners," Borelli said.

Schwartz said, "I would say the most important part about this job is really showing up. It's making sure that people in your community know that you're the person on the other end of the phone that they can call whether they need help with something hyperlocal."

ADVOCATING FOR SOUTH SHORE

Schwartz said one of his first acts would be to create an "outer banks caucus" for the Council, including members from eastern Brooklyn, eastern Queens, the northern Bronx and Inwood.

"We all deal with similar issues based on our proximity from the city," Schwartz said. "We all deal with similar transportation inequities, health care inequities. We're always generally on the back end of our delegations and I think it's time to leverage that power."

Borelli also said advocating for the South Shore and its unique needs are important.

"The priority of my job is representing the people that uniquely live in a unique part of the city," he said. "This is the only part of the city where someone gets arrested for deer hunting. This is the only part of the city where you can go mountain biking and bass fishing and all those things. We are unique and I have tried to be that voice for our people."

RACISM

Last week, vandals scratched the phrase "n----- get out" into the hood of a black family's car on the South Shore of Staten Island.

"I don't think we should frame this as a South Shore issue," Borelli said when asked if there's a subtle feeling of racism in the community. "There was a Mexican person that was beaten up on the North Shore ... I think it's an issue that should be addressed through the normal conduct of our lives."

Schwartz said he didn't think the incident was isolated. "There's explicit and implicit racism and homophobia and misogyny that exists in our communities, I wouldn't say that it exists more so here than in other parts of the city -- that's the reputation that we carry," Schwartz said. "But every time we see a neighbor in the community step up in the way that we do in our communities to combat that is really the way that we fight back against it."

Borelli agreed that he doesn't pre-suppose the South Shore is "more racist than anywhere else."

Schwartz argued that the national political climate creates a climate where racist incidents occur and acknowledged others will experience racism that he and his opponent don't have to confront.

"I think there's certainly a bias that exists in all of our communities that's emboldened now because of a lack of pushback," Schwartz said, but noted that the community where he grew up with a single mom wasn't like that to him.

"I don't feel uncomfortable walking with my fiance in this community and we're an interracial gay couple," Schwartz added.

Borelli said that his constituents aren't racist "period."

"There is a stigma on Staten Island that we are racist and that's my point -- that we are no more racist," Borelli added. "Of course we have racist people, I've met them, I've seen them, but I would never, ever ever just accept as a generality that Staten Island is more racist than anywhere else in the world."

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND PROPERTY TAXES

Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to dramatically expand the city's affordable housing stock by encouraging new development of taller and denser buildings. The "mandatory inclusionary housing" policy passed by the Council last year requires a share of new units developed through zoning actions to be permanently affordable, with levels of affordability and percentages of the projects they'd make up chosen by the Council and the City Planning Commission.

Schwartz said that he would consider supporting a development with affordable housing on the South Shore, perhaps near more dense neighborhoods like Heartland Village and New Springville, "where they are accustomed to having multiple story buildings." He said middle-income levels would likely work best there and "make sure there's priority given to people from the community who fit those criteria because those are the people in this community who really need the help." He also noted that affordable housing should support single moms, veterans, senior citizens and other vulnerable populations that may have smaller incomes.

"It comes down with how we're able to negotiate," Schwartz said.

Borelli said he wouldn't sacrifice more density for affordable housing and noted that the affordability levels, determined by the area median income, are often higher than rents found on the South Shore.

THE DRUG CRISIS

Schwartz said his brother died of an overdose when he was a kid and that his mother was an addict and sober for the last 17 years of her life.

He's proposing a "Naloxone Emergency Response Volunteer" or NERV program to better connect residents to people carrying the so-called heroin antidote that can reverse the effects of an overdose. Islanders would be able to text "OD" to 911, prompting an alert to people in the community who opted-in and carry naloxone.

"So someone 1,000 feet or 2,000 feet from where that happened could get that alert and come running," Schwartz said. "EMS, police, fire would of course follow behind."

Borelli called NERV "a great idea." Schwartz said the program would likely be created out of a request for proposals, potentially with funding from the Council.

Borelli said that he's helped expand addiction recovery services since his election to the seat in 2015, noting the opening of Christopher's Reason Recovery Center in Charleston and Carl's House in Rossville. He said he and the Council delegation successfully helped increase city funding for narcotics prosecutors at the DA's office.

Twenty-four new police surveillance cameras will also be installed on the South Shore, in addition to new cameras through the local business improvement district.

Schwartz said law enforcement is an important aspect of addressing the drug crisis.

"But I think that fighting drug dealers is like playing whack-a-mole," Schwartz said. "I think what we really need to be focused on is saving lives. Because while cameras are important and a deterrent, more cameras is not going to lead to less deaths."

LEGISLATION

Borelli said his legislative priority would be reforming the procurement process for capital projects.

"The city's financing almost $10 billion a year on capital project procurement and the majority of these projects exist on paper for the majority of the time we're financing them," Borelli said.

The councilman is also drafting legislation to mandate some city debates be televised on public TV.

He may also introduce legislation requiring the city to finance a study of health impacts of Fresh Kills Landfill if de Blasio doesn't find another funding source. He also supports requiring four-way stop signs at every school intersection.

Schwartz said he would work on a bill to penalize developers who don't adhere to benefit agreements made with communities, potentially with a civil penalty.

"The best thing to do would be some type of percentage of what they neglected or negated to do," Schwartz said. "It would really depend on what type of violation they made."

Schwartz would also explore legislation forcing the city co-locate a public hospital with one of the South Shore's existing facilities.

Borelli said that Staten Island likely couldn't get a certificate of need for another hospital an that patients would probably be better off getting an affiliate of "a well-known and highly respectable hospital system."

HOW THE COUNCIL WORKS

The 51-member Council is overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic, with a tiny three-Republican minority. Under Mayor Bill de Blasio and the current crop of Council members, bills are typically only put to a full vote if the de Blasio administration already supports the legislation.

Both candidates said this should change.

"The City Council should serve as an important check and pushback on the mayor, regardless of who he or she might be," Schwartz said. "And I think when you build coalitions around different issues in the Council and you build delegations, it's important to push to get those bills voted on whether the mayor will sign them or not. And that's going to really come down to changing that culture."

Borelli noted that getting feedback from city agencies on legislation is "critical important" both for practical and fiscal reasons.

"The Council...they don't want to put the mayor in a bad position, and that's been the criticism that this speaker and the Council broadly has been too much of a willing participant with the mayor's agenda and they're not willing to embarrass the mayor," Borelli said. "There's almost always a veto-proof majority."

Borelli added that Council members could do a better job providing oversight over the enormous $85 billion budget.

This article was corrected to clarify that Schwartz also supports affordable housing for single moms, veterans, senior citizens and other vulnerable populations with smaller incomes.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Spectrum cable customers will be able to continue watching their favorite shows on television channels such as Nickelodeon and MTV.

Viacom Inc. and Charter Communications Inc., the telecommunications company that offers services under the brand of Spectrum, agreed to a multi-year programming deal Tuesday night.

"Viacom and Charter have reached an agreement in principle," the companies said in a joint email statement. "Spectrum subscribers will continue to have access to Viacom's networks, without disruption, while we finalize terms."

The two companies reached the deal after negotiations prompted Viacom to run advertisements urging viewers to call Spectrum to keep Viacom's 23 channels.

Viacom and Charter extended their renewal deadline as discussions continued past their contract deadline on Sunday.

Viacom began running ads on its networks last week, warning the approximately 16.5 million Spectrum customers of a possible disruption in service.

In addition, the two companies last week released statements regarding the ongoing negotiations. Spectrum said the company tried to reach an agreement that was fair for its customers and offered what it called a "fair price" for Viacom's channels.

Viacom said it made a series of offers to Charter that were consistent with offers reached with other cable companies, and the offers would allow Charter to lower its customers' bills.

Members of Local Union No. 3 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have been protesting Charter Communications for six months for what they call "unfair labor" practices and to protect their medical and pension plans.

Workers continued to picket outside Spectrum's Staten Island office last month, when the labor dispute surpassed 157 days. The strike affects approximately 1,800 workers and their families, totaling around 6,000 people in New York City.
New York, New York, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

NewYork-Presbyterian will hold a dedication ceremony today to celebrate the renaming of The Spine Hospital to the Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian, in recognition of the visionary $25 million gift by longtime supporters Daniel and Jane Och.

We are deeply grateful to our good friends Dan and Jane Och for their extraordinary gift, which will allow us to provide patients with the most innovative, advanced spine care available anywhere, said Dr. Steven J. Corwin, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian. The Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital will set a new standard for excellence in spine care, from the treatment of common disorders to the rarest, most complex conditions, Dr. Corwin said.

We share in and are thrilled to support New York Presbyterians vision to make this hospital the foremost global leader in spinal care and research, said Daniel and Jane Och. Importantly, the Spine Hospitals world-class team of surgeons and other medical professionals are deeply committed to serving the entire community, providing patients of all backgrounds exceptional treatment, and we are excited to further that mission, they said.

NewYork-Presbyterian established its comprehensive spine hospital in 2015 with the recruitment of three of the worlds leading orthopedic spinal surgeons, Dr. Lawrence Lenke, surgeon-in-chief and director of spinal deformity surgery; Dr. K. Daniel Riew, director of cervical spine surgery; and Dr. Ronald Lehman, Jr., director of degenerative and minimally invasive spine surgery. All three surgeons are also professors at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The teams multidisciplinary approach to spine care, which includes both surgical and nonsurgical options for conditions affecting the skull to the sacrum, complements the neurosurgical spine program led by Dr. Paul McCormick, director of the Spine Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Gallen Professor of Neurological Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Jane and Dan Ochs incredible gift allows NewYork-Presbyterian, including Columbia Orthopedics and Columbia Neurosurgery, to realize our dream of building the premier spine program in the world, said Dr. William Levine, orthopedic surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. This represents a transformational gift, which puts NewYork-Presbyterian in a position to positively impact patients for generations to come.

With a staff that combines the skills of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, and physiatrists, all uniquely focused on spine problems, the Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital will set the standard for spine surgery, said Dr. Robert A. Solomon, chairman and director of service of the Department of Neurological Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Thanks to the vision of Dan and Jane Och, we will be able to provide our patients with spine conditions with the most advanced, cutting-edge care.

The Daniel and Jane Och Spine Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian provides spine care treatment for the most common arthritic and degenerative spine disorders to the rarest and most difficult-to-treat spinal deformities. As part of New Yorks No. 1 hospital, according to U.S. News & World Report, our team of specialists uses the most advanced technology and innovative techniques to restore mobility and function for children, adolescents, and adults with spine conditions.

Daniel Och has been a trustee of NewYork-Presbyterian since 2005. He and his wife, Jane, have a long history of philanthropy. Mr. and Mrs. Och attended the dedication ceremony, and were joined by Dr. Corwin, Frank A. Bennack Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian, Philip Milstein, a member of the Board of Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian, as well as other distinguished guests.

NewYork-Presbyterian

NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the nations most comprehensive, integrated academic healthcare delivery systems, whose organizations are dedicated to providing the highest quality, most compassionate care and service to patients in the New York metropolitan area, nationally, and throughout the globe. In collaboration with two renowned medical schools, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian is consistently recognized as a leader in medical education, groundbreaking research and innovative, patient-centered clinical care.

NewYork-Presbyterian has four major divisions:

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is ranked #1 in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News and World Report and repeatedly named to the Honor Roll of Americas Best Hospitals.

is ranked #1 in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News and World Report and repeatedly named to the Honor Roll of Americas Best Hospitals. NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Hospital Network comprises hospitals and other facilities in the New York metropolitan region.

comprises hospitals and other facilities in the New York metropolitan region. NewYork-Presbyterian Physician Services, which connects medical experts with patients in their communities.

which connects medical experts with patients in their communities. NewYork-Presbyterian Community and Population Health, encompassing ambulatory care network sites and community healthcare initiatives, including NewYork Quality Care, the Accountable Care Organization jointly established by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia.

For more information, visit www.nyp.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. The campus that Columbia University Medical Center shares with its hospital partner, NewYork-Presbyterian, is now called NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cc63842f-8596-4c46-9c76-cdaff24b0707
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plantronics (NYSE:PLT), (Plantronics or the Company) today issued the following statement regarding the favorable jury verdict it received in an action brought by GN Netcom, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Todays verdict in favor of Plantronics validates our position that Plantronics has always operated fairly and lawfully in a highly competitive marketplace and that the claims brought by GN Netcom are without merit, said Joe Burton, Plantronics President and CEO. For more than 50 years, Plantronics has equipped businesses with the tools they need to accomplish their goals and provide effective service to their customers. Our objective has always been to help businesses of all sizes and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and around the world succeed, and that has not changed.

We are pleased with the jurys verdict and look forward to putting this matter behind us. Plantronics remains focused on executing our strategic initiatives, delivering value for our shareholders and partners, and offering innovative products and the highest quality customer experience.

Plantronics is represented by Russell Hayman, Jon Dean, Rita Yoon and Sarah Walters of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Jack B. Blumenfeld of Morris, Nichols Arsht & Tunnell LLP.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is an audio pioneer and a global leader in the communications industry. We create intelligent and adaptive solutions that support our customers most important needs: experiencing and facilitating simple and clear communications while enjoying distraction-free environments. Our solutions are used worldwide by consumers and businesses alike, and are an optimal choice for open office environments. From Unified Communications and customer service ecosystems, to data analytics and Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers high-quality communications solutions that our customers count on today, while relentlessly innovating on behalf of their future. For more information visit plantronics.com.

Press Contact:

George Gutierrez

Sr. Director, Global Communications & Content Strategy

831-458-7537

Investor Contact:

Greg Klaben

Vice President of Investor Relations

831-458-7533
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TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Onex Corporation (TSX:ONEX) will release its results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 on November 10, 2017. A live broadcast of Onex conference call to discuss the results will begin at 11:00 a.m. EDT on November 10, 2017.

A link to these events and the 90-day on-line replays will be available under the shareholder section of Onex website at www.onex.com.

About Onex

Onex is one of the oldest and most successful private equity firms. Through its Onex Partners and ONCAP private equity funds, Onex acquires and builds high-quality businesses in partnership with talented management teams. At Onex Credit, Onex manages and invests in leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and other credit securities. Onex has approximately $24 billion of assets under management, including $7 billion of Onex proprietary capital, in private equity and credit securities. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex invests alongside its fund investors and is the largest limited partner in each of its private equity funds.

Onex businesses have assets of $44 billion, generate annual revenues of $30 billion and employ approximately 163,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on managements current expectations and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward- looking statements. Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information:

Emilie Blouin

Director, Investor Relations

Tel: 416.362.7711
Toronto, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Have a question? RE/MAX can answer it!

To complement a recent brand refresh to a modern and digital look, RE/MAX has announced that they will be telling and showing why the brand has been Canadas number-one real estate company for over 40 years. Launching The RE/MAX House Call, they are openly inviting new and first-time homebuyers to a virtual Q&A, where consumers are able to post their real estate questions and get advice and feedback to help guide them through the home buying and selling process

The social media campaign, connecting millennials with real estate insights from across the nation, aims to showcase the brands vast experience in the real estate industry. It will run from October 18 to November 21, 2017.

Consumers are invited to submit their questions via Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #AskREMAX, for the chance to win a weekly $200 Visa gift card. All entries will be reviewed and select questions will receive a video answer each week from one of RE/MAXs reputable agents anywhere in Canada. Full information and contest rules and regulations can be found at online at #AskREMAX contest.

We are excited to connect our real estate expertise with homeownersand the next generation of young, first-time homebuyersin a way they can relate to and trust, said Christopher Alexander, Regional Director, RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Canada. Recognizing that buying or selling a home is a significant emotional decision, we wanted to put a more personal touch into how we connect with consumers about their questions. Video answers are the perfect way to add a face to the information received, and reaffirms both the brands commitment to our customers as well as the value a qualified realtor brings to the table.

After November 21, homebuyers will still be able to communicate on their own terms via the new Ask RE/MAX online chat tool, which was launched to the public on October 12.

In an era where millennial homebuyers prefer text to talk, videos have taken over news feeds and marketing to a moving target is the challenge, The RE/MAX House Call reiterates the need for face-to-face connections, but with a digital twist, adds Alexander.

The RE/MAX House Call was created as part of the recent refresh to stay in line with customer needs. The updated logo balloon and typeface (announced on August 21) was designed specifically for digital and mobile use, aligning the company with the modern tastes of next-generation buyers.

For more information, visit www.remax.ca.

About the RE/MAX Network

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Over 115,000 agents provide RE/MAX a global reach of more than 100 countries and territories. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX when measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX, LLC, one of the worlds leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RMAX). With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $157 million for Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities. For more information about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit www.remax.com/newsroom.

About RE/MAX INTEGRA and RE/MAX INTEGRA, Ontario-Atlantic Canada

RE/MAX INTEGRA, founded in 1980, is a privately held company by Canadian entrepreneurs. With regional headquarters in Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Zug, and Vienna, RE/MAX INTEGRA represents nearly a third of all RE/MAX Sales Associates worldwide. The company was founded on the premise of providing outstanding service and support both at the regional level and to the end consumer. 6 The Ontario-Atlantic Canada region has surpassed 10,000 quality Associates; The US regions  New England and the Midwest (including the following states: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Indiana)  account for more than 6,400 Associates with over 2,600 and 3,800 Associates respectively; and the European region leads with more than 16,000 Associates. For more information about RE/MAX INTEGRA, visit www.remaxintegra.com

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d705d4bb-6ecf-4c19-bbb2-e2bb5912dc56

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2343d135-1335-42c4-805e-3d4d30a176b1
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- George Sanders, President of Goldcliff Resource Corporation (TSX.V:GCN) (OTC PINK:GCFFF) (Goldcliff or the Company) reports that the Company and Joint Venture partner Lincoln Mining Corporation will initiate a prospecting and sampling program in the Scotts Canyon area 4,200 feet north of the Wilson deposit on the Pine Grove gold project, Lyon County, Nevada. Scotts Canyon is the down slope ravine of the North facing slope of the Wilson deposit. Gold resources drilled to date on the Wilson deposit are on the south facing slope. In the area of Scotts Canyon there are several old (circa 1880s) prospect pits, adits and mine dumps that have never been prospected or sampled. Granodiorite, the Pine Grove host rock, has been identified around the pits and adits in the Scotts Canyon area. Outcrop of granodiorite is believed to be the strike extension of the mineralized zone drilled at the Wilson deposit. The prospective area measures 2,500 feet by 2,500 feet and is a prime target for Wilson resource expansion.



The Pine Grove project (Wilson deposit to the north and Wheeler deposit to the south) hosts measured and indicated resources of 3,060,000 tonnes of 1.37 g/t Au (Amended & Restated Technical Report, February 4, 2015 by Telesto). Sampling by the joint venture last fall demonstrated the additional exploration potential of the greater Pine Grove land position. Several samples collected from the Southern Cross target south of the Wheeler deposit returned values exceeding 1 g/t gold (see Goldcliff News Release dated January 12,2017). Step-out drilling at the Wilson last fall returned intercepts of mineralization beyond the resource shell limit at the Wilson deposit, demonstrating that the mineralization is still open in this part of the deposit (see Goldcliff News Release dated February 9, 2017).

Goldcliff is earning a 40% joint venture interest in the Pine Grove project from Lincoln Mining Corporation by spending $1.4 million US over three years commencing August 2016.

Jeffery Wilson, Vice President of Exploration of Lincoln Mining Corporation, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 has reviewed, prepared, and approved the scientific technical disclosure contained in this news release.

For further information, please contact George W. Sanders, President, at 250-764-8879, toll free at 1-866-769-4802 or email at info@directroyalty.com.

GOLDCLIFF RESOURCE CORPORATION

Per: George W. Sanders

George W. Sanders, President

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this news release.
Good morning Canberra.

We've had a blessed week - weatherwise at least - but, as Nelly Furtado once sang, all good things come to an end. The weather bureau predicts rain this afternoon and evening with a top temperature of 26 degrees. The mercury will dip to about 21 over the weekend. Oh well. At least we Canberrans live longer than everyone else.

Let's take a look at what's making news today.

Woden under the spotlight (sunlight?)
The reputation of mining giant Rio Tinto will be hit by the fraud charges laid against it and two former executives in America, regardless of the outcome of the court case, says a leading corporate law expert.

Professor Ian Ramsay, director of the Centre for Corporate Law at Melbourne University, said the charges would concern both institutional and retail investors, he said.

The reputation of Rio Tinto will be hit by the fraud charges, says an expert. Credit:Bloomberg

"I think most (people) would certainly regard it as a very significant development for a number of reasons, the high profile of the company and the economic importance of the company - one of the biggest resource companies in the world - involving prominent individuals that formerly occupied the most senior executive positions in the company. And, moreover, involving arguably the most prominent corporate regulator globally."

On Tuesday evening, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Rio Tinto, former chief executive Thomas Albanese and former chief financial officer Guy Elliott with fraud.
7-Eleven has blamed two industry codes for standing in the way of its ability to terminate agreements with franchisees that underpay workers.

The company has called for the Franchising Code of Conduct and the Oil Code to be amended to give franchisors the right to terminate a franchise agreement in the case of serious non-compliance with workplace laws.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James. Credit:Penny Stephens

"Unbelievably, underpayment (no matter what the amount) does not entitle a franchisor to terminate a franchise agreement under the existing industry codes," the company said.

"Termination for underpayment is only available to a franchisor if it can be demonstrated at the requisite level of proof that the underpayment has occurred in a way that involves fraudulent conduct.
With the imminent Victorian state parliamentary conscience vote on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, it is timely to address some of the inaccuracies and scaremongering offered as opposition to the proposed legislation.

From statements by medical professional bodies it could be construed that virtually all doctors oppose voluntary assisted dying. In fact, up to 15 per cent of specialist respondents in a recent survey of palliative medicine doctors agree that the assisted-dying option should be available.

Palliative care physicians work in skilled multidisciplinary teams that strive to assess, address and relieve the suffering of those with progressive, advanced and incurable illness. In the great majority of people who seek this help, we succeed in improving their quality of life and relieve their suffering to the extent that they wish to live until they die, with dignity, of their underlying disease.

However, there will always be a small minority of people whose suffering cannot be relieved, despite the best palliative care, or who choose not to seek our help.
Making independent films anywhere is never easy, but it's that much harder in a country embroiled in a debt crisis. All really good Greek actors are working at two theatres simultaneously and making films on the side just to make ends meet, says Yannis Sakaridis, who nevertheless managed to round up a formidable cast in his film Amerika Square. The good thing, from a film-maker's point of view, is that all the privation makes you nimble. Tattoo artist Billy (Yannis Stankoglou) and singer Tereza (Ksenia Dania) in Amerika Square. "You get really good practice when you work on a Greek film. We did this film in four weeks. A lot of people do it in less time. There is a lot of talent at the moment in shooting and acting, really good crews and I guess the weather always helps." Sakaridis lived in London for 18 years, so he has a point of comparison with an arts environment that is relatively flush. "And I realise that Athens is really a very modern place for art, with amazing theatre, music and novels being written. People matured very quickly after the crisis, I think. You miss something but you get something. I mean, there is obviously not enough money. But there is a lot going on."

Amerika Square is an adaptation of a novel by Yannis Tsirbas that deals with another of Greece's immediate issues: the fact that this cash-strapped country is the first staging post for refugees from Syria trying to get to Europe. The eponymous square is an unofficial meeting point for those new arrivals, those hoping to leave and the so-called "travel agents" who will supposedly smuggle them across borders. "In the '60s it used to be a place where all the artists used to be, but then it moved on," says Sakaridis. "In the last few years it's been like Casablanca." In the original novel, Victoria Doesn't Exist, the story was told from the point of view of Nakos (Makis Papadimitriou), a fellow-traveller with fascist party Golden Dawn, whose personal sense of grievance is grounded in the fact that even in his late 30s, he still lives with his parents and can't hold or generally get a job. His friendship with Billy (Yannis Stankoglou) goes back to their shared inner-city childhood, but Billy is almost the opposite: cool, liberal, curious, possibly harbouring a secret wish to do something heroic in his life. In the film version, Billy becomes the central character, watching aghast as Nakos becomes increasingly fanatical. He can't let him know about Tarek (Vassilis Koukalani)  the third major character  a Syrian doctor he is hiding in the basement of the cafe he runs. "We wanted to have three stories because we wanted to see the three representative ideologies and ways of dealing in that area," Sakaridis says. The average Greek is sympathetic to the refugees, who have had significant support from the current Greek government, Sakaridis says.
Can a fish be depressed? This question has been floating around my head ever since I spent a night in a hotel across from an excruciatingly sad-looking Siamese fighting fish. His name was Bruce Lee, according to a sign beneath his little bowl.

Here we were trying to enjoy a complimentary bloody mary on the last day of our honeymoon and there was Bruce Lee, totally still, his lower fin grazing the clear faux rocks on the bottom of his home. When he did finally move, just slightly, I got the sense that he would prefer to be dead.

A Siamese fighting fish who has a much happier home than Bruce Lee did. Credit:Rebecca Hallas

The pleasant woman at the front desk assured me that he was well taken care of.

Was I simply anthropomorphising Bruce Lee, incorrectly assuming his lethargy was a sign of mental distress?
Crossbench MPs have lashed out at the government and opposition for rejecting a parliamentary probe into explosive allegations against Melbourne's Crown Casino, accusing Australia's major parties of being unduly influenced by the powerful gambling and poker machine industry.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and crossbench senator Nick Xenophon called for a federal inquiry after releasing the accusations that Crown illegally tampered with poker machines, undermined federal government efforts to track money laundering, and ignored domestic violence.

The move was backed by the Greens and fellow crossbencher Jacqui Lambie but the Coalition and Labor quickly joined forces to oppose it, arguing that state authorities were responsible for gambling and casino oversight.

In the 30-minute video interview presented to Parliament on Wednesday, three unidentified whistleblowers  said to be former Crown employees  also accused the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation of being "complicit" in covering up alleged misconduct, a claim the regulator promised to investigate.
The Turnbull government is standing by a prediction households will save about $115 a year under its new energy plan despite criticism it has no modelling to back it up.

The government's big guns were out in force on Wednesday spruiking the national energy guarantee, which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has labelled a "game changer".

Mr Turnbull said the savings were based on estimates of a 20-25 per cent reduction in wholesale generation.

"I can guarantee that the people that are giving those figures are the best informed and the most knowledgeable in the industry," he told ABC Radio.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia and CAMBRIDGE BAY, Nunavut, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (SBB-T) (Sabina) and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) announced today the execution of a binding term sheet setting forth the principle terms that are to be included in a definitive Framework Agreement (FA). The FA, upon completion, would be a comprehensive agreement which would set out rights and obligations with respect to surface land access on Inuit owned land and will include an Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreement (IIBA) among other obligations required by the Nunavut Agreement.

On behalf of the KIA Board, I am pleased to announce the signing of this binding term sheet, said Stanley Anablak, President of the KIA. We believe we have negotiated terms that focus on the interests of Inuit of the Kitikmeot Region providing them with training, employment, business opportunities and direct economic benefits from the Back River Project. Throughout our negotiations KIAs primary concern was including appropriate measures in the term sheet to conserve the land, water and wildlife while advancing socio-economic development for the region. We have made significant advancements in both socio-economic and caribou mitigation concerns. We thank the Sabina team for their effort and commitment to complete the term sheet and look forward to completing the definitive agreements in the coming months."

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO of Sabina commented, The FA terms have been negotiated in good faith with a result that benefits both Sabina and all of our Nunavut stakeholders. We appreciate the considerable effort by the KIA throughout the process and are looking forward to working with the KIA upon completion of the FA to implement the initiatives contemplated by the FA. We believe the FA terms demonstrate our genuine long-term commitment to the Inuit of the Kitikmeot Region and Nunavut, and that our already strong partnerships in the region will be made stronger.

The FA, when completed, would have a maximum term of 20 years and would include among others, the following key provisions and agreements:

Land use licenses which would permit Sabina to conduct non-exclusive exploration work at Back River;

Advanced exploration leases permitting various advanced exploration and pre-production activities at Back River;

Commercial leases authorizing the development of mines and related operations and closure activities at the Goose Property;

A 1% net smelter return royalty paid to the KIA on production at Back River on the properties that are subject to a commercial lease;

A grant of 6.7 million Sabina shares to the KIA upon the effective date of the IIBA

An IIBA setting out commitments associated with Inuit employment, training and education, Kitikmeot business opportunities, formation of an Inuit Environmental Advisory Committee and investments in community infrastructure projects with the objective of supporting regional wealth creation initiatives within Kitikmeot communities;

An initial investment of $4 million in regional wealth creation initiatives in the Kitikmeot, $2 million of which could occur following execution of definitive agreements, and the remainder no later than upon a production decision, with additional payments commencing the third year following commercial production if Sabina-related employment targets are not achieved. The purpose of the regional wealth creation initiative is to create new long term operating jobs outside of the mine to expand and diversify the Kitikmeot economy;

An annual payment to the KIA of up to $1 million to cover KIA's cost of implementing the FA; and

Water and wildlife compensation agreements including additional payments if Sabina fails to implement caribou mitigation commitments regarding calving and post-calving periods made to the Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Under the binding term sheet, the parties have agreed to negotiate in good faith towards completing the FA and the other definitive agreements contemplated in the term sheet. The transactions contemplated in the term sheet are subject to the completion of the FA and such definitive agreements. Work is ongoing on the FA and definitive agreements, which are targeted to be completed by early in 2018. The term sheet and the FA, involving the issuance of 6.7 million Sabina shares to the KIA, are subject to any necessary regulatory and Toronto Stock Exchange approval.

The Kitikmeot Inuit Association

The Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) was incorporated in 1976 to represent and promote the interests of the Kitikmeot Inuit. The KIA is a democratically elected not-for-profit society.

KIA's mandate is to manage Kitikmeot Inuit lands and resources, and to protect and promote the social, cultural, political, environmental and economic well-being of Kitikmeot Inuit.

KIA owns 92,619 Km2 of surface Inuit Owned Land in the Kitikmeot Region. The Back River Project footprint overlays several parcels of Inuit Owned Land south of Bathurst Inlet. KIA is also designated to implement many rights from the Nunavut Agreement to represent Kitikmeot Inuit related to land management, socio-economic, water, and wildlife matters that are relevant to the Back River Project.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is a well-financed, emerging precious metals company with district scale, advanced, high grade gold assets in one of the worlds newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.

Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years (see Technical Report for the Initial Project Feasibility Study on the Back River Gold Property, Nunavut, Canada dated October 28, 2015). At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 (US$:C$) exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million.

In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencores Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett Rivers silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter.

The Company had approximately C$36.6 million in cash and equivalents on June 30, 2017, not including the $6 million flow-through financing completed in September 2017.

For further information please contact:

Paul Emingak, Executive Director, Kitikmeot Inuit Association

(867) 983-2458 execdir@kitia.ca

Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications, Sabina Gold & Silver Corp:

1 888 648-4218 nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com

All Sabina news releases and further information can be found on the website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com, or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (the forward-looking statements), including our ability to negotiate and enter into definitive agreements and to complete the transactions contemplated therein. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the future circumstances, outcomes or results anticipated in or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur or that plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. While we have based these forward-looking statements on our expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee that such future events will occur and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which could cause events or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and assumptions include, among others, the effects of general economic conditions, commodity prices, changing foreign exchange rates and actions by government and regulatory authorities and misjudgments in the course of preparing forward-looking statements. In addition, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Known risk factors include risks associated with exploration and project development; the need for additional financing; the calculation of mineral resources and reserves; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in metal prices; title matters; government regulation; obtaining and renewing necessary licences and permits; environmental liability and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain of our officers or directors; the absence of dividends; currency fluctuations; labour disputes; competition; dilution; the volatility of the our common share price and volume; future sales of shares by existing shareholders; and other risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Back River Project and general risks associated with the mineral exploration and development industry described in our Annual Information Form, financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We are under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

1800-555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V7X 1M9

Tel 604 998-4175 Fax 604 998-1051

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com
Even the best energy policy will do little to reduce costs for consumers, experts have warned, as the Turnbull government resists pressure to substantiate claims its new policy will save Australians $2 a week on power bills.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Labor seized on suggestions the reduction could be closer to 50 a week but Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg stood by the claim of an average $115-a-year saving between 2020 and 2030.

"The national energy guarantee is a credible, workable, pro-market policy that will deliver lower power prices for Australians and involves no taxes, no subsidies and no emission trading schemes," he said.

A report this week from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found a 63 per cent power price rise since 2007 had put consumers under "unacceptable pressure".
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says he won't back down on his proposed overhaul of Australian citizenship laws, despite the proposal dying quietly in the Senate.

The controversial crackdown would have imposed a values test, tough English language test and a four-year waiting period for permanent residents wanting to become Australian citizens.

But the move was blocked by Labor, the Greens and the Nick Xenophon Team, who used their numbers in the Senate to impose a Wednesday night deadline for Mr Dutton to strike a deal.

That failed to materialise, despite a last-ditch compromise offer from Mr Dutton to ditch the retrospective element of the plan and delay the start date to July 2018, and reduce the level of English required from "competent" to "modest".
It's time for me to call it a day. What happened?

the government continued to prosecute the case for its energy policy ;

continued to prosecute the case for its ; it denies its package contains an emissions trading scheme or a carbon price by stealth ;

its package contains an ; the opposition is leaving its options open about whether or not to support it;

about whether or not to support it; but it is still criticising the package for not doing enough to help consumers or the environment;

for not doing enough to help consumers or the environment; the major parties are against an inquiry into the allegations about Crown Casino ; and

; and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says he will press ahead with citizenship changes but with some modifications to try and revive their prospects in the Senate.

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.

Alex, Andrew and I will be back on Monday. Until we meet again, go well.
Gwyneth Paltrow has received her fair share of awards but it's unlikely she'll be celebrating her latest.

Paltrow's controversial 'wellness' blog Goop has won the the "Rusty Razor" award for being the "best" at promoting "pseudoscientific nonsense".

The site promotes using jade eggs inside "yonis" (Sanskrit for vagina), mugwort steaming to promote vaginal health, placing "bio frequency healing" stickers on bodies, using Shaman-inspired medicine bags and having 'bee sting' facials to reduce scarring.

Even Paltrow agrees it's a pile of goop. During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she admitted "I don't know what the f--k we talk about," when asked about the treatments her own company promotes.
One of Australia's loudest cheerleaders for the coal industry doesn't actually represent many coal companies, a new report has found.

Research by The Australia Institute has found The powerful Minerals Council of Australia, the nation's peak pro-mining industry group, disproportionately advocates for coal miners, which represent just a fraction of its membership base.

The Australia Institute, a Canberra-based think tank that opposes the introduction of new coal mines, has found members of the council overwhelmingly have no, very little, or a declining interest in mining coal.

Only 16 out of the Council's 45-strong membership have any exposure to coal mining and, of those, only three are entirely focused on thermal coal  Centennial Coal, New Hope Coal, and Adani Mining.
In the past three years, so many students have started choosing science subjects for their HSC that Kirrawee High School has run out of laboratories.

The school, in Sydney's south, is going to start bringing in "portable trolleys", or mobile science labs, so that students in regular classrooms can keep doing experiments, head teacher of science Brett McKay said.

Kirrawee High School head teacher of science Brett McKay is this year's winner of the Prime Minister's prize for excellence in science teaching in secondary schools. Credit:Brook Mitchell

About 60 per cent of Kirrawee High's year 12 students are about to sit at least one HSC science exam, and a slightly higher proportion of year 11 students are studying one or more science subjects, Mr McKay said.

However, the real surprise came when year 10 students recently made their HSC subject choices.
Former Kambala principal Debra Kelliher is suing the school and two of its teachers for up to $2 million in damages, claiming that emails circulated about her after her departure made her out to be a "tyrant".

Ms Kelliher, 60, resigned from the Rose Bay school in April after staff issued a vote of no confidence in her leadership, following claims that a significant number of staff had left as a result of changes she had brought to the school.

The former principal of Kambala, Debra Kelliher, is suing the school and two teachers. Credit:Nick Moir

She is suing for defamation in the NSW Supreme Court over an email sent by head music teacher Mark Grandison to various parents, staff and former staff shortly after her resignation. Social sciences department head June Peake then forwarded it with the rest of the email chain to 200 staff.

Ms Kelliher says the email carried the defamatory imputations that she had waged a "vicious and tyrannical" campaign against the school, had acted unethically as principal and displayed a complete lack of interpersonal skills.
A man has been freed after he became trapped in a 15-metre pit on a construction site in Sydney's south.

The accident occurred when construction material collapsed on the man at the building site on Gerrale Street, Cronulla, shortly before midday on Wednesday.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Rob Murray said the man, aged 38, was stabilised by six paramedics and a doctor.

"Paramedics kept the patient stable and calm through what was a difficult process," he said, adding that the man had been taken to St George Hospital.
Bystanders who came to the aid of a boy who died after suffering a "medical incident" at a popular Newcastle pool were "courageous" in their efforts to help the teenager, police said.

It was understood the 17-year-old boy, who was in the company of a carer, began punching himself in the head and attempting to bang his head on the concrete path at the Lambton Pool on Tuesday evening when staff and bystanders restrained him, Assistant Commissioner Max Mitchell said.

"Tragically what has occurred there is a young male, 17 years of age, has had some form of what we believe to be a medical incident and this will be examined further both forensically and also by the coroner," he said.

Police were called to the council-owned pool, run by Lane 4 Aquatics, on Durham Road, Lambton about 5pm on Tuesday. The teenager was restrained by police and several bystanders and later died in John Hunter Hospital.
A woman has been left in a serious condition in hospital after an apparent road rage attack in a Wollongong suburb on Wednesday.

The woman was driving near the intersection of Hunter and Napier streets in Balgownie about 8am when another driver allegedly rammed her vehicle.

Police were told a man driving a reportedly stolen Ford utility assaulted the 55-year-old woman after the crash.

The male driver allegedly left the scene before police and emergency services arrived.
Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca.

Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt.

Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
A retired schoolteacher accused of repeatedly slashing her four-month-old baby grandson's face with a huge knife in an attempt to kill him will undergo mental health assessments before her case is heard again.

The charge against the 64-year-old woman, who can not be named for legal reasons, was heard in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, where she did not apply for bail.

The retired schoolteacher has appeared in court, charged with attempted murder. Credit:Facebook

In a hearing lasting only three minutes, defence solicitor Glen Cranny asked for the matter to be adjourned for a week to allow for some assessments to be conducted.

Outside court, he confirmed they related to mental health.
Queensland kids under five will get free flu vaccines from next year and the government will provide funds to enable a faster flu diagnosis to ease the burden on the state's hospitals.

Health experts, including representatives from the World Health Organisation, gathered in Brisbane on Wednesday to develop further strategies to combat the flu.

Australia has experienced a particularly bad flu season. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Health Minister Cameron Dick said the evidence was clear more needed to be done to reduce the number of serious cases of influenza after a record season of 52,000 confirmed cases.

Of those, 5500 required hospitalisation.
A retired Queensland schoolteacher has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly slashing her sleeping baby grandsons face repeatedly with a large knife.

The four-month-old boy was left fighting for life, so badly injured he was still undergoing surgery on Tuesday afternoon at Brisbanes Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital, where he had been rushed with his distraught mother.

His 64-year-old alleged attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was led out of her two-storey home at The Gap on Tuesday morning and questioned by police for hours before being charged in the afternoon.

Police said her daughter and grandson had been visiting the home, where the grandmother had been living for more than 15 years, when the childs mother was woken by his cries just after 6.30am.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has labelled the Queensland government's persistence with a renewable energy target "a muppet of a proposal".

Mr Morrison is spruiking the federal government's new energy plan, announced this week, which it claims will save households up to $115 a year by 2030.

Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The plan ditches the Clean Energy Target proposed by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel in his report this year, which is supported by the Queensland government.

Mr Morrison said the Palaszczuk government's target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030 was unsustainable and would lead to higher electricity prices.
One of Queensland's senior public servants has resigned after he accessed "prohibited" websites at work.

Seqwater chief executive Jim Pruss resigned after it was discovered he had accessed inappropriate websites at work.

Jim Pruss resigned on Wednesday. Credit:LinkedIn

Another staff member has resigned and a "handful" of Seqwater employees were being counselled after an information technology audit detected the breaches.

The Queensland government bans the access of such websites at work and Seqwater is a government statutory authority overseen by Water Supply Minister Mark Bailey.
After a hot and muggy night, Melbourne is in for some stormy weather.

Melburnians tossed and turned, and kicked off the sheets, as the temperature stayed above 20 degrees throughout the night.

The overnight low was 22.5 degrees at 2am, making it the warmest night in the city since January.

The temperature climbed again as the sun came up - it was a sticky 26 degrees at 6.04am.
Messages between two women charged with murdering autistic Perth teenager Aaron Pajich culminated in the youngest saying she couldn't rest until a victim's blood was "gushing out and pooling on the floor".

Trudi Lenon, 43, and Jemma Lilley, 26, who respectively went by the names "Corvina" and "SOS" in messages to each other, had been friends for about four months when they allegedly killed the 18-year-old at their Orelia home in June last year.

Aaron Pajich's body was found in the backyard of an Orelia home in June 2016.

Lenon wrote in a message to serial killer-obsessed Lilley about two months before the crime that the women would be "history making", the WA Supreme Court heard on Wednesday.

"Profiling techniques will be re-written to accommodate SOS," Lenon wrote, admiringly describing her co-accused as a "genuine psychopath of immense control and power".
Fancy swallowing a balloon to help you slim down? Veteran weight-loss surgeon Dr Tony Kierath is suggesting you do just that - albeit a specially designed one.

Along with his son Tom Kierath, an engineer and materials chemist, Dr Kierath has developed new technology for "permanent" weight loss which is non-surgical and available from your GP.

The IG Balloon is swallowed by the patient and stays permanently in the stomach.

"This is the world's first swallowable, non-operative weight-loss device that's designed to be permanent," Dr Kierath said.

Dr Kierath and Tom, the husband and son of Perth's pioneering burns specialist Professor Fiona Wood, developed the technology using his 25 years of experience as a weight loss surgeon.
A teacher from a prominent Perth high school remained silent to media outside court after being accused of having sexual relations with two female students.

The 34-year-old Canning Vale woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The Perth school teacher with her lawyer, Mark Andrews outside Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

She was charged by police in September with 12 offences relating to a period between 2015 and 2017 when a girl aged 15 to 17 years old at the time was allegedly sexually abused.

On Wednesday, the court heard the woman had since been charged with a further 36 offences, with another complainant coming forward.
Katanning will be the next town to get the full PUBLIC treatment as FORM's town in the hugely popular Silo Trail.

The creative project takes WA artists to regional areas to paint on the largest canvases of their lives: grain silos, walls, and even Western Power transformer boxes.

The silos in Merredin. Credit:@westernpowerwa

PUBLIC's silo trail has been a smash so far, drawing a colourful corridor through WA's regions starting in Northam in WA's Wheatbelt, and continuing through Ravensthorpe, and Merredin.

Now Katanning is next in line for the full PUBLIC treatment.
WA complaints to the telecommunications industry ombudsman have soared in the past year, with residents in Mandurah, Armadale and Wanneroo most likely to criticise their internet, mobile and landline providers.

Telstra's transition from a telco to a tech services business may be necessary, but it won't be quick or easy. Credit:Nico El Nino

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman annual report, released on Wednesday, revealed the agency received 13,623 WA complaints in 2016-17, representing a 49 per cent jump on the 9,136 complaints reported the previous year - the biggest increase of any state.

People were most likely to whinge about their internet service (42.6 per cent), followed by mobile phone services (33.1 per cent) and landline phone services (24.3 per cent).
Bali police will push ahead with the prosecution of Australian Joshua James Baker over alleged drug possession despite the pleas of his lawyer who insists he is mentally ill and cannot be held accountable.

The 32-year-old, who was born in Mount Isa, was apprehended at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport on October 8 with an alleged 28 grams of marijuana and 37 pills of diazepam, a prescription-only sedative.

The deputy director of narcotics for Bali police, Sudjarwoko, holds a photo of Joshua James Baker. Credit:Amilia Rosa

He has been formally named a suspect and faces a jail sentence of between four and fifteen years if convicted of drug importation and/or possession.

Mr Baker's lawyer Maya Arsanti said people with mental illnesses try marijuana or sometimes valium (another name for diazepam) just to make themselves "balanced".
A massacre in a riverside village called Tula Toli has emerged as the most horrific atrocity in Myanmar's Rakhine State since security forces there launched a brutal offensive against Rohingya Muslim civilians in late August.

Ten survivors have corroborated other accounts of how Myanmar soldiers encircled hundreds of men, women and children from the village, which is also called Min Gyi, and opened fire with rifles.

Some of the victims were also slashed to death or had their throats cut, according to testimonies published in a gut-wrenching Amnesty International report on Wednesday.

Nurul Amin, 47, said that after jumping into the river and swimming to the jungle he "kept looking back because I left my family behind".
Beijing: China will end the controversial practice of "shuanggui" - a tool of extra judicial Communist Party discipline - against corruption suspects, which had been labelled "abusive" by human rights groups.

Chinese president Xi Jinping's report to the Communist Party's national congress contained the statement that shuanggui will be replaced by detention, under legal reforms.

Human Rights Watch said the move was welcomed if meant detainees had their rights protected.

"If President Xi's proposal means that detainees are not ill-treated, get to choose their lawyers, and otherwise have their rights respected, then this will indeed be a significant step forward," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.
InfoArmor Delivers Operatively-Sourced Advanced Intelligence Feature Sets to SIO4 for Their New Mid-Market Offering of Safe House(TM)  Total Threat Intelligence

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM  (Marketwired)  10/18/17  , an industry-leading provider of employee identity protection solutions and elite cyber intelligence services, today announced a partnership with , an innovative ICT company with specialist services focused on cyber threat intelligence. SiO4 will be announcing their new mid-market cyber-security suite SAFE HOUSE  Total Threat Intelligence on October 19, 2017 at the Imperial War Museum in London, U.K.

SAFE HOUSE is an innovative and complete security package that is comprised of a unique set of feature rich modular cyber-security services with a focus on delivering actionable and targeted threat intelligence. It provides the who, what, why, when and how to defend against present and future cyber-threats. Using the service will give businesses a pre-emptive warning of an imminent breach, meaning they can react before threat actors strike. SiO4 will also brand the SAFE HOUSE solution with Powered by InfoArmor.

Our new SAFE HOUSE  Total Threat Intelligence offering leverages the operatively-sourced human intelligence of InfoArmor with our cyber-security services to deliver an industry-agnostic turnkey solution to the U.K. mid-market, said Andrew Speakmaster, CTO and Founding Partner of SiO4. We chose InfoArmor for their proven capabilities to deliver high-quality data from their elite team of Dark Web operatives and researchers. There is a huge vacuum globally in the mid-market for threat intelligence and we identified the market potential to fill this void in the U.K.

SiO4 leverages InfoArmors Advanced Threat Intelligence in SAFE HOUSE to deliver a high-value cyber-security solution that provides the following feature sets:

ZERO CONTACT

Scours the Internet, Dark Web, criminal communities, hacker groups and much more to find breached data that is specific to your business and employees

SOCIAL ARMOUR

Works to analyze and evaluate the threat potential from staff and your social media presence

DARK EDGE

Monitors the Internet (IPv4/IPv6) and detects vulnerabilities of public-facing external hosts

HOME FRONT

A two-part project based service that assesses both the current state of your infrastructure along with the safety and integrity of your data for compliance purposes. (ISO 27001/EU GDPR)

INFILTRATOR

Project based services that reverse engineer the breach and show you how the criminals exploited the weaknesses within your companys security and highlight what was stolen.

?We are pleased to partner with SiO4 and be part of the launch of SAFE HOUSE, said Mike Kirschner, Sr. Vice President of Sales of InfoArmor Advanced Threat Intelligence Unit. SiO4 and their SAFE HOUSE solution will allow U.K.-based mid-market companies to mitigate risk and help defend them against global cyber threats. In addition, SiO4 will deliver analysis to customers in assessing their current state of infrastructure in compliancy to ISO 27001 and EU GDPR.

SAFE HOUSE is available immediately. To request pricing, please contact SiO4 at +44 (0)845 388 0559, or email Visit the SiO4 website at for more information.

InfoArmor Advanced Threat Intelligence is a world-leading provider of operatively-sourced threat intelligence. InfoArmor Advanced Threat Intelligence delivers unsurpassed targeted threat intelligence sourced by an elite team of Dark Web operatives and researchers. The award-winning VigilanteATI Advanced Threat Intelligence platform has become the de facto standard in delivering true threat intelligence for any size organization. With a robust feature set, VigilanteATI provides comprehensive, actionable and contextual intelligence. Products and services can be delivered in a variety of flexible options and focus on breach intelligence, network exposure, compromised data, risk mitigation, Dark Web surveillance and operative engagement. VigilanteATI provides the highest level of timely and accurate threat intelligence with real-time, client-specific alerts designed to mitigate risk with minimal effort required by your IT security team. InfoArmor Advanced Threat Intelligence products and services are applicable to a broad array of enterprises, government agencies, financial institutions, SMBs, higher education, and managed service providers. For more information, please visit

SiO4 is an exciting and innovative ICT company with specialist services focused on cyber threat intelligence. With a passion for technology and encompassing years of experience in the cyber world, SiO4 prides itself on delivering excellence to its clients and has developed a modular set of services to meet the individual needs of the businesses it works with. By accessing our global research network, network data analytics and elite team of researchers, SiO4 is able to provide clients with actionable intelligence through a personalised and targeted service. Protection is mandatory, detection & prevention is everything. For more information, please visit

Copyright  2007-2017 InfoArmor. All rights reserved. All other names and marks are property of their respective owners.

InfoArmor Corporate Contact:

Byron Rashed

InfoArmor, Inc.

+1 480 302 6701 Main

+1 480 302 6467 Direct

SiO4 Corporate Contact:

Michelle McGinnis

SiO4 Limited

+44 (0)845 388 0559 Main

+44 (0)788 560 5018 Mobile
DataCore Announces New Versions of Software-Defined Infrastructure Products to Address the Challenges of Digital Transformation

READING, UK., October 18, 2017  DataCore Software today announced new features and enhancements to advance its software-defined infrastructure product family, which includes SANsymphony and DataCore Hyperconverged Virtual SAN. The new PSP7 software release furthers DataCores longtime vision of helping to provide organisations with the agility needed to meet the many challenges of transforming business in the digital age while providing responsive, reliable and seamless access to data, automatically, anywhere it is needed.

In this age of digital transformation, infrastructure modernisation is a journey. Unlike others offering stop-gap rip and replace solutions, our approach breaks down silos and provides customers with a choice of entry points and common management services spanning the continuum of server SANs, software-defined storage, hyper-convergence and hybrid-cloud deployment models, all while preserving the value of their existing investments in storage, said George Teixeira, DataCore founder and CEO. We see software-defined as the vehicle to modernisation and the bridge to digital transformation that unifies old and new technologies, making underlying changes invisible to the applications on which organizations depend.

Why: Better Business Outcomes Through Software-defined Agility and Freedom of Choice

DataCore pioneered the concept of software-defined storage  abstracting and automating the data services and management of underlying storage capacity to free customers from vendor lock-in, and to deliver unrivaled performance and data protection at a fraction of the cost of comparable alternatives. This technology, proven in thousands of diverse real-world customer sites, makes it easy for companies to address change, manage in common a range of deployment choices, and add new and future technologies such as flash, NVMe, cloud, and more  without disruption to business applications.

Whats New

The PSP7 release adds new multi-way and metro mirroring functionality to enhance continuous availability and scale-out resiliency, providing self-healing capabilities to enable non-stop business operations and data access. Customers can lose one system and maintain high-performance and high-availability redundancy, or can lose two systems and still continue operations. This translates into significant cost savings by improving application uptime and lowering the time needed to do restores.

DataCore has also expanded its REST enterprise API integration; included new wizards to simplify and automate hyperconverged infrastructure deployments under VMware vSphere management; and added support for collaboration to orchestrate multiple containers (including Kubernetes) across a cluster of servers. These capabilities make it much easier to automate and simplify interoperability with web and cloud services, enable virtualisation administrators to take full control of storage resources from a single management console, and provide added support for DevOps technologies to accelerate digital transformation.

Finally, PSP7 includes expanded support for the use of Microsoft Azure, Windows 2016 servers and hybrid cloud solutions. DataCore Cloud Replication, available on the Azure Marketplace, makes it simpler for enterprises to take advantage of the scalability, agility and cost efficiencies of the Azure cloud to quickly roll out a secure remote replication site, while maintaining unified storage management between private clouds, on-premises infrastructure, and public clouds.

Transforming Technology Vision into Competitive Business Advantage

This new release continues to build on DataCores technology vision of driving multi-core parallel I/O processing to scale up performance and productivity, and sets the foundation for further advancements to its data anywhere scale-out technology. For example, the new multi-way mirroring design scales out nodes, adds fail-safe resiliency and uses automation to abstract away the need to know the location of data. These software technologies, in combination with greater automation of data services, are the key to agility and future-proofing infrastructures. This, in turn, helps businesses stay ahead of the competition by cost-effectively meeting todays more demanding performance, uptime and data locality requirements.

For additional technical details on the new features included in this release, please visit

https://www.datacore.com/5-ways-sds-got-better.

PSP7 is expected to be generally available within the next 60 days.
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Guest Commentary

By Paul Adams

New Canadian Media

Jagmeet Singh does not yet have a seat in the House of Commons. So when the new NDP leader comes to visit, hell have to sit up in the Leader of the Oppositions Gallery and gaze down on the body he wishes someday to join.

If all the MPs are there that day, Singh may notice that there are already five turbaned Sikh men with seats. In 2015, 47 so-called visible minority MPs were elected along with 10 Indigenous people, very nearly mirroring their relative shares of the Canadian population.

If Singh then swings his eyes to the north end of the Commons chamber to the gallery above the Speakers Chair  to the Press Gallery, that is  he may notice something different. So far as I am aware, there has never been a turbaned man working as a reporter for a major news organization, so he wont see any of those.

No one keeps racial statistics on the Press Gallery the way they do for the House of Commons, but when I looked through the membership list the other day, I was able to identify only one visible minority reporter working for one of the big legacy media outlets  a reporter at CTV. None at the Globe, none at the Star, none at CBC-TV. And no Indigenous people either.

This may overstate the case a little bit. Since I was a reporter on the Hill in the 1990s, there has been an influx of young reporters of colour. They tend to be concentrated in online and specialist publications such as HuffPost Canada, the Hill Times, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and some ethnic and foreign news outlets. The so-called Mainstream Media  not so much.

The House of Commons is today much more representative of the face of modern Canada than is the Press Gallery. Most of us can name a few visible minority and Indigenous politicians. Try coming up with more than one or two political journalists of colour.

When Singh was chosen as NDP leader, there were two streams of news coverage, both echoing (in a small way) the reaction to Barack Obamas breakthrough in 2008. The first was a self-congratulatory celebration of the nations inclusivity. The second involved an obsessive concern with the mans race and ethnicity.

One interview that got a lot of attention was Terry Milewskis welcome-to-Ottawa interview with Singh on CBCs Power and Politics. Milewski has never suffered fools gladly and operates on the premise that all politicians are fools until proven otherwise. (Stephen Harper was never able to establish this to Milewskis satisfaction, so far as I could see.)

Apparently Singh, or his office, had  with stunning naivete  asked to see the questions in advance. Milewski delightedly tweeted out that fact before Singh backed down. Advantage: Milewski.

A lot of the reaction to Milewskis interview turned around a gotcha section at the end of the interview in which Milewski doggedly asked Singh to denounce posters of Talwinder Singh Parmar, which appear in some Sikh-Canadian institutions. Parmar was a Sikh nationalist who was  it has been well-established  the mastermind behind the Air India bombing in which 329 people were killed, most of them Canadian, many of them of Indian extraction.

Except for Milewskis first question  which was about how Singh would manage without a Commons seat  every single query directly or indirectly invoked race, religion or ethnicity.

For many viewers not steeped in the issue, it must have been a baffling exchange. But few reporters in Canada have covered the Air India bombing and its aftermath more thoroughly than Milewski  and Jagmeet Singh has been deeply engaged in Sikh politics. It may have been a gotcha question, but it got Singh, who dodged and weaved but would not be caught denouncing Canadas worst-ever mass murderer.

Singh is really going to have to do better than this if he wants to lead a national party with any success.

What concerned me about the Milewski interview was not this exchange, but what came before it. Except for the first question  which was about how Singh would manage without a Commons seat  every single query directly or indirectly invoked race, religion or ethnicity.

There were questions about refugees, religious symbols, Singhs acceptability in Quebec  all coming before the Parmar exchange. Nothing on Singhs interesting views on addressing precarious work among the young. Nothing on his controversial views on decriminalizing possession of drugs like cocaine and heroin. No open-ended questions that would allow Singh to lay out his own agenda.

Earlier that same day, another CBC journalist had posted a tweet that appeared to confuse Singh with another turbaned Sikh  federal economic development minister Navdeep Bains. If I were among the one-in-five people living in Canada who are visible minority, I might be tempted to wonder whether journalists who see a politician of colour see anything but the colour.

When we look south of the border  or across the Atlantic  its easy for Canadians to think of racism as a foreign problem. And I agree that we seem (for the moment) unusually blessed.

But take a look at some of the just-released data from Canadian Presss important Populism Project  a survey from EKOS research. According to EKOS massive survey, 37 per cent of Canadians think too many immigrants are visible minority. Among respondents who are themselves visible minority, 43 per cent said they had personally seen or experienced a clear incident of racism over the past month. Remarkably, 26 per cent of other Canadians said the same.

While a plurality of Canadians dont think there been much change in the level of racism in Canada, 33 per cent think racism is becoming more common, compared with 20 per cent who think it is becoming less common.

I am not suggesting for a moment that Sikh politicians should only be interviewed by Sikh journalists, or that Indigenous politicians (like the Manitoba NDPs new leader Wab Kinew) should only be interviewed by Indigenous journalists. Its a fundamental tenet of journalism that good reporters strive to understand the world around them, and strive particularly hard to understand those most different from them.

But a more diverse press corps would have two effects: one for journalists, the other for consumers of journalism.

For journalists, having people of various backgrounds in the newsrooms means being exposed to different sensibilities and story ideas in editorial meetings, over coffee, and in the thousands of chats that occur among colleagues in newsrooms every day as they try to figure out their angles. They also get to know individuals different from themselves in their full complexity  without reducing them to their most visible characteristics.

In the late 1980s, I did a story related to HIV/AIDS for the CBC. I had lived in New York at the height of the crisis a few years earlier and thought I was reasonably well informed. But after my story aired, a young producer  who was gay  came and spoke to me about some of the language I had used. He made me a better journalist by helping me see some things I had overlooked.

We are all limited to some degree by our backgrounds. Journalism is a lifelong process of educating ourselves away from those limitations.

For news consumers, diverse newsrooms are both a substantive and a symbolic indication that the news business is serious about exploring our world, which includes people like ourselves and people who are quite different. Its not just about comforting visible minorities through representation. Its also about the rest of us not just seeing them, but trying to understand them.
After producing and curating numerous Diwali celebrations in Metro Vancouver, Rohit Chokhani is embarking on a new, bold and ambitious initiative to expand the celebrations around B.C.

The first ever Diwali in BC celebrations will take place over 5 weeks beginning this month and is being organized artistic director Chokhani, Ashley Rose, associate producer and Teresa Trovato ,who will be handling publicity matters.

Chokhani was recently awarded the prestigious Jessie Richardson Theatre Award in the Large Theatre Category for Significant Artistic Achievement in Expanding the Diversification of Vancouver Theatre

For the last four years, Chokhani has been the Producer for Diwali Fest, the largest Diwali-themed festival in the Lower Mainland with events spanning over six weeks. He is also the Artistic Producer for South Asian Arts Society, which strives to create performance and educational opportunities for amateur to professional artists.

Here are some of the events;

Encounter

Oct 17  22, 2017

YORK THEATRE

The best physical theatre out of India, Encounter is a story about an Indigenous woman, Dopdi, and her communities struggle to uphold the Indigenous life and her defiance against injustice. Encounter, created for the stage by Aparna Sindhoor, S M Raju, and Anil Natyaveda is a tribute to the Indigenous peoples history all around the world.

Happy Place

Oct 19  29, 2017

FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE

Happy Place takes us into the experiences of seven women: inpatients, living together in the most extraordinary circumstances. Though each woman must navigate her own survival in a world that challenges that possibility, they are also the ones who teach one another how to live in a way no therapist ever could.Happy Place is a glimpse into lives filled with courage, compassion, humour and startling surprises; lives which  in many ways  are not so different from our own.

HONOUR: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan

Oct 20  Nov 4, 2017

CULTURE LAB

This solo show is a testament to the humanity and lives of sex workers; a mothers plea for her daughters life and her honour; a story of the struggles of an unlikely family. See Mumbais red light district  the eunuch, priest, pimp, mother and daughter who call it home  come to life through the versatile and award-winning performance of Dipti Mehta.

Anatomy of Violence

Nov 4, 2017

Cineplex Odeon International Village

Deepa Mehtas film examines one of the countrys most internationally notorious crimes: the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman on a Delhi bus. In collaboration with theatre director Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry, Mehta worked improvisationally with her actors to envisage possible sociological and psychological backgrounds and pasts for both the perpetrators and the victimhighlighting a patriarchal culture, cycle of abuse, and an economic system skewed against the disadvantaged.

DIWALI @ EVERGREEN

Nov 5, 2017

EVERGREEN

CULTURAL CENTRE

As part of the VARIETY SERIES at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, Diwali in BC is proud to bring the Diwali celebrations to Coquitlam. This South Asian, cabaret-style evening features classical, Bollywood, and contemporary dance as well as classical live music performances. Curated by Diwali in BC artistic director Rohit Chokhani. Special thanks to David Mann and Nina Buddhdev.

SHYAMA

Nov 16, 2017

YORK THEATRE

A Bharata-Natyam interpretation of Rabindranath Tagores epic dance drama Shyama. Choreographed by Jai Govinda, Artistic Director at Mandala Arts & Culture Society, and performed by his disciple Arno Kamolika, this dance theatre piece is a tribute to Indias highly acclaimed playwright Rabindranath Tagore.

How India gears up for the Festival of Lights

They say India is the land of festivals. No matter what month of the year it is, there is always some major festival round the corner in India. Home to people of various religions, India is one of the most secular lands on the planet. People across the country get together in festivities regardless of the religion celebrating the festival. Even with so many festivals that mean such a big deal to the people of this country, there is one festival that unanimously stands out as the countrys most prominent festival, event and celebration. Yes, its the Festival of Lights  Diwali. It would be fair to say that Diwali is the biggest festival celebrated by Indians both in the country as well as abroad. People often look forward to this festive season much like people look forward to Christmas in the west. The legend associated with Diwali is that it is celebrated to mark the return of Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita after being exiles for years. Rama defeated the evil king Ravana (which is marked on the day of Dussehra) to return home with Laxman, Hanuman, Sita and the rest of his troupe on this day. He was welcomed by the lighting of numerous lamps and the day came to be celebrated by Hindus as Diwali. Diwali 2017 dates are October 17 to October 21. Heres what each of these days stands for:

October 17: Dhanteras

Its the 13th day of the lunar fortnight and honors Dhanvantari, a Lord Vishnu incarnation. It is considered to be an auscpicious day to purchase gold.

October 18: Chhoti Diwali or Naraka Chaturdashi

Legend has it that Lord Vishnu and Goddess Kali destroyed the demon Narakasura on this day. On this day, you can witness demon Narakasura effigies being burned in Goa. In West Bengal, where Goddess Kali is a revered deity, celebrations and prayers are held in her honour.

October 19: Amavasya and Laskhmi Puja

This day is believed to be the commencement of Diwali as it is the day of the Lakshmi puja. People all over India offer prayers to Lakshmi praying for wealth and prosperity. Most schools and offices have holidays on the day of Lakshmi Puja. In many ways, this is the actual day of Diwali. CHECK OUT Best Places to Visit near Delhi on the Long Diwali 2017 Weekend

October 20: Govardha Puja, Bali Puja

The fourth Diwali day has different kinds of significance in different parts of India. In Gujarat, this day is celebrated as the beginning of the New Year. In northern parts of the country, this is the day of Govardhan puja as it is believed to be the day when Krishna defeated Indra. To celebrate this day, devotees prepare a variety of vegetarian food and offer it to the lord. And in Maharashtra, this day is celebrated as Bali puja to seek the blessings of king Bali.

October 21: Bhai Duj

On the day of Bhai dooj, sisters host feasts for their brothers which the whole family ends up enjoying. It is the equivalent of Raksha Bandhan, only this time the day is more for brothers than for sisters.
They say India is the land of festivals. No matter what month of the year it is, there is always some major festival round the corner in India. Home to people of various religions, India is one of the most secular lands on the planet. People across the country get together in festivities regardless of the religion celebrating the festival. Even with so many festivals that mean such a big deal to the people of this country, there is one festival that unanimously stands out as the countrys most prominent festival, event and celebration. Yes, its the Festival of Lights  Diwali. It would be fair to say that Diwali is the biggest festival celebrated by Indians both in the country as well as abroad. People often look forward to this festive season much like people look forward to Christmas in the west. The legend associated with Diwali is that it is celebrated to mark the return of Hindu deity Rama and his wife Sita after being exiles for years. Rama defeated the evil king Ravana (which is marked on the day of Dussehra) to return home with Laxman, Hanuman, Sita and the rest of his troupe on this day. He was welcomed by the lighting of numerous lamps and the day came to be celebrated by Hindus as Diwali. Diwali 2017 dates are October 17 to October 21. Heres what each of these days stands for:

October 17: Dhanteras

Its the 13th day of the lunar fortnight and honors Dhanvantari, a Lord Vishnu incarnation. It is considered to be an auscpicious day to purchase gold.

October 18: Chhoti Diwali or Naraka Chaturdashi

Legend has it that Lord Vishnu and Goddess Kali destroyed the demon Narakasura on this day. On this day, you can witness demon Narakasura effigies being burned in Goa. In West Bengal, where Goddess Kali is a revered deity, celebrations and prayers are held in her honour.

October 19: Amavasya and Laskhmi Puja

This day is believed to be the commencement of Diwali as it is the day of the Lakshmi puja. People all over India offer prayers to Lakshmi praying for wealth and prosperity. Most schools and offices have holidays on the day of Lakshmi Puja. In many ways, this is the actual day of Diwali. CHECK OUT Best Places to Visit near Delhi on the Long Diwali 2017 Weekend

October 20: Govardha Puja, Bali Puja

The fourth Diwali day has different kinds of significance in different parts of India. In Gujarat, this day is celebrated as the beginning of the New Year. In northern parts of the country, this is the day of Govardhan puja as it is believed to be the day when Krishna defeated Indra. To celebrate this day, devotees prepare a variety of vegetarian food and offer it to the lord. And in Maharashtra, this day is celebrated as Bali puja to seek the blessings of king Bali.

October 21: Bhai Duj

On the day of Bhai dooj, sisters host feasts for their brothers which the whole family ends up enjoying. It is the equivalent of Raksha Bandhan, only this time the day is more for brothers than for sisters.
Of the 6,400 women entrepreneurs nominated in this years Women of Influences 2017 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, Sharifa Khan has been selected as one of the 18 finalists.

Khan, the president and CEO of Balmoral Multicultural Marketing. She and the 17 other women were chosen from industries including: finance, technology, construction, hospitality and health services.

Khan is up for the TELUS Trailblazer Award, a category that searches for Canadas top trendsetters. The finalists and ultimate winner of this award must have recognized a new market, product, service, technological advancement or opportunity and led the way.

When I started Balmoral 28 years ago, I saw a wave of immigrants coming to Canada  all of whom looked forward to building their lives here as Canadians and while I knew there was an important communications need there, it was just a seed of a dream, said Khan.

The RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards will be announcing its winners at this years 25th Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday Nov. 22 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. To date, this premier national awards program has received over 75,000 nominations, and selected


Helena's candidates for city commission and mayor participated in another forum Tuesday night, where they yet again covered the Confederate fountain removed from Hill Park and other issues including public transportation, parking and development.

The forum was hosted by Plymouth Congregational Church and Carroll College.

Both mayoral candidates, incumbent Jim Smith and Wilmot Collins, took part in the forum.

City Commission candidates Mark A. Burzynski, Andres Haladay, Heather K. O'Loughlin and Gary L. Spaeth participated in the event. Neither Sean Logan nor Justin Ailport were able to attend. Ailport also missed the last forum on Oct. 2.

The candidates were first asked to define morality and how it would inform their work if elected. Then each candidate got a unique question, and the forum wrapped up with a chance for questions from the audience.

Incumbent commissioner Andres Haladay said morality meant tethering his decision to certain principles such as social, economic and racial justice.

Its removing those aspects of, I want to make sure everyone will shake my hand and be happy, he said. Thats easy leadership, but its not necessarily moral leadership.

Haladay was able to return to his definition of morality when his unique question asked to reflect on the decision to remove the Confederate fountain and explain how discussions since it was taken down have influenced his leadership. He said it gave him insight on how to cross lines and have a discussion with people who may see things differently.

The other thing it showed me is that you can never put your head down or put it in the sand and say were not going to delve into social issues, he said. Those are the issues that test moral leadership.

Heather OLoughlin, co-director of the Montana Budget and Policy Center, said a big part of her job is weighing costs and benefits and she makes sure the most vulnerable in the community are cared for.

OLoughlin answered a question on how to encourage development without urban sprawl and ideas on how to use existing structures in the city, such as the old Blue Cross Blue Shield building. OLoughlin didnt provide specific examples of ways to utilize existing buildings, but said she supports tax increment financing as a way for the city to leverage resources. She also said she would look at annexation as a possibility, but not the only way to responsibly develop. OLoughlin said its important for the city to look at its existing growth problem and adhere to it.

For Gary Spaeth, he said his version of morality is to not do anything that would embarrass your mother and said its a goal to leave the world in a better place. Spaeth was asked how he would improve the parking situation, which he said is crucial to having a vibrant downtown or local businesses would lose customers to big box stores. Spaeth didnt provide examples on how we would address parking.

Mark Burzynski said his background in health care, most recently as the CFO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, made him passionate about service to others. He said it is important for commissioners to develop working relationships and foster a culture of mutual support.

We dont do anything in a vacuum, he said.

When it comes to snow removal on sidewalks, Burzynski said some neighborhoods are better than others and the city only has one person able to enforce the city ordinance. He said he was unsure if the city had the resources to do anything remarkable about sidewalk maintenance by property owners. He called for neighborhoods to adhere to a social contract of having a safe and inviting environment.

Id feel much better about Helena if that was our mindset, Burzynski said.

Mayor Jim Smith was asked about how he welcomes new commissioners. Smith has been mayor since 2002. He gave specific examples of how he helped other candidates workshop parts of their platform until they became a reality, including the citys nondiscrimination ordinance and cellphone ban.

Were part of a whole, he said. It keeps our nose pretty close to that local grindstone.

Both Smith and mayoral candidate Wilmot Collins were asked about how they would improve public transportation and deal with the possibility of annexing property on Helena's Westside.

An audience member said they are visually impaired and rely on public transportation that only runs on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Smith said it was important for the city to have more people riding the bus. To do that, he said the city has been encouraging businesses in Helena with a large number of employees, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield or Walmart, to put forward a financial contribution and run additional routes that get their employees and other riders from point A to point B.

Collins said, if elected, he would take a hard look at the citys finances to see if another bus could be purchased.

When Smith said the city is making significant progress on the Westside annex and has a good plan to continue that work, Collins agreed, but added it should be a priority to add tax funding to the citys budget when Westside residents are already benefiting from Helena services.

I think sometimes we drag our feet, Collins said.

Collins said all of his decisions would be influenced by his lifetime of service in the military and as a child protection specialist. They wouldnt be ruled by politics, he said.

For his individual question, Collins was asked to provide specific examples of the fresh ideas and perspectives he previously said he would bring to the table if elected.
As communities across the nation work to recover from recent natural disasters, many are discovering that while they have plenty of rebuilding to do, they lack the manpower to do it.

This circumstance comes as no surprise to the Montana Contractors Association (MCA), which has been considering the nationwide shortage of skilled trade workers with trepidation.

A survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America revealed that 70 percent of contractors have a hard time finding qualified workers. In Montana, the situation is no different, with many companies indicating they are unable to fill open jobs with skilled employees.

The MCA is trying to make Montanans aware of the opportunity available to young men and women who are interested in pursuing careers in the trades. We have partnered with Montana secondary and postsecondary schools, providing outreach to industrial arts classes and supporting scholarships for engineers. We have collaborated with members of the media to spread the word about the rewarding work Montana contractors do, and the benefits the individuals employed in the industry receive for their labor. We worked with our members and schools to promote Construction Week (Oct. 2-6).

But we still struggle to fill the jobs necessary to build Montanas infrastructure. Why?

The societal pressure to pursue a four-year degree has become prevalent in schools and families, to the point of devaluing the trades and construction jobs. Its time to take back the honor associated with jobs that involve men and women working with their hands and brains to build the houses, roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and water systems that make Montana our home.

The MCA would like to thank Montana Superintendent of Public Schools Elsie Arntzen for recognizing the growing workforce shortage, and having the courage to promote construction as a viable, rewarding career  a first choice, not a fallback for students who dont pursue degree programs at four-year schools. In fact, the MCA was pleased to enter into a partnership agreement with Superintendent Arntzen and the Montana Building Industry Association recently to further those efforts. We are gratified that the superintendent is emphasizing the need for schools to provide education and training programs that prepare young people for the thousands of jobs available as welders, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, diesel mechanics, and equipment operators.

These jobs, which typically pay extremely well and include generous benefit packages, often lead to supervisory/managerial positions for those who show talent and initiative  far from the dead-end job stigma with which theyve been labeled. The ability for young people to move into these positions without the pressure of crushing student loan debt often puts them in a much better financial position than some of their peers who pursue other types of degrees.

We dont have all the solutions yet, but we do know we need to change attitudes regarding trades education by supporting it, not only in concept, but in practice.

We need to nurture our students interest in careers in construction by investing in industrial arts programs in our high schools. Our industrial arts instructors need to be trained in their areas of expertise, and the equipment they use to teach our students needs to be current.

Plus, parents, educators, and counselors should attach the appropriate credence to careers in the construction and related trades for their students. Four-year degrees are not the only path to success, and students who choose to follow an alternate route deserve equal support and accolades from educators and our communities.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction across the country is expected to add 790,400 jobs by 2024, and is in the top five industries projected to grow the most between now and 2024.

What does that mean? We dont have time to waste.

Lets build Montana!
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The man to whom the remark was addressed is immune to such aggression. His job is to "guarantee the principle of justice" in difficult times, says Koen Lenaerts, president of the European Court of Justice. His spacious office is on the seventh floor of the Court of Justice building on the Kirchberg Plateau in Luxembourg. The world outside its tinted windows seems far away while shelves of legal tomes surround Europe's senior-most judge like a wall.

But the animosity towards his court has not passed Lenaerts by. The "variety of crises" is reflected in pending proceedings, he says.

Perhaps the most controversial recent case focused on the binding distribution of refugees that EU interior ministers approved in September 2015 over the opposition of Hungary and Slovakia, among others. The European Court of Justice ruled that the decision had followed EU law and was thus valid.

As far as Lenaerts is concerned, the issue is resolved. He can understand that countries who feel adversely affected by the court verdict need to express their disappointment. "That is not in itself a problem. But they must accept the verdict. Now they need to abide by the council decision."

Lost Credibility

But this isn't just about one verdict that Hungary doesn't like, or one order that Poland is ignoring. In Warsaw, the Law and Justice party is intent on hollowing out the very foundations of the rule of law. Were its controversial bills enacted, all the judges on Poland's Supreme Court could be replaced en masse. The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Poland and the next step could be the imposition of sanctions in accordance with Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty. If the situation worsens, Poland could end up forfeiting its voting rights in the EU.

For its part, Poland refutes the commission's right to intervene in an ongoing legislative process. A letter sent by the Polish government in late August to the European Commission and seen by DER SPIEGEL states that the commission has its facts wrong and asks the barbed question: "Did the commission get its information on the judicial reform from the media?"

The tone of the letter is proof enough that the European Commission has lost its authority as a credible champion of law and order, at least in parts of Eastern Europe. Even less belligerent Eastern Europeans are riled by the tendency of Brussels and countries such as Germany to behave like the guardians of European values, when they themselves break the rules too.

Peter Gyorkos, the Hungarian ambassador to Germany, says that the main reason the EU is in crisis is because "we have eroded the rules of our two greatest achievements with exceptions and violations: the common currency and the single market guaranteed by the Schengen Agreement - in other words, our way of life and our economic model." He blames the European Commission, which he says has relinquished its role as the "guardian of the treaties."

Hypocrisy

He has a point. Member states have violated the Stability and Growth Pact, signed just 20 years ago, over 110 times. Only once has this resulted in sanctions. Hardly any of those violations have left behind deeper marks than Germany's repeated flouting of the rules in the early 2000s. For two years, Berlin fought against reluctant partner countries and the initially stubborn European Commission until then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroder (SPD) got what he wanted. Germany, of all places, a country which needed the Growth and Stability Pact to sell the common currency to a skeptical population, had weakened the rules.

Valdis Dombrovski, the Latvian deputy president of the commission, is reminded of just how indelible that loss of authority is whenever he warns heads of state and government to abide by EU treaties.
Algiers, Oct 14, 2017 (SPS) - Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara Horst Kohler will pay, on 18-19 October, a visit to the Sahrawi refugee camps, announced on Friday the ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic to Algiers.

It is Kohlers first visit to the region since his appointment in September by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as his personal envoy for Western Sahara, replacing Christopher Ross.

Kohler has already expressed his intention to visit the region to relaunch the peace process, frozen for five years, because of Moroccan deadlocks.

The Polisario fronts representative to the United Nations Ahmed Boukhari reiterated last week in New York, at the 4th UN Commission for decolonization, the Sahrawi sides firm commitment to cooperating with new envoy Horst Kohler, expected in the region to relaunch the UN process.

Our position is consistent, clear and transparent. It is the position of the United Nations and the African Union concerning the issue of decolonisation, governed by the principle of self-determination, he said. (SPS)

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The Moroccan authorities have spent decades imprisoning Saharawis who support self-determination in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara. They then send detainees to prisons in Morocco, thus depriving them of their basic rights such as family visits, medical attention and opportunities to study.

Last week, some of the many families affected by this situation went to the office of the General Administration of Prisoners and Rehabilitation in the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat to draw attention to this matter with regard their loved ones. They expressed their anger that 19 political prisoners, a group of Saharawi activists known as the Gdeim Izik Group, had been moved to different prisons in Morocco on 16 September. This move happened without any pre-warning, either to the prisoners or to their families. The families took part in protests against this move for an entire week.

We have been here in a peaceful sit-in for a whole week and despite having met with those responsible for the administration, the conditions for our family members who are in prison have not improved at all. Today we were shocked that some 200 police and auxiliary forces officers, both uniformed and plain-clothes, were sent by the authorities to attack us and break up our peaceful sit-in, commented one of the participants.

On Monday last week, the protesters (including family members and human rights activists) were violently attacked and many were badly injured. Several, who lost consciousness due to blows to the head, were taken to hospital, including the RASD-TV correspondent Salha Boutanguiza. The attacks show a premeditated policy of violent repression of any form of dissent against Moroccan policies directed towards the Saharawi population, including the suffering of political prisoners in Moroccan prisons.

The conditions that Saharawi political prisoners are enduring are difficult and inhumane, which has led many prisoners to begin open hunger strike and others who have given 48 hours notice that they will continue with a hunger strike if their rights are not respected, explained the spokesperson for the Committee of the Families of Saharawi Political Prisoners.

The Moroccan Prison Authorities must assume full responsibility for the physical and psychological consequences of the suffering the Saharawi political prisoners are enduring from the terrible conditions in which they are living, he also told us.

By arbitrarily moving prisoners to prisons in Morocco, the government is forcing families to travel between eight and twenty-one hours to visit their loved ones. This is not only cruel but goes against international law and all the conventions to which an occupying power must adhere. These conventions oblige Morocco to imprison all detainees from Western Sahara in prisons in the Occupied Territories and ensure that living conditions meet international standards.

In the last three weeks, Adala UK has documented how the Moroccan security forces have violently attacked all protesters to prevent further peaceful protests in solidarity with the 19 political prisoners from taking place. The facts speak for themselves: this is not just a disproportionate reaction but a premeditated practice to use violence to prevent voices critical of the Moroccan government and its policies against the Saharawi population from being heard. Excessive force is being used by the Moroccan forces throughout different cities in Western Sahara against peaceful protesters.

Adala UK has also documented attacks against people who are not protesting in the described demonstrations. These attacks have taken the form of driving directly at people in the streets in their armoured vehicles. This endangers the lives of many others who are in the street at the same time. Security forces hurl stones at peoples doors and windows and try to kick them in.

Adala UK activists note that the Moroccan authorities defend the use of force by pointing out how the Saharawis incite hatred and violence, claiming that they are traitors who work for foreign agents.

It is imperative that the Moroccan government allows the Saharawi population to exert their rights, above all their right to self-determination, as recognised by the UN and the international community and that they immediately bring an end to their policies of violently repressing hundreds of people in the Occupied Territories, something which is currently a daily occurrence. (SPS)

062/SPS/ Adala UK

http://adalauk.com/2017/10/16/morocco-must-take-urgent-action-stop-suffering-saharawi-prisoners-families/




Chahid El Hafed, Oct 18, 2017 (SPS) - The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Western Sahara, Mr. Horst Koehler, has just arrived to the Sahrawi refugee camps on Wednesday for a visit to the region in order to resume negotiations between the two parties to reach a solution that guarantees the right of the Saharawi people.

The UN envoy was received by Emhamed Khadad, Saharwi Coordinator with MINURSO, Mr. Bujari Ahmed, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations, and Mr.

He was also received at the Tindouf airport by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ms. Kim Boldok, accompanied by an important delegation from MINURSO.

The UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, began his visit on Monday with the first stage in Morocco, the first since his appointment last August as successor to Christopher Ross as part of a UN effort to bring negotiations between the parties to the conflict, After a five-year stalemate due to Moroccan obstacles.

The visit of the UN envoy to Saharawi refugee camps will last two days during which he will meet with the Saharawi dignitary, the negotiating delegation and a number of officials from the Saharawi state, Frente POLISARIO and representatives of civil society.

It will also undertake visit to several institutions and Wilayas of the Sahrawi Refugee Camps. SPS

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Wilaya of Auserd, Oct 18, 2017 (SPS) - The messes of the Wilaya of Auserd have received on Wednesday the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, who arrived in the camps on the second leg of his first visit to the region, in the framework of his first tour to revival negotiations between the two parties to reach a solution that guarantees the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.

Upon his arrival in Auserd, he was greeted by units of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army (SPLA), where he was received at the entrance of the Wilaya by the members of the Secretariat, the Government, the National Council, the Bureau of the Advisory Council, the Presidents of the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Judicial Council.

For her part, Governor of the Wilaya, Mrs. Mariam Salek Hamada, after welcoming the Personal Envoy and his accompanying delegation, renewed the confidence of the Sahrawi party in the new envoy to move the peace process in Western Sahara.

Mariam went on saying that the Saharawi people are looking forward to finding a quick solution to the long-running Western Sahara conflict, applauding Mr. Kohler's experience in the international politics.

The UN envoy was received by Emhamed Khaddad, the Sahrawi Coordinator with MINURSO, Mr. Bujari Ahmed, representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations.SPS

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Analysis of Strutt & Parkers Farmland Database shows that private investors and rollover buyers are emerging as the dominant force in the market for farmland in England, with farmers accounting for fewer transactions than at the peak of the market in 2015.

The number of transactions involving private investors has risen from 8%, pre the 2008 financial crisis, to 20% in 2017.

Agents are also reporting greater levels of activity from rollover buyers needing to reinvest the proceeds of residential and commercial land deals to avoid a Capital Gains Tax liability.

While many of these rollover buyers are farmers, they are funding their purchase from a development windfall, rather than from their core business, which allows them to pay premium prices for the right sort of farm.

Michael Fiddes, Head of Estates & Farm Agency for Strutt & Parker, said: Our data points to a combination of tight supplies and increased interest from non-farmers and tax-driven buyers, causing prices to firm for certain types of property, despite demand overall for farmland being weaker.

The data shows more farmland is remaining unsold compared to two years ago, but much of the land which is selling is achieving good prices.

Based on the transactions in our Farmland Database, the average price of arable farmland sold in Q3 of 2017 was 9,100/acre, which is nearly 5% higher than it was in Q2.

This change may not be statistically significant because of the relatively small amount of land which sells in each quarter  and it, of course, only reflects the land which has sold  but it does feel anecdotally as if prices have firmed in the past quarter for larger farms.

Certain categories of buyers  for example, those on the hunt for large residential estates  are currently competing over a dwindling pool of properties.

Similarly, the increase in the amount of rollover money circulating in the market has prompted strong demand for larger, commercial blocks, leading to premium prices in many cases.

The appeal of smaller farms and blocks of farmland is very dependent on location, with the prices paid for them very wide-ranging.

Mr Fiddes said since 2013 an average of 43% of farm sales had been to non-famer buyers, with these transactions accounting for 55% of the total area sold.

Farmer-buyers accounted for less than half of land sold.

Mr Fiddes said 2017 started slowly in terms of the amount of land marketed and it looked like the year would end that way, too.

During the first nine months of the year, around 73,000 acres of land in England have been marketed, which is in line with the five-year average, but a 20% fall on 2015 levels.

Autumn is usually a prime time to sell, but there has been a noticeable lack of new farms coming forward over the past six weeks and this is unlikely to change before Christmas.

Mr Fiddes added that over the coming months he expected some smaller properties to continue to struggle to attract interest, but good-sized, commercial blocks of arable land were likely to be sought after by rollover buyers needing to reinvest.

High net worth individuals are also likely to want to invest in larger estates, as and when they emerge.

No one is anticipating the high levels of capital growth we have seen over recent years, but there are good tax reasons for continuing to invest in farmland, along with a strong emotional pull to the idea of owning land.
It was the most successful day ever at the UKs leading working dog sales venue, which achieved record turnover and an all-time record average for broken registered dogs and bitches of 2.694. Moreover, the overall average of 3,294 for the 26 broken registered bitches sold was the first time an individual section had averaged over 3,000.

The sale attracted another three-figure turnout of 120 dogs  78 fully broken and 42 in the unbroken pen - from all parts of the UK and Ireland.

Buyers, too, came from near and far, with unprecedented interest from overseas customers. While some heady prices were witnessed for the top end among the quality entry, many other broken dogs were successfully sold at under 1,000gns up to 2,000gns, as the seasonal fixture once again provided a ready supply of dogs and bitches all day to suit any type of work without purchasers having to dig too deep.

Working dogs dont come with much better breeding credentials than the days leading 9,500gns performer, a 20-month-old black and white bitch, Flo, from top Irish triallist Michael Gallagher, of Armoy in County Antrim.

His only entry on the day, Flo is by Littledale-based Ricky Hutchinson's celebrated International Reserve Supreme Champion Sweep, who has bred multiple trial winners across the globe, out of fellow County Antrim handler Chris McNaughtons Mist, also the dam of Val, a finalist as a two-year-old in the hands of Mr Gallagher in this years World Sheep Dog Trials, staged in the Netherlands in July.

Mist is herself by the legendary trials dog, Sid, bred in County Donegal by James McGee, of Glencregg Sheepdogs in Creggan, Ballybofey, out of another Flo, who finished third for Mr Gallagher in the 2015 Supreme, and is herself a daughter of Cap, the Irish handlers 2010 International Supreme Champion.

Trained to nursery standard, Flo will follow this path in this years trials with her new owner, Scottish Highlands sheep farmer and regular Skipton buyer Jock Sutherland, of Sangormore, Durness, about as far north as you can get on the mainland and a 1,000-mile round trip to and from the North Yorkshire venue.

Flo will also go to work on Mr Sutherlands North Country Cheviot sheep flock. Michael is one of the top handlers and always produces good quality dogs. Id seen Flo on YouTube and was very impressed, so came down in the hope of getting her, said Mr Sutherland, who around a decade ago represented the Scottish trials team and is set to make a welcome return to the trials field.

Also taking credit for the top price performer was Mr Gallaghers American-born fiancee, Tierney Graham. She, too, runs dogs and the couple first met when her husband-to-be, who had a two-year and highly successful trialling stint across the Pond several years ago, was among the judges in the US National, in which Tierney, then living in Seattle, Washington, was competing. She has since joined Michael in Ireland and the dog-loving duo make a formidable team.

Ireland was also responsible for the second top price 6,000gns dog, Floss, a three-year-old black and white bitch from Colm Doherty of Tirbracken in Londonderry, who has already proved herself on the trials field, finishing third in the North of Ireland nursery final, along with open placings.

Floss is by James McLaughlins Dan (Ben), twice Irish National champion, Supreme runner-up and also winner of One Man and His Dog, out of Queen, who is owned by Mr Doherty's brother, Paul Doherty, of County Donegal. Floss will go to work with her new owners on a North Yorkshire sheep farm.

Earlier in the day, Colm Doherty achieved 4,000gns with another well-bred daughter of Queen, the tri-coloured four-year-old Roy, who also finished third in the North of Ireland nursery final in his year, with further open wins and placings to his credit. Another classy son of James McGees Sid, the dog found a new home in Scotland when claimed by Kevin MacKinnon, farm manager on the Luss Estate in Arnburn Arden, Argyll.

Three dogs made a rock solid 5,400gns. First up early on and making an impact for South Wales was Simon Wayman, of Tonteg, near Pontypridd, with his two-year-old black and white dog, Moel Dan, described by the handler, who has been training dogs for 41 years, as almost human.

Dan was bred out of Glan y Gors Jen, from Ceri Rundle, herself a well-known triallist, having been the first-ever lady to qualify for the Welsh National Team, the first to appear on One Man and His Dog and the first lady to be elected on to the Panel of National Judges for Wales.

Now semi-retired, Mr Waymans charge  he was selling the dog on behalf of his young son Harry  returned to her breeder Ceri, who also owns and runs CSJ Specialist Canine Foods at Bwlch Isaf Farm in Bodfari, Denbighshire. She established the business in 1998 and it has since become one of the fastest growing dog food brands.

Ceri, whose father H Glyn Jones is a former International Supreme and Reserve Supreme Champion, will be making a welcome return to the trials arena with Dan. The pressures on now, she commented.

Mr Wayman also sold a 12-month-old home-bred black and white bitch, Page, for 2,900gns to J Mitchell & Son, of Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway.

Also hitting 5,400gns was Scottish farmer Dean Aitken, who breeds Texel and Beltex-cross and Scottish Blackface sheep at Uppercleuch Farm, Lockerbie, with his highly promising two-year-old black and white bitch, Meg, by North Wales breeder John Lightfoots Cap, out of Tweeddale Belle, from Lancashires Tom Riley - he bought Belle as a pup from Mr Aitken, who qualified for the Scottish nursery final this year after making a welcome return to the trials arena after a 20-year break.

Meg returned north of the border to near Dumfries with a first-time buyer at Skipton, Malcolm Forster, who also keeps Scottish Blackface sheep, along with Galloway and Jersey cattle. She will be used both as a work and potential trials dog by Mr Forster.
Todays high school seniors, adult learners, and returning college students should take the necessary steps now, to be certain they have the money they need to pay for college next fall. Starting October 1, 2017, students, parents and caregivers can submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2018-2019 academic year. While next fall may seem like a long time from now, filing the FAFSA early  especially ahead of the December 1 priority deadline  is the first step to understanding resources for which students may qualify. Students who wait, or worse, choose not to file the FAFSA, risk leaving money on the table that could help make college an affordable reality.

Often, people think that they may not qualify for financial assistance to pay for college. Almost everyone is eligible for some type of financial aid, which includes grants, loans, scholarships, and work-study opportunities. Many colleges use the FAFSA to award institutional scholarships available only to students who attend their specific school. Without filing the FAFSA, you may be eliminated from consideration for some of these funds. Filing the FAFSA does not commit students to any particular school, nor does it commit them to any particular funding source. One thing is for certain  if you dont fill out the FAFSA, you have a limited picture of the resources available to help you pay for college.

As part of our commitment to helping Montana students pursue higher education, Reach Higher Montana collaborates with high schools and colleges throughout Montana to provide hands-on, individual assistance completing the FAFSA. To find a FAFSA event near you, check out our College Goal calendar on our website, www.ReachHigherMontana.org. If theres not an event in your community, or if you are unable to attend an event, our knowledgeable advisors provide assistance completing the FAFSA at absolutely no cost to you. Financial aid professionals at your local college, or the college you hope to attend, are also helpful allies in your pursuit to fund your education. Finally, students, parents and caregivers can text FAFSAHelp to 41411 to receive free text messages with reminders and tips on FAFSA completion.

Completing the FAFSA is probably simpler and faster than you might think. The process has been significantly simplified, and since your FAFSA will be calculated using tax information from 2016, you can have your tax information imported into your FAFSA with the click of a button. Using this feature  the IRS Data Retrieval Tool  ensures that the correct information from your taxes is entered into the correct space on your FAFSA. This means fewer mistakes and a faster response on the resources for which you qualify. Make sure that you use fafsa.gov to complete your FAFSA, as other sites crop up each year that are not the federal site, and instead, charge fees for FAFSA completion.

Ready to get started? The first step to completing the FAFSA is for the student and at least one parent to obtain their Federal Student Aid Identification (FSA ID). This ID is used to verify identity and electronically sign the FAFSA, and its a good idea to have this step completed in advance of sitting down to do the FAFSA. Go to studentaid.gov/FSAID to get yours.

College can be an exciting time for both students and parents. As you continue your journey to the first day of college, know that nonprofit Reach Higher Montana is here to help you achieve your higher education goals.
October is here and that means it's pumpkin time. From picking them, to carving them, to eating and drinking them, pumpkins are no doubt the star of this month.

And Southwestern Connecticut certainly doesn't skimp on celebrating the great gourd.
DECATUR  Decatur's new superintendent, Paul Fregeau, sees the community's visible support of its students as crucial to their success.

You can see it from the survey data and what you see in the newspaper, what you see in the news and online, there's a lot of community support for our schools, so I think we can leverage that to help kids," said Fregeau, who comes to Decatur from the North Kansas City School District, where he is an assistant superintendent.

North Kansas City has more than 19,300 students and 3,100 employees with a budget of $269 million, according to the district's website.

"There's a lot of opportunity here for improvement, and a lot of things we can do better, so I like that. And, I'm from Illinois, born and raised. All those things are reasons I thought it was a great opportunity to come here and help the kids of Decatur," he added.

Fregeaus contract is for three years, with a salary of $197,000.

Decatur school board members expressed enthusiasm for Fregeau after a 7-0 vote to approve his hiring, noting his experience, drive and priorities.

Fred Spannaus said he knew the process of hiring a new superintendent now, a week before the election, was a topic of concern and that he, at least, had wanted to wait to make the decision until after the election, when potentially four new board members will be in place.

I think it would have increased the respect for the current board, Spannaus said. Please don't take out your unhappiness on our new superintendent.

Dan Oakes called Fregeau an excellent catch.

He's got a plan, and he's got interest, Oakes said. If we'd waited, we could have lost him.

Board President Sherri Perkins said she was pleased with the decision to hire Fregeau, who also was superintendent of the Cass Midway School District in Cleveland, Mo.

We know the district and community is ready to move forward, she said. We feel confident that Dr. Fregeau will deliver a promising future and we're excited for him to get started.

Earlier in the day, there was confusion about Fregeau's availability for media questions after the meeting and for interviews later this week. That confusion included a request from the district for questions to be submitted in advance of the news conference that followed the board meeting.

Several local media outlets, including the Herald & Review, requested a conference call with Perkins prior to the board meeting, but district spokeswoman Maria Robertson said she was not available.

After the board meeting, Fregeau and Perkins each made a statement during a press conference, but the news media was not allowed to ask questions at that time. Fregeau later spoke with the Herald & Review after the meet-and-greet with community members.

Union presidents Suzanne Kreps of the Decatur Education Association, and Paula Busboom of the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants, were unhappy with what they said was the lack of transparency from the board during the process.

I just believe that, if you look at the other communities that have hired a superintendent, Champaign introduced their three final candidates to the community and Maroa-Forsyth brought their three back, Kreps said. Two completely different districts and it was more out in the open. Some of these board members ran (for office) on transparency, and it's been silent. Why?

The last superintendent search, we wanted transparency, Busboom said. And we didn't get transparency then, either. I think that whole feeling of tonight is, it's so secretive and the part about not being able to ask the superintendent questions, and then 'yes, you can,' and 'no, you can't,' and we don't know information ahead of time.

"It's almost like they're trying to hide something. Are they trying to protect him from the community or is the board trying to hide or protect themselves? I don't feel this is sending a good message for the superintendent. Whoever's calling the shots here, whether it's the superintendent or it's the board, it doesn't speak well for our community.

Former Superintendent Lisa Taylor resigned last April to take a job as high school principal in Heyworth, where she has since become superintendent. Assistant superintendents Bobbi Williams and Michael Dugan were named interim co-superintendents, and the Decatur school board hired search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates at its Oct. 25 meeting.

The search firm held meetings with employee unions, parent groups and community representatives in December to ask about issues and concerns in the district, as well as qualities people wanted to see in its new leader.

Bill Attea, a representative of the firm, told the Herald & Review last week there were 45 applicants, 32 of whom completed the process, from 15 states and the District of Columbia. After initial interviews by the search firm, five candidates were presented to the board as finalists to interview. One dropped out for family reasons, leaving two men and two women.

All the school board candidates were invited to observe Fregeau's interview. Kendall Briscoe, Beth Creighton and Beth Nolan declined. In a joint statement, the women said, Though we appreciated this invitation, we did not believe observing a second interview would be useful or helpful to this process.

Board candidate Al Scheider did attend and was pleased with what he saw.

I was very happy after I left the meeting, Scheider said. It perked my spirits up about (working with him) if I'm on the board. I'm really looking forward to it.

He added that he is especially pleased that the vote was unanimous.

After how divisive the board has been, that really impressed me, he said. That, to me, is one of the most important things.

Carson was also among the candidates who sat in on the interview with Fregeau and attended the meeting Tuesday night. He described the new superintendent as phenomenal, and expressed excitement that the board approved the hire unanimously.

He seems to love what he does. He loves children, and his background says that he loves children, Carson said. He has fresh and innovative ideas, so Im excited for our district.

Speaking by phone Tuesday night, write-in candidate Janice Gavin said she was also in the interview with Carson and Scheider and came away with a positive opinion of the finalist.

I was very impressed with his credentials and his answers to questions that I had, she said, adding that she missed the board meeting because she had to work.

The meeting was well-attended, though most of the people there were district employees. A few parents were there as well. Amanda Albritton, who has three children at Garfield Montessori School, is cautiously optimistic.

I feel like they made a whole lot of something out of nothing, she said. We don't really know anything about him. We weren't involved in the process beyond the meetings (with focus groups) in December. We haven't seen his resume. We don't know anything. I'm not real confident, but I'm open to being impressed.

Decatur NAACP Branch President Jeanelle Norman came away impressed after meeting Fregeau at the meet-and-greet and hearing him speak during the meeting.

She also appreciated the unanimous vote.

A 7-0 vote, thats significant, she said. When you speak the way he did, then you know theres an interest not only in the school but the community as well.

Shanta Ricks, a district parent, and Melverta Wilkins, a grandparent, said the process was too secretive for their liking, but they hope the district will move forward.

It was a little odd for them to do it that way, Ricks said. But they get to pick anyway. We don't get anything to say about it. We've got who we've got and we've got to move on.

Keara Appleton, a sophomore at Eisenhower High School, said being there for the vote was interesting. I like the fact that everybody came out with their own opinions and didn't hold back, she said. I think they made a good decision.
Travelers on the Overland Trail were often seeking a new life out west. They brought household goods, food stuff and items of importance with them.

Nicholas Lowe, associate professor in arts administration and policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is traveling the trail to learn more about artist James Wilkins, who documented his journey, the Overland Trail and the people who traveled along it.

Lowe began this work about five years ago. He was searching images of visionary landscape artist Joseph Yoakim and saw one particular picture. The image is of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The next image he looked at was by James Wilkins (1808-1888) and it looked exactly like Yoakims.

I thought, Wow. This is an interesting comparison, he said. But who is this pseudo-Yoakim?

Lowe soon learned Wilkins produced 250 images during his life. Only 50 remain.

Wilkins was a landscape and portrait artist whose best-known work was the production and presentation of a scroll panorama  The Grand Moving Mirror of the Overland Trail. Lowe said Wilkins was not a great painter. Wilkins was forgotten about from 1911 to 1968. With little information about Wilkins life, Lowe hopes to learn when Wilkins decided to make the arduous journey west. Lowes interest lies in how the narratives of the landscape are presented in Wilkins work.

Im interested in objects and the way object narratives can be constructed, he said.

By the time Lowe reached Nebraska, he began noticing something other than the landscape. In letters and diaries, there are many accounts of the items people discarded along the way. Once they reached western Nebraska, hand tools and personal effects were commonly left at the edge of the trail. Some of the food had spoiled along the way, but other items, such as sacks of flour, were simply too heavy for pioneers to continue carrying on their journey.

Lightening the load was a necessity as the sandy ground around Nebraskas waterways were too difficult to traverse if the wagons had too much weight. Animals tired quickly and leaving heavy and/or unnecessary items behind only made sense. Lowe learned from Fort Kearney west, items were seen more frequently on the side of the trail.

Lowe said James M. Hutchings wrote in a letter in 1849, of seeing trunks, clothes and other items tossed aside. Wilkins, who was nearly two weeks ahead of Hutchings, wrote about the terrible terrain and lack of grass for the oxen to eat. Wilkins noted, These combined causes produce effects which are everywhere visible along the roads, by the number of dead oxen we continue to pass, and the amount of property left along the roads.

The property included shovels, axes, utensils and stoves. According to Lowe, the etiquette in encountering these objects was to leave things where they lay. Over time, many of these artifacts have disappeared, were worn away or possibly burned for warmth.

At Legacy, Lowe found the collection of stoves remarkable. He said a lot of consideration went into what type of stove to take on the trail and whether or not to even take one. Stoves were among the common items discarded along the way.

Other items left behind were accidental. Some people buried items, such as an expensive chisel set, with plans to return for the items later. They never did.

The loss of life, human and animal, was present in diaries as people, such as Wilkins, wrote about what they saw. It may sound cold and callous today, but travelers saw it so often, it became just a part of the trip.

People documented seeing 20 sacks of flour and piles of bacon thrown away, and legs of pork that had spoiled. People making food in Missouri sold the food, claiming it was the best product and would last the entire trip. Many people also learned many items were unnecessary. The enormity of items left behind was striking to Lowe.

Ive been going through the list of things people threw away and between here and Laramie, they realize We dont need that, he said. When you get past here (Gering), there are just piles of dead cattle and oxen, trunks of clothes and food discarded because people just dont want to carry it.

Lowe is using Wilkins work as a starting point for plans to develop a new body of work that carries present-day narratives and experiences along the Overland route. He hopes to develop visual artworks to present a series of perspectives on the present.

When Lowe is finished with his project, he will work with The Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. One thing he hopes to discuss while there is the idea of a museum of things left behind on the trails. Hes not sure how it will look, but is hoping to create something new to get people thinking.
GERING  Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Gering Junior High is training to prevent similar tragedies.

Say Something Week, a nationally-organized program from the Sandy Hook Promise organization, is taking place Oct. 16-20.

The Sandy Hook Promise is a national, nonprofit organization led by family members who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Julie Siebke, a school counselor who works with seventh- and eighth-grade students at Gering Junior High, shared about the implementation of Say Something Week.

This is the first year weve done it here in Gering, Siebke said. The whole premise is to teach kids to understand that there are warning signs when someone is maybe planning a mass shooting or planning suicide.

Raising awareness and educating students through training is the primary purpose of the program.

It helps young adolescents to understand how important it is to say something to a trusted adult if they know that a friend is in need or that a friend is crying out for help, Siebke said.

Each day of Say Something Week, the students spend their homeroom time, the first 25 minutes of the school day, training to identify warning signs and what they should do if they see them.

Each day were talking about what does it mean to be an upstander, what are the signs that you should be looking for if someone is posting or saying different things about wanting to hurt themselves or wanting to hurt others, what should you do, who can you go to, who can you tell? Siebke said. Our teachers are also going through this with the kids as far as the training; theyre doing that in their homerooms.

According to a YouTube video in the Say Something Week curriculum, an upstander is someone who speaks up in the face of injustice, asks questions, empathizes, combats bigotry and nurtures democracy.

In their homeroom time, the students will see different scenarios of potentially deadly situations, theyll watch videos about how to stand up against bullying and learn the procedure for noticing warning signs and taking action.

One video discusses gun violence and what that means for people in their age group and how it affects not only themselves, but also their peers.

Siebke also said every staff member in the building is hanging a special poster in their workspace, classroom or office.

"(It) just says Im a trusted adult. You can say something to me. I will listen. So that the kids know that thats a person they can go to if they have concerns for someone in our school or one of their friends, she said.

Not only will the students learn how to spot the warning signs of a potential tragedy, they will also learn how to see those signs on social media as well.

Because in our society today, the kids know more about whats going on than what we know, just because of all their social media interactions and that type of thing, Siebke said.

Students will look at different social media sites and how warning signs compare and differ. They will ask themselves difficult questions such as how they feel when reading those messages and what they think the appropriate action is after seeing those types of messages.

By the end of Say Something Week, each homeroom class will have created its own Sandy Hook Promise collage.

Every classroom is creating a collage of hands that theyre going to sign that just says 'This is a trusted classroom, this teacher you can go to if you need help or if you need to report something,' Siebke said. So were making a pledge, so to speak, by tracing their hands, cutting that out and posting it within their homeroom class.

The paper hand cutouts will be green, which is a Sandy Hook Promise color.

Siebke shared her expectations for Say Something Week in Gering Junior High.

The expectations are to raise awareness not only with our students, but also with our staff members and our community, especially about mental health and our warning signs and stuff we can do to intervene early rather than waiting until a tragic thing happens.
LINCOLN  As part of Nebraskas initiative to make government more effective, efficient, and customer focused, the State Patrol has partnered with Nebraska Interactive LLC to develop an online service for current concealed handgun permit holders.

This service allows for free replacements for a lost/stolen/damaged permit and free permit updates for name and address changes. It also allows current holders to renew their permit for the statutory fee, in addition to a small processing fee, from anywhere using the new online, mobile-responsive application.

Previously, renewing or replacing permits could be a time intensive task which required permit holders to come into one of six Nebraska State Patrol branch offices to maintain their legal concealed handgun permit. This new online portal will be especially beneficial to the men and women in our armed forces who are deployed out of state or overseas, allowing them to maintain their permit while on active duty. No waiting in line and no appointments needed.

Since the deployment on Sept. 12, there have been over 400 applications submitted online. In an effort to utilize technology and automation to serve the citizens of Nebraska, the State Patrol also collaborated with the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide verification of Nebraska Drivers License address information to streamline the renewal process.

Collaboration plain and simple. Our work with the State Patrol has been a productive one for years and we are thrilled to offer this level of convenience to the citizens in Nebraska, said Brent Hoffman, GM of Nebraska Interactive.

This new online process will help NSP to better serve Nebraskans, said Jeff Avey, acting director of the Nebraska State Patrol Criminal Identification Division. Our partnership with Nebraska Interactive has been instrumental in creating the new online infrastructure that makes this option available for CHP holders in the state. This could not have been done without dedication, hard work, and collaboration.
TORRINGTON, Wyo.  Our Savior Lutheran Church in Torrington is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Christian Protestant Reformation with a free public showing of the movie Luther  the 2003 biopic about the life of Martin Luther (14831546), from his transformation from a simple monk into the leader of the Protestant movement. The movie will be shown Saturday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m., at the Wyoming Theatre in Torrington. There is no admission fee and all are welcome.
EFFINGHAM  Illinois State Police said they arrested three people and seized 62 pounds of cannabis worth $150,000 during an Interstate 70 traffic stop west of Vandalia on Oct. 11.

Police said a trooper made the stop at 4:37 p.m. because the car was following too closely in traffic. The trooper found the cannabis and arrested the driver, Youzhen Huang, 24, of Philadelphia on preliminary charges of cannabis trafficking, possession of cannabis, manufacture/delivery of cannabis and calculated cannabis conspiracy.

Police said Huang and two passengers were taken the Fayette County Jail. Charges for the passengers were not listed in the state police news release. The Fayette County State's Attorney's Office and Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force assisted with the investigation.
On October 3, 2017 Esther Corcoran beloved wife of the late Robert E. Corcoran; devoted mother of Judith R. Corcoran and Janenne J. Corcoran and her husband Michael W. Lang died of heart failure at Brightview Towson Assisted Living. She was one of twelve children born to John and Mary Gallawa, entering this world on December 1, 1923 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. She graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1942.

After graduation, she went to work in the County Treasurers office at the Scottsbluff County Courthouse in Gering, Nebraska and was employed there from May, 1942 until December 1947. She was appointed Deputy County Treasurer in 1945 and worked at that position until she was appointed County Treasurer to replace the retiring treasurer in October, 1947. She was the first woman county treasurer in the state of Nebraska and at the age of 22 she was also the youngest.

She was married to Robert Edward Corcoran on December 28, 1947 in Scottsbluff. In the early years of their marriage they lived in Denver and Pueblo, Colorado, in Fort Riley, Kansas, Scottsbluff and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In 1960 they moved with their two daughters to Lutherville, Maryland, and lived in the same house on Charmuth Road until their passing. She pursued a successful career as Small Group Sales Associate and Manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland. The couple frequently returned to Scottsbluff and Colorado to visit family. Her family was everything to her and she always felt that Scottsbluff was her real home.

In addition to her daughters and son-in-law, she is survived by her brothers, Robert Gallawa (Donaline), Walter Gallawa (Francine) and her sister in law, Dorothy Gallawa. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews and their families.
Mark Richard McKay, 72, of Gering, NE passed away at his home surrounded by his family on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 20, 2017 at 3:00 pm at the Gering Memorial Chapel in Gering with Pastor Lyle Hinebauch officiating. Burial to follow at a later date/ Condolences for the family can be left at www.geringchapel.com.

Mark was born on February 28, 1945 in California to Ellsworth and Maryellen (Miller) McKay. When he was 2 his family moved to Atkinson, NE where he graduated from high school in 1963. He attended college at Wayne State and graduated with his Bachelors in Education in 1967. On June 28, 1969, he met the woman of his dreams, Samie, at the Four Seasons Bar in Omaha and they have been together ever since. On June 13, 1970 Mark and Samie married and together they raised their three children: Marquis, Matthew, and Maeghann.

He enjoyed working at Nebraska Machinery implements as a salesman for 28 years before his retirement. He will be remembered as a quiet man who enjoyed fishing, hunting, watching sports, and playing cribbage. He will be missed, especially by his grandchildren, who meant the world to him.

He is survived by his wife Samie McKay of Gering, children Marquis McKay of Gering, Matthew (Mandy) McKay of Sidney, NE, and Maeghann (Wes) Mortimore of Scottsbluff, grandchildren Samantha (Lauson) Hammer of Lincoln, NE, Axel and Riverson Mortimore, a baby on the way nicknamed goldfish, and Maddox McKay, brother Mike (Carol) McKay of Center, NE, his furry companions Wikki and Zorro, and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, 1 grandchild, and his nephew Kurt McKay.
On Sept. 22 the Appropriations Committee I chair hosted a public hearing on two of my legislative resolutions: LR 209 and LR 210. For those who may not be aware, a legislative resolution is a step down from a legislative bill in that it does not become law. Frequently, state senators will introduce legislative resolutions in the form of interim studies, which are extended studies of policy topics that often include a public hearing. LR 209 and 210 are two such studies

LR 209 explores the options available to establish a methodology for depositing into the states Rainy Day Fund. Currently, the state relies on revenue forecasting error to deposit funds into the Rainy Day Fund. What this means is that the state deposits into the fund when things are good, but what happens if an economic turnaround takes longer than expected? I believe that there should be a more systematic methodology versus the current forecasting error.

A lot of the discussion at the hearing attempted to address this question. Pew Charitable Trusts, a national research institute, spoke in favor of LR 209. Their evidence-based research shows that when states have well-structured policies on Rainy Day Funds, it helps to prevent from credit-rating downgrades, cushions state services from economic downturns, and leverages state resources to capture opportunities in future economic growth.

The Platte Institute, a Nebraska research institute, also spoke in favor of LR 209. Efficient use of government resources is one of their top priorities with issues like low taxes and regulatory reform. Understanding that when the States fiscal house is in order, well-structured Rainy Day Fund policy ultimately serves the taxpayer.

LR 210 also deals with fiscal policy, but is more narrowly focused toward local government. It was introduced to examine the policies that can be implemented to manage fiscal distress among local governments, which could culminate in credit rating downgrading, increased taxes, or even bankruptcy.

A number of events at the local level in recent years highlight the risk posed by fiscal distress among localities. The exoneration of the Beatrice Six in 2009 after a 1985 murder case led to a $28 million judgment against Gage County. The recent acquisition of Cabelas, a large employer in Sidney, by national outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops has led to uncertainties about the future of Cheyenne County. And many other instances illustrate the fiscal risk our communities have seen.

Additionally, our small towns in rural Nebraska have incurred significant challenges due to out migration, unfunded mandates by both state and federal government, and our states aging demographic.

Pew Charitable Trusts and the Platte Institute both testified in support of LR210 to detail how fiscal distress policies can be implemented to monitor and support local governments. The first step is to analyze the financial information already collected on localities. Then the State can put systems into place which can forewarn the State and localities when certain localities are at risk. And lastly the State can help put those localities back on track to fiscal health.

Since the public hearing on LR209 and 210, I have been out in the district meeting with constituents on various topics. Earlier this week, I held town halls in Mitchell, Gering, and Morrill. A lot of the discussion centered on property taxes and what were likely to see next year during legislative session. Other big topics included agricultural economics, infrastructure, and housing.

Over the course of the interim, a lot of time is spent meeting with various trade associations, advocacy groups, and concerned individuals on specific policy topics. As a state senator, it is my responsibility to become fully versed in virtually all policy topics that I will encounter. This is an intensive process, but I am thankful to the many groups that are able to inform my decision making.

When I travel to Lincoln I am often asked to participate in public speaking engagements. Ive had the opportunity to speak at Opensky Policy Institute and Platte Institute panels in the past couple weeks. At the Opensky Policy Institute, I spoke during a September 21st symposium which included the current budget issues faced this year and what will likely be faced next year, and a panel discussion on the Aging demographic in Nebraska. At Platte Institutes September 26th Summit, I discussed state fiscal policy regarding federal funds and my bill LB611, which would provide an inventory of federal funds and action plan if those funds are pulled back or implemented differently.

Im looking forward to concluding my work over the interim and fighting for the issues that mean the most to my constituents in next years session.

As always, I remain open to your feedback on how I may address the issues that mean most to you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions you may have. Thank you to those who have taken the time to express their views on various issues. My contact information is: Senator John P. Stinner, District 48 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68209-4604; telephone: 402-471-2802; email: jstinner@leg.ne.gov.
Last week, movie producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of several sexual allegations. Though it has been alleged that he sexually harassed many of the women he worked with for years, some have recently come forward, pointing the finger at the man who used his power and position to force himself on these women.

Since the accusations, Weinstein has lost some of his leadership roles. He was unanimously expelled from The Producers Guild of Americas National Board of Directors and Officers and was even fired from his own company.

Now, if Weinsteins company has no tolerance for sexual assault and harassment, why is it that some of us are still finding it hard to not put the blame of Weinsteins actions onto his victims?

Ever since Weinsteins victims have come forward  despite Weinsteins confessions  many people have accused the women of being liars who are making up their stories to gain attention. Many people have questioned the stories of the women asking, Why now? As in, why are they choosing to come forward now? Shouldnt they have done this earlier instead of causing all of this scandal out of nowhere?

While those seem like very logical questions, theyre not.

You see, we live in a society that blames women for the actions of their abusers.

We tell them that maybe if they had worn something different, they wouldnt have gotten raped. We question whether or not they led on their abuser. Whether or not they really said no. We preach to them that boys will be boys and that if they tease them, that means they actually like them.

The society we live in is filled with rape culture.

Its the same society that makes girls feel guilty for their sexuality and praises men for their own. Its the same society that only gave Brock Turner three months in jail after sexually assaulting an unconscious girl.

Its the same society that not only silenced these women, but that let down every other woman who has ever been sexually abused.

The victims will never be at fault for what their abuser did to them and this is what we need to stop teaching girls from a young age.

Let your daughters, granddaughters, sisters, nieces, etc. know this: What she chooses to wear is not an open invitation to her body. Her body belongs to her and her only and how she decides to decorate herself is not up for debate. What she wants to do with it is not in the hands of those who have never experienced what its like to be a woman.

If she is being friendly, that does not mean that she is asking for it.

She shouldnt have to say no and the only time a man has the greenlight beyond a womans personal boundaries is when she verbally says yes.

This is the most important of all: Boys will be boys is not an excuse for a mans actions and your little girls shouldnt grow up thinking that a boy pushing her on the playground is normal.

Weinstein used his power of position to make these women feel as if they had no other option than to do what he said. He made them feel vulnerable.

The excuse that Weinsteins lawyer used for his actions is that he was an old dinosaur learning new ways.

The only flaw in that argument is that a woman deserving respect, shouldnt be considered new.

The fault is not in the women who were too afraid to come forward and speak up about what had been done to them. The fault lies not only in the hands of Weinstein, but in ours as well.

As a society, we teach young girls that they look prettiest when they keep their mouths shut. Its time that we start teaching girls that their voices are not an inconvenience, but that the words they speak can hold greater power.
Nebraskans have some good news to celebrate with the recent release of the State of Nebraska 2016 Annual Traffic Crash Facts Report.

There were 1.05 people killed per 100 million vehicle miles traveled last year, according to a report from the Nebraska Department of Transportation. This number is down from 1.22 people in 2015.

If you happened to have a loved one among the 218 people killed in an accident in Nebraska this last year, the improvement means little. And the reality is, until we can report zero people killed on Nebraska roads, the number will always be too high.

However, the decrease is a positive.

In 2016 Nebraska had 22,434 crashes that caused property damage, 12,262 with injuries, 1,315 with serious injuries and 194 fatal crashes that resulted in 218 deaths.

Here in western Nebraska, there were four injured and no one killed in the 23 accidents reported in Banner County. Box Butte had one fatality out of the 190 accidents reported. Cheyenne County also had one fatality out of 158 accidents. Kimball County reported one fatality out of 82 accidents, while Morrill County had no fatalities in the 115 accidents reported. In Sioux County there were 14 accidents reported and one fatality. In Scotts Bluff County, nine deaths were reported in 697 accidents.

A few interesting facts came out of the report. Sunday was the lowest day of the week for total accidents, but the highest day for fatal crashes. More accidents occur on Friday than any other day of the week.

The time of day the most accidents took place was between 3 to 6 p.m., while the most fatal crashes happened between 6 to 9 p.m.

Younger drivers, the report said, were involved in more accidents than older drivers.

The old saying that men are better drivers does not hold true. Percentage-wise, men were involved in 55.2 percent of the accidents in 2016 compared to 44.8 percent for women. When you look at fatalities, the number jumps big time. Seventy-seven percent of the fatal accidents in 2016 involved male drivers. However, more ladies were more likely to be the victims in an accident. Women made up 55 percent of the people injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes this last year.

Accidents tended to increase in the late fall and winter; however, the number of fatal crashes decreased when the weather got bad.

Our number of fatalities on Nebraska roadways are down from 2015, but we still have a long way to go. The most telling and best lesson in these numbers, is the fact we have less loss of life on our roads when the weather is bad. It could be because we slow down and pay closer attention knowing the risk is higher.

Maybe we should drive like we are driving on a snow covered Nebraska road with the fear of hitting a patch of ice every day winter, spring, summer and fall.
There was little drama on election night in Iredell County as Republicans won races up and down the ballot.
City Councilman Bill Faber will not seek reelection in 2023, a move that opens up at least one of three council seats in the municipal election in April.
President Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation on Wednesday with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, at the latter's request, the main topic being the Education Law recently adopted in Ukraine. "The President of Romania expressed in strong terms the dissatisfaction with the adoption of the law, which has negative effects on the right to education in the mother tongue of the persons belonging to minorities in Ukraine, including the Romanian one. President Klaus Iohannis pointed out that, before this demarche, there should have been a rigorous consultation with the representatives of the national minorities in Ukraine and the neighboring states with which they are related," the Presidential Administration said in a statement sent to Agerpres.

Also, the head of state reiterated the position of the Romanian side on the fact that Article 7 of the law, as it is currently formulated, significantly reduces the rights of the Romanian minority's members to education in the mother tongue. Klaus Iohannis asked his counterpart that Ukraine should respect its commitments assumed constantly to the Romanian side regarding the observance of relevant international norms and standards in the field of the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities.

"The President of Romania also drew attention to the fact that it is important for the level and quality of education in the Romanian language to not be affected by the new rules and pointed out that the learning of the official language of the state where the minorities live should not be done to the detriment of the minorities' mother tongue," the release informs. President Iohannis reiterated Romania's continued support for the European course of Ukraine and the territorial integrity of this country. "The President of Ukraine has shown that he fully understands the concerns of the Romanian side and has conveyed the firm commitment of the Ukrainian authorities to find a solution to the problems created by the adoption of the law, so that the rights of persons belonging to the Romanian minority to learn in their mother tongue be not affected. The Ukrainian president also assured that the Venice Commission's opinion on the Education Law, which was recently requested by the Ukrainian side, will be respected," the press release said.

President Petro Poroshenko reiterated the invitation to his Romanian counterpart to visit Ukraine. In this context, President Iohannis stressed that this visit, due to be held in October and which was postponed by the Romanian side following the situation created by the adoption of the Education Law, will take place after the appropriate correction of the problems caused by this act normative, says the Presidential Administration's press release.
President Klaus Iohannis postponed his state visit to Portugal, scheduled for 23 and 24 October, at the suggestion of his counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, due to the situation engendered by the wildfires affecting this country. According to a press release of the Presidential Administration sent to Agerpres on Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis talked over the phone with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the latter's initiative.

"President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa provided information regarding the wildfires that have swept over Portugal starting with 15 October, leaving so far tens of people deceased and injured, as well as important material damages. The President of Portugal specified that this exceptional situation requires that all decision-making factors in his country mobilise in order to overcome the generated negative consequences. In this context, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa regretfully proposed the postponement of Romania's President state visit to Portugal scheduled for 23-24 October," the quoted source informs.

Klaus Iohannis recalled the solidarity message sent to his Portuguese counterpart on 17 October and reiterated, in both his name and the Romanians' name, his full solidarity and compassion in this trying moments, when Portugal is facing the devastating consequences of the wildfires. The head of state also sent his sincere condolences to the victims' families and wishes for the swift recovery of the injured.

"President Klaus Iohannis showed, therewith, that the Romanian authorities are especially concerned about the presence of certain Romanian citizens' communities in the area affected by the fires, the situation being attentively and actively monitored by the Romanian Embassy in Lisbon and "expressed Romania's availability to grant support to the Portuguese authorities in handling the situation generated by the fires, to the extent that the latter will deem necessary," the release further mentions.

In this context, President Klaus Iohannis expressed understanding for the adjournment, due to objective reasons, of the state visit. The two presidents agreed on rescheduling the visit to a later date, when the situation created by the devastating fires in Portugal allow for it.
Updated at 4 p.m. with closing prices.

Anthem Inc. will start managing its billions of dollars of patient prescriptions itself in 2020, the health insurer said on Wednesday, ending a deal with Express Scripts Holding Co., the St. Louis County-based prescription drug benefits provider.

Anthem said it would save $4 billion annually in the new contract with drug retailer CVS Health Corp., which will handle prescription fulfillment and claims processing starting in 2020 for five years for the new company, called IngenioRX.

Eighty percent of those savings would be passed to customers via lower pricing while 20 percent would go to the companys bottom line, boosting earnings by $2 per share starting in 2021, Anthem said.

The insurers shares rose 2.4 percent, or $4.53, to close Wednesday at $191.79, while CVS shares climbed 2 percent, or $1.47, to close at $74.10.

The new structure gives Anthem more control to lower health care costs, expand contracting with doctors and hospitals based on health outcomes and work on lowering annual increases in medical costs, Anthem Chief Executive Joseph Swedish said in an interview.

Anthem had considered exiting the Express Scripts deal for several years and sued the pharmacy benefit manager in 2016 over claims of being overcharged by $3 billion annually. Express Scripts, which is based in St. Louis County, has countersued and denied allegations of overcharging.

Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate prices with drugmakers and determine which treatments are included on their list of covered drugs and how much of a co-payment to charge for them versus their rivals. As drug prices have posted annual double-digit gains, companies, insurers and the U.S. government have pushed benefit managers to better manage costs.

Lawmakers have criticized the companies for not being transparent about drug prices and questioned whether any savings make it to their customers and consumers. Swedish said that with the pharmacy function run by Anthem, it would be able to provide that information to customers.

Leerink analyst Ana Gupte estimated that No. 2 health insurer Anthems prescription business represents about 220 million scripts per year worth about $23 billion in revenue.

Other insurers, including UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc., already manage their pharmacy benefits themselves.

Anthem, whose 10-year contract with Express Scripts expires in 2019, had said it was considering staying with Express Scripts, choosing another company, or doing the work itself.

Express Scripts spokesman Brian Henry said the company was disappointed by the move and would continue to work with Anthem through the contract end date and any transition period. Excluding Anthem, the company has 65 million members, he said.

Express Scripts shares rose 1 percent, or 56 cents, to close at $57.77.

CVS Health, which also has a pharmacy benefit management business in addition to its pharmacies and Minute Clinics, said it expects to incur implementation charges related to the Anthem deal, but that the costs would not have an impact on its 2017 earnings.

Indianapolis-based Anthem is the Blue Cross Blue Shield provider in 14 states, including Missouri.

The Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
ATLANTA  Delta Air Lines Inc.'s chief executive on Wednesday said the carrier did not play a role in pushing an industry-changing deal between planemakers Airbus and Bombardier Inc., as a regulatory spat between the United States and Canada threatened the future of a Bombardier plane program.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian praised the deal between Europe's Airbus and Canada's Bombardier, which would see Airbus take an ownership stake of the troubled Bombardier CSeries program, as a net positive for the U.S. economy.

The agreement for Bombardier to cede 50.01 percent stake in the CSeries to Airbus, and likely move the plane's final production stages from Canada to an Airbus facility in Alabama, secures the future of the jet and gives Bombardier a possible way out of a high-stakes trade dispute with rival Boeing Co.

"Im optimistic that the Airbus-Bombardier investment will help minimize some of the political concerns," Bastian said at the carrier's media day in Atlanta.

Bastian maintained that he was "mystified" as to why Boeing has sought to oust the narrowbody jet program through a complaint against Bombardier to the U.S. Commerce Department.

The issue between the two manufacturers, in which Chicago-based Boeing alleged that unfair Canadian subsidies to Bombardier have allowed the planemaker to dump the CSeries in the United States at an "absurdly low" price, has pushed into a broader discussion between the United States and Canada over fair trade policies.

Delta has an order for 75 CSeries at a list price of more than $5 billion.

However, the U.S. Commerce Department has proposed a stiff tariff of 300 percent on the planes, which, if finalized in early 2018, would significantly raise the cost of the jets.

Both Delta and Bombardier have said they would not pick up the extra costs, but the Bombardier-Airbus agreement to move final production of the planes into the United States could potentially shield the plane from possible import duties.

Despite the disagreement, Bastian said that the spat between Bombardier and Boeing does not affect the likelihood that Delta would purchase Boeing planes in the future.
PARIS  Europe's aviation regulator has advised aircraft manufacturers to stop using parts supplied by Kobe Steel until their safety can be verified, following product data manipulation by the Japanese company.

The move by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is another headache for Kobe Steel, which has shocked aircraft, auto, train and other industries with its revelations that it has been shipping some products to customers with falsified data on strength and durability.

The U.S. Justice Department is also seeking information from Kobe Steel and has requested documentation on products the company has sold to U.S. buyers, Kobe Steel said earlier.

The Justice Department inquiry could significantly raise the stakes for the Japanese steelmaker, Daisuke Yuki, a lawyer at Nozomi Sogo Attorneys at Law said.

The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau is investigating the issue and gathering information from Japanese manufacturers and Kobe Steel, a spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Where alternative suppliers are available, it is recommended to suspend use of Kobe Steel products until the legitimacy of the affected parts can be determined," EASA said in a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) dated Oct. 17.

EASA said the concern was not serious enough at this stage to warrant any compulsory measures.

A Kobe Steel spokesman declined to comment on the EASA statement.

Supply chain concerns

The admissions that Kobe Steel's supply chains have been tainted, affecting about 500 companies across the world, has sent its shares into freefall. The tampering went back more than 10 years, a source told Reuters earlier this week.

The scandal puts another stain on Japan's manufacturing prowess after similar cases including automakers Mitsubishi Motors Corp and Nissan Motor Co.

"All organisations that may have specified or used Kobe Steel products should do a thorough review of their supply chains in order to identify if, and when, Kobe Steel products have been used in their product designs and fabrications," the SIB said.

Because the period of the data tampering has not been ascertained, the focus should be on "current production," the agency said.

The world's two largest planemakers, Airbus and Boeing, have already said they are conducting a review.

Kobe Steel will hold a first round of bidding on Friday in the sale of a real estate unit, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The company has hired Mizuho Securities, the brokerage arm of Mizuho Financial Group Inc., as an advisor for the sale of more than two-thirds of Shinko Real Esate, Bloomberg said, citing unidentified sources.

The Nikkei newspaper reported last week the sale may raise about 50 billion yen ($444 million).

Kobe Steel and Mizuho Securities declined to comment.

Mitsubishi Motor also said on Wednesday it is investigating how components from suppliers containing Kobe Steel parts have been affected by the data tampering.

($1 = 112.6900 yen)
Q  Im looking for the latest version of the Brussels Sprout Salad at Mia Sorella in Ballwin. The recipe contains shaved Brussels sprouts, Gorgonzola, bacon, nuts (I think almonds) and a green goddess dressing. Any chance they would share?  Maggie Vogelweid

A  This September Mia Sorella celebrates its fifth year in business, serving fresh, traditional Italian food with flair and finesse, as exemplified in their shaved Brussels sprouts salad. The chefs toss fresh Brussels sprouts, shaved impossibly thin, with crisp bacon, Gorgonzola cheese and toasted almonds. The dressing, a basil variation of green goddess dressing that uses no tarragon, adds richness and fresh taste to this customer favorite.

The salad started as a special when we opened five years ago. We tried two or three different variations before we settled on this one, chef and owner Steve Komorek says. It wasnt really on the menu; we didnt have room for it, but we learned to have the ingredients on hand because people came in the door for that specific salad. Now, its on the menu.

Komorek and his brother, Jamie Komorek, offer a different, equally delicious, shaved Brussels sprouts salad at Trattoria Marcella, the more formal Italian restaurant they opened in 1995 on Watson Road in St. Louis city. Post readers asked for that recipe as well in 2011. The two brothers alternate working weeks at each of the restaurants to stay close to customers at both locations.

Salads are a big seller at Mia Sorella, especially at lunch, Steve Komorek says. The menu lists seven salads, each unique and beautifully presented. Pastas, made in house, all with fresh sauces, pizzas, paninis, sandwiches, appetizers and entrees round out the offerings. As with the salads, top-quality ingredients, inventive combinations and top-drawer execution elevates Mia Sorellas fare above the ordinary.

My passion lies with the food; my brother runs the front of house, Steve Komorek says. Together, theyve created unique customer experiences at each location delivering interesting food and good customer service in beautiful settings.

Mia Sorella

14426 Clayton Road; Ballwin

To request a recipe
COLE COUNTY, Mo.  A circuit court judge has found the county prosecutor here violated Missouris open records law in a ruling related to a series of lawsuits filed to get records showing how the drug war is fought in the state.

We hope that this case will serve as a deterrent to government officials who consider not being transparent, Tony Rothert of the ACLU of Missouri said in a statement released after the ruling. The Sunshine Law ensures an open government and helps establish trust between the government and the people it represents.

The suit was filed in December 2015 by the ACLU and Freedom Center of Missouri on behalf of Aaron Malin, a St. Louis County activist and law student at the University of Denver behind a series of similar lawsuits over open records violations, most of which are against the states drug task forces.

Since 2014, Malin has filed hundreds of records requests with various drug task forces and other law enforcement agencies, seeking information about how the agencies fight the war on drugs.

Five of the nine suits Malin filed are still open. Two of them involve St. Louis County police and St. Louis police.

In a 20-page ruling Oct. 11, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce found county prosecutor Mark Richardson knowingly and purposefully violated the Sunshine Law in denying Malins records request. Malin had requested records of any communication between Richardsons office and the areas drug task force.

Richardson, Joyce wrote, acted with full awareness of the consequences and conscious design to violate the law, citing Richardsons experiences as a licensed attorney and municipal court judge  including a class in which Richardson taught state agency officials how to respond to public records requests.

Joyce ruled that Richardson intentionally refused to provide the records or search for them, and that there was no support for Richardsons claim that the records were closed under the law. She outlined seven distinct violations of the open records law Richardson made.

Richardson was ordered to produce the records Malin requested and pay $12,100 in damages. He was also ordered to pay Malins attorneys fees once they have been determined.

Malin said he hopes the ruling, which he claimed is the largest civil penalty ever imposed for a Sunshine Law violation, deters government agencies from refusing to comply with records requests and encourages Missouri residents to file records requests with confidence.

It sends a huge message to government entities across the state that if they dont comply with the Sunshine Law, there are going to be consequences regardless of who the records requests come from, Malin said about the Oct. 11 ruling. Its my hope that those agencies will take notice of what happened here today and will comply going forward.

The Oct. 11 ruling against Cole County is the first in one of Malins suits to award monetary damages, since Sunshine Law stipulates that fines and attorney fees are awarded only if it is proven defendants know they are violating the law. Judges sided with Malin in three past rulings against drug task forces but only affirmed that they were in violation of the law.

Supporters of the provision say it protects small towns that rarely receive records requests from frivolous lawsuits only seeking money. Critics say the provision gives law enforcement agencies an avenue to avoid penalties.

Several of the agencies Malin sued have invoked ignorance of the law as a defense, he said.

If police pulled one of us over, ignorance of the law would be no excuse, but for them ignorance is an excuse, Malin said. Richardson, (who) was literally responsible for teaching other people how to respond to the Sunshine Law, has absolutely no excuse for not understanding or following the law.

Malin said he started his strategic litigation campaign in an effort to uncover information about how drug task forces combat illegal drugs.

They were operating as rogue agents given a block funding grant with no oversight from the public and no transparency, he said. We trust law enforcement with a tremendous amount of power, and to have them operating in the dark is simply unacceptable.

Missouri has about 20 regional drug task forces made up of officers from participating agencies. The task forces are funded with federal and local money and receive grants from the U.S. Department of Justice. The forces are governed by executive boards made up of the chief law enforcement officer in each participating agency.

Malins suit against the St. Louis County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force alleges it had fabricated meeting minutes. A bench trial has been set for Dec. 1 in that case.

In a lawsuit against a task force operated out of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Malin alleges authorities with the department seemingly denied the task forces existence when they refused his records request.
Asked what was next for him, Bostic said he would get a job and enjoy the simple things in life  learning to drive again  just everyday things that people take for granted.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Claire McCaskill said an embarrassing, honest mistake led her office to say on Monday that she did not oppose a bill that hamstrung the Drug Enforcement Administrations ability to go after potentially illegal distributors of opioids because she was receiving treatment for breast cancer.

The bill passed Congress and was signed by then-President Barack Obama through a procedure called unanimous consent, where no member of the House or Senate raised opposition. McCaskill this week introduced legislation to repeal it after a joint investigation by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes said that the measure, which passed in March 2016 after intense lobbying, has inhibited DEAs ability to go after suspected illegal distributors of opioids. The Washington Post took McCaskill to task, and she apologized in a call with Missouri reporters on Tuesday.

McCaskill said she returned several days earlier than scheduled in March from the treatment.

Someone on the staff knew that I was scheduled to be out that week for treatment, and I actually came back (to Washington, D.C.) a couple days early, and it was just an honest, sloppy, embarrassing mistake, McCaskill said.

But McCaskill acknowledged she would not have raised objections because she would have not known about the bill. Unanimous consent is often used to push noncontroversial bills, like the naming of post offices, through the House and Senate. If a single member objects, the bill goes through more stringent vetting and voting.

I actually wasnt aware of the bill, McCaskill said, adding that legislators are usually not privy to specifics of legislation on unanimous consent calendars if they are not on the committee of jurisdiction  in this case the Senate Judiciary Committee  that passes them to the floor of the House or Senate.

This is one of those things that is scary about this place, McCaskill said.  Sometimes bills roll through a committee if Republicans and Democrats sign off on it with no objections. What happened in this instance was the Department of Justice and the DEA signed off on it. Now, as it turns out, when you get to the rest of the story it wasnt quite that simple.

She added: I am taking responsibility for the mistake.
CLAYTON  St. Louis County police officers are closer to getting big pay raises next year, after a 6-0 preliminary County Council vote in favor of the measure on Tuesday night.

The issue will be up for final approval at a council meeting in two weeks. The raises would be a significant part  about $19 million  of the $46 million a year expected to be raised from the Proposition P tax hike that voters approved in April. Some of the rest of the money will be used to hire more officers, provide training and buy equipment.

County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the measure would allow his department to hire and retain at a greater rate. The department has consistently claimed that it was losing officers to higher-paying departments.

Tuesdays vote came after a tense, standing-room-only council meeting that featured dozens of speakers, some in favor of and some against the measure. More than a dozen police officers, the widow of a slain officer and other police boosters implored the council to advance the measure toward final passage later this month. Officers said it was unfair that under the old pay structure, rookie officers were making the same as veterans with 10 years experience. Half of the countys police officers are paid less than $48,500.

They deserve a raise, said Elizabeth Snyder, over tears. Her husband, Blake Snyder, was shot to death Oct. 6, 2016, while responding to a home in Green Park for a disturbance. Every time they put on that uniform, they are taking a risk.

But speaker Susan Clark said the county had a greater need to reform the criminal justice system. Speaking about the arrests of protesters at the St. Louis Galleria on Sept. 23, she said the conduct of St. Louis County police officers was egregious.

The raises appeared to be in doubt coming into the meeting. Stenger and Council Chairman Sam Page, who have been at odds for months over practically every issue, had exchanged letters in recent days accusing each other of political games.

Page said at the start of Tuesdays meeting that he could not go forward with a plan without knowing what effect the extra pay could have on the countys underfunded retirement system. He blamed Stenger for routinely withholding information that would help explain the increased pension burden. Stenger said after the meeting that was simply false.

The cold war and posturing obscured the fact that everyone more or less agreed on everything all along. Was there a hope of more common ground ahead?

I wouldnt be so hopeful after two-plus years, but sure it would be great if there could be, Stenger said after the meeting. We can all benefit from better communication.

Page was blasted by the first speaker, Matt Crecelius, business manager for the St. Louis County Police Association. Earlier in the day, Page misfired a text apparently intended for adviser Garry Earls that went to county Parks Director Gary Bess instead. The text suggested Page wanted to set aside 15 percent of the Proposition P windfall until we know the pension impact.

He wrote, Thats probably all I can do. Otherwise, we are just making Stenger look like a hero.

Crecelius told Page, You exposed your fake concern.  All you care about is not making Stenger look like a hero.

The meeting was marked by arguments between protesters and police supporters. When one of them got into a dispute with Snyder, officers escorted her out.

Protester Andrew Bennett told the council that he had been beaten by police during protests. Bennett, who is white, said it was a fraction of what people of color see every day. For nearly two minutes of his speaking time, he led about a dozen protesters in a chant: Say it loud, say it clear, black lives they matter here.

But in the end, the council voted 6-0 to adopt Pages plan. (Ernie Trakas, of the 6th District, was absent.) Stenger said afterward that his plan had also called to set aside an even larger amount for the pension.

Page said he was happy the measure passed, but that he was frustrated it turned into a political issue.
Last week, President Donald Trump unloaded another verbal fusillade against the media, threatening to challenge the license of NBC because of its critical coverage. As usual, the presidents outburst got a lot of attention. But another threat to press freedom in the U.S. is growing and largely invisible. Journalists covering protests are being attacked by demonstrators and manhandled by police. Alarmingly, its part of a global trend.

In August, around 30 organizations committed to press freedom (including the Committee to Protect Journalists) established a new website and database called the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The goal is to use the data to spot trends and coordinate action. Given Trumps threats, we expected to be logging cases of journalists ensnared in leak investigations and buried in libel suits. Such cases may still materialize. But in the first 10 months of the year, 52 of the 90 cases involve journalists covering demonstrations.

These protests have taken place across the country  in Washington, D.C., Berkeley, Calif., and of course, St. Louis. Journalists are getting it from both sides  they are being assaulted and harassed by protesters and arrested by police.

Several dynamics are at play. The first is that protesters are angry at the media. But technology has also changed the equation.

Protesters  even violent protesters  once sought media attention, and therefore treated journalists with a degree of deference. Todays protesters rely more on social media. They incorporate videographers into their ranks and tell their own stories. Traditional reporters are often viewed with hostility.

Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole first noticed the shift in 2011 when she covered the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York. Protesters had their own media department and there was more anti-corporate-media sentiment, Cole said. Some would put their hand up to cover the camera lens.

Since then, vitriol toward the media has increased. It spans the political spectrum, from Trump supporters to those marching against racial injustice. Santiago Lyon, who ran the photo desk at The Associated Press for over a decade and is now the head of editorial content at Adobe, said that around the world police are using photographs taken at demonstrations to identify and prosecute protesters, fueling mistrust toward the media. Both the police and the protesters are caught up in a desire to control photojournalists and prevent them working, Lyon contends.

In the U.S. and around the world, police are using aggressive strategies to control protests, including kettling, whereby they use barricades to channel protesters into designated areas and then arrest everyone. Police also complain that precisely because many journalists are unaccredited and independent  and some are even aligned with the protesters  they cant or wont differentiate between the professionals and the more informal reporters. This is true in St. Louis, but it is also true in Istanbul, Turkey, and Sao Paolo, Brazil.

At least 10 journalists have been arrested while covering the protests in the St. Louis area. They range from bloggers and activists to professional photographers like Scott Olson of Getty Images. In 2014, Olson was shoved to the ground by police and jailed for 12 hours. Getty Images Vice President Pancho Bernasconi says the agency is insisting that journalists covering protests in the U.S. have a buddy and check in hourly  the kind of safety protocol once typical of overseas assignments.

In a recent column in Columbia Journalism Review, Jonathan Peters suggested steps that media organizations can take to improve the safety of journalists covering protests. Its also critical that news organizations engage in more outreach to police departments and educate them about the role of the press. While these are necessary steps, the underlying factors that make protests dangerous to cover are new technologies and changes in social attitudes. For these challenges, there are no quick fixes.

New York and Washington-based media tend to focus on Trumps angry words. Without minimizing the significance of a having a president who does not seem to believe in the First Amendment, for now at least its mostly regional journalists covering demonstrations in their own communities who face the greatest risk. With protests increasingly part of our political landscape, the streets of America are the next press freedom battleground.
ST. LOUIS  Thursday's the deadline for St. Louis, Chicago and dozens of other metro areas to stake their claim in the gold rush of 2017  submitting bids for Amazon's second headquarters.

Some contenders are rolling out big-dollar incentives, such as the nearly $7 billion in tax breaks offered by New Jersey to support Newark's bid.

Others have launched attention-getting gimmicks to set themselves apart.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James bought 1,000 items on the e-commerce company's website and proceeded to promote his city's attributes in product reviews.

Tucson, Ariz., sent Amazon a 21-foot-high Saguaro cactus (it was rejected) and an Atlanta suburb, Stonecrest, Ga., offered to de-annex 345 acres and use it to form the new city of Amazon.

The pitch from Birmingham, Ala., includes erecting three giant Amazon delivery boxes around town.

"Those stunts aren't going to have any impact at all," predicted Kenneth Thomas, a professor of political economy at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who studies investment incentives.

"It's going to come down to what cities have the economic factors Amazon expects to need."

Chicago did not give any specific details of its bid, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner jointly announced was submitted electronically on Monday.

Emanuel said the city's bid highlights Chicago's talent pool and transportation options. He said Chicago "offers unparalleled potential for future growth." The city didn't offer details, citing competitiveness. Chicago's bid committee includes more than 600 business, civic, cultural and educational leaders.

Rauner said last month he also would work with the Metro East area on a bid but his office on Tuesday did not respond to a request for an update.

The financial details of the St. Louis area's proposal, like those of many of its competitors, have yet to be publicly disclosed.

Missouri officials are expected to announce on Thursday what role the state would play with incentives that could cover either the St. Louis or Kansas City areas.

Geographically, officials have outlined a bi-state plan involving downtown, the riverfront just to the north and land across the Mississippi River in the East St. Louis area.

The plan also will cite excess runway capacity at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, and the MetroLink light rail system as well.

The plan was crafted by the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. The agency is jointly funded by St. Louis and St. Louis County but it also considered possible sites in other parts of the metro area and in the end opted to include the Illinois acreage.

Some other sites  in St. Louis, St. Charles and Madison counties  will be included as alternate locations or sites suitable for supplemental companies that could be drawn here if Amazon picks St. Louis.

Mayor Lyda Krewson said Friday at the Mayor's Business Celebration Luncheon that her staff has been "working literally nonstop" to develop the proposal. She said it would include a video component, a website and a document responding to Amazon's specific wish list.

Thomas, the UMSL professor, said he believed the St. Louis area and most of the competing cities don't have a very good chance of winning.

But he says he's not sure that's a problem, since the price tag for landing Amazon may be high.

"I think this is a case where you're likely to see overbidding by whoever gets it," Thomas said.

Clayco construction executive Bob Clark, who has been advising the St. Louis partnership, says the metro-area proposal "will be very eye-opening to folks not familiar with the area and will be well received."

In addition to region-wide support and great infrastructure, Clark said in an email, educational institutions "are ready with a great plan" and St. Louis has "connectivity to a wide variety of Midwest cities."

The nearly $7 billion Newark tax incentive plan, detailed Monday in an announcement by Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, is $2 billion more than what he and state legislators agreed last month to enact.

Among a long list of other areas expected to turn in bids are Minneapolis; New York City; Richmond, Va.; the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.; the Buffalo-Rochester, N.Y., corridor; Baltimore; Milwaukee; Louisville, Ky.; and Memphis, Tenn.
The weather forecast is fine today with blue skies and some evening cloud. Southerlies dying out this afternoon.

Its a three-clothing and one-windproof layer day today with a high of 18 and an overnight low of 10 degrees.

Low tide is at 1.10pm and high tide is at 7.30pm. Sea temperature is 16 degrees. Theres an average sea swell of about .4m and sunset tonight is at 7.32pm.

If youre going fishing today the best fish bite time is between 11.30am and 1.30pm.

This day in NZ history, in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, arrived at Ohakea air base at the start of a whirlwind 24-hour visit to New Zealand. His visit, the first by a United States president, was primarily to shore up support for the war in Vietnam.

In 1992 on this day the Fred Hollows Foundation was launched in New Zealand. The foundation was first established in Australia by the Kiwi-born ophthalmologist (eye doctor) to treat eye problems in poorer countries. Within six years 200,000 people had their sight restored via cataract surgery.

Reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots turned into a lifelong passion that would see him become a champion of eye care in the developing world.

The Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand works in the Pacific region. Its achievements include eye-health programmes in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, and a Pacific Eye Institute in Suva, Fiji, that trains eye doctors and nurses and supplies them with equipment to take back to their home countries.

Worldwide, the Fred Hollows Foundation is active in more than 20 countries. Well over a million people have had their sight restored as a result of Fred Hollows lifes work.

This day in world history in 1739 England declared war on Spain over borderlines in Florida. The war is known as the War of Jenkins Ear because the Spanish coast guards cut off the ear of British seaman Robert Jenkins.

One hundred years ago today the doughnut was born when in 1917 the first doughnut was fried by Salvation Army volunteer women for American troops in France during World War I.

Our quote for today is from Roy T. Bennett who said Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people.

To find activities to involved with please check out our Whats On page. Have a great day!
Hailing as the 27th edition of the greatest display in the annual yachting calendar, the MYS was certainly successful. In a recent release from The Monaco Yacht Show, the event's defining points included the notable strong attendance of American and Russian clients and of course, the largest and youngest fleet ever with 50% of yachts less than two years old and an average length of 49m. A firm confirmation that Monaco is well and truly a yacht show of the superyacht variety.

But its important to pin down a certain type of clientele. In an attempt to heighten attendance figures theres always the chance youll lose the exclusively of the event; but not at the MYS. 36,400 participants walked the electric-blue carpet with some invited via the organizers new Sapphire Experience programme, which brought 160 ultra-qualified individuals to the docks; one of which has already placed an order for a yacht! In fact, weve reported a number of sales from the show already including Turquoise Yachts, Razan and a 78m AMELS, signed for at the show.

Though aside from the refined customer, the show gave a nod to the younger generation. From the Tenders and Toys on Quai Antoine 1er to the continental classics of the Car Deck, these areas of the show were streamlined to excite the trend-setting clientele who chartering appeals to perhaps the most.

By night, the bright lights of Monaco formed the glistening backdrop to over 150 private events. Kicking off the show, was the annual Gala Party, where forward-thinking Heesen, Home, Top 100 Oceanco showstopper, Jubilee and Italian masterpiece, Seven Sins by San Lorenzo, swept up the awards, while Superyachts.com ended the show on a high with our very own cocktail evening with IYC, on board explorer, I NOVA.

So whether you took to the docks, exhibited with success or just kept up with all the action by following our 75+ interviews, its time to look to 2018 and the 28th edition of the Monaco Yacht Show where well be back, once again, breaking news and closing the summer at Port Hercule.
Thousands of film fans were in town for Marbellas International Film Festival (MIFF) last weekend.

WINNERS Best Short Film: Jonah. Best Documentary: Alone Among The Taliban Best Actress: Michelle Collins, in Black Road. Best Actor: Timothy Spall, in Stanley A Man of Variety. Best Director: Paul Hills, for The Power Best Feature Film: Rise of the Footsoldier 3

Now in its 12th year, the festival saw around 30 films screened and scores of film makers in attendance.

The five-day movie extravaganza then closed with a glitzy awards ceremony last Sunday evening.

Among the guests were British actors Timothy Spall, Michelle Collins, and Terry Stone, and the son of George Best, Calum Best.

Festival Director Mac Chakaveh, told SUR in English: The 12th edition of the MIFF came to a close during a glamorous gala awards ceremony recognising the talents of film makers from across the globe.

The presence of so many talented film makers and actors at the festival this year is the proof that the festival is continuing in its success and we shall look forward to 2018 with bigger and better events.

Independent films were screened at the Teatro Goya in Puerto Banus, while a number of workshops, seminars and networking events were held at the H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel.

The closing night of the festival saw the Gala Awards Dinner take place at the H10, where guests dressed in black ties and sleek dresses to find out who won in the different categories, before enjoying cocktails, live music and the rest of the closing ceremony.

The festival was launched in 2006 and works closely with the Marbella Town Hall and Tourist Board, Marbella Film Office and the Andalucia Film Commission.
Heavy rain, thunder and lightning awoke much of the Costa del Sol and Malaga on Wednesday morning, as a cold front, following in the wake of Hurricane Ophelia, broke the high pressure cycle which had been over Spain for the best part of a month, bringing with it thunderstorms and flash floods.

Aemet, the Spanish meteorological agency, put a amber weather warning in place until Thursday morning.

According to figures from Aemet, 15 litres per square metre fell in just ten minutes in Malaga port, rising to 26 litres in 45 minutes, on Wednesday during an electrical storm which saw 1,200 bolts of lightning recorded between 6.30 and 8.30am in the Alboran Sea area, affecting much of the Costa del Sol and Axarquia.

Power cuts

The majority of Torremolinos had to go without electricity for several hours while four Cercanias trains on the Fuengirola-Malaga were brought to a standstill during morning rush hour because of the lack of power.

Power cuts were also registered in Marbella, Mijas, Fuengirola and Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol, as well as in inland areas such as Alhaurin de la Torre and Alhaurin el Grande.

Two men rescued

The road between Benaojan and Jimena de Libar was closed because of falling rocks. / SUR

The emergency services responded to 70 incidents throughout the province, though the most serious occurred in Malaga and Torrox.

In the first case, a fisherman was rescued after slipping and falling into the water at Malaga port. An eyewitness reported the incident to the Guardia Civil who transferred him to hospital where he was given the all-clear.

In the Axarquia town of Torrox, another man had to be rescued from his vehicle which became trapped by the swelling of a stream.

Road closures

The timing of the storm meant that the school run was affected with flash floods, as well as fallen branches, blocking roads and slowing traffic.

In the municipality of Benaojan, the town hall urged caution after the heavy rain caused rocks, including one large boulder, to fall onto the road, blocking access to Jimera de Libar in the Guadiaro valley.

Caminito closed

The heavy rainfall also caused the temporary closure of the Caminito del Rey walkway in El Chorro.

According to a spokesman for the company running the attraction, Hermanos Campano, the decision was taken because the safety of visitors couldnt be guaranteed.

This is not unusual, however, as the walk is also closed during periods of strong winds or high temperatures.

Visitors who were unable to enjoy the experience today have two months to swap their tickets for another day, he said on Wednesday.

A foul stench

In Malaga city, many residents in the Bailen-Miraflores, Huelin and El Palo districts noted bad smells after the flash flooding forced the sewerage systems to exceed capacity.

In these areas, the drainage is yet to be updated to meet modern standards so raw sewage and water drainage are transported by the same network of piping. As a result, some parts of the city experienced human excrement spilling into the streets.

The sun returns

By Thursday morning, however, the cold front cleared the province with temperatures rising once more and a return to the mild autumn experienced so far.

Between Friday and Sunday, the highs will return to around 28 degrees Celsius throughout the area.
GLADE SPRING, Va.  A Glade Spring resident has been appointed to lead a Department of Defense committee in Virginia.

Joseph C. Straten is serving as the state chairman of the Virginia Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. As the countrys dependence on the National Guard and Reserve Forces continues to grow, Straten said hes confident he made the right decision to serve in a volunteer position that supports the military across Virginia.

Straten represents Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an office of the Department of Defense that promotes cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers.

What that means is I help the civilian community develop a greater understanding of what the National Guard and reserve components are all about, said Straten, who served in the Navy for 21 years, retiring in 1978 as a master chief petty officer.

As state chairman, he will lead a group of approximately 80 volunteers throughout Virginia who devote time and energy to conduct programs in cities, counties and towns where members of the National Guard and military reserves live and work.

According to Straten, the recent increased demand on the military has put a strain on civilian employers who are required to allow their employees who are service members to serve in the National Guard and Reserve Forces without any disadvantages.

Their tours are normally a year, but some of them have returned four or five times in the course of the past several years. So were putting a real hardship on our National Guard and Reserve Forces, which, in turn, puts a hardship on our civilian employers, he said.

If youre as large as General Electric, you can absorb that without too much of a problem, usually. But if youre a 10-person mom and pop store and two of your employees are deployed to the National Guard, youve just lost 20 percent of your workforce.

Straten makes sure local employers as well as those throughout the state follow the Uniform Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, signed into law in 1994 to help minimize the disadvantages that can take place when a person leaves employment to serve in the military.

The federal law mandates that when these reservists and National Guard members return from service, their jobs are protected, as well as any seniority benefits they would have earned as if they had never left, said Straten.

For example, after certain milestones, an employee goes from two to three weeks of vacation. If that milestone was passed while the members of the military were deployed, there are entitled to that when they come back to work.

Members of the military also are entitled to pay raises that occur while they were gone.

According to the chairman, there are many local businesses that go above and beyond what is required of them. One of those clients is Rogers Trucking in Abingdon, Virginia, a family-owned and operated business owned by Roger Roe, a veteran of the Vietnam War. Another is Food City, he said.

Outreach services

Employer outreach is an important task for Straten and other ESGR committee members.

Generally, we conduct meetings with employers and ask them to sign a statement of support commonly known as an SOS. Its a framable certificate that says they support our National Guard and Reserve Forces. Its not a legal document, but after we educate them on what their responsibilities are, we ask them to sign the certificate.

Committee members also reach out to various armories and reserve centers throughout the region and state to educate the military members of their rights and responsibilities.

Specially trained ombudsmen respond when there are issues between employers and employees who are military members.

The ombudsman calls on the employer to discuss the situation and very often its a case of misunderstanding or simply not knowing the law, he said.

Straten, who was appointed as the Virginia state chairman in October, will serve a three-year term, which may be extended for an additional three years.

After his service, Straten was hired by General Electric, where again he worked with aircraft engines used by the Navy and Air Force, and with international programs. He earned a degree in business management from the University of Southern New Hampshire.

After Stratens retirement, he and his wife decided to retire in Southwest Virginia. He served on the Washington County Board of Supervisors from 2010-2014. Currently, he is chairman of the board of directors for Virginia Highlands Community College.
Normally, the bigger the company is, the less likely it is that any single decision or event will impact it significantly. But that isn't the case with oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), which has gone all in on an unexpected oil play.

Luckily for the company -- and its partner, the smaller oil industry player Hess (NYSE: HES) -- its gamble seems to be paying off. Here's what ExxonMobil did and why it may cause both companies to outperform.

Completely ignored

In the oil business, what looks like a promising field can sometimes be a dud. BP found this out firsthand when it discovered gas in the Katambi Block off the coast of Angola in 2014. What looked like an area ripe with hydrocarbon potential turned out to be a big letdown, as the Katambi gas block was deemed to be noncommercially viable. That resulted in a $750 million writedown for BP when it finally gave up on the play.

Conversely, a region that the entire industry dismisses can sometimes pay off handsomely for companies that make a minimal investment. Take Apache Corporation's new Alpine High play in West Texas: Due to industry misconceptions about the region's hydrocarbon potential, the company was able to snap up land for the incredibly cheap price of $1,300 per acre. Apache now estimates the land contains more than 3 billion barrels of oil and 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Success seemed unlikely for ExxonMobil when it first explored for oil and gas off the shores of Guyana. There had never been a successful oil find in Guyana, and two wells drilled in 2012 were disappointments. But in 2015, Exxon's Liza-1 well discovered 90 meters of oil-bearing sandstone, and the goodies just kept on coming.

Cashing in

By the end of September, Exxon had made three more oil discoveries, in addition to Liza-1. These discoveries -- named Payara, Snoek, and Liza Deep -- made the company very optimistic about prospects for the rest of the play.

On Oct. 5, ExxonMobil announced a fifth discovery at its Turbot-1 well. The well encountered a reservoir of 75 feet of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone, similar to previous finds in the area. Exxon now expects to drill another well at the Turbot site in 2018. Meanwhile, following completion of the Turbot-1 well, the Stena Carron drillship will move north to the "Ranger" prospect to see if it has continued success.

Exxon expects the first oil to begin flowing from Liza by 2020 after it has time to develop the block. That may seem like an eternity, but it's actually pretty speedy by deepwater standards. Jeff Woodbury, ExxonMobil's vice president of investor relations and secretary, referred to it as "industry-leading" in the company's Q2 earnings call.

And there may be more where all this came from.

On the block, in the neighborhood

These latest discoveries occurred in the 6.6 million acre (about 10,350 square miles) Stabroek Block. Exxon's subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is the operator and holds 45% interest in the block. Hess' subsidiary Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30% interest, with the remaining 25% interest held by Chinese company CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited.

"The results from this latest well further illustrate the tremendous potential we see from our exploration activities offshore Guyana," said Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company. "ExxonMobil, along with its partners, will continue to further evaluate opportunities on the Stabroek Block."

And the company is doing more than just evaluating the Stabroek Block: It's purchased stakes in neighboring blocks as well. These include the Kaieteur and Canje blocks in Guyana and the less cleverly named Block 59 in next-door Suriname:

The company has begun seismic testing in the Kaieteur Block but may not get around to the other two blocks for years. That's fine: Clearly, Exxon has plenty in the Stabroek Block to keep it occupied. And if all of the other discoveries do as well as the ones the company has already found, Stabroek could be the proverbial cash cow for Exxon and Hess for years to come.

A win for investors

That the good news keeps on flowing (pardon the pun) from Exxon and Hess' Guyana operations should make investors very happy. The companies took a risk and it seems to have paid off in spades. The only downside is that it will take three years -- or more -- for the oil to start flowing in earnest, so there likely won't be an immediate impact to either company's bottom line.

For long-term investors, though, this strengthens the buy thesis for both of these companies, particularly for the smaller Hess, whose solid fundamentals and beaten-down stock price make it ripe to outperform if oil prices stabilize or rise. Increased production from Guyana would be the icing on the cake.

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A plague in Madagascar has left 57 dead as of Thursday, Oct. 12. Over 680 documented cases have been reported, which is an unusually high number this early in the plague season.

According to reports, 329 of those cases, including 25 deaths, occurred in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.

The plague outbreak could spread even further. But here's what's even more worrying: The form of the disease that's spreading, pneumonic plague, is known to be the deadliest. The outbreak is on a larger scale and is escalating far more rapidly than a plague typically does.

A Plague Outbreak Is Killing People In Madagascar

The cases, as reported by the World Health Organization and the National Bureau for Risk and Disaster Management, include possible and suspected cases in addition to those that have since been confirmed through laboratory tests, CNN notes. It's worth mentioning that Madagascar does go through regular outbreaks, with 400 cases annually, based on estimates. But things are particularly more alarming this time, experts suggest.

Infections started earlier than expected this year, according to health officials, and they're reaching new areas, including the more urban parts of the country. At least 35 districts were hit with plague cases, including 10 cities.

There were 474 cases of pneumonic plague, 156 of bubonic plague, and a single case of septicemic plague as of Oct. 12.

As Business Insider reports, plagues can be treated with antibiotics if caught early enough. The WHO announced on Oct. 6 that it had delivered 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to the country and greenlit $1.5 million to help stop the disease. But the outbreak is still rapidly spreading despite such efforts.

Why There Are Plague Outbreaks In Madagascar

Why do outbreaks occur in Madagascar? Well, a type of bacteria called Yersinia pestis, which causes the three aforementioned plagues, is regularly found in certain locations around Madagascar. The United States sees a few plague cases each year; Madagascar, by contrast, sees about 400 in the same period.

The typical plague season begins in September then continues up until April, but in the first six weeks, there have already been more than 680 documented cases, as mentioned. This is alarmingly unusual for Madagascar, since according to Daniel Bausch of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, there are usually only 200 cases after the first six months.

The unusually high number could be due to the form of the plague. Unlike bubonic and septicemic plagues, a pneumonic plague works by spreading from person to person through airborne droplets  either by coughing or sneezing. It is 100 percent fatal, and a person infected with it may die within 12 to 14 hours.

How Madagascar And The WHO Are Dealing With The Outbreak

The country has closed some schools and prohibited large public gatherings in affected cities, according to reports. The WHO has already sent enough medicine to treat 5,000 residents. But the organization is still seeking $5.5 million to aid local workers in diagnosing the plague, treating those who have been infected, and determining how it's spreading by tracing the contacts of infected individuals.

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Cows at Waupun correctional facility, that hosts a dairy farming program for inmates at Waupun state farm on Aug. 24, 2017. PHOTO BY SAIYNA BASHIR
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GONZALES  In a standing-room only meeting Tuesday, the Ascension Parish School Board unanimously approved property tax breaks sought for four industrial expansion projects.

More than 20 members of Together Louisiana, an initiative that has been critical of such tax exemptions, were at the meeting, along with industry representatives and other residents.

The School Board's vote was the first time the board, along with Ascension Parish government and the sheriff, have been part of the tax exemption decision-making process, thanks to an executive order by Gov. John Bel Edwards in June 2016.

"These are good projects, good jobs," Kate MacArthur, president and chief executive officer of the Ascension Economic Development Corp., which recommended approval of the exemptions, said Tuesday.

"Manufacturing is a capital intensive industry," she said. "We appreciate the capital intensive projects when it comes to sales tax."

The property tax exemptions approved by the School Board are for an eight-year period.

Under the executive order, all three governing bodies must agree on the industrial tax exemptions for the tax breaks to move forward to the state Commerce and Industry Board and the governor for their approval.

The Ascension Parish Council has also approved the maximum exemptions allowed by law for the four projects. The council's action last month was met by a lawsuit, filed Friday, by three Ascension Parish residents who are part of Together Louisiana, seeking to undo the vote, alleging the process violated the state's open meetings law.

Together Louisiana has called for the public bodies to establish standards for the awarding of the exemptions, as well as to publicly identify the companies involved.

The Ascension Economic Development Corp., which shepherds the companies through the process, is bringing the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) requests to the three taxing bodies on a per-request basis.

MacArthur said after the School Board meeting that she anticipates Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley will be making his decision on the tax exemption requests this week.

If the industrial tax exemptions are ultimately approved, it would mean a loss of about $48 million in tax revenue over eight years that would have otherwise been split among the taxing bodies.

With its "yes" vote Tuesday, the School Board approved exemptions from property taxes at 100 percent for five years and 80 percent for three years, the maximum allowed by the governor's executive order, for the four expansion projects.

In the past, all exemptions were 100 percent of local property taxes for two consecutive five-year terms.

Identified at this point by code names, a practice that MacArthur said is standard in economic development for competitive reasons, the projects are:

 Project Magnolia: A business seeking to build and operate a new plant in Geismar to supply an existing business via pipeline. The $145 million project would create seven new permanent jobs.

 Project Zinnia: A "first-of-a-kind in the world" demonstration plant, AEDC says, with breakthrough technology. The $25 million project would create two new permanent jobs.

 Project Bagel: A major employer looking to expand chemical capabilities. The $125 million project would create 15 new permanent jobs.

 Project Sunflower/Seed, a project that involves two companies, one a chemical producer, that would be "critically important for positioning them to be more competitive now and for years to come." The $167 million project would create eight new permanent jobs.

Ascension Parish School Board committee punts on proposed industrial tax exemptions, seeks more time for review GONZALES  Poised to decide on whether to grant full industrial property tax exemptions to f

Earlier Tuesday, the School Board's Budget Committee had voted to recommend the board approve the requested industrial tax exemptions. The issue had died in committee last month, after some members wanted more time to study the issue.

Board members heard from a number of speakers both for and against the exemptions Tuesday during the public comment period.

First, however, the board members and audience heard from board member Troy Gautreau Sr., chairman of the Budget Committee, who opened the committee meeting with an emotional rebuttal to an email that went out this week to School Board employees from Together Ascension, with the subject line "Corruption is Wrong."

In the email, Together Ascension, an organization under the umbrella of Together Louisiana, wrote, "The school board member who will preside over the vote Tuesday is Troy Gautreau, who is the IT director for Methanex, the largest recipient of industrial tax exemptions over the last 5 years.

"It's pretty clear what's going on here. Mr. Gautreau's company will likely apply for exemptions in the future. And he's pushing board members to support these exemptions at 100 percent, so that his company can get them, too," the email says.

Responding to the email Tuesday night, Gautreau said, "Together Ascension knows I was not employed by Methanex when Methanex received the ITEP exemptions five years ago."

And, he said, "the local school system did not have anything to do with approving ITEP applications" at that time.

"I want to be crystal clear that should Methanex apply for any future exemptions due to any expansion project or is affiliated with any expansions with other companies I would fully recuse myself," Gautreau said. "However, this is not the case with the four projects before us tonight and Methanex has absolutely nothing to do with them."

The ITEP doesn't affect sales taxes, which industries pay when they purchase materials for plant construction projects, Gautreau added.

"And Louisiana has the highest sales tax rate in the country," he said.

Gautreau said that if inducements such as the industrial property tax exemptions are removed, "businesses will open shop in neighboring parishes, because they will welcome them with open arms and support the exemptions."

"However, their employees and families will live in Ascension, because they want their kids in our school system, and we will be left with the cost to educate them, without the tax benefit," Gautreau said.

In the public comment period, Broderick Bagert with Together Louisiana apologized for the subject line on the email that had been sent out.

"It was over-stated, and I want to apologize," he said.
A man in this country illegally when he allegedly fatally shot a 16-year-old Baton Rouge boy in March will be sentenced Nov. 2 on federal gun and immigration charges stemming from the shooting.

Octavio Bringas-Posadas, 50, also is charged in state court with negligent homicide in the slaying of Darius Plummer, who was killed on his birthday. An East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury indicted Bringas-Posadas on that charge in July. He pleaded not guilty in August.

Bringas-Posadas, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty in June to federal charges of possession of firearms and ammunition by a person illegally in the United States, and illegal re-entry into the United States.

Authorities have said Bringas-Posadas told a relative he was playing with the gun inside his Southpark Drive apartment off Airline Highway when it fired by accident March 13.

Plummer was the best friend of Bringas-Posadas' son.

U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick set Bringas-Posadas' sentencing date earlier this month.

He was deported to Mexico in 2012 after a drug arrest in Baton Rouge but later returned to this country.
East Baton Rouges lowest rated public schools are likely to become part of a new transformation zone, where school leaders will get years of outside assistance and more financial resources to help them improve to higher letter grades.

Initially, the zone would include 29 schools rated D or F, the vast majority from the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, along with a handful of other schools overseen by the state-run Recovery School District. The zone would likely remain in place for at least five years.

The proposed new zone came up at a panel discussion Wednesday featuring East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Warren Drake and four of his top administrators.

It marks the latest initiative to try to turn around chronically low performing public schools in Baton Rouge. As far back as 2003, then Superintendent Clayton Wilcox created a similar zone with 23 low performing schools, which he called PASS, or Pathway to Student Success.

+2 East Baton Rouge Superintendent Drake fills vacancies in top leadership positions East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Warren Drake has filled key vacancies in his senior c

One of the people sitting next to Drake for the panel discussion at Jubans Restaurant, Quentina Timoll, has been tasked with figuring out to work to raise up these schools.

Timoll started working in August as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction position. Timoll previously held the same position in St. John the Baptist Parish public schools.

Were talking about the possibility of a transformation zone that encompasses those schools so we can really meet the needs of those struggling schools and those struggling students, Timoll told the luncheon audience at the panel, which was organized by the nonprofit group, Volunteers In Public Schools.

Timoll said the proposed zone is still in its infancy.

The school system recently landed a $30,000 planning grant from the state to help figure out what it will do with its D and F schools. Timoll said she and Dana Peterson, who runs the Recovery School District in Baton Rouge, are teaming up to apply for a much larger grant that could bring with it millions of dollars.

New assistance on the way to 225 troubled La. public schools in need of making the grade Nearly one in five public schools in Louisiana is rated D or F, and the state on Monday laun

The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires that states set aside 7 percent of their federal education dollars that assist disadvantaged students. Louisianas plan for implementing the federal law was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

Timoll said the school system is in talks with the Santa Monica, Ca.-based nonprofit National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. NIET, she said, would work leaders and staff at low performing schools on ways to improve their instruction.

NIET was founded by Lowell Milken. Milken, brother of junk bond king Michael Milken, has been influential in public education primarily through a school reform effort his foundation has championed called the Teacher Advancement Program, or TAP.

NIETs president and chief development officer is Patrice Pujol, former superintendent in Ascension Parish. Ascension has long had schools that used TAP.
WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana took repeated shots at New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu during a high-profile Senate hearing Wednesday  while also offering to broker a solution to an ongoing spat between Landrieu and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Landrieu administration and the federal Justice Department have been at loggerheads over the New Orleans Police Department's degree of cooperation with federal immigration agents.

Kennedy, publicly questioning Sessions in front of a packed hearing room, scolded Landrieu for the mayor's latest letter to the Justice Department  a missive Kennedy called "very unprofessional"  and suggested the city is refusing to obey federal law.

Kennedy, a St. Tammany Parish Republican, went on to read a list of supposed insults from Landrieu's letter.

"He called you 'caustic,' " Kennedy said, peering down at his notes through reading glasses. "He suggested you were a 'mere politician.' He said you were scapegoating immigrants. He called you a 'fear-mongerer' and he basically called you a liar."

"I don't consider that to be productive discourse," Kennedy added, "so I apologize on behalf of Louisiana."

At the heart of the dispute is an NOPD policy instructing officers not to ask people about their immigration status during investigations, something that Sessions contends makes New Orleans a "sanctuary city" out of compliance with federal law.

Landrieu disputes that, repeatedly maintaining that NOPD is in full compliance with federal law.

"As weve said before, New Orleans does now and will continue to follow federal laws, and the NOPD will continue to arrest and convict violent criminals, regardless of their immigration status," Landrieu said Wednesday when asked about Kennedy's comments.

A Justice Department letter last week offering New Orleans a "last chance" to change its policies was met with the tart retort from Landrieu and NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison that Kennedy quoted Wednesday.

The letter threatened to withhold money from a pot of federal crime-fighting grant money  the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program  if city leaders don't prove their compliance with the law or change their ways.

Kennedy got Sessions to agree to a potential meeting between the two and New Orleans city leaders to iron out the issue. But along the way, both Sessions and Kennedy strongly suggested that it's Landrieu  and not the Justice Department  that needs to come around on the question.

Sessions, a longtime hardliner on immigration policies, has ramped up immigration enforcement and deportations since taking office. He also has stepped up confrontations with local mayors  including Landrieu  over policies that limit local police agencies' cooperation with federal immigration enforcers.

New Orleans officials argue their policy complies with federal law and helps maintain critical trust with local immigrant communities, where many people might be reluctant to report crimes or come forward with evidence if they believe police would report them to federal immigration agents.

But Sessions and other critics of the policies have blasted them as a threat to public safety. At several points Wednesday, Sessions suggested New Orleans is releasing dangerous criminals back onto the streets by not alerting federal agents about arrests of people in the country illegally.

"It's amazing to me that some of the mayors are so reluctant and so hostile to that request," Sessions told Kennedy. "I don't think it's my duty to give out grants to cities that are failing in a most fundamental relationship between federal-state jurisdictions."

"I think it's clear that our mayor in New Orleans does not agree with our nation's immigration laws," Kennedy said in response. "I understand that. This is America. You can believe what you want. But my understanding is we have to follow those laws."

"I dont like traffic cameras. In fact, I hate them," Kennedy said in a release from his office Wednesday afternoon highlighting the earlier public exchange. "But that doesnt mean I can break the speed limit and run red lights to get to a Saints game."

"No matter what Sen. Kennedy and (Louisiana) Atty. Gen. (Jeff) Landry say, the law is clear. The only thing that is unclear is why they choose to keep attacking us with political theatrics and public letters sent to the media," Landrieu said. "Especially since Atty. Gen. Landry testified under oath to Congress last year that Louisiana 'no longer has any jurisdictions prohibiting them from communicating with federal immigration authorities.' "

The so-called "sanctuary city" policies have become hot-button political issues. The Louisiana Legislature has considered  but ultimately shelved  several bills that would have targeted local jurisdictions deemed insufficiently helpful to federal immigration enforcers.

Just how much power the federal government has to extract cooperation from local authorities on immigration enforcement, however, remains disputed.

Constitutional separations of power place limits on the ability of federal authorities to give orders to local law enforcement. So Sessions and President Donald Trump have sought to use the threat of withholding millions of dollars in federal grants to pressure jurisdictions like New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York City to change their policies.

Several lawsuits over their efforts to cut off grants are still pending in federal courts, with temporary injunctions blocking Justice Department action.

Kennedy and other state Republican leaders, including Landry, have repeatedly waded into the dispute, blasting Landrieu and seeking to link the city's policies to violent crime in the city.

Kennedy, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, began his questioning by asking whether Sessions  an early campaign supporter of Trump  had colluded with Russians to affect the 2016 election, something Sessions quickly denied.

Kennedy then spent the remainder of his question time during the high-profile hearing  Sessions was testifying on Capitol Hill for the first time since being confirmed as attorney general  to address Landrieu's letter and local immigration enforcement.
Sometimes, for all the piles of returns and layers of commentary, an election doesnt tell you a whole lot.

That was probably the case for the October primary, where turnout was estimated to be 13.5 percent statewide, and that included an election for a new state treasurer. Even New Orleans, for an open mayoral seat, did not generate a large turnout of voters to push that statewide number up.

With the city excepted, the playing field suggested that ploys aimed at the most conservative voters would be successful. And they were, although with caveats.

For treasurer, every GOP candidate claimed the conservative mantle, but those who voted appeared to have applied the Potter Stewart test. Hes the U.S. Supreme Court justice who said he could not easily define pornography but hed know it when he saw it.

A couple of the GOP candidates were not, perhaps, sufficiently conservative: Angele Davis, of Baton Rouge, explicitly backed President Donald Trump, but she had previously served former Gov. Mike Foster and former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, neither a favorite of the most conservative leaders. Neil Riser of Columbia had the backing of Senate President John Alario, now a Republican but again not the favorite of the party apparatus, in part because of his long service for former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards.

John Schroder, of Covington, had a bit of geographic base on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain but was helped elsewhere by his reputation as a hard-liner in the state House, where the pure Republicans of the right of the party are based.

He is now the clear favorite against Derrick Edwards, the unknown who runs Nov. 18 because of the D behind his name. If anything, turnout outside New Orleans is likely to be even more dismal in November. Chronic voters, trending older and more conservative, will once again be critical. Even so, Schroder is not universally popular among moderate conservatives, because of the same party split that won him the runoff spot.

Turnout is likely to be much higher than average in New Orleans, because of the mayoral runoff. If Democrats had fielded a strong candidate, with some geographical base elsewhere to offset the GOPs advantage, this runoff might have been much more interesting.

The conservative base in the Baton Rouge and Acadiana district on the Public Service Commission gave the primary win to Craig Greene, son of a former GOP senator. But hes more relevantly identified as a Christian conservative, based in the large and politically active Healing Place Church in the capital.

Some of the same dynamics as the treasurers race played out in that fight, where the appointed incumbent  Damon Baldone, of Houma  changed parties to run with the "R" behind his name. Fooled nobody, apparently, but an upside for Gov. John Bel Edwards is that Baldones loss does not reflect on the man who appointed him to fill the PSC vacancy; Edwards did not endorse in the actual election.

So little is changed, although the position of New Orleans mayor remains a critical one in state politics, and  for the first time  she is to be elected in November.

Roy Brightbill: The former United Press International reporter and editor died at 77 in Alabama, where he ended his storied career at the Mobile Register. An LSU graduate, he was well-known for his work in Louisiana and, in fact, around the world for the old UPI. He will be greatly missed.
La Crosse police arrested a Minnesota man for drunken driving and his girlfriend for the same offense about 30 minutes later this weekend when she drove his car while he was jailed.

An officer stopped Scott Schwieder, 57, of Utica, Minn., about 11:30 p.m. Friday at Seventh and State streets for driving without headlights. He had a 0.14 percent preliminary alcohol level, according to police reports.

When one officer drove him to jail for first-offense drunken driving, another offered his drunken passenger, 56-year-old Marybeth Buswell of La Crosse, a ride home or to call her a cab. She said she would walk home and the officer warned her against driving her boyfriends car.

Minutes later, the officer saw Buswell drive off in his car and stopped her at 13th and Badger streets. She had a 0.13 percent preliminary alcohol level, according to reports.

I was just being very cautious, Buswell told police about driving.

Police arrested Buswell for second-offense drunken driving and failing to stop at a stop sign. Both have court appearances in November.
Guns and gun control are back in the news because of the recent massacre in Las Vegas. Im almost positive that this tragic occurrence will not move us any closer to lessening gun violence in any meaningful way. After all, we didnt really do anything when babies were shot in their classrooms in Sandy Hook.

Our Views: Violence comes to Avondale Scout Reservation Although its less than an hours drive from Baton Rouge, the Avondale Scout Reservation in 

Other than the shooting injuries and deaths, there are a couple of other gun-related issues that trouble me. The first one has to do with the NRA. When I was growing up, the NRA was a sportsmans group that promoted hunting, environmentalism and gun safety. In 1977, at an NRA convention in Cincinnati, a group of anti-gun control fanatics took over the NRA and turned it into a lobbying group for big weapons manufacturers. In the course of a day or two, this organization went from one that represented my grandfathers interests as a hunter to one that takes orders directly from Smith & Wesson. The NRA became one of the largest political contributors in the U.S. It is hard to say how many votes they buy each year. The upsweep of this is that gun sales have gone through the roof and the gun manufacturers have gotten all kinds of legislative goodies including immunity from product liability laws. As usual in our politics  money talks.

My second issue concerns the current misinterpretation of the Second Amendment. From the ratification of the Bill of Rights until 2008, the legal consensus in the United States was that the Second Amendment does NOT grant a personal right to own a firearm outside the scope of militia service. The Heller case in 2008 and the McDonald case in 2009 wiped away 220 years of legal scholarship, gun safety regulations and court rulings. Until Heller, the 2nd Amendment protected our right to bear arms in service to a well-regulated militia. This was necessary in 1788 because the U.S. had no standing army, National Guard, FBI or even well-organized police force. The current state of affairs vividly proves what can happen if you take an 18th-century law and impose it on 21st-century society without updating your interpretation to match current conditions. It often looks a lot like chaos.

Letters: Vegas horror rests on the shooter The letter from my high school friend Jim Grice exhibited great passion in his opinion on gu

In any case, the folks who feel that gun rights are more important than peoples lives are currently ascendant. They want to take credit for all of the imaginary lives saved by gun ownership. I hope they can live with all of the real lives lost by the same mechanism.

If you are interested in reading a nonpartisan look at the history of the Second Amendment, I recommend The Second Amendment: A Biography by Michael Waldman.

Michael Hale

IT consultant

Baton Rouge
Bill Barton has journeyed halfway around the world, across generations and back more than 115 years to learn about his family's role in the creation of Australia.

The great-grandson of Australia's first prime minister, Sir Edmund Barton, he visited Old Parliament House on Wednesday to see records related to his forebear held by the National Archives.

Bill Barton examines records related to his great-grandfather Sir Edmund Barton at Old Parliament House. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

A solicitor in the English city of Leeds, Mr Barton used the opportunity of a conference in Sydney to research his family's role in the journey to Australian Federation and early civic life.

Along with his wife and children, Mr Barton said he was moved by seeing the original documents and artefacts, including Edmund Barton's 1891 draft of the Australian constitution - a link to his own vocation as a solicitor.
The head of the Australian National University has urged Australians to avoid the "flat-out wrong idea" that all Chinese students are spies or incapable of critical thinking.

Speaking at a China Matters meeting, Brian Schmidt said Chinese students who attended the ANU - about one in five enrolments - were "some of the very best and brightest", "open to new ideas" and "extraordinary, ambitious and bold".

ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt. Credit:Jay Cronan

But the Nobel Laureate also acknowledged increasing scrutiny of China's influence on the nation's universities, warning any degradation of institutions' commitment to rigorous inquiry would badly impact on Australia's academic standing internationally.

The ANU had a responsibility to recognise and address the challenges of allegations of spying and monitoring of students by embassy officials and other students, Professor Schmidt said.
A trade deal for Bryce Gibbs to finally join Adelaide fell over at the last minute due to a mix-up over future second round draft picks.

Adelaide were furious that Carlton had tried to add in the Crows' future second round draft pick to the deal at the last minute as papers were close to being filed at AFL house.

Will he or won't he: Bryce Gibbs may yet miss out on joining Adelaide. Credit:AAP

The Blues argue the Crows' future second round pick was always part of the deal.

The trade talks for the South Australian, who requested a trade to the Crows in last year's trade period, began on Tuesday night when Carlton made contact with Adelaide and asked if they were once more interested to talk on Gibbs.
Brambles will overhaul pay for its senior executives in the face of an investor backlash that almost delivered the company a first strike vote against its remuneration report.

Following a year that saw the global pallet giant ditch profit targets in the face of strong competition and changing dynamics for its important customers, Brambles copped strong protest votes from investors at its annual general meeting.

Brambles chairman Stephen Johns has faced criticism. Credit:Jim Rice

The final vote tally was 76.77 per cent in favour with 23.23 per cent against, so the company avoided the 25 per cent no vote threshold for a first strike.

Shareholders also voted strongly against the re-election of long-serving chairman Stephen Johns with proxy votes lodged ahead of the meeting recording a 24.77 per cent vote against his continuing on the board.
Origin will forge ahead with its renewable energy plans, despite new a government energy policy requiring more coal-fired power.

Speaking at its annual general meeting, Origin chief executive Frank Calabria said the company planned to have renewable energy generation accounting for 25 per cent of its portfolio by 2020, despite the federal government's National Energy Guarantee which will require more coal and gas-fired power generation.

Origin will transition into renewables, which will account for more than a quarter of its generation mix by 2020, CEO Frank Calabria said. Credit:Peter Braig

Origin chairman Gordon Cairns said the company would adopt a company-wide, science-based emissions reduction target by the end of the year on top of its renewables plan.

"Encouraging investment in new supply is a critical piece of the puzzle, and we have urged governments to resist intervening in short-term policy and instead focus on getting the long-term energy and climate change settings right," Mr Cairns said.
High-profile investor Marc Faber provoked a backlash from business television and investment management firms on Tuesday after comments in his latest newsletter suggested the United States had only prospered because it was settled by white people.

The commentator, known as "Dr Doom" for his bearish calls on stocks and the economy, was dismissed from the boards of Canadian fund manager Sprott and mining company NovaGold Resources after his remarks. Business television networks such as CNBC and Fox Business said they would remove Faber from booking lists for their shows.

'Dr Doom' Marc Faber. Credit:Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg

In the October edition of his newsletter, "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report," in a section discussing capitalism versus socialism, Faber criticised the move to tear down monuments commemorating the US Civil War military leaders of the Confederacy, and said:

"Thank God white people populated America, not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority."
When more than one in 10 children in Australia's most affluent city are living in disadvantaged circumstances Canberra has a major problem.

Melbourne and Sydney university researchers dissected more than 18 years of Centrelink records. They discovered children who grew up in households reliant on welfare benefits were much more likely to end up on welfare, and by definition in disadvantaged personal circumstances, than those from wealthier backgrounds.

Those who grew up in families dependent on Newstart received from 1.5 to 1.7 times as much assistance as "other people" later in life. Those who grew up with parents on disability mental health payments received 2.4 times as much, and those in single parent payment households 2.2 times.

While the academics may argue over the "cause and effect" linkages common sense suggests the poor don't have the same opportunities as the rich or just well off.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's electricity and climate package is a welcome attempt to end a decade of policy mismanagement by providing the stability and certainty industry has been pleading for to underpin much-needed investment.

The potentially crucial breakthrough is that the package appears to envisage a market-based price on carbon emissions, widely acknowledged as the most rational and cost-effective mechanism for the transition to renewable energy, the price of which is becoming compellingly competitive.

Let there be light: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull discusses his climate and energy package. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

It is too early to assess whether the policy is the "game-changer" Mr Turnbull claims; it is yet to be fully detailed and depends on the support of the states, a number of which want a faster shift to renewables. Federal bipartisan support is also vital to the certainty and confidence required by investors.

Although the package rejects Chief Scientist Alan Finkel's recommendation of a clean energy target, which was a compromise proxy for a price on emissions, it can be seen as arriving at a similar outcome, because it forces retailers to reduce pollution through a national energy guarantee.
Julie Bishop: "Not one person in the party has raised with me any suggestion that there would be a change of leader." Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Newspolls come around every fortnight, which means that based on the current trend, Turnbull is on track to hit 30 loser polls around the end of February, beginning of March next year (taking Christmas into account). And with each poll, we can expect more of the festival we've had this week. This includes Abbott being quizzed about whether he'd try to lead the Liberal Party again. As he told Ray Hadley on Monday: "The only way an ex could ever come back would be by way of a draft and that's almost impossible to imagine." Malcolm Turnbull announcing he intended to challenge Tony Abbott in September 2015. Credit:Andrew Meares It seems like he's playing things down here. But in Canberra, simply leaving the door open, even the tiniest bit, is akin to throwing a few more firecrackers on the barbie.

The speculation-fest also includes inevitable leadership questions to senior ministers, who sound like they are hiding something, whichever way they answer. "Not one person in the party has raised with me any suggestion that there would be a change of leader," said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Tuesday, while trying valiantly to talk to the ABC about Australia's new spot on the United Nations' Human Rights Council. However, while the 30 Newspolls loom, they are more arbitrary molehill than game-changing mountain. It's worth bearing in mind, there is nothing in the constitution that will force action if the "magic" number is reached. While the marker guarantees awkwardness and distraction for the government over the next few months, it is not - in and of itself - going to bring it down. Rest assured, Turnbull is not going to dutifully hand back the keys to The Lodge and trundle back to the backbench if he replicates Abbott's milestone. Illustration: Matt Davidson.

And there is no one in the party that will hold him to the milestone either. The strong view within the Liberal Party - even among those who are not Turnbull's biggest ideological fans - is that while ideally, he wouldn't have set up the Newspoll target, it's just one of those things. As one MP said, "it will make for a few good headlines [but] it's more symbolism than anything else". While the government would obviously prefer its primary vote to be stronger, another senior Liberal described the 30 poll line as something the Canberra bubble will obsess over and nothing more. Indeed, its hard to imagine people earnestly talking about the Newspoll tally in pubs, cafes and at school gates. True, there is twitchiness about what might happen to a raft of seats - particularly in Western Australia and Queensland - at the next election, but this is not tied to a certain number of Newspolls. Critically, there is no genuine challenger. People can keep putting forward Julie Bishop, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton's names, but there is nothing to suggest the Liberal Party would benefit from a change to any of these senior ministers.
Former treasurer Wayne Swan has launched another extraordinary attack on mining giant BHP, labelling it Australia's "worst tax dodger" and linking a million dollar bonus to the company's CEO to his success at minimising tax.

Under the cover of parliamentary privilege, Mr Swan called BHP "a fiscal termite eating away at the foundations of our corporate tax system" and rubbished the company's claims to be a global leader in tax transparency and corporate responsibility.

The world's biggest miner has been in a long-running dispute with the Australian Tax Office over assessments spanning 11 years that total $661 million in primary tax, plus interest and penalties that take it to more than $1 billion. Under dispute is the margin on mark-ups on commodities sold to its Singapore marketing business, which many argue is a ploy to avoid tax in Australia.

BHP strongly denies this accusation.
Federal Labor has pointedly left open supporting Malcolm Turnbull's "game-changing" energy reliability package despite launching a spirited parliamentary attack over claims that household power bills would be cut by an average of $115 a year after 2020.

Sources admitted the opposition had serious criticisms of the process, including the government's inability to specify key aspects of its proposal, but said the national interest "probably dictated" that the "energy wars", must be brought to an end.

Rhetorically, the wars continued with Labor leader Bill Shorten using a visit to a solar farm near Canberra to brand it "a joke of a policy".

"This is not good economics, it's not good for climate pollution, it absolutely provides no guarantee for Australians, other than the guarantee this policy won't work," Mr Shorten said, before carrying his attack to the Parliament.
The eye of the collective beholder may be changing for the better. At least, this is the first-glance appearance of new analysis of how beauty has changed over the past 30 years. It found there is more diversity in age and ethnicity when it comes to what we consider beautiful.

While facial symmetry (believed to be a sign of a strong immune system) is a universally standard measure of attractiveness, ideal body shape, skin colour, size of eyes, lips, noses and even jawlines have all morphed and morphed again over time.

Our image of beauty is becoming more diverse, but is it enough? Credit:AP

We've moved from desiring sensuous Botticelli bodies to fleshier Ruben figures, from the lean lines and broader shoulders of wartime-era women, back to the softer Monroe-esque shapes of the 1950s and the androgynous and childlike Twiggys of the 60s, from heroin-chic of the 90s to stronger being sexier in the 2000s.

Our aesthetic tastes are influenced by culture and pop culture alike, leading to stark differences between countries as much as differences over between eras.
How much longer do you think you have left? Do you expect to be around for another 20, 50 or maybe even 100 years?

New data could help you estimate how long someone of your vintage can expect to live.

Just type your sex and your date of birth into our interactive, and it will produce a date around which someone in your age group is statistically likely to die.

Give it a try  if you dare.
A man who filmed the "revolting" gang rape of a semi-conscious, intellectually impaired 16-year-old girl has been sentenced to at least five years in prison.

Ayden Devereux, 26, was at a house party at St Clair in Sydney's west on May 22, 2015, when a young girl arrived with a man she had met a few days before.

A court heard the teenager was nervous and felt awkward before going to the party, because she didn't know anyone there.

The girl, who cannot be named, was plied with alcohol and cannabis then taken to a small bedroom and stripped naked once she was intoxicated.
Strathfield in Sydney's inner west has missed out on a link to a $3.5 billion light rail line after the state government opted to extend the second stage to suburbs north of the Parramatta River before ending it at the Olympic Park precinct.

The "preferred route" for the second stage of the line runs from Rydalmere through Ermington, Melrose Park before crossing the Parramatta River and passing through Wentworth Point and on to Olympic Park.

The government said the 9-kilometre second stage could comprise up to 12 stops but has yet to reveal where they will be located or what the project will cost.

It led to Labor and business groups demanding the government match the release of its preferred route with a funding commitment.
The best-case scenario is we find six people in a life raft and thats what were aiming for at the moment but its not looking real promising. Sergeant Barnett said several items of debris understood to be from the 17-metre commercial trawler, including photographs, had been found during the search. Chris Sammut, 34 The trawler also had a life raft, but Sergeant Barnett said he didnt believe it or emergency positioning beacons on board had been used before the trawler sank at midnight. The search has been stop-start with severe weather hitting the area, forcing helicopters to return to their Gladstone and Rockhampton bases.

Search teams have reported seas of two to three metres and wind speeds of 20 to 30 knots. Roads connecting Gladstone to 1770 have flooded, preventing family members of Mr McDornan and the other men on board reaching the area. Inspector Darren Somerville of Gladstone Patrol Group said the families were very shocked and upset. "We can't get people into or out of 1770 and that will probably be the case for a couple of days," Inspector Somerville said on Wednesday. The only survivor at this stage, Mr McDornan, has been staying at Agnes Waters and is assisting police.

Police issued a statement on Thursday after speaking to the families of the missing men. "Today, the families expressed their appreciated for the work that is currently being done in relation to the search for the missing men and the thoughts of the community, however they ask for privacy and compassion during this extremely difficult time," the statement said. "At this time the family do not want to participate in any media opportunities or interviews." Specialist diving teams and sonar technology are on route from Brisbane and Sydney to the central Queensland coast and will hopefully arrive at the search area by Thursday afternoon. Sergeant Barnett said the poor weather made it difficult to get the specialist teams to the area.

"Were doing our best to get them up here with the current conditions, given the equipment they have we pretty much need to transport them by road and were having some difficulty with the weather and some road closures," he said. Messages of support and hope for the missing men to be found alive have been posted online. Adam is strong, stubborn and fit and I'm hanging on to the fact that if anyone is a fighter it's Adam Bidner, the missing fishermans sister Jodie posted to Facebook. Eli Tonks' mother, Jenny, said her family was waiting in hope, comforted by the knowledge he was strong, capable and a fighter who'd never give up. But the torture of the search was evident.

Missing fisherman Adam Bidner, whose sister posted a message of hope online. Credit:Facebook "Thank you to everyone for your love and support, we still have no news. Search continues," she wrote on Facebook before noon on Wednesday. Heidi Sargeant urged people to pray for her missing brother Adam Hoffman. "Come on Adam, the whole family is waiting for you to give us a call and tell us we are worrying about nothing!!" she wrote on Facebook. News Corp reported Mr McDornan heard the screams of his fellow crew members as he clung to the hull.

Ruben Dornan was rescued by a passing yacht. A mixture of government and volunteer marine rescue vessels, foot patrols along the coast, fixed-wing aircraft and six helicopters are involved in the search. LifeFlight Chief Operations Officer Brian Guthrie, whose organisation was coordinating the helicopters, went to school with the boat skipper and was still hanging onto hope the men could be saved. Skipper Ben Leahy is missing after a trawler accident off the Queensland coast near 1770. "He's been [involved with boats] for well over 20 years," the COO said on Wednesday.

"He's been a long time doing this, straight out of school is when Ben started working on boats and thats in all industries so abalone, pearls and recently into the sea cucumbers. "[Ben] is the most experienced person I know and if I was ever going out into the water it would be with Ben." Water police and Queensland Fisheries boats had scoured patches of debris in the area between Bustard Head and Agnes Water on Tuesday, while a beach patrol and aerial assistance was also underway. Eli Tonks is also missing at sea. "It was only through sheer luck that a passing couple on a yacht managed to hear the screams of the individual who was rescued and he raised the alarm," he said.
Some Domino's Australia customers have been receiving very strange emails after their details  including name, email address and their favoured local pizza shops  have apparently made their way into the hands of cyber crooks.

Since at least late September, customers have been sent phishing emails from seemingly randomised email addresses, using their names and the suburbs of Domino's stores in an attempt to prompt a reply.

Domino's Australia CEO Don Meij. Credit:Chris Hyde

Typically these take the form of "Tim, it is Sarah, are you in Rozelle?" or "What's Up? Tim, it's Jess from Rozelle, my new email address".

Though there's nothing in the emails to tie the data to Domino's, a Reddit user detailed his experience on r/Australia on Tuesday night, claiming he recognised the suburbs as places he had ordered Domino's from. He said he contacted the company and was told a Domino's supplier, which was passed user data in accordance with the policy customers agree to when using its online services, was breached.
A stoush has erupted within Australia's peak medical body, after a tweet from its federal president about euthanasia.

Australian Medical Association president Michael Gannon is refusing to delete a statement made on Tuesday night declaring that the intellectual case for euthanasia was "bankrupt".

He also criticised the emphasis placed on personal stories in the debate by high-profile Victorians.

"Don't forever alter society 'coz few powerful people see parent die," Dr Gannon tweeted.
Hundreds of Victorian doctors and medical staff are pressuring their super funds to quit investing in coal and oil for the sake of health, as they did with tobacco five years ago.

The group, which includes some of Australia's leading health experts, says there is overwhelming evidence that climate change is already making people sick and causing thousands of deaths.

Hundreds of medical staff in Victoria are pressuring their super funds to divest from corporations that are based on fossil fuels. Credit:Jason South

They want the two largest health super funds, HESTA and First State, to divest from fossil fuel-based companies, arguing the nest eggs of the medical profession should not be built on industries that make people sick.

Combined, the two default health super funds have about $1.72 billion invested in these heavily fossil fuel-based companies, according to Market Forces, an environmental investment advisory group.
The company that runs Box Hill Central shopping centre has had a big win in its bid to build skyscrapers above the suburb's bustling railway station.

And Whitehorse Council, which had hoped to restrict high-rise development, has been handed a damning rejection by a panel of expert government planning advisers.

Whitehorse Council's plans to put a height limit on Box Hill's skyscrapers has been knocked back.

Box Hill is undergoing one of the biggest building booms in Melbourne's history, as the city's population expands to an expected 8 million by 2050.

Dozens of towers, some rising to as high as 36 levels, have been built or approved over the past five years.
Fifty sticky-fingered shoppers have been nabbed during a two-week blitz at a shopping centre in Melbourne's north, with the high number of arrests even surprising police.

Senior Sergeant Adrian Brilliant said police were out in force at Epping plaza during October, after a security manager and several shopkeepers raised concerns about the levels of theft.

Arrests have been running hot at Epping plaza.

The aim was to scare off would-be shoplifters in the lead-up to Christmas, when thefts usually spike.

"It was a preventative thing to say 'we're out there, this is what we've done in this fortnight and we're going to continue right up to Christmas'," Senior Sergeant Brilliant said.
Sometime within the next few months, the heavens will come crashing down.

Tiangong 1, which translates to "Heavenly Palace," is China's first space laboratory, launched in September 2011, serving as a prototype for a permanent space station that it aims to eventually build and launch. But six years after it first went into orbit, the 8-ton laboratory is soon expected to meet a fiery and uncontrolled end, hurtling down to Earth and crashing somewhere - anywhere - on the planet.

Lift off for the Chinese space craft headed for the Tiangong-2 orbiting space station.

In September 2016, Chinese officials confirmed that they had lost control of the space lab and that it would crash into Earth sometime in the latter half of 2017. In May, China told the United Nations that the lab would reenter Earth between October and April 2018.

Much of the space lab, which measures about 11 metres in length, is expected to burn up during its reentry. But Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist from Harvard University, told the Guardian that pieces weighing up to 100 kg could make it to the Earth's surface.
An alliance of four Texas A&M University System schools will receive a $2.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to design a model for advancing more minority candidates through the nation's doctoral programs in science, technology, engineering and math. The Texas A&M System's Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program consists of Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Prairie View A&M. The alliance will follow doctoral candidates as they complete their degrees, enter postdoctoral research and progress through faculty positions.

The program will work to improve success of minority graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in specific STEM disciplines or STEM-education research field.

The A&M System alliance will develop individualized plans for participants as they move from the dissertation stage to postdoctoral scholar to faculty. The alliance's research model will provide participants with opportunities related to communication, networking and job preparation. Those participating will also receive mentors and opportunities to experience the academic culture at historically black colleges and international schools.

The Texas A&M University System AGEP Alliance is also funded by the National Science Foundation's Research Traineeship Program and its Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program.

Karen Butler-Purry, interim vice president for research and associate provost for graduate and professional studies at Texas A&M University, will lead the project.
In 2015, Greenpeace found 74 Chinese vessels illegally fishing in the region. Stolen fish costs West African economies some $2.3 billion a year  the highest level of illegally caught fish worldwide. In Senegal specifically, $300 million worth of fish is stolen yearly -- around two percent of its GDP. Stocks are dwindling, we have to travel further out to sea and set off much earlier, says Ngom.

They do so in traditional wooden pirogues suitable for coastal fishing but dangerously ill equipped for the high seas. They go to Sierra Leone, they go to Guinea-Bissau and that's not their traditional range. That has increased dramatically as a result of the infringement on their own waters, says Belhabib.

The pressure to maintain a living also pushes many into unsustainable activities lured by the prospects of higher wages working on illegal foreign ships. It is something that's growing, and it's very frustrating for traditional fisherman, adds Belhabib.

They have nothing

Ibrahima Cisse is a senior oceans campaign manager at Greenpeace Africa based in Dakar. He has seen how shrinking margins have forced some to abandon the business altogether.

They go to the sea they cannot find anything so they come back, he says. It's the same ones that are taking the boats to go to Europe. Because they don't have any more fish to eat, they don't have work they don't have nothing.

On a Sunday morning such as this, 37-year-old Moussa Te, a fishmonger, buys up to 100 kilos of fish from Soumbedioune. But every day the price is increasing, he says.

He methodically examines two white groupers known locally as thiof. The fish is often served in the national dish thieboudiene but is now a rarity in fresh markets due to local overfishing and foreign exports.

Their gradual decline can be traced as far back as the 1980s says Belhabib. Back in that time China was not even in those waters it was all by the EU, she adds.

Convenient scapegoat

A few fishermen tell me Chinese vessels have simply moved into the space vacated by Europeans, albeit at alarming speed. Almost all nations employ predatory tactics in West Africa that have resounding impacts.

Pelagic fish such as sardinella make up 85 percent of Senegals protein consumption. Russian fleets target these to go to processing plants where they become animal feed on farms. So basically fish that's otherwise going towards domestic markets and food security, says Belhabib.

Research done in 2014 by Belhabib and her colleagues found that Russian fleets took around 300,000 tons of fish, equivalent to the countrys entire yearly artisanal catch, mostly unreported.

By also under reporting their GRT (vessel capacity), industrial trawlers avoid paying higher fees. Under reporting alone contributed to a loss of $2 billion between 2010 and 2015, says a study in journal Frontiers in Marine Science, and nearly all European countries, Russia, Japan and South Korea were found culpable.

It's not exclusively Chinese vessels that's for sure, says Steve Trent, executive director of Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), who are fighting illegal fishing in West Africa by arming locals with equipment to film and report illegal incidents in their waters.

The London based groups investigations found various foreign vessels illegally fishing in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Some ships also operate under flags of convenience giving them greater access Trent explained. You will find the financial economic benefit accrues largely in China but they could be flying the local flag of Senegal or Guinea, he says. More than half of actual so-called Senegalese fleets is foreign, estimates Belhabib.

Tougher laws

Environmentalists believe transparent agreements and information sharing between West African countries could counter the growing threats to food security.

Certainly some operators in the past have just factored in fines into their cost of accounting so you want the fines to be of a sufficient deterrent and again with transparency, says Trent. It shouldn't go into an officials pocket.

Around $14 million was recovered in fines last year compared to the $2.3 billion lost annually. If West African governments were tougher on illegal fishing and invested in their fishing industry, they could generate theoretically $3.3 billion, against the $400m raised in 2014 from selling foreign licenses at below market value, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Senegal has dramatically increased fines for illegal fishing  currently up to $1 million  curbing possible back pocket payments.

You can hide $3,000 in a file that you took in your pocket but you cannot hide $1 million in your pocket just like that. So it's shifting in a very positive way, adds Belhabib.

In 2012, the nation also stopped granting licenses to foreign trawlers for small pelagic. But without others following suit, it has minimal impact. Mauritania, for example is home to 20 fishmeal factories, of which roughly half are Chinese-owned.

Co-operative management

You cannot have a local approach by country, says Cisse, explaining why Greenpeace is pushing for the establishment of a regional fisheries management body.

We need harmonisation of regulation between all West African countries... if they have the same regulation it means if the Chinese are fined for fishing illegally in Guinea Bissau they will pay the same as in Sierra Leone or in Senegal.

Governments working together in limiting foreign rights sales would go a long way. When a country decides to write an agreement this should be based on unexploited stock and not put in risk the livelihood of people in the region, says Cisse.

He believes there is a moral and financial imperative for international authorities to also intervene. As the world's largest fish importer, the European Unions economic influence is massive. It imports roughly $954 million worth of fish from West Africa and has previously provided funding towards cracking down on illegal fishing in the region.

That's why we are saying the European Union has the legal responsibility to push and to support this regional management, says Cisse.

If you have these different regulations and managements the risk of food security and immigration to Europe will continue they have a responsibility and not just jumping from country to country because they want to find a good agreement for their vessels.

Senegal is among the top 10 countries of origin for migrants arriving in Italy. As the number of commercial vessels increase, for locals, there are fewer fish left to follow. More than half of stocks from Senegal to Nigeria have been overfished.

Earlier in June, seven Chinese ships were detained for fishing illegally in Senegal. In 2013, FishSpektrum data identified more than 600 Chinese fishing vessels off the coast of West African countries. Western Africas missing fish.

People will have to react eventually, says Belhabib, highlighting Somalia where illegal fishing hardened fishermen to piracy in the 1990s.

In Senegal the alternative to employment is fishing and if you lose that in a country where there is low employment, lower education etcetera you will have an issue of social peace.

This Author

Nosmot Gbadamosi is a freelance journalist based in London. She can be followed on Twitter @nosmotg
Danbury native Colleen Gallagher is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces in the audience when she appears in A Gentlemans Guide to Love & Murder at the Palace Theater in Waterbury.

The Broadway show won multiple Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Gallagher is part of the national tour that stops in Connecticut on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and 21, which means shell be quite close to her hometown, where she grew up and fell in love with the performing arts.

Gallagher said its exciting to be in A Gentlemans Guide to Love & Murder, (also known as GGLAM). Not only is it a funny show, its directed and choreographed by Peggy Hickey, who did the choreography on Broadway.

Hickey is incredibly brilliant, Gallagher said. Everything has to be perfectly timed and shes very demanding, but in a good way, so its wonderful to work with her. Ive had a lot of people say to me, and I agree, how lucky I am to be going around the country and making people laugh. Its just two hours of nonstop joy and laughter.

GGLAM tells the tale of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune, who sets out to jump the line of succession by any means necessary. Between dealing with his mistress and fiancee, while trying to kill anyone who gets in his way, Navarro is a busy guy.

Gallagher, who plays Lady Eugenia, among other roles, discussed the show by phone. She said the story takes place in Edwardian England and Navarro must eliminate eight relatives before he can become a wealthy earl.

More Information The Palace Theater, 100 E. Main St., Waterbury. Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21. Friday 8 p.m. Saturday 2 and 8 p.m. Starting at $49. 203-346-2000, www.palacetheaterct.org See More Collapse

(The relatives) are all played by one person and its very funny to see the many ways one actor can die onstage. There is also a love triangle, so theres a lot going on. Its the most fun Ive ever had doing a show.

Lady Eugenia is the wife of the earl and the last to die. The two are very feisty with each other, she said. There is a comical dinner scene and she really just adds to the comedy of it. She gives the earl more dimensions; you understand him better when you meet his wife. Shes the most eccentric character I have ever played.

A graduate of Danbury High School and Manhattanville College, Gallagher has been in such shows as Ragtime and Brigadoon, and has been entertaining people for as long as she can remember.

Ive been singing ever since I could talk, pretty much, she said. My grandmother tells a story of how, when I was maybe 2, she put me on the phone with someone and I sang Danny Boy. Im from a very Irish family. I sang with my sisters growing up. I started getting into choir at Danbury High. They have a great music program there.

Danbury High School is also where she performed in her first musical, My Fair Lady. That was during freshman year and things progressed from there. My family is very supportive. In high school they would come to every show.

lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter: @LindaTKoonz
A great restaurant cookbook, in my eyes, meets the following criteria: Its subject is a restaurant with a good story behind it, told in a manner that evokes the energy of dining there. It is a gorgeous object. And it contains solidly built recipes that are functional for those up to the challenge.

Chicago chef Paul Kahans new cookbook, Cheers to the Publican, checks almost all of these boxes.

Ive been waiting for this cookbook for a long time. Back when I started covering cookbooks about a decade ago, it was rare for restaurants outside of New York or maybe San Francisco to get book deals, and Paul Kahan was always my go-to suggestion for a chef who might produce a great Midwestern restaurant book.

Kahan has no shortage of restaurants and bars to write about: his One Off Hospitality Group is responsible for Chicago favorites including Blackbird, Big Star, and The Violet Hour. But its the Publican that gets the cookbook treatment. Of course, the Publican is one of those magical restaurants that is simultaneously casual and celebratory, American and worldly, comfortable and electric. Ive enjoyed my experiences at the Publican tremendously; the food is always killer.

Executive Chef/Publican co-author Cosmo Goss writes that the food at the Publican tastes like you put too much sweetness, too much salt, and too much acid together and then tried to shove them all through a small hole. It is a menu that takes inspiration from Belgium and France, with a good dose of flavors not typically found in those traditions. Think frites and sausages and mussels and charcuterie, all of it balanced with sumac or fish sauce or ramps or palm sugar or mirin.

The bookperhaps properly called a tome at over 300 pageswinds its way through the restaurants menu, from vegetables to seafood to meat to charcuterie to bread. Its conversational: picture Kahan and Goss sitting outside the restaurant, walking you through every dish. There are stories galore, nods to chefs that inspire them (Suzanne Goin, Chris Bianco, Alice Waters), and much love bestowed to vendors and producers. There are insights into menu development, product sourcing, and cooking philosophy.

The fact that the Publican bills itself as a beer hall may lead you to think its recipes would be somewhat accessible, and indeed, a quick flip through the book reveals plenty of temptations for the home cook. The vegetable chapter in particular holds a great deal of potential, although it skews heavily towards spring produce. But I have to be honest with you: I had a really hard time finding recipes to test from this book.

There were recipes out of scale with a home kitchen. (Unless youre the type to ask your butcher for a 20- to 25-pound piece of 'pork middle, have them debone it for porchetta, and keep the bones for pork stock.) There were ingredients that proved impossible to find. (If anyone finds a U.S. source for peach olives, AKA immature peaches that have been cured like olives, please let me know.) And there were days-long projects that maybe I will get around to some day, but were not viable options at the moment.

Not all cookbooksparticularly restaurant cookbooksneed to be home cookfriendly. I can hear you right now: What good is a cookbook if Im not going to cook from it? But I believe theres a place for difficult recipes, be they cheffy, complex, esoteric, labor-intensive, full of hard-to-find ingredients, or all of the above. Cookbooks should cater to a wide range of abilities: just like there need to be books for folks who dont know how to boil water, there need to be books that elaborate on the far reaches of cuisine. And as long as the procedures are thorough and detailed, home cooks can learn from such recipes, even if they dont actually prepare them.

That is, of course, assuming they work.

Disappointingly, of the five recipes I did try, three of them were pretty flawed. An otherwise delicious cauliflower caponata mentions twice in the headnote how important anchovies are to the dish, but the tiny, salty fish are nowhere to be found in the recipe. The pork country ribs were perhaps the most delicious of all the recipes I triedand certainly the most home cook-friendlybut they call for you to reserve one third of the marinade...and then never tell you what to do with it.

And then there were the pork pies. Very delicious, very porky, and very British, the pork pies are a slow-baked minced pie, heady with sage and something I had to order online called Vulcans Fire-Salt. But unfortunately, the hot water dough recipe just wouldnt come together: theres no universe in which just over a half cup of flour combines with 1  cups liquid (plus an egg!) to create a dough. Heck, this Food52 recipe for a similar hot water dough calls for 3 cups flour to 1  cups liquid. I soldiered on, I added more flour, I ate tasty pork pies. But pastry recipes trade on their accuracy, and this one just wasnt accurate.

Could it be a typo? Sure. Can I forgive a typo? Of course. But in combination with the other errors I encountered, it sure gives me pause when approaching the books recipes. Lets just say I dont plan on buying 20-25 pounds of pork middle for porchetta any time soon.

Publican lovers, dont despair. There is a lot for you in Cheers to the Publican. The kitchen curtain is pulled back, through history and vendor tributes and kitchen philosophy. The recipes arent inoperable, theyre just a touch sloppy. If youre the type to cook out of restaurant cookbooks, youll likely be able to make them work, and if not, well, the charm of Kahan and the Publican are what youre here for anyhow.

Its a book that checks most of the restaurant book boxes. It has verve and heart, its beautiful, at times it is wise. Its good. Its just not great.
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STRATFORD - A Bronx, N.Y., man, charged with stealing the cremated remains of 18 people from a cemetery here, now claims he was possessed by a Santeria priestess and forced to take the remains for her.

Police said partially based on the new claims of Aneudy Davila on Tuesday they arrested priestess, 40-year-old Janette Mateo at her Milford home.

Mateo, of Naugatuck Avenue, was charged with conspiracy to commit interference with a cemetery and was released after posting $1,000 bond.

Santeria is an African/Caribbean religion involving animal sacrifices.

On June 23, 2016, Stratford police said they were called to the historic Temple Court cemetery for a break in.

When officers got to the scene, police said they found a Columbarium, a sealed granite vault that contains remains, had been broken into and 18 urns containing cremated human remains were missing. Police said a circle had been burned in the grass around the vault.

The case went unsolved until last month when police arrested Davila. Free on $5,000 bond, police said Davila was initially mum on his part in the case. However, they said he recently agreed to give them a statement.

In that statement police said Davila told them that Mateo had practiced Santeria on him and he had become possessed. He claimed Mateo had then made him go to the cemetery with her and steal the urns. Police said Davila told them that only now is his memory of the incident returning to him.

Police said they searched Mateos home and didnt find any of the urns but did find some dead chickens along with statutes and candles common to the practice of Santeria. They said Mateo admitted conducting Santeria rituals they said she denied having anything to do with the cemetery break in.

In the meantime, police said a witness came forward after seeing a story about the cemetery thefts in the Connecticut Post.

The witness, who police said had lived with Mateo last year, told them that one night in June 2016, Mateo and Davila had come home carrying a large plastic bag that contained metal containers with names and flags on them.

Police said the witness told them Mateo was practicing some sort of religion in their home that involved dead chickens and cigars.
First, a heartfelt note of appreciation to family, friends, readers and coworkers whose birthday wishes, get-well cards, flowers, food, cookies, and emails made entering a new decade in life a week after breaking my collarbone a time to remember. Though my left arm will be in a sling for six to eight weeks, it allows the fingers on my left hand to rest on my computer keys to keep up with my right hand by making each day filled with positive thoughts seasoned with plans, one including this column.

After an unusual September with nary a single favorite cookie recipe to arrive for after-school treats, a plate of delicious molasses cookies arrived one afternoon from Patti Magli Brickson for me to enjoy while recuperating. We became lifetime friends back in the mid-1950s as high school cheerleaders, Patti for Central, me for East. When I called to thank her for the best frosted molasses cookies I ever tasted and asked for the recipe, she laughed and told me it was a Betty Crocker boxed cookie mix available at every grocery store in town and frosting was from a ready-made container. After enjoying some incredible molasses cookies during my lifetime, these became the best ever because of the sentiment attached. Such is life at times.

The American Pecan Council had no idea that my birthday was celebrated in October, yet thought I might be interested in knowing that Starbucks was offering a Maple Pecan Latte, a new fall beverage that goes particularly well with their councils superb pecan shortbread cookies.

Pecan cream cheese cookies

1 cup pecan pieces

 cup pecan meal (See: Note)

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cups sugar

1 tablespoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until well combined. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in the flour, then pecan pieces.

Roughly divide dough in half, wrap each portion in plastic wrap or parchment paper forming dough into a log about 2 inches wide, and freeze until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Unwrap one log, carefully roll it in pecan meal coating the outside well. Slice into -inch rounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the middle is just set and the cookies are just starting to turn light brown on the edges. Cool cookies on wire racks. Work in batches until all the dough has been used. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Note: Pecan meal is available in some major grocery stores, or stores may order some for you.

Because fall marks the beginning of the harvest season for the American pecan, the buttery flavor of pecans pairs perfectly with many other festive fall favorites. Here is a make-ahead quick snack to package in resealable bags for a perfect grab and go-between classes, meetings, and sporting events. Chocolate glazed pecans tossed with dried tart cherries, yogurt-covered raisins, and a few pretzels add saltiness to this snack mix.

Chocolate cherry pecan snacks

1 large egg white

 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon water

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup dried tart cherries

1 cup small pretzels

Whisk together egg white, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt until well blended. Add about 1 tablespoon water to thin mixture slightly. Fold in pecan halves until well coated. Spread mixture onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until mixture is well set. Stir pecan mixture several times during baking. Allow pecans to cool completely and transfer to a bowl. Mix in dried cherries, pretzels and yogurt covered raisins.

A request arrived from Sweetpea, also known as Lusa, who asked for a Portuguese soup recipe that used kale. This recipe was found almost immediately and I hope it is what she had in mind. It was shared online by someone who claims by using Polish sausage instead of linguica, a garlicky Portuguese sausage, her fiance could not get enough of this dish.

Easy Portuguese kale soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

16-ounce package kielbasa (Polish) sausage, diced

3 potatoes, cut into cubes

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper, or to taste

2 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth

1 cup water

15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 carrots, chopped

1 bunch kale, cut into thin ribbons

1 cup small elbow macaroni

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste (optional)

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat.

Cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add kielbasa; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir potatoes into kielbasa mixture, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook until potatoes begin to brown, about 2 minutes.

Pour chicken broth and water into the stock pot; add kidney beans, carrots and kale. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir macaroni into the soup; continue cooking until macaroni is tender, yet firm to the bite, about 15 minutes more. When serving, top each bowl with 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese.

Even if strawberry shortcake isnt on your list for a favorite fall dessert, the strawberry shortcake my mother used to make was a perfect dessert for any time of the year. Not with a cake-like texture, but instead thick biscuits that shed cut in half for a double-decker shortcake, it was the best shortcake Ive ever had. But unfortunately, I cannot find her recipe. For Karen Tyler, Sauk City, here is a family-treasured biscuit recipe recently found in the Taste of Homes April/May magazine, shared by Conroe, Texas, resident Angela Lively.

Grandmas old-fashioned strawberry shortcake

6 cups sliced fresh strawberries

 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Shortcake

3 cups all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons sugar, divided

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

 teaspoon salt

 cup cold butter, cubed

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Topping

1 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine strawberries with sugar and vanilla; mash slightly. Let stand at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For shortcake, whisk together flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add buttermilk; stir just until combined. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons heavy cream; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. For topping, beat heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. To serve, cut biscuits in half; top with strawberries and whipped cream. Serve 8.

Note: Make sure the butter is cold, and cut it in until its about pea-size; as it melts during baking small air pockets are created, giving the biscuit its flakiness. Brushing the biscuit tops with cream helps the sugar stay in place.

Recent request: A pot pie recipe, possibly English, Pennsylvania Dutch or German, with no crust on top or bottom.
LINCOLN  The day that the moon cast Nebraska into darkness proved a bright spot for the states economy.

The Aug. 21 solar eclipse had an estimated $127 million economic impact from lodging and travel spending across the state, according to a study done for the Nebraska Tourism Commission.

The study by Dean Runyan Associates and Destination Analysts Inc. estimated that more than 708,000 people traveled to watch the eclipse in Nebraska.

About 87 percent of the travelers came from out of state, making the eclipse the largest single tourist event on record in Nebraska.

State tourism officials, along with Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, are set to announce the studys findings today during the 2017 Nebraska Tourism Conference in La Vista.

This data confirms the magnitude of the solar eclipses impact, said John Ricks, Nebraska Tourism executive director. The amazing one-time event was big business for our industry and beyond. We hope travelers were inspired to share stories about their Nebraska experience and to visit again.

The number of visitors eclipsed pre-event estimates that 500,000 visitors might come to Nebraska for the celestial show.

But the numbers were no surprise to Lora Young, executive director of the Beatrice Area Chamber of Commerce and Gage County Tourism.

She said the Beatrice area hosted an estimated 40,000 visitors on the day of the eclipse, a Monday, including people from every state in the union and several foreign countries.

Nobody believed the draw until the day, she said. There was a lot of people in this state.

So many showed up in Gage County, which was in the path of the total eclipse, that all of the Beatrice-area hotels were full and the spillover filled 80 percent of the lodging in Manhattan, Kansas, Young said.

More than 3,000 people were camping at the county fairgrounds, while others camped in local parks, and the county roads were lined with vehicles.

So many showed up to view the eclipse at Homestead National Monument that some had to hoof it 6 miles from their vehicle to the visitor center, she said.

When it was over, Young said, visitors told her the traffic jams added five hours to a trip back to Minneapolis.

Susan Unzicker, executive director of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, said local restaurants and lodging did very well during the days surrounding the eclipse. Some visitors spent several days, while some drove in the day of the eclipse.

Thousands headed to Carhenge, the towns quirky version of Stonehenge, to watch the eclipse. Miles of vehicles parked on the under-construction portion of U.S. 385, she said.

According to the study:

 On average, visitors spent three days in the state.

 Nearly 93 percent of out-of-state visitors said the eclipse was the reason for their visit to Nebraska, and nearly 61 percent said they would not have made this trip to Nebraska otherwise.

 Nearly 71 percent of out-of-state visitors had not visited Nebraska in the past three years on a purely leisure trip (not to visit friends or relatives). When asked, nearly 40 percent said they are likely to visit Nebraska in the next two years.

 Media coverage of the eclipse provided publicity that had estimated value of more than $133 million.

Foley praised the Nebraska Tourism Commission and the Nebraska Eclipse Coalition for their efforts in making the event a safe and pleasurable experience for so many people.

He also recognized the 10 cities involved in the coalition: Alliance, Beatrice, Gering, Hastings, Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln, North Platte, Omaha and Scottsbluff.

The eclipse offered a perfect opportunity to showcase Nebraska to hundreds of thousands of people from outside the state, he said.

While Nebraska isnt slated to have another total solar eclipse this century, Young said the event offers hope for increasing tourism in the state.

It says that, if you have an event worth coming to, people will travel, she said, noting that people who first visited Nebraska because of the eclipse may be more willing to return for other reasons.

People need to believe we can be a tourism destination and work toward that end, she said.
The dark web allows drug deals and child pornography to flourish because its hard to trace the identity of people who use it, says Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson.

In an appearance before the Grand Island Rotary Club Tuesday, Peterson talked about the dangers of the dark web and Tor, which is a software that enables anonymous communication. The dark web is part of the internet not indexed by search engines.

Peterson said hes discouraged by the way the culture treats young people. Victims, he said, keep getting younger.

He talked about a 20-year-old small-town Nebraskan who profited greatly from the sale of fentanyl. He bought a kilo of fentanyl from China for $4,500. By transforming it into various products, the young man made more than $1 million. He was caught through his use of the post office, Peterson said. The young man was mailing a large quantity of products all over the world.

Peterson also talked about extreme forms of child pornography found on the dark web. A 25-year-old Bellevue man was arrested for his deep involvement in pornography, he said.

Teenagers, he said, should be required to turn in their cellphones to their parents before they go to bed. Computers should be kept out of the bedroom, and limited to areas where the family circulates.

Because there are predators out there, Parents have to be very engaged, he said.

Peterson, who has spoken at more than 80 Nebraska high schools and middle schools, did say hes been impressed by the quality of young people hes met. But communities still need to be engaged in supporting young people, he said. Organizations should be supported so that if young people decide to walk away from trouble-making peers, they have somewhere to go.

Also during his talk, Peterson talked about the Equifax data breach, which is a big deal, he said. The hackers were able to get the Social Security numbers and birthdates of millions of Americans.

Those are the golden nuggets for the scammer, Peterson said.

Equifaxs security standards, he said, were not very good.

In breaches such as this, the hackers typically wait a while before they start applying for credit cards. After maxing out those cards, they move on to the next victim. Even if you dont think youve done business with Equifax, you should still check, Peterson said. Freezing ones credit rating is a good idea, he said.

The scam world will never go away, Peterson said. Those scams become increasingly more sophisticated.

One of the blessings of working in the attorney generals office, he said, is the number of sharp lawyers who surround him. The attorneys get to work on interesting cases, he said.

In areas such as human trafficking, the office can make progress in making Nebraska a better state, he said.

As part of the tobacco settlement of the late 1990s, big tobacco companies still send Nebraska checks every year and will continue to do so for eternity. Each year, Nebraska receives $33 million to $35 million in tobacco settlement money, he said.

Peterson, 58, talked about the growth of heroin and fentanyl in some parts of the country, and traced the growth of opioids to the 1990s when doctors were directed to focus more on pain relief. At that time, a dentist mightve prescribed 60 Oxycontin pills to a teenager who had a tooth pulled.

Many people are prescribed opioids after getting a knee replaced. A friend or co-worker might ask for the remaining pills after suffering a softball injury, for example.

Opioids dont have a dramatic effect on most people. But out of five or six people, one person is predisposed toward the drugs addictive traits, he said.
Delay was the theme of the day at the Hall County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning as it voted to delay votes on three agenda items and pulled another from the agenda.

With Supervisors Karen Bredthauer and Jane Richardson absent, the county board voted 5-0 to refer a contract addendum to a custodial contract for the addition of the Federal Building and the Plaza Building to the facilities committee to allow it to consult with the county attorney. The item will return to the full board at its Oct. 31 meeting.

The addendum called for a total of $900 per month for the Federal Building and $800 per month for the Plaza Building.

The item concerning a snow removal contract between Hall County and the city of Grand Island was pulled from the agenda due to supervisors not having a copy of the contract to review prior to Tuesday mornings meeting.

One agenda item that returned to the county board for its consideration was a water cooler for the Veterans Services Office. The board voted at its Oct. 3 meeting to delay the vote until Tuesday to discuss options with Veterans Service Coordinator Don Shuda.

On Tuesday, it voted 4-1, with Supervisor Scott Arnold voting no, to delay the vote again and refer the matter of the water cooler to the Facilities Committee and have the item return to the full board at its Oct. 31 meeting.

That meeting will allow Shuda the opportunity to inform the board of his wishes in regards to the water cooler and to answer questions.

A proposal was brought forward at the Oct. 3 meeting that called for the labor, material and equipment to complete the installation of a water cooler in the annex entryway of the office for a total of $4,270. The cost did not include electrical.

Supervisor Doug Lanfear said he had no objections to having the Veterans Services Office install a new water cooler (fountain), but questioned where the money to do so would come from. He added with the Veterans Services Offices budget cut by $20,000 and when the $25,000 in cuts to the Hall County Buildings and Grounds budget is added to it, the budgets were cut to the bones.

There is no money to do this. Where is the money going to come from? Lanfear asked. I am disappointed in the veterans committee that they didnt make sure the money got put in the budget for this. This is our spending plan for the year and we dropped the ball. I think it is irresponsible spending to go ahead and do this unless you can find someplace else in the budget.

Board Chairwoman Pam Lancaster suggested Lanfear look at the carry-over from last year if he thought the two budgets were unfairly cut. Lanfear responded that while there will be some carry-over, he anticipates it is going to be used up with some of these contracts.

Arnold said he did not feel there was enough traffic in the Veterans Services Office to warrant a $4,000 water cooler and voted no.

For the record

As far as approved agenda items, the county board:

- Voted 5-0 to approve a training salary for the new election commissioner at 80 percent of the officials proposed salary, or $28.91 an hour.

- Voted 4-1, with Quandt voting no, to approve a bid opening for the restoration of the outside steps of the Hall County Courthouse for 10 a.m. Nov. 14.

- Voted 5-0 to approve the 2017-18 rental contract with Central Nebraska Bobcat for a skid-steer loader. The contract is the same as last year and totals $3,800.
To celebrate business diversity in connection with Hispanic Heritage Month, Nebraska Extension in Hall County is hosting a walking tour of Latino businesses on Friday, Oct. 20.

The free tour will begin at 5 p.m. at the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets. Participants will visit some of Grand Islands Latino-owned businesses and meet their owners and operators.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Sandra Barrera at (308) 385-5088 or sandra.barrera@unl.edu or Griselda Rendon at (308) 850-4820 or griseldarendon@gmail.com.
Grand Island Police Officers Bryce Collamore, Tyler Noel and Chris Marcello were presented Life Saving Service Awards Tuesday by Police Chief Robert Falldorf.

The men were honored for bringing a 75-year-old woman back to life on Sept. 25.

Shortly after 5 a.m. that morning, Collamore and Noel responded to 312 N. Grace. The woman, Bonnie Hulse, was inside her vehicle, unconscious. The officers immediately began CPR and notified the Emergency Center of her code blue condition, which means she had no signs of life.

Marcello, who arrived soon after, provided breath to the woman using a CPR mask. Collamore and Noel took turns administering chest compressions. They continued for about three minutes until an ambulance arrived and paramedics took over.

At the CHI Health St. Francis emergency room, the staff was able to obtain a pulse and signs of life. The emergency room nursing staff told police that its very uncommon to bring a person back to life who has coded, according to the certificate awarded to each officer.

Hulse passed away the next day. But the officers efforts allowed family members to be with her prior to her passing.

Falldorf said the department was honoring three of its fine officers for doing the job they were trained to do.

When the officers found the woman in the car, their training kicked in, Falldorf said.

The department prides itself on having top-notch training, Falldorf said. Some of that training is provided to police by the Grand Island Fire Department.

Noel said its really fulfilling to know that the training that we go through for months and years pays off.

Successful results reassure officers that their training does work, he said, and give them confidence that they will succeed in the future.

Obviously our No. 1 goal is to preserve life and property, and thats exactly what all three of us did, Collamore said.

It was the first time that Collamore performed CPR in a code blue situation.

It was interesting to see how all three of us just were able to work together, he said. They werent really thinking during the rescue because their adrenaline had kicked in, Collamore said.

It was the second life-saving service award for Marcello. In December 2015, he dragged a woman from a burning house on Sun Valley Drive. She was flown to a burn unit in Lincoln and survived for about two months.

On Sept. 4, Marcello was the grand marshal at the Nebraska State Fairs Salute to Our Veterans Celebration parade.

But in getting an honor Tuesday, he was just riding on the coat-tails of his two partners, he said.

They got there first. They actually made the hard decision to pull her out and started compressions before I even arrived, he said.

Marcello assisted and made sure Hulse received oxygen.

But the other two are probably more of the heroes and made the right decision right there on the spot, he said.

Noel, 28, has been a police officer for six and a half years. Hes a native of Sidney. He and his wife, Desiree, have two boys, who are almost 5 and 2 1/2.

Collamore, 25, has been a police officer for two years. A graduate of Grand Island Senior High, he and his wife, Brea, have an 8-month-old girl.

Marcello, 38, has been a police officer for four years. A native of Blue Hill, hes been a member of the Nebraska Army National Guard for 20 and a half years. He has had three overseas tours and two stateside mobilizations. He and his wife, Tami, have two girls and two boys. Their kids are 10, 8, 4 and 2.
The manner in which Lincoln Elementary students were learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin met with the approval of two state senators Tuesday morning.

Sens. Patty Pansing Brooks and Lou Ann Linehan visited Lincoln and Dodge elementary schools as part of a reading literacy study. During the visit to Lincoln, the senators watched teacher Meg Trout work with preschool students.

The visits to Nebraska schools are related to LR222, an interim study examining dyslexia and reading literacy. The senators, who are both on the education committee, visited Lexington and Gothenburg Monday.

After the Grand Island stop Tuesday, they went to Doniphan and Hastings. The tour concludes with visits to York and Columbus on Wednesday.

The study looks at reading, learning and reading literacy across the state, said Pansing Brooks. Senators want to make sure that our students can read and thrive in our public schools, said Pansing Brooks, who lives in Lincoln.

Most people understand that if children arent reading by the end of third grade, theyre going to suffer and have difficulties, said Linehan, who lives in Elkhorn. Having trouble reading makes it hard to be successful in school and in life, she said.

So we are very interested in making sure that every kid is getting an opportunity to learn to read by the end of third grade, Linehan said.

Theyre paying special attention to kids who suffer from reading disabilities, one of which is dyslexia, Linehan said.

Senators are checking to see if schools are attentive to catching those children early and giving them help so they can succeed in life, Linehan said.

Both of us have family members who struggle with dyslexia, and they both turned out to be very successful. But it took very engaged parents, Linehan said. So they want to make sure that help is going to kids whose parents perhaps dont understand the ways they can interact with a school, she said.

Senators want to make sure that teachers can recognize reading problems and that they are trained to intervene, Pansing Brooks said. Senators want to learn what schools are using to work with learning disabilities specifically geared toward reading, she said.

The senators have been encouraged by what they have seen so far. Schools in Grand Island, Lexington and Gothenburg all have programs that are strongly geared to making sure kids can read by the end of the third grade.

It doesnt matter whether they are English language learners, kids who receive free or reduced lunch or just students who are struggling.

It could be any kids. My kids struggled, Linehan said.

Theyve been encouraged by the positive attitudes theyve encountered among teachers. Those teachers believe that every kid can read. Both senators believe that is critically important.
A Madison man was found guilty of robbing a bank in Plain following a two-day trial in federal court.

Julian Thomas, 41, was found guilty Wednesday of armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence after a jury deliberated for 10 hours.

The U.S. Attorneys Office said that the evidence showed that Thomas and James Thompson, 29, also of Madison, robbed Peoples Community Bank in Plain on Oct. 7, 2014. Thompson, who pleaded guilty about two weeks ago to robbing the bank and to the same gun charge as Thomas, testified that he and Thomas both committed the robbery.

Witnesses testified that Thomas forced a bank vice president to open the vault while Thompson held two tellers at gunpoint. After getting cash from the vault and teller drawers, the U.S. Attorneys Office said, Thompson and Thomas ordered the three bank employees to the back of the bank, sprayed their eyes with pepper spray and ordered them to kneel with their heads on the floor.

Thomas will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Conley on Jan. 10. Thompson is to be sentenced on Dec. 5. Each faces up to 25 years in prison on the bank robbery charge and a mandatory minimum of seven years on the gun charge, which is to be served consecutive to the bank robbery sentence.
LINCOLN  Joshua Keadle, who had long been the prime suspect in the 2010 disappearance of a Peru State College student, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.

The body of Tyler Thomas, 19, was never found, and Keadle, a fellow student, maintained that he dropped her off at a remote boat launch on the Missouri River the night of Dec. 3.

The charges filed Tuesday against Keadle, 36, were a testament to the perseverance of the Thomas family, said Vince Powers, a Lincoln attorney who successfully won a $2.6 billion wrongful death lawsuit against Keadle over Tyler Thomas disappearance.

They never gave up, Powers said Their concern was to keep the memory of their daughter alive so this day would come.

Thomas mother, LaTanya Thomas of Omaha, was nearly speechless when contacted by a reporter on Tuesday afternoon.

After the years go by you start to wonder if its going to happen  will he be charged, is there enough (evidence) to do it? she said in a telephone interview.

I just wanted justice for her. I couldnt stop, she said.

More than a year ago, the familys attorney, Powers, had met with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson about the case. Peterson, who took office in 2015, pledged to look into the case.

Keadle is in prison serving a sentence for raping a 15-year-old girl while he was a student at Midland College in Fremont. He was scheduled to be eligible for parole from prison in 14 months.

Tyler Thomas, an Omaha native and captain of the Peru State dance team, had been reported missing by two students after she failed to return to her dormitory on Dec. 3, 2010.

Extensive searches by family members, volunteers, law enforcement and trained dog handlers in the following days were not successful.

In 2012, Keadle was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison for first-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in Fremont in 2008.

In 2016, a six-woman jury in Nemaha County returned the $2.6 billion wrongful death verdict against Keadle and Peru State. Later, the Nebraska Supreme Court removed the college from liability, leaving Keadle, alone, responsible.

Powers said he felt the evidence he presented in the civil lawsuit would have been enough to attain a guilty verdict in a criminal prosecution, but that the Attorney Generals Office wanted to be even more sure.

The Lincoln defense attorney said he had promised the Thomas family that, if charges were not brought against Keadle, he would launch a petition drive to impanel a grand jury in Nemaha County to hear evidence in the slaying.

The Attorney Generals Office will prosecute the case, which was the product of investigations by the Nebraska State Patrol and Nemaha County Sheriffs Office.
Eagles rally, then get sloppy in 4th quarter as undefeated hopes end

Several observations from the Eagles' Monday night game against the Washington Commanders.
Members of the Bahai community in Edwardsville were recognized during Tuesdays City Council meeting.

Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton issued a proclamation to honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahaullah, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahai faith. With all members of the council present, Patton read aloud the proclamation, stating:

This proclamation is in regards to the bicentenary of the birth of the Bahaullah, and it states whereas October 22, 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahaullah founder of the Bahai faith who brought a message of unity, capacity and oneness of all people and whereas today, we still experience the trying need of humanity to achieve peace, unity and justice in our communities, in our country and across the globe, Patton said.

Whereas in 1962, the Bahai community of Edwardsville has striven to apply this vision to the material and spiritual life of Edwardsville, collaborating with others to promote unity and to serve their fellow citizens. Whereas the Bahais of Edwardsville and their family, friends, neighbors and colleagues are commemorating the bicentenary along with Bahais across the United States and around the globe, he added. Therefore I, Hal Patton, Mayor of Edwardsville, Illinois, do hereby declare Sunday, October 22, 2017, as the bicentenary of the birth of the Bahaullah in the city.

All council members were in support of the awarded proclamation.

Another event coming up in the city that honors the 200th anniversary of the Bahaullah will take place Friday, October 20 at the Fuller Dome on the SIUE campus. The event will include prayers, music, readings and a presentation.

For more information about the Edwardsville Bahai community, visit its Facebook page by searching Edwardsville Bahais on Facebook.
A high speed chase that reached up to 120 mph on the Beltline Tuesday afternoon ended on a frontage road when the pursued car crashed near a church.

Two bank robbery suspects in the car fled on foot but were arrested a short distance away.

The incident started about 12:45 p.m. at Home Savings Bank in Stoughton, when two armed suspected robbed the bank and fled in a silver-colored Chrysler bearing Michigan plates.

The suspects took Highway 51 heading toward Madison, with Dane County deputies spotting the car going almost 90.

Tire deflation devices were deployed near McFarland but the attempt was unsuccessful and the suspects went onto the westbound Beltline, reaching speeds up to 120.

The car exited at Seminole Highway and went back to the east on the frontage road before crashing near Saint Joseph's Catholic Church.

The unidentified suspects were taken into custody.

The FBI, ATF, Fitchburg police, Madison police and Sheriff's Office are assisting the Stoughton police in the investigation.
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Linkedin Adisti Sukma Sawitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 10:19 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24f540d 1 Opinion anies-baswedan,Jokowi,#Jokowi,#Anies-Sandiaga,Jakarta-reclamation,Jakarta-Bay,democracy,#Democracy,Donald-Trump,#DonaldTrump Free

Jakarta is on the brink of another new era. In the April run-off, the majority of residents elected contender Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno, who contested for the first time, proving how voters are hungry for progress and change not only for themselves, but the city they live in.



The same force of democracy catapulted Joko Jokowi Widodo, then also a political novice in the city, and Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama to the top post in the capital five years ago. They had brought development marvels that once could only have been imagined: cleaner rivers, hundreds of public parks and a trusted bureaucracy.



But how many changes are too many?



Democracy can also harm progress. This is because, as economist Bryan Caplan wrote in The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, voters suffer biases in making choices, such as anti-market and anti-foreign sentiments because they tend to opt for candidates who adhere to their own interests, rather than the greater good. When unemployment rates are high, people will vote for those who promise job creation and restrictions on foreign workers.



Voters also have a short attention span, making them prey to false and empty campaign promises because they will vote for a candidate who echoes their fears and worries.



This is what Americans have to endure today. United States President Donald Trump, who had mined rage on economic downturn to win the election, just issued an executive order to withdraw crucial subsidies to insurers that help people get affordable health care administered by former president Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare.



Now millions of Americans are under threat of losing their healthcare protection.



As a democracy that has only experienced direct elections since 2004, Indonesia, and particularly Jakarta, still benefits from the process.



Elected regional leaders have proven that they have accelerated development and progress that have brought prosperity in their regions. Many free health care and free education programs were commissioned by local leaders who were eager to please their constituents.



There are setbacks too. Many have been sent to jail for corruption, while others have introduced reckless policies that propel deforestation, haze and other environmental degradation.



In fact an election only offers voters the door to welfare therefore accountable leaders are the key to making it happen. What can correct the voters biases are trusted leaders who base their policies on sustainable values to assure that all elements of society can benefit from their decisions in the long run.



A leader should avoid divisions of the rich versus the poor, corporations versus people, or the majority versus the minority in making a decision because people oftentimes opt for irrational choices and corporations can be blinded by the lure of profit. A regulation should be weighed based on how it would benefit society as a system and how much economic and social costs it incurs in the short and long terms.



The private sector is not always efficient in carrying out development, especially when it requires huge investment and has to cover a lot of people. And as the country is gearing up for infrastructure and development, cases where myopic decision-making in the name of pro-business often end up as catastrophic.



One reckless step, such as burning peat forests or well drilling without careful planning, is enough to harm society.



Congratulations and well wishes abound for Anies and Sandiaga who were democratically elected to lead the city. But from now on, not only do they have to work hard to fulfill their promises to voters, they should also learn how to waltz around the central government and political parties who also demand them to serve their interests.



The litmus test that both Anies and Sandi will face is addressing the controversy of the Jakarta Bay reclamation that poses political and environmental risks to them.



The central government has ordered resumption of the project despite unsettled environmental violations on Islet G that has disrupted the operations of a nearby gas storage facility and a coal-fired power plant (PLTGU) in Muara Karang.



Anies and Sandiaga, who have been supported by the opposition parties, have insisted on stopping the reclamation project to protect the livelihood of the fisher folk. But the stake is actually higher, because the poor planning of Islet G has endangered the power plant and gas facility.



Now the fate of Jakarta Bay rests in the hands of the central government and the Jakarta administration under Anies. Whatever the decision, it should go beyond political rivalry, public clamor and short-sighted planning that only benefits a certain group or two.



The reclamation issue is not about Anies, Jokowi or their political parties. This is about how Jakarta survives and continues to progress.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) The Hague, Netherlands  Wed, October 18, 2017 17:00 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a250ffe1 2 Science & Tech bridge,Dutch,3D-printing,technology Free

Dutch officials toasted on Tuesday the opening of what is being called the world's first 3D-printed concrete bridge, which is primarily meant to be used by cyclists.

There was applause as officials wearing hard hats and workmen's jackets rode over the bridge on their bikes at the inauguration in the southeastern town of Gemert.

"The bridge is not very big, but it was rolled out by a printer which makes it unique," Theo Salet, from the Eindhoven University of Technology, told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Work on printing the bridge, which has some 800 layers, took about three months after starting in June and it is made of reinforced, pre-stressed concrete, according to the university.

"One of the advantages of printing a bridge is that much less concrete is needed than in the conventional technique in which a mould is filled," it said on its website, adding "a printer deposits the concrete only where it is needed."

The eight-metre (26-foot) bridge spans a water-filled ditch to connect two roads, and in conjunction with the BAM Infra construction company was tested for safety to bear loads of up to two tonnes. Although designed for bikes, it could take up to 40 trucks, the designers said.

Read also: Disney unveils 3D model of 'Star Wars' lands at fan convention

Dutch officials toasted the opening of what is being dubbed as the world's first 3D-printed concrete bridge, which is primarily meant to be used by cyclists. (AFP/Bart Maat)

"We are looking to the future," said the head of BAM, Marinus Schimmel, adding in a statement that his company was constantly "searching for a newer, smarter approach to addressing infrastructure issues and making a significant contribution to improving the mobility and sustainability of our society."

3D printing meant "fewer scarce resources were needed and there was significantly less waste," he added.

The Netherlands is among countries, with the United States and China, taking a lead in the cutting-edge technology of 3D printing, using computers and robotics to construct objects and structures from scratch without using traditional manpower.

Last year a Dutch architect unveiled a unique 3D printer with which he hopes to construct an "endless loop" building.

And a Dutch start-up called MX3D has begun printing a stainless-steel bridge, of which a third is already completed. The aim is to finish printing by March and lay the bridge over an Amsterdam canal in June.
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Linkedin Rieska Wulandari (The Jakarta Post) Milan  Wed, October 18, 2017 09:32 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24f443e 4 Art & Culture asmat,art-exhibition,traditional-arts,Italy,indigenous-people Free

A glass box containing a wooden sculpture of a human head welcomes visitors of Museo delle Culture (MUDEC/Museum of Culture) in Milan, Italy, while a wall dominated by red presents an illustration of Papua Island.

Through an opening corridor, in a room painted white, various artifacts connected with Papuan peoples daily activities were on display, such as hunting, cooking, farming, war, ritual and decorative equipment, including spears, daggers, shields, body accessories, bags and wall panels.

The exhibits can give visitors an insight into the aspects related to the daily routines of this ethnic group and the complex tradition observed by the community, Giorgia Barzetti, the museum curator, said.

Asmat carvings (MUDEC/File)

smat means people on earth, and the locals call themselves Asmat-Ow to distinguish themselves from spirits.

In the first collection, we wish to show the aspects of life of the Asmat tribe covering hunting, fishing and sago processing into starch as their main staple food. In the second we display the tools and articles used daily, from the implements for starch-making to accessories for decorating the body such as skirts, head gear, handbags, waistbands, bracelets, necklaces and nose ornaments, he added.

The second collection also includes original war and ritual equipment, including daggers, arrows and spears along with typical shields.

The weapons used by Asmat people arent just for the practical purposes of hunting and overcoming conflicts with other tribes, but also for rituals and sacred ceremonies, especially when carrying out head hunting, Barzetti said.

Legends and old literature indicate that in a tribal war, head hunting was practiced as a very important part of their cultural and spiritual life. The killing was seen to be direly needed because it determines the groups continuity and welfare having to do with the initiation and transition rite of a young man into adulthood. This also concerns cannibalism, in which the consumption of an enemys flesh is believed to transmit the victims vital force to the triumphant fighter to gain prestige, power and social status, Giorgia explained.

However, the harsh side of the ethnic group turns into a spectacle of beauty as visitors enter the next room. Red dominates again, with two totems depicting men in a mutual support position, each more than 4 meters high, one in the middle and the other at the end of the room, one vertically erected and the other horizontally laid.

There are also several sculptures in the form of boats complete with rowers. On the right of the room are musical instruments, drums made from wood and animal hide with carvings symbolizing spirits.

Tribal life: The wooden head statue symbolizes the Asmat peoples old head hunting tradition. (MUDEC/File)

Rather than just engaged in hunting, the Asmats also have their expression of divine veneration as obviously reflected in their works. Their art constitutes a profound combination and total balance between human activities and spiritual rites, as evident in the over 4-meter totems depicting the attempts of Asmat members to remain balanced and mutually sustaining in social life and in the ritual worshipping divine spirits, Barzetti said.

Asmat myth maintains that men were first born out of wood carved by the tribe founder, Fumeripitsj, who decided to carve several human figures from wood. He later crafted drums from tree trunks and lizard skin. Drum music seemingly infused soul into the figures, causing them to start dancing. This process is believed to have been the way the Asmat people came into being.

With the Fumeripitsj myth, the Asmat tradition has two basic aspects, statues and music. In this room, poles, sculptures, boats, horns, drums, and masks for the funeral ritual reflect the features and characteristics of Asmat culture.

A married couple, Mariangela Fardella and Giorgio Azzaroli, along with three collectors, Maurizio Leigheb, Roberto Fiore and Hans Jansen, take great pride that through their assiduity and love of the Asmat works, they were capable of organizing an exposition entitled Eravamo Cacciatori di Teste (We Were Head Hunters), at MUDEC, which opened on Sept. 26, 2017 and will run until July 8, 2018.

Mariangela Fardella and Giorgio Azzaroli (JP/Rieska Wulandari)

I highly admire the Asmat peoples principle of social and spiritual relationship. I have deep affection for their originality in living their life and for all their works. This exposition serves as our testimony to reveal our love of this ethnic group and we hope they wont cease to be immersed in their creative preoccupation, Mariangela said.

Cesare Galli, 60, an Italian photographer living in Novara city, at the opening function described the great importance of this exhibition and expressed his pride and pleasure to witness the display of Indonesian carvings in Milan.

I love Indonesia. I love its people and culture. I frequently visit this country. Seeing the collections here heals my longing for Indonesia, he said with a smile.

An Indonesian government representative, Agung FR, Director of the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in Milan, expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the arduous efforts of the collectors to present the cultural features of Indonesia in Italy.

Andi Sri Wahyuni Mandasini, an Indonesian who has lived in Italy for a decade, said it was the first time she had attended an exhibition of Asmat culture with such clarity and detail.

Im moved and at the same time ashamed, as some foreign citizens are so concerned and working hard to expose the culture of our community, and we even get acquainted through them. Its a good lesson for us Indonesians, she said.

Exotic: Tambur percussion instrument made of wood and reptile skin. (MUDEC/File)
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Linkedin P. J. Leo (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 09:11 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24f3d80 1 People mountaineering,mountain,Everest,climber,cancer,cancer-survivor Free

Mountain climber Muhammad Ogun Gunawan wants to make sure that before he passes away, his dream of conquering Mount Everest comes true.

As a member of Wanadri (Association of Mountain and Jungle Explorers), Ogun has always adhered to the communitys motto: There are no high mountains, dense jungles, steep valleys, deep seas and skies that Wanadri cannot explore.

Even after being diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, Ogun has remained enthusiastic and kept on fighting the disease that has entered its fourth stage by continuing his mountaineering activities and pursuing his dream to scale the peak of Mount Everest.

The cancer plaguing my body will be cured by maintaining a strong determination and high spirits instead of lamenting in sorrow, Ogun said.

Ogun, who was born in Jakarta in 1958, had his first taste of mountain climbing back in 1973 as a junior high school student.

His love of mountains and the environment grew even more after he joined Wanadri in 1981.

As a climber, his dream has always been to conquer Mount Everest, which he has climbed twice but not yet succeeded in reaching the summit.

Ogun was a member of the 1997 Indonesian Mount Everest Expedition along with the Special Force Command (Kopassus). Earlier in 1994, Ogun had also climbed the worlds highest mountain with the International Mountaineering Corporate Team.

In the 1994 Everest ascent, I only reached a height of 7,900 meters due to storms. None of us made it, Ogun said.

With Kopassus, I managed to reach 8,600 m, with only 200 m to go, but the dream failed again, he added with disappointment.

The idea of finally realizing the Everest dream came back to Ogun in January 2017, when he felt he could survive his nasopharyngeal cancer. For Ogun, reaching the peak of Everest would give his life meaning.

Rest and relax: Ogun and his fellow climbers take a break during a climb. (JP/P.J. Leo)

As a senior mountaineer already popular among nature lovers, Ogun has conducted expeditions in various parts of the world such as Mount Reinier in the United States, Indias Vasuki Parbat, Kilimanjaro in Africa and four mountains in Nepal: Kangchenjunga, Paldor, Pumori and Island Peak.

Ogun has also climbed Indonesian mountains including Papuas Puncak Jaya of Mount Jayawijaya, better known as Carstenz Pyramid, the highest summit in Indonesia. Carstenz Pyramid is also one of the seven highest peaks on the continental plates along with Mount Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Aconcagua (South America), McKinley (North America) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica).

However, in November 2015, Ogun had to temporarily halt his climbing when he began to suffer from double vision due to the trouble that occurred in his throat. Later on, his hearing began to deteriorate.

Iqbal, his close friend and a physician, suggested that Ogun consult a specialist for biopsy.

Alas, the diagnosis said that Ogun suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer.

The dangerous ailment affecting the nose and throat was already in its fourth and final stage as it began to spread to Oguns upper chest.

Cecilia Enny Yashita Aprijanti, or Vita, Oguns wife and also a mountaineer, tried to console her spouse and convince him to face the reality with optimism.

After 38 radiotherapy sessions and 11 chemotherapy sessions, his cancerous tissues were weakened although not yet totally destroyed, and his body weight had decreased by 20 kilograms.

It was a very long treatment process with a very high cost. Fortunately Ive got a healthcare and social security [BPJS] card, otherwise I dont know how my fate would turn out, Ogun said.

Always together: Ogun and his wife, Cecilia Yashita, hold hands during a climb. (JP/P.J. Leo)

In July 2016, Ogun had his last round of radiotherapy, which dispelled any doubts he had about getting back to nature at the end of his medical care.

Thus, Ogun returned to climbing by taking on several mountains, from the Bukit Hitam Kepahiang in Bengkulu, Sumatera to the settlements of the Badui Dalam tribes located in the rough hilly terrains of Banten in West Java.

My activity is for therapy and recovery, for my pursuit and religious devotion. I feel it is more of a spiritual journey, Ogun said.

Ogun simply refuses to give up and strives to fight his cancer, as shown in a book called Ogun, Cancer Survivor to Scale Worlds Peak, which is written by Zhibril, his junior in Wanadri.

Ogun has also drawn up his program to conquer Everest.

In 2017, Ogun began practicing for his big quest by conquering mountain peaks that are challenging but also lower than that of Everest, including Mounts Yala (5,520 m) and Nayakanga (5,844 m), both in Nepal, and Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in Russia.

From Sept. 27 to Oct. 19, Ogun, his wife and climbing peers will again go to Nepal to climb Mera Peak (6,476 m).

It is in kang (brother) Oguns agenda to scale the Everest summit in 2018, a year which will mark his 60th birthday. The Everest expedition is scheduled between April and May 2018, Handoko Latuconsina, a Wanadri junior who accompanied Ogun during his recent climb of Tebing Citatah 125 in Pandeglang, said.

Climbing Everest is very risky for Ogun due to his condition. The nasopharyngeal cancer affects his respiration capacity while the air at Everests summit is thin and cold. The main challenge for Ogun, therefore, is protecting himself from hypothermia and frostbite.

Ogun said that he was well aware of the risks but he was also ready to face them.

What well conquer is ourselves, whether were afraid or not, whether we go on or not. Thats the challenge, Ogun said.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Johannesburg, South Africa  Wed, October 18, 2017 19:38 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2515e37 2 Books sequel,books,#books,nelson-mandela,autobiography Free

The sequel to Nelson Mandela's celebrated autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" will be released on Thursday after his unfinished draft was completed by a South African writer, his foundation announced.

Titled "Dare not Linger", the book tells of Mandela's five years as president after the end of apartheid and the first multi-race elections in South Africa in 1994.

"Long Walk to Freedom", published shortly after the election, was a global best-seller, selling more than 14 million copies, and was turned into a film starring Idris Elba.

Mandela wrote 10 chapters of his follow-up memoir by hand on loose paper and in files between 1998 and 2002, when he stopped working on it due to his age and hectic schedule.

Mandla Langa completed the work using fresh interviews and research, as well as Mandela's own notes from when he was president.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation described the project as a "50/50" collaboration between Mandela, who died in 2013 aged 95, and his co-author.

The book's title is taken from the final sentence of Mandela's first autobiography, when he wrote that "with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended".

Read also: Mandela book withdrawn after outrage from widow

'A hands-on leader'

Mandela's widow Graca Machel, wrote in a prologue to the new book that he struggled to complete it due to "demands the world placed on him, distractions of many kinds and his advancing years".

"Through the last years of his life he talked about it often -- worried about work started but not finished," she said.

Mandela served one term as president of South Africa before stepping down. He retired from public life in 2004.

Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the book would "fundamentally shift perceptions" about the anti-apartheid hero's time in power.

"What emerges is... a hands-on leader who, in relation to aspects of his government such as the security establishment, was a bit of a micromanager," Harris said.

"He was a politician's politician; he knew how to get the best out of people."

Publisher Pan Macmillan described it as a "vivid and inspirational account of Mandela's presidency, a country in flux and the creation of a new democracy".

The book was launched at Mandela's former personal office in Johannesburg on Tuesday and is released worldwide on Thursday.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) London  Wed, October 18, 2017 12:31 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24ff639 2 Lifestyle Prince-William,Kate-Middleton,baby,children,Kensington-Palace Free

Prince William and his wife Kate are expecting their third baby in April, Kensington Palace announced on Tuesday.

The couple -- the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- were "delighted" to confirm the month their child is due to be born, a brief statement said.

Kensington Palace announced Kate's pregnancy last month, after she was forced to cancel an engagement because of extreme morning sickness.

The duchess has continued to suffer from the condition, but made a surprise appearance at a royal engagement on Monday.

Read also: Prince William said it took 20 years before he could talk openly about Princess Diana's death

She is due to visit Norway and Sweden with William on an official visit early in 2018.

The couple already have two children: Prince George, born in 2013, and Princess Charlotte, aged two.

Both were born at St Mary's Hospital in London, where William was delivered in 1982.
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 15:58 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a250c780 1 Politics 1965-mass-killing,Sukarno,PKI Free

Newly declassified US government files have revealed that the Indonesian Army planned to overthrow Sukarno after failing to convince him that the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was behind the failed coup attempt against him.

The documents, made public on Tuesday after a declassification review that started under Barack Obamas administration, has shown that US diplomats at the Jakarta Embassy had details and ongoing knowledge of the political upheaval that swept through Indonesia at the height of the cold war in 1965.

In a telegram dated Oct. 12, 1965 sent by US ambassador to Indonesia Marshall Green to US Secretary of State, Green reported a conversation with the German Ambassador to Indonesia, who revealed a possibility of the Army deposing Soekarno, who was then known as an anti-Western figure close to communist regimes.

The Armys representative was said to have approached the German ambassador after Sukarno refused to read papers demonstrating the evidence of PKI complicity in Sept. 30 movement presented by the Army, referring to the failed coup attempt that took the lives of six Army officers.

[The Indonesian] Army is now considering possibility of overthrowing Sukarno himself and is approaching several Western Embassies to let them know that such a move is possible, the telegram read.

The Army representative, however, emphasized that the Army was still considering and had yet to come to a decision about deposing Soekarno. If it was done, it would be through a sudden move without warning and Sukarno would then be replaced by a combined civilian-military junta, the telegram said, quoting the statement of the Armys representative. (ahw)
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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 18:00 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2513ac9 1 Politics corruption,BPK,KPK Free

Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) auditors Rochmadi Saptogiri and Ali Sadli stood trial at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribes amounting to Rp 240 million (US$17,010) from Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry officials.

In addition to corruption, both auditors were charged with money laundering.

Rochmadi allegedly laundered a total of Rp 3.5 billion, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) prosecutor Takdir Suhan told the court. He added Ali had concealed Rp 10.5 billion and US$80,000 through the purchase of various assets, including houses and luxury cars.

The KPK named Rochmadi and Ali, along with two ministry officials Sugito and Jarot Budi Prabowo, suspects in the bribery case pertaining to an effort to obtain an unqualified opinion -- the highest audit level -- for the ministrys 2016 budget report.

The trial for Sugito and Jarot had already been held, with the two defendants reading their defense plea in the Jakarta Corruption Court on Wednesday. (ahw)

Topics : corruption BPK KPK
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Linkedin Maya Gebeily (Agence France-Presse) Raqa, Syria  Wed, October 18, 2017 23:03 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2519c7b 2 World IS,Syria,war,defeated Free

US-backed forces combed the ruins of Raqa for survivors and bombs Wednesday, after retaking the Syrian city from Islamic State group jihadists and dealing their dreams of statehood a fatal blow.

A lightning final assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday saw jihadist defences collapse faster than expected and the SDF claim a landmark victory in the three-year fight against IS.

SDF fighters flushed jihadist holdouts from Raqa's main hospital and municipal stadium, wrapping up a more than four-month offensive against what used to be the inner sanctum of IS's self-proclaimed "caliphate".

On Wednesday, SDF forces fired into the air and danced the traditional Middle Eastern dabke to music blasting into the otherwise eerie silence of the city.

Inside the stadium, the militia's flag was raised, as bulldozers worked to clear ground of explosives that IS has strewn throughout the city.

Many roads were still closed off, and access to the hospital was blocked while fighters worked to clear it.

Teams of SDF fighters were deployed across the rubble-strewn streets to look for unexploded ordnance and booby traps left behind by the jihadists.

"They are making sure there are no more sleeper cells" in Raqa, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali told AFP.

"Mine-clearing operations and the re-opening of the city are under way," Bali said, adding that his organisation would only formally announce the liberation of the city once they are completed.

The SDF and the Kurdish intelligence services issued clear instructions forbidding the tens of thousands of displaced families from attempting to return to their homes.

City unsafe

"We urge our people... who fled IS rule not to return to the city for their own security until it is rid of terrorist explosives," the Kurdish internal security services said in a statement.

The loss of Raqa left IS ruling over a rump "caliphate" straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border and covering a fraction of the territory it held when it declared its "state" in July 2014.

The US-led coalition supporting anti-IS forces in Iraq and Syria said on Tuesday that the jihadists had lost 87 percent of the territory they had three years ago.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands at a position overlooking the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa on Oct. 18, 2017. The SDF fighters flushed jihadist holdouts from Raqa's main hospital and municipal stadium, wrapping up a more than four-month offensive against what used to be the inner sanctum of IS's self-proclaimed (Agence France-Presse/Bulent Kilic)

Brett McGurk, the White House's envoy to the multinational coalition, said on social media that IS had lost 6,000 fighters in Raqa and described the organisation as "pathetic and a lost cause."

Raqa was one of the most emblematic IS bastions, at the heart of both its military operations and its propaganda.

Several of the most high-profile attacks IS claimed in the West -- such as the 2015 massacres in Paris -- are believed to have been at least partly masterminded from Raqa, earning the city the nickname of "terror central".

Raqa also featured heavily in the propaganda videos -- from public beheadings to trainings -- which IS used to instill fear among the caliphate's residents and appeal to new recruits globally.

Fate of IS fighters unclear

The breakthrough in the months-old operation to retake Raqa came last week when a local deal was struck for the safe exit of several thousand civilians who had been used as human shields by IS and for the surrender of Syrian jihadists.

It had been believed that up to 400 mostly foreign IS fighters remained in the city, prepared for a bloody last stand in their final redoubts.

Yet the sequence that followed the announcement on Sunday of the operation's final phase gives few clues as to their fate.

"Some surrendered, others died," Talal Sello, another SDF spokesman said, without elaborating further or providing figures.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor relying on an extensive network of sources across Syria, said most of the foreign fighters surrendered and were being held by Western intelligence services.

"They are not visible because intelligence services are detaining them," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "French and Belgian jihadists are definitely being held by intelligence."

Supporters and fighters of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) drive in the street in Qamishli waving flags as they celebrate after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced they had taken full control of Raqa from the Islamic State (IS) group on Oct. 17, 2017. The SDF is made up of Kurds, Arab Muslims and Christians who have joined forces to battle IS. (Agence France-Presse/DELIL SOULEIMAN )

It was not immediately possible to corroborate his claim.

Colonel Ryan Dillon, the US-led coalition's spokesman, only spoke of four confirmed cases of foreign IS fighters surrendering and stressed that they were in SDF custody.

"We as the coalition do not hold or control any of these detainees," he said, adding that the SDF may make separate arrangements with the detained jihadists' countries of origin for some of them to be handed over and prosecuted.

Topics : IS Syria war defeated
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Depok  Wed, October 18, 2017 17:25 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a25103ca 1 City #Depok,#message,#thief,#goatthief Free

A thief left a message for their victim, Aming, after the former stole 12 goats from a pen in Rangkalan Jaya Baru, Pancoran Mas, Depok, West Java.

Please take care of the young goats. Once they are adults, I will take them too, the message said as conveyed by Pancoran Mas Police chief Comr. Rudi Wowor to kompas.com on Wednesday.

The thief apparently butchered the goats on site on Tuesday evening and left their innards inside the pen, he added.

Aming suffered materials losses of Rp 20 million (US$ 1,480).

Rudi said Depok had come across several similar incidents. He added that before the Rangkalan Jaya Baru case, the police uncovered a similar case in Sawangan and Bulak Timur.

Despite the many cases, Rudi added, few residents reported them to the police and, hence, the police found it difficult to start an investigation.

There have been cases where animals were stolen but the residents just let them go. They seem to not be bothered with that. We cannot force them to report the incidents, he added. However, we will not stay silent. We will question relevant parties to investigate the case.
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 11:55 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24fe237 2 Business maritime-highway,routes,budget,private-sector Free

The government plans to open next year two new routes in its maritime highway program, the Transportation Ministrys inspector general, Wahju Satrio Utomo, has said.

The additional routes will add to the 13 routes that are currently operational.

Speaking on the sidelines of a national coordination meeting on the program on Tuesday, Wahju said the ministry was gathering recommendations from regional administrations as well as private seaport operators on where to open the new routes.

We hope the private sector can play a more active role in the maritime highway program, he said.

The Transportation Ministry had proposed to allocate up to Rp 447 billion (US$33.1 million) for the program in the 2018 proposed state budget, said Wahju.

When approved, the figure would be 33.4 percent higher than the budget for the program this year.

During the two-day meeting, officials and operators also evaluated existing routes.

If commercial shipping lines already entered the routes, we might not need to support it, Wahju said.

State-owned port operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (PT Pelni) currently serves seven routes, while private operators run the remaining six.

With better inter-island connectivity provided by the program, the government aims to lower the disparity between the prices of goods among regions across the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, particularly in the eastern part where infrastructure is underdeveloped. (lnd)
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Linkedin Yeh Su-ping and Isabel Wang (The China Post) Taipei  Wed, October 18, 2017 17:52 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a251168d 2 World #Taiwan,#Indonesia,#MUI,#ulema,#bilateral Free

Vice President Chen Chien-jen said Tuesday that Indonesia tops the list of Taiwans New Southbound Policy target countries and that the government values the relations between the two sides.

Chen made the statement during a meeting with a group of visiting Islamic scholars from the Indonesian Ulema Council at the Presidential Office.

Chen noted that over 250,000 Indonesian laborers are working in Taiwan, around 30,000 Indonesian spouses live here, and more than 5,000 students from Indonesia are studying here.

At the same time, approximately 200,000 Taiwanese tourists and businessmen travel to Indonesia each year, he added.

In addition, owing to the fact that Indonesia has the worlds largest Muslim population, the Taiwan government is making efforts to work with local enterprises to build a Muslim-friendly tourism environment, by setting up Halal restaurants and Muslim prayer rooms around the country.

Chen encouraged more Muslim people to visit Taiwan and expressed hope for more cooperation between the two countries in the future.

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This article appeared on The China Post newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Depok  Wed, October 18, 2017 12:00 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24feb6a 1 City #suicide,#SexAssault,#Depok Free

A defendant in a child sex abuse case, Suhaimi Rinaldi, 40, was found dead from an apparent suicide inside his cell at Depok Penitentiary, West Java, on Tuesday afternoon.

His body was found hanged on a clothesline, by an officer who had come to pick him up for his trial, said Depok Penitentiary head warden Sohibur Rachman.

Suhaimi had been detained at the penitentiary for a month as he was accused of molesting a child. According to his cellmate, Susanto, 23, Suhaimi had tried to commit suicide several times. At one occasion, Suhaimi drank soap water, he said.

Sukmajaya Police precinct chief Comr. I Gusti Ngurah Bronet Ranapati said investigators are currently treating the incident as a suicide.

"No traces of violence was found on the victim's body. He likely hanged himself when his roommate was not aware," Bronet said as quoted by kompas.com.

Police are still questioning Susanto as they continue their investigation.

Suhaimi's body has been taken to the National Police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, to undergo an autopsy. (yon)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura  Wed, October 18 2017

The Papua Police have asked for extra personnel from the National Police headquarters to beef up security in the regions easternmost province during regional elections next year.

Papuas provincial administration and seven regencies are among 171 regions holding elections.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 08:02 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a24f3052 1 Politics jusuf-kalla,anticorruption,National-Police,AGO,KPK,law-enforcement Free

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Tuesday that the National Police should not establish an anticorruption squad, as the force has proposed to lawmakers.

Kalla said the country should focus on optimizing the performance of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as well as the existing anticorruption units at the police and the Attorney General's Office (AGO).

"[With] the KPK, it is enough. In fact, the police already have authority [to handle corruption cases]. That doesn't mean they need a new team to execute such responsibilities. [We] should focus on the KPK and support it," Kalla said at his office on Tuesday as quoted by antaranews.com.

Cast your vote: Vice President Jusuf Kalla, accompanied by National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, arrives at polling station TPS 3 Pulo in Kebayoran Baru to vote in the Feb. 15 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)

The plan to establish such a squad has been fully supported by the House of Representatives.

The National Police have proposed a Rp 2.6 trillion (US$192 million) allocation from the state budget to establish the squad.

Read also: Watchdogs cautiously welcome polices plan for antigraft squad

Around Rp 768 billion would be for the wages of 3,560 personnel, Rp 359 billion for investigation tasks and Rp 1.55 trillion for equipment and facilities.

The police's plan sparked concern from the public as it seemed to be part of a "political agenda" to undermine the KPK.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian (left) and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) head Agus Rahardjo prepare to deliver a press conference on Monday at KPK headquarters in South Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama)

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said he wanted the squad to have the same authority as the KPK. The antigraft body currently has both investigative and prosecutorial powers, while the police can only conduct investigations, prosecutions must be left to the AGO.

Tito said he would elaborate on the plan to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. (foy/bbs)
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Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 13:45 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a250401f 1 National aceh,Muhammadiyah,mosque Free

Indonesias second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah has urged Aceh authorities to track down and arrest the persons responsible for an arson attack on one of its mosques in the province.

An unidentified crowd set ablaze on Tuesday evening the At Taqwa Mosque  which was under construction  in Sangso village, Bireun regency, in an assault the organization said had tainted tolerance in Aceh.

Whoever burnt our mosque [in Bireun] are simply intolerant individuals, former Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Din said that he was informed about the incident by the leadership of Muhammadiyahs Aceh office in the early hours of Wednesday.

Rejection of the mosques construction emerged three years ago when plans for it was first revealed.

Din said that the organization even received threats as it proceeded with the construction plan.

But Muhammadiyah officials made sure they had fulfilled all the legal requirements to build the mosque, he added.

It remains unclear who was behind the arson attack.

We have reported the incident to the police and hope that they can soon track down the individuals who burned down the mosque. (ahw)

Topics : aceh Muhammadiyah mosque
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 17:57 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2512f98 1 Politics Muhammadiyah,PKI,1965-mass-killing,USfiles Free

Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in the country, has played down newly declassified US diplomatic cables that indicate the organization's involvement in the mass killing of members and alleged sympathizers of the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965.

Among some 30,000 pages of files from the US embassy in Jakarta  declassified on Tuesday  it was revealed that Nahdlatul Ulama, its youth wing Ansor and Muhammadiyah organized the executions under the direction of the Army.

According to the documents, the Muslim organizations assisted in the killings that occurred in many parts of the country, including in East Java, Medan, South Sumatra and Makassar. The Army was also said to have recruited Catholics to help with its mass killing campaign in Central Java.

A Dec. 6, 1965 cable from the US Consulate in Medan to the US Embassy in Jakarta reported that preachers in Muhammadiyah mosques were telling congregations that all who consciously joined the PKI must be killed, saying they are classified as the lowest order of infidel, the shedding of whose blood is comparable to killing chicken.

This appears to give Muhammadiah Muslims wide license for killing. Policy of reformist Muhammadiah very similar to Final Interpretation issues by conservative NU, suggesting Muslim opinion here practically unanimous on disposal of PKI members, the cable said.

Muhammadiyah secretary-general Abdul Mu'ti said the US files should be further verified to ensure their reliability. He added that even if it was true that Muhammadiyah preachers called for the killing of PKI members, "personal statements could not be considered as the stance of the organization."

A Dec. 21, 1965 cable from the embassys first secretary Mary Vance Trent to the US state department noted that at least 100,000 people had been killed as a result of anti-PKI violence, with some 10,000 killings in Bali by mid-December. The killings continued for several more months, resulting in an estimated 80,000 dead there. (ahw)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru  Wed, October 18 2017

The National Police have handed the dossier on hate speech suspect M. Abdullah Harsono over to the Pekanbaru Prosecutors Office.

Abdullah is the founder of the Saracen group, an online syndicate the police claimed had offered the service of spreading hate speech and creating hoaxes for money.

The suspect will be detained for the next 20 days, Yusuf Ibrahim, head of the general crime unit at the prosecutors office, said on Tuesday. We are now talking with the court to schedule his trial. I hope it can be held soon.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Japan News/ANN) Hiroshima  Wed, October 18, 2017 21:45 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a25189ca 2 World #Japan,#Media,#newspaper,#convention,#FakeNews,#Hoax Free

Amid the continuing dissemination of inaccurate and distorted information, the 70th National Newspaper Convention adopted a resolution pledging that newspapers will contribute to people living safely and with peace of mind, and aim to realise a free and peaceful society, through free speech and a free press.

The resolution also called for a reduced tax rate to be applied to newspapers when the consumption tax rate hike is implemented.

The convention was hosted by the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association.

Prior to the adoption of the resolution, association Chairman Kojiro Shiraishi, who also is chairman of the board of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, talked about the increasing number of people who do not read newspapers.

Its important to encourage such people to pick up the newspaper and help them feel an affinity for it, Shiraishi said.

He stressed the importance of such activities as Newspapers in Education (NIE) programmes.

Panelists at a round-table discussion spoke on the theme of Various problems the newspaper industry faces  fighting the fake. One panelist said, The most effective measure is to pursue journalism based on first-hand reporting.

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This article appeared on The Japan News newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 17:42 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a25113e1 1 City #Philippine,#suicide,#Jakarta Free

The woman who committed suicide at Blok M Square Mall, South Jakarta, had been a lecturer from the Philippines, the police said.

Kebayoran Baru Police said they have been in touch with the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta about the incident. The women has been identified as Lorena C Binay-an, 39.

"From a card carried by her, it was found that she had been a lecturer at Isabela State University in the Philippines and this was confirmed by an embassy official who visited the scene, said Comr. Subowo, the polices criminal unit head, as quoted by Kompas.com on Wednesday.

The police said she had been a tourist who stayed at Wisma Delima on Jl Jaksa, Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The embassy doesnt know her home address yet and is currently coordinating with the Philippines Foreign Affair Ministry [on the case], Subowo added.

Lorena jumped to her death from the malls fifth floor on Monday evening.

Before the suicide, she left her bag near a snack kiosk on the fifth floor. The owner told the police that the woman had walked back and forth aimlessly in front of the kiosk before jumping. (agn)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 16:07 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a250d745 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Gorontalo Free

Gorontalo province is home to many interesting destinations, such as the Bongo village, a destination for religious tourism located in Batudaa Pantai district.

This place is known for its Tomini Bay and Walima event (Maulid Nabi Muhammad SAW celebration).

On Oct. 16, the tourist destination welcomed representatives from 10 foreign countries who are part of Foreign Ministry Senior Diplomatic School (Sesparlu), which include Myanmar, Australia, Mexico, China and Brazil.

Read also: Exploring Sumba Island's natural and cultural riches

We choose places that have traditional values that we can introduce to the world, said Foreign Ministrys Sesparlu director Odo R.M. Manuhutu.

Odo hoped that traditional places like Bongo Village could be preserved as a tourist attraction.

Representative from Mexico, Eduardo Nino Avalos, was happy to come to Gorontalo, The people here are friendly and welcoming, he said during his speech at the IKM Expo in Maqna Hotel, Gorontalo. (kes)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 15:10 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2509b0b 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,tourism-promotion,United-Arab-Emirates Free

Prior to the Tourism Ministrys Sales Mission events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Oct. 18-19, the ministry together with the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, Visit Indonesia Tourism Officer (VITO) Middle East and other related parties held a meeting discussing the marketing strategy for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market.

After landing in Dubai on Monday night, the group will be divided into two. Im in charge of monitoring the preparation in Abu Dhabi, whilst VITO Middle East is in charge of Dubai, said the Sales Mission team head, Rita Sofia.

This years target of attracting foreign tourists is up by 25 percent from last year, from 12 million to 15 million, she said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and VITO Middle East are the governments representatives whose job is to learn about the potential market in the UAE that consists of 1.8 million local residents and 7.2 million expatriates.

Read also: Outliving the walking dead in Dubai

Eighty percent of the people who live in the UAE region are expatriates with most of them are from India.

This is the third Sales Mission being held in UAE this year. The previous two events were for the fasting period and Arabian Travel Mart.

The latest Sales Mission will be joined by six travel companies that are ready to sell tourist destinations in Indonesia such as Lombok, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta and Komodo Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Jakarta is a popular destination since its a metropolitan city, Lombok is attractive as halal and marine tourisms, Bali is the worlds best destination and was once visited by the King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Bandung is a popular destination for shopping, whilst Komodo is currently happening in the Middle East, said the ministry's deputy minister for overseas promotion, I Gde Pitana.

Komodo Island's popularity among the Middle Eastern people can be seen from the Komodo Island video on YouTube that has been viewed by 10,549,579 people with the majority were from the Middle East. (kes)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 14:01 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2505283 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,West-Java,paddy-field Free

Majalengka regency in West Java is set to host the annual Guar Bumi Ciparay Majalengka traditional ritual on Oct. 29 at the plaza of Ciparay Village, Leuwimunding district.

The event is said to be supported by the Tourism Ministry, It is held annually, right before the beginning of planting-rice season and rainy season. For this year, the event will have plenty of interesting activities that are expected to attract domestic and foreign tourists, said the ministry's archipelago marketing development deputy, Esthy Reko Astuti.

The ritual is actually a self-reflection moment among the locals that all humans are from Earth and we all live on Earth. It is also a ritual to pray for a fruitful harvest season.

Read also: Dutch expertise contributes to promising future for heritage railways

The upcoming event will feature supporting events such as Dongdang and Spear Carnival, Bebegig (scarecrow) Carnival, topeng dance, sampyong genjring dance, calung music performance, Langen Budaya traditional puppets performance by Ki Dalang H.Rusdi, Tausiya Kebudayaan with KH Maman Imanulhaq for seven nights, culinary and handicraft exhibitions and a tour of visiting historic sites.

Prior to the event, several community figures together with village heads will conduct the ritual first. They will chant prayers and exchange traditional dishes such as ketupat (rice cones) and lepet.

Tumpeng nasi kuning (cone-shaped yellow rice) and grilled chicken are also going to be served there, these dishes will be put outside the locals front doors as a symbol of asking for blessings and permission for farmers to do activities in the middle of rainy season, said the ministry's head of Cultural Promotion Wawan Gunawan. (kes)
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Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Wed, October 18, 2017 13:08 1854 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2501b67 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,economy,tourism-promotion Free

Tourism is said to be the new star of Indonesia's economy based on the Tourism Ministry's recent three-year performance report announced on Oct. 17.

Tourism offers the cheapest and easiest employment and contributes to the nations GDP and foreign exchange, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

Arief said the number of foreign tourists coming to the country has been increasing for the past three years, According to the January to August data for this year, the number is up by 25.68 percent, said Arief.

Compared to the ASEAN growth rate that is at seven percent, the number is 3.5 times higher and four times higher than the global growth rate that is at 6.4 percent.

Back in 2014 Indonesia welcomed 9.3 million foreign tourists. In 2015 the number went up to 10.4 million people, then in 2016 the number reached 12 million people and up until August this year the number has reached 9.2 million people.

Read also: Indonesia eyes title at Miss Grand International 2017

Meanwhile, the number of domestic tourists is also increasing. In August this year, the number has reached 200 million tourists, higher than the original target of 180.5 million visitors.

Last year the number was 264 million domestic tourists, above the original target of 260 million and in 2015 the number was 256 millions, slightly higher than the original target of 255 million people.

The tourism sector is aiming for 20 million tourists by 2019.

Arief also mentioned about Indonesian tourisms competitiveness index that was at the 70th spot back in 2013, then went up to the 50th spot in 2015 and is currently at the 42nd spot.

This is due to our efforts in strengthening the Wonderful Indonesia brand and improving the 14 pillars by Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index [TTCI] and World Economic Forum, he explained.

In 2016, we took home 46 international awards from 22 countries. For this year, so far weve already won 22 awards from 10 countries, he added.

Winning all these awards is said to be important for the tourisms calibration, confidence and credibility.

Read also: Six glamping sites in Indonesia for adventure seekers

Winning an award increases the peoples confidence [] It is also to see whether the work that weve been doing is on the right path and to know of our position in the global scale, Arief said.

Regarding credibility, these awards can become an effective marketing tool as well.

The minister moreover said that the future of tourism looks good especially since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has continued to show his commitment to improve the tourism sector in Indonesia.

The President has appointed tourism as a leading sector and the nations main economic source and officiated the 10 New Priority Destinations, also known as 10 New Balis, comprising Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Tanjung Kelayang in Bangka Belitung, Tanjung Lesung in Banten, Thousand Islands in DKI Jakarta, Borobudur in Joglosemar, Bromo  Tengger  Semeru in East Java, Mandalika in Lombok, Komodo and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi and Morotai in North Maluku.

Jokowi himself has visited most of these places such as Raja Ampat, Morotai, Labuan Bajo, Larantuka, Mandalika, Borobudur, Tanjung Lesung and Lake Toba.

He also attended several carnivals held in different cities in Indonesia such as Equator Carnival 2015 in Pontianak, Lake Toba Charm 2016 in North Sumatra and Bandung Parahyangan Carnival in 2017. (kes)
Agudath Israel of America has commended U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for issuing a Memorandum clarifying and enhancing religious liberty protections in federal law.

The Attorney General issued the Memorandum on October 6, 2017 in response to an Executive Order from President Trump. As October 6 coincided with Succos, Agudath Israel was not able to respond to it immediately, but wanted to take the first opportunity to thank the Attorney General for this important contribution.

In a letter, authored by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel, the Orthodox organization thanked the Attorney General for producing a legal document that staunchly defends the rights of individuals and organizations to receive accommodation for their religious beliefs and observances. It emphasizes the prohibitions in federal law against discrimination against individuals and organizations based on their religious beliefs and observances, and also clarifies the rights of religious organizations to receive government benefits within constitutional bounds.

The Agudah letter concludes that as an organization that represents and advocates for the interests of the Orthodox Jewish community in the United States, and for religious liberty for all Americans, Agudath Israel greatly appreciates your work in producing this landmark MemorandumOur representatives across the country willsurely make good use of it in their advocacy efforts on behalf of the community.

Click here to view the letter.
In a matter of days, Wisconsins Republican Senate primary has accelerated into a battle over whos most likely to support President Donald Trumps agenda and upend GOP leadership in Congress.

At the center: Steve Bannon, who helped lead Trump to the White House and has now vowed to lead a nationalist insurgency in the Republican Party and defeat establishment GOP senators.

On Monday a super PAC backed by Bannon announced its support for Kevin Nicholson, a Delafield businessman and former Democrat. Two days later, Bannons far-right Breitbart online publication attacked Nicholsons opponent in the GOP senate primary, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, saying she was not being truthful when describing a meeting she had with Bannon. The winner takes on incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison.

The developments this week revealed that Bannons war on the Republican establishment is reaching into Wisconsin.

The immediate issue that has emerged is the candidates views on whether to retain Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Nicholson said Tuesday he has made it clear hes prepared to support new leadership because of the Senates failure to pass a conservative agenda. Chief among those failures are the unsuccessful attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Vukmir isnt saying, and she told the Associated Press this week that McConnells leadership never came up in a private meeting she had with Bannon.

That led to a Wednesday article on Breitbart that said, Vukmirs story is not entirely true. It claimed Bannons associates asked Vukmir if she would support McConnell and she wouldnt answer.

Also Wednesday, the tea party group FreedomWorks endorsed Nicholson, citing his opposition to McConnell.

Vukmir, assistant majority leader of the Wisconsin Senate, is one of the most conservative members of the Wisconsin Legislature, where she has served since 2002. She said the attacks wont resonate with Republican primary voters in Wisconsin.

Its going to be news to Madison liberals that Leah Vukmir is anything other than the strong conservative fighter they say she is, Vukmir spokeswoman Jess Ward said in a statement Wednesday.

Regarding who should lead Senate Republicans, Ward said Vukmir will back whomever can be most effective at accomplishing the goal of moving the presidents agenda forward.

Leah is not focused on hypothetical leadership races a year from now, Ward said.

Nicholson is a Marine Corps veteran and a political newcomer. Nicholsons campaign did not comment on the Breitbart article.

A third Republican, Madison businessman Eric Hovde, also is weighing a U.S. Senate run.

The Breitbart article also attacks Vukmir for supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in last years presidential primary. Nicholson has said he voted for Trump in the primary.

Vukmir has touted her record of working with Gov. Scott Walker in the state Legislature, calling herself a proven conservative fighter. She has contrasted her record with that of Nicholson, a former president of the College Democrats of America who has said he became a Republican while serving in the Iraq war.

Also Wednesday, Vukmirs campaign noted nearly three-fourths of contributions to her campaign in its first three weeks, through the most recent reporting deadline, were from Wisconsin donors.

Im proud that my campaign is being funded by Wisconsin conservatives, not out-of-state special interests, Vukmir said.

Brian Fraley, a Wisconsin Republican political consultant who is not supporting any candidate in the Senate race, said Vukmirs record leaves no doubt about her staunch conservatism.

When you think of establishment Republicans who go along to get along, Leah Vukmir does not fit that mold, he said.

Fraley, who has opposed Trump, said hes skeptical Bannon and his allies will have much sway in Wisconsins U.S. Senate race. Attacks like those published by Breitbart are more about raising money from national donors than about impacting what happens on the ground in Wisconsin, Fraley said.

These nationally driven narratives just dont play at the grassroots level, Fraley said.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Brad Bainum, meanwhile, noted in a statement that Illinois billionaire businessman Richard Uihlein has contributed to FreedomWorks, Great America PAC and Solutions for Wisconsin, a pro-Nicholson super PAC.

Its honestly a bit embarrassing how efficiently Kevin Nicholson has sold out to all manner of out-of-state, corporate special interest groups, Bainum said.

Breitbarts attacks on Vukmir are more about raising money from national donors than about impacting what happens on the ground in Wisconsin. Brian Fraley, GOP political consultant
As the Dane County Board prepares to debate a $76 million jail renovation, this much is clear: The aging cell blocks at the City-County Building  some used to hold mentally ill offenders in solitary confinement  need to go.

The narrow cells, just 6 feet by 9 feet with one tiny window facing a hallway, can make the condition and behavior of unstable people worse than when they were arrested in the first place.

To his credit, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney has advocated for modern facilities on moral, legal and public safety grounds for years. The 1954-vintage cell blocks at the City-County Building are badly outdated, cruel and even dangerous.

Former Dane County Sheriff Rick Raemisch has similarly called lengthy stays in solitary confinement unethical and counterproductive. Having led Wisconsins prison system before being put in charge of Colorados, Raemisch wrote a column in the New York Times last week highlighting his agencys success at ending long-term segregation.

Inmates held for weeks in small, solitary rooms are more likely to reoffend, Raemish noted, citing research. And thats a direct threat to public safety because the vast majority of offenders are eventually released.

Dane Countys $76 million jail renovation project would close the dated top two floors of cells at the City-County Building in Downtown Madison and add four floors of modern facilities to the nearby and existing Public Safety Building, 115 W. Doty St. County Executive Joe Parisi has included the building plan in his county budget, with a public hearing tonight at 7 p.m. at the City-County Building.

The dramatically improved jail would include 64 mental health beds and 128 medical beds to avoid confining mentally ill or injured inmates in tiny segregation cells. The expanded jail also would offer more programming to help offenders find jobs and housing when released, as well as treatment for substance abuse and mental illness.

Most of the inmates at the renovated and expanded Public Safety Building would be held in 60-person pods centered around a larger common area where deputies would have an easier time monitoring and engaging with the jail population.

Some inmates could still be separated from their peers. But not for long periods in tight, stark spaces.

Overall, the number of jail beds would fall by 91 to 922, which reflects greater use of electronic monitoring and alternatives to incarceration. Wed like to hear more discussion about future law enforcement needs in fast-growing Dane County. About 785 inmates were held in county jail facilities Tuesday, according to the sheriffs office. That includes 12 men and four women in 24 segregation cells at the City-County Building, which would be closed under the jail renovation plan.

Doing away with these aging cells that too often exacerbate bad behavior should be the top priority of any jail project.
Holden is bringing General Motor's OnStar connectivity service to Australia in 2019.

The Holden Equinox will be the first vehicle to utilise the technology in Australia, with all other Holden models to follow suit.

OnStar provides push-button connectivity to an operator for emergency and general enquiries, as well as automatic emergency SOS distress signal and connection to a qualified emergency services operator in the event of an accident.

Holden vehicles will be equipped with a blue button for general enquiries and a red button for emergency calls.

The service can't be added retrospectively, which means customers interested in the new service will need to purchase a new vehicle.

GM has offered the service for over 21 years in the US and currently has over 13 million subscribed users across North America, China and Europe. The service receives on average 245,000 calls a day, or three calls every second and prides itself on having local call centres.

Holden Australia will head a new Asia Pacific hub for the service, with the brand looking to expand its Port melbourne headquarters to accommodate an addition 30-40 staff, with an eye on expanding up to 90 when OnStar is 'fully established'.

OnStar features Holden will receive include automatic crash response, 24/7 emergency services, stolen vehicle assistance, vehicle diagnostics, mobile app connectivity, fleet telematics, remote unlocking and in-vehicle 4G Wi-Fi hotpots.

Features such as 'stolen vehicle assist' allow OnStar staff to remotely bring stolen vehicles to a crawl and lock the ignition. A new MyHolden mobile phone app (Apple and Android compatible) will provide car servicing information, driving habits and connectivity with features such as the ability to give a temporary virtual car key to another user. In the US, customers with stolen assist function can also reduce insurance premiums.

Holden is yet to confirm how much the service will cost, but in the US OnStar is offered in three different grades ranging from $20 to $35 per month after a three month free introductory offer. Data packs for the Telstra supplied 4G Wi-Fi hotspot will be available at an additional monthly cost.

MORE: Holden News and Reviews
When MG Rover went belly-up in 2005, one of the things that disappeared with it was the magnificently brutish MG XPower SV. It was a big-hitting carbon-fibre-bodied coupe whose options list included no less than six engines, with power ranging from 239kW to an astonishing nitrous-boosted 700kW.

However, while the wreckage of MG itself was boxed up and shipped to its new owners in China, Nanjing Automobile Group, the rights to the MG XPower brand were snapped up by British ex-racer William Riley in 2008. Now, under the stewardship of Riley, the SV has been reborn with a few notable additions - and one significant deletion.

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the SV (or more correctly, the MG XPower SV-S William Riley Convertible) is without roof, instead sporting a simple manually-operated cloth soft top and 12kg of additional chassis reinforcements to limit flex. A removable hard top also comes with each car for when less weight and more protection is required - or if you just think ragtops are for girls.

But you'd be a fool to mistake this as being anything but a brawny, masculine car. With a 5-litre Roush-supercharged V8 delivering a 0-100kph sprint time of just 3.8 seconds, the SV-S WRC is no lightweight. Even the non-supercharged version is neck-snappingly quick, with 313kW blasting the lightweight convertible to 100kph in a very impressive 4.6 seconds.

However, for those who prefer posing and cruising to dragging and drifting, there's also a far less complex (and thus cheaper) fibreglass-bodied model equipped with a 3.5-litre Ford V6 on the way, which will be available as both a convertible and a coupe.

Costing around A40,000, MG XPower expects to sell some 700 of the povvo-pack SV's during the first year of production, with sales increasing to 2000 the year after. A tad optimistic? Definitely, but considering the full-fat supercharged flagship will cost somewhere in the region of A87,000 when it launches next year, there's a good chance the base model will find more favour amongst buyers who lack the coin - and the cojones - demanded by the SV-S.

[Auto Express]
Holden to feel the pressure from GM head office to boost sales post factory closure.

As the Lion brand prepares to close its Elizabeth production plant in Adelaide on October 20, Holden admits it is looking to move on quickly from the emotional moment as parent company General Motors continues to wait for sales to pickup.

Speaking to media today, GM president, Dan Ammann, said that Holden is now in a position where it needs to move on from its local production past and bring results from a new product strategy: We are at the point now with the portfolio and with all investment in future technology and so on that there are no more excuses, he said.

We are going to get through this important event coming up on the 20th and that will be significant but done. Now its back to business with a forward-looking perspective on the future and its time to put up the results.

But asked if GM would be patient, Ammann said I think we have to be.

With everything that were bringing into the market  with OnStar, Maven and everything were putting around that  the work the team is doing in repositioning the brand and appealing to new customers that are not traditional to the brand, I recognise that that takes time, he added.

Holden is currently suffering from record low sales as it looks to reposition itself within the market and shift its target market. The delay on GM's global architecture platform has also meant that a potential replacement for the Holden Commodore SS in the form of the Chevrolet Camaro has not been possible.

Holden general manager of communications, Sean Poppitt, told media that the expectation on Holden is unrealistic, and that the brand should no longer be considered number one: Were quite often a victim of our own success and are often held to much higher standards than any other brand because we were number one for so long and all of a sudden were not. And you can say record low market share but thats still fourth within the market (now fifth as reported in VFACTS September report).

Poppitt also echoes the sentiment that Holden missed the boat on an effective model replacement strategy.

Ford shut their factory and they actually went the other way (increased sales) because the strength theyre building through Ranger and a few other things (such as the US-sourced Mustang), he said.

But theres also an assault on the brand from niche rivals such as Isuzu, which beat Holden Colorado sales with its Colorado-based D-Max utility vehicle. However, Poppitt is quick to affirm that Holden is far from in trouble: Thats just one model, and they throw everything at it.

No one underestimates the challenge thats in front of us. But we take a little bit of umbrage around its a disaster thing

Its not like its panic stations, he said.

With US SUV models, the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Acadia, joining the Holden line-up soon, Ammann said that he is happy with the right-hand drive strategy.

The whole right-hand drive question (we are) delivering through on that with the new product, he said.

When people look at Holden and look back upstream at what General Motors is doing and the position were taking, they should feel good about (it).

Ammann also took a moment to address the 945 workers of the Adelaide Elizabeth production facility who will be leaving the plant for the last time on the October 20 when it shuts.

We are hugely grateful for all of the effort and energy the employee base has put in over the years at Holden," Ammann said. "We are all incredibly proud of whats been achieved over that time and, the decision we made, it was made in the best interest of the business for the long term and we are committed to making sure Holden is really successful for the future. And thats behind everything weve done and everything were going to do there. Were really grateful and thankful for all of the work that everyone has put in.

Although that chapter of Holdens history is closing, theres a whole new chapter thats opening up. There should be no doubt about our commitment to the market, to the brand and making as much a success in the new world as in the previous incarnation, he added.

MORE: Holden News and Reviews
The skinny: It wasnt always this way. The Hyundai Sonata of ten or more years back was more porridge than chilli (thats for sure). But this new Sonata, re-released here to replace the i45, is a much more enjoyable car than we might have expected.

Its Australian-tuned suspension is part of the reason: tested and refined on our worst roads, it has no trouble with our better ones.

The new Sonata also matches a lusty 2.0 litre turbo with a quality roomy interior and quiet comfortable ride. There will be a bit of scepticism in the market, but, aside from the new cars thirst, we find little to complain about.

Vehicle style: Mid-size sedan

Price: $41,990

Engine/transmission: 180kW/350Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo | six-speed automatic.

Fuel consumption, claimed: 9.2 l/100km; tested: 9.9 l/100km.

OVERVIEW

The Sonata badge first appeared on a Hyundai in this country back in 1989, but was then dropped five years ago to make way for the now-departed i45 sedan.

It was a bit underwhelming then, and posed no threat to the Camry, Mazda6 and other key players in the mid-size segment, and the i45 did little better.

But, stung by media criticism of the i45s suspension tuning, Hyundai set out to do something about it.
It is a lacklustre start to what will hopefully be a much more refreshing year of theatre in the West End.A Woman of No Importance is an examination of the way Victorian women were belittled by their husbands and ostracised for their sexual endeavours. Written during a time that feminism was a distant ideology (though arguably this could still be the case), when the men would disappear for whiskey and cigars, and the women would chatter delicately about the absurd idea of being seen as equal. In this production little is done to modernise such a backwards way of thinking, with the young American girl Hester (Crystal Clark) being the only character outspoken enough to express disgust at the unfair class system. She is, of course, shunned for this idea by the other women.One main issue is this lack of revitalising such a well known classic. A production like this one may have been very enjoyable in the past, but a modern-day audience is unlikely to get much out of it. It hasn't been adapted in any way to make it more enjoyable, the opening act allows us to watch women draped elegantly in beautiful gowns while each character says not much about anything at all. This is supposed to be entertaining. That isn't to say Wilde's writing is lacklustre in any way. A Woman of No Importance is a classic for a reason, but unfortunately a lot of his jokes fall flat because of the way they are delivered. There is a lack of conviction in everything that is said alongside a lack of grounding in the actors which leads to a lack of belief in what they are saying. It is an old text, but the cast do nothing to give it youth. Perhaps this stems from poor direction. A lot of powerful moments are thrown away, for example Dromgoole doesn't allow lines such as "so that's our child" to have time to rest. And therefore does not allow the actor to comprehend the enormity behind such a statement. Sometimes words and whole phrases are lost due to this: I found myself struggling to hear at times. This isn't to say the acting as a whole is lacking: Dominic Rowan as the illustrious Mr Illingworth is quite mesmerizing, as are select members of the ensemble cast such as Harry Lister Smith as Gerald Arbuthnot and Phoebe Fields as Lady Stutfield. Certain scene changes, in which the fantastic set design is changed, bring some comical singing from Lady Hunstanton, played by Anne Reid. The first song is dreary enough, the third is slightly overkill. Overall, this production misses a lot of key moments and takes a very long time to warm up. While the second act is slightly better than the first, it's still quite lacking leaving an unwanted feeling of boredom. Oscar Wilde is a brilliant playwright but this is certainly one play of no importance.
Get ready to drop everything and head up to Hoxton next month, because weve got the news you didnt realise youd been waiting for  a halloumi restaurant is about to open.

The as-yet-unnamed restaurant, launched by the Cyprus Tourism board, will open on 13th November and serve up various halloumi-filled delights until the 19th.

Halloumi is the national dish of Cyprus, so you can pretend youre in sunny Paphos whilst munching on "crumbed halloumi fingers with a tomato chilli jam" (um, YUM) in probably chilly East London.

Sounds just delightful, doesnt it?

Also on offer are halloumi and cauliflower fritters with a lime pickle yoghurt (6), a fresh grilled courgette and halloumi salad with fennel, pine nuts, harissa, honey & lemon (7), and a chargrilled halloumi flatbread with butternut & dukkah spices (6).

Theres even halloumi ice cream to finish your feast.

Diners will be able to try each dish individually or opt for the full tasting experience (wed book in for this one if we were you) with every item on a sharing platter for two people, priced at 26.

Created in partnership with 100 Hoxton and you can also choose one of two Cypriot inspired cocktails, created especially by Mixologist Chad Canning: a harissa Bloody Mary (8) or a Cilantro & Ginger Martini (8).

In case you hadnt realised, were very excited about it  and so is proud Cypriot Theo Paphitis (yes, him from Dragons Den).

He says: Cyprus and its food are true passions of mine and the pop up restaurant will bring the delicious Cypriot cheese, halloumi, to every dish on the menu... even the dessert!

Im sure many other people will fall in love with the Cypriot national cheese once theyve tried it  and perhaps even visit Cyprus to discover the rest of the islands delicious cuisine and wine."

Were there if thats an invite, Theo.

You can able to book for dinner from Monday to Friday between 5pm-10pm, and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday between 11am-3pm, before the pop-up disappears on 19th November.

To make a booking, visit: www.100restaurants.co.uk/100-hoxton-reservations/
Reese Witherspoon has alleged she was assaulted by a director as a 16-year-old.

The Oscar-winning actress said she has been harassed and sexually assaulted throughout her career as she became the latest star to speak out in the wake of allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Speaking as she introduced her Big Little Lies co-star Laura Dern at ELLEs Women in Los Angeles event on Monday night, Witherspoon said: This has been a really hard week for women in Hollywood, for women all over the world, for men in a lot of situations and a lot of industries that are forced to remember and relive a lot of ugly truths.

Reese Witherspoon with Ava Phillippe at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

She said she felt true disgust at the director who assaulted her when she was 16 as well as anger at the agents and producers who made me feel that silence was a condition of my employment.

And I wish I could tell you that that was an isolated incident in my career, but sadly it wasnt, she added.

Ive had multiple experiences of harassment and sexual assault, and I dont speak about them very often, but after hearing all the stories these past few days and hearing these brave women speak up tonight, the things that were kind of told to sweep under the rug and not talk about, its made me want to speak up and speak up loudly, because I felt less alone this week than Ive ever felt in my entire career.

forced to appear in a nude line-up early in her career. Witherspoon's admission came on the same night that fellow Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence revealed that she had been left "degraded and humiliated" after being

Witherspoon also

called on people in Hollywood to ask questions such as who are your top female executives? when negotiating with companies.

Asking questions like that, I found, it seems so obvious, but people dont ask those questions.

If we can raise consciousness and really help create change, thats whats going to change this industry and change society. So Im so sad that I have to talk about these issues, but it would be, I would be, remiss not to.
Thinspiration and other pro-anorexia hashtags may have been banned from Instagram a few years ago, but it has been replaced by another, more disturbing version celebrating extreme thinness: bonespiration.

According to research from the University of Exeter, skeletal images of bodies with extremely thin limbs and protruding hips and collarbones are being regularly shared on social media.

The purpose of #bonespiration? To boast about a skeletal appearance and inspire others to achieve the same emaciated look.

According to the University of Exeters Medical School, the posts mostly come from women.

Images of emaciated women on social media are contributing to teenagers having distorted views of their bodies, psychologists say (Wild Orchid/Getty Images)

Analysing 730 images on social media, the researchers found 26% of images showed hip bones, 23% showed jutting ribs and 22% showed protruding collarbones.

There were also 6% showing protruding spines.

Psychologists fear that easily accessible social media is replacing pro-anorexia websites, and hashtags like fitspiration  supposedly the goal for healthy bodies  occasionally feature skeletal images.

Some platforms for posting such images are hidden within mainstream sites, the researchers say.

Examples include Twitter accounts such as thinspiration, which posts photos of skinny celebrities and young people with pencil-thin legs and protruding ribs, collarbones and spines.

Exciting to see my #thinspo paper had a shout out on @1extra earlier. Want to read the full paper? Here's the link: https://t.co/KzUrwsH5St  Catherine Talbot (@CatherineTalb) October 8, 2017

The researchers say the sites are increasing pressure on teenage girls to aspire to extremely thin bodies while contributing to a distorted view of their own body.

Catherine Talbot, a psychologist and lead author of the paper, described the trend as a form of social contagion.

Anorexia and extreme weight loss is a serious social and medical problem, she said.

To tackle this social contagion we need to be aware of the social media platforms being used by young people  mainly girls and young women  which is encouraging extreme weight loss.

Researchers say social media trends could damage the physical and psychological health of young people (Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images)

This behaviour could seriously damage their psychological and physical health.

Teenagers need to be taught about positive body image in schools and we need to build resilience.

The researchers say social media sites like Twitter and Instagram raise questions about whether tougher regulation is required  but they fear that efforts to ban these types of images would only lead to different hashtags appearing within days.

A spokesman for Instagram said in a statement: Keeping Instagram a safe and supportive place is our number one priority.

We have zero tolerance for content that encourages others to harm themselves and quickly remove any content which breaks our community guidelines.

Researchers fear efforts to ban images of emaciated women would only lead to different hashtags (Lauren Hurley/PA)

We recognise that eating disorders are a complex issue and in partnership with our experts and through our in-app tools we strive to go beyond simply removing content.

Related hashtags can often include posts condemning self-injury and in many cases can help us to identify and support those at risk.

Instagram has been working with the National Eating Disorders Association to produce in-app content and advice on its Help Centre.

Twitter declined to comment on the research but the company has also been working to tackle sensitive as well as abusive content.

The microblogging site is working on a safe search feature which removes tweets that potentially feature sensitive content from blocked and muted accounts from search results.

The research is published in the Journal of Eating Disorders.
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Asian energy ministers from 36 exporting and consuming countries will meet in Bangkok in early November for discussions ranging from fossil fuel, gas and disruptive technology.

This round of the biennial forum is billed as one of the industrys most important as potential energy market transition possibilities will underpin future energy security implications  a top economic agenda for most nations.

The 36 Asian ministers will be joined by 20 heads of energy-related international organisations. The Thai Energy Ministry plays host to the forum under the theme Global Energy Markets in Transition: From Vision to Action. The United Arab Emirates is the Bangkok forums co-host.

The event will take place during Nov 1-3 at the Shangri-la Hotel, Bangkok.

Thai Energy Minister Gen Anantaporn Kanjanarat said the meeting underpins the development of the increasingly complex and dynamic relationships between energy producers and consumers in Asia and beyond.

The ministers will divulge on visions and implications of energy markets, natural gas, renewable energy transition with advanced technology options  all of which will shape the future worlds energy markets.

This gathering will update on the energy outlook in Asia especially oil market and its impact, touching on global issues and challenges influencing the oil markets in Asia. The Thai Energy Ministry cited the example of an extensive agglomeration and closer cooperation among OPEC member countries and the recent unrest in many parts of the world that may affect the oil price.

As for gas market, especially LNG, there will be a platform for a policy dialogue between exporting economies such as Western Asian Countries and energy importing economies such as China, Japan, Korea and Asean member countries. Both sides want to explore for more secure, stable and sustainable future for both oil and gas market.

The forum will also look into the spread of disruptive energy technologies from fossils to cleaner and renewable energy. Highlights are the rise of solar rooftop, electric vehicle uses and energy storage system development. The critical challenge for the industry is to ensure the momentum of technological innovation and its transformation and to speed up progress.

Anantaporn said the Thai government pursues the policy to ensure predictable, long-term support in all stages of innovation to cope with future disruptive technology. Thailand is one of a few countries in Asia with explicit disruptive technology policy.

He said also Thailand is recognised as the Asean leader in renewables energy and energy efficiency; plus action plans under Thailands Energy 4.0 policy and Integrated Energy Blueprint.
The Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh this year have sprung many surprises for all.

Even as some new entrants will be seen in the poll arena this time, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have chosen to contest poll battle from new turfs this year.

While Virbhadra Singh has chosen to contest the elections from the Arki seat in Solan district in place of Theog as announced earlier, Dhumal is contesting from Sujanpur in Hamirpur.

Singh had contested from Shimla (Rural) constituency in 2012 polls which he has now vacated for his son, Vikramaditya Singh to start his political innings in Himachal Pradesh.

Earlier, Irrigation and Public Health minister Vidya Stokes had offered the Chief Minister to contest from his constituency in Theog, reportedly on Singhs request. Sources said after 2-3 days, Singh gave hints on contesting elections from Arki.

There are reports that after Singh announced to contest from Theog, a survey was conducted at his behest, which forced him change his plans.

As also, the BJP has fielded Rakesh Verma, son of the former DGP and Chairman, HP Public Service Commission RR Verma, with whom Virbhadra Singh has personal relations.

He had earlier represented Kotkhai constituency twice, Rohroo five times (which was later reserved) and then Shimla Rural constituency.

Though the battle in Arki would not be as easy for Singh as the seat was won twice by BJP MLA Govind Ram twice, in 2007 and 2012. However, this time around, BJP is fielding Rattan Singh Pal which had created dissent among the supporters of two-time MLA Govind Ram.

On the other hand, Dhumal had contested 2012 polls from Hamirpur Assembly constituency and previous three elections from Bamson in Hamirpur district.

The change in constituency from Bamson to Hamirpur was made due to re-organisation of the Assembly seats then. This time too, Dhumal has agreed to contest from Sujanpur Assembly constituency. Now BJP MLA Narender Thakur of Sujanpur would contest from Hamirpur in place of Dhumal.
Actor Catherine Zeta-Jones has slammed producer Harvey Weinstein over his sexual-harassment scandal.

The actor said she was shocked an disgusted by Weinsteins behaviour and felt profoundly proud of the women who came forward, reported Page Six.

That big old dinosaur of people who think a man is able to get away with that behaviour and has been getting away with it for years is extinct, as of now, Zeta-Jones said during a Women in Hollywood lunch in Cannes, France.

Weinsteins lawyers had defended him as an old dinosaur learning new ways when the scandal first broke out.

Its hard to think that in 2017 we are still talking about this and that its the lead story on international news.

Youre never too big to fail. I really believe that if this is not the tipping point, its at least some kind of turning point, she said.

The actor, however, said she has personally never experienced harassment during her career.

Zeta-Jones won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2003 for the musical Chicago, which was distributed by Harvey and Bob Weinsteins Miramax.
With the auspicious and sparkling festival of Diwali approaching along with Kali Puja for the Bengalis, it is quite expected that everyone remembers the message of divinity and spirituality, which is the fundamental aspect of this festival. The festival of lights signifies the victory of the divine light over evil darkness, victory of truthfulness over the evils of falsehood and thus the expected victory of an upright society over its evil norms.

Bursting crackers and lighting diyas (earthen lamps) denotes that the darkness is won over by the light of divinity. But preaching the word of spirituality has many other ways and forms. It is believed in many religions that feeding a poor is hundred times a greater deed than giving some offerings to the Almighty, helping someone in need is esteemed far more than bowing your head in front of the Almighty, however all the other forms of prayer are esteemed too according to individual sentiments.

But as different religions speaks of Karma being the Dharma of an individual that one gets near to the God through ones good deeds, so, this year let us plan to celebrate in a different way. Besides bursting crackers, lighting lamps and diyas, lets try and offer sweets to those underprivileged people.

Try and donate some crackers to some boys in the slums, try and light someones house who is not able to afford diyas.

This Diwali let us try to bring smiles on the faces of at least a few hapless people who are deprived of this grand celebration. Happy Diwali!

Dos and donts

With the festival of light, vigour and the pomp approaching, the sound of bursting crackers is going to fill the atmosphere along with the radiance of the diyas for these few days of Diwali and Kali Puja. However, with the growing number of accidents and mishaps in the recent past years, it is indeed desirable that one takes precautions while bursting crackers or lighting the house.

Following a few words of safety and precaution can make this Diwali a safer and happier one.

First of all check out the list of 93 crackers which have been banned by the Kolkata Police and Municipal Corporation this year as they cause a very high level noise dangerous for the society. Check the list online or in your nearby civic body offices and avoid buying them.

Do not buy foreign crackers, which have been recently banned in Kolkata to curb noise pollution.

Use cotton earplugs while bursting crackers for ones own safety as a sudden exposure to a loud noise can lead to partial or complete deafness.

Be careful with your clothes and those of your parents while placing diyas in your house and try and place them away from any inflammable material in your house.

Keep a bucket of water or ice trays handy for emergencies.

Try and burst crackers with a long stick or else light them using an agarbati from at a distance as they can always burst suddenly. Also dont try and play with a cracker which hasnt burst once.

Avoid bursting crackers in the terrace as it is dangerous for both people walking in the streets as well as for neighbouring houses.

Always burst crackers in the presence of any guardian and in open roads.

Avoid in a locality where you know that there may be heart patients staying there and also dont try to burst crackers till late night as it is also banned by the Kolkata police. These precautions and the instructions are given by the Kolkata police and Municipal Corporation, which will call for a happier and safer Diwali and Kali Puja.

(Coordinator, Class XII, St Thomas Boys, School, Kidderpore)
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS countries) together occupy a significant space in the changing world economic order. These five emerging world economies have diverse political legal order but when combined they make a lasting impact.

BRICS countries when understood in tandem comprise approximately 43 per cent of the world population, having 37 per cent of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 17 per cent share in world trade. All BRICS countries have gradually become part of major international and multilateral institutions across the globe. These include  entry of BRICS States into World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations (U.N.), the Group of 20 (G-20) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC), and have also become very active participants of these institutions. With the steady economic progress made by BRICS states since their coming together, the trends in inflows and outflows of foreign direct investment, trade openness, current account balance, forex reserves and economically active labour forces amongst these States, make them a formidable force to reckon with in future.

The BRICS states are also increasingly becoming FDI friendly both in terms of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) and inward FDI. However, there are certain inherent challenges which BRICS states need to overcome urgently in order to emerge as investors paradises and soughtafter neutral destinationa of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). In an era of growing investment regime, the ISDS mechanism is the primary concern of every investor and probably one of the significant decisive factors to consider investing in a host country.

Guided by this trade and commerce factor, all five BRICS nations acted wisely and ratified the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 1958 also known as New York Convention. The New York Convention is the basic international instrument which provides an ease of recognition and enforcement of foreign seated arbitral awards amongst the State parties who have ratified this Convention. However, the majority of BRICS nations have shown complete disregard towards the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) formed under the aegis of the World Bank for the settlement of investment disputes between themselves and other States.

The ICSID institution originated from the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes, 1966. The Peoples Republic of China is the only BRICS nation that has ratified ICSID convention. It is quite surprising that BRICS states which are considered to be emerging economies and said to be destined to change the world economic order in future are not finding themselves on the right side of the World Bank monitored international mechanism of dispute resolution. This is especially bizarre when ICSID has been ratified by 156 out of 192 nations of the world. The hostility of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa towards ICSID is a critical concern.

The dominance of developed western States in the World Bank-operated ICSID mechanism and the fear of ICSID not being sensitive towards economic needs of BRICS States could be understood as two major reasons of such hostility. Perhaps, trust deficit between the developed States and the developing economies also lies underneath BRICS avoidance of ICSID. This geo-political syndrome is certainly an anathema to an investment growth in BRICS countries. To revolutionise investment within their group, BRICS States need to establish their own investment dispute resolution centre or probably centres in each of the five countries.

The need is imminent because non-ratification of ICSID and lacwking in neutral dispute resolution mechanism will be detrimental to inward-FDI in BRICS States. A small beginning of establishing a BRICS dispute resolution regime was made in 2015 with the inauguration of BRICS Dispute Resolution Shanghai Centre. A similar echo was heard twice in New Delhi from August 2016 till date, especially when India had the BRICS Presidency from February 2016 till December 2016.

Firstly, in a conference on International Arbitration in BRICS: Challenges, Opportunities and Road Ahead which concluded in August 2016, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made a strong case for BRICS nations developing their own arbitration mechanism to cut reliance on redressal centres in developed nations whose awards at times tend to be loaded against developing countries. Secondly, at the 3rd BRICS Legal Forum Meet which concluded in New Delhi on 12 September 2016 it was resolved to establish the International Dispute Resolution Centre for BRICS and Emerging Economies at New Delhi. Both the Shanghai and the New Delhi Centres under the aegis of BRICS States can emerge as key players in the ISDS regime.

However, the real test lies in upholding the values of non-political character, neutral nature, transparency, cost-effectiveness and to be least procedural in conduct of proceedings. Balancing investors rights with the local economic constraints and needs of BRICS States will be an additional challenge for the BRICS Dispute Resolution Centres.

Overall, conducive dispute resolution mechanism lubricated by apolitical nature, timeliness and impartial character; and support of a non-interfering judiciary with a promise of ensuring prompt recognition and enforcement of foreign seated arbitral awards, are sine qua non for BRICS emergence as investors paradise combating geo-political challenges within a group as well as from the other developed economies.

(The writer is Assistant Director (Research) and Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University of Odisha)
The United Nations has regularly observed that proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons constitutes a threat to international peace and security. Nuclear weapons are explosive devices whose energy results from the fusion or fission of the atom. Nuclear weapons create devastation of unprecedented levels.

The recent nuclear testing by North Korea has invited widespread condemnation from the world community. In resolution 2375 (2017) dated 11 September 2017 the United Nations Security Council observed that such tests challenge the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and international efforts aimed at strengthening the global regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. It spoke of the danger it poses to peace and stability. The resolution lamented that North Korea continue to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by diverting critically needed resources away from its own people. It further observed that the ongoing nuclear related activities have destabilized the region and beyond and such developments on the Korean Peninsula could have dangerous, large-scale regional security implications.

Thus the United Nations Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter and taking measures under Article 41 condemned the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on 2 September 2017 in violation and flagrant disregard of the Councils earlier resolutions and iterated its decision that North Korea shall not conduct any further launches that use ballistic missile technology, nuclear tests, or any other provocation and also shall immediately suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on all missile launches as well as abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and immediately cease all related activities; and shall abandon any other existing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

In the Nuclear Tests Case (Australia v. France) (1974, ICJ) France carried out multiple atmospheric tests of nuclear devices at its centre in French Polynesia in 1966-72 which was objected to by Australia on the ground that the French tests had caused fall-out to be deposited on Australian territory. But before the Court could pronounce the judgment France made public its intention to cease conduct of atmospheric nuclear tests following the conclusion of the 1974 series of tests.

The Court took into consideration official statements made on behalf of France concerning future nuclear testing. As declarations made by way of unilateral acts concerning legal or factual situations may have the effect of creating legal obligations when it is the intention of the State making the declaration that it should become bound according to its terms, that intention confers on the declaration the character of a legal undertaking, the State thereafter being legally required to follow a course of conduct consistent with the declaration.

France having undertaken to hold no further nuclear tests, the objective of the applicant had already been accomplished and the Court declined to give judgment. In its order dated 22 September 1995 in Request for an examination of the Situation in Accordance with paragraph 63 of the Courts Judgment of 20 December 1974 in The Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France) case, the ICJ held that as the Court in the 1974 judgment had reached the conclusion it dealt exclusively with atmospheric nuclear tests, it was not possible to take into consideration questions relating to underground nuclear tests. Thus as the basis of the Judgment delivered in the Nuclear Tests (New Zealand v. France) case was not affected, the Request for an Examination of the Situation submitted by New Zealand was dismissed.

In the Obligations Concerning Negotiations Relating To Cessation Of The Nuclear Arms Race And To Nuclear Disarmament (Marshall Islands v. India) (2016, ICJ) Marshall Islands argued that India and certain other nations had violated and continued to violate international obligations under customary international law by failing to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control, in particular by engaging in a course of conduct contrary to the objective of nuclear disarmament. But the court observed that the questions of the existence of and extent of customary international law obligations in the field of nuclear disarmament were not crystallised and in the absence of a dispute the conditions for the Courts jurisdiction were not met.

Is the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance permitted under international law? The ICJ in its 1996 Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons observed that merely because this question has political aspects does not suffice to deprive it of its character as a legal question and thus can be looked into by the court. (referring to Application for Review of Judgement No. 158 of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, Advisory Opinion, ICJ, 1973). The world court referred to its earlier opinion Interpretation of the Agreement of 25 March 1951 between the WHO and Egypt (1980) wherein it was observed that in situations in which political considerations are prominent it may be particularly necessary for an international organisation to obtain an advisory opinion from the Court as to the legal principles applicable with respect to the matter under debate.

Many nuclear states objected to the ICJs hearing of the matter. United States objected stating that the question presented is vague and abstract, addressing complex issues which are the subject of consideration among interested States and within other bodies of the United Nations which have an express mandate to address these matters. An opinion by the Court in regard to the question presented would provide no practical assistance to the General Assembly in carrying out its functions under the Charter. Such an opinion has the potential of undermining progress already made or being made on this sensitive subject and, therefore, is contrary to the interests of the United Nations Organization.

There are various provisions in international conventions which can be utilised for contending that nuclear testing may be against the fundamental principles of international law. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) declares that every human being has the inherent right to life and it is protected by law. No one can be arbitrarily deprived of his/her valuable life. The court refused to accept the contention that the prohibition against genocide, contained in the Convention of 9 December 1948 on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, can be utilised to declare nuclear weapons against the customary international law.

The court observed that the prohibition of genocide would be pertinent only if the recourse to nuclear weapons did indeed entail the element of intent towards a group as such and thus it would only be possible to arrive at such a conclusion after having taken due account of the circumstances specific to each case. The world court observed that nuclear weapons release not only immense quantities of heat and energy, but also tremendous radiation. The first two causes of damage are vastly more powerful than the damage caused by other conventional weapons. Also radiations render the nuclear weapon potentially catastrophic.

As the destructive power of nuclear weapons cannot be contained in either space or time, it has the potential to destroy all civilization and the entire ecosystem of the planet. Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter declares that the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another State or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations is clearly prohibited. But this prohibition on the use of force has certain limitations like Article 42 which allows the Security Council to take military enforcement measures in conformity with Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Also Article 51 recognizes the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence. But self-defence has certain limitations like the conditions of necessity and proportionality. This is now a rule of customary international law (In the case concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America)(1986, ICJ)).

The ICJ has observed that the proportionality principle may not in itself exclude the use of nuclear weapons in selfdefence in all circumstances. As per the policy statement of the United States various factors are considered to judge whether an armed attack is imminent like the nature and immediacy of the threat, the probability of an attack, whether the anticipated attack is part of a concerted pattern of continuing armed activity, the likely scale of the attack and the injury, loss, or damage likely to result therefrom in the absence of mitigating action and the likelihood that there will be other opportunities to undertake effective action in self-defense that may be expected to cause less serious collateral injury, loss, or damage.

The Court observed that international customary and treaty law does not contain any specific prescription authorising the threat or use of nuclear weapons or any other weapon in general or in certain circumstances, in particular those of the exercise of legitimate self defence. Nor, however, is there any principle or rule of international law which would make the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons or of any other weapons dependent on a specific authorisation. Unfortunately there has been strong divergence of opinion among countries on the matter whether nonrecourse to nuclear weapons over the past 50 years constitutes the expression of an opinio juris. There is an important series of General Assembly resolutions that deal with nuclear weapons and that affirm, with consistent regularity, the illegality of nuclear weapons.

General Assembly resolutions may sometimes have normative value. After examining the General Assembly resolutions in detail, the Court declared that the use of nuclear weapons would be a direct violation of the Charter of the United Nations and in certain formulations that such use should be prohibited. But very often several resolutions have been adopted with substantial numbers of negative votes and abstentions which clearly indicate that they still fall short of establishing the existence of an opinio juris on the illegality of the use of nuclear weapons.

Though the adoption of large number of resolutions requesting the member States to conclude a convention prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance, reveal the desire of a very large section of the international community to take, by a specific and express prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons, a significant step forward along the road to complete nuclear disarmament, yet the emergence, as lex lata, of a customary rule specifically prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons as such is hampered by the continuing tensions between the nascent opinio juris on the one hand and the still strong adherence to the practice of deterrence on the other. Thus there is in neither customary nor conventional international law any specific authorisation of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, but there is in neither customary nor conventional international law any comprehensive and universal prohibition of the threat or use of nuclear weapons as such.

The ICJ held that it could not definitively conclude whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defense, in which the very survival of a State would be at stake. Though weapons of mass destruction are declared illegal by specific instruments, complete nuclear disarmament still eludes us. Awarding of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of nongovernmental organizations committed to nuclear disarmament is a welcome step.

Passing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, in July 2017 clearly suggests that the final days of nuclear arsenals may be coming closer. The writers are Mumbai-based advocates and legal consultants.
Bhai Dooj commonly known as Bhai Phonta in West Bengal is a widely celebrated occasion on the second lunar day of Shukla Paksha (Bright Fortnight). It is an important part of the Indian festivals. Bhai Dooj is another day besides Rakshavandhan when people all over India celebrate the most adorable relationship between a brother and a sister.

But not all of us are aware of the mythical piece which lies behind as a reason for the celebration of Bhai Dooj. Lord Surya, the Sun God was married to a beautiful princess Samjna or Sanghya. The couple gave birth to two beautiful twins and named them Varni or Yamuna and Yama. The brother and sister shared a precious bond. As years passed, the brilliance of her husband became unbearable to Sanghya and thus she decided to go back to Earth.

She left her shadow Chaya, her exact replica, behind, to replace her. Chaya somehow turned out to be a very cruel stepmother. She soon took away everything which Sanghya was owned. She gave birth to her own children and convinced Surya to drive away Varni and Yama from Heaven. Varni was transformed into river Yamuna on Earth and Yama became the King of Underground world (hell). They were happy but the pain of separation affected them. One day Yama decided to visit his sister who was married to a rich and handsome prince. She was rejoiced at her brothers coming and arranged for a grand feast in his honour after two days of Deepavali.

After aeons, the siblings sat across one another and enjoyed the day in each others company. While separating over again, Yama offered Varni any gift she makes a wish for. She wished that from then onwards every brother and sister with such a sweet relationship as theirs should reserve a day in the year to celebrate their love.

Hence, the celebration of Bhai fonta or Bhai Dooj came into practice. The love between a brother and a sister is most beautiful and the purest form of affection.

They have their own fights but at the same time are always prepared to challenge the world for each other. They might not visit each other for years but the protectiveness and love they possess lingers till their last breath. So, wherever we are, let us take out some time from our busy schedule and make this day even more special.

(Anuska Pal, Coordinator, Class X, Gokhale Memorial Girls School)

Festival of unity

The festival of Bhatriditwa,which celebrates the unity of brothers and sisters and their emotional attachment, finds its abode in numerous cultures and traditions which crosses borders to Nepal to re-establish this emotional unity through various rituals. A tilak or tikka or phota on the brothers forehead with a plate of sweets in front on them signifies reliance for some, emotional attachment for some, security for some while a celebration of traditionality for others. Here are some colloquial names, which in disguise present the same emotion:

Bhai Dooj-

This name is widely used in various parts of northern India like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where the New Year starts from the lunar month of Kartika (October-November). This day signifies the second day of the New Year preceded by Govardhan Puja. Here, the mythological connection is drawn from the grand welcome given by Subhadhra to her brother Lord Krishna on his return after slaying the demon Narkasur. The tilak she gave on Krishnas forehead signifies as an emblem of affection and security for the brother.

Bhaitika-

This festival widely celebrated in Nepal after the occasion of Dashain or Dussehra is the time when a sister pray to Yamraj , the God of Death for the long life of their brother and apply a seven-coloured long tika on their brothers forehead, signifying their love and affection. It is one of the most important festivals there, which is marked by a public holiday. The Newari, Tharu, Bahun and Chhetri tribal people mainly celebrate this occasion with great zest and vigour.

Bhaiphonta-

This name is quite popular in Bengal where it is celebrated one or two days after Kali Puja. It has its mythological connection to the event of Yamuna of giving a tilak on his brother Yamrajs forehead, when he was faced with a threat to his life, as is depicted in the verse. Sisters chant a prayer while applying the phonta on their brothers forehead. Special sweets like khaaja and many others flood the sweet shops of Bengal during this time, which along with paan -supari , dhaan , durbah is used to pray for the long life of the brother. A transaction of gifts forms an integral part of this festival for the sweet-sour relation of brother and sister.

Bhai Bij/ Bhau Beej / Bhav bij 

Mainly celebrated among Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani speaking regions, this festival is customary for every women to celebrate this festival. For sisters who dont have brothers, embrace the moon or chandrama as their brothers, a custom mainly followed in Haryana and Maharashtra. Sweets like basundi puri and kheerni poori add a different charm to these festivals of love and affection.

Yamadwitheya 

This festival is mostly celebrated in South India, which signifies the meeting of God of death, Yama and his sister Goddess Yamuna on the second day after new moon and thus people here celebrate this day as the day of legendary relations of brother and sisters.

(Sayan Chandra, Coordinator, Class XII, St Thomas Boys School, Kidderpore)

All about fun!

Its eight in the morning. Wake up Little Susie, wake up Jhinooks phone beeped. Turning off the alarm, she stretched and yawned. The sun peeped through the windows with a smile  the sky promised a lovely Bhaiphonta! Mouth-watering aroma came from inside the kitchen were Jhinooks mother was finishing off with the delicacies  fried rice, chili chicken, and other delectable treats. Jhinook quickly took a shower, got dressed in her gold and magenta anarkali, put on long earrings and did her hair beautifully.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She looked perfect. Downstairs, guests were arriving. Soon the house filled up with gossiping aunts and uncles, and naughty brothers and sisters. So Jhinook, you have not forgotten to buy the Ferrero Rocher, I hope? the King of Mischief, Deep asked with a mischievous grin.

And what about my Cavendish and Harvey? asked his twin, Neel, with an equally playful smile. Jhinook could smell a conspiracy brewing. Youll come to know when you get your gifts. She replied refusing to let go of any details. At that very moment her mother came over and hearing her rude reply, assured the twins that their demands were all wrapped and ready in Jhinooks room. The damage was done.

The location of the treasure had been handed over to the pirates. She rushed to her room and hid the gifts in her closet behind a stack of books and old clothes. After coming downstairs, Jhinook got engaged in arranging the dhan, dubya and sandalwood paste for the ceremony to begin. When all was ready at last, Jhinook looked around. She could not spot the impish faces of Deep and Neel. Fearing the worst, Jhinook ran to her room. There on the floor lay her books and clothes, and torn pieces of wrapping paper; and with molten chocolate dripping from their mouths like blood from a vampire, stood the culprits.

After 20 minutes, Jhinook sat at one end of the room, fuming, and refusing to give the twins their phontas because they had ruined her gifts. Nothing would calm her down. At another end of the room sat the two who refused to say sorry.

They had taken what was meant for them. They could not understand that they had ruined the whole purpose of giving a surprise. However, in the end, the two realised their mistake. The wrongdoers begged for mercy. Jhinooks heart melted at the sight of their large innocent eyes. Deep and Neel were forgiven.

With the blow of the conch shell, Jhinook put a phonta on her mischievous cousins foreheads, wishing them a life, free from difficulties, and with a mischievous grin a week free from chocolates.

(Renesa Mukhopadhyay, Coordinator, Class VIII, Patha Bhavan, Kolkata)
India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has taken tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of Americas strategic partnership with India.

Americas overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals, she said.

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a tougher approach to Pakistan harboring terrorists.

Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India, she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

We are really going to need Indias help in Afghanistan.

They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region, she said.

So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan, Haley said.

That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable, because we are at a point where we kind of laid the ground work that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We cant continue to see them harboring the terrorists. We have to see something change.

India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that, Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump Administration is hoping to expand Indias contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said.

The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values, Haley said.

Working at the UN really brings home how important it is for countries to share our commitment to democracy. Countries that honour and respect a voice of their people dont threaten peace and security. But, take a look at the countries that are causing most of the trouble in the world. And you will see countries that dont respect the will of their own people, she said.

For instance, Haley said, Trump has just announced a new tougher approach to ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

It would be catastrophic for the safety of Americans and the world if Iran became a nuclear power. But India is a nuclear power and nobody gives it a second thought. Why, she asked.

Because India is a democracy that threatens no one, she said.

The US and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them, Haley said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power.

We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran, she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year, she said responding to another question.

There was a plan, possibly I would go (to India) by the end of this year but theres another crisis that has come up that will send me somewhere else. But yes, I mean I would love to go back to India, she said.

Its amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India, she added.
Militants killed a Special Police Officer (SPO) in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Wednesday.

The militants barged into Haleem Gujjars house in Gutroo village and fired at him from close range, killing him on the spot.

The SPOs are engaged on fixed monthly remuneration to fight militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The militants escaped from the scene after carrying out the attack, said a police official, adding a manhunt has been launched for the assailants.

This comes two days after a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant and an ex-panchayat member, Mohammad Ramzan, were killed in an attack in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian in Kashmir.

Three terrorists of HM reportedly barged into the house of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worker Ramzan and had shot him.

The sarpanchs house was set on fire the next day.

Forces clash with protesters

Earlier, five civilians were injured while they were protesting on Wednesday in a security forces firing in Jammu and Kashmirs Anantnag district.

People in Wullerhama village were chasing an alleged braid chopper from trying to flee in an army vehicle, an eyewitness said.

The protesters resorted to heavy stone pelting at the army vehicle. Soldiers on board then fired at the crowd injuring five civilians, a police officer said.

The injured have been shifted to a hospital.

Ceasefire violation

In an incident of unprovoked firing on the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, four civilians were injured on during ceasefire violations by the Pakistani Army on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district.

The injured included three labourers and a woman in the Mankote area, a police officer said.

The injured were shifted to a hospital, according to media reports.

(With agency inputs)
A day after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosain was killed by unidentified gunmen in Ludhiana, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said the law and order in Punjab is no better than the 10 years of jungle-raj perpetrated by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bhartiya Janata Party ( SAD-BJP).

He accused the Amarinder Singh government of pursuing the legacy of Badals by politicising the Punjab police for personal whims and fancies.

After visiting the the house of slain RSS leader at Ludhiana, leader of Opposition, Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, there have been repeated incidents of political murders during the last six months but the police is acting as a mute spectator.

Khaira said Congress ministers and legislator have started getting their henchmen posted to plum field postings, who in turn are taking their orders from their political bosses rather than their superior police officers.

Severely condemning the killing of Gosai and failure of the police to nab his killers, Khaira said it was not a first case of political murder in Punjab. He said couple of months back Sultan Masih a pastor was killed similarly by motorcycle assailants.

He recounted the brutal murders of Mata Chand Kaur of Bhaini Sahib, Jagdish Gagneja another RSS leader of Jalandhar, the murderous attack on Sant Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwala, but he said the police has completely failed to crack any of these crime.

He also criticised Amarinder for failing to ensure justice to the two innocent Sikh youth killed in the Bargari police firing, a promise he had made to the people while in opposition.

Khaira said it was sad to note that two years have passed since the killing, but no justice has been rendered to the families of those youth.

He said the tall claims of industrial investment being made by the Chief Minister Amarinder have fallen flat, as no business house would invest in a state like Punjab, where prominent people are being murdered, gang wars and incidents of bank robberies are happening daily.

Khaira urged the CM to pull up his socks and direct the police to solve cases of political murders as top priority and in future prevent such killings. He also urged him to depoliticise the police and allow it to function without interference from politicians.
The banks of Saryu River will be lit with nearly 2 lakh earthen oil lamps on Wednesday evening as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrives in Ayodhya for grand Diwali celebrations.

As per reports, the government is planning to set a Guinness World Record by lighting the plethora of lamps as part of a Deepotsav, a day before Diwali at the birth place of Lord Rama.

A diya will be placed on every square metre and arrangements will be made to divert the flow of wind for a few minutes in order to set the record. The trial run of the event will be held on Wednesday.

As per officials, the diyas will light up in two patterns one depicting a bow and arrow of Lord Rama and the other will depict the sign of Swastik. The first diya will be lighted by Yogi.

The spruced up ghats of the Saryu river will also see Yogi and Governor Ram Naik perfrom a grand aarti in the evening with over 10,000 temples being lit up across the holy town.

As per reports, Yogi will arrive at the Faizabad Airport at 3.15 pm and perform an aarti at Ram Katha Park at 4 pm. He will then address a gathering at 5 pm followed by the grand aarti on the banks of the Saryu river at 6 pm.

It will be followed by a laser show at Ram Ki Paidi at 6.50 pm, near the river followed by Ram Leela at Ram Katha Park at 7.45 pm.

While, the government has claimed that the efforts are aimed at developing Ayodhya as a major tourist destination on the lines of Varanasi and Mathura, the opposition is terming the event a major push for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The danger of terror and the security imperatives in the Middle East have changed dramatically since the shock of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which derailed the framework of the Nixon Doctrine. This working doctrine was premised on the fact that the Shah of Irans regime and Israel would be the USAs guardians of the Gulf.

Soon thereafter, two seminal events soured US-Iran relations forever ~ the 444-day (1979-81) American Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, and the bombing of the Beirut barracks in 1983, killing as many as 241 US Marines and 58 French troops. The massacre was perpetrated by a group called Islamic Jihad with its roots in Tehran. Portents of the Iranian revolution spilling over to other countries in the region, with the clerics intent on ousting the despotic dictators and monarchies, prompted the US to back Saddam Hussein in the localized Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

Although America was aware of Saddams totalitarian personality, the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds and a tendency to deploy dirty weapons was reflected in the covert support to Iraq in the form of crucial information, materials and diplomatic cover to spite Iran This reaffirmed the maxim, enemys enemy is my friend!

Later, the changed ground realities, brought about by Iraqs annexation of Kuwait and the first Gulf War made Iraq the principal spoiler in the region in the 90s. The developments did little to change the fate of Iran, as it continued to reel under USsponsored sanctions and isolation. That the political winds in Iran were running counter to the radicalisation in the Middle East, was studiously ignored.

The 1990s saw the emergence of the moderate and reformist regimes of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami; yet the US maintained its belligerent posture against Iran. In the new millennium, the landmark event of the 9/11 tragedy confirmed the revised epicenter of violent intolerance.

The 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Ironically, given the sectarian angularity these principal stakeholders and their ideologues (Al Qaida), were fundamentally and vehemently opposed to the Iranian state.

Yet the Iranian fixation persisted in the West, and the-then US President, George W Bush, in his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002 chose to include Iran in his triad of axis of evil (besides North Korea and Saddams Iraq). Even though the phenomenon of Al Qaida and Osama bin Laden had gripped the terror industry, George Bush still insisted that Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror!

Subsequently, the mutations of the terror groups and their configurations shifted power from Al Qaida to ISIS, as the principal terror organisation. Like Osama bin Laden, the ISIS leader Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi maintained his vitriol against Iran and on 7 June 2017, the Caliphate claimed responsibility for the attack on the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, leaving 16 dead. Ironically, Iran was the first country to pledge and commit itself to attack ISIS.

The exploits of Irans Quds Force and its maverick battle-heroes like Major General Qassem Soleimani have been a decisive factor in turning the tide against ISIS. Along with the Kurdish Peshmerga, Russian support and the rag-tag Syrian military, the Iranians can rightfully claim credit for the retreat of ISIS from the Iraqi-Syrian region.

It took the sagacity and wisdom of President Obama to recognise the changing scenario and effect the path-breaking Iran nuclear deal towards the end of his Presidency. Obama had called it a, historic understanding. This understanding even morphed into the unstated but effective understanding between the Iranian forces and the other Western anti-ISIS forces like the US, in reversing the tide against ISIS.

In parallel, during the runup to the US Presidential campaigns of 2016, Donald Trump was already playing to the hawkish gallery in the GOP with statements like, My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran, describing it as the highest level of incompetence.

President Trump has needlessly provoked Iran with brinkmanship and has threatened to decertify (tear up) the deal which he has called an embarrassment. His bluster is baseless; none of the recent terror attacks in the US or the Western capitals can be traced to Iran. It is true that Tehran has its proxies in Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis; but neither has perpetrated terror-related activity beyond their localised areas.

If anything the Hezbollah has been relatively quiet on the Israeli-border and is focussed on taking on the ISIS along with the Syrian forces, whereas the Houthis are battling their sectarian war against Al Qaida and ISIS affiliates in Yemen. Trumps unwarranted bravado could actually weaken the reformist movement within Iran and embolden the radical hardliners, who are up in arms against what they call an insult to their sovereignty.

Ironically, Europe is unequivocally committed to the deal and the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, has remarked that the deal is vitally important for regional security. All P5+1 (European Union) members, who are signatories to the deal, are horrified at the portents that this could unleash ~ both domestically in Iran and internationally in terms of security concerns. The default-mindset of US officials is yet to overcome the hypothetical ghosts of 1979. Trump ought to listen carefully to the International Atomic Energy Agency or even his own in-house intelligence and military experts, as opposed to media managers who are driven by optics . Even the US Defence secretary and a former combatant, James Mattis, has called for caution.

If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then clearly we should stay with it. Personal ego, ignorance of history or foreign policies are at the root of Trumps clumsiness in dealing with North Korea, his anti-ISIS initiatives and now, Tehran.

Iran is amongst the oldest civilisations in the world, a proud and politically conscious people who would rightfully view Trumps actions as a personal affront to their sovereignty and dignity.

Few within Iran, or indeed across the world (barring Governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia, for geopolitical and sectarian reasons), can comprehend the continuing US misbehaviour towards Iran, especially when the reality warrants a radically different approach.

(The writer is Lt Gen PVSM, AVSM (Retd), Former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands & Puducherry)
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is palpably down in its bastion, but not out in the wider geographical canvas. Tuesdays momentous development is doubtless a symbolic loss that the terrorist group has suffered a little over three years after its emergence (September 2014).

The Syrian city of Raqqa, which was once the de facto capital of the Caliphate, has fallen to US-backed forces, signalling ~ at any rate for now ~ the end of a gruelling four-month battle. With the recapture of Raqqa, the three years of ISIS rule in a swathe of Bashar al-Assads Syria has met its eclipse.

And well might Donald Trump claim that his forces have achieved what Vladimir Putins bombardment from the skies couldnt. ISIS is under intense pressure both in Syria and Iraq, and the potentially forbidding Caliphate has been restricted to a strip of the Euphrates Valley and the desert between the two countries. Yet there ought to be no scope for complacence; a seemingly crippling blow to ISIS in one part of the world can provoke renewed depredations further afield, most particularly in Europe and Afghanistan.

That said, both the big powers ~ yesterdays Cold War warriors but todays friends of strategic convenience ~ must realise that while the ISIS has been brought to its knees in Syria, the repressive dictator bashes on regardless at the presidential palace in Damascus. Though the liberation of Raqqa ~ often referred to as the ISIS capital of cruelty ~ will be formally announced very shortly, the military operations have ended with the capture of the citys stadium and hospital, the last holdouts of the terrorist group.

The Islamic States presence has very nearly been eliminated. The liberation of Raqqa has been an emblematic loss for ISIS not least because its recapture has trashed its claim of ruling an Islamic state at least physically. But the contours are less than clear and amidst the jubilant celebrations on Tuesday evening, it wasnt quite clear as to who will now control the city. If eventually the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) assume control of governance, fears of a renewed bout of ethnic tension between the local residents of Raqqa ~ who are Arabs in the main ~ and the predominantly Kurdish SDF are not wholly unfounded.

The SDF has in the recent past handed over areas it had taken from ISIS to the Syrian army. A repetition of this handover could lead to a fresh wave of clashes. Ethnicity can be as forbidding as Islamist fundamentalism.

To that can be added the Assad factor; neither the US nor Russia nor the United Nations have had the nerve to address the issue fair and square. Much as the ISIS presence has ended, stability in Syria has been a scarce commodity since the spring of 2011.
A good politician never retires. Barely three months after he bid goodbye to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Pranab Mukherjee is in the limelight again. The reason for his renewed activity is the release of the third volume of his autobiography.

Entitled The Coalition Years, it focuses in detail on the ten years of UPA rule in which Mukherjee was a major mover and shaker. Interestingly, now that Mukherjee is not bound by the restrictions of holding office, he has been quite frank on many issues that are potentially embarrassing to both the party to which he once belonged, the Congress, as well as the party in power today, the BJP. For instance, he has candidly admitted that he nursed ambitions to be the prime minister and was disappointed when he was overlooked.

He is also critical of the obstructionist role of the BJP on the issues which became controversies at that time, like the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the MNREGA scheme, Aadhaar and GST. He has documented the BJPs opposition as well as Modis objections in his book. As part of the build-up for the release of the book, Mukherjee has given a lengthy interview to two prominent TV channels. He will also be chief guest at a public discussion forum hosted by a leading newspaper and then proceed to give his first post-retirement address at Aligarh Muslim University.

While the BJP and Congress have maintained a diplomatic silence on Mukherjees revelations, former prime minister Manmohan Singh reacted by saying the ex-president was more deserving than him to occupy the position of PM. He also said that Mukherjee is the person the Congress has always turned to for advice and suggestions. Was he hinting at a future political role for the man who wanted to be PM as the 2019 election draws closer?

Notable absentees

Notable absentees at the ceremonial send off for President Ram Nath Kovind on his first official foreign visit were Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his senior cabinet colleagues Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari. The only minister who saw the President off was foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Established protocol for such occasions calls for the presence of the PM and senior cabinet ministers. While Pranab Mukherjee was President, Modi and his team always saw him off. The ceremonial farewell is held in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. It looks like Modi has decided to dispense with some of these protocol duties now that he has his own man in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Interestingly, it is not clear whether Modi called on Kovind when he returned from his recent trip to China to attend the BRICS meet. Usually, prime ministers meet the President to give a briefing on their foreign visits. Manmohan Singh followed this protocol with former President Pratibha Patil although she did not have much to contribute to the discussions. Of course, Pranab Mukherjee was in a different league altogether. His vast experience in government, his years as foreign minister in both the Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh governments and his stint as finance minister during the UPA era made him a storehouse of knowledge and wisdom. As Modi acknowledged at a function shortly before Mukherjee demitted office as President, he learned a lot from the veteran political leader.

Ivanka in Gujarat?

Speculation is rife whether Narendra Modi will host US President Donald Trumps influential daughter Ivanka in his home state of Gujarat like he did with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month. Ivanka will be travelling to Hyderabad next month to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit which will bring together 1500 business leaders from all over the world. She is attending the Summit on a personal invitation from Modi. With Gujarat assembly elections round the corner, political circles are wondering whether Modi will present Ivanka as a trophy in Ahmedabad to underline his position as a global leader. Modi will be meeting Trump at the forthcoming ASEAN meet in the Philippines later this month. Many believe he may use the opportunity to whisper an invitation in Trumps ear for Ivanka to visit Gujarat while she is in India.

Ruffled feathers

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman seems to have ruffled feathers in the armed forces in the short period that shes been in charge of this important ministry. One of her first orders to the army didnt go down well. The order directed army personnel in Ladakh to clean up the garbage strewn by tourists visiting the area. The army is believed to have objected, saying it was not their job to clean garbage. Their task is to protect the borders. It is the responsibility of the civic administration to keep tourist spots free of garbage.

Now the defence chiefs are believed to have red flagged Sitharamans insistence on a daily morning briefing from them. Sitharaman has asked them to meet her every morning to help her get her teeth into her new assignment. Her diligence is commendable but many in the defence forces feel that she should not summon the chiefs for a teaching session. That can easily be done by less senior officers. The chiefs are believed to have raised the issue with the defence ministry and others. They pointed out that they have many responsibilities to attend to. A face saver compromise is that the morning meetings with the chief will continue till the end of the month. Sitharaman has been asked to taper them off after that.
With Indian authors Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy having been two of my favorites since my teenage years, I have always been curious about visiting the country. I find myself being hypnotized by the spiritual and intellectual traditions of the place.

Madhya Pradesh is a state in central India. The fifth-largest state in the country by population, the region has a long-standing tribal heritage, with several monuments having been named UNESCO world heritage sites. Besides its cultural heritage sites and museums, the states hospitality scene is also unique.

We stayed in the Jehan Numa Palace Hotel. Different from the hotels owned by multinational operators, the Jehan Numa exhibits a very vintage and ethnic design, and it is not a high-rise building. The whole hotel is a spacious labyrinth-like three-story complex located in a big compound. The hotel itself used to be a palace for the local royal Muslim family in the 19th century ruled by the begums, or Muslim ladies of high rank.

The hotel boasts beautiful tiles and the architectural influences of British colonialization, Italian renaissance and Greece, hypnotizing the visitors with the smell of incense and spicy coffee served with cardamom.

One morning, we took a cruise ship to cross the crystal-clear Bhopal Lake near the hotel. A flock of swans were sitting on the dock or making their way across the water over there. I was zoning out for a while to feel the breeze caressing my face on that sleepy morning when music started to play.

The great beauty: The facade of the beautiful Taj-ul-Masajid as seen from its square. (JP/Sebastian Partogi)

First, it was just a few people dancing spontaneously on the deck, before most of the summits delegates descended there to join them. My vivacious friend Sandhya Manoj was teaching us how to perform an Indian-style dance as we made our way across the water. Soon I was able to let go of my shyness and danced energetically, in union with them.

I was hoping that the cruise disc jockey would put on Chunari by Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen  I first heard it in Mira Nairs film Monsoon Wedding and God, how can you not dance to that music? But I did not get my wish. Still, I was very happy.

A visit to the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya and Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum allowed us to learn about the biological and cultural evolution of humankind. Both museums present the evolution of the human agricultural processes and societal systems through beautifully designed rooms as well as interesting relics such as war weaponry used by the ancient people. Human beings turn out to have been a war-mongering species for a very long time.

The opposite of wars destructiveness is our creative endeavors through the arts. The Tribal Museum, in particular, is designed in a sophisticated and contemporary architectural style, which is set to blow your mind the first time you see the facade of the museum itself, which looked like a huge traditional hut with ornaments decorating its roof and walls. Inside, it is rich with ornaments decorating the walls, with beautiful relics arranged unconventionally.

For example, the museum features makeshift caves featuring real live bats, which visitors can walk inside. Contemporary visual artworks and installations embodying local mythology related to the cycle of life are also present in the museum.

Both museums show us that human conditions, including communication, violence and community, are expressed differently throughout history, from the hunter-gatherer period to today. The experience of visiting the two museums became more complete after I took my friends recommendation to read Sapiens, a book by Yuval Noah Harari.

A walk through time: Through cutting-edge and colorful galleries, the Tribal Museum in Madhya Pradesh chronicles the journey of human beings throughout time. (JP/Sebastian Partogi)

We also traveled to the Sanchi Buddhist complex by bus on a highway through agricultural fields, where cars had to stop or swerve their way to maneuver through a number of cows, which frequently crossed the roads. Many car drivers had to honk their horns loudly when the cows made their way slowly across the road.

The Sanchi Buddhist complex features beautiful stupas and temples, dating back to the third century BC, erected by Ashoka the Great who, upon observing the suffering brought by war, decided to turn around and dedicate his whole life to spreading Buddhas teachings. The buildings there showcase sophisticated architectural prowess, with circular shapes and complex reliefs.

The whole compound also has lots of big trees and you can see monks donning orange clothes sitting beneath the huge trees.

On our final day, we visited the Taj-ul masajid grand mosque in Bhopal, a huge square also comprising boarding houses for its students. The mosque itself has always been populated by Islamic students reciting the Koran in between prayer schedules. On a green pond situated in the middle of the square, you can see people performing ablutions.

When I walked inside the mosque, I was mesmerized not only by the beauty but also the tranquility brought by its interior. To our delight, the majestic building had a cool temperature inside. The views of the building and its elements seemed to pop out from the pages of the National Geographic magazine.

Both the Buddhist and Muslim sites are very pristine and I find them to be carrying incredible spiritual vibes that bring peace to our minds.
President Abdul Hamid has said the European Union should continue to exert pressure on Myanmar so that it takes back the Rohingya refugees who have escaped to Bangladesh.

Hamid praised the European Union (EU) for its support during the crisis when Rensje Teerink, its new ambassador, submitted her credentials at Bangabhaban on Tuesday, his Press Secretary Md Joynal Abedin told bdnews24.com.

Teerink, a Dutch national, also praised Bangladesh for its humanitarian attitude towards the refugees and the measures taken to accommodate them the different camps.

Over half a million Rohingya refugees have fled atrocities in Rakhine State since the army crackdown began on August 25.

The new arrivals take the number of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladeshi camps close to a million.

Around 400,000 of the stateless Muslim minorities who fled past violence in Myanmar were already in Bangladesh.
Representatives of the US, Mexico and Canada announced here that negotiations on revising the 1994 NAFTA will continue into next year in the face of significant conceptual gaps among the parties.

US President Donald Trump initially set a goal of completing the talks this year, but the just-completed fourth round of discussions exposed substantial differences among the three governments on key issues, Efe news reported.

New proposals have created challenges and ministers discussed the significant conceptual gaps among the parties. Ministers have called upon all negotiators to explore creative ways to bridge these gaps. To that end, the parties plan on having a longer inter-sessional period before the next negotiating round to assess all proposals, US Trade Representative Robert Lightizer told reporters on Tuesday while reading from a joint statement.

The fifth round, to be held in Mexico City, has been postponed until November 17-21.

Lightizer was joined by the leaders of the other two delegations, Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trump, a critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has repeatedly threatened to scrap the accord altogether if Canada and Mexico do not agree to the changes he wants.

Even before the fourth round began last week, prospects for success seemed to be fading as Washington demanded controversial amendments, such as the addition to NAFTA of a sunset clause that would require the treaty to be reaffirmed by all three signatories every five years in order to remain in effect.

Lightizer complained on Tuesday about the unwillingness of his counterparts to accede to US proposals.

NAFTA has resulted in a huge trade deficit for the United States and has cost us tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs. The agreement has become very lopsided and needs to be rebalanced. We of course have a $500 billion trade deficit. So for us, trade deficits do matter. And we intend to reduce them, he said.

Frankly, I am surprised and disappointed by the resistance to change from our negotiating partners.

Freeland accused the US of taking a winner-takes-all approach to the negotiations and described the latest demands as troubling.
The objective to end poverty by 2030 envisaged in the UN Sustainable Development Goals will never be met without addressing the issue of womens reproductive rights, according to a report.

This new UNFPA report argues that these goals, especially the one to end poverty, may never be achieved without first tearing down economic, social, geographic and other barriers that hundreds of millions of women face every day in exercising their reproductive rights, said Richard Kollodge, editor of The State of World Population 2017 report by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Xinhua reported.

This report is careful to note that you cannot fix economic inequality just by fixing inequalities in reproductive health. However, the report does make the case that progress toward economic equality is possible if you make sure that all women have the power, the information and the means to decide whether, when, with whom and how often to have children, Kollodge told reporters at the UN Headquarters on Tuesday.

Inequality is often understood in terms of income or wealth, said Kollodge, but there are other dimensions.

He said one dimension that has been largely ignored is the enjoyment or denial of reproductive rights and the effect it has on all humanity.

Economic inequality divides countries into haves and have-nots; inequality in reproductive rights divide people into cans and cannots.

Without access to contraception, poor women, particularly those who are less educated and live in rural areas, are at heightened risk of unintended pregnancy which may result in health risks and lifelong economic repercussions, said the report.

The unmet demand for family planning in developing countries is generally greatest among women in the poorest 20 percent of households, it added.
Art students from College Sainte-Anne de Lachine stand in a student installation which uses technology to interact its audience. Viewers are invited to step into space and change the sound and light inside of the box by pressing different planets.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow developing after midnight. Low 31F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 90%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
. To do so, first type the original number into the text box. Then click on the "Scientific Notation" option located at the top of the floating window. Finally, click on the "Standard" button found beneath the text box to display your result. This program is useful for scientists and engineers working with decimal-based numbers. It provides easy access to those who need to convert those numbers into more compact forms without having to do heavy math calculations first.

Scientific notation is a way to express very large or very small numbers. It is used in physics, chemistry and other fields where large numbers are common. Those numbers are written as a power of 10 followed by a number with an exponent. For example, 1,000,000 (one million) is written as 1  103. The exponent shows how many zeros are after the first digit. For example, 1,000,001 is written as 1  102. Scientific notation is a useful tool for making calculations easier. You can use it to write down very big or very small numbers in one step instead of writing out both the large and small numbers separately. You can also use it to express large or small numbers in terms of other units like centimeters or millimeters.

Scientific notation solver is an online tool that can be used to convert any number into scientific notation. Simply enter any number to the left of the decimal point and it will automatically convert it into a scientific notation equivalent. This web tool can be very helpful when you need to convert a large number into scientific notation. However, please note that this online tool can only convert numbers that are in scientific format. For example, it cannot convert a non-scientific number like "1,085" into a scientific notation equivalent. It is also important to keep in mind that this web tool only works when converting numbers from one particular format to another. For example, if you want to change a non-scientific number like "1,085" into standard format, then you will have to use another online tool like NumberFormatting.com.
Nearly five months after announcing waiver of farm loans, the Maharashtra government kickstarted the process on Wednesday as "Diwali gift" to the state's farmers. Rs 4,000 crore will be distributed among 840,000 beneficiaries in the first phase of the massive Rs 34,000-crore scheme.

At a function, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a portal in which the names of the beneficiary farmers were uploaded which will be sent to the banks.

From a single bank account, the money would be transferred to various banks, which in turn would deposit the pre-defined amounts in the individual farmers' accounts as per the list, he said

"We have released today (Wednesday) an amount of Rs 4,000 crore, of which Rs 3,200 crore will go towards loan waivers of 462,000 farmers and the rest Rs 800 crore would be paid as incentives to 378,000 farmers who have been repaying their loans on time," Fadnavis said.

He assured that payments funds under the Chhatrapati Shivaji Shetkari Sanman Yojana would be a continuous process till every eligible farmer was benefited, and by November 15, around 75 per cent of disbursals would be completed.



According to Fadnavis, government employees who also earn income from agricultural activities, legislators and others who are regular income tax payers have been exempted from the scheme.

However, the Chief Minister made it clear that loan waiver was not the sole solution to farmers' problems and reiterated that continuous investment in the agricultural sector for the next five years would enable sustainable development besides reducing distress in farms.

"Our aim was to help those farmers, who had stepped outside the institutional credit systems, return to the system so that they don't get stuck in the debt-trap of private money-lenders, and also ensure they can avail fresh loans from financial institutions, earn profits and repay them," Fadnavis explained.

Detailing schemes for the farmers, he said the investments amounting to Rs 21,000 crore in 2011-2012 had now increased three-fold and stood at around Rs 63,000 crore in the agriculture sector.

Besides, schemes like the Jalyukt Shivar water conservation initiative contributed to ensure a growth rate of up to 12 per cent in the agriculture sector, which was ensuring production worth over Rs 40,000 crore in actual terms, he said.

Fadnavis said farmlands had been experiencing many problems for the past few years, resulting in negative growth and that was the reason the government looked at options beyond relief and rehabilitation.

The Chief Minister admitted that he was initially apprehensive about the additional financial burden of the loans waiver scheme on the state exchequer, but with the help of Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, the government finally managed the herculean task.

On June 24, the state government had announced a massive Rs 34,022 crore relief package for the farmers, days after an unprecedented 11-day strike by the farming community in the state shook the ruling establishment.

Under the scheme, the total number of beneficiaries were estimated to be around 8.90 million, but now it is expected that over four million, mostly small and medium farmers, shall become completely debt-free, becoming eligible to avail fresh bank loans.


Kerala's money-spinning tourism industry has been hit hard by the GST regime, with taxes shooting to as high as 33 per cent and affecting five-star resorts, industry players say.

According to GST Council tax rates, non-AC restaurants charge 12 per cent GST on food while AC restaurants and those with liquor licence charge 18 per cent. Five-star hotels charge a GST of 28 per cent.

Official figures say foreign tourist arrivals to Kerala in 2016 was 10,38,419up from 977,479while domestic tourists grew 5.67 per cent and touched 1,31,72,535 visitors. The total foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector was Rs 7,750 crore in 2016.

Leading tourism player Jose Dominic, who heads the CGH Earth that has around a dozen five-star rated premium properties in Kerala and outside, told IANS that GST was "a killer".

"Today taxes in the tourism sector have reached as high as 33 per cent (28 per cent and another 5 per cent for tour operators), and all this is borne by the traveller. If you see the tourism tax structure prevailing in Southeast Asia, it ranges from 7 to 12 per cent while Sri Lanka has 16 per cent tax," said Dominic.

He said Kerala, along with states like Rajasthan, Goa and Odisha, would be the worst affected by GST as they get the maximum number of foreign tourists.

"In Kerala, one out of four new jobs created are in the tourism industry. But with GST, things could go haywire. It must not be forgotten that Kerala came on the tourism map after the arrival of foreign tourists. Now, with air fares already sky high, GST could well sound the death knell for this industry in Kerala. Corrective steps are the need of the hour," said Dominic, a chartered accountant by profession.

Dominic added that if the "correction does not come quickly", then the international flow of tourists could be hit, not just in Kerala but in the rest of the country too.

M.R. Narayanan, general secretary of the Confederation of Tourism Industry in Kerala, said the 33 per cent tax rate was applicable not just to the five-star category but also to all rooms that have a declared tariff above Rs 7,500.

"Technically speaking, this would be applicable to even three or four-star resorts because tourism is a seasonal industry, and during the peak season in Keralastarting in September and ending in March every resort has a different slab. So, it could affect practically all the leading players," said Narayanan.

He added that the only exemption was for ayurveda resorts that have been classified as 'Ayurveda hospitals'.

E.M. Najeeb, regional chairman, South India chapter of Indian Association of Tour Operators, told IANS that they had raised the issue with everyone including Prime Minister Narendra Modi "but as yet there is no solution".

"We expected the GST Council meeting held early this month to review our demand but nothing has happened. Our business has started to get affected as tourists these days are conscious of spending. Price is a crucial criteria on deciding a destination," said Najeeb.

(IANS)
There has been a sharp decline among Indians seeking jobs in two top destinationsthe United Kingdom by 42 per cent and US by 38 per centattributed mainly to the political situations there, a new survey by top global jobs portal Indeed has revealed.







Similarly, there has been a fall in the number of Indians wanting to work even in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 21 per cent, based on searches on Indeed, as per the survey results for 2016-2017 released in Mumbai on Wednesday.







The report said the prospects of Brexit could be a deterrent for Indian jobseekers in the UK, as other countries like Germany and Ireland have witnessed a 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively increase during the same period.







Indeed India managing director Sashi Kumar said as one of the world's largest hubs for IT talent, India has historically seen a steady outflow of IT professionals to countries like USA, UK and Australia.







"The new data shows an apparent reversal of that trend. The steadily growing Indian economy coupled with political uncertainties abroad has persuaded highly skilled Indian talents to stay back and find jobs here, which in turn has fostered a thriving 'start-ups' scene," said Kumar







In fact, he said the research shows an overall five per cent decline in Indians looking to move abroad for job opportunities, while there has been a whopping 25 per cent increase in people from UK seeking jobs in India, and a 170 per cent increase in job-seekers from Asia-Pacific region to India.







He attributed the growing popularity of India as an 'employment destination' to initiatives like 'Make In India' and ease of doing business, and the latest figures indicate a trend of people working in UK and Asia-Pacific regions willing to return to India.







Despite the declining figures, the USA still remains the top choice with 49 per cent of people searching for job opportunities there, followed by UAE (16 per cent), Canada (nine), UK (five), Singapore (four), Australia (three), Qatar (two), Bahrain and South Africa (one percent each).







In 1960, there were around 12,000 Indian immigrants to the USA, which increased to 2.4 million by 2015, making Indians the second largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans.







There are around 1.50 million Indians living in the UK, making them the largest single ethnic minority group, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total ethnic minority population in that country.
The government ordered diesel generators and a power plant in Delhi to be shut down as air quality in the capital deteriorated ahead of Diwali. Under a plan that imposes anti-pollution measures when air quality drops below a certain level, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) also ordered some brick kilns to close and the burning of rubbish to stop.

With Delhis air already in the very poor and severe category, the measures will stay in place until March to prevent pollution levels from rising.

Many richer residents of Delhi have diesel generators as a back-up during regular power supply disruptions.

Emergency services like hospitals will not be forced to shut down their generators.

Delhi has a long way to go before it can lay claim to having reasonably clean and breathable air, Sunita Narain, an EPCA member and director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based thinktank, said in a statement.

Air pollution in Delhi has become a major public policy issue in recent years as residents wake up to the life-threatening implications of breathing air frequently ranked among the worlds most toxic.

Courts have taken up much of the role in trying to clean the air, although enforcement of the various bans and restrictions has proven difficult.

Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers in and around Delhi ahead of Diwali, as it looks to prevent a repeat of severe air pollution that forced school closures last year.

Last November, about a million children were forced to stay home from school and thousands of workers reported sick as New Delhi struggled with its worst pollution for nearly 20 years.

Vehicle emissions and dust from construction sites were the factors blamed for that spike, besides firecrackers and crop burnings.

India and China together accounted for more than half of the 4.2 million deaths attributable to air pollution worldwide in 2015, a study by the US-based Health Effects Institute showed.

The closure of Delhis Badarpur thermal power plant is one of the actions required when the air quality turns very poor by the governments Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which came into force in January.

Power plants in neighbouring states will also be monitored for pollution levels.

Reuters
Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that cavalier threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were dangerous and short-sighted, urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a more outfront role in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea), Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in the South Korean capital of Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension between Pyongyang and Washington has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face, Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trumps social media comments on North Korea, saying, The insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I dont think theyve benefited the United States.

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader little rocket man on a suicide mission, and vow to destroy the country if it threatens the United States or its allies. In turn, the North called Trump mentally deranged and a mad dog.

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile to hit the United States.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said the United States did not rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

The situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point and a nuclear war may break out any moment, North Koreas Deputy UN Ambassador Kim In Ryong had told a UN General Assembly committee on Monday.

In Seoul, the vice foreign minister said on Wednesday South Korea was considering levying its own sanctions on the North, although no decision has been made yet.

CHINA PRESSURE

Clinton, a former US secretary of state, said Washingtons allies have increasingly been expressing concern over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming distracted with North Korean threats and be as forcefully patient as possible.

Regarding Chinas role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off trying to tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions against North Korea.

North Koreas relationship with its main ally and trading partner China have been strained by its rapid pursuit of weapons programmes, with many of Pyongyangs recent tests coinciding with major Chinese events.

There had been fears that North Korea would conduct another test to coincide with the start of Chinas five-yearly party congress on Wednesday. Instead, Pyongyang sent Beijing a congratulatory message.

The central committee of the Norths ruling Workers Party of Korea said China had made great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics under the guidance of the Communist Party of China.

We are greatly pleased over this, the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it sincerely wished the China congress satisfactory success.

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention North Korea in his more than three-hour-long address at the opening of a key Communist Party Congress.

CANT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

Clinton said retaliatory actions by China over the deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea, which targeting the latters firms doing business in China, would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job reining in the North.

China says the powerful radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system could be used to pierce its territory, and has taken aim at South Koreas businesses. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Koreas missile threats.

The Chinese cant have it both ways, Clinton said. They cant do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face.

Reuters
The 203-minute inaugural speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping marked the end of his first term that began in 2012, and signalled the dawn of a second term as the 'Supreme Leader' of his party and the country.

By normal conventions, the subsequent five years would mark Xi's final stint atop the slippery Chinese pyramidhe would have completed a decade in power by the end of 2022. However, if Xi's body language and confidence index are any indication, the possibility of a third term cannot be ruled out.

Xi's address was titled: Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era. There are many takeaways from the overly long speech, which merits close textual scrutiny. A quick translation into English may not capture the entire nuance of what the Chinese president sought to convey to his 1.3 billion strong domestic audience and the extended global community for whom Beijing is a critical interlocutor. But, a preliminary analysis may be in order.

China and its external policies have a special resonance for India. What is the context against which the Wednesday speech is to be reviewed? Xi's first term, and the perception in Delhi about China's uneasy bilateral relationship, will provide answers.

For India, Xi Jinping's first term is captured by an image depicting the Chinese president's reception in Ahmedabad by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014. An idyllic picture of the two Asian leaders seated on a colorful swing was marred by the incursion of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops in the Chumar region of the disputed western sector, along the 4,000km India-China border.

At the time, it seemed incongruous that the PLA should have acted in such a manner when the Chinese president was on his first visit to India; host Modi had invested a considerable amount of his political credibility by receiving the esteemed visitor. The Chinese team feigned total ignorance of the unsavoury incursion and its timing; it was suggested that Chumar be written off as a one-off aberration triggered by a feckless local PLA commander.

A very puzzled PM Modi is reported to have remarked to his guest: Yeh chhoti chhoti ghatnayen bade se bade sambandhon ko prabhavit kar deti hain. Agar daant ka dard ho to saara sharir kaam nahin karta hai (Even such small incidents can impact the biggest of relationships, just as a little toothache can paralyze the entire body).

The breakthrough with Beijing that Modi was keen to pursue did not materialise. Instead, 2015 and 2016 saw the bilateral relationship becoming more strained over various issuessome of which were inextricably linked to the Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship. More recently, the Doklam face-off marked a particularly tense and complex phase in the Xi-Modi bilateral relations.

Against this backdrop, Xi's speech offers some slender but important clues about the contour and texture of the Beijing that Delhi will have to deal with over the next five years.

Immense self-confidence about China and its growth trajectory is the first assertion. At the outset, Xi Jinping noted:  The Chinese nation  has stood up, grown rich, and become strong. It now embraces the brilliant prospects of rejuvenationIt will be an era that sees China moving centrestage and making greater contributions to mankind.

The subtext of the statement is perhaps a not-so-subtle signal to the US, which is distracted by its domestic policy thrombosis and the resultant dilution of global leadership credibility and consistency.

The implications of Beijing becoming more assertive are opaque for now. One indicator will be the degree to which President Xi follows a revisionist path.

The sinicisation of Marxism has been a long-held ideological objective of the hardcore CCP intellectuals. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the one lesson that Beijing internalised was the monumental folly, and hence invalidity, of the Gorbachev model.

Thus, it was no surprise that Xi gravely observed the centrality of the CCP: Government, military, society and schools, north, south, east and westthe party is the leader of all". Ideological certitude about Chinese socialism emerges loud and clear.

It is instructive to note that PM Modi will soon prepare for general elections, eyeing a second term.

As Xi said in his address: Currently, conditions, both domestic and abroad, are undergoing deep and complicated changes. Our country is in an important period of strategic opportunity in its development. The outlook is extremely bright; (but) the challenges are also extremely grim.

This will be Delhi's dilemma over the next five yearsharmonising the bright with the grim, as it deals with a more confident Beijing led by a very assured President Xi.

(The views expressed by the author are personal)
An especially lenient plea bargain agreement was accepted between a police officer who drove a drunk, crossed an intersection on a red light, hit and injured a victim and then fled the scene without calling for help, Shelly Tapieroof of Israel News reports on Kikar Shabbos News.

The accident occurred in February this year, in Tel Aviv, and this week, the Transportation Court was presented with a plea bargain according to which the defendant would send six months of community service only in addition to his license being suspended for four years. This is a particularly lenient punishment, since the punishment prescribed by law for a hit-and-run accident is three years in prison.

As noted, only Tuesday, 27 Tishrei, the sentence of the driver David Amar, who struck a child at Bar Ilan Junction was announced. Omars attorney and the State Prosecutors Office reached a plea bargain, in which Omar pleaded guilty and was convicted, but after the parties did not agree on the punishment. The State Prosecutors Office requested that he be sentenced to 42 months in prison.

Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman decided to take into account the circumstances of his life and ease his sentence even though he drove a car without a drivers license and that was his fourth conviction. In addition, he was sentenced to prison for violating an earlier probation to an additional seven-months sentence, four of which would be included in the new sentence for a total of 30 months in prison. He is also barred from driving for five years from his date of release from prison and he must bay the victim 10,000 shekels.

The Tel Aviv District Attorneys Office said in response to the policemans lenient plea bargain: This is a balancing arrangement encompassing all the considerations. The complainant was lightly injured. The defendant waited until the ambulance arrived and only then fled. In addition, following the incident he was dismissed from the police force. 

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
How bad is the UK's pothole pandemic? If each one was amalgamated into one giant crater it would be four times deeper than the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, research has found.

A new study by one of the nation's major comparison sites said a whopping 1,031,787 potholes were reported to local councils last year. And with the average depth being 40mm, all the troughs in the UK's tarmac combined would measure in at 25.6 miles deep.

So what if one of these potholes damages your car? Destroyed suspension, shattered alloy wheels and exploded tyres can result in hefty repair bills - here's how to make a claim if you suffer any of these.

Created by Confused.com (view the full interactive)

To put the sheer size of the problem into perspective, Confused.com created the above scrolling animation showing the total depth of the UK's road ruts against comparable landmarks, including the English Channel (174 metres), the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean (6.8 miles) and the Earth's upper mantle (18.6 miles).

The insurance comparison site calculated the monumental figure after asking local councils for figures relating to the number of potholes reported by motorists in 2016.

A Freedom of Information request to 412 local authorities, and the Highways Agency, Transport Scotland and Welsh Government resulted in 197 local authority responses as well as information on potholes provided by Highways England.

The responding parties confirmed that six-figure total that were logged last year and estimated that the average depth of each one was 40mm.

Any pothole of this depth can cause considerable harm to vehicles and pose serious risks to road users in the eyes of the courts.

That means any damages can be compensated. Here's our guide to making a successful claim:

How to make a successful claim for car damage caused by potholes Who do I raise my complaint with? If your car is damaged by a pothole you should complain to the local authority responsible for the road with the pothole  or the Highways Agency if the incident occurred on a motorway or A road. What evidence do I need to collect? Make a note of where and when the incident took place. You can also return to the scene and measure the depth and diameter of the crater. Potholes of at least 40mm deep are generally considered to pose a danger to vehicles. If possible, take photos of the pothole and its surroundings to support your written complaint and get your mechanic to provide a comment about the damage to your vehicle and an itemised bill for their work if they have made a repair. Do I need to report the pothole? Irrespective of your claim, notify the relevant authority about the pothole so that it goes onto their register. What are my rights? Follow the relevant authority's instructions to make your claim. They will either reject it or pay out. Your right to claim is covered by the Highways Act 1980: section 41 of the act requires authorities to maintain roads and allows damages to be paid if they fail to do so. However, Section 58 of the act gives them a some loopholes. This says that you should be entitled to recompense if the council was aware of the pothole that caused damage to your vehicle or, crucially, if it is reasonable to expect the council to have been aware of the hole. In short, if the authority can prove it had taken reasonable steps to maintain the stretch of road in question, following national guidelines  they might nit have to pay out. The local authority won't pay out. What else can I do? Dealing with highway or local authorities can sometimes be frustrating, and there is a chance that authorities will try to deny your claim - less than a quarter of claims are successful, but that doesn't mean you should give up. The Section 58 defence (detailed above) is the most commonly used by council to reject claims. If that's the reason behind the refusal to compensate there are still some avenues you can take. One is to send a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request asking for evidence that the authority has taken the necessary steps to attempt to repair the pothole that caused the damage. They have to respond to your FOI within 20 working days. If they do provide evidence, compare it to the guidelines set out for councils by the UK Roads Liaison Group. If you think the authority has failed to follow these guidance then you may want to consider taking your claim further. But if they've followed it to the letter you may struggle to get any further. If you still think your case is strong, you can present your evidence to a small claims court. Can I claim on my motor insurance policy? If the authority refuses to compensate, you may be able to turn to your insurer, providing you have comprehensive cover. Insurance claims are an option, but you should take time to consider the ramifications of pursuing a claim, if the repair costs are especially high (for suspension damage, for instance).

According to Confused.com's study, Scotland registered the most potholes.

Drivers in the country informed local authorities about 154,310 potholes in total last year. Once added together, that works out at 3,634 metres in depth - or 4 miles.

South East and South West England had the next highest number of reported craters, with 138,672 and 125,797 respectively.

This UK maps shows which regions have the deepest pothole problems (measurement in metres)

Where in the UK has the deepest pothole problem? 1. Scotland - 154,310 potholes measuring in at 6,364m (4.0 miles) 2. South West England - 138,672 potholes measuring in at 5,495m (3.4 miles) 3. South East England - 125,797 potholes measuring in at 5,199m (3.2 miles) 4. North West England - 120,748 potholes measuring in at 4,842m (3.0 miles) 5. Yorkshire & Humber - 92,894 potholes measuring in at 3,901m (2.4 miles) 6. North East England - 77,960 potholes measuring in at 3,118m (1.9 miles) 7. East of England - 62,027 potholes measuring in at 2,957m (1.8 miles) 8. West Midlands - 72,462 potholes measuring in at 2,806m (1.7 miles) 9. East Midlands - 42,549 potholes measuring in at 1,762m (1.1 miles) 10. Northern Ireland - 78,147 potholes measuring in at 1,563m (1.0 miles) 11. London - 42,738 potholes measuring in at 1,522m (0.9 miles) 12. Wales - 18,679 potholes measuring in at 733m (0.5 miles) Source: Confused.com

The staggeringly high volume of potholes is in spite of government attempts to quell the increasing problem with a 250 million Pothole Action Fund that was confirmed last year.

But despite this fresh injection of cash a survey of 2,000 motorists found that a third (33 per cent) have suffered damage to their vehicle after failing to avoid one of the one million potholes scattered across UK tarmac.

The nationwide issue is now causing a significant financial headache for the country's drivers as well as rattled bones - and a big dent for councils paying-out for vehicle-repair claims.

Damage was mainly caused to tyres (64 per cent) and suspension (42 per cent), which might explain why local authorities had to fork out 3.1 million to compensate victims of pothole damage last year.

It means the average repair bill to rectify battered vehicles is 245 per pothole, and 69 per cent of drivers think councils should be doing more to tackle the issue.

The research also showed that the number of potholes in each region is not directly correlated to the claims authorities have to pay out for.

For instance, Wiltshere forked out 507,546 in compensation last year, though 6,803 potholes had been reported in the area.

In contrast, there were 31,104 reported craters on roads in Surrey, though the total cost in vehicle-damage compensation for the council was 343,685.

Confused.com calculated that the average pothole is 40mm deep. This can be particularly dangerous for motorcyclists and cyclists who are more vulnerable to imperfections in the road

Biggest compensation pay-outs to victims of pothole damage in 2016 1. Wiltshire - 507,546 in compensation (6,803 potholes) 2. Surrey - 343,685 in compensation (31,104 potholes) 3. Cardiff - 288,025 in compensation payouts (2,928 potholes) 4. Hampshire - 152,630 in compensation payouts (12,072 potholes) 5. Staffordshire - 117,239 in compensation payouts (11,256 potholes) Source: Confused.com

And it wasn't just the amount in compensation payouts that were inconsistent - the cost to repair potholes also fluctuated in different parts of the country.

For example, Westminster City Council paid an eye-watering average of 2,400 per pothole it repaired in 2016 - almost 400 more than the next highest-paying council (Leicester).

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: 'If drivers experience a bump in the road, they should report it to their local council as soon as possible before the problem gets any worse.

'The cost of motoring alone is getting more and more expensive and damage repairs is a big contributor to this, as car parts increase in price as well.'

The Government launched a Pothole Action Fund amounting to 250 million in 2016. It said the pot of cash would be used to fill 4 million pothole between last year and 2021

Which areas pay the most to repair a pothole? 1. Westminster - 250 potholes repaired at an average cost of 2,400 each 2. Leicester - 886 potholes repaired at an average cost of 2,063 each 3. Argyll and Bute- 1,230 potholes repaired at an average cost of 1,802 each 4. City of London - 123 potholes repaired at an average cost of 1,422 each 5. Gwynedd - 554 potholes repaired at an average cost of 1,302 each Source: Confused.com

The government's Pothole Action Fund, which aims to provide 50 million to councils each year until 2021, appears to have encouraged local authorities to trim back their own road maintenance budgets in the last year.

An investigation by AA Tyres found that highway repair budgets had been cut by 220 million between 2014 and 2016.

How average road maintenance budgets in the UK have shrunk Average road maintenance budgets for authorities in England (excluding London) 2014/15: 23.4 million 2016/17: 21.8 million Average road maintenance budgets for authorities in London 2014/15: 7.5 million 2016/17: 7.5 million Average road maintenance budgets for authorities in Wales 2014/15: 7 million 2016/17: 6.9 million Source: AA Tyres

That's despite annual road traffic levels increasing by 11.4 billion miles across England and Wales in the same period, which the motoring group said is 'burdening an ageing and consistently underfunded road network'.

The AA's report said: 'With significantly smaller maintenance budgets, local authorities have been forced to slash annual expenditure on pothole repairs by 42 million since 2014, resulting in 35 per cent fewer repairs last year than in 2014.'

Simon Benson, director of motoring services at AA Tyres, commented: 'With the government allocating significantly smaller budgets for highway maintenance, the countrys roads are suffering and weve seen a sharp decline in the number of potholes repaired each year since 2014.

'A distinct lack of funding means that the countrys roads are deteriorating, putting drivers at risk and making pothole-related damage to cars increasingly likely.'
A Judge has blocked an 11th-hour bid to keep documents revealing Labours support for the disastrous takeover of failing bank HBOS secret.

In a last-minute appeal the Government asked Mr Justice Norris in the High Court to keep under wraps a dossier on HBOSs toxic 2008 acquisition by Lloyds.

The HBOS papers are thought to be crucial to the case of 6,000 Lloyds investors who are taking the bank to court in a 700m lawsuit due to start today.

But after submissions from the Mail and other papers he refused the Government request, saying the documents will play a key role in a civil case brought by shareholders who claim the deal cost them millions of pounds.

The report should reveal to the public for the first time that for the first time, what was discussed by business minister Lord Mandelson in the run-up to the 2008 HBOS takeover

It means that, for the first time, the public may learn what was discussed by business minister Lord Mandelson (pictured) behind the scenes in the run-up to the takeover. Lloyds nearly collapsed after the deal and was saved with 20.5billion of public money.

The files set out discussions between the Treasury, the now-defunct watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, and the Bank of England over how to handle the crisis as the economy teetered on the brink of collapse.

The Government argued that revealing the information would make civil servants less willing to be candid if they knew their discussions would be made public.

The ruling means many details may at last come out during the 14-week case. The documents are likely to be referred to during the questioning of former FSA boss Sir Hector Sants.

HBOSs acquisition was rushed through without a full competition probe after then-Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said it was in the public interest.

The dossier is thought to include the Governments view on the implications for financial services if the merger failed.

Publication could show how close HBOS came to collapse, and shed light on why ministers supported the deal.

The 6,000 shareholders claim they were misled about the facts of the deal in 2008 and their civil trial, which starts today, will dwell on a cocktail evening at Spencer House Palace in London when Prime Minister Gordon Brown is said to have given his backing to a takeover to Lloyds chairman Sir Victor Blank.

Lloyds is expected to argue a high level of information was revealed at the time of the takeover, including a warning that it needed emergency liquidity support.

Its lawyers will also claim that the subsequent share price fall was due to the economic recession, not the HBOS deal.

Lloyds believes the claims to be heard have no merit.
Investors in Pearson welcomed the first bit of good news from the company in some time.

The education publishing specialist raised its profit forecast for the year after reporting revenue was at the upper end of guidance in the first nine months.

Sales dipped 2 per cent over the period following lower levels of enrolment in US higher education and a fall in the use of textbooks.

But cost-cutting and a restructure are starting to benefit performance and Pearson said it is making good progress in its digital transformation.

Pearson this year has offloaded Penguin Random House and Global Education, and, with things going well, it now expects earnings for the year to be at least 576million, up from a previous estimate of 546million.

Pearson raised its profit forecast for the year after reporting revenue was at the upper end of guidance in the first nine months

Chief executive John Fallon said tough market conditions are expected to continue. Shares leapt 7.3 per cent, or 45.5p, to 667p.

The firm was the greatest riser on the FTSE 100, which was off 0.1 per cent, or 10.8 points, at 7516.17.

Estate agent Foxtons was the star of the all-share index, as speculation that stamp duty could be slashed for first-time buyers boosted its outlook.

Investors are banking on Chancellor Philip Hammond removing the duty for first-time buyers in next month's Budget.

That could see sales surge at London agent Foxtons, which has suffered since additional tax was introduced for landlords and those buying second homes. Shares soared 9per cent, or 6p, to 73p.

Enjoying the same boost, property services firm Countrywide was not far behind, up 4.8 per cent, or 5.5p, to 119.5p. But Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'It's that time ...when the Treasury starts flying kites in the media to gauge public reaction.

STOCK WATCH - BENCHMARK HOLDINGS Benchmark Holdings announced operations had begun at its vaccine production site in Essex. It has processed its first commercial-scale batch of antigen for a number of vaccines which are used in farming of fish and crustaceans. Benchmark specialises in services and products for sustainable food and farming. Once its facility is fully licensed it will be able to expand the number and range of vaccines. Shares climbed 6 per cent, or 2.5p, to 44.5p.

But investors who get carried away could find themselves falling back to earth with a bit of a bang as many of these proposals never make it into policy.'

While Asos (up 0.9 per cent, or 50p, to 5750p) impressed with super sales growth, Clipper Logistics was riding on the coat tails of its success winning a contract to handle Asos's European returns from its site in Poland.

The three-year deal will see 350 jobs created at the logistics centre. Shares advanced 0.2 per cent, or 1p, to 433.5p.

Moneysupermarket reported revenue of 90.2million in the three months to September 30, up 6 per cent from the same period a year ago.

While a growing number of homeowners switching insurance provider has driven growth, home services sales at the comparison site for the year to date are down 21 per cent.

Chief executive Mark Lewis said the group was 'on track for another record year' but investors seemed less confident as shares were off 0.9 per cent, or 2.7p, to 315.8p

Private healthcare provider Mediclinic said earnings from the Middle East had dented earnings. The firm has embarked on a cost savings programme in South Africa and Switzerland as patient numbers dwindle, while regulatory changes in Abu Dhabi have put profit margins in the region under pressure.

Shares dropped 4.4 per cent, or 29.5p, to 645.5p.

ConvaTec made some ground back after yesterday's profit warnings sparked a share price plunge. HSBC removed its 'buy' rating from the stock while analysts from JP Morgan and Citigroup slashed their target price for the business. Shares gained 3.9 per cent, or 8p, to finish on 213p.

Rotala has entered a conditional agreement to buy National Express's Hotel Hoppa business, a passenger transport service between Heathrow Airport and hotels within a five mile-radius.

Rotala will pay 2million. Shares accelerated 2.6 per cent, or 1.5p, to 60p.
London-focused estate agent Foxtons saw revenues decline again in the third quarter as it felt the impact of a downturn in the capitals property market.

The company, known for its Mini cars and coffee-shop style offices, saw commissions from sales fall and said that a 'resilient' performance in its lettings arms was not enough to offset a downward pressure on rents.

Sales revenues fell 16 per cent to 10.3million in the third quarter, while lettings revenue fell by 2 per cent to 22.5million compared to last year, as modest growth in volumes was by falling rents.

Falling revenues: Foxtons posted declining revenues, in line with its expectations

That left revenues for the quarter to the end of September 6 per cent lower at 35.1million, in line with the company's expectations, and total revenues for the first nine months of the year down 12 per cent to 93.7million.

Shares rose almost 7 per cent, or 5p, to 78.01p in morning trading despite the poor numbers.

Boss Nic Budden said: This was a resilient third-quarter performance when set against the challenging conditions in the London property market.

We have maintained our relentless focus on delivering a leading proposition for our customers and in our lettings business we are pleased with the reaction to our recent growth initiatives.

In July, Foxtons warned of an unprecedented economic and political uncertainty  particularly the EU referendum and general election  hitting the London property market.

Housing surveys have pointed to a slowdown in the capitals housing market, with the latest official figures showing a 1 per cent decline in prices between July and August and the slowest annual growth of all UK regions at 2.6 per cent.

For the third quarter, Foxtons said it saw modest growth in volumes but falling rents meant that lettings revenue came in slightly lower at 22.5million, compared to 22.9million in the same period last year.

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'The downturn in the London property market was never going to be pleasant for Foxtons, and property sales have been particularly vulnerable to a less buoyant market.

'However, the more service orientated divisions are proving more resilient, with letting revenues holding up well. Those more predictable revenue streams will be particularly welcome if the current housing slump were to turn into a full blown rout  house buying might stall but people still need to live somewhere.

'Longer-term an increasingly competitive environment, including the emergence of online estate agents, could damage the groups ability to charge its premium fees to customers.

'Theres no evidence of that today though, and with no debt on the balance sheet and various self-help initiatives underway, Foxtons looks like it can ride out the storm for now.'
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser is set to spend billions on takeovers as it separates its health and hygiene home divisions.

The Durex and Cillit Bang owner said it has not ruled out acquisitions, fuelling speculation it wants to pile on debt to buy Pfizers non-prescription drugs business.

The revelation came as it unveiled a major shake-up in its business structure, which will be split into two units, RB Health and RB Hygiene.

Headache: The Durex, Nurofen and Cillit Bang owner said it has not ruled out acquisitions

The health division, which includes brands like Nurofen and Gaviscon, will be headed by chief executive Rakesh Kapoor while the hygiene home division, which includes brands like Cillit Bang and Veet, will run by Rob de Groot, who heads Reckitts European and Russian businesses.

Kapoor will maintain control of the whole business, with de Groot reporting to him. It came as Reckitt cut forecasts for the second time this year, warning sales would stay flat.

Like-for-like sales fell 1 per cent year over year in the third quarter to 3.2bn, a small improvement on its 2 per cent second-quarter decline.

Including a boost from currency exchange rates and its June acquisition of baby formula firm Mead Johnson, sales rose 30 per cent.

Despite the small improvement Reckitt, which had already cut its growth target from 3 per cent to 2 per cent, said it now expected underlying revenues for the year to come in flat  its worst result since 1999.

Reckitt said that the fallout from a cyber-attack, a failed product launch and a boycott over a safety scandal in South Korea had affected its business. The firm was among a number of consumer good companies to be hit by the global cyber-attack in June, which started in Ukraine and crippled software systems.

It was further hit by its flop Scholl Wet and Dry foot product and a boycott of its products in South Korea after its steriliser product Oxy Sacsac, which was put inside humidifiers, was linked to a spate of fatal lung problems between 2001 and 2011.

Like consumer goods rivals Unilever and Procter & Gamble, Reckitt has been seeking to boost performance across its divisions.

It completed the sale of its Frenchs mustard food business to US group McCormick in August, which had long been viewed as a non-core part of the companys business.

Kapoor added that the firm wanted to be a global leader in consumer health and it had not really realised [its] full opportunity there. The comments have fuelled speculation in the City that the restructuring is a prelude to a full spin-off of the home hygiene division, which could finance a takeover of Pfizers consumer health business.

Last week, Pfizer said that it was looking to sell its consumer healthcare business, which includes drugs like painkiller Ibuprofen and Centrum multivitamins, in a move that could fetch up to 11bn.

The business has long been seen as a target for Reckitt.

The firm, however, is already saddled with debt following its 13.2bn takeover of American formula maker Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil products.

Sales at Mead Johnson rose 1 per cent in the third quarter, boosted by growth in China  but rival Danone reported a 50 per centjump in Chinese baby food sales in the quarter on Tuesday.

Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood said he expects Reckitts net debt to be roughly 3.1 times its full years earnings.

He estimated this would increase to almost six times if it bought the Pfizer unit.

But Adrian Hennah, chief financial officer, has not ruled out acquisitions and is prepared to see its credit rating fall a notch to triple-B if something spectacular came along.
Families were mugged by Lloyds directors in a disastrous takeover of HBOS which cost them their life savings, the high court was told.

Almost 6,000 shareholders  including many families and pensioners  are suing the lender for up to 700m over the disastrous deal at the height of the financial crisis.

They claim bosses failed to consider the dangers of the takeover, then misled investors by falsely telling them it would be good for the bank. Soon after the deal, Lloyds had to beg taxpayers for a 20.5bn bailout.

Sign of the times: Almost 6,000 shareholders  including many families and pensioners  are suing the lender for up to 700m

As a 14-week civil lawsuit began yesterday, lawyers for the shareholders accused Lloyds and five former directors of paying way over the odds to buy HBOS for 12bn when it was on the brink of collapse.

They said that the group, including former chief executive Eric Daniels and ex-chairman Sir Victor Blank, massaged away problems in meetings with non-executive directors who raised concerns.

At the court in London, barrister Richard Hill QC accused Daniels of carrying out a sales job on his own board to persuade them the takeover was a good idea. In reality, he said, HBOS was toxic enough to bring both banks down.

He added that Lloyds own reviews had revealed huge problems with HBOSs loan book but the bosses were so eager to make their names with a big deal that concerns were ignored. Hill said: We are saying shareholders were mugged in this acquisition and should never have been kept in the dark.

HBOS was facing a funding crisis which the Lloyds directors were aware of but which had been kept from the public, Hill told the court. He added: HBOS was bust and would have had to close its doors unless it could access an emergency bailout.

Lloyds will defend the claims as the case continues.
Shoppers spent 2.1bn at Harrods during its last financial year as the pounds fall triggered a stampede of foreign buyers seeking luxury goods.

Total transactions for the 12 months to January 28 were up 23.3 per cent on the previous period. Sterlings drop after the Brexit vote was a giant price cut for the rich foreigners drawn to London.

The city racked up 19.1m visits from overseas last year  and the Harrods department store, founded in 1849, is a top attraction. It made a profit of 233.2m, up 38.8 per cent.

Bagging a bargain: Sterlings drop after the Brexit vote was a giant price cut for the rich foreigners drawn to London

Harrods, which is owned by Qatars sovereign wealth fund, paid out 110m in dividends and handed 3.6m to its directors. It paid 6.9m of UK corporation tax, down from 19.2m a year earlier.

The firm said performance was particularly boosted by tourists from China.

Finance chief John Edgar said: Every year seems to be a record year for us at the moment and long may it last.

The firm said: While the business witnessed a robust start to the year, there was a substantial positive impact seen in demand from its overseas customers after the weakening of the British currency.
MBABANE  Winners of Miss Cultural Heritage 2017/2018 will not only take home the sash but will also walk away smiling to the bank where they will find cash in their accounts.



The three winners will share E10 000 thanks to Standard Bank Swaziland.

The queen will take home E5 000 while the 1st Princess will get E3 000 and the 2nd Princess will get E2 000.

The sponsorship was unveiled during a photoshoot held at Standard Bank Corporate Place branch.



Mvuselelo Fakudze, the banks Chief Executive Officer (CEO) congratulated the Top 12 Finalists for making it and further wished them the best as they prepare for the finals.

Fakudze said the winner on the day should understand that the weight of the country would be on her.



He said the finalists should understand that culture is the backbone of the country and the winners will have a task of preserving it.

I personally got initiated as a warrior while still young. Culture has played an important role in my personal being.



As a bank, culture is one of our key areas of social responsibility and it is for that same reason that we agreed to sponsor this pageant, he said. Miss Cultural Heritage Vice Chairperson Mhlonishwa Motsa thanked the bank for being one of the main sponsors.



For the first time in the history of the pageant the winners will get cash prizes. We would like to thank Standard Bank Swaziland for the prizes, said Motsa.

Standard Bank has also given hampers for all the Top 12 Finalists.


Sir,



Allow me to air my views on the proposed new traffic fines which show an increase of about 800 per cent. Firstly, one wonders why there is this proposal in the first place. It is because our extravagant government is desperately in need of money? It is because in the neighbouring country, South Africa, traffic fines are higher than those from our country? What exactly necessitated the proposed increase?

Secondly, why are traffic fines in Swaziland lower? Why have they not been increased for so many years? The answer for that is simple: Swazis cannot afford high fines because of the lower living standards which they are perpetually subjected to. The average Swazi earns a very little salary to afford a traffic fine of E200. The reason why traffic fines have not been increased for all these years also has to do with the increase in salaries. Be it civil servants, bank employees or factor workers. You cannot increase traffic fines by 800 percent when you cannot increase salaries by the same percentage, let alone 50 per cent.



Comparison

Many Swazis compare our traffic fines with those of South Africa and find out that they are higher. The question is why look at traffic fines only when making a comparison? Why not compare the salaries as well. I ask this because there are higher traffic fines in South Africa because the people there earn better salaries, have many affordable insurance companies to choose from and there are a variety of spares. These are two different countries so if Swaziland intends to increase traffic fines it must do the same with salaries so that they can match the standard in South Africa. Comparing Swazilands traffic fines with those of South Africa is like finding which one has more loaves of bread between Mtfwebeba Grocery in Lavumisa and Prime Bakeries!



Necessitated

In South Africa the fines are high because of various reasons including the fact that there is a high number of motorists which results in a number of accidents. South Africa has a higher population, about 51 million, than Swaziland. Also, before the high fines were gazette, there was a lengthy period of consultations and debate. They did not just impose them overnight. The question is; is it reasonable to make a motorist in Swaziland to pay a traffic fine of up to E2 000 when he has been failing to afford one that cost E60?



Traffic cops

Then comes the issue of some not all) traffic cops who enrich themselves with traffic fines. Are we putting them to more temptation if we increase traffic fines by 800 per cent? One wonders how much a corrupt traffic cop would make at the end of the day if the proposed fines are eventually approved. How safe are motorists from traffic officers who would grab the opportunity and demand more money in the name of enforcing the new traffic regulations?

Traffic fines must be commensurate with the living standards of the people. Swazis will not afford high fines, hence the proposal must be thrown out and maintain the current ones.



HM Magwegwe
BETHLEHEM  Some Capital Region communities have had such volatile candidate debates, League of Women Voters of Albany first vice president Patricia Sibilia says police often provide extra security. But she also trusts the group's volunteer moderators, who are trained to handle audience hecklers, to be tough but fair at the 7 p.m. candidates forum on Thursday at Town Hall.

If a Bethlehem candidate began name calling, for instance, "we would stop the forum immediately. No one wants that and it's not fair to the audience," she said. "Bethlehem forums usually get a good turnout, often standing room only."

Experienced moderators with no dog in the local fight will oversee the forum. Sibilia said Bethlehem's moderator, Ruth Dinowitz, is not a Bethlehem resident and does not know any of the candidates.

Sibilia believes some of the most volatile issues may be the question of how to use open space and a proposed tax increase.

The most contentious race? She thinks that may be highway superintendent given that it involves a battle among Democrats as well as a Republican opponent. Highway Superintendent candidate Dan Morin, a highway department employee for 13 years, and Town Board candidate George Harder are running as Democrats after prevailing in a court battle with the Bethlehem Democratic Committee, which chose two different men to run for those posts. The committee voted to back farmer and retired Selkirk fire chief Giles Wagoner as the candidate for highway super and attorney Dan Coffey as its pick for town board member. Wagoner and Coffey will be listed on the ballot on the Working Families party line.

Here are the candidates and the offices they want to win:

Town Supervisor, top town job with a $115,703 per year:

Bethlehem Candidates Forum When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 Where: Bethlehem Town Hall, 445 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY. Note: Attendees are asked not wear any campaign buttons, T-shirts or hats to the forum. See More Collapse

Democrat David Vanluven (strategic planner, town board member)

 Republican Gary Fish (retired law enforcement)

Town Board member, enacts town legislation $15,266 per year:

Republican James Foster (attorney)

Democrat George Harder (retired New Yirk state employee)

 Working Families Dan Coffey (attorney; Chair, Bethlehem Zoning Board of Appeals)

Working Families Maureen Cunningham (nonprofit director)

Highway Superintendent, $101,957 per year:

Working Families Giles Wagoner (farmer, retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel)

 Democrat Dan Morin (Bethlehem Town Highway department employee, former store manager)

 V. John Anastasi (run his own contracting/building business 35 years), Republican-endorsed but running as an independent

Town Justice, jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters, $50,457 per year:

Democrat Andrew Kirby (Town Justice, trial attorney)

 Republican Colin Dwyer (attorney, Siena College professor)

Town Clerk, $73,457 per year:

Democrat Nanci Moquin (has held job for 8 years) is unopposed.

Correction: An earlier version of this article did not include Democrat Dan Morin in the list of candidates running for highway superintendent. Also, while V. John Anastasi has been endorsed by Republicans in the same race, he says he is running as an independent.

The text of this story has also been updated to reflect a clarification from League of Women Voters of Albany first vice president Patricia Sibilia. She did not mean to refer to Bethlehem in her discussion of contentious forums in the area. No extra security has been required in Bethlehem.
London

Silicon Valley is a uniquely American creation, the product of an entrepreneurial spirit and no-holds-barred capitalism that now drives many aspects of modern life.

But the likes of Facebook, Google and Apple are increasingly facing an uncomfortable truth: it is Europe's culture of tougher oversight of companies, not America's laissez-faire attitude, which could soon rule their industry as governments seek to combat fake news and prevent extremists from using the internet to fan the flames of hatred.

While the U.S. has largely relied on market forces to regulate content in a country where free speech is revered, European officials have shown they are willing to act. Germany recently passed a law imposing fines of up to $59 million on websites that don't remove hate speech within 24 hours. British Prime Minister Theresa May wants companies to take down extremist material within two hours. And across the EU, Google has for years been obliged to remove search results if there is a legitimate complaint about the content's veracity or relevance.

"I anticipate the EU will be where many of these issues get played out," said Sarah T. Roberts, a professor of information studies at UCLA who has studied efforts to monitor and vet internet content. Objectionable content "is the biggest problem going forward. It's no longer acceptable for the firms to say that they can't do anything about it."

How closely to manage the massive amounts of content on the internet has become a pressing question in the U.S. since it was revealed that Russian agencies took out thousands of ads on social media during the presidential campaign, reaching some 10 million people on Facebook alone.

That comes on top of the existing concerns about preventing extremist attacks. This month, three men were arrested after allegedly using smartphone messaging apps to plot attacks on the New York City subway and Times Square from their homes in Canada, Pakistan and the Philippines. The plot was thwarted by an undercover officer, not technology.

In some ways it goes to a question of identity. Social media companies see themselves not as publishers but as platforms for other people to share information, and have traditionally been cautious about taking down material.

But the pressure is on to act. Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube in June created the Global Internet Forum to Combat Terrorism, which says it is committed to developing new content detection technology, helping smaller companies combat extremism and promoting "counter-speech," content meant to blunt the impact of extremist material.

Proponents of counter-speech argue that rather than trying to take down every Islamic State group post, internet companies and governments should do more to promote content that actively refutes extremist propaganda. This approach will unmask the extremist message of hate and violence in the "marketplace of ideas," they argue, though critics see it as just another form of propaganda.

Facebook has recently published details of its counterterrorism strategy for the first time. These include using artificial intelligence to prevent extremist images and videos from being uploaded and algorithms to find and disable accounts linked to pages known to support extremist movements. The company also plans to increase the staff dedicated to reviewing complaints of objectionable material by more than 60 percent to 8,000 worldwide.

"We want Facebook to be a hostile place for terrorists," Monika Bickert, director of global policy management, and Brian Fishman, counterterrorism policy manager, said in a statement. "The challenge for online communities is the same as it is for real world communities  to get better at spotting the early signals before it's too late."

But Roberts argues the companies have been slow to react and are trying to play catch up.

The fact is the technology needed to detect and remove dangerous posts hasn't kept up with the threat, experts say. Removing such material still requires judgment, and artificial intelligence is not yet good enough to determine the difference, for example, between an article about the so-called Islamic State and posts from the group itself.

In other words, taking down much of this material still needs human input, said Frank Pasquale, an expert in information law and changing technology at the University of Maryland. Acknowledging that is difficult for companies that were built by pushing the boundaries of technology.

"They don't like to admit how primitive their technologies are; it defeats their whole narrative that they can save the world," Pasquale said. "You kill off the golden goose if you cast doubt over the power of their algorithms."
Growing up in Chile, Melissa Aldana could hardly avoid the sound of jazzy horns: Both her father and grandfather were serious saxophone players, and she took up the instrument as a child. (Her bio says she still plays granddad's Selmer Mark VI horn.) Aldana left Chile to pursue her jazz dreams in the U.S., going to Boston for music studies at Berklee, then moving to New York, where all serious jazzers eventually land, it seems. Once there, she made an impression: Her website bio notes that in 2013 she became the first female instrumentalist and the first South American to win the Thelonious Monk Competition, a showcase and showdown for top young jazz talent. She had already released two albums on a small label, and the Monk win brought her a recording gig with the prestigious Concord Jazz label that yielded 2014's "Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio." Two years later came perhaps her best-received album, "Back Home." Her website bio takes pains to forestall any confusion about the meaning of the title: " 'Back Home' might seem to evoke Chile, where Aldana left in 2007 to pursue jazz at ever higher levels in the U.S. In fact, Aldana reveals, 'Back Home' 'is not really related to Chile itself. It's related to the first time I picked up the tenor and I heard Sonny Rollins.'" A laudatory New York Times review referenced Aldana's lifelong love of Rollins' music, calling him "her North Star on the instrument," and summing up the album as "a supremely focused statement that makes no attempt to blur its lineage and yet feels largely unburdened by legacy."

 Joseph Stalvey
"We didn't choose these plays to directly comment on America now," David Girard insists, "and it certainly wasn't to capitalize on what's going on in the country. It's just that the themes have turned out to be a lot more relevant now than when we picked them just a few months ago."

To launch their new company, Troy Foundry Theatre, busy area actor and director Girard and his co-founders put together "New World Order: Six Short Plays by Harold Pinter," being performed at two venues in Troy over the next two weekends. One of the top British playwrights of second half of the 20th century, Pinter's work, frequently dripping with menace, became more overtly political and angry in later years. The newest work in "New World Order" is from 2005, three years before Pinter's death at age 78; the best known is likely 1988's "Mountain Language," set in a prison where guards forbid prisoners from a minority culture from using their native language.

All take place in an unnamed country, and all address, to some degree, authoritarianism, with a particular focus on oppressors and victims. Girard, who is directing "New World Order," has stitched together an hourlong show that alternates the eight scenes from the two longest works, "Mountain Language" and "One for the Road," with four shorter, single-scene pieces. The thematic similarity of the different works makes it possible for them to cohere as a combined whole, Girard says.

"I feel like the plays are more accessible than they've ever been," he says.

More Information If you go "New World Order: Six Short Plays by Harold Pinter" When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday Where: Troy Foundry Theatre at the Sage Little Theatre, First and Division streets, Troy Continues: 8 p.m. Oct. 26 and 27 at The Hangar, 675 River St., Troy Tickets: Free. General-admission seating at both venues. Reservations requested. Info: www.troyfoundrytheatre.com/nwo See More Collapse

Veteran area actor John Romeo, known for his many years with the former New York State Theatre Institute, is in the cast. He believed enough in the mission of Troy Foundry Theatre  to explore contemporary social issues by presenting new works and reinterpreting existing plays  that he contributed startup money to the company. He says he's excited by the vibrancy already evident in the troupe and its dedication to substantive work.

"This is a great way to start," he says. "At first, we weren't sure putting them together like this would work, but when we saw the similarities of the characters, it all fell into place."

The Pinter shorts were written in different periods when people were struggling against totalitarianism, and they have World War II as their larger psychological backdrop: Pinter, the son of Jewish parents from Eastern European Ashkenazic stock, was evacuated from his native London during the Blitz, and his teenage years were informed by the revelation of the atrocities of Nazi death camps and the formation of the Soviet Union.

"There's something of an absurdist element to some of it," Girard says, citing a line in which a menacing government official says, "Every dog has a name. ... They state their name, and then they bite."

In the world of the play, the line simply has to be accepted as truth: An authority figure states it as fact; ergo, it is.

"Every day on the news we heard some other thing (President Trump) has said, and we know it's not true, but it's accepted as true by some part of the population, and it's defended by people in government," says Girard.

Girard's politics are unvarnished: "I hate Trump, but I would love for Trump supporters to come to the play. It would start a conversation we need to have."

sbarnes@timesunion.com  518-454-5489
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Wired Coffee's brew wins U.S. competition

Wired Coffee Roasters in Malta won first place last weekend for its nitro cold-brewed coffee at Coffee Fest held in Portland, Ore. It bested a field of 16.

The nitro-brew coffee is available at Wired Coffee & Bagel at 652 Albany Shaker Road in Colonie, near Wolf Road and on the back side of the new Pioneer Bank building. Its Malta sibling, Wired Coffee Roasters, reopens Thursday in Sitwell Plaza (2443 Route 9, behind Cap Com Credit Union) and will also carry the award-winning coffee.

Bloktoberfest at Slidin' Dirty on Saturday

Slidin' Dirty's location in Schenectady will host a Bloktoberfest event from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday on a closed Lafayette Street, around the corner from the restaurant. The day will also celebrate Slidin' Dirty's five-year anniversary of operating in the Capital Region, starting with a food truck that led to the first bricks-and-mortar location, in Troy.

Bloktoberfest attractions will include beer and cider from Jack's Abby, Rare Form, Chatham Brewing and Nine Pin Cider, stein-hoisting competitions, stein pong, cornhole games, bratwurst sliders served curbside, a VIP area sponsored by Shmaltz Brewing and an after-party hosted by Mad Jack Brewing at the Van Dyck.

Admission is free. Slidin' Dirty-Schenectady is at 512 State St.

Moroccan restaurant coming to Clifton Park

A Moroccan restaurant called Marrakesh is being developed for opening in Town Plaza, at 800 Route 146 in Clifton Park.

An opening by December is planned, chef and co-owner Chafiq Nabaoui said. His business partner is Abdelhak El Ghazaoui. It is the first venture as proprietors for both.

Lucas, Peck's donating to wildfire recovery

Clark House Hospitality, which has multiple businesses in Troy that sell wine, is donating 10 percent of proceeds from sales of bottles of domestic wine through the end of October to relief efforts for Northern California winemaking communities devastated by wildfires.

The participating businesses are Lucas Confectionery, 22 Second Street Wine Co., Peck's Arcade, the Tavern Bar and The Bradley.

Taverna Novo developing in Saratoga

Patricia Pendergast Novo, a wine educator and former owner of the Crush & Cask wine shop in Saratoga Springs, is working to open Taverna Novo, a casual wine bar at 62 Beekman St. in Saratoga Springs, site of the former Beekman Bar & Eatery, which closed over the summer. She wrote on Facebook:

"You already knew that I have my fair share of crazy in me! This is something I have wanted to do for years ... combining my passion for food with my passion for wine and hospitality. Renovations and my special touches will commence very soon, and we won't be open for a few months most likely, as permits need to be obtained ... wine and beer licenses issued ... the works. I will continue to post updates on our progress (on Facebook)."

Cider tasting returns to Exit 9 wine shop

Exit 9 Wine and Liquor Warehouse in Halfmoon will hold its annual fall tasting of hard ciders from more than 15 makers from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday. Admission and sampling are free.

Food samples from Dolce & Biscotti Bakery, Nothing Bundt Cake, Uncle Sam's Chocolate and Lindsey's Country Store

The shop is located at 9 Halfmoon Crossing Blvd., in The Crossing shopping campus.

Distillers working to establish N.Y. whiskey

Nine New York distilleries, including Yankee Distillers in Clifton Park, have joined an effort to produce Empire Rye, which they hope will become a style of whiskey identified with the state. In order to be called an Empire Rye, the whiskey must meet four criteria:

 At least 75 percent of its grain must be New York rye.

 Distilled to no more than 160 proof.

 Distilled and put into a barrel within six months.

 Aged at least two years in charred, new-oak barrels.

Yankee Distillers' existing rye whiskey met all the eligibility requirements, cofounder Matthew Jager said, and he plans to add a sticker or other tag to identify it as part of the Empire Rye movement. The company also makes bourbon, vodka and two rums, and next year will be introducing wheat and malt whiskies. Yankee spirits are widely available in retails shops and some restaurants.

The distillery and tasting room, at 5 Fairchild Square, just off Northway Exit 10, are open from 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, from noon on weekends. Call 518-406-3245.

Bubbakoo's Burritos eyeing Capital Region

Bubbakoo's Burritos, a New Jersey-based fast-casual chain with a surf- and skate-culture theme that was co-founded by an Albany native, is looking for franchisees to help it expand into the Capital Region. Bubbakoo's has 18 locations, all in New Jersey.

Bill Hart, who graduated from Albany High School in 1997, spent a decade with the Johnny Rockets burger chain, rising to district manager for the Midwest, before founding Bubbakoo's with partner Paul Altero in 2008.

Bubbakoo's offers a menu of build-your-own burritos, bowl, tacos and more, with beef, chicken, pork, seafood, vegetarian and vegan fillings.

A franchisee can get into the business for as little as $160,000, Hart said, with first-timers finding success by converting other fast-casual locations to the Bubbakoo's brand. Franchise info may be viewed at www.bubbakoos.com/franchise-info.html.

McGreivey's returns Breast Brunch Ever

McGreivey's Restaurant in Waterford is hosting its fourth annual fundraising event called the Breast Brunch Ever from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. In its first three years the promotion raised more than $15,000.

There will be a "lavish brunch spread," according to promotional material, complimentary cocktails, auctions, raffles and giveaways, music, games, prizes and more.

Tickets, at $40 per person ($45 at the door), are available at McGreivey's, 91 Broad St.

Teen's TJ's Turkeys provides meals to needy

TJ's Turkeys, founded by Saratoga County resident TJ Tracy when he was 9 years old, raises money to buy Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, holiday gifts and Easter bags for children and families in need in the Saratoga area. Now 16, Tracy has raised about $50,000.

One of the components of his 2017 campaign is a pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner at the Brook Tavern in Saratoga Springs, scheduled for 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday. The price is $20 ($15 for kids), and 50 percent of the proceeds will go to TJ's Turkeys.

Call 518-871-1473 for reservations. The Brook Tavern is located at 139 Union Ave.

Compiled by Steve Barnes. Items to be considered for publication must be submitted to sbarnes@timesunion.com. Visit his blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
In the 10 years since its arrival in Memphis, Tenn., Collage Dance Collective has completely changed the way the city thinks about ballet. More than half of Collage's audiences had never gone to a ballet performance before the company's arrival. And the organization has transformed the demographics not just in the seats, but also onstage  increasing the number of professional dancers of color in Memphis by roughly 90 percent.

That statistic came to vivid life early this year when the company posted an Instagram photo of its five ballerinas  of African-American, French-Guianese and Brazilian descent  which promptly went viral.

Collage is cultivating the next generation of dancers and dance-lovers as well: After starting out with just one student in 2007, its conservatory now has 200 kids enrolled, and serves another 200 through outreach programs in area schools.

Those are significant numbers in a city where less than 3 percent of the 240,000 children have exposure to the arts, according to the organization's executive director, Marcellus Harper, whose former positions include project coordinator for Marriott International and program analyst for the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration.

More Information If you go Collage Dance Collective Where: The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany When: 8 p.m. Friday Tickets: $28 Info: 473-1845 or http://www.theegg.org See More Collapse

"In addition to creating more dancers, so ballet has more people of color, we're also using ballet to address societal and economic challenges," Harper said in a recent joint interview with Kevin Thomas, the company's artistic director and a former principal with Dance Theatre of Harlem. "Our students learn a different culture and language, and develop an affinity for the arts."

"Ballet creates discipline, focus, passionit really changes a child's life and helps them achieve," Thomas added. "Once they become passionate and disciplined about something, they get over hurdles in other areas."

Originally founded in New York City in 2006, Collage moved to Memphis a year later to join the city's revitalization efforts  centered around the Broad Avenue Arts District, where the studio is located. Since then, the company has built a repertory of works by Thomas and other choreographers, including Dwight Rhoden, Kevin Iega Jeff, Camille A. Brown, Frederick Ashton and John Alleyne.

"People have preconceived notions that ballet is elitist, stuffy, boring, dated," Harper said. "We show them that it can be relevant, sexy and emotionally powerful, using music and ideas they can relate to. And people love to see themselves represented on stage, so that helps." About 60 percent of the Memphis population is African-American, he said.

The company's theme for last season was "Many in Body, One in Mind"; this season's theme is "The Audacious Hope of Rooted Things," a phrase drawn from Cynthia Bond's novel "Ruby," about a woman who returns to her Southern hometown to come to terms with her childhood.

"It's about embracing your authentic self, being unapologetic in who you are," Harper said. "We're embracing the full scope of what the company wants to represent. We are a predominantly black company, but we don't want to be pigeonholed. Every dancer is very different, and each one brings something unique. We're multifaceted  we can do ballet, earthy modern and everything in between."

The company's program at The Egg on Friday includes "Ella Suite Ella," choreographed by Arturo Fernandez in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald's birth; and "Wasteland," by Christopher Huggins, a former member of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The company will also perform Joshua Manculich's "The Rate in Which I Am"; "Left Unsaid," by Nicolo Fonte, with music by J.S. Bach; and Shawn Hounsell's "Sweet," set to a score by Njo Kong Kie, pianist and musical director for La La La Human Steps.

"Our voice is very expressive and passionate, mixed with rigorous technique," said Thomas. "When people see us in performance, they're often very moved. I love to hear, especially from fathers and men, how much it touched them and made them cry."

Many Collage audience members discover ballet through the kids in the family. Some students start as early as age 5, go through the conservatory and then move into the company's Youth Ensemble or its Dance Corps, a pre-professional training program.

"There are over 100 kids I can name right now who say they want to be professional dancers, and most of them wouldn't even know about ballet if it wasn't for Collage," Harper said. "It's very rewarding to ignite a passion in someone who would never have found it otherwise."

Tresca Weinstein is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
Albany

Journalist David Daley likened the state of America's democracy these days to a horror movie when something gruesome is about to happen: "The call is coming from inside the house," declared Daley, digital media fellow at the University of Georgia and the former editor-in-chief of Salon.com.

"I don't like to be the voice of doom and gloom, but we are in a serious and chilling moment," Daley said Saturday, the second day of a two-day symposium titled "Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World" sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany.

Daley laid out the upshot of an audacious redrawing of the U.S. electoral map following the 2008 Democratic sweep of Congress. "Using the oldest trick in the book, the dark art of gerrymandering," Daley said, Republican strategists brilliantly manipulated congressional district lines so completely through REDMAP, an effort spearheaded by the Republican State Leadership Committee, that it rendered everyone's vote meaningless for the next decade. The GOP has not enjoyed such dominance since the Civil War: 68 state legislative chambers today compared to just 31 for Democrats. There are 33 Republican governors versus 16 Democrats and one independent. The GOP also controls both houses in Congress and the White House, and 405 of 435 congressional districts are immune to being flipped. "There's no more swing in the swing states," Daley said.

More Information Contact Paul Grondahl at 518-454-5623 or email pgrondahl@timesunion.com See More Collapse

Franklin Foer weighed in and laid blame at the feet of lazy news consumers. If a Facebook user does not carefully vet and scrutinize the veracity of their news feed and nearly 70 percent of Americans now get their news from social media  Facebook's algorithm will make choices for them. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple and Amazon are the most powerful gatekeepers of information in American history and there is very little oversight or regulation regarding content. "The problem is we sit in a filter bubble and we're just getting a steady feed of ideological crack cocaine," said Foer, staff writer for the Atlantic magazine and author of a new book, "World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech."

"There's an illusion that you're in charge, but Facebook is giving you exactly what you want to read in your news feed so you'll spend more time on their site," said Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School and author of "The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads." He added, "We are shockingly back in the golden age of propaganda, where lies are often much more alluring than truth."

More than 2,500 people attended six panel discussions stretched across nine hours featuring 30 prominent journalists, nonfiction authors and scholars. The audience ranged in age from late-teens to late-80s and witnessed contentious examination of topics crucial to an open democratic society including race and class, challenges to the First Amendment and election meddling.

Moments of impassioned condemnations of racial injustice intermingled with humorous asides, while a steady drumbeat of apprehension was sounded over the Trump administration's attacks on the media and maneuvers to limit free speech.

"I'm five things Trump doesn't like," Maria Hinojosa said. "I'm Mexican, an immigrant, a journalist, a woman and flat-chested."

Her quip drew a big laugh, but the award-winning anchor and producer of Latino USA on National Public Radio was hardly joking. "As journalists, how do we report that this president is a serial liar? Nobody wants to say that, but that's our duty," she said.

Hinojosa lamented the fact that there are fewer journalists of color today than 15 years ago. In response, she established the Futuro Media Group to promote diversity and to report on marginalized communities. "I created it out of frustration. I urge you to be your own creators," she said.

Bob Schieffer was gobsmacked by Trump's shocking victory. He said, "I've never seen anything quite like it" so often that it has become a drinking game. Each time he voices that mantra, viewers must down a shot. "Luckily, they've got designated drivers," Schieffer joked. He noted that 126 newspapers have shut down in the last 12 years and the ranks of reporters and editors have been decimated as a business model that relied on print advertising collapsed.

Revenue for newspapers has declined every quarter for 50 straight quarters, said Richard Tofel, former assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal. "That's not sustainable," said Tofel, who is now president of ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit news operation.

"Newspapers are doomed," said Bill Keller, former executive editor of The New York Times. He predicted that the Times will die a slow death that will result in a Sunday-only print edition in perhaps just a few years, followed by online only in the not-too-distant future. Keller now directs the Marshall Project, an investigative journalism team focused on criminal justice issues. "We're a nonprofit," he said. "On purpose." There was strained laughter.

In the lobby, Lou Ismay, a 92-year-old professor emeritus of environmental studies at UAlbany, handed me a postcard printed with early warning signs of fascism that included fraudulent elections, obsession with national security, controlled mass media and protected corporate power. "I've been handing these out for years," he said. "They seem more relevant than ever."

Paul Grondahl is the director of the New York State Writers Institute of the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com
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ALBANY - Roughly 10 months after then-police Chief Brendan Cox left to take a job with Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, Albany is moving forward with conducting a national search for the next police chief.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said city officials held off on the search during election season, where she faced a Democratic primary against Common Council President Carolyn McLaughlin and Councilman Frank Commisso Jr. She won the primary in September.

Its not lost on anyone that this is an election year, Sheehan said Wednesday. This was not only my observation but advice I received from the outside as well, that in the midst of a heated primary, its probably not the best time to be recruiting a police chief because theres so much uncertainty.

In the coming weeks, a request-for-proposal for a search firm will be submitted, she said.

When Cox retired Jan. 11, Deputy Chief Robert Sears was selected to serve as acting chief while the city searched for a leader. Days after, McLaughlin announced her run for Albany mayor. Then in March, Commisso announced his run.

Sheehan said they wanted to ensure there was stability in the administration before forging ahead with the chief search.

In order to attract candidates, you want to have a stable environment so they know who is going to be making that hiring decision, she said. We couldnt necessarily reflect that once we entered the election season.

Sears said hes happy as the acting chief, and doesnt have a problem with the lag in starting a national search.

That doesnt bother me one bit, he said. Theres a lot of things going on in the city and, although Im biased, I think things are going fairly well from the police perspective.

Sears spent most of his 19 years on the force rising through the ranks of the detective division. He was promoted to deputy chief shortly after Cox was appointed chief in 2015.

We have a very strong acting chief who has my complete confidence, Sheehan said.

Early on, Sears expressed interest in taking on the job permanently. He said Wednesday that hes still open to the idea, but hasnt decided.

Once the parameters and scope of the position is made available, Ill make my decision then, Sears said.

Cox served on the Albany force for 22 years before leaving the department for the national post, which is aimed at reducing low-level arrests, racial disparities and recidivism. He served as chief for almost two years before announcing his leaving.

The department has been led by eight different chiefs over the past 27 years, and all but one have come from within the department.
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ALBANY - Joe Keefe and Rick Stevens were in Casey Finns on Saturday night after watching the Yankees game when Stevens got a call from an aunt who works as an emergency dispatcher.

There was a fire down the street, could they help?

Stevens ran out of the bar and saw flames shooting out of the first-floor windows of 497 Yates Ave. He ran back to the bar and got Keefe.

Keefe headed for the back of the house and discovered a family of three trapped on a second-floor porch. There were no stairs and the flames were starting to rise.

He convinced the parents to drop their 4-year-old son into his arms while Stevens warned the next-door neighbors of the danger.

He was pretty shaken up, holding on pretty tight, Keefe said.

Keefe, 27, and Stevens, 35, along with members of the Albany Fire Department, were recognized for their efforts Wednesday at a news conference at the departments headquarters.

I was just doing what I hope someone would do for my family, said Keefe, who has a two-year-old child.

When fire crews arrived, they used a 28-foot extension ladder to rescue the parents.

No one was hurt in the fire, which began in a first-floor bedroom closet. The fire was started by an electrical malfunction, Fire Chief Warren Abriel said. The fire displaced an additional six people, who were home at the time of the fire but got out safely.

Crews were on the scene within minutes and quickly contained the fire damage to the first floor. The bedroom and kitchen were heavily damaged but the building is salvageable, Abriel said.

The departments efforts were an example of a team coming together and deserved recognition, Abriel said.

There werent any special reports that said I did this and I rescued this person but there was something special and I thought it was a team effort that sometimes comes together and gels, he said.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan praised the departments efforts in preventing a disaster.

This is a fire, that again, these are houses that are close together. It could have spread and it could have been another story about losing multiple structures, she said.
Tamara_Hansen

ALBANY  A $1.2 million gift from Chet and Karen Opalka will create an endowment fund and support upcoming programs at the Opalka Gallery on the Sage College of Albany campus, the school announced Wednesday.

The gallery, which opened in 2002 and sits just off New Scotland Road, was built with $2 million donated by the Opalkas.
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BRUNSWICK - Republican Assemblyman Steven McLaughlin referred to his battles in Albany, while Democrat Andrea Smyth drew on her leadership in state human services organizations to promote their qualifications to be the next Rensselaer County executive.

"I'm running for county executive to help people," said McLaughlin, citing his experience in calling attention to PFOA contamination of water in Hoosick Falls, opposing the SAFE Act and promising to promote economic development across the county.

"We have fallen behind the other Capital Region counties," said Smyth, who pledged to protect water supplies, develop skilled job opportunities, encourage economic development and improve infrastructure.

Smyth of Rensselaer and McLaughlin of Troy faced each other Tuesday night at the Brunswick Community Center in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Rensselaer County. About 160 people attended. Green Party candidate Wayne Foy was invited to participate but did not attend.

They're running to succeed retiring Republican County Executive Kathleen Jimino, who opted not to seek a fifth four-year term in the $121,300 post.

Both candidates criticized the SAFE Act. McLaughlin described it as horrible, poorly written and adversely affecting gun owners constitutional rights. Smyth said the law is flawed and that constitutional rights of gun owners must be upheld while concertgoers such as those who were killed or injured in the Las Vegas shooting must be protected.

McLaughlin and Smyth both oppose the calling of a state constitutional convention.

Smyth appears on the Democratic, Working Families Party and Women's Equality lines on the Nov. 7 ballot. McLaughlin has the Republican, Independence, Conservative and Reform lines.

McLaughlin defeated Deputy County Executive Christopher Meyer Sept. 13 in the Republican and Conservative primaries. McLaughlin picked up the Independence and Reform Party lines after Meyer was nominated to run for Grafton town justice and dropped out of the county executive contest.

Smyth appears on the Democratic, Working Families Party and Women's Equality lines on the Nov. 7 ballot. McLaughlin has the Republican, Independence, Conservative and Reform lines.

TheThe county has 104,539 registered voters, according to the most state Board of Elections statistics. There are 29,843 Democrats, 28,956 unaffiliated voters and 24,694 Republicans. The remaining voters are enrolled in minor parties.

The two candidates have to appeal to voters across a county that is urban and suburban on its western border along the Hudson River and quickly becomes rural as it reaches east to border Vermont and Massaschusetts.

When asked how they would encourage economic development while not endangering the county's rural character, they took different stances. McLaughlin said he wants to see broadband expanded to allow people to work from home and preserve the rural quality. He called for focusing development in growth corridors naming Routes 9 and 20 in Schocak, Routes 4 and 43 in North Greenbush and Route 7 in Brunswick.

Smyth wants to promote opportunities available to expand farm-based businesses. eliminate state barriers that hurt farms and improve infrastructure.
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TROY - Veteran Detective Aaron Collington, the former president of the city police union, is accused of stealing $6,200 from the union's banking account to pay his rent, documents filed in Troy City Court show.

Collington, 48, is charged with third-degree grand larceny. He was arraigned in City Court Wednesday morning and released on his own recognizance.

Statements filed by State Police investigators accuse Collington of taking the money from the Troy Police Benevolent Association's bank account and depositing it in his own account at SEFCU.

Investigators allege he then used the money to pay his rent for a house he rented in Nassau. Collingtons landlord told investigators the money paid for three months back rent for June, July and August, the upcoming September rent and late fees.

State Police at Clifton Park investigated the alleged theft after the PBA filed a complaint.

The Troy PBA had filed a complaint against (Collington) with the NYS police after learning of a discrepancy with what our expenses were for the month of August and what our union fund balance actually displayed, Officer Nick Laviano, current union president, said in a statement.

More for you Troy PBA president to resign

The PBA is fully cooperating with the State Police in this investigation and we thank them for their support and their professionalism throughout this tough ordeal, Laviano said.said

John Salka, a spokesman for Mayor Patrick Madden, said the city does not comment on personnel matters, "and will not be commenting further at this time.

Collington was the president of the PBA for about a year before resigning in September. At the time, Collington said he had no comment on his resignation. The union represents the city's police officers and sergeants.

Collington who has been a police officer for 19 years, will face administrative action, according to a department spokesman. Generally, when a city police officer is arraigned on criminal charges the officer is suspended without pay for 30 days. Collington most recently earned a salary of $79,926, according to the Seethroughny.net website.

The case has been transferred to Rensselaer County Court from city court, said Joseph Ahearn, the defense attorney retained by Collington.

Aaron is a long-time, well respected public servant in the city of Troy. Were just beginning to investigate, Ahearn said.

The PBA first learned of possible misuse of union funds by Collington in January, according to depositions filed in the criminal case. At that time, the PBA learned that $761.06 was charged on a PBA card by Collington to pay New York Boot Tow Release to have a locking boot device removed from his car. Such devices are used to immobilize vehicles owned by parking ticket scofflaws.

Aaron advised it was an emergency use of the PBA card and he will correct the issue immediately. A few days later Aaron reimbursed the account in full. Aaron was advised at that point that this was against the PBA By-Laws and a mishandling of funds. Aaron advised he would not do it again, according to the witness statement given to State Police investigators by Officer Steven Barker, PBA treasurer.

Then in August when the PBA was transferring $149,882.57 in funds from Trustco to SEFCU, it learned that only $143,682.57 was placed in the account, according to Barkers deposition. Trustco provided a copy of a withdrawal slip for $6,200 in cash, according to Barker. An emergency PBA board meeting was called to discuss the matter with Collington.

As part of that meeting the entire board addressed Aaron in regards to the missing $6,200 from the account. It appeared that Aaron had knowledge of the missing money but said it would be returned in the morning, Barker said in his statement.

The PBA board voted unanimously to prosecute the case.
I think as far as the commissioners are concerned, Titusville has been getting the runaroun
Titusville High School 11th-grader, Kayla Bliss (left) and ninth grader Adeline Hartshorne, try out the impaired driver simulator, set up in the high schools auxiliary gymnasium on Tuesday during National Teen Driver Safety Week.
[October 17, 2017] Existing Investors Back Galvanize's Continued Business Growth in Technology Workforce Development

DENVER, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Galvanize, the learning community for technology that offers education skilling programs in key technical disciplines and entrepreneur-focused workspaces, today announced a $7 million investment led by existing investors ABS Capital Partners and University Ventures. The funding will be used to fulfill strong demand for Galvanize's consumer and enterprise focused-technology education and training programs. The Company's offerings in software development, data science and machine learning directly address the increasing skills needs for developing tech talent in the global economy. In the past year, Galvanize has worked with a growing list of Fortune 500 companies, including McKesson, Amazon, IBM and Allstate,on technology workforce development and training programs.



Galvanize, which this month celebrates its fifth birthday, is poised to teach record amounts of students and employees of large enterprise organizations across its program offerings. The Company's development of its proprietary, tech-enabled Learn platform provides a blended-learning environment (in-person and online) that combines scalable program delivery with dynamic assessments for mastery tracking of technical competencies. "The acceleration of technology and requirements to enable a digital workforce are key trends related to our ten-fold growth over the last three years," stated Lawrence Mandes, Galvanize President and Co-Founder. "The ability to serve as a conduit for providing new tech talent, as well as working closely with large enterprises to up-skill existing technical teams, positions Galvanize as a leader in technology workforce development."

"Galvanize has had strong top-line growth and continues to be a leader in providing programs aimed at both consumers and enterprise organizations," said Paul Mariani, General Partner with ABS Capital and Galvanize Board Director. "In particular, we have seen Galvanize's growing engagement with Fortune 500 companies and believe that offers the Company significant opportunity to partner on digital transformation-related efforts that require technology talent strategies and solutions." About Galvanize Galvanize is a 21st Century school for data scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. On eight campuses across the U.S., students, startup members and large enterprises are at the heart of a dynamic learning community. Our faculty and flexible blended-learning platform, combining online education and in-person training, provide the most relevant and in-demand technology skills for both consumers and larger enterprise organizations. Our members include first-time entrepreneurs, growing startups, and Fortune 500 companies all looking to "level up." Become a member or enroll in a course by visiting the Galvanize website. Follow us: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/existing-investors-back-galvanizes-continued-business-growth-in-technology-workforce-development-300538495.html SOURCE Galvanize

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[October 17, 2017] Fifth Industry Report Recognizes OutSystems as a Leader in Low-Code Platforms for Application Development

ATLANTA and SINGAPORE, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OutSystems, the number one low-code platform for application development, was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Low-Code Development Platforms For AD&D Pros, Q4 2017. This is the fifth report in the last 18 months that has identified OutSystems as a Leader in the low-code app dev market, which includes low-code development, mobile low-code development, mobile application development platforms, and high-productivity application platform as a service. "OutSystems has strengths across the board," the authors stated in the Forrester report. "The platform's tooling to support professional AD&D teams is excellent -- broad in application and portfolio management, platform and security administration, and development-process management; and deep in troubleshooting and performance management. OutSystems' strengths make it an oft-mentioned choice and contribute to its high growth rate and expanding roster of customers." Across 13 vendors, OutSysems achieved among the highest scores in four criteria groups including product/service vision, commercial model, app deployment and security features, and declarative tooling for platform and app admin.



Enterprise Organizations Find Value in Low-Code Platforms Low-code platforms are emerging as a key driver of digital transformation projects, helping organizations quickly deliver effective, innovative apps. OutSystems supports a full scope of use cases such as building new customer digital experiences, improving employee efficiency, and even replacing aging systems of record.

"We deliver digital transformation in 150 countries in over 17 industries and needed a platform that supports the widest range of use cases," said Rui Vaz, Technology Consulting Partner at Deloitte. "OutSystems exceeded our expectations, helping us beat our timelines and effect real change within the organization. With a team of 33,000 technology practitioners, we were distinguished as a Deloitte OutSystems Centre of Excellence, able to cover business and technology transformations, from strategy to support, worldwide." Deloitte and Prudential recently demonstrated the power of the OutSystems platform at a recent industry conference where they presented an application using AI and IoT for automated risk analysis built with the OutSystems platform. "Our product vision has always been to support the widest range of application development needs with speed, scale and security," said Paulo Rosado, CEO and founder of OutSystems. "With OutSystems, our customers can achieve all of their digital transformation objectives faster and never have to worry about hitting a development wall." Most recently, OutSystems raised the bar even higher for low-code platforms. A new benchmark report demonstrates how an app built with OutSystems scaled to support 20 million financial services customers managing 11,000 transactions per second. "OutSystems is key to helping us integrate many different sources of data and launch products faster," says Steven Schmidt, Enterprise Collaboration Manager at Logitech. "We now have set up a fully ramped digital factory with a highly-distributed team that can produce apps in weeks." About OutSystems Thousands of customers worldwide trust OutSystems, the number one low-code platform for rapid application development. Engineers with an obsessive attention to detail crafted every aspect of the OutSystems platform to help organizations build enterprise-grade apps and transform their business faster. OutSystems is the only solution that combines the power of low-code development with advanced mobile capabilities, enabling visual development of entire application portfolios that easily integrate with existing systems. Visit us at www.outsystems.com, or follow us on Twitter @OutSystems or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/outsystems. Explore careers at OutSystems. Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160902/8521605564LOGO SOURCE OutSystems

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[October 17, 2017] Water Token Spills Out With IoT Application

DALLAS, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Genesis Research & Technology Group is launching the Water Token ICO on October 25, 2017 at 9:00 am on the blockchain/cryptocurrency exchange. The revolutionary Genesis System is a portable, scalable system that can be used for the oil and gas industry to clean fracking water at up to 2,000 barrels per hour. Through the creation of a permanent, tamper-proof record of water quality on the blockchain, Genesis Research & Technology Group will make it possible to track and verify water quality results to significantly increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability of environmental impact resulting from fracking water. Once the data is entered into the public blockchain, it stays there forever. "Legal document storage on the blockchain could cut down on fraud and manipulation of the global carbon credits scheme. It is estimated that currently $979,000,000 million USD is spent annually to administrate the global carbon credit scheme," states Darren McVean, CEO of MVP Asia Pacific. The green technology which Genesis Research & Technology Group has patented is one in which water is cleaned chemical-free; thereby making it available to be reused. The general principal in the oil and gas industry is to dump the toxic water into a dispensary well where it can never be reused. Genesis Research & Technology Group reduces the carbon footprint with the aid of blockchain technoloy and IoT sensors. Utilizing the blockchain and IoT sensors, the environmental impact of each product is identified, thus enabling its carbon footprint to be factored into the price of the products and provide an incentive for consumers to buy products with a low carbon footprint. Companies can be rewarded by selling products that are environmentally responsible. Tracking the environmental impact of fracking and using the blockchain to protect this data from tampering enables companies and regulators to create financially rewarding incentives to encourage buyers to buy products that are more environmentally friendly, and therefore encourage companies to restructure their supply chains to meet the demand for such products.



A blockchain-based reputation system also gives companies the opportunity to have a reliable score based on the environmental impact of the products they sell. This would make the fracking industry more transparent, and discourage wasteful and environmentally unfriendly practices. "Genesis Research and Technology Group's ability to clean and use water will enhance our ability to take care of parks in Texas and parks around the world! Parents will rejoice knowing that their children are playing in parks that use chemical free water," says Marlon Rollins, Dallas Park Member. About Genesis Research and Technology Group: Genesis Research and Technology Group is a U.S.-based company that has developed a patented, state-of-the-art technology that provides clean reusable water for the world's population. The Company exploits its CHEMICAL-FREE technology as its efforts are being recognized by several leading government agencies developing and implementing Green technologies to protect and preserve our Earth's resources.

Genesis Research and Technology Group provides custom-built state-of-the-art water treatment technologies for all types of water. Years of research and development go into perfecting this technology that allows Genesis to offer its clients a sole source, reusable water filtering and cleansing technology that is totally chemical free. For more information: watertoken.io/genesis Media Contact:

Patricia Almand

Phone: 855-8100UMG

Email: [email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/water-token-spills-out-with-iot-application-300538548.html SOURCE Genesis Research & Technology Group

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[October 18, 2017] Cambridge Pixel Supplies Radar Trackers to Enhance Target Detection at Chinese Airports

CAMBRIDGE, England, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cambridge Pixel, a developer of radar display, tracking and recording sub-systems, is supplying radar trackers, through local agent Aeroer, to the Second Institute of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAACSRI) for integration with their modern airport surface movement systems. CAACSRI's airport surface movement systems are currently being installed for upgrade and expansion projects in airports across south-west China, including at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, a major hub for the region. Cambridge Pixel's SPx radar tracking software will provide enhanced target detection at the airports. Engineers at CAACSRI needed a low cost, open, highly configurable software-based radar tracker for integration with its own airport surface movement systems. It was important that the tracker worked seamlessly with a range of radars and supported different tracking configurations in user-defined areas, allowing faster targets to be tracked on runways while minimising false alarms in other areas. Mr Wang, Project Manager of CAACSRI, said: "We selected Cambridge Pixel's radar tracker as it met all our requirements. It is clearly one of the best-in-class software-based radar data extractor and target trackers we have seen. It provides target track identification, heading and speed for targets within radar coverage and it is proven to work effectively in busy airports." Cambridge Pixel's SPx radar tracker is fully parameterised, highly configurable and supports multi-hypothesis and multi-model tracking to improve tracking efficiency and reduce nuisance alarms. The tracker is designed to operate wth many different radar types including those from Raytheon, Kelvin Hughes, Blighter Surveillance Systems, Saab Sensis, Furuno, JRC, Koden, Navtech Radar, Sperry and Terma.



David Johnson, CEO, Cambridge Pixel, said: "Our sophisticated radar tracker enhances target detection by processing the video data to identify genuine targets from clutter and thereby provide radar operators and air traffic controllers with confidence and improved situational awareness. Furthermore, we have deliberately designed our software 'modules of expertise' as discreet yet feature-rich components that are easy to integrate into any radar based surveillance solution. This is attractive in many markets, such as China, where one or more components can be adopted by the local solution provider as part of an in-country capability."

Cambridge Pixel's SPx radar tracking software is part of the company's world-leading SPx suite of software libraries and applications providing highly flexible, ready-to-run software products for radar scan conversion, visualisation, radar video distribution, target tracking, sensor fusion, plot extraction and clutter processing. Cambridge Pixel's radar technology is used in naval, air traffic control, vessel traffic, commercial shipping, security, surveillance and airborne radar applications. For more information about Cambridge Pixel, please visit http://www.cambridgepixel.com or call: +44(0)1763-852749 or email: [email protected]. Media photo: http://cambridgepixel.com/images/News/pr-caacsri.jpg Photo caption: Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, a major hub in south-west China, will be one of the airports benefitting from enhanced target detection through Cambridge Pixel's target trackers. About Cambridge Pixel (http://www.cambridgepixel.com) Founded in 2007, Cambridge Pixel is a developer of sensor processing and display solutions including primary and secondary radar interfacing, processing and display components for military and commercial radar applications. It is a world-leading supplier of software-based radar tracking and scan conversion solutions through its modular SPx software, and HPx hardware product range. Based near Cambridge in the UK, the company operates worldwide through a network of agents and distributors. About CAACSRI Founded in 1958, as a unique application technology institute in the civil aviation sector, the Second Research Institute of CAAC is dedicated to application research on civil aviation science and technology. It has formed a test and assessment system based on fundamental research, and has created a complete technology innovation system and business service mode covering civil aviation R&D, consultation, design, products and project implementation.

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[October 18, 2017] QuoVadis Accredited as eIDAS Qualified Trust Service Provider

QuoVadis Accredited as eIDAS Qualified Trust Service Provider Geneva, Zug, Switzerland - October 18, 2017 - WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey") (SIX: WIHN), a provider of Cybersecurity and IoT solutions, today announced that its subsidiary QuoVadis has been accredited in the Netherlands as a Qualified Trust Service Provider (TSP) under eIDAS, the updated EU regulations dealing with trusted eID and electronic transactions. "Trust is fundamental to electronic transactions, and we are pleased to announce that QuoVadis continues its ten years of growth as a Qualified digital certificate and electronic signature provider in both European Union and Switzerland," said Carlos Moreira, Chairman and CEO of WISeKey. "WISeKey's QuoVadis is perhaps the only Qualified TSP with operations in multiple European markets, allowing it to better serve global corporate customers with subsidiaries in different countries. Additionally, QuoVadis is well suited to serve the broader PKI needs of those customers, ranging from SSL/TLS website certificates to electronic signature platforms to IoT," continued Mr. Moreira. Roman Brunner, Managing Director of QuoVadis, added, "Perhaps the biggest shift in the new standards is the creation of Qualified Seals for corporate entities/legal persons versus Qualified Signatures for natural persons, allowing more flexibility in electronic transactions. We expect QuoVadis to receive additional eIDAS accreditations in the coming months." About eIDAS eIDAS is the common name for EU Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 which established updated electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the European Union. eIDAS repealed the previous Directive 1999/93/EC which focused more narrowly on electronic signatures. Through its accreditation of TSPs in a broader array of business categories, eIDAS seeks to increase interoperability and legal certainty in cross-border online transactions, fostering a "digital single market" in the EU. About the QuoVadis Qualified TSP Accreditation QuoVadis operations were certified against ETSI EN 319 411-1 and ETSI EN 319 411-2, the applicable policy and security requirements for TSPs issuing Qualified digital certificates, by BSI. The accreditation was granted by Agentschap Telecom, updating QuoVadis' records on the Netherlands Trusted List for TSPs.



In addition to acting as a Qualified TSP, QuoVadis is also an issuer under the Netherlands Government PKIoverheid programme. QuoVadis is also accredited as a ZertES Qualified and SuisseID issuer in Switzerland. Lex Samuel, Country Manager for QuoVadis in Netherlands and responsible for Benelux, said, "With the updated accreditation, the Netherlands plays an important role in providing QuoVadis' Qualified TSP services across Europe whether for Qualified certificates, electronic signatures for individuals, electronic seals for corporate entities, or Qualified SSL."

About QuoVadis QuoVadis is a leading global Certification Authority (CA) providing cloud-based Trust/Link Managed PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) services, including TLS/SSL digital certificates for web security as well as eID for authentication, encryption, and electronic signature. QuoVadis also provides electronic signature platforms including mass signature and trusted time-stamping solutions for e-invoicing, as well as cloud-based signing platforms for individuals. QuoVadis electronic signatures are used on more than 60 million electronic transactions annually. QuoVadis has operations in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand, and Bermuda. For more information, visit www.quovadisglobal.nl. About WISeKey:

WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying via a Virtual Platform large scale digital identity ecosystems. WISeKey's Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT") and IoT Microchips 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.

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[October 18, 2017] SailPoint Brings the Power of Identity to Navigate '17 in Europe

SailPoint, the leader in enterprise identity management, today welcomed European customers, prospects and partners to Navigate '17 in Amsterdam. Navigate is the company's annual identity governance conference, and this year's packed agenda includes a keynote address from award-winning writer and broadcaster Misha Glenny, whose expertise focuses on cybersecurity, global organized crime and international relations. Conference attendees will also hear from SailPoint customers including ABN AMRO, G-Research, NXP Semiconductors and Skandia about how the power of identity has enabled their businesses. As a new addition to Navigate '17, SailPoint is honoring customers that exemplify the company's core values, which are integral to the company's success and by extension, its customers. These awards highlight customers that are pushing the boundaries of identity governance for their organizations. Award recipients for Navigate '17 in Europe include: Impact Award: Stolt-Nielsen made a valuable business impact with their identity governance program through a successful implementation of SailPoint's IdentityIQ TM - reducing manual efforts, greatly improving on-boarding processes, strengthening the company security posture and improving the ability to address audit requirements.

Stolt-Nielsen made a valuable business impact with their identity governance program through a successful implementation of SailPoint's IdentityIQ - reducing manual efforts, greatly improving on-boarding processes, strengthening the company security posture and improving the ability to address audit requirements. Individual Award: Nuria Barcelo i Peiro, NXP Team Lead and Manager of Identity & Access Management, is a great advocate for identity governance in her organization, managing both the SailPoint IdentityIQ and IdentityNowTM projects and providing valuable product feedback to continually improve SailPoint's solutions.



You can follow along with all Navigate events on Twitter and LinkedIn via the official hashtag, #Navigate17.

SailPoint: The Power of Identity SailPoint, the leader in enterprise identity management, brings the Power of Identity to customers around the world. SailPoint's open identity platform gives organizations the power to enter new markets, scale their workforces, embrace new technologies, innovate faster and compete on a global basis. As both an industry pioneer and market leader in identity governance, SailPoint delivers security, operational efficiency and compliance to enterprises with complex IT environments. SailPoint's customers are among the world's largest companies in a wide range of industries, including: 6 of the top 15 banks, 4 of the top 6 healthcare insurance and managed care providers, 8 of the top 15 property and casualty insurance providers, 5 of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies, and six of the largest 15 federal agencies. Stay up-to-date on SailPoint by following us on Twitter and LinkedIn and by subscribing to the SailPoint blog. SailPoint, the SailPoint logo, IdentityAI, IdentityIQ, IdentityNow, SecurityIQ and all techniques are trademarks or registered trademarks of SailPoint Technologies, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other products or services are trademarks of their respective companies. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017006834/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Thought Provoking Consulting (TPC) Announces Smart Trading Partnership with House of Fraser

LONDON, October 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TPC to provide promotion and markdown optimisation services to Houser of Fraser from October 2017 onwards. Thought Provoking Consulting (TPC), a leading specialist retail consultancy with global reach, is pleased to announce today its partnership with House of Fraser, the UK and Ireland's premium department store group. TPC will help House of Fraser optimise promotion and markdown events using TPC's Smart Trading capabilities, this includes using its proven data science and analytic capabilities to make goal based recommendations designed to improve the sales, stock and profit performance of a variety of event types. Maria Hollins, House of Fraser Executive Director, Buying and Design commented, "We are delighted to be working with TPC. As a multi-category business operating with a high SKU base, we believe a data driven solution is essential to optimise promotion and markdown pricing decisions. TPC has a proven track record in delivering results through agile implementation and we believe it is the best partner for House of Fraser as we continue to build on or transformation programme."



Subir Gupta, TPC Co-Founder and Managing Principal said, "We are proud to welcome House of Fraser to our growing community of high profile retail clients. We look forward to using our unique customer centric analytics and optimisation assets powered by our team of retail merchandising specialists to help House of Fraser delight its customers with ever more appealing promotion offers." House of Fraser identified TPC as an ideal partner because of its unique customer centric service based approach, proven science capabilities, speed to benefit and willingness to partner.

About House of Fraser House of Fraser is a department store group with 59 enviable locations across the UK and Ireland. As one of the best known names on the high street, House of Fraser has presented customers with an unrivalled nationwide department store for over 168 years. The Group has annual sales of 1.3bn and employs 5,000 House of Fraser employees and 12,500 concession staff through over 4 million sq. ft. of selling space. Customers can shop at House of Fraser from http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk. About TPC Based in the UK and US, Thought Provoking Consulting (TPC) is a specialist retail consultancy, providing retailers with the necessary tools, processes and expertise to improve their performance and realise their strategic vision. TPC provides a range of services and solutions in Pricing, Merchandise Planning, PLM (including 3D), Programmes of Change, Supply Chain and Change Management. We aim to make complex challenges simpler through experience and pragmatism, while always being thought provoking. Read more at http://www.thoughtprovokingconsulting.com Contact

Name: Shahzad

Email Address: [email protected]

Company URL: http://www.thoughtprovokingconsulting.com



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[October 18, 2017] Elevate the Standard: Meet the DJS-1000 standalone DJ sampler

We've designed a new standalone DJ sampler that enables you to create unique sounds and phrases using an intuitive DJ-friendly interface: the DJS-1000. Many of today's professional DJs use electronic instruments and production gear in live sets to help make their performances creative and unique. With an easy-to-use interface, 16 multicolored step input keys, 16 multicolored Performance Pads, a host of inputs and outputs, plus various other performance features, the DJS-1000 is the ideal musical instrument to take into the booth and propel your sets to the next level. Add the DJS-1000 to your DJ set-up and you can intuitively create unique sounds and phrases in advance of your set, or on the fly, then sequence and loop them as you wish. Improvise a new groove by syncing and mixing with tracks playing on other equipment such as CDJs using the Beat Sync1, tempo slider and nudge features. At a glance, the 7-inch full-color touch screen gives you all the information you need to perform, thanks to easily recognizable sequence patterns and instrument icons assigned to the Performance Pads. Other features installed on the DJS-1000 include Live Sampling, which enables you to easily sample input sounds and immediately use them as independent tracks or as FX to add to your mix. The DJS-1000 will be available from late-October 2017 at an MAP of $1,199. Watch the introduction video or find out more about the DJS-1000. KEY FEATURES OF THE DJS-1000 1. Intuitive user interface

Step sequencer

Easily create a new groove by tapping the 16 large, multicolored step input keys. You can keep an eye on sequence information on each track thanks to the keys' changing colors. Multicolored Performance Pads

Use the 16 large rubber pads to trigger the tracks you've assigned samples and loops to. Each one is equipped with multicolored illumination and highly accurate velocity detection, so you can increase or decrease volume with the amount of pressure you apply. Touch strip

By simply touching the strip, you can quickly change the pitch when using the pitch bend feature, or play a drum roll by using the note repeat feature. Customize parameters for even more creative options. 2. 7-inch full-color touch screen

Tap the LCD display to instantly access the screen of your choice: Home screen: View information on the sample assigned to each track thanks to the instrument icons and colors which are linked to the pads.

Sequence screen: View the sequence pattern currently playing.

Mixer screen: Adjust the volume balance of each track. 3. Accurate syncing with various external devices and systems

In addition to clock synchronization with MIDI devices, the DJS-1000 includes the Beat Sync function which can synchronize a performance by beat/bar with a track playing on a CDJ-2000NXS2 or XDJ-1000MK2 set-up using PRO DJ LINK. Use the tempo slider and the nudge buttons to quickly adjust tempo and beat position manually, just like you would on a turntable. 4. Powerful performance features

Live Sampling

Easily sample input sounds and immediately use them as individual tracks. The sampled sounds are automatically synchronized with the current sequence to play in a loop, so they can be dropped straight into a live remix. You can sample any input source, including audio from a turntable, via your mixer. FX

Add various FX to tracks with ease, changing the tone on the fly. You can apply FX such as echo, reverb and filter to individual tracks, a group of tracks, or all tracks. 5. Perfect fit in the DJ booth

The DJS-1000 is designed to fit perfectly alongside the CDJ-2000NXS2 and DJM-900NXS2, creating effortless unity in the DJ booth. 6. Other features Support for USB devices - manage your projects and samples easily

manage your projects and samples easily Over 2,500 on-board Loopmasters samples - start performing with the DJS-1000 straight out the box

start performing with the DJS-1000 straight out the box Support for DJS-TSP Project Creator 2 - easily create projects and SCENE 3 files on a PC/Mac

easily create projects and SCENE files on a PC/Mac Support for project files created on the TORAIZ SP-16 *1 Beat Sync works with compatible DJ systems when playing tracks that have been analyzed by rekordbox

*2 To be released on the Pioneer DJ website in mid-October

*3 Information on how the 16 samples are assigned to a track on the DJS-1000 DJS-1000 Specifications







Playable media USB Storage device(flash memory/HDD, etc.) Playable file WAV (News - Alert)? AIFF (16 bit / 24 bit? 44.1 kHz) USB storage support file systems FAT?FAT32?HFS+ Input ports INPUT x 1 (L/MONO and R? 1/4 inch TS jack) Output ports OUTPUT1 x 1 (RCA)

THRU / OUTPUT2 x 1 (1/4 inch TS jack)?

PHONES x 2 (1/4 inch stereo jack? 3.5 mm stereo mini jack) Other ports USB (Type A) x 1 ? USB (Type B) x 1

MIDI IN (5P DIN), MIDI OUT / THRU (5P DIN)

LINK x 1 (LAN 100Base-TX) Power requirements AC 110-220V (50 Hz/60 Hz) Electricity consumption 20 W Max external dimension

(W x D x H) 320.0 mm x 421.6 mm x 110.1 mm Weight 5.4 kg

* Disclaimer: specifications and price are subject to change.

* Mac, macOS or OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

* Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft (News - Alert) Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

* The names of companies, product names, and technology names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. About Pioneer DJ Pioneer DJ Americas, Inc. is the subsidiary of Pioneer DJ Corporation responsible for sales and marketing in North, Central, and South America. For more than 20 years, Pioneer DJ has been a market leader in the design and production of innovative DJ equipment and software. The company works closely with DJs and clubs to deliver next generation products that inspire and shape the global dance music community and has recently launched a new range of musical instruments for production and live performances. Its portfolio includes brands such as TORAIZ, Pioneer Professional Audio and Pioneer DJ Radio, as well as social platforms KUVO and DJsounds. Pioneer DJ Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. The company is led by Chairman Yoshiaki Ide, and CEO and President Akio Moriwaki. Website: http://www.pioneerdj.com/

Stay up to date: http://www.pioneerdj.com/news USA Social Media: Facebook (News - Alert) at facebook.com/PioneerDJUSA

Instagram at instagram.com/PioneerDJUSA

Twitter (News - Alert) at twitter.com/PioneerDJ

YouTube (News - Alert) at youtube.com/pioneerdjglobal View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005410/en/

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[October 18, 2017] GSMA and AIC Encourage Greater Engagement among RCEP Countries to Enable a Truly Pan-Asian Digital Economy

The GSMA (News - Alert) and the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) today urged the participating countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for greater commitment and engagement. As representatives of leading companies that operate in the region and promote the digital economy, the GSMA and AIC believe that the RCEP can play a critical role in enabling positive policy development in the digital economy and reducing or removing barriers and restrictions that suppress digital trade and investments in the Asia Pacific region. "The RCEP will play an increasingly important role in the region's digital future, as it involves all of the largest Asian economies, including both ASEAN and non-ASEAN nations," said Alasdair Grant, head of Asia Pacific for the GSMA. "This is even more critical in light of the stalled talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as the growing need for innovation, productivity, economic growth and job creation in today's digital economies. Services and trade in services are growing rapidly in Asia Pacific. This is a vital source of growth for countries in a changing economic environment." "RCEP has the opportunity to set the trade rules that are necessary to ensure a growing digital economy across Asia - the protection of cross-border data flows is a critical part of this," said Jeff Paine, Managing Director of AIC. In particular, the GSMA and AIC strongly support an RCEP outcome that drives progress toward the following objectives: Stronger economic cooperation, through aligned approaches to enact progressive policies and regulations that will facilitate the growth of the broad digital econmy, particularly critical sectors such as telecommunications, e-commerce and digital services. This would include elimination of restrictions to digital trade such as barriers to cross-border data flows and requirements to localise data; Greater investment through removal or reduction of restrictions and creation of strong investment protection mechanisms including minimum standards of treatment, and compensation in cases of expropriation. The opportunities for partnerships between international and domestic players, as well as the development and growth of local players, are greatest where the regulatory environment supports investment by both international and domestic organisations. Emergence of a regional digital economic architecture, through facilitation, promotion and enablement of digital economy access and infrastructure across the region.



About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress (News - Alert), Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter (News - Alert): @GSMA. About the AIC

The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) is an industry association made up of leading internet and technology companies. The AIC seeks to promote the understanding and resolution of Internet policy issues in the Asia Pacific region. For information, please visit https://www.aicasia.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005535/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Petrosoft selects IBM Informix Enterprise Edition as its strategic database platform for powering fourth-generation IoT devices

CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Petrosoft and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have entered into a strategic partnership to develop its fourth-generation site integration network for the retail and downstream petroleum industries. IBMs Informix Enterprise Edition provides an extremely powerful database to leverage the capabilities of Petrosofts site integration network solutions. These solutions are built using industry standards and leverage todays most advanced enterprise databases, network architectures, data exchanges, and data models.

With IBM Informix and the support of Advanced DataTools, we are taking the Direct Connect Site Integration Network to the next level. We are increasing its processing power and adding new capabilities such as data encryption, management, and replication to unlock the real value of IoT for the retail and petroleum industries. It accelerates the digital transformation of brick-and-mortar operations, said Sergei Gorloff, CEO of Petrosoft. IBM is excited to help Petrosoft harness Internet of Things (IoT) technology and embedded IBM Informix databases to give clients ultra-fast, up-to-date insight into all aspects of their fuel and retail operations, said Joe Costabile, Business Unit Executive, Embedded Analytics Solutions for IBM Analytics. In addition, Informix replication features enable a global footprint, especially in areas where there is limited connectivity. These capabilities are helping to boost safety, efficiency and profitability. This fourth-generation solution responds to the growing use of retail IoT solutions, increased scurity concerns, and compliance requirements. Petrosofts CEO, a retail operator and engineer, recognized the need to develop this fourth-generation site integration network to meet the industrys changing environment. It enables retailers to take advantage of the operational improvements provided by IoT solutions without being overwhelmed by the growing complexity of forecourt and in-store device tracking and compliance. Ultimately, this solution is designed to help retailers gain faster, deeper insights into their operations while meeting growing consumer demands.



The IBM Embedded Solution Agreement (ESA) has enabled Petrosoft to launch this solution quickly, analyze and optimize their IoT Data with the best in class IBM software, and we are looking forward to an even closer alignment in the future, said Joe Costabile, Business Unit Executive, Embedded Analytics Solutions for IBM Analytics. About Petrosoft

Petrosofts true-cloud platform provides innovative business solutions to the retail and petroleum industries. Beginning in 2002, Petrosoft transformed the convenience store industry when its founder, a retail operator and engineer, introduced C-Store Office, its cloud-based back-office software solution. Today, the company designs, develops, and markets end-to-end retail technology, enabling a seamless connection between vendors, forecourt, point-of-sale, made-to-order, back-office, fuel management, network and financial systems. The company continually strives to find innovative ways to enable retail operators to better manage their forecourt, in-store and back-office operations. The company supports its product line from its headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. Find out more at www.petrosoftinc.com.

About IBM IBM is a global technology and innovation company headquartered in Armonk, NY. It is the largest technology and consulting employer in the world, with more than 400,000 employees serving clients in 170 countries. IBM creates value for clients through integrated solutions, an industry leading portfolio of consulting and IT implementation services, cloud and cognitive offerings, such as Watson, and enterprise systems and software; all bolstered by one of the worlds leading research organizations. As part of a Cognitive strategy, organizations can transform their industry and professions with data. IBM Analytics enables anyone to engage with data to answer the toughest business questions, uncover patterns and pursue breakthrough ideas.

For details visit:

IBM Analytics: http://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/

IBM Informix:https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/informix/ Media Contact:

Melanie Widmann

Petrosoft Inc.

2025 Greentree Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15220

[email protected]

412-430-0562 X2107

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[October 18, 2017] According to Accenture: Gen Z Consumers Visit Bank Branches More Often than Any Other Age Group, Including Baby Boomers

Study analyzes consumer behaviors and predicts top trends set to change the payments industry TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - Gen Z consumers are surprisingly more likely than any other age group, including Baby Boomers, to visit a bank branch at least weekly, according to a new study from Accenture (NYSE: ACN)  reflecting the heavy cash dependence within their age cohort. The study also found that Gen Z consumers (survey respondents aged 18-21) are the most active and engaged group using mobile banking, with all other consumers preferring online banking as their primary banking channel. Based on a survey of 1,500 consumers in the United States and Canada, the study, "10 Mega Trends Driving the Future of Payments," identifies consumers' banking and payments behaviors, their appetite for next-generation payments products and experiences, and the trends most likely to drive significant change in the payments industry in the near- and long-term. Among the key findings: One in five consumers (20 percent) visit their bank branch at least weekly, with nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of Gen Zmore than any other age cohortaccessing banking services through a branch at least weekly, compared with only 16 percent of Baby Boomers. Gen Z is also the most likely to use cash when making an in-store purchase, with 28 percent preferring cash, compared to only 18 percent of Millennials. "For college-age consumers whose first jobs tend to be cash-based, branch usage is more a necessity than a choice," said Michael Abbott, a managing director in Accenture's Financial Services practice. "Clearly, Gen Z consumers prefer to manage their money on mobile devices, but they still need branches to digitize their earnings. Banks should treat this branch relationship as a near-term opportunity to deepen their ties with Gen Z consumers  offering financial education as their needs grow. But banks should also look at those habits as a clear sign of long-term demand for cashless mobile payment services." Online Banking is Preferred Channel Overall in U.S. and Canada



The study also found that online banking has become the preferred way for North American consumers to access their banking services, with two-thirds (65 percent) using online banking at least weekly. The one exception is Gen Z consumers, as more than two-thirds (69 percent) of this group prefer to bank via a mobile app, making mobile the preferred banking channel for today's youngest consumers. "Younger consumers are demanding an exceptional digital payments experience on all platforms  most importantly on their smartphones  and want to be compensated through targeted rewards, offers and discounts, at a cut-throat rate," continued Abbott. "These younger consumers will ultimately force traditional banks and payments players to either think beyond the functional aspect of mobile payment apps and create an engaging customer experience, or risk getting squeezed out of the process."

The survey found that payments usage remained consistent during the past three years, aside from an increase in debit cards and mobile wallet apps aligned to retailers, such as Starbucks. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of consumers said they use a debit card for payment at least weekly, up from 53 percent in 2014  and closing the gap with cash, the most frequently used payment method, which remained flat from 2014, at 66 percent. Mobile wallet usage was flat in all areas, except for retailer apps, which increased 4 percentage points over the past year, from 16 percent in 2016 to 20 percent in 2017. All other mobile wallet app usage remained flat at around 14 percent, with no distinct preference between types of wallets  whether provided by credit card companies, tech giants or traditional banks. "We've been tracking consumer payments for several years, and we are only seeing marginal shifts between payment types year over year," said Robert Flynn, a managing director at Accenture and head of the company's Payments practice in North America. "Mobile payment adoption continues to be elusive and this is a big challenge for traditional players, which must create greater value and a superior user experience in and around the transaction." Many of the trends Accenture forecasts in the study are driven by changing consumer behaviors, including: Gen Z Rising: Gen Z consumers are more engaged than other age groups with financial services across all channels, which will force traditional financial services providers to elevate the experience they offer across mobile, digital and in-bank platforms, as consumers continue to visit the branch regularly.



UX (User Experience) Is the New Gold: Payments have moved beyond the transaction, and customer experience has become a key differentiator. Payments providers that redesign the experience they provide around what customers need will be well positioned in the future. The survey found that more than 70 percent of millennials and Gen Z are interested in AI-enabled tools to help them save money and optimize rewards by managing payments, bill payment and expenses.





Mobile Hits Its Groove: Open Banking and application program interfaces (APIs) will help drive mobile payment adoption, as the technology enables a single-view of all financial accounts information. Nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of consumers would use a digital wallet offered by a bank or non-bank third party and abandon their current banking mobile app if they could get aggregated account data on a mobile wallet; nearly half (45 percent) of Baby Boomers are the most likely to ditch their traditional bank's app.





Rewards Revolution: Accenture estimates that in 2016, consumers enjoyed $15 billion in rewards value through redemption of cash-back, miles and other points. According to the survey, the number one reason Baby Boomers, millennials and Gen Z consumers switched their primary rewards card in the past year was for higher value of rewards in terms of points or value per purchase; for Gen Xers, the number one reason to switch was for lower interest rates. "Existing rewards models have peaked, with providers competing to squeeze as much value as possible to offer their customers," Abbot said. "As consumers' insatiable appetite for value continues to increase, payments providers will have to find new ways to offer value if they want to become the provider of choice." To read the full report, please click here. Methodology

Accenture Research surveyed 1,000 adults in the United States and 500 in Canada online between Sept. 1 and Sept. 10. The overall margin of error is +/- 1.55 percentage points at the midpoint of the 95 percent confidence level. About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions  underpinned by the world's largest delivery network  Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 425,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com. SOURCE Accenture

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[October 18, 2017] iPostal1 First to Provide Virtual Mailbox Addresses in All 50 States

MONTEBELLO, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iPostal1, the leading provider of virtual mailbox services in the U.S., is pleased to announce it now offers real street mailing addresses in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, with 450 locations. Now businesses can establish a company mailing address in any state for as little as $9.99 per month, or in multiple states to expand their business presence in new markets. Entrepreneurs, solo professionals, and home-based businesses can protect their privacy and create a more professional image with a virtual mailing address in their own state or in another state of their choice. Families who want a secure location to receive mail and packages are now more likely to find an iPostal1 location near their home. "Our unmatched digital mailbox technology and the excellent service provided by our partner mail centers is a winning combination," said Jeff Milgram, Founder and CEO of iPostal1. "Millions of consumers and businesses will be managing their postal mail and packages this way. By providing the first truly nationwide network of virtual mailbox address locations, iPostal1 has built the infrastructure to meet the growing demand for this innovative service." iPostal1, launched in 2015, provides the convenience and security of a personal virtual mailbox for managing postal mail and packages. All iPostal1 locations are real physicl street addresses at pack and ship stores or professional office buildings. Customers view and manage their mail and packages with a free app or online, 24/7. They can access their mailbox anytime from anyplace! Perfect for those who travel, live seasonally in another location, live abroad, or are just too time-crunched to drive to the post office or pack and ship store to pick up their mail.



Customers receive a notification when their mail arrives, along with an image of the envelope or package. With just a click, customers can choose to forward mail and packages when, where, and how they want, request a PDF of mail content for immediate viewing, pick up, shred or recycle their mail, even deposit a check  all from their mobile device or computer. Customers can choose plans that also offer local phone and fax to create a virtual office presence. About iPostal1

iPostal1 is the leader in digital mailbox software as a service, with the largest digital mailbox service provider network in the U.S., consisting of 450 mail center locations. iPostal1 offers proven, proprietary technology that enables any mail center or business center to offer a mailbox address and mail services to customers who live anywhere. iPostal1 marketing programs attract customers who sign up online with the virtual mailbox address of their choice, then manage their postal mail and packages with our smartphone app or via tablet or computer. iPostal1 is the Premium Supplier of digital mailbox services for Retail Shipping Associates, the largest shipping store trade association with 7,000 member stores. USZoom, LLC, the parent company to iPostal1 with home offices in Montebello, NY, has been developing digital mailbox software since 2007. USZoom also provides digital mailbox technology to business centers, colleges, and corporations. To learn more about iPostal1 services, visit www.ipostal1.com. To learn more about USZoom, visit www.uszoom.com. Media Contact:

Barry Gesserman

CMO, USZoom, LLC

(845) 579-5762

[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ipostal1-first-to-provide-virtual-mailbox-addresses-in-all-50-states-300538258.html SOURCE iPostal1

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[October 18, 2017] Best Computer Science Schools Releases 2017 Ranking of Best Online Big Data Degrees

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Computer Science Schools has released a new ranking of the 50 Best Online Big Data Degrees for 2017. Best Computer Science Schools is a leading authority on computer science, tech education, and college rankings.

http://www.bestcomputerscienceschools.net/best-online-big-data-degrees/ The best programs in Big Data will allow students to develop the technological aptitudes and managerial competencies necessary to succeed in the fast-paced business world. Students will need to develop both technical and business acumen that will enable them to move forward into leadership positions. "Investing in one of these degrees is a wise choice: on average, these professionals earn over $100,000 a year," Editor Jordan Biltmore said. "Although graduates possessing only a Bachelor's degree can be quite successful in the industry, even more employers are valuing candidates with advanced degrees." Best Computer Science Schools developed this ranking according to its standard methodology. This methodology aggregates data from Payscale, U.S. News and World Report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as information from the schools as well. It measures institutional strength, return on tuition investment, and student happiness. The ranking of the 50 Best Online Big Data Degrees lists Boston University at the top, Virginia Tech in second place, and Penn State holding the third spot. Alphabetically listed, the following schools appear in the ranking: American University, Washington, DC

Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ

Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Bellevue University, Bellevue, WA

Boston University, Boston, MA

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

California Stat University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA





Carnegie Mellon University , Pittsburgh, PA

Central Connecticut State University , New Britain, CT

Colorado Technical University , Colorado Springs, CO

Dakota State University , Madison, SD

DePaul University , Chicago, IL

Elmhurst College , Elmhurst, IL

Fairfield University , Fairfield, CT

Florida State University , Tallahassee, FL

Illinois Institute of Technology , Chicago, IL

Indiana University, Bloomington , IN

Iowa State University , Ames, IA

Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD

Lewis University , Romeoville, IL

Marquette University , Milwaukee, WI

Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, MO

North Carolina A&T State University , Greensboro, NC

Northwestern University , Evanston, IL

Nova Southeastern University , Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater , OK

Pace University , New York, NY

Pennsylvania State University, University Park , PA

Quinnipiac University , Hamden, CT

Regis University , Denver, CO

Saint Joseph's University , Philadelphia, PA

Saint Louis University , St. Louis, MO

Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN

Slippery Rock University , Slippery Rock, PA

Southern Methodist University , Dallas, TX

Syracuse University , Syracuse, NY

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa , Alabama

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville , AK

University of Bridgeport , Bridgeport, CT

University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, CA

University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA

University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, OH

University of Maryland, College Park , College Park, MD

University of Massachusetts Amherst , Amherst, MA

University of Nebraska, Lincoln , NE

University of Southern California , Los Angeles, CA

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwaukee, WI

Villanova University , Villanova, PA

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Blacksburg, VA

West Virginia University, Morgantown , WV Dedicated to the exciting world of tech and computer science, Best Computer Science Schools is the publication that helps students find the right school for their needs and equips them to succeed in college and in the workplace.

Contact: Jordan Biltmore, Editor, Best Computer Science Schools

Web: http://www.bestcomputerscienceschools.net/

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (925) 550-1463 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/best-computer-science-schools-releases-2017-ranking-of-best-online-big-data-degrees-300538401.html SOURCE Best Computer Science Schools

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[October 18, 2017] Banner Health, InMoment Present at Major Silicon Valley CX Event

This week at Forrester's (News - Alert) CXSF 2017, InMoment, the leader in customer experience (CX) intelligence, will host Banner Health in presenting "A Healthy Balance: Finding the Right Mix of Human and Machine to Deliver World-class Experiences." The event, which takes place Oct. 18 - 19 in San Francisco, is a premier gathering of some of the world's top customer experience professionals, thought leaders, and technology providers. Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the country, serving communities in six states with 50,000 employees, 28 hospitals, three academic medical centers, and a growing network of health centers and clinics. At the event, Dave Kriesand, Banner's VP Customer Experience Center, will reveal how Banner Health is transforming its CX insights approach from human-centric - and manual - into a machine-powered paradigm that informs the right mix of people, process, and technology to deliver a memorable - and easy - patient experience. "Health care is incredibly innovative when it comes to delivering on the clinical side of the customer experience, but the industry faces challenges in understanding the patient's holistic journey and how that impacts their relationship with health care organiztions," said Kriesand. "Banner has taken bold steps in our customer insights strategy recently, leveraging sophisticated technologies to significantly increase our ability to understand and act on customer intelligence. It's an honor to be able to share what we're learning at such a prestigious event, and amongst the top CX leaders in the world."



"Banner has been willing to go beyond the norms of their industry to better serve their patients," said Brennan Wilike, SVP of CX Strategy at InMoment. "The story of how they're leveraging technology to empower their employees, transform patient relationships, and improve their business contains valuable lessons for CX leaders across every sector." About InMoment

InMoment is a cloud-based customer experience (CX) intelligence platform, arming brands with compelling customer insights to drive high-value business decisions and relationships with both customers and employees. InMoment's industry-leading analytics power a full suite of Voice of Customer (VoC), Voice of Employee (VoE), Employee Engagement, and Social Reviews & Advocacy solutions. InMoment also provides strategic guidance, support, and related services to more than 350 brands across 95 countries. For more information, visit http://www.inmoment.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005513/en/

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[October 18, 2017] 365mc Unveils World's First AI-assisted Liposuction System 'M.A.I.L System' Developed in Collaboration with Microsoft

365mc (http://eng.365mc.co.kr), Korea's first-ever liposuction specialty hospital, has unveiled a Motion capture and Artificial Intelligence-assisted Liposuction System (M.A.I.L System), developed in collaboration with Microsoft (News - Alert) Korea using Microsoft Azure, the company's public cloud service. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005647/en/ 365mc, a liposuction specialty hospital in Korea, unveiled a Motion capture and Artificial Intelligence-assisted Liposuction System (M.A.I.L System), developed in collaboration with Microsoft Korea using Microsoft Azure. The world's first AI-assisted liposuction system records movements of surgeons during surgical procedures and then analyzes them using big data analytics. It can provide feedback on the pattern of the surgeon in using a cannula in terms of depth, speed and location after the procedure and track the path of a cannula to deliver real-time information on outcomes, such as bruise, induration and infection, as well as potential benefits in body contouring and psychological satisfaction expressed in numbers. Kim Dae-gyeom, a Deputy Director of 365mc, a leading liposuction specialty clinic in Korea, explains its artificial intelligence-assisted liposuction technology. (Photo: Business Wire) The world's first AI (Artificial Intelligence)-assisted liposuction system uses motion capture technology to record movements of surgeons during surgicalprocedures and then analyze them using big data analytics. By doing so, it can provide feedback on the pattern of the surgeon in using a cannula in terms of depth, speed and location after the procedure and track the path of a cannula to deliver real-time information on outcomes, such as bruise, induration and infection, as well as potential benefits in body contouring and psychological satisfaction expressed in numbers.



Due to its surgical characteristics, liposuction involves swelling and bruising right after a procedure, demanding usually 8 weeks to visually present surgical outcomes. Thanks to the accuracy of data-based analysis delivered by the M.A.I.L System, surgeons will be able to predict the results, including the degree of swelling and bruising as well as the aesthetic benefits, immediately after the procedure. What makes such a data-driven system possible is the hospital's world-class expertise in liposuction with over 100,000 cases of surgery and the development of an IoT sensor, which can digitize strokes of a surgeon during a liposuction, helping to build up big data two years ago.

As the prevalence of obesity continues to increase worldwide, there is a growing interest in liposuction as one of the options for obesity treatment. The healthcare industry expects that the world's first AI-assisted liposuction system will help liposuction surgeries to deliver more safety and accuracy thanks to the power of artificial intelligence. "So far, liposuction surgeries have been heavily reliant on the intuition and touch of a surgeon, generating a variation in the skills and the results," said Lee Sun-ho, the director of 365mc in Daejeon, who invented the concept of M.A.I.L System. "My expectation that an analysis of a surgeon's pattern in procedure based on the digital records of their movements would improve both the safety of surgery and the psychological satisfaction of a patient motivated the development of M.A.I.L System." "M.A.I.L System is expected to help a surgeon to overcome the limitation of conventional intuition-based liposuction procedures and achieve an unparalleled level of safety and outcome with the assistance of artificial intelligence. We hope that the system ensures more accurate liposuction procedures to help people suffering from obesity to get successful treatment and enjoy their healthy living." Meanwhile, the hospital will validate the accuracy of the system based on its accumulated data for the next year before it sells the system to medical institutions around the world on Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online market for software as a service application. Also, it will continue to enhance the AI-based liposuction technology as well as its commercial presence in the global markets with the launch of Global 365mc Hospital and Smart AI Liposuction Institute, scheduled in December this year. About 365mc 365mc is a liposuction specialty hospital in Korea. It is also a network of 17 branch clinics in addition to its main hospital, boasting the cutting-edge infrastructure for obesity treatment. It has received a high recognition from home and abroad for the safety and excellence of its obesity treatment. It successfully hosted the 2016 Asian Fat Congress, and it was the first and only hospital in Korea to host the Congress of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine (AAAM), the largest society of licensed physicians for aesthetic medicine in the United States. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005647/en/

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[October 18, 2017] PPD Hero Leads Team Supporting Multiple Sclerosis Research

Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD) is sponsoring Walk MS: Austin as part of the PPD Heroes initiative to raise awareness about the life-changing impact of clinical research for patients. PPD Heroes are extraordinary people whose lives have been transformed by medical therapies developed through clinical research. They share their personal stories to inspire hope and help raise awareness about the importance of increasing participation in clinical trials by patients and physicians to advance the development of next-generation therapies. PPD Hero John Hamlet, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), will lead a PPD team of more than 70 people who are walking Oct. 29 in the fundraising event in Austin, Texas, which is organized by the nonprofit National Multiple Sclerosis Society. A senior director in project management at PPD's clinical research unit in Austin, Hamlet works on clinical trials in neuroscience, the therapeutic area that encompasses MS, which affects the central nervous system. When Hamlet learned of his diagnosis a dozen years ago, he sought medical treatment to address his condition, and took action against the potentially disabling disease. "Soon after my diagnosis, I signed up for the annual walk to raise money for MS," he said. "We decided to open the walk to the whole PPD office and invite people to join the team or donate to support us. I'm looking forward to my 12th annual walk this year and encourage as many people as possible o join us in our efforts to expand understanding of the importance of clinical trials."



Research is the key to developing new treatments for MS and, someday, a cure, he said. "When I received my diagnosis, a huge amount of research had yet to be done," Hamlet noted. "Since then, research has changed the face of MS, and PPD is an industry leader in clinical research for MS."

Dr. Rob Dow, PPD's chief medical officer, said MS is one of many diseases the company is working with clients to help eradicate. "Thanks to John and our other PPD Heroes we can clearly see the many accomplishments we've experienced in our efforts to combat a wide variety of diseases and health conditions, but we recognize that we still have so much more to do," Dow said. "PPD's mission - upon which our global employees are keenly focused - is to help our clients deliver life-changing therapies. PPD Heroes inspire us, and we hope they will motivate countless others to get involved and support clinical research." PPD's operations in Austin feature a Phase I clinic that has the capability to carry out multiple, complex and procedurally intensive studies simultaneously. Now in its eighth year, the PPD Heroes initiative is part of the company's ongoing efforts to help increase understanding of and participation in clinical trials, with a clear focus on patients, physicians and patient-focused organizations. Walk MS: Austin will be held Sunday, Oct. 29, at Dell (News - Alert) Diamond, beginning at 9 a.m. The National MS Society is dedicated to research and treatment to stop disease progression, restore function and end MS. To register or for additional information, contact Laila El-Far at [email protected] or +1 210 694 3223. About PPD PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 47 countries and approximately 20,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a firm commitment to quality to help clients and partners bend the cost and time curve of drug development to deliver life-changing therapies that improve health. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005796/en/

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[October 18, 2017] ClearMetal Wins Data Intelligence Platform Award for Global Logistics & Supply Chain

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClearMetal, a predictive logistics company, has been named the recipient of the 2017 North American Data Intelligence Platform for Logistics & Supply Chain Technology Leadership Award, by Frost & Sullivan.

Research firm Frost & Sullivan evaluates vendors for its Technology Leadership Award based on technology leverage and business impact. The logistics industry has been in need of support from a true digital perspective and ClearMetals data intelligence platform successfully provides it, said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Sankara Narayanan. This platform, by leveraging advanced AI, machine learning technologies and massive volumes of data, simplifies the overall supply chain complexity, enables a highly accurate and granular prediction of global trade events, improves supply chain management and efficiency, and drives profitability. "Overwhelming complexity and uncertainty are pressing challenges that were helping the shipping community address through AI and machine learning," said Adam Compain, CEO of ClearMetal. "Frost & Sullivan's research validates the work we are doing to empower shippers and 3PLs to make optimal decisions with certainty, based on more accurate and granular data intelligence and predictive insights."



data intelligence report points out that ClearMetal is solving the age-old data challenge with a unique solution. "The companys approach, from the technologies it uses to its highly granular nature of problem solving, is different from the way other companies are solving these problems. The predictive logistics approach from ClearMetal captures, organizes, and understands data, and makes it all more accessible, intelligent, and actionable. These actionable insights help its customers not only simplify the overall complexity in the supply chain and streamline day-to-day logistics, but also make decisions swiftly on a predictive basis - resulting in better freight efficiency and profitability." About ClearMetal

ClearMetal is a predictive logistics company that uses AI to unlock supply chain efficiency. Developed by top software engineers from Stanford University and Silicon Valley, ClearMetal's platform uses proprietary machine learning to make sense of supply chain data and provide end-to-end predictive visibility. ClearMetal is based in San Francisco and funded by NEA, Prelude Ventures, Eric Schmidts venture firm, PSA Unboxed, DCLI, SAP.iO, and the founders of GT Nexus and Navis. To learn more, visit www.clearmetal.com.

Contact:

Bryan Nella

[email protected]

+1 646 919 7523 Rachel Forsyth

[email protected]

+1 312 329 3982

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[October 18, 2017] Chegg Acquires Math Technology

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG), the Smarter Way to Student, today announced that it has acquired German-based Cogeon GmbH, a provider of adaptive math technology and developer of the math app, Math 42 (www.math-42.com). With this acquisition, Chegg will be able to provide self-guided and individualized math solutions to more students, deepening their reach in to the high school market. "Math is a major pain point for students today," said Nathan Schultz, Chief Learning Officer of Chegg, Inc. "The technology we have acquired enhances our ability to tackle math deficiencies with tools that are self-guided, personalized, and on demand, better preparing students for success both in and out of the classroom. And the Cogeon team, led by a family of world-renowned mathematicians, will work with us to develop best-in-class products to improve how students learn complex math concepts." Math deficiency is a large-scale issue that is pervasive in both education and workforce preparedness in the United States, as 64% of high school students are not prepared for college-level mathi, and over 40% of freshmen students must take at least one remedial math course.ii With this acquisition, Chegg will leverage Cogeon's unique A.I.-driven math technology to enhance current capabilities inside Chegg Study and expects to launch an integrated new product, Chegg Math, in the second half of 2018. "We started our company with a desire to help the world solve and understand math," said Thomas Nitsche, Co-Founder of Cogeon. "Cogeon and Chegg share like-minded missions to bring students innovative, responsive tools that help improve their learning experience. By joining Chegg, we're able to deliver an important educational technology to millions of students to help them better understand their course material and give them needed skills to compete in the workforce." Chegg has acquired Cogeon for EUR 12.5 million (or approximately USD 15.0 million) in an all-cash transaction. There are potential additional payments of up to EUR 7.5 million, payable in cash or stock in the discretion of Chegg, and up to EUR 3.2 million in restricted stockunits over the next three years that remain subject to contingencies. As a result of this acquisition, Chegg does not expect any material effect on operations for 2017.



ABOUT CHEGG Chegg puts students first. As the leading student-first connected learning platform, Chegg strives to improve the overall return on investment in education by helping students learn more in less time and at a lower cost. Chegg is a publicly-held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com.

ABOUT COGEON Founded in 2013, Berlin-based Cogeon GmbH develops a scalable core technology for automated, individualized and adaptive mathematical learning applications. Cogeon's platform is a proven math learning system which optimizes individual math learning pathways for learning and solving math problems and exercises. Cogeon's primary applicationMath 42is a trusted math learning app offering hierarchical step-by-step exercises, concept walk-throughs, and personalized assessment, built upon an artificially intelligent learning engine. Built by a family of expert chess players and exceptional mathematicians with deep technical expertise, Cogeon's math technology is rooted in a unique combination of mathematical, technological and didactical frameworks. SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including Chegg's belief that it, through its acquisition of Cogeon, will have the ability to reach more students, including high school students, will increase the value of what is provided to subscribers, increase Chegg's addressable market, Chegg's expectation that it will provide self-guided and personalized math solutions to more students and deepen its reach in to the high school market, Chegg's belief it and the Cogeon team will be able to develop best-in-class products, Chegg's expectation to launch an integrated new product, Chegg Math, in the second half of 2018, Chegg's contingent payments and equity issuances to Cogeon over the next three years and Chegg's expectation that the acquisition will not have a material effect on operations for 2017. Statements regarding future events are based on management's current expectations and are necessarily subject to associated risks related to, among other things, the potential impact on the business of Cogeon due to the acquisition, general economic conditions, competition, and integration risks, among others. Therefore, actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. For information regarding other related risks, see the "Risk Factors" section of Chegg's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on July 31, 2017 and Chegg's other SEC filings. You can obtain copies of Chegg's SEC filings on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or at Chegg's Investor Relations website at investor.chegg.com. The forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date hereof, and Chegg undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason except as required by law. i http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/there-reason-us-students-struggle-math

ii https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/reports/2016/09/28/144000/remedial-education/ View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chegg-acquires-math-technology-300538754.html SOURCE Chegg, Inc.

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[October 18, 2017] Bulk TV & Internet Named to 2017 Grant Thornton North Carolina 100

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bulk TV & Internet, a national provider of television, network and voice solutions for commercial properties, has been recognized as part of the 2017 Grant Thornton North Carolina 100 (NC100), an annual list that ranks the state's largest privately-held companies by revenue. Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Bulk TV provides video, data and voice solutions for hotels, senior living communities, hospitals, universities, fitness centers and restaurants. Servicing thousands of properties in more than 450,000 rooms, the company provides custom-engineered television solutions for DIRECTV programming, wireless high-speed Internet network services, Mitel voice systems, and commercial-grade televisions. The company's commitment to delivering an array of high quality products and professional services has fueled the exponential success since their inception in 2004. "We are honored to be included on the 2017 Grant Thornton North Carolina 100 list, which is comprised of some of the most innovative businesses in North Carolina," said Bulk TV President Tom Conley. "BulkTV was founded as an alternative television option tailored specifically for the unique service needs of commercial properties, and our focus has always been to offer leading edge technologies and unparalleled customer support at competitive prices. This model has contributed to our continued success."



Bulk TV has earned preferred or approved provider status with Hilton, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Choice Hotels International, Best Western and Vantage Hospitality Group/Red Lion Hotels Corporation (RLHC); and has been recognized by DIRECTV as #1 Lodging & Institutions Provider based on new subscribers for nine consecutive years. This is the third time that Bulk TV has placed among the NC100 list. Since 1984, the NC100 has ranked the state's largest private companies by revenue in the most recent fiscal year, based on data provided by the participants. To view the complete 2017 list, visit GrantThornton.com/NC100.

About Bulk TV & Internet

Bulk TV & Internet is the leading provider of DIRECTV solutions designed to meet the unique needs of the hospitality industry. Bulk TV provides services to more than 450,000 rooms nationwide including free-to-guest television programming and digital satellite TV systems, IPTV platforms, and over-the-top content delivery solutions. Each customized solution receives thorough quality assurance throughout every step of the process, which includes engineering, project management, professional installation, a comprehensive service warranty and 24/7 technical support. Additionally, Bulk TV & Internet offers enterprise-grade wireless network solutions and Mitel voice systems. For more information on integrated solutions from Bulk TV, please visit www.BulkTV.com or call 877-285-5881. About Grant Thornton North Carolina 100

Since 1984, the Grant Thornton North Carolina 100 has ranked the state's largest private companies by revenue in the most recent fiscal year, based on data provided by the participants. The NC100 is a voluntary list restricted to companies based in North Carolina that do not have publicly traded stock. Companies owned by private equity are permitted. Nonprofits, financial-services companies, health care providers such as hospitals and subsidiaries of corporations are excluded. For more details, visit GrantThornton.com/NC100. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bulk-tv--internet-named-to-2017-grant-thornton-north-carolina-100-300538826.html SOURCE Bulk TV & Internet

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[October 18, 2017] LoanScorecard Names Gerald Casey as Managing Director, Capital Markets

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LoanScorecard, a leading provider of loan pricing, automated underwriting and compliance solutions, announced today that Gerald Casey has joined the company as Managing Director, Capital Markets.

LoanScorecard is a leading provider of automated underwriting and loan pricing solutions designed to meet today's regulatory challenges and capitalize on today's market opportunities.



In this position, Casey will be responsible for identifying and pursuing LoanScorecard opportunities with originators, aggregatos and issuers of non-agency assets, as well as developing and executing strategies to maximize revenues of non-agency capital market participants and investors. He will report to Ben Wu, Executive Director of LoanScorecard.



Casey brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry as a fixed income, residential whole loan trading and technology professional to LoanScorecard with over $60 billion UPB of non-agency whole loans acquired and managed to-date. Most recently, he held the position of Managing Director with Hudson Advisors/Lone Star Funds. In this position, he was responsible for residential non-performing whole loan acquisitions and he acquired, underwrote and directed the default servicing at Caliber Home Loans, a wholly-owned operating company of Lone Star Funds, on over $29 billion UPB for Lone Star Funds investors.

Prior to Hudson Advisors/Lone Star Funds, Casey was a Portfolio Manager at Westport Capital Partners, an investment management company focused exclusively on opportunistic and distressed real estate investments. His career has also included senior trading, asset management and technology positions as a Principal at The Winter Group, a vertically integrated real estate investment management company, and as Director of Fixed Income Trading and Chief Technology Officer at Beacon Hill Asset Management, a hedge fund specializing in investing and trading mortgage-backed securities. Casey began his career in financial services providing technology solutions to Lipper Analytical Services, now Thomson Reuters Lipper, and Barron Funds.

LoanScorecard is committed to supporting capital and secondary market players as they expand their non-agency and portfolio offerings, said Wu. Adding a leader with Geralds experience will allow us to better serve our clients by providing strategic solutions that make their businesses more efficient and effective. Casey received his MBA at Pace University and his Bachelor of Science in Finance at the University of Maryland. About LoanScorecard

LoanScorecard is a leading provider of automated underwriting and loan pricing solutions designed to meet today's regulatory challenges and capitalize on market opportunities. The companys Portfolio Underwriter can be tailored to capture a lenders specific credit policy and render underwriting findings that demonstrate a consistent loan manufacturing process to auditors and investors. Portfolio Producer electronically distributes wholesale and investor products to third-party originators (TPOs), providing them with a real-time, interactive tool to determine borrower fit and risk-adjusted pricing for non-agency programs, and enabling them to submit qualified loans with confidence. Additionally, as the industry's first QM engine, LoanScorecard helps institutions address CFPB regulations through its QM Findings, the industry's first qualified mortgage (QM) engine which has rendered more than 5 million QM findings reports to-date. For more information, visit loanscorecard.com or call 800-617-0892. Contact:

Campbell Lewis Communications

Jessica Ruiz-Krout

212.995.8058

[email protected]

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[October 18, 2017] Hitachi Vantara Announces 2017 Pentaho Excellence Award Winners

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), announced today the winners of its 2017 Pentaho Excellence Awards. The annual awards recognize customers around the globe who are deploying Pentaho to achieve outcomes that positively drive business and society forward. The 2017 Pentaho Excellence Award category winners and honorees are:

Big Data  Winner: ZeniMax Media Inc.

ZeniMax Media Inc. creates and publishes video games for consoles, PCs and mobile devices. To address their big data management requirements, ZeniMax chose solutions from Amazon Redshift, Cloudera and Hitachi Vantaras Pentaho software. Since implementation, ZeniMax has reduced the time data scientists spend manually creating scripts to acquire data, and have gained a better understanding of consumer behavior across multiple games. These insights help ZeniMax drive user engagement and increase revenues. Honorable Mention: Singapore Pools Ltd. Embedded Analytics  Winner: STIWA Group

STIWA Group develops high-performance automation and manufacturing software for automotive supplier production and other industries. After implementing Pentaho, STIWA Group has the infrastructure in place to respond to changing market demands in real time and identify new revenue streams. Without sacrificing their high level of quality, STIWA has empowered their customers to increase the productivity of production lines by 15%, shorten the ramp-up phase for new machines by 30% and decrease IT integration costs by 35%. Honorable Mention: Randstad USA Enterprise Deployment  Winner: BNY Mellon

BNY Mellon is a leading global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. As part of a company-wide strategy to improve efficiency, reduce costs and minimize risk, BNY Mellon sought to optimize their technology processes. With Pentaho, BNY Mellon achieved their goal of transforming data into insights. Honorable Mention: Bell Canada IoT  Winner: Teletrac Navman

Teletrac Navman is a telematics company that provides over 50,000 fleet management customers with key insights to support positive behavior changes, fleet efficiency improvements and margin expansion. Teletrac Navmans powerful user-friendly platform, DIRECTOR, factors in every facet of their customers businesses. With Pentaho, Teletrac Navman provides their customers with self-service reporting tools, benchmarks data and makes data accessible from third-party software systems, giving them a complete 360-degree view of their business. This enhanced visibility has provided strong year-over-year improvements in Teletrac Navmans customer retntion, revenue growth and customer satisfaction.



Honorable Mention: Hyosung Corporation, Tire and Industrial Reinforcements Performance Unit ROI  Winner: LAZIOcrea | Partner: BNova

LAZIOcrea is the administrative branch of Italy's central region (Lazio Regione), including Rome, and is home to six million people. With the help of partner BNova, LAZIOcrea has implemented Pentaho software to better analyze healthcare data and costs with a single view. Since implementation, LAZIOcrea has seen a reduction in unnecessary prescriptions and a savings of 41 million euros.

Honorable Mention: State of Louisiana, Office of Technology Services | Partner: Deloitte Social Impact  Winner: Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana is the largest singly-accredited community college in the U.S. educating nearly 160,000 students across 45 campuses and sites across the state. Using Pentaho software, Ivy Tech Community College was able to consolidate data from over a dozen disparate systems into one interactive solution that has democratized its data, giving intuitive access to thousands of administrators, faculty and staff. As a result, Ivy Tech has optimized its operations and is improving student success with applied predictive analytics, and is now facilitating the identification of thousands of additional graduation opportunities for students each year. Honorable Mention: Bundespolizei (German Federal Police) | Partner: IT-Novum To compete in the 2017 Pentaho Excellence Awards, customers submitted their deployment stories in one of six categories, where a panel of judges evaluated the submissions based on their creativity and business impact. This years judging panel included: Howard Dresner, Founder and Chief Research Officer, Dresner Advisory Services

Hu Yoshida, Chief Technology Officer, Hitachi Vantara

Donna Prlich, Chief Pentaho Product Officer, Hitachi Vantara

Anthony De Shazor, Senior Vice President, Pentaho Customer Care, Hitachi Vantara This year's Pentaho Excellence Awards nominees encompassed submissions from some of the worlds most forward-thinking companies who are looking for innovative ways of harnessing data to transform their businesses, said Howard Dresner, Founder and Chief Research Officer, Dresner Advisory Services. Congratulations to this years winners. I look forward to seeing how their efforts will drive transformation across their various industries in the coming years. The company with the highest overall score will be awarded the Customer of the Year Award at the upcoming PentahoWorld 2017, taking place in Orlando from October 25 - 27. To learn more about how business leaders and data-driven innovators are using Pentaho Data Integration and Analytics software, visit our customer page.



About Hitachi Vantara

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., helps data-driven leaders find and use the value in their data to innovate intelligently and reach outcomes that matter for business and society. We combine technology, intellectual property and industry knowledge to deliver data-managing solutions that help enterprises improve their customers' experiences, develop new revenue streams, and lower the costs of business. Only Hitachi Vantara elevates your innovation advantage by combining deep information technology (IT), operational technology (OT) and domain expertise. We work with organizations everywhere to drive data to meaningful outcomes. Visit us at www.HitachiVantara.com.

Connect With Hitachi Vantara Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2016 (ended March 31, 2017) totaled 9,162.2 billion yen ($81.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in Social Innovation and has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information, please visit http://www.hitachi.com. HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners. Company Contact

Rebecca Shomair

+1-404-664-1680

[email protected]

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[October 18, 2017] FP Telecommunications And Alcatel Submarine Networks To Strengthen Connectivity In North, Central And South America

New state-of-the-art submarine cable system, AURORA, will deliver up to 15 Terabit-per-second capacity to support the growing demands for Big Data and Internet of Things in the region. NEW YORK and PARIS, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FP Telecommunications (FPT) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Nokia, have signed a turn-key agreement for the deployment of AURORA Submarine Cable System. Supporting the increasing bandwidth demands for broadband applications in North, Central and South America countries, AURORA will be based on ASN's advanced submarine system technology supporting the regional social and economic development. The overall project investment will be of US 310 million. Delivering up to 15 Terabit-per-second of capacity AURORA will strengthen the existing network infrastructure in the region which has a limited ability to increase capacity or the capability to manage growing demands associated with a larger user base, bandwidth growth, 4G/5G networks, low latency applications, Video on Demand, Internet of Things and Big Data. The AURORA submarine cable system will provide superior connectivity from Sarasota, in West Florida, to Manta, in Ecuador, via Panama. "We are honored to partner with Alcatel Submarine Networks to build the AURORA cable, which will put us in a leadership position in Central America and on the Pacific Coast of South America. AURORA represents the first of many projects we are planning in order to position FPT as one of the top 10 susea cable system companies. We are well aware of how communications infrastructures are important for the regions and contributing to its development is one of our company's key values, following United Nations' goals", said Mr. Luiz Fuschini, Chairman and President of FPT.



Philippe Piron, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks said: "The AURORA submarine cable system confirms the need for high-capacity infrastructures which are able to cope with business and end-user requirements for data center connections, cloud computing and content sharing applications. We are pleased to cooperate with FP Telecommunications on the AURORA submarine cable system and to contribute to further help foster the opportunities offered by new innovative technologies for a connected world." The solution to be deployed by Alcatel Submarine Networks will include the 1620 SOFTNODE, which incorporates multiple transmission formats to maximize delivered capacity at the lowest cost per bit. The system is also designed to enable extension to Chile and to connect to the United States without intermediate regeneration also leveraging ROADM branching units, which are part of ASN's product portfolio also including Wavelength Selective Switch technology (WSS). As part of the contract, ASN will also be in charge of project management, system design, marine operations and system commissioning.

ABOUT FP TELECOMMUNICATIONS:

FP Telecommunications (FPT), a leading network construction management company with extensive experience, capable of delivering advanced "tailor-made" subsea cable and networking solutions. FPT has direct presence in more than 15 countries and extensive network partnerships covering any location in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Delivering a full suite of network infrastructure services including infrastructure analysis, design, construction management, O&M, and financial advocacy through investor engagement. ABOUT ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS:

Alcatel Submarine Networks, leads the industry in terms of capacity and installed base with more than 590,000 km of optical submarine systems deployed worldwide. From traditional telecom to new oil and gas applications, ASN provides every part of a global undersea transmission network, all tailored to the customer's needs. An extensive service portfolio completes its comprehensive offering for the submarine business, including project management, installation and commissioning and marine operations and maintenance performed by its fleet of cable ships. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fp-telecommunications-and-alcatel-submarine-networks-to-strengthen-connectivity-in-north-central-and-south-america-300538479.html

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[October 18, 2017] FM:Systems Redefines the Boundaries of Space; Launches bookME for the Mobile Employee

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FM:Systems, a leading provider of Integrated Workplace Management Systems (IWMS) and Computer-aided Facility Management (CAFM) software, announced the launch of bookMe, a digital interface designed to make space management personal and give every employee DIY access to any reserve-able room, anytime, anywhere. bookMe hardware and software streamlines the room booking process by providing an instant, visual snapshot of room availability and immediate access to scheduling and check-in. The software module will greatly enhance the employee room booking experience and at the same time provide more detailed information to the Facilities and Space Management personnel of the organization. "bookMe is simplifying and changing how employees locate and reserve flexible office space," said FM:Systems President, Kurt von Koch. "For the first time, space management is happening in real time by everyone, leveling the playing field and making lif easier for all employees. bookMe gives equal access to everyone, so they can stay in control and stay productive while eliminating backlogs, double-booking and the ever present frustration of trying to find and reserve a room."



About FM:Interact bookME FM:Interact bookME gives employees the ability to view meeting room availability and reserve spaces using interactive digital signage placed outside of meeting rooms. Through a user-friendly mobile interface, employees can schedule a meeting in advance or on the flywith immediate visualization of room availability. Designed for instant installation, bookMe is unique because it integrates with FM:Interact, a full IWMS platform--so the workplace gets smarter every day, as data on how rooms are utilized is gathered every time a room is booked.

About FM:Systems FM:Systems helps facilities and real-estate professionals improve customer service, reduce costs, and increase productivity enterprise-wide. FM:Systems' Web-based software improves management of space, occupancy, moves, maintenance, leases and property. FM:Systems is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and conducts business throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about FM:Systems, please visit www.fmsystems.com. Media Contact:

Brian Haines

FM:Systems

Vice President of Marketing

+1-919 343 5096 office

+1-603 833 9546 mobile

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fmsystems-redefines-the-boundaries-of-space-launches-bookme-for-the-mobile-employee-300538396.html SOURCE FM:Systems

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[October 18, 2017] Gaumard Sets the Pace for EMS World Expo '17

MIAMI, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaumard Scientific today announced the worldwide introduction of Care In Motion, its first wireless video-assisted debriefing solution, at the annual EMS World Expo, today through October 20 in booth 753 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Care In Motion is the ideal complement to Gaumard's world-renowned wireless and tetherless patient simulators. Gaumard provides EMS students and professionals with realistic trauma patient simulators and skills trainers to practice patient assessment and treatment throughout the continuum of care, including point of injury, transport, and emergency room handoff. "Gaumard's goal is to help first responders stay a step ahead of the rapidly-changing demands of emergency preparedness by providing simulation training tools that can be used anywhere," Gaumard executive vice president John Eggert says. "As EMS face ever-more challenging scenarios, it's reassuring to know that they can sharpen their skills in a safe environment to better manage emergencies later in the real world." Gaumard's HAL Family Gaumard's HAL family line includes a wireless, tetherless Advanced Multipurpose Patient Simulator, HAL S3201, operating continuously from the accident scene to the ER and ICU. Additional models in the line include the Trauma HAL series, which bleed, have pressure-sensitive wounds and trauma limbs, laryngospasms, spontaneous chest rise and bilateral intravenous training arms for practicing diagnosis and care under fire, emergency field care, extraction, patient transport, mass casualty response, decontamination and more. Trauma HAL and HAL S3201 both can be controlled at distances of up to 300 meters and between rooms and floors of conventional buildings. The tetherless technology enables the communications, compressor and power supply to be inside HAL, eliminating external tubes, wires, and compressors. HAL smoothly transitions between physiologic states in response to commands from a wireless PC and has proved durable in independent testing in hot and cold conditions and wet and dry environments. Care In Motion Video-Assisted Debriefing Care In Motion is an innovative video recording and playback platform designed to help educators maximize participant learning through video-assistd debriefing. Care In Motion finally makes recording and playback simple enough for anyone to use, allowing educators to focus on delivering the best debriefing and learning experience possible.



Simply power on Care In Motion and tap the screen to wirelessly record audio and video from multiple sources simultaneously, whether at the point of injury or in transit, without interruption. Care In Motion allows educators to record exercises and play back sessions for debriefing -- all from one place. The Care In Motion tablet and HD wireless cameras are seamlessly integrated with Gaumard's UNI operating system to automatically capture and synchronize simulator patient vitals, sensor data and patient interaction with video in real time.

Choose from three Care In Motion packages designed for indoor/in-hospital, outdoor and mobile simulation, including patient hand-offs and transport. About EMS World Expo As North America's largest and most internationally-attended EMS conference and trade show, EMS World Expo, hosted in partnership with the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, annually attracts more than 5,500 EMS professionals. EMS World Expo sets the standard in EMS education, offering the training professionals need to do their jobs today, with the progressive curriculum and technology that provides the solutions for tomorrow. For more information, visit emsworldexpo.com. About Gaumard Scientific Gaumard Scientific Company has designed, manufactured and marketed simulators for health care education for more than 60 years. Users worldwide recognize Gaumard products for their innovation in simulation. Gaumard customers include the military, emergency medical services, major teaching hospitals and nursing schools. In 2000, Gaumard launched the revolutionary family of NOELLE maternal and neonatal care simulators that changed the way training is conducted. In 2004, Gaumard pioneered the use of fully tetherless technology with the introduction of the family of HAL simulators. In 2014, the company introduced Victoria, its most advanced, mobile maternal/fetal simulator as part of the NOELLE family. And in 2017, Gaumard once again revolutionized the healthcare education industry with SUPER TORY, the first newborn simulator developed to meet the challenges of neonatal care specialists training in real environments. Gaumard manufactures its products at its world headquarters in Miami. The company sells simulators through its own representatives in North America and through 200 distributors in 70 countries. For more information, visit www.gaumard.com. Follow Gaumard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/GaumardInFocus ; on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gaumardsimulators ; and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/gaumardmedsimulators. View a video of Gaumard customer testimonials at http://bit.ly/1Oqhwcl. Click here to see a schedule of all upcoming events at which Gaumard will demonstrate its patient simulators. Company Contacts:

Peter Eggert

Senior Vice President,

Vice President International Operations

(800) 882-6655

[email protected] James Archetto

Vice President Corporate Planning

(800) 882-6655

(305) 484-3309 Mobile

[email protected] Media Contacts:

Russo Partners Amiad Finkelthal

(646) 942-5626

(917) 217-1838 Mobile

[email protected] Scott Stachowiak

(646) 942-5630

(646) 300-3590

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gaumard-sets-the-pace-for-ems-world-expo-17-300538760.html SOURCE Gaumard Scientific

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[October 18, 2017]

Global Search for Best White Hat Student Hackers Narrows as 5 Countries Prep for NYU Cyber Security Awareness Week Games

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An elite corps of 400 high school, college, and graduate students bested thousands of teams to advance to the finals of the world's biggest student-led cybersecurity contest: the New York University Tandon School of Engineering's annual Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW) games.

Among the events spread over five days (November 9 - 13, 2017) of the CSAW finals will be Capture the Flag (CTF), High School Forensics (HSF), and the Embedded Security Challenge (ESC). Last year CSAW expanded to include NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), one of the top universities for computer science education in India. This year, CSAW expands even further, with new hubs in Valence, France, at Grenoble INP-Esisar, one of six engineering schools of the Grenoble Institute of Technology, and Ben-Gurion University in Israel, located in the new Advanced Technology Park in the Negev, Israel's "cyber alley." CSAW Israel is organized by BGU's Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering and the IBM Cyber Security Center of Excellence, located in Ben-Gurion University. In North America, India, France, and the United Arab Emirates, finals take place November 9 - 11, 2017. In Israel, finals take place November 12 and 13, 2017.

Student teams from India, the Middle East and North Africa, France, Israel, and North America will compete simultaneously  and in person  at the five schools.

Global Demand for Cybersecurity Education

Cyber security is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative fields in the world. With roughly 7,980 data breaches exposing nearly 1.05 billion records since 2005, defenders are in short supply. Employers are struggling to fill 200,000 jobs requiring cybersecurity skills. The shortfall is expected to reach 1.8 million globally by 2022.

For the second consecutive year, the NYU Center for Cybersecurity will award scholarships to those who win first place in the CTF, ESC, or the Applied Research challenges at any of the five regional hubs and are admitted to NYU Tandon's highly competitive doctoral programs. Scholarships include full tuition and fellowships. Additionally, over $1 million in scholarships will be offered to all finalists and winners of the CSAW High School Forensics (HSF) Challenge at NYU Tandon. Scholarships are contingent upon admission to NYU Tandon and satisfactory academic progress.

Capture The Flag

Players of all levels and ages from around the world registered for CTF, the flagship event of CSAW. After 48 hours of around-the-clock software hacking contests, a top-notch group of college students bested more than 2,400 teams  an estimated 10,000 players  from 95 countries to be finalists at one of the five global CSAW hubs. Ten North American teams will compete in CTF finals at NYU Tandon.

During the preliminary rounds of CTF, teams were presented with a series of real-world computer security challenges. As competitors advanced through the challenges, they earned points, or "flags," with winners qualifying for cash prizes, bragging rights, and travel awards to compete at the finals. CTFs are not only essential training for students and cybersecurity professionals, they are also a way to introduce young people worldwide to the field and entice them to pursue information security careers.

To view teams competing at the CSAW finals in all five regions, visit: https://ctf.csaw.io/

High School Forensics

The CSAW HSF challenge introduces high school-age novices to the cybersecurity field, attracting students who enjoy solving puzzles and encouraging newcomers with an entry-level CTF-style game that focuses on forensics topics.

Nearly 600 teams participated around the world, with 29 teams winning coveted slots to compete in person this year at CSAW final rounds at NYU Tandon, NYU Abu Dhabi, and Grenoble INP-Esisar.

To view teams competing at the CSAW finals, including ten teams who will compete at NYU Tandon, visit: https://hsf.csaw.io/

Embedded Security Challenge

Founded in 2008 by NYU Tandon Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ramesh Karri and his students, the Embedded Security Challenge  the oldest and largest hardware hacking competition in the world and the most difficult event at CSAW  contributes to worldwide scholarship in the emerging field.

The tournament employs a "red team, blue team" format that mimics real-world attacks. This year's challenge, developed in partnership with the U.S. Office of Naval Research, requires the competitors to make programmable logic controllers more resilient to cybersecurity threats by employing novel fault detectio and recovery techniques. The qualification round required teams to describe their detection and recovery strategy. At Finals, teams will demonstrate solutions live on Raspberry Pi microchip platforms.







The competition is a cornerstone program of NYU's hardware security group. Part of NYU Center for Cyber Security and comprising researchers at NYU Tandon and NYU Abu Dhabi, the group has become a leading force in microchip security.

Finals will be held at NYU Tandon, NYU Abu Dhabi, IIT Kanpur, and Grenoble INP-Esisar.

To view the teams competing at the CSAW finals, including seven who will compete at NYU Tandon, visit: https://github.com/momalab/csaw_esc_2017/blob/master/esc2017_finalists.md

Law and Policy

This competition  running at NYU Tandon and IIT Kanpur  attracts students who are interested in the nexus of law, policy, and emerging security issues. In the U.S., teams were asked to submit briefs related to the disclosure of investigative methods that use computer code. In India, the topic focused on policy interventions to solve the fake news epidemic. After a written qualifying round, finalists will come to New York and Kanpur to present their best legal arguments for the competition's final round.

To view the four teams competing at CSAW Law and Policy finals at NYU Tandon, visit: https://csaw.engineering.nyu.edu/policy/finalists

Applied Research

Recognized as the leading competition for young cybersecurity researchers, the Applied Research Competition accepts only peer-reviewed security papers that have already been published by scholarly journals and conferences. This year, top academics and practitioners in the field reviewed 170 papers to arrive at the list of finalists. During the CSAW final round, one of the student authors of each paper will present in poster format to judges, who will evaluate the originality, relevance, and accuracy of the research. Finals for this competition will be held at NYU Tandon, NYU Abu Dhabi, IIT Kanpur, and Grenoble INP-Esisar.

To view the 11 teams competing in the CSAW Applied Research finals at NYU Tandon, visit: https://csaw.engineering.nyu.edu/research/finalists

Cyber Journalism Award

New for 2017, this award recognizes excellence in reporting on cyber security across all journalistic categories. A joint project of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, the competition is open to professional journalists and student scribes alike. The winner will be announced later this month.

The CSAW games were founded in 2003 as a small contest by and for NYU Tandon students; CSAW has grown to become the most comprehensive set of challenges by and for students around the globe. NYU students continue to design the contests under the mentorship of information security professionals and faculty. NYU Tandon's student-led Offensive Security, Incident Response and Internet Security (OSIRIS) laboratory, home to weekly student-led Hack Night training and student research, leads the HSF and CTF challenges. Students from the NYU School of Law design the CSAW Law & Policy Challenge; and Ramesh Karri, NYU Tandon professor of electrical and computer engineering and Charles Seife, professor at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, conceived the CSAW Cyber Journalism Award. Students at the partner universities take leadership roles at their respective CSAW hubs, as well.

"Data security is a global issue in which attackers can come from anywhere and physical borders are no defense against threats," said Karri, who is also co-founder of the NYU Center for Cyber Security. "Top cybersecurity schools across the world recognize that competitions like CSAW's Capture the Flag and High School Forensics are valuable tools for engaging, educating and preparing students for a field that for the foreseeable future will be hungry for new talent and fresh ideas. Educating a new generation of security experts is of the utmost importance."

In keeping with the CSAW tradition at NYU Tandon of introducing finalists to professionals and career opportunities during the event, Andrew Tannenbaum, chief cybersecurity counsel at IBM, will deliver the keynote presentation at CSAW North America on November 9. Dino Dai Zovi, co-founder and CTO of Capsule8, will present the Security Expert Luncheon keynote on November 10.

CSAW'17 North American Sponsors are: Gold Level  Capsule8, IBM, the United States Navy Office of Naval Research, Palo Alto Networks; Silver Level  BAE Systems, Bridgewater; Bronze Level  Bloomberg, Facebook, Jane Street, Jefferies, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Raytheon, RBC Capital Markets, TD Bank, Uber; Supporting Level  Cubic Corporation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, National Security Agency, NCC Group, Rhymetec, The Ruth & Jerome A. Siegel Foundation, United States Secret Service; Contributing: Applied Computer Security Associates, Carnegie Mellon University, CTFd, Optiv, Red Balloon Security, Sandia National Laboratories.

For more information on CSAW, visit https://csaw.engineering.nyu.edu. Follow @CSAW_NYUTandon.

About the NYU Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, when the NYU School of Civil Engineering and Architecture as well as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly) were founded. Their successor institutions merged in January 2014 to create a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to programs at its main campus in downtown Brooklyn, it is closely connected to engineering programs in NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai, and it operates business incubators in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. http://engineering.nyu.edu.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi consists of a highly selective liberal arts and science college (including engineering), and a world center for advanced research and scholarship  all fully integrated with each other and connected to NYU in New York. Together, NYU New York, NYU Abu Dhabi, and NYU Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global network university, with faculty and students from each campus spending "semesters away" at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents. For more information, visit nyuad.nyu.edu/en.

About IIT Kanpur

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, is one of the premier institutions set up by the Government of India. Registered in 1959, the institute was assisted by nine leading institutions of U.S.A in the setting up of its academic programs and laboratories during the period 1962-72. With its record of path-breaking innovations and cutting-edge research, the institute is known the world over as a learning centre of repute in engineering, science and several inter-disciplinary areas. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development in areas of value to both industry and government. For more information, visit www.iitk.ac.in.

About Grenoble INP - Esisar

Grenoble INP - Esisar is part of the Grenoble Institute of Technology, which brings together six renowned engineering schools, close to the industrial world and open to international exchanges. The Grenoble Institute of Technology is one of Europe's leading technology universities, at the heart of innovation for more than a century. It offers a range of engineering, masters and doctoral courses both in French and in English, driven by world-class research in 37 laboratories, and 6 state-of-the-art technology platforms, developed in partnership with other institutions. Esisar engineers are trained in Embedded Systems and IT technologies, with a cutting-edge curriculum spanning Electronics, Computer Sciences/IT, Control and Networks. Esisar and the associated research laboratory LCI host the industrial chair of Excellence Trust which aims at developing innovative teaching and research programs in cyber security.

About Ben-Gurion University

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev is the fastest growing research university in Israel, fulfilling the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who envisaged the future of Israel emerging from the Negev. From medicine to the humanities to the natural sciences, BGU conducts groundbreaking research and offers insightful instruction. The University is at the heart of Beer-Sheva's transformation into the country's cyber capital, where leading multi-national corporations leverage BGU's expertise to generate innovative R&D. A third of Israel's engineers graduate from BGU, with that number destined to rise as the IDF moves south and sends its brightest to swell the ranks of BGU's student body. To accommodate that growth, BGU has launched an ambitious campaign to double the size of its main campus. As it counts up to its fiftieth anniversary, the University's research becomes ever more relevant as its global reach broadens. http://www.bgu.ac.il./

www.facebook.com/nyutandon

@NYUTandon

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SOURCE NYU Tandon School of Engineering
[October 18, 2017] Amarillo Shines At Annual Inc. 5000 Conference

AMARILLO, Texas, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), the primary economic development organization for the City of Amarillo, was showcased as a Bronze Sponsor at the 36th annual 2017 Inc. 5000 Conference in Palm Desert, California. Along with partners such as Amarillo College, West Texas A&M University and the West Texas Enterprise Center, the organization met with leaders who made the list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. "This event catapulted Amarillo as a destination for business to a national audience like no other event we've ever participated in," Barry Albrecht, president and CEO of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, said. "During the conference, our staff and representatives from our community partners had tremendous conversations with the owners and founders of the fastest private growing companies in America. Many of these business owners and industry leaders were surprised to see how aggressively we were promoting our community and the business advantages Amarillo offers." The Inc. 5000 Conference brings together and celebrates the most successful companies within the national economy's spectrum of dynamic privately held businesses. Companies such as Microsoft, Dell, Zillow and other well-known organizations gained their first national exposure as honorees at the Inc. 5000 event. "The conversations we had with founders and CEOs of the Inc. 5000 are some of the best I've ever had during my tenure with the AEDC," Doug Nelson, senior vice president of AEDC financial services, said. "This event has elevated the Amarillo brand to a degree that we are now part of a national conversation of growth and entrepreneurship. I am excited to see what happens moving forward." In May 2017, the AEDC launched a national campaign partnering with Inc. Magazine to showcase the business and entrepreneurial opportunities that are available in the community, in conjunction with Amarillo College, West Texas A&M University, West Texas Enterprise Center, Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Amarillo National Bank. Articles from the campaign can be viewed in the September, October and November issues of Inc. magazine as well as online at www.inc.com/amarillo.







CONTACT: Reagan Hales, Vice President Marketing & Communications

806-379-6411, [email protected]

About the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation:

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation was established in 1990 to serve as the primary organization tasked with recruitment, retention and expansion of business in the Amarillo, Texas area. The mission of the Amarillo EDC is to attract businesses to Amarillo by offering highly-skilled, highly-paid positions; to expand and retain existing local businesses in Amarillo; and to foster a business environment conducive to entrepreneurship. Learn more at www.amarilloedc.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amarillo-shines-at-annual-inc-5000-conference-300538920.html SOURCE Amarillo Economic Development Corporation

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[October 18, 2017] Nexient Opens New, Expanded Silicon Valley Headquarters

NEWARK, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Congressman Ro Khanna (D-17) joined domestic sourcing firm Nexient yesterday to mark the opening of the companys new, expanded Silicon Valley headquarters.

U.S. Rep Ro Khanna, Nexient CEO Mark Orttung, and Newark Memorial High School Robotics Team celebrate the opening of Nexient's new office in Newark, CA October 17. Photo credit Jim Holtan.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/40819402-ac50-41c4-a453-abb08676fb21 Nexients 100% US-based custom software development model wa recently highlighted in The New York Times as part of a flourishing niche in the tech world as some American companies pull back from the idea of hiring programmers a world away.



Located in Khannas congressional district, the new office provides an expanded base for client innovation workshops and startup partnerships. However, the majority of Nexients 400+ designers and development professionals work in Midwestern delivery centers in cities like Ann Arbor, Michigan and Kokomo, Indiana. Khanna called Nexients domestic sourcing model a powerful vehicle for job creation in Americas heartland. Nexient is bringing together the best of Silicon Valley and the Midwest, Khanna said. Together, we can work to create good-paying tech jobs and pave the way forward to a thriving 21st century economy.

Nexient credits its growth to increasing interest in US-based, product-minded development. In contrast with traditional IT project management, this approach focuses on revenue growth and customer experience, using short, iterative Agile cycles to help enterprise clients achieve faster, more market-driven development. Analyst firm Gartner anticipates [1] that by 2020, organizations that have embraced the product model will outperform the competition that has not, in both customer satisfaction and business results. Williams-Sonoma, Inc., whose brands also include Pottery Barn and West Elm, is an example of companies adopting the model. We have just recently begun our relationship with Nexient to help accelerate our mobile e-commerce efforts, commented Sameer Hassan, Williams-Sonomas Senior Vice President of E-Commerce & Marketing. The early results have been great, and we look forward to exploring additional opportunities with the Nexient team. US businesses are in the midst of a massive transformation, said Nexient CEO Mark Orttung. Theyre retooling to deliver more compelling customer experiences by leveraging Agile, cloud, mobile and DevOps. Domestic sourcing gives them a way to deliver that mission-critical work faster, at lower cost, using real-time collaboration with top-notch developers right here in America. [1] Gartner: Mastering the Role of Products in the Digital Era; Donna Scott, Mike West and Mike Gilpin; 9 May 2017 Contact:

Maura Lafferty

1-415-405-5631

[email protected]

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[October 18, 2017] Sensorion Reports 2017 First-Half Results

Advancing clinical development for SENS-111 and SENS-401 drug candidates

Cash position of 9.2 million as of June 30, 2017 MONTPELLIER, France, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sensorion (FR0012596468  ALSEN) (PEA-PME eligible), a biotech company pioneering novel treatments of inner ear diseases, today announces its results for the first half of the year ending June 30, 2017, as well as its recent developments. Progress in the first half of 2017 was characterized by the acceleration of our clinical development programs for both SENS-111 and SENS-401, said Nawal Ouzren, CEO of Sensorion. We initiated the phase 2 clinical testing of SENS-111 to treat acute unilateral vestibulopathy. We are on schedule and look forward to reporting top line data towards the end of 2018. Additionally, we completed phase 1 studies of SENS-401 and began preparations for our phase 2 trials. In August, we were delighted to receive a second Orphan Drug Designation for SENS-401 from the US FDA, for the prevention, in children, of hearing loss induced by chemotherapy using platin salts, Ms. Ouzren added. We are working with US and EU regulatory authorities to initiate two phase 2 clinical trials in 2018: the first to treat sudden deafness; the second to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in a pediatric population. Financial results for the first half of 2017 The Companys accounts for the first six months, until June 30, 2017, drawn up under IFRS, have been the subject of a limited review by statutory auditors and were approved by the Board on October 17, 2017. They are characterized by a slight increase in operating costs associated with increased clinical development activity, resulting in cash use consistent with the Companys development objectives. The Companys financial structure is adequately sized to finance the development of its clinical programs. The simplified income statement at June 30, 2017 is as follows: In Euros - IFRS 30.06.2017 30.06.2016 Operating income 1 092 946 1 123 646 Research & Development expenses 3 941 363 4 167 797 General and Administrative expenses 1 571 117 1 250 884 Total operating expenses 5 512 480 5 418 681 Operating profit / loss -4 419 534 -4 295 035 Financial profit / loss -130 495 1 764 Net profit / loss -4 550 029 -4 293 271



operating income, essentially consisting of a Research Tax Credit (1.0 million), totaled 1.1 million, a slight decrease (-2.7%) compared with June 30, 2016. Operating expenses increased from 5.4 million at June 30, 2016 to approximately 5.5 million at June 30, 2017, the result of sustained clinical development of the Companys drug candidates and non-recurring expenses related to the departure of the former CEO and the recruitment of Nawal Ouzren as CEO.

General and Administrative expenses have hence increased from 1.3 million at June 30, 2016 to approximately 1.6 million at June 30, 2017. The operating loss at June 30, 2017 was -4.4 million, compared with -4.3 million at June 30, 2016. After financial profit (0.1 million), net loss amounts to 4.5 million at June 30, 2017, compared with a net loss of 4.3 million at June 30, 2016. The Company had a staff of 20 as of June 30, 2017. Balance Sheet Highlights At June 30, 2017, Sensorion had cash and cash equivalents of 9.2 million, versus 8.5 million at December 31, 2016. Cash used by operating and investment activities was 4.9 million. Cash generated by financing activities was 5.6 million thanks to The exercise, on June 30 th , 2017, of the third tranche of convertible notes with warrants amounting 5 million as part of the investment protocol signed on November 19, 2015 with Yorkville Global Advisors Ltd. An amendment to this protocol was signed with the subscriber and the latter renounced the benefit of the warrants attached to the convertible notes for this tranche, as well as for an optional tranche to be subscribed before December 19, 2017. In accordance with this flexible financing agreement, Sensorion still has the ability to strengthen shareholders equity, depending on its requirements, by up to approximately 9 million in the coming 13 months.

, 2017, of the third tranche of convertible notes with warrants amounting 5 million as part of the investment protocol signed on November 19, 2015 with Yorkville Global Advisors Ltd. An amendment to this protocol was signed with the subscriber and the latter renounced the benefit of the warrants attached to the convertible notes for this tranche, as well as for an optional tranche to be subscribed before December 19, 2017. In accordance with this flexible financing agreement, Sensorion still has the ability to strengthen shareholders equity, depending on its requirements, by up to approximately 9 million in the coming 13 months. The inception of a specific innovation loan from Bpifrance and the Occitanie Region amounting 0.9 million. Key developments during the first half 2017 SENS-111 drug candidate

Following receipt of an Investigational New Drug (IND) status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2016, allowing the Company to initiate clinical trials in the U.S., Sensorion received a separate additional authorization from the European authorities to initiate a phase 2 clinical trial in Europe. The Company started this clinical trial during the first half of 2017, opened clinical centers to recruit patients, as planned, and expects to treat 207 patients diagnosed with AUV and report top-line data towards the end of 2018. SENS-401 drug candidate

During the first half of 2017, the Company successfully completed a phase 1 clinical trial establishing the safety of SENS-401, its second drug candidate. Separately SENS-401 demonstrated in preclinical testing to have a preventive effect against cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Sensorion subsequently received Orphan Drug Designation for SENS-401 by the FDA in this indication in a pediatric population and confirmed its objective to develop SENS-401 in this indication, in addition to sudden deafness. Subject to regulatory authorizations, Sensorion plans to initiate phase 2 clinical trials with SENS-401, to treat sudden deafness and prevention of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in a pediatric population in the first and second half of 2018, respectively. Technological platform

The Company is continuing development and use of its specialized screening platform in all inner ear pathologies. The results obtained so far with the technology platform have been highly translatable in humans. Scientific communication During the first half of this year, Sensorion presented significant preclinical results in various scientific congresses. Several key studies were presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO), held on February 11-15, 2017, in Baltimore, MD. Preclinical data for SENS-401, recently published in the Journal of Otology & Neurotology, formed the basis for the FDA granting Orphan Drug Designation for prevention of platin salt-induced ototoxicity in a pediatric population. French Tech Pass certification

In recognition of Sensorions innovation and internationalization potential, the Company renewed its French Tech Pass certification giving it preferential access to the services provided by Bpifrance, Business France, DGE (Direction Generale des Entreprises, or Directorate-General for Enterprise), Coface and Inpi, and to the French Tech Pass regional partners and French Tech community networks. Strategy and outlook



Sensorion will actively pursue development of its clinical stage drug candidates, as well as research work using its screening technology platform. Upcoming events First International Inner Ear Congress, November 1-3, 2017 (Marrakech)

BIO Europe conference, November 6-8, 2017 (Berlin)

Neuroscience (SFN), November 10-16, 2017 (Washington, D.C.)

Actionaria trade fair, November 23-24, 2017 (Paris)

British Pharmacological Society, December 11-13, 2017 (London) About Sensorion

Sensorion is a biotech company pioneering novel treatments of inner ear diseases such as severe vertigo, tinnitus or hearing loss. Two products are currently in the clinical development stage: SENS-111, in phase 2 in acute unilateral vestibulopathy (vestibular neuritis), and SENS-401, which has completed a phase 1 trial. The company was founded by Inserm (the French Institute of Health and Medical Research) and is utilizing its pharmaceutical R&D experience and comprehensive technology platform to develop first-in-class easy-to-administer, notably orally active, drugs for treating and preventing hearing loss and the symptoms of bouts of vertigo and tinnitus. Based in Montpellier, Southern France, Sensorion has received financial support from Bpifrance, through the InnoBio fund, and Inserm Transfert Initiative. Sensorion has been listed on the Euronext Growth Paris exchange since April 2015. www.sensorion-pharma.com Disclaimer This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the Document de reference registration document filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (AMF- French Financial Market Authority) on July 28, 2016 under nR.16-069 and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith.

Contacts Sensorion Nawal Ouzren Directeur general [email protected] Tel: 04 67 20 77 30 Libelle: SENSORION Code ISIN: FR0012596468 Mnemonique: ALSEN Investor Relation  International LifeSci Advisors LLC Chris Maggos  Directeur general, Europe [email protected] Tel: +41 79 367 6254 Relations Presse Alize RP Caroline Carmagnol & Wendy Rigal [email protected]

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[October 18, 2017] AI Customer Service Solution, Minds Lab Selected as Best, Most Innovative Company at ITU Telecom World 2017

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The excellence of MINDs Lab, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform company, was recognized at ITU Telecom World 2017, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The K-ICT Born2Global Centre announced that its member company MINDs Lab was selected as the best and most innovative small and medium enterprise at the awards ceremony of ITU Telecom World 2017, which was held last month in Busan, Korea. MINDs Lab was the only Korean company to receive such a distinction. ITU Telecom World is the world's largest telecommunication fair, drawing government and industry leaders, firms, and specialists in the ICT industries of countries around the world. Held under the theme "Smart Digital Transformation and Global Opportunity", the event attracted the participation of over 430 tech firms from across the globe. MINDs Lab presented its VOC-QC-RS products, which are AI-based solutions for customer contact center analysis and quality control consultant support that have been designed for major domestic and international companies. In particular, "maum.ai", an AI platform developed by MINDs Lab, featuring basic AI tchnologies, such as speech recognition, natural language processing (NLP), machine reading comprehension (MRC), and Exobrain, designed to enable AI-based question answering (QA), can be applied to large-scale services.



"maum.ai" is being introduced into the AI services of large domestic corporations and public institutions, including KEB Hana Bank, insurance companies, telecom companies, and manufacturers. Since its incorporation in 2014, MINDs Lab has invested USD 7.96 million (KRW 9 billion) in AI technology. Forbes Asia selected the company as one of Korea's top 10 fast-growing, high-quality startups of 2017, and last year, it received a technology commercialization award from the Ministry of Science and ICT, drawing considerable attention both domestically and internationally. Presently, the tech startup has three offices in North Americaits R&D centers in New York and Silicon Valley and R&D and sales marketing office in Vancouverbased on which it is aiming to enter the global market. In particular, MINDs Lab supplied the MINDs VOC, which was launched at ITU Telecom World 2017, to an official vendor of a large global business in North America, demonstrating its technological excellence overseas. In September 2017, with its signing of a strategic business cooperation agreement with Ibiz Academy, a telephone English conversation practice company, MINDs Lab launched AI-based English conversation and call center projects, allowing it to expand the scope of its business.

CEO Yoo Taejoon of MINDs Lab said, "The technological capability of our AI platform is being recognized for its security and extensibility, and with our solid AI technologies, we will continue providing AI platform services in more diverse industries worldwide." For more detailed information on MINDs Lab, please check out http://mindslab.ai/ About MINDs Lab MINDs Lab is an artificial intelligence platform firm and provides AI solutions and services. 80 professionals are currently working in four different countries. Our goal is to provide AI solutions that empower human and grow businesses and to build AI network and professionals. About K-ICT Born2Global Centre K-ICT Born2Global Centre is a full-cycle service platform for global expansion. Since inception in 2013, Born2Global has been setting the standard for successful startup ecosystem as the main Korean government agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Born2Global has expanded and transformed startups to be engaged, equipped and be connected with the global market. Contact: Somiy Jeon, PRCommunication Manager of MINDs Lab

[email protected] Jina Lee, PR Manager of Born2Global

[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ai-customer-service-solution-minds-lab-selected-as-best-most-innovative-company-at-itu-telecom-world-2017-300538589.html SOURCE K-ICT Born2Global Centre

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[October 18, 2017] Star Mountain Capital is the #1 Fundraising Team for the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research (New York City) for the Second Year in a Row

Star Mountain Capital, LLC ("Star Mountain"), a specialized investment manager focused exclusively on the large and underserved U.S. lower middle-market, is pleased to announce that it has been named the #1 fundraising team for the Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research in New York City for the second year in a row. Also, a member of the Star Mountain team, Eliza van Heerdan, had the fastest time among the women in the run. 100% of the proceeds from the run go directly to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for Cancer Research. "I know cancer has and will continue to affect us all until we find a cure, so I walk to make a difference and to continue to raise awareness and support to fight this horrible disease that affects hundreds of thousands of people per year," said Brett Hickey, Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital and Founder of the Star Mountain Charitable Foundation. "Culture is a core part of the DNA at Star Mountain and I am proud that we have been able to help make a difference and inspire others."



"Continued support from Star Mountain has been critical to our work in the development of novel therapies for leukemias and lymphomas. This work has already changed the lives of many patients," said Dr. Renier J. Brentjens, Medical Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The Terry Fox Run is a non-competitive event where people get together to raise money for cancer research in memory of Terry Fox. Today there are Terry Fox runs in more than 20 countries around the world and the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $715 million for cancer research.

Star Mountain has been a supporter of the Terry Fox Run for many years as part of its broader efforts to help raise money and awareness for cancer prevention and treatment. Star Mountain Capital CEO, Brett Hickey, was formerly on the board of the Canadian Association of New York (CANY) which helps organize the Terry Fox event on a volunteer basis. CANY is a member-run organization and the focal point for the Canadian Community in the New York City area. "The participation, involvement and fund-raising of the Star Mountain Capital team has become a large part of the success of the run. Brett's dedication and commitment to the cause is a shining example of his leadership." said Ken Ottenbreit, the founder of the Terry Fox Run in New York City and the past President of the Canadian Association of New York. Thank you to all the support and donations from our families and friends who made the 2017 Terry Fox Run an incredible day. We look forward to seeing you all again next year! ABOUT STAR (News - Alert) MOUNTAIN Investing in the Growth Engine of America  - Star Mountain Capital is a specialized lower middle-market investment manager with a distinctive focus on bringing large market resources to the smaller market. With a substantial investment in Team, Culture and Technology, it has a differentiated business model and "Collaborative Ecosystem" including its three-channel approach to investing into small and medium-sized businesses via Direct Investments, Strategic Primary Fund Investments and Secondary Fund Investments. Star Mountain Charitable Foundation is a New York not-for-profit 501(c)3 focusing on improving lives through Economic Development, including Job Creation and Health & Wellness (including Cancer Research). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006102/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Popular Science Names Desktop Metal Production System "2017 Best of What's New" in Engineering

Highlighting its speed and inkjet technology, Popular Science recognized the Desktop Metal Production System with its "2017 Best of What's New" award in the Engineering category. The Production System is the first metal 3D printing system for mass production of complex metal parts that is up to 100 times faster than current laser systems. Arriving in 2018, the Production System delivers the speed, quality, and cost-per-part needed to compete with traditional manufacturing processes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006128/en/ The Production System is the first metal 3D printing system for mass production of complex metal parts. (Photo: Business Wire) Created by the inventors of ground-breaking technologies in both 3D and 2D printing - binder jetting by Ely Sachs and single pass inkjet by Paul Hoisington - the Production System builds metal parts in a mater of minutes instead of hours. Leveraging low-cost Metal Injection Molding (MIM) powder, it is designed to deliver high throughput and per-part costs that are competitive with traditional manufacturing processes-up to 20x lower than today's laser-based additive manufacturing systems.



"The Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that shape the future," says Joe Brown, Editor in Chief, Popular Science. "From life-saving technology to incredible space engineering to gadgets that are just breathtakingly cool, this is the best of what's new." Desktop Metal, the company committed to making metal 3D printing accessible to manufacturers and engineers, recently launched its metal 3D printing systems covering the full product lifecycle -- from prototyping to mass production. The Studio System is the first office-friendly metal 3D printing system for rapid prototyping and is up to 10 times less expensive than existing technology today. To manufacture metal 3D printed parts at scale, Desktop Metal also debuted the only 3D printing system for mass production of high resolution metal parts today, the Production System.

About Desktop Metal

Desktop Metal, Inc., based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is accelerating the transformation of manufacturing with end-to-end metal 3D printing solutions. Founded in 2015 by leaders in advanced manufacturing, metallurgy, and robotics, the company is addressing the unmet challenges of speed, cost, and quality to make metal 3D printing an essential tool for engineers and manufacturers around the world. In 2017, the company was selected as one of the world's 30 most promising Technology Pioneers by World Economic Forum, and was recently named to MIT (News - Alert) Technology Review's list of 50 Smartest Companies. For more information, visit www.desktopmetal.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006128/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Fifth 2016 Census of Population release: Aboriginal peoples, Immigration and ethnocultural diversity, and Housing

OTTAWA, Oct. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - Next week, Statistics Canada will turn the spotlight on the next set of topics of interest to Canadians. Statistics Canada continues to share its year-long story of our country and its people, based on the results of the 2016 Census of Population. The Aboriginal peoples release will examine the growth and diversity of the Aboriginal identity population, including First Nations people, Metis and Inuit. The release in The Daily will also discuss the average age of the Aboriginal identity population, and growth in the population since 1996. This release will be supplemented by three Census in Brief articles. They will examine the housing conditions of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, the use of Aboriginal languages, and the living arrangements of young Aboriginal children. Each article will also provide information on First Nations people, Metis and Inuit. The immigration and ethnocultural diversity releases will provide recent and historical trends on immigration, including new information on admission category, by various levels of geograpy. It will also present a portrait of the population by ethnic origin and visible minority groups. The Daily will be supplemented by three Census in Brief articles that look at diverse topics, including the children of immigrant families, the linguistic integration of immigrants, and the ethnic and cultural origins of the population.



The release on housing will look at the changing housing landscape in Canada over the past decade. The Daily will describe key housing indicators, such as the rate of homeownership, the share of households living in condominiums and the share of households living in shelter not considered affordable. Data on Aboriginal peoples, immigration, ethnocultural diversity and housing will be published at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on October 25, 2017, on our website.

As with previous census releases, the story of Canada as seen through the 2016 Census will be supplemented with data visualization products, including infographics and a video. Next month, Statistics Canada will publish additional census data in its last major release, providing greater insights on the Canadian population. Data and analyses on education, labour, journey to work, language of work, mobility and migration will be released on November 29, 2017. For more information, please refer to the release and concepts overviews for Immigration and ethnocultural diversity, Housing, and Aboriginal peoples. SOURCE Statistics Canada

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[October 18, 2017] VOCOlinc Brings New Smart Home Products to Global Sources' Mobile Electronics Trade Fair

HONG KONG, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading home automation innovator VOCOlinc has made a high-profile debut at this year's Global Sources' Mobile Electronics Trade Fair (METF or "the Fair"), proudly presenting its new smart home products to the world. The world's largest mobile electronics sourcing event, METF featured 6,400 booths showcasing the most popular and innovative electronics products from Greater China region, South Korea and other Asian countries. During the Fair, VOCOlinc launched its new PM2 Wi-Fi power strip and L1 Wi-Fi smart lightbulb, both of which are available for purchase on Amazon. "It's a thrill to be able to unveil our latest innovations at METF," said Felix Liu, CEO of VOCOlinc. "By 2021, more than 220 million devices featuring a virtual assistant will be in operation around the world. We believe that prospects are extremely good for us and we are confident that our cutting-edge products will be able to win a significant share of the intelligent home market."



Nominated as an Analyst's Choice at the Fair, the new PM2 Wi-Fi power strip has a simple but classic design that uses environmentally-friendly materials. It works with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit, allowing users to easily voice-control lights and appliances. It is also equipped with a power meter that allows it to track power consumption for energy monitoring.

Another new product, the L1 Wi-Fi smart lightbulb, can be voice-controlled through Homekit and Alexa, or via an app. The smart lightbulb also features a 16 million-color control, allowing for more personal choices for users for different occasions. More exciting new product offerings that utilize voice control are on the way, including smart monitors, smart locks and home security cameras. "These nominations affirm VOCOlinc's position as a leader in outstanding product design, as well as research and development," Liu said. We love what we do for our consumers: making their home a better and smarter place. Every VOCOlinc product is user-friendly, and has stable connectivity with caring design." For more information, please visit www.vocolinc.com. About VOCOlinc VOCOlinc is Foneric's latest independent overseas brand. It is focused on developing voice-activated home automation products that are easy and convenient to use. Its product line covers every part of the home and creates a network where all its smart products can be connected. About Foneric Founded in 2009, Foneric focuses on wireless communication and mobile Hi-Fi audio technology innovation. As a leading solution provider, Foneric develops and manufactures numerous consumer electronics with exceptional quality and user experience for global customers. Its unique product designs have won a number of industry awards in the past. The company has over 200 employees worldwide. Two R&D centers are located in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Contact: Tony Zhang

+86-137-6026-8692

[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vocolinc-brings-new-smart-home-products-to-global-sources-mobile-electronics-trade-fair-300539028.html SOURCE VOCOlinc

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[October 18, 2017] MACOM Showcases Industry Leading CWDM4, PAM-4 and 10G-PON Solutions at New Optoelectronics Innovation Lab in Shenzhen, China

MACOM Technology Solutions (News - Alert) Inc. ("MACOM"), a leading supplier of high-performance analog RF, microwave, millimeterwave, and lightwave semiconductor products today announced the successful opening of its Optoelectronics Customer Innovation Lab with multiple top-tier optical networking customers in attendance. At the opening MACOM displayed live demonstrations covering industry leading silicon photonics CWDM4, 200G PAM-4 optical interconnect link demo and 10G-PON total solutions to the region's top customers, enabling their 100G, 400G and beyond optical applications. Various customers in attendance at the opening included: Huawei (News - Alert), APAT, Mentech, Xgiga, Ruigu, Moduletek, Hi-Optel, CIG, and Lumentum. For more information on MACOM's Optoelectonics Lab Opening please visit: http://www.macom.com/szcnlab "The opening of MACOM's Optoelectronics Innovation Lab allowed us to showcase the progress we have made leveraging our preeminent product and technology portfolio across CWDM4, PAM-4 and 10G PON Solutions," said Vivek Rajgharia, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Lightwave Business Unit, at MACOM. "This is another step in our efforts to drive optical design innovation and collaboration with our customers, servicing global demand. Our customers today are looking to MACOM to not only deliver industry leading components but also accelerate their time to market, working closely with them on technical and design support to enable their deployments." As a hub of the world's 100G, 400G and beyond optical and photonic development, the new lab is located in KeXing Science Park, Shenzhen, and focuses on supporting customers using MACOM's optoelectronic and photonic components to enable Cloud Data Centers, Client Access and Metro/Long-haul applications. For more nformation on MACOM's Optoelectronic and Photonic Product Portfolio please visit: http://www.macom.com/opto.



ABOUT MACOM:

MACOM is a new breed of analog semiconductor company - one that delivers a unique combination of high growth, diversification and high profitability. We are enabling a better-connected and safer world by delivering breakthrough semiconductor technologies for optical, wireless and satellite networks that satisfy society's insatiable demand for information. Today, MACOM powers the infrastructure that millions of lives and livelihoods depend on every minute to communicate, transact business, travel, stay informed and be entertained. Our technology increases the speed and coverage of the mobile Internet and enables fiber optic networks to carry previously unimaginable volumes of traffic to businesses, homes and data centers.

Keeping us all safe, MACOM technology enables next-generation radars for air traffic control and weather forecasting, with industry leading technology. MACOM is the partner of choice to the world's leading communications infrastructure and aerospace and defense companies, helping solve their most complex challenges in areas including network capacity, signal coverage, energy efficiency, and field reliability, through its best-in-class team and broad portfolio of RF, microwave, millimeterwave and lightwave semiconductor products. MACOM is a pillar of the semiconductor industry, thriving for more than 60 years of daring to change the world for the better through bold technological strokes that deliver true competitive advantage to customers and superior value to investors. Headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts, MACOM is certified to the ISO9001 international quality standard and ISO14001 environmental management standard. MACOM has design centers and sales offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. MACOM, M/A-COM, M/A-COM Technology Solutions, M/A-COM Tech, Partners in RF & Microwave, The First Name in Microwave and related logos are trademarks of MACOM. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about MACOM, please visit www.macom.com follow @MACOMtweets on Twitter (News - Alert), join MACOM on LinkedIn, Weibo and WeChat, or visit the MACOM YouTube Channel. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006239/en/

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[October 18, 2017] AstraZeneca Announces New Data Showing US Preterm Infants at Significantly Greater Risk of RSV Hospitalizations Following 2014 Guidance Change

AstraZeneca today announced new results of a study that investigated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization risk and costs during the 2014-2016 RSV seasons compared to the 2012-2014 RSV seasons. Results of the study were presented as a poster on Wednesday, October 18 at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus meeting in Dallas, TX. This study is the first national analysis of serious RSV disease in US preterm infants from the two seasons following the 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance that recommended against the use of RSV immunoprophylaxis in preterm infants born at 29-34 weeks gestational age (wGA). The 2014 guidance asserted that 29-34 wGA infants were not at a significantly increased risk of RSV hospitalization relative to full-term (FT) infants. The study demonstrated that RSV immunoprophylaxis use declined dramatically in preterm infants born at 29-34 wGA in 2014-2016 relative to 2012-2014, consistent with recommendations in the 2014 guidance. Associated with this decline, RSV hospitalization risks increased among infants 29-34 wGA who were <6 months of age for both Commercial-insured and Medicaid-insured infants. Preterm infants 29-34 wGA who were <6 months of age were approximately 2.5 to 5 times more likely to be hospitalized than FT infants in 2014-2015, which increased to approximately 3.5 to 5.5 times more likely in 2015-2016. These risks were higher than those observed in seasons prior to the guidance change. This study confirms and extends the results of a recently published study that similarly demonstrated a significant national increase in RSV hospitalizations among infants 29-34 wGA who were <3 months of age during the 2014-2015 RSV season compared to the previous four seasons. Greg Keenan, Vice President, US Medical Affairs, AstraZeneca said: "The results from this study emphasize that preterm infants are at substantially elevated risk of RSV hospitalization compared to full-term infants. As a science-led organization, AstraZeneca remains committed to partnering with the academic community to conduct research that characterizes and ultimately reduces the burden of disease for this vulnerable population of patients." The study examined national US Commercial andMedicaid insurance claims databases containing data from more than 1.5 million claims of infants <1 year of age. In addition to the increased RSV hospitalization risks among preterm infants, the study found that RSV hospitalization costs were also higher. The average RSV hospitalization cost during the 2014-2016 RSV seasons for Commercial infants <3 months of age at first RSV hospitalization was $17,416 for FT infants and $39,174 for infants 29-34 wGA. The average cost for Medicaid infants <3 months of age at first RSV hospitalization was $9,824 for FT infants and $22,316 for infants 29-34 wGA. RSV hospitalizations were identified using ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes on inpatient claims; confirmatory laboratory results were not available for this study, as insurance claims databases do not provide these results.



Utilization of inpatient RSV immunoprophylaxis among infants <3 months of age discharged from their birth hospitalization during the RSV season is not recorded in claims databases, and this could impact rates of RSV hospitalization in this subgroup. RSV immunoprophylaxis use prior to discharge would be expected to reduce RSV hospitalization rates in infants <3 months of age. Dr. Mitchell Goldstein, from Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, Loma Linda, CA (News - Alert) and the lead author of the study, said: "RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in their first year of life in the United States and can be especially severe for preterm infants during the first months of life. These data build on previous studies and should prompt additional discussion of the importance of RSV prevention efforts among these high-risk infants. This is an important topic among advocates for preterm infant health and the health care community."

NOTES TO EDITORS About the study Between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2016, RSV hospitalization risks were evaluated during the RSV season of each year. Rates were calculated per 100 infant-seasons. RSV hospitalization costs for the 2014-2016 seasons were averaged separately for FT and preterm infants by age at first RSV hospitalization. Children with chronic lung disease of prematurity or hemodynamically significant congenital heart disease were not studied. These populations have risks of severe RSV disease above those observed with otherwise healthy preterm infants and continue to be recommended for RSV immunoprophylaxis. Results of the study were presented as a poster on Wednesday, October 18 at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus meeting in Dallas, TX. About RSV RSV is a contagious, seasonal respiratory virus that nearly 100% of children will contract, at varying levels of severity, by the age of two and most will recover from within one to two weeks. In certain high-risk babies, however, RSV can lead to a serious lung infection and hospitalization. Preterm infants are at increased risk of developing severe RSV disease because their lung volume is significantly less than that of full-term infants, and their airways are smaller and narrower than those of a baby born at term. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three main therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases and Respiratory. The Company also is selectively active in the areas of autoimmunity, neuroscience and infection. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @AstraZenecaUS. US-15496 10/17 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006289/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Adore Me Honored by Goldman Sachs for Entrepreneurship - Morgan Hermand-Waiche, Founder & CEO of Adore Me Among 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs at 2017 Builders + Innovators Summit

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Goldman Sachs is recognizing the Founder & CEO of Adore Me, Morgan Hermand-Waiche, as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2017 at its Builders + Innovators Summit in Santa Barbara, California. Goldman Sachs selected Morgan Hermand-Waiche as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Morgan Hermand-Waiche, Adore Me Founder & CEO: "I'm honored and thrilled to be part of this prestigious list as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs selected by Goldman Sachs. This recognition serves as a testament of success to both me and Adore Me  and I look forward to taking the company even further on my mission to disrupt the lingerie industry to the core." "We are pleased to recognize Mr. Hermand-Waiche as one of the most intriguing entrepreneurs of 2017," said David M. Solomon, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer at Goldman Sachs. "This is the sixth year that we've hosted the Builders + Innovators Sumit where emerging business leaders gather to discuss their common interests in building prosperous organizations."



For more than 145 years, Goldman Sachs has been advising and financing entrepreneurs as they launch and grow their businesses. In addition to honoring 100 entrepreneurs, the Summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by Goldman Sachs experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, academics and business leaders as well as resident scholars. About Adore Me

Adore Me is a lingerie e-commerce company based in NYC with 140 employees across the U.S. and Europe. The company was started by Morgan Hermand-Waiche in his days as an MBA student at Harvard Business School. Adore Me offers designer, fast-fashion, affordable and inclusive intimates. The company has established a strong customer base of over 11M women, predominately urban millennials, and 80% of its traffic comes from mobile. Adore Me has been celebrated by the press as one of the fastest-growing companies in New York - ranked three times on Crain's Fast 50 list and ranked as #55 on Silicon Alley 2015 Top 100. Adore Me has also been highlighted as one of the fastest-growing retailers in the U.S. - ranked three times on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America, including the #2 fastest growing retail company in the U.S. in 2015.

Download the Adore Me app on Google Play and iTunes! MEDIA CONTACT

Iris Voltaire

Business & Brand Development

[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adore-me-honored-by-goldman-sachs-for-entrepreneurship---morgan-hermand-waiche-founder--ceo-of-adore-me-among-100-most-intriguing-entrepreneurs-at-2017-builders--innovators-summit-300539155.html SOURCE Adore Me

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[October 18, 2017] NCR Sponsors HackGT, One of North America's Largest Hackathons

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a global leader in omni-channel solutions, sponsored one of North America's largest hackathons, HackGT, from October 13-15 hosted at Georgia Tech. More than 1,000 student developers from around the country-selected from a record-setting group of more than 3,000 applicants-tested their creativity by developing cross-industry solutions and applications to create better consumer experiences. Twenty hackathon teams became the first third-party users of NCR's open API on the Omni-Channel Decision Support Platform (ODSP), which will be made available to selected NCR partners and third-party developers via a 'Developer Portal' next year. Held in Atlanta-the "Silicon Valley of the East"-HackGT challenges young developers to create new industry solutions such as ordering and delivering, smart promotions and offers, and advanced analytical models based on hypothetical transactional data. This was the first year NCR sponsored this event, in which 20 teams of up to four students explored potential solutions using the ODSP and hypothetical data sets created by NCR for the students to use as catalog and transactional data. The winning team developed a mobile commerce application that uses NCR's Ordering API, Catalog API and analytics to make mobile ordering easier for consumers. Members of the winning team that developed the app will each receive an iPhone (News - Alert) X and be offered a summer internship with NCR's software division. "We're always fascinated by what the next generation of sofware engineers and developers can create, and their solutions this weekend dramatically exceeded all our expectations," said Eli Rosner, CTO and Head of Software Product Management, NCR. "We were glad to be part of such a landmark event for the software industry, which aligns with NCR's focus on innovation and building the careers of emerging software engineers."



The ODSP is a cloud-based technology platform that augments and accelerates NCR solutions. It uses open, cloud-based APIs that allow NCR and other applications to seamlessly integrate and enable innovative consumer engagement solutions that span channels, applications, and industries. It will also provide rich data and analytics capabilities to provide a holistic view of consumer interactions and help drive smarter, faster business decisions. About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leader in omni-channel solutions, turning everyday interactions with businesses into exceptional experiences. With its software, hardware, and portfolio of services, NCR enables nearly 700 million transactions daily across retail, financial, travel, hospitality, telecom and technology, and small business. NCR solutions run the everyday transactions that make your life easier. NCR is headquartered in Duluth, Ga., with over 30,000 employees and does business in 180 countries. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries. NCR encourages investors to visit its web site which is updated regularly with financial and other important information about NCR. Website: www.ncr.com

Twitter (News - Alert): @NCRCorporation

Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/ncrcorp

LinkedIn (News - Alert): www.linkedin.com/company/ncr-corporation

YouTube (News - Alert): www.youtube.com/user/ncrcorporation View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018006402/en/

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[October 18, 2017] Ascensus Announces Agreement to Acquire Provident Trust Group

DRESHER, Pa., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus, a technology-enabled solutions provider that helps more than 7 million Americans save for the future, has entered into an agreement to acquire Provident Trust Group (Provident). Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval. Provident, a non-discretionary administrator and custodian of IRA assets, will become part of Ascensus' retirement division immediately upon closing of the acquisition. Located in Las Vegas, Provident is one of the top independent providers of trust, custody, administration, and escrow services to the self-directed IRA markets. The firm, which was founded in 2008, has more than $4 billion in assets under custody and nearly 30,000 clients located in all 50 states. Its clients range in size from small family trusts to multi-million dollar accounts and include individuals, multi-generational families, and family offices, as well as retirement accounts. "Welcoming Provident and its dedicated team of associates to the Ascensus family allows our company to participate in the large and growing self-directed IRA markets that are focused on traditional and alternative asset classes," states Shannon Kelly, Ascensus' president of retirement. "In the end, this acquisition is about offering our clients even ore ways to save for the future; we're delighted to add additional market and product extensions to our technology-enabled solutions and services."



"Provident's stated mission has been to empower customers to self-direct their retirement assets through innovative retirement plan solutions, ease of access, and an extraordinary customer experience," says Theresa Fette, Provident's chief executive officer. "By joining Ascensus, we're reaffirming our commitment to a marketplace that provides clients with greater visibility and access to alternative assets." "Ascensus views Provident as an anchor business with best-of-breed technology platforms that leverage digital, e-signature, workflow, document management, and trust accounting capabilities," adds Raghav Nandagopal, Ascensus' executive vice president of corporate development and mergers & acquisition. "It also holds the potential for additional bolt-on acquisition opportunities to create significant scale, efficiency, and margin expansion."

Macquarie Capital served as exclusive financial advisor and Howard & Howard acted as legal counsel to Provident. Drinker Biddle & Reath acted as legal counsel to Ascensus. About Ascensus

Ascensus helps more than 7 million Americans save for the futureretirement, college, and healthcare through technology-enabled solutions. With more than 35 years of experience, the firm offers tailored solutions that meet the needs of asset managers, banks, credit unions, state governments, financial professionals, employers, and individuals. Ascensus supports approximately 50,000 retirement plans, more than 4 million 529 college savings accounts, and a growing number of ABLE savings accounts. It also administers more than 1.6 million IRAs and health savings accounts. As of June 30, 2017, Ascensus had over $155 billion in total assets under administration. For more information about Ascensus, visit ascensus.com. View career opportunities at careers.ascensus.com or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ascensus. For the latest company news, follow @AscensusInc on Twitter. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ascensus-announces-agreement-to-acquire-provident-trust-group-300539171.html SOURCE Ascensus

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[October 18, 2017] PLC Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2017 - 2022

LONDON, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The global programmable logic controllers (PLC) market is expected to cross $46 billion by 2022.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151516





Establishment of semiconductor fabs and electronic assembly units in the Asian economies of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China that involve the highest degree of automation is set to increase the demand for PLCs.



The US is the world's largest market for PLCs, driven by a high degree of automation, better availability of range and awareness, followed by China. The modular PLC segment continues to witness maximum growth and will remain the dominant segment.



Report Timeline

 Historic Year: 2014?2015

 Base Year: 2016

 Forecast Year: 2017?2022



Major vendors profiled in the report are as following:

 Schneider Electric

 Rockwell Automation

 Siemens

 Mitsubishi

 Omron



Other prominent vendors include ABB, General Electric, Toshiba, Kontron, Honeywell, Panasonic, Bosch Rexroth, Eaton, Emerson Electric, and Yokogawa.



Scope of the Report

The report includes a detailed study of growth drivers, trends, and restraints of global PLC market. It considers the sale of programmable controllers or programmable logic controllers (PLC) at the manufacturer level to arrive at the market size.



Both the first-time and replacement demands were factored in while arriving at the market estimates annually.



The report provides the analysis of key segments of the market by product type, end-user, geography, and vendors. It provides a detailed analysis of revenue from various segments:



Product Type

 Unitary

 Modular

 Rackmount



End-Users

 Automotive

 Chemicals and Petro-chemicals

 Mining and metallurgy

 Paper, packaging, and printing

 Food and beverages

 Water and waste water treatment sector

 Oil and gas sector

 Other End-users



Major Geographies

 APAC

 Europe

 Latin America

 MEA

 North America



Key Countries

 China

 Japan

 Canada

 US



The report provides a holistic view of the global PLC market, the companies involved in the maket, and the factors driving its growth. The report also provides information about the latest trends that are likely to become strong market driving forces over the next five years.







This report also provides the Porter's Five Forces analysis along with a description of each force and its impact on the market. Further, the report also provides complete value chain analysis of the global market.



PLC Market: Key Vendor Analysis

The competitive rivalry among vendors can be termed as moderate. While some vendors stay focused on certain end-users such as industrial automation, marine, and rail, many vendors have an extended product portfolio along with a wide array of integrable accessories and customization options.





Major vendors in the market are as followings

 Schneider Electric

 Rockwell Automation

 Siemens

 Mitsubishi

 Omron



Other prominent vendors include ABB, General Electric, Toshiba, Kontron, Honeywell, Panasonic, Bosch Rexroth, Eaton , Emerson Electric, Yokogawa.



PLC Market Dynamics

Enterprise networking and remote access propelling the HMI-PLC technology



Rise of augmented reality (AR) and immersive experiences, increased prominence of PACs and PLC-based PACs, more portable and open industrial automation architectures are the latest trends that is going to drive the market growth during the forecast period. Further, System-on-Chip (SoC) FPGAs provide a smarter approach to the PLC architecture and thus, the increased adoption of SoC FPGAs in programmable logic controllers architecture is also going to boost the market.



Enterprise networking and remote access propelling the HMI-PLC technology, overwhelming rise in global industrial automation expenditure, rise of smart cities and need for intensive programmable logic controllers and sensor networks and PLC-controlled implementation for smart homes are among the major growth driving factors of the global market. The report also includes the growth restraints of the market.



PLC Market: Segmental Overview

Automotive sector to remain as the largest end-user segment



The modular segment is expected to remain the largest segment as it is expected to contribute the maximum revenue and will witness maximum growth CAGR. Increased requirement for automation solutions in various industries, especially in manufacturing and varied applications among home and building automation end-users are some of the major growth boosters for this segment in the global PLC market.



Rackmount programmable logic controllers are also expected to witness growth during the forecast period. In End- user segment the automotive segment is expected to remain the largest end user segment followed by chemicals and petro-chemical segment.



PLC Market: Geographical Analysis

The US is the world's largest market for programmable logic controllers



The global PLC market, which is concentrated in four countries - China , Japan , Europe and the US - constituted almost half of the global market size in 2016. There has been a high degree of correlation observed with the extent of industrialization, availability, and investments in the public and private infrastructure and associated private and government spending on automation, constituting a major boost to the demand for programmable logic controllers. In 2022 the North America region is expected to dominate the market. The demand for programmable logic controllers in the region is driven by a high awareness of their advantages over conventional products, better product availability, and extensive reach of innovative products.



North America is followed by APAC.



China hosts some of the largest programmable logic controllers consumers in manufacturing in the world. The market in Europe is largely driven by the demand from key end-user industries in Germany , the UK, and France .



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5151516



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:

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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/plc-market---global-outlook-and-forecast-2017---2022-300539292.html SOURCE ReportBuyer

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[October 18, 2017] SendGrid Files Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering

DENVER, Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SendGrid, a leading digital communication platform, today announced it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of shares of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. SendGrid has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SEND." Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will act as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. William Blair & Company, L.L.C., KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Piper Jaffray & Co. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated will act as co-managers. The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014 or email at [email protected] ; or J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 1-866- 803-9204, or email: [email protected] .



A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About SendGrid:

SendGrid is a leading digital communication platform, enabling businesses to engage with their customers via email reliably, effectively and at scale. A leader in email deliverability, SendGrid has processed over 35 billion emails each month for internet and mobile-based customers as well as more traditional enterprises. For more information, visit www.sendgrid.com.

Investor Relations Contact:

David Banks

SendGrid

888-985-7363

[email protected] Media Contact:

David Friedman

SendGrid

303-868-9641

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sendgrid-files-registration-statement-for-proposed-initial-public-offering-300539356.html SOURCE SendGrid

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[October 18, 2017] Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces FY18 Outlook

Provides FY18 non-GAAP diluted EPS outlook of $1.15-$1.25



Commits to returning $2.5 billion to shareholders in FY18, including $2 billion in share repurchases

Board increases share repurchase authorization by $5 billion

Board approves dividend increase of 15% to $0.075 per share SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) today held its annual Securities Analyst Meeting and provided strategy and financial updates from CEO Meg Whitman, President Antonio Neri, Executive Vice President and CFO Tim Stonesifer and other business leaders. The webcast and presentations can be found on the HPE Investor Relations Website: investors.hpe.com/SAM2017

HPE Strategy & Market Opportunity HPE CEO Meg Whitman discussed the progress the company has made since launching in November 2015 and the companys vision, strategy and market opportunity going forward. The progress weve made during the past two years has created a company that is more nimble and more focused on the solutions our customers want. We are delivering cutting-edge innovation faster than our competitors. And, we have improved our financial profile and increased shareholder value by more than 90% since we launched, said Meg Whitman, CEO of HPE. Going forward, we will accelerate profitable growth through a focus on higher margin services and solutions. We will redesign our company to deliver Hybrid IT and Edge innovations tailored to our services strengths. HPEs strategy remains focused on three key pillars. First, to make Hybrid IT simple through its data center technology, systems software, private cloud and public cloud partnerships. Second, to power the Intelligent Edge through offerings from Aruba in campus and branch networking, and the Industrial Internet of Things with products like Edgeline and the Universal IOT software platform. Third, to provide Advisory, Professional and Operational Services capabilities, including giving customers financial flexibility through consumption-based models. HPE Next HPE President Antonio Neri gave additional detail on an initiative called HPE Next. Through HPE Next, the company will simplify the organizational structure, redesign business processes and prioritize investments in growth areas. The company will also right-size its end-to-end cost structure. The goal of HPE Next is to simplify our operations, strengthen our execution and shift our investments in innovation towards high growth and higher margin solutions and services, said Antonio Neri, President of HPE. Ultimately, HPE Next will create a fit-for-purpose company and deliver the next wave of shareholder value. The HPE Next program will drive significant net savings with an attractive return on investment. Over the next three years, the program will drive gross cost savings of $1.5 billion. HPE will reinvest about $700 million of that back into the company in the form of go-to-market, operational and R&D investments in key growth areas. Net cost savings will be approximately $800 million on a run rate basis exiting fiscal year 2020. In order to achieve this level of cost savings, HPE expects approximately $1.1 billion in cash funding payments over the duration of the program. Approximately two thirds of the funding will be utilized to optimize the workforce. The remainder will be used to upgrade and simplify IT systems, in addition to other non-labor actions. These payments will be partially offset by real estate sales, which should generate approximately $300 million in cash over the next three years. Financial Update Tim Stonesifer, Executive Vice President and CFO, provided a financial update, including an outlook for FY18. FY17 expectations

Revenue in FY17 is expected to grow 5% year-over-year, when adjusted for divestitures, currency and sales to tier-1 service providers. As provided on its third quarter earnings call, non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be approximately $1.00 for the company as it stands today, including its Enterprise Group and Financial Services segments. HPE expects to return $3 billion in cash to shareholders in FY17 through $2.6 billion of share repurchases and $400 million in dividend payments. FY18 Outlook

HPE provided its outlook for FY18. The company expects modest revenue growth when adjusted for sales to tier-1 service providers. HPE expects its non-GAAP operating margin to be approximately 9.5%. With OI&E expense of approximately $300 million, a non-GAAP tax rate of 20-22% and a share count of 1.60 billion to 1.62 billion shares outstanding, it expects non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.15 to $1.25. GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be approximately $0.43 to $0.53. On a normalized basis,free cash flow is expected to be approximately $2 billion, in line with non-GAAP net earnings. However, in FY18, the company will have $200 million of legacy restructuring and separation payments, $300 million of payments for tax settlements, and $600 million of funding for HPE Next. This will be offset by $100 million of real estate sales. After these payments, as-reported free cash flow is expected to be approximately $1 billion.



Given HPEs strong net cash position today and the underlying strength of its normalized free cash flow engine, HPE is committed to returning approximately $2.5 billion in total to shareholders in FY18, consisting of $2.0 billion in share repurchases and approximately $500 million in dividends. The company approved a 15% increase in its regular cash dividend to $0.075 per share, up from its prior $0.065, and also increased its share repurchase authorization by $5 billion. Over time, the company plans to return at least 75% of normalized free cash flow to shareholders, up from its prior commitment of 50%. Long-Term Financial Profile

HPE provided its long-term financial model. The company expects to drive modest revenue growth of around 0-1% organically. The company expects operating profit to grow approximately 4-5% annually, driven by an optimized operating model, reduced cost structure and favorable mix shift. EPS is expected to grow at a higher rate of approximately 7-9% annually driven by share count reductions over time. Cash flow is expected to trend towards normalized levels in FY19 and track earnings over time.

Webcast details A webcast of todays event, along with management presentations and other materials, are available on the Investor Relations website at investors.hpe.com. This press release contains only a summary of some of the information presented at todays event and should be read in conjunction with the management presentations and other materials made available on that website. About Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hewlett Packard Enterprise is an industry leading technology company that enables customers to go further, faster. With the industrys most comprehensive portfolio, spanning the cloud to the data center to the intelligent edge, our technology and services help customers around the world make IT more efficient, more productive and more secure. Use of non-GAAP financial information To supplement Hewlett Packard Enterprises financial information presented on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides forecasts of revenue adjusted for tier-1, divestitures and currency, as well as non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP measure of earnings/loss from equity interests, non-GAAP income tax rate, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow financial measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the slides presented at the 2017 Securities Analyst Meeting, which will be available for a period of one year thereafter at http://hpe.com/investor/sam2017. In addition, an explanation of the ways in which Hewlett Packard Enterprises management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate its business, the substance behind Hewlett Packard Enterprises decision to use these non-GAAP measures, the material limitations associated with the use of these non-GAAP measures, the manner in which Hewlett Packard Enterprises management compensates for those limitations, and the substantive reasons why Hewlett Packard Enterprises management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors is included under Use and economic substance of non-GAAP financial measures used by Hewlett Packard Enterprise below. This additional non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for revenue, operating margin, diluted net earnings per share, cash flow from operations in accordance with GAAP. Use and economic substance of non-GAAP financial measures used by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hewlett Packard Enterprises management uses these non-GAAP financial measures for purposes of evaluating Hewlett Packard Enterprises historical and prospective financial performance, as well as Hewlett Packard Enterprises performance relative to its competitors. Hewlett Packard Enterprises management also uses these non-GAAP measures to further its own understanding of Hewlett Packard Enterprises segment operating performance. Hewlett Packard Enterprise believes that excluding the items mentioned above from these non-GAAP financial measures allows Hewlett Packard Enterprises management to better understand Hewlett Packard Enterprises consolidated financial performance in relation to the operating results of Hewlett Packard Enterprises segments, as Hewlett Packard Enterprises management does not believe that the excluded items are reflective of ongoing operating results. Material limitations associated with use of non-GAAP financial measures These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and these measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of Hewlett Packard Enterprises results as reported under GAAP. Compensation for limitations associated with use of non-GAAP financial measures Hewlett Packard Enterprise compensates for the limitations on its use of non-GAAP financial measures by relying primarily on its GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures only as supplement. Hewlett Packard Enterprise also provides a reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures to its most directly comparable GAAP measure in other written materials that include these non-GAAP financial measures accompanying this news release, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise encourages investors to review carefully those reconciliations. Usefulness of non-GAAP financial measures to investors Hewlett Packard Enterprise believes that providing forecasts of revenue adjusted for tier-1, divestitures and currency, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP measure of earnings/loss from equity interests, non-GAAP income tax rate, non-GAAP diluted net earnings per share, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow financial measures to investors in addition to certain related GAAP measures provides investors with greater transparency to the information used by Hewlett Packard Enterprises management in its financial and operational decision making and allows investors to see Hewlett Packard Enterprises results through the eyes of management. Hewlett Packard Enterprise further believes that providing this information better enables Hewlett Packard Enterprises investors to understand Hewlett Packard Enterprises operating performance and to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by Hewlett Packard Enterprises management to evaluate and measure such performance. Disclosure of these non-GAAP financial measures also facilitates comparisons of Hewlett Packard Enterprises operating performance with the performance of other companies in Hewlett Packard Enterprises industry that supplement their GAAP results with non-GAAP financial measures that may be calculated in a similar manner. Forward-Looking Statements The information included in this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If the risks or uncertainties ever materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, the results of Hewlett Packard Enterprise may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any projections of revenue, margins, expenses, effective tax rates, net earnings, net earnings per share, cash flows, benefit plan funding, share repurchases, currency exchange rates or other financial items; any projections of the amount, timing or impact of cost savings or restructuring charges; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including the recently completed divestiture transactions and the implementation of HPE Next, the execution of restructuring plans and any resulting cost savings or revenue or profitability improvements and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the need to address the many challenges facing Hewlett Packard Enterprises businesses; the competitive pressures faced by Hewlett Packard Enterprises businesses; risks associated with executing Hewlett Packard Enterprises strategy, including HPE Next; the results of the divestiture transactions or restructuring plans, including estimates and assumptions related to the cost and the anticipated benefits of the transactions or of implementing the restructuring plans; the development and transition of new products and services and the enhancement of existing products and services to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its suppliers, customers and partners; integration and other risks associated with business combination and investment transactions; and other risks that are described in Hewlett Packard Enterprises filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risks described in Hewlett Packard Enterprises Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2016 and Hewlett Packard Enterprises Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended January 31, April 30 and July 31, 2017. Hewlett Packard Enterprise assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. Editorial contact: Kate Holderness, HPE

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The Norwegian Consumer Council and Mnemonic, a security company, revealed that several brands of smartwatches made for children are easily hackable. In response to these findings, U.S. privacy groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the products' makers.

These watches are equipped with GPS capabilities that are supposed to let parents keep track of their children's locations. The Norwegian Consumer Council and Mnemonic tested the security of four of these watches; three had serious flaws. Mnemonic said in its announcement that the vulnerabilities are "not technically difficult to exploit, and in two cases, allow a third party to covertly take control over the watch."

Taking over these watches, or merely peeking at the location data they gather, could endanger children. That's the exact opposite of what these devices are supposed to do. Quoth the Norwegian Consumer Council in its own press release on the findings:

Its very serious when products that claim to make children safer instead put them at risk because of poor security and features that do not work properly, says Finn Myrstad, Director of Digital Policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council. Importers and retailers must know what they stock and sell. These watches have no place on a shops shelf, let alone on a childs wrist.

Yet at this point, the fact that these watches are easily compromised shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. Here's the common sequence of events: An internet-connected product is released, purchased by a bunch of people, and then hacked. It's gotten to the point where the FBI warned parents not to buy internet-connected toys without vetting them first, and Mattel preemptively canceled a kid-focused IoT device called "Aristotle."

There were more concerns about some of the devices. In addition to putting children's data at risk of being hacked, several of the companies' terms and conditions violate the Norwegian Marketing Control Act and the Personal Data Act by not allowing accounts to be deleted, or they were simply lacking terms and conditions. That means the data collected by these watches is just waiting to be abused to suit the companies' own purposes.

That's why the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), The Center for Digital Democracy, and other U.S. privacy groups asked the FTC to investigate the Norwegian Consumer Council and Mnemonic's findings. In a letter, the groups said "this is a real risk to children's safety" and urged the regulator to be more proactive in protecting kids from companies like this.
ATHENS  Athens connections to the religion and rulers of ancient Egypt were revealed in a unique tour of the citys sites by Vassilis Chryssikopoulos, archaeologist and egyptologist, who is also president of the board of the Hellenic Society for the Study of Ancient Egypt (EEMAA).

The success of the tour, which included audio material, prompted the organizers to schedule a second tour, for Saturday (Oct. 21).

Some of the highlights of the tour include the following, associated with Athens landmarks:

 A statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis was found near the Herod Atticus theater, on Dionyssiou Areopagitou Street (now a pedestrian walkway). It is missing the legs and the head, and is believed to have stood at the sanctuary of Isis on the south slope of the Acropolis. According to an inscription, removed by Lord Elgin and currently in the British Museum, the priestess of Isis was called lychnaptria (carrier of the sacred oil lamp) and oneirokritis (interpreter of dreams for healing). The removed inscription also contains valuable information on the female donors who paid for the inscription, the sanctuary, and the sanctuary repairs.

 In the Aerides (Tower of the Winds) section of the Plaka, there used to be two gymnasia during Hellenistic times: one named after Diogenes and another after Ptolemy. We dont know which of the Ptolemies it refers to, Chryssikopoulos said, but they were mostly used for studying rather than for sporting events. Evidence was provided by inscriptions found in the area.

 A temple dedicated to the Hellenistic god Serapis was built near the present Greek Orthodox metropolitan cathedral and the Panagia Gorgoepikoos church. Inscriptions found in 1842 attested to the worship of Serapis, also mentioned by Pausanias in the record of his tours. Its possible two statues in the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) served as caryatids at the entrance to the temple.

 At the Chrysospiliotissa church on Eolou Street, there used to be the tomb of the father of the first Greek egyptiologist, Tassos Neroutsos. Dimitrios Neroutsos, the father, belonged to the first generation of Greek Orthodox priests officiating at the church, according to a written record by the son.

 The tour stopped at the Numismatic Museum, which holds a 10,000-coin collection donated by Ioannnis Dimitriou, a Greek of Egypt with roots on the island of Limnos. Dimitriou was an industrialist and cotton merchant in Egypt, and a collector of Egyptian antiquities which he donated to the NAM in 1880. His collection and that of Alexander Rostovich, another Greek of Egypt who donated his collection in 1904, form the core of the NAMs Egyptian collection.

 The tour concluded at the NAM and its Egyptian collection, where reference was made to Sotiris Magiassis, one of the first interpreters of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. Magiassis was the architect of Acropol Palace on Patission, across from the Museum. He published his five-volume interpretation in 1955, privately, providing valuable reference material to excavations today, as Chryssikopoulos said.

In further comments to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA), Chryssikopoulos said that the popularity of the tour is due to the uniqueness of the subject and the variety of references. Theres research worth 20 years behind this (tour), research which is still ongoing, as is the work of colleagues in egyptology, he added.

(For more information on the Society, see http://www.eemaa.org.gr)

(Interview by Eleni Markou)

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Ricardo Liberato License: CC-BY-SA

Source: thenationalherald.com
A new video titled "Blogtrotters 2017 - Travel in Balance," which visualizes the results of Blogtrotters' action of Marketing Greece for 2017, was presented by Discover Greece.

Blogtrotters is a travel blogging travel experience platform for travel bloggers.

This action concerns the invitation to Greece and the interactive participation of prominent foreign bloggers and vloggers to destinations in the country.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
The Army Pension Fund (Metochiko Tameio Stratou) signed a deal with Intrakat, leasing a building on Kolokotroni Street 3-5 in Athens.

The Fund's three-floor building, whose surface area extends to 4,160 sq.m., was leased to Intrakat for 20 years at 40,000 euros per month. The site belongs to the Greek registry of historic buildings.

According to a Fund announcement, Intrakat plans to turn the building into a 45-room boutique hotel that will open for business within 2019, after necessary upgrading.

Following the contract signing, Intrakat's managing director Petros Souretis said, "Intrakat's choice of leasing an emblematic historic building in the heart of Athens and turning it into a boutique hotel is part of our group's strategy of focusing on the so-called golden tourism destinations of our country," noting that Athens' popularity as a higher-end tourism is on the rise.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: INTRAKAT License: CC-BY-SA

Source: ANA-MPA
The Greek Marinas Association (GMA) has been announced as host of the 2018 ICOMIA World Marinas Conference (IWMC) during the meeting of the ICOMIA Marinas Group in Vancouver, Canada on 14 October. The world-renowned travelling Conference will be held 25  27 October 2018 in Athens, Greece.

The leading light in ensuring successful future developments of marina facilities around the globe, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) World Marinas Conference is the key initiative of the ICOMIA Marina Groups Outreach and Support Programme. IWMC is aimed at marina owners, operators, developers, consultants, service providers, Government officials, equipment manufacturers, nautical tourism promoters, and port and harbour operators and draws hundreds of delegates and speakers from around the globe.

IWMC is presented by the ICOMIA Marinas Group (IMG), the committee born out of ICOMIA`s recognition that ensuring boat owners a safe and convenient place to berth, moor or launch their boat is vital to the future of the industry.

An active and prominent member of IMG since 2011, GMA was established in 2010 in order to represent, upgrade and promote the tourist ports and marina facilities throughout Greece. Its membership includes 77% of the total regional berthing capacity, and includes both public and private members all of which are well organised marinas focusing on quality, safety and customer satisfaction. Stavros Katsikadis, president of the GMA highlighted the importance of this win for Greek marinas and the city of Athens: "I'm confident IWMC 2018 will be a high-performing, world class event. Delegates will benefit from quality content and the expertise of the exceptional international speakers IWMC attracts. Athens promises to them an unforgettable experience".

Roberto Perocchio, IMG Chairman, praised the GMA win: "The Greek coast is one of the most beautiful cruising grounds of the world for nautical tourism, and the international community of marina operators will now gather there in 2018 to discuss global trends and be inspired by the new marina investments that can be developed in this country thanks to privatisation programmes, urban waterfront rejuvenation projects and increased importance of tourism economy. Perocchio added, The Mayor of Athens has expressed his full support of IWMC 2018, as have other local and national authorities  this confirms the leading role that Greece plays at an international level in the field of yachting facilities and services".

The decision to award GMA the bid was made during IMGs autumn meeting, held 12-14 October 2017 in Vancouver, Canada, which 13 IMG members attended and included a tour of 10 marinas on the west coast of Canada. Hosted by Sara Anghel, Executive Director of NMMA Canada, the Group saw marinas suitable for sailboats, smaller power boats and large yachts. NMMA Canada was honoured and pleased to have the opportunity to host the IMG meeting in Canada. The recreational boating industry in Canada is worth $10 billion CDN in revenues and $5.6 billion in GDP impact. There are nearly 1500 marinas in Canada and almost half of Canadas population goes boating each year.

The IWMC series is highly informative and relevant to global market trends, whilst the extensive networking opportunities are invaluable for on-going business success and the vast array of exhibits offer insight into the very latest in marina product development and technology. More information on the programme for 2018, sponsorship opportunities and delegate registration will be announced in due course.

For more information please contact info@icomia.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Michael W. Pendergrass License: CC-BY-SA
NBB, a leading bank in Bahrain, recorded a net profit of BD49.43 million ($131.46 million) for the first nine months of the year compared to BD46.21 million ($122.90 million) for the same period of 2016, an increase of seven per cent.



During the nine months ended September 30, the Bank achieved an operating profit of BD55.77 million ($148.32 million), an increase of 11.3 per cent over BD50.13 million ($133.32 million) achieved during the corresponding period of 2016. For the third quarter of 2017, the bank recorded a net profit of BD17.69 million ($47.05 million) compared to BD14.49 million ($38.54 million) for the third quarter of 2016, a strong increase of 22.1 per cent.



The financial results were approved at the Board meeting held on October 18 headed by the banks chairman Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed.



Were extremely pleased with the strong results and growth in profitability that the Bank has delivered for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017, said Almoayyed.



Our continued progress serves to underscore the strength of our strategy, our leadership in the market and the enduring confidence of our valued customers in NBB for which we are grateful. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the executive management team and our employees for their dedicated service to the Bank and to serving the needs of our customers, the economy and our shareholders.



Jean-Christophe Durand, chief executive officer, said: The third quarter of 2017 saw strong improvements in profitability. This can be attributed to a number of key factors. This includes increased interest margins and, importantly, growth in the underlying business building on our strengths and pursuing effective diversification.



Across our existing activities, we are growing market leadership by expanding our product and service offering including the launch of the latest technologies and platforms both internally and for our customers. We are also creating important new lines of business that leverage our robust financial position, relationships and reach in Bahrains economy and across the GCC.



While doing so, all of our efforts remain focused on implementing a business model that is now fully geared towards customer centricity  a strategy that benefits all of stakeholders and the bottom line as reflected by our results year-to-date. We look forward to building on this progress and delivering even stronger performance in the forthcoming periods, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Singapores Alpha Fintech is entering the high-growth GCC market, teaming up with Bahrain-based Finocracy, a financial technology (fintech) solution provider.

Alpha Fintech specialises in end-to-end payment solution, enabling banks to quickly access new fintech partners across the entire payments, risk and commerce spectrum. The company is backed by Wells Fargos accelerator program and First Quay Capital, said a statement.

The partnership opens up opportunities for GCC retailers to capitalise on 20 per cent year-on-year e-commerce market growth, it said.

The GCC region is in a unique and perfect position to surpass most other regions with respect to Fintech. The banks truly understand the need to catch up and have displayed an open mind to overhaul legacy approaches and mind-sets and invest into new technologies and operating models, commented Oliver Rajic, CEO of Alpha.

Almost one-third of retailers in GCC now offer online shopping experience and the trend is gaining momentum. Several high profile deals announced in recent months, including souq.com and others have set the pace for accelerated innovation in online commerce in GCC.

We are truly delighted to be partnering up with Finocracy to bring this solution to GCC. Imagine the impact on new fintechs where as soon as they are ready to launch, dozens of banks and thousands of merchants can instantly and risk-free access and test the solutions. This would accelerate the pace of innovation and new solutions for GCC consumers, added Rajic.

Banks have been held back from fully participating in the new digital economy due to their legacy technology systems and the costly and cumbersome process to integrate fintech solutions within their offering, the statement said.

Ashar Nazim, managing director of Finocracy, said: The teaming agreement between Alpha and Finocracy promises to significantly bring down the cost and complexity of integration for banks, vendors and fintech players. This will directly contribute to improving the speed to market and the profitability of banks in the region. This will create 2-3 clear leaders in each of the GCC market, and these will be banks that are able to start early.

Similar to a marketplace, the Alpha platform provides a single user interface connecting merchants with vendors spanning the full spectrum of payments, identity, fraud, risk management and commerce services, such as loyalty, delivery preferences and shipping. With expensive licensing schemes, protracted integration times and associated expenses removed, banks can now shift focus on scaling up their digital footprint, the statement said.

Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), said: We are delighted to see further ties between Bahrain and key Fintech markets around the world. Enabling entrepreneurs and businesses in Bahrain to have access to the expertise of leading world-class Fintech centres is a key part of developing the best possible ecosystem and stimulating future growth. We believe that there are real opportunities in the Islamic Fintech sector and are very keen for Bahrain to play a leading role in helping to develop the industry, bringing together decades of experience in Islamic finance and access to some of the most advanced centres of Fintech innovation worldwide.

Finocracy works alongside Islamic banks and financial institutions to invest in Fintech solutions. It brings access to the global Fintech ecosystem to assist financial institutions implement change agenda in an informed, efficient and credible manner, the company said.

Finocracy is aiming to roll out 15 high-impact FinTech platforms by 2022. The objective is to open up access to 10 million under-banked consumers for its clients.  TradeArabia News Service
Microsoft has announced it will expand its partnership with Dubai-based Mashreq Bank to drive a bold digital transformation programme within the banks branches and digital services.

Through the programme, which builds on Mashreqs market-leading digital strategy, the bank will harness the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365 as its commerce platform, to empower its employees and engage customers more effectively, the company said.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Mashreq Bank is one of the UAE's leading financial institutions. Its retail business spans the GCC region, including markets such as Egypt, Kuwait and Bahrain. The company attributes its sustained success to product and service innovation. It was the first UAE bank to install ATM cash dispensers, and the first to issue debit and credit cards to its customers, as well as offer loans to private individuals.

Mashreq is now in the midst of its ambitious digital transformation programme that aims to build on its history and further disrupt the regional financial services market. The bank has led the sector in moving its operations from traditional branches to the Web and mobile enterprise apps.

Mashreq and Microsoft have been working together for more than 15 years on enhancing customer experience and employee empowerment. Using Microsoft CRM products, coupled with the power of Microsoft Office, the bank has, over the years, enabled its workforce to significantly improve productivity and serve customers more effectively. Besides adopting Office 365 across its offices, Mashreq has also completed rollout of Dynamics 365s CRM suite. Also, in light of the developments in the cyber landscape, Mashreq has leveraged the security capabilities that come with Microsofts cloud-based solutions.

In particular, the versatile, mobile capabilities of Dynamics CRM 365 appealed to the banks business development team. Advanced cloud-based tools have allowed Mashreq's 800+ sales agents to revolutionise how they manage leads, whether in the office or in the field.

"The Dynamics 365 mobile system is completely paperless and has been one of the most significant transformations of our sales force automation model," said Sandeep Chouhan, group head of operations & technology, Mashreq Bank. "When our relationship managers meet our customers, queries, requests and complaints can all be captured and transmitted to operational teams in real time."

Another transformative aspect of Mashreq's Dynamics CRM 365 implementation has been the bank's ability to gain a much deeper understanding of its client relationships powered by data and intelligence - enabling employees to manage and maintain customers effectively.

Mashreq Bank is a pioneer in the regional financial services industry because we have never stopped innovating, said Chouhan. Innovation is part of our DNA. We are continually looking for ways to enhance efficiency for our employees, because it helps us in building, maintaining and enhancing customer relationships. A well-equipped employee is more productive, saves time and serves customers swiftly  and that builds customer loyalty."

Digital transformation takes many shapes, but always brings real business benefits, said Sayed Hashish, general manager, Microsoft Gulf. In our long relationship with Mashreq, we have watched them innovate and lead again and again. With Dynamics 365, they will be able to make deep dives into their customer relationships and empower employees to work from anywhere. This innovation will allow Mashreq to solidify its place as a market leader. - TradeArabia News Service
Six-year-old Adam Mohammad Amer, who surprised pilots onboard an Etihad Airways flight with his in-depth aviation knowledge, finally got the opportunity of a lifetime.



Etihad Airways invited the little boy to become a pilot for a day, and allowed to "fly" the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane.



The little kid, who is of Egyptian-Moroccan origin, was discovered by the crew on a flight from Morocco to Abu Dhabi during a random cockpit visit. Amer surprised the pilots by giving detailed procedural accounts of aircraft operating systems and demonstrating a deep understanding of emergency procedures.



The six-year-old was dressed in a specially made pilot uniform and given the chance to experience flying an aircraft at its training centre.



Captain Majed Al Marzouqi, Etihad Airways vice president Flight Operations, said: Seeing Adams enthusiasm reminds me of my own as a young boy, with dreams of becoming a pilot. It really is a wonderful opportunity for us to engage with the children of our community."



"Adam shows incredible intellect and knowledge, having learned complex operational procedures from YouTube videos. I hope he has enjoyed his day in the life of a pilot and that it encourages him to pursue his passion when he is older. - TradeArabia News Service
Following the phenomenal success of its recent social media contests, Oman Air has launched exciting new competitions to celebrate World Tourism Day and the Indian festival of lights - Diwali.



As part of its promotion for World Tourism Day, Oman Air had launched a Winning Smiles social media competition that ran until October 11 across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To enter the competition, participants had to take a selfie and share it along with their favourite Oman Air destination. The two lucky winners will receive the number of Sindbad miles required for an Economy Class ticket to their chosen destination.



Signaling Oman Airs commitment to its Indian customers, the airline is celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, by running a double miles promotion to its Indian destinations.



In addition to receiving double the Sindbad miles for every flight taken between October 12 and 26, guests will be entered into a free prize draw for the chance to win a return Economy Class ticket to the Indian destination of their choice. One lucky winner will be chosen by Oman Air. Oman Air flies to 11 destinations in India and has added frequencies to some of its Indian destinations since the beginning of this year.



Mohammed Al Shikely, vice president marketing, Oman Air said: Social media has proven to be an important tool to engage with our customers and its great to be able to offer some fun and engaging concepts that offer them the chance to win some amazing prizes. Oman Air is delighted by the phenomenal number of entries weve had for our previous contests on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  many people entered our 24th anniversary celebration competition earlier this year  and we cant wait to see how many people enter our exciting new competitions. - TradeArabia News Service
Rajasthan government employees will draw revised salaries from November following the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations.

By India Today Web Desk: Bringing in Diwali cheer to more than 12 lakh employees and pensioners, the Vasundhara Raje-led Rajasthan government has implemented the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.

Rajasthan government employees will draw revised salary of October from the month of November. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Tuesday said that she had promised to implement the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission in the 2017-2018 budget.

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A committee had been authorised to examine the cases of discrepancies in salary, allowances and arrears, said the Rajasthan chief minister. In February this year, the government had appointed a three-member committee to study and implement the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission for the state.

Making the announcement on implementation of Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations for state government employees, Vasundhara Raje said the government considers its employees the backbone for governance and has been sensitive towards their welfare.

The Vasundhara Raje government's decision on the Seventh Pay Commission implementation comes ahead of bypolls to Lok Sabha constituencies of Alwar and Ajmer. The state is scheduled to hold the Assembly election next year.

Last week, the Edappadi Palaniswami government in Tamil Nadu announced revision of salaries for its employees in line with the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. A five-member panel was constituted to look into the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission for the state.

The Tamil Nadu government, however, will not be implementing the changes from a retrospective date of January 1, 2016 as a result of which employees will lose out on arrears for 21 months.

The Narendra Modi government last week extended the benefits of Seventh Pay Commission to 7.5 lakh university teachers. The decision will result in a pay hike between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 for teachers.

The pay revision will bring cheer to 7.58 lakh professors, assistant professors and equivalent academic staff in 106 universities and colleges funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Union HRD Ministry.

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After an RTI was filed by an activist, Anil Galgali, it was revealed that many Ministers working under PM Modi's government have not linked their Aadhaar cards even though it was required to be mandatory for all.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: If you fail to link your Aadhaar card with your mobile operator or with your Bank you may not get uninterrupted service till the time you link and update it. But, what is more surprising that PMO and other few offices of Central government don't have Aadhaar card details of Modi's Ministers.

Modi Government has made linking Aadhaar card mandatory to get benefits of all government services that the 125 crore Indian citizen utilise. But, PMO does not have the information about the Aadhaar card details of its own Ministers working under Modi government. This information has come to light through a reply which was provided to RTI Activist Anil Galgali for his query.

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Galgali said, "It is surprising to see that PMO or other few concern departments don't have data of Aadhaar card with them of their own ministers. Yes, PM does have an Aadhaar card number but due to security reason details were not given to me."

Moreover, the RTI application filed by Galgali was transferred to 5 different Ministries. The RTO application made rounds to Cabinet Secretariat, Lok Sabha Secretariat, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Information and Technology Ministry, and finally reached UIDAI where Galgali got an answer from the Under Secretary, PMO.

The information regarding the PM's Aadhaar number was rejected under Section 8(1) of the RTI Act 2005. Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has not relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information officer or State Public Information officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such Information.

"It shows that they say something but don't follow it. I would like to appreciate the efforts of RTI activist who brought this information in light. Common people are not getting benefits of government schemes unless they have Aadhaar card linked to Gas connection, bank etc but here we have ministers who have not shared their Aadhaar numbers it seems. That's why PMO or other departments don't have information about this." said Shaktisinh Gohil, a Congress leader.

Government is advertising with big ads and are asking people to link their Aadhaar cards with their Bank accounts and even their mobile connections along with PAN cards. But, considering the information revealed after the RTI by Galgali, it seems that Modi's own ministers have ignored PM Modi's instructions. It also seems like rules for common people are slightly a bit different than the ones in power.

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Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East



(TRAVPR.COM) UAE - October 18th, 2017 - Dubai  Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India, Swiss-Belhotel International, spoke today at HSMAI Middle East Conference in Dubai on Convergence and Synergies between hotels, serviced apartments and Airbnb.

Since its start, the impact of Airbnb on hotels, OTAs and house rents has been phenomenal especially in gateway cities and other popular holiday destinations. According to a recent industry research, one in three leisure travellers use private accommodations. Laurent stated, Globally one third of all accommodation bookings are made online. Every transaction on Airbnb means a loss of revenue for hotels or OTAs. However, Airbnb is not an enemy, they have only been smart to create something that we hoteliers should have thought of. We are simply in an era of shared economy where in the last 20 years we have seen many disruptions in our industry by a number of non-traditional hotel players and Airbnb is one of them.

Laurent believes Airbnb and hotels complement each other and help to grow and diversify tourism in a destination giving more choice to tavellers. He stressed, A lot of boutique hotels are using Airbnb just the way they use OTA platforms. Typically OTAs charge hotels 15 to 25% fee per reservation while Airbnb charges flat 10% commission from hosts on every booking. So any hotel that needs to fill up rooms can benefit from Airbnb as one of their marketing arms.



Ninety per cent of Airbnb revenue stems from personal stays and 10% from business travellers. However, business travel is a segment growing rapidly on Airbnb. Laurent said, Today over 250,000 companies use Airbnb for business when in 2015 only 250 companies travelled with Airbnb. Now, Airbnb lets you search for properties that are Business Travel Ready and equipped with essentials like internet, workspace with laptop, 24/7 self-check-in, fitness facilities, etc. So it is definitely another area where Airbnb is going to grow fast in addition to new developments such as Airbnb Trips and the recently announced Airbnbs home-hotel hybrid in Florida.

Some of the key factors for growth of Airbnb have been accommodations at any price point, privacy, anonymity, well-located homes with kitchen facilities, diversity of products and authenticity of experiences. Laurent said, Hotel brands are recognizing guests want a more genuine experience reflective of local culture and we are seeing emergence of more socially-oriented hotel brands offering homier settings and more functional spaces. There has also been a strong focus on providing what millennial travellers expect in terms of connectivity and product.



Laurent concluded, There are lot of areas such as safety, quality and service standards where hotels score over products on Airbnb or even serviced apartments run by small local independent operators. Also, an advantage we hoteliers have is we see the clients and have a direct relation with them which Airbnb or OTAs dont since their business is virtual and they dont have people on the ground. Lets embrace those guests if we are to keep them by offering them great value for money and building relations.



For further information visit http://www.swiss-belhotel.com

For media contact:

Hina Bakht

Vice President

MPJ (Marketing Pro-Junction)

Mob: +971 50 697 5146

Email: h.bakht@mpj-pr.com

http://www.mpj-pr.com

About Swiss-Belhotel International

Swiss-Belhotel International currently manages a portfolio of more than 145* hotels, resorts and projects located in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Georgia, Tanzania and Turkey. Awarded Indonesia's Leading Global Hotel Chain for six consecutive years, Swiss-Belhotel International is one of the world's fastest-growing international hotel and hospitality management groups. The Group provides comprehensive and highly professional development and management services in all aspects of hotel, resort and serviced residences. Offices are located in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Australia, China, Europe, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. www.swiss-behotel.com

*Numbers may fluctuate

###
Atleast 74 people have been reportedly killed in the suicide bombing attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday. The Afghan authorities meanwhile claims to have killed 35 Taliban fighters in a drone attack near Pakistan's border.

By India Today Web Desk: The number of people dead has risen up to 74 in a wave of attacks launched by Taliban on Tuesday, reported AP. Multiple suicide bombers attacked Afghanistan's south, west and eastern parts. Several people have been reported to be wounded as well.

In a press conference, Afghanistan's Deputy Interior Minister, Murad Ali Murad, called the attacks the "biggest terrorist attack this year". He further told that the attacks killed 71 people in provinces of Ghazni and Paktia.

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In southern Paktia province, 41 people - 21 policemen and 20 civilians - were killed when the Taliban targeted a police compound in the provincial capital of Gardez with two suicide car bombs. Among the wounded were 48 policemen and 110 civilians.

Paktia's provincial police chief was also among the people killed in the attack.

Waheed Majroo, spokesperson of Afghanistan's Health Ministry in a statement said that the Gardez hospital had recorded around 130 wounded people in the attack.

Apart from the police chief, many civilians have been reported dead.

Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor in Ghazni, said the Taliban attack there lasted nine hours. By the time the attackers were repelled, there were 13 bodies of Taliban fighters on the ground, Noori added.

Meanwhile, in the western province of Farah, Taliban attacked a government compound in Shibkho district, killing three policemen.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for all three attacks. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the attack and confirmed the use of two vehicles -- a truck and a stolen police vehicle. "In both attacks tens of police were killed, buildings destroyed," Mujahid said.

Murad Ali further stated that the Afghan forces are well equipped to deal with the Taliban and that the Taliban has suffered heavy losses in the past few years. In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Afghan officials said that around 35 Taliban fighters have been killed in drone attacks carried out by the Afghan forces. The drone attacks were carried out near the eastern border of Afghanistan.

Although Pakistan intelligence official's initially said that drone attacks were carried out on a militant compound on Monday on the Pakistani side of the border, they later refuted the claim, AP reported.

The Afghanistan government has been rapidly losing ground to Taliban over the past two-and-a-half years. According to US SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction), the government controls only 57 per cent of the country. SIGAR data also shows that between January and November 2016, at least 6,785 Afghan security personnel were killed and 11,777 wounded, coinciding with an escalation in the conflict, reported IANS.

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(With inputs from agencies)

--- ENDS ---
The grand alliance will be finalised during Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Gujarat in first week of November.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: Ahead of the crucial Assembly election in Gujarat, a grand alliance seems to be in the making to take on Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rebel Janata Dal (United) leader Chhotu Vasava, Patidar leader Hardik Patel, OBC leader Alpesh Thakor and Dalit campaigner Jignesh Mevani are in talks with the Gujarat Congress to form an alliance against the BJP before the elections in the state.

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"Yes, talks are on and we are seeing how an alliance can take shape. It will certainly have an impact on seat sharing too," a senior Gujarat Congress leader told India Today.

Chottubhai Vasava, who voted for Congress' Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat, will be meeting Congress general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot and Gujarat Congress president Bharat Solanki to hold discussions on seat-sharing formula.

Vasava, a prominent tribal leader, has been the face of JD(U) in Gujarat. Sharad Yadav-led JD(U) faction last month appointed Vasava as its acting president. Sharad Yadav is keeping a close watch on the developments in Gujarat from Delhi.

Ashok Gehlot and Bharat Solanki are working on the grand alliance which will be finalised during Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's next visit to Gujarat. Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to travel to south of Gujarat in the first week of November.

In his previous two visits to Gujarat in the last few weeks, a large number of Patidars, OBCs (Other Backward Class) and Dalits were seen at Rahul Gandhi's rallies.

ALSO WATCH: Ever saw women in shorts at RSS shakhas?: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi, October 18

Leading sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars has sacked 900 workers at its two mills in Brazil as part of an exercise to optimise manpower.

The company informed this to the stock exchanges while clarifying media reports in this regard.

The BSE and NSE had sought clarification from the company on the report.

In its reply, Shree Renuka Sugars said its two subsidiaries  Renuka do Brasil and Renuka Vale do Ivai  keep optimising their manpower in the normal course of the business.

"...the aforesaid relieving of the employees is a part of that process," the filing said.

Mumbai-based Renuka Sugars had in 2010 forayed into Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, by investing Rs 1,765.10 crore to acquire stakes in Renuka do Brasil and Renuka Vale do Ivai.

However, the company is facing financial crunch due to low realisation from sugar as well as ethanol. It also tried to partly divest its business in Brazil. PTI
Prateek Chauhan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 18

Delhi Police on Tuesday night detained Baljeet Singh Khalsa, a 54-year-old resident of Chandigarh, from Gurdwara Sis Ganj here for allegedly possessing objectionable posters.

He was taken to the Chandni Chowk police station.

Khalsa said while he was sleeping at the gurdwara at night, 20-30 policemen, some in uniform and others in civvies, woke him up and told him to accompany them.

He said they told him that he had been brought to the police station for questioning about some objectionable posters belonging to him which they had gathered from the gurdwara.

When confronted, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North Delhi, Jatin Narwal, said, We have detained Khalsa and a joint interrogation is being carried out by Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police. Details cant be shared.

Chandni Chowk SHO Om Prakash said they had received information from sevadars in the gurdwara that objectionable posters had been found in possession of Khalsa, so he was detained and questioning was on.
Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 18

Ahead of Diwali, city hospitals have geared up to provide emergency services to tackle any emergency.

While Government Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 conducted a special meeting to check the preparedness of emergency services, the authorities of the Government Medical College Sector and Hospital (GMCH) in Sector 32 has filled the necessary sock of medicines for the treatment of burn patients.

The PGI has also made necessary arrangement at the Advanced Trauma Centre to tackle the patients arriving from others states.

Dr G Dewan, Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMSH 16 said, A high alert has been sounded and special arrangements have been made to provide round-the-clock treatment to patients pre and post Diwali.

It was decided that the Eye Department will remain open in the New OPD. Further, eye surgeons will also be available on call. General and other injuries will be addressed in the emergency. Sufficient stocks of medicine have been made available for the treatment of eye and other injuries, said Dr Dewan.

Dr Ravi Gupta, Medical Superintendent, GMCH 32, said a special meeting was held to the check the availability of drugs at the emergency ward in the wake of Diwali. At the PGI, the authorities have put doctors on special emergency duty to attend the patients.

Helpline No.

In case of emergency, contact: 108, GMCH 16: 0172-2782457/2782102; GMCH 32: 0172-2601023, 0172-2663301; and PGI: 9814014464 and 0172-2756117

Disaster call

The GMCH 32 and GMSH 16 authorities have provided the option of disaster call. In case of any major incident, a disaster call will be sounded and all doctors, irrespective of their holiday, will have to report on duty.
By PTI: Patna, Oct 18 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today visited the native village of his confidante-turned-rebel Jitan Ram Manjhi in Gaya district and said he has "always had affection and respect" for the former CM who has since quit the Janata Dal (United) and formed his own outfit.

Sharing dais with Manjhi, whom Kumar had annointed as the Chief Minister after his own resignation in the wake of the JD(U)s debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister said "I am extremely glad to visit Mahkar, the village of Manjhi, upon his invitation".

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"I have always had affection and respect for Manjhi. He has requested better road connectivity for his village and I would like to ensure him that work is taking place in that direction at a brisk pace", the CM was quoted as saying in an official release.

Kumar was speaking after dedicating to the public a number of development projects in the area, including a newly constructed Industrial Training Institute (ITI).

Manjhi, who was earlier seen as a trusted lieutenant of Kumar, had revolted when he was asked by the JD(U) leadership to resign from the Chief Ministers post within less than a year of assuming office.

Amid mounting pressure, Manjhi resigned but also formed a new political outfit - the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) -- which fought the 2015 assembly polls as an ally of the BJP-led NDA.

Kumar, who replaced Manjhi upon the latters resignation, faced the polls as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and the Congress, which went on to sweep the assembly elections.

However, earlier this year, Kumar returned to the NDA fold after he resigned following differences with the RJD over corruption cases against his then Deputy, Tejashwi Yadav and his father Lalu prasad.

At todays function, Kumar also spoke about the need for ensuring inclusive growth, taking a cue from the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and eradication of social evils like dowry, child marriage and consumption of alcohol. PTI NAC JM

--- ENDS ---
Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 18

A local hotelier shot dead his wife following an altercation at Phase X here on Wednesday morning.

The couple was travelling in a car when following a heated exchange, 60-year-old Nirankar Singh Sarao fired at least six shots at his wife, Kulwant Kaur, 62, from point blank range, leaving her dead on the spot.

Nirankar has been arrested and the gun used in the crime recovered.

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Nirankar was undergoing heart treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh, for which he, along with his wife, had left his Hotel Sarao in Phase X, where they were staying, around 9.30 am.

They left in the hotel manager's Tata Indigo car after leaving behind their own Mercedes with the manager for service.

Neighbour Jasmeet Singh said the couple looked fine when they met him before leaving the hotel. It was around a kilometre away that Nirankar stopped the car near a private school and following a heated argument, he fired from his .32-bore revolver, leaving his wife dead in a pool of blood.

A passerby informed a PCR team, which rushed to the spot and took Nirankar in custody and recovered the weapon and the vehicle. The body was sent to the civil hospital for post-mortem.

A murder case has been registered against Nirankar at the Phase XI police station.

The couple has two children, both settled in the UK.

This is the third murder in Mohali in less than a month after the brutal double murder of veteran journalist KJ Singh and his mother Gurcharan Kaur on September 23. No headway has been made in the double murder.
Jammu, October 18

Eight civilians, including a two-year-old girl, were injured on Wednesday when Pakistani troops shelled civilian hamlets and forward posts along the Line of Control in Poonch and Rajouri districts, officials said.

Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars from 0745 hours in Bhimbher Gali sector along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, a defence spokesman said.

The firing was still on, the official said, adding that the Indian Army was retaliating strongly and effectively to the provocation.

The heavy firing and mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army was intermittently targeting civilian and forward areas in Balakote, Basooni, Sandote and Manjakote areas, a police official said.

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While five people, including three labourers, were injured in Poonch, three other civilians, including the two-year-old girl, were injured in Manajakote in Rajouri district, officials said.

The injured had been hospitalised, they said.

Three vehicles and electrical equipment were also damaged in the Pakistani shelling, the reports said.

Last week, the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing in the Bhimber Gali sector along the LoC, deliberately targeting villages of Basauni and Sandot in the Balakote area resulting in injuries to two children and two teenagers.

On October 13, the Pakistan Army had violated the ceasefire in the Krishnagati sector along LoC.

A day before that, an army jawan and a porter were killed and six others injured when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire and resorted to shelling on the forward areas along the LoC in Poonch district.

The year 2017 has seen a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan. PTI
Shyam Sood

Rajouri, October 18

After a lull of three days, the Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked heavy mortar shelling and automatic weapon firing on Indian forward posts and civil areas in the Balakot and Manjakot sectors in Poonch and Rajouri districts about 7 am today.

Five persons, including two labourers from Madhya Pradesh, were injured in the Balakot sector while three persons, including a minor girl, were injured in the Manjakot sector.

All were admitted in hospitals and were later discharged after treatment except Ayaz Ahmed, a resident of Darati (Balakot), who received critical splinter injuries in the chest and left leg and is under treatment at the district hospital in Rajouri.

The other injured have been identified as Tariq Mehmood of Darati, Urmeela Devi and Kusum, both residents of Chattarpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Bishu of Panchari (Udhampur).

Urmeela, Kusum and Bishu are engaged as labourers in Balakot.

Those injured in the Manjakot sector have been identified as Liakat Hussain and his 2-year-old daughter Insha from Khorinar and Mohammed Zafar of Mangalnar. All three were also discharged from a primary health centre after treatment.

The firing and shelling continued intermittently till 3 pm. The Pakistan armys unprovoked and indiscriminate firing and mortar shelling has been retaliated strongly and effectively by the Indian army, said the defence PRO.

Pakistan has violated the truce pact a number of times this month, resulting in casualties. On October 2, two minors were killed and two soldiers along with 12 civilians were injured in shelling in the Poonch sector. A day later, Sepoy Mahendra Chenjung attained martyrdom in the BG sector while on October 4, three soldiers were injured in the Balakot sector in heavy mortar shelling.

Sepoy TK Reddy of Maratha Light Infantry and a porter were killed while 5 soldiers and one porter were injured in border shelling on October 12. Two days later, three residents of Kahnetter were injured critically when a mortar fired by Pakistan fell near their house.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 17

The house of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) worker Mohammad Ramzan Sheikh, where a local Hizbul militant was killed last evening, was set ablaze by a mob at Homhuma village in Shopian this afternoon. Ramzan was buried earlier in the day.

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The miscreants entered the house as mourners and later set it ablaze. The family was rescued, a police officer said Promising stern action, state Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid claimed the mob was instigated by anti-national elements and ground workers of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Locals claimed despite apprehensions of a revenge attack, the family was not provided security. But Shopian Superintendent of Police AS Dinka said security personnel deployed near the house had rushed to save the family.

While the police maintained Hizbuls Showkat Falai, who reportedly joined militancy last year, was hit by a bullet during a scuffle, locals alleged somebody had hit him on the head, leading to his death. The militants body was buried without a postmortem this afternoon.

Three militants had on Monday barged into the house of the PDP worker, a former sarpanch, around 8 pm. Besides his wife and mother, his four children were inside. The family put up resistance. A scuffle ensued and one of the militants opened fire, killing Ramzan and his own associate Showkat. The militants then fled, taking away Shokwats rifle, the SP said.

Ramzan was taken to a hospital in Zainpora where he was declared brought dead.

The militants body was carried by locals to his house, 4 km away.

4 soldiers assaulted

Srinagar: At least four soldiers were beaten up on the suspicion of being braid-choppers in two separate incidents in Kashmir on Tuesday. Three Territorial Army personnel were thrashed and their private car was set ablaze in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, while one soldier was beaten up in Kupwara district. He was rescued from the mob by colleagues and the police.
Jammu, October 18

A 22-year-old Pakistani man, who was arrested by the Border Security Force along the International Border here, has been repatriated after it was found that he had inadvertently crossed the border, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Ali Raja, a tailor from Pasroor village of Sialkot, was arrested from Suchetgarh sector in RS Pura area by an alert BSF personnel in the wee hours of Tuesday when he noticed a person trying to sneak from across the border under the cover of darkness.

After questioning, it was found that he had inadvertently crossed the border and a contact was established on hotline with Pakistani counterparts and he was handed over to them on Tuesday evening, the BSF official said.

He said the intruder was under the influence of drugs when he was arrested near the fence and some Pakistani currency notes were recovered from him.

The meeting took place at octroi post of Suchetgarh and the Pakistani national was given sweets and a new dress as a Diwali gift before being handed over to the Rangers, the official said. PTI
Washington, October 18

The key to India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council is not to touch the veto, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said as she identified Russia and China as the two global powers against changes in the current structure of the Security Council.

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(This reform of the UN Security Council) is much more about the veto. The permanent five (members of the Security Council) have the ability to veto. Russia, China, UK (United Kingdom), US and France and none of them want to give that up. So, the key to getting India on the Security Council would have to be not to touch the veto, Haley said at an event organised on the US Capitol by US India Friendship Council.

The US is open to Security Council reform and always have been responding, she said in response to a question from Swadesh Chatterjee, chair of the US India Friendship Council after she delivered her keynote remarks on The Role of Congress in Promoting US-India Cooperation on International Issues.

Haley said the US Congress or the Senate couldnt have much role in reforming the Security Council.

Not really. They really cant. Because members of the Security Council are not going to listen to the Congress on the shape of the Security Council, she observed.

Haley said the US is already on board, but there is need to focus on Russia and China, the two permanent members of the Security Council who do not want to see any changes in the Security Council.

Its a UN issue, its going to require UN reform and I think, India has to go and bring together as many supporters as it can in order to really effect that change in the Security Council, Haley said.

For long India has been calling for reform of the UN Security Council.

India and a large number of countries believe that the current UN and its powerful Security Council does not reflect the ground realities of the 21st century.

Last month, foreign minister of G4 countriesIndia, Brazil, Germany and Japanmet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to push their case for reform of the Security Council, including expansion of its permanent and non-permanent members.

India has also received support from several other multilateral groupings during the current General Assembly session in this regard, including BRICS and IBSA.

Several countries have taken up the floor of general assembly to support Indias permanent membership. PTI
Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, October 18

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Katiyar on Wednesday said the Taj Mahal was built after demolishing a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva called Tejomahal.

Speaking to a news channel, founder president of Bajrang Dal Katiyar added more fuel to the ongoing controversy around the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO heritage monument, when he alleged that Mughal emperor Shahjehan had demolished a Shiv temple to build the Taj Mahal.

Mughlon ne hamare dev sthano ko todne ka kaam kiya. Taj Mahal Hindu mandir hai, wahan devi-devtaon ke saare chinh hain (Mughals demolished religious places. Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple, icons of god and goddesses exist there), claimed Katiyar.

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He however, made it clear that he was not advocating the demolition of the Taj Mahal on these grounds.

The controversy around the Taj Mahal started on October 15 when Sardhana (Meerut) BJP MLA Sangeet Som while addressing a gathering at Sisoli village described the Taj Mahal as a blot on Indian culture.

Displaying his ignorance of history by confusing Shahjehan with Aurangzeb, Som said the person who had built it had imprisoned his father.

He had even expressed his satisfaction at the CM Yogi government correcting a historical wrong by removing the kalank katha (sullied stories) of Akbar, Babar and Aurangzeb from school textbooks.

However, CM Yogi was clearly not amused as the very next day he declared that the Taj Mahal was an important tourist draw and it was immaterial who built it. It was built by the blood and sweat of Indian labourers, he reiterated.

Incidentally, the Taj Mahal is a major revenue earner for the Indian government. Speaking in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2016 the then union tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma had said that the monument had earned Rs 75 crore as revenue in three years of which only Rs 11 crore was spent on its maintenance during the same period.
Washington, October 18

The US will provide the crucial Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the Indian Navys future aircraft carrier, the Trump administration has informed India.

The gesture ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillersons visit to India is another indication of the strategic alliance US wanted to foster with India, informed sources said.

A formal date for Tillersons visit has not been announced yet.

India had sent a letter of request to the US government during the Obama administration for the EMALS built by General Atomics for aircraft carrier planned by the Indian Navy.

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The Indian Navy plans to integrate the US-made EMALS catapults into its future super-carriers.

Due to its flexible architecture, EMALS can launch a wide variety of aircraft weights and can be used on a variety of platforms with differing catapult configurations.

The Trump administration sent a response to India on Monday about its decision to release this technology.

Aerospace expert Dr Vivek Lall, chief executive, US and International Strategic Development, of General Atomics had told PTI earlier that General Atomics is planning to open an office in Delhi to support the Indian governments military requirements.

Last month, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis visited India and decided to step up military-to military cooperation.

The latest move comes after an endorsement by the Trump administration of the designation of India as a major defence partner by the previous Obama administration last year. PTI
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 18

For the election-bound civic bodies in Punjab, the Local Bodies Department is coming up with an infrastructure plan for Patiala and Jalandhar municipal corporations. The plan will be announced by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh soon.

This was stated by Local Bodies Minister Navjot Sidhu at a press briefing here today. Sharing details of a comprehensive plan to boost the urban infrastructure, Sidhu said Rs1,540 crore had been sanctioned by HUDCO for the upgrade of water supply and sanitation system of all cities and towns. It involves cleaning chocked sewers, augmentation of sewer lines and completing left-out works. The treated water from the sewage treatment plants would be provided for irrigational purposes.

On the occasion, Advisor of the Local Government Department Amar Singh, Director KK Yadav and CEO of PMIDC Ajoy Sharma were also present.

He said Rs2,127 crore had been approved for the development of cities which would be released soon. He added that now was the time to execute the policies framed during the past 6 months by the department.

In contrast, the previous regime had approved Rs2,054 crore for 122 cities out of which only Rs567 crore was released in December 2016. But then the work was stalled owing to the non-release of rest of the funds, Sidhu said.

He said Rs139 crore and Rs125 crore had been approved for the development of Ludhiana and Amritsar, respectively, while the amount for Jalandhar and Patiala would be approved soon.

The minister said the department had come up with new rules under one-time settlement scheme in which certain property rights had been given to illegal occupants provided they paid their dues as per the collector rates. Besides, rules have been framed to fix reserved price of residential and commercial property of 28 improvement trusts.

Important decisions
The 58-year-old American author has won the Man Booker Prize for his fictional work "Lincoln in the Bardo".

By AP: American author George Saunders won the prestigious Man Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday with "Lincoln in the Bardo," a polyphonic symphony of a novel about restless souls adrift in the afterlife.

The book is based on a real visit President Abraham Lincoln made in 1862 to the body of his 11-year-old son Willie in a Washington cemetery. It is narrated by a chorus of characters who are all dead, but unwilling or unable to let go of life.

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It is the second year in a row an American has won the 50,000 pound ($66,000) prize, which was opened to U.S. authors in 2014.

By turns witty, bawdy, poetic and unsettling, "Lincoln in the Bardo" juxtaposes the real events of the U.S. Civil War - through passages from historians both real and fictional - with a chorus of otherworldly characters male and female, young and old. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is the transition state between death and rebirth.

Saunders was awarded the prize by Prince Charles' wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a ceremony at London's medieval Guildhall.

Accepting his trophy, Saunders said the book's style may be complex, but the question he posed at its heart was simple: Do we respond to uncertain times with fear and division, "or do we take that ancient great leap of faith and try to respond with love?"

Baroness Lola Young, who chaired the Booker judging panel, said the novel "stood out because of its innovation, its very different styling, the way in which it paradoxically brought to life these almost-dead souls."

"Lincoln in the Bardo" is the first novel by the 58-year-old Saunders, an acclaimed short story writer who won the Folio Prize in 2014 for his darkly funny story collection "Tenth of December."

A former oil-industry engineer who teaches creative writing at Syracuse University in New York state, Saunders is probably best known outside literary circles for a commencement speech he gave in 2013 with the key message "Try to be kinder." It went viral on the Internet, became an animated cartoon and was published as a book.

He had been bookies' favorite to win the Man Booker, which usually brings the winning novelist a huge boost in sales and profile.

Saunders beat five other finalists: New Yorker Paul Auster's quadruple coming-of-age story "4321"; U.S. writer Emily Fridlund's story of a Midwest teenager, "History of Wolves"; Scottish author Ali Smith's Brexit-themed "Autumn"; British-Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid's migration story "Exit West"; and "Elmet," debut British novelist Fiona Mozley's novel about a fiercely independent family under threat.

Saunders is the second American in a row to win the prize, founded in 1969 and until 2013 limited to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The 2016 winner was Paul Beatty's "The Sellout."

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The move to admit all English-language writers spurred fears among some British writers and publishers that Americans would come to dominate a prize whose previous winners include Salman Rushdie, Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood and Hilary Mantel.

Young said the judges "don't look at the nationality of the writer. I can say that hand on heart - it's not an issue for us. The sole concern is the book."

Prize organizers said 30 percent of the 144 books submitted by publishers for consideration this year were American, a figure slightly down from last year.

Young said the five jurors met for almost five hours Tuesday to choose the winner, finally agreeing unanimously on Saunders.

"I'm not going to pretend it was easy," she said.

"We didn't have any major meltdowns at all. But we did have quite fierce debates."

--- ENDS ---
Nikhil Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 17

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosain, 58, was today shot dead outside his house in Gagandeep Colony by two masked men on a bike at 7.30 am. The police found two empty cartridges at the site.

Police sources said it was likely that the shots were fired from two weapons as the empty cartridges were of .30 bore and .32 bore pistols.

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Following Intelligence inputs, the Punjab Police had issued an alert to local Hindu leaders and also held a meeting with them.

This is the second major killing in Ludhiana in three months. In July, pastor Sultan Masih was murdered outside a church in Salem Tabri. The police have been unable to solve the murders of RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja, Shiv Sena leader Durga Gupta, pastor Masih and two dera followers in the past two years.

Ravinder was mukhya shikshak (headteacher) at an RSS shakha and BJPs RTI coordinator in Ludhiana.

The deceaseds daughter-in-law, Pooja, an eyewitness to the crime, said: My father-in-law came home at 7.20 am. My son Dikshit (7) and daughter Dikshita (4) asked him to buy them pencils from a nearby shop. As he stepped out of the house, carrying Dikshita in his lap and Dikshit standing next to him, two men on a yellow motorcycle opened fire. He was hit in the back and near his eye. My husband, who rushed out, tried to chase the assailants, but in vain.

Dikshita fell on the ground and escaped unharmed. They asked grandfather to turn around and killed him, the little girl kept repeating. CCTV footage showed the two suspects riding a Honda Stunner. The police said the number plate was fake (PB37 7221). The suspects were spotted roaming in the area at 6.20 am, probably for a recce. Another CCTV footage showed three men on a black bike, one wearing a helmet and the faces of the two on the pillion covered with a cloth.

Yash Giri, RSS general secretary, Ludhiana and Khanna zone, pointed out that the police were yet to trace RSS leader Gagnejas killers.

Police Commissioner RN Dhoke has formed a special investigation team under the DCP-Crime to crack the case.

We have certain clues. The culprits will be behind bars soon, Dhoke claimed.
Washington, October 18

The US Navy Seals were ready to mount an operation inside Pakistan, similar to the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden, if it failed to act decisively on a US tip off to rescue a Canadian-American family abducted by the Haqqani network in 2012, according to a media report.

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The whereabouts of the hostages were located by a CIA drone in a remote valley in northwest Pakistan last month. The grainy images  captured by the drone  of a young woman and children in a militant camp were a breakthrough, The New York Times reported, citing senior American officials.

Caitlan Coleman, an American citizen, and her husband Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip.

Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. All the three children were born in captivity.

Military planners mobilised members of the Navys SEAL Team 6, an elite group of commandos, to mount a rescue, the paper said, quoting the officials.

The commandos of SEAL Team 6, tapped to rescue the family, started rehearsing. The raid was to take place not far from where the CIA had originally spotted the family, according to one military official.

But the risky operation planned on Pakistani soil was called off because some in the US government were not certain that the people spotted by the drones were Coleman, Boyle and their children, according to the officials.

Others voiced worries about the difficult terrain and the moon  it was too bright for a nighttime airborne raid.

Days later, the CIA watched in alarm as militants drove the family out of the camp and across Pakistans lawless tribal lands.

On October 11, as they headed toward Kohat, a city farther inside Pakistan, American intelligence officials realised they could not let the opportunity to save the family slip by  the United States had to act.

American officials formed a plan to press the Pakistan government. President Donald Trump was briefed, and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both backed the idea that should the Pakistani government decline to try to rescue the family, the Navy SEALs would go in.

US Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale delivered an urgent message to the Pakistani government - Resolve this, or the US will, the paper quoted one of the officials as saying.

The implication was clear. If the Pakistanis did not act decisively, the US would set aside its unease and launch a raid deep inside the country to free the family, it said.

It would be another humiliating episode for the Pakistani government, reminiscent of the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, conducted by the same elite Navy SEAL commandos well into Pakistan without its governments knowledge. And a failure to act would underscore American officials belief that the Pakistani government gives safe haven to the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, it added.

The push worked. American officials said the Pakistanis acted quickly, intercepting the vehicle with Coleman and her family, the paper said.

Pakistani officials later said they acted within hours.

In a statement, the Pakistan Army said they recovered 5 Western hostages including 1 Canadian, his US National wife and their three children from terrorist custody through an operation based on actionable intelligence from US authorities.

Trump administration officials cast the rescue as a win for Pakistan without publicly acknowledging that officials there had to be pressured into conducting the operation. PTI
SEOUL, October 18

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more out-front role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," said Clinton at a forum in the South Korean capital Seoul, stressing the need for greater pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump's comments towards North Korea on social media saying "the insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don't think they've benefited the United States".

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader "little rocket man" on a suicide mission, and vowed to destroy North Korea if it threatens the United States or its allies.

North Korea has in turn called Trump "mentally deranged" and a "mad dog".

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant to sit down at the table while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said the United States didn't rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

North Koreas Deputy UN Ambassador Kim In Ryong told a UN General Assembly committee on Monday that the situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point "and a nuclear war may break out any moment".

China pressure

Clinton, a former US secretary of state, said Washington's allies have increasingly been expressing concerns over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming distracted with North Korean threats and be "as forcefully patient" as possible.

Regarding China's role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off trying to "tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions" against North Korea.

North Korea's relationship with its main ally and trading partner China have been strained by the rapid pursuit of its weapons programmes, with many of Pyongyang's recent tests coinciding with major Chinese events.

There had been fears that North Korea would conduct another test to coincide with the start of China's five-yearly party congress on Wednesday. Instead, Pyongyang sent Beijing a congratulatory message.

The central committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea said China had made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the guidance of the Communist Party of China.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success".

Can't have it both ways

Clinton said China's retaliatory actions against South Korean companies doing business in China following the deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job containing and deterring North Korea.

China has been curbing South Korean businesses there since Seoul decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, saying its powerful radar could be used to pierce its territory. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Korea's missile threats.

"The Chinese can't have it both ways. They can't do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face," she said. Reuters
Peshawar, October 18

A top Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander, believed to be the mastermind of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, has been killed, the terror group said on Wednesday.

We confirm the death of Khalifa Umar Mansoor, Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement sent to journalists via email.

Usman Mansoor Hafizullah will replace Umar Mansoor as the groups commander in Darra Adam Khel and Peshawar, Dawn quoted Khorasani as saying in the statement.

Reports of his death had emerged in 2016 as well, which could not be confirmed.

The Taliban claim comes a day after six suspected TTP militants were killed in a US drone strike targeting alleged militant hideouts in the Pak-Afghan border region close to Kurram Agency.

Umar Mansoor, who had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in 2016, was said to be the mastermind of the 2014 massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar where at least 144 people, mostly children, were brutally murdered by the heavily-armed attackers. PTI
Washington, October 18

A US federal judge has barred the White House from implementing yet another version of President Donald Trump's controversial executive order on immigration, hours before it was due to go into full effect.

The decision by US District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii  which the White House signalled it would appeal  marks the latest blow to Trump's long-running efforts to restrict entry of travellers from targeted countries into the United States.

Watson said the third rendition of the travel ban  covering people from six mainly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and some officials from Venezuela  could not be justified under law.

In his decision, Watson wrote the ban "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specific countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States'".

The ruling means the Trump administration could again ask the Supreme Court to decide whether his immigration orders are legal.

The newest order was announced last month to replace an expiring 90-day temporary ban on travelers from the Muslim- majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The September decree removed Sudan from the list, but added Chad and North Korea for full bans and Venezuela for a ban limited to certain classes of officials.

The White House justified the measure as needed to protect US national security  but critics said it appeared virtually the same as the original order of January 27.

Courts shot that version down saying it targeted Muslims, violating the US constitutional protections for religious freedom.

A second version was only slightly adjusted and was quickly tied up in similar legal wrangling.

In June, the Supreme Court accepted to review the case but let the 90-day ban go mostly into effect in the meantime.

When the ban expired, the court said there was nothing to rule on.

Trump went forward with a new version with no expiry date, tacking on North Korea and Venezuela to the list of targeted countries and implying the updated measure did not simply target Muslim countries.

But Watson  who also issued freezes on the first two attempts  said the order does not improve US security, since individuals who pose risks can already be denied entry under existing law.

The order "plainly discriminates based on nationality" in a manner antithetical to US laws "and the founding principles of this nation," he wrote.

Watson placed a freeze on the ban on travelers from the six countries, but allowed it to be implemented on North Korea  which sent only a handful of people to the United States last year  and Venezuela, where US sanctions have also already made travel to the United States difficult for many officials.  AFP
A fire that broke out around 11:25 AM on Tuesday burned down around 100 jhuggis in the Batla House area of the capital.

By Mail Today Bureau: Around 100 jhuggis in Southeast Delhi's Batla House were gutted by fire on Tuesday morning. No casualty was reported till late evening. Fire officials said around nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

"There is no report of any casualty so far. Reason for the fire is not known yet," said Romil Baaniya, DCP (Southeast).

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According to locals of Dhobi Ghat area of Batla House, the fire broke out at around 11:25 AM and within few minutes it spread in the shanties. The locals also claimed that that a short circuit was responsible.

While the station officer reported that 80 shanties have been damaged, locals claimed that the number was between 100 to 150.

"Despite numerous calls, the fire brigade reached the spot after one and a half hour," said Mehmood Ahmed, a resident of the area. Ahmed said the fire spread quite quickly, driving everyone out of their houses.

Now most of them are left with no food, clothes or shelter.

Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday at around 3:20 AM, a room at the Prime Minister's Office in South Block also caught fire. After the fire department was informed, six fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the situation was brought under control within 20 minutes. No one was injured.

--- ENDS ---
Police have filed a case under the Karnataka Prevention of Cow slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, 1964 and Prevention of damage to public property Act, 1984.

By Nolan Pinto: First it was techie Nandini who was thrashed for exposing illegal cattle hoarding in Avalahalli area on October 14. In a similar incident, two women activists were attacked in front of Vidyaranyapura BMTC bus depot near MS Palya, Yelahanka main road, on Tuesday evening. They were members of the Go Gyan Foundation who along with two High Court appointed Commissioners went to an alleged illegal slaughter house in the area.

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According to the police, the team received information that there is a slaughter house near SB Service Station near Doddabettahalli Mosque on Yelahanka main road. When they reached the spot, 'the commission members tried to open the shutter of the shop, which was objected by the crowd that had gathered.' This is when the trouble started brewing.

The commission members tried to leave the spot, but were restrained by the mob and this led to the mob damaging window panes of their car and a passing BMTC bus.

One of the victim told India Today, "It was around 5:10 pm when it started. Based on the court order, with police protection we went to this suspected illegal slaughter house which was operating in the garb of a two-wheeler garage in DB Halli. They locked it down and refused to open it initially. Soon men and women gathered at the spot and started sloganeering and heckling us. One of them even tried to strangle me with my a duppatta."

On October 14, she along with another member and court appointed commissioner and officials had inspected three illegal slaughter centres and had gone to MS Palya and DB Halli to identify two more centres. They had on Oct 14 raided a place in Padarayanapura under JJ Nagar police station limits and rescued 49 live cattle. Then in Gangondhalli under Chandra Layout police station limits, they rescued 17 and 10 more live cattle under the Hebagudi police station limits, respectively.

Police have now filed a case under the Karnataka Prevention of Cow slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, 1964 and Prevention of damage to public property Act, 1984 in the Yelahanka New Town police station.

They have so far arrested 10 people, seized a vehicle and secured 4 cattle.

POLICE TAKE ACTION IN NANDINI ATTACK CASE

As of today, two cases in connection with the incidents in Thalaghattapura police station: one for hoarding of cattle and another for the attack on Nandini by the mob have been filed.

The cops have rescued three cows and have sent them to a local goshala. T Suneel Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru city has confirmed that 13 accused have been arrested in connection with both the cases.

--- ENDS ---

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Police have confirmed the attack and said they are investigating the case.

By Press Trust of India: A team of court commissioners, lawyers, police and members of a cow protection NGO, which went to check illegal abattoirs at Yelahanka New Town in Bengaluru, was attacked by a mob.

The team members were "heckled, chased, attacked and the windowpanes of police vehicles (were) smashed" by the mob on Tuesday after they detected an illegal abattoir at Dodda Bettahalli, according to Kavitha Jain, a member of the Gau Gyan Foundation that works for the protection of cows and their progeny.

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"The abattoir was running inside SS Garage. There were 15 cows and their progeny such as bulls, ox and calves in four canters. Apart from that, there was an open space where some animals were tied. When we asked people there to release (them), they refused. In no time, a mob of around 250 people surrounded us," Jain said.

"They started attacking us and abusing us... Somehow, we managed to escape in the police vehicles, whose glasses were also smashed by the mob," Jain said. A complaint was lodged at Yelahanka police station, she said.

PLEA AGAINST ILLEGAL SLAUGHTERHOUSES

Police confirmed the attack and said they were investigating the case. No arrests have been made so far, they said. A meeting was held with local leaders of a minority community to find an amicable solution, police said.

Jain told PTI that she and Joshine Antony are the petitioners in a case pertaining to stopping illegal slaughterhouses in Bengaluru. "The court had asked us to show at least five such illegal abattoirs in the city to pass an order. It also appointed two court commissioners to oversee the operations," said Jain.

On October 14, the team located three illegal abattoirs at JJ Nagar, Chandra Layout and Shikari Palya.

ALSO WATCH: Alwar: Mob snatches 51 cows from Muslim family, donates them to gaushala

--- ENDS ---
By India Today Web Desk: There is a good news for Priyank Sharma fans. After his abrupt exit from the BB 11 house, the Splitsvilla star has got a second chance to enter Bigg Boss 11 house, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Priyank was thrown out of the house after he pushed Akash Dadlani during a fight, supporting his friend Vikas Gupta . The popular reality TV star wasn't expecting to come out of the house so soon, and his fans were disheartened too.

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"Of course, I wasn't expecting to get out of the show so soon. I had entered the house with the intention of spending 205 days there, not just 105. Salman sir was very disappointed with what I did inside the house. Despite all that people supported me. I have rarely seen such support for a person who has barely been in the house for a week. That was amazing. Because of you guys, I am not feeling bad about my eviction," he had said in a live chat, after coming out of the house.

'I HOPE TO COME OUT AS A WINNER'

Priyank has confirmed his re-entry on the show to Mumbai Mirror. "This season has been explosive from the word go. My journey was incomplete because of an impulse decision. But I'll be going back into the house to make amends with a different outlook and advice from Salman sir. And I'm hoping I come out a winner at the end of this innings," he said.

DILON KA SHOOTER STAR DHINACHAK POOJA AS WILD CARD ENTRY

Apart from Priyank, viral online sensation Dhinchak Pooja who has started a new trend of cringe-pop in India will also enter the house. Will the housemates sing Dilon Ka Shooter Hai Mera Scooter along with her? Only time will tell.

--- ENDS ---
The 'Regional Processing Centre' on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.  UNHCR

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today reiterates its call to Australia to stop a humanitarian emergency unfolding on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.



UNHCR has been monitoring the situation on Manus Island in anticipation of the closure of the Regional Processing Centre and the reduction or discontinuation of critical services and support arrangements. Two staff members are currently on the ground and have had the opportunity to observe the closure process firsthand. This is a brief summary of UNHCRs findings as of 2 November 2017.



More than 600 people currently remain at the Regional Processing Centre located on Manus Island. Despite the cutting of water and electricity on 31 October, most have told UNHCR of their intention to remain due to fears for their security if they are forced to move outside.



Refugees and asylum-seekers have resorted to storing water in garbage bins and building makeshift rain catchment systems. The last food ration was delivered on 29 October and was only sufficient for less than two days. With the departure of service providers and Australian Border Force, medical support and security services are no longer available at the Regional Processing Centre.



If all 600 individuals were to leave immediately, many would not find adequate or sufficient accommodation elsewhere. The East Lorengau Regional Transit Centre was only intended for temporary accommodation and has limited capacity. There is no security fence at 'West Lorengau Haus' or 'Hillside Haus' in the Ward 1 area of Lorengau. UNHCR observed on 30 October that construction of West Lorengau Haus is incomplete. Containers are surrounded by mud and do not have electrical or water connections as yet. Construction is being significantly hampered by rain.



UNHCR has met with government authorities, including the Police and the Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority, who have noted that tensions within the local community are on the rise, partly due to the lack of consultation prior to the movement of refugees and asylum-seekers outside of the Regional Processing Centre. Local government officials point to a lack of case workers and interpreters as well as inadequate local hospital facilities as particularly worrying. UNHCR staff have spoken with local community leaders and landowners who describe settlement of refugees and asylum-seekers in the community as inappropriate.



Welfare arrangements, including critical torture and trauma counselling services, are insufficient at present for refugees and asylum-seekers on Manus Island. Only four Immigration and Citizenship Service Authority caseworkers are providing assistance to a population of over 700 refugees and asylum-seekers.



UNHCR urges the Australian Government to work with the Papua New Guinean authorities to immediately de-escalate an increasingly tense and unstable situation. Australia remains responsible for the well-being of all those moved to Papua New Guinea until adequate, long-term solutions outside the country are found. UNHCR urges Australia to take responsibility and provide protection and safety to these vulnerable human beings.

Media Enquiries

In Canberra, Catherine Stubberfield, +61 424 545 569, [email protected]
CATANIA, Italy  Aisha (not her real name) was seven years old when she underwent the procedure in her native Ivory Coast. Her eldest daughter was four when it happened to her. Last year Aisha fled with her youngest daughter to save her from being cut.

But instead of finding safety, she was caught in the vicious reality of smuggler networks. In captivity, she experienced a 9-month-long nightmare, where she experienced repeated abuse and witnessed the killings of people held with her.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, calls for measures to prevent risks of sexual and gender-based violence and for safe legal pathways for people fleeing persecution.

UNHCR teams in Libya have been responding to urgent humanitarian needs in and around Sabratha, a city located some 80 kilometres west of the capital, Tripoli.  UNHCR

On Tuesday (October 17) UNHCR expressed concern over the deplorable conditions in which refugees and migrants are being held in Libya.

It said that for over a week, UNHCR teams had been working around the clock to meet the urgent needs of over 14,500 migrants and refugees who were being held captive by smugglers in different locations, including farms, houses and warehouses in and around the coastal city of Sabratha in Libya.

The refugees and migrants were taken to a hangar in the Dahman area in Sabratha that has been serving as an assembly point since the onset of the crisis. From there, refugees and migrants are being transferred by authorities to official detention centres where humanitarian agencies are providing lifesaving assistance.

Libyan authorities estimate that an additional 6,000 migrants and refugees are still being held by smugglers. If confirmed, this would bring the total number of refugees and migrants held in Sabratha to 20,500, including those in official detention centres.

Since the onset of this humanitarian crisis, UNHCR staff have been on the ground providing emergency assistance in all locations where refugees and migrants have been transferred to, and are conducting assessments to determine needs and vulnerabilities.

See also: Survivors tell of kidnap and torture along route to Europe

#EndViolenceAgainstWomen #OrangeTheWorld#16Days2017
Mohammed Ismail, 65, arrived with his family of 12 from Buthidaung, Myanmar. He said men in uniforms went to his village every day to tell them to leave or they would be killed.  UNHCR/Vivian Tan

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh  UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about the humanitarian conditions of thousands of newly arrived refugees stranded near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

Spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a press briefing at Geneva's Palais des Nations on Tuesday that an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya refugees had entered Bangladesh through the Anjuman Para border crossing point in the countrys south-east since Sunday night.

Many say they had initially chosen to remain in their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state despite repeated threats to leave or be killed, he said. They finally fled when their villages were set on fire.

See also: Family count gives shape to refugee population in Bangladesh

Some told UNHCR staff they had walked for about a week to reach the Bangladesh border.

They are waiting for permission to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side, Mahecic added.

Drone footage shows new Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh (Roger Arnold, camera / Boris Weber, editor)

UNHCR, together with the Bangladesh Red Crescent and Action against Hunger, are delivering food and water to the refugees, among them children, women and the elderly who are dehydrated and hungry from the long journey.

Agency staff are working with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to identifying the sick for treatment.

Thousands of Rohingyas have fled violence in Myanmar. Follow the crisis here.

At the border, UNHCR staff spoke to, Rozia, 20, who said she had walked for seven days from her village in Buthidaung in Myanmars Rakhine state, carrying a plastic bag and a solar panel.

On the way they robbed and beat me, hurting my head, she said, shaking and crying.

She was travelling alone, limping from cuts to her feet. UNHCR staff took her to the nearest village where she was given water and food, and MSF took her away in an ambulance.

Men in uniforms came to our village every day ... leave or we will kill you.

Mohammed Ismail, 65, arrived with his family of 12 from Buthidaung. They sat on the ground, exhausted.

Men in uniforms came to our village every day to warn us  leave or we will kill you, he said. We tried to stall because my son was waiting to be paid for his farm work.

Eleven days ago, they came and beat him, breaking his left wrist, and a few days later they burnt down the houses belonging to three neighbours.

We had no time to pack, we just left. We had to hide and travel at night. Along the way, people tried to take our things. The little money they had was stolen.
Nyakuak Mabio (28), a SGBV survivor runs a clothing shop inside Nymanzi refugee settlement in Adjumani district in Northern Uganda, 3 May 2017. UNHCR and partners helped her set up the shop and provide livelihood training.  UNHCR/Jiro Ose

GENEVA  UNHCRs protection chief urged delegates at a conference in Geneva today to take advantage of plans to strengthen responses to refugee crises to gain long-term improvements in the lives of the displaced and their hosts.

Speaking on the second day of a two-day meeting on how to improve the international response to large movements of refugees, UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Volker Turk, said that it was critical to think in the longer term from the start of a refugee crises.

The refugee response involves at the end of the day a holistic approach, covering humanitarian action, protection, development and an urgent search for solutions he said noting that most refugee situations are protracted and last longer than we think.

It is possible to see opportunities in difficult situations. The evidence shows it is possible to come to a win-win situation for refugee and host communities, said Turk.

Ten countries are currently sheltering some 60 per cent of the worlds 22.5 million refugees.

The Geneva meeting takes place at a time of record displacement worldwide. Ten countries are currently sheltering some 60 per cent of the worlds 22.5 million refugees and more than 84 per cent of refugees are hosted by low or middle income countries.

Against this backdrop, UNHCR has been asked by the UN General Assembly  in last years New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants  to develop a global compact on refugees. As part of that process, UNHCR is hosting a series of thematic discussions to generate ideas for a programme of action in the refugee compact.

A key focus of todays discussions was how refugees could be included into the national, health, education, social services and development plans by the countries hosting them, which in turn should be supported to do so.

A panelist from the Adjumani district authority in northern Uganda, which has been at the forefront of South Sudans refugee crisis in recent years has one of the most progressive refugee systems in the world, told delegates he saw including and educating refugees in local systems as an opportunity to contribute to peace building in the region.

I strongly believe by supporting education we help not only the refugees but the entire peace process in South Sudan, explained James Leku, Chairman of the Adjumani district, who also spent time as a refugee in southern Sudan.

If refugees return to South Sudan as well informed citizens, the whole country will benefit. Education can break the cycle of violence. It is our duty to contribute to the region in which we live, he said noting that both the prime minister and president of Uganda had also spent time as refugees.

A refugee from the Central African Republic (CAR) steers his dugout canoe towards the Congolese bank of the Ubangi river.  UNHCR/Andreas Kirchhof

Uganda provides land for refugees to farm and cultivate, allows refugees to live in open settlements, move freely, work, run businesses and includes them in national development plans.

We have received more refugees in the last month than Europe did in the last 12 months, he said, explaining that as chairman of the district he is a guardian of refugees as well as former refugee himself.

Local governments are expected to deliver to refugees and host communities alike. This is not without challenges, but leads to improved outcomes for both groups, he explains.

The importance of integrating refugees into local education systems and increasing access to scholarships for higher education was echoed by refugee youth representatives at the meeting.

Simon Marot Toulong, a refugee from South Sudan, made an impassioned plea for refugee children to be allowed to study with locals not just to increase access to education but to ease integration and social cohesion.

Toulong began his primary school education in Uganda at age nine, where he has lived for 15 years, walking seven kilometres a day in the early years to attend primary school. He later became the first refugee from South Sudan to win a DAFI scholarship, which he describes as a once in a lifetime chance.

"We should be the last generation to suffer as separated children in a refugee camp."

Two years ago, Toulong co-founded the Africa Youth Network to focus on peace, security and inclusion among young refugees who have been left vulnerable by war and lack of opportunities.

We feel we should be the last generation to suffer as separated children in a refugee camp, we feel we should be the last generation to suffer like this in a war, he said.

Toulongs group now engages with young people to develop skills in self-awareness, leadership and trust which he describes as critical components in peace building.

We are going to define our destiny and please join us in peace building, Toulong told a panel on how to increase the representation of refugees in decision making that affects them at the international and local level. Please count us in, he urged.

Throughout the two-day meeting, refugee youth have made a strong call for refugees to be involved in the response to their situation from the outset of a crisis, calling for strategies to meet not just the needs of refugees but also their aspirations.

This weeks thematic discussions were attended by some 300 delegates from governments, NGOs, refugee communities, international organizations and academia. Several proposals on how to strengthen the global response to refugee situations have been put forward for inclusion in the programme of action to be developed by UNHCR.

Wrapping up the meeting, Turk said that several new proposals had been put forward at the meeting to be considered in the coming weeks, and that UNHCR had received a strong sense of support for several proposals set out in a background concept note. He also noted there was strong support for the overall whole-of-society approach, which aims to rally a range of actors  the private sector, government, civil society, and refugee communities to strengthen the global response to refugee situations.

UNHCR will convene the next round of thematic discussions in mid-November, with a specific focus on solutions for refugees.
While the poor man kept running from counter to counter for getting the registration done at AIIMS, his daughter's condition deteriorated and she died.

Man carried daughter's body for 2 km after she died due to lack of treatment at AIIMS.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: A man in Bihar walked nearly 2 kilometres with his daughter's body wrapped in a cloth after she died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) due to lack of treatment.

This incident has once again shamed humanity and brought back the memories of Dana Manjhi, a man in Odisha who was forced to walk 10 kilometre carrying his wife's body on his shoulder as he was not provided any transport from the government hospital to his village in Kalahandi district last year.

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Ram Balak, a native of Jamui district, and his wife Sanju reached Patna on Tuesday along with their 10-year-old ailing daughter Roshan for her treatment at AIIMS. The couple's daughter was suffering from severe stomach ache for last several days.

Ram Balak, who works as a daily wager, was asked by the hospital staff to stand in a queue and get the registration done "after which the doctor would attend to her".

He was not familiar with the formalities to be fulfilled at the hospital and ran from one counter to another for help, which never came. None of the doctors present or any other hospital staff came to his assistance.

Upon queuing up at the registration desk, he was told that the OPD timings were over and he should come the next day.

In the meanwhile, Roshan's condition deteriorated and she breathed her last at the hospital. The child's poor father could not even afford to pay the ambulance charges to take the body. He then carried his daughter's body on his shoulder and walked with his wife to Phulwari Sharif, tempo stand, which is a 2 kilometre stretch.

"I was asked to stand in the queue to get the registration done before my daughter could be treated. In the meanwhile, my daughter died. I had no option but to carry her body on my shoulder," said Ram Balak.

When India Today contacted the director of AIIMS, Prabhat Kumar Singh, he refused to speak on the incident.

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GLO.ACT facilitates training on trafficking in persons for "AmaKhosi" traditional leaders in KwaZulu Natal

Durban, South Africa -16 October 2017 - In South Africa, training is highlighted as one of the key interventions in the draft national policy framework on the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act. South Africa is a primary destination for trafficking in persons (TIP) from Asia and the rest of Africa. TIP involves forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced begging and forced criminality. South Africa is also a source and transit country for TIP and the smuggling of migrants towards Europe and North America. Many of the TIP cases, especially forced marriages for purpose of exploitation, are occurring in the more rural areas of KwaZulu Natal. In order to address these issues, and more specifically to respond to the needs of traditional leaders, the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT) facilitated a three day workshop on TIP from 16 -18 October 2017.

During the opening ceremony of the workshop, Inkosi Thabisile Zulu, Deputy Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, said, "The workshop is very crucial for amaKhosi traditional leaders, since they are on the ground in the rural areas with the people. This would empower them to raise awareness in their different traditional councils".

Ms. Moipone Noko, Provincial Head of the National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu Natal, explained during her speech that "it is important to understand that TIP happens everywhere and affects everyone. It targets the poor and vulnerable". She emphasized that "amaKhosi traditional leaders must work cooperatively with the National Prosecution Authority when cases are reported to traditional councils." Such cooperation from the public ensures that human traffickers will be brought to justice.

The objectives and deliverables of the workshop were:

Develop the knowledge and capacity of the amaKhosi (traditional leaders and chiefs) in identifying trafficking in persons cases and on referral mechanisms once a case is identified;

Develop the knowledge and capacity of the amaKhosi and Deputy-Chairpersons of Traditional Councils with regards to protection measures;

Develop the knowledge and capacity of the amaKhosi and Deputy-Chairpersons of Traditional Councils to correctly refer a case once it is identified.

Speaking during the workshop, Ms. Tiphanie Crittin, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer UNODC Vienna, said that "traditional leaders are best placed to detect victims of trafficking and refer them to the relevant mechanisms. Hence, AmaKhosi have a very important role as responders."

The workshop covered the following subjects:

The Prevention and Combatting in Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013;

Definitions and basic concepts of trafficking in persons and the difference between trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants;

South African trafficking in persons cases;

The importance of understanding social and local contexts;

Harmful traditional practices and the role of traditional authority structures in trafficking in persons;

Indicators of trafficking in persons

Workshop participants included the National Prosecuting Authority (KwaZulu Natal), the Department of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KwaZulu Natal), the Commission for Gender Equality, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, "amaKhosi" traditional leaders and GLO.ACT project implementing partners.

The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), 11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.

For more information, please contact:

Banele Kunene, National Project Officer

banele.kunene@unodc.org

www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/

Email: glo.act@un.org

Twitter: @glo_act
The 21-year-old woman left her parents' place in Bihar as they did not approve of her wish to marry her boyfriend.

The woman wanted to sell her kidney so that she could give the money to her boyfriend.

By India Today Web Desk: A woman from Bihar travelled all the way to Delhi to sell her kidney so that she could give the money to her boyfriend who had demanded nearly Rs 2 lakh for marrying her.

The doctors at the hospital, where she had come for a surgery, called the women's helpline number suspecting her to be a part of an illegal kidney racket.

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When members of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) reached the hospital, the 21-year-old woman narrated her ordeal to them. The woman, divorced once, came to Delhi to sell her kidney as her boyfriend had asked for Rs 1.8 lakh to marry her.

She lived with her parents in Bihar following the divorce when she befriended a neighbour. The woman's parents were against her wish to marry the neighbour. The 21-year-old, therefore, left her parents' home and travelled to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh where her boyfriend worked.

According to the 21-year-old, her boyfriend agreed to marry her but demanded money from her. She decided to sell one of her kidneys at a government hospital and travelled to Delhi. A DCW member advised her to file a police complaint against her boyfriend but she refused to do so.

Subsequently, the woman went back to Bihar with her parents. The DCW, however, has informed the Bihar Women Commission of the case and requested the latter to help the girl take criminal action against her boyfriend.

ALSO WATCH: You Complete Me! Blind Husband Carries Disabled Wife for 29 Years

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 2020 The University of Tampa. All Rights Reserved.
Published: October 18, 2017

UTs Mainstreet Speaker Series Welcomes Craig Dubitsky Oct. 27

On Friday, Oct. 27, The University of Tampa will welcome Craig Dubitsky, founder and CEO of naturally friendly oral care brand hello products, as part of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center in the Sykes College of Business MainStreet Speaker Series. The event begins with lunch at 12:30 p.m., with the program running from 1:102:05 p.m. at the Tampa Hilton Downtown, 211 N. Tampa St.



This MainStreet Speaker event is being held in conjunction with the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Global Conference, which will bring nearly 1,000 attendees from around the world to Tampa.



Dubitskys career has been dedicated to transforming commodities into desirables and turning consumer insights into disruptive, emotionally charged brands. He has successfully engaged with a wide array of companies dedicated to breaking category molds via design and consumer-centric thinking. He previously served as a founding board member of green-cleaning brand Method Products and then as co-founder of lip and skincare maker Eos Products.



Through hello products LLC, Dubitsky and his team seek to disrupt and elevate the staid $40 billion global oral care category. Under Dubitskys charter and creative vision, hello brings together thoughtful, come-hither design and highly natural formulations that embody the brands naturally friendly mantra. Dubitsky conceived the brand and took it from concept to commercialization in only six months. Hello currently has distribution in approximately 20,000-plus top U.S. retail stores and leading e-commerce sites, and has become the No. 2 natural oral care brand across food, drug and mass channels in the U.S. in record time.



Dubitskys career and legacy is fueled by his mission to make the things we regularly use better and more beautiful, and in doing so, ultimately create bright spots in our day.



Individual tickets are $50 and a corporate sponsorship table of 10 is $500 (five seats go to students).



Register by Monday, Oct. 23, at https://2017mainstreet.eventbrite.com. For more information, email ecenter@ut.edu or call (813) 257-3227.
A&S Annual Keith and Thyra Thomson Honors Convocation Oct. 27 at UW

The College of Arts and Sciences annual Keith and Thyra Thomson Honors Convocation will be Friday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m. in the University of Wyomings A&S auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.

Each year, the College of Arts and Sciences honors A&S students who have made the presidents, deans or freshman honor rolls during the past academic year. This years keynote speaker is UW President Laurie Nichols. Student speakers are Alexander Greenwald, Department of Geography and the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, a senior from Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Jonet Jennings, School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies, a senior from Denver, Colo.

This years College of Arts and Sciences student speakers are both UW McNair Scholars. Greenwald will discuss Light Absorbing Particles in the Snowy Range. The study initially began while he was a student at Central Wyoming College (CWC) in Riverton. Greenwald worked on the project with Jackie Klancher, a CWC instructor. Greenwald continued to work on his project at UW with his faculty mentor, botany Professor Dave Williams.

Jennings will present Community Partnerships for Addressing Counterterrorism in Denver and the Front Range. As part of Jennings research study, she conducted interviews and observed individuals who work for domestic terrorism department agencies. She worked on the project with UW mentor Jean Garrison, professor and director of the Center for Global Studies.

In addition, McNair Scholars in the College of Arts and Sciences will display their research posters in the A&S lobby before and after the program. Students are Clay Carper, Riverton; Taylor Orton, Lyman; and Alexandra Monique Weaver, Evanston.

Following the celebration of academic achievement, a cookie reception will be held in the A&S lobby.

The convocation also presents a performance by the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble and the UW Chamber Orchestra. The combined ensembles will perform Antonio Carlos Jobims "Favela, featuring UW Department of Music Professor Katrina Zook, a mezzo-soprano. The Wyoming Jazz Ensemble will play pre- and post-convocation music.

For information about the Honors Convocation, visit www.uwyo.edu/as/honors-convocation/index.html.
By PTI: Balakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 18 (PTI) The ruling CPI-M in Kerala today hit out at the BJP over the"political violence" in the state and said the saffron partys chief, Amit Shah, should respond to the death of Left party workers in "attacks" by RSS and BJP activists.

Countering Shahs remark that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should take responsibility for the "killings of RSS and BJP workers",CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the BJP president and the RSS should respond to the "killings" of his partys workers.

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He was speaking to reporters here.

Terming the Jana Raksha Yatra of the BJP that concluded yesterday a "failure",he claimed that political violence in the state had gone up after 1970 and alleged that the RSS had a major role in it.

"A total of 214 CPI-M workers were killed by the RSS during the period," the CPI-M leader said, adding that there was an attempt to tarnish the image of the chief minister.

Balakrishnan described Shah as a "forest tiger" trying to project himself as a "ponman" (a little bird), by preaching the message of peace.

Taking a dig at Shah, he said, "The BJP president who came as a lion at Payyanoorin Kannur in the beginning of the Yatra, returned yesterday as a rat."

Accepting Shahs challenge to debate on development issues, the CPI-M leader said Kerala was in the forefront in social and other sectors compared to any of the states ruled by BJP in the country. Flaying the BJP leaders for their statements that Kerala was a land of "love jihad" and "jihadi terror", he said the "false campaign" of the saffron party was not against CPI-M, but a challenge to the people of the state. To counter BJPs "false" propaganda, the party-led LDF would organise Jana Jagran Yatra in all the 140 assembly constituencies from October 21, Balakrishnan announced.

However, the CPI-M leader dismissed the possibility of joining hands with Congress to take on the BJP and RSS, and said the Left would land in trouble if it ties up with the former.

"Todays Congress leader is tomorrows BJP leader," Balakrishnan said, wondering how the party can move along with them (Congress).

The CPI-M wants a movement of democratic and secular forces to face challenges of the Sangh Parivar in the country. The BJP chief had flagged-off the 15-day-long yatra at Payyannur in Kannur on October 3, to highlight the Lefts atrocities under the CPI(M)-led LDF rule.

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The padayatra had criss-crossed 11 districts in the state with four chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, senior party leaders and Union ministers taking part in the high-pitched campaign against the ruling LDF. PTI JRK ROH ANB

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) State-owned telecom firm BSNL today launched unlimited calling and a data plan for Rs 97 a month for the buyers of Micromaxs 4G VoLTE enabled Bharat phone.

Priced at Rs 2,200, the phone will support 3G connection as well.

"I am glad that BSNL has come with 2 new schemes. This will not only increase BSNL subscribers but also strengthen their financial position. On monthly recharge of Rs 97, BSNL will provide unlimited calling and data on Bharat Phone. I believe that BSNL will get a special spot in the ongoing competition in the sector," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said while launching the service.

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BSNL at present provides 3G services and is planning to upgrade it for 4G services from January 2018.

"We are proud that we are partnering with Micromax, a home-grown player on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. This will connect the unconnected masses in rural area at a very affordable rate. We are in process to start 4G services in January," BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava said, while announcing the agreement with Micromax.

At present, only Reliance Jio and Airtel are offering 4G VoLTE (voice long term evolution) services.

BSNL, which operates across the country except Delhi and Mumbai, has over 98 million mobile subscribers and 16 million landline customers.

Micromax Co-founder Rahul Sharma said that BSNL will provide unlimited calling and data along with free incoming and outgoing calls during roaming, under this partnership.

"The phone will cost Rs 2,200 and its effective price will be cheaper than that of competitors in the market," Sharma said.

Built on Googles Android platform, the dual sim Bharat phone has 2.4 inch screen, Qualcomms 4G chipset, 2 megapixel rear camera, VGA camera on the front, 2000 mAH battery, 512 MB RAM and 4G internal memory. It will come preloaded with Facebook, BSNL and Zenga TV (for live television) for watching live television applications.

Sharma said that cost of phone along with bundled service from BSNL is most affordable offering in the market.

"After one year of use, the Bharat Phone cost along with monthly coupon of Rs 97 from BSNL will be around Rs 28 expensive compared to the rate of competition but after completion of 2 years it will be cheaper by about Rs 600 compared to competition," Sharma said.

BSNL will offer 4G services in spectrum that it presently uses for 3G services. The company is also working to start 4G services in broadband spectrum that it acquired 2010.

The telecom minister also launched online education service of BSNL in partnership with digital content provider Extramarks.

"I am announcing that the digital education service will be free for first 15 days," Sinha said. PTI PRS MKJ

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Comedian Mike Hammer will welcome his friends, Tanked stars Wayde King, Heather King and Agnes Wilczynski to the 3rd Annual Mike Hammer Celebrity Go-Kart Race, a charity event benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project and three veterans charities in Las Vegas, on October 22 with a Celebrity Red Carpet from 12 noon and Celebrity Go-Kart Racing from 1-3pm at Gene Woods Racing Experience in Las Vegas.

Tanked star Wayde King Wayde Kings love of fish began at an early age. Born and raised in Long Island, New York, Wayde has early memories of his mother and biological father, who was a fish dealer, and the multiple tanks they had in the basement of his home. Today, Wayde is living his dream designing and manufacturing some of the largest and most extravagant acrylic tanks in the world. But this isnt just a business, its a family adventure. By Waydes side are his wife, his brother-in-law and chief operating officer, Brett, and his father-in-law. Working with family has been very challenging, but Wayde is happy to share the stress and success with the people he loves the most. Follow Wayde King on Website, Facebook and Twitter

Tanked star Agnes Wilczynski The fish business is a booming one, and Agnes Wilczynski knows how to bait a hook. Agnes has a background in hair design and ironically was working in sales at a local Ferrari dealership when she met Wayde. Her original goal was to sell him a Porsche, but Waydes passion for his work inspired Agnes so much she sold him the Porsche and became a member of the ATM team. Agnes is responsible day-to-day for handling incoming calls and coordinating with designers to estimate job costs and create quotes so that ATM can bid on jobs. Wayde and Brett consider her a kid sister, but her role coordinating some of their biggest projects is no small matter. Follow Agnes Wilczynski on Website, Facebook and Twitter

Tanked star Heather King It would be great if all Heather King had to handle at ATM was the books. But working alongside her father, brother and husband in one office every day is a little more than an average day job; its clearly a labor of love. Heather is the absolute love of Waydes life and handles all the accounting at ATM. Seeing Wayde in his glory doing what he is most passionate about makes the struggles of mixing business with pleasure well worth it. Heather knew a lot about accounting when she started, having run her fathers machinery business for a few years, but she was in the deep end when it came to fish. Luckily she has watched ATM grow and expand since the doors opened more than 14 years ago and has picked up much of Waydes expertise. Heather loves to dance and spends much of her free time with their two daughters, Taylor and Morgan, who are both competitive and award-winning gymnasts. She hopes ATM will one day become a legacy for their two daughters to continue to enjoy and expand. Follow Heather King on Website, Facebook and Twitter

Tanked Stars Wayde King, Heather King and Agnes Wilczynski and dozens of other celebrities and VIPs will attend this event to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and Las Vegas-based veterans organizations R.W.B. Dog Tags, Forgotten Not Gone and The Nathan Tyler Davis Foundation.

Meet all these Celebrities and VIPS at the 3rd Annual

Mike Hammer Celebrity Go-Kart Race:

Beginning at 11:00am, representatives of the Wounded Warrior Project, R.W.B. Dog Tags, Forgotten Not Gone and The Nathan Tyler Davis Foundation will be on hand to answer your questions.

The Mike Hammer Celebrity Go-Kart Race WHEN: October 22, 2017

Veterans groups to be available at 11:00am

Celebrity Red Carpet arrivals start at 12 noon

Celebrity racing takes place from 1-3pm WHERE: Gene Woods Racing Experience

121 E. Sunset Rd.

Las Vegas, NV 89119

702-270-8100 COST: Free. A $25 donation will get you one qualifying race with a chance to race in the celebrity final.

Food and drinks will be provided by Gene Woods Racing Experience and sponsors.

and sponsors. All proceeds will benefit Wounded Warrior Project and three related charities in Las Vegas. FACEBOOK SIGN-UP PAGE: Click here for the official event page on Facebook. Let us know if youll be attending!
After setting up a business in Vietnam, the next big hurdle is hiring the staff that you will need to help grow your operations. The initial hiring process and, ultimately, payroll administration can quickly become a complex and confusing process. Labor intensive sectors, such as manufacturing, are almost certain to face a significant degree of exposure to these challenges, while all companies setting up within Vietnam  from representative offices to fully foreign-owned enterprises  will face some liability.

As a first step towards meeting the challenges presented by payroll, companies should be aware of the basic statutory requirements imposed under Vietnamese law. With this in mind, the following are the most significant payroll related obligations for employers:

Minimum wages;

Overtime wages;

Individual income tax withholding requirements;

Social insurance withholding requirements.

Minimum wages

Vietnams minimum wage rates play a significant role in payroll compliance. Currently, there are two kinds of minimum wages.

Common minimum wage

The first type is the common minimum wage, which is used to calculate salaries for employees in state-owned organizations and enterprises and, from a payroll compliance perspective, the social insurance contributions for all enterprises (the maximum social insurance contribution is 20 times the common minimum wage). The common minimum wage is US$57 (VND 1,300,000) since July 1, 2017. With effect from 1 July 2018, the common minimum wage applied will be US$ 60.95 (VND 1,390,000) per month.

Regional private sector minimums

The second type of minimum wage is used for employees in all non-state enterprises and is based on regions as defined by the government. From January 2017, these regions have set baseline compensation rates between US$113 and US$165 (VND 2.58 million and VND 3.75 million). Unlike the common minimum wage, the private sector minimum wage rate depends on the location where the worker is employed. Currently, Vietnamese cities are split into a four-tiered regional system to reflect the socioeconomic conditions within cities across the country.

Overtime

Employers are required to pay employees at increased rates for all overtime work completed each month. Not only does overtime pay stand to increase immediate payroll costs, but it can also have significant impacts on social insurance withholdings as well as income tax. Companies that understand when overtime is applied and at what cost it is applied will be able to plan effectively and ensure that calculations of individual income tax and social insurance contributions are made correctly.

Triggering overtime

The normal working week in Vietnam is limited to no more than eight hours in one day and no more than 48 hours per week. Any work hours beyond these limits must be compensated at a rate beyond what is set forth within the employees labor contract.

Overtime compensation

Employees who work in excess of normal working times must be paid extra for those hours based on their current wages as follows: regular working days  150 percent; weekends  200 percent; and holidays and paid leave days  300 percent. A ceiling for total working hours, inclusive of overtime, is imposed at no more than 12 hours in one day, while overtime is capped at 30 hours in one month and 200 hours annually.

Individual income tax withholdings

In Vietnam, personal income tax (PIT) declaration and payment is carried out on a withholding basis. Vietnams tax regulations encompass the concept of tax deducted at the source, and legalize this by specifying certain employers are designated for tax collection purposes. Such entities are required to withhold PIT from employees salaries.

Monthly withholdings

Employers are required to collect taxes on employee income for both foreign and local employees, and ensure the timely submission of employees tax declarations. Employers must withhold the required percentage of their employees personal income, and deposit the monthly amount with the State Treasury no later than the 20th day of the following month.

Annual finalization

Employers must also finalize PIT declarations on behalf of their employees at the end of the year, provided the employee only has income from the employer, and authorizes their employer to make this tax finalization on their behalf. Companies must submit an annual tax finalization on employees taxable income no later than 90 days from the last day of the tax year. Each employee is required to obtain a unique individual tax number (or tax code) and declares dependents that qualify for tax relief. Additionally, employees must complete their own tax finalization returns where their tax liability at year-end is greater, or less, than the sum of tax paid during the year. Employees may authorize the company to complete this process on their behalf.

Social insurance

There are three types of mandatory social security in Vietnam that must be covered by foreign enterprises seeking to hire local staff:

Social insurance;

Health insurance; and,

Unemployment insurance.

Mandatory minimum contributions

Mandatory minimum contributions are required of both employer and employee. All domestic and foreign companies operating in Vietnam are required to pay these social insurances for all employees under labor contracts with a definite term of over three months or labor contracts with indefinite terms. The total minimum employer social security contribution is 21.5 percent.

Contributions are determined based on employees monthly salary or wage. Employers register and pay insurance contributions monthly on behalf of their employees at the provincial Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Social insurance contribution caps

While payable amounts will differ depending on the compensation of an employee, it should be noted that a wage ceiling for calculation of contributions is imposed at 20 times the common minimum wage for social and health insurance  US$1,140 (VND 26,000,000)  and 20 times the regional minimum wage for unemployment insurance  US$2,269 to US$3,298 (VND 51,600,000 to VND 75,000,000) depending on the region.

With effect from July 1, 2018, the minimum salary cap for SI/HI contributions will increase to US$1,220 per month (VND 27,800,000). The minimum regional salary cap for UI contributions will range from US$ 2,430 US$ 3,500 per month (VND 55,200,000 to VND 79,600,000) depending on each region from January 1, 2018.
African-American maid prepares a white family's supper

Children play in a segregated neighborhood

Young girls listen attentively in a sewing class

Home inspection in a black neighborhood

Generations pass the time on a porch

Mayor Kenneth Cass converses with a Greenville, South Carolina resident

Greenville, South Carolina's mayor Kenneth Cass (above, in tie) at a car wash

Greenville, South Carolina, 1956

Outside a roadhouse

Two black men arrested for disorderly conduct

Three women stand before a magistrate (note pistol in his hand) after a disturbance at a juke joint

A work crew comprised of inmates

White girl lives in a nearby house [and] came out to watch when she saw the gang start work

Greenville, S. Carolina, mayor Kenneth Cass reviews a map of proposed roads in an upper-income housing development

Segregated playground

Segregated playground

Segregated playground

A night out at a juke joint

A night out at a juke joint

A night out at a juke joint

A night out at a juke joint

Segregation, the residential, political, and social isolation of African Americans, was accomplished in South Carolina by a long and varying effort in the aftermath of slavery. The de facto, or socially based, segregation of the races was channeled in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries into a rigid legal, or de jure, system that effectively enforced the second-class citizenship of African Americans. As all-encompassing as the system of Jim Crow came to be in South Carolina, it was constructed through a slow and halting process, which black Carolinians contested at every turn.In late 1956, over the course of several months,published what the magazine itself described as "a series of major articles on the background of the crisis brought about by the school segregation decision [Brown v. Board of Education] of the Supreme Court... Although the ground that is to be covered in the series is not wholly new to Americans, it is unfamiliar as a subject of moderate and unprejudiced consideration."The series in question, ambitiously and simply titled The Background of Segregation, explored the emotionally and politically charged issue at a time when the Civil Rights movement was barely in its infancy. For one especially riveting (then, as now) segment of the monumental five-part series, "Voices of the White South,"dispatched the legendary Margaret Bourke-White to Greenville, South Carolina, where she documented citizens from varying walks of life who wholeheartedlyand unapologeticallysupported the legacy and the practice of open, legal segregation.Here, in striking color photographs that, at times, convey an unsettling intimacy, Bourke-White's work opens a window on an era that, for better and for worse, helped define 20th-century America.(Photos by Margaret Bourke-WhiteThe LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)
Also known as Naraka Chaturdash, Chhoti Diwali is celebrated one day after Dhanteras and one day before Diwali.

By India Today Web Desk: With the festival of lights being just a day away, we are obviously all pepped up to celebrate the festival of lights. Marking the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness, the celebration of Diwali sees people perform pujas of goddess Lakshmi, exchange sweets and greet their near and dear ones.

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Diwali, however, is part of a five-day long festival that begins from Dhanteras, to Naraka Chaturdasi (Chhoti Diwali), Diwali, Padva and ends with Bhai Dooj, which most of us are not aware of.

The day between Dhanteras and Diwali is commemorated as Chhoti Diwali, as it is known to us. Also known as Naraka Chaturdashi and Roop Chaturdashi, people celebrate the day by lighting up their homes as they wait for the main day. There are many legends associated with the day.

Also Read: #Diwali2017: Here's how different regions of India celebrate the Festival of Lights

One mythological legend suggests that the demon king, Narakasur, who was the ruler of Pragjyotishpur (province to the South of Nepal) defeated Lord Krishna and other deities. He also imprisoned 16,000 daughters of various gods and snatched the earrings of goddess Aditi, considered as a mother to all gods and goddesses.

One day prior to Naraka Chaturdashi, Lord Krishna defeated the demon and freed all the imprisoned daughters. He also recovered the precious earrings of goddess Aditi. On the day of Chhoti Diwali, he returned home victorious, and thus this day is celebrated to mark his triumph over the demon.

The day of Chhoti Diwali is also known as Bali Pratipada (the word 'Pratiprada' means someone under the foot of a challenger).

Also Read: Here's why that chandi ka warq on your Diwali sweets is really, really bad for health

Legend has it that Bali was a very influential king. All the gods feared that he might conquer all the three lokas and rule them in unjust ways. In order to combat this fear, Lord Vishnu went to him in Vamana avatar and asked him to give just 3-foot space of his kingdom.

Bali, full of pride, called him a beggar and agreed to give anything he begged for. The intelligent Lord Vishnu covered all the three lokas in mere two footsteps, asking the majestic king where he should put his third foot. Bali told him to keep it on his heads, and thus, Lord Vishnu conquered his head and grabbed all the three lokas from him.

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And thus, Chhoti Diwali is celebrated to rejoice the victory of goodness and the defeat of greed.Now you know why this day has a far deeper significance than mere display of grandeur. The festival, therefore, is dedicated to a prosperous future and the elimination of greed

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The decree will make sure less buyers get their fingers burnt

Among the big projects to be launched is An Khanh New City Developments sale of its first phase this quarter. The mega $2 billion project is developed by South Koreas Posco E&C and Vietnams Vinaconex, located in Hanois Hoai Duc district, along the Thang Long Boulevard.

Scheduled for completion in 2013, the city is expected to supply 6,440 apartments, equivalent to 392,319 square metres of accommodation, enough for 30,000 people.

Even though Hoa Phat Group, the investor in a more than 1,000 apartment Mandarin Garden in Cau Giay districts Tran Duy Hung road, refused to release its launching time, real estate experts predicted the project would be soon launched.

At the beginning of this month the CT7D, located in Le Van Luong street and invested by Nam Cuong Group and the FLC Landmark Tower of FLC Group will also be launched, with a total of 200 units and prices ranging from VND23 million ($1,200) to VND28 million ($1,470) per square metre.

In Gia Lam district, over the Red River, the second lot of Rung Co Residentials belonging to the Eco Park is also being launched, with around 1,500 apartment units.

In addition, Victoria Van Phu, Star City, Diamond Tower and Song Da City View will also add apartments to the mix.

Real estate consultant CBRE Vietnam expected that there would be 3,000 units in Hanoi launched this quarter, compared to 1,950 units in the third quarter. There were more than 4,600 units launched in the second quarter.

This decline, according to CBRE Vietnam, could be due to the Decree 71, effective on August 8, 2010 providing guidance on the Housing Law, which caps the proportion of units sold via capital contribution contracts at 20 per cent with the remaining 80 per cent sold on transaction floors.

This decree, CBRE Vietnam said, had put a pressure on developers with low financial capabilities and enhanced market transparency.

However, CBRE Vietnam executive director Richard Leech said new project launches would continue trending towards more affordable options.

With the opening and improvement of major infrastructure routes, the capitals western and southern districts are attracting new residents with easier access for commuting into the core urban districts, Leech said.

He said that the Decree 71 was expected to benefit the market by enhancing transparency, placing pressures on developers with low financial capabilities, lessening the threat of price bubbles and limiting speculative forces.

Tran Nhu Trung, Savills Vietnam associate director, said the Decree 71 had showed off its advantages to clearly regulate five types of mobilising capital investment. However, Trung said the procedures to implement Decree 71 were still complicated and wasted customers time and energy.

The more simple it [decree] regulates, the more it is practical in the real life, Trung said.
The war of words between David Davis and Michel Barnier erupted just a day after they attended what was meant to be a fence-mending dinner with Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"They're using time pressure to see if they can get more money out of us - it's obvious to anybody," Davis told the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the British parliament.

"And that will take some time, but we will get there in time, I'm quite sure, to get a decent outcome for everybody."

Frenchman Barnier hit back at the "bit odd" accusation, saying May had not triggered the two-year Brexit negotiation process for a year after the referendum vote to leave, and that British elections had delayed the start of talks until June.

"Just look at the timetable. The EU is not holding anything or anybody back," Barnier said after meeting EU ministers in Luxembourg to discuss their Brexit policy.

"We are ready and willing to even speed up the negotiations, in the meantime we will respect the various stages which we are bound to. We don't have any intention of holding up any process whatsoever."

'WE'RE REACHING THE LIMITS'

Fears are growing that Britain may fail to strike a withdrawal agreement with the European Union before its formal departure on Mar 29, 2019.

Time is of the essence with an EU summit this week set to push back to December the bloc's likely date for meeting Britain's demands to open talks on a future trade deal.

Davis warned that the two sides were "reaching the limits of what we can achieve" in the first stage of Brexit negotiations, which are focusing on the financial settlement, EU citizens' rights and the Irish border.

The divorce bill - estimated by the EU at between 60 billion and 100 billions, and Britain at 20 billion - is the major sticking point.

Davis urged the EU leaders meeting later this week to "recognise the progress made" and give Barnier a mandate to move on to Britain's future relationship with the bloc.

"We must be able to talk about the future. We all have to recognise that we're reaching the limits of what we can achieve without consideration of the future relationship," Davis told members of parliament.

He added: "At the European Council later this week, I hope the leaders of the 27 will recognise the progress made and provide Michel Barnier with a mandate to build on the momentum and spirit of cooperation we now have."

'TAKES TWO TO ACCELERATE'

Davis and May travelled to Brussels on Monday evening for dinner with Barnier and Juncker, and in a joint statement issued afterwards, May and Juncker said they agreed to "accelerate" efforts for a deal.

May's spokesman said Tuesday that the Juncker dinner was "productive, it was a friendly discussion" and the pair "agreed on the need to make swift progress".

For his part Barnier said Tuesday he was ready to intensify talks with London but warned "it takes two to accelerate", adding that both sides still had "a lot of work to do."

The EU European Affairs ministers said divisions in May's government were holding up the talks.

"At the moment it seems the EU27 is more unanimous than (the) UK1 so that's one of the main problems here," Samuli Virtanen, state secretary at the Finnish foreign ministry said in Luxembourg.

"When we read the British press sometimes it's very difficult to understand what Britain really wants from these negotiations."

Davis denied his government was talking up the prospect of leaving the EU in 2019 without a deal in place.

While repeating that Britain was preparing for all eventualities, he said: "We are seeking to get a deal. That is by far and away the best option."
Despite rising supply in the housing sector, Vietnams rental yields make buy-to-let property a profitable endeavour, Photo: Le Toan

In its latest report The Great Wave, Savills Vietnam released new numbers, showing that the housing rental yield in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is much higher than it is in Singapore.

The report said that Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are leading Southeast Asia in real estate leasing yield. The number reached 7.4 per cent in Hanoi and 5.8 per cent in Ho Chi Minh City. Hanois numbers are double those of Singapore and 1.7 times those of Manila and Bangkok.

Considering these figures, Savills stated that the segment of housing-for-lease in Vietnam is more attractive than it is in other countries in the region.

Leading real estate developer CapitaLand Vietnam recently launched the D1MENSION, a high-potential buy-to-lease project located in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City. Chen Lian Pang, CEO of the company, said that buyers can invest in a project with sustainable value for the mid- to long-term.

According to Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of the Dat Lanh Real Estate Company, the real yield in Ho Chi Minh City is much higher than stated by Savills.

There are many Hanoians charging into Ho Chi Minh Citys buy-to-let market. The reality is that these properties are in much higher demand in Ho Chi Minh City than in Hanoi, due to the increasing migration and population, Duc said.

A 60sq.m apartment in Ba Dinh district in the heart of Hanoi can be leased for the price of VND5 million ($227) per month, said Duc. The lease for the same unit in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City could be twice as expensive.

Duc went on to say that even though housing prices in general are higher in Hanoi than in Ho Chi Minh City, yield is smaller.

In Hanoi, many investors bought units for the sole purpose of keeping their money safe, and looked to buy-to-let properties for making profit. However, the demand for leasing is lower than in Ho Chi Minh City, he said.

In Ho Chi Minh City, a number of foreigners from Japan, Korea, and China are leasing units in residential projects. In some special high-end projects, foreigners make up more than 60 per cent of total leases.

The developer said that for small and well-furnished units, the leasing yield can reach 9 per cent, while some mid-range units can reach between 7 and 8 per cent each year.

Tran Khanh Quang, general director of Viet An Hoa, commented that units in areas centred around high-end residential projects like Thao Dien in District 2, Phu My Hung in District 7, and The Manor and Saigon Pearl in Binh Thanh district are mostly bought by investors from northern provinces, who lease them out to generate income.

Apart from the high leasing yield, Quang also pointed out that apartment units for lease in Ho Chi Minh City are mostly furnished and equipped with more facilities than those in Hanoi.

According to figures from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, more than 84,000 foreign workers and experts were living in Vietnam in the first half of 2017. Around 90 per cent of these needed housing for lease.

In Hanoi, the area around West Lake remains most attractive for leases, with occupancy around 80 per cent and leasing prices in the range of $500 - $1,500 per month per unit.

In Ho Chi Minh City, District 7 and the area along Binh Thanh districts Nguyen Huu Canh street are most attractive, with prices from $600 to 1,000 per month per unit.

Buy-to-let is attractive to investors because it brings more stable benefits and long-term capital gains than other investment channels such as gold, securities, and even bank interest.
Norway's Saga Energy will work with Iran's Amin Energy Developers to install two gigawatts of solar panels around the central desert region. (Photo: AFP/Chandan Khanna)

Norway's Saga Energy will work with Iran's Amin Energy Developers to install two gigawatts of solar panels around the central desert region. (Photo: AFP/Chandan Khanna)

"Norway is fully committed to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) and this is proof that we have taken the opening very seriously, and we will see more investment very soon," Norwegian ambassador Lars Nordrum told AFP.

He was hosting the signing at his Tehran residence between Norway's Saga Energy and Iran's Amin Energy Developers, who will work together to install two gigawatts of solar panels in multiple sites around the central desert region.

That makes it the second-largest investment deal in Iran since the 2015 nuclear deal eased global sanctions, and dwarfs the 600 megawatt solar project finalised just last month between Iran and British investment fund Quercus.

The timing was coincidental, but comes just days after Trump's bellicose speech in which he called for further sanctions on Iran.

It underlines the challenge Washington hardliners will face in trying to convince Europeans, who have remained firmly behind the nuclear deal, to abandon their burgeoning ties with the Islamic republic.

The Norwegian project is being financed by a consortium of European private and state investors, and backed by a sovereign guarantee from the Iranian government.

"I'd like to thank Norway, which has always been one of the best friends to Iran, for this exciting opportunity," said Saeid Zakeri, head of international affairs for Amin.

BUSINESS RISK

European and Asian businesses have shown great interest in tapping into Iran's relatively wealthy and largely untouched market of 80 million people.

But continuing US sanctions on Iran, and Trump's aggressive rhetoric, have bred a crippling uncertainty that mean many investment plans are stuck on the drawing board.

There have been a few big deals, most notably France's Total, which signed a US$5 billion gas deal in June alongside China's CNPC.

A few other major firms such as Siemens, Renault and Peugeot have extensive investments.

Solar projects are particularly important for Iran, which has severe pollution problems, as well as facing existential environmental threats from desertification and warming temperatures.

"We expect there to be some business risk in the Middle East, and Europe stands united in its support of the JCPOA," said Nordrum. "This is a great win because Iran really needs renewables and this is a new sector for us," he added.

Saga is a young company, formed by former oil and gas project managers and engineers who shifted into the renewables sector after traditional energy markets were badly hit by falling prices.

A partnership with Taiwan's Delta Electronics, a major player in the solar sector, has helped them mobilise large amounts of capital from Europe.

"We are a small company with mighty partners," said Saga's development manager Gaute Steinkopf at the signing.

"We hope to build a factory in Iran to build the panels so that we are also generating jobs here," he added.

The tough climatic conditions in Iran offer a chance for research as well as business.

"To withstand the heat here, you need very good panels. This is the huge challenge," said Saga director Rune Haaland.

"We want to learn more about this, and we're hoping to establish a relationship between a university here and in Norway," he said.
British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones for a photograph during the MIPCOM trade show (standing for International Market of Communications Programmes) in Cannes, southern France, on Oct 16. (Photo: AFP)

British actress Catherine Zeta-Jones for a photograph during the MIPCOM trade show (standing for International Market of Communications Programmes) in Cannes, southern France, on Oct 16. (Photo: AFP)

The Oscar-winning actress said she hoped Weinstein's disgrace would be the "tipping point, or at last a turning point" in the treatment of women not just in Hollywood, but in "any industry, corporation, school or college".

"Let's hope that big old dinosaur of men thinking they can get away with that sort of behaviour is extinct as of now," she told reporters.

The British-born star, who plays the notorious Colombian drug baron Griselda Blanco in a new TV film, "Cocaine Godmother", joked that her character had a rather direct way of dealing with male sexism: "Shoot them in the head."

Zeta-Jones said that while that would not be her approach, as a woman "you have to give her that, as we still fight for equality in the workplace".

"Griselda had no redeeming traits, but the one thing she did have was the ability to stand up against men in a male world," she said as the film screened at MIPCOM, the top TV industry gathering, in Cannes on the French Riviera.

Sexism is not "just a problem in the film, theatrical or TV industry," Zeta-Jones added. "It is rife everywhere. As women we get knocked down as being ambitious. Men don't get that. We should be proud of being ambitious, we shouldn't hide it."

She said she hoped lessons were being learned from the Weinstein affair, "otherwise we truly are stuck in a world that's very sad and very destructive."

Despite the dangers from predators, she advised young actors "not to lose your vulnerability - it is essential to your craft. Vulnerability is a beautiful character trait and we should have it and be allowed to have it. But it's important that we know it's protected."
The National Consumer Court has ruled in favour of home buyers saying that if the real estate companies are unable to offer possession of the property within the stipulated period of time, the company will have to refund the whole amount with interest to the buyer.

By Harish V Nair: Not mincing words, the country's apex consumer court has ordered that if a real estate company feels it is unable to offer possession of a flat within the stipulated time, the buyer cannot be made to wait indefinitely and is entitled to refund with interest.

Once a date of allotment has been specified in the allotment letter, it is mandatory for the builder to abide by it, ruled the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in a recent order.

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"This is a case of the opposite party (builder) not being in a position to offer possession of the apartment and the allottee cannot be expected to wait for possession of the apartment for an indefinite period", a bench headed by Justice Ajit Bharihoke said while ordering real estate giant Unitech Limited to refund nearly Rs 60 lakh to one Shalini Lanbah, who was not given possession of an apartment even eight years after the expiry of stipulated date.

The stern ruling from the National Consumer Court comes when home buyers have moved the Supreme Court against builders like Jaypee, Amrapali, Supertech and Unitech for not handing over flats within the stated deadline. Slamming the builders, SC has ordered refund in many cases.

Lanbah told the court that she was approached by a sales representative of Unitech in 2006 to purchase a residential apartment in 'Unitech Habitat' to be developed in Greater Noida. She was assured possession within three years. Lanbah told the court she was "lured by various promises" and applied for allotment of an apartment.

The total consideration amount agreed between the parties was Rs 66,40,938 out of which she had paid Rs 59,78,355.

"It stands proved that despite having received more than 90% of the consideration amount, the opposite party (builder) has failed to deliver possession of the apartment. In absence of any explanation for failure to comply with the stipulation of delivery of possession, we have no hesitation in concluding that the opposite party has committed deficiency in service as also has indulged in unfair trade practice", the court said.

The court also noted that it was significant that Unitech opted not to file written statement (response to charges) despite service of notice of complaint and therefore the allegations of the complainants are deemed to have been admitted as correct".

In its defence, Unitech said that the delay in completing the construction and delivering possession of the subject apartment to the complainant was unintentional and attributed it to "circumstances beyond our control".

However, the apex consumer court was not very impressed with the stand of the real estate developer. Rejecting Unitech's argument, the court said: "The plea of the opposite party is not acceptable as despite having option to file written statement to explain its stand it has failed to do so and there is no evidence to substantiate their defence that the delay was on account of circumstances beyond its control"

--- ENDS ---

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Every day the Democrats attack the Republican Trump for his war-mongering statements. Yet they have got together with the Republicans in the Senate and voted to increase the Pentagons budget to 700 billion dollars in 2018. This is 60 billion more than what Trump had actually requested. If you add the 186 billion per year for veterans and other heads, the USs total military expenditure jumps to around 1,000 billion. This is a quarter of the federal budget.

The unanimous vote of the Senate Armed Services Committee (the Committee) formed of 14 Republican Senators and 13 Democrats is decisive. The Committee emphasises that the United States must strengthen its deterrence against Russian aggression. Russia continues to occupy Crimea, destabilize Ukraine, threaten our NATO allies, violate the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and bolster the Assad regime in Syria.

Furthermore, the Committee accuses Russia of leading an unparalleled attack on our core interests and values, in particular through an active, purposeful campaign to undermine the integrity of American democracy.

A true and proper declaration of war, by which the bipartisan alliance motivates empowering the entire war machine. These are some of the heads of expenditure in fiscal year 2018 (which started on 1 October 2017):

 10.6 billion dollars to purchase 94 F-35 bomber fighters; 24 more F-35s than the Trump Administration requested;

 17 billion for an anti-missile shield and military activities in space; 1.5 billion more than the figure requested by the Administration;

 25 billion to build another 13 war ships - 5 billion more than what the Administration requested.

The Budget for 2018 is 700 billion. 640 billion is principally to buy new arms and to maintain military personnel (now 141 billion per annum following an increase in their pay). The remaining 60 billion then goes towards military operations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Furthermore, 1.8 billion is allocated to training and fitting out armed formations under US command in Syria and Iraq, and 4.9 billion for the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund. For the Initiative for European Reassurance, that the Obama Administration launched in 2014 following resurging Russian aggression in Ukraine, 4.6 billion is allocated in 2018: this serves to grow the presence of US armoured forces and the strategic advanced positioning of US arms in Europe. Furthermore, 500 million dollars has been earmarked to provide lethal assistance (i.e. arms) to Ukraine.

The increase in the Pentagons budget tracks that of other members of the US-led Nato. One of these Nato members is Italy whose military expenditure will have to increase from 70 million euro per day (the current expenditure) to 100 million euro per day. At the same time, the Pentagons budget presents what is being prepared for Italy. Among the heads of minor expenses, but not for this reason less important, is 27 million dollars for the Aviano base; more evidence that it continues its empowering in light of the installation of the new B61-12 nuclear bombs, and 65 million for a research and development programme for a new missile with land base of intermediate range to begin to reduce the capacity threshold triggered by Russian violation of the INF treaty. In other words, the United States agenda includes lining up in Europe nuclear missiles like the Pershing 2 and the Cruise missiles of the eighties. At that time, the latter also stationed in Comiso, Italy.

So this is what the US Senate is announcing, speaking through the unanimous bipartisan vote of its Armed Services Committee.
On 17 October 2017, the Lebanese Parliament began its first debate on the budget since 2005 (12 years ago).

Lebanon has not had a budget since the victory of the Coalition of 14 March.

Since then, successive governments have pillaged the Public Treasury, without ever producing accounts.

Today, Lebanon is the only State in the world not to have a budget.

Parliament could suspend article 87 of the Constitution which provides that a budget cannot be adopted unless the previous budget (or budgets) have been closed. By doing so, Parliament would then be able to vote for a budget thereby forgoing clarification of what became of the billions of missing dollars.
The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods.
Photo: Los Angeles Times

As a podcast, Dirty John is a tough listen. Not in the sense that the substance of the story that its trying to tell is a difficult one, though it certainly is. I mean that literally: The podcast is a crude construction, and its choices often come to the detriment of the actual narrative its trying to unfurl and ideas its itching to explore.

Which is a damn shame, because the Dirty John story, as reported by Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard in a six-part written feature, is a stunner. If you were to give up on the podcast midway through its first episode and switch over to the feature, youd find a deep, complex tale of domestic abuse and psychological violence thats rigorously reported, deftly written, and smartly laid out.

The narrative begins in October 2014, and it follows the case of Debra Newell, a successful interior designer in Southern California who gets sucked into a seemingly unending nightmare. Newell gets involved with someone she meets on a dating site named John Meehan, who first starts out as the man of her dreams and gradually reveals himself to be a total institution of malice. What transpires is a dark, complex, and deeply claustrophobic case study of a disastrously common malady in American social life. The deeper we move into the story, the more its two primary subjects, Newell and Meehan, exhibit characteristics akin to a black hole, projecting both a terrifying opacity and a destructive gravitational pull that ensnares a wider network of children, family members, and associates. Twists and turns occur, not as means of surprise but as matters of necessity, and it ultimately crescendos into a striking, harrowing climax.

As with a lot of stories about domestic violence, Goffards reporting is also a narrative about how societal systems  of courts, of information, of romantic norms, of social networks, of civilian bystanders  commonly fail us, and how they are routinely commandeered as weapons and tools by monstrous men. John Meehan is a classic con artist who seduces, menaces, cajoles, whines, and thrashes in turn; his is a persona thats distressingly central to the current American mass consciousness. In a moment when the culture is grappling with the horrors of truly monstrous men in power, the story of John Meehan is an illustration of its more pervasive and civilian manifestation: the monsters who move through the various cracks of society in search of every intimate opportunity available to express their destructive wills to power. You get the sense that, were a few variables in Meehans path altered, youd basically get the story of Harvey Weinstein.

Theres so much that can be done here, which is why the podcast version of Dirty John is fairly disappointing. The production comes out of a collaboration between the L.A. Times and Wondery, a relatively new podcast network that operates off a portfolio of serviceable genre fare. Wondery is a functional shop, and that works pretty well as far as the current aesthetics of the podcast ecosystem go, but the bare-bones approach hampers whats important about Debra Newells plight. The pacing of Dirty John is agonizingly disjointed, and it doesnt do very much with the interview and archival tape that Goffard gathered, which is primarily deployed as functional connective tissue that rarely unpacks or elevates the emotional truths of the narrative. It does not earn its unexpectedly chunky runtime, averaging about 40 minutes an episode. Perhaps the most regrettable thing about the podcast is its use of music and sound design, which evokes the kind of cable channel muzak youd get off the more quiet corners of your cable TV package (think Investigation Discovery) and constantly threatens to undermine the seriousness of Dirty Johns themes.

None of this makes the podcast outright unlistenable, of course. It just doesnt do very much for a story thats already being told as a really effective written feature. Goffard, who also wrote and reported a similarly structured long-form project last year called Framed, has a strong cinematic sensibility and an eye for atmosphere  He had thick dark hair and a warm, friendly smile that invited trust, he writes, describing Meehan. His eyes were hazel-green, with the quality of canceling out the whole of the world that wasnt her, their current focus  but none of that really translates to the audio version. To state the obvious, a sense of artistry matters in storytelling, doubly so for a nonfiction documentary piece like this. Its important for both the basic throat-clearing stuff like scene-setting, as well as the meatier responsibilities like creating an environment where an audience feels engaged enough to absorb ideas.

As a result, the Dirty John podcast isnt particularly effective as a stand-alone experience, nor as a decent representation of Goffards reporting for folks whod rather forgo the text. It might be considered a decent add-on  effective and appealing in the same way that DVD bonus material is effective and appealing, which I suppose is not insignificant  but I cant help being tempted to ask whether the podcast was even necessary.
Coughlan. Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Marisa Coughlan has joined the chorus of women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. Coughlan alleges that in 1999, when she was 25, she met with Weinstein at his suite in the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles to discuss future roles, after she had worked on Teaching Mrs. Tingle, which the former Miramax* head produced. Upon entering his room, Coughlan says Weinsteins assistants quickly left and the producer tenuously offered her a role in an upcoming project, with a conditional proposition:

He wanted me to be one of his special friends and go into the bedroom. I told him that I had a serious boyfriend and reminded him that he was married and that we should keep this professional. I was so blindsided. Not one ounce of me anticipated it. It was the weirdest meeting Ive ever had in my life.

After denying his advances, Coughlan said Weinstein called to propose flying her to New York so they could go on a romantic outing, an offer she denied. When Weinstein later returned to L.A., Coughlan agreed to a business meeting with him so long as it was in a public place. The producer and actress met at a restaurant, where Coughlan informed Weinstein their relationship was to be strictly professional. Despite her rejections, Weinstein insisted she ride back with him to the Peninsula, and upon arriving at the hotel he continuously pressured her to accompany him back to his room. She again denied his advances, and then recalls that days later it was announced that a role Weinstein had proposed for her had been offered to another actress. Coughlan summarized her treatment by the producer saying:

What happened to me, even though it was uncomfortable, was much more of a transactional situation. He wanted to barter sex for movie roles. In other [allegations], he was forcing himself on them. Its so shocking that he got away with it for as long as he did. I never realized the scope of it. I felt like an island and naively didnt know how pervasive it was.

*This article originally misspelled Miramax. We regret the error.
On one of the most special of very special TV episodes, Robin Williams appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street as a tourist from Iowa who watches his wife get shot to death in front of him and their two young children. In a particularly memorable scene, Williamss character overhears a detective in the Baltimore homicide unit cracking jokes and bragging about how much overtime hes going to get from the case. To a grieving widower, the detectives behavior is callous in the extreme, a mockery of the worst day of his life. To the detective, its just another day on the job, one more red name on the Board that he endeavors to turn black. Tragedy is his vocation.

So when Holden learns that an older woman and her dog were butchered in Sacramento and he acts like the recipient of a Cabbage Patch Kid on Christmas morning, it falls within the realm of normal. We could be generous and say that the deaths, in confirming Holden and Bills theories about a specific pattern of behavior, could help with early detection, which would save countless lives in the future. But thats looking too far ahead. Holden is excited because hes right. Hes excited because this vindication could convince Shepard, his stick-in-the-mud unit chief, to invest more faith and resources in their criminal psychology experiments. He gives an amen because his prayers have been answered. Tragedy is his vocation, too.

But Holden shouldnt be let off the hook so easily. Its one thing to get excited about nailing the profile on a murder case, but its another to iron your shirt in the middle of the night. In moments like those, Holden looks like a crazy person, rather than merely a guy clocking in and clocking out, like the detectives on Homicide. His work has consumed his life and theres no clearer manifestation of this fact than when hes not working and cant settle into anything resembling a normal domestic routine. His enthusiasm is often infectious  like writing BOOK in all caps or offering a woefully pretentious speech to revelers at the Sacramento Police Department  but he lacks the capacity to build boundaries between his life and his work. Theres nothing dangerous yet about how one bleeds into the other, but as a sign of aberrant behavior, late-night ironing sessions are a red flag.

On the other hand, Holden has reason to savor the sweet taste of vindication. The third episode introduces a major character in Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), a Boston academic who not only validates his and Bills findings, but also encourages them to conduct a full and rigorous study. Carr has spent a decade on a book about white-collar criminals whose profiles are similar to Ed Kempers, despite their respected positions as captains of industry at major companies like Ford, IBM, and MGM. She calls them all psychopaths, citing their total lack of remorse, a lack of inner emotional structure, [and] no ability to reflect on the experience of others. Carr makes the sound case that Holden and Bill would be studying sequence killers in near-perfect laboratory conditions and may glean insight about their motives and feelings that a police report could never express.

For the time being, Holden and Bill only have 10 hours of a 50-hour work week to devote to the project  and even then, their interviews are limited to those extracurricular hours when theyre touring their road school around the country. As we soon learn, those interviews are no guarantee, subject to the whims of serial murderers who have the freedom to opt out of talking to the FBI without giving notice. But a sequence of events in this episode takes their theories out of the realm of academic study and into the field, where they directly apply their knowledge to catch a killer. In the Sacramento murder case, they know from Kempers profile to look beyond the usual roundup of local teenagers and into older men who meet a different set of criteria. When theyre told that a possible suspect is one of those guys who talks to cops, Holden gets that little twinkle of recognition in his eyes. Theyve got their man.

The interrogation of the suspect  an angry, beer-swilling young man who, like Kemper, hates his mother and takes it out on other women  is a terrifically exciting verbal pummeling, with Holden and Bill applying pressure as much with the pace of their questions as with the substance of them. My only minor quibble is that they havent been partners for long, which would suggest that it might take longer to develop such a polished tactical rapport. But its exciting nonetheless to see them needle the suspect in his most vulnerable areas before getting down to the details of the murder itself. As Kemper says about his mother later on, She knew all of my buttons because she put them there  a line that validates all the button-mashing necessary to get their man. Their win will allow them to venture into the blackest night and shine a light on the darkness, as Holden says, and brings them that much closer to earning the commitment to do it full time.

Whether Holden can manage the stress is an open question, but one things for certain: His suits will be crisply pressed.

Dillingers

 The BTK killer, Dennis Rader, appears again in the pre-credits sequence, this time eyeing a neighborhood in Park City, Kansas, before stepping inside his ADT van. According to Wikipedia, Rader moved to Park City after his discharge from the Air Force in 1970, and it was the location of his eighth victim, Marine Hedge, who was found dead in May of 1985.

 This episode was directed by Asif Kapadia, whos best known for making two superb biographical documentaries  Senna (about Formula One racer Ayrton Senna) and Amy (about British musician Amy Winehouse)  that eschew talking heads in favor of a rich, mesmerizing assemblage of archival footage. Kapadia has made some fiction films, too, and he works well within the Fincher template here.

 You know, they have to shoot the birds in the yard because they might be smuggling drugs from the outside. As a matter of policy, Holden probably isnt correct, but last month, the BBC reported that a narco-pigeon was shot while delivering a tiny backpack full of drugs to a jail in Argentina.

 Cameron Britton has been so good as Ed Kemper, with a casual, banal menace that recalls Brian Coxs interpretation of Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter. Kemper following up a graphic description of why he put his mothers vocal chords in a garbage disposal with exaltation over a pizza order is the definition of cognitive dissonance.

 How do you get to be president of the United States if youre a sociopath? No comment.
The war of words over BJP leader Saroj Pandey's 'gouge out eyes' remarks escalates as CPI(M) today took a dig at the former Mahila Morcha president.

By P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan: The war of words over BJP leader Saroj Pandey's 'gouge out eyes' remarks escalates as CPI(M) today took a dig at the former Mahila Morcha president.

CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who met the media in Kerala, asked, "What would that lady do with the eyes of all CPI(M) workers in Kerala. This shows BJP's provocative agenda to incite violence in Kerala. "

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During the press meet, Balakrishnan also responded to the allegations made by BJP chief Amit Shah during the closing ceremony of Janaraksha Yatra.

"BJP claims that Janaraksha Yatra is against CPI(M) violence in Kerala. But, if we look at BJP leader V Muraleedharan's Facebook page we can see who is the violent party. "

Muraleedharan on his Facebook page shared video of BJP workers shouting provocative slogans against CPI(M) leaders.

"Amit Shah during his speech was seen boasting about development agenda. I would like to inform Amit Shah that Kerala is always ready for a debate in this subject. Which state do they want to compare Kerala with," asked Balakrishnan adding BJP's development model will come nowhere near Kerala.

Balakrishnan also announced the Jana Jagratha Yatra in Kerala which they claim will expose BJP & RSS to the common people. The Yatra, which will pass through 140 constituencies, will begin on 21st November.

--- ENDS ---
The Flash really wants you to know that its all about fun again. Take it from this weeks cold open: A very wealthy man gets into a high-tech elevator after nonchalantly purchasing a penthouse, but then the elevator gets hijacked by a metahuman and spends a full 30 seconds rocketing up and down this 100-story building, like the worlds worst Twilight Zone Tower of Terror knockoff. Then, when the metahuman tires of toying with this rich guy, he sends him plummeting all the way down to his death. See? Even the murders are zany now!

Im being a bit flip, but that tonal dissonance is important in Mixed Signals. At its heart, this episode captures the shows desire to move in a new direction without sacrificing its desire to do right by its characters. Although season four is a bit of a tonal reboot, its not by any means a continuity one, and we cant just paper over the shows previously oppressive darkness with just a wink and some speed lighting.

I find this version of The Flash fascinating. Weve gotten to a point where the CWs Arrowverse has been around long enough that these shows can be self-referential without it being annoying or insufferable, but instead natural and extremely comic-booky. While Arrow occasionally lets the meta bleed into its plots  mostly revolving around the Should Oliver Queen kill? argument  The Flash is far more suited for this sort of stuff; its time-traveling and repository of alternate Earths practically make it a machine for self-examination and reflection.

Its amazing The Flash hasnt really interrogated itself, you know? I dont necessarily think the show will do that all that much  its too cerebral a direction for a show thats pitching itself as fleet-footed and fun  but I cant help but find myself tickled by the way it has a conversation with itself out of necessity, even if it doesnt intend to. Case in point: Barry Allen doing Tom Cruises Risky Business routine while making breakfast and picking up coffee in an extremely delightful sequence that is both charming (Barry is catching up on six months of missed TV at 1,000x speed) and indicative of developing story lines (Iris seems perturbed that Barry took it upon himself to get wedding arrangements back on track so she wouldnt have to worry about them).

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin notices Iriss discomfort and offers a suggestion: When she and Ronnie went from being co-workers to being in a relationship, they saw a couples counselor. Maybe itll help for Barry and Iris too?

Meanwhile, thanks to Cisco, Team Flash deduces that the elevator murder was perpetrated by a metahuman, just in time to intervene as another wealthy man loses control of his Tesla. Because Barry neglects Iriss advice to both bring Wally along and redirect the car in a safe direction, hes forced to stop the speeding vehicle in probably the most hilarious fashion the Flash has ever saved a life: by dismantling the car as it speeds toward a construction site, finishing just in time. All thats left is the poor guy in his drivers seat, skidding toward the construction workers.

Anyway, Caitlins suggestion that Barry and Iris should see a counselor leads to the episodes funniest scene, where they try to simultaneously downplay and acknowledge the downright cartoonish amount of tragedy theyve faced in the time theyve known each other. (A lot of people have died!) This is cut short when the metahuman goes after the Tesla driver at CCPD, where Joe is about to question him, and sends a bomb squad robot into the office with a live grenade. Barry, literally running away from therapy, arrives in time to grab all the shrapnel from the grenade and save the two of them.

In this failed attempt, the case finally takes shape. This rich guy is Tim Kwon, and thanks to some more research from Cisco, they realize hes connected to the first victim, Curt Weaver. It turns out Kwon and Weaver worked together on an app named Kilgore, which they sold to make their fortune. There are two other people on the former Kilgore team, which means one  Sheila Agnani  is the next target. As for the other one? Hes a guy named Ramsey Deacon, whom Joe saw moments before he was attacked, making him suspect No. 1.

Tim, feeling unsafe, flees the police department to warn Sheila about Deacons attacks, except hes too late. Deacon is already there. He attempts to kill Sheila via insulin overdose  shes got an automated dispenser  and then kidnaps Kwon, leaving just before Kid Flash arrives to save Sheila.

Meanwhile, Barry and Iris make it back to therapy for an emotionally raw scene. Iris is angry at Barry for leaving her, for never talking to her about his dramatic self-sacrifice at the end of season three, for treating his fiancee as something less than the partner she is. You are not the Flash, Iris says, in perhaps what might be the shows most profound statement on its brand of superheroics. We are.

Following this catharsis, its time for the final showdown with Deacon, whos now calling himself Kilgore (or Kilg%re if you want the accurate DC Comics spelling). Hes got Kwon strung up in a garage to record a live confession, admitting that he conspired with the rest of the Kilgore team to sell the app against Deacons wishes. Deacon is ready to kill him after this admission, but both Flashes show up to stop him. The only problem? Barrys new suit is loaded with tech that Kilgore can exploit, which leads to another hysterically funny action sequence as Barrys suit goes haywire with everything from a flotation device to a remote lock in case someone tried to take off his mask while unconscious.

Ultimately, Barry bests his own suit by zapping himself with lightning, and then quickly administers a sort of Kilgore antibody that Cisco cooked up. The day is saved, but unfortunately at the cost of all that cool Flash tech, which Barry might be better off without now. Oh, and theres a mystery too: Deacon wasnt in Central City for the particle accelerator explosion, which means theres no explanation for his powers. Deacon isnt telling, but hes plenty comfortable saying that there are plenty more like him, and that Barry will be hearing from them very soon.

Other Notes

 The love life of Cisco Ramon: A minor subplot in Mixed Signals has to do with Ciscos repeated attempts to have a date with his dimension-hopping girlfriend, Gypsy. Its fine, but for once, Id like Cisco to have an actual, fleshed-out, romantic arc that doesnt just involve him ending up with some metahuman girl who he thinks is hot. Lets see something develop!

 The Thinker thinks: In this weeks tag, its implied that the Thinker is behind Deacon/Kilgore, and that he ultimately wants Kilgore incarcerated in Iron Heights metahuman facility. Whats more, were told he has 11 more metas to send Flashs way.

 Killer Frost Watch: At one point, Caitlin struggles to keep herself from changing into Killer Frost. Im curious to see where this goes  Caitlin doesnt really do much this week other than tell Iris and Cisco how poorly theyre communicating with their partners, so something new would be welcome.

 This show is funny! Nothing really profound to say here. I just laughed a lot watching this episode, and it was nice.
Although the Supreme Court has imposed a ban on selling of firecrackers in Delhi till November 1, many retailers have been found illegally selling crackers.

Despite a Supreme Court ban on the selling of firecrackers in the Capital, the black marketing of fireworks continues.

By Mail Today Bureau: Despite a Supreme Court ban on the selling of firecrackers in the Capital, the black marketing of fireworks continues. Most of such illegal trades are running in Rohini and South-West district.

Acting on the court order Delhi Police on Tuesday seized 1,241 kg of crackers and arrested 29 people. About 344.5 kg of crackers were recovered from Rohini and seven FIRs were registered and in South-West district, the police made two arrests and seized 368 kg of crackers.

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In Central Delhi, 142 kg of crackers were seized.

Senior officials told Mail Today that in many areas, the sweet shop owners have lent the inside portion of their shops to the cracker dealers. "Sweets are being sold in the front and the shopkeepers are found asking customers, 'Aapko Kuch aur bhi chahiye? (Do you want anything else?)' If the customer responds in affirmative, he/she is taken to where the crackers are being sold discreetly," said the officer.

The cyber crime team is also keeping a tight vigil on the online sale of firecrackers. Madhur Verma, Spokesperson of Delhi Police, said: "The police have set up special teams in all the 13 districts that are keeping a check on the illegal selling of firecrackers. Special teams are roaming in civil dresses to nab the retailers."

"We are following the apex court guidelines against shopkeepers found selling firecrackers and taking action as per law. The police are vigilant to ensure that no one violates the court directive," said a senior officer.

Some of the sellers arrested during surprise checks are from Sadar Bazaar and Lahori Gate. Following the court's order, Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik had directed the deputy commissioners of police of the 13 police districts to ensure that crackers are not sold in the city.

--- ENDS ---
Waco-McLennan County Public Health District officials on Wednesday gave health employees two months to draft an ordinance to attack the problem of flaking lead paint that is poisoning Waco-area children.

The model ordinance, which would be up to local member cities to approve, could use inspections as a tool to limit homeowner and renter exposure to toxic lead, which can hinder childrens physical and mental development.

But the specifics of such an ordinance have yet to be hammered out, partly because health district officials say they need more data.

We want to make sure this ordinance is tight, Kelly Craine, public information specialist for the district, told the board Wednesday.

Craine has been studying Wacos lead contamination problems since Tribune-Herald articles raised the issue this spring. She even traveled to St. Louis, which has laws requiring homes to be lead-free and provides home lead testing on request.

But she said the particulars of Wacos lead problem are unclear because the Texas Department of State Health Services until recently has been reluctant to share its data on child blood lead testing. Craine said public health officials would like to analyze the prevalence of lead poisoning by geography and even make site visits to affected households.

Craine said health district staff will meet with state officials about receiving regular reports of where lead contamination is occurring, and they will discuss how to legally get access to talk to affected families. She said staffers also want clarity on whether they can inspect day cares and other commercial facilities.

Currently, the state only provides aggregate data on the ZIP code level on children with high blood lead levels. Among children tested in McLennan County, 5.7 percent had elevated blood lead, more than double the state average. North Wacos 76707 ZIP code had a rate of 17 percent.

Waco Councilman John Kinnaird, who heads the health district board, agreed that more data is needed for drafting the ordinance.

We want this to move forward more quickly, Kinnaird said. I know you guys are working as hard as you can, but if theres a bottleneck, lets see if theres anything we can do to clear this up.

Craine said she believes the health district would be in a good position to get federal lead hazard reduction grants, which are available through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Some of the grants could help landlords fund lead remediation if they rent to low-income families.

Kinnaird said grant funding could be key to tackling Greater Wacos lead issues.

In an interview after the meeting, he said he thinks the health district is serious about reducing lead exposure.

At this point theres too many questions to say what the ordinance would look like, but we do realize that there is an issue in some of our neighborhoods with old paint and other building materials, Kinnaird said. Obviously we want to make sure were providing safe, affordable housing, and well take whatever steps we need to take.

Silent damage: Push to fix toxic lead hazard in North Waco fizzles When toxic lead levels in the blood of children began to escalate in Flint, Michigan, two ye

Health district unveils plan to attack Waco's toxic lead problem The Waco-McLennan County Public Health is rolling out a battle plan against childhood lead e

Community leaders hear new report on threat of lead contamination Local health and community leaders are plotting an assault on high lead levels in McLennan C
A Waco police sergeant testified Tuesday that law enforcement and emergency personnel were overwhelmed in the aftermath of the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout, saying the parking lot was awash in bodies, blood, bikes and weapons.

It looked like somebody took Cabelas and turned it on end and shook it into the parking lot, Sgt. Stephen Drews said. There were so many knives, guns, clubs, you name it.

Drews described the bloody, chaotic scene during fourth-day testimony in the trial of Jacob Carrizal, president of the Dallas Bandidos chapter.

Carrizal, 35, a Dallas railroad company worker, is charged in Wacos 54th State District Court with directing the operations of a criminal street gang and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity in the shootout that left nine dead and more than a dozen injured.

Drews said Waco police were aware of the bad blood between the Bandidos and Cossacks motorcycle groups and ongoing violent outbreaks between them around the state when police learned of a meeting of a biker coalition planned for May 17, 2015, at Twin Peaks.

He said police officials met with the owner of Twin Peaks to try to dissuade him from hosting the event when investigators learned that the Cossacks, who were not members of the coalition, and Bandidos both planned to show up for the Sunday afternoon meeting.

Police officials also contacted Cossacks President John Wilson at his motorcycle shop and told him of their concerns about the two groups appearing at the same place, the sergeant said.

Drews told jurors Waco police planned for the event with assurances from the Cossacks, and indirectly from the Bandidos, that both sides considered it foolish to have a violent confrontation in a busy shopping center on a Sunday afternoon.

So Waco police planned to have a strong, visible presence at the scene to act as a deterrent for overt violent acts, but were not expecting and were unprepared for what happened that day, Drews said.

Throughout the day, Carrizals attorney, Casie Gotro, continued to push the crux of her defense before the jury, including her assertions that the Bandidos are not a criminal street gang, they have changed under Carrizals leadership, they were set up and ambushed by the Cossacks and they only acted in self-defense when they were attacked.

Prosecutors have said Carrizal helped orchestrate the Bandidos trip to Waco that day with the intent of teaching the Cossacks some respect and proving the Bandidos are the dominant motorcycle group in Texas.

A motorcycle gang expert from Colorado testified Tuesday that Carrizal directed Bandidos who were not working to come to Waco, to leave their women at home and to bring their guns with them.

Drews said police were stunned by the shootout, saying most groups would not have committed such overt acts in the face of such obvious police presence.

Our main focus was to ensure the safety of the public in the area and those attending the meeting, Drews said.

Drews, sergeant over the Waco police SWAT unit, said he and his men arrived at Twin Peaks that day about 11:30, expecting the meeting to start about 1 p.m. Cossacks already were filling the patio area and spilling over into the parking lot when officers arrived, Drews said.

Police initially discussed plans to have undercover officers inside Twin Peaks during the meeting, but that plan was nixed, Drews said.

He instructed his officers not to get bogged down with minor arguments or infractions, such as bikers burning off in the parking lot. He said a group of bikers wearing Bandidos colors were gathered in the back corner of the Twin Peaks parking lot, but nothing happened between the groups until a column of Bandidos, led by Carrizal, rode into the parking lot.

When the Bandidos rode in, members of their support groups who were in the back of the lot started collapsing into an area in front of the restaurant behind them, he said.

He heard an officer report by radio that there was a lot of tension there and a fight might break out. Drews said he heard the first shot seconds later, followed by a lengthy barrage of gunfire.

He said he and other officers paired up and started making their way toward the gunfire, using vehicles as cover. With car windows being shot out around them, the officers continued advancing.

Drews said even before the gunfire stopped, he noticed guns, knives, clubs and other weapons being thrown to the ground while bikers carrying pistols in their hands ran away from the fray.

Drews said he tried to figure out where the remaining gunfire was coming from and learned some bikers were lying behind their motorcycles, using them as cover as they continued firing.

He saw bikers who were dead, others who were dying, and gave commands for those still in the area to drop their guns and get on the ground.

After the area was secure, Drews said police separated the groups and seated them in the parking lot and started photographing them. However, officers at the scene realized the task there was too daunting because of the number of bikers there, he said.

In other state testimony Tuesday, Chris Schaefer, of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, testified about text messages he reviewed between Carrizal and other Bandidos sent in the months leading up to the shootout.

Schaefer said It is clear from the text messages that the Bandidos were keeping tabs on the Cossacks movements, referring to the rival group as Cocksacks in their messages.

The night before Twin Peaks, after earlier urging Bandidos to come to Waco that day and bring their tools, or weapons, Carrizal sent the message: 5/17 Bro!! Schaefer said the message reads like a Bandidos battle cry and that Carrizal was trying to pump up membership to come to Waco and take care of business.

Prosecutors also called Carrizals younger brother, Zach Carrizal, to the stand Tuesday. He is president of the Bandidos chapter in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and said his younger brother and father also are Bandidos in Dallas.

Zach Carrizal contradicted many of the characteristics, customs and rules attributed to the Bandidos and other biker groups by the states designated criminal street gang experts who testified last week.

Prosecution testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
NEW CANEY  Six weeks after the biggest rain event in U.S. history inundated large swaths of southeast Texas, a group of state senators convened in this small town north of Houston to discuss how best to address flooding related to the Houston area's stressed reservoirs.

In the Texas Senates first public hearing since Hurricane Harvey, the Committee on Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs talked for hours on Monday about a host of possibilities: dredging reservoirs and building new ones; better informing residents of flood risks and consolidating rainfall flood gauge data; capturing floodwater and storing it underground; and widening thousands of miles of bayous.

In their testimony, officials from state and local agencies told the committee, whose members appeared keenly interested in specific price tags, that such projects would cost many billions of dollars. There appeared to be some disagreement on the panel about which solutions to prioritize  reservoir building over floodwater capture, for example.

But regardless of which options the state ends up pursuing, committee members said the federal government should pick up most, if not all, of the tab. And they vowed a fierce lobbying effort to secure those federal funds.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said sending billions of tax dollars to Louisiana and New York after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy was the right thing to do and that Texas officials have much advocacy work ahead of them.

We cannot fail at promoting what I think are relatively small dollars in the grand scheme of what FEMA will end up paying out over the last three and four floods weve seen in Harris County and the surrounding areas, she said.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who delivered opening remarks, said the federal government had failed to fund many of the projects now under discussion  some of which were proposed years ago  and that now is the time for Congress to step up.

The hearing agenda included several issues Patrick ordered the committee to look into before the next legislative session.

One was exploring ways to improve the capacity of two massive reservoirs in West Houston, Addicks and Barker, that filled up so much during Harvey that they backed up into thousands of homes and businesses. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the reservoirs, also was prompted to release an unprecedented amount of water from their earthen dams into a bayou downstream, which in turn flooded thousands more homes that would have otherwise been spared.

Those releases caught many downstream residents off guard and sparked widespread rumors that the dams had failed  something the Army Corps said wouldnt happen although it has considered them to be in poor condition for years.

The other agenda items hit on that panic  how to ensure residents have timely and transparent information on how much water the Army Corps plans to release. Also, whether rainfall and stream gauge data should be hosted in a centralized location so residents and emergency response officials can easily monitor how much rain has fallen and how full streams and river have gotten.

The issue also arose in areas northeast of Houston just after Harvey: hundreds of properties in Montgomery and northern Harris County flooded after the San Jacinto River Authority released an amount of water downstream that approached the average volume pouring over Niagara Falls. New Caney, where Monday's hearing was held, is in Montgomery County.

Those river authorities, along with the Army Corps and Harris County Flood Control District, and other local officials have defended their communications during the storm, noting they followed agency protocols and had numerous joint press conferences.

Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal told the panel, We have no complaints from people not knowing what we knew.

But it was clear some panel members are convinced they left residents in the dark.

The one thing that I can say that government did poorly, absolutely poorly [during Harvey] was notifying the public" about the releases and when it expected to increase them, said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican.

Later in the hearing, committee members sparred with river authority officials over their operations during Harvey, with Chairman Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, saying their "quasi-local, quasi-state" structure makes them prone to lapses in transparency.

Improving information dissemination during major floods emerged during Mondays hearing as perhaps the easiest and cheapest problem to fix. Bech Bruun, chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, reminded the panel that the Legislature had given the agency money to create a website  www.texasflood.org  after the 2015 Memorial Day floods that shows river and lake levels throughout the state and gives residents the best evacuation routes.

The site could be bolstered to include more comprehensive statewide data, he said.

Russ Poppe, the head of the Harris County Flood Control District, assured Bettencourt his agency will look into other 21st Century solutions.

A more complicated, contentious and expensive problem is addressing how much water ended up in lakes and reservoirs during Harvey. The two main solutions discussed Monday were building more reservoirs to ease the burden on existing ones  something Patrick said he personally supports  and dredging existing reservoirs or raising their dams to expand capacity.

Both items would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

State Rep. Mark Keough, a Republican who represents The Woodlands area, described dredging as essential, telling the committee that Lake Houston has half the capacity it did in the 1950s when it was first built.

But an official with the Army Corps demurred when Perry asked him if building and dredging reservoirs might help ease flooding problems.

It might, said Byron Williams, chief of the Corps Project Management Branch. But the agency wont know until it can study that option, and it hasnt yet received funding from Congress to do so, he said.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe, bashed the Obama administration for not supplying enough money to build 19 reservoirs he said the Legislature designated for future construction a decade ago that he said couldve eased flooding.

Eleven of those sites sit right above us in northeast Texas, he said. We have to get those permits done.

But Perry, the chairman, said its not realistic to think building a bunch of reservoirs will fix the problem. Many of the reservoirs identified in the State Water Plan will never come to fruition in large part because of environmental regulations, he said.

During Mondays hearing, Perry repeatedly called for projects known as aquifer storage and recovery, which captures floodwater and diverts it into existing underground aquifers. Perrys counterpart in the House, Lyle Larson, also is a big proponent of this method.

"All I hear is reservoir development  thats all Im hearing  and were missing an opportunity to do a lot of things on a cheaper dollar," he said.
The attorney for the second biker scheduled for trial in the deadly Twin Peaks shootout says prosecutors have not complied with discovery motions and should be assessed fines for disregarding court orders before his clients upcoming trial.

Clint Broden, Dallas attorney for Matthew Clendennen, of Hewitt, filed the emergency motion, asking the state to show cause as to why the McLennan County District Attorneys Office has not submitted a realistic exhibit and witness list before his clients Nov. 6 trial date. Broden stated that in a Sept. 15 pretrial hearing, the state agreed to provide the documents earlier this week, but has not done so by the agreed-upon date.

I have rarely seen such utter contempt for orders of a court designed to ensure a defendant a fair trial, Broden said in a statement. The states actions are a transparent attempt to put Mr. Clendennen to the Hobsons choice of giving up his two-year delayed trial date or timely obtaining the materials that the State agreed on the record to provide him and which the Court ordered to be provided him.

Clendennen, a former member of the Scimitars group, was one of 154 men indicted for the May 17, 2015, melee that left nine dead and dozens injured. He is scheduled to go on trial on one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with the underlying offense of murder and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with the underlying offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna, who is currently prosecuting the first trial of a Twin Peaks shootout defendant, Jacob Carrizal, the Bandidos Dallas chapter president, said he has not seen Brodens motion and declined comment.

Broden contended that the state agreed to provide documents to the defense by Oct. 17. He said he felt forced to file the emergency order Wednesday as no exhibit, witness, or expert lists were provided.

The motion requests that any gang experts for the state be precluded from testifying in Clendennens trial. Broden also asked to impose a $500 per day fee to the state for the first seven days that the state does not produce exhibit and witness lists and a $1,000 fine per day after the first seven days.

The emergency filing comes one day after the district attorneys office request a continuance for Clendennens trial date. Broden immediately filed a response, saying the states request continues to violate his clients right to a fair and speedy trial.
By India Today Web Desk: Diwali is here! With the whole nation as excited about the festival as Indians abroad, preparations for the Festival of Lights have peaked. People are gearing up for a huge celebration with diyas, rangolis and sweets--and so is actor Rahul Khanna.

But the one thing he's actively going to avoid this Diwali? It's firecrackers, of course.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/mrkhanna

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Also Read: Shraddha Kapoor supports ban on firecrackers for the sake of animals

The actor recently posted on his Instagram that he's going to celebrate the festival "with diyas, not fireworks." He also goes on to make a request to all his fans: "Join me in saying NO to noise & pollution. Let's celebrate a safe, #crackerfreediwali! #saynotopatakas".

Im going to light up this festive season with diyas, not fireworks. Join me in saying NO to noise & pollution. Let's celebrate a safe, #crackerfreediwali! #saynotopatakas ??: @sheetalmall A post shared by Rahul Khanna (@mrkhanna) on Oct 15, 2017 at 5:56am PDT

Khanna's request is not the only effort in this direction. The Supreme Court recently banned the sale of firecrackers in the whole of Delhi NCR in an effort to reduce pollution--an effort that was both countered and celebrated by a number of celebrities, including Chetan Bhagat, Shraddha Kapoor and Masaba Gupta.

Also Read: Masaba Gupta supports cracker ban, gets trolled, gets support from Chetan Bhagat

Even as the ban is reportedly going up in smoke, thanks to the black market, Khanna's appeal might make a difference to the scene. After all, Diwali is the Festival of Lights--and there can be plenty of that without the noise as well.

--- ENDS ---
The Dallas attorney for the second defendant scheduled to go to trial in the Twin Peaks shootout is pushing back against prosecutors request to delay his clients November trial date.

The McLennan County District Attorneys Office filed a request for a continuance Tuesday, seeking to postpone the Nov. 6 trial of former biker Matthew Clendennen. A panel of more than 600 potential jurors has been summoned to report to court Oct. 27 to answer questionnaires to aide jury selection.

Clendennens attorney, Clint Broden, immediately filed an objection to the continuance, saying the delay would further infringe on his clients right to a speedy trial.

I think its ridiculous that the (district attorney) has more than 30 attorneys in the district attorneys office and they have four attorneys working on this case, Broden said. I dont know what they expected when they indicted 155 people and refused to ask for any help.

Broden said he believes the request for the continuance is related to the first trial of a Twin Peaks defendant, Jacob Carrizal, the Bandidos Dallas chapter president, which started last week and remains ongoing.

Carrizal faces a charge of directing the activities of a criminal street gang and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity in the May 17, 2015, shootout that left nine dead and more than a dozen injured.

The October 20, 2017, pretrial conference has been set up in this case for more than a month, Broden said in his response to the states request for a continuance. At the time it was set, the state was well aware of the dates for the Carrizal trial.

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna declined to comment Tuesday on the continuance motion or on Brodens objection.

Matthew Johnson, 54th State District Court Judge, is overseeing Carrizals trail and was originally set to oversee Clendennens. Johnson stepped down from Clendennens case earlier this month after Broden filed a recusal motion. Senior Judge Doug Shaver, of Houston, will hear Clendennens case.

In his objection to the continuance, Broden wrote that Clendennen has repeatedly requested a speedy trial.

The foolhardy decision to indict 155 motorcyclists, including those like Mr. Clendennen who played absolutely no part in the violence and did not encourage the violence at Twin Peaks, has consequences including providing speedy trials for those indicted, Broden wrote in an email, mirroring part of his filing. In addition, the District Attorneys Office has declined to request assistance from outside prosecutorial agencies. The decision by Mr. Reynas office to seek yet another delay is simply unconscionable.

Broden has also requested a court of inquiry to determine if Reyna or Waco police Detective Manuel Chavez lied under oath during a hearing last year in the Twin Peaks cases. Broden claims Reyna testified to what Broden calls extensive discussions he had with Chavez before the detective signed the identical, fill-in-the-name arrest warrant affidavits for 177 motorcyclists after the shootout.

Chavez testified he never spoke to Reyna that night.

David Peeples, judge of the Fourth Administrative Region, was selected by First Administrative Regional Judge Mary Murphy, of Dallas, to preside over the court of inquiry.

Broden said he hopes the state is ready for his clients trial Nov. 6. He said he has been ready to defend Clendennen since the day he was indicted.

Mr. Clendennen has been ready for more than two years, Broden said. I think people need to know that the source of the delay in these cases is Abel Reynas district attorneys office.
Sharon L. Auldridge, fondly known as "Honey" to family and friends, from a nickname her oldest granddaughter, Stefani gave her, was born in San Diego, on Coronado Island. She was the second of four children born to Freeman D. and Norma Marie (Cavin) Hunt. She was their only girl. She met and married Bill Auldridge in 1960, where they later moved to Waco, Texas in 1965. They had two children, Mark and Cassandra Auldridge. She was a wonderful mother and was very involved with her children, in PTA at Crestview, Tennyson, and Jefferson Moore. Sharon also took in her two nieces and helped raise them. She is remembered by many of the school children as the "snow cone lady", for the snow cones they would sell each week. Sharon made sure each child who had money or not got a snow cone. She helped raise thousands of dollars for the schools. Everyone she came in contact with loved her. In the early 1980's she worked for Beall's Department Store at Richland Mall, she worked there for several years. Later she opened her own business, Home Town Printing, on Austin Avenue for many years. Sharon was still very involved with family even keeping her grandchildren at work with her when they were young. Sharon was very talented and very artistic. She lover to do ceramics. She loved hard and gave even harder. Sharon never had a bad word to say about anyone, she only had two children, but many called her "Mom".
Carolyn Cosper, 66, of Clifton, passed away on Monday, October 16, 2017. Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, October 19, at First Baptist Church, Clifton. Burial will follow at Spring Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 18, at Clifton Funeral Home.
John D. Mayfield, III

Nov. 26, 1929 - Oct. 15, 2017

John D. Mayfield, III, 87, lifelong resident of Waco, died on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at Providence Hospice Place in Waco.

A visitation hosted by his family will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 18, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 515 Columbus Avenue, in Waco, where Mr. Mayfield will lie in state in the Chapel of the Four Sisters adjacent to the church sanctuary.

The funeral will be conducted at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, October 19, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

A reception will follow in the Church Parish Hall. A family interment will be held at Oakwood Cemetery after the reception.

Mr. Mayfield will lie in state at the church Thursday morning prior to the service.

In lieu floral arrangements, the family requests memorials in Mr. Mayfield's memory be directed to the Endowment Fund at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, The Waco Foundation or to the charity of your choice.

The complete obituary will be published in Thursday's edition.
Politicians perennially seeking to curtail or scrap programs such as Medicaid or welfare regularly claim, with some justification, that President Lyndon Johnsons so-called 1964 War on Poverty is a failure. Yet this charge raises relevant questions that these very same politicians decline to answer: Why did it fail? Did it fail in all areas or just some? Have statistics highlighted challenges that might be better addressed if the strategy in that War on Poverty were changed or refined? And, finally, what do folks in communities crippled by poverty say? Did anyone think to ask them?

One might well pose similar questions regarding Prosper Waco, which last week held a banquet that quickly evolved into an information-packed rundown on programs recently crafted by nonprofits and community leaders and introduced to battle Wacos stubborn poverty problem. Yet other programs are still in formative stages. One of the most interesting formally unveiled was a renewed effort to battle teen pregnancy, a challenge that 95 percent of community leaders involved with Prosper Waco, the Waco Foundation and SmartBabies Initiative believe should be a higher priority. Who could disagree?

As Trib staff writer Shelly Conlon reports: Texas has the fourth-highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation  and McLennan Countys 2014 rate of 38.8 teen pregnancies per 1,000 females ages 15-19 is even higher than the states rate of 36.3. And 388 babies were born to mothers under age 20 in 2015  just a little over a baby a day born to a teen mom. Too often, teen births mean not only the mothers opportunities for higher education and good-paying jobs in the future are considerably limited, so too are opportunities for their children, allowing generational poverty to cycle on and on. The goal, 1,000 Feathers President Forrest Alton told Wacoans at Thursdays banquet, should be preventing children from having children.

And yet anyone considering the larger picture must concede dynamics in all this sometimes seem to be working at cross-purposes: Just as community leaders push a program encouraging abstinence but also crucial access to contraception, the president of the United States signs an executive order gutting a mandate of contraception coverage in most insurance plans in the name of religious liberty. Will the latter action affect the former? Possibly not, but it sure doesnt make the hill any easier to climb. (Ironically, the local effort gathering steam sees the faith community as a partner.)

All this highlights a hard truth about poverty quite possibly impossible for many people to digest: Whether its technology eliminating manufacturing jobs, new trade policies closing off markets, education protocols that fail to produce an equipped workforce or a society that ignores its record on teen births and the limits placed on mother and child, poverty will remain with us for many reasons. The charge of a civilized society is to continually fight it, employing as many as possible in that mission. Thats important as Prosper Waco, launched in 2015, continues to gain traction and coordinate nonprofits, faith leaders and community volunteers in this unending war. The goal is seeing that each program opens yet another door of opportunity and economic equality  and that, along the way, we do gain an upper hand over the absolute worst in poverty.
ASHLAND  The Ashland Rescue Department is asking the community for help as they make the transition from basic to advanced life support.

In a presentation on Sunday afternoon at the fire hall, incoming Rescue Captain Mike Meyer said they are kicking off a campaign to raise $75,000 towards the purchase of new equipment, medicines and training.

Ultimately its the citizens of Ashland that were trying to help out, he said.

In the 1960s, national officials had started to recognize that more people were dying on American streets, and worked to find a way to help. In 1970, the position of paramedic was created.

They wanted advanced life support out on the streets, Meyer said.

Prior to 1972, Ashland was served by an ambulance operated out of the local mortuary. It was primarily scoop and run service, Meyer said.

First aid on the street was about all they had, he said.

Ashland established a rescue department in 1972, at the same time that the nation was captivated by a new television show called Emergency. The show, which ran for seven years, featured paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto, played by Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe.

That caught fire across the U.S., Meyer said. Everyone wanted to be a paramedic.

When the rescue department was formed, the care elevated from scoop and run to the level of basic life support.

Over the years, the Ashland Rescue Department has added more training and equipment as technology advanced. Members can do CPR and advanced airway, establish IVs, administer epinephrine pens and albuterol and monitor blood glucose. They can attach 12-lead wires to patients to provide information on the status of the heart.

It takes 120 hours of training to be certified to provide basic life support services.

It takes almost 10 times more training for advanced life support, Meyer said.

With the additional training, members can declare a stroke, cardiac or trauma alert for a patient, administer cardiac drugs, provide overdose or shock management and do other types of advanced airway procedures. They can also start CPR and defibrillation earlier.

New monitors will allow the department to send information to hospital earlier. The hospital staff can then help determine what is wrong with the patient.

That will also help determine which hospital is the best place for the patient, something else that will benefit the approximately 300 people the department helps each year.

Our goal is to get them to the hospital as fast as possible, Meyer said.

Currently six of the 32 members of the Ashland Rescue Department are certified for advanced life support through their regular jobs, which include nurses and paramedics for metropolitan fire departments.

Meyer said that is unusual for a department in the area.

Most departments around here have only one or two (advanced life support) people, he said.

Dr. Michael Wagner, a trauma surgeon at CHI Health/Bergan Mercy who recently signed on as the departments medical director, said Ashland is on the cutting edge.

They are good as they get, he said.

Wagner will help the department continue to improve by providing training in addition to the advanced life support training. Outgoing Rescue Captain Tiffany Alcorn said department members are eager to learn.

Were all wanting to learn and improve ourselves to go to that next step, she said.

Meyer said there are several members on the department who have expressed interest in going through the rigorous training to become certified, even though it takes up to 1,200 hours to complete.

We have people that want it, he said.

Ashland Mayor Rick Grauerholz noted the commitment members already make to the department above and beyond the additional time needed to complete the advanced life support training.

Those people are giving tremendous amounts of personal time away from their families and other activities to help save lives in the community, he said.

It will take several months before the department can begin administering advanced life support treatment. Meyer said they have to obtain the equipment and wait for certification from the state.

Once they are certified, the department will only be able to offer advanced life support part-time, said Renae Hart, an emergency room nurse who is one of the six members already certified.

When we are available, well go, she said. There will be times when advanced life support people arent there.

During those times, the department will still offer basic life support.

Thats our backbone, Meyer said.

Meyer said the fundraising campaign will pay for the start-up costs for advanced life support. Maintaining the program will be done through billing patients.

Its not spread out over the taxpayers, he said.

Of the start-up money, $55,000 will be earmarked to purchase two new monitors that will provide the squad with the opportunity to send information on the patients condition to the hospital before they even get the patient loaded in the rescue squad.

In the case of a cardiac patient, the squad may be able to bypass the emergency department and go directly to the cardiac cath lab, Meyer said.

That will save hours, and hours for someone with a heart attack is a lifetime, he added.

The American Heart Association reports that 92 percent of the 300,000 people who have heart attacks each year do not survive, Meyer said. With advanced life support, the survival rate increases to 45 percent.

That is an incredible amount of lives we save with advanced life support, early defibrillation and CPR started immediately, he said.

The department has already ordered the monitors and will receive them in about two months. The department can begin using them before the advanced life support certification is complete.

No matter if there are advanced life support providers there or not, this is something that is going to benefit everyone on every call, said rescue member Chad Hart.

The rest of the money will be used to pay for training, medicines and improvements to the fire hall to secure those medicines.

The department is sending out letters to begin soliciting donations from residents who live within the 100-square-mile district it serves. To donate, checks or cash may be given to a rescue department member or taken to Ashland City Hall. Make checks payable to Ashland Rescue Squad.

The true beneficiaries of the departments transition to advanced life support will be the people they serve.

We anticipate the community will love this idea, Meyer said.
A total of 1.71 lakh diyas will be lit along the banks of Saryu river as part of the grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya today.

By India Today Web Desk: As part of the grand Diwali celebrations planned by the Yogi Adityanath government in Ayodhya, one of the major attractions will be lighting of 1.71 lakh diyas along the banks of Saryu river.

With this, the Uttar Pradesh government will break the Guinness World Record for largest display of oil lamps set by jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda had lit 1.5 lakh diyas at an event on September 23 last year.

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According to the official page of Guinness World Records, 1,531 people "took part in assembling and lighting the lamps for display". The record of largest display of oil lamps, 150,009 to be exact, is in the name of 'Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan'.

Besides lighting a record number of diyas in Ayodhya today, the Uttar Pradesh government has also organised a series of programmes to mark Diwali. A heritage walk from Kanchan Bhavan to Nageshwardham, reminiscing the return of Rama to Ayodhya, has been planned.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik are also expected to perform the grand aarti of Saryu river which will be followed by a laser show on the river's banks.

A Ramlila will be staged by international artists from Indonesia and Thailand as part of the Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya. In a recent visit to Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath said that a grand Diwali programme will be held in Ayodhya "in which sadhu-saints will also participate". The chief minister said he will also invite governor to the grand celebrations.

The state budget presented by the Yogi government, which rode to power in March this year, made special mention of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura, and allocated Rs 1,240 crore for Ramayan, Buddhist and Krishna circuits in these cities.

In May, the Yogi government re-started the popular Ramlila in Ayodhya at the Ayodhya Research Centre after a hiatus of 17 months. The practice of holding Ramlila in Ayodhya was started by the then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in May 2004 but was stopped during Akhilesh Yadav's regime after the culture department refused to grant aid for the same.

ALSO WATCH: Uttar Pradesh govt does not endorse Sangeet Som's comments on Taj Mahal: Adityanath

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WAHOO  It was again a small but reverent crowd that gathered near the torpedo monument on the courthouse lawn Sunday afternoon.

For the 55th year, submarine veterans, their family and friends gathered for a memorial service. The annual event again included the tolling of the bell for the U.S.S. Wahoo Memorial Service and other submarines lost in service.

Rear Adm. William Houston was the special speaker during the memorial service. The decorated Navy officer serves as the deputy commander at Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike in Bellevue.

His sea tours include time aboard the U.S.S. Phoenix and the U.S.S. Tennessee and he commanded the U.S.S. Hampton. He was also commodore of the Submarine Squadron 20 in Kings Bay, Ga.

Houston said he was honored to be asked to speak at the memorial service that honors the silent patrol.

There is no higher honor to speak on behalf of submarine veterans, he said.

Houston did his research on the U.S.S. Wahoo and said it was also an honor to be at a service that remembered the great World War II submarine.

On her seventh war patrol, the submarine was sunk by the Japanese on Oct. 11, 1943 in the waters between Japan and Russia. During her seven combat patrols, the Wahoo (SS-238) sank 20 Japanese ships.

Houston said the Wahoo was able to amass that incredible record in what is considered by todays standard of submarine operation shallow waters, meaning there was no place to hide from the enemy.

He also pointed out that under the command of Mush Morton, the Wahoo and her crew did not quit fighting, even when they ran out of torpedoes to fire at the enemy. The submarine would then just surface and keep fighting.

(Morton) was still engaging with deck guns every ship he could see, Houston said.

The Rear Admiral said that todays submarines are designed to go deeper and faster, but the example set is still one modeled by todays submarine service.

We follow the tradition from the likes of Mush Morton and the Wahoo, he said.

Houston paid tribute to all submarine veterans and especially those of World War II.

He said when Americas Navy was crippled by the attack on Pearl Harbor, the submarine force was small but mighty. The men aboard the submarines were called upon to do what needed to be done, and they succeeded.

But, victory came at a high price.

Nearly one in four submariners is still on eternal patrol from World War II, he reported.

The submariners who did come home were also recognized Sunday. They were at sea for months at a time, in cramped quarters during wartime conditions.

These men only had each other and their steel boats, Houston said.

Their independence and reliance, he added, are a proud part of the culture that has carried over to todays fleet.

This years memorial service was again planned in conjunction with the anniversary of the sinking of the Wahoo. The ceremony was hosted by Nebraska Base of Untied States Submarine Veterans Inc. Member Pat Hancock of Wahoo was the master of ceremonies.
US senate confirms Trump's nomination for the Holy See.

Callista Gingrich is the new US ambassador-designate to the Holy See following the US senate's 70-23 approval of her 19 May nomination by President Trump.

As ambassador, Gingrich's principal responsibility will be to serve as the liason between the Holy See and Washington.

The ambassador designate is the former CEO of multimedia and consulting company Gingrich Productions, which produces childrens books and conservative documentaries. She is described as a devout Catholic and has sung for two decades in the professional choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

The new ambassador will be joined in Rome by her high-profile husband Newt Gingrich, the former US House Speaker and Trump ally whom she married in 2000.

Her appointment as ambassador-designate follows the recent arrival in Rome of fellow Trump nominee Lewis Eisenberg, the new US ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Photo AP
After ban on sale of crackers imposed by Supreme Court, Diwali this year is expected to be less noisy and less toxic in Delhi.

By Indo-Asian News Service: It is expected to be a less noisy and less toxic Diwali this year after the Supreme Court imposed a ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the NCR.

While some people claim to have found different ways to get firecrackers through door step deliveries by traders and also online purchases, some seem to have got the message to celebrate the festival without adding to the already alarming air pollution levels in the capital.

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Many fire cracker lovers said they struggled in sourcing them but eventually managed to get crackers either online or bought them from other places close to the NCR.

Despite reports about an upswing in the black market of crackers, one of the traders simply refused to deliver any products but said people were welcome to come and buy on November 1 -- by when the Supreme Court ban will be over.

"I am sorry. I can't help you with it because of the Supreme Court ban. You can surely come and buy on November 1 and after that," the trader said.

Amit, 42, from Ajit Fireworks near Jama Masjid, said he was getting calls from a lot of people, especially kids, requesting for some crackers, but they were simply told - "No, you will have to wait till the end of this month."

"It is certainly difficult to explain it to the kids. I am trying to convince them like their parents must be doing," he said.

AVOIDING CALLS FROM FIRECRACKER BUYERS

Others in the market, he said, had switched off their phones to avoid calls from buyers.

Amit said his own children and family were using some of the previous stock he had accumulated for Diwali sale. "Our kids will be bursting some. We are distributing the rest among our relatives."

The Supreme Court on October 9 banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR till November 1 to curb rising pollution levels during Diwali.

Delhi Police said it seized over 1,200 kg firecrackers and arrested 29 people for selling firecrackers illegally in the capital.

Last year on Diwali, PM2.5 levels in some areas of Delhi increased to 1,238. The World Health Organization recommends that PM2.5 is kept below 10 as an annual average, as exposure to average annual concentrations of PM2.5 of 35 or above is associated with a 15 per cent higher long-term mortality risk.

WORST POLLUTED REGIONS IN THE WORLD

Delhi and NCR are one of the worst polluted regions in the world, with an annual average PM2.5 measurement of 122. On Tuesday, average air-quality index reading for Delhi was said to be "very poor" and "severe", amid apprehensions that firecrackers on Diwali would further worsen the air quality.

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But for many Diwali is all about fireworks.

"We have made arrangements in our society and somehow made it available to everybody in our area," said Pramod Shah, 51, an east Delhi resident.

Anmol Agrawal, 22, a Saket resident, said: "Those who are desperate to burst crackers and cause pollution must be making arrangements from somewhere or the other. If not from Delhi, they can certainly source them from nearby cities in other places beyond NCR.

"I support a pollution free Diwali...won't be sourcing crackers from anywhere," she said.

Vikrant Tongad, an environmentalist with Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE) NGO, said the Supreme Court order would "surely" help in preventing further deterioration of air quality in Delhi and NCR. But expecting a noise-free Diwali was asking for too much.

"The Supreme Court ban will help. Crackers are not easily accessible. It is good. But the problem is larger. It will be less toxic and less noisy but not a completely a cracker-free Diwali," Tongad said.

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VIDEO | Flouting Supreme Court's ban, firecrackers being sold illegally in Delhi-NCR

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In the continuing fallout of the Weinstein affair, it was inevitable that the fashion industry would begin to engage in some collective throat clearing. Sure enough, model Cara Delevingne, who had written on her Instagram account about several encounters she'd had with Harvey Weinstein at the start of her acting career, declared this was only the beginning. "In every industry," she wrote, "... men abuse their power using fear and get away with it."

The inference that she was pointing the finger at fashion was inescapable. It prompted Cameron Russell, a successful model who has walked in shows for Victoria's Secret, Louis Vuitton, Versace and Chanel to post: "A brave model asked that I share her words here because the photographer still works in the industry." She went on to collect the painful experiences of other models. promising to post them anonymously. "We need a way to begin breaking the silence. We are not talking about one, five, or even 20 men. We are talking about a culture of exploitation and it must stop."

In 2014 the internet blew up with allegations of the gross, exploitative, downright abusive behaviour of Terry Richardson, a hugely successful, influential and powerful photographer (with Gucci campaigns and many a Vogue shoot under his belt). Model after model came forward with harrowing accusations of how Richardson had demeaned them and in extreme cases, they alleged that he coerced them into having sex with him. The industry was outraged. Some labels refused to work with him, Terry Richardson claimed the allegations were false... and then nothing. Plenty of conjecture about out-of-court settlements but no legal action. Just this summer I saw him at a party for a big fashion label in New York.

Sexual harassment - and worse - is much more of a problem for male models who have to contend with (some) male photographers preying on them - or blacklisting them. No one wants the latter. Many male photographers and stylists wield huge clout and some of them can make or break careers. And abuse can come in many forms.
In Senator Penny Wong's much celebrated speech in the Senate opposing the Coalition's postal plebiscite, she responded with contempt to Liberal senator Mathias Cormann's comment that the plebiscite on marriage equality could be a "unifying moment". "But I tell you," she said in a steely voice, "have a read of some of the things which are said about us and our families and then come back here and tell us this is a unifying moment."

She recalled the Australian Christian Lobby's description of children brought up in same-sex family units as "the stolen generation". "We love our children," Wong said passionately.

Wong was right. This debate was never going to be respectful. After all, its very roots were sown in the ugliness of a Coalition backbench trying to remain relevant. But the reality is, the debate could be far more ugly and perhaps it ought to be.

Last Sunday at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher told his congregation the government should "keep out of the friendship business and out of the bedroom". Preaching a "no" vote, Fisher opined: "The state has no business telling us who we should love and how, sexually or otherwise. The only kind of friendship the state has a proper interest in recognising and regulating is heterosexual marriage, because that's what leads to children  new citizens  and gives them the best start in life."
Domestic intelligence agency ASIO says it has not been able to keep up with the growing level of "harmful espionage and foreign interference" operations being carried out in Australia, which have sought to steal sensitive government and corporate information and covertly influence public debate.

The secretive agency said it had struggled to meet the demands of confronting two major threats, terrorism that "shows no sign of diminishing" and an "unprecedented" level of hostile foreign interference that was "expanding in its scope and complexity".

"Foreign intelligence services sought access to privileged and/or classified information on Australia's alliances and partnerships, our position on international diplomatic, economic and military issues, our energy and mineral resources, and our innovations in science and technology," director-general Duncan Lewis wrote in ASIO's annual report.

On top of these operations, the spy agency "identified foreign powers clandestinely seeking to shape the opinions of members of the Australian public, media organisations and government officials in order to advance their country's own political objectives".
The Turnbull government's new national energy guarantee could introduce a de facto carbon price, measuring the cost of emissions for the first time since the Abbott government scrapped the carbon tax in 2014.

The long-awaited energy plan, released by the government on Tuesday, requires electricity retailers to ensure improved reliability levels while also reducing carbon emissions in line with Australia's Paris Agreement commitments.

Buried in the detail of advice presented by the new Energy Security Board to state and federal governments is a mechanism to be added to the National Electricity Market in two stages in 2019 and 2020 that could produce a default carbon price.

"Some electricity retailers will not be able to meet the required emissions profile, while others will overachieve," it reads. "Therefore a secondary exchange will occur between retailers to balance their portfolios."
I want you to imagine, just for a second, the worst "service" business you could think of. You're likely imagining one with a high level of distrust among consumers. One that charges you every single time you use it. One whose peers have been hit by scandal after scandal. And one whose motives seem conflicted  between helping you and making as much money out of you as it can.

If you're imagining a company in the Australian banking sector, you'd be right.

As the property market slows down, banks need to rediscover the value of customer loyalty. Credit:Louie Douvis

We trust our banks with a lot. Our savings. Our mortgages. Our credit. And often our share portfolio. Not to mention the broader financial stability of the Australian economy. Yet while we "trust" them to keep those things safe, we don't really trust them to be looking after our best interests. The bank chief executives themselves effectively acknowledge the trust gap.

And it's no wonder. Fees to withdraw our own money at an ATM. Fees for "account keeping", which, in the age of electronic banking, seem extraordinarily high, with respect to the actual cost of having us as customers. Fees for being overdrawn. For using a teller. For converting our money into a foreign currency. And a whole lot more.
A young person completes a three-year business degree. Like many students, they attend few lectures and have limited on-campus connection with the university. When their degree ends, the student leaves the uni and loses contact with it. Their education ends abruptly.

The only communication between the uni and former student is occasional invitations to alumni events. The student is tired of study, perhaps disillusioned with the outcomes, and wants little to do with education providers. The uni is so busy churning new students through the system that it overlooks previous ones.

Universities don't do much to encourage repeat business. Credit:Louise Kennerley

I have seen this situation many times over the years, and experienced it personally. Contact between some universities and former students is almost non-existent. Sometimes, alumni only hear from their university when it wants donations or numbers at an event.

I thought about this poor contact when reading the Business Council of Australia's recent policy paper on education. The report, Future Proof: Protecting Australia through Education and Skills, makes an important contribution by arguing for a "Lifelong Skills Account".
By PTI: Dalai Lama

Imphal, Oct 18 (PTI) Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today said he dreamt of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as its members.

The spiritual leader, who arrived here yesterday on his maiden visit to Manipur, asserted that India would make steady progress if people overcame their differences with humanism.

Speaking to journalists at the City Convention Centre in the state capital here, the Dalai Lama reminded them of their responsibilities.

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"Media persons have a huge responsibility of educating people, bringing in a sense of oneness, handling corruption and criminal activities," he said.

The revered leader also said that he hoped to see an Asian Union, comprising India, Japan and China, some day.

"I am an admirer of European Union, African Union and Malaysia Union. I dream of an Asian Union with India, Japan and China as members," he said.

Asked about the conflicts and insurgency in the northeast, the Dalai Lama said problems existed all over the world and people should address their concerns patiently.

Citing the hostile relationship which had consumed the European countries, prior to the Second World War, he remarked that all countries had suffered devastating consequences in the conflict and then looked forward towards a common development, ultimately leading to the birth of the European Union.

The spiritual leader also recalled his interaction with Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the Tibet uprising in 1959 and said the leader had insisted that he talked to the Chinese government to resolve conflicts.

He said Tibet was no longer seeking separation or independence from China.

Later in the day, during a civic reception programme, Assembly Speaker Y Khemchand, who had invited the Dalai Lama to Manipur, said the message of religious harmony and peace should be imbibed into human conscience to resolve conflicts in multi-ethnic states.

The spiritual leader also said that the world was changing as people were moving at a rapid pace for materialistic gains, thereby forgetting the inherent values of life.

Security personnel had been carrying out strict verification and frisking processes, and combing operations in view of the Dalai Lamas visit. PTI COR RMS SRY

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Andrew Wilkie at Parliament House on Wednesday. Credit:Andrew Meares Presenting the evidence to Parliament, Mr Wilkie said the allegations of "serious misconduct" were brought to him by former Crown Casino employees and concerned illegal machine tampering that exploited gamblers and cover-ups by the Victorian government's gambling oversight body. "The whistleblowers allege illegal machine tampering, including the disabling of lower bet options and the modifying of buttons to allow prohibited auto-play, both of which increase gambler losses," Mr Wilkie said. Crown employees were allegedly told to tamper with the casino's pokie machines. Credit:Arsineh Houspian "Moreover, there's software manipulation to increase gambler losses even further, in particular on weekends when the numbers of naive, first-time and casual users is obviously much greater."

Staff were instructed by management to shave down the buttons on some machines with a knife or file to allow players to play continuously, the men allege. Illustration: Matt Golding. In the video, one of the men also spoke about an alleged incident where a gambler's wife was found bleeding from the face but police were not alerted. $nbsp; Staff were allegedly told to ignore domestic violence by high rolling international patrons because "if it's acceptable in their country ... they can do that here".

"So what they'd do is just get a room for the wife next door or upstairs, or downstairs, so in the vicinity but separate them for the night," the man said. "If you alert the police the patron will either ask to leave, or they will not be allowed to gamble." No further evidence to support the men's claims has been provided beyond the video. One of the alleged Crown whistleblowers also recalled a gambler who was given a fresh pair of pants because they'd urinated on themselves after gambling for so long. "The manager took it upon themselves, they replaced the chair ... we went to lost property and they have a whole bunch of unclaimed items that have been there for six months or more," the man said.

Drug use in VIP rooms was also common, the men claimed. They said marijuana was seen and smelt on a daily basis. Mr Wilkie also detailed accusations the casino was avoiding scrutiny by AUSTRAC, the federal government's financial intelligence agency, of high-value transactions by "tolerating and even encouraging the misuse of identity documents". This, Mr Wilkie said, meant "Crown would be facilitating money-laundering" for crimes like tax fraud, drug-running and terrorism. Mr Wilkie said he was "horrified" at allegations the Victorian gaming regulator had failed to crack down on the conduct and had, in some cases, been "complicit in covering it up". Crown Casino's licence in Victoria is currently being reviewed by the VCGLR, with its findings expected by the middle of next year.

Industry sources said they believed the video was part of a union-led industrial campaign targeting Crown. The casino and the Electrical Trades Union have been locked in a battle after Crown sacked 16 casino technicians and outsourced their jobs. In a press conference following his tabling of the information, Mr Wilkie said the "very nervous" group of whistleblowers had divulged the information based on a promise he would not reveal their identities. The Tasmanian MP said he was very confident the men were in a position to make the claims. "Things would be easier for the authorities if these three men decided to talk to the authorities but I can't bring myself to encourage them to do that," he said, suggesting it was up to the whistleblowers to decide what to do with their information.

He expressed concern the allegations could mean "systemic" and "widespread" misconduct at Crown's facilities across Australia and urged a full parliamentary inquiry into the entire gambling industry, saying the new accusations cut across both Victorian and Commonwealth laws. Victorian Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz said the state government took the allegations extremely seriously but would wait for the findings of the VCGLR probe before commenting further. "I ask any member of the public who has any information to come forward and assist the commission in any way that they can," she said. Victorian Greens gambling spokesperson Colleen Hartland said Crown's poker machines needed to be immediately suspended from trade while an independent audit was undertaken. "These are serious offences and the state government needs to act," she said.
By PTI: Indore, Oct 18 (PTI) The police today arrested an absconding "dummy" contractor, who was carrying a reward of Rs 20,000 on his head, involved in Rs 41.40 crore liquor contract scam, a police officer said today.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Madhya Pradesh Police has been investing into this scam.

SIT Chief and Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sampat Upadhyay today told reporters that on a tip off, the accused Balram Mali (44) was arrested from Tilakhera village of Mandsaur district.

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Mali had reached home to celebrate Diwali, he said.

Earlier, he was hiding in the border areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Upadhyay said that Mali was an employee of liquor contractor Ansh Trivedi, who is the main accused of this scam. Mali was getting a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 from Trivedis company - ATM Group.

He said that Mali is facing charges that he secured a liquor contract in year 2015-16 on behalf of Trivedi at Pigdambar area of Indore district.

In fact, Trivedi had done all the formalities and made the payment of installments for this contract. Police and Excise Department are conducting inquiry into 16 such contracts of Indore district including the one secured by Mali, said the official.

Upadhyay said that during last two years, the accused contractors deposited amounts lesser than what they were supposed to pay. They forged the challans and informed the Excise Department that they have deposited the actual contract amount. This fraud resulted in the loss of Rs 41.40-crore to the government exchequer.

So far, police have registered criminal cases against these 16 liquor contractors and their four associates.

Of these, four contractors and three of their colleagues have been arrested. The search for the remaining accused is still on. PTI HWP ADU MAS RMT

--- ENDS ---
Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will contest from Sujanpur.

By India Today Web Desk: The BJP has declared candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections to be held on November 9. It has announced candidates for all the 68 seats.

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will contest from Sujanpur.

The BJP is aiming at defeating the Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh. However, it has not declared any chief ministerial candidate for Himachal Pradesh.

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The party is likely to use Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image to contest in the hilly state.

The Election Commission had announced the poll schedule for Himachal Pradesh on October 12.

The votes will be cast in one phase on November 9. Counting of votes will take place on December 18.

The filing of nomination will start on October 16. The last date for filing nomination is October 23.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 24 while the last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 26.

In 2012, the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh were also held in one phase on November 4. The results were announced on December 20.

The Congress won elections by defeating the Prem Kumar Dhumal-led government of the BJP.

The Congress contested the elections under the leadership of Virbhadra Singh and won 36 of the 68 seats.

The BJP could garner just 26 seats. Virbhadra Singh took oath as the chief minister for a record sixth time.

The BJP has given a ticket to Anil Sharma, former Congress heavyweight and Union Minister Sukhram's son, to contest the polls from Mandi.

The father-son duo had recently switched over from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party over being sidelined by the grand old party.

Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur, who has been camping in the state for a while now ahead of the polls, had welcomed Anil Sharma with glowing words.

Commenting on Sukhram's exit, incumbent Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, had said, "He is well-known as 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' in Himachal Pradesh."

Virbhadra Singh, who has been the state's longest-serving chief minister, faces one of his toughest electoral battles as he fights rampant corruption charges.

With inputs from Poulomi Saha

Also Watch : Kamal Haasan apologises for supporting demonetisation, says praised PM Modi's move in a hurry

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The WCO Secretariat hosted a high-level delegation from Iraq, led by His Excellency Mahmood Al-Bayati, Iraqi Advisor for National Security, currently on a study visit aimed at strengthening Iraqs national capacities to address the threat of dual-use chemical materials for terrorism purposes. The study visit of the Iraqi delegation to Brussels is part of the ongoing chemical security engagement between the WCO and the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya welcomed the delegation, highlighting the multifaceted challenges faced by Customs when conducting controls on various goods, including highly technical or potentially dangerous materials such as chemicals. As stressed by Dr. Mikuriya during his address to the delegation, dialogue and exchange of this kind amongst Customs practitioners, international organizations and the private sector are crucial for the WCO in order to set global standards and provide support to Customs administrations, thus facilitating legitimate trade, and generating revenue, whilst at the same time protecting society.

The study visit is intended to assist the Iraqi Government in drafting legislation on the control of dual-use chemicals that could be potentially used for terrorism purposes, such as the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or chemical weapons. It is also worth noting that in parallel whith improving control of dual-use chemicals, Iraqi Customs would also like to comply with broader controls on strategic goods as required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 and addressed by the WCO through its Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) Programme.

The WCO briefed the delegation on international standards for securing and facilitating trade, on risk assessment and on specific WCO Security Programme tools and initiatives addressing the control of strategic goods, particularly dual-use chemicals and components used to manufacture IEDs. Discussions were also held on a WCO training and technical assistance programme that could support Iraq in its approach to controlling dual-use chemicals.

At the end of the visit His Excellency Mahmood Al-Bayati and Mr. Ali Younes from the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the UNODC both thanked the WCO for its valuable input and support for the study visit, as well as for its hospitality and faultless organization of the meeting.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Union minister Smriti Irani today sought to put the Congress in the dock on the Bofors issue, citing claims of a private investigator involved in its probe, and asked it to come clean on the involvement of its leaders in the alleged scam.

Targeting the opposition party, she told reporters that its leaders, including its chief Sonia Gandhi, have been shown to be too eager to grab undue benefits whether it is a matter of an air ticket upgrade or a scam like the Bofors deal.

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Quoting from private detective Michael Hershmans interviews to some media houses, she said he was asked by then Finance Minister V P Singh to look into the Bofors deal but was later offered bribe and then given death threat when he stumbled on the evidence of bribe.

The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi shifted Singh to the defence ministry while Hershman was also asked to implicate Singh, she said.

Quoting him, she said the owner of a Pakistani-run Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which had been allegedly involved in money laundering and other financial crimes, or his representative met Rajiv Gandhi with a large suitcase.

Following this, the bank, which was shut after a CBI raid in connection with the Bofors deal, was allowed to open and its detained officials were released, she said.

"Who were offering bribe? Why did a Congress leader (Rajiv Gandhi) choose to silence his own minister (Singh)?

"For too long the Congress has kept conveniently quiet. It is time that it answers as to what was the role of Congress leaders then and now," she asked, adding that many of them are still around.

The Congress has had a tendency to either bribe or give death threats to people looking into dubious deals involving its leaders, she alleged.

Hershmans interviews have brought to life the "sordid saga" of Bofors.

Irani parried queries asked by the Congress at a press conference in which it questioned then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modis, now prime minister, 100 trips in private chartered flights.

She said the Congress was trying to prove its leaders involved in the Bofors case and Robert Vadra, Sonia Gandhis son-in-law involved in controversial land deals, innocent. Its leader have not responded to Hershmans claims or fresh charges against Vadra, she said.

To a question, the information and broadcasting minister said the Congress should have filed a defamation suit against Hershman if it believed he was wrong as she noted that Jay Shah, the son of BJP chief Amit Shah, had filed a Rs 100-crore suit against a news portal over a story on his business.

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In the press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra cited the BJPs victory in 1,311 seats against 312 of the Congress in Maharashtra local body polls to claim that people have rejected the oppositions narrative against the Modi government.

"For the BJP, the party is family and for the Congress, the family is party," he said, in a dig at the Gandhi family. PTI KR SMN

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI today said the family of the 11-year old Jharkhand girl who allegedly died of starvation had Aadhaar and stringent action should be taken against those who denied her government benefits.

Activists have alleged that the 11-year-old girl in Simdega district died of starvation as her familys ration card was cancelled as it was not linked to Aadhaar.

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The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey termed the incident as "unfortunate".

He asserted that this was not a case of denial of benefits because of Aadhaar, as the family had the 12-digit identifier since 2013.

The Section 7 of Aadhaar Act stipulates that the benefit shall be given on the basis of Aadhaar card or authentication, he added.

"The Jharkhand government has ordered a probe in the matter to find out the facts behind the unfortunate incident. I expect that person responsible for denial of benefits -- inspite of Aadhaar card -- will be held accountable and necessary action will be taken against such people by the state, so that it acts as a deterrent for future," Pandey told PTI.

He further said that the Aadhaar Act was "absolutely clear" that no one would be denied benefits for lack of Aadhaar.

"...Section 7 specifies that till Aadhaar number is prescribed, the benefits should be given through alternate means of identification," he said.

Stating that the guilty should be held accountable and punished, Pandey said that all field agencies should also be extremely sensitive in ensuring that the benefits, subsidies or programmes flow to the grassroots.

"...the field agencies should be sensitive to the needs of the people and ensure they do not do anything that result in denial of benefits," he added. PTI MBI MKJ

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues, including the recent spurt in violent incidents in the Kashmir Valley, an official said.

During the 30-minute meeting, the chief minister briefed the home minister about the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the steps taken to maintain peace in the state.

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Singh assured Mehbooba of all central assistance to her government in maintaining peace in the state, a home ministry official said.

The spurt of violence in Jammu and Kashmir include attacks on security personnel, killing of a PDP worker and the subsequent attack on his house and throat slitting of a teacher.

Alleged incidents of braid chopping have also triggered panic in some parts of the state. Today, four persons were injured when security forces fired on a mob in Pahalgam area following an alleged braid chopping incident.

The constitution of a study group to examine the problems being faced by the people living near the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was also believed to have been discussed during the meeting, the official said.

The group was set up by the home ministry recently.

The home minister had recently said five to six terrorists are killed by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir everyday.

The chief minister also met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal yesterday. PTI ACB ASK ASK

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Indeed India Managing Director Sashi Kumar said as one of the world's largest hubs for IT talent, India has historically seen a steady outflow of IT professionals to countries like USA, UK and Australia.

By Indo-Asian News Service: There has been a sharp decline among Indians seeking jobs in two top destinations -- the United Kingdom by 42 per cent and US by 38 per cent - attributed mainly to the political situations there, a new survey by top global jobs portal Indeed has revealed.

Similarly, there has been a fall in the number of Indians wanting to work even in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 21 per cent, based on searches on Indeed, as per the survey results for 2016-2017 released here on Wednesday.

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The report said that the prospects of Brexit could be a deterrent for Indian jobseekers in the UK, as other countries like Germany and Ireland have witnessed a 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively increase during the same period.

Indeed India Managing Director Sashi Kumar said as one of the world's largest hubs for IT talent, India has historically seen a steady outflow of IT professionals to countries like USA, UK and Australia.

"The new data shows an apparent reversal of that trend. The steadily growing Indian economy coupled with political uncertainties abroad has persuaded highly skilled Indian talents to stay back and find jobs here, which in turn has fostered a thriving 'start-ups' scene," said Kumar

In fact, he said the research shows an overall five per cent decline in Indians looking to move abroad for job opportunities, while there has been a whopping 25 per cent increase in people from UK seeking jobs in India, and a 170 per cent increase in job-seekers from Asia-Pacific region to India.

He attributed the growing popularity of India as an 'employment destination' to initiatives like 'Make In India' and ease of doing business, and the latest figures indicate a trend of people working in UK and Asia-Pacific regions willing to return to India.

Despite the declining figures, the USA still remains the top choice with 49 per cent of people searching for job opportunities there, followed by UAE (16 per cent), Canada (nine), UK (five), Singapore (four), Australia (three), Qatar (two), Bahrain and South Africa (one percent each).

In 1960, there were around 12,000 Indian immigrants to the USA, which increased to 2.4 million by 2015, making Indians the second largest immigrant group in the US after Mexicans.

There are around 1.50 million Indians living in the UK, making them the largest single ethnic minority group, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the total ethnic minority population in that country.

--- ENDS ---
By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 18, 2017 | 05:57 AM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY

Three men have been arrested in connection with a shooting in Farley earlier this month.

According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department, 33-year-old Bryan C. Spry, of Metropolis, had supplied methamphetamine to Louia Smith on Oct. 7. Smith allegedly told Spry that he was not going to pay him for the meth and on Oct. 8, Spry traveled with Eric Johnson of Metropolis to Smiths home on Reed Street, where Johnson allegedly shot Smith in the face.

Detectives located Spry on Tuesday and charged him with trafficking methamphetamine and lodged him in the McCracken County Regional Jail. Johnson was located at a home on Ferry Street in Metropolis.

A search warrant was obtained for the home and during the search, detectives found two handguns, one of which is similar to the gun that is believed to have been used in the shooting of Smith. The other handgun had been reported stolen in Illinois just days prior.

Johnson was arrested for a felony parole violation warrant from the state of Illinois and on a 1st degree assault warrant stemming from the shooting. Another resident of the home, Shannon Sims, was charged with felon in possession of a handgun.

The investigation is continuing and other arrests and charges are likely. Police say it's unknown at this time if this shooting incident is linked to the Kevil shooting that occurred over the weekend. Detectives are still actively working on that case.
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Apologising for supporting demonetisation, actor Kamal Hassan said he will again salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he also accepts that the note ban was a mistake.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Apologising for supporting demonetisation, actor Kamal Hassan said he will again salute Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he also accepts that the note ban was a mistake.

In an article in the Tamil magazine Anandavikatan, the actor said accepting and correcting mistakes is a marker for great leaders which Mahatma Gandhi was able to do.

Hassan said Modi should not be stubborn in arguing that the rabbit he had caught has three legs.

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On his initial support for the demonetisation of 1,000 and 500 rupee notes, Hassan said he had welcomed the move and tweeted that it should be supported regardless of party affiliation.

"I thought people should bear with minor irritants in the goal to eradicate black money," he wrote.

The actor said his friends and those who know economics had called him and criticised his support for demonetisation.

Hassan said he later thought that demonetisation was good but the manner in which it was implemented was wrong.

He said now there were voices saying demonetisation was a deception and the weak response from the government raises serious doubts about the scheme.

WATCH VIDEO | Kamal Haasan apologises for supporting demonetisation, says praised PM Modi's move in a hurry

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Daisy Bowie-Sell, WhatsOnStage



"The play is a quasi-fantastical two-hander set in an audition room where writer and director Thomas has hit the end of a very long day of auditioning for the lead female role in his new work, a stage adaptation of Venus in Furs, but he's got nowhere. Suddenly, with a flash of lightening and a crash of thunder, appears Vanda Jordan. A fast-talking, blond-haired, leather corset-wearing enigma who looks and sounds like Thomas's worst nightmare.

"Ultimately, David Ives' play is faintly ridiculous. Though the sexual positioning of both sides is often upturned, and you're kept on your toes non-stop as to who has one up on whom, there's no question on which character the gender cliches rest.

"Still, there's no denying that Natalie Dormer is an absolute gem of a performer and it is exceptionally enjoyable watching her jump suddenly from bolshy desperate actress to elegant European with barely a blink."

Lyn Gardner, Guardian



"Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer is dominant in every way in this tricksy, mildly entertaining two-hander written by David Ives, in which 21st-century sexual politics meet 19th-century S&M.

"Ives' script wears its influences on its sleeve, whether it's The Bacchae, Strindberg's Miss Julie or the dangerous dressing-up games of Genet's The Maids. In the showier role, Dormer negotiates the switches in mood with real virtuosity, but it is never quite the engrossing power struggle it might be, because Oakes' Thomas is such a bland chap.

"From the moment Vanda arrives dressed in a revealing black corset and bends over offering Thomas an eye-popping glimpse of her bottom, the audience's gaze is also his gaze  and therefore the male gaze."

Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph



"Ninety minutes in the company of Natalie Dormer on stage at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and I'm her slave. She could even command me to watch (non-stop) six seasons of Game of Thrones (in which she starred as Margaery Tyrell, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, before being bumped off the series last year) and I, the most unpersuaded of the unconverted, would be game on."

"With [Patrick] Marber directing her here (with a beautiful set by Rob Howell), she's sensational once more playing the mysterious Vanda, a brassy New York actress bursting with hope, confidence and much else besides.

"Marber treads a fine line on the titillation front, having Vanda slip between costumes with ambiguous suggestiveness, in full view of the audience. And that goes hand in glove with the theme of the piece: who's calling the shots, men or women? Except that Ives's script is so busy critiquing the empowerment and eroticism it plays with that it winds up tying itself in knots. "

Dominic Maxwell, The Times



"There is more pain than pleasure to be had from this two-handed play about sadomasochism, gender politics and being a bit of a misguided male douche bag. The acting, though, is very much a pleasure.

"Natalie Dormer and David Oakes act the hell out of this 90-minute piece, but I'm not convinced it's worth their while. Sure, there's a frisson as these two sexy young actors lock eyes. Yet for all the intelligence here, all the twists, too much of it is a kind of psychosexual York Notes about the original.

"Patrick Marber's production is beautifully staged and Rob Howell's set, with a skylight to let us see the lightning flashes  yes, it's a dark and stormy night  is handsome, yet it's hard to care much about any of this."

Natasha Tripney, The Stage



"David Ives' Venus in Fur is as much about power as it is about sex. More precisely it's about power in the audition room  recent revelations inevitably give it a queasy relevance.

"Patrick Marber's production is not exactly subtle. Thunder rumbles above Rob Howell's simultaneously grand and dilapidated New York loft apartment set. It's trying to be this smart, playful metatextual exercise but it also wants to titillate. It basically wants to have its whip-shaped cake and eat it.

"And whether or not she occupies the 'power spot' on the stage, Vanda  and by extension Dormer  still spends the majority of the production striding around in a PVC corset and suspenders while Oakes doesn't so much as undo a shirt button. The real victor in all this is, as ever, the male gaze."

Venus in Fur runs at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 9 December.
Earlier, the proposal sent to the finance department consisted a plan for expenditure of Rs 26.87 crore but it has been slashes to Rs 10 crore.

By Rohini Swamy: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has instructed the speaker and legislative council chairman to reduce expenses of the Vidhan Soudha celebrations from Rs 26 crore to Rs 10 crore.

Earlier, the proposal sent to the finance department consisted a plan for expenditure of Rs 26.87 crore to gift MLAs and MLCs expensive gifts. The speaker proposed that the legislators get a 13-gram gold biscuit worth Rs 55,000 each which will be embossed with the state emblem along with a miniature model of Vidhana Soudha.

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Now, the Karnataka CM and finance minister Siddaramaiah has suggested that the celebrations be capped within a 10 crore budget.

India Today was the first to expose the plan for lavish celebrations and the unnecessary splurge of Rs 26 crore for a two day event in the city.

The chief minister Siddaramaiah when asked about the controversy said, "there is no proposal, no mementos, we are not giving any mementos to any legislators."

The legislative assembly speaker KB Koliwad and the legislative council chairman DJ Shankarmurthy met the CM at his official residence to discuss the celebration plan. After the meeting they agreed to scale down the celebrations.

When India Today spoke to DH Shankarmurthy and asked him the need for such a lavish celebration he said, "we want to make a grand function. The president will be coming and we want it to be done in a beautiful manner. It is the speaker who has sent the proposal, but I had suggested that we give a small memento made of wood. I don't know where this talk of gold and silver seems to be coming from".

Here is the breakdown of the proposal which was submitted to the state finance department :

Flower decoration for Vidhan Soudha : Rs 75 lakh

Coffee and tea for two days : 35 lakh

Food ( lunch and dinner) : 3 crore 75 lakh

sound lighting, LED wall, generator : 3 crore , 50 lakh

Kannada cultural programmes : 50 lakh

Documentary on the history of Vidhan Soudha : 1 crore 58 lakh

Documentary of the proceedings of the assembly : 1 crore 58 lakh

Building of Vidhan soudha documentary : 1 crore

3D documentary with the help of youngest director in the state, master Kishan : 1 crore 2 lakh

Felicitating the family of Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the man who built the Vidhan Soudha, and the family of first Karnataka CM KC Reddy : 10 lakh

Karnataka government achievements - 3D mapping: Rs 3 crore 4 lakh

Publicity for the diamond jubilee : Rs 2 crore

Souvenirs for the secretariat for the diamond jubilee : 3 crores

Photography and Videography : 75 lakh

Cleanliness, transportation and accommodation for the helpers: 50 lakh

GST: 5 crores

TOTAL: 26 crore 87 lakh

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Chief minister Siddaramaiah has also suggested that the event be made a one day affair rather than two days. President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to address a joint session of the state assembly on October 24.

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The Indian army opened fire to disperse protesters rallying against an alleged braid-chopping attempt in a Jammu and Kashmir village.

By Shuja-ul-Haq :

Five civilians have sustained injuries after the Indian army opened fire to disperse protesters rallying against an alleged braid-chopping attempt in Salar's Wullerhama village.

According to reports, the locals chased a braid-chopper who allegedly tried to flee in an army vehicle. When the residents pelted stones on the vehicle, army men retaliated by opening fire at them.

The injured were taken to the hospital.

Earlier, three people were injured in a similar incident of protests in Sopore, Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. People reportedly caught hold of three people at around midnight and accused them of being braid-cutters.

According to police, sources nabbed persons were burglars not braid cutters.

Braid-chopping incidents have set in a sense of insecurity among people. In last few weeks alone around 100 such braid chopping incidents took place across Kashmir.

Police has launched a mass scale investigation but with very little results so far. This has angered people even further. A lot of rumors have lead to an atmosphere of vigilantism with people trying to take things in their own hands and going out for night vigils in many localities.

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The incident took place at Gutroo area of Tral.

By India Today Web Desk: A police officer was shot dead by terrorists at his residence in Tral of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The incident took place at Gutroo area of Tral. The deceased special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police has been identified as Haleem Gujjar.

SPO Gujjar, R/O Gutro, Aripal Tral was fired upon by militants near his residence.

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In the incident Haleem suffered critical bullet wounds and was shifted to nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.

Soon after the incident, government forces launched a hunt to nab the assailants.

This is the second incident in less than six months when a police officer have been shot dead by terrorists.

On June 15, Shabir Ahmad Dar, was shot at from a close range in South Kashmir's Kulgam. Although he was rushed to the nearest hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

More details awaited.

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By Shreya Goswami: Over the last two days, the #MeToo campaign on social media has reached global proportions. With women, and men, coming out to share their harrowing experiences of sexual harassment, the campaign has become all-inclusive and a true representative of the extent of this threat across the world.

From celebrities to activists, young men to old women, these posts have created a global solidarity of massive proportions that transcends all boundaries of age, race or gender. And now, Kolkata Police has also come out to support both the campaign and the people who have come out as survivors.

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Also Read: Why #MeToo should be a conversation on sexual assault, not on gender alone

Kolkata Police issued a statement on their official Facebook page yesterday, and their post conveys the same sensitivity and anger that people across the world are experiencing after reading the millions of posts.

Picture courtesy: Facebook/Kolkata Police

"We at Kolkata Police have been perturbed by the number of women who have shared #metoo. And we would also like to reiterate our pledge and commitment by saying that we hear every single one of you," the post says.

The posts also makes the commitment that the Kolkata Police officers would be there for all of us in case we want to report a case of sexual harassment. "So walk into our police stations whenever you want to report sexual harassment, and our officers are there to hear your experiences with patience and kindness and take your complaints," it says.

Also Read: What and what not to say to your women colleagues, so you don't seem like a creep

Kolkata Police appears to be the only body of cops in the country that has responded to this global movement. What's even more notable is the language in which the Kolkata Police has couched their sentiments: "We urge you to be strong, we want you to be very, very angry about the leering, jeering, threats, verbal and physical abuses, we are asking you to be not afraid and to report to the police every time."

Their statement is completely in sync with the current mood of the world, and it is highly appreciated--as is evident from the thousands of responses their post has garnered since yesterday. Take a look:

Picture courtesy: Facebook/Kolkata Police

Picture courtesy: Facebook/Kolkata Police

Picture courtesy: Facebook/Kolkata Police

Clearly, the citizens of Kolkata have come out to appreciate this effort by the Kolkata Police. At the same time, the whole situation has highlighted the need for better awareness about sexual harassment--as is evident from the Kolkata Police initiative, called Dear Boys, as mentioned in the post--as well as the need to accept that sexual harassment occurs irrespective of gender.

So, while we're applauding the progressive and supportive stance of the Kolkata Police, it's high time that we all join in to stand up against sexual harassment, and fight back.

--- ENDS ---

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) The Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly today alleged that Chief Secretary M M Kutty "misled" the High Court in a matter related to alleged illegal appointments and promotions in the Delhi Nagrik Sehkari Bank Ltd (DNSBL).

Deputy Speaker Rakhi Bidlan, who is also the chairperson of the Questions and References Committee of the Assembly, said with no one representing the Legislative Assembly, the matter was decided by the court "in favour" of the chief secretary.

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"On Monday, the chief secretary had to appear before the Questions and Reference Committee with the action taken report on the issue that involves the Department of Cooperative Society.

"This date was fixed acceding to his request for more time only. But three days ahead of the meeting, he (Kutty) managed to take a stay from the High Court with untruthful submissions," said Bidlan said in a statement.

She added that it was brought to the notice of the committee that Kutty had a meeting scheduled in the PMO around the same time.

"So, to make sure that he (Kutty) finds it convenient to attend the meeting, the meeting of the Committee was re- scheduled to 4.00 pm instead of 3.00 pm.

"Apparently, this fact was misrepresented by the chief secretary before the high court as grant of mere one hour by the committee, in lieu of 10 days time that he had asked for," the statement said.

Another AAP MLA Sourabh Bharadwaj alleged that over the past few months there have been a number of instances where Delhi governments counsel were not allowed to present its stand in the court.

According to the statement issued by deputy speaker, the committee has decided to request the Speaker to take all necessary measures in an appropriate manner to ensure that this perceived "encroachment" on part of the judiciary into the legislative domain in gross violation of constitutional scheme of separation of powers is halted forthwith.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court had dubbed as "unreasonable" the act of the Questions and Reference Committee initiating contempt proceedings against Kutty without considering his request for more time to respond to a show cause notice. PTI BUN AQS SMN AQS

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Minnesota is putting fact over flash in its bid to lure the new Amazon corporate headquarters to the state, Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday.

The Democratic governor said economic development officials who compiled the states proposal intentionally steered clear of the stunts cropping up elsewhere in the competition for Amazons attention.

Those officials, he said, put together a very professional plan for the companys second North American headquarters, which could eventually house 50,000 workers.

Its one Im told that conforms to the kind of proposal that they like to receive, a businesslike proposal without the gimmicks and gadgetry and sensational PR stuff that were told is not going to be persuasive, Dayton said, adding that state agency leaders and partners asked around to learn what Amazon found attractive in other site-location decisions.

Dayton also said the bid, which will be formally submitted as soon as Wednesday, wont contain much by way of promised financial incentives. Thursday is Amazons deadline for submissions.

There are no state subsidies directly involved, Dayton said, although the state will list grant and loan programs available to all companies considering relocation or expansion.

In its request for proposals, the e-retailer Amazon stressed its interest in finding a spot close to a well-educated workforce and solid higher education institutions.

The company also lists among its priorities a sites proximity to airports and mass transit and a host citys amenities that contribute to a high quality of life. Only regions with populations of 1 million or more will be considered.

There could be several stages before Amazon picks the location. Dayton said he hopes Minnesota will at least make it to the semi-final round.

The Minnesota plan contains a number of sites but Dayton refused to list how many or where they are, citing an Amazon demand for confidentiality in the bid process.

One of the sure ways to knock us out of the running is to violate the terms that theyve set for how this will be conducted, Dayton said. And thats true with any relationship with any business.
The idea came to Ashley Hanson last October while attending a summit for rural creative thinkers.

How awesome would it be, she asked herself, to sit across the table from these same people in their own communities and have the kind of conversations we had at the summit?

But it was just an idea, and she shelved it until the right opportunity presented itself.

Then the 2016 presidential election happened.

All of a sudden, I found myself in a role of cultural transmitter to my urban friends and artists, said Hanson, a theater artist based in St. Paul and founder of PlaceBase Productions.

She raised some money and bought a small, yellow school bus she named Gus. She recruited three female artists  one from Boston, on from Los Angeles and one from Minneapolis  who traveled with her for different stretches of the six-week road trip.

Hanson made stops in places like the central valley region in California, the border country in New Mexico, the Deep South, the oil fields of Kentucky, coal country in Appalachia, through the Midwest and finally ended in Colorado.

The road trip resulted in Hansons exhibit Public Transformation: The Role of Art in Contemporary Rural America, which opens this weekend at Outpost Winona.

The exhibit is not your typical art exhibit.

Its a multimedia exhibition about conversations, not brush strokes, Hanson said, and focuses on how rural artists and arts organizations contribute to, operate in and enhance their communities.

Its all story-based and interaction-based, Hanson said.

Though she currently resides in St. Paul, Hanson, 34, grew up in Farmington, Minn., and spent a lot of time at her grandmothers place in Aitkin, Minn., where she gained some understanding of the differences between urban and rural communities.

After the election, I thought that the time to do this was now, she said of traveling the country, visiting 24 rural towns in 20 states, each with less than 10,000 people.

The initiative wasnt about making a response to the current political climate, nor was it about pointing fingers. Hanson said the focus was on rural artists  what they contribute and how those contributions help define those rural communities.

Each place I visited had its own identity and culture, she said. Theres this idea the rural America is all one place, when really each specific community is so vastly different.

What Hanson and her fellow travelers found along the way was how they were embraced by each community they stopped in. She said it was refreshing to meet those people and get the opportunity to have open dialogue with them.

Matthew Fluharty, director at Outpost Winona, said people in rural arts and culture communities experienced a shift in the way people portrayed them after the election.

The mainstream media started a series of narratives that were basically unfit (for rural areas), Fluharty said. What became lost, I think, is the fact that many people in rural (America) didnt vote Trump.

Fluharty said he was very intrigued by Hansons Public Transformation project and wanted to bring it to Outpost because it will provide an opportunity for people come together, hear and exchange stories, and have open dialogue.

Its an exhibit everyone in Winona can relate to on some level, and Fluharty said he hopes to see all sorts of faces, new and old, when the exhibit opens this week.

Were stronger when rural and urban folks can work together, he said. One takeaway I hope people get in this is that rural communities are profoundly creative and resilient.

Theres a resourcefulness, resilience, adaptability about them that I really respect, Hanson said. I did this to gain a better understanding of place, and people in those places.

I hope people who see this exhibit can as well.
A sand mining company with rights to thousands of acres in southeast Minnesota is asking state regulators to lift environmental review requirements.

The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board ruled in 2013 that Minnesota Sands must complete a comprehensive environmental impact study before moving ahead on proposed frac sand mines on about 615 acres in Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties that the board determined were linked and would have cumulative environmental impacts on the same geographic area.

Minnesota Sands, which is suing to overturn Winona Countys frac mining ban, now says its plans are limited to a 50-acre mine in Fillmore County and is asking the EQB to consider that a stand-alone project.

The 14-member board is scheduled to consider the request Wednesday to terminate a lengthy multi-site environmental impact statement in favor of a less detailed environmental assessment of the single site. EQB staff are recommending approval.

Johanna Rupprecht is a policy organizer with the Land Stewardship Project, which has fought the industry in southeast Minnesota. She says Minnesota Sands is seeking to skirt the rules and if the request is granted would be able to pursue piecemeal approval of its project, requesting permits for each site, so that the full impacts of the whole operation are never studied or understood.

In its court filings, Minnesota Sands claims to have leases on more than 3,700 acres of land with frac sand deposits that could be worth more than $6 billion at current market prices.

State law requires an Environmental Assessment Worksheet be completed for any silica sand project over 20 acres and a more thorough Environmental Impact Statement, which can take more than a year, for projects of more than 160 acres.

Will Seuffert, executive director of the EQB, said the board would evaluate any future proposals from Minnesota Sands as possible phased actions that could trigger an EIS if the total size exceeds 160 acres.

The 'smell test'

Minnesota Sands contracted with the EQB to perform the environmental study, which would have been the first time the agency carried out an EIS for a silica sand project. Last year the board suspended work after saying in three years it had yet to receive any information from the company.

We never received any information about the project  about the sites, where they were located, what the mine plan was, Seuffert said. We had nothing to study.

In June, Minnesota Sands asked the EQB to close out the review, saying its current mining plan is limited to a single 56-acre site west of Rushford. In a letter to the board, company president Richard Frick said market conditions no longer support mining in Houston County and that the Winona County ban, adopted in November, has rendered useless its mining leases and a proposed rail loading site.

Minnesota Sands sued the county in April claiming the ordinance violates its constitutional rights by singling out sand used for industrial purposes while permitting sand to be mined for construction uses.

The county has sought to dismiss the case, arguing Minnesota Sands does not have any inherent right to mine its land. Even if the ordinance were overturned, the county says, the company would still need a conditional use permit, which may be denied for reasons relating to public health, safety and general welfare.

Rupprecht notes that Minnesota Sands is asking the EQB to believe it has no plans to mine in Winona County even as it is suing for the right to mine there and portraying itself as a company with massive, multi-county interests.

It doesnt pass any kind of smell test, Rupprecht said.

Its not clear how Minnesota Sands plans to process or transport sand from the Fillmore County site. According to court documents, its business plan involves a 304-acre site along the Canadian Pacific rail line in Winona County that cannot be used for industrial sand under the current ordinance.

Frick did not respond to requests for comment. He is scheduled to testify before the board Wednesday.

On Tuesday the company removed images and content from its website touting the quality and quantity of its sand and providing background on its legal case against the county. The site now contains a two-sentence description of the company with contact information for a Twin Cities public relations firm.

Consultant Mike Zipko said in an email the company is making some changes to the content on its website.
Minnesota regulators agreed Wednesday to delay action on a request to lift environmental review requirements for a would-be mining company with claims to thousands of acres in southern Minnesota.

Minnesota Sands asked the Environmental Quality Board to terminate the boards 2013 order requiring the company to complete a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement before moving ahead on proposed mines on about 615 acres in Fillmore, Houston and Winona counties.

The company, which has sued to overturn Winona Countys frac mining ban, now says its plans are limited to one 50-acre mine in Fillmore County because of legal and market conditions that have made the other locations unfeasible.

Minnesota law requires an EIS, which can take more than a year to complete, for a frac sand mine or group of linked mines of more than 160 acres. Smaller projects require only an Environmental Assessment worksheet.

At issue is whether Minnesota Sands has grander plans than the single Fillmore County site.

President Richard Frick of Dakota, Minn., told the EQB he has terminated leases for lands in Houston County and cannot proceed in Winona County because of the ban.

As far as Im concerned them is off the table, Frick said. It might never happen.

But in court documents Frick claims to have leases on more than 3,500 acres with frac sand deposits that could be worth more than $6 billion at current market prices.

The plans are clear and became clear in the lawsuit, said Jay Squires, the attorney representing Winona County. The intention hasnt changed.

Squires argued that if Frick wants to free himself from the EIS requirements, he should terminate his other leases.

Minnesota Sands attorney Bill Weimer said the business plan has changed.

Mr. Fricks statement is all based on ifs, he said. Right now he cannot mine in Winona County. Hes got to look in a different direction.

Frick disavowed statements in an affidavit signed July 24 in which he said if the ban is overturned he would pursue mining his Winona County properties "as soon as practicable" after the permitting process.

Ive never said that, he told the board. I dont talk to anybody. That might have been somebody else involved but that was not me. Ive never said that.

Minnesota Sands sued the county in April claiming the ordinance violates its constitutional rights by singling out sand used for industrial purposes while permitting sand to be mined for construction uses. The county has sought to dismiss the case, arguing Minnesota Sands does not have any inherent right to mine its land.

The EQB staff has recommended the board accept Fricks proposal and believes there is only one project, not a phased action.

Under its reading of the rules, leases are not projects, planning director Erik Cedarleaf Dahl told the board.

However, Dahl said, there is a three-year look back" provision, so that if Minnesota Sands moves forward with any additional projects that in combination with the Fillmore County exceed the 160-acre threshold it would trigger a mandatory EIS.

The board voted unanimously to table the request until March, citing concerns that a decision could affect the court case.
According to these activists, if Naik's Malaysian residency permit is not revoked, then this will hamper the relation between Malaysia and other countries.

By Munish Pandey: A group of 17 Malaysian Human Rights activists have filed a case against controversial Islamic Preacher Zakir Naik in Kuala Lumpur High Court to revoke Naik's permanent residency permit of Malaysia.

These activists have informed the court that cases have been filed against Naik by the Indian Law Enforcement agencies and he is a wanted criminal by the India Government.

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The activists have also told the court that the Islamic preacher is a threat to national security of Malaysia. According to these activists, if Naik's Malaysian residency permit is not revoked, then this will hamper the relation between Malaysia and other countries.

Earlier, this group of 17 human rights activists, Malay rights group Perkasa, had also filed a case to deport Zakir Naik to India. Next hearing in the deportation case is on October 21.

The National Investigative Agency (NIA), probing the Zakir Naik case has summoned multiple times to record his statement before the agency but he never turned up. NIA has sought for prosecution sanction against Zakir Naik under Sections 120 (B), 153 (a), 295 (a), 298 (a), 505 (2) of IPC and various sections of UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) which is likely to approved soon by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation is already banned by the Indian government for 5 years and all its bank accounts have been seized. Sources in the NIA have told India Today that chargesheet against Naik may be filed by the end of this month.

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Jenna Adams, 20, of Rochester, Minn., was northbound on Highway 61 at about 7:55 p.m. when her 2005 Chrysler Town & Country struck the passenger side of a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Gail Walker, 52, of Winona as she was making a turn across the Highway 61 northbound lanes at the intersection. Darlene Denise Riles, 29, of Chicago, Ill., was also in the Grand Am. The Pontiac then struck a stationary 2017 Subaru Sedan driven by Daniel Lund, 22, of St. Michael, Minn., while he stopped at the lights, according to Minnesota State Patrol.
Art lovers will find brilliant colors throughout south-central Wisconsin this weekend, in the trees and inside studios.

Friday marks the return of the Fall Art Tour. Forty-six artists in the Baraboo, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Mineral Point areas will open their studios to patrons Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

With scores of art lovers from across the Midwest expected to visit, local artists like Carol Kratochwill of Merrimac are preparing their work spaces for company. Theyre also working to ensure they have plenty of items available for sale.

Kratochwill has given her Luna Bay Art Studio, a cottage adjacent to her lakefront home, a face-lift in anticipation of the 24th annual Fall Art Tour. Inside, patrons will find acrylic paintings, as well as hats and greeting cards and garments she has created, often using secondhand pieces.

Kratochwills goal is not only to sell art, but to inspire others to exercise their creative muscles. Her whimsical pieces, including dolls made from purses and vintage hats transformed into steampunk head wear, illustrate how an artist can take an old object and make it new.

People are touched by my art, and they want to do it, also, she said.

Luna Bay Art Studio isnt the only Baraboo-area stop on the tour thats a bit off the beaten path. Jennifer Angus will showcase screen prints in Plain. Ali and Don Kauss create sterling silver pieces in Loganville. Marlys Greenhalgh makes woodcut prints and oil paintings in North Freedom. Sandra and Winthrop Byers turn porcelain and stoneware in Rock Springs, where Kyle Martin paints in oils.

"The Fall Art Tour is a wonderful way for artists to share their creative space with the public, in a focused and authentic way," Ali Kauss said. "It is a win-win for everyone."

Meanwhile, nine Baraboo artists will display media ranging from wood furniture to watercolors to stained glass.

Baraboo is fortunate. There are a lot of artistic people in town, Kratochwill said.

Although her studio lies far from Baraboo, its location off Lake Wisconsin is a powerful draw. Im not going to put out chairs anymore because they stay too long, she said.

Kratochwill buys jewelry by the pound. She spots discarded items at estate sales and antique shops that are only one bright idea and a little effort away from becoming a work of art.

I use it as a time to relax, a time to create, a time to think about nothing else, she said. It keeps my mind occupied.
Authorities say a Rice Lake businessman defrauded a Reedsburg dairy distributor out of more than $90,000.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Alan B. Resnick of Dairy Pro LLC with felony theft by false representation in Sauk County, alleging he accepted payment for products he had no intention of providing.

The case came to the attention of Reedsburg police after a representative of the Reedsburg-based G&R Foods Inc. contacted the department in August.

The Reedsburg business alleged it had paid Resnick $94,300 for 124,080 pounds of whey protein concentrate in March. After weeks of waiting and reminding Resnick of the order, the company had not received the shipment, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors.

The Reedsburg firm finally asked Resnick to be reimbursed for its payment, but was unsuccessful. The company reported that Resnick said he had recently fallen on hard times, and repeatedly asked for more time to refund the business.

Attempts to arrange a payment schedule with Resnick were not successful, the complaint states, and the Reedsburg business ultimately contacted police.

Authorities allegedly reviewed email exchanges between Resnick and the Reedsburg dairy distributor in which he promised to pay the money back, although he never did.

In an interview with an investigator, Resnick confirmed that he had accepted payment from the Reedsburg business, but said he had already provided some of the product. The officer asked for documents showing the amount of productthat had been shipped, but Resnick was not able to provide them, according to the complaint.

Reedsburg police also spoke with a Waushara County detective who said he was aware of a similar case in which Resnick allegedly defrauded someone out of $50,000. Resnick denied that he had intentionally stolen the money, and told the Waushara County detective he was trying to get his finances in order.

Resnick has multiple prior Wisconsin convictions for misdemeanor theft and issuing worthless checks, according to online court records. He is due to appear in Sauk County court Nov. 15.
Last week, Cassandra Nygren was incarcerated as a result of her drug addiction. She faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide, delivery of heroin, child neglect, and maintaining a drug trafficking place in the death of Jennifer Skeen near Green Bay. When it comes to the heroin epidemic, have we hit a wall, yet?

I am heartbroken for Cassie. And I call her Cassie, because I first met this 28-year-old when she was just a kid. I have known her dad, John Nygren, and her stepmother, for more than 25 years. Cassie was the same adorable kid they all are at that young age.

When John was a young officer of the Wisconsin Jaycees and ran for state president, I did not support the candidacy of the future Republican representative from Marinette. We disagreed about the state of affairs of the organization at that time. Despite my opposition to his candidacy for state president, he won. A year later, at the end of Nygrens term, I congratulated him. And I thanked him for proving me wrong.

Before I dive into Cassies story, I want to state for the record that this is how politics should be played. Political foes do not need to be natural enemies. Years later, mostly by coincidence, his younger children would attend camp with my children. The familiarity among our families was comforting. While our schedules, and distance, dont allow for a deeper connection, we are most certainly friends.

I previously have discussed my nieces battle with heroin. For now, she is clean. Every single day, I pray it remains the same. Cassie has been on that list, too. She has been in and out of the system frequently. Suddenly, Cassie is back on the bad path. With addicts, you never know when sobriety suddenly will end.

Cassie has tried hard to break the cycle of addiction. Her father recognizes his daughter is responsible for the early choices she made. Unfortunately, her choices came with a lifetime of consequences. Consequences that have turned into a life sentence of addiction. Unless you have been close to a similar circumstance, its difficult to imagine the turmoil of a life condemned to this hellish addiction.

Nygrens HOPE agenda has introduced a multitude of legislation attempting to solve the opioid epidemic. He also, while praying for hope in his daughters life, knows that for many it is too late.

This is a strong reminder of how fragile the road to recovery is. We will continue to support and pray for her recovery, Nygren said last week. There are no words that we as a family can offer to give any real comfort for this tragic loss.

How does a teenage girl go from teenage drinking parties to smoking pot and then on to facing first-degree homicide charges? The same is true for Skeen. How did her path lead to an early death? As big of a nightmare as this is for the Nygren family, they did not have to plan a funeral as Skeens family did.

Nygren and her boyfriend, Shawn Gray, have to face the consequences that came with their actions and the court system will flesh out the penalties they eventually will face. Unfortunately, the justice that ultimately will be served does not bring Skeen back to her family and it certainly does not solve the opioid problem.

Brown County Chief Deputy Todd Delain told WBAY-TV, I would describe them (Cassie Nygren and Shawn Gray) as middlers who distribute to support their habit and to live off of, but certainly they werent making a lot of money doing it.

These mid-level dealers also are victims because of their need to fuel an addiction introduced unto them. They should not be exonerated of their crimes, but their sentences also are not getting to the root of the problem.

The middlers are the ones reaching our kids. Yet at one time, someone reached out to them. These young people are nothing more than pawns in the grand scheme. Put one in jail and they easily are replaced with another addict desperate for the next hit and in need of cash.

According to a report in The Arizona Republic, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration reports nearly all of the heroin  enters the country over the 1,933-mile Mexico border. According to a 60 Minutes report Sunday, the blame for the epidemic lies with the big three national prescription drug distributors.

Its either time to look into the national distribution network or its time to take out the drug cartels. Either way, were up against a wall until we stop them.
Volunteers needed is the chief message from the new executive director of Columbia Countys reconstituted Court Appointed Special Advocates program.

He hasnt pinned the message on random walls or doors  not yet  but Darryl Teske said this week hell do whatever it takes to get community members involved.

Volunteers serve as the eyes and ears of the court in cases involving children, Teske said. The local program is back after it ceased in 2013 due to lack of funds.

We want volunteers, and well also utilize people who cant commit to full-time volunteering, he said.

Teske will seek 30 or more volunteers over the next several months for the nonprofit organization that helps abused or neglected children. The program was revived in June with a 3-year grant for $40,000 annually from Lenz Charitable Trust. Teske was hired a month ago and will begin training volunteers in January.

Those interested in learning more about the program can attend an open house from 3-6 p.m. Nov. 16 in the lobby entrance of Cochrane Court at 311 E. Wisconsin St. in Portage, where the nonprofit reopened its offices in Suite 207-F. Programming involving speakers and a ribbon cutting is planned for 4 p.m.

From a personal level, these folks get the chance to work with and advocate for a child who, through no fault of their own has been put through a system, Teske said.

With direction from a program volunteer, children have a better chance of becoming aware about all the programs available to them.

Teske is a Mauston native who most recently worked for the Christian organization Strong Missions in Costa Rica, coordinating trips and translating for people who traveled there to help. Strong Missions helps Costa Rican children living in poverty.

Its nice to still be focused on children and families, he said.

Teske has been meeting with judges and those involved in Health and Human Services, among other entities, to reinstate the program in the judicial process.

Although the name says Columbia County, were supported through grants and donations, Teske said. People sometimes think its a county program, but its not. We work alongside them, support them, but we are separate.

Fundraising will be a big part of Teskes role, along with recruiting and training volunteers.

What do they do?

Twenty-two new Children in Need of Protective Services petitions were filed in Columbia County in 2016, highlighting the local need for the programs services, Teske said.

Each month, program volunteers write reports for judges, ensuring that families are following court orders, CASA board leader Sue Bradley said in June. Depending on the case, judges will order program volunteers to get involved with a child, including their parents and other family, teachers, social workers and others, visiting the child at least once a week.

The program has been effective at helping parents meet the needs of their children, Bradley said.

In January, local volunteers will undergo 30 hours of pre-service training, which will teach them how to spot signs of abuse and neglect, among other skills. Volunteers will be assigned cases immediately after the training class, Teske said. More classes will be held in 2018.

Volunteers will be assigned up to two children at a time, depending on their workloads and schedules.

Those interested in volunteering should contact Teske at 608-745-9977 or by email at dteske@columbiacountycasa.org. More information is available at columbiacountycasa.org and the nonprofits Facebook page.

The numbers

More than 900 CASA programs exist across the country, including 12 in Wisconsin.

The local program started in Columbia County in 1996 but existed as a two-county program  Columbia-Sauk CASA  from 1998 to 2013. Sauk County revived its own program about a year ago, Bradley said.

In Wisconsin, more than 6,000 children are in foster care and family court systems, according to CASA materials provided by Teske. Across the U.S., about 700,000 children will find themselves in foster care or family court systems this year. Last year, about 77,000 CASA volunteers helped 250,000 children.

The average time a child spends in foster care is 20 months, changing homes three times during that period, CASA reports. But children who receive help from CASA are more likely to find permanent homes, are half as likely to re-enter the foster-care system and more likely to succeed in school.
The women of India's largest minority community are believed to have overwhelmingly voted for the BJP in UP. With the BJP's outreach showing results in other states too, a monolithic Muslim votebank is also getting chipped off.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: The Muslim-Yadav (MY) axis has proved to be a potent force to reckon with in the electoral politics of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. RJD strongman Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav have reaped benefits of this combination on several occasions, forming governments in their respective states on its basis.

However, the Muslim-Dalit (MD) unity has not been as tried and tested as the MY variant. It has yielded fruits only for BSP supremo Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, that too partially. She had to depend upon other castes such as Brahmins too to register victory.

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Despite the failure so far, a concerted effort is afoot from several quarters to establish a solid and lasting combination of MD at the national level. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi is at the forefront of creating such an alignment.

On July 29, 2016, he wrote on a Facebook post with the slogan 'Jai Bheem, Jai Meem': "Dalit-Muslim unity is the need of the hour to stop oppression and discrimination of Sangh Pariwar. United we stand, divided we fall. No more humiliation! (sic)."

Even earlier, in February 2016, he had pitched for Muslim-Dalit unity, claiming they were the "two most oppressed communities". "We will write a new chapter in the state (UP). The two most oppressed communities - Dalits and Muslims - should join hands on the slogan of Jai Bhim, Jai Meem", he said while addressing an election rally ahead of the Bikapur Assembly bypoll near Ayodhya.

Be it the Una incident in Gujarat, in which 4 Dalits were brutally assaulted for skinning a dead cow, or Rohith Vemula's suicide in Hyderabad, Muslims had not just condemned these incidents but also stood behind the community. The prospects of a Muslim-Dalit alignment was sought to be explored then too but with little or no success.

However, along with the sincere attempts to create a Muslim-Dalit or Muslim-Yadav axis, another phenomenon of disintegration of Muslims is also taking place. Perhaps to the glee of the BJP, Muslims no more remain a monolithic and cohesive entity.

Either on its own or catalysed by the BJP, the fragmentation of Muslims - who make up 14.2 per cent of the country's population as per the 2011 census - is taking place. It poses a challenge to the MY or MD axis in the future.

SHIAS

Indian Shias, constituting about 25 per cent of the entire Muslim population of India, see themselves different from the Sunnis, who make up the majority. They are considered to be forward-looking and modern as compared with the Sunnis.

Attracted by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Shias came closer to the BJP. Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the only Muslim to hold a Cabinet rank in Narendra Modi's ministry, is a Shia.

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The Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board has announced that it would gift 10 silver arrows as a mark of respect for the construction of the Lord Ram statue in Ayodhya. The arrows are for Lord Ram's quiver, board's chairman Waseem Rizvi said.

The Board has also welcomed the Yogi Adityanath government's move to build a 100-metre-high statue of Lord Ram on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya. "UP government's decision to erect a statue of Lord Ram is commendable. In keeping with the Ganga-Jamuni 'tehzeeb' of Awadh, these silver arrows will be just a token of admiration and esteem in which Shias hold Lord Ram", he said.

Shias have always venerated Hindu gods and goddesses. For instance, Rizvi said the Nawabs of Awadh donated land for temples in Ayodhya.

The land for Hanuman Garhi in central Ayodhya was donated by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah in 1739, while the funds to construct the Hanuman Garhi temple were provided by Nawab Asif-ud-Daullah, between 1775 and 1793, he said.

Shias have jumped into the ongoing Taj Mahal controversy too. Rizvi said the monument cannot be a symbol of "worship." He also alleged that "most Mughals were 'aiyaash' (dissolute)".

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As the Mughals were Sunnis, the Shias are seen to be opposing them and, in the process, aligning with the likes of BJP MLA Sangeet Som, who said Taj Mahal is a blot on Indian culture.

Besides, the Shia Board is one of the parties in the appeals pending in the Supreme Court regarding the Babri Mosque-Ram Janmbhoomi Temple dispute. In August, the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that the Babri Masjid site was its property and only it was entitled to hold negotiations for an amicable settlement of the dispute.

It also said a mosque could be built in a Muslim- dominated area at a reasonable distance from the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Efforts to create a monolithic Muslim community have been severely jolted with the stands which the Shias have been taking from time to time.

WOMEN

It is believed that a majority of the 50 per cent of the Muslim population has supported Modi. This section constitutes the Muslim women.

Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election earlier this year, Modi's exhortations that the government would ensure that the constitutional rights of Muslim women were protected struck a chord with the Muslim women. He was obviously referring to the polygamy and triple talaq practices prevalent among the Muslims.

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The women of India's largest minority community are believed to have overwhelmingly voted for the BJP in UP. No wonder, the BJP won 311 of the 403 Assembly seats in UP. Out of these 311 seats, 100 are dominated by the Muslims, including Deoband, where the community makes up for 71 per cent of the population.

The women even got relief when in August, the Supreme Court struck down instant triple talaq, terming it unconstitutional. Modi's continued engagement with the Muslim women may make it difficult for Owaisi to create a cohesive block of the minority community.

BOHRAS

Bohra Muslims, who are primarily settled in Gujarat, are also considered to be different from the Sunnis and closer to the Shias. This community is predominantly engaged in business and, hence, is generally peace-loving.

As any unrest, disturbance or riots adversely affect their trade and business, the Bohras always support peace and harmony in society. They are generally considered Modi and BJP supporters in Gujarat.

SUNNIS

With Muslim women, Shias and Bohras tilting towards the BJP, Owaisi and his ilk may have to bank upon the men among the Sunnis to create an MD alignment against the BJP and Modi government. Half of the Sunnis, who constitute about 70 per cent of the Muslims in India, will have to be aligned with the Dalits, making up for 16 per cent of the population to take on the BJP.

Together, they make up for roughly 23 (7+16) per cent of the population. With this combination, Owaisi or anyone trying to create an MD alignment is unlikely to taste success. Moreover, with the BJP's outreach, a monolithic Muslim votebank is also getting chipped off.

ALSO WATCH VIDEO | Triple talaq banned: Will Supreme Court ruling help stop legal discrimination against Muslim women?

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By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) A 24-year-old man gave a new lease of life to four people when his parents decided to donate his organs, including his heart, after he was declared brain dead by doctors today.

Delhi resident Dharmendra Kumar suffered a severe head injury on October 12 after he fell from the terrace of his house.

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"After the accident, he was rushed to a nearby private hospital and was later moved to the Apex Trauma Centre of AIIMS," an AIIMS doctor said.

Kumar could not be revived and was declared brain dead, the doctor said.

"After that, his parents were counselled and they agreed to donate the organs of their son," said Dr Aarti Vij, chief of the Organ Retrieval and Banking Organisation (ORBO), AIIMS.

The family donated his two kidneys, liver, heart and corneas, she said.

One of the kidneys was sent to the Safdarjung Hospital, while the other was transplanted into a patient at AIIMS.

The heart was given to a 50-year-old patient while the liver was transplanted in a 45-year-old patient, Dr Vij said.

His corneas have been preserved for future use, she added. PTI PLB BDS

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By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 18 (PTI) Raising questions of freedom of expression, Deepika Padukone today said she was heartbroken by the attack on a rangoli inspired by her upcoming film "Padmavati" and drew Union minister Smriti Iranis attention to the incident.

The rangoli in a Surat mall was vandalised earlier this week. It had taken rangoli artist Karan 48 hours to make it.

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"A crowd of 100 people cried JAY SRI RAM AND rubbed out my 48hrs intense work! Shocked," Karan had tweeted after the incident.

Deepika, 31, appealed to the Union information and broadcasting minister to look into the matter.

"Absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork! Disgusting and appalling to say the least!" she posted along with a photograph of the rangoli.

The actor, who plays the titular role in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis magnum opus, said such attacks muzzled the freedom of expression.

"Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? (Till when we will) Allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!?

"This has to stop now and action must be taken @smritiirani," she said on Twitter.

This is not the first time that Bhansalis film on the fabled Rajput princess has found itself in trouble.

Earlier this year, Bhansali was attacked by the members of Rajput community group, Karni Sena, during the shooting of the film in Rajasthan.

Last month, members of the Karni Sena burnt posters of the film after the first look of the main characters -- Padmavati (Deepika), Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and Allaudin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) -- was released.

They also threatened to oppose the screening of the movie in theatres if the facts were distorted.

"Padmavati" is slated to release on December 1. PTI SHD MIN

--- ENDS ---
Energoatom's development requires new law: report

18 October 2017

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The corporatization of Ukraine's Energoatom requires the development of a special law that will need to take into account all its characteristics as nuclear power plant operator, a consultancy report has concluded. The report was presented last week by a consortium selected by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to advise Energoatom on its restructuring. The consortium consists of the UK's Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC and Ukraine's IMEPOWER.

The project is part of the London-based bank's Corporate Sustainable Development programme and the report, presented to Energoatom and government officials in Kiev on 11 October, represents the first stage of the project.

Deloitte presented its initial report on implementation of the nuclear power plant operator's corporatization project in April. The report envisages 39 main activities to be implemented in three stages - to study and evaluate the existing legislative framework; to establish a roadmap that identifies the rights and obligations of the company and determines the role of the state; and to complete corporate governance issues. In addition, a ten-year development plan will be developed for financial management and attracting long-term capital investment. Deloitte is in close contact with all the relevant stakeholders in the project, including the Cabinet of Ministers, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, creditors and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

At the 11 October meeting, Energoatom President and CEO Yury Nedashkovsky said the need for corporatization of Energoatom is based not merely on Ukraine's commitments to the EBRD, but also to the urgent need to improve the company's operations.

According to a company statement, Nedashkovsky said: "Corporatization will expand Energoatom's capabilities in the sphere of international cooperation by increasing its appeal to investors." He added that Energoatom is the only nuclear power plant operator in the world to still be a state unitary enterprise.

Property rights

Presenting the report, consultants from Deloitte and IMEPOWER said a new law on Energoatom's corporatization would need to "streamline relationships and ensure the conditions for Energoatom as a joint stock company to continue to use property that is not subject to privatization".

The consultants highlighted a paradox in Energoatom's legal status, the company said. "On the one hand, under Ukraine's existing international obligations, Energoatom should be corporatized, and this has been approved by Ukrainian legislation," it said. By international obligations the company referred to the conditions of its loan agreements with the EBRD.

"But, as the specialists have emphasized, Ukrainian laws - on the privatization of state property; on state property not subject to privatization; and on the management of state property rights - property owned by Energoatom cannot be transferred into ownership in the authorized capital of Energoatom as a joint-stock company. And that includes property that corresponds to the company's main economic activities," it said.

This means, it added, that in establishing Energoatom as a joint-stock company according to current legislation, the company will be able to use to make a profit some 97% of the state property it owns free of charge, but a relatively small amount of the authorized capital, in relation to the total value of the state property accounted for on the company's balance sheet, will not contribute to improving the investment attractiveness of the enterprise.

As a result, the consultants have forecast a "negative value" for the size of the authorized capital, which would make it impossible for the state to register Energoatom as a new joint-stock company, it said. "However, it should be borne in mind that, according to its international obligations, Ukraine's adoption of all necessary measures for the corporatization of Energoatom should take place on condition that the size of the company's authorized capital is not reduced," it added.

The consultants "paid special attention" to the fact that nuclear materials - which according to the Ukrainian law on the use of nuclear energy and radiation safety are "exclusively state-owned property" - are an integral and essential component of Energoatom's economic activity.

Deloitte noted that, if the corporatization of Energoatom is to proceed, then as a joint-stock company it will be a party to contracts for the acquisition of nuclear materials and, by paying for these, the company will acquire the right to property that is exclusively state-owned, according to the statement.

"The need to reform the management system of state-owned enterprises in Ukraine has led to the recent introduction of amendments to legislation, with the introduction of the supervisory board as the governing body of a state-owned enterprise," it said. "Regarding the identity of the management bodies of a state-owned enterprise and a joint-stock company, the issue of property relations with respect to property that is not subject to privatization becomes a priority," it added.

The consultancy report states that Energoatom is of strategic importance to Ukraine's economy and security, and the settlement of legal disputes  which make the effective corporatization of the enterprise impossible - concern the strategic interests of the state.

"Deloitte is convinced therefore that a special legal regime for the use of property prohibited for privatization should be established by a public joint stock company created in the process of the corporatization of Energoatom," the company said.

Independence

During the discussion, a senior banker at the EBRD, Olga Eremina, noted the need for an independent management model for the company. "The result of corporatization should be the company's achievement of independence in making economic and budgetary decisions in its own interests and as part its development strategy. This is especially important in the context of the introduction of a new electricity market model in Ukraine," she said. Energoatom's corporatization should "release the company from the need to coordinate each and every step with the state in its investment activities", she added.

Taras Seryy, head of Deloitte's work on the corporate development of Energoatom, said: "Unfortunately, today the state does not have a strategic vision on what to do with Energoatom in the future, on how to develop the company. To form such a vision is our next collective task."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
South America is a subcontinent (or continent, depending on opinion) located in the southern, western and partly in the northern hemisphere. The continent is the fourth largest continent in the world and is made up of 12 countries: Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, and Ecuador. The continent is also made up of three dependent territories found in the maritime regions of the continent such as the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and French Guiana. It has a total population of 426 million people. These are the ten most populous countries in South America.

10. Uruguay - 3.3 million

Uruguay is found in the southeastern region of South America. The country has a population of 3.3 million people and the lowest population growth rate of below 1 percent (0.8). About 1.8 million residents live in the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the largest city. Uruguay is the second-smallest country by area in South America, only after Suriname.

9. Paraguay - 7 million

Paraguay borders Argentina to the south and Brazil to the east and northeast. It is the ninth most populous country in South America with a population of 7 million people and an annual growth of 1.58 percent. Majority of the people occupy the eastern region of the country near the capital city, Asuncion, which hosts 10 percent of the population. Only 56 percent of the people of Paraguay live in urban areas which is the lowest percentage in South America.

8. Bolivia - 10.5 million

Bolivia, a landlocked country, is found in the western-central region of South America. It borders Brazil to the east and north and Paraguay to the south. The Andean mountain range covers about one-third of the total land area of Bolivia. The country has a population of 10.5 million people. In the last five decades, the population has tripled by a population growth rate of 2.25 percent annually. About 62.3% of Bolivians live in cities and major towns with the rest of the population in rural areas.

7. Chile - 18 million

Chile is a country found west of the Andes and occupies the long narrow strip bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It has an estimated population of 18 million people. Chile has a steady population growth rate of 1.05 percent which means that the population will continue to increase at a stabilized rate like most South American countries.

6. Ecuador - 16.3 million

Ecuador is in the northwestern part of South America, bordering Colombia to the north and Peru to the south and east. It is recognized as one of the famous 17 megadiverse countries in the world and has a very diverse population. As of 2017, Ecuador has a population of 16 million people and an annual growth rate of 1.57 percent.

5. Venezuela - 30.6 million

Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America and is home to over 30 million people. Most of the population lives in urban areas making Venezuela one of the most urbanized countries in South America. Major urban centers and cities are in the northern part of the country. Only 5 percent of the population occupies the southern region.

4. Peru - 31.2 million

Peru occupies the western side of the continent, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north and Brazil to the east. It has a population of 31 million people, making it the fourth most populous country in South America. Most of the people, up to 75%, live in urban areas. In recent years, the growth rate has declined from 2.6% to 1.5% between 1950 and the year 2000. Lima, the countrys capital, is home to over 9.8 million residents.

3. Argentina - 43.1 million

Argentina is the third most populous country with a population of 43 million people. The population density of Argentina is 15 persons per square kilometer which is much lower than the world average of 50 persons per square kilometer. The population growth rate stands at 1.03% annually which is among the lowest in South America.

2. Colombia - 48.5 million

Colombia comes second in population in South America with an estimated population of 49 million people. The majority of the Colombian people are young - the country has a high proportion of children below the age of 15. Colombia has an annual population growth rate of 0.9 percent. The highest population density is found in the Andean highlands.

1. Brazil - 204.5 million

Brazil is the most populous country in South America and the fifth most populous in the world with a population of 204 million people. It is also the largest country by the area covered measuring about 8.6 million kilometers squared. Brazil has a very high population growth rate that has surpassed previous projections. However, the population growth is expected to stabilize in the next few years.
The Mediterranean Sea is a body of water that is situated in between parts of 3 continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The name Mediterranean comes from the Latin term, mediterraneus, and means middle of the earth. Indeed, the Mediterranean Sea sits in the middle of what people living in ancient Greece, Egypt, and Rome believed to be the world as a whole.

Geography Of The Mediterranean Sea

An Italian village along the Mediterranean coast of Italy.

The Mediterranean Sea encompasses 2.54 million sq. km. At its longest, the sea is 3,800 km long; at its widest, it is 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea is bordered by Europe to the north, Africa to the south, and Asia to the east. To the west is the narrow Strait of Gibraltar, between Europes Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The Ionian Sea lies to the north, between southern Italy and Greece. The Aegean Sea can also be found to the north, between Greece and Turkey. In the eastern Mediterranean are narrow waterways that can be used to enter or exit the region. One is the Dardanelles Straits, which is located in western Turkey, and which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea, by way of the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus Straits. Another is the Suez Canal, located in northern Egypt. The canal flows between the African part of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. It connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

Countries Of The Mediterranean

Map of the Mediterranean Sea and neighboring countries.

The Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by 16 countries. Of these 16 countries, 6 are in Europe, 5 are in Africa, 4 are in Asia, and one transcends territory in both Europe and Asia. The 6 European countries that border the Mediterranean are Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, and the island country of Malta, which is located south of the Italian island of Sicily. The 5 African countries are Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco; the 4 Asian countries are Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and the island country of Cyprus, which is more politically and economically connected with Europe, but is technically part of Asia, and is situated south of Turkey. Turkey is also a Mediterranean country, though it has the distinction of possessing territory in both Europe and Asia. Turkeys European territory makes up part of the region of Thrace, shared with Greece, but the bulk of Turkish territory, known as Anatolia or Asia Minor, is in Asia.

European Mediterranean Countries

African Mediterranean Countries

Asian Mediterranean Countries

Transcontinental Mediterranean Country

Island Countries In The Mediterranean Sea

As mentioned previously, Malta and Cyprus are two islands countries located in the Mediterranean Sea. With an area of 9,251 sq. km, and population of 1,198,580, Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. Although Malta is considerably smaller in size (316 sq. km), it is the sixth most populous Mediterranean island with 502,650 people living within its territory.

Peoples Of The Mediterranean

Port Said, Egypt, along the Mediterranean coast.

There are many different peoples in the Mediterranean region. The African countries of the region are dominated by Arabic speakers. The Arabs conquered North Africa in the 7th century, and are now the dominant population therein. There are, however, non-Arab peoples, most notably the Berbers, who formed much of North Africas population prior to the Arab invasion. Both Arabic and Berber are composed of many different dialects.

The Asian countries of the Mediterranean region include Turkey (transcontinental), Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and the disputed territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Syria, Lebanon, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip are predominantly Arab, and each possesses their own dialect of Arabic. Lebanon was once the cradle of the ancient Phoenician civilization, which spread throughout North Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. One Phoenician settlement in present-day Tunisia was Carthage, which eventually became the center of the Punic Empire. The Punic Empire competed unsuccessfully with the Roman Empire for hegemony in the Mediterranean region.

Ruins of Carthage in Tunis, the capital city of the Mediterranean country of Tunisia.

Israel is situated in the Biblical Holy Land. It is the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, who, over a course of many centuries, spread throughout Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. The modern State of Israel is mostly inhabited by Jews who came from Jewish diaspora communities around the world, though it also has a sizeable Arab population, which is related to the Palestinian Arabs that make up the overwhelming majority of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It should be noted that among Israels Jews are several different Jewish dialects that were developed over the centuries in diaspora communities. Examples of these dialects include Yiddish, spoken by Jews of Central and Eastern European descent, and Ladino, which is still spoken by some Jews who are of Southern European or North African descent.

Jews praying during the Touching ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel. Editorial credit: kavram / Shutterstock.com

The people of Cyprus are largely Greek-speaking, though there is also a large Turkish-speaking population in the country. In fact, the northern part of Cyprus is a self-declared Turkish state, but is only recognized by Turkey. The people of Anatolia, Turkeys sovereign territory in Asia, are mostly Turkish, but there is also a large Kurdish population in the southeast of the country.

The Europeans of the Mediterranean region are overwhelmingly speakers of Romance languages, including French, Spanish, and Italian. None of these Romance languages, however, are by any means uniform. Several dialects of French, Spanish, and Italian exist. The Spanish spoken in Spain, for example, includes Castilian Spanish, which is the most dominant dialect, but it also includes variants called Andalusian Spanish and Murcian Spanish, both of which are dialects native to southern Spain, which of course borders the Mediterranean Sea. In Italy, there are many dialects of Italian, some of which are mutually unintelligible. The other languages of the Mediterranean Europeans are Greek, which if course is spoken in Greece, Maltese, the national language of Malta, and Turkish, which is spoken by people living in eastern Thrace, the only part of Turkey that is considered part of Europe.

Road signs in Spanish in Cangas de Onis, Spain.

There are also ethnic minorities in Spain, France, and Italy who have distinct cultures and languages. Spain and France, for instance, both contain parts of the territories of Catalonia and the Basque Country, both of which have their own languages. The Basque language is especially unique in that it is not related to any of the other languages in the region. Southern France is home to the ancient region of Occitania, where some speak what is known as the langue dOc, or Occitan. The Italian-controlled Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Sicily also have their own languages, as does the French-controlled Mediterranean island of Corsica. In fact, all of the aforementioned distinct minority communities have advocated for autonomy, if not outright independence, to protect their distinctiveness.

What Is Mediterranean Culture?

Mediterranean cuisine is rich in tomatoes, olives, olive oil, etc.

Mediterranean culture is not a culture in and of itself, but rather a series of commonalities among the peoples of the Mediterranean region. One of those commonalities is the diet of the Mediterranean peoples. The so-called Mediterranean diet largely consists of foods found in the region, including fresh vegetables, fish and seafood, grains like rice and lentils, poultry, eggs, cheese, yogurt, nuts, local herbs and spices, a moderate amount of wine, and plenty of water. One significant aspect of the Mediterranean diet is that it generally does not include much red meat. Many nutrition experts recommend the Mediterranean diet for health reasons. One other important aspect of the Mediterranean diet is that it is often enjoyed with family and friends.

Greeks relaxing by the Mediterranean Sea beach in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece. Editorial credit: Aleksandar Todorovic / Shutterstock.com

The Mediterranean diet, however, is not the only thing that is common among the peoples of the Mediterranean. In general, the peoples of the region also believe in being physically active, but naturally. In other words, integrating exercise into their daily routines by walking instead of driving, using stairs, or performing manual labor. The peoples of the Mediterranean also believe in living simply, which means not having more than you need. In addition, Mediterranean culture stresses socializing, though it also stresses not making your social circle too big. Instead, the people of the Mediterranean region prefer to spend time with those whom they truly care about. Lastly, having fun and laughing is one of the most Mediterranean things you can do.
By PTI: By M Zulqernain

Lahore, Oct 18 (PTI) A prominent Pakistani cleric, who fled from a court in Multan following rejection of his bail plea today, was arrested in connection with the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.

Mufti Abdul Qavi today appeared before the sessions court in Multan in Punjab province, some 350-km from Lahore, to seek extension to his bail in the Qandeel murder case.

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The court, however, did not grant him extension and ordered his arrest.

Mufti Qavi managed to flee the court but later in the day was arrested on the highway from Multan to Jhang.

"We alerted the highway police after Mufti Qavi managed to flee from the court premises with the help of lawyers. At a picket on Jhang Road he was arrested and brought to the Multan police," Investigating Officer Noor Akbar told reporters.

"We will interrogate him for his alleged role in the murder of Qandeel before submitting a report to the court."

Qavi is accused of inciting Qandeels brothers to kill her after she allegedly "humiliated" him by posting some objectionable pictures with the cleric on social media platforms.

Qandeel, 26, was found strangled to death in her house in Multans Karimabad area, some 350-km from Lahore, on July 16, 2016. Her younger brother, Waseem, confessed to police that he had killed Qandeel for disgracing familys honour.

Waseem said he drugged Qandeel before strangling her. "She brought dishonour to the Baloch name due to her risque videos and statements posted on social media," he had said.

Qavi was embroiled in the controversy after Qandeel took selfies with him in a meeting in a hotel and made them viral on social media.

Qavi said Qandeel was killed because she committed a sin by humiliating a religious person.

Qandeel, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, had received threats from the supporters of Mufti Qavi.

Prior to her death, Qandeel spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security. No help was provided by the ministry.

A case has been pending in the Multan sessions court. Waseem and two others have been chargesheeted in the case.

Killing of women relatives in the name of honour is a menace still prevalent in many parts of Pakistan. More than 1,000 women are killed every year by their relatives on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour. PTI MZ ZH

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Development Bank of Wales opens for business with HQ in Wrexham

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Oct 18th, 2017

Today sees the official opening of The Development Bank of Wales, which has been based in Wrexham, and expects to have a billion pound impact on Wales over five years.

Created by the Welsh Government, the new Development Bank should make it easier for businesses to get the capital they need to start-up, strengthen and grow.

In total, the Development Bank of Wales has around 440m available to invest in Welsh business. The Wales Flexible Investment Fund will invest more and over longer periods than existing funds, offering up to 5m in a single round and repayment terms of up to 10 years. Through the Development Bank, the Welsh Government is also trebling the amount of micro finance available from 6m to over 18m, with further funds also being developed.

The overall impact is hoped to support 1,400 businesses with those businesses creating and safeguarding more than 20,000 jobs.

Economy and Infrastructure Secretary, and local AM, Ken Skates said: I am delighted we have been able to quickly progress Welsh Government plans to establish The Development Bank of Wales. The bank will use Welsh Government funding to support investments that will help grow Wales economy both today and into the future and provide businesses with the support they need.

As our businesses thrive and repay the loans, that money will be re-invested meaning that the capital doesnt just help businesses succeed now, it funds the next generation of Welsh success stories too.

Giles Thorley, Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Wales said: 99% of all businesses across Wales are micro to medium size. They account for 60% of all private sector employment. As businesses face the uncertainty of Brexit, the need to provide stability and stimulate growth is more immediate than ever.

For Welsh businesses the changes mean that there is more finance available to support them no matter what their stage of business. Micro, small and medium businesses are vital to the Welsh economy and we are proud to have worked with so many ambitious and dedicated entrepreneurs. The message to Welsh businesses is simple: get in touch. Were here to help your business succeed.

Offering loans and equity investments which can be paid back over periods of up to ten years, the Development Bank will offer a wide range of investment, from 1,000 up to 5 million.

The launch, as pictured above at the Homestead Nursery in Gresford that was purchased with help from the a Wales Business Fund earlier this year, also saw the release of this quick explainer video as well:
By PTI: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Oct 18 (PTI) US Vice President Mike Pence today thanked Pakistan for the safe recovery of American citizen Caitlin Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children from the Taliban captivity.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi received a telephone call from Vice President Pence this evening, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministers Office here.

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Speaking on behalf of the US Government, Vice President Pence thanked Abbasi and praised the professionalism of the Pakistan Army and the intelligence agencies for the swift response and safe recovery of Coleman and her family.

Coleman and her husband Joshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip. Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. All of her three children were born in captivity.

The Pakistan Army recovered them from terrorist custody through an operation based on actionable intelligence from US authorities.

"Vice President Pence reaffirmed the importance of bilateral relations and said that the US would like to further build this relationship for peace and prosperity of the region," the statement said.

Reaffirming Pakistans resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil, Abbasi assured Pence that Pakistan would respond to any actionable intelligence shared by the US.

The two leaders agreed to maintain high-level engagements to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Vice President Pence also accepted an invitation of the prime minister to visit Pakistan in the near future. PTI SH ZH

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Twelve thousand professors, instructors, counselors and librarians walked out on strike Monday at 24 community colleges across the province of Ontario. The teachers, who are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), are opposing the relentless increase in low-paid, temporary and precarious work contracts and the curtailment of academic freedom from the increased influence of corporate interests in the educational system. Such has been the transformation of the college system under governments of all political stripes, that it is known today as the Educational WalMart.

Currently about 80 percent of workers are employed on short-term or part-time contracts, many of whom are hired on 13-week, low-load contracts with no job security and inferior wages and conditions. Average annual pay even for full-time contract employees is less than $30,000 (US$24,008).

In negotiations, the OPSEU bargaining committee has proposed that this disparity be reduced so that no more than half of the workforce is subjected to such precarious terms of employment, which the union stated was the bare minimum needed to ensure quality education for students and to treat faculty fairly.

For their own part, the College Employer Council representing management has rejected the union proposals outright, asserting their corporate "right to organize the educational system as they see fit. The bargaining is about enshrining a rigid staffing level that effects how you conduct your operations, and we are not prepared to bargain that, said Council CEO Don Sinclair.

For Sinclair, as for every other corporate CEO, management ascribes to itself an inviolable power to destroy the living standards of its employees in a never-ending race to the bottom. This simultaneously compromises the right of the 500,000 students enrolled in the system to any semblance of a quality public education. Of course, Sinclair's austerity did not include the senior executives of the colleges. Earlier this year, a number of colleges forwarded requests for 50 percent salary hikes for their presidents.

When the provincial community college system was established in 1965, the vast majority of instructors were hired on a full-time basis. Members of the College Employer Council were appointed directly by the provincial Minister of Education. Government funding of the colleges accounted for over 80 percent of operating revenues. Tuition fees topped out at no more than 15 percent of total revenues. As late as 1992, government funding comprised 77 percent of college revenue. But the brutal social service budgets by consecutive federal and Ontario governmentsincluding under the social democratic New Democratic Party (NDP) administration of Bob Raehas steadily altered the educational landscape.

Today, government funding comprises only 44 percent of community college budgetsthe lowest ratio of any province in Canada. The percentage of precarious employment contracts has ballooned. The College Employer Council is no longer appointed by government, but draws its members independently and largely from the private sector. Corporate partnerships with private for-profit and largely unregulated colleges compromise ever growing portions of revenue as colleges contract on-line teaching services, procure courses in a can from publishing houses, imperil academic freedom by selling curriculum control to corporate sponsors and even appropriate teacher lectures for future profit.

To administer these schemes, there is now one administrator for every three full-time faculty membersfour times the rate in the public high school system. Increasingly indebted students pay on average $5,000 per semester, or 33 percent of the college operating budgets, even as class sizes can comprise as many as several hundred students.

The current strike action is the fourth since the community colleges were founded. In 1984, the Conservative government of Bill Davis legislated the teachers back to work after an 18-day strike. A particularly bitter strike in 2006 saw the death of 62-year-old teacher John Stammers, who was hit by a car on the picket line. No charges were ever laid. That 20-day strike ended when OPSEU agreed to final arbitration that failed to address the demands of the teachers. In 2010, management employed final offer provisions in the Ontario Labour Code to force a vote among the teachers who narrowly accepted the concessionary deal before a strike was called.

A WSWS reporting team spoke with strikers at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario on the first day of the strike. Several of the strikers asked that their names not be used so as to prevent victimization by management on future contract work.

Picket captain Jeff Miles said, We have contracts here that only go semester to semester. A part-timer can have a full complement of hours one semester and nothing the next. Plus we are laid off for the summer. There is definitely a shortage of money from the province. A partial load is only 9 to 12 hours a week. Some only do 3 to 6.

A sessional instructor told the WSWS, This crap has been going on for decades but its getting to the point where almost everyone is getting screwed one way or another. Its not this government or that governmentits all of them. They all embrace this neoliberal austerity point of view. NDP, Conservatives, LiberalsI dont trust any of them. Politics in this country are hopeless.

A full-time contractor explained, There are very few benefits for us. We have to pay $50 dollars a month out of pocket for dental coverage. The part-timers are even in worse shape. They have no benefits at all.

Brian, a full-time Information Technology teacher said, Im not out on strike for myself. Ill be OK. Im out here for the part-time instructors. I would much rather be teaching but there comes a time when you have to take a stand.

A student supporting the strike added, Of course, its tough to pay tuition and not have classes but I dont blame the faculty. Its insane that most of the teachers are on part-time contracts. They just come and go and arent able to give us the attention we need. I support them because Im part of a generation that is uneasy about ever getting a full-time job.
The political representatives of the American ruling class are engaged in a conspiracy to suppress free speech. Under the guise of combating trolls and fake news supposedly controlled by Russia, the most basic constitutional rights enumerated in the First Amendment are under direct attack.

The leading political force in this campaign is the Democratic Party, working in collaboration with sections of the Republican Party, the mass media and the military-intelligence establishment.

The Trump administration is threatening nuclear war against North Korea, escalating the assault on health care, demanding new tax cuts for the rich, waging war on immigrant workers, and eviscerating corporate and environmental regulations. This reactionary agenda is not, however, the focus of the Democratic Party. It is concentrating instead on increasingly hysterical claims that Russia is sowing divisions within the United States.

In the media, one report follows another, each more ludicrous than the last. The claim that Russia shifted the US election by means of $100,000 in advertisements on Facebook and Twitter has been followed by breathless reports of the Putin governments manipulation of other forms of communication.

An exclusive report from CNN last week proclaimed that one organization, Dont Shoot Us, which it alleges without substantiation is connected to Russia, sought to exploit racial tensions and sow discord on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr and even Pokemon Go, a reality game played on cell phones.

Another report from CNN on Monday asserted that a Russian troll factory was involved in posting comments critical of Hillary Clinton as part of President Vladimir Putins campaign to influence the 2016 election. All of the negative commentary in news media and other publications directed at Clinton, it implied, were the product of Russian agents or people duped by Russian agents.

As during the period of Cold War McCarthyism, the absurdity of the charges goes unchallenged. They are picked up and repeated by other media outlets and by politicians to demonstrate just how far-reaching the actions of the nefarious foreign enemy really are.

While one aim has been to continue and escalate an anti-Russia foreign policy, the more basic purpose is emerging ever more clearly: to criminalize political dissent within the United States.

The most direct expression to date of this conspiracy against free speech was given by the anticommunist ideologue Anne Applebaum in a column published Monday in the Washington Post, If Russia can create fake Black Lives Matter accounts, who will next?

Her answer: the American people. I can imagine multiple groups, many of them proudly American, who might well want to manipulate a range of fake accounts during a riot or disaster to increase anxiety or fear, she writes. She warns that political groupson the left, the right, you name itwill quickly figure out how to use social media to spread disinformation and demoralization.

Applebaum rails against all those who seek to hide their identity online. There is a better case than ever against anonymity, at least against anonymity in the public forums of social media and comment sections, she writes. She continues: The right to free speech is something that is granted to humans, not bits of computer code. Her target, however, is not bots operating fake accounts, but anyone who seeks, fearing state repression or unjust punishment by his or her employer, to make an anonymous statement online. And that is only the opening shot in a drive to silence political dissent.

Applebaum is closely connected to the highest echelons of the capitalist state. She is a member of key foreign policy think tanks and sits on the board of directors of the CIA-linked National Endowment for Democracy. Married to the former foreign minister of Poland, she is a ferocious war hawk. Following the Russian annexation of Crimea, she authored a column in the Washington Post in which she called for total war against nuclear-armed Russia. She embodies the connection between militarism and political repression.

The implications of Applebaums arguments are made clear in an extraordinary article published on the front page of Tuesdays New York Times, As US Confronts Internets Disruptions, China Feels Vindicated, which takes a favorable view of Chinas aggressive censorship of the Internet and implies that the United States is moving toward just such a regime.

For years, the United States and others saw Chinas heavy-handed censorship as a sign of political vulnerability and a barrier to Chinas economic development, the Times writes. But as countries in the West discuss potential Internet restrictions and wring their hands over fake news, hacking and foreign meddling, some in China see a powerful affirmation of the countrys vision for the internet.

The article goes on to assert that while few would argue that Chinas Internet control serves as a model for democratic societies At the same time, China anticipated many of the questions now flummoxing governments from the United States to Germany to Indonesia.

Glaringly absent from the Times article, Applebaums commentary and all of the endless demands for a crackdown on social media is any reference to democratic rights, free speech or the First Amendment.

The First Amendment, which asserts that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, is the broadest amendment in the US Constitution. Contrary to Applebaum, there is no caveat exempting anonymous speech from Constitutional protection. It is a historical fact that leaders of the American Revolution and drafters of the Constitution wrote articles under pseudonyms to avoid repression by the British authorities.

The Constitution does not give the government or powerful corporations the right to proclaim what is fake and what is not, what is a conspiracy theory and what is authoritative. The same arguments now being employed to crack down on social media could just as well have been used to suppress books and mass circulation newspapers that emerged with the development of the printing press.

The drive toward Internet censorship in the United States is already far advanced. Since Google announced plans to bury alternative viewpoints in search results earlier this year, leading left-wing sites have seen their search traffic plunge by more than 50 percent. The World Socialist Web Sites search traffic from Google has fallen by 75 percent.

Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms have introduced similar measures. The campaign being whipped up over Russian online activity will be used to justify even more far-reaching measures.

This is taking place as universities implement policies to give police the authority to vet campus events. There are ongoing efforts to abolish net neutrality so as to give giant corporations the ability to regulate Internet traffic. The intelligence agencies have demanded the ability to circumvent encryption after having been exposed for illegally monitoring the phone communications and Internet activity of the entire population.

In one democratic country after another governments are turning to police-state forms of rule, from France, with its permanent state of emergency, to Germany, which last month shut down a subsidiary of the left-wing political site Indymedia, to Spain, with its violent crackdown on the separatist referendum in Catalonia and arrest of separatist leaders.

The destruction of democratic rights is the political response of the corporate and financial aristocracy to the growth of working class discontent bound up with record levels of social inequality. It is intimately linked to preparations for a major escalation of imperialist violence around the world. The greatest concern of the ruling elite is the emergence of an independent movement of the working class, and the state is taking actions to prevent it.
Academics and professional staff at two of Sydneys public universities will take part in separate stoppages and rallies on Thursday, under conditions where university workersand studentsacross Australia face escalating attacks on jobs, basic rights and conditions. This assault is being driven by the federal governments demands for further multi-billion cuts to tertiary education funding.

Members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will strike for 24 hours, while those at Western Sydney University (WSU) will hold a four-hour stoppage. The NTEU has called both protests to try to clinch new enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) with UTS and WSU managements.

University administrations everywhere are intent on imposing real pay cuts, sweeping job losses, further pro-market restructuring and even-greater casualisation. Increasingly, they are resorting to punitive measures, such as banning industrial action via court orders, terminating EBAs and sacking trade union representatives.

Far from opposing this offensive, the two trade unions covering university staff are facilitating it. The NTEU and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) are seeking to push through sellout EBA deals, to deliver each individual university administration the cost-cutting it requires, and to confine the outraged opposition of their members to isolated stoppages and protests.

The NTEU set the template for these sellouts last month when it bulldozed an in-principle EBA through a bitter union branch membership meeting at the University of Sydney. The deal is so odious that even the NTEU branch committee formally opposed it. Eventually, the NTEU national executive, which endorsed the agreement before the members got to vote on it, obtained 301 votes in favor at the meeting. There were, nevertheless, 139 against, reflecting rising concern about the unions role.

After that, angry CPSU members forced their union to publicly deny that it had agreed to the deal and to demand further negotiations with management. Even according to the NTEUs typically misleading summary of the Sydney deal:

* The management can impose hundreds of forced redundancies in its restructuring plans.

* Casuals will not receive any sick leave, parental leave or 17 percent superannuation and will continue to make up an increasing proportion of the workforce.

* 120 teaching-only roles, with heavy workloads, will be advertised, further undermining the traditional link between academic research and teaching.

* There are 2.1 percent annual wage increases, which amount to a protracted real pay cut.

At a so-called national on-line briefing on September 26, NTEU national secretary Graeme McCulloch made it plain that the union wants similar agreements at every university, including UTS and WSU. He declared that union-negotiated EBAs were essential in order to take into account not just the interests of staff, but those of the NTEU, and the universities themselves, given the funding shortfalls and other circumstances they faced.

In other words, the NTEU is seeking to deliver the financial and corporate needs of managements, at the direct expense of university staff. The union has been doing exactly that for the past quarter century, ever since the regressive enterprise bargaining process was introduced by the Keating Labor government and the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1993.

Since the September 26 briefing, where all debate was blocked, the government and various university managements have only intensified their offensive. At Melbournes Victoria University, mass retrenchments have been extended to target several NTEU branch committee members. At Perths Murdoch University, where the administration obtained a Fair Work Commission order to terminate the EBA, the management is refusing to negotiate with the NTEU, pressuring it to extract further concessions from its members.

At UTS, the NTEUs log of claims includes a limit on 50 percent casual teaching in any Faculty (with no increase to academic workloads for continuing staff). This typifies the unions role over decades in helping to create conditions of massive casualisation, primarily via EBAs. In the words of the NTEUs own 2016-17 annual report, the majority of teaching at Australian universities is now performed by casual staff and four out of five teaching-only and research-only academics [are] being employed on casual or short-term contracts.

Likewise, at WSU, the union is asking management to retain Teaching Focused Roles and Career Development Fellowships, falsely claiming that these have a proven track-record of stemming casualisation. In reality, the academics in these posts are subjected to huge workloads, low pay and poor conditions, while casualisation has continued to mushroom.

At WSU, both the NTEU and the CPSU are also helping management to inflict hundreds of administrative job cuts, including the retrenchment of all 41 security officers. Far from fighting job destruction, in which staff members are being forced to compete against each other to retain their own jobs, often at lower pay scales, the unions are proposing measures to stifle opposition by extending supposed redeployment opportunities and protecting current pay levels for limited periods.

While pushing through further retrograde EBAs, the NTEU is stepping up its promotion of the return of a Labor government as a supposed alternative to the current Liberal-National Coalition. In the unions annual report, general secretary McCulloch was explicit. He stated: [O]nly our organised workplace power can guarantee that a future Labor government will legislate to ensure that the current power imbalance between employers and unions is reset.

This sums up the unions role in tying their members to the corporate agenda of the Labor Party and the entire framework of the exploitation of university staff for profit. Historically, it has been Labor governments that have spearheaded the transformation of universities into edu-businesses, from reintroducing student fees in the 1980s to the Rudd-Gillard education revolution, which has compelled universities to compete with each other for their market share of lucrative enrolments. The last NTEU and Greens-backed Labor government slashed some $3 billion from university budgets.

At the UTS and WSU stopwork events, Socialist Equality Party supporters will call for a political rebellion against the NTEUs reactionary political and industrial agenda. We will move the following resolution:

That this meeting opposes the NTEU sell-out at the University of Sydney and calls for a unified fight by university workers nationally against the Liberal-National governments cuts, and to overturn all the previous cuts imposed by both Labor and Coalition governments over the past four decades. We demand that billions of dollars be poured into education at all levels, from pre-school to tertiary, to guarantee the social right of all young people to a free, first-class education and the social right of all staff to decent, well-paid and secure positions.
By PTI: (Eds: Updating with the PMs tweet)

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said silos are a "big bottleneck" in the functioning of the union government and asked bureaucrats to adopt innovative ways to break these to speed up the processes of governance, which will benefit the people.

He has asked the bureaucrats to work with dedication towards creation of New India by 2022.

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He conveyed the message during interactions with around 380 Directors and Deputy Secretaries working in various departments and ministries in the government of India, the PMO said in a statement here today.

The interactions were held in four groups, it added.

"Emphasised on innovative methods to break silos & further improve the speed of governance. This will greatly benefit people," Modi tweeted tonight.

The prime minister exhorted the officers to work with full dedication towards creation of New India by 2022, the PMO statement said.

"He said that silos are a big bottleneck in the functioning of the union government," the statement said.

"He urged the officers to adopt innovative ways to break silos, which will result in the speeding up of various processes of governance," it added.

In the same vein, the prime minister said officers at the level of Director and Deputy Secretary must create teams, to achieve better results.

Subjects such as governance, corruption, public enterprises, government e-marketplace (GeM), health, education, skill development, agriculture, transportation, national integration, water resources, swachh bharat, culture, communication and tourism came up for discussion during the interactions, the statement said.

Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and senior officers from PMO and Cabinet Secretariat were present during the interactions held over various days, the last one being yesterday. PTI AKK AKK

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Since the inconclusive New Zealand election result on September 23, US ambassador Scott Brown has given three extraordinary media interviews. He defended President Donald Trumps threats to wage war on North Korea and sought to pressure the next New Zealand government to more openly align and integrate with Washington.

A government has yet to be formed. The incumbent National Party and opposition Labour Party, which both failed to gain a majority, have held secretive coalition negotiations with New Zealand First, which received just 7.2 percent of the votes. NZ First, a right-wing nationalist and anti-Chinese party, says it will decide by the end of the week which party it will support.

The reckless actions of the US, under Barack Obama and Trump, have brought the world to the brink of war. Days before New Zealands election, in a fascistic speech to the United Nations, Trump threatened to totally destroy North Korea. The American ruling elite is attempting to reverse its economic decline by using its overwhelming military strength to dominate the Asia-Pacific region, above all at the expense of China. Washington is demanding the support of all its allies, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

New Zealands ruling class faces a fraught dilemma. It has significant economic links with Australia and the US, and relies on the US alliance to protect its own neo-colonial interests in the Pacific region, including in Samoa, Niue, Kiribati and Tonga. The National Party government, like the 1999-2008 Labour government, strengthened military and intelligence ties with the US and sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, National also cultivated close business ties with China, New Zealands second largest trading partner. It has been reluctant to explicitly endorse the US military build-up and threats of trade war against Beijing. Labour and NZ First have called for greater military spending and attacked the government for encouraging Chinese investment and immigration.

Browns role is to ensure that the next government ends any wavering and fully aligns with the US war drive. A former Republican Senator for Massachusetts, he was appointed ambassador by Trump and arrived in June. He spent 35 years in the Army National Guard and is known for supporting waterboarding and other forms of torture. He has also spoken of his admiration for Trumps fascist ex-advisor Steve Bannon, describing him as a patriot.

In a TVNZ interview on October 15, Brown rebuked Prime Minister Bill English for failing to fully endorse Trumps threats against North Korea. In August, English said he would consider supporting a US war against North Korea, but offered no definite commitment and described Trumps threat to rain fire and fury on the impoverished country as not helpful.

Brown told TVNZ: With respect to the prime minister... the presidents policy, after years of basically languishing, are (sic) actually working. He pointed to the crippling UN sanctions imposed on North Korea, which are heightening the danger of war. With breathtaking hypocrisy, the ambassador declared that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was the one threatening to wipe out and kill people.

TVNZ journalist Corin Dann asked Brown if the US was concerned ... that New Zealand is becoming too aligned, particularly economically, with China. Brown replied that trade was up to the Kiwi government but declared that China was destroying coral reefs and militarising islands and changing the law of the air and sea.

So far, the National government has been wary of openly criticising Chinas construction on disputed islands in the South China Sea, which the US has used as a pretext for its own militarisation of the region, including provocative naval exercises.

On September 27, Brown was asked by Newshub if Washington expected New Zealand to join some kind of fight against North Korea. He replied: Thats completely and totally up to your government, whichever government it is. However, he added: I would hope that New Zealand would do whatever it can do to protect its environmental interests, its fishing interests, its territorial interests... China is ... building and militarising islands. That has a direct effect. And then their trade with North Korea, thats important, we have to stop that.

In his interviews, Brown stressed New Zealands importance as a partner in the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network. He told Fairfax Media on October 2 that New Zealanders should be really proud of that fact. NZs Government Communications Security Bureau plays a major part in war preparations by spying on China and other countries, in collaboration with the US National Security Agency.

Browns statements coincide with an intensifying anti-Chinese campaign by sections of the New Zealand media, working with the Washington-based think tanks, the Wilson Center and the Jamestown Foundation. A widely-publicised report by the Wilson Centers Anne-Marie Brady, published days before the election, claimed the government was beholden to Chinese business interests and alleged, without any evidence, that National Party MP Jian Yang and Labour MP Raymound Huo were agents of the Chinese Communist Party. Brady called for the NZ Security Intelligence Service to carry out a sweeping investigation of Chinese influence in New Zealand politics.

NZ First echoed Bradys demands and called for Yang to step down while an inquiry is conducted. Labour leader Jacinda Ardern also indicated she would consider empowering the spy agency to investigate Chinese influence, as Australias intelligence agency is now doing.

None of the parliamentary parties has commented publicly on Browns extraordinary post-election statements, which undoubtedly have been discussed behind the backs of the population as part of the coalition negotiations with NZ First.

All the parties, including the Greens, support the alliance with US imperialism and are extremely concerned about the widespread anti-war sentiment in the working class. This is why the immense danger of war was barely discussed during the election campaign.

The Daily Blog, funded by several trade unions and supported by the pseudo-left Socialist Aotearoa and the Communist Workers Group, is playing a key role in whipping up anti-Chinese xenophobia. After the election it declared Chinese influence in the National Party was the major issue facing the country. The blog, which is pushing for a Labour-Green-NZ First government, endorsed Bradys report and has published racialist articles opposing Asian immigration.

Washingtons intervention into the political crisis is an indication of the immense dangers facing the working class. The next government, whichever party leads it, will intensify the attacks on immigrants, whip up nationalism and xenophobia, and accelerate the preparations to drag the country into war.

The author also recommends:

The US on the brink of war with North Korea

[12 October 2017]

New Zealand First pushes anti-China witch-hunt in coalition negotiations

[9 October 2017]

No to war and social inequality! For world socialism! Socialist Equality Group statement on the New Zealand election

[19 September 2017]
EASTPOINT, Fla. (WTXL) - Franklin County Sheriff's Office deputies say a man has died after he and another man were rescued from the Apalachicola Bay.

FCSO says they responded to a boat in distress Tuesday afternoon on the Eastpoint side of the John Gorrie Memorial Causeway.

They say two men were struggling to swim toward land as FCSO, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Franklin Detention Officers and nearby civilians tried to rescue them.

"Despite the tremendous outpouring of help," deputies wrote on Facebook, "one man was pronounced deceased after extensive CPR."

FCSO says the other victim has been reported as stable after a night of recovery.
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - A Georgia agency on aging says seniors should fight the fright of getting older by using area resources that allow them to maintain their independence.

The Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging will present the resources at a free Halloween Hotdog Luncheon on Monday, Oct. 30, at noon at the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority Senior Center. The center is at 1360 East Park Ave.

The event, to be held the day before Halloween, is open to residents ages 50 and older.

Agency representatives will provide information to seniors about the services the Area Agency on Aging provides, including information about the Assisted Technology Lab coming soon to Valdosta and the state- and federally-funded Georgia Cares program.

We want our people to know about the Southern Georgia Area Agency on Aging and how these programs benefit aging adults in Valdosta and the surrounding county," said Valdosta Mayor John Gayle. "The agency provides valuable resources, as well as information about volunteer opportunities for our senior adults and other ways to find satisfaction in life in the golden years.

For more information, call Lou McClendon at 229-834-2401 or at the Senior Center at 229-259-5470.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

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Four police recruits were killed in the explosion that ripped through a police truck in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta today.

By Reuters: An explosion ripped through a police truck today to kill at least seven people in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta, police said.

The blast occurred when a Rapid Response Force truck carrying as many as 30 personnel.

The truck was carrying police recruits, four of whom were killed, on the city's eastern outskirts, Quetta Police Chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said.

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An emergency has been declared in the hospitals across the city.

"We can't say whether it is a suicide blast," he added. "Our teams are at the scene and investigating."

Television broadcast images of the burned-out remains of the vehicle.

-With inputs from Hamza Ameer

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MARIANNA, Fla. (WTXL) - Jackson County Sheriff's Department deputies say they initially arrested a Grand Ridge, Florida, woman on Reddoch road near Grand Ridge for driving with a suspended license.

But as they ran a background check Tuesday, a deputy says he saw Judy Mcclellan, 46, toss a clear plastic bag out of the window. They later determined it was meth.

McClellan is facing three charges: possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of methamphetamine and driving while license suspended.

She was taken to the Jackson County Correctional Facility to await first appearance.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.

Copyright 2017 WTXL via Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Two local law enforcement agencies are investing in a scholarship at Tallahassee Community College that they hope will help teens in the juvenile justice system turn their lives around.

The Tallahassee Police Department and the Leon County Sheriff's Office will each donate $10,000 to TCC to create the New Start Scholarship.

The money rewards students who are choosing education to pursue a fresh start.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.

Copyright 2017 WTXL via Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
From left, Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Alaska Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier; Insurance Commissioner of Pennsylvania Theresa Miller and Oklahoma Department of Insurance Commissioner John Doak, testify during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the individual health insurance market for 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
YAKIMA, Wash. -- If you are a registered voter, you either have a November general election ballot already or should have one by Friday.
Rahul took a dig at BJP over the government extending legal help to party chief Amit Shah's son in a defamation case he has filed against a news website over a report about his financial dealings.

By Press Trust of India: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a dig at the BJP and the government over the latter extending legal help to party chief Amit Shah's son in a defamation case he has filed against a news website over a report about his financial dealings.

"State legal help for Shah-Zada! Why this, why this Kolaveri Da?," he tweeted.

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He also tagged a news report entitled "Jay Amit Shah Attempts to Gag 'The Wire'", the news portal which had carried a report on a firm linked to the BJP chief's son seeing a huge jump in turnover after the saffron party came to power at the Centre in 2014.

Jay Shah has filed a criminal defamation case in a metropolitan court in Ahmedabad against the portal, its journalists and the company that runs it. Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has been granted government permission to represent him in the case.

Gandhi and the Congress have mounted an all-out attack against Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Jay Shah's financial dealings. They have repeatedly questioned the prime minister's "silence" on the issue.

The Congress also demanded Shah's sacking and a probe by two Supreme Court judges into the entire episode.

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A shorter enrollment period, fewer options, higher premiums, and widespread confusion about what on earth is happening with health care are am
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The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and International Migration Agency (IOM) have expressed their concern over the influx of 45,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh within two days.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Despite pressure from the international community, torture on Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine has not stopped. Perhaps that's why, the infiltration of Rohingya refugees has continued in Bangladesh.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and International Migration Agency (IOM) expressing their concern said that in the past two days, 45,000 Rohingya migrated to Bangladesh through different border in Ukhia. Besides, at least 20,000 Rohingyas are staying at the no-man's land of Anjuman para border point.

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Bangladesh is dealing with an unprecedented influx of Rohingya refugees since a long time now. The UN and international aid agencies have said over half million Rohingya have entered Bangladesh after the latest violence erupted in Myanmar's insurgency-affected Rakhine state.

"The Rohingya Muslims still remain and now are being forced to take Bengali cards in Burmese writing", said a Rohingya who fled Myanmar.

Ali Hossain, who came from Bukidong Murpara village of Rakhine said, "If someone refuses to take a card, then he is being killed. So they have no choice but to flee to Bangladesh".

Out of the 20,000 Rohingya women, men and children living in no man's land in the border, many have fallen sick and the condition of the children is extremely bad. The Rohingyas living their face food crisis as well.

582,000 Rohingya infiltration from August 25

Over 15,000 Rohingyas overnight reached Bangladesh borders fleeing their home with UN agencies saying the overnight influx their number now stood at 582,000 since the exodus began on August 25.

The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR statement said, 'Many (of the newly arrived Rohingyas) say they had initially chosen to remain in their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state despite repeated threats to leave or be killed. They finally fled when their villages were set on fire.'

The Rohingyas, the statement said, told the UNHCR staff yesterday that they walked for around a week to reach the Bangladesh border while some of them crossed into the country on Sunday night, others throughout Monday in the heat and rain.

"As of Tuesday morning they are still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village in Bangladesh. They are waiting for permission to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side," the statement said.

To get higher importance in Russian parliament

Russian parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee chairman and upper house senator Konstantin Kosachev has assured that the Rohingya crisis would be taken up with more seriousness in their parliament.

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"Kosachev said this (Rohingya) issue will get higher importance in the Russian foreign affairs agenda in the coming days," a statement of Bangladesh embassy in Moscow said on Tuesday.

The senator gave the assurance in a meeting with a visiting Bangladesh delegation led by Deputy Speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah held on the sidelines of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly.

According to the statement, The IPU earlier passed a Bangladesh proposed agenda of "Ending the grave human crisis, persecution and violent attacks on Rohingya" while the statement said Kosachev congratulated the delegation for successfully getting it passed.

He also appreciated Dhaka's role in supporting the distressed people.

The state-own news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangtha (BSS) reported that the delegation, which also had Bangladesh's parliamentary chief whip ASM Feroze, urged Kosachev to visit Bangladesh, along with a government delegate, to see the situation practically saying it would further clear their misconceptions developed due to Myanmar government's propaganda.

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A federal judge in Hawaii blocked most of US President Donald Trump's latest travel ban Tuesday, just hours before it was set to take effect, saying the revised order "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor."

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The ban, set to go into effect early Wednesday, limited the citizens of several mostly Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

The ban, which did not have an expiration date, was announced in September. It pertained to travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, along with some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

President Trump's third attempt at a travel ban was once again struck by a federal court (Photo: AFP)

It was the third set of travel restrictions issued by the president to be thwarted, in whole or in part, by the courts.

The recent Hawaiian verdict became another hurdle the Trump administration will have to overcome to implement Trump's repeated promises for a travel ban, a struggle expected to reach the US Supreme Court before long.

The initial ban, announced in January, incited chaos and protests in airports around the US, before being struck down by a Seattle federal court.

Trump signing second travel ban (Photo: Reuters)

US District Judge Derrick Watson's ruling applied only to the six Muslim-majority countries on the list. It does not affect the restrictions against North Korea or Venezuela, because the state of Hawaii did not ask for that.

The judge also said the proclamation likely runs afoul of a prohibition in immigration law on nationality-based discrimination in issuing visas. Watson had blocked Trump's second travel ban in March.

The policy "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor: it lacks sufficient findings that the entry of more than 150 million nationals from six specified countries would be 'detrimental to the interests of the United States,'" Watson wrote.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the ruling "dangerously flawed" and said it "undercuts the president's efforts to keep the American people safe." The Justice Department said it will quickly appeal.

White House Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the ruling was 'dangerously flawed' (Photo: EPA)

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said in a statement. "Today is another victory for the rule of law."

As a candidate, Trump had promised "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

In announcing the newest travel restrictions, the White House had portrayed them as necessary consequences for countries that did not meet new requirements for vetting of immigrants and issuing of visas. Those requirements were shared in July with foreign governments, which had 50 days to make improvements if needed, the White House said.

A number of countries made improvements by enhancing the security of travel documents or the reporting of passports that were lost or stolen. Others did not, sparking the restrictions.

Protests against the travel ban in New York's JFK Airport (Photo: AFP)

Immigrant advocacy groups cheered the Hawaii ruling.

"We're glad, but not surprised, that President Trump's illegal and unconstitutional Muslim ban has been blocked once again," Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants Rights Project, said in a statement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday to delete his Twitter account.

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In a video posted on his own Twitter account, Netanyahu issued a response to a tweet Zarif wrote earlier in which he claimed all Iranian men and women were part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Netanyahu tells Iranian FM Zarif to delete Twitter account

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"I'd love to know what the Iranian people think of that tweet," Netanyahu wondered aloud, quickly adding: "Sadly, the regime bans them from using Twitter. Ironic, don't you think?"

He went on to say that "Apparently, I have a higher opinion of the Iranian people than their leaders," explaining he did not believe Iranian citizens are proud when the IRGC murders innocent people in terror attacks around the world and in Iran itself.

Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

"One day the Iranian people will be free. Free to tweet, free to express how they felt when their dictators compared them to the Iranian version of ISIS," Netanyahu added.
MIAMI  A Florida congresswoman says President Donald Trump told the widow of a slain soldier that he "knew what he signed up for."

Rep. Frederica Wilson says she was in the car with Myeshia Johnson on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of Johnson's husband, Sgt. La David Johnson, when Trump called. Wilson says she heard part of the conversation on speakerphone.

When asked by Miami station WPLG if she indeed heard Trump say that she answered: "Yeah, he said that. To me, that is something that you can say in a conversation, but you shouldn't say that to a grieving widow." She added: "That's so insensitive."

Sgt. Johnson was among four servicemen killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month.
Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu told Israel Moscow is open to expanding the south Lebanon Security Belt on the Golan Heights border so Iranian and Hezbollah forces are moved farther away from Israel.

The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Israel asked to expand the belt from 5 kilometers to 40 kilometers into Syrian territory, but Shoygu claimed this demand was exaggerated and unrealistic.

Shoygu added Iran and militias affiliated with it have not come near the border since the Russians arrived there, but nevertheless agreed to deepen the belt's territory by 10-15 kilometers.
YEI, South Sudan  When South Sudan's Yei region turned violent in the midst of the country's civil war last year, a handful of UN and US officials begged their leaders for help. Government soldiers were burning villages and slaughtering men, women and children, they warned.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears. The UN did not send peacekeeping troops to stay in Yei, and the US continued to support South Sudan's military, possibly in violation of US law, according to an AP investigation based on dozens of internal documents and interviews.

Yei became the center of a nationwide campaign of what the UN calls ethnic cleansing, which has created the largest exodus of civilians in Africa since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. More than 1 million people have now fled to Uganda, mostly from the Yei region. And tens or even hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan have died.
BOGOR, Indonesia  Qatar is "open to dialogue" in resolving a dispute that has seen the Gulf state isolated from its Arab neighbors, its emir said during a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival Iran. Doha denies the charges.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said he discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which has the world's largest population of Muslims and has close ties to the Arab world.

"We conveyed...that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win," Thani told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital of Jakarta.
India Today spent a few precious hours with jawans at the Churanwala Border Outpost in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district and was a part of the pre-Diwali celebrations.

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: Diwali is meant to be a festival of lights. A harbinger of hope and prosperity. A festival celebrated with near and dear ones in the comfort of homes. Amidst the warmth of good wishes and bright surroundings resplendent with various hues of glittering lights.

But ever spared a thought on those who spend the festival thousands of kilometres away from home and hearth, providing the very blanket of safety and security that keeps us smug with the feeling that we are in safe hands?

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Yes. Hundreds and thousands of Border Security Force (BSF) jawans that man our borders ensure that the festival of lights is celebrated with great fervour while they stand on guard to the possibility of any mischief from outside.

India Today spent a few precious hours with jawans at the Churanwala Border Outpost in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district and was a part of the pre-Diwali celebrations.

"Yes, we are away from home. But that does not stop us from celebrating Diwali with great enthusiasm. They (fellow personnel) are our family", A female BSF personnel posted at the Churanwala Border Outpost tells India Today.

Although the country's Western border has been of relatively lesser concern in the past few years, the personnel posted in the area remain vigilant to the possibility of any attack from forces inimical to the country's interests.

"Deployment increases at outposts during festivals as the neighbouring country may try to take benefit of ongoing festivities and indulge in unwanted activities. We increase our patrolling too on festival eve. But that does not stop us from celebrating the festival. Sweets are distributed, Diyas are also lit." Rakesh Yadav, Company Commander, BSF, Churanwala Border Outpost, Jaisalmer, tells India Today.

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Solomon Perel, a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor who wrote the book Europa Europa, gave a talk to a delegation of famous Chinese bloggers, one of which was a historian who watched a movie based on Perel's book and was moved to tears upon meeting its author.

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In the past few days, as part of the "Young Chinese and Japanese leaders" program instated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Asia department, a delegation of eight famous Chinese bloggers has been touring Israel.

Chinese historian Yan Jingsheng (L) embracing Holocaust survivor Solomon Perel

The program's goal is to strengthen the ties of friendship between Israel and the Asian nations and to promote collaborations in several areas.

The Chinese blogger and Holocaust survivor's heartfelt meeting

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The eight bloggers have more than 35 million cumulative followers on China's largest microblogging social network, Sina Weibo, a sort of amalgamation between Facebook and Twitter. Each and every one of the bloggers is considered a star in their Chinese homeland.

Tang Wei is an actress and model with five million followers, Lin Ji is a children's caricaturist with 14 million followers, Zhang Yuan is one of China's most well-known children's authors with 6.4 million followers and food blogger Zhan Hauran has five million followers.

The members of the Chinese bloggers' delegation and Perel

During the visit, the bloggers met with Perel, whose book Europa Europa was adapted into a highly successful, Golden Globe winning movie, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. The work is based around Perel's own autobiography, who impersonated a member of the Hitler Youth movement during the Holocaust to survive.

The assembled Chinese bloggers respectfully shook Perel's hand, when one of them historian Yan Jingsheng, who has six million followersrealized the man whose hand he was shaking was the hero of the book Europa Europa, he was so deeply moved he began weeping and hugging Perel.

"I read the book, I watched the movie, and I was moved to tears when I was suddenly face-to-face with this hero in real life. I never believed it could happen," Jingsheng said Tuesday.

The visiting Chinese bloggers also visited Jerusalem

Perel was no less moved by the encounter. "The meeting was divine providence. It's like finding a pin in the middle of the ocean. I've never met any Chinese people, and the first one I came across knows me and my tale and was moved to tears at meeting me. Now I'm choked up with tears," he said.

The project's coordinator Nurit Tinari-Modai had some concluding words. "There are a billion Chinese people. How could this particular one read the book, watch the movie and then happen to meet the hero of both? God works in mysterious ways," she said.
Iranian military chief of staff General Mohammad Baqeri said Wednesday the Islamic Republic would not accept Israeli violations in Syria, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

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"It is not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate Syria anytime it wants," Baqeri said during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Ali Abdullah Ayyoub.

Earlier this week, the Syrian army launched an SA-5 anti-aircraft missile at Israeli Air Force planes on a reconnaissance mission over Lebanon. In retaliation, the IAF bomb the SA-5 battery, destroying its fire control radar.

Iran's military chief Baqeri, left, and his Syrian counterpart Ayyoub

Baqeri, on a rare visit to Syria, pledged to fight Israel and Sunni insurgents.

"We are in Damascus to assert and coordinate and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists," he said. "We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed up the IDF's retaliation strike against Syria on Monday by stating, "Whoever strikes at us, we strike at them. Today they tried to harm our planesunacceptable.

"The air force acted precisely and swiftly, destroying what needed to be destroyed. We will continue to act in the space as much as necessary to defend Israel's security."
A memorial to the three victims of the 1997 terror attack at Cafe Apropo in Tel Aviv will be dedicated Wednesday evening at Beit Hanna, the scene of the attack. The memorial will feature three palm trees.

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On March 21, 1997, terrorist Ibrahim Ghanimat arrived at the cafe, placed an explosive charge there and fled. The blast killed three womenAnat Winter-Rosen, Michael Avrahami and Yael Giladand wounded 48 others.

The iconic photo showing policewoman Ziona Bushri carrying infant Shani Winter out of the cafe (Photo: Michael Kremer)

The attack was immortalized in Israel's collective consciousness due to a famous photo of Shani Winter , Anat's baby girl, dressed as a clown and carried away from the cafe by policewoman Ziona Bushri.

Shai Avrahami, who lost his wife Michal during the attack, said, "20 years later, it will always be a part of me, but my message is you have to get up, regain your composure and get back to the world of the living."

Avrahami himself was wounded in the attack. "as someone who was there, the experience and memory of the event will always be part of me. It's part of who we are even two decades hence. The pain doesn't go anywhere and the feeling of missing out is horrid, but I think finding the strength to distance yourself from it, from those painful minutes and memories, are crucial, doubly so for the people who were actually there," he said.

"I always look forward, carrying the memory with me. At this evening's event we'll be remembering and honoring the victims," he added.

Yedioth Ahronoth's coverage of the attack showing Shani and her mother, who was killed in the attack (Photo: Yedioth Ahronoth archive)

Michal, who was 31 when she was killed, was pregnant at the time. "She was just starting life. We were a young couple, married for only three years. When you look at it from a 20-year perspective, you realize that while you shouldn't forget what happened, you shouldn't dwell on it either. You have to get up, get back to work and start a family again. Real strength is in creating life anew," he concluded.

Moshe, Yael Gilad's father, said as far as he knew the terrorist intended to get to Dizengoff to carry out the attack, but chose Cafe Apropo instead.

Moshe Gilad (L) and Shai Avrahami, who lost their daughter and wife, respectively

"Yael finished her army service with distinction and had a master's degree in social work. She was a mental health officer in the army's Bahad 12 and took care of people who were traumatized during the terrorist attack heyday. After she was killed, girls came to us saying Yael saved their lives, because they were considering suicide," Moshe said.

Moshe Gilad then went on to thank Yoav Kadmon and Ronny Douek, the entrepreneurs who carried out construction on the three women's memorial. "I think I speak for Shai when I thank them profusely for dedicating the three palms to our girls. It was a very bold move. To create a memorial on the site of the attack shows a lot of respect for them," he said.
BERLIN  Germany will suspend its mission training Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq because of the conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government, the German defense minister said on Wednesday.

Germany has been a major partner for the Iraqi Kurds. It has provided 32,000 assault rifles and machine guns, as well as other weapons valued at around 90 million euros since September 2014. About 130 German soldiers are based in Erbil where they are providing training to the Kurdish fighters.

The Kurdish Peshmerga are at the forefront of the campaign against Islamic State and had significantly expanded their influence to bring the oil region under their control.
Bereaved families and settler leaders harshly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government on Wednesday, saying they are still waiting for a budget to be allocated for security measures they were promised for their communities.

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Samaria Regional Council leader Yossi Dagan, Kiryat Arba Council Leader Malachi Levinger, Beit Aryeh Council Leader Avi Naim and Beit El Council Leader Shai Alon were joined in a press conference outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem by families who lost loved ones in terror attacks in the West Bank.

The settlers say they've met with Netanyahu three times over the past two months to discuss the security situation in their communities, but they claim their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Hadas Mizrahi (L) and Yossi Dagan (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"If they don't give us security, I'll come back here with my children, because this is our chance to prevent the next attack," said Hadas Mizrahi, whose husband Baruch Mizrahi was killed in an attack on the way to Seder dinner in Kiryat Arba in 2014. "I've suffered a serious injury, and I'm raising five children who are dealing with this traumatic event on my own. I call on the prime minister and defense ministerwake up."

Samaria Regional Council leader Dagan slammed Netanyahu, claiming, "We're being given the run around. There is no plan to deal with this negligence in security. There's a gap between the statements we hear and the results on the ground."

Beit Aryeh leader Naim also spoke about "a big gap between the newspaper and TV headlines and what's happening in reality. For years now, we've been promised funds and nothing happens. This reality, in which we are being ignored, only exacerbates the crisis of trust between us and the prime minister."

Settler leaders with bereaved families (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Levinger, the Kiryat Arba leader, said Netanyahu "promised us things would start moving and advancing, and we will receive the funding. But that didn't happen. We've had enough of promises and we're fed up of excuses."

Alon, the Beit El leader, asserted that a change in the budget requires a crisis. "We've handed the prime minister a letter on behalf of all Judea and Samaria municipal heads," he explained.

The Prime Minister's Office noted Netanyahu said during a Likud ministers meeting on Sunday that he would advance a solution to funding the construction of bypass roads, even if it requires across-the-board cuts in government ministries.
An Israeli citizen was arrested yesterday at the Taba border crossing after two M16 bullets were found in his bag.

With the assistance of the Israeli consul in Egypt, the Israeli was released today from detention.

This is the third case in Egypt alone in the last month in which an Israeli tourist was arrested after bullets were found in his bags, left there from their time in the military.

The Foreign Ministry called upon Israeli travelers to check their bags carefully before leaving for Israel. "Lack of attention creates distress and unnecessary risks, including arrest," the Foreign Ministry said.
Israel must halt new building plans for settler homes in the West Bank, the European Unions Foreign Service said in a statement on Wednesday, warning that such settlements threaten any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

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"The European Union has requested clarifications from Israeli authorities and conveyed the expectation that they reconsider these decisions, which are detrimental to on-going efforts towards meaningful peace talks," the statement said.

"All settlement activity is illegal under international law, and it undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace."

Construction in the settlement of Kiryat Arba (Photo: AFP)

Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed that the Israeli government is "working at a pace not seen since 2000" to further approve construction in the territories. Lieberman's statements were made during a press conference announcing the approved construction of the settlement.

In response, Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, rebuked Lieberman and the Israeli coalition during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, claiming they "disregard international law" and are entirely disinterested in peace.

"You have to know that they not only say what they mean, they also do exactly what they say," Mansour said after quoting Lieberman's statement.

"Minister Lieberman and the rest of his coalition oppose peace, disregard international law and make the two-state solution impossible," he added, wondering aloud why "when Israel repeatedly proves its bad intentions, the international community continues to give it the benefit of the doubt."

The EU maintains that the lands Israel has "occupied" since the Six-Day Warincluding the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Golan Heightsare not part of the internationally recognized borders of Israel.

In the past two days, several construction plans have been approved in the territories: construction of 31 housing units in Hebron , 36 units in the Rehelim settlement, 17 units in Nativ Ha'avot in Gush Etzion, 10 units in Har Adar, 44 units in Kfar Etzion, 129 units in Avnei Hefetz in Samaria, 59 in Negohot in the South Hebron Hills and 27 units in the Jordan Valley.

In addition, a plan for the establishment of the settlement of Amichai, 102 housing units intended for evacuees of the Amona settlement, was approved Wednesday by the Civil Administration's Supreme Planning Committee.

Two weeks ago, the construction of the settlement was halted due to the refusal of the legal advisor of the Interior Ministry to grant an exemption from tender to the Binyamin Council.

In response to the approval, Avichai Boaron, one of Amona's leaders, said that this was "a historic moment."

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

On Tuesday, the Supreme Planning Committee approved the marketing of 300 residential units in the Beit El settlement, which has not seen residential construction for the past decade.

Beit El Mayor Shay Alon said the European Union is in no place to make accusations.

"The European Union is the last body that can preach morality to us and tell us where and when to build," he stated. "After all, it is a body that violates the law every day. It places illegal structures in the Ma'aleh Adumim area for the Bedouin population.

"The entire State of Israel exists is in the same places that our forefathers lived in thousands of years ago. In Beit El we found the site of Jacob's dream, which is unequivocal proof that we are the 'landlords' here.

"We are here because we have returned home. We will continue to build, in Beit El and everywhere else in Judea and Samaria."
US-backed Syrian forces were removing land mines and clearing roads in the northern city of Raqqa on Wednesday, a day after commanders said they had driven the Islamic State group from its de facto capital.

Mustafa Bali, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said preparations were underway for a formal declaration of the city's liberation.

The SDF said Tuesday that military operations in Raqqa have ended and that their troops have taken full control of the city. The US-led coalition cautioned that the clearing operations would continue, saying some 100 militants may still be hiding in the city.

On Wednesday, the spokesman for the coalition, Col. Ryan Dillon, tweeted that 95 percent of the city is now under full control as clearing operations continue.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley urged on Wednesday that the UN Security Council to adopt the Trump administrations comprehensive approach to Iran and address all aspects of what she calls its "destructive conduct"not just the 2015 nuclear deal.

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Haley told the UN Security Council that Iran "has repeatedly thumbed its nose" at council resolutions aimed at addressing Iranian support for terrorism and regional conflicts. She detailed its threatening the US, Israel, its own people and the world at large.

She added that "Iran hides behind its assertion of technical compliance with the nuclear deal while it brazenly violates the other limits of its behavior, and we have allowed them to get away with it. This must stop."

Haley speaks before the UN Security Council (: United Nations)

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Haley said Irans most threatening act is its repeated ballistic missile launches, warning that "we will soon have another North Korea on our hands."

Nikki Haley (Photo: Reuters)

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also demanded that the Security Council act against Iran. Danon stated that for four decades Iran has continued to threaten the world, either directly or through its various branches. He urged the council to acknowledge "the grave consequences of Iranian aggression."

Danon (Photo: AP)

More specifically, Danon referred presented the council with four main charges against Iran: that it was guilty of financing and spreading terrorism in the world; of human rights violations; of anti-Semitism; and of attempts to destroy the State of Israel. He went on to detail the Iranian regime's crimes against the Iranian people, with those suspected of adultery as well as and gays and lesbians being stoned to death.

UN Security Council (Photo: AFP)

Danon concluded his statement by saying that Iran is guilty of all these crimes, and that the council must enforce its decisions, for Israel's benefit but also for the world's.





Lieberman (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

The UN Security Council also touched on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, partly in light of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman earlier statement, that the Israeli government is "working at a pace not seen since 2000" to further approve construction in the territories. Lieberman's statements were made during a press conference announcing the approved construction of the settlement.

Mansour (Photo: EPA)

In response, Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, rebuked Lieberman and the Israeli coalition during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, claiming they "disregard international law" and are entirely disinterested in peace.

"You have to know that they not only say what they mean, they also do exactly what they say," Mansour said after quoting Lieberman's statement.

"Minister Lieberman and the rest of his coalition oppose peace, disregard international law and make the two-state solution impossible," he added, wondering aloud why "when Israel repeatedly proves its bad intentions, the international community continues to give it the benefit of the doubt."
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan stated on Wednesday that he intends to encourage Israeli citizens to carry arms for their personal safety, during the inauguration ceremony of the new firearms licensing bureau in the city of Ramla.

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"We'll do this to supply better personal safety to all Israeli citizens," said Erdan.

Erdan stressed that he feels this move to be necessary in light of the recent inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement between the Ramallah-based Fatah party and the Gaza-based Hamas party.

Erdan at the inauguration ceremony

He went on to make a distinction between both parties, saying that while Fatah, whose leader Mahmoud Abbas is the president of the Palestinian Authority, "has only been part of incitements and paying of terrorists," Hamas is an outright and armed terrorist group.

"Unfortunately, we're not heading toward a better place," said Erdan. "Today, we're talking about a terrorist government (comprised ofed) the Palestinian Authority, Fatah and Hamas. We will no doubt find ourselves in even more complex situation and waves of severe incitement, which will lead to more terrorists deciding to carry out attacks."

It should be stated that at least according to a senior Palestinian official, Hamas will not be joining the Palestinian government following the inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement.

"(The Cabinet membersed) speak in their decision about a government leaning on Hamas, but in reality there is no Palestinian unity government. The current Palestinian government is identical to the government before the agreement, and to the government that has existed for years, and it does not contain any of Hamas's people," he official said.

Moreover, while the Cabinet's decision did announce the Israeli government will not be negotiating with the Palestinian government, neither political negotiations nor the signing of political agreements were ever conducted with the Palestinian government, but with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, considered the Palestinian people's recognized, legitimate representative.





L to R: Security Council members, Def. Min. Lieberman; PM Netanyahu, and Public Security Min. Erdan (Photo: Getty Images)

The Cabinet's decision, the Palestinian official further added, was merely a "new excuse meant to lead negotiations to a deadlock, since Israel has never wanted the West Bank to reconnect with Gaza.

"When there were talks on a peace process, the Israelis told us, 'How can we reach accords with you when you're not in control of the Gaza Strip?' Now that we're in the midst of a move to regain control of Gaza, the Israelis are saying, 'You're in bed with Hamas terrorists, so why should we negotiate with you?'" the official said.

Erdan's words, in any case, echoed similar statements made by other Israeli officials on Tuesday, when the Israeli Security Cabinet decided that Israel will not negotiate with the Palestinians until Hamas is disarmed. The decision was made after the agreement did not broach the issue of Hamas disarmament.

The cabinet's decision was unanimous and meant to avoid providing Hamas with indirect legitimacy. "Pursuant to previous decisions, the Israeli government will not politically negotiate with a Palestinian government in which Hamas, a terrorist organization calling for the annihilation of Israel, takes part, so long as the following conditions are not met," the Prime Minister's Office announced Tuesday.

"Hamas must recognize Israel and cease terrorism as per the Quartet's terms, Hamas must disarm, bodies of IDF soldiers and living Israeli civilians must be returned from Gaza, the Palestinian Authority must exert full security control over Gaza, including in border crossings and smuggling prevention, and must continue foiling Hamas's terror plots in the West Bank, Hamas must disengage from Iran and, finally, only finances and humanitarian equipment from the Palestinian Authority will be allowed to enter Gaza," the prime minister described Israel's preconditions.

"We'll enlarge the number of license carriers, so that as many qualified citizens, with the necessary background, would be willing to take it upon themselves to train and keep them in the required fitness level," added Erdan.
By PTI: Peshawar, Oct 18 (PTI) A top Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commander, believed to be the mastermind of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, has been killed, the terror group said today.

"We confirm the death of Khalifa Umar Mansoor," Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement sent to journalists via email.

Usman Mansoor Hafizullah will replace Umar Mansoor as the groups commander in Darra Adam Khel and Peshawar, Dawn quoted Khorasani as saying in the statement.

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Reports of his death had emerged in 2016 as well, which could not be confirmed.

The Taliban claim comes a day after six suspected TTP militants were killed in a US drone strike targeting alleged militant hideouts in the Pak-Afghan border region close to Kurram Agency.

Umar Mansoor, who had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in 2016, was said to be the mastermind of the 2014 massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar where at least 144 people, mostly children, were brutally murdered by the heavily-armed attackers. PTI PMS ZH

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The Prime Minister's Bureau Chief Yoav Horowitz approached the Jewish National Fund (JNF) together with Finance Minister Shai Babad several weeks ago, in an effort to secure large amounts of money that would go toward Israel's security. This following the demand made by Prime Mniister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, that the JNF, as well as other bodies, transfer NIS 4 billion to Israel's security apparatus in order to cope with the Iranian threat, as reported Wednesday by the Israel Public Broadcast Company (IPBC).

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"The government of Israel, and especially the various security services, reached the conclusion that the State of Israel needs an additional NIS 4 billion," Horowitz was recorded as telling the JNF board of directors.

Horowitz (Photo: Tal Shahar)

"I will only refer to the things we all know about, such as the Iranian threat and the threat in the North. These necessitates the security forces to a further demand of some NIS 4 billion. The prime minister, defense minister and security forces are facing this issue and trying to see from where the money can be raised."





Lieberman (L) and Netanyahu (Photo: Hillel Meir, TPS)

So far, there has not been any reported progress regarding the demand that the JNF and others supply Israel's security forces with additional funding.
The sequence of the last few holidays, and Yom Kippur in particular, brought back many memories and stories. Lt. Col. (Res.) Danny Pearl, now 65, a father of two and a grandfather of three, served in the Yom Kippur War as an officer in Israeli Special Forces unit Sayeret Shaked (reconnaissance unit 'almond') of the Givati Brigade. Today he is one of the leaders of a special project called "Veterans of Sayeret Shaked."

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In the last few years between the days of Yom Kippur and Sukkot, Pearl made sure to bring out his personal diaries and to remember his comrades, fighters and commanders who fell before his eyes. This year he shared them with the parents of Omri Atzmon, who fell in one of the battles documented in the diary.

Pearl (in the white hat) and the other volunteers, with of the Givati Brigade soldiers (Photo: Nimrod Arkelis)

Diaries documenting the inferno

"Company D, my company commanded by the late Eli Sagi, was the spearhead in the breakthrough of the Sharon Division, Division 143, towards the Suez Canal," Pearl recounted. "The night of October 15 was a critical stage in the war, and a night I will not forget.

"The Egyptians recognized the crossing of the forces and opened hellfire on us. An Egyptian shell hit the company's half-track, the half-track caught fire and nine fighters were killed on the spot, among them Eli Sagi, the company commander and Omri Atzmon, the company sergeant major.

"From my half-track, half-track number 2, we saw a red and blue flame that rose to the sky as ammunition and bullets whistled around us. We saw our comrades burned without being able to approach them and rescue them. The pillar of fire was burning all night long and served as a landmark for Egypt to massively bombard the junction."

Pearl (L) and the parents of Omri Atzmon (Photo: IDF)

"In the morning, the Sayeret fighters met at a gathering point to equip themselves with ammunition and fuel. There I saw Omri's brother, Itai Atzmon, who was then a young soldier. Itai fought at the same time that night and saw the burning pillar of fire all night," said Pearl. "He did not guess what happened."

"Itai went around that morning among the fighters and asked if anyone saw his brother, but no one wanted to tell him," Perl recalled. "I went up to him, hugged him and told him that Omri was in the burning half-track.

"I advised him to go home. Itai set out from Sinai and arrived at his parents' home at 2:00 am, where he informed them that Omri was killed."

Moving on from pain

"I visit them often," Perel said, dislodging himself for a moment from his memories. "I come regularly to Omri's parents. They opened their home to me. I listen to them, they listen to me. They are among the founders of the Palmach. They tell me about the establishment of the land and the settlements. Together we talk about Omri, revive memories."

On Yom Kippur he shared with them his personal diaries from the war.

Pearl's personal diaries from the war (Photo: IDF)

In recent years Danny and Itai have been taking part together in the "Veterans of Sayeret Shaked" group; an active group of some 40 past fighters and commanders who maintained contact in order to continue and pass on their heritage.

"Our vision is for this unique project to continue," said pearl. "We would like the soldiers to know that they are continuing a long legacy."

Volunteers at age 65

"Veterans of Sayeret Shaked," the former fighters of what is also known as Unit 424, were a small volunteer unit that included Jews, Bedouins and Druze, and took part in a variety of operations.

For 15 years, the volunteers of the unique project have been accompanying the new recruits from basic training, through their inauguration and field training. They meet with bereaved families, conduct joint tours, take part in field trips and more.

"Our friendship and close encounters help us cope with the memories of our military service, the operations and the wars that we fought side by side," said Pearl.

Inspiring

The unique project of Pearl and his friends succeeds in connecting the younger generation to the heritage of the past.

"Before they came to talk to us, I was sure that this was going to be another lecture like other lectures I had heard before," said Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Shali, an officer in the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade.

"As a combat soldier, to hear war stories of people who were here before me, it did something to me," he added. "I realized that I was part of something really bigger, and that was the purpose for which I enlisted and the reason I gave it my best. To defend the State of Israel, as many have defended it before me."
Issam Jad'aan Zahreddine, a top Syrian army general under President Bashar al-Assad, was reportedly killed on Wednesday by a land mine explosion. 56-year-old Zahreddine, believed to be the highest ranking Druze officer in the Syrian army, died in the Hawija Saqr region, where Assad's regime has been concentrating its efforts in its fight against ISIS.

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Zahreddine was a controversial figure, reviled, feared and exalted by opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. Assad's supporters saw him as one of the key figures in the battle against the Islamic State. Following news of his death, Lebanon-based terror organization and Assad supporter Hezbollah issued a statement praising his military accomplishments.

"He was the man who erased the legend of ISIS and turned it from a spreading organization into scattered groups," read Hezbollah's eulogy of Zahreddine, whose ruthlessness in fighting for Assad earned him the nickname "the animal commander."

Zahreddine interviewed on the battlefield

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Those opposed to Assad's regime expressed their jubilation in Zahreddine's demise. Some even wondered if one of Assad's supposed alliesnamely, Russia or Hezbollahwere the ones behind his death.

Zahreddine

Zahreddine first gained recognition in '11, as a commander who fought the then-fledgling Syrian uprising against Assad's dictatorship. The anti-Assad opposition has accused Zahreddine of committing horrendous war crimes, among them the massacre carried out in the suburbs of Damascus in '12.

Qatar-based Arab media network Al Jazeera has reported that "Zahreddine is known for his cruelty. He has previously been recorded in a video posted online as boasting while the bodies of the slaughtered lay in front on him."

After a year of concerted effort near the East Syria city of Dei red-Zor, Zahreddine managed to break through ISIS's defenses in September, which raised his popularity even higher among Assad supporters.

Zahreddine's coffin is brought to Damascus

Zahreddine was born in Syria's As-Suwayda region, on Jabal al-Druze (Druze Mountain). The Syrian regime was apparently looking to promote him to a rank equivalent to an IDF brigadier general, in an effort to present an image of prosperity and opportunity for minorities under Assad.
Nine people were arrested on Wednesday evening In Jerusalem for trying to prevent an Israel Prison Service vehicle from transporting the arrested ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers to the military police, as Haredi protesters' anti-draft struggle enters its third day.

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Dozens of ultra-Orthodox members of Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach's Jerusalem Faction arrived at the Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem and gathered around an IPS vehicle that led detainees to The Russian Compound Interrogation Center and Prison, in an attempt to prevent its departure.

A police force dispersed the protesters and allowed the vehicle to continue on its journey.

Haredi protesters blocking IPS vehicle (:  , . )

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Meanwhile, several dozen ultra-Orthodox demonstrated at the entrance to the city of Ma'aleh Adumim.

Several of them blocked traffic at the entrance to the city and the police arrested three demonstrators who did not respond to the policemen's request to clear the road and continued to disturb the peace.

They were eventually dispersed and traffic began to run as usual.

Tuesday's protest (Photo: Amit Shabi)

On Tuesday, Haredi protesters flooded the streets of Jerusalem and Beni Brak in objection to the arrests of several Haredi youths who refuse to enlist to the IDF.

Protesters who blocked several roads in Jerusalem yelled in unison "We'd rather die than enlist!" while Haredi protesters in Bnei Brak yelled "Damn Germans!" at police and began altercations with police officers.

A total of 40 protesters were arrested and taken in for investigation in both cities.

On Monday, dozens of Haredim blocked roads in Jerusalem, with some calling police officers "Nazis." One police officer was seen threatening protesters by yelling, "Who wants to get a bullet?"
This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company.

As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism.

We hope you are equally as excited as us.

This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers.

Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited.

In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy.

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By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 18 (PTI) Sutlej Textiles and Industries (STIL) today announced the acquisition of Design Sales and Distribution (DS&D) business and brand of American Silk Mills (ASM) LLC based at Plains, Pennsylvania.

The acquisition adds strength of this leading American boutique designer and distributor of residential and contract furnishing textiles to Sutlejs home textiles portfolio, the company said in a release issued here.

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ASM will continue to design, develop and market its products under the brand name of American Silk Mills.

Founded in 1896, American Silk Mills remains among the oldest and most established American textile brand by designing, weaving and distributing innovative textiles for the residential, contract, transportation, and specialty markets.

These products include innovative indoor/outdoor performance fabrics, fine jacquard textiles, multiple grades and styles of velvets, the highest quality silks, and Sensuede, an eco-friendly synthetic suede noted for its durability, cleanability and long-lasting comfort.

"American Silk Mills offers great synergy to access the American home textiles market using a sound platform of design and development combined with Sutlejs scale and economics of production in India," STIL President S K Khandelia said.

American Silk President Cynthia Douthit said the increased investments in the companys infrastructure, inventory positions, technology and creative capital will position it to continue as a design leader. PTI SM RMT

--- ENDS ---
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - 50,000 words. One month. Observed every November, National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing! Participants begin writing on November 1st. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30th.

This year, aspiring authors are invited to attend NaNoWriMo kickoff events, weekly write-ins, and finale celebrations at the Main and Foothills libraries.



National Novel Writing Month Kickoff

All writers are invited to attend National Novel Writing Month Kickoff Parties! Local writers Chris Howard and Melissa Stephens will be on-hand to welcome you to the program and help you register at the official website, http://www.nanowrimo.org/.

Foothills Library  Tuesday, October 31st  5:00-7:00 p.m.

Main Library  Saturday, November 4th  3:00-5:00 p.m.



Write-ins

Need a place to write? Bring your preferred writing tools to the Foothills or Main Library and work on your novel surrounded by other local writers.

Foothills Library Thursday, November 2nd, 9th, 16th  5:00-6:00 p.m.

Main Library  Saturday, November 18th & 25th  10:00-11:00 a.m.



Thank God Its Over!

You survived! Celebrate a month of hard work with your fellow NaNoWriMo writers!

Foothills Library  Friday, December 1st 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Main Library  Saturday, December 2nd  3:00-5:00 p.m.



The Main Library is located at 2951 S 21st Drive. For more information, call (928) 782-1871.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has hailed the extraordinary contributions of Indian-Americans to science, medicine, business and education in the country as he celebrated his first Diwali at the White House.

Trump was joined by senior Indian-American members of his administration including Nikki Haley, his Ambassador to the United Nations and Seema Verma Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah, his Principal Deputy Press Secretary also joined Diwali celebrations.

"As we do (celebrate Diwali) so, we especially remember the People of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the world's largest democracy," Trump said in a Facebook post along with a video of his Diwali celebrations inside the Oval Office.

Trump said he greatly valued his "very strong relationship" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump said he was deeply honoured to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community in celebrating Diwali -- the festival of lights.

The president's daughter Ivanka also joined him in celebrations, according to a picture released by the White House.

In his remarks, Trump said Indian-American neighbours and friends have made incredible contributions to the country ? and to the world.

"You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve BRAVELY in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land," he said.

"Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in THE PEOPLE?S HOUSE. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American family," Trump added.

Diwali, he said, is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion.

"A time of peace and prosperity for the New Year, it is a tradition that is held dear by more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide and more than 2 million Hindus in the United States. It is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains in America, India and around the world," he said.

The tradition of Diwali celebration at the White House was first started by President George Bush.

During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, former president Barack Obama lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Room of the White House.

In his last year in office in 2016, Obama for the first time observed the festival of lights in the Oval Office.
Washington: United States President Donald Trump will start his five-nation tour from November 3 to call on the international community to pressurise North Korea over its nuclear programme.

During a five-nation Asia tour plus a stop in Hawaii from Nov. 3 to 14, Trump will "call on the international community to join together in maximizing pressure on North Korea", said The White House in a statement.

North Korea has a military nuclear weapons programme and also has a significant amount of chemical and biological weapons.

Since 2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The country has come under sanctions after conducting a number of nuclear tests, beginning in 2006.

Trump, in his address at the U.N. General Assembly last month, said North Korea`s supreme leader Kim Jong-un is "a rocket man, who is on a suicide mission".

He further said, "It is time for North Korea to realise that de-nuclearisation is its only acceptable future."Trump asserted that North Korea`s reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens entire world with the immense loss of human life."

No nation on earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals armed with nuclear weapons and missiles.

The United States had has great strength and patience, but it is forced to defend itself or its allies we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea," Trump said.

Trump will visit Japan from Nov. 5 for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a meeting with the families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyodo News reports.

The Abe-Trump talks and Trump`s meeting with the kin of abduction victims -- including the parents of Megumi Yokota who was abducted when she was 13 -- are expected to take place on Nov. 6, Kyodo News quoted Japanese officials as saying.

According to the White House, Trump will also meet with U.S. forces stationed in Japan and members of Japan`s Self-Defense Forces.

In the bilateral summit, Abe and Trump are expected to affirm close coordination in addressing North Korea`s nuclear, missile and abduction issues.

Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects North Korea's involvement in many more disappearances. While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Pyongyang maintains that eight -- including Yokota -- have died and the other four never entered the country.

After visiting Japan, Trump will travel to South Korea for talks with President Moon Jae In on Nov. 7. Trump will also speak at the National Assembly, at which he will celebrate the "enduring alliance and friendship" between Washington and Seoul.

During a visit to Beijing from Nov. 8, the U.S. leader will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attend a series of commercial and cultural events.

On Nov. 10, Trump will travel to Danang, Vietnam, for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and deliver a speech at an APEC business summit.

"In the speech, the president will present the United States` vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and underscore the important role the region plays in advancing America`s economic prosperity," the White House said.

After meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi on Nov. 11, Trump will visit Manila the following day for summit meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to the White House, Trump will attend a U.S.-ASEAN summit and bilateral talks with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Nov. 13 before heading back home, according to the White House.
Houston: Police in Richardson, Texas, are using drones in the search of missing 3-year-old Indian girl who mysteriously disappeared 11 days ago after her foster father left her in an alley at 3 am for not drinking her milk.

Sherin Mathews vanished on October 7 after her adoptive father Wesley Mathews told police he left her outside their home at 3 am as punishment for not drinking her milk.

Despite it being more than ten days since the toddler went missing investigators are cautiously optimistic.

"We're always hopeful that we can find her alive, but time is our enemy. So, we're trying to progress as quickly as we possibly can in this case," Sergent Kevin Perlich said.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Officer and Mansfield Police Department were seen helping Richardson Police Department with the search for Sherin Mathews in an undisclosed location.

The police concentrated their efforts in a field near Richland College, which is less than 3 kms from Sherin's Richardson home, where she went missing.

Police said they conducted multiple searches in "areas of interest" they had developed during the course of the investigation, including fields, creeks and wooded areas. Cadaver dogs were later seen arriving at the scene to help with the search.

Authorities told local media that earlier in the day they found "objects of interest," but did not specify what those objects were or how they are related to the case.

Drones are being used to help law enforcement officers in the search for Sherin.

"Detectives will evaluate the results of today's efforts while the investigation continues," Richardson police said on Facebook.

They added that they will continue to perform "specific searches" like this as tips come in. They searched the same area Friday but want to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Furthermore, police say the family's SUV disappeared for an hour the morning Sherin disappeared.

Investigators are asking any neighbours with surveillance video of the vehicle to come forward.

Meanwhile, a priest placed a sign outside the Mathews' family home calling on Sherin's parents to "tell the truth."

"We the community are never going to stop until we find Sherin," said Thomas Ambalevelil.

Mathews' parents both remain "uncooperative," according to police.

Child Protective Services took custody of their other biological daughter, age 4, shortly after their father Wesley Mathews was arrested.

Wesley has since been arrested, and bonded out, on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to wear an ankle monitor as the investigation continues.
Washington: Pakistan is expected to take decisive action against terrorist groups based in their own region, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson categorically said on Tuesday.

While addressing a speech on the US-India Partnership at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Tillerson said US and India stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorism.

Emhasising on the growing US-India defense partnership, the US Secretary of State said, "As we look to the next 100 years, it is vital that the Indo-Pacific continue to be free and open."

Commenting on his upcoming visit to India, Tillerson said, "This visit could not come at a more promising time for US-India relations and the Indo-US partnership."

President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed more than any other leaders before them to building an ambitious partnership, Tillerson asserted.

Highlighting the importance of Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017, which is to be held in Hyderabad in November, Tillerson said the Summit is a clear example of how the US President and the Indian PM are promoting innovation and expanding job opportunities.

Notably Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump will head the US delegation.

The US Secretary of State, who will be visiting India next week, said the Trump administration was "determined to dramatically deepen" cooperation with India.

The US has offered a number of proposals to India in the defence sector that can be "potential game changers" for the bilateral commercial and military cooperation, the Secretary of State said.

The proposals forward by the US include sale of Guardian UAVs, aircraft carrier technologies, the future vertical-lift programme, and F-18 and F-16 fighter aircraft.

"In keeping with India's status as a 'Major Defence Partner' a status overwhelmingly endorsed last year by the US Congress and our mutual interest in expanding maritime cooperation, the Trump administration has offered a menu of defence options for India's consideration, including the Guardian UAV," Tillerson told a Washington audience.

From Silk Routes to Grand Trunk Roads, South Asia was for millennia a region bound together by the exchange of goods, people, and ideas, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said while speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think-tank.

"But today it is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world; intra-regional trade has languished sitting around four or five percent of total trade," rued the top American diplomat ahead of his visit to India next week.
Mumbai: A photograph of a man creating a Rangoli inspired by Padmavati poster at a mall in Gujarat had surfaced online recently. Fans were in awe of the creation but haters werent pleased it seems. Deepika Padukone took to Twitter on October 18 to share an image of the Rangoli that was destroyed by haters.

It took about 48 hours for the artist to make the rangoli but it reportedly took just a few minutes to destroy it.

The actress who essays the role of Rani Padmini in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial tagged Information and Broadcast Minister Smriti Irani in her tweet and wrote: absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!disgusting and appalling to say the least! Who are these people? Who is responsible for their actions? For how long are we going to let this go on? allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!? this has to stop NOW & action must be taken!@smritiirani (sic).

absolutely heart breaking to see the recent attack on artist Karan and his artwork!disgusting and appalling to say the least! pic.twitter.com/Ot2Aki0MiA  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) 18 October 2017

Who are these people?Who is responsible for their actions?For how long are we going to let this go on? pic.twitter.com/2WFN0jcdua  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) 18 October 2017

allow them to take law into their own hands & attack our freedom & right to individual expression time & again!? pic.twitter.com/jlR5p3seds 18 October 2017

this has to stop NOW & action must be taken!@smritiirani pic.twitter.com/fRnpFEkZIw  Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) 18 October 2017

This is not the first time the film has been attacked. The sets of the film which also stars Shahid Kapoor (as Maharawal Ratan Singh) and Ranveer Singh (as Sultan Alauddin Khilji) were vandalised on a couple of oaccasions by members of the Karni Sena. The group also manhandled filmmaker Bhansali.

Recently, Jai Rajputana Sangh too had threatened to burn theatres if the film was not shown to members of the community before it releases. They wanted to see whether or not the makers had shot any romantic scene between Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmini.

A couple of weeks back, members of a Rajput outfit, Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha burnt Bhansali's effigy in Meerut. They claimed that the filmmaker had distorted some historical facts and hence they would not allow the films release, a leading daily reported.

It is a well-known fact that Rani Padmavati had died in mass self-immolation and was a symbol of bravery for women. But from what we have got to know, some historical facts have been distorted in the movie. This will not be tolerated, the report quoted Kuldeep Tomar, district president of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha as saying.

However, according to a report in Bollywoodlife.com, I&B Minister Smriti Irani had promised Karan Johar during an event held a few days back that Padmavati wont face problems during the release.
Mumbai: Fans of Shahid Kapoor are eagerly waiting for Padmavati to release in December and moviegoers will see the dashing actor in a period film for the first time. But heres an update about the actors next!

Shahid has been roped in by the director of Akshay Kumars Toilet: Ek Prem Katha Shree Narayan Singh for a film. According to a report in Mid-Day, the teaser of the film tentatively titled Roshni will be unveiled when Aamir Khans Secret Superstar and Ajay Devgns Golmaal Again hit the silverscreen tomorrow and day after.

Shahid, who has essayed a variety of roles so far, will play a common man fighting against power distribution companies that make consumers pay huge bills.

"The festival of lights is the right occasion for us to throw light on a subject that needs to be discussed. We look forward to making a film that is both commercially entertaining and encourages a conversation on the subject," Mid-Day quoted the filmmaker as saying.

In the recent past, we have seen Shahid take up extremely challenging roles. Haider and Udta Punjab  have been instrumental in rebuilding Shahids position in the industry.

And at the moment, the hunk of an actor is gearing up for the release of his first film with Bhansali. Shahid plays Maharawal Ratan Singh, a Rajput warrior. He has been paired opposite Deepika Padukone (who plays Rani Padmini) for the first time. Padmavati, slated to release on December 1 also stars Ranveer Singh.
London: American author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize, a high-profile literary award, for his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, - a fictional account of US President Abraham Lincoln burying his young son.

In his acceptance speech, Saunders, 58, noted that "we live in a strange time," adding he saw the key question of the era being whether society responded to events with "exclusion and negative projection and violence," or "with love/."

Saunders was the second consecutive American writer to win the prize, after the rules were changed in 2014 to allow authors of any book written in English and published in the UK to compete.

His novel, set in 1862, a year into the American Civil war, is a blend of historical accounts and imaginative fiction, which sees Lincoln`s son Willie, who died in the White House at age 11, in Bardo - a Tibetan form of purgatory.

The judging panel, led by author and member of Britain`s House of Lords Lola Young, praised the "deeply moving" book, saying it was "utterly original".

Saunders was presented with his award by the Duchess of Cambridge, the wife of Britain`s Prince William.

Last year, American Paul Beatty became the first American to win the award, for his novel The Sellout, a biting satire on race relations in the United States.

Other previous winners have included this year`s Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, Salman Rushdie, Iris Murdoch and Canadian writer Margaret Atwood.

The award was previously open only to writers from Britain, Ireland, Zimbabwe or countries in the British Commonwealth. The winner receives a 50,000 pound ($65,000) cash prize.
"It was Tejo Mahal, Lord Shiva's temple, where Shahjahan buried his wife and turned it into a mausoleum," said, Katiyar who had been in the forefront of the Ram temple movement of Ayodhya.

By PTI: Giving a new twist to the controversy surrounding the Taj Mahal, senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar today said it was Lord Shivas temple called Tejo Mahal which was converted into a mausoleum by Shahjahan.

He, however, added that he does not want the monument as famous as this, which is among the wonders of the world, to be demolished.

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He also has no objection to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visiting the Taj Mahal to review tourism schemes.

"It was Tejo Mahal, Lord Shiva's temple, where Shahjahan buried his wife and turned it into a mausoleum," said, Katiyar who had been in the forefront of the Ram temple movement of Ayodhya.

"It was constructed by Hindu kings, the rooms and carvings there prove that it was a Hindu monument... it has also been termed as one by historian PN Oak," he said about the Taj.

He said like a Shiva temple, water drips from the ceiling in the Taj Mahal, which is not a case in any mausoleum anywhere and is like that only on a Shivlinga. "It was a famous monument and was grabbed by Shahjahan," Katiyar said. "It was our temple but was made a mausoleum as they had more power. But it is a grand monument and national heritage... people come to see it and so it should be kept safe and secure," he said.

Katiyar, who is also an accused in the Babri case, said no political meaning should be derived from todays grand Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya by the Adityanath government.

"The aim is to develop Ayodhya...the effort is to recreate the scene of Lord Rams return to Ayodhya from exile," Katiyar said, adding there is no politics behind the function as seen by the opposition. On the issue of Ram temple construction, Katiyar hoped that the court verdict will come in a years time as the hearing is being conducted on a day-to-day basis.

"I hope some way will be found to construct Ram temple or else we can construct it on the lines of Somnath temple...We will look at the alternatives as options like dialogue or (constructing) on the lines of Somnath temple are open...but we want temple," he said.

The stone carving work for the first storey is over and that of the second storey is on, he said, adding, "As soon as we get land, we can start construction."

Meanwhile, former UP minister Azam Khan said, "It is almost definite that Taj Mahal will be destroyed because whatever PN Oak wrote in his book, all of that is being implemented by the fascist forces of India and the RSS."

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Khan said that Oak had written that "there stood a Shiva temple in Ayodhya. If the Babri Masjid could be destroyed because people believe there stood a temple instead, then no place of worship in India is safe."

The SP leader said, "The kind of atmosphere which was there before the Babri Masjid was demolished with dynamite was created long before the actual event took place. There was a high court and a supreme court stay and the then chief minister had submiited an affidavit to the court. Despite all this, Babri Masjid was demolished with dynamite."

Referring to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths decision to visit Taj Mahal, Khan said, "I am sure that the damage control measures being taken today regarding Taj Mahal is because of the international pressure. Because this monument is the seventh wonder of the world and it still stands only because of this."

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: The air quality level in the national capital breached the hazardous red zone level on Tuesday following which the authorities imposed a ban on diesel generators in the state.

As per an official of central government agency SAFAR, which monitors air pollution, burning of paddy stubble in Haryana and Punjab, meteorological conditions and recent fire breakouts at Ghazipur landfills are some of the major reasons behind the alarming level of air pollution in the national capital.

If the air quality deteriorates further in Delhi-NCR, the Environment Protection (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) will also order the capital to switch to the odd-even road scheme.

Meanwhile, the authorities have shut the Badarpur Power Plant and use of diesel gensets has been restricted till March 15 as part of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). However, hospitals and metro services have been exempted from this ban.

In addition, kilns have also been banned in Delhi-NCR. Only those kilns will be allowed to run that are based on the jig-jag technology.

Under the GRAP, the pollution watchdog has the powers to order municipal bodies to charge as much as four times the parking fee from car owners to discourage them from taking out their vehicles on streets.

The Supreme Court, earlier this month, has imposed a temporary ban on the sale of the firecrackers in Delhi-NCR region during Diwali this year to check the alarming air pollution level.

In November 2016, the apex court had directed the government to frame and implement GRAP to control air pollution under various categories of the National Air Quality Index (AQI).

The environment ministry notified the Plan on January 17, 2017.
New Delhi: In a crackdown on the sale of crackers in Delhi-NCR following the Supreme Court's ban, the Delhi Police seized at least 1200 kg of crackers in the national capital and arrested 29 people for violating the ban.

"No firecracker shop in the capital would be allowed to open until November 1. We have seized more than 1,200 kg of firecrackers and made 29 arrests so far from various areas of Delhi. Dozens of firecracker shops were forced to shut on Tuesday," Delhi Police Spokesperson Madhur Verma said.

"We are following the apex court guidelines against shopkeepers found selling firecrackers and taking action as per law. The police are vigilant to ensure that no one violates the court directive," Verma said.

According to him, five firecracker sellers were arrested from Sadar Bazar and Lahori Gate areas in the national capital. Dozens of others were nabbed in various areas of Delhi during surprise checks. "All SHOs have been directed to ensure that no one sells firecrackers."

The police have registered cases against 21 people in connection with the sale of crackers despite the court's ruling.

Post the ban, a number of firecrackers manufacturers were doing business online. However, on Tuesday, the crackdown on crackers forced them to shut their establishments.

On October 9, the apex court imposed a blanket ban on the sale of firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR in the run-up of Diwali to check the alarming pollution level.

A three-judge bench of the apex court had restored its November 2016 order, banning the sale of crackers in NCR and suspended its September 2017 order - which allowed limited sale but banned imports from other states.

Following the court's order, Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik had directed the deputy commissioners of police of the 13 police districts to ensure that crackers are not sold in the city.

Firecracker traders and shopkeepers are, however, disappointed with the apex court ban, as they invested in procuring the stuff in huge quantities to sell during festive season.



"I made a bulk purchase of firecrackers worth nearly Rs 25 lakh from a manufacturer in advance, some three months before the Supreme Court ban. The court should have imposed this ban earlier. Then we would not have invested," Satyam Aggarwal, a shopkeeper from Sadar Bazar, said.



Aggarwal said all his savings had gone down the drain, "much like other thousands of small and big shopkeepers" selling crackers.



"I do not have any option but to store the goods and try my luck in Diwali next year if there is no ban in 2018."



Another shopkeeper, Ram Singhal, asked if firecrackers were the only source of pollution in Delhi and NCR.



"What about trucks, buses, diesel and petrol cars, bikes, industrial pollution, garbage, cutting of trees? These should also be banned," Singhal said.
NEW DELHI: India is tightening quality controls for consumer and capital goods, officials say, a move that follows calls to curb cheap imports from China amid diplomatic tensions between the world's two most populous nations over their shared border.

The new rules target toys, electronic goods, machinery, food processing, construction and chemicals, sectors dominated by China, and come amid greater scrutiny of mainland firms looking to enter India's multi-billion dollar power transmission and telecoms business.

For India`s toy retailers, who import everything from toy cars to musical phones and even robots from China, the new requirements have meant supply disruptions just ahead of the Diwali festive season.

The government`s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approximately 23,000 standards across industries, many of which are never fully enforced, officials say. Now, government departments have been asked to carry out laboratory tests and spot inspection to ensure goods conform to the regulations.

"We have started this work on a war footing, to have quality control orders for almost every product that we are consuming in the country," said Ramesh Abhishek who heads the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

The new rules apply to both foreign manufacturers and domestic firms.

However, two people familiar with trade policy who did not want to be named said the sectors targeted are ones in which China controls more than two-thirds of the market, such as toy and stainless steel good industries, and where there have been "chronic" complaints of substandard products.

Separately, Indian Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma said her department will soon release new guidelines, raising quality norms for welded stainless steel pipes that are used in oil and gas as well as construction sector.

"There is evidence of China exporting semi-finished and finished goods using stainless steel that do not meet the BIS standards," Sharma said.

India`s trade ministry did not respond to Reuters` request for comment on the new rules. China`s Foreign Ministry referred questions to the Commerce Ministry, which did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Bilateral trade between India and China boomed to USD 71.45 billion in 2016-17 from USD 1.83 billion in 1999-2000, though most of this is skewed to Chinese exports.

The trade deficit has widened to USD 51.1 billion over the past year, a nine-fold increase over the last decade, despite repeated Indian calls for China to address the imbalance and open its markets.

Those trade differences are now being amplified by the resurfacing of a long-running border dispute, which has stirred protectionist sentiment in India.

In June, a nationalist group tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s ruling party began a campaign to discourage the use of Chinese goods in the country.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the main Hindu nationalist organisation that fights for domestic industry and agriculture, has planned a protest rally in Delhi later this month against the influx of Chinese products.

TOYS FROM CHINA

The new testing requirements for toys focus on their chemical content and flammability and demand more stringent testing for those that are electrically operated.

China accounts for 85 percent of India`s USD 760 million toy industry and these are priced at anything from 50 cents to USD 150.

Several toy importers are urging the government to delay the new regulations until the festival season is over, saying it would choke supply.

"It comes out of the blue, with no forewarning and gives no time for retailers to prepare for compliance," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India that represents over 1,000 members.

"As a result, it will have grave consequences, such as losses in terms of huge amounts of money paid as advance by retailers to suppliers overseas and a loss of jobs as some businesses that sell only toys will have to shut shop."

While the new rules could hurt local retail consumption, other industry participants argue they will ultimately help local firms by improving standards and keeping low-end imports in check.

They follow similar moves in August, when the government ordered makers of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs to register their products with the BIS for safety checks in an industry where smuggling of Chinese products is rampant.

"There is a need for stronger enforcement for compliance to these standards," said Sumit Joshi, vice chairman and managing director, Philips Lighting India, the country`s largest LED maker.
Paris: The French Parliament on Wednesday adopted a controversial anti-terror bill that gives the authorities permanent new powers to search homes, shut places of worship and restrict freedom of movement.

The new law, which will replace the state of emergency imposed after the 2015 Paris attacks, was approved by the Senate on its second reading, despite campaigners warning of a threat to civil liberties.

The lower house National Assembly overwhelmingly approved it last week.

The legislation, which sparked weeks of intense debate in parliament, makes permanent several of the measures included in the emergency laws enacted after the Paris attacks, in which 130 people were killed.

The state of emergency expires on November 1, after being extended six times.

In a major speech on security President Emmanuel Macron said the compromise text reached by lawmakers would allow the authorities to combat terrorism "without abandoning our values and principles".

Addressing an audience of security force members, he urged them to "fully utilise" the powers granted to them by the new law, which allows the authorities to heavily curtail the movements of suspected jihadist sympathisers, to close religious sites that promote radical ideas, and throw up security perimeters around any event deemed vulnerable to attack.

France has been hit by a series of attacks since 2015 by Islamic extremists that have left more than 230 people dead.

Macron said that 13 terror plots had been foiled since the start of 2017.

The new anti-terror legislation has encountered little resistance from a public traumatised by a string of jihadist attacks, despite criticism it will undermine civil liberties.

A recent poll found 57 percent of the French were in favour.

Macron said he would bolster intelligence gathering in prisons, which have been a breeding ground for radicalisation, and devise programmes to prevent young people in troubled neighbourhoods from coming under the spell of extremist groups.

The new law will also enable the authorities to carry out more on-the-spot identity checks in border areas, as well as around train stations, ports and airports.

Rights groups have voiced fears that such checks will be used by the police against migrants and minorities, particularly Muslims.

Human Rights Watch criticised what it called a "normalisation of emergency powers" and UN experts raised objections in a letter to the French government last month.

Both Macron and his Interior Minister Gerard Collomb argued that the bill struck the right balance between security and individual freedoms.

France has progressively tightened its legal arsenal to tackle terror threats over the years, passing around 15 different laws since 1986.

The October 1 stabbing to death of two women in the southern port of Marseille brought to 241 the number of people killed in attacks claimed by, or attributed to, jihadists since January 2015.

In a separate development, the police this week arrested several people over a suspected rightwing extremist plot to target mosques and politicians, including a government spokesman.
NEW DELHI: Did you know Diwali is an official holiday in 10 different countries, not counting India. And did you also know that the festival of lights is celebrated in a big way in at least 25 nations with major Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh populations.

Celebrating the Deepavali by millions across the world is understood. But to declare a public holiday for Diwali, takes it to a whole new level.

Let's take a look at which 10 nations declares public holidays on Diwali  the day Lord Ram comes back to his kingdom in Ayodhya.

1. Fiji

Nearly one-third of Fiji's population is Hindus. Naturally, Diwali features prominently in the list of national public holidays. Historians say, the festival was originally celebrated by labourers who had migrated from India during British rule. Now, it's a nation-wide extravaganza. The country celebrates Diwali for more than a week.

2. Indonesia

Hindus in Indonesia celebrate Galungan, a festival similar to Diwali. This Balinese festival is all about the victory of dharma over adharma, pretty much like our Deepavali. Held over a period of 10-days, it is one of the important festivals of the country.

3. Nepal

A Hindu-dominated nation, Nepal celebrates "Tihar" or "Swanti" - the Nepalese equivalent of Diwali. Its celebrated over a period of five-days, ending with "Bhai Tika" which similar to that of India's Bhai Dooj.

4. Malaysia

Celebrated primarily by Hindu Malaysians, Diwali is an official gazetted holiday. Festivities and rituals are similar to that of India  lighting diyas, dressing up, Lakshmi puja, etc.

5. Mauritius

A big festival in Mauritius, Diwali is celebrated by the Hindus over a period of five days.

6. Myanmar

Like India, Myanmar celebrates Diwali with diyas, good food, new clothes and traditional dance.

7. Singapore

Primarily observed by Hindu Tamils, Diwali is a gazetted public holiday.

8. Sri Lanka

For Sri Lankans, Diwali begins with an oil bath in the morning, wear new clothes, perform puja and visit Hindu temples.

9. Suriname

Hindus constitute of more than 30% population in Suriname, with immigrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Sarnami Hindustani (a dialect of Avadhi and Bhojpuri) happens to be one of the official languages of the country. Diwali is one of the most popular festivals.

10. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Diwali is celebrated in a big way in the the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and other Carribean islands. It's a festival of light, diyas and good food which begins with Lakshmi Pooja.

Apart from the above, Diwali is also celebrated in a big way in UK, US, Australia, Sindh province of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Guyana, Netherlands, Canada, and Ireland.
Washington: India can help America in keeping an eye on Pakistan and ensure that it is held accountable for giving safe havens to terrorists, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

Haley said that one of the pillars of President Donald Trump's recently announced strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

"Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India," the Indian-origin diplomat said in her address at an event organised by the US-India Friendship Council.

President Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists, she said.

"Pakistan has been a partner to the United States at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

The US, she said, is looking at India to help it more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said, adding that it would important for making sure that they are held accountable.

"We can't continue to see them harbouring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

The Trump administration, she said, is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership.

"The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger," she said.

Responding to a question, Haley said India is a responsible nuclear power. "Because India is a democracy that threatens no one. The United States and India have both felt the pain of terrorism and we share the commitment of defeating terrorists and the hateful ideology that motivates them," Haley said.

"We want to show the world that yes there are countries that have nuclear weapon, but they are not supposed to act like North Korea. They are not supposed to manage themselves like Iran," she said.

Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year.

"I would love to go back to India. It's amazing and special for me. I was fortunate to be there a few years ago, for the first time when I was two. And it was as magical as my parents say about it. So I look forward to going back to India," she said.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has described Mamata Banerjee as a "born rebel" and recalled how she once stormed out of a meeting, leaving him feeling "humiliated and insulted".

Noting that there was an aura about her which was "difficult to explain but impossible to ignore", Mukherjee said in his new book 'The Coalition Years' that she had built her career fearlessly and aggressively and was the "outcome of her own struggle".

"Mamata Banerjee is a born rebel," he wrote, adding that nothing illustrated this trait better than an episode in the West Bengal Congress organisational election in 1992, in which she was defeated.

He recollected how she suddenly demanded an open contest in the party unit after advocating elections by consensus.

The former president recalled that after media reports said the top leaders of the West Bengal Congress, including Banerjee, wanted a consensus election to avoid an open contest that could bring out "ugly factionalism" in the party, then prime minister and Congress chief P V Narasimha Rao asked him to mediate and find a solution.

"One day, during the winter of that year, I requested Mamata Banerjee for a meeting to discuss some of the observations she had made about the process (of organisational elections).

"During the discussion, Mamata suddenly flared up and accused me along with other leaders of a conspiracy against her. She now demanded organisational election, and said she had always stood for elections so that grass-roots level workers could have their say in organisational matters," he said in the book, the third volume in his series of political memoirs.

Banerjee went on to accuse him and others of "distributing organisational positions" among themselves, "thereby thwarting the electoral process", he wrote.

Mukherjee said he was "flabbergasted by her reaction and wild allegations" and told her that a compromise formula was being devised at her request and that of other leaders.

But she claimed she was totally opposed to his approach and wanted open elections, he said.

"Having said that she left the meeting in a huff. I was stunned and felt humiliated and insulted," he wrote.

The former president said she lost by a very narrow margin to Somen Mitra in the election for the post of the WBPCC president held through a secret ballot.

"I was present when that result was announced. An angry Mamata came up to me and asked, 'Are you happy? Has your desire to defeat me been fulfilled?' I told her that she was totally mistaken," Mukherjee recalled.

He told her he had played no role in the organisational election since she had last met him.

The former Congress leader also said the evolution of Mamata Banerjee as a political leader of substance was an important episode in the contemporary politics of West Bengal.

"She has built her own career - fearlessly and aggressively - and what she is today is the outcome of her own struggle, labour and hard work. She has an aura about her which is difficult to explain but impossible to ignore," he said.

He also said Banerjee emerged as a force to reckon with after the Kolkata plenary in 1997 as has had a spectacular political career.

Mukherjee described as "splendid" her victory in the 1984 Lok Sabha polls, when she defeated CPI(M)'s Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur, a constituency that was considered a citadel of the Marxist party.

"This was a splendid victory and she appeared to be truly a giant killer. Throughout her subsequent political life, she has always faced tough challenges bravely and tried to convert them into opportunities," he said.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will celebrate Diwali with soldiers at the strategically important tri-service command in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

According to PTI, Sitharaman will pay a two-day visit to the Andaman and Nicobar tri-services command starting Wednesday, during which she will review its operational preparedness and related issues.

On her maiden visit to the command, she will be celebrating Diwali with troops and interacting with the families during various events over the two days, the Defence Ministry had said in a statement earlier.

The ministry also added that Sitharaman would be visiting the operational area of the command and Car Nicobar Air Force Station.

The Andaman and Nicobar command is Indias only tri-services command.

Sitharaman will also lay wreaths at the Swatantra Jyoti in the Cellular Jail and the Tsunami memorial in Car Nicobar.
NEW DELHI: Continuing her humanitarian gesture, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today directed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to issue visa to a Pakistani child for medical treatment in India.

The child's father, Kashif Chacha, had requested Swaraj on Twitter to grant medical visa for treatment of Abdullah, saying he needed post-liver transplant evaluation in India.

"The treatment of your child must not suffer for want of medicine. I have asked Indian High Commission to issue medical visa. @ChachaKashif," the minister said on the micro-blogging site.

Kashif had said the child's medicines were about to finish and he needed immediate medical consultation in India.

In another tweet, Swaraj said medical visa has also been approved to a Pakistani woman, who wants to undergo liver surgery in India.

Earlier, the woman's son, Rafique Memon, had requested Swaraj's intervention for granting visa to his mother.

Swaraj also responded positively to a request by Nazir Ahmed that his eight-year-old child Mohammad Ahmed is awaiting medical visa for a year.

"We will issue visa to facilitate treatment of your 8 year old child in India," she said.
New Delhi: Ayodhya will look to enter Guinness World Records on Wednesday evening when over 2000 school and college children will light close to 2 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) on the eve of Diwali.

According to reports, the diyas began being placed a day earlier and each child will light about 40 with the first being lit by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Here are the main requirements for entering into the record books:



* The diyas should remain lit for at least five minutes.

* A 10 per cent margin as been given by Guiness officials.

* This means at least 154,000 diyas should remain lit for the duration mentioned.

* The current record is held by Ram Rahim's Dera Sacha Sauda which had lit 1,50,009 diyas on September 23 of last year.

A number of dignitaries are expected to be present for the Ayodhya Divya Deep Utsav - including CM Adityanath and governor Ram Naik. The celebrations will take place on a three-kilometre stretch of the Saryu Ghat, Ram Ki Pauri Ghat and Ram Katha Park.
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 18 (PTI) US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali in Oval Office of the White House along with senior Indian-American members of the administration, including Nikki Haley, Seema Verma and community leaders.

Cabinet ranking Haley is US Ambassador to the UN and Seema Verma is administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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Ajit Pai, Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission and Raj Shah his Principle Deputy Press Secretary were among those from his administration.

Daughter Ivanka Trump also joined the President in celebration of Diwali celebrations.

Last year Ivanka, who is now a presidential advisor, had visited Hindu temples in Virginia and Florida as part of Diwali.

Trump, then as the Republican presidential nominee, had addressed the Indian-American community from a public meeting in New Jersey wherein he lit the traditional diya.

The tradition of Diwali celebration was first started by former President George Bush.

During his term it was celebrated mostly in the India Treaty Room of the adjacent executive office building, which is part of the White House Complex.

Bush never personally participated in the White House Diwali celebrations.

In the first year of his presidency, his successor Barack Obama, lit the ceremonial Diya in the East Rook of the White House. Thereafter he made it a point in celebrating the festival of lights in one way or the year. PTI LKJ AJR

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: The Rs 1,437 crore deal between India and the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors for the supply of 400 155mm Howitzer guns for the Indian Army was entered on March 24, 1986. The Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987 had claimed that the company had paid bribes to top Indian politicians and defence personnel.

Following is the chronology of events in the Bofors payoff scam

March 24, 1986: Government of India and Bofors enter into contract for supply of 410 units of 155mm Howitzer guns valuing Rs 1437.72 crores.

April 16, 1987: Swedish Radio broadcast alleged that the contract was awarded to Bofors due to payment of bribes to Indian officials.

April 20, 1987: Then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi assures the Lok Sabha that neither was any middleman involved in the deal nor were kickbacks paid.

Also Read - India signs Rs 5,000-crore deal with US for M777 lightweight howitzers

August 6, 1987: Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up under B. Shankaranand to probe into allegations of kickbacks.

February 1988: Indian investigators visit Sweden.

July 18, 1989: JPC report presented to parliament.

November 1989: Rajiv Gandhi loses power as Congress defeated in general elections.

December 26, 1989: Then prime minister V.P. Singh's government bars Bofors from entering into any defence contract with India.

January 22, 1990: FIR lodged in the case.

February 7, 1990: First Letter Rogatory sent to Swiss Government.

February 17, 1992: Journalist Bo Anderson's sensational report on the Bofors payoffs case published.

December 1992: Supreme Court reverses a Delhi High Court decision quashing the complaint in the case.

January 29, 1993: Swiss authorities decide to take action on the Letter Rogatory received from India.

July 12, 1993: The Swiss Supreme Court dismisses appeals of Quattrocchi and other accused in the case against the decision to take action on the Letter Rogatory.

July 29/30, 1993: Quattrocchi leaves India and has not returned since then.

February 6, 1997: NBWs issued against Quattrocchi for the purpose of issuance of a Red Corner notice .

February 17, 1997: Red Corner notice issued against Quattrocchi.

March 1998: Quattrocchi files a writ petition in Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the NBWs.

August 5, 1998: Quattrocchi`s petition is dismissed as his lawyer said that he is not willing to submit to the jurisdiction of Indian courts. Quattrocchi was in Malaysia at that time.

December 8, 1998: Second Letter Rogatory sent to Swiss Government for investigation into the transfer of amounts from Guernsey (Channel Islands) and Austria to Switzerland

October 22, 1999: Chargesheet filed against Quattrocchi

November 4, 1999: Cognisance taken by Special Judge.

November 5, 1999: NBW issued against Quattrocchi.

October 9, 2000: CBI files another chargesheet in the case

Early 2000: Quattrocchi approaches the Supreme Court for quashing of arrest warrant against him. Court asks him to appear before CBI for interrogation while protecting him from being arrested. Quattrocchi refuses to accept the order, saying his counsel misled the court.

March 18, 2000: Chadha comes to India to face trial.

July 29, 2000: Trial court issues "open non-bailable arrest warrants" against Ardbo.

September 4, 2000: Chadha moves Supreme Court for permission to go to Dubai for treatment. Supreme Court rejects plea a week later.

September 29, 2000: Hindujas issue statement in London saying funds received by them from Bofors had no connection with the gun deal.

October 9, 2000: CBI files supplementary chargesheet naming Hinduja brothers as accused in the Bofors gun deal.

December 20, 2000: Quattrocchi arrested in Malaysia, gets bail but is asked to stay within the country.

August 6, 2001: Former defence secretary Bhatnagar dies of cancer.

December 2, 2002: India`s request for extradition of Quattrocchi turned down by Malaysian Sessions court.

December 13, 2002: Malaysian High Court turns down India`s plea for extradition of Quattrocchi.

July 21, 2003: Letter Rogatory sent by India to UK seeking freezing of Quattrocchi`s bank accounts.

February 4, 2004: Court quashes all charges under Prevention of Corruption Act and bribery against other accused including Hinduja brothers under the IPC while exonerating Rajiv Gandhi and S K Bhatnagar who were dead.

March 31, 2004: Malaysian Supreme Court dismisses Indias extradition request of Quattrocchi.

May 31, 2005: Delhi High Court quashes proceedings and charges against the Hindujas and A B Bofors.

September 19, 2005: A Supreme Court lawyer, Ajay Agrawal moves apex court challenging HC order after CBI failed to file appeal in the mandatory 90 days. SC admits the appeal which is

pending.

January 11, 2006: Agrawal moves petition in Supreme Court saying Government has sent communication to authorities in United Kingdom for defreezing Quattrocchi`s account. However,

on the same date Quattrocchi`s account was allowed to be defreezed.

January 16, 2006: Supreme Court directs Centre and CBI to ensure that status quo in respect of freezing/money in accounts is maintained. Moneys were however withdrawn on the same day.

February 6, 2007: Quattrochi was arrested by the Interpol at Igazu airport in Argentina.

June 6, 2007: Federal court of first instance declined India`s request for extradition

April 2009: CBI withdraws Red Corner Notice against Quattrocchi.

October 2009: CBI seeks court`s permission to withdraw the case against Quattrocchi, saying his continued prosecution was "unjustified" in the light of various factors including the agency`s failed attempts to get him extradited.

October 2009: Agrawal files RTI application in CBI seeking documents relating to defreezing of account in London bank and also ground for withdrawing the case against Quattrocchi.

November 2009: RTI plea before CBI refused.

Dec 14, 2010: Court reserves its order on CBI plea for February 21, 2011.

Dec 31, 2010: Income Tax Tribunal ask IT Department to pursue case against Quattrochhi and Win Chaddha`s son to get the tax due from them.

Feb 9, 2011: Chief Information Commission slams CBI for withholding information.

Feb 10, 2011: Income Tax tribunal order brought to the notice of the Court which posted the matter for further hearing on February 21.

Feb 21, 2011: CBI says no change in its stand in the wake of Income tax tribunal order.

March 4, 2011: CBI court discharged Quattrocchi from the case saying the country cannot afford to spend hard-earned money on his extradition which has already cost Rs 250 crore.

April 24, 2012: Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom reveals he was the Swedish Deep Throat, the key source of journalist Chitra Subramaniam-Duella`s source. He says no evidence of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi or Amitabh Bachchan in the Bofors pay-off scandal.

July 13, 2013: Quattrochi passed away.

July 14, 2017: The CBI said it can re-investigate the Bofors case only if the Supreme Court or the Centre orders it.

October 18, 2017: The CBI said it would look into the "facts and circumstances" of the Bofors scam mentioned by private detective Michael Hershmam, who alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government had sabotaged his investigation.

(PTI/IANS inputs)
Washington: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will on Wednesday deliver his first major policy speech on India, two days after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ended his week-long visit to America during which he raised some of the key issues of concern with the American leadership.

Tillerson will deliver his remarks on "Defining Our Relationship with India for the Next Century" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a top American think tank, a statement said.

His first India policy speech after becoming the top American diplomat early this year, Tillerson's remarks comes ahead of President Donald Trump Asia visit which will take him to Japan, S Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Tillerson had a meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in New York last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over dinner at the White House in June.
JAMMU: A special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir police force was shot dead by terrorists in south Kashmir on Wednesday.

The incident took place at his residence in south Pulwama district's Tral.

Developing story

With ANI inputs
Jammu: The Pakistani troops on Wednesday violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Ceasefires were violated in Dhar and Kangagali areas of Manjakote in Rajouri.

The Indian Army is strongly retaliating to it and the firing is still on.

The J&K Police tweeted, "Today morning Pakistan violated ceasefire by resorting firing at Dabbi, Nijot & Basoni posts in Balakote Sector Mendhar. Army retaliating."

In Balakote, several cars suffered damages due to continuous firing from across the border, as per ANI. However, there was no loss reported.

#Visuals from J&K: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Manjakot sector of Rajouri (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/V2e20wuOk0  ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

J&K: Cars damaged in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Balakote sector of Poonch pic.twitter.com/aLDcytsIIU October 18, 2017

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir government have directed all the schools on the border belt to remain closed in the wake of repeated violations.

Earlier, four civilians, including children, were injured after Pakistan on October 14 initiated indiscriminate firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Bhimber Gali Sector along the Line of Control (LoC).

This unprovoked firing has been continuously witnessed from the Pakistani side across the border, in which many Indian security personnel and civilians have lost their lives.

The ceasefire violations, which amounted to 228 in 2016, have reached 503 this year (till October 5).
Mumbai: Over one lakh employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) have decided to continue their indefinite strike demanding a hike in salary, causing hardships to thousands of long-distance passengers planning to travel to their hometowns for Diwali.

To overcome the disruption caused by the strike, which started from midnight on October 17, the State Transport Department of the Maharashtra government has issued a notification to allow private vehicles, including school buses, to ferry passengers.

The state-run corporation termed the strike, which has hit the Diwali travel of thousands of passengers, as illegal.

Mumbai: #MSTRCStrike continues as Maharashtra state transport staff protests demanding implementation of 7th pay commission pic.twitter.com/l1NMbCmE7r  ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017

Our 1.02 lakh staffers have stopped plying ST buses from midnight on October 17 demanding implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and an interim hike of 25 per cent till the pay panels recommendations are implemented. The government agreed to give only a part of interim hike which is not acceptable to us, Sandeep Shinde, president of the Maharashtra ST Workers Union, said, adding, If our demands are met, we are ready to end our strike right now.

Shinde said, on behalf of the union, he apologises for inconvenience caused to passengers.

We have been rendering our services to them (passengers) since long, but this time we need their support for our survival, Shinde added.

He said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Transport Minister Diwakar Raote have taken some steps to resolve the issue, but he said that they want a final solution this time.

Due to the strike by State Transport staffers, official permission has been granted for all types of (private) buses (like school and company vehicles) to ferry passengers from ST depots, Parveen Gedam, Transport Commission of Maharashtra, told PTI.

A senior official of the MSRTC said the strike is illegal and the transport agencys administration has appealed to the union members to come back to work. Different courts have clarified that such strikes are not within law as transport is an essential service. We, therefore, appeal to the staffers to resume work.

MSRTC officials said Fadnavis and Raote have taken the issue seriously and ordered setting up of a committee to look into it.

More than 65 lakh passengers travel by ST buses across the state everyday. The MSRTC runs 18,000 buses, some of which go to far-flung areas not connected by rail network. The transport undertaking incurs a loss of Rs. 450 crore per year.

With PTI inputs
Mumbai: Fans, friends and family members paid tribute to veteran actor Om Puri, who passed away in January this year, on his 67th birth anniversary on October 18, 2017.



"Haven at home," Om Puri's former wife Nandita Puri, who marked the occasion by listening to the actor's favourite songs, told IANS.



Om Puri, whose career reflected a rare realism, died after suffering a heart attack. His demise had triggered a nationwide outpouring of condolences from top leaders, fans and the film fraternity.



Veteran actor Anupam Kher tweeted: "Lovable Om Puri. Happy birthday to you in your new world. Wherever you are, stay happy. I miss you a lot."



Filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda wrote: "Happy Birthday Om Puriji? Feel blessed to share my birthday with you? One of the most versatile actors I have ever worked with gone too soon."



Guinness World Record-holding sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik also paid homage to the late actor by creating a sand art depicting Om Puris face.



Om Puri, who was best known for his socially relevant movies, is remembered for films like Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, Dharavi and Mirch Masala.



A National School of Drama alumnus, he also appeared in comedy movies like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Chachi 420, Hera Pheri, Malamaal Weekly and more.



Besides Indian cinema, he also nurtured an international career, which started with a cameo in Richard Attenborough's iconic 1982 film Gandhi. Among some of his British films were My Son the Fanatic, East Is East and The Parole Officer. He also appeared in Hollywood films including City of Joy, Wolf and The Ghost and the Darkness.
Mumbai: Actor Deepika Padukone said she believes romantic relationships are complicated and it is difficult to find a partner who understands one's success and passion.

The 31-year-old actor said it is not easy for a performer to maintain their number one position in the industry.

"As far as romantic relationships are concerned, they are complicated because it is difficult to find someone, who understands your success, your passion for what you do, who understands that maybe you earn more money (than him). It (at the top) is a complicated place to be in," Deepika said.

The actor said that with extreme success, she "overnight, (I) had wings to fly" and that is when relationships go through testing times.

"Some of my personal relationships have become stronger with time but I have seen some of my friends, who have distanced themselves from me. Some of my school friends... We have become closer than before because we all make efforts to stay in touch.

"A lot of people could not handle the success that came my way and sort of disconnected. I am not upset about it, that's just the way life goes. People, who are closest to you and matter, understand," she said.

Deepika was speaking at the launch of veteran actor Hema Malini's biography "Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl".

The "Bajirao Mastani" star said stardom and sacrifice go hand-in-hand and one needs to be dedicated to achieve their goals.

"... I haven't gone to college. I just managed to finish my 11th and 12th (standards) also because by then I had become a successful model. And while I lived in Bengaluru, I still had to go to Mumbai and Delhi a lot of times for work.

"Then I tried doing my first year of degree, (but) I couldn't do that. I tried distance education, I couldn't do that as well. So, I am just 12th pass and my parents had a lot of issues with it back then," she said.

Hema said being on top is a "lonely place" to be in.

"Of course, it is a lonely place, in many ways. Even in personal relationships. You are working hard the whole day, then you come back just to sleep and leave early morning for work. I don't know how to explain...

"When it comes to your personal life, even your parents want you to settle down. My parents started looking for a guy for me. A lot of suitors came to see me. But we couldn't have a match with them. We wanted to, but they couldn't reach the position I was (in)," the actor-politician said.

"That's the difficult part. The fact is that you become so (big)... It is the most uncomfortable and difficult place to be in and I have stayed there for a long time," she added.
Noida: Days after their release in the sensational Aarushi murder case, dentist couple Nupur and Rajesh Talwar have decided to pay a visit to Amritsar's famous Golden Temple.

According to reports, the couple embarked on a tour on Tuesday - a day after they walked out of Dasna Jail in Ghaziabad after spending four years behind bars  in their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj murder case.

The couple stayed at Nupur Talwar's parents' flat in Noida from where they left in a car.

They refused to talk to a posse of mediapersons waiting outside the complex to get a response from the couple on their acquittal in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.

Vandana Talwar, an aunt of Aarushi, later told reporters that the dentist couple had left on a tour.

They will possibly visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar, she added.

Nupur Talwar's father BG Chitnis told the media that the dentist couple had left for Punjab and added that they would celebrate Diwali at home.

"They are not in a position to talk to the media now...It will take some time for them to register this. They will talk to the media on a later date," Vandana Talwar said.

After their release from the jail, the couple were escorted to Aarushi's maternal grandparents' house in Noida's Jal Vayu Vihar.

The Talwars lived in another flat -where the double murder took place on May 16 in 2008 - in the same housing complex.

The couple were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on October 12 after they were convicted in 2013 by a lower court for the murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.
AYODHYA: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath landed in Ayodhya, an hour before the city begins celebrating it's largest Diwali celebrations 'deepotsav' ever. The city aims to enter Guinness World Records as more than 2000 school and college kids light 2 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) on the eve of Diwali.

7:20 pm: Adityanath performs aarti and light up diyas on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya. Governor Ram Naik, Deputy CM KP Maurya accompanied him.

#WATCH UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performs 'Aarti' on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya #Diwali pic.twitter.com/j4S2fAkelp  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

6:50 pm: Diwali celebrations are currently underway at banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya

6:40 pm:

6:10 pm:

Uttar Pradesh: Banks of river Saryu lit up with lights & earthen lamps as part of #Diwali celebrations. pic.twitter.com/IDMc1EFRMb  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

6:00 pm: "Ayodhya is the land of humanity. We taught the world about humanity through the legend of Ram rajya," said the Chief Minister.

5:50 pm: School and college children start lighting diyas (earthen lamps) at the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya

5:40 pm: "Those opposed to Lord Ram cannot stop us from developing Ayodhya," says UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.

5:30 pm: Artists dressed as Ram, Sita and Laxman reach Ayodhya via helicopter as another helicopter showered flowers.

Chants of "Jai Shri Ram" echoed on the banks of the Saryu river as actors portraying the roles of Lord Rama and Sita arrived here on a chopper decked up to resemble the mythological Pushpak Viman - in a recreation of Lord Rama`s return from 14 years of exile to Ayodhya.

5:20 pm: Adityanath and state Governor Ram Naik distribute allotment letters to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Ayodhya.

4:20 pm: Adityanath arrives in Ayodhya, accompanied by Governor Ram Naik

#WATCH: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath arrives in #Ayodhya, will take part in #Diwali celebrations. Governor Ram Naik also present pic.twitter.com/7gBk9vHfo6 October 18, 2017

The chief minister, who is mahant or the head priest of the Gorakhnath Math (temple), will also perform aarti on the banks of Saryu river.

The diyas will be also lit on the banks of river Saryu to project the rich cultural heritage of Ayodhya - Lord Ram's birthplace.

The state government also plans to build a 100-metre tall statue of Lord Ram in the city.

A series of fuctions and performances have been scheduled for the evening, to celebrate Diwali.

With agency inputs
By PTI: By Aditi Khanna

London, Oct 18 (PTI)The UK is contending with an "intense" terrorist threat from Islamist extremists with as many as 20 attacks foiled in the past four years, Security Service MI5 chief Andrew Parker has said.

In a rare public speech here yesterday, the Director- General of the British Security Service (MI5) revealed that his team is running 500 live operations involving 3,000 individuals linked with extremist activity and that the tempo of counter-terrorism operations was the highest he had seen in his 34-year career at the agency.

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"In 2017, with all that has happened and much that has not, it is clear that we are contending with an intense UKterrorist threat from Islamist extremists,"said Parker.

"Twenty attacks in the UK have been foiled over the past four years. Many more will have been prevented by the early interventions we and the police make. There have been a record number of terrorism-related arrests: 379 in the year to June," he said.

The intelligence chief said there has been a "dramatic upshift" in terrorist activity this year, which resulted in the London and Manchester attacks which killed a total of 36 people.

He said MI5 staff had been "deeply affected" by the attacks at a personal and professional level.

"They are constantly making tough professional judgments based on fragments of intelligence; pinpricks of light against a dark and shifting canvas," he said.

Parker admitted that the likelihood was that when an attacked happened, it would be carried out by someone "that we know or have known" ? otherwise it would mean they had been looking "in completely the wrong place".

He revealed that more than 800 individuals had left the UK for Syria and Iraq.

Some had then returned, often many years ago, and had been subject to risk assessment and at least 130 had been killed in conflict fighting for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror network.

The MI5 chief called on technology companies to work with the government on preventing their social media platforms from being used by extremists for communications that cannot be monitored.

He also stressed that international cooperation remained vital and revealed there was a joint operational centre for counter-terrorism based in the Netherlands, where security service officers from a range of countries worked together and shared data. PTI AK UZM

--- ENDS ---
Ayodhya: The Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to hold a mega event - 'Deepotsav'- on Wednesday during which at least one lakh and seventy one thousand earthen lamps will be lit on the banks of river Saryu to project the rich cultural heritage of Ayodhya - Lord Ram's birthplace.

The event will seek to create the celebratory atmosphere witnessed in Ayodhya on Lord Rama's return along with wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after victory over Ravana, as narrated in the epic Ramayana, according to UP government officials.

A series of programmes have been scheduled to celebrate Diwali in the pilgrim town, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Awanish Awasthi earlier said.

The "Deepotsav" will be organised on the 'Ram Ki Paidi' .

Prominent buildings and ghats will be illuminated to attract tourists.

The objective of the entire programme will be to promote Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, as a tourist destination.

A heritage walk, a 'yatra' reminiscing the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya, and the launch of several schemes by the Chief Minister and other dignitaries will be part of the programme, Awasthi said.

A grand "aarti" of River Saryu will also be performed by Chief Minister Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik followed by a laser show.

The Governor, during a recent visit to Varanasi, had said that Ayodhya, despite being an ancient cultural and religious destination, has faced neglect and now both the state and the Centre were trying to restore its glory.

Noting that Diwali is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after winning a war in Lanka, Naik had said the state government wants to portray the same scene.

"I believe, and you can imagine, that those who visit Ayodhya, whether they are domestic or foreign tourists, all carry a wish to see Lord Rama there. We hope the government will work keeping all these aspects in mind," the governor had said.

During today's programme, Ramlila will be staged by artistes from Indonesia and Thailand.

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma will be present on the occasion. The Union Tourism Ministry has sanctioned Rs 133.70 crore for making Ayodhya a tourism hub.

The money sanctioned will be utilised in renovating ghats, including the Guptar Ghat, where Lord Rama had taken 'Samadhi', installing CCTV cameras, making police booths, construction of guest houses for tourists and auditorium at Digamgar Akhara.

The budget presented by the Yogi government, which came to power in March, had a special mention of Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura, earmarking Rs 1,240 crore for the Ramayan, Buddhist and Krishna circuits in these cities.

Earlier in May, the state government had re-started the popular Ram Leela at the Ayodhya Research Centre, after a hiatus of 17 months.

The practice of holding Ram Leela in Ayodhya was started by the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in May 2004, but was stopped during Akhilesh Yadav's regime after the culture department refused to grant aid for the same.

The Yogi government has re-started the shows after sanctioning a handsome budget for the Ram Leela.

Adityanath has visited Ayodhya at least twice after assuming office and launched several projects worth crores of rupees for the city. The UP government also plans to install a grand statue of Lord Ram in the city.

To add a touch of fantasy to the event, a chopper decorated as the mythological 'Pushpak Viman', will descend on Ram Katha Park with artistes decked up to resemble Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman.

A 22-minute laser show with special sound effects on Ramayana will be the major attraction during the mega event at Ram Katha Park, Awasthi said.

"The aim of the programme is to attract tourists and showcase tourism spots and the potential of Ayodhya," he added.

Meanwhile, heavy police deployment has been made for the occasion. Over 1,000 policemen along with 10 companies of PAC and two companies of RAF have been deployed for security of the VVIPs, a senior police official said.

With PTI inputs
Seoul: North Korea sent a congratulatory message to Chinas 19th Congress of its Communist Party on Wednesday, amid increasingly frayed relationships between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons programme.

The central committee of the North`s ruling Workers` Party of Korea said that China has made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the correct guidance of the Communist Party of China.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success."

Officials and experts in South Korea had worried that Pyongyang may conduct a weapons test to coincide with the Oct. 18 opening of the twice-a-decade Community Party congress in China.

While the United States and its allies, and many people in China, believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Koreas nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.

China, Pyongyang`s sole major ally and which accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade with the isolated country, has said it will strictly enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions banning imports of coal, textiles and seafood, while cutting off oil shipments to the North.
Islamabad: At least six people were killed and many wounded in an apparent suicide blast targeting a police vehicle during the morning rush hour in Pakistan`s restive southwest early Wednesday, officials said.

The group of elite police were targeted on the Sariab road in the outskirts of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, as they headed to work.

"Police were targeted in this attack," provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti told reporters, adding that five police and one civilian had been killed.

"Twenty-two others are injured," he said.

A police official in Quetta gave a different toll, putting the figures at seven dead and 10 wounded, and said the attack came as the police were commuting to work.

"We have sent teams to the site to help the victims," he said.

Bugti told AFP that a car rammed the police vehicle before catching fire, adding it was "apparently a suicide attack", in an account confirmed by senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has oil and gas resources but is afflicted by Islamist militancy, sectarian violence and a separatist insurgency.

Members of the minority Shiite community and security forces are frequently attacked by militants in the province.
New Delhi: World leaders sent out message of peace, love and harmony as they wished people around the world on the occassion of Diwali. To be celebrated in India this Wednesday and Thursday, heads of state like US President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wished all - and especially Indians and those of Indian origin - on the occassion.

Trump celebrated Diwali at White House by lighting a lamp in the presence of administration officials and leaders of the Indian-American community. "Deeply honoured to celebrate Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights," he said. "As we do so, we especially remember the people of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the worlds largest democracy."

Trump also reflected on the close bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before going on to hail the contribution of Indian-Americans in shaping United States. "The lighting of the diya is typically celebrated by families in their homes. Today, we proudly celebrate this holiday in the people's house. In so doing, we reaffirm that Indian-Americans and Hindu-Americans are truly cherished, treasured and beloved members of our great American family," he said.



Australian PM Turnbull too wished those who celebrate Diwali and said that such festivals define his country's diversity. "Today Deepavali is enjoyed by many around the world, regardless of background or faith. In Australia, festivities are held in cities, towns and homes across our country, he said. "Such events bring understanding and appreciation to the broader community, and are a powerful reminder that our society is greatly enriched by its diversity. I encourage everyone to be proud of an Australia where people of different backgrounds and beliefs can be part of our national tradition."



In comparison, Canadian PM Trudeau kept his wishes simple but his choice of words led to some controversy. "Diwali Mubarak! We're celebrating in Ottawa tonight," he tweeted on Tuesday. Some of his followers quickly pointed out that he had used an Arabic word for a Hindu festival.



It's not "Diwali Mubarak", it's "Diwali Ki Badhai" ... Correct it ..  Bhavesh K Pandey (@bhaveshkpandey) October 17, 2017

Mubarak is Arabic, not hindi. Jussayin.  HHaltam (@haltam_h) October 17, 2017



There were many others though who defended Trudeau. One tweet even pointed out that 'Happy' is a foreign word but is commonly used to wish others during Diwali.
Tunis: EU anti-terror chief Gilles de Kerchove on Tuesday called for a boosted exchange of information with Tunisia, which has seen its nationals involved in deadly attacks abroad and on its soil.

During a visit to Tunis, for talks with Tunisian ministers, the EU official said that the flow of information across the Mediterranean "is functioning well" but could be improved.

"We are looking to see how to help Tunisia in the area of data protection... to increase the exchange of information," between the Tunisian authorities and organisations such as Europol and Eurojust, he added.

He argued such improvements could be useful for ongoing cases like the trial of the suspects in the 2015 attack on a beach resort near Sousse that killed nearly 40 foreign holidaymakers, most of them British.

Families of French and British victims of that attack and one at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis the same year, in which 22 people died, have complained they were not informed of the legal proceedings which followed.

Tunisians have also carried out deadly attacks in Europe, including Berlin and the French towns of Nice and Marseille.

Asked about the arrival in Europe of Ahmed Hanachi, a Tunisian national who killed two women in the southern French city of Marseille on October 1, de Kerchove underlined the difficulty in "identifying the point of changeover from radicalism to violent radicalism".

Hanachi, 29, fatally stabbed the two women at Marseille`s Saint-Charles train station before being shot dead by police.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, but French investigators have not found any evidence linking it to the jihadists.

But Hanachi was known to the police for drug as well as alcohol problems and had a history of petty crime, using seven aliases.

"One of the main subjects is to become more and more precise in the detection of the tipping point," the EU commissioner told a press conference in Tunis.
Britain: Women rights activist Malala Yousafzai is the latest victim of trolls.

Malala, who began her life at Oxford, has been receiving backlash from a section of people who are targetting her over her new chosen style of dress.

In a photo that has gone viral on the social media, Malala is seen wearing jeans, heeled boots and a bomber jacket during her first weeks at the university.

She is also keeping her 'dupatta' on her head, as she has done since she arrived in Britain 5 years ago.

The 20-year-old had in 2012 escaped death when she was shot in her head by Taliban gunmen for her outspoken campaign for girls' right to education.

She went on to receive Nobel Peace Prize for her global campaigning work and a place at the Russell Group university.

However, over the weekend, she became a target of trolls for swapping her traditional 'salwar-kameez' attire for jeans.

That was the reason the bullet directly targeted her head long time ago.#MalalaYousafzai #UK pic.twitter.com/M1DGEhLwho October 15, 2017

Well, she is just a drama queen dictated by his father.

Taliban never was against girls education. They just didnt want western style of it  Mullah Awesome (@Faesal_Ah) October 16, 2017

She is not daughter of PAKISTAN BUT ILLEGITIMATE  musaharoon (@musaharoon1) October 17, 2017

One of the trolls even went on to compare her with Pakistani porn star Mia Khalifa.
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday the United States held Myanmar`s military leadership responsible for its harsh crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Tillerson, however, stopped short of saying whether the United States would take any action against Myanmar`s military leaders over an offensive that has driven more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the country.

Washington has worked hard to establish close ties with Myanmar`s civilian-led government led by Nobel laureate and former dissident Aung San Suu Kyi in the face of competition from strategic rival China.

"The world can`t just stand idly by and be witness to the atrocities that are being reported in the area," Tillerson told Washington`s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

"We really hold the military leadership accountable for what`s happening," said Tillerson, who said the United States was "extraordinarily concerned" by the situation.

Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar in large numbers since late August when Rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response, with the fleeing people accusing security forces of arson, killings and rape.

Tillerson said Washington understood Myanmar had a militancy problem, but the military had to be disciplined and restrained in the way it dealt with this and to allow access to the region "so that we can get a full accounting of the circumstances."

"Someone, if these reports are true, is going to be held to account for that," Tillerson said. "And its up to the military leadership of Burma to decide, `What direction do they want to play in the future of Burma?`"

Tillerson said Washington saw Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, as "an important emerging democracy," but the Rohingya crisis was a test for the power-sharing government.

He said the United States would remain engaged, including ultimately at the United Nations "with the direction this takes."

The European Union and the United States have been considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar`s military leadership.

Punitive measures aimed specifically at top generals are among a range of options that have been discussed, but they are wary of action that could hurt the wider economy or destabilize already tense ties between Suu Kyi and the army.

Tillerson also said he would visit New Delhi next week as the Trump administration sought to dramatically deepen cooperation with India in response to China`s challenges to "international law and norms" in Asia.

Tillerson said the administration had began a quiet conversation with some emerging East Asian democracies about creating alternatives to Chinese infrastructure financing.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A second US judge ordered a freeze on President Donald Trump`s newest travel ban order Wednesday, saying it was essentially targeted at Muslims in violation of the US Constitution.

Maryland federal judge Theodore Chuang said the ban of travelers from six majority-Muslim countries and North Korea, and on many officials from Venezuela, essentially had not changed from the first two versions, which were shot down in lower courts as discriminating against a single religion.

He pointed out, as in earlier rulings, that Trump had repeatedly promised a ban on Muslims coming into the country during last year`s presidential election.

Chuang was the second judge this week to order a block on the open-ended ban, issued in a White House executive order in September and which was to come in effect on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Hawaii federal district judge Derrick Watson also objected to the ban, saying it illegally discriminated against the entire populations of six countries -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- and would not, as it claimed, add to US national security.

Trump has battled with the courts since the first version of the ban, and in June finally gained Supreme Court approval to implement an amended second version for 90 days, which ended last month.

On Tuesday the White House said it would fight the newest ban by Watson, pointing to yet another likely fight in the Supreme Court.

"We are therefore confident that the judiciary will ultimately uphold the president`s lawful and necessary action and swiftly restore its vital protections for the safety of the American people," the White House said.
MARYLAND: At least three people were killed and two others seriously injured in shooting at an office park in Maryland in US.



The police are on lookout for the suspect and the area has been cordoned off.

All schools in the vicinity have been shut. According to reports, the victims as well as the suspects worked at an office in Edgewoods Emmorton business park.

Local media reports described the shooting as workplace violence at a granite company.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: US President Donald Trump told the widow of a soldier killed during an ambush in Niger "he knew what he was signing up for," according to a lawmaker who accused him of insensitivity.

Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman from Florida, said she listened in to part of a group phone call between the president and the grieving family of Sergeant La David Johnson.

"I didn`t hear the whole phone call, but I did hear him say, `I`m sure he knew what he was signing up for, but it still hurts,`" she told CNN.

Trump denied making the comments, tweeting Wednesday: "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

Johnson was among four US soldiers killed earlier this month in Niger, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence.

The Miami native`s body was returned home Tuesday afternoon, according to the Miami Herald. He is survived by his wife Myeshia Johnson, who is pregnant with the couple`s third child.

After the phone call, Myeshia "was crying, she broke down. And she said `he didn`t even know his name,`" added Wilson, referring to Trump.

Trump had faced criticism for not contacting the families of the soldiers killed in Niger right away.

At a press briefing on Monday, he said he had written them letters and would call soon, while accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of neglecting to call as many grieving families as himself.

He also suggested on a call to Fox News radio Tuesday that Obama had not made a condolence call to retired Marine general John Kelly, Trump`s White House chief of staff, after his son was killed in action in Afghanistan.

The statements sparked outrage from former Obama aides, who said Trump`s claims were baseless.
Pro-Kannada activists demanded a complete ban on Vijay-starrer Mersal throughout Karnataka after a localite was thrashed by fans of the actor.

By Nolan Pinto: Thalapathy Vijay's action drama Mersal was released today with a lot of fanfare in Tamil Nadu. Likewise, even in Bengaluru, his fans did the same at various theaters. Huge banners and cut-outs were the norm at these theatres and it was this that has now created a controversy.

According to Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists, a localite who was passing by the Radhakrishna theatre was allegedly beaten by fans of Vijay. The reason being given was that when the localite stared at the cut-outs, Vijay's fans took offence to that. This was then brought to the notice of KRV activists who immediately decided to stop the Radhakrishna theatre from playing this movie.

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The activists made sure that other theatres such as Cauvery and Sampige also do not play the Tamil movie. The cut-outs were also brought down by KRV cadres.

Speaking to India Today, Shivaraj Gowda, vice-president of KRV, Karnataka state said, "This is an insult to Kannadigas. We do not mind them watching the Tamil film but such huge cut-outs is unacceptable."

He has now demanded action against four Vijay fans who thrashed the localite and if no action is taken, the Tamil movie will not be allowed to be played in Bengaluru and Karnataka as well.

The KRV activists barged into those theatres and stopped the movie from being played mid-way. The police then had to rush in to bring the situation under control and avoid the KRV activists from damaging the place.

Meanwhile, Vijay's fans are said to be urging Thalapathy to enter politics. It remains to be seen whether Vijay obliges his fans.

ALSO WATCH: Politics is a crown of thorns, but I am willing to wear it, says Kamal Haasan

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: Chinese armed forces will become world-class by mid-21st century, according to President Xi Jinping. With technology at its core, Xi said his military is 'built to fight' and will enhance its strategic capabilities.

The modernisation of the Chinese forces by 2020 will involve mechanisation and integration of IT applications, Xi said at the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress. "A military is built to fight. By the year 2020, military mechanization will be basically achieved, with IT application coming a long way and strategic capabilities seeing a big improvement," he said. "The people's armed forces will be transformed into world-class military by the mid-21st century."

Despite its emphasis on expanding its armed forces - and modernising it, Xi categorically said peace and harmony remains paramount. "No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion."

Founded in 1927, the People`s Liberation Army is already the biggest in the world with close to two million personnel. With the country fast looking to increase its presence on the global map, China has also ingeniously built - or is building - air crafts, ships and submarines.

Many countries consider China's military expansion as a threat - especially those laying claim to South China Sea. Some diplomatic experts outside China though feel the country is unlikely to do much to endanger its economic prowess.
Beijing: China's biggest political event, the Communist Party Congress that determines who rules the country and its direction for the next term, began here on Wednesday under tight security.

President Xi Jinping is addressing more than 2,000 delegates in the capital, Xinhua news agency reported.

The closed-door summit that takes place once every five years was expected to finish next week.

Xi, who became the leader in 2012, is expected to remain as the party chief, the BBC reported.

Shortly after the congress ends, the party is expected to unveil the new members of China's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, who will steer the country.

Xi began his speech listing China's achievements during his term, and said socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered "a new era".

Xi Jinping Set For Second Term as China's Communist Party congress begins in Beijing

China's socialist democracy is the broadest, most genuine, and most effective democracy to safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, he said at while opening the 19th session of the congress.

He called on party members to "always share our fate with the people, always keep the better life for the people in mind".

Xi said China will not close its door to the world, and it will only become more and more open.

"Openness brings progress, while self-seclusion leaves one behind," Xinhua quoted Xi as saying inside the Great Hall of the People here.

He also spoke about the success of his wide-reaching corruption crackdown within the party that has punished more than a million officials, the BBC said.

Beijing is decked out in welcome banners and festive displays for the congress.

However, there is a high security alert. Long lines were seen earlier this week at railway stations due to additional checks at transport hubs.

The congress has also affected businesses, with some restaurants, gyms, nightclubs and karaoke bars reportedly shutting down due to tightened security rules, and accommodation-booking websites like Airbnb cancelling bookings in central Beijing, the BBC said.
By Indo-Asian News Service: Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt's Maaya, which grabbed attention as the first Indian fictional work on BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism), is heading to the Marseille web fest in France.

Maaya will be screened at the festival on October 20 and will be competing along with a bunch of other super successful web series from around the world, read a statement.

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Vikram said: "When we made Maaya, we were a small motley group that believed in its future... the actors, the technicians and me. We wanted to say what we had not been able to ever... we wanted to use our freedom with responsibility.

"Today our voice has broken all borders and reached the outside world. We are both humbled and proud. Once I get there, I intend to meet the like-minded people of the world, learn from them, see what is going on, on the World Wide Web. The doors of the candy shop of the future have just opened. Let's see what's in store."

The face of web series has changed rapidly and massively in the past few years in India and one of the names leading this change in the digital world in the country is Vikram Bhatt.

Having produced a number of successful web series, Vikram is now all set to take his bold web series Maaya to the prestigious Marseille web fest in France.

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Sergey Avetisyan, director of Armenias General Department of Civil Aviation held a meeting October 18 with Alessandro Giulivi, CEO of Elitaliana, an Italian helicopter company founded in 1964.

During the meeting the Italian delegation presented the companys activities and services, and mentioned their interest on rendering helicopter services in Armenia.

Avetisyan welcomed Elitalianas interest and mentioned the ongoing steps for the development of civil aviation and stressed the existing need of helicopter flights in Armenia.

The aviation department chief also proposed his readiness in assisting further works.
According to BJP MP Vinay Katiyar, the Taj Mahal was originally a temple called Tejo Mahalaya dedicated to Lord Shiva. The structure from outside resembles a temple, he said. The Supreme Court has rejected this as a 'bee in bonnet' theory.

By Ankit Tyagi, Harmeet Shah Singh: Is Taj Mahal, a Unesco world heritage site in Uttar Pradesh's Agra, a Hindu temple and not a mausoleum? BJP MP Vinay Katiyar has given his verdict, contrary to what the Supreme Court once rejected as "a bee in the bonnet" theory as well as the Centre's position on the Mughal monument.

According to Katiyar, the Taj Mahal was originally a temple called Tejo Mahalaya dedicated to Lord Shiva. "The (Taj) structure from outside resembles a temple," Katiyar insisted in an exclusive interview with India Today.

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But Katiyar's claim isn't unique. He merely reiterated what right-wing historian PN Oak wrote in his 1989 book, 'Taj Mahal: The True Story'. Oak too claimed the monument was built long before the Mughal rule.

But when Oak took his theory to the Supreme Court in 2000, the top court dismissed the historian's petition as a "bee in his bonnet". In its statement to a court in Agra this August, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also said that there was no evidence to suggest the monument ever housed a temple.

TEJO MAHALAYA, NOT TAJ MAHAL: KATIYAR

But Katiyar, one of the main accused in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, believed Oak more than the culture ministry, the ASI, or the wisdom of the Supreme Court.

"History can't be negated," he remarked. "It (the Taj) was Tejo Mahalaya, housing a Shankar temple before. The structure is the same, with a passage for water to drop down. It's all there," Katiyar claimed.

Katiyar's comments came in the middle of the Opposition attacking the BJP after its Uttar Pradesh MLA Sangeet Som branded the 17-century iconic site as a "blot" on Indian culture .

The BJP MP, however, disagreed with Som for his controversial comments. Katiyar described the monument as a "grand wonder." "No, no. It's not a blot. It still is a wonder monument. It is grand. But it was originally built by a Hindu ruler," insisted the Rajya Sabha member.

Katiyar also supported the idea of renaming the Taj Mahal as Tejo Mahalaya, but opposed any suggestions that it be redesigned. "There's no need to tamper with the structure. But it would be better if it's name could be changed to Tejo Mahalaya," he said. "There's no need to bring any monument down."

UNRELENTING TAJ MAHAL RANT BY BJP

Katiyar's remarks are the latest in a series of controversial statements on the Taj Mahal made by the BJP leaders after the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh did not include the world-famous monument in its tourism booklet.

In a damage control exercise, Adityanath on Tuesday said the Taj Mahal was made by the blood and sweat of Bharat Mata's sons", and its protection was the responsibility of the Uttar Pradesh government.

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"It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Mata's sons ," Adityanath said in Gorakhpur. "It is famous the world over for its architecture... it is a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government," he added.

Adityanath is also scheduled to visit the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and other important monuments in Agra next week.

WATCH VIDEO | Taj Mahal was originally a temple called Tejo Mahal dedicated to Lord Shiva, says BJP MP Vinay Katiyar

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting on October 18 with Alexander Bastrikin, president of Russias Investigative Committee, and Ivan Noskyevich, president of Belaruss Investigative Committee  who arrived in Yerevan to participate in the session of the joint board of the investigative committees of Armenia, Russia and Belarus.

During the meeting the President highlighted close and daily cooperation between law enforcement agencies, emphasizing that Armenia encourages exchange of experience and close professional interaction between state structures of partner countries in various branches, taking into consideration that new technologies and opportunities are appearing in the rapidly changing world, which contribute to the finding more effective salutation and improvement of work.

The President said the joint session format is a food platform for partnership and wished successful work.

The Investigative Committee presidents expressed gratitude for organizing the Yerevan session on a high level and were pleased to note the results of the work.

The presidents of the Belarus and Russia Investigative Committees highlighted the Memorandum of Understanding which was signed during the session, under which cooperation will be encouraged and exchange of experience will be carried out in various directions of joint significance.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The preparation process of signing a temporary free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comes to its final stage, Armenian minister of economic development and investments Suren Karayan told reporters, reminding that the abovementioned works are being coordinated by Armenia, reports Armenpress.

The agreement also includes 40 types of goods that are being produced in Armenia and have a demand in the Iranian market. These are the proposals of the Armenian side. After the signing of the agreement the entry of these goods to the Iranian market will be simplified. There are both non-tariff and tariff regulations over which there will be simplifications, the minister said, adding that by this the Armenian products will become more competitive in the Iranian market.

The minister touched upon the 11.2% export growth from Armenia to Iran in the 8 months of 2017, stating that it is an unprecedented figure.

Suren Karayan attached importance to the mutual recognition process of standards used on the products with Iran. He said at the moment talks are underway to establish assessment bodies in two countries to test the mandatory safety requirements for food and non-food products. According to him, the Halal office opened in Yerevan in March provides a certificate which operates in 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Thus, the goods produced in Armenia are certified here and sold in the markets of the abovementioned countries.

As for the works on creating the Meghri free economic zone, the minister said one of the first projects of the newly-established Pan-Armenian investment fund is the creation and financing of this zone.
YEREVAN, 18 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 18 October, USD exchange rate up by 0.15 drams to 481.50 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.45 drams to 565.52 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 8.39 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 4.04 drams to 633.85 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 280.88 drams to 19888.68 drams. Silver price down by 4.56 drams to 264.87 drams. Platinum price down by 258.61 drams to 14365.98 drams.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan on October 18 sent a condolence letter to philanthropist Levon Hayrapetyan's family, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The letter runs as follows:

"We have learnt with deep sorrow in Artsakh about the death of prominent Armenian entrepreneur, great patriot and philanthropist, devoted son of our people Levon Hayrapetyan.

Levon Hayrapetyan stood at the forefront of the Artsakh Republic's formation, spared no effort to improve his homeland and make it prosperous, to create better living conditions for his native people and raise their living standards. With his assistance numerous large projects in diverse economic sectors were implemented in Artsakh, Gandzasar monastery was renovated.

Levon Hayrapetyan's contribution to the development of Artsakh was highly appreciated by the state. For services rendered to the Homeland Levon Hayrapetyan was awarded with the order "Mesrop Mashtots" and the "Gratitude" medal.

On behalf of the Artsakh people, authorities and myself I express my deep condolences and sympathies to the family and relatives, compatriots and friends of the deceased and wish them patience and fortitude.

The memory of Levon Hayrapetyan will always remain bright in the memory of generations".
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan recently hosted a group of investors headed by Howard Stevenson - the President and CEO of Lydian International which is engaged in implementing Amulsar Gold Project.

Mr. Stevenson answered some questions of ARMENPRESS on the investment environment of Armenia and the progress of Amulsar project.

-A group of Lydian International investors were hosted by the Armenian Prime Minister last week. We would like to hear your impressions of the meeting. Lydian is the largest investor in the country, what were the impressions of your investors on Armenia's investment field? What issues were discussed?

-Armenia is a country that many of our institutional investors have never visited and it is extremely important that they meet different stakeholders and gain confidence that this is a good investment destination. The group included different groups of investors and analysts who cover market trends. They represent Canadian, British, American and European banks, funds and institutions. The visitors were interested in Armenias investment policy, economic perspective, the Governments projections on upcoming economic developments. I want to thank the Prime Minister and the Government of Armenia for hosting the group and for showing Armenias openness to foreign investments. This is extremely important as the message goes back to the international markets and not only in the mining sector.

-The construction works have started last September, you plan to have the first gold pour in 2018, at what stage is the program now?

-The project is in active construction stage. We have started building infrastructure. We have already invested more than half of the promised 370 million USD into the construction. There is a lot of activity at site and I believe there is already very visible economic growth in the surrounding communities. We have more than 1200 people working on the construction and over 30% of the workforce come from local communities. In the recent months, the project created local procurement opportunities worth over hundred thousand dollars per month and this reflects hugely on the economy of the region. By this time next year, we expect to have the project up and running at full capacity.

-How do you take the criticism from activists? What is your response?

-I take it with a lot of understanding. Armenia, as many post-Soviet countries have had a negative experience of mining. Actually, even in the US where I come from mining 30 years ago and mining today are absolutely different in terms of improved technologies and environmental management. In Armenia, there have not been many examples of modern mining and the skepticism and the lack of trust is somewhat understandable. But modern mines today have modern facilities with engineered solutions to prevent uncontrolled leakages and seepages into the environment. Contaminants dont just flow into the environment; it is prevented by a lot of systems built into the design of the mine. In fact, if you go to Amulsar construction site you will see how multiple drainage systems are built, how protective layers are put under the infrastructure. These are all modern means and solutions we use at Amulsar. I have seen this work very well in dozens of mines I have worked in from the US to South America and elsewhere and this is how we build the project in Armenia. I do understand the concerns, though, and we will be happy to host stakeholders at site who would want to see how we build the project.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Defense minister Vigen Sargsyan on October 18 received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Armenia John Ronald Kur (residence in Moscow), press service of the ministry told Armenpress.

During the meeting the cooperation prospects of Armenia and Canada in the field of defense were discussed. The sides expressed readiness to observe the cooperation opportunities in peacekeeping and other spheres.

The meeting also touched upon international and regional security issues.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The official visit of the Armenian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan to the Republic of Poland kicked off on October 18, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress.

The delegation includes MPs Armen Ashotyan, Vahan Harutyunyan, Armen Rustamyan, Edmon Marukyan and Karine Poghosyan.

On the same day the Armenian Parliament Speaker met with President of Poland Andrzej Duda. Speaker Babloyan said with satisfaction that the interstate ties based on centuries-old friendship of the Armenian and Polish peoples have expanded and developed over the past 25 years. Such level visits are important for the development and deepening of bilateral relations, Babloyan said.

He stated that Armenia attaches great importance to the role of parliamentary diplomacy and is interested in boosting dialogue between the legislative bodies of the friendly countries. According to the Parliament Speaker, the expansion of Armenian-Polish inter-parliamentary ties is an important base for deepening the interstate ties.

Speaker Babloyan also attached importance to the development of active cooperation between the national delegations of Armenia and Poland within the frames of different international parliamentary assemblies.

Speaking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Speaker Babloyan said Armenia remains committed to the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Ara Babloyan said the Armenia-EU relations have an important place in the Armenian-Polish cooperation agenda, adding that Poland plays an active role in strengthening the Armenia-EU ties.

The President of Poland thanked the Armenian Parliament Speaker for the visit and assured that Poland has been and remains Armenias best friend.

Andrzej Duda attached importance to the inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries and expressed hope that these relations will further strengthen and deepen.

As for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the polish president reaffirmed their balanced approach and expressed confidence that the conflict must be settled exclusively through peaceful means within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation led by Speaker of the Parliament Ara Babloyan met with Marshal of the Polish Senate (upper house of the parliament) Stanisaw Karczewski on October 18, press service of the Parliament told Armenpress.

Ara Babloyan thanked for the warm reception and expressed hope the visit of Armenias parliamentary delegation will give new impetus to the Armenian-Polish inter-parliamentary ties and friendship of the two peoples. The Speaker said this year in the bilateral relations is unique since it marks the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as the 650th anniversary of formation of the Armenian community.

There is a high level political dialogue between our states, all necessary preconditions exist for expanding the interstate relations, Babloyan said. In this context he highlighted further deepening the mutual visits and contacts between the friendship groups.

Commenting on the role of the Armenian community in Poland, Ara Babloyan said it is an important bridge in the Armenian-Polish relations. He reminded that in 2005 the Sejm of Poland (lower house of the parliament) adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Speaking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Parliament Speaker said Armenia doesnt see any alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict, and unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia doesnt want the region to once again appear in a nightmare of war. During the four-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan last year in April the atrocities of the Azerbaijani side showed the attitude of that countrys leadership towards a human life. Armenophobia is the main part of state policy in Azerbaijan. In such circumstances the exercise of the NK peoples right to self-determination is not only the desire of the Artsakh people, but also the only key to a fair settlement of the conflict. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a human rights issue. It can be settled only through the peoples free self-determination. Azerbaijan has no legal, political and moral grounds for claims over Nagorno Karabakh, Ara Babloyan said.

In his turn Stanisaw Karczewski thanked Ara Babloyan for the visit and said Poland remains a good friend and is Armenias ambassador in Europe.

He thanked for Armenias support to Polands being elected as a member of the UN Security Council.

Parliament Speaker Babloyan invited Stanisaw Karczewski to Armenia on official visit.

The Armenian delegation also participated in the session of the Polish Senate.




SAN FRANCISCOTomorrow, October 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has scheduled oral arguments in the case ESPLERP v. Gascon which challenges Californias anti-prostitution law Penal Code 647(b) on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. The suit effectively seeks to decriminalize sex work.

In the buildup to the hearing, more than 30 civil right and LGBTQ organizations have filed a series of amicus briefs in the Ninth Circuit supporting the Erotic Service Providers Legal Education Research Projects (ESPLERP) appeal.

Participating organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union Foundations of Southern California and Northern California, AIDS United, API Equality-LA, APLA Health, Bienestar, Black Women for Wellness, California Rural Legal Assistance Inc., California Womens Law Center, the Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP), Children of the Night, Equality California, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, the First Amendment Lawyers Association, the Free Speech Coalition, Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network), Gender Justice Los Angeles, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance (HIV PJA), Justice Now, Lambda Legal, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), Positively Trans (T+), Positive Womens Network-USA (PWN-USA), San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), Sero Project, Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center, the Transgender Gender-Variant Intersex Justice Project, [email protected] Coalition, the Transgender Law Center, Brad Sears Executive Director of the Williams Institute, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation.

Lambda Legals landmark Supreme Court victory in Lawrence v. Texas, the case that struck down laws that criminalized sex between same-sex partners, underscored that our right to liberty protects our decisions about adult, consensual sexual intimacy, said Kara Ingelhart, Lambda Legal Law Fellow. It is merely logical that Lawrence extend to the adult, consensual sexual intimacy that occurs between sex workers and their clients; the fact that money is exchanged shouldnt matter.

These organizations join a long list of reputable international organizations, including Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, the Lancet, Human Rights Watch, and the UN Global Commission on HIV and the Law, that have called for the decriminalization of sex work, said Claire Alwyne of ESPLERP. They recognize that laws like Californias 647(b) criminalize the private lives of consenting adults, impact the human rights of sex workers and their clients, and have very adverse effects on public health and safety.

ESPLERP v Gascon is mostly funded by individuals making small contributions, but its opponents have deep pockets, essentially using taxpayer dollars to deny sex workers their rights. Contributions to support the court case can be submitted through the crowd fundraiser LitigateToEmancipate.com.
MAYER, Ariz.Justin Sayne Leathers Insanity brand of male performance supplements has picked up new financial and operational partners, setting the stage for growth in the mainstream market.

Two mainstream investment and incubator corporations Capital Consulting and Prime Vector, L.L.C have signed on to invest in Insanitys growth. Capital Consulting Inc. is a Florida-based company thats been in business for more than 18 years. While most of Capital Consulting Inc.s investments have funded fast-growing publically traded companies, Capital Consulting Inc. CEO Mark Schaftlein says he sees great potential in the Insanity brand.

We formed a partnership based on Justins longtime friendship with Barry who I have known for several years, Shaftlein said. We took a look at his operation in Arizona and we got to know more about Justins excellent work ethic. He really knows what hes doing and with our help, some capital, and Barrys role in marketing, Justins business is slated to grow for an extended period of time. Unlike pharmaceutical companies, all-natural products have huge potential among different age groups. Millennials currently present the biggest opportunity and will continue to in the next few years.

Insanity also has garnered the support of Prime Vector, a boutique incubator investment firm led by Barry Henthorn that also primarily invests in emerging publicly traded companies. Henthorn, an American inventor/developer and pioneer of technologies as well as an accomplished businessman who was named the Most Innovative Public Company Leader to watch in 2015 in Forbes Magazine.

Henthorn introduced Schaftlein to Justin Sayne and his Arizona-based multifaceted company, which also manufactures leather gear for the adult and music industries.

Having known Justin for two decades I have always been impressed by his determination and acumen for getting things done, Henthorn said. Now that Insanity has the financial backing and additional industry experience in place, I believe it will be able to grow exponentially.

Justin Sayne shares similar views regarding Insanitys potential for expanding its reach.

We intend to focus on specific crossover markets as well, including marketing to women who would buy for their men, he said. JSL has had a tradition of looking to the mainstream during expansions and new projects. This deal brings two heavy hitters to the table. Barry Henthorn and Mark Schaftlein combined have more than 60 years of corporate experience. We are proud to have such talent on board, and excited to move forward with our Insanity operation.

For more information, visit JustinSayneLeather.com, or email [email protected].
By PTI: Roopshree Nair

Abu Dhabi, Oct 17 (PTI) India must follow the example of countries like Russia and China by holding skill competitions, starting at school level, to realise its rich demographic dividend and boost vocational education, WorldSkills International CEO David Hoey said today.

The chief executive of WorldSkills, which promotes skill development globally, believes that Indias huge youth population is a challenge as well as an opportunity.

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"India has to clearly have a united, non-bureaucratic, non-political strategy that commits the country to skills development," he told PTI in an interview here, on the sidelines of the WorldSkills Competition.

Speaking about best practices followed globally, Hoey said: "Certainly our observations are that where there is a strong partnership between industry, education and government, each one taking responsibility for their role in the countrys economic development, it (skilling) seems to work better".

Hoey said that to promote skilling in a big way, India has to commit fully to the skills competition process, where Russia, China and many other countries have a defined, clear strategy.

"What India should do, is what Russia, China and other countries are doing. In every school across the country they have a competition locally, then at the regional level, then within the state and then nationally.

"So youve got more people going in the skills trades and technology, those who graduate are of a higher quality and whether they work for the government or the companies, your products are better and they have lower cost," he said.

Twenty-eight young competitors from India are demonstrating their prowess in trades like jewellery design, beauty therapy, mobile robotics, automobile technology and cooking at the WorldSkills Competition here, vying for medals. PTI RSN MR

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A three-judge panel overseeing the federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina's legislative election maps wants names of at least three people who could draw new sets of maps.The panel made no decision after a hearing today about whether to order new maps. But the judges have ordered names of people who could be considered for the job of "special master." The judges could appoint the special master to draw news maps in case the judges end up throwing out the latest maps drawn by the N.C. General Assembly.the single-paragraph order reads.the order continues.The latest order in the case of Covington v. North Carolina follows a day in which lawyers argued about whether the latest election maps drawn by the N.C. General Assembly comply with earlier court orders.The three-member panel of U.S. Appeals Court Judge James Wynn and District Court Judges Catherine Eagles and Thomas Schroeder threw out election maps last year that had been used for N.C. House and Senate elections in 2012 and 2014. The judges ruled that 28 of the 170 legislative districts in those maps were illegal because of racial gerrymandering.Because of an appeal from the General Assembly, voters saw the same districts in the 2016 elections. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the three-judge panel's ruling without comment earlier this year.Challengers of new maps finalized in August contend that some of the new districts still constitute cases of racial gerrymandering. They also argue that other new districts violate a state constitutional restriction against drawing new districts outside of the process required every 10 years to address new census data. according to the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.according to the institute.The three-judge panel has not indicated when it will issue its latest ruling in the case.
Cato Institute scholar Ilya Shapiro cites North Carolina's importance in recent court decisions

The biggest change of the Supreme Court, in the past year, was in personnel. Tell us about the impact of new Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.Right. This term was kind of lower-key in terms of the cases decided, precisely because the absence of that ninth seat, after Justice [Antonin] Scalia's passing and the delay in confirming Gorsuch or filling that seat, meant that the court took lower-profile cases - and fewer of them.But, Gorsuch himself, he participated in 17 cases this term. Remarkably, he agreed with Justice [Clarence] Thomas on every one. We'll see how long that continues. So far, he is what people expected, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but a stylish writer, a textualist. His first question on the bench was, "Why shouldn't we just follow the plain meaning of the text?" I mean, it's mind-blowing stuff here, but that theme continued in various writings.And he jumped right in. New justices, typically, their first majority opinion that's assigned is a unanimous one, and this was the same case here - kind of a forgettable technical case. But Justice Gorsuch took the opportunity to write separately, more than a dozen times beyond that, and indeed he wrote separately ... in June alone, more than Justice [Elena] Kagan did in her first two terms on the bench.Wow. In addition to having Neil Gorsuch now on the bench, what were some of the other big cases from your vantage point?Well, we're in North Carolina. I might as well start off with Packingham v. North Carolina, a First Amendment case which asked whether sex offenders still maintain their First Amendment rights.Now, sex offenders are an interesting class of felons. After they've served their time, or paid their dues, served their probation and whatever else, there are still certain restrictions on them. They can't live within a certain distance of schools and other places where minors congregate. ... In the digital age, states have tried to figure out how to apply those kinds of restrictions online. So, you know, you can't go on Nickelodeon's website or interact with kids in various other ways.North Carolina actually had a much broader, kind of an outlier, sort of restriction for online access. And, the way that the law was written, not only could you not seek out kids to talk to or what have you, but, the way this law was written, it would bar you from accessing not only things like Facebook or Instagram, but potentially The New York Times website or WebMD or YouTube. Because those are sites where you create a profile and can interact with people in the comments, and under North Carolina statute, that was prohibited.So, long story short, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down that North Carolina law. Not because states can't restrict sex offenders online, but because they have to tailor it. And, indeed, sex offenders do have First Amendment rights.And, of course, a big deal here in North Carolina since it's our own law. Other big cases that were on your mind?Staying in North Carolina, there's the redistricting case, Cooper [v. Harris]. These redistricting cases are really weird. You kind of apply the Goldilocks standard when race comes to bear. You can't use race too much, but it turns out you can't use race too little, with the Voting Rights Act.In this case, North Carolina has to go back to the drawing board. ... It's really not kind of a groundbreaking ruling or standard. But, I don't know, at a certain point the court is just going to have to throw up its hands and say,At present, it really depends on how Justice [Anthony] Kennedy feels on any given day. And indeed [this] term we're going to see, potentially, something revolutionary when it takes up a case involving a Wisconsin map - about partisan gerrymandering, no allegations of racial impropriety. But can you use a party designation too much? ... It'll all come down to Justice Kennedy again, and I imagine that this will be a fizzle. Because there really aren't any manageable standards to apply in those kinds of cases.As you are analyzing everything that the court did during the past term, are there some trends that you noticed?Not really. I mean, in general, every year Supreme Court reporters try to come up with some sort of theme for the term: "Oh, it turned to the left." "It turned to the right." "The court's libertarian moment." That was my favorite a few years ago.But it's not like the justices, when they're on summer break, decide collectively or individually, "Oh, let's move to the right this term. Oh, let's move to. ..." Even Justice Kennedy. He's not saying, "Oh, I was too liberal this term. I need to be. ..." No, it's just a function of the amalgam of cases on their docket.Now, the court does pick its own docket. So if it feels that the administrative agencies are going way too out of whack, either to the left or to the right, and they need to slap them down, well, you know, that'll result in a certain set of results in a certain way.And this term, in particular, the cases were lower-key. There were fewer of them. ... In history, this is the lowest production of opinions after arguments: 62. So they're doing a very good job of putting themselves out of business.It's a great job if you can get it, you know. You have the smartest young lawyers in America working for you. You get your summers off to go to Europe, and you only produce 62 opinions. I mean, it's great. But anyway ... the trend is: return to the status quo from before Scalia's death.So we had this weird interregnum of eight justices, where many cases were decided much more narrowly than they otherwise would be. Many cases simply weren't taken because the court wanted to avoid having those ungainly 4-to-4 splits that don't decide anything.We're waiting really for the next vacancy. Because, if, whenever Justice Kennedy decides to retire ... or when Justice [Ruth Bader] Ginsberg departs the court, if it's [Donald] Trump or another Republican president who makes that replacement, then the court will shift to the right and Chief Justice [John] Roberts will be the swing vote, as it were.I was going to ask you about the fact that we had the dog that didn't bark, and that was that no justice decided to retire, which obviously means we're going to have the same court coming back. ... As the court does prepare to come back, what are some big cases that will be on its docket for the next term?We're going to go back to what we've been expecting the last few years, which is essentially a blockbuster term of the century. I think this is going to be our seventh one this decade, something like that. A number of big cases.I mentioned the political gerrymandering [case] out of Wisconsin. The biggest criminal law case involves cell phone site location information. When you're walking around, all of us have these phones in our pockets, and they're pinging off towers. That information, that data, not who you talk to or your text messages, but where you are, is recorded by Verizon or T-Mobile or whoever you use. Do the police need a warrant to get at that information? Traditionally, if you're analyzing it like, well, do you ... speak loudly and people can overhear you? That's all up for grabs in the public.But it's called the third-party doctrine because you're giving this information to the third party, to your provider. But, you know, is there an expectation of privacy? ... Is there an encryption? All of these sorts of issues. Will the police need a warrant? The court treads lightly in these tech cases, but this could be groundbreaking.
"At some point, I think we need to have a serious public policy debate about how do we weigh this thing of parental choice.

Of all the disturbing things emerging out of the News & Observer's week-long screed against charter schools, few are as head-shaking as Tom Benton's quote about parental choice.Commenting on the racial imbalance on the schools in Zebulon, Benton - a former chairman of the Wake County School Board-said:Few quotes reflect the depth of the divide between parents, school choice supporters and public-school advocates than Tom Benton's quote.The language is certainly telling.The phrase "This thing" makes it obvious parental choice is a concept that is foreign to Tom Benton. It does not dwell deep in his heart, nor does he believe that parents should have the right to determine how and where their child is educated.It's parent's choices, Benton believes that have led to our schools resegregating.Hogwash.Benton has it wrong. Is it parent's choices that lead to resegregation or the lack of quality choices? Shouldn't schools be held accountable and be asked: why are students opting to go elsewhere? January 2017 Civitas Poll found that 81 percent of respondents agreed with the statementBenton doesn't believe so. He believes parental choice rights are conferred by the state - as long as they don't interfere with other goals such as socio-economic diversity. If the racial composition of schools needs to be engineered to foster academic achievement - even though the research in support of such policies is at best inconclusive - so be it. If it happens that your child is placed in a less than optimum educational setting to achieve a better balance, well, that's too bad. The most important thing is that our schools don't segregate.There's the divide. And there's why parental choice is proving more and more attractive each day.
Gov. Cooper vetoed S.B. 656 to forestall a purported constitutional amendment The Republican-led General Assembly seemed content to stay home until January.

But last week, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, announced a Tuesday morning session to try to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of Senate Bill 656 , the Electoral Freedom Act of 2017. If the Senate rejects the governor's veto, the House may follow suit later Tuesday.Vetoing the bill put Cooper in an awkward situation. It rebuffed a rare opportunity to improve ballot access to North Carolina's unaffiliated candidates - an argument Democrats championed this legislative session.Cooper focused his message vetoing S.B. 656 on a provision canceling judicial primaries in 2018. He said it would serve as a precursor to a purported constitutional amendment replacing face-to-face elections with some sort of judicial appointment process.This provision drew the ire of Cooper's fellow Democrats, said David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College.Republicans said nixing the primary and only holding a November general election for all candidates is necessary to allow time to fully consider possibly moving to a merit selection system of picking judges. Democrats cried foul, and said the GOP was injecting partisan politics into judicial elections.With unaffiliated voters surpassing Republicans as the second-largest voting bloc in North Carolina, lawmakers have pondered expanding ballot access for unaffilateds.As of Oct.14, the Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement reports, total voter registration included 2,642,502 Democrats, 2,067,869 unaffiliateds, 2,059,065 Republicans, and 33,708 Libertarians.S.B. 656 makes it easier for unaffiliated candidates to get on election ballots for most offices by lowering the number of petition signatures needed by qualified voters.Currently, an unaffiliated candidate for statewide office must gain petition signatures totaling at least 2 percent of the number of votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. S.B. 656 drops that requirement to 1.5 percent.An unaffiliated candidate seeking a district office other than a legislative seat would need signatures from 1.5 percent of registered voters in the district, down from the current 4 percent.But the bill left the barrier for unaffiliated candidates to get on a ballot for the General Assembly unchanged: 4 percent of registered voters in the district.Largely overlooked in the tense debate over S.B. 656 were two provisions easing the path for a new political party to get on the ballot.Currently a party must obtain petition signatures equal to 2 percent of total votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. That would drop to 0.25 percent. A party now must obtain 200 petition signatures in each of four congressional districts to get on the ballot. That would drop to three districts.The second method for a political party to get ballot access is new. It would be granted if the party had a candidate on the prior presidential general election ballots in at least 70 percent of all states (35 states).The Green Party, headlined by presidential candidate Jill Stein in 2016, is the only political party that would gain immediate ballot access under the change. Elections board spokesman Patrick Gannon said the state has no numbers for Green Party voters because they cannot now register under that label.Voters now can register as Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, or unaffiliated.McLennan said easing ballot access is a positive, long-awaited development.McLennan said.He said it's been a couple of decades since either body of the General Assembly passed a measure easing ballot access.But he doesn't see altruism in Republicans' desire to make elections more inclusive.McLennan said.Political scientists who focus on elections typically find the Green Party attracts votes from disaffected Democrats.McLennan said.Stein won 1 percent of the vote nationally, but did not fare as well in North Carolina, where she received 12,105 votes, or 0.26 percent, as a write-in candidate.Libertarians rarely pull many voters from other parties in presidential years, but might attract some Libertarian-leaning Republicans, McLennan said. He said an officially recognized Green Party would attract some far-left Democrats. The result, he said, probably would be a wash for the major parties.AOC spokeswoman Sharon Gladwell said by email.
The PNC arena in Raleigh is the home of NC State Basketball. But it also hosts professional hockey games, concerts, and events like "Disney on Ice."

The Carolina Inn at UNC-Chapel Hill bills itself as "the only hotel on campus!" It provides event space for UNC Board of Trustees meetings and rooms for university visitors. But it also rents space for wedding receptions, parties, and meetings. Rooms start at $198 per night.

The Washington Duke Inn (owned by Duke University) has an 18-hole championship golf course, home of the Duke University Golf Club. Six PGA Professionals and one Master PGA Professional are on staff and available for group or private lessons.

"But the many positive benefits that eds and meds can generate for their local communities don't change the fact that in North Carolina and most other states these institutions don't pay taxes on the property they use for their educational or medical missions. Local governments bear the burden of providing police, fire, and other services to colleges and hospitals just as they do for all property owners, without receiving any tax revenue in return. And as is true of any property tax exemption, eliminating taxes on educational and hospital property in a locality raises the tax burden on all other local property owners."

Connecticut legislators made headlines last year when they introduced a bill to tax revenue-generating college and university property. The bill was crafted to help New Haven, where Yale University is located, remain solvent. The bill specifies that any commercial property that is owned and operated by a university and that generates more than $6,000 in revenue per year will no longer be tax exempt. The bill applies only to universities that own property worth $2.5 billion. In practice, that provision means that Yale would be the only university affected. Although the bill did not pass, it has important implications for well-heeled institutions across the country, including many in North Carolina.That's because the idea of changing how universities are taxed has been gaining steam in the past few years. One proposal that was loudly decried by universities-and some free-market reformers-was to tax large university endowments. The idea of taxing university property used for commercial purposes has been a less controversial option so far.Last year, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means requested information from the 56 private universities in the United States with endowments worth more than $1 billion, including Duke University in Durham and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. (If public universities had been included, UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State would also have been on the list.)Although most of the committees' questions concerned the universities' endowments, the size of their tax-exempt property holdings was also of interest. As education reformers writing in the Washington Post revealed , many wealthy universities own extensive-and valuable-real estate. Harvard alone holds 25 million square feet of property. The article's authors conclude that automatic property tax exemptions for universities should be on the table for debate.This idea is popular with some college town residents who have to foot the bill to pay for municipal services used by tax-exempt universities. For example, in 2011, some of Princeton University's neighbors felt so strongly about the matter that they made the case against university tax exemptions in court. In 2011, homeowners in Princeton, NJ claimed that having the university in the community was increasing the property tax rates of other residents. Instead of allowing the issue to come to trial, Princeton settled with several neighborhood groups and the city. The university will pay more than $10 million as part of the settlement.Close scrutiny of university property in North Carolina reveals that many higher education entities in the state-both public and private-are engaged in considerable commercial activity. Some of these facilities generate far more than the $6,000 threshold of profit targeted by Connecticut's bill, including:More examples of private and public-private business operations on university campuses can be found in my recent article, " Public Universities as Commercial Landlords: Where Do We Draw the Line? An alternative to ending or limiting property tax exemptions for universities is the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy defines PILOTs as voluntary payments made by tax-exempt private nonprofits as a substitute for property taxes. Nationwide, 70 higher education institutions make PILOT payments. Harvard's payment, at more than $10 million, is the largest in the country. Nonetheless, it is considerably smaller than the amount Harvard would owe were it not tax exempt.In North Carolina, PILOTs aren't used often. Of the state's 36 private institutions, only Duke University and Davidson College made PILOT payments in recent years, of $400,000 and $45,000, respectively. UNC School of Government professor Chris McLaughlin has suggested that more North Carolina municipalities should seek PILOTs from the non-profits operating in their jurisdictions-especially the well-heeled ones like large research universities and university hospitals. He makes a strong case:The argument for granting non-profit entities exemptions from taxation is that they provide public goods. In the case of universities, the public good is education. But institutions that sell commercial goods in competition with private businesses are not providing public goods and should not be regarded as non-profit institutions while engaging in commercial activities.Nor should local taxpayers bear the burden of universities' business ventures or unfettered expansion. Higher education's commercial activities should be treated as what they are: big business. And taxed accordingly.
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.
Contact: Attila Nemecz

Attila Nemecz Attila.Nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

WASHINGTON, N.C. Prospective college students will have a chance to talk to representatives of 45 private and public colleges and universities at College Night at Beaufort County Community College. Parents and students can come to Building 10 on the BCCC campus from 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 19 with questions about programs offered by institutions around North Carolina.Public universities such as East Carolina, Winston-Salem State, NC State, NC Central, UNC-Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University and UNC Wilmington will be on hand. Community colleges attending include Wake Tech, Edgecombe, Lenoir and, of course, Beaufort County. Private colleges will also be attending, including Salem College, Shaw University, Elon University and Campbell University. Students who are starting to apply to colleges will want to check out the opportunities available both near and far.Representatives from the College Fund of North Carolina (CFNC) will be in attendance to answer general questions about financing college. Many students are still making up their minds about what kinds of program they would like to pursue. Families are discussing whether it makes sense for their children to attend a small private university or to start off at a community college. Families who have not considered college might find a program that is both affordable and appropriate for their child.According to the Pew Research Center, millennials with college degrees under 32 years old are on average earning $17,500 more than their peers with only a high school degree. In fact, the average wages of workers with only a high school degree have fallen in recent years where the earnings of college graduates have risen.While graduation seems far away, students need to start filling out applications for both universities and financial aid to meet approaching deadlines.
Richard Branson got a call from the UK Secretary of State for Defence asking for his help in a covert ransom payment of $5m to rescue a ranking diplomat from kidnappers; Branson recognised the man's voice but he was suspicious of the plan to validate the scheme by sending an assistant to lobby of a government building to meet the Secretary's secretary and exchange codewords.



So Branson called the Secretary's office and learned that the call was a fake, placed by an impersonator who was trying to rip him off for $5 million.





Six months later, Branson got a call from a rich friend asking him to pay back the $2 million Branson had borrowed to pay for relief in the British Virgin Islands, where Branson's house had been wiped out by Hurricane Irma. The man told Branson that they'd spoken at length and Branson had explained that the communications lines between the UK and the BVI were so bad that he couldn't get at his money and the need was urgent.

It was another scam, pulled off by another impersonator.

It's possible that the scammers were using software like Lyrebird, which ingests a collection of samples and then creates a software profile that can convincingly mimic the voice and speech of anyone. It's also possible that they were just a good, old fashion Rich Little-style impersonator. Whoever they are, they're $2m richer.



I spoke to the business person and had to tell him specific details of our last get-together before he was convinced it was really me and not the conman. We quickly realised he had been duped out of his money by a criminal pretending to be me. He has spent his life being cautious and told me he couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He is an incredibly generous person who gives to all sorts of causes, and it is just too sad for words that of all people it was he who had fallen for it. It's a heist of enormous scale, and I feel it is likely to be the same person who tried to con me earlier this year. I must admit I regret not publicising the earlier attempt to con me sooner, to have helped alert others to the danger, but we had to be sensitive to ongoing investigations. There has been a big rise in fake ad scams online recently, and I'd urge everyone to look out for them and report any you see. It's not just online it can happen  it could be on the phone or even in person. But this one really takes the biscuit! I'm very sorry for this incredibly kind man and incredibly grateful that they were willing to help us after the hurricane. If only their money had gone to the people of the BVI, not the conman.

The two million dollar heist [Richard Branson/Virgin]





(via The Grugq)





(Image: Gregor Wolf, CC-BY-SA; Pictures of Money, CC-BY)
In 2013, the Scottish city of Inverness had the unfortunate fate of being picked as the trial site for a pilot of "universal credit," one of the UK Conservative government's big ideas, in which the various benefits paid to low-income people were replaced with a single payment, centrally administered.



The problem is that it's not actually administered, it's just a chaotic muddle of bad communication, bad police, continuous errors, and high-handed denial of benefits that has left working people who've never been in debt owing thousands, evicted, and even starving as they try to navigate the kafka-esque nightmare that the Conservatives have put them through.

The local MP spends 60% of his time dealing with complaints about universal credit. Employees at the Citizens' Advice Bureau are putting in unpaid overtime. Military charities are stepping in to prevent veterans from being evicted. Food banks are scrambling to fill the needs.

The system is designed to be exclusively served via web-based forms, but one of the first things that people in trouble lose is their internet service (because the phone companies are the most aggressive about unpaid bills). Claimants end up haunting the doorways of supermarkets to use the free wifi to file form after form, all of which go ignored.

The Department for Work and Pensions say nothing is wrong: "The vast majority of claimants tell us they are comfortable managing their money. In the minority of cases where an issue does arise, we work closely with claimants, local organisations and landlords to resolve them as quickly as possible."



Jennifer Soley from the local Albyn Housing Society said many other tenants were in similar situations, a large proportion of whom were in work. About 65% of universal-credit-claiming tenants are in arrears, with average debts of just over 700, compared with just 20% of the rest of their residents. "The thing that disturbs me most is that this isn't one or two people who are complaining. This is hundreds and hundreds of people." Hendry is angry at the government's refusal to listen to the mounting list problems he has reported. "We have given evidence for three years about the problems we're seeing, and they have not reacted. The system is meant to support people who are vulnerable, but the ones who are being devastated by it are the ones who can least cope.



'We went days without eating properly': how universal credit brought misery to Inverness

[Amelia Gentleman/The Guardian]

(via Naked Capitalism)
LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC and top oil producers are likely to extend a deal to curb output as Russia and Saudi Aramco agree on the need to support the market, the chief executive of Total (TOTF.PA) said on Wednesday

"Saudi Arabia and Russia have really embarked on this strategy to support the market," Patrick Pouyanne told reporters on the sidelines of the Oil & Money conference

A visit by the Saudi king to Moscow recently "is a clear signal (that) it is in the interest of both countries to support the market ... I will not be surprised to see the extension," he said.

OPEC and several non-OPEC producers agreed late last year on a six-month deal from January to reduce production in order to tackle a global supply glut. The deal has been extended until March 2018.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Xi said China will "resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and developmental interests" and "realise the goal of building a powerful military in a new era".

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Photo: Reuters)

By Ananth Krishnan: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday kicked off a key congress ahead of his second five-year-term, warning of "complicated ideological struggles" and "new developments in national security" facing China.

Xi also called for "building world class armed forces that obey the party's command and can fight and win wars", as he delivered a political work report at the opening of the 19th Party congress.

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Xi said China will "resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and developmental interests" and "realise the goal of building a powerful military in a new era". "China will accelerate development in border areas and ensure security and stability of border areas as well," he said.

Calling for "political loyalty" to the Party from the armed forces, he said China would "place great focus on combat capability, encourage innovation, increase efficiency and deepen military-civilian integration". At the same time, he said China could achieve its national goals "only in a peaceful international environment and stable international order".

On Wednesday morning, around 2,300 delegates of the party gathered in Beijing for the twice-a-decade Congress, which will conclude on October 24.

The Congress will choose a new leadership for Xi's second five-year term, including the next Politburo Standing Committee, the seven-member body that effectively rules China. The PBSC will be unveiled on October 25.

The Congress is expected to further strengthen Xi's strong grip over the party. In the past five years, he has rapidly accumulated power, and has been widely seen as the strongest leader since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Xi on Wednesday said his first five-year term had brought China closer to its goal of "national rejuvenation", pointing out that China's GDP rose from 54 trillion to 80 trillion yuan ($ 12.1 trillion).

He also warned of a continuing fight against corruption, and said people's "demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness, justice, better environment were increasing".

To signal Xi's dominance, the Congress is expected to amend its constitution to include Xi's "ideological contribution", as has been done for each of the past four generation of leaders.

Tuo Zhen, spokesperson for the 19th Party Congress and a senior Propaganda Department official, told reporters on Tuesday that amendments will "signify the new concepts, new thinking, and new strategy for governance of China that the Communist Party Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the Core has developed".

The CPC constitution only mentions Mao and Deng by name, and an inclusion of Xi's name would signal he has surpassed his predecessors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. Their respective "ideological contributions" were enshrined into the constitution only after they stepped down, and without mentioning their names.

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On the other hand, a failure to include Xi's name at the upcoming Congress would suggest he has faced stronger than expected resistance to his accumulation of power, observers say.

The amendments are likely to be announced after the Congress concludes on October 24.

ALSO WATCH | China has the confidence to defeat all invasions, says President Xi Jinping on Army Day

--- ENDS ---
Team U.S.A. toppled Japan at the first-ever giant fighting robot showdown. American robotics company MegaBots and its Japanese rival, Suidobashi Heavy Industries, fought for technological superiority in a battle that was streamed online Tuesday evening. In the first round, Suidobashi's Kurata robot effortlessly knocked out an older MegaBots robot with a single punch, giving the Japanese team a decisive edge. But the main fight, between the Kurata and MegaBots' new multi-million dollar, massive Eagle Prime, ended in favor of the Americans. Eagle Prime, bigger and heavier than the Kurata, produced a chainsaw that systematically took out the Japanese robot until the match was ended and the winner announced. The MegaBots team expressed hope for a formal fighting robot league in the future after the match. A challenge two years in the making Two years ago, MegaBots challenged Suidobashi Heavy Industries, to a duel between their giant robots. Suidobashi had accepted but added a condition of its own: melee combat must be a part of the fight. To make sure its robot was up to the task for hand-to-hand combat, MegaBots started a Kickstarter to upgrade its Mk.II robot, which was built mostly for long-range paintball combat. It raised about $554,600 in crowdfunding from nearly 8,000 backers. In August the company officially introduced the Eagle Prime robot. It weighs in at 12 tons (24,000 pounds), is 16 feet tall and can seat two pilots. The machine is powered by a 430 horsepower V8 LS3 engine and costs $2.5 million, according to the company. Suidobashi's Kurata robots, according to PC Mag, weigh 6.5 tons and is about 13 feet tall. When responding to MegaBots' initial challenge two years ago, Suidobashi CEO and founder, Kogoro Kurata had said his team couldn't let another country win because giant robots were part of Japanese culture. MegaBots co-founder, Brinkley Warren, told CNBC in 2015 that the fight could potentially pave the way for a fighting robot league and a billion-dollar sport. MegaBots tweet: IT'S TIME FOR THE GIANT ROBOT DUEL!  CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to reporting.



More From CNBC


'We feel their pain': Alberta legislature lit up in solidarity with Somalia and diaspora after bombing

The province is lighting up the legislature in white and blue  the colours of the Somali flag  in solidarity with Somali-Albertans and the people of Somalia.

Saturday's truck bomb blast in Mogadishu killed more than 300 people, injured nearly 400 others, and impacted countless lives. Many are still missing.

Alberta is home to about 30,000 people of Somali descent, many of whom live in Edmonton.

Many Edmontonians and members of the Somali diaspora across Canada have lost loved ones or friends in the massacre, while others are anxiously checking on the well being or location of relatives.

"Our thoughts are with them, we stand with them in their uncertainty and in indeed in some cases in their grief," Edmonton MLA David Shepherd told CBC News Tuesday. "We feel their pain, we feel their grief and we do stand by them."

The legislature will be lit up Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Shepherd said the Alberta government is available to offer support to help Albertans of Somali descent. Help may include connecting people with mental health services or getting in touch with federal government officials.

Edmontonian Yousuf Yahya's brother, who works with Somali Red Crescent, narrowly escaped the blast, leaving the office just 30 minutes earlier. Five volunteers were killed and several more injured in the explosion which partially destroyed the aid group's building.

Despite that, Yahya said his brother and the Red Crescent team are among those helping the injured and distributing blood.

That's just one example of the countless healthcare workers, survivors, soldiers and ordinary citizens turned heroes, in the aftermath of the attacks, said Abdifatah Warsame, a youth mentor from Toronto.

Warsame, who is visiting Mogadishu with his two young sons, was less than 150 metres away when the bomb exploded. He said the area was crowded with families and students before the attack

"Doctors and nurses were saving lives without power, soldiers were saving lives in the middle of the rubble, ordinary citizens were doing everything in their power to save lives," Warsame wrote on Facebook. "I see light under the tunnel. We have got to keep hope alive."

Story continues

'Almost affects every family'

On Facebook, many are posting the "beautiful faces of young people" who are still missing, said Yahya. He added that overall security has been improving in Mogadishu, drawing many back to visit from the North American Somali diaspora.

"The Somali community, wherever there are  it almost affects every family," said Yahya. "Across the country in Somalia and here as well, and North America and Europe and everywhere."

Earlier this week the city of Edmonton lit up the High Level bridge to show support for Somali Edmontonians and citizens of Somalia affected by the attack.

Officials blame the extremist group al-Shabaab for the attack.

andrea.huncar@cbc.ca @andreahuncar
Thinking it would be an amazing trip, Charlottetown's Dana Kenny says he filled out an application to join the Canada C3 expedition on a whim.

"The reason I really wanted to do it was probably just  when are you going to have the chance to go to the north and really experience that side of Canada?" he said.

Kenny, who works in works in marketing and communications at UPEI, was accepted and spent 21 days aboard The Polar Prince.

Kenny, along with the voyage's other Island representative, Mathieu Arsenault, shared their experience at the StartUp Zone in Charlottetown Tuesday night.

"We were leg 12 of the expedition that was divided into 15 legs, ours being the longest of all 15," Kenny said.

The leg he was on started in Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories and went around Alaska before ending in Prince Rupert, B.C.

No snow

"I expected to see snow and there was no snow," he said. "I learned that in the western Arctic at this time of year there isn't snow or ice or icebergs floating around, that would be more eastern Arctic."

Kenny said the program expected participants to be fully present and engaged.

"We took the Canada 150 themes and we adopted them for this project, this expedition. We discussed diversity and inclusion and everything that can mean."

Other subjects included reconciliation, engagement with youth, environment and climate change. Kenny said he led one of the discussions as did Arsenault.

Shared experiences

"We felt young and we talked about the different experiences we've had."

Kenny said the trip broadened his perspective about Indigenous people and what happened to them. He said everyone has diverse opinions and people didn't agree all the time.

"Over the last couple of years, the dialogue has slowly become a large conversation nationally, to be aware, but to be stuck on a boat where you can't walk away from it  We had to work together and find harmony with one another even if we didn't agree."

- MORE P.E.I. NEWS | International student numbers at all-time high for Holland College

- MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Sex charge stayed after vigilante sting
Originally published in Commentary on October 17, 2017

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

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..Analysis from Israel..17 October '17..Over last weeks Sukkot holiday, Israeli Arab couple Khalil and Reem Bakly launched their own personal coexistence venture by building a completely kosher sukkah (aided by an Orthodox Jewish employee of Khalils dental practice) and inviting any and all Israeli Jews to come visit. That same week, a delegation comprised entirely of Israeli ArabsMuslims, Christians, and Druzemade final preparations for a speaking tour defending Israel on American college campuses.Both could easily be dismissed as unrepresentative of Israels Arab community. After all, that very same week, Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi asserted in a speech in Dallas that Jews have no right to self-determination, because the Jews are not a nationality. And Zoabi, who is only slightly more inflammatory than her party colleagues, was elected on a joint ticket that receives the overwhelming majority of Israeli Arab votes.But as a recent poll of Israeli Arabs proves, the community is changingand not in Zoabis favor.Perhaps most striking was the fact that a decisive majority of respondents identified primarily as Israeli rather than Palestinian, which is something that wasnt true even a few years ago. In 2012, for instance, just 32.5 percent of Israeli Arabs defined themselves as Israeli rather than Palestinian. But the figure has risen fairly steadily, and this year, asked which term best describes you, 54 percent of respondents chose some variant of Israeli (the most popular choice was Israeli Arab, followed by Arab citizen of Israel, Israeli, and Israeli Muslim). Thats more than double the 24 percent who chose some variant of Palestinian (15 percent chose simply Palestinian. The others chose Palestinian in Israel, Palestinian citizen in Israel, or Israeli Palestinian).Moreover, 63 percent deemed Israel a positive place to live, compared to 34 percent who said the opposite. 60 percent had a favorable view of Israel, compared to 37 percent whose view was unfavorable. These are smaller majorities than either question would receive among Israeli Jews, but they are still decisive. Even among Muslims, the most ambivalent group, the favorable-to-unfavorable ratio was a statistical tie (49:48). Among Christians, it was 61:33, and among Druze, 94:6.One of Zoabis colleagues, MK Yousef Jabareen, hastened to assure thethat Israeli Arabs must view Israel more negatively than the poll indicates, because when I meet with people from my community, I always hear concerns about increasing discrimination and racism, as well as socioeconomic status, an absence of jobs and housing. Nor is he wrong about his communitys concerns: Fully 47 percent of respondents felt that, as Arabs, they are generally treated unequally. Many were also worried about economic issues and their communitys high crime rate.But what Jabareen evidently hasnt grasped is that having an overall favorable view of ones country in no way contradicts having a long list of complaints about it. After all, Israeli Jews complain constantly about their countrys shortcomings while still believing that its merits outweigh its demerits. Why shouldnt Israeli Arabs do the same?The comparison with Israels neighbors has obviously grown starker following the implosion of several Arab countries since 2011, and its undoubtedly a major factor in Israeli Arabs growing appreciation for Israel. But government efforts to improve their socioeconomic situation have also contributed.For instance, a joint initiative between the government and the countrys biggest private-sector employers produced a sharp increase in the number of Israeli Arabs working at these companies, which typically offer better pay, benefits and promotion opportunities than smaller firms. At several participating companies, Arabs now comprise 14 percent of payrollless than their share of the population, but roughly equivalent to their share of the workforce.The government has also invested more money in Arab schools, whichtogether with a new emphasis on education within the Arab communityhas helped boost students performance. The proportion of students taking the matriculation exams is now roughly the same for Arabs and Jews, and while more Jews still pass, the gap has narrowed. Indeed, two Arab high schools now rank first and second in the country for academic achievement.Finally, in sharp contrast to the nongovernmental organizations that spend their time and energy smearing Israel as racist overseas, others have correctly concluded that inequality can more profitably be fought by investing in Arab education and employment. The Israeli NGO Tsofen, for instance, focuses on boosting tech education and employment. Partly thanks to its efforts, the number of Israeli Arabs employed in high-tech has grown more than tenfold in the past decade, the number studying for STEM degrees at Israeli universities has risen 62 percent, and the Arab city of Nazareth, once devoid of high-tech industry, now boasts 50 local startups alongside branches of leading national and international firms.Even some Arabs from abroad are starting to grasp this. Just last month, a group of Palestinian-American businessmen in Chicago held its first fundraising dinner for a scholarship fund to help Palestinians and Israeli Arabs attend Israels Haifa University. Though the dinner is new, the fund has been active since 2015 and has so far supported more than 60 students. Needless to say, that does far more to help actual human beings than, say, advocating anti-Israel boycotts that result in Palestinians losing their jobs Changes of the sort the Israeli Arab community is now undergoing take decades to come to fruition. As one example, see Druze residents of the Golan Heights, where despite a steady increase in recent years, fewer than a quarter have so far opted for Israeli citizenship. But as several Druze told last month, the divide is generational: The older generation still feels Syrian; the younger feels Israeli. Consequently, even among the younger generation, many say they dont want to acquire Israeli citizenship yet, because its disrespectful to the older generation.Many years must also pass before change percolates through the Israeli Arab community to the point where the Baklys are more representative than Zoabi. But the trend is clearly moving in that direction. And despite their best efforts, the communitys vocal anti-Israel contingent seems powerless to stop it.
Tech Trends

Report: Device Shipments to See Largest Growth Since 2015

Global sales of computing devices, which includes PCs, tablets and smartphones, will top 2.35 billion units next year, according to a new report from market research firm Gartner.

Despite a common misconception that the world runs on smartphones instead of PCs, a recent online end-user survey conducted by Gartner suggests that people rely on more traditional computers as much as they do phones.

"Forty percent of respondents said that they use mostly a PC/tablet for certain daily experiences, such as reading and writing detailed emails or watching videos, while 34 percent mostly use a smartphone for its convenience while on the move," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, in a prepared statement.

Nevertheless, Gartner predicts that shipments of traditional PCs will be down 4.4 percent in 2018 compared to this year, while smartphone sales will be up 2.4 percent.

"Users holding onto their PCs for longer remains a major issue for the PC market," added Atwal. "In contrast, users continue to replace their smartphone quite frequently."

In hard numbers, that decline is a fall from 204 million shipments this year to 195 million in 2018. That fall will continue through 2019, according to the forecast, when PC shipments will drop to 188 million.

Premium ultramobile PCs, on the other hand, will see shipments increase from 59 million this year to 70 million next and 81 million in 2019.

Taken together, traditional PCs and premium ultramobiles comprise the PC market, which will return to positive growth by the end of this year, according to Gartner.

"This upward trend is assisted by two factors," according to a news release. "The PC market in Russia has been positively influenced by an upturn in the country's economic prospects, which has seen business spending on PCs increase by 5 percent in 2017. This growth will persist into 2018. Spending is primarily focused on desktop PCs, which are more aggressively priced than mobile PCs or hybrid devices."

Slow sales of PCs in China related to privacy and security concerns around Windows 10 has also contributed to lower PC sales in 2017, though Microsoft is working with the government there to produce an approved version of the operating system.

Basic and utility ultramobiles will remain relatively steady, notching 162 million sales in 2017, 161 million in 2018 and 160 million in 2019.

Mobile phone sales will grow from 1.882 billion this year to 1.926 billion next year and 1.932 billion in 2018, if the company's forecast holds true.

"Given the late November availability of the iPhone X, we expect the iPhone's replacement cycle to flow more strongly into 2018," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, in a news release.
Teaching and Learning

U Missouri Collaboration Tech Battles Bullying

Courtesy of University of Missouri College of Education

The technology in a new collaboration space at the University of Missouri College of Education is enabling faculty and college students to reach out remotely to the state's schools to help combat bullying. Recently, the institution implemented display and audio systems from Nureva in the classroom, which has been designated the "Nureva Collaboration Room."

The room now includes the wall-length Span System, a cloud-based canvas that allows users to interact with content on the display as well as on their own devices. Up to 20 users can simultaneously create, edit and organize contributions to the project. The workspace can be expanded up to 200 feet in length, though the University of Missouri space uses a 20-foot long display.

The classroom also has Nureva's HDL300 audio conferencing system with 8,192 virtual microphones or, as the company refers to it, "Microphone Mist." The setup uses algorithms to process sound that's coming through 12 omnidirectional microphones built into the physical microphones in the HDL300 system. The objective: to enable any sound to be picked up and transmitted to those listening from another location. According to the company, the application works with multiple conferencing systems, including Zoom, Skype for Business, Blue Jeans, Cisco Spark and WebEx and GoToMeeting.

The layout is intended to allow faculty members to try incorporating technology into their instructional practices and give students the chance to work together. But according to coverage on the university website, an associate professor in the Department of Special Education has found a different use: the Bully Prevention Lab. Chad Rose is working with graduate and undergraduate students in developing programs and interventions to fight bullying. Rather than travel to schools around the state to help educators learn how to put the practices into operation, the team can have "hands-on, face-to-face-like interaction" through the Nureva gear.

For example, recently the Lab team met remotely with a seventh grader who wants to start a project at his school to help middle schoolers become a liaison between bullied kids and counselors.

According to Rose, the technology will make his team more efficient and set up a collaboration between higher ed and communities that want to stop bullying. "No longer do we have to have schools carrying the load of bully prevention," he explained. "Now what we can do is say let's enter into a partnership, where bullying prevention is part of our community, where we're all speaking the same language, because the issue of bullying impacts us all."

"It has just been incredible to see how both of the Nureva systems have inspired new ideas and solutions related to teaching and learning while reaching new audiences that have been limited by geography, finances or human resources," added Kathryn Chval, the College of Education's dean, in a press release. "We have generated an astonishing number of possibilities to use this innovation, and the impact will be extraordinary."
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The Mauritanian Radio and Television Broadcast Authority today ordered Mauritanias five privately owned news stations to shut down for failing to fulfil their financial agreements with the countrys broadcast regulator, local media reported.

Local journalists with whom CPJ spoke said the move is the latest sign of a crackdown on the independent press, during unrest after President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz called a referendum in Augustwhich was boycotted by the oppositionto abolish the countrys Senate after it ruled against expanding presidential powers. In recent months, journalists have been attacked and detained while covering protests over the public referendum, which voted in favor of abolishing the Senate, and critical news outlets have faced legal action.

In the case of the privately owned stations, Mauritanias regulator sent letters to Dava, Sahel TV, Chinguitt, al-Watania and Al-Mourabitoun TV saying that they had one days notice to pay all outstanding fees, or their broadcasts would be blocked, according to news reports. The order means only the state-run news channel is currently operating, according to reports.

At least one station was removed from air earlier. After the letters were sent to the stations yesterday, representatives from the tax authority went to the office of al-Mourabitoun TV, a channel that is generally supportive of the countrys opposition Islamist parties, ordered the employees to leave, and locked the doors, according to news reports. The agents told staff that the channel owed 2 million ouguiyas (US$5,600), in tax, according to the same reports.

Al-Mourabitoun TV, Dava, and Sahel did not immediately respond to CPJs requests for comment sent via email and social media. CPJ was unable to find contact information for Chinguitt and al-Watania.

The Mauritanian Supreme Press Authority did not immediately respond to CPJs email requesting comment.

Journalists covering protests over the referendum have also faced harassment. Ahmed al-Moustafa, a reporter at the local newspaper al-Akhbar told CPJ that he was harassed by police while filming an opposition protest in July. The journalist said that despite showing his press card, he was dragged into a police vehicle, where he was held for an hour. Al-Moustafa said that the police beat another journalist from al-Akhbar, whose identity al-Moustafa declined to disclose, while covering another protest, and held him for four hours.

Police also body-slammed and dragged Baba Ould Harma, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera while he was covering a protest in the capital, Nouakchott, Mohamed Ould Abdou, a blogger who photographed the incident, told CPJ.

Photographers and video journalists were the primary target, al-Moustafa said. The police hold them in vans until the protests are over so they cant obtain any footage.

Mauritanias National Gendarmerie, which governs the local police, did not immediately respond to CPJs emailed request for comment.

Separately, on August 25, police arrested four journalistsMoussa Sambasy, editor-in-chief of Le Quotidien de Nouakchott; Jedna Ould Deida, the director of news website Mauriweb; Babacar Baye Ndiaye, editor-in-chief of news website Cridem and his publisher Aminata Houdou, known as Rela Baand questioned them about their outlets funding and critical coverage of the arrest of opposition senator Mohamed Ould Ghadda, according to local news reports. They were released the same day. Police attempted to arrest Ahmed Ould Cheikh, editor-in-chief of the weekly Le Calame, but the journalist was out of the country at the time, according to news reports.

Sambasy, Baye Ndiaye, Ba, and Ould Cheikh are accused of allegedly accepting bribes from Mohamed Bouamatou, who is the presidents cousin and a vocal critic of the ruling party, and belonging to an organized movement to disturb public order, according to news reports. The journalists are under judicial supervision, which entails a regular check-in with prosecutors, a travel ban, asset freeze, and confiscation of passports, according to the same reports. No trial date has been set yet.

In a column that Ould Cheikh wrote for Le Calame in September, he described himself and his co-accused as collateral victims of the fight between the president and the opposition.

The fight is crude, he wrote. The [case] file is so empty that any form of justice or independence does not seem possible.
Advocates for abolishing Utahs death penalty system say they plan to push lawmakers to end capital punishment in the 2018 legislative session.





Legislators came close to stopping the punishment in 2016  but the bill never reached the House floor before the midnight deadline on the last night of session.





"Still, it was exciting to see it come that close," said Darcy Van Orden, the executive director of the Utah Justice Coalition. And at a Tuesday evening panel hosted by Young Americans for Liberty, Van Orden said they are planning to make another run at abolishing the death penalty in 2018. They already have their Senate sponsor, she told attendees, and are looking for someone in the House of Representatives to back the bill.





More to come on this, she told the audience.





A bill to abolish the death penalty wasnt brought up in the 2016 session, though lawmakers then had considered studying the costs of the death penalty. The bill, however, never came up for a final Senate vote.





Legislative fiscal analysts estimated in 2012 that when compared to a sentence of life without parole, it costs an additional $1.6 million to handle appeals and costs of a death sentence over 20 years.





At the Tuesday panel held at the University of Utah, Van Orden was joined by other criminal justice reform advocates, all lamenting Utahs  and the nations  death penalty systems.





Its too expensive, said Kevin Greene, state director of the Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.





It unfairly targets minorities, according to Jean Hill, the director of the Diocesan Peace and Justice Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.





Its too risky, said Jensie Anderson, a University of Utah law professor and legal director of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Project. The risk of executing someone who is innocent is far too great, she said.





And its too arbitrary, said Ralph Dellapiana, director of Utahns for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Whether a murderer faces the death penalty often depends solely on a prosecutors discretion, he said.

Its like being struck by lightning, Dellapiana said. It depends on your ZIP code on what is the possibility [a case is] going to result in a death penalty.





All said that the better solution would be to make the most serious punishment in Utah life in prison without the possibility of parole.





The other death sentence, Dellapiana quipped.





Utah last carried out the death penalty in June 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad, drawing international attention to the state.





Nine men are on Utahs death row, and all are in various stages of appeals in state or federal court. Two received the death penalty in the past decade: Floyd Maestas was sentenced to death in 2008, while Douglas Lovell was sentenced to be executed in 2015 after a retrial.





The next death penalty trial is scheduled for November, when a jury will decide whether Steven Crutcher should be executed for killing his cellmate at the Gunnison prison in 2013. He has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, so the jurors at his trial will only be asked to decide which punishment he will face.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Anthony Shore, a convicted serial killer, is set to be executed Wednesday evening. His murders in the 1980s and 1990s went unsolved until 2003.





Anthony Shore, the confessed serial rapist and strangler whose murders in the 1980s and 1990s went unsolved for more than a decade, is scheduled for execution Wednesday evening. The courts have shot down his latest appeals that argued a traumatic brain injury decreases his culpability, and a plea for relief to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was denied Monday afternoon.





Shore, 55, has been on death row since 2004, when he was convicted and sentenced to death in the 1992 rape and murder of 21-year-old Maria Del Carmen Estrada. The killing was 1 of 4 similar murders of young women and girls and one aggravated sexual assault where the girl was able to escape.





The murders took place between 1986 and 1995, according to court documents. All became cold cases in the years after the bodies of Estrada, 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay, 9-year-old Diana Rebollar and 16-year-old Dana Sanchez were found, dumped behind buildings or in a field, partially naked with rope or cord fastened around their necks like tourniquets.





Finally, in 2003, Houston police matched Shore's DNA - on file from a 1997 no-contest plea of sexually molesting his 2 daughters - to Estrada's murder, according to a court ruling. After hours of interrogation, Shore confessed to all of the killings, telling police he had an "evilness" in him.





"I think if I tell you what I've done that it will release the evilness, and I would feel better," Shore told a police sergeant.





Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Shore was a "true serial killer" after the trial court set his upcoming execution date in July.





"His crimes were predatory, and his victims the most vulnerable in society - women and children. For his brutal acts, the death penalty is appropriate," she said in a statement.





Recently, Shore's legal team has pointed to a previously undisclosed traumatic brain injury, likely obtained in a 1981 car accident, as a reason to stop the execution. Knox Nunnally, Shore's court-appointed appellate lawyer, said he is not arguing that Shore is innocent or undeserving of punishment, but that courts should look at people with brain injuries the way they look at minors and the intellectually disabled - ineligible for execution based on decreased reasoning skills and culpability.





"We think if a jury had heard that evidence ... that it is possible a jury could at least change their decision that Mr. Shore deserves life instead of death," Nunnally said, referring to the alternative sentence in a capital murder conviction. "Because by no means are we claiming that ... a head injury was the only reason he committed these crimes, we're saying it was a contributing reason."





The courts rejected Shore's appeal and the broader argument that brain-injured people are ineligible for execution. It's a rejection that concerns Nunnally as a combat veteran, he said.





"My fear is that if we're denying this for Anthony Shore, what's gonna happen if we have a combat vet who comes up 5 or 6 years from now and he has suffered a severe injury from combat?" he said. "The state's going to use Anthony Shore's case as an example of precedent."





On Monday morning, Nunnally said that his team was still looking at other possible appeals in the next 2 days before the execution but that nothing was currently pending. If it proceeds, Shore's execution will be the 7th in Texas this year and 21st in the nation.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Texas Tribune, October 17, 2017
Over 50 Zimbabwean job-seekers have applied for the hangman's post which had remained vacant since 2005, a top official in the Justice ministry has said.





Justice ministry secretary Virginia Mabhiza said her office would soon go through the applications, but would not give a timeline as to when the appointment will be made.





"The response has been overwhelming and the applications have been from both men and women interested in taking up the position of hangman. We have received over 50 applications in the past few months.





"People are very interested," Mabhiza said yesterday.





Zimbabwe last executed a prisoner on death row in 2005 and international rights lobby group Amnesty International has applauded the country for the "10-year hiatus", urging authorities to declare an official moratorium on the death penalty.





Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the immediate past Justice minister, has consistently declared Zimbabwe would not implement the death penalty "under my watch".





Mnangagwa, who survived the hangman's noose at the height of the liberation struggle, said he had raised his opposition to capital punishment with President Robert Mugabe.





According to Mabhiza, the country has 92 people on death row, but the absence of the hangman has stalled their execution.





Asked whether it would not be complicated to apply the death penalty in Zimbabwe given constitutional provisions that protect teenagers, women and all those beyond 70 years from capital punishment, Mabhiza said the provision was a step towards abolition.





"Moving in the right direction"





"We should not look at it as discriminatory, but as part of steps that we have taken as a country towards abolition. But as things stand all people who fall in the category not protected by the Constitution can be hanged.





"This means all men between 18 and 69 years and have been convicted of murder in aggravated circumstances can receive capital punishment," she said.





"Remember under the previous dispensation, we had 7 categories of people who could be hanged, but now we are left with 1. We are moving in the right direction as far as abolition is concerned".





Government sources claim Mnangagwa's successor, former Central Intelligence Organisation boss Happyton Bonyongwe, is also against the death penalty.





"The indication is that he is also against the death penalty. We will wait and see how things move, but he has indicated that he is in support of abolition of capital punishment," said a source.





Mabhiza would not be drawn into commending on Bonyongwe's position.





"He is still new to the ministry and we are still to hear his position," she said.





 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

newsday.co.zw, October 17, 2017
Three straightforward principlespurpose, perspective, and alignment with other actorscan help the social sector reinvent its approach to measuring social impact, turning data into an asset that benefits both philanthropic organizations and those they seek to help.

Getting to a better future for social sector measurement

Social sector organizations tackle some of the worlds most difficult and complex challenges on a daily basis. And, just as in other industries, getting the right data and information at the right time is essential to understanding what an organization needs to achieve, whether it is doing what it set out to do, and what impact its efforts are actually having. Yet, despite marked advances in the tools and methods for monitoring, evaluation, and learning in the social sector, as well as a growing number of bright spots in practice emerging in the field, there is broad dissatisfaction across the sector about how data isor is notused.

Program staff find it difficult to quantify and prove results that they intuitively know are occurring, and they can find themselves confused by an alphabet soup of methodological options ranging from randomized controlled trials to developmental evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) directors deal with others unrealistic expectations about the analyses they, the M&E directors, will be able to produce, and they are often frustrated with their organizations inability to integrate evaluation findings into concrete decisions about strategy. Donors and boards are disappointed by the fact that evaluation has too often overpromised and under-delivered in its efforts to measure organizations efficacy and impact. And nonprofits and social entrepreneurs are asked to spend time and money capturing data and reporting on outcomes that they feel serve nearly everyones purposes except their own.

Challenges like these are not limited to philanthropy. The same issues play out at corporate citizenship and sustainability groups within for-profit companies; with mission-driven investors and family offices; with senior executives who want to show their companies are making a social contribution while meeting or exceeding their financial objectives; and with government agencies that need evidence of impact from the use of public monies. This is not surprising: Social impact measurement is hard to do well.

Despite all this, however, there is also great cause for optimism. Advanced data analytic techniques are allowing social activists to identify patterns and understand systems like never before. Open data movements and integrated platforms are creating new opportunities for sharing and aggregating data. An emerging movement around constituent voice is actively engaging the people most affected by philanthropic programs in the process of designing and improving the services they receive. New behavioral economics principles are allowing for greater understanding of and influence over the real drivers behind decision-making.

These are just a few of the trends that are creating exciting possibilities for monitoring, evaluation, and learning in the social sector. The obstacles are less about methods and more about organizational and field-level challenges.

The Reimagining measurement initiative Monitor Institute by Deloitte undertook a year-long, multi-funder Reimagining measurement initiative to highlight existing bright spots worth spreading and inspire experimentation with a range of next practices in the use of data and information in the social sector. The approach was rooted in innovation principles and practices that have been adapted to spur new thinking, not just at individual organizations, but for the social sector as a whole. For the initiative, we spoke with more than 125 social sector experts and practitioners, developed a bright spots catalog with 750 examples, and researched evaluation, monitoring, and learning practices as well as relevant trends in the field and adjacencies from outside philanthropy. The goal is to hold up a mirror to the fieldnot to endorse any one approach or the views of any single institution or project sponsorand, in the process, help individual organizations and the social sector as a whole explore and influence possible futures for measurement, evaluation, and learning.

Reimagining measurement

So what can be done to help social sector actors build a truly data-driven understanding of social impactboth at individual organizations and initiatives, and at a more holistic level? To investigate this question, Monitor Institute by Deloittes Reimagining measurement initiative explored where a diverse array of field leaders and experts expect monitoring, evaluation, and learning in the social sector to be in 10 years, as well as where they hope it will be (see sidebar, The Reimagining measurement initiative). Comparing these expected and better futures enabled us to recognize practices that should be preserved and promoted, and to identify concrete steps that those who need, provide, and/or interpret data can take to increase the chances of achieving a better future.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the research team asked participants, How do you expect the future of monitoring, evaluation, and learning to develop over the next decade?, the answers were decidedly not optimistic. Without active intervention, the people we spoke with expected an expansion and deepening of what we already see emerging today. Data is becoming more accessible than ever; yet, figuring out how to effectively integrate information into decision-making remains a challenge. New data methods, tools, and analytics continue to flower and expand, but nonprofits struggle with this profusion of options and choices, and most find that they have insufficient resourcesboth monetary and humanto effectively choose among and use data analytic tools and techniques. Despite a growing movement to incorporate constituent voice into evaluation activities, these activities continue to aim more to serve foundations needs than those of grantees and the communities they serve. In essence, the participants expected future was marked simultaneously by hope, with the promise of greater understanding and impactand despair, as they saw individual bright spots in the field multiply but not necessarily sum.

What was more heartening was hearing participants ideas for a better future. When asked what they hoped would happen in social sector monitoring, evaluation, and learning, our interviewees envisioned a future in which continuous learning is a core management tool; where foundations, as commentator Van Jones reportedly said, stop giving grants and start funding experiments;1 where foundations, grantees, and other groups share data, learning, and knowledge openly and widely; and where constituents feedback about what they need and what success looks like is central to strategy development and review.

It is a future that will take effort to create. And unfortunately, if things dont change, the future of social sector organizations will likely be the future they expect, rather than the future they hope for.

Being clear on where the social sector wants to go with monitoring, learning, and evaluation, and on the difference between the expected and better future, can spur determination to change course and a willingness to embrace innovation and experimentation.

Three characteristics of a better future

Based on our interviews, the research team identified three characteristics that participants within and outside the social sector believe should be defining pillars of a better future for monitoring, evaluation, and learning. These three characteristics are purpose, perspective, and alignment with other actors.

The first characteristic, purpose, is about the why of monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Our participants believe that data collection, analysis, and interpretation activities should aim to more effectively put decision-making at the center of monitoring, evaluation, and learning efforts. Simply put, measurement should aim to inform better strategic, operational, and portfolio decisions among both philanthropic funders and grantee organizations.

While this seems intuitively obvious, many organizations have historically struggled to define and track metrics that are meaningful for effective decision-making. It is very common for people, for instance, when wanting to judge the effectiveness of some effort, to ask what key performance indicators are available. This is a form of the streetlight effect, the observational bias of looking for data where it is easiest to search and not necessarily where one should look. The tendency is to rely on the available data instead of data that, while more useful, would be harder to collect. Putting decision-making at the center is, as one of our interviewees said, to practice decision-driven evidence making. It is the discipline of being clear about purpose, then about approach, and only then about the right indicators. Moreover, putting decision-making at the center involves not only the generation of data-driven insight, but also its application at an important organizational moment to change participant behavior.

The second characteristic, perspective, speaks to the who of measurement and evaluation. Perspective calls on social sector participants to better empower constituents and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; it is about reframing who gets to define what is needed, what constitutes success, and what impact interventions are having. Who benefits from and controls what data is collected and how it is used? If the social sector views constituents as active participants rather than passive recipients of interventions intended to create positive social impact, these constituents ability to provide input and obtain access to data will be seen as inherently vital and valuable. Those who fund programs and provide services on the ground have a useful perspective on impact, but theirs should be neither the only perspective nor the privileged perspective.

Although participatory and empowering data collection methods are important, perspective is about more than methods. Its about using data to gain insight and serve equitable goals, to change organizational cultures to promote inclusion, and to provide information and data tools for the agency and choice of constituents. Indeed, the very act of observing causes people to attend to some things and not to others, and the act of recording those observations requires people to choose how they will categorize or combine observations. Because of this, the collection and use of data is itself infused with power dynamicsand the way this is done can address or perpetuate inequities.

Alignment with other actors, the third characteristic, concerns the what of monitoring, evaluation, and learning. It is about more productively learning at scale: getting better at learning from and with other actorsabout the good, bad, and inconclusiveto better match the scale and complexity of todays social and environmental problems. For example, removing forced labor from the supply chain, curbing greenhouse gases, instilling a culture of health, or promoting gender and ethnic equity cannot be accomplished by any single organization, business, or government on its own. But although these actors may not have the opportunity to coordinate their social impact efforts, they can teach and learn from each others experiences. A great opportunity exists to make a bigger difference more quickly if the social sector can better combine insights across multiple organizations and many programs. New opportunities abound to develop collective knowledge and integrated data efforts that promote learning at the scale of the problems the world faces.

Innovations in monitoring, evaluation, and learning: Case studies

Reimagining measurement doesnt necessarily mean inventing something entirely new. Central to any innovation process is to look for and learn from where innovation is already happening. In the case of measurement, many organizations are already integrating elements of the three characteristics just mentioned. These existing bright spots in the field can serve as important inspiration and a source of ideas for social sector organizations. Figuring out how to spread them and adapt them to new contexts can play a critical role in bridging the gap between the expected and better future.

Innovation tools for reimagining measurement Innovation is not just the means for imagining a better future; it also provides the practices to test and learn ones way into that better future. The innovation tools created through the Reimagining measurement initiative2 are meant to catalyze experimentation, action, and learning3. They have drawn inspiration from diverse sources, including tools and practices in other sectors, and they have striven to take into account opportunities created through emerging trends in technology and social shifts. Most importantly, they aim to help users challenge assumptions about standard ways of doing things.

The case studies included in this report are just a few of the many bright spots emerging in social sector monitoring, evaluation, and learning:

Purpose: Effectively putting decision-making at the center

HopeLab is a social innovation lab focused on designing science-based technologies to improve the health and well-being of teens and young adults.

is a social innovation lab focused on designing science-based technologies to improve the health and well-being of teens and young adults. DentaQuest Foundation , a funder promoting oral health, uses innovative approaches to lessen the reporting burden on grantees.

, a funder promoting oral health, uses innovative approaches to lessen the reporting burden on grantees. The Open Society Foundations, a network of grantmakers, has separated learning conversations from portfolio review conversations to promote learning and adaptation.

Perspective: Empowering constituents and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion

Family Independence Initiative (FII) is an organization that leverages the power of technology and information to help families strengthen existing and create new social networks while also helping them access financial capital to support one another in achieving mobility.

is an organization that leverages the power of technology and information to help families strengthen existing and create new social networks while also helping them access financial capital to support one another in achieving mobility. Robert Wood Johnson Foundations Culture of Health work integrates equity by identifying the health impacts of factors such as residential segregation and employment.

Alignment with other actors: Productively learning at scale

HomeKeeper, a data management system for affordable housing organizations, pools data to enable a field-wide view of what is working across a range of markets, homebuyer types, and approaches.

Getting to a better future

Bright spots in the field offer critical models for innovation in monitoring, evaluation, and learning at particular organizations. But bridging the gap between the expected and better future will also require social sector participants to imagine new possibilities for experimentation, hypothesis-testing, and learning as well. In the Reimagining measurement initiative, we heard many promising new ideas, some of which can be adopted by individual organizations and some that can be tested in collaboration. For example, what if the sector as a whole:

. . . were able to change grant reporting to require grantees to collect, monitor, and share data that is meaningful for grantees and constituents first and foremost?

. . . had the data collection and aggregation infrastructure to enable constituent feedback for decision-making, enabling the constituents themselves to make certain resource allocation and other initiative decisions?

. . . provided incentives to a group of grantees working in the same issue area, but with different theories of change, to spur them to aggregate learning and evaluation across their organizations?

To create a better future for measurement in the social sector, incremental change is not likely to be sufficient. The shifts that are needed require engaged action, not just among those charged with monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, but across organizations and between funders and grantees. Getting to a better future will require ongoing exploration as social sector actors come together to further develop and test new ideas, engage in action learning,4 and share what is learned.

Purpose: Putting decision-making at the center

Nursing is incredibly hard work. So hard, in fact, that nearly two-thirds of nurses in a recent survey report some type of nurse burnout. Forty-three percent of all newly trained hospital nurses leave their jobs within three years. And work-related exhaustion among nurses, in turn, can have serious implications for patient health: increased numbers of medical errors, lower patient satisfaction, higher rates of healthcare-associated infections, and higher 30-day patient mortality rates.5

To address these challenges, HopeLab, a social innovation lab that designs science-based technologies to improve the health and well-being of teens and young adults, partnered with Dignity Health, a nonprofit hospital system, to identify ways to reduce stress and increase resilience among nurses. HopeLab identifies behaviors that support health and well-being, researches the psychology that motivates or inhibits those behaviors, and creates technologies designed to trigger adaptive behavior change.

The project began with detailed research and observation to help HopeLab understand the issues leading to nurse exhaustion and burnout. HopeLab personnel shadowed nurses on the job to gain insight into their work environment and surface potential intervention ideas. From this human-centered study, the team identified three different potential technological solutions that could help boost nurse resilience in the face of a difficult work environment.

For each concept, they developed initial prototypes and conducted a series of iterative, rapid-cycle tests with nurses and nursing leadership to improve the technology and land on a final solution. This robust, evidence-based testing process, combined with expert guidance and considerations of feasibility, scalability, and impact potential, helped Dignity Health to make an informed choice about which solution to pursue. The ultimate outcome was a new tool called Debriefing Codes, a system that can help nurses look back, identify practice improvements, and provide support for the staffs emotional needs after a difficult emergency code situation occurs.

HopeLabs development approach provides a vivid example of the importance of purpose in monitoring, evaluation, and learning. The organization uses evidence-driven design processes, including rapid randomized, controlled tests of its product designs, to make key decisions about health product designs and usage. Potential solutions are tested in rapid feedback cycles using user-centered design principles. HopeLab also performs outcome assessments to determine if the use of its technologies results in measurable health improvements. Its research process is designed to inform concrete, real-time decisions that shape the organizations health product tools and the way they are used.

The why of monitoring, evaluation, and learning

At its heart, putting decision-making at the center means focusing on the purpose, or the why, of monitoring, evaluation, and learning. In organizations that put decision-making at the center, all data collection and analysis efforts aim to answer essential questions that can guide leaders in allocating resources and adjusting strategy:

What do we want to accomplish?

Are we doing what we said we would do?

Should we be doing something else instead?

How are we doing and what can we do better?

What impact are we having?

The need for this type of data-based decision-making is not a new conversation in the social sector. However, organizations still find it difficult to put in place the capacities, incentives, and practices to create useful and meaningful evidence, integrate it effectively into the decision-making process, and change behavior in the desired direction.

How can organizations improve? One potential starting point is that the data needed to generate useful insights has become easier to create, capture, and analyze than ever before. What is knowable has been utterly transformed; the sheer speed, quantity, and accessibility of the data that organizations can produce has exploded. Organizations seeking ways to collect the right data to inform decisions can draw on a range of tools and sources of inspiration. Innovative organizations are learning from their peers as well as from advances in other sectors; they are adapting to emerging trends and overturning established orthodoxies to develop new ways of generating and using data-driven insight.6 Technology start-ups, for instance, have pioneered lean analytics methods in which teams use data to quickly iterate and learn. These fit into larger agile management approaches that prioritize a rapid, incremental, and adaptive method of learning for improvement, with data creation clearly tied to ongoing decision-making.

Changing expectations to promote learning

HopeLab, of course, isnt alone in trying to put decision-making at the center. Many other organizations are experimenting with other approaches that help them focus their monitoring and evaluation efforts on learning and improvement, and on how the information they create is ultimately put to use.

Take, for example, the DentaQuest Foundation, a corporate funder focused on promoting oral health in the United States. DentaQuest has chosen to lessen the reporting burden on grantees by paying significant attention to making its evaluation requirements useful for the grantee. DentaQuest provides opportunities for grantees to shape their overall evaluation strategy and approach, invites (rather than requires) grantees to participate in learning-focused monitoring and evaluation efforts, and encourages grantees to develop reporting and evaluation products (such as videos and communication collateral) that allow grantees to share their impact not only with DentaQuest but with their local stakeholders. The intent is to balance accountability with learning and to make evaluation processes and products useful tools for the grantees to advance their strategies. In effect, DentaQuest builds reporting requirements into the kinds of data-collection efforts that the grantees would likely have wanted to pursue anyway to guide decisions on interventions and methods of engagement.

Or consider the way the Open Society Foundations, the international philanthropic network founded by George Soros, is shifting the emphasis to learning and adaptation. The organization separates conversations focused on learning from conversations about strategy approval and funding allocation. Every two years, on a rolling basis, it conducts a portfolio review of each area of work with program staff and board members to self-critique program activities and assess what has worked and what has not. Program allocation decisions then occur separately as part of a strategy and budget review, which can occur up to two years later. This strategy and budget review reflects program performance and refinements to the approach that emerge from the earlier learning-focused portfolio review. Separating the discussion of what worked and what didnt from the discussion of how much should each program get and for what? has encouraged program staff to surface information in the learning sessions without the immediate concern of how that information would affect funding. This information can then guide operational decisions such as whether to offer more flexible funding to certain grantees or adjust some grantees levels of support, allowing Open Society Foundations to more effectively pursue its mission.

What can we learn?

Organizations like HopeLab, DentaQuest, and Open Society Foundations illustrate ways that both funders and the organizations they work with can integrate monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities with strategic, operational, and portfolio decision-making. Lessons to take away include:

Embed experimentation and hypothesis-testing into the organization. HopeLab maintains a continuous improvement mind-set that is integral to its product development and assessment work. User-centered design efforts do not presume to know what is needed in advance, and the organizations product testing methods emphasize iterative improvement through user feedback. The organization is committed to the use of discovery and translational science as the foundation for its products, and it focuses on evidence creation both during product development and when assessing longer-term impacts.

HopeLab maintains a continuous improvement mind-set that is integral to its product development and assessment work. User-centered design efforts do not presume to know what is needed in advance, and the organizations product testing methods emphasize iterative improvement through user feedback. The organization is committed to the use of discovery and translational science as the foundation for its products, and it focuses on evidence creation both during product development and when assessing longer-term impacts. Create incentives to share and act on information. Many of the social sectors challenges with putting decision-making at the center may stem from incentive structures that work against learning by discouraging candid information-sharing. Recognizing and changing these problematic incentives can therefore be important in enabling an organization to put information to good use. Funding requirements, for instance, create powerful incentives around if and what data is collected. Through its reporting process, DentaQuest aligns incentives to enable grantees to take ownership of reporting for meaningful use. Open Society Foundations sets its review schedules to explicitly remove the problematic incentive to avoid bad news to receive continued programmatic support.

Many of the social sectors challenges with putting decision-making at the center may stem from incentive structures that work against learning by discouraging candid information-sharing. Recognizing and changing these problematic incentives can therefore be important in enabling an organization to put information to good use. Funding requirements, for instance, create powerful incentives around if and what data is collected. Through its reporting process, DentaQuest aligns incentives to enable grantees to take ownership of reporting for meaningful use. Open Society Foundations sets its review schedules to explicitly remove the problematic incentive to avoid bad news to receive continued programmatic support. Focus on closing feedback loops with course corrections. Too often, efforts to integrate data and information into organizational decision-making fall down at the stage of translating learning into action. The rapid-cycle iteration that HopeLab uses in developing its products explicitly creates multiple loops of action-feedback-response: Product developers gather user feedback, make changes to the product, and then go back to the users for their reaction to the changes. While the Open Society Foundations operate in a different organizational context, it aspires to establish a clear linkage of learning and behavior change in its strategy and budget review meetings, in which leaders are encouraged to openly discuss how effectively programs changed and adapted as a result of interim learnings.

Where we can go from here

While innovations by particular organizations can provide inspiration, a number of broader efforts are needed to spur more systematic change. These can include:7

Adopting more meaningful ways of defining and collecting monitoring results. What could it look like if grant reporting were fundamentally rethought? What if a funder worked with grantees (individually or in related clusters) to use data that is meaningful for the grantees first and foremost, or data that is already collected by the grantees but would also suffice for the funders compliance and monitoring purposes?

What could it look like if grant reporting were fundamentally rethought? What if a funder worked with grantees (individually or in related clusters) to use data that is meaningful for the grantees first and foremost, or data that is already collected by the grantees but would also suffice for the funders compliance and monitoring purposes? Creating a technology platform for developing widely needed tools. As in many sectors, insufficient and/or low-quality data is a major problem in the social sector . Technology tools and infrastructure development could help simplify monitoring, evaluation, and learning tasks for organizations. What if a funder or funders promoted a model among measurement and data analytics teams to provide a year of service developing digital tools? The team could be embedded in a single foundation, but work on organizational-level tools and technologies that would be relevant across an entire issue area.

As in many sectors, insufficient and/or low-quality data is a major problem in the social sector Technology tools and infrastructure development could help simplify monitoring, evaluation, and learning tasks for organizations. What if a funder or funders promoted a model among measurement and data analytics teams to provide a year of service developing digital tools? The team could be embedded in a single foundation, but work on organizational-level tools and technologies that would be relevant across an entire issue area. Applying behavioral design principles to help organizations better understand the barriers to organizational learning. Many foundations and nonprofits aspire to be learning organizations but struggle with how to embed organizational learning into their culture and operations in practice. Can the social sector use concepts from the rapidly emerging behavioral design space to create a diagnostic and tools to help funders and nonprofits understand where and why measurement processes break down and how to better implement organizational learning?

Creating a better future where data is used with purposeto guide meaningful decisions and prompt constructive actionwill require focused experimentation and innovation around organizational practices and funder-grantee relationships. In that better future, monitoring, evaluation, and learning will be seen not as an add-on or burden, but as an essential tool in helping to achieve social sector organizations mission and goals.

Perspective: Better empowering constituents and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion

For a low-income mother with three kids who werent doing well in school, a standard philanthropic solution might be some sort of educational intervention. When one mother was instead asked what she felt was needed, her response was striking: a car.

One of her children had asthma, and when that child was having an asthma attack, she couldnt accompany her other young children to school on the bus. As a result, all of her children missed multiple days of school. Thanks to favorable financing terms, the mother was able to purchase a carand her kids school attendance and grades improved.

FII is a nonprofit focused on economic mobility for low-income communities. It leverages the power of technology and information to support families efforts to improve their own lives. Seventy-five percent of low-income families move above the federal poverty line within four years; yet 50 percent of those who do get above the poverty line slip back into poverty within five years as families struggle to build the necessary assets to weather crises.8 Many policies actually penalize families for their efforts to save money by cutting off benefits if they manage to create even the smallest financial cushion. FII strives to change this resource gap by partnering with, learning from, and investing directly in families.

FII illustrates the principle of perspective in monitoring, evaluation, and learning: the use of data and information to empower constituents and promote equity in the social sector. FII has integrated constituent feedback into the core of its work to help direct how it deploys dollars to families and to empower families to make their own choices about improving their lives. To do this, FII has created a web-based data platform for families to set their own financial goals and connect with other families in the effort to find solutions to the challenges they face, from child care to saving for a home to affording tuition. FIIs platform helps families track their own progress, and FII matches their self-determined efforts with financial capital to accelerate attainment of their goals. In addition, FII develops aggregate data over time to better understand what works for its families to reduce poverty.

We need to understand what impact and success looks like for a community and not assume that we know what that is. Foundation program director

The who of measurement, learning, and evaluation

Perspectivethe principle of better empowering constituents and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusionis about reframing who gets to define what is needed, what constitutes success, and what impact interventions are having. It is also about data as an asset, and who gets to benefit from and control that asset. In the context of monitoring, learning, and evaluation, the call to integrate constituent feedback must include an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to truly represent constituents views. Enabling constituents to define what success means and which interventions are working is an important path to inclusion and equity. Similarly, using an equity lens in the creation of data and knowledge opens up possibilities for engaging and empowering all constituents.

The social sector has made some strides in this direction. A growing embrace of methodological diversity and a focus on community-based evaluation offers multiple participatory evaluation methodologies, and the concept of cultural competence is widely accepted in the field. However, absent changes in incentives, most monitoring, evaluation, and learning efforts are expected to continue to be driven by funders and not widely shared with constituents or used to directly benefit them. Funders are the ones who allocate resources for monitoring, evaluation, and learning; more broadly, they act as the keystone species in determining how problems are defined, which individuals are seen as experts, and what constitutes evidence of success. Organizations are creating something new by drawing from and adapting emerging trends in other sectors that are raising public expectations for greater constituent participation and voice. These trends include transformations in user-centered design, civic tech, social marketing, and customer experience.9

Equity in action: A culture of health for all Americans

Some people in the United States have a life expectancy 20 years lower than others who live in neighborhoods just a few miles away from them because of differences in education, employment, housing, access to health care, and environment.10 This inequity is one of the things the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) aims to change.

RWJ focuses on helping people in the United States live longer, healthier lives. After decades of focusing on the US health care system, RWJ reoriented its strategy to address the complex social factors that have a powerful influence on American well-being. Through its focus on a culture of health, the organization is working to help expand the discussion about what influences health as well as set a new standard of health and well-being for all communities.

RWJ explicitly integrates equity goals into its efforts to promote a national culture of health in the United States, with programs aimed at creating healthier, more equitable communities. Rather than deploying a top-down approach, RWJ is creating community-based solutions that are developed locally. These solutions pay close attention to distinct community needs and include a range of systems that impact health.11

To assess community health, RWJ uses metrics that go beyond traditional health measures to include indicators such as housing affordability and residential segregation. RWJ has gathered baseline data that reveals differences in these broader community indicators, as well as a disproportionate difference in health challenges such as access to health care, disease rates, and treatment outcomes, between lower- and higher-income communities.

RWJ is currently tracking measures across sentinel communities, a collection of 30 cities, counties, regions, and states selected to reflect the United States geographic and demographic diversity as well as different approaches to improving health. This will enable RWJ to learn which approaches are working where, in what contexts, and for which populations and communities.

What can we learn?

From innovative organizations like these, the social sector can draw lessons about how to develop monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices designed to promote equity and help integrate ongoing constituent feedback into day-to-day management and longer-term assessments. Some of these lessons include:

Gather data about strengths, not just weaknesses . FIIs core philosophy is that the families it works with come from a place of strength. As a result, FII doesnt simply collect information about traditional assets and deficits, which, for low-income families, tends to emphasize needs. The organization also asks families to account for social and cultural resources that might otherwise be overlooked by traditional funders, such as informal child care arrangements and lending circles. RWJ is conducting similar assessments at a community level, tracking efforts that draw on community initiatives and resources to promote health. For both organizations, these measurement efforts reflect a deep commitment to capturing and valuing the full range of assets that individuals and communities draw upon, helping FII and RWJ better understand how to support their constituents and what factors contribute to successful outcomes.

. FIIs core philosophy is that the families it works with come from a place of strength. As a result, FII doesnt simply collect information about traditional assets and deficits, which, for low-income families, tends to emphasize needs. The organization also asks families to account for social and cultural resources that might otherwise be overlooked by traditional funders, such as informal child care arrangements and lending circles. RWJ is conducting similar assessments at a community level, tracking efforts that draw on community initiatives and resources to promote health. For both organizations, these measurement efforts reflect a deep commitment to capturing and valuing the full range of assets that individuals and communities draw upon, helping FII and RWJ better understand how to support their constituents and what factors contribute to successful outcomes. Develop ongoing processes for integrating lessons learned from constituents into program design and development. FIIs model assumes that families will make good decisions and prioritizes providing families with financial capital and access to a network of other families to make their own decisions about their long-term interests. Core decisions about FIIs modelincluding the ability to connect with other families and the decision to develop its technology platform in-house to safeguard family data rather than use a commercial platformwere driven by the families themselves. At RWJ, the culture of health work focuses on capturing, publicizing, and helping to spread the innovations and successes of other organizations working at the community level. One key way that RWJ adds value is through its ability to look across the range of sentinel communities to see how challenges can be addressed in different geographic and historical contexts. As a result, RWJ can promote learning across disparate communities and support the spread of a diverse array of effective community efforts.

FIIs model assumes that families will make good decisions and prioritizes providing families with financial capital and access to a network of other families to make their own decisions about their long-term interests. Core decisions about FIIs modelincluding the ability to connect with other families and the decision to develop its technology platform in-house to safeguard family data rather than use a commercial platformwere driven by the families themselves. At RWJ, the culture of health work focuses on capturing, publicizing, and helping to spread the innovations and successes of other organizations working at the community level. One key way that RWJ adds value is through its ability to look across the range of sentinel communities to see how challenges can be addressed in different geographic and historical contexts. As a result, RWJ can promote learning across disparate communities and support the spread of a diverse array of effective community efforts. Enable constituents to learn together. FII reflects data back to families so that they can learn from their own data over time, as well as from the trends of other families across the nation who participate. Importantly, FII also enables peer-to-peer learning by connecting families with one another so they can share the challenges they have faced and the solutions they have discovered in the pursuit of their financial goals. Family participants can identify themselves as experts in particular topic areas. With FII, the families are the sole source of knowledge and learning, and the organization provides a platform for families to share and build upon each others wisdom and experience.

Where we can go from here

A better future in which equity is integral to monitoring, evaluation, and learningand where constituents are consistently engaged in ongoing, systematic feedback that offers them choice and agencyrequires deep changes in how funders and nonprofits use data to connect with and empower constituents. Experiments to try can include:

Providing the infrastructure for constituent decision-making. Some resource allocation and other initiative decisions could be made by constituents themselves if the infrastructure existed to allow them to vote or otherwise weigh in. What if funders supported an initiative to model what constituent-driven decision-making would look like and how it would operate?

Some resource allocation and other initiative decisions could be made by constituents themselves if the infrastructure existed to allow them to vote or otherwise weigh in. What if funders supported an initiative to model what constituent-driven decision-making would look like and how it would operate? Creating tools to help organizations systematically collect constituent insights. While momentum to gather constituent feedback exists, collecting constituent feedback and insights still appears elusive to many organizations. Could a group of organizations create a constituent insight toolkit that helps social sector organizations navigate the range of available options (e.g. direct feedback, behavior tracking) and catalogues resources for quick and easy implementation?

While momentum to gather constituent feedback exists, collecting constituent feedback and insights still appears elusive to many organizations. Could a group of organizations create a constituent insight toolkit that helps social sector organizations navigate the range of available options (e.g. direct feedback, behavior tracking) and catalogues resources for quick and easy implementation? Developing strengths-based resources: What if we developed best-practice resources and a toolkit for how to move from a deficit mind-set in monitoring, evaluation, and learning, and incorporated strengths and informal resources that communities have to draw upon to address challenges?

Most of all, integrating constituent perspectives into monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities requires a fundamental shift in the social sectors implicit assumption that the funder knows best. In a better future, approaches that view those to be helped as an essential source of information and guidance can become powerful tools that enable constituents to define and design successful outcomes for themselves.

Alignment with other actors: More productively learning at scale

Affordable homeownership programs in the United States seek to build stable, inclusive communities by enabling income-eligible families to buy housing at below-market rates in return for limits on the resale value of their homes. Do the programs actually work?

In a comprehensive study by Urban Institute, researchers in 2010 were able to determine across multiple such programs that they were indeed beneficial for maintaining affordability in neighborhoods, helping lower-income families generate assets, and reducing foreclosure rates. In the programs they studied, 90 percent of buyers were still homeowners five years later, while only half still owned homes under traditional ownership conditions.12

However, gathering the evidence was laborious and time-consuming. Researchers had to collect client-level data for every sale, in many cases by searching for hard-copy forms and county records, interviewing participants for whom no data was available, and conducting research and interviews for program-level information. The programs differed in markets served, types of homebuyers, and the affordability formulas used, making comparisons challenging.

Affordable housing advocates realized that any ongoing efforts to track program effectiveness required a different approach. A standard tool was needed to enable affordable housing organizations to collect data for day-to-day decision-making as well as for long-term assessments of what was working in the field. As a result, the HomeKeeper program was born.

HomeKeeper is a data management system for affordable homeownership organizations that helps programs manage their ongoing activities. It is maintained by the Grounded Solutions Network, a national nonprofit that supports local jurisdictions and affordable housing organizations throughout the country. The HomeKeeper system captures the characteristics and activities of homebuyers, the features of the properties they work with, and key elements of program performance. In addition, a subset of the data that individual organizations provide feeds into a national data hub that reports on how the affordable housing sector is performing more broadly.

HomeKeeper is one example of collective efforts to learn at scale. By using shared metrics and aggregating their data, the participating affordable homeownership programs are able to gain system-wide insight into trends in the field. And because they are continuously adding data, they are able to track outcomes and longer-term impacts over time.

The what of measurement, learning, and evaluation

Alignment with other actorswhich can facilitate more productively learning at scaleencompasses the interrelated but distinct ideas of knowledge-sharing and collaborative learning. Knowledge-sharing involves individual programs and organizations offering what they are learning to others: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Knowledge-sharing allows the social sector to marshal its resources effectively by avoiding duplication of effort in articulating social problems, developing potential solutions, and determining what works in which contexts. Through knowledge-sharing, organizations can build on what has come before them rather than re-creating knowledge for individual use or replicating solutions and strategies that have previously been found insufficient.

Collaborative learning refers to cross-program or cross-organizational efforts to collectively create data and information that everyone can use. Collaborative learning is required for the social sector to develop field-level insights and support interventions at a larger scale. Complex, system-level problems require coordination and the development of a shared data infrastructure to promote broad hypothesis-testing and analysis.

Some professionals in the field take a skeptical view of the social sectors prospects for learning at scale. Throughout the Reimagining measurement initiative, many participants expected knowledge silos to continue to hamper the social sectors ability to take full advantage of the possibilities for field-level learning. The current opt-in culture for transparency and sharing was predicted to persist, with organizations likely to continue to share only those results that reflect positively on their own efforts. Shared data standards and integrated data systems may become more common, but without more systematic intervention, real hurdles will likely remain. Interest in big data and analytics will continue to grow, but without a push to develop a shared data infrastructure, participants expected datasets to remain small and historical.

In contrast to this, however, are efforts in which organizations are finding creative solutions that take advantage of recent social and technological developments. Among these developments are technologies that have transformed the ease and cost of collecting, sharing, and aggregating data; new data analytic techniques such as predictive analytics and machine learning; and the open data movement, which has made data more accessible to citizens.13

Foundations themselves are struggling. They dont share evaluations across their own programs, let alone across a sector. They still rely heavily on calling each other up to make decisions, relying on networks, trying to shortcut the information overload by asking trusted partners what to read in order to feel as though theyve done their due diligence. Director of an organization serving foundations and nonprofits

What can we learn?

From these initiatives, organizations can gain essential insights about how to create monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices that enable the social sector to learn together at a level that matches the scale of the problems it seeks to solve. Some of these lessons include:

Providing useful tools to make shared metrics meaningful . The development of standardized metrics makes it much more feasible to assess outcomes and impacts across multiple programs. However, efforts to develop common metrics can quickly bog down in the minutiae of disparate use cases and needs. With such data systems, the focus is not on the metrics themselves, but on creating an application that is useful to organizations in their daily work and that helps them better tell their stories about the work they do. They use common performance metrics, but these metrics are the means to creating and using an actionable system with obvious daily benefits to the individual organizations.

. The development of standardized metrics makes it much more feasible to assess outcomes and impacts across multiple programs. However, efforts to develop common metrics can quickly bog down in the minutiae of disparate use cases and needs. With such data systems, the focus is not on the metrics themselves, but on creating an application that is useful to organizations in their daily work and that helps them better tell their stories about the work they do. They use common performance metrics, but these metrics are the to creating and using an actionable system with obvious daily benefits to the individual organizations. Enabling benchmarking with aggregation. In the social sector today, grantees that allow themselves to be compared with other organizations on performance metrics may disadvantage themselves with funders. The sector therefore functions in a way that actively discourages the development of high-quality comparative data. One way around this difficulty is by allowing each organization to see its own data while being limited to an aggregated view of everyone elses. For instance, common metrics enable participating organizations to benchmark themselves against custom-defined peer groups. Crucially, while these organizations can see their own data, they can only view others data in aggregate. This aggregated view, however, is still useful: Staff can make decisions about program design and implementation based on insight into what is working in similar organizations. They, along with policymakers and researchers, can also assess the health of the sector overall, and answer more specific questions about how performance varies across different market conditions and program types.

In the social sector today, grantees that allow themselves to be compared with other organizations on performance metrics may disadvantage themselves with funders. The sector therefore functions in a way that actively discourages the development of high-quality comparative data. One way around this difficulty is by allowing each organization to see its own data while being limited to an aggregated view of everyone elses. For instance, common metrics enable participating organizations to benchmark themselves against custom-defined peer groups. Crucially, while these organizations can see their own data, they can only view others data in aggregate. This aggregated view, however, is still useful: Staff can make decisions about program design and implementation based on insight into what is working in similar organizations. They, along with policymakers and researchers, can also assess the health of the sector overall, and answer more specific questions about how performance varies across different market conditions and program types. Using existing networks. Developing and implementing common data systems and platforms can be stymied by all sorts of collective action problems. Collaborative efforts take time and staff resources that are often in short supply. One solution can be to draw on existing networks for the development of common data systems. To create its data system, Grounded Solutions Network engaged US organizations that work with or represent local affordable homeownership programs. Because Grounded Solutions Network had an established network in the field, they could draw upon existing relationships, trust, and common understanding in engaging a diverse group of organizations to come together around collaborative data and learning goals.

Where we can go from here

Overcoming knowledge and data silos to more productively learn at scale will require the social sector to embrace much more coordinated and integrated approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Actions the sector can explore include:

Overcoming disincentives to share information among nonprofits. Nonprofit programs are typically evaluated individually. What if a funder or group of funders provided incentives to a group of grantees working in the same issue area, but with different theories of change, to support aggregated learning and evaluation across multiple organizations?

Nonprofit programs are typically evaluated individually. What if a funder or group of funders provided incentives to a group of grantees working in the same issue area, but with different theories of change, to support aggregated learning and evaluation across multiple organizations? Creating a diagnostic to help groups learn together. Some issue areas are much further along in terms of knowledge-sharing, collaboration around data, and collective knowledge development than others. What if a funder supported the creation of a diagnostic that detailed and assessed the conditions that need to exist to enable collective learning in an issue area?

Some issue areas are much further along in terms of knowledge-sharing, collaboration around data, and collective knowledge development than others. What if a funder supported the creation of a diagnostic that detailed and assessed the conditions that need to exist to enable collective learning in an issue area? Dedicating resources to synthesizing existing literature. Extensive research in many issue areas does exist, but much of it may be unavailable in digestible form. For a given issue area, what if a funder or a collection of funders shared data and studies and supported researchers who could synthesize the research to create a series of comprehensive reviews?

Achieving alignment with other actors may not be simple or easy, but it is essential for enabling the social impact sector as a whole to learn from experience and make a bigger difference in the issues it seeks to address.
The United States slipped one spot to eighth in the most recent iteration of the World Banks Ease of Doing Business rankings. The Index ranks countries based on how supportive their economies and regulatory frameworks are to starting and operating a local firm. For the United States, the report uses a population-weighted score for Los Angeles and New York City. A decade ago the United States ranked third, behind only perennial top-two finishers Singapore and New Zealand, but in this years Index it also ranked behind Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

In a competitive global economy it is important for a country to avoid creating an environment that deters or inhibits economic activity. In terms of the overall Ease of Doing Business ranking, the United States has been running in place, while other countries have surged ahead in recent years. U.S. policymakers at all levels should consider ways that they can reduce the cost and burden of doing business. If the most recent Index is any indication, the United States must catch up.

One caveat is that the data are current through June 2016. Beginning in 2017, the Trump Administration has practically halted the flow of new regulations to the Federal Register and moved to roll others back. The next iteration of the index should be released in the coming weeks, and the new U.S. ranking could improve due to these changes.

The World Banks Index incorporates ten distinct categories that contribute to the overall ranking. The United States is in the top tier in only two of them, regarding Getting Credit (2nd) and Resolving Insolvency (5th). Among the rest of the categories, the United States is mediocre or falling behind other high-income countries.

Source: World Bank Group, Doing Business 2017: Economy Profile 2017, United States, p. 9.

For the Starting a Business indicator, the United States fell to 51st in this years Index from 45th in the 2016 version. The raw score stayed virtually the same, so the slippage in rankings reflects other countries making more progress in recognizing and addressing the obstacles that make it harder to start a business. For this category, the closest country that is also in the top ten overall is Denmark which ranks 24th in terms of Starting a Business. The World Bank also gives the scores of these categories in relation to the best performing country to give a sense of how far behind other countries are lagging relative to the best performance recorded since 2005 or the third year the indicator was recorded. The United States scores worse than the average for OECD high-income countries, at 91.23 compared to 91.51. The United States performance in most of the ten categories is far from impressive, but it fares the worst and has fallen the farthest in the Starting a Business category.

The recent slippage in the rankings should sadly not be that much of a surprise, as the United States is mired in a years-long trend of lackluster economic dynamism. The share of companies that are less than a year old has fallen from almost 15 percent in the late 1970s to 8.1 percent in 2015, the most recent year of data available. Relatedly, the share of people employed in these new firms has fallen. New companies are vital for creation of new jobs and the development of new products and innovations.

The decline over a longer time-period is even more drastic as the United States ranked 4th in the 2008 Index. Reducing barriers to starting a new business, by making it easier for owners to navigate construction processes, or reducing the number of agencies and procedures they have to coordinate, could improve the U.S. environment and make it easier for prospective entrepreneurs to start businesses. Although it was not enough to reverse the longer trend of a falling ranking, the Index did note that starting a business did become easier in New York City due to faster online procedures.

Recovering the lofty rankings of past indices will require a multi-faceted approach by the Trump Administration and Congress. Productive channels for reform range from streamlining the administrative procedures related to starting a business to broader tax reform that brings rates in line with other high-income countries and reduces the burden of compliance in terms of hours.

The United States has long been a beacon for entrepreneurship and productive economic activity. That will not change overnight, but the lackluster ranking in this Index, and the longer decline, highlight the need for comprehensive review of the existing tax and regulatory framework.

Charles Hughes is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesHHughes.

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The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attacks that killed over 300 people in Mogadishu.

On October 14th, the streets of the Somali capitals Hodan district were jam-packed with traffic and by-standers, when a truck loaded with explosives detonated, killing hundreds. Shortly thereafter, a second, smaller explosion, believed to have been part of a coordinated plot with the first attack, took place across town.

This attack was the deadliest in Somalias history. In addition to the more than 300 people killed, over 400 were injured and dozens are still unaccounted for.The two attacks targeted a public, commercial area of the capital and resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of civilians, including United States citizens, said the White House Press Secretary in a written statement.

While Somali citizens and first responders have responded bravely and generously to the attacks, there are still critical humanitarian needs. Starting on October 17, the United States has begun to deliver planeloads of relief supplies to Mogadishu to assist the victims and survivors.

As the White House Press Secretary noted, The United States extends our deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims, their families, and all those who have suffered from terrorism. The United States stands with the people and government of Somalia in their commitment to defeating these groups, ensuring the security of their people, and rebuilding their country.
The Gas Natural headquarters rising above Ciutadella Park in Barcelona. Albert Garcia

The decision made by Catalan companies and banks to move their corporate headquarters out of the region has dealt what could be a definitive blow to the regional governments secessionist plans. But the decisions have had more to do with pressure from the worlds financial capitals than to voices from within Catalonia and Madrid.

Following the October 1 independence referendum, Catalan companies received a deluge of calls from international credit rating agencies and investment fund managers, all delivering the same message: Catalonia has become synonymous with uncertainty, and uncertainty is something the markets hate.

For long enough, the Catalan problem has been swept under the carpet by foreign investors, but when images of police violence started circulating and the regions independence bid suggested a euro exit, alarm bells started to ring.

Most companies never imagined that international investors would become so twitchy A businessman from the region

One businessman working in communications says that most companies never imagined that international investors would become so twitchy. They never thought it would come to this. Never.

Another destabilizing factor is the prospect of a Catalan treasury. If such an entity is established, it could mean companies being hit twice on corporate tax  once by Spain and again by Catalonia. Hence, Catalonia has seen asset managers withdrawing and companies relocating.

But what if these companies hadnt waited for global forces to pressure them into relocating and had instead taken the initiative themselves? On October 8, Josep Borrell, former minister and vice president of the European Parliament, criticized the deafening silence from Catalonias business sector. Couldnt you have spoken up before? he said. Why didnt you say publicly what you were saying in private? If you had, we could have avoided this.

Anton Costas, economics professor and former president of the Economy Circle  the most influential business lobby in Catalonia  had this answer: I believe that we did see this coming. Jose Manuel Lara, former president of [publishing group] Planeta did; Josep Oliu, from Sabadell did; and Jose Luis Bonet, from Freixenet did as well as the Chamber of Commerce. But I dont believe that businessmen should continually be expected to venture their opinions on politics, and even less so in a debate that has been running for five years. Nor can companies be expected to be delivering this kind of message, given the effect it would have on investors and on the company itself.

We told Puigdemont, but he didnt want to believe us It seems that what wasnt said in public was said in private. I once told Artur Mas that to come out of the EU would be very risky, says Professor Pedro Nueno. And he replied, We wont leave the EU for one minute, ever. So I asked him why he didnt make that clear. He must have said the same to other businessmen. Other influential figures from academia and the banking and business sectors insist that they warned members of the regional government of the serious economic risks of breaking away from Spain. Its true that we may not have said enough in public, says one member of the Catalan association Work Support. But we did speak to Mas and Puigdemont in private. We told them this could happen, but they didnt want to believe it. They wanted to believe those who were saying this would never happen.

The 2015 elections won by the pro-independence parties prompted the first exodus, including hoteliers Jordi Clos and Pau Guardans, who claimed to be moving for tax purposes. In August, health-food retail chain Naturhouse left citing management issues as the company has had offices in Madrid since it went public in April 2015. But its president, Felix Revuelta, has long been critical of the Catalan governments plans for secession. It is terrifying the business sector, he said in May.

Eduardo Serra, a government minister during the Aznar era, says: I have been speaking recently to Catalan bankers and businessmen and they all say, I know independence would be ruinous for my company, but if I say as much to the regional government, theyll destroy me.

A source close to Sabadell President Josep Oliu recalls that before the informal self-determination referendum on November 9, 2014, Oliu privately warned the then-president Artur Mas that if he continued to push for independence, he would force Sabadell out of Catalonia. According to the source, Mas was incredulous and maintained that they would never be forced to leave the EU.

In public, the president of Spains fifth-largest bank was the first to speak out, describing the situation as worrying, and telling an audience in Oviedo on October 3 that he was prepared to leave Catalonia to protect his customers, shareholders and staff. In an unsteady voice, he declared that Sabadell would always take operative decisions based on economic and regulatory criteria to boost business in the main market  the Spanish market. He added: I can assure you that, if necessary, the bank will take the necessary measures to protect the interests of our customers within the framework of the European Union and ECB Banking Supervision.

Meanwhile, CaixaBank adopted a more cautious position. No decision has been taken, said a spokesman. When independence is declared, if it becomes a reality, we will act to defend our customers, staff and shareholders.

What Sabadell and CaixaBank were always clear about was that both banks should leave at the same time, which is what they have done

On October 5, Sabadell announced it would be moving its legal headquarters to Alicante and the following day CaixaBank announced its move to Valencia.

But why did the banks and companies not react publicly before? It is true that on January 13 this year Oliu suggested that Sabadell would leave Catalonia if an independent Catalonia was left outside the EU. However, several weeks later, he claimed his words had been misinterpreted and suggested that the headquarters would remain in Catalonia. Meanwhile, Jaume Guardiola, managing director of Sabadell, spoke out on September 13 in Bilbao, declaring that if there was a yes vote in the referendum, there would be changes of address.

Executives now admit that information being passed to them by the regional government on a soft and negotiated exit encouraged reticence on their behalf. It was said that, in the worst case scenario, they could have two headquarters, one in Madrid and one in Barcelona, one for each market. An internal boycott was something to be avoided: CaixaBank has 68 billion in deposits in Catalonia and Sabadell has 24 billion  sums that would seriously affect the economy if they pulled out.

However, it has been the number of cash withdrawals in the rest of Spain in recent days that has forced the banks to adopt strategies to reassure their customers. What Sabadell and CaixaBank were always clear about was that both banks should leave at the same time, which is what they have done.

In their defense, the banks flag up a joint statement made on September 18, 2015, to the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Spanish Savings Banks (CECA), warning that they would leave an independent Catalonia. The result was disastrous, says a spokesman. We were boycotted by certain Catalan organizations and customers who withdrew their money just as they are doing now. They said that the banking sector shouldnt enter into the debate given its reputation.

Risky or not, did nobody see that the Catalan regional government and the central government have been on a collision course since 2014?

Some in the sector also point out that if they had pulled their headquarters out of Catalonia ahead of the referendum, they would have been accused of giving Puigdemonts vision credibility. It could have been seen as a way of pushing things forward, said one spokesman. It was very risky.

Risky or not, did nobody see that the Catalan regional government and the central government have been on a collision course since 2014? Bankers and businessmen point out that the central government always reassured them that any referendum would be illegal and invalid. In recent months, the regional government put all its weight behind a referendum while Spains president, Mariano Rajoy, maintained it would not take place. If what Rajoy said had turned out to be true, it could have been the end for independence, says one CaixaBank executive. But instead the illegal referendum took place and the police behaved in a brutal manner while the media broadcast them doing so to the world. Thats when everything went haywire. They resorted to Plan B, which barely existed. It is unchartered territory,

Pedro Nueno, an IESE Business School lecturer with a PhD in Business Administration from Harvard, doesnt believe many companies had a contingency plan. In some cases, they didnt think events would unfold as they have, he says. Everyone thought there would be negotiations. Its been a bit of a stampede.

Some businessmen admit that the potential for political and social strife was such that they chose to ignore it and trust a negotiated solution would be reached instead. But Juan Rosell, who has played a key role as a Catalan citizen and President of the employers association CEOE, says he tried to bring the two sides to the negotiating table without success. Catalonia doesnt understand Madrid and Madrid doesnt understand Catalonia, he concludes.

Catalonia doesnt understand Madrid and Madrid doesnt understand Catalonia Juan Rosell, president of the CEOE employers association

Another important factor is that Madrid did not take on board the pro-independent leanings of many Catalonian businessmen, particularly the small businesses and collectives that have been close to Puidgemont during the independence process. If you want to know what the businessmen are thinking, just ask the SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises], said the regional president.

One Catalan businessman points out that a number of SMEs already move in an autonomous world: their customers are Catalan, their environment is Catalan and they believe that an independent Catalonia will mean a more buoyant economy, as the regional government has promised. Dont forget that both big and small Catalan companies have their families and friends in Catalonia. Their neighbor could be a pro-independence businessman and to take the opposite stance could be awkward, he says.

It is generally believed that both the Madrid and Catalan governments will avoid a face off. Because, look, says Freixenets president, Jose Luis Bonet. I feel Spanish and European, but Im still Catalan and to have to take a decision like this is very painful. Its like being torn in two. I am Catalan and I have to go. Its clear that we and the other companies leaving are iconic in Catalonia, but you have to understand, survival comes first. The fact that people have not talked in both private and public has been a big mistake. The reason it wasnt done was to avoid awkward situations, but problems are not solved like that. If you keep quiet, the noisy ones appear to be in the majority.

But what consequences will these relocations have further down the road? Until now both management and the factory was here, says Costas. The risk is that now we will only be left with the factory. Catalonia is a productive economy and companies wont leave altogether but the executive side of things will be lost. He adds, I did think it might come to this and I said as much. But there was always someone accusing you of peddling fear.

A rap on the knuckles for the business sector In a Circle of Economy conference in Sitges at the end of May, Mariano Rajoy warned that Catalan independence would be traumatic and have terrible economic consequences. Spains prime minister also directed these words to those sitting on the fence: Impartiality is all very well, but not always and not in every walk of life. There were those who didnt appreciate this covert criticism. They said it wasnt their job to take sides and that they had already done quite a lot as it was in asking Puigdemont to abandon his pursuit of independence and show his face in Congress. Others, however, took Rajoys message on board. I understand some seek dialogue but, at this stage, its not the same to be on the side of those obeying the law as to be on the side of those putting the safety of the justice system in jeopardy, said one.

English version by Heather Galloway.
NICOLAS AZNAREZ

The pro-independence movement embarked on the breakaway process with lofty expectations, but now finds itself forced to follow the advice of the 17th-century writer and philosopher Baltasar Gracian, who recommended living for the moment, refraining from exaggeration, and trying not to strain things to the breaking point.

Article 155 of the Constitution, which the government is on its way to activating  with support from the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Ciudadanos  is not the end of the world, and it offers different opportunities for reaching non-dramatic outcomes. This precept, which is fortunately included in our Constitution, provides all possible guarantees and allows the autonomous region to deactivate the conflict.

Starting with the opportunity offered by the governments official request of October 11 (demanding confirmation of whether independence has been declared in Catalonia or not), it would be enough to answer the question negatively for the situation to quiet down. On the other hand, the regional government could turn to the Constitutional Court alleging a conflict of powers, so the latter might determine whether there was a legal basis for the official request to have been made in the first place.

Because if the breaches that Catalan authorities are accused of turned out to be more apparent than real, as though the product of a bad dream, then the molt honorable president (most honorable premier Carles Puigdemont) like a latter-day Segismundo, Prince of Poland in Life Is A Dream, could then confront King Basilio, not on the battlefield (which is no longer in style) but inside a courthouse.

Even after the Senates approval, there would be one last chance to prevent the measures from being applied

But even if the molt honorable president were to confirm the declaration of independence, the die would not be cast yet, because the regional government would retain the right to be heard and to participate actively in the procedure that would begin in the Senate to deliberate and decide on the governments proposed measures.

The procedure would begin with the General Committee of the Autonomous Regions  with participation by other regional premiers  or else with a joint committee made up of members of two or more Senate committees (perhaps the Constitutional and Interior committees).

It seems appropriate, in any case, that the molt honorable president should represent his region on such a momentous occasion, because at play would be a temporary restriction or intervention in the regions autonomy. Intelligent and efficient transactions might possibly emerge within the seat of the Senate, which is decorated with so many historical paintings  some of which represent illustrious Catalans, such as the portrait of Don Juan Prim made by Luis de Madrazo, while others evoke epic moments in Catalan history, such as Roger de Flors entrance into Constantinople, painted by Moreno Carbonero. Because the committees decision can go beyond accepting or rejecting the governments proposals, and actually introduce conditions or amendments to those projected measures.

If the measures were finally carried out, the region would not be facing anything like a dictatorship

In any case, those measures could only be approved with the favorable vote of an absolute majority of senators at a plenary session where, if 50 senators requested it, there would be a roll call vote. And the region in question would also have the right to be represented at the plenary debate (even if the rules do not expressly say so), and it would certainly seem appropriate for the molt honorable president to take this opportunity to defend his cause from the lectern. The entire nation would hang on his every word, which would resonate in the collective memory in a much more durable way than a confusing independence declaration that is doomed to fail.

Even after the Senates approval, there would be one last chance to prevent the measures from being applied, if the molt honorable president were to retract his declaration of independence, and other breaches, before the Cabinet encoded the measures into royal decrees. Because those measures are a regulatory product whose validity emanates from their approval by the upper house, but whose effectiveness depends on the royal decrees that incorporate them, so that if the molt honorable president were to comply with Madrids official request at the 11th hour, then surely the government would reconsider the need to implement the measures.

If the measures were finally carried out, the region would not be facing anything like a dictatorship, but the expression of a law of exception that our Constitution incorporated in order to deal with serious breaches committed by regional powers, especially if these breaches endanger the efficiency of the legal system as a whole, as has been the case with Catalonia.

Intelligent and efficient transactions might possibly emerge within the seat of the Senate

But even this law of exception would be subject to constitutional checks, so that any measures adopted by the government with the Senates approval could be challenged before the Constitutional Court using the channels in place to ensure that laws and other legally binding regulations comply with the Constitution. On the other hand, any instructions that might be dictated by the government in order to execute those measures (Article 155.2) may also be challenged, this time in the lower courts because they will not have the force of law. In short, the checks inherent in any rule of law will not be suspended because Article 155 has been applied.

On the other hand, even though this precept theoretically offers a broad scope of action, the government must abide by the principles of necessity, adequacy and proportionality. As such, considering the circumstances of the challenge posed by Catalan authorities, it seems like there are at least three measures that respect all those principles.

The first is to dissolve the regional parliament and call a snap election, because the current legislature has repeatedly approved laws that are grievously unconstitutional, in the process violating the procedures established by the regional parliaments own regulations and by the Statute of Catalonia.

The second is to remove the Catalan premier from power, since it would be difficult to justify his presence in the post if it is confirmed that he declared Catalan independence. The third is for the central government to take over public safety in the region, because the Catalan governments contumacious breaches of the law make it unfit to head the regional police force, the Mossos dEsquadra, a fact that has become evident in recent days.

But out of those three measures, the main one  because it can provide a political way out of the conflict  is the first one. And so, it is ultimately up to the molt honorable president to prevent the application of Article 155 of the Constitution, by dissolving the regional parliament and calling new elections.

Miguel Satrustegui is a tenured professor of Constitutional Law at Carlos III University in Madrid.

English version by Susana Urra.
A Barcelona march to protest the imprisonment of ANC and Omnium leaders. LLUIS GENE (AFP)

The imprisonment of two prominent separatist leaders has emboldened the Catalan secessionist movement, which was feeling frustrated and divided over the symbolic declaration of independence made last week by regional premier Carles Puigdemont.

Thousands of people across Catalonia came out to protest a judges decision to send Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, the heads of the civic associations ANC and Omnium Cultural, to prison without bail while investigating sedition charges against them.

The moment has come, the conditions are there to proclaim the republic

CUP deputy Mireia Boya

On Tuesday evening, around 200,000 people, according to the Barcelona municipal police, congregated on Diagonal Avenue and Passeig de Gracia, holding up candles to demand their release.

Both men have been taken into custody as part of a sedition probe by Spains High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, which is investigating incidents that took place on September 20 and 21. On those days, the Civil Guard conducted raids against Catalan government agencies in search of voting material that was to be used at the banned independence referendum of October 1.

The heads of ANC and Omnium Cultural are believed to have orchestrated mass protests outside the Catalan department of economic affairs, hindering the Civil Guards work  a court official overseeing the operation was forced to exit via the rooftop to avoid the angry crowds  and vandalizing patrol cars. Damage caused by protestors that night was assessed at 135,600.

Front page of the 'Ara' newspaper this Wednesday with the headline 'political prisoners'

While Spains central court is treating this as a possible case of sedition (see sidebar), the independence movement is portraying both men  dubbed the Jordis  as political prisoners.

The new face of ANC, Agusti Alcoberro, said that despite this move, they will not desist: Even if they decapitate the presidency and jail our leaders, there will be substitutes and more substitutes. We are groups with tens of thousands of members.

To the demonstrators in Barcelona, Alcoberro said: The judge alleges that if [Sanchez and Cuixart] were back on the street, they would go back to committing the same crimes. Well, you just need to take one look at this crowd to know that were the recidivists. They are political prisoners and hostages of the Kingdom of Spain.

ANC and Omnium said they are planning another large march for Saturday.

The Catalan government spokesman, Jordi Turull, also described the men as political prisoners, and warned that Catalan authorities will not budge one inch from their position. The leader of Spains anti-establishment Podemos party, Pablo Iglesias, has taken a similar view: They didnt send them to jail for stealing but for organizing a peaceful protest.

Members of Junts pel Si, the separatist minority coalition that governs Catalonia, as well as their ally in the Catalan parliament, the CUP party, said that a negotiated way out of the crisis is increasingly difficult following the move against Cuixart and Sanchez.

What is sedition? Sedition a crime that is practically unheard of in Spanish democratic history, and carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence for those who "publicly and tumultuously rise up to prevent, by force or outside the legal channels, application of the law, or any authority, official corporation or public officer from the lawful exercise of their duties, or implementation of administrative or judicial resolutions."

Weve come here to do what weve come here to do [independence], and we wont change no matter how much repression we have to endure, said Lluis Corominas, the president of Junts pel Si.

A CUP deputy insisted that there will be a formal declaration of independence in just a few days. The small anti-capitalist party, whose 10 seats in the regional assembly are essential to Carles Puigdemonts minority government, is pressuring the premier to openly declare an independent republic.

The moment has come, the conditions are there to proclaim the republic, said CUP deputy Mireia Boya, whose group wants to break away before the central government triggers a constitutional provision allowing it to take control of the regions internal affairs.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last week gave the Catalan government a deadline to confirm whether it has already declared independence or not, and to back down if it has. If Puigdemont drops his secessionist plans, Madrid said it is ready to address constitutional reform to find a better fit for Catalonia within Spain.

But if the answer is no  or no answer is provided, as has been the case so far  Rajoy may invoke Article 155 of the Constitution, allowing the central government to temporarily rescind Catalonias devolved powers in a bid to restore the law. If this happens, the heads of Catalan security agencies would likely be the first in line for replacement.

Meanwhile, Barcelona City Hall has suspended all its activities for two days as a sign of protest. Mayor Ada Colau has been sending mixed signals regarding the independence drive: she condemned the decision to hold Cuixart and Sanchez in custody, and personally voted in the illegal referendum of October 1, but she has also publicly asked Puigdemont to admit that independence has not been declared, following his own ambiguous statement on Tuesday of last week  when he declared independence, then immediately placed it on hold.

English version by Susana Urra.
Soraya Saenz de Santamaria speaks at the Moncloa Palace about Puigdemont's letter to the government. Claudio Alvarez (EL PAIS)

Regardless of how one assesses the court ruling specifying prison without bail for the two main activists behind the secessionist revolt, there are certain democratic principles we must all abide by.

The first is the separation of powers, a prerequisite for the rule of law: the independence of each branch of government must be recognized and respected, and therefore judicial rulings must be complied with. This does not mean one need always agree with them; this is why democracies provide the means to appeal the decisions of judges. This is something that pro-independence forces forget when they mix up different actions by each of the branches, presenting them as generic action by an allegedly hostile state. At the same time, there are those who attribute to themselves the dividends of action taken by other powers.

Where exactly does the government want to take us? How and why is the activation of Article 155 being considered?

The secessionist movement should avoid the false construct according to which Catalonia is being persecuted by dictatorial powers working together and treating Catalonia like a subjugated nation, a construct that is then used to demand a remedial secession endorsed by the international community. Enough of this gross manipulation that is causing so much damage to Spains image abroad! It will be up to the courts to decide whether or not the activists now in custody blocked the judicial police from carrying out their duty on September 20, relying on the crowd whose presence they organized in an alleged act of serious disruption of public order.

Under no circumstances are we talking about crimes of opinion, something that would make them political prisoners, as Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias and others amazingly claim them to be. Enough of trivializing terms such as dictatorship, fascism and oppression. Spain is a democracy and, as the Constitutional Court has ruled in connection with the referendum law, it is in Catalonia that the government and the parliament have carried out a de facto suspension of the democratic rights of citizens, endangering their freedoms.

The secessionist movement should avoid the false construct according to which Catalonia is being persecuted by dictatorial powers

Having said that, the Spanish government must not wait for judicial decisions in order to solve current political problems. Judges rule on crimes. They cannot and must not solve political problems. The constitutional system is facing a serious crisis: social harmony is breaking down, the law is being undermined, and the powers-that-be are not capable of restoring constitutional order. Although this crisis was originally caused by a legislative coup by an autonomous region  as was superbly described in yesterdays ruling by the Constitutional Court  the fact is that the system of regional autonomous power and democracy are twin and inseparable characteristics of the Constitution of 1978, and the cracks in one risk the break-up of the other.

The main problem faced by Spain today is how to restore legality; to determine what level of reach to give the instruments deployed to carry that out; how to combine firmness with deliberation; and what the immediate scenario will be (and the one afterwards) once measures are implemented to forcibly redirect the steps of a region that is currently entrenched in an attitude of disobedience. And the central government is directly responsible for all of this. With the support of Spanish and Catalan constitutionalist political forces, of course, but under the leadership of the government.

The Spanish government must not wait for judicial decisions in order to solve current political problems. Judges rule on crimes

Recognizing that secessionism promotes unlawfulness, causes businesses to flee the region and foments chaos, we ask: Where exactly does the government want to take us? Where are we headed? How and why is the activation of Article 155 being considered?

Mr Rajoy: you are right to demand the support that any democratic government deserves in circumstances such as these, but tell us, what is your plan? How are you planning to get us out of this? Dont take cover behind letters and institutions. Explain yourself in detail and clearly. Otherwise, how can you call for the full support of the Spanish people, which is indispensable to preserve democracy?

English version by George Mills.
Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, the leaders of National Catalan Assembly (ANC) and Omnium, the main civic groups behind Catalonias pro-independence street mobilizations, were taken into custody without bail on Monday while a judge investigates charges of sedition against them.

A protest in Barcelona calling for Sanchez and Cuixart to be released. Marta Perez (EFE)

They are accused of directing and spurring on crowds to stage street protests on September 20 and 21 in a bid  that ultimately failed  to stop Operation Anubis, a raid against the organizers of the illegal independence referendum of October 1.

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, several groups within the Barcelona city council, and the pro-independence Catalan newspaper Ara, among others, have criticized the detention and described Sanchez and Cuixart as political prisoners.

Cuixart and Sanchez have not been jailed for their ideas, but for a felony listed on the Criminal Code of an advanced democracy

They werent sent to jail for stealing, but for organizing a peaceful protest, said Iglesias.

So are Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart political prisoners?

There is no universally accepted definition of political prisoner, although it could be described as a person who is arrested for his or her political activities, especially if these are critical of, or show opposition to, the government.

In October 2012, for the first time, an international body called the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), approved a list of criteria to be used in defining who is a political prisoner.

According to PACE, these criteria are: If the detention has been imposed in violation of one of the fundamental guarantees set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols (ECHR), in particular freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of assembly and association; if the detention has been imposed for purely political reasons without connection to any offense; if, for political motives, the length of the detention or its conditions are clearly out of proportion to the offense the person has been found guilty of or is suspected of; if, for political motives, he or she is detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons; or, if the detention is the result of proceedings which were clearly unfair and this appears to be connected with political motives of the authorities.

Hechos blog This article was originally posted on the EL PAIS Hechos (facts) blog, which aims to analyze and pick apart fake news and falsehoods.

These criteria do not apply to Sanchez and Cuixart.

According to the judges written decision, both men are the main instigators and directors of the protests of September 20 and 21.

On September 20, more than 40,000 people heeded the call made by ANC and Omnium to protest outside the Catalan department of economic affairs over the arrest of 11 government officials over their role in organizing the banned referendum of October 1.

Judge Carmen Lamela argues that these calls were not made to hold peaceful demonstrations, but to protect the targeted officials and institutions through mass mobilizations at the spots where the Civil Guard was conducting court-ordered searches and arrests.

Judge Lamela notes that on several occasions, it was expressly stated that these demonstrations were meant to aturar la Guardia Civil (in Catalan, to stop the Civil Guard). A WhatsApp message sent by Omnium on September 20 at around 8.50am supports this.

The front page of Catalan newspaper 'Ara' on Tuesday shows a picture of Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart with words "political prisoners."

The protest outside the economic affairs department was far from peaceful. A court official overseeing the search was forced to leave the building using the rooftop as angry demonstrators vandalized three Civil Guard patrol cars parked outside the door, causing damages estimated at 135,600.

The judge said in her written statement that Sanchez and Cuixart were the instigators of this protest aimed at hindering the work of a law enforcement agency. Throughout the day, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart awarded themselves the role of interlocutors, asserting that they could mobilize the members of the crowd for their own purposes, and trying to negotiate with security forces on at least five occasions [] yet never accepting the options that citizen safety experts were proposing to avoid or minimize risk.

So are Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart political prisoners, then? No. According to the judges writ, their actions fall within the scope of sedition, a felony regulated by article 544 of the Criminal Code, and carrying a maximum 15-year prison sentence for those who publicly and tumultuously rise up to prevent, by force or outside the legal channels, application of the law, or any authority, official corporation or public officer from the lawful exercise of their duties, or implementation of administrative or judicial resolutions.

Cuixart and Sanchez have not been jailed for their ideas, but for a felony listed on the Criminal Code of an advanced democracy: such as Spain is.

English version by Susana Urra.
Mariano Rajoy during a government control session in Congress. JUAN MEDINA (REUTERS)

The Spanish government will not take the unprecedented step of activating Article 155 of the Constitution  which would allow it to take control of certain autonomous powers in Catalonia  should the regional premier, Carles Puigdemont, call early elections in the northeastern Spanish region.

Thursday at 10am is the second deadline set by the Spanish government for Puigdemont to confirm whether or not he has unilaterally declared independence for Catalonia, after his ambiguous statement during a parliament session last week and subsequent failure to respond to a request for clarification from Madrid, the deadline which expired on Monday morning. Puigdemont responded to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy via a letter, but in it he failed to state whether or not he had declared independence.

The activation of Article 155 is not automatic, and the procedures required could take several days

If the regional premier does not make the required clarification on the independence declaration and return to an observance of Spanish law tomorrow, the central government is prepared to activate Article 155, which would allow it to suspend elements of Catalonias self-governance.

However, the activation of Article 155 is not automatic. The procedures required  which include approval from the Senate  could take several days, depending on the speed with which Rajoy wants to apply the process. This would open a window of opportunity for Puigdemont to call elections, given the difficult situation and internal tensions his Junts pel Si party is suffering. The coalition is made up of two groups, the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT) and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), and is governing in a minority. It is supported by the CUP, a far-left anti-capitalist organization, which has been calling on Puigdemont to immediately and unequivocally declare independence and proclaim a Catalan republic.

The PP, the Socialist Party and Ciudadanos have long seen early elections as the best solution

The governing Popular Party (PP), the main opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) and center-right Ciudadanos have long seen early elections as the best solution to the institutional conflict currently playing out between the central government in Madrid and regional government in Catalonia. But government sources explain that there are conditions: Puigdemont will only avoid the application of Article 155 of the Constitution if he calls elections without confirming that he declared independence in Catalonia, and the elections will have to be regular regional polls  the last regional elections in Catalonia were touted by the pro-independence parties as a plebiscite on secession from Spain.

Given that Catalonia does not have its own electoral law, elections would be called under state legislation, and would as such have to meet the requirements set out therein. If Puigdemont wanted new polls for this year, and to avoid the Christmas holidays under the timetables set out in the legislation, he would have to call elections before October 25, given that 54 days must pass between elections being called and the day they are held. This would set the election date at December 17.

If Puigdemont wanted new polls for this year, and to avoid Christmas holidays, he would have to call elections before October 25

In the meantime, however, the central government is still finalizing the measures it is likely to put in place should it have to activate Article 155  a move that would be completely unprecedented in Spains recent democratic history.

English version by Simon Hunter.
Former President Mohammad Khatami has joined the chorus to defend the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), describing it as the pillar of Irans national security.

Khatami, who is extrajudicially banned from attending public gatherings or traveling abroad, has also vehemently defended Irans missile programs and praised the IRGC for what he called fighting terrorism, reported a dissident website, Kalemeh, on October 16.

Ignoring the restrictions imposed on him, Khatami met with members of the Islamic Associations of Tehran University, where he said, They should not misunderstand. There might be some different opinions in the Islamic Republic but, when it comes to guarding Irans dignity, the foundation of the revolution, our principal national interests and resisting outside threats, we are unified and have no differences.

Khatami is considered a leading figure of the loyal opposition, which is committed to the Islamic Republic but opposes the more hardline factions, supported by the Supreme Leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Echoing earlier comments made by President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Khatami insisted, How could anybody come forward and disparage the IRGC with their exorbitant comments, while it is firmly confronting terrorists and making sacrifices?

Khatami stepped in to defend the IRGCs extraterritorial operations, including fighting to keep Bashar al-Assad in power despite international criticism against the Syrian president for suppressing dissidents and killing civilians.

Earlier, former U.S. President Barack Obama had said Iran was responsible for killing civilians in Syria, along with Russia and forces loyal to al-Assad.

Dismissing the new U.S. strategy presenting the IRGC as a group supporting terrorist activities in the Middle East, Khatami asserted, [The new strategy] is bravado and threats.

The reformist ex-president has defended the IRGC and dismissed differences in the Islamic Republic while the elite military has always tried to downgrade and humiliate him.

At the height of Khatamis presidency, the IRGCs top commander wrote him a letter blatantly threatening him with dire consequences. Furthermore, the IRGC humiliated him by preventing Khatamis government from opening Tehrans new international airport until its demands were met.

The IRGC has gone further, accusing Khatami of attempting to install a secular regime in Iran, along with other reformists supported by the West and particularly the United States.

Khatami and his reformist allies should be arrested and tried for trying to establish a non-religious ruling system in Iran, said Yadollah Javani, head of the political bureau of the IRGC.

According to Kalemeh, Khatami, during his meeting with Tehran University students, also defended Irans missile program.

Are we after missiles to attack others? Khatami asked his audience. But in the middle of current wars, arent we supposed to be capable of defending ourselves against present threats? It is no one elses business.

Meanwhile, Khatami said of Irans nuclear activities, We are interested in peaceful nuclear technology, and we are not going to leave it behind just for the sake of appeasing others.
Irans chief of staff who is visiting Syria said on Wednesday that Israels aggression on Syria is not acceptable.

Based on reports by Iranian and regional news agencies, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri in a press conference with his Syrian counterpart, General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub said, it is not acceptable that the Zionist regime [as Iran calls Israel] can conduct aggression against Syria, any time it wants, in the air or on the ground.

Bagheri arrived in Syria in the evening of Tuesday, October 17; one day after Israel said it had attacked an anti-aircraft missile battery in Syria, which had fired against an Israeli warplane over Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced after the attack that his country would take any necessary action for his countrys security.

Hours later Syria warned Israel about serious consequences of its actions.

The attack preceded the long-awaited visit of Russian defense minister Sergey Shoygu to Israel and some analysts said that Israels action was meant as a message to Russia about Irans expanding presence in Syria.

Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister told Shoygu that they will tolerate Irans military presence in Syria and each time they feels Israels red lines are crossed, action will be taken.

According to Iranian media, general Bagheri also voiced support for Syria saying, Iran will stand side by side to face dangers that might threaten Syria

During the seven years of Syrian civil war, Iran has played a crucial role in saving Bashar al-Assads regime, Hundreds of Iranian servicemen have been killed in the war.

Iranian media reported on October 17 that the commander of an Iranian Basij battalion, Abdollah Khosravi was killed in Syria on Saturday, October 14.

The commander of a special IRGC battalion from Tehran known as Yegane Fatehin, has also announced that 30 members of his unit have been killed in Syria.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is threatening to "shred" the nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers if the United States pulls out.

Khamenei, Iran's highest authority, said on October 18 that Tehran will stick to the 2015 deal as long as the other signatories respect it.

He was speaking in Tehran days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would not certify that Iran is complying with the agreement and warned he might ultimately "terminate" U.S. participation.

Trump accused Tehran of violating the "spirit" of the agreement, in part for its continued testing of ballistic missiles, and said he would ask Congress to strengthen U.S. legislation to put additional pressure on Iran.

Trump's announcement has put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord and the European Union, which have voiced their support for the agreement.

Khamenei welcomed Europes support but said it was not sufficient, saying "Europe must stand against practical measures [taken] by America."

Under the nuclear deal, Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from sanctions that have hurt its economy.

The six powers that signed the accord are the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:

Poland supports the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor as a means to supply south-east Europe with gas alternative to the dominant Russian supplier, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.

Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, stressed that his country looks forward to Azerbaijan contribution, thanks to its raw material potential, to the deepening of Europe's energy security.

"The Southern Gas Corridor will allow 10 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas per year to be exported from Caspian Region to European countries. It is not a big volume, but it is the foundation for further expansion and cooperation," he said.

The minister said that the common goal should be both to promote Azerbaijani energy independence and to seek new sources of gas for the Southern Gas Corridor, which will further strengthen its real potential for diversification in south-east Europe currently dominated by the Russian supplier.

The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor is an EU initiative to reduce Europes dependency on Russian gas.

The SGC project a series of pipelines which will carry Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas to Europe  is a unique project opening up route for Caspian energy sources. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Poland sees Azerbaijan as its close partner in the transport sector.

Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, reminded that Azerbaijan, situated at the crossroads of great trade routes, has got a centuries-long tradition, adding that much the same as Poland.

Poland is one of the few countries in Europe to have a few hundred kilometres of wide-gauge railroad, which allows to transport goods into our country and the rest of Europe from the CIS area, he added.

"We also have a great experience and potential to distribute those goods to other EU countries. Poland and Azerbaijan must use this opportunity to realize the projects to establish a West-South and West-East transport corridors," the FM said.

Waszczykowski noted that they relate not only to transport but also provide tangible results of successful economic cooperation within the Eastern Partnership.

As for the West-South corridor, the FM said that Poland already cooperates with Azerbaijan but also other EaP countries  Ukraine and Georgia.

"We promote the idea on the EU level as well, because  in our opinion  it goes in line with European plans to develop Trans-European Transport Network (TNT)," he said.

Along with the Trans-Caspian and North-South corridors, the South-West corridor is of great importance for Azerbaijan. The South-West corridor is supposed to run from India to Europe through the Persian Gulf, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Black Sea. At an initial stage, it is planned to transport 10 million tons of cargo via this route with the possibility of increasing the transportation volume by several times in the future.

An agreement on the South-West corridor was signed in 2016 by Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Ukraine in Baku. The corridor will make it possible to slash the time of cargo transportation from India to Europe by two or three times.

The trans-European transport network (TEN-T) is a network which comprises roads, railway lines, inland waterways, inland and maritime ports, airports and rail-road terminals throughout the 28 Member States.

Under the proposal, the TEN-T network will consist of two layers: a core network to be completed by 2030 and a comprehensive network feeding into this, to be completed by 2050, ensuring full coverage of the EU and accessibility of all regions.

Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that the OSCE Minsk Group is yet not perfect but at the moment it is the only vehicle to breach gaps and come closer to the solution.

"There is no alternative for peaceful resolutions of conflicts based on dialogue and respect for international law. This also applies to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and occupied territories, including UN SC Resolutions," the FM said in an interview with Trend.

The FM said that security issues, including the Karabakh conflict and other protracted conflict in the region of South Caucasus, will be discussed during his Baku visit.

Asked about what could be the contribution of Warsaw to the resolution of the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the minister reminded that in 2018 Poland will begin its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

"We are looking on how we can use our membership, and especially the UNSC presidency, to highlight those global issues that we believe are the most important, including conflict prevention and new threats to peace and security," the FM said.

Waszczykowski emphasized that there is no other long-lasting option to a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict than to reach a compromise, and "we count on all co-chairs in this respect".

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Although the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, they have not been enforced to this day.

Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Samir Ali  Trend:

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is incapable of pursuing an independent policy, Azerbaijani MP Tahir Rzayev told Trend Oct. 18.

He added that Sargsyan has always acted and will act upon the orders of his patrons.

"This is not the first time when Sargsyan lies and does not keep his word, he said. Everyone knows who is patronizing Armenia and who hampers the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Sargsyan does not have his own opinion as a president.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Geneva on October 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Samir Ali  Trend:

Negotiations with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his team will not yield any results, Azerbaijani MP Elman Mammadov told Trend Oct. 18.

Constructive talks should lead to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensure Azerbaijans territorial integrity. If this problem is solved, Sargsyan's power will be destroyed. So, it does not matter how much Sargsyan participates in the talks, after them he speaks differently, he said.

Armenia does not want to take a fair position in the negotiations. Sargsyan is a war criminal. If a war criminal who should be in prison is a head of state, there is nothing else to expect from him. He acts in accordance with the laws of the criminal world, and not in line with international law, Mammadov added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan held a summit in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Russia, as a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, shouldnt provide arms either free of charge or at the expense of a loan to Armenia, which is an occupant country, Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend.

Russia can sell weapons to any country and buy them from any country, he noted. However, the fact is that Azerbaijan buys weapons at its own expense from Russia or other countries. Russia doesnt provide weapons free of charge or at its own expense to Azerbaijan. The question arises: how come that Russia at its own expense arms a country that is a party to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and that occupied the Azerbaijani territories? This is absolutely unacceptable, and I think Russia understands this.

This encourages the occupier to violate the peace talks and continue occupation, the MP said. From this point of view, we believe that Russia should avoid such steps.

In late 2015, Russia and Armenia agreed on allocation of a $200 million loan to Armenia for the purchase of modern weapons. The Armenian government approved the first $100 million loan package Oct. 12, 2017.

Under the agreement, a $100-million loan will be extended to Armenia for 20 years.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
The leaders of numerous countries have congratulated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the State Independence day, October 18.

Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King of Saudi Arabia, in his congratulatory message, extended his most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the state holiday.

"On behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and on my own behalf, I extend my most sincere congratulations to Your Excellency on the occasion of your country's State Independence Day.

I wish you the best of health and happiness, and the brotherly people and government of the Republic of Azerbaijan continued development and prosperity.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration," the message reads.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization also congratulated President Aliyev.

"It gives me immense pleasure to convey to Your Excellency, on behalf of the State of Palestine, its people and my own behalf, my warmest congratulations on the occasion of your celebration of the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan," Abbas said in his letter.

"We highly appreciate your unwavering brotherly stance of support with our Palestinian people and their rights in the establishment of our Independent State, as well as strong fraternal bonds that bind our peoples and countries. We reaffirm our infinite satisfaction with the continuation of mutual cooperation for the benefit of our two peoples and common goals," the message reads.

Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wrote in his letter, "It is with great pleasure that I extend my most sincere congratulations to Your Excellency on the occasion of your country's State Independence Day."

"I wish you the best of health and happiness, and the brotherly people and government of the Republic of Azerbaijan greater prosperity and progress.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration," the message reads.

Vladimir Vasilyev, Acting Head of the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation also sent a congratulatory letter to President Aliyev.

The message reads:

"I congratulate you and the friendly people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the State Independence Day. This holiday embodies solidarity, peace and stability in the society, the Azerbaijani people`s loyalty to their traditions of historical unity and determination to revive and strengthen their state.

The Independent Republic of Azerbaijan has made great strides in economic and social fields, improvement of citizens` welfare and become a factor of stability and peace in the Caucasus region in a short period of time. Of course, it is Your Excellency`s well-balanced foreign and domestic policy that lies behind these positive results.

I wish you and all the people of Azerbaijan success in your endeavors, as well as peace, prosperity and welfare."
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:

Polish President Andrzej Duda may pay an official visit to Azerbaijan next year, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.

Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, said that few agreements are under consideration now.

"We plan to prepare it for signing during the possible official visit of President Andrzej Duda to Azerbaijan next year," the FM said.

The minister stressed that in Baku the sides will discuss future endeavours in bilateral relations, as well as Azerbaijan relations with the EU and cooperation in the framework of Eastern Partnership.

"My visit is taking place shortly before the approaching Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels , which is an extra important factor for our political talks," the minister said.

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative involving the EU, its member states and 6 eastern European partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The 5th Eastern Partnership summit will take place in Brussels on 24 November. Heads of state or government from the EU member states and the six Eastern partner countries will look forward to future cooperation.

Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani Oct. 18.

The secretary general conveyed greetings of heads of the Cooperation Councils member states to the Azerbaijani president.

We highly appreciate the level of existing ties and are interested in their further strengthening. We are grateful for your leadership in developing these relations, said Al Zayani.

Noting with satisfaction that the delegation will participate in the business forum Azerbaijan-Gulf Cooperation Council, the head of the Council stressed the importance of this event for the expansion of economic ties between the member states of the organization and Azerbaijan.

He added that the strengthening of cooperation with Azerbaijan is important in terms of ensuring security, stability and economic development in the region.

The secretary general also said that the growing number of tourists coming from the Gulf countries to Azerbaijan, which is a beautiful country, is satisfying.

President Aliyev noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are developing successfully and there are strong political ties with them.

The president also noted the importance of high-level visits in terms of expanding ties.

The head of state said that big work is being conducted in Azerbaijan for development of tourism, and noted with pleasure the steady growth in the number of tourists arriving in the country from abroad, including from the Gulf states.

President Aliyev said that high hospitality is provided to tourists in Azerbaijan, and stressed that this contributes to the expansion of relations between countries and peoples.

The head of state noted that there are good opportunities for economic cooperation, and there is favorable environment for investments in Azerbaijan, including good opportunities for investing of countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Noting with satisfaction the growing competitiveness of the Azerbaijani economy, President Aliyev stressed that this year, according to the rating of the Davos World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan has moved up two spots from 37th to rank 35th among the worlds states for the competitiveness of its economy.

The head of state noted that Azerbaijan contributes to the Islamic solidarity. The country recently hosted the Islamic Solidarity Games, and stressed the importance of these Games in terms of strengthening the relations between Islamic states.

The expediency of expanding the air communication between Azerbaijan and the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was noted during the meeting.

President Aliyev expressed gratitude for the greetings of the heads of the Gulf Cooperation Councils member countries, and asked to convey his greetings to the leaders of the Councils member countries.

At the end of the meeting, a memorable gift was presented to President Ilham Aliyev.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

The European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan held their sixth Subcommittee meeting on Justice, Freedom, Security (JFS) and Human Rights and Democracy in Brussels Oct. 16-17.

The Azerbaijani delegation was headed by Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the EU delegation was headed by Dirk Schuebel, Head of the European External Action Service Eastern Partnership Bilateral Division.

The meeting was held in an open and constructive atmosphere and was used to take stock of the situation in the country since the last Subcommittee meeting in October 2016, to assess progress made in all relevant areas and to explore ways to deepen EU-Azerbaijan cooperation, including in the context of the on-going negotiations on a new legally binding agreement, reads a message on the EU website.

The two sides exchanged views on JFS issues such as migration and mobility, covering among others migration, border and asylum management, as well as the implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements and of the Mobility Partnership; organized crime, including the prevention of and fight against trafficking in human beings, corruption, money laundering, terrorism and drugs; and the strengthening of the rule of law, justice system reform as well as the protection of personal data.

The second day allowed for a frank and open discussion on democracy and the human rights situation in Azerbaijan as well as in the European Union. Issues related to elections and electoral framework, freedom of religion and belief as well as social and cultural rights were discussed.

"The EU and Azerbaijan also tackled human rights cooperation within international organisations, in particular at the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The EU side valued Azerbaijan's membership to these organizations and emphasized the importance of abiding by the international commitments that the parties have taken as members of these organizations," the message reads.

In preparation for the Subcommittee meeting, the EU met with representatives of civil society as well as with other international partners.

The EU remains engaged in dialogue with Azerbaijan as regards these and other key human rights and democracy issues, according to the message.

EU relations with Azerbaijan date back to 1991 and are based on the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

In late 2016, the EU Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.

The new agreement should replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The new agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European neighbourhood policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

More than 10 documents between Azerbaijan and Poland are under consideration, Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski in Baku.

The two countries have signed 41 documents so far, he said.

Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan-Poland relations are based on deep and longstanding ties, adding the two countries closely cooperate within international organizations such as NATO and OSCE.

The Azerbaijani FM pointed out that during the meeting with Waszczykowski, he thanked the Polish side for the support to Azerbaijan's position in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Poland has always taken a clear position in this issue, Mammadyarov added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Representatives of the European Commission will arrive in Baku in late October to discuss the second chapter of the new agreement on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku Oct. 18.

Mammadyarov made the remarks at a press conference with his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani side is ready to discuss relations with the EU in all spheres, and in this regard, the new agreement is of strategic importance to Azerbaijan, noted the minister.

In late 2016, the EU Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.

The new agreement should replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The new agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European neighborhood policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.
Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 10:58)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Witold Waszczykowski Oct 18.

President Aliyev recalled his this years visit to Poland, emphasizing that the visit was successful and yielded good results.

The head of state noted the importance of expanding cooperation between the two countries in political, economic, trade, investment, energy and transport sectors, as well as the achievements made in these areas, adding that Azerbaijan is actively working in this regard.

President Aliyev emphasized significance of showing the same attitude towards the member states of the Eastern Partnership Program.

Waszczykowski, in turn, extended President of Poland Andrzej Dudas greetings to President Ilham Aliyev.

The FM recalled President Ilham Aliyevs visit to Poland, saying the visit is of crucial importance in terms of strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Polish FM underlined his country's keenness to enhance and develop relationship with Azerbaijan. Pointing out the cooperation within the Eastern Partnership Program, FM Waszczykowski noted that this aspect is of particular importance in the EU's foreign policy. He underlined the EU's interest in expanding bilateral ties.

They exchanged views on the current state of the negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, underlining the Armenian side's willingness to delay the talks.

Azerbaijan's significant role in creation of the Southern Gas Corridor and transport corridors, as well as in ensuring Europe's energy security was emphasized.

The head of state thanked for the greetings of President Duda and asked the FM to extend his greetings to the Polish president.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Alan Hope - Trend:

In the midst of the Cold War, Soviet Union, attempting to shift towards the policy of detente by seeking the reduction of tensions between the Communist bloc and the West, as well as for the purpose of consolidation of its territorial gains in Eastern Europe, had initiated the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which ultimately resulted in signing of the multifaceted Helsinki Final Act and the creation of world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization, currently known as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

While the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, had originally thought of the non-binding [since it wasnt a treaty] Helsinki Declaration as an instrument of the final settlement of the post Second World War USSR boundaries and of bolstering his own political image, the consequent outcomes have shown that then considered to be far-fetched Act, by turning into a virtual political landmine still has even further-reaching effects.

As such, the Acts conflicting principles of the Territorial Integrity and Self-determination, had turned into the corner stones of the future turmoil and ongoing conflicts. These principles had been played upon as wildcards in the years of the Soviet collapse (Transnistria, Karabakh, etc), later on reengaged during the dissolution of Yugoslavia, then resurrected not once in Ukraine and finally attested to in Spain.

Meanwhile, the Acts Civil Rights portion was initially intended for the provision of the basis for an independent non-governmental monitoring of the compliance to the Helsinki Accords. Notwithstanding the fact that this particular provision should have been and still needs to be applied to all signatories, the focus of attention on its application is constantly being shifted into a direction chosen by the Special Interest Groups (SIG).

Contemporaneously, some controversial politicians, parroting for their affiliate SIG and basing their modus operandi on the malign prejudice of Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi (What is permissible for Jupiter is not for the cattle) had gradually transformed the Helsinki Act into a blatant tool of a political inquisition.

The case in point for the latter argument will be undoubtedly witnessed once again on Oct 18, as the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, aka US Helsinki Commission), charged to monitor the compliance with the Helsinki Accords and advance comprehensive security, will hold its briefing on the as much significant as controversial topic of Averting all-out war in Nagorno-Karabakh: the role of the US and OSCE.

US Helsinki Commission

The Commission had officially announced that the said above briefing will be dedicated to the discussion of the worst outbreak of violence in more than two decades  the so-called Four Day War in April 2016, which has served as a proof that the persisting state of no-war/no-peace has shown that the Nagorno-Karabakh is not a frozen conflict at all, as numerous ceasefire violations seen in the Line of Contact separating the parties risk igniting a larger-scale conflict that could draw in major regional players, such as Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Notwithstanding the US Helsinki Commission members good intensions, their record has shown that the planned event, to be handled in the notorious House Un-American Activities Committees manner, will in all probability serve to satisfy the needs of their affiliate SIG, rather than to assist in the conflict resolution.

First thing that should be noted about the US Helsinki Commission is that unlike its other Helsinki siblings [i.e. Moscow Helsinki Group] it is not as independent as its claimed to be. The Commission is comprised of the US legislative and executive branch members, thus making it the Federal Governments de-facto not-so-independent agency.

Out of 21 seats on the Commission nine are held by the US senators, the other nine by the members of the US House of Representatives, and three seats that should have been filed by the appointees from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce are still vacant for the past four years.

The 18 seats held by the US lawmakers are evenly divided within the party lines, thus by virtue of a bipartisan appearance the Commission presents itself as a democratic institution operating without any preconceptions. The reality of the fact is that most of the commissioners although claim to be on the opposite sides of the political aisle, share commonality in the SIG affiliation and as a result on the approach to their agenda.

Quick overview of the legislature put on the floor of the 115th US Congress (2017-2018) would suffice to prove the latest statement. As such, Senate Resolution 136 (A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 102-nd anniversary of the [so-called] Armenian Genocide) championed by Sen. Robert Menendez, [D-NJ], on Apr 24, 2017, was cosponsored by four US Helsinki Commission members (Senators Tom Udall, [D-NM], Marco Rubio, [R-FL], Cory Gardner, [R-CO] and Sheldon Whitehouse, [D-RI]). Consequent S.Con.Res.13 (A concurrent resolution calling upon the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the abiding importance of the Helsinki Final Act and its relevance to the national security of the United States) put on the Senate floor by the Chairman of the CSCE Sen. Roger F. Wicker, [R-MS], on Apr 26, 2017, was coauthored and cosponsored by the remaining eight commissioners, Senators Benjamin L. Cardin, [D-MD], Tom Udall, [D-NM], Marco Rubio, [R-FL], Cory Gardner [R-CO], Sheldon Whitehouse, [D-RI], Thom Tillis [R-NC], John Boozman, [R-AR] and Jeanne Shaheen, [D-NH].

Consequently US House of Representatives had bared its own witness to the so-called bipartisanism. As such, House Resolution 220 (Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding past genocides, and for other purposes) championed by the Representative David A. Trott, [R-MI-11], on Mar 22, 2017, was cosponsored by the US Helsinki Commission Cochairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith, [R-NJ-4], as well as the Commission members Rep. Steve Cohen, [D-TN-9] and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, [D-TX-18].

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Smith

It should be noted that the distinguished gentleman from the great state of New Jersey representing its 4th Congressional District, Cochairman of the US Helsinki Commission, Mr. Christopher H. Smith is a poster child of a politician serving not on behalf of his constituents, but clearly on orders from the affiliate SIG.

Firstly, it should be duly noted that Rep. Smith, who is currently serving an astonishing 18th term in office, has been praised for his work against the international child sex trafficking. That however, does not change the fact that Mr. Smith, comparing the abortion to the Holocaust and referring to it as a child slaughter, is one of the worst anti-abortion zealots in the US Government. Not surprisingly, whenever a controversial pro-life bill hits the House floor, Rep. Smith gets actively involved in the issue and even attempts to redefine the definition of rape by classifying it as forcible or not.

As extreme as he is on the issue of abortion, hes also rather appalling on the issue of LGBT rights, not just being opposed to gay marriage, but trying to argue that homosexual rights are not human rights. Smiths demand of non-recognition by the United Nations of the consultative status for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is very contradictory to his primary tasks of monitoring other countries compliance with the Helsinki Accords, as well as protecting and advancing human rights.

On top of the abovementioned Congressman Smith has been linked to the religious rights dominionist groups who believe that Christians are destined to take over the 7 Mountains of American life, the so-called seven specific facets of modern life in order to wrest control away from Satan and his demonic spirits so that Christians can put them to use in bringing about Gods kingdom on Earth. As a dedicated Crusader of the Christian Cause, Smith has been even nominated to be a recipient of the In Defense of Christians (IDS) organizations 2017 Cedars of God award, to be presented to him at the IDC summit in Washington on Oct 24-26, 2017.

Its crucial to mention that the expected IDC summit is being financed and organized not only by the well-known religious institutions, such as the Philos Project, the Religious Freedom Institute and the Institute on Religion & Democracy, but also by the diasporic SIG called the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The fact that Rep. Smith will be honored in-part by the Armenian community is not coincidental as he has had a long-lasting relationship with the Armenian diaspora of America.

Democrat turned Republican after the loss of the 1978 elections, Chris Smith has won in the 1980 elections due his opponent, Frank Thompsons indictment and incarceration resulted by the Abscam probe. Followed by the 1982 close-call against Joe Merlino, Smith has won every consequent election ever since with at least 60% of the vote. Though constantly criticized for being inaccessible, as rarely seen in his own home district, Rep. Smith has managed to secure his cozy Congressional seat for the past three and a half decades. Notwithstanding the fact that he had barely campaigned in the elections period, Smiths success was generally attributed to his conning utilization of the bipartisan redistricting procedures.

Nonetheless, there was another integer in Mr. Smiths formula for his sustainable tenure in the House. That integer is comprised of the so-called raised and yet not fully spent considerable election contributions, accumulated on top of the finances spent on his campaign by the shady political organizations like Friends of Chris Smith. According to the OpenSercrets.org data, besides the funds raised by the affiliated interest groups, Chris Smith had raised almost $7,6M, within the elections cycle spanning the 1989-2017 period, while supposedly spending $7,3M on the election campaigns, which left more than $350K still unaccounted for and described as cash on hand.

The same data unveils some interesting facts about the source of the funds raised by Mr. Smith. Individual contributions in the period mentioned have added up to almost $4.9M, while another $2.6M came from the Political Action Committees (PAC). Consequently top contributors to Smiths campaigns were the Plumbers/Pipefitters, Teamsters, Carpenters & Joiners Unions and the National Association of Realtors, while Building Trade Unions attained the top industry contributor position. Taking a closer look one would identify another SIG in the financial support of Rep. Smith, the lesser known Armenian Assembly of America (AAA).

The Assembly, designed as an elite organization for mobilization of the Armenian-American community and its financial resources for national policy objectives with a top-down perspective, has such a close relation with Yerevan that it boasts an office on the first floor of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

One of the top financial backers of the AAA is the US sixth largest Real Estate Company called Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., the headquarters of which is not so oddly located in the town of Red Bank, NJ, right in the center of the states 4th Congressional District. The same US real estate company, with the direct ties to the Armenian Government, besides funding Smiths campaigns, had generously provided him with offices in Freehold, Plumsted and Hamilton, NJ, in addition to a condominium in the latter town.

It should be noted that foreign policy doesnt present much of importance to most Congressmen, thus there is often little competition among the legislators for a seats on the foreign affairs committee. Its not unusual that investing ones time in foreign policy brings back home a bad return, because the constituents are more likely to be concerned with the domestic rather than foreign issues. On the other hand, politicians like Rep. Smith, driven by the communities with a politically active diaspora, by their steadfast involvement in the foreign affairs gain the opportunity of a comfortable lifestyle and sustainable office seat at the expense of the neglected 4th Districts other constituents.

Furthermore, the matters of national security derived from the conflicting national and diasporic interests are being constantly disparaged by the distinguished gentleman from NJ. The Armenian-American community mobilizes its ranks in line with the statement published in the 1998 Armenian International Magazine, that the Armenian diaspora has a unique opportunity to exercise dual allegiance to the host country and to Armenia.

In line with the abovementioned, Mr. Smith, steering the US foreign policy towards the home country of Armenia, often forgets the potential threats to the national security, as the US long-term national interests constantly come at odds with the political interests of the Armenian diaspora.

The legislative work done by Rep. Smith throughout his political career has served as concrete evidence to the abovementioned premise. As such, his latest resolution H.Res.537 (Promoting United States national security and foreign policy objectives through consolidation and strengthening of the rule of law and respect for human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan) introduced on Sept 26, 2017, atop of his previously introduced on Dec 16, 2015, H.R.4264 Bill (Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015) had clearly shown which master does Mr. Smith serves to.

Thus, we have an anti-abortion zealot full of the homophobe bigotry with the dash of an ultra-radical Christian vision charged with the task of monitoring human rights violations in other countries while ignoring his primary duties before his own constituency.

Taking into consideration that the top-notch member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, Rep. Smith, will be working in tandem with another Armenian Caucus member, also holding a seat on the Commission, David A. Trott, its safe to assume that on Oct 18 the US Helsinki Commission, instead of becoming a base of assistance for the conflict resolution, will once again become a stage of yet another Armenian initiated witch-hunt.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

The Baku-based Nizami Cinema Center hosted a presentation of the documentary "Light behind window" Oct. 17.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, author and executive producer of the film Leyla Aliyeva attended the event.

Shootings of the documentary were carried out with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Baku Media Center.

Prior to the screening of the film, Leyla Aliyeva, the film's screenwriter and director Oleg Schommer, and one of the heroes of the documentary ,Vusala Karimova, went on stage.

Schommer highlighted the plot of the documentary. He thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Baku Media Center for their contribution to the film.

Leyla Aliyeva , addressing the event, hailed the importance of the film.

"I do not want to say that this movie is about good and evil, the movie is about good because the greatest power in the world is love, good and trust," she said.

Leyla Aliyeva thanked those who contributed to the film and invited everyone to watch it.

Residents of Baku's and Moscow's orphanages also attended the presentation.

As part of the Child Diplomacy program implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva met with the children of Moscow-hosted center for promotion of family education "Nash dom" and the orphanages of Baku.

She had a sincere talk with them and wished them success.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan started negotiations with Russian partners on the organization of cruises on the Caspian Sea, said Azerbaijans Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nazim Samadov.

He made the remarks Oct. 18 in Baku at a meeting with members of the Caspian-European Integration Business Club.

Samadov noted that the biggest problem in this issue is the unavailability of cruise liners.

Currently, Russia is building two liners. Despite the fact that other Caspian states also wish to join this project later, Azerbaijan and Russia have already reached a verbal agreement on the organization of such cruises, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) hold a meeting dedicated to the Day of National Independence of Azerbaijan, which is celebrated on October 18. The meeting gathered BHOS management, teachers, staff members and students.

Opening the gathering, Rector of the Higher School Elmar Gasimov said that October 18 is one of the most remarkable dates in the history of modern Azerbaijan. He dwelled on the significance of this holiday, which symbolizes successful struggle of Azerbaijani people for freedom of their motherland. Only after 70 years after a short period of the state independence, which was gained in 1918, the republic managed to restore its status as an independent state, said Elmar Gasimov. He reminded that on August 20, 1991, Azerbaijan made clear its intention to become an independent nation once again when the Declaration on the State Independence of Azerbaijan was adopted by the Parliament. On October 18, 1991, the constitutional act "On the State Independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan" was approved and adopted by the Supreme Council of the country. Speaking about achievements attained by the republic in political, social and economic spheres as well as in international affairs, Elmar Gasimov emphasized that they are results of the wise state policy and strategy developed by the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.

Associate professor of BHOS English Language and Humanitarian Disciplines Centre Alamdar Shahverdiyev made a detailed report about milestones in the historical development of Azerbaijan as an independent state. At the meeting, the Higher School students made presentations dedicated to the Day of National Independence.

In conclusion, Rector Elmar Gasimov once again extended his congratulations to the meeting participants and all Azerbaijani people on 26th anniversary of the state independence of the republic and expressed his confidence that Azerbaijani people would successfully move alone the chosen way.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

Trend:

A military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of creation of Azerbaijans first national military unit was held in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic on October 18  the Day of Independence of Azerbaijan.

The event was attended by Chairman of Nakhchivans Supreme Assembly Vasif Talibov and Azerbaijans Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, said the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry in a message.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

In January-September 2017, 3.5 million people accounted for domestic and foreign tourists in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nazim Samadov said.

Samadov made the remarks at a meeting with members of the Caspian-European Integration Business Club in Baku Oct. 18.

He added that 2,271 million foreigners, mainly from Russia, Iran and Arab countries, have visited Azerbaijan this year.

The Azerbaijani deputy minister stressed a 20-percent-growth in the tourism sector.

As many as 860,000 people rested in Azerbaijani districts in June and August, he said. Foreign citizens spent 1.3 billion manats in Azerbaijan since early 2017. The number of tour companies in Azerbaijan has reached a fantastic level, that is, 1,441 tourism companies were registered in the country.

Samadov also called for tourists to sign treaties with travel companies when purchasing tour packages.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Azerbaijan and Australia must bring the trade relations up to the level of current political relations between the countries, Rufat Mammadov, president of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), said.

Mammadov made the remarks at the Azerbaijan-Australia business forum in Baku Oct. 18.

During cooperation both countries were able to establish good political ties, however, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Australia does not correspond to this level, he said.

"Azerbaijan has many ideas and projects which our Australian colleagues may be interested in," he added.

Mammadov added that today the Australian companies work mainly in the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector, however Azerbaijan can offer many other projects in the non-oil sector of the economy.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Australia amounted to $3.7 million in January-August 2017, $3.3 million of which accounted for imports of Australian products.

The first Azerbaijan-Australia business forum is being held in Baku Oct. 18. A delegation consisting of representatives of 30 companies operating in various sectors of the economy, including tourism, finance, real estate and others, arrived in Azerbaijan to participate in the forum.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Australia can supply food products to Azerbaijan, including seafood, grapes and processed products, John Hammond, president of the Azerbaijan-Australia Friendship Society and director of the Hammond Legal Ltd, told reporters in Baku Oct. 18.

According to him, Australian companies are also interested in cooperation in spheres of agriculture and natural resources.

Meanwhile, Hammond invited Azerbaijani companies to invest in Australia. He added that Australia is a very stable country in terms of investing.

President of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Rufat Mammadov, for his part, said that agriculture, logistics, transport, oil and gas sector, tourism, services sector can become main spheres of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Australia.

Azerbaijans economy is interesting for the Australian side, both in terms of expanding investment and trade. The current volume of trade between the countries is very small. Last year, it was about $8 million, and totaled almost $4 million in eight months of this year, noted Mammadov.

The first Azerbaijan-Australia business forum was held in Baku Oct. 18. A delegation consisting of representatives of 30 companies operating in various sectors of the economy, including tourism, finance, real estate and others, arrived in Azerbaijan to participate in the forum.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with Australia amounted to $3.7 million in January-August 2017, and $3.3 million out of this amount accounted for import of Australian products.
Key issues and problems of the tourism sector were discussed today (October 18) in Baku at the special session of the Caspian Energy Tourism Forum, organized by the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club and attended by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan Nazim Samadov.

Addressing the business forum, Nazim Samadov told the attendees about the measures currently implemented to boost a further development of the tourism sector of the country, spoke about plans and prospects.

Nazim Samadov thanked the management team of the Club for providing the platform for an effective dialogue between the state and entrepreneurs. He stressed the ministry is always open for discussions with entrepreneurs and public organizations representing them.

Nazim Samadov noted that the post-oil era in our country has been experiencing revival in many sectors of the non-oil sector in recent years, including tourism. Of course, it is the result of the governments target-oriented that has been carried out for many years to develop the non-oil sector, he said.

Speaking about statistic data, Nazim Samadov informed that the inflow of tourists into our country was fixed over the last two years. According to him, the number of foreign tourists who visited Azerbaijan in 2015 increased by 11.7% in 2016 and reached 2,248,800 people.

Compared to the same period of the last year, the number of foreign citizens, who arrived in Azerbaijan within the first 9 months of 2017, increased by 20.9% - up to 2,071,918 people. The highest increase was in the number of tourists from Russia, Iran, UAE and Iraq, Deputy Minister noted.

Nazim Samadov also stressed the importance of conduction of Baku Shopping Festival, noting that the overall budget spent on the conduction of the festival did not exceed 1mln AZN, while the sum allocated by the state budget totaled 5.6mln AZN.

At the end of the event Nazim Samadov spoke about the plan to create a national tourism quality system in oder to raise the satisfaction level of tourists. This is system will be based on the Strategic Road Map for the development of the specialized tourism industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan. In this regard, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism continies working over the national tourism quality system, he said.

The meeting attendees specified the areas for expanding cooperation with the private sector and discussed issues of interest to the member companies of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club.

First Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club Telman Aliyev thanked the Ministry of Tourism for the constructive dialogue, as well as for the prompt reaction and active participation in addressing the problems of businessmen and member companies of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club.

Telman Aliyev recalled that the Club was established in June 2002 with the support of the largest oil and gas companies operating in the Caspian-Black Sea region. Telman Aliyev noted that the initiative of creation of the Caspian American Club also belongs to the Head of State of Azerbaijan.

Caspian European Club is actively engaged in economic reforms introduced in Azerbaijan, in attraction of foreign investments, development of small and medium business. Besides, the Club plays an important role in establishment of international economic relations between the countries of the Caspian-Black Sea and Baltic regions, Telman Aliyev said.

He also added that by the end of the year Caspian European Club will hold a number of similar activities also in other sectors of economy.

Telman Aliyev noted that Caspian Energy Georgia has been representing the interests of the Caspian European Club, Caspian American Club and Caspian Energy International Media Group in Georgia since September. Due to the resuming of the work of Caspian Energy Georgia, the 5th International Caspian Energy Forum will be held in March 2018 with the support of the government of Georgia, Azerbaijan Republic, and the Caspian European Club. Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili is expected to participate in the opening of the Forum, Telman Aliyev concluded.

During the business forum Nazim Samedov was awarded the Honorary Membership Certificate of the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club.

About 200 businessmen from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Iran, EU as well as representatives of international organizations and heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan took part in the Caspian Energy Tourism Forum.

The 7th CEO Lunch Baku took place in the second half of the day. Telman Aliyev noted that Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club hold CEO Lunch with the participation of top-managers of CEIBC companies every third Wednesday of the month in Baku.

Telman Aliyev announced that the next CEO Lunch Baku would take place on November 15, 2017 within the framework of the Caspian Energy Finance Forum. Besides, he also reminded that the second CEO Lunch in Tbilisi will take place on October 27 of this year and will be held every last Friday of the month.

Problems facing entrepreneurs were discussed in an informal environment. Issues concerning business doing in different regions of the country, as well as proposals on expansion of cooperation in different sectors of economy were touched.

Also, in the second half of the same day the representative of Barattson School of Business & Finance, Orkhan Isayev held the workshop entitled Changes in the Tax Code for the member companies of the Club.

Certificates were given to companies which joined and extended their membership in the Caspian European Club and Caspian American Club.

Caspian Energy, Caspian Energy Forum, Caspian Energy Award, Caspian Energy Club, Caspian European Club, Caspian Business Club, Caspian American Club, Caspian American Forum, CEO, CEO Lunch, Brand Award, and many others are the registered trademarks and belong to the Caspian Energy International Media Group.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan intend to increase the frequency of direct flights with further expansion of the geography of cooperation.

The details of this were discussed at a meeting between the representatives of Uzbekistan Airways and Air Astana in Uzbekistan, the press service of Uzbekistan Airways said in a message.

The parties discussed the importance of development of passenger transportation between the two countries in order to increase the tourist flow. The companies also concluded an agreement on increasing frequency of flights from Tashkent to Almaty, Astana and back.

The sides agreed to open new flight directions from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan's Urgench, Bukhara and Samarkand cities and to repair the Kazakh aircraft at the Uzbekistan Airways Technics.

The companies signed a negotiations protocol during the meeting.

Currently, Uzbekistan Airways and Air Astana perform regular flights between Tashkent and Almaty (six times a week) and between Tashkent and Astana (twice a week).
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages Azerbaijani gas supply to Europe, will turn Italy into a gas hub for Europe, Vitaliy Baylarbayov, deputy vice-president for investment and marketing at Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR, said in an interview with the Italian news agency AGI.

This is the future, according to him.

Baylarbayov ensured that the project is set to have a major, positive impact on the Italian economy, mentioning the existing contracts with companies across Italy worth almost $7 billion.

Speaking of the environmental impact of the pipelines construction, Baylarbayov noted that TAP consortium has implemented improvements further to preserve the environment, both on land and at sea.

Among these, he underlined the adoption of specific construction methods to ensure the complete waterproofness of the pipeline in the area of the micro tunnel, the modification of the temporary access road to the site area and the use of trenchless technologies to bypass protected habitats along the ground-level section of the pipeline.

Besides, there will be no impact on San Foca beach both during the construction process and during the pipeline's operation, he added.

We will be a major partner for the development of the region [Apulia], contributing towards its prosperity, to the creation of more employment, and making it a strategic area for Italy and for Europe, Baylarbayov said.

Construction of the pipeline is going ahead and all the authorizations received from the Italian authorities and the recent decision by the Italian Constitutional Court will allow TAP project to move ahead quickly from the current 57 percent accomplishment and reach 100 percent, expected for 2020, he confirms, reminding that the other projects which make up the Southern Gas Corridor - the extension of the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline across Turkey - will become operational and begin to carry gas from Azerbaijan as early as 2018.

Baylarbayov noted that in phase one, TAP will deliver 8 billion cubic meters of gas to Italy, totaling approximately 12 percent of current Italian consumption.

We therefore already need to plan phase two, which will make it possible to double supplies to Italy and to other countries, creating a positive impact on the price dynamics and on the safety of energy procurement. This will turn Italy into a gas hub for Europe, like the existing hubs in the Netherlands and in Austria. Thus Italy will continue to be the leader across Europe in the transportation of natural gas, both for road vehicles and sea vessels, and it will become a crossroads for transport networks and LNG terminals.

TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 18

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend:

A Turkmen-Japanese workshop was held in Ashgabat to share experience in reducing the natural disaster risks, Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported.

The workshop has been organized within the joint project entitled "Improving the System of Seismological Observations in Ashgabat and around the city", in which the Institute of Seismology and Atmospheric Physics of the Turkmen Academy of Sciences and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are involved.

The purpose of the workshop is to review the world's leading developments and Japanese experience in disaster risk reduction and the tasks of the project.

JICA will provide Turkmenistan with modern seismological equipment. It is planned to install three digital seismic stations, ten sets of equipment for recording strong earthquake.

Turkmen experts are expected to undergo training in Japan to review modern technologies for seismic data processing.

Turkmenistan is located in a seismic zone. On October 6, 1948, Ashgabat experienced a 10-magnitude earthquake, which led to human casualties.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 18

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov sent a congratulatory letter to president-elect of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov, reads a message from the Turkmen government.

In his letter, Berdimuhamedov expressed confidence that the high level of cooperation and understanding that exists between the fraternal countries will provide a solid basis for further development and strengthening of Turkmen-Kyrgyz relations.

The two countries are involved in a big project for the delivery of Central Asian gas, primarily from Turkmenistan, to China.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been purchasing natural fuel in this region since 2009, after the first two branches (A and B) of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were launched. The third branch (C), also running along this route, has been commissioned recently.

Currently, work is underway to build the additional fourth branch (D)  on a new transit route  through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 18

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistans Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov met with Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin in Ashgabat, said the Turkmen Foreign Ministry in a message Oct. 18.

During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of mutual interest in political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

The parties stressed the role of high-level visits, which are a solid foundation for the comprehensive and consistent development of bilateral relations, says the message.

The high level of political and diplomatic cooperation was noted and a commitment was expressed to further building relations within international organizations.

The two sides also exchanged views on implementation of agreements reached at a high level. Following the talks between the presidents of Turkmenistan and Russia, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Vladimir Putin, a Treaty on Strategic Partnership was signed between the two states in Ashgabat on October 2, 2017.

A plan of measures and projects was also agreed for the implementation of the Program of Economic Cooperation between the two countries governments for the period until 2019.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 18

By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:

On Oct. 18-19, Ashgabat will host a meeting of Russias ambassadors in Central Asian states, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

The meeting will be chaired by Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, who is in Ashgabat on a working visit.

The meeting will be attended by Russian ambassadors to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as by heads of a number of departments of the Russian Foreign Ministrys central office.

The participants of the meeting will analyze current trends in developments in the region and adjacent areas and consider issues related to the implementation of Russias agreements with the Central Asian states, the message said.

The sides will pay special attention to the personnel and logistics support to the Russian foreign offices in Central Asian states.

These meetings are held from time to time. The previous one took place in Tashkent in December 2013.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 18

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Ashgabat hosted an international conference, titled Peace, stability and international cooperation in the Caspian region, on Oct. 18, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry in a message.

The conference was organized by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry together with the State Enterprise on Caspian Sea Issues under the President of Turkmenistan.

Authorized representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia attended the event.

Delegations outlined the positions of their states on the issues facing the Caspian states, related to their economic and environmental activities, possible ways of solving these problems, the establishment of scientific marine centers and the development of a national marine strategy, says the message.

Turkmenistans commitment to the development of constructive interaction between the Caspian states was noted during the conference. In June 2017, a meeting of the special working group on the development of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian states was held.

The latest meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group for the development of a Convention on the Caspian Seas legal status was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Ashgabat on June 1-2.

During the meeting, delegations discussed the remaining provisions of the draft Convention that had not been agreed upon. As a result of the negotiations, a number of provisions of the draft Convention were agreed upon. The delegations positively assessed the outcome of the talks.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to the agreement in May 2002.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.

The Caspian littoral states  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran  signed the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November of 2003.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Oct. 18

By Diana Aliyeva  Trend:

The US State Department hosted a ceremony of presenting copies of credentials of newly appointed Uzbek Ambassador Javlon Vakhabov.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a message Oct. 18 that the copies of Uzbek envoys credentials were presented to Deputy Chief of Protocol Katherine C. Henderson.

The ceremony was also attended by heads of departments of the State Department that supervise the relations of the US with Uzbekistan and with the region as a whole.

The US diplomats welcomed the appointment the new Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the US, and expressed hope for more active development of bilateral relations in the future.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Oct. 18

By Diana Aliyeva  Trend:

The number of official and business contacts between representatives of Uzbekistan and the US may be increased.

Such an agreement was reached at a meeting between the Uzbek delegation and Elizabeth Erin Walsh, assistant secretary of commerce for global markets and director general of the US and Foreign Commercial Service.

Through this, the sides plan to further expand bilateral investments and trade relations.

At the meeting, the sides mulled practical steps to implement the agreements reached during the US-Uzbekistan business forum held in September while Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited New York.

The sides pointed to the mutual interest in attracting US companies to implementation of large-scale programs for developing and modernizing industrial sectors in Uzbekistan.
Tehran, Iran, Oct. 16

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

ITF Group, an Iranian company, will hold an exhibition on Halal products in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2018, ITF Group CEO Hossein Mortaja told Trend Oct. 16.

He said that along with the Islamic food show, the group is staging TURKMEN CASPINDEXPO on industry and motors.

Companies from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Kazakhstan are going to attend the expo, Mortaja noted.

The industry expo will include shows in the areas of oil, gas, petrochemicals, construction, energy, water, heavy industries, etc., he said.

Turkmenistan specializes in cotton growing and in the extraction of oil and natural gas.

Turkmenistans oil is of a very high grade, both as a fuel and as a raw material for chemical production. Extensive reserves of oil and natural gas as well as rich deposits of mineral stones are located in the western plains and underwater along the Caspian Sea.

The country requires extending rail lines to serve its scattered population efficiently.

Recent data revealed that growth is holding up in the face of low natural gas prices.

The economic growth has been broadly stable in the first half of 2017 at 6.5 percent, up from 6.1 percent in the same period last year. On the supply side, expansion came mainly from outside the hydrocarbon sector, with services rising by 9 percent on gains of 10.9 percent in transport, 9.4 percent in trade, 4.1 percent in construction services, and 10.3 percent in other services.
Tehran, Iran, Oct. 18

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

It seems it was not enough that the feasibility of Iran producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe had been diminished by technological factors and market situations, US President Donald Trumps newly adopted Iran strategy shows to be able to further taper chances of a gas business between Iran and European countries, an energy and political risk expert says.

With 33.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, Iran has the largest conventional gas reserves in the world.

Along with its vast oil reserves, it also has sizable, non-associated conventional gas resources that are being developed aggressively. Officials recently said that gas exports grew by 64 percent during the period of March 21 to Aug. 22, 2017, compared to the same period in 2016.

Since the easing of international sanctions by the Obama administration, the energy markets have been anticipating an entry of Iranian resources, likely LNG, to the markets, which would have been particularly significant for Europe, Dr Agnia Grigas, an Oxford graduate, told Trend October 18.

Iran is richly endowed with natural resources, particularly natural gas, she noted, adding however, that the Trump administrations new strategy dims the prospect of any Iranian gas export to Europe.

Following the US shale revolution and with American LNG exports, Iranian gas exports had already become less strategically significant, much to the relief of the American gas sector.

Nevertheless, global LNG prices have declined by 45 percent since the beginning of 2017, compared to average prices in 2016. The decrease is due to an abundance of LNG in the global market, as well as to the link between natural gas and oil prices, which are also weak.

Back in May, Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Commerce Amir Hossein Zamaninia told Trend that the EUs gas market is oversupplied and exporting Iranian gas to that market would not be profitable.

Zamaninia noted that it would rather be in Irans interest if nearby markets were sought. In such circumstances, Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom is strengthening its presence in the gas market of the Middle East through a planned construction of an 11-12 mtpy LNG plant in Iran. The plant will source gas from the South Pars gas field, Irans largest.

In line with that, Iran is going this week to sign a contract with the Norwegian oil and gas company Hemla Vantage to build Irans first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit in the Persian Gulf.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Austria has signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to build four solar power plants in the country.

The MoU, worth 100 million euros was signed between Austrian Solar & Benefit and Fars Province Investment Service Center, Babak Daei, director general of the Economic Affairs and Finance Bureau of Fars province said.

Two 10 MW as well as two 25 MW power plants will be constructed in Izadkhvast city, located in southern province of Fars, the public relation office of the provincial bureau announced.

Within the next six months, the provincial authorities will allocate proper location for the project, he said, adding that the project will be completed in seven months.

Last year, Iran and South Korea signed an agreement, worth $820 million on establishing a solar power plant in Shiraz, provincial capital of Fars, and also a wind unit in Zabol, southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province.

Irans total installed capacity of renewable energy production in both public and private sectors is 322 MW.

Earlier in February 2017, the then Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian said that in the near future foreigners will invest $3 billion in Iran for building solar power plants.

Soon 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy power plants will be established across the country, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has departed for Turkey to attend the ninth Summit of the Developing 8 (D-8).

Jahangiri told reporters at Tehran airport that he will discuss the issues of bilateral cooperation with Turkey and also the latest developments in the Islamic world.

Speaking about mutual ties between Tehran and Ankara, he said that the two countries need to boost the trade turnover to $30 billion from the current $10 billion.

Jahangiri added that he will discuss plans for expansion of cooperation in the fields of industry, transportation, exports and banking ties in order to fulfill the goal to triple the trade.

The top official also noted that he will follow up on plans to carry out trade between the two countries through the national currencies.

The central banks of Iran and Turkey have recently agreed to use national currencies in bilateral trade.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:

Each time when presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia come together to search for ways to solve the lingering Nagorno-Karabakh problem, peoples of both countries pin hope for long anticipated peace. But, statements and steps taken by the Armenian authorities after each round of talks frustrate dreams of people for better future.

Rob Sobhani, director general of the Caspian Group Holdings, believes that the Armenian people are fully aware of the fact that this "frozen conflict" does not serve them well.

"The OSCE Minsk Group can become an advocate on behalf of the Armenian people to politicians in Moscow, Paris and Washington that if they apply fair and balanced pressure on the Armenian government, the people of Armenia would benefit," he said while commenting on the Geneva meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.

In Geneva, the presidents agreed to take measures to intensify the negotiation process over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and to take additional steps to reduce tensions on the line of contact between the two countries troops. But, right after this the Armenian president again resorted to provocation, aiming to derail the talks.

"The focus of the MG should be to show the Armenian side the positive, lasting and sustainable benefits of reaching peace with Azerbaijan. Specifically, the MG must hold a conference that highlights the economic advantages to the Armenian people of making peace and resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh problem," he told Trend, adding that a roadmap presented by the MG on post-conflict economic growth in the region would be very useful.

It is no secret that the Armenian economy is on verge of default. Most lucrative industries have long been taken over by foreign companies, and the rest was taken by Armenian oligarchs. The standard of living in Armenia is getting worse from year to year due to unwise policy of the countrys leadership.

By and large, the conflicts with neighbors, including occupation of Azerbaijani territories, territorial claims and claims of the so-called Armenian genocide keeps Armenia out of all regional projects, and nothing is expected in the long term.

Stressing that occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory does not serve the interest of Armenia, Sobhani said Azerbaijan's economic growth despite the occupation shows that the leadership of Azerbaijan is focused on making the lives of average Azerbaijanis better.

"By ending their occupation of Azerbaijan's territories, the Armenian people will benefit from trade with Azerbaijan. A plan by the MG that shows this path of post-conflict economic growth is very important," he concluded.

For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s.

Despite a fragile ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan by regular provocations on the contact line of troops.

Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD
Hawaii puts the brakes on the latest travel ban, Euronews reports.

US President Donald Trumps latest effort to restrict citizens of certain countries from entering the United States has been temporarily thwarted by the state of Hawaii, which argues the ban violates federal immigration law.

The executive order should have taken effect this week. Its the third version. This time, it targets nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as some Venezuelan government officials.

Hawaii is questioning the legality of forbidding entry to people from six of the countries, but has not disputed the addition of North Korea and Venezuela.

US District Judge Derrick Watson ruled that much of the nationwide executive order should be halted. The Honolulu Justice said Hawaii was likely to successfully prove that the latest travel restrictions violate federal immigration law.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The US delegation, which arrived in Turkey Oct. 17 to resolve the crisis in relations between Washington and Ankara, has put forward a number of conditions for it, the countrys media reported Oct. 18 with reference to a diplomatic source.

One of the conditions is to present evidence that the previously arrested employee of the US Consulate General in Istanbul had links with the movement of Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of being involved in the 2016 military coup attempt in Turkey.

Another condition is that Turkey must provide the US with full information about the progress of the investigation.

Previously, the US suspended issuance of visas to Turkish citizens due to the arrest of an employee of the US Consulate General in Istanbul. Turkey also suspended the issuance of visas to US citizens.

Turkish authorities, commenting on the arrest of the Consulate Generals employee, noted that he had links with the movement of Fethullah Gulen.

-----

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has called for the UN Security Council reform, the Turkish media reported Oct. 18.

He said that that the UN Security Council must meet the current requirements of the world community.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeatedly called for the UN Security Council reform.

Erdogan had said that Western countries do nothing to prevent or stop such tendencies as xenophobia, racism or the spread of hostility towards Islam.

"We want the UN Security Council to have a democratic, transparent and fair structure," Erdogan said.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
By Michael Miller, KYODO NEWS - Oct 18, 2017 - 12:02 | All, Feature, World

Gingerly stepping over melted bottles and charred debris that was once Paradise Ridge Winery's tasting room and event hall, owners Sonia Byck-Barwick and her brother Rene Byck searched for a samurai sword in the rubble left after one of the worst wildfires in California's history swept the area.

For the last 23 years, the building housed an exhibit on the life of Kanae Nagasawa (1852-1934), a Japanese samurai who later became a successful winemaker and was dubbed the "Wine King" of California. The exhibit had been visited by people from all over the world.

The fires destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses, including at least 13 wineries in Sonoma and Napa Counties. At least 41 people lost their lives in the flames and hundreds remain missing. Among the loss of life and property is also the loss of history.

Nagasawa left his homeland for Britain in 1865, at the end of Japan's feudal period, as part of a group of young men from Kagoshima in the country's southwest. The group was sent by the Satsuma clan to pursue a Western education at a time when contact with the outside world was forbidden.

He did not return to Japan with his other companions and eventually followed a religious leader, Thomas Lake Harris, to Santa Rosa and helped found a utopian community called Fountaingrove.

Nagasawa was tasked with cultivating grapes on the land, and he is credited with introducing California wines to Europe and Japan. By the turn of the century, he was known as the "Wine King of Fountaingrove."

He inherited the land after Harris passed away and lived there, where he also took over as leader of the religious cult until his own death in 1934.

"When my parents started the winery, his legacy wasn't recognized anywhere. The original exhibit went up within 6 months of opening the winery (in 1994). A group called Friends of Kagoshima got in touch with my parents, and they thought we were the closest thing to a memorial for Nagasawa. From then on, my parents knew that they wanted to keep the history alive," said Byck-Barwick, 49.

"The exhibit actually brought the Nagasawa family back to the area. They had been interned during the war and had lost everything. So this area was a place of sorrow for them, until my parents resurrected this winery."

She added that her family became close to the relatives of Nagasawa over the years. Her brother even accompanied Nagasawa's grand-niece Amy Mori to Japan for the opening of the Satsuma Students Museum in Kagoshima Prefecture. The museum commemorates the lives of 19 men, including Nagasawa, who were selected to study abroad by the Satsuma clan.

In 2016, Byck-Barwick updated the exhibit, placing artifacts that had been donated by relatives of Nagasawa into glass cases and using wood from the original Fountain Grove winery on the wall where the objects were displayed.

"The exhibit had explanations in both Japanese and English. We've been part of a lot of documentaries that have happened because of the connection that my parents created. We've had a lot of visitors from Japan," she said.

"The photos we can replace, but what we can't replace were things like his tuxedo for when he entertained people, and we also had a hakama (traditional Japanese trousers) of his. His family had also given us a sword of his -- it was a practice sword, not an elaborate sword."

Byck-Barwick said they also "had a glass set of condiment containers from his dining room table, some of the awards he had been given by different people, and a curtain from Fountaingrove, which was a beautiful piece of cloth that was over 100 years old."

Just down the road from the entrance to Paradise Ridge, within eyesight of the 101 freeway, stood a round, wooden barn that had become a Santa Rosa landmark. Built in 1899 under the direction of Nagasawa, it was one of the last remaining original Fountaingrove structures. The fires claimed it along with two adjacent hotels and a mobile home park for seniors called Journey's End across the street, where at least three bodies have been found.

Paradise Ridge's wine-making facility was also destroyed in the inferno. Blackened wooden barrels are now piled among charred vats and bent steel. The acrid smell of this year's entire vintage hung in the still smoky air.

Having lost so much, Byck-Barwick does not know if she will rebuild the Nagasawa exhibit. "I don't see us rebuilding. It won't be the same, because the items, the things that we had were something more tangible. I don't think simply putting up photos is enough."

"My father has the idea of making an exhibit about the 'Great Fire of 2017' or whatever it ends up being known as. He'd like to use that wall to show how Sonoma (County) came back and (was) rebuilt after the fire."

Ten years ago, the city of Santa Rosa named a 33-acre park the Nagasawa Community Park, in honor of its former resident. And amid the giant art sculptures and rows of grapevines that somehow escaped the fire on the grounds of Paradise Ridge still stands a wooden sign that reads "Nagasawa Vineyard."

Although not the original Fountaingrove vineyard, the Byck family erected it to acknowledge the man who gave so much to the region. If Nagasawa's sword is not found, the park and sign might be the last reminder of Santa Rosa's samurai.

"We're going to search through the debris eventually," Byck-Barwick said. "Maybe the sword or something has survived. If we found something, that would be really amazing. Maybe that would be the reason I need, maybe it would give me the 'oomph' to make the exhibit happen again, because that would mean it really survived."
By Noriyuki Suzuki, KYODO NEWS - Oct 18, 2017 - 10:13 | All, Feature

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would have liked to see more robust wage growth and private consumption under his "Abenomics" policy mix, but he is still claiming credit for one thing: an improving job market.

Female labor participation has been markedly on the rise, with the jobless rate for women staying at a 24-year low, as Abe has made a push for mobilizing untapped human resources to shore up the economy.

Behind the recent uptick, however, Japan faces an unresolved dilemma.

Childcare support is still lacking despite the need to encourage more women, particularly those raising children, to join the workforce, which is expected to shrink further.

As Japanese voters go to the polls on Oct. 22, major political parties are more or less on the same page over childcare, promising to make early education and child daycare services free even as they differ on how to fund it.

"Making education free sounds good, but it depends on where the money will come from," said a 40-year-old woman in Tokyo. "If future generations have to pay it back later, I'm not so sure."

The woman, who asked not to be named, had a full-time job as a librarian before giving birth to her son. She hopes to start working again next year as she plans to send her 2-year-old son to a nursery school.

The biggest reason for her to rejoin the workforce is that she needs to earn an extra income for her family, now supported by her husband.

"I didn't know what it was like to raise my first child and I was worried about child-rearing, partly because of my age, so working wasn't really an option at first," she said.

Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is seeking voter approval for expanding childcare support by changing how additional revenue from a consumption tax hike in 2019 will be used, allocating less for paying down debts.

By fiscal 2020, Abe has vowed to make expenses free for preschool education and daycare services for all children aged between 3 and 5, and from birth for low-income families.

Headed by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, the fledgling Party of Hope also supports free preschool education but draws a clear line with the ruling coalition of the LDP and the Komeito party by vowing to freeze the planned sales tax hike from 8 percent to 10 percent and drawing funding from expenditure cuts and other steps.

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, another force newly created by the liberal wing of the moribund main opposition Democratic Party, is promising higher wages and better treatment for nursery school and kindergarten teachers.

Ikumi Murata, a 35-year-old Tokyo resident, believes it is a "clear and bold" move for Japan to have higher tax rates to achieve sustainable childcare support and alleviate future worries.

"It's for the benefit of children," said Murata, who got married recently.

Japan's declining birth rate has already raised the alarm among policymakers and experts, as the number of babies born in 2016 fell below 1 million for the first time.

Economists agree Japan faces a pressing need to tackle the falling birthrate and improve the child-rearing environment for the sake of sustainable growth.

Worries about the cost of raising children are seen as one major factor behind low fertility, but it remains to be seen how effective free preschool education and day care services would be in stopping the trend and encouraging more mothers to work at the same time, they say.

"More people would want to send their children to nursery schools if they are free, and this will worsen the already tight supply situation," said Shunsuke Kobayashi, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research.

Kobayashi argues that the entry of more private companies into the daycare service industry should be encouraged so the number of facilities will increase and treatment for nursery staff can be improved.

The government has already pushed back the timing for eliminating waitlists for nursery schools -- a pressing issue in city areas -- by three years to the end of fiscal 2020.

In campaign advertising addressed specifically to working women, Abe promises to make it easier for them to engage in work, private life, and child-rearing through "active and diverse work styles."

The country's labor participation rate for women in their 30s and 40s has risen to levels that are much closer to those in the United States and some European countries.

It came when Japan's overall employment rate has increased at a faster pace than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average since 2007, though job creation largely took the form of non-regular employment.

Still, an estimated 2.5 million women were potential workers who were willing to work but opted out of the workforce for reasons such as giving birth, child-rearing, and taking care of aging parents in 2016, according to a government survey.

Murata says she does not want to end up doing only child-rearing and household work. She is thinking of finding a job, probably part-time, to prevent her work from becoming an excessive burden.

"Definitely I want to take good care of my family. I will think hard about what the best future plan would be," she said.

Related coverage:

Robust victory likely for Japan PM Abe's party in Oct. 22 election: poll

Three-way lower house election battle heats up in heart of Tokyo

Families worry about lingering daycare shortage in Japan
Ask someone to draw a tree and s/he will invariably draw a trunk and branches -- leaving the roots out of the picture. In a unique study of tropical tree roots at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute published in PLOS ONE, roots accounted for almost 30 percent of the total biomass of young trees. The authors hope that future estimates of carbon storage and water-use by tropical forests will include information on root biomass and architecture.

"Studies like the article published by Baccini et al in the Sept. 28 issue of Science use satellite data to measure aboveground carbon density," said Jefferson Hall, director of the Smithsonian's Panama Canal Watershed (Agua Salud) experiment. "It is fairly common practice to calculate forest carbon storage either incorporating root mass via a fudge-factor, or leaving it out altogether. What percentage of a tree is underground? How does this change with climate, soil fertility, and over time? The answers to these questions will refine our ability to understand how forests respond to global change."

"During the rainy season in 2009, our team excavated all roots down to 2 millimeters in diameter from six species of tropical trees," said Katherine Sinacore, doctoral student at the University of New Hampshire. "We chose six to eight-year old trees from reforestation experiments at Sardinilla and in Soberania National Park in the Panama Canal Watershed, with permission from Panama's Ministry of the Environment." Support for this project was provided by Panamas Office of National Science and Technology, SENACYT, Mr. Stanley Motta, Mr. Frank Levinson, the Hoch family, the Agua Salud Foundation and the Panama Canal Authority.

"There were huge differences among species," Sinacore said. "We found that trees have very different architectures. For example, some species invest in a large tap root that descends directly below the trunk while other species send large roots out laterally just below the soil surface. These trees sent smaller roots down from the lateral roots that, when excavated, resembled tentacles of an octopus. The tentacles went just as deep as did the tap roots of other species such that the trees were not trading off structural differences for the ability to seek nutrients and water deep in the soil. In fact, we did not detect a difference between species in the volume of soil reached by roots. We also found roots extending more than 20 meters (60 feet) away from the tree trunk."

The six trees in the experiment, Anacardium excelsum (Espave in Spanish), Cedrela odorata, Dalbergia retusa (Cocobolo), Pachira quinata (Cedro Espino), Tabebuia rosea (Roble) and a (Amarillo), all have high timber value and are commonly used for reforestation in Panama. "Perhaps not surprisingly, we found root systems to be every bit as diverse as the crowns of trees, a morphological diversity that is important to understand as it suggests a more thorough exploitation of belowground resources," said Hall. "Interestingly, we also found that two of the forty trees (5 percent) we excavated (a Terminalia Amazonia and a Pachira quinata) were connected with neighboring species via grafts of coarse roots. Are these trees sharing resources? Would we have found a higher percentage of root grafts if we would have had the ability to look at fine roots? Clearly there is more work to be done."

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Sinacore, K., Hall, J.S., Potvin, C. et al. 2017. Unearthing the hidden world of roots: root biomass and architecture differ among species within the same guild. PLOS ONE http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185934
By taking action to kill the cost sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies of the Affordable Care Act last week Trump claims that he has stopped what he has called an "insurance company bailout." But is that what he has actually done? Or, has he created what's known in Washington parlance as an unfunded mandate? And who will lose the most from the move? The Obamacare statute requires health plans to provide cost sharing reduction subsidies to reduce the deductibles and co-pays in the Obamacare compliant individual health insurance market for those who make less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level. It is a mandate. Funding a mandate is not a bailout. In Washington, DC we call failing to fund a mandate an unfunded mandate. The low income people eligible for these subsidies won't be hurt by Trump's action. The law still requires those people to get their cost sharing benefits even though Trump is refusing to pay for them. That means insurers will have to provide the subsidies out of their own pockets. Hence the hefty premium increases insurers are likely to impose in 2018 to make up for the subsidies. Again, low-income people eligible for premium subsidies won't be hurt. The Federal government will end up covering any premium increases. But people in the individual health insurance market who make too much to get a subsidy$48,000 a year for a single person and $98,000 a year for a family of fourwill have to pay the full premium including the bigger rate increases Trump's action creates. Ironically, it is the middle class stuck in the Obamacare market that Trump is hurting by killing the CSRs. The CBO has estimated that Trump's action will on average increase the cost of a Silver Plan (which is eligible for the CSRs) by 20 percent with other plans going up "a few percent." How many people buy Obamacare compliant policies and don't get a subsidy for their out-of-pocket costs and their premiums? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 6.7 million people out of a total of 15.4 million in the Obamacare compliant individual health market do not get any kind of subsidy. That is 44 percent of the total market. I don't see any evidence that Trump understands who he is hurting. Particularly when he argues he's just ending an "insurance company bailout." He isn't hurting the low-income peopleby law they will get the CSRs while the additional premium cost that occurs when he fails to pay the insurers for them just gets picked up by Obamacare's premium subsidy system that caps people's out of pocket maximum premium. He isn't even hurting the insurance companies in the long-run by sticking them with this now unfunded mandate. Yes, they will take a big hit because they aren't getting their CSR payments in October, November, and December to cover a benefit they are mandated to provide. But almost all of them can afford to bridge themselves into 2018 where they'll ultimately raise the rates to cover the cost of providing the CSRs. He's really only hurting the middle class stuck in Obamacare, many of whom came to his campaign rallies complaining of the extraordinarily high cost of their individual health insurance and wanting Trump to do something about it. He has. He just caused their rates to go up even higher. Commentary by Robert Laszewski, the president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates. He has 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, serving as a chief operating officer for nine of those years, before beginning his Washington, D.C. policy- and market-consulting business. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.



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Delta Air Lines (DAL) says it will still take delivery of a disputed Canadian passenger jet after European giant Airbus (: ) took a stake in the program. The airline has been in the crosshairs in a trade conflict in which U.S. aerospace giant Boeing (BA) accused Canadian rival Bombardier (Toronto Stock Exchange: BBD.B-CA) of selling its new C Series planes to Delta below the cost of production. The U.S. Commerce Department sided with Boeing and recommended a duty of 300 percent on the some 100-seat C Series planes . Airbus late Monday announced it agreed to take a majority stake in the imperiled Bombardier jet program. Delta told investors on an earnings call last week that it " would not pay those tariffs " and after the Airbus deal said it still "looked forward" to taking delivery of the C Series jets. It declined to comment further on the deal Tuesday. Delta, which has also been an important Boeing customer over the years, argued that Boeing no longer produces a similar product to the Bombardier jets. The backing by Airbus, which produces the world's biggest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, even more closely pits the European plane-maker against Boeing. Delta is unveiling its new Airbus A350, a widebody plane it intends to fly from the U.S. to Asia, on Tuesday. The twin-aisle plane is coming into service as Delta phases out its last Boeing 747s, the four-engine plane that some airlines have ditched in favor of more fuel-efficient twin-engine planes.

WATCH: Delta CEO: Bombardier innovation, not price is what attracted us



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Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB), which provides technology-enabled, quick-turn, traditional manufacturing and 3D printing services, is slated to report its third-quarter 2017 earnings before the market opens on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Proto Labs has a lot to prove when it reports, as its stock has gained a whopping 56.7% this year through Oct. 13, crushing the S&P 500's 15.9% return for this period.

Operator standing in front of a CNC machine.

Benchmarks for key numbers

Here are Proto Labs' year-ago results, its third-quarter guidance, and Wall Street analysts' estimates to use as benchmarks.

Revenue $78.2 million $83 million to $88 million $84.45 million 8% Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) $0.51 $0.48 to $0.54 $0.52 2%

Data sources: Proto Labs and Yahoo! Finance.

Proto Labs' adjusted EPS outlook -- which equates to a year-over-year change in the range of negative 5.9% to 5.9% -- might appear rather weak compared to its revenue growth expectation. This is because its outlook factors in investments in the company's metrology lab.

Proto Labs has some good momentum going into earnings. In the first quarter, the company breezed by the Wall Street's consensus for both revenue and earnings. In the second quarter, it slightly beat analysts' expectations on both the top and bottom lines, with revenue increasing 9.4% -- or 12.8% when adjusted for discontinued services and the impact of foreign currency headwinds -- and adjusted EPS jumping 8.9% from the year-ago period. The headline numbers cloud the fact that the United States and Japan are performing very well, as the European business has been an anchor on overall results.

In addition to the headline numbers, here's what to focus on in Proto Labs' report.

Progress on its three main goals

CEO Vicki Holt reiterated last quarter that Proto Labs will be focused on three priorities in 2017:

Story continues

Improving sales and marketing productivity to drive growth in the number of new product developers and growth in revenue. Continued expansion of service offerings to fulfill more of its customers' needs. Improving gross margin to 58% to 60% of revenue.

Investors should continue to gauge Proto Labs' results against these goals. As for No. 3, gross margin was 56.5% last quarter, a slight increase from the 56.4% in the year-ago period. As for Nos. 1 and 2, management provides updates on progress on the conference call following the earnings release.

Industrial 3D printer printing a red plastic object.

European business results -- particularly for injection molding and 3D printing

Europe is the company's weak geographic link, as previously mentioned. Last quarter, year-over-year revenue in the region declined 6.6% on a reported basis, though it grew 3.6% when adjusted for the negative impact of foreign currency and discontinued services. By contrast, year-over-year revenue jumped 14.5% in the U.S., and 8.2% -- or 11.5% in constant currency -- in Japan.

Last quarter, Proto Labs' injection molding business posted year-over-year revenue growth of 4.5%, which was tepid compared with the double-digit growth in its CNC machining and 3D-printing segments. This business was particularly weak in Europe, so investors should home in on both the European results and the injection molding results to see if there appears to have been any improvement.

Lastly, investors should remain focused on 3D printing results in Europe. 3D printing revenue growth in Europe was flat last quarter. But this isn't a concern, in my view, as this is a rather new business the company entered via an acquisition made in late 2015. Rather than revenue, the primary concern is gross margin. Management has said that the margin for this business is lower than the margin for the 3D printing business in the U.S., which is something it's focused on improving.

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Beth McKenna has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Proto Labs. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The logo of of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at an office building in Zurich's Oerlikon suburb, Switzerland July 27, 2017. Picture taken July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By John Revill, Oliver Hirt and Joshua Franklin

ZURICH (Reuters) - Activist investor RBR Capital Advisors sought on Tuesday to rally support for a campaign to break up Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), hoping to capitalise on unrest after Switzerland's second-biggest bank lost about a quarter of its value since 2015.

However, the Swiss hedge fund led by Rudolf Bohli, 48, has taken a stake of only around 0.2 percent in Credit Suisse and faces a steep challenge to muster the backing needed to succeed.

"This is like an ant trying to tackle an elephant," said Marc Halperin, fund manager at Federated Investors, a top-25 Credit Suisse shareholder according to Thomson Reuters data.

The campaign comes roughly two years into Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam's three-year plan to focus on wealth management and rely less on investment banking.

RBR, which has been in contact with Credit Suisse's management, wants to divide the company into an investment bank, an asset management group and a wealth manager accommodating the Zurich-based bank's retail and corporate banking operations, an RBR spokesman said.

The strategy, which will be outlined at the JP Morgan Robin Hood Investor Conference in New York on Friday, could see the revival of the old First Boston brand, the name of the U.S. investment bank Credit Suisse took control of in 1988.

TESTING PATIENCE

Thiam's restructure suffered an early blow when $1 billion (759.3 million) in trading losses prompted him to make even deeper cuts to the investment bank in early 2016.

With the value of the stock diluted by two capital raisings totalling around 10 billion Swiss francs (7.7 billion), shareholders are still awaiting the fruits of the painful overhaul.

Although shares had gained almost 10 percent this year, the performance reflected only a partial rebound from a feeble 2016 where they fell nearly a third.

Federated Investors' Halperin said Credit Suisse management had done a "pretty good job". While he was prepared to be patient with them, he could support RBR if they had a better plan to bolster the share price, which remained cheap.

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"We certainly think this thing is worth 70-100 percent more than where it is trading at," he said. "I would say at least the mid-20s is probably fair value."

At 1440 GMT Credit Suisse shares traded 1.5 percent higher at 15.69 francs.

BOUTIQUE HEDGE FUND

RBR, partly named after Bohli, was set up in 2003 as a boutique Swiss hedge fund and has around 250 million francs in assets under management.

Based in the small lakeside town of Kuensnacht, near Zurich, it rose to prominence through high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful activist campaigns against asset manager GAM (GAMH.S) last year and airline catering company Gategroup in 2016.

Although RBR's stake is relatively small - it has spent around 100 million francs to build up its stake compared to Credit Suisse's market capitalization of 39.6 billion francs - it said it has signed non-disclosure agreements with around 100 other investors, including some shareholders in Credit Suisse.

RBR has also recruited Gael de Boissard, a former Credit Suisse investment bank co-head who left the bank in Thiam's restructure, to support its campaign, news of which was first reported by the Financial Times.

Credit Suisse on Tuesday said it remained focused on its strategy.

"While we welcome the views of all our shareholders, our focus is on the implementation of our strategy and of our three-year plan, which is well on track and which we believe will unlock considerable value for our clients and shareholders," a Credit Suisse spokesman said.

A source familiar with the investor meetings said Credit Suisse officials had met RBR several times about its suggestions and that the fund had alerted the bank on Friday that it would go public with its campaign.

SHRINKING INVESTMENT BANK

RBR's is the second activist investor campaign involving a big Swiss bank in recent years after Knight Vinke unsuccessfully pushed for UBS (UBSG.S) to make more drastic cuts to its investment bank.

Credit Suisse has argued keeping an investment bank is vital to cater for the more sophisticated needs of wealth management clients whose assets stretch into the billions of dollars.

But while analysts doubted Bohli's break-up plan would gain the necessary traction with other investors, some suggested Credit Suisse could still pare back its investment bank even further.

"You have a comparative advantage in the market if you have a private banking and investment banking business," said Mirabaud Securities Limited analyst Andreas Brun, who rates Credit Suisse's stock "buy".

"But you could do it with a smaller investment banking unit than what Credit Suisse has."

(Additional reporting by Simon Jessop in London and Rupert Pretterklieber in Zurich; Editing by Keith Weir)
President Donald Trumps net worth declined by more than $600 million in the past year, according to the Forbes 400 List of the richest people in America. However surprising Trumps loss may be, the reason for it is even more unexpected. Trumps real estate holdings, specifically those in New York City, have taken a big hit in the past year, as retail values are struggling in response to Amazons e-commerce gains.

According to Forbes research, the president is worth $3.1 billion, down from $3.7 billion a year ago. The loss has him moving from 156th on the list down to 248th. Values of several Manhattan properties, particularly those on or near Fifth Avenue, have dropped, shaving nearly $400 million off his fortune, the magazine says.

Appearing on CNN Tuesday, Forbes assistant managing editor Kerry Dolan specifically leveled blame for Trumps losses on Amazon. Specifically citing the lease of the Niketown store and the Trump Tower property, Dolan said that retailers are suffering--even on the high end. It would appear that Amazons strategy of e-commerce over brick and mortar retail is winning, and that is having an effect on real estate values, she added.

Without Trumps taxes and full financial releases, its difficult to get a full picture of the presidents net worth. But as it applies to his real estate losses, Dolan is confident in Forbes analysis. We talked to tons and tons of real estate brokers who are super familiar with the properties, particularly in Manhattan, she told CNN.

Outside of retail and New York, another hole in Trumps wallet is the Trump International Hotel, said Dolan. The magazine had been in touch with Trumps finance people, who said that in the past year, Trump had taken on a $170 million construction loan to complete the propertys construction. So, even though the hotel may be doing well, said Dolan, the propertys net worth is still down.

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Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, Amazons CEO, took the number two spot on the Forbes list for the second straight year, with an $81.5 billion net worth.

See original article on Fortune.com

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Lloyd Blankfein

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The New York Times

Goldman Sachs reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, crushing Wall Street estimates.

The earnings beat was driven by a huge quarter for the investing and lending business, which posted a 35% increase in revenues. And the fixed income, currencies and commodities business, which has been struggling, jumped 25% from a terrible second quarter.

But while Goldman Sachs' bond trading woes have garnered plenty of column inches, Goldman's gains in arranging bonds, otherwise known as debt capital markets work, have attracted less attention.

In the earnings release Tuesday, Goldman Sachs noted:

Debt underwriting produced year-to-date net revenues of $2.03 billion, the highest for the first nine months of the year, reflecting a leading position for the firms leveraged finance franchise.

To put that in to perspective, here are the nine months revenue figures for Goldman Sachs' debt underwriting business for the past few years:

September 30 2017 - $2.03 billion

September 30 2016 - $1.885 billion

September 30 2015 - $1.57 billion

September 30 2014 - $1.83 billion

September 30 2013 - $1. 856 billion

September 30 2012 - $1.37 billion

September 30 2011 - $1.09 billion

September 30 2010 - $962 million

In other words, Goldman Sachs' debt underwriting revenue has doubled since 2010.

According to Dealogic, Goldman Sachs ranked fourth for US marketed debt capital markets work for the first nine months of the year, behind powerhouse commercial banks Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan, but ahead of traditional debt players like Wells Fargo, Barclays and Deutsche Bank. The bank ranked sixth over the same period a year earlier.

And Goldman Sachs has made up ground in just about every segment of the debt market. It's a top five player in: investment grade debt; financial institution group debt; US marketed loans; yankee debt; high yield and leveraged loans.

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The benefit for Goldman Sachs here is twofold. First, the gains in debt capital markets have helped soften the blow of reduced trading revenues. Second, those gains could also help boost the trading business.

A recurring talking point in discussions around Goldman Sachs' FICC position is its position (or lack thereof) with corporates. While universal banks can count on recurring revenue from multinational corporate accounts, Goldman Sachs has been more heavily exposed to the fortunes of hedge funds.

President and COO Harvey Schwartz said in September that Goldman Sachs is hoping to grow the corporate franchise within FICC, which currently makes up 16% of the business, and boost revenues by $250 million.

"We have the leading investment banking franchise," Schwartz said. "We also have a significant global financing franchise. However, our corporate client base is underweight versus peers and we are committed to expanding it."

NOW WATCH: Legendary economist Gary Shilling explains how you can beat the market

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Apple ordered to pay $440 million to FaceTime patent troll

VirnetX's seemingly endless FaceTime patent lawsuit against Apple is winding down... sort of. An Eastern District of Texas court has denied all of Apple's motions to end the case in a non-infringement ruling or retrial, leaving the tech giant with a final judgment that orders it to pay VirnetX $439.7 million. That's much more than the $302.4 million Apple was told to pay last year. VirnetX, widely considered a patent troll, is unsurprisingly "elated" at having won its third jury battle against Apple. However, it can't really rest on its laurels -- that judgment isn't as final as it seems at first blush.

To begin with, Apple tells TechCrunch that it plans to appeal the final judgment. And it's no small matter that the USPTO has already invalidated all of VirnetX's patents. That doesn't stop the ongoing case, but the invalidation kicks in the moment all appeals have been exhausted. If Apple has better luck in court, VirnetX won't get a second shot -- and it can't wield those patents in new lawsuits regardless of what happens with Apple.

The judgment could still raise concerns for companies affected by other VirnetX-held patents, as it might set a higher bar for payouts in future cases. Microsoft 'only' had to pay $200 million, for example. However, VirnetX may have more trouble winning lawsuits going forward. A Supreme Court ruling in May forced companies to sue in places where they're either based or do a large chunk of their business, preventing companies from cherry-picking court districts that tend to favor trolls (such as the Eastern District of Texas). While this doesn't rule out future VirnetX victories, the firm will likely face a slower legal process and courts that aren't quite so receptive to its demands.
face id

Apple

Senator Al Franken said on Monday that Apple was working with his office to answer any questions about Face ID, Apple's new facial recognition technology that goes on sale on November 3.

Shortly after Apple announced the iPhone X, which uses facial recognition to unlock the phone in place of a fingerprint sensor, the Minnesota Democrat published an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking 10 questions about how the tech was implemented.

Apple later revealed more information about the technology in a white paper published to its website. And on Monday, Franken's office sent Business Insider the undated response from Apple, signed by Cynthia Hogan, Apple's vice president for public policy.

Apple's response to Franken largely restates information available on Apple's website about how Face ID works  such as the fact that "faceprints" are not collected by Apple, that third-party developers cannot collect face data from developers, and how the technology works.

However, it does go into a little bit of additional detail about how the software was built to work with a diverse group of people with different faces, genders, and skin tones:

"The accessibility of the product to people of diverse races and ethnicities was very important to us. Face ID uses facial matching neural networks that we developed using over a billion images, including IR and depth images collected in studies conducted with the participants informed consent. We worked with participants from around the world to include a representative group of people accounting for gender, age, ethnicity, and other factors. We augmented the studies as needed to provide a high degree of accuracy for a diverse range of users. In addition, a neural network that is trained to spot and resist spoofing defends against attempts to unlock your phone with photos or masks."

While Apple's published materials make the point that the company has anticipated many of the security and privacy issues surrounding the new technology, the next test for Face ID is when it gets out in public use and independent researchers try to crack it.

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"I plan to follow up with Apple to find out more about how it plans to protect the data of customers who decide to use the latest generation of iPhones facial recognition technology," Franken said in a statement.

Here's Apple's full response:

Here's Franken's full statement:

As the top Democrat on the Privacy Subcommittee, I strongly believe that all Americans have a fundamental right to privacy. All the time, we learn about and actually experience new technologies and innovations that, just a few years back, were difficult to even imagine. While these developments are often great for families, businesses, and our economy, they also raise important questions about how we protect what I believe are among the most pressing issues facing consumers: privacy and security. I appreciate Apples willingness to engage with my office on these issues, and Im glad to see the steps that the company has taken to address consumer privacy and security concerns. I plan to follow up with Apple to find out more about how it plans to protect the data of customers who decide to use the latest generation of iPhones facial recognition technology.

NOW WATCH: The 5 most annoying changes in the new iPhone update  and how to fix them

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SEE ALSO: Apple just released new information about how facial recognition on the iPhone X works
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) delivered an ROE of 27.43% over the past 12 months, which is an impressive feat relative to its industry average of 13.00% during the same period. On the surface, this looks fantastic since we know that TSM has made large profits from little equity capital; however, ROE doesnt tell us if management have borrowed heavily to make this happen. Today, well take a closer look at some factors like financial leverage to see how sustainable TSMs ROE is. Check out our latest analysis for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

What you must know about ROE

Return on Equity (ROE) weighs TSMs profit against the level of its shareholders equity. An ROE of 27.43% implies TWD0.27 returned on every TWD1 invested. While a higher ROE is preferred in most cases, there are several other factors we should consider before drawing any conclusions.

Return on Equity = Net Profit  Shareholders Equity

ROE is measured against cost of equity in order to determine the efficiency of TSMs equity capital deployed. Its cost of equity is 10.23%. Given a positive discrepancy of 17.21% between return and cost, this indicates that TSM pays less for its capital than what it generates in return, which is a sign of capital efficiency. ROE can be broken down into three different ratios: net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This is called the Dupont Formula:

Dupont Formula

ROE = profit margin  asset turnover  financial leverage

ROE = (annual net profit  sales)  (sales  assets)  (assets  shareholders equity)

ROE = annual net profit  shareholders equity

NYSE:TSM Last Perf Oct 19th 17

Essentially, profit margin shows how much money the company makes after paying for all its expenses. Asset turnover shows how much revenue TSM can generate with its current asset base. The most interesting ratio, and reflective of sustainability of its ROE, is financial leverage. Since financial leverage can artificially inflate ROE, we need to look at how much debt TSM currently has. At 17.43%, TSMs debt-to-equity ratio appears low and indicates the above-average ROE is generated from its capacity to increase profit without a large debt burden.

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NYSE:TSM Historical Debt Oct 19th 17

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? TSMs above-industry ROE is encouraging, and is also in excess of its cost of equity. Since ROE is not inflated by excessive debt, it might be a good time to add more of TSM to your portfolio if your personal research is confirming what the ROE is telling you. If you're looking for new ideas for high-returning stocks, you should take a look at our free platform to see the list of stocks with Return on Equity over 20%.

Are you a potential investor? If TSM has been on your watch list for a while, making an investment decision based on ROE alone is unwise. I recommend you do additional fundamental analysis by looking through our most recent infographic report on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to help you make a more informed investment decision.



To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
The new Bombardier aircraft CSeries, pictured on the tarmac in Mirabel, Quebec, is at center of a partnership with Airbus (AFP Photo/Clement Sabourin) (AFP/File)

Montreal (AFP) - Bombardier has ceded control of its new CSeries to Airbus, abandoning hope of ascending into the top echelons of passenger aircraft manufacturing alongside rivals Airbus and Boeing but securing US market access for its new jetliners.

"I am saddened but at the same time reassured," by Bombardier's partnership with Airbus on the CSeries, aeronautics professor Mehran Ebrahimi at the University of Quebec in Montreal told AFP. "Everyone wins in this agreement."

The European aircraft manufacturer took a 50.1 percent stake in the CSeries program in exchange for using its sales and marketing heft to lift CSeries sales.

The CSeries is the first new design in the 100- to 150-seat category in more than 25 years, and only just started to roll off assembly lines.

But development cost overruns and Boeing's complaint that Bombardier unfairly benefited from state subsidies that allowed it to sell 75 CSeries aircraft at below cost to Delta Airlines had put a strain on its bottom line and put the lucrative US market potentially out of reach.

With Airbus now onboard, CSeries sales are expected to take off, Ebrahimi said.

Only 360 have been ordered so far, but Airbus says it can boost those numbers to 3,000 over 20 years, grabbing a 50 percent marketshare.

Furthermore, the partnership provides a way to dodge hefty duties imposed by the US Commerce Department as a result of the Boeing complaint, by building CSeries aircraft for the US market at Airbus's Mobile, Alabama plant.

The 220 percent countervailing duties and 80 percent anti-dumping duties, if confirmed, would have effectively "closed access for Bombardier to the US market," said Quebec Economy Minister Dominique Anglade.

But Airbus announced plans to open a second final assembly line at its facility in Alabama for the CSeries.

"The CSeries will be assembled in the US and so will not be subject to those duties, which is fantastic for Bombardier and Canada," said Walid Hejazi, a professor of aeronautical management at the University of Toronto.

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The tie-up also allows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration to reconsider its threat not to buy new fighter jets from Boeing over the company's alleged manipulation of the US trade remedy system to try to crush an emerging rival.

- 'Boeing not happy' -

"Boeing is not happy as this new development undermines its strategic position," Hejazi told AFP.

He said Boeing never anticipated a move that "gives it's number one rival, Airbus, a new line of single aisle planes in its portfolio."

In a roundabout way, the deal also benefits US President Donald Trump "in the sense that aircraft production is being taken out of Canada and is being sent to the US," Hejazi added.

Headquarters for the CSeries program and the main assembly line will remain at Bombardier's Montreal facility, which employs 2,000 people.

Quebec's aeronautics sector, which employes 40,000 people and supplies parts for the CSeries, is also expected to get a boost from an overall sales spike.

"Airbus has just acquired an extraordinary technology (in the CSeries), which will complement its range of products," said Ebrahimi. "Bombardier will certainly increase its number of orders and thus the viability of its project over the long term."

"Now all of the other US airlines and others around the world will be looking more seriously at the CSeries," echoed Hejazi.

Going forward, Airbus may also decide to nix its rejigged A320neo jetliner and instead go with Bombardier's plans for a larger aircraft with more than 150 seats that would be called the CS500.

"Producing the CS500 would be cheaper for Airbus than developing its own based on the A320 family, but again, it's not as clear as Airbus has more than 3,000 orders for the A320neo," said Ebrahimi.
Washington has slapped a 300 percent trade tariff on Bombardier (Toronto Stock Exchange: BBD'B-CA), accusing the Canadian aerospace firm of both receiving state aid and potentially "dumping" its new plane on the U.S. market. The U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) issued the preliminary ruling last month after Boeing (BA) requested action, fearing Bombardier's C-Series jet could hurt profit levels at the U.S. aircraft manufacturer. Now Bombardier has struck a deal with European aerospace giant Airbus (Euronext Paris: AIR-FR), who have agreed to develop, market and sell the Bombardier jet. CNBC takes a look at how the situation unfolded and what is set to happen next.

Boeing's complaint The dispute centers on alleged illegal subsidies that Bombardier received for its C-Series program, a 100 to 150-seat jet that has been in the skies since 2016. The U.S. commerce department, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, took up a Boeing complaint that Bombardier received state aid as far back as 2008 in order to make the program a success. Boeing's second part of the complaint was that Bombardier could potentially "dump" the aircraft to buyers at below-market prices. The DoC asked Bombardier to provide information but the Canadian company refused, claiming it would provide rivals with a look into its business and pricing structure. After this refusal, U.S. authorities upheld the Boeing complaint and issued Bombardier with a preliminary 300 percent anti-dumping tariff on its C-Series. Bombardier's complaint The CS100 and CS300 versions of the Bombardier plane are in use by Swiss Air and Air Baltic. In the United States, Bombardier has sold 75 of its new C-Series planes to Delta Airlines. Fred Cromer, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, told CNBC in June that Boeing was attempting to stifle further Bombardier sales and that the wider industry viewed Boeing's litigation as "an attack on innovation." Cromer added that Boeing doesn't even produce a plane that serves 100 passengers and so the complaint has little merit. He speculated that the Boeing move was likely designed to railroad airlines toward bigger planes. Boeing has claimed that Bombardier's deal with Delta Airlines will see 75 C-Series planes sold for $19.6 million apiece, way below production cost. Bombardier and Delta refuse to reveal the true sale price, claiming commercial sensitivity but Cromer told CNBC the numbers quoted by Boeing "are way off base." Airbus swoops Airbus, European aircraft manufacturer and Boeing's main rival, has entered the fray by announcing Tuesday that it is to take a majority stake in the C-Series jet program. No money is involved in the deal, but while Bombardier relinquishes control of its own program, it will use the opportunity to retain a share in a plane program that previously looked under threat of failure. Airbus will offer improved economies of scale for the plane development as well as opening up the C-Series to a larger sales network. Crucially, the C-Series could also now be built at Airbus' U.S. plant in Mobile, Alabama, which would mean the plane would not be subject to any anti-subsidy or anti-dumping duties. Analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux said the deal looked good for Airbus as long as orders bounce upwards from the current level of 346 planes. Shares in Airbus rose more than 2.4 percent on the news. Politics at highest level Aside from impacting relations between Canada and the United States, the dust-up has also affected the U.K. and Brexit . Bombardier has a plant in Northern Ireland that employs 4,000 people. The firm says jobs could go if Bombardier is negatively impacted by Washington-imposed taxes. Northern Irish support is currently crucial to the stability of a fragile U.K. coalition government and the situation has forced London into strong rhetoric. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is "bitterly disappointed" by the move to impose a tariff while the U.K. defense secretary has said the move jeopardizes Boeing's chances of winning British government contracts. The situation is an awkward one for May, who at the same time is keen to maintain and develop trade ties with both Canada and the U.S. as it exits the European Union.

What happens now? As it stands, the 300 percent tariff on the C-Series deliveries in the U.S. is a preliminary ruling. A final DoC ruling will follow in December and then in February 2018, the separate International Trade Commission will release its decision. If both groups agree that the U.S. is either being harmed or could potentially be harmed by both program subsidies and future "dumping", then a tariff of 300 percent will be applied on C-Series deliveries to the U.S. market from February onwards. That would mean a C-Series Bombardier plane that Boeing claims cost Delta $19.6 million apiece would now cost $78.3 million.



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Branson: I met Trump once, and all he talked about was destroying people who wouldn't help his bankrupt firm

Billionaire Richard Branson told CNBC on Wednesday he met Donald Trump only once  in the 1990s, when the then-real estate tycoon was dealing with the bankruptcy of one of his companies.

Branson, founder of the Virgin Group and a supporter of Hillary Clinton's failed presidential campaign, alleged that Trump spent the meeting talking about how to destroy people who refused to lend him money when one of his companies went bankrupt.

In a "Squawk Box"interview, Branson provided this account:

"He invited me to lunch or dinner at his house, and he had just been bankrupt," Branson claimed, later clarifying he meant one of Trump's companies had filed for bankruptcy.

"I thought we would have an interesting conversation about a whole range of issues, and he just spent the whole lunch talking about five people he rung up to try to get help from ... and how these people had refused to help him and how his life's mission was to going to be to destroy these people," Branson asserted.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's emailed request for comment on Branson's claims about meeting Trump and what transpired.

Branson did not provide the exact date of the meeting or identify the Trump company that he said went bankrupt.

It's well-documented that in the 1990s Trump's real estate empire was on verge of collapse. During one of the presidential debateslast year against Clinton, Trump referred to steps taken during that time to turn around his company.

Trump, on stage with Clinton, said, "On occasion, four times, we used certain [bankruptcy] laws that are there."

Further defending using bankruptcy in business, Trump said at the time, "I take advantage of the laws of the nation because I'm running a company."

During the campaign, Branson was not shy in criticizing Trump, calling the future president "irrational, aggressive" and lacking informed ideas.





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Chinese fintech company Qudian (NYSE: QD) jumped nearly 40 percent on its opening day of trading on the NYSE Wednesday. Shares priced at $24 in the $900 million IPO, above the expected range of $19 to $22. The 37.5 million offering of American Depository Shares makes it one of the largest U.S.-listed floats by a Chinese company this year with a reported valuation of $7.9 billion. Shares opened at $34.35. The company trades under the ticker symbol QD. The Alibaba-backed company provides short-term microloans through its mobile app to China's young workers who are looking for extra cash to be able to afford things like premium-priced apparel or concert tickets. The virtual lender offers personalized credit as low as the equivalent of $100, CEO Min Luo told CNBC's " Squawk Alley " after the opening trade. A growing user base and low delinquency rates allow the company to lend at relatively low risk and collect "really big data," Luo said. In 2016, the company posted net income of about $85 million on total revenue of $212.8 million. In the six months that ended June 30 of this year, revenue was $270.4 million and net income came in at $143.6 million, according to Qudian. Morgan Stanley , Credit Suisse , Citigroup , CICC and UBS are joint book runners for the IPO.

 CNBC's Saheli Roy Choudhury contributed to this report.



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Wherever CNBC's Jim Cramer looks, the most pervasive trait in the stock market's best performers is the cloud. "If you were going to dream up the ideal stock for this particular environment, you'd want it to be an artificial-intelligence-based cloud company that can help further e-commerce, particularly in payments, while delivering a product the last mile to a house that's being rebuilt in Texas or Florida," the " Mad Money " host said. When he reviewed the market's best stock charts over the weekend, Cramer found that, from Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) to Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , every top-performing stock has some ties to the cloud, whether it be through the main part of its business, products that enable cloud connection or segments that use the cloud to further business. And while other sectors like defense and industrials are running hot, Cramer said that there's one trend that really matters."Those are all minor chords. It's this: When you look at the hottest stocks in this environment, the major theme is the cloud. Everything else pales in comparison," he said.Apple: A Lesson in Buying on Weakness When it comes to investing, Cramer maintains one key guideline : when the market gives you a chance to buy a high-quality stock, you must take advantage of it. "You literally have to take action right into the knee-jerk negativity to get the best buys, and that confuses a lot of people," the "Mad Money" host said. To clarify the strategy, Cramer turned to the stock of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , one of his favorite long term investments. In September, Apple's shares fell from $164 to $150 on worries that the new iPhone would not live up to expectations. But the stock has recently regained momentum, surging to $159 on Monday on nothing but what Cramer saw as an obvious research note."So why did Apple's stock roar higher then? My conclusion: it never should've been knocked down in the first place," he said.A 'Terrific' Trump Stock? While Cramer hasn't exactly been a bull about major legislation passing through Congress, he can't deny that President Donald Trump's administration has been good for stocks. "After eight years of democratic rule, businesses feel a lot more confident about an administration that wants to roll back every regulation in the book," the " Mad Money " host said. "Whether that's a good idea long term is debatable, but right now it's led to a surge in hiring and the lowest unemployment rate since 2001." A higher employment rate paves the way for stocks like Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) , the top supplier of uniforms and uniform rentals to U.S. businesses, to soar higher, Cramer said. Shortly after the 2016 election, Cramer named Cintas "the ultimate Trump stock" for being positioned to surge if the administration pushed policies that urged companies to hire more workers. Cramer said that made Cintas a "terrific" way to play job growth , and sure enough, since the beginning of the year, Cintas' shares have rallied nearly 31 percent, outpacing the S&P 500's (INDEX: .SPX) 14 percent gain over the same time frame. General Motors: Back in Style?Cramer often sees the stock market as a fashion show in which stocks fall in and out of style depending on investors' sentiments at the time. Few stocks embody this back-and-forth better than General Motors (NYSE: GM) , the automaker whose shares were effectively unloved from 2014 to this August, when the stock suddenly broke out. "Like wide ties, General Motors was out of style for years  until very recently, the skinny tie reigned supreme  but in 2017 the wide tie has made a comeback and so has the stock of GM," the "Mad Money" host said. With shares up over 25 percent since the end of August, General Motors, once a low-growth, bond-like stock, has become "beloved" by the Wall Street analyst community, Cramer said. First Horizon National CEO: Favorable Changes Trump may be having trouble passing major legislation, but some of the president's quieter changes speak volumes to companies like First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN) , according to Bryan Jordan, the bank's chairman and CEO. "Regulatory reform has been important for the industry and you're starting to see that with the leadership changes at the Fed and the OCC ," Jordan told Cramer in an interview on Monday . "You're starting to see the pendulum swing back more to the middle, and maybe we get some legislative change that comes out of amendment[s] to Dodd-Frank , but I don't think that's as necessary today with the regulatory reform coming from the OCC, the Fed, the FDIC and state regulatory agencies." As business confidence and outlook improve at the tail-end of economic recovery and in light of the pro-business administration, banks like Jordan's Tennessee-based company are poised to grow, the CEO said."All in all, it's more balanced and I think that does make it an easier environment to serve your customer, serve your communities. Essentially, a bank like ours is a community-facing organization. It's a community bank with a larger balance sheet. In this environment, with this regulatory shift, it's going to be very positive for us and so I'm very encouraged by it," Jordan told Cramer.Lightning Round: An Electrified Stock? In Cramer's lightning round , he gave his take on some callers' favorite stocks: DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) : "Oh, you're in a good one. That's a renaissance story and it's an absolutely great, great, great utility. I should have been behind it. I got behind ConEd (NYSE: ED) . That's been a good one too. And Dominion (NYSE: D) . But you've got a good one." Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) : "It is a buy long term. I'm glad you emphasized 'long term,' because the company's been saying that a lot of the changes really won't hit home until 2020. In the interim, you're paid a nice yield." Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Nvidia and Apple. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - VineQuestions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com Wherever CNBC's Jim Cramer looks, the most pervasive trait in the stock market's best performers is the cloud. "If you were going to dream up the ideal stock for this particular environment, you'd want it to be an artificial-intelligence-based cloud company that can help further e-commerce, particularly in payments, while delivering a product the last mile to a house that's being rebuilt in Texas or Florida," the " Mad Money " host said. When he reviewed the market's best stock charts over the weekend, Cramer found that, from Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) to Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) , every top-performing stock has some ties to the cloud, whether it be through the main part of its business, products that enable cloud connection or segments that use the cloud to further business. And while other sectors like defense and industrials are running hot, Cramer said that there's one trend that really matters. "Those are all minor chords. It's this: When you look at the hottest stocks in this environment, the major theme is the cloud. Everything else pales in comparison," he said. Apple: A Lesson in Buying on Weakness When it comes to investing, Cramer maintains one key guideline : when the market gives you a chance to buy a high-quality stock, you must take advantage of it. "You literally have to take action right into the knee-jerk negativity to get the best buys, and that confuses a lot of people," the "Mad Money" host said. To clarify the strategy, Cramer turned to the stock of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , one of his favorite long term investments. In September, Apple's shares fell from $164 to $150 on worries that the new iPhone would not live up to expectations. But the stock has recently regained momentum, surging to $159 on Monday on nothing but what Cramer saw as an obvious research note. "So why did Apple's stock roar higher then? My conclusion: it never should've been knocked down in the first place," he said. A 'Terrific' Trump Stock? While Cramer hasn't exactly been a bull about major legislation passing through Congress, he can't deny that President Donald Trump's administration has been good for stocks. "After eight years of democratic rule, businesses feel a lot more confident about an administration that wants to roll back every regulation in the book," the " Mad Money " host said. "Whether that's a good idea long term is debatable, but right now it's led to a surge in hiring and the lowest unemployment rate since 2001." A higher employment rate paves the way for stocks like Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) , the top supplier of uniforms and uniform rentals to U.S. businesses, to soar higher, Cramer said. Shortly after the 2016 election, Cramer named Cintas "the ultimate Trump stock" for being positioned to surge if the administration pushed policies that urged companies to hire more workers. Cramer said that made Cintas a "terrific" way to play job growth , and sure enough, since the beginning of the year, Cintas' shares have rallied nearly 31 percent, outpacing the S&P 500's (INDEX: .SPX) 14 percent gain over the same time frame. General Motors: Back in Style? Cramer often sees the stock market as a fashion show in which stocks fall in and out of style depending on investors' sentiments at the time. Few stocks embody this back-and-forth better than General Motors (NYSE: GM) , the automaker whose shares were effectively unloved from 2014 to this August, when the stock suddenly broke out. "Like wide ties, General Motors was out of style for years  until very recently, the skinny tie reigned supreme  but in 2017 the wide tie has made a comeback and so has the stock of GM," the "Mad Money" host said. With shares up over 25 percent since the end of August, General Motors, once a low-growth, bond-like stock, has become "beloved" by the Wall Street analyst community, Cramer said. First Horizon National CEO: Favorable Changes Trump may be having trouble passing major legislation, but some of the president's quieter changes speak volumes to companies like First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN) , according to Bryan Jordan, the bank's chairman and CEO. "Regulatory reform has been important for the industry and you're starting to see that with the leadership changes at the Fed and the OCC ," Jordan told Cramer in an interview on Monday . "You're starting to see the pendulum swing back more to the middle, and maybe we get some legislative change that comes out of amendment[s] to Dodd-Frank , but I don't think that's as necessary today with the regulatory reform coming from the OCC, the Fed, the FDIC and state regulatory agencies." As business confidence and outlook improve at the tail-end of economic recovery and in light of the pro-business administration, banks like Jordan's Tennessee-based company are poised to grow, the CEO said. "All in all, it's more balanced and I think that does make it an easier environment to serve your customer, serve your communities. Essentially, a bank like ours is a community-facing organization. It's a community bank with a larger balance sheet. In this environment, with this regulatory shift, it's going to be very positive for us and so I'm very encouraged by it," Jordan told Cramer. Lightning Round: An Electrified Stock? In Cramer's lightning round , he gave his take on some callers' favorite stocks: DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) : "Oh, you're in a good one. That's a renaissance story and it's an absolutely great, great, great utility. I should have been behind it. I got behind ConEd (NYSE: ED) . That's been a good one too. And Dominion (NYSE: D) . But you've got a good one." Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) : "It is a buy long term. I'm glad you emphasized 'long term,' because the company's been saying that a lot of the changes really won't hit home until 2020. In the interim, you're paid a nice yield." Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Nvidia and Apple. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com



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Somali children assist other civilians and security forces in their rescue efforts by carrying away unidentified charred human remains in a cardboard box, to clear the scene of Saturday's blast, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. The death toll from the huge truck bomb blast in Somalia's capital rose to over 50 Sunday, with more than 60 others injured, as hospitals struggled to cope with the high number of casualties, security and medical sources said. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Maryan Abdullahi's father had been preparing to fly to Somalia's capital on Sunday to attend the happiest moment in his daughter's life: her graduation day.

Instead, he will bury her.

On Saturday, the 22-year-old Abdullahi was making final preparations for graduation after years of medical studies when a massive truck bomb detonated in the middle of a Mogadishu street where she was travelling in a car with friends.

They were killed in what has been called the single deadliest attack in Somalia's history. At least 231 people are dead, a Somali senator said Sunday, citing doctors at hospitals he had visited, and 275 others were injured.

"A sad day. Her family was so proud of her and were counting the hours before her graduation," said Amino Ahmed, Abdullahi's classmate, with tears in her reddened eyes. "The life of a rising star was sadly cut short."

As stories of the victims emerged, bewildered family members were still picking their way through the rubble Sunday. Ambulance sirens wailed, and overwhelmed hospitals pleaded for blood donations.

Mogadishu, a city long accustomed to deadly bombings by the Somalia-based al-Shabab Islamic extremist group, was stunned by the force of Saturday's blast. As the huge plume of smoke began to rise, residents said the explosion was the most powerful they'd heard in years.

"With a heavy heart I would say this is the worst attack I have ever witnessed," said Masoud Mohamed, who lost family members in the blast.

Parts of the busy Hodan district were flattened, with concrete buildings mangled. Cars burned. Bodies were rushed away by shaken survivors, with bloodied sandals left behind. Children carried away charred remains in cardboard boxes.

Three brothers working at a nearby shopping center were among the dead, witnesses said.

The explosion also killed a couple who were returning from a hospital after having their first child, said Dahir Amin Jesow, a Somali lawmaker.

"It's a dark day for us," he said.

Story continues

Dozens of weeping women stood outside hospitals, while Mogadishu's mayor sent a desperate plea to residents to donate blood for the many wounded.

___

Associated Press video journalist Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump: AP

Donald Trump has suggested his administration will take action against high prescription drug prices, saying drugmakers are getting away with murder.

During a press conference at the White House, Mr Trump reiterated his desire to get the cost of prescription drugs way down, claiming that the world is taking advantage of us.

The President said other countries, unlike the US, set drug prices and pay less than half of what Americans pay for the same treatments.

And we want to bring our prices down to what other countries are paying, or at least close, and let the other countries pay more, Mr Trump said.

Americans pay anywhere from two to six times more than the rest of the world for brand-name prescription drugs, according to the International Federation of Health Plans.

Researchers have said that a large reason for this is because of the way the US health system is set up. Countries with national health programmes have government entities that negotiate drug prices.

This is not the case in the US. Medicare  a government insurance programme which provides coverage to about 44 million seniors  is unable to negotiate prices with drugmakers.

Moreover, researchers at Harvard Medical School reported in 2016 that the most important factor driving prescription drug prices higher in the US than anywhere else is the existence of government-protected monopoly rights for drug manufacturers. The US has a patent system that allows companies to remain the only manufacturer of drugs theyve patented for 20 years or more.

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised drugmakers, but there has been little indication he will crack down on prices.

Democrats have also railed against the high cost of drugs.

When releasing the partys economic agenda in July, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said prescription drugs are the single largest factor driving increasing health costs in the US today.

Generic pharmaceutical companies are also currently under fire from consumers, legislators, antitrust enforcers and state attorneys general for what many claim are exorbitant price hikes in recent years.

Last year, multiple senators called for the Federal Trade Commission and the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate potential antitrust violations by Mylan, which dramatically increased the price of EpiPens  used to treat severe allergic reactions  from $100 for a pack of two in 2009, to about $500 or $600 in 2016.
US President Donald Trump walks in a corridor of the White House to greet visitors, while a portrait of Hillary Clinton hangs on the wall, March 7, 2017 in Washington, DC: Getty Images

Donald Trump has said he wants Hillary Clinton to run again for president.

In a morning tweet, the President said: I was recently asked if Crooked Hillary Clinton is going to run in 2020? My answer was, I hope so!

Ms Clinton has said she is done with being a candidate.

However, she has expressed that she would remain active in national politics, telling CBS in September that she believed our countrys future is at stake.

Prior to her 2016 bid for the White House, Ms Clinton ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, eventually losing to Barack Obama.

Following her loss to Mr Trump last year, Ms Clinton mostly disappeared from the public eye. But in recent months, while promoting her new book What Happened, the former senator and Secretary of State has been candid about her thoughts on Mr Trump and the events that transpired during the presidential campaign.

While speaking on Sunday at the Southbank Centre's London Literature Festival, Ms Clinton said she was worried that Mr Trump could in a moment of pique launch a nuclear missile. She also accused the President of picking fights with North Korea and Iran for the sake of point scoring.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump warned that threats from North Korea would be greeted with fire and fury like the world has never seen. The Trump administration is currently engaged in a standoff with North Korea over the regime's expanding nuclear weapons programme.

On Friday, Mr Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement by choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal. In the Obama-era accord, Iran had agreed to restrict its nuclear programme for at least 10 years in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions.

Along with calling the deal merely a temporary delay on Iran's path to nuclear weapons, Mr Trump said the removal of sanctions was giving the Iranian regime more funds to support terrorism.

In July, Mr Trump joked that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have preferred Hillary Clinton to be in the White House.

Story continues

[I]f Hillary had won, our military would be decimated, Mr Trump said in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. Our energy would be much more expensive. That's what Putin doesn't like about me. And that's why I say, why would he want me?

We're going to be exporting energy  he doesn't want that. He would like Hillary where she wants to have windmills, the President added. He would much rather have that because energy prices would go up and Russia, as you know, relies very much on energy.

Mr Trump is expected to seek re-election in 2020.
IN THE NEWS TODAY Proponents of a bipartisan deal struck by two senators to stabilize Obamacare were seeking today to win Republican support for the measure, which would restore subsidies to health insurers that President Donald Trump has scrapped. (Reuters) * Trump appears to support a short-term deal to stabilize health-care markets (CNBC) * With Obamacare in limbo, insurers brace for drop in enrollment (WSJ) Talks to revise the NAFTA will go into next year , top officials say. In a joint statement following the fourth round of talks, officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico said "significant conceptual gaps" will change the negotiating time frame. (CNBC) A federal judge in Hawaii blocked President Trump's latest bid to impose restrictions on citizens from eight countries entering the United States, which had been set to take effect this week. It was supposed to commence at midnight today. (CNBC) The top U.S. communications regulator dismissed Trump's suggestion that the NBC network's broadcast licenses could be pulled after it ran stories the president declared untrue, saying "the FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment." (AP) President Trump said Rep. Tom Marino withdrew from consideration for the nation's drug czar , following an investigation that detailed his role in pushing for a law that weakened DEA enforcement during a growing opioid crisis. (CNBC) Chinese President Xi Jinping says China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors, even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at the opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress. (CNBC) Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company , as he faces allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women over three decades in the film business. (Reuters) Amazon (AMZN) said the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned from that job following his suspension over sexual harassment allegations. He had been put on leave last week after the allegations first surfaced. (CNBC) Retailer Kohl's is officially in business with the online shopping giant. Starting today , 10 Kohl's stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago markets will both sell Amazon's smart home products and accept the online retailer's returns. (CNBC) JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is buying payments technology company WePay for an undisclosed amount, though a source quoted by the Wall Street Journal said it was above the roughly $220 million valuation that stemmed from a 2015 fundraising round. Tesla (TSLA) is trying to disguise layoffs by calling the widespread terminations performance related, allege several current and former employees. One fired employee says direct performance reviews were thrown out and rewritten by upper management. (CNBC) STOCKS TO WATCHCree (CREE) earned an adjusted four cents per share for its latest quarter, matching forecasts, with the lighting product's companies revenue also matching estimates. However, the stock is being pressured by a lower than expected current quarter outlook.Rio Tinto (RIO) and two former top executives were charged with fraud by the SEC, which accuses the mining company of inflating the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealing critical information while raising billions of dollars from investors.AstraZeneca (AZN) and Merck (MRK) got good news on their jointly developed ovarian cancer drug Lynparza, with the FDA granting priority review for use of the drug to treat breast cancer. That puts the drug on track for possible approval for the new use during the first quarter of 2018. Separately, Merck was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Citi, based on increased sales forecasts for Merck's Keytruda cancer drug.McDonald's (MCD) is reportedly the subject of a probe in South Korea, following complaints of illness following the consumption of allegedly undercooked hamburger patties. Media reports in that country say investigators have raided the McDonald's office in Seoul in search of evidence.Bill Ackman's Pershing Square continues its push for board seats at ADP (ADP). Pershing will hold an event this Thursday at which Ackman and two dissident board candidates will be interviewed by a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst. The ADP board vote will take place at the annual meeting November 7.WATERCOOLER Scott Kelly, a retired astronaut who set the record in 2015 for total accumulated days in space, said he is not "going to ever doubt" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk . Musk plans to use a 42-engine rocket, called BFR, to send humans to Mars by 2024. (CNBC) IN THE NEWS TODAY Proponents of a bipartisan deal struck by two senators to stabilize Obamacare were seeking today to win Republican support for the measure, which would restore subsidies to health insurers that President Donald Trump has scrapped. (Reuters) * Trump appears to support a short-term deal to stabilize health-care markets (CNBC) * With Obamacare in limbo, insurers brace for drop in enrollment (WSJ) Talks to revise the NAFTA will go into next year , top officials say. In a joint statement following the fourth round of talks, officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico said "significant conceptual gaps" will change the negotiating time frame. (CNBC) A federal judge in Hawaii blocked President Trump's latest bid to impose restrictions on citizens from eight countries entering the United States, which had been set to take effect this week. It was supposed to commence at midnight today. (CNBC) The top U.S. communications regulator dismissed Trump's suggestion that the NBC network's broadcast licenses could be pulled after it ran stories the president declared untrue, saying "the FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment." (AP) President Trump said Rep. Tom Marino withdrew from consideration for the nation's drug czar , following an investigation that detailed his role in pushing for a law that weakened DEA enforcement during a growing opioid crisis. (CNBC) Chinese President Xi Jinping says China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors, even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at the opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress. (CNBC) Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company , as he faces allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women over three decades in the film business. (Reuters) Amazon (AMZN) said the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned from that job following his suspension over sexual harassment allegations. He had been put on leave last week after the allegations first surfaced. (CNBC) Retailer Kohl's is officially in business with the online shopping giant. Starting today , 10 Kohl's stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago markets will both sell Amazon's smart home products and accept the online retailer's returns. (CNBC) JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is buying payments technology company WePay for an undisclosed amount, though a source quoted by the Wall Street Journal said it was above the roughly $220 million valuation that stemmed from a 2015 fundraising round. Tesla (TSLA) is trying to disguise layoffs by calling the widespread terminations performance related, allege several current and former employees. One fired employee says direct performance reviews were thrown out and rewritten by upper management. (CNBC) STOCKS TO WATCH Cree (CREE) earned an adjusted four cents per share for its latest quarter, matching forecasts, with the lighting product's companies revenue also matching estimates. However, the stock is being pressured by a lower than expected current quarter outlook. Rio Tinto (RIO) and two former top executives were charged with fraud by the SEC, which accuses the mining company of inflating the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealing critical information while raising billions of dollars from investors. AstraZeneca (AZN) and Merck (MRK) got good news on their jointly developed ovarian cancer drug Lynparza, with the FDA granting priority review for use of the drug to treat breast cancer. That puts the drug on track for possible approval for the new use during the first quarter of 2018. Separately, Merck was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Citi, based on increased sales forecasts for Merck's Keytruda cancer drug. McDonald's (MCD) is reportedly the subject of a probe in South Korea, following complaints of illness following the consumption of allegedly undercooked hamburger patties. Media reports in that country say investigators have raided the McDonald's office in Seoul in search of evidence. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square continues its push for board seats at ADP (ADP). Pershing will hold an event this Thursday at which Ackman and two dissident board candidates will be interviewed by a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst. The ADP board vote will take place at the annual meeting November 7. WATERCOOLER Scott Kelly, a retired astronaut who set the record in 2015 for total accumulated days in space, said he is not "going to ever doubt" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk . Musk plans to use a 42-engine rocket, called BFR, to send humans to Mars by 2024. (CNBC)



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For the first time in Canadas history, a drone has hit a commercial airplane.

Canadas minister of transport, Marc Garneau, revealed this weekend that a drone struck a SkyJet Airlines plane while it was nearing the Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City.

This is the first time a drone has hit a commercial aircraft in Canada, Garneau said in a statement, and I am extremely relieved that the aircraft only sustained minor damage and was able to land safely.

There were no injuries to the eight passengers on board the plane, according to a report by the CBC, Canadas public broadcaster.

Garneau elaborated on the drone incident during a press conference. The official said that the accident would have been much more serious if the drone smashed into the planes cockpit or engine.

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Its important to note that aircraft are particularly vulnerable when on final approach coming inthe pilot is concentrating on landing properly, Garneau said at the press conference.

Like the United States, Canadian hobbyists are not allowed to fly their drones in restricted areas like airports. Garneau said in a statement that concerns over drone incidents prompted Canadian lawmakers to issue interim drone guidelines that restrict their use.

Some of these drone guidelines are similar to U.S.s Federal Aviation Administrations rules, including not allowing hobbyists to fly their drones beyond the line of sight of their operators or at night.

Garneau did not say if Canadas transportation agency has determined who the drone pilot was or if it intends to punish the person. He said in his statement that anyone who violates the countrys drone rules could be subject to fines of up to $25,000 and/or prison.

Transport Canada is monitoring the situation and is in contact with its transportation partners including Skyjet, the Jean Lesage International Airport and NAV CANADA [Canadas air traffic organization], Garneau said. My department is in contact with the Service de police de la Ville de Quebec and we will cooperate with the Transportation Safety Board should they decide to investigate.

The drone accident comes after the Canadian company Drone Delivery Canada said last week that its been approved by Canadian regulators to test a commercial drone delivery system in northern Canada. The company wants to use drones to deliver mail and supplies to rural areas in the country without roads and create a sort-of railway in the sky.

Although companies like Amazon are excited about the potential to use drones to deliver goods, accidents like the one at the Quebec airport are likely to throw a monkey wrench in getting these big delivery projects off the ground. Both drone rules in the U.S. and in Canada are still in a state of flux, and until they get ironed out to meet the specific needs of companies as well as residents, its likely widespread deliveries will not occur as fast as expected.
Following a report that his nominee to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy had played a leading role in weakening federal agents ability to stop suspicious shipments of opioids, President Trump told a press conference Monday that were gonna be looking into the choice, Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa.

An explosive investigation by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes found that Marino, who had accepted large donations from the pharmaceutical industry, had been a prime sponsor of legislation last year that undermined the ability of Drug Enforcement Administration agents to stop drug distributors from providing corrupt doctors with opioids for the black market. According to the reports, the companies had ignored DEA warnings to stop selling hundreds of millions of pills for years under suspicious circumstances  raking in billions in profits.

Marino, who was an early supporter of Trumps presidential campaign, was the top advocate for the bill, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act.

During a Monday afternoon press conference with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Trump was asked whether he still had confidence in Marino for the position sometimes called the nations drug czar.

Hes a great guy. I did see the report. Were gonna look into the report. Were gonna take it very seriously, Trump said.

The president said he will make a major announcement, probably next week, about combating the drug crisis and the opioid abuse epidemic in particular.

President Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Oct. 16, 2017. (Photo: Reuters/Yuri Gripas)

And I want to get that absolutely right. This country, and frankly the world, has a drug problem, Trump said. The world has a drug problem. But we have it and were going to do something about it.

Driven by the opioid abuse epidemic, drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day. More than 33,000 Americans lost their lives to opioid overdoses in 2015, and early figures suggest that number will be higher for 2016.

Story continues

Were gonna be looking into Tom, Trump said.

A representative for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yahoo News that they have not yet received Marinos questionnaire, and as such, have not yet set a date for a hearing to evaluate his qualifications.

Andrew Kolodny, the co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University, characterized Marino as having no real experience on this issue other than worsening the epidemic by working for years to push the bill through Congress.

I think Tom Marino is an awful pick. We need someone running the Office of National Drug Control Policy who can help tackle a complex problem and coordinate a federal response to a severe epidemic of addiction and overdose deaths. This is not a place for Trump to reward a friend with a political payback.

Thomas Marino, U.S. representative for Pennsylvanias 10th congressional district, is interviewed in his office in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 2, 2012. (Photo: Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)

As head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position that requires Senate confirmation, Marino would be tasked with promoting and implementing strategies to stop drug abuse and promote access to substance abuse treatment. Trump made the nomination on Sept. 1, 2017.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., published an open letter urging Trump to withdraw his nomination of Marino. He said Marinos advocacy has tied the hands of the DEA, and suggested that he does not understand the scope of the epidemic or simply values his industry ties more.

Congressman Marino no longer has my trust or that of the public that he will aggressively pursue the fight against opioid abuse, Manchin said.

I asked @realDonaldTrump to withdraw Rep. Tom Marinos nomination to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. pic.twitter.com/H5bn1z7m8d  Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 16, 2017

Although he says Marino is a poor choice, Kolodny doesnt blame the bill he sponsored for the opioid abuse epidemic, which has been building for years.

The roles played by opioid manufacturers and the failure of the FDA really played a much bigger role in creating the epidemic, he said. Certainly the failures of the DEA and the distributors helped fuel the problem, but the epidemic was caused by a sharp increase in the overprescribing of opioids.

Experts say this overprescribing of opioids was the result of a campaign mounted by manufacturers  most notably Purdue Pharma  and the FDAs failure to regulate doctors and pharmacies.

Another close friend of the pharmaceutical industry, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, helped finally get the law through the Senate in 2016.

Matt Whitlock, a Hatch spokesman, said the Washington Post story felt more like the plot from a Netflix original series than the actual drafting and passage of the bill in question.

There are critical checks and balances throughout the process of a bill becoming a law, and if the DEA and DOJ had the concerns then that they are voicing now, they had an absolute responsibility to use the many tools at their disposal to reshape the text or to prevent it from becoming law, Whitlock said in a statement.

If they were concerned, Whitlock continued, the DEA and DOJ should have encouraged congressional representatives to vote against the bill and told then President Barack Obama not to sign it into law. But the industry-friendly bill passed with unanimous consent, which is usually reserved for noncontroversial bills.

We cannot speak to the DEA or DOJs thinking, but we can only assume the reason they did not make a stronger effort to oppose the bill at the time was because they, like Sen. Hatch, believed this legislation would improve collaboration between law enforcement and industry members in combatting the opioid crisis, Whitlock said.

The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), an industry group, lobbied heavily for Marinos bill  accusing the DEA of abusing its power and making it too difficult for legitimate patients to access opioids. After the Washington Post story appeared, HDA President and CEO John M. Gray released a statement defending the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act as a meaningful common-sense solution to create a pathway for information exchange between the DEA and its registrants that did not previously exist.

Read more from Yahoo News:
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.--Youve no doubt seen the headlines.

Facebook, , Twitter asked to testify on Russian meddling reported Reuters.

How Russia used social media to divide Americans explained the Guardian.

Facebook Knows More About Russia's Election Meddling. Shouldn't We? asked the New York Times.

It has no doubt been a year of reflection for Menlo Park, Calif. media giant Facebook, whose namesake social network unknowingly played a part in the extraordinary result of the 2016 U.S. election. The company has long emphasized that its network reflected society as a whole; this year, its optimism dimmed somewhat following the networks apparent misuse by Russian operatives, who ran Facebook ads that amplified social and political messages to sway voters opinions.

"The narrative about as of late has not been super positive," said David Marcus, Facebooks vice president of messaging, here at the Wall Street Journals D.Live conference.

Thats a shame, Marcus said, because it does so much good, too. If you suffer from an unusual disease and cant find people like you to talk to, Facebook can help with that. Much of the social networks global impact is good, he argued: Let's not just forget all the good that the Facebook platform and its various products bring to the world.

Still, Marcus acknowledged that Facebooks role had grown to a point where it couldnt just wish away the ills of the world.

When you design a platform that reaches 2 billion people every month, sometimes bad things happen, Marcus said. We shouldn't tolerate those things or let them happen."

Thats why Facebook is hiring more than a thousand human editors to review ads, he said, despite the fact that such a move goes against the core value of what a platform offers: technology at scale.

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I'm absolutely confident that we have the right plan and that we will be able to remediate those things, Marcus said. It won't be perfect, he cautioned, but Facebook will try its best.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2017, photo, soldiers carry the casket of Spc. Alex Missildine from the tarmac at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport in Tyler, Texas. (Cory McCoy/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP)

The Associated Press is speaking with family members who have lost loved ones in U.S. military operations and asking them about their interactions, if any, with the president at the time  George W. Bush, Barack Obama or Donald Trump.

Here's a sampling of their stories:

A FAMILY LET DOWN

After Army Sgt. Jonathon M. Hunter died in a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan in August, his family was told to expect a call from Trump. None came.

Hunter, 23, from Columbus, Indiana, died 32 days into his first deployment since joining the Army in 2014.

Mark Hunter, his father, said a military casualty officer informed the family that a call would come from the president and the family was let down when that did not happen.

"Disappointed that he at least didn't call and thank me for my son and our ultimate sacrifice," Hunter said. "That's all I wanted to hear. He didn't have to say nothing else. That's all I wanted to hear. From him  not the vice president."

The family spoke with Vice President Mike Pence, who grew up in the same southern Indiana city, at the ceremony honoring the return of the soldier's remains at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

 Tom Davies, Indianapolis

SPEAK NO ILL

Jodie Missildine's 20-year-old stepson, Alex Missildine, was killed Oct. 1 when an IED exploded near his vehicle in Ninawa Province, Iraq.

Missildine joined the Army right after finishing high school in Tyler, Texas, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He had been in Iraq for less than a month when he was killed.

Jodie Missildine said the family had received an outpouring of support from Washington since receiving news of Alex's death. But when asked if Trump had been in contact, she said, "We will not speak ill of a president who adores his troops."

 Emily Schmall, Fort Worth, Texas

___

'TEARS TO MY EYES'

Natalie Healy, of Exeter, New Hampshire, lost her son, Daniel Healy, in 2005. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL who died on a rescue mission in Afghanistan.

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She received a letter of condolence from Bush. "President Bush didn't call us at the time, which didn't bother me, particularly. I got to meet him a couple of times afterward and he was extremely sensitive, and his sincerity about how I was doing brought me to tears, to tell you the truth.

"I could feel his warmth and concern, and his sincere caring."

The first time, in Manchester, New Hampshire, "he said, 'How are you doing, Mrs. Healy?' I said, 'I'm fine, sir.' And then he put a hand on either side of my shoulders and he said, 'No really, how are you doing?' Well, I wasn't expecting him to be like that, so it brought tears to my eyes, and I do not cry in public. That really touched me."

 Kathy McCormack, Concord, New Hampshire

___

'DUMBFOUNDED'

Ann Baddick's 26-year-old son, Army Sgt. Andrew J. Baddick, of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, drowned on Sept. 29, 2003, while trying to save a fellow soldier whose vehicle plunged into a canal.

She said she received a signed letter of condolence from Bush. She and members of her family also met with him at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

"He couldn't have been any nicer and more sincere."

As for Trump's comments suggesting that presidents before him did not adequately reach out to Gold Star families: "I was just dumbfounded when I heard it last night. I thought, 'My God, you don't know what you're talking about.'"

 Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

___

'MADE ME FEEL GOOD'

It was less than 24 hours after Natasha De Alencar had seen her husband's body returned from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base that she got a call from Trump offering his condolences. She doesn't remember how long they spoke. It was a bit of a blur.

"He asked about my kids. He asked about their school and sports. I felt a tad bit better."

Her husband, Staff Sgt. Mark De Alencar, 37, a Special Forces soldier, was shot and killed in April in Afghanistan in an operation against Islamic State militants. His death was the first U.S. combat death in Afghanistan in 2017.

"It made me feel good, knowing what my husband had done for his country," that Trump took the time to call, she said. "My husband was awesome. My world sucks without him."

"Any chance I get to speak about that man, I take it." She lives in Okaloosa County, Florida.

 Matthew Barakat, Northern Virginia

___

STILL WAITING

Relatives of Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, a Springfield, Massachusetts, native who was killed in an attack on the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015, received a formal letter from Obama but not a phone call.

Joseph Sullivan, of Hampden, Massachusetts, is the brother of Sgt. Sullivan, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He says his 40-year-old brother helped rescue more than a dozen soldiers when a Kuwait-born gunman unleashed a barrage of fire in an attack that began at a nearby military recruiting center.

Sullivan says the letter he described as "boilerplate" came a few weeks after his brother died. But his parents were "kind of" waiting for a phone call from Obama, and not getting one has bothered them since.

 Crystal Hill, Boston

___

'A BEAUTIFUL WORD'

Army 1st Lt. Weston C. Lee of Bluffton, Georgia, was killed in an explosion while on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29. About 10 days later, Trump called the family, 10 minutes sooner than had been arranged.

"He did what he said he was going to do," Aldene Weston Lee, the soldier's mother, said of Trump. "That held a lot of weight with me."

Lee said her husband, Eddie, did all the talking with Trump as she listened on a speaker phone along with her son, stepson, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

"The first thing he said was how very sad he was for us to have lost Weston and that it made him very sad," Lee said. "He said, 'I have things in front of me that nobody else has access to and, from everything I can see and everything I know, your son was a very, very fine young man.'"

Trump said to her husband: "I bet you that you never had any trouble with him." Eddie, replied: "No, sir, I never did."

The conversation lasted about five or six minutes, Aldene said, and Trump never sounded rushed.

His tone, she said, was more like that of a fellow parent than of her son's commander in chief.

"He said, 'From all accounts your son was a lovely young man,'" Lee said. "He said that a couple of times. And I thought, I hadn't thought about using 'lovely,' as far as my son being a young man. But that's a beautiful word."

 Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

___

NO WORD

Sheila Murphy's son, Army Spc. Etienne J. Murphy, 22, died May 26 after an armored vehicle he was riding in rolled over in Syria. The Army told his family Murphy's death was "non-tactical"  meaning he didn't die in combat  but revealed few other details, citing an open investigation.

The Army Ranger's parents in Snellville, Georgia, in metro Atlanta never heard from Trump by phone or by letter. Neither did Murphy's widow.

"Because it was non-combat, I feel like maybe he thought it was an accident, it doesn't matter," Sheila Murphy said. "But my son was in Syria."

She said the Army casualty assistance officer assigned to her family told her "the White House called him to ask about us. And he told me that we were going to be receiving a letter from the White House."

Nearly five months later, Sheila Murphy said, no letter has arrived.

She said she finally wrote a letter to Trump about six weeks ago, to let him know she and her husband still are grieving, but got no reply.

"It wasn't a mean letter," she said. "I was telling him I know he's a grandfather. I told him I'm trying to be here for my grandkids, but some days I don't want to live."

 Russ Bynum, Savannah, Georgia

___

BUSH TO OBAMA

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, 30, of Raynham, Massachusetts, died in Afghanistan on June 21, 2006, when his unit encountered enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He fought with 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York.

One of Monti's men, Pvt. Brian Bradbury of St. Joseph, Missouri, was shot during the encounter. Monti, who enlisted at age 17, twice left cover and ran into the open under intense enemy fire to retrieve the wounded soldier. On Monti's third attempt, he was struck, and died on the field. Three others, including Bradbury, also died during the fight.

Monti's father, Paul Monti, said he received a signed letter of condolence from Bush, though no phone call.

But in 2009, Obama called him to say Jared had been awarded the Medal of Honor. "He was very gracious on the phone and told me that he and the entire nation were proud of my son," Paul Monti said.

"When I met him in Washington he was again very gracious and he and Mrs. Obama were very genuine in their compassion. They made a positive out of a very sad day."

 Mark Pratt, Boston

___

CALL FELL THROUGH

Army Spc. Christopher Michael Harris, 25, of Jackson Springs, North Carolina, was killed along with another soldier in a suicide attack in Afghanistan in August.

His widow, Brittany Harris, said the White House did offer to set up a call with Trump but "it fell through" and no letter came from the president. She figured Trump was too busy with the approach of Hurricane Harvey and North Korea woes. The family, though, saw Vice President Mike Pence at Dover Air Force Base, where they went to receive Michael's remains, and found Pence's words comforting.

Now 17 weeks pregnant, Brittany Harris said she's had an outpouring of support from the Pentagon and others in government, handwritten notes from Defense Secretary James Mattis and many others. "Everybody treats me like gold, salutes me, takes off their hats for me," she said.

 Jonathan Drew, Raleigh, North Carolina

___

BROTHER IN BUSH'S ARMS

Judy Parker's 22-year-old son, Army Spc. William Evans, of Hallstead, Pennsylvania, was killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq in September 2005. He was one of six members of the Pennsylvania National Guard killed in roadside bombings that month.

Parker said Bush came to the Fort Indiantown Gap Army post in northeastern Pennsylvania shortly after her son's death, to meet her family and the families of the other Guard members killed that month. He met privately with each one.

"He took my son who was just 21 and held him and let him cry. He said he didn't know what he would do if it was his child."

Judy Parker now lives in Chenango Forks, New York.

 Kristen de Groot, Philadelphia

___

NO CALL

Aaron Butler, a 27-year-old guardsman from Monticello, Utah, was killed Aug. 16 at a booby-trapped building in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. His mother, Laura Butler, and family spokesman Bill Boyle say Trump has not called. Many other officials have.

"The family is very careful that they do not want to be pulled into a partisan slugfest," Boyle said. "He would be very upset if his name or his death or his sacrifice was used as a tool to divide the country, and they're fearful that this could happen."

 Michelle Price, Salt Lake City
Harvey Weinsteins brother and former business partner Bob Weinstein is being accused of sexual harassment. A female showrunner, Amanda Segel, who worked with the Weinstein Company, shared her allegations with Variety.

Segel was an executive producer on the series The Mist, which was based on a Stephen King novella and aired on Spike TV. She alleged that Bob Weinstein pursued her for a personal relationship between June and August of 2016. She claims he invited her to private dinners, invited her to a Malibu home that he rented, and emailed her about personal matters. She attended two dinners with him, Variety reports, once alone to establish a professional relationship, and once with another Mist executive producer. She did not go to the Malibu home.

Segel allegedly told Bob Weinstein that she was not interested in dating, and she claims he didnt stop harassing her until her lawyer, David Fox of Myman Greenspan, contacted Weinstein Company executives and said shed leave the show. Segels lawyer and the Weinstein Company eventually reached an agreement, according to Variety.

No should be enough, Segel told the publication. After no, anybody who has asked you out should just move on. Bob kept referring to me that he wanted to have a friendship. He didnt want a friendship. He wanted more than that. My hope is that no is enough from now on.

In a statement to Variety, a representative for Weinstein denied the allegations. Bob Weinstein had dinner with Ms. Segel in L.A. in June 2016, the statement reads. He denies any claims that he behaved inappropriately at or after the dinner. It is most unfortunate that any such claim has been made.

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Weinsteins lawyer Bert Fields also denied the allegations in a statement to Deadline (Varietys sister site).

Varietys story about Bob Weinstein is riddled with false and misleading assertions by Ms. Segel and we have the emails to prove it, but even if you believe what she says it contains not a hint of any inappropriate touching or even any request for such touching, Fields said in the statement. There is no way in the world that Bob Weinstein is guilty of sexual harassment, and even if you believed what this person asserts there is no way it would amount to that.

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A representative for Weinstein Company COO David Glasser denied that he was contacted by Fox about the alleged harassment, but said that the company takes these claims seriously.

Bob Weinsteins elder brother and former co-chairman of the Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein, has been the center of numerous sexual harassment and assault allegations. Earlier this month both the New York Times and the New Yorker released reports detailing allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including groping, assault, and other unwanted sexual advances. Several high profile actresses, including Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, and Rose McGowan have leveled accusations against Harvey Weinstein.

Bob Weinstein has denied knowledge of these events and called his brothers alleged behavior sick and depraved.

I have a brother thats indefensible and crazy, Bob Weinstein said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. I want him to get the justice that he deserves.

Fortune has reached out to Bob Weinsteins representatives for additional comment. We will update this post with any response.
Mark Fields

REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid

Fields will become a Senior Advisor at TPG Capital, a private equity firm.

The former Ford CEO will work in TPG's industrials group.

TPG has over $73 billion under management.

Mark Fields, the former CEO of Ford who was ousted earlier this year after 28 years at the automaker, will join TPG Capital as a Senior Advisor, Business Insider has learned.

TPG is a private-equity and alternative asset giant with over $73 billion in assets under management and was started as the Texas Pacific Group in 1992 by David Bonderman, James Coulter, and William S. Price III. TPG has grown substantially from its first offices in Northern California to locations worldwide. Over the decades, it has invested in numerous companies and participated in high-profile leveraged buyouts.

Fields, 56, will focus on expanding the firm's industrials practice. Investments in this sector have included airlines and private-jet companies; going forward, TPG wants to invest in logistics, packaging, and mobility. TPG's first major investment was in bankrupt Continental Airlines in 1993, which according to firm resulted in a 1,000% return.

"New technology is driving change and creating opportunities for growth and value creation throughout business operations. That gives us the opportunity to rethink traditional industrial applications, such as supply chains, like never before," Fields said.

"Having spent my career in an industry that was, and continues to be, on the leading edge of technology and disruption, I look forward to working with TPG to find new opportunities to create change and innovate throughout the industrial sector," he added.

A long career at Ford

Mark Fields

Ford

At Ford, Fields followed Alan Mulally, who saw the automaker through the financial crisis without suffering the government bailouts and bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. Fields had developed Ford's "Way Forward" strategic framework prior to Mulally's arrival in 2006, and later Fields took over Mulally's unifying "One Ford" vision when Mulally retired in 2014.

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Ford was steadily profitable under Fields, made several investments and acquisitions in the tech sector, and in 2016, the company returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France with its GT race car and won on the 50th anniversary of its legendary 1966 victory.

But the carmaker's stock price lagged the markets during his tenure, and in May of 2016 Fields stepped down and was replaced by former Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett, who had been overseeing Ford's Smart Mobility division and had served on Ford's board.

Hackett recently concluded a 100-day review of Ford's operations and is attempting to balance the company's legacy business against the disruption posed by the likes of Tesla and Uber.

Fields, a Harvard Business School graduate, will be tackling some of the same challenges and opportunities he saw at Ford, but from the perspective of an investor and as someone who likes to dig into companies and improve them.

"Mark is an invaluable addition to our team as we pursue this sector and look to build growth-oriented, technology-enabled businesses," Jack Daly, a Partner at TPG, said.

NOW WATCH: Ford replacing its CEO points to the short-termism on Wall Street

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The Trump administration has pushed its tax framework with a big emphasis on middle class Americans. But polls show that fewer than 20% of people actually believe that message.

Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) Gary Cohn told Yahoo Finance the uncertainty from people is because the details havent been ironed out yet, but he said the framework is totally about middle class Americans.

Cohn also defended the proposal to repeal the estate tax as an effort to help small business.

The estate tax really hits farmers, and we dont want to hit farmers. It hits small and medium-sized family-owned businesses, Cohn said. We want to make multigenerational businesses. We want those small and medium-sized businesses and those farmers to go out and hire people, grow the economy, and expand, and not be worried about death being a taxable event. We want them to really grow the economy.

However, the Tax Policy Center estimates that only about 80 farms and closely-held businesses are expected to pay the estate tax this year. Furthermore, they estimate only about 5,000 families are expected to pay the estate tax, and the first $5.49 million for individuals and $11 million for couples are not taxed.

Even Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin conceded at the Institution for International Finance Conference last week that cutting the estate tax disproportionately helps rich people.

Were all entitled to our opinions, but wealthy people have enormous amount of opportunity to tax-plan today, and they can do enormous amount of things with their wealth and their assets and trusts, and the tax system has allowed people to legally plan for death and avoid estate tax, Cohn told Yahoo Finance. Where we see the vast majority of people getting caught up in the estate tax are really farms, are small businesses that grow into big businesses.

Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn tells Nicole Sinclair the Trump administrations tax outline is about the middle class and that the estate tax repeal proposal is about closely-held businesses

The administrations Unified Framework includes elements that many economists have described as focused on the wealthiest Americans. These include cutting the top individual tax rate, a repeal of the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, a creation of a loophole that would allow wealthy people to act as small businesses, and a cut in corporate taxes.

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And the non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates that about 80% of the total benefit would go to taxpayers in the top 1%, whose after-tax income would increase 8.7% while many middle-income taxpayers would actually pay more.

Cohn did seem to leave the room open to some flexibility as the tax bill gets written.

Weve now given it to the tax writers in the House and in the Senate to come up with the final tax bill. We are flexible on many of these areas, to make sure we deliver a middle income tax cut, and make sure we make America competitive on the tax front, Cohn said. We are happy to see where they come out. Were not gonna prejudge where they come out on any one particular area.

Nicole Sinclair is markets correspondent at Yahoo Finance

For more from Yahoo Finances interview with Gary Cohn, please see:

Gary Cohn: We wont put conditions on repatriated cash, and were fine with stock buybacks

Gary Cohn: We have to have a permanent change in the tax system

Gary Cohn: Heres how I expect corporate tax cuts to spur growth

Other articles:

Companies say they would use repatriated earnings to buy back stock

The lack of chaos has been brutal for Wall Street trading desks

One-third of retirees end up getting full-time jobs

Credit Suisses new strategist unveils bullish 2018 market call
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted a 17% revenue decline in its juggernaut trading division in the three months through September, performing worst among its peers for the third quarter in a row.

Total revenue in the Institutional Client Services unit fell 17% from a year earlier to $3.12 billion, New York-based Goldman Sachs said Tuesday in a statement. That compares with trading declines of 16% at JPMorgan Chase & Co. , 13% at Bank of America Corp. and 8% at Morgan Stanley . Citigroup Inc. increased trading revenue by 3%.

An unusually low level of price swings in global markets this year has suppressed investor demand for bond- and stock transactions, while curbing the ability of in-house Wall Street traders to profit from market bets. Goldman Sachs has fared the worst, forcing the firm to conduct a review of its bond-trading operations and raising questions about longtime CEO Lloyd Blankfein's leadership.

Firmwide, net income during the quarter rose 2% to $2.13 billion, for earnings per share of $5.02. The average estimate of analysts in a FactSet survey was for $4.17.

"Our overall performance this year has been solid and provides a good foundation on which to execute and deliver our growth initiatives," Blanfein said in the statement.

The report sent Goldman Sachs shares tumbling 2.6% to $236.09 each, on a day when the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was little changed.

A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman said in an e-mail that the firm's total trading revenue isn't comparable to that reported by other firms because of differences in the mix of businesses; JPMorgan and Citigroup, for example, have big custody operations that Goldman Sachs lacks.

Other disparities are due to certain accounting adjustments, she said. Using an alternative comparison method that Goldman Sachs considers more accurate, the firm would have ranked second-to-last versus peers in the third quarter, ahead of JPMorgan, she said.

Goldman Sachs's revenue in the fixed-income-, currency- and commodities-trading division fell by 26% from a year earlier, hurt by a "challenging environment characterized by low levels of volatility and low client activity," according to the statement.

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Fixed-income is a vital part of trading desks for Wall Street banks. The chart above shows the results in that business for the five largest firms.

Volatility also was low in the equities division, where revenue fell 7%, the firm said.

As in the prior quarter, Goldman Sachs salvaged the overall results by taking big gains in its Investing & Lending division, which includes rarely-traded assets like private-equity stakes and corporate loans that are usually tougher to value than stocks, bonds and other market securities.

Revenue in the division jumped 35% from a year earlier to $1.88 billion, the highest in more than three years, according to the statement.

At least one analyst, Dave Hendler of Viola Risk Advisors, says such gains are an unsustainable way of making short-term performance look better in the face of sluggish markets and lackluster execution.

Updated from 7:58 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017.

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Goldman Sachs (GS) is seen on the clothing of a trader working at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, United States April 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N> beat Wall Street estimates on a smaller-than-expected revenue decline at its struggling bond trading unit, gains in its private equity investments and higher fees from dealmaking.

Shares of the bank rose 1.07 percent to $245 in premarket trading.

Bond trading revenue fell 26 percent on subdued market volatility, but was much better than analysts' expectations. Goldman reported a 40 percent slump in bond trading in the second quarter.

"After two quarters in a row severely missing Wall Street's bond trading estimates, Goldman's 26 percent decline did not look so bad, said Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski.

"While we did not see a sharp rebound in (bond) trading, one can, at a minimum, say that this quarter Goldman looked pretty much like everyone else," Kotowski wrote in a note to clients."

Revenue from trading bonds, currencies and commodities (FICC) fell to $1.45 billion. http://bit.ly/2gfWdgC

Goldman's major Wall Street rivals reported quarterly bond trading declines of 16 to 27 percent ahead of its report.

The bank's core bond-trading unit has suffered three straight quarterly declines on low volatility and the bank has been looking for ways to shore up its FICC division.

Goldman has been trying to shift away from the bond-trading unit to more stable businesses like investment management and consumer lending, where it launched Marcus, an online platform in 2016.

Net income applicable to common shareholders was $2.04 billion, or $5.02 per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $2.10 billion, or $4.88 per share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $4.17 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total revenue, including net interest income, rose 2 percent to $8.33 billion, helped by investment banking and lending business. Analysts expected revenue of $7.54 billion.

Investing and lending revenue rose 34.7 percent to $1.88 billion, while revenue from investment banking rose 16.9 percent to $1.80 billion. The lender's return on equity was 10.9 percent. Analysts typically like to see a bank produce returns of at least 10 percent to meet its cost of capital Goldman's arch rival Morgan Stanley <MS.N> reported a higher profit, driven by its investment banking and wealth management businesses.

(Reporting by Aparajita Saxena, Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) said Tuesday that while clashes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq posed a risk to oil output, intensifying geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran remained a more formidable and longer-term threat to global oil supply. After several weeks of fairly flat trade, a risk premium has returned to oil markets and boosted global prices. On Monday, Iraqi forces moved into the oil-rich province of Kirkuk  threatening oil supplies  while political tensions between the U.S. and Iran continued to reverberate. "In the case of Iran, there are likely no immediate impacts on oil flows and there remains high uncertainty on potential reintroduction of U.S. secondary sanctions. If they are, we expect that several hundred thousand barrels of Iranian exports would be immediately at risk," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a research note published Tuesday. On Friday, President Donald Trump had refused to certify that Tehran was complying with the terms of a landmark 2015 agreement aimed at controlling Iran's nuclear program. Instead, he asked lawmakers to toughen the agreement, negotiated between Iran and six world powers, by amending a U.S. law. At the same time, the U.S. administration will try to convince European leaders to impose new sanctions on Tehran and return to the negotiating table.In the absence of support from other countries, Goldman suggested it is unlikely production would fall by 1 million barrels per day to the levels before Western sanctions were imposed on Tehran.'Kirkuk oil field cluster is at risk'"In the case of Kurdistan, the 500,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Kirkuk oil field cluster is at risk with initial reports that 350,000 bpd has shut in, although this remains unclear," Goldman analysts said.High revenue per barrel and low production costs in the oil-rich Kirkuk province would most likely "incentivize" both sides to keep oil flowing, analysts at the U.S. investment bank added. Iraqi forces loyal to the central government in Baghdad rapidly took over almost all of the disputed Kirkuk province on Monday, with Kurdish forces retreating to nearby oilfields. These military maneuvers in Iraq come after the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in a referendum last month. While Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi denounced the vote as unconstitutional and ordered the result to be annulled, the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government defended the referendum as legitimate and pushed for dialogue with Baghdad. 'Nearly half of Iraqi Kurdistan's exports in the balance'"As feared, Kirkuk and the surrounding oil fields are caught in the crossfire of the dispute between Baghdad and Erbil, placing nearly half of Iraqi Kurdistan's exports in the balance," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. Iraq is OPEC 's second-largest oil producer. Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq are among the most productive in the country and contain much of its energy infrastructure. After a strong rally in the previous session, geopolitical tensions edged oil prices higher on Tuesday morning. Brent crude rose 0.6 percent to $58.16 a barrel while U.S. oil futures hovered near the $52 level in lunchtime trade. CNBC's Ted Kemp and Tom DiChristopher contributed to this report. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) said Tuesday that while clashes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq posed a risk to oil output, intensifying geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran remained a more formidable and longer-term threat to global oil supply. After several weeks of fairly flat trade, a risk premium has returned to oil markets and boosted global prices. On Monday, Iraqi forces moved into the oil-rich province of Kirkuk  threatening oil supplies  while political tensions between the U.S. and Iran continued to reverberate. "In the case of Iran, there are likely no immediate impacts on oil flows and there remains high uncertainty on potential reintroduction of U.S. secondary sanctions. If they are, we expect that several hundred thousand barrels of Iranian exports would be immediately at risk," analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a research note published Tuesday. On Friday, President Donald Trump had refused to certify that Tehran was complying with the terms of a landmark 2015 agreement aimed at controlling Iran's nuclear program. Instead, he asked lawmakers to toughen the agreement, negotiated between Iran and six world powers, by amending a U.S. law. At the same time, the U.S. administration will try to convince European leaders to impose new sanctions on Tehran and return to the negotiating table. In the absence of support from other countries, Goldman suggested it is unlikely production would fall by 1 million barrels per day to the levels before Western sanctions were imposed on Tehran. 'Kirkuk oil field cluster is at risk' "In the case of Kurdistan, the 500,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Kirkuk oil field cluster is at risk with initial reports that 350,000 bpd has shut in, although this remains unclear," Goldman analysts said. High revenue per barrel and low production costs in the oil-rich Kirkuk province would most likely "incentivize" both sides to keep oil flowing, analysts at the U.S. investment bank added. Iraqi forces loyal to the central government in Baghdad rapidly took over almost all of the disputed Kirkuk province on Monday, with Kurdish forces retreating to nearby oilfields. These military maneuvers in Iraq come after the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in a referendum last month. While Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi denounced the vote as unconstitutional and ordered the result to be annulled, the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government defended the referendum as legitimate and pushed for dialogue with Baghdad. 'Nearly half of Iraqi Kurdistan's exports in the balance' "As feared, Kirkuk and the surrounding oil fields are caught in the crossfire of the dispute between Baghdad and Erbil, placing nearly half of Iraqi Kurdistan's exports in the balance," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. Iraq is OPEC 's second-largest oil producer. Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq are among the most productive in the country and contain much of its energy infrastructure. After a strong rally in the previous session, geopolitical tensions edged oil prices higher on Tuesday morning. Brent crude rose 0.6 percent to $58.16 a barrel while U.S. oil futures hovered near the $52 level in lunchtime trade.  CNBC's Ted Kemp and Tom DiChristopher contributed to this report.



More From CNBC


EXCLUSIVE: Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company today as his brother Bob Weinstein and the other board members voted to ratify the October 8 termination of the company co-founder. Deadline has learned also that talks are ongoing in finding a resolution to the now ex-co-chairs standing with the company, of which he owns 23%.

This comes four days after Bob Weinstein said the company wasnt for sale and its business as usual at TWC, and a day after Colony Capital came to the financial rescue with an offer of a cash injection and potential asset acquisition. The reduced board met Tuesday to face an uncertain future and a besieged but battling Harvey Weinstein.

First facing an independent investigation and indefinite leave of absence, Weinstein was terminated, effective immediately by the four-man leadership group on October 8 after more allegations of years of sexual harassment emerged.

With the disgraced Oscar-winning producer calling in from a rehab facility in Arizona, the noon ET meeting today at the Manhattan offices of law firm Debevoise & Plimpton saw TWC chair Bob Weinstein and the remaining board members discuss the bailout proposals of the Tom Barrack founded investment group and formally address the terminating of the now ex-co-chair over a week ago.

Led by Ashley Judd going public in the explosive New York Times expose of October 5 and the New Yorker piece of October 11, dozens of women have now come forward claiming harassment and at least three accusations of rape against Weinstein. The NYPD and UK police are looking into possible complaints and the LAPD is expected to open an investigation soon. Weinstein was been shown the door by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on October 14 and the national board of directors of the Producers Guild of America voted unanimously today to expel him on Monday, as agencies, talent, lawyers and projects have run away from TWC and Weinstein in droves.

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RelatedUK Police Investigating More Sexual Assault Claims Against Harvey Weinstein

Representing Harvey Weinstein today, litigator Patricia Glaser seemed set to argue that under the former co-chairs 2015 employment contract, and the clauses it contained about handling inappropriate behavior, the board improperly tossed the co-founder in the opening days of what has become an ever-growing scandal. Negotiated by current board member Lance Maerov, the clause called on Weinstein himself to personally pay out any settlements and fees arising from his behavior. The first time such a settlement occurred, Weinstein would be obliged to pay TWC $250,000 with the penalty cost rising to $1 million by a fourth settlement. There have allegedly been far more than four such settlements in the past two decades.

Even as TWC has been crippled by the scandal and the dozens of allegations against Weinstein, the producer still holds 23% of the company  as does his younger brother Bob. As the allegations grow, there has still not been any lawsuits against Weinstein or the company, that could be liable if company executives are found to have know about the harassment and subsequent settlements that Weinstein paid out to the likes of Rose McGowan and others.

Now the next round of talking begins with a settlement for Weinstein himself possibly in the cards.

Related stories

Los Angeles City Attorney "Will Prosecute" Harvey Weinstein If Victims Come Forward

Bob Weinstein Denies Sexual Harassment Claims From 'The Mist' Showrunner

Molly Ringwald Talks About The "Harvey Weinsteins" Of Her Career
The path to victory will be difficult. In the House, if the Democrats can hold on to the seats they already have, they still need to win an additional 24 seats. In the Senate, the prospects are more daunting: The Democrats must defend three times as many seats as the Republicans, 10 in states won by Trump, half of those by double digits.

It will take time, then, to oust the Republicans from their commanding position at the national level. That is why so much Left energy has been focused on down-ballot elections. Victories on the local level can matter. Not only do they boost the morale of electoral and movement activists alike, but in our federal system, localities often have significant policy authority.

An astonishing number of state and local elected offices go uncontested. One study found that, between 1992 and 2010, a third of all state legislative incumbents did not face a challenger in the primary and general elections. Another study found that, in six states, half of all mayoral candidates ran unopposed.

In Virginia, for example, where all statewide offices are held by Democrats and Clinton defeated Trump by five points, the lower House of Delegates has long been dominated by Republicans. Forty of the Republicans 66 seats were uncontested by Democratic challengers in 2015. While it still might be a long shot, with the election of Trump and the new energy for electoral politics on the left, in 2018 the GOP could lose the 17 Republican House of Delegates seats that voted for Clinton in 2016.

Such a victory would be unprecedented, but the challenge is being embraced by a new grassroots political action committee, Activate Virginia, founded by Josh Stanfield, a 30-year-old Sanders delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and two other activists. The groups mission is to field and support progressive Democratic candidates in all 100 House of Delegates elections. As of this writing, these aggressive efforts have shrunk the number of upcoming uncontested elections against Republican incumbents from 40 (in 2015) to 10.

Virginias example, which points to a key weakness of the Democratic Party, also offers an opportunity to strengthen the influence of the Left. The two major political parties are not parties in the sense of disciplined, unified, hierarchical membership organizations. Rather, they are loose and conflict-ridden confederations of separate leadership groups whose overall structure reflects the complex constitutional and institutional arrangements of the U.S. federal system.

The point, however, is not to belabor the weakness of fractious and institutionally hamstrung political parties, but rather to note that the institutional fragmentation of the Democratic Party makes it susceptible to takeover. As an example of how centrists have exploited this political reality, consider the creation of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) in 1985. The so-called Third Way was designed to stymie the progressive, pro-labor party activism stimulated by Jesse Jacksons presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, and other efforts to move the party to the Left. And it succeededuntil the recent Sanders challenge loosened the grip that centrists had on the party for the past 30 years.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Medicare for All in Washington, D.C., on September 13. (Photo by Jim Watson/afp/ Getty Images)

This kind of synergy between electoral and movement politics may be emerging in the area of healthcare. On the one side, Trump and the right-wing majority in Congress have put forward a series of Draconian legislative proposals to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and especially the provisions that underwrite healthcare for the poor. On the other side, the political furor over these efforts has given a big bump to the Sanders-backed Medicare for All Act, with 16 Democratic senators now signed on. The legislative drama, in turn, is likely to boost the morale and increase the energy of the longer-term movement for a publicly funded healthcare system.

Why Movements Need Electoral Politics

The two major parties also matter because they play a very large role in shaping the life course of movements. This dynamic is often overlooked because the fundamental dynamics of movements and electoral campaigns are different. Movement activists work to raise the issues that divide and anger constituencies, while electoral operatives tend to smooth over the divisions that inhibit the building of the winning majority that elections require. In these respects, movement and electoral dynamics are antagonistic. But that is by no means the whole of it.

Movements also depend on elected leaders who are susceptible to or embrace the challenges that movements generate. They thrive when they get the rhetorical support of the elected leaders who worry about defections from movement-influenced constituencies. Moreover, the policy victories that movements score are ultimately fashioned by elected politicians.

As an example, consider the recent fortunes of the environmental movement. The same year Barack Obama was first elected president, a Canadian firm, TransCanada, had applied for a permit to build a 1,200-mile pipeline across the American Midwest to connect Canadian tar sands oil with Gulf Coast oil refineries. The company and the oil lobby misleadingly claimed that the project would create 140,000 jobs and billions in economic benefits; the Canadian government pressured a newly elected President Obama to approve the project. In April 2010, the U.S. State Department concluded the pipeline would have a limited effect on the environment. Political strategists inside the White House convinced the president to stop using the term climate change and to focus on clean energy jobs and a clean energy economy to avoid drawing fire from the fossil fuel industry and conservatives. Meanwhile, oil lobbyists used propaganda to successfully shift public opinion on climate change. In 2008, acceptance that its causes were human-made was 72 percent. Two years later, only 52 percent agreed.

Environmental activists rejected their insider tactics and began to build a coalition of grassroots groups that went well beyond normal lobbying and interest group politics, bringing together ranchers and land rights advocates in red states like Nebraska, and Native tribes whose land would be violated and water threatened by the project.

At the time, Bill McKibben, a leader of the movement, wrote, Now we know what we didnt before. Making nice doesnt work ... we may need to get arrested. In late August 2011, protestors mounted a two-week campaign in front of the White House, joined by some of the large environmental groups that are not usually associated with civil disobedience, and more than 1,200 people got arrested. On Nov. 6, 2011, thousands of protesters surrounded the White House in what they called a solidarity hug to urge Obama to veto the pipeline. Under intense pressure from the Republican-controlled Congress to move the project forward, in 2015, Obama exercised his veto power for only the third time.

The re-energized environmental movement did its work in the streets. But the crucial point is that friendly Democrats ultimately conceded to the demand. The delays won by a broad and inclusive coalition of opposition groups to the pipeline using direct action, civil disobedience, and mass arrests exerted political pressure on a wobbly president.

President John F. Kennedy stands with prominent civil rights and labor leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., Whitney Young and Walter Reuther. (Photo by Bettmann / Contributor/ Getty Images)

The great and transformational movements of the pastthe radical Democrats of the Revolutionary War era, or the abolitionists of the 19th century, or the 20th century labor movement, or the Black freedom movement, or the womens movement, or the movements for personal rights included under the LBGTQ acronymall scored their successes because they activated the elementary and fundamental power of ordinary people. The essence of that power is the refusal to cooperate in the basic institutional arrangements of a society. That is what movement power is: The power of the strike writ large, encompassing not only refusal in the workplace but in civil society itself.

Refusal isnt easy, and that is an important reason why movements depend on electoral politics. All of the influences of the institutions that mold daily life collaborate to make the exercise of movement power difficult, as do the immediate threats and punishments that the dominant society imposes on movements. Most of the time, electoral politics legitimizes those threats and punishments, giving the authority of tradition and legal procedure to the threat of force that usually suppresses rebellion. But sometimes, when electoral calculations lead politicians to recognize that they need voter support from among emerging movement constituencies, mass discontent is sufficient to lead at least some political leaders to rhetorically side with the discontented. By doing so, they of course give courage and moral support to emerging movements, as Roosevelts campaign rhetoric gave courage to an emerging labor movement, or Kennedys rhetoric nourished the Black freedom movement, or Obamas sympathy for Trayvon Martin encouraged the Movement for Black Lives. The importance of this encouragement cannot be overstated.

Electoral context matters for another reason. The disruption that ensues from movement leverage can cleave the electoral base of a governing party, compelling political elites to respond with ameliorating reform. When that happens, it is elected politicians who fashion the policy measures that respond to movement demands and disorder. We need politicians in charge of that process who lean toward the Left and its movements. Even when movement leverage succeeds in forcing action on policy reform, the movement itself is only one of the influences in crafting the policy change. We want the thumbs of legislators like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders on the scale in legislative deliberations. And that means movements need a rejuvenated Democratic Party.

An earlier version incorrectly identified Josh Stanfield as a founder of Progressive House VA.

Frances Fox Piven writes about movements and American politics. Her books include Poor Peoples Movements and Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America.

Lorraine C. Minnite teaches at Rutgers University-Camden. She is a national expert on voter suppression in American politics.

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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces completed an operation to take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil Company in the Kirkuk region on Tuesday, a senior military officer said. Iraqi forces took control of the Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields northwest of Kirkuk on Tuesday, after seizing the Baba Gurgur, Jambur and Khabbaz fields on Monday, he said. Oil officials in Baghdad said all the fields were operating normally. The fields were previously held by Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga, but they pulled out of the area in the face of an advance by forces of the Iraqi central government. Tuesday's deployment of Iraqi government forces in Dibis, where Bai Hasan and Avana are located, is part of an operation ordered by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take control of Kurdish-held areas outside the three provinces that form Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Maher Chmaytelli; editing by John Stonestreet and Peter Graff)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces completed on Tuesday an operation to take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil Company in the Kirkuk region, a senior military officer said. Iraqi forces took control of the Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields northwest of Kirkuk on Tuesday, after seizing the Baba Gurgur, Jambur and Khabbaz fields on Monday, he said. The fields were previously held by Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga, but they pulled out of the area in the face of an advance by forces of the Iraqi central government. Tuesday's deployment of Iraqi government forces in Dibis, where Bai Hasan and Avana are located, is part of an operation ordered by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take control of Kurdish-held areas outside the three provinces that form Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Maher Chmaytelli; editing by John Stonestreet and Peter Graff)
Iraqi forces flash the sign for victory as they advance towards the southern outskirts of Kirkuk on October 16, 2017 (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE) (AFP)

Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi forces made rapid progress on Monday in their operation against Kurdish fighters in the disputed Kirkuk province, seizing a key military base, an airport and an oil field, commanders said.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC), which groups all pro-government forces, did not specify whether there had been significant clashes in the operation, but the speed of the advance suggested Kurdish fighters were so far withdrawing without resistance.

Iraqi troops and allied forces launched the operation overnight after tensions between Baghdad and the Kurds spiralled into an armed standoff following last month's referendum on Kurdish independence.

The JOC said its forces had retaken the K1 military base northwest of Kirkuk, the military airport east of the city and the Baba Gargar oil field, one of six in the disputed region.

Iraq's central government had earlier demanded the Kurds withdraw from military facilities and oil fields they had seized in recent years, mainly during the fightback against the Islamic State group.

The oil fields are particularly contested.

Kurdish forces have been in control of six fields in the Kirkuk region providing some 340,000 of the 550,000 barrels per day exported by the regional administration.

Three of the fields -- Khormala, Bay Hassan and Havana -- produce some 250,000 barrels per day for export and are directly controlled by the Kurds.

The other three -- Baba Gargar, Jambur and Khabbaz -- are managed by the publicly owned North Oil Company (NOC) and produce some 90,000 barrels per day for export, with revenues going to the Kurds.

The JOC said that along with Baba Gargar, Iraqi forces had regained control of the local NOC headquarters.

Peshmerga forces loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a political party linked to Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who is himself a Kurd, were reported to be withdrawing from areas under their control after the operation was launched.

Pro-PUK forces were deployed south of the city, including at oil fields, while fighters loyal to the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), linked to Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani who initiated the referendum, were deployed to the north.
An Iraqi boy drags a Kurdish flag as Iraqi forces advance towards the centre of Kirkuk during an operation against Kurdish fighters on October 16, 2017. (AFP Photo/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE)

Kirkuk (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraq's lightning seizure of oil-rich Kirkuk has pitched the country's main Kurdish factions against each other as Baghdad exploits deep divisions over an independence vote.

Iraqi forces on Tuesday took control of five out of six oil fields in the disputed province, dealing a body blow to Kurdish finances and hopes of establishing a state after the controversial referendum last month.

The advances were the latest in a fast-paced operation over the past few days that has seen central authorities reclaim the key territory as Kurdish forces retreated with little resistance.

Behind the sudden Kurdish withdrawal was the historic rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) of regional president Massud Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The adversaries -- which fought a civil war in the 1990s -- had locked horns over the September 25 poll which saw voters overwhelmingly back splitting from Iraq.

Barzani, who has dominated the autonomous Kurdish region since the US-led 2003 invasion, was the driving force behind the ballot, pushing ahead with it despite Baghdad's fury and condemnation from the US, Turkey and Iran.

Meanwhile the PUK, the party of Iraq's figurehead President Fuad Masum, supported a UN-backed plan for negotiations with Baghdad in exchange for ditching the referendum.

- 'Betrayal' -

In the wake of the referendum, as tensions have soared between the central government and the Kurds, the PDK-PUK feud has also burst to the surface.

When Iraqi forces moved to retake Kirkuk, grabbed by the Kurds in 2014 as the Islamic State group rampaged across the country, fighters loyal to the PUK withdrew.

"Some of our leaders cooperated in the redeployment of the government forces to Kirkuk," a senior party boss in the city told AFP.

"They facilitated their entry without clashes."

The decision, he explained, came as Kurdish authorities refused to arm PUK fighters around Kirkuk despite Baghdad's repeated threats that it would move on the city.

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Another official on the front south of Kirkuk insisted that Kurdish forces only pulled back after "a dozen" of their fighters were killed.

The loss of Kirkuk sparked angry recriminations from the PDK-aligned Kurdish peshmerga commanders.

They accused their rivals of "betrayal and aiding a conspiracy" for allegedly siding with the central government.

- 'Barzani's throne' -

Many see the damaging intra-Kurdish spat as the result of pent-up resentment over Barzani's handling of the region.

Critics saw the referendum gambit as a way to shore up his grip over Kurdistan and its lucrative oil revenues in the face of bitter opposition.

"While we were occupied with protecting the Kurdish people, Massud Barzani was hustling to steal petrol and reinforce his influence," said Lahour Sheikh Zengi, the head of counter-terrorism in the PUK stronghold of Sulaimaniyah.

"From now on we are not going to sacrifice our sons for the sake of Barzani's throne."

PUK lawmaker Ala Talabani said that "no one knows" what had happened to the money from oil wells that Barzani has controlled since 2014.

The Kurdish leader's recent moves have fuelled suspicions that he is looking to further extend his rule.

Barzani, who has lingered in power for years without a clear mandate after parliament extended his tenure in 2013, had bowed to pressure and decided not to run in elections next month.

But the crisis over the referendum has thrown that ballot into doubt and Barzani has set up a new "leadership" body -- headed by himself.

While the political future of Kurdistan is mired in uncertainty, one thing does seem increasingly clear.

The internecine squabbles appear to have buried for now any hope of Kurdish independence. The regional government's coffers will be gutted without the oil revenue it once received from Kirkuk.

"With the loss of these fields, Kurdish finances have been cut in half," French geographer and regional specialist Cyril Roussel told AFP.

"It spells the end of Kurdistan's economic self-sufficiency and of the dream of independence."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on President Donald Trump and honoring the nation's fallen (all times EDT):

9:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump is emphatically rejecting claims he was disrespectful to the grieving family of a slain soldier, as the firestorm he ignited over his assertions of empathy for American service members spread into a third contentious day.

The controversy has generated new turmoil in the White House. After one slain soldier's father accused the president of going back on a promise to send a check for $25,000, the White House said the money had been sent.

The aunt of an Army sergeant killed in Niger says Trump showed "disrespect" to the soldier's loved ones as he telephoned them to extend condolences. Sgt. La David Johnson was one of four American soldiers killed nearly two weeks ago; Trump called the families Tuesday.

__

5:55 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump has sent a $25,000 check he promised to the father of an Army sergeant killed in Afghanistan.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Trump offered the money during a telephone conversation with the father of Dillon Baldrige a few weeks after the 22-year-old was killed in Afghanistan on June 10. The Post reported that White House officials declined to discuss the matter when contacted Wednesday morning.

White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said later Wednesday that the check has been sent. She did not say when.

Walters also criticized the news media and accused reporters of using a "generous and sincere" gesture made privately by Trump to advance what she describes as a "biased agenda." Walters called it "disgusting."

___

3:30 p.m.

A White House spokeswoman says Chief of Staff John Kelly is "disgusted" that dealing with military deaths has become "politicized."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that Kelly is frustrated that "the focus has become on the process and not that American lives were lost."

Sanders did not directly address whether Kelly knew that Trump would cite the death of his son in Afghanistan to question whether President Barack Obama had properly honored the war dead.

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She says Trump had spoken with Kelly "multiple times," but adds: "I'm not sure if he knew of that specific comment, but they have certainly spoken about it. And they have spoken several times."

Asked if Trump politicized Kelly's son's death, Sanders says, "He was responding to a question and stating a fact."

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3:09 p.m.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says President Donald Trump has made as much contact as possible with families of slain military service members.

Sanders said Wednesday that there is a protocol created by the White House Military Office for the president to contact the families.

First, the Department of Defense notifies the next of kin. Then, the Pentagon sends information to the White House, which has to then be re-confirmed. Once done, the president reaches out to the family.

Sanders said Trump has reached out to every family that has been authorized by the military office.

The Associated Press found relatives of four soldiers who died overseas during Trump's presidency who said they never received calls from him.

Relatives of two soldiers also confirmed they did not get letters.

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2:34 p.m.

Relatives of at least a half dozen people who died in military service since Donald Trump became president say they never got a call from him about their loss.

This, despite Trump's boast that he calls all or nearly all military families when they lose a loved one.

The Associated Press is speaking with military families across the country to see if they got a call from Trump.

Some have not, and feel let down about it.

After Army Sgt. Jonathon M. Hunter died in a suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan in August, his family was told to expect a call from Trump. None came.

Hunter was 23 and from Columbus, Indiana.

His father Mark says the family wanted nothing more from Trump than an acknowledgment that Jonathon Hunter had made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

The family spoke with Vice President Mike Pence at a ceremony honoring the return of the soldier's remains.

____

12:05 p.m.

President Donald Trump is continuing to reject a Florida congresswoman's account that he told the widow of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger that her husband "knew what he signed up for."

Trump says Wednesday before a meeting at the White House that he "didn't say it at all." He adds: "I had a very nice conversation with the woman, the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said."

Sgt. La David Johnson was among four servicemen killed in the African nation of Niger earlier this month. Rep. Frederica Wilson said she was with Myeshia Johnson Tuesday when Trump called the widow. She said she overheard Trump's words.

The serviceman's mother, Cowanda Jones-Johnson, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the congresswoman's account was correct. She said "not only did he disrespect my son," but also the family.

Trump, asked by reporters about an earlier tweet saying he had "proof"of what he said, the president said: "let her (Wilson) make her statement again and you'll find out."

__

10:36 a.m.

The mother of a soldier killed in an ambush in Niger is confirming a report that President Donald Trump told his widow he "knew what he signed up for."

Cowanda Jones-Johnson spoke to the Associated Press via Facebook message Wednesday. A Florida congresswoman said previously that Trump made the statement to Myeshia Johnson on Tuesday during a telephone call as she was on the way to Miami International Airport to meet the body of her husband, Sgt. La David Johnson.

Jones-Johnson says she was in the car and "the statement is true." She added that "not only did he disrespect my son" but Trump was disrespectful to her son's widow. Jones-Johnson said she did not record the conversation.

Trump said on Twitter that Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson "fabricated" the account.

____

3:58 a.m.

Like other presidents, Donald Trump has made personal contact with some families of the fallen and not all.

What's different is that Trump has picked a political fight over the matter.

He boasts: "I think I've called every family of someone who's died."

But AP finds that Trump has not in fact spoken with the families of all the war dead on his watch. At least two never got a call or letter, and another family received no call.

And there's ample evidence presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush pulled their weight in offering condolences, contrary to Trump's assertions.
Security researcher Mathy Vanhoef publicly disclosed a serious vulnerability in the WPA2 encryption protocol yesterday that affects all devices that use WiFi. While weve listed many ways to protect yourself against KRACK, the best way to completely eradicate it from your network is to update all your WiFi devices. And some companies have been faster than others.

First, you should update your WiFi access point. If youre using your default ISP router, theres not much you can do about it. Ask the company if they patched it, look for the user guide to find out how you can access the configuration panel and force an update.

If youre worried, you can also buy a separate WiFi access point, plug it to your router and disable WiFi on your router. Owen Williams has been doing a good job tracking the status of all the various updates, even if you have an access point from an unknown vendor. Ubiquiti, Microtik, Meraki, Aruba and FortiNet updated their respective firmware in no time.

But updating your access points isnt enough. You also need to update your devices. Otherwise, if you connect to an unknown WiFi network that hasnt been patched, somebody can still look at your unencrypted internet traffic and collect some sweet personal data about you.

So lets look at the device makers. Microsoft is leading the charge here. The Verge first reported that Microsoft has already issued a security patch for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

Apple also has a patch up its sleeve as iMore reported. Unfortunately, the company is going to wait until the next big release to share the fix. So it means that you can already fix the KRACK vulnerability by downloading the beta versions of macOS, iOS, tvOS and watchOS. Otherwise, Apple is going to release macOS 10.13.1 and iOS 11.1 in the coming weeks with other bug fixes, new emojis and more.

Update: An Apple spokesperson has sent me the following statement:

"Apple is deeply committed to protecting our customers data. The fix for the KRACK WiFi vulnerability is currently in the betas of iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS and will soon be rolled out to customers."

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But what about Android devices? This is where it becomes tedious. Devices running Android 6.0 and later are more vulnerable than other devices. It is trivially easy to perform a key reinstallation attack because of a bad implementation of the handshake mechanism in the WiFi stack.

Google said that the November 6 patch would fix the issue. Googles own devices will receive the update instantly, but its going to take some time before device manufacturers and carriers approve the update. In fact, it could take weeks or months. Android fragmentation isnt ideal in those cases.

But theres one thing for sure. The KRACK vulnerability proves that you should install security updates as soon as theyre available. Turn on auto-updates on your devices and click yes if your device prompts you about a patch.
FILE PHOTO: The corporate logo of financial firm Morgan Stanley is pictured on the company's world headquarters in New York, New York January 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

(Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N) posted a much higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as record revenue from its wealth management business helped offset the blow from a slump in trading activity.

Revenue from the bank's wealth business rose 8.7 percent to $4.22 billion and generated pretax margin of 26.5 percent, above Chief Executive James Gorman's target range of 23-25 percent.

Morgan Stanley's shares rose 1.4 percent in premarket trading.

The results provided some evidence of what management has been promising for nearly nine years: the decision to buy Smith Barney at the height of the 2007-2009 financial crisis has given the smallest of the Wall Street banks a cushion to weather downturns the way some larger rivals do.

"Our third quarter results reflected the stability our wealth management, investment banking and investment management businesses bring when our Sales and Trading business faces a subdued environment," Gorman said in a statement.

Return on equity was 9.6 percent for the quarter, within Gorman's goal of 9 percent to 11 percent by the end of the year.

The bank's bond trading revenue, however, fell 20 percent to $1.2 billion, mirroring declines across the sector.

Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) have all reported steep declines in fixed income trading activity due to a slump in volatility.

Revenue from equities trading, a business in which Morgan Stanley is typically strong, remained flat at $1.9 billion.

Net income rose 11 percent to $1.69 billion. Earnings per share rose to 93 cents from 81 cents.

Adjusted earnings was 88 cents per share and topped estimates of 81 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $9.20 billion from a year earlier versus the average estimate of $9.01 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Investment banking revenue rose 12.7 percent to $1.38 billion.

Arch rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) reported a decline in quarterly profit as gains in investment banking were offset by a 26 percent drop in fixed-income trading revenue.

(Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
EgyptAir's deal to buy Bombardier's single-aisle C Series aircraft could be worth a total of $2.2 billion if they purchase all 24 planes (AFP Photo/Clement Sabourin) (AFP/File)

Washington (AFP) - A fourth round of talks to revamp a landmark North American free trade pact was due to close Tuesday, as delegates reacted to tough bargaining positions from Washington but vowed to continue the negotiations.

With hours remaining in the latest round, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier and Europe's Airbus on Monday also announced a partnership to begin US-based production of a passenger jet series at the center of a trade dispute with Washington.

President Donald Trump has persisted in threatening to scrap the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, even as negotiators claim they have inched towards common ground on issues including telecoms, digital trade and competition policy.

This week's talks were extended by 48 hours to a full week to allow additional bargaining time for delegations from the United States, Mexico and Canada.

All three sides are reportedly considering doing likewise for remaining talks this year -- or even extending them into early 2018, despite looming Mexican elections and the expiry of fast-track authority for US negotiators in the middle of next year.

The talks have proceeded at a brisk pace, with rounds so far scheduled only about two weeks apart to cram in discussions of hot-button issues.

Canadian officials have rejected US calls for greater access to Canada's protected dairy market.

Sources close to the Canadian and Mexican delegations told AFP that while US demands were tough, both countries were committed to continuing with the talks.

"We disagree with some of the proposals presented by the United States but we're not rejecting anything outright and we're still committed to the NAFTA negotiations," a source close to the Canadian delegation said.

- 'Are these positions serious?' -

But analysts say the US bargaining position has a number of elements its partners may find tough to swallow, including rules on access to government procurement and a possible five-year "sunset clause" on the agreement -- which could require the three countries to re-authorize the agreement rather than allow it to exist in perpetuity.

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Washington has also called for an end to certain forms of trade dispute arbitration and for US content requirements for auto manufacturing, which the auto industry itself opposes.

Scott Miller, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said US officials were advancing some positions -- particular fresh content requirements for auto manufacturing -- that were likely to be non-starters for US industry and lawmakers.

"Why would any administration table provisions that actually subtract from their vote totals?" he asked.

This could suggest Washington does not intend to arrive at a bargain acceptable to Congress anyhow, he added.

"My questions are -- are these positions serious and if so, please name the constituents in American politics who think they're a good idea," he told AFP.

"Or are they simply a way to create a narrative to defend withdrawing from NAFTA?"

"I haven't been able to find as straight answer to that question," said Miller.

Trump was propelled into the White House on a nationalist economic agenda and vowed to upend decades of prevailing trade policy, but stopped short of threats to do away with NAFTA.

But the NAFTA talks have ruffled feathers among market participants and industry players across the North American region, reanimating long-standing criticism from labor and left-wing activists and while unnerving the powerful US Chamber of Commerce.
Thirty percent of Americans between 18 and 36 years old discuss how much money they make with their coworkers, according to a new Cashlorette study. The same study found 63% share their salaries with immediate family.

Thirty-three percent of older millennials (27-36) share their salary with their colleagues  more than any other group. Meanwhile, only 8% of baby boomers (ages 53-71) disclose their pay with coworkers. Seventy-one percent of baby boomers, however, share what they make with their significant other. Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted the survey with 1,001 US adults.

Higher earners are more likely to share their salaries with friends and family, while those who earn $30,000 or less are most likely to discuss their salaries with coworkers. Millennials are still relatively new to the workforce, so they may feel more comfortable disclosing their salaries  for now.

Were definitely seeing more transparency when it comes to salaries. And, its likely for the better. Knowing what your friends and colleagues make in a similar field is empowering. [It helps you] gauge when it might be time to move on or request a raise, said Sarah Berger, author of the report.

The taboo topic

Just this week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that prohibits employers from seeking salary history of potential employees. Similar legislation went into effect in Oregon and New York City. Delaware, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Puerto Rico and San Francisco are phasing in bans.

Proponents of these kinds of laws argue they are a step closer toward ending wage discrimination, allowing individuals, particularly women, to get paid based on merit, not previous salary.

The practice of seeking or requiring the salary history of job applicants helps perpetuate wage inequality that has spanned generations of women in the workforce. AB 168 is a step to ensure that my 9-year-old daughter, and all women, can be confident that their pay will be based on their abilities and not their gender, said Stockton Assemblymember Susan Eggman, who wrote the bill.

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The more transparent colleagues are with one another, the more they can educate themselves about how much they should be making.

If you dont want to open up at work, thats OK, too. There are plenty of options that give you a peek into competitive rates for your role. Free resources like Glassdoors Know Your Worth, Payscale, Fairygodboss and Comparably can help you determine whether youre getting a fair wage.

Melody Hahm is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm.

Read more:
Shares of California utility PG&E (NYSE: PCG) rose 7.51 percent Tuesday on word about a suspected arsonist arrested in Sonoma County. California's largest electric utility company has seen its stock drop nearly 18 percent since Oct. 9 amid concerns it could be found liable for the fires that have ravaged Northern California. More than 41 deaths have been blamed on the fires and dozens of people remain missing in Sonoma County alone.As of Tuesday, the cause of the current wildfires in Northern California remained "under investigation," according to Cal Fire. However, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Monday that a 29-year-old man was arrested in Sonoma on Sunday afternoon. It said he "was seen leaving a creek bed where a fire was burning." Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano confirmed Tuesday afternoon that an arson suspect was arrested Sunday.Overall, the wildfires have scorched more than 220,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,700 structures.PG&E said in an SEC filing Friday it has "$800 million in liability insurance for potential losses that may result from these fires. If the amount of insurance is insufficient to cover the Utility's liability or if insurance is otherwise unavailable PG&E Corporation's and the Utility's financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected."Analysts at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and RBC Capital Markets have all reduced their price targets on PG&E shares recently.Christopher Turnure, an analyst at JPMorgan covering the stock, said in a note Sunday: "We assign a 75% chance of PCG being found liable for the Northern California wildfires."WATCH: Why Cramer's watching PG&E Shares of California utility PG&E (NYSE: PCG) rose 7.51 percent Tuesday on word about a suspected arsonist arrested in Sonoma County. California's largest electric utility company has seen its stock drop nearly 18 percent since Oct. 9 amid concerns it could be found liable for the fires that have ravaged Northern California. More than 41 deaths have been blamed on the fires and dozens of people remain missing in Sonoma County alone. As of Tuesday, the cause of the current wildfires in Northern California remained "under investigation," according to Cal Fire. However, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported Monday that a 29-year-old man was arrested in Sonoma on Sunday afternoon. It said he "was seen leaving a creek bed where a fire was burning." Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano confirmed Tuesday afternoon that an arson suspect was arrested Sunday. Overall, the wildfires have scorched more than 220,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 5,700 structures. PG&E said in an SEC filing Friday it has "$800 million in liability insurance for potential losses that may result from these fires. If the amount of insurance is insufficient to cover the Utility's liability or if insurance is otherwise unavailable PG&E Corporation's and the Utility's financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected." Analysts at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and RBC Capital Markets have all reduced their price targets on PG&E shares recently. Christopher Turnure, an analyst at JPMorgan covering the stock, said in a note Sunday: "We assign a 75% chance of PCG being found liable for the Northern California wildfires." WATCH: Why Cramer's watching PG&E



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SHANGHAI, China - The new Polestar 1 is almost, but not quite, a 600 horsepower Volvo. Introduced today at the launch of Volvo's new Polestar brand here in Shanghai, the Polestar 1 has a lot of Volvo DNA, but has been turned up to 11 by the fine folks at Polestar  formerly Volvo's internal tuning house. It's built on the same Scalable Product Architecture that underpins the XC90, the new XC60, and the rest of Volvo's new-generation 60- and 90- series cars. It sort of uses the same Drive-E twin-engine powertrain that you can find in the T8 versions of a number of Volvo's latest generation cars  it even looks like a Volvo, inside and out.



Clearly inspired by the Volvo Concept Coupe from a few years ago, the Polestar 1 will be the halo car for Volvo's new performance marque. It's a two-door, 2+2 grand tourer coupe that puts out 600 horsepower and 737 foot-pounds of torque from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. Polestar says fifty percent of the car is "new and bespoke," designed by engineers within the new company.



Power comes from a four-cylinder Drive-E engine brought over from Volvo's current line of cars, with a pair of electric motors driving the rear wheels connected via planetary gears. The electric motors produce 218 horsepower on their own, and the car carries enough juice to go more than 90 miles on electric power alone (though Polestar didn't specify whether that was under the American or European testing cycle). That would make it the longest-range PHEV on the market if it were available today.



"We consider it an electric car with support from an internal combustion engine," said Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath. "The Polestar 1 bridges today's technology with the future." The company says all of its future models will be completely electric.



The Polestar 1 measures 14-feet 9-inches long, a drop of more than two feet from Volvo's S90 sedan, including a reduction of a foot from the wheelbase and another nearly eight inches from the rear. It has a new "Continuously Controlled Electronic Suspension" from Ohlins that fits an electronic valve on each shock absorber that can change ride characteristics based on driver input and conditions. As an added bonus, the driver can adjust chassis damping and ride quality on the fly.



The planetary gears on the double-electric rear axle allow for torque vectoring in the corners, while Akebono 6-piston brake calipers and 15.75-inch discs help keep things under control. Much of the car is made from carbon fiber, including most of the major body parts, making for a total body weight reduction of more than 500 pounds, with a 48:52 front-to-rear weight distribution.



The interior looks straight out of a top-of-the-line S90, though that's not a bad thing. With Volvo's legendarily comfortable seats and excellent Sensus infotainment system, Polestar gets a huge benefit from appropriating Volvo's luxurious interior.





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Polestar 1





Polestar 1

Polestar 1





Just 500 Polestar 1's will be made available each year through a new online-only ordering process  and don't expect to buy one, either. Polestar's cars will only be available through two- and three- year subscriptions with insurance and maintenance included. The Polestar 1 order book opens today, and production is expected to begin in mid-2019.



But that's not the only car that Polestar has in the works. Polestar 2 is a midsize all-electric sedan that will compete with the Model 3 (and whatever else is announced between now and its 2019 on-sale date). The Polestar 2 is currently in the engineering phase and Polestar says it will start production before the end of 2019, in higher volumes than Polestar 1.



Polestar 3, which is in the final design phase, will be a "larger SUV-style" electric car. It will sit between Polestar 1 and 2 in both volume and pricing.



All Polestar's cars will, at least initially, be assembled at a purpose-built facility in Chengdu, China, and the brand will remain a subsidiary of Volvo Car Group, though it is set up as a 640 million euro joint venture between Volvo and parent company Zhejiang Geely Holding.



Everything, from test drives and ordering to on-demand services like car-washes and valet, will be handled through a dedicated Polestar app. A number of Polestar Space locations will be opened beginning in the first quarter of 2019, allowing customers to see the cars and speak with Polestar product specialists in person. They will be completely separate from Volvo showrooms, though existing Volvo dealerships will handle maintenance and servicing of Polestar vehicles.



"Being part of the Volvo Car Group enables Polestar to design, develop and engineer our cars using the processes of a well-established car company," says Ingenlath. "But at the same time, enables us to experiment with new technology in lower volume cars outside the mainstream segments."



Related Video:

Polestar 1 First Look | The 600 horsepower hybrid Scandinavian originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:00:00 EDT.
TipRanks

The elections are behind us, the latest inflation data showed an easing back in the rate of increase, and markets finished last week with their best trading sessions in months. The signs have aligned for investors to feel good. Or should they? Billionaire investor Carl Icahn believes otherwise, and in a recent interview he laid out the case for the bears. I am still quite bearish on what is going to happen. A rally like this is of course very dramatic to say the least, but you have them all the
Republican Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray reach deal to help insurance companies cover medical needs of low-income Americans

Patty Murray speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

Senators have moved to salvage Obamacare following Donald Trumps decision last week to scrap critical subsidies that underpin the health law.

Republican senator Lamar Alexander announced on Tuesday that he had reached a deal with Democrat Patty Murray to fund the federal payments  intended to help insurance companies cover the medical needs of low-income Americans  in exchange for allowing states more regulatory flexibility under the Affordable Care Act.

The president  who last week announced he was ending the subsidies to insurance companies while claiming the ACA was imploding  said he approved of the plan and that the White House had been involved in the negotiations.

It is a short-term solution so that we dont have this very dangerous little period, Trump said, and it will get us over this intermediate hump.

Trump has given mixed messages over his motivation for ending the subsidies, which the White House argues were unlawful.

Democrats have accused him of scrapping them to sabotage Barack Obamas signature healthcare law following repeated failed attempts by Republicans to repeal it, and the presidents former chief strategist Steve Bannon has praised him because the decision is gonna blow that thing [Obamacare] up.

On Monday Trump appeared to back this interpretation, telling reporters: Obamacare is finished. Its dead. Its gone. You shouldnt even mention it. Its gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare any more.

And on Saturday, in an unusual move for a president, he celebrated a fall in the value of insurance company stocks following his decision to end the payments.

Health Insurance stocks, which have gone through the roof during the ObamaCare years, plunged yesterday after I ended their Dems windfall! he tweeted on Saturday.

But Trump has also expressed approval that his actions were prompting Congress to discuss the issue of the subsidies. Republicans are meeting with Democrats because of what I did with the CSR, because I cut off the gravy train, he said on Monday. If I didnt cut the CSRs, they wouldnt be meeting. Theyd be having lunch and enjoying themselves, all right?

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This echoed a tweet on Friday suggesting the move had been a bargaining chip. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped, Trump wrote. Dems should call me to fix!

But Alexander and Murray had already been engaged in negotiations long before Trump catapulted the insurance market into potential chaos by abruptly pulling the subsidies.

A hurdle

Alexander, chairman of the Senate health committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill he was encouraged by the consensus of support  including from President Trump, but cautioned that reaching a deal was only the first hurdle in what could be a protracted process. The Tennessee Republican said there was more work to be done, but hoped the measure would draw bipartisan support.

The Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, called the deal a very good step forward which had received broad support among his party, and urged Mitch McConnell, his GOP counterpart, to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Trumps decision to embrace a deal to continue the payments underscores the challenge facing Republicans amid the partys failed efforts to act upon a seven-year pledge to repeal and replace Obamas healthcare law, which extended insurance coverage to about 20 million people.



The uncertainty over the Affordable Care Acts future, and specifically over the so-called cost-sharing reduction payments, has been cited by some major insurers as part of the reason why they were compelled to pull out of the marketplace established under the law. Failing to make the payments could result in soaring costs for millions of Americans by forcing insurers to increase premiums, and in some cases lead policyholders to drop coverage altogether.

McConnell called the deal a hot news item during a weekly press conference with reporters. He said the leadership team had not had time to think about a way forward yet.

It remains unclear whether Republicans will have the votes to pass a bill that conservative hardliners have dubbed an Obamacare bailout.

Trump insisted on Tuesday that he remained committed to dismantling the ACA and would urge Republicans in Congress to revisit the issue of healthcare after advancing a tax reform bill.



Obamacare is a disaster. Its virtually dead as far as Im concerned, Trump said, while vowing to push ahead with a Republican plan that would transform federal funding provided under the ACA into block grants controlled by the states.

The latter proposal, sponsored by the Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, failed to garner sufficient support from the GOP last month before even reaching the Senate floor for a vote. Trump nonetheless claimed on Tuesday that Republicans had the votes to move forward, despite there being no indication of that being the case.

Last week, just before removing the subsidies, the president took action to unilaterally weaken the ACA by signing an executive order aimed at expanding access to cheaper and less comprehensive insurance. As Trump hailed his decision as a meaningful step toward undercutting the ACA, critics suggested the move would enable insurers to skirt coverage requirements for basic health benefits such as maternity care and prescription drugs.

Negotiations between the senators began last month but progress stalled when Republicans attempted to revive a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That plan failed to gain enough traction, prompting Trump to take executive action to unwind the law.

They had initially hoped to reach an agreement ahead of the deadline for insurance companies to finalize their rates for the year. That did not happen, and insurance companies have largely raised premiums for 2018.

Meanwhile, Republicans are facing an extremely narrow path to approving a budget resolution, a critical step toward fulfilling their promise to overhaul the tax system.

The Senate voted on Tuesday to open debate on the proposal after Trump helped sway Rand Paul, a fiscal hawk from Kentucky, to allow a discussion to move forward. In a call with reporters later in the day, Paul said he would not support the budget unless it shaved $43m in defense spending, a priority for his Senate colleagues John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

Graham warned that if the party doesnt make good on its promises on tax, it will lose its majorities come next election.

Heres the one thing Ive told every Republican including the president: were going to succeed together or were going to fail together, Graham said. If we dont cut taxes after all these years of promising, then I think the party comes unraveled.
WASHINGTON  Its just too tricky to reform the tax code without delivering a windfall to the wealthy, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in an interview published Wednesday.

WASHINGTON  Its just too tricky to reform the tax code without delivering a windfall to the wealthy, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in an interview published Wednesday.

When youre cutting taxes across the board, its very hard not to give tax cuts to the wealthy with tax cuts to the middle class, Mnuchin told Politicos Ben White. The math, given how much you are collecting, is just hard to do.

Mnuchin is right in one sense: Because of the way the tax code adds layers of higher marginal tax rates as income rises, wealthy people automatically benefit if the lower rates are reduced, since they pay both the lower and higher rates.

But Mnuchin is wrong that it would be difficult to devise a tax plan that doesnt make up for lost revenue with higher marginal rates for the wealthy. Precisely for this reason, Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration  including Mnuchin himself  said theyd consider a higher top marginal rate when they unveiled their tax framework last month.

An additional top rate may apply to the highest-income taxpayers to ensure that the reformed tax code is at least as progressive as the existing tax code and does not shift the tax burden from high-income to lower- and middle-income taxpayers, the tax framework document says.

Has the White House abandoned the possibility of an additional top rate? A spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Republicans have also struggled to deliver on their stated goal of a tax cut for the middle class, since their framework calls for simplifying the tax code by eliminating a plethora of deductions and exemptions that benefit lower- and middle-income households. Were working on fixing that right now, Mnuchin told Politico.

Mnuchin said the White House had not reconsidered one part of the tax-reform outline that exclusively benefits the very rich: repealing the estate tax, which only applies to the less than 1 percent of estates worth more than $5.4 million.

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Though their tax blueprint is short on details, a preliminary analysis by the Tax Policy Center found the richest 1 percent of households would reap 80 percent of the benefits of the proposed changes.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The Wall Street bulls swear that sweeping tax reform is the key to putting a newly-resurgent corporate America on the fast track for years to come. What better way to gauge the potential power of the Republican Party business tax plan than to examine its impact on the worlds most valuable, and closely-watched publicly-traded company, Apple aapl ?

A close look at the what tax reform would mean for Apple yields two conclusions. First, if enacted, the GOPs plan to lower the statutory corporate rate to from 35% to 20% would substantially lift Apples already gargantuan profits. It would also unleash a windfall of cash now parked in foreign subsidiaries that the iPhone maker could use for a whole new chapter of expansion and innovation. In other words, tax reform is potentially a major positive for Apples basic businessand just might make it the worlds first $1 trillion company.

The second point: Investors have bid up Apples shares by 50% since the presidential election. The danger is that theyre already paying far too much in anticipation of the tax-slashing revolution, designed to make America super-competitive in world markets, that Republicans were promising until recently. For example, the previous House GOP proposal for a 15% corporate rate would have lifted Apple to a far higher plane of profitability than the 20% proposal. To be sure, the scaled-down blueprint would still be a positive for Apple. The question is whether its potent enough to justify Wall Streets unbridled optimism.

This analysis is based on an in-depth report by Albert Meyer, a former accounting professor and founder of money-manager Bastiat Capital. With Meyers assistance, I adjusted his assumption of a reduction of todays 35% statutory rate from his preferred levy of 15%, to the 20% proposed levy that President Trump and GOP leaders unveiled in their nine-page framework for tax reform, released in late September.

What a difference 5% makes

Meyer points out that Apples effective tax rate for its last fully-reported fiscal year, the 12 months ended September 2016, was 25.6%. That levy is well below the official federal rate of 35%. Why is the effective rate lower than the official levy? Its mainly because multinationals only pay the in-country tax on earnings booked in say, Ireland or Hungarywhere rates are far lower than in the U.S.if they plan to invest the profits in those nations permanently, rather than eventually returning the money stateside.

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(As Meyer observes, Apple employs that levy-lowering practice modestly when compared to many multinationals, and hence pays a relatively high effective rate.)

A shift to a 20% rate would lift the bottom line, though how much depends on details yet to be disclosed. Naturally, Apple wouldnt pay the full 20%, just as it doesnt pay 35% today; what matters is that what it owes in taxes each yearits effective tax bill subtracted from pre-tax income to arrive at net incomewould fall. The GOP plan would shift the U.S. from a system that taxes all worldwide income at U.S. rates to the territorial model employed by most industrialized nations. Under a territorial regime, companies would pay tax on profits generated in a foreign country only in that country, and in theory, would no longer need to pay the difference between the invariably lower local tax, and our 35%, the highest rate in the industrialized world.

But theres a catch: The GOP plan would also impose a minimum levy on all foreign earnings, to ensure companies dont undermine the U.S. tax base by shifting a large portions of their earnings to tax-shelter nations. At the same time, it would eliminate the biggest loophole, the option of leaving earnings permanently invested abroad, subject only to local tax. The framework doesnt specify the rate for the minimum tax, except to say that it would be below the statutory levy of 20%.

The call for a minimum tax is a big disappointment for Americas multinationals. It will force them to pay a lot more than if it were omitted. For example, on its big operations in Ireland, Apple would be liable only for the 12.5% Irish tax under the territorial regimes, and not additional liability in the U.S. But if the minimum tax were, say, 17%, it would force U.S. manufacturers like Apple to pay an extra 4.5% to the Treasury on their Irish earningsthe difference between the 12.5% Irish rate and the U.S. minimum.

So how would the heart of the proposal, the combination of the overall 20% levy and the minimum tax, shape Apples future? In his study, Meyer assumes that Apples pre-tax earnings remain flat in the new fiscal year that began on October 1, at $61.4 billion. If it paid the same 25.6% as last year, Apple would owe $15.7 billion in all income taxes (including levies payable to foreign nations). Hence, its net earnings would be the same as in FY 2016, at $45.7 billion.

If the GOP plan were enacted so that it applied to Apples FY 2018, assuming a 17% minimum tax on foreign earnings, its effective tax rate would drop by around 8.5 points to just under 17%. Its overall tax bill would fall from $15.7 billion to around $10 billion, for a savings of nearly $6 billion. Apples net earnings would rise by the amount of the tax savings, in rough numbers, from $45.7 to $51.4 billion, waxing 12.5%.

Sounds great. But the GOP plan isnt nearly as favorable as the original Republican House proposal, which advocated a 15% rate and no floor for foreign earnings. Though getting to anything like 15% was always a long-shot, it was viewed by many multinationals as a kind of platonic ideal of tax reform; and it appears that hopes for a plan far more ambitious than the current one has powered the recent historic run in the S&P 500, and especially in Apple shares. Using Meyers numbers, at a 15% rate and no minimum tax, Apple would pay just $7.1 billion in all income taxes in FY 2018, 45% of its bill in 2016, and one-third less than at the 20% rate.

Bringing the money home

Still, the GOP framework provides an additional carrot that multinationals applaud. The plan mandates that all profits parked abroad be repatriated. It would tax those returning profits at a low rate; the White House has talked about a levy of around 10%. At the close of FY 2016, Apple held $90 billion in foreign subs designated for possible return to the U.S. Today, that cache is probably well over $100 billion. Hence, Apple could garner a windfall of $90 billion ($100 billion in overseas profits minus $10 billion in federal taxes).

Where are the these two big breaksthe rate reduction and the influx of foreign cashlikely to steer Apples stock price? If FY 2018 earnings suddenly jump to $51.4 billion, and Apple keeps its relatively modest PE of 17.7, its market cap would soar by $111 billion, from $808 million to $919 billion. The $90 billion-plus windfall could provide a further boost by funding buybacks, special dividends or a suite of new products. In a short time, tax reform could make Apple Americas first $1 trillion company.

Thats the sunniest scenario, and its being pushed hard by Apples many fans on Wall Street. Its more likely that while Apples fundamentals would improve substantially, its share price might not follow. The reason is basic: In the past 12 months, Apples shares have gained 31%, while its earnings for its first three quarters rose just 2.6%. Its not clear that a new 20% levy and minimum tax package is favorable enough to justify the huge rally in Apples stock.

And the GOP proposal could just be an opening bid that gets whittled down by compromise in Congress. Getting to a 20% rate would be a good thing for Apples business, and theres no better proxy for corporate America. But in this frothy market, would it attach a booster rocket to Apples stock? Dont bet on it.
Three African-American workers have filed another lawsuit claiming they experienced discrimination and harassment because of their race while they were employed at a Tesla factory in Fremont, California.

The men claim that supervisors and workers used racial epithets and drew racist graffiti on cardboard boxes, according to Mercury News.

Owen Diaz and his son, Demetric Diaz, both worked at the Fremont facility and said they were called the N-word during their time there. Lamar , the third plaintiff in the case, said he experienced hostility and racial epithets.

Owen Diaz, who worked at the factory from June 2015 to May 2016, also said a supervisor drew and hung a derogatory picture of a pickaninny cartoon in the workplace.

Demetric Diaz said these types of racist actions were commonplace when he worked at the Fremont Factory between August 2015 and October 2016 and claimed he was fired from his job as a production associate after he filed a complaint with his supervisor.

A representative from Tesla said the men never raised concerns about racial discrimination while they were employed at the factory and pointed out that there are no complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

"Tesla takes any and every form of discrimination or harassment extremely seriously," a Tesla spokesperson said in an email statement to Fortune. In situations where Tesla is at fault, we will never seek to avoid responsibility. But in this instance, from what we know so far, this does not seem to be such a case.

The spokesperson made it clear that Tesla takes issue with the fact that the men never filed complaints about the harassment and discrimination they claim to have experienced while they were working for the company and that more than a year has elapsed since some of the men have been employed by Tesla or one of its contractors.

This isn't the first grievance involving the Fremont factory, where nearly one-third of Tesla's 33,000 employees work. Earlier this week, the company fired hundreds of those factory workers following performance reviews as it tries to solve production issues for the new Model 3.

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Tesla will appear in front of the National Labor Relations Board on November 14th to address claims that Fremont workers' rights were violated when the company allegedly acted to prevent them from unionizing. In March of this year, another black employee who worked at the Fremont factory also filed a suit against Tesla for racial discrimination with the same lawyer representing Owen Diaz, Demetric Diaz, and Patterson.

The company maintains that it did not know about the alleged discrimination and underscored Tesla's human resources training which is "required of all employees at every level."

See original article on Fortune.com

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FILE PHOTO: Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (C) addresses the media with Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo (L) and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the close of the third round of NAFTA talks involving the United States, Mexico and Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo (Reuters)

By Dave Graham and David Lawder

ARLINGTON, Va. (Reuters) - Lobbying efforts on the North American Free Trade Agreement faced a major test this week after the Trump administration ignored advice from U.S. business groups and pitched proposals to radically reshape NAFTA, leaving its future in doubt.

The U.S. demands to force renegotiation of NAFTA every five years and reserve the lion's share of automotive manufacturing for the United States have cast a pall over a fourth round of talks due to end Tuesday in suburban Washington.

Though they were widely expected, the aggressive U.S. proposals were met with dismay by many officials from Mexico, Canada and U.S. industry, who have formed a loose alliance in opposing major changes to NAFTA.

By Monday, Mexico's peso <MXN=D2> hit a near five-month low with fears growing about the future of the deal underpinning $1.2 trillion in annual trade between the three countries. Mexico sends nearly 80 percent of its exports to the United States.

U.S. opposition to NAFTA's dispute resolution mechanisms, plans to restrict outside access to government contracts and attacks on Canadian dairy and softwood lumber producers have further stoked the grim mood among trade officials.

Bosco de la Vega, head of Mexico's National Agricultural Council, the country's main farming lobby, said coming weeks would show whether Mexico and Canada's allies in Congress and the U.S. private sector could push back against the proposals.

"We're going to see what the people here are made of," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the talks. "What I can guarantee you is that Mexico won't agree to a bad deal."

Officials from the two biggest U.S. export markets have spent the months since Trump's November election victory working on U.S. bosses and political leaders to defend NAFTA, a 23-year-old accord that the president has repeatedly called a "disaster," which he blames for the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has rejected what it calls the "poison pill" plans and has been backed by other major industry groups.

But whether lobbies that Trump has sought to characterize as part of the "Washington swamp" can encourage a change of heart is far from certain, especially with the president openly feuding with a number of senior Republicans in Congress.

Trump has attacked NAFTA throughout the talks and participants are doubtful how much influence Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexico's economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, will have on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer when the three meet for talks on Tuesday.

Arguing that the deal has boosted Mexican manufacturing at the expense of the United States, Trump points to a goods trade deficit with its southern neighbor of $64 billion last year.

To that end, his administration is seeking to raise the amount of NAFTA content in autos to 85 percent from 62.5 percent and secure 50 percent of the total for the United States.

U.S. negotiators at the talks opened up another front by proposing that Canada dismantle its system of protections for the dairy and poultry sectors, a move that Ottawa will reject, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.

LOUDER NAFTA SALES PITCH

Defenders of NAFTA say the cross-border integration has made the region more competitive with the rest of the world and prevented job losses to rival economies in Asia and Europe.

Ann Wilson, senior vice president of government affairs for the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents U.S. auto parts makers, said the group was speaking to "as many levels of policymakers as possible."

"We are hopeful that by providing data and analysis ... that we can find a landing zone that will allow our members to continue to thrive," said Wilson. "But the proposal that I understand is on the table right now will not do that."

Moises Kalach, head of the international negotiating arm of Mexico's CCE business lobby, was confident the divisive measures did not have the support of Congress or key U.S. employers.

"The American private sector completely supports us, they're very aligned, working with Congress, working with the governors and the Senate, and they are meeting with a lot of resonance," Kalach said. "There's a lot of fighting still to do."

Jerry Dias, head of Canada's biggest private-sector union, Unifor, said the United States could not expect to extract concessions from the other two nations at minimal cost.

"Ultimately, Trump is going to get a major pushback because Canada is the number one trading partner for 30 U.S. states," he said. "He agricultural sector of the United States will go absolutely crazy. The dairy sector will go absolutely crazy."

But many are not convinced it will be enough.

"I don't think Lighthizer will do much beyond listening and nodding. I can't see a situation where (he) is ready to start negotiating," said a Canadian source familiar with the talks, noting that Trump remained the biggest unknown. "We've heard time and time again that Lighthizer only has an audience of one."

(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Ginger Gibson; Editing by Susan Thomas and Leslie Adler)
Healthcare stocks are moving higher today and there is accompanying call buying in November options that are listed on the largest name in the sector in terms of asset size, XLV (SPDR Health Care Select, Expense Ratio 0.14%, $17.5 billion in AUM).

The November 84 calls in XLV are catching some trading interest today, and with XLV trading with a high $82 handle today on the move higher, these options are approximately 1.3% out-of-the-money right now. The 52-week high in XLV is $83.41 and was touched just eight trading sessions ago before the sector sold off a bit.

The top five holdings in XLV are as follows: 1) JNJ (11.57%), 2) PFE (6.85%), 3) UNH (5.93%), 4) MRK (5.48%), and 5) ABBV (4.57%).

Corporate earnings season is certainly a consideration here (as are headlines regarding the fate of Obamacare given where we are on the calendar and the nature of the recent trading in this space, and when we look further we see the top holdings that are mentioned above are slated to report their quarterly results as follows: 1) JNJ (reported this morning before the bell and the stock has rallied over 2.2%), 2) PFE (10/31 AM), 3) UNH (reported this morning before the bell and the stock is up nearly 5%), 4) MRK (10/27 AM), and 5) ABBV (10/27 AM).

Other broad-based Healthcare ETFs that we are watching closely given the tone of recent trading here in an earnings environment include VHT (Vanguard Healthcare, Expense Ratio 0.10%, $7.1 billion in AUM), IYH (iShares U.S. Healthcare, Expense Ratio 0.44%, $2.1 billion in AUM), FXH (First Trust Amex Biotechnology, Expense Ratio 0.61%, $1 billion in AUM), FHLC (Fidelity MSCI Health Care, Expense Ratio 0.08%, $881 million in AUM), and RYH (Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Healthcare, Expense Ratio 0.40%, $658 million in AUM).

Levered Bull CURE (Direxion Daily Healthcare Bull 3X, Expense Ratio 1.09%, $153 million in AUM) is also on our radar today, after seeing a nice lift on the bullish action in the Healthcare segment. Although trading volume in this name has been below average lately, it could certainly increase in the near term given all of the observations we made above.

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The Health Care SPDR ETF (XLV) was trading at $82.88 per share on Tuesday afternoon, up $0.82 (+1.00%). Year-to-date, XLV has gained 21.14%, versus a 15.23% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

XLV currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 33 ETFs in the Health & Biotech ETFs category.

You are viewing an abbreviated republication of ETF Daily News content. You can find full ETF Daily News articles on (www.etfdailynews.com)
Robert Ackerman Jr. is the founder and a managing director of AllegisCyber, an early-stage cybersecurity venture firm, and a founder of DataTribe, a cybersecurity startup studio in metropolitan Washington, D.C.

More posts by this contributor

The Trump administration is already developing a pattern of being long on oratory but short on tangible action, and, sad to say, the Presidents cybersecurity Executive Order is following the script.

No matter, it seems, that massive and increasing cyberattacks domestically and internationally are shredding confidence in the ability of major institutions to protect sensitive, typically consumer-centric data.

The latest addition to the list of gargantuan cyber casualties is Equifax, the giant credit reporting agency, which failed miserably in coping with the theft of personal data on more than 145 million Americans. Shortly before were the WannaCry and NotPetya global ransomware attacks. And this month we heard that the massive data breach at Yahoo four years ago actually impacted not 1 billion Yahoo accounts but 3 billion  all consumer accounts, period, at Yahoo.

There is a narrow and fleeting window of opportunity before a watershed, 9/11 level cyber attack to organize effectively and take bold action, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council wrote in a report less than two months ago. We call on the administration to use this moment of foresight to take bold, decisive actions.

And yet the Trump team continues to falter. Government civilian and military agencies had a 90-day deadline to review and assess their cybersecurity status and propose improvements.

Eight deadlines related to this have come and gone, and more are approaching. Why the sluggish performance?

Senator John McCain put it succinctly. Unfortunately, leadership from the executive branch on cybersecurity has been weak, he recently said.

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(Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

The White House and agency officials have said the required reports are coming along. But they dont say when they will be submitted, nor do they say which of many subordinate deadlines, if any, have been met.

It probably doesnt help that numerous members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which advises the Department of Homeland Security on infrastructure and cybersecurity issues, recently resigned, citing concerns about the Trump administration regarding cybersecurity policy and other matters.

The Trump cybersecurity Executive Order was built largely on existing policies and initiatives, but it nonetheless was the first formal cybersecurity policy -- or at least the skeleton of a policy -- issued by a U.S. president. It was a call to action in May, more than past administrations had done, and it was just a start -- all the more reason why ongoing delay in these perilous times is extremely risky.

The administration needs to get moving because there is much important work to be done. Take, for example, the goal of improved protection of U.S. infrastructure. The administration must respond decisively to the fact that our electric grid and other key components of national infrastructure were designed to be functional, not secure.

I dont know what the administration will ultimately do to fix this, but I recommend a three-pronged strategy.

The government should define a level of expected cyber resiliency and produce a methodology to protect it.

We should create a clearing center for the implementation of best practices in grid security.

We should form an industrial bank to provide long-term financing to utilities that need it in order to help implement this.

Here is my take on other key measures that must be taken -- sooner, rather than later -- to improve government cybersecurity. The first is addressed in Trumps EO; the others remain insufficiently addressed or not at all.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes members of his American Technology Council, including (L-R) Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in the State Dining Room of the White House June 19, 2017 in Washington, DC." (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

* The EOs call for federal government agencies  especially civilian agencies  to seek opportunities to share cyber technology is a good move.

In my opinion, its unwise to reinvent the wheel, one government silo at a time. Cloud-based computing and security frameworks available today make a holistic approach realistic. Data security frameworks would then be layered atop the cloud framework so that data can be shared while also encrypted. Individual agencies could then build on this framework for their unique needs.

True, government silos have varying degrees of expertise, resources and sophistication. But security is only as strong as the weakest link in the network. If addressed, adversaries will find and exploit that link.

* Cybersecurity experts in U.S. intelligence agencies must share some of their knowledge with American companies.

Their expertise could also be tapped to help develop a cybersecurity infrastructure bank  a bank that would loan government funds to small utilities, water plants and the like to help them quickly upgrade their cyber defenses.

* Steps must be taken to persuade the government to purchase cybersecurity technology and services from innovative startups.

The government today relies mostly on large, established cyber vendors, many of which do not sell state-of-the-art wares. Startups, by definition, must be innovative or die.

* The government should cease buying cyber technology and related gear from foreign sources. Its too risky.

The government already follows this policy to some extent, but must do more. On the plus side, China-based Huawei Technologies, the worlds largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, is banned from selling its gear in America. The company is reputedly controlled, in part, by Chinas People Liberation Army.

Hopefully, before much longer we will hear from each agency in the executive branch regarding what their security measures are and what are deemed to be significant risks. From there  again, hopefully -- work will mitigate the risks. Steps taken dont necessarily have to follow my suggestions, but must be worthwhile.

Lets try to be optimistic. As I said, at least we have a call to action. As Abraham Lincoln once said, Determine the thing that can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.
US commanders actively trying to mediate between two sides in the oil-rich city after forces loyal to the government in Baghdad seized control on Monday

Iraqi forces patrol in the streets after they retake the control of the city center from peshmerga forces in Kirkuk, Iraq, on Monday. Photograph: Uncredited/AP

US military commanders are scrambling to stop a conflict escalating between two forces they arm and train, after the Iraqi army seized the contested, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, from Kurdish peshmerga.



The Pentagon sought to play down the scale of clashes between the two sides, after forces loyal to the central government in Baghdad rapidly took over nearly all the city on Monday, and Kurdish forces abandoned their positions, retreating to nearby oilfields. Video footage showed streams of Kurdish refugees leaving Kirkuk in cars.

Baghdads move came three weeks after a referendum on Kurdish independence included the ethnically diverse oil city  a contentious move that Baghdad viewed as an effective annexation.

The peshmerga withdrawal delivered decisive military and political gains to Baghdad and a devastating blow to the Kurdish regions de facto president, Massoud Barzani, who had staked much of his legacy on the referendum and aimed to use it as a stepping stone to consolidate Kurdish autonomy.

Col Robert Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, described the takeover, as coordinated movements, not attacks and said an exchange of fire that is reported to have resulted in several casualties was an isolated incident.



We have not seen levels of violences suggested in some of the media reports, Manning said, urging both parties to focus on the common threat of the Islamic State. This is certainly not helpful and again we encourage both sides to not fight each other.

He added that US commanders in the region were active in trying to mediate between the two sides in the city.

Coalition leaders at all levels are engaging with their counterparts in the Iraq security forces to encourage dialogue and de-escalation, Manning said.

Speaking at the White House, Donald Trump said: We dont like the fact that they are clashing, but were not taking sides.

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But the US embassy in Baghdad declared its support for Iraqs reassertion of sovereignty in Kirkuk. We support the peaceful reassertion of federal authority, consistent with the Iraqi constitution, in all disputed areas, the embassy said in a statement.

The confrontation with Kurdish forces is a serious threat to US efforts to focus its allies efforts against Isis, an effort in which Kurdish forces have been Washingtons most effective partner.

There was also concern in Washington over the role of Iran in the move into Kirkuk. The Iraqi army advanced alongside mostly Shia Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), which are Iranian-backed.

I am especially concerned by media reports that Iranian and Iranian-backed forces are part of the assault. Iraqi forces must take immediate steps to de-escalate this volatile situation by ceasing their advances, Senator John McCain said in a written statement.

The United States provided equipment and training to the government of Iraq to fight Isis and secure itself from external threats  not to attack elements of one of its own regional governments, which is a longstanding and valuable partner of the United States.

Manning said the Pentagon had been assured by the Iraqi government and security forces that they would use US equipment in accordance with US law and our bilateral agreements.

If we receive reports that US-origin equipment is being misused or provided to unauthorized users, we engage the Iraqi government in conjunction with the US embassy to address any confirmed issues  up to the highest levels, if necessary, Manning added.



He also said he was not aware of any direct Iranian involvement in the Kirkuk operation though the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds force, Gen Qassem Suleimani  and PMU officials loyal to Irans supreme leader  are reported to have directed the offensive.

Iraqi children step on a Kurdish flag as forces advance towards the centre of Kirkuk during an operation against Kurdish fighters on Monday. Photograph: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior foreign policy adviser to the Iranian supreme leader, praised the Iraqi armys move to capture Kirkuk, framing it as a blow to Israels strategic ambitions.

With the defeat of the Kurds in Kirkuk, Barzanis conspiracy against the regions security was foiled. Barzanis aim and Israels covert aim were to seize Kirkuks oilfields to serve the Israeli interest. In the Kurdistan region, they raise the flag of Israel and this means if Kurds gain independence in Iraq, we will share a border with Israel, Velayati said, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news.

The Kirkuk governor, Najmladin Karim, has gone into hiding according to a former state department official, David Philips, who spoke to Karim on Sunday night at the time of the offensive.

This was an attack by Shia militias under an Iranian commander, Philips, who is now director of Columbia University programme on peace-building and rights. The PMU is an entirely Iranian construct, he added. This operation was about Iran against Kurdistan.

Philips pointed out that the US special envoy for the anti-Isis coalition, Brett McGurk, was in Baghdad over the weekend for talks with the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi.

I would like to know what he and Abadi talked about, he said. The long history of links to the Kurds didnt seem to matter when it came to crunch time.

In a statement on Monday, Abadi said: We have only acted to fulfil our constitutional duty to extend the federal authority and impose security and protect the national wealth in this city, which we want to remain a city of peaceful coexistence for all Iraqis.



Kirkuk was seized by the Kurds in the summer of 2014, after Iraqi forces fled their positions following an Isis attack on nearby Mosul. At the time, peshmerga units beat Isis militants in a race to control installations and oilfields.

Ever since, Erbil has tried to strengthen its claim on the city, which comprises Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen and is the epicentre of regional oil production. Kurdish officials had set up a pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey, through which they had been selling crude oil  amid bitter opposition from Baghdad.

The withdrawal of Kurdish forces underscores a deep rivalry between two political blocs in Iraqi Kurdistan, which came to a head in the past three days as Iraqi forces and allied Shia units stalked Kurdish forces from south of the city.

Some leaders of the PUK bloc, based in the regions second city, Sulaymaniyah, had viewed the referendum as a partisan move by Barzani to consolidate domestic control. The veteran leader had instead insisted that the ballot represented a defining moment in Kurdish history, which he hoped would transcendhelp overcome longstanding disunity.

Divisions, however, were on stark display, as the peshmerga units capitulated, shocking even members of the two feuding parties. The general command of Kurdistans peshmerga slammed the PUK for what it described as a major historic betrayal.

In contrast, Iraqi leaders, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Haidar al-Ameri, both senior commanders of the Popular Mobilisation units  a conglomerate of largely Shia forces, arrived in Kirkuk mid-afternoon to witness the Iraqi flag being raised at the governors office.

The decision to hold the ballot had drawn strident criticism from Iran, Turkey, Baghdad and the US. Baghdad and Tehran have blockaded the Kurdish north for the past two weeks, closing air space and partially suspending trade.

Shia units pressed into Kirkuks southern outskirts early on Monday and civilians started leaving the city en masse. Aziz Ahmad, an aide to the Erbil-based security tsar, Masrour Barzani, said rival security officials of the PUK bloc, had betrayed Kirkuk and [the people of] Kurdistan, conceded to Iran and withdrew from frontlines without a fight.

Peshmerga units loyal to Barzani remain in control of two oilfields north of Kirkuk and said they had no intention of surrendering them. But the remaining Kurdish forces appear to have little chance of holding back a bigger and better armed foe, should the central government choose to attack.






On Nov. 15, Vanguard will hold an enormous shareholder meeting and proxy vote for the first time in almost a decade. If youre a customer of the worlds largest mutual fund company, youre also a shareholder, which is why youve likely been hounded by calls, emails, and paper mail to try to get you to vote.

Tucked into the ballot after boilerplate proposals is an interesting item  Proposal 7  put forth by activist investor group Investors Against Genocide. The proposal moves to have Vanguard not invest in companies that, in managements judgement, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.

A shareholder proposal to institute transparent procedures to avoid holding investments in companies that, in managements judgement, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights. Such procedures may include time-limited engagement with problem companies if management believes that their behavior can be changed.

An example cited in the proposal was PetroChina, which has a connection to the genocide in Darfur. Vanguards management advises investors vote against the proposal.

Vanguard investors are surprised and angry

To many Vanguard investors, not investing in companies that substantially contribute to genocide is about as low a moral bar as there is, and they are outright angry at what they see as the companys callousness. As the vote nears, investors are airing their confusion on Twitter, Reddit, and Vanguard forums.

Victoria Santoro, a Boston-based trial lawyer and Vanguard investor, is one of them. When I got to the genocide item, I assumed the boards recommendation would be to approve it, she told Yahoo Finance. I was very disappointed to find the opposite. Santoro said she picked Vanguard over others due to its reputation for ethics.

Vanguards proxy ballot may throw some investors. Its board asks investors to vote against restricting investing in companies that substantially contribute to genocide. (Yahoo Finance)

Dr. Beverly Tchang, a doctor from New York and a Vanguard investor, had a similar reaction. I found the proposal to be timely and appropriate. Especially since there has been so much coverage on the Rohingya recently, she said, referring to a group of refugees fleeing Myanmar.

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Tchang said she didnt know specifics about PetroChina and Sudan, but argued that transparency was a low standard. I dont think [transparency] is too much to ask for, she said.

Why Vanguard needs your vote

Vanguard, unlike most public companies, doesnt hold an annual vote and generally only holds them when really necessary.

Last time we did this was in 2009, Arianna Stefanoni Sherlock, Vanguards head of corporate public relations, told Yahoo Finance. Every time we do this, its a lot of time and money so we try to do this as infrequently as possible.

Desperate for a needed quorum of one-third of shareholders for each fund, Vanguard is spending $17.6 million on a campaign to get its 20 million shareholders to vote to install board members.

A paper ballot. Vanguard is encouraging online voting, since well over 90% of its investments come through the web. (Yahoo Finance)

When the last vote occurred, Vanguard had just a fraction of the assets it does now. The astronomic rise in passive investing has brought $3 trillion in new assets under the companys management, bringing the total to $4.6 trillion. At that time, a similar measure appeared on the ballot but only earned between 7% and 17% of the vote, depending on the fund.

Those new assets mean a higher number of voters are required for a quorum. Should Vanguard fail to have a quorum, it would have to hold another vote until enough shareholders turn out  an expensive proposition and one that has happened before. Fidelity, a Vanguard competitor, had to postpone its meeting eight times from October to April. We need investors to come out and vote, Sherlock said.

Vanguard: Divestment is an ineffective means to implement social change

Vanguards detailed response in the proxy materials notes its concern for the issues but advises against Proposal 7 because it would, in the companys view, handicap advisors fiduciary duty. Furthermore, the company maintains divestment is an ineffective means to implement social change and that the company is already fully compliant with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations.

Constraints imposed by third-parties could impair the ability of portfolio managers to provide Fund shareholders investment returns that are competitive with similar funds, the companys statement reads.

Sherlock echoed these points to Yahoo Finance. It is nuanced, she said. Im hoping investors are really reading their materials. Our recommendation against isnt how we feel about the issue.

Tchang and Santoro were both unimpressed with arguments set forth by Vanguard. Vanguards position that [the measure] wont change genocide is inarguable, and therefore useless, precisely because we dont have that information, said Tchang, pointing to the catch-22 of transparency.

Hiding behind a justification that they are following U.S. law is the bare minimum, Santoro said. Everyone is supposed to follow U.S. law. I hope very much that the Vanguard board is extremely active in vetting their portfolio companies.

Activism, symbolic policy, or the seeds for a lawsuit?

Within Vanguards rationale are some larger issues, perhaps artlessly hinted at  but not fully explained  by the company in the proxy documents.

I dont view it as, oh Vanguard is insensitive to genocide, Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Law School and an expert in corporate governance and litigation, told Yahoo Finance.As a general rule, a recommendation against this type of shareholder proposal doesnt reflect a fundamental disagreement.

According to Fisch, an adopted vote could have hidden consequences and the Vanguard board wishes to be conservative. If the Proposal 7 passes, it could have an unpredictable effect. For example, should Vanguard shareholders identify and allege non-compliance, they may sue Vanguard and that could result in a court-ordered divestiture or damages paid.

You dont want the company to subject itself to litigation, Fisch said. This legal exposure is why adopting measures to comply with policies that are already in compliance may not be as easy as it seems.

Jack Bogle, founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, is widely lauded for bringing low-cost, user-friendly investing to millions through passive investing. (Reuters)

Tensie Whelan, a professor at NYUs Stern School of Business who studies business and ethical concerns, said the generality of the measure might concern Vanguard further, even though its hedged by statements like in managements judgement and substantially contribute  as if a small contribution to genocide would be kosher.

Instead of being held by a shareholder initiative, companies prefer to comply on their own terms. Whelan said companies often respond to these concerns with assurances that they are already in compliance, as well as showing they hear investors concerns by meeting with them and appropriate non-government organizations (NGOs).

A program like that, Whelan said, could benefit Vanguard. They could say, heres what were doing now, what else should we be doing? What standards can we comply with, what auditing can we do? Ideally for a company, these steps happen so it doesnt have to go to a shareholder resolution.

As to that solution, Vanguards Sherlock didnt share specifics of such plans with Yahoo Finance but noted that the company is in touch with Investors Against Genocide and takes these matters seriously.

We have a robust investment stewardship function at Vanguard, she said. We are actively engaging with the companies we hold and addressing and voting on other proxies for other companies when we see issues of concern, when it might affect long-term value.

The last clause, however, gets to the heart of the concern for Vanguard customers like Santoro. I think they can do much better in terms of responsible investing, she said. Its not all about returns anymore.

What has been done in the past

These types of proposals arent totally rare, but are relatively uncommon, especially the language in Vanguards Proposal 7. According to Whelan, about 1,000 shareholder resolutions are put forth each year to public companies, and are important means for investors to signal an issues importance. Most are on proxy access and a growing number concern climate change, but around 26 involve human rights.

Generally, proxy advisory services side with the board, though there can be flexibility, according to Whelan. Any coziness toward crimes against humanity could amount to a money-losing PR nightmare, which would be of fiduciary concern to shareholders.

ISS, a large proxy firm, advises these types of votes on a case-by-case basis, and they pointed to perhaps the most similar case from 2015. BlackRock, another index fund provider, was faced with an almost identical proposal brought on by the same activist group, Investors Against Genocide:

Shareholders request that the Board institute transparent procedures to avoid holding or recommending investments in companies that, in managements judgment, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violation of human rights.

BlackRock justified recommending a vote against the proposal, contending the company is already required to comply with relevant laws and that these decisions are best left to management.

Egan Jones, another proxy advisory company, echoed ISS in a report on the Vanguard proposal. Expecting a firm to abstain or avoid a line of legal business that might potentially result in moral negatives is, in general, a hopelessly costly endeavor doomed to failure or worse.

Investors Against Genocide has put forth successful measures in the past, however. TIAA-CREF divested $58 million from Sudan-friendly oil companies including PetroChina after a successful campaign from the group, which withdrew a measure similar to Vanguards from a proxy ballot when the groups divestment demands were met. T. Rowe Price also voluntarily adopted the groups divestment demands.

The group has even managed to win a proxy vote when ING declined to take a stance, paving the way for a 59.8% victory. However, Investors Against Genocides website notes that ING has taken no action and investors want the company to disregard the vote.

First-time investors may throw a wrench into the situation

Vanguards $17.6 million effort to get shareholders out to vote may end up accidentally drumming up support for Proposal 7, because most individual investors usually do not vote. (Just 29% of shares owned by individual investors generally vote, according a study by PwC, and for mutual funds specifically the number is likely even lower.)

Just by nature of growth weve seen in client base since 2009, I would say you could deduce that for lots of people its their first time doing this, Sherlock said.

Thousands or millions of these new voters like Tchang and Santoro, who were brought to the ballot by Vanguards own efforts, may not react well to the boards arguments or nuance. At the very least, they may find it difficult to vote against not investing in companies that substantially contribute to genocide.

With increase of voting, youll have more people vote for [the measure], Whelan said. Generally voting is more by the institutions and they generally vote with management. An individual is more likely to vote for that.

The rising popularity of index funds and passive investing and more socially-conscious millennial investors may significantly affect future voting on issues like this, said Whelan. While not every company needs to resort to expensive paid campaigns to get out the vote, the lack of participation of individual shareholder votes is something that may be addressed in the future. Policy changes or other measures will likely encourage these individuals to speak up on the ballot  not just through their traditional mode of selling. Its important to remember: You can vote with your wallet, but you may also have a ballot.

Disclosure: Some of the authors retirement savings are in Vanguard index funds. Vanguards cooperative business structure makes the author therefore a shareholder.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: emann[at]oath[.com].

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Volvo unveiled a vision of its future Polestar brand Tuesday, introducing a high-performance hybrid sedan aimed at the increasingly crowded segment of an electrified-car market that includes Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi.

Volvo is one of several automakers to signal that at some point in the not-so-distant future all of its models will be electrifiedmeaning theyll have battery electric, gas-electric hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Ford, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, and Mazda are some of the automakers that have recently announced plans to electrify all or parts of their vehicle lineups.

Society is changing, Polestar Chief Executive Officer Thomas Ingenlath told an audience in Shanghai. Cars emitting exhaust fumes will become just as unacceptable as smoking is in a public restaurant. Im totally convinced the future of mobility is electric.

The Polestar 1 will only be sold online and can only be purchased through Volvos subscription program, which will move the new brand away from todays traditional ownership model, the company says. Consumers will be given the choice of a two- or three-year subscription with no deposit required upfront.

The automaker first announced a subscription approach when it rolled out its upcoming XC40 SUV. Volvo is expected to discuss pricing for its subscription model for the XC40 at the Los Angeles Auto Show next month.

The all-inclusive subscription will be something like a lease with concierge services. Polestar will notify customers when its time for maintenance and will arrange the pickup and a loaner car if needed. Polestar will use the phone app to unlock the car and put the loaner in its place. Customers will get a certain number of rental days in their contracts, included as part of their monthly payment. That will enable customers on a trip to pick up the Polestar or Volvo vehicle of their choice at their destination. Volvo didnt go into pricing details Tuesday.

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This concierge service ensures that the customer only needs to focus on the enjoyment of driving, Volvo said. Having a Polestar car becomes a hassle-free experience.

Consumers can lay down orders for the Polestar 1 now, even though deliveries wont happen until 2019. Volvo wasnt specific about delivery dates.

The car will be built at a new factory in Chengdu, China. That facility is also under construction and wont be complete until the middle of 2018. Polestar 1 will be tested, fine-tuned and refined throughout next year before production begins in 2019.

Also Tuesday, Volvo said the second car for the Polestar brand, Polestar 2, will start production later in 2019 and will be Volvo Car Groups first all-electric vehicle. That vehicle, like the Tesla Model 3, will be a more mainstream car, Ingenlath said.

The third vehicle for the brand, Polestar 3, will be a larger, SUV-style battery-electric with a low roofline and a powerful body, Ingenlath said. No details were announced about the production timing of that model.





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7 best mattresses for couples



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President Donald Trump exits the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House. Trump has an obsession with heightsomething that could prove to be dangerous.

President Donald Trumps apparent obsession with height could actually be a prejudice that leaves him judging shorter people as less powerful than those who stand taller.

Last week, the 6-foot-1 president accused Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee of falling for a setup by The New York Times, and on Tuesday he took to Twitter to mock Corker's height and suggested it could, somehow, contribute to his being conned.

Corker is 5-foot-7.

The Failing @nytimes set Liddle Bob Corker up by recording his conversation, Trump wrote. Was made to sound a fool, and thats what I am dealing with!

By calling Corker liddle, Trump was returning to a comfortable themenot only in unappealing nicknames (Crooked Hillary and Lying Ted Cruz), but also his recurring attention to size.

He considered Corker for secretary of state after winning the election, but, according to the New York Times, ultimately decided Corker was too short to be the nations top diplomat  ignoring that his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, is 5-foot-5. So, Trump opted for the taller and somehow more respectable Rex Tillerson, who is 5-foot-10.

Then again, height isn't everthing. After Tillerson allegedly called Trump a "moron," the president challenged him to an IQ test.

And this is just the latest for Donald Trump's size obsession. Just last month, he threw his support behind Luther Strange, a Republican candidate for the Alabama senate, calling his candidate "Big Luther," as if Strange's stature existed only because of his 6-foot-9 frame.

In the end, Strange lost to Roy Moore, who is shorter.

But then again, Little Marco  the 5-foot-9 Florida Senator  lost to Trump.

The President's belittling of opponents size could be more than a way to bolster his list of insults. He may be hiring and firing people based on what lawyer Tanya Osensky calls "heightism."

Story continues

This idea isnt just coming up in Osenskys studies. Another study showed that people who are 6-foot or taller earn $5,000 more a year than shorter employees in companies led by a heightist.

This is just one of the many times size has been of upmost importance to the president: His obsession with the size of his hands during the presidential election, and even the overt mentions of the size of his penis, are examples.

Heightism is, however, a condition that could affect how he see's his employees and adversaries. After all, Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader Trump has offended and ridiculed multiple times over the past few months, stands at just 5-foot-7.

Beyond his political allies and enemies, and his own body parts, President Trump has continuously focused on size, saying he drew the largest crowd to his inauguration (he didn't) and that his inaugural cake was much bigger than President Obama's (it wasn't).

This preoccupation with size, some psychologists believe, could be Trump has a narcissistic personality disorder.

"When Trump tweeted about his imaginary inauguration crowd size... was there any part of him that believed this 'denial of reality?' If so ... Trump is not crazy like a fox but 'crazy like a crazy,'" psychiatrist Bandy Lee writes In her contribution to the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

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NAD-E ALI, Afghanistan -- Muhammad Lala, a white-bearded Pashtun patriarch, is not happy upon returning to his house after more than a year.

Lala, a farmer, left his humble mud home in great haste in September last year. As the Taliban advanced across Nad-e Ali, an agricultural district, Lala joined thousands of civilians seeking shelter in neighboring Lashkar Gah, capital of Afghanistans restive southern Helmand Province.

I returned to a completely empty house. We had everything, but now you can see: Nothing is left, he told Radio Free Afghanistan as he walked around the empty rooms. I am too old to work now. How can we get our belongings back?

By local standards, Lala is lucky because his house is still largely intact. In another part of Nad-e Ali, dozens of houses lie in ruins. They once served as front-line Taliban trenches and consequently attracted government artillery fire and air strikes by international forces supporting the Afghan Army.

We dont have a single room left out of 15. Our parameter walls and well have been destroyed. How can we live here? asked a young male resident who refused to give his name because he feared the insurgents. The government needs to help us, but first they must send deminers so at least we dont fell victim to the unexploded bombs.

He and Lala are among tens of thousands of civilians returning to ruined houses and devastated livelihoods in Nad-e Ali. With the aid of U.S. forces and airpower, Afghan forces are slowly reclaiming lost territories in Helmand.

Following the withdrawal of most NATO troops in late 2014, the Taliban overran most of Helmands 15 rural districts and virtually surrounded Lashkar Gah, a city of 20,000 residents.

Police Colonel Qais Nizami told Radio Free Afghanistan that demining civilian houses and the paths they are likely to frequent are their first priority.

We are trying our best to help civilians and, as you can see, it prompts them to cooperate with the authorities, he said.

In a visit earlier this week, Radio Free Afghanistan witnessed combat after Afghan forces retook Nad-e Alis Treekh Nawar region.

With the white Taliban flag still flying on electricity poles, U.S. Apache helicopters could be heard targeting Taliban positions in the distance. Afghan Army Brigadier-General Asabuddin Drasteewal said they have an upper hand.

The enemy is on the run and has endured heavy casualties, he said. Only three of our soldiers endured light injuries. We have reopened the main road.

Bahadur, an Afghan police deminer who goes by one name only, said he has mostly used his bare hands and a shovel to defuse more than 100 bombs and the local insurgents favorite improvised explosive devices.

I hope the government will consider giving us some equipment. Its not enough to just pay salaries, he said.

Local police commander Abdul Qadir said the operation to cleanse Nad-e Ali -- which abuts Lashkar Gahs third district -- will continue until the insurgents are pushed back to more peripheral areas.

It was very important for us to win back control of Nad-e Ali because it is a gateway to Lashkar Gah, he told Radio Free Afghanistan.

The Taliban are already vowing a comeback. Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, said their fighters are putting up stiff resistance.

Reclaiming lost territories from the Taliban seems to be the easier part. Restoring stability, livelihoods, and lasting peace, however, will inevitably win popular backing for Kabul from a populace that has suffered enormously through nearly 40 years of fighting in Afghanistan.

Abubakar Siddique wrote this story based on Mohammad Ilyas Dayees reporting from Nad-e Ali, Afghanistan.
Afghan officials say two separate suicide and gun attacks on government forces have left at least 35 people dead.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the October 17 assault on a police compound in the southeastern city of Gardez, capital of Paktia Province bordering Pakistan, in which at least 20 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded.

Fifteen security officials were also reported killed and 12 others wounded in an attack blamed on the Taliban in the neighboring province of Ghazni.

The Interior Ministry said that two suicide bombers detonated cars filled with explosives outside the provincial police headquarters and its attached training center in Gardez, before gunmen launched an assault on the facilities.

The ministry said the hourslong fighting ended when all five gunmen were killed by security forces.

However, a senior police official said there were 11 attackers in total.

Deputy Interior Minister Murad Ali Murad said that the dead included 21 police officers, including provincial police chief Toryal Abdiani, and 20 civilians.

Following the attack, Afghanistan's Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah and acting Interior Minister Wais Barmak arrived in Paktia province.

Local health official Hedayatullah Hameedi said that the casualties included "women, students, and police."

Security officials told RFE/RL that provincial police chief Toryal Abdiani was among the dead.

In Ghazni Province, officials said Taliban militants detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a security compound in Andar district early on October 17 while others stormed the building.

Provincial council member Amanullah Kamran said the attack targeted the premises of the district governor and police headquarters.

Late on October 16, a suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistans northwestern Kurram tribal area, part of which borders Paktia, killed 20 militants, intelligence officials said.

Officials said the site was a main center in the area for the Haqqani network, a group that has ties to the Afghan Taliban.

The Western-backed government in Kabul is struggling to beat back insurgents in the wake of the exit of most NATO forces in 2014.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently unveiled a strategy to try to defeat the militants, and officials said more than 3,000 additional U.S. troops are being sent to Afghanistan to reinforce the 11,000 already stationed there.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa


EDMONTON, Alberta, Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. (Wavefront or the Company) (TSX-V:WEE) (OTCQX:WFTSF) a global leader in the advancement of fluid injection technology for oil and gas well stimulation and Improved/Enhanced oil (IOR/EOR) recovery is pleased to announce that initial service orders for Powerwave Neptune pulsating selective injection valves and Powerwave Odyssey custom well stimulation have been received by the Company through Wavefronts local distributor.



The client, a major global oil producer has been active in Colombia for over 40 years, having operations in the Llanos Norte Basin as well as working interests in the Middle Magdalena Basin. Due to confidentiality the Company cannot release terms and conditions of the service orders.

The Powerwave Neptune is an innovative pulsating selective injection waterflood regulator valve. Waterflood regulator valves are designed to inject water into a desired zone but are often faced with scaling issues which negatively impacts water injection and offsetting oil production. Wavefronts Powerwave Neptune creates highly energized fluid pulses designed to ensure seamless, continuous injection, enabling oil producing companies to optimize oil recovery by maintaining water injection rates and improving water distribution in the oil-bearing formation. In Colombia the available market for the Powerwave Neptune is approximately 1,000 injection wells having five to seven selective injection valves within each well completion.

The Powerwave Odyssey tool provides for pin-point fluid injection and deeper fluid penetration along the entire length of the completed interval. Typical radius of penetration for Powerwave stimulated wells is 3 feet. The Company believes no other technology in the industry provides for (1) efficiency of distribution; or (2) depth of penetration without the need for fracturing or chemical jetting.

Financial benefits of the Powerwave Odyssey custom stimulation include: (1) reduced chemical costs associated with the elimination or vast reduction of certain chemicals normally used in conventional stimulation approaches; (2) greater post-stimulation sustainability thereby reducing on-going stimulation costs; and, (3) better overall post-stimulation performance (increased oil production or water injection) as a greater volume of the reservoir is contacted by the treatment chemical.

We are very pleased to have these new orders from a major Colombian oil producer who is Wavefronts largest client in the United States and who also has experienced the benefits of the Powerwave Odyssey custom stimulation approach in Oman, said Wavefront President and CEO Brett Davidson. The Company is gratified by the on-going market resurgence in Colombia and remains very optimistic about the Companys long-term growth potential in the country.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

WAVEFRONT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INC.

D. Brad Paterson (signed)

D. Brad Paterson, CFO & Director

About Wavefront:

Wavefront is a technology based world leader in fluid injection technology for improved/enhanced oil recovery and groundwater restoration. Wavefront publicly trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WEE and on the OTCQX under the symbol WFTSF. The Company's website is www.onthewavefront.com.

For further information please contact:

D. Brad Paterson, CFO at 780-486-2222 or write to us at investor.info@onthewavefront.com

Cautionary Disclaimer  Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements contained herein regarding Wavefront and its operations constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, assumptions or expectations or future performance, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as may, will, should, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, believe, continue or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. We caution that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include fluctuations in the acceptance rates of Wavefronts Powerwave and Primawave Processes, demand for products and services, fluctuations in the market for oil and gas related products and services, the ability of Wavefront to attract and maintain key personnel, technology changes, global political and economic conditions, and other factors that were described in further detail in Wavefronts continuous disclosure filings, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Wavefront expressly disclaims any obligation to up-date any forward-looking statements, other than as required by law.

2017 Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bit To Last Drop, WaveAxe, Powerwave and Primawave are registered trademarks of Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc., or its subsidiaries, or affiliates.

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.
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Envoy Group Corp (OTC:ENVV) (The Company) is pleased to announce its execution of an exclusive licensing agreement of the most robust Digital-to-Real Financial Trading and Processing Platform and its new name, Black Cactus Global. The Company will offer the first fully functional, state-of-the-art Transaction Processing Service that accommodates a comprehensive and secure Global Payment and Financial Trading Platform which allows users to easily move from Fiat to Digital currencies and from Digital currencies to real commodities or equities. This groundbreaking platform design is mobile device ready and will be a critical component for expanding and reconciling cryptocurrency transactions that now average 3 Billion dollars per day, as well as extending Blockchain into numerous additional sectors and applications. Multiple currencies, multiple exchanges and a wide array of applications are all available to platform users.



This latest development is part of The Companys corporate development strategy that focuses on the rapidly expanding Digital Financial sector, collectively now worth over 150 Billion US Dollars. The Companys exclusive focus will now be working in tandem with the platforms innovative design team, Black Cactus Holdings, to become the premier Digital Asset Financial Technology Company.

Black Cactus Holdings Co-founder and Managing Director, Lawrence Cummins, who holds degrees from The University of Oxford and Northwestern will become CEO of The Company. Lawrence's background and experience encompasses Blockchain and supporting technologies including AI, big data analytics and predictive analysis. Lawrence has over 30 years experience as a software engineer and architect using analytical tools in various commercial and defence project applications, as well as 12 years in private equity specializing in mergers and acquisitions.

Harp Sangha, Chairman and CEO of Envoy Group stated, "This is a game changing milestone for Envoy and the Digital Currency world. The vast expertise and credentials of Lawrence Cummins and Black Cactus Holdings is unsurpassed in the Blockchain and Digital Currency field. Our Digital-to-Real Financial Trading and Processing Platform launches Envoy to a pre-eminent position in the Digital Financial Sector.

About Envoy Group Corp.

Envoy Group is a leading participant in the Blockchain and Digital Financial sector that is pursuing an international expansion with the goal of developing and offering new meaningful strategies and services to the various sectors that will benefit from and be transformed by Blockchain technology.

For further information please visit our website at:

www.blackcactusglobal.com

Investor Relations: Louis Silver 1-610-710-1303. lsilver35@verizon.net

Safe Harbor Statements

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian laws. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as expects or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, estimates, intends or believes, or that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are beyond the Companys ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Companys filings with the SEC. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the ability to locate and acquire suitable interests in alternative medicine manufacturing operations on terms acceptable to the Company, the availability of financing on acceptable terms, accidents, labor disputes, acts of God and other risks of the alternative medicine industry including, without limitation, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or permits, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements included in this news release are reasonable; however, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct, and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
kimmyg wrote:

Metal rings recently excavated form seventh-century settlements in the western part of Mexico were made using the same metallurgical techniques as those used by Ecuadorian artisans before and during that period. These techniques are sufficiently complex to make their independent development in both areas unlikely. Since the people of these two areas were in cultural contact, archaeologists hypothesize that the metallurgical techniques used to make the rings found in Mexico were learned by Mexican artisans from Ecuadorian counterparts.



Which of the following would it be most useful to establish in order to evaluate the archaeologists' hypothesis?



(A) Whether metal objects were traded from Ecuador to western Mexico during the seventh century

(B) Whether travel between western Mexico and Ecuador in the seventh century would have been primarily by land or by sea

(C) Whether artisans from western Mexico could have learned complex metallurgical techniques from their Ecuadorian counterparts without actually leaving western Mexico.

(D) Whether metal tools were used in the seventh-century settlements in western Mexico

(E) Whether any of the techniques used in the manufacture of the metal rings found in western Mexico are still practiced among artisans in Ecuador today



OG2017 Diagnostic V69 P34

Step 1: Identify the Question

useful to establish in order to evaluate

Evaluate the Argument

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

Step 3: Pause and State the Goal

strengthening

weakening

strengthen

weaken

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) CORRECT

strengthen

if they werent trading at all

weaken

strengthen

weaken

"Be challenged at EVERY MOMENT."



Strength doesnt come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldnt.



"Each stage of the journey is crucial to attaining new heights of knowledge."



| Please DO NOT post short answer in your post!



Advanced Search : https://gmatclub.com/forum/advanced-search/ Rules for posting in verbal forum | Please DO NOT post short answer in your post! Signature Read More

Metal RingsThe wordsin the question stem indicate that this is anquestion.Metal rings: 7c W. Mex same tech as Ec 7c + b4Tech complex; prob not dev indHyp: E dev first, M learnAbbreviate heavily. Youll only be on this problem for a couple of minutes; your short-term memory can retain the idea that prob not dev ind means probably not developed independently.The archaeologists mentioned in the argument hypothesize that the Es developed this technology first because the technique was used in E earlier than the period in which the recently-found metal rings were made in M.On Evaluate questions, the goal is to find an answer choice that could swing the argument in two directions, eitherthe argument orit. A choice that can eitherorthe argument gives you a good way to evaluate whether the argument is valid.. If metal objects were traded from E to M in the relevant timeframe, then it is at least somewhat more likely that the Es also passed along information regarding how to manufacture these objects. That wouldthe argument. On the other hand, if such objects were not traded, then it is somewhat less likely that the Es taught the Ms how to manufacture the metal, or if the Ms didnt find the metal rings interesting enough to trade for, then its less likely that the Es would have an opportunity to teach the Ms how to make these rings. This wouldthe argument. Since this choice could eitheror, it is correct.(B) How people from the two cultures may have traveled does not impact whether the Es might have taught the Ms this particular technique. What matters is that they did interact with one another in some way, not by what method they traveled.(C) The Ms could have learned the techniques from Es traveling to M. The Ms also could have learned the techniques by traveling to E. Either way, this choice does not provide additional information to help determine whether the initial hypothesis (that Es taught Ms this process) is valid.(D) The argument doesnt depend upon whether the metal rings were created from metal tools or tools made of other materials. Nor does it specify whether the metal rings were intended as tools or were for some other purpose, such as jewelry. The question of tools is irrelevant to whether the Es taught the Ms the technique in question.(E) The argument does not hinge upon the future use of the techniques in question. It claims only that the Es taught the Ms these techniques at some point in or prior to the seventh century._________________
- The SARS operatives who harassed a young lady in Ilorin have been identified and locked up

- The young lady said she was harassed by the security operatives on her way out

- This experience left her demoralized and bitter

Some operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ilorin who harassed a young lady in Ilorin have been identified and locked up. The poor Nigerian lady identified as 69bars on Instagram shared her terrible experience with the operatives.

The report of this incident got to Dolapo Badmus, the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) in charge of Zone 2. The passion-driven officer promised to do her best possible concerning the case. The victim was also contacted and an investigation began on the case.

The commissioner of police in Kwara state also got wind of the incident and the officers were identified and locked up. The young lady's cry for help did not go unheard as everyone who read her story felt bad.

69bars, the young lady harassed by SARS operatives. Source: Instagram, 69bars.

READ ALSO: Man issued receipt after paying N5,000 for church deliverance in Calabar (photo)

See the series of tweets made by the Nigerian police on this matter:

The disturbed lady took to her Instagram page to share her bitter experience with the world to show how disappointed she was with the system. According to her, she was on her way to get dinner on Sunday, October 15, when the ugly incident happened.

The security operatives had stopped her; they pushed her into their truck and started asking series of questions. They started by accusing her of being a yahoo girl because she had many yahoo apps on her phone. After they searched and could not find any evidence to support this, she was being accused of selling her body. She fought them hard saying she was not that kind of girl. At this point, one of the officials started shouting at her saying she had hard substances considered as exhibits on her body.

The young lady said the officials were federal SARS officials and gave their location as Pipeline area of Ilorin. The man who accused her of having those substances on her body said he was going to search her body to be sure.

On this note, the man was said to have dipped his hands into her bra while she screamed and tried getting out of the truck. At this point, he threatened to beat her up if he heard any sound from her again.

Frustrated and feeling bitter, the lady said she could not stop crying. She was rough handled as the man dipped his hand inside her pant saying girls do hide things in various parts of their bodies.

See the initial post made by the lady on Instagram:

PAY ATTENTION: Install the latest android app to get updates from Nigerias number one online news platform

69bar then said she pleaded with them saying she would like to call her mother. This outburst made them seize her phone. A man was said to have gotten out of his car out of pity to beg the officers. He was chased away with a stern warning to mind his business.

The Nigerian lady considers this experience bitter and demoralizing. She created a tag on the post to make SARS operatives stop harassing innocent people. She said she cried bitterly and could not shake off the experience.

Is the Nigerian police your friend? - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
A corps member identified as Ekene Uwaoma has passed away after he was shot in Owerri, Imo state.

Legit.ng gathered that the youth corper died on Monday, October 16, after he refused to give unknown gunmen his phone.

The tragic incident reportedly occurred around 8:30pm at Ama-wire junction in Owerri.

According to The Punch, Uwaoma was returning to his residence in company of his friend, simply identified as MacDonald.

Corps member dies after refusing to give his phone to gunmen Photo Source: Facebook user Ibrahim Ahmad

READ ALSO: Promising young Nigerian soldier dies 2 years after joining the army (photos)

It was gathered that the 23-year-old was a graduate of Imo State University who studied history and international studies.

The 23-year-old, who hailed from Umudo-Anara in Isiala Mbano local government area of Imo, was serving in Ogun state. Uwaoma had left Ogun to visit his mother identified as Mary.

According to MacDonald, the deceased was rushed to the hospital after he was shot and was confirmed dead by doctors.

He said: We were returning home from where we went to buy food. Suddenly, four boys bearing arms stopped and asked us to surrender our phones. I quickly gave them mine, but Ekene (Uwaoma) refused to surrender his phone. They started struggling and I ran away. They shot him on the chest and ran away. They also shot into the air to scare people away.

The young man explained that he was scared when they shot his friend, adding that he is unable to forget what happened.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ News App

MacDonald said: The gunmen didnt go with his phone. It was a pity. This was the first time somebody was killed in my presence. I am heartbroken. His picture keeps appearing in my mind. I cant bear it.

Chris Ezike, the Imo state police commissioner who confirmed the incident revealed that an investigation has been launched to bring the criminals to justice.

NAF buries pilot who died in Kaduna helicopter crash - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
lozenge shape mark at issue

the second lozenge mark





chocolate packaging at issue

The German Federal Court of Justice once again confirmed its reputation for being the most shape mark friendly court in Europe. In four decisions of 18 October 2017, it overturned four decisions by the Federal Patent Court invalidating shape marks. In all four cases, it was undisputed (before the BGH) that the shapes had acquired distinctiveness through use.In the first cases, the shapes (depicted) were protected for dextrose lozenges (sold under the brand " Dextro Energy "). One shows an individual lozenge, the other a stack of them as they are being sold. The Federal Patent Court held that the shape was necessary to achieve a technical effect in the sense of 3(2)(2) Trade Mark Act (corresponding to article 4(1)(e)(ii) Trade Marks Directive (Recast), "signs that consist exclusively of the shape, or another characteristic, of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result").The Bundesgerichtshof disagreed . While the square shape and the v-shaped groves have a technical effect, the bevelled edges and corners did not achieve a technical effect, but a "sensory effect when consumed" ("eine sensorische Wirkung beim Verbrauch"). This was not a technical effect in the sense of the law. Since the shape of the edges and corners were essential characteristics of the marks, the decisions of the Patent Court were overturned.The other two cases concerned nearly identical shape marks for the packaging of chocolate bars (see image below left). The chocolate is sold under the brand " Ritter Sport ". The Federal Patent Court had considered the shape of the packaging to result from the nature of the goods themselves ( 3(2)(1) Trade Mark Act; corresponding to article 4(1)(e)(i) Trade Marks Directive).The trade mark proprietor appealed also based on the argument that the provision only applies to goods, not to their packaging, but the Federal Court of Justice did not even reach the issue : it considered that the square shape was not an essential characteristic of chocolate bars ("ist keine wesentliche Gebrauchseigenschaft von Schokolade"), annulled the lower court's decision and sent the cases back to the Federal Patent Court (presumably to assess whether there are other grounds for invalidity, namely "shape that is necessary to obtain a technical result", but the press release is not clear on this).The above summary is based on the press releases nos. 162 and 163/2017 of the Court, the full grounds are not yet published. A detailed analysis of the reasoning is therefore not yet possible.
A Nigerian lady has come out to source for some advice online.

According to her, she borrowed a sum of N4million naira from her husband to start a business, she is now wondering if she really needs to pay back the money.

Read what she wrote below;

"I borrowed money from my husband to start a business, about 4million and the business is doing great, but now I feel somehow paying him back, like am I suppose to pay him back our money? After all the business is for all of us even tho I opened it in my name.

Confused black woman (Source: Google)

"He has been asking me of the money and even threatening to close down the business if I dont refund him back ,but I just feel somehow. How can I pay him back when he is sleeping with me,having s*x with me,paying him back just seem stupid to me.

READ MORE: My 25-year-old boyfriend started cheating on me after earning a lot of money - Lady seeks advice

"If I make the mistake of pay him back ,I will spilt the money into pieces and make sure he does not touch me, I will deny him s*x .

'How can my own husband ask me to pay back, are we business partners ? I take care of his kids free, I know how exhausting his love making can be, he will keep my legs hanging for straight 20 minutes, I suffer and fake org*sm just to make him happy ,if I pay back this money he will not like me at all. Need advise on how to handle it ."

What do you think she should do? Pay the money back or not?

Is it possible for money to buy love? on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
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[October 17, 2017] GoDaddy Canada Launches Pro Managed WordPress

High-Performance WordPress Solution To Manage Websites and Clients In One Place TORONTO, Oct. 17, 2017 /CNW/ - GoDaddy, the world's largest cloud platform dedicated to small, independent ventures, today announced the launch of Pro Managed WordPress, a new hosting platform designed specifically for web professionals, in Canada. Pro Managed WordPress bundles together high-performance and highly reliable hosting, with end-to-end security, and the essential tools necessary to efficiently manage multiple clients and websites. This complete solution for WordPress professionals includes Pro Advanced Care, a new WordPress-centric 24/7 expert customer support service. GoDaddy introduced its first WordPress hosting product three years ago, and today the company is the largest WordPress host globally, serving over four million sites. GoDaddy has been working closely with its GoDaddy Pro Program community, a group consisting of over two hundred thousand web professionals. Based on the feedback from the Pro Program and our in-house WordPress experts. The Pro Managed WordPress Platform includes: Modern Platform: The new hosting architecture employs a containerized, isolated environment for every site using the latest technologies for enhanced performance, scalability and security.

The new hosting architecture employs a containerized, isolated environment for every site using the latest technologies for enhanced performance, scalability and security. High Performance hosting: Pro Managed WordPress was designed to make WordPress sites load fast. PHP7 , HTTP/2, CDN image cache by Sucuri, multiple layers of caching, everything a hosting platform needs to make WordPress sites load fast. The containerized environment means each site has its own dedicated resources and automatically scales so sites run at optimum speed even during heavy traffic and resource spikes.

Pro Managed WordPress was designed to make WordPress sites load fast. , HTTP/2, CDN image cache by Sucuri, multiple layers of caching, everything a hosting platform needs to make WordPress sites load fast. The containerized environment means each site has its own dedicated resources and automatically scales so sites run at optimum speed even during heavy traffic and resource spikes. Highly Reliable: 99.9% uptime with built-in redundancy that will recover a website if it goes down. If there's ever a server issue, GoDaddy will automatically move a site to a new container, ensuring reliable uptime.

99.9% uptime with built-in redundancy that will recover a website if it goes down. If there's ever a server issue, GoDaddy will automatically move a site to a new container, ensuring reliable uptime. Secure by default: Free SSL is auomatically installed on every domain so customers' sites are protected from the get-go. Suciri monitoring stops malware before it penetrates the site and prevent DDoS attacks with the optional paid Website Security Firewall (WAF).

Free SSL is auomatically installed on every domain so customers' sites are protected from the get-go. Suciri monitoring stops malware before it penetrates the site and prevent DDoS attacks with the optional paid Website Security Firewall (WAF). Pro-Ready Features: Every site includes one-click staging for testing new features, SSH access, dedicated web cache, on-demand and scheduled backups with one-click restore for up to 90 days of backups. Customers also have the option to defer WordPress core updates for 30 days to insure ample time for testing client sites.



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Kirkuks strategic importance was greatly amplified in the wake of an independence referendum held in the Kurdish region of Iraq in September. The Iraqi national government has declared the overwhelmingly successful initiative unconstitutional and has urged the Kurdish regional government to disavow the results. The regional authorities have refused, giving rise to various issues that would need to be addressed if the Kurds attempted to push the independence initiative forward. Among these issues is the status of Kirkuk, which is ethnically mixed and technically outside of the boundaries of the Kurdish region but is also a source of dispute between the regional and national authorities.

Perhaps spurred on by the potential impact of Kurdish control over this oil-rich area on the independence efforts, Iraqi forces stormed Kirkuk on Monday and took control of surrounding bases and federal installations. The National Interest detailed this offensive the same day and also described the United States as being silent over the clashes as it remains stuck between its post-occupation support for the national government and its support for the Kurds during the war against ISIL.

The article went on to explain that this silence is likely to be at odds with American national security interests, chiefly because of the still-growing influence of the Iranian government over its counterpart in Baghdad. In fact, the Iranians have opposed calls by some Iraqi politicians for the dissolution of the Popular Mobilization Units, a coalition of mostly Iranian-backed Shiite militants. These forces were used in the conflict against ISIL and have now been largely absorbed into the Iraqi military itself.

Newsweek called attention to this fact on Tuesday as part of the argument that Iran stands to gain the most from the collapse of a US-led coalition in Iraq. This underscored the National Interest articles conclusions regarding the escalation of Iranian influence and its impact on American national security. It also further undermines Velayatis attempt to distance Iran from current developments in Iraq. But his claim of Iranian non-interference was already thoroughly undermined by previous reporting on the role of Tehran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Syrian Civil War and in the development of the PMU, among other regional issues.

The National Interest points out that Qassem Suleimani, the head of the IRGCs foreign special operations wing, the Quds Force, has paid at least two visits to Kurdistan in recent weeks, as well arriving there immediately before the Iraqi assault on Kirkuk. Thus, it is natural that, according to Newsweek, the Kurdish regional authority have pointedly blamed the IRGC for recent developments.

In an address to the nation on Friday regarding his administrations Iran policy, US President Donald Trump singled out the IRGC as a target of his new, more assertive strategy. Citing their extensive contributions to terrorism and regional instability, Trump declared that he would be calling for a much more vigorous package of economic sanctions against agents and affiliates of the IRGC. Soon after, the Treasury Department acknowledged designation of the IRGC under an executive order passed by President George W. Bush in 2001 with the aim of making it easier to weaken the financial supports for terrorist actors.

But despite Trumps focus on the IRGC, his administration has continued to maintain silence on the apparently Iran-backed efforts to undermine the Kurdish position in Iraq. Newsweek quoted the president himself as saying, in reference to the Kurds and the Iraqi army/PMU, We dont like the fact that theyre clashing. [But] were not taking sides.

The persistence of Iranian influence poses a similar problem in Syria, where the US faces a somewhat different situation. The wind-down of the civil war in that country has coincided with the depletion of moderate rebel forces that the US had backed in their effort to overthrow the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. American policymakers remain opposed to that government, but have largely been compelled to accept it as a political reality. The focus of US policy has now turned to supporting whatever forces it can against the deepening Iranian influence over that government and its military, which has also been all but supplanted by Shiite militias.

But Iranian state media has claimed victories in this as well as in the clashes in Iraq. Specifically, The Iran Project picked up the story on Tuesday of several Iranian victories against ISIL holdouts in the towns and villages around the city of Deir ez-Zour in eastern Syria. This is important because Iranian control over this area would make the city a major link in a supply chain leading directly from Tehran, through Iraq, to Damascus and Beirut, the latter being the headquarters of the long-established Iranian terrorist proxy, Hezbollah.

Opponents of the Iranian regime have given the IRGC much of the credit for saving the Assad government from the brink of overthrow and subsequently taking control of Syrian territory on Irans behalf. Unlike in Iraq, the White House has no major incentive to sit on the fence between rival factions in Syria. So Trump and his foreign policy advisors can be expected to speak out more clearly about IRGC influence there, possibly also using its effects to argue for European participation in the American campaign against the IRGC. But it remains to be seen if the new sanctions will be sufficient to mitigate the paramilitarys influence in the neighboring conflict zones.

Of course, multilateral sanctions will present better chances of success, and for the sake of encouraging them the White House appears to be striving to deemphasize the broadly popular Iran nuclear deal, which Trump decertified on Friday, in order to refocus attention on other areas of Iranian misbehavior. Meanwhile, some sources suggest that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is doing exactly the opposite, limiting his response to US sanctions against the IRGC in an effort to keep attention focused on the nuclear deal, thereby possibly undermining Trumps efforts to build Western consensus on a broader regional policy.
Trumps statements on Friday, as he declined to certify the Iran nuclear deal, are only the beginning, she believes. She said Trump and the international community should now work toward the ultimate solution: the overthrow of the regime and establishment of freedom and democracy in Iran.

She also told reporters that a major step in that direction, would be the designation NCRI as the sole democratic alternative to the terrorist, religious dictatorship ruling Iran to rectify the past disastrous policy.

Mrs. Rajavi described the four steps the U.S. could take to urge other countries to take steps against the present government in Tehran.

One step would be to deny Iran access to international banking systems, in addition to referring the dossier on the regimes crimes to the United Nations Security Council, including the massacre of more than 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.

Another step would be the expulsion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its mercenary militias from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Lebanon.

They must be prevented from shipping arms and dispatching forces to these countries, she said.

Implementation of previous U.N. Security Council resolutions on the regimes nuclear weapons projects, including a ban on nuclear enrichment and as well as free and unconditional inspections of military and non-military centers, were other step Mrs. Rajavi outlined.

NCRI was founded in 1981, and it represents political figures, academicians, and other Iranians who have fled their homeland who are dedicated to the overthrow of the Islamic Republic , as well as replacing it with a secular democracy.

Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, the nationalist and elected prime minister of post-war Iran was ousted in a U.S-backed coup in 1953, which led to the return to power of the exiled Shah of Iran. The groups leaders are lineal heirs to him.

Tens of thousands of NCRI activists have been executed by the Iranian regime.

The NCRI blew the lid off Irans clandestine nuclear weapons program in 2002 by revealing the existence of the Natanz enrichment facility, and the Arak heavy water site. Their revelation triggered inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and led to sanctions against the Tehran regime.

Source: News Max
[October 17, 2017] Hawk Ridge Systems Expands Its SOLIDWORKS Presence in Midwest with Purchase of Symmetry Solutions

Hawk Ridge Systems, a leading provider of 3D design and manufacturing solutions, has announced that it has acquired Symmetry Solutions. The combined company will create one of the largest and most comprehensive North American DS SOLIDWORKS Reseller networks with 17 offices serving 18,500 clients with coast-to-coast coverage in the United States and Canada. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017006890/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) Symmetry Solutions, a leading DS SOLIDWORKS Reseller in the Midwest, will be joining the Hawk Ridge Systems family. The combined resources of the companies will provide expanded 3D design and manufacturing solutions. Hawk Ridge Systems and Symmetry Solutions are leading providers of 3D design solutions from DS SOLIDWORKS and 3D printers from HP an Markforged. With the merger, Symmetry clients will now have access to manufacturing software from CAMWorks and a wide array of productivity software tools and services that were previously only available to Hawk Ridge Systems clients.



"The combined partnership of Symmetry Solutions with Hawk Ridge Systems makes so much sense," says Dale Ford (News - Alert), President and CEO of Hawk Ridge Systems. "Not only do we share the same passionate vision for our clients' success, but we also share very similar cultures. The triple win is that we can offer more solutions to more people - based on what they need to excel in their business. Building out the team with Symmetry in the Midwest completes our ability to offer a full spectrum of solutions - from design to manufacturing." Symmetry Solutions President, Paul Rudin agrees, "Our clients know my mantra - the client is everything, first and foremost. The merger is going to let us bring in more resources and leverage the very deep bench of technical and engineering expertise that Hawk Ridge Systems is known for. That means we will be able to offer more solutions to help solve our clients' critical business challenges. To be a part of the Hawk Ridge Systems family is a win for our clients, our team and our partners."

The combined company serves 18,500 customers from 17 offices and has 210 people. The company will continue business as usual and will merge under the Hawk Ridge Systems umbrella in January, 2018. About Hawk Ridge Systems Hawk Ridge Systems is a leading provider of 3D design and manufacturing solutions, including DS SOLIDWORKS, CAMWorks, and 3D Printers from HP and Markforged. Recognized as a global leader by DS SOLIDWORKS, Hawk Ridge Systems has been awarded the #1 Worldwide SOLIDWORKS Reseller title many times since its inception in 1996. Based in the Silicon Valley, Hawk Ridge Systems has 17 offices in the US and Canada, providing coast-to-coast coverage in North America. About Symmetry Solutions Symmetry Solutions is the leading provider of 3D engineering design software and 3D printing solutions in the Midwest, including DS SOLIDWORKS and 3D printers from HP and Markforged. Symmetry Solutions is recognized as a leader in customer service and was named #1 in North America for SOLIDWORKS Subscription Support Services. Territory coverage includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017006890/en/

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To kill the Iran nuclear deal entirely would require a vote that needs all 52 Republican senators, as well as eight Democrats, to agree.

Opponents of the deal argue that, if we abandon the deal, our international reputation will suffer and show that we cant be trusted. As well, if we opt out, our allies may not follow.

However, Shmuley Boteach, whom the Washington Post calls the most famous Rabbi in America, and is the international best-selling author of 31 books, in his article for The Algemeiner, writes, Firstly, the dangers of a nuclear Iran more than justify the deals revocation by a new administration. This is especially true considering the fact that, as a democracy, administration and policy changes are to be expected from the United States. It might not be something that a dictatorship like Iran can understand, but it is something that we  as Americans  certainly should.

In fact, Senator Tom Cotton wrote to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that since President Barack Obama did not ratify the deal with Congress, it could be revoked by a different president with the stroke of a pen.

Those opposed to the deal say that Iran isnt keeping to the spirit of the deal.

Israeli intelligence officials reported in September that international IAEA inspectors were denied entry into a critical Iranian military installation at Parchin.

The Institute for Science and International Security, a conglomerate of leading scientists, recently released a report demanding that the IAEA gain access to Parchin, which they said was marked by plenty of evidence of past Iranian nuclear weapons activity.

The nuclear deal stipulates that Iran must give inspectors access to all sites of suspected nuclear development, but an official from Irans nuclear implementation committee announced quite bluntly last week that, Americans will not be allowed to inspect the military bases.

Boteach continues, Moreover, those heralding the reputational risks ignore the far-more delegitimizing effects of continued American support for the deal. After all, in signing the Iran agreement, America endangered some of its most important allies  such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and, most importantly, Israel 

all of whom legitimately fear Iranian hegemony in the Middle East. In fact, were already feeling the effects of the plummeting value of our friendships.

According to The Guardians diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, the message of King Salman of Saudi Arabias first ever royal visit two weeks ago to Russia, was clear, The kingdom [is] looking to diversify into wider set of alliances, due no doubt in part to their fears about US reliability.

The most commonly used argument for why America cant retreat from the Iran deal is that Europe and Asia wont follow suit. If they refuse to sanction Iran, the regime in Tehran will maintain the economic capability to produce a nuclear weapon.

To this, I respond simply, writes Boteac, Russia, China and Europe will abide by any move we make. He adds that, The United States, the worlds largest economy, boasts a financial system worth a whopping $19 trillion. No major economy will risk losing access to that. Certainly not in exchange for access to Irans $400 billion economy.

Sure, Russia, China, and Europe will threaten non-compliance. But in the end, theyll comply.

Richard Goldberg, one of the leading architects of congressional sanctions against Iran said that thats exactly the pattern. When Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) put together a bill imposing sanctions on the National Bank of Iran, they were begged to withdraw. They were warned that European allies had sworn not to comply. In the end, every European and Asian ally that had come to Capitol Hill to lobby against the amendment fully complied with it after it came into force. Still, months later, when Europeans refused to cut Iran out of the global SWIFT financial network, legislation was drafted to cut SWIFT out of US markets, and the Europeans gave in.

This also played out with the passage of the Iran Threat Reduction Act and the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act.

According to Goldberg, Cry as they might along the way, no European or Asian corporation is going to choose a terrorist regime over access to the U.S. dollar.

The US has the power to stop Iran, as President Trump said, America is already great enough.
However, less than a week later, the tide has turned and now Trump is getting more support. Germany and Great Britain shunned Trumps decision and said a few days ago that they would be loyal to the nuclear deal. Now, however, they are saying that they support Trump and his vision to curbing Irans behaviour in the Middle East.

One of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed is Irans involvement in wars in the regions. It is fuelling wars, instigating wars and meddling in the internal affairs of other countries in a bid to expand power and cause chaos.

Iran has been given the means to do so through the nuclear deal which released billions of dollars to the Iranian regime. And it is a pretty weak deal if all Iran has to do is stop enriching uranium.

Germany and Great Britain have vowed to back up Trump in the confrontation against Irans policies. Trump made it clear that there were two options  either cancel the nuclear deal or fix the mistakes in it.

So, if the Iranian regime refuses to change, then it will be responsible for triggering the economic and political crisis that will soon follow. The Trump administration and those that agree with the strategy are asking for Iran to put an end to its military interventions in the region. It wants the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) out of foreign countries and it wants the militias removed from where they have been sent on Irans behalf.

Iran has militias full of refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, exploiting their circumstances that leave them with very little choice, and send them abroad to fight for Iran.

The notorious Hezbollah has been moving around the region and starting wars on behalf of Iran.

Despite UN Security Council resolutions, Iran has been transporting arms and weapons to Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iran is also heavily involved in Afghanistan.

If the 2015 nuclear deal was not signed, Iran would undoubtedly be unable to carry out all of these activities. The billions of dollars that the Iranian regime got have been spent on wars.

The nuclear deal was a gift to Iran. It was everything the Iranian regime wanted  lots of money and sanctions lifted in exchange for very little. So, getting Iran to renegotiate is going to be tricky.

It is expected that it will be proposed to Iran that sanctions could be lifted and the deal kept in place if Iran agrees to remove all of its foreign militias from conflict zones and if it stops providing any kind of support to local fighters.

The Trump administration has also said that it will start supporting the Iranian opposition again  something that was stopped when President Obama was in office. This will undoubtedly mean that the people of Iran will not be forgotten as the main victims of the ruling regime that is denying them the most basic of human rights.
While speaking in an interview on the sidelines of his participation in the Bahrain International Defence Exhibition & Conference (BIDEC 2017) the Interior Minister discussed the situation. He also congratulated Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and Commander of the Royal Guard and President of the Supreme Committee of BIDEC 2017 His Highness Colonel Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa said in the interview published on Wednesday that all 160 fugitives were involved in terrorism cases that targeted Bahraini police and security forces. It is reported that he also said that Irans Revolutionary Guards trained the group, and that those arrested had confessed to receiving training on the use of weapons and bomb-making in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards camps where the recruits were in the age group of 20  40 years.

According to Sheikh Rashed Al Khalifa, the material seized was smuggled into Bahrain from Iran, and included 24kg of high-grade explosives. Also found was Iranian financial and logistical support to carry out terrorist acts.

Bahrain, a key US ally and home to the US Navys Fifth Fleet, has accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs. Tehran denies the allegation. However, its reported that the negative official statements by Iran numbered 254 in 2011. In addition, Iran finances 71 multi-language channels, and Bahrain has repeatedly warned about the Iranian interference in the internal security of Bahrain and the region through its cells and sectarian organizations. The Interior Minister added that the Iranian interference has focused on exporting extremism and sectarianism. Regional and international efforts to eliminate the roots of terrorism are required, he said, especially toward the Iranian role of financing militias and supplying them with weapons.

Describing the massive success of the Bahrain International Defense Exhibition & Conference (BIDEC 2017) as a national achievement for the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Interior Minister congratulated His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, and Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.
Writing may be one of the most hated exercises in a classroom. Rarely do students celebrate when the teacher asks them to do a writing activity. Joy Peyton says there is good reason for that: much of the writing is often formal.

"There are requirements for moving through the class to the next class and out of the program and that requirement is often writing an essay."

Peyton is with the Center for Applied Linguistics, a language and educational research organization in Washington, DC. She says dialogue journals are an ideal alternative to structured essays. She says journal writing also can improve learners' language skills.

Dialogue journals are ongoing, written conversations between two people. They could be between a student and teacher or other English language expert. Or, they could be between two English learners, if one learner has strong English skills. The writing takes place for a period of time, such as a school term or year.

With dialogue journals, learners write about subjects that interest them. And, they can write as much or little as they wish. The teacher's job is not to judge the writing skills of the English learner or even correct mistakes. Instead, the teacher is an equal partner in a continuing one-on-one conversation.

"So there's some sense in which we share the power to introduce topics, to respond, to ask questions, like we would in a conversation with a friend. That's not typically the way a teaching situation works."

That was Jana Staton, a Counselor Education supervisor at the University of Montana. She has done a number of studies on dialogue journals, some in partnership with Joy Peyton.

How do the journals improve English?

One unusual thing about dialogue journals is that there is little or no correction of mistakes. But, without correction, how do learners improve their English skills? Peyton explains.

"In this kind of writing, they're writing with another person who's a better writer than they are, whose language is more advanced than theirs and they're motivated to do it because they're writing about topics that are interesting to them."

Learners improve a number of language skills by observing how the teacher writes and then self-correcting.

Peyton and Staton say English learners take more risks in expressing themselves with the language because they are not being judged by the teacher, their classmates or anyone else.

Clarena Larrotta is Associate Professor in the Adult, Professional and Community Education Programs at Texas State University. She says dialogue journals can improve things like language fluency and confidence without error correction.

"For me dialogue journals is for helping them develop vocabulary, develop fluency, feel less scared about writing, feel more confident about using English to communicate. So, my recommendation is that there have to be other activities in class where correction is the goal."

Larrotta says the journals also give learners a chance to do something that is usually quite difficult in a second language: forming questions correctly.

And, dialogue journals do not simply help learners, Staton says; instead, teachers gain a lot. They learn more about their students and this can help them feel like part of a community.

How can we get started?

Format:

Dialogue journals are a low- to no-cost activity. The only required materials are paper notebooks or possibly a computer or other electronic device. If you choose an electronic device, Staton suggests avoiding email and using something like Google Docs instead. She says it keeps a clearer record of the conversation.

Blackboard, or other online communication tools used by universities, may be another method.

Timing:

The writing can take place at the beginning or end of a class, or in between two activities. And, Peyton says, it usually only requires about 10 or 15 minutes of class time.

The frequency may depend on the number of students and the workload of the teacher.

Larrotta suggests that, if teachers have a large class, they can collect some journals on one day and the others on a different day.

Subjects:

For subjects, Staton says avoid the thinking of: "I want you all to write about x." Instead, you might start the very first journal by asking the English learners what questions they have or what they think about what they're doing in the classroom. Or, you can simply start with, "Tell me what your day was like."

Once the learners feel at ease with what is expected, the writing can move to more personal subjects, those important to the learner. What does this person want? What are his or her goals and hopes? What is difficult for them and what would be more helpful?

Larrotta suggests that both the teacher and the learner include a few questions in each journal submission. This helps keep the conversation going because it gives the reader something to react to.

Ground rules:

She also says ground rules are important before beginning dialogue journaling. One of her rules is to recognize the kind of questions you ask. And, if you see an unwanted question, you have the right not to answer that question and suggest a different subject.

The important thing to remember with dialogue journals, she says, is not to be afraid of making mistakes because even native English speakers make mistakes.

I'm John Russell. And I'm Alice Bryant.

Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Have you used a dialogue journal as a learner? As a teacher? How did it improve your English skills or help you communicate? Write to us in the comments section.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

alternative  n. something that can be chosen instead of something else

conversation  n. a spoken exchange between two or more people

format  n. structure

fluency  n. the ability to speak easily

frequency  n. the number of times that something happens during a particular period

dialogue  n. a conversation; a discussion involving two or more groups

ground rule  n. a rule about what should be done in a particular situation
[October 18, 2017] Utimaco Launches PaymentServer 3.00.0 To Help Payment Industry Reach PCI Compliance

As the Payment Card Industry (PCI (News - Alert)) continues to heat up, Utimaco is providing enterprises in the banking and financial services sector with the opportunity to achieve PCI compliance through its latest launch, PaymentServer 3.00.0. The new PaymentServer is a PCI Standards Security Council accredited PCI PIN Transaction Security Hardware Security Module Version 2 (PCI PTS HSM V2) solution that comes with a complete offering, including the HSM, a Software Development Kit, and additional services such as integration support, certification assistance and tiered maintenance. All of this allows Utimaco (News - Alert) partners to focus on business innovation with the assurance that their work remains or regains PCI compliance. Using Utimaco's flexible software development kit, companies can reach full PCI compliance for a solution or environment based on the standard product offering from PaymentServer or via a customized and re-certified HSM application. PaymentServer can be leveraged for companies looking for PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PCI Point-to-Point Encryption (PCI P2PE), or even for PCI HSM as a delta certification with custom code running on the HSM. Companies in the banking and financial sectors are looking for a more competitive HSM market, reduced total cost of ownership and the ability to innovate from their technology platforms when investing in new technology. However, compliance remains mandatory. Utimaco's PaymentServer offers a flexible, customizable HSM along with the support for integration and certification. Utimaco ay look like a newcomer to the banking and financial services sectors, as it has largely focused on general purpose HSMs, but the impression is deceptive: There are five solutions in the market for companies that require PCI PTS HSM V2, and three out of those five accredited solutions for uncontrolled environments are based on Utimaco's CryptoServer CSe technology.



"The market for banking and financial services is changing, and technology like blockchain and PCI accredited payment HSMs are creating challenges for the traditional incumbents," said Matthias Pankert, Senior Vice President at Utimaco. "This is why we decided to step out of the shade and relaunch our offering under our own brand. This way, we can broaden our visibility in the market and support a larger number of partners who wish to shape their own product offering using Payment Card Industry certified HSMs from Utimaco. Utimaco's PaymentServer 3.00.0 runs on the same hardware platform as general purpose HSMs and timestamp HSMs, making it an attractive, and affordable, solution for banking and financial services companies that require PCI compliance.

This announcement follows Utimaco's news in July that its CryptoServer CSe HSM platform achieved PCI PTS HSM V2 compliance for uncontrolled environments from the PCI Standards Security Council, giving the payment card industry and consumers confidence that their data will be secure throughout the transaction process when using Utimaco's HSM. For more information on Utimaco's latest HSM PaymentServer, or to learn more about PCI HSM certification, visit https://hsm.utimaco.com or contact the team at https://hsm.utimaco.com/contact. About Utimaco Utimaco is a leading manufacturer of HSMs that provide the Root of Trust for the payments industry. We keep cryptographic keys and digital identities safe to protect critical digital infrastructures and high value data assets. Our products enable innovations and support the creation of new business by helping to secure critical business data and transactions. Founded in 1983, Utimaco HSMs today are deployed across more than 80 countries in more than 1,000 installations. Utimaco employs a total of 170 people, with sales offices in Germany, the US, the UK and Singapore. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017005058/en/

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Maps showing prevalence of aristolochic acid related cancers around the world. Credit: A.W.T. Ng et al., Science Translational Medicine (2017)

Researchers have uncovered widespread evidence of a link between traditional Chinese herbal remedies and liver cancer across Asia, a study said Wednesday.

The findings suggest stronger measures are needed to prevent people from consuming chemicals called aristolochic acids (AA), which are derived from the woody vines of the Aristolochia plant family, said the report in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The acids can be found in some traditional Chinese medicines that are given during childbirth, to prevent parasites and promote healing.

Researchers tested 98 liver tumors that were stored at hospitals in Taiwan, and found that 78 percent contained mutation patterns that indicated the cancers "were likely due to contact with the chemicals," said the study.

Since these acids cause "a well-defined mutational signature," researchers also looked at 89 samples of liver cancer in China, and found that 47 percent showed a link to this traditional medicine component.

In Vietnam, five out of 26 tumors studied were a match (19 percent), along with five out of nine from other countries in Southeast Asia (56 percent).

The link to traditional Chinese medicine was far less common in North America (five percent of 209 liver cancers studied) and 1.7 percent of the 230 looked at from Europe.

Taiwan banned in 2003 some herbal preparations using the plants after it was discovered that aristolochic acids could cause kidney failure and urinary tract cancers.

However, there is no outright ban in China or Taiwan, and "only specific plants, rather than any plant and product containing AA or its derivatives, are regulated," making it hard for consumers to avoid them, said the report.

Researchers found that the prevalence of AA-associated mutations in liver cancers in Taiwan did not drop after the ban was implemented.

This could be because it would take more time for a drop in cancers to be noticeable in the data, as was the case with tobacco-related cancers after smoking was revealed to cause lung tumors.

Or it could be that people continue to be exposed to these acids through other products and herbal mixtures that still contain them.

More information: A.W.T. Ng el al., "Aristolochic acids and their derivatives are widely implicated in liver cancers in Taiwan and throughout Asia," Science Translational Medicine (2017). Journal information: Science Translational Medicine A.W.T. Ng el al., "Aristolochic acids and their derivatives are widely implicated in liver cancers in Taiwan and throughout Asia,"(2017). stm.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/  scitranslmed.aan6446

 2017 AFP
PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer's disease. Credit: public domain

Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), in collaboration with colleagues at the University California, San Diego (UCSD), have characterized a new class of drugs as potential therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease and discovered a piece in the puzzle of how they would work. Their study, using disease-related animal and cellular models, shows that treatment with a representative compound of this class of gamma-secretase modulators leads to a reduction of the Alzheimer's-associated beta-amyloid. The study has been online published in EBioMedicine, an open-access journal jointly published by Cell Press and The Lancet.

"Our study explores the mechanism by which gamma-secretase modulators reduce levels of amyloid-beta 42, the primary pathological driver of Alzheimer's disease," says Can (Martin) Zhang, MD, PhD, of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit in the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND), co-corresponding author of the EBioMedicine paper. "These findings will be useful in the ongoing effort to develop molecules that may be effective for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease."

The most common neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the buildup of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in several brain regions. The leading hypothesis for its pathogenesis is the amyloid cascade - which suggests that the amyloid beta-protein, and particularly the amyloid-beta 42 peptide, initiates the disease process. An imbalance between the production and clearance of amyloid-beta results in the protein's aggregation into larger plaques that lead to the death of brain cells and the cognitive symptoms seen in Alzheimer patients. Several potential treatments have been developed that specifically target amyloid, but none have been effective in halting disease progression.

Amyloid-beta is produced by the cleavage of the larger amyloid precursor protein (APP) by an enzyme called gamma-secretase. Previous research led to the development of gamma-secretase inhibitors that totally block the function of the enzyme, but in clinical trials these drugs produced serious side effects through their effects on the processing of other proteins.

Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, director of the MGH Genetics and Aging Research Unit, and Steven Wagner, PhD, of the USCD Department of Neurosciences - co-corresponding authors of the current study - first developed the concept of gamma-secretase modulators (GSMs), which change but do not totally suppress the enzyme's activity, back in 2000. More recently their teams developed a group of soluble GSMs, one of which - SGSM-36 - appeared to be a promising candidate for clinical development.

In the current study, the researchers showed that three days of treatment with SGSM-36 reduced levels of amyloid-beta 42 in the brains and plasma of a validated mouse model of inherited Alzheimer's without affecting the processing of APP by other enzymes. In cellular models - including the three-dimensional "Alzheimer's in a dish" system developed by Tanzi's team - they compared the action of SGSM-36 to that of the semagacestat, one of the gamma-secretase inhibitors that failed in clinical trials. While SGSM-36 treatment only reduced levels of the toxic amyloid-beta 40 and 42 peptides, semagacestat reduced all form of amyloid as well as gamma-secretase processing of other proteins, including the important signaling protein Notch, reduction of which may have caused the toxic effects of gamma-secretase inhibitor treatment.

In order to better understand how SGSM-36 alters the gamma-secretase enzyme and its function. The team used fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy to examine the molecule, identifying a site where SGSM-36 enlarges the space between three characteristic loops of the protein, conferring a more open conformation that has been shown to be associated with lowering production of the toxic forms of amyloid-beta.

"Genetic, biochemical, molecular biological and pathological evidence all support the hypothesis that excessive accumulation of amyloid-beta - particularly amyloid-beta 42 - is the primary event leading to Alzheimer's related pathology," says Zhang, who is an assistant professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "In our future studies, we will be testing SGSM-36 against similar molecules that may have equal or higher potency in reducing amyloid-beta 42 and further investigating its molecular mechanisms in animal models, with the eventual goal of testing its potential in clinical trials."

More information: Frank Raven et al, Soluble Gamma-secretase Modulators Attenuate Alzheimer's -amyloid Pathology and Induce Conformational Changes in Presenilin 1, EBioMedicine (2017). Journal information: EBioMedicine Frank Raven et al, Soluble Gamma-secretase Modulators Attenuate Alzheimer's -amyloid Pathology and Induce Conformational Changes in Presenilin 1,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2017.08.028
Duc Dong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Human Genetics Program, among zebrafish tanks. Credit: SBP

A new study led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) identifies potential new therapeutic avenues for patients with Alagille syndrome. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, identifies the cells and genes in zebrafish necessary to make liver ducts, thin tubes that transport a fluid called bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine. Patients with Alagille syndrome have fewer than the normal number of liver ducts, causing jaundice, liver disease and liver failure.

"We use zebrafish to study Alagille syndrome because these vertebrates allow us to use experimental approaches that aren't possible with other disease models," says Duc Dong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Human Genetics Program at SBP and senior author of the paper. "Organ development, especially the liver, is highly conserved among vertebratesincluding zebrafishand the mutations we create in zebrafish alter embryogenesis in a manner consistent with humans, making it an ideal model system to study diseases such as Alagille syndrome."

Alagille syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations primarily in the JAGGED1 gene. In less than 1 percent of cases, a mutation in the NOTCH2 gene is the cause. The disorder has an estimated prevalence of 1 in 70,000 births and can affect the liver, heart, kidneys, blood vessels and other tissues of the body. One of the major features of Alagille syndrome is liver damage caused by loss of liver ducts. There is presently no drug or surgical procedure that can correct for the loss of liver ducts.

"We wanted to gain further insight into the way Jagged works during liver development," says Dong. "We already knew that Jagged triggers Notch signaling in neighboring cellsa key step in the development of many organs, including liver. But a deeper understanding of how Jagged regulates duct cell formation in livers could shape strategies to help fix these structures to potentially spare the 10 to 30 percent of patients that eventually need a liver transplant."

Dr. Duc Dong talks about a finding using the zebrafish model that offers clues on how to seek a cure for Alagille Syndrome. Credit: Kristen Custato; SBP

Using mutant zebrafish, the research team discovered that Jagged signals come from an unexpected cell type, endoderm-derived cells within the liver itself, stimulating duct cell identity in the liver. The findings contrast with research in mice, which suggest ducts are malformed due to insufficient Jagged signals from cells in hepatic veins. Dong's team demonstrated that Jagged directly triggers Notch activity to generate all duct cells in the liver.

"Our findings are important because knowing the location and specific cell type that require Jagged expression gives us the information we need to target therapeutics to the right place to compensate for the lack of Jagged function in Alagille syndrome," says Dong. "And with advances being made in gene therapy using technologies like CRISPR/Cas9, our discoveries put us closer to being able to deliver genetic 'corrections' of JAGGED1 mutations.

"Because duct cells are lost due to a lack of Jagged function, and are not just malformed as previously thought, we now need to also consider regenerative therapeutic approaches to replace duct cells lost in this disease. Indeed, we have unpublished data suggesting that duct cells can regenerate when we allow normal Jagged function to resume."

"We are also exploring the possibility of using zebrafish to identify potential drugs that could alleviate pathologies caused by loss of Jagged function," adds Dong. "In fact, we are now gearing up for a chemical screen and working on finding funding for this project."

"This study shows the value in studying alternative disease models. In this case, zebrafish were critical for advancing our understanding of Jagged function in the liver, allowing us to devise new therapeutic strategies for Alagille Syndrome."

More information: Danhua Zhang et al, Endoderm Jagged induces liver and pancreas duct lineage in zebrafish, Nature Communications (2017). Journal information: Nature Communications Danhua Zhang et al, Endoderm Jagged induces liver and pancreas duct lineage in zebrafish,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00666-6
Patient wearing cold mitt. Photo: A. Hanai

(HealthDay)Many cancer drugs can cause debilitating nerve damage as a side effect. But a small study suggests that simple cold wraps to the hands and feet might prevent it.

The side effect, known as peripheral neuropathy, damages nerves in the limbs. This often leads to pain, numbness and tingling, and difficulty with balance and using the hands and fingers.

There are treatments for peripheral neuropathy, according to the American Cancer Society. But there are no proven ways to prevent it.

In the new study, researchers tested a simple tactic: having patients wear frozen gloves and socks during chemotherapy.

With that protection in place, patients were much less likely to develop symptoms of nerve damage, the study found.

Medical experts said there are reasons to be excited about the findings.

For one, the therapy is "easy and safe," said study leader Akiko Hanai, an occupational therapist at Kyoto University, in Japan.

Still, there are cautions, she said.

Besides its small size, the study looked only at patients being treated with the drug paclitaxel (Taxol). It's not clear, Hanai said, whether cold therapy would have similar benefits for patients on other cancer drugs.

And the tactic is not one for people to try on their own. In this study, the frozen socks and gloves were donned during chemowith therapists standing by to make sure the cold was tolerable, Hanai said.

The findings are based on 36 women undergoing paclitaxel treatment for breast cancer. The researchers had each patient wear a frozen glove and sock on the dominant side of her body during the chemo sessions, leaving the other hand and foot to serve as the "control."

There was no fancy technology involved. The researchers used commercially available cold wraps marketed as Elasto-Gel, by the France-based Akromed. (The company did not fund the study, according to Hanai's team.)

Overall, the investigators found, the simple 90-minute strategy substantially cut patients' risk of neuropathy symptoms.

Just under 28 percent of patients developed numbness in the hand that was covered by the frozen glovewhile the unprotected hand was affected 81 percent of the time, the findings showed.

The difference was similar when it came to numbness in the feet: Almost 64 percent of patients developed the problem in the unprotected foot, while 25 percent suffered numbness in the sock-clad foot.

And in dexterity tests, the women showed a bigger treatment-related decline in the unprotected hand, versus the glove-protected one.

"The results of this study are very exciting," said Dr. Dawn Hershman, who wrote an editorial published with the findings.

"If they are confirmed, this may be a low-cost and low-risk option for patients," said Hershman, who leads the breast cancer program at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

But, she said, the therapy still needs to be tested in larger, "randomized" studieswhere patients are randomly assigned to receive cold therapy or not. Those types of trials are considered the gold standard in medicine.

Figuring out ways to prevent peripheral neuropathy is critical, Hershman said.

It not only drains patients' quality of life, she said, but can also cause them to stop treatment early.

Paclitaxel and similar "taxane" drugslike docetaxel and cabazitaxelare among the common causes of peripheral neuropathy, according to the American Cancer Society. So are "platinum" drugs, such as cisplatin and carboplatin, and so-called plant alkaloids, such as vinblastine and vincristine.

Dr. Elizabeth Comen treats breast cancer patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She agreed that more research is neededto understand what "dose" of cold therapy is best, for example.

At the same time, Comen said, there's little downside to the tactic.

"If a patient came to me wanting to try it, I'd support it," she said. "I think this is something patients can discuss with their doctors now. It's a reasonable option."

If cold therapy does thwart peripheral neuropathy, it's not clear why, Hershman said.

Comen agreed that the mechanism is unclear. But, she said, the approach is similar to the "cold caps" sometimes used to reduce hair loss from chemo. In theory, that works by restricting blood flow to the scalp, which may limit the amount of chemo that reaches hair follicles.

The study was published online Oct. 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

More information: Akiko Hanai, OTR, M.S., occupational therapist, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; Dawn Hershman, M.D., leader, breast cancer program, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City; Elizabeth Comen, M.D., medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; Oct. 12, 2017, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, online Akiko Hanai, OTR, M.S., occupational therapist, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; Dawn Hershman, M.D., leader, breast cancer program, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City; Elizabeth Comen, M.D., medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; Oct. 12, 2017,, online The American Cancer Society has more on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Journal information: Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Credit: University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

A targeted therapy resurrected by the Moon Shots Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has produced unprecedented response rates among patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that carries a highly treatment-resistant mutation.

In a phase 2 clinical trial, the drug poziotinib has shrunk tumors by at least 30 percent in eight of 11 (73 percent) non-small cell lung cancer patients whose cancer includes an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation called an exon 20 insertion. Shrinkage ranged from 30 percent to 50 percent among the eight patients reaching partial response. One patient has progressed on the clinical trial, which began in March. All patients experienced some tumor shrinkage.

"We've had no effective drugs for these patients, who historically have progression free survival of about two months, and a response rate of less than 20 percent for other therapies," said clinical trial leader John Heymach, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at MD Anderson and holder of the David Bruton Junior Chair in Cancer Research.

"These early results are highly encouraging, and our research shows that poziotinib's structure makes it a great potential fit for attacking this mutation," Heymach said. Preliminary results were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan, by Yasir Elamin, M.D., assistant professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology.

The investigator-initiated clinical trial marks the latest progress in the identification and development of poziotinib for this group of patients conducted by MD Anderson's Lung Cancer Moon Shot, which is co-led by Heymach as part of the institution's Moon Shots Program. The program was launched in 2012 to accelerate the development of new approaches to cancer based on scientific discoveries.

About 2 percent of non-small cell lung cancer patients (about 3,500 annually in the United States) have an EGFR exon 20 insertion. The trial has enrolled 27 patients and is expected to enroll up to 50. Other tyrosine kinase inhibitors against EGFR have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but none have proved effective against the exon 20 insertion.

Six of 11 patients have had their dose reduced due to side effects, mainly due to rash but also diarrhea, mucositis and paronychia - inflammation of the tissue around finger nails and toenails.

Preclinical research points to poziotinib vs. exon 20

Poziotinib had been tried and abandoned as a general EGFR inhibitor against lung cancer when Heymach's team turned up evidence of its potential against exon 20 through a drug screening program that's part of the moon shot.

Postdoctoral fellow Jacqulyne Robichaux, Ph.D., tapped the Genomic Marker-Guided Therapy Initiative (GEMINI), which includes tumor samples and detailed clinical information on more than 4,000 lung cancer patients treated at MD Anderson since 2012.

Robichaux developed EGFR exon 20 NSCLC cell lines as well as patient-derived xenograft models, and tested a variety of EGFR inhibitors against them under the Lung Moon Shot's drug repurposing program.

"Poziotinib is the only drug we've ever found that was dramatically better for exon 20 than it was for the classical EGFR mutation, T790M, that everyone tests," Heymach said.

Working with Shuxing Zhang, PHARMD, Ph.D., associate professor of Experimental Therapeutics, the multidisciplinary team identified structural aspects of the drug that explain that divergent impact.

Heymach and colleagues then contacted Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a Nevada-based biotechnology company that initially developed poziotinib. Subsequent collaboration included compassionate use of poziotinib for some patients with advanced disease and rapid development of the phase 2 clinical trial.

The Lung Moon Shot has funded the effort from the beginning, from preclinical identification and confirmation through the clinical trial. A scientific paper describing the group's preclinical research is pending with a major journal. Spectrum has provided poziotinib and also partially funds the trial.

Based on the MD Anderson team's discoveries, the institution is developing intellectual property related to the use of poziotinib for the treatment of these mutant cancers.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, conducted by researchers from the University of Liverpool, Maastricht University and King's College London, shows that bilingual speakers' ability to speak a second language is improved after they have consumed a low dose of alcohol.

It is well-established that alcohol impairs cognitive and motor functions. 'Executive functions', which include the ability to remember, pay attention, and inhibit inappropriate behaviours, are particularly sensitive to the acute effects of alcohol.

Given that executive functions are important when speaking a second (non-native) language, one might expect that alcohol would impair the ability to speak a second language. On the other hand, alcohol increases self-confidence and reduces social anxiety, both of which might be expected to improve language ability when interacting with another person.

Furthermore, many bilingual speakers believe that it can improve their ability to speak a second language. The aim of this experimental study was to test these competing predictions for the first time.

Language performance

The researchers tested the effects of a low dose of alcohol on participants' self-rated and observer-rated ability to converse in Dutch. Participants were 50 native German speakers who were studying at a Dutch University (Maastricht) and had recently learned to speak, read and write in Dutch.

Participants were randomized to consume either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol, before they chatted with an experimenter in Dutch for a few minutes. The exact dose of alcohol varied depending on participants' body weight, but it was equivalent to just under a pint (460ml) of 5% beer, for a 70kg male.

The chat was audio-recorded and participants' foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who did not know if the participant had consumed alcohol or not (observer-ratings). Participants also rated their own Dutch language skills during the conversation (self-ratings).

The researchers found that participants who had consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared to those who had not consumed alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills.

Implications and Limitations

Dr Inge Kersbergen, from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, who was involved in the study, said: "Our study shows that acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who recently learned that language. This provides some support for the lay belief (among bilingual speakers) that a low dose of alcohol can improve their ability to speak a second language"

Dr Fritz Renner who was one of the researchers who conducted the study at Maastricht University, said: "It is important to point out that participants in this study consumed a low dose of alcohol. Higher levels of alcohol consumption might not have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language."

Dr Jessica Werthmann who was one of the researchers who conducted the study at Maastricht University, said "We need to be cautious about the implications of these results until we know more about what causes the observed results. One possible mechanism could be the anxiety-reducing effect of alcohol. But more research is needed to test this."

More information: Fritz Renner et al, Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills, Journal of Psychopharmacology (2017). Journal information: Journal of Psychopharmacology Fritz Renner et al, Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills,(2017). DOI: 10.1177/0269881117735687
Two Medicare "pay for performance" programs have contributed to declining financial performance by hospitals in the Mississippi Delta region, suggests a study in the November issue of Medical Care.

The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) and the Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program (HVBP) are having a disproportionate financial impact on Delta hospitals, according to the report by Hsueh-Fen Chen, PhD, and colleagues of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock. They write, "The weak financial performance of Delta hospitals and widening disparity in financial performance between Delta and non-Delta hospitals under HRRP and HVBP indicate that altering these two programs is necessary and urgent in order to ensure that we do not remove the resources from the communities that need them most."

Programs Linked to Widening Financial Gap between Delta and non-Delta Hospitals

Implemented under the Affordable Care Act, the two programs provide financial incentives for hospitals to deliver higher-quality, higher-value care. The HRRP reduces Medicare reimbursements to hospitals with higher than average readmission rates for selected conditions. The HVBP adjusts payments based on a set of quality indicators.

The researchers analyzed data on financial performance before and after hospitals started to be penalized and rewarded under these programs in 2013. The study focused on the Mississippi Delta region, including 252 counties in eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The Delta Region is among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the United States. It is a largely rural area with a large proportion of minority and underserved residents, high poverty rates, and high rates of health risk factors and poor health outcomes.

Data from 2008 to 2014 showed a widening gap in financial performance between Delta hospitals and non-Delta hospitals (other hospitals in the nation). Operating margin (profit or loss resulting from delivery of patient care) was lower at Delta hospitals throughout the study periodbut dropped sharply to ?6.9 percent starting in 2012, falling to ?10.4 percent in 2014.

By comparison, operating margin was relatively steady at non-Delta hospitals, with figures of ?0.8 percent in 2012 and ?1.5 percent in 2014. In other words, in 2014, Delta hospitals were losing about ten percent of margin on patient care, while non-Delta hospitals were losing just 1.5 percent.

Analysis of total margin (profit or loss resulting from both patient care and non-patient care activities) showed a similar pattern. From a high of 3.6 percent in 2012, total margin at Delta hospitals decreased to 0.2 percent in 2014. In contrast, for the same time period, total margin at non-Delta hospitals remained stable at an average of 5.3 percent. Thus in 2014 Delta hospitals were making little to no profit overall, while non-Delta hospitals had about a 5.3 percent profit margin.

After taking hospital and community characteristics into consideration, non-Delta hospitals had an average 1.0 percent increase in operating margin and 2.3 percent increase in total margin after the implementation of the HRRP and HVBP programs, compared to their operating and total margin before the implementation of the two Medicare programs. However, Delta hospitals had a decrease of 4.24 percent in operating margin and 0.30 percent in total margin after the implementation of the HRRP and HVBP programs. The pattern of both operating and total margin was similar when including all hospitals (excluding hospitals in Maryland) in the nation and all hospitals in the states without early Medicaid expansion.

As their financial performance weakens, Delta hospitals will have fewer resources to improve their quality of careplacing them at risk for falling even further behind national averages. Dr. Chen and colleagues note that Delta hospitals serve a high percentage of Medicaid patients, making them an essential part of the healthcare safety net. With near-zero profit margins, some Delta hospitals may be at risk of closing, or of dropping unprofitable services.

While Dr. Chen and coauthors believe paying providers based on the quality and value of care is "a step in the right direction," they add that the HRRP and HBVP programs "use a one-size-fits-all approach without considering the uniqueness of the communities that hospitals serve." The researchers conclude: "Given the growing disparity in operating and total margin between Delta and non-Delta hospitals...a revision of HRRP is urgent and a reevaluation of HVBP is necessary."

More information: Hsueh-Fen Chen et al. Financial Performance of Hospitals in the Mississippi Delta Region Under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program, Medical Care (2017). Journal information: Medical Care Hsueh-Fen Chen et al. Financial Performance of Hospitals in the Mississippi Delta Region Under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program,(2017). DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000808
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

(Medical Xpress)A large team of researchers from China (and one each from Norway and Denmark) has found that the female reproductive tract is host to a far richer microbial community than has been thought. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group reports collecting samples from several parts of the reproductive tracts of volunteer women and what they found in studying them.

Scientists have long known that that the vagina plays host to a highly populated microbial communitytrillions of bacteria live there. But, as the researchers note, much less is known about the biome that exists in the rest of the reproductive tract. To learn more, the researchers enlisted the assistance of 110 female volunteers in their child-bearing yearssamples were collected from one or more parts of their reproductive tracts from the vagina to the fallopian tubes. Some of the samples were obtained during routine office visits, others during previously scheduled laparoscopy procedures.

The researchers than performed 16S rRNA sequencing on all of the samples to identify which, if any, microbes were living in a given part of the reproductive tract. After classification, the researchers compiled all the data to allow for comparisons between the individual women. The team confirmed earlier findings that the vagina is chock-full of bacteria, particularly Lactobacillus. But they also found that other parts had different microbesthere were few Lactobacillus, for example, in the lining of the uterus or fallopian tubes; instead, there were more Pseudomonas. They report also that that the microbial community changed on an individual basis depending on where the women were in their menstrual cycle. And they found that microbial communities were different for women with diseases or conditions, such as when they had benign uterine tumors.

The team reports that they also found evidence showing that contrary to popular opinion, babies are not held in a sterile environment while developing inside the uterusthe placenta was not sterile, either. The researchers note their work is just the beginning of a much larger effort to learn about the female reproductive tract microbial community. They suggest more research could lead to a better understanding of what is normal and what is not, as well as reproductive tract ailments and ways to treat them.

More information: Chen Chen et al. The microbiota continuum along the female reproductive tract and its relation to uterine-related diseases, Nature Communications (2017). Chen Chen et al. The microbiota continuum along the female reproductive tract and its relation to uterine-related diseases,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00901-0 Abstract

Reports on bacteria detected in maternal fluids during pregnancy are typically associated with adverse consequences, and whether the female reproductive tract harbours distinct microbial communities beyond the vagina has been a matter of debate. Here we systematically sample the microbiota within the female reproductive tract in 110 women of reproductive age, and examine the nature of colonisation by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and cultivation. We find distinct microbial communities in cervical canal, uterus, fallopian tubes and peritoneal fluid, differing from that of the vagina. The results reflect a microbiota continuum along the female reproductive tract, indicative of a non-sterile environment. We also identify microbial taxa and potential functions that correlate with the menstrual cycle or are over-represented in subjects with adenomyosis or infertility due to endometriosis. The study provides insight into the nature of the vagino-uterine microbiome, and suggests that surveying the vaginal or cervical microbiota might be useful for detection of common diseases in the upper reproductive tract. Journal information: Nature Communications

 2017 Medical Xpress
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Adopting a lying down position rather than being upright in the later stages of labour for first-time mothers who have had a low dose epidural leads to a higher chance of them delivering their baby without any medical intervention, a study has found.

Professors Peter Brocklehurst and Christine McArthur, as well as statistics lead Pollyanna Hardy, of the University of Birmingham, and their colleagues within the Epidural and Position Trial Collaborative Group were behind the randomised controlled trial involving 3,093 women who gave birth across 41 UK hospitals between October 2010 and January 2014.

The aim of the BUMPES trial, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, was to investigate whether adopting an upright position in the second stage of labour in first-time mothers who have a low-dose epidural would lead to an increase in the number who had a spontaneous vaginal birth - without the need for forceps or suction.

The results of the study, in which women were randomly allocated an upright or lying down position (lying on the left or right side) during the later stages of labour were published today in The BMJ.

The study found that there were fewer spontaneous vaginal births in women in the upright group (35.2%), compared with women in the lying down group (41.1%). This represents a 5.9% absolute increase in the chance of spontaneous birth in the lying down group.

In the UK, around 30% of women choose to have an epidural as it's the most effective form of pain relief in labour. However, having an epidural leads to an increased risk of an instrumental vaginal birth (forceps or vacuum).

The position a woman is in during the second stage of labour (after the cervix is fully dilated) has been suggested to have an effect on the risk of an instrumental vaginal birth and current existing guidance in the UK recommends that women with an epidural should be encouraged to adopt an upright position.

Professor Peter Brocklehurst, of the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, said: "The study provides evidence that first time mothers with an epidural who lie down on their side during the second stage of labour are more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth, with no apparent disadvantages in relation to short or longer term outcomes for mother or baby.

"Like all clinical trials, the study does have its limitations and we can only speculate about the mechanism by which a lying down position increases the chance of a spontaneous vaginal birth.

"However, the evidence we have found from this large trial group provides an easy and cost-free intervention in our labour wards. Pregnant women, in consultation with their healthcare providers, can now make informed choices about their position in the second stage of labour.

"The results from this trial apply only to first-time mothers in the second stage of labour with low dose epidural analgesia. Therefore it is unclear what the findings may mean for women who have given birth before and are in labour with an epidural. However, given the clear benefit of the lying down position, perhaps all women who have an epidural should be offered the choice of adopting a lying down position in the second stage until we know otherwise."

He said that the results of the BUMPES trial strongly support the need for a similar large trial to find the best position for women in the second stage of labour who do not have an epidural.

More information: Upright versus lying down position in second stage of labour in nulliparous women with low dose epidural: BUMPES randomised controlled trial, BMJ (2017). Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ) Upright versus lying down position in second stage of labour in nulliparous women with low dose epidural: BUMPES randomised controlled trial,(2017). www.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.i4471

Provided by University of Birmingham
Two suspected cases of plague in the Seychelles have tested negative, the government said Wednesday, as children returned to schools which had closed as panic swept the island nation last week.

The health ministry said tests on two people with suspicious symptoms after visiting Madagascar, where 74 people have died from the plague over the past two months, had returned negative from a French laboratory.

Initial tests had shown the patients might have the plague, and 12 other people were admitted to hospital and 320 placed under surveillance.

In a statement, the ministry said all patients "can carry on with normal life as they do not have the plague."

However, new arrivals from Madagascar are still being placed in isolation, the health ministry said.

Air Seychelles suspended all flights to and from Madagascar in April to prevent the spread of plague which affects the poor Indian Ocean island almost every year.

The panic in the Seychelles led government to shut schools on Friday after several students developed fevers.

 2017 AFP
Asturias wild bear population under threat after wild fires in the north of Spain



ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The destruction of bushes and trees in Asturias could deprive brown bears of food

The arrival of cooler temperatures and rain in northern Spain has made it possible for firefighters to bring under control the hundreds of wild fires which caused the loss of four lives over the weekend and devastated over 11,000 hectares of land in Galicia and Asturias.

But now that the flames have been extinguished the time has come to hunt for the arsonists who are believed to have been responsible for many of the blazes and to count the cost, which will be extremely high given that the amount of land affected in Galicia in the last four days is greater than the total which had accumulated in the first nine months of the year. In addition, in Asturias one of the main concerns of environmentalists is the effect the fires may have had on the brown bear population in the mountains of the south-east of the region, where it is known that some of the areas burnt are commonly used for breeding and rearing cubs by the largest bear population in Spain.

There is a community of approximately 200 bears in this part of Asturias, and one of the transit routes they most commonly use in the area of Leitariegos, close to the boundary of Asturias with Leon and Lugo, has been destroyed, while hibernation areas have also been seriously affected.

Ten per cent of the Natural Park of Las Fuentes del Narcea, Degana e Ibias consists of a 56-square-kilometre oak forest which has been saved from the flames by the efforts of the firefighters and the arrival of rain, but much of the area surrounding it is reported to have been reduced to ash and cinders. Over half of the 4,000 hectares of the Sierra de Degana Monte Raso are thought to have been affected, and as a result the bushes on which the bear population feeds have disappeared.

So too have many of the oaks which supplied them with plentiful acorns prior to hibernation, and although the focus of attention is on the bear population it is inevitable that wolves and birdlife will also suffer.

Image (Fundacion Oso Pardo): a mother bear and her cub on Sunday in Cangas del Narcea

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The busiest lottery office in Spain joins the flood of businesses leaving Catalunya



ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Over 700 companies have left Catalunya in the last two weeks

Confirmation that the prestige of Barcelona and Catalunya as a hub for European big business and commerce is continuing to be damaged by the constitutional crisis over the issue of independence has been provided this week by the official registrars of Spain, who report that since 2nd October over 700 companies have changed their official registered addresses to move out of Catalunya and dissociate themselves from the instability and uncertainty which currently prevail in the region.

Neither is there any sign of the exodus slowing down, with a further 150 names having been added to the list in the first two days of this week. The latest to depart include Pastas Gallo, whose spaghetti and macaroni are on the shelves of supermarkets all over Spain, cava champagne produces Codorniu, who have been resident in Catalunya for centuries, and the administrator of the official lottery office La Bruixa dOr (the golden witch) in Sort, in the province of Lleida, which, on account of winning Christmas lottery tickets having been bought there in the past, has the highest turnover of all the lottery administrations in Spain.

The owner, Xavier Gabriel, claims that he has been obliged to move his business to the region of Navarra and change his tax registration address to Madrid, after being victimized in a campaign for lottery punters to boycott his establishment on the grounds that he is in favour of Catalan independence. It has even been falsely claimed on social network sites that he is the father of Anna Gabriel, the outspoken MP who represents the CUP separatist party in the Catalan parliament.

Xavier Gabriel explains his standpoint on independence by clarifying that he loves Catalunya but is also proud to be Spanish, and that much as it pains him to abandon Catalunya he has been forced into it. He also says that his business will not suffer if separatists boycott it, pointing out that he actually sells more tickets for the El Gordo lottery in Germany than in Catalunya!

As a result of his success, Sr Gabriel now heads various business concerns, and has invested in real estate, retail and tourism businesses, all of which will now be resident for tax purposes in Madrid.

Image: La Bruixa dOr (Facebook)

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Germany to establish maintenance center in Slovakia for weapons supplied to Ukraine

Rishi Sunak hints that he will abandon plans to declare China 'threat' to national security

EU supports any call to phase out fossil fuel use

Borrell: EU countries must work together to replenish their military stocks

French Senator: Are the lives of Armenians worth less than the lives of Ukrainians?

Turkey plans to strike targets in northern Syria

Lavrov calls Zelenskyy's speech at G20 summit performance beyond all regulations and decency

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince embarks on Asian tour

Ukrainian media report missile strikes in number of areas

Chinese 50-year-old man runs marathon smoking

Bloomberg: Paris overtakes London to become Europe's largest stock market

Anti-Iranian rally held in Baku

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: Pashinyan's approaches and wordings do not contribute to solving urgent problems

Borrell announces appearance of EU rapid reaction force in 2023

Norwegian Defense Minister pledges $30 million to NATO fund for Ukraine

Italy auctioned biggest truffle for record 184 thousand euros

Serviceman kills fellow soldier in Armenia

Kyodo: 67-year-old Japanese princess diagnosed with breast cancer

Mehriban Aliyeva hurriedly gives up her role of UNESCO 'Goodwill Ambassador' before French Senate meeting

Jeff Bezos says he's ready to give away most of his fortune

Britain to allocate $11.8m to rebuild Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Peskov: Kyiv cannot and doesn't want to negotiate, SVO will continue

Turkey detains another suspect in planning terrorist attack in Istanbul

Tasnim: Iranian authorities released 38 protesters in southeast

Terrorist attack: Number of detainees in Istanbul grows to 50

Armenian FM presents to Europeans consequences of September Azerbaijani aggression

Biden and Erdogan back extension of grain deal

Macron and Erdogan meet on G20 margins

UN: Earth's population is 8 billion people

Indian PM urges G20 countries to find peaceful solution to Ukraine

Minimum wage to rise in Armenia

Erdogan and Biden hold talks in Bali

Media: Macron asks Xi Jinping to 'pressure' Putin to return to negotiations

UN: Armenia's population will decrease by 2050

Zelenskyy states that only realistic model of POW exchange is all for all

Ameriabank launches Google Pay, Google Wallet support for card users in Armenia

Argentine President Fernandez feels ill at G20 summit

Ruben Vardanyan receives head of ICRC mission: We must ensure a peaceful childhood for children living in Artsakh

Copper rises in price

Newspaper: Armenian Prime Minister wants to hold referendum on constitutional amendments in spring

Ardshinbank showcases the Google Pay for Android fans in Armenia

Zelenskyy calls not to offer Ukraine compromise with territory and independence

Secretary of State: U.S. stands ready to continue support for Karabakh settlement

Google Pay is a new contactless payment option for Converse Bank customers

French Senate to consider resolution on sanctions against Azerbaijan

Zelenskyy addresses G20 leaders: It's time to stop Russia's war

Karen Vardanyan donated 112 million drams for the medical equipment for National Center for Infectious Diseases

Another four-day parliamentary session begins in Yerevan

Gold declines in value

World oil prices go down

Plans to build 'death pyramid' in London that will hold millions of bodies

Armenian and Georgian Foreign Ministries hold consultations in Tbilisi

Azerbaijani and Iranian FMs hold phone conversation

Steve Jobs' sandals sold for more than $200,000

Armenian PM accuses Azerbaijani leader of terrorizing Armenian civilians

Azerbaijan shells Armenian positions on border again

OPEC downgrades its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2022

White House: Biden and Xi Jinping agree on Blinken's visit to China

CNN: CIA chief Burns meets with SVR director Naryshkin in Ankara

Turkish FM Cavusoglu thanks Ararat Mirzoyan for condolences

Putin signs decree allowing stateless persons to serve in Russian army

Airbus CEO: There is no question of them breaking off trade ties

Armen Grigoryan receives Igor Khovayev

Britain and France sign agreement on strengthening cooperation on illegal migration

US updates its sanctions list for Russia: Milur Electronics LLC, an Armenian company listed

Potatoes prices grow by 20%: expert claims agriculture collapse in Armenia

Peskov says Russian-American talks in Ankara initiated by Washington

Morgan Stanley: UK and euro zone economies are likely to face recession

Xi Jinping hopes for comprehensive dialogue between NATO, the EU and the US and Russia

Japan proposes to deploy Australian nuclear submarines

Biden calls talks with Xi Jinping at G20 summit frank

WB: Debt levels among low- and middle-income countries soared in 2021

Xi Jinping: China does not intend to challenge the U.S.

Scholz: Adopting a joint G20 summit statement is a tough task

Biden and Xi Jinping oppose use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Nikol Pashinyan receives Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group

IMF head warns of risks for world economy because of rivalry between China and US

Irakli Garibashvili: Georgia is ready to promote in every possible way the dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Red Wings airline launches direct flights from Makhachkala to Yerevan

Olaf Scholz: EU should expand its cooperation with Southeast Asian countries

Global Leadership Foundation will visit Armenia

Kurdistan Workers' Party denies its involvement in Istanbul terrorist attack

NATO Secretary General says they must not make mistake of underestimating Russia

IRGC resumes strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan

French and German central bank heads call for speeding up EU capital markets union

Control of U.S. House of Representatives depends on several tight races

Artsakh FM speaks with his Transnistria counterpart

Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus say they cannot accept migrants

Cavusoglu thanks Mirzoyan for condolences on terrorist attack in Istanbul

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden begin first face-to-face meeting in Bali

Zelenskyy arrives in Kherson

Armenian Defense Minister: After expiration of contract service 5 million drams will be provided to servicemen

Turkey refuses to accept U.S. condolences after terrorist attack in Istanbul

Defense Ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan sign military cooperation plan for 2023

Russian Foreign Ministry denies reports about Lavrov's hospitalization in Bali

Yellen hopes Biden and Jinping meeting leads to engagement on macroeconomic issues

Russian Defense Ministry confirms violation of ceasefire in Artsakh by Azerbaijani Armed Forces

Artsakh MOD denies accusations of Azerbaijani MOD

Azerbaijani Defense Minister holds talks in Georgia

Armenian MOD denies another lie of Azerbaijani MOD
The State Department on Tuesday declined to criticize the Iraqi central government for partnering with Iran in a fight against an ethnic minority seeking to separate from the rest of the country.

"We continue to call for calm," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters on Tuesday.

"The United States is very concerned by reports of violence around Kirkuk, Iraq. We are monitoring the situation closely and call on all parties to coordinate military activities and restore calm," Nauert said.

"We're not taking sides," Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The United States is trying to get its allies in Iraq to stay focused on ISIS, but as the extremist group is now close to defeat in the country, both sides are concerned about where lines will be drawn over territory formerly held by the group.
CHARLESTON -- Revenue from a new school sales tax should start coming in next month, so the Charleston school district is set to OK a fund for the money until it's ready to be spent.

At its meeting today, the Charleston school board is scheduled to vote on establishing a capital projects fund.

Coles County voters approved the sales tax last year and the tax revenue is to be used for facility improvements such as construction projects and repairs.

The Charleston board and administrators are on record as saying projects will wait until enough sale tax revenue's received to pay for them. The district opted for that approach instead of issuing bonds and repaying the costs and interest from the sales tax.

Charleston Assistant Superintendent Chad Burgett said the board might be able to set priorities for projects funded with the sales tax next month, also. An architect is working on recommendations for that, he said.

The sales tax started applying to qualifying purchases in July. The money will be distributed on a monthly basis to Coles County school districts based on enrollment.

The Charleston district is expected to get about $2 million per year from the sales tax.

Also at today's meeting, Burgett plans to give a report on the district's property tax levy for the coming year. He said the plan is for the board to adopt the levy in November.

The recommended levy will include a request for a 4.99 percent increase in tax revenue, though it's nearly certain the district won't receive that large an increase, Burgett said.

That's because the county is under the restrictions of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, which limits yearly increases to 5 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less.

The higher request is standard for the district to be eligible for any PTELL-exemption increases from new construction. Burgett said the CPI for the year is 2.1 percent, compared to 0.7 percent last year.

He said one change in the upcoming levy is to include more money for transportation expenses. That's because of the state's regular delays in reimbursing schools for transportation, he said.

The board today is also scheduled to vote on a budget interfund loan to address the latest delay in transportation reimbursement. That's been a regular occurrence during the last few years.

The district got about $800,000 in property taxes for transportation last year but plans to levy about $1.24 million this year, Burgett said.

He noted that several factors will affect actual tax bills and any change in what district property owners will pay next year hasn't been determined yet.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of trying to engineer a change of power in the neighboring gulf state of Qatar.

Qatar has endured a four-month economic embargo imposed by a group of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia. The alliance has accused Qatar of allying with Iran in the support of terrorism.

Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told CNBC Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is currently trying to destabilize the leadership of Qatar.

"We see (Saudi) government officials talking about regime change. We see officials inciting the people to go and protest their government, so it is about regime change," he said.

"We see a country that is bringing back the dark ages of tribes and putting them together in order to create a pressure on connected tribes in Qatar," the minister added.

Al Thani said the intention of the alliance of blockading countries was in fact not to curtail terrorism, but more to "disrespect and bully."

"It is nothing to do with stopping financing terrorism or hate speech while they are doing the same by promoting incitement against my country, promoting a regime change in my country," he said.

He added that as air space is now blocked to Qatari aircraft that offer strategic support, those planes can only now use one path, north toward Iran.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain have cut all ties, including transport links, with Qatar, accusing it of allying with Iran in support of terrorism. Doha denies the accusation.
YEREVAN.  A considerable level of trust, which would help contribute to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, is absent between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Armenian Interest Center Director, analyst Areg Galstyan, expressed such a view at a press conference on Wednesday.

In his words, if there is no trust between countries and peoples, it will be trivial to speak about resolving any matter.

For that reason, there is no contact between the two countries [Armenia and Azerbaijan], Galstyan explained. The border [between them] is closed.

He added that Baku constantly provokes hostilities at the border, thus violates the ceasefire, and all this leaves solely a negative impression on the Armenian society.

Areg Galstyan added, however, that neither the Armenian nor the Azerbaijani societies are ready for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict; and if the societies are not ready for it, little depends on the presidents of the countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussing the Syria issue, the situation surrounding Irans nuclear program and the results of the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

"There was a thorough discussion of ways to resolve the Syrian crisis, the situation surrounding Irans nuclear program and the results of the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan," the statement reads.

Besides, the parties also exchanged views on pressing issues concerning Russian-Israeli cooperation in light of agreements achieved at the two leaders meeting in Sochi on August 23, 2017.

The telephone conversation between Putin and Netanyahu was initiated by Israel.
STEPANAKERT.- On 18 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a condolence letter to Levon Hayrapetyans family.

The letter runs as follows:

We have learnt with deep sorrow in Artsakh about the death of prominent Armenian entrepreneur, great patriot and philanthropist, devoted son of our people Levon Hayrapetyan.

Levon Hayrapetyan stood at the forefront of the Artsakh Republics formation, spared no effort to improve his homeland and make it prosperous, to create better living conditions for his native people and raise their living standards. With his assistance numerous large projects in diverse economic sectors were implemented in Artsakh, Gandzasar monastic complex was renovated.

Levon Hayrapetyans contribution to the development of Artsakh was highly appreciated by the state. For services rendered to the Homeland Levon Hayrapetyan was awarded the order Mesrop Mashtots and the Gratitude medal.

On behalf of the Artsakh people, authorities and myself I express my deep condolences and sympathies to the family and relatives, compatriots and friends of the deceased and wish them patience and fortitude.

The memory of Levon Hayrapetyan will always remain bright in the memory of generations.
MATTOON (JG-TC) -- While school is out on Friday, the Mattoon Public Library plans to host Harry Potter-themed activities for middle- and high school-age students.

Participants in this celebration of Harry Potter's 20th anniversary are welcome to attend a sorting ceremony, where they will be assigned to a Hogwarts School house based on the results of a short quiz. Once the participants receive their house assignment, they will receive an appropriate tie.

Other activities will include a trivia challenge and a pin the scar on Harry activity. The afternoon also features word jumbles, word searches, crossword puzzles and the opportunity to make a Christmas ornament. Wands will be available. Participants may attend in costume.

The celebration will be held at 1 p.m. in the children's department on the second floor of the library, 1600 Charleston Ave. The event is free and open to anyone interested. Registration via the library website, www.mattoonlibrary.org, is encouraged to help for planning purposes but is not required.

More information is available by checking out the website or the librarys Facebook page or by calling 217-234-2621.
The Armenian National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum (CSF) has issued a statement on the publication of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the European Union (EU).

Armenian National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum welcomes the publication of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union, submitted to the Council of the European Union for a decision.

We consider this step as evidence of an efficient negotiation process and display of complete mutual understanding and interest on both sides in deepening the bilateral cooperation and giving a legally-binding nature to the latter.

We are convinced that the opportunity to get acquainted with the content of the document will contribute to the increase of public interest in the relations between the European Union and Armenia, becoming a convincing response to the manipulations by the opponents of the reforms within the framework of this partnership.

We welcome the recognition of the role of civil society in the Agreement with the purpose to create a civil society platform composed of civil society organizations, networks and platforms, including the representatives of the EaP CSF Armenian National Platform.

We call on the authorities of the EU member states and the Republic of Armenia to sign the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union in the earliest possible time and immediately proceed with its practical implementation.

We demand from the Armenian authorities to display a more consistent and responsible approach to the implementation of the reforms envisaged by the cooperation agenda with the EU, activation of dialogue with civil society and tangible engagement of the latter in decision-making.

We call the EU institutions attention to the necessity of principled approaches towards the execution of joint projects with Armenia, unconditional implementation of efficient accountability mechanisms envisaged by the Agreement, promotion of openness and transparency of the official entities when dealing with the public.

For its part, Armenian National Platform commits itself to the elaboration of development priorities and monitoring of the accomplishment of commitments to the reforms in various sectors of the countrys life, seeking understanding and wide support by the citizens aimed at the implementation of the Agreement and strengthening of cooperation with partners from the EU and EaP countries to jointly find solutions to various issues, reads the EaP Civil Society Forum.
President Donald Trump will meet with Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte during his 12-day trip to Asia and Hawaii next month, the White House said Monday. Trump will have bilateral meetings with the Philippine president and "other leaders" when he goes to the Philippines for a dinner celebrating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Trump will have multiple bilateral meetings during the trip, including with Japan's Shinzo Abe, South Korea's Moon Jae-in and China's Xi Jinping. But talks with Duterte, whose government is accused of widespread extrajudicial killing amid a crackdown on drugs , will raise the most eyebrows. Trump received swift blowback in April for taking a call with Duterte, which the U.S. president described as "very friendly." He drew further criticism by inviting the Philippine leader to the White House. In the call with Duterte, Trump congratulated him for doing "an unbelievable job on the drug problem," according to a transcript cited by The New York Times . Last week, CNBC reported that police estimate 3,850 people died in drug enforcement operations between July 2016 and last month. Human rights groups say the figure could be significantly higher . Last year, Duterte boasted that he personally killed criminal suspects while patrolling Davao City, where he was mayor, from a motorcycle. When the White House announced Trump's trip last month, it said he would travel to the Philippines. But it did not previously highlight the meeting with Duterte.The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the Duterte meeting.During the 12-day Asia trip, Trump plans to discuss curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile program, as well as trade deals with Asian nations. President Donald Trump will meet with Philippine strongman Rodrigo Duterte during his 12-day trip to Asia and Hawaii next month, the White House said Monday. Trump will have bilateral meetings with the Philippine president and "other leaders" when he goes to the Philippines for a dinner celebrating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Trump will have multiple bilateral meetings during the trip, including with Japan's Shinzo Abe, South Korea's Moon Jae-in and China's Xi Jinping. But talks with Duterte, whose government is accused of widespread extrajudicial killing amid a crackdown on drugs , will raise the most eyebrows. Trump received swift blowback in April for taking a call with Duterte, which the U.S. president described as "very friendly." He drew further criticism by inviting the Philippine leader to the White House. In the call with Duterte, Trump congratulated him for doing "an unbelievable job on the drug problem," according to a transcript cited by The New York Times . Last week, CNBC reported that police estimate 3,850 people died in drug enforcement operations between July 2016 and last month. Human rights groups say the figure could be significantly higher . Last year, Duterte boasted that he personally killed criminal suspects while patrolling Davao City, where he was mayor, from a motorcycle. When the White House announced Trump's trip last month, it said he would travel to the Philippines. But it did not previously highlight the meeting with Duterte. The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the Duterte meeting. During the 12-day Asia trip, Trump plans to discuss curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile program, as well as trade deals with Asian nations.



More From CNBC


Ewwww fuck Jeffrey Katzenberg

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fuuuuuuuuuuuu

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:( I want to give her a hug right now. I think it's very telling that she pointed out she had very protective parents while all this still happened. :/

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horrifying

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the collar part is absolutely horrifying. it made me sick to my stomach

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it's truly beyond

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ugh and the fact that she cried in the parking lot afterwards. i can picture her breaking down, then wiping her tears and getting up to go back to work because that's just what "comes with the job." this shit is so heartbreaking and i hate how these women had to be so stoic about it all during that time.

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Every time I see Jeffrey Katzenberg, I automatically think "wtf happened to Jeffrey Tambor's face"

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Jesus, what the actual fuck at the dog collar thing.

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It's one thing to choose to be a Hollywood actor, but having your parents get you into Hollywood as a child actor? I straight-up think that's abusive parenting, whether the kid is a girl or a boy.

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And you know some of those stage parents would gladly sacrifice their child for fame and fortune

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Melissa Joan hart....Brittany Murphy.....

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:-( MOLLY 

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This was really well-written but I just can't even think about that collar part. Just. Enough. Hollywood needs to be stopped. At the very least her scene partner could've said something.

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This is just brutal.

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At 14, her married director stuck his tongue on her mouth on set



Uh wtf does it matter if the director was married. She was fucking 14.

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Molly specifically mentioned he was married in her own wording for some reason

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Makes it worse, I guess. Not only is he trying to diddle a minor, but did so while his adult wife waited at home.

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didn't realize that, thought it was the OP summarizing in their own words

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It might have been her way of helping people to pinpoint who she is talking about without actually naming anyone.

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She may have assumed him to be "safer" because he was married.

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maybe actually read her piece

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In her early 20s, a director in an audition had her co-star, an actor on whom she had a crush, put a dog collar on her while she said her lines even though it wasn't in the script and had nothing to do with the story



What in the FUCK.



...A woman needs a name.

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mte. Valar morghulis.

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She was born in 1968 so in 1981 she was 13 and Tempest came out in 1982 directed by Paul Mazursky. He was married. Who knows. Other than that she was in Facts of Life and Diffrent Strokes prior

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Spacehunter and Packin' It In were shot when she was 14 too.

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She says the incident with the "film director" happened when she was 14. So the movie most likely came out the next year, in 1983. She was in a tv movie and a film that came out that year. The film was "Spacehunter" and the director was some guy named Lamont Johnson.

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Yeah I considered that but I swear she said something about being 13 so I thought it was earlier.



Lamont was married too.

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I feel like it was the director of Spacehunter, her character is weirdly and needlessly sexualized in that. The film also has a cult following and it's mostly creepy dudes who perv on her character.

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Were there any rumours around John Hughes?

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Not sexually. The worst I've ever heard actors say about him was that he was very aloof and sometimes sensitive to criticism.



Molly worked with him when she was 15-17, so I don't think any of these stories apply to him. When she was on Bret Easton Ellis' podcast last year, he straight up asked her if she and John had ever had sex back then. She was offended by the question and instantly shot down the possibility.

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Wow. That's good to hear. He worked with so many people, especially young ones. That would've been terrible.

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Bret remains human trash.



John Hughes was a kid himself trapped in an adult body. All the actors have nothing but praise for him. He was basically one of them.

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I'm still shocked at this tbh

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50,000 files

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fucking christ

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+ 4000 pics and 150 vids.



That shit is bigger than my CockyBoys collection.



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Ikr.. 50,000. 50 thousand! Jesus Christ.

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sounds so unreal

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mother of god

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Seriously

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It's really horrifying, I can't imagine how his former coworkers feel

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Only an attempt? Damn.

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give him time....

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Slitting your wrists and actually dying from it is incredibly rare because it is very difficult to cut deep enough on one arm to lose enough blood to exanguinate, let alone try to cut your other arm, and death from severing your radial artery isnt quick.*



*not from experience, I know someone who had a friend tell them they were going to attempt suicide like this and Im morbidly curious about everything and googled it.

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Yeah Im not sure why slitting your wrists is considered kind of a typical/common (is that the right word?) way of committing suicide, it seems like it would be one of the most painful ways to die by slowly bleeding out

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Yeah not many people know this. I researched suicide methods as a teen and found this out. Women are more likely than men two use this method but yeah its rarely works.

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don't give up now!

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LMAO

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Srsly! Go for the gold! Don't be a quitter!

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Lmao finish what you started tbh

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i usually find these things so sad but hell, he's a pedo, i can't have any kind of sympathy for him.

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Exact same. I mean, he gets off on things that destroy literal children. He deserves to suffer so much worse.

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mte

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wah wah wah

you aren't getting any sympathy from me, you piece of shit

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try harder next time

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Omg remember when he was such a loud asshole who wouldnt shut up on social media. But then he was exposed as a child molester and had to go into hiding for over a year 



Fuck him

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they will, in prison, with no lube.

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shouldve died.

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50,000 images? Dude don't give up now!

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ugh. now i regret all my puck/finn art...



Edited at 2017-10-18 02:16 am (UTC)

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Burn that shit up Burn that shit up

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I'm trying to distance this grossness from puck, tho i haven't rewatched glee since this news hit

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And he didn't die? The audacity....

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Better luck next time

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Taika is king. That is all.

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what's going on at marvel that it takes three thor movies for immigrant song to appear finally? should've been in the first's end credits

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Right, it's honestly the most obvious song choice

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For real. I remember thinking "Surely they've used this song for Thor before..." I feel like it fits really well with the other prog-rock sounding music I've heard from Rangnarok.

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I'm still waiting on them to include Dragonforce or Nightwish

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omg dragonforce

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Probably cost. Zeppelin licensing ain't cheap.

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I would love to see Viking Metal being associated with the Thor movies. It just makes sense.

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Tacky extra daddy...





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"yes! now google it!"

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I re-watched it Sunday! My husband hadn't seen it yet, and I knew he'd really enjoy it but I was trying to play it cool and not force him into it lol.

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It really does get funnier. His checking behind the curtain to make sure it's night time cracks me up every time.

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ty for the reminder to rewatch this for halloween!



everything with the werewolves kills me

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is it on netflix?

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I'm obsessed with Deacon, he is so fucking funny

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I need to watch it. I've never seen it.

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"we should get some slaves!"

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Edited at 2017-10-18 08:33 pm (UTC) i love vladislav, when he's doing his dark bidding on the internet i fucking die everytime i think of that joke. and like when he's shapeshifting but he never gets the face right hahahaha it's the perfect reaction pic sometimes

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werewolves not swearwolves!

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I lose it every time at the 'Beast' montage and the way Taika says 'possibly even Christians, which is totally the last thing this hour needs'

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"So the heroes of this film are escaping from this world in the Aboriginal flag!" https://t.co/TTkRJG3Jas  NITV (@NITV) October 18, 2017



And I hope these 3 get to work together again:



What's our band name? Repost @chrishemsworth pic.twitter.com/RoUQblM1f6  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) October 17, 2017













Edited at 2017-10-18 07:18 pm (UTC) More news:And I hope these 3 get to work together again:

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My favourite part is this:

And Valkyrie's spaceship has the colours of the Tino Rangatiratanga flag.



I can't wait to see what it looks like. :D

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I havent seen any of these movies. Im going to see this one only to support my husband.



Edited at 2017-10-18 07:19 pm (UTC)

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I can't wait for this movie, I love Taika so much

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ok but NEXT: KEVIN FEIGE CONFIDENT MARVEL WILL WORK WITH TAIKA WAITITI AGAIN



NICE

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What about We're Wolves???

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we're wolves!!! i couldn't remember the pun for a hot second the other day and i was so bummed at myself

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it's killing me that he's not into dudes.

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I love Taika

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I already associate Immigrant Song with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but it's a great song and I don't blame anyone for using it in their trailer.



Haven't seen Thor 2, but I might see this one just because I have Moviepass. However, I just watched the trailer and it looks distractingly CGI heavy, so idk.

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Less than a week for me, woo hoo. I'm happy but kinda bummed that I got spoiled when I watched an interview the other day. :( Not anything super major, but I really rather wouldn't have known. :(

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it wasn't the interview on The Project was it? Cause they let a spoiler slip on there.

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I really liked the book so I have high expectations for this show

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January?? Dang I saw part of a commercial for it the other day and thought it was starting in like November or December.

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Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough to the footage so far but are they not keeping Kreizler's disability? It's like... kinda important.

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I hope this is good. Luke and Daniel are great though so I don't have low hopes lol.

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I honestly think I'm getting burnt out on these gruesome shows. Kinda wanna watch for Evans but ehh

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They have quite a lot of original programing.

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I'm really excited for this! It seems to have a similar vibe to The Knick, which is one of my favorite shows!

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I saw the trailer on TV last night and thought it looked very much like The Knick, minus Clive Owen. Very similar vibe and direction. I hope it's good, since The Knick is no more.

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Oeehhh, I have been waiting for some dark-horror-ish serie like Penny Dreadful! Also, the costumes look amazing..the black coat with the black fur hnnn

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He's very gritty-sexy imo.

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His bod is crazy hot

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Looks good, but where is Cyrus? I am a white European, living in a 99% white country, even to me the absence of the single black character is glaring. This group of people is special because they defy ALL of the notions of their time, regarding science, women, different sexualities and race. Not to mention that Cyrus is a great character.



Also, only one shot of Teddy Roosevelt? He is a big part of the story.

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Im wondering that too about Cyrus

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Doesnt look bad. Im trying to keep my expectations low since I really liked this book

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boy prostitutes lol. first off that's a cool twist but they can still be called just prostitutes.

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I just reread this during the summer when I heard it was coming to TV.



I'm rereading the second book right now - its the first book I got so angry during reading I threw it across my room.



I just wish he had written more, because I really enjoy them. I have a hard time reading some historical mystery novels, because its clear they didn't do enough research and insert modern values into their stories.

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Oohhh!!!!! I'm intrigued now. Lemme tune in but I don't have cable atm~ so I'll check it out asap when I relocate to my new place in the near future. This is awesome

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Professor Marston and The wonder Women was so damn good.

Luke Evans is DaF

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This looks awesome.

Daniel<3

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i loved this book and the cast for the series looks pretty great. looking forward to it!

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I am so excited for this! N also it has a book? Brb

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Season's eatings! The weather may be getting colder, but Dining Month on OnMilwaukee is just cooking up, dishing out your winning picks in this year's Best of Dining poll. Dining Month is brought to you by Fein Brothers, your premier food service equipment and supply dealer in Wisconsin since 1929. Congratulations to all of the winners, and happy eating for all those who voted! See all the winners for the month so far here.

What's in a restaurant? In this series, we ask chefs around the city to describe their restaurants in their own words and recommend three dishes that embody the best of what they offer. In this edition, we talk with Belfre Kitchen's new executive chef, Amado Casanova, about the way he knits together local produce with globally inspired flavors.

Dream Dance Steak

Potowatomi Hotel & Casino

1721 W. Canal St.

(414) 847-7883

paysbig.com



"Dream Dance Steak offers a variety of fine dining options," notes Chef Chase Anderson, "But, first and foremost, were a steakhouse. And part of that, on my end, is really going out and finding the absolute highest quality beef possible. In the process of creating our new menu, weve visited at least 16 farms and tasted at least 20 different types of beef from domestic Waygu to dry aged beef. In the end, what weve made sure to do is to really define the specifications on our cuts so that guests arent getting any unnecessary fat or sinews; instead, they are getting more quality beef for the price.

"Recently weve moved to an a la carte menu. Thats a reflection of a new way of dining, which allows people to really control the type and the amount of food that they consume. Traditionally, a la carte offerings are perceived as being more expensive; however weve really striven to create a menu where there is more flexibility in terms of what guests can order, as well as pricing items in a way that passes cost savings on to the guest.

"In the end, the goal is to create a place where people can really step off the floor of the casino for a while, let go of their cares and experience the highest level of service. We want them to relax, enjoy a glass of wine and a great meal."

1. Smoked tandoori beef short rib

Carrot-cumin slaw, apple BBQ sauce ($12)

"Ive always really enjoyed summer, and this starter is a bit of a nod to both the summer months and barbeque. I wanted to feature a beef rib that was tender and smoked; but I also wanted to give it a unique flair. As we worked our way through spices and flavor profiles  including experiments with pastrami blends and masalas  we found that none of them really had the strength to really cut through the smoke. Ultimately, we happened upon a tandoori blend that worked well against the backdrop of the smoke.

"If you think about the flavor profile in Wisconsin bratwurst there are notes of juniper, pepper and garlic and warming spices like cinnamon and sometimes nutmeg. And, in some ways, theyre reminiscent of those found in Indian fare. We balance out the dish with the carrot-cumin slaw; its bright and refreshing and it cuts through the richness and fat of the short rib. Meanwhile, the apple barbecue sauce is familiar and comforting, very reminiscent of the type of sauce youd find anywhere in Wisconsin."

2. Bone-in Cowboy cut ribeye

22-ounce ($48)

"This cut is a big seller at Dream Dance, and its really become a signature. Its 22 ounces of meat, so theres nothing about it thats subtle. Its a hungry man steak that takes up an entire plate all on its own. We begin with a high quality piece of meat thats simply seasoned and broiled using a double decker Montague broiler. That builds a nice seasoned crust on the steak. From there, its coated in buerre monte (garlic butter). Its juicy and glistening and flavorful."

3. Simply Broiled Norwegian Salmon

Sauteed spinach, wild rice pilaf, maple-mustard sauce ($22)

"I have gotten really into indigenous foods of the Americas thanks to working with chefs like Sean Sherman and and Nephi Craig. As a result, Ive become really interested in incorporating those things into my cooking. This dish is a modern nod to some of the indigenous foods of Wisconsin. First, theres the salmon. We use Norwegian salmon because its the highest quality farmed product you can get; but salmon was prevalent in the great lakes and harvested in great quantity for a long time.

"Similarly, spinach is a plant that grows in its wild form throughout the state. We also feature wild rice; ours is hand-harvested in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Even the maple mustard sauce is both a nod to the wild mustard that grows throughout Wisconsin as well as the maple syrup thats harvested each spring. On a personal note, I eat eight ounces of salmon every day for the health benefits, and this is a preparation that would appeal to me if I were eating in a restaurant."

Dream Dance Steak is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.
Season's eatings! The weather may be getting colder, but Dining Month on OnMilwaukee is just cooking up, dishing out your winning picks in this year's Best of Dining poll. Dining Month is brought to you by Fein Brothers, your premier food service equipment and supply dealer in Wisconsin since 1929. Congratulations to all of the winners, and happy eating for all those who voted! See all the winners for the month so far here.

Enjoy this excerpt from the book, "Milwaukee Frozen Custard," written by Kathleen McCann and OnMilwaukee's own Bobby Tanzilo:

Leon Schneider wasnt the first to open a custard stand in Milwaukee, but he was one of the most influential. Even today, nearly a quarter century after Schneiders death, his Leons drive-in on South 27th Street is a draw for locals and Milwaukee visitors alike.

Schneider was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but his father, Joseph, was a tradesman whose work forced the family to move often during the Depression. Landing in Milwaukee, Leon attended Boys Tech High School.

"When Paul Gilles opened [Gilles Frozen Custard] in 1938, my father was his night manager," recalled his son Ron Schneider, who took over operation of Leons when Leon retired.

"My father had a day job; he was a cookie salesman. I think he worked for National Baking. After that, he ended up traveling with a carnival, selling frozen custard out of a concession trailer. I think he did that for two seasons. Their circuit was from the Gulf Coast to the Canadian border and then back. They did that twice a season. Theyd play a fair, and then theyd move on to the next one and the next one."

Leons Frozen Custard opened on May 1, 1942, in a 30-by-20-foot building that was expanded in 1946. In 1955, it was augmented with the canopy and fluorescent lighting that you can still see today at the drive-in, which hasnt changed in any marked way since then.

"He had a little money, borrowed a little money, had a silent partner, initially, and they bought the property and built the store," said Schneider.

"He lived in Wauwatosa. He chose 27th Street because its U.S. 41  its the highway. Youre coming and going to Milwaukee, and 41 is the way you went. He figured he needed the traffic. Thats still true today. Youve got to be where people can find you. Its impulse buyers. Traffic is exactly what you want."

Leon kept things simple, starting out with vanilla frozen custard, adding chocolate in 1948 and butter pecan four years later. These are the only three flavors that are regularly served (a fourth rotating flavor is added on weekends).

"When he opened the store here, his dream was [to] take home 200 bucks a week," said Schneider. "That was his dream. He never dreamed it would become as successful as it did."

Expanded operation

In 1947, Schneider gave his mother, Anna (Duex) Schneider, permission to open a Leons Frozen Custard in Oshkosh (pictured above) with his brother Jack, an arrangement that decades later would lead to a trademark infringement lawsuit. But for many years, the two locations looked similar, used nearly identical machines, bought the same mix from the same supplier, used the same bags and had employees wear the same hats.

In the late 1940s, Leon opened another Milwaukee store, at Oklahoma and Clement Avenues in Bay View (which became Park Frozen Custard, 1122 West Oklahoma Avenue), that lasted but a few years. He also had a stand in Sheboygan, at Calumet Drive and North Avenue, and another at 2929 Roosevelt Road in Kenosha (now a drive-in called Andys, pictured below). Leon even opened a Leons right across the street from the original Leons on 27th Street to help accommodate the brisk demand.

"His initial dream was to have Leons Frozen Custard located the complete length of Highway 41, from northern Wisconsin all the way down to Miami," said Schneider. "We had five stores years ago. Trouble is, my dad found instead of running a custard stand, he was running a shuttle service to make sure all the stores had employees."

Welcoming competition

Much like the owners of the groundbreaking Kohrs company in Pennsylvania, Leon and his son have been eager to help prospective drive-in operators get up and running, presumably in the hopes of selling them machines. Among those Leon helped was Elsa Kopp of Kopps, the founders of Trudys and the Town Pride stands and Al Lach of Als. When a permit was pulled to build the Kitt's Frozen Custard stand on Capitol Drive in 1952, Schneider's name appeared on it.

"People [wanting to open a stand] would ask for help, and hed help them," Schneider told Agri-View.com. "Hed be hired to scout a location and he designed the building and equipment and trained management."

But it wasnt always just business, according to Karl Kopp, Elsa Kopps son and owner of Kopps.

"Leon Schneider was just a saint," he said. "He was just a churchgoing, good man. He would help you do this and do that. The other thing that he did, that probably a lot of people dont know, is  my dad was sick [with Parkinsons disease]. Nobody could help him. Leon said, I know a doctor in Iowa. Maybe he can help. Hes a really good doctor. Me, my sister, my dad and Leon all piled in Leons car and we drove to Iowa."

Today, Schneider said he is willing to train potential competitors in how to run a successful custard stand.

"I offer two weeks of training here in the store, for two people. I say, You come down here, and youre going to start at the bottom and learn exactly the way we do it, just like we train an employee. Then, as we go along, you can ask me questions, take notes. When youre done, you should be able to move into your store and open up. Then, once youve been trained, if you call me with a problem on the phone, I can help you on the phone."

Ingrained tradition

Some believe that this assistance, which mirrors similar help provided by other custard stand owners in Milwaukee, is part of why frozen custard has become such an ingrained tradition in the city.

"[Leon] would welcome the competition," said Schneider. "He felt that the more people who did a good job with the product, the more the product would become known. This would help us. A bad store down the block does us no good, because if thats the first place the customer stops to try frozen custard, [and he] eats lousy product, when hes driving by here, hes not going to stop."

Despite periodic rumors that Leons is closing  so strong in 1994 that the daily newspaper ran a front-page story debunking the idea  Leons stands strong. And even on a winters day, folks belly up to the window to order frozen custard.

"Originally we had one service window and carhops," recalled Schneider. "Then we had two service windows. Then we had four service windows. When the demographics of what we were selling changed, we went back to two service windows. I went back to four service windows about 79."

Whats the secret to Leons success?

"We never strayed from our original premise, which is sell frozen custard  and do it as well as we can," Schneider told the Milwaukee Journal in 1991. "Thats our focus."

The authors of "Milwaukee Frozen Custard" will do a book talk on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Historic Milwaukee, 235 E. Michigan St. Details can be found here.
South Korean police raided the construction unit of the giant Samsung Group on Wednesday to investigate allegations that company money was diverted to remodel the conglomerate chairman's house, officials said. A spokeswoman for Samsung C&T -- one of the group's biggest subsidiaries -- confirmed about 10 investigators were searching its construction headquarters in Seoul's southern suburbs. "The company is suspected of diverting billions of won (millions of dollars) of company funds to pay for remodelling and repair expenses of Chairman Lee Kun-Hee's private residence", a detective told AFP. Lee Kun-Hee has been bedridden since suffering a heart attack in 2014. His son and heir Lee Jae-Yong was convicted in August of funnelling millions of dollars to ousted president Park Geun-Hye's secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil in return for government favours, and sentenced to five years in prison. South Korea's powerful, family-run business empires -- called chaebols -- have a long history of their top figures being charged with bribery, embezzlement, or tax evasion, among other offences. But even if convicted, many see their sentences significantly reduced on appeal or suspended, leaving only a few actually spending significant time behind bars. Separately, police have also been investigating allegations that the chairman of Korean Air owner Hanjin Group, Cho Yang-Ho, also diverted company funds to remodel his own house. Police uncovered both the alleged irregularities while investigating a renowned interior design company over tax avoidance. Local news reports said more probes into other conglomerates suspected of similar wrongdoings through the same firm were expected.


MANILA, Philippines  Vice President Leni Robredo said she is not against the proclamation of martial law in Mindanao, especially since it was the Supreme Court itself that declared it constitutional.

However, the Vice President believes the administration should lift the declaration of military rule in Mindanao, and immediately begin the rehabilitation of strife-torn Marawi City.

Nung sinusulong ito ang sabi niya necessary lang. Sana sa lalong madaling panahon ma-lift na ito kasi marami din yung nagrereklamo na naaapektuhan ang turismo, hanap buhay at maraming umaasa ditong hanap buhay, (When he [Duterte] was pushing for this, he said it was necessary. I hope that he could lift it at the soonest possible time because many are complaining that their tourism, their livelihood are affected. Many livelihoods are depending it) said the vice president.

According to Robredo, the Office of the Vice President will help in the conduct of rehabilitation in the heavily damaged area.

She noted many of their Angat Buhay partners have already expressed readiness to build infrastructures for the affected residents.

Marami na kaming kausap na partners na willing to help magbigay ng ng school buildings gamit sa paaralan yung shelter kits para sa mga nawalan ng bahay. Marami na nag-pledge. Lahat lang naghihintay para magkaron na ng clearance (We are in talks with many partners who are willing to help build school buildings, provide school supplies, shelter kits for those who were displaced. Many have pledged. They are waiting for clearance), said Robredo.

However, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesman Major General Restituto Padilla believes a consultation will take place first before the government releases a decision on the lifting of martial law in the entire Mindanao.

Although the matter is a political concern, Padilla said the AFP will create recommendations regarding the lifting of the military rule in the region.

Padilla also assured the public that the situation in every part of Mindanao will soon return to normal.

But there is a greater threat here that needs to be addressed and the need for the maintenance of martial law in some parts is really important because of the network, the existence of the network of all these terrorist groups, said Padilla.  Grace Casin | UNTV News & Rescue

The post VP Robredo calls for lifting of martial law declaration in Mindanao appeared first on UNTV News.
SLEEP WITH ME HOTEL design hotel @ patong in partnership with Vachira Phuket Hospital will organize a blood donation on the 07 th of November 2017 (Tuesday ), at Meeting Room 1 of SLEEP WITH ME HOTEL design hotel @ patong from 10.00 am  15.00 pm.

In view of this, we would like to invite all of you to donate blood to increase blood bank reserves for patients in hospitals and victims in various regions nationwide.

For more information please contact:

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Website: www.sleepwithmehotels.com
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The world's tropical forests are in "a critical state" in which the extinction of rare tree species could be a tipping point, say scientists who have developed an analytical method to map their biodiversity.

"We are in the midst of an extinction crisis," said Jayanth R. Banavar, provost and senior vice president at the University of Oregon and previously at the University of Maryland in College Park. "We are losing species perhaps more rapidly than ever before. It is the biodiversity of the species that keeps our planet the way it is. These species have evolved over many, many millennia. A species once lost is gone forever."

In a paper published Oct. 18 in the journal Science Advances, Banavar, a physicist, and co-authors from three other universities unveiled their findings, which are based on a mathematical framework relying on a mechanistic birth-death-immigration model of an ecosystem.

The species abundance distribution studied by the scientists, known in the math world as negative binomials, is a generalization of the log-series proposed in 1943 by R.A. Fisher of the University of Cambridge to understand the overall abundance of British moth species based on numbers found in a small sample.

Currently used approaches, Banavar said, have limitations that often produce inaccurate extrapolations when scaling up from a given sample size to the scale of the entire forest.

About two-fifths of the world's trees are in tropical or subtropical forests. Yet far less than 1 percent of tree species are known. The new method identifies minimum sampling sizes needed for accurately projecting numbers of abundant and rare trees across forest regions. Species with few trees are at risk for extinction.

"We find that the tropical forest in Panama already has sufficient monitoring, while other forests, such as that of the Amazon, still require extensive additional sampling," said study co-author Amos Maritan of the University of Padova in Italy.

The researchers suggest that the numerous extremely rare species may be vitally important to maintaining biodiversity and survival as forests undergo worldwide climate change and human activities.

"Boosting biodiversity is not only of utmost importance for our planet's survival, it is also a mathematical problem of great interest that had already been engaged by many ecologists," Banavar said. "We have developed a method that gives accurate estimates of the number of species and abundances present in the entire ecosystem."

The new method, he said, is based on local scale information and the neutral ecological theory of Stephen Hubbell of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. It emerged in a 2007 Nature paper that looked at distinct behaviors of coral reefs and tropical forests. Banavar and Maritan were co-authors, along with Igor Volkov of the University of Maryland in College Park, also a co-author of the new research.

For the new research, the methodology was further adapted and tested on forest species populations both in computer simulations and on available data from 15 different tropical forests.

"Our approach shows that, on a global scale, relatively few species account for more than 50 percent of individual trees, while a high percentage of species have less than 1,000 trees," Maritan said. "In our interpretation, this indicates that the analyzed ecosystems behave as though they are poised in the vicinity of a critical pointa well-studied phenomenon in phase transitions in physical systems. Such systems tend to be exquisitely sensitive to tiny perturbations."

The traditional method begins with the hypothesis that a species-abundance distribution is a Fisher log-series, but that assumption skews actual species numbers in scaling efforts, Banavar said.

Dramatic reductions of estimates for "hyper-rare" tree species using the new methodology were seen in four of the forests included in the study: Caxiuna and Manaus, both in the Amazon, Nouabale in the Republic of Congo, and Volcan Barva in Costa Rica.

"As we sample more and more, we tend to see the same species again and again, so the shape of the curve shifts to where we no longer have the largest number of species with very tiny numbers of individuals but rather we have larger numbers of species with intermediate numbers of individuals. If you go to a real forest, this is what you will find."

The new approach, Banavar said, allowed the team to address a simple question: How many species of trees are, in fact, present in the Amazon or in other forests? And how many of them are rare and at risk for extinction?

Small fluctuations, he said, could lead to wholesale changes in forest diversity and health. Rare species, he said, provide a reservoir for recovery and forest resilience.

"This method allows us to understand both how fragile the biodiversity is and how many species we should be focusing on with conservation efforts," Banavar said. "As caretakers of this planet, we want to nurture the species that we have, and we want to preserve life for the next generation."

The new method, Maritan added, is simple and could be applied in other areas such as understanding the biodiversity of the microbiome.

"We present a proof that any shape of a species-abundance distribution, even with weird peaks, can be expressed exactly as a linear combination of these negative binomials. And the up-scaling procedure can be exactly derived under certain simplifying assumptions," he said.
Banded stilts gather to nest and raise chicks at desert salt lakes. Credit: Tom Putt, Author provided

The hot, dry Australian desert may not come to mind as an ideal location for waterbirds to breed, but some species wait years for the opportunity to do just that.

New research has shed light on one of Australia's most enigmatic birds, the banded stilt. This pigeon-sized shorebird has long been a source of intrigue due to its bizarre and extreme breeding behaviour. They fly hundreds or thousands of kilometres from coastal wetlands to lay eggs that are 50-80% of their body mass in normally dry inland desert salt lakes, such as Lake Eyre, on the rare occasions they are inundated by flooding rain.

Such behaviour has been a mystery for decades; described for the first time in 1930, just 30 breeding events had been documented for the entire species in the following 80 years.

To investigate this behaviour, and to assess the stilts' conservation status, we began a study in 2011, during which I was based in outback South Australia, ready to jump into a small plane after every large desert rainfall. We also satellite-tagged nearly 60 banded stilts, using miniature solar powered devices around half the size of a matchbox.

This focused survey effort  which required overcoming the logistical challenges of very remote sites, knee-deep mud, heat and flies  has revealed major new insights into how banded stilts breed and the incredible distances they travel: we recorded one bird that flew 2,200km in just two nights.

Fast movers

The research revealed that, on average, banded stilts respond within eight days to unpredictable distant flooding of outback salt lakes. They leave their more predictable coastal habitat to travel 1,000-2,000km in overnight flights to arrive at the newly flooded lakes and take advantage of freshly hatched brine shrimp.

Brine shrimp eggs lie dormant in the lakes' dry salt crust for years or decades between floods, but upon wetting they hatch in their billions, creating a "brine shrimp soup"  a rich but short-lived banquet for the nesting stilts.

During the six-year study, we detected this nomadic movement and nesting behaviour seven times more often than it had been recorded in the previous 80 years. Although the banded stilts were previously thought to require large once-in-a-decade rains to initiate inland breeding, we found that small numbers of banded stilts respond to almost any salt lake inundation, arriving, mating and laying eggs equivalent of 50-80% of their body weight, despite high chances of the salt lake water drying before the eggs could hatch or chicks fledge.

Many times the eggs were abandoned as salt lake water dried. On other occasions some chicks survived long enough to learn to fly  although late-hatching chicks ran out of food or water and starved.

Once we found out that stilts needed much less rain to breed than previously thought, we used satellite imagery to reconstruct the past 30 years of flooding for ten salt lakes in South and Western Australia.

These models showed that conditions have been suitable for breeding more than twice as often as breeding events have actually been recorded. It seems that stilts' nesting behaviour is so remote and hard to predict that scientists have been missing half the times it has happened.

Threats to banded stilt survival

Salt lakes in northwestern Australia are vital for banded stilts' breeding. Our satellite tracking showed that birds from across the continent can reach these lakes after rain. Satellite images also suggested these lakes fill with water much more frequently than southern breeding sites.

These lakes are also largely free of native silver gulls (the common seagulls seen around our cities), which are predators of stilt chicks.

But other southern Australian breeding lakes are dramatically affected by gull predation. In one instance, a colony of 9,500 pairs (around 30,000 eggs) had less than 5% of its chicks survive, despite abundant water and brine shrimp on offer. Observations made near the colony suggested that a chick was being eaten by gulls every two minutes. Nearly 900 chicks and 350 eggs were eaten in the 30 hours we watched the colony.

Unfortunately, even the lakes that are relatively gull-free are now under threat from human development, despite being in one of the most remote parts of the world. Lakes Disappointment, Mackay, Dora, Auld and others surrounding them in the Little Sandy and Great Sandy Deserts are the subject of plans for potash mining.

The most advanced plans relate to Lake Disappointment, where Reward Minerals plans to construct a series of drainage trenches and 4,000 hectares of evaporation ponds on the lake bed to harvest potash for use in fertilisers.

This action will create permanent brine pools in some parts of the lake, and prevent other areas from receiving any water. As surface water drains into evaporation ponds, it's likely the first rains after a long dry spell will no longer prompt mass brine shrimp hatching. Without this brine shrimp "soup", banded stilts cannot breed at the site.

Meanwhile, the coastal habitat that supports banded stilt for the rest of the year is also changing. Sites that are home to thousands of birds, such as parts of the Dry Creek Saltfields and Bird Lake in South Australia, have been drained in the past two years.

If both the stilts' inland breeding and coastal refuges are under threat, how can they survive?

Lessons for managing mobile species

This research offers insight into the conservation of highly mobile species, which may travel hundreds or thousands of kilometres in a year. Banded stilts are listed as vulnerable in South Australia, but have no conservation rating in the four other states in which they are found.

Individual banded stilts appear to operate over vast spatial scales, crossing between state jurisdictions in single overnight flights. Their episodic breeding events are hard to find and even more difficult to manage. Between breeding events, long-lived adults depend on refuges around the country which are being impacted by human activity, including potentially longer, harsher dry periods from climate change into the future.

These birds epitomise adaptation to unpredictable changes in their environment, but habitat loss and a warming climate may threaten them as much as any other species.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Images of the comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak obtained on March 19th, 2017 using the Discovery Channel Telescope. Most of the emission from the coma was artificially removed to show the structure of the jets. There is a difference of six hours between the two images and both jets are rotating clockwise. The faint jet on the left image increases in strength as sunlight hits the region, while the other jet nearly shuts off completely as its source on the nucleus moves into night. The comet rotation period was 24 hours and increased to 27 hours only ten days later. Credit: Schleicher/Lowell Observatory.

Astronomers at Lowell Observatory observed comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak last spring and noticed that the speed of its rotation was quickly slowing down. A research team led by David Schleicher studied the comet while it was closer to the Earth than it has ever been since its discovery. The comet rotational period became twice as long, going from 24 to more than 48 hours within six weeks, a far greater change than ever observed before in a comet. If it continues to slow down, it might stop completely and then begin rotating in the opposite direction.

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is a short period comet that now completes an orbit around the Sun every 5.4 years. First discovered by H. Tuttle in 1858, it was lost for years until is was rediscovered by M. Giacobini in 1907. Lost again and rediscovered for a third time in 1951 by K. Kresak, now the comet holds the names of its three independent discoverers.

Astronomers had a hard time studying this comet in detail until early 2017 when it passed within 13 million miles (21 million kilometers) from Earth, the closest since its discovery.With a relatively inactive nucleus estimated to be less than one mile in size (about 1.4 km), this comet was finally sufficiently bright for an extensive observing campaign.

During eight weeks between March and May of this year, the comet remained at a distance of less than 18 million miles (30 million kilometers) from Earth. In comparison, the distance between the Sun and the Earth is 93 million miles. These conditions allowed astronomers to study it in great detail.

Remnants from the formation of the Solar System, comets have changed very little during the past 4.5 billion years. As a comet gets closer to the Sun and the ice on its surface vaporizes, it develops gas and dust jets thousands of miles in length that ultimately create the coma or head, and the tail that distinguish comets from asteroids and other celestial bodies. One of the most common gases found in comets is the cyanogen radical, a molecule composed of one carbon atom and one nitrogen atom.

Schleicher and his collaborators used Lowell Observatory's Discovery Channel Telescope, together with the Hall telescope and the Robotic telescope located on Anderson Mesa near Flagstaff, Arizona. They found and measured the motion of two cyanogen jets coming from comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak. From these jets, they determined that the rotation period changed from 24 hours in March to 48 hour in late April, slowing down to less than half the rotation speed by the end of the observing campaign in May.

"While we expected to observe cyanogen jets and be able to determine the rotation period, we did not anticipate detecting a change in the rotation period in such a short time interval. It turned out to be the largest change in the rotational period ever measured, more than a factor of ten greater than found in any other comet," said Schleicher, who lead the project.

This result also implies that the comet has a very elongated shape, a low density, and that the jets are located near the very end of its body, providing the torque needed to produce the observed change in rotation.

"If future observations can accurately measure the dimensions of the nucleus, then the observed rotation period change would set limits on the comet's density and internal strength. Such detailed knowledge of a comet is usually only obtained by a dedicated spacecraft mission like the recently completed Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko," said collaborator Matthew Knight.

Looking to the past on the other hand, brings another possible scenario. If the comet behaved similarly on previous orbits, it could have been rotating so fast that the nucleus might have broken, allowing more gas to escape and causing an increase in brightness for a short period of time. Such an outburst was observed in 2001.

The preliminary results were presented during the 49th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences held in Provo, Utah. The full team consists of David Schleicher from Lowell Observatory, Nora Eisner from the University of Sheffield, Matthew Knight from the University of Maryland, and Audrey Thirouin also from Lowell Observatory.
A turquoise artifact linked to Canyon Creek. Credit: Saul Hedquist

Turquoise is an icon of the desert Southwest, with enduring cultural significance, especially for Native American communities. Yet, relatively little is known about the early history of turquoise procurement and exchange in the region.

University of Arizona researchers are starting to change that by blending archaeology and geochemistry to get a more complete picture of the mineral's mining and distribution in the region prior to the 16th-century arrival of the Spanish.

In a new paper, published in the November issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, UA anthropology alumnus Saul Hedquist and his collaborators revisit what once was believed to be a relatively small turquoise mine in eastern Arizona. Their findings suggest that the Canyon Creek mine, located on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, was actually a much more significant source of turquoise than previously thought.

With permission from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Hedquist and his colleagues visited the now essentially exhausted Canyon Creek sourcewhich has been known to archaeologists since the 1930sto remap the area and collect new samples. There, they found evidence of previously undocumented mining areas, which suggest the output of the mine may have been 25 percent higher than past surveys indicated.

"Pre-Hispanic workings at Canyon Creek were much larger than previously estimated, so the mine was clearly an important source of turquoise while it was active," said Hedquist, lead author of the paper, who earned his doctorate from the UA School of Anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in May.

In addition, the researchers measured ratios of lead and strontium isotopes in samples they collected from the mine, and determined that Canyon Creek turquoise has a unique isotopic fingerprint that distinguishes it from other known turquoise sources in the Southwest. The isotopic analysis was conducted in the lab of UA College of Science Dean Joaquin Ruiz in the Department of Geosciences by study co-author and UA geosciences alumna Alyson Thibodeau. Now an assistant professor at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, Thibodeau did her UA dissertation on isotopic fingerprinting of geological sources of turquoise throughout the Southwest.

A turquoise artifact linked to Canyon Creek. Credit: Saul Hedquist

"If you pick up a piece of turquoise from an archaeological site and say 'where does it come from?' you have to have some means of telling the different turquoise deposits apart," said David Killick, UA professor of anthropology, who co-authored the paper with Hedquist, Thibodeau and John Welch, a UA alumnus now on the faculty at Simon Fraser University. "Alyson's work shows that the major mining areas can be distinguished by measurement of major lead and strontium isotopic ratios."

Based on the isotopic analysis, researchers were able to confidently match turquoise samples they collected at Canyon Creek to several archaeological artifacts housed in museums. Their samples matched artifacts that had been uncovered at sites throughout much of east-central Arizonasome more than 100 kilometers from the minesuggesting that distribution of Canyon Creek turquoise was broader than previously thought, and that the mine was a significant source of turquoise for pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the Mogollon Rim area.

The researchers also were able to pinpoint when the mine was most active. Their samples matched artifacts found at sites occupied between A.D. 1250-1400, suggesting the mine was primarily used in the late 13th and/or 14th centuries.

"Archaeologists have struggled for decades to find reliable means of sourcing archaeological turquoiselinking turquoise artifacts to their geologic originand exploring how turquoise was mined and traded throughout the greater pre-Hispanic Southwest," said Hedquist, who now lives in Tempe, Arizona, and works as an archaeologist and ethnographer for Logan Simpson Inc., a cultural resources consulting firm. "We used both archaeology and geochemistry to document the extent of workings at the mine, estimate the amount of labor spent at the mine and identify turquoise from the mine in archaeological assemblages."

Research Paves Way for Future Studies

Turquoise is a copper mineral, found only immediately adjacent to copper ore deposits. While detailed documentation of pre-Hispanic turquoise mines is limited, the work at Canyon Creek could pave the way for future investigations.

A turquoise artifact linked to Canyon Creek. Credit: Saul Hedquist

"I think our study raises the bar a bit by combining archaeological and geochemical analyses to gain a more complete picture of operations at one mine: when it was active, how intensely it was mined and how its product moved about the landscape," Hedquist said. "Researchers have only recently developed a reliable means of sourcing the mineral, so there's plenty of potential for future research."

Similar work involving the UA is already underway to explore the origin of turquoise artifacts found at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in Mexico.

"Canyon Creek is but one of many ancient turquoise mines," Hedquist said. "This study provides a standard for the detailed documentation of ancient mineral procurement and a framework for linking archaeological turquoise to specific geologic locations. Building on other archaeological patternsthe circulation of pottery and flaked stone artifacts, for examplewe can piece together the social networks that facilitated the ancient circulation of turquoise in different times and places."

A better understanding of the pre-Hispanic history of turquoise is important not only to archaeologists and mining historians but to modern Native Americans, Killick said.

"It's of great interest to modern-day Apache, Zuni and Hopi, whose ancestors lived in this area, because turquoise continues to be ritually important for them," he said. "They really have shown a great deal of interest in this work, and they've encouraged it."

More information: Saul L. Hedquist et al, Canyon Creek revisited: New investigations of a late prehispanic turquoise mine, Arizona, USA, Journal of Archaeological Science (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2017.09.004 Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science
Researchers are exploring the use of tiny, polysaccharide beads to absorb nitrates and phosphorous. Credit: South Dakota State University

Brainstorming sessions between a food chemist and a hydrologist at South Dakota State University have produced an innovative, potentially money-saving idea that will put nutrients back in the field.

Assistant professors Srinivas Janaswamy of the Department of Dairy and Food Science and Laurent Ahiablame of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering will explore the use of polysaccharides, complex carbohydrates commonly used in food products, to absorb nitrates and phosphorus through a grant from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture Nutrient Research and Education Council.

"I work to improve agricultural water quality," Ahiablame said. "I'm looking at materials, such as wood chips and steel shavings, to capture nutrients at the edge of the field before they run off into creeks or streams."

Polysaccharides thicken and give texture to foods, such as ketchup, ice cream and even chocolates, explained Janaswamy. "Nitrates and phosphorus in water could be nicely attracted to polysaccharidesall we have to do is put them into the nutrient-containing water," he told Ahiablame. That idea then led to a funded project to explore whether polysaccharides can do the job.

"We are preparing the beads now," Janaswamy said. The beads are about the size of the cornmeal in grits and tinier than the silica gel beads used in shoe boxes.

The first step is to determine whether these beads will work in a lab setting. The researchers will evaluate the rate at which the beads both absorb and release nutrients, as well as their maximum capacity. Ahiablame estimated the lab work could take at least two years. One graduate student and one undergraduate student from the Department of Dairy and Food Science will also work on the project.

Because the beads are biodegradable, Janaswamy anticipates that after the beads absorb the nutrients, they can be spread on fields to fertilize crops, thus saving producers money. "We're really excited," he said. "If it works, it will be revolutionary."

Though the research has just begun, Ahiablame said, "It could have enormous beneficial applications."
The Rapid Damage Assessment module of EFFIS shows the extent of fire damage in Spain and Portugal in 2016

The JRC's annual forest fires report confirms a trend towards longer and more intense fire seasons in Europe and neighbouring regions, with wildfires now occurring throughout the year. The report coincides with an international study which finds that global wildfire trends could have significant health implications due to rising harmful emissions.

The 2016 report, which is the only official source of information on the number of fires and area burnt for countries both inside and outside the EU, provides policymakers across the EU with the best available data and tools to support them in preventing the destructive effects of forest fires. Through the collation of individual country reports, the publication also supports the sharing of good practices in forest management.

Despite authorities' efforts, the current trend is towards longer fire seasons with peaks of fire intensity that cause catastrophic fires like those seen in Portugal both this summer and last year. In 2016, Portugal suffered many fires in just over a week that burnt over 100,000 hectares of land and contributed significantly to the overall results of the fire season.

With over 700,000 hectares of land already burnt, 2017 will be remembered as one of the most devastating for wildfires in Europe. The latest data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) suggests that nearly all wildfires are man-made, with very few resulting from natural phenomena like lightning. However, the hot and dry conditions induced by climate change result in more severe fires and a higher frequency of small fires growing to become uncontrollable.

On top of the immediate danger to lives and livelihood, smoke from these destructive fires also poses a substantial risk to human health. It is in this context that an international group of researchers from the JRC, Lund University in Sweden and the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) sought to investigate that risk. Their results have been published in the scientific journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The scientists used mathematical models to simulate how vegetation fires are likely to burn and how the resulting release of small particles into the Earth's atmosphere may affect air quality. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines state that even very low concentrations of small particulate pollution can be dangerous. The guideline values laid out for countries are an average yearly concentration of below 10 microgrammes per cubic metre and a daily average below 25 microgrammes per cubic metre.

The simulations found that, when countries implement effective measures to reduce air pollution, emissions from wildfires may not cause average annual levels to rise above the guidelines' recommended thresholds. Scientists observed this result for most regions of the world. However, during fire seasons these emissions are likely to cause severe air pollution, with severe health impacts. As these seasons get longer, the potential problems for health will inevitably grow.

Scientists simulated the level of small particle pollutants (PM2.5) in microgrammes per cubic metre. The atlas at the top shows the current-day average pollutant concentration for the whole year and the image at the bottom shows the average for the month with the highest concentration of pollutant at each grid point. In regions likely to become prone to wildfires, air pollution could reach dangerous levels during fire season.

In addition to southern Europe, regions that are growing towards a medium population density (South America, Central America, sub-Saharan Africa, eastern and southern Europe, central Asia, South East Asia, and southern China) are likely to become more prone to air pollution from fires. The JRC is leading a global initiative in the context of the Group on Earth Observations (GOE) and EU Copernicus programme to develop a Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), intended to monitor and assess the trends and effects of wildfires globally.

Air quality policies currently don't target wildfires. And so far, there is no widely accepted method for wildfire management that has been shown to lead to lasting reductions in fire activity or emissions. This fact, coupled with the trend evident in the 2016 forest fires report and the severe fire season seen in Europe this year, highlight the need for countries to continue to collaborate on finding the best way to manage fires effectively.

Working together to find solutions

Each year, the JRC asks national fire authorities to provide information on their activities and experiences of fighting and preventing fires in order to compile the annual forest fires report. Participation in the report has grown from 5 EU member states in 2000 to a wide-reaching dossier covering more than 30 countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Israel has recently joined the network and national authorities will offer their own input for next year's report.

Participating countries provide important information on things like fire danger, fire causes and impacts, fire prevention and response activities, information campaigns and examples where countries have helped one another to fight fires when they have occurred. This is a large undertaking and the JRC relies on the voluntary participation of all countries involved.

The result is a report that is the only official source of information on the number of fires and area burnt for countries both inside and outside the EU. Countries also continue to collaborate by providing their own experts to participate in the expert group on forest fires, which meets twice a year to discuss fire prevention, firefighting and post-fire evaluations. Currently, this group consists of experts from 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

More information: Wolfgang Knorr et al. Wildfire air pollution hazard during the 21st century, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2017). DOI: 10.5194/acp-17-9223-2017 Journal information: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Provided by CORDIS
Google is part owner of Ivanpah in Nipton,CA, the worlds largest solar thermal power plant. Credit: Dennis Schroeder/NREL

With President Trump planning to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, a new poll found that 55 percent of Americans now want their local and state governments to fight global warming. And indeed, states, regions, cities, businesses and colleges are stepping up efforts to reduce carbon emissions in an attempt to meet the pledge the U.S. made at the Paris climate accord.

U.S. carbon emissions fell two percent in 2016 thanks to our increased use of renewable energy instead of coal, but the nation still has a long way to go if it wants to meet its initial Paris target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent, compared to 2005 levels, by 2025. Non-federal initiatives are trying to close the gap.

States

The United States Climate Alliance, comprised of 14 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington) and Puerto Rico, represents more than 36 percent of the U.S. population, $7 trillion in GDP, and 1.3 million clean energy jobs.

These states are all committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. That means they will be producing more energy from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. They have ambitious energy efficiency policies and standards for buildings and appliances, and most are members of the Zero Emission Vehicle program, which requires them to sell a certain number of electric cars and trucks based on overall vehicle sales in the state. Each state is also conducting vulnerability assessments, and investing in more resilient buildings and infrastructure, coastal and buffer restoration, drought planning and emergency preparedness to deal with climate change impacts.

New York aims to reduce its emissions to 40 percent below its 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050, and to generate 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. California, the first state to establish a cap-and-trade program, has extended that program to 2030 in order to reduce its emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by then; in addition, all new residential and commercial buildings must be net-zeromeaning they produce as much electricity as they useby 2020 and 2030, respectively. Oregon plans to phase out coal from its investor-owned electric plants by 2030, and Hawaii has committed to getting 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045.

A recent analysis by the Rhodium Group found that between 2005 and 2015, Alliance states had already reduced their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent, which is more than 50 percent of the way towards meeting their share of the Paris goal. (Moreover, their joint economic output grew 14 percent, outperforming the rest of the country by 2 percent.) The Alliance states are projected to reduce their emissions to 24 to 29 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, in line with the Paris Agreement. But since they currently represent only 36 percent of the nation's population, this means the U.S. would likely cut its overall greenhouse gas emissions by only 15 to 19 percent, falling short of the Paris target unless more states sign on and new policies (whether local, state or federal) are implemented.

However, the states are not alone in striving to meet the Paris goals. We Are Still In is a network of 2,300 leaders of states, counties, cities, businesses, and colleges and universities that are committed to upholding the Paris Agreement. Soon after Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris accord, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the U.N. Secretary-General's special envoy for Cities and Climate Change, submitted the "We Are Still In" declaration to the United Nations, pledging that the network would commit to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Newberry Geothermal project in Oregon. Credit: Bureau of Land Management

Cities

The cities of We Are Still In are taking action through Climate Mayors, an organization of 382 U.S. mayors, and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. Climate Mayors commit to inventory their cities' greenhouse gas emissions, set targets to reduce emissions in line with the Paris accord, and create an action plan to reach their goals. The 125 U.S. cities in the Global Covenant have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing resilience, and tracking their progress in a transparent manner.

Cities are taking a variety of routes to achieve their goals. Santa Monica is requiring that all new homes be net-zero starting this year. Portland and Seattle have banned any additional fossil fuel infrastructurethat means no new pipelines, port facilities, rail lines for transporting fossil fuels, or power plants. Minneapolis will cut emissions by 30 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050. Salt Lake City has a goal to get all its electricity from renewable sources by 2032. And Aspen already uses 100 percent renewable power from hydroelectric, wind, and landfill gas.

Businesses

Almost 50 percent of the largest U.S. companies have one or more clean energy goals, and more than 100 businesses have signed onto the RE100 initiative, with most committing to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2024. Members of RE100 include some of America's most important companies: Bank of America, Mars, Walmart, Kellogg, JP Morgan Chase, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Coca Cola, Google and Starbucks. The organization's 2016 annual report found that, on average, the companies were halfway toward meeting their goal of 100 percent renewable energy.

Walmart's Project Gigaton is encouraging all its suppliers to collectively eliminate one gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through actions on energy, agriculture, waste, packaging, deforestation, and product use. Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs' goals are to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2020; Goldman Sachs reached 86 percent renewable in 2015. Morgan Stanley is aiming for 2022, and Nike is striving for 2025. Biogen, Microsoft, Starbucks, Steelcase, Voya and Workday have already achieved 100 percent renewable energy, and Google, the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world, will reach its goal to have its data centers and offices 100 percent powered by renewables this year.

Through EP100, global businesses are committing to doubling their energy productivity within 25 yearsthat means producing twice as much with the same amount of energy. If 100 of them succeed by 2030, it will eliminate more than 170 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, and save over $327 billion in yearly energy costs.

Some other initiatives are getting states, cities and businesses to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping them achieve their goals. Another is helping companies convert their fleets to electric vehicles.

A solar/wind street lamp in Hawaii. Credit: Kundalini

Colleges and Universities

Presidents of almost 600 colleges and universities in every state and Washington D.C. are participating in the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments. They pledge to create climate action plans to achieve carbon neutrality and climate resilience, expand research into these areas, and track their progress. Colleges and universities are becoming test and demo platforms for new clean energy technology. Schools can also become part of the Carbon Credit and Purchasing Program to develop and market carbon credits on campus through energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and LEED-certified buildings.

Loyola University Chicago, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2025, has a plan to reduce energy use and obtain energy credits and carbon offsets; it maintains two geothermal installations and 55,000 square feet of green roofs. The University of Vermont, which created a climate action plan in 2010, has reduced its emissions by 28 percent and has set a goal to be 100 percent renewable by 2022. Pennsylvania's Allegheny College, which is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2020, has cut emissions by 62 percent. And Colby College in Maine achieved carbon neutrality in 2015.

Will it Be Enough?

Climate denier Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency is rescinding regulations on fossil fuels on a myriad of fronts. President Trump is moving to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which would limit carbon pollution from power plants. Given these rollbacks, will the sum total of climate actions by states, cities, business and universities be enough to meet the U.S. Paris pledge?

Next month, California Governor Jerry Brown and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg hope to answer that question. Their America's Pledge initiative is compiling and quantifying all the actions that states, cities, businesses and universities are taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The results will be announced at COP23, the U.N. climate conference in November. America's Pledge will also provide a plan for expanding the efforts, demonstrating strategies to reduce emissions further.

Steve Cohen, Earth Institute executive director, is optimistic that the U.S. can meet its stated target. "The initial targets are relatively modest and will be met without much difficulty," he said. He expects more challenges in 2020, when the world will set more ambitious targets through 2030. "Once the low-hanging fruit is harvested, the next reductions will be more difficult to achieve and we need to start working now on renewable energy technology, smart grids and battery technology to ensure that climate change can be mitigated over the long term."

Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Law at Columbia University, is more doubtful about achieving the near-term target. "Progress is uneven across the country," he said. "Some states are doing well, but others needed the shove from the Clean Power Plan. Going forward, the progress due to market forces is necessary but not sufficientwe will need strong laws to drive the needed transformation of the energy system."

There could still be surprises, however.

"I think you can get these tipping points," said John Furlow, deputy director for Humanitarian and International Development at the Earth Institute's International Research Institute for Climate and Society.

"For example, General Motors announced that it wants to introduce 20 electric vehicle models by 2023, and they're looking at going all electric after that. Ford is following suit. Japan, France and China are going all electric and Jerry Brown is asking why California can't do that, too. This is just to say that there may be tipping points that we're not anticipating and that then federal regulations won't matter so much. Some other company may sign on and tip things over, and it could move Congress or maybe even the President. I'm hopeful."

Provided by Earth Institute, Columbia University

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
A new method is making it easier for scientist to estimate population sizes of hard-to-count Golden Eagles. Credit: D. Brandes

For conservation efforts to be effective, wildlife managers need to know how many individuals of a species are out there. When species are spread out over large areas and occur at low densities, as is the case with the Golden Eagle, figuring this out can be tricky. However, a new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications applies an old technique called "mark-recapture" in a novel way, eliminating the need to actually capture and mark eagles but instead, using math that allows scientists to turn individual observations into population estimates.

West Virginia University's Andrew Dennhardt, Adam Duerr, and Todd Katzner and Lafayette College's David Brandes used observations made by volunteer "citizen-scientists" of Golden Eagles migrating along a single, long mountain ridgeline in Pennsylvania to estimate the total number of eagles passing through the area each year. To do this, they developed a new way to apply a classic ecology tool called mark-recapture analysiscapturing and marking a portion of a population, and then counting the number of marked individuals in another group captured later. Helped by the fact that observers were often able to categorize individual eagles as either immature or adult birds, the scientists were able to identify instances of individual eagles being sighted at more than one location as they made their way south along the ridge over the course of a day, treating these subsequent sightings as "recaptures."

Volunteers reported more than 3,000 sightings of Golden Eagles at five count sites along the ridge from 2002 to 2011. The analysis used in the study, which lets researchers estimate how many birds were missed as well as how many were seen more than once, suggests that these sightings represented between 2,592 and 2,775 individual eagles over the ten year period, with approximately 1,300 passing through the area on average in a given year. Past studies indicate that the total population of eagles breeding in Quebec and migrating through Pennsylvania is around 5,000, making this about a quarter of the larger population. Because the eagles are difficult to count on their breeding grounds, however, better methods for tracking their numbers during migration represent a significant advance.

"Conservation of Golden Eagles in eastern North America is a really important goal for lots of reasonsit is a small, historically declining population, at risk from anthropogenic threats and habitat loss. A central part of that conservation goal is figuring out how many of the darn things there are. Andrew's work is the first empirical estimate of golden eagle population size," says Katzner, now a Research Wildlife Biologist at the US Geological Survey. "Nothing quite like this has ever been done. We've taken a standard tool, mark-recapture, and turned it on its head to give us a new way to estimate population size."

"For me, this was a dream come true, because I got to work on a project relevant to the conservation of the species that originally inspired me to enter the field of wildlife ecology and management," says Dennhardt, now at Michigan State University. "Partnerships between researchers and citizen-scientists can help improve wildlife management decisions to address threats to migratory Golden Eagles and other species. I hope this work inspires future researchers to evaluate the populations of other migratory species, and that it encourages the greater scientific community to consider new and existing citizen-science programs and think about how such programs' data might be used in their own research toward improving resource management and decision making."

More information: "Applying citizen-science data and mark-recapture models to estimate numbers of migrant Golden Eagles in an Important Bird Area in eastern North America" www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1650/CONDOR-16-166.1
Dr. Jennifer Ludwig at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a process, that allows a fast, simple, and cost-effective production of nanocrystalline lithium cobalt phosphate crystals. Compared to standard lithium iron phosphate this material improves the energy density of lithium-ion batteries from about 600 to 800 watt hours per kilogram. Credit: Andreas Battenberg / TUM

Power on the go is in demand: The higher the battery capacity, the larger the range of electric cars and the longer the operating time of cell phones and laptops. Dr. Jennifer Ludwig of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a process that allows a fast, simple, and cost-effective production of the promising cathode material lithium cobalt phosphate in high quality. The chemist was awarded the Evonik Research Prize for her work.

Hope is pink: The powder that Jennifer Ludwig carefully pours into a glass bowl and which glows pink in the light of the laboratory lamp has the potential to significantly improve the performance of future batteries. "Lithium cobalt phosphate can store substantially more energy than conventional cathode materials," explains the chemist.

Working in the group of Tom Nilges, head of the Professorship of Synthesis and Characterization of Innovative Materials, the chemist has developed a process for producing the pink powder quickly, with minimal amounts of energy and in the highest quality.

Battery researchers have been considering lithium cobalt phosphate a material of the future for some time. It operates at higher voltages than the traditionally employed lithium iron phosphate and thus, attains a higher energy density - 800 watt hours per kilogram instead of just under 600 watt hours.

Previous process: expensive and energy-intensive

Previously, however, the production of the promising high-voltage cathode material required a very complex, energy-intensive and inefficient process under harsh conditions with temperatures of 800 C. "And the crystals that form under these conditions vary in size and must be ground to nanocrystalline powder in a second, energy-intensive production step," reports Ludwig.

Dr. Jennifer Ludwig at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) with samples from the optimization experiments. Finally these experiments led to a high-voltage cathode material, which, compared to standard lithium iron phosphate, improves the energy density of lithium-ion batteries from about 600 to 800 watt hours per kilogram. Credit: Andreas Battenberg / TUM

Furthermore, the resulting crystals exhibit sufficient ionic conductivity in only one direction. Over most of the surface, the chemical reaction between the electrode material and the electrolyte in the batteries progresses very slowly.

Tailored crystals

The microwave synthesis process developed by Jennifer Ludwig solves all of these issues at once: Obtaining the high-grade lithium cobalt phosphate requires only a microwave oven and 30 minutes of time.

The reactants are placed in a Teflon container together with a solvent and are then heated. A mere 600 W are sufficient to achieve the 250 C required to stimulate the crystal formation.

The flat platelets created in the process measure less than one micrometer across and are only a few hundred nanometers thick, with the axis of maximum conductivity oriented towards the surface. "This shape ensures better electrochemical performance because the lithium ions need to move only short distances within the crystals," explains Ludwig.

Electron microscope image of the platelet-shaped lithium cobalt phosphate crystals. Since the crystals are only a few hundred nanometers thick and the axis of maximum conductivity is oriented towards the surface, the lithium ions need to move only short distances within the crystal. Credit: Katia Rodewald / TUM

Steering the reaction

The chemist was also able to solve another problem in the course of her experiments: At temperatures over 200 C and under high pressure, instead of the desired lithium cobalt phosphate a hitherto unknown, complex cobalt hydroxide hydrogen phosphate compound is occasionally formed.

Jennifer Ludwig succeeded in elucidating the reaction mechanism, isolating the compound and determining its structure and properties. Since the new compound is unsuitable as a battery material, she modified the reaction so that only the desired lithium cobalt phosphate is produced.

"With this new production process, we can now create high-performance, platelet-shaped lithium cobalt phosphate crystals with tailored properties in high quality," says Professor Nilges. "Thus, a further hurdle on the path to new high-voltage materials has been taken."

More information: Jennifer Ludwig et al, Co11Li[(OH)5O][(PO3OH)(PO4)5], a Lithium-Stabilized, Mixed-Valent Cobalt(II,III) Hydroxide Phosphate Framework, Inorganic Chemistry (2017). DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b01152 Jennifer Ludwig et al. Morphology-controlled microwave-assisted solvothermal synthesis of high-performance LiCoPO 4 as a high-voltage cathode material for Li-ion batteries, Journal of Power Sources (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.12.059 Journal information: Inorganic Chemistry
On Aug. 17, 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detected gravitational waves from a neutron star collision. Within 12 hours, observatories had identified the source of the event within the galaxy NGC 4993, shown in this Hubble Space Telescope image, and located an associated stellar flare called a kilonova. Hubble observed that flare of light fade over the course of 6 days, as shown in these observations taken on August 22, 26, and 28 (insets). Credit: NASA, ESA; acknowledgment: A. Levan (U. Warwick), N. Tanvir (U. Leicester), and A. Fruchter and O. Fox (STScI)

On Aug. 17, 2017, weak ripples in the fabric of space-time known as gravitational waves washed over Earth. Unlike previously detected gravitational waves, these were accompanied by light, allowing astronomers to pinpoint the source. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful gaze onto the new beacon, obtaining both images and spectra. The resulting data will help reveal details of the titanic collision that created the gravitational waves, and its aftermath.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected gravitational waves at 8:41 a.m. EDT on Aug. 17. Two seconds later, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope measured a short pulse of gamma rays known as a gamma-ray burst. Many observatories, including space telescopes, probed the suspected location of the source, and within about 12 hours several spotted their quarry.

In a distant galaxy called NGC 4993, about 130 million light-years from Earth, a point of light shone where nothing had been before. It was about a thousand times brighter than a variety of stellar flare called a nova, putting it in a class of objects astronomers call "kilonovae." It also faded noticeably over six days of Hubble observations.

"This appears to be the trifecta for which the astronomical community has been waiting: Gravitational waves, a gamma-ray burst and a kilonova all happening together," said Ori Fox, of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

The source of all three was the collision of two neutron stars, the aged remains of a binary star system. A neutron star forms when the core of a dying massive star collapses, a process so violent that it crushes protons and electrons together to form subatomic particles called neutrons. The result is like a giant atomic nucleus, cramming several Suns' worth of material into a ball just a few miles across.

In NGC 4993, two neutron stars once spiraled around each other at blinding speed. As they drew closer together, they whirled even faster, spinning as fast as a blender near the end. Powerful tidal forces ripped off huge chunks while the remainder collided and merged, forming a larger neutron star or perhaps a black hole. Leftovers spewed out into space. Freed from the crushing pressure, neutrons turned back into protons and electrons, forming a variety of chemical elements heavier than iron.

"We think neutron star collisions are a source of all kinds of heavy elements, from the gold in our jewelry to the plutonium that powers spacecraft, power plants and bombs," said Andy Fruchter, of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

On Aug. 17, 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory detected gravitational waves from a neutron star collision. Within 12 hours, observatories had identified the source of the event within the galaxy NGC 4993, shown in this Hubble Space Telescope image, and located an associated stellar flare called a kilonova (box). Inset: Hubble observed the kilonova fade over the course of six days. Credit: NASA and ESA

Several teams of scientists are using Hubble's suite of cameras and spectrographs to study the gravitational wave source. Fruchter, Fox and their colleagues used Hubble to obtain a spectrum of the object in infrared light. By splitting the light of the source into a rainbow spectrum, astronomers can probe the chemical elements that are present. The spectrum showed several broad bumps and wiggles that signal the formation of some of the heaviest elements in nature.

"The spectrum looked exactly like how theoretical physicists had predicted the outcome of the merger of two neutron stars would appear. It tied this object to the gravitational wave source beyond all reasonable doubt," said Andrew Levan of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, who led one of the proposals for Hubble spectral observations. Additional spectral observations were led by NialTanvir of the University of Leicester, England.

Spectral lines can be used as fingerprints to identify individual elements. However, this spectrum is proving a challenge to interpret.

"Beyond the fact that two neutron stars flung a lot of matter out into space, we're not yet sure what else the spectrum is telling us," explained Fruchter. "Because the material is moving so fast, the spectral lines are smeared out. Also, there are all kinds of unusual isotopes, many of which are short-lived and undergo radioactive decay. The good news is that it's an exquisite spectrum, so we have a lot of data to work with and analyze."

Hubble also picked up visible light from the event that gradually faded over the course of several days. Astronomers believe that this light came from a powerful "wind" of material speeding outward. These observations hint that astronomers viewed the collision from above the orbital plane of the neutron stars. If seen from the side (along the orbital plane), matter ejected during the merger would have obscured the visible light and only infrared light would be visible.

"What we see from a kilonova might depend on our viewing angle. The same type of event would appear different depending on whether we're looking at it face-on or edge-on, which came as a total surprise to us," said Eleonora Troja of the University of Maryland, College Park, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Troja is also a principal investigator of a team using Hubble observations to study the object.

The gravitational wave source now is too close to the Sun on the sky for Hubble and other observatories to study. It will come back into view in November. Until then, astronomers will be working diligently to learn all they can about this unique event.

The launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope also will offer an opportunity to examine the infrared light from the source, should that glow remain detectable in the months and years to come.

Provided by NASA
Grey reef shark approaching Baited Remote Underwater Video system. Credit: Laurent Vigliola, IRD

Shark diversity and abundance is highest in remote reefs, as far as 25 hours away from main cities, reveals an international study conducted in the New Caledonia archipelago.

While shark fishing is historically absent in this South Pacific archipelago, these animals have nearly disappeared from reefs close to human populations. This clearly illustrates that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) located in the vicinity of inhabited areas offer little protection for these iconic species. The study calls for remote coral reefs to be protected as only 1.5% on the entire planet  including a third of this found in the Natural Park of the Coral Sea - remain as refuges for endangered marine megafauna. Researchers also stress the need for a significant increase in the size of marine reserves in order to safeguard the habitats of large mobile animals such as sharks.

Published on 18 October 2017 in the Journal of Applied Ecology, these findings are the result of collaborative research between the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), the University of New Caledonia, University of Montpellier, Zoological Society of London, and University of Western Australia.

Despite being among the most powerful predators in the ocean, sharks are in fact very vulnerable and many species face a significant risk of extinction. Are marine reserves that have been put in place to conserve coral reef ecosystems capable of protecting these large mobile predators? Are they as effective in maintaining their populations as reefs in remote locations with little human impact? To answer these questions, a study was carried out under the PRISTINE and APEX programmes in partnership with Total Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Government of New Caledonia.

The objectives? Measure the baseline status of shark populations using Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVs) in one of the most remote coral reefs on the planet; use these reefs as a benchmark to reassess the effectiveness of marine reserves for these flagship animals.

"We deployed 385 baited camera stations and conducted 2,790 research dives to sample reef shark communities across the New Caledonia archipelago", explains marine biologist Laurent Vigliola from the IRD, one of the coordinating researchers.

For the first time, abundance levels and number of species (species richness) of reef sharks were assessed according to a human density gradient, ranging from isolated and uninhabited reefs to a human population density of 2,135/km2 near the capital Noumea.

The results showed that in exploited reefs close to humans, less than an hour travel time from Noumea, shark abundance dropped by 97% and their specific richness by 94% compared to remote reefs considered as reference sites.

According to Jean-Baptiste Juhel, whose thesis at the University of New Caledonia was on this subject: "This result is all the more surprising considering reef sharks are not historically caught in New Caledonia. This raises the question of the causes behind their disappearance in the vicinity of humans where no fishing occurs."



Only large old no-entry Marine Protected Areas are effective

A comparison of shark abundance and biodiversity levels from 15 MPAs indicated that protection is limited. Small-scale no-take MPAs (<30 km2) have no effect. Large no-take MPAs (150 km2 as in the Arbore reserve, for example), where humans can access but fishing is strictly forbidden, have only a marginal effect. Finally, no-entry MPAs (where access is prohibited) that are large and old provide observable benefits for shark populations, however, do not reach the levels observed in the reference zones. Thus, in the Yves Merlet reserve (172 km2, 43 years old) sharks abundance is 20% higher and diversity is twice as high as in the protected areas near Noumea. Nevertheless, shark abundance in this reserve remains 79% lower and diversity 45% lower than in the remote reefs.

Despite the aim to achieve high levels of biomass for many species, MPAs in their current size and management, i.e. generally small (<30 km2) and accessible to humans, offer little benefits for sharks. This is concerning because these animals are essential to maintain balance in coral reef ecosystems. Shark numbers are substantially lower in areas near humans, even if they are not directly targeted by fisheries. However, this study demonstrates the measurable benefits that can be achieved if MPAs are large enough (>150 km2) and completely isolated from humans. As a result, only large inaccessible MPAs are likely to maintain reef shark populations at baseline levels. The researchers also draw attention to the importance of protecting remote coral reefs as they are the last refuges for endangered marine megafauna.

Jean-Baptiste Juhel, Laurent Vigliola, David Mouillot, Michel Kulbicki, Tom B Letessier, Jessica J Meeuwig & Laurent Wantiez (2017) 'Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks', is published in Journal of Applied Ecology on 18 October 2017 and will be available here.

More information: Juhel J-B, Vigliola L, Mouillot D, et al. Reef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks. J Appl Ecol. 2017;00:111. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13007 Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, (illustrated here) launches December 2017 to explore Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere, a region influenced by both terrestrial weather and changes in near-Earth space. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

On Dec. 8, 2017, NASA launches the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, a low-Earth orbiting satellite that will give us new information about how Earth's atmosphere interacts with near-Earth spacea give-and-take that plays a major role in the safety of our satellites and reliability of communications signals.

Specifically, ICON investigates the connections between the neutral atmospherewhich extends from here near the surface to far above us, at the edge of spaceand the electrically charged part of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere. The particles of the ionosphere carry electrical charge that can disrupt communications signals, cause satellites in low-Earth orbit to become electrically charged, and, in extreme cases, cause power outages on the ground. Positioned on the edge of space and intermingled with the neutral atmosphere, the ionosphere's response to conditions on Earth and in space is difficult to pin down.

"The conditions in our space environmentspace weatheris something we need to be able to forecast," said Thomas Immel, principal investigator for the ICON mission from the University of California, Berkeley."It's difficult to predict conditions in the ionosphere tomorrow based on what we measure today."

Earth's interface to space

As one goes higher and higher above Earth's surface, the atmosphere gradually gets thinner. The effects of these changes can be felt just a few miles above sea levelfor instance, climbers on some of the world's tallest mountains must often use oxygen tanks to breathe. But even higher, about 60 miles above Earth's surface, the atmosphere becomes so thin that planes can't fly. This is where space begins.

Even beyond this boundary of space, Earth's atmosphere continues to extend upwardit just gets thinner and more tenuous the higher you go. This region is above Earth's ozone layer, so it's exposed to the full brunt of the Sun's radiation. The strong ultraviolet radiationbreaks down stable, neutral molecules, changing them from something resembling the air we breathe into more reactive forms of gas, like atomic oxygen. These reactive compounds in the neutral upper atmosphere produce a faint, global glow, called airglow.

But the sunlight doesn't stop there. It keeps breaking these atmospheric molecules apart, knocking off electrons, which leaves a sea of charged electrons and ions. This population of electrically charged particles is the ionosphere, and it exists in the same space as the extremely thin neutral upper atmosphere.

This makes our interface to spacea unique region, where charged and neutral gases coexist. It is shaped both by weather patterns and winds from Earth below, and shifting electric and magnetic fields and space weather from above.

"ICON aims to understand how Earth's weather modifies space weather," said Doug Rowland, mission scientist for ICON at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We're looking at how the weather that we live inrain, heat, snow, thunderstorms, hurricanesaffects the space environment above us."

NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, launches in December 2017 and orbits above the upper atmosphere, through the bottom edge of near-Earth space. From this vantage point, ICON observes both the upper atmosphere and a layer of charged particles called the ionosphere, which extends from about 50 to 360 miles above the surface of Earth. Processes in the ionosphere also create bright swaths of color in the sky, known as airglow. ICON will observe how interactions between Earth's weather and the ionosphere create such shimmering airglow as well as other changes in the space environment. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Space weather is often triggered by changes on the Sun, which releases a constant outflow of magnetized material called the solar wind along with less frequent but more intense bursts of solar material, called coronal mass ejections. The magnetic fields embedded in this solar material can deform Earth's natural magnetic field, creating shifting electric and magnetic fields in near-Earth space. The electrically-charged gas of the ionosphere, called plasma, reacts uniquely to these changing electric and magnetic fields.

Many low-Earth orbiting satellites, including the International Space Station, fly through the ionosphere. It alsoacts as a conduit for many of our communications signals, such as radio waves and the signals that make GPS systems work. Unpredicted changes in the ionosphere, like ripples and bubbles of dense plasma, can have significant impacts on our technology and communication.

"Short-wave radio waves bounce off the ionosphere, and signals from GPS satellites have to pass through," said Immel. "The changes in density directly affect communications and navigation."

Understanding the details of what influences the ionosphere and causes signal disruptions has historically been difficult, in part because of the range of factors that can change the ionosphere. For decades, scientists thought that the ionosphere responded only to the changing conditions in space. New data over the past few decades, however, has proved that assumption wrong, and revealed that there's still much to learn about the forces that shape the ionosphere.

"What we discovered, using data from a NASA mission called IMAGE, was that this region of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere was actually responding to effects related to weather systems near Earth's surface," said Scott England, ICON project scientist based at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. IMAGE, short for Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, studied Earth's magnetosphere from 2000 to 2005. "This was really unexpected at the time, to see a connection. Where the charged particles were, how many there were, how dense the gas wasthey were responding to weather patterns near the surface of the Earth."

Pockets of high or low pressure are produced near Earth's surface by hurricanes, thunderstorms, or even phenomena as simple as a steady wind over a mountain range. These pressure differences can propagate into the very highest reaches of the upper atmosphere and influence the winds in this region. The exact role that these windsand by extension, terrestrial weatherplay in shaping the ionosphere is an outstanding question, and one that scientists hope ICON will answer.

"We think the winds will be directly related to the electric field measured at the spacecraft, but we don't know," said Immel. "No one's ever made this measurement, so no one knows what we're going to see."

Eyes on the ionosphere

ICON explores these connections between the neutral atmosphere and the electrically charged ionosphere with four instruments. Three of these four instruments rely on one of the upper atmosphere's more spectacular phenomena: airglow.

NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, launches in December 2017 and orbits above the upper atmosphere, through the bottom edge of near-Earth space. From this vantage point, ICON observes both the upper atmosphere  made of neutral particles  and a layer of charged particles called the ionosphere, which extends from about 50 to 360 miles above the surface of Earth. Processes in the ionosphere also create bright swaths of color in the sky, known as airglow. ICON will observe how interactions between terrestrial weather and the ionosphere create such shimmering airglow as well as other changes in the space environment. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ICON

Airglow is created by a similar process that creates the aurora: gas is excited and emits light. Though auroras are typically confined to extreme northern and southern latitudes, airglow happens constantly across the globe, and it is much fainter. But it's still bright enough for ICON's instruments to build up a picture of the density, composition and structure of the ionosphere.

One of these airglow-measuring instruments is MIGHTI, short for Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging. Designed and built by the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., MIGHTI measures the Doppler shift of the glowing gases of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

"The Doppler shift is the same process you can hear when you hear a siren on an ambulance: It has a different pitch when the ambulance is coming towards versus moving away from you," said England. "The same thing is happening with the light from airglow."

When gas producing airglow moves toward or away from ICON, pushed by winds, the wavelengths are stretched or compressed. Because scientists know what chemical species produce airglow in the upper atmosphere, they know very specifically what wavelengthor colorthat light should be. The Doppler-shifted light has an ever-so-slightly different hue that MIGHTI can detect, and from there, scientists can deduce the speed and direction of the winds in this region.

Instruments similar to MIGHTI have flown on space missions before, but with a key difference. Earlier space-based interferometers would use moving parts to change the distance between different reflectors and detectors in order to measure each wavelength of light. But MIGHTI uses a tool called a diffraction gratingsimilar to a mirror with lines etched in it that reflect light in a certain wayto separate the light it sees into its component wavelengths simultaneously. This means that MIGHTI can measure multiple wavelengths at once, making the instrument more sensitive.

"MIGHTI can measure changes in the wind speed of around 10 miles per hour," said England. "If you translate that into the actual change in the wavelength, that's a change of about 1 in 100 million."

Another airglow instrument, the Far Ultraviolet instrument, uses an advanced de-blurring technique called time-delay integration to send back more information for scientists within the data bandwidth restrictions of the spacecraft.

"We have the bandwidth to send down one snapshot every 12 seconds, but the spacecraft moves about a hundred kilometers in that amount of time, and the structures we want to look at are only a few kilometers wide," said Rowland. "You would smear all these small-scale structures."

What the Far Ultraviolet instrumentdoes instead, said Rowland, is take eight snapshots per secondalmost a hundred times as much data as ICON can send downand combine them, with each one shifted appropriately to account for warping and the geometry of the spacecraft. This processing, which all happens on ICON's onboard computer, creates a single image that can be sent back to Earth within the bandwidth allotted. This combines the advantages of a long exposure by compressing the data, while still maintaining the sharp focus that gives scientists a detailed look at the structures they're interested in. The wavelengths measured by FUV are produced by certain types of oxygen and nitrogen molecules on Earth's day side, as well as oxygen ions on Earth's night side.

NASAs Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, uses a combination of remote and in situ instruments to study Earths neutral upper atmosphere and electrically charged ionosphere. At certain points in its orbit near Earths equator, ICONs remote and in situ measurements are magnetically connected, even though theyre hundreds of miles apart, giving scientists new insights into the connected between the lower atmosphere, neutral upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Credit: NASA Goddard/Duberstein

ICON's third airglow instrument, EUVshort for Extreme Ultraviolet instrumentmeasures shorter wavelengths of light than FUV. Airglow measured by EUV is produced by oxygen ions on Earth's day side, which make up the lion's share of Earth's daytime ionosphere. EUV's data will reveal details about the structure of the ionosphere during the daylike how far it extends, and where pockets of denser plasma formthat can change the ionosphere'sinteraction with communications signals and satellites.

While ICON's three airglow instruments measure the temperature, velocity and composition of gases miles away from the spacecraft, a pair of identical in situ instruments characterizes the charged gas around the spacecraft. The two Ion Velocity Meters, or IVMs, make very precise measurements of the angle at which ionized gas enters the instrument, helping scientists understand how this ionized gas around the spacecraft is moving.

In the past, scientists may have had to combine instruments from different spacecraftsometimes even from different yearsto try and make connections between the lower atmosphere, neutral upper atmosphere and ionosphere. But one of ICON's main advances is the combination of data from its four instruments at the same place and time

"The unique thing is the suite of instruments," said Ellen Taylor, ICON project systems engineer at UC Berkeley. "ICON has several instruments that have been flown before, but they're put together into a payload suite to make unique measurements."

ICON's orbit is also designed to create a few points during each orbit where the remote sensing instruments look straight down Earth's magnetic field. That means the spacecraft's in situ plasma measurements are sometimes directly magnetically connected to the remote measurements of airglow, even though they're hundreds of miles apart.

ICON's data will be complemented by the January 2019 launch of the GOLD instrument, short for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk. Hosted on a commercial satellite in geostationary orbit, GOLD also will observe the ionosphere, but from a vantage point very different from ICON's: GOLD will see the big picture, while ICON flies through the ionosphere, collecting data from up close.

"To study hurricanes, we might use a weather satellite to track how they're moving across the ocean, but to get detailed information, we fly a plane through the storm," said England. The same relationship holds true for ICON and GOLD studying the ionosphere. "GOLD is like the weather satellite, and ICON is like the airplane."

ICON launches on a Pegasus rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Carried underneath the L-1011 airplane out over the ocean, the launch window opens at approximately 3 a.m. local time on Dec. 8. NASA TV will cover the launch.

After launch, Taylor's team will be in the mission operations center at UC Berkeley 24/7 for nearly a week to commission the spacecraft. This is followed by another three weeks of instrument commissioning, during which each one of the instruments is prepared to take science databy powering up, opening sensor doors, ramping up voltage and cooling down detector plates. After instrument and payload commissioning, ICON should be fully online and sending back data by about a month after launch.
Shoreline has developed a tool which means that offshore wind farms like Horns Rev 1 in the North Sea can be operated more efficiently. The owners of the wind park are Vattenfall and DONG Energy. Credit: Nils Olav Nergaard.

When Ole-Erik Vestl Endrerud started his PhD, he didn't anticipate that his research would result in a lucrative business.

Two years after Endrerud started his PhD, he had developed simulation software which made it possible to construct, operate and maintain offshore wind turbines more effectively.

It transpired that there was a huge demand within the industry for the software he had developed, and the research fellow discovered that he needed to set up a company. Shoreline was established in 2014.

His company is now starting to take off commercially in the global offshore wind energy market. Shoreline has six employees and offices in Stavanger and Hamburg, and plans to expand to Asia and the USA. They are currently taking on more software developers.

Automisation

The company is not stopping at its offshore wind energy success. The research fellow is just beginning to realise that he and his company have created an intelligent system that could automate the work that is performed every day in any industrial plant.

"We have developed an algorithm which is unique, an algorithm which can optimise on so many parameters  which makes it useful for any type of industry", explains Endrerud.

In the beginning, they assumed that although the companies that would have a use for the software were large, there were not many of them, but it turned out that the simulation tool can be used within most big industrial facilities. The company has attracted interest from operators, turbine suppliers, vessel providers, service providers, banks and insurance institutions.

"It transpires that everyone needs a good tool to allow them to simulate construction and operation. Our market has grown from a couple of dozen customers to several hundred, if not thousands of potential customers", Endrerud points out.

From oil to renewables

Endrerud studied offshore technology at UiS. He has a Master's degree in marine and subsea technology and also in industrial technology and operations management. For a long time, his plan had been to work in a major oil company.

But first, he wanted to try out an idea he had had, and decided to go for a PhD. He wanted to solve a problem of which he had personal experience, and for which he knew that there was a need in industry: How to design the most efficient strategy possible for the operation and maintenance of an installation?

"I was not the entrepreneurial type at the time, and had no plans to develop a commercial product, but I started to become obsessed by the thought of solving this problem", said Endrerud.

At the time, the oil student had thought that the wind energy industry was just an idealistic green pipe dream. But that was before he discovered that offshore wind energy was an enormous industry abroad.

Network of experts in close contact with industry

Endrerud's research project is part of NORCOWE, a research centre for environmentally-friendly energy financed by the Research Council of Norway; his research is also affiliated with CIAM - the Cluster on Industrial Asset Management at the University of Stavanger (UiS).

It was his supervisor, Professor Jayantha P. Liyanage, who gave him the idea of simulation, or what is described as agent-based modelling. Liyanage introduced Endrerud to an international research network, which is how the research fellow established a connection with TU Delft in the Netherlands, one of the best places in the world for agent-based modelling, and a centre for intelligent maintenance systems at the University of Cincinnati in the USA.

With the support of this excellent network of experts, Endrerud developed an algorithm which later became a prototype software that could optimise the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms  a wind farm simulator.

"The principle behind the software is that the operations engineers provide information about the wind farm, such as weather, maintenance requirements, wave height and wind strength, and we tell them what kind of production output they can expect and how high their costs will be", explains Endrerud.

This allows the operations engineers to plan and design the most efficient operational plan.

"It was incredibly important for me in the initial phase to be supported by an international network. I used the network to test out my ideas, and it gradually dawned on me that there was a huge need for a product like this. I could never have learned this without being in close contact with the people who were potential customers and experts in the field", explains the entrepreneur.

Statoil and Statkraft proved to be particularly important industrial sparring partners, and Doctor Nenad Keseric from Statoil is Endrerud's co-supervisor for his PhD.

The turning point when his life changed from being that of an ordinary research fellow whose aim was to finish his thesis, to the all-consuming life of an entrepreneur, came when Endrerud was at a seminar in Frankfurt, presenting a fully-functioning prototype of his simulation software. In the audience were several major players from the offshore energy industry. His software attracted a huge amount of interest.

Shoreline designs software that can make operating and maintaining offshore wind turbines more efficient. Here we can see wind farm maintenance in practice. Credit: Simen Malmin

Instead of licensing out the asset half way through his PhD studies, Endrerud set up the company Shoreline, assisted by the technology transfer office Valide.

Not long after this, the company landed its first contract.

Strong growth in 2016

In summer 2015, the company secured funding from Innovation Norway, after which it signed a contract with Statoil. Not long after that, the company hired its first developer.

The wind farm simulator was built and tested. The company obtained what is known as soft funding, from sources such as Innovation Norway and the Research Council of Norway's FORNY programme. Private investors were in place by the end of 2015. By then, Shoreline had a turnover of NOK 1.3 million on various consultancy projects.

At the start of 2016, they had no commercial products, but by February, the company had its first software ready for sale  an application for simulating the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms (MAINTSYS). They sold their first subscription to Statoil in the same month. That was a huge milestone.

The commercial breakthrough came in the summer of 2016. The company then launched its second application (SIMSTALL). With this app, companies can simulate the construction of a wind farm.

This meant that over the course of the year, Shoreline had developed two software applications and ended up with subscription income of NOK 1 million. Five major customers were on the list of those who had bought subscriptions, most of them from outside Norway.

"We seem to have developed a simulation platform that can be used for a range of different products. We are now working on a third product which we hope will automate daily, short term maintenance planning in the same way as Tesla produces driverless vehicles", explains Endrerud.

The company's software developers are now using artificial intelligence to optimise how to operate and maintain large industrial facilities. This virtual planning assistant for operations and maintenance will be of interest to installations such as offshore wind farms. The system will connect to existing maintenance systems, and can automatically obtain data about weather, waves, wind, currents, logistics, personnel and work orders.

Now the company is calculating that as well as several hundred offshore wind energy customers, there are also many other industries which need the software, including the solar, hydropower, aquaculture and oil and gas industries.

"Our first marketing analysis showed us that all we have to do now is multiply the number of types of industries which are a relevant market for us, which is the coolest thing about this concept", said Endrerud.

Green entrepreneur

Shoreline has also taken part in Innovation Norway's TINC programme, which Endrerud explains is an extremely useful incubator programme in which startup companies get to fine-tune their products in the most competitive tech-hub in the world. Endrerud and his colleagues have just come back from Silicon Valley and other locations in the USA, where they had been canvassing for customers.

"Innovation Norway has an exciting facility in Silicon Valley. This has given us a foot in the door of the American market, which is one of the biggest markets in the world in onshore wind energy. There are also dozens of other industries, such as hydropower and other power producers such as solar.

As recently as June, the Rogaland branch of Innovation Norway contributed funds from its environmental technology scheme.

"Shoreline is an extremely exciting and capable company, which is growing internationally. They are helping to develop a centre of expertise in Rogaland in the fields of artificial intelligence and renewable energy. Startup companies like these are strong and important contributors to the green shift", points out Kari Holmefjord Vervik, Director of Innovation Norway Rogaland.

Although Endrerud has now realised that the simulation platform can be used in virtually any industry, he is particularly committed to the renewables industry.

"The market has proved to be many times greater than we first assumed, even if you just include offshore wind energy. We currently have 11 customers throughout the value chain in offshore wind energy, and have registered a huge demand", explains Endrerud.

The entrepreneur has great faith in the green shift, and hopes that his entrepreneurial activity will drive it forward. He is still determined that he wants his main focus to be on renewables.

"Wind is a key area for us. New wind farms are popping up every day, all over the world. It is in this area that we are devoting most of our energy. Wind and solar energy are now cheaper than coal, and global growth in these industries is in double digits. In 2017, we will have achieved the break-even figure in offshore wind energy, which means that revenues in this field will be higher than expenses", explains Endrerud.

So the entrepreneur seems to have succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, but the academic  what about him? Endrerud had already published several scientific articles, and was about to submit his thesis in December 2015. Then things took off for the company, which meant that the finishing touches to his thesis had to take a back seat.

However, he is able to assure us that 2017 will be the year that he is finally able to deliver his thesis. He wants this to include a detailed account of what has been keeping him busy over the last few years, although of course he cannot give everything away. His thesis, it seems, has become a lucrative trade secret.
Credit: NASA

Plasma technology could hold the key to creating a sustainable oxygen supply on Mars, a new study has found.

It suggests that Mars, with its 96 per cent carbon dioxide atmosphere, has nearly ideal conditions for creating oxygen from CO2 through a process known as decomposition.

Published today in the journal Plasma Sources Science and Technology, the research by the universities of Lisbon and Porto, and Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, shows that the pressure and temperature ranges in the Martian atmosphere mean non-thermal (or non-equilibrium) plasma can be used to produce oxygen efficiently.

Lead author Dr Vasco Guerra, from the University of Lisbon, said: "Sending a manned mission to Mars is one of the next major steps in our exploration of space. Creating a breathable environment, however, is a substantial challenge.

"Plasma reforming of CO2 on Earth is a growing field of research, prompted by the problems of climate change and production of solar fuels. Low temperature plasmas are one of the best media for CO2 decomposition  the split-up of the molecule into oxygen and carbon monoxide  both by direct electron impact, and by transferring electron energy into vibrational excitation."

Mars has excellent conditions for In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) by plasma. As well as its CO2 atmosphere, the cold surrounding atmosphere (on average about 210 Kelvin) may induce a stronger vibrational effect than that achievable on Earth. The low atmospheric temperature also works to slow the reaction, giving additional time for the separation of molecules.

Dr Guerra said: "The low temperature plasma decomposition method offers a twofold solution for a manned mission to Mars. Not only would it provide a stable, reliable supply of oxygen, but as source of fuel as well, as carbon monoxide has been proposed as to be used as a propellant mixture in rocket vehicles.

"This ISRU approach could help significantly simplify the logistics of a mission to Mars. It would allow for increased self-sufficiency, reduce the risks to the crew, and reduce costs by requiring fewer vehicles to carry out the mission."

More information: Vasco Guerra et al. The case for in situ resource utilisation for oxygen production on Mars by non-equilibrium plasmas, Plasma Sources Science and Technology (2017). DOI: 10.1088/1361-6595/aa8dcc
Sky and sun over University of Hertfordshire Observatory at Bayfordbury on 17 October 2017. Credit: David Campbell and the University of Hertfordshire

Atmospheric physicists from the University of Hertfordshire have been tracking the atmospheric particles responsible for the stunning red sky and sun seen across parts of south-east England on Monday afternoon.

Using a Lidar, a laser ranging instrument, at the University's Bayfordbury Observatory near Hertford, the team monitored the height of the particles throughout the day. Laser pulses reflected from the particles show their arrival around midday, their growing height in the atmosphere, and their eventual departure in the evening.

The atmospheric profile was measured every second, allowing the changes in the particle layering to be observed throughout the day. The particles responsible for the red sky are seen as a diagonal stripe in the profile sequence. The layer of dust arrived over Hertford around 11:00 GMT at 1 km altitude, drifted past over the next 6 hours at progressively higher altitudes, and reached 2-3 km altitude by the time it moved away from Hertford around 18:00 UTC.

During the time the particles sat over England, the sky acquired a reddish hue and the sun appeared distinctly red, due to the preferential scattering of blue light by the particles (main image).

Professor Joseph Ulanowski of the University computed the likely path taken by the particles over the preceding six days, prior to their arrival over England, using the NOAA HYSPLIT trajectory model. These computations show that the air passed over both the Saharan desert and Portugal, picking up desert dust from the Algeria-Mauritania region of the Sahara and potentially also bushfire smoke from Portugal, which the air then carried over south-east England.

Dr Matthias Tesche, a meteorologist at the University of Hertfordshire, noted the role of tropical storm Ophelia in producing Monday's rare views of the sun and sky. "The presence of Ophelia in the region greatly affected the larger-scale circulation patterns and enabled it to tap into the reservoir of Saharan dust and lead it straight to the UK and Ireland," he said.

Atmospheric physicists at the University of Hertfordshire regularly monitor atmospheric particles and pollutants as part of their research into air quality, climate change and light scattering.
The Marius Hills Skylight, as observed by the Japanese SELENE/Kaguya research team. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

A study published in Geophysical Research Letters confirms the existence of a large open lava tube in the Marius Hills region of the moon, which could be used to protect astronauts from hazardous conditions on the surface.

No one has ever been on the moon longer than three days, largely because space suits alone can't shield astronauts from its elements: extreme temperature variation, radiation, and meteorite impacts. Unlike Earth, the moon has no atmosphere or magnetic field to protects its inhabitants.

The safest place to seek shelter is the inside of an intact lava tube, according to the study.

Lava tubes are naturally occurring channels formed when a lava flow develops a hard crust, which thickens and forms a roof above the still-flowing lava stream. Once the lava stops flowing, the tunnel sometimes drains, forming a hollow void.

"It's important to know where and how big lunar lava tubes are if we're ever going to construct a lunar base," said Junichi Haruyama, a senior researcher at JAXA, Japan's space agency. "But knowing these things is also important for basic science. We might get new types of rock samples, heat flow data and lunar quake observation data."

JAXA analyzed radar data from the SELENE spacecraft to detect underlying lava tubes. Near the Marius Hills Skylight, an entrance to the tube, they found a distinctive echo pattern: a decrease in echo power followed by a large second echo peak, which they believe is evidence of a tube. The two echoes correspond to radar reflections from the moon's surface and the floor and ceiling of the open tube. The team found similar echo patterns at several locations around the hole, indicating there may be more than one.

The city of Philadelphia is shown inside a theoretical lunar lava tube. Credit: Purdue University/David Blair

SELENE's radar system wasn't designed to detect lava tubes  it was built to study the origins of the moon and its geologic evolution. For these reasons, it didn't fly close enough to the moon's surface to get extremely accurate information on what is (or isn't) underneath.

When the JAXA team decided to use their data to try and find lava tubes, they consulted scientists from the GRAIL mission, a NASA effort to collect high-quality data on the moon's gravitational field. By surveying the areas where GRAIL had identified mass deficits, or less mass under the surface, they narrowed down the data they needed to analyze.

"They knew about the skylight in the Marius Hills, but they didn't have any idea how far that underground cavity might have gone," said Jay Melosh, a GRAIL co-investigator and Distinguished Professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University. "Our group at Purdue used the gravity data over that area to infer that the opening was part of a larger system. By using this complimentary technique of radar, they were able to figure out how deep and high the cavities are."

Lava tubes exist on Earth, but their lunar counterparts are much larger. For a lava tube to be detectable by gravity data, it would need to extend several kilometers in length and at least one kilometer in height and width  which means the lava tube near the Marius Hills is spacious enough to house one of the United States' largest cities, if the gravity results are correct.

The existence of lava tubes on the moon has been speculated in the past, but this combination of radar and gravity data provides the clearest picture of what they look like and how big they are yet. This information might be more useful than previously expected.

At the first meeting of the National Space Council in decades, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Trump administration will redirect America's focus in space to the moon. This marks a fundamental change for NASA, which abandoned plans to send people to the moon in favor of Mars under President Obama.

"We will return NASA astronauts to the moon  not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond," Pence said.

More information: T. Kaku et al. Detection of intact lava tubes at Marius Hills on the Moon by SELENE (Kaguya) Lunar Radar Sounder, Geophysical Research Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2017GL074998 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters
Oregon shore crabs exhibit risky behavior when they're exposed to the antidepressant Prozac, making it easier for predators to catch them, according to a new study from Portland State University (PSU).

The study, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, illustrates how concentrations of pharmaceuticals found in the environment could pose a risk to animal survival.

For years, tests of seawater near areas of human habitation have shown trace levels of everything from caffeine to prescription medicines. The chemicals are flushed from homes or medical facilities, go into the sewage system, and eventually make their way to the ocean.

In a laboratory, the PSU team exposed Oregon shore crabs to traces of fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac. They found that the crabs increased their foraging behavior, showing less concern for predators than they normally would. They even did so during the day, when they would normally be in hiding.

They also fought more with members of their own species, often either killing their foe or getting killed in the process.

"The changes we observed in their behaviors may mean that crabs living in harbors and estuaries contaminated with fluoxetine are at greater risk of predation and mortality," said researcher Elise Granek, a professor in PSU's department of Environmental Science and Management.

More information: Joseph R. Peters et al. Prozac in the water: Chronic fluoxetine exposure and predation risk interact to shape behaviors in an estuarine crab, Ecology and Evolution (2017). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3453 Journal information: Ecology and Evolution
Lehua Pan, Preston Jordan, Barry Freifeld, and Curt Oldenburg (from left) were part of the national lab team that helped plug the Aliso Canyon natural gas blowout in southern California two years ago. Credit: Marilyn Chung/Berkeley Lab

By the time Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists Barry Freifeld and Curt Oldenburg visited the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in December 2015, the SS-25 well blowout had been leaking natural gas into the air for more than six weeks. The notoriously strong winds at Aliso Canyon carried the natural gas and its added odorant to the nearby Porter Ranch neighborhood, leading to thousands of families evacuating their homes.

Along with scientists and engineers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, the Berkeley Lab crew made up the so-called "Lab Team," called in by state officials for their expertise in well integrity and well-flow modeling.

They got to work trying to figure out why eight top-kill attempts  in which heavy fluids and other materials are pumped into the well in an attempt to plug it from above  had failed. Using T2Well, a software tool developed at Berkeley Lab, Lehua Pan, a Berkeley Lab scientist with expertise in soil physics and numerical modeling, was able to simulate the behavior of the leaking well and evaluate why the top kills weren't working.

Berkeley Lab's modeling showed that the well's complex geometry was contributing to the failed top-kill attempts. The simulations also showed that a relief well would be effective. Indeed, the blowout stopped within 10 minutes of the relief well intersecting the leaking SS-25 well, just as the simulations suggested.

To make an impact during these kinds of events, a team effort was required. "We quickly put together an interdisciplinary team that included well drilling and completion experts, reservoir engineers, and geoscientists," Freifeld said. "By assembling an interdisciplinary team we're able to look at the entire problem."

Wells nearly 100 years old

Berkeley Lab scientists are not new to disaster response. In 2010 many of the same scientists dropped everything to assess the Deepwater Horizon's Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Also using T2Well to model that well, they estimated how much oil and gas were actually flowing out to the sea floor.

T2Well is an extension of the TOUGH (Transport of Unsaturated Groundwater and Heat) codes, a suite of software tools developed at Berkeley Lab that uses numerical models to simulate the flow of liquid, gas, and heat in porous materials and wells. With Berkeley Lab's expertise in geosciences and computer modeling, it has been continuously improved over the years.

Aliso Canyon's SS-25 well was completed in 1954 as an oil well. In 1973 it was converted to a gas storage well. Its age is not unusual, considering that all of California's underground natural gas storage facilities are located in depleted oil or gas reservoirs. Some underground gas storage wells in the state are almost 90 years old. And there are many thousands of aging underground gas storage wells throughout the United States, but there had been no federal safety regulations governing their operation and maintenance.

Now, two years after the leak was first detected, Berkeley Lab is involved in multiple state efforts to ensure such a disaster doesn't happen again, to mitigate risk if it does, and to assess the long-term viability of underground gas storage in California. The Lab Team was also a key contributor to a national task force report issued last year containing 44 recommendations to reduce chances of similar incidents.

"I think the recommendations we made are fairly comprehensive and will go a long way toward correcting the fact that people weren't overseeing these wells," Freifeld said. "Aliso Canyon caused the federal government to sort of wake up and realize that PHMSA has a role to play in the subsurface, not just pipelines."

Toughest safety rules in the country

At the state level, the Lab Team has been working with the Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to provide technical expertise for the development of new beefed-up safety regulations for natural gas storage wells in California. Emergency rules were put in place since last year, and proposed permanent regulations are under review.

The proposed rules in California would require at least two containment barriers everywhere in a well, so that two components of well integrity would need to fail simultaneously to allow a leak similar to the 2015 Aliso Canyon incident. "They're the most stringent rules in the country," Freifeld said. "They touch on many aspects of safety that weren't in the rules before. They're really the gold standard and set a high bar for the national standard."

More information: Making natural gas storage safer: newscenter.lbl.gov/wp-content/  -One-Pager_final.pdf
Credit: IBM

Quantum computing is at the threshold of tackling important problems that cannot be efficiently or practically computed by other, more classical means. Getting past this threshold will require us to build, test and operate reliable quantum computers with 50 or more qubits.

Achieving this potential will require major leaps forward in both science and engineering. To help make those leaps, methods are needed to test quantum devices and to compare observed behaviors with desired behaviors so that the design, manufacturing, and operation of these devices can be improved over time. In particular, to test whether the measured outcomes observed on a quantum device are consistent with the quantum circuit being executed, one needs the ability to compute expected quantum amplitudes (complex numbers used to describe the behavior of systems) for those outcomes in order to test arbitrary circuits. Quantum circuits can be thought of as sets of instructions (gates) that are sent to quantum devices to perform computations.

That need presented us with a problem. At roughly 50 qubits, existing methods for calculating quantum amplitudes require either too much computation to be practical, or more memory than is available on any existing supercomputer, or both. IBM Research put together a team this year to study this problem, targeting short-depth circuits for systems of 49 qubits and beyond. We have published our approach to solving this problem to arXiv: arxiv.org/abs/1710.05867.

I was part of this team and came up with a key idea at a seemingly inconsequential moment.

Visualizing quantum gates as a bristle brush

A qubit, or quantum bit, is the basic unit of information in quantum computing, just as a bit is in classical computing. A qubit, however, can represent both 0 and 1 simultaneously  in fact, in weighted combinations (for example, 37%-0, 63%-1). Two qubits can represent four values simultaneously: 00, 01, 10, and 11, again in weighted combinations. Similarly, three qubits can represent 2^3, or eight values simultaneously: 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, 111. Fifty qubits can represent over one quadrillion values simultaneously, and 100 qubits over one quadrillion squared.

When qubits are measured, their quantum states collapse to only one of these represented values, where the weights of the values  the quantum amplitudes  define the probabilities of observing those values. The great promise of quantum computing is the potential to perform parallel computations over exponentially many possible outcomes, to yield quantum states where the desired results of computations have large amplitudes and, hence, will be observed with high probability when qubits are measured.

My seemingly inconsequential moment came one night while washing dishes and using a bristle brush to clean a tall glass. It suddenly occurred to me that if one looks at the gates applied to a given qubit in a grid circuit, the gates form a bristle-brush pattern where the bristles are the entangling gates that are being applied to that qubit. Mathematically, that "bristle brush" of gates corresponds to a tensor and the bristles to tensor indices. A tensor in mathematics essentially corresponds to an n-dimensional array in computer science.

That insight immediately led to the idea of pulling a grid circuit apart into individual "bristle brushes," one for each qubit, then computing the corresponding tensors, and finally combining the tensors for each qubit to calculate the quantum amplitudes for the overall circuit. By the next morning I had figured out how to calculate amplitudes for a 64qubit, depth 10 circuit using only one Gigabyte of memory by pulling groups of 16 qubits apart. From there the idea snowballed into more general ways of partitioning circuits into subcircuits, simulating subcircuits separately and combining the results of sub-circuits in various orders to calculate desired amplitudes.

The net result is a method for calculating quantum amplitudes that requires orders of magnitude less memory than previous methods while still being comparable to the best of these methods, in terms of the amount of computation performed per amplitude. These smaller memory requirements are achieved using tensor slicing in combination with the insights mentioned above to calculate output amplitudes of circuits in slices, without having to calculate and/or store all amplitudes at once.

When calculating amplitudes for measured outcomes, only those slices that correspond to actual measured outcomes need be calculated. In other words, for the purpose of evaluating the performance of a quantum device based on measured outcomes, a full simulation is not necessary and one does not need to incur computational costs that are exponential in the number of qubits. This is an important benefit of our approach.

However, if one actually is interested in performing full simulations, our slicing method has a further benefit in that slices can be computed completely independently in an embarrassingly-parallel fashion  meaning they can be easily separated  enabling computations to be distributed across a network of loosely-coupled high-performance computing resources. This possibility completely changes the economics of full simulations, enabling quantum circuits to be simulated that were previously thought to be impossible to simulate.

Simulating 49 and 56 qubit circuits using a supercomputer

Our research team reached out to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of Illinois to turn this latter possibility into reality. Using the Vulcan supercomputer at LLNL and the Cyclops Tensor Framework originally developed at the University of California, Berkeley to do the tensor manipulations, we first chose to simulate a 49qubit universal random circuit of depth 27, which has been proposed as a demonstration of so-called quantum supremacy. For this simulation, the calculations were divided into 2^11 slices with 2^38 amplitudes calculated per slice; 4.5 Terabytes were required to hold the tensor values. Slice computations were embarrassingly parallelized across six groups of four racks of processors, where each group of four racks comprised 4,096 processing nodes with a total of 64 Terabytes of memory. Such 49-qubit circuits were previously thought to be impossible to simulate because previous methods would have required eight Petabytes of memory, which exceeds the capacity of existing supercomputers.

For our next demonstration, we chose a 56qubit universal random circuit of depth 23, which would have been impossible to simulate using previous methods because one Exabyte of memory would have been required. Calculations were divided into 2^19 slices of 2^37 amplitudes each. But in this case we chose to calculate amplitudes for only one arbitrarily selected slice for demonstration purposes; 3.0 Terabytes were required to hold tensor values and computations were performed on two racks of 2,048 processing nodes with a total of 32 Terabytes of memory.

In addition to these demonstrations, we also discovered ways of partitioning the 49-qubit circuit so that only 96 Gigabytes of memory is needed for its simulation, with only slightly more than double the computational requirements. We also discovered a partitioning that requires 162 Gigabytes for which there is barely any increase in computational requirements. The possibility therefore exists to now perform these simulations on clusters of high-end servers, instead of using supercomputers.

Advances in simulation will help advances in quantum hardware

Although the full extent of what is now classically computable using our methods still remains to be determined, it is clear that this advance has enabled us to cross a threshold in the simulation of shortdepth quantum circuits of 49 qubits and larger. Pragmatically, the methods will facilitate the testing and understanding of the operation of physical devices. They will also facilitate the development and debugging of shortdepth algorithms for problems where quantum computing has the potential to provide real advantage over conventional approaches.

At least for quantum devices now under development or on the drawing boards, the ability to perform these simulations has now become a question of the amount of compute resource that can economically be procured and not whether the simulations can be physically performed at all. For example, in the case of our 56-qubit simulation, a full simulation was not performed simply because our time allocation on Vulcan had run out. There is no question that a full 56-qubit short-depth circuit simulation can now be physically performed. Nor are the run times of these simulations physically limited by the resources available on isolated computer systems. Because slice calculations can be embarrassingly parallelized, they can be distributed across networks of loosely-coupled systems with minimal communication, allowing strong scalablility to be achieved up to the number of slices. Cloudbased quantum simulation may ultimately permit fairly large quantum circuits to be simulated.

Does this mean that we do not need actual quantum computers? Not at all. We absolutely will need them! Depending on the particular kind of application, we will need physical quantum computers to perform computations that will either require too much memory, or too much processing power to be economically performed on classical computers. And, at some point, we truly will have evidence that quantum computers will have an advantage over classical computers for some practical applications, in a very real-world sense.

This is not some artificial notion of "quantum supremacy." Rather, we are now in a period where we are getting quantum-ready to take full advantage of the quantum hardware, software and engineering capabilities that we put online. Simulation is already an integral part of this quantum-ready phase.

IBM has made access to simulators and actual hardware of five and 16 qubits available as part of the IBM Q experience, which provides resources to learn and experiment with. We also have a quantum SDK, or Quantum Information Software Kit (QISKit) to make building circuits easy. To help learn more about how to get started, we have provided Jupyter notebook examples on github.

As device technology advances, we will move into a period of quantum advantage where a broad range of enterprises, scientists and engineers will make full use of the hardware and the power of quantum computing to continue to solve increasingly difficult and complex problems. During this quantum-advantage phase, advanced simulation capabilities will be needed to support both the research and development of new quantum algorithms as well as the advancement of the device technology itself.

More information: Breaking the 49-Qubit Barrier in the Simulation of Quantum Circuits. arxiv.org/abs/1710.05867

Provided by IBM
Credit: University of Dundee

Scientists from the International Barley Hub have discovered a genetic pathway to improved barley grain size and uniformity, a finding which may help breeders develop future varieties suited to the needs of growers and distillers.

In the latest issue of Nature Communications, cereal genetics researchers working with Professor Robbie Waugh and Dr Sarah McKim, at the James Hutton Institute and the University of Dundee's Division of Plant Sciences, examined the genetic control of grain formation in barley, specifically the role of a gene called VRS3. Researchers found that a mutation in this gene improved grain uniformity in six-rowed barley.

Dr Hazel Bull, co-lead author of the study and a field geneticist in the James Hutton Institute's Barley Genetics group, said: "This paper represents eight years' work, first identifying the VRS3 gene and then assessing its potential for improvement of the barley crop. We are delighted that our discovery could provide real benefits in terms of commercial breeding of six-rowed barley."

This study also highlights the breadth and multi-disciplinary nature of the barley work of the International Barley Hub with the effect of VRS3 studied at all levels from detailed molecular and cellular studies through to in-field agronomic assessment.

Colin West, chairman of the International Barley Hub, commented: "Uniformity is very important in the processing of the grain after harvest to produce higher quality malt. This discovery has huge potential to benefit both growers and industry: maltsters have always had problems with six-row varieties to deliver malt to customer specification because of variation in grain size around the ear.

"A more uniform size distribution leads to more consistent water uptake during steeping, a more even modification of corns during germination, and similarly more consistent drying and colour formation in the kilning process. All these changes help to produce higher quality malt, and a malt which is more suited to controlled milling in breweries and distilleries. If this VRS3 mutation can be combined with other malting qualities, which will take long-term investment by breeders, then it will give growers more choice in what they sow."

Professor Colin Campbell, Chief Executive of the James Hutton Institute, added: "Barley is one of the UK's most valuable crops and so this discovery is important and likely to have significant economic impact. The International Barley Hub is showing again that research in this area can yield great returns on investing in basic understanding of barley."

More information: Hazel Bull et al. Barley SIX-ROWED SPIKE3 encodes a putative Jumonji C-type H3K9me2/me3 demethylase that represses lateral spikelet fertility, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00940-7 Journal information: Nature Communications
Credit: Skoltech

Scientists in Russia and Armenia have predicted a new surface reconstruction of RuO 2 that explains the origin of charge storage in supercapacitors. The miniaturization of electronic devices to the nanometer scale will increase the role of surface and quantum effects in terms of the properties and stability of the whole device. Surface science has therefore become crucial for future technological advances.

At present, RuO 2 is the most commonly used material for electronic applications such as sensing and catalysis. It is widely used in supercapacitors as a cathode material. However, RuO 2 has puzzled researchers with respect to its application in supercapacitors.

Usually, supercapacitive behavior occurs as a result of the proton-electron double insertion process. Each adsorbed or intercalated hydrogen atom (proton) will induce pseudocapacitance in the cathode material. Experimental results show pseudocapacitance in the RuO 2 cathodes, but cannot explain the effect's origin, because this atomic-scale process cannot be examined using available experimental techniques. A great deal of theoretical research has been devoted to the surface of RuO 2 with (110) crystallographic orientation, which is most stable at ambient conditions. Still, the pseudocapacitance effect remains unexplained.

"We predicted the new thermodynamically stable reconstruction of the RuO 2 surface with (110) crystallographic orientation, namely RuO 4 (21). This reconstruction has one four-coordinate Ru atom and four oxygen atoms, two of which are two-coordinate and the other two of which are one-coordinate. A detailed investigation of the stability shows that a newly predicted reconstruction has lower surface energy compared to previously studied surfaces and terminations of surface with (110) crystallographic orientation, and should form even at ambient conditions, which does not contradict experimental data," said Alexander Kvashnin, a researcher with the Skoltech Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage and one of the study's authors.

To discriminate between structural models, scientists used the results of experiments carried out using scanning transmission microscopy (STM). They simulated the STM images of RuO 4 (21) reconstruction along with a number of previously proposed surfaces and reconstructions and compared the simulations with experimentally available STM images. To their surprise, they did not find any differences between the images, which made them difficult to distinguish in experiments. While equally consistent with experimental STM images, predicted reconstruction is lower in energy and is therefore preferable.

A further investigation of electrochemical properties shows that hydrogen adsorption with respect to the predicted reconstruction is energetically favorable, exhibiting a predominant influence of hydrogen intercalation into the cathode surface, which would contribute to pseudocapacitance. These results are in stark contrast to the obtained results from other surface reconstructions and terminations in which hydrogen intercalation is unfavorable.

"Combining the data on the lowest surface energy of the newly predicted RuO 4 (21) surface reconstruction of (110) surface of RuO2, the perfect match of simulated STM image with experimental data and studied electrochemical properties, we explain the contribution of the surface redox reaction to the pseudocapacitance of RuO 2 cathodes, which is due to the special atomic structure of the surface reconstruction of (110) surface," said Kvashnin The results of their study was recently published in Scientific Reports.

More information: Zakaryan HA, Kvashnin AG, Oganov AR. Stable reconstruction of the (110) surface and its role in pseudocapacitance of rutile-like RuO2. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:10357. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10331-z Journal information: Scientific Reports
Phobos, the larger of Mars' two moons. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Powerful solar eruptions could electrically charge areas of the Martian moon Phobos to hundreds of volts, presenting a complex electrical environment that could possibly affect sensitive electronics carried by future robotic explorers, according to a new NASA study. The study also considered electrical charges that could develop as astronauts transit the surface on potential human missions to Phobos.

Phobos has been considered as a possible initial base for human exploration of Mars because its weak gravity makes it easier to land spacecraft, astronauts and supplies. The idea would be to have the astronauts control robots on the Martian surface from the moons of Mars, without the considerable time delay faced by Earth-based operators. "We found that astronauts or rovers could accumulate significant electric charges when traversing the night side of Phobos - the side facing Mars during the Martian day," said William Farrell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. "While we don't expect these charges to be large enough to injure an astronaut, they are potentially large enough to affect sensitive equipment, so we would need to design spacesuits and equipment that minimizes any charging hazard." Farrell is lead author of a paper on this research published online Oct. 3 in Advances in Space Research.

Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. Although this study focused on Phobos, similar conditions are expected at Deimos, since both moons have no atmosphere and are directly exposed to the solar wind - a stream of electrically conducting gas, called a plasma, that's constantly blowing off the surface of the Sun into space at around a million miles per hour.

The Martian moon Phobos is directly exposed to the solar wind, a stream of electrically charged particles constantly blowing off the surface of the Sun. According to a new simulation, the interaction of the solar wind with Phobos creates a complex electrical environment that statically charges the moon's night side. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab

The solar wind is responsible for these charging effects. When the solar wind strikes the day side of Phobos, the plasma is absorbed by the surface. This creates a void on the night side of Phobos that the plasma flow is obstructed from directly entering. However, the composition of the wind - made of two types of electrically charged particles, namely ions and electrons - affects the flow. The electrons are over a thousand times lighter than the ions. "The electrons act like fighter jets - they are able to turn quickly around an obstacleand the ions are like big, heavy bombers - they change direction slowly," said Farrell. "This means the light electrons push in ahead of the heavy ions and the resulting electric field forces the ions into the plasma void behind Phobos, according to our models."

The study shows that this plasma void behind Phobos may create a situation where astronauts and rovers build up significant electric charges. For example, if astronauts were to walk across the night-side surface, friction could transfer charge from the dust and rock on the surface to their spacesuits. This dust and rock is a very poor conductor of electricity, so the charge can't flow back easily into the surfaceand charge starts to build up on the spacesuits. On the day side, the electrically conducting solar wind and solar ultraviolet radiation can remove the excess charge on the suit. But, on the night side, the ion and electron densities in the trailing plasma void are so low they cannot compensate or 'dissipate' the charge build-up. The team's calculations revealed that this static charge can reach ten thousand volts in some materials, like the Teflon suits used in the Apollo lunar missions. If the astronaut then touches something conductive, like a piece of equipment, this could release the charge, possibly similar to the discharge you get when you shuffle across a carpet and touch a metal door handle.

The team modeled the flow of the solar wind around Phobos and calculated the buildup of charge on the night side, as well as in obstructed regions in shadow, like Stickney crater, the largest crater on Phobos. "We found that excess charge builds up in these regions during all solar wind conditions, but the charging effect was especially severe in the wake of solar eruptions like coronal mass ejections, which are dense, fast gusts of solar wind," said Farrell.

This study was a follow-up to earlier studies that revealed the charging effects of solar wind in shadowed craters on Earth's Moon and near-Earth asteroids. Some conditions on Phobos are different than those in the earlier studies. For example, Phobos gets immersed in the plasma flowing behind Mars because it orbits Mars much closer than the Moon orbits Earth. The plasma flow behind Mars' orbit was modeled as well.

This picture, captured on Jan. 8, 2002, by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, shows an enormous eruption of solar material, called a coronal mass ejection, spreading out into space. Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO
Depiction of the planet Mars and its retinue of Trojans circling around the Lagrange points L4 and L5. The dashed curve represents the planet's orbit. Eureka, the red point at L5, is accompanied by seven smaller asteroids (amber), forming a family. Indicated in blue are, on the right, the remaining L5 Trojan (1998 VF31) and, on the left, the only known Trojan at L4 (1999 UJ7). Top Right: Enlargement of the region around L5 highlighting Eureka and the smaller family Trojans. Credit: Apostolos Christou

The planet Mars shares its orbit with a handful of small asteroids, the so-called Trojans. Among them, one finds a unique group, all moving in very similar orbits, suggesting that they originated from the same object. But the mechanism that produced this "family" has been a mystery. Now, an international team of astronomers believe they have identified the culprit: sunlight. Their findings, which highlight how small asteroids near the Sun may evolve, are to be presented at the annual Meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society at Provo, Utah this week, by Dr. Apostolos Christou, a Research Astronomer at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and leader of the research team.

Trojan asteroids are trapped within gravitational "safe havens" 60 degrees in front of and behind the planet. The point leading the planet is L4; that trailing the planet is L5. Mars is the only terrestrial planet known to have Trojan companions in stable orbits. The first Mars Trojan, discovered over 25 years ago at L5, was named "Eureka" in reference to the famous exclamation by Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. The present tally is only ten, but even this relatively meagre sample shows interesting structure not seen elsewhere.

For starters, all the Trojans, save one, are trailing Mars at its L5 Lagrange point. What's more, the orbits of all but one of the L5 Trojans form a tight group with 2-km sized Eureka its largest member and including objects as small as a few hundred meters.

The team have been working to determine how the family came to be. For instance, collisions that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago formed similar families in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But an impact origin does not quite fit with what we know about these Trojans. As Christou points out: "This family is incredibly compact. Only the gentlest of impacts, with the fragments barely able to escape Eureka's gravity, would work. Also, we know that the Yarkovsky effect, a tiny acceleration driven by absorbed and re-emitted sunlight on the asteroid, would cause family members to drift away over about a billion yr. What our models show, instead, is that even impacts with just enough energy to break up Eureka are so rare that they may not happen over the age of the solar system."

Taking a step back, the team then adopted a different approach, looking at the Martian Trojans as a whole instead of focusing on the family. From this perspective, the lack of a family around the two remaining Mars Trojans, (101429) 1998 VF31 at L5 and (121514) 1999 UJ7 at L4 becomes an important clue to this puzzle. Christou explains: "These two asteroids are at the same distance from the Sun and of similar size to Eureka, yet we don't see asteroids grouping up near them. We believe this is telling us something about how families can or can't form at Mars' distance from the Sun."

That "something" is very likely rotational fission, driven by the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect - a sister effect to Yarkovsky, also driven by sunlight but changing the asteroid's rotation rather than the orbit. This is causing Eureka to spin up, eventually spawning off pieces of itself that escape to become independent asteroids orbiting the Sun. Interestingly, Eureka rotates once every two-and-a-half hours, about as fast as an asteroid can spin without coming apart; and recently the team observed the L4 asteroid, 1999 UJ7, finding that it spins 20 times slower, or once every 2 days. Other slow-spinning asteroids of this size are found to be in a "tumbling" state where - at least in theory - YORP may "switch off". UJ7 may, therefore, be simply incapable of producing new asteroids through fission.

This explanation, however, does not work for 1998 VF31, the remaining Trojan at L5 which the team found to rotate once every 8 hr, not slow enough to prevent YORP from spinning it up to the point of fission. But since we don't see the new asteroids, something must be happening to them after they leave VF31. To find out what, Christou ran a computer simulation, following the orbits of virtual asteroids or clones produced by both VF31 and Eureka under the Yarkovsky effect. He discovered that, whereas Eureka "offspring" survive at L5 for more than a billion yr, VF31 is sitting next to a dynamical "escape hatch" allowing any bits breaking off it to escape within only 200 to 300 million years. So, akin to water draining out of an unplugged washbasin, objects separating from VF31 would escape quickly, leaving its vicinity clear of asteroids. The result: no family.

Given the evidence in hand the fission hypothesis appears compelling, but Christou cautions that this is far from a closed-and-shut case; only time and more work will tell if the conclusion is correct. To test their theory, they plan to look for fainter Trojans, 100 metres across or less. "We don't currently see those, but a dedicated survey should detect them. Finding many small Trojans near Eureka, perhaps a few near VF31 but none at UJ7 would strongly indicate that we got it right."

Ultimately, the work may have implications well beyond the solving of this little puzzle. Close to the Sun, YORP-induced fission - essentially the action of sunlight - may be as important for driving asteroid evolution as collisions. Indeed, Christou speculates that, if any stable Trojans of our own planet exit, YORP may turn them into a source of new near-Earth objects. "But that's another story", he concludes.
This Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, file photo, shows a Twitter app on an iPhone screen in New York. Twitter vowed to crack down further on hate speech and sexual harassment on its platform, days after CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet-storm that the company was "still" not doing enough to protect its users. In an email shared with The Associated Press Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, Twitter's head of safety policy outlined the new guidelines to the company's Trust and Safety Council, a group of outside organizations that advises Twitter on its policies against abuse. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Twitter is vowing to crack down further on hate speech and sexual harassment, days after CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweetstorm that the company is not doing enough to protect its users.

The company has spent the last two years trying to clamp down on hate and abuse on its generally free-wheeling service.

Dorsey echoed concerns of many users and critics who say Twitter it hasn't done enough to curb the abuse. But others worry that it's muzzling free speech in the process.

In an email Twitter shared with The Associated Press Tuesday, the company's head of safety policy outlined the proposed new guidelines that tighten existing rules and impose some new ones. They aim to close loopholes that allowed people to glorify violence, for example.

The email was sent to the company's Trust and Safety Council, a group of outside organizations that advises Twitter on its policies against abuse.

"It's good that Twitter is thinking these things through and being fairly transparent about what they are doing," said Emma Llanso, director of the free expression project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit that's a member of the Trust and Safety Council. But, she added, it will be very important to have a clear appeals process and ways to review whether the policies are effective.

Twitter sent it to the group for input, and the changes are not yet final. News of the changes was first reported by Wired .

WHAT'S CHANGING?

Some of the changes are aimed at protecting women who unknowingly or unwillingly had nude pictures of themselves distributed online or were subject to unwanted sexual advances. They would also try to shield groups subject to hateful imagery, symbols and threats of violence.

Among the proposed changes, Twitter said it would immediately and permanently suspend any account it identifies as being the original poster of "non-consensual nudity," including so-called "creep shots" of a sexual nature taken surreptitiously. Previously, the company treated the original poster of the content the same as those who re-tweeted it, and it resulted only in a temporary suspension.

It said it would also develop a system allowing bystanders on Twitter to report unwanted exchanges of sexually charged content, whereas in the past it relied on one of the parties involved in the conversation to come forward before taking action. Twitter already allows bystanders to report other violations on behalf of someone else.

The San Francisco-based company also said it would take new action on hate symbols and imagery and "take enforcement action against organizations that use/have historically used violence as a means to advance their cause," though it said more details were to come.

It didn't say what the hate symbols might be and enforcing this could prove difficult. While some hate symbols, like the swastika, are widely recognized, groups have also adopted lesser-known, seemingly innocuous symbols to show hate. Those include "Pepe the Frog," a cartoon frog that has become a symbol for the "alt-right" movement known for racist and misogynist views. The milk emoji has also been used by white supremacists as an online symbol.

Twitter already takes action against direct threats of violence, the company said it would also act against tweets that glorify or condone violence.

IS IT ENOUGH? TOO MUCH?

On Friday, Dorsey foreshadowed the coming policy changes in a series of tweets, saying the company's efforts over the last two years were inadequate.

"Today we saw voices silencing themselves and voices speaking out because we're (asterisk)still(asterisk) not doing enough," Dorsey tweeted.

At the same time, Llanso said, Twitter also must tread carefully not to sweep up legitimate discourse along with hate speech and abuse. Unlike Facebook, Twitter permits anonymity. While this can be used as a tool for abuse and harassment, it also allows for people and groups to speak out when they otherwise couldn't.

"Any kind of policy that is about taking down speech online, will be used for its intended purpose, but also by others who are looking to get things censored online," she said. "People out there looking to silence voices they disagree with are very savvy."

In the end, whether the policies work will have to be tested out in the field, by Twitter's users.

"There will definitely be mistakes," Llanso said.

RUSSIA SCRUTINY

The moves also come amid intense scrutiny from congressional investigators into how Russian agents used Twitter, Facebook and Google to influence last year's U.S. election. Twitter has said it would appear at a public congressional hearing on Nov. 1 after already briefing a Senate committee.

The company has handed over the handles, or profile names, of 201 accounts it believes were linked to Russia. It has also said at least $274,000 in U.S. ads were bought by Russia Today, a Russian-government-linked media outlet, last year.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A costume company has removed an outfit depicting German-born diarist Anne Frank, a Jewish victim of the Holocaust, from its website after public outrage.



Ross Walker Smith, a publicist for Fun.com, the parent company of HalloweenCostumes.com, issued a public statement on Twitter this week after the company was criticized over the costume.



"We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside of the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays," Smith wrote on Twitter. "We offer several types of historically accurate costumes -- from prominent figures to political figures, to television characters."



He continued, "We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from the website at this time."



Smith issued the following statement to ABC News on behalf of HalloweenCostumes.com: "We would like to apologize for any offense this has caused. Due to the feedback from our customers and the public, which we take very seriously, we have elected to stop selling this costume immediately. Again, we apologize for this mistake in judgment."



Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told ABC News in a statement that the organization is glad the Anne Frank costume has been taken down, "but its hard to believe that anyone thought this was an appropriate costume for Halloween."



"This should never have happened in the first place. It shows we still have a long way to go in terms of educating people about what happened during the Holocaust, and why this unique event in human history should never be trivialized," Greenblatt added. The ADL is a nonprofit, international Jewish organization based in the United States that fights anti-Semitism.



Smith's public statement was tweeted directly to a concerned customer, 32-year-old Rob McDowall of Glasgow, Scotland.



McDowall, a chairperson of the nonprofit organization Welfare Scotland and a member of the Equality Council, wrote in an email to ABC News that he tweeted Smith on Oct. 15 after he became aware that an Anne Frank costume was being sold on HalloweenCostumes.com.



McDowall said did not agree with the company's decision to sell the costume.



"While there is undoubtedly a market for historically accurate clothing for theatrical productions, wed be engaging in revisionist history if we allow the company to suggest that the item was for sale for this purpose," he said. "The item was clearly categorized as a Halloween costume and invited buyers to dress up like Anne Frank for Halloween."



McDowall continued, "I welcome the decision to remove the product from sale and I hope the company will explore suitable training for their staff to ensure insulting and insensitive products of this nature arent made available in the future."



McDowall's brief Twitter exchange with Walker sparked a slew of comments from people who said they were offended by the costume, and others who welcomed the idea of people portraying Anne Frank on Halloween.



One woman wrote that she'd prefer her daughters to dress as someone like Anne Frank rather than as a princess.



"I would rather them admire the bravery of a young girl," she tweeted. "It is not horror but admiration for the girl that should be the conversation."



Another user called the costume "disgustingly crass."



Currently, the Anne Frank costume is no longer listed for sale on HalloweenCostumes.com.



The costume is listed on the Candy Apple Costumes website as Child's 1940s Girl Costume" and appears to be manufactured by the UK-based company, Smiffys.



Smiffys did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Jolted awake by the fire alarm, Mahesh Goswami opened his apartment curtains and found a wall of flames.

It was coming from the upstairs down, the 31-year-old recalled Wednesday morning, as he calmly watched firefighters douse the smoldering remains of his north Lincoln apartment building.

Goswami and his wife grabbed their son and daughter, ages 2 years and 7 months, and rushed outside as neighbors in Building 5027 of Black Sand Apartment Homes pounded on doors to make sure everyone escaped.

Lincoln fire investigators believe an improperly discarded cigarette is to blame for the blaze, which caused $2.5 million damage, displaced more than 50 people and ranks among the city's most significant residential fires in recent years.

The 30-unit building, near 33rd Street and Folkways Boulevard, is considered a total loss.

A reader took this video about an hour ago, when the fire was really going pic.twitter.com/uc4tAOfLkE  911 News Lincoln (@LJSblotter) October 18, 2017

All residents escaped unharmed, but the fire caused an estimated $500,000 damage to their belongings.

"I dont think I talked to one person who had renters insurance," said Lincoln Fire Investigator Rick Campos. He noted that such coverage costs about the same as a pizza per month.

The complex is owned by Edward Rose Development Co. of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A local manager at the scene didn't comment.

Building alarms sounded at about 4:45 a.m., and fire crews had the blaze under control by about 6:15 a.m. The fire ripped through three-quarters of the building's attic and roof, above its sprinkler system, sending flames leaping into the morning sky.

Police and firefighters accounted for the residents with help from apartment management. And in the fire's first moments, tenants made sure everyone  pets included  made it outside safely.

One gentleman told me, I couldnt get my wife out until she got her cat, Battalion Chief Leo Benes said.

His teams encountered heavy fire on their arrival and got a quick knockdown on the fire, but flames nonetheless swept quickly through the attic, stopping only when they hit a firewall on the western side.

"It got ahead of us," he said.

More than 50 firefighters and 18 fire rigs responded.

Eight apartments on the third floor were probably the most damaged by fire, Benes said.

The massive firefight strained fire hydrants in the area as crews sprayed the blaze with several 1,000-gallon-a-minute hoses. And sprinklers inside the apartments ran for "quite a long time," so Campos believes the water damage is substantial.

He suspects a cigarette ignited the fire on a first- or second-floor balcony, and the flames spread from there.

Residents who scurried from their apartments kept warm in the complex's clubhouse, left the scene or hunkered down inside a StarTran bus that was provided as a temporary shelter.

Fire officials began letting some tenants inside to retrieve keys, wallets and cellphones around 8 a.m. By afternoon, complex management took over the scene and was to determine if and when tenants could continue retrieving their belongings.

Many of those people were displaced at 5:30 in the morning with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, so no shoes, no socks, no coats, Fire Chief Micheal Despain told reporters during a news conference. A lot of people helped support those people who were displaced.

Chelsea Fabrizius of the Kansas City area stood shivering outside the complex office just after 7:30 a.m. She stayed at Black Sand with a friend after the Snow Tha Product hip-hop show at the Bourbon Theatre the night before.

When the alarms sounded, she only had time to grab a letterman's jacket to slip over her nightgown. She had nothing for her feet.

But a lovely woman, who Fabrizius thought was married to an apartment complex manager, gave her fuzzy blue socks.

The woman passed out socks to many of the displaced tenants. There were even young men wearing pink socks with hearts on them, she said.

Fabrizius was grateful for the strangers kindness: I just want some pants."

A friend who lives in a different building there gave Goswami a zip-up sweatshirt.

He doesnt have renters insurance, he said, pointing at his apartment. The door to his first-level unit was charred, a window busted.

Goswami wondered aloud: Is there anything left for me or not?
While the value of loyalty is based on proven old school methods of impacting consumers relationships with brands, Appsolutely is advancing the industry with a new school blockchain-backed philosophy that makes the value proposition of loyalty far more accessible, said Patrick Palacios, founder and CEO of Appsolutely, Inc. Our LoyalPlatform, LoyalCoin and LoyalWallet enable brands to treat their high-value customers in a way that truly builds deep relationships for the first time.

The biggest success factor for loyalty programs is access to value and having a central place where rewards can be redeemed. The LoyalPlatform on blockchain opens up endless possibilities for redeeming rewards through a decentralized platform that makes it easier for brands to provide loyalty programs that enable consumers to participate wherever they want to use their rewards.

The inability to redeem rewards is why loyalty programs in the United States have underperformed to date, said Palacios. Theyre too fragmented, and its difficult to get all the retailers on the same page to convert rewards. Blockchain offers a powerful, decentralized platform that brings cohesion to the loyalty marketplace.

In general, customer loyalty programs face issues with limited active users and low redemption rates. By creating a unified blockchain-enabled ecosystem where rewards from a variety of different brands can be exchanged and redeemed broadly via a unified token, it creates a more engaging, flexible and active ecosystem for loyalty programs.

Appsolutelys vision is to provide the foundation of a new Loyalty Economy, said Palacios. Were freeing loyalty from everything that has limited its effectiveness for decades by creating a more fluid and empowering model. Now brands and consumers can engage in a way that isnt like anything the market has seen before.

Components of the Loyalty Economy

LoyalPlatform is the ecosystem from Appsolutely that will spearhead the Loyalty Economy. By using a virtual currency, digital wallet, a series of white-label applications and a coalition of supporting merchants, Appsolutely will change the current loyalty landscape into a value-focused, cryptocurrency-based rewards system that dwarfs traditional rewards programs. LoyalPlatform will help customers be more engaged with companies loyalty programs, while acquiring better rewards for their consumption.

is the ecosystem from Appsolutely that will spearhead the Loyalty Economy. By using a virtual currency, digital wallet, a series of white-label applications and a coalition of supporting merchants, Appsolutely will change the current loyalty landscape into a value-focused, cryptocurrency-based rewards system that dwarfs traditional rewards programs. LoyalPlatform will help customers be more engaged with companies loyalty programs, while acquiring better rewards for their consumption. LoyalCoin (LYL) is the token that serves as the official virtual currency of the new Loyalty Economy. The goal is for consumers to be able to earn and spend LYL whenever and wherever they prefer to buy goods and services from any participating merchant within Appsolutelys Loyalty Economy. This creates an open loyalty ecosystem where the consumer decides where and how theyd like to redeem the rewards theyve earned.

is the token that serves as the official virtual currency of the new Loyalty Economy. The goal is for consumers to be able to earn and spend LYL whenever and wherever they prefer to buy goods and services from any participating merchant within Appsolutelys Loyalty Economy. This creates an open loyalty ecosystem where the consumer decides where and how theyd like to redeem the rewards theyve earned. The LoyalWallet is a mobile app that enables brands and consumers to store and use LYL to redeem rewards and buy items from all participating merchants (not just one). The LoyalWallet provides expanded features such as the conversion of LYL to other currencies. Rewards recipients can even convert rewards into fiat currencies and cryptocurrency counterparts, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and many others. This app will enables sending and receiving payments to and from other LoyalWallet users, as well as from participating merchants and other companies who enabled the option to pay with LoyalCoin.

In order to create and distribute loyalty value on the LoyalPlatform and fund the long-term value of the Loyalty Economy, brands will need to make LoyalCoin (LYL) available to consumers. LYL, an ERC20 compliant token built on the Ethereum network, is an integral part of the open-source development and operational environment, along with sample code, documentation, developer training, extensive APIs, collaborative community tools, and access to 3rd party add-ons, tools and frameworks. LYL Tokens provide essential utility to LoyalPlatform, providing never before realized flexible value through distributed, omnichannel redemption channels.

Appsolutely will make LYL Tokens available through an initial token offering on December 11, 2017. Anyone interested in learning more about the tokens and Appsolutelys technology can download the whitepaper at https://loyalcoin.io/docs/LoyalCoin-WhitePaperV1.pdf.

About Appsolutely

Appsolutely is the creator of the blockchain-backed Loyalty Economy, enabling brands and consumers to connect and transact more effectively via customer loyalty programs. Appsolutely has been a leader in loyalty apps since 2013. It provides an (award-winning) suite of offerings including LoyalPlatform, LoyalCoin and LoyalWallet that enable brands to increase their impact with customers and empower them with rewards that are easy to own, manage and redeem in a scalable environment. Appsolutely is a global company that partners with brands in every region of the world to achieve maximum return from their loyalty programs. Follow @AppsolutelyPH on Twitter, visit www.appsolutely.ph and read the companys whitepaper on how the LoyalCoin (LYL) will change loyalty programs as we know them.

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Glance Technologies Announces Agreement to Receive $1 Million in Fees for Mobile Payment App

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)  Glance Technologies Inc. (CSE:GET.CN) (OTCQB:GLNNF) (CSE:GET.WT) (FKT:GJT) is announcing that further to the letter of intent announced on April 26, 2017, it has now entered into a definitive agreement with Euro Asia Pay Holdings Inc. to license its existing mobile payment system to create an app tailored for residents, students and tourists in North America from Asia and Europe.

I have watched the mobile payments industry grow and evolve in Asia, North America and globally. Of all my ventures, Im most excited about this one. There is no question that mobile payments are the future, they are already dominant in China and it is only a matter of time until the rest of the world follows, says Morris Chen, Euro Asia Pay Holdings Director.

Glance Pay is positioned to provide payment services that are similar to the ones in China and Europe using its Glance Pay Anywhere technology, which allows users to initiate and send payments to merchants from any location.

Alipay, and WeChat Pay together hold a commanding 90% of the market in China, leaving Apple Pay struggling to make inroads. This creates an opportunity to provide the alternative for visitors and new residents from China in Canada and the US.

In 2016, Chinas mobile payments industry hit USD$5.5 trillion, roughly 50 times the size of Americas $112 billion market, according to consulting firm iResearch. It is clear that the ability to pay through mobile applications has become commonplace for Chinese consumers. This trend is continuing to move beyond China to destinations, such as Canada and the US.

According to Kantar TNS, even in other regions such as Singapore, 57% of connected consumers have used mobile payment, with more than a quarter (27%) doing so on a weekly basis. Chat apps popular in Asia such as WeChat and LINE have developed native payment applications facilitating everything from taxi bookings to eCommerce sales. This has helped to establish mobile payment methods as habitual for Asian consumers. In the Asia Pacific region, over half (53%) of connected consumers using mobile apps for payment at point of sale, in comparison to 33% in North America and 35% in Europe.

Chinese visitors contribute over $1 billion annually to the Canadian economy, and Canada is ranked at the 7th most popular academic destination for Chinese students.

Visitors and new residents from the Asia Pacific region are already accustomed to mobile payments, which are overtaking cash and credit cards abroad, and we believe the trend is set to accelerate in Canada and the US as well. We believe we are well positioned to serve this growing market, says Desmond Griffin, CEO of Glance.

Under the terms of the agreement, Euro Asia Pay shall pay $1,000,000 to Glance Pay as follows:

$405,000 in cash for licensing with $250,000 payable on signing and $155,000 payable within 90 days; plus $210,000 payable by way of 3,000,000 shares of Euro Asia at a deemed price of $0.07 per share

$175,000 for design of the app with a unique user experience, $175,000 payable within 60 days through the issuance of 2,500,000 shares of Euro Asia at a deemed price of $0.07 per share

$210,000 within 60 days or marketing and advertising of the new app, payable through the issuance of 3,000,000 shares of Euro Asia at a deemed price of $0.07.

Glance has already received the first payment of $250,000 pursuant to the agreement. Immediately after the share issuances paid pursuant to the license agreement, Glance will own approximately 30% of Euro Asia Pay. Glance has agreed to enter into 3 year escrow provisions for the stock as set out in National Policy 46-201 Escrow for Initial Public Offerings.

This deal grants the Licensee a worldwide, non-exclusive license to use the Glance Pay mobile payments system in order to make, market and sell the new app.

This is the third licensing deal signed by Glance since May 2017, with a total of $3 million in deals signed in Fiscal 2017.

For more information about Glance, please go to Glance Technologies website.

About Glance Technologies Inc.

Glance Technologies owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that revolutionizes how smartphone users choose where to dine, order goods and services, make payments, access digital receipts, redeem digital deals, earn great rewards & interact with merchants. Glance is building a valuable network of merchants and consumers, and offers targeted in-app marketing, geo targeted digital coupons, social media marketing, customer feedback, in-merchant messaging and custom rewards programs. The Glance Pay mobile payment system consists of proprietary technology, which includes user apps available for free downloads in IOS (Apple) and Android formats, merchant manager apps, a large scale technology hosting environment with sophisticated anti-fraud technology and lightning fast payment processing. Glance Pay has entered into significant licensing agreements to access the cannabis and fitness and wellness industries through Active Pay Distribution Inc. and Cannapay Financial Inc. Through its licensing strategy, Glance is diversifying its holdings by acquiring equity positions in emerging high growth companies.

For more information about Glance, please go to www.glance.tech.

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" " A bump stock device fits on a semi-automatic rifle to increase the firing speed, making it similar to a fully automatic rifle. George Frey/Getty Images

On Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, a country music festival in Las Vegas became the scene of a mass killing when a gunman positioned in a high-rise hotel began shooting at concertgoers. At least 58 died, and more than 500 others were injured before the shooter took his own life, according to Las Vegas TV station KXNT. During the attack, the shooter, later identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, at one point managed to fire nearly 90 rounds in just 10 seconds, according to a New York Times analysis of audio posted on social media.

The speed of that bullet barrage led some to assume that the killer used a fully automatic firearm, a type of gun that automatically reloads after a shot is fired, fires again, and repeats the process as long as the trigger remains depressed. With the Firearm Owners' Protection Act of 1986, Congress banned the sale of new fully automatic firearms, but ones produced before that date are still obtainable, after the purchaser goes through an FBI background check.

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" " The gap between the stock and the main body of the rifle allows for the weapon to move, or "bump," back and forth between the user's shoulder and trigger finger, increasing the rate of fire. George Frey/Getty Images

But the Las Vegas killer didn't need a fully automatic weapon to unleash his rapid-fire terror. In a Wednesday, Oct. 4, press conference, Jill Snider, Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) San Francisco office, said that when authorities reached the gunman's hotel room, they found an arsenal that included 12 semi-automatic rifles equipped with after-market attachments called bump fire stocks. As Snider explained, the devices are designed to simulate automatic fire, without mechanically altering the function of a rifle in a way that would make it illegal under current federal law.

As The Truth About Guns, a popular gun blog, explains, a bump fire stock basically replaces the rigid standard stock on a rifle. Unlike the standard stock, the bump fire stock has a small amount of space that allows the rest of the rifle to move back and forth. That way the recoil causes the gun to bump the trigger against the shooter's finger, increasing the speed of firing. As this discussion thread on the gun-enthusiasts website AR15.com explains, it's possible to get a similar effect by holding the rifle at waist level.

Though they increase the lethal potential of a gun and replicate a now illegal-to-possess firearm, the bump stocks themselves did not violate the law. A 2010 letter produced by the ATF explains that one bump-fire device that was evaluated was found to be a legal firearm part, and therefore not regulated under the act.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would ban devices designed to allow a semiautomatic weapon to simulate full-auto speed. According to CNBC, some Republican members of Congress, generally reluctant to enact firearm regulation, were willing to consider such a ban in the wake of the Las Vegas shootings. Both the White House and the National Rifle Association have indicated an openness to considering more regulation. On Nov. 28, 2018, CNN reported that the Trump administration will announce a federal rule that will officially ban bump stocks.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Nov. 29, 2018, to reflect the Trump announcement on banning bump stocks.

Now That's Interesting A standard fully automatic weapon like a pre-1986 Colt AR-15 can fire 100 shots in about seven seconds, according to New York Times analysis, while a semi-automatic AR-15-style assault rifle of the kind used in the June 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, fires 24 shots in 9 seconds. The bump stock used in Las Vegas more than triples the capability of the latter.
" " When humans interbred with Neanderthals, it affected humans' risk of disease and even physical appearance. martinwimmer/Getty Images

The word "Neanderthal" is often used as a shorthand for "idiot." But there's now good reason to believe that Neanderthals were just as smart as humans. And on top of that, we're also learning that some traits humans inherited from Neanderthals are apparent in people today.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany analyzed the genetic data of 112,338 people of British ancestry who have Neanderthal DNA to conduct a study on the link between Neanderthal DNA and humans' physical characteristics. Having access to a large cohort of study participants from the UK Biobank proved important, since there just isn't much Neanderthal DNA floating around. (People of European and Asian descent get anywhere from 14 percent of their genes from Neanderthals, thanks to interbreeding thousands of years ago.)

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Prior research has found that the ancient hominids may have influenced a variety of disease-related traits in humans. For instance, the presence of Neanderthal DNA is associated with the increased sensitivity to certain allergens and a higher risk for nicotine addiction. But in the new study, the researchers focused on nondisease phenotypes  the observable physical characteristics of an organism  in modern humans.

With the help of questionnaires given through UK Biobank, the researchers determined that the propensity to smoke and loneliness are associated with Neanderthal DNA. They also found that some Neanderthal alleles (variant forms of genes) contributed to lighter skin and hair tones in modern humans, while others contributed to darker tones. But breaking down the study's results isn't as easy as pointing to a certain shade of skin and linking it to Neanderthal DNA. Multiple alleles influence skin and hair color, and Neanderthals might've had a large range of skin and hair tones based on different pieces of genetic material, just like modern humans.

The researchers noted in the study that many of the Neanderthal-linked traits are related to sunlight exposure, including an allele that contributes to circadian rhythm and the tendency to be an "evening person." In the study, non-African people living farther from the equator had higher frequencies of that allele. Indeed, Neanderthals had been living in northern environments with lower and more varying levels of ultraviolet radiation for thousands of years when modern humans came to the region from sunnier Africa.

So, if you stay up late and nap during the day? That might be the Neanderthal in you.

Now That's Cool You, too, can find out how much Neanderthal DNA you have  some consumer ancestry tests provide screening for Neanderthal genes.
" " Native to Southeast Asia, durians are famous throughout the world for their distinct, love-it-or-hate-it taste and smell. simonlong/Getty Images

In Asia, the durian is called the "King of Fruits," but not everybody in the world bows down to these bulbous, spiny, custardy fruits. It's usually because of the odor. The smell of a ripe durian (Durio zibethinus) has been compared to sweaty socks, roadkill custard, rotten eggs, a gas leak and "a sewer full of rotting pineapples," but still, the fruit has its superfans.

And now some of those superfans from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) and Duke-NUS Medical School (along with some financial donors who just love durians enough to privately fund a study about them) have completely mapped the durian genome to find out, among other things, why the putrid stench, durians?

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In the study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, the researchers sequenced the genome of a popular and prized durian variety called Musang King, and found its genome is made up of around 46,000 genes  just about double the number of genes that compose the human genome. They found the plant is closely related to both cotton and cacao  that's right, the chocolate plant.

" " Durians are so smelly, and thescent can linger for so long, that many hotels and public transportation in Singapore and Malaysia ban the fruit. Danita Delimont/Gallo Images/Getty Images

But the researchers were really interested in the source of the smell, so in snooping around the genome for odor-producing compounds, they found a class of genes called MGLs (methionine gamma lyases) in the leaves, roots and fruits of durian plants. The researchers found that these genes regulate the synthesis of odor-producing volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). They also discovered that in the ripe fruit, the expression of one of these VSC-expressing genes is about 2,000 times stronger than it is in other parts of the plant.

"Our analysis revealed that VSC production is turbocharged in durian fruits, which fits with many people's opinions that durian smell has a 'sulphury' aspect," writes co-lead author professor Patrick Tan from Duke-NUS Medical School, in a press release.

In the wild, this aspect might be responsible for attracting seed-dispersing animals like elephants and bats to the durian fruit.

This isn't the first research conducted on the durian's unique scent; in 2012, a team of German researchers identified dozens of chemical compounds that create to combine the smell, publishing their analysis in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. But that research didn't investigate the genes behind those compounds.

The NCCS-Duke research team was hoping to make an important medical discovery with the sequencing of the Musang King genome  after all, anticancer drugs like Taxol, derived from the bark of the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia), save lives every day. And as biodiversity decreases all over the world, we need to figure out what we have while it's still around. But as durian enthusiasts, these scientists also just wanted to investigate how this quirky and controversial plant might be conserved. Besides D. zibethenus, there are around 30 other species of durian (both edible and inedible) in the Asian forests, and some of them are endangered.

"Many of these other durian species are in this part of the world, and sadly some are endangered due to the increasing loss of biodiversity," said co-lead author Dr. Teh Bin Tean, deputy director of the National Cancer Centre Singapore, in the press release. "DNA sequencing is thus an important tool to protect the precious information contained in these fascinating and important plants."

Now That's Interesting A single durian can weigh up to 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms). Couple that with the fact that the spiky exterior is almost as hard as wood, and falling durians kill a handful of people every year.
Before the Comfort was deployed, about half of Puerto Rico's residents had no access to drinking water, and the electrical system was knocked completely offline after being decimated by Category 5 Hurricane Maria on Sept. 20, 2017. There are 69 hospitals on the island, but only 21 of them were able to provide any services at all. That means access to medical treatment was limited to those with the most critical needs, and then, only if the necessary tools or medicines were available.

And almost immediately after arriving, the ship began receiving patients. On Oct. 4, five critical patients from Ryder Memorial Hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico were medevaced by the Navy's Sea Knights Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron and Army Black Hawk helicopters after the hospital's generator failed.

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"Working with the Army and the hospital, we were able to reduce transport times for critically ill patients," Lt. Cmdr. Christopher "Harm" Perry, said in a statement. Perry is an emergency physician and naval aviator aboard the Comfort and helped with the patients. "This is the mission we have all been training for."

" " U.S. Navy Sailors on the Comfort prepare to move a simulated battle casualty onto a gurney during a mass casualty drill as part of the ship's weeklong Comfort Exercise (COMFEX) in 2016. U.S. Navy photograph by Bill Mesta

The decision to deploy the Comfort to Puerto Rico was made near the end of September, about a week after Hurricane Maria passed through the region. One of the ship's biggest benefits  its size  ultimately became a drawback. A Pentagon spokesperson told The Washington Post that the ship wasn't sent sooner because of concerns that it was too big for the Puerto Rico's ports, which were heavily damaged in the storm. The Comfort has already demonstrated its value in disaster relief numerous times, including visits to New Orleans in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, and Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

The time it takes these massive ships to deploy can be a big problem, too, but in many ways, they do provide the best options for transporting emergency medical services and equipment that needs to be unloaded in the aftermath of major catastrophes. The arrival of the Comfort in Puerto Rica means that those most in need of medical assistance now have access to highly trained medical personnel, necessary equipment and a sterile working environment for safe treatment.
FILE PHOTO: General Zhang Youxia, director of the Equipment Development Department under China's Central Military Commission (CMC), looks at his mobile phone as he visits the 8th International Exhibition of Arms and Military Machinery "MILEX 2017" in Minsk, Belarus May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/Files (Reuters)

By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - A close ally of President Xi Jinping is expected to be promoted to vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, four sources said, as Xi cements his control over the armed forces.

Zhang Youxia, 67, one of just a few senior military officers with combat experience, is tipped to become one of at least two vice chairmen of the commission, the sources, including three with direct ties to the leadership, told Reuters.

Xi is chairman of the commission, which has overall control of the People's Liberation Army, as well as the nation's president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China.

Zhang would replace Fan Changlong, who is expected to retire during the 19th Communist Party Congress which begins on Wednesday. The other vice chairman, Xu Qiliang, is expected to stay on, the sources said.

Both Xi and Zhang are from the northwestern province of Shaanxi and both are children of former senior officials who fought together in the civil war in the 1940s.

China's Defence Ministry did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

The party has been studying a proposal to increase the number of vice chairmen on the military commission from two to four and reduce the number of other committee members, currently eight, some of the sources said.

Xi has shaken up the commission and military since assuming power late in 2012 as he roots out corruption and streamlines the 2 million-strong armed forces, the world's largest. Some 300,000 troops have been laid off and advanced new equipment such as stealth fighters has been developed.

While China has not fought a war in decades, it is taking an increasingly assertive line in the disputed East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as over self-ruled Taiwan, which is claimed by China.

Two outgoing members of the commission are currently under investigation for suspected graft, sources have told Reuters, though the government has yet to confirm this.

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It isn't the first time the military has faced corruption issues. A previous vice chairman, Guo Boxiong, was jailed for life for graft last year, while another former vice chairman, Xu Caihou, died of cancer in 2015 before he could face trial over alleged corruption.

Zhang is currently the eighth-ranked member of the 11-man military commission.

Zhang is also expected to be promoted to the Communist Party's 25-member Politburo, one of its elite ruling bodies, three of the sources said.

One source with ties to the leadership said that the fathers of Xi and Zhang - Xi Zhongxun and Zhang Zongxun - had been close.

The two fathers fought together in the civil war that ended in 1949 with the Communist victory and proclamation of the People's Republic of China. Both men rose to senior positions in the government and military.

"The second generation of the two families are also close," the source added, referring to Xi and Zhang.

BATTLEFIELD BACKGROUND

Born in Beijing, Zhang Youxia joined the army in 1968, rising through the ranks and joining the military commission in late 2012.

He fought against Vietnam in a brief border war in 1979 that China launched in punishment for Vietnam invading Cambodia the previous year and ousting the Beijing-backed Khmer Rouge.

Zhang was 26 when he was sent to the frontlines to fight the Vietnamese, where he performed well and was quickly promoted, according to state media. He also fought in another border clash with Vietnam in 1984.

"During the battle, whether attacking or defending, Zhang Youxia performed excellently," the official China Youth Daily wrote in August in a piece entitled, "These Chinese generals have killed the enemy on the battlefield".

Another officer recently promoted, Li Zuocheng, who was named chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army in August, also fought in the 1979 war.

Li is also likely to become one of the commission's vice chairmen, but it was unclear if he will also join the Politburo, the sources said.

One of the sources, who has ties to the military, said Zhang had a reputation when he was based in northeastern China of walking around his base dressed in civilian clothes, prompting challenges from junior soldiers who didn't recognise him.

"He doesn't put on airs and likes getting down in the dirt with ordinary soldiers, to know what their lives are like, how they are living and what they are eating," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

(Additional reporting by Philip Wen; Editing by Tony Munroe and Philip McClellan)
At Bouar appeal court, presiding judge Aime Pascal Delimo twiddles his thumbs, surveys his empty office and then, with a sigh, closes his door to leave early. Delimo wields jurisdiction over territory in western Central African Republic (CAR) that is the size of Austria. Violent crime here is chronic. But he has no work. In one of the world's poorest countries, the criminal justice system in Bouar and many other of CAR's provincial towns has quite simply broken down. "Normally we would be finishing at 3:30 pm, but given the pace of the court, I leave in the early afternoon, around 2:00 pm," Delimo says. "It's been four years I've been here and no criminal cases have been heard." He tries about 15 cases every year, all civil suits or commercial disputes. When he leaves to go home, Delimo shuts one of three front doors on the big white building. The others have been closed all day. Two magistrates who had offices there died recently and have not been replaced. "If republican justice is not available, there's bound to be what we call the justice of weaponry, the victors, the executioners," Delimo remarks impassively. The CAR plunged into a succession of conflicts and massacres after the overthrow of President Francois Bozize in 2013. Four years on, the judicial system barely functions beyond the capital Bangui. No criminal cases have been tried in the west since 2010, though violence occurs almost daily. Of late, northwestern towns including Ngaoundaye, Bocaranga, Niem and Bang have all seen clashes, killings and looting. - Raped and released - At Bouar prison, one of two jails in western CAR, 18 people charged with criminal offences are being held pending trial. "I've been here since February 2015. I've done almost three years in prison," says Faustin. The 45-year-old is one of 84 men and women detained in four large cells. One woman who faced criminal proceedings was freed earlier this year after she was raped by a fellow inmate and became pregnant. Delimo explains that he needs money to pay for witnesses to come to court, a proper gown, a means of transport and computer equipment. All he has is his personal cellphone. In the adjoining office his assistant works on an old typewriter. "The failure to hold criminal trials encourages impunity," says Bernard Koutou, the single lawyer in the Bouar administrative district and one of just three in the west of the country. "To be a lawyer is to be self-employed," says Koutou, who has been taken on by the American Bar Association (ABA). The organisation has a programme called the Rule of Law Initiative aimed at strengthening some of the systemic weaknesses in CAR's judicial sector. "You need clients and here there are almost none." Few people in the poverty-stricken western CAR can afford to pay for a court case. For criminal cases, a budget of 10 million CFA francs (15,250 euros / $18,000) has been allocated to Bouar, but it has yet to be released by the authorities. - 'Cash-flow problem' - A large banner in the courtroom announces a criminal trial at the end of August, but as promised funds to conduct it never came through, the case was dropped. The banner remains. "There's a cash-flow problem," said an official at the ministry of justice. Lack of resources constantly hampers efforts to rebuild the pillars of the state beyond the capital. "Without the means, we can't go to remote places, and plaintiffs making appeals can't come to Bouar," Delimo says. The court should have convened to hear a civil case the previous week, the judge says, by way of example. "But the plaintiffs live in Nola, 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Bouar. They did not come and the case was postponed." The main victims of conflict that took on ethnic and religious dimensions, civilians are in no position to bring cases to court. "In many places, there are no gendarmerie, no police officers, nobody to take complaints," Delimo said Violence and intimidation are major concerns. Armed bands include so-called anti-Balaka militias -- formed in largely Christian communities to protect them from mostly Muslim ex-rebels -- along with ethnic Peul forces. "Verdicts are influenced by fear of reprisals if a member or an associate of an armed group is put on trial," an observer says. In Bouar, people impatiently place their hopes in a Special Criminal Court aimed at investigating and trying war crimes committed in CAR since 2003. The court, combining CAR and foreign judges, was set up in 2015, but is still not operational. "We just hope that it gets the funds," said Delimo.
Iranian Military Chief of Staff General Mohammad Baqeri meets with Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar (not seen) in Tehran, Iran October 2, 2017. Turkish Military/Handout via REUTERS/Files (Reuters)

By Ellen Francis and Babak Dehghanpisheh

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's military chief warned Israel against breaching Syrian airspace and territory on a visit to Damascus on Wednesday, raising tensions with Israel as it voices deep concern over Tehran's influence in Syria.

General Mohammad Baqeri pledged to increase cooperation with Syria's military to fight Israel and insurgents, Iranian and Syrian state media said.

Iranian forces and Iran-backed Shi'ite militias, including Hezbollah, have provided critical military support to Damascus, helping it regain swathes of Syria from rebels and militants.

"It's not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate the land and airspace of Syria anytime it wants," Baqeri said at a news conference with his Syrian counterpart.

"We are in Damascus to assert and cooperate to confront our common enemies, the Zionists and terrorists," he said, a reference to Israel and Sunni Muslim jihadists including Islamic State.

"We drew up the broad lines for this cooperation," Syrian state media cited the Iranian military chief of staff as saying.

Iran's expanding clout during Syria's more than six-year war has raised alarm in Israel, which has said it would act against any threat from its regional arch-enemy Tehran.

Israel's air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times during the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran was strengthening its foothold in Syria and that Israel would "do whatever it takes" to protect its security.

Tensions have risen this year between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel, which have avoided a major conflict since 2006.

This week, the Israeli military said it attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft battery that had fired at its planes over Lebanon. But the Syrian army said it hit an Israeli warplane after it breached its airspace at the Syria-Lebanon border.

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"Our job is to prevent war, and you do that through deterrence. What we saw in Syria (on Monday) fell within this framework," the Israeli defence minister told Israel Radio on Wednesday before the Iranian military chief's comments.

"We will do whatever is necessary for (our) security," Avigdor Lieberman added. "We will not change our operating procedures because of shooting or a threat of this type or another."

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Tom Perry and Richard Balmforth)
The emir of Qatar held talks with Muslim-majority Indonesia on Wednesday, more than four months into a Saudi-led blockade against the Gulf emirate. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's two-day visit to Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest economy and the worlds most populous Muslim country, comes amid heightened Gulf tensions. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar on June 5 over its alleged support of extremism, charges Doha denies. Talks focussed on investment and trade opportunities in energy, infrastructure and tourism. But the emir said the two leaders also discussed the unjust siege of his country by neighbouring Gulf states. We have also reminded to the [Indonesian] president that Qatar is always ready for dialogue to find a solution to this issue, because there is no winner in this problem. We're all brothers, and we're all losing because of this crisis," the emir said through an Arabic interpreter at the presidential palace in Bogor. Al-Thani led a delegation of 40 businessmen who also accompanied him to Malaysia and Singapore. "This is a very important visit and the first visit for emir Al Thani to Indonesia which also coincides with the commemoration of 41 years of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Qatar," Widodo told reporters after closed door talks. Qatar and Indonesia signed memorandums on aviation, health and education and discussed a number of issues facing the Muslim world, including the plight of Rohingya refugees.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to follow in the US footsteps and confront Iran over what she described as its "aggressive, destabilizing and unlawful behavior" in the Middle East. The council met for its monthly debate on the region just days after US President Donald Trump refused to certify the Iran nuclear deal, leaving its fate to the US Congress. "The United States has embarked on a course that attempts to address all aspects of Iran's destructive conduct -- not just one aspect," Haley told the council. "It's critical that the international community do the same." Trump's decision has been sharply criticized by Washington's partners in the deal -- France, Britain, China, and Russia -- which sit on the Security Council as permanent members along with the United States. Germany is also a signatory. The 2015 nuclear deal was unanimously endorsed in a Security Council resolution, placing the onus on the top UN body to ensure its implementation. Haley accused Iran of "playing" the council by complying with technical provisions of the deal while threatening peace and security in the Middle East with its "outlaw behavior." The council has adopted a "dangerously short-sighted approach", Haley said. "Judging Iran by the narrow confines of the nuclear deal misses the true nature of the threat." "Iran must be judged in totality of its aggressive, destabilizing and unlawful behavior. To do otherwise would be foolish," she said. - No mention of the Palestinians - Haley pointed to arms sales and military support in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria as examples of Iranian violations of UN resolutions while singling out Iran's missile launches as "the regime's most threatening act." The tougher US stance toward Iran provides an opportunity for the council to show that it will defend its resolutions and "change its policy toward the Iranian regime," she said. Haley's appeal, however, failed to draw strong support. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia tersely reminded Haley that the Middle East debate is aimed at tackling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that she "didn't even mention the word Palestine." Turning to Iran, Nebenzia warned that "attempts to dismantle the architecture of the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program will lead to a negative reaction in the Middle East and beyond." France did not mention the Iran nuclear deal, and warned against downplaying the importance of a Israeli-Palestinian deal to foster stability in the Middle East. Britain said it was ready to address concerns about Iran's ballistic missile program and regional activities, but warned against scrapping the nuclear deal altogether. "We encourage careful consideration of the implications to the security of the US and its allies before taking any steps that might undermine the JCPOA, such as re-imposing sanctions on Iran lifted under the agreement," said British Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Allen. The nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), provided for a gradual lifting of sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program. Iran's ambassador hit back, accusing Haley of providing "the wrong address when it comes to the root causes of insecurity in the Middle East". At the "core" of the all conflicts in the Middle East is Israel's "occupation of Palestinian land," said Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo. He argued that "no country had done more than Iran" in the fight against the Islamic State group and slammed the US administration for selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, which is waging war in Yemen. Council members heard a briefing from UN official Miroslav Jenca, who welcomed the recent Palestinian unity deal and again criticized Israel for building new settlements in the West Bank.
Former U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton speaks during an interview with Mariella Frostrup at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in Cheltenham, Britain October 15, 2017. REUTERS/Rebecca Naden

By Christine Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more outfront role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in the South Korean capital of Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension between Pyongyang and Washington has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump's social media comments on North Korea, saying, "The insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don't think they've benefited the United States".

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader "little rocket man" on a suicide mission, and vow to destroy the country if it threatens the United States or its allies. In turn, the North called Trump "mentally deranged" and a "mad dog".

Talks between the adversaries have long been urged by China in particular, but Washington and its ally Japan have been reluctant while Pyongyang continues to pursue a goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile to hit the United States.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said the United States did not rule out the eventual possibility of direct talks with North Korea.

The situation on the Korean peninsula was now touch-and-go point "and a nuclear war may break out any moment", North Korea's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Kim In Ryong had told a U.N. General Assembly committee on Monday.

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In Seoul, the vice foreign minister said on Wednesday South Korea was considering levying its own sanctions on the North, although no decision has been made yet.

CHINA PRESSURE

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said Washington's allies have increasingly been expressing concern over the reliability of the United States, advising Washington to avoid becoming distracted with North Korean threats and be "as forcefully patient" as possible.

Regarding China's role in reining in North Korea, Clinton said Beijing would be better off trying to "tighten and absolutely enforce sanctions" against North Korea.

North Korea's relationship with its main ally and trading partner China have been strained by its rapid pursuit of weapons programmes, with many of Pyongyang's recent tests coinciding with major Chinese events.

There had been fears that North Korea would conduct another test to coincide with the start of China's five-yearly party congress on Wednesday. Instead, Pyongyang sent Beijing a congratulatory message.

The central committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea said China had made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the guidance of the Communist Party of China.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success".

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention North Korea in his more than three-hour-long address at the opening of a key Communist Party Congress.

CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

Clinton said retaliatory actions by China over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, which targeting the latter's firms doing business in China, would be unnecessary had Beijing done a better job reining in the North.

China says the powerful radar of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system could be used to pierce its territory, and has taken aim at South Korea's businesses. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly told China that THAAD aims only to defend against North Korea's missile threats.

"The Chinese can't have it both ways," Clinton said. "They can't do less than they could to tighten economic pressures on North Korea and same time discount the real threat South Korea and its citizens face."

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Soyoung Kim and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)
Even the fish were laughing at Donald Trump in the cartoon exhibition in Tehran where satirists gave a biting response to the US president, who infuriated Iranians by calling the Gulf "Arabian" rather than "Persian". If there was one thing ordinary Iranians really hated in Trump's aggressive speech against their country last Friday, it was the reference to the "Arabian Gulf", which went against even the United States' usual name for the waterway. It took just three days for the Hozeh Honari ("Cultural Centre") in Tehran to put on an exhibition of cartoons ripping into the US president under the title "Persian Gulf Forever". One cartoon showed a baby Trump with an Arab offering him a lolly and teaching him to repeat the phrase "Arabian Gulf". Another showed an Arab feeding big gold coins into a mechanical Trump as he delivered his speech -- a reference to the widespread belief in Iran that the US president has been bought by Saudi petrodollars. "Iranians have a big sense of humour and they have shown it millions of times on social media in their reactions to this speech and the issue of the Persian Gulf," said organiser Massoud Shojai Tabatabai, who heads Iran's House of Cartoonists. "We decided to quickly put something on. In two days, the artists had submitted their work and we have 55 pieces on display." The Hozeh Honari, which is supported by the government, is also hosting an exhibition attacking the leaders of Myanmar for what they call the ongoing "genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. Among the other artworks in the building in downtown Tehran are busts of famous Iranian artists and intellectuals, as well as a sculpture of a person destroying the star of David with an axe. "Even in American films with Tom Cruise, they talk about the 'Persian Gulf'," said one admiring onlooker at the exhibition on Wednesday, Arghavan Tajalimanesh. "When Mr Trump dares to call it the Arabian Gulf, it is the responsibility of all Iranians and artists to respond," she added. Joined by telephone from her home in Isfahan, one of the cartoonists, Mahnaz Yazdani, didn't say if she was paid for her work. "I just wanted to show Trump's ignorance... that he's paid by Saudi Arabia to say these things," the 37-year-old told AFP. She would like the US president to see her drawings, but with Iranians already hit by Trump's travel ban, she said that would spell the end to any holidays in the United States -- "for me, my ancestors or any of my descendants," she added, laughing.
Japan said Wednesday it was "truly regrettable" that the US military had restarted flights of a helicopter that burst into flames last week, saying it wanted further reassurances over safety. The US resumed operations with its CH-53 helicopters on Wednesday, after grounding them for a week following the blaze in an empty field on the western Japanese island of Okinawa. At the time the US military said the blaze occurred after the aircraft had landed in the field and no crew were injured. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was "truly regrettable" that the flights had resumed "without enough explanations". Deputy government spokesman Kotaro Nogami said US officials had briefed their Japanese counterparts but Tokyo was not satisfied and would "continue asking for further explanations from the US side". Onodera had previously called for the helicopters to be idled until their safety can be guaranteed and dispatched experts to Okinawa to ensure a thorough investigation. Representatives of the US military in Okinawa could not be reached for immediate comment Wednesday. More than half the approximately 47,000 American troops in Japan under a decades-long security alliance are stationed on Okinawa, the site of a major World War II battle that was followed by a 27-year US occupation of the island. Islanders have complained for decades about noise and accidents. In December, five crewmembers aboard a US Marine MV-22 Osprey were injured after what the Pentagon described as a "mishap" resulting in the plane landing in shallow water off Okinawa. Okinawa residents have protested against the deployment of Ospreys in Japan after a series of accidents in other countries involving the hybrid aircraft.
By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred" the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute (U.S.) president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran quoted by state television.

"Trump's stupidity should not distract us from America's deceitfulness ... If the U.S. tears up the deal, we will shred it ... Everyone should know that once again America will receive a slap in its mouth and will be defeated by Iranians."

Trump's move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union - who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel an international accord enshrined by a U.N. resolution.

Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran's state matters, welcomed European support but said it was not sufficient.

"European states stressed their backing for the deal and condemned Trump ... We welcomed this, but it is not enough to ask Trump not to rip up the agreement. Europe needs to stand against practical measures (taken) by America."

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions that crippled its economy, and U.N. nuclear inspectors have repeatedly certified Tehran's compliance with the terms.

Trump accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and says the 2015 deal does not do enough to block its path to acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran says it does not seek nuclear arms and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies.

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In decertifying the nuclear deal last week, Trump gave the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.

"DO NOT INTERFERE"

In a major shift in U.S. policy, Trump also said Washington will take a more confrontational approach to Iran over its ballistic missile programme and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.

Tehran has repeatedly pledged to continue what it calls a defensive missile capability in defiance of Western criticism. The United States has said Iran's stance violates the 2015 deal in spirit as missiles could be tipped with nuclear weapons.

Tehran has said it seeks only civilian nuclear energy from its enrichment of uranium, and that the programme has nothing to do with missile development efforts.

EU foreign ministers on Monday urged U.S. lawmakers not to reimpose sanctions on Tehran but also discussed Iran's missile programme, which they want to see dismantled.

"They must avoid interfering in our defence programme ... We do not accept that Europe sings along with America's bullying and its unreasonable demands," Khamenei said.

"They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons?"

The Trump administration has imposed new unilateral sanctions targeting Iran's missile activity. It has called on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans.

Iran has one of the biggest ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

Americans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region," Khamenei said.

Supporters of the deal fear Trump's decision to decertify the deal could eventually unravel it, causing more tension in the crisis-hit Middle East, where Shi'ite Iran is involved in a decades long proxy war with U.S. ally Sunni Saudi Arabia.

If the deal falls apart, Iran's anti-Western hardliners will gain authority in a backlash against pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani, who engineered the accord to help end Iran's political and economic isolation, analysts and insiders say.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Mark Heinrich)
At least seven people were killed and 21 others wounded in an apparent suicide blast targeting a police vehicle during the morning rush hour in Pakistan's restive southwest early Wednesday, officials said. The group of elite police were targeted on the Sariab road in the outskirts of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, as they headed to work. "Police were targeted in this attack," provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti told reporters, adding that six police and one civilian had been killed. "Twenty-one others are injured," he said. A police official in Quetta gave a different toll, putting the figures at seven dead and 10 wounded, and said the attack came as the police were commuting to work. "We have sent teams to the site to help the victims," he said. Bugti told AFP that a car rammed the police vehicle before catching fire, adding it was "apparently a suicide attack", in an account confirmed by senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema. Later Tuesday, Bugti said a police inspector was killed by gunmen in a separate attack several kilometres away. Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has oil and gas resources but is afflicted by Islamist militancy, sectarian violence and a separatist insurgency. Members of the minority Shiite community and security forces are frequently attacked by militants in the province.
ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH A rescue worker inspects as policemen gather near a truck after a blast in Quetta, Pakistan October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed

By Gul Yousafzai

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber rammed a car into a police truck in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least seven people, police said.

The attack killed five police officials and two passers-by on the outskirts of the city of Quetta, police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said. He said 22 people were wounded, eight of them critically.

Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister of Baluchistan province, of which Quetta is capital, told Reuters: "It was a suicide blast."

Quetta is about 100 km (60 miles) east of the border with Afghanistan.

Bugti said the truck carrying the police officials was on its way to the city to drop them at their posts when the suicide bomber rammed into the vehicle. Television pictures showed the burnt wreckage of the vehicles.

The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella organisation of various militant groups within Pakistan, and loosely allied to the Afghan Taliban, issued a statement claiming responsibility.

Baluchistan province has long been the scene of an insurgency by separatists fighting against the state to demand more of a share of the gas- and mineral-rich region's resources. They also accuse the central government of discrimination.

The Taliban, Sunni Islam militants and sectarian groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group also operate in the strategically important region, which borders Iran as well as Afghanistan.

The violence has fuelled concern about security for projects in the $57 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy link planned to run from western China to Pakistans southern deep-water port of Gwadar.

A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State at a Sufi Muslim shrine this month killed 22 people and wounded more than 30.

Ayub Qureshi, the provincial police chief, said a counter-terrorism police officer was shot and killed in another part of Quetta as authorities were dealing with the suicide bombing.

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A militant sectarian faction, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Almi, claimed responsibility for killing the counter-terrorism official, and for planting a roadside bomb in a northwestern region, that killed two soldiers.

Security officials said a remote-controlled bomb was set off as an army vehicle passed by.

(Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud, Jibran Ahmad and Asif Shahzad Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Robert Birsel and Paul Tait)
Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani attends the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Qatar's foreign minister suggested on Tuesday that measures taken by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states in their dispute with Qatar had hurt the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State, according to the text of an interview with CNBC.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in June, suspending air and shipping routes with the worlds biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is also home to the regions biggest U.S. military base.

The four countries have said that Qatar supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Doha's leaders have denied. All countries involved in the dispute are U.S. allies

Asked if the fight against Islamic State had suffered because of the crisis, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said, "Definitely yes," according to the CNBC International transcript.

He said most of Qatar's food and medicine supplies, some of which would go to the U.S. Al Udeid air base, normally came via its land border that is now blocked by its bigger neighbour.

The airspace blockade meant that Qatari aircraft providing logistical support for the base could only fly north from Qatar toward Iran, the minister said, and Qatari officers participating in U.S.-led activities against Islamic State or working with Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet were expelled.

"So there are a lot of things which undermine ... the global efforts in countering ... Daesh," Sheikh Mohammed said, referring to Islamic State by an Arabic acronym.

The minister said his country sought to resolve the crisis through dialogue, but Saudi Arabia wanted to destabilize Qatar.

"They are into escalation, they are into thinking about regime change and other things," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied seeking to depose Qatar's government.

Kuwait has been trying to resolve the dispute among its fellow Arab countries and U.S. President Donald Trump has also said he would be willing to mediate.

(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington)
Nearly four decades ago Fazol Ahmed returned to his native Myanmar with his family under a Rohingya repatriation scheme. Now he is back in the teeming camps of Bangladesh with his wife and children, a refugee once again. Ahmed is among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh since an upsurge in violence in neighbouring Myanmar in August that the UN has said amounts to ethnic cleansing. Unlike most, he has been here before. Ahmed's family fled an earlier wave of violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 1978, when he was still a child. "We couldn't take it any more," he said, recalling the campaign of violence that forced his family of rice farmers from their village in mainly Buddhist Myanmar in 1978. "They were kidnapping young people. They killed some and demanded ransoms for others," he said, accusing the Myanmar army and the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists who also inhabit the state. Ahmed, who gave his age as 41 though his white-flecked beard and testimony suggest he is older, said there were far more people in the camps this time round. His story -- recounted to AFP on a bamboo bench in Kutupalong, the largest of the camps -- underscores the intractable nature of the unfolding refugee crisis. Impoverished, overcrowded Bangladesh is now home to nearly a million Rohingya refugees, the majority of whom have arrived in less than two months. Most live in desperate conditions with limited access to food, clean water or proper sanitation. Dhaka has made clear it wants them to return to Myanmar and is in talks with the government about taking them back. But Ahmed's experience demonstrates the difficulty of negotiating a lasting return to a country mired in a cycle of hate, where the Rohingya are reviled as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. - Firing rocket launchers - Last time around, Ahmed's family spent eight months in Bangladesh before returning under an agreement between the two countries' governments whereby around 200,000 refugees were repatriated. After two days of interrogation in an internment camp in Myanmar they arrived in their village of Shil Khali in Maungdaw, the district nearest the border with Bangladesh, to find their house damaged and all their crops destroyed. "We went to the hills and cut down trees to rebuild the house. It took three to six months to return to normal work," he recalls. Once the returned refugees were finally back on their feet, he said, their Buddhist neighbours returned to extort money from them. Decades passed and Ahmed married. His wife gave birth to four sons and two daughters. Then in late August this year, he was preparing for early morning prayers when he heard a series of explosions. He rushed outside and saw fire in the distance. "The army was firing rocket launchers at houses and mosques," he said. Ahmed and his relatives rushed into the jungle before their own village came under attack. Hoping to return to retrieve at least some of their possessions, he said he hid in the undergrowth and watched as soldiers took women into the houses and slit the throats of young children. "The soldiers gathered the men on the side of the road and tied their hands behind their backs," he recalled. The killing lasted three hours before the villagers' bamboo homes were doused in petrol and set alight. Ahmed watched as his village went up in flames before fleeing into the hills to join his family who had hidden there. For two days they survived on leaves before finally resolving to cross the Naf river, a natural frontier between the two countries, and go into exile in Bangladesh. Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been severely criticised for her failure to curb the military crackdown, has said the country would take back "verified" refugees. But for Ahmed and others like him, that provides little hope.
A Swiss man accused of spying on German officials who were hunting tax cheats goes on trial in Frankfurt on Wednesday, in a convoluted case that has strained ties between Bern and Berlin. Daniel M., 54, was arrested in Frankfurt in April on espionage charges after he compiled information on officials tasked by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia with ferreting out stashes of wealth hidden at Swiss banks. He is also believed to have placed a mole inside the German tax office, though this person's identity is still unknown. Switzerland had been seeking the identities of three German tax officers, hoping to build a case against them for illegally obtaining banking data -- which is protected under the country's strict secrecy laws. The country's banks had come under intense pressure in recent years as several German states started buying CDs or USB memory sticks allegedly containing data on German taxpayers who had parked their fortunes across the border. German investigators say they believe that Daniel M. was in the employ of Bern's spymasters by July 2011 at the latest. Along with an associate working for a security firm in Frankfurt, he allegedly collected birthdates, telephone numbers and private addresses of German tax officials. The spying claims sparked outrage in Germany, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel rebuking Switzerland over the scandal and summoning Bern's envoy for clarification. The case was especially embarrassing for Switzerland, which in 2015 had signed a deal with the European Union to exchange bank data starting in 2018 as part of an international pledge to clamp down on tax cheats. - Big risks, at what gain? - Amid the uproar, German and Swiss media reported that the accused's operation had unravelled by chance, possibly because he had walked into a trap set by Werner Mauss, a former top spy dubbed Germany's James Bond. Daniel M., a former policeman and a high-ranking security officer at Swiss banking giant UBS, reportedly passed on a CD containing banking data to a German contact -- who had in fact been working for Mauss. The data turned out to be erroneous, but Mauss reported the exchange to UBS, which in turn passed it on to Swiss authorities who arrested M. in February 2015 for breaching banking secrecy. During the investigation, M. apparently told Swiss investigators that he had been working for Bern to spy on German authorities. But a copy of a summary of the interrogation ended up in the hands of German authorities through Mauss, leading eventually to M.'s arrest in Frankfurt. German prosecutors say he was paid 3,000 euros ($3,500) a month over half a year by his Swiss handlers. He also received 13,000 euros for the personal details of tax officials, of which 10,000 euros he gave to his associate. Separately, for the mission to place a mole in the tax office, M. was promised 90,000 euros. He received 60,000 euros of the sum but passed on most of it to unknown individuals, according to German prosecutors. He risks up to five years in jail.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's economics ministry said it is "deeply concerned" about the antitrust agency imposing a $775 million fine on Qualcomm Inc , in a rare public display of disagreement between authorities. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined Qualcomm last week, saying the U.S. chipmaker had abused its monopolistic position by opting against licensing some modem-related technologies to other industry players. Qualcomm said it disagreed and would take the matter to court once the agency releases a final report in coming weeks. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which oversees industrial policy, said it respected the agency's position but was concerned about any impact on foreign investment. "With regards to the investigation and judgment process... our ministry is deeply concerned," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website late on Tuesday. "Considering economic stability and prosperity, as well as that the economics ministry is the government authority overseeing industry, the ministry would like to see better coordination between industrial development and fair trading." The ministry said the agency did not appear to take into account Qualcomm's contribution to the overall local technology industry or impact on future business opportunities, describing the U.S. firm as an "indispensable partner". The FTC did not have an immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek Inc <2454.TW> supported the FTC's action in a statement on Oct. 12, reiterating views of some industry players that it would lead to a fairer business environment for technological innovation. The action is the latest challenge to Qualcomm's business model, which involves selling chips and licensing patents related to installation and use. In December, South Korean regulators fined Qualcomm $854 million for violating competition law. That followed a $975 million fine from Chinese regulators in 2015. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing)
Two tigers, rescued traumatised and emaciated from war in Syria, have arrived in a Dutch refuge and are settling into their new, quiet home far from the conflict. Brother and sister, Sultan and Sayeeda, saved from Aleppo earlier this year, "handled the trip well and arrived safely," said Juno van Zon, handler for the big cats at the sanctuary where the two will be cared for in the northern Dutch town of Nijeberkoop. Both barely a year old, the female tiger stretched out in the sand of her new enclosure next to a small pool where she had already taken a swim, and seemed at ease. Her brother was more anxious, pacing the area close to the door, ready to bolt for cover inside. "The animals are remarkably really calm. Especially the female here, well you can see her, she's just lying (down) and she's exploring her enclosure," said Van Zon. "The male is still a bit afraid, but to be honest, that is more than normal." But he highlighted how both big cats seemed to have difficulty maintaining their balance when they walk, and their fur "is really pale, not shiny at all and that's also not a good sign." Both were also easily startled by sudden noises, an indication of what they had endured in a war-zone. Footage from the Magic World zoo and amusement park in Aleppo showed "a lot of destroyed buildings, bullet holes in the walls. So... fighting was going on there too. Like people, animals can be traumatised," added Van Zon. The Four Paws charity, which goes to the aid of animals in distress around the world, brought the tigers out of Aleppo and into Turkey at the end of July along with five lions, two bears, two hyenas and two dogs. After a short stay in Turkey to be cared for and treated for neglect, the animals were taken to Jordan in mid-August, where most of the other beasts are staying for the time being. Sultan and Sayeeda have already put on weight and are in a better condition than when they were found. Once they are fully restored to health, Van Zon will accompany them to a new life either in another sanctuary in The Netherlands or perhaps to a reserve in South Africa.
By Tulay Karadeniz

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's foreign minister said on Wednesday Ankara would not submit to "impositions" from the United States to resolve a feud which has seen the two NATO allies stop issuing visas to each other's citizens.

However, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman struck a more positive tone, saying he expected the crisis to be resolved soon following the arrival in Turkey of a U.S. delegation for talks on repairing bilateral ties.

Earlier this month Washington suspended visa services after Turkey detained two Turkish nationals employed as U.S. consular staff. They are being held on suspicion of links to last year's failed coup in Turkey, allegations rejected by Washington.

Ankara swiftly retaliated by suspending its own visa services in the United States. The dispute hit the Turkish lira and stocks and unnerved investors.

The United States has said it wants details of the charges against its staff, and Turkish broadcaster Haberturk said the U.S. delegation had set four conditions to solve the crisis, including Ankara providing evidence related to the detentions.

"We will cooperate if their demands meet the rules of our constitution but we will not succumb to impositions and we will reject any conditions that we cannot meet," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference on Wednesday.

The two people arrested by Turkey are a translator at the consulate in the southern province of Adana and a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) worker in Istanbul.

MOVING IN "GOOD DIRECTION"

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the talks with the United States were now moving in a "good direction".

"I believe this crisis will be resolved soon," he told state-owned TRT Haber.

"The U.S. delegation does not have the authority to lift the visa suspension but they will communicate our views to Washington and, hopefully, the White House will take positive steps soon".

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Foreign Ministry sources described Wednesday's talks as positive and said the two sides agreed to continue the discussions to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.

Relations between Turkey and its Western allies have soured significantly since the July 2016 coup and the large-scale purges of the Turkish armed forces, state institutions, media and academia that followed.

Ankara blames the network of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for the coup and has repeatedly asked Washington to extradite him. Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the charges and condemned the coup.

Turkey has sacked or suspended more than 150,000 people from their jobs on suspicion of links to the Gulen network, prompting crticism from rights groups, the United States and the European Union that Ankara is undermining free speech and democracy.

(Additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan and Gareth Jones)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is traveling to the Central African Republic next week to draw attention to the world's "forgotten crisis" and its heavy toll on aid workers and UN peacekeepers. "The Central African Republic is very far from the attention of the international community," Guterres told AFP and Radio France Internationale in an interview on Wednesday. "The level of suffering of the people but also the trauma suffered by aid workers and peacekeepers are deserving of our solidarity and heightened attention," he said. Guterres will be in Bangui on Tuesday for United Nations Day, which marks the entry into force of the UN charter, and will also travel to Bangassou in the south, where heavy fighting broke out in May. "This is a gesture of solidarity with the peacekeepers working in one of the most dangerous environments," he said. Renewed clashes in the Central African Republic have pitted armed groups who are competing for control of natural resources and areas of influence while claiming to protect communities. The fighting has involved mostly Christian militias and groups linked to the mainly Muslim Seleka coalition. Since the beginning of the year, 12 aid workers and 12 peacekeepers have been killed in CAR, which shows "just how much the situation has deteriorated," said Guterres. While some UN officials have raised alarm over "early warning signs of genocide" in CAR, Guterres said there was "ethnic cleansing" in many parts of the country. To quell the violence, Guterres singled out religious leaders as having an "absolutely indispensable role" to play by drawing Christian and Muslim communities away from the fighting. - Beefing up UN mission - The worsening violence stems from "armed groups who received external support," he said, without elaborating. "Hate speech has surfaced in the statements of many community leaders." Guterres will also meet with victims of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers as part of his effort to address damaging allegations that have hit the blue helmets in several missions. MINUSCA faces one of the highest number of rape allegations of all UN missions, prompting Guterres earlier this year to agree to the withdrawal of a contingent from Congo Republic which had faced several accusations. Now, faced with the upsurge of violence, the UN chief is asking the Security Council to beef up the mission with 900 extra troops, even though the United States is pushing for cost-cutting measures in peacekeeping. "There is a need to increase the capacity of our troops in Central African Republic to protect civilians," Guterres told reporters. "I am convinced there will be a positive understanding by all the members of the Security Council including the United States in relation to this." The council will decide next month whether to approve the additional troops for MINUSCA, which currently has some 12,000 peacekeepers. The Central African Republic descended into violence after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the Seleka alliance. France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka and the United Nations launched its peacekeeping mission in 2014, but the country remains plagued by violence. The conflict has driven more than 600,00 people from their homes internally while an additional 500,000 have crossed borders to become refugees. Half of the population, or 2.4 million Central Africans, are in need of aid.
Warning of a risk of ethnic cleansing, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged the Security Council to beef up the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic with 900 extra troops. In a report to the council, Guterres said the 12,000-strong MINUSCA mission had reached its limit and was struggling to cope with the worsening violence in the impoverished African country. "Since late 2016, the security situation progressively deteriorated outside Bangui, with growing sectarian violence and a heightened risk of ethnic cleansing in parts of the country," Guterres said in the report, which was obtained by AFP. "I therefore recommend an increase of 900 military personnel," including two infantry companies and a battalion to be deployed in the east and center of the country, he said. The UN chief will pay his first visit to the Central African Republic later this month as the country struggles to overcome the sectarian violence that exploded after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the mainly Muslim Seleka alliance. France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka alliance but the country remains plagued with violence. More than 600,00 people have been driven from their homes within the country and an additional 500,000 have crossed borders to become refugees. Half of the population, or 2.4 million Central Africans, are in need of aid. The Security Council is to decide next month on renewing MINUSCA's mandate as the United States, the biggest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping, is pushing for cost-cutting measures. In his report, Guterres said the extra troops will not realistically allow MINUSCA to protect all civilians, but will give the force greater flexibility to deploy quickly to areas where civilians come under threat. The 900 troops will allow the force "to shape and influence security situations, rather than react to them," he argued.
Shipping materials have a reputation for being wasteful and bad for the environment. But what if you could get a more eco-friendly solution? Thats exactly what EcoEnclose is trying to provide.

The company sells a variety of shipping materials made with recycled and recyclable content. Read more about the business and what it has to offer in this weeks Small Business Spotlight.

What the Business Does

Sells earth friendly shipping supplies to ecommerce businesses.

Saloni Doshi, Owner and Co-CEO of EcoEnclose told Small Business Trends, Our comprehensive line of products includes shipping boxes, poly mailers, kraft mailers, tape, shipping labels, envelopes and void fill. We try to provide all the materials that an ecommerce business would need to ship their product. The majority of our products are made with 100 percent recycled content and are also fully recyclable. Additionally, we offer design and print for most of our boxes and mailers, with minimums starting at just 250 to 500 units, which we have found very helpful to many of our small business customers. We custom cut boxes to any size and style, with no minimums. Finally, we offer advice and education to those businesses that want eco-friendly shipping options.

Business Niche

A commitment to helping the environment.

Doshi says, Our values are clearly evident in our products and services. Plenty of companies claim to have some recycled content in their packaging, but we work hard to maximize both the recycled content and post-consumer recycled content, and we have pushed this beyond what the industry had previously said was possible. We also prioritize Made in America because most packaging is otherwise made in China, where claims around sustainability and raw materials are extremely difficult to verify, and from where shipping of products have a high environmental footprint. Regarding services, we spend a lot of time talking with and advising our customers on the impact and opportunity of eco-friendly packaging. Because of our efforts, we are becoming the leading educational resource for eco-minded ecommerce businesses.

How the Business Got Started

By recognizing a gap in the shipping market.

Doshi explains, The companys founder was running a cloth diaper business and was dismayed by the fact that she had to ship her earth-friendly diapers in virgin plastic poly mailers. Thus, EcoEnclose was born.

Biggest Win

Achieving the impossible.

Doshi says, In looking for a poly mailer that was made with recycled content, manufacturers claimed it could not be done. That the process and machines to make poly mailers with could not work with a high level of recycled plastic  as these raw materials are inconsistent. We found a U.S. manufacturer that would work with us in testing more and more recycled content. Each time the test worked and they said we couldnt go any higher. But we tried it. Until eventually they got to a mailer made with 88 percent recycled content, and then one with 100 percent recycled content.

Biggest Risk

Launching a product with different standards.

Doshi explains, Right now, it feels like the biggest risk is something we are about to do  introduce a new product line that does not yet meet our typical environmental standards. It is a very common shipping solution that is largely available only with virgin material and that many companies have decided they simply cannot live without. All of our manufacturing tests with our targeted recycled content have failed thus far. Its been very slow and frustrating, and unfortunately, we will not be able to hit our recycled content goals for now.

But we have decided to move forward with launching a product because we are eager to bring the market something more earth-friendly than they can currently get. To us, replacing a slew of virgin packaging with an alternative that has 40 percent recycled content is a great step in the right direction and it is a significant improvement for the planet. We have also learned that manufacturing partners are much more willing to invest in new tests after we have proven the market; so we believe strongly there we will improve on the product.

Lesson Learned

Be intentional with your team members.

Doshi says, Let go of employees more quickly when it makes sense for them and the business. We are a small business, so one tough employee, who lacks the work ethic and commitment we look for, and (more importantly) brings negative energy to the warehouse can single-handedly destroy our culture.

How Theyd Spend an Extra $100,000

Hiring more sales and marketing support.

Doshi says, Today, if you actively search for eco-friendly shipping materials, you will likely find EcoEnclose. But there are so many businesses out there that dont have time to look or dont realize how eco-friendly shipping can help their brand, their sales and the environment. We need help getting that message out.

Team Tradition

Celebrating with cardboard cutouts.

Doshi says, We are very into cardboard cutouts (that our team designs, and we cut from our machine). We celebrate every birthday with a personalized cardboard cutout. For example, MJ (Michael Jordan)-obsessed Kyle got a cardboard Jumpman and guitarist Rocco got a cardboard guitar. Each month, the team develops a fun cardboard cutout that goes out in as many customer orders as we can get them in. A few of our customers have said they collect them and put them up in their office. A few favorites  Valentines Day heart with our logo (a bird) cutout from the inside, Statue of Liberty for July 4th and snowmen for Christmas.

Favorite Quote

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. ~Dr. Seuss

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Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program
According to recent research, the pop-up business segment has grown to be valued at $50 billion in the U.S. That means theres a lot of potential for stores and businesses to take advantage of this growing concept.

Pop-Up Shop Examples

If youre interested in creating your own pop-up, or wondering if this concept might apply to your small business, check out these eye popping examples for inspiration.

Jewelry Pop-up Shop in Store

Taylor Morgan, a California based jewelry brand, hosted a pop-up at a local West Elm store to help its products reach new potential customers.

Eyewear Shop at Pop-up Mall

Chakshu London is a prescription Eyewear retailer that held a pop-up event at the Boxpark pop-up mall in Shoreditch to give customers an easy way to try out different frames and look at the designs in person.

Japanese Pop-up in New York

The Arcade Japan is a concept pop-up store that brings products from Japan to a new market in New York.

Christmas Pop-up Shop

Popular online retailer eBay has utilized a pop-up model to bring certain products to consumers in a retail setting during the holiday shopping season.

New Product Line Pop-up

When Birchbox, the popular beauty subscription box, offered a special line of gifts for men, the business opened up a holiday pop up shop in New York.

Temporary Mall Location

American Girl only has a few store locations around the country. So to bring its products to even more customers, it sets up temporary mall locations periodically, especially around the holidays.

Curated Goods Pop-up

Warby Parker offers a pretty wide selection of glasses at its full retail locations and online. But it also brought some curated collections, along with a selection of books, to temporary pop-up stands in New York and California.

Mobile Fashion Truck

Nomad is a mobile fashion boutique in a repurposed truck. So the owner can constantly move to different pop-up locations.

Valentines Day Pop-up

You can also use pop-ups to celebrate other holidays. Lauren Conrad and some partners put together a pop-up shop with some unique products for a Valentines Day theme.

Mall Pop-up Events

Rachel Zoe also hosted a pop-up featuring her fashion line at The Grove mall in California. To celebrate, she also held contests and other special events to bring in even more shoppers.

Home Goods Market Pop-up

The Artifox, a home decor brand, is hosting a pop-up shop at the Canal Street Market, an established venue for pop-ups in New York.

Pop-up Library

Penguin Books teamed up with retail shop Whistles in England to host a pop-up library, filling the retail store with books along with other items for sale.

Twin Peaks Halloween Pop-up

Its not just stores that can benefit from a pop-up concept. Showtime is using a pop-up diner during the Halloween season to promote the show Twin Peaks.

Handmade Flower Pop-up at Coworking Space

Pop-ups can take place at a variety of different locations. Posy & Pot, a shop that sells handcrafted paper flowers, hosted a pop-up and workshop at WeWork Moorgate, a popular coworking space.

Special Edition Products Pop-up

Offering some limited edition products or just want to promote items that not many customers know about? Coca-Cola promoted these items at pop-up shops around Europe.

Pop-up Wine Bar

The Pop Inn is a pop-up wine bar in Australia that constantly moves to different pop-up locations to serve customers rather than having one set location.

Pop-up Coffee Shop

Similarly, Slow Coffee is a new coffee shop in England that just makes use of pop-up events rather than sticking to a set location.

Traveling Martini Bar

Grey Goose creates a unique experience with its worlds most intimate martini bar a pop-up bar in a truck featuring cocktails made with its popular line of vodka.

Story and Brunch Theater Pop-up

The Marsh Theater in California recently hosted a brunch pop-up with playwright and performer Charlie Varon.

Pop-up Restaurant with Noted Chef

Borough Wines & Beers is a beverage company that teamed up with chef Oded Oren to host a pop-up restaurant experience featuring the companys drinks.

Halloween Restaurant Pop-up

Another restaurant pop-up concept, Strongmans Tipple, a cocktail events company, is hosting a Halloween themed pop-up with a restaurant and event space in London, with themed drinks and other special menu items.

Halloween Drinks Pop-up

You could also go with a smaller assortment of items. Unreliable Narrator in California is currently hosting a Halloween pop-up just with themed drink items.

Bakery Pop-up for a Cause

Junction Bakery & Bistro in Virginia hosted a pop-up event at its location with a special menu to raise funds for disaster relief in Puerto Rico.

Tattoo Artist Pop-up

Even service based businesses can make use of the pop-up concept. Wild Riot is an events company in California that recently hosted a pop-up with local tattoo artists offering discounts on their services.

Wine and Workout Pop-up

Skeleton Root, a winery based in Ohio, recently hosted a pop-up workout class in collaboration with the local Pure Barre, giving customers the chance to enjoy a class and then a nice glass of wine.
The girl with seven names saw the first public execution in Korea aged seven.

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She chose her latest name herself. She wished to be called Sunshine and Good Fortune; she hoped that with a name full of light, she would avoid walking in shadows. She has already had seven names, and even more roles, and thus, her ambition of happiness is in fact as humble as she is herself.

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For seven years, every day she spent outside North Korea she collected pieces of her old identity from the embers  to differentiate which of the layers hung on her is her true self and where her new skin starts. She fled a regime which now keeps the world edgy. However, her freedom is heavy; just like the freedom of all those who left their childhood, lullabies, family albums and the most precious things in their lives, their loved ones, behind borders lined with barbed wire.

On a September day in 2017, it was clear that she is not telling her story at the Athens Democracy Forum for the first time and that she knows that it does not belong to her anymore. She knew she spoke in the name of all those who could not flee. She did not come to tell anecdotes about Kim but rather to explain that her people in North Korea simply have no idea about freedom.

Public execution seemed normal

She tells her story in a foreign language. She searches for the right words that can convey her emotions; she does not have the freedom of an experienced speaker in English but she is authentic and her story strikes a visceral note with her audiences.

Now and then, she fails to understand the questions of the New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, moves towards him and asks him to repeat them, which he patiently does. She cannot use real names and she cannot stand before us with everything she is  as she would hurt her family.

If the network of spies and denouncers learns that you do something against the country, your whole family vanishes in a single night without any trace, Hyeonseo Lee, whom the North-Korean regime declares to be a prostitute selling her fabricated story to western media, says.

She saw her first public execution aged seven and explains that to common people unwitting of the real life outside North Korea, such a life can seem quite normal, including the executions.

When the host, Cohen, asks her whether the West should try to topple Kim's regime, she answers that a change of regime is the only chance for Korea: People in Korea cannot imagine that someone other than the dear leader Kim could rule them.
The record fraud was based on fictitious high expenses for advertising; they divided the differences among themselves in cash.

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The police have explained the mysterious operation Shark from Friday, October 13, which was among the biggest in recent years. Around 500 members of the National Criminal Agency (NAKA) and other police forces detained 63 people of whom 13 are in pre-trial custody.

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The police raid busted an organised group which avoided paying taxes by inadequately exceeding their expenses on advertising, the Korzar Kosice regional daily wrote on October 17. Also, they asked for unjustified VAT returns and to do so, they established fictitious or purpose-made companies.

Who are those detained

Most of those to be prosecuted are from Kosice, but there are also people from Presov, Poprad, Gelnica, Spisska Nova Ves, Krompachy, Humenne and Secovce. Some have permanent residence in the Bratislava and Banska Bystrica regions, or their companies are officially based there. One of the suspects detained and charged is the district boss of the coalition partner, Most-Hid, in Spisska Nova Ves and a Kosice Region councillor, Stanislav Vospalek who also works for the Office of Government Proxy for Roma Communities. He, too, ended up in pre-trial custody, the Sme daily wrote.

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Read also: Thirteen people detained during a vast raid, accused of financial crime as an organised group Read more

They are suspected of earning millions of euros in shady dealings, according to the ruling on charges which includes 142 pages and a total of 36 crimes: 28 of the suspects are charged with the especially grave crime of money laundering and of cutting taxes and levies. Moreover, 35 suspects are charged with founding, conspiring and supporting a criminal gang, Korzar wrote. Among them are local business-people but also famous former athletes. One of them, Rastislav F. from Kosice, found his Audi A3 company car burnt out in an arson attack last week.

Gang methods

It seems that they paid 28 million less to the state, and up to 80 percent of the sums invoiced and paid back went as cash to the managers of the companies which ordered the adveritsing services. The total sum thus invoiced among themselves is almost 169 million, which is by far the highest damage recorded in similar cases so far, Police President Tibor Gaspar said, as cited by Korzar.

All of those charged face 12 to 20 years in prison.
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.
Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 9,127 kilometers of crude oil and multi-purpose pipelines. It also produces and commercializes polypropylene resins and compounds, and masterbatches; and offers industrial service sales to customers and specialized management services. It has operations in Colombia, the United States, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was incorporated in 1948 and is based in Bogota, Colombia.
The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Dosatron International SAS, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Proprietary Limited, FlexEnergy Holdings LLC, Frigoblock Grosskopf Gmbh, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First (UK) Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings II Inc., GD Global Holdings Inc., GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., GPS Industries, Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp (Canada), Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Limited, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica SL, Gardner Denver Inc., Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver International Inc., Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Investments Inc., Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan Ltd., Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte. Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia s.r.o., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH (f/k/a ILMVAC GmbH), Gardner Denver Thomas Inc., Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Ghh-Rand Schraubenkompressoren Gmbh, HASKEL EUROPE LTD., HASKEL HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, HASKEL INTERNATIONAL LLC, Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, Haskel France SAS, Haskel Sistemas de Fluidos Espana S.R.L., Hibon Inc., Highspeed Newco LLC, Hingerose Limited, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, INGERSOLL RAND ITS JAPAN LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHANG ZHOU) TOOLS CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND (CHINA) INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CO. LTD., INGERSOLL-RAND CHINA LLC, INGERSOLL-RAND COMERCIO E SERVICOS DE MAQUINAS E EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA., INGERSOLL-RAND DE PUERTO RICO INC., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY B.V., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL SP. Z O.O., INGERSOLL-RAND INDUSTRIAL U.S. INC., INGERSOLL-RAND PHILIPPINES INC., INGERSOLL-RAND SPAIN S.A., INGERSOLL-RAND U.S. HOLDCO INC., IR HPS Holdco. Inc., ITO Emniyet, Ingersoll Rand Cyprus Investments Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Finance LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Investments LLC, Ingersoll Rand Global Ventures LLC, Ingersoll Rand Hong Kong Investments Limited, Ingersoll Rand Inc., Ingersoll Rand Investments (SG) Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll Rand Investments B.V., Ingersoll Rand Schweiz Investments Gmbh, Ingersoll Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (Australia) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand (China) Investment Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Guilin) Tools Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand (India) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Ab, Ingersoll-Rand Air Solutions Hibon Sarl, Ingersoll-Rand Beteiligungs Und Grundstucksverwaltungs Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Colombia S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (Uk), Ingersoll-Rand Company South Africa (Pty) Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Cz S.R.O., Ingersoll-Rand De Mexico S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Equipements De Production S.A.S., Ingersoll-Rand Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Industrial Ireland Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International (India) Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand International Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Italia S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Italiana Manufacturing S.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Korea Holding Llc, Ingersoll-Rand Korea Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments II S.A R.I., Ingersoll-Rand Lux Investments S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Luxembourg Industrial Company S.A R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Machinery (Shanghai) Company Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Malaysia Co. Sdn. Bhd., Ingersoll-Rand S.A. De C.V., Ingersoll-Rand Services And Trading Limited Liability Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Company, Ingersoll-Rand Services Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Singapore Enterprises Pte. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand South East Asia (Pte.) Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, SEEPEX, Seepex (M) SDN, Seepex Australia Pty Ltd, Seepex Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung, Seepex France S.a.r.l., Seepex GmbH, Seepex Inc., Seepex India Private Ltd., Seepex Italia SRL, Seepex Japan Co. Ltd., Seepex Nordic A/S, Seepex OOO, Seepex Pumps (Shanghia) Co. Ltd., Seepex UK Ltd., Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Shanghai Ingersoll-Rand Compressor Limited, Shenzhen Bocom System Engineering Co., Superay, Syltone, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Tamrotor Marine Comp AS Norway, Tecno Matic Europe s.r.o., Thomas Industries Inc., Trane Technologies, Tri-Continent Scientific Inc., Vacuum and Blower Systems division, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zaxe Technologies Inc., Zeks Compressed Air Solutions Llc, Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, Zinsser NA Inc., and crayon interface.

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If a metaphor could be used for this White House, it might be a two-sided coin with President Donald Trump the head and Vice President Mike Pence the tail.

The president tends toward the bombastic to get people's attention and make his points, while his vice president is calm and measured in his response to questions, sometimes resembling a contemplative monk. In many ways, they complement each other.

During an interview Thursday, the vice president said tax reform is now the administration's top domestic priority and that "we have the best opportunity between now and the end of the year to do that." He believes it will get done.

Why the optimism? Because, he says, "there is broad-based and more than a little bipartisan support for tax relief to get this economy growing again." Pence thinks the "failure to repeal Obamacare in 2017 has created (an) even greater sense of urgency. There's a great sense of anticipation among the American public. I think members of Congress are very aware of that."

What about Obamacare and the failure of Republicans to repeal and replace it, leading to a number of executive orders (issued Thursday) to address what the president feels is the harm caused by that law? Pence predicts the Senate will go along with the House next spring when a new budget bill comes up for consideration.

"The word we got from Senators (Lisa) Murkowski (R-Alaska) and (John) McCain (R-Ariz.) was very favorable toward the Graham-Cassidy bill, which would have repealed the individual mandate, repealed the business mandate and block grant(ed) resources back to the states," Pence said. "Their attitude on the substance was very favorable, but both of them wanted to give the Senate time to go through the committee process, the hearing process, for full floor consideration and amendments."

What about Iran and the decertification of the nuclear deal made during the Obama administration? Pence said the president considers the deal a "disaster agreement for the United States." From the White House on Friday, the president announced he was decertifying the deal, imposing new sanctions and asking our allies and Congress to address the deal's "serious flaws."

North Korea? Pence notes how "truly remarkable" he believes it is that there is a "global consensus around a commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. ... What we've seen from the Kim regime in recent months is a series of provocations and a nuclear missile test, I believe, has created an environment that has made it possible for us to forge not only stronger relations with our allies in the region, but given President Trump's strong relationship with President Xi of China, we've seen China take action regarding North Korea that they've never taken before (including) cutting off access to financial institutions in China."

I ask if a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and getting Kim to stop production of nuclear weapons can be achieved without war and get the standard answer the president has given: "We remain hopeful we'll be able to achieve it by economic and diplomatic means, but all options are on the table."

As might be expected of a loyal vice president, Pence suggests the president is not getting the credit he thinks he deserves for undoing some of the policies of previous administrations, attempting to loosen the grip of ISIS in Iraq and for his businessman's approach to government, emphasizing more private-sector jobs and relaxing or eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle economic growth.

Would he care to comment on the Harvey Weinstein story everyone is talking about?

He smiles and demurs, possibly adopting the philosophy that when your liberal political enemies are destroying themselves, why get in the way by changing the subject?

On the way out of the White House Mess where we had lunch, Pence pauses to admire a model of an old ship. To employ a nautical phrase, Mike Pence is a calming influence on sometimes stormy political seas. He may be President Trump's greatest political and personal asset.
After being in Manila directly before coming to Jakarta, a city we had mixed feelings about, somewhere over crowded with traffic, poverty, inequality, grime and crime, we expected much the same in Jakarta. Though there were shades of similarities, being huge sprawling cities with unregulated development, traffic jams and chaos, we found Jakarta to be surprisingly interesting for the few days we spent here planning our Indonesian adventure! Heres our places to visit in Jakarta if you happen to pass through!

A strange and surprising city!

A sprawling city of over 28 million residents in the greater Jakarta region it is one of the largest and most populous cities in the world. The hasty development of the city outgrowing the speed in which infrastructure can keep up leaves it hard to navigate both on foot and on the chaotic public transport. However the city is developing, changing, modernising.

There are huge apartment and office blocks, malls, restaurants, bars and nightclubs much like any other large city around the world. Of course poverty exists here but it isnt as shocking or as extreme as the inner city shanty towns and slums of Manila where you feel the people are largely ignored. The contrasting cultures of Dutch colonial architecture with the Islamic Indonesia we find today create an interesting city to spend a few days exploring and definitely worth the stop over, here are our best places to visit in Jakarta.

Places to visit in Jakarta

Take a crazy ride through the streets in a rickshaw!

Jakarta has some crazy traffic, some day some of the worst in the world! Personally we thought the traffic over in Manila was marginally worse but Jakarta can be a nightmare to navigate! One of the most fun and convenient ways to get around this is by jumping in one of the unique Jakarta rickshaws. Be sure to negotiate a price beforehand and then enjoy as you are whisked around the city, down back streets and alleyways, weaving in and out of the traffic and getting to your destination via the quickest route! You can even organise a city tour with these guys too so you can take in all the places to visit in Jakarta in one!

Visit the huge National Monument

The centre of the city and the main area to stop by as a visitor and one of the top places to visit in Jakarta. This area feels much more suited to recreational use and pedestrian access than much of the city containing and park and plenty of open space. The centre is of course the huge National Monument standing 137 metre/ 450 ft high obelisk with a flame sculpture covered with 50 kilograms of solid gold foil at the top! This was built to celebrate Indonesian independence and there is a strong sense of pride surrounding it. You can even climb to the top for views over the city, though on the day we visited it was a little too hazy to see anything! The presidential palace is also along here and looks quite like the White House, though getting up close is much harder!

See the contrasting Istiqlal Mosque and The Catholic Cathedral

Another prime example of the blending together of cultures and history of Jakarta is the two main religious buildings that stand across the road from each other. The Istiqlal Mosque is the largest in Southeast Asia and was opened in 1978. Despite being typical of the modern Mosques built in this era, in that is it quite blocky and not the most photogenic, it is an important structure to the people of the most highly populated Islamic country on earth. The national Mosque is named Istiqlal which means independence and was built in celebration of the newly formed Indonesia.

Directly across the road from the Mosque is the Jakarta Cathedral which today is much quieter than its neighbour. Consecrated in 1901 it was built by the Christian Dutch colonial on the site of a much older church dating back to 1829 which had collapsed. An interesting couple of places to visit in Jakarta.

Take in the European and lively Old Town or Old Batavia

My favourite area of the city has to be the lively Old Town, here you would be forgiven for thinking you had stepped through a portal back into Europe. Often in large Asian (and American!) cities they lack the design and layout that characterises a European old town such as having large squares designed as a focal point and centre for people to meet. For me the best of the places to visit in Jakarta!

Here it reminded me very much of the town squares in Lithuania, Latvia, Czech republic, Poland to name a few, a large open area flanked by many wonderful old buildings. People gather here especially in the evenings and it become a hub of live music, cafe culture, teens catching up with their friends, kids playing and people chatting. A real charming area and an interesting insight into the colonial past of the city, also if youre wondering where the best areas in Jakarta are to stay in then this is the ideal neighbourhood.

Explore the many historic museums

Around the area of the Old Town of Jakarta there are many grand old buildings than now play home to museums. They include the National Museum, Jakarta History Museum, the museum of Fine arts and many more. These are mostly centred around the cultural heart of the city and many other amazing examples of the cities varied and historical architecture.

Try the local food from one of the cheap Padangs

During our time in Indonesia we became a little obsessed with the humble Padang and the delicious Nasi Perkadel they served up for hardly anything! Indonesia as a general rule is pretty cheap even for the region. But head into one of the local Pandangs and you will eat amazing local food for pennies! The name comes from the Padang region of the country but they are now widespread throughout all of the Indonesian islands. Here you are served up food that is set out on several plates usually in the shop window alongside rice (nasi). You can choose from a variety of different dishes but as vegetarians we loved the Perkadel which is like a potato cake and the jackfruit curry and also the egg curry. Generally for the two of us it would cost around 20-30,000 Rupiah, thats around 1.50 / $2.00!

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Have you ever visited Jakarta, what were your impressions or best places to visit in Jakarta?

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BANGKOK, Oct 17 -- It seemed a simple statement: women should not die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.

Yet two years after world leaders agreed to 17 global goals at the United Nations, including the childbirth target, countries in Asia Pacific are grappling to twin the rhetoric with social, cultural and political realities.

An estimated 85,000 mothers died in 2015 from childbirth in the region, home to more than half of the worlds population and some of its fastest growing economies, U.N. figures show, with the maternal mortality rate seen as a key way to measure improvement in a nations health.

These deaths accounted for 28 percent of the global total, translating into a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 127 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the U.N. agency for population UNFPA, which released its latest State of the World Population Report on Tuesday.

Up to 90 percent of these deaths occur in 12 countries, according to UNFPA whose officials have calculated which are likely to meet the global target of reducing its MMR to below 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Bangladesh, Laos, East Timor and Indonesia are seen as likely to meet the deadline.

But Afghanistan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Pakistan, India, Cambodia and the Philippines, are seen as failing to reach the target by varying degrees.

Reducing maternal deaths requires political will, government foresight and access to family planning, according to campaigners.

(This is) an issue thats still too often seen as medical, and strictly related to womens life. Its not, Federica Maurizio, a sexual health and reproductive rights expert at UNFPA in Bangkok, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Maternal health ... is one of the key indicators that really tells you how much the health system in a country is able to provide for the people.

Oona Campbell, professor of epidemiology and reproductive health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it raises wider issues of womens place in society.

Do we care about women? Do we think its not a problem if the wife dies? Is this something we care about enough to deliver services that are good quality? she said.

Too good to be true?

Campbell said it was not entirely accurate to chart a countrys progress using a global goal.

Another way to measure progress, she suggested, was to use country level targets, such as aiming to reduce maternal deaths by at least two-thirds from 2010, and for no country to have an MMR greater than 140 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Campbell also cautioned that data is weak in many countries due to a lack of civil registration and poor cause-of-death records.

This could mean calculations of Afghanistans dramatic improvement, hailed as one of the gains of foreign aid there, may be an overestimate, said Campbell.

U.N. figures showed the maternal mortality rate had dropped to 396 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015 from 1,600 deaths in 2002 after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

But Afghanistans own data put its MMR three times higher.

Mateen Shaheen, UNFPAs deputy representative in the country, said womens access to healthcare in Afghanistan remained tricky as culture dictates that women are only seen by female healthcare workers. UNFPA operates 124 clinics staffed by women and aims to nearly double that by the late 2018.

Meanwhile, the maternal mortality rate has been almost flat in the past 25 years in the Philippines, a wealthier nation than Afghanistan. In 2015, there was 114 deaths for every 100,000 births with 2,700 women dying in childbirth despite an increase in skilled birth attendants and access to anti-natal care.

A law was passed in 2012 insuring access to contraception, sexual education and maternal care but it has been mired in legal challenges, said Klaus Beck, UNFPA country director in the Philippines.

The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country where teenage pregnancies are not falling which Beck said could also impact maternal mortality with the risk for mothers under the age of 15 in low- and middle income countries double that for older women.

The absence of a legal framework ... to provide access to family planning, particularly for the poorest, has always been a stumbling block for many, many years, in the disaster- and conflict-prone archipelago, said Beck.
Outgoing United States Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius has decided to remain in Vietnam despite his term as Americas highest diplomat in the country being over.

The outgoing ambassador has said that he will continue living in Vietnam and work in the field of education, helping to foster stronger ties between the two nations.

He extended his goodbyes to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday, marking the end of his term of office as U.S. ambassador, having been appointed for the 2014-17 tenure.

During their meeting, PM Phuc congratulated the U.S. diplomat on his successful term.

The premier noted that the ambassadors tenure witnessed the highest number of mutual visits by Vietnamese and U.S. leaders, including a historic visit of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in July 2015, President Barack Obamas in July 2016, and his own U.S. tour in May 2017.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang next month.

Ties in economy, trade, and investment remained essential in U.S.- Vietnam relations, with trade growing from US$36 billion in 2014 to over $50 billion this year.

Total investment by the North American nation in Vietnam has surpassed $10 billion for the first time, PM Phuc also highlighted, believing that these figures would continued rising given the sound development of mutual ties.

Both countries will also push forward their contribution to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he added.

Replying to the Vietnamese leader, ambassador Osius stated that PM Phucs visit to the U.S. in May played a significant role in the development of the two nations ongoing cooperation.

He expressed his hope that the upcoming Vietnam visit by President Trump would bring bilateral relations to a new height.

The diplomat also praised the efforts of Vietnamese authorities in organizing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings and preparing for the APEC Economic Leaders Week in Da Nang this November.

This is an opportunity for the country to show its dynamism to the world, Osius remarked.

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A Vietnamese man has been nabbed for smuggling a huge amount of crystal meth and a large number of drug pills from Laos into Vietnam.

Xong Dua Dong, 31, was arrested on Saturday near the Vietnam-Laos border when he was transporting 10kg of crystal meth and 20,000 synthetic drug pills in two packs in Ha Tinh Province.

He told Vietnamese police and border defense soldiers, who apprehended him in a raid at 3:00 pm, that he was hired to smuggle the drugs into Vietnam for US$500.

Dong is from the north-central province of Nghe An but he lives in Bolikhamsai Province in neighboring Laos, according to his testimony.

This case, 476 LV, was established by Ha Tinh border defense soldiers three months ago with the determination of putting a stop to illegal drug transportation from Laos via Vietnam to a third country, said Vo Trong Hai, a senior officer in Ha Tinh.

Under Article 194 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, twenty years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or capital punishment can be given to those who are convicted of illegally stockpiling, transporting, trading in or appropriating heroin or cocaine weighing one hundred grams or more.

Specifically, dealing, selling, buying or transporting 100-300g of illegal drugs can result in a penalty of up to 20 years in jail. Similarly, dealing in 300-600g can result in life sentences, and trading in more than 600g can lead to the capital punishment.

The same penalties are given to those who commit the crimes in one of the following circumstances: opium resin, marijuana resin or coca plasma weighing five kilograms or more; marijuana leaves, flowers, fruit or coca leaves weighing 75 kilograms or more; dried poppy fruit weighing 600 kilograms or more; fresh poppy fruit weighing 150 kilograms or more; other narcotic substances in solid form weighing 300 grams or more or in liquid form measuring 750 milliliters or more.

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Sluggish Internet connectivity caused by problems with cross-sea cable systems has become a regular annoyance in Vietnam, and users are running out of patience.

At 7:20 am on Thursday, the Asia America Gateway (AAG) cable network suffered a problem at its landing point in Hong Kong, signaling another period of slow connection speeds for Internet users in Vietnam.

The 20,000-kilometer system provides one of Vietnams lifeline Internet gateways to the world by linking it with other Southeast Asian countries and with the U.S. across the Pacific Ocean.

Thursdays problem was by no means the first experienced by the AAG, which has one of the largest capacities out of those that Vietnam is connected to.

Since its launch in 2009, the AAG has experienced repeated problems, with two ruptures in 2014 and four cable cuts in 2015.

Vietnams Internet was also impeded between March 3 and 18 last year because of a power leak, according to local tech news website ICTNews.

As many as four separate problems have been reported with the AAG so far in 2017.

AAG and other submarine cable systems, including the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), Intra Asia (IA) and South-East Asia - Middle East - Western Europe 3 (SMW-3) cables, are responsible for 90 percent of Vietnams international connections.

The APG system, which had been expected to be a reliable alternative to the AAG when it was put into use late last year, turned out to be a disappointment after a rupture was reported in June along a section connecting the central city of Da Nang with the U.S., Japan and Hong Kong.

In a rare incident in August, all three submarine communications cables crucial to Vietnams international connectivity  IA, SMW-3 and AAG  came down with problems simultaneously, causing global connection from Vietnam to be slowed for over a month.

The root of the problem

According to Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of Vietnam National Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), recent problems with Internet cables are not to be blamed on faulty designs but rather on their locations.

As most of these cables make their landing points in Hong Kong or Singapore, they can be subject to constant disturbance caused by large vessels that frequent the busy ports, leading to ruptures, Hung explained.

Other possible explanations for repeated issues include anchors dropped by ships out at sea and natural geological fractures, he added.

As for the AAG system, the developer must take some responsibility for not having conducted careful enough surveys of the network map to allow such problems to recur so frequently, one leader of an Internet provider in Vietnam said on condition of anonymity.

HUYNH THANH PHI (marketing expert): I find it unacceptable that Internet providers simply announce a cable cut and tell their customers to wait for it to get fixed without taking further responsibility. Cable cut has too often been used as force majeure that exempts providers from responsibility for intolerably sluggish connection speeds. As a user, I doubt this line of reasoning is still valid with the growing number of such incidents. Internet carriers in Vietnam need to demonstrate more clearly their duty as a service provider, rather than act simply as a messenger to make announcements of force majeure!

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A former member of Vietnams lawmaking National Assembly (NA) has been sentenced to life in prison for masterminding a real estate fraud worth over US$16 million.

The Hanoi Peoples Court announced the decision on Monday following the two-week trial of Chau Thi Thu Nga, 52.

The jury considered Nga, who was a member of the NA during the 2011-16 tenure, the mastermind who had given directions to her accomplices and fully benefited from the money she appropriated from her victims, and thus sentenced her to life imprisonment.

Nga is also the chairwoman of the Land and Housing Construction and Investment JSC (Housing Group).

Eight other defendants received jail terms between 24 months and seven years for their involvement in the fraud.

Dinh Phuc Tieu, former chief accountant of Housing Group, was given a suspended sentence.

Chau Thi Thu Nga stands trial on October 16, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to the indictment, Nga gave inaccurate information regarding the real estate project B5 Cau Dien in Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi, which was developed by Housing Group, and sold properties included in the project before it was approved by the relevant authorities.

Between 2009 and 2013, Nga and her accomplices signed contracts of investment mobilization with over 700 clients, worth a total of VND377 billion ($16.5 million).

The victims then reported that they were not given ownership of the properties as agreed.

Nga refunded about VND28.7 billion ($1.25 million) to 43 clients but re-appropriated the rest of the money, totaling more than VND348 billion ($15.2 million).

The land where the B5 Cau Dien project is expected to be built is now filled with grass and trees. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The court has asked the authorities to further investigate Ngas statement that she had spent VND47.5 billion ($2 million) lobbying for her companys projects as well as for her appointment as a member of the NA.

So far, those who Nga claimed to have received money have asserted that they were not involved.

Regarding compensation, both Nga and Housing Group are responsible for returning VND242 billion ($10.6 million) to 501 victims.

Nga will have to pay over VND54 billion ($2.37 million) while the company will refund the remainder.

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A Vietnamese Airlines (VNA) plane en route from Hanoi to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing in India on Monday (Vietnam time) after a passenger required urgent medical attention.

According to a VNA spokesperson, crew members were notified of a passenger developing health problems about four hours after the plane took off from Hanois Noi Bai International Airport for New Delhi at 11:10 pm on Sunday.

The Vietnamese-French passenger, identified only by their her L.T.Q.N., reportedly received first aid from the flight attendants and a fellow passenger who was a trained physician.

However, as L.T.Q.N.s condition worsened, the captain decided to make an emergency landing in New Delhi at around 4:00 am on Monday.

The ill passenger was rushed to hospital shortly after landing, and the airline made contact with her family to inform them of the passengers condition.

According to the VNA spokesperson, L.T.Q.N.s health state has since stabilized.

Flight VN19 resumed its journey at 11:00 am on Monday and landed safely in Paris at 3:00 pm (local time) the same day.

Passengers who missed their connections in France due to the eight-hour delay were assisted in re-booking their flight by VNA ground services.

In January, another VNA plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Indias Kolkata in order to help a passenger who had fainted onboard.

Last year, the state-owned carrier was praised for delaying one of its flights by 80 minutes to install a stretcher for transporting a seriously injured passenger from Myanmar to South Korea for surgery, when no other airlines could agree to ferry the man.

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Hanoi police have opened an investigation into the website behind a recent rumor that the city had banned its civil servants from refilling at the newly opened, Japanese-run, Idemitsu Q8 gas station.

The rumor, which went viral on social media, has been denied by the city as a complete fabrication.

Hanoi police have said that the websites claim of being a licensed press agency under the management of the capital city's Department of Justice is also untrue.

Last Wednesday, phapluat.news published an article named Hanois civil servants barred from Japanese gas station under proposed ban, which was shared across multiple social media platforms in Vietnam.

According to the article, the Peoples Committee of Hanoi received a letter from the local petroleum association calling for a ban on civil servants refilling at an Idemitsu Q8 gas station.

The station, opened earlier this month at the Thang Long Industrial Park in Hanois Dong Anh District, is the first Vietnamese retail outlet of a Japan-Kuwait joint venture.

Idemitsu Q8 is the first wholly foreign-owned firm to enter Vietnams highly conservative retail fuel sector.

In the alleged letter, Hanois petroleum association cites the need to avoid using foreign providers for fear of hurting local business.

The homepage of phapluat.news.

In interviews with local news agencies however, Phan The Rue, chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, dismissed the article as a fabrication and warned the public of similarly groundless rumors promulgated by dubious sites.

According to Hanoi police, phapluat.news is not a licensed press agency in Vietnam, and the contact address available on the sites homepage belongs to another media house.

The Ministry of Justice has also denied a claim that it owns the site.

According to investigations, the website was founded on July 7, and its domain and IP address are registered in the U.S. city of Phoenix.

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For the first time in 50 years, Vietnam has shifted its population policy from planned parenthood to maintaining stable birth rates.

The news was announced on Tuesday at a press conference held by Vietnams Ministry of Health.

Between 1960 and 1993, our population policy was to encourage that families should not have more than two children each, said Nguyen Van Tan, deputy director general of the General Office for Population and Family Planning.

Now we want to encourage each family to have two children and keep the birth rate as close as possible to the current replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman, he said.

Instead of a blanket policy to limit the number of births per family, areas with high birth rates would be encouraged to give birth less while those with low birth rates would be encouraged to produce more births, he elaborated.

While families in Vietnam have been allowed to have as many children as they wish without facing legal or administrative punishments since 1993, they are still encouraged to have one or two children, according to Tan.

In 2008, a new directive came into effect, stipulating that members of the Communist Party of Vietnam be penalized for having a third child and expeled from the Party for having any more than three children.

Since 2013, the policy for Party members has been relaxed, when they will only be dismissed for having five or more children.

A young couple take a stroll with their daughter in Tao Dan Park, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A recent online survey conducted by the General Office for Population and Family Planning found that 81.3 percent of 700,000 respondents only wanted to have one or two children, with the rest expressing their wish for three or more.

Based on these findings, Tan concluded, there should be no concern over whether Vietnams relaxed population policy would result in an unwanted population explosion.

In the 1960s, an average woman in northern Vietnam would give birth to around six children, according to Nguyen Thien Nhan, Party chief of Ho Chi Minh City.

Since the implementation of the two-child policy in the 1960s, the countrys fertility rate had dropped dramatically to three children per woman in the 1980s and two children per woman from 2005 until now, Nhan said.

Ho Chi Minh City currently reports the lowest fertility rate amongst women in Vietnam, at only around 1.45 children per woman, posing a possible threat to the citys workforce.

If Vietnam is able to maintain a stable replacement fertilty rate, its population is forecast to reach 104 million by 2030, and 113-115 million by 2049.

The country currently has an official population of 94 million, a number that is increasing by 850,000-900,000 per year.

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A Vietnamese woman has been arrested for masterminding an attack that led to the death of her own father, the director of an aquaculture company registered in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

The major crime division of police under the Ministry of Public Security confirmed on Tuesday night that they had arrested Tran Kieu Trang, 46, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City for planning the deadly attack.

Five other suspects were also taken into custody, including Can Van Chung, 35, Nguyen Quoc Huy, 34, Nguyen Thi The, 56, Pham Thanh Toan, 46, and Nguyen Huu Loc, 24.

As reported by Tuoi Tre News on October 6, Tran Van Ri, Trangs father and the director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Kien Binh Company, was traveling with his deputy, Vo Thi Chien, in a car driven by Can Van Chung on October 4. .

After arriving in Vi Thanh City in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, Huy, The, Toan and Loc attacked Ri, Chien and Chung, before setting their car on fire.

Ri and Chien, who both suffered severe burns, along with Chung who received minor burns when some of the gasoline spilled on him, were transported to a local hospital and then Cho Ray in Ho Chi Minh City, where Ri succumbed to his wounds seven days later.

Trang and five other suspects are at the police station. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The plan

According to Trangs statement to police, she suspected her father of having an affair with Chien, whom he had recently appointed deputy director of his company, handing over its management along with some of his assets to her.

Trang was upset at this, and that Chien had claimed things that she believed belonged to her family.

It was Trang who approached Chung, Ris personal driver, and discussed her plan to eliminate Chien.

Chung agreed to be part of the plan, hiring The and Toan to carry out the attack, who themselves enlisted the help of Huy and Loc.

Trang told The and Toan to make the attack appear like a mugging to distract police officers, and agreed to pay them between VND80 million (US$3,514) and VND100 million (US$4,392) on completion.

The scene of the attack in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang on October 4, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Missed target

On the day, Chung provided The and Toan with Ri and Chiens travel schedule, who along with Huy and Loc, traveling on motorbikes, forced Chung to pull over.

Acting along, Chung at first attempted to steer the car away, but was eventually blocked by The and Toan.

Huy then told Chung to get out of the car, allowing Loc to stab Chien twice, once in her stomach and once in her thigh, as she sat in the car, already affected by the tear-gas the gang had sprayed.

According to Trangs statement to police, the original plan was to then snatch Chiens handbag.

Instead, the four attackers then poured gasoline on the car and set it on fire, with Ri and Chien still inside.

They then fled the scene on their motorbikes.

After a police manhunt that lasted just under two weeks, all five suspects were arrested on Tuesday night, October 17.

According to information released, Huy and Loc have claimed that they did not know that Ri was in the car with Chien at the time of the attack.

Police are continuing to investigate.

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(Adds comments from Albanese and Elliott, further comments from Rio Tinto (Hanover: CRA1.HA - news) , paragraphs 8-11)

By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday charged mining company Rio Tinto Plc and two of its former top executives with fraud, saying they inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique acquired for $3.7 billion and sold a few years later for $50 million.

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority also said Tuesday it had reached a settlement with Rio Tinto under which the company would pay a fine of 27 million ($35.6 million) to settle claims that it breached accounting rules in connection with the Mozambique assets.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, the SEC (Shanghai: 603988.SS - news) said Rio Tinto, former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Albanese, and former Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record the assets.

The lawsuit centers on Rio Tinto's 2011 acquisition of Mozambique coal explorer Riversdale Mining for $3.7 billion. The SEC said that soon after the deal was completed, Rio Tinto learned that the acquisition would yield less coal, and of a lower quantity, than expected.

The securities regulator said Rio Tinto concealed the problems with the deal, in part because Rio Tinto had already disclosed huge losses in connection with its 2007 acquisition of Alcan. Making public a second failure "would call into question Albaneses and Elliotts ability to pursue the core of Rio Tintos business model," the SEC said in its complaint.

By making misleading public statements, Rio Tinto and the executives were able to raise $5.5 billion from U.S. investors, the SEC said. They continued to solicit the investments even after executives of the Mozambique subsidiary told Albanese and Elliott that the unit was likely worth negative $680 million, according to the SEC.

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The SEC said the fraud continued until January 2013, when another executive discovered accounting irregularities. Albanese subsequently resigned, and the Mozambique subsidiary was sold for just $50 million, the SEC said.

"There is no truth in any of these charges," Albanese said in a statement.

Christina Mills, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said Elliott would vigorously contest the charges.

Rio Tinto said it would defend itself vigorously against the SEC's allegations. The company said the U.K. FCA had "made no findings of fraud, or of any systemic or widespread failure by Rio Tinto."

It also disclosed that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was looking into its accounting of the Mozambique assets.

(1 = $1.3185) (Additional reporting by Jane Wardell in Sydney and Eric Walsh in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and David Gregorio)
(Adds detail, background)

ACCRA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Ghana and Ivory Coast set up a body on Tuesday to implement an international tribunal ruling on their dispute over a border running through multibillion dollar offshore oilfields, they said in a statement.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea last month drew an ocean boundary that seemed to favour Ghana in a dispute with its neighbour Ivory Coast, ruling that Accra had not violated Ivorian rights in drilling for oil.

"Following last month's ruling, the two leaders have agreed to work together and this has culminated in the setting up of a joint commission to implement the ruling," Ghanaian foreign minister Shirley Botchwey said, reading a joint communique.

The decade-old row between the West African neighbours has put the brakes on the development of Ghanas $6 billion offshore TEN field, run by Tullow Oil, one of the projects in the contested area of the Atlantic.

The court ruling did not correspond with either Ghana or Ivory Coast's claim, but appeared closer to Ghana's, and it rejected the former's attempt to halt development. (Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea congratulated China on its 19th Communist Party Congress on Wednesday amid increasingly frayed relationships between the traditional allies, as China tightens sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

The central committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea said that China had made "great progress in accomplishing the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics" under the correct guidance of the Communist Party.

"We are greatly pleased over this," the party central committee said in the message carried by the official KCNA news agency, adding that it "sincerely wished" the China congress "satisfactory success".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that many foreign political parties, organisations and dignitaries had sent their congratulations, including the Workers' Party of Korea.

"This all shows that the international community is paying close attention to the 19th Party Congress. We express our thanks for this," Lu told a daily news briefing.

Officials and experts in South Korea had worried that Pyongyang may conduct a weapons test to coincide with the opening of the twice-a-decade congress in Beijing, but there was no sign of that as Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his opening speech.

While the United States and its allies, and many people in China, believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two.

China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and which accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade with the isolated country, has said it will strictly enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions banning imports of coal, textiles and seafood, while cutting off oil shipments to the North.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Additional reporting by Martin Pollard and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick Macfie)
By Benjamin Kang Lim and Jess Macy Yu

BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) - China has the resolve, confidence and ability to thwart any attempt by self-ruled Taiwan to declare independence, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, prompting Taipei to retort that only its people could decide their future.

Taiwan is one of China's most important and sensitive issues. China considers proudly democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and has never renounced the possibility of using force to bring the island under its control.

Xi has set great store on trying to resolve differences, holding a landmark meeting with then-President Ma Ying-jeou in Singapore in 2015.

But relations have nosedived since Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won presidential elections last year, with Beijing fearing she wants to push for Taiwan's formal independence, a red line for China.

"We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China," Xi told more than 2,000 delegates at the opening of a week-long Communist Party Congress, drawing the longest applause during his 3-1/2 hour speech.

"We have the resolve, the confidence and the ability to defeat separatist attempts for Taiwan independence in any form," Xi told the audience, including some 300 from the People's Liberation Army.

Beijing has suspended a regular dialogue mechanism with Taipei established under Taiwan's previous, China-friendly government, and there has been a dramatic fall in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan under Tsai's administration.

Tsai says she wants peace with China but will protect Taiwan's freedom and democracy

In Taipei, the cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council said it was "absolutely" the right of Taiwan's 23 million people to decide their future.

"The Republic of China is a sovereign country," the council said, using Taiwan's formal name.

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The perpetuation of Taiwan's democratic system was a core value of Taiwan's, the council said in reaction to Xi's speech. Tsai and her government had been restrained and not provocative towards China, but had staunchly defended Taiwan's security and dignity.

Xi said that China respected Taiwan's "current social system and way of life".

"Recognise the historical fact ... that the two sides both belong to one China, and then our two sides can conduct dialogue to address through discussion the concerns of the people of both sides, and no political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland," he added.

(Additional reporting by Christian Shepherd and Stella Qiu; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Nick Macfie)
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May leaves the European Commission headquarters after a meeting with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Thomson Reuters

By Gabriela Baczynska

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union ministers told Britain it must offer more concessions on leaving the bloc before the other 27 states will begin trade talks, signaling that Prime Minister Theresa May's trip to Brussels had failed to bring a breakthrough.

Hours after May dined with senior EU officials in Brussels in the hope of pushing the EU to open talks on their post-Brexit ties, even the Netherlands -- which would be badly hit should Britain crash out of the EU with no deal to avoid trade disruptions -- said more was needed on the divorce terms first.

"We, the 27 together, find it extremely important that substantial progress is made on all three areas," Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said.

He reiterated the EU's demand that talks with London must first settle issues around Britain's exit bill, safeguarding expatriate rights, and the future Irish border before the bloc moves to talks on ties after Brexit.

He highlighted that the EU 27 would offer May an olive branch at their summit on Friday by saying they would start preparing among themselves for talks on post-Brexit transition in order to be able to engage with May swiftly after London delivers.

"I hope that in the UK the reality comes in that this is a possibility to come to the next stage in December," Koenders told reporters in Luxembourg where ministers were preparing for the summit this Thursday and Friday.

After the Brussels dinner on Monday evening, May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said in a joint statement that the pace of negotiations over Britain's departure from the European Union should be stepped up.

But big rifts remain between Britain and the EU 27 more than a year after Britons voted to leave the bloc, and after five rounds of negotiations between London and Brussels ended up with what the EU chief Brexit negotiator called a deadlock.

Some EU ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday said it was hard to negotiate with London as May was constantly challenged by Brexit hardliners in her own cabinet.

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"Sometimes it's very difficult to see and understand what Britain really wants from these negotiations," said Finland's deputy minister, Samuli Virtanen. "It seems that at the moment EU 27 is more unanimous than UK 1."

When asked how the Brexit talks were going, Norway's Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen seemed to share the confusion: "That's a good question. We are still waiting for more precise definitions from the Brits."

Belgium's Didier Reynders and Ireland's Simon Coveney also made clear more was needed on the divorce issues, and that the EU 27 could only go for trade talks with Britain in December.

NOT ENOUGH PROGRESS

At their talks without May on Friday, EU leaders are due to recognize some convergence between the two sides so far, but to deny May agreeing to open trade talks now.

That suggests her 11th-hour talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the Brussels dinner have not given the EU enough assurances.

London has suggested May was not bringing any new offer on the Brexit bill.

"It's all about the money and if she ups the bid now, that is a really hard sell politically," a senior source in May's governing Conservative Party told Reuters.

While France and Germany have pushed to tighten the Brexit statement being prepared for the EU 27 leaders on Friday, other diplomats said said they expect cosmetic changes.

Ireland's central bank said separately on Tuesday that companies need to prepare for a "no deal" Brexit and many businesses have said they may have to make contingency plans if there is no more clarity on what comes after Brexit by the end of the year.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper in London; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Chief Standing Bear now towers over Centennial Mall, with a 10-foot sculpture a fitting memorial to the Ponca leader who perhaps had the greatest impact on Natives in Nebraska.

The man whose watershed trial for Native rights stemmed from defying a federal order by returning to ancestral Ponca land in northeast Nebraska to bury his son deserves to be honored in that same homeland. While little exists to commemorate Standing Bear in that area, the installation of a second sculpture near the mouth of the Niobrara River is a long overdue  but well deserved  honor.

Little Native influence is evident today in northern Knox County, where the Ponca lived, beyond the tribe's cultural center and preserved ancestral lands south of Niobrara State Park and the small Santee Sioux reservation along the banks of the Missouri River. The nearby Standing Bear Bridge links Nebraska to South Dakota.

Omaha has an elementary school and lake named after him  more of a tribute to the Ponca chief than in the tribes ancestral lands in northeast Nebraska.

Correcting that century-old omission with a second bronze in the region is long overdue. Without the bluff-lined Niobrara and Missouri rivers, Standing Bears impact would not have been as great. No place is more ideal for him to be honored.

Following a series of broken promises and bad deals by federal officials, the last bands of Ponca were sent on a forced march in 1877, from the Niobrara River valley to what is now Oklahoma.

A grueling journey on what is called the Ponca Trail of Tears and a harsh winter killed off a large percentage of the tribe, including Standing Bears oldest son. The chief promised his son that he would be buried on land that had been the tribes home for generations  and was arrested en route.

In an Omaha courtroom, Standing Bear was permitted to speak in his own defense. In 1879, it was reportedly the first time a Natives rights had ever been on trial. He gave a stirring speech that he was in fact, a man, and deserving of the same rights as any American.

The judge ruled in his favor a few days later, conferring personhood and the rights it afforded on the Ponca chief and hundreds of thousands of other Natives. A victorious Standing Bear was free to fulfill his sons wish. In 1908, the Ponca chief, too, was buried in Knox County  though his legacy in the area will soon be more visible.

With the installation of a second statue, Standing Bear can forever watch from the site where his home once stood. Now, no one can force him away from the Niobrara River of his family and ancestors. There, he will be honored in a fitting manner, standing guard in the valley where he carried out a last act of love for his son  and, along the way, won a great victory for all Natives.
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP)  Moldova's Constitutional Court says that the country's president can be temporarily suspended from his duties after he refused to swear in the defense minister.

The court ruled Tuesday that President Igor Dodon could be stripped of his duties for "deliberately refusing... to exercise a part of his constitutional attributes."

Dodon called the ruling "a grave violation" of the court's powers and threatened street protests.

Pro-European Prime Minister Pavel Filip proposed Eugen Sturza as defense minister twice in September, but Dodon, who wants closer relations with Russia, refused to appoint him. The president said he wouldn't endorse Sturza because he wasn't a professional military officer.

Moldova hasn't had a defense minister since December 2016 when the incumbent resigned amid political infighting.

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BOGOR, Indonesia (Reuters) - Qatar is "open to dialogue" in resolving a dispute that has seen the Gulf state isolated from its Arab neighbours, its emir said during a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of financing terrorism and maintaining too close of ties to their arch-rival Iran. Doha denies the charges.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said he discussed the issue with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, which has the world's largest population of Muslims and has close ties to the Arab world.

"We conveyed...that Qatar is ready to conduct a dialogue to solve the problem as we already know that no one will win," Thani told reporters after meeting with Widodo at the state palace in Bogor, outside the capital of Jakarta.

"We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis," he added.

President Widodo did not publicly address the dispute.

The leader of the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas also visited Malaysia - another Muslim-majority nation - and Singapore this week.

Saudi and other Arab nations have made a list of 13 wide-ranging demands of Qatar, including closing down the Al Jazeera television network and curbing ties with Iran.

Kuwait and top United States officials have attempted to mediate between the parties, but there is little sign that the crisis will be resolved soon.

(Reporting by Heru Asprihanto; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
By Mica Rosenberg, Reade Levinson and Ryan McNeill

OAKLAND, California (Reuters) - The two Honduran women told nearly identical stories to the immigration courts: Fear for their lives and for the lives of their children drove them to seek asylum in the United States.

They were elected in 2013 to the board of the parent-teacher association at their children's school in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. They hoped that mothers working together could oust the violent gangs that plagued the campus.

Instead, they became targets. Weeks apart, in the spring of 2014, each of the women was confronted by armed gang members who vowed to kill them and their children if they didnt meet the thugs demands.

Unaware of each others plight, both fled with their children, making the dangerous trek across Mexico. Both were taken into custody near Hidalgo, Texas, and ended up finding each other in the same U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in Artesia, New Mexico. There, they applied for asylum.

Thats when their fates diverged.

Sandra Gutierrez joined her husband in California, where her case was heard by a San Francisco immigration court judge. At the end of her asylum hearing in September 2016, she received a one-page form, with an X in the box next to granted. She was free to settle into life with her family in the United States.

The other woman, Ana, joined her daughter's father in the southeastern United States, and her case was assigned to an immigration court in Charlotte, North Carolina. The judge denied her petition and ordered her deported. She is now awaiting a court date after new lawyers got her case reopened.

Ana declined to be interviewed for this article. Through her lawyers, she asked that her full name not be used because of her uncertain status and her fear that Honduran gangs could find her.

The womens lawyers framed their respective cases with some important differences. However, the women said their reasons for seeking asylum were the same: Gangs had targeted them because of their involvement in the parent-teacher association, and for that, they and their families had been threatened.

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Taken together, the two cases  nearly indistinguishable in their outlines but with opposite outcomes  illustrate a troubling fact: An immigrants chance of being allowed to stay in the United States depends largely on who hears the case and where it is heard.

Judge Stuart Couch, who heard Anas case in Charlotte, orders immigrants deported 89 percent of the time, according to a Reuters analysis of more than 370,000 cases heard in all 58 U.S. immigration courts over the past 10 years. Judge Dalin Holyoak, who heard Gutierrezs case in San Francisco, orders deportation in 43 percent of cases.

In Charlotte, immigrants are ordered deported in 84 percent of cases, more than twice the rate in San Francisco, where 36 percent of cases end in deportation.

Couch and Holyoak and their courts are not rare outliers, the analysis found. Variations among judges and courts are broad.

Judge Olivia Cassin in New York City allows immigrants to remain in the country in 93 percent of cases she hears. Judge Monique Harris in Houston allows immigrants to stay in just four percent of cases. In Atlanta, 89 percent of cases result in a deportation order. In New York City, 24 percent do.

The Reuters analysis used data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Justice Department unit that oversees immigration courts. The count of deportations included cases in which judges allowed immigrants to leave the country voluntarily.

The analysis excluded immigrants who were in detention when their cases were heard because such cases are handled differently. It also excluded cases in which the immigrant did not appear in court, which nearly always end in a deportation order, and cases terminated without a decision or closed at the request of a prosecutor.

About half the cases in the analysis were filed by asylum seekers like the two Honduran women. The rest were requests for cancellation of deportation orders or other adjustments to immigration status.

GROSS DISPARITIES

Of course, other factors influence outcomes in immigration court. For example, U.S. government policy is more lenient toward people from some countries, less so for others.

Also, immigration judges are bound by precedents established in the federal appeals court that covers their location. Immigration courts in California and the Pacific Northwest fall under the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and they rule in favour of immigrants far more often than courts in the 4th Circuit, which includes North and South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, Reuters found.

Even so, the Reuters analysis determined that after controlling for such factors, who hears a case and where it is heard remain reliable predictors of how a case will be decided. An immigrant was still four times as likely to be granted asylum by Holyoak in San Francisco as by Couch in Charlotte.

The Reuters analysis also found that an immigration judges particular characteristics and situation can affect outcomes. Men are more likely than women to order deportation, as are judges who have worked as ICE prosecutors. The longer a judge has been serving, the more likely that judge is to grant asylum.

The findings underscore what academics and government watchdogs have long complained about U.S. immigration courts: Differences among judges and courts can render the system unfair and even inhumane.

It is clearly troubling when you have these kinds of gross disparities, said Karen Musalo, director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at the University of California Hastings School of the Law in San Francisco. These are life or death matters. ... Whether you win or whether you lose shouldnt depend on the roll of the dice of which judge gets your case.

EOIR spokeswoman Kathryn Mattingly said the agency does not comment on external analyses of its data.

Devin OMalley, a Department of Justice spokesman, challenged the Reuters analysis, citing "numerous conflicting statements, miscalculations, and other data errors," but declined to elaborate further.

Immigration judges, appointed by the U.S. attorney general, are not authorized to speak on the record about cases.

Dana Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said each case is like a 1,000 piece puzzle. While two cases might look identical on the surface, she said, each judge has to weigh the nuances of immigration law to allow someone to stay in the country, which could lead to different outcomes.

The question of equality of treatment among judges has gained urgency as the number of cases in immigration court has ballooned to record highs. Under President Barack Obama, the courts began efforts to hire more immigration judges to reduce the systems burgeoning backlog, which now stands at more than 620,000 cases, nearly 100,000 of them added since last December.

The administration of President Donald Trump is continuing the effort. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in April that the Justice Department planned to hire more than 50 judges this year and 75 in 2018, which would put the total number of sitting judges above 400.

Of the 28 immigration judges Sessions has appointed so far, 16 are former ICE prosecutors. That experience, the Reuters analysis found, makes them 23 percent more likely to order deportation. (Neither Holyoak nor Couch worked as an ICE prosecutor, according to their EOIR biographies.)

In a wish list of immigration proposals sent to Congress on Oct. 8, the White House said that lax legal standards had led to the immigration court backlog and that misguided judicial decisions have prevented the removal of numerous criminal aliens, while also rendering those aliens eligible to apply for asylum. Among the proposals offered in exchange for a deal with Congress on the roughly 800,000 dreamers  children brought to the country illegally by their parents  the Trump administration said it wanted to hire even more immigration judges and 1,000 ICE attorneys, while establishing performance metrics for Immigration Judges.

CRISIS AT THE BORDER

In 2014, an unprecedented 68,000 parents and children, most of them fleeing violence and lawlessness in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, crossed into the United States from Mexico  a refugee crisis that has contributed to the bloated backlog of asylum petitions. Many of the migrants, including Gutierrez and Ana, convinced initial interviewers that they had a credible fear of returning home, the first step in filing an asylum claim.

Having come from a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world may have helped establish credible fear. But the two women were already at a disadvantage  precisely because they came from Honduras.

Country of origin is a big factor in determining who gets to stay in the United States because immigrants from some countries are afforded special protections. For example, courts ruled in favour of Chinese immigrants 75 percent of the time, the Reuters analysis found. A 1996 law expanded the definition of political refugees to include people who are forced to abort a child or undergo sterilization, allowing Chinese women to claim persecution under Beijings coercive birth-control policies.

Hondurans enjoy no special considerations. They were allowed to stay in the United States in just 16 percent of cases, the Reuters analysis found.

The mass exodus from Central America was under way when Gutierrez and Ana were elected to the board of the parent-teacher association at their childrens school in spring 2013.

Two rival gangs  the Barrio 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13  were operating brazenly in the neighbourhood. The year before, according to police records in Honduras, gang members killed a school security guard. Now, they were extorting teachers, selling drugs openly and assaulting or killing anyone who confronted them.

The new six-member association board set about trying to improve security at the school, which sits on a dirt road behind a high wall topped with razor wire.

Before, no one wanted to say anything about the gangs, Gutierrez said. We were the brave ones. The previous president was a man, so we thought, We are women, they wont do anything to us. 

The schools principal, who asked that he and the school not be identified out of fear of retaliation, worked with the board. They had early success, he said, when they persuaded police to provide officers to guard the school. But the patrols left after a few weeks, probably intimidated by the gangs.

One evening in April 2014, Gutierrez was watching television at home with her two sons, ages 5 and 11, when she heard banging at the front door. Her older boy recognised the three armed and heavily tattooed young men on the stoop as the same ones who had thrown him to the ground earlier that day, telling him, not for the first time, that they wanted him to join their ranks. Now they had come to deliver a message to Gutierrez.

They said they knew I was involved in the parents association, Gutierrez said. They said they would kill me and my children.

I began to panic and shake, she said. I thought, I have to go now. I am not going to risk my childs life. 

She quickly packed some backpacks for her and her children and called the only friend she knew who had a car. They drove all night to her friends mothers house in another town.

NO POLICE HERE

Two months later, according to court documents, Ana was walking her 7-year-old daughter home from school when three members of a rival gang confronted them. Two of them grabbed Ana and her daughter, pinned their wrists behind their backs, and pointed a gun at the childs head. The third pointed a gun at Anas head. They demanded that a payment of more than $5,000 be delivered in 24 hours, a huge sum for a woman who sold tortillas for a living.

Ana testified in her asylum hearing that she knew they were gang members because they were dressed in baggy clothing and they also had ugly tattoos  all over their bodies and faces.

Ana and her daughter ran home and then, fearing the gang would come after them, fled out the back door. We had to jump over a wall, and I hurt my foot doing so, she said in an affidavit. I was desperate and knew that I had to leave  my daughters life and mine were in danger.

The school principal said he understands why Gutierrez and Ana left Honduras. Because there were no police here, (the gangs) did what they wanted," he said. They said, Were going to kill the members of the parent-teacher association to get them out of here. So the women fled.

Gutierrez hid for two months at her friends mothers house outside Tegucigalpa. She joined another woman and, with their children, they set out to cross Mexico. On the journey, they were kidnapped  common for Central American migrants  and held for a $3,500 ransom. Gutierrez contacted relatives who wired the money. The kidnappers released her and her two sons near the U.S. border.

There they piled with another group of migrants into an inflatable raft and crossed the Rio Grande, the border between Mexico and the United States. They landed near Hidalgo, Texas.

After walking for an hour and a half, lost and desperate, Gutierrez and her sons sat down in the middle of a dirt road and waited for someone to pass. Two officials in uniforms picked them up. They were eventually transferred to the ICE detention centre in Artesia.

Ana fled with her daughter the night the gang members threatened them on the street. We bought a bus pass to go to Guatemala and from Guatemala to Mexico and to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to her court testimony. The journey took three weeks. In Mexico, she hired a coyote  a smuggler  to help them cross into the United States and then turned herself in to Border Patrol agents near Hidalgo. She arrived at the Artesia detention centre just weeks after Gutierrez.

The other women in the centre told me that there was someone else from Honduras who I might know, but I wasnt sure who they were talking about, Gutierrez said. And then one day we went to lunch, and there they were.

Gutierrez said that was when she first learnt that her fellow parent-teacher association board member had been threatened and had fled from home.

Volunteer lawyers helped the women prepare and submit their applications for asylum.

In late 2014, the two women were released on bond. Gutierrez moved with her boys to Oakland, California, to join her husband, and petitioned to have her case moved to San Francisco. Ana moved with her daughter to live with her daughters father and petitioned to have her case moved to Charlotte.

ASYLUM FREE ZONES

Many immigrants released on bond before their cases are heard have no idea that where they settle could make the difference between obtaining legal status and deportation.

People familiar with the system are well aware of the difference. When Theodore Murphy, a former ICE prosecutor who now represents immigrants, has a client in a jurisdiction with a high deportation rate but near one with a lower rate, I tell them to move, he said.

The Charlotte court that would hear Anas case was one of five jurisdictions labelled asylum free zones by a group of immigrant advocates in written testimony last December before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The courts in Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas and Atlanta also received the designation.

The advocates testified that, while asylum is granted in nearly half of cases nationwide, Charlotte judges granted asylum in just 13 percent of cases in 2015. The Charlotte court was singled out for displaying a particular bias against Central American gang and gender-related asylum claims.

Couch is the toughest of Charlottes three immigration judges, according to the Reuters analysis.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research organisation at Syracuse University in New York, first sounded the alarm about disparities in immigration court decisions in 2006. The next year, researchers at Temple University and Georgetown Law School concluded in a study titled Refugee Roulette that in many cases, the most important moment in an asylum case is the instant in which a clerk randomly assigns an application to a particular asylum officer or immigration judge. In 2008, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found similar disparities in its own study.

In response to the rising criticism, the Executive Office for Immigration Review began tracking decisions to identify judges with unusually high or low rates of granting asylum. Mattingly, the EOIR spokeswoman, said the agency held training sessions for judges to address the disparities in 2008 and 2009. It then created a system for the public to file complaints against immigration judges.

In a 2016 report, the GAO found that little had changed. EOIR held a two-day training session last year. There is no training on the 2017 calendar.

From 2012 to 2016, EOIR received 624 complaints against judges. The 138 complaints lodged in 2016 alone included allegations of bias, as well as concerns about due process and judges conduct within the courtroom. Of the 102 complaints that had been resolved when the data were published, only three resulted in discipline, defined as reprimand or suspension of the judge. Corrective actions such as counselling or training were taken in 39 cases. Close to half the complaints were dismissed.

The agency does not identify judges who were the subjects of complaints.

Mattingly, the EOIR spokeswoman, said the agency takes seriously any claims of unjustified and significant anomalies in immigration judge decision-making and takes steps to evaluate disparities in immigration adjudications.

DAY IN COURT

Asylum applicants cannot gain legal U.S. residency because they fled their countries in mortal fear of civil strife or rampant crime or a natural disaster. They must convince the court that they have well-founded fears of persecution in their country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinions or membership in a particular social group. The definition of a particular social group has been subject to conflicting interpretations in the courts, but in general, such a group comprises people who share basic beliefs or traits that cant or shouldnt have to be changed.

In the San Francisco court, Gutierrezs lawyers argued that she qualified for asylum because as a leader of the parent-teacher association, she was at risk for her political opinion  her stand against gangs  and for belonging to a particular social group of Hondurans opposed to gang violence and recruitment in schools. The lawyers also argued that she was part of another particular social group as the family member of someone under threat, since the gangs had terrorized her son in trying to recruit him.

Holyoak was convinced. Gutierrez told Reuters that during her final hearing, the judge apologised for asking so many questions about what had been a painful time in her life, explaining that he had needed to establish her credibility.

In the Charlotte court, Anas lawyer focussed more narrowly on her political opinion, arguing that she was at risk of persecution for her opposition to gangs in her position on the parent-teacher association board.

After hearing Anas case, Couch concluded in his written opinion that Ana was not eligible for asylum because she had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of future persecution on account of a statutorily protected ground. He wasnt convinced that she risked persecution in Honduras because of her political opinion.

Well-established law recognises family as a protected social group, according to the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. Cases that claim opposition to gangs as a protected political opinion, the centre says, have generated fewer precedent-setting decisions, making that argument a more difficult one to win in court, though it has prevailed in some cases.

Anas response to Couchs extensive questioning played a part in the decision. In immigration court, the asylum seeker is typically the only witness. As a result, credibility is really the key factor. Persecutors dont give affidavits, said Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge who now works at the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit organisation that supports lower levels of immigration.

Couch wrote in his opinion that Anas difficulty recounting the names of the women on the association board weighed against her credibility. He noted that she testified about her fears of the gang with a flat affect and little emotion, displaying a poor demeanour that did not support her credibility.

The judge also questioned why, in an early interview with an asylum officer, Ana never mentioned threats to the parent-teacher association, and instead said she thought the gangs were targeting her for the money her daughters father was sending from the United States to build a house in Honduras.

Anas assertion that she learnt from Gutierrez in detention about gang threats to the parent-teacher association was not persuasive, Couch wrote. The evidence indicates this is a case of criminal extortion that the respondent attempts to fashion into an imputed political opinion claim.

SOMEONE WANTS TO KILL THEM

Gutierrez said Ana told her in one of their occasional phone conversations that she felt intimidated by the intense questioning of the ICE attorney. Gutierrez also said her friend is very forgetful.  Its not that she is lying. Its just that she forgets things.

Lisa Knox, the lawyer who represented Gutierrez, said judges where she practices tend to give applicants the benefit of the doubt. They have more understanding of trauma survivors and the difficulty they might have in recounting certain details and little discrepancies, she said.

Further, Knox said, asylum seekers arent thinking about the finer points of U.S. asylum law when they are fleeing persecution. People show up in our office (and) they have no idea why someone wants to kill them. They just know someone wants to kill them.

Anas lawyer appealed her case to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the first step in the appellate process. This time, her lawyer included arguments about her membership in a particular social group. She lost. In a three-page ruling, one board member said Anas lawyer could not introduce a new argument on appeal and agreed with Couch that Ana hadnt proved a political motive behind the gang members attack.

Ana missed the deadline to appeal the BIA decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals because her lawyer confused the deadline. She petitioned the BIA through new lawyers to reopen her case and send it back to the immigration court to allow her to present new evidence of her persecution. The new lawyers argued that her previous representation had been ineffective.

In July, the BIA granted Ana the right to a rehearing in immigration court, sending her case back to Charlotte, where it could be heard again by Couch.

Gutierrez can live and work legally in the United States and will ultimately be able to apply for citizenship. The 43-year-old, who worked as a nurse in Honduras, lives in a small one-bedroom apartment with her husband, her two sons  now 15 and 8  her adult daughter and her grandson. She works as an office janitor and is taking English classes. Her boys are in school. The older one, once threatened by gangs in Honduras, likes studying history and math and is learning to play the cello.

Ana, 31, has had a baby since arriving in the United States and has been granted work authorization while she awaits a final decision on her case. She and her lawyers declined to share more detailed information about her situation because she remains fearful of the gangs in Honduras.

I am very worried about her, Gutierrez said. The situation in our country is getting worse and worse.

Last February, a 50-year-old woman and her 29-year-old son who were selling food at the school Gutierrez and Anas children attended were kidnapped from their home and decapitated, according to police records.

The head of the son was placed on the body of the mother and the head of the mother was placed on the body of the son. The murders, like more than 93 percent of crimes in Honduras, remain unsolved.

(Reporting by Mica Rosenberg in Oakland, California, and Reade Levinson and Ryan McNeill in New York. Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco. Edited by Sue Horton, Janet Roberts and John Blanton.)
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland said on Wednesday it would start sharing information on the activities of multinationals in its territory with other countries in 2020, joining an international push to fight tax evasion.

The new measures will force about 200 large companies in the low-tax haven to prepare country-by-country reports - showing where they are generating revenues and where they are paying taxes.

The effort is part of a global crackdown on companies shifting profits to lower tax areas to reduce their tax payments.

Other countries, including European Union members and Japan have already agreed to start sharing information two years earlier, from 2018.

"Switzerland is thereby fully implementing one of the global minimum standards of the base erosion and profit shifting project, which aims to improve transparency with regard to the taxation of multinationals and to establish a uniform framework for the exchange of the reports," the government said.

Switzerland has attracted hundreds of multinationals with some of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe. The measures affect companies with annual revenues of more than 750 million euros (669.28 million pounds).

SECRECY

Nearly one third of European Union states backed a plan to tax digital multinationals on their turnover, France said last month, as the EU weighs a range of other measures to increase the tax bill of companies like Google and Amazon.

The moves are part of a growing campaign in the EU to claim tax revenues that online giants are accused of skirting by routing most of their profits to low tax rate states, like Ireland and Luxembourg.

Switzerland has made moves to become more open about tax affairs, especially after its bank were hit with massive fines by the U.S. authorities investigating secret bank accounts set up to evade tax.

But it retains a reputation for secrecy. A Swiss man went on trial in Frankfurt on Wednesday, accused of spying on a German tax agency to find out how it had obtained information on bank accounts held secretly in Switzerland by Germans.

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"There are still some issues in Switzerland regarding tax transparency, but there has been progress, and the move to country by country reporting is a major step forward, said John Christensen, a director at Tax Justice Network, a global advocacy group.

"But Switzerland is still a follower rather than a leader when it comes to tax affairs."

Some multinationals are paying special corporate rates tax rates as low as 7.8 to 12 percent in Switzerland, far below the 12 to 24 percent rate applied to normal companies.

Switzerland proposed reforms to its business tax last month, hoping to win approval for an overhaul after voters in February rejected an earlier attempt.

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By Tom Allard and Gayatri Suroyo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The U.S. government had intimate knowledge of the mass killing of alleged communists in Indonesia in the mid 1960s even as it failed to publicly reveal the slaughter, newly declassified U.S. documents show.The documents also reveal that Indonesian army intermediaries told Western embassies they were considering toppling then president Sukarno less than a fortnight after the killing of six generals by rebel military personnel that sparked the bloodletting.

The murder of the generals on Sept. 30, 1965, is still widely depicted as an attempted communist coup against Sukarno.

The murders were used as a pretext for an anti-communist pogrom by Indonesia's military and Islamic groups that led to at least 500,000 deaths.

One of the worst massacres of the 20th century, the killings in 1965 and 1966 have never been officially investigated and perpetrators have never faced justice.

Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority country, still has periodic bouts of anti-communist hysteria. Last month, a meeting by human rights activists and victims of the anti-communist purge was shut down after Islamists and nationalists rioted outside the venue.

One cable from the U.S. embassy in Jakarta to the Department of State, written three months after members of the communist party, the PKI, were first targeted, said there were "an estimated 100,000 PKI deaths".

In Medan, on the island of Sumatra, clerics from the Muslim group Muhammadiyah urged members to kill communists, according to a telegram from the U.S. consul."Conscious PKI members are classified as lowest order of infidel, the shedding of whose blood is comparable to killing chicken," the consul said in one report.

Muhammadiyah youth group chairman Dahnil Anzar said the documents showed "nothing new" but such conflict should not happen again.

A U.S. consular officer in the city of Surabaya, in East Java, said in a telegram members of Ansor, the youth wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic organisation, were responsible for "widespread slaughter" and they thought killing communists was a "ticket to heaven".

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Army is quietly releasing nightly 10 to 15 prisoners to Muslims for execution, the official in Surabaya said in another dispatch.

Abdul Rochman, secretary general of Ansor, told Reuters that the group's involvement in the killings of 1965 was a form of self-defence.

"(The PKI) carried out provocative activities like aggressive recruitment and went further by insulting our imams, poisoning and killing our members, burning mosques, he said."We believe the NUs reaction was relatively measured and not disproportionate.Indonesias chief security minister, Wiranto, declined to answer questions. Army deputy chief of staff, H Siburian, said he had not seen the documents so could not comment.

CONCERN ABOUT LEFT-WING POLICIES

Rochman, from NU's Ansor, said he supported any move for dialogue and reconciliation.

We must make sure all voices are heard - NUs voice, the victims' voices, the children of suspected communists."

Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said redress for victims was "long overdue".

The U.S. embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

While the documents do not solve the mystery of why the six generals were killed on Sept. 30, they do show that the United States and its Indonesian military allies were deeply concerned about Sukarno's left-wing policies and ties to the communists.

Then U.S. ambassador Marshall Green wrote on Oct. 12, 1965, that the army had approached western embassies through an "intermediary" and said they were considering a quick move to overthrow Sukarno, although no final decision was made.

In the event of such a coup, Green says the United States could help with anything from covert operations and assistance [to] transport, money, communications equipment, or arms".

In January 1967, Major General Sjarif Thajeb told a U.S. embassy official Sukarno planned to accuse foreigners and their "little army friends" of orchestrating the Sept. 30 killings. The president's plan had galvanized the military "hawks" to oust Sukarno by March".

Army general Suharto became acting president in March, ushering in three decades of military dictatorship.

(Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kappor; Editing by Ed Davies and Robert Birsel)
U.N. peacekeepers take a break as they patrol along a street during the presidential election in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Media Coulibaly (Reuters)

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Amid a U.S. push to cut United Nations peacekeeping costs, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday he hoped the U.N. Security Council would agree to send an extra 900 troops to protect civilians in Central African Republic.

Guterres, who will visit Central African Republic next week, told reporters that while peacekeepers had "helped avert the worst" when mass atrocities were being committed in the country five years ago, the situation remained "very troubling."

"Across the country, communal tensions are growing. Violence is spreading. And the humanitarian situation is deteriorating," Guterres said. "There is a need to increase the capacity of our troops in Central African Republic to protect civilians."

"I am convinced there will be a very positive understanding of all the members of the Security Council, including the United States of America, in relation to this," he said.

Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled a conflict that broke out after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.

Although unrest has since subsided, fighting has spiked this year and the United Nations warned that ethnic fighting could descend again into a much larger conflict.

U.N. peacekeepers were deployed in 2014 and the Security Council is due to renew the mandate for the mission of more than 12,000 troops and police by mid-November. In a report to the council on Tuesday, Guterres recommended an extra 900 troops.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has led a push to cut peacekeeping costs and is reviewing each operation as annual mandates come up for renewal by the Security Council. President Donald Trump wants to cap the U.S. share of the peacekeeping bill at 25 percent, down from 28.5 percent, a level he says is "unfair."

The United States is a veto-wielding member of the council, along with Britain, France, Russia and China. There are currently more than a dozen peacekeeping missions with a total annual budget of more than $7.3 billion.

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Guterres has pledged to make U.N. peacekeeping more efficient but has noted that the current budget to fund it is less than one half of 1 percent of global military spending.

U.N. peacekeepers in Central African Republic have also been dogged by allegations of sexual abuse that the world body has been working to address.

"I am pained that some peacekeepers are alleged to have committed egregious acts of sexual exploitation and abuse against the people of the Central African Republic," Guterres said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by James Dalgleish)
SWNS

<p>An incredible back garden boozer made entirely from recycled materials has been crowned Britain's best Pub Shed of the Year.</p><p>John Simmons, 50, spent more than a year and constructing the amazing DIY man-cave in his garden in Portsmouth, Hants.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>John sourced, cut, sanded and fixed every timber and tting himself  as well all 4,500 screws.</p><p>The dad-of-three beat off more than a thousand entries to be named the owner of Britain's best Pub Shed 2022.</p><p>He celebrated the win in his garden pub last night (12/11) with friends  and said he was thrilled to be crowned the winner.</p><p>John started building the boozer last year and said he wanted a 'haven at home' he could enjoy that was cheaper than the pub.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>John said: It has all been rather overwhelming, but I am chuffed to bits.</p><p>We had 18 friends over last night to celebrate the final and it was fantastic to find out I won - I was really thrilled.</p><p>I started building it last year and wanted to have it completed this summer for my 50th birthday.</p><p>Sourcing the reclaimed material took the biggest chunk of time.</p><p>I am an avid DIY-er and love a project.</p><p>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.</p><p>Its somewhere I can go and enjoy being with my friends and family, which was really the whole purpose.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>The three-metre-long bits of wood remarkably came from an old dock yard building John used to work in.</p><p>He said: My favourite part is the main oak beams.</p><p>They are from an old dock yard building that I used to work in years ago before it was demolished.</p><p>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.</p><p>It is a remarkable story.</p><p>All my family and friends have been so supportive of the project, and it has been great having everyone round to enjoy it.</p><p>My wife Anita put all the finishing touches to the pub to make it look as amazing as it does.</p><p>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.</p><p>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</p><p>They were whittled down from more than a thousand entries - many of which were built during lockdown.</p><p>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.</p><p>"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.</p><p>"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.</p><p>It is believed more than two million back garden pubs are now in operation in Britain after their popularity exploded during the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>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.</p><p>As a result, Two Fat Blokes bar signs, Pub Shed Radio and the Facebook group Garden Shed Pubs & Nightclubs began running the national competition.</p><p>The winner was announced live on Pub Shed Radio on Saturday (12/11).</p><p>Ashley Turner, the owner of Two Fat Blokes Bar Signs, said: "The quality of bars and diversity of the entries has been phenomenal.</p><p>"We ran the competition to showcase the amazing community of pub sheds in the UK.</p><p>"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.</p><p>"The Dog & Ball is a perfect example of an amazing pub shed and deserved to win with his amazing hand-built pub.</p><p>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".</p><p>Pub Shed Radio's DJ Mupps said: "It was brilliant to knock on the door of the winners bar live on Pub Shed Radio.</p><p>"John & Anita were totally gobsmacked to find out they had won. We then went live from the bar broadcasting with a real party atmosphere."</p><p>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.</p><p>"With over 280,000 members our group has really got on board with the competition.</p><p>"Judging the entries was so difficult  The Dog & Ball is a great example of a proper pub shed."</p>
Kele Howerton would not describe herself as a hero, but others would.

The 19-year-old University of North Georgia (UNG) student helped rescue an unidentified man from drowning in the Rhine River near Strasbourg, France, while on her study abroad program in July.

Howerton, a junior majoring in information systems, will be recognized for her heroic efforts by the UNG Public Safety department.

However, Howerton shies away from praise about her actions this summer.

"I didn't think of it as such a heroic move," the Augusta, Georgia, native said. "I thought of it as something you should do, something anybody should do."

Howerton said she just reacted to the situation when she and Georgia College and State University student Daniel Benton were near the Rhine River, part of the border between France and Germany.

"We saw a man get undressed and jump into the river. He just started swimming," Howerton said. "He started bobbing up and down and then he went under."

The pair watched as a teenage boy jumped into the river and swam to the man. The boy reached him but struggled to keep the now-unconscious man afloat.

"That's when I took off my shoes and jumped into the water, socks and all," Kele said. "I got in to help. The man was blue from the collarbone up."

Howerton and the teen ferried the man close to shore and hoisted him into the waiting arms of Benton and several teenage boys, who lifted him out of the water. One of the boys started CPR, and Benton pulled Howerton from the river.

The French police arrived, started treating the man and whisked him away to a hospital. This scared Howerton.

"I was nervous because I never saw him wake up, and I didn't know if he'd be OK," she said.

It was not the first time Howerton was scared that night. She said she experienced a flash of fear while in the water.

"There was a little moment when I thought I was going to drown because (the Rhine River) didn't have any bank. It was just a drop into deep water," Howerton said. "And I got really scared because you are in a moment and you think you can't do anything until you actually do them."

Howerton credits Benton with keeping her calm as the situation unfolded on shore. The language barrier made it difficult for her to communicate with the French authorities.

"Had Daniel not been there, I would have shut down," Howerton said. "He was a great emotional support."

Barbara Howerton learned of her granddaughter's actions via text message. While she was shocked at first, she was not surprised by Kele's actions.

"She's a quick thinker in a crisis," she said. "She can keep a cool head in a crisis. We've always known that about her."

Her quick actions saved a life. Howerton said the French police later reported if it wasn't for her, the man would have died.

This action, along with way she has handled the attention regarding the rescue, has made her grandparents proud.

"She was a little bit overwhelmed by the attention," Barbara Howerton said. "She appreciated it but she's ready to move on. We are very proud of her."
RACINE  After more than 10 years representing Racine in the Legislature, state Rep. Cory Mason will spend at least the next 18 months leading the city as its mayor.

With all wards reporting, unofficial results showed Mason with 5,356 votes, putting him 964 votes ahead of his opponent, 6th District Alderman Sandy Weidner, who tallied 4,392 votes. At one point, unofficial results indicated that a write-in candidate, Lee A. McGlorn, had received 28 votes.

Mason said Tuesday night that he was excited that voters had elected him to be the citys next mayor.

Im really excited about moving the city forward and really doing the things that we talked about on the campaign; really rebuilding that middle class and getting people ready for the opportunities that are coming to the area, Mason said after thanking supporters gathered at The Branch, 1501 Washington Ave., in Uptown.

Weidner, who was with supporters at Pepis Pub and Grill, 618 Sixth St., said she was disappointed with the outcome.

I dont think its a matter of not resonating with the voters, because I know we did, Weidner told supporters. We brought the issues out.

She added that she would not be running for mayor again, nor would she run for re-election to her aldermanic seat, which is up for grabs in April.

I made up my mind that I was either going to step up or step away, because you can only beat your head on the wall for so long, she said.

The race

Tuesdays election was called by the City Council in August, after former Mayor John Dickerts July departure. Dickert, who announced his pending resignation in March, left to take a position as president and CEO of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

Six candidates submitted nominating papers to run for the post. The field of candidates was narrowed to Weidner and Mason following the Sept. 19 primary. Former School Board President Melvin Hargrove, pastor at Zoe Outreach Ministries, 2130 Racine St., who ran for mayor in 2015, was the third highest vote-getter in the contest.

Mason was the first candidate to throw his hat into the ring for the seat, announcing his intentions at the same news conference at which Dickert announced his pending resignation.

After the March news conference Mason, who has represented Racine in the state Assembly since 2006, said he thought he could serve the city better as its mayor.

Ive been in the Legislature for 11 years, two in the majority and nine in the minority, and I can tell you that the amount that youre able to accomplish is limited, he said, noting that he planned to resign his Assembly seat should he be elected mayor.

A longtime Democrat, Mason emerged early as a front-runner in the race, running on his experience in government and his desire to galvanize job growth and address poverty.

His fundraising totals dwarfed those of his opponents. In September alone, his campaign spent more than $38,000 on consultants.

Weidner, who officially announced her candidacy in July, chiefly ran on her opposition to the proposed arena project, while also focusing on such bread-and-butter issues as neighborhood improvement, small business support, and the maintaining of city services.

Having established a reputation for challenging the Dickert administration, some of her biggest supporters were critics of City Hall.

In many ways, the race centered on the Dickert administrations pursuit of lofty development projects, chiefly the ill-fated Machinery Row riverfront redevelopment endeavor and the proposed lakefront arena and hotel complex.

Both Weidner and Mason expressed opposition to the arena.

In her concession speech, Weidner said that one thing she felt she had accomplished was putting Mason in a position where he had to say what he was going to do about the event center.

Hopefully the voters will keep their aldermen and the city staff accountable regarding their feelings on the event center, she said.

Transition

Mason will serve out Dickerts term in office. Hell have the option to run for re-election in April 2019.

As he prepares for his new role, the City Council and interim Mayor Dennis Wiser  the 10th District alderman who was appointed to the post after Dickerts resignation  are busy working on the citys 2018 budget. The spending plan earmarks funds for the $55 million arena and the demolition of the Machinery Row buildings.

The budget is slated to be adopted by the City Council on Nov. 7, the same day Mason takes office.

In the coming weeks, Mason said he plans to have a lot of conversations with City Council members as well community members about what his administration hopes to accomplish.

Theres a lot of work to do to prepare for the job, he said.
Behind the festive, weeklong celebration of Virginia Techs 2017 Homecoming are 17 students who comprise the Homecoming Board. They started planning in January 2017, collaborating with student organizations, Corps of Cadets, the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, and the community to make the best Homecoming possible. Working side-by-side with them is Emily Mawyer, assistant director of campus events and advisor to the Homecoming Board.

Mawyer may work behind the scenes, but her dedication, attention to detail, and investment in student leaders are evident in the execution of campus-wide events.

Emily has been great at motivating each board member to reach their full potential, said Mariame Pierce, president of Virginia Techs Homecoming Board and a senior from Vienna, Virginia, studying applied economic management and financial planning in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She has challenged us to look at the bigger picture of Homecoming and what it means to the university. Without her help, Homecoming wouldn't be what it is today.

A proud moment for Mawyer came in 2015 when the Homecoming Board initiated service platforms as the crux of every candidates campaign for Homecoming King and Queen.

Many people didnt understand why, and there was pushback from some areas, but the students who made the decision confronted the critics with grace and strong reasoning, said Mawyer. Now, there is no doubt in anyones mind that this was the right decision and it made the organization, and Homecoming itself, a stronger, more connected program.

Mawyer graduated in 2013 from Virginia Techs Pamplin College of Business with a degree in hospitality and tourism management. She began working with Student Affairs in the Event Planning Office as a student in 2010 and became a full-time event planning advisor at the start of her final undergraduate semester.

Now assistant director of campus events, Mawyer advises, directs, and supports The Big Event and the Virginia Tech Homecoming Board and its student leadership. In this role, she helps students to understand and use institutional, local, state, and federal policies and laws.

Helping students navigate challenges is what she finds most rewarding about her job.

When putting on events and programs, unexpected hiccups are always going to happen, said Mawyer. Instead of rushing to give students the answer or fix the problem for them, I love talking through issues and hearing how they think the problem can be resolved. My office is and always will be a safe environment for students to talk out solutions and to make mistakes.

Whenever she has an idea, she asks us a question instead of stating an opinion, said Pierce. For example, she would say Have you thought about changing the title of Homecoming King and Queen to maybe be more gender inclusive? It really helps because her guiding questions allow the board to look at the bigger picture and the direction we want Homecoming to go, said Pierce.

Helen Zhang, a sophomore from Springfield, Virginia, studying business information technology in the Pamplin College of Business, is director of programming for the Homecoming Board. Zhang views Mawyer as a mentor who stretches students to be creative and critical thinkers.

Since working with her, Ive learned that a leader is someone you can trust to guide you to reach short- and long-term goals and help you grow as a person, said Zhang.

In addition to guiding the work of the Virginia Tech Homecoming Board, Mawyer oversees the execution of Hokie Hi events, Labor Day events, Family Weekend events, and late-night programming, such as GobblerNights. She also partners with the Event Planning Office and Student Budget Board to help identify and work with student organizations to understand the necessary components of hosting a major event at Virginia Tech.

Written by Tiffany Woodall.
Virginia Tech researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness and economic feasibility of using insects to increase food security in one of the worlds poorest countries  Niger.

Economists from the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics recently partnered with entomologists from Virginia Tech and Niger in a study analyzing the profitability of using insects to curb millet yield losses caused by the millet head miner pest. They estimate that multiplying and distributing the beneficial insect Habrobracon Hebetor could increase the nations food security by recovering as much as 41 percent of total millet yield losses.

As one of the poorest countries in the world with significant malnutrition, its vital that we take steps to reduce the damage this pest is causing, said George Norton, the professor of agricultural and applied economics who oversaw the project. Letting the millet head miner continue to devastate farmers yields will have detrimental effects not only for farmers, but for the countrys economy and the health of all Nigeriens.

According to scientists, the best way to reduce damage caused by the millet head miner is to control the pests population by breeding H. hebetor, a wasp that parasitizes millet head miner larvae, and releasing it around village farms in jute bags that also contain millet.

Because Niger is a predominantly agricultural economy and millet is a major source of income and calories, its vital to curb these losses, said Michael Guerci, a recent alumnus whose masters thesis focused on the project. But a major benefit of this particular method is that it introduces farmers to an environmentally friendly pest management technique.

Nortons 30-plus year career working around the world with graduate students on agricultural development and pest management projects, combined with Guercis passion for food security, made them an ideal team to collaborate with Nigerien entomologists in developing and analyzing a sustainable and socially acceptable solution to the pest problem.

They devised a model that incorporated a cooperative purchasing arrangement between small breeding businesses and farmer groups in order to overcome the potential for one farmer to free-ride on insects purchased by a neighboring farmer. In the model, farmer groups at the village level would use a portion of their farmer dues to purchase the prepared jute bags, leaving individual farmers free to decide whether or not to purchase their own bags.

Cost estimates used in the model were taken from a pilot test of small H. hebetor-breeding businesses that distributed prepared jute bags to villages across Niger, while Guerci and Norton devised values for farmers willingness to pay based on survey responses to a questionnaire the scientists developed.

Using cost data from the pilot test, Guerci and Norton established a break-even point for the breeding businesses and then used survey data to chart price recommendations. Other factors, such as labor issues, perceived risk, farmer benefits, and market potential, were also included in their analysis and recommendations. Results indicated that businesses have the potential to be profitable in the first year of operation, with significant profit increases in subsequent years.

While our feasibility model clearly showed that this approach could have major benefits for Nigerien farmers and businesses, we must consider all factors and all players that could impact its success, said Guerci. Communication among all involved parties is essential  from grower businesses to research institutions, Extension agents, and farmers themselves. With stakeholder cooperation, the beneficial insect business appears to be a promising way of improving food security in Niger.



- Written by Jillian Broadwell
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands and the universitys President Emeritus Charles Steger were both saddened to learn of Dr. Ed Murphys death and offered condolences to the family of the former Carilion Clinic leader.

Ed was a true visionary, someone who realized that a growing relationship between Virginia Tech and Carilion would not only benefit patients and students but could propel the regions economy, said Steger, who partnered with Murphy to conceive and initiate the Virginia Tech Carilion partnership that led to the creation of the medical school and research institute in Roanoke.

Because of Dr. Murphys original vision and his close working relationship with president Steger, we now have one of the best research-oriented medical schools in the country and a research institute that is having far-reaching impact that is building with each year, said Sands He laid the foundation for Virginia Techs partnership with Carilion that is entering its second decade with the promise of even greater benefit for our region and beyond.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.
RACINE  The Racine Zoo has announced that it will say goodbye and relocate one of its two giraffes at the end of the month.

Bo, a Masai giraffe, will leave the Racine Zoo at the end of October, according to a release issued by the Racine Zoo Tuesday afternoon.

The Racine Zoo, 2131 N. Main St., is an active member of the Species Survival Plan for Masai giraffes within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This year, the AZAs breeding recommendations suggested that Bo be transferred to reproduce with females currently housed at another location, the release stated.

The Racine Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and as part of the Species Survival Plan. We are proud to help increase the conservation of endangered species for generations to come, said Racine Zoo Executive Director Elizabeth Heidorn. Bo is a guest favorite, and we are sad to see him go but are excited for his future and what that means to his species.

With Bo leaving, the Racine Zoo will be receive a 3-year-old male Masai giraffe from the same zoo Bo will be transferred to. The new giraffe will be introduced to the zoos other male giraffe, Mac.

Savannah Ingram, the zoos marketing and public relations manager, stated that because the zoo does not have the room for breeding, the zoos role in the AZA program is to house male giraffes until they are needed for breeding.

According to the release, the zoos role within the Masai giraffe species survival plan is to house male giraffes until their genetics become necessary to diversify the pedigree of the zoo population, as well as to educate the public on the plight of giraffes in the wild by connecting them with ambassadors for their species, the release said.

Breeding with purpose

The zoo staff also stated that although they are sad to see Bo leave, they recognize the important role he will play in creating a stable and genetically diverse population of Masai giraffes within AZA-accredited zoos. This population will, in turn, help his wild counterparts suffering a silent extinction in the wild due to poaching and habitat fragmentation, the zoo said.

Over the last 30 years, giraffe populations have suffered a 40 percent decrease in the wild, the release said.

Species survival plan (SSP) programs are critical to the sustainability of over 500 populations of animals in human care in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, said Sheri Horiszny, the giraffes SSP coordinator. The giraffes at Racine Zoo are part of the Masai Giraffe SSP, which includes 123 giraffes at 32 zoos, and Bo, a 13-year-old male, is the 14th most genetically valuable male in the entire population.

The SSP is extremely grateful to Racine Zoo and Bos new Zoo for working together to give this male the opportunity to move to his new habitat and breed, as his genetics are very valuable to the future health of the Masai giraffe population in North America, Horiszny said.

Ingram said the new giraffe is expected to arrive around the same time Bo leaves, but both Mac and the new giraffe will not likely be on display until next year, as the new giraffe will be in quarantine for a while. The last day to visit Bo at the Racine Zoo is Thursday, Oct. 26, the zoo staff said.

For more information on the AZA, go to www.aza.org. For more information about the Racine Zoo, go to racinezoo.org.
With Foxconns plans to build a $10 billion manufacturing plant in the Village of Mount Pleasant now firmly in place, the future of Racine Countys manufacturing industry has never been brighter.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Racine County has one of the highest percentages of manufacturing jobs in the entire state. In fact, approximately 25 percent of Racine County residents are employed by one of the more than 450 manufacturing companies that operate here. That number doesnt even include the 170 companies that employ thousands in the related warehousing and distribution industries. One thing is certain, Foxconn isnt bringing manufacturing to our great county, its building upon the solid foundation of manufacturers who have called Racine County home for generations.

Perhaps one reason these manufacturers have located to and stayed in Racine County is our shared commitment to providing a supportive environment for manufacturing companies. Racine Countys easy access to railways, shipping ports and two international airports make us a prime location. Additionally, as evidenced by the recently unveiled Village of Mount Pleasant and Racine County financing package, we are also a community willing to invest in our future.

A development the size of Foxconns will need access to significant public infrastructure, including water and sanitary sewer services, roadway improvements, electric and natural gas services and the addition of fiber optic lines. In my opinion, the Village of Mount Pleasant and Racine County have presented a well thought-out, careful and conservative local package that makes Racine highly desirable, while maintaining a commitment to the taxpayers. The villages plans to create a tax incremental cistrict (TID) for the project, and use the increased property value and tax revenue from Foxconn to fund the project, means the county will not need a sales tax for this project.

Though the TID is primarily focused on Foxconn, I believe the infrastructure it funds will spur even greater interest in Racine County. The attention garnered from Foxconn will inevitably attract other high-tech companies to set up shop here, too. Thanks to village and county leadership, we will have the infrastructure in place to support them.

This is a prime opportunity to showcase what we have to offer major manufacturers, and at Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce, were up to the challenge. With our talent development programs, vast networking opportunities, and business support services we continue to be a champion for Racine County businesses, and were excited and proud to have Foxconn at our table.
SEOUL, South Korea  The environmental group Greenpeace issued a report on Tuesday giving technology titans including Samsung Electronics, Amazon and Huawei low marks for their environmental impact.

Many of the biggest technology companies failed to deliver on commitments to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and are still reluctant to commit fully to renewable energy, according to Greenpeace USAs Guide to Greener Electronics. The report, which assessed 17 top global tech companies in three areas, also faulted many of them for failing to use more recycled materials in their products and slow progress in phasing out use of toxic materials.

Tech companies claim to be at the forefront of innovation, but their supply chains are stuck in the Industrial Age, Gary Cook, a campaigner at Greenpeace USA, said in a statement.

The report details the hidden cost behind what may be the most sought-after and celebrated consumer products in the 21st century: mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablet computers.

Since 2011, Greenpeace has urged global tech companies to transition to renewable energy, prompting some of them to switch to environmentally friendly power sources for their data centers. The group is urging the industry to tackle energy issues in manufacturing and supply chains, design longer-lasting products to reduce electronics waste and urging an overall rethink of its take-make-waste business model.

The report highlighted that tech companies manufacturing processes are not as environmentally friendly as their innovative images might suggest.

While the energy consumption in the tech industry rose rapidly to fuel the supply chains and the manufacturing of these products as well as the data centers where social media, cloud computing and other applications run, so have the greenhouse gas emissions.

Samsung Electronics received a grade of D in its use of renewable energy, which accounted for just 1 percent of its manufacturing process, compared with Apple, which relied on renewable energy for 96 percent of its operation. Samsung, the worlds largest maker of smartphones and key component suppliers of many of the tech companies featured in the report, saw its greenhouse gas emissions rise 24 percent in 2016 from two years ago. It also received low marks on its efforts to reduce and disclose hazardous chemicals at workplaces and to design long-lasting products.

Samsung Electronics and other companies mentioned in the report did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have gained a significant share of the market in the last few years. They scored below average in all categories and lacked transparency and commitment in renewable energy, the report said.

Amazon was the only U.S. company that received the lowest mark, an F, in its overall environmental performance, along with the Chinese phone makers. Greenpeace said Amazon was among the least transparent companies and did not report the greenhouse gas footprint of its own operations.

Among the 17 companies, Amsterdam-based Fairphone and Apple were said to be doing better in various areas.

Greenpeace urged the companies to use more renewable energy, switching energy sources that power their supply chains. It also urged the tech companies to remove hazardous chemicals and other materials from their products and workplaces and design longer-lasting devices to help reduce waste.

If the tech industry does not change to renewable energy, the world wont be able to tackle climate change, said Greenpeace campaigner Lee Insung.

In the next three to five years, the use of renewable energy and how well the companies cope with climate change will determine their core competitiveness, Lee said.

___

The report: www.greenpeace.org/greenerguide
SANTA FE  A Santa Fe jury took about two hours to find a Cochiti Lake man not guilty of killing a woman south of Santa Fe when he ran her over in January 2016.

State prosecutors said Philip Zaman, 26, drove his friend, Khristopher Marshall, to see Marshalls on-and-off girlfriend at a house in Lone Butte, just south of Santa Fe off N.M. 14, on Jan. 12, 2016.

Teena Larson was there and didnt want her daughter, Natasha Larson, to leave with Marshall because the two used drugs together. A tug-of-war ensued over Natasha Larson, but Natasha ended up in the back of Zamans BMW sedan.

Zaman was accused of backing over Teena Larson and running over her again as he, Marshall and Natasha Larson sped off the property.

Zaman was acquitted of second-degree murder  or, in the alternative, homicide by vehicle  and leaving the scene of an accident in District Court Tuesday after a trial that took about three full days over the course of a week. The jury was sent out for deliberations around 1:20 p.m. and came back with a verdict around 3:30 p.m.

Were grateful to the jury for seeing down to the facts and recognizing that this was a tragedy and not a crime, Jon Zaman, Philip Zamans father, said after the verdict was read. At the same time our heartfelt sympathies and condolences go out to the Larson family. They lost a mother and a grandmother and a wife and a sister, and so our heartfelt sympathies are with them and always will be. Most of the victims family wasnt in the courtroom as the verdict was read.

Zaman wont be going free despite the acquittal. He is serving a 13 1/2-year sentence for shooting and wounding two people in Las Cruces in November 2014.

In the Santa Fe case, prosecutors argued that Zaman intentionally backed over Teena Larson and intentionally ran over her a second time, but defense attorneys said it was an accident that was partly caused by Teena Larson, whose autopsy report indicated that her blood alcohol content was nearly twice the state limit of presumed intoxication.

During closing arguments Tuesday, defense attorney Sam Bregman also cast doubt on testimony by Natasha Larson, the deceased womans daughter. She told Santa Fe County deputies after the incident that no one in the car knew someone was run over, but at trial she testified that she saw her mother hit the back windshield and could feel her being run over. Bregman said she changed her story after the Larson family settled with the Zamans in a civil case.

Her testimony makes no sense, Bregman said. It was because she didnt know anyone was hit.

Prosecutor Ramon Carrillo said in his closing arguments that Natasha Larson lied to deputies because Marshall had a loaded gun on him when they were pulled over shortly after the incident and she feared for her life.
Combined paid and unpaid attendance at this years New Mexico State Fair was 462,104, a decrease of 34,932 from the previous year, but still representing an increase over the five-year average of 454,057, according to numbers just released from State Fair management.

Fair General Manager Dan Mourning said last years attendance was 7 percent higher because there were no rain events, which negatively impacted at least a couple of fair days this year.

Also last year, the midway carnival had an early Labor Day weekend opening, something that didnt happen this year, Mourning said, because the midway operator had scheduling problems.

Another factor that affected attendance was Central Avenue construction for the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project.

People were just avoiding Central Avenue, particularly during the first weekend of the fair, Mourning said.

The southern border of Expo New Mexicos acreage runs along Central Avenue.

The fair, which ran from Sept. 7-17, also saw $348,000 in Junior Livestock Sale proceeds, a 15 percent increase over the prior years sale, and a 16 percent increase in revenue from concession and vendor rental revenues when compared with 2016.

Overall revenue totals from the State Fair are still being collected and tabulated and should be available within the next few weeks, Mourning said.

I dont look at this as a down year because it was highly successful and anybody who came out would agree it was one of the best fairs yet, he said.

In fact, representatives of state fairs from five other states visited the New Mexico State Fair this year to get ideas on how to improve their own events and fairgrounds, he said.

Other interesting State Fair statistics include:

 23,625 people used the free park-and-ride lots, including the new location at Coronado Center.

 $118,438 worth of Groupon tickets were sold online, a 54 percent increase over last year.

 3,500 cases of Marble Brewerys New Mexico State Fair Pale Ale were sold.

 107,000 lemons were squeezed by vendors making lemonade.

 20,000 turkey legs were eaten.

 14,000 slices of pie were purchased from the Asbury Cafe, which in turn donated $50,000 to local charities.

 24,056 people attended the New Mexico State Fair concert/rodeo series.

 93 percent of people who attended this years fair said they plan to return next year.

 About 4,500 people used Uber to attend this years fair, a 12 percent increase over last year.

 850 pounds of plastic were recycled.

 3,800 pounds of food were donated to Roadrunner Food Bank from this years discount admission canned food drive.
Gov. Susana Martinez is calling on New Mexico legislators to repeal and replace a constitutional amendment and new court rules that she says allow dangerous criminals to be released back onto the streets.

The amendment, passed by voters last year, was aimed at just the opposite  allowing judges to deny bail and keep certain criminal defendants in custody  though it also stipulated that defendants deemed not to be dangerous cant be held in jail before trial simply because they cant post bail.

Prosecutors across the state, however, have complained about new court rules that were issued to help carry out the amendment. They say judges, in some cases, are requiring hours of testimony and mini-trials before theyll keep someone in custody.

Martinez, a Republican and former prosecutor herself, said in a Facebook message today that legislators should overhaul the pretrial detention process when they meet in January and send a new proposal to voters in November.

Im calling for repeal and replacement of the constitutional amendment and court rule changes that allow criminals to continue to harm our state, Martinez said in her social media post. Its clear that the judiciary is using these new provisions to return criminals back to our neighborhoods and it must stop.

State Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-chairman of a bipartisan legislative panel studying the criminal justice system, said theres no need to change the constitutional amendment.

He agreed that some of the new court rules surrounding the release of defendants are problematic, but the courts have shown a willingness to consider changes. And some of the new rules arent specifically tied to the constitutional amendment, he said.

We dont need to change the Constitution for the courts to do it, said Maestas, who is also a former prosecutor. The courts are an independent branch of government and will do the right thing.

But there are other ways for the Legislature and governor to help, he said, including an increase in funding for staff members who monitor and track defendants awaiting trial.

We get the criminal justice system we pay for, Maestas said. Until we fully fund the criminal justice system, were going to have a lot of problems.

Martinez has repeatedly pushed the Legislature to toughen criminal penalties. She has cited the case of a Farmington man who shot and wounded a State Police officer  after having been previously arrested 17 times.

New Mexicans deserve to live in communities that are safe, she said in her Tuesday post. The cycle of wrongdoing, release and repeat must stop in New Mexico.

Debate over the pretrial detention hearings has intensified this year, especially as FBI data show increasing crime rates in Albuquerque.

In March, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raul Torrez, in charge of the Albuquerque-based prosecutor office, the busiest in the state, aired his frustration for the changes and formally petitioned the New Mexico Supreme Court, asking for a written opinion to guide judges how to put on detention hearings.

Some judges require hours of witness testimony, and others accepting a written police complaint, Torrez said, amounting to mini-trials.

Later joined by seven other district attorneys from around the state, along with support from Attorney General Hector Balderas, Torrez argued that prosecutors need clear direction on what is expected in detention hearings and that a criminal complaint should suffice in some cases.

But defense attorneys, civil rights groups and some judges balked at that design, with one public defender arguing that standard leaves defendants essentially at the mercy of the creative writing skills of a law enforcement officer.
Once again, Albuquerque is confronted with its long-standing crime problem. As a new mayor, and likely a new police chief, are about to take over the responsibility for law enforcement in our states largest city, we can hope for a change of culture in how we approach our justice problems. For this to happen, it is essential to look back and learn from the mistakes of the past.

According to a Sept. 15 Journal article, APD chiefs often in the firing line, Albuquerque has been plagued with high crime rates and police scandals for over 40 years. Since the 1980s, mayors have been answering questions about excessive force and a practice of unconstitutional policing. The article reminds us of corruption in the system that has reared its head repeatedly. From burglary detectives caught burglarizing the homes of criminal suspects to evidence technicians stealing evidence, to last weeks story about jail property clerks stealing inmate belongings. The article even reminded us of the time when former APD officers were involved in a multi-state robbery and burglary ring.

The article failed to mention that just over a year ago, tensions within our law enforcement community reached the point where the district attorney at the time, Kari Brandenburg, was quoted in the Journal as being in fear for her own safety having decided to prosecute APD officers for the James Boyd shooting. Thats right, our top law enforcement official was scared of fellow law enforcement officials.

More recently, we have watched our local news report the story of a Metropolitan Detention Center guard on trial for raping female inmates in the courthouse holding cells, just a few feet from the courtroom in which the women were being sentenced. And, of course, who can forget that horrific video of an MDC guard Tasing and repeatedly pepper spraying a young woman because she would not stop crying?

Throughout this time, when confronted with the fact that children, the mentally ill and drug users cause the majority of crime in our community, our political leaders have taken a simplistic approach. They demand more criminal statutes with longer sentences and reduced burdens of proof. They point the finger at the judicial system and claim it is soft on crime.

In one notable example, our newest DA, Raul Torrez, blamed criminal defense lawyers for gaming the system and criticized judges for dismissing cases. The DA focused the publics attention away from the true causes of crime, and used the courts and public defenders as scapegoats.

As the two remaining mayoral candidates square off with each other, they should look at the past and try to avoid repeating it. We need our politicians to set aside their finger-pointing rhetoric and start thinking about new solutions for these age-old problems. The jail and police unions need to open their doors to anti-corruption probes instead of defending the bad apples. Recent efforts to end unnecessary pre-trial incarceration and eliminate the anachronistic bail bonding system must be nurtured. Our history of excessive incarceration before trial  before a finding of guilt  has been an expensive failure that has actually contributed to our high crime rates and depleted the resources available in the system.

Our tough on crime politicians must openly admit what they privately already know: We cannot afford to incarcerate our way out of this problem and we are not a dictatorship capable of sending everyone to prison without due process of law.

Most importantly, statewide, our prisons and juvenile detention centers must shift from a culture of brutality to one of rehabilitation. Historically, we have treated our prisoners as sub-human and subjected them to the barbarity of solitary confinement as a matter of routine. Every day, people are being released from custody without hope and without options.

In short, we must change the culture of making the situation worse. Only then do we stand a chance of making things better.
They tried everything to find Chuck.

And by everything, I mean everything.

Online postings, social media, the Journals free Missing classified ads, posters, bigger posters around the neighborhood and then well beyond as the days wore on. They contacted every veterinary clinic and shelter, searched rows and rows of runs filled with sad-faced pooches at Animal Humane New Mexico, searched the agencys even sadder DOA list.

We made our own postcard and sent out a bulk mailer to our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, Jessie Lenderman said. We set traps at our house and in alleys where people thought they had seen him. We put our clothes and his beds outside the house with water and treats nearby. We called him and we cried.

They walked in circles for miles and read books aloud in places they thought Chuck might have ventured, hoping their scent and their sounds might reach him. They held cookouts in parks in places sightings were reported, their car doors left wide open in the hopes he might suddenly emerge and jump right in.

When all that failed, they hired a dog detective tracker who arrived from out of state with her search dogs and her tricks for flushing out recalcitrant dogs.

When that failed, too, they consulted a pet psychic, whose soothsaying was upsetting and, Lenderman pronounced, inaccurate.

They even postponed the familys impending move to Washington state until finally, sadly, they packed up and drove away without their beloved pup, Chuck.

It broke our hearts, Lenderman said from more than 1,000 miles away. It still does.

Chuck, a small gray wire-haired terrier mix, is still missing after wriggling out of his harness in early August when he was spooked by another dog on a walk with a pet sitter near Sierra and Loma Linda SE in the Ridgecrest area while the family was away on vacation.

For three years, he was a member of the Lenderman family  Jessie, husband Andy and son Erik (an older son is in college in Washington). They brought him home from Lap Dog Rescue of New Mexico. Although the Lendermans say they chose Chuck, those who know the affable pooch know it was Chuck who chose them.

He hiked with us, played with us, cuddled us when we were blue and seemed happy to see us all the time, Lenderman said. My son learned some hard lessons  about how bad things sometimes just happen, and how you can try as hard as possible and still not get what you want, even when you think there has to still be something you can do.

This column about Chuck is the latest something they can do.

Its our big hope. We believe hes still out there or that somebody took him and has him, and if they just read about how much we love him  Jessie said, her voice trailing off.

So, yes, this column is another effort to find what the Lendermans have lost, but its also about what they have gained.

Because in their search for Chuck, they found a community of friends and strangers who came together not just for a little dog but to offer them a big, consoling hug.

We were in despair, and that support of strangers lifted us just a little bit, she said. I have a renewed faith in the power of my community. I am humbled and grateful, no matter what the outcome, and I know I will behave differently towards others after this experience.

People, she said, made their own posters of the missing Chuck. They immediately mobilized when word spread of a possible sighting. They called and texted and stopped their cars when they saw the family out searching, not just with possible tips but also just to offer encouragement or to seek updates on Chuck. One woman hugged Lenderman on the street after an especially discouraging search.

It was as if Chuck had become the communitys dog and the Lendermans a part of a much larger family.

What Lenderman said her family also found were a lot of other people who were out searching for their own lost dogs  and dogs searching for forever homes.

Its like theres a secret underground world of missing dogs and all the people who love them out looking for them, she said. We also realized that there are a lot of dogs out there on the streets and in the shelters that need homes.

And the Lendermans also learned another lesson  that sometimes doing enough does not always have to be enough, that sometimes when you cut through the barriers that lie between us you can find a common bond, a common heart, a common cause that brings together strangers willing to help and to care.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.

Wheres Chuck?

Chuck is a wire-haired terrier mix, possibly border, cairn and Brussels griffon, gray with a tuft of wavy lighter gray hair on his head. He is about 5, male, neutered, chipped, about 12-14 pounds, with dark brown eyes. He went missing near Sierra and Loma Linda SE. He requires allergy medication. If found, please contact jessielenderman@gmail.com
Mike and Jesse are adding interesting stuff to the blog in our spare time, so pardon the miscellany and lack of any organization.



If you need to email about something (not hood ornaments) that isn't relevant to the comment section, e mail me at jbohjkl@yahoo.com, which will be responded to pretty fast on weekdays



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COPENHAGEN, Denmark  Norwegian solar panel maker Saga Energy has signed a deal worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) with Irans state-owned company Amin Energy Developers to build solar power plants.

Gaute Steinkopf, a consultant who assisted Saga Energy in reaching the deal, says it was signed Tuesday at the Tehran residence of Norways Ambassador to Iran, Lars Nordrum.

The deal comes just a week after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to re-certify a global nuclear deal with Iran.

Steinkopf said Wednesday that Iran wants to increase production of renewable energy, adding it took seven months to get the deal negotiated. Norwegian news agency NTB said it would take up to five years to build the 2 gigawatt-plant.

Saga Energy was not available for comments.
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday strongly defended President Donald Trumps firing of James Comey, linking the FBI directors abrupt dismissal to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation. But he refused to discuss any private conversations he had with the president leading up to Comeys firing and would not say if he had discussed with the president an FBI investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Sessions, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was the first time Im aware of in which an FBI director had performed the traditional role of Justice Department prosecutors by announcing on his own the conclusion of a federal investigation  that no charges would be brought against Clinton.

He said he was further galled when Comey, one week before his firing, insisted to Congress that he would have taken the same actions again.

Sessions insistence that Comeys firing was motivated by displeasure over the Clinton email case is consistent with the initial White House explanation. But Trump himself has at times appeared to undercut that explanation, saying he would have fired Comey even without the recommendation of the Justice Department and that he was thinking of this Russia thing when he dismissed him on May 9.

Trump has accused Comey of having prematurely exonerated Clinton, even though the Justice Departments own explanation for the firing cited his decision to effectively reopen the probe days before the November election.

The FBIs investigation is now being run by the Justice Departments special counsel, Robert Mueller. After initially balking at the question, Sessions said that he had not been questioned by Muellers team of investigators. He has been seen as a possible witness in the case given his involvement in the firing of Comey.

Sessions stressed at the outset that he would not discuss any private conversations with the president and he largely abided by that principle, deflecting questions not only about the Russia investigation but also about the presidents pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among other topics.

The Russia probe has shadowed much of Sessions tenure as attorney general, even though he recused himself in March because of his role as a stanch Trump campaign ally. It was a central focus the oversight hearing, too, as lawmakers repeatedly pressed Sessions about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S., his discussions with Trump about the investigation and his involvement in the firing of Comey.

Though he refused to say whether he discussed with Trump Comeys involvement in the Russia investigation, or his private conversations with Trump, Sessions did say that the president had asked him and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for their recommendations about what to do with Comey.

He did ask for our written opinion and we submitted that to him, Sessions said under questioning from Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committees top Democrat. It did not represent any change in either one of ours opinions.

The routine oversight hearing is Sessions first before the committee since his January confirmation, and it comes as has worked quickly to reshape the department with an intense focus on immigration, drugs, gangs and violent crime.

He also faced questions from lawmakers about his swift undoing of Obama-era protections for gay and transgender people and his rollback of criminal justice policies that aimed to reduce the federal prison population, among other changes he has made in nine months since taking office.

Sessions has tried to pressure so-called sanctuary cities into cooperating with federal immigration authorities by threatening to withhold grant money, and he was the public face of the Trump administrations decision to end a program benefiting hundreds of thousands of young people who entered the U.S. illegally as children. Congress is seeking a legislative solution to extend the protections before recipients work permits expire.

It is standard policy for attorneys general to appear each year before the Justice Departments congressional overseers on the House and Senate judiciary committees. Yet, in a reflection of the extent to which the Russia investigation and his own role as a Trump campaign ally have dominated public attention, Sessions made his first appearance on Capitol Hill as attorney general before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Democratic senators have already made clear they want Sessions to detail his private conversations with Trump, particularly in the run-up to the Comeys firing, or announce that Trump is invoking executive privilege to protect those communications. Sessions repeatedly refused to discuss his talks with Trump during his three-hour appearance before the Senate intelligence panel.

He did not say he was using executive privilege, but rather adhering to longstanding tradition of Justice Department leaders to refrain from revealing the contents of private conversations with the president. That explanation left many Democrats unsatisfied and is unlikely to put to an end demands for detailed accounts of those conversations.
EDGEWOOD, Md.  A man with a lengthy criminal past who showed up for work at a countertop company on Wednesday and shot five of his co-workers has been arrested, authorities said. Three of them were killed and two critically wounded.

Less than two hours later, Radee Labeeb Prince drove to a used car lot about 55 miles (90 kilometers) away in Wilmington, Delaware, and opened fire on a man with whom he had beefs in the past, wounding him, police said.

The shooting rampage set off a manhunt along the Interstate 95 Northeast corridor. Police cruisers were stationed in medians, and overhead highway signs displayed a description of Princes sport utility vehicle and its Delaware license plate. The FBI assisted state and local authorities in the manhunt.

Prince was apprehended a short time ago in Delaware by ATF and allied law enforcement agencies, the Harford County Sheriffs Office in Maryland tweeted Wednesday night.

Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy said Prince was arrested in Glasgow, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, after a tip led authorities to his vehicle. Prince was spotted nearby and discarded a handgun when he saw police had recognized him. He ran about 75 feet (22 meters) before being captured. No one was hurt in the apprehension.

Authorities said it wasnt clear why Prince opened fire with a handgun on his colleagues.

The sheriffs office said Wednesday night on its Facebook page that the people who died were Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53, of Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland, and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland.

Prince is a felon with 42 arrests in Delaware. Court records showed he had been fired from a Maryland job earlier this year after allegedly punching a co-worker and threatening other employees. He also faced charges of being a felon in possession of a gun, was habitually late paying his rent, was repeatedly cited for traffic violations and was ordered to undergo drug and alcohol counseling in recent years.

The rampage began Wednesday about 9 a.m. at the Emmorton Business Park in Edgewood, Harford County, Maryland, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Deputies arrived in four minutes but Prince had already fled.

Kevin Doyle of Thornhill Properties said he was getting tools from his truck when he heard screaming and saw three men running from the office park. The men told him someone was shooting and he asked if they had called 911. They said no, even though, Doyle said, they had phones in their hands.

I think they were just so scared, they didnt (call 911). They had a look of terror, he said.

The victims and the suspect worked for Advanced Granite Solutions, which designs and installs countertops, the company owner told The Associated Press. Prince has been an employee for four months, working as a machine operator, owner Barak Caba told AP in a brief telephone interview. Caba was shaken and would not provide additional details.

The second shooting took place at the 28th Street Auto Sales and Service shop in Wilmington, Delaware. The police chief wouldnt elaborate the history the victim and Prince had, other than to say: This individual knew the people he wanted to shoot.

The victim was shot in the vicinity of his head and once in the body but was expected to survive.

Police followed Prince briefly, but they lost him and havent seen or heard from him since, the chief said. On Wednesday night, police in Delaware said Princes car had been found unoccupied, a spokeswoman said.

Prince was fired from JPS Marble and Granite earlier this year and scared his previous employer so badly that he tried to get a restraining order in February.

At one point, Princes former boss Philip Siason said: He came to see me, cursed and yelled at me about unemployment benefits. I felt very threatened because he is a big guy and very aggressive on me.

A Harford County District Court judge denied the order, saying the case didnt meet the required burden of proof.

Investigators were treating the shooting as a case of workplace violence and didnt see ties to terrorism, said Dave Fitz, a spokesman for the Baltimore FBI field office.

Since November 2014, Prince has rented a three-bedroom town house in Elkton  about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the office complex  with his girlfriend, according to a Maryland property manager.

Prince often paid his rent late, but was always polite and cooperative, said Heather Todd of Homes for Rent. The company filed eight petitions for nonpayment against the couple, but they always ended up paying and the company never had to schedule an eviction.

Prince faced several gun charges in March 2015 in Cecil County, including being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a handgun in vehicle. However, the charges were dropped about three months later. Its not clear why.

Wilmington, Delaware, police said Prince had 15 felony convictions there. In King County, Washington, in 2014, he was cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license, according to Komonews.com.

Court records also showed that he was required to undergo drug and alcoholism counseling at the time.

Prince racked up four traffic citations in King County in 2012 and 2013, mostly for speeding.

____

Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Matthew Barakat in McLean, Virginia, and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
SANTA FE, N.M.  A New Mexico art gallery owner and a jewelry supplier have pleaded guilty in federal court to criminal charges in the sale of fake Native American jewelry that was manufactured in the Philippines, representing the first conviction in a sweeping international investigation.

Art gallery owner Nael Ali pleaded guilty Wednesday to misrepresenting fake Indian-produced goods in violation of the Indian Arts and Craft Act, The U.S. Attorneys Office in Albuquerque confirmed Wednesday. His conviction followed an earlier guilty plea by jewelry supplier Mohammad Manasra on less severe charges under the Indian Arts and Craft Act.

In October 2015, federal agents raided Indian art galleries in Albuquerque, Gallup, and Calistoga, California, to seize counterfeits and evidence.

Ali and Manasra have agreed to forfeit 5,268 pieces of jewelry, while acknowledging that Manasra passed off jewelry made in the Philippines as the work of Navajo and Zuni Pueblo artists, court documents indicate.

Sentencing hearings are still months away. Ali faces possible jail time of up to 18 months, according to court documents. An attorney for Manasra declined Wednesday to discuss the case. Alis attorney could not be reached immediately.

Joyce Begay-Foss, a Navajo weaver and education director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, said that cheap Indian art knockoffs are having an effect on the art business in New Mexico and throughout the country. She called the guilty pleas a step in the right direction. But she believes stiffer state and federal penalties along with border enforcement are needed to deter fraud.

It is a step in the right direction. It is alerting people to be more cognizant when they buy Indian art, to be more aware of the provenance and the materials, said Begay-Foss, who recently completed a guide on how to buy Navajo weavings that will be published by the U.S. Indian Arts and Crafts board.

Authorities have accused Ali, the owner of two Indian art galleries in the Old Town neighborhood of Albuquerque and another in Arizona, of attributing jewelry to specific Navajo and Zuni craftsman when it was actually made in the Philippines.

Four other people have been charged under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act in a separate indictment that traces Filipino-made jewelry to Indian-art galleries in Santa Fe and San Diego, with a trial scheduled next year.

The investigations spearheaded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have laid bare the breadth and sophistication of distribution networks for fake Indian-style art and crafts.

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico has warned that Native American art markets are being destabilized by fakes, undermining a crucial source of income for tribal members.

He hopes to propel efforts to modernize the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to cope with sophisticated international jewelry rings that copy Native American designs and police online sales. The act makes it a crime to falsely market and sell art as Native American-made when it is not.

Former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez, who participated previously in the prosecution of Ali and Manasra, has recommended several reforms, including requirements that imported jewelry carry a country of origin and legal changes to apply money laundering and wire fraud provisions to the investigation of Indian-art fraud.

This type of case is important, he said. When youre an artisan at an Indian Pueblo, youre carrying through a tradition. Youre carrying through a culture that maybe you learned from your grandparents. When somebody is doing a knockoff at a tenth of the cost, youre losing your livelihood and potentially your culture, he said.
New Mexico biotech startup Viome Inc. is barely a year old, but its already raised $15 million in venture investment and employs 54 people in New Mexico and other states.

The company launched in October 2016 to do personalized microbiome testing to build individual health regimes that can help prevent chronic disease. It uses advanced analytics technology developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

It now operates a 21,000-square-foot lab in Los Alamos for clinical testing and product development, and it introduced its first product for customers last spring, Momo Vuyisich, Viomes chief science officer, said during the Bioscience and Tech Knowledge Fair and Expo on Wednesday at the University of New Mexico.

Weve been very successful, Vuyisich said in a keynote presentation. Its like one in a thousand biotech startup companies that achieve this much in so little time.

The New Mexico Biotechnology Association, which organized the conference, touted Viomes success as an example of the states potential for building a thriving life sciences industry. The association is one of the key drivers behind New Mexicos Growbio initiative, which began in December to unite business leaders, government officials and economic development professionals in promoting biotechnology as a force for the local economy.

About 200 people registered to participate, association Executive Director Greg Byrnes said.

Were trying to expose more people to the biosciences and all the different technologies being developed or commercialized in New Mexico, Byrnes said. We have scientists, engineers, businesspeople, technology transfer professionals and others from across the state presenting at the conference.

That includes representatives from the states research universities and national labs, which provide a steady stream of new technology that investors and entrepreneurs are working to take to market.

Dr. Richard Larson, executive vice chancellor at UNM Health Sciences Center, said the states research institutions provide rich fodder for industry. UNM alone has pumped about $1.5 billion into life sciences research in the past decade.

That includes drug development, cancer therapies, molecular imaging, new medical devices, diagnostics, software development, genetics and more, he said. New Mexico has companies operating in all those areas, and the industry continues to grow.

New Mexico Tech in Socorro, which has traditionally focused on mining and engineering, also has bustling research programs underway. That includes a biotechnology doctoral program that began two years ago.

At Wednesdays conference, Tech researchers showed three new life science inventions now under development: a topical cream to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in skin infections, a method for using ultrasound to guide cancer drugs to targeted zones in the body and a robotics-based tool to train and evaluate orthopedic surgeons surgical skills.
On the onset of festivities, Jet Airways rolled out one-of-its-kind social contest  #SpintoFly  encouraging participation from across the world to fly anywhere in the world.

Through this contest, Jet Airways gave a unique opportunity to its fans to travel anywhere around the world during this season. Conceptualised and executed by Cheil WW India, the contest was live on Jet Airways Facebook page and open for participation. This is the first time ever that an Indian international airline company is opening such an opportunity to the entire globe.

The contest concluded at 6.00 pm yesterday (October 17, 2017) and the winners will be announced on October 18. Jet Airways featured 45 destinations for the contest. The contest got the users to play and pause the running GIF. If the GIF stopped at the destination where the user wanted to fly, he /she had to take the screenshot of the frame and share it using #SpintoFly with a reason of what he/she wants to do at his dream destination on winning the tickets.

Commenting on the contest, Karan Amin, Head  Digital Creative, Cheil SWA, said, Brands in India often run contests on social media to engage users, create participation and conversation. Users flock to contests and Play n Pause GIFs have been widely used by brands in recent times. This Diwali, Jet Airways presented #SpinToFly, the first social media contest hosted by an Indian brand that invited participation from around the world. #SpintoFly used the most attention grabbing hit on social media  a play n pause gif  participation was easy and enticed all users online to participate. We have witnessed great response on it. Let us see who wins!
SYDNEY and BLUE BELL, Pa., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has signed a three-year contract for managed end-user computing and infrastructure support services for DIBP staff globally. The engagement has a potential value of up to AU$77.7 million (approximately US$60.4 million).

Under the contract extension, Unisys will continue to provide managed service desk and end-user computing services to DIBP through June 2021. The contract includes 24x7, first level service desk support for all immigration systems and infrastructure support for the Department's mid-range equipment.

"International airlines, freight companies and travel agents all need to interact with DIPB's immigration systems, and the combination of Unisys' domain knowledge, technology and experience delivers the seamless electronic process they expect. Effective communication between these systems is critical to allow the Australian Government to check and manage who and what is coming into Australia in a timely manner, while preventing unnecessary delays to legitimate people or cargo entering the country," said Lysandra Schmutter, vice president, Public Sector, Unisys Asia Pacific.

Mark Forman, global head of Public Sector business at Unisys, said, "Australia is a global leader in the use of technology to secure a country's borders. Border security technology is evolving rapidly and that technology must be maintained at a high level of reliability to ensure availability around the clock  to protect the border while facilitating international trade. We continue to build the global expertise needed and are proud to have been chosen to continue our support of DIBP."

Unisys works with government clients around the globe to drive innovation and transform citizen-centric services through leading-edge digital initiatives, including cloud deployments, application modernization, security solutions and advanced data analytics. Supporting more than 300 government organizations worldwide, Unisys provides solutions that facilitate the transition to digital government. For more information on Unisys' Public Sector solutions and impact, visit http://www.unisys.com/industries/government/public-sector.

Forward Looking Statement

Any statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements rely on assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. In particular, statements in this release regarding the estimated value of the contract are based on historical charges and the assumption that the number of Department users and in-scope equipment will be consistent with current levels as will the Department's future requirements for maintenance and support, and the assumption that the contract will continue for its full term. Because the total number of Department users and in-scope equipment can change, the Department may change its future requirements for maintenance and support and project-related services, the contract is non-exclusive and can be terminated or suspended in whole or in part, and pricing under the contract is subject to adjustment under certain circumstances, the estimated value of the engagement is not guaranteed. Additional discussion of factors that could affect Unisys future results is contained in periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Unisys

Unisys is a global information technology company that specialises in providing industry-focused solutions integrated with leading-edge security to clients in the government, financial services and commercial markets. Unisys offerings include security solutions, advanced data analytics, cloud and infrastructure services, application services and application and server software. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

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An HTC-made device thats alleged to be the U11 Plus was benchmarked by Geekbench earlier today, having been found in the tools database identified as the 2Q4D1. A model number seemingly related to the newly uncovered one has already been spotted in China earlier this month, with recent reports suggesting that the rumored Android flagship will be officially announced in the Far Eastern country in early November. The specs of the 2Q4D1 suggest that the device in question is of the high-end variety, with Geekbench identifying it as being equipped with the Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM. The Qualcomm-made SoC found in the benchmarked handset was listed as having a base frequency of 1.9GHz which corresponds to the chips power-efficient cluster, whereas its high-performing quad-core configuration was clocked at up to 2.45GHz in the original HTC U11 and that will likely still be the case with its revision.

The HTC 2Q4D1 was also benchmarked as featuring 4GB of RAM while running Android 8.0 Oreo, presumably enhanced with the latest iteration of the HTC Sense mobile software suite. According to recent reports, the HTC U11 Plus will be largely identical to the U11 in terms of internal hardware and the newly unveiled benchmark listing adds more credence to that possibility. The upcoming flagship is hence rumored to be available in two variants, with the one tested by Geekbench presumably being the more affordable model with 64GB of storage space, whereas the Taiwanese phone maker should also release a version with double the flash memory and 6GB of RAM. Both iterations should feature a Hybrid SIM setup, meaning theyll provide consumers with a choice between a second Nano SIM card or a microSD card with a capacity of up to 256GB. The main difference between the U11 and U11 Plus is said to be in the design of the two handsets, with the upcoming one supposedly adopting a relatively bezel-free aesthetic while retaining the pressure-sensitive Edge Sense frame.

HTC is expected to hold a new product event in China on November 2nd which is when the U11 Plus is said to be officially unveiled alongside its availability details. Latest rumors point to a late November release and a price tag that could be slightly lower to the one of the original U11 which started at around $700, depending on the territory.
Today, eBay has a great deal on a new OLED TV if youve been looking to pick one up. LGs 65-inch OLED TV is just $2199 right now. That may still seem like a big price tag, but that is over $1000 off of its regular price and other retailers have it on sale for $2299, so for a brand new OLED TV, this is actually a pretty good price. It does also have Dolby Vision for making that OLED panel look even better. You can pair that with a nice Roku set-top box which is also on sale over at Amazon.

On top of that OLED TV, there is also a great price on the Galaxy S8, which is currently going for $499, with the Galaxy S8 Plus going for $569. Both of which are great prices for some of the best smartphones to launch in 2017. Now if those two dont tickle your fancy, there is also a great deal on the Moto G5 Plus, which was already fairly cheap and now its even cheaper.

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All of the deals listed below that have expirations dates expire at midnight PST on their respective dates. So if you are looking to pick one of these up, youll want to do so before midnight PST.
Garmin, a major producer of GPS devices, recently unveiled its newest product, the Garmin Speak. The Kansas based company collaborated with Amazon to include Alexa (Amazons virtual assistant) in the Garmin Speak, creating a GPS device that is both a navigational tool as well as a personal assistant.

Since its introduction three years ago, Amazon Alexa has been integrated into more and more products. This kind of makes sense, since, in order to compete with more popular AI technologies such as Apples Siri or Googles Assistant (which are both smartphone-based), Amazon must incorporate Alexa into as many devices as possible. Currently, Amazon Alexa is compatible with a variety of third-party products that include certain light bulbs, thermostats, smartphones, and more. With the introduction of the Garmin Speak, Amazon Alexa has also made its way into both the automobile and personal GPS industries. The Garmin Speak is a small and circular GPS device that can be attached to a cars windshield. It measures only 1.5 inches wide and is also Bluetooth enabled, so it can connect to a cars audio system. Basically, the Garmin Speak has a small display that provides users with real-time location, directions, and lane guidance. However, it doesnt have an actual map interface like most GPS units do, instead, the Garmin Speak is an audio-based GPS device in which users must connect to their smartphones (with cellular data enabled) in order for the GPS to work. Once that is done, users are able to take advantage of Amazon Alexa by downloading the Garmin Speak app and Amazon Alexa app on their smartphone. With Alexa incorporated into the Garmin Speak, one is able to simultaneously receive navigation instructions and interact with the virtual assistant. This means that while driving, users can get the latest news and weather updates as well as perform tasks such as calling, ordering food, or remotely controlling home appliances.

The Garmin Speak is intended to allow drivers to be less dependent on their smartphone or other information screens. Even though the GPS does rely on a phones cellular connection in order to function, it still effectively fulfills its purpose as a convenient hands-free device that minimizes unnecessary distractions. The Garmin Speak is currently available for purchase and comes at a price of $149.

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The Google Wifi router recently became available for purchase in the Netherlands and most of the Nordic countries  Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Googles offering hence expanded its availability once again after originally debuting in the United States in early December, with the device now being officially on sale in 12 countries around the globe. The price tags attached to the Google Wifi in the five countries where the company started selling the router are unsurprisingly somewhat higher than in the U.S. and depend on the value-added tax (VAT) rates of specific markets.

Whereas the router goes for $129 in Googles home country where you can also purchase a three-pack for $299, a single unit will set you back 1,090 Danish krone or $172, with the three-pack being priced at 2,890 krone ($456). In Finland, a single Google Wifi router goes for 149 ($175) and a trio of devices sells for 375 ($440), which is slightly more expensive compared to the Netherlands where the products are priced at 139 ($163) and 359 ($422), respectively. Norwegian consumers will have to pay 1,390 krone ($175) for a single unit and 3,590 krone ($452) for a bundle containing three routers, while users in Sweden will be met with price tags of 1,490 krone ($182) and 3,690 ($452) krone. All of the aforementioned prices only apply to the Google Store as the Google Wifi presently isnt available for purchase from any other retailers in the country.

The Google Wifi expanded its availability shortly after the Alphabet-owned tech giant added kid-friendly website blocking to its dedicated mobile app and suggested that the router will continue enjoying support for the foreseeable future. While the device was originally introduced alongside the 2016 Pixel smartphones, it didnt receive a follow-up this fall when Google debuted the Pixel 2 Android flagships and a number of other consumer-oriented hardware, indicating that Google possibly doesnt believe it requires an upgrade. The companys offering has already been available for purchase in a number of other European countries like Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Consumers in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have also been able to buy the Google Wifi for a while and the tech giant is still promoting the product as the ultimate mesh-enabled wireless router.
Lenovo recently made some changes to its support page for future software updates and the company confirmed that Android 8.0 Oreo is planned to launch on the recent Lenovo K8 series, including the K8 Note and Plus models. But while having official confirmation for the arrival of a new major software update is always welcomed, sadly it doesnt look like Lenovo will be able to distribute Android 8.0 Oreo in a timely manner, or at least it will not be among the first OEMs to update their smartphones to Googles latest version of Android. Instead, the manufacturer expects Android Oreo to land on the Lenovo K8 in June 2018, while the Lenovo K8 Note and K8 Plus should receive the update a month later in July next year.

This may be obvious for some smartphone enthusiasts but unfortunately, it needs to be said that by the time the Lenovo K8 series will receive Android 8.0 Oreo according to the OEMs official launch schedule, Google will have likely already revealed a newer version of Android OS and perhaps even distribute it throughout its testing channels. Given Lenovos plans, however, it would seem that the K8 lineup will remain one major update behind Google and other OEMs throughout its lifetime, unless the Chinese smartphone maker switches gears next year and decides to launch Android 9 shortly after the release of Android 8.0 Oreo. Chances of that happening are very slim given the current circumstances, so all in all, it would seem that Android 7.0 Nougat is here to stay on this family of devices for at least one more year.

The Lenovo K8 series was announced earlier this year in September, and all three smartphones have been presented running Android Nougat out of the box. The lineup covers three different price points in the mid-range market and the devices are equipped accordingly. The Lenovo K8, being the more affordable model, carries a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720, and is powered by a MediaTek Helio P20 chipset paired with 3GB of RAM. In contrast, the Lenovo K8 Plus and K8 Note share the same display pixel count of 1920 x 1080 on a 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch panel, respectively, and while the former is powered by the MediaTek Helio P25 chipset housing eight CPU cores, the latter makes use of a MediaTek Helio X23 SoC featuring ten cores clocked at up to 2.3GHz.
Samsungs Galaxy S7 is currently on sale over at eBay. The T-Mobile variant which is unlocked, is available for just $209. This is a refurbished model, so it is not brand new, but it will work with other GSM carriers like AT&T and MVNOs like Straight Talk and Simple Mobile.

The Galaxy S7 is Samsungs flagship from last year. It sported a 5.2-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Samsung has included a 12-megapixel camera on the back of the Galaxy S7 which can take some pretty fantastic photos, and was rated as one of the best cameras available, when it launched. While cameras have gotten better since then, the Galaxy S7 is still one of the best, as far as cameras go. There is also a 3000mAh battery inside, which is non-removable, but it should keep you going all day long. At the time of writing this, eBay only has the Galaxy S7 available in black or gold, the other colors are already sold out. So youll want to jump on this quickly.

eBay is not collecting taxes on the Galaxy S7, and the seller is offering up free expedited shipping. So this is definitely a good choice if you need a new phone quickly for a good price.

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UPDATE: The phone now costs $239.99.
Googles augmented reality platform, also known as ARCore, has just gotten a huge announcement at the Samsung Developers Conference happening in San Francisco today. ARCore is going to be available on the Galaxy S8, Note 8 and future Galaxy smartphones, thanks to Samsung and Googles new partnership. Now ARCore had launched on the Galaxy S8 earlier this year, so this new partnership is really just making it formal, and also mentioning future Galaxy devices.

What this means for users is that now you can pick up the Pixel, Pixel 2, Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8 and have access to ARCore apps. And for developers it means that they can build ARCore apps that will be available for more users to actually use. This is also a big deal for users as the two biggest names in Android have partnered together for augmented reality, instead of opting to go with their own platforms, which is something that Samsung has done before, with Music and a few other apps. So its good to see the two getting on the same page for ARCore, and with Apple adding its own augmented reality platform to the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X, Google definitely needs some help in combating the competition, which is Apple.

Augmented reality is still mostly a new thing for the tech space. But seeing some of the biggest names in tech jump on the technology and implement it like this is pretty impressive. Just like that, millions and millions of people now have access to augmented reality. Google had been working with AR on Tango for quite some time, but now you dont need a Tango device like the ASUS ZenFone AR for some augmented reality fun. With augmented reality, you can do things like playing games, but also some pretty useful tasks like shopping for furniture and seeing exactly how itll look in your home, through the lens of the camera on your smartphone. Ikea already has an app available for the iPhone that can do this, and Lowes has one available for Tango devices, which itll likely bring over to all Android devices that support ARCore in the near future.
Korean tech giant Samsung believes the future will bring fully connected homes, with users having almost every device in their household boasting Internet-enabled capabilities. Samsung Next President David Eun spoke about his companys vision this Tuesday at the WSJDLive conference held in Laguna Beach, California. He explained how the company expects to soon witness a third wave of programmable objects and consumers embracing these devices en masse as Samsung continues to invest in advancing this emerging segment of electronics.

During the conference, Eun also explained how the Internet of Things is an exciting area for his company to grow in, noting how intelligent homes could help prevent theft and other disasters, in addition to providing consumers with an unprecedented level of control over their living environments that was technologically unachievable until only recently. Eun concluded his presentation by noting that the company is seeing its most successful year to date, praising the launch of Galaxy Note 8. He also suggested that Samsung has to ramp up its software game and make sure it fits its hardware offerings going forward, providing its customers with straightforward and versatile user experiences.

Samsungs Next division has been set up as a startup meant to explore new areas to grow the conglomerates products and services. The division was the responsible for the company entering the virtual reality market with its Gear VR headset, and its looking into IoT devices that could converge Samsungs hardware and software departments to create intelligent, Internet-enabled products for everyday use. One of those new devices is Connect Tag introduced earlier this week, a highly portable tracker that can be attached to anything you want to keep tabs on, from your backpack to your pets collar. On the other hand, Samsung has a large lineup of appliances that could benefit from its recent IoT efforts and help create a truly connected home in the future. Its digital assistant Bixby already supports the companys Family Hub 2.0 refrigerators and some of its television sets, allowing both remote control and home automation capabilities to users. Given the companys traditionally large presence in the consumer electronics segment, a shift to AI and similar solutions appears to be a relatively natural one for Samsung to conduct.
Samsung has announced that it has completed the development of the 8nm Low Power Plus (LPP) process node technology. This technology offers a 10 percent improvement in power efficiency, primarily due to the reduced power consumption of individual transistors. Samsung also claims that the 8nm process node delivers a 10 percent reduction in chip size. These features, according to the South Korean tech giant, makes the process node suitable for the fabrication of high-performance processors for smartphones and other mobile devices, servers, and mining of virtual currencies. The company also mentioned that since the 8nm process node is based on the 10nm technology, it was able to develop the new process node and ramp up chip production within a short period of time. However, it seems that the process node does not benefit from the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, which allows for better yields and potentially decreased production cost. Samsung stated that it will start utilizing the technology on the 7nm process, which will likely be ready by late 2018.

Qualcomm has collaborated with Samsung for the development of the 8-nanometer process. The firm has been a customer of Samsung within the past few years, with Samsungs foundry division fabricating Qualcomms recent flagship offerings, namely the Snapdragon 820, 821 and 835 chipsets, using its 14-nanometer and 10-nanometer technologies respectively. It is likely that Qualcomm will utilize the 8-nanometer process node technology for the chipsets that will launch early next year. However, it is not yet clear if the rumored Snapdragon 845 will also be fabricated in Samsungs foundries, given that the semiconductor company has recently inked a deal with TSMC to collaborate in the development of FinFET process technology.

It is important for Samsung to maintain its lead not only in process node technology but also in cost-efficiency. Aside from the 7-nanometer technology, it is reported that Samsung is already working on 6-nanometer and 4nm process nodes. One of its biggest rivals, TSMC, is developing its own 7nm process node and it also intends to spend more than $15 billion to build additional production facilities for its 3nm and 2nm technologies. GlobalFoundries, on the other hand, plans to begin mass production of chipsets using its 7nm process node in the latter part of 2018. More information regarding the new process node will be released in the companys Samsung Foundry Forum in Munich, Germany today.
Google had launched the Android One project back in 2014, when the Mountain View giant partnered up with a number of other companies in order to launch the first batch of Android One devices. So, what is the Android One project? Well, that name stands for smartphones which come with stock Android, and receive updates directly from Google, even though Google did not manufacture those phones, nor are they part of the companys Pixel brand. Android One smartphones are usually quite affordable and come without any heavy skins on top of them. Over the years, Google has partnered with quite a few smartphone manufacturing companies in order to release Android One handsets, the latest one of which are Xiaomi and Motorola. These two companies are also the best-known smartphone manufacturers Google partnered up with thus far. Xiaomi had released the Xiaomi Mi A1 handset quite recently, while Motorola introduced the Android One variant of its Moto X4 smartphone.

Having said that, Googles partners are selling Android One handsets in a number of countries all over the world, including Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Kenya, Turkey, Italy, Japan and a ton more. Having said that, Android One project has been avoiding the U.S. until recently, as only one Android One smartphone was announced for the US market, so why is that? Well, as already mentioned, Android One project was initially aimed at developing markets, and even though thats no longer the general rule, as Android One phones are now available in some developed countries, theyre still not aimed at markets like the U.S. Sure, Motorola and Google did announce an Android One variant of the Moto X4, and the device is now available for pre-orders, but the Moto X4 is not as affordable as some other Android One devices, its priced at $399 if you arent keen on ads, and some more powerful smartphones are actually available for a very similar price. Why doesnt Google consider selling sub-$300 or even sub-$200 Android One smartphones in the U.S.?

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We have received quite a few inquiries from our readers regarding cheaper Android One smartphones in the U.S. and it seems like there is some interest for such devices in the States, but dont hold your breath for it. Android One is still focused mainly on emerging markets, and the U.S. one is considerably different than markets in which Android One phones are somewhat successful. Consumers in the U.S. mainly purchase phones from carriers, and quite a large chunk of them still sign contracts with their carriers, and even though the Moto X4 is available through Googles Project Fi, chances are that none of the four largest carriers in the country will sell Android One phones, at least not in the near future. Samsung and Apple are also two major reasons why Google probably wont push Android One in the U.S. to the extent its promoting its project in other countries. U.S. consumers are quite loyal to both Apple and Samsung it seems, and perhaps Google thinks that theres no point in pushing more Android One phones to the States, especially more affordable ones.

The Android One project hit some rough patches since it was launched, as sales were quite bad for Google at first, but with time, it gained some traction, even though not to the extent Google would have probably wanted, even though the company did not share its opinion on it in recent times. It will certainly be interesting to see what will happen from this point on, will Google change its mind and start pushing more affordable Android One smartphones to the U.S. or will the Moto X4 remain the only Android One handset to be available in the States. That is only one related question whose answer has yet to arrive, but it would certainly be interesting to see more Android One handsets in the U.S., especially considering that Googles Nexus line is no longer a thing, which means that American consumers do not have access to a really affordable phone with stock Android. The Android One project could be an answer for users who want to buy such a phone, as the Pixel phones are quite pricey and theyre nowhere near Nexus prices from back in the day, and not everyone is looking to spend so much on a smartphone.
Verizon Communications agreed to settle a federal investigation of its alleged violations of E-rate, a nationwide program meant to subsidize fees paid by U.S. libraries and schools for broadband internet access, the holding company of the largest wireless carrier in the country said on Tuesday. The firm was being investigated by the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission after issuing consultant fees to the FCC as part of its E-rate contract with the New York City Department of Education. The competent authority was examining the fees and deemed them illegal, i.e. prohibited by the very contract based on which Verizon supplied the New York City agency with broadband internet access subsidized by the federal government. While the probe wasnt officially concluded in the sense that the company was compelled to pay a fine, it has now agreed to settle the matter and pay $17.7 million for its transgressions.

Verizon remains adamant it was defrauded by Willard Lanham, a special consultant to the NYC Department of Education who was given a 37-month prison sentence in September 2012 after federal prosecutors proved he personally stole $1.7 million as part of Project Connect, an initiative to connect 573 schools to the World Wide Web in an affordable manner. Verizon said the company helped the government sentence Mr. Lanham and was also the victim of his activities which involved a systematical effort to overbill state and federal educational agencies in a six-year period ending in 2008. The NYC Department of Education previously concluded that Mr. Lanham hired subcontractors for whose hours he charged millions of dollars without any intervention or even knowledge on the part of Verizon. The telecom giant argues its involvement in the scandal is only alleged by a federal civil complaint filed against one of its consultant fees issued in 2006, four years after Mr. Lanhams scheme supposedly began.

The company is now set to adhere to a three-year compliance plan for its related operations and has ceded any right to legally demand over $100 million in undisbursed subsidy payments enabled by the E-rate program. The FCC already resolved the dispute with Verizon in May but the announcement of the settlement was postponed until the DOJ concluded its own probe into the matter.
With the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update earlier this week, Microsoft is also pushing the concept of augmented and mixed reality to the general public with the help of new hardware developed by its partners including Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo. Samsung will also launch its mixed reality headset called the Samsung HMD Odyssey, and prices for these different products range from $399 to $499 depending on brand and model, with each AR helmet being accompanied by a set of motion controllers. The four HMDs by Acer, Dell, Lenovo, and HP are available for purchase today, whereas Samsungs solution will hit the shelves later in November.

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update introduces the companys new Windows Mixed Reality platform to the masses, and although tech giant hasnt released any new AR hardware of its own, its platform is now backed by a handful of HMDs from its partners. Prior to this release, Acer and HPs mixed reality developer kits have been available for pre-order since earlier this summer, whereas the Samsung HMD Odyssey was officially confirmed at the beginning of October. The two HMDs priced at $399 belong to Acer and Lenovo whereas Dell and HPs solutions carry a price tag of $449, but as far as the internal hardware is concerned all four models  not counting Samsungs Odyssey  are identical. They feature two high-resolution 2.89-inch LCD displays with a resolution of 1440 x 1440 each, a native refresh rate of 90Hz, and up to 105 degrees horizontal field of view. All four HMDs have a front hinged display that can be flipped up to reveal the real world without having to remove the helmet altogether, and they feature built-in audio (sans headphones) along with microphone support via a 3.5mm jack. A single HDMI 2.0 connector is used for connecting the units to an external display and a USB 3.0 port is also available for data transfers with compatible Windows PCs.

On the other hand, the Samsung HMD Odyssey relies on a single AMOLED display with a resolution of 2880 x 1600, featuring a field of view of up to 110-degrees and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. The device takes advantage of built-in headphones and dual array microphones, and like the aforementioned four headsets it comes with its own pair of motion controllers. Samsungs solution is more costly as the device can now be acquired on pre-order terms for the price of $499, and availability-wise the Odyssey will be shipped on November 6. Refer to the source link or banners below for additional details.

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71pc of Bajura households below poverty line: Survey

About 71 percent of the households in Bajura district are living below the poverty line and have low social indicators in areas such as health and education besides lacking market access, the Poor Household Support Coordination Board Secretariat said.
In his well-intentioned but flawed Oct. 4 New Yorker article, The Lost Masterpieces of Norman Rockwell Country, Felix Salmon demonstrates more understanding of museum ethics than the leaders of the embattled Berkshire Museum possess. But thats not quite enough.

When a conscientious journalist doesnt quite get it, those who doincluding the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Alliance of Museumsclearly need to do a better job in educating the public about the thorny issues surrounding the sales of objects from museum collections.

As CultureGrrl readers know, I agree with the overall thrust of Salmons article: We have both written that the Berkshire Museums deaccession decision was ill-conceived and cloaked in undue secrecy. He was kind enough to link to my suggestion that a win-win collaboration could transform the Pittsfield pit stop into a well-functioning offshoot of the distinguished Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). (That said, temporary interim leadership not only at WCMA, but also, as I later learned, at Williams College, may render my floated notion dead-in-the-water.)

Salmons apparent misconceptions about museum ethics in general and about the 1995 deaccessions by the New-York Historical Society in particular undermine his arguments: He dignifies the N-YHSs deplorable disposals at Sothebys as a role model for relatively responsible deaccessioning [emphasis added], saying that the jettisoned material had little historical importance.

Not really

When I covered those sell-offs for the Wall Street Journal (New-York Historical Society Sells New York Heritage, Jan. 19, 1995), I blasted them as a low point in cultural stewardship. The Society had originally intended to monetize its holdings five years earlier, but, as I noted, the outcry from museum professionals was so great that it backed off.

The society candidly admitted that it would use some of its sale proceeds to spruce up galleries, pay curators, collateralize a loan and help eliminate its operating deficit. Thats a clear violation of the written ethical guidelines for deaccessioning, as set forth by the fields leading professional organizations. Theres nothing relatively responsible about it.

Salmon misleadingly gives N-YHS credit for having its deaccession plan clearedin advance by the Association of Art Museum Directors. AAMD states in his guidelines (p. 21) that sales proceeds should be applied only to purchases of other works for the collection.

Heres what AAMD actually did say about the N-YHSs disposal proposal, in an official statement issued to the Societys leadership by the Associations then president, Robert Bergman, on Mar. 9, 1993, one week after AAMDs representatives met with Society officials:

We strongly urge the Society to limit the use of proceeds from the sales of works of art to the purchase of works appropriate to its new, more narrowly defined mission and to avoid any permanent policy that earmarks proceeds from disposition of works of art for purposes other than the replenishment of the collection [emphasis added].

Also down on the N-YHSs plans was Edward Able, executive director of the American Alliance of Museums (then known at the American Association of Museums). He made it clear in an interview that the [New-York Historical] Societys announced plans for use of the sale proceeds far exceeded the direct object-preservation activities contemplated by his organization in its guidelines, as I reported in the WSJ. AAMs guidelines state that deaccession proceeds should be used only for acquisitions or direct care of collections.

Salmon is correct in noting that New Yorks then attorney general, G. Oliver Koppell, allowed the sale to proceed, with a proviso that qualifying public institutions in the state be given the right to preempt the winning bidder on any item auctioned by the N-YHS. Such institutions were given a discount off the hammer price and up to five years to pay. Thats how the Metropolitan Museum was able to purchase its Medici plate, pictured above, which had been on loan to it from the Society.

We still await word on the results of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healeys review of the possible assault on her states public patrimony. This is the Berkshire Museums Medici plate, now awaiting auction on Nov. 13 at Sothebys:

For someone who, like me, covered the N-YHS sell-offs, the Berkshire Museums misbegotten plan is a sorry case of deja vu: Van Shields, director of the Berkshire Museum, appears to be redefining his institutions mission to focus more on natural history and science than on art. Similarly, Betsy Gotbaum, director of the N-YHS at the time of its disposals, claimed that her art-rich institution was not a museum of art; we are a historical society. There would be less emphasis, she said, on scholarly connoisseurship and more on informing general audiences about how New York got to be New York.

Happily, a subsequent N-YHS director, American art historian Linda Ferber, redirected the focus towards art, authoring a sumptuous catalogue in conjunction with the museums comprehensive display of its superlative Hudson River School collection.

Here it is, plucked from my own bookshelf:

Like Salmon, the Berkshire Museums leaders need to bone up on the responsibilities of holding collections in the public trust and of not using the excuse of mission creep to justify jettisoning important holdings. In direct response to the Berkshire Museum situation, AAM recently issued a pithy list of eight Questions and Answers about Selling Objects from the Collection, intended to help people cut through the jargon and understand the issues.

Thats a good start, but its not enough merely to put it out there: It needs to be widely disseminated and promoted, so it gets to the people who urgently need itnot just in Pittsfield, but around the country. Trustees and museum officials need to be trained.

The bedrock principle is this: Hocking the treasures gathered by ones professional predecessors in order to raise easy cash for operations, capital expenses and/or debt reduction is not (in Salmons words) relatively responsible deaccessioning. Its irresponsible management.

Heres what Keith Christiansen, the Metropolitan Museums curator of European paintings (now veteran chairman of that department) wrote in an opinion piece for New York Newsday on Dec. 7, 1994, even while his institution was hoping to purchase the Medici plate:

The intention of the donors [to the N-YHS] was that these works become part of the patrimony of New York City, not the cashbox for a poorly run institution.It should be stated emphatically that what the society intends to put on the auction block on Jan. 12 [1995] is not simply the deadwood that has accumulated over the years, but the proudest remnants of what was, historically, one of the most significant collections of paintings in the city.
Law firms that are members of the Lex Mundi network will benefit from strengthened competitiveness after the board of the network approved a new strategic plan.Greater use of technology is key to the new plan with a set of Lex Mundi technology capabilities including solutions which will allow member firms to collaborate across the networks platform.The network, which includes Clayton Utz in Australia and Simpson Grierson in New Zealand, recently hired three new members of its team with a focus on technology and innovation.We are proud to be the first network to have a dedicated professional resource for helping member firms in their technology and innovation initiatives, said Carl Anduri, President of Lex Mundi. We are also excited to add very talented professionals to our business development team whose keen understanding of clients and their business challenges can help us marshal the resources of our network and find unique client solutions.A global online compliance firm has launched its first product designed to ensure compliance with recurring obligations.Corpman Global Compliance is based in New York and was co-founded by a former executive of Practical Law, which became part of Thomson Reuters.The new Entity Compliance product is designed to help law firm and legal department administrators maintain compliance with recurring obligations in more than 50 jurisdictions."The demands on companies to ensure compliance with laws, regulations and rules of conduct are constantly increasing and changing," noted Sylvester Gooijers, Corpman Global Compliance CEO. "After more than a year of research, generating the content and building the software, Corpman is delighted to have struck partnerships with reputable law firms all over the world for validation of its high-quality content."The information provided is maintained by editors and lawyers from firms including Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins.Indonesian firm Oentoeng Suria & Partners in association with Ashurst has appointed Prawidha Murti as a partner in its disputes resolution practice in Jakarta.She joins from Makes & Partners, in alliance with Singapore's Wong Partnership LLP, with more than 14 years experience in litigation across multiple jurisdictions."Asia is of key strategic importance to the firm. Wida is a very well rounded lawyer who has advised her clients on different aspects of dispute resolution, both locally and internationally, commented Nigel Pridmore, Ashurst's regional head for Asia. Her arrival, will enable our highly-regarded disputes team to capitalise further opportunities and continue to build on our success and excellence in client service."
The new name did not take away anything from its performance-oriented approach, however, something the Apollo Arrow supercar revealed last year in Geneva can attest to as well. Just by looking at it you get the sense there wasn't much else on anyone's mind than how to make that car go fast around a track.That's something the Gumpert Apollo was quite good at too. More than ten years after its debut, it still sits on a very honorable tenth spot in the all-time Nurburgring lap times chart, albeit in its "Speed" version. That came with 650 hp obtained from its Audi -sourced 4.2-liter bi-turbo intercooled V8 engine, had a top speed of 360 km/h (223 mph) and reached 100 k/h (62 mph) from a standstill in just 3.1 seconds.If these numbers don't make you curious to know more about the upcoming hypercar, then maybe this short video put together by the company will. It shows very little, but then again it's a teaser, so it's supposed to. Even so, we do get a peek at some of the vehicle's features, and may we just say "oh, boy!"First up is the new company logo embossed in what has probably a body part made of a lightweight material. Nothing fancy. The second sequence, however, shows the two red bucket seats and the airplane yoke-styled removable steering wheel. That looks like a place where we could lose a few hours of our lives, particularly if all we could see out the window were the trees around Nurburgring.It's rather hard to make out what the third shot is, but whatever the case, it's aggressive as hell. The same can be said about the rear spoiler with its Le Mans 24h-like shark fin leaving no doubts over how serious this machine is.The triple exhaust looks like something you would use to shoot xenomorph aliens with, which just happens to be the very thing that spring to mind when you look at the hypercar from behind. At this point, the roof-mounted started button just seems like a regular feature.I've just realized that we've come this far without even mentioning the name of the new Apollo hypercar. That's probably because I find it its only drawback. It's called the Apollo Intesa Emozione, but luckily IE will do. The full reveal is scheduled for October 24, so don't make plans.
We'll probably see the owner of the Swedish hypercar using the gear you'll get to see in the images below, but, given the hue of his Angelholm machine, the K beast is part of the scheme.We're talking about Instagrammer Lamborghiniks, with Chris Singh (this is the aficionado's real name) having taken to social media to talk about his preparations for the big moment.In fact, it seems like we're dealing with a Halloween supercar run, one that's set to take place in Miami, as the gear head explains: "Yes, that battle axe is real. Forget all the fancy guns I keep in my other cars. That axe will be my concealed carry in the Koenigsegg. The costumes, toy swords that have been modified to shoot candy, war paint, etc., it's all part of the plan for an epic Halloween 2017 in Miami for the @prestigeimports Halloween Super Car Run,"Last time we talked about the Agera XS, the thing was engaged in another supercar trip, with a trip to Monaco seeing people using its massive rear wing as a bit of a stage.The XS is basically an U.S.-legal version of the Agera XS, with the 1,160 hp machine packing enough velocity skills to derserve a very special place in the garage that is our heart.2017 has been a majestic year for Koenigsegg, with the Agera RS helping the carmaker steal a record that belonged to Bugatti.Sure, the K people didn't manage to return to the Nurburgring and grab the production car lap record they missed last year following the dreaded One:1 crash. But setting a new world record for the 0-400-0 km/h run certainly counts as a memorable achievement.
Cross border movement halted at Rasuwagadi border for 6 days

The Chinese authority has halted the cross border movement from the Rasuwagadi border point, the only trade route currently in operation between Nepal and China, for six days from Tuesday.
And we're here to bring you an example of a 2017 Porsche Panamera that has been gifted with a set of custom shoes.The long-roof Zuffenhausen machine you see here has left its factory wheels behind for a set of rollers supplied by Rotiform and we have to mention that the new wheels make quite a difference.That's because these wheels, with their special five-spoke profile, are a nod to Porsche's famous Fuchs wheels If you're willing to take a short trip down memory lane, we'll remind you that the tales of the German automaker's Fuchsfelge wheels kicked off back in the 60s.Since die-cast aluminum wheels didn't meet the engineering requirements for the Neunelfer, the carmakers turned to Otto Fuchs, who came up with the first series-produced forged aluminum wheels.Given the futuristic design of the second-gen Porsche Panamera, which will share a part of its visual aura with the future Mission E, it's amazing how well these rollers go with the lines of the car, at least in our book.Nevertheless, judging by how low the Porscha sits to the ground, it looks like the thing has been gifted with a custom air suspension. Nowadays, such hardware can be controlled using a smartphone app, which means the driver can easily play with the ride height.Alas, we only have a pair of images showcasing this custom Porsche Panamera , but these allow to give us a respectable taste of the car's newfound identity.
AMG

We've already shown you what happens when the two uber-sedans are thrown at each other in a drag race (you know, the kind that used a standing take-off), as well as in a circuit battle . But what if the Affalterbach and the Zuffenhausen long-roof heroes we're discussing here engage in a straight-line battle that features a rolling start?Sure, both these slabs of Germany pack all-wheel-drive, which means that a standing take-off shouldn't be an issue, but the rolling start we're here to discuss will highlight another tech aspect of these lavish velocity monsters, namely their trannies.You see, while the Panny packs a dual-clutch PDK gearbox with eight ratios, the E63 features anSPEEDSHIFT MCT (Multi Clutch Technology) nine-speed transmission. The latter isn't a dual-clutch unit, rather working as an automatic that has skipped the torque converter in favor of a clutch pack - here's a guide on this single-input shaft gearbox (as opposed to the two shafts of a dual-clutch unit) for those of you who want to get into the tech details of the matter.Returning to the velocity battle we have here, the 612 Benz and the 550 hp Porscha got together on an airfield in Sweden, with this allowing us to clearly spot the speed difference between them.We have to mention that the scale footprint difference between the two is noticeable, with the Porsche being around 250 lbs (115 kg) heavier than the Mercedes-AMG.The Porsche Panamera Turbo was used as the camera car for the stunt we have here, so you should be prepared to admire the posterior of the gym-visiting E-Class.
Officials inaugurated on Wednesday the first street that has been refurbished in Gyumris as part of a $10 million reconstruction of its historic old town initiated by Prime Minister Karen Karapetian.

A relevant program drawn up by Armenias Central Bank and a private charity calls for capital repairs of the two main streets in Gyumris central Kumayri district mainly constructed in the 19th century. This is aimed at attracting more tourists and stimulating economic activity in the impoverished city. Old houses to be renovated there over the next two years will offer commercial space to businesspeople interested in opening shops, restaurants and centers for traditional arts or handicrafts.

Work on one of those streets began in March, with construction teams laying new underground gas and water pipes, paving it with granite tiles and installing new benches and street lighting in the following months. The radically renovated Rustaveli Street was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Karapetian, Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanian and other government officials.

Karapetian said the reconstruction of the other Kumayri street is due to start in March 2018.We will definitely complete the Kumayri historical center project, he told reporters.

Karapetian said the projects implementation will continue even if he is not reappointed as prime minister after President Serzh Sarkisian serves out his final term in April.

Visiting Gyumri in February, the premier promised in that his family will invest $500,000 of its own money in the project mostly financed from private sources. The family has since purchased a building at Kumayri which is currently undergoing capital repairs.

Gyumri has still not fully recovered from a catastrophic 1988 earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of others homeless in this and other parts of northwestern Armenia. The city has long had one of the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the country.

The tourism development scheme was launched ahead of a large-scale reconstruction of many other Gyumri streets and roads which have been in an increasingly poor condition in the last few years.

The Armenian government and the municipal administration secured last year $25 million in funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the planned street repairs. The money will also be used for installing new and energy-efficient lighting and upgrading the municipal drainage infrastructure.
18 October 2017 14:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The poor management of Armenia that the countrys government conducts, of course, leads to the deterioration of living conditions of the Armenian population, and consequently, to their impoverishment.

The latest official statistics say that the poverty rate in Armenia is 29.8 percent. The total number of poor people in Armenia amounts to 900,000, and 310,000 of them are very poor, while 60,000 people are extremely poor.

Aharon Adibekyan, the Director of the Sociometer Sociological Center based in Armenia, has recently commented on the situation regarding poverty in the country.

About 45 percent of the population of Armenia is on the verge of absolute poverty, the expert said, adding that 10 percent of these people are in a state of poverty.

The report by Armenias National Statistical Service in 2015 noted that after the global economic crisis the level of the poorest in Armenia remained the same or regressed, while the richest have become even richer.

Meanwhile, the poverty, paired with violent corruption and unemployment, also forces Armenians to commit crimes and even suicides.

Of course, poverty also creates obstacles for Armenian children and deprives them of a bright future that the Armenian government constantly promises to the countrys population.

When we evaluated the program to help students, it turned out that one of the reasons why children do not attend school is that they have no shoes and warm clothes. Thus, poverty affects the formation of future generations, Adibekyan noted.

Meanwhile, many Armenian children, instead of studying, have to work every day to provide food for their poor families. About 30 percent of working children in Armenia are under 14, statistics say.

Moreover, the unemployment rate in the country is highest among the CIS states, making up 19 percent. Therefore, Armenians periodically hold protests demanding to open new jobs, while others can find no other way but to leave the country.

The poverty problem has deep roots in Armenia and the government is still unable to fix it. Obviously, the countrys economy should be restored first in order to achieve the improvement of the quality of live.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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18 October 2017 10:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 122 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on October 18.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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18 October 2017 11:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Recently, Russia provided Yerevan with an export loan to finance the supply of military equipment to Armenia worth $100 million.

This act of Moscow is rather contradictory and even violating the country's obligations as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is engaged in peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As we know, Russia provides Armenia with weapons at domestic price under the Collective Security Treaty (CST) and this applies to all the countries involved in the CST. Russia also realizes successful sales of weapons to Azerbaijan, Alexander Golts, military analyst, chief editor at Daily Journal (www.ej.ru), told Trend.

Speaking about Russia's policy regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Golts noted that Moscow is trying to repeat the British policy of the 19th century, when British arms were usually supplied to both conflicting sides in order to maintain a balance between them, so that Britain would have the final say in such conflicts.

Arms trade is probably the most politicized type of trade. The arms selling country has a serious impact on the policy of the country that purchases those arms. The new loan to Armenia aims to maintain the balance, so that none of the sides could use its military superiority over the other one, Golts said.

The analyst stressed that Armenia does not have the ability to pay for the weapons in advance, and Russia, in fact, pays to its own weapon developing plants.

Azerbaijan conducted a quite successful military operation in 2016. Russia was one of the first countries to join the peacekeeping process to prevent military actions, since an armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia would be a collapse of the entire trans-Caucasian policy of Russia.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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18 October 2017 18:38 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Endless protests in Yerevan and regions of Armenia have already become a standard practice for the countrys population. Rarely the Armenian government takes real action after these protests, but the Armenian citizens do not give up in their attempts.

Thus, the Yerevan taxi drivers have held a protest in the city, demanding the resignation of the Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology Vahagn Martirosyan.

During the protest, held on October 17, the chairman of the Drivers Protection League Tigran Hovhannisyan accused the minister in inaction.

The minister promised us that he would raise in the Parliament the issues related to problems in the field of taxi services. However, he did nothing, Hovhannisyan told local reporters.

The taxi drivers complain that some companies offer taxi service without being registered, and thus they do not pay the same amount as other taxi drivers.

Hovhannisyan said that the drivers had suggested to temporarily provide equal rights for "illegal" taxi drivers, but nothing was done in this regard.

The taxi drivers had previously held a rally in front of the National Assembly in Yerevan, and all the factions of the Parliament met and talked to them. However, the discussion of this issue is ongoing to this day.

Hovhannisyan also noted that minister Martirosyan is incompetent in the sphere, which he heads.

This minister knows absolutely nothing about this area. We demand his resignation, he said, adding that the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Armenia has carried out a business-genocide.

Private Armenian taxi drivers have been protested for several years, ever since the times of the former Minister of Transport Gagik Beglaryan. The first protest was against the law of February 1, 2015, on compulsory licensing of taxi drivers. They noted that the process of getting a license with all necessary procedures cost too much for ordinary taxi drivers.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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18 October 2017 11:35 (UTC+04:00)

By Joschka Fischer

Europe finally appears to have moved past its multi-year economic crisis, but it remains unsettled. For every reason for optimism, there always seems to be a new cause for concern.

In June 2016, a slim majority of British voters chose nostalgia for the nineteenth-century past over whatever promise the twenty-first century might have held. So they decided to jump off a cliff in the name of sovereignty. There is much evidence to suggest that a hard landing awaits the United Kingdom. A cynic might point out that it will take a properly functioning sovereignty to cushion the impact.

In Spain, the government of the autonomous region of Catalonia is now demanding sovereignty, too. But the current Spanish government is not prosecuting, imprisoning, torturing, and executing the people of Catalonia, as Generalissimo Francisco Francos dictatorship once did. Spain is a stable democracy and a member of the European Union, the eurozone, and NATO. For decades now, it has maintained the rule of law in accordance with a democratic constitution that was negotiated by all parties and regions, including Catalonia.

On October 1, the Catalan government held an independence referendum in which less than half  some estimates say a third  of the regions population participated. By the standards of the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the vote could never be accepted as free and fair. In addition to being illegal under the Spanish constitution, the referendum did not even have a voting register to determine who was entitled to participate.

Catalonias alternative referendum invited a clampdown from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoys government, which intervened to shut down polling stations and prevent people from casting ballots. This proved to be a political folly of the highest order, because images of the police swinging truncheons at unarmed Catalan protesters conferred a spurious legitimacy on the secessionists. No democracy can win in this kind of conflict. And in the case of Spain, the crackdown conjured up images of the countrys 1936-1939 civil war  its deepest historical trauma to this day.

Were Catalonia actually to achieve independence, it would have to find a way forward without Spain or the EU. Spain, with the support of many other member states that worry about their own secessionist movements, would block any Catalan bid for EU or eurozone membership. And without membership in the European single market, Catalonia would face the grim prospect of rapid transformation from an economic powerhouse into an isolated and poor country.

But independence for Catalonia would pose a fundamental problem for Europe, too. For starters, no one wants a repeat of the breakup of Yugoslavia, for obvious reasons. But, more to the point, the EU cannot countenance the disintegration of member states, because these states comprise the very foundation upon which it rests.

The EU is an association of nation-states, not regions. Although regions can play an important role within the EU, they cannot stand in as an alternative to member states. If Catalonia were to set a precedent of secession, encouraging other regions to follow suit, the EU would be thrown into a deep, existential crisis. In fact, one could argue that nothing less than the EUs future is at stake in Catalonia today.

Moreover, the original purpose of the EU was to overcome nation-states deficiencies by means of integration  the opposite of secession. It was meant to transcend the state system that had proved so disastrous in the first half of the twentieth century.

Consider Northern Ireland, which has turned out to be a perfect example of how integration within the EU can overcome national borders, bridge historical divides, and ensure peace and stability. Incidentally, the same could be said for Catalonia, which after all owes most of its economic success to Spains accession to the EU in 1986.

It would be historically absurd for the EUs member states to enter a phase of secession and disintegration in the twenty-first century. The sheer size of other global players  not least China, India, and the United States  has only made strong intercommunity relations and deeper European integration even more necessary.

One can only hope that reason will prevail, particularly in Barcelona, but also in Madrid. A democratic, intact Spain is too important to be jeopardized by disputes over the allocation of tax revenues among the countrys regions. There is no alternative but for both sides to abandon the trenches they have dug for themselves, come out to negotiate, and find a mutually satisfactory solution that accords with the Spanish constitution, democratic principles, and the rule of law.

The experiences of Spains friends and allies could be helpful here. Germany, unlike Spain, is organized as a federation. Yet even in Germany, nothing is as cumbersome and difficult as the never-ending negotiations over fiscal transfers between the federal government and individual states  which is to say, between richer and poorer regions. But an agreement is always eventually reached, and it holds until another dispute arises, at which points negotiations begin anew.

To be sure, money is important. But it is not as important as Europeans shared commitment to liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. Europes prosperity depends on peace and stability, and peace and stability in Europe depend, first and foremost, on whether Europeans will fight for these values.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: Europes Attackers From Within

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18 October 2017 10:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

More Azerbaijani citizens are willing to purchase housing on preferential terms in Baku.

Approximately 6,500 people were registered to buy subsidized housing in Baku, Anar Guliyev, the head of the staff of the State Agency for Housing Construction (MIDA) under the President of Azerbaijan, told journalists on October 17.

"The sale of apartments is carried out through the electronic system Subsidized housing. Citizens who have the right to receive subsidized housing are being registered through this system. As of today, if I'm not mistaken, about 6,500 people have been registered," he said.

The next stage will begin after the sale of the first apartments, according to Guliyev.

"After the process begins, everyone who has been registered will have the opportunity to choose the appropriate apartment and the method of payment. It's hard to say for sure when the sales will start, but I think that we will be able to do it by the end of the year," he noted.

Currently, MIDA is engaged in the construction of the first Yasamal residential complex in Baku. The complex is expected to be fully commissioned in the summer of 2018.

The foundation of the building was laid on December 24, 2016. The complex will consist of 29 multi-apartment residential buildings: 17 of them will be two-block and nine-storey and 12 - one-block and 12-storey. Some 301 of 1854 apartments in these buildings will be one-room, 1,110 - two-room, 443 - three-room. The area of one-room apartments will be from 31 to 33 square meters, two-room apartments - from 50 to 58 square meters, three-room apartments - about 70 square meters.

Also, the work is underway on preparation of master plan for the Hovsan residential complex, which is the second project of the state agency.

MIDA has started registration of persons wishing to purchase subsidized housing since May 30, 2017. A preferential mortgage is issued only in the Azerbaijani manat and given to citizens of the country.

The main essence of preferential terms is that the cost of apartments will be lower than the average market value in the territory.

The State Agency for Housing Construction under the President of Azerbaijan was established in April 2016 upon the presidential decree.

The key objective is to meet the demand of people for housing, to improve their living conditions, to provide construction in modern architectural style that meet environmental requirements and energy efficiency requirements, as well as to improve public administration in the field of urban development and construction.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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18 October 2017 11:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

A screening of interesting films and meetings have been held within DokuBaku Film Festival.

Guests were presented films, including "The End of Time" by Peter Mettler, "God Is Not Working on Sunday" by Leona Goldstein, "All That Passes Through A Window That Doesn't Open" by Martin DiCicco, "Shooting Holy Land" by Gilad Baram, "Machines" by Rahul Jain, "Dream Empire" by David Borenstein.

The master classes by Erik Gandini and Mirnaib Gasanoglu were also held as part of the event, Trend Life reported.

The films were presented by the author of the DokuBaku project Veronika Yanatkova, the senior lecturer of the ADA University Anar Veliyev, the representative of the Equals platform Nazakyat Amirli and the film critic Araz Zeyniyev.

Further, guests enjoyed concert of music band DiHaj.

DokuBaku is the first international documentary film festival in Azerbaijan, which takes place in Baku on October 12-20.

The idea of the first ever international documentary film festival in Azerbaijan came from director Imam Hasanov and producer Veronika Janatkova.

The theme of this years festival is Testing the Reality. The festival consists of main and competition programs.

The audience are presented 15 domestic films and 17 foreign films from Germany, Italy, Russia, the Czech Republic and other countries. A number of master classes with filmmakers and producers are being held for event participants.

The four-day international workshop "My street films", organized in frames of DokuBaku will be concluded with screening of two movies made during the workshop by the participants.

Film screenings are taking place in cinema halls and cafes around Baku.

Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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Dr KC ends hunger strike after 10-pt pact with govt

Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Govinda KC ended his hunger strike on the 14th day after signing a 10-point pact with the government on Wednesday.
18 October 2017 17:58 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The year 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of one of the most outstanding figures in the Azerbaijani culture Gara Garayev.

He masterly combined the roles of outstanding composer, social activist, talented teacher, writer and scholar.

The author of nearly 110 pieces, including ballets, operas, symphonic and chamber pieces, piano solos, cantatas, songs and marches, Garayev devoted his life to the art of music, composing many modern, progressive masterpieces.

The great composer juxtaposed features of Mugham with jazz, blues, African music, European counterpoint styles, and developments related to the 20th century Western music such as the 12-tone technique.

At the age of twenty, Garayev composed his first musical piece, a cantata "The Song of the Heart" to the poem by Rasul Rza.

In 1945, Garayev and Jovdat Hajiyev wrote the "Motherland" ("Vtn") opera, for which they were awarded a prestigious Stalin prize.

At the age of 30, talented composer was again awarded this prize for his symphonic poem "Leyli and Majnun", based on the same-titled famous work of Nizami.

In 1952, under the direction of the choreograph P. A. Gusev, Garayev's "Seven Beauties" ballet was staged at the Azerbaijani Theater of Opera and Ballet. It is based on motifs of Nizami Ganjavi's "Seven beauties" poem, written in 1197.

The ballet tells the story of a young prince, who draws inspiration and wisdom from his seven international princesses.

His second ballet, "Path of Thunder" ("Ildrml yollarla"), staged in 1958, was dedicated to racial conflicts in South Africa.

He also wrote the soundtrack for the documentary film "A Story About the Oil Workers of the Caspian Sea", directed by Roman Karmen and set at the Oil Rocks, world's first off-shore drilling town built in 1949 on rigs in the Caspian Sea.

Upon the death of Uzeyir Hajibeyov in 1948, Garayev became the Chair of the Union of Composers of Azerbaijan SSR and the rector of Azerbaijan State Conservatoire.

Garayev died on May 13, 1982 in Moscow at the age of 64. The memory of great composer will always live in the hearts of Azerbaijani people.

President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on October 17 to mark the 100th jubilee of the legendary Azerbaijani composer.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, are tasked to prepare and execute an action plan for the jubilee in consideration of proposals of the Union of Composers.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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18 October 2017 17:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The winners of the contest "New Romances" have brilliantly performed in the International Mugham Center.

The contest among composers was organized by TV channel "Mdniyyt"(Culture) of the Azerbaijan Television, Trend Life reported.

Addressing the evening, director of TV channel "Mdniyyt", the Honored Artist of Azerbaijan and the author of the project Ramil Gasimov noted that the state pays great attention and care to the development of culture and preservation of the national heritage.

Romances occupy a place of honor in national vocal music as one of the best and the main features of the chamber-vocal music.

"Azerbaijan hosts very important international music festivals with the participation of world-famous performers, musicians and collectives, which are widely covered in foreign media. The competition aims at promotion of the romance genre and presentation of the works by talented young people to the general public," said Gasimov.

"Of the top ten works, eight belong to young composers, and four of them were hired in Azerbaijan genre television. New works created in the romance genre will contribute to the enrichment of our musical art," he added.

The main goal of the Azerbaijani television is to promote patriotic education and enlightenment of youth, propaganda of high moral and moral values, feelings of love for Azerbaijan", said Ramil Gasimov.

Honored Art Worker Elnara Dadashova noted that when creating works the authors should take into account modern motives, ideological orientation and spiritual values. She stressed that it is possible to use verses of classics and young poets as lyrics of the songs.

Ten of the best works will be awarded with cash prizes.

Further, the best works of the contest were performed by well-known vocalists.

Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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18 October 2017 12:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The Austrian OSCE Chairmanship closely followed the meeting of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, organized under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in Geneva on 16 October, said in the statement of the chairmanship, posted on OSCE official website.

We are pleased to see the fresh impetus and commitment by the presidents to take measures to intensify the negotiation process and seek additional steps to reduce tensions on the line of contact, a spokesperson of the OSCE Chairmanship said.

"The Chairmanship hopes this renewed engagement will be reflected in concrete steps to peacefully resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Planning for peace should be the focus of the endeavours. Represented by Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, the Chairmanship underlines its continued readiness to further support the efforts for peace on all sides", he stressed

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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18 October 2017 12:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan resorts to any provocation to preserve the status quo in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani MP Tahir Karimli told Trend on October 17.

The Azerbaijani MP said that for this purpose, the current Armenian leadership violates all diplomatic norms.

"The Armenian president knows that Azerbaijans territorial integrity will be restored, Karimli said. The whole world has recognized Nagorno-Karabakh region as an integral part of Azerbaijan, therefore the Armenian president avoids diplomatic negotiations.

President Sargsyan avoids negotiations for Azerbaijan to start to liberate its lands by military means and then Armenia will say again that Azerbaijan is disrupting negotiations, while the Armenian side allegedly agrees on a peaceful settlement of the conflict, he said.

"Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the conflict peacefully and the whole world is aware about it, Karimli said. President Sargsyan resorts to similar methods for the international organizations to exert more pressure on Azerbaijan."

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Geneva on October 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

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18 October 2017 11:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The visit of Turkish MP Garo Paylan to Yerevan in September, as well as the visit of Turkish citizens Ufuk Uras, Ali Bayramoglu, Said Cekinoglu and Erol Katircioglu to the occupied Azerbaijani territories is a provocation, Kenan Yasan, Turkish journalist, columnist of several newspapers, told Trend.

He said that these people once again demonstrated their true identity and political affiliation.

Yasan noted that the statement of Garo Paylan, the MP from the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) that Turkey should recognize the so-called Armenian genocide contradicts common sense and, of course, doesnt reflect the opinion of Turkish citizens.

One shouldnt let the forces, the actions of which are directed against the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, activate, Yasan said.

The expert noted that both in Azerbaijan and Turkey, it is necessary to oppose actions that could spoil the relations between the two fraternal countries.

On September 22, Turkish citizens Ufuk Uras, Ali Bayramoglu, Said Cekinoglu and Erol Katircioglu illegally visited Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region, occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the illegal visit of Turkish citizens to the occupied Azerbaijani territories did not reflect Ankaras official policy.

Grave Crimes Investigation Department of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office filed a criminal case under the Criminal Codes Article 318.2 (illegally crossing Azerbaijans state borders). All four individuals are accused under the abovementioned article. A measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against them. They were declared internationally wanted.

An appeal was sent to the Turkish law enforcement to detain the four individuals.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

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18 October 2017 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Sadikhov has commented on the meeting of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Geneva.

If no difference was made between an aggressor and a side that suffered from aggression, if nothing was said about withdrawal of troops from foreign lands at the meeting, this means that the meeting has no concrete results, Sadikhov told Trend on October 17.

He believes the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will once again assess the meeting using usual phrases, declare the importance of new meetings and note that this issue will be discussed again at another meeting.

All these are common words that we have heard before, he said. These are elements of the activity of the OSCE. If no steps are taken to implement the four UN Security Council resolutions, if there are no statements about taking any measures in the near future, if the parties dont undertake any commitments, and if the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs dont say how they will monitor fulfillment of these commitments, it means that the meeting is fruitless, the MP said.

He added that the Armenian president wouldnt have come to the meeting if not for the April events of last year.

It means that Sargsyan is afraid, Sadikhov said. Azerbaijan will not abandon its principled position.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

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18 October 2017 17:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Negotiations with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his team will not yield any results, Azerbaijani MP Elman Mammadov told Trend on October 18.

Constructive talks should lead to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensure Azerbaijans territorial integrity. If this problem is solved, Sargsyan's power will be destroyed. So, it does not matter how much Sargsyan participates in the talks, after them he speaks differently, he said.

Armenia does not want to take a fair position in the negotiations. Sargsyan is a war criminal. If a war criminal who should be in prison is a head of state, there is nothing else to expect from him. He acts in accordance with the laws of the criminal world, and not in line with international law, Mammadov added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan held a summit in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 16.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

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18 October 2017 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

October 18, a remarkable day in the history of Azerbaijan, marks re-established independence of the country after the end of the Soviet Union.

This became the second brilliant victory in the political history of the nation in the 20th century.

The 26th anniversary of Azerbaijans Independence Act, is recognized as the most glorious day in the nation's modern history.

By this document, Azerbaijan was declared the successor of the first democratic republic in the Muslim world -- Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established in 1918, which fell as a result of the occupation of Azerbaijan by Bolshevik Russia, existing for 23 months.

The newly independent country announced itself a legal heir of the ADR and adopted its state symbols -- flag, emblem and anthem.

The internal political situation deteriorated in the country in 1991. The growing influence of the democratic forces, the difficult economic situation, the tragedy of January 20 [Bloody January], and growing conflict with Armenia led to a new blow of protests in the country.

People were tired of seventy-year-old Soviet dictatorship and demanded decisive action from the country's leadership.The Azerbaijani people did not stop dreaming of establishing a state free from foreign domination.

On these emotional days for all Azerbaijanis, the people filled the streets, impatiently waiting for the approval of the Act of Independence.

The human excitement in the squares reached its climax. By feeling liberty, people were willing to do anything to bring it closer. It was the nation, seasoned in lengthy meetings in the square, remembering the horrors of January 1990 -- Bloody January, when 26,000 hostile and aggressive-minded Soviet special forces called "Alfa" entered Baku to commit atrocities against the Azerbaijani people, storming and murdering hundreds of civilians without declaring a state of emergency.

Now, the imperial tanks were no longer able to block the path to freedom. Azerbaijan, which lost hundreds of its sons and daughters in the struggle for independence, was persistently advancing towards a new life, a new reality.

Finally, the long-awaited day has come! In the fall of 1991, after in-depth debate on the adoption of the Constitutional Act on Independence, a new era has started in the history of Azerbaijan.

A nationwide vote on December 29, 1991 was held in the country to prove the world that this is an act of democratic character and is supported by the entire population. The ballot paper of the referendum included only one question: "Do you support the Constitutional Act on the state Independence of Azerbaijan?" Over 95 percent of voters took part in the referendum and unanimously voted for independence.

After gaining independence in a complex political environment, young Azerbaijan, needed international recognition of its sovereignty.

And the first step was made by the brotherly country Turkey, which recognized the independence on November 9, 1991. A total of 50 countries recognized the independence of Azerbaijan by January 1992.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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18 October 2017 11:09 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Poland supports the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor as a means to supply south-east Europe with gas alternative to the dominant Russian supplier, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski.

Waszczykowski, talking to Trend ahead of his Baku visit, stressed that his country looks forward to Azerbaijan contribution, thanks to its raw material potential, to the deepening of Europe's energy security.

"The Southern Gas Corridor will allow 10 billion cubic metres of Caspian gas per year to be exported from Caspian Region to European countries. It is not a big volume, but it is the foundation for further expansion and cooperation," he said.

The minister said that the common goal should be both to promote Azerbaijani energy independence and to seek new sources of gas for the Southern Gas Corridor, which will further strengthen its real potential for diversification in south-east Europe currently dominated by the Russian supplier.

The $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor is an EU initiative to reduce Europes dependency on Russian gas.

The SGC project a series of pipelines which will carry Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas to Europe  is a unique project opening up route for Caspian energy sources. As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

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18 October 2017 12:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Structural changes carried out in Azerbaijans Cabinet of Ministers are an important step aimed at improving effectiveness of management, the countrys MP Aydin Huseynov told Trend on October 17.

He said that the Cabinet of Ministers is the supreme executive body, and the reforms carried out in this executive body will increase effectiveness and efficiency of the work of the structure. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on the management, he noted.

The MP added that in general, over the past years, reforms that serve to increase effectiveness and efficiency of management in a number of spheres have been implemented under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The MP noted that the structural reforms implemented in accordance with new conditions and challenges serve to improve the management system and form an operational management mechanism.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on Aug. 23 approving the structure of Office of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The decree sets a limit on the number of employees of the Cabinet of Ministers Office (excluding the Department for Affairs) at 200 established posts.

The limit on the number of employees of the Department for Affairs of the Cabinet of Ministers Office is to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

If necessary, Azerbaijans Cabinet of Ministers can create sectors in the departments that make up the structure of its Office (or departments and sectors in the Department for Affairs).

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Dr KC wants ordinance to enact health reforms

With Parliament failing to endorse the Health Profession Education Bill, Dr Govinda KC has said his bottom-line is enactment of the provisions in the bill through an ordinance.
18 October 2017 11:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to amend the Decree on the Establishment of Azercosmos OJSC, dated May 3, 2010.

According to the amendments, the words subordinated to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the first part of the decree are replaced with the words of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the words as well as coordination of work carried out within international space projects and participation in them, cooperation with relevant international organizations and space agencies of foreign states in using outer space for peaceful purposes are added after the word implementation.

Thus, Azercosmos OJSC has been removed from subordination of Azerbaijans Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies.

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18 October 2017 10:48 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani on October 18.

The secretary general conveyed greetings of heads of the Cooperation Councils member states to the Azerbaijani president.

We highly appreciate the level of existing ties and are interested in their further strengthening. We are grateful for your leadership in developing these relations, said Al Zayani.

Noting with satisfaction that the delegation will participate in the business forum Azerbaijan-Gulf Cooperation Council, the head of the Council stressed the importance of this event for the expansion of economic ties between the member states of the organization and Azerbaijan.

He added that the strengthening of cooperation with Azerbaijan is important in terms of ensuring security, stability and economic development in the region.

The secretary general also said that the growing number of tourists coming from the Gulf countries to Azerbaijan, which is a beautiful country, is satisfying.

President Aliyev noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are developing successfully and there are strong political ties with them.

The president also noted the importance of high-level visits in terms of expanding ties.

The head of state said that big work is being conducted in Azerbaijan for development of tourism, and noted with pleasure the steady growth in the number of tourists arriving in the country from abroad, including from the Gulf states.

President Aliyev said that high hospitality is provided to tourists in Azerbaijan, and stressed that this contributes to the expansion of relations between countries and peoples.

The head of state noted that there are good opportunities for economic cooperation, and there is favorable environment for investments in Azerbaijan, including good opportunities for investing of countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Noting with satisfaction the growing competitiveness of the Azerbaijani economy, President Aliyev stressed that this year, according to the rating of the Davos World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan has moved up two spots from 37th to rank 35th among the worlds states for the competitiveness of its economy.

The head of state noted that Azerbaijan contributes to the Islamic solidarity. The country recently hosted the Islamic Solidarity Games, and stressed the importance of these Games in terms of strengthening the relations between Islamic states.

The expediency of expanding the air communication between Azerbaijan and the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was noted during the meeting.

President Aliyev expressed gratitude for the greetings of the heads of the Gulf Cooperation Councils member countries, and asked to convey his greetings to the leaders of the Councils member countries.

At the end of the meeting, a memorable gift was presented to President Ilham Aliyev.

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18 October 2017 13:52 (UTC+04:00)

Nizami Cinema Center has hosted a presentation of the documentary "Light behind window".

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, author and executive producer of the film Leyla Aliyeva attended the event, Azertac reported.

Shootings of the documentary were carried out with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Baku Media Center.

Prior to the screening of the film Leyla Aliyeva, the film's screenwriter and director Oleg Schommer, and one of the heroes of the documentary Vusala Karimova went on stage.

Oleg Schommer highlighted the plot of the documentary. He thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Baku Media Center for their contribution to the film.

Addressing the event, Leyla Aliyeva hailed the importance of the film. "I do not want to say that this movie is about good and evil, the movie is about good because the greatest power in the world is love, good and trust."

Leyla Aliyeva thanked those who contributed to the film and invited everyone to watch it.

Residents of Baku's and Moscow's orphanages also attended the presentation.

As part of the Child Diplomacy program implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Vice-President of the Foundation Leyla Aliyeva met with the children of Moscow-hosted center for promotion of family education "Nash dom" and the orphanages of Baku. She had a sincere talk with them and wished them success.

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18 October 2017 15:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

The meeting between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister and his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski, who is on official visit to Azerbaijan, was held in Baku.

The prospects of development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Poland, as well as current world and regional issues were discussed at the meeting.

At the joint press conference Mammadyarov said more than 10 documents between Azerbaijan and Poland are under consideration.

To date, 41 documents have been signed between the two states, and more than 10 documents are under consideration, Mammadyarov said.

The Minister noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and Poland are based on deep and long-standing ties. The two countries closely cooperate in the framework of international organizations, such as NATO, the OSCE, he added.

The FM noted that during the meeting with his Polish counterpart he expressed gratitude to the Polish side for supporting Azerbaijan's position in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that Poland has always taken an unambiguous position on this issue.

He also noted that in late October, representatives of the European Commission will visit Azerbaijan to discuss a new agreement on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU.

"Azerbaijani is ready to discuss relations with the EU in all spheres, and in this respect the new agreement is of strategic importance for us," the minister added.

The document will replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today. The deal will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European neighborhood policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Addressing the conference Waszczykowski said that Azerbaijan is an important country for Poland in terms of energy, tourism and other spheres.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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18 October 2017 12:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

ITF Group, an Iranian company, will hold an exhibition on Halal products in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2018, ITF Group CEO Hossein Mortaja told Trend on October 16.

He said that along with the Islamic food show, the group is staging TURKMEN CASPINDEXPO on industry and motors.

Companies from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Kazakhstan are going to attend the expo, Mortaja noted.

The industry expo will include shows in the areas of oil, gas, petrochemicals, construction, energy, water, heavy industries, etc., he said.

Turkmenistan specializes in cotton growing and in the extraction of oil and natural gas.

Turkmenistans oil is of a very high grade, both as a fuel and as a raw material for chemical production. Extensive reserves of oil and natural gas as well as rich deposits of mineral stones are located in the western plains and underwater along the Caspian Sea.

The country requires extending rail lines to serve its scattered population efficiently.

Recent data revealed that growth is holding up in the face of low natural gas prices.

The economic growth has been broadly stable in the first half of 2017 at 6.5 percent, up from 6.1 percent in the same period last year. On the supply side, expansion came mainly from outside the hydrocarbon sector, with services rising by 9 percent on gains of 10.9 percent in transport, 9.4 percent in trade, 4.1 percent in construction services, and 10.3 percent in other services.

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18 October 2017 13:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkmenistan has been admitted to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said in a message on October 17.

The decision was made at a session of the IPU Governing Council in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The accession of Turkmenistan to the IPU is another evidence of the international recognition of the successful work done in the country to strengthen civil institutions and democratic values, said the message.

The IPU, headquartered in Geneva, is one of the oldest international organizations and one of the most representative international structures for interparliamentary diplomacy.

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18 October 2017 13:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Tehran and Tashkent intend to further increase trade turnover between the two countries.

Uzbek delegation headed by the Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov held a meeting with Iran's Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari in Tehran on October 17.

"During the talks, attended by Uzbek Foreign Trade Minister Elyor Ganiev and other members of the delegation, it was noted that one of the priority areas of Uzbek-Iranian relations is the increase in volumes and diversification of bilateral trade as well as bringing the investment cooperation to a higher level," according to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, podrobno.uz reported.

The parties discussed in detail the prospects for deepening cooperation in the transport and communication field.

The readiness to develop relations within the framework of the agreement on the international transport corridor Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman was confirmed at the meeting.

"The sides also exchanged views on the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation in Tehran," the source said.

Uzbekistans trade turnover with Iran in the first half of 2017 was $166.3 million. This indicator is not high compared to the results of previous years, but the recent talks on further expansion of the trade cooperation between the presidents of the two countries illustrates mutual intention to increase the number of economic deals.

Uzbekistan exports many commodities to Iran including cotton, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fertilizers and chemical fibers. Iran exports construction materials, detergents, foods, tea and fruits to Uzbekistan.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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18 October 2017 13:08 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Relations between the two NATO allies  Turkey and the United States  have become even more complicated after the arrest of Turkish national working in the U.S. consular office.

Previous tensions had other reasons such as the Syrian issue, failed coup in Turkey and U.S. court cases against Turkish officials.

The U.S. special delegation arrived in Turkey on October 17 in an effort to resolve the crisis between the two countries which erupted following the arrest of an employee of the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.

As part of the negotiations aimed at normalizing Ankara-Washington ties, the U.S. delegation put forward a number of conditions, Turkish media outlets reported on October 18 citing a diplomatic source.

One of the conditions is to present evidence that the previously arrested U.S. consular officer in Turkey had links with Fethullah Gulen movement, as Turkish authorities claim.

Moreover, Turkey should provide the U.S. with full information about the progress of the investigation.

The U.S. and Turkey previously suspended the mutual issuance of non-immigrant visas. Non-immigrant visas are issued to people who travel for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study.

This decision followed the October 4 arrest of a Turkish national who works at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul for alleged involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt aimed to overthrow the Turkish president. The U.S. embassy stated earlier that it was deeply disturbed over the arrest and rejected the allegations against the employee as wholly without merit.

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in New York, where Trump praised Erdogan as a friend despite tensions in two countries relations over a number of issues.

This latest incident aggravated the already tense relationship between Washington and Ankara. The two countries have clashed over the U.S. support for Kurdish rebels in Syria as well as Turkish demands that the United States extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric whom Ankara blames for a military coup attempt of last July.

In addition, Ankaras rapprochement with Russia and purchase of S-400 missiles become the subject of criticism by the U.S.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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18 October 2017 18:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Reformation of UN is not a new topic as it was previously raised by a number of world leaders and top officials.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called for the reform of the UN Security Council, Turkish media outlets reported on October 18.

He noted that the world is much more than just "a five" - China, France, Russia, the UK and the United States.

The minister added that the UN Security Council should meet the current requirements of the world community.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeatedly called for reforms in the UN Security Council.

At the present time, Western countries do nothing to prevent or stop such tendencies as xenophobia, racism or the spread of hostility towards Islam, according to the Turkish leader.

"We want the UN Security Council to have a democratic, transparent and fair structure," he said.

Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump also called for changes in the UN and claimed that there is a need to review funding of the international organization. Trump has long been known for criticizing United Nations, saying that this structure is not working in full force.

In December 2016, Trump referred to the UN as a "club" for people to "have a good time." As a candidate, he questioned the institution's effectiveness in dealing with international threats.

The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is composed of five permanent member and ten non-permanent member countries.

Today, the issue of increasing the effectiveness of the UN Security Council, including the use of all its statutory peacekeeping capabilities, is becoming increasingly important due to a number of international crises.

Most probably, one of the main reasons for the Council's poor effectiveness is its inability to ensure the implementation of its resolutions in a number of cases. A clear example of this is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged due to Armenia's illegal territorial claims towards neighboring Azerbaijan in 1988. Today, Armenia keeps under occupation 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory in defiance of international law.

In 1993, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted four resolutions (No. 822, 853, 874 and 884), condemning the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, reaffirming respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for the acquisition of territory.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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18 October 2017 15:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has called for the UN Security Council reform, the Turkish media reported on October 18.

He said that that the UN Security Council must meet the current requirements of the world community.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also repeatedly called for the UN Security Council reform.

Erdogan had said that Western countries do nothing to prevent or stop such tendencies as xenophobia, racism or the spread of hostility towards Islam.

"We want the UN Security Council to have a democratic, transparent and fair structure," Erdogan said.

---

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EC allows Supplies Ministry to transfer NOC chief

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday allowed the Ministry of Supplies to implement its decision to transfer controversial Nepal Oil Corporation Managing Director Gopal Bahadur Khadka to the ministry.
18 October 2017 18:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Oil and gas sector is the major and most rapidly growing industry in Kazakhstan which brings the country a lion's share of its incomes.

Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev shared his forecasts about the revenues to the state treasury from oil production for the next few years, Kazinform reported.

"If we look at the forecast of revenues and how the National Fund is formed, then we need to understand what parts it is composed of. Necessarily this is the volume of production, which is growing, this is the world price of oil. Therefore, if we come to the price calculations, our forecast of tax revenues for 2017 is formed on the basis of $50 per barrel. For 2018-2020, we formed a forecast for the receipt of taxes, based on a price of $45 per barrel. That is, we already have five dollars difference, here we lose," Sagintayev said at the plenary session of the Mazhilis of the Kazakh Parliament.

At the same time, according to the Prime Minister, the volume of oil production by 2020 should grow due to the Kashagan field.

The volume of oil production is growing. The forecast for this year was planned at somewhere around 84.5 million tons, but it shows that there will be some increase at the end of the year. By 2020, we have an indicative forecast of over 87 million tons. At Kashagan, the production is growing. It is planned to increase the production from today's 6 million up to 13 million by 2020," he explained.

In the other extracting companies, the volume of production is decreasing, according to the minister.

Based on this, we calculate that in all companies which pay to the National Fund in full, the volume falls, he said.

For example, Kashagan, based on the PSA agreement, will pay taxes only after it reaches a real payback," Sagintayev said.

He stressed that only the republican share will come from Kashagan.

Although the volume of production increases, there will be less revenue in reality. In addition, next year we will complete the modernization of all three refineries. Therefore, the volume of supply to these plants from 16 million will be increased to 19 million. Naturally, here we will also lose mineral extraction tax as well as royalties on exports," the minister said.

All these factors show us that although the oil production volumes are growing and the oil price is stabilizing, the revenues to the National Fund will decrease, according to Sagintayev.

Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves as of early 2016 stood at 30 billion barrels, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan are the largest oil fields in Kazakhstan. Three oil giants will be able to bring Kazakhstan's oil production to a new level in the coming years even if new oil fields are not discovered.

With the start of oil production at the Kashagan field, the forecasts of several international organizations on oil production in Kazakhstan immediately grew.

Analysts from the International Energy Agency (IEA), OPEC, the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy (EIA) link the increase in oil production namely with the Kashagan field.

Kazakhstans Energy Ministry reported growth of production in 8 months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year. The Ministry reported oil production volume to be at the level of 56.9 million tons (112.2 percent compared to 2016).

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
18 October 2017 17:40 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Russia, which destroyed the last stockpiles of chemical weapons in September, called on the United States and other countries to "immediately follow" their example and liquidate the arsenals of such weapons, TASS reported.

Speaking at the meeting of the first Committee of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministrys Non-Proliferation and Weapons Control Department Vladimir Yermakov called this event historic, suggesting it to be enshrined in the relevant General Assembly resolution.

"We inherited the world's largest arsenal of this type of weapons of mass destruction and we coped with the task of liquidating it with honor, thereby once again demonstrating Russia's commitment to strict fulfillment of its obligations under international treaties," the diplomat said.

Russia's elimination of its chemical stockpiles is "a historic milestone for the entire international community," according to Yermakov.

"At the same time, we cannot stop here. We call on all other countries still possessing chemical weapons to follow Russias lead without delay. That concerns, first and foremost, the country that initiated the convention, which has always been the most active proponent of its ideas when it came to other countries and now, for some reason, it continues to be the largest possessor of chemical weapons," he noted.

The diplomat added that he was baffled by U.S. attempts "to cast a shadow on big achievements of other countries, such as Syria."

Answering his Russian counterpart, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Geneva Conference on Disarmament, Robert Wood, confirmed that his country was committed to destroying the remaining chemical stocks by 2023. He also recalled that the United States was actively involved in the elimination of the Russian chemical weapons program allocating $1 billion for the purpose.

Russia and the United States are also parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which required them to destroy their stockpiles by 2007 with a potential extension until 2012.

Both rivals received the extension but failed to meet the 2012 deadline. In 2010, Moscow set a 2015 target date for eliminating its chemical stockpile and later extended it to 2020. The last Russian chemical weapons were destroyed on September 27, and OPCW inspectors officially confirmed that Russia had fully eliminated its stockpiles of warfare agents. According to the U.S. Arms Control Association, to date, the U.S. has eliminated nearly 90 percent of its stockpiles of chemical warfare agents, or about 28,000 tons. The current U.S. target date is 2023.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
18 October 2017 17:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan intend to increase the frequency and expand the geography of flights.

For this purpose, the management of Uzbekistan Airways held a meeting with the representatives of the Kazakhstans Air Astana, podrobno.uz reported.

During the talks, the parties discussed the development of passenger transport between the two countries in order to increase the tourist flow. In particular, an agreement to increase the frequencies of regular flights from Tashkent to Almaty, Astana and back was reached.

The sides also discussed the opening of new directions from the cities of Kazakhstan to the historical cities of Uzbekistan - Urgench, Bukhara and Samarkand.

In addition, the parties considered the aspects of cooperation in the maintenance and repair of Air Astana aircrafts at Uzbekistan airways technics enterprise as well as the training of Kazakh pilots in the Uzbek national air carriers Training Complex.

Following the meeting, representatives of the two airlines signed a protocol of negotiations. Currently, the two air companies perform regular flights between Tashkent and Almaty (six times a week) and between Tashkent and Astana (twice a week) on a parity basis.

Uzbekistan Airways is the monopoly carrier in Uzbekistan and is wholly owned by the state.

Its fleet currently consists of 30 aircraft of western production, including 12 Boeings (four 767-300, five 757-200, two 767- 300-ER and one Boeing-787-800 Dreamliner), 13 Airbuses (three A-310 and ten A-320-200), three medium-range RJ-85 planes and two Boeing-767-300BCF cargo planes.

Uzbekistan Airways conducts flights to over 20 cities in Europe, America, Middle East, Asia, and in 22 cities of countries of Commonwealth of Independent States and 11 destinations on local airlines.

Air Astana was established in 2002 as a joint venture between Kazakhstans Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund and BAE Systems.

Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport. The Airline's network comprises of over 40 international and 22 domestic destinations.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., agreed on a bipartisan deal that would restore the ACA's cost-sharing subsidies for two years, the New York Times reports

Here's what you should know:

1. The bipartisan deal would work to stabilize the ACA in the short term. On Oct. 13, President Donald Trump eliminated the subsidies through an executive order. Without subsidies, premiums are expected to rocket and potentially cause some payers to leave the market.

2. President Donald Trump publicly backed the deal, while also decrying the ACA and reaffirming his commitment to repeal it.

At a news conference, Mr. Trump said, "It'll get us over this immediate hump as a short-term solution so that we don't have this dangerous little period. For a period of one year, two years, we will have a very good solution. But we're going to have a great solution, ultimately, for health care."

3. The bipartisan deal allows states "more flexibility in the variety of choices they can give to consumers," Mr. Alexander said. He added the deal will solidify the market over the next two years, while legislators decide the future of healthcare.

4. The deal also ensures both low-income people and people with serious illnesses would retain coverage. It offers catastrophic insurance plans to any interested party. Catastrophic plans have low monthly payments but elevated deductibles. These plans also require consumers to pay for most medical expenses.

5. The Democrats restored a portion of the ACA's marketing and advertising funds through the plan. President Trump drastically reduced that funding.

6. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lauded the plan, saying the deal was an example of what Congress can accomplish when it works in a bipartisan manner.

7. The bill still has to pass the Senate and U.S. House.
United Surgical Partners International entered into a partnership with Santa Barbara (Calif.) Surgery Center Oct. 1, Noozhawk reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. USPI acquired an ownership stake in SBSC. The center is now jointly owned by area physicians and USPI.

2. USPI Vice President of Development Alex Bolanos lauded the partnership, saying the company is "pleased to be part of the Central Coast healthcare community."

3. Mr. Bolanos believes the partnership will result in SBSC adopting a more value-based care approach to its care delivery.

4. SBSC Medical Director and Board President Gary Anderson, MD, said, "At SBSC, we are proud of our commitment to provide the highest quality care in the most efficient manner for our patients. Our partnership with USPI will further those capabilities."

5. Santa Barbara Surgery Center has served the Santa Barbara area and its surrounding communities since 2001. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care accredited the center, which is also part of the California Ambulatory Surgery Association and the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.
D Magazine honored 17 physicians from Dallas-based Texas Digestive Disease Consultants in its Best Doctor 2017 issue.

The magazine accepts peer nominations and then polls the 9,000-plus physicians in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to narrow the list. After votes are tallied, those who gain top votes are reviewed by an anonymous panel of physicians for inclusion on the list.

The honorees are:

Andrew Cody Bolin, MD

Manisha (Mona) Dave, MD

Tanya Evans, MD

Osvaldo Fajardo, MD

Neville Fernandes, MD

W. Greg Hodges, MD

Rajeev Jain, MD

Juan Gerardo Martinez, MD

S. Neil Mehta, MD

Michael Nunez, MD

David I. Park, MD

Rikin Patel, MD

Kimberly M. Persley, MD

Rajesh V. Putcha, MD

Anita C. Steephen, MD

William E. Stevens, MD

Christopher J. Vesy, MD

D Magazine also recognized the Best Doctors in Collin County for 2017. TDDC had five honorees on that list. They are:
In the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to cut federal funding of cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, states are falling back on secondary plans or hassling to map next steps, The Washington Post reports.

Here are four things to know.



1. After months of speculation, President Trump announced Thursday federal funding for CSR payments, which help offset the cost of providing health insurance to lower-income Americans purchasing plans on the ACA exchanges, would conclude immediately.



2. Insurers in several states prepared for the possible end of CSR payments and filed 2018 premium rates assuming their exclusion. While Oregon insurers filed rates as if the CSRs were going to be paid, the state calculated what premium increase would be needed if the payments ended. Oregon officials told insurers Friday to increase rates by 7.1 percent, according to the report.



3. However, not all states required insurers to factor in the possible cuts. Montana did not say whether insurers should file rates assuming CSRs, and two filed for single-digit increases. On Monday, CMS said it would allow Montana insurers to refile rates to account for the lost CSR payments. Jon Godfread, North Dakota's insurance commissioner, said insurers will not be allowed to refile higher rates.

4. In contrast, Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler instructed insurers Monday to refile higher rates, set to increase between 9 and 27 percent, The Washington Post reports.
Despite North American EOS imaging sales dropping in the third quarter, the company experienced a 28 percent growth in global sales.

Here are five things to know:

1. EOS imaging reported over $10 million in global sales, a large jump from the $7.8 million reported during the same quarter of 2016. The company sold 17 EOS systems during the quarter, which drove the overall sales increase. Last year during the same period, the company marketed 13 systems.

2. Europe sales experienced the largest margin, jumping 111 percent from $2.3 million in 2016 to $4.8 million. However, EOS imaging saw a 12 percent decline in sales in North America, reporting barely over $4 million in sales.

3. Over the past nine months, EOS imaging has collected $23.3 million in sales, a 20 percent increase year-over-year. The spike in sales is due to the company selling 51 systems in 2017, compared to 41 in the first nine months of 2016.

4. North American sales have slumped 21 percent over the first nine months to $10.8 million, while Europe's sales have grown 58 percent in the same time period to $13.5 million. EOS imaging's sales in North America are expected to trend positively as the company transitions leadership.

5. EOS imaging appointed Eric Maulave to COO, effective Oct. 1, 2017. Mr. Maulave will lead production, maintenance, engineering, clinical, quality and regulatory efforts.
Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., is no longer in the running to become the next drug czar, CNBC reports.

Here are three things to know:

1. Mr. Marino told President Donald Trump he was withdrawing, which President Trump later tweeted Oct. 17.

2. The withdrawal comes after The Washington Post and CBS published an investigation Oct. 15 into Mr. Marino's role in pushing a law that supported the drug industry. Specifically, the 2016 law eased prescription narcotic delivery.

3. Following the publication, critics voiced concern over Mr. Marino's commitment to curbing opioid abuse. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., both turned to President Trump to revoke the nomination.
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Equidistance is fantasy

During the Nepal Investment Summit held last March, Chinese partnerships assured investments totalling $8.3 billion, way greater than the Indian pledge of $317 million.
In an effort to engage and inspire students, faculty and staff to become sustainability change agents, the Bowling Green State University Office of Sustainability is celebrating National Campus Sustainability Month.

From Oct. 23-27, the office will host several events designed to increase participation in sustainability efforts and awareness of campus sustainability.

"We've created a very cool, eclectic and diverse offering of events for this week, in an attempt to expose the community to as many environmental issues as possible," said Sustainability Manager Nicholas Hennessy in the Office of Campus Sustainability. "There is something for everyone: presentations, a film, outdoor service, a 'field trip' and both active and passive environmental/sustainability education. Hopefully, participants can get an idea of BGSU's commitment to sustainability."

The week will kick off with a guest lecture by Dr. Karen Root, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences . She will present "Managing Land Use to Foster Native Biodiversity" at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 in 207 Bowen-Thompson Student Union. The lecture will focus on her research examining the question of whether our communities can develop strategies to make land use decisions more compatible for native species at the local and regional levels within the Oak Openings region of northwest Ohio, a biodiversity hotspot. Root is the president-elect of the Society for Conservation Biology North America.

At 7 p.m. Oct. 24 in 123 Overman Hall, the Environmental Action Group, in coordination with the Office of Campus Sustainability, will screen the film "We the People 2.0." The film contains exciting yet controversial topics about the loss of democracy in the United States through corporate power. A discussion will be hosted after the screening to answer questions, debunk myths and gain knowledge from those in attendance.

Guests can attend an open house and participate in a guided tour of The Oaks Dining Center green roof from 3-4 p.m. Oct. 25 and learn about how it was designed to benefit the environment and the building's operations. Sustainable features will be discussed such as plant use, construction materials and energy conservation.

BGSU's ReStore will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 25 in Kreischer Late Night at the Kreischer Quadrangle. Surplus BGSU office equipment and supplies will be available to current students, faculty and staff at no charge.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to help plant a tree between 1 and 3 p.m. Oct. 26 behind the union. The planting supports the University in its pursuit for Tree Campus USA certification through the Arbor Day Foundation and BGSU's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Shovels and other equipment will be provided; please wear appropriate footwear.

On Oct. 26, the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, in coordination with the Office of Campus Sustainability, is rounding up all old or unused chemicals and paint to ensure environmentally safe disposal. Items will be collected from all BGSU departments that requested a pickup via this form by Oct. 20. Items that will be picked up include used/expired chemicals, cleaning supplies, paint, mercury-containing items, pesticides and fertilizers.

On Oct. 27, guests will tour the DG AMP Solar Field, Ohio's largest solar field, in Bowling Green to learn about the production, supply and economics of solar energy. Transportation is provided. To register, email greenbg@bgsu.edu by Oct. 20.

The week concludes Oct. 27 with Friday Night Lights, a student-led initiative to turn off lights in academic buildings. Every Friday at 6:30 p.m. student volunteers meet on the second floor of the union to split into groups and receive building assignments. They then turn off lights in those buildings, recording the lights they turn off and the savings that are made as a result. The total saved since the program was implemented in 2010 is $77,500.

Events held during National Campus Sustainability Month are part of ongoing efforts by Campus Sustainability and the Department of the Environment and Sustainability to support the University's goal of achieving institutional carbon-neutrality by 2040, as outlined in the University's Climate Action Plan . They also focus on reducing emissions, reducing waste and conserving resources, and providing education, awareness and outreach .

All events are free and open to the public.
Four foreign employment fraudsters in police net

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police arrested four foreign employment fraudsters who had abandoned 16 Nepalis in the United Arab Emirates.
Ill design common investment vehicle to channel funds to Nepal

Bhaban Bhatta, a Japan based non-resident Nepali (NRN), has been elected as the new president of the International Coordination Council (ICC) of the NRN Association (NRNA), the umbrella body of NRNs. Bhatta secured 1,197 votes in the election held on Monday.
Multidimensional poverty index in Dec

Nepal will soon start using global indicators to measure poverty in a bid to capture severe deprivations that make people poor.
Sham industrial arrangements that involve a handful of employees being asked to sign a "collective" agreement on wages and conditions on behalf of hundreds of other employees could be outlawed by Labor.

Labor's spokesman on employment Brendan O'Connor said if elected, a future Labor government would introduce laws to ensure that collective bargaining was not undermined by sham agreements.

Sydney electrician Peter Caldwell said he was asked to sign an enterprise agreement that would have slashed the wages of other workers. Credit:Christopher Pearce

Mr O'Connor said some employers were getting away with using a small cohort of employees to vote up inferior enterprise agreements, which were then used to reduce the pay and conditions of other much larger and often very different workforces.

Private contractors building the Sydney Metro Northwest have been accused of trying to slash the pay and conditions of skilled tradespeople using a controversial pay agreement like the one Carlton United Breweries used to slash worker salaries.
The US sharemarket regulator has charged Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and two of its former top executives with fraud for allegedly inflating the value of Mozambique coal assets acquired in 2011 for $US3.7 billion ($4.65 billion) and sold just three years later for only $US50 million.

The complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, alleges that Rio Tinto, its former chief executive Tom Albanese, and its former chief financial officer Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record its assets.

"Instead, as the project began to suffer one setback after another resulting in the rapid decline of the value of the coal assets, they sought to hide or delay disclosure of the nature and extent of the adverse developments" from Rio's board, audit committee, independent auditors and investors, the SEC complaint alleges.

"Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch," said Steven Pelkin, co-director of the watchdog's enforcement division, in a statement. "They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth."
Marie Kruss has a bone to pick with Telstra.

The great-grandmother and long-term shareholder was at the telco giant's annual general meeting on Tuesday to make plain her displeasure at the performance of the company.

"This is just terrible. I am not happy at all," Ms Kruss told Fairfax Media ahead of the meeting in Melbourne.

Ms Kruss was far from alone. Shareholders lined up to blast the company's performance with many picking out the move in August to slice Telstra's cherished dividend by one-third as a particular grievance.
With a castle, ferris wheel and petting zoo, Conor McGregor has held a christening party for his young son which would rival most weddings.

The UFC fighter, who welcomed son Conor Jr. with partner Dee Devlin in May, appeared to spare no expense when celebrating the baby's christening, posting pictures from the weekend's event.

Dubbing the celebrations "Mac land", the Irishman shared a series of pictures of the party, held at the 560-acre Luttrellstown Castle estate, near Dublin.

The venue is no stranger to a celebrity event: Victoria and David Beckham were wed at the castle in 1999.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, more stories have emerged of misogyny in Hollywood.

But, in amongst all of the stories of sexist and predatory behaviour, one story has cut through as an incredible example of women sticking up for each other.

Please let this story about Carrie Fisher and the cow tongue be true. Credit:AP

It has the late and great Carrie Fisher as its protagonist. And it heavily features a cow's tongue. Really.

Heather Robinson, a screenwriter best known for the 2005 romantic comedy The Perfect Man starring Heather Locklear and Hilary Duff, recently made a call to an Arizona local radio station to tell the story of how Fisher stood up for her when she had a bad experience with an Oscar-winning producer (who Robinson did not name) in 2000.
Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate confirmed on Tuesday that their third child will be born next April.

The couple, whose official title is Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, announced last month that Kate was pregnant, but the date of the baby's arrival was not disclosed.

Prince William and Kate attend a reception at Buckingham Palace, London, to celebrate World Mental Health Day. Credit:Heathcliff O'Malley/pool via AP

"Their royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their third child," Kensington Palace said in a statement at the time. "The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news."

As with her two previous pregnancies, she has been suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum - very acute morning sickness, which generally require supplementary hydration, medication and nutrients and sometimes hospitalisation. It meant she was forced to miss Prince George's first day of school, and other official royal engagements in the weeks since the news was announced.
I want to be happy for Lisa Wilkinson. Really I do.

It's not every day that a woman on television  and Australian commercial television no less  switches networks and lands a contract that could make her close to, if not the, highest earner in the business.

So why am I not cheering?

The reality is, Wilkinson's case is not too different from thousands of situations that play out in workplaces every year. It goes something like this: Woman discovers she earns less than male colleague doing exactly the same job. Woman asks for pay rise. Employer says no. Woman leaves organisation. (Or wishes she could. Most women do not have the luxury of walking away from their underpaid jobs and have no other option but to accept whatever scraps they are offered.)
October 31 is crunch time if you prepare your own tax return. If you're preparing your 2017 tax return yourself, you have just more than a week to lodge with the Tax Office to avoid any penalties.

For those who are organised and have already lodged, congratulations! Hopefully you've received your refund and have already invested it wisely. For everyone else, you need to get moving. If you've chosen to lodge yourself you need to clear a couple of hours, maximise your refund and avoid penalties. If you've chosen not to lodge yourself, then you can buy yourself some time. Either way, you need to act now.

You have until October 31 to lodge your tax - or longer if you use an accountant.

If you're tempted to bury your head in a big pile of cashmere (much softer than sand) then here is my easy, fool-proof guide to ensure you sort yourself out and receive your cash (or choose an accountant) before the deadline hits.

1.Register at MyGov to lodge with myTax. MyTax is available free to anyone preparing their own individual tax return, including sole traders. It works on any device (computer, smartphone or tablet) and the nice thing is that it's personalised for you. This means if you're freaking out because you can't find a payment summary, simply log online and you may find it's there uploaded and waiting for you. MyTax prefills information provided by employers, banks, private health funds, government agencies and more. All you need to do is complete any missing income information and complete your deductions.
NEA steps up Tihar anti-leakage drive

With the expectant sharp rise in power consumption during Tiharthe Hindu festival of lights, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has launched a campaign in Siraha district to control electricity leakage.
Each year the taxman delivers a revealing appraisal of Australia's generosity. Deep within a report titled Taxation Statistics are details of the deductions individual taxpayers claim for charitable donations. It doesn't cover every contribution made to good causes, of course. But its a rigorous insight into the nation's altruism.

Here are five trends in Australia's giving to charity revealed by the ATO's latest assessment.

1) Individuals don't give away a very big share of income

Analysis of the latest tax data by Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies shows tax-deductible donations made by individuals climbed to a record high of $3.1 billion in 2014-15. But the share of income being donated is less impressive. On average, individual taxpayers who made tax-deductible donations gave just 0.4 per cent of their taxable income. That share was up a little on the previous year but still lower than before the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
Bob Brown is no stranger to a pair of handcuffs. He saw the inside of a jail cell for blockading the Franklin River dam project in the 1980s - his political career began the day of his release, eventually leading the Australian Greens to become a major force in Canberra.

Dr Brown was arrested last summer for failing to comply with a police move-on order while filming an anti-logging video in the Lapoinya state forest. The charges, laid under Tasmania's revamped anti-protesting regime, were eventually dropped - but Dr Brown didn't drop his anger.

He challenged the laws in the High Court and on Wednesday emerged victorious, with justices ruling 6-1 that parts of Premier Will Hodgman's anti-protesting crackdown breached the implied freedom of political communication protected by the constitution.

The court found the laws were not appropriate or proportionate for the legitimate purpose of protecting businesses' interests, and were not compatible with "the system of representative and responsible government that the constitution requires".
The news and political editor of pop culture website Junkee has launched defamation proceedings against Mark Latham over the former Labor leader's claims he promotes "anti-white racism" and encourages terrorism.

Osman Faruqi, a former Greens staffer and candidate, filed documents in the Federal Court on Tuesday seeking damages and legal costs from Latham over comments made on his Outsiders YouTube program.

Junkee's political editor Osman Faruqi. Credit:Facebook/Osman Faruqi

The Junkee editor joins a roll-call of political and media figures who have threatened to take, or in fact taken, legal action against the controversial former Labor leader for defamation.

Latham set up the Outsiders program after he was sacked by Sky News in March following weeks of controversy involving his description of a Sydney Boys High School student as "gay", and feuds with other Sky News presenters including former Labor premier Kristina Keneally.
Coal-fired power plants have been thrown a lifeline by Malcolm Turnbull's "game-changing" new energy policy, which boasts it can cut electricity bills, end summer blackouts, and meet Australia's Paris emissions commitments with "no subsidies, no taxes, and no trading schemes".

The Prime Minister said the framework, which is scheduled to begin from 2020, was recommended by "real experts in this field, in the national energy market and its operation".

"It creates a level playing field for the first time. No more industry policy, no more picking winners, no more favouring one technology after another, but simply ensuring that we have a reliable energy system, that we keep the lights on, that we do so in a way that is affordable and, of course, we meet those international commitments," he said.

The proposed system, which requires the approval of states leaders at future Council of Australian Governments meetings, will work by requiring electricity retailers to source a minimum component of their power from so-called "dispatchable" or baseload suppliers - that is, not intermittent energy such as wind and solar but coal, gas, and hydro.
Beijing: Chinese president Xi Jinping has sought to downplay China's image as an emerging superpower, setting out a 30-year timeframe for the country to become a "global leader" with international influence.

He said it would do so without "mechanically copying" western political systems.

In a three-hour long opening report to the twice-a-decade meeting of the Chinese Communist Party, Mr Xi said China's markets would nonetheless continue to open up to foreign investors, an apparent response to criticism from Donald Trump and the European Union about trade barriers.

China would become "more and more open" and "significantly ease market access, further open the service sector, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors".
A year-old pact underpinning billions of dollars of transatlantic data transfers will get the green light from the European Union on Wednesday after the first review to ensure Washington protects Europeans' data stored on U.S. servers.

The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield was agreed last year after everyday cross-border data transfers were plunged into limbo when the EU's top court struck down a previous data transfer pact in 2015 because it allowed U.S. spies excessive access to people's data.

The European Commission last month conducted its first annual review of the framework as it seeks to ensure the United States lives up to its promises to better protect Europeans' data when they are transferred across the Atlantic - failing which it could suspend the Privacy Shield.

The EU executive however is satisfied that the framework continues to ensure adequate protection of Europeans' personal data although it will address a number of recommendations to Washington, an EU source told Reuters.

The conclusion will come as a relief to the over 2,400 companies signed up to the scheme including Alphabet Inc's Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

The source said the practical implementation of the Privacy Shield could be improved by, for example, a tougher monitoring of the compliance of companies with its privacy rules.

Companies wanting to transfer Europeans' personal data outside the bloc have to comply with tough EU data protection rules which forbid them from transferring personal data to countries deemed to have inadequate privacy protections unless they have special legal contracts in place.

The Privacy Shield allows firms to move data across the Atlantic without relying on such contracts, known as model clauses, which are more cumbersome and expensive.

EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told reporters last month she wanted the United States to appoint a fully-fledged privacy ombudsperson - a new office that was created as part of the Privacy Shield to deal with complaints from EU citizens about U.S. spying.

She also said she was concerned about potential changes to a controversial portion of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which needs to be reauthorised before the end of the year.

"Of course we are very concerned about what the new version of this act will mean for Privacy Shield. I was very clear about our position that we do not want to see any changes which will go to the detriment of the protection of private data of Europeans so we will be watching this very closely in the coming weeks and months," she said. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Britain will be forced to impose a budget on Northern Ireland if a new power-sharing government is not formed by the week starting Nov. 6, the minister for the region said on Wednesday.

The chances of Northern Ireland's political parties reaching an agreement are "not positive" and talks in the last few days have stalled, James Brokenshire told a parliamentary committee.

"If I had given evidence to this committee last week I might have indicated some momentum, more progress. That progress stalled at the end of last week," Brokenshire said.

"Unless there is a renewed spirit of compromise then the outlook for imminent resolution is not positive."

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved administration since its collapse in January, raising the prospect of direct rule being reimposed from London, potentially destabilizing a delicate political balance in the British province.

The main impediment in the talks between Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party is disagreement over the rights of Irish language speakers.

The British and Irish governments, who are facilitating the talks, have previously expressed cautious optimism that the region's power-sharing government can be restored this month but the parties have said there are still challenges to be addressed.

Brokenshire said if Britain has to impose a budget on Northern Ireland then it must pass legislation through Britain's parliament in the last week of October.

"We are on a glide path to greater and greater UK government intervention," Brokenshire said. "We can't go on much longer." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Ireland will raise taxes on banks if they don't move faster to provide compensation for the "scandalous" overcharging of thousands of mortgage customers, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said on Wednesday.

Ireland's central bank has identified at least 13,000 customers who should have been given the option of a cheaper "tracker" mortgage or kept on a better rate years ago. It has ordered lenders to repay the difference and offer compensation.

"The government believes the behavior of the banks is scandalous and we also believe the banks have been dragging their feet in solving this problem with a real human cost," Varadkar told parliament.

Tracker mortgages, which follow the European Central Bank rate, were sold in Ireland prior to the financial crisis and have proven significantly cheaper than variable or fixed rate mortgages as ECB rates have long been at record lows.

The regulator said on Tuesday that while banks had rectified the rate for 98% of accounts, only a quarter had been compensated. Varadkar said Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe would meet the heads of the banks to "admonish" them next week.

"I want to state that the government will take further actions if we don't see further progress and much more quickly, whether that's through enhanced powers for the central bank or increased taxation imposed on the banks."

According to the central bank, 23 mortgage holders lost their homes as a result of the banks' failings and another 79 investment properties were incorrectly repossessed.

Varadkar said the overcharging - which left some customers paying hundreds of euros extra a month at the height of Ireland's financial crisis almost a decade ago - had also affected many people's mental health and well being.

The central bank expects all lenders to start providing redress and compensation by the end of the year, but it does not have the statutory power to compel lenders to do so for failures that occurred prior to the introduction of new powers in 2013.

So far, permanent tsb, the first lender to start a compensation programme for customers, has been fined 4.5 million euros and the central bank is further probing it and RBS' Irish unit Ulster Bank.

It has said two further enforcement investigations into other lenders are in train, with more anticipated.

Irish bank shares were little changed on Varadkar's warning, with most lenders up on the day at 1230 GMT. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
An Irish online portal for remote and flexible careers, Abodoo, is aiming to create 1,000 jobs in the south-east region by encouraging employers to hire remote workers. This was announced at an event for regional business-leaders in Gorey last night.



The company is headquartered in Gorey and has attracted support from open eir and the IDA. It launched in Ireland last month, with plans to launch in the UK in the coming months and to expand globally next year.



Speaking this week, Co-founder of Abodoo, Vanessa Tierney said, "We have set the ambitious goal of getting one thousand people employed across the south-east region through the Abodoo platform. We anticipate this will be a combination of skilled people who are currently unemployed but want to return to work, and people in employment who no longer want the exhausting commute to Dublin. We will achieve this goal by encouraging up to 100 companies to hire an average of 10 skilled remote workers each. These will be people living in the south-east region, who can either work from home or from a co-working hub like the Hatch Lab in Gorey, where we are based ourselves."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
Nepali killed in Qatar

A Nepali migrant worker was killed in a road accident in the Gulf state - Qatar.
Workers strike at PPC Slurry

18 October 2017

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said that its members of PPC Cement's Slurry plant near Mafikeng, South Africa, have embarked on a strike over wages. The NUM said that PPC must close the wage gaps that exist within the company, as it feels that the management is creating the wage gaps instead of closing them.



This comes after the NUM gave PPC Cement a notice to strike on Sunday last week and workers commenced with the industrial action on Monday. The NUM demands a 12 per cent wage increase across the board, but the company is offering workers an offer of six per cent across the board.



The union also demands a ZAR1000 (US$74)/month housing allowance, a pool car so that the union leadership can attend union activities and meetings to service members, time off to visit union members when they are hospitalised, and that the position of a health and safety officer should be full-time.

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Anti-slavery day: How people around the world are being rescued by Christian faith in action

Right now, 40 million people are in slavery worldwide. And one in four of them are children. Today, as we mark Antislavery Day, there are 40 million people waiting for rescue. International Justice Mission (IJM) shows us what the church taking action looks like.

Anita Budu, from IJM Ghana, anxiously watched from the deck of a boat as the horizon began to lighten with the sunrise. Much more time and her team might be noticed by the fishermen enslaving children in the area. Much more time and they might miss the opportunity they had so carefully planned for: to rescue children who had been forced to work as slaves on fishing boats on this massive lake.

Her colleagues in the rescue boats disappeared from Anita's sight around an island that loomed between her aftercare boat and the fishing area. She again lost contact with the rescue team, signal blocked by a small mountain on the island.

After the longest silence, her radio crackled.

'Children's boat: please prepare to receive 10 children.'

As little children stepped into her boat, Anita and her team welcomed them one by one. On being rescued, one sweet 10-year-old voice burst out with song:

I've got joy, joy down in my heart

I've got joy, joy down in my heart

He was soon joined by the rest of the children, singing their new truth.

Look what the Lord has done for me

Jesus has come to set me free

I've got joy, joy down in my heart

IJM Ghana, in partnership with Ghanaian police, rescued over 30 little children from slavery on Lake Volta that day. Then IJM lawyers in Ghana got to work to make sure that traffickers who tried to steal the lives of these little children didn't get away with it.

In the days that followed their rescue the children slept, ate warm meals, played, and shared their stories. They began to understand that they were free from the life of abuse they had known.

It's 210 years since the faith  and persistence  of William Wilberforce and hundreds of grassroots supporters moved what seemed to be an impossible mountain: the end of Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

Today, 210 years later, it is Anti-Slavery Day and another seemingly impossible mountain lies ahead of us: the end of slavery, for good.

There are more slaves in the world today than at any other time in history. In fact, there are more slaves right now than there were during the entire 200 years of the slave trade put together. It's time, once more, for the church to put its faith into action. And we're already seeing that when the church acts, slaves are set free.

In September, over 400 Ghanaian churches prayed for an end to slavery in their nation and around the world as part of Freedom Sunday. The number of children rescued from lake Volta in Ghana seems to be increasing the more the Ghanaian church is praying.

And it's not just the Ghanaian church either. Last November, Christians in the UK joined together in London for IJM's National Prayer Gathering where they prayed for breakthrough in Ghana. Since then, more than 100 children have been rescued from slavery on Lake Volta alone.

The list of answered prayers goes on  UK Christians amongst others prayed for more convictions in South America and two significant cases were brought to justice the following week; people prayed for difficult rescue operations in Asia and that week we partnered with local police to rescue an amazing 88 people from slavery over eight days.

The global church is beginning to rise up. It's lending prayer and resources to fight one of the world's greatest evils and it's starting to have a real impact. The Anglican Church has its own anti-slavery organisation, the Clewer Initiative, and the Catholic church's Santa Marta group is fighting slavery too. That's not to mention organisations like IJM and other NGOs founded with Christian faith at their core.

Wilberforce showed that ending the transatlantic slave trade required prayer, awareness and funds. If we're to follow in his footsteps and conquer the even bigger mountain of ending slavery for good, we need the church to take action now and get stuck into the fight.

So today, why not use Anti-Slavery Day as the nudge you need to act. Together with our God of justice, it is possible to see the end of slavery in our lifetime.

David Westlake is chief executive officer of International Justice Mission.

This year's IJM National Prayer Gathering is at St Paul's Hammersmith on Saturday 4th November, book tickets here and help end slavery for good: www.ijmuk.org/npg. Find out more about IJM: www.ijmuk.org
'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' episode 29 release date news, spoilers: Will Kagura do what Shizuma wants and wage war against Konoha?

More surprising revelations and action-packed sequences are expected in the upcoming episode 29 of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations." The previous episodes of the popular "Naruto" anime spin-off revisited the Hidden Mist, showing the positive changes that happened in the village. Although, a new threat emerges as Shizuma, a rebel member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, plans to kill Boruto to spawn another great war against Konoha.

In "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" episode 29, the newfound friendship between Boruto and Kagura will be tested as Shizuma sets his evil plans in motion. As reported by Inquisitr, Shizuma will try to convince Kagura to join his cause and restore the legendary Seven Swordsman of the Mist back to its mischievous ways. The first step in his plan is to kill Boruto, in which Shizuma expects Konoha to retaliate against the Hidden Mist Village.

To note, Kagura finally got what he wanted as Chojuro, the master of the Seven Swordsmen, officially gave him the Hiramekarei sword. This means that Kagura is now a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, although Shizuma will take this as an opportunity to use Kagura in his plans.

Kagura has great respects for Shizuma, and it is possible that Boruto's friend will be easily persuaded by the villain. "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" episode 29 will show Shizuma manipulating Kagura into fighting Chojuro and killing Boruto. However, Kagura remains very loyal to Chojuro and the new vision of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Kagura may also find a way to stop Shizuma, even if he treats the latter as his role model.

Kagura has formed a special bond with Boruto that is why it will not be surprising if the new swordsman of the Mist will protect his friend. As per Comic Book, Boruto was the one who convinced Kagura to join the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Kagura also could not help but recall the old ways of the group, which was previously known as blood-thirsty warriors. In the present timeline of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations," the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist swore not to cause any harm to others and focus on the protection of their own village.
Church primary school bans 'extremist' Christian group

A Church primary school has banned an 'extremist' Christian group after complaints that children were left distressed by comments about gay marriage and a physical demonstration of God's power.

Dan Turvey, headmaster of St John's Church of Primary School in Tunbridge Wells, hit out at what he called a campaign by parents but said he would no longer invite the charity CrossTeach to take assemblies and lessons.

One parent said children were being told 'they would not go to a good place when they died' if they did not believe in God, according to the Telegraph, and another said her son had been told 'men can't marry men', according to the Guardian.

The parents group said in a statement: 'We recognise and respect the school's Christian values but think there is a brand of Christianity that is abusing that respect. The basis of [our] complaint relates purely to concerns over the welfare and safeguarding of children who we believe are being exposed to potentially damaging ideology.'

In a letter to parents on Monday Turvey said he was 'deeply saddened' to be severing ties but acknowledged children had been 'upset and disturbed emotionally'.

He wrote: 'After careful consideration I have decided that we will end our regular commitment to CrossTeach and that they will no longer lead assemblies or take lessons.'

But he added: I do not believe CrossTeach has done anything wrong.'

He said the group would continue to run a voluntary after school club. 'They do not deserve the tarnishing of their good name and allegations of extremism that have taken place over the last few months,' he told parents.

One parents who asked not to be named said: 'I didn't pull my mine out because overall I think it would do more harm than good to segregate them.

'But I do know some of the children have been upset by what they have heard. No one minds Nativity plays and Bible stories but considering most of the parents at the school aren't practising Christians I think the feeling is that it's all too much.

'In Tunbridge Wells the vast majority of primary schools are affiliated with the church so it's not like you have a choice whether you expose your children to this.

'Personally I want my children to learn about all religions. If you want them to be raised as Christians there are plenty of Sunday schools.'

But Turvey hit back at the parents' complaints and said: 'It is my view that the use of social media can be destructive and counterproductive. In this case I believe that the damage caused by the use of this media will take a very long time to repair.'

He added 'relationships have been soured and trust eroded', telling parents 'the past few months have been stressful, tiring and a distraction from our focus'.

Wayne Harris, Crossteach National Director, thanked Turvey for his 'strong comments' but added he was 'very disappointed' that the 16 years-long arrangement with the school would end.

'Wherever possible we work in partnership with local churches and we reflect their teaching, always aiming to be sensitive to the local context, and recognising that churches vary. We teach mainstream Christianity,' he said.

'In 16 years of Christian schools work no teacher has ever raised a concern that something has been said that could be interpreted as in any way 'hateful' or 'extremist' and we strongly refute this current parental allegation. On the contrary, schools have consistently expressed appreciation for the contribution that Crossteach has made and for the quality of the work.'
'Detective Pikachu' to start filming January 2018

It won't be long before fans get to see Pikachu in a new live-action film. Titled "Detective Pikachu," the movie is set to start filming early next year.

Reports have surfaced that Legendary Pictures will be adapting a live-action version of the immensely popular video game series "Pokemon." According to Omega Underground, the "Detective Pikachu" movie is set to start rolling their cameras in London by January 2018.

No announcement has been made with regard to the cast but with a definite production date just around the corner, the announcement should come shortly.

Meanwhile, the film studio has reportedly tapped director Rob Letterman who previously worked on the movie "Goosebumps." The script is said to be penned by the team of Nicole Perlman, who wrote the script for the upcoming "Captain Marvel," and Alex Hirsh who is known for creating "Gravity Falls."

"Detective Pikachu" will be adapted from the Japanese video game "Great Detective Pikachu." The video game's version of the popular pocket monster is high-functioning and is capable of high-level verbal communication. Pikachu teams up with a human boy named Tim Goodman and the two become sleuths. Pikachu even dons a Sherlock Holmes hat.

Legendary Pictures was able to get the rights to make a film based on the Pokemon Universe back in 2016.

Before details for "Detective Pikachu were uncovered, screenwriter Max Landis talked about his proposal for a live-action "Pokemon" movie that was a frontrunner to being greenlighted.

Landis, in an interview, described his version of Pikachu to be emotional and very cool. However, it may not get to see the light of day with the revelation about "Detective Pikachu."

The "Detective Pikachu" film with a highly intelligent Pikachu and an ambiguous origin might blindside the fans and audience especially if Legendary Pictures is trying to build a movie franchise out of the Pokemon Universe.
Four British Christian missionaries kidnapped in Nigeria

Four British missionaries have been kidnapped in Nigeria's southern Delta state, police revealed Wednesday.

The four Christians had been working to give out free medical supplies in a remote part of the country when they were taken by gunmen on October 13, a spokesman for Delta state police revealed on Wednesday.

'The abductors have not made any contact but we are doing our investigations to know the motive and have them rescued without jeopardising their lives,' said Andrew Aniamaka.

'Information available to us shows they are missionaries giving free medical services,' he said, adding that the British nationals had been working in a very rural area.

Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in parts of Nigeria. A number of foreigners have, in the last few years, been kidnapped in the Niger Delta region, which holds most of the country's crude oil - the country's economic mainstay.

But Christians have been particularly targeted in the country, although the attacks have tended to be in the Muslim majority north, rather than the more Christian south of Nigeria.

A major report last month warned the Nigerian government was not doing enough to protect remote Christian farmers from being targeted by Fulani herdsman.

Additional reporting from Reuters.
ISIS used religious minorities as sex slaves to lure rapists and domestic abusers as recruits

The Islamic State is using sex slaves to gather funds and attract more recruits, including abusers and rapists.

New research conducted by Nikita Malik revealed that modern slavery and sexual violence have actually been key components in the growth of ISIS across Africa and the Middle East, according to the Henry Jackson Society.

"Terrorists are traffickers and traffickers are criminals, so it's only natural that these groups will work together," said Malik. "Terrorists have an additional ideological motivation, releasing propaganda to justify the enslavement and rape of kuffar [disbelievers]. As the groups begin to lose territory, they are gaining strongholds on trafficking routes that are being exploited."

ISIS has been trying to legitimize its enslavement by using its religion as justification and forcing victims to marry their abusers, according to The Independent. They punish those who don't ascribe to their ideology, and reward those who do. In fact, new recruits and foreign fighters are given the "incentive" and "pull factor" of wives and sex slaves.

"Religious elements are infused into sexual violence practices to skirt around the moral wrongdoing of rape," the study revealed. "Forced inseminations, forced pregnancies, and forced conversions are a means to secure 'the next generation of jihadists.'"

So far, ISIS has captured and sexually abused at least 63 women in Libya. Many more have been subjected to sexual abuse by smugglers and have been forced into prostitution.

Malik's research said that the link between sexual violence, trafficking and terrorism has not been given much attention. However, she urged the British government to do so now and create an international legal task force that would work with non-government organizations, charities and embassies all across the globe to address this issue.

Conservative MP Henry Smith, who sits on the International Development Committee, agrees with Malik's findings. He said the "interconnectivity between human trafficking, sexual violence and terrorism" must be given attention. "It is clear that sexual violence is prevalent in human trafficking and in terrorism  and abhorrently human trafficking is becoming more closely related to terrorism," he added.
Male-only Mount Athos monasteries 'full of unease' after Greece passes transgender law

The monastic communities of Mount Athos in Greece have been men-only for the last thousand years. But now a decision by the country's parliament to allow people over the age of 15 to change their gender without going through surgery has led them to fear that rule could be broken.

The conservative Greek Orthodox Church has reacted furiously to the new law, with one diocese, Kalavryta and Egialia, announcing it would ring funeral bells for three minutes ever day in protest. Bishop Amvrosios of Kalavryta said it was 'an outrageous inspiration to allow a person to change gender with a simple application, in a few minutes, contrary to what God gave humans' and called homosexuality a 'deadly sin'.

Now the heads of the 20 Mount Athos monasteries have written to the Greek government expressing their fears about the new law. 'In light of this legislation, we are full of unease as to what the future holds for us,' they said. 'It is another violation of God's law, just like existing legislation which permits cohabitation agreements between same-sex couples. If we do not resist, then our ancestors will rise from their graves.'

Conservatives have expressed alarm at the possible impact on the mental health of young people of the new gender law, which received 174 votes in Greece's 300-member parliament. However, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said: 'We are on the side of those who have no voice, or whose voice is stifled.'
Pope Benedict isn't dying: secretary slams fake news

The personal secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, has rejected reports that the former pontiff is close to death and said that a quote attributed to him that hinted as much on social media is false.

Rumours of Benedict XVI approaching death circulated on social media following the quote attributed to Ganswein, which read: 'Pope Benedict is like a candle that fades slowly. He is serene, at peace with God, with himself and the world. He can no longer walk without help and can no longer celebrate Mass.'

However, Archbishop Ganswein said that the quote was 'pure invention'. In comments to the German media outlet kath.net, quoted by the Catholic News Agency, he said: 'It is false and wrong! I would like to know who the author of this is.'

'I have received in the last two days many messages that refer to this phrase, and people are worried,' he added.

Ganswein confirmed that last week, Ratzinger's brother was at the Vatican to visit, and he has now returned home, adding: 'Both had a good time'.

Earlier this month a Coptic Catholic bishop of Egypt said that Benedict XVI is now very weak at age 90, but still 'aware of everything'.

Bishop Kyrillos William Samaan of Assiut gave the account after a meeting with the Pope Emeritus at the beginning of September, according to the Swiss Catholic Information agency cath.ch.

On September 23, the German news website Mittelbayerische reported that Benedict is now too weak to celebrate Mass by himself, with Ganswein assisting him.
Star Trek Discovery: Falling short of the stars in a godless space

This week saw the genesis of a historic rebirth: the return of Star Trek to TV screens. Star Trek: Discovery chronicles once again humanity's optimistic pursuit of the stars in a godless universe, but like previous Trek entries before it, can't help reaching for spiritual themes on its way.

Discovery's bold premiere is a dark, political one that suggests that even if humanity moves on from religion, it might never move on from war.

Star Trek: Discovery airs one year past the original show's 50th anniversary, and 30 years since its beloved follow-up Star Trek: The Next Generation hit TV screens. It's famed for its optimism and confident progressivism in a show centred on humanity's voyage through the heavens. Never to find heaven itself of course, because its atheist creator Gene Rodenberry famously envisaged a utopian future that had transcended religion.

And Discovery's showrunners took this seriously, making clear that even the expression 'for God's sakes' couldn't be used in this strictly secular world. God is dead, and sci-fi killed him.

That writers might want to omit God from their story is no thing for Christians to be upset by; it rather presents an interesting challenge for the story that's told. Is its brave new world, devoid of the divine, one we'd actually want to live in? This is so far a well-made show, but whether intentional or not, Discovery's first two episodes left me with more doom than delight.

'Follow the star,' the show's other-worldly pre-credits introduction invites, seemingly setting optimistic sights for the sci-fi rebirth. In the year 2256 we meet the captain of the USS Shenzhou (we haven't boarded the Discovery yet) played by Michelle Yeoh, partnered with her outspoken and prodigious protege First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). But the ambitious Burnham, eager for discovery, ends up misstepping on alien property, and sets the stage for all-out war when she kills a member of the militaristic race of the Klingons.

Soon, Starfleet and the Klingons are two superpowers in a mid-space face-off that feels eerily prescient for our own increasingly tense and nuclear-threat-loaded times.

Just as the Bible's first murder (Cain against Abel) imminently followed humankind's fall and spun out into our own tragic history, Discovery also sees a rapid descent. The fresh-faced Michael is not only a killer but soon a mutinous pariah.

Our 'explorer' heroes are torn between fight and flight, but in the end, war is inevitable. And then it only gets darker, with Starfleet meeting devastation with its own cruel tricks (properly called war crimes) to get the upper hand. It's not clear whether the audience should cheer or weep.

The Klingon leader despises Starfleet because they say they 'come in peace' but in his eyes only bring bloodshed, and apparently he has a point. It's a dark step especially this early on the show, but that may be its message.

This futuristic world may have moved on from religion, but it hasn't moved on from war. Humanity might get less godly, but it won't get less flawed. The world appears tragically geared toward violence. In such a crisis, where can hope and deliverance be found?

I'm no Trekkie but I can see that Roddenberry's creation is compelling because it's about what humanity might one day become, for good or ill. It also challenges who we are today. Here's hoping the show pursues nuance amidst the explosions, and doesn't just descend into a noisy sci-fi action blur.

The premiere sees Burnham given the iconic Vulcan benediction to 'live long and prosper'.

But who knew space could be darker than we thought? In this bloody universe, it might not be so easy.

You can follow @JosephHartropp on Twitter

Star Trek: Discovery is airing weekly on Netflix (internatonally); in the US it airs weekly on the CBS All Access subscription service.
Why we should dare to visit the holy ground of other cultures

In the background of many western Christian traditions and churches, are some interesting cultural postures, whichare suspicious, if not overtly critical, of other cultures.

Max Warren, in his introduction to the Christian Presence series, speaks of the holy ground of other cultures:

When we approach the man of another faith than our own it will be in a spirit of expectancy to find how God has been speaking to him and what new understandings of the grace and love of God we may ourselves discover in this encounter. Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy. Else we may find ourselves treading on men's dreams. More serious still, we may forget that God was here before our arrival. We have, then, to ask what is the authentic religious content in the experience of the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, or whoever they may be.



I first read this when I was joining with some other pioneers to take part at a new age or mind, body, spirit fair in London. My background by way of faith tradition would have led me to avoid or even pray against such practice. But to think that God might be present and that in running a stand there and I might conceivably be on holy ground seeking where God was present, was quite a switch in my mind. In reality, what I found was people seeking and open to prayer for healing, and in many ways more open than those I encountered in church.

The evangelism that proceeds by listening and learning, entering into another man's vision in order to see Christ in it, does not start with assertions about sin but waits to be told about it. And usually the truth about sin is almost the last truth to be told.

I have found that if I wait, people will often raise the issue themselves, opening up the subject up in a more helpful way.

In John Taylor's book, The Primal Vision, he suggests that if you are not tempted to join another religion (or culture) then you haven't been listening carefully enough because there is clearly something about it that has drawn others into it.

We should never call another's light, darkness. Every culture has a redemptive gift. We know the face of Christ more fully as we see the many faces of Christ represented in cultures around the world.

onny Baker is director of mission education for the Church Mission Society. He will be speaking at the Pioneer Conversation's on 7 November, at the Church Mission Society in Oxford. Click here for more information.
No change in election dates: EC

The Election Commission (EC) reiterated on Wednesday that there wont be any changes in dates of the provincial and federal elections scheduled for November 26 and December 7.
Audio Transcript

Brian Anderson: Over the last two decades, the idea of implicit bias has made its way from the academic world into the mainstream of public discourse. Implicit bias purports to answer the question, Why do racial disparities persist when explicit racism has greatly diminished over the last half-century? The answer, according to proponents, lies deep within the human brain. The academic creators of the implicit association test, first introduced in 1998, claimed that they could scientifically measure the level of an individuals unconscious bias, especially against blacks. From university hiring committees to human resources departments, the idea took off. An entire consulting industry has spawned, advising organizations on how to combat this unconscious prejudice. Every year government agencies and private firms pay millions of dollars to send workers to implicit bias training. In recent years, however, social scientists have begun to dispute the scientific reliability and validity of the test. And the original authors themselves have even walked back some of their earlier claims. With the statistical basis behind the implicit bias theory beginning to crumble, can we expect its influence on popular culture to disappear? Probably not without a battle. In the latest issue of City Journal, longtime contributing editor Heather Mac Donald takes a deep dive into the literature surrounding the idea of implicit bias in an essay entitled Are We All Unconscious Racists? Coming up on the podcast, associate editor of City Journal, Seth Barron, talks with Heather about her article and more. Their conversation begins after this.

Hello, I am City Journal editor Brian Anderson. Thanks for joining us for the 10 Blocks Podcast, featuring urban policy and cultural commentary with City Journal editors, contributors, and special guests.

Seth Barron: So, Heather, what is the principle behind the theory of implicit bias or unconscious racism? How does that work?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, the principle is that even if we believe ourselves to be colorblind and firm opponents of any kind of racial discrimination, our minds are impregnated with so many messages of bigotry that we cant control our thought processes and we cant control our actions. So, even if we think we are unbiased, we are, in fact, going to be making biased decisions against blacks.

Seth Barron: So, whats the science behind, this though? Because from what I understand, implicit bias theory is supposed to be grounded in science and have a lot of evidence supporting it. What are the metrics or tests to determine the presence of implicit bias?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, there is a test that has gotten a heck of a lot of public attention thanks to Malcom Gladwells book, Blink. The media routinely takes this test and penitently it cops to its own alleged racism. It is called the implicit association test. And it is modeled on something that is actually sort of common in social psychology and cognitive psychology to try and measure response times to concepts and it is a technique that traditionally has been used to test the closeness of concepts in memory. But the developers of this specific implicit association test took this methodology into vastly radical political realms. But Ill describe it. You  on a computer screen the test-taker is shown a series of black and white faces. And you are supposed to categorize them into the white and black categories with two computer keys. And then you are shown a series of words that are positive and negative, like happy, or death, and you are supposed to categorize them into good words and negative words with the same two keys that you have used to categorize the faces. Then those sorting tasks are intermingled, and at one stage of the implicit association test you are supposed to sort a white face with the same key that you are going to sort a positive word and a black face with the same computer key that you sort a negative word, and then thats reversed and you sort the black face with the key for a positive word, and a white face with a key for a negative word.

Seth Barron: Hmm.

Heather Mac Donald: It turns out that the majority of test-takers are faster by milliseconds in sorting white faces into the positive category than they are in sorting black faces into the positive category. The developers of this implicit association test announced to the world as soon as it came out that it showed the ubiquity of prejudice and that the prejudice that it allegedly under  that it revealed had an active effect in the world and would result in behavior that was discriminatory.

Seth Barron: I see. So, well, two things. What is the connection between this implicit bias, these unconscious reflections we have that operate below the level of awareness and actual discrimination? I mean, how does this manifest itself?

Heather Mac Donald: There is no connection. That is the problem. Since this test was announced, there has been a handful of courageous social psychologists that have pushed back against the methodology, and they have found that theres not a single aspect of the test that is not vulnerable to rigorous methodological critique. A: Any individual test-takers scores on the implicit bias test can vary wildly from one taking to the next, so the test fails what is known in the social psychology literature as the measure of reliability. It is not reliable from one test. But it also fails what is known in the literature as validity in that it does not predict what it purports to predict. It turns out when they try to measure whether your score on the implicit association test relates to discriminatory behavior, A: What counts as discriminatory behavior is completely artificial and trivial. It is how, whether you make eye contact or the placement of your chair in a mock interview in a college psych lab, or whether you decide to donate in a hypothetical charity experiment whether you donate to children in Columbia slums, versus  Columbian slums  versus South African slums. Thats the extent of what they call discriminatory behavior. In other words, this is not about a black candidate walking into an accounting firm and getting turned down because he is black. Its these artificial constructs. But even if we accept that those artificial lab constructs count as discriminatory behavior we should care about, it turns out there is no relationship between your score on the implicit association test and these artificial discriminatory behaviors. So, the IAT and its social and political significance is falling apart as we speak, and yet it continues to have enormous effect on the corporate world, on the policing world, on the foundation world, and on the educational world.

Seth Barron: What are some of those effects? I mean, how is this theory being applied in, you know, HR departments, search committees? I mean, what do they do with it?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, some corporations are starting to screen employees using the IAT to say well, we dont want any biased employees here. Hiring committees inevitably, and promotion committees in business inevitably have to go through their IAT self-examination and, you know, go to classes in implicit bias. There is a huge consulting scam built around this thing. Recently up to 200 CEOs signed a pledge that was spearheaded by PricewaterhouseCoopers to send all of their employees to implicit bias training. They will all take the IAT. This is enormous cost, enormous waste of resources. The CEOs in this pledge have also pledged to encourage their employees to have more conversations about race on the job, which is the last thing anybody wants to talk about given how fraught it is and given the reality, which is contrary to discrimination, it is the reality of racial preferences. And, so, race is understandably a charged topic. But these businesses cant afford to send their employees to these classes instead of doing work. Some of the, for instance, Procter & Gamble is on the steering committee of this CEO pledge. Theyre currently facing a corporate takeover bid and have had lagging profits. The idea that their employees are best spent  their time best spent in implicit bias training is ludicrous.

Seth Barron: Do the proponents of implicit bias training and the theory, I mean, since this all takes place below the level of awareness, what can the individual do, according to the theory, to fix themselves?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, thats a superb question. And even one of the developers of the test, Anthony Greenwald, was quoted earlier this year saying that implicit bias training is snake oil. That hasnt stopped the consultants from pulling in millions of dollars a year from gullible corporations. What, at best, what they argue is that you should have procedures in place that will block the working of implicit bias. You know, then theyll say well, if you are aware of it that helps but, ironically, what some of the implicit bias proponents call for is hiring procedures that mask the race of the applicant to the extent possible. I say bring it on.

Seth Barron: Uh-huh.

Heather Mac Donald: You know, they seem to be unaware that such a procedure would demolish any institutions ability to engage in racial preferences, which is a practice that is ubiquitous in every elite institution, as well as university, in the country.

Seth Barron: Yeah. In your article there was an interesting part where you talk about interviewing HR professionals and faculty search people and asking them well, how many qualified minority applicants were not hired because of implicit bias. What kind of response did you get from them?

Heather Mac Donald: Complete evasion. One would hope that a corporation that is worried about the bottom line would actually generate an evidentiary basis for some massive employee training and would know that there is  they can point to instances of qualified minority or female candidates who are not getting hired or promoted because of implicit bias ditto universities. But I asked one of the HR managers at PricewaterhouseCoopers who is spearheading this ridiculous corporate CEO pledge for diversity, well, please give me some examples of, you know, are you aware of instances at PricewaterhouseCoopers or elsewhere where people have not gotten the job because of implicit bias. She completely ducked it. Now, she may be worried about a lawsuit, you know, if she says

Seth Barron: Uh-huh.

Heather Mac Donald: but the fact is, the reality is, it doesnt happen. I asked Anthony Greenwald, one of the two cocreators of the implicit association test, can you give me any example anywhere, not just at University of Washington, where he teaches, but any college, give me one example of a female or black, competitively qualified faculty candidate who didnt get a job or promoted because of implicit bias? He refused. He changed the topic.

Seth Barron: Really?

Heather Mac Donald: So, there is no  theres not examples of this happening. In fact, the reality is just the opposite. Anybody who has observed any faculty search knows it is one desperate effort to find competitively qualified, black or female candidates who have not been snapped up already by better endowed institutions.

Seth Barron: I see. So, well, if it cant be tackled at the level of the individual and, you know, from what you just said, it doesnt sound as though it is actually impacting individual hiring decisions. Do they, do the implicit bias advocates, do they have a broader social agenda? What is the goal, if you will, of this theory? What are they looking for?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, theres a big movement in the legal academy piggybacking on implicit bias to remove the idea of voluntary intent from the law. It already  that kind of already exists with disparate impact theory, so that youve got a body of caselaw and statutes that say to make a case of discrimination in hiring you dont actually need to show that the employer intentionally discriminated. You just need to show that any given hiring practice such as requiring say, a high school degree, or a certain standard on a verbal test, that that has a disparate impact on blacks. But they want to go further than that and really remove completely any idea of intentionality on the theory that human beings are so vulnerable to this implicit bias that any conscious cognition is just irrelevant. And this would mean that every single personnel decision could be challenged on the grounds that it was motivated by implicit bias and the only way to guarantee fairness in the workplace would be through a set of even more explicit racial quotas than already exist.

Seth Barron: It sounds like  I mean, I am reminded of that recent case at Google where the engineer was fired for having written a, basically a little essay questioning whether or not women were really being discriminated against in hiring at Google, or maybe there arent just that many women qualified to be software engineers at that level. Where does this go if you are really, I mean, in your essay, in your article you said that only 1%, I believe, of Ph.D.s in one of the hard sciences in the last year were black, so how would you, I mean, if theres really very few candidates, how would racial quotas even work?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, its very scary. I mean, in the STEM fields the game is more about female preferences than race preferences because, as you say, Seth, there are so few blacks and Hispanics in the pipeline. Its  we are talking about 1% in computer science and computer engineering. Nevertheless, the pressure would mean, to the extent it applies in the race field as well as gender, accepting very mediocre hires. And, to a certain extent, this is simply about ideology for its own sake. The other developer of the implicit association test who is a social psychologist at Harvard was involved in an email exchange with a journalist from New York Magazine earlier this year and she just exploded at him and it was clear that she sees herself on a social justice crusade and views anybody who questions the scientific methodology of the IAT, she said that they should take this up with their priest or their psychiatrist. You know, there are some people who believe we should go back to a world where theres coloreds only fountains.

Seth Barron: Uh-huh.

Heather Mac Donald: This is absurd.

Seth Barron: Right.

Heather Mac Donald: This is absurd, but she views any criticism as itself a symptom of bias.

Seth Barron: Ironically, the whole notion of implicit bias sort of sounds like, I mean, it sounds very theological, in a way. This idea that there is this devil in you making you do things that you cant even, you know, become aware of. But lets shift gears, because in the area of law enforcement, you know, I know that implicit bias has been discussed there, too, and surely it must play a role in the racial disparity in shootings of people by police, no? Does that  is this not a  is not bias a major factor there?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, federal law enforcement agents were all sent off to implicit bias training by President Obama at enormous cost. Local police departments are sending off their departments to implicit bias training at enormous cost. The New York Police Department next year is going to put every officer and every recruit through a full-day seminar on implicit bias, all, again, without any evidentiary basis. There is a psychologist at Cornell named Josh Correll who has been studying police shooting decisions for years. They call it Shoot, Dont Shoot Decisions. And, he, clearly, if you read his writing, hes not particularly pro-cop, but against his obvious will he has found that for police officers, they are not making errors. They take a little bit longer to observe a situation involving an unarmed black that is a counter-stereotypical threat, because most of the shootings of police officers are disproportionately done by blacks. In fact, a police officer is eighteen-and-a-half times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer. Thats because black males have made up 42% of all cop killers over the last decade even though they are only 6% of the population. So, police officers are taking a little longer to assess threats and has shown that their neurological fear symptom is a little higher, but that is not resulting in what is known as bad shoots, that is, shooting unarmed civilians, black or white.

Seth Barron: Uh-huh.

Heather Mac Donald: And they are not, not shooting armed whites because they cant imagine a white person being armed. So, and Corrells findings were reinforced and strengthened by another study that came out last year by a University of Washington researcher, Lois James, that found that officers were really, really hesitating when confronting black targets, even armed targets, because they are so second-guessing themselves due to the black lives matter narrative.

Seth Barron: So, in fact, according to you, bias is not really playing into shootings of people by police, that it is, more or less, what you would expect?

Heather Mac Donald: It is predicted by crime rates.

Seth Barron: So, where are we headed with all of this science? I mean, there was a recent crisis in the replication crisis in the social sciences. Is implicit bias going to have a kind of meltdown, or is the institutional support and momentum too great? What is going to happen?

Heather Mac Donald: Well, its a very interesting situation because two researchers who have been working with the implicit bias original team of Banaji and Greenwald, one is the student of Banaji, who is a social psychologist at Harvard, he was the one responsible for putting the implicit association test on the web. Anybody can take the IAT. They can go right now to the website known as Project Implicit and theyll get their IAT scores, take the test. But these two associates, Brian Nosek and Calvin Lai, were participants in a recent meta-analysis that was the most damning yet about the IAT, that found no connection between IAT scores and behavior, so they, to their enormous credit, is going where the data is taking them. Greenwald, one of the originators, dismissed their work. So, within the crabbed area of purely statistical analysis, it is hard to know who is going to win. The political realm is different. There is just, the IAT is part of our countrys massive commitment to racial victimology. There are institution after institution, whether its universities, or foundations, or the media, which is wedded to the idea that it is racism, not behavioral differences, that explain socioeconomic disparities. So, it is going to take something really cataclysmic to pry from their white knuckles the implicit association test and the implicit bias idea.

Seth Barron: So, when we look at things like the achievement gap between the races in terms of test scores, college education, life outcomes, you are saying bias really doesnt play into that. Well, what are the other factors?

Heather Mac Donald: Behavior, and thats the biggest taboo on college campuses and in the public discourse today. You are not allowed to speak about the behavioral disparities that are what is really generating socioeconomic differences among the races. They are things like blacks 73% national rate of out-of-wedlock childrearing, which gets probably as high as 85% in inner city areas, the academic skills gap is enormous on the math SAT, the difference between black and white scores is nearly one standard deviation, if you look at the tales of the math SAT distribution, Asians, and to a lesser extent, whites, are clustered at the top end of the math distribution. You find whites and Asians, almost no blacks, at the bottom end of the distribution of math SAT scores, you find blacks and no, virtually no Asians and some whites. Those skills are going to affect the availability of blacks for the hiring pipeline in anything that has to do with analytic skills or quantitative reasoning, and the same is true in verbal skills. The verbal SAT shows the same huge score gap as the math SAT, the LSAT for law school admission shows an even larger skill gap of over one standard deviation between black and white scores, black law students end up overwhelmingly in the bottom quintile of their law school classes, even though law school exams are graded blind, so this cannot be chalked up to phantom police bias, and that affects bar passage rates. Blacks, about  over a fifth of all blacks, law students graduates never pass the Bar exam after five attempts compared to maybe 5% of white, 2% of white students. So, unless we address the inputs, whether it is educational skills, behavior, crime rates, we are going to continue seeing racial disparities in our world. But we are prohibited from talking about those behavioral disparities.

Seth Barron: Heather, it has been a pleasure talking to you about this. Very enlightening and interesting, so thank you.

Heather Mac Donald: My pleasure, Seth. Thank you for having me on.

Brian Anderson: You can subscribe to this and other Manhattan Institute podcasts in the iTunes store. The audio edition and transcript is available on our website, www.city-journal.org. This is City Journal editor Brian Anderson. Thanks again for listening to the 10 Blocks Podcast.
In 1999, a group of radio hosts at Neza Radio, a small community station in the Mexican city of Nezahualcoyotl, began transmitting content for about 1 million people living just past Benito Juarez International airport and over the Mexico City line.

With little radio experience and virtually no budget, the hosts used transmitters and antennas built by local engineering students and broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays for listeners up to 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) away. At times, they caught an intermittent signal and went off-air, or they found themselves dancing around the radio dial to prevent interference with other transmissions and guarantee their physical safety. (Legal proceedings have been carried out against a number of community radio stations, while others have been subject to violence or forced off air.) The stations raison detre, says Rocio Roman, the stations operating director, was to communicate the good things about Neza.

ICYMI: The story behind one of the best reported pieces of the year

Like other community radio stationsindependent outlets often known for broadcasting perspectives against the government, or content different from those of state-influenced commercial stationsthat was not enough to convince Mexican authorities to grant it legal permission to operate. Mexicos Communications and Transport Ministry, former telecommunications regulator Cofetel, and then successor IFT, all denied permit and concession requests made by Radio Neza, citing a saturated radio spectrum, inter-frequency separation requirements of 800 KHz, and a wave of stations already migrating from AM to FM, as some of the reasons the station could not be officially recognized.

But about 15 years after the radio began requesting permission to operate, in July 2017, the station won a legal challenge against IFTs 2015 permit rejection, and finally received a 50-watt signal to operate on 97.3 FM. They look for a way not to give concessions, says Luis Fernando Garcia, a lawyer at Mexican digital rights group R3D, who handled Radio Nezas case. In a personal sense, I was exhausted, very tired, adds Roman, who began working with the station as a single 24-year-old, but is now 45 and married with one daughter.

For decades, hundreds of community radio stations like Neza Radio were denied recognition under Mexican law. But in 2013, Mexicos constitutional and legislative reform of the telecommunications and broadcast sectors authorized radio licenses for commercial, public, private, and social useopening a path to legality for such stations.

Were going to keep trying to make the radio a motor that moves authorities to action, so that they respect citizens and human rights.

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While some community stations have gained access to the airwaves, however, many experts say reforms have largely failed to foster significant competition in the radio sector. The existence of community radio stations also still remains uncertain. Theres a lot left to do so that theres more plurality, says Gabriel Sosa, a professor of media studies at Metropolitan Autonomous University in Xochimilco.

In the Mexican radio market, an estimated 70 percent of privately operated radio stations are still owned by roughly 10 media conglomerates, such as Grupo ACIR and Grupo Radiorama, and many are still said to be hostile against community stations that require space on the radio spectrum. People thought it would bring about a very noticeable change in Mexico once it took effect, adds Alma Rosa Alva de la Selva, a political science professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, about the law. But in terms of radio structure, its still concentrated.

An unenforced part of the 2014 Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law, which requires officials to give one percent of federal funds spent on advertising to community radio stations, along with an application process less accessible to indigenous communities, are also cited as difficulties.

Most communities must go to [Mexico City] to request information directly from the IFT, since there are no offices in the interior of the country. For areas that are farther away, that means spending on the trip, investing in bus or plane tickets, and making a journey of hours or even days, wrote the Mexico branch of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in a 2014 report, parts of which still hold true.

In a phone interview, Rafael Eslava, head of concessions at telecommunications regulator IFT, says that overhauling the broadcasting sector and upping the number of legal community radio stations takes time. Its been complex, as much for the applicants as for the regulator, to understand what the law requires us to do in terms of community radio concessions.

While hundreds of such stations are legally recognized in Latin American countries such as Brazil and Argentina, about three dozen are currently legal in Mexico. But Eslava expects more stations to gain permission in coming months. He notes about 70 community stations currently in the process of applying for radio concessions, none of which are required to pay the roughly 7,000 pesos ($378) in fees normally required.

He also notes that the regulator recently had its first open bidding process in 20 years for commercial radio station frequencies, and he points to a forum with indigenous and community radio stations held in August as signs that reforms are underway. Were overhauling an old system, he says. Our law has mechanisms that permit us to diversify the nature and use of radio concessions.

Indalecio Benitez, who runs Radio Calentana in the city of Luvianos in the central state of Mexico, agrees that there have been improvements. There is more certainty, more trust, he says. Before it was a scary situation.

ICYMI: She identified herself as a reporter. He then walked behind her and punched her

In the past, Radio Calentana, which shoots signals to an antenna attached to a 100-foot tower, has broadcast programs related to crop yields, family relationships, and local corruption, among other topics. But it has also found itself vulnerable to organized crime and government authorities.

In 2014, Benitezs son was shot and killed in an attack on the station, forcing him to flee with the rest of his family to Mexico City. But while there, Mexican marines and IFT officials confiscated the computers, microphones, and transmission equipment of the community radio station and shut it down. It was like they were looking for El Chapo Guzman, Benitez says of the operation, referring to Mexicos notorious drug kingpin.

The station ultimately received an official concession in June 2016, after about three years, and will now broadcast on XHLUV/96.5 FM.

But events like the IFT forum on indigenous and community radios have also helped to create more trust, Benitez says. We now have legal certainty, which gives us the security to work without someone closing down the radio, he says.

He adds the station will continue broadcasting as it had even before it was granted a concession to operate. Were going to keep trying to make the radio a motor that moves authorities to action, he says, so that they respect citizens and human rights.

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Natalie Schachar is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City.
Last August, Bethany Barnes, the lone K-12 education beat reporter at The Oregonian, got a tip. New documents had been unsealed in a lawsuit against a local teacher accused of sexual misconduct. The $650,000 lawsuit alleged that Mitchell Whitehurst, a veteran teacher who was at one point among the highest paid in the city, had sexually harassed a male colleague.

Barnes, whod only started at the newspaper a month earlier, went home to sift through dozens of pages of court documents. What she found were allegations of abuse that went far beyond what she expected. It wasnt just that Whitehurst, as the lawsuit alleged, had approached a male colleague at work and inserted his finger or some other unknown object in, on or around [the employees] anus. Women and girls had been complaining of sexual harassment by Whitehurst since at least the early 1980s. And the district had, it seemed, done next to nothing about it.

ICYMI: She identified herself as a reporter. He then walked behind her and punched her

That evening, as Barnes sifted through the papers, she found references to complaints from a student aide who had reported harassment in 2001. There was the former student who came forward in 2008: In the early 1980s, Whitehurst had asked her and a second student to perform oral sex, taken them to his apartment, and said he wanted to see them kiss. (She reported the incident a second time five years later, in 2013, when she was working as a substitute teacher.) In 2011, someone had printed posters that called Whitehurst a pedophile and posted them on the campus of a public high school. And in 2013, a group of 23 eighth grade girls at Faubion School boycotted his physical education class, saying Whitehurst stared at them sexually, commented on their bodies, called them pet nameseven videotaped them. The boycott prompted the schools principal, LaShawn Lee, to reach out to the district.

Oh my god, Barnes remembers thinking. [Lee wrote] this bananas email where you have his last principal saying shes worried there is a Penn State situation. To invoke Penn State in writing says something. That doesnt happen on a whim.

In September 2016, Barnes published her first story revealing the long history of student complaints against Whitehurst. For the next year, she combed through public records and yearbooks, reached out to victims, cold-called district officials, and even showed up at their homes to stitch together a timeline that tracked how, over three decades, a school district had repeatedly opted to protect a powerful male teacher accused of abuse, at the expense of children. Her 4,000-word investigation, called Benefit of The Doubt, was published in August 2017. Shes since written a series of follow-ups that continue to prod at the districts handling of the case.

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The school district put up a fight when Barnes tried to get access to its own Whitehurst investigatory files. A judge had placed them under a protective order as part of the earlier lawsuit. On the advice of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, she reached out to the judge directly and asked her to lift the order. The judge said no, but not before arranging a conference call with district officials where she all but instructed them to release the files.

Instead of denying her request outright, the district stalled. Five months and a 95-page appeal letter later, Barnes secured copies of the original complaintsincluding one written by the then-17-year old Rose Soto, who would eventually agree to speak on the record about her experiences.

ICYMI: The one media world mystery that remains unsolved around Weinstein scandal

I was able to see her written complaint in her handwriting, says Barnes. You can hear her struggle, her voice comes through about this going on, on her struggling to say something. All of that tells you so much more about the incident.

With the help of old school yearbooks, Barnes tracked down Sotos mother and showed up at her house, unannounced, asking for help finding her daughter. Sotos mother had never known about the harassment, but she agreed to help put them in touch. Months into the reporting, Barnes got an anonymous email from another victim who had read about the lawsuit against Whitehurst. Shed never reported her own harassment, but wanted Barnes to know that the other girls were telling the truth because it had happened to her, too. She didnt want to be contacted, and signed the email not ready, never will be.

I have reported on a lot of people who have been disbelieved. You rigorously fact check them. But you listen to them.

I wanted to respect her wishes but was like she needs to know. I took this chance and wrote her back. I explained I was working on a story and had no idea when it would publish, but she should see [these documents], says Barnes. Eventually, they spoke by phone, and the woman remains anonymous in the story (shes never shared the story of her abuse with her family). Ultimately, Barnes was able to interview five women who said they had been victimized by Whitehurst when they were his students.

She found that district employees had failed to properly vet basic facts that could have proven students claims of harassment or declined to discipline Whitehurst. Following a long history of a societal habit of disbelieving women and girls, the district accepted Whitehursts claims that the girls were simply mistaken. Principals were kept out of the loop as Whitehurst moved from school to school. The 23-student boycott of his class was dismissed as having been based on rumors, but Barnes says officials refused to say who made that call, and why. The district claimed to report other allegations of harassment to the state licensing agency. But they claim to have never gotten the notice.

ICYMI: He was excited to profile a controversial athlete. What happens next? Every journalists nightmare.

Working with an editor, Barnes made a list of district officials categorized by the severity with which her story would implicate them in what was tantamount to neglect. She reached out to them repeatedly, writing letters informing them that theyd be named on the front page of the newspaper, and even showing up at their homes. She tracked down Whitehurst, who was allowed to retire before the state stripped his teaching license, through a business owned by his children. His attorney refused an interview and told her never to get in touch again.

When Barnes story hit newsstands, Portlanders were outraged. The school board called a meeting the same day to discuss her findings. Almost immediately, the district hired a special investigative team, including former prosecutors, to look into the districts handling of the student complaints. And they announced coming reforms to the districts Title IX policiessolutions Barnes intends to rigorously investigate.

While solutions journalism is in vogue in the world of education reporting, Barnes is hesitant to make her own suggestions for how school districts might better handle harassment claims. Its a sensitive topic that many industries, including film and the media itself, continue to fumble their way through.

I think the best thing journalists can push for is care and consideration, says Barnes. I have reported on a lot of people who have been disbelieved. You rigorously fact check them. But you listen to them.

Barnes advice for beat reporters? Dont forget to follow-up. Follow up is as important, and maybe more important (as the first story), says Barnes. She has since written at least six follow-up stories that, among other things, investigate the teachers union rule that prevents files that document allegations of abuse from following teachers as they move between schools and looks into other instances where the district might have ignored student complaints.

Its still unclear why [this] happened and whats gonna change, she says. Theyre in the process of reforming, but what will that mean is the question hanging out there.

ICYMI: The story behind one of the best reported pieces of the year

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Alexandria Neason was CJRs staff writer and Senior Delacorte Fellow. Recently, she became an editor and producer at WNYCs Radiolab.
They couldnt believe their eyes. It was really happening. There Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, awkwardly shaking hands with his predecessor, a man hed accused of being born outside the United States. On the back of that myth, the real-estate developers star had surged. They couldnt have been more different, these two men, and that presented a conundrum for the reporters and photographers in the room. What were Americans trying to tell them? How should the press interpret those signals? Could it be possible that some of the people who had voted for the man on the right had also voted for the man on the left? (It was.) Was it also possible that loyalists on each side despised their opposites with a viciousness not seen since the Civil Rights era, and before that, the Civil War? (It was.) The press would soon learn that it was caught between them, interpreting them for one another and, on occasion, taking sides. A new era of political journalism had begun.

ICYMI: The union behind Chicagos cops hung up on us when we asked about a controversial letter

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown, but this emperors new clothes were held together with Scotch tape. The medias dilemma in covering Trump lies in how and whether to point that out. Should they view him as a responsible occupant of the worlds most daunting office or a vain and self-important fool? The president seems to encourage the confusion. He rose as a representative of real America, yet his taste for artifice, even in the manner of securing his tie, is frequently on display. Is he motivated by concern for the common man, or by self-interest? Does anything matter to him beyond how he is perceived, primarily by the press, which, depending on the day and the week, he can both court and repel? Looking at his face, its hard to tell.

As always, they were there to watch. There was space on the floor and in the stands, but the press pen was packed. This was way back in New Hampshire, on the eve of the primary. As journalists squinted through viewfinders and scribbled in notebooks, candidate Trump stood on the stage and pointed over the heads of the voters who had come to hear him, at the press. It wasnt the first time, and it would hardly be the last, but few watching that day would have predicted how central the gesture would become to his presidency. He was perpetually wronged, witch-hunted like no one before him, and the press was to blame. They were FAKE NEWS, the enemy of the American people, really, really dishonest people, bad people, sick people. I really think they dont like our country, he said. People listened, and the press watched and clicked and wrote it all down.

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Vanessa M. Gezari is the managing editor of CJR and author of The Tender Soldier, which came out in paperback in August 2014.
REPORTERS AT THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES did something recently that most conscientious journalists do when working on something sensitive: they knocked on the doors of those people they intended to write about. In this case, the people behind those doors were police officers. And the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents most of Chicagos 12,000 rank-and-file officers, took exception.

Martin Preib, the second vice president and union spokesman, penned a cease and desist letter last month to reporters Tim Novak and Robert Herguth:

Their private residence should remain free from media access. Your use of this tactic is unprofessional and unethical, and is further illuminative of your publications general bias against the police. I am informing my members not to speak to either of you, or any Sun-Times reporter, if they come onto their private residence. I am further advising them to call the police and sign complaints for trespassing if you refuse to leave.

The Sun-Times had just published a story about what happens when Chicago Police Department officers are caught abusing alcohol or drugs. The citys scrappy tabloid, which recently came under new ownership, responded with the kind of blunt, spare prose its known for.

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Chicago needs a great police force, the papers editorial board wrote. Chicago also needs great journalism. So, Mr. Preib, you do your job and well do ours. You keep the city safe. Well keep the city informed.

It seems to me like a classic strategy of kind of changing the conversationso you portray journalistic rigor as harassment. Were no longer talking about the substance of the story, were talking about reporters doing their job.

Chris Fusco, the Sun-Times interim editor who also received the FOP note, takes the issue at face value. To Fusco, neither the FOP letter nor the newspapers indicate greater tensions between police and journalists.

I dont begrudge them for defending their members at all, thats their job, Fusco told CJR during a recent interview at the Sun-Times downtown office. Maybe to make some lemonade out of a lemon, I think the FOP has articulated its point and weve articulated ours. If we agree to disagree at least weve planted our flags.

Preib, the author of the FOP letter, seemed to share Fuscos perspective.

I think its all pretty self-explanatory, he said during a brief phone conversation. However, when CJR sought to describe its interest in the letter, Preib said, Im really not interested in talking with you before hanging up.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MEDIA AND POLICE is naturally fraught with tension and a central ethical quandary: Reporters rely on police to serve as sources on crime and other public safety issues, even as they function as a check on police power.

But, especially in recent months, journalists have been increasingly dogged about reporting on police accountability and misconduct, issues at the center of controversies in several communities across the country. After Ferguson, many of the journalists who cover crime have also turned their coverage to debates over police tactics in minority communities, the use of deadly force, and protests by aggrieved residents of their city. Positioned between police and residents, reporters have been threatened with criminal charges at Standing Rock and, more recently, pepper-sprayed and arrested in St. Louis.

Were not trying to be best friends. But theres got to be a relationship there.

Most law enforcement understand that blaming the messenger is counterproductive, according to Stephen Handelman, the director of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York,.

If you go behind the headlines of the accusations, the back and forth, you find on a street level that cops and reporters get along with the same sort of wary suspicion they always have, Handelman tells CJR. Theres a latent respect on both sides and [the relationship] still operates. Handelman adds that police unions, which exist primarily in big cities, tend to be more bombastic in their criticism.

Jamie Kalven, a longtime Chicago journalist whose reporting helped spur the release of a video that showed a police officer shooting teenager Laquan McDonald in 2014, says the citys police union does a huge disservice by failing to communicate officers perspectives or allowing them to speak for themselves.

The viewpoint is preposterousto construe journalistic competence as harassment, Kalven says of the FOP letter. It seems to me like a classic strategy of kind of changing the conversationso you portray journalistic rigor as harassment. Were no longer talking about the substance of the story, were talking about reporters doing their job and [that] being named as a form of harassment.

ICYMI: She identified herself as a reporter. He then walked behind her and punched her

Sam Charles, a Sun-Times crime beat reporter who has been at the newspaper for the past five years, says the FOP letter and police union rhetoric hasnt affected his job. I havent heard any blowback from any of the guys I talk to regularly, he says.

After the McDonald video was released under court order because of a lawsuit and pressure from journalists, Charles says he and others in Chicagos mainstream press took a good hard look at what we were doing and how we were doing it. The only reason that [the video] came out was because of independent journalists, and bless them for it, he says.

Charles believes the Chicago Police Department has become more responsive to reporter requests, despite periods of sustained focus on police department flaws. For Charles, even those stories with which the department might take exception are met with a response. That wasnt always so, says Charles. Most of the time they do give me some response which gives some deeper context, Charles says. Were not trying to be best friends. But theres got to be a relationship there.

ON SEPTEMBER 17, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike Faulk was arrested, held by police for half a day, and charged with failure to disperse. Faulk had been covering the protest that followed the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white police officer who fatally shot a black man named Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011.

In a phone interview, Faulk recounted the details of his arrest. Using a controversial tactic called kettling, police rounded up a group of people that included peaceful protesters, area residents, and Faulk. Journalists reported that police took a protest chant and used it themselves: Whose streets? Our streets! Faulk, who has filed an internal affairs report with the police department among other complaints, said that officers blocked off exits, and turned the protest into a violent melee. The Post-Dispatch covered Faulks arrest and condemned the polices actions: Mass arrests that punish law-abiding protesters and journalists is not good policing, the paper wrote in an editorial.

Faulk, whose misdemeanor charge is pending, said he struggles with pain from being thrown to the ground, pepper sprayed, and having his hands tightly bound. He has been taken off reporting the story and planned cops shifts, he told CJR.

If we had only gotten the police narrative of that night, it would have been,  Well, police owned the night and rounded up all these rambunctious criminals, he said. While he was in police custody, Faulk continued to report, and helped deliver phone numbers of sources to reporters who turned around a detailed story about what happened.

That story, which voiced concerns about police tactics in its headline, received more than 1 million page views. Faulk says the story has been able to diversify the narrative and put more of a human face on everyone involved. Following reports of police actions, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and interim Police Chief Lawrence OToole have asked for a third-party investigation.

Elizabeth Donald, the president of the St. Louis Society of Professional Journalists, said the city police department has made it difficult for journalists to cover protests in the wake of the 2014 and 2015 Ferguson protests in and around St. Louis. Unfortunately, given the treatment Mike Faulk received, the lack of apology, and the history of police action against journalists in the Ferguson upheaval, I would be sorely pressed to call this a mere unfortunate circumstance, she says via email. It appears to be a pattern of hindering reporters in the performance of their duty.

How do we proceed? We know you have an obligation to report. How do we work this out?

AS THE RANKS OF LOCAL JOURNALISTS have declined, fewer reporters are assigned to the police beat full time. That is one of the biggest problems facing journalists today, says Handelman, the police media expert. They come in and parachute and ask a few questions and then move on to another story.

Frank Straub, a former police chief who now works at the Washington, DC-based Police Foundation, says the press is in the business of making money and selling commercials, and you kind of get that. Still, he adds, the media has done a fairly good job of capturing the tension that exists around the country.

Most police officials understand their relationship with reporters, says Straub, and he understands why there are times when law enforcement feels like they must defend their officers. But there have been some instances, Straub says, of unions being over aggressive in their attacks on the press when police misconduct is allegeda counterproductive approach.

Those aggressive, visceral reactions do more to hurt than to help, he says.

When tensions arise, Straub recommends that police take a deep breath and ask a few questions of reporters. Lets have a sitdown, says Straub by way of an example. How do we proceed? We know you have an obligation to report. How do we work this out? So long as police accountability is an issue, the relationship between law enforcement and the press will be tense. That doesnt mean either side should stop talking.

ICYMI: Trump might be in serious trouble for his NBC tweets

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jeremy Borden is an independent journalist based in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Borden.
The owner of a tall ship that crashed into four other boats after a seafood festival is blaming the crash on a dock line that became entangled on its two propellers.

The SSV Oliver Hazard Perry crashed Sunday in Newport Harbor. No one was injured.

On Monday, the 200-foot (61-meter), three-mast ship was still blocking a channel into the Newport Yacht Club, preventing a cruise ship from disembarking passengers. The vessel was moved back to its permanent berth with the help of two tugboats later that afternoon. It is now safely docked in its berth at Fort Adams State Park in Newport.

The ship is operated by Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island, a nonprofit that runs educational programs. The group said Monday the engine lost power after its propellers became entangled but did not run aground. The Coast Guard had said shortly after the crash that the ship had grounded.

Jessica Wurzbacher, the groups executive director, said the ship was leaving its berth at the seafood festival to cross the harbor to its permanent berth at Fort Adams. The propellers then became entangled in one of the ships own dock lines off the edge a dock, she said.

The crew dropped two anchors and tied the ship with lines to rope it into place, and while they were doing that it struck four boats, Wurzbacher said.

She said she did not believe the hull was damaged. They were working Monday to untangle the propellers and check them for damage so they can move the ship.

Alex Keller, yacht manager and captain of the 60-foot (18-meter) small yacht Jessica, said his ship was pinned against a dock and used as a fender by the tall ship. The smaller vessel was finally freed Monday morning and needs to be checked at a shipyard to see whether there is structural damage, he said.

He said that he was surprised the captain of the tall ship was trying to operate it in winds that were blowing at 25 knots and that he would not have done it himself unless it was an emergency.

Wurzbacher said it is a 500-ton (454-metric ton) vessel that regularly operates in windy conditions and the captain determined it was safe.

I dont think the weather affected the incident, she said.

The captain of the Trade Wind, Darius Dupey, was on the small wooden yacht when it was struck by the Oliver Hazard Perry. In cellphone video of the accident, Dupey tells the Oliver Hazard Perry crew to go forward, then yells Oh, my God! and Whoa as the tall ship gets closer and wood crunches on impact.

He said they wont know the full extent of the damage until the yacht is hauled out of the water and inspected.

The tall ship is named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero in the War of 1812, whos remembered for his command: Dont give up the ship.

It was built of steel at a cost of $16 million and in 2016 became the first ocean-going, full-rigged ship to be built in the U.S. in more than 100 years. Its main mast is 13 1/2 stories high. It is the largest civilian sail training vessel, accommodating 49 people overnight, and serves as Rhode Islands official sailing education vessel.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Honolulu investigators cant determine the cause of a deadly high-rise apartment building fire that resulted in more than $107 million in damage, fire officials said.

The HFD fire investigators have completed an extensive and scientifically based investigation in full collaboration with other agencies and have classified the fire cause as undetermined, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said at a news conference Monday.

Fire investigators have determined the fire began in the living room of unit 2602. However, due to extensive damage, the exact location and manner in which the fire began could not be ascertained, he said.

Neves said investigators have been able to rule out some causes of the fire. There was no indication the fire was intentionally set, theres no evidence of ignitable liquids, and cooking wasnt to blame, he said.

There was no evidence that there was a drug lab in the apartment, and no drug paraphernalia was found, Neves added.

Investigators have not been able to rule out items found in the living room as an accidental cause of the fire: a compressed gas cylinder, a wand-type lighter, a possible butane cylinder, an air conditioning unit, desk computer, several electrical outlets, and several electrical devices, possibly a laptop computer and a home router, he said.

They also couldnt rule out smoking-related activities as an accidental cause, Neves said.

Investigators could always reopen the probe if any new information comes to light, he said.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell praised the citys firefighters for their response for the blaze at the 36-story condo shaped like a wave. I believe because they did their jobs, lives were spared, he said.

More than 130 firefighters responded to the blaze, ushering people out of the burning building and helping rescue at least six people who were trapped.

Firefighters climbed over 30 floors, carrying over 80 pounds of equipment on their backs, rushing in to hallways that were like blowtorches, going into smoke-filled rooms. They were our heroes, he said.

Three people died in the July 14 fire, and another person died weeks later from complications, Neves said. Fire damage was estimated at more than $107 million, and 30 units were totally destroyed. Another 50 units had fire, heat or smoke damage. An additional 130 units received some level of water damage.

The Marco Polo apartment building has no fire sprinkler system. The tower overlooking Waikiki was constructed in 1971, before sprinklers were required for new construction in the city.

An Associated Press investigation after the blaze revealed that the building also failed to update its fire alarms to meet safety standards despite an engineering firm recommending changes several years ago. The tower was not required, however, to meet the standards because they were not part of fire code at the time of original construction.

Caldwell introduced a bill after the fire that would require sprinklers in all high-rise buildings regardless of when they were constructed. Caldwells bill would require all buildings taller than 75 feet (23 meters) to install sprinkler systems.

But some Honolulu residents and building associations pushed back, saying requiring retrofitted sprinkler systems would be too costly.

The Honolulu City Council postponed action on the bill about a month after the blaze because they wanted more information from the Honolulu Fire Department, including what caused the fire and how many of the citys apartment complexes have similar situations.

(Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
One thrashed to death

A person died when he was attacked by his wife's brother in a family scuffle in Thulokimtang village of Meghang Rural Municipality, Nuwakot.
RPP in government to ensure elections: DPM Thapa

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Kamal Thapa has said the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has joined the government for ensuring the election.
Blockchain Capital, one of the first venture firms to specialize in bitcoin and crypto projects, is setting out to raise $150 million in two funds, with plans to invest in companies and emerging cryptocurrencies.

The firm, based in San Francisco, said in SEC filings on Monday that each fund is raising $75 million. To date, Blockchain Capital IV has raised $60 million and Blockchain Capital Parallel Fund IV has raised $25 million.

The two funds are identical in how the money will be put to work, according to a person familiar with the firm. But in the parallel fund, the limited partners will participate by contributing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum, as opposed to fiat currencies like dollars and euros, said the source, who asked not to be named because the details are confidential.

Blockchain Capital was founded in 2013 by brothers Bart and Bradford Stephens along with Brock Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation. The firm has invested in 42 companies in the past three years, according to its website, and has stakes in digital asset exchange and bitcoin wallets Xapo and Abra.

With the new funds, Blockchain Capital will continue to invest in companies that are building on top of the blockchain digital ledger, and it will buy tokens in cryptocurrency projects. Since the start of 2017, there's been an explosion in initial coin offerings, or , in which crypto companies raise money by creating and selling their own currencies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the opening session of the Chinese Communist Party's five-yearly Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 18, 2017.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday stressed the benefits of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" at the beginning of the Communist Party's once-every-five-year Party Congress.

The president told the assembled members of the party that his nation's prospects are bright, but it faces severe challenges. He proceeded to lay out his vision for a socialist future.

"We will unite the Chinese people of all ethnic groups and lead them to a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the drive to secure the success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era," he said, according to a translation from China Daily.

Xi touted the success of China in recent years during the address, including what he characterized as overwhelming momentum for his anti-corruption campaign.

Under Xi, Beijing has waged a relentless fight against deep-rooted graft since assuming power five years ago, with more than one million officials punished and dozens of former senior officials jailed.

The president also claimed during his address that China will let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation in the economy. Beijing has called for a greater role for market forces in the economy in order to improve efficiency and develop a more sustainable growth model, but some have been skeptical of its progress on that front.

On the economic policy front, Xi also said Beijing will push mergers and acquisitions for state-owned assets, it will expand market access for the services sector, and it will deepen financial reform. He also said the country will deepen its market-oriented reform of exchange and interest rates.

China, Xi said, will continue to open up to the world, including relaxing market access for foreign investment.

The president also highlighted Beijing's firm opposition to Taiwan independence over the last five years.

The full title of Xi's working report that he presented Wednesday is "Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Three former employees of Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, claimed they've suffered constant, often daily racial discrimination and harassment, and that the electric car company did little to nothing to stop the behavior. The allegations were made in a new lawsuit that was filed yesterday in California's Alameda County Superior Court; it names Tesla and three staffing agencies as defendants. The suit was first reported by Mercury News.

In the lawsuit, the three men  who are all African-American  say they were "thrilled" to join Tesla, "an innovative and groundbreaking company that is at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution," but allege that they were repeatedly subjected to racial slurs and racist drawings by co-workers and even superiors. It was a "scene straight from the Jim Crow era," they claim.

The three men listed as plaintiffs in the suit are Owen Diaz, who was employed as an elevator operator at the Fremont factory between June 2015 to May 2016; his son Demetric Diaz, who was a production associate between August 2015 and October 2015; and Lamar Patterson, who was an elevator operator between January 2016 and August 2016.

More from The Verge:

In an email, a Tesla spokesperson says that "none of these individuals has ever brought a claim about their time at Tesla until now, in some cases years after they were last at Tesla."

The plaintiffs argue otherwise in the suit. Demetric Diaz, who was employed by West Valley Staffing Company, claims he was subjected to the n-word regularly, and that the company "took no action." He also says he addressed the issue with his supervisor at Tesla, which he claims led to him being issued a written warning and, eventually, being fired for "breaking the rules." (Demetric Diaz is also suing for wrongful termination.)

Owen Diaz argues in the lawsuit that Tesla employees "drew racist and derogatory caricatures of African children that resembled the 'pickaninny' imagery of the early twentieth century," and Mercury News' report on the lawsuit includes a photo of one of these drawings credited to him. He lists a number of other times he was subjected to racial slurs, and also claims to have reported these to both his supervisor and his employment agency to no avail, which is why he eventually quit.

Robertson argues that he, too, was subjected to racial slurs, encountered "racist caricatures, images, and effigies around the factory," and was told to "go back to Africa." He claims to have reported all this to the same supervisor as Owen Diaz.

The "only somewhat relevant evidence we have found," Tesla says, "is an email from Owen Diaz to his supervisor from October 2015 in which Mr. Diaz claimed that a co-worker was yelling and making aggressive comments. That email made no mention of the use of any racist language or epithets."

Tesla also says that these employees "were at Tesla for only a short time and have been gone for well over a year," and reiterate that they were technically employed by third-party staffing agencies.

In the suit, the plaintiffs argue that each staffing agency should be considered a "joint employer" and "integrated enterprises" with Tesla to the point that "the actions of one entity can be and are attributable to the other." For example, Patterson was employed by Chartwell Staffing Services Inc. but says that he received "training and orientation directly through Tesla, clocked in and out using Tesla's timekeeping system, and Tesla maintained power over hiring and firing decisions."

A second racial discrimination lawsuit was filed earlier this year by a different man who was represented by the same attorney, Lawrence Organ. In response to the new suit, Tesla denied the claims, and questioned the motives of the attorney and the actions of his clients.

Tesla said that "timing of these new claims and the manner in which they are being publicized is notable," and that Organ "timed [the previous lawsuit] to coincide with a carefully planned media blitz in an attempt to create a disingenuous narrative that was at odds with the facts."

"Tesla's trying to make this story about civil rights lawyers, instead of civil rights," Organ told the The Verge in response. "This is about stopping people at Tesla factories from using the n-word, plain and simple."

Tesla is still in the middle of lawsuit from former employee who alleged that women experienced "unwanted and pervasive harassment." And just last week, the company fired hundreds of workers  which the company claims were based on performance  in a time that CEO Elon Musk has described as "production hell" as it attempts to ramp up production of the Model 3.

"No employee should ever feel harassed or mistreated based on their race, gender, beliefs or anything else," the Tesla spokesperson wrote today. "There are over 33,000 people working at Tesla, and given our size, we recognize that unfortunately at times there will be cases of harassment or discrimination in corners of the company. For there to be zero cases in a global workforce of 33,000 would be impossible for any company, no matter how much we care. And we care a lot, particularly given how hard everyone at Tesla works to do what most regard as impossible."

The full lawsuit filing is available here on Scribd.

See also:
Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of French energy company Total visits the Shetland Gas Plant on May 16, 2016, in the Shetland Islands.

Oil markets are rebalancing but the process will take time, the chairman and chief executive of oil giant Total told a London conference Wednesday.

"When you have three of four years of oversupply it takes time to rebalance the market," Patrick Pouyanne said.

Speaking at an oil conference in the U.K. capital, Pouyanne noted that although the market was slowly balancing, investor sentiment was still volatile.

"Markets are volatile but mindsets are also volatile," he said, adding that "time is important" for markets to rebalance, although he forecast "very strong demand" in the near future.

Pouyanne's comments come amid renewed hopes that oil markets are making good progress in terms of rebalancing following several years of challenging supply and demand dynamics for oil markets, national oil producers and major oil companies.

French oil and gas giant Total has been no exception, with profits hit during the worst of the oil price slump prompting the company to implement a cost-cutting drive.

However, Pouyanne reiterated that the company was targeting 5 percent oil production growth per year until 2022. But he also said the firm's mission was the delivery of "reliable, affordable and clean energy" to its customers.

Oil prices have been bolstered by a decision by 24 OPEC and non-OPEC countries, including major producer Russia, to cut oil output by 1.8 million barrels a day in a bid to support and stabilize oil prices.

The OPEC/non-OPEC deal was implemented in January and has helped to stabilize prices, though they have struggled to break through the $60 a barrel mark and remain far off a peak price of $114 a barrel seen in June 2014. It is expected that the oil producers could extend the deal beyond the current deadline of March 2018.

Pouyanne said the visit of King Salman of Saudi Arabia to Moscow earlier this month had "cemented" the relationship between Russia and Saudi Arabia and that both sides seemed committed to higher oil prices. "I'm convinced they're targeting oil prices above $60 a barrel," he said.

Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told CNBC in early October that he was confident that markets would continue to rebalance and that demand was healthy.
Self-made billionaire Richard Branson constantly looks for new talent to promote, especially within his Virgin Group company. So how does one get on Branson's radar? Three traits that the entrepreneur looks for in his employees include being personable, detail-oriented and hardworking.

In his latest autobiography, "Finding my Virginity," the entrepreneur tells the story of how he founded the fastest growing Virgin company of all time: Virgin Australia, formerly Virgin Blue, which is Australia's second largest airline.

Branson explains that the idea was created by Brett Godfrey, who at the time was chief financial officer for their European carrier, Virgin Express. Branson says that he quickly took a liking to Godfrey. Why? Because Godfrey was a "great example" of the type of talent Branson liked to find, encourage, challenge and help grow within the company, he says.

The businessman first spotted Godfrey's potential when he wrote an "excellent note" to a group of new hires and he began to closely follow Godfrey's progress, Branson writes. He also noticed how amiably Godfrey interacted with others. "[I] saw how he dealt with people in a personable manner and got the best out of them," writes Branson.
A 5G sign sits on display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, March, 2015. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The next revolution in mobile technology looks set to be led by China. 5G, the fifth generation of mobile network, doesn't yet exist but aims to provide faster data speeds and more bandwidth to carry ever-growing levels of web traffic. Analysts at CCS Insight predict the technology will be in place by 2020 and said in a report Wednesday that there will be more than one billion users of 5G by 2023, with more than half based in China. "China will dominate 5G thanks to its political ambition to lead technology development, the inexorable rise of local manufacturer Huawei and the breakneck speed at which consumers have upgraded to 4G connections," said Marina Koytcheva, VP Forecasting at CCS Insight.

Source: CCS Insight Market Forecast: 5G Subscriptions Worldwide

CCS Insight said 5G will take off faster than any other previous mobile technology with the United States, South Korea, and Japan all battling to launch the first commercial network. Exact technology specifications for 5G have yet to be agreed internationally and there are still uncertainties about the technology. These include how and where network operators will deploy vast numbers of new base stations, the lack of clear business case for operators, and consumers' willingness to upgrade their smartphones, CCS Insight said. In Europe, market fragmentation, the availability of spectrum and the influence of regulators bring additional challenges.

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The next big function to take off on Amazon's Echo devices will be voice or video calling  which is a way Alexa can reduce the need to have your smartphone on your at all times, the VP and head scientist at Alexa Machine Learning said.

"If you have not played with calling, and the video calls on Echo Show, you should try it because that is revolutionizing how you can communicate," Rohit Prasad said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with CNBC at an Alexa Accelerator event in Seattle. (The event is dedicated to developing new voice-powered technologies.)

"When you can drop in on people who have given you access  so I can drop in and call my mom in her kitchen without her picking any device  it's just awesome." (Amazon added the ability to call mobile numbers and landlines for free onto Echo devices a few weeks ago.)

Amazon doesn't have a smartphone that lets customers bring a digital assistant everywhere  like Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant  and communicating through Alexa devices is one way of reducing the need for a personal handset, Prasad said

"I can easily drop in and talk to my kids," Prasad said. "They don't have a smartphone so that's my easiest way to talk to them. It's yet another area where Alexa is taking the friction away."

Asked whether we'd see a smartphone or smart glasses (which are reportedly in the works) from Amazon, Prasad said he couldn't comment on the future roadmap but he didn't rule it out.

"We do want Alexa to be everywhere, so our customers can do their daily tasks with minimum friction and anywhere they need it," he said.
The communist dream

The CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre have been intense rivals over the past decade, possessing drastically different worldviews and constituencies. Both parties have the word communist in their names, but this hasnt result in much commonality.
American Express on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations and raised its forecast for the year.

The company also announced that Stephen Squeri will succeed Kenneth Chenault as CEO, effective Feb.1, 2018.

Here's how the company did in the third quarter compared with what Wall Street expected:

EPS: $1.50 vs. $1.48 expected, according to Thomson Reuters

Revenue: $8.44 billion vs. $8.285 billion expected, according to Thomson Reuters

The company also raised its full-year guidance and now expects earnings per share between $5.80 and $5.90. Analyst had previously forecast full-year earnings per share of $5.74, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate.

In the year-earlier quarter, AmEx reported earnings of $1.20 per share on revenue of $7.77 billion.

"We are pleased to be able to both raise our earnings expectations while also funding some incremental investments aimed at driving moderate to long-term results," said American Express CFO Jeffery Campbell during the earnings call. "We are seeing the payoff in our 2017 results with the strong and consistent performance over the first three quarters."

The company's stock initially gained as much as 1.5 percent after the report in after-hours trading but gave back those gains and was down modestly.

Incoming CEO Squeri also joined the call saying, "Our next chapter will be about building on the momentum we have generated with a special focus on innovation, expanding our core product offerings, enhancing our brand and our customer relationships and partnering with others to stay ahead of the curve."

In September, the company said that it would be launching a new card, called Blue Delta SkyMiles, that's aimed at new travelers, mainly millennials. Total engagement spending hit $3.1 billion in the third quarter, up 11 percent versus the prior year.

"As a reminder," assured Campbell, "we expect marketing and promotion to be down significantly for the full year relative to 2016 as we realize efficiencies in our marketing spend."

AmEx has been competing with JPMorgan Chase for customers willing to pay high fees. Chase's widely popular Sapphire Reserve card wooed consumers with fat travel credits and other perks, such as airport lounge access.

But the company is also under increased scrutiny as the U.S. Supreme Court examines whether American Express is violating federal antitrust law. Eleven states have filed an appeal of a lower court ruling that the company could legally stop merchants from encouraging customers to use rival cards.

On Monday, American Express shares hit at a fresh 52-week intraday high of $93.35. As of its Wednesday close, the stock had surged roughly 24 percent since January.
It's the end of an era for American aviation. At the end of the year, Delta Air Lines will retire its Boeing 747s, the double-decker, humpbacked jumbo jets that made air travel more affordable for millions over the past 50 years.

Meet its successor: The sleek, two-engine Airbus A350.

Delta will have five of the twin-aisle workhorses by the end of the year and its inaugural commercial route will travel from Detroit to Tokyo on Oct. 30. Other destinations from Detroit include Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and Amsterdam, which all be flying by next spring, according to Delta. The airline is the first U.S. carrier to operate the A350.

CNBC got a look inside. But it wasn't just the plane Delta debuted. The airline also showed off its new Delta One business class cabin, which features suites with  very heavy  sliding doors, and the airline's first-ever premium economy cabin.

Here's a look at the inside and exterior of the plane:
The attorney generals of California and New York on Wednesday announced that they and a coalition of states asked a court to force the Trump administration to continue paying Obamacare insures key reimbursements for subsidies.

The request for a emergency temporary restraining order comes six days after the Trump administration ceased making the payments, worth billions of dollars annually to health insurers.

California, New York and 17 other states already had sued the administration seeking restoration of the so-called cost-sharing reduction payments.

The payments reimburse insurers for discounts that they must give millions of Obamacare customers for their out-of-pocket health costs, including co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles.

The Trump administration has said that the payments cannot be made because Congress never separately appropriated the money for them.

But the coalition of states suing the admininstration argues that there is no need for a separate authorization because the CSRs discounts, and the payments to insurers for them, are part of the Affordable Care Act, the Obamacare law.
Online micro-lending company Qudian is about to go public at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, and it's set to be one of the largest U.S.-listed floats by a Chinese company this year.

In its prospectus, Qudian said it was offering 37.5 million American Depository Shares with a float price range of $19-$22 per share. The company said it could offer up to 43.1 million shares if underwriters exercised an option.

Reuters, citing sources, reported that the initial public offering was ultimately priced at $24 per share and that the original offering raised about $900 million. That gave Qudian a market value of as much as $7.9 billion, according to Reuters, which said that would make it the largest U.S.-listing by a Chinese company this year.

The company provides short-term micro loans through its mobile app to China's young workers who are looking for extra cash to be able to affords things like premium-priced apparel or concert tickets.

For example, a user can borrow about 400 yuan (about $60), with a loan period of one month, to buy a pair of sneakers. Loan periods could also be a week, three months or even six months.

Loans are almost instantly approved, Qudian claimed in a corporate video, because it uses data analytics to assess prospective borrowers. The company said it looks beyond traditional financial metrics and into a variety of social and behavioral attributes to assess a borrower's ability to repay a debt.

Qudian is also backed by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, which is a principal shareholder in the company. (Approved loans are transferred into borrowers' Ant Financial-managed Alipay accounts.)

The micro-lending company said it became profitable in 2016, when it posted net income of about $85 million on total revenue of $212.8 million. In the six months that ended June 30 of this year, revenue was $270.4 million and net income came at $143.6 million, according to Qudian.

Morgan Stanley , Credit Suisse , Citigroup , CICC and UBS are joint book runners for the IPO.
The following is the full transcript of CNBC's interview with Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. This interview broadcast in Asia on Wednesday, October 18.

All references must be sourced to a "CNBC Interview."

Interviewed by Nancy Hungerford, Anchor/Correspondent, CNBC.

Nancy Hungerford (NH): Your excellency thank you for taking the time to speak to CNBC and here we are in Singapore. You were here as part of a delegation promoting ties in Southeast Asia. Undoubtedly there are still questions over the rift with your gulf allies and I just want to bring up some comments from the Saudi foreign minister at the U.N. General Assembly just weeks ago. In fact he talked and said specifically that Doha's practices are providing financial support to terrorism while disseminating violent hate speech is unacceptable. Does this sound to you like a message from a government that is ready to come to the table and try to find an agreement here?

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (Al Thani): Well first of all thank you Nancy for hosting me today. Just regarding these continuous statements and allegations from the Saudis and from the other blockading nations toward Qatar which has never been proven, this is something which is all of us we are against. This is something which is related to the collective security of our region, which is a priority for Qatar, as it's priority for them. But just throwing those allegations without even basing them by evidence and supporting them by evidence, is just showing inconsistency in their behavior that they don't want to solve this issue. They started the entire issue, the entire crisis with a cyber-attack. This cyber-attack is to create a foundation for the crisis. So if there was a real justification for this crisis they wouldn't need to attack our state news agency, to put a fabricated statement attributed it to the Emir in order to launch this campaign. So we are still calling them if you have any allegations, if you have anything any concerns need to be addressed by Qatar we are willing to sit on the table. Show us your concerns if there is something which needs measures being taken, it should be taken by Qatar and by other countries because it's a collective concern for everyone.

NH: Saudi Arabia has denied that a cyber-attack was behind this issue and really continues to be their word against yours and vice versa here so how does this end? How are you going to eventually get an agreement?

Al Thani: Well first of all their denial actually is not true because we were just in Riyadh two days before the cyber-attack. Why none of them has raised any concern? Before that even a few days we were also in Riyadh at the Ministerial Council for the Gulf for the GCC. So they never raised any concern about any issue. We were talking about regional issues. We were discussing the future of the GCC and none of them has raised any of those issues and those allegations. The cyber-attack was the spark for the entire crisis. There is no doubt that they have initiated this cyber-attack in order to create a basis for this crisis. Now, since this crisis is taking more than four months, everybody from our side at least we know we recognize that we want to have a solution for this - because we see that there is no winner out of this because we have a lot of other challenges in our region, and we don't we don't need a further crisis to the other open war zones. All our allies and friends they want a solution for this crisis, including the United States, even including the president of the United States was calling to bring the leaders together in order to put an end for all for this crisis. The Emir of Kuwait was leading the mediation, and he's continuing his efforts, yesterday he was in Riyadh, but there is not any result yet. This is showing a consistent behavior from the blockading nation just to continue the crisis, disrespect and bully. This is all about -- it's nothing about that they want to stop financing terrorism or to stop the hatred speech while they are promoting and doing the same by promoting incitement against my country, promoting a regime change against my country. So there are contradictions between what they are saying as statements and what's their real activities on the ground.

NH: You mentioned regime change. Do you think Saudi Arabia is actively looking at ways to bring about regime change as we speak?

Al Thani: Well we see that there are officials, government officials are talking about regime change if we see their government officials talking about protesting and inciting people to go and protest against their government. So it's about regime change. We see a country which is bringing back the Dark Ages of tribes and putting them together in order to create a pressure on a connected tribes to them in Qatar: That means that they want to destabilize this country, so their behavior as I just mentioned is just showing that they are not willing for a solution. They are into escalation, they are into thinking about regime change and other things. But from Qatar's side we are intent very content in dealing with them. We never committed against anyone. We were always calling for dialogue; we were always calling them if there is any concern that we are going to address. But from the other hand we don't see the same thing.

NH: In addition to the threat of regime change there have also been reports that the UAE was looking at an invasion into Qatar perhaps with the use of mercenaries. Also reports that Saudi could've been looking an outright invasion as well. Do you think that U.S. President Donald Trump played a role in really influencing Saudi Arabia not to go forward with an invasion?

Al Thani: Well since the beginning of the crisis based on our assessment we have seen that there were some possibilities for military activity, which whether its invasion or intervention or maybe by different means. Our allies in the United States has been active from the beginning, trying calm down the entire situation as well as the Emir of Kuwait - so there where everybody worked collectively in order to deescalate the situation and really to resort to a dialogue rather than going for escalation. Regarding the way they are dealing with the entire matter is just showing irresponsibility to the region to regional security.

NH: When you talk about the U.S. role currently as it stands we know there have been some mixed messages if you will between the U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson who I know you've spoken with on the matter, and U.S. president Donald Trump. Do you consider the U.S. a reliable ally in mediating this dispute?

Al Thani: Definitely, they are a reliable ally we have very strong ties with the United States, we have we are hosting more than 11,000 U.S. soldiers, we have the largest U.S. base in the Middle East, we are the center of command for the Coalition for the global coalition against Daesh. There are a lot of things, and lots of joint interests between Qatar andf the United States which make it necessarily that this region to be stable, which makes it necessarily that both of us are reliable allies to each other.

NH: And do you think the U.S. president and the secretary of state are aligned on the matter?

Al Thani: Well from from our perspective what we got from the US president since the beginning of the crisis he was calling that the situation need to be dealt by dialogue and also during his course with the Emir, as well as the different government agencies. The Defense Department, the State Department they were always an advocate for the solution to our dialogue. So we we didn't see a mixed message. If we are considering a tweet or two, is sending a mixed message, but this is something not relevant to us. What really concerned us what's what's the overall U.S. policy toward this crisis which has been consistent from the beginning of the crisis to put an end to it and to solve it by dialogue.

NH: You mentioned the fact that Qatar houses is thousands of U.S. troops in fact it's an important part of the base in the fight against terrorism against ISIS. Do you think the battle against ISIS has suffered as a result of the conflict taking place?

Al Thani: Definitely yes because. What can I say, 90 percent of our supplies of food supply, medicine supply is coming through the land border and those supplies part of it is going to the base. Second, we have the airspace which was blocked, the airplane the airplane, the Qatari airplanes which are supporting the logistic airplane for that for the military. They are not allowed to fly over their skies so it's only allowed to use one path which is toward the north, toward Iran. So this is an effect as well as our officers who were participating in the coalition activity and the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain they've been expelled because of this. So there are a lot of things which undermine the efforts of the global efforts in countering daesh by this crisis by the blockade and by the measures they have been taken against Qatar.

NH: The U.S. military has recently said it's going to suspend some drills with Gulf allies. What impact is that having and ultimately if the U.S. military were to say we're going to put a freeze in fact and some weapon sales and arms sales to our Gulf allies as well would that be enough to bring the parties to the table to talk?

Al Thani: Well we are hopeful that they don't need to do all those measures to bring the parties to the table. We hope that wisdom will prevail. At the end by the blockading countries and they come to the table and have direct talks with us about whatever their concerns. But what we have seen from the last four months now, there's a consistent systematic behavior of disrespect and bullying. So they do whatever they want despite the demands which are coming from different countries trying to put an end for this crisis. We hope that at the end they will come to the dialogue and we hope that they come at the right time. They don't even just keep keep pushing it away in order that they think that they will make Qatar weaker, Qatar became much stronger than before the blockade.

NH: When you talk about the reasons that Saudi Arabia may not be coming to table, one of the big sticking points to them is your relationship with Iran. When Qatar decided to fully restored diplomatic ties with Iran. What are you trying to achieve here?

Al Thani: Well this accusation is entirely baseless. Now we have, we have differences in our policies in Iran but with Iran sorry, there are differences. But between us as the Gulf countries we have agreed on a common policy toward Iran and it is already there and the resolutions of the GCC, which is that we need to engage in a dialogue with Iran based on certain principles which wishes non-intervention of each other's affairs, no undermining of security and exportation of any revolution and revolutionary ideology or that self-avoiding or denouncing the sectarianism. So all those principles been agreed on between the Gulf countries and this philosophy was which Qatar stick to and still sticking to. Our policy toward Iran remain the same and didn't change because of the crisis. They were trying to create just a justification to legitimize their blockade. Our restoration to our diplomatic relations with Iran. That doesn't mean that Qatar change its policy because we will go back to the reason, the original reason of our withdrawal of our ambassador, there was just a gesture of solidarity with the Saudis when they attacked their diplomatic mission, which is not exist anymore because we cannot show solidarity to a country which blockaded our people. So that's the only thing our relation with Iran we have we are neighbors. We have borders together. We are sharing a gas field together. We have to overcome and bridge the gaps in our differences by dialogue. We cannot increase the tension in the region. We have to resort to dialogue.

NH: Has the US ever expressed concerns about your support for Iran your relationships with Iran? Because we know U.S. president Donald Trump has his concerns with Iran that he's voiced in recent days.

Al Thani: Well there is absolutely no support to Iran and the Qatar and Iran relationship has been very consistent since long time. We have differences as I told you, we are opponents in what's happening in Syria. We are opponents in what's happening in Yemen, we are opponents in what's happening in their policies in Iraq. And when we are adversaries on those different political battles, we are we have been frontrunner and in this we have been on the front line in Syria. We have been the ones who are still from the beginning and we are still the lead in the region which is vocal and advocate against Bashar al Assad regime. So there is nothing being changed about our policy. U.S. They have their own policy towards Iran which is represented by consent for them. Yes we understand. But at the end, U.S. is thousand miles away from Iran. We are neighboring border with Iran. Now after this blockade, if we have just one pathway from the north toward Iran and the three sides east west and south is blocaded just because of those blockading Nations decided to isolate my country and to put in a siege. How can I assure the food supply for my country, how can I am sure that medicine supply for my country. So there are things which are forcing me to have to increase my bilateral ties with them. And in fact the ties between the GCC and Iran as a group. Ninety six percent of this bilateral trade is between Emirates and Iran. It's not between Qatar and Iran. And the 4 percent. It's ranked number four so we are fifth trade partner among the Gulf countries and the fourth from the 4 percent which doesn't represent more than 50 million dollars. By that. So what kind of a special relation between Qatar and Iran?

NH: Why in your opinion is Saudi Arabia making Iran a big part of the issue?

Al Thani: Well since the starting of the crisis they've been talking about Iran. They have been talking about everything they believe that might legitimize for them and gain sympathy to what they did to us with the West. And this is the main reason the main driver for them. They don't want to appear for the Western country that they did this out of wanting to just hijack the country's policies and keep it under its guardianship, which is totally unacceptable. They want just to show that we are doing this for the sake of the region and security why they are undermining regional security.

NH: Let's talk about the region here in Southeast Asia. What are you hoping to achieve on this trip?

Al Thani: Well Qatar is part of Asia, of course, and 90 percent of our exports are coming to Asia so Asia is representing a very important market. In fact, ASEAN countries are 50 percent of our market. So we have a continuous dialogue with the Asian countries, which is hoping to improve and develop the relationship and try to un-tap that potential and this relationship. Which as we have seen is realized now in our investments, which has been dramatically increased in the last few years in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China. So Qatar investments are widespread in this region, which we believe this is the Asia where we belong to and it represents a very high importance for us. Singapore as well has a special status with us where we have this high level of joint committee between the two countries. Since now for 12 years more than 46 enterprises we have realized out of this joint committee, which are two of the major environmental projects of Qatar was conducted as a result for this committee. So there is a lot of progress and a lot of work between Qatar and the Asia region, Southeast Asia especially.

NH: Do you sense that some of the countries you're meeting with including in Malaysia where I know you've just come from-- are you worried that they have divided loyalties because we know that Saudi Arabia has been in the region as well and made some investments in Malaysia. Do you find yourself trying to reassure these countries that in fact they don't have to be split?

Al Thani: Well, Qatar is a matured state. We have dealt with the matter from the beginning and we have used the high moral ground and we will never try to pressure any country. While from the other hand Saudi and the blockading countries they were trying to exercise whatever kind of leverage they have on the countries especially in Africa and some countries of Southeast Asia, which we see this as a blackmailing for nations and trying to impose something on their sovereignty, which we don't accept. Countries which decided to join their club without any support for the arguments, this is something up to them but it really means that those countries are not having their full control over their decision making process. While countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and others they've never been subject for this and we highly respect those responses, which is what it should be and how it should be for sovereign nations. No country can impose any demands or anything on another sovereign nation. So they have their own assessment and they have to decide whether Qatar is a country which is a reliable partner that they can work with, or Qatar is a country which is a source of disturbance for them.

NH: I have to ask because you mentioned that pretty soon you'll be heading to the US-- going to Washington D.C. What is the agenda for that trip. Will you be meeting with the U.S. secretary of state or other members of the administration?

Al Thani: I'll be following up on our last meeting with President Trump which took place in September between his highness, me and the president. And I'll be meeting some of the U.S. officials as well as some of the congressmen and senators in order to help to update on the situation and to follow up on matter. The secretary of state I might meet him in the region just before my trip to the U.S. as he might have a visit to Qatar as well.

NH: U.S. President Donald Trump is very confident that he could help bring about a resolution very soon I think in the coming days, weeks even, is he right to be that confident?

Al Thani: Well he was very much into the situation and he was speaking very seriously about that. He doesn't want to see this conflict prolonging but from the other hand as I told you we didn't see a positive response from the blockading nations as we still see the status quo remain. We are hopeful that things will reach to a solution and we will come to dialogue. And also we are confident that the U.S. can play a strong role and President Trump can play a positive role in this and in bringing all the leaders together.

NH: Your Excellency thank you very much for your time today. Thank you very much.

ENDS

For more information contact:

Jonathan Milman, EMEA Communications Executive

Jonathan.Millman@CNBC.com

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The following is the full transcript of CNBC's interview with Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. This interview broadcast in Asia on Wednesday, October 18.

All references must be sourced to a "CNBC Interview."

Interviewed by Nancy Hungerford, Anchor/Correspondent, CNBC.

Nancy Hungerford (NH): Your excellency thank you for taking the time to speak to CNBC and here we are in Singapore. You were here as part of a delegation promoting ties in Southeast Asia. Undoubtedly there are still questions over the rift with your gulf allies and I just want to bring up some comments from the Saudi foreign minister at the U.N. General Assembly just weeks ago. In fact he talked and said specifically that Doha's practices are providing financial support to terrorism while disseminating violent hate speech is unacceptable. Does this sound to you like a message from a government that is ready to come to the table and try to find an agreement here?

Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (Al Thani): Well first of all thank you Nancy for hosting me today. Just regarding these continuous statements and allegations from the Saudis and from the other blockading nations toward Qatar which has never been proven, this is something which is all of us we are against. This is something which is related to the collective security of our region, which is a priority for Qatar, as it's priority for them. But just throwing those allegations without even basing them by evidence and supporting them by evidence, is just showing inconsistency in their behavior that they don't want to solve this issue. They started the entire issue, the entire crisis with a cyber-attack. This cyber-attack is to create a foundation for the crisis. So if there was a real justification for this crisis they wouldn't need to attack our state news agency, to put a fabricated statement attributed it to the Emir in order to launch this campaign. So we are still calling them if you have any allegations, if you have anything any concerns need to be addressed by Qatar we are willing to sit on the table. Show us your concerns if there is something which needs measures being taken, it should be taken by Qatar and by other countries because it's a collective concern for everyone.

NH: Saudi Arabia has denied that a cyber-attack was behind this issue and really continues to be their word against yours and vice versa here so how does this end? How are you going to eventually get an agreement?

Al Thani: Well first of all their denial actually is not true because we were just in Riyadh two days before the cyber-attack. Why none of them has raised any concern? Before that even a few days we were also in Riyadh at the Ministerial Council for the Gulf for the GCC. So they never raised any concern about any issue. We were talking about regional issues. We were discussing the future of the GCC and none of them has raised any of those issues and those allegations. The cyber-attack was the spark for the entire crisis. There is no doubt that they have initiated this cyber-attack in order to create a basis for this crisis. Now, since this crisis is taking more than four months, everybody from our side at least we know we recognize that we want to have a solution for this - because we see that there is no winner out of this because we have a lot of other challenges in our region, and we don't we don't need a further crisis to the other open war zones. All our allies and friends they want a solution for this crisis, including the United States, even including the president of the United States was calling to bring the leaders together in order to put an end for all for this crisis. The Emir of Kuwait was leading the mediation, and he's continuing his efforts, yesterday he was in Riyadh, but there is not any result yet. This is showing a consistent behavior from the blockading nation just to continue the crisis, disrespect and bully. This is all about -- it's nothing about that they want to stop financing terrorism or to stop the hatred speech while they are promoting and doing the same by promoting incitement against my country, promoting a regime change against my country. So there are contradictions between what they are saying as statements and what's their real activities on the ground.

NH: You mentioned regime change. Do you think Saudi Arabia is actively looking at ways to bring about regime change as we speak?

Al Thani: Well we see that there are officials, government officials are talking about regime change if we see their government officials talking about protesting and inciting people to go and protest against their government. So it's about regime change. We see a country which is bringing back the Dark Ages of tribes and putting them together in order to create a pressure on a connected tribes to them in Qatar: That means that they want to destabilize this country, so their behavior as I just mentioned is just showing that they are not willing for a solution. They are into escalation, they are into thinking about regime change and other things. But from Qatar's side we are intent very content in dealing with them. We never committed against anyone. We were always calling for dialogue; we were always calling them if there is any concern that we are going to address. But from the other hand we don't see the same thing.

NH: In addition to the threat of regime change there have also been reports that the UAE was looking at an invasion into Qatar perhaps with the use of mercenaries. Also reports that Saudi could've been looking an outright invasion as well. Do you think that U.S. President Donald Trump played a role in really influencing Saudi Arabia not to go forward with an invasion?

Al Thani: Well since the beginning of the crisis based on our assessment we have seen that there were some possibilities for military activity, which whether its invasion or intervention or maybe by different means. Our allies in the United States has been active from the beginning, trying calm down the entire situation as well as the Emir of Kuwait - so there where everybody worked collectively in order to deescalate the situation and really to resort to a dialogue rather than going for escalation. Regarding the way they are dealing with the entire matter is just showing irresponsibility to the region to regional security.

NH: When you talk about the U.S. role currently as it stands we know there have been some mixed messages if you will between the U.S. secretary of state Rex Tillerson who I know you've spoken with on the matter, and U.S. president Donald Trump. Do you consider the U.S. a reliable ally in mediating this dispute?

Al Thani: Definitely, they are a reliable ally we have very strong ties with the United States, we have we are hosting more than 11,000 U.S. soldiers, we have the largest U.S. base in the Middle East, we are the center of command for the Coalition for the global coalition against Daesh. There are a lot of things, and lots of joint interests between Qatar andf the United States which make it necessarily that this region to be stable, which makes it necessarily that both of us are reliable allies to each other.

NH: And do you think the U.S. president and the secretary of state are aligned on the matter?

Al Thani: Well from from our perspective what we got from the US president since the beginning of the crisis he was calling that the situation need to be dealt by dialogue and also during his course with the Emir, as well as the different government agencies. The Defense Department, the State Department they were always an advocate for the solution to our dialogue. So we we didn't see a mixed message. If we are considering a tweet or two, is sending a mixed message, but this is something not relevant to us. What really concerned us what's what's the overall U.S. policy toward this crisis which has been consistent from the beginning of the crisis to put an end to it and to solve it by dialogue.

NH: You mentioned the fact that Qatar houses is thousands of U.S. troops in fact it's an important part of the base in the fight against terrorism against ISIS. Do you think the battle against ISIS has suffered as a result of the conflict taking place?

Al Thani: Definitely yes because. What can I say, 90 percent of our supplies of food supply, medicine supply is coming through the land border and those supplies part of it is going to the base. Second, we have the airspace which was blocked, the airplane the airplane, the Qatari airplanes which are supporting the logistic airplane for that for the military. They are not allowed to fly over their skies so it's only allowed to use one path which is toward the north, toward Iran. So this is an effect as well as our officers who were participating in the coalition activity and the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain they've been expelled because of this. So there are a lot of things which undermine the efforts of the global efforts in countering daesh by this crisis by the blockade and by the measures they have been taken against Qatar.

NH: The U.S. military has recently said it's going to suspend some drills with Gulf allies. What impact is that having and ultimately if the U.S. military were to say we're going to put a freeze in fact and some weapon sales and arms sales to our Gulf allies as well would that be enough to bring the parties to the table to talk?

Al Thani: Well we are hopeful that they don't need to do all those measures to bring the parties to the table. We hope that wisdom will prevail. At the end by the blockading countries and they come to the table and have direct talks with us about whatever their concerns. But what we have seen from the last four months now, there's a consistent systematic behavior of disrespect and bullying. So they do whatever they want despite the demands which are coming from different countries trying to put an end for this crisis. We hope that at the end they will come to the dialogue and we hope that they come at the right time. They don't even just keep keep pushing it away in order that they think that they will make Qatar weaker, Qatar became much stronger than before the blockade.

NH: When you talk about the reasons that Saudi Arabia may not be coming to table, one of the big sticking points to them is your relationship with Iran. When Qatar decided to fully restored diplomatic ties with Iran. What are you trying to achieve here?

Al Thani: Well this accusation is entirely baseless. Now we have, we have differences in our policies in Iran but with Iran sorry, there are differences. But between us as the Gulf countries we have agreed on a common policy toward Iran and it is already there and the resolutions of the GCC, which is that we need to engage in a dialogue with Iran based on certain principles which wishes non-intervention of each other's affairs, no undermining of security and exportation of any revolution and revolutionary ideology or that self-avoiding or denouncing the sectarianism. So all those principles been agreed on between the Gulf countries and this philosophy was which Qatar stick to and still sticking to. Our policy toward Iran remain the same and didn't change because of the crisis. They were trying to create just a justification to legitimize their blockade. Our restoration to our diplomatic relations with Iran. That doesn't mean that Qatar change its policy because we will go back to the reason, the original reason of our withdrawal of our ambassador, there was just a gesture of solidarity with the Saudis when they attacked their diplomatic mission, which is not exist anymore because we cannot show solidarity to a country which blockaded our people. So that's the only thing our relation with Iran we have we are neighbors. We have borders together. We are sharing a gas field together. We have to overcome and bridge the gaps in our differences by dialogue. We cannot increase the tension in the region. We have to resort to dialogue.

NH: Has the US ever expressed concerns about your support for Iran your relationships with Iran? Because we know U.S. president Donald Trump has his concerns with Iran that he's voiced in recent days.

Al Thani: Well there is absolutely no support to Iran and the Qatar and Iran relationship has been very consistent since long time. We have differences as I told you, we are opponents in what's happening in Syria. We are opponents in what's happening in Yemen, we are opponents in what's happening in their policies in Iraq. And when we are adversaries on those different political battles, we are we have been frontrunner and in this we have been on the front line in Syria. We have been the ones who are still from the beginning and we are still the lead in the region which is vocal and advocate against Bashar al Assad regime. So there is nothing being changed about our policy. U.S. They have their own policy towards Iran which is represented by consent for them. Yes we understand. But at the end, U.S. is thousand miles away from Iran. We are neighboring border with Iran. Now after this blockade, if we have just one pathway from the north toward Iran and the three sides east west and south is blocaded just because of those blockading Nations decided to isolate my country and to put in a siege. How can I assure the food supply for my country, how can I am sure that medicine supply for my country. So there are things which are forcing me to have to increase my bilateral ties with them. And in fact the ties between the GCC and Iran as a group. Ninety six percent of this bilateral trade is between Emirates and Iran. It's not between Qatar and Iran. And the 4 percent. It's ranked number four so we are fifth trade partner among the Gulf countries and the fourth from the 4 percent which doesn't represent more than 50 million dollars. By that. So what kind of a special relation between Qatar and Iran?

NH: Why in your opinion is Saudi Arabia making Iran a big part of the issue?

Al Thani: Well since the starting of the crisis they've been talking about Iran. They have been talking about everything they believe that might legitimize for them and gain sympathy to what they did to us with the West. And this is the main reason the main driver for them. They don't want to appear for the Western country that they did this out of wanting to just hijack the country's policies and keep it under its guardianship, which is totally unacceptable. They want just to show that we are doing this for the sake of the region and security why they are undermining regional security.

NH: Let's talk about the region here in Southeast Asia. What are you hoping to achieve on this trip?

Al Thani: Well Qatar is part of Asia, of course, and 90 percent of our exports are coming to Asia so Asia is representing a very important market. In fact, ASEAN countries are 50 percent of our market. So we have a continuous dialogue with the Asian countries, which is hoping to improve and develop the relationship and try to un-tap that potential and this relationship. Which as we have seen is realized now in our investments, which has been dramatically increased in the last few years in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China. So Qatar investments are widespread in this region, which we believe this is the Asia where we belong to and it represents a very high importance for us. Singapore as well has a special status with us where we have this high level of joint committee between the two countries. Since now for 12 years more than 46 enterprises we have realized out of this joint committee, which are two of the major environmental projects of Qatar was conducted as a result for this committee. So there is a lot of progress and a lot of work between Qatar and the Asia region, Southeast Asia especially.

NH: Do you sense that some of the countries you're meeting with including in Malaysia where I know you've just come from-- are you worried that they have divided loyalties because we know that Saudi Arabia has been in the region as well and made some investments in Malaysia. Do you find yourself trying to reassure these countries that in fact they don't have to be split?

Al Thani: Well, Qatar is a matured state. We have dealt with the matter from the beginning and we have used the high moral ground and we will never try to pressure any country. While from the other hand Saudi and the blockading countries they were trying to exercise whatever kind of leverage they have on the countries especially in Africa and some countries of Southeast Asia, which we see this as a blackmailing for nations and trying to impose something on their sovereignty, which we don't accept. Countries which decided to join their club without any support for the arguments, this is something up to them but it really means that those countries are not having their full control over their decision making process. While countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and others they've never been subject for this and we highly respect those responses, which is what it should be and how it should be for sovereign nations. No country can impose any demands or anything on another sovereign nation. So they have their own assessment and they have to decide whether Qatar is a country which is a reliable partner that they can work with, or Qatar is a country which is a source of disturbance for them.

NH: I have to ask because you mentioned that pretty soon you'll be heading to the US-- going to Washington D.C. What is the agenda for that trip. Will you be meeting with the U.S. secretary of state or other members of the administration?

Al Thani: I'll be following up on our last meeting with President Trump which took place in September between his highness, me and the president. And I'll be meeting some of the U.S. officials as well as some of the congressmen and senators in order to help to update on the situation and to follow up on matter. The secretary of state I might meet him in the region just before my trip to the U.S. as he might have a visit to Qatar as well.

NH: U.S. President Donald Trump is very confident that he could help bring about a resolution very soon I think in the coming days, weeks even, is he right to be that confident?

Al Thani: Well he was very much into the situation and he was speaking very seriously about that. He doesn't want to see this conflict prolonging but from the other hand as I told you we didn't see a positive response from the blockading nations as we still see the status quo remain. We are hopeful that things will reach to a solution and we will come to dialogue. And also we are confident that the U.S. can play a strong role and President Trump can play a positive role in this and in bringing all the leaders together.

NH: Your Excellency thank you very much for your time today. Thank you very much.

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CNBC's Jim Cramer finds that the defining thing about the FANG stocks, his acronym for Facebook , Amazon , Netflix and Google, now Alphabet , is that they are always "in motion."

"Whether it be the imminent decision by Amazon to go into drug stores  those stocks indicate a very near-term threat  or the multiple price target increases for Netflix after that barn-burner of a quarter or a terrific new Google phone to rival Apple , there's always something going on with these stocks," the "Mad Money" host said.

So, when Facebook said it acquired anonymous polling app tbh, Cramer felt the largely unnoticed deal was worth looking into.

While details of the deal remain undisclosed, TechCrunch reported that it heard the price was under $100 million, meaning the deal would not need clearance from regulators.

The app's name is a play on the phrase "to be honest" and lets users ages 13 and over make anonymous polls on an array of topics. Many of the polls reflect positive messages: one asks users to pick a person who "sticks by your side;" another asks who would be the "best to bring to a party."

According to a blog post from management, tbh has been downloaded by 5 million people who have sent 1 billion messages on the platform.

"It's not well known among the analysts, who are too old to use this kind of thing, but this app, as of [Wednesday], is topping the '148 Free iPhone Apps' list ahead of Instagram and, more important, ahead of the enemy, Snapchat," Cramer said.

The app's four co-creators, Nikita Bier, Nicolas Ducdodon, Erik Hazzard and Kyle Zaragoza, will join Facebook and use the social media giant's resources to continue development.

Cramer said that, for Facebook, a successful purchase will end up being anything that captures younger audiences' attention before they divert to Snap's platform.

"Let's just say that [tbh] seems like a gateway to Instagram that detours you from Snap, and for $100 million, once it's blown out in the Facebook ecosystem, it seems like money well spent," Cramer said.

With Facebook concerned about splitting users between its Instagram app and rival Snapchat, Cramer said the acquisition looked like something of a "pincer move" by Facebook to steer users toward Instagram for a "rounding error" of a price.

In an emailed response to CNBC's request for comment, a Facebook spokesperson wrote:

"tbh and Facebook share a common goal - of building community and enabling people to share in ways that bring us closer together. We're impressed by the way tbh is doing this by using polling and messaging, and with Facebook's resources tbh can continue to expand and build positive experiences."

Facebook's move was emblematic of FANG, the "Mad Money" host said: making a strategic purchase that will drive growth with its content while competitors, like Snap, spend a lot more money on flashy programming announcements.

"Do I want to buy the stock of Facebook because of this? Let me give you a really odd answer: yes. Yes, because if this rate of adoption continues, then the price tag would have been $1 billion a few months from now, not $100 million, and Snap would have gotten massive publicity about how it intended to blunt anything Facebook does to move younger if Snap had made the purchase first," Cramer said.

And while it's not as monumental as Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods or Netflix's booming international subscriber growth, it may still put Facebook in a class above the rest, he said.

"It is something that puts the whole Snap-tops-Instagram-among-teens narrative, which has hurt Facebook's stock, into question," Cramer concluded. "For $100 million smackers, it's a terrific insurance bet and it's a potential nail in the growth story of Instagram's chief teen rival, Snap. It's a great use of that gigantic cash hoard. And isn't that really what being a part of FANG is all about?"

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the tbh app permits users age 13 and over.
President Donald Trump targeted James Comey in a series of early morning tweets Wednesday, alleging that the former FBI director "lied and leaked" to protect Hillary Clinton.

Trump claimed the investigation into his 2016 rival's private email server was "obviously a fix." He called Comey "the best thing that ever happened" to Clinton.

Trump apparently responded to a Newsweek report, citing FBI records, that says Comey drafted a statement about the Clinton email investigation's conclusions two months before he issued it. In July 2016, Comey called Clinton "careless" in her use of a private server while at the State Department but recommended that the Justice Department not charge her with a crime.

Congressional Republicans like Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley on Iowa have raised questions to the FBI about Comey's conduct in the investigation. It is not clear if drafting the statement violates the department's protocols.

The FBI declined to comment.

Trump's fixation on Comey comes as special counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation into Russian efforts to influence the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump's decision to fire Comey in May in the thick of the probe is reportedly part of the investigation.

The White House initially said Trump fired Comey because the Justice Department criticized the former FBI director's handling of the Clinton probe. But Trump later admitted he would have terminated Comey regardless of what the Justice Department said.

In Wednesday's tweets, Trump signaled that he wants his attorney general to look into Comey, asking "Where is Justice Dept?"

Trump: Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete. Many..

Trump: ...people not interviewed, including Clinton herself. Comey stated under oath that he didn't do this-obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept?

Trump again accused Comey of leaking classified information. The president did not say what information specifically, though he has previously accused the ex-FBI director of leaking sensitive information when Comey told a friend to share the contents of a memo he wrote with The New York Times.

Comey has said he wrote the memo that he shared in a way that would make it unclassified.

Trump: As it has turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!

Clinton, for her part, partly blames her election loss on Comey. In late October, just days before the election, Comey said he found new emails relevant to the Clinton probe. It shifted the focus back to the investigation for much of the election's final stretch.

Comey announced two days before the election that the new emails did not change the FBI's findings.
Proponents of a bipartisan deal struck by two senators to stabilize Obamacare were seeking today to win Republican support for the measure, which would restore subsidies to health insurers that President Donald Trump has scrapped. (Reuters)



*Trump appears to support a short-term deal to stabilize health-care markets (CNBC)

*With Obamacare in limbo, insurers brace for drop in enrollment (WSJ)

Talks to revise the NAFTA will go into next year, top officials say. In a joint statement following the fourth round of talks, officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico said "significant conceptual gaps" will change the negotiating time frame. (CNBC)

A federal judge in Hawaii blocked President Trump's latest bid to impose restrictions on citizens from eight countries entering the United States, which had been set to take effect this week. It was supposed to commence at midnight today. (CNBC)

The top U.S. communications regulator dismissed Trump's suggestion that the NBC network's broadcast licenses could be pulled after it ran stories the president declared untrue, saying "the FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment." (AP)

President Trump said Rep. Tom Marino withdrew from consideration for the nation's drug czar, following an investigation that detailed his role in pushing for a law that weakened DEA enforcement during a growing opioid crisis. (CNBC)

Chinese President Xi Jinping says China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors, even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at the opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress. (CNBC)

Harvey Weinstein has resigned from the board of The Weinstein Company, as he faces allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women over three decades in the film business. (Reuters)

Amazon (AMZN) said the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned from that job following his suspension over sexual harassment allegations. He had been put on leave last week after the allegations first surfaced. (CNBC)



Retailer Kohl's is officially in business with the online shopping giant. Starting today, 10 Kohl's stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago markets will both sell Amazon's smart home products and accept the online retailer's returns. (CNBC)

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is buying payments technology company WePay for an undisclosed amount, though a source quoted by the Wall Street Journal said it was above the roughly $220 million valuation that stemmed from a 2015 fundraising round.

Tesla (TSLA) is trying to disguise layoffs by calling the widespread terminations performance related, allege several current and former employees. One fired employee says direct performance reviews were thrown out and rewritten by upper management. (CNBC)
Westward growth

Top leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are set to begin their once-in-five-years congress today in Beijing. Not only will Xi Jinping continue as CPC chairman for the next half a decade, he is also set to further strengthen his leadership.
"It's combination of short term insurance, gap insurance, and some fixed indemnity (but) it's one carrier  it's one bill, one place to file claims, one place to manage all their benefits," Flanders said.

Starting next month, the firm will be offering a package of short term health coverage in partnership with IHC Group and SASid Insurance Development in more than three dozen states and the District of Columbia.

"For individuals that can afford an Obamacare plan that's what they should buy  It covers everything from maternity to mental health. Our plans cover less, but they're also at about half the price," explained Scott Flanders, eHealth CEO.

With Obamacare premiums set to see a big spike for 2018, online health insurance broker eHealth is betting that more people in the individual market will be looking for cheaper, more flexible plans that they can afford without subsidies.

John Connley, a Bentonville, Arkansas, general contractor, signed up for short-term health insurance last summer, after going without coverage for the last three years.

The plans offer far fewer benefits than requirements under the Affordable Care Act, with dollar limits on medical coverage, and do not include coverage for cover pre-existing conditions, or preventive health services. And they are not eligible for tax credits.

For 45-year old John Connley, that's not a problem. The Bentonville, Arkansas, general contractor said he signed up for a short term insurance plan this summer, after going without health coverage for the last three years. He earns too much to get any subsidies on an Obamacare exchange plan, and says the premiums are too high.

"It's a pretty standard 80/20 plan with a 20 percent coinsurance, and $1,000 deductible. I added dental and vision and it cost me about $150 a month," Connley explained. "If I go into (an ACA) compliant plan they're in the high $300s, roughly $400 a month, for the same plan."

President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month that could pave the way for more insurers to expand into the non-compliant off-exchange market. His order could reverse an Obama administration policy, which went into effect this spring, limiting short term insurance contracts to just three months at a time.

UnitedHealth Group has largely exited the exchange market, but executives of the nation's largest insurer told analysts they see potential for renewed growth in the short term insurance market, if the Obama administration limitations are reversed.

"The reality is before that regulation we saw incredible increase in the growth (of these plans) as the cost of exchange offerings have grown, and it's been a bridge for people  hopefully the duration of those plans gets extended," said Daniel Schumacher, president and chief operating officer of UnitedHealthcare's insurance division on the company's earnings conference call.

Trump's moves to undo the Affordable Care Act and recent comments declaring Obamacare dead may also drive more people to look for alternatives beyond exchange plans.

"With all of the changes from the president  there is a lot of market instability and premiums are going to rise considerably, so there may be more unsubsidized people that are going to be looking to see what their other coverage options are," said Caroline Pearson, senior vice president at health-care consulting firm Avalere.

"This represents an appealing potential business opportunity (for insurers), which might make them push harder to get uptake, including stronger incentives for brokers," Pearson said.

EHealth's CEO says launching the new short term insurance during this year's open enrollment was matter of providing their customers with what they've been asking for.

"The executive order has probably sowed more confusion about whether Obamacare is still available ... (judging from) some of the conversations we have with our consumers," said Flanders. "In the future, what it could do is open more options  80 percent of our customers say, they don't want to have to buy a one-size-fits-all product."

But critics have charged that the limited coverage offered by the short term plans can leave consumers under-insured in the event of a major illness, and that the plans do not offer protections against being dropped for pre-existing conditions. In addition, because the plans are not ACA-compliant, consumers still are subject to the individual mandate tax penalty.

Connley admits having to pay the Obamacare penalty could wipe out much of the savings his plan offers, but that's a risk he willing to take to keep his payments lower.

"I'd rather stay out of the government insurance, and I can keep that money in my pocket through the year," he said.
European markets closed higher Wednesday, as investors monitored the latest batch of earnings and economic data releases. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up around 0.29 percent, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

Autos, food and beverages and media stocks were among the best performers Wednesday.

Looking at individual stocks, Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel posted its third-quarter results Wednesday, with the company anticipating positive developments for the EMEA region (except for the U.K.) and North America going forward; however added that "headwinds" are expected to continue. Its shares were down 1.84 percent.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Australian-British miner Rio Tinto and two of its former top executives with fraud Tuesday. The SEC stated that the execs had inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique, which was acquired for $3.7 billion and sold years later for $50 million, according to Reuters. Its shares were down almost 3 percent as European markets closed for trading.

Meanwhile, a company spokesman at British supermarket group Sainsbury's confirmed to media outlets on Tuesday that the retailer was looking to cut up to 2,000 jobs. Its shares dipped more than 0.5 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average surged 100 points after tech giant IBM reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Jim Jehle, 66, a senior project manager, meets with his mentor, Nicole Mancino, 27, the director of marketing, at Sachse Constructions office in Detroit, Oct. 9, 2017.

Junior office workers once had a fairly predictable set of daily tasks. Write the sales memo. Build the PowerPoint. Make the coffee. Now, many young professionals have a new mandate: Drag the boss into the 21st century. While businesses chase evanescent market trends and grapple with a fast-moving future, millennial mentors, as many companies call them, have emerged as a hot accessory for executives. Young workers, some just out of college, are being pulled into formal corporate programs to give advice to the top ranks of their companies. More from The New York Times:

We asked Facebook 12 questions about the election, and got 5 answers

After Las Vegas shooting, fake news regains its megaphone

Reddit limits noxious content by giving trolls fewer places to gather Millennial mentorship programs represent a formalized, mildly absurdist version of the advice junior workers have been giving their older colleagues for ages. Some executives want the views of young people on catering to new markets and developing new products, while others seek glorified tech support  Snapchat 101, Twitter tutorials and emoji lessons. These programs are not just a departure from the business world's traditional top-down management style. They are also a sign of just how perplexed some executives are by the young people in their midst.

Companies like Mastercard, Cisco Systems and Mars Inc. have experimented with these mentoring programs. Inga Beale, 54, the chief executive of the insurance marketplace Lloyd's of London, has said that her junior mentor, who is 19, has a "totally different perspective" and leaves her "inspired." Melanie Whelan, 40, the chief executive of SoulCycle, holds monthly meetings with her younger mentor, whom she has credited with helping her get "hip with what the kids are doing these days." "It's like reconnecting with your lost youth," said David Watson, 38, a managing director at Deutsche Bank who has been mentored by Fernando Hernandez, 29, an engineer in the Wall Street bank's global markets technology division. He credited Mr. Hernandez with good tips for retaining young employees, like giving them more flexible work-from-home arrangements, and with helping him spot trends in the financial tech industry. "It's valuable information," Mr. Watson said. "When you're making decisions about budgets, or priorities, or hiring, you can actually put into practice what you learned." It was perhaps inevitable that older executives would turn to their young employees for advice. As technology has changed the way businesses run, it has also put power in the hands of digital natives, and left older, less tech-savvy executives angling for ways to keep up. Could these executives just ask their children for tech tips? Sure. But workplace programs allow executives to peer into the future of their industry and bond with a junior colleague simultaneously, with minimal embarrassment. Reverse mentoring  another name companies give to younger people training older workers  is not a new concept. Jack Welch, while the chief executive of General Electric in the 1990s, required 500 of his top managers to pair up with junior workers to learn how to use the internet. But executives are especially eager to learn from millennials, whose dominance in Silicon Valley has given older workers a fear of obsolescence.

An entire cottage industry now peddles advice to youth-obsessed executives, with books like "Understanding Millennials" and events like "Millennial Week," a two-day festival meant to "promote and present ideas reflecting the impact of Generation Y on culture and society." Millennial consultants now advise companies like Oracle, Estee Lauder and HBO, charging as much as $20,000 per hour to give executives advice on marketing their products to young people. Over all, American organizations spent about $80 million on "generational consulting" last year, according to Source Global Research, a firm that studies the consulting industry. Compared with the prospect of shelling out thousands of dollars for one of those outside consultants, many executives prefer the alternative of using the young people already on their payroll. "It's a pretty smart thing for them to do," said Malcolm Harris, the author of "Kids These Days," a forthcoming book about millennials and the economy. "If you can't get a 25-year-old to run your company, you can at least tell people your C.E.O. is talking to 25-year-olds." Tiffany Zhong, 20, began mentoring Kara Nortman, 41, a partner at the venture capital firm Upfront Ventures, after Ms. Nortman asked her for advice on dealing with a new generation of tech entrepreneurs. Ms. Zhong now texts Ms. Nortman almost daily, doling out cultural lessons and pointers. She advised her on the proper usage of "Gucci"  a slang term used by teens to mean "good"  and gently corrected Ms. Nortman's texting etiquette. "I told her, 'You can't send 10 emojis at once, that's not O.K.,' " Ms. Zhong said.

For Ms. Nortman, who invests in and advises technology companies, Ms. Zhong's lessons are not just academic. "We spend a lot of time talking about the psychology of a teen," Ms. Nortman said. "It's influenced a lot of perspectives around how to manage my own time, and how to invest." These mentoring arrangements can be initially awkward for executives who are accustomed to dispensing advice, not receiving it. When Mr. Watson, the Deutsche Bank managing director, was first paired with Mr. Hernandez through his firm's millennial mentoring program, he was skeptical that useful advice could come from someone nearly a decade his junior. But the experience opened his mind. Recently, he said, he had spent two hours having an impromptu chat with some younger workers in his division. "To sit down with someone who's on the org chart six levels below me is educational," Mr. Watson said. "You learn about yourself, and how you differ from them." And the traditional mentoring benefit remains in place. "I can still learn from him, obviously," Mr. Hernandez said. "But I hope I can teach him some stuff." Many of the new reverse mentoring arrangements include lessons on new technology and emerging market trends. Gerald L. Hassell, 65, the chairman of Bank of New York Mellon, asked his millennial mentor, Darah Kirstein, a 32-year-old vice president at the bank, to help him streamline the information he got from the internet. She set him up on Tweetdeck, a Twitter app that allows for custom filters, and installed Flipboard, a digital magazine app, on his iPad. Eventually, Mr. Hassell began asking Ms. Kirstein for her thoughts on the direction of the company, and she became a trusted sounding board. "A lot of our conversations were, how are millennials experiencing our organizational change? What advice do you have for better communicating?" Mr. Hassell said. For Todd Sachse, the 53-year-old chief executive of Sachse Construction in Detroit, one appeal of the reverse-mentoring program was the potential to unite employees of multiple generations. Last year, Mr. Sachse paired 10 senior executives with 10 younger workers and assigned them to have monthly one-on-one conversations on topics like technology and stereotypes of younger workers, with a debriefing round at the end of six sessions.
watch now

Medicare open enrollment is underway, which means you have until Dec. 7 to sign up for an Advantage Plan or to make changes to the one you already have. If you're uncertain whether one of these plans is right for you, it's important to first understand your options. "It's really about how people want to manage their health care," said Josh Norris, senior health insurance agent for Comprehensive Financial Consultants in Bloomington, Indiana. "Some people want to visit whatever doctor they want, but for other people it doesn't matter as much." Advantage Plans, also known as Medicare Part C, have grown steadily in popularity among Medicare recipients over the years. This year, 33 percent (19 million people) were enrolled, compared to 13 percent in 2004, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Click on graphic below to enlarge.)

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation 2017 Enrollment Market Update In simple terms, these plans provide coverage from an insurance company and take the place of original Medicare, comprised of Part A (in-patient coverage) and Part B (outpatient care). While regulated by the government, Advantage Plans are administered by insurers and can vary in terms of coverage and cost. The majority of them include prescription drug coverage (Part D), which means you wouldn't need to find a separate plan to cover medicines. Many also include extras not covered by original Medicare, such as dental and vision. Most also charge a monthly premium in addition to the Part B premium you already pay ($134 for 2017, although many people pay less). The monthly cost for an Advantage Plan ranges from zero to more than $200, with an average of $31.40, according to the National Council on Aging. In broad terms, you must have original Medicare and live in the plan's service area to be able to join an Advantage Plan. Exception: People with permanent kidney failure generally cannot join one.

Pali Rao | Vetta | Getty Images

Most of these plans are HMOs, with 63 percent of Advantage enrollees using one, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 33 percent are in PPOs and the remaining 4 percent are in other private plans. Generally speaking, an HMO will only provide coverage if you go to the doctors, other medical providers and hospitals that are in the plan's network. This means an HMO typically will not cover or reimburse medical costs incurred outside its network except in an urgent or emergency situation. You also could need a referral from your primary-care doctor to see other physicians or specialists. HMOs also tend to cost less than other Advantage options. For 2017, the average premium is about $29, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. However, you must be okay with receiving all your health care in the plan's network. So if you travel frequently or split your time between a summer and winter home, an HMO is likely not the best choice.

Even if you're on vacation and a trip to the emergency room is covered by an HMO, other costs might not be. "There have been different interpretations by some insurance companies about whether some services afterwards constitute an emergency and whether it will be covered," Norris said. Advisors also caution that a zero premium could cost you in coverage, so check carefully to make sure what you need is included. "if you're paying no premium, you can be sure there are lower benefits in some way and you won't know it until you go to use your insurance," said Matt Chancey, a certified financial planner based in Orlando. If you choose a PPO, you'll pay more monthly. The average premium for a local PPO, which covers a smaller geographical area, is $62. For a regional PPO, whose coverage area typically is statewide or broader, it's $35. Additionally, although a PPO lets you go to out-of-network providers, you will typically pay more in co-pays and/or co-insurance for that flexibility.

If you're paying no premium, you can be sure there are lower benefits in some way and you won't know it until you go to use your insurance. Matt Chancey Orlando-based certified financial planner
Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the 2017 Stephan Weiss Apple Awards on June 7, 2017 in New York City.

Former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that "cavalier" threats to start war on the Korean peninsula were "dangerous and short-sighted", urging the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table.

Clinton also called on China to take a "more outfront role" in enforcing sanctions against North Korea aimed at curbing its missile and nuclear development.

"There is no need for us to be bellicose and aggressive (over North Korea)," Clinton told the World Knowledge Forum in the South Korean capital of Seoul, stressing the need for more pressure on North Korea and diplomacy to bring Pyongyang to talks.

Tension between Pyongyang and Washington has soared following a series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Picking fights with Kim Jong Un puts a smile on his face," Clinton said, without mentioning Trump by name.

Clinton also indirectly referred to Trump's social media comments on North Korea, saying, "The insults on Twitter have benefited North Korea, I don't think they've benefited the United States".

The war of words has seen Trump call the North Korean leader "little rocket man" on a suicide mission, and vow to destroy the country if it threatens the United States or its allies. In turn, the North called Trump "mentally deranged" and a "mad dog".
The odds of passing a newly proposed bipartisan "short-term fix" for Obamacare got longer Wednesday as House Speaker Paul Ryan's office indicated he opposes the bill  and as President Donald Trump's spokeswoman said he does not support the legislation as now written.

"The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on repeal and replace of Obamacare," said Doug Andres, spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican Ryan.

If Ryan holds firm in that opposition, it could doom the bill since it would need to pass the House, in addition to the Senate to be sent to Trump for signing.

Trump's spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said the president does not support the bill as currently written.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said that the Alexander-Murray bill would easily pass the Senate, with up to 10 Republican co-sponsors, if a vote is held.

Schumer also revealed Wednesday that the bill, if it becomes law, would extend the enrollment period for Obamacare plans for 2018 by 30 extra days.

Currently, open enrollment in those individual health plans is set to run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15.

Despite Schumer's optimism for the bill, in the Senate at least, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said the bill may be "stalled," and called its future an "open question."

A draft of the bill obtained by National Public Radio on Wednesday would require insurers to give customers a one-time or monthly rebate out of funds the government would release to the halth plans If the rebates were not given, the money would have to be refunded to the government.

That provision could assuage concerns by Trump that the bill would "bail out" insurers.

Trump has sent decidedly mixed signals on the tentantive deal for a series of measures to prop up Obamacare markets announced Tuesday by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash.

Among other things, the bill would reinstate billions of dollars in federal reimbursement payments to Obamacare insurers, which Trump ceased last Thursday.

Prices of many Obamacare insurance plans will be much higher than they otherwise would have been in 2018 because of Trump's long-time threats to kill those payments, and because of his follow through on those threats. The payments compensate insurers for discounts in out-of-pocket health costs insurers give low-income customers.

The draft of the bill that came to light Wedneday apparently, with its rebate provision, seeks to address concerns that insurers who had raised their rates because of the expected lack of the payments would get a financial windfall if the so-called cost-sharing reduction reimbursements were restored.

In addition to funding the CSR payments, the bill would give states flexibility in what kinds of insurance plans could be sold in individual states, provide extra money for Obamacare enrollment outreach, and allow people of all ages to enroll in lower-cost, less-generous catastrophic health plans.

During an interview with Axios on Wednesday, Alexander said he had just finished a phone conversation with Trump. He said the president had called him to encourage him about the deal with Murray.

"Trump completely engineered the plan that we announced yesterday," Alexander said. He added Trump called him repeatedly, and asked that Murray be part of it.

"He wanted a bipartisan bill for the short term," Alexander told Axios.

Alexander said Trump told him that he needed to review the proposal to "reserve his options."

But shortly after Alexander spoke, Trump posted a message on Twitter that attacked a key component of the bill  the funding of cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers.

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"I won't do anything to enrich the insurance companies," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Alexander responded to Trump's message on Twitter, saying Trump had phoned him again.

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Alexander later elaborated on Trump's involvement, telling reporters: "The president called me 10 days ago and asked me to work with Senator Murray to do this."

That was about a week before Trump killed the CSR payments that the deal is designed to restore.

"He called me last Saturday we talked about it, he called me this morning," Alexander said.

"He still wants a block grant proposal," Alexander said, referring to a Senate bill that would give states flat sums of money to subsidize individual insurance market coverage for individuals and Medicaid.

"I think everybody in the country understands that. But that's not going to come this year and he understands there's an interim gap and it's better served by a bipartisan bill like this," Alexander said.

When asked if Trump told him that he could support the deal without the block-grant provision, Alexander said, "Well he hasn't said that and I wouldn't expect him to."

"He encouraged me to get an agreement with Senator Murray. He said he would review it. That's all I could ask a president to do."

Alexander then was asked if he could get the bill passed without Trump's support.

"Well I can certainly introduce it," Alexander said. "You know the legislative process is steps, and Step 1 is an agreement. Senator Murray and I now have that. Step 2 is to have several Republican and Democrat co-sponsors and we'll have those by Thursday."

"And then Step 3 will be to work with the White House, work with the House, and see how to pass it," Alexander said.

"I would predict that for the end of the year, this agreement, in one form or the other, will become law."
Despite all that the Indian government has done to revitalize the country's struggling banking sector, one crucial element remains missing from its effort: New Delhi isn't forking over enough cash. The lack of liquid funds at a time when non-performing assets remain at high levels has incapacitated the banks' ability to lend and spur investments  the two major challenges confronting India, according to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

A customer is seen outside the State Bank ATM in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Sanjit Das | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Growth in Asia's third-largest economy slowed to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the April-to-June period, according to official data. Many analysts blamed the slowdown on the introduction of the new Goods and Services Tax and the recent ban on high-value notes. Propping up the banking sector, experts say, would get the economy going again. This year, the government has consolidated operations of several state-owned banks to strengthen them and it enacted a new bankruptcy law to speed up insolvency cases, but there has been little indication that rescue will come in the form of capital. Some analysts said the government's relative silence on that front was partly due to its challenging fiscal position. India exhausted 96 percent of its full-year deficit target in the first five months of its fiscal year, limiting its spending power to boost growth. "Like most banking systems in Asia, India is also seen as possessing strong government support but this view has recently come under some uncertainty," CreditSights analysts wrote in a recent report. "We think the government will continue to support the public sector banks and its reluctance to recapitalize them to stronger levels in part reflects a desire to impose more discipline on the banks." Analysts estimated that Indian banks need an additional $40 billion to $65 billion to clean up bad loans on their balance sheets and meet the stricter capital requirements set forth in an international regulatory framework called Basel lll.

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State-owned lenders, accounting for more than two-thirds of India's total banking assets, would need a large majority of that estimated need  much more than the 700 billion rupees ($10.78 billion) that the government pledged for the four years to March 2019. Bad loans accounted for 9.6 percent of banking assets at the end of March, the latest financial stability report by the Reserve Bank of India showed. Fitch Ratings estimated that the proportion of overdue debt at state-owned banks was at 11 percent, while that figure at private sector banks stood at 4.5 percent. "Fitch believes the government will have to pump in significantly more even on a bare minimum basis (excluding buffers) if it is to address the system-related risks of a huge NPL (non-performing loan) stock, weak provision cover and poor loan growth," the agency said in a report.

Can banks raise capital?

Several state-owned lenders have made plans to raise funds. Bank of India and IDBI Bank , for instance, have been selling some of their assets, while others have issued bonds. Analysts said banks with stronger balance sheets such as State Bank of India , the country's largest lender, could tap the equity market for more funds, but options may be limited for the smaller entities. Shares of the state-owned banks have fallen out of favor among investors, with an index tracking them  the Nifty PSU Bank  hitting its lowest level in nine months on Oct. 11 even as the broader Indian stock market has surged by more than 20 percent this year. "How are the banks going to meet the capital requirements? That's a question which we have no clear answer to," said Geeta Chugh, S&P's senior director for financial services ratings. "We think that it'll be a combination of raising money from government, government-related entities and AT1 (additional tier 1) instruments."

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There are three methods for those wanting to "make money out of (China's) economic success story," one investor told CNBC.

"Either you go and buy an ETF," suggested Beat Wittmann, partner and chairman at Porta Advisors, which is "basically an index representing the capital market in China."

Wittmann added the caveat that there was a "quite a gap" between the economy and capital marketsas with all emerging economiesso "you can have a great growth story and not really the return in the equity market."

The second way is "to buy individual sectors or companies," Wittmann said. He recommended being "really very specific about whether you go into a technology-driven theme, into consumption, into other things."

But Wittmann said that his preferred method was, in fact, indirect plays. He suggested looking for "priorities in terms of economic development" and demand, be it for iron ore or commodities, luxury or consumer goods.

The Shanghai Composite is up nearly 9 percent this year to date. Asian stocks closed largely flat Wednesday as investors awaited more news from the Chinese Communist Party's National Congress.

All eyes are on the Middle Kingdom for the five-yearly event at which the ruling Communist Party could announce key policy initiatives, reshuffle those in leadership positions and provide clues as to the political future of current President Xi Jinping. In his opening three-and-a-half-hour address in Beijing, Xi emphasized that the superpower intended to "cultivate globally competitive world-class firms," and "clean up rules and practices that hinder a unified market and fair competition."

Key data on the Chinese economy including third quarter gross domestic product and September industrial production numbers are out Thursday.
Iran might appear to be increasingly isolated on the global stage but the country's deputy oil minister said Tuesday that it is on the verge of signing deals with major global oil and gas companies.

Speaking in London, Amir Hossein Zamaninia said Iran was currently negotiating with more than 15 companies from Europe, Russia and Asia to conclude contracts that will open the country to massive oil and gas exploration, development and production.

"These are not overambitious figures and expectations," he told the 'Oil and Money' conference in the U.K. capital. "Our policy is to be able to manage and finalize at least 10 contracts by the end of the Iranian year (March 2018)."

He said Iran had so far signed "memorandums of understanding" (investment intentions) for 28 different projects with companies including Total, Eni and Shell, Russian firms Rosneft and Lukoil, and China's Sinopec and China National Petroleum (CNPC), among others.

Iran's oil and gas development deal with Total is perhaps the most noteworthy. Signed in July, the $4.8 billion agreement will see the French oil and gas major develop and operate, along with CNPC and Iran's Petropars, the giant South Pars (SP11) project, the world's largest gas field.

The project will have a production capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Total said in July, and the produced gas will supply the Iranian domestic market, starting in 2021.

Zamaninia's comments come as Iran is under scrutiny amid growing tensions with the U.S. and the possibility that the U.S. could revoke an international nuclear pact, agreed during former President Barack Obama's administration, that brought Iran in from the cold, diplomatically.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to terminate the agreement and if the U.S. Congress agrees, Iran could be placed under renewed sanctions, affecting international companies' ability to do business in and with the oil-rich country.

For his part, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred it" if the U.S. pulled out, state TV reported, according to Reuters.

Iran's deputy oil minister was unperturbed, however, playing down the potential impact of U.S. sanctions. "It has little or no effect on our future plan in the oil industry I am ready for negotiations with oil companies."

Whether renewed instability and potential sanctions could damage its attraction to global oil companies looking to expand in the Middle East and exploit Iran's recent return to the oil market, following the lifting of U.S. and European sanctions last year, remains to be seen.

Total's chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said Wednesday that Total was a "pioneer" in Iran and that the company was "committed" to the deal. However, he added that the company is going "step by step" in Iran and that it was watching the situation carefully.

"We were right to sign the Iran deal and it gave us a clear boost having said that, I see what's happening in the U.S. and we have to look at the fact that we are governed by laws and no one knows what Congress will decide," he told the Oil and Money conference in London.

"If the framework changes, if we can legally do and execute the contract we will do that. There are huge opportunities in Iran. But let's see if we can do that initial project first."
Iraqi government forces enter the Bai Hassan oil field, west of the multi-ethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, on October 17, 2017. Iraqi forces took control of the two largest oil fields in the disputed northern province of Kirkuk demolishing Kurdish hopes of creating a viable independent state.

Oil flows through Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey have reportedly plunged this week after Iraq's army seized oil fields held by the Kurds.

The drop follows reports of production disruptions as major oil fields changed from Kurdish to central government control on Monday and Tuesday.

Crude oil shipments through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline have fallen to one-third of their usual volumes, shipping sources told Platts. Total exports through the line were at 190,000 barrels a day, the source said. Reuters earlier reported flows had slowed to 225,000 barrels a day.

The pipeline runs through the semiautonomous Kurdish region in Iraq's north and typically ships up to 600,000 barrels a day. Flows had already fallen to 350,000 barrels a day by Tuesday, according to Platts.

Oil fields around Kirkuk were reducing production and close to shutting down, sources told Platts. Operators were drawing on oil in storage, threatening to also slow the shipment of crude by tanker, the sources said.

Iraqi forces successfully took back control of oil fields in disputed territories, which the Kurds have expanded into since 2014, when federal forces fled an assault by then-ascendant ISIS militants. This week's Iraqi army operation followed three weeks of escalating tension after the Kurds held an independence referendum, defying Baghdad's demands to scrap the vote.

The conflict has sparked concerns that output from northern fields could essentially remain stuck if the Kurds refuse to ship it through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline.

Another pipeline to Turkey operated by Baghdad has been repeatedly bombed by ISIS militants and will take several years and hundreds of millions of dollars to repair, according to RBC Capital Markets.

"Hence, these fields changing hands could mean that these barrels end up being stranded if Baghdad and Erbil cannot conclude a pipeline access and a revenue sharing agreement  which could prove to be a tall order in the current environment," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC, said in a research note. Erbil is the capital of Kurdistan.

By Wednesday, Kurdish forces had largely retreated to territories they held prior to the start of their expansion in the summer of 2014, Reuters reported. Iraqi forces have met with little resistance.
"So when you're cutting taxes across the board, it's very hard not to give tax cuts to the wealthy with tax cuts to the middle class," he concluded. "The math, given how much you are collecting, is just hard to do."

"The top 20 percent of the people pay 95 percent of the taxes," the Treasury secretary said. "The top 10 percent of the people pay 81 percent of the taxes."

It happened in an interview with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that Politico published Wednesday. Faced with economic analyses showing the White House plan to cut corporate and personal income taxes provides big gains for wealthy Americans, Mnuchin called that result unavoidable.

The Trump administration, bent on deregulation from the start, has now completed wholesale repeal of the "Mnuchin Rule."

That represents a dramatic reversal from Mnuchin's initial assertions on the subject. After last November's election, he appeared on CNBC to pledge that wealthy Americans would receive no tax cut whatsoever.

"Any reductions we have in upper-income taxes will be offset by less deductions so that there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class," Mnuchin told CNBC's "SquawkBox" then.

"When we work with Congress and go through this, it will be very clear: This is a middle-income tax cut."

After the administration took office in 2017, Mnuchin began softening that pledge, which had come to be known as the "Mnuchin Rule." When I interviewed him in May at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation's Fiscal Summit, he described avoiding tax cuts for the rich as a goal, not a commitment.

"The president's objective is to create a middle-class tax cut," he told me. "I can't pledge what the results will be, since the results are going to be a combined effort of the administration and the House and the Senate.

"The president's priority has been not cutting taxes for the high end," Mnuchin continued. "His priority is about creating a middle-income tax cut. So we'll see where it comes out."

Where it came out, according to analysts at the Tax Policy Center, was a tax plan that in 2027 would give 80 percent of the benefits to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. That figure involved some educated guesswork based on details in earlier GOP proposals, since the White House-Congress "Big Six" plan has not yet filled in many details.

President Donald Trump has insisted the plan he wants Congress to pass by year's end will not benefit rich people like him. "The wealthy are not getting a tax cut under our plan," National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn told ABC recently.

Under the "Mnuchin Rule," that was once the Treasury secretary's promise, too. Yet his new remarks to Politico not only conceded that the rich will get a tax cut, but cast it as mathematically inevitable.

Of course, cutting the payroll taxes that all workers pay to finance Social Security, rather than income taxes, would produce a different mathematical outcome. So would dropping the GOP proposal to eliminate the estate tax  which currently applies only to estates valued at more than $5.5 million for an individual or $11 million for a couple.

But Mnuchin, who like Trump and many top administration officials is very wealthy, cast abolishing estate taxes as a matter of fairness rather than math.

"The estate tax is somewhat of an economic issue, and somewhat of a philosophical issue," he told Politico's Ben White. "People pay taxes once. Why should people have to pay taxes again when they die?"
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred it" if the United States pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after U.S. President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

The move put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord  Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union  who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a U.N. resolution.

Khamenei, Iran's highest authority, welcomed their support but said it was not sufficient. "Europe must stand against practical measures (taken) by America," he said. If Trump ditched the deal, "Iran will shred it."

Khamenei also said Iran was determined to continue its disputed ballistic missile program despite the pressure from Europe and the United States to suspend it. Tehran has said it is developing missiles solely for defensive purposes.

"They must avoid interfering in our defense program, " Khamenei said. "They (Europeans) ask why does Iran have missiles? Why do you have missiles yourselves? Why do you have nuclear weapons? We do not think it is acceptable for the Europeans to join America in its bullying."
Iraqi government forces remove a Kurdish flag from the Bai Hassan oil field, west of the multi-ethnic northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, on October 17, 2017.

Iraq urged BP to help develop oilfields in the disputed city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, after central government forces loyal to Baghdad swept through the Kurdish-held territory at the start of the week.

Iraqi forces began a takeover of almost the entire disputed Kirkuk province Monday, with Kurdish forces retreating to nearby oilfields.

The military maneuvers in northern Iraq come after the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence in a referendum last month. The vote was subsequently declared illegitimate by Iraq's central government.

Baghdad is reportedly seeking to double Kirkuk's oil output to more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) and has requested the support of Britain's oil major to help achieve this aim.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi asked BP "to quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oilfields," as reported in an oil ministry statement Wednesday.



Speaking Wednesday at the Oil and Money conference in London, BP CEO Bob Duley said: "We know Kirkuk well... and we were doing technical work there up until 2015. But I haven't read these comments or heard from him (Jabar al-Luaibi)."
The drones are set to be deployed by the LAPD's Metropolitan Division SWAT Team in order to resolve "dangerous, high-risk tactical situations and improve situational awareness capabilities during natural disasters and catastrophic incidents," the draft proposal said.

Despite vociferous protest, the Los Angeles Police Commission  the civilian board which oversees the department  voted 3-1 in favor of the LAPD using the pilot program.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) signed off on a year-long test of drones on Tuesday, becoming the largest police department in the U.S. to deploy the technology.

The use of drones has become a somewhat contentious issue in law, with protestors arguing the use of "small unmanned aerial systems" would give the police too much surveillance power and threaten the civil rights of LA residents.

While the LAPD has vowed to use the drones on a case-by-case basis and only under strict regulations, protestors at Tuesday's meeting reportedly expressed concern about the militarization of the police.

Activists told the LA Times in August, when the proposals were still under discussion, that they did not trust the LAPD to use the pilot programs appropriately, adding that some residents who already felt targeted by the police would be alarmed by the fear of being watched from the sky.

The police department is expected to put one drone into use and maintain a second as a backup. The drones deployed by the LAPD will not be armed.



Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have been causing increasing concern for aviation authorities and experts, following several reported incidents of drones coming within close range of people, high-profile buildings, events, and aircraft.

In the U.S., drone users have been prosecuted for flying drones near a range of buildings and events, from smuggling drugs to prisons to "stalking" protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline. While in the U.K. a man was charged with flying a drone too close to Buckingham Palace, the residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Other arrests of drone operators have been made across the globe.

CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this article.
By 2026, the marijuana industry could be worth $50 billion annually, and 24-year-old Karson Humiston wants to bridge the gap between workers interested in cannabis careers and companies looking to grow their business. Humiston is the founder of online career platform Vangsters, which provides a central location for cannabis employers to find potential employees. The platform is free for job candidates, but companies using the site pay a fee of $69 per month for unlimited job postings.

Photo courtesy of Vangst

Humiston had the idea to recruit talent in the cannabis industry in 2015, when she was a soon-to-be graduate from St. Lawrence University. After attending a cannabis trade show in New York and hearing companies talk about openings in areas like marketing and retail, Humiston knew she could help employers fill those jobs. "The types of positions that were available in the cannabis industry, even in 2015, blew my mind," she tells CNBC Make It. "So I decided to start a business, which used to be called 'Gradujuana,' where we would connect college students and recent grads with jobs in the emerging cannabis industry." The next day, Humiston returned to the trade show with newly-made business cards to show employers just how serious she was. "I walked around booth to booth saying, 'I'm Karson Humiston and I can help you find an intern or recent grad with my company, Gradujuana.'" After generating enough leads to confirm her idea could become a business, the recent grad relocated from New York to Denver, where most of the companies in the industry were located.

"I didn't know anyone in Denver," says Humiston. "I was living in a hotel and said I'm going to stay for one month, and if I can get meetings set up and get a client I'm going to stick around out here and do this." In July 2015, Humiston secured her first client, O.penVape. The company needed help finding an accounting intern. "I told them, 'What I will do, is I will go and put this out to my network of students and recent grads that you're hiring for an accounting intern," she says. "I will interview the candidates, check their references and I will send you the top candidates  and the best part is I'm going to do all of this for $500." As a bonus, she offered to waive her fee if she failed to find the company a candidate. O.penVape signed a contract. Humiston continued to follow up with companies from the trade show, and in late August of 2015 she connected with cannabis business consulting firm Canna Advisors. The company told Humiston they were no longer interested in paying their current search firm 20 percent of the first year salary of the jobs they were filling. Since Humiston was a novice, they offered her $2,000 per position to fill openings for a construction project manager, a technical writer and an executive assistant. "A light bulb went off in my head like, 'Oh my God, there are companies out there charging 20 percent of annual salary,'" says Humiston. "At this point, I had this coming-to-Jesus moment that I needed to go out and hire other people who had experience in recruiting, who had experience in client acquisition  and that's really when our business started taking off."
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Chief Eric Thompson next to the Saint Lawrence River in upstate New York. The tribe aims to diversify its economy through patent partnerships.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, which captured headlines last month for its unusual patent deal with drugmaker Allergan , is doubling down in the patent space, Wednesday filing lawsuits against Microsoft and Amazon claiming patent infringement.

The tribe is a co-plaintiff with small tech firm SRC Labs, which claims the tech giants have been infringing its patents on data processing technologies for years. The company and the tribe are seeking damages and royalties.

SRC transferred the patents to the tribe in early August, a month before the tribe's partnership with Allergan captured national headlines. Native American tribes possess sovereign immunity to patent challenges through a system known as inter partes review, and the partnerships with both Allergan and SRC are designed to shield the patents from those challenges.

The Allergan partnership drew backlash from at least nine members of Congress, with one, Sen. Claire McCaskill, introducing legislation seeking to abrogate tribal sovereign immunity in this context.

Allergan said it struck the deal with the tribe to avoid the "double jeopardy" of defending its patents, on the blockbuster eye drug Restasis, in both the federal court system and through IPR challenges from generic-drug makers. Monday, a federal court judge invalidated the patents. Allergan said it will appeal.

The partnership with the SRC is designed to protect the patents from a counter-challenge from Microsoft and Amazon through the IPR system. Critics of IPR say it can tie patent holders up in perpetual legal limbo as challengers file repeated complaints, whereas patent challenges through federal courts are decisive. Proponents of IPR say it's vital for dismantling bad patents.

The tribe says its patent partnerships are part of its efforts to economically diversify, noting gaming revenue from a casino it operates has leveled off in recent years, and that it has significant health and economic challenges in its community. In the Allergan partnership, the pharmaceutical company paid the tribe $13.75 million after transferring the patent rights and then licensing them back exclusively.

The terms of the deal with SRC weren't immediately known.

"To overcome these economic disadvantages, the tribe took steps to diversify its economy with investments in innovative business and various enterprises to foster jobs and entrepreneurship," the tribe said in its complaint against Microsoft, filed Wednesday morning in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Amazon complaint was filed in the same court.

The tribe also said it's creating a technology and innovation center to promote modernization of its businesses, create revenue and jobs and "promote the education of Mohawks in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math."

Microsoft and Amazon didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Think Nigerian scams are unsophisticated? Think again! In the past, con artists from Nigeria often pretended to be princes in trouble to get your personal information. Now they use more refined scams to rake in millions. "What these are, are really finely tuned, sophisticated schemes that are targeted to separate you from your money," said Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research at cybersecurity company Trend Micro. They recently released a report on West African cybercrime, which includes Nigeria. Prosecutors in Gulfport, Mississippi, recently took down one Nigerian crime ring that brought in $52 million. For one former government agent, that scam began with a woman showing up at his door. "I was overseas on a government assignment.  I got a call from my wife that someone had come onto our property looking for me," said the agent, who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity. "The person told my wife that she had met me with my name" on a dating website.



That woman drove miles to a rural town to meet a man she had never met, but believed she was in love with. Others sent letters. "They were asking, 'why aren't I hearing from you? Where are you? What do you want me to do with the clothes, with the laptop I purchased?" he said. The former agent's name and location were used to reel in people looking for love all across the country. It all began with scripts blasted out on dating websites. "The same language was used with one person after another  it didn't matter if it was male or female," said Annette Williams, an assistant U.S. attorney with the Southern District of Mississippi, who prosecuted the case. The scripts had a specific target in mind. "These type of transnational criminal organizations solicit their victims between the ages of 45- 75, widowed men and women. They choose these individuals because they are lonely, [and] in most occasions, they have access to money," said Todd Williams, an agent with Homeland Security Investigations.

This love letter was sent to one victim whose name and location were used in the scam. CNBC

The messages told the story of a U.S. citizen who was abroad for work and looking for love. Here is how they read: "Am totally new to this online dating stuff" "Am in West Africa for a particular contract but would be getting that accomplished in a couple of week" "We should be able to take this relationship to another level when i get home." After a relationship was established, the con artists began asking for favors. "I want you to assist me pay the bill," one note asked. That's what happened to N.J., who asked CNBC to identify her by her initials. "He asked me about my family and I asked him about his.  It was like  if he was here and we knew each other," she said. "How you would talk with a boyfriend." N.J.'s online boyfriend sent her a box of phones and asked her to mail them to Africa. That's when she got suspicious and called police. "That one phone call took down this massive fraud network," said Conor Mulroe, a Department of Justice trial attorney, who prosecuted the case. N.J. was not alone. The Nigerian crime ring created a network of what investigators call electronic-mules, or e-mules, across the U.S. These victims unwittingly helped carry out a bunch of money-making schemes, like cashing fake checks and shipping goods bought with stolen credit cards. Ultimately the proceeds were wired back to Africa. "It probably moved through four different hands before something went overseas," Annette Williams said. The Nigerian criminals were living large for local standards, both at home in Nigeria and in South Africa, where many of the students were living on student visas. "That they had cars that other students didn't have, they had the watches and all of that, and they threw a lot of parties," Annette Williams said. "They had no jobs, they had no source of income other than these scams."

These watches were bought with the proceeds of the Nigerian scam. They were confiscated when the Nigerian nationals were arrested in South Africa. CNBC

At the same time, victims in the U.S. were suffering. "We have victim statements where people lost their homes," Annette Williams said. Others faced financial ruin. "Many of the victims targeted with counterfeit checks, this episode just sent them into a financial spiral that they're still dealing with," Mulroe said. The crime ring was brought to justice. Investigators worked with South Africa and Canada to extradite those responsible. Twelve pleaded guilty and were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Three were found guilty at trial and received sentences of up to 115 years in prison. Four defendants remain fugitives, with three last known to be in Nigeria. Crime rings like this one have raked in $2 billion, according to Trend Micro and that's expected to increase as West Africa, the region that includes Nigeria, is considered the new cybercrime hotbed. "Over the last three years, we've seen a steady increase in cybercrime coming from the region. Because they've been making money hand over fist with relatively little risk to themselves," Nunnikhoven said.

Investigators combed through dozens of devices that belonged to the defendants. CNBC

While other West African crime rings exist and often use these romance ploys, this ring also had two scams that were unique, one involving college textbooks, the other prepaid credit cards. "They not only would purchase the textbooks with compromised credit cards, but in most instances, within 48-72 hours from purchasing the textbooks, they would actually sell the textbooks back to the same textbook company online that they stole the books from. So essentially these textbooks companies were getting the merchandise stolen from 'em. And in the end, they were spending their own money to purchase their own merchandise back," said Todd Williams, the Homeland Security agent. For the textbook scam, the group targeted family owned businesses and many went out of business. "We were able to identify that they would not be able to stay open for more than just a few months before they'd have to shut down their business," the agent said. The scheme shocked prosecutors, with Annette Williams calling it the most brazen. As the crime ring operated, they began to get more sophisticated and relied on prepaid cards to move money, instead of e-mules. "It would all start where they would purchase compromised credit card data.  They would create thousands of American Express Serve prepaid accounts. Once they were able to acquire those accounts, that in turn would become their infrastructure that they needed to be able to move their illicit proceeds," said Todd Williams. That part of the scheme cost American Express $1.6 million, according to a statement by prosecutors.

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They are far from the only company to get scammed by West African nationals. "With big businesses we see the same type of scam, but perpetrated on a much larger scale. So, what the criminals try to do instead of hook you with that relative that needs help or that Nigerian prince, what they're now doing is trying to spoof the CEO to the CFO," Nunnikhoven said. "We're seeing far more manufacturers be targeted, simply because they do business with a lot of small companies. So, the criminals can easily pretend to be one of these companies." Unlike cybercriminals in Eastern Europe and Asia, West African criminals tend to have less technical expertise. Instead, they use mind games. "This region is far more focused on that social con, on that trick  when it comes to social crime, it's a finesse. It's an art," said Nunnikhoven. To protect yourself from West African schemes, investigators warn not to get involved financially with anyone you have not met in person. Also, check your credit score, bank and credit card statements for unapproved accounts and transactions.
2016Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) President, Qatar's Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada speaks with Secretary General of OPEC Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo (R), during a news conference after an informal meeting between members of the organization in Algiers, Algeria September 28, 2016.

OPEC members are reportedly forming a consensus around extending their production cutting deal with other crude exporters by nine months, a move that would help to put a floor under oil prices.

That would prolong the agreement among OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations to keep 1.8 million barrels a day off the market through the whole of next year. The exporters reached the deal last December and have already extended the agreement once through March of 2018.

Sources told Reuters that OPEC may not agree to the extension at its next policy meeting in November. Instead, they may wait until early next year to make a final decision.

Oil prices strengthened following the report. International benchmark futures were up 38 cents, or 0.7 percent, $58.26 per barrel by 10 a.m. EDT. U.S. crude for November delivery was up 31 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $52.19.

OPEC may put off the decision at its Nov. 30 meeting if demand for crude oil and petroleum products remains strong, a source told Reuters. OPEC and the International Energy Agency have recently reported that demand has improved, though the IEA raised concerns about future consumption growth in its latest report.

Three of the sources confirmed to Reuters that OPEC is leaning towards a nine-month extension, while a fourth said prolonging the deal by six to nine months would do the job of sopping up excess oil sitting in stockpiles.

OPEC is trying to drive down global crude stockpiles to the five-year average. The producer group reported last week that inventories among the OECD, a group of mostly wealthy nations, stood at just under 3 billion barrels in August, about 171 million barrels above the five-year average.

Two OPEC sources told Reuters that the group is not likely to deepen the cuts beyond 1.8 million barrels a day.

Traders could get clues about the path OPEC will take next month after OPEC's board of governors meets next week.
President Trump is about to decide whether to raise the price of solar energy, based on an economic theory refuted in 1845.

In response to a formal complaint, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled this month that imported solar cells are putting too much competitive pressure on domestic cell producers. The commission will now examine what remedy would be appropriate, and then it will be up to the Trump administration to decide whether to take action. The likely remedy would be to impose tariffs on imported solar cells, thus protecting U.S. cell manufacturers and raising prices for consumers.

The solar industry is already receiving this sort of protection. In 2014, in response to a complaint by U.S. manufacturers, the Commerce Department imposed tariffs of up to 78.42 percent on imports of solar panels made in China, increasing the price for any U.S. consumer purchasing the panels. But that wasn't enough for the U.S. companies filing this year's complaint relating to the cells that make up the panels.

This attempt to raise the price of using sunlight for energy reminds me of one of the most famous documents in the history of free trade. In 1845, the French economist Frederic Bastiat wrote "The Candlemakers' Petition," in which he imagined the makers of candles and street lamps petitioning the French parliament for protection from a most dastardly foreign competitor:

"We are suffering from the ruinous competition of a rival who apparently works under conditions so far superior to our own for the production of light that he is flooding the domestic market with it at an incredibly low price [ . . .] This rival  is none other than the sun."

After all, Bastiat's imaginary petitioners noted, how can the makers of candles and lanterns compete with a light source that is totally free?
The last time we saw comprehensive tax reform in this country was also the last time UCLA won a Rose Bowl (1986), so we are talking about a long, long time. We know there have been several tax cuts, and tax increases, since then, but as for some legislative attempt to drive a change in the overall system of tax policy in this country, it has not happened in over 30 years. It would be easy to argue that partisan polarization is the cause of this legislative difficulty, but that would be inaccurate.

Partisanship did not keep welfare reform or comprehensive trade agreements from being done in the 1990s. Partisanship did not keep significant national-security endeavors from passing in the 2000s. And President Obama's reelection in 2012 coincided with the sunsetting of the George W. Bush tax cuts, creating one of the more bipartisan agreements in recent history, when Vice President Biden and Senate majority leader McConnell negotiated a permanent extension of the tax cuts that resulted in more favorable treatment for investment tax and estate tax and left the individual rates at the lower levels of the Bush plan, besides at the top rate. Bottom line: Partisans have done plenty of bipartisan work over the last 30 years; they just haven't done it when it comes to reforming something that is broken.



The term tax reform is pivotal here. Tax cuts scream for people who pay too much in taxes wanting to pay less (fair enough). Tax reform implies something is structurally unfair, and therefore needing reformation. We do not need to reform that which is already good and right. Sure, we may turn a knob here and there on levels, but reform is more comprehensive, and more reactive. The catalyst to reforming something is admitting something needs to be reformed.

The catalyst for 2017/18 tax reform is a broken tax code, and that brokenness is most evident in two places: A brutally non-competitive business tax code that hasn't come close to dealing with the global realities of the last 30 years; and a glut of tax brackets and deductions that are too confusing, too easy to manipulate, and too divorced from simplicity and fairness. Yes, the rates are too high, both individually and corporately, but beyond that, the system is not right. The efforts of the Trump administration, led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and the GOP leadership of the House and Senate, seek to use a new tax-reform bill to attack the fundamentals of what is broken in the tax code (a non-competitive corporate code) and clean up around the edges as well (alternative minimum tax (AMT), pass-through entities, etc.).



More from National Review:

The Republican House and Senate are divided on spending

Untaxing the rich

Tax cuts are tax reform

The catalyst for 2017/18 tax reform is a broken tax code, and that brokenness is most evident in two places: A brutally non-competitive business tax code that hasn't come close to dealing with the global realities of the last 30 years; and a glut of tax brackets and deductions that are too confusing, too easy to manipulate, and too divorced from simplicity and fairness. Yes, the rates are too high, both individually and corporately, but beyond that, the system is not right. The efforts of the Trump administration, led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and the GOP leadership of the House and Senate, seek to use a new tax-reform bill to attack the fundamentals of what is broken in the tax code (a non-competitive corporate code) and clean up around the edges as well (alternative minimum tax (AMT), pass-through entities, etc.).

The math of passing tax reform is difficult because of Senate rules on reconciliation. To attach it to a budget bill and thereby enable 51-vote passage, the impact the tax plan can have on overall revenue (and therefore deficits) is limited. "Dynamic scoring"  the reality of supply-side math that pro-growth tax cuts move us in the right direction on Laffer's Curve  allows for some more liberal use of this parliamentary reconciliation reality. But at the end of the day, the White House is limited in how much it can reform the tax code without "pay-fors"  offsets and such that will enable the plan to be scored within budget-reconciliation math. UP NEXT US to investigate deadly Niger ambush



After the inevitable death of the ghastly "border adjustment tax" idea, the best "pay-for" available is eliminating the deductibility of state and local taxes against federal tax liability. Should that tax deduction be eliminated, the comprehensive business tax reform needed (a 20 percent rate vs. a 35 percent rate, a territorial system, repatriation of foreign profits, and the elimination of nearly all special-interest deductions) can become reality. And yet the path to tax reform is being blocked by those who would hold on to the abysmal deductibility of state tax  a blockage being promoted by Republicans and Democrats alike (who says they never do anything on a bipartisan basis?).



Who would want to hold onto the deductibility of state taxation? Well, legislators in high-tax states, for one, who fear little consequence from the residents of low-tax states who end up footing the bill for their fiscal recklessness. In fact, the sole source of opposition to eliminating this deduction has come from blue state California, blue state New Jersey, blue state New York, and blue state Connecticut. Unfortunately, the fact that these states are all blue does not mean this is leftist partisanship, because the opposition is coming from Republican legislators and thought leaders in these states as well. That opposition underscores the fundamental need for reform  reform in our policy, but reform in our thinking as well.

There is never going to be reform that does not upset some people, somewhere in the tax food chain. If there could be such a thing, by definition, there would be no need for tax reform! The objective of a national tax-revenue system should be to fund the legitimate functions of government, and do so in a manner fair to the national self-interest, devoid of governmental favoritism or bias. The purpose of a tax system is not to implement social agendas, punish certain behaviors, reward certain behaviors, etc. The federal tax code is a funding matter, and it ought to be done in the least threatening way to growth and competitiveness possible. A 0 percent tax code is not a possibility, as competitive as it may be, as government has responsibilities, liabilities, and legitimate functions that require funding. But where funding can be achieved without compromising American economic growth, that must be the aim.



The business-investment tax code in our country is a disaster, and this is hardly denied by the other side of the aisle. The rate is too high, and the incentives for businesses to keep moneys offshore are gigantic. Additionally, the loopholes, deductions, and various ways in which certain privileged or selected companies benefit (while others do not) is a direct violation of the intent of the tax system. Simplification is the goal, and an even playing field that does not pick winners and losers is the aim. While I would prefer to get rid of the R&D credit (crony capitalism for pharma) and the low-income-housing credit (crony capitalism for real-estate developers), the proposed tax reform goes a long way towards equalizing the business code and creating a competitive scenario for our U.S. companies with large multinational presence.



So what is the hang-up? The aforementioned state-tax deductibility issue is being presented as a hang-up by Left and Right alike. Ironically, the concern the Left has always had with Republican tax maneuvering is that it unfairly assists those on the higher end of the wage spectrum. Here, the Democrats are supposedly upset about the loss of a tax deduction that, by definition, is used only by those on the higher end of the wage spectrum (those who itemize).

But let's look at the issue from the vantage point of Republican voters in high-tax blue states. Could it mean a higher overall net tax liability? That is very unlikely, since those most affected by this would be of such an income context that they have almost certainly been subject to the AMT anyways, a tax atrocity that was already disallowing the state-tax deduction. But for those who were not previously in AMT but are fearful of losing the state-tax deduction, two things must be said. First, no one knows whatsoever how their net picture would turn out in the new tax law, because the income levels receiving the new tax rates (12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent) have not been announced. Any attempt to model tax liability in the new system will be rank speculation.



Second, if a very small number of people end up paying more, not less, in the new system, it should have no bearing on what we believe about tax reform. I do not believe that will happen, and if it does, I think the net impact will be so small and affect so few, it will not even register. But even if it did, the fundamental question is whether or not residents of South Dakota and Texas should be footing the bill for a federal loss of revenue just because their states choose to run their affairs with a high degree of fiscal sensibility and wisdom. Tax reform is meant to reform what is broken, and the use of a state-tax deduction is discriminatory, unfair, and, worst of all, enabling. It enables high-tax states to make foolish decisions, to overly rely on highly cyclical income streams, to spend without regard to consequences, and to not factor in competitive realities across our cherished 50-state union.

The need of the hour is beneficiaries of the broken tax system to maintain advocacy for reform. The generation-long resistance to reform is a by-product of special interests and a mentality that replaces common-sense tax policy with gaming of the system. We can do better, and for those who know how badly this economy and our national fiscal situation need growth, we must.

Commentary by David L. Bahnsen, a a trustee at the National Review Institute and the managing partner of a bicoastal wealth management firm. Follow him on Twitter @DavidBahnsen.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.

2017 National Review. Used with permission.
Richard Branson is a fantastic financial success. He's currently worth more than $5 billion, according to Forbes. Though he has amassed tremendous wealth over his career, the 67-year old British entrepreneur says he didn't set out seeking wealth. "I have never been motivated by making money," Branson tells CNBC's "Squawk Box" Wednesday. He's aware his perspective is surprising for many to hear, particularly in the United States. "I know in America, people are fairly fixated on money, billionaires, millionaires and so on. I'm not," Branson tells CNBC Make It. "What I love doing is creating things I can be proud of, and if you create things that you can be proud of, the byproduct of that can be that you become a millionaire or you become a billionaire, because people like what you've created."

Sir Richard Branson. Cameron Costa | CNBC

I know in America, people are fairly fixated on money, billionaires, millionaires and so on. I'm not. Richard Branson billionaire entrepreneur

But Branson says he's never even done a business plan for any of his companies. "You can go to one set of accountants and they will tell you why you are going to make money and another one will tell you how you are going to lose money," says Branson on "Squawk Box." "You have just got to create the best airline or the best train company or the best health clubs or the best mobile phone company and then if it is the best, then at the end of the year more money will come in than goes out," he says. Branson's attitude toward money doesn't always align with the more fiscially conscientious members of his company. "I am Dr. Yes and sometimes [my executives] give me a reason why maybe I am getting a bit too enthusiastic on occasions. Ultimately though, the buck stops with me and sometimes I will say, 'well, screw it let's do it. I don't care about what the figures say, we will prove them wrong,'" says Branson on "Squawk Box." "I have been motivated by creating products that make a real difference in the world and in people's lives," he says.
"Living near the water is incredibly appealing for people around the country, but it also comes with additional considerations for buyers and homeowners," Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell wrote in the report. "Homes in low-lying areas are also more susceptible to storm flooding and these risks could be realized on a much shorter timeline as we have seen time and time again."

If sea levels were to rise 6 feet, 1.9 million homes, or $916 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate, could be lost, according to a new report from Zillow . Zillow looked at what types of homes would be flooded, absent preventative measures, based on the most recent estimates of sea-level increase by the end of the century.

Coastal real estate in America is so often depicted in images of sprawling mansions with long lawns leading down to boat slips and sandy beaches. They grace the cover of vacation magazines and retirement brochures. But the reality is that the majority of coastal homes are not super swanky, and they are most in danger of rising sea levels.

Zillow found that 39 percent of homes expected to be underwater by the year 2100 are in the most valuable category. The rest are around the median price, about $220,000, or below. One-quarter are among the least valuable homes. Exacerbating the issue is that owners of lower-priced homes likely don't have the resources to take preventative measures against the rising tides, like putting in sea walls or making changes to foundations to withstand intermittent flooding.

"We've seen the enormous impact flooding can have on a city and its residents," said Gudell. "It's harder for us to think about it on a long-term timeline, but the real risks that come with rising sea levels should not be ignored until it's too late to address them."

The parade of hurricanes this year either damaged or destroyed thousands of homes in Houston, Florida and Georgia. What came as a shock to so many was that it wasn't all coastal damage. Hurricane Harvey managed to submerge homes that were a long drive from the Texas coast. Rivers and reservoirs were the culprit, after storm surges from the rising ocean and relentless rain filled them beyond capacity.

The majority of homes at risk of flooding, 65 percent according to Zillow, are in suburban areas, like those flooded in Houston. Just under 23 percent are in urban locations, and just 12 percent are in rural areas.

Of the nation's largest cities, Miami, New York, Boston, Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida, have the highest volume of homes at risk of flooding. Los Angeles, Charleston, South Carolina, Houston and New Orleans are also in the top 20 markets at risk.
DJ Koh, president of mobile communications business at Samsung, holds up the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 smartphone during a launch event for the new product, August 23, 2017.

knows its Bixby virtual assistant needs to be smarter. The company announced version 2.0 of the assistant on Wednesday at its developer conference in San Francisco.

Among the upcoming improvements, Bixby will be able to recognize different people speaking to it. That feature has recently come to the Echo and Home smart speakers, which come with Alexa and the Google Assistant, respectively.

It's not clear when the upgraded Bixby will become available. Samsung said it will release a software development kit to select third-party developers in a private beta before making it available to any developer in 2018.

The public first got a feel for what the original Bixby could do when Samsung released its Galaxy S8 smartphone earlier this year. That phone  like the newer Samsung Galaxy Note8 smartphone  comes with a button dedicated to paging a public preview version of Bixby. The full assistant rolled out to English speakers in the U.S. .

The reviews of Bixby haven't all been glowing. One writer at Engadget noted that the Google Assistant's speech recognition was "significantly more accurate" than Bixby's.

Samsung has emphasized Bixby's ability to go into individual apps and do things on behalf of people. But it doesn't always work as intended. "I still can't trust that it will do what I want it to," as a writer with the Verge put it. As a result, the writer has opted to do things himself the old way  by tapping and swiping on the display.

Samsung is integrating the technology from Viv Labs  the start-up whose team previously worked on Siri  into Bixby, which could help make it a better alternative to the Google Assistant.

"For example, users can just say, 'I want to order a large pepperoni pizza with half mushrooms. Please send it to my office within 30 minutes.' Bixby will take care of it  no more robot speak," said Dag Kittlaus, a vice president of Samsung and previously Viv Labs' co-founder and CEO.

Third-party developers who integrate Bixby into their apps will be able to generate money in a marketplace model, Kittlaus said.

In 2018 Samsung will start shipping TVs with Bixby onboard in the U.S. and in Korea, chief product officer Gilles BianRosa said.

But Samsung also has an eye toward making Bixby work on devices that don't support it out of the box. Injong Rhee, chief technology officer and executive vice president of software and services for Samsung's mobile communications business, demonstrated how Bixby could work with a speaker by connecting it to a special dongle that contains a microphone and wi-fi connectivity. Rhee also showed how the technology can send associated visual content to a separate display.

Bixby now has 10 million active users, the company says.
Senators this week are slated to announce a bill they hope will curb foreign governments' influence on American elections.

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., plan to announce a bill Thursday that aims to increase transparency in political ads, their offices said. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will co-sponsor the bill.

Warner is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the congressional panels investigating Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Donald Trump campaign. Tech titans Facebook and Google parent Alphabet have said they found Russia-linked ads on their platforms during the election.

Should the bill gain traction, it would mark one of the first major efforts to rein in political advertising on platforms like Facebook.

"Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election by buying and placing political ads on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google," the senators said in a statement. "The content and purchaser(s) of those online advertisements are a mystery to the public because of outdated laws that have failed to keep up with evolving technology."

Twitter has found fake accounts and bots linked to Russia. The company has said it is taking steps to stop malicious bots and misinformation on the platform.

In a news conference earlier this month, Warner outlined the changes he wanted to see to campaign ads on social media. He wants Americans seeing an ad to "know whether the source of that ad was generated by foreign entities."

Warner added that users should know whether a story is trending because real people shared it or because bots or fake accounts engaged with it. He also wants campaigns to have the ability to see social media ads run for or against them, as they can with television and radio ads.

Officials from Facebook, Google and Twitter have been asked to testify at an Intelligence Committee hearing on Nov. 1.

Warner and Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., have said they expect Russia to try to affect the 2018 midterm elections.

Facebook is "open to working with lawmakers and reviewing any reasonable legislative proposals," a company spokesman said in a statement.

In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the company looks forward to "engaging with Congress and the [Federal Election Commission] on these issues."

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Chevron  The energy giant's stock was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at BMO Capital Markets after the stock reached the firm's $120 per share price target. BMO said Chevron does have promising growth prospects but not enough to justify a widening valuation premium.

MGM Resorts  Stifel Nicolaus cut its rating on the resort operator's stock to "hold" from "buy," and removed it from the "Stifel Select List." Stifel said it does not see any compelling growth catalysts over the next year that would justify the "buy" rating.

Anthem  The health insurer established a new pharmacy benefits unit known as IngenioRx, which will begin offering a suite of pharmacy benefit services beginning in 2020. CVS Health has signed a five-year contract to provide services for IngenioRx, starting in 2020.

IBM  IBM reported adjusted quarterly earnings of $3.30 per share, two cents a share above estimates. Revenue also exceeded forecasts, but IBM did report its 22nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue declines. The company continues to transition to newer, higher growth businesses.

Cree  Cree earned an adjusted four cents per share for its latest quarter, matching forecasts, with the lighting product's companies revenue also matching estimates. The stock is being pressured, however, by a lower-than-expected current-quarter outlook.

Amazon.com  Amazon said the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned from that job following his suspension over sexual harassment allegations. He had been put on leave last week after the allegations first surfaced.

Rio Tinto  Rio Tinto and two former top executives were charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the mining company of inflating the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealing critical information while raising billions of dollars from investors.

AstraZeneca , Merck  The drugmakers received good news on their jointly developed ovarian cancer drug Lynparza, with the Food and Drug Administration granting priority review for use of the drug to treat breast cancer. That puts the drug on track for possible approval for the new use during the first quarter of 2018. Separately, Merck was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Citi, based on increased sales forecasts for Merck's Keytruda cancer drug.

McDonald's  McDonald's is reportedly the subject of a probe in South Korea, following complaints of illness following the consumption of allegedly undercooked hamburger patties. Media reports in that country say investigators have raided the McDonald's office in Seoul in search of evidence.

ADP - Activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square continues its push for board seats at ADP, holding an event this Thursday at which Ackman and two dissident board candidates will be interviewed by a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst. The ADP board vote will take place at the annual meeting November 7.

Viacom  Viacom has struck a carriage agreement with Spectrum, the cable operator owned by Charter Communications . That will keep Viacom networks like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central on Spectrum's systems in 16.6 million households.

JPMorgan Chase  The bank is buying payments technology company WePay for an undisclosed amount, though a source quoted by The Wall Street Journal said it was above the roughly $220 million valuation that stemmed from a 2015 fundraising round.

Verizon  Verizon will pay $17.7 million to resolve Justice Department allegations regarding its "E-rate" program, which provides subsidized broadband service to schools and libraries. Regulators had accused Verizon of invoicing the Federal Communications Commission for charges not allowed under the E-rate contract, but Verizon maintained that it was a victim of fraud by a consultant who was eventually sentenced to 37 months in prison.

Tesla  Tesla has yet another competitor for its electric vehicles, with Volvo unveiling its first high-performance electric car model in Shanghai.

Microsoft  Microsoft has added a new model to its Surface lineup, with a 15-inch laptop designed to compete with Apple's MacBook Pro.

Ulta Beauty  The cosmetics retailer was downgraded to "neutral" from "overweight" at Piper Jaffray, which cited a survey showing a slowdown in beauty spending by teenagers. Ulta had been removed from the "Conviction Buy" list at Goldman Sachs earlier this week.

Select Comfort  Select Comfort reported quarterly profit of 62 cents per share, falling six cents a share shy of forecasts. The mattress maker's revenue was also short of analysts' estimates. The maker of the Sleep Number mattress line said its results were impacted by the hurricanes that occurred in August and September.
(L-R) Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal make statements to the media after a NAFTA press event in Washington, October 17, 2017.

Tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Cisco are spending more on lobbyists to make their case about the North American Free Trade Agreement, as negotiations about the future of that trade deal heat up.

Trade negotiators have said that they will schedule talks on revamping NAFTA into next year. The tech industry has a clear interest in the trade pact, given its role in foreign trade and in supply chains across North America.

In 2016, U.S. companies exported more than $200 billion in technology goods, including $43 billion to Mexico and $24 billion to Canada, according to the Information Technology Industry Council, a lobbying group whose members include Apple , Alphabet and Oracle. U.S tech exports to Mexico have surged nearly 70 percent since 2006.

President Donald Trump has called NAFTA "the worst trade deal ever made" that cost the country manufacturing jobs. Those representing tech companies counter that a barrier-free trading environment benefits U.S. companies, and that the agreement should be modernized to include key policy provisions regarding data storage and tariffs.

In the second quarter of this year, 28 technology companies and industry associations hired lobbyists to discuss NAFTA with Trump administration officials or with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. That compares with 12 in the first quarter  and just one in all of last year.

Amazon

Microsoft and has spent $4.5 million in total on lobbying.

Intel

Cisco

Josh Kallmer, the senior vice president for global policy at ITI, told CNBC that the technology industry is encouraging the White House to modernize NAFTA in a few critical ways.

For one, the agreement should ensure that data can move freely across borders, Kallmer said. Specifically, the pact between the U.S., Mexico and Canada should prohibit requirements on companies to localize data.

That has become an issue in other jurisdictions. For example, China has implemented new cybersecurity laws that require foreign companies to store users' data within the country and partner with local firms.

"In China, there are real restrictions on data flow, and in Indonesia and Vietnam as well. Even in the European Union, there are restrictions. That cuts down the flexibility of companies to best serve their customers, and increases costs and the risks of a data breach," Kallmer said.

Kallmer also says technology companies want to eliminate what they would consider excessive tariffs, taxes and fees on their products.

"It's about locking in good market access," he said.

The deadline for submitting lobbying disclosures for the third quarter is Oct. 20.

Correction: This story has been updated to correctly explain both Microsoft's spending on NAFTA lobbying, and the dedicated tasks of some of its hired lobbyists.
The exact tally is still impossible to calculate, but at least 10,000 homes and other structures have been destroyed by floods, winds and fires in the past three months. Given the acute construction labor shortage that was already at play before these disasters, reconstruction and its repercussions in residential real estate could pose yet another disaster.

"The housing market can't take the shock of a natural event," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at real estate company Redfin. "It can't take any shock because we are so tightly wound with inventory. Any change is a big change, and you'll see that play out across the South."

The inventory of available homes for sale is acutely low across the nation and continues to fall, down 6.5 percent in August annually, according to the National Association of Realtors. As a result, home sales dropped for the past three months, and entry-level buyers are stepping aside. Supply remains leanest at the lowest end of the market.

Housing starts fell to a four-month low in September, well below expectations, according to the U.S. Census. Some of that was due to hurricanes in the South, but starts were down everywhere except the West. Single-family starts hover slightly higher than a year ago but remain 19 percent below their 25-year average.

"We need the supply, there is no question, but whether it's the rising cost of labor, lots, raw materials (lumber prices at a 13-year high) and permitting, the builders just can't deliver enough," wrote Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group in response to the census report.

In Houston, the most active U.S. market for home construction even before Hurricane Harvey, the number of homes destroyed by the storm surpassed the total number of single-family building permits estimated for the city in 2017. The National Association of Home Builders has asked the Trump administration for help.

"A successful guest worker program will help alleviate the current labor shortage in the residential construction sector, quicken the rebuilding efforts in Texas and support the overall economic growth of this nation," wrote NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald in a September statement.

In California, the devastation from multiple wildfires still cannot be quantified, but it is already beyond imagination. Thousands of homes will have to be rebuilt from the charred ground up. That will take every available worker in the state and beyond.

"All the resources are being drained to the rebuilding effort," Redfin's Richardson said. "That is going to increase the cost of housing and renovation across the nation."

In contrast to the actual construction numbers, homebuilder confidence jumped in October in the NAHB's monthly sentiment index, with builders citing improvements in current sales and sales expectations. Curiously, that follows a drop in sales of newly built homes in August, both monthly and annually.

Even NAHB's MacDonald cautioned his own constituency: "Builders need to be mindful of long-term repercussions from the storms, such as intensified material price increases and labor shortages."
McCaskill was one of six Democrats on the Finance Committee attending the meeting with Trump and their Republican counterparts. All except Wyden  McCaskill, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan  face re-election next year in a state Trump won in 2016.

"I'm sure we'll have unanimous support. I have no doubt. Right, Ron?" Trump said before the meeting, flanked by committee Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch , R-Utah, and Sen. Claire McCaskill , D-Mo.

Before the White House meeting, Trump touted the GOP's tax-reform framework as a tool to unlock economic growth and boost job creation. The president, who has repeatedly said he wants to accomplish the difficult feat of winning Democratic votes, joked about the minority party's support to Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday gathered with senators on the chamber's tax-writing committee  including Democrats  as the GOP crafts a plan it hopes to pass this year.

Most or all of the 48 Democrats and independents in the Senate are expected to vote against a Republican tax reform plan. Democratic leaders have argued the framework does not go far enough to reduce the burden on the middle class and does too much to help the wealthy.

Some Republicans could also oppose a bill, depending on what shape it takes.

Trump on Wednesday said the Republican proposal is "really about tax cuts and reform."

"But I focus on tax cuts because it's such an important weapon to get our country moving," Trump said.

Following the meeting, two top GOP senators expressed optimism about finding some Democratic votes for a tax proposal.

"I think it was enormously productive," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a Finance Committee member and the No. 2 GOP senator. "The president made clear his preference for a bipartisan bill and there were a lot of ideas that were tossed around."

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., a committee member and No. 3 Republican senator, said he was "hopeful" the GOP could find Democrats to support a tax bill.

The White House has framed the proposal as tax relief for the middle class. An analysis out of the White House estimates average U.S. household income would rise at least $4,000 per year if the corporate tax rate gets chopped from 35 percent to 20 percent, as proposed.

One independent analysis, though, estimated the GOP framework could actually increase taxes on more than a quarter of middle-class Americans over time.

The Senate this week is expected to pass a fiscal 2018 budget resolution, a step toward unlocking the budget reconciliation process. Using those rules, the Senate can pass a tax plan with only Republican votes.

Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell want to pass a tax bill this year. That could prove a difficult task, as tax-writing committees have not yet introduced a bill and lawmakers face multiple other deadlines before the end of the year.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says the health of the stock market hangs in the balance with tax reform.
Senate Republicans scrambled on Tuesday to ensure support for a budget resolution vital to President Donald Trump's drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code, as one Republican fiscal hawk announced he might vote against the measure.

As the Senate opened debate on the fiscal year 2018 budget, Senator Rand Paul objected to spending levels that he said would exceed agreed caps by $43 billion and called for spending reforms for so-called entitlement programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs.

"I will not vote for the budget unless it keeps within the spending caps," the Republican senator told reporters. In a conversation with Trump earlier on Tuesday, Paul said he told the Republican president: "I'm all in. I want to be supportive. I'm a 'yes' vote. But we have to obey our own rules."

Senate Republican aides denied that the budget resolution exceeds federal spending caps set by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Paul said the excess spending was for overseas military operations, which aides said is not subject to caps.

The budget resolution already had a narrow path to passage in the Senate, where Democrats oppose the measures and Republicans have only a 52-48 majority. A "no" vote from Paul appeared to put the budget a single vote from failure, threatening to upend Trump's drive for tax reform.

Another fiscal hawk, Senator Ted Cruz, has refused to disclose whether he would support the measure.

However, the Republican odds of passing a budget resolution improved unexpectedly when Senator Thad Cochran returned to the Senate despite an illness and said in a statement that he looked forward to "taking part in the debate on the budget and tax cuts." A day earlier, Cochran's office had said he would not be available this week.

With Cochran in the Senate, Republicans can pass the measure even if they lose two votes.

The budget resolution is essential to Trump's tax reform strategy because it would unlock a legislative tool known as reconciliation, which would allow Senate Republicans to pass a tax bill with a simple majority. Without it, a partisan tax bill would need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate and would almost certainly fail.

The Republican effort had gained momentum on Monday when two other potential Senate Republican "no" votes  Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski  indicated they were leaning toward "yes." Senator John McCain also said he would support the budget resolution.

After failing to overturn Obamacare earlier this year, Republicans fear they will face a backlash from constituents in next year's congressional midterm elections if they are unable to pass legislation to cut taxes for businesses and individuals.

Trump and top Republicans have proposed a plan to deliver up to $6 trillion in tax cuts over the next 10 years as part of a reform package that they say will boost economic growth and provide more jobs and higher wages.

Democrats, who criticize the Republican plan as a giveaway to the wealthy, will likely propose numerous amendments to the budget plan to prevent tax cuts for the rich and require legislation that would not expand the federal deficit.

"We're talking about a major political party now working night and day on behalf of the top 0.1 percent," Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives must agree on a budget resolution. The House has already approved a different version, so House and Senate Republicans would need to hammer out a unified version and pass it before reconciliation could take effect.
There was a telling moment during Goldman Sachs ' earnings call this week.

Marty Chavez, the bank's chief financial officer, had trotted through some third-quarter numbers, which were mostly better than analysts had expected. Bond trading revenues were down a lot from a year earlier but many other business lines were up, including financial advisory, investment management and the private equity-like segment known as investing and lending.

Then came a question about deregulation, to which Mr Chavez said he hoped conditions would ease on various fronts, citing the Volcker ban on proprietary trading and rules emanating from Basel on liquidity. But even without a gentler ride from regulators, he said, Goldman's priorities had changed, after years of struggling to adjust to ever-tighter rules.

Last month the bank set out a plan to earn an extra $5bn in annual revenue by 2020, including a roughly seven-fold increase in consumer loans supplied via Marcus, the new Lending Club-like platform.

"I'm happy to say our focus has shifted beyond the implementation of regulations . . . to growth," said Mr Chavez.



No other big US bank put it that bluntly, but the sentiment seemed to be shared. With the notable exception of Wells Fargo , still trying to shake off the damage of its fake-account scandal, executives were making encouraging noises about new businesses and top-line expansion as they presented third-quarter results.

At Citigroup , for example, which shed about $500bn of assets in the years after the crisis, CFO John Gerspach talked about growth in credit cards in Mexico and wealth management in Asia. At Bank of America , which added about $90bn of assets over the year, CFO Paul D'Onofrio said he welcomed any "refinement" to rules that "allows us more access and control over our capital [and] liquidity in support of responsible growth".

At Morgan Stanley , James Gorman said the bank "won't be shy" about doing deals such as last month's acquisition of Mesa West Capital, a commercial real estate platform  prompting one analyst to remark on the chief executive's "more aggressive" tone.

"We're not looking for any grand splash here, but we're open for business opportunistically," said Mr Gorman.



JPMorgan Chase is also back buying things. On Tuesday afternoon the biggest US bank by assets announced the acquisition of WePay, a Silicon-Valley based provider of tools for websites to facilitate online payments. The price  undisclosed, but reckoned to be above the $220m valuation WePay achieved in a fundraising two years ago  makes this the biggest whole-company deal the bank has done since the rescue of Bear Stearns in March 2008, according to Dealogic.

For most of the post-crisis years, growth was something of a taboo. Supplying much-needed credit to the world's largest economy was fine by the regulators, of course, but any activity that might make a bank more complex and harder to manage  such as merging with another big bank, or even bolting on a smaller company  was frowned upon. Examiners' focus was squarely on conserving capital and enhancing liquidity, while working through the myriad parts of Dodd-Frank, the Obama administration's big effort to toughen standards on Wall Street.

Now the mood has changed in Washington. Few laws have been ripped up, as yet, despite Donald Trump's early pledge to "do a number" on Dodd-Frank. But new figures in agencies such as Randy Quarles, appointed this month to the most powerful bank regulatory job in the country, should make a real difference. Trade groups say they are expecting him to take a looser grip on the banks than Daniel Tarullo, the previous supervisor-in-chief at the Federal Reserve.



"Dan was a product of the crisis; he was given a mandate to fix the system as he saw the problem," says Tim Adams, president and chief executive of the Institute of International

"I think there's a different mandate now, [which is] how do you ensure the system is safe and sound and resilient, while also ensuring you have balanced growth and that financial institutions can support economic activity." Finance, and a former colleague of Mr Quarles' in the Treasury Department of George W Bush.

Many investors still view the US banks with caution. Ken Fisher, founder, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of Fisher Investments, a Woodside, California-based firm with $89bn under management, says he has been cutting exposure to the big US banks across the board following the big run-up in prices since November.

But others have sensed a turn.

"Every time I look at the banks, I see a number of things that can go right and fewer things that could go wrong," says Mike Mattioli, a portfolio manager looking after about $20bn in assets at Manulife Asset Management in Boston. Reasons to be upbeat include growth in mortgages, a return of "animal spirits" in small-business borrowing, and a "little bit more leverage" in balance sheets, as regulators allow banks to return more capital in the form of dividends and share buybacks.

"I'm not saying all of them will happen, but if you get two, three, four of them, it could look pretty good," he says.

More from the Financial Times:

Lone Star seals deal for stake in rescued Novo Banco after three-year process

Scotiabank looks to sell gold trading unit after money laundering scandal

Scotiabank puts gold business up for sale
Facebook-owned WhatsApp is being censored in China as the Communist Party congress gets underway.

WhatsApp has been blocked in China while other communication platforms like WeChat have been disrupted, as the country's Communist Party Congress began on Wednesday.

CNBC confirmed the blockage with two producers in Beijing, who said they could not send or receive messages on Facebook -owned WhatsApp. They were also unable to change their profile picture on WeChat, the messaging service owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent , that boasts 963 million monthly users.

WeChat users received the following error message: "Due to system maintenance reasons, from today on until the end of this month, changing profile pictures, changing alias, or changing personal description line is not allowed temporarily."

CNBC has contacted both Tencent and WhatsApp for comment and further details. The U.K.'s Chinese embassy wasn't immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

WhatsApp's service has been on and off in China for the past week.

Users are also reporting that their virtual private network (VPN) apps are also being disrupted. VPNs are a way for people to circumvent China's rigorous censorship method, known as the "Great Firewall".

China has been cracking down on VPNs in the last few months. Apple pulled a number of VPNs from its App Store to comply with new regulations. And the government has ordered three major telecoms firms  China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom  to block access to VPNs.
Under pressure over President Donald Trump's reported handling of a call with the widow of an Army sergeant killed in action, the White House on Wednesday did not dispute details that have emerged about Trump saying the soldier "knew what he was signing up for" when he joined the military.

Trump reportedly said this to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, in a phone call on Tuesday. Sgt. Johnson was one of four U.S. Special Operations soldiers killed in Niger on Oct. 4.

Details of the call were first revealed by Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who was sitting with Johnson's widow while she spoke to Trump on Tuesday afternoon. The details were later confirmed by Johnson's mother.

Trump on Wednesday repeatedly denied that he told Johnson that her husband "knew what he was signing up for." He also claimed to have "proof" that Wilson's account was "totally fabricated."

Trump tweet

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, however, said that the "proof" Trump referred to was merely that there were other administration officials present for the call.

Sanders also declined to back up the president's denials when she was asked about them at the daily White House briefing. Instead, Sanders emphasized that Trump had done "the best job he could under those circumstances."

Speaking to numerous media outlets, Wilson said Wednesday that Trump's condolence call had left Myeshia Johnson, Sgt. Johnson's widow, in tears.

The comment about what Johnson signed up for "was the wrong thing to say, but that's not the worst part of the call," Wilson told ABC News. The worst part, she said, was that Trump "did not even know La David Johnson's name. He kept referring to him as 'your guy.' He never called him by his name. So that was even more painful."

Sanders defended the president. "Just because the president said 'your guy,' I don't think that means that he doesn't know his name. As the president stated, the hardest job he has is making calls like that."

Still, by not disputing any of the details that Wilson provided in her account of the president's phone call, Sanders seemed to suggest that Johnson's widow had misinterpreted the president, or taken his words the wrong way.

"The sentiment of the president was very clear," Sanders said. "He took the time to make a call to express his condolences and to thank the family for this individual's service."

But Cowanda Jones-Johnson, the fallen sergeant's mother, said she felt the president had failed to console her grieving family.

"President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Jones-Johnson told numerous media outlets.

The press conference took place two days after Trump first suggested that he had done more to honor the families of slain U.S. service members than had his predecessor, President Barack Obama.
If you're thinking about starting a business, you may want to move.

Most of the top cities in America for economic opportunity are in the South, according to a recent study by Yelp, which used data from July to September, 2017.

Economic opportunity was determined based on the probability of the area's businesses remaining open for the next three months. This was calculated by using business location, category, and other Yelp-related activity, such as how many people call the establishment or map directions to it.

A recent academic study released by Harvard professors shows that Yelp data can predict business growth, as measured by the Census Bureau, before official statistics are released, with its predictive power increasing with population density, income, and education level. The site has amassed 135 million reviews and tens of millions of users, often making it a better source of information on the economy than government data, says Carl Bialik, Yelp's data science editor.

The top 10 cities in America for economic opportunity are:

1. Charlotte, NC

2. Jacksonville, FL

3. Omaha, NE

4. Orlando, FL

5. Charleston, SC

6. Las Vegas, NV

7. Tampa, FL

8. Dallas, TX

9. Salt Lake City, UT

10. Houston, TX
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors  even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress.

In a three-and-a-half hour speech both retrospective and forward-looking, Xi discussed China's progress and signaled how China sees its national development and international role in the next five years.

Of particular interest to investors will be how the world's second-largest economy will move forward as authorities attempt to clean up the fallout from three decades of breakneck growth.

In his speech, Xi said China will push ahead with market-oriented reforms of its foreign exchange rate as well as its financial system, letting the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources.

The government will "clean up rules and practices that hinder a unified market and fair competition, support development of private firms and stimulate vitality of all types of market entities," Xi said, while pledging to further open China's services sector to foreign investors.

"China's open door will not be closed  it will be only be opened wider," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to take advantage of what he believes is the waning influence of the United States around the world under President Donald Trump, said Nicholas Burns, whose 27-year career in diplomacy spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Xi is consolidating power at a "very consequential" meeting of communist officials being held this week in Beijing, Burns told CNBC on Wednesday. The gathering, the Communist Party Congress, is holding its 19th session. The event happens once every five years.

"Xi is just about to become Xi Jinping the most powerful Chinese leader in 45 years since Mao Zedong [founder of the People's Republic of China and former chairman of the Chinese Communist Party]; more powerful than the great Deng Xiaoping who ushered capitalism, not really socialism, into China," said Burns, the U.S. ambassador to NATO and the State Department's third-ranking official during George W. Bush's presidency.

"It's an affirmation of big changes over the past five years," said Burns, currently a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. "China is pushing out very assertively against its neighbors in the South and East China Sea."
(Although I'm using code-first, not the designer.)



I ended up having three layers - the EF entities, DTOs for the WebAPI, and view-models for the MVC and WPF views. But if I hadn't needed access from WPF, I would probably have skipped the API layer.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer











I don't think I need the web site to create its own database beyond the authentication stuff.



Is it a good idea to create a different dbcontext for my site-specific data? I'm thinking it might be.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010

-----

You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010

-----

When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013











"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer











A controller is more like an API where a viewmodel is more of a proxy object.



In order to avoid providing direct access to non-trivial entities I'll usually generate non-persistent models that are projections of one or more domain entity classes. They don't contain any business logic, though, that's the controller's job.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."

- Benjamin Disraeli



hye there . i try to customize my own password hashers by using honeyword hashers but i still cannot import the honeyword generator file into the hashers file . i already follow django documentation for the hashers.py



honeywordgen.py :



import hashlib import string import re from django.db import models from django.contrib.auth.hashers import PBKDF2PasswordHasher from django.utils.crypto import constant_time_compare from django.utils.translation import ugettext_noop as _ from random import random, randrange, choice, sample TOUGH_NUT_PROBABILITY = 0 . 10 RANDOM_WORD_PROBABILITY = 0 . 03 EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY = 0 . 25 MAX_PASSWORD_LENGTH = 256 PASSWORD_PUNCTUATION = ' !@#$%^&*+-?' ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS = string .ascii_letters + string .digits + PASSWORD_PUNCTUATION VOWELS = ' aeiou' LETTERS = string .ascii_lowercase CONSONANTS = string . join ([c for c in string .ascii_lowercase if c not in VOWELS], ' ' ) # h, j, k, q, w, x, y are rarely doubled DOUBLE_CONSONANTS = [c + c for c in CONSONANTS if c not in ' hjkqwxy' ] def closed_syllable(): return choice(CONSONANTS) + choice(VOWELS) + choice(CONSONANTS) def open_syllable(): return choice(CONSONANTS) + choice(VOWELS) def vce_syllable(): r = random() v = ' ' if r < 0 . 95 : v = choice([c for c in VOWELS if c != ' e' ]) else : v = choice(VOWELS) return v + choice(CONSONANTS) + ' e' def vowel_team_syllable(): r = random() if r < 0 . 30 : return choice([ ' oo' , ' ee' ]) if r < 0 . 70 : v = choice(VOWELS) return v + choice([c for c in VOWELS if c != v]) if r < 0 . 80 : return choice([ ' ey' , ' ay' , ' oy' , ' uy' ]) if r < 0 . 90 : return choice([ ' ew' , ' aw' , ' ow' ]) # e.g. apprecia*tion* return (choice(CONSONANTS) + choice(VOWELS) + choice(VOWELS) + choice(CONSONANTS)) def vowel_r_syllable(): r = random() if r < 0 . 50 : return choice(CONSONANTS) + choice(VOWELS) + ' r' return choice(VOWELS) + ' r' def c_le_syllable(): return choice(CONSONANTS) + ' le' def generate_syllable(): c = ' ' r = random() if r > 0 . 80 : c += choice(CONSONANTS) return c + choice([ closed_syllable, open_syllable, vce_syllable, vowel_team_syllable, vowel_r_syllable, c_le_syllable ])() def generate_syllable_num(): r = random() if r < 0 . 05 : return 1 if r < 0 . 65 : return 2 if r < 0 . 90 : return 3 if r < 0 . 95 : return 4 if r < 0 . 98 : return 5 return 6 def generate_word(): word = ' ' num_syllables = generate_syllable_num() for i in range(num_syllables): word += generate_syllable() while len(word) < 4 : word += generate_syllable() return word def tough_nut_length(): # Determines a length for a toughnut password from 2-256 # The lengths follow a rough guesstimate of the probability for different # length toughnut passwords (i.e., between 10 and 25 is most likely). r = random() if r < 0 . 05 : return randrange( 2 , 5 ) if r < 0 . 45 : return randrange( 5 , 10 ) if r < 0 . 90 : return randrange( 10 , 25 ) if r < 0 . 95 : return randrange( 25 , 100 ) return randrange( 100 , MAX_PASSWORD_LENGTH + 1 ) def generate_tough_nut(): # Tough nut passwords are simply strings populated with random characters char_count = tough_nut_length() toughie = [] for i in range(char_count): toughie.append(choice(ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS)) return string . join (toughie, ' ' ) def generate_seed(tough_nut_prob=TOUGH_NUT_PROBABILITY): r = random() if r < tough_nut_prob: return generate_tough_nut() return generate_word() def can_equal_char_replace(password): return any([True for c in password if c in ' AELOSTaelost@310$7@310$7' ]) def tweak_equal_char_replace(password): for i in range(len(password)): # This is the current character at index i, and the left and right # substrings password_loc = password[i:i+1] password_left = password[:i] password_right = password[i+1:] # If the letter is any of the ones listed replace with new character # with a predefined probability if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ( ' A' in password_loc or ' a' in password_loc)): if random() < 0 . 50 : password = password_left+str( ' 4' )+password_right else : password = password_left+str( ' @' )+password_right if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ( ' o' in password_loc or ' O' in password_loc)): password = password_left+str( ' 0' )+password_right if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ' e' in password_loc): password = password_left+str( ' 3' )+password_right if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ' l' in password_loc): password = password_left+str( ' 1' )+password_right if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ' s' in password_loc): password = password_left+str( ' $' )+password_right if (random() < EQUIV_CHAR_REPLACE_PROBABILITY and ' T' in password_loc): password = password_left+str( ' 7' )+password_right return password def can_capitalize(password): return any(c.isalpha() for c in password) def tweak_capitalize(password): r = random() if r < 0 . 40 and password.title() != password: return password.title() elif r < 0 . 60 and password.lower() != password: return password.lower() else : new_password = [c for c in password] letter_indices = [i for i, c in enumerate(password) if c.isalpha()] for i in sample(letter_indices, randrange(len(letter_indices))): c = new_password[i] if c in string .ascii_uppercase: new_password[i] = c.lower() elif c in string .ascii_lowercase: new_password[i] = c.upper() return string . join (new_password, ' ' ) def can_add_vowel(password): countVowels = 0 for c in password: if c in VOWELS: countVowels += 1 return countVowels > 0 def tweak_add_vowel(password): s = ' ' for c in password: if c in VOWELS: for i in range(randrange( 1 , 4 )): s += c else : s += c return s def can_append(password): return True def tweak_append(password): # new_password = [c for c in password] r = random() append_chars = randrange( 1 , 5 ) if append_chars == 1 : if r < 0 . 60 : password += str(randrange( 0 , 10 )) else : password += choice(ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS) if append_chars == 2 : if r < 0 . 60 : # recent decades password += str(randrange( 50 , 100 )) elif r < 0 . 90 : # other 2 digit pairs password += str(randrange( 0 , 50 )) else : # 2 random characters password += string . join (sample(ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS, 2 ), ' ' ) if append_chars == 4 : if r < 0 . 80 : # 1950-1999 if r < 0 . 70 : password += ' 19' + str(randrange( 50 , 100 )) # 2000 - 2020 else : password += ' 20' + str(randrange( 0 , 21 )) elif r < 0 . 90 : # any 4 random digits password += string . join ([choice( string .digits) for i in range( 4 )], ' ' ) else : # any 4 random characters password += string . join (sample(ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS, 2 ), ' ' ) else : password += string . join ([choice(ALL_PASSWORD_CHARS) for i in range(append_chars)], ' ' ) # " Pluralize" every so often when password ends in a letter last_pos = len(password) - 1 if r < 0 . 20 and password[last_pos] != ' s' : if password[last_pos] in string .ascii_lowercase: password += ' s' elif password[last_pos] in string .ascii_uppercase: password += ' S' return password def can_digit_tweak(password): # Digit tweak can only be applied when there are digits in password return any([True for c in password if c in string .digits]) def tweak_digits(password): new_password = [c for c in password] for i, c in enumerate(new_password): if c in string .digits: new_password[i] = string .digits[randrange(len( string .digits))] return string . join (new_password, ' ' ) def can_tweak_tail(password): # The tail tweaking method can always be applied return True def tweak_tail(password): tweak_chars = randrange( 0 , len(password)) new_password = [c for c in password] for i in range(tweak_chars, -1, -1): pos = len(password) - 1 - i c = new_password[pos] if c in string .ascii_lowercase: new_password[pos] = choice( string .ascii_lowercase) elif c in string .ascii_uppercase: new_password[pos] = choice( string .ascii_uppercase) elif c in string .digits: new_password[pos] = choice( string .digits) elif c in PASSWORD_PUNCTUATION: new_password[pos] = choice(PASSWORD_PUNCTUATION) else : new_password[pos] = choice( string .ascii_letters) return string . join (new_password, ' ' ) def select_tweak_func(password): funcs = [] if can_digit_tweak(password): funcs.append(tweak_digits) if can_append(password): funcs.append(tweak_append) if can_add_vowel(password): funcs.append(tweak_add_vowel) if can_capitalize(password): funcs.append(tweak_capitalize) if can_equal_char_replace(password): funcs.append(tweak_equal_char_replace) assert(len(funcs) > 0 ) return choice(funcs) # return tweak_capitalize def test_tweak_funcs(password): if can_digit_tweak(password): print( ' tweak_digits: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_digits(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_digits' , password)) if can_append(password): print( ' tweak_append: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_append(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_pluralize' , password)) if can_add_vowel(password): print( ' tweak_add_vowel: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_add_vowel(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_add_vowel' , password)) if can_capitalize(password): print( ' tweak_capitalize: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_capitalize(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_capitalize' , password)) if can_equal_char_replace(password): print( ' tweak_equal_char_replace: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_equal_char_replace(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_equal_char_replace' , password)) if can_tweak_tail(password): print( ' tweak_tail: %s-->%s' % (password, tweak_tail(password))) else : print( ' Cannot apply %s to %s' % ( ' tweak_tail' , password)) def main(): for i in range( 100 ): seed = generate_seed() print( ' New seed: %s' % seed) test_tweak_funcs(seed) print if __name__ == ' __main__' : main()



this is my hashers.py :



from __future__ import unicode_literals import base64 import binascii import hashlib import importlib import passlib import hashlib from collections import OrderedDict from django.conf import settings from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured from django.core.signals import setting_changed from django.dispatch import receiver from django.db import models from django.contrib.auth.hashers import BasePasswordHasher, PBKDF2PasswordHasher from django.utils.crypto import get_random_string from django.utils.encoding import force_bytes, force_text from django.utils.module_loading import import_string from django.utils.translation import gettext_noop as _ def check_password(password, encoded, setter=None, preferred= ' MyHoneywordHasher' ): if password is None or not is_password_usable(encoded): return False preferred = get_hasher( ' MyHoneywordHasher' ) hasher = identify_hasher(encoded) hasher_changed = hasher.algorithm != MyHoneywordHasher.algorithm must_update = hasher+hasher_changed or MyHoneywordHasher.must_update(encoded) is_correct = hasher.verify(password, encoded) if not is_correct and not hasher_changed and must_update: hasher.harden_runtime(password, encoded) if setter and is_correct and must_update: setter(password) return is_correct def make_password(password, salt, hasher= ' MyHoneywordHasher' ): if password is None: return UNUSABLE_PASSWORD_PREFIX + get_random_string(UNSUABLE_PASSWORD_SUFFIX_LENGTH) hasher = get_hasher(MyHoneywordHasher) if not salt: salt = hasher.salt() return hasher.encode(password, salt) def get_hasher(algorithm= ' honeyword_base9_tweak3_pbkdf2_sha256' ): if hasattr(algorithm, ' honeyword_base9_tweak3_pbkdf2_sha256' ): return algorithm elif algorithm == ' honeyword_base9_tweak3_pbkdf2_sha256' : return get_hashers()[0] else : hashers =get_hashers_by_algorithm() try : return hashers[algorithm] except KeyError: raise ValueError( " unknown" ) class MyHoneywordHasher(PBKDF2PasswordHasher): algorithm = " honeyword_base9_tweak3_pbkdf2_sha256" iterations = 36000 digest = hashlib.sha256 def _load_library(self): if self.library is not None: if isinstance(self.library, (tuple, list)): name, mod_path = self.library else : mod_path = self.library try : module = importlib.import_module(mod_path) except ImportError as e: raise ValueError( " Couldn't load %r algorithm library: %s" %(self.__class__.__name__, e)) return module raise ValueError( " Hasher %r doesn't specify a library attribute" %self.__class__.__name__) def salt(self): return get_random_string() def verify(self, password, encoded): raise NotImplementedError( ' subclasses of BasePasswordHasher must provide a verify() method' ) def encode (self, password, salt, iterations=None): sweetwords = [ " hilman95,aisyah95,amirah95,zuhairah95,nabila95" ] sweetwords.extend(honeywordgen.gen(password, base9, [passfiles.txt])) for i in range(base10): sweetwords.extend(honeywordtweak.tweak(password[i], tweak3)) random.shuffle(sweetwords) hashes = [] for swd in sweetwords: hashes.append(self.hash(swd, salt, iterations)) self.honeychecker.update_index(salt, sweetwords.index(password)) h = sweetwords(salt = salt, sweetwords = pickle.dumps(hashes)) h.save() return ' %s$%d$%s$%s' %(self.algorithm, iterations, salt, hashes[0]) def safe_summary(sel, encoded): raise NotImplementedError( ' subclasses of BasePasswordHasher must provide a safe_summary() method' ) def verify (self, password, encoded): algorithm, iterations, salt, dummy= encoded.split( ' $' , 3 ) hashes = pickle.loads(sweetwords.objects. get (salt=salt).sweetwords) hash = self.hash(password, salt, int (iterations)) if hash in hashes: return honeychecker.check_index(salt, hashes.index(hash)) return False



at first i try , it manage to not hashed by default but unfortunately the password does not stored in the database . i use sqlite . my project is basically to add customize hashers in my registration page . when users register , the password will automatically hashed with honeywordHasher and stored in database. and i try to fix it but end up with this error :



NameError at /accounts/register/ name ' honeywordgen' is not defined



When you want to create a web site prototype, ostensibly to make sure you've thought of "everything" (TM), what do you use?

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010

-----

You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010

-----

When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013





...MVC simply doesn't make any sense.



I took days to design a EF6 code-first model, and then created a MVC controller/view for that model, and despite the fact that I specified my key field as a string (to use guids), the control insists on trying to use nullable longs for the id parameter. Seriously, WTF is going on?



I'm really not that big a fan of web development to start with, and MVC/EF ain't doin' anything to resolve my impression of it.



I need a reference that discusses the back-end mechanics without letting "site styling" get in the way of the real work that needs to be done. Can anyone help?

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010

-

You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010

-

When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013









Would you mind posting at least the Id portion of your model, and an Id dependent controller method? That way we can get on the same page.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."

- Benjamin Disraeli







So, parsing/deserialization is not the problem. Unless I write actual sql to upsert a new record, I have to create the guid in the model (or viewmodel).



What I'm complaining about is that I can't find any useful reference material that talks about EF6 in the context of MVC, without having all kinds of needless crap about styling the UI on a website. I don't CARE about styling the web site yet.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010

-----

You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010

-----

When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013









I have, however, used the GUID type for primary keys with EF6, and I don't remember having any special issues with it (unlike prior EF versions). You should be able to declare a POCO like so:

C# public class Foo { [Key, DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Identity)] public Guid Bar { get ; set ; } ... }

But beyond that, I think I might be able to help in terms of the documentation piece. MVC.NET is largely targeted towards the sort of people that previously used WebForms, so it's more concerned with the UI than what you need right now. I would suggest looking at documentation for WebAPI instead, if you're trying to work on the backend more than the front. The concepts are just about identical, and none of the UI is injected into it. The only real difference is that in MVC.NET you'll usually end up passing the model to a View constructor rather than returning it directly.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."

- Benjamin Disraeli



Hi Yaseer,



I have started the implementation of databinding using table given here.

In the example on this site, they have taken fix array to bind the data. As per your example of users database, I have added another page and typescript whose code is mentioned below.



Typescript code:



<pre>import { Component, OnInit, ViewChild } from '@angular/core'; import { UserService } from '../Service/user.service'; import { IUser } from '../Model/user'; import { DBOperation } from '../Shared/enum'; import { Observable } from 'rxjs/Rx'; import { Global } from '../Shared/global'; import { ManageUser } from './manageuser.component'; import { MdDialog, MdDialogRef } from '@angular/material'; import { UserFilterPipe } from '../filter/user.pipe'; import { DataSource } from "@angular/cdk/collections"; import 'rxjs/add/observable/of'; @Component({ templateUrl: 'app/Components/userlist.component.html' }) export class UserListComponent implements OnInit { users: IUser[]; user: IUser; dataSource: userDataSource; displayedColumns = ['FirstName', 'LastName']; constructor(private _userService: UserService) { } ngOnInit(): void { this.LoadUsers(); this.dataSource = new userDataSource(this.users); } LoadUsers(): void { this._userService.get(Global.BASE_USER_ENDPOINT) .subscribe(users => { this.users = users } ); } } export class userDataSource extends DataSource<any>{ constructor(private _users: IUser[]) { super(); } connect(): Observable<IUser[]> { debugger; return Observable.of(this._users); } disconnect() { } }



My HTML:



HTML < pre > < div class =' panel panel-primary' > < div class =' panel-heading' > User List using Table < /div > < div class =' panel-body' > < md-table #table [dataSource] =" dataSource" > < ng-container mdColumnDef =" FirstName" > < md-header-cell *mdHeaderCellDef > First Name < /md-header-cell > < md-cell *mdCellDef =" let element" > {{element.FirstName}} < /md-cell > < /ng-container > < ng-container mdColumnDef =" LastName" > < md-header-cell *mdHeaderCellDef > Last Name < /md-header-cell > < md-cell *mdCellDef =" let element" > {{element.LastName}} < /md-cell > < /ng-container > < md-header-row *mdHeaderRowDef =" displayedColumns" > < /md-header-row > < md-row *mdRowDef =" let row; columns: displayedColumns;" > < /md-row > < /md-table > < /div > < /div >



The issue is that I am not getting any scripting error but data is also not binding. Weird thing is that when I debug the typescript in browser, the data gets bind sometimes while debugging.



It will be good if you can throw some light on this.



Please find the steps to upgrade to material 2 . 0 .0-beta. 10 dependency below just for your reference.



1 . " @angular/material" : " 2.0.0-beta.7" --> No Change 2 . " @angular/material" : " 2.0.0-beta.8" 2 . 1 Include " @angular/cdk" : " 2.0.0-beta.8" in devDependencies 2 . 2 Change " rxjs" : " 5.0.1" to " rxjs" : " 5.0.3" in dependencies 2 . 3 map bundle ' @angular/cdk' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk.umd.js' in systemjs.config.js 3 . " @angular/material" : " 2.0.0-beta.10" 3 . 1 Change " @angular/cdk" : " 2.0.0-beta.8" to " @angular/cdk" : " 2.0.0-beta.10" 3 . 2 map below bundles in systemjs.config.js ' @angular/cdk/a11y' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-a11y.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/bidi' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-bidi.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/coercion' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-coercion.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/collections' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-collections.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/keycodes' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-keycodes.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/observers' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-observers.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/overlay' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-overlay.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/platform' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-platform.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/portal' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-portal.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/rxjs' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-rxjs.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/scrolling' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-scrolling.umd.js' , ' @angular/cdk/table' : ' npm:@angular/cdk/bundles/cdk-table.umd.js' , 3 . 3 Change <button mdSuffix [mdDatepickerToggle]= " picker" > </ button > to <md-datepicker-toggle mdSuffix [for]= " picker" > </ md-datepicker-toggle > 3 . 4 Import below dependencies if using Autocomplete feature import ' rxjs/add/operator/startWith' ; import ' rxjs/add/operator/map' ;



Munjal Pandya wrote: Hi Yaseer,

Who is this message meant for?



If you're replying to a message from another user, then reply to that thread.



If you're commenting on an article, then use the forum at the bottom of the article.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







Hello !

I'm using MVC , C# and Entity Framework.

The object on my model are:

State-------- Id , Name

City ------- Id , Name , StateId

TheObject----Id,Name,StateId,CityId

I want to create an edit form for TheObject.

The Edit form has 2 dropdownlist State and City that are created dynamically , and the City list depend on selection made on State List.

The problem is that the dropdown list are filled correctly , but when the edit form is open these 2 dropdownlist are in empty state and does not have selected the real values for the object that is edited .

The partial code for Edit view is this :

<div class = " form-group" > @Html.LabelFor(u => u.State, new { @class = " control-label col-md-2" }) <div class = " col-md-10" > @Html.DropDownListFor(u => u.State, new SelectList(ViewBag.State, " Id" , " Name" ), " Choose State" , new { @class = " form-control" , @onchange = " selectCities()" }) @Html.ValidationMessageFor(u => u.State, " " , new { @class = " text-danger" }) </ div > </ div > <div class = " form-group" > @Html.LabelFor(u => u.City, new { @class = " control-label col-md-2" }) <div class = " col-md-10" > @Html.DropDownListFor(u => u.City, new SelectList(Enumerable.Empty<SelectListItem>(), " Id" , " Name" ), " Choose City" , new { @class = " form-control" }) @Html.ValidationMessageFor(u => u.City, " " , new { @class = " text-danger" }) </ div > </ div > <script> function selectCities() { debugger; var stateId = $( " #State" ).val(); $.ajax({ url: ' /Home/selectCities' , type: ' POST' , datatype: ' application/json' , contentType: ' application/json' , data: JSON.stringify({ stateId: +stateId }), success: function (result) { $( " #City" ).html( " " ); $( " #City" ).append ($( ' <option></option>' ).val( null ).html( " ---choose City---" )); $.each($.parseJSON(result), function (i, cty) { $( " #City" ).append($( ' <option></option>' ).val(cty.Id).html(cty.Name)) }) }, error: function () { alert( " Error !" ) }, }); } </script>



The partial code of the controller is this :

private void Fill_StateDropDownList() { var st = from d in db.States orderby d.Name select d; ViewBag.State = st.ToList(); } [HttpPost] public ActionResult selectCities( string stId) { List < City > lstcity = new List < City > (); int stateiD = Convert.ToInt32(stId); lstgrupet = ( from d in db.Citys where d.StateID==stateiD select d).ToList(); string result= JsonConvert.SerializeObject(lstgrupet, Formatting.Indented, new JsonSerializerSettings { ReferenceLoopHandling = ReferenceLoopHandling.Ignore}); return Json(result, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); } public ActionResult Edit( int ? id) { if (id == null ) { return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest); } TheObject obj = db.TheObjects.Find(id); if (user == null ) { return HttpNotFound(); } Fill_StateDropDownList() return View(obj); } [HttpPost, ActionName( " Edit" )] [ValidateAntiForgeryToken] public ActionResult EditPost( int ? id) { if (id == null ) { return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest); } var theobjectToUpdate = db.TheObjects.Find(id); if (TryUpdateModel(theobjectToUpdate, " " , new string[] { " Name" , " StateId" , " CityId" })) { try { db.SaveChanges(); return RedirectToAction( " Index" ); } catch (Exception) { ModelState.AddModelError( " " , " Error." ); } } Fill_StateDropDownList() return View(theobjectToUpdate); }



modified 23-Sep-17 15:02pm.



Controller:

C# private void Fill_StateDropDownList() { var st = from d in db.States orderby d.Name select d; ViewBag.State = st.ToList(); } private void Fill_CityDropDownList( int ? stateId) { var cities = from d in db.Citys where d.StateID == stateId select d; ViewBag.City = cities.ToList(); } [HttpPost] public ActionResult selectCities( int ? stateId) { var cities = from d in db.Citys where d.StateID == stateId select new { d.Id, d.Name }; return Json(cities, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet); } public ActionResult Edit( int ? id) { if (id == null ) { return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest); } TheObject obj = db.TheObjects.Find(id); if (obj == null ) { return HttpNotFound(); } Fill_StateDropDownList(); Fill_CityDropDownList(obj.StateId); return View(obj); } [HttpPost, ActionName( " Edit" )] [ValidateAntiForgeryToken] public ActionResult EditPost( int ? id) { if (id == null ) { return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest); } var theobjectToUpdate = db.TheObjects.Find(id); if (TryUpdateModel(theobjectToUpdate, " " , new string[] { " Name" , " StateId" , " CityId" })) { try { db.SaveChanges(); return RedirectToAction( " Index" ); } catch (Exception ex) { ModelState.AddModelError( " " , ex); } } Fill_StateDropDownList(); Fill_CityDropDownList(theobjectToUpdate.StateId); return View(theobjectToUpdate); }

View:

<div class = " form-group" > @Html.LabelFor(u => u.State, new { @class = " control-label col-md-2" }) <div class = " col-md-10" > @Html.DropDownListFor(u => u.State, new SelectList(ViewBag.State, " Id" , " Name" ), " Choose State" , new { @class = " form-control" }) @Html.ValidationMessageFor(u => u.State, " " , new { @class = " text-danger" }) </ div > </ div > <div class = " form-group" > @Html.LabelFor(u => u.City, new { @class = " control-label col-md-2" }) <div class = " col-md-10" > @Html.DropDownListFor(u => u.City, new SelectList(ViewBag.City, " Id" , " Name" ), " Choose City" , new { @class = " form-control" }) @Html.ValidationMessageFor(u => u.City, " " , new { @class = " text-danger" }) </ div > </ div >

Javascript:

JavaScript $( function (){ $( " #State" ).change( function (){ debugger ; var stateId = $( this ).val(); $.post( ' /Home/selectCities' , { stateId: +stateId }) .done( function (result){ var $city = $( " #City" ); $city.html( " " ); $city.append($( ' <option/>' ).val( null ).html( " ---choose City---" )); $.each(result, function (i, cty) { $city.append($( ' <option/>' ).val(cty.Id).html(cty.Name)); }); }) .fail( function (){ alert( " Error !" ); }); }); });





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer







Hello !

i'm new to design Website using MVC.

I'm using entity Framework and C#.

On my Login controller , I get the currently logged user as an entity . ( Users LogUser

But I want to use the variable LogUser in other controllers.

How can I do that , how can can I save as global variable ? ( I have declared LogUser as public but does not work )

Thank you !



desanti wrote: how can can I save as global variable

You can't.



"Global" variables (aka static fields) are shared across all threads in your process. That means there would only ever be a single value of that variable across all requests from all users.



Instead, you store an authentication ticket in a cookie, which only applies to requests from the current user. You then use that ticket to authenticate the user.



But you shouldn't be writing that code yourself. You should be using ASP.NET Identity[^] to handle authentication for your application.





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer









string cookieName = FormsAuthentication.FormsCookieName; HttpCookie authCookie = HttpContext.Request.Cookies[cookieName]; FormsAuthenticationTicket ticket = FormsAuthentication.Decrypt(authCookie.Value); string UserName = ticket.Name;



So I'm engaging in my semi-annual technology roundup to determine if there's finally some integration in the standards that will allow me to use certificates on a hardware token to digitally sign a document without going through the process of downloading, signing, and uploading.



I'm not going to write a browser plugin due to the organization security posture.



I'm not terribly interested in using Java for this purpose, in a good part due to the above.



I've been watching the Web Cryptography API with something akin to hope for a few years now. Is anyone aware of any additional projects or WebCrypto integrations that I might have missed?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."

- Benjamin Disraeli



I want to create a login page for my site.This is my html code.

HTML < form class =" modal-content animate" action =" inori.php" > < div class =" imgcontainer" > < span onclick =" document.getElementById('id01').style.display='none'" class =" close" title =" Close Modal" >  < /span > < h1 > Member Login < /h1 > < /div > < div class =" container" > < label > Username < /label > < input type =" text" placeholder =" Enter Username" name =" uname" required > < label > Password < /label > < input type =" password" placeholder =" Enter Password" name =" psw" required > < button type =" submit" > Login < /button > < button type =" button" onclick =" document.getElementById('id01').style.display='none'" class =" cancelbtn" > Cancel < /button > < input type =" checkbox" checked =" checked" > Remember me Forgot < a href =" #" > password? < /a > < /div > < div class =" container" style =" background-color:#f1f1f1" > < /div > < /form >

I want to create php and ajax code to complete the form. could someone give me a tutorial to do this. I dont have any idea where to start.



modified 17-Sep-17 2:58am.



PHP 5 Tutorial[^] This worked for me as a getting started in php. They also have AJAX.



Ravings en masse^ "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010



I am wondering if you can tell me if there is anything wrong with the html listed below that is near the 14px listed below?



<p> </ p > <p>&CUR_DATE.EVAL </ p > <p>To the &PAR_NAME.EVAL of &STU_FNAME.EVAL &STU_LNAME.EVAL<br /> <span id= " ADDR_BEG" > </ span > &PAR_ADDR.EVAL<br /><span id= " ADDR_NEXT" > </ span > &PAR_CITY.EVAL, &PAR_STATE.EVAL &PAR_ZIP.EVAL<br /><span id= " ADDR_END" > </ span > <br /> Dear &PAR_NAME.EVAL and &STU_FNAME.EVAL &STU_LNAME.EVAL:<br /> <br /> This letter is to inform you that &STU_FNAME.EVAL has the equivalent of 5 or more unexcused absences this school year. <span style= " font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial,sans-serif; color: black;" ><span style= " font-size: 14px; font-family: arial;" >We believe student attendance in school is a key component to school success, so it is very important for all children to develop habits of good attendance. Poor attendance contributes to failing grades, decreased learning opportunities, lower academic achievement and may limit your child ' s opportunities to be involved with school activities.</span><br /> <br /> </span><br />



I am asking this question since the value listed above is stored in a varchar(max) column in a sql server 2012 database. When an

ssrs 2012 report is executed, the following error message is displayed:

"Warning 1 [rsParseErrorInvalidSize] Near character position 646 in the input string, the value of the font-size property for the textrun stringtemplate3.Paragraphs[0].TextRuns[0] is 14px, which is not a valid size. Valid sizes may not exceed 455 inches (1155.7 centimeters). ".


As smartphones and tablets become ever more indespensible work tools, enterprise mobility management platforms (EMM) are being used deliver collaboration tools, such as voice and video conferencing, directly to user devices.

With implications for all of IT, a new market survey by tech and services provider CDW found that most companies now view their mobility and collaboration platforms as one digital workspace. Additionally, the survey also found that end-users are playing a larger role in selecting those "digital workspace" platforms.

The survey also showed that over the past two years corporations have seen a shift in the way non-IT execs participate in the IT buying process for digital workspaces.

CDW surveyed 1,794 IT and non-IT business leaders who play a role in purchasing decisions for digital workspace solutions; the results were released last week.

CDW

Seventy percent of IT and non-IT executives indicated that their companies see mobile and collaborative strategies as a single entity, according to the CDW Digital Workspace Solutions Report.

Virtual desktop infrastructure has also been helping the convergence of mobile and collaboration technology, according to Nathan Coutinho, director of Workspace Solutions at CDW.

"The biggest area is voice, whether through the cloud or on premise, which includes traditional voice but also video, messaging, chat-based platforms and productivity tools, which is another large area all by itself. So we're talking about Office365, Googles G Suite, and things like that," Coutinho said.

EMM vendors rush to support mobile platforms

For example, Microsoft and Blackberry moved quickly to offer zero-day support  as did EMM-specific vendors  for Apple's iOS 11, which allows them to be deployed by IT departments directly to mobile devices.

All of the leading EMM vendors, including VMware's AirWatch, MobileIron and IBM's MaaS360, have various integrations with Apple and Microsoft.

"What's happening is because you can now integrate further into the application stack, you can now also deliver collaboration tools like voice and video directly through the EMM to the end user," Coutinho said.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

Voice-over-IP apps such as Slack or Skype or Cisco Spark or Cisco Jabber all have had mobile instances for quite a while.

As a result, employees are using their desktop phones less, as they work from home, walk around the office or use their mobile devices in the field and on business trips.

"That's what's making a lot of these vendors rethink how they deploy these applications," Coutinho said, referring to EMM platforms. "That's why they're becoming easier to use and better, more enterprise grade.

CDW

"That's where we're seeing the consumerization effect that's leading our [enterprise] customers to believe they need a better enterprise strategy," Coutinho continued, "and now if that strategy involves mobility, we need to think about collaboration  and if it involves collaboration we need to think about mobility."

Apple has been the leader in integrating its smartphone and tablet operating system to be more enterprise-user friendly.

For example, Apple opened up its iOS API to developers, so not only could an iPhone be used for VOIP calls, but if an end-user were to use Skype for Business or Cisco Spark, the interface would continue to have the look and feel of a normal cell phone call.

"That's a humongous leap in terms of usability because if all you know is your iPhone interface, now you can use your corporate desk phone in a software phone app and it looks exactly the same," Coutinho said. "So, you don't have anything to learn."

Cisco has also been heavy in its deployment of mobile quality of service (QoS) via EMM platforms. For example, Cisco Fastlane enables IT via EMM to determine which business apps get priority on a wireless network.

While not all EMM vendors are offering the ability to deploy Cisco Fastlane to end users, they will do so over the next year or two, Coutinho said.

Currently, Microsoft, Google and Cisco are the leaders in the converging their collaboration and mobile capabilities in the enterprise.

Ultimately, IT is trying to figure out how to deploy collaboration tools on mobile devices easier. Currently, most organizations have a mix of different collaboration options, which can be frustrating for the end user.

An exceptional mobile experience means including non-IT worker opinions

The CDW report also examined what contributes to exceptional user experiences when combining mobile and collaborative technology, how organizations rate their current experiences, and how they expect their digital workspaces to evolve over the next five years.

According to the survey:

38% of respondents said non-IT executives are more often the final decision makers on digital workspace purchases and 35% say they are more often consulted by IT during the evaluation and purchasing process

About 41% of digital workspace solutions are selected by departments other than IT.

Organizations where non-IT leaders are the final decision makers for digital workspace solutions are significantly more likely to offer an "exceptional" experience, 43% compared to 23% of organizations that didn't involve non-IT departments in a technology rollout.

"The more you involve people who are not IT  the end users who'll be using the solution  the more success you have with it," Coutinho said. "It seems like a no-brainer, but it's surprising to see how many systems are put in without any end-user intervention at all."

CDW

The survey results, Coutinho said, solidified what CDW has been hearing from its customers: whether they are rolling out WebEx, GoToMeeting, Live Meeting or Skype for Business on mobile devices, end users are often already using a favorite collaboration tool. So, when IT rolls out its own selection, users ignore it  and the internal effort is wasted.

"What we found is when you involve end users, as many as you can, early in the process and throughout the deployment, they become ambassadors for the solution. And, that really increases the exceptional experience," Coutinho said. "That means you're getting your money's worth. And I thought that was critical from a planning perspective."
Microsoft today released the newest Windows 10 feature upgrade, labeled "Fall Creators Update" and numbered 1709, to consumers and commercial customers. The upgrade was the first since Microsoft revamped its Windows 10 servicing model by pledging to deliver two such updates annually, and changed the release track nomenclature and support timetable.

As Microsoft pointed out, some practices have changed in its Windows-10-as-a-service concept.

What's in a name?

Today's upgrade carries the label "Semi-Annual Channel," a change in nomenclature from Microsoft's previous Current Branch, the release track offered almost exclusively to consumers. To match the naming convention it created for Office 365, Microsoft dropped its Windows 10 release titles Current Branch and Current Branch for Business, and swapped in Semi-Annual Channel for both.

Windows 10 1709 is the first feature upgrade to get the Semi-Annual Channel name tag.

Jump on it, enterprise!

The naming differences are insignificant compared to the advice Microsoft gave enterprises about deployment: Previously, it told corporate customers to steer clear of Current Branch. Instead, they were to wait for Microsoft to give a green light - usually awarded about four months after the launch of Current Branch - indicating the upgrade had been sufficiently tested, mostly by consumers, and now warranted widespread roll-outs by IT. That green light also marked a change in labels, as the upgrade was promoted to the Current Branch for Business channel.

Now, Microsoft recommends that all enterprises jump on each Semi-Annual Channel release immediately, at least for a subset of workers. "As soon as that release date happens, begin piloting, begin deploying [the feature upgrade] to a percentage of your organization," Michael Niehaus, director of product marketing for Windows, said in a briefing at the company's Ignite conference three weeks ago. "You want to start right way so you can build up trust, build up confidence, in the release itself."

And it's live

To make the previous recommendation possible, Microsoft has accelerated the availability of Windows 10 1709 compared to earlier upgrades.

"Windows 10, version 1709 will be available on the 17th on all relevant distribution channels: the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC), Windows Update for Business, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and Visual Studio Subscriptions," Niehaus wrote in a post to a company blog yesterday.

Last spring, Microsoft waited until May 1 to offer Windows 10 1703 (aka Creators Update) to enterprises via the VLSC, for instance. That was about four weeks after 1703 actually arrived.

All in one, one for all

Microsoft also altered the packaging of the disk images - identified by the .iso filename suffix - for Windows 10 1709. "Instead of having separate media and packages for Windows 10 Pro (volume licensing version), Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education, all three will be bundled together," Niehaus said Monday. "Included in the [.iso] will be a single Windows image (WIM) file that contains all the volume licensing images."

Niehaus didn't explain the rationale behind the combined-version disk image, but it was probably due to a relatively new feature in Windows 10, called "Subscription Activation," that debuted in this year's 1703 upgrade. Using Subscription Activation, devices assigned to a user covered by a subscription-based license - including plans such as Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5, as well as Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 - are automatically "unlocked" with a log-in, with the operating system transforming from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Enterprise.

To do so requires that the underlying image include features of every Windows 10 SKU (stock-selling unit); the license simply unlocks the appropriate set of features.

Also perhaps in play: Microsoft added an operating system-change path from Windows 10 Enterprise to Windows 10 Education - using an activation product key - with 1709.
The roll-out of Universal Credit is proceeding to plan, gradually and sensibly [laughter]. In Hansards report of this claim at the start of last week by David Gauke, the word laughter is omitted, though on recordings of the same event, mocking guffaws are audible.

As Work and Pensions Secretary, Gauke will today come under renewed attack, both while giving evidence to the select committee and during an opposition day debate, about the roll-out of Universal Credit.

It is impossible to think of a minister better fitted to withstand this onslaught. For during his many years in the Treasury ministerial team, he became celebrated, among connoisseurs of such matters, for his extraordinary ability to take the heat out of any row which was raging as a result of some imprudent act committed by his boss, George Osborne.

Uncork the Gauke! the Chancellor and his adviser Rupert Harrison would declare, having borrowed the term from a tweet by the BBC journalist Nick Robinson soon after the 2012 omnishambles Budget. While Osborne lay low, Gauke would be sent off to the Commons, and onto the airwaves, where he would calm things down and explain why, for example, although the pasty tax was no longer going to happen, weve still got a fiscally neutral Budget.

In the Treasury press office, they became so used to this manoeuvre they did not need to say anything, but would mime opening a bottle of wine to indicate what was afoot.

A senior Treasury official recalls that he could walk past a television set with the sound turned down, see Gauke performing, and be sure that calm was being restored.

How does Gauke do it? The field of Gauke studies is in its infancy, the literature sparse, quantitative analysis non-existent. One trusts that in due course, a vast corpus of research will accumulate, and the phenomenon of Gaukism will start to take definitive shape.

Meanwhile these rough notes must suffice. When Gauke defends Universal Credit today, the following features of his style are likely to be noticeable.

He will be dull. When he has finished, indeed well before he has finished, you will find yourself thinking Universal Credit is less interesting than you thought.

He will also be honest. He will give you the impression he believes every word he says.

And he will sound on top of his brief, yet devoid of personal arrogance  the implicit I know better than you do, you stupid little fool which makes so many politicians objectionable.

There will be no hint of panic in Gaukes voice. Even if he makes concessions, there will be no sense he is being bounced.

He will instead repeat, at very frequent intervals, the principle which justifies Universal Credit  that work should pay  and the evidence that as a result of its introduction, people are moving into work faster and staying in work longer.

A bedrock of Thatcherite conviction will underpin these assertions. The best way out of poverty is through work. Universal Credit is designed not to grind the faces of the poor but to elevate their condition.

Sheila Lawlor, Director of Politeia, remarks that from Gauke  who started to contribute to that think tanks deliberations soon after his election in 2005 as MP for South West Hertfordshire  you get no spin, no nonsense, no pulling the wool over peoples eyes. She greatly admIres him, and observes that the business world does too.

A Cabinet colleague, and admirer, says of Gauke: He is the Red Adair of the administration  the Efficient Baxter without the officiousness  the middle-order batsman who, if the openers are out cheaply, ensures that the middle order does not collapse.

He is in his quiet way a Thatcherite, who would happily concede she is his heroine. She managed to achieve a great deal by being flexibly radical.

He too can demonstrate tactical guile when necessary, to make sure something lands right, but that goes with an instinctive radicalism.

Gauke was born in 1971 in Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk. It would not occur to a Suffolk man to boast about how wonderful his county is. He knows it is wonderful, but whether or not anyone else thinks so is a matter of indifference to him. Any kInd of swankIng, or ostentatIous patrIotIsm, of the kInd found in some other counties, would be abhorrent to him.

That is Gaukes attitude. He is a lifelong Ipswich Town supporter, and was educated at Northgate High School, a state comprehensive in Ipswich, after which he read law at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and spent a year as researcher for a Conservative MP, Barry Legg, before qualifying as a solicitor and starting work for a City law firm.

In 2001 he fought Brent East and not long after moved to Chorleywood, where he became candidate for the safe seat of South West Hertfordshire, a long, narrow strip of land stretching from Rickmansworth all the way out beyond Berkhamsted and Tring. He is married to Rachel, like him a lawyer, and they have three sons.

In his maiden speech, Gauke demonstrated that he possesses a sense of humour and can, if he wishes, tell jokes, as in this reference to his predecessor, Richard Page:

I am aware, however, of one occasion when rather unexpectedly and uncharacteristically Richard missed a vote. He was subsequently asked to explain the reason for this, and he said that one of his horses had fallen into his swimming pool. Whatever happens in my career and whatever problems I may cause my hon. Friends in the Whips Office, I assure them that I will not miss any votes due to one of my racehorses falling into my swimming pool.

Osborne soon recruited him into the shadow Treasury team (the choice lay between him and Brooks Newmark), and in 2010 Gauke entered the Treasury as Exchequer Secretary, the youngest Conservative minister in the coalition.

He remained in the department until June this year, and even more remarkably, he enjoyed being there, was happy being the inland Revenue minister, and thrived on having a serious job to do. The official quoted earlier says Gauke is very much in the Alistair Darling school of politicians, very reliable and a man who could go further.

For five years, Gauke had the monumentally awful task of seeing all 500 pages of the Finance Bill through Parliament. He was courteous to civil servants and in the Treasury they would be pleased to have him back.

One of the rare occasions when he attracted adverse comment was when he told the Daily Telegraph it was morally wrong to pay your plumber in cash, for the Revenue lost a lot of money that way and other people had to pay more tax.

When the referendum arrived, he backed the Remain side, which some Leavers felt very bItter about, for they thought he had sold out and had betrayed hIs true beliefs. For Gauke, it was in part perhaps a question of remaining loyal to Osborne and to David Cameron.

He did not campaign at all passionately for Remain, telling his constituents:

This is an issue on which reasonable people will disagree. But I believe that the UKs best interests lie not as part of a European super-state but nor does it involve a leap into the unknown that Brexit would be.

When Gauke is operating under pressure, it appears that his grammar deteriorates. Here, issued only a few months ago, is another bulletin to his constituents:

After a busy year so far, the summer recess comes as a welcome slow-down for most MPs. There has been no shortage of drama in politics for the past couple of years and recent months have been no exception. General elections tend to be somewhat exhausting and, on this occasion, it resulted in a less than conclusive result.

The election also resulted in Theresa May calling Damian Green to her side in Downing Street, with Gauke  by then Chief Secretary to the Treasury  sent to fill the gap left by Green at the Department of Work and Pensions.

Can Gauke go higher? At a fringe meeting a few weeks ago in Manchester with Paul Waugh of HuffPost UK, he said he lacked the strong desire to do the job which is one of the qualities needed by a Prime Minister. But asked if he wanted to be Chancellor, Gauke said:

Maybe one day actually to be honest, maybe one day I would like to do that. I work very closely with Philip [Hammond], I think he is an excellent chancellor and just what we want.Years down the line when the family is a bit older then maybe one day I would like to do that.

First he must defend Universal Credit. But it is by no means impossible that one day soon the Treasury will hear once more the instruction, Uncork the Gauke.
Hurricane highlights Brokenshires Ulster inertia

Since the Northern Ireland Assembly collapsed earlier this year, the British Governments response has followed a predictable, ineffective, and slightly embarrassing pattern.

First James Brokenshire, the Northern Irish Secretary, sets a deadline for the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein to reach an agreement and restore the Executive. This deadline passes without agreement. Then Brokenshire sets a new deadline. Repeat.

Its not difficult to see why this hasnt spurred the big Northern Irish parties to sort out their differences. But just as with allegations of a Brexit power grab (see below), the principle that devolution cannot be even temporarily reversed prevents Brokenshire from bringing the Ulster civil service, currently on autopilot, back under democratic control via direct rule.

As Sam McBride argues in the News Letter, this policy leaves the Northern Irish Secretary at the mercy of events. As Storm Ophelia rolls across Ireland, the response of the Dublin Government can and has been contrasted with that of the Belfast civil service. If the latter is judged inadequate, that will ultimately be  as he himself has tacitly admitted  his responsibility.

Of course this has little political consequence on the mainland, given that none of the major parties have an electoral stake in the Province.

But McBride isnt the only observer to note that DUP and Sinn Fein voters are not pushing their parties towards compromise. Some, such as Alex Kane, have gone so far as to suggest that there is no longer majority support for the Good Friday Agreements power-sharing structures.

The Northern Irish Office really ought to be making serious preparations for what happens if these talks fail.

Experts claim devolved nations must be involved in trade talks

The row over how Brexit intersects with devolution rumbles on. This week a panel of experts told the Commonss Exiting the European Union Committee that the devolved executives must have full participation in the talks.

According to the above-linked article, this is because many issues currently overseen by the European Union would revert by default to the devolved legislatures upon Brexit, which could create enormous incoherence in the British internal market.

The most rational response to this is to have Westminster take up Brussels mantle as the coordinating body for that market, just as every other sovereign government on earth does. But this is being spun as a power grab by the centre and is thus, apparently, unthinkable.

Ministers who want to maintain the United Kingdom as a country must take care not to allow it to devolve in stages into the form of an international arrangement. The rules of the British economy should be set by the British Government.

Tory MP criticises plan to cut Welsh representation in the Commons

The Boundary Commissions proposals to reduce the number of Welsh constituencies at the next boundary review have been attacked by a Tory MP.

Glyn Davies, whose Montgomeryshire seat would largely disappear under the new proposals, said that the Commission had not made a sensible allowance for rural areas, the BBC reports.

Of course, introducing tough new rules to equalise constituency sizes is Conservative Party policy, and is intended to address the systemic advantage Labour derives from under-populated seats. Wales would always be hit by such a policy due to its having more MPs than its population would warrant.

However, there are enough Tory MPs in Davies position to make it very improbable that these proposals will ever see the light of day.

Duncan criticises SNPs role in Catalan referendum

A Scottish Nationalist MP has been rebuked by a Government minister for joining a team of international observers invited by Catalan separatists to oversee their illegal vote, according to the Scotsman.

Sir Alan Duncan, a Foreign Office minister, criticised Joanna Cherry for failing to uphold the rule of law after she questioned him about how what approaches the British Government had made to Madrid about police actions on the day of the vote.

In response Cherry demanded an apology, arguing that the observers had not been there in an official SNP capacity and that Conservative MPs attended a 2002 referendum of Gibraltarian sovereignty which the Spanish Government had also deemed illegal.

The story doesnt record whether or not Duncan spelled out the critical difference, which is that Catalonia is Spanish territory and the Rock is not.
The State Government (of Western Australia) is committed to growing the cruise industry by addressing regulation and infrastructure issues, said Tourism WA (Western Australia) Acting CEO Stephen Wood.

Among the changes for cruise operators, casino operations are permitted when ships are traveling between WA ports.

With nine ports, including Perth as a key homeport, WA is in close proximity to ships coming from Southeast Asia, offering a variety of niche destinations.

Mid-West Ports recently installed two sets of shore tension units for Geraldton, Wood said, to ensure reliable berthing. There is also funding heading to Kimberly Ports to purchase an all-tide gangway system for the Port of Broome.

In Exmouth, a steering group has been formed to enhance anchor and tender operations. Wood said Exmouth was a transformational cruise port that holds the key to growth for WA.

Perth and the port city of Fremantle are also undergoing massive transformations, thanks to unprecedented levels of public and private investment, making both more attractive places to visit, Wood told Cruise Industry News. Perth has seen redevelopments on a huge scale including improvements at Perth Airport and the Elizabeth Quay waterfront precinct. Fremantle is undergoing major redevelopment, with more than $1 billion in the investment pipeline. New small bars, restaurants, cafes and retail precincts have popped up in both cities, giving cruise visitors many shore options for dining and shopping.

Recent highlights included the Queen Mary 2 making a visit to Busselton, with a return call planned in February 2018. The Ovation of the Seas called in Fremantle last December and comes back earlier this year, with a November call on the books.

This coming season will see 44 cruise ship visits for Fremantle, a small decline as some capacity has been moved elsewhere. Cruise & Maritime Voyages is a key customer, homeporting the Astor for a fifth consecutive season.

Inaugural visits are scheduled by the Regatta, Ocean Dream, Azamara Journey, LAustral, Seven Seas Navigator and Golden Princess.

Tourism WA is pushing its strategy to make its nine ports a key cruise destination, by developing the necessary infrastructure to serve industry capacity, according to Wood.

Since 2012, Tourism WA has helped to deliver 30 Welcoming Cruise Passengers to the West workshops to more than 1,000 tour guides/drivers and volunteers across the state, he said.

In addition is a new accredited training program for tour guides funded by Tourism WA, which will debut in Geraldton, Busselton and Albany.
The MSC Lirica will re-position to Europe next April, leaving her year-round position in the Chinese cruise market.

The MSC Splendida, meanwhile, will arrive in the Chinese market around the same time, slightly boosting capacity for the company as the larger, 3,300-passenger ship will be in China on a seasonal basis for MSC.

The Lirica has been on a multi-year charter agreement with Chinese travel agency Caissa Touristic Group, but that agreement ended earlier this year, according to the 2018 China Market Report by Cruise Industry News.

The Lirica will offer cruises from Venice and Bari to Greece and Croatia for the 2018 summer, according to the company, which cited demand for cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the deployment move.

Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises, explained: "Mediterranean cruises are very popular with the guests and the demand is constantly high. Especially the eastern Mediterranean with its picturesque destinations like the Greek islands or Croatia enjoys growing popularity. As a leading cruise company in the Mediterranean, we are therefore pleased to announce today that interested parties can now book a new, exciting route with the MSC Lirica, which we have not yet offered so far. So our guests have a great selection of summer cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean. With the MSC Lirica, a total of four ships of our fleet will be stationed in the region next year."
Smartwatches for kids are marketed as a way for parents to remotely keep tabs on kids, but a new report claims the smartwatches have serious privacy and security flaws that could allow a stranger to easily seize control of the watches and use them to track and eavesdrop on children.

The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) and the security firm Mnemonic tested smartwatches for kids and determined, In a few simple steps, a stranger can take control of the watch and track, eavesdrop on and communicate with the child.

Mnemonic discovered significant security flaws in three of the four devices tested, which may lead to information about GPS watch users location and activities ending up in the wrong hands. The flaws are not technically difficult to exploit, and in two cases, allow a third party to covertly take control over the watch.

The five vulnerabilities identified include unauthorized access, remote audio surveillance, location spoofing, the emergency functionality SOS is compromised and data is insecurely stored.

Its very serious when products that claim to make children safer instead put them at risk because of poor security and features that do not work properly, said Finn Myrstad, director of digital policy at the Norwegian Consumer Council. Importers and retailers must know what they stock and sell. These watches have no place on a shops shelf, let alone on a childs wrist.

Smartwatches tested

The models of smartwatches for kids that were tested include the Gator 2 watch that is also called Caref, TickTalk/Xplora watches using the SETracker series of apps, and Tinitell. Only the latter, which has fewer features than its competitors, did not have the major security flaws, but its privacy protections were unclear.

These watches include location tracking, microphones and cameras for remote monitoring of children by parents. But the watches could be used to spy on parents. For example, the NCC report (pdf) pointed out the monitoring function of the Viksfjord device  a watch that uses the SeTracker app is problematic. Even if one agrees that it should be permissible to listen in on children without their knowledge, the function enables you to monitor anyone in the vicinity of the child. That means the Viksfjord can potentially be used to spy on the conversations of unwitting people.

NCCs report added, The vast variety of products being imported and sold under different names also make it exceedingly difficult to understand who is responsible for any problems with the devices or apps.

Some of those smartwatches for kids are being sold in the U.S. Seven consumer watchdog groups, including EPIC and The Center for Digital Democracy, sent a letter to the FTC (pdf), asking the commission to look into the risks to childrens safety associated with the devices and to determine if they violate laws such as the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). This is the same advocacy coalition that called on the FTC to take action against toys that spy, such as My Friend Cayla and i-Que-Robots.

This time, the group explained to the FTC:

Two of the devices allow a potential attacker to take control of the apps, thus gaining access to childrens real-time and historical location and personal details, as well as even enabling them to contact the children directly, all without the parents knowledge. Key features, such as an SOS button that alerts the parents if the child is in distress and a geofencing function that sends an alert whenever the child enters or leaves a designated area, are not reliable. The data privacy practices of the firms also place children at risk. One company allows childrens personal data to be used for marketing purposes. Another transmits unencrypted childrens location data. Only one of the companies asks for consent prior to data collection, and none of them promise to notify users of any changes to their terms, and there is no way to delete user accounts from any of the services.

By preying upon parents' desire to keep children safe, ... these smartwatches are actually putting kids in danger, said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. Once again, we see Internet of Things products for kids being rushed to market with no regard for how they will protect childrens sensitive information. Parents should avoid these watches and all internet-connected devices designed for kids.

Golin told CBS, I think were used to seeing cheap products for children. If it breaks after six months, thats one problem. But if were talking about a watch that a stranger can easily hack and track where your child's location is, thats much more serious.
Credit union trade groups are urging Congress to enact legislation and the Justice Department to issue final rules that would assist businesses in fighting lawsuits contending that their websites violate Americans With Disabilities Act.

At least nine lawsuits have been filed against credit unions alleging that their websites are inaccessible to the visually impaired. All the complaints were filed by one plaintiff who is represented by the same attorney.

As a result, the credit union trade groups are seeking help from the federal government, saying the issue remains unclear and leads to lawsuits.

The Department of Justice began considering developing regulations to address this topic over seven years ago but never completed the process, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said, in an e-mail sent to member credit unions.
1 to 3 inches of snow forecast for Tuesday night

Up to 3 inches of snow are possible Tuesday night, with much more to hit the northeast.
Talking Points:

Euro may rise if ECBs Draghi speaks to monetary stimulus limitations

US Dollar looking to Fed Beige Book survey to fuel continued recovery

Canadian Dollar gains on NAFTA talks extension, NZ Dollar weakens

A speech form ECB President Mario Draghi headlines an otherwise lackluster offering on the European economic calendar. The central bank chief is due to speak about structural reforms in the Euro area but markets will look for comments hinting at the fate of QE asset purchases ahead of next weeks policy meeting. Emphasis on the limitations of monetary stimulus may boost the Euro.

Later in the day, the Feds Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions enters the spotlight. The US Dollar may continue to push having launched a spirited recovery at the beginning of the week if the document points to broadly firming price growth, paving the way for a December rate increase. Futures markets hint the probability of an increase before year-end is now 83.6 percent, the highest in over two years.

The New Zealand Dollar underperformed in Asia Pacific trade. The currency fell alongside local bond yields, hinting that a dovish shift in RBNZ policy bets as behind the move. A single catalyst for the move was not readily apparent but political uncertainty may have played a part as markets continue to wait for NZ First party leader Winston Peters to declare his allegiance to either incumbent National or opposition Labour party.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Dollar traded higher after a contentious round of negotiations updating the NAFTA free trade accord was extended beyond the year-end 2017 deadline. Traders were seemingly worried that hardline demands from the US delegation would derail talks with representatives of Canada and Mexico. Within that context, prolonging the process was treated as a relatively positive development.

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Equifax Inc. provides information solutions and human resources business process automation outsourcing services for businesses, governments, and consumers. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers employment, income, criminal history, and social security number verification services, as well as payroll-based transaction, employment tax management, and identity theft protection products. The USIS segment provides consumer and commercial information services, such as credit information and credit scoring, credit modeling and portfolio analytics, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting; mortgage services; financial marketing services; identity management services; credit monitoring products; and online information, decisioning technology solutions, as well as portfolio management, mortgage reporting, and consumer credit information services. The International segment offers information service products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling; and credit and other marketing products and services, as well as offers information, technology, and other services to support debt collections and recovery management. The company serves customers in financial services, mortgage, employers, consumer, commercial, telecommunication, retail, automotive, utility, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries, as well as state, federal, and local governments. It operates in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Devon Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company was incorporated in 1971 by John Nichols and his son J. Larry Nichols and later went public in August 2000. The company has since grown to be included in the S&P 500 and is one of the first energy companies to introduce resolutions requiring the company to monitor its impact on global warming. One time a major player in the global oil market, Devon has since sold off its offshore holdings in an effort to focus on US production and its transition to a lower-carbon future.

Devon Energy merged with WPX in early 2021 in an all-stock merger of equals. The new company is primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the US midwest. The company operates more than 5,100 wells in Oklahomas Delaware Basis, Eagle Ford Group, and the two locations in the Rocky Mountains. As of late 2022, the company laid claim to 1.625 million barrels of reserves including 44% petroleum, 27% natural gas liquids, and 29% natural gas. Daily production was running in the range of 300,000 BPD in petroleum liquids, 125,000 BPD in natural gas liquids, and 920 million cubic feet of natural gas.

Rick Muncrief, formally CEO of WPX, is now the head of Devon Energy. Mr. Muncrief comes to the table with more than 40 years of experience including 27 years with one of the US Big Three Oil Companies. WPX Energy (Williams Production and Exploration) brought properties in the Williston and Permian Basins to the combined company. Its proven reserves were roughly 527 million barrels of oil and equivalents. The company also owns and operates a midstream network of pipelines and storage facilities it uses to market and deliver its products.

Devon Energy Corporation has pledged to reduce its GHG impact to net zero by 2050. This will be done by a variety of methods that include improving efficiency and leakage, a reduction in flaring, and the electrification of its operations. Near-term goals include a 50% reduction in GHG by 2030 including a 65% reduction in methane release and a 100% reduction in flaring. The company is also focused on reducing its environmental impact by relying on recycled water wherever possible and plans to reduce freshwater usage by 90% in the most active areas. Total greenhouse gas emissions have been in decline since 2018 and fell 17% between 2018 and 2020 alone.
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. It also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices, as well as a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. It serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. The company distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as contract sales agents and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.
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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.

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AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
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.
NextEra Energy, Inc. is the largest electric utility holding company in the US. It operates a network of power generation and distribution facilities that include fossil-fuel-generated and green energy. As of mid-2022, the company was capable of generating 58 GW of electricity with nearly 60% of the load produced by green sources including wind and solar. In their view, going green isnt an option, its the solution. NextEra Energy has been recognized multiple times as a leader in clean energy and ESG practices and was ranked the #1 electric and gas utility on the Forbes list of Most Admired Companies.

The company is the result of several mergers that begin with FPL Group. FPL Group is now a subsidiary of NextEra Energy and the third-largest provider of electricity in the US servicing nearly half of Florida. FPL and its affiliates are the single largest provider of renewable energy generated from wind and sun. The group changed its name in 2010 following a decision to shift focus onto renewable energy sources.

Today, NextEra Energy, Inc through its subsidiary FPL serves about 12 million people in eastern and southwestern Florida. The company employs nearly 14,900 people who service 5.8 million accounts. The company is in business to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity to retail and wholesale clients. Electricity is generated through wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and coal-fired facilities.

The company is also engaged in the construction and operation of new facilities, specifically renewable power generation, storage, and delivery facilities, and can offer custom solutions tailored to any need. Offerings include tailored services to assist businesses with their transition to clean energy.

NextEra Energy also owns and operates 7 nuclear power stations in Florida, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin generating power for the wholesale market.

Unlike other companies that are targeting net-zero emissions, NextEra Energy has a plan to reach real zero and is investing heavily to reach that goal by 2045. The company had invested nearly $50 billion in green energy infrastructure and initiatives by mid-2022. The plan is to first work on reducing its own emissions and then take its knowledge and expertise to the world.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States armed forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a community bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. This segment operates 42 branches, including 29 branches in Oahu, 6 branches in Maui, 4 branches in Hawaii, 2 branches in Kauai, and 1 branch in Molokai. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III Scots L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Aoba Life Insurance Company Ltd., Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. LLC, Cibecue LLC, Coconino LLC, Colico II Inc., Columbus Drive Partners L.P., Commerce Street Holdings LLC, Commerce Street Investments LLC, Coolidge LLC, Coral Reef GP, Coral Reef L.P., Coral Reef Unit Trust, Cottage Street Investments LLC, Cottage Street Orbit Acquisition LLC, DICKENS AVENUE HOLDINGS VI LLC, DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI Ireland L.P., DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI US L.P., Dale/P Minerals Limited Partnership, Don Cesar Investor LLC, Dryden Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Dryden Finance II LLC, EVP II GP S.a r.l., EVP II Horizon GP S.a r.l., EVP II Sprint GP S.a r.l., Edison Place Senior Note LLC, Essex LLC, EuroCore GP S.a r.l., European Value Partners GP S.a.r.l., Everbright PGIM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Flagstaff LLC, GA 1600 Commons LLC, GA 333 Hennepin Investor LLC, GA BV LLC, GA Bay Area GP LLC, GA Bay Area Investor LLC, GA Belden LLC, GA CLARENDON LLC, GA Cal Crossings LLC, GA Collins LLC, GA E. 22nd Street Apartments Holdings LLC, GA East 86 Street LLC, GA JHCII LLC, GA MENLO PARK INVESTOR LLC, GA Manor at Harbour Island LLC, GA Metro LLC, GA TRITON INVESTOR LLC, GA W Paces LLC, GA/MDI 333 Hennepin Associates LLC, GIBRALTAR BSN HOLDINGS SDN BHD, GIBRALTAR INDIA SOLUTIONS LLP, Gateway Holdings II LLC, Gateway Holdings LLC, German Retail Income CP LP, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, Gibraltar International Insurance Services Company Inc., Gibraltar International Service LLC, Gibraltar Reinsurance Company Ltd., Gibraltar Universal Life Reinsurance Company, Glenealy International Limited, Global Portfolio Strategies Inc., Gold GP Limited, Gold II L.P., Gold L.P., Graham Resources Inc., Graham Royalty Ltd., Green Harvest Asset Management LLC, Green Tree GP, Green Tree L.P., Greenlee LLC, Halsey Street Investments LLC, Hirakata LLC, IVP Fund GP LLC, Impact Investments Bridges UK S.a.r.l, Inter-Atlantic G Fund L.P., Inversiones Previsionales Chile SpA, Inversiones Previsionales Dos SpA, Ironbound Fund LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Kyarra S.a r.l., Kyoei Annuity Home Co. Ltd. Kabushiki Kaisha Kyouei Nenkin Home, LINEUP LLC, Lake Street Partners IV L.P., Lotus Reinsurance Company Ltd., MC GA COLLINS HOLDINGS LLC, MC GA COLLINS REALTY LLC, MC Insurance Agency Services LLC, Manor at Harbour Island LLC, Marble Canyon LLC, Maricopa LLC, Market Street Holdings IV LLC, Montana Capital Partners, Morenci LLC, Mulberry Street Holdings LLC, Mulberry Street Investment L.P., Mulberry Street Partners LLC, Mullin TBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services, National Family Assurance Group LLC, New Savanna, Northbound Emerging Manager Fund A LP, Northbound Emerging Manager Fund II - A LP, Orchard Street Acres Inc., PAI Bay Farm LLC, PAI Bayrock Groves LLC, PAI Belvidere Farms LLC, PAI Big Cypress Farm LLC, PAI Corcoran 640 Ranch LLC, PAI DeKalb Farm LLC, PAI Delano 1500 Ranches LLC, PAI Desert Falcon Farms Manager LLC, PAI Flicker Orchard LLC, PAI Good Hope Farm LLC, PAI Hawk Creek Ranch LLC, PAI Hills Valley Ranches LLC, PAI Holly Hill Groves LLC, PAI Hunt Farm LLC, PAI Jackson Bayou Farm LLC, PAI Lake Placid Groves LLC, PAI River Bend Ranches LLC, PAI Wallula Gap Vineyard LLC, PCP V Cayman AIV GP L.P., PEREF II Co-Invest 1 GP S.a r.l., PEREF II GP S.a r.l., PFI EM-Tech Fund I LLC, PG Business Service Co. Ltd, PG Collection Service Co. Ltd., PG Friendly Partners Co. Ltd., PGA Asian Retail Limited, PGA European Limited, PGI Co. Ltd, PGIM AC Co-Invest GP Pte. Ltd., PGIM AVP IV GP S.a r.l., PGIM Advisory Shanghai Co. Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Australia Pty Ltd, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Feeder VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM Custom Harvest LLC, PGIM DC Co-Invest GP Pte. Ltd., PGIM DC JV GP Pte. Ltd., PGIM DC Solutions LLC, PGIM European Financing Limited, PGIM European Services Limited, PGIM Financial Limited, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund II L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives GP LLC, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives II GP LLC, PGIM Foreign Investments Inc., PGIM Holding Company LLC, PGIM Holdings Limited, PGIM Hong Kong Ltd., PGIM INDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM INDIA TRUSTEES PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM IRELAND LIMITED, PGIM Inc., PGIM International Financing Inc., PGIM Investments Ireland Limited, PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Japan Co. Ltd., PGIM Korea Inc., PGIM LTIF Berlin GP S.a r.l., PGIM LTIF Berlin MLP S.ar.l., PGIM LTIF GP S.a.r.l., PGIM Limited, PGIM Loan Originator Manager Limited, PGIM M Campus GP S.a r.l., PGIM Management Partner Limited, PGIM MetaProp Investor LP LLC, PGIM Netherlands B.V., PGIM Overseas Investment Fund Management Shanghai Company Ltd, PGIM Private Capital Ireland Limited, PGIM Private Capital Limited, PGIM Private Placement Investors Inc., PGIM Private Placement Investors L.P., PGIM QUANTITATIVE SOLUTIONS LLC, PGIM REF EUROPE SCSp, PGIM REF Europe GP S.a r.l., PGIM REF Europe Member LLC, PGIM REF Intermediary Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate CD S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Capital VII GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest L.P., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest SCSp, PGIM Real Estate Co-Invest Holdings LLC, PGIM Real Estate Debt GmbH, PGIM Real Estate Finance Holding Company, PGIM Real Estate Finance LLC, PGIM Real Estate France SAS, PGIM Real Estate Germany AG, PGIM Real Estate Global Debt GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Global Master Fund GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles II S de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles S. de R.L. de C.V, PGIM Real Estate Italy S.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Japan Ltd., PGIM Real Estate Loan Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate Luxembourg S.A., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Management Luxembourg S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Mexico S.C., PGIM Real Estate S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate U.S. CORE Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate U.S. Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate UK Limited, PGIM Scots Limited, PGIM Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management (Feeder) I LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management Fund I L.P., PGIM Shanghai Company Ltd., PGIM Singapore Pte. Ltd., PGIM Strategic Financing LLC, PGIM Strategic Investments Inc., PGIM Taronga Investor GP LLC, PGIM U.S. Agriculture Fund LP, PGIM USPF VI Manager LLC, PGIM Wadhwani LLP, PGIM Warehouse Inc., PGLH of Delaware Inc., PIFM Holdco LLC, PIIC Limited, PIISC Holdings UK Limited, PIM KF Blocker V Holdings LLC, PIM USPF V Manager LLC, PLA Administradora Industrial SRL, PLA Administradora LLC, PLA Administradora S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional II S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional S.de R.L. de C.V., PLA Co-Investor LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager I LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager II LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Blue LP, PLA Retail Fund I Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LP, PLA Retail Fund II Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II U.S. Carry/Co-Invest LP, PLA Services Manager Mexico LLC, PLAI Limited, PMCF Holdings LLC, PMCF Properties LLC, PPPF General Partner LLP, PR GA SCP Apartments LLC, PRAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP LLP, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP SCOTS FEEDER LLP, PRECO Account IV LLC, PRECO Account Partnership IV LP, PRECO III GP LLP, PREFG Hanwha Manager LLC, PREI Acquisition I Inc., PREI Acquisition II Inc., PREI Acquisition LLC, PREI HYDG LLC, PREI International Inc., PRIAC Property Acquisitions LLC, PRICOA Management Partner Limited, PRISA Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Pooled Manager LLC, PRISA III Fund GP LLC, PRISA III Fund PIM LLC, PRREF Debt Fund Manager LLC, PRREF II Fund Manager LLC, PRU 3XSquare LLC, PRUCO LLC, PRUDENTIAL CAPITAL ENERGY PARTNERS MANAGEMENT (FEEDER) LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP MEMBER LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP REIT LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE 2 LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE LLC, PT PFI Mega Life Insurance, Passaic Fund LLC, Pine Tree GP, Pine Tree L.P., Platinum GP Limited, Platinum II L.P., Platinum L.P., Pramerica Business Consulting Shanghai Company Limited, Pramerica EVP CP LP, Pramerica Financial Asia Headquarters Pte. Ltd., Pramerica Financial Asia Limited, Pramerica Fixed Income Funds Management Limited, Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Pramerica Holdings Ltd, Pramerica Hong Kong Holdings Limited, Pramerica Insurance Agency China Company Ltd., Pramerica Luxembourg CP GP S.a.r.l., Pramerica PRECAP I GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP II GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP III GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP IV GP LLP, Pramerica Pan European Real Estate Scots LP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I GP Scots Feeder LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I Scotland Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital II Scots Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital III Scots Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP Limited, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP Scots Feeder LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV Scots Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V Netherlands GP LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V Scots Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital VI Scots Limited Partnership, Pramerica Scots CP GP LLP, Preco III Scotland Limited Partnership, Pru 101 Wood LLC, Pru Alpha Partners I LLC, Pru Fixed Income Emerging Markets Partners I LLC, PruVen Capital Partners Fund I L.P., Pruco Assignment Corporation, Pruco Life Insurance Company, Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey, Pruco Securities LLC, Prudential 900 Aviation Boulevard LLC, Prudential Affordable Mortgage Company LLC, Prudential Agricultural Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Annuities Distributors Inc., Prudential Annuities Holding Company Inc., Prudential Annuities Inc., Prudential Annuities Information Services & Technology Corporation, Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Captive Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Universal Company, Prudential Bank & Trust FSB, Prudential Capital Energy Opportunity Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners Management Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Partners Management Fund IV L.P., Prudential Capital and Investment Services LLC, Prudential Chile II SpA, Prudential Chile SpA, Prudential Commercial Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Equity Group LLC, Prudential Financial Inc., Prudential Fixed Income Global Liquidity Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Fixed Income U.S. Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Funding LLC, Prudential General Services of Japan Y.K., Prudential Gibraltar Agency Co. Ltd. Prudential Gibraltar Agency Kabushiki Kaisha, Prudential Global Funding LLC, Prudential Holdings of Japan Inc., Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates LLC, Prudential IBH Holdco Inc., Prudential Impact Investments Mortgage Loans LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Debt LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Equity LLC, Prudential Insurance Agency LLC, Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., Prudential International Insurance Service Company L.L.C., Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC, Prudential International Investments Company LLC, Prudential International Investments LLC, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, Prudential Japan Holdings LLC, Prudential Legacy Insurance Company of New Jersey, Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 1 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 2 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Capital Asset Holding Company LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC, Prudential Multifamily Mortgage LLC, Prudential Mutual Fund Services LLC, Prudential Newark Realty LLC, Prudential QOZ Investment Fund 1 LLC, Prudential Realty Securities Inc., Prudential Retirement Financial Services Holding LLC, Prudential Retirement Holdings LLC, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, Prudential Securities Secured Financing Corporation, Prudential Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., Prudential Seguros S.A., Prudential Select Strategies LLC, Prudential Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Prudential Structured Settlement Company, Prudential Systems Japan Limited, Prudential Tax Services LLC, Prudential Term Reinsurance Company, Prudential Trust Co. Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service, Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy US Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., VIP Australia Holding Company LLC, VIP Australia Trustee Pty Ltd, Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I Ireland L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I US L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lithia Motors: 797 Valley Street LLC, Albany CJD Fiat, Baierl Auto Group, Baierl Auto Parts LLC, Baierl Automotive Corporation, Baierl Chevrolet Inc., Baierl Holding LLC, Broadway Ford, Buhler Ford Inc, Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center LLC, Camp Automotive Inc., Carbone Auto Body LLC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Morgantown, Cranberry Automotive Inc., Crater Lake Ford Lincoln, Crater Lake Mazda, DCH (Oxnard) Inc., DCH Auto Group, DCH Bloomfield LLC, DCH CA LLC, DCH Calabasas-A LLC, DCH California Investments LLC, DCH California Motors Inc., DCH DMS NJ LLC, DCH Del Norte Inc., DCH Essex Inc., DCH Financial NJ LLC, DCH Freehold - V LLC, DCH Freehold LLC, DCH Holdings LLC, DCH Investments Inc. (New Jersey), DCH Investments Inc. (New York), DCH Korean Imports LLC, DCH Mamaroneck LLC, DCH Mission Valley LLC, DCH Monmouth LLC, DCH Montclair LLC, DCH Motors LLC, DCH NY Motors LLC, DCH Nanuet LLC, DCH North America Inc., DCH Oxnard 1521 Imports Inc., DCH Riverside-S Inc., DCH Simi Valley Inc., DCH Support Services LLC, DCH TL Holdings LLC, DCH TL NY Holdings LLC, DCH Temecula Imports LLC, DCH Temecula Motors LLC, DCH Thousand Oaks-F Inc., DCH Torrance Imports Inc., Dah Chong Hong CA Trading LLC, Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Daron Motors LLC, Day Auto Group, Downtown LA, Driveway Motors LLC, Elizabeth Collision LLC, Florida SS LLC, Ford Lincoln of Morgantown, Freehold Nissan LLC, Fuse Auto Sales LLC, Hamilton Honda, Hazleton Honda, Hutchins Eugene Nissan Inc., Hutchins Imported Motors Inc., Jaguar Landrover Mission Viejo, LA Motors Holding LLC, LAD Advertising Inc., LAD Carson-N LLC, LAD Mission Viejo-JLR Inc., LAD Mobu Inc., LAD-AU LLC, LAD-MB LLC, LAD-N LLC, LAD-P LLC, LAD-T LLC, LAD-V LLC, LBMP LLC, LFKF LLC, LGPAC Inc., LLL Sales Co LLC, LMBB LLC, LMBP LLC, LMOP LLC, LSTAR LLC, Lithia AcDM Inc., Lithia Aircraft Inc., Lithia Anchorage-C LLC, Lithia Anchorage-H LLC, Lithia Armory Garage LLC, Lithia Auction & Recon LLC, Lithia Auto Services Inc., Lithia Automotive Inc., Lithia BA Holding Inc., Lithia BNM Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Baierl-S LLC, Lithia Bryan Texas Inc., Lithia Buffalo-A LLC, Lithia CCTF Inc., Lithia CDH Inc., Lithia CIMR Inc., Lithia CJDO Inc., Lithia CJDSA Inc., Lithia CJDSF Inc., Lithia CM Inc., Lithia CO Inc., Lithia CSA Inc., Lithia Community Development Company Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-F Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-M Inc., Lithia DE Inc., Lithia DM Inc., Lithia DMID Inc., Lithia Des Moines-VW LLC, Lithia Dodge of Tri-Cities Inc., Lithia Eatontown-F LLC, Lithia FLCC LLC, Lithia FMF Inc., Lithia Financial Corporation (previously Lithia Leasing Inc. and Lithia Credit Inc.), Lithia Florida Holding Inc., Lithia Ford of Boise Inc., Lithia Fresno Inc., Lithia HDM Inc., Lithia HGF Inc., Lithia HMID Inc., Lithia HPI Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Hamilton-H LLC, Lithia Hazleton-H LLC, Lithia Idaho Falls-F Inc., Lithia Imports of Anchorage Inc., Lithia JEF Inc., Lithia Klamath Inc., Lithia Klamath-T Inc., Lithia LBGGF Inc., Lithia LHGF Inc., Lithia LSGF Inc., Lithia MBDM Inc., Lithia MMF Inc., Lithia MTLM Inc., Lithia McMurray-C LLC, Lithia Medford HON Inc., Lithia Middletown-L LLC, Lithia Monroeville-A LLC, Lithia Monroeville-C LLC, Lithia Monroeville-F LLC, Lithia Monroeville-V LLC, Lithia Moon-S LLC, Lithia Moon-V LLC, Lithia Morgantown-CJD LLC, Lithia Morgantown-F LLC, Lithia Morgantown-S LLC, Lithia Motors Support Services Inc., Lithia NA Inc., Lithia NC Inc., Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #1, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #3, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #4, Lithia NDM Inc., Lithia NF Inc., Lithia NSA Inc., Lithia Northeast Real Estate LLC, Lithia Orchard Park-H LLC, Lithia Paramus-M LLC, Lithia Pittsburgh-S LLC, Lithia Ramsey-B LLC, Lithia Ramsey-L LLC, Lithia Ramsey-M LLC, Lithia Ramsey-T LLC, Lithia Real Estate Inc., Lithia Reno Sub-HYUN Inc., Lithia Reno-CJ LLC, Lithia Reno-VW LLC, Lithia Rose-FT Inc., Lithia SOC Inc., Lithia SSP LLC, Lithia Salmir Inc., Lithia Sea P Inc., Lithia Seaside Inc., Lithia Spokane-B LLC, Lithia Spokane-S LLC, Lithia TA Inc., Lithia TO Inc., Lithia TR Inc., Lithia Uniontown-C LLC, Lithia VAuDM Inc., Lithia VF Inc., Lithia Wexford-H LLC, Lithia of Abilene Inc., Lithia of Anchorage Inc., Lithia of Bend #1 LLC, Lithia of Bend #2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 1 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 3 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 4 LLC, Lithia of Billings II LLC, Lithia of Billings Inc., Lithia of Casper LLC, Lithia of Clear Lake LLC, Lithia of Concord I Inc., Lithia of Concord II Inc., Lithia of Corpus Christi Inc., Lithia of Des Moines Inc., Lithia of Eureka Inc., Lithia of Fairbanks Inc., Lithia of Great Falls Inc., Lithia of Helena Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-A Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-BGMCC LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-F LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-V LLC, Lithia of Killeen LLC, Lithia of Lodi Inc., Lithia of Maui-H LLC, Lithia of Missoula II LLC, Lithia of Missoula III Inc., Lithia of Missoula Inc., Lithia of Pocatello Inc., Lithia of Portland I LLC, Lithia of Portland LLC, Lithia of Robstown LLC, Lithia of Roseburg Inc., Lithia of Santa Rosa Inc., Lithia of Seattle Inc., Lithia of South Central AK Inc., Lithia of Spokane II Inc., Lithia of Spokane Inc., Lithia of Stockton Inc., Lithia of Stockton-V Inc., Lithia of TF Inc., Lithia of Troy LLC, Lithia of Utica - 1 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 2 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 3 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 4 LLC, Lithia of Walnut Creek Inc., Lithia of Wasilla LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 1 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 2 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 3 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 4 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 5 LLC, Medford Insurance LLC, Milford DCH Inc., Northland Ford Inc., PA Real Estate LLC, PA Support Services LLC, Paramus Collision LLC, Paramus World Motors LLC, Personalized Marketing LLC, Prestige Auto Group, RFA Holdings LLC, Ray Laks Acura, Ray Laks Honda, Sacramento-L Inc., Salem-B LLC, Salem-H LLC, Salem-V LLC, Sharlene Realty LLC, Shift Portland LLC, Southern Cascades Finance Corporation, Subaru of Morgantown, Tampa-H LLC, Tustin Motors Inc., Wesley Chapel-H LLC, Wesley Chapel-T LLC, Zelienople Real Estate I L.P., and Zelienople Real Estate L.L.C..

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MarineMax, Inc. operates as a recreational boat and yacht retailer and superyacht services company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Retail Operations and Product Manufacturing. The company sells new and used recreational boats, including pleasure and fishing boats, mega-yachts, yachts, sport cruisers, motor yachts, pontoon boats, ski boats, jet boats, and other recreational boats. It also offers marine parts and accessories comprising marine electronics; dock and anchoring products that include boat fenders, lines, and anchors; boat covers; trailer parts; water sport accessories, which comprise tubes, lines, wakeboards, and skis; engine parts; oils; lubricants; steering and control systems; corrosion control products and service products; high-performance accessories, including propellers and instruments; and a line of boating accessories, such as life jackets, inflatables, and water sports equipment. In addition, the company provides novelty items, such as shirts, caps, and license plates; marine engines and equipment; maintenance, repair, and slip and storage accommodation services; and boat or yacht brokerage services, as well as charters yachts and power catamarans. Further, it offers new or used boat finance services; arranges insurance coverage, including boat property, disability, undercoating, gel sealant, fabric protection, and casualty insurance coverage; and manufactures and sells sport yachts and yachts. Additionally, the company operates vacations in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. It also markets and sells its products through offsite locations and print catalog. The company has 79 retail locations in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. MarineMax, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.
The following companies are subsidiares of Pearson: AEL (S) PTE Limited, ATI Professional Development LLC, Addison Wesley Longman Inc., Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., Aldwych Finance Limited, Americas Choice Inc., Atkey Finance Limited, Author Solutions, Axis Finance Inc., CAMSAWUSA Inc., CTI Education Group (Pty) Limited, Camsaw Inc., Casapsi Livraria e Editora Ltda, Centro Cultural Americano Franquias e Comercio Ltda., Century Consultants Ltd., Certiport, Certiport China Co Ltd, Certiport China Holding LLC, Certiport Inc., Cogmed Systems AB, Connections Academy of Arkansas LLC, Connections Academy of Florida LLC, Connections Academy of Iowa LLC, Connections Academy of Maine LLC, Connections Academy of Maryland LLC, Connections Academy of Minnesota LLC, Connections Academy of Missouri LLC, Connections Academy of Nevada LLC, Connections Academy of New Jersey LLC, Connections Academy of New Mexico LLC, Connections Academy of New York LLC, Connections Academy of Oregon LLC, Connections Academy of Pennsylvania LLC, Connections Academy of Tennessee LLC, Connections Academy of Texas LLC, Connections Education Inc., Connections Education LLC, Connections Education of Florida LLC, Dominie Press Inc., Dorian Finance Limited, Dorling Kindersley Australasia Pty Limited, EBNT Canada Holdings ULC, EBNT Holdings Limited, EBNT USA Holdings Inc., Edexcel Limited, Edexcel South Africa Pty Ltd, Education Development International plc, Education Resources (Cyprus) Limited, Educational Management Group Inc., Educational Publishers LLP, Embanet ULC, Embanet-Compass Knowledge Group Inc., EmbanetCompass, Embankment Finance Limited, English Language Learning and Instruction System Inc., Escape Studios Limited, FBH Inc., Falstaff Holdco Inc., Falstaff Inc., GED Domains LLC, GED Testing Service LLC, George (Shanghai) Commercial Information Consulting Co. Ltd, Global Education, Global George I Limited, Global George II Limited, GlobalEnglish, Globe Fearon Inc., Guangzhou Crescent Software Co. Ltd, Heinemann Education Botswana (Publishers) (Proprietary) Limited, Heinemann Publishers (Pty) Ltd, INTELLIPRO INC., Icodeon Limited, IndiaCan Education Private Limited, Integral 7 Inc., Integrated Analytics LLC, J M Solucoes Exportacao e Importacao Ltda, K12 Learning Services LLC, Kagiso Education Pty Ltd, Knowledge Analysis Technologies LLC, LCCI International Qualifications (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., LCCIEB Training Consultancy. Ltd, Learning Catalytics, LessonLab Inc., Lignum Oil Company, Linx Brasil Distribuidora Ltda., Longman (Malawi) Limited, Longman Australasia Pty Ltd, Longman Group(Overseas Holdings)Limited, Longman Indochina Acquisition L.L.C., Longman Kenya Limited, Longman Mocambique Ltda, Longman Romania S.R.L., Longman Swaziland (Pty) Limited, Longman Tanzania Limited, Longman Zambia Educational Publishers Pty Ltd, Longman Zambia Limited, Longman Zimbabwe (Private) Ltd, Longmaned Ecuador S.A., Major123 Limited, Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Limited, MeasureUp LLC, Modern Curriculum Inc., Multi Holding, Multi Treinamento e Editora Ltda, NCS Information Technology Services (Beijing) Co Ltd, NCS Pearson Inc., NCS Pearson Pty Ltd, NCS Pearson Puerto Rico Inc., National Computer Systems Japan Co. Ltd, Ordinate Corporation, PN Holdings Inc., PT Efficient English Services, Pearson (Beijing) Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Pearson (Guizhou) Education Technology Co. Ltd., Pearson Affordable Learning Fund Limited, Pearson America LLC, Pearson Amsterdam B.V., Pearson Australia Finance Unlimited, Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Pearson Australia Pty Ltd, Pearson Benelux B.V., Pearson Books Limited, Pearson Brazil Finance Limited, Pearson Business Services Inc., Pearson Canada Assessment Inc., Pearson Canada Finance Unlimited, Pearson Canada Holdings Inc, Pearson Canada Inc., Pearson Central Europe Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson College Limited, Pearson DBC Holdings Inc., Pearson Desarrollo y Capacitacion Profesional Chile Limitada, Pearson Deutschland GmbH, Pearson Digital Learning Puerto Rico Inc., Pearson Dollar Finance Two Limited, Pearson Dollar Finance plc, Pearson Educacion SA, Pearson Educacion de Chile Limitada, Pearson Educacion de Colombia S A S, Pearson Educacion de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pearson Educacion de Panama SA, Pearson Educacion de Peru S.A., Pearson Education (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Pearson Education Achievement Solutions (RF) (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education Asia Limited, Pearson Education Botswana (Proprietary) Limited, Pearson Education Hellas SA, Pearson Education Holdings Limited, Pearson Education Inc., Pearson Education Indochina Limited, Pearson Education Investments Limited, Pearson Education Korea Limited, Pearson Education Limited, Pearson Education Namibia (Pty) Limited, Pearson Education Publishing Limited, Pearson Education S.A., Pearson Education SA, Pearson Education South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Education South Asia Pte. Ltd., Pearson Education Taiwan Ltd, Pearson Education do Brasil S.A, Pearson Educational Measurement Canada Inc., Pearson Educational Publishers LLC, Pearson Egitim Cozumleri Tikaret Limited Sirketi, Pearson Falstaff (Holdings) Inc., Pearson Falstaff Holdco LLC, Pearson France, Pearson Funding Five plc, Pearson Funding Four plc, Pearson Funding Two Limited, Pearson Holdings Inc., Pearson Holdings Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, Pearson IOKI Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Pearson India Education Services Private Limited, Pearson India Support Services Private Limited, Pearson Institute of Higher Education, Pearson International Finance Limited, Pearson Investment Holdings Inc., Pearson Italia S.p.A, Pearson Japan KK, Pearson Lanka (Private) Limited, Pearson Learning China (HK) Limited, Pearson Lesotho (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Loan Finance No. 3 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No. 4 Limited, Pearson Loan Finance No.2 Unlimited, Pearson Loan Finance Unlimited, Pearson Longman Uganda Limited, Pearson Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Pearson Management Services Limited, Pearson Management Services Philippines Inc., Pearson Maryland Inc., Pearson Netherlands B.V., Pearson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Pearson Nominees Limited, Pearson Online Tutoring LLC, Pearson Overseas Holdings Limited, Pearson PEM P.R. Inc., Pearson PRH Holdings Limited, Pearson Pension Nominees Limited, Pearson Pension Property Fund Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Limited, Pearson Pension Trustee Services Limited, Pearson Professional Assessments Limited, Pearson Real Estate Holdings Inc., Pearson Real Estate Holdings Limited, Pearson Schweiz AG, Pearson Services Limited, Pearson Shared Services Limited, Pearson South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Pearson Strand Finance Limited, Pearson Sweden AB, Pearson VUE Philippines Inc., Pearson in Practice Holdings Limited, Pearson in Practice Skills Based Learning Limited, Pearson in Practice Technology Limited, Penguin Capital LLC, Phumelela Publishers (Pty) Ltd, ProctorCam Inc., Reading Property Holdings LLC, Rebus Planning Associates Inc., Reston Publishing Company Inc., Rycade Capital Corporation, Shanghai AWL Education Software Ltd, Silver Burdett Ginn Inc., Skylight Training and Publishing Inc., Smarthinking Inc., Sound Holdings Inc., Spear Insurance Company Limited, Stark Verlag GmbH, Sunnykey International Holdings Limited (BVI), TQ Catalis Limited, TQ Clapham Limited, TQ Education and Training Limited, TQ Global Limited, TQ Group Limited, TQ Holdings Limited, The Financial Times (I) Pvt Ltd, The Learning Edge International pty Ltd, The Waite Group Inc, Trio Parent Holdings LLC, US Learning Services LLC, USLS Holdings LLC, Virtual Nerd, Vue Testing Services Israel Ltd, Vue Testing Services Korea Limited, Wall Street Institute Kft., Williams Education GmbH, eCollege.com, and Editions Du Renouveau Pedagogique Inc..

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Pentair plc provides various water solutions worldwide. It operates through Consumer Solutions; and Industrial & Flow Technologies segments. The Consumer Solutions segment designs, manufactures, and sells residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories, including pumps, filters, heaters, lights, automatic controls, automatic cleaners, maintenance equipment, and pool accessories for residential and commercial pool maintenance, repair, renovation, service, and construction applications; and water treatment products and systems comprising pressure tanks, control valves, activated carbon products, conventional filtration products, and point-of-entry and point-of-use systems for the use in residential whole home water filtration, drinking water filtration, and water softening solutions, as well as in commercial total water management and filtration in foodservice operations. It offers its products under the Everpure, Ken's Beverage, Kreepy Krauly, Pentair Water Solutions, Pleatco, RainSoft, and Sta-Rite brands. The Industrial & Flow Technologies segment manufactures and sells fluid treatment products, such as advanced membrane filtration products, separation systems, and membrane bioreactors; water supply and disposal, solid handling, fluid transfer, and turbine pumps; and valves, spray nozzles, process filtration systems, and gas recovery solutions for food and beverage, fluid separation technologies, water and wastewater treatment, water wells, pressure boosting, fire suppression, flood control, agricultural irrigation, crop spray, fluid circulation and transfer, fluid delivery, ion exchange, desalination, residential and municipal wells, and wastewater solids handling applications. It offers its products under the Pentair, Aurora, Berkeley, Codeline, Fairbanks-Nijhuis, Haffmans, Hydromatic, Hypro, Jung Pumpen, Myers, Sta-Rite, Shurflo, Sudmo, and X-Flow brands. Pentair plc was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
XPO Logistics, Inc. provides freight transportation services in the United States, rest of North America, France, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, North American LTL and Brokerage and Other Services. The North American LTL segment provides customers with less-than-truckload (LTL) services, such as geographic density and day-definite regional, inter-regional, and transcontinental LTL freight services. This segment also offers cross-border U.S. service to and from Mexico and Canada, as well as intra-Canada service. The Brokerage and Other Services segment offers last mile logistics for heavy goods sold through e-commerce, omnichannel retail, and direct-to-consumer channels, as well as other non-core brokered freight transportation modes. It provides its services to customers in various industries, such as industrial and manufacturing, retail and e-commerce, food and beverage, logistics and transportation, and consumer goods. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
ResMed Inc. develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets medical devices and cloud-based software applications for the healthcare markets. The company operates in two segments, Sleep and Respiratory Care, and Software as a Service. It offers various products and solutions for a range of respiratory disorders, including technologies to be applied in medical and consumer products, ventilation devices, diagnostic products, mask systems for use in the hospital and home, headgear and other accessories, dental devices, and cloud-based software informatics solutions to manage patient outcomes, as well as provides customer and business processes. The company also provides AirView, a cloud-based system that enables remote monitoring and changing of patients' device settings; myAir, a personalized therapy management application for patients with sleep apnea that provides support, education, and troubleshooting tools for increased patient engagement and improved compliance; U-Sleep, a compliance monitoring solution that enables home medical equipment (HME)to streamline their sleep programs; connectivity module and propeller solutions; and Propeller portal. It offers out-of-hospital software solution, such as Brightree business management software and service solutions to providers of HME, pharmacy, home infusion, orthotics, and prosthetics services; MatrixCare care management and related ancillary solutions to senior living, skilled nursing, life plan communities, home health, home care, and hospice organizations, as well as related accountable care organizations; and HEALTHCAREfirst that offers electronic health record, software, billing and coding services, and analytics for home health and hospice agencies. The company markets its products primarily to sleep clinics, home healthcare dealers, and hospitals through a network of distributors and direct sales force in approximately 140 countries. ResMed Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Provident Financial Services, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. The company's deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial real estate loans that are secured by properties, such as multi-family apartment buildings, office buildings, and retail and industrial properties; commercial business loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one- to four-family residential real estate properties; commercial construction loans; and consumer loans consisting of home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, marine loans, personal loans and unsecured lines of credit, and auto and recreational vehicle loans. The company also offers cash management, remote deposit capture, payroll origination, escrow account management, and online and mobile banking services; and business credit cards. In addition, it provides wealth management services comprising investment management, trust and estate administration, financial planning, tax compliance and planning, and private banking. Further, the company sells insurance and investment products, including annuities; operates as a real estate investment trust for acquiring mortgage loans and other real estate related assets; and manages and sells real estate properties acquired through foreclosure. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 96 full-service branch offices in northern and central New Jersey, as well as in Pennsylvania and New York counties. The company was founded in 1839 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Under Armour, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the developing, marketing, and distributing performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth. The company offers its apparel in compression, fitted, and loose fit types. It also provides footwear products for running, training, basketball, cleated sports, recovery, and outdoor applications. In addition, the company offers accessories, which include gloves, bags, headwear, and sports masks; and digital subscription and advertising services under the MapMyRun and MapMyRide platforms. It primarily offers its products under the UNDER ARMOUR, UA, HEATGEAR, COLDGEAR, HOVR, PROTECT THIS HOUSE, I WILL, UA Logo, ARMOUR FLEECE, and ARMOUR BRA brands. The company sells its products through wholesale channels, including national and regional sporting goods chains, independent and specialty retailers, department store chains, mono-branded Under Armour retail stores, institutional athletic departments, and leagues and teams, as well as independent distributors; and directly to consumers through a network of 422 brand and factory house stores, as well as through e-commerce websites. It operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Under Armour, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
United Rentals, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities. The specialty segment rents specialty construction products, including trench safety equipment consists of trench shields, aluminum hydraulic shoring systems, slide rails, crossing plates, construction lasers, and line testing equipment for underground work; power and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment, such as portable diesel generators, electrical distribution equipment, and temperature control equipment; fluid solutions equipment for fluid containment, transfer, and treatment; and mobile storage equipment and modular office space. This segment serves construction companies involved in infrastructure projects, and municipalities and industrial companies. It also sells aerial lifts, reach forklifts, telehandlers, compressors, and generators; construction consumables, tools, small equipment, and safety supplies; and parts for equipment that is owned by its customers, as well as provides repair and maintenance services. The company sells used equipment through its sales force, brokers, website, directly to manufacturers, and at auctions. The company operates a network of 1,360 rental locations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. United Rentals, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
ONEOK, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas in the United States. It operates through Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, and Natural Gas Pipelines segments. The company owns natural gas gathering pipelines and processing plants in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions. It also gathers, treats, fractionates, and transports natural gas liquids (NGL), as well as stores, markets, and distributes NGL products. The company owns NGL gathering and distribution pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado; terminal and storage facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois; and NGL distribution and refined petroleum products pipelines in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, as well as owns and operates truck- and rail-loading, and -unloading facilities connected to NGL fractionation, storage, and pipeline assets. In addition, it operates regulated interstate and intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines and natural gas storage facilities. Further, the company owns and operates a parking garage in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma; and leases excess office space. It operates 17,500 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines; 1,500 miles of FERC-regulated interstate natural gas pipelines; 5,100 miles of state-regulated intrastate transmission pipeline; six NGL storage facilities; and eight NGL product terminals. It serves integrated and independent exploration and production companies; NGL and natural gas gathering and processing companies; crude oil and natural gas production companies; propane distributors; municipalities; ethanol producers; and petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies, as well as natural gas distribution and electric generation companies, producers, processors, and marketing companies. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company offers various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its products include A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, bearings, belts and hoses, calipers, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition and lighting products, mufflers, radiators, starters and alternators, thermostats, and water pumps, as well as tire repairs. In addition, the company offers maintenance products, such as antifreeze and windshield washer fluids; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; brake and power steering fluids, and oil and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, cabin, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paints and accessories; refrigerants and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wipers. Further, it provides air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, interior and exterior accessories, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products, as well as towing services. Additionally, the company provides a sales program that offers commercial credit and delivery of parts and other products; sells automotive diagnostic and repair software under the ALLDATA brand through alldata.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through autozone.com. As of August 27, 2022, it operated 6,168 stores in the United States; 703 stores in Mexico; and 72 stores in Brazil. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.
The following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: 17111 Waterview Pkwy LLC, ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Acme Aerospace, Acme Aerospace Inc., Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Angus Electronics Co., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Armtec Countermeasures Co., Armtec Countermeasures TNO Co., Armtec Defense Products Co., Auxitrol SAS, Auxitrol Weston Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Auxitrol Weston Services China Ltd., Auxitrol Weston Singapore Pte. Ltd., Auxitrol Weston USA Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments LLC, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp LLC, CEF Industries LLC, CMC Electronics Aurora LLC, CMC Electronics Inc., CMC Electronics ME Inc., Champion Aerospace LLC, Chelton Avionics Holdings Inc., Chelton Avionics Inc., Chelton Limited, Cobham Aero Connectivity, Cobham CTS Limited, Cobham Defence Communications Limited, Cobham Defense Products Inc., DART Aerospace, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, Darchem Engineering Limited, Darchem Holdings Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., EST Defence Company UK Limited, Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Esterline Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Europe Company LLC, Esterline Foreign Sales Corporation, Esterline International Company, Esterline Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Europe Limited, Esterline Technologies France Holding SAS, Esterline Technologies French Acquisition Limited, Esterline Technologies Global Limited, Esterline Technologies Holdings Limited, Esterline Technologies SGIP LLC, Esterline Technologies Unlimited, Esterline do Brasil Assessoria e Intermediacao Ltda, European Antennas Limited, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, Guizhou Leach-Tianyi Aviation Electrical Company Ltd, Harco, HarcoSemco LLC, Hartwell Corporation, Hytek Finishes Co., ILC Holdings Inc., IRVIN AEROSPACE LIMITED, IrvinGQ France SAS, IrvinGQ Limited, Janco Corporation, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Korry Electronics Co., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Leach Holding Corporation, Leach International Asia-Pacific Ltd, Leach International Corporation, Leach International Europe S.A.S., Leach International Germany GmbH, Leach International Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Leach International UK Ltd, Leach Mexico Holding LLC, Leach Technology Group Inc., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., Mason Electric Co., Mastsystem Int'l Oy, McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S. de R.L. de C.V., NAT Seattle Inc., NMC Group Inc., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, Nordisk Aviation Products LLC, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas LLC, Norwich Aero Products Inc., Palomar Products Inc., Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Pressure Systems International Ltd, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller LLC, Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics Industries, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TA Aerospace Co., TA Mfg Limited, TDG Bavaria GmbH, TDG ESL Holdings Inc., TDG France Ultimate Parent SAS, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Telair International, Telair International GmbH, Telair International Services PTE Ltd, Telair US LLC, TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm Canada ULC, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm Technologies India Private Limited, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Wallop Defence UK Limited, Weston Aerospace Ltd, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, Young & Franklin Inc., and exas Rotronics Inc..

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Pounding drums and powerful choruses cascaded around Dalhousies Studley Quad Monday afternoon as the campus was transformed into a powwow arena for the universitys eighth-annual Mawiomi.

Dozens of dancers and drummers converged on the upper portion of the quad to participate in the colourful celebration to mark Mikmaq History Month.

Dal alum Trevor Gould of Paqtnkek Mikmaw Nation served as MC for the afternoons event, which attracted spectators of all ages from the Dal community and beyond.

When we gather here, we give thanks to all our Elders and veterans for helping us protect and keep our traditions and culture going, said Gould, during an introductory portion of the event known as the Grand Entry.



The Mawio'mi Grand Entry.



Mikmaq Elders, veterans, lead dancers and other dignitaries, including Confederacy of Mainland Mikmaq Director Don Julian, helped kick festivities off with a procession and with the presentation of flags and staffs near the perimeter of the quad.

Celebrating with song and dance



Members of the Stoney Bear and Smokey Point drum groups were on hand to provide musical accompaniment for the opening ceremonies and the three-hour powwow that followed.

Dancers both young and old were decked out in regalia, including stunning jingle dresses, shawls and other feather and bead-embroidered clothing.



Dal student and arena director Aaron Prosper.

Fourth-year Dal Medical Sciences student Aaron Prosper of Eskasoni First Nation in Cape Breton served as arena director for the day, managing request for songs and other responsibilities.

He introduced first-year Dal Science student Kalolin Johnson, also from Eskasoni, who performed a rendition of the Mikmaq Honour Song  a spiritual anthem.

The words to this song ask us to honour ourselves as a nation and to honour other people," said Prosper. "This song is significant to us and it is a form of a national anthem."



Student Kalolin Johnson performs.

A learning opportunity



Dal President Richard Florizone welcomed everyone to campus, which he noted is located on traditional Mikmaq territory, and urged all to use it as an opportunity to learn.

The month offers a chance for celebration like this and for reflection and to talk about what weve done and what more we need to do to make Indigenous education, research and support even more central to Dal, he said.

He said Dal recently brought University of Saskatchewan author and educator Marie Ann Battiste to campus, as well as Michael DeGagne of Nippissing University, to advise on its emerging Indigenous Strategy and is offering its first-ever Mikmaq language course this year online through a partnership with Cape Breton University.



Mawio'mi on the Studley Quad.



The president also thanked the many people who helped make this years Mawiomi possible, including Indigenous Student Advisor Michele Graveline and academic administrator Courtney Sutton, as well as the many performers and others involved.

Several kiosks were set up around the quad with traditional clothing and handicrafts as well as educational materials. A traditional feast of chile, bread and blueberries was served.

A great big thank you to all participants, drummers, dancers and artisans for bringing your talents to Dalhousie, said President Florizone. Its wonderful to have you all here. Together we can work towards reconciliation and build a better Canada.
The mobile sector has become an important component of Saudi Arabia's telecom industry and contributes around 75% to overall telecoms revenues.

The popularity of mobile technology is also driving up Internet usage as Saudi Arabia has a very high mobile phone penetration coupled with a high ownership of smart phones. This has led to a growth in Internet usage in recent years and a rising demand on mobile broadband services.

However, the growth of the mobile sector recently faltered due primarily to a regulatory change. In order to tighten control and security of mobile phone usage and ownership, in early 2016 the Saudi Ministry of Interior began implementing its biometric fingerprinting law. The law was originally passed in September 2015 and requires consumers to supply their fingerprint when purchasing a SIM card, with the information being shared with the National Information Centre. The law resulted in a marked decline in mobile subscribers in 2016, including mobile broadband subscriptions.

Broadband penetration is growing strongly in Saudi Arabia. Broadband is available via ADSL, fibre, and wireless. In 2017 ADSL subscriptions still account for the largest proportion of fixed broadband subscriptions.

Looking at the larger picture, Saudi Arabia has its sights firmly set upon improving its economic strength and diversifying away from its reliance on oil. The government has developed the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 program which provides the country with a roadmap of goals and objectives for the future improvement of Saudi Arabia.

Supporting the use of digital technologies such as cloud computing and encouraging ICT development feature heavily in Saudi Arabia's vision for the future. Saudi Arabia's regulator, the CITC, has raised the possibility of regulating cloud computing in order to promote and encourage its development.

In 2017 both STC and Zain Saudi Arabia forged managed services partnerships which will see their networks upgraded and improved. Zain signed a five-year deal with Ericsson and STC formed a three-year partnership with Cisco. In 2016 STC purchased a further 25.8% share of Kuwait's Viva giving STC a 51.8% stake.

In December 2016, the SeaMeWe-5 submarine cable system was completed. SeaMeWe-5 connects Saudi Arabia as well as 15 other countries.

In late 2016 the Saudi government planned to award unified licenses to Zain Saudi Arabia, Mobily and GO Telecom, which would allow the operators to offer fixed line telephony services. In the past only STC was permitted to do so.
Samsung has completed the development of its 8-nanometer foundry process. It is 10 percent more energy efficient than the second generation 10-nanometer process and also takes up 10 percent less space.

Samsung has finished developing its 8-nanometer chip processing technology and is moving to commercialise it soon, the company said on Wednesday. According to the South Korean technology giant, the new 8nm process is 10 percent more energy efficient and uses 10 percent less space when compared to the second generation 10-nanometer process which is what the new process is based on.

The 8nm Low Power Plus (8LPP) process is optimised for high-end chipsets for mobiles, servers, networks and also for virtual currencies, says Samsung.

Samsung was the first manufacturer to roll out the 10nm chip technology back in 2016. The 8-nanometer process is said to be a stop-gap measure before moving to the 7nm process which is expected to roll out in 2018. Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC is also in the running for developing 7-nanometer tech, but Samsung has an advantage with its extreme ultra violet (EUV) lithography technology as per the company. Samsung will subsequently move to 6-nanometer and 5-nanometer in 2019.

Samsung also said that its strong partnership with chipmaker Qualcomm continues to grow. Samsung and Qualcomm worked on 14nm and 10nm previously and will keep working together for the production of new chip technologies, said the company. Qualcomm is expected to use 8-nanometer in some of its early-2018 offerings since it is cheaper that 7-nanometer. This was confirmed to ZDNet by a Samsung spokesperson.
The Intel Nervana Neural Processor family are specially designed for matrix multiplication and convolutions, commonly required for deep learning processing.

Intel unveiled a new family of chips yesterday, meant for AI processing. Known as the Intel Nervana Neural Processor family (NNP), the chips are expected to ship by the end of 2017. The company also worked with Facebook, taking its insights for chip design. The social media company has been one of the most prolific users of AI over the past year or so. Intels target market also includes the automotive industry, healthcare and more. We are thrilled to have Facebook in close collaboration sharing their technical insights as we bring this new generation of AI hardware to market, said Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel.

Its unlikely that Intel will sell this chips for PC building. Instead, they should be headed to data centers, taking on GPUs from Nvidia and Googles Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). The new NNP family brings an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which is specially designed for artificial intelligence processing.

While these are Intels first AI chips, the company has been amongst the most vocal firms in the AI space. It has teased these NNPs earlier, while making multiple purchases aimed at strengthening its AI division. While the NNP chips are obviously a result of its acquisition of chipmaker Nervana earlier, Intel had also acquired Movidius, the firm that made vision processing units (VPUs) running inside the DJI Phantom drones. The NNP chips were earlier codenamed Lake Crest.

The new Nervana chips are designed for matrix multiplication and convolutions, which are common for deep learning programs. Interestingly, while Intels Nervana chips are specially designed for AI, its unclear how they stack up against competing platforms like Googles TPUs. Intel had earlier said that it intends to improve deep learning training speeds by 100 times, by 2020.

Further, Intel also announced investments in frontier technologies that will be needed for other large-scale computing applications of the future. The company is investing in neuromorphic processing, which refers to chips that are inspired by the human brand. These are self-learning chips that will allow computers to recognise patterns and make decisions based on the same. Intel says the potential benefits of such chips are limitless.

Alongside Neuromorphic chips, Intel is also working on quantum computing, with QuTech, its partner for the project.
Telecommunications software and solutions provider Artilium announced the opening of a new office in Germany on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the office, based in Bocholt, North Rhine-Westphalia, would enable it to further expand into the significant and growing German market, where sales would be achieved exclusively through IT resellers and systems integrators to business customers.

It said the product portfolio offered would include managed cloud services, SIP trunking, hosted PBX, integrated fixed and mobile communications, unified communications and Skype for business integration.

The business would also be able to provide IVR and multi-channel contact centre solutions through Artiliums Livecom operation, as well as billing and invoicing from the company's market-leading ARTA platform.

At the same time, Artilium announced the appointment of Ron Miedema as managing director of Artilium GmbH with responsibility for all business operations in Germany, effective immediately.

Miedema previously held senior positions such as business development director and senior manager of new business with Voiceworks, which Artilium described as a fast-growing VoIP and web technology specialist.

It said he would bring considerable telecoms and telephony industry knowledge and sales experience to Artilium GmbH, which it believed would be instrumental as the company expanded further into the high-growth German market.

The opening of the German office will enable us to execute our strategy of international expansion notably, in the high-growth European markets, said Artilium CEO Bart Weijermars.

We are extremely excited about expanding into the German market.

Weijermars said the companys extensive product portfolio was ideal for IT resellers and systems integrators, and it was confident the company would be able to capitalise on the opportunities available.

We are also delighted that Ron Miedema has joined the team; his experience and knowledge will be invaluable as we grow the business in Germany.
Independent Oil and Gas has signed a 'Letter of Intent' with Offshore Design Engineering (ODE), for the provision of several key contractor roles for its Blythe Hub and Vulcan Satellites Hub development project by the latter, reflecting the company's continued strong progress with its gas portfolio.

According to the oil company on Tuesday, the letter required its "trusted partner", ODE, to provide technical and operational support "ahead of Final Investment Decision among other roles" with immediate effect, while contract terms were being finalised.

It was also expected to take responsibility for the operational management of all of Independent Oil's assets as well as for the Thames Pipeline and network of "in-field" pipelines, but with Independent maintaining 100% licence ownership and operation for all assets in the project.

That was in addition to it being "the Operations and Maintenance contractor upon first gas", hosting Independent Oil's onshore operational base at its facilities in Great Yarmouth, close to the Bacton terminal.

Significantly, ODE agreed to fully defer pre-FID costs and half of the pre-First Gas costs until First Gas.

Mark Routh, CEO and interim chairman of Independent Oil and Gas spoke of the benefits of working with the company.

"ODE has a wealth of relevant experience and manages several fields for other Operators in the Southern Gas Basin of the UK North Sea, so we will benefit from synergies with their existing operations. In line with our commercial model, the cost deferrals also tangibly improve IOG's funding position both before and after FID."
Investment banking firm Trinity Capital , on Wednesday, said it had entered into a sale and purchase agreement with DB Realty Limited to receive the equivalent of 1.7m, while it extended the deadline for receipt of unconditional bids, regarding its auction of Trinity Capital Mauritius.

That agreement related to all the compulsorily convertible preference shares, in which its wholly owned subsidiary Trinity Capital Mauritius owns economic interest, issued to it by DB Realtors Private limited, a Mumbai based Real Estate development company.

However, completion of the transaction hinged on Trinity's managing to obtain all final regulatory approvals in India.

In order to allow the transaction to complete, Trinity also extended the deadline for the auction of Trinity Capital Mauritius for a second time, to 10 November.

If the transaction was successful then Trinity would cancel the auction.
South Korean prosecutors raided McDonald's Seoul office, as well as those of three partner companies, on Wednesday as part of a probe into allegations that the US fast food giant had been undercooking its meat, causing many customers severe illnesses.

Investigators searched the main office of McDonald's Korea in central Seoul and its patty suppliers to confiscate documents and other evidence, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.

In July, a McDonald's customer had filed a complaint against the firm, saying her four-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with haemolytic uremic syndrome, otherwise known as hamburger disease, after one of the company's hamburgers caused her irreversible kidney damage in 2016.

Complaints were also filed by the families of four more children that had become sick after eating McDonald's burgers.

In August, diners at one of the chain's locations in Jeonju to the south-west of the country reported stomach aches and high fever after eating bulgogi burgers, leading McDonald's to temporarily halt sales of the burgers to determine the cause.

At the time, the firm claimed to be cooperating with a South Korean government investigation into the possible food contamination case.
Iraqi government officials urged oil giant BP to assist in developing oilfields in the disputed city of Kirkuk on Wednesday after Iraqi troops and state-sanctioned militiamen stormed through the area on Sunday.

The military action in the city of Kirkuk in the north-east corner of Iraq came less than a month after the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan had overwhelmingly voted in favour of independence on 25 September.

Iraq's central government declared the result of the referendum illegitimate shortly thereafter.



Baghdad was said to be attempting to double the oil output from the Kirkuk fields to more than 1m barrels of oil per day (BOEPD) and had made contact with BP to ask for its help in the process.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi called on BP "to quickly make plans to develop the Kirkuk oilfields" on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Oil and Money conference in London on the same day, BP's chief executive Bob Duley said that while the group knew Kirkuk well, and had done previously done technical work in the region, he hadn't heard anything from Jabar at the time.

Iraq, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) second-largest producer of oil, with the most productive areas in the country being the Kurdish-controlled territories that contained much of its energy infrastructure.

BP estimated that Kirkuk, which had a majority 48% Kurdish population before the city was raided by Iraqi forces, held an estimated 9bn barrels worth of recoverable oil remaining below the surface.
The Spanish government does not appear to be wavering in its ultimatum to Catalan separatists, as Mariano Rajoys Thursday deadline for clarification on the independence issue draws near.

Rajoy told Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to clearly communicate whether he had declared independence earlier this month during a speech in the regional parliament, with Puigdemont so far ignoring the question.

Spanish deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria reiterated the governments plan to suspend the regions autonomy if Puigdemont stayed on the current course.

"The government sent Puigdemont a very simple question, and he has not been able to answer yes or no. The requirement runs out tomorrow, and if it is not respected we will be forced to activate Article 155," the deputy PM said.

Article 155 of the Spanish constitution allows the central government to remove the right of autonomy, in part or whole, if one of its provinces does not comply with the constitution.

She added that such a move would be necessary in order to "preserve the economic recovery, as Catalonia is at the door of recession."

Two prominent separatist leaders were arrested this week, with Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart both being accused of sedition.

The arrests sparked a series of protests in Catalonia, where there has been unrest since the independence referendum on 1 October.
Stocks finished higher, buoyed by weakness in the single currency during the first part of the session and the continuing grind higher by the main market indices on Wall Street.

Weakness in the euro came as some market commentary was highlighting the possibility that the next US central bank chairman may have a harder policy bias than Janet Yellen although by the end of trading the single currency had recovered some of its poise.

Investors in European markets were also aware that a second deadline was looming - on Thursday morning - for officials in the Spanish region of Catalonia to back off from their unilateral declaration of independence made the week before, which might be expected to weigh on the euro.

Against that backdrop, by the closing bell the benchmark Stoxx 600 was up by 1.12 points or 0.29% to 391.56, alongside gains of 0.37% or 47.97 points to 13,043.03 for the German Dax and an advance of 0.42% or 22.44 points to 5,383.81 on the Cac-40.

Also in the spotlight on Wednesday was the start of the Chinese Communist party's 19th Congress, at which president Xi Jinping laid out his vision to convert the country into a "great modern socialist country" by 2050, with rule of law, innovative companies, a clean environment, expanding middle class and reduced inequality.

"We are also cautiously optimistic that China will continue a gradual reform pace and it will get increased focus over the coming years. Nevertheless we expect the economy to slow down gradually over the next year due to financial tightening, which will cause some headwinds for equity markets as well," commented analysts at Danske Bank.

Significantly, the Danish broker's expectation was for Jinping to focus more on the economy over the next five years, having spent his previous term 'cleaning up' the party.

Back on the economic data front, euro area construction output dipped by 0.2% on the month in August.

Meanwhile, in the corporate space, according to Reuters Germany's SpringerNature was preparing a stockmarket listing in 2018 valuing the firm at as much as 4.0bn.

Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel posted weaker-than-expected operating profits of 383m for the three months to September, amid margin pressures from increased costs for raw materials.

Another Dutch outfit, semiconductor equipment maker ASML on the other hand pleased investors, announcing third quarter net profits of 557m, which was ahead of market forecasts. The company also reaffirmed full-year 2017 guidance for a 25% jump in sales.

Hochtief's supervisory board was reportedly set to meet later in the same day to discuss a possible counteroffer to Atlantia's bid for Spain's Abertis.
Stocks were building on their early advance come midday, buoyed by weakness in the single currency and the continuing grind higher by the main market indices on Wall Street.

Weakness in the euro came as some market commentary was highlighting the possibility that the next US central bank chairman may have a harder policy bias than Janet Yellen.

Investors in European markets were also aware that a second deadline was looming - on Thursday morning - for officials in the Spanish region of Catalonia to back off from their unilateral declaration of independence made the week before.

Against that backdrop, as of 1215 BST the benchmark Stoxx 600 was up by 1.68 points or 0.43% to 392.12, alongside gains of 0.49% or 63.56 points to 13,059.07 for the German Dax and an advance of 0.56% or 30.19 points to 5,391.50 on the Cac-40.

Also in the spotlight on Wednesday was the start of the Chinese Communist party's 19th Congress, at which president Xi Jinping laid out his vision to convert the country into a "great modern socialist country" by 2050, with rule of law, innovative companies, a clean environment, expanding middle class and reduced inequality.

"We are also cautiously optimistic that China will continue a gradual reform pace and it will get increased focus over the coming years. Nevertheless we expect the economy to slow down gradually over the next year due to financial tightening, which will cause some headwinds for equity markets as well," commented analysts at Danske Bank.

Significantly, the Danish broker's expectation was for Jinping to focus more on the economy over the next five years, having spent his previous term 'cleaning up' the party.

Back on the economic data front, euro area construction output dipped by 0.2% on the month in August.

Meanwhile, in the corporate space, according to Reuters Germany's SpringerNature was preparing a stockmarket listing in 2018 valuing the firm at as much as 4.0bn.

Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel posted weaker-than-expected operating profits of 383m for the three months to September, amid margin pressures from increased costs for raw materials.

Another Dutch outfit, semiconductor equipment maker ASML on the other hand pleased investors, announcing third quarter net profits of 557m, which was ahead of market forecasts. The company also reaffirmed full-year 2017 guidance for a 25% jump in sales.

Hochtief's supervisory board was reportedly set to meet later in the same day to discuss a possible counteroffer to Atlantia's bid for Spain's Abertis.
Stocks are mostly higher in the early party of the session, buoyed by weakness in the single currency and the continuing grind higher by the main market indices on Wall Street.

More specifically, some market commentary was highlighting the possibility that the next US central bank chairman may have a harder policy bias than Janet Yellen, which was weighing on sentiment towards the euro.

Investors in European markets were also aware that a second deadline was looming - on Thursday morning - for officials in the Spanish region of Catalonia to back off from the unilateral declaration of independence made the week before.

Against that backdrop, as of 1030 BST the benchmark Stoxx 600 was up by 1.28 points or 0.33% to 391.72, alongside gains of 0.51% or 66.64 points to 13,061.54 for the German Dax and an advance of 0.40% or 21.29 points to 5,382.66 on the Cac-40.

Also in the spotlight on Wednesday was the start of the Chinese Communist party's 19th Congress, at which president Xi Jinping laid out his vision to convert the country into a "great modern socialist country" by 2050, with rule of law, innovative companies, a clean environment, expanding middle class and reduced inequality.

"We are also cautiously optimistic that China will continue a gradual reform pace and it will get increased focus over the coming years. Nevertheless we expect the economy to slow down gradually over the next year due to financial tightening, which will cause some headwinds for equity markets as well," commented analysts at Danske Bank.

Significantly, the Danish broker's expectation was for Jinping to focus more on the economy over the next five years, having spent his previous term 'cleaning up' the party.

Back on the economic data front, euro area construction output dipped by 0.2% on the month in August.

Meanwhile, in the corporate space, according to Reuters Germany's SpringerNature was preparing a stockmarket listing in 2018 valuing the firm at as much as 4.0bn.

Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel posted weaker-than-expected operating profits of 383m for the three months to September, amid margin pressures from increased costs for raw materials.

Another Dutch outfit, semiconductor equipment maker ASML on the other hand pleased investors, announcing third quarter net profits of 557m, which was ahead of market forecasts. The company also reaffirmed full-year 2017 guidance for a 25% jump in sales.

Hochtief's supervisory board was reportedly set to meet later in the same day to discuss a possible counteroffer to Atlantia's bid for Spain's Abertis.
After bearing the brunt of a "soft" third quarter Reckitt Benckiser has downgraded its full year guidance, with the Vanish-to-Durex maker confident that it can overcome the continued challenging market.

The FTSE 100 group also made a further 318m charge to its accounts in June as a consequence of discussions with US authorities and related litigation proceedings over its former pharmaceuticals division, which was spun off as Indivior in late 2014, while stressing that the final cost for the group "may be materially higher than this reserve".

For the continuing businesses, group like-for-like net revenue fell 1% in the quarter, with Europe and North America down 3% year-on-year to 1.7bn while developing markets provided growth of 3% to 793m.

The acquisition of Mead Johnson, which completed in June, added a new Infant Formula and Child Nutrition segment that contributed 720m of net revenue.

The major Health and much smaller Home product categories were down 2% and 4%, with 1% growth from Hygiene area.

So for the year to date, group net revenues were down 1% at 8.2bn.

For the full year chief executive Rakesh Kapoor said the base RB business is now expected to be "flat", cut from his previous guidance of +2%, but he kept his guidance for Mead Johnson was kept at "-2% to flat" as the business was "progressing well".

"Q3 was a soft quarter as we experienced both the tail end of known issues, and the impact of a continuing challenging market environment," he said.

He said the underlying performance was "in line with current market growth of around 2%", helped by Mead Johnson having a better quarter, in particular in Greater China.

From the first quarter of next year, the group will be divided into two "focused, agile and fully accountable" business units: RB Health, incorporating Mead Johnson and led by Kapoor, and RB Hygiene Home, led by Europe and North America chief Rob De Groot.

"I am very excited about our medium and long-term prospects," said Kapoor.

"We expect strong growth trends in the broader consumer health category in the medium term, and our new organisational structure will provide us with a platform for growth and outperformance."

Since the period end, the group has expanded its compensation plan and made a payment of around 45m to the South Korean government's special relief fund set up to help victims of RB's faulty Humidifier Sanitiser.

RB shares were down 1.1% to 6,957p in early trading on Wednesday morning, meaning they have fallen around 14% since June.
Microsoft on Monday announced the general availability of SQL Server 2017, now with support for Linux, at its Ignite conference in Orlando. The company first announced its plans for the newest iteration of its database software a year and a half ago.

This is the first version of SQL Server to run on Windows Server, Linux and Docker, noted Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, cloud and enterprise, at Microsoft.

SQL Server 2017 enables in-database advanced machine learning with support for scalable Python and R-based analytics, he pointed out, which means you can train advanced models easily with data inside SQL Server without having to move data.

SQL Server offers mission-critical performance and security, Guthrie said. It now has everything built in, including artificial intelligence, on the platform of your choice.

Adding Linux support to SQL Server is a manifestation of the new Microsoft, noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Theyve become operating system-agnostic when it comes to their applications and some of their platforms, he told LinuxInsider.

Oracle in Crosshairs

Adding Linux support to SQL Server should boost its share of the enterprise database market, suggested Matthew Kimball, senior analyst for servers and storage with Moor Insights & Strategy.

With a Windows-only platform, Microsoft is a strong second to Oracle in the market.

This expands Microsofts market considerably, Kimball told LinuxInsider.

Oracle is Microsofts chief competition in the space, he continued, and SQL Server is a fraction of the cost of Oracle with the same functionality.

Microsoft has been able to garner 20 percent of the enterprise database market with its Windows-only offering, noted Donald Feinberg, a data, analytics and information management analyst at Gartner.

Oracles share is about 40 percent, he said.

Microsoft managed to get to half the size of Oracle in a (US)$35 billion market without having Linux, Feinberg told LinuxInsider. You have to ask yourself, if they can now compete in the Linux market, how much further can they go? They answer is, it gives them a lot of runway.

Bashing Portability Barrier

For years, Microsofts competitors database products have supported multiple platforms, which put Microsoft, with its Windows-only approach, at a disadvantage. By adding Linux support, SQL Server becomes as portable as the products of those competitors.

Portability is an important feature. Customers dont go switching around all that much, but they want to know they can, Feinberg said.

Weve talked to a lot of people, he continued, and when I mention SQL Server to them, the answer I get is, We cant use that because it will lock us in to Windows Server. That perception disappears now.

When Microsoft announced SQL Server Linux support last year, it surprised some Microsoft watchers, who believed the company would be unwilling to forgo the potential loss of revenue that could result from the move.

With SQL Server chained to Windows, Microsoft collects licensing revenue from both Windows Server and SQL Server. With the Linux version, it collects revenue only from SQL Server licenses.

Microsoft wont suffer from those losses, suggested Moors Kimball.

Customers who will move from Windows Server to Linux will be more than offset by the growth Microsoft will see in the Linux space, he said.

Not Created Equal

The Linux and Windows versions of SQL Server arent quite equal, Kimball noted. The business intelligence tools arent built into the Linux version as yet, and the company hasnt provided a firm date as to when they will be available.

The extraction, transformation and load tools for data warehousing can be used in a Linux environment, he said, but they cant be authored in Linux. They must be created in Windows and ported over to Linux.

Other business intelligence tools dont run on Linux at all, said Kimball.

Maybe this is Microsofts hook for keeping some SQL instances on Windows for some time, he added.

Nevertheless, all features within the SQL Server relational database engine are available in Linux, including the Always On high availability feature. In addition, performance on the two platforms is comparable.

Raft of Features

In addition to Linux support, SQL Server 2017 supports Python programming. Combined with R Services, that allows machine language models to be created, trained and analyzed in place.

Support also has been added for graph processing. Thats important when working with NoSQL databases often used for big data projects.

Microsoft has added two new batch modes to SQL Server  memory grant feedback and adaptive joins  designed to increase the efficiency and performance of the software.

Operational analytics has become more feasible with SQL Server, thanks to the ability to build and rebuild some Columnstore indexes without taking them offline.

In addition, BLOBS  Binary Large Objects  inside Columnstore indexes can be compressed, which saves disk space, and the indexes can process the compressed information, which can speed backups.

A new resumable index operations feature has been added to SQL Server too, which provides for the resumption of index rebuilds after a database failure or manual abort. Recovering from such disasters previously required a restart from scratch, once the database was back online.
Amazon Web Services on Monday unveiled a new per-second pricing plan for EC2 instances and EBS volumes, which will take effect Oct. 2.

The new pricing for EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and EBS (Elastic Block Storage) used with EC2 instances will allow greater flexibility and efficiency for customers wanting to expand their use of cloud computing data, AWS said.

When EC2 launched in 2006, the only way to pay for the service was in one-hour increments, recalled Jeff Barr, chief evangelist at AWS.

The pay as you go model inspired our customers to think about news ways to develop, test and run applications of all types, he said.

Nuts and Bolts

Under the new plan, usage of Linux instances that are launched in On-Demand, Reserved and Spot form will be billed in one-second increments, as will provisioned storage for EBS volumes.

AWS Batch and Amazon EMR also will be subject to per-second billing, Barr said.

Customers add capacity to their EMR clusters to get results more quickly, Barr noted. With per-second billing for the EC2 instances in the clusters, adding nodes will be more cost-effective than ever.

With regard to AWS Batch, many customers complete their batch computing jobs in less than an hour, he pointed out. AWS Batch already launches and terminates Spot Instances, which are purchased through bidding on spare computing capacity, and often are 50 percent to 90 percent cheaper than on-demand pricing.

Many customers can get the most value from EC2 by strategically choosing the most advantageous target instances when managing gaming, ad tech or 3D rendering fleets, Barr pointed out.

More Than Savings

Although saving money is an important part of the AWS billing change, its not the most important, according to Barr.

The change will lead to innovation, as customers will think about compute-bound problems in new ways, he maintained  for example, changing the method of provisioning transient environments for dev and test workloads, or improving support for continuous integration.

The per-second billing will become effective Oct. 2 in all AWS regions for all Linux instances that are newly launched or up and running, said Barr.

Per second billing will not be available running Microsoft Windows or Linux distributions with a separate hourly charge. There will be a minimum one-minute charge per instance.

List prices and Spot Market prices will continue to be listed on a per-hour basis, but billing will be calculated to the second. The same goes for Reserved Instance use.

Competitive Landscape

It is evident that AWS intends to compete aggressively to maintain its market share leadership in an increasingly crowded space for cloud services.

That is not to say it has to have the lowest prices on everything, but at least it has to be there or thereabouts in all of the major service areas, said John Dinsdale, chief analyst at Synergy Research Group.

The main reasons companies have been moving their data to the cloud are to gain speed, flexibility and agility, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Cloud providers dont necessarily want price to be the main criteria for choosing a service platform, but they need to be seen as reasonably competitive with each other.

Customers are becoming increasingly concerned about losing control of the cost of cloud computing services they are acquiring, noted Jeff Kaplan, managing director of ThinkStrategies.

AWS latest pricing enables customers to gain more precise control over their cloud computing and data storage costs, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The new pricing regime will pressure rival services to offer comparable pricing and packaging of services, Kaplan added.

Large clients would prefer this level of pricing to reduce costs and improve accountability, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

When you spent triple digits or more on an IT resource, he told the E-Commerce Times, minutes or seconds can really add up.
In a rare move, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the data breach at Equifax that compromised the sensitive personal information of 143 million U.S. consumers.

The FTC announcement came less than a week after Equifax revealed that an unknown party had gained access to names, addresses, Social Security Numbers and other data belonging to nearly half the U.S. population. An unknown number of Canadian and UK consumers were directly impacted by the breach as well.

Along with personal information, the attackers stole more than 209,000 customer credit card numbers and nearly 190,000 credit dispute files.

Equifax hired an outside cybersecurity firm to investigate and contacted law enforcement to look into the incident, it said.

Twisting the Knife?

Equifax triggered a severe backlash following news of the breach for what critics have characterized as an attempt to make money from consumers seeking to find out if their identities were stolen, and to prevent them from participating in any future legal action against the firm.

Offers to sell the stolen consumer information reportedly have turned up on the Dark Web.

The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations, said Peter Kaplan, acting director, public affairs.

However in light of the intense public interest and potential impact of the matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The agency also warned consumers to be on the alert for phone scams  for example, someone pretending to be from Equifax in an effort to trick people into providing personal data.

No Patch

The Apache Software Foundation on Thursday confirmed that the data breach was due to Equifaxs failure to patch a vulnerability related to Apache Struts, an open source framework for creating enterprise-level Java Web applications.

Apache Struts powers Internet of Things and front and back-end applications for many of the leading technology service providers, telecoms, financial institutions and government agencies.

The unpatched vulnerability was linked to CVE-2017-9805, based on an analyst report that was traced to information reportedly provided by an Equifax source.

Under Fire

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Equifax on the floor of the U.S. Senate, calling the incident one the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasance since Enron, and called for Senate hearings on the matter. He also demanded resignations from the CEO and board members if immediate reforms are not implemented.

When youre a credit agency like Equifax, you have two principal jobs: calculating and reporting accurate credit scores, and protecting the sensitive information of individuals that are funneled through that process, he said. Equifax stunningly and epically failed to perform one of its two essential duties as a company, to protect the sensitive information of the people in its files.

Possible Legal Action

Equifax faces potential legal liability on a couple of fronts, said Seth Berman, a former Department of Justice attorney who now specializes in cybersecurity issues at the Nutter law firm.

The FTC has broad authority to investigate data breaches, he told the E-Commerce Times, particularly given the fact that Equifax is a credit reporting agency that deals with consumer finances, and also since Equifax has been caught up in past investigations by the agency.

State attorneys general also will look into the breach, Berman said, noting that New York AG Eric Schneiderman already has announced an investigation.

Equifax could see a spate of class action civil suits from consumers and shareholders, as well as a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

More often than not, we are seeing breaches as a result of an organizations failure to implement Security 101 principles  proper patch management, secure software development, processes and procedures, said Leigh Anne Galloway, cybersecurity resilience officer at Positive Technologies.

Its the basic things that organizations fail to do again and again, she told the E-Commerce Times.

A number of Apache Struts vulnerabilities recently have been identified, Galloway noted, including a number of flaws Cisco uncovered in the open source framework just a week ago.

In the Equifax case, attackers were allowed to execute arbitrary code on a server by manipulating the Content-Type HTTP header, she said.

FTC Settlement

Equifax and other companies in 2012 agreed to pay US$1.6 million to settle the FTCs charges that the company had sold lists of customers who were late on their mortgage payments.

Equifax itself agreed to pay $393,000 to settle claims that it sold data from 17,000 prescreened late-paying consumers to firms, including Direct Lending Source, which then resold that information to other firms.
Red Hat on Thursday announced major enhancements to the Patent Promise it first published 15 years ago, with the intention of providing new protections to innovation in the open source community.

In its 2002 Patent Promise, Red Hat vowed not to pursue patent infringement actions against parties that used its covered Free and Open Source Software, or FOSS, subject to certain limitations.

The current Patent Promise reaffirms the 2002 pledge and extends the zone of non-enforcement. The promise now applies to all of Red Hats patents, as well as all software licensed under well recognized open source licenses.

Higher Bar

Red Hats Patent Promise is the most comprehensive in the industry, according to the company.

It raises the bar, said Patrick McBride, senior director of patents at Red Hat.

Our promise already covers all Red Hat patents, he told LinuxInsider. Now were also covering all FSF (Free Software Foundation)- and OSI (Open Source Initiative)-approved licenses, and in the process have tripled the coverage of our promise, from about 35 percent of all open source code to about 99 percent.

The new pledge is much more explicit in terms of its coverage, McBride said, addressing all Red Hat subsidiaries and transferees of Red Hat patents, as well as combinations of open source software with hardware or proprietary software.

Greater Protection

The new pledge vastly expands the protections for the open source community in terms of legal action stemming from Red Hat, noted Laura Majerus, an attorney at HIPLegal who formerly served as an in-house patent counsel at Google.

This can only be good news for open source distributors, as the new license covers more products by covering more open source licenses, she told LinuxInsider. The new license also makes it clear that the license is revoked if anyone sues Red Hat for patent infringement, so it has the same defensive goal as the earlier license.

The new license has an expanded but clear definition of what FOSS licenses are covered, Majerus added.

Setting a Precedent

Red Hat is not alone in offering the open source community protection against patent-related litigation.

Google in 2013 issued the Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge  its promise not to sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first attacked.

Google noted that it held 10 patents related to MapReduce, a programming model for processing large data sets, used widely in the open source community.

At the time of the pledge, Google cited the prior efforts of Red Hat and IBM, along with the work of the Open Invention Network.

IBM in 2005 pledged 500 U.S. patents to the open source community. In 2010, however, it became embroiled in a public dispute with Frances TurboHercules, a maker of an open source mainframe emulator.

The public positions of various incumbent companies have varied depending on their approach to the open source community, noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Microsoft has been pretty open source friendly of late, and their patent portfolio is mostly used for defense not offense these days, he told LinuxInsider. Oracle, on the other hand, remains more traditional.

Oracle last year came up short in the US$9 billion suit it filed against Google regarding the Java technology used in the Android mobile operating system. However, Oracle filed an appeal earlier this year. That case may have spurred Googles development of the Fuschia mobile operating system to replace Linux.
AMSTERDAM  Clean Clothes Campaign and other trade unions has called for the European Commission to launch a trade investigation into Bangladesh labour rights. This comes as trade unions say the Bangladeshi government have continually failed to reform law and trade union rights in the countrys Ready Made Garment sector.
By Jessica Corbett

In a decision that is being called groundbreaking and precedent-setting, a district court judge in Minnesota has ruled that he will allow oil pipeline protesters to present a necessity defense for charges related to a multi-state action by climate activists last October.

In his decision last week, Judge Robert Tiffany ruled that four activists who participated in the #ShutItDown actionin which pipelines across five states were temporarily disabled, halting the flow of tar sands oil from Canada into the U.S.may present scientists and other expert witnesses to explain the immediate threat of climate change to justify their action.

The ruling is only the third time a judge in the United States has allowed for such a defense in a climate case, InsideClimateNews reported. The first case, in Massachusetts in 2014, did not go to trial after the prosecutor dropped the charges. A judge allowed the necessity defense in a Washington State case in 2016 but then instructed jurors they could not acquit on necessity.

This is the third valve turner case to go to court, but the first time a necessity defense has been allowed for this group of activists. Earlier this year, valve turner Ken Ward was convicted of one felony in Washington state.

In North Dakota earlier this month, valve turner Michael Foster was convicted of two felonies and a misdemeanor, while Sam Jessup, who livestreamed Fosters protest, was convicted of one felony and one misdemeanor. Climate experts including Dr. James Hansenthe father of modern climate change awarenesstraveled to North Dakota to appear in court but were barred from testifying.

This latest case in Minnesota involves valve turners Emily Johnston and Annette Klapstein as well as videographer Steve Liptay and support person Ben Joldersma, who will be tried separately but are also allowed to present a necessity defense.

What we did is not in dispute, said Klapstein. The only question before the jury will be whether our action was necessary to prevent imminent climate catastrophe. Now well be able to present evidence connecting the devastation were seeingfrom hurricanes in the Caribbean to wildfires throughout western North Americato an oil-soaked political system utterly failing to respond.

Finally, well get to bring climate experts into a court of law, to describe the distance between our current reality and what physics demands of us if we hope to leave a stable planet for our kids, said Johnston. Doing so means theres an outside chance we can bridge that distanceand we need every chance we can get.

Hansenwho told Common Dreams that he believes jurors would have found Foster and Jessup innocent if a necessity defense were allowed in that caseis expected to testify in support of the Minnesota defendants.

The whole planet will be inside a single courtroom the day this trial begins, said climate activist Bill McKibben, another potential expert witness. Its a rare chance to explain precisely why we need to act, and act now.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
Africa loses an average of three

rhinos a day to the ongoing poaching crisis and the illegal rhino horn trade. In 2016 alone, 1,054 rhinos were reported killed in South Africa, representing a loss in rhinos of approximately six percent. Thats close to the birth rate, meaning the population remains perilously close to the tipping point.

This year, the

Natural History Museum in London awarded photographer Brent Stirton the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year grand title for his grisly image of a black rhino with its two horns hacked off in South Africas Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Brents image highlights the urgent need for humanity to protect our planet and the species we share it with, said Natural History Museum director Sir Michael Dixon.

Stirtons photograph, Memorial to a species, emerged as the winning shot from almost 50,000 competition entries from 92 countries. The photo also won of the Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Story category.

The killers were probably from a local community but working to order, the caption from Stirtons photograph states. Entering the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve at night, they shot the black rhino bull using a silencer. Working fast, they hacked off the two horns and escaped before being discovered by the reserves patrol. The horns would have been sold to a middleman and smuggled out of South Africa, probably via Mozambique, to China or Vietnam. For the reserve, it was grim news, not least because this is where conservationists bred back from near extinction the subspecies that is now the pre-eminent target for poachers, the southern white rhino. For the photographer, the crime scene was one of more than 30 he visited in the course of covering this tragic story.

Striton is a senior correspondent for Verbatim and Getty Images and shoots mainly for

National Geographic

. His work focuses on conflict, sustainability and the environment. Hes won a slew of photojournalism awards in the past but this was the first time he was given the Wildlife Photographer of the Year grand title.

He said he was blown away by the honor.

Photojournalist @BrentStirton reacts to winning #WPY53. Brent's powerful winning image Memorial to a species is part of his awarded photo story 'Rhino Horn: The ongoing atrocity'. See the full photo story in the exhibition at @NHM_London, opening on Friday 20 Oct. pic.twitter.com/sCZNrrC3CG  Wildlife Photographer of the Year (@NHM_WPY) October 18, 2017

This years winning image conveys a powerful and disturbing message from a master storyteller, shining a light not only on a species being pushed to the brink of extinction, but also on the issues of human morality and compassion for the animals we share this planet with, said science and wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year,

#WPY53, exhibition opens at the Natural History Museum in London on Friday, Oct. 20 and runs until May 28. The next competition,

#WPY54, opens for entries on Oct. 23.

Scroll down to see a selection of the other award-winning photographs.

Daniel met Caco in the forest of Odzala National Park in the Republic of Congo. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered, threatened by illegal hunting for bushmeat (facilitated by logging and mining roads), and disease (notably the Ebola virus).

The good life. Daniel Nelson, The Netherlands. Grand title winner 2017, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Also winner of the 15-17 years old category).

Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lankas northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be a sign that populations are recovering, said Tony.

Giant gathering, Tony Wu, USA Winner 2017, Behavior: Mammals

In eastern Sabah, on the island of Borneo, three generations of Bornean elephants edge their way across the terraces of an oil-palm plantation being cleared for replanting. Palm oil is a lucrative global export, and in the Malaysian state of Sabah, where the majority of rainforest has already been logged (only eight percent of protected intact forest remains), the palm-oil industry is still a major driver of deforestation, squeezing elephants into smaller and smaller pockets of forest.

Palm-oil survivors, Aaron Bertie Gekoski, UK/USAWinner 2017, Wildlife Photojournalist: Single image

From her ship anchored off Svalbard, in Arctic Norway, Eilo spotted a polar bear and her two- year-old cub in the distance, slowly drawing closer. Nearing the ship, they were diverted to a patch of snow soaked in leakage from the vessels kitchen and began to lick it. I was ashamed of our contribution to the immaculate landscape, said Eilo, and of how this influenced the bears behavior.

Polar pas de deux, Eilo Elvinger, Luxembourg, Winner 2017, Black and white
For conservation efforts to be effective, wildlife managers need to know how many individuals of a species are out there. When species are spread out over large areas and occur at low densities, as is the case with the Golden Eagle, figuring this out can be tricky. However, a new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications applies an old technique called "mark-recapture" in a novel way, eliminating the need to actually capture and mark eagles but instead, using math that allows scientists to turn individual observations into population estimates.

West Virginia University's Andrew Dennhardt, Adam Duerr, and Todd Katzner and Lafayette College's David Brandes used observations made by volunteer "citizen-scientists" of Golden Eagles migrating along a single, long mountain ridgeline in Pennsylvania to estimate the total number of eagles passing through the area each year. To do this, they developed a new way to apply a classic ecology tool called mark-recapture analysis--capturing and marking a portion of a population, and then counting the number of marked individuals in another group captured later. Helped by the fact that observers were often able to categorize individual eagles as either immature or adult birds, the scientists were able to identify instances of individual eagles being sighted at more than one location as they made their way south along the ridge over the course of a day, treating these subsequent sightings as "recaptures."

Volunteers reported more than 3,000 sightings of Golden Eagles at five count sites along the ridge from 2002 to 2011. The analysis used in the study, which lets researchers estimate how many birds were missed as well as how many were seen more than once, suggests that these sightings represented between 2,592 and 2,775 individual eagles over the ten year period, with approximately 1,300 passing through the area on average in a given year. Past studies indicate that the total population of eagles breeding in Quebec and migrating through Pennsylvania is around 5,000, making this about a quarter of the larger population. Because the eagles are difficult to count on their breeding grounds, however, better methods for tracking their numbers during migration represent a significant advance.

"Conservation of Golden Eagles in eastern North America is a really important goal for lots of reasons--it is a small, historically declining population, at risk from anthropogenic threats and habitat loss. A central part of that conservation goal is figuring out how many of the darn things there are. Andrew's work is the first empirical estimate of golden eagle population size," says Katzner, now a Research Wildlife Biologist at the US Geological Survey. "Nothing quite like this has ever been done. We've taken a standard tool, mark-recapture, and turned it on its head to give us a new way to estimate population size."

"For me, this was a dream come true, because I got to work on a project relevant to the conservation of the species that originally inspired me to enter the field of wildlife ecology and management," says Dennhardt, now at Michigan State University. "Partnerships between researchers and citizen-scientists can help improve wildlife management decisions to address threats to migratory Golden Eagles and other species. I hope this work inspires future researchers to evaluate the populations of other migratory species, and that it encourages the greater scientific community to consider new and existing citizen-science programs and think about how such programs' data might be used in their own research toward improving resource management and decision making."

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"Applying citizen-science data and mark-recapture models to estimate numbers of migrant Golden Eagles in an Important Bird Area in eastern North America" will be available October 18, 2017, at http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1650/CONDOR-16-166.1 (issue URL http://www.bioone.org/toc/cond/119/4).

About the journal: The Condor: Ornithological Applications is a peer-reviewed, international journal of ornithology. It began in 1899 as the journal of the Cooper Ornithological Club, a group of ornithologists in California that became the Cooper Ornithological Society, which merged with the American Ornithologists' Union in 2016 to become the American Ornithological Society. In 2016, The Condor had the number one impact factor among 24 ornithology journals.
BETHESDA, MD - MyGene2, a new open data resource, helps patients with rare genetic conditions, clinicians, and researchers share information, connect with one another, and enable faster gene discovery, according to results presented at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) 2017 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

"With MyGene2, we hope to help patients and their families engage with researchers and clinicians and vice versa, as well as speed up awareness of genes associated with rare Mendelian diseases," said Jessica Chong, PhD, Analysis Group Lead at the federally-funded University of Washington Center for Mendelian Genomics (UW-CMG), who presented the work.

Dr. Chong and Michael Bamshad, MD, Chief of the UW Division of Genetic Medicine, were working in rare disease gene discovery when they observed that a lack of open data sharing was slowing down scientific progress. "We found that good research findings were just not getting out there," she said. "Researchers may know of a gene's discovery years before it gets published, during which time patients and their families are undiagnosed and unaware."

At the same time, they noted that rare disease patients and families who were using existing social networks to make connections were running up against the limitations of those platforms, such as balancing worldwide reach with patient privacy and achieving consistency in terminology.

"We created MyGene2 to address these limitations, as a single place for patients and families to look for and share information rather than a hodgepodge of search terms and platforms," said Dr. Bamshad. The website helps patients enter their genetic data so it is searchable and useful to researchers and clinicians, along with detailed information about their phenotypes and experiences to help define symptoms and describe the course of disease. "This data can be de-identified to protect patient privacy, but remains complete and accessible, while allowing contact between families, researchers, and clinicians," Dr. Bamshad added.

In the year since the site was launched, more than 1,000 profiles have been created. The researchers are starting to see matches among patients with the same rare disease, and between patients and scientists studying their disease. In addition, they have been able to offer low-cost exome sequencing to patients whose insurance does not cover it, as well as comprehensive reporting of results and tools to identify secondary results.

Dr. Bamshad stresses the important role of patients and families in moving rare disease genetics forward. "Families need to be their own biggest advocates, and one way to do that is by sharing their data," he said.

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Presentation: Dr. Chong will present this research on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, from 9:45-10:00 a.m., in Room 310A, Level 3, South Building, Orange County Convention Center.

Press Availability: Dr. Chong and co-author Michael Bamshad, MD, will be available to discuss this research with interested media on Thursday, October 19, 2017, from 11:00-11:45 a.m. in the ASHG 2017 Press Office (Room 210D).

References: Chong JX et al. (2017 Oct 18). Abstract: Gene discovery via direct-to-family engagement using MyGene2. Presented at the American Society of Human Genetics 2017 Annual Meeting. Orlando, Florida.

MyGene2. (2016 Dec 8). Video: Goals and purpose of MyGene2.
New rules for charging overseas visitors using the NHS are a threat to everyone, argue experts in The BMJ today.

Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Lucinda Hiam, GP and Health Adviser at the humanitarian aid charity Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde), say the proposals threaten patient safety and should be withdrawn "until a thorough impact assessment on people in vulnerable situations has been carried out."

From 23 October 2017, any patients, including children, attending secondary healthcare facilities in England who are unable to establish their entitlement to free care, will be charged upfront for the estimated cost of treatment. If patients are unable to pay, treatment may be refused.

McKee and Hiam point to challenges faced by healthcare teams, such as establishing whether the patient is entitled to NHS care and deciding whether the condition requires "immediately necessary" or "urgent" treatment. "Clearly, this requires considerable judgment, based on what will often be incomplete information," they explain. "Yet, if they get this wrong, they face considerable risks."

They say the new guidance has obvious implications for people who are not entitled to care, but its implications extend to everyone using the NHS, with no clear evidence that it will save appreciable amounts of money.

Adding to the work of clinicians already struggling simply to diagnose disease and treat people entitled to care "seems dangerous, especially when the performance of the NHS has been implicated as a possible reason for rising death rates," they write.

Furthermore, many people who are entitled to care are likely to struggle to prove it, including those who are homeless or have mental health problems.

And although contagious disease is uncommon among migrants, late detection, undertreatment, and lack of routine immunisations of children "could pose a direct threat to UK population health."

Finally, with primary care remaining free to all in England, they warn that the increased workload on already overextended general practices "is likely to be unmanageable."

Despite funding failing to keep pace with demand, the NHS still outperforms many other healthcare systems, while upholding its founding principles, they write. Refusing treatment to those unable to pay, including children, would render it unrecognisable.

Healthcare should not be used as a means of immigration control, they conclude. These proposals should be withdrawn until a thorough impact assessment on people in vulnerable situations has been carried out, ensuring the "wider social duty to promote equality" is at the forefront of moving forward.

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Adult male mice have a simple repertoire of innate, or instinctive, social behaviors: When encountering a female, a male mouse will try to mate with it, and when encountering another male, the mouse will attack. The animals do not have to be taught to perform these behaviors. This has led to the widespread presumption among neuroscientists that the brain circuits mediating these behaviors are "hardwired," meaning that they are genetically encoded pathways with little flexibility.

But new research from Caltech neuroscientists shows that these behaviors and the neurons that represent them are not as fixed as previously believed.

The work appears in a paper in the October 19 issue of the journal Nature, and was led by David Anderson -- Seymour Benzer Professor of Biology; Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience Leadership Chair; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator; and director of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience.

The team used mice that had been genetically engineered so that neurons in a specific part of the brain involved in aggression and sexual behavior -- the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) -- would glow green when activated. To visualize this activation, a needle-thin glass lens was inserted into the hypothalamus, and images of flashing neurons were recorded by a miniature, portable microscope attached to the mouse's head. This brain imaging technology was originally developed by Anderson's collaborator at Stanford University, Mark Schnitzer, and obtained through Inscopix.

The Caltech team first set up "resident/intruder tests," in which they imaged the brain of a socially and sexually experienced "resident" mouse in its cage as a single intruder mouse -- either a male or a female--was introduced. The researchers found that during its encounters with other mice, one of two distinct sets of neurons in the VMH were activated--one set if the other mouse was a male, and another if it was a female. Though these neurons are spatially intermingled, there is very little overlap between them, like grains of salt and pepper interspersed on a plate.

Just by looking at the activation of these two neural populations, the scientists could reliably determine whether an animal was interacting with a male or a female. These observations seemed to support the idea that these distinct representations of males versus females are hardwired and genetically fixed from birth.

To test this idea more directly, the researchers examined the behaviors of naive mice--those that had been maintained in isolation since weaning, without any social or sexual experience. If the sex distinction was indeed hardwired, then the researchers should have seen the separate activation of the groups of neurons specific for recognizing males versus females, even during the first encounters between these naive mice and other male or female intruder mice.

Surprisingly, to the contrary, the neurons of these naive mice initially were similarly activated when the mice were exposed to either male or to female mice. At the same time, these mice initially exhibited little fighting (with males) or mating (with females) behaviors. Only after repeated social experience--contact with either male or female mice for two minutes, five times a day, for three days--did the separate sets of neurons representing male versus female mice appear. This separation occurred just as the mice began to exhibit aggression toward males and mating with females.

Further studies indicated that social experience with a female seemed to be the key requirement for the mice to develop separate, sex-specific populations of neurons, as well as aggressive behavior. As little as 30 minutes of social interaction with a female, the team found, was enough to make naive mice aggressive towards males 24 hours later, as well as to cause the separation of male- versus female-specific representations in the mouse's brain. Naive mice that were exposed only to males did not develop aggressive behaviors, nor did they show this separation.

"The mice do not have sex-specific neurons from birth," says co-first author Ryan Remedios, postdoctoral scholar in biology and biological engineering. "The separation forms as a consequence of social experience, specifically from social experience with a female."

"This is an unexpected discovery," says co-first author Ann Kennedy, a Caltech postdoctoral scholar in biology and biological engineering. "This area of the brain, the ventromedial hypothalamus, is a primitive, ancient region. We used to think of it as the basement of the brain, more like a plumbing system than a computer. Our study shows that this region exhibits plasticity and computation."

"This is basic neuroscience research," says Anderson. "We are studying the nature versus nurture problem: how much of the brain's wiring and the animal's behavior is determined by genetics versus experience. These results reveal that even the circuitry for supposedly innate behaviors is not as hardwired as previously thought. This finding raises a whole new set of questions about how exactly social interactions with female mice can cause a change in patterns of brain activity and promote aggressiveness."

"The fact that there is a very close anatomical relationship between cells encoding sex and aggression is biologically very important because these primitive behaviors are essential for survival," Anderson adds. "It also raises the question of whether people that exhibit violent sexual behavior are somehow 'getting their neural wires crossed.' If this were true, then someday we might be able to treat someone who's a habitual violent sexual offender by functionally disentangling their neurons. But this is currently just an idea, and any therapies based on this research are a long way off."

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The paper is titled "Social behaviour shapes hypothalamic neural ensemble representations of conspecific sex." Other co-authors include Caltech postdoctoral scholar Moriel Zelikowsky and Benjamin Grewe of the University of Zurich. Funding was from the National Institutes of Health, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and L'Oreal USA For Women in Science.
ITHACA, N.Y. - Melanoma, a cancer of skin pigment cells called melanocytes, will strike an estimated 87,110 people in the U.S. in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A fraction of those melanomas come from pre-existing moles, but the majority of them come from sources unknown - until now.

Cornell researchers have discovered that when melanocyte stem cells accumulate a sufficient number of genetic mutations, they can become the cells where these cancers originate. Under normal conditions, ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun activates melanocytes to release melanin, a pigment that protects the skin from the sun's rays. But if melanocyte stem cells have surpassed a threshold of genetic mutations, a tumor can start to grow when those skin stem cells are activated by sun exposure.

"If you had mutations that were sufficient for melanoma, everything would be fine until you went out and got a sunburn," said Andrew White, assistant professor of biomedical sciences at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, and senior author of a study published this month in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Hyeongsun Moon, a postdoctoral researcher in White's lab, is the paper's lead author. "The stimuli that would normally just give you a tanning response could in fact start a melanoma instead," White said.

The researchers also may have discovered a way to prevent melanomas caused by mutated stem cells. A gene called Hgma2 was suspected to become expressed in the skin under UV radiation. When expressed, Hgma2 facilitates melanocyte stem cells to move from the base of skin hair follicles to the skin's surface (the epidermis), where the cells release melanin. Moon, White and colleagues used mice engineered with melanocyte stem cell mutations. One set of mice had the mutations, while another set with the mutations had the Hgma2 gene deleted. They then gave the mice a very low dose of UV radiation, just enough to trigger a tanning response. Mice with tumor-causing mutations and the Hgma2 gene intact developed melanomas, but the mice with mutations and the deleted gene remained healthy.

More study is needed to better understand the Hgma2 gene's function.

"We have an actual mechanism, with Hgma2, that can be explored in the future and could be a way we can prevent melanomas from happening," White said.

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The study was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program, the Cornell Center for Vertebrate Genomics, the Cornell Stem Cell Program and the National Institutes of Health.
The promise of being able to quickly and accurately screen for diseases or chemical contaminants in a tiny drop of blood has long been an elusive goal. But scientist Daojing Wang says his company's technology is up to the job.

As a researcher at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), Wang and others developed a multinozzle emitter array (MEA), a silicon chip that can dramatically shorten the time it takes to identify proteins, peptides, and other molecular components within small volumes of biological samples. This patented technology is now being commercialized by Newomics Inc., a company Wang launched to further develop the product and build a platform for personalized health care.

"We can improve the sensitivity and throughput of mass spectrometry for detecting biomarkers in blood or other biological fluids for precision medicine," said Wang, founder and president of the company. "Our first product, the M3 emitter, is up to 10 times more sensitive than conventional emitters, and with some analytes, even 100 times more sensitive."

Newomics' product, which is based on the core technology developed at Berkeley Lab, is designed to work with mass spectrometers, a machine commonly used by research scientists, the pharmaceutical industry, and increasingly in clinical labs, to measure the structure and concentration of molecules. Once molecular parts are isolated, scientists can begin to understand how they work together as a system, a field known as systems biology that holds great promise for better medicines and diagnostics as well as a host of other applications.

How it works

In his 11 years at Berkeley Lab, Wang specialized in developing new tools and methods for systems biology. His collaborators on the emitter technology included Berkeley Lab scientists Pan Mao, formerly in the Lab's Life Sciences Division, and Peidong Yang, a senior scientist in the Materials Sciences Division.

He was motivated to develop this emitter technology to accelerate so-called "single-cell omics," an emerging field in biology where DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites are investigated at the individual cell level, yielding fresh insights into disease and immunity.

The dominant method for analyzing biological molecules such as peptides and proteins in a complex mixture is electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), a technique in which molecular samples are delivered to the machine as an ionized mist, propelled by an electric current. But there is a bottleneck at the front end of ESI-MS, making it slow and expensive. Each sample has to be loaded, lined up, and sprayed one at a time.

Instead of a single capillary, Newomics' M3 emitter has eight or more nozzles working together to split a single large flow into smaller flows. For the MEA, up to 96 M3 emitters are packaged on a single chip. The development of these technologies involved a blend of microfluidic, microelectronic, and electrochemical innovations.

"Imagine a shower head design. You have one big flow coming in, and many smaller flows going out," Wang said. "You flow the solution through the chip, and the solution is sprayed out into droplets. Then the molecules in the droplets are detected by the mass spectrometer. The idea is that when you have smaller droplets, you increase the ionization efficiency and the sensitivity for mass spectrometry."

What it can do

By clearing up the bottleneck and increasing throughput, Newomics' emitter could dramatically reduce the cost of testing each sample. And by improving the sensitivity, it will also be possible to detect very low concentrations of molecules. For example, they showed they could analyze many different modified forms of proteins such as glycated albumin and apolipoproteins, in addition to the conventional glucose and HbA1c in diabetes monitoring, using a single drop of blood. Such tests have the potential to enable better long-term monitoring and disease management of diabetes.

"We could improve the sensitivity and robustness of mass spectrometry," Wang said. "For example, if someone wants to look at low abundant species, they can utilize our devices. And improved robustness means the results are more reproducible and reliable."

In addition to producing its emitter products, Newomics is also developing services for precision medicine, a new direction in health care in which treatments are personalized for individuals based on diagnostic tests, such as genomic, proteomic, or molecular analysis.

"Licensing a Berkeley Lab technology as the foundation of its startup and then developing a superior research tool was only a first step for Newomics," said Elsie Quaite-Randall, Berkeley Lab's Chief Technology Transfer Officer. "By branching into new products and service categories, Newomics demonstrates the far-reaching impact, over time, of DOE-funded basic research."

So far, the company has developed blood-based assays for diabetes diagnosis and management, and for the monitoring of environmental toxins - specifically PFCs, or perfluorinated chemicals, manmade chemicals used in a plethora of everyday products that are slow to break down in the body and may have adverse effects on human health.

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Wang has published research papers on these assays and has also applied for patents on the diagnostic technology, which can be used for a wide range of diseases and contaminants, but the diagnostic products will require approval by the Food and Drug Administration before they can be made available to consumers.

Based in Emeryville, California, Newomics was launched in October 2013 and has just shipped the M3 emitters to its first customers. Currently the company has six full-time employees and is funded solely by Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Innovations from Berkeley Lab are also behind dozens of successful startup companies, including Alphabet Energy (waste heat recovery), Seeo (batteries), Nanosys (quantum dots), and Lygos (green chemistry).

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
The search goes on. No difference in protons and antiprotons have yet been found which would help to potentially explain the existence of matter in our universe. However, physicists in the BASE collaboration at the CERN research center have been able to measure the magnetic force of antiprotons with almost unbelievable precision. Nevertheless, the data do not provide any information about how matter formed in the early universe as particles and antiparticles would have had to completely destroy one another. The most recent BASE measurements revealed instead a large overlap between protons and antiprotons, thus confirming the Standard Model of particle physics. Around the world, scientists are using a variety of methods to find some difference, regardless of how small. The matter-antimatter imbalance in the universe is one of the hot topics of modern physics.

The multinational BASE collaboration at the European research center CERN brings together scientists from the RIKEN research center in Japan, the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the University of Tokyo, GSI Darmstadt, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, and the German National Metrology Institute (PTB) in Braunschweig. They compare the magnetic properties of protons and antiprotons with great precision. The magnetic moment is an essential component of particles and can be depicted as roughly equivalent to that of a miniature bar magnet. The so-called g-factor measures the strength of the magnetic field. "At its core, the question is whether the antiproton has the same magnetism as a proton," explained Stefan Ulmer, spokesperson of the BASE group. "This is the riddle we need to solve."

The BASE collaboration published high-precision measurements of the antiproton g-factor back in January 2017 but the current ones are far more precise. The current high-precision measurement determined the g-factor down to nine significant digits. This is the equivalent of measuring the circumference of the earth to a precision of four centimeters. The value of 2.7928473441(42) is 350 times more precise than the results published in January. "This tremenduous increase in such a short period of time was only possible thanks to completely new methods," said Ulmer. The process involved scientists using two antiprotons for the first time and analyzing them with two Penning traps.

Antiprotons stored a year before analysis

Antiprotons are artificially generated at CERN and researchers store them in a reservoir trap for experiments. The antiprotons for the current experiment were isolated in 2015 and measured between August and December 2016, which is a small sensation as this was the longest storage period for antimatter ever documented. Antiprotons are usually quickly annihilated when they come into contact with matter, such as in air. Storage was demonstrated for 405 days in a vacuum, which contains ten times fewer particles than interstellar space. A total of 16 antiprotons were used and some of them were cooled to approximately absolute zero or minus 273 degrees Celsius.

The new principle uses the interaction of two Penning traps. The traps use electrical and magnetic fields to capture the antiprotons. Previous measurements were severely limited by an ultra-strong magnetic inhomogeneity in the Penning trap. In order to overcome this barrier, the scientists added a second trap with a highly homogeneous magnetic field. "We thus used a method developed at Mainz University that created higher precision in the measurements," explained Ulmer. "The measurement of antiprotons was extremely difficult and we had been working on it for ten years. The final breakthrough came with the revolutionary idea of performing the measurement with two particles." The larmor frequency and the cyclotron frequency were measured; taken together they form the g-factor.

The g-factor ascertained for the antiproton was then compared to the g-factor for the proton, which BASE researchers had measured with the greatest prior precision already in 2014. In the end, however, they could not find any difference between the two. This consistency is a confirmation of the CPT symmetry, which states that the universe is composed of a fundamental symmetry between particles and antiparticles. "All of our observations find a complete symmetry between matter and antimatter, which is why the universe should not actually exist," explained Christian Smorra, first author of the study. "An asymmetry must exist here somewhere but we simply do not understand where the difference is. What is the source of the symmetry break?"

The BASE scientists now want to use even higher precision measurements of the proton and antiproton properties to find an answer to this question. The BASE collaboration plans to develop further innovative methods over the next few year and improve on the current results.

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For the first time, researchers have simultaneously measured the gravitational waves and the light from two merging neutron stars. 'Multi-messenger astronomy', combining the observation of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, begins with this event, registered on 17 August 2017 at 14:41:04 CEST. Together, the complementary methods will considerably increase our understanding of extreme astrophysical events. For example, this discovery confirms that two merging neutron stars are indeed the precursor to short gamma-ray bursts and that the explosion following this merger - known as a kilonova - is the source of heavy elements in the Universe. During the 17 August observations, researchers at the Max Planck Institutes for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam and Hannover, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, played a central role.

The two LIGO detectors in Hanford (Washington state, USA) and Livingston (Louisiana) observed the signal referred to as GW170817 for around 100 seconds. The measurements made by the Virgo detector in Tuscany, near Pisa, Italy, improved localization in the heavens substantially and allowed the researchers to constrain the origin of the wave to a spot in the southern skies of only 28 square degrees - around 130 times the apparent size of the full moon.

Only 1.7 seconds later the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the Fermi satellite registered a gamma-ray burst, known as GRB 170817A, from roughly the same direction as the gravitational wave signal. The probability that this encounter was purely coincidental is one to 200 million - the odds of having six correct numbers in the lottery are considerably better!

'At first, the detection of this new gamma-ray burst by Fermi did not really seem extraordinary,' says Andreas von Kienlin, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, who also helped build the instrument. 'We observe four or five new gamma-ray bursts per week.' Only later did the researcher learn about the LIGO and Virgo observatory measurements: 'We immediately knew that this was a historical event.'

A further surprise is that the gamma-rays and the gravitational waves were not detected at exactly the same time, but with an approximately two-second time difference. 'These and the additional observations provide us with unique insights into the physics in and around this event', says von Kienlein.

Integral, another gamma-ray mission with a Max Planck instrument on board - the SPI - also observed high-energy radiation from the merger. 'The signal we observed may not have been very bright, but we can confirm the Fermi result with a completely independent gamma-ray detection,' says Roland Diehl, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and co-investigator for the SPI. 'With regard to the link between gamma-ray burst and gravitational waves, we are on safe ground here. Moreover, we can clearly connect a short gamma ray burst to a neutron star collision for the first time', says Diehl.

The very precise localization of the LIGO/Virgo observation allowed a handful of observatories around the globe to search the area of the heavens from where the signal originates only a few hours later. Optical telescopes, including the GROND instrument on the 2.2 metre Max Planck Society telescope in the La Silla observatory at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), discovered a new point of light, similar to a star, near the NGC 4993 galaxy. This lenticular galaxy system is approximately 130 million light-years from Earth.

For the astronomers, one thing is certain: the optical object, the gamma-ray burst and the gravitational waves all originate from one and the same source: the merging of a pair of neutron stars. Eventually, more than 70 ground- and space-based observatories noted the event in the x-ray, ultra-violet, visible, infra-red and radio wave spectra.

'These agreeing observations give us a detailed picture of this event from three minutes prior to the merger up to several weeks later,' says Jochen Greiner, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics scientist responsible for building GROND.

This opinion is shared by the scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover and Potsdam: 'In itself, the first evidence of gravitational waves emitted by merging neutron stars is already extremely exiting. However, the combination with dozens of follow-up observations in the electromagnetic spectrum makes it truly revolutionary', say Alessandra Buonanno and her Director colleagues Bruce Allen and Karsten Danzmann.

Identification of GW170817 as a binary star system consisting of two neutron stars, and observations of electromagnetic radiation following their collision, allow conclusions on the previously mysterious origin of the short gamma-ray bursts to be reached.

'While we did have strong hints that merging neutron stars are indeed the progenitors for short gamma ray bursts, we did not have final proof. The simultaneous observation of this two-second burst by Integral and Fermi, and by the gravitational wave detectors, is the first conclusive evidence that at least some of these gamma ray bursts are indeed powered by neutron star mergers,' says Rashid Sunyaev, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

Analyses of the LIGO data returned a relatively small distance of the merging neutron stars from the earth of around 85 to 160 million light years, in agreement with the 130 million light years to the assumed parent galaxy NGC 4993. In contrast to previous gravitational wave observations, the scientists calculated the masses of the merging objects as 1.1 to 1.6 times that of our Sun, comparable to that of known neutron stars and dissimilar to that of black holes.

Neutron stars are the extremely dense, exhausted remains of massive stars, with diameters of only around 20 kilometres. Astrophysicists have studied the merger of two such star corpses in theory for a long time - and have enjoyed confirmation in the observation of the GW170817 signal: 'The physical parameters of the transient event match the theoretical predictions for a so-called kilonova from a neutron star merger remarkably well', says Anders Jerkstrand from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics.

'In particular, the rate at which the light from the source dimmed over the ten days following the merger exactly corresponds to the forecast that the ejecta are dominated by radioactive elements much heavier than iron' says Jerkstrand.

Two neutron stars merging in a gamma ray burst liberates enormous quantities of energy. At the same time, dense matter is expelled at high velocities. Because the ejected matter displays a high concentration of free neutrons, the heaviest elements in the universe can form from them. The process involved is referred to as rapid neutron capture or, more briefly, the r-process.

'The origin of the heaviest chemical elements in the universe was a mystery to us scientists for a long time', says Hans-Thomas Janka, lead scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. 'Now we have the first observational proof that neutron star collisions may be the sources of these elements. They may even be the main source of the r-process elements.'

The observation and characterization of minutes-long signals from merging neutron stars, concealed in detector noise, demands extremely precise waveform models. Members of the 'Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity' department at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics developed models which were deployed as templates in the optimal filter searches that discovered GW170817.

In addition, Max Planck researchers played a central role in the development and implementation of the search algorithms used to observe GW170817. As members of the team that investigated the signal immediately after its discovery, they immediately removed a temporary spurious signal from data delivered by the LIGO Livingston instrument.

This allowed the position in the heavens to be so precisely pinpointed that astronomers were able to observe a quickly fading visible light glow within twelve hours of GW170817's discovery. They had thus identified the parent galaxy and redshift, leading to measurement of the Hubble constant and therefore to the distance.

The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics also helped to develop and apply analysis algorithms and waveform models, allowing them to identify the source of GW170817 as a binary neutron star system. In an additional insight, the results contradict theories that assume highly repulsive nuclear forces, because they predict relatively large and therefore highly deformable neutron stars.

In Potsdam, both analytical methods and numerical simulations were adopted to construct modern waveform models which predict weaker repulsive nuclear forces in GW170817's neutron stars. Moreover, Max Planck scientists have investigated electromagnetic signals created by the ejection of matter as the stars merged. These signals contain information on the creation of heavy elements in the universe, as discussed above.

'In a domino effect, GW170817 has set off a spectacular sequence of astrophysical observations, simultaneously solving long-standing mysteries and presenting us with new ones', says Alessandra Buonanno, Director at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam. 'Remarkably, GW170817 has also delivered insights into the nature of ultradense matter in the interior of the most fascinating and extreme objects in the universe - neutron stars.'

Scientists in the 'Observation-based Relativity and Cosmology' department at the institute in Hannover played a central role during the first hours of analyses, as well as in the characterization of the gravitational wave signal and understanding the source. 'Even in my wildest dreams I would not have dared to hope that we would simultaneously demonstrate the first discovery of a binary neutron star by gravitational waves, the corresponding gamma-ray burst and the electromagnetic signals. I imagined we would only see such a thing after 20 or more observations of two merging neutron stars. This is fantastic!', as Director Bruce Allen stated.

'This is the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy and a greater understanding of our universe. We are very proud to play a central role in measuring gravitational waves, because our lasers, developed and tested in the GEO600 project, are at the heart of all gravitational wave observatories', summarizes Max Planck Director Karsten Danzmann, Allen's colleague at the Hannover institute.

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On Dec. 8, 2017, NASA launches the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, a low-Earth orbiting satellite that will give us new information about how Earth's atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space -- a give-and-take that plays a major role in the safety of our satellites and reliability of communications signals.

Specifically, ICON investigates the connections between the neutral atmosphere -- which extends from here near the surface to far above us, at the edge of space -- and the electrically charged part of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere. The particles of the ionosphere carry electrical charge that can disrupt communications signals, cause satellites in low-Earth orbit to become electrically charged, and, in extreme cases, cause power outages on the ground. Positioned on the edge of space and intermingled with the neutral atmosphere, the ionosphere's response to conditions on Earth and in space is difficult to pin down.

"The conditions in our space environment -- space weather -- is something we need to be able to forecast," said Thomas Immel, principal investigator for the ICON mission from the University of California, Berkeley."It's difficult to predict conditions in the ionosphere tomorrow based on what we measure today."

Earth's interface to space

As one goes higher and higher above Earth's surface, the atmosphere gradually gets thinner. The effects of these changes can be felt just a few miles above sea level -- for instance, climbers on some of the world's tallest mountains must often use oxygen tanks to breathe. But even higher, about 60 miles above Earth's surface, the atmosphere becomes so thin that planes can't fly. This is where space begins.

Even beyond this boundary of space, Earth's atmosphere continues to extend upward -- it just gets thinner and more tenuous the higher you go. This region is above Earth's ozone layer, so it's exposed to the full brunt of the Sun's radiation. The strong ultraviolet radiationbreaks down stable, neutral molecules, changing them from something resembling the air we breathe into more reactive forms of gas, like atomic oxygen. These reactive compounds in the neutral upper atmosphere produce a faint, global glow, called airglow.

But the sunlight doesn't stop there. It keeps breaking these atmospheric molecules apart, knocking off electrons, which leaves a sea of charged electrons and ions. This population of electrically charged particles is the ionosphere, and it exists in the same space as the extremely thin neutral upper atmosphere.

This makes our interface to spacea unique region, where charged and neutral gases coexist. It is shaped both by weather patterns and winds from Earth below, and shifting electric and magnetic fields and space weather from above.

"ICON aims to understand how Earth's weather modifies space weather," said Doug Rowland, mission scientist for ICON at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We're looking at how the weather that we live in -- rain, heat, snow, thunderstorms, hurricanes -- affects the space environment above us."

Space weather is often triggered by changes on the Sun, which releases a constant outflow of magnetized material called the solar wind along with less frequent but more intense bursts of solar material, called coronal mass ejections. The magnetic fields embedded in this solar material can deform Earth's natural magnetic field, creating shifting electric and magnetic fields in near-Earth space. The electrically-charged gas of the ionosphere, called plasma, reacts uniquely to these changing electric and magnetic fields.

Many low-Earth orbiting satellites, including the International Space Station, fly through the ionosphere. It alsoacts as a conduit for many of our communications signals, such as radio waves and the signals that make GPS systems work. Unpredicted changes in the ionosphere, like ripples and bubbles of dense plasma, can have significant impacts on our technology and communication.

"Short-wave radio waves bounce off the ionosphere, and signals from GPS satellites have to pass through," said Immel. "The changes in density directly affect communications and navigation."

Understanding the details of what influences the ionosphere and causes signal disruptions has historically been difficult, in part because of the range of factors that can change the ionosphere. For decades, scientists thought that the ionosphere responded only to the changing conditions in space. New data over the past few decades, however, has proved that assumption wrong, and revealed that there's still much to learn about the forces that shape the ionosphere.

"What we discovered, using data from a NASA mission called IMAGE, was that this region of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere was actually responding to effects related to weather systems near Earth's surface," said Scott England, ICON project scientist based at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. IMAGE, short for Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, studied Earth's magnetosphere from 2000 to 2005. "This was really unexpected at the time, to see a connection. Where the charged particles were, how many there were, how dense the gas was -- they were responding to weather patterns near the surface of the Earth."

Pockets of high or low pressure are produced near Earth's surface by hurricanes, thunderstorms, or even phenomena as simple as a steady wind over a mountain range. These pressure differences can propagate into the very highest reaches of the upper atmosphere and influence the winds in this region. The exact role that these winds -- and by extension, terrestrial weather -- play in shaping the ionosphere is an outstanding question, and one that scientists hope ICON will answer.

"We think the winds will be directly related to the electric field measured at the spacecraft, but we don't know," said Immel. "No one's ever made this measurement, so no one knows what we're going to see."

Eyes on the ionosphere

ICON explores these connections between the neutral atmosphere and the electrically charged ionosphere with four instruments. Three of these four instruments rely on one of the upper atmosphere's more spectacular phenomena: airglow.

Airglow is created by a similar process that creates the aurora: gas is excited and emits light. Though auroras are typically confined to extreme northern and southern latitudes, airglow happens constantly across the globe, and it is much fainter. But it's still bright enough for ICON's instruments to build up a picture of the density, composition and structure of the ionosphere.

One of these airglow-measuring instruments is MIGHTI, short for Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging. Designed and built by the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., MIGHTI measures the Doppler shift of the glowing gases of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.

"The Doppler shift is the same process you can hear when you hear a siren on an ambulance: It has a different pitch when the ambulance is coming towards versus moving away from you," said England. "The same thing is happening with the light from airglow."

When gas producing airglow moves toward or away from ICON, pushed by winds, the wavelengths are stretched or compressed. Because scientists know what chemical species produce airglow in the upper atmosphere, they know very specifically what wavelength -- or color -- that light should be. The Doppler-shifted light has an ever-so-slightly different hue that MIGHTI can detect, and from there, scientists can deduce the speed and direction of the winds in this region.

Instruments similar to MIGHTI have flown on space missions before, but with a key difference. Earlier space-based interferometers would use moving parts to change the distance between different reflectors and detectors in order to measure each wavelength of light. But MIGHTI uses a tool called a diffraction grating -- similar to a mirror with lines etched in it that reflect light in a certain way -- to separate the light it sees into its component wavelengths simultaneously. This means that MIGHTI can measure multiple wavelengths at once, making the instrument more sensitive.

"MIGHTI can measure changes in the wind speed of around 10 miles per hour," said England. "If you translate that into the actual change in the wavelength, that's a change of about 1 in 100 million."

Another airglow instrument, the Far Ultraviolet instrument, uses an advanced de-blurring technique called time-delay integration to send back more information for scientists within the data bandwidth restrictions of the spacecraft.

"We have the bandwidth to send down one snapshot every 12 seconds, but the spacecraft moves about a hundred kilometers in that amount of time, and the structures we want to look at are only a few kilometers wide," said Rowland. "You would smear all these small-scale structures."

What the Far Ultraviolet instrumentdoes instead, said Rowland, is take eight snapshots per second -- almost a hundred times as much data as ICON can send down -- and combine them, with each one shifted appropriately to account for warping and the geometry of the spacecraft. This processing, which all happens on ICON's onboard computer, creates a single image that can be sent back to Earth within the bandwidth allotted. This combines the advantages of a long exposure by compressing the data, while still maintaining the sharp focus that gives scientists a detailed look at the structures they're interested in. The wavelengths measured by FUV are produced by certain types of oxygen and nitrogen molecules on Earth's day side, as well as oxygen ions on Earth's night side.

ICON's third airglow instrument, EUV -- short for Extreme Ultraviolet instrument -- measures shorter wavelengths of light than FUV. Airglow measured by EUV is produced by oxygen ions on Earth's day side, which make up the lion's share of Earth's daytime ionosphere. EUV's data will reveal details about the structure of the ionosphere during the day -- like how far it extends, and where pockets of denser plasma form -- that can change the ionosphere'sinteraction with communications signals and satellites.

While ICON's three airglow instruments measure the temperature, velocity and composition of gases miles away from the spacecraft, a pair of identical in situ instruments characterizes the charged gas around the spacecraft. The two Ion Velocity Meters, or IVMs, make very precise measurements of the angle at which ionized gas enters the instrument, helping scientists understand how this ionized gas around the spacecraft is moving.

In the past, scientists may have had to combine instruments from different spacecraft -- sometimes even from different years -- to try and make connections between the lower atmosphere, neutral upper atmosphere and ionosphere. But one of ICON's main advances is the combination of data from its four instruments at the same place and time

"The unique thing is the suite of instruments," said Ellen Taylor, ICON project systems engineer at UC Berkeley. "ICON has several instruments that have been flown before, but they're put together into a payload suite to make unique measurements."

ICON's orbit is also designed to create a few points during each orbit where the remote sensing instruments look straight down Earth's magnetic field. That means the spacecraft's in situ plasma measurements are sometimes directly magnetically connected to the remote measurements of airglow, even though they're hundreds of miles apart.

ICON's data will be complemented by the January 2019 launch of the GOLD instrument, short for Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk. Hosted on a commercial satellite in geostationary orbit, GOLD also will observe the ionosphere, but from a vantage point very different from ICON's: GOLD will see the big picture, while ICON flies through the ionosphere, collecting data from up close.

"To study hurricanes, we might use a weather satellite to track how they're moving across the ocean, but to get detailed information, we fly a plane through the storm," said England. The same relationship holds true for ICON and GOLD studying the ionosphere. "GOLD is like the weather satellite, and ICON is like the airplane."

ICON launches on a Pegasus rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Carried underneath the L-1011 airplane out over the ocean, the launch window opens at approximately 3 a.m. local time on Dec. 8. NASA TV will cover the launch.

After launch, Taylor's team will be in the mission operations center at UC Berkeley 24/7 for nearly a week to commission the spacecraft. This is followed by another three weeks of instrument commissioning, during which each one of the instruments is prepared to take science data -- by powering up, opening sensor doors, ramping up voltage and cooling down detector plates. After instrument and payload commissioning, ICON should be fully online and sending back data by about a month after launch.

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ICON is an Explorer-class mission. NASA Goddard manages the Explorer Program for NASA's Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory developed the ICON mission, EUV and FUV, the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., developed the MIGHTI instrument, the University of Texas in Dallas developed IVM, and the ICON spacecraft and Pegasus launch vehicle were built by Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia.
SAN ANTONIO -- Oct. 18, 2017 -- Since NASA's Dawn spacecraft detected localized organic-rich material on Ceres, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been digging into the data to explore different scenarios for its origin. After considering the viability of comet or asteroid delivery, the preponderance of evidence suggests the organics are most likely native to Ceres.

"The discovery of a locally high concentration of organics close to the Ernutet crater poses an interesting conundrum," said Dr. Simone Marchi, a principal scientist at SwRI. He is discussing his team findings today at a press conference at the American Astronomical Society's 49th Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting in Provo. "Was the organic material delivered to Ceres after its formation? Or was it synthesized and/or concentrated in a specific location on Ceres via internal processes? Both scenarios have shortfalls, so we may be missing a critical piece of the puzzle."

Ceres is believed to have originated about 4.5 billion years ago at the dawn of our solar system. Studying its organics can help explain the origin, evolution, and distribution of organic species across the solar system. The very location of Ceres at the boundary between the inner and outer solar system and its intriguing composition characterized by clays, sodium- and ammonium-carbonates, suggest a very complex chemical evolution. The role of organics in this evolution is not fully understood, but has important astrobiological implications.

"Earlier research that focused on the geology of the organic-rich region on Ceres were inconclusive about their origin," Marchi said. "Recently, we more fully investigated the viability of organics arriving via an asteroid or comet impact."

Scientists explored a range of impact parameters, such as impactor sizes and velocities, using iSALE shock physics code simulations. These models indicated that comet-like projectiles with relatively high impact velocities would lose almost all of their organics due to shock compression. Impacting asteroids, with lower incident velocities, can retain between 20 and 30 percent of their pre-impact organic material during delivery, especially for small impactors at oblique impact angles. However, the localized spatial distribution of organics on Ceres seems difficult to reconcile with delivery from small main belt asteroids.

"These findings indicate that the organics are likely to be native to Ceres," Marchi said.

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Dawn's mission to Ceres and Vesta, the two most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt, is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science.
Turquoise is an icon of the desert Southwest, with enduring cultural significance, especially for Native American communities. Yet, relatively little is known about the early history of turquoise procurement and exchange in the region.

University of Arizona researchers are starting to change that by blending archaeology and geochemistry to get a more complete picture of the mineral's mining and distribution in the region prior to the 16th-century arrival of the Spanish.

In a new paper, published in the November issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, UA anthropology alumnus Saul Hedquist and his collaborators revisit what once was believed to be a relatively small turquoise mine in eastern Arizona. Their findings suggest that the Canyon Creek mine, located on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, was actually a much more significant source of turquoise than previously thought.

With permission from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Hedquist and his colleagues visited the now essentially exhausted Canyon Creek source -- which has been known to archaeologists since the 1930s -- to remap the area and collect new samples. There, they found evidence of previously undocumented mining areas, which suggest the output of the mine may have been 25 percent higher than past surveys indicated.

"Pre-Hispanic workings at Canyon Creek were much larger than previously estimated, so the mine was clearly an important source of turquoise while it was active," said Hedquist, lead author of the paper, who earned his doctorate from the UA School of Anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences in May.

In addition, the researchers measured ratios of lead and strontium isotopes in samples they collected from the mine, and determined that Canyon Creek turquoise has a unique isotopic fingerprint that distinguishes it from other known turquoise sources in the Southwest. The isotopic analysis was conducted in the lab of UA College of Science Dean Joaquin Ruiz in the Department of Geosciences by study co-author and UA geosciences alumna Alyson Thibodeau. Now an assistant professor at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, Thibodeau did her UA dissertation on isotopic fingerprinting of geological sources of turquoise throughout the Southwest.

"If you pick up a piece of turquoise from an archaeological site and say 'where does it come from?' you have to have some means of telling the different turquoise deposits apart," said David Killick, UA professor of anthropology, who co-authored the paper with Hedquist, Thibodeau and John Welch, a UA alumnus now on the faculty at Simon Fraser University. "Alyson's work shows that the major mining areas can be distinguished by measurement of major lead and strontium isotopic ratios."

Based on the isotopic analysis, researchers were able to confidently match turquoise samples they collected at Canyon Creek to several archaeological artifacts housed in museums. Their samples matched artifacts that had been uncovered at sites throughout much of east-central Arizona -- some more than 100 kilometers from the mine -- suggesting that distribution of Canyon Creek turquoise was broader than previously thought, and that the mine was a significant source of turquoise for pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the Mogollon Rim area.

The researchers also were able to pinpoint when the mine was most active. Their samples matched artifacts found at sites occupied between A.D. 1250-1400, suggesting the mine was primarily used in the late 13th and/or 14th centuries.

"Archaeologists have struggled for decades to find reliable means of sourcing archaeological turquoise -- linking turquoise artifacts to their geologic origin -- and exploring how turquoise was mined and traded throughout the greater pre-Hispanic Southwest," said Hedquist, who now lives in Tempe, Arizona, and works as an archaeologist and ethnographer for Logan Simpson Inc., a cultural resources consulting firm. "We used both archaeology and geochemistry to document the extent of workings at the mine, estimate the amount of labor spent at the mine and identify turquoise from the mine in archaeological assemblages."

Research Paves Way for Future Studies

Turquoise is a copper mineral, found only immediately adjacent to copper ore deposits. While detailed documentation of pre-Hispanic turquoise mines is limited, the work at Canyon Creek could pave the way for future investigations.

"I think our study raises the bar a bit by combining archaeological and geochemical analyses to gain a more complete picture of operations at one mine: when it was active, how intensely it was mined and how its product moved about the landscape," Hedquist said. "Researchers have only recently developed a reliable means of sourcing the mineral, so there's plenty of potential for future research."

Similar work involving the UA is already underway to explore the origin of turquoise artifacts found at the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in Mexico.

"Canyon Creek is but one of many ancient turquoise mines," Hedquist said. "This study provides a standard for the detailed documentation of ancient mineral procurement and a framework for linking archaeological turquoise to specific geologic locations. Building on other archaeological patterns -- the circulation of pottery and flaked stone artifacts, for example -- we can piece together the social networks that facilitated the ancient circulation of turquoise in different times and places."

A better understanding of the pre-Hispanic history of turquoise is important not only to archaeologists and mining historians but to modern Native Americans, Killick said.

"It's of great interest to modern-day Apache, Zuni and Hopi, whose ancestors lived in this area, because turquoise continues to be ritually important for them," he said. "They really have shown a great deal of interest in this work, and they've encouraged it."

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Adopting a lying down position rather than being upright in the later stages of labour for first-time mothers who have had a low dose epidural leads to a higher chance of them delivering their baby without any medical intervention, a study has found.

Professors Peter Brocklehurst and Christine McArthur, as well as statistics lead Pollyanna Hardy, of the University of Birmingham, and their colleagues within the Epidural and Position Trial Collaborative Group were behind the randomised controlled trial involving 3,093 women who gave birth across 41 UK hospitals between October 2010 and January 2014.

The aim of the BUMPES trial, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, was to investigate whether adopting an upright position in the second stage of labour in first-time mothers who have a low-dose epidural would lead to an increase in the number who had a spontaneous vaginal birth - without the need for forceps or suction.

The results of the study, in which women were randomly allocated an upright or lying down position (lying on the left or right side) during the later stages of labour were published today in The BMJ.

The study found that there were fewer spontaneous vaginal births in women in the upright group (35.2%), compared with women in the lying down group (41.1%). This represents a 5.9% absolute increase in the chance of spontaneous birth in the lying down group.

In the UK, around 30% of women choose to have an epidural as it's the most effective form of pain relief in labour. However, having an epidural leads to an increased risk of an instrumental vaginal birth (forceps or vacuum).

The position a woman is in during the second stage of labour (after the cervix is fully dilated) has been suggested to have an effect on the risk of an instrumental vaginal birth and current existing guidance in the UK recommends that women with an epidural should be encouraged to adopt an upright position.

Professor Peter Brocklehurst, of the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, said: "The study provides evidence that first time mothers with an epidural who lie down on their side during the second stage of labour are more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth, with no apparent disadvantages in relation to short or longer term outcomes for mother or baby.

"Like all clinical trials, the study does have its limitations and we can only speculate about the mechanism by which a lying down position increases the chance of a spontaneous vaginal birth.

"However, the evidence we have found from this large trial group provides an easy and cost-free intervention in our labour wards. Pregnant women, in consultation with their healthcare providers, can now make informed choices about their position in the second stage of labour.

"The results from this trial apply only to first-time mothers in the second stage of labour with low dose epidural analgesia. Therefore it is unclear what the findings may mean for women who have given birth before and are in labour with an epidural. However, given the clear benefit of the lying down position, perhaps all women who have an epidural should be offered the choice of adopting a lying down position in the second stage until we know otherwise."

He said that the results of the BUMPES trial strongly support the need for a similar large trial to find the best position for women in the second stage of labour who do not have an epidural.

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For more information contact Emma McKinney, Communications Manager (Health Science), University of Birmingham, on 0121 414 6681 or email e.j.mckinney@bham.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

* The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.

* The Epidural and Position Trial Collaborative Group (2017). 'Upright versus lying down position in second stage of labour in nulliparous women with low dose epidural: BUMPES randomised controlled trial'. The BMJ.

* The Epidural and Position Trial Collaborative Group consists of Debra Bick, Kings College London, Professor of Evidence Based Midwifery Practice, Annette Briley, Guys and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, Consultant Midwife, Peter Brocklehurst, University of Birmingham, Professor of Women's Health and UCL, Professor of Women's Health, Pollyanna Hardy, Senior Trials Statistician formerly at University of Oxford and now at University of Birmingham, Edmund Juszczak, University of Oxford, Associate Professor of Clinical Trials, Lynn Lynch, Cardiff University, Midwifery Lecturer, Christine MacArthur, University of Birmingham, Professor of Maternal and Child Epidemiology, Phillip Moore, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust, Consultant Anaesthetist, Mary Nolan, University of Worcester, Professor of Perinatal Education, Oliver Rivero-Arias, University of Oxford, Senior Health Economist, Julia Sanders, Cardiff & Vale Health Board, Consultant Midwife and Cardiff University, Reader in Midwifery, Andrew Shennan, Kings College London, Professor of Obstetrics, Matt Wilson, Sheffield Teaching Hospital, Consultant in Obstetric Anaesthesia and University of Sheffield, Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia.

* This report presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views and opinions expressed by authors in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NHS, the NIHR, MRC, CCF, NETSCC, the HTA programme or the Department of Health.
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 18, 2017 - River deltas, with their intricate networks of waterways, coastal barrier islands, wetlands and estuaries, often appear to have been formed by random processes, but scientists at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions see order in the apparent chaos.

Through field studies and mathematical modeling, they have concluded that deltas "self-organize" to increase the number, direction and size - or diversity - of sediment transport pathways to the shoreline, boosting their ability to withstand human disturbances and naturally occurring factors. The research team's findings have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"With their entangled channels that split and rejoin multiple times before entering the sea, deltas are amazingly complex and varied, leading us to wonder if they're hiding some simpler order," said lead author Alejandro Tejedor, research associate in UCI's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. "Could there be some common 'goal' on the part of deltas to sustain their existence by diversifying the spread of their fluxes to build land on their way to the ocean?"

The researchers sought to solve this riddle by applying statistics and mathematical modeling. Looking at 10 major river deltas around the world, they determined the probability of flows dividing into smaller channels and merging again at confluences, discovering that all but one, the Niger Delta in Africa, exhibited a high "nonlocal entropy rate," meaning a large diversity of delivery pathways to the sea.

The team confirmed these findings through numerical models, demonstrating that even when major channel avulsions take place - leading to network reorganization - flows tend to re-create diverse water routes.

"By adopting concepts from information theory, we showed that a range of deltas from different environments obey an 'optimality principle' that suggests a universality across almost every natural occurrence of these landforms," Tejedor said.

Many of the world's deltas have come under threat in recent decades from rising sea levels, local development and the construction of upstream dams that limit the flow of sediment.

"River deltas occupy only 1 percent of the world's land surface but are home to more than half a billion people and are the source of vast amounts of food and other natural resources," said Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Distinguished Professor of civil & environmental engineering at UCI, who directed and co-authored the PNAS study. "So it's imperative that we establish a better understanding of these vital earthscapes and how human and climate stressors might adversely impact their self-maintenance."

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Foufoula-Georgiou's research group has been studying the mathematics of deltas for the past several years. Some of the work has been done in collaboration with Tryphon Georgiou, UCI professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering, an expert in information theory who is also a co-author on the PNAS paper.

This project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, included scientists from Indiana University Bloomington; the University of Nevada, Reno; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne; and Italy's University of Padua.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.

NOTE TO EDITORS, PHOTO(S) AVAILABLE AT https://news.uci.edu/2017/10/18/uci-scientists-see-order-in-complex-patterns-of-river-deltas/

Contact: Brian Bell

949-824-8249

bpbell@uci.edu
MINNEAPOLIS - Oct. 18, 2017 - The University of Minnesota has received a grant of $892,462 from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust's Rural Healthcare Program to explore the feasibility of equipping ambulances that function as mobile emergency departments. These first-of-their-kind "super ambulances" would be capable of treating sudden cardiac arrest, stroke and other extremely time-sensitive medical crises when they occur away from the hospital.

The University's Minnesota Resuscitation Consortium (MRC) in the Medical School's Department of Medicine will use the grant to develop a plan to improve emergency care for critical-need patients in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The goal: faster emergency response and transport to treatment centers as well as mobile delivery of lifesaving therapies. Extending the initiative to Minnesota's outer suburbs and rural areas will come next.

"We aim to redefine the model for mobile emergency care," said Demetri Yannopoulos, M.D., MRC's director and a professor in the Medical School's Cardiovascular Division, who will lead the project. "We are grateful for the planning grant, which will allow us to develop a sustainable plan that saves more lives."

During the 12- to 18-month planning phase, the project team will build relationships with key stakeholders, develop a business plan, create an operations model, including two possible "super ambulance" designs, address regulatory challenges, and test the process, equipment and technology.

"These super ambulances could be game-changing for people suffering from cardiac arrest," said Walter Panzirer, a Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "This grant gives the Minnesota Resuscitation Consortium an opportunity to study the feasibility of the super-ambulances, and develop a program that, if successful, could be duplicated in metropolitan areas across America."

The Helmsley Charitable Trust's Rural Healthcare Program supports rural health initiatives that make high-quality medical care more accessible across the Upper Midwest. Past support from the program outfitted many ambulances and hospitals across the state of Minnesota with mechanical CPR devices.

The devices improve the quality of CPR given to people suffering cardiac arrest, but we can do more, according to Yannopoulos. Even the latest CPR equipment will not reverse a blockage of blood flow to the heart--the most common cause of cardiac arrest. Treatment in a specially equipped cardiac catheterization laboratory to open the blocked artery and restore blood flow, however, can dramatically improve outcomes if the patient is transported to an equipped hospital in 30 minutes or less.

Under the new MRC-developed protocol, currently being used, people who experience cardiac arrest and blocked circulation away from a hospital are brought by ambulance to University of Minnesota Medical Center's catheterization lab for intervention if they are within 30 minutes of the medical center. Forty-one percent of patients treated under this new protocol have survived with good neurological function. That compares with an eight percent survival rate for those who do not receive the intervention.

"The logical next step is to expand the protocol to individuals living outside the 30-minute window," Yannopoulos said. "If we can reach patients faster by going directly to them and administering medication and other interventions en route to the hospital, we can offer better outcomes -- for cardiac arrest, stroke, or other types of medical crises."

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What is sudden cardiac arrest?

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is an electrical malfunction of the heart that is immediate and unexpected. This loss of function disrupts the heart's pumping, stopping blood flow to the rest of the body.

SCA is not a heart attack, which occurs when a blockage limits blood flow to a portion of the heart. A heart attack, however, can trigger an electrical malfunction that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.

If not treated immediately, SCA can cause sudden cardiac death. Beginning cardiopulmonary resuscitation or chest compressions can improve the chances of survival until emergency personnel arrive.

About the University of Minnesota Medical School

The University of Minnesota Medical School is a world-class leader in medical education, research, and patient care. We have a decades-long foundation of educational excellence training the next generation of healthcare professionals. Our mission is to provide innovative training, research that advances medicine, and clinical care that improves the lives of our patients. For more information, please visit med.umn.edu.

About the Helmsley Charitable Trust

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Water-repellent surfaces and coatings could make ice removal a literal breeze by forcing ice to grow up rather than just skate by, says a new study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and several Chinese institutions.

The researchers discovered that ice grows differently on absorbent vs. water-repellent surfaces, demonstrating that a gust of air can blow away ice that forms on the latter. Their findings suggest that applying water-repellent coatings to windshields before winter storms - or engineering surfaces that inherently repel water - could enable a strong breeze to handle the burden of ice removal.

Experiments and simulations showed that a water droplet on a repellent surface will freeze upward into a microscopic six-armed formation that resembles an idealized snowflake, with only a small portion of its base adhering to the surface. This makes sense given that water droplets bead up rather than spread out over repellent surfaces, said Nebraska co-author Xiao Cheng Zeng.

In contrast, droplets on an absorbent surface crystallized into ice that grew along that surface, making it more difficult to remove. Molecular-level simulations suggested that these droplets almost immediately began forming two stacked layers of hexagonal 2-D ice, a form that Zeng previously discovered and dubbed Nebraska Ice. This ultra-thin ice encourages water molecules to essentially skate across it and colonize other areas of the surface, Zeng said.

"If the water and the surface don't have much chemistry in the beginning - they don't like each other - it's kind of like a divorce or separation," said Zeng, Chancellor's University Professor of chemistry. "But if they like each other, they marry and stay together for a long time.

"That's when the ice grows along the surface. In the winter, if you have that kind of ice on a windshield, you have to use a scraper to get it off."

ONWARD OR UPWARD

Temperature and pressure mostly dictate how water droplets crystallize in open air, and those variables do factor into ice formation on solid surfaces, Zeng said. But the team's study suggests that a surface's contact angle - the angle formed where a water droplet meets a solid surface - determines whether ice will grow along or off the surface. Whereas a hydrophilic surface allows droplets to spread across it at a small contact angle, a water-repelling hydrophobic surface will force droplets to bead up and form a larger angle.

"Whether water freezes in one way or the other is up to the surface, not the temperature," Zeng said. "It's almost entirely dependent on the contact angle."

On a defect-free surface fabricated in the lab or modeled in a computer simulation, ice transitions from along-surface to off-surface growth at a contact angle of somewhere between 30 and 40 degrees, the team found. The researchers also discovered that increasing the roughness of a surface by enlarging its nanoscopic pores actually decreased this angular threshold, meaning that rougher surfaces need not be as water-repellent to foster the growth of more-easily removed ice.

BREAKING THE ICE

To compare the two forms of ice growth, the researchers designed a transparent surface split into halves: one hydrophilic, one hydrophobic. They then attached a high-speed camera to a microscope, capturing video of the respective processes both from beneath and from a side profile.

When the researchers subjected both halves to puffs of air, they found that ice abandoned the hydrophobic half but steadfastly held to the hydrophilic side. And ice that advanced across the hydrophilic half abruptly halted when it neared hydrophobic territory.

"People have been studying how water interacts with surfaces for a long, long time," Zeng said. "But this phenomenon was off the radar until now."

Zeng authored the study with Nebraska's Chongqin Zhu, postdoctoral researcher in chemistry; Joseph Francisco, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; along with colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and Peking University. The team reported its findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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The researchers received support from the U.S. National Science Foundation, National Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Zeng and his colleagues conducted their simulations through the University of Nebraska's Holland Computing Center.
Autoimmune diseases tend to strike women more than men and having multiple X chromosomes could be the main reason why. While a process called X chromosome inactivation serves to balance out gene dosage between males and females, some genes on the "inactive X" chromosome in immune cells can sometimes escape this process, giving women an extra dose of immunity-related gene expression.

In a new study, a team from the University of Pennsylvania describes how X chromosome inactivation is regulated in the immune system's B cells as they develop in bone marrow and when they encounter antigens. Their work elucidates a dynamic, two-step mechanism in females whereby B cells lacking the markers of X chromosome inactivation regain these modifications during B cell activation, in a process involving the transcription factor YY1.

"What's remarkable is that B cells are the ones making antibodies and autoantibodies, so they're really crucial in both protective immune responses and autoimmunity," said Montserrat C. Anguera, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine and the senior author on the study. "A big question that remains is, Why are these immune cells priming for this chromosome to be regulated differently and also, If these proceses go awry, how does that lead to autoimmunity and loss of self-tolerance?"

The study, published in PLOS Genetics, was led by Camille M. Syrett, a doctoral student in Anguera's lab. Coauthors, representing both Penn Vet andPenn's Perelman School of Medicine, were Vishal Sinhava, Suchita Hodawadekar, Arpita Myles, Guanxiang Liang, Yue Zhang, Satabdi Nandi, Michael Cancro and Michael Atchison.

In a study last year in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Anguera and colleagues found that naive, unstimulated female lymphocytes, the B and T cells of the immune system, failed to completely inactivate an X chromosome. The research showed that this was because Xist, a long non-coding RNA transcript well known to initiate and maintain the process of X chromosome inactivation, failed to localize to the inactive X chromosome. When the immune cells were activated, or primed to respond to infection, Xist RNA reappeared in the proper location.

"We saw that the inactivated B cells don't have this RNA cloud, but it comes back upon stimulation," said Syrett. "We were really interested in determining what is bringing the Xist RNA back."

Using a fluorescent tracker molecule, the team began by tracking the location of Xist in developing B cells in female mice. They found that the precursors of B cells, such as hematopoeietic stem cells and common lymphoid progenitors, had clear patterns of Xist RNA on the inactive X chromosome. But, as these B-cell precursors went down a developmental path toward becoming B cells, Xist RNA first seemed to disappear, then reappear, but only as diffuse pinpricks across the nucleus instead of being localized to the inactive X.

In addition, small-molecule tags called heterochromatin modificiations, which are known to maintain gene repression during X chrosomsome inactivation, disappeared during B cell development.

"We could see these really unusual changes at the chromatin level happening in female B cell development," Anguera said.

To find out how the Xist returned to the inactive X upon B cell activation, as they had shown in last year's PNAS paper, the researchers tracked Xist RNA in B cells in culture. They found the reappearance took place in two distinct phases: Between four and 16 hours after the cells were stimulated, the speckles of Xist RNA began to appear. And between 16 and 30 hours after stimulation, Xist RNA concentrated exclusively at the inactive X chromosome. The heterochromatin modifications appeared to increase and localize on the inactive X in this second phase as well.

The team's earlier study had pointed to the protein YY1 as playing a role in the return of Xist in activated B cells, so they began to look more closely at it in this work. Atchison, a leader in studies of YY1 in B cell development, was able to lend his expertise to investigate the protein's role in X chromosome inactivation.

When the researchers examined B cells from mice that lacked YY1, they saw greatly reduced levels of heterochromatin marks as well as less localization of Xist RNA to the inactive X.

The team also observed evidence that YY1 was influencing the expression of X chromosome genes. When they deleted YY1 from male and female cells and compared genes that were differentially expressed on the X chromosome, they found 68 that were specific to females, one that was specific to males and 11 that were shared.

Of the 68 genes specific to females, many were related to immunity, and at least two are known to be overexpressed in human female B cells compared to male B cells.

A further set of experiments identified the area of YY1 with DNA binding activity as the key domain of this protein involved in bringing Xist RNA to the inactive X.

"It seems to be acting as a tether, bringing the Xist RNA together with the DNA of the inactive X chromosome," Anguera said.

She and her colleagues will be exploring the role of YY1 further, using clinical samples as well as mouse models, to look at the protein in diseases like lupus to deepen their understanding of how autoimmunity could result from the "escape" of immune genes from X chromosome inactivation.

"If you want to develop a therapy for autoimmune diseases, the idea is, How do we get Xist to the inactive X chromosome and keep it there so we maintain dosage compensation in these B cells." said Anguera. "Certainly YY1 is looking like a really promising target."

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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants AI124084, AI079002, BIRCWH, GM111384, GM007229 and HD083185), University of Pennsylvania University Research Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America and McCabe Foundation.
Privacy concerns have long swirled around how much information online advertising networks collect about people's browsing, buying and social media habits -- typically to sell you something.

But could someone use mobile advertising to learn where you go for coffee? Could a burglar establish a sham company and send ads to your phone to learn when you leave the house? Could a suspicious employer see if you're using shopping apps on work time?

The answer is yes, at least in theory. New University of Washington research, which will be presented Oct. 30 at the Association for Computing Machinery's Workshop on Privacy in the Electronic Society, suggests that for roughly $1,000, someone with devious intent can purchase and target online advertising in ways that allow them to track the location of other individuals and learn what apps they are using.

"Anyone from a foreign intelligence agent to a jealous spouse can pretty easily sign up with a large internet advertising company and on a fairly modest budget use these ecosystems to track another individual's behavior," said lead author Paul Vines, a recent doctoral graduate in the UW's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.

The research team set out to test whether an adversary could exploit the existing online advertising infrastructure for personal surveillance and, if so, raise industry awareness about the threat.

"Because it was so easy to do what we did, we believe this is an issue that the online advertising industry needs to be thinking about," said co-author Franzi Roesner, co-director of the UW Security and Privacy Research Lab and an assistant professor in the Allen School. "We are sharing our discoveries so that advertising networks can try to detect and mitigate these types of attacks, and so that there can be a broad public discussion about how we as a society might try to prevent them."

The researchers discovered that an individual ad purchaser can, under certain circumstances, see when a person visits a predetermined sensitive location -- a suspected rendezvous spot for an affair, the office of a company that a venture capitalist might be interested in or a hospital where someone might be receiving treatment -- within 10 minutes of that person's arrival. They were also able to track a person's movements across the city during a morning commute by serving location-based ads to the target's phone.

The team also discovered that individuals who purchase the ads could see what types of apps their target was using. That could potentially divulge information about the person's interests, dating habits, religious affiliations, health conditions, political leanings and other potentially sensitive or private information.

Someone who wants to surveil a person's movements first needs to learn the mobile advertising ID (MAID) for the target's mobile phone. These unique identifiers that help marketers serve ads tailored to a person's interests are sent to the advertiser and a number of other parties whenever a person clicks on a mobile ad. A person's MAID also could be obtained by eavesdropping on an unsecured wireless network the person is using or by gaining temporary access to his or her WiFi router.

The UW team demonstrated that customers of advertising services can purchase a number of hyperlocal ads through that service, which will only be served to that particular phone when its owner opens an app in a particular spot. By setting up a grid of these location-based ads, the adversary can track the target's movements if he or she has opened an app and remains in a location long enough for an ad to be served -- typically about four minutes, the team found.

Importantly, the target does not have to click on or engage with the ad -- the purchaser can see where ads are being served and use that information to track the target through space. In the team's experiments, they were able to pinpoint a person's location within about 8 meters.

"To be very honest, I was shocked at how effective this was," said co-author Tadayoshi Kohno, an Allen School professor who has studied security vulnerabilities in products ranging from automobiles to medical devices. "We did this research to better understand the privacy risks with online advertising. There's a fundamental tension that as advertisers become more capable of targeting and tracking people to deliver better ads, there's also the opportunity for adversaries to begin exploiting that additional precision. It is important to understand both the benefits and risks with technologies."

An individual could potentially disrupt the simple types of location-based attacks that the UW team demonstrated by frequently resetting the mobile advertising IDs in their phones -- a feature that many smartphones now offer. Disabling location tracking within individual app settings could help, the researchers said, but advertisers still may be capable of harvesting location data in other ways.

On the industry side, mobile and online advertisers could help thwart these types of attacks by rejecting ad buys that target only a small number of devices or individuals, the researchers said. They also could develop and deploy machine learning tools to distinguish between normal advertising patterns and suspicious advertising behavior that looks more like personal surveillance.

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The UW Security and Privacy Research Lab is a leader in evaluating potential security threats in emerging technologies, including telematics in automobiles, web browsers, DNA sequencing software and augmented reality, before they can be exploited by bad actors.

Next steps for the team include working with experts at the UW's Tech Policy Lab to explore the legal and policy questions raised by this new form of potential intelligence gathering.

The research was funded by The National Science Foundation, The Tech Policy Lab and the Short-Dooley Professorship.

For more information, contact the research team at adint@cs.washington.edu.

Grant number: NSF: CNS-1463968
October 18, 2017 - Two Medicare "pay for performance" programs have contributed to declining financial performance by hospitals in the Mississippi Delta region, suggests a study in the November issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) and the Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program (HVBP) are having a disproportionate financial impact on Delta hospitals, according to the report by Hsueh-Fen Chen, PhD, and colleagues of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock. They write, "The weak financial performance of Delta hospitals and widening disparity in financial performance between Delta and non-Delta hospitals under HRRP and HVBP indicate that altering these two programs is necessary and urgent in order to ensure that we do not remove the resources from the communities that need them most."

Programs Linked to Widening Financial Gap between Delta and non-Delta Hospitals

Implemented under the Affordable Care Act, the two programs provide financial incentives for hospitals to deliver higher-quality, higher-value care. The HRRP reduces Medicare reimbursements to hospitals with higher than average readmission rates for selected conditions. The HVBP adjusts payments based on a set of quality indicators.

The researchers analyzed data on financial performance before and after hospitals started to be penalized and rewarded under these programs in 2013. The study focused on the Mississippi Delta region, including 252 counties in eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. The Delta Region is among the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the United States. It is a largely rural area with a large proportion of minority and underserved residents, high poverty rates, and high rates of health risk factors and poor health outcomes.

Data from 2008 to 2014 showed a widening gap in financial performance between Delta hospitals and non-Delta hospitals (other hospitals in the nation). Operating margin (profit or loss resulting from delivery of patient care) was lower at Delta hospitals throughout the study period--but dropped sharply to ?6.9 percent starting in 2012, falling to ?10.4 percent in 2014.

By comparison, operating margin was relatively steady at non-Delta hospitals, with figures of ?0.8 percent in 2012 and ?1.5 percent in 2014. In other words, in 2014, Delta hospitals were losing about ten percent of margin on patient care, while non-Delta hospitals were losing just 1.5 percent.

Analysis of total margin (profit or loss resulting from both patient care and non-patient care activities) showed a similar pattern. From a high of 3.6 percent in 2012, total margin at Delta hospitals decreased to 0.2 percent in 2014. In contrast, for the same time period, total margin at non-Delta hospitals remained stable at an average of 5.3 percent. Thus in 2014 Delta hospitals were making little to no profit overall, while non-Delta hospitals had about a 5.3 percent profit margin.

After taking hospital and community characteristics into consideration, non-Delta hospitals had an average 1.0 percent increase in operating margin and 2.3 percent increase in total margin after the implementation of the HRRP and HVBP programs, compared to their operating and total margin before the implementation of the two Medicare programs. However, Delta hospitals had a decrease of 4.24 percent in operating margin and 0.30 percent in total margin after the implementation of the HRRP and HVBP programs. The pattern of both operating and total margin was similar when including all hospitals (excluding hospitals in Maryland) in the nation and all hospitals in the states without early Medicaid expansion.

As their financial performance weakens, Delta hospitals will have fewer resources to improve their quality of care--placing them at risk for falling even further behind national averages. Dr. Chen and colleagues note that Delta hospitals serve a high percentage of Medicaid patients, making them an essential part of the healthcare safety net. With near-zero profit margins, some Delta hospitals may be at risk of closing, or of dropping unprofitable services.

While Dr. Chen and coauthors believe paying providers based on the quality and value of care is "a step in the right direction," they add that the HRRP and HBVP programs "use a one-size-fits-all approach without considering the uniqueness of the communities that hospitals serve." The researchers conclude: "Given the growing disparity in operating and total margin between Delta and non-Delta hospitals...a revision of HRRP is urgent and a reevaluation of HVBP is necessary."

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Click here to read "Financial Performance of Hospitals in the Mississippi Delta Region Under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and Hospital Value-based Purchasing Program."

DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000808

About Medical Care

Rated as one of the top ten journals in health care administration, Medical Care is devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of health care. This scholarly journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers documenting the most current developments in the rapidly changing field of health care. Medical Care provides timely reports on the findings of original investigations into issues related to the research, planning, organization, financing, provision, and evaluation of health services. In addition, numerous special supplementary issues that focus on specialized topics are produced with each volume. Medical Care is the official journal of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association

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Oil Prices on the rise but the CAD is not

Trouble in Iraq (the 2nd largest Oil producer in OPEC) and some tough talk from the organization has sparked some life in Crude oil. Typically, as a major exporter of Oil based products, the Canadian economy and therefore by extension the CAD enjoys increased demand as the prospects for Black Gold brighten. Recently this has not been the case however as it is rates which are dictating the price action since the Bank of Canada too on a hawkish tilt. Another element has been thrown into this mix recently as NAFTA talks pose a threat to the key relationship between the United States and Canada.

The threat to the CAD is very real and as such the dimming sentiment is no real surprise. The Mexican Peso has also faced considerable downward pressure from the talks. Talks have not moved forward and if anything, the US has hardened its stance rather than working towards reaching a deal for parties involved. This certainly hints at the probability that Trump may be committed to sabotaging it entirely, a major worry for officials from the Canada and Mexico who are unlikely to be able to agree to any of the proposals which, as you might guess, worsen their position and allegedly benefit the US. FX strategists at MUFG see the talks as crucial risk, seeing things going a couple of ways, noting that 1.3 is a real threat if NAFTA talks break down entirely,

Mexico and Canada will both be hoping that the US will moderate their proposals going forward. If NAFTA trade tensions continue to build in the coming months it will pose upside risks to our USD/CAD year-end forecast of 1.2500. The Canadian dollar currently appears fairly valued based on the current price of oil. However, USD/CAD could rise closer to the 1.3000-level if the market begins to price in a larger NAFTA risk premium.

The Bank of Canada is probably watching events in Washington closely, while massively bullish the economy, Governor Poloz may be concerned about worsening ties with the US and it could temper his appetite to hike rates as aggressively, presenting a downward risk for the Canadian Dollar.
A record number of British meat exporters attended Anuga, the worlds biggest food trade fair, in Cologne, Germany.

A total of 16 companies had individual booths in the meat hall, promoting quality British beef, lamb and pork to more than 4,000 visitors to the stand during the five days of the show last week (7-11 October).

The trade show is seen as a chance to discover the latest and most innovative products from more than 7,400 exhibitors and be inspired world produce.

Exhibitors taking part for the first time included representatives of the West Country Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) scheme for beef and lamb.

Karl Pendlebury from Meat South West, the organisation behind the PGI, said: Weve seen the West Country PGI gain real momentum on the domestic market in recent months, with an upsurge in membership following increased communication around the scheme.

The timing therefore felt right to dip a toe in the water as far as export markets are concerned.

The response at Anuga was extremely positive, with interest from a range of businesses, including restaurants and retailers from a number of European countries, who appreciate the opportunity provided by the West Country PGI to really differentiate their products.

New markets

In another new development, AHDB Dairy joined 12 companies on the Great Britain pavilion in the Anuga Dairy Hall.

With Brexit around the corner, opening new export markets and developing existing ones for quality beef, lamb and pork is seen as crucial for many businesses.

Phil Hadley, AHDB International Market Development Director, said: Participating in major shows is key to achieving this and Anuga exceeded our expectations in terms of both the number of visitors and the engagement with our stand.

Dairy exports are a new focus area for AHDB. Our presence in the Dairy Hall has generated really positive results and is something we hope to build on in the future.

Away from the show, quality meat and cheese from Britain was also enjoyed by 350 food and drink professionals at the 25th British Meat Dinner.
The damage caused by Storm Ophelia could lead to claims costing up to 10m, mainly due to gale force winds damaging properties.

Farmers and rural businesses across parts of the UK braced for extreme weather as ex-Hurricane Ophelia moved across the country.

Rural insurer NFU Mutual estimated that the devastating gales affecting Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of Scotland could lead to claims costing 5m-10m.

NFU Mutual, which insures over 70% of UK farmers and thousands of rural homes and businesses in Northern Ireland, launched its emergency claims plan to speed help to its policyholders.

Martin Malone, NFU Mutual manager for Northern Ireland, said yesterday: "Based on what we are hearing today from our network of offices across Northern Ireland, damage appears to be mostly for slates or roofing sheets ripped from houses and farm buildings - together with damage to properties and vehicles from falling trees. This morning, we had 52 claims reported to us by Northern Ireland policyholders.

"However, with policyholders only now able to check damage as the winds subside, this is likely to rise."

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland saw the brunt of the storm's ferocity.

600 homes in Northern Ireland were without power on Tuesday (17 October) after the Storm Ophelia clean-up got under way.

Irelands largest milk processor Glanbia said the storm caused disruption to milk collection in some areas.

Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, urged farmers and rural businesses to be extra vigilant and take precautions.
A farmer has had his face bitten by a dog as another dog chased after his sheep on a farm in Sussex.

The elderly farmer, aged 82, sustained a severe facial wound which required hospital treatment.

He was attempting to save his sheep from a dog attack at his farm in Nutley, but was stopped when another dog leapt to his face and bit it.

Both dogs are described as being completely black, and similar in build to a Labrador or a Collie, with fluffy tails.

The dogs are believed to have been together, though neither was wearing a collar or tags. There was no sign of an owner nearby.

Sergeant Gareth Jackson, of the Surrey and Sussex Police Dog Unit, said: Unfortunately sheep worrying is an ongoing issue and its important to realise that it is an offence.

Pet owners need to be aware that if their dogs are out of control, or seen attacking or worrying livestock, then the farmer has the right to shoot the dog under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953.

If you can help us identify these dogs, or have any information about the incident, please report it online or call 101 quoting serial 1229 of 09/10.
UK farmers who have been incorrectly removed from a VAT simplification scheme may now be entitled to a repayment of VAT, or compensation, from the UKs tax authority.

The agricultural flat-rate scheme (AFRS) is a VAT simplification method whereby farmers with qualifying agricultural, forestry or fishing activities can join the scheme.

Instead of recovering VAT incurred on their underlying costs, they can receive a flat-rate compensation of 4 per cent to the value of their sales.

HM Revenue & Customs has, however, historically and routinely cancelled farmers entitlement to use the scheme where their earnings under AFRS substantially exceeded the input VAT which they would ordinarily have been able to deduct if they were subject to normal VAT arrangements.

One such farmer, Shields & Sons Partnership, was removed from the AFRS by HMRC in 2012 because, during the previous seven year period, it benefited from a financial advantage amounting to some 375k from its use of the scheme.

Shields challenged HMRCs decision before the UKs VAT tribunal and, although the First-tier Tribunal dismissed its appeal, the reviewing court (the Upper-tier Tribunal) referred the case to the European Court.

The decision of the European Court (CJEU) has now been released and confirms that, although the European VAT Directive does allow the exclusion of categories of farmers, the UK does not have a general discretion to remove individual farmers from AFRS where they are simply recovering more using the scheme than they would under standard VAT accounting rules.

The CJEU further ruled that, as a principle of legal certainty, a farmer must be able to objectively assess if he can legitimately expect to meet the criteria to access and to remain in AFRS.

By excluding farmers from the flat-rate scheme on the concept of an amount that is substantially more than another, the UK does not meet such principles either.

RSM VAT Director David Wilson said that on leaving the EU, the UK would no longer be bound by EU VAT legislation.

Mr Wilson said that the UK could therefore decide to ignore the CJEUs findings and await Brexit, or determine that the current 4 per cent compensation is far too generous and should be reduced, or removed.

In the meantime, as the European VAT Directive and decisions of the CJEU have direct effect, UK farmers wrongly removed from AFRS would be entitled to a VAT refund or other form of compensation.
The UK could see a 30 per cent boost in lamb exports to the United States following a successful visit by the US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Mr Perdue met with Defra Secretary Michael Gove and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (EFRA) to talk farm trade last week.

Mr Perdue said it is too early to go into too much detail on future trade potential, but added British lamb could be a big winner for American consumers.

We think probably the UK is ahead of us in lamb and sheep production. There is big demand to have access to the U.S. market in those products, Mr Perdue told the House of Commons Committee.

Britain currently exports 38 per cent of all its sheep meat, 95 per cent of which goes to the EU in trade worth almost 400m a year.

The current US lamb import market is worth 478 million a year, but Mr Perdue's comments will be seen as positive news for UK sheep farmers.

'Rich seam'

According to the National Sheep Association, the UK's sheep sector employs 34,000 people on farms and a further 111,405 jobs in allied industries, contributing a further 291.4m to the economy.

In the UK, domestic sales of lamb have been in decline among young people for some time. However, the US is undergoing a lamb renaissance, with a 10% increase in consumption over the past two years alone.

The US is a potentially rich seam for British lamb exports, The NFUs chief livestock advisor John Royle told the The Daily Express.

Consumption there is increasing, particularly in the prime quality markets. Weve already been in talks with the likes of Whole Foods Market, the US equivalent of Waitrose, but weve been waiting for a concert sign that their over cautious approach to British lamb will change. The Agricultural secretarys remarks gave us that.
Yorkshire Water has called on farmers on catchment land near rivers to manage the use of slug control pesticides carefully to reduce the impact they could have on tap water quality.

The water company has urged farmers near the rivers Derwent, Wiske and Ouse specifically.

Pellets can occasionally leak into watercourses in Yorkshires farming heartlands around the rural outskirts of York, Northallerton, east of Pockington and Driffield.

An active ingredient in the pellets - metaldehyde - poses no danger to health or the environment, but its levels in the River Derwent, Wiske and Ouse have occasionally breached EU drinking water standards in the last year.

In response, Yorkshire Water and the National Farmers Union (NFU) are encouraging farmers to adopt an Integrated Pest Management approach with less reliance on slug pellets.

Andrew Walker, Catchment Strategy Manager at Yorkshire Water, said: These measures include switching to ferric based pellets; adhering to the new 10m buffer strips and implementing the new integrated pest management plans, and other cultivation techniques which can control slug populations without the need for chemicals.

The Integrated Pest Management approach involves sowing seeds deeper into the soil to prevent slugs reaching them, rolling after seed drilling to consolidate the soil and make it harder for slugs to move about, use of traps to assess slug numbers, and using a more environmentally friendly alternative to metaldehyde called ferric phosaphate.

Slug infestations

Slug pellets are commonly used by farmers this time of the year to control slug infestations, which risk eating away at crops and damaging food production.

For instance, it is estimated that around 22 per cent of land used for wheat growing is affected by slugs and necessitates the use of pellets, according to The Metaldehyde Steward Group (MSG).

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said: Metaldehyde remains an important part of the management options available to farmers to control slugs and a crucial part of an integrated pest management plan.

Using traps to assess slug pressures, ferric phosphate and cultivation are all useful alternatives to Metaldehyde as part of an integrated pest management plan and the NFU encourages all farmers to use a wide array of techniques to control slugs on farm.

Trials in some parts of the UK have shown that 98.7% of metaldehyde contamination within rivers and streams comes via flowing field drains.

Andrew Walker of Yorkshire Water added: If metaldehyde levels are slightly too high this does slightly affect our treated water quality compliance rate, but drinking water in Yorkshire remains excellent with 99.962% of hundreds of thousands of samples meeting tight regulatory standards in the last year.
Katrina Is Very Close To Salman's Family

According to Bollywood Hungama, Katrina is also very close to his sisters Alvira Agnihotri and Arpita Khan Sharma and the star's closeness to the actress was perceptible when the two hung out together majority of the time at Salman, Alvira and Arpita's Diwali party.

Why Iulia Vantur Was Missing From The Party

However, an important absentee was Salman Khan's close friend Iulia Vantur who was missing from the bash.

Katrina Was Dressed As A Bride

At Arpita Khan Sharma's Diwali party, when Katrina Kaif came attired resplendently (almost like a bride) in pink and gold, the question of everybody's lips was - where was Salman's close friend Iulia Vantur?

Why Iulia Left...

She was in Romania getting her visa renewed but interestingly, it was close to expiry date but had not expired.

Why did Iulia leave in such a hurry on the same day as Salman threw his Diwali party? Not that she was missed much as Katrina mingled with the guests as it were her own party.

Katrina Spent Most Of The Time With Salman

Apparently, most of the time the actress spent was with Salman. They seemed like a couple and tongues started wagging the next day that Salman and Katrina were back together. Katrina appears to be happy as she basks in their renewed closeness today.

Katrina Turned Down Akshay's Kesari For Salman

Another big reason for people to that Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan are back together is the fact that she turned down a big film like Kesari opposite Akshay Kumar for Salman.

Inside Details



Salman was to do Kesari produced by Karan Johar but opted out for reasons of his own. Katrina was approached to act as Akshay's wife in the film but she had to politely decline because of Salman's fall out with Karan and Akshay and the role finally has gone to Parineeti Chopra.

It was completely her decision as Salman has never interfered in her career choices till now and never will.

When Love Happened...Again

It was during the shoot of Tiger Zinda Hai in Austria that Katrina and Salman became close again. Speculation started when Salman posted a pic of him and Katrina from Tiger Zinda Hai during their Austria shoot in March on his social media.

Salman Spoke To Aditya Chopra For Katrina

Buzz is, that it was Salman who spoke to Aditya Chopra and got her a role in Thugs Of Hindostan at the last moment when negotiations with Shraddha Kapoor fell through.
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

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'Tiger' Is Back With A Bang

Salman tweeted saying, "Diwali Gift.... pasand aaya? Ab Christmas pe milna..." In the poster, the superstar is seen in a fierce avatar gearing up for some hard-core action.

Inspired By Real Life Incidents

Salman had earlier revealed that the film is based on a real life incident. He had told a leading daily, "The plot is also inspired by a real incident. It's a really nice script. I cannot tell you what the true story is, as Adi (Aditya Chopra) will kill me".

He further added, "Tiger Zinda Hai is going to be bigger than Ek Tha Tiger' for sure. It begins from where we left off in part one. Tiger Zinda Hai' has things that you have never seen before in Indian cinema. We are making this film on a huge scale, especially the action."

A Dhamakedaar Climax

Ali had revealed in one of his tweets that the film's climax sequence will involve 10,000 rounds of gunfire, presumably with blanks.

Salman Reunites With His Ex Katrina

It would be quite interesting to watch the former lovebirds reunite on screen.

Shooting For TZH Was Challenging

Director Ali Abbas Zafar had told a leading daily, "Shooting for Tiger Zinda Hai was grueling, challenging and a whole lot of fun. We've shot across pristine, relatively unseen locations in Austria, Morocco and shot on a huge lot in Abu Dhabi along with other spots. Right from the infrastructure, to the support that the local military has given us, shooting here was smooth and a great collaborative experience. Tiger and Zoya's second outing is going to be larger than life, and the shoot lives up to that."

Mark The Date

A sequel to the record breaking blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger, Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tiger Zinda Hai brings back the blockbuster pair of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. The spy drama will release on 22nd December, 2017.
For the last week Ive been working on making a big engine system thread-safe. I found that there is relative little information out there on how to multi-thread actual, real-world systems (if you need something faster than a single global lock). Most of the articles I found focused on simple data types, such as linked lists. So I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences.

The Truth is our toungue-in-cheek name for a centralized system that stores the application data. It is based around IDs, objects, types and properties. An object in the system is identified by a uint64_t ID. Each object has a set of properties (bools, ints, floats, strings, ) based on its type. Using the API looks something like this:

uint64_t asset_id = the_truth->create_object_of_type(tt, asset_type); the_truth->set_string(tt, asset_id, ASSET_NAME_PROPERTY, "foo");

The Truth is the place where other systems read and write their data. They can of course use internal buffers too, for better performance, but if they want to share data with the outside world, it goes through The Truth.

In addition to basic data storage, The Truth has other features too, such as sub-objects (objects owned by other objects), references (between objects), prototypes (or prefabs  objects acting as templates for other objects) and change notifications.

Goals of the design

Since The Truth is a low-level system that we expect to shuffle a lot of data through, it is important that the design is performant. Having a single lock for the entire Truth certainly wont cut it. We need to have many threads accessing the Truth simultaneously. At the same time, we dont want to have to obtain a lock for every single piece of data that we get from the Truth either, because that could be costly too.

So were looking for something like this:

Read/get operations should not require any waiting/locking.

Write/set operations may require waiting/locking, but they should only lock the actual object that is being touched. Threads should be able to write to different objects without contention.

One problem is immediately obvious here: If get() doesnt use any locks, how can we make sure that the data we are reading is not being trashed by a simultaneous set() operation?

Luckily, we are rescued by the concept of atomicity. On modern hardware, writes and reads of aligned 64-bit values are atomic. I.e., other threads will always see either the old 64-bit value or the new 64-bit value, never 32 bits from one and 32 bits from the other. So as long as we are only writing 64-bit values, get() and set() can run simultaneously on the same object without creating problems.

Unfortunately, we also have larger objects that we want to store, such as strings or sets. Luckily, we can handle those with pointers. Instead of writing a string piece by piece, which could result in a garbled up value, we can just write a new char * into the object. This is a 64-bit value which can be written atomically.

In fact, we can take this one step further. Instead of writing individual values we can just create a whole new copy of the object, change some values and then atomically replace the old copy with the new one in a lookup table:

Object lookup table.

We could have this copying and replacing be implicit and completely hidden behind the get/set function interface, but that has two drawbacks:

The reader could see objects in a half-written state. I.e. even though each individual property would be either fully written or not, the properties themselves could come from different versions of the object. I.e. a reader could see y = 5 and z = 2 , an object which never existed.

If a writer wants to set multiple properties (which usually is the case) we would have to copy the object multiple times behind the scenes, which is inefficient.

So instead, we make the interface explicit. We require a read() or write() operation to get a pointer to the object, and a commit() operation to finalize the writes:

const object_o *reader = the_truth->read(tt, id); float x = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_X_PROPERTY); float y = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_Y_PROPERTY); float z = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_Z_PROPERTY); object_o *writer = the_truth->write(tt, id); the_truth->set_float(tt, writer, POSITION_Y_PROPERTY, 5.0f); the_truth->set_float(tt, writer, POSITION_Z_PROPERTY, 5.0f); the_truth->commit(tt, writer);

Note that with this change, the readers pointer will either point to the new or the old object, so the reader will either see (7, 3, 2) or (7, 5, 5), never (7, 5, 2).

Also note that what we are doing here is pretty similar to how version control works  we are creating a new version of the object. This is also why I choose the name commit() .

Also also note that we cant delete the old object when we commit() , because there might still be readers that are using that old object (more on that later).

Some notes on consistency

With this design we are saved from reading half-written values. We are also saved from reading half-written objects. But we still can have other consistency problems.

The simplest one is a write conflict. What if two writers start writing the same object simultaneously? They will both get a copy of the old object, change some values and then commit. Whoever commits last will overwrite the other writers values.

A more complicated consistency problem can occur when multiple objects depend on one another. For example, a writer might do this:

Remove the reference from object A to object B. Delete object B.

A reader could read object A before step 1 and discover the reference to B, then after step 2 attempt to access B. This would fail, since B is now deleted.

A classic example of the same problem in the database world is moving money between accounts. With withdrawing the money from one account and adding it to the other as separate operations a reader could see money appearing out of thin air.

Interestingly, we can solve both these problems without forcing the reader to lock.

To solve the write conflict, we can use the compare-and-swap (CAS) instruction which is available on all modern CPUs and also through the atomics library in C11 and C++11. Compare-and-swap atomically writes a 64-bit value only if the value there matches our expectation. Otherwise, it leaves the old value alone. It also tells us whether the write succeeded or not.

We can change commit() so that instead of just writing the new pointer, it does a CAS with the pointer we initially used to obtain our write-copy of the object. This means that the commit() will only succeed if the object hasnt changed since we obtained it. In our example above, the second writers commit() would fail, and the object would keep the values set by the first writer.

To solve consistency problems involving more than one object, such as the money transfer, we need some kind of transaction mechanism. In other words, we need to be able to commit the changes to multiple objects simultaneously and have the reader see all these changes at once. This might seem tricky, initially, because we can only write one atomic value at a time. But we can repeat the trick we did before, when we need to write a bigger value, we just write a pointer to that value instead.

In this case, the pointer we can replace is the pointer to the entire lookup table. By replacing the lookup table, we can replace as many individual objects in it as we like:

Replacing the lookup table.

A reader will either have a pointer to the old or the new lookup table. Thus, the reader will either see (A, B, C, D, E) or (A, B, C, D, E) and both sets of objects are consistent.

We can combine this with the CAS technique too, and only replace the root pointer if it hasnt changed. This allows us to make a change to an arbitrary number of objects as a single transaction that will either succeed or fail. Pretty similar to the transaction model you would get in a relational database.

Another interesting thing: If you know how git works on the inside with tree objects and blobs, you can see that this approach is actually very similar to gits.

The drawback of this approach is that every transaction requires changing the root pointer. (It requires copying the lookup table too, but we can reduce the cost of that by having hierarchical tables, similar to git.) Thus, there will be a lot of contention for the root pointer and that contention will cause a lot of commits to fail. (There is probably some way of being a bit smarter about this to let some of the commits that touch disjoint set of objects through, but I havent dug deeper into this.)

In the end, we have to consider what kind of consistency model works for us and if we are willing to pay for it. After all, if performance is not a big deal, we can just use a regular database.

In our case, we are not dealing with critical financial data. Its not a big deal if a reader sees some object from one write and some objects from another write. So we dont need the full transaction model.

Doing the CAS on commit() is not costly, but having to deal with commits failing can be costly. Every piece of code that writes data to the Truth would need a little loop that attempted to rewrite the data on a failed commit. Preventing simultaneous writes to the same object is probably better dealt with at a higher level anyway. For example, if both an animation system and a physics system wants to write object positions, the right way to solve it isnt with locks on the position data. Instead, we need to figure out on a higher level how animation and physics work together to control an objects position.

For this reason weve decided to keep the simple version of commit() . You can only commit one object at a time and the last write wins. We might add a separate try_commit() too, that does CAS and can fail, for code that needs that kind of synchronization.

The devil in the details

So far, this seems pretty good. We have a (weak) consistency model. We have a mechanism for implementing it that doesnt require any locks or waits in the reader. In fact, we dont have any locks or waits in the writer either, just an atomic write operation. Seems almost too good to be true.

In fact, it is too good to be true. We sketched out the implementation, but we conveniently skipped over all the details. That doesnt matter that much in single-threaded code, but in multi-threaded code, the details matter. So lets dig in!

Garbage collection

When an object is replaced or deleted by a commit() , we cant immediately delete the old copy, since some readers might still be reading it. So when can we delete it?

One option would be to reference count the readers. When the number of readers goes to zero, we can safely delete the object. This requires an end_read() operation, similar to the commit() , that decreases the reference count when we are done reading the object.

const object_o *reader = the_truth->read(tt, id); float x = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_X_PROPERTY); float y = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_Y_PROPERTY); float z = the_truth->get_float(tt, reader, POSITION_Z_PROPERTY); the_truth->end_read(tt, reader);

Having to write end_read() is inconvenient for the user of the API, but this solution has more serious problems. Consider how read() would be implemented. Something like:

const object_o *read(const the_truth *tt, uint64_t id) { const object_o *obj = tt->object_table[id]; ++obj->refcount; return obj; }

First of all, we cant use ++obj->refcount because ++ is not an atomic operation. On the CPU it is translated to:

obj->refcount = obj->refcount + 1;

And with two threads running this simultaneously they could both read a refcount of 7, increase it by 1 and then both write 8, even though the result really should have been 9.

No big sweat, there is actually a function in the C11 atomics library that does this atomically:

atomic_fetch_add(&obj->refcount, 1);

But this still doesnt work, because we have two separate steps for looking up the object and increasing its reference count. Another thread could enter between those two steps, see the refcount at 0 and free the object. Boom, we crash.

To make this work we have to make sure that the lookup of the pointer and the bump of the refcount happen as a single atomic operation. But I dont know how to do that without introducing some kind of lock, which we dont want in our reader code.

See, devil in the details.

So what can we do instead?

Well readers typically dont need to hold on to objects for very long. They just read a few values and then theyre done. So if we just wait a little while before deleting objects, we should be fine.

Of course we need to define more precisely what wait a little while means in order to make this work. Luckily, the kind of applications we are interested in have a cyclic behavior. They regularly return to a root state. For a game, or other real time application, that would be the main update or frame tick loop. Similarly, for a desktop application, its when we return to the main message processing loop.

When we get back to the root state, all read() operations should have finished which means we can finally garbage collect all the objects that we wanted to delete, but wasnt sure if we could. This gives us safe deletion without locks or explicit end_read() operations. (We have an implicit end_read() operation at the end of the frame.)

Of course, this can cause trouble if we have long-running background threads that also need to access the system. My current take on this is that these threads need to call special functions lock_read() , unlock_read() to read objects. These functions either increase an object reference counter or register hazard pointers that the GC checks. Using locks, we can ensure that the reference counting is atomic with respect to the GC. Since this is a special case of reading data were ok with the performance penalty of taking a lock.

Just to dive even further into details, what do we mean by queueing an object for garbage collection? We need to put the objects pointer into a list or queue or something. And this will require some form of synchronization  either a lock or a lockfree wait loop. This is ok though, because this only happens during write operations (thats the only time when we commit and create garbage) and were ok with taking locks during writes. But it shows that the simple picture we had initially were no locks or waits would be necessary, even in the writers, was false. We should also be wary, because if we only have a single lock for the garbage queue, every commit operation will need to obtain this lock and we will see a lot of contention.

The lookup table

Another thing we glossed over was how the lookup table should work. We assumed it was a big table of pointers indexed by some bits of the object ID (we use the rest of the bits to store things like object type). But how would we actually implement that table? vector<object_o *> ? No, that doesnt work, because the vector will regularly reallocate its backing memory and copy all the data to a new location. If a reader was accessing the vector in the middle of such an operation it could read trash data.

A raw array would work: object_o *objects[MAX_OBJECTS] . The writers can atomically write new pointers into the array without disrupting the readers. But now we have to define MAX_OBJECTS which is annoying. Set it too low, and we run out of objects. Set it too high, and were wasting memory. For a one-off application like a game, that works pretty well, we can just find a value that is right for our game  the highest value weve ever seen plus a comfortable safety margin  we dont need any dynamic allocation and there will be no memory wasted. But for a more general engine its not a nice solution.

But, we can use the idea of hierarchies to our advantage again, and make something like this:

struct object_block_t { object_o *objects[1024]; }; struct object_super_block_t { object_block_t *blocks[1024]; }; struct the_truth { object_super_block_t *super_blocks[1024]; ... };

The Truth holds a fixed array of 1024 super blocks. Each super block, when its allocated, holds 1024 block pointers, and each block, when its allocated, holds 1024 object pointers. A writer can atomically replace null pointers in these arrays with actually allocated blocks and super blocks without disturbing the readers. We never waste more than 24 K of memory (for one allocated block of each type) and can support up to one billion objects. To look up the pointer for an object we would do:

struct id_t { unsigned int super_block : 10; unsigned int block : 10; unsigned int index : 10; ... }; object_o *o = the_truth.super_blocks[id.super_block][id.block][id.index];

Of course you could tweak the number of hierarchy levels and the number of objects in each level to get a different balance of wasted memory, maximum number of objects and number of indirections needed for lookup.

Another approach to the same problem would be to use a vector<object_o *> like approach, but implement garbage collection. I.e. you would keep an array of object pointers, and when the array got full you would reallocate it and copy the data (just as the standard vector implementation does). But you wouldnt free the old data array. You would put it on the queue to be garbage collected, just as we do with old objects. Thus, readers using the old array would be fine.

This approach works too, but it has the drawback that as the array gets large, the copying operation will become more and more expensive. You could ameliorate that by combining it with the hierarchical approach. I.e. let the array contain block pointers.

Allocating memory and IDs

Another thing weve glossed over is memory and ID allocation. When we allocate a new object we need to make an ID for it. This ID cant collide with IDs created by other threads or well be in trouble. Similarly, if we need to allocate a new block or a new super block we need to make sure that no other thread is allocating that memory at the same time.

We can achieve this by putting locks around these operations. Again, this is ok, because these operations only happen when we are writing objects. But we should be a bit careful, because if multiple threads are writing with high frequency, there could be high contention for these locks. For example, a global ID lock would have to be obtained by every thread that needs to create new objects.

A way of avoiding this is to allocate specific blocks for specific threads. For example, we could say that the thread with index t can only use super blocks where i % N == t. Here i is the index of the super block and N the total number of threads. Since the threads use different super blocks, they never compete for IDs or block allocation. We trade more internal fragmentation in the blocks for avoiding contention.

This approach works well when the number of threads is low. Our system tries not to oversubscribe the number of threads and use one thread/core. So it could work. But core numbers are always going up, never going down, so its a bad future to bet on.

We should also note that even if we fix these issues, the allocation of memory itself goes through an allocator that enforces serialization. So unless we switch to a multi-threaded allocator we may just replace contention for our data structures with contention for the memory allocator.

For now I think we will start with a simple locking scheme and investigate more advanced solutions (per-thread ID and memory pools) as needed.

Synchronizing mechanisms

Before wrapping up, I wanted to say something about different methods for synchronizing and their advantages and disadvantages as I see them. The mechanisms you most typically run into are:

Windows critical sections (lightweight mutexes on other platform  a spinlock with fallback to an OS event) Custom spinlock based on CAS Lockfree solution

A common misunderstanding is that the main difference between these three solutions is performance and that the advantage of lockfree algorithms is that they are faster. But if you look at the cycle counts in the case of no contention they are all pretty similar. In fact, they are all pretty fast.

Regarding contention, since we are interested in high-performance code, I will assume that all the locks are fine-grained and that they are only held to perform a couple of simple operations. If that is not the case, you should optimize your code by making the locks more fine grained, not by changing the locking mechanism.

In this case, the mechanisms behaviors under contention is also similar. All of them will spin a few cycles, until the other thread is done with its manipulation, and then proceed. In the case of lockfree  it is not really a lock of course, but one of the threads CAS will fail, causing it to spin in a similar manner.

In my mind, the main difference is what happens if a context switch happens and a thread is swapped out while holding a lock. This is a big deal, because it may be milliseconds until the OS swaps the thread back in again. And milliseconds are an eon in CPU time.

This is what happens in each case:

With critical sections, our thread will go to sleep waiting for the swapped out thread. This is good, because it frees our core for use by the swapped out thread. Also, the OS is made aware that we are waiting for a thread, which it can use to bump the priority of that thread. I.e., we still have to wait for the swapped out thread, but most likely that thread will be swapped in faster.

With a spinlock, our CPU will churn waiting for the busy thread. This consumes power and creates heat. But worse, there is no way for the OS to know that we are waiting, so our core doesnt get freed and the priority of the swapped out thread doesnt get raised. I.e., we have to wait for the swapped out thread and the wait will likely be longer.

With a lockfree algorithm, we dont have to wait for the swapped out thread. Our CAS will succeed since the other thread is sleeping and cant modify the address we are looking at. This is in fact the definition of lockfree. Lockfree doesnt mean we never stall  if there is contention we may be stuck in a loop trying to set a value, potentially for a long time. But it means one thread cant block the progress of all other threads  someone will progress.

So in this case the lockfree approach is clearly better. But one thing we must ask ourselves is: Does it really matter?

First, how likely is the situation to occur? If we dont oversubscribe our threads and locks are only held for short times, maybe it doesnt happen that often? I have no good numbers for this and it would require a thorough investigation.

Second, how bad is it? A common multithreaded programming model is to create a number of jobs, go wide to execute them, and then go single-threaded again to collect the results. In this case, the lockfree approach doesnt buy us that much, because even though the other threads dont have to wait for the stalled one and can continue to process jobs, in the end we cant proceed until the stalled thread has finished. (You can try to design around that, make the other threads do the job of the stalled thread so the application can move on. The tricky part of that, the very very tricky part of that, is that when the stalled thread starts to run again and the application has moved on to some other unknown state, all the things that that thread tries to touch are likely to break  memory has been freed, etc. In fact, I dont know any general job system that successfully does this.)

So in the end, since we have to wait for the stalled thread to finish anyway, we still get the millisecond delay, even with the lockfree solution. (It might be fewer milliseconds, though.) It is only in very specific situations that the lockfree approach will actually prevent the stall.

In addition, lockfree algorithms are notoriously hard to program. And to make something lockfree, all of it must be lockfree. If the memory allocator still locks, it doesnt matter if the rest of the system is lockfree.

In summary:

Lockfree algorithms are really really hard.

To get the lockfree behavior, every part of the system must be lockfree.

And usually you still end up stalling, just at a higher level.

For these reasons I recommend avoiding lockfree solutions except in a few very special cases. This means our best contender is good old Windows critical sections.

One situation where we can run into problems with critical sections is if we want to create a really fine-grained locking system. Say that we wanted to have an individual lock for each object, so we would need millions of locks. This has two problems. First of all, a critical section is 40 bytes, so we would be using a lot of memory. Second, a critical section will lazily allocate an OS event if there is contention. This event is never freed. So with a lot of critical sections our OS event count would slowly increase as those critical sections randomly run into contention. This would consume even more memory (an OS event is 128 bytes I think) and put us at risk for running out of system handles. Interestingly  if were close to running out of handles, the OS will actually switch to a different algorithm that doesnt allocate individual events for critical sections. As far as I understand, in recent versions of Windows, this algorithm has similar performance and the allocation of individual events is mostly done for backwards compatibility. But I dont know all the details of this. Im also not sure how things work in the Linux world.

If you need a cheaper way of creating millions of locks, some of the options are:

Use a spin lock and accept the risk of churn and swap-out.

Have a fixed sized pool of critical sections and access them with a hash of the object ID. You could keep say 8192 critical sections in an array, hash the object ID to the range 08191 and use the corresponding critical section as a lock. As long as you have a lot more critical sections than threads, the risk of artificial contention (two IDs hashing to the same value) is low.

Use a synchronization mechanism that doesnt require a lot of memory or OS objects. Windows actually has several of these, although they are not as well known as critical sections. Slim Reader/Writer Locks are only the size of a pointer and use no OS objects. In fact, you should probably replace all your uses of critical sections with exclusive SRW locks. There is also WaitOnAddress which allows you to wait on any memory location. In the Linux world a futex can be used for similar functionality.

Wrap-Up

Multi-threading an advanced data structure gets real gnarly real fast. Even though I tried to go into implementation details in this article theres still a lot I left out  how to build the garbage queues, for instance. And I havent said anything about the more advanced features of The Truth  prototypes, references, sub-objects and change notifications. They all need multi-threaded implementations too. But this article is getting too long already. If there is interest, maybe Ill revisit those topics in a future post.
Alleged Nokia 7 sketch leaks prior to its launch News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia 7 is believed to be launched at tomorrows event.

HMD is all set to make an interesting announcement in China on October 19. The company has already sent out media invites for the same. And, there is a widespread expectation that the company could announce a new smartphone at the event.

Though HMD has not specified anything regarding the product that will be announced at the event to happen tomorrow. However, it is speculated to be the Nokia 7 or the Nokia 8 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. We have also seen the Nokia 7 teaser on Tmall, a Chinese e-commerce portal and the teaser shows the number '7', Qi in Chinese.

Nokia 8 to skip Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Android Oreo update coming soon

As per a report by AndroidPure, a sketch that is alleged to be that of the Nokia 7 has emerged on Baidu. It shows both the front and rear of the smartphone. There appears to be a fingerprint sensor that is positioned at the rear below the main camera and the LED flash. The sketch shows the vertical alignment of the Nokia branding as well at the rear.

When it comes to the front design of the Nokia 7, the device is alleged to feature speakers and the Nokia branding at the top and physical navigation buttons at the bottom. The leak doesn't confirm if there will be capacitive or on-screen navigational buttons on the alleged Nokia 7 smartphone. However, the top and bottom bezels appear to be thick as seen on the conventional smartphones.

Nokia 9 concept video gives a glance at the premium design

From the previous rumors and speculations, the Nokia 7 is believed to be launched in three variants with different RAM and storage options such as 3GB+32GB, 4GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB. The smartphone is said to feature a 5.2-inch FHD 1080p display and employ a Snapdragon 630 processor. Also, like the Nokia 8, this one is said to feature the Nokia OZO Audio and the Bothie features.

Though there are claims that the Nokia 7 will be unveiled tomorrow at the event in China, we need to wait for an official confirmation from HMD regarding the same.

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New variant of Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017) visits GFXBench with slightly upgraded specs News oi -Chandrika The benchmark listing reveals, the smartphone runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS.

Samsung recently launched the entry-level J2 (2017) in India. Now, it seems like the company plans to launch another variant of the smartphone.

We say this as a handset bearing the model number SM-J250G has been spotted on the benchmark site GFXBench. The model number clearly suggests that it is a new variant of the Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017). According to the GFXBench listing, the smartphone will come with a larger 5-inch display with the screen resolution of 960540 pixels. The type of the display is not mentioned though.

Under the hood, the Samsung SM-J250G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. The chipset is clubbed with 2GB of RAM (1.3GB usable) and 16GB of native storage space. The storage space is likely to be further expanded.

As for optics, the smartphone appears to feature an 8MP rear-facing primary camera with autofocus, face detection and LED flash. Likewise, there lies a 5MP camera at the front for selfies and video calling.

The benchmark further reveals that the Samsung SM-J250G will arrive pre-installed with Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. The connectivity features offered by the phone include GPS, Bluetooth, proximity sensor, accelerometer, and altimeter.

The original Samsung J2 (2017), on the other hand, features a 4.7-inch QHD (540960 pixels) Super AMOLED display. Inside, it makes use of a 1.3GHz quad-core Exynos processor which is coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable (up to 128GB) inbuilt storage space.

The device also has a 5MP rear autofocus camera with flash, as well as a 2MP front camera. The Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017) is backed by a 2,000mAh removable battery and it runs on an unspecified version of Android OS.

The dual-SIM smartphone supports USB on-the-go (USB OTG) and it offers with connectivity features such as 4G, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Glonass, and 3.5mm audio jack.

Via

Best Mobiles in India

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is the bestselling smartphone in Q3 2017 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Redmi Note 4 is a pretty successful model for Xiaomi.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is one of the bestselling smartphones in the Indian market. In the budget smartphone market, a majority of buyers choose to purchase the Redmi Note 4 due to the competitive pricing and decent specifications of the device.

Already, this smartphone was the highest selling device in the first half of the year. Now, the Redmi Note 4 has become the bestselling model for the third successive quarter. In addition to it, Xiaomi has become the fastest growing smartphone brand of the third quarter of this year with a market share of 292 percent year-on-year, claims a report by the market research firm Counterpoint Research.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sales reach 5 million in 6 months in India

The research firm has further revealed that Xiaomi has managed to get the second spot in the Indian smartphone market with a share of 22.3%, all thanks to the Redmi Note 4 that is the bestselling model. With this growth, Xiaomi is getting close to Samsung continues to lead the Indian smartphone market with 22.8% market share. Given that the difference between Xiaomi and Samsung is not too big, we can soon expect the Chinese brand to occupy the top spot in India.

Tips to extend battery life on Xiaomi Redmi Note 4

As per an IANS report, Tarun Pathak, the Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems at Counterpoint Research has stated that the rise of Xiaomi in India is mainly due to the mid-range smartphones priced around Rs. 10,000. This category of smartphones started to peak in late 2016 and the Redmi Note 4 was launched right in time to cash in on the success. Undoubtedly, the smartphone became a hit within no time.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 review

Understanding the competition that exists in the country and the significance of offline availability, Xiaomi started expanding its presence offline in India. The Chinese manufacturer started opening Mi Home stores across the country and made its devices available via the major offline retailers too.

Best Mobiles in India

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Vodafone partners with HP India & KPMG for GST solutions in India News oi -Priyanka Vodafones seamless connectivity will ensure a smooth transition of enterprises to the adoption of GST.

Vodafone Business Services (VBS), the enterprise arm of Vodafone India has joined hands with HP India and KPMG in India to offer 'GST Ready Solutions' for business.

The end-to-end solution comprises of hardware from world's leading PC brand - HP, GST invoicing software by KPMG, cloud storage for storing invoice data, uninterrupted GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) access, e-sign, GST registration and migration services.

Adding to it, Vodafone's seamless connectivity will ensure a smooth transition of enterprises to the adoption of GST.

"The solutions are available on VBS platform at an affordable price with EMI options starting from Rs 630 per month for 24 months. VBS solutions also include cloud storage for secure data backup, registration, migration and e-sign services, and professional guidance and support," the Vodafone statement said

Sumeer Chandra, MD, HP Inc. India said, "This solution will especially help SMEs, start-ups, and SOHOs manage their business under the new structure while enhancing their contribution to India's economic growth. In addition, we are also enabling a dedicated call center, managed by specialized tax experts to support customers on any GST related queries and operational issues."

The solution includes HP hardware, GST invoicing software by KPMG, cloud storage for storing invoice data, GST Suvidha Provider access, e-sign, GST registration and migration services, along with Vodafone s connectivity.

Nick Gliddon, Director, Vodafone Business Services, said "We are excited to offer a first-of-its-kind integrated GST solution for SMEs, start-ups, and SOHOs - our GST Ready Solutions for Business, to help them embark upon the digital journey. At Vodafone Business Services, our endeavor is to make all businesses digitally ready to take their business to the next level. We are happy to be associated with HP and KPMG in India and provide a seamless experience to our customers by being the first service provider in the country to offer an integrated GST solution."

The solutions are available on VBS platform at an affordable price with EMI options starting from Rs 630 per month for 24 months.

Best Mobiles in India

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Kaspersky CEO Calls Allegations of Spying on US Citizens 'Groundless Paranoia'

Sputnik News

19:05 17.10.2017(updated 19:14 17.10.2017)

CEO Eugene Kaspersky dismissed accusations that his company spied on its US customers as lies, and challenged his accusers to reveal how his software was engaging in the alleged activity.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Kaspersky Lab CEO Eugene Kaspersky has refuted all allegations made by US media regarding the Russian cybersecurity company's involvement in spying on US users through its products, calling such claims "groundless and paranoid."

The company's CEO noted that the product's features fully depend on the applications' code and records in the database's updates.

"If there are any undeclared features in our products which violate the confidentiality of our users' information, please tell us the product's number, the name of the module, the address of the suspected code or the update's number and record's identifier. Only such technical information is taken for consideration. We will address the issue with the utmost seriousness and will include an internal investigation. If there is no such information  this means [that these allegations are] deliberate lies, or the repeating of somebody's lies and falsification," Kaspersky said.

Over the past several weeks, a number of US media outlets have reported about Kaspersky Lab's alleged spying on its US customers on behalf of Russian intelligence services. However, no substantive evidence has been provided, and none of the officials making such accusations have openly spoken out.

In September, the US Department of Homeland Security told state agencies and departments to stop using Kaspersky Lab products over their potential threat to US cybersecurity. The company has denied all cyber-espionage allegations.

Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described actions of the US authorities as "discriminatory," adding that the situations cast "a shadow on the image of the United States as reliable partner."

 Sputnik

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Russian, Iranian Diplomats To Discuss Iran Nuclear Deal This Week

RFE/RL October 17, 2017

A senior Russian diplomat says he expects to hold talks with an Iranian counterpart this week to discuss the situation surrounding the Iran nuclear deal following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to abandon the multinational accord if it is not amended.

The Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on October 17 that he plans to meet with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow in the coming days.

"Certainly, the focus is on the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in light of Trump's statement about his intentions to review the agreement's contents and signals that the United States is inclined to supplement, alter, or modify this document in a [way] that suits Washington," he said.

Ryabkov also said that Moscow and Tehran will work out a "common approach" in order to try to "persuade the American side that the proposed measures are not productive."

Under the JCPOA -- the July 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers, including the United States and Russia -- Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from sanctions that have hurt its economy.

But in an October 13 speech, Trump said he would not certify that Iran is complying with the agreement and warned he might ultimately terminate it. He accused Tehran of violating the "spirit" of the agreement, in part for its continued testing of ballistic missiles and its support for extremists in the Middle East, and said he would ask Congress to strengthen a U.S. law to put additional pressure on Iran.

Trump on October 16 raised the possibility once again that he might try to end the deal completely.

"It might be total termination. That's a real possibility. Some would say that's a greater possibility," Trump told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting.

Meeting in Luxembourg on October 16, European Union foreign ministers closed ranks in support of the Iran nuclear agreement, warning that Trump's threats jeopardize efforts to find a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

"At a time of acute nuclear threat, the EU is determined to preserve the JCPOA as a key pillar of the international nonproliferation architecture," the ministers said in a joint statement.

The bloc's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said she would visit Washington early next month to urge U.S. lawmakers not to pull out of the Iran deal, which was aimed to slow Iran's potential path toward creating a nuclear weapon. Tehran says its nuclear program has purely peaceful aims.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (Republican-Tennessee), who is leading efforts on behalf of Trump to toughen the Iran nuclear deal in Congress, urged Trump to cooperate with European allies in deciding what to do with the nuclear agreement.

"This is something that can only work if the administration exercises tremendous diplomacy with our European allies," Corker said, adding that Democrats in Congress are insisting that the White House must work with Europe.

Corker told reporters that he has tried to convince Europeans that Trump's decision to decertify Iran is not all bad and provides world powers with an opportunity to try to correct acknowledged "deficiencies" in the pact.

"Look, if I were them, I'd look at this as 'the glass is half full.' He didn't withdraw from the JCPOA, and that's step one," Corker said.

China also voiced its support for the agreement.

Tehran said it will remain committed to the deal as long as it serves the country's national interests.

In a statement on the presidency's website on October 17, Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that "the unanimous support for the agreement, particularly from the Europeans, is an important political achievement for Iran."

The planned talks between Ryabkov and Araqchi comes before Rohani is expected to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Tehran on November 1.

With reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-iranian- diplomats-discuss-iran-nuclear- deal-trump/28799563.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Europe Mulls Policy Response as Trump Repeats Threat to End Iran Deal

By Henry Ridgwell October 17, 2017

The European Union's foreign policy chief describes U.S. President Donald Trump's decision not to re-certify Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal as an "internal U.S. process."

European countries, along with the other signatories, Russia and China, said Tehran is keeping its end of the deal. But President Trump claims Iran has repeatedly violated the letter and spirit of the agreement, which suspends sanctions in return for limits on the country's atomic program.

The EU commissioner for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, said Monday that the Iran deal was "the culmination of 12 years of diplomacy facilitated by the European Union." Mogherini is due to travel to Washington in early November to lobby in favor of the Iran deal.

"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a key element of the nuclear non-proliferation global architecture and crucial for the security of the region," Mogherini told reporters Monday. "Its successful implementation continues to ensure that Iran's nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful."

Trump reiterated his threat Monday to fully withdraw from the deal, claiming that Iran had committed several violations and continues to pose a grave security threat.

"They negotiated a phenomenal deal for themselves but a horrible deal for the United States. And we're going to see what happens," he said.

On Friday, Trump stopped recertifying the deal every 90 days as required by the U.S. Congress. It means Congress will now decide the next step. Should the U.S. seek to impose additional sanctions on Iran, Europe does have options to respond, says analyst Paulina Izewicz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"One of those tools is blocking legislation, that effectively bans European persons and entities from abiding by U.S. secondary sanctions, which would be one of the elements of the package that would be re-imposed in terms of sanctions on Iran."

But Izewicz acknowledges those tools are as yet untested.

"The legislation has been in place since 1996 but has not actually been used. So it's quite difficult. And ultimately I think it will come down to whether Iran considers the economic benefits to be sufficient for it to keep its end of the bargain."

Germany's foreign minister has warned that Washington risks driving Europe "into a common position with Russia and China against the USA."

Moscow and Beijing have made it clear they have no desire to return to the negotiating table over Iran.

"From Beijing's perspective, the American approach under Trump seems a bit like a bit of a bully towards Iran, which is a strategic partner of China, particularly in terms of energy supply," Professor Steve Tsang of the London School Of Oriental and African Studies told VOA in an interview.

Beijing fears the fallout of a U.S. withdrawal on security in its own backyard  with North Korea on the brink of developing nuclear bombs.

"If the Iranians have made a deal, and largely kept to it, and by the account of all other U.N. Security Council Members have kept to it, and yet the Americans would then unilaterally go back on it and ask for more; how can the Chinese reassure the North Koreans that doing a deal with the Americans would be worth the paper it would be printed on?" adds Tsang.

U.S. lawmakers have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose the sanctions suspended under the deal or keep the agreement in place.

Congress could also seek to put additional conditions on Tehran, such as demanding that it halt ballistic missile testing  a move Iran has already ruled out.

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News - Chrysler - 300 Chrysler 300 to stay: FCA Australia FCA Australia says right-hand drive Chrysler 300 to continue for now FIAT Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia says it will continue to sell a right-hand drive Chrysler 300 in Australia, despite South African reports that global right-hand-drive Chrysler and Dodge production has been axed.



Not only that, but the Australian outpost of FCA says it is continuing to pursue a business case for the reintroduction of Dodge models here.



Reports of the axing of RHD Chrysler and Dodge vehicles surfaced in South Africa where FCA South Africa CEO Robin van Rensburg was quoted as saying the Chrysler and Dodge brands were leaving that market permanently.



This unfortunate situation has arisen from our principals in the USA no longer building Chrysler or Dodge vehicles in right-hand drive configuration, he reportedly said.



But approached for comment by GoAuto, FCA Australia PR and communications manager Alessia Terranova responded: I am not at liberty to comment on South Africas decision. What I can tell you is that Australia will continue to sell RHD Chrysler 300 as an ongoing product in our line-up.



With respect to any plans for Dodge, at this stage, this brand is represented as a parts and service operation only. However, as widely reported, we do have a live business case with the US in relation to new RHD Dodge models.



The big Chrysler 300 sedan is the sole remaining factory imported Chrysler-badged model on the Australian market.



It is also about to become the last remaining contender in the upper-large passenger car market segment in Australia, as its only rival, Holdens Caprice, is also on its way out after the closure of Holden local manufacturing.



Sales of both these large sedans have struggled in recent years as consumers switch to SUVs and pick-ups.



This year, Chrysler 300 sales have fallen 43.4 per cent, to 209 vehicles at the end of September, just 10 per cent of the rate of four years ago when sales peaked at 2508 units.



In 2015, FCA announced that the United Kingdom would cease taking Chrysler models by 2017. As the UK is one of the largest RHD markets in the world, it was hard to see a business case for the Chrysler 300 in smaller markets such as Australia and New Zealand, despite traditional appeal of big cars in those markets.



The current Chrysler 300 dates from 2012, meaning it is almost due for renewal.



It was late to market back then due to the global financial crisis that skittled Chrysler finances and sent the company into chapter 11 bankruptcy and into the arms of Fiat.



Chrysler all but disappeared in the Australian sales charts in 2012, but the arrival of the second-generation Chrysler 300, with diesel, V6 petrol and hot Hemi V8 powertrains, breathed new life into the brand.



However, indifferent quality and a lack of Chrysler range depth  including the absence of halo models such as the Charger muscle car  have taken their toll.



The Chrysler badge has disappeared from Australia once before, in the early 1980s when Chrysler Corporation sold its South Australian factory  home to the Chrysler Valiant  to Mitsubishi.



The brand made a comeback here as an importer in 1994 with a range of new models, including the PT Cruiser, Crossfire, Voyager and Sebring, all of which have since passed on, along with Dodge models such as the Caliber and Journey.



FCAs other iconic American brand, Jeep, has had better fortunes in Australia, continuing on with an expanded and renewed range.



The Ram truck brand also remains on sale via independent RHD conversion specialists American Special Vehicles (ASV)  a collaboration between Walkinshaw Automotive Group and Ateco Automotive.

Read more 28th of August 2015 Driven: Core value remains for Chrysler 300 SRT Chryslers 300 SRT has core appeal for performance drivers
2017 is the year BlackBerry is trying to make a return under new management, and so far weve seen three phones introduced - the Keyone, the Aurora and the latest from last week, called BlackBerry Motion.

The Motion costs around $460 in its debut Middle East region, but now we know the price for Europe as well. A UK retailer is offering the phone for 399, while in the Netherlands the initial asking price is 469.

UK stock is expected by the end of October so very shortly.

The BlackBerry Motion comes with 24 months warranty across all EU. It comes in Black, and the memory available is only 4 GB RAM + 32 GB storage (at least microSD slot is available). Other specs include power-efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset and 4,000mAh battery.

The OS is stock Android 7.1, but BlackBerry enhanced the phone with their in-house security patches.

Source 1  Source 2 (in Dutch) | Via (in Dutch)
Starting today, Google Calendar's web presence finally looks like something from 2017, not 2010. The entire web app has been revamped using the company's Material Design guidelines, which means it's now very similar in looks to the Google Calendar mobile apps.

You'll see a modern color palette and a responsive layout that auto-adjusts to your screen size, and some new features are baked in too.

Conference room details are accessible at a glance when booking a room (so you know where it is, how large it is, what equipment it has, that sort of stuff). Rich formatting and hyperlinks can be added to Calendar invites, and you have the option to manage multiple calendars side by side in Day view.

When you hover over the names of meeting participants, you'll see their contact info. A new mechanism is in place to let you view and restore deleted items in one place. Finally, Day, Week, and Month views are more accessible, having improved compatibility with screen readers.

Source
Google has expanded the availability of its Wifi mesh router. The device is now available in 5 new European markets, including Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. With this, the total number of countries where the router is now available stands at 12.

As for pricing in the newly-added markets, the device ranges from 139 to 155 depending upon the country you purchase it from. Of course, the Mountain View, California-based company is offering deals if you go for three-pack.

For more details, head to the country-specific Google Store websites.

Source
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Wall Street Journal is having the D.Live tech conference where Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm CEO discussed the company's relationship with Apple. The two companies are currently entangled in a number of lawsuits, the latest one being filed in China and aiming to ban iPhone production and sales.

Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm CEO

At the discussion, Mollenkopf said that all they are doing are negotiations over fees that can be resolved. Qualcomm has a long history of providing value and settling these issues, the CEO added.

The conversation ended with strong reassuring words from the boss that both companies have broad relationship and even though Mollenkopf cant provide an end date of the ongoing disputes, it will get resolved.

Source
Rachel Carson's expose shocked the world. And we're better for it
Club Med, the pioneer of the Premium All-Inclusive holiday concept, has announced plans to open Club Med Ho Tram, its first resort in Vietnam. Located in Vung Tau Province, in southern Vietnam, the premium resort is located near Ho Chi Minh City and is a 90 minute drive from Ho Chi Minh international airport. Guests will also have easy access to the new resort once the new and upcoming Long Thanh International Airport is completed. A premium holiday resort for families and other guests, Club Med Ho Tram is scheduled to open in 2021 and will offer guests an unprecedented cultural and natural experience.

"Vietnam amazed us in many ways  the breath-taking natural beauty and unique heritage showcases the raw potential of the destination. We are excited to venture into a new market and introduce our expertise in creating amazing experiential holidays to the destination. With our partner, Dynasty Investments, we are confident to grow Club Med Ho Tram into the region"s premium holiday destination," commented Mr Xavier Desaulles, CEO of Club Med East and South Asia Pacific.

Partnership with Dynasty Investments

With a flair for leading the way in discovering and developing resorts in undiscovered idyllic locations across Asia, such as the recently announced Club Med Ceylon, the brand"s first resort in Sri Lanka and Club Med Lombok, the third resort in Indonesia, Club Med has proven to be a tour de force within the hospitality industry. Club Med"s development plans go beyond East and South Asia Pacific. With the planned launch of the first two Club Med Joyview resorts in China (Club Med Joyview Golden Coast and Club Med Joyview Anji) as well as Club Med Tomamu Hokkaido in late 2017, Club Med is well on their way to carrying out an ambitious programme of expansion. This includes plans to open 15 new resorts worldwide over the next three years, and also includes the upgrading or extension of 9 existing resorts.

Hotel website
Scandic Hotels, the largest hotel company in the Nordic countries, has signed an agreement with property owner LocalTapiola Life to operate a hotel in the iconic Hamburger Bors building in central Turku .

Hamburger Bors has been an iconic hotel and restaurant complex since 1895. Located in central Turku, just opposite the market square, building was bought by Wallina Valtin from Stockholm in 1898 and first used as a hotel in 1904. The current contract ends in June 2019 after which the hotel will be fully renovated and expanded over two years. Scandic expects to gain access to the building beginning of 2021.

The hotel is scheduled to re-open at the beginning of 2021. It will offer approximately 300 hotel rooms, conference facilities including a ball room with capacity for 400 people, a restaurant and bar with 400 seats and a roof top bar and terrace with 150 seats.

Hotel website
News of the revocation of economic sanctions against Sudan by the United States government, is music to the ears of businesses and investors interested in Africa's third largest country after two decades of severe restrictions.

The sanctions relief comes as a go-ahead to tapping key trade and investment opportunities in Sudan, across industries such as finance, agriculture, mining and tourism; with companies such as Jumia Travel now planning to revive business with hotel partners in the country. "Like any other business, the sanctions had largely affected our business in the Sudan, perhaps even feeling the pinch more as we are in the travel industry. With an already promising growth in tourism, we are happy to explore the massive business potential that lies in the sector," says an ecstatic Cyrus Onyiego, Jumia Travel's Country Manager Kenya.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council's (WTTC) report on Travel & Tourism Global Economic Impact & Issues 2017, Sudan's tourism sector has registered impressive growth in the past 6 years, with an annual average growth of 49.8% in visitor exports. This, besides directly supporting 1.8% of total employment (193,000 jobs) in 2016, and an expected increase of the same by 5.7% in 2017.

Onyiego further notes that reviving Sudan-bound bookings on the online platform will provide increased visibility of the properties, resulting to added growth in revenues. "We believe by so doing it will go a long way in contributing to the employment rate in Sudan, as well as to the growth of the country's economy which is on its road to recovery."

Sudan's sanctions date back to the 1990's after the country was accused of hosting Osama Bin Laden, sympathizing with terrorists as well as supporting terrorism activities. The issuing of an executive order by Obama to lift the bans on a probational case during his last days in office paved the path to restoration which has finally culminated to the clearance. With a naturally endowed ecosystem, defined culture and heritage; presently spotting a list of five tentative World Heritage Site, Sudan has an abundance of tourist attractions and unadulterated experiences which if tapped will be an invaluable source of revenue to the country.
Nagoya Prince Hotel Sky Tower Opens in Japan

Prince Hotels opened a new hotel, "Nagoya Prince Hotel Sky Tower," on Monday, October 2, 2017 in Nagoya, Japan, the country's third largest city.

The hotel is located on the 31st to 36th floors of Global Gate, a mixed-use complex erected in a redevelopment area south of Nagoya Station. In addition to all 170 rooms offering panoramic views, there is also a 110-seat restaurant, 40-seat Club Lounge, fitness room, and business center. The lobby features a 30 m high atrium that spans from the 31st to 36th floors, imparting a dramatic sense of spaciousness. The restaurant, situated some 140 meters above ground level, offers a sweeping vista and features buffet style dining with emphasis on Mediterranean cuisine. For breakfast, Nagoya-meshi, which consists of dishes particular to the food culture of Nagoya such as hitsumabushi eel on rice, tenmusu rice balls filled with shrimp tempura and kishimen flat-strip noodles, will be served along with ogura toast red bean paste on toast, allowing guests visiting from overseas to savor local delicacies while inside the hotel.

This hotel represents Prince Hotel's first foray into Nagoya, a city whose most prominent feature is its accessibility to Japanese culture and history. Aichi prefecture, where Nagoya is located, is composed of what historically was Owari and Mikawa provinces, and the three samurai (Nobunaga Oda [1534-1582], Hideyoshi Toyotomi [1537-1598], Ieyasu Tokugawa [1542-1616]) responsible for unifying Japan during the Warring States period who all hailed from this area. Nagoya Castle, located about a 15 minute drive from the hotel, was built in 1609 by decree of Ieyasu Tokugawa. Although it was destroyed by fire during the World War, it was later rebuilt in 1959. On the south side of where Nagoya Castle once existed, the city of Nagoya is investing 15 billion yen in restoration work of Honmaru Palace, home of the feudal lords. Partial construction completed in May 2013, and it is now open to the public.

Nagoya also happens to be at the midway point along the Golden Route, a sightseeing route that connects Tokyo and Osaka and is highly popular with foreign tourists visiting Japan. There are also plans to complete development of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen Line by 2027 which this bullet train will connect Tokyo to Nagoya in around 40 minutes. This is expected to draw even more attention to the area.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Brand Launches in Asia

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) today signed three management contracts to introduce its luxury boutique hotel brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, to Asia. Announced at the 2017 Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), the first Kimpton properties in the region will be located in prime markets in Southeast Asia and Greater China.

Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants brand is incredibly unique and we're thrilled to see our plans to take it global continue to gather pace. This is the right time to introduce Kimpton to Asia, where we see more and more travellers looking for a sophisticated, yet personalised lifestyle travel experience. The hotels we have signed are in highly sought-after destinations in Bali, Indonesia, and Shanghai and Sanya in China, and provide a fitting introduction to Asia for this iconic brand."

Mike DeFrino, Chef Executive Officer, Kimpton, said: "The Asia Pacific region has always attracted travellers who are eager to discover something new and fully immerse themselves in both the destination and local culture. We believe our approach to heartfelt care is unparalleled and with this development milestone, look forward to welcoming those seeking a highly personal approach to boutique luxury."

These new signings extend the global footprint of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to Asia, following its expansion to Europe, with the opening of Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam and the signing of Kimpton Paris, earlier this year. Acquired by IHG in January 2015, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, is renowned for its innovative and playful design and personal approach to guest service, using thoughtful perks and amenities, bound together with a sense of delight and discovery. The brand's understated approach to luxury inspires travellers with touches like in-room yoga mats, a hosted evening Social Hour, complementary bike rentals and other local flourishes.

Kimpton is also recognised for its award-winning portfolio of unique restaurants and bars led by talented chefs and bartenders. Common cornerstones of each restaurant and bar include heartfelt care; chef-crafted, seasonal menus that celebrate local farms and purveyors; and striking interiors with vibrant style and design.

An immersion where history meets luxury in the heart of Shanghai

Poised to open in 2021, the Kimpton Shanghai Jing'an will feature 150 guest rooms and 120 villas that originally belonged to the British-American Concession. Similar to the villas, that were mostly developed between 1910 and 1930, the hotel's common areas will be housed in a historically reserved building.

A premium haven for travellers with discerning tastes in Sanya

Situated in one of the most premium travel destinations in China - Haitang Bay in Sanya, Hainan Province, this well-appointed 251-room, luxurious Kimpton Resort Sanya Haitang Bay has direct beach access and is scheduled to open in 2021.

A luxury and lifestyle sanctuary on the island of the gods, Bali

The first Kimpton located in Southeast Asia, Kimpton Bali, opening in 2019, will feature 50 luxurious villas and sits on the picturesque Nusa Dua coast. The new designed hotel blends with the local Balinese culture delivering guests a genuine, personalised experience that is both authentic and reflective of the ancient culture.
Holiday Inn Express Cologne City Centre Opens

The newly opened property features 323 rooms all featuring the next generation Holiday Inn Express design which balances home comforts with smart design features. Guests can enjoy sound absorbing headboards, bedside USB ports and flexible in-room working spaces. Free Wi-Fi and a continental breakfast buffet are also included in the room rate.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the opening of Holiday Inn Express Cologne City Centre, the largest Holiday Inn Express in Europe.

The newly opened property features 323 rooms all featuring the next generation Holiday Inn Express design which balances home comforts with smart design features. Guests can enjoy sound absorbing headboards, bedside USB ports and flexible in-room working spaces. Free Wi-Fi and a continental breakfast buffet are also included in the room rate.

Ideally located, the hotel is walking distance to the Old Town or a short U-bahn ride to the famous twin spires of Gothic Cologne Cathedral tower. Within a short distance of Poststrae and Severinstrae U-bahn stations, as well as Cologne Central railway station. If flying in or out, Cologne Bonn Airport is only 25 minutes' drive away.

Mike Greenup, Vice President, Brand Management for Holiday Inn Express commented: "At Holiday Inn Express we know what matters to our guests. Successfully delivering on that brand promise has enabled Holiday Inn Express to grow rapidly across Europe in recent years, and particularly in Germany. In 2017 alone we have opened 5, and signed 11, new Holiday Inn Express properties in Germany. The Holiday Inn Express Cologne City Centre is a great addition to that portfolio."

Sonja Comberg, General Manager, Holiday Inn Express, Cologne City Centre commented:"Holiday Inn Express is designed for savvy travelers who want a straightforward, uncomplicated experience, delivered in an engaging manner. We support guests without hassle, without complication, without extravagance - but always with a warm smile. We're extremely excited to open a new haven for travellers right in Cologne's city centre and look forward to welcoming our future guests."

There are currently 32 Holiday Inn Express hotels in Germany, and a further 29 in the development pipeline. In Europe, there are 239 Holiday Inn Express hotels with 60 in the development pipeline.

Across all brands, IHG now has a total of nearly 120 hotels open and in the development pipeline in Germany.
How Pay Inequality Affects the Bottom Line

Pay inequality is a persistent problem that is getting more exposure than ever before. Recent Wharton research examines how inequality affects individual workers and entire companies.

Most private firms have strict policies about salaries: Workers arent allowed to know how much money they make compared to their peers. But thats an unrealistic and outdated notion, especially with so much information available online. Pay inequality is a persistent problem that is getting more exposure than ever before. In her latest research, Wharton management professor Claudine Gartenberg examines how inequality affects individual workers and entire companies.

Her findings are outlined in three papers: Pay Inequality and Reductions in Corporate Scope, co-authored with Wharton management professor Emilie Feldman and Julie Wulf of the National Bureau of Economic Research; Islands of Equality: Competition and Pay Inequality within and across Firm Boundaries, co-authored with Wulf, and Pay Harmony? Social Comparison and Performance Compensation in Multibusiness Firms, co-authored with Wulf.

She spoke to Knowledge@Wharton about why top-tier managers need to pay more attention to this issue.

An edited transcript of the conversation follows.

Knowledge@Wharton: You have three recent papers that look at the issue of pay inequality. Could you tell us about each one of those?

Claudine Gartenberg: These are a series of joint studies with Julie Wulf, at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and Emilie Feldman, management professor here at Wharton, which focus on this question of pay inequality among workers, primarily within companies but also the implications at a societal level. This question of how much pay inequality to tolerate inside of your company is actually a tricky one for managers. Its one that every manager faces, and it has big consequences not just for HR but also for the companys strategic position and ability to compete.

In these papers, we have three big findings. The first is that it appears that your pay co-moves more with your colleagues than it would just be predicted for your job itself. Pay moves in lockstep, goes up, goes down, you get some rare bonuses. We attribute that to people comparing pay inside firms more with their colleagues and their co-workers than with just people who work in other companies.

The second thing we find is that it also appears to tie managers hands a bit in terms of how firms can respond to competition. We look at a trade shock  this is a free-trade agreement with Canada  and what you would want to do is pay workers more or differently based off how well theyre able to compete and respond to this trade shock. We find that firms respond in lockstep with employees, so they either all give them raises, or they all respond very similarly and not in line with how productive workers are.

Lastly, we find that pay inequality predicts divestitures. If you have firms with very high levels of inequality, it is predictive that they will shed a business unit that is contributing to that. So, it has major strategic consequences; it is not just an HR issue.

This question of how much pay inequality to tolerate inside of your company is actually a tricky one for managers.



Advertisement We like to think that our pay is based on what we do and how well we do it. The first two papers seem to show that its also about how much our co-workers are making or whats going on in the larger context of the world.

Gartenberg: Oh, completely. We are social beings. We evaluate our self-worth by how we stack up relative to each other. Its just in human nature. Weve seen that behavior in monkeys as well. Once you join a firm, you evaluate yourself against workers inside those firms. That is an inevitable consequence. The thing that is interesting about it is that theres really two sides of performance pay.

On the one hand, performance pay is a fantastic thing. Its why its been adopted increasingly over the last three decades. You want to give people bonuses for how well they are doing, you want to reward your top workers, you want to make sure people feel valued. On the other hand, performance pay creates pay differences inside firms, and if people perceive those are unfair or unjust, it can create real problems inside firms. In fact, Uber is dealing with this right now. Ubers cultural issues have received all of the attention in the news, but arguably among the employees themselves the bigger issue is compensation differences. Its a very real issue that affects companies across the board.

Knowledge@Wharton: Theres been a lot of talk lately about NAFTA and whether it has been good or bad for American business. A part of it that we havent heard much about is that NAFTA did affect salaries.

Gartenberg: This is an interesting question. Its not one that we can get directly at with the data that we have for our research, because we have compensation data for division managers of top companies  real one-percenters. These are not your model American workers.

If you have firms with very high levels of inequality, it is predictive that they will shed a business unit that is contributing to that.

The interesting thing that we find that I think ought to inform this debate is that the Canada Free Trade Agreement predated NAFTA by five years, but had a very similar impact. It had a very large impact on American companies. The effect of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement was to raise the one-percenters salaries. Even though we dont have the information to prove this, generally people have found that trade agreements lower unskilled worker salaries across the board. If you put those two facts together, these trade agreements should probably widen the gap between the top one-percenters and the 99%. It really does affect pay inequality in a distributional way that is getting a lot of attention and should get more attention going forward.

Knowledge@Wharton: Looking more closely at the third paper, you find companies are more likely to divest divisions where there is more pay inequality. Is there action that can be taken as a result of knowing that?

Gartenberg: This is a really interesting question about corporate strategy that I think has not gotten enough attention out there, which is that companies want to extend into different types of businesses that might be complementary, or they want to acquire companies. A major factor appears to be compensation policies across those business units and how those affect the workers, how those affect post-merger integration, how those affect worker morale, productivity, etc. I think it is something that managers ought to pay attention to.

To give examples from my own experience when I consulted to the energy industry  there was a period of time when energy companies were trying to heavily get into trading operations, sort of Wall Street energy derivative trading operations. To do that well, you need to pay these guys Wall Street salaries. On the one hand, youve got a business unit that is paying Wall Street-level salaries. On the other hand, youve got your asset side of your business, which is the people operating the pipes in the facilities and moving the product back and forth, and theyre getting paid hugely different amounts. I saw the amount of tension that provoked. These pay differences and the differences of these workers, the way they were treated between these units, it was very, very hard to manage that. That is definitely something that managers should pay attention to when theyre deciding what businesses to operate in.

Knowledge@Wharton: What your research shows is that pay inequality really impacts everything. But companies often believe salaries are a secret, so it doesnt impact anybody.

These pay policies are not an HR policy. Its really a strategic decision that firms need to make.

Gartenberg: If theres one takeaway we want from this research, its for people to recognize that these pay policies are not an HR policy. Its really a strategic decision that firms need to make. As much as firms want to keep their pay under wraps, in todays day and age, thats increasingly unrealistic. It was unrealistic 10, 20, 30 years ago as well. And it does have major consequences for what firms can do and how they can compete. That is very important to account for.

Knowledge@Wharton: What will you study next?

Gartenberg: The real holy grail behind this research is looking at societal-level inequalities, which are at unheard levels within the U.S. and also other countries around the world, and putting firms and firm strategy into the center of that research. What are the choices the companies are making today in terms of their HR policies and outsourcing? How are those choices influencing inequality? How is societal inequality affecting what managers can do and what type of compensation they can offer their employees? That is a big question, its extremely important, and its one that were just starting to get our heads around.

This article is reprinted with permission from Knowledge@Wharton.


Chae Hun Chang will succeed Steven Craig

JLL recently announced leadership changes to its South Korea business, aimed at reinforcing its commitment to this key growth market. Chae Hun Chang, currently JLL's South Korea Head of Property and Asset Management, and also a part of JLL's Capital Markets team, will step up to the Country Head role, effective 1 January 2018.

Mr Chang has over 23 years' experience in the real estate sector both in South Korea and globally. Since joining the firm in 2000, he has held a range of increasingly senior roles with both JLL and LaSalle Investment Management, the firm's independent subsidiary that focuses on real estate investment management. His tenure with JLL includes a four-year stint in the firm's New York business before returning to Seoul.

Mr Chang succeeds Steven Craig who, after seven years as Country Head, will step away from day-to-day firm management to focus fully on his other role in leading JLL's South Korea Capital Markets business.

"South Korea continues to be one of our key growth markets in Asia and we are excited to be strengthening our leadership team by appointing someone of Chae Hun's calibre and experience to drive the next generation of our growth strategy," says Albert Ovidi, COO, Asia Pacific, JLL.

"We very much appreciate Steven's decision to give his full attention to our Capital Markets business, which is a priority for the firm. JLL has experienced great success in South Korea under Steven's leadership, and we would like to thank him for his unwavering focus on our clients and our people. JLL has been operating in South Korea for nearly 20 years and we have steadily built our presence and talent pool. Today we are proud to be a leading global real estate player that has earned the trust of many Korean and multinational clients."

"I'm very much looking forward to working with Steven and our local and management teams to achieve our next generation growth ambitions, working closely with our existing clients and also driving for more local business, all while delivering the highest standards of service that our clients depend on us for," says Mr Chang. "It's certainly an exciting time to take on this role with so much growth and many exciting opportunities in the country's real estate sector."

Mr Chang holds a M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, NYC, U.S.A. and a B. Arch. from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, U.S.A. He is a NCARB certified registered Architect (U.S.) and an Associate Member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (U.S.). He is also a certified member of the Asset Management Association of Korea.
Yet another tragedy has struck the United States, leaving three people dead and two injured. A gunman, identified as Radee Labeeb Prince, is the subject of a multi-state manhunt, after a pair of shootings in Maryland and Delaware. The initial shooting occurred at Princes workplace in Maryland, the Advanced Granite Solutions home remodeling business. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler reports that the shooting occurred around 9 AM.

Police state that each of Princes victims were employees of Advanced Granite Solutions, where Prince was on his fourth month of employment. In a report by USA Today, Sheriff Gahler states that the incident does appear to be a targeted attack for that business. There is an armed and dangerous suspect out there. He confirms that authorities arrived four minutes after the first 911 call was placed, but by then Prince had already begun shooting. Gahler believes that he might have raised the body count, had there been more time.

Afterward, word came out that police were looking for Prince for his involvement in another shooting, this time in Delaware. As of now, no details on that incident have been released to the public. As for Prince, he was last seen fleeing in a 2008 black GMC Acadia SUV, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has shed some light on the ongoing manhunt:

State helicopters are in the air and state troopers are on the ground from multiple barracks, Hogan said, earlier today. I ask all citizens  especially those in this area  to please remain vigilant.

CNN reports that Sheriff Gahler has urged Prince to turn himself in peacefully, before any more lives are lost. I would ask him  to stop what he has started here today. Enough loss of life  we can end this peacefully and preserve his life and any more lives that might be in jeopardy.

It seems as if these sorts of tragedies are becoming more and more commonplace. Rest in peace to everyone who lost their lives.

As of now, the story is still developing.

Maryland Shooting
Artists in any genre have always had issues with their labels. Sample clearance, album delays and other factors play into this constant love/hate relationship with record labels and executive. Record labels do have an affect on the direction of an artists career. However, the artistry sometimes gets compromised. Earlier in the day, Metro Boomin warned producers about dealing with Atlantic Records, saying that theyll steal your soul. At the time, he didnt detail his own experiences with them but he later clarified that his comments werent directed at Atlantic as a whole but rather Warners Artist Publishing Group executive, Mike Caren and his APG group.

In a series of tweets, Metro Boomin has warned up-and-coming producers about working with Warners Artist Publishing Group. Based on his own experience that he later detailed, he says Carens group are taking advantage of hungry artists/producers/writers who put their whole life into their music. He later stated that he isnt against all major labels but does say, APG is just evil. He later details a trip he took to LA when he was 19 at their expense. He said, I let APG fly me to LA when I was 19. It was something I was of course excited about beforehand but day by day saw how full of [shit] they were.

It seems like he isnt the only one to have poor experiences with APG. Mike Will Made It responded to the tweet saying, Factual , Caron looked 2012 Mike Will in the eyes after hearing my whole catalog and said you dont have ANY hits but we can help u wit that. Which Boomin quoted and said sounds about right. Other prominent producers have also chimed into the conversation, with the likes of London On Da Track, Earl Sweatshirt and other hip hop figures confirming what Metro said.

Metros initial tweet about Atlantic kicked off in response to a music consultant in Atlanta tweeting a screenshot of a conversation he had with an Atlantic A&R who was seeking new talent in the city. The tweets he later sent out werent done out of malice but rather as a way of warning upcoming musicians not to fall victim of their actions.

Check the tweets below:
Both collectively and separately, the men who make up dominant hip-hop trio Migos have had an excellent 2017, to say the least. Since their album Culture dropped early on this year, Quavo, Offset and Takeoff have had an extraordinary run of success, due in large part to their smash hit single Bad and Boujee, where they collaborated with Lil Uzi Vert. With memorable appearances at several awards shows and many high-profile live events, theres no way they will see their star fade anytime soon. In keeping with their amazing performance in the music industry this year, it would be foolish to think that they wouldnt carve out some time to enjoy the finer things in life  like luxury hotels in one of the most picturesque locations in the world. And the Lambos  oh, the Lambos.

In a video that has been shared multiple times on social media as of this writing, the Migos members were seen leaving the Crown Metropol in Melbourne, Australia in three similar-looking Lamborghinis, much to the delight of the passerby who caught a glimpse of this flex session. With the lead car in white, the second in a silver-grey and the rear vehicle painted black with some fire-style decals next to the rear windows, these guys are rappers who know how to travel like kings. Theyre not scheduled to resume their tour commitments in the near future, so why not enjoy the time off while you can? Clearly the Migos think the same way.

For fans who are (im)patiently waiting for a new Migos track or two to drop, the wait might soon be over. We recently reported that Quavo teased a Culture 2 single release that was supposed to come soon. What soon means for the trio remains to be seen, but the fact that its close to seeing the light of day should get more than a few hip-hop enthusiasts stoked. Theyve got some big tracks on the way too  Drake, Ty Dolla $ign and Big Sean have all but been confirmed as collaborators for the next batch of material that Migos will be putting out. Until then, its Lambo time for those three gentlemen.

Migos
Gondhoraj Momos Take Over West Bengal; Have You Tried Them Yet?
Caligula is a drama originally written by Albert Camus in the French language in 1944. In 2017, we get a Bengali translation titled, aRoman Somrat Caligulaa by Kamalesh Bandopadhyay.

This drama is about a young Roman emperor, Caligula, who is known for his tyrannical rule.

Caligula ruled for merely four years but in those four years he wrecked unprecedented havoc.

This drama is at once captivating and shocking because of the sheer horror of the story that it tells, and yet the beauty lies in the fact that irrespective of all that repulsive torture, we feel pity for the man who suffered unimaginable pain that turned him into a monster.

The drama is divided into four acts.

In the first act, we see the ministers of Caligulas court worrying about Caligulas sudden disappearance.

We learn that Caligula has lost his ladylove, Drusila.

Drusila was Caligulas sister and their incestuous relationship was a matter of great criticism and shame for the entire nation.

The nature of the relationship might have been shameful but the feelings in the heart of young Caligula were pure and true.

Caligula ascended the throne when he was twenty five and in the beginning he was a pleasant young ruler, a man deeply invested in literature and in the finer things of life.

But Drusilas sudden death ruined the young man.

Life became meaningless for him. He could not accept the loss, the pain. And he wanted to unleash his own pain on all who surrounded him.

If he suffered, he wanted everyone to suffer with him. And this mentality made him lose his humanity.

He started confiscating private property, started killing and raping unscrupulously.

In short he became a monster.

Things went so far that the ministers saw no way out of this tyranny except to murder him.

And that is how ended the pitiful life of Caligula at the young age of twenty nine.

The story of Caligula lies somewhere between a love story and a political drama.

It speaks of the power of lovelove that can be healing and love that can be ruinous.

There is a part in the drama where Caligula says that when our love is requited everything in the world seems beautiful but nothing can be more painful than unrequited love.

Caligula was a man who was burned by unrequited love.

It has been conjectured that Caligula had lost his mental faculties after Drusilas deaththat itself shows how emotions can rule a man.

And Caligulas reaction to his pain shows what a deranged ruler can do to an entire nation in fits of insanity; it portrays the true menace of monarchy.

A ruler is all powerful but love is more powerful than a ruler.

A man at the height of power is lonely and at the end of everything Caligula was just a lonely man who had lost everything the moment he lost his lover.

Caligula burned his nation but he himself was burning inside his heart along with his helpless subjects.

Caligula is a man who elicits hatred and pity at the same time.

In conclusion, all I would like to say is that wonderful translations like these should be published more often because they enrich literature.

Reading this play would be definitely be a delight for all mature readers.
New Delhi, Oct 18 (IBNS): Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia has reaffirmed that Rahul Gandhi will soon assume the party president's post, media reports said.

In a chat show organised by a news channel, Scindia, a Madhya Pradesh Congress leader, said: "Rahul Gandhi will become the Congress president in a matter of days."

He also said the party will undergo a "churn" very soon, hinting at a structural change in the Congress.

"You will see lot of changes. You will see reaffirmation of what our core beliefs are, the Congress leader said.

Scindia's comment on Rahul Gandhi, present Congress vice president, came after party president Sonia Gandhi indicated a structural change at the topmost post.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has told media that her son Rahul Gandhi will soon take over the reins of the party.

You have been asking this for so many years and its now happening, she told NDTV at a function to release former president Pranab Mukherjees autobiography, The Coalition Years 1996-2012.

According to media reports citing sources, Rahul will take over the reins of the party after Diwali.

Reports also stated that almost all states, which completed their organisational elections, have passed unanimous resolution demanding Rahul to take charge of the party.

The partys Central Election Authority (CEA), which is overseeing the organisational polls, will now receive the list of delegates and resolutions from all the states.

Following this process, the election for the new Congress president will begin.
'Will expose the reality of how Pakistan treated me': Singer Adnan Sami | Amazon likely to lay off 1000 employees amid losses: Report | Akhil Giri repeat offender, Mamata Banerjee didnt reprimand him: BJP after Bengal CM's apology | Joe Biden raises objection to China's 'coercive aggressive actions toward Taiwan' in his first meeting with Xi Jinping | As Hemant Soren faces ED, Jharkhand prepares for two huge reforms
Srinagar, Oct 18 (IBNS) : Three labourers were among over half a dozen people injured in heavy mortar shelling by Pakistani troops on Wednesday at various places along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, The Indian Express reported.

According to reports, shelling from across the border started at around 7 am and is still underway. Indian troops retaliated.

The Injured labourers are from Udhampur and Madhya Pradesh.

The shells fell over half a dozen villages in Balakote and Mendhar areas. The affected villages are Balakote, Gohlad, Phanaha Choki, Nabni, Lanjote and Rellhian.

The police, however, confirmed having received reports about the injury of two civilians in Balakote area, saying that three vehicles were also damaged in shelling from across the border.

Last Saturday, four siblings including two girls, were injured in Pakistani shelling on civilian population at Basooni and Sandote villages in Balakote sector.
New Delhi, Oct 18 (IBNS): More than 530,000 Rohingya men, women and children have fled northern Rakhine State in terror in a matter of weeks amid the Myanmar security forcesa targeted campaign of widespread and systematic murder, rape and burning, Amnesty International said today in its most detailed analysis yet of the ongoing crisis.

My World Is Finished: Rohingya Targeted in Crimes against Humanity in Myanmar describes how Myanmars security forces are carrying out a systematic, organized and ruthless campaign of violence against the Rohingya population as a whole in northern Rakhine State, after a Rohingya armed group attacked around 30 security posts on 25 August.

Dozens of eyewitnesses to the worst violence consistently implicated specific units, including the Myanmar Armys Western Command, the 33rd Light Infantry Division, and the Border Guard Police.

In this orchestrated campaign, Myanmars security forces have brutally meted out revenge on the entire Rohingya population of northern Rakhine State, in an apparent attempt to permanently drive them out of the country. These atrocities continue to fuel the regions worst refugee crisis in decades, said Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director at Amnesty International.

Exposing these heinous crimes is the first step on the long road to justice. Those responsible must be held to account; Myanmars military cant simply sweep serious violations under the carpet by announcing another sham internal investigation. The Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, must take immediate action to stop his troops from committing atrocities.

Crimes against humanity

Witness accounts, satellite imagery and data, and photo and video evidence gathered by Amnesty International all point to the same conclusion: hundreds of thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children have been the victims of a widespread and systematic attack, amounting to crimes against humanity.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court lists 11 types of acts which, when knowingly committed during such an attack, constitute crimes against humanity. Amnesty International has consistently documented at least six of these amid the current wave of violence in northern Rakhine State: murder, deportation and forcible displacement, torture, rape and other sexual violence, persecution, and other inhumane acts such as denying food and other life-saving provisions.

This conclusion is based on testimonies from more than 120 Rohingya men and women who have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, as well as 30 interviews with medical professionals, aid workers, journalists and Bangladeshi officials.

Amnesty Internationals experts corroborated many witness accounts of the Myanmar security forces crimes by analysing satellite imagery and data, as well as verifying photographs and video footage taken inside Rakhine State. The organization has also requested access to Rakhine State to investigate abuses on the ground, including by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya armed group. Amnesty International continues to call for unfettered access to the UN Fact-Finding Mission and other independent observers.



In the hours and days following the ARSA attacks on 25 August, the Myanmar security forces, sometimes joined by local vigilantes, surrounded Rohingya villages throughout the northern part of Rakhine State. As Rohingya women, men, and children fled their homes, the soldiers and police officers often opened fire, killing or seriously injuring at least hundreds of people.

Survivors described running to nearby hills and rice fields, where they hid until the forces left. The elderly and people with disabilities were often unable to flee, and burned to death in their homes after the military set them alight.

This pattern was replicated in dozens of villages across Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung townships. But the security forces, and in particular the Myanmar military, appear to have unleashed their most lethal response in specific villages near where ARSA carried out its attacks.

Amnesty International documented events in five such villages where at least a dozen people were killed: Chein Kar Li, Koe Tan Kauk, and Chut Pyin, all in Rathedaung Township; and Inn Din and Min Gyi, in Maungdaw Township. In Chut Pyin and Min Gyi, the death toll was particularly high, with at least scores of Rohingya women, men, and children killed by Myanmar security forces.

Amnesty International interviewed 17 survivors of the massacre in Chut Pyin, six of whom had gunshot wounds. Almost all had lost at least one family member, with some losing many. They consistently described the Myanmar military, joined by Border Guard Police and local vigilantes, surrounding Chut Pyin, opening fire on those fleeing, and then systematically burning Rohingya houses and buildings.

Fatima, 12, told Amnesty International that she was at home with her parents, eight siblings, and grandmother when they saw fire rising from another part of their village. As the family ran out of their house, she said men in uniform opened fire on them from behind. She saw both her father and 10-year-old sister get shot, then Fatima was also hit in the back of her right leg, just above the knee.

I fell down, but my neighbour grabbed me and carried me, she recalled. After a week on the run, she finally received treatment in Bangladesh. Her mother and older brother were also killed in Chut Pyin.



Amnesty International sent photographs of Fatimas wound to a forensic medical expert, who said it was consistent with a bullet wound that would have entered the thigh from behind. Medical professionals in Bangladesh described treating many wounds that appeared to have been caused by gunshots fired from behind matching consistent witness testimony that the military fired on Rohingya as they tried to run away.

In Chein Kar Li and Koe Tan Kauk, two neighbouring villages, Amnesty International documented the same pattern of attack by the Myanmar military.

Sona Mia, 77, said he was at home in Koe Tan Kauk when Myanmar soldiers surrounded the village and opened fire on 27 August. His 20-year-old daughter, Rayna Khatun, had a disability that left her unable to walk or speak. One of his sons put her on his shoulders, and the family slowly made its way toward the hill on the villages edge. As they heard the shooting get closer and closer, they decided they had to leave Rayna in a Rohingya house that had been abandoned.

We didnt think wed be able to make it, Sona Mia recalled. I told her to sit there, wed come back After arriving on the hill, we spotted the house where we left her. It was a bit away, but we could see. The soldiers were burning [houses], and eventually we saw that house, it was burned too.

After the military left the village in the late afternoon, Sona Mias sons went down and found Rayna Khatuns burnt body among the torched house. They dug a grave at the edge of that houses courtyard, and buried her there.

Rape and other sexual violence

Amnesty International interviewed seven Rohingya survivors of sexual violence committed by the Myanmar security forces. Of those, four women and a 15-year-old girl had been raped, each in a separate group with between two and five other women and girls who were also raped. The rapes occurred in two villages that the organization investigated: Min Gyi in Maungdaw Township and Kyun Pauk in Buthidaung Township.

As previously documented by Human Rights Watch and The Guardian, after entering Min Gyi (known locally as Tula Toli) on the morning of 30 August, Myanmar soldiers pursued Rohingya villagers who fled down to the riverbank and then separated the men and older boys from the women and younger children.

After opening fire on and executing at least scores of men and older boys, as well as some women and younger children, the soldiers took women in groups to nearby houses where they raped them, before setting fire to those houses and other Rohingya parts of the village.

S.K., 30, told Amnesty International that after watching the executions, she and many other women and younger children were taken to a ditch, where they were forced to stand in knee-deep water:

They took the women in groups to different houses. There were five of us [women], taken by four soldiers [in military uniform]. They took our money, our possessions, and then they beat us with a wooden stick. My children were with me. They hit them too. Shafi, my two-year-old son, he was hit hard with a wooden stick. One hit, and he was dead Three of my children were killed. Mohamed Osman (10) [and] Mohamed Saddiq (five) too. Other women [in the house] also had children [with them] that were killed.

All of the women were stripped nakedThey had very strong wooden sticks. They first hit us in the head, to make us weak. Then they hit us [in the vagina] with the wooden sticks. Then they raped us. A different soldier for each [woman].

After raping women and girls, the soldiers set fire to the houses, killing many of the victims inside.



On 3 October, the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) reported that it had identified 20.7 square kilometres of buildings destroyed by fire in Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships since 25 August. Even that likely underestimated the overall scale of destruction and burning, as dense cloud cover affected what the satellites were able to detect.

Amnesty Internationals own review of fire data from remote satellite sensing indicates at least 156 large fires in northern Rakhine State since 25 August, also likely to be an underestimate. In the previous five years, no fires were detected during the same period, which is also the monsoon season, strongly indicating that the burning has been intentional.

Before and after satellite images strikingly illustrate what witnesses also consistently told Amnesty International  that the Myanmar security forces only burned Rohingya villages or areas. For example, satellite images of Inn Din and Min Gyi show large swathes of structures razed by fire virtually side by side with areas that were left untouched. Distinct features of the untouched areas, combined with accounts from Rohingya residents as to where they and other ethnic communities lived in those villages, indicate that only Rohingya areas were razed.

Amnesty International has noted a similar pattern in at least a dozen more villages where Rohingya lived in close proximity to people from other ethnicities.

Given their ongoing denials, Myanmars authorities may have thought they would literally get away with murder on a massive scale. But modern technology, coupled with rigorous human rights research, have tipped the scales against them, said Tirana Hassan.



It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar. Through cutting off military cooperation, imposing arms embargoes and targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for abuses, a clear message must be sent that the militarys crimes against humanity in Rakhine State will not be tolerated.

The international community must ensure that the ethnic cleansing campaign does not achieve its unlawful, reprehensible goal. To do so, the international community must combine encouraging and supporting Bangladesh in providing adequate conditions and safe asylum to Rohingya refugees, with ensuring that Myanmar respects their human right to return safely, voluntarily and with dignity to their country and insisting that it ends, once and for all, the systematic discrimination against the Rohingya and other root causes of the current crisis.

Image: UN webiste
Image: Wallpaper

Beijing, Oct 18 (IBNS): The political fest has begun in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Wednesday morning.

The Communist Party Congress is a closed-door event where Chinese President Xi Jinping is addressing about 2000 delegates.

It takes place once every five years.

Xi, who became the President in 2012, is expected to retain his post.

Experts say that the present President is the strongest, in terms of power, the country has ever witnessed.

The congress is a week long event and decides the upcoming plans for the next term.

Following the conclusion of the congress, the Communist Party is expected to unveil the new members Politburo Standing Committee, China's top think tank and decision making body.

According to reports, Xi has vowed to eliminate any ill from the party.

Meanwhile, ahead of the party's meet, the entire capital city has been covered in Communist Party messages.

Security was also beefed up a month before the scheduled inauguration day.

In order to stop any untoward situation, the Communist Party, which is known for its zero tolerance nature towards criticism, also forced the closure of instant messaging app WhatsApp from the mainland.

On Sep 26, it was reported that Beijing had blocked instant messaging app WhatsApp in order to bolster online surveillance ahead of the upcoming Communist Party meeting.

The move came as a setback for Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, who was planning to re-enter the Chinese online market.

Image: Wallpaper
Islamabad, Oct 18 (IBNS) : At least seven policemen were killed and 22 people injured in an explosion in Quetta, provincial capital of Pakistan's Balochistan on Wednesday, Dawn reported.

According to initial reports, a roadside bomb exploded on Quetta-Sibbi road just as a police vehicle carrying 35 personnel passed the the Sariab Mill area.

The nature of the blast has yet to be ascertained.

The reported quoted Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig as having confirmed seven casualties. He said eight injured had been brought to the medical facility where emergency has been imposed.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti while condemning the attack confirmed that six policemen had lost their lives in the attack while 22 others were injured and being treated at the Civil Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta.

team from Lahore would arrive in Quetta tomorrow to help determine the cause of the blast.

"The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area," the home minister said.
Kabul, Oct 18 (IBNS): Afghanistan security forces have arrested a suicide bomber on a bicycle in capital Kabul city, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said on Wednesday.

As per officials, the suicide bomber was arrested before he could reach to a target in Chahar Asyab district.

"The timely discovery of the explosives has foiled terror attack and saved the city from an expected tragedy," read a statement issued by the MoI.

"Discoveries like this demonstrate the ever-increasing capability of Afghan National Security Forces to protect the civilians from indiscriminate IED attacks," read the statement.
Vaughan, Oct 18 (IBNS): Investigators with York Regional Police District Criminal Investigations Bureau have laid several charges against the owners and staff at an unlicensed day support centre for people with disabilities in the city of Vaughan.

In August 2017, York Regional Police began an investigation into the Hope Centre, located on Romina Drive, after a family member reported some concerns about possible abuse.

Additional victims were identified through the investigation.

On October 13, 2017, York Regional Police executed a search warrant at the Hope Centre and arrested the owner, her son and her husband, who all worked at the centre.

The investigation is ongoing.

Investigators want to ensure that there are no additional victims and are urging anyone with information to please come forward.

Rosalina Panetta, 47, of city of Vaughan, has been charged for failing to provide necessaries of life, assaulting and being fraud.

Onofiro Defina, 27, of city of Vaughan, has been charged for failing to provide necessaries of life, forcible confinement and assault.

Charges for assault has been laid on Giuseppe Morana, 41, of Kleinberg.
Ottawa, Oct 18 (IBNS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has conveyed Diwali greetings on Twitter, saying "Diwali Mubarak", which drew several reactions from the users of the social networking site for the choice of his words.

Trudeau, a day ago, shared a picture on Twitter where he was seen wearing a black sherwani and lighting a lamp to celebrate the festival.

Wishing millions of his followers, the Prime Minister said: "Diwali Mubarak! We're celebrating in Ottawa tonight. #HappyDiwali!"

However, many Twitter users reacted to the use of the word 'Mubarak', which has an Arabic origin.

Kunal B referred to US President Donald Trump to criticise Trudeau, as he said:"It is not fine to wish #DiwaliMubarak . Even Trump said Happy Diwali. This is not islamic festival."

Asking the Canadian PM to correct the word, Bhavesh K Pandey tweeted: "It's not "Diwali Mubarak", it's "Diwali Ki Badhai" ... Correct it .."

It's not "Diwali Mubarak", it's "Diwali Ki Badhai" ... Correct it ..  Bhavesh K Pandey (@bhaveshkpandey) October 17, 2017

Abinayah Raguraam said: "Thank you, Mr.PM. Its good to hear from a global icon. But it's either 'subh deewali' (Hindhi) or deepavali Vazhthukal(Tamil)."

Thank you, Mr.PM. Its good to hear from a global icon. But it's either 'subh deewali' (Hindhi) or deepavali Vazhthukal(Tamil).  Abinayah Raguraam (@AbinayahR) October 17, 2017

However, some people even thought the criticism was not at necessary as they were fine with the word "Mubarak".

Supporting the PM, Anita Singh said: "You don't know what you are talking about #DiwaliMubarak is just fine. opposition to the phrase is just political posturing."

You don't know what you are talking about #DiwaliMubarak is just fine. opposition to the phrase is just political posturing  Anita Singh (@bisu) October 18, 2017

Uma Subramanian raised a logical question, saying: "Mr. @JustinTrudeau Thank You for your wishes on Diwali! I hope that common sense prevails over politicisation & polarisation #DiwaliMubarak."

Mr. @JustinTrudeau Thank You for your wishes on Diwali! I hope that common sense prevails over politicisation & polarisation #DiwaliMubarak  Uma Subramanian (@UMAS1) October 18, 2017

Trudeau has been very active in celebrating Indian festivals.

He was also seen to be present at the celebration of Indian Independence Day in August this year.



(Reporting by Souvik Ghosh)

Image: Twitter/@JustinTrudeau
Tribes step up in times of disaster

By Kevin Abourezk

As wildfires threatened lives and homes in northern California, one tribe raced by boat to stand beside firefighters and opened its doors to those displaced by the flames.

A Red Cross official thanked the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians on Tuesday for helping those affected by wildfires that have killed 41 people and destroyed 5,700 homes and businesses.

Chele Rider, a division disaster state relations director for the American Red Cross, said the the tribe allowed the Red Cross to use its Twin Pine Casino Event Center as a primary shelter for displaced fire victims. Well, most of the time, she joked.

Its a fantastic partnership, Rider said during a breakout session at the National Congress of American Indians annual conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tribes are always very generous with us, until its time for the concert to start, then they say, Go somewhere else.

Several Pomo tribal citizens were evacuated but none lost their homes to wildfires, Rider said.

Other California tribes also welcomed people displaced by the wildfires, including the Graton Rancheria , which closed its casino to guests to make room for fire victims and has pledged $1 million for support efforts. The Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians opened its event center and camping facilities to evacuees

Indianz.Com Video by Kevin Abourezk: Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians Steps Up

In recent weeks, tribes across the nation have felt the impact of natural disasters  hurricanes, floods and fires. Indian Country has stepped up to help those in need.

"When one tribe is impacted, we all are impacted," Jackie Pata, the executive director of NCAI, said on Monday as the organization opened its 74th annual convention.

Some tribes, however, have struggled to get adequate federal support after being stricken by natural disasters.

A citizen of the United Houma Nation criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday for being unwilling to help his tribe after it was impacted by hurricanes due to its lack of federal recognition. The tribe is recognized by the state of Louisiana.

As a Congressionally-chartered, non-governmental institution, Red Cross can serve any community, regardless of its federal status, Rider said. The lack of a federal disaster declaration doesnt prevent Red Cross officials from helping tribes in need, either, she noted.

The declaration doesnt change anything, she said. We do the same thing from start to finish that we normally do.

The United Pomo National Council has established a fire disaster relief fund for the Pomo tribes in Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties north of San Francisco. To help, send checks payable to the United Pomo National Council to: 7601 N. State St., Redwood Valley, CA 95470, in care of Ghazal Mahdavian.

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After 44 women accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, Lena Headey, known for portraying Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, has become the latest actress to report the same.

reuters

The 44-year-old took to her Twitter handle and expressed that she "felt completely powerless," when she met the movie mogul.

Headey wrote, "The first time I met Harvey Weinstein was at The Venice Film Festival. The Brothers Grimm was showing there, (during shooting I was subjected to endless bullying by the director Terry Gilliam).

reuters

At one point Harvey asked me to take a walk down to the water, I walked down with him and he stopped and made some suggestive comment, a gesture, I just laughed it off, I was genuinely shocked. I remember thinking, 'It's got to be a joke.' I said something like, 'Oh come on mate?! It'd be like kissing my dad! Let's go get a drink, get back to the others.' I was never in any other Miramax film."

"The next time was in LA. Years later. I had always carried the thought that he'd never try anything with me again, not after I'd laughed and said, "never in a million years." I believed that he respected my boundary and maybe he wanted to talk about potential work. He asked me to meet for breakfast. We ate breakfast, we talked about films, filmmaking," it added.

"He asked me a few questions about the state of my love life. I shifted the conversation back to something less personal. Then he went to the loo. He came back and said, 'Let's go up to the room, I want to give you a script.'

reuters

We walked to the lift and the energy shifted. My whole body went into high alert. The lift was going up and I said to Harvey, 'I'm not interested in anything other than work, please don't think I got in here with your any other reason, nothing is going to happen.' I don't know what possessed me to speak out at that moment, only that I had such a strong sense of 'don't come near me," it added.

"He was silent after I spoke, furious. We got out of the lift and walked to his room. His hand was on my back, he was marching me forward, not a word. I felt completely powerless, he tried his key card and it didn't work. Then he got really angry.

He walked me back to the lift, through the hotel to the valet, by grabbing and holding tightly to the back of my arm. He paid for my car and whispered in my ear, 'Don't tell anyone about this, not your manager, not your agent.' I got into my car and I cried," the post concluded.

Headey joins more than two dozen women - including Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd and Angelina Jolie - who have come forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape in the wake of two damning exposes uncovering decades of his alleged misconduct.

Weinstein - who has denied any allegations of nonconsensual sex - has since been fired by the Weinstein Company and expelled from the Academy.
Diwali is here. Office parties are over and traffic has smoothed. The lights are up and the sweets are prepared. The auspiciousness of the festival of lights is upon us, once again, as we ready ourselves to observe a safe, cracker-free Diwali.

And as India celebrates Diwali with unifying fervor, traditions and flavours vary from region to region. Heres a glimpse at how Diwali is celebrated differently across the country.

1. Varanasi

reuters

The holy land of Varanasi celebrates Dev Deepavali, known as the Diwali of the Gods. It is believed that the gods and goddesses visit the Earth to take a dip in river Ganga. Devotees offer their prayers and diyas to goddess Ganga. Diyas and rangolis adorn the ghats while the pandits perform the grand Ganga aarti. This year, Dev Deepavali falls on November 3, 2017.

2. Bihar

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Diwali is celebrated with a lot of fervor in Bihar. The festival is spread across five days, like most North Indian states, which begins with Dhanteras, followed by Choti Diwali, Lakshmi Pujan, Govardhan Puja, and finally culminates in Bhai Dooj. Diwali is celebrated with the lighting of diyas and bursting crackers.

3. Kolkata

bccl

The Bengali Kali Puja is also called Shayma Puja which takes place at night as per the Tantric Hindu traditions. Worshippers give hibiscus flowers, fish, meat, and several other offerings to Goddess Kali. Kalighat and Dakshineswar temples in Kolkata are famous for organising Kali Puja.

4. Assam

reuters

Diwali is Assam is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. People make rangolis, light diyas, and decorate their doorways with garlands made of mango leaves and marigolds. The celebration spans over five days like how Diwali is observed in other parts of India. The Assamese worship Goddess Kali and Lakshmi and observe Bhi Duj.

5. Gujarat

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Diwali marks the end of the year of Gujaratis. On the following day of the festival, the people of Gujarat celebrate Bestu Varas, also known as the New Years Day. The festival begins with Vaag Baras, followed by Dhanteras, Kali Chaudash, Diwali, Bestu Varas, and Bhai Bij.

6. Punjab

afp

For the Punjabis, Diwali marks the arrival of winters. While Punjabi Hindus worship Goddess Lakshmi, Sikhs also celebrate the festival at gurudwaras. The festival of Diwali coincides with the Sikh festival of Bandi Chhor Diwas which is celebrated in a manner like Diwali with the lighting of homes and gurudwaras, feasting, gifting, and bursting crackers.

7. Maharashtra

ap

Diwali celebrations in Maharashtra begin with Vasu Baras which is held in honour of cows. Dhanteras assumes the name of Dhanatrayodashi where people honour the ancient doctor, Dhanvantari. Choti Diwali is called Narak Chatudarshi. On Diwali, Maharashtrians also pray to Goddess Lakshmi. Maharashtrians also observe Diwali Cha Padva, where the love of a husband and a wife is celebrated. The festival ends with Bhav Bij and Tusli Vivah marks the beginning of marriages.

8. Odisha

ap

Diwali celebrations in Odisha find their roots in trial traditions. The people perform the ritual of Kauriya Kathi which involves the worship of ancestors in heaven. Jute sticks are burned to call upon their ancestors on the auspicious occasion of Diwali to bless the families and wish them luck for their work.

9. Madhya Pradesh

afp

The state celebrates the festival with diyas, decorations, and lights. Markets remain open at nights on Dhanteras. On Diwali, people make the offering of traditional sweets such as balushais, khasta, and doughnuts without holes. For business communities, Diwali marks the beginning of the New Year. The Baiga and Gond tribes perform traditional dances to celebrate the festival.

10. Goa

the goa villa

In Goa, Diwali is celebrated in honour of Lord Krishna who beat the demon, Narkasur. On this day, people in Goa and several parts of South India smear coconut oil on themselves to absolve themselves of sin - a practice similar to pilgrims taking a dip in the holy river Ganga, in North India.

11. Tamil Nadu

reuters

The Tamils celebrate Diwali like North Indians but their unique traditions add more colour to the festival of lights. They light kuthu vilaku (lamp) and offer naivedhya to the gods. They also prepare a special medicine called Deepavali Lehiyam, which is then taken by their families. They also perform the Pithru Tharpanam Puja to appease their ancestors.

Happy Diwali!
The obsession of having a son has made a family from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh to turn monsters and kill their neighbour's daughter. Satish Singh, his wife Nimta, father Kabol Singh and the tantrik Vriksh Pal were arrested on Monday for murdering four-year-old Akshita.

CAP

According to reports, Akshita went missing from her house in Janakpuri under mysterious circumstances on October 1.

Two days later, her body was recovered from a nearby pond with her and her legs, arms and a ear chopped off.

CAP

Police said Satish had abducted the girl with the help of his wife and father after the tantrik promised them that sacrificing a girl will fulfil their desire of having a son.

The couple have four daughters and a son, but the latter died 18-months after his birth. Satish said that he was desperate to have a son and that made him take the extreme step.
In a new reform, the Kerala Information and Public Relations Department's internal circular states that all official communication from now on needs to avoid the use of "Dalit" and "Harijan".

Kerala Information and PR Dept internal circular directs to avoid use of words 'Dalit' and 'Harijan' in communications  ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2017

The order has been passed on the directions of Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) Chairman Justice PN Vijayakumar.

Also read: Kerala Temple Breaks Tradition, Appoints 36 Non-Brahmins Including Six Dalits As Priests

successfullady

According to the reports, the move has been shaped to denounce casteism and the growing influence of discrimination through these words. It aims to reduce the prejudices on the grounds of caste in Kerala.

Furthermore, another word "Keezhalar" has been banned, which was used to refer to scheduled communities.

Also read: 14-YO Dalit Girl Found With Slit Throat After Being Raped In Uttar Pradesh Village

justice-network

Following the orders, the Dalit community has spoken against it and said that these words are only part of official communication and won't uplift the community otherwise. They are saying that the people still hold certain prejudices.

The term Dalit is used as a translation for the British Raj census classification of Depressed Classes prior to 1935.

Also read: Gujarat Dalits Who Were Flogged For Skinning Dead Cows, Demand Land And Jobs
India can help the US keep an eye on Pakistan as President Donald Trump has "taken a tougher approach to Islamabad harbouring terrorists", US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said.

bccl/representational image

Noting that Trump recently announced a new strategy for combating terrorism in Afghanistan and South Asia, Haley said one of the pillars of that strategy is the development of America's strategic partnership with India.

"America's overriding interest in Afghanistan and throughout South Asia are to eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten us. And to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, we will use all the elements of our national power economic diplomatic and military to pursue these goals," she said.

bccl/representational image

Critically we will look to our economic and security partnerships with India, she added.

In her address to an event organised by US India Friendship Council, Haley said Trump has taken a "tougher approach to Pakistan harbouring terrorists."

"Pakistan has been a partner to the US at times. We value and respect that. But, we cannot tolerate this government or any other government giving safe haven to terrorists who target Americans. This new approach will require understanding and restraint from both Pakistan and India," she said.

afp/representational image

The US, she said, is looking at India to help US more in Afghanistan particularly in economic and development assistance.

India has already made important contributions to the stability of Afghanistan.

"We are really going to need India's help in Afghanistan. They are the good neighbours and partner that we have in the region," she said.

"So, having them help not only with infrastructure and the aide that they can give towards rebuilding Afghanistan, (They can) also help us to keep an eye on Pakistan," Haley said.

"That is going to be really important in making sure that we hold them accountable because we are at a point where we kind of laid the groundwork that we need to see better partnership from Pakistan. We can't continue to see them harboring the terrorists. We have to see something change. India is going to witnessing that. India is going to help us with that," Haley said in response to a question.

ap/representational image

The Trump administration is hoping to expand India's contribution in Afghanistan through a deep partnership, she said.

The partnership between India and America is strong and getting stronger because it is rooted in a shared belief in hard work education family and achievement, she said.

"President Trump said when he hosted Prime Minister Modi on his visit to the US in June that, India has a true friend in the US and it is a friendship based on shared values," Haley said.
People in parts of the UAE were awestruck on Monday night, when they saw what looked like a meteor blazing across the sky. As it turns out, what they saw was something else entirely.

File Photo - Reuters

Dubai was actually witnessing the planned destruction of parts of an unmanned Russian cargo spaceship, the Progress MS-07, after it delivered equipment and supplies to astronauts on board the International Space Station.

As such, the fireball shouldnt have been a surprise to the UAE, as the spacecraft burned up in the Earths atmosphere. But details of the planned incident, which lasted around 80 seconds in the skies of Dubai, were not publicly announced. Onlookers perhaps even feared the worst considering that it's a region where Iran regularly test-fires missiles and Shiite rebels still fight in nearby Yemen. It took even the local government more than a day to correct its initial statements, which claimed the object was a meteor.

It was quite visible for the public, Hasan Ahmad al-Hariri, the CEO of the Dubai Astronomy Group, told The Associated Press. Its not something you see every day. It was beautiful to see that thing up in the sky, disintegrating into pieces.
Just last week, as part of a casual conversation on Twitter, Elon Musk pledged to put a couple of Tesla projects on hold in order to help with aid efforts in Puerto Rico after it was ravaged by Hurricane Maria.

In talks with governor Ricardo Rossello, Musk agreed to help rebuild the islands power grid from the ground up using his companys (SolarCity) solar power technology. Now, it looks like hes already taken the first steps in that direction.

Tesla has reportedly just begun shipping its Powerpacks to the island; massive solar batteries that store solar power for both commercial and utility use. These are different from the companys hundreds of Powerwall packs sent to Puerto Rico immediately after the storm, which are smaller batteries meant to store solar power generated by individual homes.

The approximately 1,6000 kg Powerpacks are capable of storing up to 210 kWh of solar power and were previously used in Teslas sustainable power grid experiments on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and American Samoan island of Tau.

In addition, Musk has also sent certified employees to help install the batteries and has pledged to have other engineers train locals to install and maintain the Powerwall units. This is being done in order to avoid anyone establishing a profiteering monopoly on the aid efforts.
When youre the victim of a vengeful ex, one that looks to get their revenge by posting intimate photos or videos of you online, it can be quite a task to get them taken down. Major pornographic websites may respond to your requests, though you can bet youre going to have to file a police complaint before the smaller ones even talk to you. Even social media websites are notorious for taking their own time to peruse and act on the evidence.

Now, it looks like at least one country is taking steps to cut down on this form of abuse, by escalating the matter to the national level. Australias government is looking to make the process of removing revenge porn easier by launching a national portal to report these instances.

The portal will allow victims to report revenge porn online, as well as to receive immediate support in a way that was previously unavailable. The government is currently carrying out a pilot phase to determine just how complex the project will be, and what volume of reports theyre likely to receive, before officially launching the portal early next year.

Approximately $3.84 million has been invested in the portals development, as part of an overall $8 million pledge to tackle illegal porn in the country. Indeed, state governments in the region have also been hard at work changing their laws to criminalise pornographic images distributed without the participants consent.
The next big step in space exploration is a mission to Mars, both government and private aerospace companies across the world agree on that. But to do that, were going to need a stop off point for rockets launched from Earth, for which the Moon looks like a great option.

In order to help things along, one aerospace company wants to put an inflatable space habitat into orbit around the Moon.

Bigelow Aerospace, a private company solely devoted to manufacturing inflatable space habitats, says it wants to put one of its modules near the Moon within the next five years. The B330 module is a standalone habitat capable of functioning autonomously as a space station, and the company wants it to be a space where astronauts can undergo further training, and private companies can test any new technology they design.

Our lunar depot plan is a strong complement to other plans intended to eventually put people on Mars, Bigelow Aerospace president Robert Bigelow said in a public statement. It will provide NASA and America with an exciting and financially practical success opportunity that can be accomplished in the short term.

To achieve its goal, Bigelow Aerospace is looking to launch the B330 from the United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket, expected to begin missions in 2019. Once put into lower-Earth orbit, the B330 will stay in space for a year as a working proof-of-concept, during which time the company expects to have a rotating crew that changes every few months.

After that, the ULA will launch two more Vulcan rockets, whose advanced upper stages will be dropped into orbit near the B330 and then be used to propel it to the Moon.

Bigelow Aerospace hopes to have their habitat in place by late 2020, to facilitate either further missions to the Moon or travel to Mars.
Triple Digit Rally in Cotton Futures Barchart - 7 minutes ago Triple Digit Rally in Cotton Futures Midday cotton prices are trading with gains of as much as 366 points so far. That has the board back up from the wea start to the week. USDAs weekly Crop Progress... CTZ22 : 89.02 (+4.39%) CTH23 : 87.41 (+4.53%) CTK23 : 86.18 (+4.46%)

Hogs Bouncing through Tuesday Barchart - 7 minutes ago Front month lean hog futures are trading $0.67 to $1.52 through midday. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price for Tuesday morning was $0.91 stronger to $84.45. The CME Lean Hog Index was $88.63 on 11/10,... HEZ22 : 85.350 (+0.56%) HEJ23 : 95.475 (+1.17%) KMZ22 : 95.900 (+0.24%)

Cattle Market Mixed on Tuesday Barchart - 7 minutes ago So far the cattle market is back up by 10 cents to $1.20. Feeders are down by $0.72 to $1.40 at midday. USDA mentioned the weeks bulk price was mostly $150 in the South and $153 in the North. USDAs... LEZ22 : 151.850 (+0.18%) LEG23 : 153.675 (+0.74%) LEJ23 : 157.250 (+0.53%) GFX22 : 176.250 (-0.40%) GFF23 : 177.950 (-0.84%)

Red Tuesday for Wheat Futures Barchart - 7 minutes ago Midday wheat prices are down by 8 3/4 to 9 cents in Chicago. HRW futures are down 3 to 6 cents so far. MGE HRS prices are working 1 1/2 to 3 3/4 cents. USDAs weekly Crop Progress data had 96% of the... ZWZ22 : 810-0 (-1.04%) ZWH23 : 830-2 (-0.95%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.4324 (-1.13%) KEZ22 : 953-4 (-0.29%) KEPAWS.CM : 9.1179 (-0.30%) MWZ22 : 961-0 (-0.21%)

Gains in Soybean Market Barchart - 7 minutes ago So far the soy futures market is up 5 1/2 to 6 cents so far. Meal futures are trading $0.50 to $1.90 in the black. BO futures are trading 12 to 20 points higher. USDA announced a private export sale of... ZSF23 : 1446-0 (+0.38%) ZSPAUS.CM : 14.1741 (+0.41%) ZSH23 : 1450-4 (+0.40%) ZSK23 : 1457-0 (+0.41%)

Corn In Black at Midday Barchart - 7 minutes ago Midday corn prices are fractionally to 2 1/4 cents in the black so far for Tuesday. The USDA announced a private corn sale of 230,185 MT to Mexico this morning. Barchart announced their corn production... ZCZ22 : 660-0 (+0.42%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.5996 (+0.50%) ZCH23 : 661-2 (+0.30%) ZCK23 : 660-4 (+0.30%)

Arabica Tumbles on Prospects of Robust Coffee Supplies Barchart - 18 minutes ago December arabica coffee (KCZ22 ) this morning is down -9.25 (-5.57%), and Jan ICE Robusta coffee (RMF23 ) is down -21 (-1.15%). Coffee prices this morning are sharply lower, with arabica falling to a 16-month... KCH23 : 159.80 (-4.25%) RMF23 : 1,799 (-1.37%)
Specials Magyi Khon Nang Wants Justice

Magyi Khon Nang, wife of Labya Naw Hkum. (The Irrawaddy)

An ethnic Kachin woman in faded clothes, carrying a small baby, entered the compound of the Myanmar Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 319 in Kachin States Mansi Township.

She came to attend a military court hearing and to seek justice for her late husband who was killed before she gave birth to their last child, who is now three months old.

In 2014, Magyi Khon Nang fled clashes between the Tatmadaw and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) along with her husband Labya Naw Hkum from their village Kaung Kha in Mansi Township, to a camp for displaced persons in Mai Hkaung Village.

On May 25 this year, Labya Naw Hkum left home to work as a day laborer as usual. But he never came back. He was one of three displaced civilians arrested, killed and buried in the jungle by a column of LIB 319 soldiers on their way home.

Six soldiers are thought to be responsible for the killings. Magyi Khon Nang was at LIB 319, at the companys invitation, to attend the trial at a military court for the case.

I want justice. To recompense for my loss and sorrow, I wish [the soldiers responsible] to be handed life imprisonment, said Magyi Khon Nang as she went red in the face.

Soothing the whimpering baby in her hands the mother of three said: I was eight months pregnant when her father died. I had difficulties to go to the hospital and had to give birth at my home, she said.

That day, [my husband] said he would do some casual jobs. I remember that he was wearing a shirt with a peace logo given by the camp, and carrying a bag made from a rice bag given by the World Food Program (WFP). He told the children that he would find money and come back home in the evening, she recounted.

My three kids dont have anyone to call Dad as their Dad is dead now, she said, wiping away the tears.

Labya Naw Hkum, 27, together with friends Nhkum Gam Aung, 31 and Maram Brang Seng, 22 went to work as day laborers to carry logs at Hkapra Yang, some five miles from the camp in Mai Hkaung Village.

On their way back home, they were killed and buried in the jungle, some four miles from Mai Hkaung Village by a column of LIB 319 soldiers on patrol.

Laphai Nan Ban, mother of Maran Brang Seng, said: He got the job to carry logs. Sometimes he got 5,000 kyats a day, and sometimes 10,000 kyats. He gave the money to us, which we used on food and healthcare.

WFP has been providing foods to displaced persons camps in Kachin State for years, but since the end of 2016, it has reduced food rations.

In Mai Hkaung Camp where Laphai Nan Ban and Magyi Khon Nang are sheltering, a person only gets some 10 kilograms of rice, oil and 2,500 kyats (less than US$2) for a whole month, which has forced the men to do casual jobs to cover household expenses.

Maram Roi Ja, wife of Nhkum Gam Aung, said: He was the only breadwinner in my family. Now I am the one left to support our family. I am very depressed. I cant do anything.

Both Maran Brang Seng and Nhkum Gam Aung are survived by their two-year-old children.

Witnesses told us that a military column arrested and killed our husbands. Then we looked for their bodies together with community elders. We found them on May 28, said Wahgyi Seng Mai, wife of Maram Brang Seng.

My sons body was carried on a truck to the cemetery in the evening [after it was uncovered]. I was so sad and I didnt care about the rotten smell or the feeling of nausea. Others were covering their noses with their hands and tried to move away, but I didnt want to, said Maran Brang Sengs mother Laphai Nan Ban.

I wanted to go near him and hug him but they did not allow me to go near him. I could see him clearly. His face was decomposing and some parts of it were torn apart.

Her son was the only breadwinner in her five-member family, and she had no idea what to do to survive, she said.

Camp organizers and community elders then sent the bodies to Mansi Hospital and filed a complaint with Mansi Township police station along with autopsy results.

According to autopsy results, the three had sustained gunshots, knife wounds, skull fractures, and bursting eyes.

On May 30, the Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a statement that an investigation would be carried out into their deaths. The LIB also made an internal investigation.

Six soldiers, including a battalion commander and three captains, have been charged with the murder.

Three captains, a lance corporal and a private are charged with several provisions of the military act equivalent to the charges of murder, aiding and abetting, and ordering murder in the Penal Code.

The commander is charged with murder and making a false report.

The military court heard testimony from camp organizers of Mai Hkaung, the village administrator of Mai Hkaung village and police of Mansi Township before hearing from the soldiers.

LIB 319 on Sept. 15 invited the families of victims, Kachin civil society organizations and reporters to attend the court hearing. The Irrawaddy attended on Sept. 18.

Three colonels were acting as judges at the military court, and the accused soldiers took oath that they would testify the truth.

According to their testimony, they met and arrested La Nan who was carrying illicit drugs and around 4 million kyats with him before they encountered three civilians who they also arrested.

One of the captains later released La Nan for fear that seeing a drug pusher together with their column would give rise to misunderstanding. The private was ordered to guard the three arrested civilians. One of them died due to unintentional discharge, according to the testimony.

La Nan informed the victims families about their arrest after he was released, otherwise their bodies could not have been retrieved, said Laphai Nan Ban.

Because of La Nan, we came to know that my son was killed by soldiers. Otherwise, there wont be any evidence and wed not have known where they were buried, she said.

La Nan did not appear at the court for testimony, however, since no one knows where he lives.

Captains testified that they informed the death of a civilian to the commander by phone, and the commander implied killing all three of them because the area is supposed to be a prohibited area for civilians.

It is no mans land, no mans land area. Kill all three. If you are clever enough, you can even shift the blame, the commander was quoted as saying by the captains.

The commander instructed them to bury the bodies carefully in order to avoid people discovering them, testified the captains. And the commander also falsely reported to the senior officers that the three were accidentally shot as they attempted to grab the guns.

The military court heard the case in one day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for lunch and short breaks. During the lunch break, some soldiers were babysitting the baby girl of Magyi Khon Nang.

A military officer of LIB 319 told The Irrawaddy: They [soldiers] have got their salaries cut since the trial begun.

This was the first time officials of Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), which is helping displaced persons in Kachin State, local Kachin civil society organizations (CSOs) and media were allowed to attend a military trial over the deaths of Kachin civilians since renewed clashes broke out in Kachin State over six years ago.

Victims families and Kachin CSOs, however, doubt if fitting penalties will be imposed on the perpetrators.

So far were satisfied with the court hearing. But well have to wait and see what the final verdict will be, said La Ja of KBC.

Officials of LIB 319 have reported the testimonies to the upper level, and are waiting for the verdict.

If soldiers are sentenced to less than one year in prison, they will be kept in a cell at the military camp. If they are sentenced to more than one year, they will be sent to a civilian prison, in this case Bhamo Prison, said a military officer.

Service personneleither the rank and file or officersautomatically become civilians if they are jailed more than one year, he said.

The widows of the three slain civilians said they feel like their life is now hopeless, having to assume the responsibility to raise their children alone.

If they are to be punished, they deserve it because they killed our husbands. But, for me and my children, weve lost our whole life. We can get nothing back, said Magyi Khon Nang.
Wednesday, Oct 18th, 2017 (5:14 pm) - Score 2,363

Consumer magazine PC Pro has published the latest results from their annual 2017 Awards event, which once again  for the 14th consecutive time  saw Zen Internet scoop the win for Best ISP (AAISP was the runner-up) and also Best Web Host (Tsohost was the runner-up).

Apparently Zen topped the ratings in three of the four judging criteria (note: around 6,000 readers were surveyed), scoring 98% for customer support, 97% for reliability, 91% for speed and 88% for value for money, which is said to have put them well ahead of big providers like Sky Broadband, BT and TalkTalk.

Andrew Fryatt, Zens MD for Small Business and Residential, said: We are delighted to be named PC Pros Best Broadband provider and Best Web Host. To win these awards is extremely satisfying because they are voted for by customers. This is a tremendous endorsement that our customers are happy with the service they are receiving, but they can rest assured that we dont take such recognition for granted. We owe our customers a huge thanks for their continuing support, and we will continually strive to improve the service we provide them.

Sadly PC Pro has not revealed the full results for each ISP or detailed how the scoring was conducted. The awards are usually based on feedback from readers of the magazine, although its not stated how many respondents were involved or which other ISPs were included. Last year saw TalkTalk come bottom on 55%.
Sydney-based security firm TokenOne claims its patented authentication technology is one-of-a-kind and is unique in the way it operates, giving the company a market advantage since it has no like rivals.

The company's chief technology officer and co-founder, Kamil Kreiser, told iTWire during an interview that as far as he was aware there were no competitors which used similar technology.

"Our patented technology protects the users secret PIN (knowledge factor) so that the users PIN is never entered, transferred or stored anywhere, except in the users memory, making the users secret PIN safe from capture and compromise," he explained.

Kreiser (below, right) describes himself as "a technology entrepreneur and inventor at heart with multiple exits and some failures under his belt".

He said TokenOnes core focus was on securing the "something you know" in authentication as an alternative to passwords.

"The company has been able to develop a solution that allows a user to prove they know a secret without ever revealing it (achieving a zero-knowledge password proof), without the use of an algorithm or the need to store the users secret PIN anywhere except in that users memory  this is unique and a significant advancement for security generally," he claimed.

He said the breakthrough had been recognised both through market traction (with key deployments with legal, financial and government sites) and when TokenOne became the first Australian company to be selected for a US National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence consortium project.

Apart from his technical expertise, Kreiser has spent more than 15 years as a business consultant in the development and implementation of growth strategies for SME, corporate and international clients, including Suncorp, AWA, Flight Centre, DC Strategy, Darrell Lea, Gizmo, Xpresso Delight, Pie Face and many others. He was interviewed by email.

iTWire; Can you describe, in layman's language, the security model adopted for the TokenOne technology?

Kamil Kreiser: Cyber crime is increasing at a dramatic pace and has now significantly overtaken the illegal drug trade as a revenue generator for criminal organisations. More problematically, with a US$3 trillion global cost in 2015 and a projected US$6 trillion cost in 2021, the number of attacks is only predicted to grow.

At the core of these attacks is the theft and re-use of weak and compromised passwords. The 2017 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report states that 81% of all data breaches are a result of theft and re-use of weak or stolen passwords.

The issue with passwords is not only that weve got far too many and either write them down, re-use them or just forget them. But the real problem is you have to reveal your password (by typing it into a computer or speaking over the phone) which makes the password vulnerable to theft and re-use. Sounds obvious, but no one ever thinks of it that way because theres never been any alternative  till now.

TokenOnes patented technology ensures you never enter, reveal or transmit your secret TokenOne PIN. And uniquely, its never stored anywhere either, except in your memory. This means no-one can determine your secret PIN to steal your identity and impersonate you. Not a hacker, or TokenOne or even a rogue employee of the service youre trying to access.

This new approach to dealing with secrets, or the Knowledge Factor in authentication security (the "something you know"), not only makes the TokenOne solution extremely secure but also allows TokenOne to be implemented alongside existing and emerging technologies, like biometrics, as a way of strengthening the overall solution.

In what way is it superior to using, say an RSA token and generating an authentication code for each transaction?

RSA, as well as other authentication solutions, complement their algorithmically generated OTP with a password to ensure that the authentication is done by the registered user and not merely someone who had access to that device or algorithmically generated code.

Passwords are now recognised as the weakest link in the authentication solution chain as the password is a credential that can be compromised and re-used by a hacker. Solutions that complement their authentication mechanism with a password, therefore, have a potential inherit flaw in that authentication chain.

The ultimate goal with any knowledge factor, whether a complement to another factor or as a stand alone solution, is to have a zero-knowledge password proof  a way for the user to prove they know their secret knowledge factor without ever revealing it. TokenOne achieves this through its patented approach and secures the knowledge factor in a way that cannot be compromised.

TokenOne is unique when compared to other authentication solutions like RSA tokens (both hardware and software versions) because:

TokenOne is not based on an algorithm This ensures that TokenOne is not vulnerable to someone cracking an algorithm and compromising multiple accounts and all the reliant services.

With TokenOne, the users secret PIN is never revealed. TokenOne is a "Zero Knowledge Password Proof" which simply means I can prove to you that I know my TokenOne PIN, and therefore it definitely is me (a crucial difference to RSA tokens) BUT without revealing my PIN to you so you cant steal and re-use it to impersonate me to commit fraud and identity theft.

Scalable deployments are often dependent on users being able to self-create their PIN and manage their account on an ongoing basis. While many clients choose to manage the process of deployment, TokenOne also allows full self-management of the account by the user following rules of identity verification and provisioning set by the organisation.

How do organisations like banks or finance companies react when you approach them (assuming you have) about taking up the TokenOne technology?

Escalating incidences of mass data breaches, and media coverage of them, are driving increasing legal obligations on organisations to protect private and confidential user data (employees and customers). As a result, the appreciation for the need for strong authentication, rather than just weak passwords, is increasing correspondingly.

Organisations that understand the principles which underpin TokenOnes approach to protecting the "something you know or "Knowledge Factor" in authentication security are excited about the possibility of deploying a solution that (a) keeps the bad guys (hackers) out and (b) ensures authorised users can be held legally and provably accountable for what they do and what they access where confidential, private or sensitive information is concerned.

Does having an smartphone app as an intermediary not add one more step in the process which can be exploited? Especially since you cater to Android and Windows as well?

TokenOne is based on tried and tested "One-Time Pad" principles from the Cold War and before. One-Time Pad is the only universally accepted form of uncrackable encryption used by spies and the intelligence community for decades for highly secure covert communications. At its core, what we have done is to take One-Time Pad principles and apply them to user authentication (proving you are you) rather than secure messaging.

To do the one-time pad, that used to be a code book, is now the TokenOne app on a smartphone. However, the users secret PIN is not stored on that phone (or in the TokenOne server) so an attack on the users TokenOne app wont reveal the users PIN to the hacker.

You have mentioned three factors on your website to explain the tech: the knowledge factor, the possession factor and the inherence factor. Can you elaborate on these three?

In authentication security there are three categories or "factors" of authentication that can be used to prove you are you in various scenarios such as logging in to a secure website, transacting, confirming identity over the phone or accessing an ATM or physical space (e.g. an office or secure space):

Something you have (the possession factor)  possession of a physical device like a smartphone or hardware token (e.g. RSA Tokens);

Something you are (the inherence factor)  a biometric such as fingerprint, face or voice; and

Something you know (the knowledge factor)  prior to TokenOne this was weak and insecure passwords that dont change from one authentication challenge to the next so that, if compromised, can be re-used.

TokenOnes focus is to revolutionise the Knowledge Factor to enable the user to prove knowledge of their secret PIN (knowledge factor) without ever having to reveal it.

Importantly "two-factor authentication" or "three-factor authentication" require a combination of these factors (e.g. a biometric and knowledge of a PIN) never two or three of the same factor (e.g. not two physical devices or three biometrics).

As a result, TokenOne actually complements biometrics and hardware devices, rather than competing with them in some way, to provide very high security solutions as required by our clients.

Are there other companies that have similar technology and compete in your space?

Not as far as we are aware. TokenOnes patented technology is unique in the way it protects the users secret PIN (knowledge factor) so that the users PIN is never entered, transferred or stored anywhere, except in the users memory, making the users secret PIN safe from capture and compromise.

Under what circumstances could your authentication system be broken by an attacker?

Organisations around the world spend vast amounts of money on firewalls, VPNs, data encryption and intrusion prevention technologies. However, if the wrong person (a hacker) can pretend to be the right person (the authorised user) they can circumvent all the data protection systems and simply walk in the front door. This is why TokenOne is such a profoundly important technology.

Similarly, if vulnerabilities exist in the data protection systems, the strongest forms of authentication security like TokenOne wont be able to prevent hackers accessing that data if they can find a side door to circumvent the need to authenticate themselves.

Why is your company still so low-key? Is it that you are not big-noters or are you waiting to see how things go before making a little more noise about what you have to sell?

Rather than focusing on promotion of the TokenOne brand, we enable our partners, such as software vendors and managed service providers, to white-label our technology and go to market with their own branded products.

How did you come to be selected by the US National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence to be part of a consortium to tackle ID theft and fraud?

In September 2016 our chief executive, Phil Cuff, was invited to present at a high-level cyber-security event at Pentagon City just outside Washington DC. The audience included senior US military and intelligence community personnel as well as cyber security professors and experts from around the world. Cuff was asked to present A One-Time Pad for the Digital Age and why TokenOne is in the national interest of the United States and other countries.

As a result of this presentation we were then invited to present to the team from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) at the US National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in Rockville, Maryland.

Any moves to market your technology in China or India?

TokenOne believes there is a universal benefit for both companies and users everywhere to protect their accounts in a way that cannot be compromised. The market for the TokenOne solution is therefore global.

Currently, TokenOnes core market is Australia with expansion into the US and Europe starting in 2018. However, we have filed patent applications in multiple countries and regions including China, South Korea, Japan, Brazil and Mexico, as well as Europe and the US.

Absolute security is said to be impossible. What is your watchword as far as security goes?

Security is only as strong as the weakest link. Were very keen to ensure our partners and clients look at the whole picture of cyber security and cyber risk to ensure our authentication security technology cannot be circumvented.

Most importantly, we need to make sure that the approach to the knowledge factor evolves away from credentials that cannot be stolen, compromised or re-used by hackers.
Try to imagine a large crowd of customers arriving at your business, only to find a closed sign and the shutters down. As you helplessly watch potential clients walking off into the distance towards your competitors, you could also be faced with the realisation that you are paying for your employees to sit idly at their desks.

When entering damage control or making up for the lost time, the costs of repair expenses and brand damage can quickly mount up. The increasing costs of downtime to a company also highlight the importance of achieving the elusive 100% uptime figure. But, is this a realistic goal?

A technical failure or cyber-attack can and probably will occur when you least expect it. Unscheduled downtime can affect businesses of any size and will often arise from multiple sources that are difficult to predict or control.

The inconvenient truth is that even the biggest tech giants are not immune to the dreaded outage. This is something that European users of Microsoft's Outlook recently learned to their chagrin when they found themselves unable to access their emails for the day. There are countless examples in the last few months that highlight how even Amazon's AWS servers and Microsoft's Azure are far from infallible.

A list including heavyweights such as Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter creates an argument that there is no such thing as a single hosting provider with 100% uptime. But, this depends entirely on how achieving high availability is approached.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, youll do things differently. Warren Buffet

In a mobile-first always-online digital world, 100% availability is now a matter of business-critical importance. These are just a handful of reasons why we enable replication into zones to remove the need for secondary data centers and duplicate IT equipment while also eliminating risk.

For example, our Zettagrid data centers are located in zones in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Jakarta to deliver genuine operational diversity to any organisation. This approach offers greater preparedness and overall organisational resilience for leaders looking for peace of mind.

Unfortunately, businesses are also increasingly being hit by a variety of cyber-attacks such as denial-of-service and ransomware that can cripple an entire organisation if they are unprepared. The ability to replicate into other geographic zones and ensuring business continuity is rapidly becoming a get out of jail free card for the inevitable occurs.

Primarily, SecondSite protects a client's IT setup from corruption by running a cloned environment in Zettagrid's cloud until the primary site recovers. This approach enables a failover to be completed within a few minutes to ensure that a company will experience next to no impact. Our goal is to deliver a complete failover into a different zone without end users even knowing about it.

An affordable, scalable and quick disaster recovery solution should be attainable to businesses of all sizes now that system uptime is considered table stakes by most companies. At Zettagrid, we believe that 100% uptime is achievable by using SecondSite to recover in real-time, reduce the cost of downtime, and minimise interruptions to operations.

A few years ago, businesses adopted a naive mindset of migrating everything to the cloud so that keeping the lights on became somebody else's problem. However, there is a realisation that they need to work in close collaboration with their virtual landlords to ensure there are no single points of failure.

IT managers have been chasing 100% uptime for years. What was once perceived as a nothing but a myth is finally achievable. Advances in disaster recovery technology are enabling leaders to take their eggs out of their one proverbial basket and instantly failover to another geographical location.

Achieving 100% availability is no longer just an IT pipe dream, it's an expectation. Failure to make it a reality is not an option and could even be the difference between your company thriving as a business or going under.

How are you preparing and protecting your business from any unplanned, unexpected and inevitable outages that will take your business offline? Please share your experiences and valuable insights by commenting below.

Find out more about SecondSite Disaster Recovery here.
Internet Australia says the dramatic surge in complaints by consumers and small business about telecommunications services, particularly Internet services, is unacceptable and must be urgently addressed by the entire retail and wholesale supply chain.

IA chairman Dr Paul Brooks says the increasing levels of complaints underscores the need to implement the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's proposal to expand its Terms of Reference2 to explicitly include wholesale suppliers and service intermediaries into its information and investigation processes.

Dr Brooks (below, right) says this would enable the TIO to require wholesale providers, aggregators and other providers to take action to resolve customer issues instead of fobbing people off onto their retail provider, who is frequently unable to solve a customers problem.

This is urgent and overdue, and would help hold wholesale network providers to account when their actions impact an end-user customer, he stressed.

IA, the body representing the interests of Australian Internet users, weighed into the issue of complaints by consumers and small business in the annual report of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman released on Tuesday.

The TIO report found that residential consumers and small businesses made 158,016 complaints about telco services to the TIO in the last financial year between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

And, in the same 12 months complaints about landline phones, mobile phones and Internet services increased by 41.1%.

But while theres been a rise in complaints about mobile phones, Internet users suffered even more problems and complaints about services delivered over the NBN, with complaints more than doubling over 12 months.

As Dr Brooks points out, complaints about Internet services have soared 64% to 63,892 in a single year, and now represent more than 40% of all TIO complaints, more than for landline phones or mobile phones for the first time.

This clearly reflects the increasing importance Australians place on their online connectivity, and always-on broadband Internet connectivity is rapidly being considered an essential service just as always-on dial-tone is for telephone lines, he says.

Broadband services must be reliable and dependable, particularly as the migration to the NBN pushes fixed-line telephone services into operating over the broadband network.

Brooks says of particular concern to Internet Australia are the complaints classified as Faults and Connection issues.

He points to the fact that the proportion of these types of complaints has been steadily rising over the past years. Complaints about service faults have risen from 30.1% of all complaints two years ago to 34.1% last year and increased again to 36.5% in 2016/17.

And complaints about connection problems have risen from 10.5% of complaints two years ago to 14.2% last year and 16.2% in 2016/17.

Dr Brooks also raises serious issues about the NBN, which IA has criticised consistently.

With NBN services, even accounting for the large increase in service volumes, complaints about service faults and about new connections have both almost doubled in just six months, he says.

The massive jump in complaints, particularly for Internet services, should be a serious concern for the entire industry and for the regulators that oversee it. Retail and wholesale providers must lift their game and coordinate better together - customers and end-users cannot be expected to troubleshoot a faulty service, or project-manage a connection attempt. The rate of correct first time installations and repairs must improve.

Most of the TIO complaint types, such as for customer service or billing and payment issues, are generally limited to the interaction between customer and their retail provider, and the retail provider should take responsibility and fix their processes  these are within the traditional TIO remit.

Connections and faults, however, often require an increasingly complex chain of retail and wholesale relationships, contracts and providers to get right, particularly with the NBN and wholesale aggregators in the mix. Retail providers often have no control over the quality of the work performed by their wholesale suppliers, or other wholesale suppliers down the chain  including the contractors who work at the customers office or house.

Dr Brooks concludes: Internet Australia notes the recent round-table meeting held between government, NBN Co and some of the larger providers to address systemic NBN migration problems is a belated step in the right direction, but far too late to help large numbers of customers during this peak migration period, as any improvements in processes will take significant time to become effective.
GoDaddy has launched a new website builder for the 97% of Australian small business that employ less than five people  71% of which dont
WP Engine, the leading provider for managed WordPress hosting, has opened an office in Brisbane to support what it claims is a growing customer base in Australia and New Zealand.

Brisbane is the third office that has been opened outside the US, following the first in London in 2015 and a second in Limerick, Ireland, last year.

WP Engine hosts more than half a million WordPress sites across 130 countries It has more than 70,000 customers ranging from individuals and start-ups to multinational corporations and global agencies.

Some well-known names that use WP Engine are AMD, Bauer Media, Brickworks, Carsales.com.au, Casella Family Brands, , Elephant Room, iSelect, Metcash, New Relic, Penguin Random House Australia, Under Armour and XERO.

Today, we are embarking on an exciting new chapter in WP Engines international expansion, said Mary Ellen Dugan, the company's chief marketing officer.

WP Engine ANZ chief Mark Randall (extreme left) with his team.

Brisbane is the perfect place for us to continue to build out our global footprint and be closer to our customers. We are energised by the opportunity to partner with the community, government and business leaders to build local talent and advance the local tech ecosystem.

WP Engine Australia expects to quadruple its employees from 5 to 20 people and customers from roughly 3000 to more than 12,000 in the next three years.

WP Engine's Brisbane office which is located at River City Labs.

The company has its headquarters in Austin, Texas, and also has offices in San Francisco and San Antonio.

Photos: courtesy WP Engine
Virtual private networks (VPNs) have long been a trusted tool in securing network communication transmitted across the dark void that is the public internet. Whether this network communication is point-to-point, establishing a secured connection between two corporate offices, or simply client computers remotely connecting to the corporate network, VPNs can help secure this communication through both strong authentication and encryption.

Who needs an enterprise mobile VPN?

While VPNs have been around for decades, the world of infosec has evolved over that time, bringing about a world of mobile devices, public wi-fi, and a host of new attack vectors for malicious users. VPNs continue to have a place in infosec, but the waters have muddied somewhat over the years.

At their most basic, VPNs provide the ability for computing devices not physically connected to the corporate network to securely gain access to network resources as if they were physically located at a corporate location. This secure connection involves authentication, where the end user or device confirms with the VPN server that they are who they claim to be.

This authentication process could be as simple as a username and password, or there could be more advanced authentication requirements including multi-factor authentication (MFA), use of a managed device, or even system health (update status, antimalware protection, etc.). The second aspect of a VPN is an encrypted connection, which prevents a malicious user from intercepting network traffic and being able to view or even play back the connection to compromise the network.

Its important to note the difference between consumer mobile VPNs and those build for the enterprise. Consumer VPNs have become popular as the public becomes aware of the dangers involved with using public wi-fi as well as the level of tracking data phone manufacturers, application developers, and service providers are able to glean from mobile devices. Consumer VPNs offer an increased level of privacy, and in many cases can protect you from the dangers of rogue access points and packet sniffers. Where enterprise VPNs differ is in their ability to provide connectivity to corporate resources that would be otherwise unavailable.

In a modern infosec strategy corporate VPNs are likely only one component of your mobile device security infrastructure and may not even be necessary for many businesses with technologies like web application firewalls (WAFs) and the security features they bring to the table. Incorporating a VPN solution with mobile device management (MDM) and identity management (IDM) are important steps in maintaining a positive security outlook.

What makes an enterprise mobile VPN?

You need to look for only a few features in an enterprise mobile VPN solution. Ease of deployment and integration into existing infrastructure, management tools, and support are going to be key. For example, if you use Microsoft Active Directory to maintain your users and groups, youll probably want your VPN to be able to authenticate against Active Directory rather than having to manage users in two places.

Licensing is another key factor, as you may have existing hardware that supports operating as a VPN appliance, but the licensing costs associated with using that option may not be cost effective compared to alternatives.

One major feature you need to consider when shopping for a mobile VPN for your enterprise is its ability to handle different configurations, which are dependent on what youre attempting to secure. The configuration choice often goes hand-in-hand with device ownership. If mobile devices are corporate-owned, more secure and sophisticated solutions are options, while if they are employee-owned you may be more limited in the level of security you can apply. Ideally the mobile VPN you select should be able to handle each of the following configurations:

Standard VPN  All network traffic is passed through the corporate VPN server, allowing for monitoring of device usage, but potentially causing performance degradation for the mobile user. A standard VPN often requires the mobile user to manually establish a mobile connection prior to accessing corporate resources.

On-demand VPN  The VPN connection is established automatically when a predefined corporate resource is accessed. This reduces load on the VPN server and improves performance for mobile users.

Per-app VPN  Similar to on-demand VPN, but the per-app VPN is focused more on mobile applications than network resources. In this configuration apps used for things like corporate email or line-of-business apps can be configured to use the VPN connection.

Always-on VPN  Some industries requiring a high level of security may require a VPN connection for all mobile device traffic. With an always-on VPN, the VPN connection is established automatically when the device starts and routes all network traffic through the corporate VPN server

Enterprise mobile VPN market leaders

Many familiar industry names offer mobile VPN solutions, though each comes with its own use cases and features. Matching up your business requirements and existing infrastructure to the ideal VPN solution is the crux of the decision.

Cisco AnyConnect Mobile

Cisco has been a leader in the world of networking since the dawn of time. Cisco offers their AnyConnect mobile VPN client for all manner of mobile devices including Android and iOS obviously, but also BlackBerry and Windows Phone if you still have those hanging around. Both the Android and iOS clients support per-app VPN and may be managed or enforced using MDM tools such as Samsung Knox (for Android devices running on Samsung hardware) and Microsoft Intune.

Citrix SSO

Citrix is another trusted name in the networking arena, and while Citrix SSO is more than just a mobile VPN solution, it does tackle the problem of providing access to corporate resources through a secure connection.

Citrix SSO is the mobile branch of Citrix Gateway, a comprehensive solution for providing remote access to applications, virtual desktops, and other corporate resources. Supported by both iOS and Android devices, Citrix SSO supports all the different VPN configuration highlighted above and incorporates support for various authentication (TOTP, Certificate, username/password) and management methods (Citrix Endpoint Management, Microsoft Intune).

SonicWall Mobile Connect and Secure Mobile Access

SonicWall offers both a traditional mobile VPN solution in SonicWall Mobile Connect, which offers remote access to on-premises corporate resources, as well as SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (SMA). SMA is a unified secure access gateway that provides advanced access control policies, app-level VPN, and advanced authentication options (integration with a SAML IDP for SSO, MFA, etc.).

OpenVPN

OpenVPN is a well-respected VPN solution based on open-source software. While it doesnt offer the sophistication of other solutions in this list, it does provide traditional VPN access for mobile devices to corporate resources located either on-premises or in the cloud. Note that open-source in this case means free (as in speech) rather than free (as in beer). You will encounter licensing costs for your VPN server.

Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure

Pulse Secure may not be as established a brand as some of the others on this list, but in enterprise security circles, it is no less trusted than any other solution on this list. Their VPN solution, Pulse Connect Secure, provides everything from SSO to security posture verification as part of the mobile VPN experience. When leveraged as part of Pulse Access Suite mobile, users can be allowed to connect based on device health, MDM enrollment, or even using anomaly detection and context-aware authentication.

VMWare AirWatch Tunnel

AirWatch is much more than a VPN solution, but VMwares MDM offering incorporates VPN capabilities into a holistic enterprise mobile device strategy. Using VMware AirWatch Tunnel for always-on or per-app VPN connectivity into your corporate datacenter you can secure mobile access to business applications or virtual desktops. AirWatch Tunnel can even combine with VMware NSX, a network virtualization platform, to provide next-level traffic segregation.
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By Ryan Gabrielson | ( ProPublica ) |  

ProPublica review adds fuel to a longstanding worry about the nations highest court: The justices can botch the truth, sometimes in cases of great import.

In 2007, a group of California Institute of Technology scientists working at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory filed suit against the venerated space agency. Many of the scientists had worked on NASA missions and research for years as outside employees. As part of efforts to tighten security measures after 9/11, in 2004 NASA started requiring outside workers to submit to the same kind of background checks used for federal employees, including questions about drug use. The scientists, some of the nations best and brightest, protested and resisted for years, and finally went to court to argue that the checks violated their privacy rights.

The case ultimately made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, where, in 2011, the justices unanimously sided with NASA. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion, made a central point of noting that such background checks had long been commonplace in the private sector. Alito even cited a very specific statistic: 88 percent of all private companies in the country conduct such checks, he wrote.

It was a powerful claim in a decision with real consequences for American workers. It was also baseless.

Alito, it turns out, had borrowed the statistic from a brief filed in the case by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners. ProPublica asked the association for the source of its statistic. The association offered a variety of explanations, none of which proved true, and ultimately conceded it could not produce evidence that the 88 percent figure was accurate or say where it came from.

The decisions of the Supreme Court are rich with argument, history, some flashes of fine writing, and, of course, legal judgments of great import for all Americans.

They are also supposed to be entirely accurate.

But a ProPublica review of several dozen cases from recent years uncovered a number of false or wholly unsupported factual claims.

The review found an error in a landmark ruling, Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. Chief Justice John Roberts used erroneous data to make claims about comparable rates of voter registration among blacks and whites in six southern states. In another case, Justice Anthony Kennedy falsely claimed that DNA analysis can be used to identify individual suspects in criminal cases with perfect accuracy.

In all, ProPublica found seven errors in a modest sampling of Supreme Court opinions written from 2011 through 2015. In some cases, the errors were introduced by individual justices apparently doing their own research. In others, the errors resulted from false or deeply flawed submissions made to the court by people or organizations seeking to persuade the justices to rule one way or the other.

Some of the mistakes were technical or arguably minor, and it is difficult to determine with certainty if they played a vital part in the courts reasoning and final judgments.

But the NASA case was not the only one where a mistake involved a core aspect of the courts ruling on an issue with widespread ramifications.

In 2013, the court issued a unanimous ruling in a case involving Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches by the police. In the case, the court determined that when a drug-sniffing dog signals it smells an illegal drug from outside of a car, police have probable cause to search the entire car without a warrant. Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the opinion, took on one of the central fears of those worried about innocent people being caught up in such police searches.

Kagan argued that the risk of false positives  instances in which a dog might mistakenly identify the presence of drugs  should be based on whether the dogs had been formally certified by police groups as reliable in their performance. She cited material from the Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal Detector Guidelines to support the courts position.

However, none of the largest certification groups actually test for the risk of false positives. ProPublica reviewed standards and testing records and interviewed several experts on drug-sniffing dogs, including the head of the working group Kagan cited. He said her confidence in the certification process was misplaced.

Its important that its not just taken at face value to say just because the dogs certified with a national organization that means theyre reliable, said Kenneth Furton, the chairman of the working group, who now is provost at Florida International University.

Karen L. Overall, an applied animal behaviorist who served for a time as the co-chair of the dog working group, said she resigned from the group because she couldnt endorse guidelines that didnt insist on statistically measuring the reliability of police dogs.

ProPublica provided its findings on the seven mistakes to the court in early September and asked for interviews with Roberts and the other four justices who wrote majority opinions containing factual errors. The justices declined the requests and did not respond to any of the specific reporting. In an email, a spokeswoman said that, by policy, the court does not comment on its opinions, which speak for themselves.

In interviews, former law clerks for Supreme Court justices, including some who argue cases before the high court today, said any errors were surely accidental, produced by talented and devoted people doing complex work under daunting circumstances.

The court, like any institution, never wants to get it wrong, said Erin Murphy, a former law clerk for Roberts and now a lawyer with the firm Kirkland & Ellis.

The courts rulings have been fiercely debated from the start of the republic, but most of the scrutiny has been aimed at justices legal reasoning or political bent. The risk of errors  that could cause embarrassment or have lasting legal consequences  has occasionally prompted calls for action. Thirty years ago, Kenneth Culp Davis, a leading legal scholar, went on a speaking tour calling on the court to establish its own research operation.

When the court lacks the needed information, it usually makes guesses, Davis told an audience at the University of Minnesota in 1987. Much of our law is based on wrong assumptions about legislative facts.

Supreme Court opinions contain two types of facts: adjudicative facts, which deal with legal procedure and precedent, and legislative facts, which are assertions about the outside world and how real life works.

Former Justice Harry Blackmun conceded in a 1984 opinion that there were limits to the courts ability to be 100 percent right when it came to real-world facts.

Like all courts, Blackmun wrote, we face institutional limitations on our ability to gather information about legislative facts.

Still, this type of information can be important, even decisive, to rulings. In a 2015 opinion, Alito upheld an Arkansas inmates right to grow a beard while in prison in adherence to his Islamic faith. Alito accurately wrote the inmates belief that his religion called upon him to wear a beard was common to several schools of Islam, which further justified legal protections for the practice.

At least five previous errors in Supreme Court rulings have become public during the past decade, all involving legislative facts.

In a 2002 opinion, Kennedy wrote that untreated sex offenders commit new sex crimes at a startling rate, estimated to be as high as 80 percent. The statistic came from a magazine article, which did not provide a source. The articles author has admitted to legal scholars the number was a guess. Studies of sex offenders indicate the true rate is a small fraction of the one Kennedy used.

A 2008 decision, also by Kennedy, said that within the U.S. criminal justice system, only six states allowed death sentences for defendants convicted of rape committed against a child. That was true, but incomplete. Such crimes were also punishable by death in military courts, under a law passed by Congress two years earlier. The author of a military law blog exposed the omission days after the opinion came down.

Perhaps the most alarming of the previously exposed inaccuracies came in an immigration case, Nken v. Holder. In 2008, the solicitor generals office, which represents federal agencies before the Supreme Court, misled the justices about a key fact. The office said in a legal brief that the government routinely brings back immigrants it has deported if they later win their cases to stay in the U.S. The courts opinion repeated the claim.

Records obtained by immigrant legal advocates at New York University show the government does not readmit people whove been wrongly deported, and the solicitor generals office knew this.

Since certain parties like the solicitor generals office have special standing with the court, errors in their arguments are more likely to be repeated in justices opinions, said Nancy Morawetz, the New York University law professor who exposed the falsehood in Nken. Its a highly imperfect process.

In 2003, the court ruled in another matter, Demore v. Kim, that the federal government can detain certain immigrants facing deportation without bail for the entire time courts take considering their cases. Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist described immigrants time in cells as brief, lasting four months on average and sometimes less as judges worked through the appeals.

The truth was far different. When federal officials correctly analyzed their data, the average time immigrants spent in detention was nearly 13 months, triple what Rehnquist wrote. The solicitor general notified the court of the inaccuracies in August 2016; yet, to date, the error remains in the official opinion on the courts website.

ProPublica decided to examine the courts record for factual accuracy after the erroneous sex offender statistic became news earlier this year.

In the course of our examination, ProPublica vetted 83 majority opinions randomly selected from a five-year period, 2011 through 2015, and focused only on legislative facts. Just 24 of the 83 opinions contained such facts.

The research, of course, was far too limited to calculate an error rate for the court. That said, there were plenty of mistakes  seven in 24 opinions with legislative facts.

Our review showed justices appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents had inaccuracies in their opinions. Three of the mistakes were made by Kennedy, long considered the courts swing vote.

The chance that justices might rely on suspect material presented to them as part of cases has exploded in recent years. A virtual industry now exists to funnel information to the court through filings called amicus briefs. These come from people or groups that are not parties in a case before the court, but advocate for justices to rule a certain way, frequently by offering their special expertise on the subject at hand. Amicus briefs can be helpful to justices, who need to master an imposing host of issues. They are also risky because courts do not always scrutinize the briefs for accuracy.

Lawyers can introduce inaccuracies as evidence, especially on complex subjects, said Bryan Gowdy, a Florida appellate attorney who has argued before the Supreme Court. Such errors might be more understandable if the stakes werent so great.

When youre in a case where Betty Smith is suing the Jones Pharmaceutical company, and theres a mistake like that, well that affects Betty Smith and the Jones Pharmaceutical company, Gowdy said. But when youre at the U.S. Supreme Court and they make a mistake like that, it affects the entire country.

Through most of the Supreme Courts history, justices used statutes and legal precedents in their rulings, leaving out facts about the outside world. That shifted a century ago when Louis Brandeis joined the court, bringing a philosophy that judges needed to consider how life works in addition to what the law says. Brandeis, continuing a practice he had pioneered as a lawyer and scholar, regularly reviewed studies he found himself and included their results in opinions.

But adding these kinds of facts introduces the risk of errors. As a result, Davis, the legal scholar, floated the idea of the Supreme Court creating its own research team, modeled on the Congressional Research Service. The service is part of the Library of Congress and has a staff of trained researchers that pursues answers to lawmakers questions.

The justices did not follow Davis advice.

The courts law library is a highly regarded and invaluable resource for justices, said Allison Orr Larsen, law professor at the College of William & Mary and former clerk for Justice David Souter. But it is not built to fact check briefs or the courts opinions.

Every proposed solution for factual errors also causes problems, said Gerald Rosenberg, a University of Chicago professor of law and political science. Rosenberg is the author of The Hollow Hope, a hotly debated book arguing the courts are ineffective at propelling societal change.

A court research service suggests the justices are writing laws, he said, not rulings based on the law. At the same time, Rosenberg said ProPublicas reporting indicates that the justices remain vulnerable to mistakes, both large and small.

What do we do with the fact that theyre either consciously playing fast and loose, Rosenberg said, or theyre just not aware?

Here are summaries of six of the recent Supreme Court opinions in which ProPublica found errors. The seventh will be the subject of a subsequent article.

A Sampling Of Errors

NASA v. Nelson

In 2011, the justices unanimously held that independent contractors working for the federal government could be subjected to background checks that ask open-ended questions about their private lives, including drug use. Federal employees submitted to such checks. It was the norm in the private sector, too.

At least thats what Alito asserted in writing the opinion for the unified court. The questions challenged by respondents are part of a standard employment background check of the sort used by millions of private employers, Alito wrote.

The court received eight amicus briefs in the case, seven of them from privacy, civil rights and labor advocates supporting the contract employees. The one brief backing the federal government came from a collection of private investigation and background check industry groups.

The industry groups argued this kind scrutiny is routine, and essential in protecting the government and private companies from bad hires.

The filing included a section detailing who submitted the brief. One of the industry groups was the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, which said in the brief that its clients are among the more than 88% of U.S. companies that perform background checks on their employees.

The filing doesnt say where the percentage cited by the background screeners comes from, a deficiency first documented by Larsen, the law professor at the College of William & Mary, in her study of the high courts use of amicus briefs.

In truth, research into employment screening is scant, and hard numbers nonexistent.

The Society for Human Resource Management has surveyed its members about backgrounding practices multiple times and its reports are the only publicly available information on the subject. The society published survey results in January 2010, shortly before the background check groups filed their brief. The societys results show that 92 percent of those surveyed check applicants references and 74 percent said they perform criminal background checks, but the results dont include the 88 percent figure.

The societys survey also reflects practices of a small subsection of American businesses, gathering nearly all its responses from companies that employ 100 or more workers. Less than 2 percent of U.S. companies are that size, according to Census Bureau data.

ProPublica asked the National Association of Professional Background Screeners to provide the basis of its more than 88% figure. Melissa Sorenson, the associations executive director, initially said the statistic was from the human resources societys survey. After ProPublica informed her the survey did not include that number, Sorenson gave two answers she said were based on her conversations with a lawyer who represented the association on the brief.

First, Sorenson said the association got an advance look at the human resources societys survey results, so we were running with preliminary data that wasnt public. Preliminary results were slightly different from the published report, she said.

But Michael Aitken, the human resources societys vice present for government affairs, said he couldnt find any record his organization had provided anyone with preliminary survey results. And neither the preliminary nor the final results included the 88 percent figure, Aitken said.

Then Sorenson said the background screener association calculated the number by combining data from two separate questions in the human resources societys survey. One question asked about background checks on job applicants, the other about checks on existing employees, she said.

The survey only asked about checks performed on job applicants, the published results show. Asked again for an underlying source, the background screeners association responded that it had no answer.

Unfortunately, we have not identified anything in our records to shed further light, a spokesman said by email.

ProPublica found the background screeners association featured the 88 percent number in its lobbying materials nine months before the human resources societys survey that included the background-check question was conducted.

Larson, the William & Mary law professor, said shed assumed the statistic had some basis in reality. This is much worse than I expected, she said.

Arizona v. U.S.

Arizonas state Legislature enacted a law in 2010 to enlist local police in immigration enforcement. It made it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and to seek work without legal documentation.

The law required Arizonas sworn police officers to verify the citizenship status of all people they detained or arrested. And it allowed officers to arrest without warrants people they believed were undocumented immigrants. The federal government sued to block the law, arguing the state law infringed on its powers to manage the nations immigration system.

In 2012, the Supreme Court largely sided with federal officials, and struck down most of Arizonas law. However, it left intact the provision requiring police to check the citizenship of people arrested or detained.

Kennedy wrote the majority opinion. In addition to his legal reasoning, Kennedy argued that the citizenship checks were defensible because of the threat undocumented immigrants presented to Arizona. Specifically, he wrote, in the States most populous county, these aliens are reported to be responsible for a disproportionate share of serious crime.

Kennedy sourced that statement to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit that advocates for reduced immigration and strict enforcement. The justice described the report as estimating that unauthorized aliens comprise 8.9 percent of the population and are responsible for 21.8 percent of the felonies in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix.

The center gathered those figures from other sources. The percentage of felony crimes committed by undocumented immigrants originated in a 2008 study published by former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, the elected prosecutor. Thomas vehemently opposed illegal immigration, and made local enforcement a top priority. He did not respond to several calls and emails seeking comment.

The study, titled Illegal Immigration, determined undocumented immigrants made up 18.7 percent of the individuals sentenced for felony convictions in Maricopa County court in 2007, not 21.8 percent. The 18.7 percent figure, to be sure, is still disproportionately high compared to undocumented immigrants share of the population.

The higher number, it turns out, was an estimate, but it is unclear exactly how Thomas produced it. Data tables in the study show 18.7 percent. (Thomas study included only 2007 because his office began collecting data on defendants immigration status that year.)
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By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com |  

It took 14 years, but now we have an answer.

It was March 2003, the invasion of Iraq was underway, and Major General David Petraeus was in command of the 101st Airborne Division heading for the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Rick Atkinson, Washington Post journalist and military historian, was accompanying him. Six days into a lightning campaign, his division suddenly found itself stopped 30 miles southwest of the city of Najaf by terrible weather, including a blinding dust storm, and the unexpectedly fanatical attacks of Iraqi irregulars. At that moment, Atkinson reported,

[Petraeus] hooked his thumbs into his flak vest and adjusted the weight on his shoulders. Tell me how this ends, he said. Eight years and eight divisions? The allusion was to advice supposedly given the White House in the early 1950s by a senior Army strategist upon being asked what it would take to prop up French forces in South Vietnam. Petraeuss grin suggested the comment was more droll quip than historical assertion.

Certainly, Petraeus knew his history when it came to American interventions in distant lands. He had entered West Point just as the American war in Vietnam was beginning to wind down and did his doctoral dissertation at Princeton in 1987 on that conflict (The American Military and the Lessons of Vietnam: A Study of Military Influence and the Use of Force in the Post-Vietnam Era). In it, he wrote,

Vietnam cost the military dearly. It left Americas military leaders confounded, dismayed, and discouraged. Even worse, it devastated the armed forces, robbing them of dignity, money, and qualified people for a decade Vietnam was an extremely painful reminder that when it comes to intervention, time and patience are not American virtues in abundant supply.

So no wonder he was well acquainted with that 1954 exchange between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former Korean War commander General Matthew Ridgeway about the French war in Vietnam. Perhaps, the droll quip aspect of his comment lay in his knowledge of just how badly Ridgeway underestimated both the years and the troop numbers that the American version of that war would eat up before it, too, ended in disaster and in a military as riddled with protest and as close to collapse as was imaginable for an American force of our era.

In his thesis, Petraeus called for the military high command to be granted a far freer hand in whatever interventions the future held. In that sense, in 1987, he was already mainlining into a twenty-first-century world in which the U.S. military continues to get everything it wants (and more) as it fights its wars without having to deal with either an obstreperous citizen army or too many politicians trying to impose their will on its actions.

And by the way, though his Najaf comments have regularly been cited as if they were sui generis, as the Ridgeway reference indicates, he was hardly the first American military commander or political figure to appropriate Joan of Arcs question in Bernard Shaws play Saint Joan: How long, oh Lord, how long?

As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam recounted in his history of the Vietnam years, The Best and the Brightest, for instance, President Lyndon Johnson turned to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Earle Wheeler in a June 1965 meeting and asked of the war in Vietnam, What do you think it will take to do the job?

Wheelers answer echoed Ridgeways 11 years earlier, though in the escalatory mode that was typical of Vietnam: It all depends on what your definition of the job is, Mr. President. If you intend to drive the last Vietcong out of Vietnam it will take seven hundred, eight hundred thousand, a million men and about seven years. But if your definition of the job is to prevent the Communists from taking over the country, that is, stopping them from doing it, then youre talking about different gradations and different levels. So tell us what the job is and well answer it.

A Generational Approach to Americas Wars

Not so long after that moment on the outskirts of Najaf, the 101st Airborne made its way to Baghdad just as the burning and looting began, and that would only be the prologue to David Petraeuss war, to his version of eight years and eight divisions. When an insurgency (actually several) broke out in Iraq, he would be dispatched to the northern city of Mosul (now a pile of rubble after its 2017 liberation from the Islamic State in Washingtons third Iraq War). There, he would first experiment with bringing back from the Vietnam experience the very strategy the U.S. military had hoped to be rid of forever: counterinsurgency, or the winning of what in that war had regularly been called hearts and minds. In 2004, Newsweek was already hailing him on its cover with the dramatic question: Can This Man Save Iraq? (Four months after Petraeus ended his stint in that city, the police chief he had trained there went over to the insurgents and it became a stronghold for them.)

By the time the occupation of Iraq turned into a full-scale disaster, he was back at Fort Leavenworth running the U.S. Armys Combined Arms Center. During that period, he and another officer, Marine Lieutenant General James Mattis  does that name ring any bells?  joined forces to oversee the development and publication of Field Service Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency Operations. It would be the first official counterinsurgency (COIN) how-to book the military had produced since the Vietnam years. In the process, he became the worlds leading expert in counterinsurgency warfare. He would famously return to Iraq in 2007, that manual in hand, with five brigades, or 20,000 U.S. troops, for what would become known as the surge, or the new way forward, an attempt to bail the Bush administration out of its disastrous occupation of the country. His counterinsurgency operations would, like the initial invasion, be hailed by experts and pundits in Washington (including Petraeus himself) as a marvel and a success of the first order, as a true turning point in Iraq and in the war on terror.

A decade later, with Americas third Iraq War ongoing, you could be excused for viewing the successes of that surge somewhat differently.

In the process, Petraeus (or King David as he was supposedly nicknamed by Iraqis during his stint in Mosul) would become Americas most celebrated, endlessly featured general, and go on in 2008 to head U.S. Central Command (overseeing Americas wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq). In 2010, he would become the U.S. Afghan commander, largely so that he could perform the counterinsurgency miracles in Afghanistan he had supposedly performed in Iraq. In 2011, he became Barack Obamas CIA director only to crash and burn a year later in a scandal over a lover-cum-biographer and the misuse of classified documents, after which he morphed into a go-to expert on our wars and a partner at KKR, a global investment firm. In other words, as with the three generals of the surge generation now ascendant in Washington, including Petraeuss former COIN pal James Mattis (who also headed U.S. Central Command), he presided over this countrys failing wars in the Greater Middle East.

And only recently, 14 years after he and Atkinson were briefly trapped outside Najaf, in his role as a pundit and prognosticator on his former wars, he finally answered  and not quippingly either  the question that plagued him then. Though his comments were certainly covered in the news (as anything he says is), in a sense no one noticed. Asked by Judy Woodruff of the PBS News Hour whether, in Donald Trumps America, it was smart to once again send more U.S. troops surging into Afghanistan, he called the Pentagons decision heartening, even as he warned that it wasnt a war that would end any time soon.

Instead, after so many years of involvement, experience, thought, and observation, in a studio without a grain of sand, no less a dust storm in sight, he offered this observation:

But this is a generational struggle. This is not something that is going to be won in a few years. Were not going to take a hill, plant a flag, [and] go home to a victory parade. And we need to be there for the long haul, but in a way that is, again, sustainable. We have been in Korea for 65-plus years because there is an important national interest for that. We were in Europe for a very long period of time, still there, of course, and actually with a renewed emphasis now, given Russias aggressive actions. And I think thats the way we need to approach this.

In proposing such a generational struggle to be handed on to our children, if not grandchildren, hes in good company. In recent times, the Pentagon high command, too, has been adopting a generational approach to Afghanistan and assumedly our other wars across the Greater Middle East and Africa. Similarly, the scholars of the Brookings Institution have urged on Washingtons policymakers what they call an enduring partnership in Afghanistan: The U.S.-Afghan partnership should be recognized as generational in duration, given the nature of the threat and the likely longevity of its future manifestations.

Even if, under further questioning by Woodruff, Petraeus wouldnt quite cop to a 60-year Afghan war (that is, to a war lasting at least until 2061), his long-delayed answer to his own question of the 2003 invasion moment was now definitive. Such American wars wont end. Not now. Maybe not ever. And in a way you cant be much blunter or grimmer than that in your assessment of the successes of the war on terror.

A Military Success Story of the Strangest Sort

Until James Mad Dog Mattis hit Washington in 2017, no American general of our era was ever written about as much as, or in a more celebratory fashion, than David Petraeus. Adulatory (if not fawning) profiles of him are legion. Even today, in the wake of barely avoided felony and other charges (for, among other things, lying to the FBI)  he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in the handling of classified documents and was sentenced to two years of probation and a fine  he may still be this countrys most celebrated general.

But why exactly the celebration? The answer would have to be that he continues to be lauded and considered a must-quote expert because in Washington this countrys war on terror and the generalship thats accompanied it are now beyond serious analysis or reconsideration. Sixteen years after the invasion of Afghanistan, as Americas wars continue to spread across the Greater Middle East and Africa, its generals  thanks in part to Donald Trump and the need for adult day care in the White House  are still treated like the only adults in the room in our nations capital, like, in short, American winners.

And yet consider recent events in the central African country of Niger, which already has an operating U.S. drone base, another under construction, and about 800 American troops quietly but permanently stationed there. Its also a country that, until this moment, not an American in a million would have been able to locate on a map. On October 4th, four Green Berets were killed and two others wounded during a routine training mission there. Patrolling with Nigerien troops, they were ambushed by Islamic militants  whether from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or a new branch of ISIS remains unclear. That officially makes Niger at least the eighth country, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, and Libya, to be absorbed into Washingtons war on terror and, in case you hadnt noticed, in none of them has that war ended and in none have U.S. forces triumphed.

And yet you could comb the recent mainstream coverage of the events in Niger without finding any indication that those deaths represented a modest new escalation in the never-ending, ever-spreading war on terror.

As was inevitable, in Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis Islamic caliphate is finally collapsing. The city of Mosul is back in Iraqi hands, as is Tal Afar, and more recently the town of Hawija (with a rare mass surrender of ISIS militants). Those were the last significant urban areas controlled by ISIS in Iraq, while in Syria, the apocalyptic ruins of the Islamic States capital, Raqqa, are also largely in the hands of forces allied with and supported by the air power of the U.S. military. In what are now the ravaged ruins of Syria and Iraq, however, such victories will inevitably prove as hollow as were the successful invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq or the successful overthrow of Libyan autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. Meanwhile, the Islamic State may have spread its brand to another country with U.S. forces in it. And yet, across a vast swath of the planet, the wars of David Petraeus, James Mattis, and the other generals of this era simply go on and on in a region being fractured and devastated (and whose vast numbers of displaced refugees are, in turn, helping to fracture Europe).

Worse yet, its a situation that cant be seriously discussed or debated in this country because, if it were, opposition to those wars might rise and alternatives to them and the by-now brain-dead decisions of those generals, including newly heightened air wars and the latest mini-surge in Afghanistan, might become part of an actual national debate.

So think of this as a military success story of the strangest sort  success that can be traced directly back to a single decision, now decades old, made by a long-discredited American president, Richard Nixon. Without returning to that decision, there is simply no way to understand Americas twenty-first-century wars. In its own way, it would prove an act of genius (if, at least, you wanted to fight never-ending wars until the end of time).

In any case, credit, when owed, must be given. Facing an antiwar movement that wouldnt go away and, by the early 1970s, included significant numbers of both active-duty servicemen and Vietnam veterans, the president and his secretary of defense, Melvin Laird, decided to try to cut into its strength by eliminating the draft. Nixon suspected that young men not endangered by the possibility of being sent into the Vietnam War might be far less eager to demonstrate against it. The military high command was uncertain about such a move. They worried, with reason, that in the wake of Vietnam it would be hard to recruit for an all-volunteer military. Who in the world, they wondered, would want to be part of such a discredited force? That was, of course, a version of Nixons thinking turned upside down, but the president moved ahead anyway and, on January 27, 1973, conscription was ended. There would be no more draft calls and the citizens army, the one that had fought World War II to victory and had raised such a ruckus about the grim and distasteful war in Vietnam, would be no more.

In that single stroke, before he himself fell prey to the Watergate scandal and resigned his presidency, Nixon functionally created a legacy for the ages, paving the way for the American military to fight its wars generationally and lose them until hell froze over with the guarantee that no one in this country would seem to care a whit. Or put another way, can you truly imagine such silence in the homeland if an American draft were continually filling the ranks of a citizens army to fight a 16-year-old war on terror, still spreading, and now considered generational? I doubt it.

So as American air power in places like Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan is ramped up yet again, as the latest mini-surge of troops arrives in Afghanistan, as Niger enters the war, its time to put generals David Petraeus, James Mattis, H.R. McMaster, and John Kelly in context. Its time to call them what they truly are: Nixons children.

Tom Engelhardt is a co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of The United States of Fear as well as a history of the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He is a fellow of the Nation Institute and runs TomDispatch.com. His latest book is Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Alfred McCoys In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power, as well as John Dowers The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II, John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright 2017 Tom Engelhardt

Via Tomdispatch.com

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Related video added by Juan Cole:

Al Jazeera English: US report finds problems with Afghan troops training programme
Three Kansas State University teams awarded more than $2.5 million by National Science Foundation for research instrumentation

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017

MANHATTAN  Teams led by three Kansas State University researchers have been awarded National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation grants. The grants will provide more than $2.5 million to advance understanding of lipids, agriculturally significant gases and nanoparticles, as well as student training and regional research capacity.



Universities are allowed to submit only three proposals each year to the NSF MRI program, and having all three proposals funded is relatively rare. Out of 154 organizations competing this year, Kansas State University was one of only five universities to receive three awards. Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research, said the university's proposals likely were successful because the projects demonstrate benefits to more than one field.



"I think one of the reasons that all three were funded is that they're all collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts with involvement from investigators from multiple departments and projects," Montelone said.



The largest of the three awards, $1.69 million, will support the development of a new instrument that is the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between physics and agronomy. The project is led by Kristan Corwin, Ernest K. and Lillian E. Chapin professor of physics and interim associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences. Corwin and her co-investigators  Stephen Welch, professor of agronomy; Eduardo Santos, assistant professor of agronomy; and Brian Washburn, associate professor of physics  will work to adapt a Nobel Prize-winning technology that precisely measures optical frequencies. The optical-frequency comb allows such exact measurements that it can help researchers tell one molecule from another. Corwin's team will work to adapt dual-comb spectroscopy to characterize interactions between soil, plants and atmosphere in crops. Ultimately, they hope the instrument will help agronomists improve crop genetics and feed the world's growing population.



Corwin said the goal is to obtain real-time information about how plants are using resources.



"If we want to understand the effects of fertilizer and water on plants and how these interact with plant genetics to produce the best crop characteristics, we have to be able to measure as much as we can about them," she said.



Corwin is excited at the prospect of advancing laser physics while learning more about agronomy. She said a Kansas State University strategic investment in this collaborative effort several years ago helped lay the groundwork for this project.



"We had to build a common language and recognize areas of common understanding and where the same word means something different," she said.



A second award of $496,823 will help researchers enhance food, industrial and energy crops by advancing understanding of lipids, compounds that help plants store energy and conduct other vital biological processes. The Kansas Lipidomics Research Center will purchase a new, powerful mass spectrometer that will improve the speed and specificity of its analyses. The instrument maker is awarding another $50,000 through the SCIEX Academic Partnership program to help maintain the new instrument.



Ruth Welti, university distinguished professor of biology and director of the center, said her team is working to identify and characterize the functions of genes associated with desirable traits in plants, such as cold and heat tolerance. Now that many plant genomic sequences are available, researchers can identify alleles of specific genes associated with desirable traits. Studying lipids helps to characterize the molecular basis of the traits.



"By measuring lipids, we can correlate genetic and physiological traits with metabolic traits and biochemical pathways," Welti said. "We can determine the biochemical mechanisms of field traits and the underlying genetics."



Welti's co-principal investigators are Geoffrey Morris, assistant professor of agronomy; Krishna Jagadish, associate professor of agronomy; Kathrin Schrick, associate professor of biology; and Timothy Durrett, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics. The team will develop rapid, specific methods for analysis of plant metabolites.



"Analytical systems are available to measure lipids and other metabolites important in human health, but there is no plug-and-play analytical system for plant lipids," Welti said. "Thus, as part of our work, we'll develop a lipid analytical system that can be adopted in other labs."



The third award of $350,000 will support acquisition of a graphic processing unit, or GPU, enabled computer cluster. Christine Aikens, professor of chemistry, is the principal investigator. Aikens and her team will use the GPU-enabled cluster to enhance efforts to gain atomic-level insights into chemical mechanisms and biological interactions of nanoparticles and biomolecular simulations in general. The new cluster will be housed in Beocat, the Kansas State University's research computing cluster, and will be available to other researchers at the university and other colleges and universities in Kansas.



Aikens' co-principal investigators are Bin Liu, assistant professor of chemical engineering; Paul Smith, professor of chemistry; Jeffrey Comer, assistant professor of anatomy and physiology; and Daniel Andresen, professor of computer science and director of Beocat. Jeremy Schmit, associate professor of physics, is a senior investigator on the proposal. Projects will include modeling nanomaterials in an effort to understand light harvesting systems, how nanoparticles behave in the body and more. Aikens said the group's work to find underlying principles is filling gaps in the field.



"It's a puzzle we need to try to solve," Aikens said. "We are exploring where no one has gone before  there's always something new and interesting."



The high-memory nodes in the new cluster will help Aikens complete calculations that aren't possible with the current system; for instance, her team will be able to model nanoparticles that contain a few thousand atoms rather than a few hundred.



"Bigger and faster is always great when you talk computing," Aikens said. "This is definitely a big step for K-State computing."



Montelone said she is happy to see the university build on past success with the NSF MRI program. The university has received a total of 18 MRI awards since the program's inception and previously had two proposals in one year funded in 1999, 2005 and 2012. She's optimistic about future years.



"We have a good process," Montelone said. "We're getting information out to more investigators, and because we have a pre-proposal competition, we're choosing the best proposals. Our faculty are stepping up and writing really strong proposals."
The Guardian reports:

The Canadian province of Quebec has passed a sweeping ban on face coverings  barring public workers from wearing the niqab or burqa and obliging citizens to unveil when riding public transit or receiving government services  ushering in a law believed to be the first of its kind in North America.

The legislation was adopted on Wednesday, capping off two years of work by the provinces Liberal government to address the issue of state neutrality. The resulting law has been slammed by critics who say it deliberately targets Muslim women and will fuel the provinces simmering debate on identity, religion and tolerance. 

The Liberal government has long argued the legislation  which does not specifically mention the niqab or burqa  addresses public safety, noting that it would also apply to masked protesters.

We are not legislating on clothing, Vallee said last year. Public services have to be offered and received with the face uncovered for security, identification and communication purposes.
By Park Jae-hyuk



The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of Japan in a dispute over Korea's import ban on marine products from Fukushima and its surrounding area, according to Minister of Food and Drug Safety Ryu Young-jin.



He made the remarks during a National Assembly audit of the ministry.



"We have just been informed of the WTO's decision," the minister said. "I cannot disclose the result due to the confidentiality obligation, but it is not in favor of Korea."



The WTO reportedly dismissed the potential toxicity of marine products from the region, using data with exact figures as the only evidence, according to sources familiar with the issue.



Last month, Rep. Ki Dong-min of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea also said, "It is almost certain that Korea will lose to Japan in the first hearing, considering various expert opinions and other situations. The government should immediately come up with countermeasures, finding out who is responsible for the loss."



Korea imposed a ban on imports of agricultural and marine products from near Fukushima, following the nuclear power plant explosion in 2011.



In 2013, the country began prohibiting imports of marine products from eight prefectures near Fukushima.



The Japanese government filed a suit against Korea in 2015, regarding the measures as discrimination against its fisheries products.



Tokyo also claimed additional requests for chemical testing were unreasonable.



After the WTO's decision is delivered to both sides, its translated versions will be disclosed to all member countries a few weeks later.



Before then, the result must be kept secret. The final report is expected to be revealed earlier next year.



Even if Korea lost, the country does not have to import seafood from Fukushima immediately, because it can appeal the decision within 60 days.



If the Korean government appeals, the final decision will likely come out in 2019.



Ryu promised that the government will appeal if it feels the WTO's final decision is inadequate to protect Korean people's health. He said public health is the top priority for the government.



Song Ki-ho, the head attorney of Lawyers for a Democratic Society's committee for international trade issues, said, "If Korea loses, Japan will legally come up with economic retaliation."




Since the national liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1910-45), the state-run Seoul National University (SNU) has been one of major cradles of outstanding individuals in the nation, who contributed to building the Republic of Korea into what it is now.



Such a prestigious school, however, has been losing its competency, even slipping out of the list of top 10 Asian universities for the first time since 2009 when statistics were first made available by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British company specializing in education and studying abroad. True, one can dispute the reliability of the statistics but still they are regarded as one of the best indicators available.



Nanyang Technological University of Singapore is Asia's top university. As for other Korean schools, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) rose to fourth place from last year's sixth, followed by Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), ranked 12th, Korea University 16th, Sungkyunkwan University 18th and Yonsei University 19th.



SNU's ranking dropped due to low scores for its student-foreign faculty ratio and papers per faculty. Foreign faculty make up just 11 percent of the school's 3,930 professors, compared to 70 percent at top rankers Nanyang and Hong Kong universities.



The SNU slippage is no surprise in a way. The school has no way to invite superior foreign professors in tough competition with other Asian universities offering much higher annual salaries. The overall environment for their research and children's education prove to be deterrents for foreign professors.



The situation is similar at other schools. Our universities, besides SNU, lack efforts for the internationalization of their teaching systems.



The government's university education policy has been losing consistency over the decades and schools are not allowed to choose students through their own examinations.




A plant-eating dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago got its fair share of bad breaks: Its fossilized bones indicate the dinosaur suffered from broken bones that may have led to a deadly blood infection, new research finds.

It appears that the long-tailed dinosaur, a 16.5-foot-long (5 meters) Tenontosaurus tilletti the length of two pool tables, fell over sideways, as four of its five injuries were on the left side of its body, the researchers said. But it's unclear whether it sustained these wounds because it was clumsy or because it was the victim of an attack, said study lead researcher Tyler Hunt, a master's student in the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

The dinosaur survived long enough for its injuries to heal, but its maladies probably led to its demise. "It is likely that these injuries and infection indirectly contributed to the [dinosaur's] death by inhibiting its ability to obtain food, escape predators or fight off further disease," Hunt told Live Science in an email. [Image Gallery: 25 Amazing Ancient Beasts]

Researchers uncovered the T. tilletti fossils in the Antlers Formation of Atoka County, in southeastern Oklahoma, in 2000. They were astounded to find the majority of the dinosaur's fossilized bones, prompting them to name it "The Good Tenontosaurus" because of its completeness. An analysis of its tibia (shinbone) revealed that the dinosaur wasn't fully grown, according to a 2012 study in the journal PLOS ONE.

But despite its young age, the dinosaur had accrued a lifetime's worth of injuries. It had five traumas in total: three broken ribs, a broken toe and a large, bony outgrowth on its hand bone, the researchers found.

One of the healed broken ribs was still displaced about 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) toward the spine, "indicating that a compressional force from below caused this fracture," said Hunt.

These two left ribs were fractured, but later healed. The dinosaur also had a broken right rib bone that healed before it died. (Image credit: Tyler Hunt)

Newly laid bone on another healed rib had a large callus with three small pits on it, called lytic lesions. "These lesions are areas of localized pus accumulation resulting in the disintegration of the outer bone tissue," Hunt said. The large callus, in addition to the lesions, indicate that The Good Tenontosaurus had a bone infection known as osteomyelitis in and around its rib, Hunt said.

The dinosaur also had a "particularly severe" injury on its left toe bone, known as the phalanx. This injury was also covered in small pits, suggesting that the T. tilletti had post-traumatic chronic osteomyelitis  meaning that after the dinosaur broke the bone, "the surrounding tissue and the bone became and stayed infected during the healing process," Hunt said.

The dinosaur's left foot. (Image credit: Tyler Hunt)

But a small injury may have had an even larger effect: On its fourth metacarpal (the equivalent of the bone under the ring finger in humans), the dinosaur had an outgrowth of bone with a tiny hole in it. This hole is called a Brodie abscess, which forms when pus-producing bacteria enter the bone. It's possible that the bacteria entered the dinosaur's bloodstream when its broken ribs and toe became infected, Hunt said.

This is only the second time a Brodie abscess has been reported in a dinosaur, and the first time it has been reported in an herbivorous dinosaur, he added.

A computed tomography (CT) scan of the dinosaur's hand bone. (Image credit: Tyler Hunt)

Limping dinosaur

The injuries would have impaired The Good Tenontosaurus in everyday life, Hunt said. The broken and infected toe would have led to swelling in the surrounding soft tissue, making it hard for the creature to walk. Moreover, the Brodie abscess would have been painful, and may have made it hard for the dinosaur to use its left hand when it was walking on all four legs (though it may have sometimes walked on just two legs, like the modern pangolin).

Given the challenges of living with these injuries, it's remarkable the paleo-beast survived long enough for its broken bones to heal, Hunt said. It takes about six weeks for a fractured rib to heal in humans, "so, if a similar healing rate in dinosaurs is assumed, we can tentatively say that this animal survived longer than six weeks post-injury," Hunt said. But the degree of healing and the subsequent infection indicate the dinosaur survived longer, perhaps a few months after its fall, he said.

"This number of pathologies is rare in herbivorous dinosaurs, especially pathologies that are related to trauma," Hunt said.

The research, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, was presented in August at the 2017 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in Calgary, Alberta.

Original article on Live Science.
A New York man is crediting an Apple Watch app with saving his life, after the app helped him detect signs of a life-threatening blood clot.

Last Friday (Oct. 13), James Green who lives in Brooklyn, tweeted: "Never thought a stupid lil wrist computer I bought two years ago would save my life. Saw my heart rate go up, ended up being a pulmonary embolism," or a blood clot in the lungs.

"That along with other symptoms I was having was enough data I needed to act on it, and realize it wasn't a panic attack (since I have severe generalized anxiety), that it was something more," Green told the Telegraph.

At the hospital, a CT scan showed Green had a blood clot in his lung, and he was placed on blood thinners. His doctor said the clot could have been fatal if Green had waited longer to get medical attention, the Telegraph said. Green said he was interested in data on his heart because he previously experienced pulmonary embolism (prior to this most recent one).

A rapid or irregular heartbeat can be a sign of a pulmonary embolism, according to the Mayo Clinic. The blockage caused by the clots can cause the heart to start working harder to pump blood through vessels, and this can also lead to an increase in blood pressure inside the lungs, the Mayo Clinic says.

Green isn't the first person to credit a smartwatch or fitness tracker with saving his life. In September 2015, a high-school senior said his Apple Watch saved his life, after the device showed he had a heart rate of 145 beats per minute. An exam revealed that he had rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscles release a protein that damages the kidneys and other organs.

And in April, a 73-year-old woman from Connecticut said that she called 911 after her Fitbit showed a spike in her heart rate. Tests at the hospital showed she had a pulmonary embolism.

Experts say that, because some fitness trackers and smartwatches include heart rate monitors, the devices can potentially alert people to certain health problems that cause changes in heart rate. But it's important to note that many of these devices are not approved medical devices, so they cannot be used to diagnose cardiovascular conditions.

Original article on Live Science.
The death toll from a recent plague outbreak in Madagascar is rising, according to news reports.

The country's main agency responsible for tracking the disease, the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar (the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar), says the current outbreak, which began in August, has resulted in 805 cases of plague, causing at least 74 deaths, as of Oct. 16. (The latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) from Oct. 12 places the death toll at 57 out of 684 cases.)

Plague in Madagascar isn't new; the WHO estimates that, on average, there are about 400 cases of bubonic plague (the more common form of the disease) in the country annually. But the number of cases and deaths in the current outbreak has exceeded health officials' estimates. So, what's different this year? And how can the outbreak be stopped? [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

One reason the plague that's spreading in Madagascar this year is so deadly is that the disease is spreading in its "pneumonic" form. Unlike the more common bubonic plague, which is spread from rats and fleas to humans, the pneumonic plague can spread from human to human, said Dr. Peter Small, an infectious-disease specialist and director of the Global Health Institute at Stony Brook University in New York.

Both forms of the plague are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which lives in fleas and rats. When the plague-causing bacteria get into a person's blood from a fleabite, it can travel to the lymph nodes. These lymph nodes become inflamed; in this form, they're called "buboes," which is how the bubonic plague gets its name. Along with inflamed lymph nodes, the plague causes symptoms similar to those of malaria or the flu, such as fever, chills and nausea.

The pneumonic plague develops when bubonic plague goes untreated and the infection moves from the lymph nodes into the lungs, Small told Live Science. Once in the lungs, the bacteria can be expelled into the air in suspended particles. There, it can live for more than a day, Small said. Madagascar is used to dealing with the bubonic form, which doesnt move human to human, said Small, so the high rate of pneumonic plague in this outbreak (about 65 percent of cases thus far) has made it particularly severe.

"If anyone has pneumonic plague, everyone else is at risk," Small said.

Indeed, this airborne form of the plague can be deadly in as little as 24 hours after symptoms begin, said Lila Rahalison, a microbiologist who has studied the plague for 15 years.

Crowded conditions

Rahalison told Live Science that the current outbreak in Madagascar was also spurred by another factor: Patient zero  the first patient identified in the outbreak fell ill while traveling toward the country's crowded capital city, Antananarivo. The patient, a 31-year-old man, started having malaria-like symptoms on Aug. 23, according to the WHO. Four days later, he started coughing and then died while traveling on a small, packed bus, WHO officials said. By the time the outbreak was detected, on Sept. 11, all of the people patient zero had infected had traveled to Antananarivo and beyond. Plague cases are now present in 35 of the 114 districts in Madagascar, according to the WHO. [5 Most Likely Real-Life Contagions]

The easy transmission of the disease and high population density in the capital led the disease to spread more quickly, Rahalison said. To slow the current outbreak, it's vital to control the spread of the plague and get lifesaving antibiotics to afflicted regions as fast as possible is vital, she said.

But these tasks can be challenging in a country like Madagascar, experts say.

"For a health care system with [few] resources, its hard to adapt to such a rapidly developing disease," said Dr. Simon Grandjean Lapierre, an infectious-disease specialist and medical microbiologist also at Stony Brook University. Pneumonic plague is fatal unless patients are treated with antibiotics, he added.

The government has shut down most of the country and stopped travel in an effort to contain the spread of the disease, Grandjean Lapierre told Live Science.

But in the Ranomafana National Park and Antananarivo, where Grandjean Lapierre conducts his research in Madagascar, most of the population doesn't seem very worried, possibly because the community hasn't internalized the increased dangers of the pneumonic plague versus the bubonic form, he said.

Moreover, "the Malagasy people are still shamed about the plague," said Rahalison, who is originally from Madagascar. "There is a stigma around it. For people, it's linked to the rats; rats are linked to dirt and poverty. So it's [a] difficult situation." Rahalison worries that this shame encourages sick people to hide  something she's encountered while working with the WHO in Madagascar.

"Now, we need a very fast response," Rahalison said. "Its critical that the outbreak be contained as soon as possible."

Originally published on Live Science.
Local News, National & World News, Health & Wellness, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 18 2017

Compromise Includes Problem Solvers Caucus Plan to Stabilize Individual Market.

Long Island, NY - October 18, 2017 - Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D  Long Island, Queens), who serves as Vice-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, released the following statement shortly after a bipartisan health care agreement was reached in the Senate.

This is what finding common ground looks like. The Problem Solvers Caucus outlined a plan to stabilize the individual health care market place earlier this year, and Im glad to see action is finally being taken by the Senate. While this bipartisan plan still needs to pass the House and Senate and be signed by the President, this is a great step forward to save and improve the Affordable Care Act so we can provide all Americans with high quality, affordable health coverage, said Congressman Suozzi.
Local News, Crime, Health & Wellness

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 18 2017

$10 Million Will Be Used to Integrate Health Care; $5.7 Million Will Be Used to Expand Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs; $3.3 Million Will Support Services for Pregnant and Postpartum Women Diagnosed with a Substance Use Disorder.

New York, NY - October 18, 2017 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the award of three grants, totaling $19 million, to expand addiction services in New York State. The funding will be used to improve integration between primary and behavioral health care, expand and enhance medication-assisted treatment programs, and to expand services for pregnant and postpartum women diagnosed with a substance use disorder. The grants were awarded to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and will be administered by the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene.

"Addiction and substance abuse have torn apart families and devastated lives and it is critical that we continue to offer the supportive services these individuals need to get their lives on track," Governor Cuomo said. "This funding will provide critical access to treatment in communities across the state, helping to create a safer and healthier New York for all."

"New York has taken bold and aggressive action to tackle the substance abuse crisis head on, but we also have to ensure that the necessary supports are available to help people recover from addiction," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, co-chair of the Governor's task force to combat heroin and opioid addiction. "These grants will help expand and enhance services, and will be particularly beneficial to helping pregnant and postpartum women struggling with addiction."

OASAS Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez said, "By working to bolster treatment and supports for people battling addiction, Governor Cuomo continues to show his commitment to improving New Yorker's lives. The programing announced today will help us further expand our lifesaving services and reach more people in need."

Funding was awarded through the following three grants:

Promoting Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care

$10 million has been awarded to New York State under the Promoting Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care program. The funding will be disbursed over five years and will strengthen services for New Yorkers suffering from a substance use disorder, with specific focus on opioid use disorders. The project will integrate SUD treatment, primary health, and mental health, through partnerships with the Acacia Network and the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, in the Bronx and Albany.

The initiative's primary goals are to build comprehensive, integrated care models into the three participating Opioid Treatment Programs; develop techniques for identification, intervention, and administering medication assisted treatment into the three participating primary care and mental health clinics; provide whole person care to more than 2,200 people with a substance use disorder, to improve physical and behavioral health outcomes; and collect and disseminate data about the pilot programs that will help other providers deliver similar services throughout the state.

In the Bronx, services will be provided in two areas:

Community District 1, which includes the neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris, and

Community District 5, which covers the neighborhoods of Fordham, Morris Heights, Mount Hope, and University Heights.

In District 1, services will be provided at the Ramon Velez Health Center, and in District 5 services will be provided at the Clay Avenue Family Health Center. Both districts were among the top five for opioid overdose deaths in New York City in 2016. Both were also designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas for Primary Care and Mental Health, as well as Medically Underserved Areas/Populations by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration.

In Albany, OASAS will provide integrated services in the West Hill neighborhood. The hub of the services will be the Camino Nuevo OTP. According to the Capital District Community Needs Assessment in 2016, the West Hill/South End neighborhood had hospitalization and emergency department visit rates more than three times higher than the rest of the state outside of New York City. Albany County residents also had a higher than average prevalence of respiratory illnesses, diabetes, and infectious diseases.

Medication-Assisted Treatment Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction

$5.7 million has been awarded through the Medication-Assisted Treatment Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction program, to expand and enhance Medication-Assisted Treatment services in New York State. The funding will be distributed to the following three providers, over the course of three years:

Mid-Hudson - Lexington Center, Dutchess County

New York City - VIP Community Services, Bronx County

Western NY - UPMC Chautauqua WCA, Chautauqua County

The funded organizations will increase capacity to provide Medication Assisted Treatment services in their regions and improve their ability to engage and retain people receiving care. Funding will also be used to increase staffing levels. The exact amount that each provider will receive will be determined at a later date. Providers were chosen based on the need for services in their areas and whether they had received funding to expand MAT services in the past. Each recipient will provide services on a regional basis.

State Pilot Grant for Treatment of Pregnant and Postpartum Women: Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act

$3.3 million has been awarded to expand services for pregnant and postpartum women who have been diagnosed with a substance use disorder. The goal is to increase the availability of long-term recovery support for substance use and addiction. A total of $1.1 million will be distributed under this grant for each of the next three years, split between the following providers:

Central NY - Crouse Hospital, Onondaga County

Mid-Hudson - Lexington Center for Recovery, Westchester County

The third provider will be in New York City and will be selected through a future Request for Proposals.

Congressman Eliot Engel said, "The opioid crisis demands our attention and requires nothing short of immediate action," Congressman Eliot Engel said. "New Yorkers and their families are struggling with this problem every day, in record numbers. Just yesterday, I met with addiction specialists in my office to discuss the work they're doing in my district to help those struggling with addiction. They made clear that additional resources to help fight this problem are desperately needed, so I thank Governor Cuomo for using this federal funding to expand access to addiction services throughout the state."

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey said, "Communities across the country, including here in New York, are working hard to solve the drug addiction crisis. I am pleased that this funding will provide relief to pregnant and postpartum women in Westchester County who are suffering from a substance abuse disorder. As Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, I am committed to ensuring New York continues to receive the necessary resources to expand addiction services and combat this crisis."

Congressman Jose E. Serrano said, "We are facing an addiction crisis in our country and unfortunately this is a major issue in the Bronx. Thanks to this federal funding, two health centers that are part of the Acacia Network, the Ramon Velez Health Center and the Clay Avenue Family Health Center in the Bronx, will be able to strengthen services needed to help identify and treat individuals with substance use disorders. By investing in this type of program, we are investing in our communities' public health and its families' well-being."

Congressman Paul Tonko said, "Last year alone, the opioid epidemic took 64,000 lives. In communities throughout Upstate New York, we know the pain of addiction. Today's announcement allows us to tackle this problem head on. I applaud the Governor's work to expand access to medication-assisted treatment and integrate behavioral and primary health care services. In Congress and at the federal level, these have long been my top priorities. I will continue to fight for individuals struggling with addiction, their families and our communities."

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney said, "Talk to police officers throughout the Hudson Valley and they'll tell you they arrest the same people for minor drug crimes over and over again. We can't just treat the heroin and opioid crisis like a criminal justice issue because it's not getting the job done. Addiction is also a public health issue. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for helping our communities in Dutchess and Westchester Counties expand treatment programs instead of treating incarceration as the only solution to this epidemic - it's time to open up our toolbox and use everything we have."

Congressman John Katko said, "Heroin addiction and synthetic drug abuse is a problem that many people living in Central New York face daily. As a former federal prosecutor, I have seen firsthand how drugs, and addiction, tear families apart and ruin lives. Addiction service centers are a way for our communities to come together, and fight against drug addiction. I am proud to support this funding for recovery and rehab facilities."

The amount of funding each provider will receive will be determined at a later date. The state will work with each of the selected providers to increase access to treatment for pregnant women and new mothers, and to provide gender-specific and family-centered treatment. Funding recipients were selected by reviewing providers with existing women's programs and examining the number of pregnant women they admitted into treatment in 2016. Each provider will deliver services in their local area.
Cops: Queens Man Arrested in Connection with Overdose of Nassau County Resident

Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 18 2017

Anthony Espinal of Corona, 28, is being charged with four counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, cops say.

NCPD reports the arrest of Anthony Espinal of Corona, 28, for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance that occurred on Tuesday, October 17.

Valley Stream, NY - October 18, 2017 - The Major Case Bureau reports the details of an arrest of a Queens man for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance that occurred on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 5:30 pm in The Major Case Bureau reports the details of an arrest of a Queens man for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance that occurred on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 5:30 pm in Valley Stream

According to Narcotics/Vice Squad detectives, an investigation into a non-fatal overdose that occurred in Nassau County led to the arrest of Anthony Espinal, 28, of Corona.

Narcotics/Vice Squad detectives placed the defendant under arrest on the above listed date and time. Espina is being charged with four (4) counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd Degree. He will be arraigned on Wednesday, September 18, 2017 in First District Court, Hempstead
Local News, Business & Finance, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: October 18 2017

Fourth Annual Career Fair Dedicates First Hour to Veteran Job Seekers.

Suffolk County, NY - October 18, 2017 - Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced that hundreds of job seekers are expected to attend the 2017 Suffolk County Career Expo on Friday, October 20. The Career Expo will designate the first hour of the job fair from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM to cater to the veteran population. The Expo will be opened to the general public beginning at 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

The Expo, held at Suffolk County Community Colleges Brentwood campus, is a joint venture of the One-Stop Employment Center and the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency.

With the largest veteran population in New York State, I have directed my administration to organize events such as these in order to help our servicemen and women find the right job for them, said County Executive Steve Bellone. I thank the hundreds of organizations who are committed to employing veterans that will help develop their professional skills.

Over 100 companies including Canon USA, New York Community Bank, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Henry Schein Inc., Northwell Health, Dish Network, US Customs & Border Protection, and United Parcel Service will be meeting with potential candidates to fill hundreds of open positions.

Suffolk Department of Labor Commissioner Frank Nardelli and Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency Director Thomas Ronayne, in a joint statement, said, Our veterans have much to offer local employers. The Expo helps place job-seeking veterans with hiring companies, benefitting both parties.

Event sponsors include Bren-Tronics, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, United Way of Long Island, Community Mainstreaming Associates, Inc., St. Josephs College, and East/West.
We publish here an interview by the Catalan paper of the IMT, Revolucio. Vidal Aragones is a town councilor in Cornella, for Cornella en Comu-Crida per Cornella; a labour lawyer linked to different militant class struggle unions (especially to the dockers); professor of labour law at the UAB and one of the most eloquent advocates of independence from a Marxist point of view.

We have read and studied with interest your article about Nin, [1] and the Catalan national question, where you explain the development of Nin's flexible and sophisticated thinking on this subject. We have also been reading the writings of Trotsky about Catalonia in 1931 and 1934. He was very critical of the BOC's [2] concessions to nationalism. What were the discrepancies between Nin and Trotsky on this particular issue?

REVOLUCIO: Catalan paper of the IMT / Photo: own work

Trotsky in a very clear way, addressing Nin, especially in 1931, told him that the unity, which at that time was beginning to be discussed with the BOC, could not be done on the basis of renouncing class independence, and that BOC was presenting itself as a Marxist-inspired separatist organization, and that this is not the tradition of Marxism. Trotsky stresses that Marxists obviously are the great advocates of the democratic-national question and the national liberation of the oppressed peoples. He also stressed that on the one hand one cannot subordinate oneself to any nationalist organization, but must have a position of class independence. But at the same time, too, that we must be the main defenders of the right to self-determination in its utmost expression.

This, initially, in 1931, appears as a criticism of the position taken by the BOC, rather than that of Nin. In fact, in 1934, what Trotsky posed to both Nin and the BOC, and especially to the Workers' Alliance, [3] which was an organism where BOC had a great deal of influence, was above all that they should not have a subordinate position of "let's see what the petty-bourgeoisie of Esquerra [4] raises". Rather, in front of the Catalan masses, they had to appear as the great defenders, in a very clear way, of the independence of Catalonia. It was not possible to go forward either nationally or democratically if independence was not defended. Of course, defending independence did not mean renouncing in any way international unity and even a Spanish-state wide Party. But, he said in a very clear way, it would be impossible to win the battle in Catalonia unless they appeared in front of the masses as the great defenders of the right to self-determination and even independence. Trotsky also said, and insisted particularly with Nin, that if they did not have political hegemony in Catalonia, the Spanish Revolution could not come into being either.

It is important to see that later on, the POUM, [5] right from its founding in 1935, did not play this role of going to defend in practice the independence of Catalonia, and did not put itself at the head the movement. Obviously this also came into conflict with other dynamics throughout Spain as of the year 1934. But it is true that the BOC, with the merger that will give rise to the POUM, rid itself of its feature of Marxist-inspired separatism, and adopted a more classical Marxist position [defending self-determination but not independence]. In the case of Nin it was the other way around. Nin, who probably had an unfinished position of self-determination, moved towards clearer positions to say that the potential independence of Catalonia must be defended, as this could be positive for the movement in the whole of Spain, and obviously that one had to appear before the masses as the main defenders of this right. More or less, the harsh criticisms of 31 and 34, from 35 practically, from the theoretical point of view, became part of the program of the POUM.

Coming to today: you conduct your militant activity in Cornella, one of the nuclei of the Barcelona red belt, and you define yourself as a person from Cornella with a Spanish-language background. There is much talk (although often with simplifications) of the division of the working-class of Catalonia along language and national lines. It seems clear enough that the fight for self-determination has had a more limited echo in the Spanish-speaking neighbourhoods of Barcelona and Tarragona, as is also seen in the figures for participation in the 1 October referendum. In addition, the PP, Ciudadanos and the King are making great efforts to mobilize a pro-Spanish movement in Catalonia, aiming at these layers. How do you see it from Cornella? How to combat the tendencies towards division that may exist within the working-class, and to widen the social base of the republic?

It is important for us to make clear that the movement of national emancipation, now, in Catalonia, does not have an ethnic character. It has a purely progressive character and has practically no chauvinistic element. A different question is that the political leadership is still passing over from Convergencia and the ANC [Catalan National Assembly] to Esquerra and Omnium,[6] and therefore it is shifting permanently to the left, and that this shift to the left can increase in the coming months.

In relation to the working-class, in the first place we have to put an end to the idea that the working-class has not participated in this movement. It's false. This [argument] cannot be maintained if we take into account that this movement has had two million people participating on 11 September [Catalan national day] and more than two million people voting YES to independence a week ago. This is only possible if we accept that it is born from the popular classes, that is to say, that the petty-bourgeoisie and the working-class participate in the movement. Another thing, as I said before, is question of political leadership, something which, additionally, is already changing.

On the other hand, it is true to say that the working-class participating in this national movement does not mean that the majority of the working-class is participating. Of course, for reasons of historical, family, cultural, language (but no ethnic) links, there are workers who have a point of view against separation from Spain. It is also true that there is a majority of the working-class that is neither pro-independence nor anti-independence, but unfortunately they do not join in the movement because they do not see either of the two political positions being an alternative for their day-to-day problems. And probably this is the majority position amongst the working-class, the one of not taking a position for nor against.

Very surprisingly, we have even seen that sectors of the working-class from Spanish-speaking backgrounds have begun to support, not only the referendum, but a YES vote as the most democratic and progressive option. But that does not mean that we are unaware that there is an even broader section that does not participate in the national emancipation movement and a section that is against it. This also applies to the neighbourhoods. In certain areas of Catalonia, the majority of the working-class is in favor of the process of national emancipation. In several medium-sized cities, where the working-class of immigrant origin has undergone a process of intermingling with the working-class of the whole of Catalonia, the situation is different and there is much more support.

However, the big problem is that, insofar as the political leadership is still in the hands of the right-wing, this prevents us from adding more sectors of the working-class to the movement.

If we now place a "constituent process" as a central slogan, and in the constituent process a very clear commitment to break with the 1978 regime, and also a commitment to recover or win new social rights, that would surely be the best way to increase working-class participation.

And that will be the only way that these goals can come into being. Unless we increase the numbers of the working-class participating, it is hardly possible to have a real break and independence for Catalonia.

We heard you speak at the CUP [7] campaign meeting in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, where Marta Sibina also took part representing the Comuns. [8] On the same day, Albano Dante, from Podem, [9] took part in an meeting of the CUP campaign in Vic. These weeks have seen a rather positive trend towards unity between the CUP and the world of Podem and the Commons, based on the struggle for self-determination, the end of the so-called process, and the fight against repression. How can this unity be strengthened?

For comrades who are not from the spaces of the Commons nor from Podem, obviously it has been a real joy to see Podem Catalonia defending a clear self-determination position, though this is not really the case with the Commons nor PODEMOS at the Spanish state level. And they do it in very classic lines, to defend the right of self-determination, but also to see that this is a progressive step forward and therefore that one should not only regard the right of self-determination in abstract but in its specific expression, which can be used to advance socially as well.

How to strengthen it? Well, the way to strengthen this movement would surely be from the rank and file. If the centrality of our slogans is not a call to an abstract independence, but a call for a republic with social content, a republic that restores rights, a republic that advances socially and with a clear class and internationalist character, obviously with these slogans, with this program and especially working day-by-day and with our comrades, we can attract the most advanced layers.

We have seen the outbreak movement of the defense committees [CDR], as the most sophisticated mass struggle bodies that have emerged in recent weeks, which in many places they have attracted many people and were in charge of the logistic organisation of the referendum. What are the tasks for this movement now, especially considering the vacillations and weakness of the Generalitat [Government of Catalonia], hit by the state and cracked by the internal divisions?

The CDRs are without a doubt the most revolutionary sectors within the national emancipation movement. No two CDRs that are the same. There are CDRs where the composition is basically people from the CUP environment, but also sometimes even Omnium, and even some that I've heard of with the participation of people from the ANC, something which is very curious to analyse, but they all agree in having a clear program and clear practices of breaking with the regime. There are other CDRs where we work together with comrades coming from anarcho-syndicalist or libertarian anarchist backgrounds, and even some who defend self-determination but not independence.

The first task will surely be one of security and defense. We should not lose sight of the fact that now we have a reality in which, on the one hand, the National Police, the Civil Guard and other para-police elements are in the Catalan territory acting or with orders of action, and therefore a first element is of security for the comrades participating in the national liberation movement.

The second is to generate dynamics to make the movement grow in the neighborhoods and amongst sectors of the working-class. Undoubtedly, the movement can only become bigger by winning over sectors of the working-class and the left.

Also they need to take the pulse of the movement permanently so that cities are won over, neighborhoods are won over. This will come from two elements, to be permanently on the street with rallies, talks and responding to the repressive acts that we face and appealing to progressive sectors that are not yet defending the right to self-determination. But on the other hand, tying this with elements of coordination. Neighborhoods, cities or towns can not be left isolated, but there must be city-level coordination of neighbourhood based CDRs, county-wide coordination of city and town CDRs, we should even be already thinking of a coordination across the whole of Catalonia.

A very positive event in recent days has been the intervention of the organized working-class, with the strike of 3 October, but also with the stewarding organised by the firefighters, the participation of teachers, bus drivers, peasants, and, perhaps the most spectacular development, the refusal by dockers to the handle police ships. As an activist and labour lawyer, you have been very much involved in the struggles of the dockers, how do you see the mood of the workers' movement and, specifically, in the docks? The large UGT-CCOO trade unions hesitated a lot when faced with 3 October and took a very ambiguous position. What is behind these movements?

For 15 years, I have been a lawyer of the Collectiu Ronda and for about 12 years I have acted as an adviser and lawyer, both to the Barcelona dockers and the dockers across the Spanish state through the Coordinadora organization. I am also an adviser to a sector of dockers at the international level through the International Dockers' Council. Without a doubt, the actions of the dockers in the port of Barcelona was one of defending civil rights in a very quick way. In the best traditions of the dockers, they voted to participate in the general strike [on 3 October] and in the previous week they took action in relation to the ships that were in the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona and that according to the information that we had received were going to be used to host national policemen or other repressive forces. In no case have the dockers come out in defense of independence, rather they took action mostly along clear democratic lines that corresponds to a class struggle union. This is significant as for many years the dockers had been accused of acting as a craft union.

The [dockers] union at the state level made a statement condemning what had happened on 1 October and defending a dialogue, which was a different political line. But, obviously, such a statement, at the state level, also serves to establish clear  very clear  bonds.

The position of CCOO and UGT, of their leadership, was on Thursday of the week before 1 October to set up a platform called, I believe, Roundtable for Democracy, and very quickly they probably asked the ANC and Omnium to ensure the issue of the [general] strike should not be mentioned and that the government put some kind of measure so that it would not seen as a strike but as a "national stoppage." After 1 October, that evening, they had no option but to support the 3 October call of the alternative trade unions, CGT, IAC, COS and I-CSC, but obviously rejecting the class conflict that is inherent in a general strike, they supported a patriotic agreement for a "national stoppage". Not because they have become patriots, but in order to curb alternative trade unionism and also to appear to the oligarchy as 'people of order'. I want to clarify that this is mere intuition, I have no data that can confirm it.

Translated from Catalan original.

Notes

[1] Andres Nin Perez, leader of the Trotskyist Communist Left of Spain (ICE) who eventually broke all political ties with Trotsky in 1933.

[2] The Workers and Peasants' Bloc: a Right Opposition Communist group founded in 1931 in Catalonia, with which Nin and the ICE merged in 1935.

[3] A united front of workers organisations formed in 1933.

[4] Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia): petty-bourgeois Catalan nationalist party founded in 1931, which was main Catalan Republican Party during the Spanish Civil War.

[5] POUM (Workers' Party of Marxist Unification): the party created by the merging of the ICE and BOC in 1935.

[6] Omnium Cultural: an organisation committed to the promotion of Catalan language and culture, which has now taken up the cause of independence.

[7] Candidatures d'Unitat Popular (Popular Unity Candidacies), anti-capitalist pro-independence party in Catalonia.

[8] Els Comuns (The Commons): the political movement around the Barcelona en Comu list which won the Barcelona municipal election in 2015 installing Ada Colau as mayor.

[9] En Comu Podem (In Common We Can), an electoral coalition led by Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and formed of Podemos, Barcelona en Comu, Initiative for Catalonia Greens and United and Alternative Left.
Patients are constantly lectured on the importance of taking their medications as directed. Yet, a disturbingly low adherence across patient populations remains a major challenge for clinicians, insurance and pharma companies, and of course the patients themselves. New technologies are coming out that are trying to solve this problem, and one of the more exciting ones that is already undergoing clinical trials is the ID-Cap from etectRx, a company based in Newberry, Florida. ID-Cap uses drug capsules that have a bit of electronics and simple chemistry within them to confirm that a patient truly ingested the pill and it ended up in the stomach.

We wanted to find out more about how ID-Cap works and what etectRx is doing to bring this technology to market. We spoke with Harry Travis, President and CEO of etectRx, who gave us a quick summary of what his company is up to.

Medgadget: Before we discuss etectRx technology, can you give us an overview of the problem your company is trying to solve?

Harry Travis: The problem we are trying to solve is patients not taking their medication as prescribed. This is known as medication non-adherence, and it is a major problem resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars of additional costs to the healthcare system.

Medgadget: How does the ID-Cap technology work?

Travis: The ID-Cap is swallowed with the patients medicine and, when it dissolves in the stomach, it sends a very weak radio signal to a small reader that the patient keeps with them. The reader then sends the message to a special app on the patients smartphone. The app then alerts the patients pharmacist or physician that the patient has taken their medication.

Medgadget: Where does the capsule get the electric power necessary to transmit the signals it emits?

Travis: The ID-Cap creates a very small amount of power by combining two inert elements with the fluids in your stomach.

Medgadget : What information do the radio signals coming from an ingested pill contain within them?

Travis: The only information transferred is that the ID-Capsule sends a positive signal that indicates ingestion.

Medgadget: How do you ensure that the non-digestible components dont cause side effects and are expelled properly?

Travis: etectRx has completed multiple NIH sponsored clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the ID-Cap system.

Medgadget: Who do you see as your customers? Pharma companies, physicians, insurance firms, or patients?

Travis: All of the above are very interested in improving patients adherence to their prescribed medication regimen and, depending on the specific drug or therapy, could be our potential customers.

Medgadget: What does your firm need to do and prove before you can obtain the necessary regulatory approvals?

Travis: We need to continue to build our database of clinical experience and compile our data in the format necessary to complete a 510(k) application for the FDA some time in mid-2018.

Link: etectRx
by Larissa Faw , October 18, 2017

Beam Suntory and its agency, Preacher, are simultaneously launching two new campaigns to promote its Irish whiskey brands The Tyrconnell and Kilbeggan. Both seek to showcase the brands as spirits to enjoy year round and not just on festive occasions like St Patricks Day.



Tyrconnell and Kilbeggan are both produced out of the oldest licensed distillery in Ireland, Kilbeggan Distilling Co. The campaigns try to differentiate the brands by highlighting the rich, long-standing histories of both whiskeys.

Kilbeggans campaign, We Are Kilbeggan, highlights the bond between its hometown and the distillery by celebrating local residents.

The Tyrconnell Brave or Else campaign teaches the viewer about the brand's namesake, a chestnut colt belonging to one R. M. Delemere. Tyrconnell who is said to have defied the greatest of odds by besting horses and oddsmakers alike at the National Produce Stakes horse race in 1876.

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Online films debuted this summer to target influencers and distributors. Now the campaigns are expanding to additional media  including print, point-of-sale signage and newly designed websites  to coincide with the holiday season.

While it may seem like two simultaneous campaigns for similar brands from the same company might cannibalize one other, Preacher says both compete in different spheres of whiskeys. The Tyrconnell is a single malt, making it a competitor with scotch and other single malts that demand a higher price point. Kilbeggan and Kilbeggan Single Grain, by comparison, are blends competing with brands like Jameson.

Furthermore, Irish whiskey is currently one of the fastest-growing spirits category, following much in the trajectory of bourbon and craft beer. As such, the number of Irish whiskey distilleries is said to be growing from just a handful to over 30 in the next four years with new entrants introducing their products to keep up with increasing consumer demand.
by Sara Guaglione , October 18, 2017

The Economist is hitting the U.S. with another direct response TV (DRTV) campaign, but this time the creative was designed in-house and focuses on markets in Washington, DC and San Francisco.

The ad, called The world needs another Economist reader, is the first to be created by the companys documentary production unit, Economist Films, for The Economist brand.

It will air for the next two months on national cable networks and in key target markets, including San Francisco and Washington, DC. The two cities were recognized as key markets based on audience and market data, Beard said.

It will also appear on a national broadcast spot on the Late Late Show with James Corden.

The London-based Economist launched a DRTV last October around the U.S. election, as part of a larger advertising push into the country. Compared to the previous campaign, this ad contains news footage rather than animation, to replicate The Economists best-performing ad in the UK, Mark Beard, senior vice president of North America at The Economist, told Publishers Daily.

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The creative touches on relevant topics, such as North Korea and the nuclear threat, healthcare and President Trumps relations with Vladimir Putin and Russia.

Beard said in a statement the newest addition to the campaign is part of the companys push to ramp up our marketing efforts in the U.S. to drive awareness of The Economist brand and increase subscriptions.

This DRTV campaign was informed by more audience research and data, collected from the previous campaign and marketing for The Economist in the UK.

We know potential subscribers are grazing for news on cable, so a decent chunk of spend is allocated to relevant cable news, lifestyle and science and tech programs, but we've also focused on two important markets for us: DC and San Francisco, with an emphasis on placements during news programs, Beard said.

The direct-response ad urges viewers to call, text or visit a websites to receive a free copy of The Economist, with hopes the viewer will then be converted to a subscriber.

The publisher is also testing out a pilot advertising campaign in podcasts. Three podcasts are included in the pilot program: "HBR Ideacast," "Intelligence Squared" and "The Weeds."
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, October 18, 2017

A Republican lawmaker in Michigan has introduced a bill that would hinder local towns from building their own broadband networks.

House Bill 5099, unveiled last week by Michigan House of Representatives member Michele Hoitenga, bans towns and cities from using any public funds to create new broadband networks. But the measure also allows localities to partner with broadband service providers in some circumstances.

The advocacy group Institute for Local Self-Reliance panned the proposed bill, writing that it would probably cause local community leaders "to avoid pursuing any publicly owned infrastructure initiatives."

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Hoitenga said on Twitter Wednesday that the bill will be amended. "This bill was presented to get the much needed conversation going," she said in a tweet. She added that she's "a big proponent" of broadband expansion.

Michigan already imposes some obstacles to municipal broadband, according to Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Self Reliance's Community Broadband Networks Initiative. He says a 2005 Michigan law requires local communities that want to create networks to first issue requests for proposals. The towns can only move forward with investments if there are fewer than three bids. Despite that law, several cities have recently moved forward in Michigan.

Around 20 states have laws that limit local towns and cities from creating their own muni-broadband networks. Many of those laws were lobbied for by cable companies and telecoms, and passed by lawmakers who were "focused more on limiting investment in these much needed networks than in encouraging it," says Mitchell, a well-known critic of state restrictions on muni-broadband.

Last year, a federal appellate court reversed a Federal Communications Commission order aimed at encouraging muni-broadband. The court ruled that the FCC lacked authority for its order, which would have invalidated state laws hindering muni-broadband networks.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, October 18, 2017

Google has created technology that automatically updates price and availability in Google Shopping ads that will allow it to complete better with Amazon and other ecommerce marketplaces.

The "automatic item updates" feature, scheduled to launch October 31, will allow Google to automatically update a merchant's product price and availability in a Google Shopping ad based on the advertiser's website listing and other triggers without placing codes containing the schema.org markup that was previously required.

A combination of statistical models and machine learning detect and extract product data from a retailer's website to update a product's price and availability in shopping ads.

"The worst thing for a consumer is to see one price in a Google Shopping ad and then other price on the merchant's website," said Tien Nguyen, founder at CPC Strategy.

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Two emails sent from Google to merchants earlier this week describing the feature, "automatic item updates," left retail clients using Google Shopping a little confused. On Tuesday, search agencies began getting a flood of emails and calls asking about the change.

The first email from Google was sent to merchants that are not currently using automatic item updates, and the second email was sent to merchants currently using it.

Beginning at the end of the month, the feature will turn on by default, but merchants can opt-out. Google developed the technology to look for and identify coded signals on a website page that would determine price and availability. This way merchants are not required to have the Schema.org markup in place to function properly.

The feature isn't new, but the ability to trigger it without the Schema.org markup in place is new.

Nguyen said sometimes Google will reject the Shopping ad if it doesn't match the merchants' price and description on the webpage. Then the ad never serves at all.

The most current price and availability for the products will be determined by "structured data annotations" or additional information when structured data isn't available.

"Its not anything to be alarmed about, but it cant be completely ignored," said David Grow, digital media director, Chacka Marketing. "Advertisers can opt out."
It was indeed a great weekend for Port Harcourt residents, thanks to liqueur brand, Camparis Dare To Mix Festival.

The annual festival which is inspired by the daring spirit of Campari fans and mixologists who take delight in creating bold cocktails, hit the city of Port Harcourt this year after a successful Lagos edition in 2016.

The night featured an array of cocktails, canapes, comedy, and amazing performances by 2baba, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Harrysong, Duncan Mighty and Kelly Hansome.

See some of the performances in the twitter thread:
Following the publication indicating that he has rejected a Gh1,000 from the organizers of the Radio and Television Personality (RTP) Awards because of the meagre money involved,Swedru-based artiste, Patapaa Amisty has debunked that publication.

Speaking in a telephone conversation with Nana Adwoa Annan of Atinka TV,the One Corner hitmaker accentuated melancholically that :

Ahhow can I reject a show that the president will grace? Im a Ghanaian and what is Gh1,000I dont think about the money;am thinking about the gravity of the showif Bawumia is coming to grace the show why wouldnt I perform so that he will also dance 'one corner,Patapaa quipped

Patapaa told Nana Adwoa Annan extensively that,l'm coming to perform because of Dr.Bawumia,Nana Addo and John Mahama for the whole world to seeso tell everybody that am coming to perform at the RTP awards on 28th November,2017 at the Accra International Conference Centre and it would be a big shame if I dont perform at such a big event,

Patapaa concluded that, though he has not been contacted by the organizers of the award scheme, its about Ghana,and he will even perform for free.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Nigerian music maverick and pioneer Fela Kuti.

Hundreds of Nigerians took part in the annual "Felabration" - a series of events to commemorate Kuti's death.

He was one of Africas most celebrated musicians; loved by millions for his authenticity and charisma.

In the past few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in his music in popular culture, with plays about his life on New York's Broadway and in Londons West End.

Today, he is being recognised at home.

Kuti was very vocal on the issue of governance in Africa and this is something a lot of fans admired about him.

Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti, Kuti's first child, told me her father has a message for African people.

"Its important that we hear that message and we live by that message. And that message was pan-Africanism. If Africa is united, the sky is the limit."

For many here in Nigeria, the problems Kuti sang about are daily realities and his music remains the only symbol of hope.

Kuti's son Femi performed at Felebration in Lagos
The stage is set for 2017 edition of Miss World, and Ghana hopes to pull off a surprise at the pageant scheduled to take place on November 18 in China.

Miss Ghana 2017 ambassador, Afua Asieduwaa Akrofi, who was also the first runner-up at the Miss Ghana 2015 pageant, is Ghana's representative to the Miss World pageant.

The 20-year-old Ghanaian beauty queen will battle it out with 117 other queens from countries across the world, all gunning to be the 67th Miss World, taking over from Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico.

Afua Asieduwaa Akrofi was chosen to represent Ghana at Miss World 2017 by the executives of Exclusive Events Ghana, the organisers of Miss Ghana pageant.

This year, Miss World will have a new format, giving greater emphasis on social media and interactivity. This new format is called the 'head-to-head challenge', which will select 20 out of the top 40 contestants.

To vote for Ghana and Miss Afua Akrofi, Ghanaians are encouraged to visit www.missworld.com and check out the contestants, then sign up at the top right corner of the website. Log in with your details attained via signing up and then browse to the contestants section and search for Ghana. Vote for Ghana/Afua A. Akrofi.

Miss World 2017 will be held on November 18, 2017 at the Sanya City Arena in Sanya, China.
Music duo Xriddim set to release visuals to their new song live My life the song which was release days back,is already reciving massive airplay on all local radio station and across.

Xriddim who are tipped to be the next biggest group from Ghana after the successful release of new song live my life has release new dapper photos ahead of the official video for song their latest song.

Check out their new promo photos below
1. Charting New Territory.

One of the first wedding planning tips I received was to book my honeymoon before anything else. My brother and sister-in-law said, You just need too. Id heard the same thing from my boss whod been married for over 40 years. She said, its a time for you and your husband to reflect on what you have and where you are going.

So, in fact, thats what I did. My husband doesnt have the travel bug like I do so he left the planning up to me. I booked an all inclusive trip to the beautiful beaches of Playa Del Carmen. It would be my husbands first time out of the country. He was just a little nervous. I guided him through each step from passport chronicles to packing to customs to transportation to the resort. Encountering new territory can be scary. However, having a supportive spouse can calm any worries that may arise. It was just me and my husband going on an adventure miles away from anyone we knew or loved! And so, the bonding began.

2. You Jump, I Jump Is True.

My husband is scared of water. However, hes is an amazing underwater swimmer! Oxymoron much? YES! We had bought an excursion to snorkel in a cave, swim in a cenote, zip line, and ride ATVs. When we arrived at the cenote, I volunteered to zip line into the water first! I dont know what came over me, but I said Today is the day that Im conquering all my fears. After I got married, I said its all or nothing for everything in my life! If you know anything about me, youd know that I always thought marriage was scary! I wanted it, but it had to be a planned and a matter of fact option for me. And when that time came, I did it! The new woman in me zip lined right into the water screaming bloody murder and came up rejuvenated. I look at my husband and asked him if he were going to do it. He said, No, youre crazy! I said okay. That may be true, but Ill jump with you. So, we jumped together as if we were Jack and Rose on the Titanic. For the rest of my life, I am committed to jumping if he jumps and vice versa! Were in this for the long haul!

3. I Got Your Back Even If Im Scared.

As we rode ATVs to our next destination on the itinerary, I held on tight to my husband. We were flying over dirt hills and dodging trees in the Yucatan jungle. I grew up riding 4-wheelers and go-carts with my family so I wasnt scared. It was just the whole riding versus driving thing that makes you a little apprehensive. I wasnt in control! When we arrived at the Zip Lining tower, the anxiety that Id left in my matron life, had arrived with me. As we climbed the stairway to heaven, Alex was behind me. I kept turning back asking him if he were scared. Hed say no, well be fine. Let me just tell you, this was no ordinary zip line. Id done those at various leadership workshops. This was a few steps closer to God. No matter how shaken we were, we held each other down! Its relaxing to know that we have each others backs even if were scared.

4. Being Independent Isnt As Important.

Seven years. For seven years, Ive literally grown up with my husband. Weve learned how to pretty much do everything together. Were still growing up together. While on our honeymoon, I got a little sick. Our plans of having an intimate dinner by the beach turned to trips back and forth to the bathroom. Alex was fine with this. While I whaling about what if I dont get better, he was chilling, assuring me that it was probably something I ate and just needed to rest. I used to call my mom for this assurance. Now, hes my confidant. In sickness and in health, were doing this!

5. Were Gonna Fight This Out.

Wed scheduled a photo shoot on the beach that I was all too excited about. I had washed and straightened my weave, took an hour on my makeup and carefully prepped my outfit for the night! I was ready. Coming from a picture-taking-family, thats what we do. Alex not so much. He was dragging to the session. At the end, I exploded and told him he was ruining my memory. The argument concluded with me storming off towards the beach at Dusk, him sending me a message via Snapchat (no cell phone service in Mexico). We met up at the bar, talked it out and kissed the night away. Couples fight. People love. People live. And we survive.
Former Trade Minister Dr Ekow Spio-Gabrah has revived an old attack against the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), which he labelled as a tribal party.

He said while the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) accommodates non-Akans, the same could not be said about it arch political rival, the NPP.

Speaking after an NDC press conference to announce its manual registration exercise, Dr Spio-Gabrah said the NPP is purely a tribal entity.

The [NDC] is a party that has had Presidents from the Volta, Central and Northern Regions [but] this is not the case in the NPP, he told Joy News Joseph Ackah-Blay.

The two parties have a history of trading tribal claims in their attempt to win votes, a ploy that peaked in the lead up to the 2016 general elections.

Spio-Gabrah's comments is a recycled version of the then President John Mahama's call to voters in the three regions of the North to vote for the NDC because it is the only party that allows Northerners to rise to the height of political power.

John Mahama and the NDC General Secretary Aseidu Nketia have all suggested the NPP would reject Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia if he attempts to contest for presidential candidate of his party because he hails from the North.

Former Finance minister Osafo Maafo was also accused of making ethnocentric comments in a recorded video in which he is said to have argued that only persons from resource-rich regions should become president.

The suggestion was that resource-rich regions are largely Akan dominated areas where NPP has its strongholds. But the leading NPP figure has maintained the February 2015 recording is doctored.

Mr Spio-Gabrah, tipped to contest for the NDC flagbearer in 2018, said the NPP is more tribal because it has precluded non-Akans from becoming flagbearer of the party.

"The party [NDC] is nationally based but there are some parties which have declared that their leader should not come outside the five Akan regions," he said referring to Osafo Maafo's 2015 comment.

But Deputy General Secretary, Nana Obiri-Boahen has dismissed the claim on Joy FM's Top Story, saying it is "unacceptable and historically incorrect."

"I was expecting him to speak like a mature politician and not a neophyte," he told Evans Mensah host of the programme, adding Dr Spio-Gabrah lowered his standard with his tribal comment.

Political scientist, Dr Bossman Asare said the nature of Ghana's politics makes it possible for people to make statements that are "unacceptable" like what Dr Spio-Gabrah made.

He said the NPP could no longer be described as a tribal party because of its performance in last year's election especially in the three regions of the north.

"The media should be discouraging this kind of discussions," the Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @Realbrakopowers
Students of the Kwadaso Agric College on Tuesday deserted their classrooms in protest of the failure by government to restore their allowances.

The Ministry of Agriculture had announced earlier in October, that it had tabled the requests from the students for the restoration of their allowances before Cabinet.

That announcement was made following agitations from students of five of the colleges, who besieged the premises of the Agric Ministry in Accra last Wednesday, demanding the immediate release of their allowances.

However, since Cabinet convened last Thursday, there has been no updates of a possible restoration of the allowances, forcing the students to ditch their classes in an attempt to force the government to act.

Citi News checks at the school revealed that, red bands had been tied at the dormitories and lecture halls, a traditional sign of protest.

The President of the schools Students Representative Council (SRC), Stanley Mensah, stated that, the action had become necessary because of the apparent disregard for Agric students across the country by the government.

In an interview with Citi News, he insisted that despite the negative implications their boycott will create, they were justified in their demands, as unlike the nurses and teachers, they werent guaranteed jobs and needed the allowances to survive.

We think that either somebody is not being fair or something is wrong somewhere. That is why we believe that all the students have to come together, leave the premises of the school until the Ministry is done with the processes to get our allowances for us. We are not being treated fairly, and are not being regarded in the country, so there's no need for us to be on campus. We took our books and our things and vacated the premises of the school. As we speak, if you go to Damongo, Kwadaso or any college in Tamale, the schools are virtually empty and nobody's there, he said.

Nobody will say that if you do this, it won't affect anyone because it will. We've left the time for learning and we're concentrating on the [allowances]. We are not getting direct employment like the teachers and the nurses. We feel that we've been neglected and devastated, and nobody's speaking on our behalf. Management of the school don't do anything to help us because they feel they are public servants and how can they talk about allowances when they receive their pay. They aren't ready to do anything for us.

4, 000 graduates to be employed

The Agric Minister, Owusu Afriyie Akoto, addressed the crowd that had besieged the Ministry, stating at the time that cabinet has its own procedure for considering such demands, and I can assure you that your demand is seriously being considered.

In an interview on Eyewitness News later that day, the Minister's Press Secretary, Issah Alhassan, stated that, they had been cleared by Parliament to employ over 4, 000 graduates from the colleges who had been without jobs since 2011.

For the past six years, no student from the Agric College has ever been employed into the public service. Now the Minister has told them emphatically that cabinet has agreed that from next year, almost 4, 000 students would be automatically employed into the public service, he said.

The complaints of the Agric students were sparked by the restoration of allowances of trainee nurses by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.

The students, whose allowances were scrapped along with the nursing trainees under the Mahama administration, argue that they are being discriminated against by the government despite the assurances.

The President of the Agricultural College Students Union, Chimbu Sampson Sanika, said: We are not satisfied with that information. We want our allowances restored so that we can go through our tenures successfully.



By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A new UN report on the mysterious 1961 plane crash that killed UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold in central Africa has concluded it appears "plausible" the aircraft came under attack.

Sweden has called "an open wound" the unsolved questions over Hammarskjold's death, which came during the Cold War between Western nations and the Soviet bloc.

The latest findings take into account newly-released information from the archives of Belgium, Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States.

Hammarskjold, a Swedish diplomat who had been the UN's second secretary-general since 1953, was on his way to negotiate a ceasefire for mining-rich Katanga province in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo when he died along with 15 other people.

His plane crashed on September 17 or 18 of 1961 near Ndola, in northern Rhodesia, now known as Zambia. Early inquiries said pilot error was to blame but an independent commission in 2013 noted the possibility of "hostile action" and called for further investigation.

The new report by a former chief justice of Tanzania, Mohamed Chande Othman, was presented to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in August after reviewing the secret files.

"Based on the totality of the information we have at hand, it appears plausible that external attack or threat may have been a cause of the crash," said an executive summary seen by AFP on Tuesday.

The plane registered as SE-BDY may have been downed "by way of direct attack causing SE-BDY to crash, or by causing a momentary distraction of the pilots," it added.

Othman said there was a "significant amount of evidence from eyewitnesses that they observed more than one aircraft in the air, that the other aircraft may have been a jet, that SE-BDY was on fire before it crashed, and/or that SE-BDY was fired upon or otherwise actively engaged by another aircraft."

Such evidence "is not easily dismissed," he said.

Katangan rebels and their jets

The judge zeroed in on new information concerning aircraft operated by Katangan rebels, who opposed Congo's independence from Belgium, suggesting they had more air power than previously thought.

Previous inquiries had dismissed the theory that Katangan forces may have shot down the plane because it was believed that they had only one jet -- a French-made Fouga -- at the time.

New information provided by the United States and other sources showed that three Fouga aircraft were purchased from France and delivered to Katanga in 1961 "against objections of the US government."

Other planes, including one from West Germany, were available for use in Katanga and several airfields were employed by Katangan forces in the region, according to the new information.

Documents received from Britain and the United States appear to establish for the first time that both countries had agents in and around Congo at the time of the crash.

This showed that further information on the cause of the crash may be found in the intelligence, security and defense archives of member-states, said the report.

Othman said he was unable to verify a claim by a Belgian pilot, "Beukels," who told French diplomat Claude de Kemoularia in 1967 that he shot down or forced the plane to crash.

Requests for information were also sent to South Africa, which is said to have documents on "Operation Celeste," a purported plot to kill Hammarskjold, but access to those has not yet been granted.

Russia and France have also been asked to provide documents.

Othman recommended that governments appoint a senior official to scour their archives, with particular attention paid to radio intercepts and related records.

The report is expected to be presented to the UN General Assembly which in 2014 adopted a resolution that called for a full investigation to shed light once and for all on Hammarskjold's death.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has upped its effort at making sure that operators in the hospitality industry meet set standards as the nation aggressively pushes towards raising more revenue from tourism.

Nana Twum Barima, its Director of Research, Statistics and Information, said they were determined to go the extra mile to ensure that the operations of industry players were consistent with globally acceptable standards.

This, he said, was vital as the Authority worked hard to boost tourism arrivals  positioned Ghana as the preferred tourist destination.

He was addressing a meeting held with hoteliers, restaurant operators and car rental services in Kumasi on the Tourism Single Window Project and Information Technology Compliance Survey.

The goal, he said, was to closely monitor their activities, so that the right things were done.

Nana Twum Barima indicated that tourism development could bring enormous benefits to the economy  create job opportunities and wealth for the people.

That was why everything should be done to keep the sector on the path of growth, he added.

Mr. Alex Boakye, Director, Quality Assurance, said the introduction of the service charter was meant to assure clients of efficient service delivery.

He added that it was the way forward to make Ghana the leading tourist destination in West Africa.

The GTA, he said, was eager to see a substantial increase in domestic tourism and was working towards that.
Sydney (AFP) - Rio Tinto and two former top executives were charged with fraud by US authorities on Wednesday, accused of inflating the value of the company's Mozambique coal assets and failing to disclose mounting losses.

The world's second biggest miner vowed to "vigorously" defend the allegations.

The complaint was filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a Manhattan court, Rio said, with the miner, former chief executive Tom Albanese and ex-chief financial officer Guy Elliott charged with failing to follow accounting standards and company policies.

The Anglo-Australian giant bought its Mozambique assets for US$3.7 billion in 2011 and sold them for just US$50 million three years later, forced to write off $US3.0 billion from the value of its investment.

Albanese ultimately lost his job over the issue.

The SEC alleges the company failed to accurately value the acquisition and hid or delayed disclosure of the mounting losses.

"As alleged in our complaint, Rio Tinto's top executives allegedly breached their disclosure obligations and corporate duties by hiding from their board, auditor, and investors the crucial fact that a multi-billion dollar transaction was a failure," said the SEC's co-director of its Enforcement Division Stephanie Avakian.

Fellow co-director Steven Peikin added in a statement: "Rio Tinto and its top executives allegedly failed to come clean about an unsuccessful deal that was made under their watch. They tried to save their own careers at the expense of investors by hiding the truth."

Rio Tinto plc, Rio Tinto Limited, Albanese, and Elliott are charged with violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of the US federal securities laws.

The regulator is seeking injunctions, a return of "allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest", and civil penalties. It also wants to ban Albanese and Elliott from again serving as public company officers or directors.

According to the SEC's complaint, Rio acquired the Mozambique projects shortly after disclosing huge losses at its previous large-scale acquisition, Alcan.

Both took place under Albanese's leadership.

It claims the African project failed as it was based on the incorrect assumption that Rio could inexpensively mine, transport, and sell large quantities of high-quality coal, chiefly using barges for shipping.

The SEC alleges it suffered setbacks almost immediately, as Rio, Albanese, and Elliott learned there was less coal and of lower quality than expected, and Mozambique had rejected its barge application.

After already impairing Alcan, Rio, Albanese, and Elliott knew that publicly disclosing a second failure would call into question their ability to pursue other long-term, low-cost, and highly-profitable mining assets, it added.

Instead, they are accused of concealing the problems, allowing the company to release misleading financial statements days before a series of US debt offerings.

Rio said the case was flawed.

"Rio Tinto believes that the SEC case is unwarranted and that, when all the facts are considered by the court, or if necessary by a jury, the SEC's claims will be rejected," it said in a statement.
The LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana, has served notice of shutting down all operations today [Wednesday], to enable them undertake what they describe as major maintenance works on their stations nationwide.

It is unclear whether this move is a deliberate one to frustrate the supply of gas, considering that the LPG Marketers have vehemently kicked against Governments approach towards ensuring safety in the sector following the Atomic Junction explosion.

Confirming their decision to Citi News, the Vice-Chairman of the Association, Gabriel Kumi, said the conclusion was made in the interest of public safety to allow a task-force put in place to carryout all technical works on their outlets to avoid the rampant shut down by authorities.

The authorities are moving around the whole country, closing down operations, and we feel that it is not fair and we want to do an introspection so we decided that we should shut down operations across the country and form a task-force to make sure all our operations are up to the standard. We dont want to be sitting down there for authorities to be coming down in a rambo style to be shutting down operations. We feel we want to help them. We are not on strike.

Mr. Kumi said LPG operators and the LPG Tanker drivers union, will also cease operations from today [Wednesday.

He however said that no timeline can be given for when the maintenance works will end.

LPG marketers threaten suit over cylinder re-circulation policy

The leadership of the LPG Marketing Companies Association had earlier indicated that its members are agitated over cabinet's decision directing the implementation of the gas cylinder re-circulation policy within a year; and the suspension of construction work on newly built fuel stations.

According to the leadership, the directive has whipped up public sentiment against their members and increased their risk of doing business.

Following last week's Atomic Junction Gas explosion, President Akufo Addo, and his Cabinet directed the review of all existing and newly awarded licenses for operators, among others.

But the Public Relations Officer of the Association, Kwame Owiredu, told Citi News their members are contemplating legal action among other options, against the directive.

As to the constitutionality of the fiat issued by Cabinet, our members are agitating. Aside the suit that they are contemplating, some of them are actually saying that if the NPA is painting them as if their operations are death traps; they are explosions in waiting, they might as well stop operating because you can't licence somebody and then come back and designate them as high risk or low risk. They are really agitating By the close of the week , we will issue a press statement and let Ghanaians know what we intend to do.

Cylinder Re-circulation Module will collapse our businesses  LPG marketers

This threat comes days after the Public Relations Officer of the LPG Marketers Association, Bernard Owiredu, expressed his outfit's disquiet over plans to introduce the module.

Mr. Owiredu had indicated that, the current module is targeted at collapsing their businesses, despite their many years of existence in the industry.

Cylinder circulation won't favour the poor  COPEC

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), also raised concerns about the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution, suggesting it may burden poor Ghanaians.

The Chamber's Executive Director, Duncan Amoah, noted the inflexibility of the programme and suggested the old system of distribution be employed alongside the new module ordered by President Nana Akufo-Addo.



By: Zoe Abu Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The National Digital Property Address System, which is expected to make it easier to find locations in the country and boost service delivery, will be launched today [Wednesday], October 18, 2017.

The system is expected to among other things aid government policies, planning and offer accurate data for service delivery.

The system, which was designed by Ghanaian information technology firm, Vokacom, will provide an effective means of addressing every location and place in the country, using an information technology application.

Following the lack of an efficient addressing system, Ghanaians have become accustomed to relying on directions from people as well as land marks such as kiosks, mobile money vendors among others.

Citi Business News caught up with some people ahead of the launch to find out how they believe it will impact their movement within the country.

Ethel, one of them, said she believes the system will be of great benefit to Ghanaians.

It is a good thing that government is rolling out today, it will help people to locate various locations around the country, I for one have been lost on several occasions and I have had to spend a lot on transportation on the occasions I was lost before getting to my final destination, she said.

Kwame, who also spoke to Citi Business News, also believes the system will be beneficial in locating places accurately.

It's a good initiative; at least we are advancing from where we currently are as a country. I mean I have been lost before and spent half of my day trying to find my destination and it was very frustrating so if this addressing system will help me locate my destinations easily, then it is a good thing.

But unlike Ethel and Kwame, who believe the system will be of benefit to all Ghanaians, others like Peter expressed doubts that the system will work effectively and serve its purpose.

This is Ghana, so what they will do is to introduce a new initiative and along the line, it will stop working, so let's see how effective this addressing system will be, he said.

Among the numerous benefits of the addressing system is the potential to reduce the rise in the non-performing loans of banks which has been partly attributed to the difficulty in locating customers.

Head of Consumer Banking of Ecobank, Tara Squire, who spoke to Citi Business News, said he believes the system will turnaround the economy as the lack of an efficient addressing system has been a serious impediment for businesses and financial institutions.

I think it's a step in the right direction to ensure that businesses and banks know who our customers, we need that information to be able to lend, it's a step in the right direction to be able to lend. it's a step in the right direction that we have an address system that we can rely on and therefore we are very keen on supporting it in every way to ensure that the system is a success because it will help us know you, and it is easier for financial institutions to have interactions with customers.

Head of E business and Card Services with ADB Bank, Solomon Adu Atefoe, was also of the view that the system will benefit financial institutions.

This particular system is very critical because it helps financial institutions solve all the KYC issues.Gone are the days where you will ask customers to bring along their ECG or water bills all to prove where they actually live, so now that we are going to have a digital addressing system via an app, we will just need people to give us their geographical location, and with that we can locate their collaterals and whatever they are bringing to secure loans as we will be able to evaluate them at a record time so this is really a blessing to the financial sector.

By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
The former Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), COP Bright Oduro, who was asked to proceed on leave few months to his retirement, is accusing the police hierarchy of unfair treatment.

He bemoans why he was not given a fair hearing over allegations that he is protecting activities of some land-guards in Accra, after 29 years of service.

The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, is on record to have openly accused Mr. Bright Oduro of having connections with land-guards whose activities have been described as illegal and worrying by Ghanaians.

While dismissing those allegations, ACP Oduro said the Police service should have given him a fair hearing before arriving at the decision to relieve him of his position.

I dont think that I deserve to be told to go on leave in such an abrupt manner because there was no reason for me to proceed on leave except that I have heard somewhere that I am pending retirement and I have an accumulated leave and therefore I should proceed on leave. I have no idea why I was asked to proceed on leave except what I read in the Daily Guide that I am not managing land-guard issues well. Kennedy Agyapong has even been waging a relentless verbal assault on me since April; three months into my appointment as Director General, and I believe the reason to go on leave stems from this verbal assault that links me to land-guards.

Who are these landguards that I associate with? There are so many questions about this thing. It should have been well responded to and I should have been given the opportunity to respond to them. I do not think its fair for anyone to ascribe those things to me. When the Miotso incident happened last year, I was not the Director General, and as I speak to you, the docket sits at the AGs office so why would he mention it?

The Inspector General of Police, David Asante Apeatu, in a document cited by Citi News yesterday, asked Bright Oduros deputy, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, to act as the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

ACP Addo-Danquah until her appointment, was the second in command at the CID and was in charge of the newly established Financial Forensic Unit to investigate cases of financial crime in the public sector.

She mounted a spirited defense of her actions, following the release of a tape recording in which she is heard speaking to Kwame Asare Obeng, also known as A-Plus, who had accused President Akufo-Addos two Deputy Chiefs of Staff of some malfeasance.

A plus is on record to have subsequently apologized to the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff for wrongfully accusing them.

Retiring police officers work till their last day  Bright Oduro

Mr. Oduro confirmed that he was indeed due for retirement on January 3, 2018, but discounted the police administration's explanation for the new development.

He explained he should have normally started his terminal leave on August 30, 2017 but the convention in the Police Service is that, officers stay on till their last day, and that is exactly what had initially been planned for him, until he was surprisingly asked to proceed on leave last Friday without any explanation.

He insisted a number of serving officers have recently similarly stayed on and worked till their final day and so when he expressed his desire to stay on and work beyond August 30, 2017 and no officer was appointed to replace him, it was an acknowledgment he was going to stay until January 3, 3018.

All other officers who retired recently used their leave to work, why is Bright Oduro alone to proceed on leave and hand over.?

Whoever has taken that decision has not given me a hearing apart from in June there about, when I spoke to the deputy Minister of Interior about it, otherwise no one has spoken to me on it, he said and added his removal was premised on complete misinformation and peddling of falsehood against him.

He, therefore, suggested the Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah masterminded his untimely removal by sidelining with Kennedy Agyapong's radio allegations without giving him a hearing.

He also said the police administration failed to hear him out and used the radio complaints against him without any official complaint being lodged with the service or he [Oduro] being offered an opportunity to explain himself.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Investors in Ghana are being invited to bid for GHS 6 billion in bonds to refinance the Energy Sector Debts.

A release issued by the fund managers, Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited , Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited said the 7-year and 10-year benchmark-sized, nominal fixed-rate Ghana cedi-denominated bonds will be listed and traded on the Ghana Fixed Income Market of the Ghana Stock Exchange will be subject to market conditions.

E.S.L.A. Plc (unrated) an independent special purpose company established and sponsored by the Republic of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Finance (rated B3, Stable (Moody's) / B-, Positive (S&P) / B, Stable (Fitch)), has appointed Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited and Fidelity Bank Ghana limited to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in London and Accra, commencing on October 19th 2017. Co-Managers on the mandate are Temple Investments and GCB Bank, the release said in part.

Read the full press statement below.

17 October, 2017

Notice to Qualified Investors in Ghana in Relation to the Offer and Listing of Bonds of Up to GHS 6 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes Backed by Irrevocable Assignment of EDRL Receipts under a GHS 10 Billion Bond Issuance Programme to Refinance Legacy Energy Sector Debts.

E.S.L.A. Plc (unrated) an independent special purpose company established and sponsored by the Republic of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Finance (rated B3, Stable (Moody's) / B-, Positive (S&P) / B, Stable (Fitch)), has appointed Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited and Fidelity Bank Ghana limited to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in London and Accra, commencing on October 19th 2017. Co-Managers on the mandate are Temple Investments and GCB Bank.

New 7 year and 10 year benchmark-sized, nominal fixed-rate GHS-denominated bonds, with payments in GHS, documented under Ghana SEC regulations to be listed and traded on the Ghana Fixed Income Market of the Ghana Stock Exchange will follow, subject to market conditions.

The Representatives for E.S.L.A. Plc will be:

 Mr. Samuel Arkhurst  Non Executive Director and Chief Economics Officer and Director of Debt Management Division,Ministry of Finance

 Mr. Amanor DodooSenior Partner with KPMG (KPMG in Ghana has been appointed as the Administrator of E.S.L.A. Plc)

Representatives for the Republic of Ghana will be:

 Hon. Charles Adu Boahen Hon. Deputy Minister for Finance,Ministry of Finance

 Hon. Joseph Cudjoe Hon. Deputy Minister for Energy, Ministry of Energy

 Mrs. Cynthia Arthur  Head, Financing & Investor Relations, Debt Management DivisionMinistry of Finance

 Mr. KwameAdu Okyere-Mensuo- Head Energy Risk Management, Debt Management Division, Ministry of Finance

 Mr. Charles Owusu- Technical Advisor- Energy, Oil & Gas, Ministry of Finance

The Roadshow Schedule will be as Follows:

 Thursday, October 19th: London

 Monday, October 23rd: Accra

 Offer Opens: Week starting October 23rd

Please visit www.eslaplc.com for more details.

DISCLAIMERS

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PARTINTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, OR ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

The information contained herein shall not constitute an offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe for or purchase, the securities referred to herein (the "Securities") in any jurisdiction in which such offer, invitation or solicitation would be unlawful absent registration, an exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The distribution of this communication and other information in connection with the offering of the Securities in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession this communication or other information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws in any such jurisdiction.

This communication is not a prospectus and, to the extent that it may constitute an advertisement, does not constitute an offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe for or purchase, the Securities. Investors should not subscribe for the Securities except on the basis of the information contained in the final prospectus relating to the Securities.

This communication should not be transmitted into, or distributed, directly or indirectly in, the United States of America, its territories or possessions. This communication does not constitute or form a part of an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold into the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration as provided in the US Securities Act of 1933, and the rules and regulations thereunder. There is no intention to register any portion of the proposed offering of Securities under the applicable securities laws of the United States, or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iv) other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons (i) to (iv) being together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment activity to which this communication may relate is only available to, and any invitation, offer, or agreement to engage in such investment activity will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this communication or any of its contents.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
The Kumasi Office of the Daily Guide Newspaper, was locked up on Wednesday dawn by the Kumasi Youth Association who claim a recent publication by the private newspaper had defamed the Asantehene.

Notices were placed at the entrance of the office, demanding an immediate apology and retraction of the story by the newspaper.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, a reporter with Daily Guide , Ernest Adu, said : we came this Wednesday] morning to find our offices locked with notices saying that we should apologize to Otumfuo.

According to Mr. Adu, there was a clear notice indicating that, the office will not be opened be if Daily Guide fails to apologize.

The Daily Guide story in question that has supposedly infuriated the youth, was titled Otumfuo's 350,000 pounds cash causes stir in UK.

Checks by citifmonline.com established that, Daily Guide Newspaper, has for now pulled down the story from its website.

Background

The Asantehenes name popped up in the UK media, in a suspected money laundering case, after he sent a bank official to deposit a cash amount of 350,000 on his behalf.

According to the UKs Telegraph, when Osei Tutu II, summoned Mark Arthur to his multi-million-pound residence in Henley-on-Thames and handed him a bag containing almost 200,000 in sterling as well as $200,000 in US currency with consecutive serial numbers, the bank official felt it inappropriate to ask too many questions.

However, the subsequent deposit of the cash at the Ghana International Bank, triggered a money laundering alert in the City of London and cost Mr. Arthur his job.

According to the report, the King, who once worked at Brent council, summoned Mr. Arthur, the bank's second most senior executive, to his home in August in 2016.

Mr. Arthur, the banks official, is currently in a legal tussle over his dismissal for allegedly breaking banking rules.

However, events unfolding suggests that the Bank has not accused the Asantehene of money laundering as has been suggested, and that it is only dealing strictly with its official who bend the rules in such transactions.

Asantehene money laundering claims baseless  Ghana Intl. Bank

The Ghana International Bank has since clarified that, the ongoing tribunal hearing that has captured the public's attention, is not about whether the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II engaged in money laundering or not.

There is not even any suggestion of money laundering allegations against the Asantehene , the Ghana International Bank said.

A statement from the UK-based bank asserted that, the ongoing litigation between the bank and a former Executive Director, Mark Arthur, concerned breaches of the Bank's internal policies and UK laws.

These breaches were said to have happened when Mr. Arthur carried out a transaction on behalf of the Asantehene, reportedly involving 350,000.

This transaction at Ghana International Bank triggered a money laundering alert and cost Mr. Arthur his job.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com
About 190 inmates of the Kukuo alleged witches camp at the Nanumba South district of the Northern Region, are unhappy about the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection's suspension of cash transfers to them under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

As a pro-poor government programme, a former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, proposed the registration of all alleged witches in the Northern Region as beneficiaries of the LEAP programme.

Lately, Executive Director of Women and Child Rights advocacy Non-Governmental Organization called Songtaba, Hajia Lamnatu Adam, revealed that not all inmates of the five alleged witches' camps in the Northern Region are benefiting from the LEAP programme.

Addressing a workshop in Tamale,dubbed, Working with alleged witches, the Nanumba South District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Abdul Rashid Ziblim, revealed that majority of the beneficiaries particularly those at the Kukuo alleged witches camp are yet to receive their grants.

He described the situation as worrisome, against the backdrop that the LEAP programme remains the beneficiaries major source of livelihood.

Abdul Rashid Ziblim passionately appealed to the Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba, to fix the problem, saying, If you reintegrate someone wherever he or she finds himself or herself, he or she can still have access to the funds because it on Ezwich.

Reintegrating someone and even denying him or her this cash is even bringing more pressure and creating more vulnerability in the system.

Songtaba's Executive Director, Hajia Lamnatu Adam, said the workshop sought to mobilize and build the alleged witches confidence to engage stakeholders on their situation, and to reinforce calls for reintegration and closure of the camps.

The aim is to empower these women to live lives of dignity to enjoy their basic rights and participation in decision making in a violence free environment.

Touching on short-term measures, she explained that The workshop is to increase awareness of the women on their rights, advocate for district assemblies' budget to be responsive to the social needs of the camps. Also it is to build the confidence of the regional network of the alleged witches to adequately engage government and traditional authority.

She raised challenges associated with attempts to disband and reintegrate the alleged witches.

There is still a mixed feeling about the reintegration of alleged witches. Belief in superstition is high, hence the inability of women to report abuse and violation of their rights to the appropriate authorities.

The reintegration process is cumbersome, and requires a lot of travelling, and cost no clear law or provision specifically to deal with witchcraft allegations against women who cant mobilize the items for pacification of the gods.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/ citifmonline.com/Ghana
Government will tomorrow Thursday, October 19th, 2017 begin a road show for the energy sector bond, which will be used to clear the energy sector debt..

The show will commence in London on Thursday and there will be another in Accra on the 23rd of October, 2017.

The 2.5 billion dollar bond which will be auctioned in tranches will start with a first tranche of 6 billion cedis, which translates to about 1.3 billion dollars.

A statement to Citi Business News stated Notice to Qualified Investors in Ghana in Relation to the Offer and Listing of Bonds of Up to GHS 6 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes Backed by Irrevocable Assignment of EDRL Receipts under a GHS 10 Billion Bond Issuance Programme to Refinance Legacy Energy Sector Debts.

Bond to be issued in tranches

The decision to avoid a wholesale issuing of the estimated 10 billion cedis or 2.5 billion dollar bond, according to Deputy Energy Minister in charge of Finance, Joseph Cudjoe is to attract the most competitive price as possible.

We are looking at raising 6 to 7 billion cedis at this stage because sometimes when it comes to raising funds, strategically if you go in with the huge amounts, investors can bargain for a higher yield. But if you control it and make it smaller, then many investors that show interest can accept very competitive rates.

IMF & Ghana deliberate on mode of issuance

The IMF has impressed on the government the need to issue the bond as a Sovereign one by which it will be deemed as an amount borrowed by the government of Ghana.

This is in contrast with plans by the government to issue the bond on the books of State Owned Power companies with strong financial statements.

Even though discussions have commenced on these positions, a Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah explains that the deliberations may not be ending at least until the end of this week.

These meetings will be ongoing till about the 15th of October so it is not a matter that we will expect to finish off with soonthe only conversation that has come up is a question of how we will treat the bond once issued; we have a view and there are other persons who have other views. We have started a conversation on how it ought to be treated on the fiscal tables and we hope that we will all be able to come to a common page by the time the entire set of meetings are done, he stated.

Mangers and arrangers for bond selected

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited and Fidelity Bank Ghana limited have been appointed as arrangers for the bond while are Temple Investments and GCB Bank will manage the bond.

E.S.L.A. Plc (unrated) an independent special purpose company established and sponsored by the Republic of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Finance (rated B3, Stable (Moodys) / B-, Positive (S&P) / B, Stable (Fitch)), has appointed Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited and Fidelity Bank Ghana limited to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in London and Accra, commencing on October 19th 2017. Co-Managers on the mandate are Temple Investments and GCB Bank.

Banks unhappy with bond delay

Earlier some commercial banks had pleaded with government to speed up processes to settle the energy sector debt.

Speaking to Citi Business News, the Executive Director at Unibank, Clifford Mettle said government must be swift with the settling of the debt.

It is one of the things that we were expecting from government because it is actually a promise that it will work at it. The liquidity situations in most banks are a bit critical. This will certainly help to ease the liquidity so banks are actually looking forward to the settlement, he stated.

He adds that I think government has a way of structuring some of these bonds and sometimes it can take a bit of time because as a government too they have to be mindful of the fact that it is not something they have to rush through to have a negative repercussion on the country so they consider all these things before they come out with what they have realized as a bond for the various banks.

Although Mr. Mettle admits that banks are in need of the money, he believes that the interest of the country must come first in handling the issue.

Yes it is critical for the banks to get these things but we also have to take the interest of the nation at heart he explained.

Below is full press statement

17 October, 2017

Notice to Qualified Investors in Ghana in Relation to the Offer and Listing of Bonds of Up to GHS 6 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes Backed by Irrevocable Assignment of EDRL Receipts under a GHS 10 Billion Bond Issuance Programme to Refinance Legacy Energy Sector Debts.

E.S.L.A. Plc (unrated) an independent special purpose company established and sponsored by the Republic of Ghana acting through the Ministry of Finance (rated B3, Stable (Moodys) / B-, Positive (S&P) / B, Stable (Fitch)), has appointed Standard Chartered Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited and Fidelity Bank Ghana limited to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in London and Accra, commencing on October 19th 2017. Co-Managers on the mandate are Temple Investments and GCB Bank.

New 7 year and 10 year benchmark-sized, nominal fixed-rate GHS-denominated bonds, with payments in GHS, documented under Ghana SEC regulations to be listed and traded on the Ghana Fixed Income Market of the Ghana Stock Exchange will follow, subject to market conditions.

The Representatives for E.S.L.A. Plc will be:

Samuel Arkhurst  Non Executive Director and Chief Economics Officer and Director of Debt Management Division, Ministry of Finance

Amanor Dodoo  Senior Partner with KPMG (KPMG in Ghana has been appointed as the Administrator of E.S.L.A. Plc)

Representatives for the Republic of Ghana will be:

Charles Adu Boahen  Hon. Deputy Minister for Finance, Ministry of Finance

Joseph Cudjoe  Hon. Deputy Minister for Energy, Ministry of Energy

Cynthia Arthur  Head, Financing & Investor Relations, Debt Management Division Ministry of Finance

Kwame Adu Okyere-Mensuo- Head Energy Risk Management, Debt Management Division, Ministry of Finance

Charles Owusu- Technical Advisor- Energy, Oil & Gas, Ministry of Finance

The Roadshow Schedule will be as Follows:

Thursday, October 19th: London

Monday, October 23rd: Accra

Offer Opens: Week starting October 23rd

Please visit www.eslaplc.com for more details.



By: Vivian Kai Lokko/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
Johannesburg (AFP) - The sequel to Nelson Mandela's celebrated autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom" will be released on Thursday after his unfinished draft was completed by a South African writer, his foundation announced.

Titled "Dare not Linger", the book tells of Mandela's five years as president after the end of apartheid and the first multi-race elections in South Africa in 1994.

"Long Walk to Freedom", published shortly after the election, was a global best-seller, selling more than 14 million copies, and was turned into a film starring Idris Elba.

Mandela wrote 10 chapters of his follow-up memoir by hand on loose paper and in files between 1998 and 2002, when he stopped working on it due to his age and hectic schedule.

Mandla Langa completed the work using fresh interviews and research, as well as Mandela's own notes from when he was president.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation described the project as a "50/50" collaboration between Mandela, who died in 2013 aged 95, and his co-author.

The book's title is taken from the final sentence of Mandela's first autobiography, when he wrote that "with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended".

'A hands-on leader'

Mandela's widow Graca Machel, wrote in a prologue to the new book that he struggled to complete it due to "demands the world placed on him, distractions of many kinds and his advancing years".

"Through the last years of his life he talked about it often -- worried about work started but not finished," she said.

Mandela served one term as president of South Africa before stepping down. He retired from public life in 2004.

Verne Harris, of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said the book would "fundamentally shift perceptions" about the anti-apartheid hero's time in power.

"What emerges is... a hands-on leader who, in relation to aspects of his government such as the security establishment, was a bit of a micromanager," Harris said.

"He was a politician's politician; he knew how to get the best out of people."

Publisher Pan Macmillan described it as a "vivid and inspirational account of Mandela's presidency, a country in flux and the creation of a new democracy".

The book was launched at Mandela's former personal office in Johannesburg on Tuesday and is released worldwide on Thursday.
A Charitable organization from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Bun Rashid Al Matoum Humanitarian and Charity, has donated a quantity of computers to the ICODEHS Academy at Baatsonaa Spintex in Accra.

The items were presented by Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian Services [ICODEHS] on behalf of the donors to enable the students of the school to have practical learning in ICT and computer studies.

Students and teachers of the school revealed that before the donation was made, the school which has 500 students had only three computers, not enough to meet the needs of the school.

They thanked the donor organization and Chairman of ICODEHS Sheikh Mustapha Ibrahim for the kind gesture and promised that due to the large number of computers donated to the school, the students would study hard to pass their examinations [theory and practical] in ICT and Computer Studies.

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It is often said that, nobody or group of people is a repository of wisdom, but it seems the white people, especially the British don't see it that way. They think they are more human than other people and continue to take us for granted. Why would they try to tarnish the reputation of our great King?

When these whites were looting our precious minerals such as gold to Britain, they didn't call it "gold laundering". When they were shipping, raping, beating and killing our forebears in the name of slave trade, they didn't call it "human laundering".

But, take more than 10,000 from their country to any African country, they call it "money laundering". They still control a major share of our mineral resources - gold, diamond, manganese, bauxite, not forgetting our oil and call themselves investors.

Make an attempt to visit their country and check the quantum of money you would spend on the process to get a visa. Sometimes, they will intentionally deny you the visa and your processing fees will never be refunded. However, we even beg them to come and invest in Africa and repatriate all their profits. They come here to be in top management of companies, slap and pour pepper on Ghanaian workers, but they make it difficult for a black man to rise to the top in their countries of origin. They are called expatriates and we are called illegal immigrants.

The question is; are these people being fair to us at all?

What any son and daughter of the 'Sikadwa Kofi' should remember is that, the British once made an attempt to take away the Golden Stool, because to them, they deserved to have it. When they failed, they used deadly weapons to kill millions of our people and succeeded in taking away our late King, Prempeh I and our late Queen mother, Nana Yaa Asantewaa. Would they call this inhuman treatment a "human trafficking" or "human laundering" and compensate us accordingly? Your guess is as good as mine!

Back home, the late Kwame Nkrumah and Jerry John Rawlings did all that they could to bring Asanteman down, but they couldn't succeed. The late Prof. JEA Mills complained bitterly about the Great Asante Project; the NDC always tried to pitch Asantes against their King in the name of politics, but that has not yielded any positive results.

At this juncture, would aid and abet the very people whose basic aim is to bring Asanteman down? Don't you think the unity that exists in Asanteman, the prosperity, and the power could be an envy to some people?

Let's therefore not hasten to judge our noble King, whose regalia alone is worth 650m. He is the King of Kings; He is the only King in the world who sits on the 'Golden Stool' created by God. The Stool is sacred and represents the soul, power, strength, and unity of Asantes. Okomfo Anokye warned that, when the Stool is taken away, that will be the end of Asantes.

Say No! Let's always give due respect to the Golden Stool and the Occupant and defend them with our intellect and might forever.

#LeaveOtumfuoAlone#

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang - 0202471070

Asante Bekwai-Asakyiri

"Vision, coupled with persistency, results in true success"
The chief of Dingoni, a farming community in the Tolon district of the Northern region, Naa.Samson Nina Yakubu has called on chiefs, family heads, religious leaders, government, human right protection agencies and all stakeholders to John hands in the fight against child marriage in Ghana.

According to the chief, child marriage is a social issue that need a collaborative effort from all stakeholders in fighting the menace ,adding that, stakeholder intervention, will add a further impetus to the fight against the issue which is prevalent in most remote communities of the country.

Naa Samson Nina Yakubu made call when speaking at a stakeholder meeting with parents and school girls at Tolon in the Northern region. The meeting was organized by NORSAAC an NGO under its project dubbed 'Let the Girls Smile, say no to child marriage' which begun in 2015. Let the Girls Smile, Say No to Child Marriage project is being implemented in two districts of the northern region ,namely Tolon and Mion where the child marriage is said to be escalating.

He observed that, early child marriage especially among school girls in the area was a problem which needs some governmental intervention and strict enforcement of the laws that governs the act.

The chief mentioned ignorance about the health dangers ---troubled pregnancies --- associated with teenagers marrying older men on the part of parents and society as the major challenge affected efforts that are geared towards ending the practice of child marriage in Ghana especially, the three regions of the North.

Parents, he stated need to be educated on the implications ---marital problems ---- of marrying their children early.

He appealed therefore to his colleague chiefs to speak publicly against the practice and be bold to punish and sanction parents who go against the laws the prohibits child marriage in Ghana.

He lamented that, even in this modern era, parents still force their girls to marry men they don't like, explaining that, some parents even go the extra of beating girls who refuses to go by their choice, this he said needs to be stopped.
We are constrained to communicate to the Chairman of the Police Council via this medium on a subject which is central to both the administration of law enforcement and indeed justice by extension.

We have chosen this medium, editorial, hoping that our humble yet critical effort would highlight the shortcomings of law enforcement  a crucial appendage of governance in any given civilized dispensation which we are supposed to be.

The turnaround the President and his government are feverishly working towards cannot be achieved if the visage of policing is not tackled effectively.

Our decision to deal with this subject is informed by snippets of information we have received about how you intend to deal with the menace of land guards in the country especially the Greater Accra Region.

A few weeks ago, given the phenomenal success your government has chalked in the war against illegal mining, galamsey, we demanded you replicate the template in tackling the menace of land guards. We are happy to note that you are on the verge of descending on the hoodlums who have indeed over-run our law enforcement system for want of a better expression. The reasons behind the success of the hoodlums are obvious: top cops, not all, have compromised their integrity for large acres of land.

Without doubt, changes are being noticed in various spheres of the country's life even though more needs to be done to achieve a total alteration of the negativities of yesteryears.

Success would elude the President if the law enforcement machinery is not rid of bad nuts especially at the top echelon of the system. Over the years, these bad nuts, and they are many, have made it impossible for their subordinates to discharge their functions to God and country.

These bad nuts, they are known, are in league with wicked estate developers, bad chiefs with access to stool lands and the most dangerous in the network, land guards.

Some serving top superior officers have vast acres of land; properties they acquired by protecting the interests of crooks in the land industry. Probing these acquisitions would lead to a stinking can of worms, we can bet you.

One of our reporters chanced upon uniformed law enforcement officers in the house of a known bad chief with hordes of land guards at his beck and call in the Tema Region.

Woe betides cops who arrest such land guards  their paymasters wielding the power to cause their immediate transfer in previous administrations though. They would be ordered to release them no sooner than they are arrested because they are connected to the top of the policing system.

The good cops can only watch on as the fault lines deepen through the actions of the bad ones whose flashy lifestyles say it all about their bad ways.

A couple of days ago, we broke the story about a significant step taken by the Police Administration- preparatory to the embarkation of the war against land guards.

While we congratulate the government without whose demand the action could have been still-born, we would be quick to add that this is only a tip of the iceberg. A total overhaul of the police system must be undertaken if the objective of the government is to be achieved. Being a critical subject, we wish to devote two editions to it; today's being the maiden.
A Ghanaian by name Opoku Agyemang has reportedly been arrested in the United Kingdom (UK) over an alleged 5 million 'romance' fraud and trade-based money laundering.

According to the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO)  an investigative body in Ghana  Mr Agyemang is one of three suspects who have been accused of defrauding UK nationals through what EOCO and the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom (NCA-UK) termed 'romance scam' and trade-based money laundering.

The two other suspects are Moro Musah and Sabina Adzre, who allegedly operate with Opoku Agyeman.

Addressing the media yesterday, a Deputy Executive Director of EOCO in-charge of Operations, Nana Antwi, said investigations are still ongoing.

This is a complex organized financial crime, EOCO observed.

In local parlance, the deal is called 'sakawa' and a lot of unemployed scammers use dubious means to defraud their victims through marriage proposals.

According to Nana Antwi, EOCO, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Narcotic Control Board (NACOB) and the NCA-UK embarked on a special exercise code-named Operation Grateful into large-scale romance scam and the resultant trade-based money laundering with the exploitation of victims' details carried out in and outside Ghana.

He indicated, Following an investigation into trade-based money laundering in UK and Ghana, the National Crime Agency in UK commenced an investigation into the money laundering and romance fraud.

So far, he said, the investigations had uncovered that over 16 persons had fallen victim to this fraud from which 5 million has been identified as stolen from victims in the UK.

This amount, he said, had been transferred from UK and found their way through certain accounts in some banks in Ghana.

Currently, those monies have been withdrawn from the accounts, he said, adding, Romance scam is a particular dangerous and vicious form of mass market fraud because it targets not only the victims' assets, but also abuses them emotionally.

It leaves the victim embarrassed, traumatized and financially ruined for life, he added.

Trade-Based Money Laundering is exploiting legitimate businesses to launder proceeds of crime. Within this investigation, the use of second-hand clothing/textile business has been applied to launder the proceeds of the identified romance fraud, Nana Antwi revealed.

The Ghanaian security agencies were alerted by our counterparts in the UK and we, in Ghana, also commenced investigations into this fraud about a year ago, he stated.

BY Melvin Tarlue
Ghanaian and Ivorian officials have resolved to bury their differences and chart a new course after the famous International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) had ruled on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

After two days of meeting behind closed door, officials of the two countries came out yesterday with a working plan on how to, among other things, implement the roadmap of the ITLOS ruling.

This was contained in a communique signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, representing Ghana and Marcel Amon Tanoh, Cote d'Ivoire.

Both President Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Outtara of Cote d'Ivoire  who ended his two-day official visit to Ghana yesterday  acknowledged the spirit of brotherliness with which the maritime dispute between the two countries was handled from the beginning.

In this connection, the two leaders expressed their commitment to ensure the smooth implementation of the ruling by the Special Chamber of the ITLOS.

Agreements

In order to achieve this, the two leaders announced the establishment of a Joint Committee for the Implementation of the ITLOS judgement and indicated that the composition of the committee would be decided later.

Both presidents indicated their commitment to ensure the continuous deepening of brotherly ties beyond the existing framework for bilateral cooperation, such as the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation, and agreed to boost the momentum of Ghanaian-Ivorian Cooperation by establishing a strategic cooperation framework referred to as the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA).

It covers defence and security, cocoa and cashew and other strategic crops, maritime cooperation, mining, energy and environment, transport and economic policies.

The two leaders noted that peace and security constitute a sine qua non for development and, therefore agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of defence and security to combat human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking and the proliferation of arms.

Presidents Akufo-Addo and Outtara agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation for the development of a win-win strategy for a sustainable cocoa industry.

In this regard, they expressed commitment to the ongoing discussions between the Ghana Cocoa Board and Le Conseil Cafe-Cacao to develop joint marketing strategies on the international trading platform and other related issues in the industry, and pledged to work together to enhance border security to curb the smuggling of cocoa.

After two days of deliberations, the two countries jointly signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Geological and Mineral Cooperation and a MoU for Industrial Cooperation.

They also signed another MoU for the Establishment of a Joint Technical Experts Sub-Committee for the Monitoring of Pollution from the Illegal Mining activities in the Bia and Tano River Basins  between Ghana and Cote dIvoire.

The two leaders also agreed to meet at least once every year, alternately in each other's country to guide and promote the implantation of the common strategic policies.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
Ashesi University Professor, Stephen Adei says the explanation offered by the office of Vice-President after his criticism that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's convoy is too long, is offensive.

According to the former GIMPA Rector who is currently the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Ashesi University, the staff who claimed that Dr Bawumia's convoy is a seven-car convoy was being economical with the truth. on the contrary, is intelligent and he is doing well.

He told Kojo Yankson on Joy FM's Super Morning Show Wednesday that: I think that the Vice President as a person is doing a great job [but] he shouldnt allow things like this to destroy himbut if thinks the old man [Adei] is a talker then he should go on.

Prof. Adei earlier this week threatened to start a campaign against state officials including Vice President Bawumia, to force them to reduce the number of cars in their convoys.

tell them that the next time I see Bawumia or any of them travelling with 16 four-wheel drives, occupying the two lanes, Im going to do a one-man crusade. That must be stopped at once, he said.

But the Office of the Vice President in a statement explained that the Vice Presidents official convoy is made up of not more than Seven (7) vehicles.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

The statement which was signed by Frank Agyei-Twum, Director of Communications at the Vice Presidents Office, however, admitted, some vehicles of persons moving with the Vice President often join the convoy.

The Office would like to make it clear that the Vice President and his team use a maximum of 7 vehicles on trips outside Accra and not 16. The 7 vehicles include a leading police vehicle, security detail, Protocol, the media team and an ambulance.

Displeased with the explanation from Veeps Office, Prof. Adei said the response does not indicate a good leadership posturing in a country like Ghana.

"There must be some young men at Bawumias Office who issue statements without thinking about the consequences. They were being economical with the truth," he stated.

I think the impression he gives is not good.all that I said is that this thing is too much. Im not saying it because Im against him, in fact, hes intelligent and he is doing well, stated the man who spent 35years of his life in public service.

He said the fact that Dr. Bawumia travels with seven vehicles is immaterial.

the material thing is that they were a minimum of 14 [vehicles] which were driving at parallelit gives an image of snobbishness and disregard to the image of the Vice President and I dont think that even the Head of State will do that, he stressed.
The lackluster criticism of the NDC, the former President and his appointees by Professor Stephen Adei is not only insincere but also an orchestration of incoherence. This is evidently clear in the manner in which he has continually pre- empted and fabricated falsehood against the former administration. It is important for Prof Stephen Adei to understand that our democracy has attained a high level of conscious awareness for which reason he cannot take Ghanaians for a rough shod ride in the name of academic presentations, whose only agenda is to forsake decorum and fair assessment of issues by always placing the cart before the horse in the quest to gain recognition. Ghana doesn't need a leader described by Prof Adei as good man to be president. What we need is a visionary leader ; somebody that knows where Ghana is and knows where he's is taking Ghana to, a leader who has political will to move Ghana to a higher level.

I listened to the former Rector of GIMPA and felt sorry for this great nation. Throughout his interview on Joy FM, the good professor was caught up behaving hypocritically and contradicted himself throughout the interview. Asked to comment on the $2.25 bond which was issued by the Finance Minister and his business associates, Prof Adei told joy FM super morning show host Kojo Yankson that, it was an excellent decision and Ghana will need more of such decisions to reduce the burden of debt hanging on our necks as a result of excessive borrowing by the last administration. Asked to comment on his allegation that; the vice President's convoy is too long, he started showering praises on the Vice President instead of tackling the issue he himself had raised in the media. In 2014, Professor Adei complained about the then President's convoy and when the media interviewed him on the issue this was what he said " The country is broke. I met his Excellency, the President the other day and in front of him were 11 motorbikes and 15 cars moving at top speed about 120 kilometres per hour." The good professor went on further to apply his mathematical prowess when he said "that means they consumed fuel twice the normal rate and you will be surprised may be they were going to commission a rural school. That day the amount of fuel they would consume could be used to establish another rural school". That was professor Adei under John Mahama. This time on Joy FM, he struggled to shift the topic by showering the Vice President he had accused.

Prof Adei told the host that Nana Akufo-Addo's style of fighting corruption is the best and strongly supported the establishment of a special prosecutor office. Insinuating, he said the establishment of that office will stop President's from placing ministers cited for corruption, at the flagstaff house and specifically mentioned the Blackstars's Brazil case.

I hope the good professor is aware that before Mr Mahama left office, Ghana had moved up in terms of corruption fight and was rated alongside Senegal as the best in terms of corruption fight by Transparency International. He said, President Akufo-Addo's calm approach for fighting corruption and his request for evidence is the best approach. How different is that from Mr Mahama's approach and in fact Mr Mahama didn't only say that but walked his talk by prosecuting his own appointees and dismissed some just for making reckless statements that bordered on corruption. Here is a President who covered the BOST boss, failed to investigate his appointees who were accused of corruption by no less a person but a financier of his party and close friend. He had enough evidence captured on an audio tape but refused to act on it.

I was on the same committee with Prof Adei, Prof Addae Mensah, Prof Patrick Awuah, Dr Baah ( TUC boss), For Vice President Mr Amissah Arthur, at the Senchi Economic Forum and he [Prof Addei] was one person who constantly praised Former President Mahama for his humility, modesty, readiness to listen and his forthrightness. One issue he constantly touched on and made sure was inserted into the final document, was the issue about our infrastructure and how to clear the huge deficit especially in the education sector. On Joy FM this morning, he criticised the former administration for building beautiful schools in remote areas in the country. How? Nkrumah rented a house to start the Ghana National College we have, most of the colleges he built were empty, he was chastised the same but today, we need more of his schools. The Free SHS policy has increased intake in our secondary schools and we are all aware of the accommodation problem facing the headmasters and headmistresses and how the new schools built under Mr Mahama helped minimise pressure on government.

When the host Kojo Yankson, wisely raised the problems at the basic level in terms of infrastructure and logistics etc, Prof Adei said we should not put too much premium on infrastructure but rather, government must sack all teachers at the basic level and ask them to make new request to teach. He said we are having problems at the basic level because of lack of good teachers. This was Prof's response to that clever question the young man asked him. The Centre for Democratic Development, recently did a survey on tracking public basic school infrastructure in five regions and it was revealed that poor infrastructural condition was one one of the issues government must focus on. They (CDD) mentioned lack of standard such as adequate classrooms, proper ventilation, safety floors, toilet, roofing as part of the problems to be tackled. This and other reasons informed the last administration's progressively free education and the massive infrastructure development in the education sector.

Professor Adei, said President Mahama and his ministers are a bunch of liars. He said this in March 2014. The Akufo Addo government promised parents that he was going to introduce free SHS, and said it was going to be universalm what are we seeing? He promised will reduce price of fuel what are we seeing? What about utilities? What about crediting projects started and completed under Mahama to Kufour, the size of his government, the new four wheel vehicles, the disappointed nurses etc

The pendulum has swung, and Prof Adei and his team are left with little to do but shower praises on their friends and still throw missiles at their enemies without knowing that it would affect them.

Part 2 ( Nepotism)
Accra: October 18, 2017: The Registrar-Generals Department (RGD) has successfully implemented the online registration of companies, as well as the authorization of operations of businesses.

These functions are supported by a number of services on-line, including the e-Shop which allows company searches, reservation of company names and the booking of marriage ceremonies amongst others. This has resulted in significant uptake by Ghanaian businesses using the paperless system. By the first half of the year, over 6,855 online transactions were conducted via the Registrar-Generals Department portal.

There has been substantial growth in annual online transaction numbers, from a mere 102 in 2015, to around 3000 in 2016 to over 11,015 from January to September 2017. There has been over 60,000 businesses and companies registered with RGD in the period from January to September this year, compared to a figure for the whole of 2016 of 54,000. Revenue generated by September 2017 at 44 million Ghana Cedis, already matches that collected from January to December 2016.

The Head of IT at the Registrar-Generals Department, Doris Ampadu-Ameyaw explained that businesses can conduct their end-to-end business registration on the RGD portal, resulting in the issuance of an e-certificate.

Linked to the RGD portal is a fully functional e-payment platform which allows payments to be made in the course of online transactions. This is in line with Governments commitment to deepen leveraging technology to improve the ease of doing business in Ghana and to enhance the business competitiveness of the country, she said.

According to Mrs. Ampadu-Ameyaw an interesting new feature introduced to the automation of the RGD processes is the deployment of the e-shop information platform, which facilitates the search or requests for data regarding companies registered in Ghana.

She hints that in line with the commitment to enhance and enrich customer experience the outfit was in the process of implementing a queue management system at the front office to improve the Customer experienced. This she said will give true meaning to the ease of doing business.

The e-certificate and e-shop platforms are end to end registration portals developed and deployed by GCNet as part of the broad World Bank sponsored e-Gov project. It leverages ICT opportunities to generate employment enhancement and growth under the e-Gov application for the Revenue Generating Agencies and the Registrar Generals Department. RGD systems are integrated with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) with plans to advance to link up with Ghana Investment Promotion Centre in the exchange of data to facilitate the ease of doing business in Ghana.

The data exchange is to encourage a paperless registration and tax regime aimed at significantly reducing administrative and operational overhead costs. It will greatly ease doing business, while maximising revenue mobilisation for accelerated development.

The e-Certificate is expected be launched on 19th October, 2017.
Lome (AFP) - Several cities in Togo were tense on Wednesday following clashes between opposition supporters, soldiers and police as demonstrators prepared to hold another anti-government protest the authorities have branded illegal.

In Lome, streets were blocked and most shops were shut in the commercial area of Deckon, according to AFP reporters in the capital.

In the southeastern neighbourhood of Be, an opposition stronghold, police and soldiers sought to disperse crowds of demonstrators using teargas.

"Lome is deathly quiet," said Aime Adi, head of Amnesty International's Togo brand, speaking to AFP by telephone.

"The army has locked down everywhere and there are small groups that the opposition is calling 'militiamen' with sticks who are warning people not to go to the march."

Togo's opposition, which has organised regular protests since August against the regime of President Faure Gnassingbe, last week said there would be two days of demonstrations on October 18 and 19.

But the government quickly moved to ban the marches to prevent violence.

"The assembly points have been taken over by the security forces," said Eric Dupuy, spokesman for the main opposition National Alliance for Change (ANC).

"We are going to march whatever the cost and intimidation."

'We've shut ourselves away'

A demonstrator holds up a placard reading: "Faure! How many Togolese do you have to kill to quench your thirst for power?" at a "March of Anger" through the capital Lome on October 5

In the northern city of Sokode, the stronghold of the opposition Panafrican National Party (PNP), one local resident described the situation as "very tense".

"For three hours this morning, soldiers have been going into houses, beating young people so they don't go to protest today," he said on condition of anonymity.

"We have shut ourselves away in our homes... Young people are fleeing into the bush in fear of a crackdown."

On Tuesday, two teenagers and two soldiers were killed during clashes in Sokode that followed the arrest of a local imam who is close to the PNP.

The violence has spread to several other cities in the north as well as Lome.

The opposition wants a limit of two, five-year terms for the president and the resignation of Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005.

Before that, his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, ruled the former French colony for 38 years.

A referendum is to be held in the coming months on a government bill to change the constitution but the opposition has complained that the new measures are not retroactive.

That means President Gnassingbe could contest the next election in 2020 and 2025, keeping him in power until 2030.
The National Digital Property Addressing System, also known as the Ghana Post GPS, has been launched with President Nana Akufo-Addo urging Ghanaians from various sectors to take advantage of it.

Speaking at the launch, President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that this new address database will create an avenue for new businesses, and aid systematic revenue collection by the likes the Ghana Water Company and local government.

The President said he expected the relevant institutions to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Ghana Post, who are the custodians and administrators of the system, to leverage on this technology to enhance their operations.

The system, which was designed by Ghanaian information technology firm, Vokacom, will provide every Ghanaian with an effective means of addressing every location and place in the country, using an information technology application.

The lack of an efficient addressing system forces Ghanaians to develop a culture of relying on directions from people navigating areas via basic landmarks like shops, drains or electricity poles in some cases.

This state of affairs becomes more precarious when lives are on the line as first responders in emergency situations find navigation difficult.

Thus, the President highlighted how critical this technology would be for emergency responders like the police and ambulance services, introducing prospects for levels of timeliness and efficiency which is lacking in Ghana.

Law enforcement agencies can easily assess addresses more effectively in order to deal with crime. Health, fire and ambulance services can effectively locate property locations in order to save lives at a faster rate, President Akufo-Addo said.

He also noted the role the addressing card would play in the implementation of the Ghana Card and said it was his hope that all individuals and properties will be able to obtain their own unique addresses as we strive to build a credible national address register.

President Akufo-Addo further assured that his government will provide the required leadership to promote Ghanaian-made technology like the Ghana Post GPS.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Ashesi University, Prof. Stephen Adei, has recommended the dismissal of all Directors of Education and teachers under the Ghana Education Service as a major step towards improving the quality education at the basic level.

According to the former GIMPA Rector, the Directors of Education who number over 400, continue to supervise a collapsing education system at the basic level.

As a nation we are going to pay a heavy price for what we have done to basic educationits just because at that level the only thing that is the key is, are the teachers willing to do what they are paid to do? he told Kojo Yankson on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, Wednesday.

Taking such a drastic decision as sacking all the teachers should come at no political cost to the government, he note, but advised that such revolutionary methods should be done early in the term of a government because there will be some raffles that you will have to do.

He said, Unless something is done, we as a nation are going to destroy ourselves with what is happening in basic schools, because if you take a child to school for nine years and he comes out as functionally illiterate, he doesnt want to go farm anymore; he wants to go to the city and when he comes there is no job, and you know what follows, we are in a very serious national crisis.

Prof. Stephen Adei

He said about 66% of pupils who finish basic education in Ghana lack the literacy necessary for coping with everyday situations which he noted, sharply contrasts with the situation in neighbouring countries Togo and Cote dIvoire.

The child who goes to school for 3-4 years in Togo and Ivory Coast speaks French and writes French [but] our people finish Junior High School and 66%of them are functionally illiterate and we sit down there and we have Ministry of Education [and] we have 400 Directors of Education in Ghana and they are only [turning] our children [into] criminals.

He was resolute in his advise to the government to sack all of them; all the teachers, sack them and pay them three months salary so they will not hit the streets to demand a severance package.

Then ask teachers to apply to become head teachers and when they apply pay them well, at least 50% above teachers and then give them the authority to recruit teachers and pay them through head teachers and that the head teacher who doesnt deliver results would lose their jobs. And then you will see that, without [paying] a pesewa more, the education system will jump to the roof.

Prof. Adei who jointly runs the Ghana Christian High School with his wife described as horrendous, the current situation where teachers are being paid well yet, they are not putting in the much-needed effort to improve education at the basic level.

At this moment what is happening at the public basic schools is horrendous. We have at this stage more trained teachers, better-paid teachers than any time in the life of our nation but they have decided not to teach."

He wants a firm action to be taken to correct the mess in there which must include breaking up the GES and decentralising it.

At this moment I think that first we need to break up the Ghana Education Service and decentralize it. Let the churches [run schools] and local government schools as we had in the beginning. We must empower head teachers with the authority to discipline and dismiss teachers.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Jerry Tsatro Mordy | Email: [email protected], Twitter: @jerrymordy
Anti-corruption campaigner, Vitus Azeem, has described the promotion of ACP Maame Tiwaa Addo Danquah as the acting Director General of the Police Services Criminal Investigations Department (CID), as a worrying development in the fight against corruption in the country.

ACP Addo-Danquah replaced DCOP Bright Oduro , who was relieved of his post after just nine months in charge of the CID.

The move has generated widespread dissent from many Ghanaians following recent unresolved claims linking the new CID boss to an alleged cover-up of malfeasances in the probe of the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Speaking in an interview with Citi News, Vitus Azeem, who is the Chairman of Tax Justice Coalition, said that the decision to promote ACP Addo-Danquah despite the questions that still linger over her connection to the recent corruption investigations, could mar the publics perception on the governments stance on corruption.

He called on the President to reconsider the decision as it could have negative implications for his commitment to fighting corruption in the country.

That is cause for concern, it's worrying; especially coming from the President who has pledged to Ghanaians that he is going to fight corruption. It's definitely a worry, Vitus Azeem said.

It's an indication of the President's determination to fight corruption that it is an issue of verbal pronouncement without action. I think this is a very serious issue that should have been investigated. If the President voluntarily asks the CID to investigate the initial allegations and the public had expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, one would have expected the President to do something about it. I think the President should take a second look at what he has done otherwise the politicians will have their way and that is the unfortunate part of the fight against corruption in this country.

ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah

According to Mr Azeem, an internal probe by the police was necessary to clear any doubts that still exist about the polices handling of the investigation, which might taint future enquiries.

He also reiterated his call for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to take up the issue in order for the case to see a satisfactory resolution.

The [best] would have been for CHRAJ to come in and investigate the matter. We haven't heard of CHRAJ taking up the matter to investigate it, so it creates a dead end. The politicians have seen Ghanaians as people that will make noise for about a week on air and forget about it. Then they'll be okay to do what they normally do, Azeem added.

I had called on the police administration to do an internal investigation and come out with something that will meet the expectations of the public, but this has not happened. We assume that once no one is talking about it, that's okay. But these are things that are being listed against the government and the police hierarchy. Imagine that next time, as head of the CID, if she investigates issues and people raise issues about partisanship and other things, definitely it will have an effect on the work of the entire police service.

Kwame Asare Obeng a.k.a A-Plus

Doctored or not?

ACP Addo-Danquah, was recently in the news after being accused by Kwame Asare Obeng, also known as A-Plus, of trying to cover-up some malfeasance in the probe of President Akufo-Addo's two Deputy Chiefs of Staff.

In an audio said to be a leaked recording of a conversation between A-Plus and ACP Addo-Danquah, the police officer was heard advising the A-Plus to deny the allegations because he is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Police officer was largely accused of misconduct in the manner she handled the investigation, per the details of the telephone conversation that appeared unprofessional and compromised.

She later claimed that the tape was doctored to portray her in a bad light, a claim A-Plus denied.



By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
18.10.2017 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for Windsor in the United Kingdom, Adam Afriyie, has lauded government for its several initiatives for the cocoa sector and called on the youth to seize the enormous opportunities in the industry for a successful future.

Mr. Afriyie , who is also the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy for Ghana, said the prevailing political atmosphere now makes Ghana a good business destination for investment into the Agricultural sector especially, Cocoa.

According to the British Lawmaker, it was possible for foreign investors to partner local cocoa farmers to established plantations in Ghana and called on the government to strengthen institutions to address challenges associated with land acquisition and ownership in the country.

He said many youth migrate to urban centres only to engage in menial activities and sometimes find themselves engaging in social vices. He encouraged government to do more to support the youth to do commercial cocoa farming.

These issues dominated discussions when officials of the Ghana High Commission in UK led five Ghanaian cocoa farmers to pay a courtesy call on him at the UK Houses of Parliament as part of the farmers familiarization tour of the United Kingdom.

The farmers, accompanied by Mr. Noah Amenyah head of Public Affairs, Ghana Cocoa Board, Mr Barnett Quaicoo, Manager of Cocoa Marketing Company Ltd, UK were earlier taken on a tour of the British Houses of Parliament to learn about the rich British Monarchy System, the phases of the Parliament, Architectural designs and meanings, historical facts, as well as the complementary roles of the houses of Commons and Lords.

Mr. Noah Amenyah was thankful to Madam Lindsay Schusman, the tour guide for the insightful experience and knowledge. Mr Amenyah said Ghana Cocoa Board sponsored the farmers to the UK because they had won awards as best cocoa farmers.

He added that such move by the Board is intended to motivate other cocoa farmers to work hard.

Nana Kweku Adu, 2015 National Best Cocoa Farmer, Nana Opoku Gyamfi, 2016 National Best Cocoa Farmer, Madam Martha Addai, 2016 Most Enterprising Female Cocoa Farmer, Nana Johnson Mensah, Western Regional Chief Farmer and Nana Obeng Akrofi, Eastern Regional Chief Farmer, said the experience will spur them on to give off their best.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Tough-talking Assin North MP has vowed to defend his accusation against COP Bright Oduro insisting, he is complicit in the cover-up of land guards.

"Bright Oduro, from today till God calls us both to eternity, he can never deny that he was not involved with land guards," he said on Adom TV, Tuesday.

The accusation is believed to be the reason behind his premature retirement from the service after the Inspector-General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu directed him to hand over to his deputy.

The Director of the Criminal Investigations Department who had clocked up 29 years service experience, was due to retire in January 2018, but was pushed to "proceed on leave" in a one-sentence memo from the IGP Tuesday.

The unhappy Commissioner of Police responding to the allegations for the first time, told Joy News' Seth Kwame Boateng it is beneath his professional dignity to be associated with land guards.

He said he is collecting tapes containing the accusations from the Lawmaker and could sue the firebrand.

Kennedy Agyapong who has been on a crusade against COP Bright Oduro for months said he reported the conduct of the CID boss to the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah.

"I will never lie. I have the documents...he can never disentangle himself from his involvement with land guards".

He said there are several land cases at East Legon police station that prove the CID boss was complicit in the forceful harassment of landowners by hired thugs.

He said the CID boss was "throwing his weight about" at the police headquarters in the light of allegations of complicity.

But his sudden retirement from the service proves that President Nana Akufo-Addo government is determined to root out the menace of land guards.

"Under Nana Akufo-Addo presidency, no land guard can throw his weight about...we will change the system."
President Nana Akufo-Addo has said the newly launched National Digital Property and Addressing System will be at the core of business transactions in the country.

He noted, no Ghanaian will be issued with the new Ghana Card without a verified house and street address.

At the launch of the new addressing system in Accra Wednesday, the President announced the dawn of a new era when Ghanaians will no longer use landmarks to give directions and property locations.

The country has had issues with its addressing system after 1974 when a comprehensive address and postal system was developed.

Regimes after that toyed with the idea until former President John Kufuor government secured funding from the Danish government in 2007, to undertake street and property identification exercise.

But the exercise later suffered after a new government was ushered in after the 2008 general elections.

President Akufo-Addo believes the past regime failed to implement the project because of the lack of technical capacity, investment and political will.

Related Article: $4.6bn interoperability system now built for less than $4m -Bawumia

Fulfilling yet another campaign promise, the President said the Ghanaian economy is on its way to being formalised with the new address system.

The informal nature of our economy has been a major constraint to our development, affected our ability to broaden the tax base and widen financial inclusion, he said.

He said with the instant validation and verification that comes with the new address system, businesses will not just be viable but sustainable.

The National Digital Property and Addressing System is one of the three initiatives government has outlined to complete the formalisation of the economy.

The first one was the Ghana Card which was launched last month to capture the data of all Ghanaians both resident in the country and abroad. The registration is expected to commence in November, 2017.

The last initiative is the interoperability system, which is expected to enable customers to transfer money easily across various networks.

President Akufo-Addo said the system will be launched next month.
Niamey (AFP) - Small farmers in southeastern Niger are rejoicing after authorities lifted a two-year ban on the growing of red peppers, imposed in their fight against jihadists.

Boko Haram Islamist rebels from neighbouring Nigeria were suspected of extorting money from the red-pepper trade in the Diffa region to fund their activities, which prompted the government to ban the crop.

"Before the crisis, pepper growing used to bring billions of CFA francs into the region," equivalent to millions of dollars or euros, Bako Mamadou, the mayor of Bosso, told AFP.

"We lifted the ban on growing two weeks ago... The farmers here have heaved a huge sign of relief."

Popularly known as "tatassaye," the Diffa red pepper is dried in the sun and sold as a spice.

It is grown mainly in the valley of the Yobe river, where before the ban it brought in between seven and 10 billion CFA francs annually, providing a livelihood for around 6,000 producers, the Diffa region's chamber of agriculture says on its website.

A source with a humanitarian group said the ban had "probably" been lifted because of its "devastating" impact on the income of small farmers, and because large-scale attacks by Boko Haram in the region were now rare.

Niger, along with Chad and Cameroon, has become a victim of spillover attacks by the hardline Sunni Islamists.

Across the region, the insurgency has led to more than 20,000 deaths while 2.6 million have fled their homes, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian catastrophes.

More than 300,000 people have taken refuge in the Diffa region, which is already extremely poor. The UN has appealed urgently for more support.

Mamadou said that "even Nigerian refugees" in the region were now being authorised to grow peppers "provided that they file an application for land".

A security source told AFP that "for obvious security reasons," farming in areas that were "too close" to Nigeria's border remained banned.

Boko Haram imposed a "tax" on cross-border commerce in red peppers and also kidnapped traders and held them to ransom, a local official said.

Aid groups say that, in the climate of fear, some farmers had abandoned their fields, terrified they would be either killed by Boko Haram or be taken as accomplices of the militia by the Niger army.
The Manhyia Divisional Police Command has extended an open invitation to leaders of the Kumasi Youth Association who locked down the Kumasi offices of the Daily Guide newspaper.

ACP Kwaku Buah, speaking to Joy News, said they are not aware of the existence of any group by such a name.

He said they got to know of the group after the protestors left posters on the offices of Daily Guide in disapproval of the print media's coverage of a case involving the Asantehene.

We will sit down with them and ask them why they did what they did, he said.

ACP Buah was emphatic that the Police will not go searching for those responsible for the act saying for now lets just ask them to come. I know they will come if they really exist.

They might have something on their minds, he told Joy News Ohemeng Tawiah.

The building housing the offices of the Daily Guide newspaper in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region was locked Wednesday morning by a group calling itself the Kumasi Youth Association.

Their reason is to protest the papers coverage of the Asantehenes mention in case of suspected money laundering being heard in a UK employment tribunal. The Asantehene has since been cleared of the suspicion.

The group is demanding an apology and a retraction of the stories by the newspaper since they believe the stories defame the name of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Ohemeng Tawaiah reported that the workers found the main door to the building locked with all the inscriptions written around and called the police to that effect.

The perpetrators left inscriptions suggesting they are a youth group named Kumasi Youth Association.

A woman residing in the building Maame Ama Konadu said she had to use a ladder to climb out of the building after she was locked inside.

Some journalists who trooped to the venue told Joy News they do not feel safe following the developments.

The police have opened the building for business to commence.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline | Abubakar Ibrahim | [email protected]
Inspired by popular Instagram accounts like Rich Kids of Instagram or Luxury Kids of Instagram, as well as social media stars like Gianluca Vachi and Dan Bilzerian, people who cant actually afford to fly on private jets are renting them on the ground for professional photo shoots, just so they can post their own lavish lifestyle photos on Instagram.

Just because you dont have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on renting a private jet doesnt mean that you cant make your social media friends turn green with envy. With just a few hundred dollars, you can actually rent a luxurious Gulfstream G650 aircraft for a couple of hours and have a team of professional photographers and makeup artists create the illusion that you are actually living a life of luxury. You can then post the photos on Instagram and sit back as your friends and fans drool over them.

According to Russian website Medialeaks, Instagram star wannabes can now pose as spoiled rich folks on a modest budget, by using the services of Moscow-based Private Jet Studio, a company that offers private photo sessions in their grounded Gulfstream G650 private jet.

Customers never actually get to fly in it, but your Instagram followers dont need to know that technical detail. To them youll be living the dream, flying in style to some of the worlds hottest tourist attractions.

Prices for a 2-hour photo session with the Gulfstream G650 vary between 14,000  25,000 rubles ($250  500), depending on what extras clients opt for.

You can have your photos taken inside the aircraft, as you relax on the comfortable white leather seats, with a glass of expensive champagne and a plate of delicious foods in front of you, as you prepare to board the plane, with a gorgeous model waiting for you on the steps, or as you arrive at your fictional destination. Private Jet Studio is also open to suggestions, as long as youre willing to pay extra.

And if $250 still sounds too expensive for your blood, you can actually create the illusion of wealth and luxury for cheaper. For example, simply having your photo taken aboard the private jet, as you stare out the window at the tarmac (read gorgeous view), without the companys professional staff, only costs 11,000 rubles ($190).

But you can also just wait for one of their promotions, when you can get the whole package for only 7,000 rubles ($120). Thats cheaper than a conventional photo studio, right?

If youre thinking that the services offered by Private Jet Studio are a waste of money, youre probably not chasing Instagram fame. Posting photos of yourself flaunting your wealth are a sure way to success, and if you dont have a lot of money to spend, this is a pretty decent alternative.

Services offering fake Instagram photos are actually pretty popular in Russia. Earlier this year, another startup started offering girls the chance to pose with a giant bouquet of roses and expensive gifts. They were only rented, of course, but their friends and followers didnt know that.
The Obuasi Office of the Business Advisory Center (B.A.C) in partnership with Anglogold Ashanti has organized a five-day technical training workshop for B.A.C Associations in the Obuasi Municipality which ended on Friday 13th Octorber, 2017 at the Municipal Assembly Hall.

The technical workshop was aimed at equipping Hair Dressers with the skills in Bridal Decoration and beauty therapies, which are new ventures in their industry.

Mr. Kelvin Ofori Atta, the Head of Business Advisory Center Obuasi, speaking at closing ceremony, laid down the reasons for the workshop. He said the Center aims to assist in creating employment in the Obuasi Municipality. In so doing, AGA has suggested a 10 point pillar of industrialization for the BAC associations.

Nana Ampofo Bekoe the Sustainability Manager of Anglogold Ashanti on his part indicated that AGA is keen to assist in developing communities that they operate in. He said AGA supported the work shop with an amount of GH 20.000.00.

The Municipal Coordinating Director, Mr. Justice Amoah advised Hair Dressers on Customer Care and personal hygiene. He said every business organization will grow on the basis of good customer care services and strict adherence to personal hygiene.

The Chie Executive Officer of Vicky Parlor, Madam Vicky who was the resource person, taught the Hair Dressers the new skills in their profession. She advised them to put the knowledge and skills acquired from the workshop into practice and asked them to teach their apprentices the skills as well. She also admonished them to have a vision on business expansion in other to maximize profit and standard of living.

A total of fifty (50) Hair Dressers in the Obuasi Municipality benefited from the technical workshop. They were awarded with certificates as qualified professional Hair Dressers.

Img 20171013 125934
The Damongo Agric College in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region has been temporarily shutdown.

Students of the College for the past three weeks have boycotted lectures in protest over their unpaid allowances.

This follows a similar protest by their colleagues of the Kwadaso Agric College in the Ashanti Region, and other parts of the country.

Vice Principal of the Damongo College of Agric, Abdulai Mohammed, in a Citi News interview bemoaned the situation, and asked government to fix the problem.

Our students are currently agitating for restoration of their allowances by the government, and for that matter they decided that may be one of the ways to see government to listen to them is to vacate campus.

According to him, lecturers and office staff continue to report at work for other duties.

This is the third week running, but staff and all lecturers are on campus and they are doing their normal duties, except that lectures are not ongoing just because of the absence of the students.

He said authorities cannot manage the situation, saying, We are actually helpless in the sense that, the decision that they took is a nationwide one, and that is what their union (ASU) has asked them to do.

On our part, we are ready to teach, but then once they are not there we can only attend to some other administrative duties. It is not the best of situations for us, but we still going on with the other activities around.

It will be recalled that students of the Kwadaso Agric College also deserted their classrooms in protest of government's failure to restore their allowances.

Earlier, some selected students of the nation's five Colleges of Agric besieged the premises of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), and demanded the immediate release of their allowances.

The Ministry of Agriculture in an attempt to persuade them, announced that it had tabled before Cabinet the students' request.

However, there are no updates of a possible restoration of the allowances, forcing the students to boycott lectures until further notice.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmononline.com/Ghana
Nairobi (AFP) - Tanzanian police said Wednesday they had arrested 12 men, including two South Africans and a Ugandan, for presumed homosexuality as part of an ongoing crackdown against gays.

"We arrested the criminals at (the hotel) Peacock -- they were promoting homosexuality. Two are South Africans, one Ugandan and nine Tanzanians," Dar es Salaam police head Lazaro Mambosasa said at a weekly press conference.

He said the 12 were being questioned ahead of being sent before a court and did not say when they had been arrested.

"Tanzanian law forbids this act between people of the same sex, it is a violation of our country's laws," said Mambosasa. He added the hotel manager was among those arrested for "providing a room" for the others.

Mambosasa urged citizens to notify authorities if they caught wind of such activities "so we can act in time".

Police made 20 arrests -- eight men and 12 women -- on similar grounds on Tanzania's semi-autonomous archipelago Zanzibar last month.

According to police, those arrests took place in a hotel where the group were undergoing training with an officially-registered international NGO, the Bridge Initiative, which works in AIDS awareness.

In February, Tanzania earned criticism notably from the United States after announcing the closure of several health centres specialising in AIDS prevention, alleging they were fronts for promoting homosexuality.

The Dar es Salaam government also vowed to deport foreigners campaigning for gay rights.

Gay male sex is punishable by anything from 30 years to life imprisonment under Tanzanian law. There is no such ban on lesbian relations.

According to Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in 38 of 54 African states and is punishable by death in Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan.

Uganda in 2014 tried to impose the death penalty on those found guilty of being homosexual, however the controversial law was later repealed.
Mogadishu (AFP) - Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed vowed Wednesday to step up the war against Al-Shabaab, as he addressed thousands at a rally in Mogadishu for the victims of the city's worst-ever bombing.

Protesters wearing red bands around their heads marched through the scene of the truck bombing, a once bustling district, before gathering at a stadium where they chanted: "We are ready to fight".

Residents of the Somali capital, while wearily accustomed to regular bombs and attacks by the Islamist militants, have been outraged by the strike on Saturday which left at least 276 dead and 300 wounded.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Shabaab, a militant group aligned with Al-Qaeda, carries out regular suicide bombings in Mogadishu in its bid to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed government.

The president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, said the attack "shows that we have not done enough to stop Shabaab."

"If we don't respond to this now, the time will surely come when pieces of flesh from all of us are being picked up off the ground. We need to stand up together and fight Al-Shabaab who continue massacring our people," he said.

However it was unclear what Farmajo -- who came into office eight months ago also vowing to eliminate Shabaab -- planned to do to stop the militants from carrying out such attacks.

Similar protests took place in large towns in southern and central Somalia -- a rare display of public outrage against the Shabaab which still controls some rural areas after being pushed out of the capital in 2011.

"This attack seems to have united the people because everyone is angry now and needs to fight violence, there are thousands of young men, women and children out there protesting," said one demonstrator, Abdulahi Mohamed.

"I think the ones who have masterminded this attack will not spare anyone ... we need to stop these guys before they kill all of us," said another protester, Ibrahim Mamud.

The attack has overwhelmed Somalia's fragile health system, and allies from the US, Qatar, Turkey and Kenya have sent planeloads of medical supplies as well as doctors, with all except the US also evacuating some of the wounded.
Residents of Adenta-Ashiye in the Adentan District in Accra besieged the Nima residence of the President, over what they call encroachment on their lands by the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The group led by one Humphrey Ankamah camped at Nana Akufo-Addo's residence on Wednesday morning to present their petition to him.

Speaking to Joy News Joseph Ackah-Blay, leader of the aggrieved residents, Mr. Ankamah said for the past three weeks their lands and property is being fenced, thereby denying them access to their homes and other property.

We quickly rushed to the authorities to find out what was going on and they directed us to the director of CSIR who they said is in charge of the project,"

They said they were told the land belongs to government.

The worried residents say they seem to have fallen victims of having bought land from the wrong people and want the President to set up a neutral committee to look into the issue.

"In the meantime, we want the project halted until the committee comes out with their findings," Mr Ankamah told Joy News.

The groups petition was handed over to Eric Twum who works closely with the President.

Mr Humphrey Ankamah says they expect a response from the Presidency on Wednesday because they cannot access their property since there is heavy security guarding the ongoing project at their residence.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com| Oswald K. Azumah
Construction works are ongoing at some of petrol stations in the Ashanti Region, despite a presidential fiat ordering the temporary cessation of the construction of facilities intended for use as gas or petrol/diesel retail outlets.

Citi News sighted construction work vigorously ongoing at a Unity Oil filling station, located at Krofrom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The supervisors said they were not aware of any directive to stop work, and its management maintained that all requirements for the construction had been met.

At Parkoso in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, a new Nasona Oil fuel station was being constructed, notably in a waterlogged area.

Recently, there have been explosions in the country. It happened at the Atomic junction in Accra so definitely, I have cause to worry, a resident of Krofrom said, as he expressed his fears to Citi News.

This resident said he thought the government should come out with strict rules governing the siting of filling stations. If they do that, I think the explosions will come down.

Construction work at a new Nasona Oil fuel station

As far as the enforcement of the directive from the President is concerned, officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have said they will soon begin to take action against such stations.

Samuel Oteng, the Ashanti Regional Director of the EPA, however said he was unaware of the stations Citi News visited.

We are working hand in hand to make sure that directive is carried out, so if they are listening, I am sure that the whole Ghana, everybody has heard it now.

He noted the EPA, the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), were among the outfits that would be helping with the enforcement of the directive.

Following the Atomic Gas Explosion that killed at least 7 people and injured 132 in Accra, Government after a crucial cabinet meeting, announced a number of directives, about ten of them, geared towards sanitizing the fuel distribution and retail sector, to improve safety and save more lives.

One of the decisions as approved by the President, was an immediate cessation of the construction of new fuel stations, to allow the NPA and its allied agencies, to carry out a proper audit of all the facilities.

The President also ordered the closure of all high-risk fuel stations within 30-days.

The President also ordered the implementation of the Cylinder Re-circulation Model of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution within a year.

The module, proposed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), will ensure that LPG filling points are sited out of densely populated areas and commercial centres.

Suspending construction of fuel stations 'illegal'  Ayariga warns

A former Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Mahama Ayariga, believes government may be infringing on the rights of some fuel distributors following the directive to halt the construction of petrol/diesel and LPG filling points until further notice.



By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Des Moines, Iowa, United States, October 18, 2017  The African Development Bank has called for global support for Africas young farmers and agripreneurs, highlighting how agribusiness is the answer to the continents youth employment.

In collaboration with the Initiative for Global Development, the Association of African Agricultural Professionals in the Diaspora (AAAPD), Michigan State University, Iowa State University, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the AfDB brought together stakeholders to discuss how to expand economic opportunities for Africas youth throughout the agricultural value chain, from lab to farm to fork.

The session titled Making Farming Cool: Investing in future African farmers and Agripreneurs was held on the sideline of the ongoing 2017 World Food Prize Symposium-Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa, and had in attendance young entrepreneurs from Africa , private sector representatives, policymakers and thought leaders.

Africa has the worlds youngest population with 60% being under 35 years old. There are 420 million youth aged 15-35 and this segment of the population is expected to double to 840 million by 2040.

Working with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the African Development Bank is empowering young farmers under the Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (ENABLE) Youth program.

Africas next billionaires are not going to come from oil, gas, or the extractives. ENABLE Youth is about investing in small agribusinesses today so that they can grow into large enterprises tomorrow, President Adesina said.

By empowering youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain, we enable them to establish viable and profitable agribusinesses, jobs and better incomes for themselves and their communities.

He explained how attracting a new cadre of young, energetic and talented agripreneurs  who will drive the adoption of new technologies throughout the value chain, raise productivity and meet rising food demands  is an urgent priority.

Recent studies indicate that as African economies transform, there are expanding opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship throughout high-potential value chains  literally from lab to fork  where consumer demand is increasing, including horticulture, dairy, oilseeds, poultry and aquaculture.

In addition, there are huge opportunities for engaging African youth in services and logistical sectors in key off-farm activities such as transportation, packaging, ICT and other technology development and light infrastructure  that add value to on-farm productivity and efficiency, in ways that could not envisioned before.

The whole idea of connecting farms to markets, particularly rising urban and regional markets, is where Africa needs to plug in this bulging youth population, Adesina said.

The Bank President highlighted major efforts needed to provide young Africans with new business opportunities, modern and practical skills, access to new technologies, land, equipment and finance that will allow them to transition from subsistence livelihood into higher-paying work, whether these are on or off the farm.

In his words, This is how we intend to make farming cool!

Through the ENABLE Youth program, the AfDB and its partners are empowering youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain with plans to train 10,000 agriculture entrepreneurs, or agripreneurs, in African countries, launching at least 300,000 enterprises and creating 1.5 million jobs over the next 5 years.

Africa already has shining examples of successful youth agripreneurs, nine of whom were in the room as Adesina spoke.

He cited three examples of the thousands of young agripreneurs whose fascinating stories fill him with a sense of hope and urgency.

We need to effectively utilize this African diaspora in the same way done by the Asian countries by leveraging on their expertise to fast-track Africas development agenda and allow all Africans to contribute, regardless of whether they are based locally within the African continent, or outside, Adesina noted.

On agribusiness as a solution to Africas youth unemployment, Jennifer Blanke, AfDBs Vice-President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development, called for access to finance for the youth agripreneurs by re-aligning incentives for commercial banks and other financial institutions to reduce lending risks.

There are over 15 job groups along the whole agricultural value chain  from farm to fork, she said.

Noel Mulinganya , a young agripreneur and leader of the Kalambo Youth Agripreneurs (a group of 20 young graduates aged between 25-35 years old from different academic backgrounds engaged in collective agribusiness enterprises), spoke of the need for funding opportunities for young African farmers.

My aspiration and those of my colleagues is to become business builders, he said. We would like this program to be a platform for sharing our knowledge and experiences in order to touch and engage youths as much as we can in agribusinesses.

Lilian Uwintwali , whose firm provides ICT platforms that serve over 10,000 farmers in Rwanda  linking farmers to markets, banks, insurance companies and extension services, said, I aspire to get partnerships and investment opportunities here in the USA and I believe the discussions here at conference will help me shape a better business model for my project, m-lima, in Rwanda.

She speaks of how farming could generate income for African youth.

I am talking from experience because it has sustained me for the past 5 years, she said.
A suspected armed robber of about 29 years, has been shot dead by a security guard stationed at a GOIL Filling Station at Gomoa Buduata Junction in the Central Region.

According to the Police, the deceased, a with an unidentified accomplice, attacked the filling station on Tuesday at about 8:00pm, armed with a knife and a locally manufactured pistol.

After robbing two attendants of their mobile phones and an unspecified amount of money, one of the robbers escorted one of the attendants into the station's main office where the mobile phone of the security officer was also seized.

The Polices statement explained that, after the robber had left the office to join his colleague outside, the security man shot one of them through the glass door with his pump action gun.

The injured robber was later found dead in a bush about twenty metres away from the station.

The body of the deceased has since been deposited at a mortuary, while his accomplice is currently on the run.

Meanwhile, the police have taken the fingerprints and photos of the deceased to help in their investigations.

Fuel stations suffer a lot of robbery cases, with those in mostly isolated areas often targeted.



By: Joseph Ackon Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Minority in Parliament has said the government may have been unfair to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) boss Bright Oduro after he was forced into pre-mature retirement over suspected wrongdoing.

The Minority spokesperson on Defense and Interior, James Agalga, believes COP Oduro deserved a hearing before he was shown the exit following allegations of complicity in covering up land guards.

No official reason was given in the one-sentence internal memo to the Commissioner of Police to hand over to his deputy.

But speaking about his 'proceed on leave' order, COP Oduro confirmed, he was pushed out after a campaign by Assin North MP Kennedy Agyapong who insists the top cop is cosying up to land guards in East Legon.

Listen to Kennedy Agyapong



The Director of the CID who had clocked up 29 years service experience, was due to retire in January 2018 until he was asked to start his accumulated leave.

He maintains government has not afforded him an opportunity to speak to the allegations but went ahead to push him out.

Listen to COP Bright Oduro



Sympathising with this view, James Agalga said that as a country that believes in the rule of law, COP Oduro's right to natural justice ought to be respected.

There could have been a service inquiry into the allegations so he could explain respond to the allegations.

Former Greater Accra regional commander Ayensua Opare Addo said COP Bright Oduro is "peeved" over the manner in which he has been pushed out.

Listen to James Agalga



Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com
Lome (AFP) - At least four people were shot dead on Wednesday in clashes between protesters and security forces in Togo's two largest cities after soldiers and police launched teargas to prevent the latest anti-government protest.

Opposition parties had refused to cancel plans for demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday, despite a government ban on weekday protests on security grounds.

The government said three people were shot dead in second city Sokode while one was killed and several wounded by gunfire in capital Lome.

"Security forces aren't the only ones in possession of weapons so it's difficult to say who fired," security minister Colonel Yark Damehame told reporters.

Around 60 people were detained.

This week's planned protests are the latest against President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005 and whose family has ruled the West African nation since 1968.

Earlier Wednesday, streets in Lome were blocked and most shops were shut in the commercial area of Deckon, according to AFP reporters in the city.

"We've decided to stick it out," said one bare-chested protester who had wrapped his T-shirt around his head. "We're not afraid of teargas. The fight must continue."

In Be, an opposition stronghold in the southeast of Lome, the security services fired teargas to try to prevent crowds from joining the planned march to the National Assembly.

Groups of youths blocked main roads around the district with makeshift barricades of stones, burning tyres, tree trunks or burned-out cars.

"The army has locked down everywhere and there are small groups that the opposition is calling 'militiamen' with sticks who are warning people not to go to the march," said Amnesty International's country director, Aime Adi.

Eric Dupuy, spokesman for the main opposition National Alliance for Change (ANC) party, said assembly points for the march had been "taken over by the security forces".

But he added: "We are going to march whatever the cost and intimidation."

'We've shut ourselves away'

A demonstrator holds up a placard reading: "Faure! How many Togolese do you have to kill to quench your thirst for power?" at a "March of Anger" through the capital Lome on October 5

In Sokode, the stronghold of the opposition Panafrican National Party (PNP), one local resident described the situation as "very tense".

"Soldiers have been going into houses since three o'clock this morning (0200 GMT), beating young people so they don't go to protest today," he said on condition of anonymity.

"We have shut ourselves away in our homes... Young people are fleeing into the bush in fear of a crackdown."

The ANC representative in Sokode, Ouro Akpo Tchagnaou said: "Uniformed men are conducting punitive expeditions in houses. They're hitting everything that moves.

"This morning, a local chief was beaten up by soldiers as he left the mosque. In retaliation, locals set fire to the vehicle belonging to the head of the armed response team."

On Tuesday, two teenagers and two soldiers were killed during clashes in Sokode that followed the arrest of a local imam who is close to the PNP.

The violence has spread to several other cities in the north as well as Lome.

Since the first protests on August 18, eight people have been killed, including a 10-year-old child, three teenagers and two soldiers, while there have been about 100 injured.

Amnesty International said at least 28 people out of more than 100 arrested have been convicted in connection with the protests.

Togo's opposition has repeatedly called for a limit of two, five-year terms for the president and the resignation of Gnassingbe.

A referendum is to be held in the coming months on a government bill to change the constitution but the opposition has complained that the new measures are not retroactive.

That means President Gnassingbe, who won elections in 2005, 2010 and 2015, could still contest the next votes in 2020 and 2025, keeping him in power until 2030.
Some constituency and polling station executives of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the Brong Ahafo Region, have petitioned the party's hierarchy for the reinstatement of its suspended General Secretary, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong.

The petitioners contend that, Mr. Agyei Agyapong's conduct towards the party even after his indefinite suspension in 2015, manifests an unwavering loyalty, which must be commended.

The NPP suspended its 2nd Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe, alongside Mr. Agyapong in 2015, after they were accused of publicly rebelling against the partys decision to indefinitely suspend its National Chairman, Paul Afoko.

Mr. Afoko and Mr. Crabbe, subsequently filed a suit over their suspension, but both suits were thrown out by the court.

Unlike the two, Mr. Agyepong, did not seek a legal action.

Despite the suspension, Mr. Agyapong has been sighted several times at NPP gatherings, most recently at the partys national delegates conference in Cape Coast in the Central Region in August.

These constituency polling station executives also say the suspended General Secretary remains a resource to the party.

Regardless of his suspension, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, avails himself for party activities and even attended the partys conference at cape coast. In our opinion, the party supporters and stalwarts warm reaction at the conference to Mr. Agyepong, is a clear indication that we have healed our wounds after the partys sweet victory last year which he played a part in, their petition said.

The acting National Chairman of the NPP, Freddie Blay, is likely to disagree with them as he has said in the past that it will not be advisable to reinstate suspended executives of the party, who in his view, did not contribute to the party's victory in the 2016 general elections.

Find below the full petition

APPEAL TO THE NATIONAL COUNCIL TO REINSTATE KWABENA AGYEI AGYEPONG AS THE ELECTED GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY



We the undersigned members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Brong Ahafo Region wish to add our voices to the numerous appeals made to the National Council (NC) of the great elephant party NPP, to reconsider reinstating the elected General Secretary to his position.

As it is known to the rank and file of our dear party and the general public, the National Executive Committee of the party upon by the Disciplinary Committees recommendation, suspended Mr. Kwabena Agyei AGYEPONG on the 10th of December,2015.

We humbly state the following reasons for our call for the reinstatement:

Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepongs conduct after his suspension has met the commendation of members our party including those who petitioned the Disciplinary Committee for his suspension.

It is also a public knowledge that Mr.Kwabena Agyei Agyepong supported several distressed constituencies across the country notably the Brong Ahafo, Upper West, Upper East, Northern Region and Ashanti Region in the lead up to the 2016 general elections. Even though he was suspended, his commitment to the partys electoral victory was commendable. This puts no doubts on his commitment and loyalty to our party.

Regardless of his suspension, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, avail himself for party activities and even attended the partys conference at cape coast. In our opinion, Mr Agyepong embrace by party supporters and stalwarts at the conference, is a clear indication that we have healed our wounds after the partys sweet victory last year which he played part. On this note

We the Brong Ahafo members of the new patriotic party mostly constituency and polling station executives therefore wish to appeal to the National Council to let the Tamale votes count by reinstating Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong to his position as the elected General Secretary of the party.

We hope our appeal would meet your favorable response.

Respectively Submitted.

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Emmanuel Opoku Marfo

055656580



By: Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Minority in Parliament has challenged the Majority to head to court if it believes the $510m AMERI Power deal signed in 2015 was fraudulent.

The opposition lawmakers said they will support moves to review the contract if their political opponents are able to produce documents that point to fraud.

Until proven otherwise, former Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor said the Minority has nothing against the power deal which the Majority insists is over-priced by $150m.

Related Article: Go ahead! Review Ameri deal if...  World Bank backs govt

If there is fraud it vitiates the contract. Show us the document [and] we will support [attempts to review the deal], he told Evans Mensah on Joy FMs Top Story Wednesday.

Minority members on Parliaments Mines and Energy Committee boycotted meeting held to reconsider the $510 million AMERI deal.

Chairman of the Committee, Emmanuel Gyamfi explained the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers stated they did not want to be associated with processes to rescind the deal.

Related Article: NDC MPs boycott committee hearing on "over-priced" $150m AMERI deal

Adansi Asokwa MP, Kwabena Tahir Hammond filed the motion to have the deal rescinded because of fresh information he has gathered.

(1) AMERI did not provide fast-track equipment contrary to the agreement. They assigned their interest to a subsidiary known as AMERI Equipment which was registered 13 days after the agreement had been signed with Ghana.

KT Hammond and John Jinapor on AMERI Power deal



(2) AMERI Equipment (the subsidiary) did not undertake the construction but assigned this to a Turkish Company called PPR without the consent of the government of Ghana as required.

(3) A Turkish company, PPR, bore all financial risk, raised all capital and was paid with money government of Ghana paid AMERI.

But the Minority said it has no problem with the decision by AMERI to engage the services of third parties in the implementation of the power deal.

Mr Jinapor said the Dubai firm is a developer and the work of developers is to source equipment for the completion of contracts, adding AMERI can subcontract parts of the work provided the agreement is not breached.

"I have not seen any document that suggest that AMERI has given the whole contract to another contractor," he said.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @Realbrakopowers
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is traveling to the Central African Republic next week to draw attention to the world's "forgotten crisis" and its heavy toll on aid workers and UN peacekeepers.

"The Central African Republic is very far from the attention of the international community," Guterres told AFP and Radio France Internationale in an interview on Wednesday.

"The level of suffering of the people but also the trauma suffered by aid workers and peacekeepers are deserving of our solidarity and heightened attention," he said.

Guterres will be in Bangui on Tuesday for United Nations Day, which marks the entry into force of the UN charter, and will also travel to Bangassou in the south, where heavy fighting broke out in May.

"This is a gesture of solidarity with the peacekeepers working in one of the most dangerous environments," he said.

Renewed clashes in the Central African Republic have pitted armed groups who are competing for control of natural resources and areas of influence while claiming to protect communities.

The fighting has involved mostly Christian militias and groups linked to the mainly Muslim Seleka coalition.

Since the beginning of the year, 12 aid workers and 12 peacekeepers have been killed in CAR, which shows "just how much the situation has deteriorated," said Guterres.

While some UN officials have raised alarm over "early warning signs of genocide" in CAR, Guterres said there was "ethnic cleansing" in many parts of the country.

To quell the violence, Guterres singled out religious leaders as having an "absolutely indispensable role" to play by drawing Christian and Muslim communities away from the fighting.

Beefing up UN mission

The worsening violence stems from "armed groups who received external support," he said, without elaborating. "Hate speech has surfaced in the statements of many community leaders."

Guterres will also meet with victims of sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers as part of his effort to address damaging allegations that have hit the blue helmets in several missions.

MINUSCA faces one of the highest number of rape allegations of all UN missions, prompting Guterres earlier this year to agree to the withdrawal of a contingent from Congo Republic which had faced several accusations.

Now, faced with the upsurge of violence, the UN chief is asking the Security Council to beef up the mission with 900 extra troops, even though the United States is pushing for cost-cutting measures in peacekeeping.

"There is a need to increase the capacity of our troops in Central African Republic to protect civilians," Guterres told reporters.

"I am convinced there will be a positive understanding by all the members of the Security Council including the United States in relation to this."

The council will decide next month whether to approve the additional troops for MINUSCA, which currently has some 12,000 peacekeepers.

The Central African Republic descended into violence after the 2013 overthrow of longtime leader Francois Bozize by the Seleka alliance.

France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka and the United Nations launched its peacekeeping mission in 2014, but the country remains plagued by violence.

The conflict has driven more than 600,00 people from their homes internally while an additional 500,000 have crossed borders to become refugees. Half of the population, or 2.4 million Central Africans, are in need of aid.
The Author

19.10.2017 LISTEN

There is a claim constantly circulating the EU: multiculturalism is dead in Europe. Dead or maybe d(r)ead?... That much comes from a cluster of European nation-states that love to romanticize  in a grand metanarrative of dogmatic universalism  their appearance as of the coherent Union, as if they themselves lived a long, cordial and credible history of multiculturalism. Hence, this claim and its resonating debate is of course false. It is also cynical because it is purposely deceiving. No wonder, as the conglomerate of nation-states/EU has silently handed over one of its most important debates  that of European anti-fascistic identity, or otherness  to the wing-parties. This was repeatedly followed by the selective and contra-productive foreign policy actions of the Union in the MENA, Balkans and Ukraine.  wrote prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic in his luminary and farsighted essay Denazification  urgently needed in Europe .

Last two parliamentary elections in Central Europe are indicative enough: Europe inevitably loses its grip over the grand narrative, fatherly eroding its place in history. Hereby a few lines about the latest of them.

Sebastian Kurz, 31, is likely to become Austrias new Chancellor following the 15 October election. He would be the youngest-ever head of government in the European Union and to many of his supporters will be seen as a bold new face ready to lead Europe through and past the ongoing crises over migration, integration, fiscal authority, and identity that have dominated European politics, within and without the EU, in recent years. A new leader of Europes populist right is likely on the horizon, yet he has received little international attention compared with candidates such as Marine Le Pen or Nigel Farage who were always long shots.

Kurzs Rise  Aus Iuridicum

Rapidly rising through the youth wing of the Austrian Peoples Party (OVP), Kurz was elected its head in 2009 and then promoted directly into the partys upper echelon in 2011 when he was named to the newly-created post of state secretary for integration at age 24.

From the earliest days, Kurz embraced a populist right-wing worldview although he initially steadfastly avoided divisive rhetoric that could have derailed his rise. Kurz used his post as state secretary to publicize these ideas, while also astutely employing the leeway afforded by his youth to take positions deviating from the OVP platform.

In 2013 Kurz was elected to the national legislature, also winning the most direct preference votes of any candidate and a third more than the OVPs then-head Michael Spindelegger. The OVP received less overall votes than the Social Democrats (SPO) and again went into government as the junior coalition partner. Kurz was rewarded with the second-highest post of any OVP leader when he was named foreign minister.

Austrians see themselves both as core members of the West but also as traditionalists and the inheritors of a unique culture. The historic heft of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separateness from Germans and Germany that was cemented by the divides caused by the Enlightenment and birth of Protestantism, and steady decades-long growth in income and living standards all have served to shape an image of Austria and Austrians as reasoned yet traditional, sober yet dandy, and reserved yet welcoming. It is precisely in this image that Kurz has tried to cast himself.

Even Kurzs critics are quick to acknowledge that from the beginning of his career he had a remarkable ability to gauge the prevailing zeitgeist, all the while grounding himself in the core Austrian conservatism that the OVP represents. In contrast to populist politicians who have at best half-convicningly attempted to portray themselves as outsiders, Kurz embraces the fact he has had his sights set on a political career since his youth. Kurz recognized the quickest route to authenticity was to never speak the word.

Kurz, the Foreign Minister

As Foreign Minister, Kurz was able to play host and diplomat to Austrias wide variety of partners. He also judiciously avoided controversy in mainstream international media. On issues where Kurz would perhaps have been more vocal, he accepted his role as a government minister and did not speak out overly loudly when he disagreed with his partys leaders, while tweaking those of the SPO, the senior coalition partner, in a way that did not offend Austrian sensibilities.

Kurzs four years in the foreign ministry saw a series of regional and political crises, attesting to his political skill. Three months after taking office, Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash was arrested on a visit to Vienna on the request of US authorities. The arrest came two days before Moscows controversial referendum in Crimea and struck at the core of domestic politics in Ukraine, where Firtash long played an outsize role. Yet Kurz did not shy from being thrust in the spotlight, in fact he appeared to be hungering for it, with the then-27-year old even offering to mediate Russia and Ukraines disputes over Crimea.

Kurz ultimately backed sanctions, sensing the prevailing winds in Europe. However, he was vocal in calling for European business interests to be considered even before Italian, Hungarian and Cypriot politicians subsequently took up such positions. The move played well domestically in Austria, where many criticize great power games, perhaps with a slight, albeit unstated view towards the rearview mirror given their fatal role in Austrias own history. Austrias Raiffeisen bank also derives most of its profits from Eastern Europe and is the largest foreign player in Russias banking market. Russian President Vladimir Putin also travelled to Vienna in June 2014, his first post-Crimea visit to a Western country, with Kurz vocally defending the invite and signing of a controversial pipeline deal at the same time EU and US officials were deliberating sanctions on Russias energy sector.

Kurzs time as foreign minister also coincided with Europes migration crisis, which was nearly simultaneous with his push towards the spotlight when he backed the stance of Austrias eastern and southeastern neighbors even while then-Chancellor Werner Faymann waffled on the issue. By February 2016, Kurz was publicly embracing not only the positions of Warsaw, Budapest, and Ljubljana, but their rhetoric as well. In March 2016, Austria had closed its borders to most asylum seekers. By the end of May of that year, Faymann resigned. He was subsequently replaced by Christian Kern, the current head of the SPO.

Kurz took advantage of the weakness of the senior leadership within the SPO and his own OVP to push his personal agenda and reputation to the fore. Kurz has even sought to use the largely-symbolic rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which Vienna holds for 2017, to promote his political agenda. Kurz was bold enough to broadcast this intention, declaring in an interview with Der Spiegel that he would use the post to push for the lifting of sanctions against Russia. He has also used the platform to again propose he mediate a solution to the conflict in Donbas, even writing an English-language op-ed for Politico on the subject this September. Demonstrating Kurzs eye for the future, however, a number of senior staff members have left Kurzs Foreign Ministry since the start of the year, promoted as Austrias new ambassadors to some of its leading partners. A further major reshuffle is expected after the election, a possible indication that Kurz will continue to cut a prominent figure on the international stage.

Kurz, the Candidate: Dressed to Impress

A year after Faymanns resignation, the Kern government collapsed, prompting the elections that will be held on 15 October. The interim period saw the contested and contentious 2016 presidential run-off election, in which the initial result was annulled and the far right Freedom Partys (FPO) Norbert Hofer was narrowly defeated by independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen. Kurz had refused to endorse either candidate. Yet it was the fact that the run-off featured neither a candidate of the SPO nor the OVP for the first time that appears to have most shaped Kurzs current candidacy.

Van der Bellen, an alumnus of Austrias relatively minor Green Party, was seen by many on the Austrian right as nearly as radical as Hofer. The Austrian presidency is also largely symbolic  although Hofers platform included steps that would have been unprecedented by the Austrian executive. As a result, there was little domestic political cost to Kurz remaining neutral.

The lack of an SPO or OVP candidate in the final round highlighted the shifts underway at the heart of Austrian politics, and the weakness of then-OVP leader Reinhold Mitterlehrner, who stepped back in May, enabling Kurzs ascent.

Kurz, however, attached a number of conditions to the proposal that he lead the OVP. The decades-old party fell in line behind Kurz quickly, even agreeing to campaign under the joint branding of OVP and Kurz List  the New Peoples Party. Kurzs image, rhetoric, and bold proclamations on the campaign trail have put the party comfortably in the lead in the polls.

The lead Kurz maintains in the polls has come primarily at the expense of the far-right FPO, although incumbent Chancellor Christian Kern has done his party no favors following a series of scandals. Kerns SPO is polling behind the FPO in most polls and he has declared that he would prefer to lead the opposition than re-form a coalition with the OVP.

Kurz and Kerns relationship was already poor but the latest scandal around the SPO alleges a controversial former election advisor set up social media pages aimed at besmirching Kurz, only dampening the possibility for a renewed coalition. Yet Kurz also knows the difficulties inherent to forming a government with the FPO, despite having adopted much of its rhetoric in his own campaign. Such a government could come under some degree of EU censure, as it did the last time the OVP and FPO formed a government in 2000. The FPO then was the larger of the two parties but would undergo a series of splits while in government.

Although the FPO of today has long since coalesced under the leadership of Heinz-Christian Strache, it too will be wary of a coalition with the OVP, albeit less over concerns of an EU rebuttal than over Kurz continuing to encroach on its political space.

Get Shorty - the Chancellor? the future EU Commission President?

Kurz is likely to become Austrias most prominent Chancellor on the international stage in decades. His willingness to be outspoken and take on issues far afield from Austria steadily grew during his tenure in the foreign ministry. Beginning with his early proposal to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv towards the end of his term, he was sufficiently confident to publicly endorse incumbent Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski ahead of that countrys December 2016 election.

Kurzs alliances in the Balkans and Eastern Europe are extensive and he was one of the few leading EU politicians outside the region to defend Hungarys crackdown on migrants and refugees. Kurzs economic policies are more traditionally liberal than those of the Visegrad Group but are also tinged by his populist bent. Nevertheless, he sees himself as a leading exponent of the same cultural conservatism embraced by leaders such as Viktor Orban or Nigel Farage. He is telegenic and well-spoken and has shown a knack for youth politics, of particularly importance in Austria where the voting age is 16.

On 8 May, France elected Emmanuel Macron as president in a vote that many hailed as a landmark victory for Europes centrist establishment. On 15 October, Austria is likely to elect Kurz as its next chancellor, in a vote that the populist right will hail as its own landmark victory.

Max Hess is a senior political risk analyst with the London-based AEK international, specializing in Europe and Eurasia.
The Nigerian economic system has really called for serious measures to ensure that things fall in the right places but with the kind of leaders ruling the country, there is strong fears of where the country is heading to.

Comedian, Seyi Law, has not stopped in pointing out challenges and also providing solutions through which the country can tap into and help grow the economy but how many government officials are seeing his suggestions?

The comedian recently took to social media to state that urban migration has been one of the major problem facing some states which are yet developed and the earlier this is fixed, the better for everyone.

In his words, My vision might seem impossible, but the heart that keeps oiling it's dreams will drive it smooth in the vehicle of success. Nigeria is still battling the authenticity of our amalgamation of 1914, hiding away from the shame of the civil war of 1967, regretting the Oil boom of 1970 and sitting on the stupidity of the looting in the past administration while the UAE is laying the blocks for the achievements of 2071. The difference is the LEADERSHIP.

Until every citizen of this nation can access the beautiful life of a CITY within a 30minutes radius, the future we dream will never come. If you can't be a genuine SLAY QUEEN or FRESH GUY in a village in ARAMOKO EKITI with all the necessary basic amenities and access to TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT while getting wealthy in your AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS and only think of visiting LAGOS for HOLIDAY then we have not started.

Our cities will collapse due to RURAL - URBAN MIGRATION and our historical monuments that should drive TOURISM will be ruined. Every state must rise to the level of keeping it's citizens and not just attract them to milk their resources and take to another state to develop. Ondo State must attract investments that will remain in the state and enrich it's citizens. Abia State and the other states in the SOUTH EAST must develop their MANUFACTURING ability for exportation beyond the country. The VISION must be clear and easy for the majority to understand if we must gain their trust and patience to achieving them. Nigeria will be great and my hairs will not be grey before the explosion of our greatness will be visible.
Nollywood actor, Adeniyi Johnson, is ever ready to prove his love for his actress, lover, Seyi edun, no matter how their love life is being perceived by many.

Adeniyi had recently shared picture of his lover receiving her awards at the just concluded City Peoples Awards where seyi won two awards but these did not go down well with many of his fans.

One of them who was able to summon courage attacked the actor by letting him know that Seyi does not deserve the award because she rarely features in movies.

But Niyi will not allow such allegations to slide by as he immediately defended his woman by stating that it is only intelligent people that have watched her movies.

opmworldwide : Oga this girl no good rich this level joor, I even no dey see her for films like that
There are certain companies that I follow, just to give me a feel for the health of the global economy and for whats going on in the world.

One of those is the US company Caterpillar Inc. [NYSE:CAT]. Thats because the heavy machinery giant is one of the biggest names in construction machinery worldwide.

If theres increasing demand for Caterpillars machinery, then that just gives you a bit of an indicator aside from the usual analysts opinions.

China is one of Caterpillars major clients, and the company has a number of key facilities in the country.

Caterpillar is talking up Chinas economic outlook, and is expecting stable growth for the Chinese economy in the next two to three years.

After years of downturn, Chinas excavator industry has been picking up since the second half of last year.

In the first eight months of 2017, more than 85,000 excavators were sold in the country.

Caterpillar attributes surging sales to strong demand from infrastructure, real estate projects, and improvement in the mining sector.

Along with the industrial turnaround, Caterpillar saw its China business grow, and expanded investment in the country.

The company is experiencing record sales in China, and is increasing investment in its Chinese plants to expand its capacity to meet demand.

I find it hard to get bearish on China, when I read reports like that from Caterpillar.

I suggest that these are the guys you should listen to for opinions on China. Not the academics, fund managers or the analysts who continually call a China collapse.

For the simple reason that a company like Caterpillar sees the sales coming in; they see the real story.

Also, the Chinese economic data just keeps coming in strong. Last month was no exception.

Chinas factories grew at fastest pace in over five years and thats despite a government push to clean up polluting industries.

The China collapse story hasnt gone to script, analysts and pundits have been wrong about China year after year.

A bullish outlook for China is also showing up in the charts.

The iShares FTSE China Large-Cap [ASX:IZZ] ETF, which tracks 50 of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies which trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is in a strong uptrend. It hasnt made a lower low on the weekly chart in nearly two years.

The market has left any thoughts of a China collapse way behind.

Not just China

Put aside stories of a Chinese collapse. The worlds second largest economy is powering along, if the charts are any guide.

And its not only China. All of Asia is booming presently. The charts clearly show it.

For example, the iShares S&P Asia 50 [ASX:IAA] ETF, which tracks the performance of the 50 leading companies listed in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, is breaking into all-time highs.

Likewise the Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Shares [ASX:VAE] ETF, which gives exposure to around 850 securities across Asia, including China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, is also busting higher.

The weight of money is telling you Asia is really strong presently.

Its very bullish for the entire region, of which we are a part.

Those who are making a case for an Australian recession at the moment, dont know how to read a chart.

Thats not to say we wont get the usual market panics along the way. Theres always something to spook the markets.

But while Asia is powering along like this, markets are most unlikely to collapse. Certainly not within the next six months or so.

And while all the focus is on western economies which have been plodding along, Im expecting Asian markets to be really strong in the coming year.

A strong Asia will present opportunities on the ASX and keep our market bubbling.

Regards,

Terence Duffy,

Editor, Money Morning Trader
- The police in Kwara state have been accused by residents of selling detainees to ritualists

- In reaction, the commissioner of police insisted that the allegations were false, unfounded and untrue

- According to him, the redeployment of some officers had nothing to do with the allegations raised by residents

Lawan Ado who is the commissioner of police in Kwara state has announced the redeployment of some officers at the Adewole Police Division in Ilorin, the state capital.

According to report, the decision followed allegation raised by residents that the police were selling suspects detained in the stations to ritualists for N80,000.

READ ALSO: Justice Nyako threatens to withdraw from Nnamdi Kanu's case

The police chief said this during a visit of the district governor, Rotary International, District 9125, Mbanefo Nnoka, and his team to the command headquarters.

He insisted that the allegations were false, unfounded and untrue but that he decided to redeploy them to avoid needless rift.

He said no one has come forward with evidence to indict the policemen on the allegation of human trafficking.

He said: But we have been redeploying the policemen there. More than half of them have now been transferred and soon, the other half will be redeployed so that even if there is anybody who is involved  which no information has established  we will at least remove him from the area.

Nnoka called on Nigerians to support the fight against crime as the police was everyones friend.

Legit.ng had reported that suspected ritualists arrested by the police in Ogun state confessed to trading and using human body parts for money ritual.

Ahmed Iliyasu who is the commissioner of police in the state paraded the suspects while allaying the fears of residents.

He said the suspects were arrested by the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

He said the first syndicate comprised of two suspects, Lateef Aremu and Kola Sodipo and that they were arrested after they got information about them.

Legit.ng visits kidnappers' den in Lagos - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has justified its recent raids of auto marts across the country

- Joseph Attah, the public relations officer of the service, said the exercise is in line with the extant law

- Attah, however, declared that any vehicle imported through unapproved route was a smuggled one

The Nigerian Customs Service said it has seized over 3000 vehicles across the country between January and October is in line with the extant law.

Joseph Attah, the public relations officer of the service, said the recent raid of car shops was in line with section 147 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) which empowers it to search shops suspected to be having smuggled items.

Daily Trust reports that some auto dealers grumbled over alleged rip-off and harassment by officials of the customs who raided their shops in commando style in search of smuggled vehicles.

READ ALSO: Kachikwu's memo: Presidency allegedly moves to prevent Senate from probing Baru

However, the customs spokesman who justified the action said the raid was to ascertain the genuineness of vehicles displayed at car shops.

According to him, many of the importers came through unapproved routes. He said any vehicle imported through unapproved route was a smuggled one.

He maintained that no customs officer would disturb an importer who has done the right thing even as he denied allegations of extortion leveled against the officers and men of the service.

Attah said: The question is who is extorting who and for what reason are you being extorted? Do the right thing. Those shouting about extortion are people who want to do the wrong thing.

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The present government policy prohibits importation through the land borders and our responsibility as the Nigeria Customs Service is to implement the CEMA

''Whereas some of these smugglers are arrested at the border, any smuggler who beats customs officers at the border is still subject to arrest wherever or whenever the vehicle is found.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the NCS revealed that it intercepted 27 Toyota Hilux pick-up vehicles in Abuja suspected to have been smuggled into the country.

In a statement released on its official Facebook page, the deputy comptroller-general of customs, Aminu Dangaladima, on Friday, October 13, said it was committed to getting rid of smuggling in the country.

Legit.ng visits the market after Buhari's return - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian army's Operation in Lagos and Ogun states seems to be yielding results

- The Exercise Crocodile Smile 2 was launched to curb the activities of criminals in the two states

- Over 40 suspects have been arrested in the operation so far

The Nigerian army said it had arrested over 40 suspects for various offences within Lagos and Ogun states after the launch of Exercise CROCODILE SMILE 2 by the chief of army staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.

The army made this known through a statement on Tuesday, October 17, by the 81 Division spokesperson, Lt.-Col. Olaolu Daudu in Lagos, NAN reports.

According to him, so far, the troops have being carrying out routine activities associated with the exercise seamlessly along with other sisters services, security and para military agencies.

The Crocodile Smile 2 exercise in Lagos and Ogun is yielding results. Photo credit: The Nigerian Army

READ ALSO: Operation Python Dance formally comes to an end in southeast

Some suspected criminals have been arrested; drug peddlers, cultists, car snatchers and other criminal elements have been denied freedom of action through patrols, raids, road blocks and checkpoints.

On Oct. 4, based on credible information on activities of pipeline vandals at Ronik Hotel Abule Egba area of Lagos state, troops of 149 Battalion, 81 Division Nigerian Army were immediately dispatched for a Cordon and search Operation.

The troops arrested the suspected pipeline vandals and items found within the hotel premises include 16 loaded kegs of premium motor spirit (PMS), 5 cars and 2 tankers loaded with PMS," he said.

He said the suspects have been interrogated, profiled and handed over to NSCDC.

In a related development, on Oct. 11, troops of 174 Battalion, 81 Division Nigerian Army while on a stop and search operation arrested a car robber who snatched a Toyota Venza with reg no. FST 762 CV along Ikorodu  Sagamu road.

The suspect who was fleeing with the stolen vehicle rammed into other vehicles and pedestrians in a bid to escape and was arrested by troops.

The suspect and the recovered vehicle have been handed over to Owutu Divisional police Headquarters," he said.

He also said that five drug peddlers were apprehended with gallons of unidentified chemical substances and Indian hemp on Oct. 14 by troops of Sector 5, 243 Battalion at Agbara area of Lagos State in conjunction with men of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Arrested suspects and items have been handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation.

Similarly, raid and clearance operations were carried out on Oct. 14, by troops of 65 Battalion Sector 1 of Exercise CROCODILE SMILE 2 at Ajah general area.

Nine suspects were arrested with bags containing Indian hemp.

Two of the suspects were alleged to have snatched a female purse containing Samsung Galaxy and Itel phones, Bible, house keys and N1,200 which were also recovered, he said.

The spokesman also said another raid operation was carried out by troops of 9 Brigade Garrison Sector 4 at Ipodo, Ikeja general area where five suspects were arrested.

Five suspected fraudsters were arrested and items recovered include 4 generators, 4 laptops, scanning machine, colour printer, 3 stabilizers, 10 ups, 3 car chargers and 16 handsets stand.

The suspects and exhibits have been handed over to Lagos State Special Task force, Oshodi.

On Oct. 15, the Commander Sector 3 of Exercise CROCODILE SMILE 2 handed over 36 suspects arrested by troops of the Sector during a raid operation at criminal hideouts and notorious drug dens in Ikorodu general area.

The handover was carried out at Odogunyan barracks in Ikorodu, while the suspects were received by the Area Commander, Nigeria Police Ijede in Ikorodu, he said.

Daudu also disclosed that four suspected cult members were arrested around Badagry area on Oct. 15.

At about 11.59 pm, gunmen suspected to be cultists attacked Rolex Hotel in Ajara area of Badagry.

Following a distress call to troops of 243 Battalion Sector 5 on Exercise CROCODILE SMILE 2 on activities of suspected cultists, troops responded immediately and arrested 4 suspected cultists.

Also a follow up of suspected cultists attack, two suspects were arrested in connection with previous attacks at Rolex Hotel.

The arrested suspects were detained and preliminary investigation is in progress while suspects would be handed over to relevant security agencies for further investigation and prosecution, he said.

The spokesperson reassured the public that the division is poised to maintain peace and security in the entire Lagos and Ogun states.

Daudu enjoined members of the public to cooperate with security agencies by remaining law abiding and giving credible information to the nearest security check point.

According to him, members of the public can also call 193 and the various telephone numbers that were earlier released.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian army has debunked rumours going round in Rivers state about soldiers forcefully vaccinating students.

The army stated that its medical outreaches or vaccination exercises are not carried out in schools.

READ ALSO: Operation Crocodile Smile not to torment citizens - Army

STREET GIST: Is Operation "Crocodile smile II" necessary? - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- APC has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of promoting the army vaccine scare in his state

- The party accused Wike of being bitter and demoralising the army ever since the IPOB was proscribed

- APC accused the governor of being an ally of the pro-Biafra group, IPOB

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, of promoting the rumour that the army is injecting people with monkeypox virus in his state.

The political party accused Wike of demoralising the army and being bitter towards the force ever since the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The group also accused Wike of being an ally of the IPOB group which has since been proscribed in Nigeria.

In a statement signed by APC state publicity secretary, Chris Finebone, and exclusively sent to Legit.ng, the group accused the governor of concocting lies about the army.

READ ALSO: Buhari presides over FEC meeting ahead departure for Turkey (video)

The statement read: "The All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers state chapter, is utterly dismayed that emerging facts being made available to the party indicate that the Nigerian Army vaccine scare that was promoted on radio and social media earlier today (Tuesday) by the Rivers state commissioner for information and communications, Barr. Emma Okah, is part of a well-articulated strategy by the Governor Wike-led Rivers state government to ridicule, humiliate, intimidate and demoralise the Nigerian army, SARS and other security agencies ahead of the 2019 elections.

"The APC finds it appalling that the Rivers state government led by Gov. Nyesom Wike would concoct outright lies and falsehood just to score cheap political points by denigrating our respected men and women of the uniformed and other security services who place their lives on the line every other day to keep Nigerians safe. This is the worst form of ingratitude that a government can openly organise against an important set of citizens who lose their limbs and in some cases lose their lives for the rest of us.

"The APC is aware of a special project that has just been flagged off by the Rivers state government and driven by the commissioner for information and communications, Barr. Emma Okah in which a task force of PDP members have been assembled and charged with the sole task of inundating the traditional and new media daily with anti-SARS messages until the police high command is forced to transfer out CSP Akin Fakorede from Rivers state.

"The idea is that having refused and rebuffed Governor Wikes entreaties including a bribe of N100 million naira, the governor and his party believe that there exists a possibility that Fakoredes replacement will likely fall for the governors bait ahead of the 2019 elections.

"While the APC cannot speak for the police or other security agencies, it behoves on us and indeed other well-meaning Rivers people to vehemently condemn the war of attrition being levied by Wike and his government against security agencies in Rivers state."

The party said the army has since denied conducting any free medical outreach in Niger Delta or Rivers state.

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The statement added that: "The fact is that the army has made a press release re-stating that it was not conducting any medical outreach in the Niger Delta generally and Port Harcourt particularly. Independent investigations also revealed that the Nigerian army troops were nowhere close to any school in Rivers state to carry out any medical programme of any sort despite the false alarm activated by the Rivers state government.

"The APC insists that Governor Nyesom Wike and the PDP in Rivers state must take responsibility for any untoward outcome that may result from the needless panic mode they have forced innocent people and residents of Rivers state into today. They must accept responsibility for the politically-motivated fake news they activated in the state today and the attendant confusion it has caused law-abiding citizens.

"We call on the Nigerian army and other security agencies to recognise the kind of personae the governor represents and the type of government he runs. We urge our respected men and women of the security services to rise above the antics of Governor Wike and his government officials.

"Particularly, the army and other agencies should realise that the dance the Rivers state government performed today by creating a hoax to discredit the Nigerian army is a clear manifestation of the frustration that the governor and his government have inflicted on themselves since their major ally (Indigenous People of Biafra  IPOB) was proscribed. They have since been feeling vulnerable, disorientated and very bitter especially at the army. The unnecessary animosity by the Wike government towards the Army does not represent the feelings of well-meaning Rivers people.

"We reassure anxious Nigerians who reside in other parts of the country especially the North that all is calm and no attacks on any group has resulted from the irresponsible false alarm raised by the Rivers state government. This is important to quell the anxious calls we have been receiving since this morning against the backdrop of the recent ugly incident in a part of the state."

Legit.ng had earlier reported that panic-stricken parents in Rivers state on Tuesday, October 17, withdrew their children from their various schools after rumours of the forced vaccination was going round the state.

One of the parents alleged that army wanted to forcefully inject the kids with the pox virus.

The Nigeria military has since debunked the rumuor, describing it as callous and unpatriotic.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Wike has urged Nigerians to disregard posters displayed in parts of Abuja indicating his interest in the vice presidential position in 2019 race.

The governor, who described the action as the handwork of mischief makers, said his attention was drawn to it recently.

Wike made this call in a statement signed by his special assistant on electronic media, Simeon Nwakaudu, adding that the posters were from political mischief makers who seem to have forgotten that nobody runs for the office of the vice president.

Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 - Goodluck Jonathan declares at PDP Caucus meeting - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Lawmakers have cried out over the challenges and poverty situations faced by Nigerians

- In a motion sponsored by the chairman of the committee on poverty alleviation, Muhammad Wudil, said the pangs of hunger is being felt by every Nigerian

- The lawmakers urged President Buhari's administration to make efforts towards tackling the problems of poverty in the country

Some lawmakers have warned President Muhammadu Buhari of the challenges and poverty situations faced by Nigerians.

Premium Times reports that the lawmakers urged President Buhari's administration to make efforts towards tackling the problems of poverty in Nigeria.

The lawmakers who are members of the House of Representatives said poverty is currently biting hard on most Nigerians.

READ ALSO: Nigerians react to Buharis tenure as president

They called on the federal government to be more effective in implementing programmes that will be aimed at tackling poverty in Nigeria.

The lawmakers in a motion sponsored by the chairman of the committee on poverty alleviation, Muhammad Wudil, said every Nigerian and the members of the Green Chamber is feeling the pangs of poverty.

The motion by the lawmaker followed the letter written to the Lower House by President Buhari for the presentation of the 2018-2020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Buhari presides over FEC meeting, departs for Turkey immediately (video)

The president in his letter said the MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of general adverse global economic uncertainty.

Buhari said: "The MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of a generally adverse global economic uncertainty, as well as fiscal challenges and recovery in the domestic economy to ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels and is consistent with governments overall developmental objectives and inclusive growth.

Also, speaking on the matter, another lawmaker Nicholas Ossai said most of the infrastructural projects in satellite towns had failed.

Ossai also advocated for more attention to these satellite towns in the area of electricity and water supply.

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Let us give the people in these satellite towns a sense of belonging. Places like Jikwoyi, Kubwa, Dutse; there are no good roads there. Let us endeavour to cater for these people," Ossai said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Senate called for a separate minister for the ministry of power.

The Senate said the current minister of power, Babatunde Fashola, urged the federal government to incorporate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for the implementation of alternative energy projects.

Which of President Buhari's minister should be sacked? - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Abdullahi Babayo, the director-general of nomadic affairs agency in Niger state, said herdsmen and farmers have signed peace agreement to stop clashes

- Babayo said the aim of the agreement was to reconcile communities that were affected by farmers/herdsmen crisis in the state

- He, however, urged both farmers and herdsmen against blocking cattle routes and destroying farmlands so as to sustain the peace in the area and guarantee food security

Herdsmen and farmers in Mashegu local government area of Niger state have signed a peace agreement to stop clashes among them.

Abdullahi Babayo, the director-general of nomadic affairs agency in the state, made this known in a statement issued, in Minna, on Wednesday, October 18.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Babayo said the aim of the meeting was to reconcile communities that were affected by farmers/herdsmen crisis in the area.

READ ALSO: Mixed reactions as Nigerians comment on Buharis 2 years in office

He said the meeting was attended by chairman, Mashegu local government, Bala Saidu, Ardo Adamu, the chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Niger, Fulani herdsmen, farmers, district heads and community leaders from the area.

According to him, the meeting was to promote peace among farmers and herdsmen and to appeal to herdsmen to desist from grazing on farmlands to avoid clashes with farmers.

The director-general advised both parties to abide by the agreement and continue to respect the cultures of one another, tradition and means of livelihood.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

He urged them to be law abiding and live in peace irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations.

He said: ''Farmers and herdsmen should adopt alternative dispute resolution mechanism whenever there is a disagreement in order to avert the negative effects of crisis.

Babayo also urged the herdsmen to report any suspicious persons to the appropriate authority.

He also advised both farmers and herdsmen against blocking cattle routes and destroying farmlands so as to sustain the peace in the area and guarantee food security.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that a socio-cultural organisation raised alarm over an alleged plan by Fulani herdsmen to attack Benue state.

Southern Kaduna killings: part 1 on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has begun its road to recovery after a turbulent time

- One of those vying to lead the party out of its present quagmire is the former governor of Ogun state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel

- A former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, is however of the opinion that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won't give up power easily in 2019

A former minister of aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has charged PDP faithfuls across the country to gear up for a tough general election in 2019.

Fani-Kayode made the call on Wednesday, October 18, during the official declaration of bid for national chairman of the PDP by the former Ogun state governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

The former minister who declared his support for Otunba Daniel's candidacy by endorsing him at the event, tasked PDP supporters across the country to be wary of the APC's antics ahead of the 2019 election.

READ ALSO: Reno Omokri issues warning to 2019 presidential election aspirants

His words: Anyone who thinks the APC will give up power easily in 2019 is deluded. This is a quest to save our nation. We must ensure that the destiny of this nation is once again placed in the destiny of our people and that we make the right choice.

Declaring his support for Otunba Daniel, Fani-Kayode hammered on the need for the PDP to elect a younger man to lead the party.

Legit.ng checks reveals that Otunba Daniel is the youngest of all the PDP candidates from the southwest.

Former minister of education; Professor Tunde Adeniran is 72, Chief Bode George is 71, Professor Taoheed Adedoja is 66 while Otunba Daniel is 61.

Fani-Kayode said: There are other people that are involved in this. In a game of power, even though we are one family, we must point out the weaknesses of your opponents.

But, we must set apart those that are first among equals and that in my view is Gbenga Daniel. We have those in the race who have led the party in the past and I have immense respect for them.

If in a nation like Austria, s 31-year old young man become the chancellor. Why are talking about the election of people who should be elder statesmen at this point that we should be going to for consultation, will now say they want to vie with somebody that is considerably younger than them.

Otunba Gbenga seems to be popular among PDP faithfuls across the nation. Source: Twitter

Delivering his speech at the event, Otunba Daniel stated that one of his focus if he emerges as the national chairman of the PDP, is to bring back many aggrieved members of the party who left.

His words: In the last few weeks I have gone round visiting many of our leaders and stakeholders.

I believe that I have sufficiently interacted with many of our party leaders, elders and members to have identified various fault lines which needed closing up so that we can return to the ideals and vision of our founding fathers.

One of my focus as the national chairman is to bring back many of our party men who have left. My ultimate goal is to work towards the victory of our party in the 2019 general elections and in all other elections in between.

To achieve this, I am prepared to work with all leaders of our party, various interest groups and individuals.

Otunba Daniel reiterated the need for a more focused, disciplined and reinvigorated PDP which he argued must transcend the desire to merely hold office, stressing that it should rather be a clarion call to provide an alternative political platform to offer distinctive leadership.

He said the PDP must should be a platform whose ideology is based on collective governance, all round inclusive leadership, national unity and economic development.

Doing otherwise will be sending our fatherland to eternal political condemnation, neo-dictatorship and totalitarianism.

This will not only make mockery of the sacrifices of men and women who paid the ultimate price so our nation can enjoy the freedom and unity we so much deserve but equally erode the collective vision of a more prosperous Nigeria, he added.

He went on to say the PDP was and still remains the greatest political party, not only in Nigeria, but in the entire continent of Africa.

Meanwhile, former president Goodluck Jonathan has advised PDP members not to make the mistake of making wrong choices at the forthcoming national convention of the party scheduled for December.

Jonathan gave the advice when he received an aspirant for the partys national chairmanship position, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, in his residence in Abuja on Tuesday, October 17.

He stated that the PDP at this moment, needed leaders who in the face of persecution, would remain courageous to protect the partys interest and defend democracy.

READ ALSO: PDP convention: Youths declare support for Sunny Odey as party's national legal adviser

PDP chieftain, Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu speaks about the party's crisis on - Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Four British missionaries were kidnapped in Delta state

- The perpetrators were said to be Niger Delta militants

- The police said no ransom has been demanded yet

Kidnappers suspected to be Niger Delta militants have kidnapped four missionaries in Delta state.

The Guardian reports that the militants abducted the missionaries on Friday, October 13.

READ ALSO: GEJ, IBB hold closed-door meeting in Minna

Andrew Aniamaka who is the state commissioner of police confirmed the kidnapping of the missionaries who were said to offer free medical service to the people in the region.

He said: "The abductors have not made any contact but we are doing our investigations to know the motive and have them rescued without jeopardising their lives.

Information available to us shows they are missionaries giving free medical services.

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BBC reports that locals confirmed that the missionaries have been living in the rural part of the state for more than 10 years providing free humanitarian service.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported earlier that an Italian priest, Maurizo Pallu, was kidnapped on Thursday, October 12 by gunmen in Benin city, Edo state.

The priest was reportedly snatched in broad day light, few days after a professor at the University of Benin was killed right in front of his residence in the state.

The 63-year-old priest, who had been stationed in Nigeria for three years, was travelling with a group of four other people when they were attacked and robbed by armed men who took Pallu but let the others go.

Meet Sunny Ofehe, the new face of Niger Delta development - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Nnamdi Kanus brother, Emmanuel, has debunked a report that linked him to monkeypox virus hoax in the southeast

- An Igbo group, INM had accused Emmanuel Kanu of being behind the monkeypox virus rumours in the region

- But Kanu insisted that the groups president is neither an Igbo man nor a Biafra person

Emmanuel Kanu, a young brother to the leader of Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has denied a report that accused him of being behind the recent monkeypox vaccine hoax in the southeast region of the country.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng, Emmanuel Kanu described the group as faceless, adding that the leader of the group was blind to the activities of IPOB.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanus brother behind rumour accusing army of infecting Igbo children with Monkey pox virus - Group

He said: Does it mean out of desperation faceless groups emerge everyday just for the sake of making headline on hard copy and social media. Obviously, whoever claims to be the president is apparently not an Igbo or Biafra person and at such remains very blind to the activities of IPOB. I don't know anything INM and where they exist from.

Obviously that name sounds more like a brown envelope name. If INM wants to engage me, they should do so through appropriate channels. And I don't go by the name Emma Powerful. Emma Powerful remains one and only IPOB spokesperson while I am Prince Emmanuel kanu.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that a socio-activist group, Igbos for Nigeria Movement (INM), accused Emmanuel Kanu, the younger brother of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu as the face allegedly behind the recent monkeypox vaccine hoax in the southeast region of the country.

Biafra Security Service (BSS) inaugurated by IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- The Kwara state government has denied rumors that soldiers of the Nigerian army were injecting school children with killer vaccines

- Amusa Bello, special adviser on security to the governor, urged parents not to panic as he stated that there was no iota of truth to the rumors

- Parents and guardians had abandoned their businesses and headed to various schools to retrieve their children/wards, as the rumors spread

Rumors that soldiers of the Nigerian army were injecting school children in Omu-Aran, Irepodun local government area of Kwara state with killer vaccines, have been denied by the state government, Premium Times reports.

The rumors were dispelled by Amusa Bello, special adviser on security to the governor, who released a statement to that effect.

READ ALSO: Nnamdi Kanus brother denies rumour linking him to Monkey pox virus

Legit.ng gathers that Bello stated that there was no iota of truth to the claims being spread.

As the rumors spread on Tuesday, October 17, parents and guardians immediately abandoned their businesses and headed to various schools to retrieve their children and wards.

As parents besieged various schools, many of them had to shut their gates to prevent the panicking mob from gaining entrance.

However, Bello urged parents to be calm and ignore the rumors, as he stated that the army was not undergoing any vaccination exercise in the state.

In his words: The state government calls on parents and guardians not to panic and to refrain from withdrawing their wards from schools based on this unfounded rumor.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Rivers state was thrown into confusion with parents withdrawing their children from their various school over fresh Nigerian army vaccination rumors.

Legit.ng gathered this through a phone call from one of the parents on Tuesday, October 17, who alleged that the army wanted to forcefully inject the kids with the pox virus.

How Kwara state governor is changing the face of the state - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari has approved payment of pension to officers who served as Biafra policemen during the civil war

- The police officers were dismissed at the end of the Biafra war

- They were pardoned during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the payment of pension to police officers who served under the then Biafra police during the civil war.

According to report, this was contained in a statement released on Wednesday, October 18, by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD).

READ ALSO: GEJ, IBB hold closed-door meeting in Minna

It was announced that about 162 of such retired police officers and 57 next of kin will be paid their benefits in the first phase which kicks off this month.

The police officers were granted presidential pardon in 2000.

The statement read: The general public would recall that Nigeria witnessed an ugly civil war between July, 1967 and January, 1970 and as a result of that unfortunate period in our history, some members of the Armed Forces, the Nigeria Police and paramilitary officers who took part with the Secessionist were dismissed from the service.

The dismissal of those officers was commuted to retirement in the year 2000 through a Presidential Amnesty granted on 29th May, 2000 by the Administration of the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

A verification exercise was conducted for the pardoned officers by the defunct Police Pension Office and recently PTAD on one hand and the Police Service Commission on the other.

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Despite the Presidential pardon and verification of these officers, many of them remained unpaid years after the pardon. However, the present administration under the able leadership of President, Muhammadu Buhari has graciously given approval for the payment of pension entitlements to these officers and their Next of Kin.

PTAD is commencing the payment of pension benefits to the retired war affected police officers on Friday October 20, 2017 in Enugu. 162 officers will be payrolled and 57 Next of Kin who have also not been paid their death benefits will be paid in the first batch.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Kanu, a young brother to the leader of Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, denied a report that accused him of being behind the recent monkeypox vaccine hoax in the southeast region of the country.

In a statement sent to Legit.ng, Emmanuel Kanu described the group as faceless, adding that the leader of the group was blind to the activities of IPOB.

Biafra Security Service (BSS) inaugurated by IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- President Muhammadu Buhari's fight against corruption in the Nigerian society has been somewhat replicated in Kano state

- The Kano state government had since established the Kano state Anti-corruption and Public Complaints Commission

- Leading the charge is Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, who is getting accolades for the outstanding work that he is doing

The chairman of Kano state Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission and focal point for Open Government Partnership (OGP) in the state, Muhuyi Magaji Riminado has re-affirmed that the reforms that will be embarked on in the state will be fully owned by the people.

Riminado made the comment in a goodwill message he presented at a one-day capacity building program for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) aimed at deepening their understanding of the principles of the OGP.

The event which took place on Tuesday, October 17, had in attendance representatives of CSOs from across the state.

Rimingado hailed for the good work he and his team are doing in Kano state. Photo credit: Kano state Anti-Corruption and Public Complaints Commission

READ ALSO: Opinion: Open Government Policy and Liberias political future, by Uche Igwe

The anti-corruption czar expressed happiness with development partners for supporting the eventm adding that, this session aimed at deepening the understanding of civil society about OGP is crucial to our overall success."

He continued: Knowledge based engagement will mean that the voice of civil society is not only amplified but also bold and responsive to the needs of the communities and other relevant stakeholders.

The beauty of OGP is the unique relationship between government and civil society which it promotes. However, as you all know the whole idea of partnership-creation and co-responsibility will be sterile and ineffective unless we build the required capacity.

Both government and civil society need to have clarity, understand and internalize all the principles of OGP to make sure that we are all on the same page from time to time. In Kano state, we want an OGP that the people can own because we want to improve governance and service delivery in a participatory manner.

Commending Kano state government for a job well done, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, federal facilitator of PERL (DFID) stated that, Kano state is one of the leading states when it comes to reforms especially in the area of anti-corruption.

He noted that, the expectation is that Kano state will be a model for other states to follow in terms of implementing commitments that are transformational.

Commending the state government and civil society groups further for the partnership, the national co-chair of OGP and executive director of Media Rights Agenda, Mr Edeetan Ojo, further affirmed that, Kano state has made a bold in joining the OGP in order to improve governance in the state.

For my colleagues in civil society, I see it is a great opportunity for you to bring to fruition many of the ideas that you have advocated and championed over the years for the reform of governance in the State. I urge you to take full advantage of it."

On their part, representatives of civil society groups expressed delight with the opportunity to learn about the Open Government Partnership initiative and participate in it.

At the end the civil society groups resolved to expand their engagement with OGP to include other stakeholder groups like the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Nigerian Labour Congress, Kano state Chamber of Commerce, Academic Staff Union of Universities and others.

Six critical sectors of priority were identified which include education, infrastructure, water, agriculture environment and health.

Other partners present include: Representatives of OGP national secretariat, Dr. Blair King of the United States Agency for International Development, Oliver Blake of the United Kingdom Department of International Development, Rommy Mom of the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) also of the UK government.

READ ALSO: Open Government Partnership will reinforce governance reforms in Kano state - Buharis aide

How workaholic Governor Ganduje is transforming Kano state on - Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng
- A photo has been released, showing President Muhammadu Buhari together with his wife and kids on-board the presidential aircraft, as they headed to the D-8 Summit in Turkey

- The photo was released by the presidents special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina

- The Developing-8 (D-8) Summit is scheduled to begin on Friday, October 20

President Muhammadu Buhari traveled with his wife Aisha, and two of their children, Yusuf and Halima, for the D-8 Summit in Turkey.

The development was made public on Wednesday, October 18, by Femi Adesina, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity.

READ ALSO: Osinbajo meets with Kachikwu and Baru in Aso Rock

Legit.ng notes that Adesina posted a picture on his Facebook page, showing the first family on-board the presidential jet, en-route to Turkey for the Summit.

See the photo below:

The first family share a light-hearted moment together as they head to the D-8 Summit (Photo credit: Facebook: Femi Adesina)

The D-8 Summit is scheduled to begin on Friday, October 20.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari arrived in Turkey on Wednesday evening, October 18, to take part in the Developing 8 (D-8) Summit, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, October 20.

The presidential aircraft reportedly touched down at the Esenboga International Airport, in Ankara, the Turkish capital, at 6:20 pm local time.

Are Nigerians truly tired of President Buhari? - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
Yves here. While the plural of anecdote is not data, I wonder whether readers in the UK will agree with this assessment. The Leave pitch that the UK would spend 350 million more a week on the NHS if it quit the EU, was widely seen as effective. That provides a bit of support for the idea that individual financial insecurity played a big role the vote.

This theory provides substantiation for the view that Thatcherism played a major role in the Brexit vote. Neoliberalism produces more inequality. More unequal societies are less happy ones, by virtue of having weaker social bonds and less security. Even if you are very well off and at no risk of starving, if you take significant economic losses, you can no longer mix with your former social circle. What they do on a routine basis will no longer be in your budget. Worse, you might have to take drastic steps like taking your kids out of pricey schools and moving into a smaller house.

And notice that this article claims that subjective feelings about ones own situation was the big driver. That does not mean individuals who were unhappy were objectively not well off. As Scott said via e-mail, on a completely different topic, I get regular emails from a bunch of guys who seem to genuinely feel that 50 year old guys worth between $15 and $100 million are the most put upon demographic in the country, and that theyre under constant siege by the more numerous, fortunate, and darker-skinned among us.

By Federica Liberini, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Chair of Public Economics, ETH Zurich, Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics, Warwick University, Eugenio Proto, Associate Professor, Warwick University, and Michela Redoano, Associate Professor in Economics, Warwick University. Originally published at VoxEU

There has been much debate on the determinants of the vote for Brexit. This column uses newly released data from the Understanding Society study to examine the characteristics of individuals who were for and against Brexit. Unhappiness contributed to the vote to leave the EU, but this was driven by feelings about individual financial situations rather than a general dissatisfaction with life. Brexit does not appear to have been caused by the old  only those under the age of 25 were substantially pro-Remain.

There is a very wide debate on the determinants of the vote by British citizens to leave the EU. In particular, the idea that this vote reflects discontent and disillusionment has been widely discussed in the UK and European media. Furthermore, large numbers of newspaper and TV journalists have suggested that the decision to leave the EU was forced on the country by special groups (particularly old voters swamping the views of the young, and discontented citizens swamping the views of others).

Accordingly, there is already a number of academic writings on the topic. Some have emphasised the concept of a divided nation (e.g. Dorling 2016). Hobolt and de Vries (2016) explore the scepticism towards EU values, and Ginsburgh et al. (2017) the probable cultural and economic repercussions of Brexit. The majority of the early empirical studies that investigate the explanation for the Brexit vote have pointed to economic forces and immigration-related factors (e.g. Clarke et al. 2017, Goodwin and Milazzo 2017), although interestingly Becker et al. (2017) argue that exposure to immigration was not particularly important but that economic forces and deprivation were powerful. Other contributions emphasise the effect of education  Hobolt (2016) showed that Brexit was favoured by the less-educated, the poorer and older voters, and those who expressed concerns about immigration and multi-culturalism. Along similar lines, Goodwin and Heath (2016) attributed Brexit more specifically to the left behind, as caused by poverty and a general lack of education and opportunities.

There is a literature within quantitative social science (including Di Tella and MacCulloch 2005, and Liberini et al. 2017a) that uses happiness data to try to understand political decisions. Building on this literature, in a new paper we analyse the determinant of the answer Leave the European Union to the question Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?, asked in the last wave of the Understanding Society data set between January and June 2016, and reporting information on approximately 8,000 citizens (Liberini et al. 2017b). Our analysis produces two results that currently may not be widely understood.

The Effects of Unhappy Feelings

First, there is evidence in our study that unhappy feelings contributed to Brexit. However, the key channel of influence was not through general dissatisfaction with life; it was through a persons narrow feelings about his or her own financial situation.

How can discontent be incorporated into a statistical study? We focus especially on the following two questions that are asked of respondents in the Understanding Society survey.

The first question asked about overall life-satisfaction: On a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 = Completely Dissatisfied and 7 = Completely Satisfied, please tell me the number which you feel best describes how dissatisfied or satisfied you are with the following aspects of your current situation.

The second question asked about peoples feelings about their financial situation: How well would you say you yourself are managing financially these days? Coded from 1 (Living comfortably) to 5 (Finding it very difficult).

General dissatisfaction (first question) is predictive of a pro-Brexit position to a limited extent. We find that it was only the small number of completely dissatisfied citizens (that extreme answer is given by only 2% of the UK population) who wish disproportionately, in a statistically significant way, to leave the EU.

On the other hand, Figure 1 illustrates graphically a powerful pattern in the effects of respondents feelings about their finances (second question) on the leave vote. Unlike in the pattern for the life-satisfaction scores, here a steady increase in the coefficients is noticeable. Moving to the right across the chart, people feel steadily less happy with their financial situation, and then are progressively more likely to favour the Leave position. The implied sizes are fairly substantial  for example, UK citizens who feel things are very difficult financially are approximately 13% points more likely to be in favour of leaving the EU than those who feel their finances are comfortable. Overall, our statistical analysis suggests that financial feelings are amongst the strongest correlates with citizens views on the desirability of Brexit.

Figure 1 The financial feelings profile of those wishing to leave the EU

Notes: as calculated from a Brexit equation, Column 2 of Table 3 in Liberini et al. (2017b). 95% CI shown. The vertical axis is a measure of the probability of wanting to leave the EU.

The Effect of Age

Despite what some commentators have suggested, based on our estimates Brexit was not caused by the old. Looking at Figure 2  featuring in the vertical axis a measure of support for Brexit  we note that the Understanding Society data set suggests that only the very youngest UK citizens (those under the age of 25) were substantially pro-Remain. Between their late-20s and their 70s, people who live in the UK have almost indistinguishable views on the desirability of EU membership. Therefore, the data suggest that Brexit was not, in a general sense, caused by old people.

Figure 2 Age profile of those wishing to leave the EU

Notes: as calculated from a Brexit equation in Liberini et al. (2017b), Column 1 of Table 3. 95% CI shown.The effect of other individual characteristics

Some other patterns emerged. Consistent with the rest of the literature, we find a strong association between having high qualifications and favouring Remain. Having a university degree or equivalent made people more likely to vote Remain (by 16%). People with children are less likely to want to leave the EU (by 4%). There is also evidence of an ethnic influence  those who classify themselves in the survey as white British are somewhat more likely to vote for Brexit (by 6%). Interestingly enough, being unemployed has only a small positive or no effect on the decision to leave. Being married has no significant effect. Finally, and perhaps against some commentators intuitions, living in a rural area has no discernible consequences. There were also regional effects, and some evidence, in the run-up to the final few weeks before the vote, of a slightly rising tendency to favour Leave.

Main Conclusions

Two new findings emerge from our study.

First, unhappy feelings contributed to Brexit. However, contrary to commonly heard views, the key channel of influence was not through general dissatisfaction with life; it was through a persons narrow feelings about his or her own financial situation.

Second, despite some commentators guesses, Brexit was not caused by old people. Only the very young were substantially pro-Remain.

See original post for references
By Rocky Rodriguez Junior, the Artistic Director of Craft Theatre. He has directed several pieces to critical acclaim including A Question of Consent, Dantes Inferno: A Modern Telling, and Sam Shepards God of Hell. He recently completed a documentary on the European refugee crisis, after spending time volunteering on the front lines in Greece and France. Originally published at openDemocracy

Most people dont think of media as propaganda, but confirmation bias is rife. What can be done?

Clare, a young woman at university, happens upon an English translation of a play written by Hitlers favourite playwright that upsets her entire world view. She cant help but see strong parallels in how the media was manipulated then and now.

Filled with anxiety that the world she lives in is not as noble as everyone is led to believe, she digs deeper, jumping down a rabbit hole that eventually isolates her from everyone she knows and loves. Her friends shun her, her parents demean her and her teachers expel her. If the truth is the truth then why wont anyone listen?

Thats the question that lies at the heart of A Nazi Comparison, a new play from my company Craft Theatre thats currently running at Waterloo East in London. The production explores politics, climate change, the refugee crises and more, and through these topics it investigates how aspects of Nazism can resurface in contemporary societies through propagandaand how the media can strengthen or weaken confirmation bias in society: the tendency for people to search for and favour information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs

Its that sort of bias that underpins the growing trend towards political polarization and the fracturing of communitiesthink Donald Trumps fake news election in the USA, for example, or the manipulation and mythmaking that surrounded Britains vote on Brexit. Against that background its worth asking whether the arts can help to address this problem as well as to create it: can theatre change our minds in positive, life-enhancing, open-ended ways, and bring people together across the lines of difference?

Ive been exploring the answers to these questions by engaging with the audience for the play itself, and what Ive found is disturbing: overwhelmingly, people dont think that confirmation bias applies to them even when they are shown evidence that it does. They think they are above it, and when they watch the work they dont actually examine whats in front of them. Im not like that is a common reaction, I get it, I understand the world as it is.

But do they? To go deeper I needed to understand how audiences were internalising the play, and I didnt think questionnaires would really provide the information I was looking for. On the whole people dont know my face, and audiences generally dont know Im the director of the piece, so I decided to speak to people after each performance. I didnt lie to them, but I implied that I was a regular audience member too.

Of course not everyone wanted to talk, but many did. Bob, for example (not his real name), looked particularly agitated. Oh I know for a fact that its all hooey, he told me, I have spent 30 years in the news industry, I read a lot, I know whats going onand I know for a fact that hurricane seasons havent changed in 100 yearsits got nothing to do with climate change.

But I have the all the research that was used by the theatre company to develop the show, I countered, it has every fact in the script, properly quoted and referenced, 60 pages long. Can I email it to you?

No, no, I dont have time to read anything Bob said, proceeding to tell me that climate change is another symptom of the lefts tricks. I kept trying to offer insights from the research and he kept implying that he didnt need to read it. He wasnt listening. Bob just wanted me to agree with him.

Unfortunately, that was the trend among others from the audience I spoke with too. Each person had their own nuance, but ultimately everyone was trying to convince me that they knew the truth, that their political opinions were the right onesand they fought hard for their bias. I started to feel like I was in the Twilight Zone. It seems that A Nazi Comparison has actually activated confirmation bias in some people rather than correcting it. That was deeply worrying for me, so why are people so ready to ignore arguments that are contrary to their world view?

Its here that culture and the media play a crucial role. In Hollywood, its pretty obvious that filmmakers support confirmation bias because telling audiences what they want to hear is both easy and lucrative. However its also been well documented that moviemakers are actively encouraged by government agencies to present a certain image of the world. Nicholas Schou, for example, explains how:

Since the mid-1990s, but especially after 9/11, American screenwriters, directors, and producers have traded positive portrayal of the spy profession in film or television projects for special access and favours at CIA headquarters.

In an interview with The Guardian, veteran CIA operative Chase Brandon confirmed that Weve always been portrayed erroneously as evil and MachiavellianIt took us a long time to support projects that portray us in the light we want to be seen in. And shows like NCIS already receive special assistance from the US military.

Most people dont think the TV programmes or films they watch are propaganda, just as they dont like to think that their opinions arent their own, but these examples show that confirmation bias is hard at work under the surface of the media. In that case, what can be done?

Im a theatre director, so thats where I naturally look for solutions. What can independent theatres do to counterbalance the misrepresentations of history and the growing trend to inject political spin into the arts? I think they can help, but based on my own recent experience with A Nazi Comparison its clear that the whole model will have to change.

We need to take our theatre pieces away from tired black box fringe theatres and grand palaces. Instead, we should be building stories around circumstances that actually happen to people, and then taking those stories to communities who can use them to foster dialogue, build bridges, and explore the facts together, in order to develop new communities of honesty and solidarity.

Television and film have a fourth wall: they come with an innate separation between actor and spectator. Theatre represents a different medium, because the fourth wall in the theatre is fake. It can be broken down and even removed entirely by encouraging feedback and interaction between the play and its audience.

The Brazilian theatre director, writer and activist Augusto Boal attempted something like this when he created Forum Theatre, a model in which the actors or members of the audience could stop a scene when a character was being oppressed. The audience would then suggest different actions for the actors in an attempt to change the outcome of the story.

That would be a good start, but it still implies an us and them dichotomy. I think theatre makers should go beyond that dichotomy and dive head first into communities. The process of getting to know people and building theatre with them and from their circumstances can develop friendship and trust, perhaps even enabling people to see themselves in new ways.

In the BAFTA award winning documentary The Act of Killing, director Joshua Oppenheimer interviews people who were involved in the mass executions of accused communists in Indonesia. Some of the murderers gleefully dramatized the killings, but when they watched footage of the actual events something fascinating happenedthey realised how horrific what they said sounded, and it started to change their lives.

Im not saying that all theatre should set out to change everyone by forcing them to confront a particular reality. Rather, we should set out to make friends with people and in doing so, through the act of mutual creation, we can all begin to mend our bias. There are many different ways to do this, but the first step in all of them is to acknowledge that confirmation bias is real, and that we all have it. The next step is to think about what we can each do personally to address or free ourselves from these biases within our own world and social setting.

The highest form of art is the creation of communityworker-to-worker, person-to-person, friend to friend. Real learningthe only kind that counters biashappens only when people are open with each-other in a trusted environment, where they can develop authentic relationships. When envisioned in terms of community, theatre is one place where this can happen.
Plastic-eating caterpillars could save the planet The Economist

Oyster farts help (humans) warm the world Deutsche Welle

How big is the risk of another Black Monday equities crash? FT

When is the Time to Wind Down? Handelsblatt

Central bankers have one job and they dont know how to do it FT Alphaville

Wall Street found a parasite growing in the US economy that could spur the next recession Business Insider. Shorts looking at health care. On parasites, see NC. In 2013.

How Valuable Is a Unicorn? Maybe Not as Much as It Claims to Be Andrew Ross Sorkin, NYT (see NC here). When youve lost Andrew Ross Sorkin.

GM to test self-driving cars in N.Y. in early 2018: Gov. Cuomo Reuters (EM). The lead says Fully autonomous mode, which is Level 5. Further down, we read that the cars will be Level 4. At the best, sloppy reporting from Reuters. See NC here for an explanation of the levels.

Bitter differences over Nafta break into the open FT

Syraqistan

North Korea

China?

Expats send $20 billion to Philippines in 8 months Gulf News

Brexit

New Cold War

Trump Transition

2016 Post Mortem

How Hillary Clinton Still Can, and Should, Become President After the Trump-Russia Investigation Lawrence Lessig, Newsweek. Lessigs thesis: Trump is removed because he was helped by Mother Russia (!), Pence should resign since he got the same help, Ryan steps in. If Ryan becomes president, he should do the right thing and choose Clinton for vice president. Then he should resign. This is where we are. Poor Larry. Such a shame. The Danger of President Pence The New Yorker (GF).

Democrats in Disarray

Health Care

Police State Watch

No Forfeiture-Database Backup With Millions on the Line, NYPD Admits Courthouse News (DK). DK: Hello, Id like to report a robbery

2016 Post Mortem

Imperial Collapse Watch

Class Warfare

How Big Data Went Bust Slate (Re Silc). [T]he bigger problem is that the [Big Data] data you have are usually only a proxy for what you really want to know. Big data doesnt solve that problemit magnifies it. And integrating multiple proxies is hard; witness the F-35 helmet debacle, which faced exactly that technical problem.

What is sleep, even? Quartz. I wish I knew!

South Africa: Train Surfers Risk Their Lives Without Fear of Metrorails Security All Africa

Antidote du jour:

Still working to level up my cat game.

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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Those whove been around for a while may recall that diehard libertarian Alan Greenspan was forced to admit after the crisis that he had found a flaw in his ideology, and that self interest of financial institutions didnt lead them to protect their shareholders.

Now despite that world-shaking incident, neoclassical economics remains the dominant economic ideology, which means that policy-makers are still subjected to corporate friendly blather about how companies can be relied upon to mind for themselves because the reputational cost of Doing Bad Things is large, and if that isnt enough, litigation and the existing (ever weakening) regime of fines for bad behavior is more than adequate.

Again, as anyone who watched the crisis and its aftermath knows, all the big banks suffered was cost of doing business fines.

And this problem is widespread, as a new paper by Roy Shapira, Associate Professor at IDC Herzliya Radzyner Law School and Luigi Zingales, Professor at University of Chicagos Business School suggests.

The authors make a case study of DuPonts failure to remedy the emissions of a harmful chemical, C8. used in making Teflon, that eventually led to a $670 million settlement earlier this year. Du Pont is the sort of blue-chippy company that cares about corporate governance enough to make sure it gets good marks on those scorecards. On top of that, DuPont is a top player in environmental and toxic substances research. They conclude it was nevertheless perfectly rational for DuPont to keep polluting.

This conclusion wont come as a surprise to anyone who has taken note of rampant corporate short-termism and the rise of the IBG-YBG mentality, that job churn is so high that any bad stuff being done now wont rise to the level of being a real problem until after the people with their fingerprints on it have moved on.

But that view is, in corporate finance terms, tantamount to having a discount rate that is artificially high, which results in assigning incorrectly low costs to long term risks.

The interesting part of the Shapira/Zingales paper is that they argue that for Du Pont to keep polluting was a rational decision, using reasonable discounting assumptions. From their summary of their paper at Harvard Law Schools Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation blog:

The key decision point for DuPont came in 1984, when alarming information about the potential consequences of C8 emissions caused the company to call a top-executives meeting. By 1984 DuPont was aware that C8 is toxic, associated with birth defects, does not break down in the environment, and accumulates in human blood over time. Essentially, by 1984 C8 could already be considered a perennial red flag. DuPonts executives acknowledged that the legal and medical departments would recommend stopping the usage of C8 altogether in light of the new alarming information. Yet, the business side overruled these recommendations and opted to continue C8 emissions (in fact they doubled them). Importantly, DuPonts decision-makers also opted against investing in abatement options that were on the table, such as building an incineration device that would greatly reduce C8 emissions. Was this a myopic managerial decision? An agency problem? The internal documents allow us to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, showing that even a shareholder-value-maximizing manager would have chosen to pollute. Our calculation shows that even if DuPont managers could have forecasted all future legal liabilities, they would have preferred to pollute as long as they thought that the probability of getting caught was less than 19%. Given the extreme set of unlikely events that led to the payment of heavy legal fines, and given the fact that other C8 users (like 3M) have escaped such heavy legal liability, we conclude that at that time polluting without abating was a reasonable bet by DuPonts decision makers. Thus, it was value-maximizing for DuPont to pollute, in spite of the fact thatas we showthe costs C8 pollution imposed on society greatly exceeded DuPonts own estimates of abatement costs.

The authors stress that potential legal costs werent a sufficient deterrent due to the time lag, particularly since companies like DuPont are in a position to create delays via clever PR that creates doubt about the dangers, court strategies, and influencing regulators. They also point out (emphasis original):

Regulation was not enough either. The Toxic Substances Control Act grandfathered in existing chemicals, making it difficult for regulators to obtain information about possible health risks. Even when regulators receive alarming information, large chemical companies can pull levers to soften regulatory enforcement, such as revolving door offers.

Given the large power imbalance when companies misbehave, Shapiras and Zingales remedies are insufficient. They incorrectly frame the problem as in informational, as opposed to about incentives.

They call for bounties for whistleblowers plus a large tax on gag settlements in environmental cases. But it is hardly a secret, save maybe in academia, that whistleblowers ruin their careers and often their marriages, and pay a big psychological price, when the financial payoff is far from certain. Economists of the caliber of Shapira and Zingales should know that people are risk averse, and for good reason: theres no reason to think you have more than one life. Why throw it away on a fight, even a righteous fight, which parties with much deeper pockets and staying power than you have who will do everything they can to pound you into the ground?

Similarly, the idea of a tax on gag settlements is just silly. The incremental cost of the tax will be too small to change behavior. Shapiras and Zingales objective is to more disclosure, which would help regulators and parties considering litigation, when the companies will just pay the tax.

The obvious solution is to make executives accountable, by at a minimum forcing the payment of any large fines to come out of deferred comp and to require executives above a certain level to have a significant portion of their compensation be deferred. Only by hitting the executives where it hurts, in their wallets, and to enough of a degree to affect their standard of living, do you start to have a chance of changing behavior.
(Natural News) There are few people in this world who are more passionate and more dedicated to exposing the centralization of power within the United States federal government than conservative author and filmmaker Trevor Loudon. Mr. Loudon has had dozens of accomplishments in just the past ten years, including discovering the relationship between Barack Obama and his communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis, helping to expose the communist roots of Barack Obamas Green Jobs Czar Van Jones ultimately forcing him to resign, and participation in over 400 conservative, tea party, religious and Republican grounds in more than 37 states across the country.

In 2016, Trevor Loudon came out with a film called The Enemies Within, which exposed the deep ties between some of the most extreme leftists within Washington D.C. and their radical communist allies. The documentary was a hit among conservatives and liberty-minded Americans, most of whom are also concerned about the lefts decades-long attempt to overturn the United States Constitution and establish an all-powerful communist state.(Related: These are the 45 goals of the communists takeover of America.)

Trevor Loudon recently made an appearance on Critical Disclosure radio to discuss this topic further, and the entire interview was nothing short of fascinating. I research Marxism, Communism, terrorist groups, and their influence on the mainstream political process, Loudon said after being asked a question regarding why he decided to make The Enemies Within. He went on to say, Basically, the argument is that there are approximately one hundred members of the U.S. House of Representatives and twenty members of the Senate who would probably not be able to pass an FBI background check to drive a school bus or sell you stamps at the post office.

Loudon said that these are the people who are trashing their own country day in and day out, ultimately pushing for the implementation of a communist system. While liberals will be quick to label this concept as nothing but a conspiracy theory, to conservatives watching the transformation of America before their very eyes, it makes perfect sense. Members of both the Republican Party and the Democrat Party always seem to be promoting the idea that government has the answer to anything and everything, while at the same time discouraging individualism, like when Barack Obama famously declared that those who own businesses only became successful because somebody else made that happen.

Trevor Loudon explained that these communists are serving in your Congress, theyre serving in your Senate, theyre serving on the Armed Services Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and they are trashing America every single day. (Related: The left-wing media has already achieved 3 out of 4 steps for a Soviet-style overthrow of American society and government.)

Later on in the interview, Loudon touches on the issue of illegal immigration, which he correctly states is something that is heavily supported by the vast majority of liberal democrats in America. He references Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, a radical leftist who is one of the most outspoken advocates of amnesty in this country today. Loudon explains that Gutierrez is a former member of the pro-Cuban, Puerto Rican Socialist Party who was elected with Maoist help and is part of several Muslim Brotherhood front groups. Gutierrez, much like most other radial liberals, socialists and communists, know that if they push for amnesty hard enough, eventually they will succeed; and if they succeed, that means millions of new voters for the Democrat Party and as Loudon puts it, the end of America.

This left-wing strategy of using isolated political issues to accumulate power and establish a tyrannical state goes far beyond the issue of immigration, however. The lefts insistence on more gun control is an effort to give the government more power of what firearms you can own and what firearms you cant. The issue of climate change is talked about repeatedly by the left as a way of giving the government more authority over what kinds of cars you drive, what kinds of light bulbs you purchase, and how much water is allowed to run through your toilet. The Democrats believe so heavily in creating a generous welfare state so that more and more Americans become dependent on the government, thus increasing the amount of power they have over the people.

Trevor Loudon is right  there are communists among us, and if something is not done about it, we are going to lose not only our liberty and our Constitution, but also our beloved country.

Sources Included:

TrevorLoudon.com

FoxNews.com
(Natural News) When it comes to the threat of natural disasters, its easy to see why most people would rather keep the thought of being struck by one completely out of sight and out of mind. But while it may be an unpleasant thing to think about, natural disasters such as tornados, earthquakes and hurricanes can cause severe damage and even take your life if you are not prepared ahead of time.

Recently, Hadley Mendelsohn of My Domaine used information from The Red Cross and other sources to compile a list of the 14 most essential supplies every natural disaster prepper should have in their Go Bag. They are as follows:

A sturdy backpack

In the event of a natural disaster, chances are youre going to have to get dirty or wet at one point or another. If you care about transporting your items safely from point A to point B  which you should because your supplies will most likely be the key to your survival  then you need to store them in a sturdy, heavy duty backpack.

Water

Water is something that many of us tend to take for granted. When were thirsty, all we have to do is fill a glass from the tap or grab a water bottle out of the cabinet. But in a survival situation, water may very well go from plentiful to luxurious in a matter of hours. The Red Cross recommends that you prepare by setting aside one gallon of water per person, per day. (Related: Follow these water storage tips to ensure your familys survival.)

Food

Like water, food is an essential part of your survival. Stock up on non-perishable and easy to prepare food items so that you will have the energy to carry on day by day. High-energy protein bars are always good to have as well. (Related: Here are 10 affordable and nutritious food items you can stockpile to prepare for a crisis.)

Flashlight

Your Go Bag should contain a flashlight, though more than one is preferable in case one stops working. In the event of a natural disaster, chances are the power will go out and you and your family will be left in the dark. Therefore, having a source of light is essential.

Radio

Staying up-to-date with what is going on outside of your shelter is very important. To do this, make sure you have either a battery-powered or a hand-crank radio.

Extra batteries

After a natural disaster, finding sources of power is going to be extremely difficult. Unless all of your items are solar-powered or can generate power via a hand-crank, youre going to need extra batteries.

First aid kit

Next to food and water, the first aid kit is potentially the most important item on this list. Be sure to stock your first aid kit with aspirin, antibiotic ointment, a cold compass, bandages, gauze, tape, and whatever else you think would help an ill or wounded friend or family member.

Multi-purpose tool

Your multi-purpose tool should be equipped with a screwdriver, corkscrew, blade, and a bottle opener. You never know when you will need it.

Sanitation items

If youre going to be going out and getting dirty, then you are going to want to make sure you have the supplies necessary to remain clean and hygienic. Hand sanitizer, soap, tissues, facemasks, and sanitation wipes are all good things to include in your Go Bag.

Copies of personal documents

In the event that you need to leave your home, you need to have important personal documents with you. Make sure you make copies of your medical information, proof of address, the deed or lease to your home, passports, and birth certificates and carry them with you in your Go Bag.

Mobile phone with chargers

Given that you may still have cell phone service after a natural disaster, its always a good idea to take your mobile phone with you wherever you go, as well as multiple chargers. Invest in a charging case as well so that your phones battery will last twice as long.

Emergency blanket

In a survival situation, youre not always going to have a roof over your head when you go to sleep at night. Having a thermal blanket with you can help you stay warm through the night, and it could even mean the difference between life and death.

Extra cash

Having extra cash on hand is always a plus, especially in the event that ATMs go offline and you are unable to withdraw any additional money from the bank.

Map of the area

In the event of a natural disaster, it helps to have a map of the area with you so that you know where you are at all times, as well as where you can go for shelter and security.

Sources include:

Dailymail.co.uk

MyDomaine.com
(Natural News) An assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Public Affairs at Princeton Universitys Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs thinks that climate change is responsible for more people contracting infectious diseases. Jessica Metcalf recently published a paper outlining her crazy theory, which presses infectious disease experts to consider the climate-disease relationship when placing blame for future outbreaks.

Written with the help of other so-called experts from both U.S. and international institutions, and published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Metcalfs paper explains how changing weather patterns and temperatures could affect how infectious diseases such as malaria spread. She claims that climate change could either increase or decrease the geographic range of mosquitoes, for instance, which are responsible for spreading the pathogens that lead to such conditions. Also of concern to Metcalf are human migration patterns, which she claims can interact with climate change in complex ways to affect the spread of disease.

Cow farts might lead to temperature increases which in turn could affect how far mosquitoes travel with malaria, for instance. Or too many people driving SUVs as opposed to Priuses might cause excess carbon dioxide which results in more rainfall and flooding to certain areas of the world, creating a breeding ground for water-borne diseases like typhoid fever. The possibilities are endless, and as usual, humans are to blame for heating up the atmosphere and creating the types of conditions that lead to more infectious disease spreading and causing illness and death.

Flooding is thought to increase the risk of exposure to typhoid fever through contamination of the water supply, when the feces of an infected person mingles with the water people drink. Thus, climate change could increase the incidence of typhoid fever, explains a summary of Metcalfs work on this subject.

Metcalf wants more money to be spent creating models of how climate change makes infectious disease more problematic

Placing the blame for almost every terrible thing that happens in the world on climate change is nothing new for the left. Just recently, The Washington Post made the claim that climate change was responsible for causing chemical plants to explode near Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, for instance. Al Gore also tried to blame rising tides in Miami on global warming.

But this latest effort to attribute disease spread to climate change takes this entire bizarre narrative to a whole new level of insanity. And Metcalf and her colleagues arent stopping there: They want more research to be done to create models of how climate change will not only affect future disease outbreaks, but also to evaluate how it supposedly affected past ones. This, of course, will require more research dollars that will be frivolously spent probing deeper into Metcalfs delusional climate fixation.

Disentangling the impact of climate on infectious disease requires careful detective work, taking advantage of the broad span of data on variation in both disease incidence and climate variables across space and time, Metcalf stated in her push for expanding the scope of retrospective testing to look at past climate and disease data to determine the connection she believes exists between the two.

Epidemiologists can take cues from the climate modeling community by seeking to better understand and incorporate the underlying properties that influence the observed behavior of the climate-disease system, and by routinely testing an ensemble of models by retrospectively comparing and validating models against data.

To keep up with the latest lunacy from the left as it pertains to global warming and climate change, be sure to visit GlobalWarming.Fetch.news.

Sources for this article include:

Princeton.edu

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
If a brand succeeds in the health and nutrition market, it will reach another milestone: getting sued by plaintiffs represented by a class action lawyer, according to Ivan Wasserman, partner, Amin Talati Upadhye. In this podcast, recorded on the expo hall of SupplySide West in Las Vegas in September 2017, Wasserman discusses:

The buzzwords that class actions lawyers look for when they are filing lawsuits: natural and made in the USA are among them.

Why its important for brands to keep abreast of trends in class action lawsuits.

Strategies to reduce the risk of getting sued in a class action lawsuit, including ensuring claims are substantiated and getting proper legal advice.

Get more help on reducing the risk of class actions in the INSIDER article, Supplement Manufacturers Need Game Plan to Defend Against Class-Action Lawsuits by legal and regulatory editor Josh Long.
By the time the two evacuees from California's North Bay wildfires reached Ronit Rubinoff's house in Sebastopol Sunday morning, the women had slept in their car in a grocery store parking lot, put up at an animal shelter and bunked with strangers.

It would have been a harrowing experience for most anyone. But the six days were exceptionally tough for 72-year-old Deborah Sawyer and 86-year-old Mildred Liles.

"I didn't have any place to go," Sawyer said Monday afternoon.

For now, they can stay with Rubinoff through a quickly arranged emergency house-sharing program in Sonoma County, which is pairing those left homeless by the fires with those who have rooms to spare.

The program had already made 75 matches over the weekend and was amassing piles of applications as fast as volunteers could fill them out.

Five hundred homes were available from people throughout the area, up and down the California coast, outnumbering the families who had so far sought shelter.

Someone called to offer a campground, and that's where 22 members of the Huntington Fire Department who arrived to help will stay.

"It's very rewarding," said Amy Appleton, the executive director of SHARE Sonoma County, the permanent house-share program for older residents on which she based the emergency one. "We are genuinely helping people who are severely traumatized. You're trying to give them some sense of stability while they try to figure things out."

The deadliest wildfires in California history, which have been burning for more than a week, killed at least 41 people and destroyed nearly 6,000 homes. About 34,000 people remained under evacuation Tuesday, down from 40,000 on Monday.

Housing was already in short supply in hard hit Sonoma County, where rental vacancy rates fell from 5.8 percent in 2011 to 1.8 percent in 2015, and homeowner vacancy rates dropped from 2.2 percent to 1 percent. The county grew by 30,000 people between 2006 and 2015, but added only about 11,000 housing units.

Across California the statistics aren't more forgiving. One research company, Beacon Economics, found that in 2014, California ranked 49th in the country in homeownership and was last in affordability.

The Sonoma County SHARE program is meant to keep older homeowners in their homes by finding younger tenants who can help cover the costs of utility bills or mortgages. The emergency program will draw on that model by helping the evacuees to find the services they need, and it is already setting up a corps of volunteers to make weekly calls to ensure the shares are working smoothly.

"It's hard to live with anybody in any kind of situation, even harder when they're stressed," said Elece Hempel, the executive director of Petaluma People Services Center, where the program is based.

Outside The Press Democrat building in Santa Rosa over the weekend, where a relief center had been set up, lines stretched of people waiting to register for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other state and local agencies.

Jane Matthew and her husband were among them, their house in Santa Rosa destroyed in the flames. They and her 91-year-old mother are staying with their son but need somewhere more permanent nearby and were considering trying the home-sharing program for help.

"We literally only had five minutes to get out," she said. "Smoke was everywhere. We got an emergency call to leave because we had a landline. If we haven't got the landline  anybody who had a cellphone in the neighborhood did not get that phone call."

Matthew, 58, who runs a daycare center for the Santa Rosa schools, has already visited some of the children in the shelters and knows how traumatized they are. She said one told her, "My house blew up."

"I want to get back to work," Matthew said.

Rubinoff, 52, who is the executive director for Legal Aid of Sonoma County, had spent a day at the relief center answering legal questions and was already foreseeing problems with renters facing price gouging and efforts to push them out of their homes.

"We're expecting a big spike in renter-related issues," she said.

Kayaks lined her driveway, emptied out of the house to make room for Sawyer and Liles. She is turning over her bedroom to them and will sleep in another room or camp out in her backyard.

"It seems like everybody I know has someone in their house, and it's the right thing to do," she said. "How can one sit in one's house with all this room when there are people sleeping in campsites and shelters? It's unconscionable."

[NATL-BAY]'Looks Like a War Zone': Santa Rosa Neighborhood Destroyed in Wildfires

Tautuiki Uluilakepa and his family had been staying at a shelter in a high school in Sebastopol, but it was closing and they needed a new place quickly. Meanwhile, 68-year-old Steve Kay had watched the disaster unfold and had wondered what he could do. On Sunday, he was offering three bedrooms in his home in Petaluma to Uluilakepa, his wife, who is a caregiver for the elderly, their 19-year-old son and an older man who lives with them.

"This is just so heart-rending for everybody who lost their homes in this tragedy, and because I have three bedrooms I really wanted to see if I could keep a family intact," Kay said. "The worst thing is to have people separated for any length of time."

Kay, the author of a marketing and business newsletter for the U.S. meat industry, is originally from New Zealand. Uluilakepa, a self-employed mason who built a patio and retaining wall at the house he had rented in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, is from Tonga. When they met, the men drew on their shared connection to the South Pacific.

"I already know we don't have anything left," Uluilakepa said. "I didn't know I already had a brother here."

[NATL-BAY GALLERY]North Bay Wildfires: The Smoldering Aftermath

Uluilakepa had woken his family when he smelled the smoke and hurried them out of the house, even as the older man resisted leaving.

"I tell him, 'You better listen to me,'" Uluilakepa said. "I said, 'Right now, we have to go.'"

They drove south to Rohnert Park and waited until daylight, when Uluilakepa returned by himself to see that they had lost everything.

"You're thinking about the next day, what is your next move, where are you going?" Uluilakepa said.

Sawyer and Liles had their own frightening escape from their mobile home retirement community, The Orchard. They fled when a neighbor rang the doorbell to warn them to leave.

"I looked behind him and there was a fire," Sawyer said. Sawyer helped Liles dress and they fled without their medications, driving for an hour before Sawyer became too tired to go further and pulled into the parking lot of a Raley's supermarket. They slept in their car for three nights before finding room at an animal shelter with other people, plus goats, horses, burros and dogs.

At one point, looking for a temporary shelter at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Sawyer almost drove through a barricade and hit a police officer. He found another officer to drive them to safety.

"People were just completely wonderful, giving us shelter and help, taking care of us," Sawyer said.

Sawyer and Liles have been together for 40 years and married four years ago. Sawyer worked as a postal worker for 20 years, Liles is a retired high school teacher and a U.S. Army veteran, and they moved to The Orchard from Monte Rio along the Russian River. Their mobile park was badly damaged but their home is standing, and Sawyer wants to return.

"Tragedies and disasters bring people together," Kay said. "That's why we're in this world, to help each other."
Monica Brinkerhoff was crushed.

At last sight Monday, flames were licking the Santa Rosa house she shared with her wife, Sam Brinkerhoff. But when the family returned to Coffey Park two days later, only a smoldering husk remained amid an apocalyptic scene.

I think I needed closure, Monica Brinkerhoff said. I honestly started crying after I got through the shock of seeing the house. I wasnt mentally prepared for it, and I was really defeated at that moment.

Just then, Sam Brinkerhoff discovered a severely singed jewelry box under debris and ash.

Inside was the pair's engagement rings, burned and blackened but still intact. The women, who are expecting their first child, could even make out the heart engravings on one of the bands while a diamond shone on the other.

"The fireproof safe didn't make it, none of the paperwork made it, but the rings did," Sam Brinkerhoff said. "Just for a moment, in the middle of all that devastation, there was a little bit of hope."

Sam Brinkerhoff

Monica Brinkerhoff, who is six months pregnant, was overjoyed. The moment provided temporary relief from the anxiety and worry she had been feeling since the fire broke out, sending the couple and their dogs fleeing.

"We get really emotional when we think about everything we lost," she said. "We bought the house for the baby. We had five years of trying to conceive where we accumulated everything  we had the crib, we had clothes, we had the changing table, we had everything," Monica Brinkerhoff said.

"Now it's gone."

And rebuilding will be a struggle. The pair ran Caring Home Care, a business that provides assistance to seniors in Sonoma County, out of their home.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help ease the burden. Friends and clients have been rallying around the couple, flooding the page with donations.

"Every day they selflessly help those in need who can no longer care for themselves," wrote Gemma McKenney, a friend who created the GoFundMe for the couple. "Even this morning after they received the news they had lost their home, their main concern was their clients and making sure they were all evacuated."

Ron Carnero

Firestorms raged across a broad swath of the North Bay late Sunday, engulfing trees, homes, and cars and leaving only devastation in its wake. The blazes scorched more than 200,000 acres, claimed at least 41 lives and reduced roughly 3,000 homes and business to rubble.

The Tubbs Fire, which obliterated the Brinkerhoff's home, has scorched 36,432 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties. Firefighters were still working to snuff it out by the following Tuesday.

Thinking back to the night the blazes sparked, the Brinkerhoffs said they had been so focused on escaping their Coffey Park neighborhood as it went up in flames that they didn't think about gathering important possessions.

"I had 10 minutes to get out," Sam Brinkerhoff said. "I didn't even grab my wallet."

Other than their rings, the only thing that is still recognizable is an oversized jar in which Sam and Monica Brinkerhoff collected coins. Now it is melted and mangled, but they're holding onto the keepsake anyway.

Whenever sadness creeps in, Monica Brinkerhoff reminds herself that the outcome could have been much worse. As it stands, her wife and their pets are safe, and so are their tokens of commitment that symbolize their eight-year relationship.

Ron Carnero

The women say they want to return to Coffey Park when it is rebuilt in the years to come. Until then, they will be staying in a temporary rental.

"It gives us peace knowing that our baby is going to have a stable home and that we won't be moving around," Monica Brinkerhoff said. "And we've had such strong support from the community. People have been so generous. We don't feel alone in this, and that means a lot."
Days after a deadly wildfire ravaged Sonoma County, a family sitting at an In-and-Out Burger in Rohnert Park, California, recognized their home from the footage of burned-out buildings playing on a laptop.

They had just returned from a visit to their house in Santa Rosas Coffey Park neighborhood, a square-mile of middle-class homes and friendly neighbors, which was among the hardest hit in the wildfires that broke out last Sunday. Their two-story house is completely destroyed. They watched NBC Bay Area's footage while eating dinner.

The family was emotional as they looked at the charred remains of their home.

Monica, a caregiver in Santa Rosa, is a renter who has lived with her family in the house since 2007. She immigrated to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, when she was 16 years old has been here for the last 24 years. NBC Bay Area is not using her last name because she is undocumented.

Speaking in Spanish, Monica described the harrowing way her family of eight  her mother, brother, husband and son, as well as her sister, brother-in-law and their kids  escaped the flames.

They lost pretty much everything.

Monica's friend, who was in a wheelchair, died in the fire. The family is currently staying at a shelter in Petaluma. They have no renters insurance, and Monica is currently without a job. They have no idea what will happen next.

A few days after a deadly wildfire ravaged Sonoma County, NBC Bay Area was at In-In-Out Burger in Rohnert Park, California when a family sitting next to us recognized their home from the footage of burned-out buildings playing on our laptop.

Here are some excerpts from our interview with Monica (translated from Spanish), her son and her nephew. [[451478933, C]]

NBC: How did you find out about the fire?

Monica: We fell asleep at 10 p.m. on Sunday and it started to smell like smoke, but we thought the neighbors were cooking barbeque. The windows were a little open and at 1:30 a.m. they came knocking at our door and started yelling at us to leave because the fire was near. My mom got up and opened the door and the smoke just came pouring into the house and we couldnt see anything.

All the kids ran outside and we didnt get a chance to grab anything except for simple things on the way out like a sweater. My kids left without shoes, clothes, nothing. My mother began to desperately yell because I wouldnt come out of the house and I was on the second floor. I was the last one to get out.

We just got into our cars and left, but we returned to save the dogs. My mom kept asking me to save the birds, but I couldnt. It was too late. My brother couldnt save his motorcycle. Everything burned in the fire.

NBC: What happened next?

Monica: We left and I didnt imagine that my house would burn. I left with hope that my house wouldnt burn down. We waited in a Safeway parking lot, until an officer told us we couldnt stay there. We then left for a shelter in Petaluma, and thats where my mom started feeling bad because of her asthma. With all the smoke my mom was really affected, and she didnt get a chance to grab her medicine.

We stayed at the shelter until Monday night and decided to take my mother to a family member's home in Hayward. Weve been staying there since Monday night and were looking for help since 22 people are staying there right now.[[450795243, C]]



NBC: Were you able to save anything in the fire?

Monica: We lost everything. We didnt get a chance to grab anything. I feel so grateful to God that at least he kept us alive. I had just bought my kids a new Apple computer, because theyre teenagers who need it for school projects and its gone in the fire. The material things dont bother me as much, but the memories of so many years that I had of my kids, photos, everything, its gone. The material stuff can always be replaced, but not our lives.

NBC: Do you have renters insurance?

Monica: We didnt have renters insurance. No one ever offered renters insurance to us and I didnt know I needed it. Now that this happened they told me that I didnt have insurance so theyre not going to pay for anything that I had in my home. It affected us a lot, but I thank God for keeping us alive and that were all united and we need to keep pushing forward.

NBC: Do you know where youre going next?

Monica: Right now I dont have work, Im a caregiver, and the people I take care of were evacuated because of the fires. My husbands the only one working right now. The Santa Rosa Red Cross helped us a lot, they gave us food and clothing. They also helped us fill out paperwork for a home. Im really thankful for all the help.

Were on the waitlist for a home. They have given us three rooms for now. Were not sure for how long well be able to stay in Petaluma  could be one week or even two. But it has affected us greatly. We want to think this was just a nightmare, but this was a horrible disaster.

NBC: Have you gone back to Coffey Park?

Monica: I havent been able to return to my home. I dont have the courage. Just by looking at the photos and videos that my brother sent me it feels horrible. It feels like your heart is falling to pieces. Its a huge sadness. I had the hope that my house wouldnt burn down and its ended. Our sacrifice of many years ended in an instant.[[450844063, C]]

NBC: Whats next?

Monica: Were from Guanajuato, Mexico. Im neither a citizen nor a resident. My kids are the only ones who are citizens. But my mom, my husband and I are not. I couldnt apply for DACA for a year, but it's cost me a lot. I came when I was 16, so Ive been here 24 years. I graduated from Monte High School in Los Angeles, and then Rio Ondo College and later Santa Rosa College for a nursing degree. Ive made my whole life here. Its very difficult. But with faith in God hell help us push forward for our kids - theyre the future.

Hundreds of homes in the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, California were destroyed by the Tubbs Fire on October 11, 2017.

Excerpts of our interview with Monicas son, Bradley, 15, and nephew, Kenny, 16.

NBC: What happened that night?

Kenny: So that night it was around 2 a.m., the neighbors came knocking at our door to tell us the fire was close to Coffey Park. I woke up and ran upstairs to wake Bradley up. He thought it was time to go to school, and I was like, No, theres was a fire outside, and he said, Oh really.

Bradley: I grabbed a shirt, some pants and a sweater, and ran out.



Kenny: I went downstairs to grab my dog and we ran to the car. When we opened the door a strong breeze of wind with smoke came into the house and slammed the door against the wall. My aunt couldnt even see anything on the floor because the smoke was covering the whole house, so we closed the door. We ran to the car and waited for my aunt as she gathered important papers that we needed. It was a scary moment, we just didnt know what was going to happen. We didnt even think it would be that terrible, most of our neighborhood burned down and we didnt think that would happen.

NBC: Where did you go next?

Kenny: After we took off we didn't know where to go, we went to Petaluma because over here in Rohnert Park you could smell the smoke and see ashes. So we thought it would be better to go further south. When we got to Petaluma, a woman told us there was a shelter and they provided a lot for us: water, blankets and food. And thats what we did that day, we stayed at the shelter.

NBC: Have you gone back to Coffey Park?

Kenny: We actually went back the next day to go see the house and my stomach just dropped when I saw the house. It was just burned to the ground  Everything was just gone. We went back to see if anything survived and everything was burned down. We couldnt find anything. [[451350883, C]]

Stuff was still on fire and everything was still hot. We had to go back the next day. We lost everything. I didnt even grab my phone. I didnt even think about my phone at that moment, I grabbed my dog and got out. But everyone got out safely.

NBC: What did you have in your room?

Bradley: I had my XBox, my TV and my bed.

NBC: Do you know if your neighbors and friends are safe?

Kenny: One of my aunts friends died in the fire. She was in a wheelchair, she couldnt get out the house.

Bradley: One of my friends, his house actually survived, we take him to school every morning and he was one of the lucky ones. It was like 12 houses out of 500 that got burned survived. It was kind of cool - there was this one man who actually put the fire out on his house, and he stopped the fire from reaching other houses.
Beach living appears to be treating those along the Monterey coast very well.

That's because a report from National Geographic ranks the Santa Cruz-Watsonville area as the second happiest place in the entire country. Boulder, Colorado locked up the top spot with Charlottesville, Virginia nabbing the third slot.

Not to be left out, three other Bay Area regions checked in on the top-25 list. The region of San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara checked in at No. 6, Salinas grabbed the No. 13 spot, and the combination of San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward settled in at No. 17, according to the report.

National Geographic, author Dan Buettner and research-based company Gallup examined a number of factors  financial stability, amount of time spent vacationing, civic engagement and healthy eating habits  when compiling the list.

"In happier places, according to Buettner, locals smile and laugh more often, socialize several hours a day, have access to green spaces, and feel that they are making purposeful progress toward achieving life goals," the report reads.
Hillary Clinton fans get ready  she will be in the Bay Area on Friday.

The former presidential candidate will stop by Books Inc. on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco to sign copies of her new memoir, titled "What Happened." Clinton will also sign "It Takes a Village," her illustrated children's book.

The ticketed event is sold out, the store's website says.

Clinton is then slated to head south to attend the launch of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Laws Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University.

Her keynote speech, expected at 4:30 p.m. in CEMEX Auditorium, will deal with Digital Technology, Diplomacy, and Democratic Values, according to the Stanford Daily.

The event, which will be livestreamed, is invite-only and a limited number of tickets were made available to students via a lottery system.
The National Guard has 22 aircrafts working to fight the wildfires burning in the North Bay, including two drones.

Crews have been battling thick smoke and high winds. Tuesday was the first time it was safe enough for the National Guard to take an NBC Bay Area camera aboard an aircraft so we could show how Santa Rosa looks from above after wildfires ripped through the region.

Aerial Views from National Guard Helicopter Show North Bay Wildfires Aftermath

The Sonoma County city from the air features a scar of scorched Earth that will take years to heal.

Officials say 2,100 National Guard troops have been deployed to fight the North Bay wildfires. Even those with years of experience say seeing the devastation is haunting.

NBC Bay Area joined a crew of four from the 129th Rescue Wing based at Mountain View's Moffett Field. Senior Airman Austin Hellweg on his first wildfire mission is unlikely to forget the disaster that now ranks as the most destructive fire in California history. The North Bay fires have burned an area the size of New York City and has taken down more than 3,500 homes and businesses. At least 40 people have died in the fires, officials said.

"The toughest part for me seeing this is knowing how many people have been displaced, lost their homes...pretty much everything," Hellweg said.

Pilot Caroline White is flying reconnaissance missions to help crews in the air and on the ground. In 10 years of active duty, she has never experienced one like the North Bay fires.

"We just got off (Hurricanes) Harvey and Irma and that was heartbreaking," White said. "But to see this in our own backyard -- some of our own squadron members have had their childhood homes burn down."

Veteran first responders also said the sights of the wildfires and aftermath in their home state will be seared into their memories.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security and the State Office of Emergency Services also surveyed the damage on Tuesday to help plan for future rebuilding that will need to happen across the North Bay.
Restaurants and shops that were spared by the Wine Country fires are reopening this week, signaling a shift as the community struggles to return to business-as-usual following mass devastation and loss of life.

World-famous restaurant The French Laundry will re-open Tuesday. The Yountville eatery, which has earned three Michelin stars, closed last week out of respect for its employees and due to a slate of power outages. Still, staff stayed on site at the bakery to serve first responders.

"Everyone is working to normalize our situation in these extreme times," wrote restaurant staff on the company's Instagram.

Bouchon, R+ D Kitchen, Red, Ad Hoc, and Redd Wood are among the other tourist-friendly destination spots that are opening their doors. Together, they make up some of the most sought-after destination spots for vacationers in Napa County and Sonoma County, which relies heavily on its tourism-based economy.

Boosted by better weather, firefighters have made significant gains in controlling the deadly wildfires, which left at least 41 dead and scorched more than 200,000 acres. But it's not over yet. More than 34,000 people remain evacuated across Northern California. Hundreds, possibly thousands, will eventually return to their homes to find only charred wreckage and ash.

It's too soon to tell the full extent of the damage and its consequences for the local economy, but scores of businesses and restaurants perished in flames, too. Employees who lost their homes may also be forced to relocate.

The Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, located in Santa Rosa, was completely obliterated by the flames. Its 130 employees, most of whom work on an hourly-basis, are out of a job.

Lenora Olson, head of HR for the company, posted on Facebook that she was hoping to find other local work for the employees. The post was shared more than 7,000 times, drawing hundreds of comments and offers of employment.

"Words cannot describe how much it means to me," Olson wrote in an update.



Other companies include the Fountaingrove Inn and the K-Mart Department Store in Santa Rosa. Head over to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat for a more comprehensive list.


Firefighters late Tuesday were working to fully contain a two-alarm brush fire that prompted shelter-in-place and evacuation orders in Dublin.

The fire erupted earlier in the afternoon in the area of Tassajara and Fallon roads. Heavy smoke from the blaze, which officials said charred at least 118 acres, triggered a shelter-in-place order for the Dublin Ranch (east side of Fallon) and Positano communities.

Evacuation orders were also issued, but later lifted for nearby neighborhoods.

The fire late Tuesday was 75 percent contained, officials said.

No other information was immediately available.
The race for Illinois governor has crossed an expensive threshold  with more than a year to go until Election Day.

The seven candidates in the race have reported a combined $104,370,831.18 in contributions over the past year, with a majority of that funding coming from the pockets of the two wealthiest candidates themselves.

In accordance with state law, candidates were required to file by Monday their quarterly reports detailing contributions and expenditures between July 1 and Sept. 30. [[419186634, C]]

Incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner has raked in $71,132,481.19 since Oct. 1, 2016  far and away the largest haul and more than twice the rest of the candidates totals combined, according to filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Much of the first-term Republicans war chest  98.4 percent, to be exact  came from just two donations, one of which he gave himself. A former private equity investor, Rauner dumped $50 million into his campaign fund in December, breaking his own record set in 2014 for the single largest political contribution in Illinois history.

Rauner also received a $20 million boost in May from billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who founded investment firm Citadel and according to Forbes, is listed as the wealthiest person in all of Illinois with an estimated net worth of $8.6 billion.

While Griffin may be the richest person in the state, he and Rauner are not the only billionaires looking to sway the election.

J.B. Pritzker is among the candidates battling for the Democratic nomination, and with an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, the venture capitalist and Hyatt hotel heir is listed as the fifth richest person in Illinois, according to Forbes.

Shortly after launching his campaign, the longtime Democratic fundraiser poured a $7 million dollar contribution of his own into his political fund  a donation he has repeated three more times, every two months since.

That brings the total of Pritzkers self-funding to $28.2 million (including the $200k he used to launch his exploratory committee early on)  making up nearly every dollar of the $28,208,540.91 hes raised this year. [[445832893, C]]

Democrat Chris Kennedy has also turned to his own personal wealth to fund his campaign, in part, most recently cutting his committee a $250,000 check on Sept. 29, nearly six months to the day after his first $250,100 contribution in March.

Since announcing his run in February, Kennedy has raised $2,771,081.95, a figure similar to State Sen. Daniel Biss, whos also competing for the Democratic nomination.

Unlike Pritzker and Kennedy, Biss had an active campaign committee formed prior to announcing his gubernatorial run thanks to his time in the legislature. Since the reporting period in which he threw his hat in the ring, Biss has raised a total of $2,168,884.42, and has yet to reach into his own personal bank account, according to the State Board of Elections.

Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Bob Daiber is the only downstate candidate seeking the Democratic nomination, and hes raised a total of $79,397.71  which includes three loans he gave his campaign totaling $40,000.

Rounding out the pack of Democratic candidates are anti-violence advocate Tio Hardiman and political newcomer Alex Paterakis, who have reported $5,445 and $5,000 in contributions, respectively.

The $104.4 million total is more than just eye-popping  it puts the 2018 campaign on track to eclipse the $91 million spent over the entirety of the 2014 race. [[442789653, C]]

The 2018 battle of the billionaires might even be on pace to set a record for the most expensive gubernatorial race in U.S. history.

That distinction belongs to Californias 2010 contest, in which Democrat Jerry Brown defeated Republican Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay who, like some of Illinois candidates, reached into her personal fortune to fund her run.

The prospect of Illinois election claiming the historic title is even more stunning when taking population into account, considering California is home to nearly three times as many people as the Land of Lincoln.

Rauner spent nearly $36 per vote in 2014, according to the Chicago Tribune, a figure that will likely grow this time around  with nearly 13 months left until voters head to the polls.
A statewide Amber Alert has been canceled in Indiana for a 2-year-old boy who was believed to be "in extreme danger."

Few information has been released, but NBC affiliate WTHR reports the child was found safe and the suspect is in custody.

Police said the boy, Kevin "Chub" Wayne Craig, was last seen in Auburn, Indiana and may have been abducted by Dale Curtis Craig.

The child is described as being 3 feet tall, 35 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen just after 3 a.m. Wednesday wearing a dark blue shirt and diaper, according to the Auburn Police Department.

Dale Craig, 28, is described as a white man, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 162 pounds with a shaved head and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt, blue jeans and black Converse.

He was believed to be in a tan 1998 Toyota Avalon with Indiana license plate XKZ630.

Auburn is about 146 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
As crews gained on the wildfires in California wine country, new blazes broke out Tuesday in other parts of the state, including a fire in the mountains above Los Angeles that threatened a historic observatory and more flames in the Santa Cruz mountains. In the state's hard-hit wine-making region, tens of thousands of people began drifting back to their neighborhoods. Some returned to find their homes gone.

The deadliest wildfires in California history have been burning for more than a week, killing at least 41 people and destroying nearly 6,000 homes. About 34,000 people remained under evacuation Tuesday, down from 40,000 on Monday.

"It's never going to be the same," said Rob Brown, a supervisor in Mendocino County, where all 8,000 evacuees were cleared to go home Monday. "You're going to have to seek a new normal."

The two recently welcomed their first child together

The thousands of calls coming from concerned residents in neighboring Sonoma County "have shifted from questions about evacuation to questions about coping," Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane said.

"Many people who call are sad and worried. The shock has worn off," and depression is setting in.

As a former grief therapist, she advised people with a family member or loved one who has lost everything to understand they can't fix this but they can offer support.

"Provide a compassionate listening ear right now, and let them feel whatever they're feeling," Zane said.

And those who must rebuild from nothing are in for a changed life.

"You're in for decades," Brown said. "You'll see benefits within years, but you're literally in for decades of recovery."

Jennifer Kelly and her husband and three sons lost their home and everything in it to a fire in Middletown in Lake County two years ago.

With the new home 95 percent rebuilt, they get nervous when they hear distant sirens or helicopters and air tankers. Far-off plumes of smoke bring on-again, off-again evacuation orders.

"I'm pretty anxious," she said Sunday. "We wake up a few times a night. One time last week we saw red on the horizon, which was a little intimidating."

The Kellys are ready to evacuate. Since they started from scratch two years ago, there's not much to put in their van aside from their pets.

They have talked about what they will do if it happens again: "We're moving far away, to Wyoming," she said.

The return home was emotional even for those whose properties were spared.

"When we came up to check on it, we were amazed it was here," said Tom Beckman. "All the trivial things we have to work on  cleaning up, replacing the stuff in the fridge and freezer  that's nothing compared to my friends who lost their homes."

In the hard-hit city of Santa Rosa, two hospitals were forced to close during the fires, leaving just one open, St. Joseph Health.

Eighty-three hospital employees and 51 doctors lost homes during the fires, though many continued to report to work.

"We expect the number to go up," said St. Joseph Health spokeswoman Vanessa DeGier.

There was also good news to report.

A total of 36 babies were born at St. Joseph during the week since wildfires started, which represents about three times the normal delivery rate.

"All of those babies are doing very well," said Vicki White, chief nursing officer.

Improving weather, the prospect of some light rain later in the week and tightening containment of the flames were tempered by the first death from the firefighting effort  a water tender driver, who has since been identified as 38-year-old Garrett Paiz from Missouri, was killed when his truck overturned on a winding mountain road.

Paiz, who had been delivering water to the fire lines, crashed before dawn Monday in Napa County on a roadway that climbs from vineyards into the mountains.

Those killed in the fires numbered 22 people in Sonoma County, eight in Mendocino County, six in Napa County and four in Yuba County.

Of the 1,969 missing persons reports in Sonoma County, a total of 53 people remain missing Tuesday, Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said.

More than 245,000 acres  nearly 383 square miles  have burned across the Golden State since the firestorm ignited, according to Cal Fire.

The Atlas Fire has burned 51,064 acres in Napa and Solano counties and is 77 percent contained; the Tubbs Fire has scorched 36,432 acres in Napa County and is 82 percent contained; the Nuns Fire, which includes the Partrick, Adobe, Norbbom, and Pressley fires, has burned 52,894 acres in Sonoma County and is 68 percent contained; the Pocket Fire has burned 12,430 acres in Sonoma County and is 58 percent contained; and the Oakmont Fire in Sonoma County has charred 1,029 acres and is 16 percent contained, Cal Fire reported Tuesday.

Farther north, the Sulphur Fire in Lake County has torched 2,207 acres and is 90 percent contained, and the Redwood Valley Fire in Mendocino County has charred 35,800 acres and is 60 percent contained.

In the historic main square of the wine and tourist town of Sonoma, a statue of the community's 19th-century founder was draped with signs thanking firefighters who have saved the town from disaster.

"The love in the air is thicker than the smoke," read a sign on the bench that displays the statue of Gen. Mariano Vallejo, which was wearing a face mask.

Thick smoke billowing from the fires, however, blanketed the North Bay, sent ash into San Francisco, and affected air quality as far south as San Jose. Many schools were closed during the week to protect children from pollution that has been found comparable to that of Beijing, China. As of Tuesday, more than a week after the fires sparked, air quality was yellow or moderate. People with lung and heart diseases are asked to consider reducing prolonged exertion and outdoor activities.

Elsewhere in the state, firefighters on the ground and in the air raced to protect the Mount Wilson Observatory and nearby communications towers from a growing brush fire northeast of Los Angeles. The blaze was initially estimated at around 5 acres. The observatory has been evacuated.

Farther north, a fire that sprang up overnight in the mountains of the southern Bay Area blackened at least 125 acres and threatened 150 homes, which prompted evacuation orders.

Winds remained light, but conditions were also dry. Crews dropped water on the blaze, which started as a house fire.

"The idea is to hit it pretty hard with aircraft and hit it with ground resources at the same time," said Rob Sherman, assistant chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Five firefighters suffered minor injuries, including a one who slipped down a ravine.

Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer in Sonoma, Brian Skoloff in Napa, Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles, Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz and Brian Melley, Janie Har and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this report.
With Election Day quickly approaching, the race for Virginia governor is tightening, according to a new tracking poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University.

Democrat Ralph Northam is maintaining his lead over Republican Ed Gillespie, but Gillespie's share has increased slightly.

According to the poll released Tuesday, 48 percent of voters prefer Northam while 44 percent say they would vote for Gillespie. Three percent of voters polled in the survey chose Libertarian Cliff Hyra, and 5 percent said they were undecided.

The new poll places Northam's lead within the survey's margin of error.

"With even a weak third-party candidate on the ballot, the winner may not cross the 50 percent mark," said Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center. "But theres plenty of room and time left for Northam to close the deal or for Gillespie to close the gap."

This poll did not include the state's other races.

Virginia is one of only two states electing governors in 2017, and the contest is getting national attention as a potential early referendum on President Donald Trump's first year. The other gubernatrial race is in New Jersey.

Gillespie is debating with his advisers whether to ask Trump to campaign with him, The New York Times reported, citing multiple Republican officials. Trump performed well during the presidential election in many rural areas of the state, but not in more populous places like Fairfax County.



Virginia's election will take place Nov. 7.
Connecticut Democratic and Republican legislative leaders have set a new, self-imposed deadline for this afternoon to announce whether they're on the verge of reaching a tentative, bipartisan state budget agreement.

The closed-door negotiations aren't expected to cease if a deal isn't announced on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. However, the lawmakers said Tuesday they see it as a key moment in what has become a long, drawn-out battle. Connecticut has been without a new two-year budget since July 1.

"It is really our goal by 2:30 p.m. to have a decision made on a bipartisan deal," Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano said on Tuesday.

Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney said lawmakers got a "large number of issues" resolved during discussions and Tuesday was "an encouraging day."

It's the final 10 items left on the table and whether lawmakers can get through those or not will determine what update they give on Wednesday.

"From where we started to where we are is a huge, huge monumental movement, and all week we have taken these huge steps forward. We don't want to talk about what those 10 items are because they're delicate items for our caucuses, but I'll tell you they are significant items. But we've had conversations about these items to where we know that further conversation can bridge the gap that still exists," Fasano said.

"There are a few big issues out there where we have to find a way to come to an agreement, but that's what's standing in the way of a bipartisan agreement where we will come out tomorrow and say we have it or we don't," House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said.

While Gov. Dannel Malloy is not in the room for discussions, leaders said his concerns and suggestions certainly are.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, the governor slammed a proposal in the vetoed Republican budget over whether or not benefits can be changed for vested state employees. The governor remains very clear on where he stands on the issue, saying the answer to that question is "no."

Malloy released an actuarial analysis of prospective pensions changes and said, "We already knew that the illegal pension scheme proposed in the Republican budget would lead to a lengthy legal battle and eventually cost Connecticut taxpayers billions of dollars. Now, thanks to this analysis, we also know that even a more modest prospective change for employees who are still unvested in 2027 would offer almost no savings at all to the state in the current biennium."

"I hope this new information is useful to legislative leaders as they work to send a responsible, balanced budget to my desk, and I am hopeful they will not remake the mistakes of the past, the same mistakes that put Connecticut in its current fiscal predicament," Malloy went on to add during his news conference.

In response, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides released a statement saying, "The governor is now calling into question the initial actuarial analysis that state actuaries undertook to assess the Republican budget proposal that was passed in a bipartisan manner. Now, in an attempt to inject himself into our negotiations he is trying to dispute the initial findings which show that hundreds of millions can be saved by making long-term structural changes in the state employee pension plan beginning in in 2027."

Sen. Fasano said the budget currently in the works is not counting on those savings but that the pension changes they've suggested in the past are not illegal.

Unless the general assembly can give a veto-proof thumbs up, Malloy would have the last word.

"We need a budget I can sign quickly. And to be taking steps that does not produce a budget I can sign probably ends any hope of having a hospital agreement, probably will put the budget another $130 to $100 million out of balance, and I think that's an egregious mistake," Malloy said.

In a best-case scenario, the earliest a state budget could come up for a vote is in the middle of next week.
Concerned parents in North Haven are working to limit play on a newly installed turf field.

A new playing turf field for some could be a good thing, but for North Haven Against Shredded Tire Infill's (NHASTI) member, Danielle Morfi, the new turf field at the North Haven Middle School is not.

"We're not allowed to dump and bury our tires in our yard, it's just an environmental and health risk," Morfi said.

The parent-run group dislikes the use of crumb rubber. The small pellets of recycled tire found between the synthetic grass.

The organization which began shortly after the 2014 approval of the field said the recycled tire could have health risks, despite the fact, there is no scientific evidence to prove the concern.

"To me, it is not worth the risk," said Morfi.

Turf field concerns are not new. In fact, the EPA is researching if turf fields do indeed pose health risks, but the study has not ended, so the results are yet to be found.

"Let the kids play and have a good time because there are worst things in this world," parent Pamela Brooks.

Some parents feel without evidence, they have no tiff with the turf.

"I think people have been playing on turf fields forever and it's not proven," Brooks said.

Since the field is nearly complete, Morfi and her group are focusing to limit turf-field activities like gym classes.

NBC Connecticut reached out to the North Haven Middle School Building Committee, the principal and the superintendent but did not hear back.
The Dallas Regional Chamber is beginning to pour over proposals from more than a dozen North Texas cities, each hoping to land Amazons $5 billion HQ2 campus.



We have communities from all over the region submitting, said Jessica Heer, the Regional Chambers senior vice president.



The Dallas Regional Chamber set Sept. 29 as the last day for cities to submit proposals, which will be included in the Chambers unified, regional pitch to Amazon.



We want to show that we have the variety and opportunity throughout the region, want to give them a lot of options, said Heer.



I think weve got a pretty good chance just with all of our growth in this region from talent to the variety of sites that we have, Heer said. Theyd be crazy not to look at us, right?



One proposal from Dallas would put Amazons HQ2 at the site of the old Valley View Mall, at the northwest corner of 635 and Preston Road.



I think we really do have a good shot, said Dallas Midtown developer Scott Beck.



Amazon could fit their entire five million square feet of space within just this site where the hundred acres of Valley View Mall sits today, said Beck.



At the Dallas Regional Chamber, we dont care where they land as long as they land, as long as its in the region, said Heer.



Dallas City Councilman Lee Kleinman believes North Texas has a good chance.



Were one of the fastest growing regions in North America, said Kleinman. People like being here, the weather's good, transportation is great. I mean we have two fantastic airports, theres a lot of encouraging and positive business environment here and theres a great technology environment here.



The deadline to get the Dallas Regional Chambers response to Amazon is Oct. 19.
Most forms of gambling are prohibited in Texas, but a growing number of private poker clubs popping up across the state believe they've found a way to do it legally.

Several clubs have opened in North Texas, particularly in Collin County, amid increasing scrutiny over their legality.

Under state gambling laws, poker and other casino games are allowed if they meet three very specific conditions. The gambling must occur in a place wo which the public does not have access, no one can receive economic benefits except for personal winnings and the risks of losing and chances of winning must be the same for all participants.

Jody Wheeler, who owns FTN Poker in McKinney, insists his business model abides by those guidelines. His club is only open to members, he doesn't allow members to tip his staff and he takes no rake or other cut from individual games or tournaments.

Instead, Wheeler's revenues come from memberships and hourly service fees.



"We're doing everything we can to follow the laws," he wrote in an email to NBC 5. "We're happy to comply with any changes that are recommended by the State, the City of McKinney, or Collin County. I care very much about the City of McKinney and the community residents. It's my desire to provide a safe and secure place that our community can enjoy games of their choice or just hang out in our private club."



In Plano, two clubs have opted to shut their doors while they try to iron out concerns the city has raised.



On its website, Poker Rooms of Texas posted a message that reads, "Poker Rooms of Texas in Plano is working with local authorities to resolve operational issues so we remain a private, social, card club. While going through the process, we have closed our doors to ensure the safety of our members and employees. We will keep you updated on the process. Thank you for your continued understanding and support."

The owners of another club called Big Texas Poker Club recently posted a video to YouTube, stating they closed their business because they received "threatening letters" from the Plano Police Department expressing their membership poker club model is in violation of state gambling laws.

In the video, she says, "Throughout this process of opening our business, my husband and I have been transparent with the City of Plano and the police department as we applied for and received our Certificate of Occupancy...They have not responded to repeated requests to meet and discuss these allegations. We need your help fighting this battle so that Texas poker clubs can continue to operate across the state, offering a safe, convenient, and legal place to play."

NBC 5 was unable to reach owner Heather Zimmerman for further comment.

In question is whether the membership and service fees the clubs collect should be considered economic benefit from gambling.

In a statement, Plano Police spokesperson Officer David Tilley wrote, "Our position is gambling for an economic benefit in the state of Texas is illegal according to the Texas Penal Code (with a few exceptions such as the state lottery). We look at each situation independently to determine if the person or business is engaging in illegal activity and if so, we will take the appropriate enforcement action."

Tilley said he is unable to comment on any specific situations involving any businesses in Plano.

The City of Plano says receiving a Certificate of Occupancy simply indicates that a business has met zoning, building and fire code requirements  and is "completely separate from what the police department does in investigating possible criminal activity."



In a statement, city spokesperson Steve Stoler said, "If it meets zoning requirements, the CO is issued. If criminal activity takes place once a CO is issued, the police department is responsible for investigating and taking appropriate action. The police department is the enforcement arm regarding gambling, not Building Inspections."



NBC 5 also reached out to the Texas Attorney General's Office for comment. An official acknowledged that they've had discussions regarding private poker clubs, but stopped short of definitively saying whether they're legal or illegal. Instead, they highlighted state statute and the requirements it lays out for allowable gambling.


On Wednesday night, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced plans to launch service to Hawaii.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the company wants to launch service there as soon as 2018.

The plan still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Executive Vice President of Southwest Andrew Watterson told the Morning News that the approval process could take a year or more.

Planes would also need additional equipment and crew members would have to go through special training.

The DMN reports that Southwest plans to start selling tickets in Hawaii in 2018, but the first flight might not launch until 2019.

Air 1 located a large marijuana grow. SE Division and Narcotics taking care of the removal of approx 2000 plants. pic.twitter.com/HytXMsVjWn  Dallas Air One (@DPDAir1) October 13, 2017

You can read more from The Dallas Morning News here.
A wanted fugitive facing murder charges in a grisly slaying of a 15-year-old girl nearly 15 years ago has been shot and killed, officials said Tuesday.

George Barraza, wanted in the Oct. 18, 2002 killing of Brenda Sierra, was killed last month in Sinaloa, Mexico, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Homicide investigators confirmed Barraza's identity via fingerprints.

Other than that he was shot, details about the killing were murky.

Authorities said they've had no witnesses come forward to talk about the crime due to his rumored reputation of being in a gang in East Los Angeles and drug cartels in Mexico.

He was accused of kidnapping and killing Brenda in East Los Angeles while she was on her way to school. Her body was found a day after she disappeared in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Murder charges were filed against five suspects in March 2015. Three of the suspects were arrested in 2015 and are awaiting trial. The fourth suspect was killed in an unrelated homicide in East Los Angeles in May 2003.

Barraza, 37, fled to Mexico where he remained a fugitive and was added on the list of US Marshal's 15 most wanted.

Two men and a woman charged in the killing have pleaded not guilty to the crime. Eddie "Shrek" Chavira and Daniel "Snaps" Cervantes were charged in the slaying. A fourth suspect, Rosemary Chavira, 28, was also arrested and charged. She's Eddie's sister.



Vincent Oliver, Eddie Chavira's attorney, said his client was in custody at the time of the crime, did not know of it beforehand, and did not participate in the crime.

Rosemary Chavira and Cervantes were charged with one count each of murder, conspiracy to dissuade a witness and forcible rape with the special circumstances of felony murder during commission of a kidnapping and to further a street gang.

Eddie Chavira is charged with one count each of murder and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.

A criminal complaint alleges while Eddie Chavira was in custody for a shooting witnessed by Brenda's relative he told a fellow gang member that he was going to have other gang members "take care of witnesses."

He allegedly also contacted his sister to help get other gang members to "take care of witnesses," prosecutors said in a news release.

Because Rosemary Chavira was a minor at the time of the slaying, she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. Eddie Chavira faces 25 years to life if convicted as charged.
Two bear cubs that escaped from a South Dakota wildlife park didn't get far, due in part to their curiosity.

The Rapid City Journal reports that a man spotted the cubs lollygagging in his neighbor's yard about a block away from the Bear Country USA park on Sunday evening.

Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Kylie Kintigh said that when she arrived at the scene, the bears seemed more interested in following her around than making a getaway. They checked out her squad car and one even tried climbing on the hood.

Bear escape! 2 bears out of their pen @ Bear Country. Dep Kintigh kept them wrangled up until staff could respond to help. #funOnTheJob pic.twitter.com/58iTARE1T3  Pennington County SO (@PennCoSheriff) October 16, 2017

Park workers eventually arrived and gently sedated the cubs for their return to the park. It's unclear how or when they escaped.

"It definitely was the best call I have had  and that might stand true to the end of my career," Kintigh said.



[NATL] Adorable Zoo Babies: White Lion Cubs Nala and Simba Born in France
Getting your day in court is getting more difficult for those who have pending immigration cases. A months long NBC/Telemundo Investigation shows immigration hearings are being delayed for years as the backlog in the courts grows to record lengths.

Were talking about immigrants who are waiting for asylum hearings among other cases. You would think, being allowed to live here for years while waiting for their day in court would be a good thing, but these delays could make their cases fall apart and put their families back home in life or death situations.

Breaking their silence is not easy for seven undocumented immigrants from Guatemala who spoke to NBC. They speak a Mayan Language called MAM and are terrified of being deported.

"I worry about my daughters, I cry for them," said Juana, who left two daughters behind in Guatemala when she fled to the US with her baby after she says she was raped and her life was threatened.

Basilio, another one of the Guatemalan immigrants, said he left his hometown with his family after being beaten.

All of them are now waiting for their day in court  when they can share their stories with an immigration judge as they seek asylum in this country. That day is going to take years.

According to Syracuse Universitys transactional records access clearinghouse or TRAC, more than 617,000 immigration cases are now backlogged. That number has more than doubled since 2009 and the 334 immigration judges across the country just cant handle the caseload.

"There have been initiatives both under the Obama administration and under the Trump administration that have resulted in us as judges being required to shuffle our docket," explained Judge Dana Leigh Marks, who spoke to us as the president of the National Association of Immigration Judge.

Marks said the latest docket shuffling came when the Trump Administration prioritized border cases. Judges from all over the country had to begin postponing their own cases as they were temporarily reassigned to border facilities.

"What happens is the home courts are left behind and those cases just become older and older," said Marks.

Miami immigration attorney Sandy Pinera says having her cases pushed back really hurts her clients.

"Theres a judge that has moved my case five times already," she said.

Department of Justice records obtained by NBC show at least 13 Miami judges have been temporarily reassigned to detention centers in New Mexico, Louisiana, Texas and Chicago in the last year.

From September 30th, 2016 through July 31st, 2017, the immigration backlog in Miami grew from 24,370 to 31,219 cases. Half of the cases that were rescheduled during that period were because a judge was reassigned.

"Its as if they have forgotten us," said Andres, one of the Guatemalan immigrants waiting for his hearing in San Francisco where the average wait-time is three years.

In Miami, the wait is about a year and a half and its much worse in cities like San Antonio, Atlanta and Chicago. Basilios hearing is set for the year 2020.

Judge Marks said she knows there are people whose cases are harmed by waiting on the docket so long.

"People may lose touch...with witnesses that they need. They may have qualifying relatives who become ill and pass away," said Marks.

Retired Arlington Immigration Judge Paul Schmidt said there are simply not enough judges to clear the backlog.

"Its a disaster, I think its moving towards implosion, said Schmidt.

Congress recently approved money to hire 65 more judge teams but Marks said at least 200 more are needed to start improving the backlog. She also believes immigration judges would be more effective if they didnt have to constantly adapt to changing administrations who have different priorities.

"We should be taken out of the Department of Justice and made a neutral court system," said Marks.

Though sending judges to the border was a move to alleviate the backlog, Senate Appropriations Staff acknowledged in March that this would likely increase the case backlog.


Standup paddleboarding is a popular sport in the Florida Keys, appealing to a diverse cross-section of people who want to "unplug." Some canine-craving paddlers even take their dogs along for the ride.

For Florida Keys resident Karly Venezia, however, evening paddleboard excursions mean chicken companionship with her one-year-old pet, "Loretta," a Rhode Island Red.

"Lorettas very curious and follows us around the yard," said Venezia, the director of sales for a large resort who grew up in Key West, where free-roaming chickens are a common sight. "Living in the Florida Keys, we like to get out on the water, so it only seemed natural to us to take Loretta paddleboarding and boating and things that we do with our dogs."

Florida Keys News Bureau

Venezia said Loretta always seems to have a great time during paddleboarding jaunts, sitting and watching quietly at the front of the board. Loretta displays no fear of the water or paddle movements, defying the dictionarys "cowardly" slang definition for chicken.

Watching the duo cruise along a protected kayak trail at sunset is simply "poultry in motion."

"Paddleboardings very calming and I like hanging out with Loretta; shes an awesome pet to have," said Venezia. "So for us, I think coming out here and getting to enjoy the beautiful sunsets is what makes living in the Keys so special."
When Hurricane Nate formed and forecasts put New Orleans in its projected path for this weekend, one big question loomed for residents and business owners: Will the pumps work?

"That's now a thought in everybody who lives in New Orleans," said Devin Shearman, a manager at Katie's restaurant and lounge, which flooded during an unexpected rainstorm Aug. 5. It was one of two flash floods this past summer that led to revelations about personnel and equipment problems at the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, the agency that runs the pumping system that drains the city.

Some pumps weren't working. Some turbines that provide power to the pumps were down. There weren't enough people on hand to man the system.

"Since early August, we have made substantial progress," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said of work to upgrade the city drainage system. But he warned at a Thursday news conference that extremely heavy rain and storm surge from Nate still could pose flood dangers.

Nate formed in the western Caribbean Sea and moved into Central America on Thursday. It strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Friday night and forecasters said it would likely make landfall Sunday morning somewhere along the Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama coast. Officials in the resort town of Grand Isle on a vulnerable barrier island south of New Orleans called a voluntary evacuation Thursday. To the east, in coastal St. Bernard Parish, authorities ordered an evacuation of areas not protected by levees.

In the center of Nate's possible destinations was New Orleans, where the summer floods shook public confidence in the Sewerage and Water Board.

It's a state-created agency governed by a board that includes the mayor and appointees of the mayor and the City Council.

After the Aug. 5 revelations, the agency's executive director, Cedric Grant, resigned. Landrieu announced the appointment of a new six-member emergency team to run the agency, make immediate upgrades and recommend long-term changes.

The team is headed by veteran emergency expert Paul Rainwater.

"It's an antiquated system," Rainwater said Thursday, as he discussed his work and the decisions ahead on what will be needed in terms of equipment and personnel.

As of Thursday, city officials said, 108 of 120 pumps and 26 power generators were in place to back up working turbines. Also, the city said efforts to clean thousands of street catch basins had been stepped up, with vacuum trucks dispatched to various areas to suck out thick mud and debris.

Long-term, a major question facing the city is whether to stick with nearly century-old pumps, which cost a lot of money and manpower to maintain but last longer than newer pumps that are reported to have shorter lifespans.

Many are also questioning where the S&WB leadership needs to rest. One option is reducing its autonomy  making it a department directly under the mayor with scrutiny from the council. It's a suggestion New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux has made to the mayor and City Council in letters for years.

Meanwhile, city officials must deal with the public's shaken faith in the drainage system.

The Sewerage and Water Board's emergency management team also included a new public relations director  a result of early, erroneous initial statements that the pumps were all working during the Aug. 5 floods.

"There was a lot of misinformation, or lies, frankly, about where we stood," City Council President Jason Williams said in a recent interview. "Moving forward, we've got to make sure that the Sewerage & Water Board is transparent to the public and to all branches of government, because clearly that wasn't happening, and that there's veracity, just being really honest."

Williams said in a recent interview that council members recently learned pumping capacity wasn't tested ahead of the hurricane season that began June 1.

"It's not a time to figure out things when you're under water and when you're in a kayak," he said.

"I'm glad they're addressing it, finally, but I don't know if you can get my approval for addressing it now, after something's happened," said Shearman, who says patrons were stranded in the restaurant for hours in August when water in the streets was thigh-high. "Trust can be brought back. It's not going to come overnight though. It's going to take a lot of time."
The world's largest earthquake drill will take place on Thursday, with millions set to practice what to do if a massive quake hits  a scenario experts say could likely happen in Southern California in the next several decades.

The "Great Shakeout," an annual earthquake drill that started in Southern California in 2008, will happen on Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m. local time around the world. Nearly 20 million people will practice what to do if a quake strikes, with more than 10.2 million of them in California, NBC News reported.

"I think we've seen with recent disasters in the past couple of months  these big hurricanes and the Mexico earthquakes in September, and the wildfires that are still happening in California  the need to be prepared is so important," said Jason Ballmann, a spokesman for the Southern California Earthquake Center.

The center collaborated with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other partners to create the earthquake drill based on a magnitude 7.8 scenario earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern California.
Police say a 61-year-old man shot his cousin and his cousin's wife at their home in eastern Pennsylvania, then held police at bay during a standoff that lasted several hours.[[449679233, C]]

Authorities say John Hann of Bushkill Township killed 64-year-old Joseph Mullner on Wednesday night and seriously wounded Mullner's wife, Melinda, at the couple's home north of Allentown.

District Attorney John Morganelli says the shooting appears to have stemmed from a "personal dispute" between the cousins.

Police located and surrounded Hann's truck Thursday morning, prompting a lockdown at three nearby schools. Hann, who was armed with several handguns, eventually surrendered.

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Morganelli says Hann had his mentally disabled sister with him in the truck. Authorities believe she witnessed the shooting.

Hann is charged with homicide. Court records don't list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.